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Tribute
to Ateneo heroes slated
Taken
from an article on http://www.mb.com.ph entitled Campus
Beat dated November 20, 2002
Twelve
Ateneans who put their lives on the line for their
country during the Second World War and the Martial
Law years will be honored in a special way on Nov.
23, at the Ateneo de Manila University’s Loyola
Height campus in Quezon City. Three of them were members
of the faculty in Pre-War Ateneo: public servant Benito
Soliven, one of the founders of the Ateneo Law School,
Fr. Joseph Mulry, S.J., Professor of English and Literature
who championed the cause of Social Justice, and Col.
Roger Hilsman, Sr., Ateneo Cadet Corps Commandant
in 1929-30. The rest include alumni Ramon
Felipe, Jr., Aristeo Feraren, Cristobal Holifeña,
Venicio Jalandoni, Emmanuel Lacaba, Simeon Rene Lacson,
Jose Monfort, Nick Solona and Miguel Ver.
The
all-day tribute organized by the Ateneo Heroes Committee
under the auspices of the Office of Planning and Development
and Alumni Affairs of the University will bring into
focus a tradition that began on Dec. 7, 1996 when
Fr. Pacifico Ortiz, S.J., then Ateneo president as
well as first Chaplain of the Defenders of Bataan
and Corregidor, blessed a modest Ateneo War Memorial
Marker for those who fought in the Philippine Revolution
of 1896 and 1898 and the Second World War.
Inscribed
on that unobtrusive monument was the second stanza
of Rizal’s immortal Mi Ultimo Adios. The nearest
of kin of Gregorio del Pilar, Cesar Basa, Manuel Colayco,
and Ramon Cabrera, heroes who were chosen to represent
their fellow Ateneans involved in those battles, laid
wreaths on that would-be legacy of the good priest.
In
the subsequent years, alumni who staked their lives
defying the dictatorship like Ninoy Aquino and Evelio
Javier were likewise enshrined together with those
who suffered for different worthy causes. They now
total 102.
The
program will open at 8:30 a.m. with an exhibit and
a TV documentary on the Battle of Bataan, an offering
of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor and the
Philippine Veterans Affairs Office through Dr. Edmundo
Nolasco at 10 a.m. at the Col. Mariano Yenko Audio-Visual
Room of the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center. Dr. Ricardo
Jose, Military Historian, will give a commentary.
There will be a concelebrated Mass presided by Fr.
Bienvenido Nebres, S.J., Ateneo president and chaplain
of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor at 3 p.m.
at the Church of the Gesu, Providing liturgical music
will be the Ateneo Chamber Singers.
At
4 p.m., the presentation of the Ateneo Air ROTC will
segue into the blessing of the relocated Ateneo Heroes
Marker by Fr. Carmelo Caluag, S.J., who heads the
Office of Planning and Development and Alumni Affairs.
It will be followed by the wreath-laying ceremony,
a 21-gun salute, and Taps.
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