Vol. 11, No. 9, August 6, 2007

Acting chief of the City Treasurer's Office (CTO), Ms. Louela Maybituin is hopeful that her office can possibly achieve the target of one billion-peso budget in year 2008. According to Maybituin, CTO now employs strategies or ways and means in order to make such intention realized. These are the business tax mapping by barangay, public auction and putting-up of billboards in public places.

Maybituin clarified that Business Tax Mapping is held in every barangay for purposes of determining new businesses established in every area and identify delinquent taxpayers. She also detailed that the purpose of their installation of billboards is made to remind taxpayers of their obligations as well as the schedule of their payment. The acting city treasurer added that the said strategies are implemented to also comply with the directive of City Mayor Lawrence Lluch Cruz to generate more funds for various programs and projects of the local administration.

Lawrence Cruz pushes C3 project

Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Lluch Cruz personally appeared at the Department of Public Works and Highways' Project Management Office Feasibility Study in Quezon City recently. The mayor met Project Director Faustino Sta. Maria and Planning Officer Carmelino J.C. Tizon of the said office relative to the feasibility study of the proposed Circumferential Road 3 or C3 Project in the interior part of Iligan.

Supervising Admin Officer Aurea Suzette Redondo of the City Mayor's Office disclosed that Mayor Cruz immediately acted on the advice of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during their recent meeting in Cagayan de Oro to prioritize the project. Prior to his follow-up with DPWHPMO-FS, Mayor Cruz also endorsed the same to the Regional Development Council thru RDC chair Governor Loreto Ocampos of Misamis Occidental for its inclusion in the list of priority projects, as well as, to attract funding agencies.

C3 is a new highway of Iligan that will cross the interior barangays from Sta. Filomena of the northern side to Mandulog - Pugaan - Merila (Ubaldo Laya) - Tipanoy - Suarez - Ditucalan - then to Buruun of the southern side or Linamon, Linamon, Lanao del Norte.  Mayor Cruz believes that this project will open new economic developments in Iligan aside from just solving traffic problems.

Ramil Te, 41

Ramil Lim Te (Batch '81) died of bile duct cancer at the Chong Hua Hospital, in Cebu City on July 28, 2007.  He was 41. He was the son of the late Te Lim Ling, aka Waya Te, past president of the LCHS Alumni Association. Like his father, Ramil was a member of the Maranaw Lodge No. 111.  His body was cremated at the Cebu Rolling Hills Memorial Chapels, Mandaue City, last Aug. 1. The ashes were brought to Iligan City the following day by his uncle, Antonio Leo "Boy" Te. A last mass and prayer were held at 9:00 a.m. on Aug. 4 at the Resurrection of the Lord Church before the ashes were finally spread over the Agus River in compliance with Ramil Te's last will.

The Te family was owner of the famous Tin Lu Sing Shoe Palace in Iligan City.  Ramil was married with one daughter, Danysse Tiffany, 14, a 4th year high school student at La Salle Academy.  Among his siblings are Ronald Te, 44, eldest, a Ph.D. in Physics and graduate of MSU and UP, married with one daughter, and residing in the U.S.A.; Roy Te, 40, a Commerce graduate, single, residing with his mother in Zamboanga City; Ruth Te, 39, single, B.S Chemistry graduate from UP and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical in the U.S.A., now connected with Glaxo, based in Singapore; and Raquel Te, 35, single, a graduate of Cebu Institute of Medicine, connected with Chong Hua Hospital, and also a private pediatric practitioner.

Scheduling ahead for GAH 2008
Sun, 22 Jul 2007 05:23:51 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Roger Suminguit:  We hope all is well for you and yours. Looking forward to seeing you again next year. We sure had a great time in 2005. With the 3rd Grand Alumni Homecoming approaching, we are looking at finalising holiday arrangements, so that we will be able to partake in all activities. It would be most helpful if we could view the itinerary for celebration, allowing time to book holidays and arrange for other business issues to be covered. Please get back to us at your convenience.
--Nelly (Co) and Bill Palmer, New South Wales, Australia, email:  bpalm@dodo.com.au

[To Bill & Nelly: It's so nice to hear from you. With regards to the 3rd LCHS Grand Alumni Homecoming, the schedule of activities will be taken up in our officers meeting next week. We would also take some note on July 2008 which date might come in conflict with some alumni who might be attending the Beijing Olympic games. Nevertheless we shall make our preparations on time and schedules will be posted on the web in due time. --Roger Suminguit, LCHS Alumni Secretary, Iligan, Philippines.]

Congratulations and warm felicitations to Peter Dy for winning the grand prize in the "Capture Your Canada" photo contest sponsored by The Shopping Channel Canada held in commemoration of the 140th birth anniversary of Canada last July 1. You sure made us all proud of you. Another honor to LCHS -- the school that made us what we are today. Likewise, my heartfelt kudos greetings to our two new principals: Glenda "Hong Hong" Sy Cabilan (Chinese Department) and Christine Veronica "Jing" Uy (English Department). More power to both of you.
--Henry L. Yu, M.D. (Batch '69), Cebu, Philippines; email: hvty@skyinet.net

Congratulations to Ma'am Jing and Siansi Hong-Hong on their promotions as the new principals. Their huge contributions to the Alma Mater are sure testaments that they are more than deserving of their new positions. I'm sure the new administration will usher in a new era of greater academic excellence and glory for the school. Jiayou!
--Guan Keming (Batch 2006), Cebu, Philippines; email: jimeidaxue2004@yahoo.com

Laws of life
Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:20:59 -0600

Here are some important laws that Isaac Newton forgot to state: Law of Queue -- If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now. Law of Mechanical Repair -- After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch. Law of the Workshop -- Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner. Law of the Alibi -- If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire. Bath Theorem -- When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings. Law of Encounters -- The probability of meeting someone you kknow increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with. Law of the Result -- When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will. Law of Biomechanics -- The severity of the itch is inversely prroportional to the reach.
--Peter Dy (Batch '66), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, email: pdy50ca@yahoo.com

Parable of the pig & the cow
Sat, 21 July 2007 10:39:52

The pig was unpopular while the cow was beloved.  This puzzled the pig.  The pig complained to the cow, "People speak warmly of your gentle nature and your sorrowful eyes.  They think you're generous because each day you give them milk and cream.  But what about me?  I give them everything I have.  I give them bacon, ham, etc. I give my all."  To which the cow replied, "It's not what you give when you are dead; it's about what you give while you are still alive."
--Susan Lim-De la Cruz, Iloilo, Philippines; email: iko1031@hotmail.com

LCHS SPECTRUM ...

Making waves from coast to coast, to bring our alumni closer from shore to shore.
Visit our website: www.oocities.org/lchsspectrum

RETRACING FAMILY ROOTS. Santi Ong (Batch '70), in photo hereunder, arrived home in Iligan last July 31 after a week-long sojourn in Kinmen where he retraced his family roots and rekindled ties with his folks in Taiwan and Kinmen. Santi's escapade, which commenced last July 23, included a couple of days in Taipeh before crossing over to Kinmen to visit his relatives.  Among the many places in Kinmen that Santi visited were Aupo, the birth place of his mother, and their ancestral home in Kuningtou. The county of Kuningtou (communal village of the Dy clan) is a major tourist attraction today due largely to its role in the battle between the Chinese Communist forces and the Nationalist army.  Kuningtou was the scene of the 56-hour bloodbath that began when Communist troops landed on the shore which ended in victory for the Nationalist forces. A memorial tablet on the coast commemorates the battle, and the battlefield's entrance, built in the form of a Chinese city gate, is topped by a bronze statue of a heroic soldier. While in Kinmen, Santi's relatives treated him to a feast of renowned Kinmen delicacies, such as oyster omelet, peanut cake, Kinmen noodles, and many other traditional Fujian foods. Santi also savored the famous Kinmen confectionery, the Kong Tang (peanut cake). Kong Tang is made of fried and ground peanuts mixed with melted sugar malt. Visitors to Kinmen never fail to bring home this Kong Tang delicacy as pasalubong item.

Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69

Flashback: 1974. Thirty-three years ago. That year saw me feeling ecstatic and excited to be accepted at the Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM) for my medicine proper. My maiden voyage to the medical world started that Monday morning, the 3rd of June, 1974. It was my first day of classes as a first year medical student, feeling proud, eclectically anxious yet excited and thrilled to the bone. We were divided into two sections (A and B), with each section comprising a hundred, alphabetically arranged.

1974-1978. Four solid years of "living together, growing together" under the sheltering roof of CIM, a place I called home, where I toiled amidst sunshine and rain, enjoying the seasons for so many reasons, people I've been with, places I've been to, all these I remember like a song's sweet refrain.

I was still a resident of Iligan that time. So I have to commute from Cebu-Iligan-Cebu during vacation times via M/V Elena, our maritime vessel partner in those years. Being a medical student in the '70s was a bit different from being one today. For one, we didn't have the hitech gadgets and amenities that the students of this Y2K generation have (computer, internet/email, cellphone, xerox, DVD, LCD, laptop, power point, white board, etc.). Ours was the didactic, theirs is Problem-Based Learning methodology (PBL). Malling was not the IN thing then. No internet cafe, resto bars, virtual library, convenience store, drive thru, digital, remote control, satellite, etc. Ours was plain and simple. You don't see us loitter around Robinson's Place during break times or walk a mile to eat lunch or snack at the Fuente/Osmena Blvd area (Pizza Hut, Shakey's, McDo, Jollibee, Greenwich, KFC, Red Ribbon, or the nearby Casa Verde, Ahong's, Jo's Chicken, etc.).

During our time in the '70s, it was Black Princess, Angelica, Ric's Barbecue, La Pampangueña, Beehive, Dairy King, Shamrock, Lawiswis Kawayan, Moonwalk, Foodarama, Town & Country, Country fair, Tropical Hut, Thrifty Mart, Rosita's Fuente, White Clouds, Rajah Hotel, Fuji Tea House, Pine Hurst, Malborough Folk House, El Tesoro, After Six, Southern Flame, Skyview, Osvel's Bowling, Cavan's, Chiquito Bazar, Paulino's, Sen Hiap Hing, White Gold, Gaw Fashion Square, Plaza Fair, Happy Emporium, Manila Restaurant, Snow Sheen, Majestic Colon, Ding How, International Rice House, Biema, Umerco, Mantaring, Plaza Independencia, Ultravistarama, Victor, Vision, Eden, Queen's Mini, Seven Arts, Rizal, Oriente, Mever, President, Premier, Majestic, etc.

Looking back, where have all those years gone? Who were the people that were part of our medical life? What were the things we did? The songs, the dances, the movies? All these and many more, we'll remember always for as long as we live.

Igdono U. Caracho, Batch '66