Alphans earned top places during the First UP Law Dean’s Cup Triathlon last August 30.

Brod Mark Anthony “Marko” Samson ’93 was first in the Alumni Category while Brod Timothy Joseph “TJ” Isla ’99 finished seventh over-all and first in the Fraternity Category. Brod Rafael Guillermo ’06 placed second over-all.

Resident and alumni brods also participated in the relay race and fun run around the UP Diliman campus.

The Dean’s Cup Invitational Triathlon and Fun Run with the theme “Swim, Bike, Run for Peace Based on Justice” was organized to raise funds for the Office of Legal Aid (OLA). The OLA “houses the clinical education program of the College of Law.” Funding for OLA is crucial since providing “free legal assistance to indigent litigants” has become too costly. Students taking their internship here have been forced to shell out their own money for processing documents and transportation during the course of the program.

Also, the Dean’s Cup was an opportunity for the three biggest fraternities in the College to work together for the event as co-presentors together with the UP Law Class of 1984 and the Law Student Government.

With the success of the First Dean’s Cup, the Fraternity together with the UP Law community looks forward to next year’s festivities.

Two Alphans were selected as editors of the Philippine Law Journal and the Ateneo Law Journal.

Ricky “Ras” Sabornay ’08 placed third in the competitive examination of the Philippine Law Journal (PLJ) editorial board. Oscar Carlo “Caloy” Cajucom ’05 was also selected as an editor of the Ateneo Law Journal.

The PLJ is the leading scholarly journal of the legal profession in the country, which publishes legal articles and essays written by justices of the Supreme Court, leading practitioners in the field, and international scholars. The PLJ is based in the UP College of Law and is being managed by a select group of eight (8) law student editors chosen and ranked after an exam consisting of two on-the-spot essay exams and the writing of a legal article.

Meanwhile, the Ateneo Law Journal, founded in 1951, began as a journal published bi-monthly representing the collaborative effort of Ateneo de Manila student editors and staffers guided by faculty advisers. It features articles of legal interest, the latest legislation, case law, and book reviews, as well as selected theses of the graduating batch.

Ras is also a member of the Order of the Purple Feather, the honor society of the College of Law . Incidentally, Caloy belongs to the upper three percent of his class at the Ateneo.

Their accomplishments reaffirm the Alphan tradition of service and excellence to the institutions that exert tremendous influence in the reshaping of contemporary legal debates in the country.

The Brods offered flowers and songs in memory of Brod Alex, a scholar-leader taken too early. The Alpha Phi Beta continues to mourn his loss and has learned from this dark period in the Fraternity’s history. May Brod Alex’s memory and legacy live on.

Resident Brods visited the tomb of the late Brod Alex Icasiano ’98 at Heaven’s Gate Memorial Park, Antipolo to commemorate his 11^th death anniversary last August 16.

And who would beg to differ? After all, Lord Chancellor Sen. Francis Joseph G. Escudero possesses the intelligence, wit, and sincere desire to reach out to people of different walks of life—a likable man indeed. The event was in itself a celebration of a man whom many admire and put their hopes on to bring about a much-needed change in the country. It was also a way of introducing LC Chiz to his supporters as AVPs of his personal and family background were shown and testimonials about him were given.

Resident and alumni brods joined childhood friends, classmates from preschool to Law school, associates, student organizations, and ordinary people, as the Friends of Chiz, Inc., a growing network of supporters from all over the country who “believe that the idealism and visionary leadership of the youth is a most powerful force for meaningful change,…in principle leadership,… (and) in the imperative for change…in the future of our politics.”

The organization is led by Brods Rogelio D. Garcia ’55 as Chairman, Ramon S. Esguerra ’75 as President, Anthony T. Dogillo ’55 as Treasurer, and Pablito M. Rojas ’55 as Corporate Secretary. Brods Novato T. Cajigal ‘54, Hermenigildo C. Dumlao ‘54, Hesiquio R. Malillin ‘73, Rolando M. Rivera ’53, Eduardo R. Robles ‘66, Conrado D. Soriano ‘72, and Henry R. Villarica ‘66 are also members of the Board of Directors.

LC Chiz Revealed

LC Chiz was born on October 10, 1969 in Manila to former Agriculture Sec. Salvador Escudero III and Evelina Guevara. He grew up at Project 6, Quezon City and lived there for 28 years.

The University of the Philippines became his second home from elementary to high school (graduated 1985) to his undergrad years (AB Political Science) to Law School (graduated 1993). At UP Law, he became Secretary General of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines and a member of the Order of the Purple Feather.

While at Law School, LC Chiz joined the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity in 1990. The following year, he represented the Fraternity at the UP Open Debate where he clinched his very first victory as a debater. From here on out, his potent talent in public speaking and debate was tapped and developed. “But I didn’t have the gift; I was forced into public speaking by the Fraternity,” said LC Chiz in an interview with Manifesto Magazine.

After graduating from UP Law, he went on to earn his Masters in International and Comparative Law as a scholar from the prestigious Georgetown University Law Center in the United States. He then became a junior associate, a legal consultant, and senior Law lecturer at UP, Ateneo de Manila University and Aemilianum College in Sorsogon.

At 28, he became Representative of the First District of Sorsogon. The following year, he married theater actress Christine Elizabeth Flores. From the very start of their marriage, LC Chiz wanted to point out that public service was the kind of world they as a couple would be involved in.

During his second term in the House of Representatives, he became Majority Floor Leader and then became the official spokesperson of the late Fernando Poe Jr. during the 2004 elections. He continued to serve his final term as the Minority Floor Leader.

Three years later, at 37, he became Senator with the second highest number of votes. He is currently Chair of the Committees on Justice and Human Rights, Constitutional Amendments, Banks and Finance Intermediaries, and Revisions of Laws and Electoral Reforms. It was also in the same year when he became proud father to fraternal twins Maria Cecilia and Joaquin Cruz.

To add to his long list of achievements, LC Chiz has been conferred as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 2005. He also became the only Filipino named as one of Asia’s Idols by the Asian News Network. He was also recognized as one of the Young Global Leaders of 2008 by the World Economic Forum.

Dreaming Big

LC Chiz did not fail to inspire those in attendance to dream big. Dispelling rumors that he aims to run for Vice-President in the upcoming elections, LC Chiz said, “(L)ibre ang mangarap…at kung mangangarap ka man lamang, (mangarap ka nang malaki).”

Rebutting critics that point to his age as his weakness, LC Chiz said that he fears growing old into politics. He points out the notion that the longer one stays in politics, the “longer one’s horns grow.”

He also displayed the wit and humor he has become known for. Pointing out the significance of the Alpha Phi Beta in his life, he said, “Dalawang dahilan kung bakit ‘Brod’ ang tawagan…Brod dahil kapatid ang turing—parehong pinanggalingan, iisang organisasyong kinabibilangan…at Brod dahil hindi alam ang pangalan.”

As for his family, he hopes to move in a new home where his kids could play in the grass. “Narinig ko may garden daw sa Malacañang,” he said.

Kidding aside, all eyes are now set on Lord Chancellor Sen. Francis G. Escudero.  The road ahead may be filled with all sorts of obstacles from different sides. But LC Chiz can be assured that with friends like his and the Fraternity always by his side, his dream to bring change to the country will one day be a reality.

These were some of the kids the resident brods met at the Nayon ng Kabataan in Mandaluyong City last April 25. As part of its 70^th Anniversary celebrations, the Fraternity in coordination with the Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, hosted talks that aimed to instill the values of honesty and following the law to the youth. The talks in part aimed to fulfill Brod Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno’s (’59) program of partnering with other organizations in order to give back to the community through service outside the confines of work. For April and May, the Office of the Supreme Court would advocate for children’s rights and law.

The Nayon served as the most suitable location since the children living there are being rehabilitated before reintegration to their families and society. Many of the children there have had a brush with the law themselves. Some of the children came from communities where violence and crime are rampant. Others are awaiting resolution for their custody case.

For that morning, the brods became kuyas to those kids as they interacted with them. Many of the kids suffer from homesickness as relatives rarely visit them or are not allowed to do so at all. Most, if not all, bear with their boredom from the monotony of daily routine. Others do not want to live there at all, and have tried to escape or commit suicide. The brods also got to know more about the Nayon itself and see its current condition. The facades of the cottages are brightly colored yet the insides lack adequate facilities to make it more conducive for the children. The compound is surrounded by informal settlers so going to school can be risky for the kids. Indeed, it was an eye-opener for the brods. Moreover, it strengthened the commitment of the Fraternity in providing service to the people.

“I hope that the brods did learn to appreciate doing what we did. Even if we’re done, (I hope) we would be able to continue it,” said Brod Jed M. Eva III ’94 from the Public Information Office of the Supreme Court.

The kids continue to live together as a community, under the watchful eyes and care of the house parents and social workers. As they carry on rebuilding their lives, they equip themselves with the knowledge that through the law, which brought them away from the cruel lives they once lived in, they can continue to help make their lives and that of others better.

]]> http://residents.alphaphibeta.org/2009/06/24/law-for-kids-alphans-reach-out-to-the-nayon-ng-kabataan/feed/ 0 http://residents.alphaphibeta.org/2009/06/24/alphans-of-the-2000s-honored-at-ortigas-fellowship/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=alphans-of-the-2000s-honored-at-ortigas-fellowship http://residents.alphaphibeta.org/2009/06/24/alphans-of-the-2000s-honored-at-ortigas-fellowship/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:30:09 +0000 gerwin2008 http://residents.alphaphibeta.org/?p=165 Alphan brotherhood and excellence have withstood the test of time. In the 70 years since its establishment, the Alpha Phi Beta has produced men of distinction who have left a mark in society. This holds true even for the younger generation of Alphans. Youth does not hinder them to be the best in their field. And so as part of its 70^th Anniversary Celebration, the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity held a Metro Manila Fellowship and Recognition Night for the batches from 2000-2009 last April 29 at the McKinley Hill Information Center at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Four Brothers Exemplar were selected to represent the 2000s. They are:  Brod Hans Christian Maaño Señeres 2000, Brod Arveen Napili Agunday 2002, Brod Archimedes Bardolaza Gonzalez 2002, and Brod Carlo Urriza Olivar 2004.

BUHAY Party List Representative and Vice Chair for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Brod Christian Señeres was born on March 3, 1976 in Makati. He spent most of his childhood here in the Philippines before his family moved to the United Arab Emirates in 1985. In 1990, he entered the South Lakes High School in Virginia, USA, where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class and was consistently in the honor roll for eleven semesters. It was also there where he received the 1992 Science Exposition Silver Ribbon, the Certificate of Merit from the Spanish Honor Society and the President’s Award for Educational Excellence from President Bill Clinton and became a member of the National Business Honor Society and the Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society. In 1995, he was inducted into the Order of the Hook of the United States Navy aboard its flagship, the USS Independence. He pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Management from Southeastern University in Washington, DC where he graduated magna cum laude in 1998. He also became a member of the International Institute of Certified Financial Planners and was employed by the PRC Corporation in Reston, Virginia and American Legal Systems in Herndon, Virginia. He then entered the University of the Philippines College of Law and joined the Fraternity. As an Alphan, he organized the Nationalist Leadership Council, composed of members of various fraternities and sororities in the UP, Ateneo de Manila University and the San Beda College of Law. He then finished his studies in the Northwestern School of Law where he earned his Juris Doctor degree. For his “firm and clear stand for the fundamental truths upon which our Constitution is anchored,” he was conferred Blessed Pedro Calungsod Pro-Vita Medal by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal in 2004 and a Plaque of Appreciation from Human Life International “in recognition of his uncompromising and unrelenting advocacy in Congress for the protection of the rights of the unborn, of authentic rights of the family, and for his fidelity to the public trust and the demands of Christian citizenship.” He has also become one of the most supportive Brods and has served as the Chancery’s Director for Resident Brods’ Affairs.

Brod Arveen Agunday was born on October 16, 1980 in Guinobatan, Albay. He graduated AB Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University and entered UP Law in 2001. He was elected as the Law Representative to the University Student Council from 2003-2004 and became the Chair of its Student Legal Aid and Action Committee. He was also a champion debater and brought home the bacon in the 2003 Pi Sigma Open Debate Championship. The next year, he became President of the UP Law Debate Union. He passed the 2006 Bar Examinations and is now an associate in Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon and San Jose where his practice areas include Litigation, Labor Law and Corporate Law.

FLC Archimedes Gonzalez graduated cum laude from the University of Sto. Tomas with a degree in Legal Management. In his first two years in the College of Law, he worked as a Graduate Assistant and Staff Writer in the Internet and Society Program of the UP Law Center while being in the top twenty of his class. During the same period, he also worked as a research assistant to retired Justice Vicente V. Mendoza and Prof. Ma. Lourdes Sereno of the UP College of Law. Since 2004, he has been working full time as the Chief Finance Officer/ Legal Staff Member of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. He was elected Law Representative to the USC and Secretary of the UP Law Debate Union in 2005. The following year, he became Lord Chancellor. His term saw the successful holding of the Alphan National Convention and a 100% passing rate of Brods who took the Bar Examinations. He was also an excellent debater. He concurrently served as President of both the Thomasian Debaters’ Council (varsity debate organization of UST) and the UST Legal Management Society. He also won various awards which include: Champion, UP College of Law Dean’s Cup Debate Tournament (2002); Champion, Crossfire Debate Competition (2002); Champion and Best Debater of the Year, 3rd ORALS British Parliamentary Debate Competition; Best Debater, Alpha Phi Beta vs. Aquila Legis Debate Exposition (2003); 2-Time Winner in the NBN Sigaw ng Kabataan Debate Series; Finalist, 3rd National Debate Championships; Quarterfinalist, 9th All Asians Inter-Varsity Debate Championship. FLC Archie recently passed the 2008 Bar.

FLC Carlo Olivar earned his BS Accountancy degree from UST where he served as President (2002-2003) and Treasurer (2000-2002) of the Thomasian Debaters Council. He was also a member of the Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (JPIA). In 2002, he was a finalist in the Procter & Gamble Student Excellence Awards. In the UP College of Law, FLC Carlo excelled as a student leader and served the Class President of Block A 2008 from 2004 – 2006. He was the Finance Team Leader of the UP Law Student Government (LSG) Bar Operations 2005. He also worked under Brod Antonio R. Bautista as a Legal Research Assistant. He was also a top notch debater. He was a member of the UP Law Debate Union and a finalist in the Pi Sigma Debate Championships of 2004. He also participated in various competitions such as the 3^rd, 4^th and 6^th National Debate Championships, the 6^th and 8^th All-Asians Inter-Varsity Debate, the 2^nd Inquirer Intercollegiate Debating Championship as an adjudicator or as one of the finalists.

The night was a fitting a tribute to the Exemplars and a reminder that Alphan, no matter the age, are always called for greatness.

From the different proposals sent from all over the country, Brod Rab landed in the Top 24 and from there was included in the Top 12; after which, he began designing the project in late May. His project, a software for mobile phones designed to determine the amount of money spent from the electricity consumed by appliances switched on for long periods, is set to be completed by early June. As a BYEE, he aims to raise awareness on the amount of energy consumed daily and calls for energy conservation. He says that the software would serve as a tool so that people would become more conscious of their energy usage. In this regard, he plans to launch an awareness campaign in the different UP dormitories and introduce his software to the dormers. He also plans to hold a competition among the dormitories to see which dorm could save the most energy. From there, he hopes that his invention would be used in more households.

Brod Rab conceived the idea for his software by accident. , He and housemate Brod Kiko de Guzman 2005 went home one day to find their electricity cut because the owner wouldn’t pay for their bill due to the huge consumption in electricity. Both Brods wondered if there could be a way for them to find out how much they spent from the all the appliances they left on. A similar software was found in the Meralco website but it was Brod Rab who thought of putting the application in mobile phones so that consumers, especially those who dorm or board, could access it more conveniently.

On September, the finalists will be shortlisted further to four and these participants will be sent to Germany as the country’s representatives to the weeklong all-expense paid study trip there. Seventeen other countries will also be sending their envoys to this event.

At a time when caring for the environment has taken a backseat in our priorities, young innovators like Brod Rab shine as beacons of hope for a cleaner, safer, and greener future. As such, the Alpha Phi Beta will be there to support him and help him make his dream a reality.

Thus Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno summarized the Philippine reality of the law serving more the interests of those who are in power, rather than those who most need them.

In his talk given during the 1st Alphan Lecture Series on 27 February 2009, the Chief Justice reiterated the need to make the law responsive to the needs of the poor and marginalized. “Unless they find law a friend, they will later treat law as their enemy. They will resist law if all they experience is its lawlessness.”

The Lecture, attended by students, professors, and people’s organizations from different marginalized sectors – informal settlers, women, fishers, and farmers – emphasized on the need to empower the poor by using the law as a tool to gain access to democratic institutions and processes.

“The four pillars of legal empowerment of the poor are acquisition of property rights, business rights, labor rights, and access to justice. These will enable the poor to fight for equality and help them gain significance in society,” the Chief Justice said.

He, however, underscored that legal empowerment must not be equated to ‘charity’ to the poor. “Legal empowerment is about endowing the poor with rights, arming them with the tools to enforce these rights in our judicial system.”

In sponsoring the Lecture together with the Economic, Social, Cultural Rights – Asia, and the Alternative Law Groups, the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity highlighted the responsibility of law students to become ‘Abogado para sa bayan [lawyers for the nation]’ after they graduate and pass the bar exams.

The Alphan Lecture Series on the Emancipation from Poverty through Legal Empowerment is the first in a series of talks to be given by eminent Alphans in celebration of the Fraternity’s 70th Anniversary. ##

From GMANews.tv –

This Monday on I-Witness: a true tale of two frats, two victims, two mothers…

During the four Sundays of September, along festive Taft Avenue, thousands have taken the bar exams to become lawyers and future leaders of the country.

Hazing victim Cris Mendez had dreamt of going to law school and someday passing the bar. Instead, he was buried on the first day of the bar exams.

In the intense month of taking the bar and soul-searching over Cris’s death, I-Witness’ Howie Severino explores UP Law, the nation’s leading law school — now known for fraternities that produce both leaders and killers.

Unable to find the suspected fraternity, Sigma Rho, Howie spends time instead with the frat’s archrival, Alpha Phi Beta. Some of the APB brods were convicted for the 1998 hazing death of Alex Icasiano and spent up to two years in prison. One brod talks movingly about the stigma of being an ex-convict in law school.

Was there justice? Could this be a road map for Sigma Rho? Howie asks the mother of Icasiano, the APB neophyte who died. She describes the hard path to the conviction and ultimately forgiveness, and her relationship with the frat today — which counts two Supreme Court justices and rising stalwart, Senator Chiz Escudero, in addition to her son among its proud roster of brods.

In a moving scene of the documentary, Mrs. Icasiano meets Cris Mendez’ mother for the first time to offer her condolences. Howie for his part finally comes face to face with Sigma Rho brods and is surprised by the kind of men he meets.

It gives him hope that Sigma Rho will eventually choose to do the right thing.

Watch this I-Witness documentary by Howie Severino on Monday late night after Saksi on GMA.”

Series 1