This is my High School group pictures: Founding of our beloved University of the Philippines IN 1908

The University of the Philippines was established in 1908 as the American University of the Philippines by an act of the First Philippine Legislature Act No. 1870, otherwise known as the University Charter, specified the function of the University, which is to provide advanced instruction in literature, philosophy, the sciences, and arts, and to give professional and technical training.UP Prep was a unique high school created in 1954, when the UP Board of Regents authorized then UP President Vidal Tan to open a first class high school in Manila. The school’s high standard curriculum was designed for secondary school graduates with the aptitudes and intellectual talents for university level education. The faculty was carefully selected for these advanced subjects. Only by passing a battery of rigorous examinations could a student get in, and once accepted, he or she had to hurdle to pass each of the four tough years of the highest standard of education ever given to high school students in the Philippines before one could graduate. In 1973, after graduating 20 classes — comprised altogether of 1500 graduates — UP Prep was merged with UP High School to later become what is now known as UP Integrated High School.

For me,  U.P. Prep High, was another passage to adulthood. I was exposed early to student politics and activism, when a strike by college seniors closed classes in 1957 and sent us home for a week during my yearling year. I was puzzled why the strike, but it was a transition of presidency of the University, and there was no sitting president. 

Later, I learned more about classmates from the best among the best, chosen from different walks of life. You apply yourself to a diverse bunch of kids, invariably they were not from the same parish, like back in the elementary. My little world  expanded by the distant location (two jeepney rides) of Padre Faura. Fascination in the field of Sciences and Mathematics from Liberal mentors instead of  Religion gave me a glimpse of my future career. Disallowed text by the catholic church, accessed freely in High School, and devoured voraciously, led to the knowledge of my heritage, and our true history. My sensibility changed and it became more acute in the unequal treatment of less influential classmates by superiors. 

RIZAL HALL: My High School: UP Prep was a unique high school created in 1954, when the UP Board of Regents authorized then UP President Vidal Tan to open a first class high school in Manila. The school’s high standard curriculum was designed for secondary school graduates with the aptitudes and intellectual talents for university level education. The faculty was carefully selected for these advanced subjects. Only by passing a battery of rigorous examinations could a student get in, and once accepted, he or she had to hurdle to pass each of the four tough years of the highest standard of education ever given to high school students in the Philippines before one could graduate. In 1973, after graduating 20 classes — comprised altogether of 1500 graduates — UP Prep was merged with UP High School to later become what is now known as UP Integrated High School.

Our UP Diliman Campus early 1960

In 1939, the Board of Regents acquired a 493-hectare land in the Diliman District of the newly established Quezon City. Construction began on the area on the same year. The development of the area was then stalled by World War II, with invading Japanese troops occupying some of the buildings built. By 1942, the university was forced to close down some of its colleges, with only the Colleges of Medicine, Engineering, and Pharmacy maintaining their operations.

When the war ended in 1945, the buildings intended to be the homes of the College of Law and the College of Liberal Arts were left with extensive damages. The university administration led by UP President Bienvenido Gonzales sought a grant worth P13 million from the US-Philippines War Damage Commission to restore the damaged facilities and to construct new ones so that the transfer of the university from Manila to Diliman could be pushed through. Through a symbolic ceremony of transferring the Oblation from Manila to Diliman, the whole university's administration was relocated to the new campus. New buildings were constructed in response to the creation of more academic degrees.


Organization of the newly established institutes and the reformulation of programs followed with the establishment of programs such as the General Education Program, a delegated roster of core courses required to be taken by all students at the undergraduate level. Under the presidency of UP President Vicente Sinco, a University College was made to address the need of a much-organized college structure. The College of Arts and Sciences was created to offer major subjects in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Thank you Cap and Helen for hosting our little mini once again.  Thank you for the sumptuous meal, the take home goodies and excellent company. Thank you Alex and Marissa for the wonderful gifts, excellent company and the delightful music.  Marissa, our twins were especially enamoured with your piano renditions. We missed you Augie and Violet.  Hope nothing serious caused you not to show up. We really had a most enjoyable evening. Salamat RC & Dudi

A poignant oblation photo. My interpretation of my last look and parting with "UPPHS". "Paalam" Prep High.

My political ideology agrees with the student activism during the Marcos administration. This is one reason why I left the Philippines, long before Martial Law. UP Diliman became the bastion of activism in the 1960s and 1970s, with various tumultuous events eventually contributing to the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. In this period, UP Diliman became a center of dissent towards the Marcos' administration. The year 1971 marked an important event in the Philippine history when the entire Diliman campus was declared the Diliman Commune, and became free from government control. Students and faculty members took over the campus in response to increasing military presence and the increase of oil prices. The students established full control of the campus for a month, barricading the streets with chairs and tables.

A Country, A Race, A Nation 

Hosts to heroes long since departed, 

Mark the revolutions. 

The governments, who left dry tokens 

Of their sojourn here 

On the pearl of the Orient Seas, 

Any broad alarm of the hastening doom 

Is lost in the gloom of crimes against its people. 

But today, the Country cries out to us, clearly, forcefully, 

Come, you may stand upon my 

Back and face your distant destiny, 

But seek no haven in my shadow. 

I will give you no retiring place up here. 

You, created only a little lower than 

The guardians, have crouched too long in 

The bruising darkness, 

Have lain too long, Face down in feudal ignorance. 

Your minds spelling rancor 

Armed for slaughter. 

The country cries out today, you may stand by me, 

But don't hide behind false constitution. 

Across the hall of nations, 

A poor people cries for justice, 

Come rest here by my side.................ASC 

Reaching my destination in San Francisco, my dreams of more liberation of my ideology and thoughts were fulfilled. But we wanted more, to see life without violence, unlike the country I left. We wanted media that contained truth. Some of us risked our lives to find out what the government was doing and let the underground press know. We wanted to talk about things in print that we were not allowed to discuss in our culture of origin. We wanted to live without stupid, arbitrary rules, either for ourselves or for our children. Some of our children, as adults today, say they wish we had been more protective of them, or offered more structure.It was a moment in history when a mushroom explosion of consciousness began altering the life force. Through that explosion, we broke down the prison walls of "intellect as the ultimate". We focused on the heart, and by doing so, reopened our cookie jar of possibilities·politically, socially, sexually and spiritually. The effects of that explosion have permeated our culture. We, as a generation, have a responsibility to see that the 60's are remembered in the context in which they unfolded."

Looking up Powell St. from Market St. The canteen at Woolworth on your right, served me well at lunch. During my job search, the hills of San Francisco was a hindrance. I think my overdeveloped legs were the outcome of the constant walking in SF. The Filipino community has grown remarkably since World War II and has spread to all areas of the city, especially the South of Market area. The affluent Castro district (technically Eureka Valley near Twin Peaks) has attracted gays and lesbians from throughout the country, becoming perhaps the most famous gay neighbourhood in the world. Its streets are adorned with elegantly restored Victorian homes and landmarks highlighting significant dates in the struggle for gay rights. It is said that no local politician can win an election without the gay community's vote. Dropping down California St. Fabled hills, were the scourge of the handicap, nowhere in any city but San Francisco, where wheel chairs are absent...my own observation. I remember there were so many people coming in for the Peace March, we wondered around listening to the sounds of the bands warming up at the Union Square. The guitars faded in and out like the morning fog that drifted in and out on the breeze off the bay. Again, there was the thick smell of incense and marijuana, but there was something else in the atmosphere as well: the air was glowing electric with excitement and anticipation. Everyone felt that we were about to be part of something really big.

The girls of St. Theresa, the innocence of the young ladies above, untouched by the sixties youth revolution remained in my mind. Why someday, one of them will be my partner in life.

So much legend has been woven around the Sixties that it is very hard to see them for what they were, especially the ideas that sparked the Youth Revolution. It was a time when it was really something to be young.' I should mention that many of us whose youth had been pinched by post-war austerity did our best to have another one by joining the party.Sex, drugs and rock & roll are the staple ingredients of the legendary Permissive Society "That sense of freedom had a place and I don't think you can blame the Sixties for what we are like nowadays. "I think that is an excuse for the way things are now and you can't make excuses."Some things may have got out of hand, but it was a time when people became more liberated."It is not true to say it was a time of hedonism. It is excessive to say that."We were obvioulsy involved in photography and we had some innovative people working for us and we had ideas. The Sixties had a lot to offer." Muse APO DELTA 1966 Dewey Blvd below: The jetty potruding to Manila Bay is the future Cultural Center, on the other side of Dewey is the Manila Naval Station (MNS) where we lived from 1965 to 1966. the headquarters of the Philippine Navy was relegated to a small block of land south of the Manila Yacht Club. The original plan was to reclaim the site of the cultural center(CC) to replace the location of the MNS by the Central Bank. Imelda Marcos, saw this valuable real state and confiscated the plan for her project the now CC. The yacht club remained, the Navy base (MNS) was transferred to Fort Bonifacio.

RIP NICK PELAEZ MY DEAR FRIEND

University of the Philippines Prep Class'61....sitting from left Doddie, M.D.,PhD, Nilda, Assoc.Principal Scientist

standing...Babes, Paul,ret.

Don't know if you remember me. Nilda 

Fulgencio. I enjoy reading your e-mails and I

couldn't help but feel the longing you feel for

our country while singning the song. You see I

have not gone home since 1972. Anyway, I

have suddenly been reading more about you 

from the MIT CHECHEM website and this.

Keep communicating and regards to you and

the family

Nilds.

RENE HERBOSA

Trivia: The places to go to for lunch were:

1. Cherry Pink on Taft Ave.

    Patronized  mainly by girls. Sosyal.

2. Green Valley, adjacent to Rizal Hall.

    Only Prep boys go there...to eat and smoke.

    For P.40, you get rice, beef steak. For p .10 more, you get Coke.

3. Rizal Hall canteen. Pag-aari nina Auring, George, and siblings.

    Helper,s name: Agustin. Nakaaway yata ni RC.

    Here you have choices of rice meals, palabok, sandwiches.

4. Justice Canteen. Behind the Dept. of Foreign Affairs.

    This is the place where you want to be seen dining. Minimum cost of lunch

    is P.60. The place is really for DOJ  officials and justices; patrons smoke blue 

    seal  Chesterfields or Salems. It's best to be there on a Monday, when your

    allowance for the week is still intact.

After lunch, you can buy santol or hilaw na mangga con bagoong  at the driveway entrance to Rizal Hall. That's where I first saw Nora Borja, then third year, and crush ng bayan.  The late Eulogio Tablante, Babe Acevedo's brother in law( elder brother ni Eva) was the James Dean of UP Prep. The Fourth year gangs were Cronvar and Dixie; Noel Alejo, Oyen Alejo, Rudy Gumba, Jun Gregorio, Rene Santiago+, Nides Belgado, Cesar Ledda, Taddy Palma, Silvino Guzman, and Ed Coronel were Cronvar. Jojo Binay, Angel Reano, Vic Guiang, Rey Aguilar, and others whose names I can't recall at the moment were Dixie.

RIP NESTOR RIVADELO

CARMELO MADRID

Carmelo is not a relative, not even a distant one, although he shares my Madrid relatives' wry sense of humor. To wit: While walking down Escolta Carmelo blurted that the man we just passed by was a hypocrite. When I asked how he knew. He said the man snarled when he tried to "hipo" his car! Also, he figured the man walking ahead of us at Padre Faura was
good at short hand. Kasi daw maigsi yong kanang kamay!I am sure the Korean Airline crew he fies with are getting a dose of the Madrid humor!

Summer is a slow period for getting piano gigs, like once a month instead of the every other weekend during the fall and winter. My latest was at a cocktail hosted by the president of a local bank at his Chapaqua mansion, two blocks away from the Clintons. My eyes bulged when they showed me the piano - it was an 1890 Bosendorfer! Maski Chopstick maganda ang tunog sa Bosendorfer. 

Am sure you are enjoying retirement, like most of our batchmates who opted for the same thing!

Doddie

Hi Pol,

Basta salamat sa mga San Pedro, kasama na si Honorio at Edgar. Saw Q's email sa UP APO loop namin... bilin sa aming kabatch Cesar "Karias" Frias (also here in Ontario), alagaan daw ako dahil 5 na ang SLN sa aming batch. Namely: (1) Jay Pecache (2) Jose Sason (3) Dr. Joel Ganaban (4) Rellie Cifra (5) Boni Tamayo.

Ooops!... ayoko pang maging # 6. Ok lang ang #17 dahil 17 kami sa batch namin, hehehe Alam mo bang kabatch ko sina Pong Villareal, Q Pastrana, Deo Reyes, Honorio San Pedro, Cesar Pascual, Boy TanGatue, Joe Espiritu; Angie Tonson, Cesar Frias, Vivo Vidal, Emac Macapagal.

Our Frat had a Memorial Day for our departed brods last August 9, 2008, Sat, UP Chapel, 10am. In-charge sina Jojo Binay at Tom Banguis.

81 na pala ang nauna since 1951, kasama ang ating Prep teacher na si Guillermo Lazaro (founding member). Marami sa mga nauna na ay kilala mo, Pol.

Doddie Bautista

Gerry Bautista

Manny Bustamante

Vic Calulut

Nanding Casanova

Rellie Cifra

Manny (Duck) Clamor

Boy Dalao

Walter del Rosario - Prepian

Bobby Galias - our GC when I joined APO

Dr. Joel Ganaban

Elpi Pada

Ed Pastoral

Florendo Rabago - UP Faculty

Guillermo Lazaro - UP Faculty

Ben Roa - Prepian (elder brother ni Boots ) (husband ni Nora Borja - Prepian)

Jose Sason - Prepian

Jay Pecache - Prepian

Omar Sayoc

Dr. Art Taca

Boni Tamayo

Tristan Villareal - husband of Marlene Clemente ( Marlene, also a Prepian, sister of our Prep teacher Ms. Clemente)

Ernie Vizconde - younger brother ni Its

Dear Ping,

16 sa listahan mo ang kakilala ko. I didn't realize na si Relly ""Ciper" Cifra at si Walter del Rosario ay sumakabilang buhay na. I used to play chess with Relly sa Vinzons...lagi siyang panalo. Art Taca was easygoing, anak ng Director ng Manila Zoo. Dodie was black belter sa Judo; worked at United Labs. That's how we met again after college. I was with Richardson-Merrell. Di ba sina Yani at Jun Veron Cruz and kabatch mo sana...pero nagpa-defer ka dahil inatake ka ng asthma during a session?

Alam mo, nasaang landas kaya ang Pilipinas ngayon kung sina Jesus Lava ay nabigyan ng pagkakataong mamuno? Nasilip mo ba kung ano ang kasulatan na lumabas sa makinilya? 1959...aba may muwang na tayo noon. Naituro na ni Mrs. Rosario Cortes sa atin ang kasaysayan ng Pilipinas noon. Isa si M'am sa mga naunang gumamit ng mga kasulatan ni Dr. Agoncillo sa pagtuturo ng Kasaysayan.

Ping, di ko na alam contactin si Ed Labadia. Kay Maggie ko tanungin? Baka magalit si Higgy.

O, ingat. 40 pounds ang limit mo kargahin? Pag nagka-apo ka, kaya mo pang kargahin. Bilis , Tres Marias.

Always,

Pol&M

:

Finally, it was time for us to depart. Tight handshakes and hugs were exchanged. Brother Oca couldn’t help getting misty eyed, he has to wear his Ray Bans to hide it. Sadness and happiness both can be seen on each other’s faces as we bade goodbye to the brothers at Jonah’s place. I can’t forget the tight hug that Brother Tito made – reluctantly letting you go, his eyes reddened with tears. Thanks so much to Brother Jojo Lobusta for teaching Brother Tito the “APO whistle”. It was fun watching Brother Tito sound that whistle with a nod and a wink! I miss you all my dear brothers. Brothers Cesar Frias, Alex Custodio, and Oliver Vergara, I am really honored to meet you all and I hope to see you again and let the experience remind you of what we are. It was one of the most memorable event and I felt sorry for all who missed it. Manang Linda, Brother Norie’s wife said: “This is the most alive and joyous Valentine Party that they had attended.” Lastly let us remind ourselves what brother Cesar Frias stressed in his word of wisdom – “Let unity be the main reason to keep the fraternity alive!”

RIP Dr. Imelda Ocampo Andres

The eagle at the left has the likeness of a Phoenix. The phoenix has long been presented as a symbol of rebirth, immortality, and renewal.  From the ashes, we were born during those extraordinary times, in the crucible of World War II, then in later years, the most changes and perhaps the last of the innocent generation. The years from 1943 to 1945 are considered to be the silent  (war babies) generation, between the so called hero and the baby boomer generations.  The war years, reflected my perception of this period that significantly impacted everybody. If not for the war and the turn of events, maybe we would not be even here. In truth, it is our trademark as war babies. How we and our parents survived the trials and tribulations of that era maybe a feat worthy to be written in the book of adventures.

OUR BAY AREA CONTINGENT

My uncle Melchor Martinez Capili (UP Prep High School '61 / BSEE, UP College of Engineering '67) passed away in San Francisco days ago. 

His high school friends include Renato Constantino Jr (cc: Marika B. Constantino) and Eddie Manalac. Kindly ask your friends to pray for the eternal repose of his soul.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES PREP 61

 Destination San Francisco. "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...If you're going to San Francisco, Summertime will be a love-in there" We first arrived in San Francisco in the late 60's, enamored about the City, loved it and never left the place. I remember my first walk/day here in the US. The new country was a treat the culture did not surprise me as I was aware of the scenes from readings before, but then, mostly involved in search of a job. Funny, when we look back, we think, we squandered the times of our life when our hormones were in tune with our desires. I was single then, going to school in San Francisco and also at the California State University in Sacramento, during those days really experienced the happening, although a little bit subdued due to work in the day time. That song forever imprinted in my mind "San Francisco" it became an instant hit  and quickly transcended its original purpose by popularizing an idealized image of San Francisco. As the memories flicker down the memory lane, I wish to live back in the sixties with the images of the hills over the bay frozen in time....

J. GUZMAN, A. CAPULONG, CAP, RC, AC

FROM RC  ANCIENT MEMORIES

 Panciteria Moderna was the place to go for pancit miki  and miki bihon

 already wrapped in their version of "tetra pak".  Pancit bihon was the

 specialty of Panciteria Wa Nam.

 At Ma Mon Luk siopao was at 30 centavos; mami was at 70 centavos or 2

 pcs of siomai (large) with unlimited soup was at 30 centavos. So with

 one  peso busog ka na.

 The Shangri-la in the basement of Shelborne Hotel (at the back) was

 the place to go for dates if you wanted a dark and cozy atmosphere.

 The  Embers (in Cubao) of Bert Nievera was also popular. The Black

 Angel along Shaw Blvd near the corner of Kalentong in Mandaluyong was

 a very good place to listen to soft music (e.g. Fleetwoods, etc) and

 the lights were also quite low. With Php 30- 50 in your pocket you

 were in pretty good shape for a date.

 "Bakuran" was the in-thing at parties with "screening" from a friend

 to assist you in getting a dance with a girl who was very sought

 after.

 Wack-Wack, the Sky Room in Jai-Alai, the penthouse of the Rufino

 Bldg. as well as the penthouse of the Sarmiento Bldg right opposite it

 were the favorite places for proms and balls. Sikat ang event if the

 Hi-Jacks; the Electromaniacs or the Technicolors was the "combo"

 playing. Alta Vista along Roxas Blvd. was the favorite place for

 wedding receptions at Php8.50 per cover!

 Special ringside seats for performances at the Araneta Coliseum were

 at Php 5.00 per. So with Php 20.00 you could safely invite someone and

 still have enough for a snack afterwards or a game of "putt and

 putt" at the mini-golf place located at the back of Araneta.

 During early 60's, 5 centavos and 10 centavos ang bayad sa jeep.

 Manila and Suburbs ang lahat ng biyahe ng jeep noon na 3 seater lang

 at pitpit ka pagbata ka pag sumakay ka.

 Sa Avenida at Sta. Cruz, Blumentritt, Tayuman, San Roque Church,

 Espiritu Santo Church, Grace Park  at Monumento ang mga sikat na

 lugar.

 Yung Good Earth Emporium pwede ring idagdag sa mga magagandang

 shopping mall noong araw. Yung Manila Grand Opera house, Odeon,

 Hollywood, Cinerama, Ideal, State, Lyric, Capitol ang mga sikat na

 sinehan noon. Sa Q.C ay sikat yung Max's Chicken at Dayrit. Ang dollar

 rate noon ay 3.70Php sa 1$ ang palitan. Ang Sarsi ay cinco centavos (5

 centavos) 10 Centavos ang Coke.

 Pero sikat yung Canada Dry, Uva at orange ang paborito namin noon.

 Pag pasko madalas kami sa Sta Cruz para manood ng palabas sa Manila

 COD para sa Xmas season. Noon walang  chippy at potato chips, ang

 merienda ay banana cue, camote cue, palitaw, biko, pinipig, halo-halo,

 carioca, pilipit, butsi, hopiang hapon, hopiang munggo, hopiang

 baboy,  bibingka, puto, cassava, cake o budin, suman at mani.

 Ang apple ay apat-piso ang benta sa Lawton Bus terminal. Mas mahal pa

 yung local na chico na pineras. Ang grapes, pear, at apple ang

 karaniwang  binebenta sa mga bus terminal na papuntang south (BLTB).

 Ang bus noon ay bukas lahat yung isang side kaya doon dumadaan ang mga

 pasahero. Ang sikat na mga Plaza noon ay Plaza Goiti, Plaza Miranda at

 Plaza Sta. Cruz. Sa mga bakery sa Manila ay sikat yung machacao na

 tinapay.

 May I add: Hallili Beer (sold to the Sorianos), Tody chocolate drink

 in cans, Julep, Pancho Pantero, Horlicks malted milk tablets; Hallili

 bus, Super (dog logo)  Transit, Yujuico, JD & MD buses; ShoeMart

 Carriedo (the first SM)  followed by 2nd ShoeMart beside Ideal Theater

 and fourth was SM Echague  with a revolving restaurant at the top

 floor.

 Safari Club beside Manila Zoo at the height of the "Twist" craze,

 Dance-O-Rama with Pete Roa & Baby O'Brien, Jam Session every 6PM on

 television.

 Now anyone who missed those days can't really claim they've seen and

 tasted the best. Every generation has its own set of "Aces". Do you

 recall when: You tasted Fres Gusto, Cosmos "Sarsi"  Sarsaparilla, RC

 Cola, Yes Cola, Teem, Darigold Evap, Liberty Condensada, Choco Vim,

 Sunkist Orange (in tetra packs), Magnolia Chocolait,  (pronounced

 chocolight), Klim (the word "milk" spelled  backwards), Big 20

 Hamburgers, Foot-long hotdog, Tweet & Jiggs  Candies (by Mr. Krieger),

 Sugus Candies, Choco Nut, Tootsie Roll, Blenda Margarine, Serg's

 Chocolate, kerosene-flavored popcorn and kropeck along Dewey Blvd,

 dirty ice cream, Magnolia Ice Cream sandwich, Selecta ice cream (now

 Arce Dairy) and their fresh carabao's milk, Magnolia popsicles in

 orange, chocolate and langka flavors, Sison Ice Drops in monggo, and

 buko  flavors, Milky Way's buko sherbet, Acme Supermarket' s sundaes

 and Coney  Island's 32 flavors?

 You went to: Syvel's, Assandas, Arcegas at the Maranaw Arcade,

 Funhouse at Bricktown, Aguinaldo, Erehwon Bookstore, Alemars

 Bookstore, Bookmark, Botica Boie, Makati  Supermarket (in Makati!),

 Rizal Theater (with its spacious lobby) with D'Bankers Barbershop and

 Leila's Coffee Shop, Tropical Hut (and its hamburger), Acme

 Supermarket, Cherry Foodarama, The Regent of Manila, Hotel Mabuhay,

 Manila Hilton, Christmas carnival (where Dusit Hotel now stands),

 Villa Pansol and Lido Beach?

 Rizal what?" "Who would be crazy to build a cinema in the middle of

 nowhere?" It turned out to be the best theater in the city of Makati

 (at the same site now occupied by Shangri-La Hotel).

 And ate at: The original A&W along UN Avenue in Manila,  Aristocrat

 across Malate Church, Italian Village, cafÃ(c) Valenzuela,  Bonanza

 Restaurant, Brown Derby, Little Quiapo, Country Bake Shop,  Selecta

 Restaurants (owned by the Arce family), Taza de Oro; New Europe,

 Madrid, Cucina Italiana, La  Cibeles at A. Mabini, The Plaza, Jade

 Garden Restaurant, Luau, The Makati Automat, Sulo Restaurant (in

 Makati), Makati Fastfood Center (the first  ever), Bulakena, Casa

 Marcos, Au Bon Vivant, Salambao Restaurant, Dairy  Queen along

 Buendia, Di Mark's Pizza, the elegant dining room of the old  Army &

 Navy Club. Botica Boie in Escolta, Albas in Florida, Malate Brown

 Derby and their signature foot-long hotdog came with its special,

 extra tarty mustard sauce and a hot, crispy bun. We used to park at

 their drive-in bays after we were exhausted from all-night partying

 but with enough energy to gobble down sausages and soft drinks.

 The Plaza was the favorite venue for all formal school and social

 functions. Food was not a big factor so long as cozy couples could

 have their special table for two.

 You shopped at: Escolta, Harrison Plaza (when it was still clean and

 had the bump cars), Ali Mall, Rustan's in San Marcelino, Aguinaldo's

 in Cubao, Quezon City; Shoemart in Makati was a small, split-level

 affair.

 The original Rustan's was the garage of the Tantoco's residential

 house which was eventually converted into a dazzling shop filled with

 eclectic things and collectibles.

 Blockbuster movies were: Love Story, Mahogany, Saturday Night Fever,

 Grease, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Logan's Run, Battlestar

 Galactica, Paper Chase, Enter The Dragon, Jaws, Towering Inferno,

 Poseidon  Adventure, Carrie, Willard (theme song was Ben sang by a

 young Michael  Jackson), Exorcist, Love Bug, Tinimbang Ka Nguni't

 Kulang.

 You wore, carried or used Denman brush tucked in your back pants

 pocket, Jordache and Sassoon jeans, Bata rubber shoes, Botak running

 shoes, Ace flexible comb, Ace clutchbag, Carrera  shades, Ray-Ban,

 Photochromic and Ambermatic shades, Foster Grant sunglasses, Alaskin,

 tie-dye shirts and pants, double-knit pants, Sergio Valente, Vidal

 Sassoon, Fiorucci, Banlon, Ye-ye Vonnel shirts, Nik-Nik, Bang-Bang,

 Faded Glory, Jazzie, Puma Topfit, Tiger Onitsuka,  Happy Feet, clogs,

 Wet look shoes, Pierre Cardin, Brut, Jovan musk oil and grass oil,

 Aramis, platform shoes with bell-bottom pants and wide-buckled belts.

 You had your hair styled or permed by: Flavio and Carmen, Nomer's,

 Lita Rio, Grace Lagman, Dick & Lucy, and Kayumanggi. That was the time

 of Aqua Net stiff, foot-high beehives, French twist and Kiss Me liquid

 eye liners and Pretty Quik instant facial blotters.

 You sang: Bobby, Bobby, Bobby by Jo Ann Campbell, Someday by Ricky

 Nelson, And I Love Her by the Beatles, Cherish by the Association,

 Because by Dave Clark Five, Distant Shores by Chad and Jeremy, Rainy

 Days  & Mondays by the Carpenters, You've Got a Friend by Carol King,

 Hundred Miles by Peter, Paul and Mary, Evergreen by Paul Williams.

 Saved whole month's allowance P50 to watch the Beatles perform live at

 Rizal Memorial Coliseum in 1965.

 It was hip to listen to: Bingo Lacson and Jo San Diego (past

 midnight) of DZMT, the singing sensations from Ateneo de Manila? RJ

 and the Riots, The Loonilarks, Joe Mari Chan and the APO Hiking

 Society and dance to live combo music garbed in cocktail dresses and

 dark suits.

 DZMT was affiliated with the Manila Times and was the only broadcast

 station that stayed on the air past midnight. Jo San Diego was their

 anchor woman (she with the velvety bedroom voice).

 And danced at: Manila Hotel's Jungle Bar, Stargazer, Bayside Night

 Club (with live music by the Carding Cruz band), and the Nile (and the

 Italian singing group Five n' Fives), Queue Disco, Circuit Disco,

 Where Else?  Altitude 49, Delirium (in Greenbelt) D'Flame, Rino's, and

 Velvet Slum, Wells Fargo, and Coco Banana.

 After graduation, jam sessions were replaced by night clubs and

 Bayside was the place to go for live bands and non-stop dancing.

 Do you remember when: Dollar to peso exchange rate was $1 = P7,

 Walang Tindigan buses charged a flat rate of P1, Love Bus fare was

 P1.50, family size Shakey's Pizza cost less  than P40, Malate streets

 were named after US States (Pennsylvania,  Colorado, etc.); Paranaque,

 San Juan, Makati, Pasig, Las Pinas, Taguig,  Pateros and Muntinlupa

 were municipalities of Rizal province; DLSU was De  La Salle College,

 Poveda was Institucion Teresiana, Adamson University  was the original

 St. Theresa's campus, Robinsons mall was the Assumption Convent

 campus, Petron was Esso, Villamor Air Base was then known as Nichols

 Air Base, bancas were plenty in the Baclaran side of Dewey Blvd. (now

 Roxas Blvd.) and traffic was non-existent in Tagaytay.

 PLDT telephone numbers were five digits and you used your index finger

 to dial a number one at a time.

 If you remember all these things, you're history in great company and

 I dare say, happy to be.

 Since the writer was fleeting between two generations (60's-70"s), you

 party goers surely remember the Dyna Souls (dubbed the Beatles of the

 Philippines) , The Tilt Down Men (The Sotto brothers, Tito & Val,

 favored the Dave Clark 5) Jaime Jose & the Deltas* (remember Maggie

 Dela Riva?) What about gate crashing a "Tipar" (for party) and the

 ensuing rumble between feuding barkadas: The Havocs, Combat, &

 Exotics, meron pang kanya-kanyang busina (car honking IDs).

 Remember BMI (Baguio Military Institute)? That school was a dumping

 ground for kicked out students from Manila and kids that needed

 discipline. Let us not forget ang mga taga "Baste" (San Sebastian).

 Ang daming siga noong araw.

 Sure you remember playing Pelota... And drag racing along Ortigas and

 behind Meralco..

 Sikat ka sa barkada kung may "syota" (girl friend) kang  "Colegiala"

 (Assumption, STC, St. Scho, Maryknoll, Holy Spirit;  and the other

 schools - St. Paul's, St. Joseph, Centro Escolar ). As proof, you

 should be wearing her high school ring in your pinkie finger...And

 dapat karta 9 ...You probably took her out to the Butterfly (at UP) to

 listen to folk songs and sip Butterfly Iced Tea.

 Did you get to date a "chick" from Brent (Baguio) and IS  (Makati)?

 Of course you should have enough cash for the gaso (gas), tsibog

 (food/dinner) , cover charge/drinks at the Flame or Rino's, konting

 damo, and for the finale, enough datong (cash) para sa "biglang liko".

 Or kung gipit for cash, park at the huge lot of Folk Arts and just do

 it in the car...Kaya lang dapat may "Tapwe" (Singkuwenta pesos) pang

 lagay sa parak (police), and a handy calling card of a military

 officer with a  hand written note in the back that "you should be

 given utmost courtesy"... .jeesh...

 Then in the late 70's early 80's came the CB radio phenomenon.. Tibs

 on Makati Ave. for beer and happy hour at the Manila Garden; always

 overflowing with beer and chicken wings...Tapos masahe sa Imperial

 Palace  or  Maalikaya... To cap the night, a stop at Birds of the Same

 Feather for smooth jazz courtesy of Eddie Katindig.

 Tapos you get to do it all over again the following day.

 

Marissa playing America the Beautiful, The Theme from the American Civil War, O'Sheanandoah, Ang Bayan Ko

As she plays these melodic patriotic songs, I begin to reminisce,  my stay at Rizal Hall. I have passed over 70 years of my life, but I still have vivid memories of the halls, and classrooms at the University of the Philippines in Manila. I can not deny my deep feeling of warmth to this great school. Among the colleges that I have attended in the Philippines and in the USA during my academic life, my particular fondness is always with the University of the Philippines.  I and like every alumni of the U. P. Preparatory High School should be so proud of this University and the rich traditions that it represents…ASC


When we were young, we were in a hurry to grow up
The future a dream and now the reality
These were icons of our mind as kids
Now we know and we have learned

Tomorrow, the tomorrow is uncertain
With unknown script
You don't know how
Life can bring it
Because everything is passing
And what will happen tomorrow
Nobody knows.

Now that our wish came true
To become adults, our life is complete
Time is not enough for our dreams anymore

Our childhood is gone…

The Captain's Table, opposite us Judith and Wayne my warm immediate friends

At Prep High, Charmaine is our school song, and it begins like this… I wonder if you will remember? Prep High, Prep High

I wonder if you will remember? 

        Prep High, Prep High. 

I wonder when Prep High is calling, 

        Will you come back again?

I wonder if you'll keep on striving 

        For the welfare of our land? 

I hope you will keep e'er alight 

        The bright flames 

        Of leadership learned at Prep High

You'll go away graduation day 

        We know you have to go 

        'Mid tears and cheers we'll let you go 

        Prep High must let you go.

When old leaves turn to new 

        Prep High will call on you.

RIP AMADO SANTOS

Tito Paul,

this is what I sent to the group the other day with the details of the services and locations.

This is his son Fred.  On behalf of my mom Aida and our family we are deeply saddened and devastated by the passing of my father.  I have just opened up his email to read to my mom all of your kind thoughts and prayers for our family.  We are trying to be strong but it is so difficult as we love him so much.  I wanted to write back to you all to give you the details of the services which we just finalized today.  I texted the information to Doel but noticed that the location of the services may not have been noted.  The details are below. Please share with everyone.   Feel free to call any of us if you have any questions.

Amado Punzalang is the virtuoso on the piano. He resides in New Jersey. He plays sa simbahan.  Paul Montalban and Vivian are musicians as well.  Did you know that Paolo Montalban (Cinderella actor, partner of Brandy) is the son of Paul?  A handful of our 61 classmates live in the West Coast as listed:  Jose Guzman, Honorio San Pedro, Erlinda Ramos, Victoria Tolentino, Jose Buenaventura, Amado Santos, Ernesto Tan Gatue, Edgardo Silverio, Milagros Suva, Lilac Umali, Evelyn Fontanilla, Sister Elsa Sevilla, Josefino Quiambao, Dolores Vergara, Melchor Capili, Augusto Capulong etc.  Carol Corpus, Paul M., Amado Punzalang, Nilda Fulgencio reside in the East Coast.  Vilma Bala, Ping Fargas, Macrina de Leon etc. nasa Toronto. naman.  Nelia Gonzales nasa Richmond, BC, Canada naman. George Olivar passed away three months ago.  Jose Sason & Jose Pecache passed on too.....a few years back


Dear Amado,

Since you are the piano virtuoso among the classmates, here is a collection of concert grands including the Bosendorfer that you admire and wish to play. Take care and Click below......

• THE CONCERT GRAND PIANOS
• God Bless, ASC

Our Field trips to Bagiuo: The University of the Philippines made this field trips available to the student body under the supervision of Mr. Rubio. I remember our trips to Bagiuo and Bicol by train. The later, I was not able to avail. students start the term with a trip to various High Schools, either to a resort, an American base, or towns in Luzon. School life is also enriched by additional field trips to such places important to the nation’s infrastructure, like dams, markets, military base and institutions like PMA.  BURNHAM PARK Bagiuo below photos



Burnham Park, where we rented roller skates, and then, shared one of these tricycles with an upper class junior. I held both her hands, no names please, a boyish romantic encounter. Surely an unforgettable Chance Encounter for a boy of 13,  as she shifted towards me. We cuddled and continued to ride in the cool afternoon fog.

1st row: Manuel Edralin,Wilfredo de Leon,Cynthia Cuevas,Eldora Bella,Nilda Fulgencio, Araceli Cruz (?),Lourdes Gacad,Rosalita Vizconde,Melanie Villanueva,Lilia Laqui,Frine Bautista, Rosalinda Roa Edgardo Cruz
2nd row: Roma Clemente,Roberto San Juan, Oscar Recto, Milagros Suva, Lilac Umali, Elizabeth Stuart, Melind Caparas, Erlinda Ramos, Lourdes Balderrama,Bilma Bala,Roberto Roa,Romeo Fojas
3rd row:Romeo Miclat,Paul Montalban,Virgilio Vergara,Jose Acevedo,Jose Fargas,Amado Santos,Philip Kastner,Jesus Ching, Melchor Capili, Pascual Veron Cruz, Eduardo Maglaque and Rodnel Javier

1960: I became aware of my heritage in my junior year at UP Prep and began preparation for my appointment as a cadet of the PMA at Fort Del Pilar. This was a period in my teen years that I remember fondly, memories in my High School, of the hectic days, dashing thru the corridors catching my schedule of classes at Rizal Hall. I recall my bag loaded with books, eager, wide eyed, and quick to learn the tenets of math, the arts and sciences. I remember past friends and stormy situations that most teenagers weathered through. As in life surviving the unspoken pecking order among bigger classmates and the so called in crowd was the rule. That lone wolf streak that kept me apart, which peers seemed to see as a weakness was a measure of heritage that set me off from the current teenage precepts of the day. Later, when of age and after further studies, having ever spurred curiosity, whetted my appetite for a life of adventure, of soldiering and foreign lands. 

IN THIS PHOTO ALONE ALMOST ONE THIRD  (TEN)  DEPARTED TO ANOTHER DIMENSION BEGINNING WITH MISS GALANG, NICK PELAEZ, JOSE QUIAMBAO..MELCHOR CAPILI..MAMERTO MADELA...NESTOR RIVADELO...EVANGELINE GABRIEL...
MANUEL EDRALIN....CARLOS GARCIA...ERNESTO VILLAREAL

Hello Cap and Helen, Alex and Marissa,

Maraming salamat! Kahit aanim lang tayo, (Si Augie and Violet missing-in-action and much missed) masaya at busog na busog kami sa

ating salu-salo. Pati ang mga anak namin, sina Karmina at Noel, walang katapusang rave sa ginisang munggo ni Helen at yung broiled

catfish niya (to die for talaga ang sarap!!!).

Thanks Alex for the many tips o various matters and MARISSA! for the beautiful music. Ang galing-galing mo palang mag-piano. And Helen, your shopping tips are invaluable. I will really take you up on your offer na sa next

tagpuan natin, e, sa city na tayo magkita. PERO, kailangan pagdating ninyo sa Pilipinas, (sa Marso, alam ko,nandito kayo) bigyan naman ninyo kami ng isang araw para kami naman ang mag-host ng mini sa inyo.

Pasusundo namin kayo sa Morong. Ayan, wala na kayong excuse. Let us know when you are back in the Pilipinas Islands so we can schedule it.

 Again, our thanks to all of you. Helen, mamaya ko na ipadadala ko yung galing kay Karmina. Mag lalast day labas muna kami nila RC, Noel

and Karmina. Of course, kaladkad namin ang mga bata.

Dudi and RC

After a terrific night in Vallejo, Dudi and I just got up after lazing 

away in bed practically the whole morning recollecting accounts of the

night.

Thanks to Cap and his gracious wife Helen for organizing and hosting 

the mini. It was great to see you guys once again. It was fun!!

After 47 years we finally meet up with Alex and his lovely wife 

Marissa. And to think they were living only three blocks away from 

Cap up to about 3 years ago! It really takes a mini to reconnect.

Pol: Alex should be your friend (now!) he has just lost some 20 

pounds and is now a slimmer 204 pounds! Not the same size as in Prep!

Hehehe.

Thanks to Joe for driving all the way from Dublin. Missed Mayette.

Thanks to Augie and Violet for finally finding Cap's house while 

avoiding launching divorce proceedings on the way.

The food and the wine AND the company makes me fully support the plan 

to organize a reunion as soon as possible. A cruise would be an 

excellent opportunity to bond once more. Remember we're all in the 

"pre-departure lounge."

Memories of our field trip to Bagiuo in 1957. First stop was Angeles, Pampanga, where we toured Clark with Dr. Roa. I remember the doctor riding in a brand new 1957  yellow Chrysler with all the high fins typical of the cars of the late 50’s. The day was not over yet, a jam session in the moonlight at a basket ball court at the school grounds. The seniors and teachers alike did enjoy the ball hosted by the Pampanga High School. I remember the single Ms. Roma Clemente, photo above, talking about her repertoire of dances and how she enjoyed it. Me, I stayed behind, as I do not dance yet, but was busy talking to local high school girls. I found out the beddings belong to them. Thinking this time, how UP Prep can reciprocate. Billets were in a gymnasium with rows of cots and mosquito nets. I do not know where the girls were, but the energy was ever flowing from the boys…as shoes were flying everywhere in the dark, landing safely at the mosquito nets. Above Pictures of the boys in a later field trip  (1960) to Bagiuo and Pampanga High School

The University of the Philippines made this field trips available to the student body under the supervision of Mr. Rubio. I remember our trips to Bagiuo and Bicol by train. The later, I was not able to avail. students start the term with a trip to various High Schools, either to a resort, an American base, or towns in Luzon. School life is also enriched by additional field trips to such places important to the nation’s infrastructure, like dams, markets, military base and institutions like PMA.  

Baguio Market

 ROAD TO BAGIUO ABOVE, THE KENNON

 ZIGZAG ROAD

 

Market place, Baguio, Pines Hotel where we

 stayed for two nights

View of the Bagiuo Cathedral from my hotel room located adjacent to Pines Hotel.

Ah me! the fIfty years since last we met Seem to me fifty folios bound and set By Time, the great transcriber, on his shelves, Wherein are written the histories of ourselves. What tragedies, what comedies, are there; What joy and grief, what rapture and despair! What chronicles of triumph and defeat, Of struggle, and temptation, and retreat! What records of regrets, and doubts, and fears What pages blotted, blistered by our tears! What lovely landscapes on the margin shine, What sweet, angelic faces, what divine And holy images of love and trust, Undimmed by age, unsoiled by damp or dust!

Philippine Military Academy park, Baguio, Philippines

Pamintuan House at Angeles Pampanga. My Church in the town of my birth:Tanay, Built in 1778, the church was named after the Archbishop Ildefonso of Toledo, Spain, who was consecrated during the year 657 AD. RIP CLASSMATES I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on, as if in pain: And dreaming through the twilight That doth not rise nor set, Haply I may remember, And haply may forget. Arlene  Aquino Evangeline Gabriel Purita Resurreccion Alipio Baluyot George Olivar Emanuel Manalac Mamerto Madella  Nicolas Pelaez Jose Sason Jose S.  Pecache Oscar Recto Amado Santos Carlos Garcia Ernesto Villareal Manuel Edralin Melchor Capili Nestor Rivadelo Dr. Imelda Andres Nilda Fulgencio Rodnel Javier Lulu Pablo Josefino Quiambao Hector Lumberio When you are old and gray and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this blog, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true; But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face. And bending down beside the flowing bars Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir, à la chandelle, Assise auprès du feu, dévidant et filant, Direz, chantant mes vers, en vous émerveillant: "Ronsard me célébrait du temps que j’étais belle!" Lors, vous n’aurez servante oyant telle nouvelle, Déjà sous le labeur à demi sommeillant, Qui au bruit de Ronsard ne s’aille réveillant, Bénissant votre nom de louange immortelle. Je serai sous la terre, et, fantôme sans os, Par les ombres myrteux je prendrai mon repos: Vous serez au foyer une vieille accroupie, Regrettant mon amour et votre fier dédain. Vivez, si m’en croyez, n’attendez à demain: Cueillez dès aujourd’hui les roses de la vie.

RIP LULU PABLO Ah me! the sixty years since last we met Seem to me forty folios bound and set By Time, the great transcriber, on his shelves, Wherein are written the histories of ourselves. What tragedies, what comedies, are there; What joy and grief, what rapture and despair! What chronicles of triumph and defeat, Of struggle, and temptation, and retreat! What records of regrets, and doubts, and fears What pages blotted, blistered by our tears! What lovely landscapes on the margin shine, What sweet, angelic faces, what divine And holy images of love and trust, Undimmed by age, unsoiled by damp or dust!

The next morning we had tamales for breakfast hosted by Mrs. Roa who incidentally cut her finger preparing the tamales. Then lechon for lunch and a series of songs from Mrs. Pangilinan, in appreciation for hosting us, the location this time is hazy.The next billet is at Urdaneta High School below. The same as the last night, boys will be boys as  Mr. Toralba and Lazaro kept the peace. Burnham Park above, where we rented roller skates, and then, shared one of these tricycles with a junior, held both her hands, no names please, a boyish romantic encounter. Surely an unforgettable Chance Encounter for a boy of 13,  as she shifted towards me. We cuddled and continued to ride in the cool afternoon fog. Ambuklao Dam, newly constructed then, Photo of Bay Area Prep 61 and songs of 1957

Just want to share this photo with you classmates. Sent this photo to RC,

Its, Vads and Augie earlier. Sent also a copy to Tom Banguis, Jr. ...he retouched and enhanced it at his Ad firm and sent it back to me. Photo taken at the old Aristocrat restaurant at Cubao. I booked this gig for my cousin, Letty Sunico, the celebrant (debutant).. . elder sister of Raul Sunico - the concert pianist. Raul Sunico's late Dad and my late Mom are 1st cousins. Can't remember the year... still remember what I was playing when this photo was taken, Perfidia by the Ventures.

Left to right:

Augie Capulong - bass; Tom Banguis, Jr. - drums; cousin of Tom - lead guitar; Ping Fargas - lead guitar; RC Constantino - manager; Arthur Tan - rhythm ; Pong Villareal drums Lanie...can still play a lot of '60's instrumental pieces by The Ventures and The Shadows. Have 2 Fender electric guitars and 2 acoustic nylon guitars and a huge Fender ampli here in Toronto. Do you know that Vads joined the band after Augie and Atot left. Vads can play the keyboards, bass and piano ... ang galing niya. And we added, Chito Bacani, cousin of Vius as our lead guitarist, matinik sa lead guitar kaysa sa amin. My younger brother took over the drums from Tom Banguis when he left. Was the only original member that joined the new group ( The Extremes) after Atot found a new manager. Left the band after graduating 1966 ..so did Vads and the cousin of Vius. My brother formed anew band ( The Nitwits ) all from San Beda. Do you know that one of the classmates of my brother, Danny, is the son of Lino Bocalan (famous smuggler then) he also formed a band called, The Tilt Down Men ...lead vocalist si

Tito Sotto . .. those were the days.......

• see..... THE CONCERT GRAND PIANOS

2002 Somewhere in the Pacific Atoll of Kwajalein. Of the 29 atolls, 27 are accessible by small plane (Air Marshall Islands). Majuro and Kwajalein atolls, the two population centres are serviced by both Air Marshall Islands and Continental Air Micronesia Jet Aircraft. Kwajalein Atoll is in the heart of the Marshall Islands. It lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nmi (2,400 mi; 3,900 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii at 8°43′N 167°44′E. Kwajalein is the world's largest coral atoll and comprises 93 islands and islets, it has a land area of 1,560 acres (6.33 km²),[1]:12 and surrounds one of the largest lagoons in the world, measuring 324 mi² (839 km²) in size.

The two most significant land masses are Kwajalein Island in the south, and the linked islands of Roi-Namur in the north. By the start of World War II, the Marshalls (South Pacific Mandate) were already an integral part of the Japanese perimeter of defense. Its facilities were being utilized as outlying bases for submarines and surface warships, as well as for air staging for future advances being planned against Ellice, the Fiji Islands, and Samoa.

The Battle of Kwajalein was fought as part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It took place from 31 January-3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of Kwajalein in the south and Roi-Namur in the north. The Japanese defenders put up stiff resistance, although outnumbered and under-prepared. The determined defense of Roi-Namur left only 51 survivors of an original garrison of 3,500.

For the US, the battle represented both the next step in its island-hopping march to Japan and a significant moral victory because it was the first time the Americans had penetrated the "outer ring" of the Japanese Pacific sphere. For the Japanese, the battle represented the failure of the beach-line defense. Japanese defenses became prepared in depth, and the battles of Peleliu, Guam, and the Marianas proved far more costly to the US.

God bless my alumni association

In this our chosen Nation,

Let it blossom forth in harmony and peace;

From east to west establish the brotherhood and friendship,

That all strife and loneliness may cease.

In the busy offices and streets of cities,

In the mountains and quiet fields of farms,

Raise each other's mind to greater vision,

Shield my classmates' life from that which harms.

We give thanks for precious friends and alliance;

Help us cherish them as we should;

May we give ourselves in service to each other

for your praise and other's good.......ASC

1. 
   

I WAS READING SOME OLD 61 EMAILS AND CAME ACROSS THE NICKNAMES. I WOULD SAY IT WAS HILARIOUS TO READ THIS AND HOW CLASSMATES REMEMBER EACH AND EVERY ONE. YOU WERE VERY KIND, SOME NAMES ARE X-RATED AS I RECALL, BUT  YOU DID A GOOD JOB RECALLING THE SANITIZED MONICKER.

ASC

 After 38 years, not an easy task. Kaya pala si Kardinal ang na-assign na mag-recall: mahirap na medyo delikado pa.Mahirap dahil hindi ako saksi sa lahat ng pangyayari sa lahat ng sections. Delikado dahil baka may sugat namanariwa. Pero katuwaan lang ito. Sana lahat matuwa at walang mapikon--afterall trabaho lang ito at " recaller" lang ako hindi "namer" o "baptizer".

Bato-bato sa langit, ang matamaan mag-email agad.

> 1.Jose Acevedo. Babe, Baba, Ali Baba.

> 2.Godofredo Alaras. Godofredo.

> 3.Corazon Amante. Cora. Pipit( from Joey)

> 4.Andrew Ang.Ang. Undress Ang( from Oca V.)

> 5.Arlene Aquino+. Arlene, Stitch, Stitch.

> 

> 6.Vilma Bala. Vilma. Bambi.

> 7.Lourdes Balderrama. Dudi......(aka. ..Balde shortened version of Balderama)

> 8.Alipio Baluyut+. Alip.

> 9.Frine Bautista. Frine.

> 10.Eldora Bella. Dhoree.

> 

> 11.Jose Buenaventura. Joey. Yat.

> 12.Melinda Caparas. Melinda. It.

> 13.Melchor Capili. Melchor. Cap. Ohab( from Ping)

> 14.Augusto Capulong. Augie.

> 15.Nemesio Ceralde. Jr. Boy. Boyd. Tenggoy Jr.

> 

> 16.Jesus Ching. Ching...(aka Foo Man Ching)

> 17.Renato Constantino, Jr. RC. Yat. One Beer Kid. Wangbu.

> 18.Carol Corpus. Carol.Carole.

> 19.Cynthia Cuevas. Cynthia. Cindy.

> 20.Rogelio Cuevas. Cuevas. Roger.

> 

>21.Alexander Custodio. Alex. Todio. Custodio.... General Tojo (mannerismm of bowing)

> 22.Manuel Edralin. Manny. Edra. Antok.

> 23.Jose Fargas. Ping.

> 24.Evangeline Farolan. Eva.

> 25.Wilhelmina Fernandez. Mimay. Curly Bangs.

> 

> 26.Romeo Fojas. Fojie.

> 27.Evelyn Fontanilla. Evelyn.

> 28.Nilda Fulgencio. Nilda. FT.French Twist.

> 29.Carlos Garcia. Itoy. Bukol...Elvis pompadour and then shortened, aka..Elpo Boy/Epoy.... last time I saw Epoy was at Mapua during my Junior year; he was registering for classes with his older brother.

> 30.Nelia Gonzales. Nelia. Nel.

> 

> 31.Jose Guzman. Guzman. Joe.

> 32.Rene Herbosa. Rene. Pompoy.

> 33.Romeo Imbuido. Imbuido. Romy. Imbudo.

> 34.Marilyn Jamias. Marilyn...The Pianist

> 35.Rodnel Javier. Rodnel....McKinley Boy...aka Medyas from Lilia

> 

> 36.Lilia Laqui. Lilia....(crush of Rodnel)

> 37.Macrina de Leon. Macrina. Macre.

> 38.Wilfrido de Leon. Willy. Daga. Tenga.

> 39.Hector Lumberio. Lumberio. Hec.

> 40.Mamerto Madella+. Madella. (Saw him last at V-Luna Hospital for our Physical for PMA;he has hypertension and skin rash;I was myopic; he got in, at second try.

> 

> 41.Carmelo Madrid. Madrid.

> 42.Eduardo Maglaque. Ed.

> 43.Bayani Mandanas. Yani. Bondy. Bondat.

> 44.Emmanuel Manalac+. Emmy. Emong.

> 45.Eduardo Manalac. Ed. Eddie.

> 

> 46.Manuel Medina. Medy. Manny.

> 47.Bonita de Mesa. Bonita. Bonnie.

> 48.Paul Montalban. Paul.

> 49.Leopoldo Moral, Jr. Pol. Moral.Neggy. Cardinal.

> 50.Juliana Nable. Juliana. Julie...aka Noble

> 

> 51.Teresita Narciso. Tessie. Kumbinto.

> 52.Edgar Navarro. Ed

> 53.Imelda Ocampo. Imelda.

> 54.George Olivar, Jr. George. Diyords.

> 55.Marcelita Ordonez. Marce.

> 

> 56.Lualhati Pablo. Lulu. Usec Pablo.

> 57.Angelita Pasamba.Angelita. Lita. Angge.

> 58.Cesar Pascual. Cesar. Sandok. Sandy.

> 59.Quintin Pastrana. Quintin. Bakya. Q.

> 60.Mildred Patino. Mildred.

> 

> 61.Jose Pecache+. Pec. Jay...aka Pecs he likes to flex his "muscles"

> 62.Nicolas Pelaez+. Pelaez. Nic.Negro... .Nick can be persistent in his quest for a girlfriend. We once followed a certain sophomore named Kathleen.... . all the way home thru busses and jeepneys with her, and managed to egged a smile; all the while serenading her the Irish ditty Kathleen in front of passengers. 

> 63.Amado Punsalang, Jr. Amado. Dodie.

> 64.Josefino Quiambao. Quiambao. Pepe.....aka Yodel King

> 65.Barbara Ramirez. Babs.

> 

> 66.Corazon Ramirez. Cora. Corkie.

> 67.Erlinda Ramos. Erlinda...

> 68.Helen Reantaso. Helen.

> 69.Oscar Recto+. Oca. Torecs.

> 70.Irma Remo. Irma.

> 

> 71.Deo Reyes. Deo.

> 72.Nestor Rivadelo. Vads.Sleeping Vads.

> 73.Roberto Roa. Boots...He is in LA according to relatives I met aboard ship.

> 74.Rosalinda Roa. Rosalinda.

> 75.Romeo Salvador. Romy....aka Anita Eckberg

> 

> 76.Alberto San Agustin. Bert.

> 77.Roberto San Juan. Johnny. Bot. San Juan.

> 78.Honorio San Pedro. Nori. Honorio.

> 79.Amado Santos, Jr. Dong. Jun.

> 80.Jose Sason. Sax. Negro. Kulot. Nonoy. Saxon. Saxophone.

> 

> 81.Zenaida Seva. Zeny.

> 82.Ma. Lourdes Saguil. Hedy....last time I saw her was during the end of our sophomore year; Loved to dance with her slow (that is the only dance I know) even if I was only her shoulder height ...sorry Lani, that was before the prom.

> 83.Elsa Cristina Sevilla. Elsa. Sister. MS...No nonsense Elsa

> 84.Edgardo Silverio. Ed. Silver. Kabayo.

> 85.Milagros Suva. Mila. 

> 

> 86.Arthur Tan. Atot.

> 87.Ernesto Tan-Gatue.Boy. ..Beat up Hannibal Manikan mano a mano

> 88.Victoria Tolentino. Vicky. Toyang.

> 89.Lilac Umali. Lilac.

> 90.Oscar Valenzuela. Oscar. Oca.

> 

> 91.Dolores Vergara. Dolores. Dolly.

> 92.Virgilio Vergara. Vius. Ilyong. Ronnie.

> 93.Pascual Veron-Cruz Jr. Pascual. Kalbo. Pasky. Jun...aka Math Wiz Veron

> 94.Melanie Villanueva. Melanie. Lani.

> 95.Ernesto Villareal. Pong. Ponga.

> 

> 96.Pablo Villavicencio. Pablo.Bing.

> 97.Rosalita Vizconde. Rosalita. Its.

> 98.Cynthia Catindig. Cynthia.

> 99.Evangeline Gabriel. Evangeline.. ...aka..Smiling Vangie..always with a smile

> 100.Lourdes Gacad. Lourdes.

U. P. Prep High School 1961 Rizal Hall... View from Manila Naval Station Breakwater........A BOY’S MEMORIES OF MANILA

Environs U. P. Manila campus

Sarmiento Bldg, Makati, where I worked at Procter & Gamble; ARISTOCRAT. The closest restaurant to our place at MNS. 432 San Andres St. cor. Roxas Blvd., Malate

Top, movie houses, City Hall, Right Photo Bagiuo, the terraces and the Lost highway bontoc-mainit (mountain province). A mountain trail in the Cordillera, Philippines.  Rizal Avenue the street was named after Rizal, it was referred to as Calle  Dulumbayan.  I watched movies at the Ideal, State, Dalisay and Avenue Theaters. Later on ... the Universal Theater  and Odeon and Galaxy. And Scala, Apollo, Alegria and Opera House.

In the twilight of age all things seem strange and phantasmal, 

  As between daylight and dark ghost-like the landscape My heart goes back to wander there, 

And among the dreams of the days that were, 

  I find my lost youth again. 

    And the strange and beautiful song, 

    The groves are repeating it still: 

  "A boy's will is the wind's will, 

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I should not be withheld but that some day 

into their vastness I should steal away, 

Fearless of ever finding open land, 

or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand...RF

On the road of life one mile-stone more!

In the book of life one leaf turned o'er!

Like a red seal is the setting sun

On the good and the evil men have done,--

     Naught can to-day restore!

Life is real!  Life is earnest!

  And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

  Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

  Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

  Find us farther than to-day. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

  And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

  Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world's broad field of battle,

  In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

  Be a hero in the strife! 

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

  Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act,--act in the living Present!

  Heart within, and God o'erhead! 

Lives of great men all remind us

  We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

  Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

  Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

  Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing,

  With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

  Learn to labor and to wait...

 

A NEW PLATFORM FOR THE NEXT WAR

On March 9, 1862, the Union warship Monitor met its Confederate counterpart, Virginia. After a four-hour exchange of fire, the two fought to a draw. It was the first battle of ironclads. In one day, every wooden ship of the line of every naval power became immediately obsolete.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. If the battle of the ironclads settled once and for all the wood-versus-iron debate, Japanese carrier-based aircraft settled the battleship-versus-carrier debate by sinking the cream of America’s battleship fleet in a single morning.

On April 14, 2022, the Ukrainians sank the Russian cruiser Moskva with a pair of Neptune anti-ship missiles. And that success posed an urgent question to the world’s major militaries: Has another age of warfare just begun? After 20 years spent fighting the post-9/11 wars, the United States military’s attention is again focused on a peer-level adversary. The Pentagon hasn’t been thinking this way since the Cold War, and it is attempting a profound transformation. Today, fierce debate attends this transformation, and nowhere more acutely than in the Marine Corps.

In March 2020, the Marine commandant, General David Berger, published “Force Design 2030.” This controversial paper announced a significant restructuring based on the belief that “the Marine Corps is not organized, trained, equipped or postured to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving future operating environment.” That “future operating environment” is an imagined war with China in the South Pacific—but in many ways, that hypothetical conflict resembles the real war in Ukraine.

The military we have—an army built around tanks, a navy built around ships, and an air force built around planes, all of which are technologically advanced and astronomically expensive—is platform-centric. So far, in Ukraine, the signature land weapon hasn’t been a tank but an anti-tank missile: the Javelin. The signature air weapon hasn’t been an aircraft, but an anti-air missile: the Stinger. And as the sinking of the Moskva showed, the signature maritime weapon hasn’t been a ship but an anti-ship missile: the Neptune.

Berger believes a new age of war is upon us. In “Force Design 2030,” he puts the following sentence in bold: “We must acknowledge the impacts of proliferated precision long-range fires, mines, and other smart weapons, and seek innovative ways to overcome these threat capabilities.” The weapons General Berger refers to include the same family of anti-platform weapons Ukrainians are using to incinerate Russian tanks, shoot down Russian helicopters, and sink Russian warships. The successes against a platform-centric Russian Goliath by an anti-platform-centric Ukrainian David have elicited cheers in the West, but what we are witnessing in Ukraine may well be a prelude to the besting of our own American Goliath.

The flying ship is a ground effect vehicle (GEV)  a vehicle that is designed to attain sustained flight over a level surface (usually over the sea), by making use of ground effect, the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface. Among the best known are the Soviet ekranoplans, but names like wing-in-ground-effect (WIG), flarecraft, sea skimmer, or wing-in-surface-effect ship (WISE) are also used.

Later in the very near future..............

Carbon fibre planes: Lighter and stronger by design

Currently, Boeing's latest plane, the 787 Dreamliner uses composites for half of its airframe including the fuselage and wing, while Airbus's A350 XWB has both its fuselage and wings made of carbon fibre.

While the use of carbon fibre has allowed the creation of sweeping wing tips, which can cut fuel consumption by up to 5%, both aircraft are still fairly conventionally shaped.

Yet, the great advantage of using carbon fibre as opposed to traditional metal is that it gives designers much more freedom when trying to juggle the conflicting demands of aerodynamic efficiency, fuel savings and reducing engine noise.

So, the airliners of the future are likely to be radically different.

Such shapes could include blended wing designs, where the fuselage and wings merge into each other - like some military aircraft today.

Similar shape BWB plane  burns 20 per cent less fuel than conventional aircraft and can carry more than 300 passengers

• 'Flying-V' was developed by the Delft Technical University in the Netherlands and KLM is funding the design  
• It has the same wingspan as existing planes and is named after the iconic Gibson Flying-V electric guitar 
• The aircraft would be able to carry up to 314 passengers in the V-shaped layout of the craft its designers claim 
• Passenger cabin, cargo hold and fuel tanks to be integrated in the design which uses 20 per cent less fuel

Dutch airline KLM are funding a pioneering aeronautical project which could see the shape and layout of commercial aeroplanes changed forever.  

The stunning 'Flying-V' design, financially backed by KLM, has the same wingspan as existing planes and is able to carry up to 314 passengers.

It is named after the iconic Gibson Flying-V electric guitar used by a number of legendary players - from Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix, to Brian May and Keith Richards.

The concept craft, developed by researchers at Delft Technology University in the Netherlands, flares diagonally backwards from it nose to create the striking V-shape. 

Its designers say this unique configuration uses 20 per cent less fuel. The wings would host the passenger space, cargo hold, fuel tanks and all other infrastructure, it is believed. 

A stunning 'V-shaped' craft developed by researchers at Delft Technology University in the Netherlands has been financially backed by KLM 

It has the wingspan of existing planes but is shaped like a guitar, with the nose flaring backwards diagonally to create the striking V-shape. It is believed to use 20 per cent less fuel, be more aerodynamic and still be able to carry up to 314 passengers. 

The aircraft name is derived from the moniker of the electric guitar developed by Gibson in 1958.

Designs were drawn up by Delft Technology University in the Netherlands.

KLM, the Dutch aeronautical giant, is funding the development of the unique plane. 

It has the wingspan of existing planes but is shaped like a guitar, with the nose flaring backwards diagonally to create the striking V-shape. 

Its total width is 215ft (65m) and its length will be slightly shorter, at 180 ft (55m). 

Its size makes it a comparable rival to the traditional Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787. pair of turbofan jet engines will be mounted at its rear and the design would drastically reduce both the carbon footprint of air travel and the expenditure on fuel.Pieter Elbers, the KLM chief executive, refused to reveal the exact extent of the project but it is being heralded as a potential leader in the field of 'sustainable aviation initiatives'. Its size makes it a comparable rival to the traditional Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 and it would be able to use existing gates, hangars and runways. Its total width is 215ft (65m) and its length will be slightly shorter, at 180 ft (55m).

WHAT IS THE 'FLYING-V'? 

Details of what the inside will look like are scarce but it will inevitably allow for a range of innovative seating arrangements, rooms and fittings. 

The wings would host the passenger space, cargo hold, fuel tanks and all other infrastructure, it is believed

Its total width is 215ft (65m) and its length will be slightly shorter, at 180 ft (55m). Details of what the inside will look like are scarcebut it will inevitably allow for a range of innovative seating arrangements, rooms and fittings

Lightweight furniture will enable the plane to maximise its gains in fuel efficiency.   

Professor Henri Werij, dean of the university's faculty of aerospace engineering, said the object was to make aviation more sustainable, according to The Times. 

'New and energy-efficient aircraft designs such as the Flying-V are important, as are new forms of propulsion. Our ultimate aim is emission-free flight,' he said. 

The aircraft name is derived from the moniker of the electric guitar developed by Gibson in 1958.

Lightweight furniture will enable the plane to maximise its gains in fuel efficiency. Professor Henri Werij, dean of the university's faculty of aerospace engineering, said the object was to make aviation more sustainable, according to The Times

Like its Russian counterpart, the American military has long been built around platforms. To pivot away from a platform-centric view of warfare is both a cultural challenge—what does it mean to be a fighter pilot without a jet, a tanker without a tank, or a sailor without a ship?—and a resource challenge. It asks the U.S. military, as well as the U.S. defense industry, to divest itself of legacy capabilities like, for example, a $13 billion Ford-class aircraft carrier, in order to invest in new, potentially less profitable technologies like, say, $6,000 Switchblade drones that can kill tanks.

 disunity among senior commanders. One of the dissenters is a former commandant, retired General Charles Krulak. “You’re divesting yourself of huge capability to buy capability that’s still on the drawing boards,” Krulak told me. “We’re being painted as a bunch of old farts who want the Marine Corps to remain as it was and don’t understand the impact of technology on warfare. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

To discount Krulak’s views would be a mistake. His tenure as commandant ushered in significant innovations for the Corps. He laid the intellectual groundwork that allowed the Corps to fight in the post-9/11 world. He also acquired the V-22 for the Marine Corps, a first-of-its-kind tilt-rotor aircraft that is both a plane and a helicopter. Berger’s strategic vision is also the first of its kind; in the event of a war with China, it imagines a 21st-century island-hopping campaign in which bands of 60 to 70 highly trained, lethally equipped Marines would infiltrate onto islands in the South Pacific to target the Chinese navy with advanced missile systems and other long-range weapons. The war at sea, in Berger’s vision, would be decided by a slew of Moskva-like engagements.

Berger’s critics don’t buy it. “The assumption that Marines can get on contested islands without being detected and conduct resupply missions is unrealistic,” Krulak said. “Plus, you’re underestimating the capability of the Chinese. The belief that these forces will shoot and scoot counts on Marines moving faster than a Chinese missile flies. You’re going to lose Marines and be unable to evacuate our wounded and dead. The Navy won’t sail in to get our wounded.”

Admiral James Stavridis, who spent much of his 40-plus-year Navy career in the South China Sea, is a believer in Berger’s vision. “The Army of tomorrow will look like the Marine Corps of today,” Stavridis told me. “What General Berger is doing is critical.” A truism among Marines is that the Corps must be at its most ready when America is at its least. In the 1930s, the Marine Corps pioneered the amphibious doctrine that would pave the way not only for the island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific but also the amphibious landings that allowed the Army to liberate Europe. Innovation, according to Stavridis, remains a core Marine mission.

The debate in the Marine Corps is more profound than the internecine politics of one service branch; it’s a debate about which form of warfare will dominate in the next decades of the 21st century, a platform-centric one or an anti-platform-centric one. Historical precedent abounds for these types of debates. Before the First World War, in the opening years of the 20th century, many militaries adhered to the cult of the offense, a then-stale belief that well-trained, determined troops would always carry the day over a defending force. In the Napoleonic Wars 100 years before, this had often proved true. But up against the 20th century’s breech-loading rifles and machine guns, the offense had become the weaker form of warfare. Tragically, it took the Marne, the Somme, and countless other bayonet charges into the teeth of chattering machine guns for the generals of that era to accept that their understanding of warfare was dated.

Representative Seth Moulton, a former Marine and Iraq War veteran who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, believes that today’s dissenting generals are failing to comprehend how much technology is changing the battlefield and how quickly the services must adapt. “When you look at what weapons are on top of the Ukrainians’ wish list,” Moulton told me, “it isn’t towed howitzers. Top of their list are armed drones, anti-tank missiles, and anti-ship missiles.”

But what if Berger is wrong? What if his “divest to invest” strategy winds up overinvesting the Marine Corps in a highly specific vision of warfare that never comes to pass? According to Moulton, much of this comes down to the role the Marine Corps has traditionally played as an incubator for new ideas as the smallest, nimblest of the services. “Our country can afford to have the Marine Corps overinvested in a new type of warfare that never comes to pass,” Moulton explained. “What our country cannot afford is to have the Marine Corps underinvested in a new type of warfare that does come to pass.”Events in Ukraine seem to validate Berger’s anti-platform-centric view of warfare, in much the same way that World War I validated those who had argued that defense had become stronger than offense. Of course, no form of warfare maintains primacy forever. Krulak made this point as we finished our conversation. “We need to be careful we don’t learn the wrong lessons from Ukraine. You have a great measure. The next thing you know they come up with a countermeasure. So you come up with a counter-countermeasure.”One of the most famous countermeasures developed after the end of the First World War was France’s Maginot Line, a physical shrine to the primacy of defense. What the French failed to account for was that in two short decades, certain developments—more advanced tanks, aircraft, and combined-arms doctrine—had once again swung the balance, allowing offense to reassume its role as the dominant form of warfare. The result was a German blitzkrieg in June 1940 that simply maneuvered around the Maginot Line.

The wager that Berger and the Marine Corps are making is that anti-platform systems won’t be an American Maginot Line, but the best way to save a generation of Americans from their own Somme or Moskva.

In the twilight of age all things seem strange and phantasmal, 

  As between daylight and dark ghost-like the landscape My heart goes back to wander there, 

And among the dreams of the days that were, 

  I find my lost youth again. 

    And the strange and beautiful song, 

    The groves are repeating it still: 

  "A boy's will is the wind's will, 

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I should not be withheld but that some day 

into their vastness I should steal away, 

Fearless of ever finding open land, 

or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand...RF

On the road of life one mile-stone more!

In the book of life one leaf turned o'er!

Like a red seal is the setting sun

On the good and the evil men have done,--

     Naught can to-day restore!

Life is real!  Life is earnest!

  And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

  Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

  Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

  Find us farther than to-day. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

  And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

  Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world's broad field of battle,

  In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

  Be a hero in the strife! 

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

  Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act,--act in the living Present!

  Heart within, and God o'erhead! 

Lives of great men all remind us

  We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

  Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

  Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

  Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing,

  With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

  Learn to labor and to wait...

 

All countries recruit young men and women to go to war. They die and their families hope against hope that they died for a higher purpose.

So many do not die for a higher cause but just for some egotistical narcissist, megalomaniac with greedy fantasies of the possibilities of gaining power, money and delusions of grandeur and glory.

 

Can Russia be considered a superpower?

While the military and political capacity of Russia remains undoubted, its economic influence lags behind.Natalya Nosova





Politicians and experts (of sorts) like to play with this loaded term, but many disagree, for instance, Vladimir Putin.


In 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the U.S. the world’s only superpower. “America is a great power, the only remaining superpower, I guess… and we admit that we’re ready to work with the United States,” said Putin during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. So, we can safely say that Russia isn’t a superpower, right? Let’s look at other opinions.

Some leaders and political scientists, however, still sometimes refer to Russia as a superpower: for instance, in July 2018, Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called the summit between Putin and Donald Trump a good sign of “cooperation between two superpowers.” So, who is right?
What is a ‘superpower’?



The United Nations Security Council is certainly among places where Russia's words really have much weight.Getty Images

This seems like a good question to start off the whole superpower talk. The definitions differ but most political scientists agree: to be a superpower a country must have lots of military, economic, financial, cultural and ideological influence, and not just among its closest neighbors, but across the world.

“Zbigniew Brzezinski believes there are four factors necessary for a state to be a superpower: military, economic, scientific-technical and cultural,” writes Oleg Matveychev, a political scientist at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. This makes sense: in order to influence the whole world (and that’s what superpowers do) a state should possess the most modern weapons and have a large economy, but at the same time, it should awe the world with its wonders of culture and science.
Limited opportunities



Does Russia meet these criteria? In some fields Moscow definitely has something “superpower-ish” – for instance, Russia can count on huge military capacity ($47 billion defense budget, full-scale nuclear arsenal and the world’s second most powerful armed forces, according to Business Insider).

Politically, Russia’s weight on the international arena is also impressive: as a permanent member of the UN Security Council it has the right to veto on every major resolution. In addition, the country plays an important role in European affairs and, thanks to its active position in the Syrian conflict, Russia also has much weight in the Middle East. Russia’s economic potential, however, is not as big as that of the U.S. With the world’s 11th largest GDP, it’s certainly an important country, but definitely not a superpower, economy-wise.

The above-mentioned realities limit Russia’s global role. “There’s only one parameter that proves Russia is a global power: defense resources. In other fields, we are not as powerful as we want to be, and this leaves many questions regarding what’s going to be our country’s role in the 21st century,” Alexander Dynkin, president of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told Kommersant.
Washington is lonely at the top

This wasn’t always the case: in the second half of the 20th century the USSR challenged the U.S. across the globe, a powerful menace that rivaled America in every field, be it military matters, politics, economic influence and culture.



Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev.Getty Images

“After two devastating world wars, the global community found itself in a stable and very abnormal, in terms of history, shape. Two states dominated the world, incomparable to any others in its power,” said Fedor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Russia in Global Affairs, in an interview. This bipolar world order defined the Cold War period.

“That’s when the term ‘superpower’ was coined, to distinguish those gigantic powers from the so-called ‘great powers” of the 19th century,’ Lukyanov added. Those included the UK, France, Germany, Russia and so on. But in the second half of the 20th century, there were only two superpowers. After the Cold war ended, one of the superpowers – the USSR – ceased to exist, and though Russia inherited some of its assets (nuclear status and a position on the UN Security Council), “its influence remained large but it was no longer unique,” the expert said.

Vladimir Putin seems to be right: while Russia is one of the major players in the international arena, it is not a superpower like the U.S. Can the latter remain the most powerful country on Earth, or will it eventually lose its crown, like what happened with the USSR? Only time can tell, but one thing is for sure - no one stays at the top forever.