FAMOUS FILIPINO MASONS: NICANOR ABELARDO

Nicanor Sta. Ana Abelardo (February 7, 1893 – March 21, 1934) was a Filipino composer known for his Kundiman songs, especially before the Second World War.

Life

Abelardo was born in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan. His mother belonged to a family of artists in Guagua, the Hensons. He was introduced to music when he was five years old, when his father taught him the solfeggio and the banduria. At the age of 8, he was able to compose his estoryahe first work, a waltz entitled "Ang Unang Buko," which was dedicated to his grandmother. At the age of 13, he was already playing at saloons and cabarets in Manila. At age 15, he was already teaching in barrio schools in San Ildefonso and San Miguel Bulacan. All of these happened even before young Abelardo finally took up courses under Guy F. Harrison and Robert Schofield at the UP Conservatory of Music in 1916. By 1924, following a teacher’s certificate in science and composition received in 1921, he was appointed head of the composition department at the Conservatory. Years later, he ran a boarding school for young musicians, and among his students were National Artist Antonino Buenaventura, Alfredo Lozano and Lucino Sacramento. In the field of composition he is known for his redefinition of the kundiman, bringing the genre to art-song status. Among his works were "Nasaan Ka Irog," "Magbalik Ka Hirang," and "Himutok." He died in 1934 at the age of 41, leaving a collection of more than 140 works.

As a composition major at the University of the Philippines, he also composed the melody for the university's official anthem, U.P. Naming Mahal.

The building housing the College of Music in UP Diliman (Abelardo Hall) is named in his honor.

The Main theatre of the Cultural Center of the Philippines is named in his honor ( Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo).

Masonic Life

Abelardo was made a master mason at Luzon Lodge No. 57 and was also conferred the 32° at the Philippine Bodies.

FAMOUS FILIPINO MASONS: NUMERIANO R. ADRIANO

Numeriano Adriano was born in Pandacan, Manila, on July 5, 1846 and died on January 11, 1897. 

Adriano was initiated into the mysteries of Masonry on February 1892 adopting the Masonic name "Ipil" at Nilad Lodge and soon after formed Balagtas Lodge in Sampaloc. 

As a Mason, he took active part in the formation of the Regional Grand Lodge and was elected vice-president under the Presidency of Ambrocio Flores.

An active officer in the Propaganda Movement that supported Marcelo H. del Pilar’s "La Solidaridad", he and together with his protégé, Apolinario Mabini, organized the "Cuerpo  de Compromisarios" specifically to raise funds for the purpose. A very enthusiastic Mason, his home at Nagtahan was a frequent place for the secret meetings of the then banned Masonic Order.

He was executed at Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park) on January 11, 1897 together with Domingo Franco, Moises Salvador, Faustino Villaruel and nine others for alleged complicity in the Philippine Revolution.

FAMOUS FILIPINO MASONS: CONRADO BENITEZ

Conrado Benitez, the great statesman, eminent educator, constitutionalist,  journalist, historian, civic leader  and outstanding  mason was the twenty-third Grand Master of  the Grand Lodge  of the Philippines and  the  second  Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the Philippines. 

The Mason 

He worked in the quarries of Masonry for more than half a  century.  He was only 25 years of age when he was  raised to  the sublime degree of Master Mason in Bagumbayan  Lodge No. 4 on the eleventh of November, 1914 - the Lodge's  first candidate.  Due to his proficiency and active participation in  Lodge  affairs, he was elected Junior Warden  that  same year;  Senior Warden in 1917 and Worshipful Master in  1918. In  1936, he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines.   His contemporaries at that time were  some of the great names in Masonry – Jose Abad Santos, Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera, Manuel L. Quezon, Francisco A. Delgado, Frederic H. Stevens, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Manuel Camus and scores of others. 

In  1916 he joined the Philippine Bodies.  By  1919  he was  a  Master  of the Royal Secret.  In  1937,  the  Mother Council of the Southern Jurisdiction, USA, honored him  with his investiture as Knight Commander of the Court of  Honor. Twelve years later he joined others in organizing the Luzon Bodies and was elected as the first Venerable Master of  its Harmony  Lodge of Perfection.  That same  year  (1949)  the Mother Supreme Council invested him with the rank and dignity  of Inspector General Honorary, 33°.  When  the  Supreme Council  of  the Republic of the Philippines was  formed  in 1950, he was one of those created a Sovereign Grand  Inspector General and Active Member, serving as the  first  Grand Treasurer  General of the Supreme Council.  He  later  also served as Grand Chancellor and then as Ven. Grand Prior.   In 1961 Sovereign Grand Commander Frederic H. Stevens  resigned his position because of failing health.  At the  session of  the  Supreme  Council held that year  Benitez  was  duly elected  as  the  second Sovereign Grand  Commander  of  the Philippine Supreme Council. 

Benitez  was  also an Honorary Member  of  one  foreign Supreme Council and the Grand Representative of four others. Aside  from  these he was a Shriner and a  member  of  Lodge Perla del Oriente No. 1054, Scottish Constitution. 

The Statesman 

The Masonic education, tenets and ideals of service  of Benitez  fitted  well in his role as one  of  the  country's leading  statesmen.  Up to his late years, Dean Benitez,  as he was fondly called by all, was actively involved in  civic affairs and in his principal lifelong obsession - the promotion of higher education. 

Born  on  November  26, 1889 in  Pagsanjan,  Laguna  he studied at the Philippine Normal School and graduated  valedictorian.   In 1911 he was sent to the United States  as  a government pensionado  and enrolled at  the  University  of Chicago  where he acquired his M.A, and his Ph. D. Back  in the  Philippines  he studied law at the  University  of  the Philippines. 

He  started his public career as a teacher  of  history and  economics at the Philippine Normal College.  Later,  he founded  the College of Business Administration of the  University  of the Philippines, and became its first Dean.    He was  also  one of the founding trustees  of  the Philippine Women's University, the first university for women in  Asia. 

He was, too, the moving spirit  behind  the  world-famous Bayanihan  Folk Arts Center, which gave identity to  Philippine  culture and brought from abroad honor and prestige  to the nation. 

Dean Benitez was chairman and co-founder of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and trustee of the International  Institute  of Rural Reconstruction  (IIRR)  - both of which were dedicated to the upliftment of the masses of our people who lived in the rural areas. 

In  the  1920's there were no  Filipino  newspapers  in English;  all the English papers were owned and  edited  by Americans.  In those difficult years, therefore, the Filipinos  saw the imperative need of publishing a Filipino  paper in  English, owned, edited and managed by Filipinos.   Thus the  Philippines Herald was founded, and Benitez was  chosen as its first editor.  The editorials of the Herald,  nationalistic  in tone and purpose, effectively gave the  Filipino side and  they were so well written, with a  restraint  and sobriety that are the hallmarks of good writing, that  they commanded  the  attention and respect  of  nationalists  and foreigners  alike.   The Philippine independence movement  at last  had its voice in the language of the colonial master.  It  was a voice without venom which  eloquently  articulated the  Filipino aspirations addressed to the sovereign  power; it  was a voice that when the occasion demanded could  sound like  a thousand trumpets to compel respectful hearing  from even as far as Washington, D.C. 

In  1934 Dean Benitez was elected as a delegate to  the Constitutional Assembly and became a member of the committee of  "Seven  Wise Men" charged with the task of  framing  the draft of the proposed Charter.  In 1937, US President Franklin  D. Roosevelt made him member of the  Filipino-American joint committee charged with formulating economic plans  in preparation for the country's independence.  In 1938, he was appointed assistant executive secretary to the President  of the Philippine Commonwealth. 

A firm believer in the potentialities of the youth,  he co-founded the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA),  of which he served as President and chairman of the Board  from 1949  up to  the time of his demise.  He had  also  been  a staunch advocate  of "free primary  instruction  in public schools  and of citizenship training to adult citizens"  and fought to have them enshrined in the Constitution as nation­al policies.

Dean  Benitez  received quite a number  of  awards  and medals for his outstanding public service, among which  were the President Award of Merit for Community Service in  1956; the Distinguished  Alumnus  Award from  the University  of Chicago  in 1957; the Diploma of Merit for faithful  service to  higher education from the University of the  Philippines in 1962; the "Man of the Golden Year" award from the Philippine  Women's University in 1968; and the  Pro-Patria Award conferred on him by President Marcos in 1969 in  recognition of  his distinguished achievements in the fields  of  education, economics, and social reform. 

Death

On  January  4, 1971 Dean Benitez dropped  his  working tools.   His passing left a deep void that is hard to  fill, but  he left a rich heritage of shinning examples in public service worthy of the emulation of present day  Masonic leaders. Thus the Balustre issued by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite announcing his death said - 

Our Supreme Council has been very  fortunate and  proud to have had him as our Sovereign Grand Commander for a decade; and the Masonic fraternity has  been more than fortunate to have counted  him as one of its leading members and staunch support­ers  for over half a century.  He shared his  time and strength with his Brethren in accordance  with the high ideals and character-building  philosophy of Freemasonry, and left us with a record of good deeds  which  will forever be a  living  voice  to remind us of his greatness.

In Memory of our brother Augusto Atienza Sr.

Bro. Augusto Atienza, Sr.

Augusto "Tito" Delos Reyes y Atienza (26 October 1926 – 21 July 2010) Son of Teodoro and Carmen Atienza, the youngest of seven children, born in Corregidor, Philippines. Enlisted in the US Navy in 1946. Served aboard various surface ships throughout a proud Navy career, but his true love was serving aboard submarines. Retired in 1971 as a Petty Officer First Class. Worked for Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. from 1980 to 1993. Lifetime Member of Free and Accepted Masons , Cavite Lodge #2, Cavite, Philippines, raised on Feb. 27,1961. In 1980 Affiliated with Great Lights Masonic Lodge, Sunnyvale, CA. He attained the Scottish Rite 32nd degree on May 14, 1988 and joined the Shriners on December 3, 1988 in San Francisco, CA. On Wednesday 21 July, he passed away at the age of 83 in Palo Alto, CA. A resident of the Golden State since 1978, he is survived by his loving wife Norma, his devoted children Jean, Nina, and Augusto Jr. ("Chito"), his ten grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. He will be dearly missed and reverently remembered always.

ABOUT IGLPI: Bagong Buhay Lodge No.4; One Hundred One Years

Some members of the Fraternity who were remnants of a group of gallant patriots, of those who escaped unscathed with their lives; who surmounted great obstacles and sacrifices and risked their fortunes and their own lives and those of their loved ones; those who were survivors of a despotic government and its cruel officials, the bigots, tyrants and extortionist, who lorded over the lives, properties and the souls of the poor and enslaved people of these fair islands; those who, like the proverbial bees, active and industrious, fearless and decided champions of liberty, gathered together to build up the honey-comb with which to sweeten the arid existence of the suffering humanity in these valleys. And they founded a Masonic lodge so that its benevolent and radiant light could reach and brighten the nebulous and superstitious minds of men and be emancipated, freed from the mire of ignorance, fallacy and fanaticism in which they were sank. These brethren were the “First Filipino Masons in Cavite” during and after the Spanish domination, they having been initiated in the Espana en Filipinas Lodge and in other lodges abroad, in 1894 and 1895, under the jurisdiction of the Gran Oriente Nacional de Espana: The Founding Members of Bagong Buhay Lodge – HPS1946

Bagong Buhay Lodge is a century old lodge in Cavite .  It was organized in 1906 and constituted as Logia Bagong Buhay No. 291 under the Gran Oriente Espanol on August 11, 1907.  It affiliated with the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands on February 13, 1917 and became Bagong Buhay Lodge No 17.

On September 10, 2006, Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 17 together with seven (7) century old and very old lodges in Cavite declared their independence with the Grand Lodge of the Philippines (GLP) and formed a regularly, legally and duly constituted Independent Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippine Islands (IGLPI), in a fitting ceremonies held at the historic WB Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine, Kawit, Cavite, where the first Philippine National Flag was hoisted and the first Philippine National Anthem “Marcha Nacional Filipina” was played by San Francisco de Malabon marching band during the  declaration of independence on June 12, 1898.

Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 17 was re-chartered and renumbered to Lodge No. 4 in the jurisdiction of the Most Worshipful Independent Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands (IGLPI).

The Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 4 F. & A. M. has been true to its chosen name (New Life), a life of enlightenment and usefulness to communities and places wherever its members had migrated, lived and stayed for business, for work or for permanent residence. It has honorably and faithfully discharged its duties to the Fraternity; it has maintained its prestige and good name by strict adherence to the ancient landmarks of the Institution and the continued progress it has made from the time of its organization.

The lodge multiplied later and became a beacon-light within the sphere of its radiation. Members from Bagong Buhay Lodge, like crusaders or missionaries of the Golden Gospel, like harbingers of “ Liberty , Equality and Fraternity”, have been founders, co-founders or charter members of other lodges which bring glory to the Mother Lodge.

New members come, old members dropped their working tools. Others simply fade away. But Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 4 will stand like a beacon light, diffusing its rays to light up the part of that grand ideal of establishing a Universal League of Mankind under the Fatherhood of God.

“Despite the long, rough and rugged journey, the Lodge moves on, and brethren march forward.”

On August 11, 2008, another feather will be added to Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 4 when she celebrates its 101st Foundation Anniversary. The officers and members together with the brethren from other Member Lodges, widows and orphans, sisters, daughters and sons from appendant bodies, distinguished guests and friends of Masons in unpretentious but memorable event will celebrate her birthday.

(August 11, 2008 is Monday, the brethren of BBL4 decided to celebrate the anniversary on August 9, 2008 Saturday to ensure the attendance of the brethren, families and friends of Masons).

Please see attachment. Thank you.

IGLPI - R.I.C.

Bagong Buhay Lodge Masonic Center

Cavite City, Philippines