mga sano, seems like sorsogon was hit hard by the typhoon milenyo. i was just able to talk to my brod jay (b87) tonight --he was able to get a smart sim --as only smart was operating-- and he said that sorsogon city was a mess. lots of fallen down trees, electric poles, various debris were everywhere. even salog river overflowed and flooded downtown.
guess it will be awhile for our sano bloggers in sorsogon to go online and post their stories about the bagyo as it might take some time for power to be restored there. as of the moment there's no power, no landline and satelite/radio phones and only smart cell is working.
i'm wondering what happend to the OLPS kaya. Back then in OLPS, my batchmates immensely enjoyed the aftermath of the typhoon as we have great fun collecting coconuts and other fallen down fruits and most of all gathering saba bananas which we cook into the bestest pinakro EVER!
i miss pinakro!!!!
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There are some videos on Youtube about the typhoon an i'll post 2 of them. a bit lame kasi this is a recording of the news channel report on the typhoon but it shows many things and edited na so hehehehe. there are still many videos posted by ---go check them out
just to update you on some new stuff up at the Sano Blogs
Batch 86
Fr. Peewee went to the US to visit relatives and do some church work. sir ipe and ma'm reno are recent immigrants there - looking good ano. that's pinky, fr. peewee's younger sis with her two cute kids
Batch 87
B87 in manila had a sending off party for Gibbs who is off to Russia for a tourism promotion trip related to his work in Inquirer. Also up at their blog are some pics of the seminary taken by Fr. Dandy. go there and refresh your memory :-) Gibbs btw has a blog full of nice reads- go check it out here
Batch92
had another b-ball scrimmage. its often held on weekends and open to all sano. contact dondee for skeds and infos -maybe leave a message in their chatbox
Batch89
Mons Pax visited NY sanos Richard Montano and Fr. RJ. , Deedee Luzurriaga and Bong Sanez (who hosted he dinner at his house). Also there was Fr. Gerry and sano Ramon Palces (batch71) -- he's the guy on the left.
Batch94
had what seems to be fun bday party! more pix at their blog
Batch 82
Finally found another long lost batchmate - Noel Frivaldo-- who i gather was famous for his handmade mini-komiks back then. Lots of other interesting stuff at their blog posted by tireless blogger sano Ronny Yrureta.
Prayers and good wishes..
Condolences to the family of sano Woowoo, whose sister passed away because of dengue. Mga sano in metro manila - triple ingat tabi sa dengue lalo na with your kids. kill those mosquitos!!
Lets offer prayers also for the quick recovery of Rino and Cho Coronel's mom who underwent surgery for hepatic cysts.
Prayers also to sano Totep Perez who is now in Australia as a Ford Scholarin Bond Uni. --for his success (sigurado ina) in his studies
Prayers also to all of us for good health and success. sya keep safe y'all!
do visit gibbs cadiz' recently revamped blog for some good readings (as always) where he writes "mostly about theater, travel, movies, music, books, personal stuff, and whatever other topics that come to mind"
this is the retirement home of the Sorsogon priests still under construction. this is beside the study hall where there used to be lots of mandarin and coconut trees. Sanos who wish to donate for the completion of the facility or who know a generous benefactor may contact the OLPS Rector or the Diocese for more info.
thanks to batch87 for the pix
mga sano, i may not transfer this blog to wordpress.com after all. i just found out that wordpress.com does not support javascript or cutom html on their sidebars. this means i cannot install the chatbox/messageboard there.
guess, we'll have to wait for the blogger 2 update na lang.
Sano Aris Espinosa, municipal mayor of San Jacinto, Masbate, unexpectedly passed away today, 7:30 a.m. in a freak accident in his home.
According to Fr. Gerry del Prado, as relayed to him by his sister, Mayor Aris was apparently taking a shower preparing to travel to Manila for his child"s baptism when something went wrong --they suspect that maybe he was electrocuted by one of the gadgets in the bathroom, maybe the heater.
I remember Aris as a low key, happy and overall nice guy (he was sophomore during my senior year)
Our condolences to his wife Sandra Martinez Espinosa, his mother, Rep Vida Verzosa Espinosa, sister Marvi Espinosa Bravo and his kids.
Farewell and godspeed Aris.
i remember fr. douglas as a much loved parish priest and seminary priest and for his rumbling big bike, booming voice, football and the super admiration that my casiguran batchmates have for him
i'll be tweaking the blog in the coming days. most probably i will put in a new template and do some other tweaks as well.
I'm eagerly awaiting the roll-out of Blogger V. 2 which has been added many features like labels/categories and drag and drop template editing among other things. you can read more of the Blogger 2 beta here
By Mene Dimaano
The genius of SANO lies in the imperfection of the organization; like its pioneers and trailblazers are not perfect, however the main objectives are noble. Its genius is to be amended and improved by the new generation to come; through the sign of times. The SANO and OLPS are one; the failure of one to strive means a catastrophe to the other.
SANO is a volunteer action; It is not compulsory, but a responsibility. Usually, volunteer actions are based on personal reactionary involvement to the community. When a problem or situation arises that affects the quality of life, we counter act with volunteer service and support to a community. But as a SANO volunteer action and as a responsibility; we do not hesitate how to help; we make efforts that really make a difference. No matter how insurmountable the problem is, we always find a solution.
Responsibility is what we were honed and trained to a multiple discipline; if not, institutionalized, to supine in our back and accept the burden of challenges that is sometimes greater than life. Some how we owe this to those who mentored us, if not to the institution. It is then a responsibility to respond voluntarily with out inhibition to a call for help and support of the institution (OPLS).
The genius of SANO is not to criticize the religious sectors or the person that represent it. It does not condemn the past history of any organization, religion or its shortcomings. Rather SANO offer atonements, suggestions and constructive solutions. We believe on the philosophy of education and civilization. No matter how vivid the difference of what is right and wrong or sometime the issue of moral to immoral has gone too far, we always find time to think both more deeply and more broadly before we suggest solutions and not to condemnation alone.
The genius of SANO does not depend to the few who rules, but to the greater number of subject whose diversity of ideas are infinite and their actions are colossal. We stand firm and believe to its principles and not to be influence by negative gradient of some, for negative concepts are always present and they are perennial as the grass.
And lastly the genius of SANO is with in us, for that is what we are and what we will always be. We are branded EX-SEMINARIANS and it will reverberate for the rest of our lives.
By Mene Dimaano
All roads lead back to OLPS.
It is our alma mater, a segment of our past, a constituent of our journey from childhood to manhood and a part of the essence of our own lives.
For clarification, let us define some terms:
Alumnus – a person who graduated from OLPS.
SANO – acronym for Sorsogon Association of the Non-Ordained, an organization formed by alumni of OLPS
‘sano’ – a person who answered the call for priesthood and enrolled in OLPS, regardless of the duration of time he spent inside the seminary. The term is used for an OLPS classmate, or even for a cousin (many seminarians come from the same towns and they are usually related)
A brief history of SANO: The camaraderie of all who set foot on the grounds of OLPS is always vivid whenever ‘sano’ gather. There have been occasional reunions of different batches, and sometimes a composite of different batches. On one such occasion, a record high attendance was achieved with an informal reunion of “alumni,” with priests, major seminarians and ex-seminarians alike enjoying a whole day of fun. The clergy and seminarians called themselves the “wholly one” (from the Wholly Moses movie) while the ex-seminarians branded themselves the “honest ones”.
The old St. Peter and Paul Cathedral patio was the place where the “honest ones” would hang out after Sunday mass. The eagerness of everyone to tell tales of their fun experiences in OLPS was always in their faces. Some stories were repetitive and redundant, but the cause and effect was always the same as when these stories were first heard. These Sunday meet-ups had become such a routine that everyone assumed it was now part of Sunday ritual.
One time, however, the rhythm of the Sunday ritual was broken. The fun and laughter that usually filled the air was nowhere to be found. Anxiety and anger was on the alumni faces. News from the chancery was the cause. It was said that the Bishop was planning to close the high school department of OLPS.
There were valid and justifiable reasons. Only a few graduates of OLPS now pursue the vocation of priesthood. The pre-college program is seen as more effective in preparing young boys for priestly formation. Enrollees across the province were also declining, and maintaining the seminary had become a herculean task for the diocese of Sorsogon.
The impact of the news was worrisome. So one rainy night in February, a group of alumni gathered to talk strategy and think of ways to help their old school. A big step was about to unfold. The night started with casual kantiyawan, people calling each other by aliases and monickers earned during their seminary years. But the oldest participant suggested that everyone call each other ‘sano’ (from the word ‘paisano’), and without any reservation the group complied.
OLPS’s dire situation was in the agenda. Opinions, ideas and personal views on how to help it were laid out and discussed. But then, everyone quickly agreed that OLPS alumni must constitute a formal organization for any of its ideas and plans to take shape.
It took a while to find a name for the organization, until someone suggested the acronym SANO: SORSOGON ASOCIATION OF THE NON-ORDAINED. It was quickly adopted (with apologies to those ‘sano’ who did not reside in Sorsogon, but since OLPS was in Sorsogon the name made sense).
An ad hoc committee was formed and elected. A constitution and set of by-laws were also drafted by several alumni lawyers and law students. The alumni gathered several times to discuss and agree on the organization’s objectives. The first major hurdle, of course, was funding. To jumpstart its activities, SANO’s initial funds came from the personal pockets of every member. (I remember putting out P100 and suggested that it be made the yearly due from each member. The late Joe Sanchez corrected me and said it should be P50. I was surprised, but understood why. Half went to senor San Miguel!).
To inform other ‘sano’ about the group and recruit them to its activities, young members--single, energetic and with more time to spare—were designated. Sorsogon had no phone system or Internet at that time, only radio, so establishing contact with other OLPS alumni required commitment.
Senior ‘sano’ and alumni were the priority of the recruitment drive--people like Judge Owen Amor, Mayor Ding Ramos of Gubat, Edgar Cabase of LTO Sorsogon, SPHO head Dr. Arthuro Perdigon, and Rev. Theoduro Rey. (Again, apologies to those whose names I forget to mention, but whose dedication and commitment could not be doubted.)
The response of most alumni and sano was amazing! There is no record of anyone who refused the invitation to join the organization. “Sin duda, sin pensar,” every ‘sano’ embraced the concept of SANO.
On April 10, 1993 at Rizal beach, Gubat, Sorsogon, the SORSOGON ASSOCIATION OF THE NON-ORDAINED. INC. held its first general assembly and induction program. The theme: BURUGKOS.
Its objectives:
- Organize ex-seminarians from OLPS
- Finalize the drafted constitution and by-laws through democratic voting.
- Induct the Board Members.
- Promote OPLS and increase the number of enrollees through a planned ‘Oplan Balik Seminario.’
- Increase the organization’s funds for any future projects
- Organize SANO and Alumni for the forthcoming golden anniversary of OLPS.
On October 16, 1993, the first general homecoming of OLPS alumni organized by SANO materialized. Well, that’s another story. For now, the legacy continues…
“ALL GREAT THINGS START SMALL. THE PYRAMID OF EGYPT AND THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA BOTH STARTED FROM A GRAIN OF SAND. RATHER THAN BEING PREOCCUPIED AND GETTING OVERWHELMED WITH THE THOUGHT OF CHANGING THE SYSTEM OF THE DIOCESE OF SORSOGON, THE CHRISTIAN FAITH OR THE WORLD, WE CAN TAKE SMALL STEPS IN OUR OWN LIVES, TOWARD OLPS AND IN THE COMMUNITIES WE LIVE IN THAT CAN HAVE REAL IMPACT. SANO IS ONE WAY OF MAKING SUCH CHANGES COME TRUE.
(much thanks to yayes and gibbs for the edits)
Calling the attention of the OLPS Alumni Association Inc. officers! What are your plans for this years' Alumni Homecoming? madali na tabi an October,we are waiting for your announcements or whatever plans you have(if there is any). Hope to hear from you soon!
break muna tayo sa saving olps thing ha, kay bagan mamundo didi hehehe
here's a pix of the Sunday scrimmage at Amoranto Covered Court in QC of B92 and other sano. all sano are welcome daw to join the weekend ball game-- more deets at their blog
i was reminded about the OLPS mailing list after i looked for bombi manda's addy and read his email about setting up a mailing list.
i was forever planning to set this up but things always come up and and OLPS Admin office and alumni never was able to forward me the email addresses of SANOs.
so to hasten things up, may i request you to send me the email addresses of your batchmates or any sano u know of. pls send the list to olpseminarista @ yahoo com. pls. dont forget to include class/batch info kay dili ko bistado gabos na sano.
salamatonon tabi. have a good week ahead :D
mga sano, kindly post your comments, suggestions/ reflections, whatever re "saving olps".
i try as much as possible to give everyone a free rein on whatever they post here but i just implore everybody to be clear, civil, learned, factual and gentlemen enough to sign off on your comments using your real names. at this point, being an anonymous coward is not really helpful ;-)
below are the comments generated by post here about a nearly empty refectory with its suggestion of diminishing number of seminarians in OLPS minor.
i myself was taken aback by that sight -more from the sense of sadness that it exudes and the jarring realization that maybe the end is just around the corner.
reading these comments however gave me hope about OLPS surviving this current predicament. these comments -insightful, provocative, assertive and creative, reflects our care for the OLPS legacy and for the Sano brotherhood. i hope for the discussion to continue and i expect that we will translate these into a concrete plan of action. it would be nice also if some clergy and members of the SANO board of directors can join the discussion -- just to round things up :-)
lastly, anybody is most welcome to help me summarize these pala :-)
read all comments here...
yup! this is the refectory circa 2006. i never associated refectory as a sad place -- eating there was fun coz we fought over food, told funny stories, shared baon and of course the merienda time ..isakaramusa hehehe. but here it looks sad and feels really empty.
so counting the chairs i assume there are only about 58 seminarians.
and even the priests' table (ano ngani an tawag sadto?) has also gotten smaller
looks like OLPS is beginning to fade away... :-(
what can the alumni kaya do to revive OLPS? any suggestions?
got the pix pala from batch 93
mga sano living abroad and elsewhere (with a fast internet connection) here's an internet station playing nothing but pinoy rock, alternative music, blues and r&b from the 70's to present-- just perfect to wash away those pung-aw!
the station is maintained by a kababayan living in los angeles california. you can even buy the songs (.99$) or the album yata. visit his website here --
download the real player first to play the station or if you are a regular to live365.com then all is a-ok.
listen to pinoy rock here!!!
Here's a recent writeup by my great-writer-in-the-making batchmate Yayes Basares, reflecting on the influence of Pax to the seminarians then and an admiration for Pax as a rector..
here's an excerpt...
Our seminary before was run like a well oiled machine; precise and on the dot in every scheduled activity. The Father Rector, Mons. Pax, herded his flock and made them follow a strict regimen day in and day out giving emphasis on punctuality. The moment we rose until the time we retired we already knew what to follow, how to do things, and where to do them.
His authority on our lives was not confined within its walls for even as we went home we were required to serve the parish.
To our young minds then, discipline and order was a fearsome image. We sulked in corners whenever Mons. Pax made his rounds with that patented clinking of keys as he walked down the corridor; always fearful of what mistake we might have made or what he might find in us. There was fear in hearing his booming voice, his sharp stare was enough to make us toe the line. Order and discipline was Mons. Pax's daily menu. He became the personification of authority every one at our age loved to hate.
Continue reading the writeup here... and visit our blog too :-)
i was intrigued by an anonymous comment inthe shoutbox so i googled larry manda and i got this. here's a pix of larry manda in one of his shoots. the caption was "Paul Tañedo (holding camera) assisted by Larry Manda, cameraman". they were making the film "Ebolusyon"
p.s to anonymous posters please identify yourself. type your name in the name field box
a brilliant meditation on the human condition
