The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially named Minor Planet No. 6636 in honor of Dr. Roman L. Kintanar ‘48 last week. Kintanar headed the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) for nearly 36 years before retiring in 1994. It was the Astronomical League of the Philippines which proposed the asteroid’s name to the IAU “in recognition of Kintanar’s long service and innumerable contributions to the advancement and modernization of weather forecasting in the Philippines, as well as for inspiring future astronomers.”

The official citation for Asteroid 6636 Kintanar was published in Minor Planet Center Circular No. 59384 on April 2. It reads: “Roman Lucero Kintanar (b. 1929) directed the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration from 1958 to 1994. A dedicated public servant and distinguished scientist, he was president of the UN World Meteorological Organization during 1979-1987.”

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Dr. Leopoldo “Pol” Vergel de Dios ‘31 passed away in California, USA last March 24. A few days later, on March 30, B/Gen. Jesus T. Mendoza ‘32, former Surgeon General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, joined our Creator. Vergel de Dios and Mendoza were both charter members of the medical fraternity Phi Kappa Mu in 1933, a testament to motto of the Upsilon of gathering the light to scatter.

The Manila results are in! Chrysanthus “Bojit” Herrera ‘06 is the incoming chairperson of the University Student Council in UP Manila for AY 2007-2008. This is the third time in four years that the frat has produced a USC Chairperson after Albert Francis E. Domingo ‘04 in Manila in 2005, and Michel Kristian “Kris” Ablan ‘00 in Diliman in 2004. To add to the good news, Justine Benjamin “Benjo” Pajaro ‘06 was also elected vice-chairperson of the College of Medicine.

In the Junior Marketing Association in UP Diliman, Lauro Francis “Junjun” Guevara, Jr. ‘05 was elected Vice-President for the Socials and Public Relations Committee and Gregorio Angelo “Gelo” Villar ‘05 won as Vice-President for External Affairs. Congratulations brods!

Election results are out in Diliman. Herminio “Third” Bagro III ‘02 is the No. 1 USC Councilor! This is the third time this decade that the frat has produced a No. 1 USC Councilor after Vincent Patrick “VP” Palafox ‘00 in 2000 and Paolo Luis M. Gomez ‘03 in 2004. To add to the good news, Paolo Marco R. Mapula ‘02 also won as No. 5 USC Councilor! The third brod in USC 2007-2008 is Francis “Kiko” Serina ‘06 who won as No. 1 College Representative of Engineering.

In the Engineering Student Council, Ramon Miguel “Miggy” Abeleda ‘05 won as IE Representative while John Emmanuel “JE” Umbal ‘07 won as EEE Reresentative. In the College of Arts and Letters, Johanne “Jay” del Rosario ‘06 won as College Councilor.

Congratulations to all the brods for a job well done!

The Secretary of the University and the Board of Regents, Dr. Lourdes Abadingo, announced on February 7 that Ponciano E. Rivera, Jr. ‘61 is the new Alumni Regent. UP Alumni Association (UPAA) President Atty. Gari M. Tiongco ‘61 is serving the Board as a regular member. Rivera joins brods Tiongco, Romulo G. Davide ‘54 and Edmundo M. Varona ‘54 in the Board. Congratulations brod!

In view of the fact that there were only fifteen nominees for the position of Board of Directors for the year 2007-2009, it was decided that the nominees be elected by way of acclamation, instead of secret ballot. The fellows assembled at the venue were asked to express their approval of the nominees by standing up and clapping their hands. The fellows agreed to the proposal. They simultaneously stood up, cheered and clapped their hands upon which the nominees were declared duly elected members of the Board of Directors of the USPAA for the year 2007-2009.

The outgoing Chairman and President welcomed the following new members of the Board: Antonio Abad Jr. ‘57, Eliseo M. Ilano ‘57, Behn Cervantes ‘58, Francisco B. Aniag, Jr. ‘66, Geronimo S. Esguerra ‘68, Gregorio S. Ejercito ‘72, Francisco S. Pascua ‘73, Enrico V. Livelo ‘81, Joel Viado ‘83, Felicano Manuel Manlulu II ‘85, Gari Tiongco II ‘91, Valdemor Enrique Aguilar ‘93, Miguel A. Robillo ‘96, Tecson John S. Lim ‘97 and Jaime Fortunato A. Caringal ‘99. Abad and Aniag were elected Chairman and President respectively. Congratulations brods!

The Commission on UNO Awards and Recognition formally announced the results of the search for UNO awardees for the years 2005 & 2006 at Congress XI. According to its chairman Benny Fulgencio ‘65, the awards will be conferred in formal ceremonies on a date and venue to be announced by the USPAA Secretariat and the UNO Commission.

After days of careful deliberation, the seven-man panel of judges chaired by Fellow Efren Yambot ‘60, with members Carlo Magno ‘58, Ponciano Rivera ‘61, Carlos Pedrosa ‘62, Gari Tiongco ‘62, Romeo Gecolea ‘63 and Dante Canlas ‘65 were unanimous in approving and endorsing the conferment of the UNO award to Onofre D. Corpuz ‘47, National Scientist, former UP President and Minister of Education; Fernando F. Piedad ‘52, physician, gastroenterologist, and specialist in internal medicine; and Willy C. Gaa ‘66, Philippine Ambassador to the United States of America.

Antonio G. Puyat ‘55 (fifth from left) and Ivan Anthony S. Henares ‘98 (second from left) were inducted as directors of the Ateneo Alumni Association (AAA) at ceremonies held recently at the Ateneo de Manila University. The 17-member AAA Board of Directors is elected from grade school, high school and college alumni of the Ateneo de Manila University. Congratulations brods!

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The Institute of Objective Studies based in New Delhi recently released the book 100 Great Muslim Leaders of the 20 Century. “Spanning the tumultuous history of the 20th century, this book profiles the life and times of 100 great Muslim leaders, the impact of whose thoughts and achievements continue to shape our lives in the 21st century,” says the Vedams Books website. The late Ahmad Domocao Alonto ‘33 is the only Filipino featured, joining other well-known Muslims personalities such as King Faisal, Dr. Mahatir Mohammad, Ruhollah al-Musavi Khomeini, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and Malcolm X whose lives are chronicled in the book.

The 11th Upsilon Sigma Phi Congress with the recurring theme “Living the Credo” shall be held at the U.P. Alumni Hostel on January 6, 2007. Registration is at 7 a.m. This one-day affair shall include plenary sessions and breakout discussion groups, entertainment numbers, and the reports of the USPAA.  Registration fee of P1,000 includes lunch, dinner and drinks.

The Congress is a great venue for fellowship, to rekindle our fraternal ties, and an occasion to select the next members of the USPAA Board of Directors.  Most important however is the issuance of resolutions to further improve the traditions, ideals and relevance of the fraternity. We hope to see you there.

Batch 1966 of the Upsilon Sigma Phi and Sigma Delta Phi of Diliman and Los Banos celebrate their 40th anniversary with Batch ‘66 Jam Session, featuring all night dancing, fellowship, and fun on January 25, 2007, Thursday, 7 p.m at Bistro RJ, Jupiter Street, Makati City.

All are invited. Free meals, free drinks, free entrance, free gifts and no long speeches! Music will be by the Moonstrucks. Come in blue jeans, white shirt, and if you can, in boots.

The Upsilon ‘paddle’ print ad won a silver trophy in the single entry, print category of the 2006 Araw Values Advertising Awards held last December 11. The Araw Values Award is given annually by the Creative Guild of the Advertising Council under the sponsorship of the Ayala Foundation with a grant from the estate of Don Enrique Zobel. This print ad is about the Gawad Kalinga initiative of the Upsilon.

Congratulations to the creative team of Tong Puno ‘65 at TBWA Santiago, Mangada & Puno Advertising Agency, the Ad Agency of the Year for the 3rd time in a row! But what carried the day was the message of the ad itself, a disruptive idea that shows Upsilon’s leadership and relevance to the RP community today!