Having entered the Fraternity in its 71st year in October 2000, I have had the great fortune of observing in action some of the more “prominent” young Betans who were a good couple of years ahead of me, both in U.P. and in the Fraternity. New as I was, as we all were, I was fortunate that these experienced souls taught all of us younger brods, in one way or another, a thing or two about life in general, and the Beta Epsilon in particular. And as I see the old guards move ahead to their professional lives after college, and the young guns take their place, I am reminded that the glory and prestige the Fraternity enjoys today is in no small part owed to the sacrifices those resident brods, now alumni, made during their time as guardians of the Purple Tower. Here are some bits of information regarding some, though not all, of these extraordinary brods whom I have had the good fortune of knowing in my three years here in Beta Epsilon.

First up, batches 95 and 96. Gelio Banta ‘95A, who was the MEB in 1998, Manny Baldeo ‘96A, MEB 2000 and Jundel Llagas ‘95C who, along Pablo Dumlao ‘99A, are perhaps among the most visible young alumni among the current crop of residents, perhaps due to their perpetual presence in the residents’ weekly basketball games. Gelio is now with Black and Decker, Jundel with Ramcar, while Manny works for Koldstore. Alvin Balintec ‘95A and Ones Almario ‘95A are now taking up their graduate studies here in UP Diliman. Alvin, who works over at San Miguel, is taking up a Master’s Degree in Technology Management (MTM) while Ones has his hands full with married life, his MWSS job, and his MS Civil Eng’g degree. Aris Manuel ‘95A, who recently hurdled the tough Architecture Board Exams, now has his own I.T./Web Development company, along with another brod, AK Liao ‘97B, son of former Sweetheart Nelia Sancho.

Batch 95B’s Bingo Miranda and Oger Camigla are in contrasting jobs, although both graduated as GE’s. Bingo is also with Koldstore and is taking his MBA in La Salle, while recent Board passer Oger is a practicing GE with the DPWH in Bulacan. Norman Manguinao ‘95C, the part-time Tagaytay politician, recently passed the CE Board Exams. He worked for the late great Domeng Toledo ‘64 in Mindanao, helping build a couple of SM Malls down south in the process. His two other batchmates, Tantan Releñas and Isa Cruz own part and parcel of Infinite Intelligence, a burgeoning Tutorial and Board Exam Review Center located in the heart of Greenhills. Also a main incorporator is Sol Montano ‘95D, 2001 GE board topnotcher who religiously comes to UP now and then to locate potential reviewers.

Renren Custodio ‘95E, who comes home every couple of years, is a US Marine who served aboard the USS __________ in Bush’s recent bomb-Iraq campaign. Mike Salazar ‘96A, and Bingoy Reyes ‘96D are both practicing GE’s, with Mike taking his post-graduate studies here in UP at the SURP. Brian Dy ‘96C, son of Rolly Dy ‘71, is with his ka-batch Paolo Melendres ‘96C working in Ortigas. Robbie Jacobe ‘96D is with Gold’s Gym in Makati, while his ka-batch Jonie Yap is with third-gen Scotch Consunji ‘96A, MEB 1999 in DMCI. CE grad Don Loong ‘96B recently got married in Zamboanga, with Rollo Mauricio ‘69 and Scotch Consunji ‘96A as ninongs.

Moving on to batches 97 and 98, Elridge Gammad ‘97A, the ka-batch of the current MEB, is now in the construction business. Hap Junghan ‘97B now works for another brod, Tony Austria, in his firm, while batchmates Joie Eva ‘97B and Gary Viray ‘97B are also both in the ICT/Web business. Marvin Bon ‘97C, is still with AHEAD Reviews/Tutorials in Greenhills, while ka-batch JP Moral is with ASTEC. One-man batch Manny Nova ‘97D is with Intel, Von de la Peña ‘97E with a call-center in Ortigas, and perpetually young-looking Rex Dalipe ‘97E is with the family business.

For the batch 98ers, we start off with Abet Casas ‘98A, ranked number third in the April 2001 ECE Board Exams, now working over at Globe Telecom. His ka-batch Men Valencia ‘98A is a freelance IT/Web expert, and Ejie Agoncillo is now finishing his degree in Adamson University. The second-gen batch, ‘98B, has two members now working in Makati, Junjun Salazar with BPI and Kevin Paynor with Sykes Asia. ‘98C’s TJ Soto, fittingly with Purefoods Hotdogs, while ka-batch Leo Singson is in hi-second year at U.P. Law.

Lastly, we come to the younger alumni brods from batches 99-2001. Pablo Dumlao ‘99A is his dad’s Chief of Staff over at the MWSS, while ka-batch Romy Garcia is now taking his Masters in Technology Management here in U.P. ‘99B’s Carlo Alzona is with Meralco over in Ortigas. For the millennium batch of brods, Victor Lantin 2000A, entered the Army Reserves, and is now a non-commissioned officer. Paul de Jesus 2000C is with a semi-conductor company in Ortigas, while my ka-batch Najeeb Irtaza 2000D, the Frat’s first Pakistani brod, is now enjoying himself in London before starting his post-graduate degree. His recruit, Ace Castillo 2001A, most noted for finishing Chemical Engineering in 4 years, is with a pharmaceutical company in Laguna.

As the Fraternity approaches its Diamond Jubilee, the fine tradition of excellence and brotherhood these past 75 years is in no better way continued by the example these fine young Betans have given the current crop of residents, all for the glory of Beta Epsilon.