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The year was 1911 when nine Brothers of the Christian
schools arrived in Manila and established the first De La Salle school
in the Philippines. Br. Blimond Pierre FSC, Br. Camillus Goslin FSC, Br.
Lucide Martin FSC, Br. Livran Auguste FSC, Br. Ptolemee Louis FSC, Br.
Lewis (Aloysius) Gonzaga FSC, Br. Blanc Joseph FSC, Br. Imar William
Reale FSC, and Br. Celba Ultan John FSC were all at the helm of the
opening of De La Salle College on June 16, 1911—Foundation Day—at 652
Nozaleda Street in Paco, Manila. They had a total of 100 male students. A
year later, the school’s incorporation papers were approved by the
then-Department of Public Instruction (Education), and by 1915, saw its
first high school graduates. On August 27, 1916, five years after
its foundation, Brother Director Acisclus Michael FSC sent a circular to
many former students of the Christian Brothers’ schools in Hong Kong,
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Seremban who resided in Manila.
A
subtle call to arms was sent, hoping to stir up interest and financial
support for the new college through the establishment of an alumni
association. Thirty-five men attended the meeting in Paco and
immediately elected Arnaldo da Silva, Sr., an alumnus of Hong Kong’s St.
Joseph’s College, as president. J. Preysler and D. da Roza were the
first vice-presidents, secretary was C. Franco, treasurer was
Francisco da Silva, and Juan Atayde, Jose Brimo, Manuel Javier, Manuel
Santibañez, Manuel Vallejo, and R.M. Siddons completed the first 11
directors of the Association. The first known articles of incorporation
of the De La Salle Alumni Association (DLSAA) were signed on October 31,
1916. Unfortunately, the members’ different backgrounds and past school
alliances doubtlessly left them with little connection to the Manila
college. This led to the organization’s cessation shortly after.
A second attempt made in December 1920 saw Br. Basilian (Basillien)
Coin FSC as moderator. More like a sodality than an association, the
hope that the organization would prosper and effectively bring together
the faculty, student body, and graduates of the college was still left
unfulfilled. Again, the group’s divergent nature was cited for its
failure.
Despite the subsequent frustrations at a cohesive
alumni association, the college, on the other hand, saw its fair share
of yearly progress—on October 3, 1921, classes were held for the first
time at the college’s new location in Taft Avenue with enrollment
increasing 325 percent to 425 boys. Expansions came the following
years and numerous accolades followed, including the acknowledgment of
De La Salle College (DLSC) as the best private school in the
Philippines.
The year 1924 proved to be a banner year for the
pre-war college. It saw the organization of the first Lasallian choir,
boy scout unit, and cheering squad, which garnered international acclaim
in later years. The Green & White became the school’s official
monthly publication also in 1924. More notably, however, was Sports
Moderator Br. John’s organization of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) and the Philippine Amateur Athletic Association
(PAAF), consequently popularizing sports among the students. The
NCAA constituted of four member schools—De La Salle College, Ateneo de
Manila, University of Sto. Tomas, and University of the Philippines.
Only one sport—basketball—was played that year, of which the senior
championship went to UP and the junior championship went to De La Salle.
Sebastian Ugarte, Benito Prieto, and Carlos O’ Classen played during
these years and were among the first in a long line of future green
archer legends.
In 1929, the beloved Br. John was fondly
welcomed back together with Br. Marcian James Cullen FSC, now the new
Brother Director of the alumni association. The college held their
regular annual alumni day in December, where His Excellency Governor
Frank Murphy was guest of honor.
The third and most
successful attempt at an alumni association was made in December 1930 by
resident Br. Dorotheus Joseph FSC. Holy Mass, communion, and a
breakfast meeting attended by over 100 alumni took place, after which an
election of officers proceeded. Some 125 alumni gathered for lunch
where the results were announced—Virgilio Lobregat, Sr., alumni star
athlete, was elected president; Eduardo Viaplana, vice-president;
Alfonso de Lange, secretary; and Guillermo Jose, Sr., treasurer.
The participation of the alumni in the activities of that afternoon’s
field day made for an outstanding event.
By this time, the
DLSAA had continued its tradition of annual homecomings. In 1932,
Francisco Ortigas, Jr. was elected president and held his post for seven
years (only because, he candidly claims, no one chose to elect anybody
else). By 1936, DLSC celebrated its silver jubilee year and published a
comprehensive yearbook for the event. June 28 of the same year marked
the alumni’s jovial and highly anticipated silver jubilee celebration.
The year 1939 was a red-letter year in Lasallian history—for the
first time since the inception of the NCAA, DLSC won both the junior
and senior division championships in basketball and football, much to
Coach Dionisio Calvo’s joy. The first-ever La Salle-Ateneo dual meet,
a.k.a. the future mother of all rivalries, was also held as a pet
project of De La Salle’s Carlos Ledesma and Ateneo’s Ben Arcenas.
Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon was a guest at the games which were
organized by DLSAA President Francisco Ortigas and Ateneo alumni
President Manuel Lim. Also that same year, the college’s south wing was
completed and the chapel was inaugurated and dedicated to St. Joseph.
Francisco Ortigas marked 1939 as his last year as DLSAA
president and was succeeded by Manuel Barredo. Since then, presidents
had tenure for two years at most. Barredo was likewise responsible for
the DLSAA’s automatic inclusion of any past president as a member of the
succeeding board in order to establish practical continuity.
During the dark, muddled times of the 1942 Japanese occupation, high
school classes for De La Salle students were temporarily held at the
neighboring St. Scholastica’s College. The only yearbook produced during
the period 1942-1944 consisted of merely eight pages; curiously enough,
the DLSAA’s first concrete move towards the establishment of a
clubhouse occurred during these chaotic war years. DLSAA President
Barredo (1939-1940) wrote “REPORT OF THE OUTGOING ALUMNI PRESIDENT” in
the Alumni section of the The Lasallite: “
Last year, in our
annual meeting, you indicated that you wanted to have a clubhouse. We
tried to secure not a clubhouse, but only a clubroom and we failed. You
know the reasons—rents were and still are very high and our funds very
low. [Br. Lucian Athanasius FSC], a few months ago, offered us a room in
the college building itself—the room next to the former gym on the
first floor—but only till June 1947 when De La Salle would open fully.
After due consideration, the Board of Directors of the Association
decided that it would be better to wait until we could secure something
more permanent, and we advised Brother Athanasius, at the same time
thanking him for his kind offer.
“For, after all, a room
alone is not sufficient. There must be furniture in it for the members
to browse in, to close business deals on, to play bridge at. And there
must be equipment too. All this (sic) calls for money.” |
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