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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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