Kung Hei Fat Chai! Happy Chinese New Year!

Welcome to the Year of the Golden Rabbit! The Chinese Zodiac says that the Year of the Rabbit starts on Feb.3, 2011 up to January 22, 2012. The Rabbit is the 4th sign in the Chinese Zodiac. It says that the Rabbit is a lucky sign. Well, thanks for that. I was born in 1951, which is the Year of the Rabbit! Hmmm, now whether I’m going to be luck this year, we’ll find out within the year. This means, I will be buying Lotto tickets, going to the Casino or playing Poker Clubs for this year, in the hope that this “proverbial” luck would bring us some kind of prosperity!

Rabbits, according to the Chinese Zodiac, are reasonably friendly individuals who enjoy the company of a group of good friends. They are good teachers, counselors and communicators. But they also need their own space. The Rabbit is the symbol of the Moon, while the Peacock is the symbol of the Sun. These animal signs signify the start of the day and night representing the Yin and Yang of life. The Moon is Yin and it is the Yin of heaven. Magical isn’t it?

Accordingly, the Year of the Rabbit is expected to be a good year, not just for us Rabbits, but for the whole people as well. Today, the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa will celebrate the New Year in a special luncheon and Lion Dance while in the evening, the Marco Polo Plaza’s Chinese New Year festivities feature the Yee Sang Ceremonial tossing of Chinese Salad at the hotel lobby. So Kung Fat Chai to everyone! May the Year of the Rabbit bring you, not only prosperity, but tranquility as well.

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Last Sunday, my classmates from the University of San Carlos Boy’s High School class ’66 (USC-BHS ’66) held our 45th reunion in a very unique place at the Lanipao Rain Forest Park owned by our classmate Richard “Dick” Cabucos, some 8 kilometers from the Guadalupe Church. This place is nestled in the foothills of Busay and behind the mountain range where from the city the most famous edifice you can see is the Good Shepherd Convent. It is a mere 20-minute ride passing through narrow streets clogged with Habal-habal and trisikads, but then you’d think you were no longer in Cebu City but in the middle of a forest.

A good number of my classmates were there. The two who came from the USA are Tony “Ton Ton” Rizarri of Houston, Texas and Dr. Almario “Toco” Tantoco of Ohio. Then we have Enrique “Quito” Fararrons, Alex “Junior” Chiongbian Jr. Moises “Mosing” Selma, Richard “Dick” Cabucos, Orlando Siy, Pintoy Shun Wee, Alfonso Santos, Jess Cuenco, Loloy Unchuan, Ed Morales, Caloy Colmenares, Terry Yankee, Maning Abarquez, Romeo Flores, Rey Aya-ay, and Nicanor Labrado.

Then we have Jose Mari Osmeña, Benjie Velasco, Benigno Santiago Jr., Felipe Cabrera, Loloy Doblados, Delynn Ouano, Camilo Alegado, Charles Young, Ted Ybañez and of course, myself. Ed “Ago” Santiago is another classmate who married my cousin who flew in from New York, but he attended his family reunion, instead of the class reunion.

We truly enjoyed our one-day reunion in the foothills of Busay in Barangay Sapangdako. It was the first time for most of us to see where the Guadalupe River begins. We were happy to see that we were surrounded by a rain forest with spring water gushing out to form a small creek that eventually becomes a river. One would think that were were miles from civilization. But we were just a short “Habal-habal” ride to Guadalupe.

Yes it was really fun seeing our classmates after 45 years. In High School we were all equals, except for those exceptionally bright or those who boasted that he could out-box anyone. Most of us were what you would call “Street Smart.” But now that we have our various personal achievements, it is unfortunate that some of our classmates were sort of left behind. But then joining a class reunion is akin to bringing us back to those carefree days where we were all equals. So now we have four years to prepare for our 50th Reunion in the Year 2016.

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Talking about forests, the other night, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) signed a partnership agreement with the Bosconian Chamber of Commerce (BICC) Cebu Chapter; the only school-based Business Chamber that belongs to Don Bosco Center or the Salesian Order. RAFI Pres. Roberto “Bobby” Aboitiz signed this partnership with Renato Echavez of the BICC witnessed by his members of the Board.

This partnership is part and parcel of RAFI’s Generation, Redemption and Expansion of Natural Resources Initiatives in the Philippines (GREENIN Philippines) where the BICC will collaborate with RAFI in adopting this program in the towns of Alogquinsan, Carmen and Argao in order to protect and conserve our precious environment.

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