When Blue turns Silver

Spearheaded by Rudy Ang, dean of the John Gokongwei School of Management, the Ateneo de Manila University Batch 1983 celebrated recently its Silver Jubilee with a fundraising dinner in the town hall of Urdaneta Village, Makati.

As expected from the A.B. Com/BMH Magna Cum Laude departmental awardee, Rudy tirelessly planned the reunion, with the indispensable help of committee members composed of Christine Araneta-Ferreira, James Bernas, Chelle Campos, Bong Casis, Carmela Casis, Apol Dionglay, Marvin Fausto, Mike Garcia, Rina Go, Ricky Lacson, Carmela Ongsiako, Gigi Phua-Lim, Fred Tiu, Yeyey Yatco and Charlie Yu.

The reunion, entitled “Come Back, Asul na Pilak,” had an overwhelming attendance, and proved that Batch ’83 of Blue Eagles is made up of “men for others,” as they selflessly gave of their time and talents and efforts (as well as funds!) for a good cause.

In 2009, Ateneo celebrates its sesquicentennial (150 years). In line with continuing its commitment to excellence in education, Ateneo is building the Rizal Library, to which Batch ’83 is donating P2 million for the Multi-Media Room.

The event started with a Mass concelebrated by batchmates Msgr. Clem Ignacio (of the parish of Quiapo), Fr. Vic Baltazar (superior of the Jesuit community in Cebu), and Fr. Johnny Go, S.J. (director of Xavier School).   A buffet dinner was followed by a silent auction (with items ranging from Lasik eye surgery to dinner with Chris Tiu; Omega watches, paintings by Fernando Sena, and many more) and the raffling off of a television set, among other things. 

As soon as DJ Boyet Almazan hit the swing music of the golden era of the ’80s, the dance floor became the arena for a showdown as various batchmates moved and grooved, showing off their not-yet-too-rusty dance prowess. (Perhaps the Ateneo offered a subspecialty we didn’t know about!)

Sponsors for the event were RCBC, BPI, Smart, The Philippine STAR, Ginebra San Miguel, Pepsi, Centennial Wines and ESRQ Wines.