Ours was the batch that graduated on the heels of the Edsa 1986 Revolution. In that Ateneo de Manila University class of 1986, there were 500 plus wide-eyed and idealistic members brimming with hope and enthusiasm for how we could all change the world in our own little ways.
Within our Edsa ’86 batch were a Honasan (Alya), an Aquino on his mother’s side (Vince Concio), and a Tañada (Toby, Lorenzo Sr.’s grandson). And though we did not take to the streets as often as our University of the Philippines counterparts did, within our young hearts and minds there were many different kinds of revolutions taking place.
Twenty-five years hence, the men and women for others that our Jesuit fathers and lay professors hoped we would become have come of age. Allow my batch some bragging rights to say that perhaps we are by far, one of the most generous batches the Ateneo has produced.
Proof of that is the Freedom Fund which hit (as of this writing) the targets it set—more than enough money to create a perpetual scholarship fund for deserving students, a caring fund for elderly Jesuits, and contributions to Kythe (among whose founding “mothers” is a batchmate) and the Lena Buhay Memorial Foundation for hearing impaired children, which was established in the memory of Lenlen, our classmate who passed away from leukemia a few days before we were to graduate in March 1986.
Congratulations goes to the formidable fundraising committee composed of the best business and legal minds in our batch. It was awe-inspiring to see them work so hard, and so comforting to learn how many had given so unselfishly to the causes we were trying to raise money for.
Our batch has churned out an interesting mix of young titans in business and finance, esteemed and formidable surgeons and medical doctors, high-caliber lawyers, an RTC judge, teachers and academicians, writers, entrepreneurs, and many who opted to dive into the equally noble task of full-time motherhood. We even produced two Jesuit priests and one Jesuit in training.
It was heartwarming to note that after 25 years, couples who were already together in college remained steadfast still—Judge Onnie and Isabel (Pefianco) Martin, Larry and Roselen (Lee) Ocampo, Rocky and Apple (Lazaro) Villadolid, Budi and Cristina (Trota) Garcia to name a few.
A large number of us live overseas but keep strong and close ties to home. Many of them found their way back home in time for the big reunion last night on the grounds of the Ateneo High School Covered Courts, the scene of our graduation 25 years ago. A few days before, a batch party was held at the Watering Hole bar, which is owned by one of our batchmates.
In the shadow of a dictatorship
Twenty-five years later, many of us have changed (physically and otherwise) but many things remain the same. Ours was the generation that grew up in the shadow of a Marcos dictatorship. By the time we were in our last year of college, many of us had only known two presidents—Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos.
Thankfully, as we left the hallowed grounds of our Loyola campus, it was the dawn of Corazon Aquino’s presidency. Significantly, as we mark our silver anniversary, it is her son who now has the reins of power, and the daughter of the first president we ever knew is under house or hospital arrest, indefinitely.
Life has a way of coming full circle, through its many twists and turns. Many of us opted to remain in the country to live and work, others left for graduate studies (mostly in business and finance) but returned to help steer corporations and our country back into health. There were those who left eagerly to seek new adventures, and build lives and families overseas, but who are now slowly returning home.
Twenty-five years always makes you stop and take stock of professional and personal lives—on what was, and on what is, and most importantly, on what is yet to be. Definitely, our Jesuit education played a crucial role in helping shape us into the men and women that we have become today—the choices we made, the passions and advocacies we pursue individually and as a collective whole.
We have lost many batchmates in the course of 25 years; some of our parents have gone ahead, a few of us have lost children. In the relationship arena, some remain married to their first loves, some continue to be single and live out the life they have bravely chosen to live, while others chose the road less travelled and found that life could still be happy, even after.
Congratulations to my Ateneo EDSA ’86 Batch—very well-done, boys and girls! I’m proud of all of you. Revisiting and remembering who you are and what you have been through, I’m pretty sure you are all fired up knowing that the best is yet to be. May we all continue to remain healthy, productive and happy pursuing our life’s dreams and passions. Here’s to the next 25!
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