Brief History
THE
EAGLES DAWN
They were barely six or seven when
they initially met at the Aberdeen Court, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. The
second meeting was probably a bigger group perhaps only thirteen of them. No
clear or specific agenda was prepared. Nothing was definite in the minds of the
group except the fixed rendezvous at the Aberdeen Court. None of them
consciously knew that the meetings they had hurriedly arrange were already the
inception of a historical rendezvous which was to eventually have some fixed
destiny in the country.
The nucleus group grew in numbers
every time it met. The original paltry nucleus was composed of Nilo H.
Raymundo, Pedro R. Balbanero, Celso P. Mariano, Cirsanto T. Saruca, Rizal
Alberto C. Nolido, Eugenio E. Llarena, Elueterio C. Dumogho, Mel P. Samson,
Lorenzo “Choc” Tolentino, Mel V. Diaz, Dominador DL. Ordenez, Ambrocio A.
Valones and Arturo Purugganan, all prominent Lion members of District 301-D of
Lions Clubs International.
For want of any fixed agenda, the
discussion during the meetings of the nucleus group went on and on and
meandered on a variety of topic and subjects. Although free-wheeling, the
discussions were serious, analytical, perceptive and at times light and
bantered.
Inevitably, they buckled down to the
implacable controversy which beleaguered Lions District 301-D. The group fell
that somewhat it had some stake in the problem because most of its members were
occupying top positions in the Lions District. Some had expressed
disappointments over the sharp divisions among the Lions which inexorably
exacerbated because their leaders entirely failed to close ranks.
Earlier on, the group had Nilo H.
Raymundo on deck to run as District Governor of Lion District 301-D. In fact,
Raymundo was to have run earlier but temporized and postponed the seeking to
another time. That time never came at all. The events and decisions that had
shaped during the meetings entirely reversed any ambitions in the Lions
organization. The group by some unwitting strong of fate, was already deciding
to chart an entirely new but tenuous course history which brought into the
offing the forming on an indigenous service organization conceived on strong
brotherhood. The group staked their gambit and decided finally to take the
historical risk. An indigenous civic organization ideologically crafted on
strong fraternalism was soon to be born in less than a month after those series
of historic rendezvous.
THE
CRITICAL CHOICE
The inexorable decision of the
nucleus group to form a Philippine-born fraternal civic organization spread
like wild fire. The civic odyssey being launched by the group was welcomed with
mixed feelings of approval, cynicism, and skepticism. The group was undaunted.
Many names were proposed for the
incipient indigenous civic organization. The first proposal was to name the
organization after the tamaraw, an indigenous wild carabao. This did not do
because the name was earlier pre-empted by another group. Some Lions (not the
nucleus group) who later joined the Philippine civic Odessa suggested that the
organization could perhaps be named Philippine Lions presumably it was
perceived that the members of the nucleus group were all Lion members. The
proposal was nonetheless rejected because the name itself would have been
conflict-laden later on and it was the consensus of the group that it never
wise to name the organization with controversial undercurrents.
Some suggested the name griffin
which, in Greek mythology, is a creature with the head, wings, and forelegs of
an eagle the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion. This name was likewise
rejected by the group saying that the name of the organization should not be
derived from a myth but from same reality.
Somebody proposed the name Lakan but
was rejected as very parochial.
The group thought of the Philippine
Eagle, an indigenous but endangered bird. The group’s immediate predilection
for the name was visibly palpable. The group requested Celso P. Mariano and
Crisanto T. Saruca to make a research and report as to whether or not the
organization could have been name appropriately after the bird. Within a couple
of days or so, Mariano and Saruca told the group that naming the organization
after the Philippine Eagle was very appropriate saying that the Philippine
Eagle is, after all, a majestic bird, courageous, noble and possessed with keen
foresight. The group adopted the proposed name which is now. The Fraternal
Order of Eagles (Philippine Eagles) or briefly the Philippine Eagles.
BROTHERHOOD
CONCORD
More than a mere civic organization,
The Fraternal Order of Eagles (Philippine Eagles) is a historic brotherhood
concord. The nucleus group believed that strong fraternalism should
characterize its humanitarian service. It agreed that its guiding principle
shall be SERVICE THROUGH STRONG BROTHERHOOD. The group issued a statement to
the following effect:
We have called our organization The Fraternal
Order of Eagles (Philippine Eagles) because we have chosen as our guiding
principle SERVICE THROUGH STRONG BROTHERHOOD. The choice of the name was
conscious and the idea behind the choice of the word “fraternal” is deliberate.
We should, indeed, be brothers in service and the world “fraternal” precisely
describes the quality of our bond. This Philosophy we want to intensify among
us.
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