CIM CLASS 1978: THE SILVER DIARY
By
Henry L. Yu, M.D.
For
those of us who came, who saw, and who conquered Cebu on that July month of the
year 2003, we will forever remember THE event – the Silver Jubilee of CIM Class
1978. Truly, it was one very significant moment in our lives, one for the
record, as medical graduates of the Cebu Institute of Medicine twenty-five years
ago on April 11, 1978. Yes, our looks and surroundings may have changed but not
the way we love and care for each other even after all these many years. Someday
when we will be old(er) and gray(er), we will look back to this diary with
nostalgic undertones. That Once upon a time in the year 2003, this was what
happened:
Sunday, July 20, 2003 –
Four
of us met at Pete’s place at 1st Street, East Avenue, White Hills
Subdivision in Banawa (Lenny Cimafranca, Ellen Alegrado-Chavez, Cleta
Noval-Rosell, and myself) from 1:00 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. to finalize everything
regarding the big celebration. It was the longest meeting we ever had in our
whole lives.
Monday, July 21, 2003 -
The
first to arrive Cebu was Luz Crystal from the U.S.A. (July 18, to attend the
wedding of her daughter), followed by Nonoy and Millet Militar from the U.S.A.
(July 21 3:00 a.m.) and Lucil Principe-Villanueva this afternoon from Davao. A
number of us attended the product launching of Merck Pharmaceuticals
(Glucovance) at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel (WCCH) Grand Ballroom tonight.
Helen Yap and I hopped from table to table to personally invite some friends and
colleagues present in that gathering for our Silver Jubilee.
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 –
It’s
a busy and hectic day as the big event is nearing: checking on every little
detail of each committee, coordinating with the chair and members, their needs,
some last minute instructions, etc. We had our last production number practice
at the conference room of the Visayas Community Medical Center (VCMC) in the
evening, with the ever generous and supportive friends from Natrapharm (Judith,
Zenda, Jigs, Jun, Mark, Addison, Job, Renz, Ann, Baboo, Rom, Mira, Che, and
Joyce) providing us with snacks. Tonight it was baked macaroni and pizza with
lots of thirst quenchers.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 -
One
by one, our classmates arrived Cebu to form again the CIM Class 1978. What an
exhilarating feeling, so heartwarming. Celan Alo, Loloy Go, and Patrick Dee
arrived from the U.S.A. early morning today. Vic Fianza from Iligan has also
arrived at 6:30 a.m. today. We were forty something who attended the opening
salvo, a Welcome Dinner Reception tendered by Servier Pharmaceuticals at the
Caspian Room of the WCCH. A lecture update on the management of hypertension
using a low dose drug combination was delivered by Dr. Celine Teves-Aquino. Some
souvenir items were distributed (car stickers, bookmarks, and postcards). We
rehearsed the songs that we’d sing for the Grand Ball (“Coming Home”, our
Jubilee Hymn, and “Handog”, our tribute to our teachers).
Thursday, July 24, 2003 –
We’re
at the CVGH Chapel in our CIM uniform at 8:00 a.m. for the Thanksgiving Mass.
Yo! Happy days are here again! Rev. Fr. Adonis Aquino was the celebrator. While
the mass was going on, we noticed a black butterfly on the front wall of the
altar. Must be our dear departed classmates Inoc and Bert? Oh, just how we
missed them. We sang “Coming Home” (our Jubilee Hymn) as the final song.
We then proceeded to the CIM lobby for the class pictorials, followed by a tour
around (revisiting) the school (Registrar, Dean’s Office, Amphi I, Micro-Para,
Library, Anatomy, Social Hall, etc.). We had brunch at the Dietary/Mess Hall.
This was followed by a motorcade along Arlington Pond, to Osmena Blvd., Escario,
and ending in WCCH where we practiced for our production number the whole
afternoon with Ike and company as our choreographers. Some more classmates
arrived (Jing Abalajon, Nanneth Tiu, Vangie Yee-Zozobrado, Mila Anadon-Casenas,
Mila Bacho-Bacus, Bing Rivera, Butching de la Cruz-Roa, Boy Camacho, etc.).
By
5:30 p.m. we were at the hotel lobby waiting for the bus that would bring us to
Elsa Basubas’ manz in Canduman, Mandaue, for our Klasmits’ Nite. Edwin La Rosa
and Elett Barinque-Salada joined us. Close to 40 of us were in the bus. We lost
our way twice, arriving the place at a little past 7:00 p.m. Thanks to the
advent of cellphones. We thank Elsa and Mike for that very filling and sumptuous
dinner catered by Creative Cuisine. There were games, prizes, and surprises
after dinner. Whattafun really!
Friday, July 25, 2003 –
We’re
at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel a little past 7:00 a.m. today, again in our
immaculate white CIM uniform, for the Opening Ceremonies of the Postgraduate
Course (“Current Medical Concerns Made (Ridiculously) Easy”). Everybody
was thrilled to the bone and enjoyed looking at the enlarged 6’x2’ class picture
taken 25 years ago being displayed at the Memorabilia Exhibit area. Countless
poses here and there, with Wilma Abellana-Ty leading the fun thru her antics of
pulling up her skirt uniform to above-the-knee level, followed by several others
in an up, up, and away fashion. Oh my, even Dr. Virginia Paradela joined in the
fun by pulling up the skirts of Elsa Blanco-Basubas and Elett Barinque-Salada
that showed their shorts or half-slips (was it?). There was really so much fun
and laughter.
By
8:30 a.m., we had the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the Commercial
Booth
Exhibits which was done by Dr. Josefina Poblete assisted by Wyben Briones and
Henry Yu. Then the ribbon-cutting for the Memorabilia Exhibit done by Dr.
Virginia Paradela, followed by the unveiling of the Jubilee Book (“Photographs and Memories”).
By 9:00 a.m., we lined ourselves
in rows of two’s for
the processional as we marched towards the Arctic Room where the Postgrad was
to start. The morning session was chaired by Edwin Minoza and co-chaired
by Alice
Ngo-Militante. Officers-of-the-Day were Tita Ouano and Aking Dy. The invocation was delivered by Tito Dejos, followed by the opening
remarks of Jojo Antigua. The
first speaker was Alcoy Rodriguez on “Lessons Learned in Reforming the Health Sector in the Philippines”,
followed by Butching de la
Cruz-Roa’s “Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, I Still Look Young Afterall”.
Break
time saw us in endless high as some more classmates arrived. Blessy
Pono
delivered her lecture on “Medical Hazards of Modern
Technology”, followed by
Dr. Sally Gatchalian’s “Updates on Vaccines”.
Everybody was all ears
to
Dr. Gloria Garcia Habalo’s lecture on “Sex After
Menopause”.
The
afternoon session was chaired by Cecil Clavano-de Asis and co-chaired by Helen Evangelista-Tudtud. Everybody was excited with the
arrival of Danny Cimafranca who’s still looking good and handsome after all
these years, just like most of the silver jubilarians. Agree or disagree? The
Postgrad continued with the talk of Dr. Manolito Chua on “SARS: The Saga
Continues”, Dr. Fems Paladin’s “SARS: Diagnostic Tests”, Nanneth
Tiu’s “Not Just Any Vaccine”, and Mila Bacho-Bacus’ “Herbal Medicine:
Its Role in Modern Medicine”.
Everybody was pretty excited for the coming of
Hon. Imee Marcos who was scheduled to talk on “Effective Communication Skills
and Power Dressing”. She arrived at 4:30 p.m. and delivered her talk after
countless handshakes from the SRO audience. A total of 437 doctors have
registered for the Postgrad, making it a jam-packed room, a real record-breaker
in the history of CIM’s Silver Jubilee celebrations over the past 12
years.
The
Fellowship Night was held at the Arctic Room (the same room where the Postgrad
was held) after being cleaned and readied for the night’s activity), attended by
members of Class 1978 and special friends from the different drug companies as
our way of thanking them for their support. Nenita Tumanda joined us. The
welcome remarks was delivered by Henry Yu who was just too happy for the turn of
events. He was teary-eyed because of the joys he felt seeing his classmates and
friends once again. Emcee of the night was Anton Betia of Pfizer. The class
business meeting took place, followed by the production number rehearsal at the
Mediterranean Room. Millet Bringas-Militar hit her nose from accidental sliding
while she rehearsed for the processional causing mild epistaxis. Thanks to our
EENT specialists Tito Dejos and Pete Rosell. Later during the practice, Clinia
Seguerra also sprained her foot from accidental slide causing pain. Thanks to
orthopedic specialist Jojo Flordeliz. The rehearsal lasted till a quarter before
12:00.
Saturday, July 26, 2003 –
The
Postgrad continued with Lulu Picornell-Narcise as the chair and Nanette
Raffinan-Erguerro as co-chair. Officer-of-the-Day was Leni Gimenez-Mercado. It
started with the lecture of Dr. Juanita Elumba on “Echoes From
Philhealth”, followed by Dr. Coralie Dioquino-Dimacali’s “Medical
Management of Nephrolithiasis”. Breaktime saw us again in high
spirits as Larry Yap, Ernie Sia, and Nida Cabalde-de la Pena arrived, making a
total of 91 Silver Jubilarians who attended the said event. “Updates on
Community Acquired Infections” was delivered by Dr. Manolito Chua, followed
by Celan Alo’s “Colorectal Carcinoma: what You Ought To Know”, Jojo
Antigua’s “Dawn on the New Era in Osteoarthritis – the Medical
Management”, Jojo Flordeliz’ “The Surgical Management”, and the
luncheon symposium by Dr. Josephine Abao-Lim on “Osteoporosis”. After the
luncheon symposium, everybody was getting ready for the big night, which was the
Grand Ball.
The
Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Carlito Pono at the Arctic Room at 6:00 p.m. after
which we had our class pictorials in our formal wears. The guests were ushered
in to the Mediterranean Room, the site of the Grand Ball, which was beautifully
decorated by no less than Teresing Mendezona and Pinky Chang. What with all the
silver glitters and glamour of a Hollywood ambiance with matching series of
lights abounding and each table topped with a kandelabra with all-fresh
flowers. Emcees for the night were couples Dr. Shawn and Dr. Jackie Espina. We
positioned ourselves outside and in rows of two’s as we paraded into the
Mediterranean Room with balloons and white roses in hand to the tune of James
Ingram’s “Whenever We Imagine”. All of us were on stage as Ruth
Palermo-Asuncion delivered a very touching invocation, followed by the singing
of the Pambansang Awit. Everybody then occupied the reserved seats for the
Silver Jubilarians as Henry Yu delivered the Welcome Remarks. The buffet dinner
followed. The attendance overflowed, reaching 455. Another record-breaker.
After
dinner, Lenny Cimafranca delivered his Opening Remarks which was followed by a
Ballet Presentation to the tune of Superman’s “Can You Read My Mind?” as
interpreted by Henry Yu’s two daughters (Hazel Valerie and Hannah Victoria). The
presentation of the Silver Jubilarians followed, with each of us making a
catwalk along the center aisle, going up the ramp, and positioned ourselves on
stage, as each of our names was called, and our curriculum vitae being read. The
last to be called was Henry Yu who surprised everybody by not marching from the
usual entrance door, but coming and appearing from the stage, walking down the
ramp, to the aisle, and made a backward march, went up the ramp and stage, and
down to the riser. All Jubilarians positioned themselves as they sang together
“Coming Home”, the class’ Jubilee Hymn, the lyrics of which were
personally written by Henry Yu himself as his special gift, a legacy, to the
class (“We’re coming home, yes, we’re coming home, to a place that we call
home.”). It was arranged and composed by Joel Oporto. Back to our seats,
Henry distributed CDs of the Jubilee Hymn to fellow classmates as souvenir
items. The video presentation (“Journey Through Time” as prepared by
Blessy Pono) was such a marvelous work of art, a labor of love. The voice-over
was done live by Anton Betia of Pfizer.
One of the most touching parts of the
program that night was the Testimonial (“A Tribute To Our Teachers”)
where all our former teachers were given a white rose each, acknowledged and
escorted up the stage. There were 26 of them that night. While they were on
stage, we dedicated a very meaningful song to them by singing “Handog”
amidst nostalgia and tears of joy and thanksgiving, they who have made us what
we are today. Dance numbers were presented by the Natrapharm dancers who came
all the way from Manila (Giselle, Bless, Jane, Joyce, Renee, Larry, Julius,
Senen, and Jun) followed by the production number of the Silver Jubilarians to
the tune of “One Singular Sensation” (A Chorus Line) and Madonna’s
“Material Girl”, etc. Mr. Rudi T. Runes, Chairman and President of
Natrapharm Group of Companies, delivered a very touching speech which made some
of us teary-eyed again. Imagine, 25 long years have passed, and we’re still
around. Wyben Briones presented a big frame of the class picture taken the day
before to Mr. Runes while Henry Yu handed him a trophy. Wyben then delivered his
thank you speech.
Drawing of the raffles followed. And the winners of the major
prizes were: Luz Crystal (Washing Machine); Fai Buenaventura-Sarita (TV); and
Alcoy Rodriguez (Refrigerator).
A Parade of Beauty Queens followed with the
Class 1978’s Beauties walking down the center aisle and up the ramp. There’s
Butching de la Cruz-Roa (Ms. CIM 1976), Helen Tan-Yap (CIM Homecoming Queen
1991), Tessie Yap-Dy (CIM Homecoming Queen 1997), and Elsa Blanco-Basubas (CIM
1978 Silver Jubilee Queen 2003). It was indeed a reunion of beauty queens. Yo!
Mirror, mirror on the wall, Class ’78 got them all!
The drawing of raffle for
the Silver Revo Car (done by ping pong balls) took place with 0-8-0-8 as the
winning numbers. And the lucky winner was Nanneth Tiu. Non-stop dancing followed
with all the Jubilarians dancing the night away to the tunes of old time
favorites rendered by the Mutya Band till the wee hours of the
morning.
Hugs
and kisses of goodbye capped the event with us shedding tears. It really hurts
to say goodbye to classmates and friends. For one thing, we know not when we
will ever meet again. Yes, only time will tell. Suffice to say that once upon a
time in July of 2003, we had the rare chance to get together again after 25 long
years. We have seized the moment and enjoyed to the max whatever little time we
have the past four days of our togetherness. We did have our joy, our fun, and
our seasons in the sun. All these and more, we will always treasure for the rest
of our lives. Thank you for being part of history.
Yes,
another journey has just begun...
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