History of Maguindanaw Lodge No. 40, F & AM

Title

Creator

Cosin, Antonio T.

Language

English

Source

The Cabletow I New Series (No. 4) April 1959

Year

1959

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

History of Maguindanaw Lodge No. 40, F. A. M. 'Wot. ^to. oAntonio (Josin, <rP. eftt. The man who had the initiative and chief responsibility for the founding of Maguindanaw Lodge No. 40 was Fulgencio F. Pangan, then a member of Nilad Lodge No. 14-1. He was employed with the U.S. Geodetic Survey in Manila with a sa lary of P200.00 a month. Unfortunate ly, he was desperately addicted to gam bling which was rampant there. With the nope that he might rid himself of the evil, he sought transfer to Cagayan as clerk of the court of first instance; knowing beforehand that the salary at tached to this office was only Pl 50.00. However, this self-imposed reduction of P50.00 in salary was a sacrifice he was willing and glad to make, if only to attain his desire for a change of atmos phere. On his first trip to Cagayan in De cember 1910, we were fellow passen gers on the “S.S. Robert Poizat” and we happened to occupy the same cabin. This was how he came to ex plain to me his predicament and, also, his plan to found a masonic lodge here. Soon after his arrival, he discov ered that there were three master masons residing in Cagayan; namely, Nicolas Capistrano, Isidro Vamenta, and Emilio Pineda, all of Nilad Lodge. Armed with the necessary authority, he organized a so-called “Triangulo” and started initiating, passing and rais ing applicants. Bv July 14, 1911, in cidentally a date coinciding with the fall of the Bastille, an event so mo mentous in the cause of liberty, a lodge under dispensation held its first formal meeting. Present were: F.F. Pangan, Emilio Pineda, Isidro Vamen ta, and Nicolas Capistrano, master masons; Apolinar Velez, Uldarico Akut and J. Roa Valdcconcha, fellow crafts; Ricardo Reyes and Celedonio Abellanosa, apprentices. A third ap prentice, Nemesio Chavez failed to at tend due to illness. The need to establish a masonic lodge in Cagayan was discussed at this meeting. Let us listen to Brother Isidro Vamenta speak on the propo sition in his florid Spanish: “Yo creo que hasta es inutil que se pregunte todavia a los queridos hermanos aqui presentes, porque supongo que todos estan muy dispuestos a llevar al terreno de la realidad tan hermosa idea; I believe that it is even unnecessary to ask yet the beloved brethren here present, for I presume that all are de termined that such a brilliant idea be brought into concrete form.” The proposal was approved. The name of the proposed lodge was taken up next. Pineda proposed "Niduban” the name of a native non conformist of Butuan; Vamenta pro posed “Minda”, seconded by Apoli nar Velez; Roa Valdcconcha suggested that instead of Minda it be Minda nao; and Capistrano pro]»sed “Bitoon”. Except for one, all voted that the name be "Maguindanao". (Note: At a meeting held on August 17, it was decided that the name be written as "Maguindanaw"). 121 At the meeting of July 16, the fol lowing were elected as the first of ficers of the lodge under dispensa tion : Fulgencio F. Pangan, Master; Jsidro Vamenta, Senior Warden; Emi lio Pineda, Junior Warden; Nicolas Capistrano, Orator; J. Roa Valdeconcha, Secretary; Ncmesio Chavez, Trea surer; Uldarico Akut, “Expert", Ricar do Reyes, Almoner; Apolinar Velez, Master of Ceremonies, and Celcdonio Abellanosa, Tyler. They were in stalled on the following day. Fulgencio Pangan was a perfect gentleman and a thorough mason who believed and practiced the principles of masonry', whom it was a privilege to know. Because of his kindly, am iable disposition, he was made to or der for the task he had set his heart to accomplish. It is thus pathetic in the extreme to note in this trun cated narrative that he did not live to see the lodge which he had so fondlv and zealously striven to found char tered. He would indeed be a very happy man had he lived to know that the lodge of his creation branched out from Cagavan to Lanao and thence to Misamis Occidental, and that the in stitution so dear to his heart has taken root firmly throughout Mindanao, down to Basilan and Sulu. He pre sided for the last time at the lodge meet ing held on March 26, 1912, and af ter that Apolinar Velez took over as acting master. But fully one vear had elapsed before another meeting was held on March 26, 1913. At this meeting, three important steps towards the constitution of the lodge were definitely taken. Agree ably to instructions from the Regional Grand Lodge, 1) Brothers Nemesio Chavez and Mariano Velez were raised to the degree of master mason; 2) Brother Apolinar Velez was elected Worshipful Master; and the newly raised brothers, Nemesio Chavez and Mariano A. Velez, Senior and Junior Wardens; and 3) the lodge was law fully installed by Ramon Vanta, Ma nuel Villavicencio and Simon Arlante, all of Sinukuan Lodge No. 272, who had been duly commissioned for the purpose, and was subsequently granted a charter as ‘‘Maguindanaw Lodge No. 334”. After the Grand Lodge of the Philippines was con stituted, following the fusion of the Philippine Lodges under the Grand Orient of Spain and the American Lodges here under the Grand Lodge of California, it was granted a new char ter on February 13, 1917, to be known as Maguindanaw Lodge No. 40. It continued to work in the ritual of the Scottish Rite used by the Gran Orient of Spain until 1922 when the Grand Lodge sent Brother Francisco Gumila Carag, Grand Lodge Instructor, to in struct us in the York Rite, (“Cal”) which it had previously adopted for use by the subordinate lodges. From the time F. F. Pangan and the ‘Triangulo” started initiating, passing and raising affiliates in 1911 to the institution of the lodge on March 26, 1913, its membership was composed of the following; F. F. Pax.gan who presided at every meeting and was worshipful master of the lodge under dispensation, former employee of the LI. S. Geodetic Survey and then clerk of the court of First Instance; Nicolas Ca pistrano, lawyer, founder and professor of the short-] ived Colegio Cagayano, military governor and general of the revolution, assemblyman, senator, judge of first instance and land owner; Isidro Vamenta, lawyer, assistant fiscal province of Cebu, assemblyman, and secretary of the defunct Department of Mindanao and Sulu; Emilio Pineda, 122 THE CABLE TOW April, 1959 lawyer, governor of the Province of /Xgusan, ancl land owner; r\polinar Velez, major in the Revolution, pro vincial secretary, twice provincial gov ernor, and clerk of the court of first instance; Ricardo Reyes, provincial governor and land owner; Uldarico Akut, notary public, presidente muni cipal of Cagayan; C. T. Abellanosa, deputy. Office of the Provincial Trea surer, deputy governor, and fanner; Juan Roa Valdcconcha, lieutenant in the revolution, justice of the peace, member of the provincial board and provincial governor; Nemesio Chavez, prominent businessman and land own er; Manuel A. Roa, first and only pensonado from Misamis to the U. S., supervising teacher and acclaimed pro fessor of mathematics in the College of Agriculture, U.P.; Cayetano Pacana, capitan municipal of Cagavan, major in the revolution, prominent businessman and land owner; Tirso Neri, biggest merchant in Cagayan, municipal president and liberal sup porter of the revolution; Euticjuio Daomilas, notary public and member of the provincial board; Victori no Chavez, businessman and land owner; Neme sio Yamomo, municipal treasurer, Ca gavan, and Isabelo de Silva, provincial treasurer of Misamis and Pampanga provinces. AAA We are grateful to Wor. Bro. Eduardo L. Claudio for furnishing the materials for “Masons in the Constitutional Convention", Jan uary 1959, pp. 90 & 91. Wor. Bro. Claudio was Worshipful Mas ter of Batangas Lodge No. 35 when the Constitutional Conven tion met. Through his initiative, the brethren in the Convention gathered for a fraternal banquet. —Editor WORTH KNOWING In President Eisenhower’s Cabinet are five Masonic brothers: Charles E. Wilson, Secretary of Defense; Wilbur Brucker, Secretary of the Army; Arthur Summerfield, Postmaster General; Fred Wheaton, Secretary of the Interior; and Sinclair Weeks, Secretary of Com merce. In the Supreme Court are Earl Warren, PGM; Chief Justice Tom Clark; and Harold Burton. In Con gress, there are 96 senators, 54 of whom are Masons. In the House of Repres entatives are 212 Masons compared to 223 who are not. In the various States, 33, of the 50 governors are Masons. In I louse of Representatives of the State cf Connecticut, Mrs. Ruth A. Jones is a Past Most Worthy Grand Matron of the General Grand Chapter of the Or der of Eastern Star. The year is 1717... the Mother Grand Lodge was formed in Eng land. . . Anderson’s Constitutions—first Masonic Book—was published six years later. . . I Ienrv Price received authority as Provincial GM of Massachusetts in 1733... Catholic objections to our Fraternity began with a Papal Bull in i 738. . . Germany had its first Grand Lodge in 1741... Washington took his first degree in 1752. . . an Irish Giand Lodge certificate first used the words “Sublime Degree of Master Ma sonin 1754... Mozart, who became Mason, composer of the Masonic Ope ra "The Magic Flute” was born in 1756. . . up in the highlands of Scot land, Robert Burns, a Mason, the poet who immortalized “The Mystic Tie” was born in 1759... Boston brethren recessed from lodge and put on the fa mous “Tea Party” in 1772. . . Paul Re vere rode in 1775.... America got her independence on July 4, 1776. 123 Officers of I’INTONG BATO LODGE No. 51 F * AM of Ituenor, Cnvlle for the year 1050. BAL1NTAWAK LODGE NO. 28, F A AM, GCMACA, 0LEZON er; Wor. Bro. Greeorio Defeo, Junior Grant] Steward; Bro. Bro. Pio Sartin, Marshal; Wor. Bro. Teofllo Olivera, Chaplain: 124 THE CABLE TOW April, 1959

pages

121-124

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