Alumni of Colegio de San Juan de Letran reunited at the New World Hotel in Makati City on March 23, ahead of the school’s celebration of 400th year by 2020.
Colegio de San Juan de Letran Alumni Association used the occasion to honor Letran’s 400 Great Men and Women (Grandes Figuras) who have shown and manifested the school’s ideals of “love to God, country and alma mater.”
Colegio de San Juan de Letran is a private Roman Catholic Dominican institution of learning in Intramuros, Manila. Established in 1620, it has the distinction of being the oldest college in the Philippines.
The school has produced Philippine presidents, revolutionary heroes, poets, legislators, members of the clergy and jurists. It has also produced several Catholic saints who lived and studied in its campus.
Among the awardees are Carmelo Casas, Antonio Tuviera, Henry Lim Bom Liong, Jaime Bautista, Dr. Gregorio Andaman Jr., Don Juan Geronimo Guerrero, Jose Maria Aligda, Charles Yu, William Uy, Bernie Atienza, Maj. Gen. Victor Felix (ret), Dr. Gregorio Andaman, Dr. Manuel Mariano and Cavite Rep. Strike Revilla.
The awardees were recognized for their selfless and humble way of serving communities and making Letran proud through their good will.
Revilla, of Batch ‘93 who started his political career at the age of 25 when he was elected as councilor of Bacoor in 1995, says his Letran education helped him become a better public servant.
“It’s Letran that helped me think what good things I can contribute to our country. Love to God, country and alma mater stays with me even after I finished school,” says Revilla, who served as mayor of Bacoor from 2007 to 2016 before being elected as a member of Congress.