HOW time flies. I have fond memories, lots of them, being a part of the Pampanga Press Club. Last Tuesday at the Hilltop function hall of Mimosa in Clark Freeport I felt I was a stranger among peers. It is perhaps many of them are new faces to me until I saw Lino Sanchez, Jr. of Bulletin Today, Perry Pangan of DWRW and Bong Lacson of Punto. And it brought some years back.
In 1984, I was the playing coach of the Pampanga Press Club and actively competed with exhibition games against several teams of some government agencies, including the teams of the Philippine Air Force led then by General Romeo David and the Pampanga Constabulary Command headed then by Colonels Rey Berroya and Nestor Sanares. The PPC team first five were Perry Pangan, aka Rudy Distrito, Lincoln Baluyut aka Hector Calma, Sonny Lopez, Andy Lim and my son Gabriel. The reserves on the bench were Ody Fabian, Bert Basa, Ram Mercado, Lino Sanchez, Jr. and Rolly Lingat.
The PPC is already 69 years old. On my way out of the hall I chanced upon on Tonette Orejas, a prolific writer and I ‘complained’ to her why the younger members don’t even bother to ask their seniors the history of the club. I also told Deng Pangilinan, the re-elected president of the club about my concern. Questions like who was its first president, the members then. Where the induction was held. Who was the inducting officer, etc.etc. Maybe among the four of us who are still around like myself, Lino Sanchez, Jr., Fred Roxas and Ram Mercado can provide some answers.
Initially what I can provide is that it was either Alejandrino ‘Toto’ Songco or Emerito ‘Nits’ De Jesus who may have been the first president of the club which was founded in 1949 (maybe we can check it with Fred Roxas who was ahead of everybody). Both were reporters of Evening News. Toto never left newspapering while Nits became mayor of Bacolor town and was undersecretary of the Department of National Defense during the presidency of President Diosdado P. Macapagal. And that the election was held at a restaurant on the ground floor of Pampanga Hotel in San Fernando.
The old members of the club who I suppose are still orbiting in heaven are Renato ‘Katoks’ Tayag, Lawyer Moises Sevilla Ocampo, Philip Siron, Butch Maglaqui, Silvestre Songco, Benjamin Gamos, Tomas San Pedro, Lino Sanchez, Sr., Marcelino Pangilinan and my brother Gregorio, who was the last president and for several years the press club was moribund. No activity. Then in 1979 with the help of then Labor Secretary Blas F. Ople with a lots of help from Pareng Ram Mercado we revived into activity the club. It was reborn. I remember even that the induction was held at the Army and Navy Club, a membership club along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. And Ka Luis Taruc was one of the special guests. These are only a few highlights of the storied past of the Pampanga Press Club.