High School Class ’61 of the Holy Cross of Davao College celebrated its 49th year on the weekend of September 18-19 2010 (Saturday/Sunday) at the Maritime Education Training Center of Holy Cross Camudmud campus at the Island Garden City of Samal.
Lawyer Leoncio “Nonoy” Villa-Abrille, the president of Class ’61, hosted the two-day homecoming for his classmates and for the scholars. US-based Bienvenido “Ben” Magno, who is a resident of New Jersey, flew in for the class reunion. Magno later volunteered to act as USA coordinator of his batch mates abroad. Among whom are Engr. Jesus Asiain, Engr. Rolando Cainglet, Dr. Antonio Lao, Orlando Mendioro and Engr. Reynaldo Veneracion.
Other classmates who helped organize the homecoming were Sergio Ginete, Benito Ramento, and Edgardo Sorongon. After the planning sessions, every one had great fun and enjoyed singing and dancing. Class ’61 was appreciative, too, of Sister Teresita Salang, TDM, who prepared the menu for the four meals and the two snacks during their two-stay.
In their free time, batchmates and scholars alike enjoyed a lot of swimming just off the white-sand beach of the Holy Cross Camudmud campus. Campus overseer Ricky Escote of Class ’94, BS Customs Administration, acted the gracious host to his fellow Holy Crossians which was appreciated by Antonio “Tonyboy” Villa-Abrille and Emmanuel “Willie” Rallos, friends and supporters of Class ’61.
The two-day reunion enabled Class ’61 to plan for a grand 50th year celebration for 2011, including the launching of “Dinner for a Cause.” This is a large scale fund raiser for its scholarship program under the Father Maurice Cote Scholarship Foundation, Inc. The big day has been tentatively set for the week of September 14, 2011.
Among the scholars who showed up at the homecoming were Loulibeth Hibaya-Amper, Holy Cross High School registrar, Kristine Anne Deloy, a teacher in Indangan who recently passed the teacher’s board examination, Jesser Domingo, a college sophomore, Christian Ferrando, a high school senior, Sherry Jean Ferrando, in junior high, Maybelen Aguilar, a sophomore high, Krista Manabat and Vanessa Viloria, both freshmen at Holy Cross.
Beth Amper, the most senior among the scholars, acted as chaperon for the younger scholars. During her high school days at Holy cross Amper was a recipient of the Father Cote Scholarship of Class ’61. She enjoyed her scholarship when she was a freshman at Holy Cross in school year 1989-1990 until she graduated from school in 1993. Today, she is a holder of a BS degree in accountancy.
Before returning home, the scholars were treated by president Nonoy Villa-Abrille to an educational tour at the Monfort Cave Conservation Center that won for Ms. Norma Inigo-Monfort an international recognition in the Guinness World Records early last year.
Next year’s celebration will be the 1st Golden Jubilarians ever that will be held in the school – marking the 50th year of Class ‘61. Although Class ’59 and Class ‘60 were the two other jubilarian classes that preceded Class ’61, both failed to come together for their Golden Anniversary.
The grand alumni homecoming in September 2011, highlighted by Class ’61 Golden Jubilee Celebration, will be marked also by the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Holy Cross of Davao’s Foundation. The PME Fathers, Canadian Missionaries from Montreal, were the pioneering founders of the Holy Cross of Davao College.
When Holy Cross of Davao celebrated its Golden Jubilee Homecoming on September 13-16, 2001, Class ’61 also celebrated its Ruby Anniversary under the theme: “50 Years of Holy Cross Spirit Together.” Class president Villa-Abrille chaired the high school homecoming committee then, which had the largest turnout of alumni participation.
