Southern Luzon Masons to converge in Naga

By Bro. Edward Kenn S. Ampongan, JOML146

FREEMASONS belonging to 68 Masonic Lodges and 11 Masonic Districts will gather at The Tent, Avenue Plaza Hotel, Magsaysay Avenue, Naga City, on October 14, 2023, for the Southern Luzon Multi-District Masonic Convention. The one-day event will elect two nominees for the Junior Grand Warden position in the Grand Lodge of the Philippines. The elected nominees will be vying for the coveted Junior Grand Warden post against nominees from other multi-district conventions. The elected Junior Grand Warden will eventually move up the ladder as the Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines in 2027.

The event will commence with a wreath-laying ceremony at Plaza Rizal to honor one of the national heroes and a great Freemason, Jose P. Rizal, followed by the convention proper at The Tent. The Grand Master of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, MW Don T. Ramas-Uypitching will be gracing the event together with one of the Past Grand Masters, a native of Naga City, MW Tomas G. Rentoy, the Senior Grand Warden, RW Raul E. Canon, Jr, and the Junior Grand Warden, RW Robert Joseph S. Moran.

The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, in coordination with the different districts all over the country and overseas where the Grand Lodge has jurisdiction, is conducting a series of multi-district conventions to elect nominees for the Junior Grand Warden and to discuss important matters and resolutions pertaining to Freemasonry.

This year, the Naga City Masonic Lodge No. 257, led by its Worshipful Master, WB Arnold P. Ombao, and the Masonic District Region V-C3 (Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes), led by its Deputy District Grand Master (DDGM), VW Philip Mark U. Olivan, will host the 2023 Southern Luzon Multi-District Convention. With the pooled logistical, financial, and manpower resources of the seven lodges in the Masonic District, the event is already in final preparation, with the venue prepped up, hotels already informed, and bookings already reserved for the visitors.

“This event will also highlight Naga City as one of the prime tourist destinations in Bicol and one of the booming business hubs in the region”, says VW Philip Mark U. Olivan, the host DDGM.

Freemasonry is regarded as one of the pillars of nation-building, as exemplified by the United States of America, where the revolutionary heroes and presidents were Freemasons, including some twenty-one signers of the Declaration of Independence. Many historians note that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights both seem to be heavily influenced by the Masonic “civil religion,” which focuses on freedom, free enterprise, and a limited role for the state.

Although it was not emphasized in our history books that the majority of our revolutionary heroes who fought for our independence were Freemasons, but because of the digital age, this information is now being made available to all generations, online. In the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal, President Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and many others were Freemasons. The driving spirit of the Philippine Revolution was the tenets of Freemasonry. At present, many Freemasons in the country hold different positions in the government, some own businesses, and both play a vital role in nation-building, guided by the same tenets of Freemasonry.