My Journey to the East

Soldier's Pen
BGen. Alexander Cabales, (Ret.)

                On March 3, the members of the Most Worshipful Joseph E. Schon Memorial Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines had its public Installation of officers for the year 2012. 

                 The Lodge had been in existence for the past 45 years and was originally known as the San Carlos City Lodge before it was renamed in honor of Commander Joseph Schon, a US naval pilot who served in the Pacific and eventually settled in Canlaon City in the late 1940's. Joseph Schon was the Grand Master of Masons of the Philippines in 1968 and was instrumental in the constitution of this lodge.
                As a member of this lodge for the past nine years, I had the honor of being installed as its new Worshipful Master. Vice-Mayor Dr. Edgardo Quisumbing occupied that position for the third time in the past.   Also installed were Allan Leonor, Senior Warden; Dr. Stephen Yee, Junior Warden; Dr Edgardo Quisumbing, Secretary; Nelson Tan, Treasurer; Toboso Municipal Councilor Josephus Valencia, Auditor; Councilor Hernan Antonio, Marshall; PCInsp Jose Baynosa (Ret), Chaplain; Oscar Limpio, Senior Deacon, PSInsp John Joel Batusbatusan, Junior Deacon; Atty. Samuel Lezama, Orator/Lecturer; and Dennis Tan Yu, Tyler.

The new set of officers of the Most Worshipful Joseph E. Schon Memorial Lodge Number 186 led by BGen . Alexander D. Cabales. From L-R, Standing: Dr.Stephen Yee, Atty Samuel Lezama, Dennis Tan Yu, Nelson Tan, Dr./Vice Mayor Edgardo Quisumbing, Councilor Josephus Valencia, Atty/Councilor Hernan Antonio, Alan Leonor, PSInsp John Joel Batusbatusan, Oscar Limpio and Romil Rentuaya. Also in the picture (seated from L-R) Lt Gen Arthur Tabaquero, Atty Elmer Balbin, Gen Cabales, Judge Franklin Demonteverde and Mayor Gerardo Valmayor

                Judge Franklin Demonteverde of Bacolod City, a former Grand Master of Masons of the Philippines installed the new set of officers.  He was assisted by Dr. Joselito Yulo and Engineer Cesar Velarde, Jr. as Master of Ceremonies and Assistant Master of Ceremonies, respectively.  Both Yulo and Velarde were past District Deputy Grand Masters in Samar Island and are members of Mt. Huraw Lodge in Catbalogan City.  The Guest of Honor and Speaker was Lt. General Arthur I. Tabaquero, the Commanding General of the Eastern Mindanao Command based in Davao City and who is a member of Marikina Lodge.   The incumbent District Deputy Grand Master in Negros Island, Atty. Elmer Balbin from Bohol and our very own Mayor Gerardo Valmayor also graced the occasion.
               Masons from other lodges in Negros Island, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, Samar and Leyte came to witness the event.  To name a few were PCSupt Cecil Sandalo (Ret) and my mason classmates, PCSupt Drusillo Bolodo and BGen Alejandro Estomo.  The six widows of deceased masons from San Carlos City and the son of the late Joseph E. Schon, Ricky, also attended the occasion.
            In closing I would like to share with my readers, excerpts of my assumption speech as follows:

                "Allegorically we masons say that one's journey in the craft (masonry) is through a rough and rugged road that is always beset with trials and temptations.  Today I wonder what the path of those ahead of me was using because the road that I took was not that rough and rugged after all but rather a beautiful one.  I took a leisurely path, discovering the beauties of freemasonry along the way, feeling the warmth of the brotherhood everywhere my soldiery tasks brought me, partaking of the master masons wages (the enjoyment and rewards) that I did not expect but were voluntary shared by the brethren, having an instant family even in places that I've never been to in the past, and watching with amazement the masonic magic slowly unfolding before my very eyes.  I enjoyed every moment of it; I cannot ask for more from my masonic travels. 

                Today, almost nine years after I first passed through the two brazen pillars of Boaz and Jachin (the names of the symbolic pillars in the doorway of lodges), I pretend to be like an old experienced mason sitting on a chair reserved only for the likes of King Solomon, the first known grandmaster in masonic tradition. His wisdom was widely known and most masters of a lodge strive to emulate him and endeavor to display the highest virtues of a mason as exemplified by the Most Excellent King Solomon.  Looking at this as the backdrop, I hope that I could dispose of my responsibilities within the expected standards to the satisfaction of the brethren particularly those from my mother lodge.  I am confident though, that whatever my short comings would be, they will always be there to support me as they have always done with the other masters before me. 

                For a year I occupied that seat in the west as the Senior Warden.  It was there that I have become very familiar and comfortable with the usual question posed on me by the master during the ceremonial opening of the lodge for our regular meeting.  Before we buckle down to discuss our business, he asks me, "What is your duty in the West Brother Senior Warden?  My answer, which was rather a long one, would include this phrase, "…that none may go away dissatisfied, harmony being the strength and support of all societies especially of ours".   Those words didn't have so much meaning the first time I said them.  I was more concerned with speaking the lines precisely without any deviation as we are required to.  Later on, my answer became spontaneous and second nature to me.  Its meaning and significance became clear and I begun to internalize and accept it.  Harmony is indeed the strength and support of all societies especially of ours!

                The importance of harmony not only among masons but with their fellowmen as well, is further emphasized in the short but meaningful opening prayer during a masonic meeting.  Here we implore God to subdue every discordant passion within us and to harmonize and enrich our hearts with his goodness so that we may humbly reflect the beauty and order that reigns forever in his throne."

                Today, I share this reflection [in] harmony with the brethren as well as to the friends of masons who are with us today as I mark my first step in a "continuous travel towards the East in search of that which was lost - the elusive and hidden secrets of Freemasonry."

                These are allegorical statements of course.  A mason does not literally travel towards the east.  The travel actually alludes to a mason's continuous quest for truth and knowledge, of morality and rectitude of life in order to make a better person out of himself. It is allegorical in the sense that masonry no longer keep secrets except for the harmless signs of recognition between brothers, the sometimes meaningless words we mumble in each other's ears during the opening and closing ceremonies in our meetings and the signs of distress that many of us have even forgotten due to non-use because we are only allowed to use it as a last recourse and only when we are in actual physical danger. 

                Whatever these meant in the eyes of each one of us, it is only through harmony with our fellowmen that the magic of masonry can best work.  As the new master of the Most Worshipful Joseph E. Schon Memorial Lodge Number 186, I enjoin everyone to internalize and practice this great moral principle and together we will travel not the rough and rugged road but the beautiful path that leads to the East."