UP Los Banos Betans in Northern California

First of a Series
JOHNNY QUIJANO '52

Brod Johnny Quijano was among the first Betans in Los Banos, and chapter founder Rudy Ilarde was his roommate. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree in 1955, majored in plant breeding and minored in animal breeding.

Immediately after graduation, he pioneered in modern agriculture in the island of Mindoro and developed and managed 500 hectares of virgin land from 1955 to 1960. After his pioneering stint, he managed the citrus and mango orchards and hog raising operations of Country Farms, Inc., one of the biggest agricultural complexes during those days.

He migrated to the US in 1966 and worked for the US Department of Agriculture until 1974. Afterwards, he worked for Tri Valley Growers, a California based Fortune 500 fruit and vegetable processing cooperative until his retirement in 1995.

Johnny has "arrived" not only in his profession but as a family man as well. Married to Paddy, UP College of Nursing, '54, Johnny raised two boys and two girls and sent all of them to various California universities. Juan (Sacramento State University) now works for Lucky Stores; Maria (University of Santa Clara) works for Lynx Pharmaceutical; Rina (California Polytechnic) works for the San Jose School District; and Victor (UC Berkeley) also works for Lynx Pharmaceutical.

Johnny fondly reminisces those happy-go-lucky ol' UP Los Banos days when they would import ladies from Diliman during social occasions. He recalls, "One of the biggest problems we had was not having enough ladies on campus. During the Loyalty Day dances and various other affairs, we had to import ladies from UP Diliman, UP Manila, and other colleges in the city. My assignments from my freshman to senior year was to bring ladies for the dances. Trust me, brod, it was a difficult assignment but one that I enjoyed a lot. I transported around 500 ladies during each affair. And you know what? The ladies enjoyed and looked forward to the dances, and I became popular with them. And whenever I needed volunteers to help me in my role, I had a lot more brods responding to my call than what I actually needed!"

"Of course, we did the service in the name of the Beta Sigma. It's what you call a win/win situation."

Well, that was several decades ago, and Johnny is now immersed in what he considers to be his most enjoyable role in life: That of being a grandpa!



Second of a Series
ANGEL PAGADUAN '51
by Johnny Regadio

I remember meeting Brod Angel for the first time at the frat ball last July 1999. When he approached me that night he called my name as he introduced himself. Then he handed me a portfolio that contained proposals on governance of organizations.

Brod Angel is a man of principle and ideas. His broad experience in life is an asset to the fraternity. He was in the second batch of Betans in U.P. Los Banos. He was also in the Ranchers’ Club, Vanguard, and the Philippine Country Life Association.

Upon graduation from college, he worked as clerk then as warehouseman at Subic Bay U.S. Naval Base. After two years at the Base, he taught at the Zambales National Agricultural School, then moved to Isabela where he got a promotion as Farm Manager and Head of the Vocational Department at Jones Rural School.

In 1967, he got a job as Agriculturist at the National Investment and Development Corp, a subsidiary company of the PNB. Then he was promoted to various positions and was involved in fish trading operations as well as in the development and operations of sugar and rice milling cooperatives. He was also involved in various economic researches that dealt with rationalizing the Philippine sugar industry. Before his retirement in 1985, he was a Comptroller and his job included internal control, general accounting/auditing, budget analysis and technical reporting. (He submitted a funds control proposal intended to safeguard the Chapter’s assets.) Brod Angel came to the U.S. in 1986 along with his wife and two daughters. He passed the California Basic Educational Skills Test in 1989 and got a job as substitute teacher in the Fremont Unified School District. He is currently a lobbyist of a major political party.

Brod Angel had written and published several research studies, essays and feature articles in Philippine papers here and in the Philippines. (He presented a proposal to set up a mutual fund for the Chapter.)

As a religious leader, he once headed the Holy Name Society, served as auditor at St. James Pastoral Council in Subic, Zambales, and was a charter Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus. Brod Angel received several letters of commendations, awards, certificate of honors, appreciation and recognition for all his hard work and dedication from his past jobs, and membership in various civic, political and religious organizations – something that a U.P. Beta Sigman can be proud of.