Testimonial Dinner for Lt.Gen. Facundo Palafox V
Shangri-la The Fort Manila, BGC. August 4, 2024.
by Jay Jay Jayme
It was a great evening, Brod. Each and every brod after you left said that it was an inspiring evening.
Brod, your story needs to be summarized so our resident brods can achieve goals and objectives as you did - as a UP student, then PMA, then as a full time soldier dedicating a life of service to God and country.
Thank you for sharing your speech. It will be published at the UP BETA SIGMA INTERNATIONAL website. I will send you the link.
Jay Jay Jayme
President, UPBSI
Testimonial Message
Lt.Gen. Facundo Palafox V, UPB'87
Proposed message for Testimonial dinner Hosted by UPBSFI
Venue: 8/F Samba Pavilion 1, Shangri-la, The Fort, BGC
Date & Time: 04 1830 August 2024
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Pleasantries…
At the onset, I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for tonight’s
testimonial dinner arranged and hosted by Brods JJ and Ivan. I am both humbled
by the gesture and delighted to be amongst all of you.
Brods, I joined the Betan Elite as a 1st year high school student in SLU Boys’
High School. The motto of “brotherhood of scholars” has lured me into joining
the Elite being a member of the Science section…actually more than half of the
section were members.
Later on in college, I begged the senior Brods to accept me as an amuyong. They
seemed to be reluctant, at first. The Fraternity then was banned because one of
our members from another Manila university died a few hours after the final
rites a year before; and university policy discouraged freshmen from joining any
organization or fraternity during the 1st semester. But I insisted and since I,
initially, was the only one, they had to find another recruit. (You know the
Brods, choosy and pakipot…quality over quantity…even if there is only one man
standing, he will never compromise his beliefs. As stubborn as a bull). So, they
finally found someone, and we were called “body and soul”. Unfortunately, my
buddy or “batchka” quit after the midterms, but I was determined to become one
of the admired, tough, ruggedly good-looking and cool guys in campus, so in
August 6, 1984 I finally made it. Tonight is actually, an advance anniversary
celebration of my 40th year of survival…so, thank you Brod JJ and Ivan...
…after long and sometimes sleepless nights of jug (with residents Brods and LCs)
hugging around the bon fire and sometimes elsewhere…a few rumbles/ fist fights
here and there, mediation with student affairs, skipping classes for a couple of
beers leading to popping of the famous round post or quatro kantos ginebra gin,
tambay duties, LOAs, etc…then, reality started to kick in…what do I really want
to do with my life?
After a reckless and foolhardy youth, I found myself entering the portals of PMA
in April 1986. As fate would have it, my Math-Physics major subjects in UP would
help me breeze thru the exams; and then later through the academic years. More
than that, my initiation rites experience (which we was actually hazing and
maltreatment) we all, as Beta Sigmans endured, helped me through the months of
plebehood physical regimen, developing in me the values of patience,
perseverance and determination. There were also other similarities between our
Frat’s way of accepting new recruits and the PMA brand of instilling military
values, aside from the physical and mental challenges - like selfless service,
unending memorisation of notes and recitations, indoctrination under
pressure…PMA training was only longer, but the programs were quite similar.
After 4 years of military education and training, I graduated in 1990 and
subsequently volunteered to the Philippine Army. I wanted to be in the “middle
of the action”, so to speak, that was what we were trained for anyway, so why
chose for anything else…our core competency is war fighting. Here’s a bit of
trivia…before 1989, graduating cadets were required to draw lots (ping pong
balls to be exact) and whatever they picked, the hand that was dealt, is where
their journey began as 2nd Lieutenants in either the Army, the Navy, the Air
Force or the Philippine Constabulary. We were luckier…
So, I volunteered again in Mindanao, where I thought the action was…but
eventually landed in Bicol with the 2nd Infantry Division, only to find out that
the fighting there was as fierce. I was deployed there for 5 years. In 1995, I
joined the Light Armor Brigade (LABde), PA and was assigned in Cotabato and
Eastern Mindanao for almost 5 years. Coming from field duty I held several
office positions at the Headquarters of Armed Forces of the Philippines and
Philippine Army as a Civil Military Operations Officer.
I also served as Senior Aide-de-Camp to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella of the 13th Congress in August
2000, and performed special Detailed Service outside of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines as Military Assistant to the former Secretary Hernani Braganza of
DAR with Ying as HEA. I also became a member of the 3-man Joint Monitoring
Committee (JMC) for the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law (CARHIHL) with the GRP Peace panel from 2012 to
2017.
Coming back from special detail, I later on served as Commandant of The Armor
School before taking my post as the Commander of the 2nd Cavalry (Masigasig)
Squadron, Mechanized Infantry Division, Philippine Army. This was followed by my
stint as Commander, Civil Military Operations Regiment. In Aug 2019, I led the
2nd Mechanized Infantry (Magbalantay) Brigade, Armor Div with Lanao del Norte
and Iligan City as my operational area. Before my current designation as
Commander of the the Southern Luzon Command, I was Commander of the Armor
(Pambato) Division, Philippine Army. The premier Armor unit of the AFP.
That my beloved Brothers sums up my 38 years, 4 months and 3 days to date in the
military Service and still counting. Every time, I narrate my biosketch or
someone reads it, I feel like I am about to retire and leave the Service…
Somebody once said, “life for us is not to just exist in this world, but we need
to live it, until we cease to exist”. Life is a journey where our choices
matter. My life in the Army and the AFP in general is challenging and exciting.
I was exposed to the realities and disparities of life. I met and came across a
sea and myriad of people. I’ve had my share of good and evil. And through the
years, I tried my best to do what is right than doing the right thing.
Discernment is an important facet of life. In this very uncertain, complex, and
ambiguous environment, one can easily be lost; and life’s purpose is sometimes
difficult to find. Brods, I am, admittedly, a delinquent Brod. Because of my
career and profession, I’ve been inactive in our fraternity for quite
sometime…but to make up for my responsibilities and years of absences from the
frat, I endeavoured to live up by our Credo and 9 principal truths if only to
prove myself worthy of our Fraternity’s ideals. When we were being taught how to
develop our leadership traits and hone our motivational skills, we were required
to come up with our own Command Philosophy which would be the bedrock and
guiding pillars of our leadership principles. I enumerated three - integrity,
service and excellence. These values, along with what I have learned along the
way, drive me up to this day and my role as a Servant-Leader where mission
accomplishment is paramount and personnel welfare is of primordial concern. In
soldiery, I found my purpose. Our beloved Beta Sigma fraternity instilled in me
the fundamentals of these ideals, and gave meaning and direction to my
calling…that’s why I am standing in front of all of you tonight, not only as a
proud Officer and Gentleman of the AFP, but first, a Beta Sigman.
Brothers, before I end, allow me to paraphrase something I said during our 78th
founding anniversary with the MSA…as I would like this to reverberate in the
annals of our brotherhood, so that the younger generations of Beta Sigmans would
strive to pursue nothing short of excellence in whatever path they take…Brods,
we have a glorious past. Let us live and continue to build a future worthy of
this past. Let’s make our choices count. Together, let us chart our destiny.
It’s a matter of putting premium to what is important, for everything that we
hold dear and cherish in our lives - for God, our country, family, our revered
fraternity and ourselves. Duty, devotion, love and obligation to the fraternity
is not only for our brothers but for the majority of the Filipinos out there who
need our help. Brods, we are more than a fraternity. We are an important segment
of the society. We have obligations and this is what sets us apart from others -
a shared vision, a shared responsibility of the Beta Sigma Fraternity.
Brods, it’s been an honor to be given this accolade. I hope, I made you all
proud, as I am proud to be a member of our illustrious and noble fraternity.
Again, thank you for this opportunity and thank you to all of you for
coming…also, once again, to Brods Ivan and JJ for hosting this testimonial. Let
us all continue to live the Beta Sigma Fraternity way of life. Let us excel.
Mabuhay tayong lahat, mabuhay ang Kapatitrang Beta Sigma. Para sa bayan at sa
Filipino. Cheers!
Click: Testimonial Message by Lt.Gen. Facundo Palafox V (pdf)