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QUESADA: A
TRAIL OF TWO CITIES RW Romulo B. Quesada calls these two cities “home.” Naic (Cavite) and White Plains New York) are worlds apart, but are drawn to a kinship by few common interests. As speculative Masons, we can only recall that both cities have rich history. Naic, about 30 miles south of Manila, is famous for battles fought by Filipinos against the Spaniards and where Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo made strategic decisions to change the course of the Philippine revolution. On the other side, White Plains is where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in New York State and was the site of the Battle of White Plains that marked a turning point in the American struggle for independence. The two histories may be trivial, but the character of the peoples, shaped by the past events, impacts the present. In separate junctures, the two cities warmly welcomed and embraced Romy as their beloved son. Naic,
Cavite (and Manila) This Masonic saga begins in Naic when Romy was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Mainam Lodge No. 49 on October 14, 1961. A Mapua Institute of Technology graduate, Romy was at that time working as a civil engineer for a construction management company. In 1962, he petitioned the Luzon Bodies of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for membership and was conferred the 4th through the 14th Degrees. A temporary work assignment to Guam late in the year interrupted the series. He returned six months later, in May 1963, to receive the 15th through 32nd Degrees. In 1966, five years into the fraternity, he became Worshipful Master of Mainam Lodge. Shortly after his return to the ranks, the grand lodge appointed Romy as Grand Lodge Inspector for Tagaytay Lodge No. 165 and then for Bagong Ilaw Lodge No. 97 for two years. Around this time, Romy was already immersed in Scottish Rite activities including the Luzon Bodies all-around conferral team that conferred degrees around the country to prime the newly constituted Bodies. The surge in Romy’s enthusiasm toward the craft could be appreciated more with a little background information. Coming from a very devout Roman Catholic family, he was the first in the Quesada clan to become a Mason. He credits his broad-minded mother who did not stand on the way as Romy joined the church-banned association. As to what Masonry was good for, he remembers a great-uncle tell a story about a man during the 1920’s who lost his wallet to a pickpocket during a train ride and needed to recover his money. Out of desperation, the man must have uttered the “magic” word so audible that it made other men rise up to come to drop money into the hat resting on his lap. Unbeknownst to the uninitiated, the men came to the aid of a distressed worthy brother. Without even knowing what the “magic” word was, Romy was greatly impressed with the teaching about the Masonic obligation to help. Furthermore, the great-uncle, a 32nd Degree Mason and a KCCH, advised Romy, “ If ever you want to be a Mason, join the fraternity without expecting any reward or assistance. If you deserve any or all of these, they will come to you unsolicited.” The years of dedication and service did not go unnoticed as foretold. In 1970, the Philippine Supreme Council of Scottish Rite of Freemasonry invested Romy with the rank and decoration of a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor (KCCH) for exemplary and distinguished service to the Rite and Masonry. The honor did raise him to another level of service. From 1971 until 1976, he rose to serve as Most Wise Master of the Chapter of Rose Croix, Commander of Liberty Council of Kadosh, and Master Kadosh of the Equality Consistory. The illustrious former Naic native had become a familiar face in the Scottish Rite Temple in Manila. Romy was the Orator of the Lodge of Perfection before he departed for the United States. White Plains, New YorkIt must have been a jolt to the brethren and associates that Romy would leave the Philippines to follow his wife who had gone ahead in 1978. In the summer of 1979, Romy and two sons arrived in New York, the third son staying behind to finish school. The immigrant family settled in White Plains, just 25 miles north of Manhattan, and he worked for a New York State agency. The following sequence of events revealed that the new environment had not spoiled this seasoned and much-decorated Mason. The ubiquitous Masonry was not going to leave Romy alone either. In 1980, Romy affiliated with White Plains Lodge No. 473 and joined the Valley of White Plains, Scottish Rite of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Northern Masonic Jurisdiction). He progressed naturally through the officers’ line to become the blue lodge’s Worshipful Master in 1988. To add an historical flair, the sitting Filipino incumbent was reelected by the lodge members, breaking the lodge record of not reelecting a Worshipful Master since 1904. This may sound like a broken record, but Romy, again, began to rise from the ranks in the Rite to hold positions as Thrice Potent Master of the Lodge of Perfection, Sovereign Prince of the Council of Princes of Jerusalem, Most Wise Master of the Chapter of Rose Croix, and Commander-in-Chief of the Consistory. Further, he served as a Trustee, Hospitalier, Secretary, and is currently the Treasurer of the Valley. Likewise in the symbolic lodge, he was the district president of Masters and Officers association, chairman on Programs and Events, and Associate Editor of the Trowel. In 1987, the Council of Deliberation, the highest governing body of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the state of New York, bestowed on him the Meritorious Service Award (MSA), the equivalent of the KCCH in the Southern Masonic Jurisdiction. This gave him a rare distinction of one with two red hats, KCCH and MSA, from both the Southern and Northern Masonic Jurisdictions. At its annual meeting in September, 1996, in Boston, Massachusetts, the Supreme Council of the Thirty Third and Last Degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the U.S.A. unanimously elected Romy to receive the 33rd Degree. Then at the following annual meeting, on September 23, 1997, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Supreme Council coroneted him and 146 others 33rd Degree Masons. In 1997, there were 3,513 33rd Degree Masons in the jurisdiction (about 1% of the total membership) of which 183 hailed from New York State. To Romy, this was the highest point of his Masonic journey, an indescribable feeling that only those who had gone before could understand. Illustrious Rudyardo Bunda, 33rd Degree, then Sovereign Grand Commander of Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the Philippines and Past Grand Master, a close friend, traveled to Michigan to attend the Grand Rapids coronation and to affirm the enviable honor, the one that Philippine Masonry did not have a chance to give Romy because of his absence. From Labor to Refreshment to LaborAfter 20 years in the business of constructing educational, health, and court facilities throughout the State of New York, he retired in December 1998. Would Romy also put brakes on his Masonic activities? The Masons of New York found out soon enough. Early in the new Millennium, the grand lodge called him to report for duty. Romy was the man of the hour; he was to become a Grand Master’s deputy. At New York’s grand lodge communication on May 1, 2000, his appointment as District Deputy Grand Master for the 2nd Westchester-Putnam District (2000-2002) was formalized by the Grand Master, MW Carl J. Smith. In the district, RW Romy has 10 lodges under his watch. New York State has over 88,000 members. Looking in the years past, Romy has never had reservations about the brotherhood. He prides to be one that has complete faith in the Masonic teachings and has the scars and laurels to prove it. “How can there be equivocation when all the lessons taught by Masonry are for the good of humankind?” he always reassures the doubtful. Is There Life After Lodge?Outside Masonry, if one wonders, RW Romy B. Quesada has had a normal and exciting life as we know it. He graduated from Mapua Institute of Techonology in 1953 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering and passed the Civil Service Board Examination in the same year. He attended a course in Project Management at Ateneo University in Manila and completed a program in Construction Management at New York University. His wife, Lolita Villacorta, a business administration graduate of the University of the East, Magna Cum Laude, and a CPA, has been in this life journey all along. She is doubly understanding and most tolerant of my Masonic activities, Romy still says of his wife for 39 years. Loli, until her retirement in 1996, worked for the United Nations Development Programme. The couple’s three sons (Renwick, Radford, and Russwyn), all Computer Science graduates, their spouses, and two grandsons by Renwick are only a few minutes drive for the special family dinner. Romy was born in 1932, in Santa Cruz, Laguna, but spent his boyhood and high school years in Naic. His own family lived in Makati, Rizal, for over 30 years prior to their move to White Plains, New York. His SweetnessThat Masonry transcends culture and nationality is a true statement. New York State proves this by continuously acknowledging Brother Romy Quesada's humble beginning in Naic. Several other states similarly have recognized deserving Filipinos in their jurisdictions but may not be as lavish as in the Empire State. As for the Filipinos around the world, in the hope for a more perfect union between cultures, they can only wish that the White Plains folks pronounce the name correctly: Mainam. And that's sweet.by: |
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