CLUTCHING A DIAMOND IN HIS HAND


Four months ago, at the initiative of the Quezon City Lodge No. 122 Ladies Circle, we visited a fraternal brother. Such a visit was part of the Circle's program of reaching out to their husbands' brethren and loved ones who for some reasons have become inactive.

Brief, indeed, was my first meeting with WB Francisco B. Aquino. It was no more than a social call brought about by my curious desire to see a fraternal brother now in the "December of his years" but revered because his has demonstrated a fervent fidelity to the Craft.

At 96, that Masonic fervor was still deeply burning in his chest. He could still talk fondly of his more celebrated colleagues like MW Reynold S. Fajardo, MW Jolly R. Bugarin, MW Gus Mateo, WB Emil "Daddy" Ozaeta and the other lodge luminaries who rubbed fraternal elbows with him during his heyday.

If only his now wobbly legs would let him, he has intimated he would gladly deliver the lectures of the three Masonic degrees!

As an ultimate Masonic gesture, he willed that when his final date with time's Great Leveler would be at hand and take him to the Great Beyond, the brethren should give him the final rites at the Capitol Masonic Temple.

WB Kiko, records show, was born on December 3, 1894 at Baliwag, Bulacan. Twenty one years later, or on December 10, 1915 to be exact, he tied the marital knot to a pretty sixteen-year-old lass whom he fondly calls "Onyang".

Their union was blessed with three sons and an equal number of daughters. All of the sons and two of the daughters got married. One opted to remain single.

Two of the children have since migrated to the United States. But when WB Kiko and Sis. Onyang celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary, they flew home to witness their parents renew their wedding vows.

On that occasion, two sets of families joined WB Kiko and Sis. Onyang. One set consisted of six children, twenty seven grandchildren and twenty eight great grandchildren. The other set is composed of WB Kiko's fraternal brothers from Quezon City Lodge No. 122. MW Gus Mateo was there. WB Emil "Daddy" Ozaeta, WB Agusto Cabral, WB Conrad "Ado" Veneracion, the three lights led by WM Jose "Pong" Lustre, and followed by Bros. Saul R. Exmundo and James K. Donadilla, (and yours truly), were also there. Many of us were accompanied by our respective spouses. Another member of the Craft from another lodge (I cannot recall his name) was on hand, too.

What a gathering it was! WB Kiko and Sis. Onyang's children (some of whom are no younger than favorite WB "Daddy" Ozaeta) were deeply moved by our presence. They were aware that their Dad is a true-blue member of the Craft- from inside out, if you wish. Why, even his favorite mahogany cane, which has served him for many years as his third leg in moving around, had that familiar "square and compass" logo embedded on it, a reminder to all and sundry, and also to himself most probably, that a Mason should be proud of his fraternal affiliation. Proud of the Craft, WB Kiko definitely was!

How did he join the Fraternity and when?

A hydrographer by profession and an employee of the Bureau of Public Works, WB Kiko led a semi-nomadic life. As such, he came to meet members of the Craft from whom he got ideas about Freemasonry.

When he was assigned in the province of Pangasinan, he knocked at the doors of the Fraternity. He was initiated an entered apprentice on September 1, 1923 at Pangasinan Lodge No. 56 and a master mason on October 13, same year.

After the formation of Quezon City Lodge No. 122 in 1948, he likewise knocked at its doors as a dual member. Since then and up to the time old age finally crept into his kneebones, he shared his valuable insights on what our fraternal organization is all about.

WB Kiko was revered by his brethren because he was a veritable sturdy pillar in lodge affairs. Decidedly, he richly deserved the 50-year pin that was awarded to him by the Grand Lodge.

When he could no longer answer the cabletows sent by the lodge announcing stated meetings, much like the mountain going to Mohammed, the lodge members not infrequently, paid him unscheduled visits at his home in Cubao. They would take along with them newly-raised members of the Craft for the sight of a brother who had consistently lived his Masonry might spur them to emulate his example. In such visits, the brethren would recall the old times, the points of fellowship that had cemented them as brethren of this mystic, Masonic bond.

On that visit that we paid him four months ago, I saw him as a picture of complete satisfaction. He had nothing more to wish for- not even reaching that rare century mark. So it seemed.

But we were told he still has one more wish before his earthly existence finally expire; to see on of his great grandchildren beget his first great, great, grandchild.

WB Kiko, in fine, was a man clutching a diamond in his hand!

(Editor's note: The first Masonic article this writer ever wrote, it saw print in the January-February 1991 issue of the Cabletow and is herein reissued for its poignancy and timeless relevance.)



- posted by Kherwal @ 2:43 AM