 The Fraternal Order of Utopia proudly welcomed its newest members, Batch 2024, marking another milestone in the fraternity’s rich history of brotherhood and excellence. With a legacy spanning over six decades, Utopia continues to uphold its core values of service, sacrifice, and excellence—principles that Batch 2024 is now entrusted to carry forward. As they join the ranks of distinguished Utopians, these new brothers are set to honor the traditions of the fraternity while forging a path toward a future that mirrors our beloved Utopia. Mabuhay ang Batch 2024! UTOPIA FIGHT!
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A Season of Giving: The Fraternal Order of Utopia Shares the Christmas Spirit with the Community12/21/2024  The Fraternal Order of Utopia once again embraced the true spirit of the season by giving back to the community, staying true to its unwavering vow of Service. With the generous support of alumni brods, the resident brods organized a Christmas party for the families of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, bringing joy and warmth to the holiday celebrations. Through this initiative, Utopia reaffirmed its commitment to uplifting communities. This Christmas, the Fraternal Order of Utopia remain steadfast in our commitment to serving the communities around us in the hope that these small gestures can make waves towards a better world. As always, the Fraternal Order of Utopia would like to thank everyone who helped make this project happen. The fraternity extends its heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made this event possible. Merry Christmas and UTOPIA FIGHT! Building Better Futures: Utopia GK Village Visit and Fundraising Proceeds Turnover Ceremony6/5/2015  On May 24 2015, a warm and sunny Sunday, the resident brods headed over to Marcelo Green Village in Bicutan to visit the fraternity’s Gawad Kalinga site and turn over the proceeds of the fundraising efforts specifically raised for the community. GK Manggahan-Kawayanan/Utopia Village started out as an endeavor built from the ground up last 2007, and eight years later, it stood proud and completed as a result of the hard work of those who wished to make the undertaking a successful one. From Utopia, it was Boss Tony Bernardo, one of the most lauded Utopians in our fifty-year history and a familiar face in the Gawad Kalinga community, who presided over the event. He was joined by Mr. Cornelio De Leon, the GK site director, Mr. Francis Balagtas, the GK Head for Paranaque and Muntinlupa, and Ms. Eva Abejero, the president of Manggahan-Kawayanan Homeowners Association and a Kagawad at Brgy. Marcelo Green, all of whom helped the brods feel welcome with their kindness, approachability, and hospitality, to the great appreciation of the latter. Boss Tony shared how excited he was to spend his weekends and oftentimes other days of the week toiling at the site. Regular work involved not only supervision with construction plans, but also actual, strenuous physical labor, as attested to by many other Utopians who spent many hours working at the site. However, all the efforts were very much worth it. Through the regular visits, Boss Tony was able to build relationships not only with the individuals he worked with, but also the soon-to-be members of the community. These bonds stayed strong even after the completion of the project, and continued on in the children of the first members, who had been born and raised in the village. For Boss Tony, it was the duty of everyone to staunchly advocate social responsibility in any way and in every manner, something that all the Utopians took to heart. After the short ceremony, the resident brods went around the village to look at the completed houses. The brods also took the opportunity to visit the members of the community in their houses, and converse with the families to learn more about the latter’s lives and concerns. The day culminated with mutual sharing – the members of the community members showing the trademark kagiliwan of the filipinos and filipanas by giving the residents delicious hotdog sandwiches, bananas, and juice, while the Utopians treated the kids to taho and ice cream. To this day, the raising of the Utopia Gawad Kalinga village represents one of the greatest successes in our fraternity’s grand history. Many lives have been changed, many generations spared from misfortune due to the hard work and collective efforts of the brods that came before us, and we are optimistic that many more will be helped in the future. Indeed, the Gawad Kalinga initiative truly builds towards better futures, one small step at a time. Even the relatively minor act of the resident brods sacrificing their Sunday rest time to go attend this short but poignant event, see the finished community, and visit its members shows the fraternity’s sincere desire to be men for others. It is thus with great thanks that our service, sacrifice, and excellence has yielded fantastic results that we look to the future to strive to effect even more positive changes in society. By Brod Diego Santiago  August 2013 marked the day for GK Utopia Village’s turnover ceremony The year 2007 gave a new light to the people of Marcelo Green Village in Parañaque, when our Utopian brothers initiated a tie-up with Gawad Kalinga for the construction of the Utopia Village. Spearheading the project was (Brod/Boss) Antonio “Tony” Bernardo, who was already involved in other Gawad Kalinga housing initiatives since 2004 which, at first, started only as part of the roster of social responsibility projects of the Bureau of Customs, where he acted as its former Commissioner. In a recent interview with the Philippine Star, Bernardo said, “I got into GK by accident and I’ll be staying doing GK work by choice. Once you’ve been bitten by GK, you stay there. My philosophy has always been, to whom much is given, much is required. My dream is to see and make the communities the very best they can be. Everyone has a right to a decent home.” The village is composed of around 50 houses and is part of the much larger Gawad Kalinga Village in Parañaque, which shall shelter primarily low-income families and informal settlers. According to former Parañaque Mayor Florencio “Jun” Bernabe Jr., the hundreds of families that shall be covered by more than 30 housing programs within the Gawad Kalinga Village (including the Utopia Village), shall only be paying 600 to 700 Php in monthly amortizations for the next 20 to 25 years. In addition, the development also made crime-rates go down for areas that were once a haven for informal settlers.
Bernardo also said “Part of the initiation rites for the new members (of the fraternity) is that we will require neophytes and freshmen to take social responsibility orientation and let them build homes in GK sites.” Staying true to our vow of Service, not only must the Fraternity move in ways that would benefit its own kin, but we must also consider the plight of those who have less in life. Being members of this very prestigious organization, we must use our privilege of membership in empowering our fellow Filipinos in whatever capacity that we may exert. What Brod/Boss Tony Bernardo has given to the people of Parañaque is a material representation of the vow of Service that we uphold – that regardless of what we may become or where we may find ourselves in the future, our countrymen will always require the degree and intensity of Service that our Fraternity upholds. This being said, social responsibility has and will always be a top priority of the Fraternal Order of Utopia. Sources: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2007/07/22/7558/ex-customs-official-embraces-gk-vision http://asianjournalusa.com/bernabe-gk-making-dreams-come-true-in-paranaque-p5620-152.htm  The Residents of the Fraternal Order of Utopia held a special screening of Tanghalang Pilipino’s “EJ: Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson” last 2 March 2008. The rock musical was a stellar production written by Palanca awardee Ed Maranan under the direction of Calvin Millado. Utopians from all generations trooped to the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay to watch multi-awarded actor Ricky Davao portray the National Hero and classic Utopian Evelio Javier to the music of legendary rock band The Dawn. The Dawn’s front man Jett Pangan played Edgar Jopson, another Atenean who was also martyred by the Marcos dictatorship.
Evelio Javier joined the fraternity in 1965 and graduated in 1968 together with former BIR Commissioner Brod Jojo Buñag and Brod Jack Jimenez, who placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in that year’s bar examinations. Beloy, as he was fondly called by his constituents, became the youngest Governor of the Philippines when he won the gubernatorial race in Antique in 1972 at the age of 29. Evelio was brutally murdered by Marcos cronies in 1986 during the canvassing of votes from the Aquino-Marcos snap elections. Cory Aquino tapped Evelio as her elections supervisor in Antique. Just five days after Evelio’s death, the EDSA people power revolution began. Another three days later and the Filipinos regained their freedom. To this day, he is fondly remembered by the people of Antique as their beloved governor and by his countrymen as the Filipino whose death sparked the fall of the Marcos regime. “EJ” was an enthralling production that featured inspired acting by some of the country’s most dedicated thespians. Evelio’s life could not have been played out better than through the music of the Dawn. While a powerful script kept the story gripping, it was The Dawn’s music, particularly the cast’s hair-raising rendition of “Iisang Bangka” and “Salamat” that captivated the audience with the real story of two truly heroic Filipinos. The Board of Trustees was represented by Vice-Chairman Ric Blancaflor, President Tony Bernardo, and trustees Wong Bacareza and Derrick Lu. Chairman Justice Rene Corona had to beg off at the last minute but threw his all out support behind the event. Also present was Evelio’s brother incumbent Antique Representative Brod Exequiel Javier who watched with his children, among them Brod Franco Javier. The audience was composed mostly of Utopians and their families but there were also a considerable showing by students from various colleges in the university belt. Merchandise Head Jamie Flores produced some eye-catching Evelio shirts while Internals VP Chadd Concepcion pulled out all the stops in the event’s organization and directed the pre-show program at the last minute. Brod Chadd also produced neat event souvenirs entitled “Beyond the Heights,” that featured articles on resident activities and the fraternity’s 2008 calendar of events. The show marked the introduction of the Utopia Scholarship Trust, which will be the resident’s primary fund-raising vehicle this 2008. Beyond the Heights also had an acknowledgement page that listed all the alumni who have been unwavering in their support to resident activities for the past two years. Special mention went out to Timmy Limcaoco of Old Swiss Inn, Derrick Lu, Wong Bacareza, Jon Fernando and Court of Appeals Justices Deng Villon, Andy Reyes and Vicente Veloso. This event was made possible through the partnership with Tanghalang Pilipino, particularly through the efforts of Ms. Yvette Macayan and the accommodation of Mr. Dennis Marasigan. Generous ticket purchases were made by Brod Tomas Tuason of the Riskmetrics Group, Brod Dindo de los Angeles of Romulo Law Office, Brod Tony Bernardo of Bernardo Placido Law Office, Brod Bobby Chan of Kainan Kay Aling Nating, and Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Corporation. EJ ran until March 20 but Tanghalang Pilipino is currently organizing a relaunch scheduled for June. The Fraternity president says that they are reconsidering partnering up with TP again but an official announcement has yet to be made. By: RDR |
AuthorThe Fraternal Order of Utopia, established in 1964, is the only registered fraternity at the Ateneo Law School. Archives
February 2025
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Fraternal Order of Utopia | Documentation and Publication 2024-2025
Fraternal Order of Utopia | Documentation and Publication 2024-2025
Utopia Ateneo, Ateneo Law School, Utopia fraternity, Fraternal Order of Utopia, Utopia ALS