Our History

━━━━━

Years ago, a handful of bright and upright young men of the Ateneo college of Law forged an ideal called “UTOPIA”. Its inception can be traced from a loose formation of an honor society in the Ateneo College of Law that dared conduct its own bar operations independent of the existing organization then. Amidst the Beatle-mania and the brewing ideological upheaval in the Philippines in 1964, the small constituents of this loose agrupation of honor students numbering to around 30 members, decided to bring themselves together and meet at the back of the Ateneo College of law canteen in Padre Faura, Manila, to deliberate on the name of their organization. After a brief division of the house, a concensus was reached, “the Order Of Utopia” espoused by Brod Rogelio Fernandez, emerged to become the identity of the group and Brod Eugene Tan was elected President. This guerilla-type bar operation in 1964, the first ever conducted by the fore fathers of UTOPIA became extremely successful. This, despite the fact that it was run by supposed greenhorns with the help of a lone lawyer Brod Cornelio Gison who placed number 1 in the 1963 bar. UTOPIA then produced three other bar topnotchers, namely: Brods Fernando Chua, Ed Berenguer and Rey Dizon. It was not for long that this loose society of honor students gained support from a number of other honor students.

In 1515 St Thomas More (patron saint of lawyers, statesmen and the Ateneo Law School), wrote his most famous and controversial work: Utopia. The book is about a fictional traveler, Raphael Hythloday (whose surname means “dispenser of nonsense” in Greek) who describes the political arrangements of the imaginary island nation of Utopia (a play on the Greek Ou-topos, meaning “no place”, and Eu-topos, meaning “good place” ). In the book, St Thomas More contrasts the contentious social life of European states which is autocratic with the perfectly orderly and reasonable social, economic and political democratic arrangements of Utopia. It is a critique of the English society of his time cloaked under a “fictional” mantle to escape censure and the dangerous wrath of the King. Whether the choice of the title “Order of Utopia” was deliberate and well reflected on by our pioneers, or merely accidental, one cannot escape the coincidence that the seed of our fraternity was sowed at a time when our own nation’s contentious social life was being challenged, making the title therefore apt and relevant under the context of St Thomas More’s work “Utopia.”​

Thus, the Fraternal Order of Utopia became known for its avid adherence to the Ateneo motto, “Man for Others”. Utopians were expected to be excellent, to serve and sacrifice not only for the Fraternity but for its community and nation. The Fraternal Order of Utopia consciously pushed its members to serve the Ateneo Law community thru the Student Council and the Ateneo Law Journal (Editor’s note: Indeed many Utopians have since held the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Ateneo Law Journal, and the Palladium, as well as President of the Student Council). Its members were principally responsible in organizing the first Ateneo Law Legal Aid Program in 1981, which is distinct from its own Utopia Legal Aid Program (ULAP). This tradition of Utopian excellence thru service and sacrifice for the Ateneo Law Community and the nation at large has gone a long way ever since our martyred Brod Evelio Javier simultaneously served as the President of the Ateneo Law Student Council and Editor-in-Chief of the Ateneo Law Journal. The first President of the revived Student Council of the Ateneo Law School after its long ban by Ferdinand Marcos was Brod Jerry Trenas, now Mayor of Iloilo City and President of the League of Cities. He was also simultaneously the Ateneo Law Journal editor at that time and was responsible for re-institutionalizing the student council in the Ateneo Law School.
​

Brod Evelio Javier (Utopia 1965)

Fraternities, so they say, is anathema to what used to be a long standing dream of organizing a central bar operation for all students whether they belonged to a fraternity or not. Yet, it was the members of the Fraternal Order of Utopia that made this a reality, proving that ours is not a selfish quest but one that embraces the well-being of others around us. It was through the Presidency of a Brod in the Ateneo Law Student Council that the first ever “Centralized Bar Operation” materialized in 1984 in the Ateneo Law School. Brod Mike Vasques was appointed as the first Ateneo Law Student Council Central Bar Operations Chairman. The first Ateneo Law Central Bar Operations became very successful because it was supported by the Alumni of the Fraternal Order of Utopia in the academe led by Brod Dindo Delos Angeles who was then the Dean of the Ateneo Law School along with all the other Utopian professors at that time. This was the fitting tribute by Utopians to their roots and to the pioneers of Utopia who challenged the prevailing order of their day by organizing a bar operation so that Ateneans who did not belong to an organization may have something to lean on. The success of the first Ateneo Law Central Bar Operations in 1984, inspired other law schools to follow suit. They organized their central bar operations the following year. Now almost all major law schools have their central bar operations on top of those conducted by their respective individual organizations
​

​
​The Fraternal Order of Utopia, in its young stage, has developed a strong tradition of idealism despite being born in a time when its value was being scoffed at (this is embedded in our fraternity literature such as the Utopia Hymn by Brod Leo Mangubat and the Utopian Ode by Brod Edward Buenaflor). Our tradition of idealism is not simply rhetorical. It is anchored on precious blood shed by Fraternal Brothers so that this tradition might glow in our souls and hearts, and muster among us Utopians, unity in the purpose of making a better world. We have in our proud Utopian tradition two heroes and recipients of the “LUX-IN-DOMINO” award, (the highest award Ateneo confers to an alumnus). These are Brods Evelio Javier, a national hero who valiantly sacrificed his life so that democracy and freedom might reign in our nation and whose murder became the final push that gave courage to millions of Filipinos to mount the peaceful People Power revolt that toppled the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986; and Voltaire Rosales, a jurist who gave up his life for his idealism and commitment to the rule of law and the pursuit of justice.

Now, 46 years after that eventful meeting in the Ateneo Law canteen that gave us the privilege to be called Utopians, we are blessed and proud to witness distinguished Utopian brods in the halls of the judiciary, legislature and the executive. Our Brods are now leading their chosen sector of concern, in the legal profession, academe and business. Our history, however, is far from over. Indeed, we have just begun.

By: Brod Edward Perez Buenaflor