ILL. FREDERICK STEVENS, 33° The first SGC of our Supreme Council was Ill. and PGM Frederic Harper Stevens, 33° G.C. who was SGC for 11 years, from 1950 to 1961. |
ILL. CONRADO BENITEZ, 33° The second SGC of our Supreme Council was Conrado Benitez, 33° the great statesman, eminent educator, constitutionalist, journalist, historian, civic leader and outstanding Mason. A member of Bagumbayan Lodge No. 4, Ill. Benitez was elected Grand Master of Masons in 1936. In 1949, he joined others in organizing the Luzon Bodies and was elected the first Venerable Master of the Harmony Lodge of Perfection. Earlier, he founded the College of Business Administration of the University of the Philippines and became its First Dean. He was also the first editor of the Philippines Herald. He was elected a delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Assembly and was a member of the Committee of “Seven Wise Men” that wrote the proposed Philippine Constitution that was adopted in 1935. Although elected as SGIG on December 16, 1949 and elected the first Grand Treasurer General of the Supreme Council, it was not until January 15, 1950 that he was crowned Active Member. After Ill. Stevens stepped down as SGC in 1961, Ill. Conrado Benitez was elected the second SGC, a position he held for 10 years until his death in 1971.
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ILL. CAMILO OSIAS, 33° Our third SGC was Ill. Camilo Osias, 33° who served in office for two (2) years. He was a member of Bagumbayan Lodge No. 4 and was elected Grand Master of Masons in 1955. He authored the clarion call: More Masonry Among Masons, More Men in Masonry. In January 1952, the Supreme Council elected and crowned him Active Member and SGIG. He served in several offices of the Supreme Council for almost two decades. When the second SGC, Ill. Conrado Benitez, 33° died on January 4, 1971 a special meeting of the Supreme Council was held on January 28, 1971 and Ill. Camilo Osias was elected SGC to serve the expired term of Ill. Benitez. In 1973, Ill. Osias was elected to his own 3-year term as SGC but a lingering illness forced him to tender his resignation a few months after his election. He passed away on May 20, 1976 and his death was mourned by the entire nation. |
ILL. MACARIO M. OFILADA, 33° Our fourth SGC was Ill. Macario M. Ofilada, 33°. A member of Nilad Lodge No. 12, he was elected Grand Master of Masons in 1959. Ill. Ofilada was a member of the Philippine Bodies where he was elected and served as first officer of its four (4) coordinate Bodies between 1949 and 1954. He was coroneted 33rd degree IGH in 1952 and on February 16, 1957 he was crowned as SGIG and Active Member of the Supreme Council. He served in various positions in the Supreme Council, including that of Venerable Lt. Grand Commander in 1970. In December 1973, he was elected SGC after the resignation of Ill. Camilo Osias as SGC. |
ILL. RAYMOND E. WILMART, 33° Our 5th SGC was Ill. Raymond Everett Wilmarth, 33° G.C. who was elected SGC by the Supreme Council in its Session of February 1977 to succeed Ill. Macario M. Ofilada, 33° after the latter’s illness turned for the worse after undergoing a serious and delicate brain surgery. Ill. Wilmarth served in office for 11 years up to 1988, matching the record 11 years service of the 1st SGC. |
ILL. DAMASO C. TRIA, 33° Our sixth SGC was Ill. Damaso C. Tria, 33° G.C. who occupied the position for four (4) years from 1988 to 1991. A member of Bagumbayan Lodge No. 4 where he was raised on November 29, 1949 he was elected and served as Worshipful Master of his lodge in 1957. He also served as WM of two (2) other Lodges: Rafael Palma Lodge No. 147 in Quezon City and Lodge Perla del Oriente No. 1034 of the Scottish Constitution. He served as Junior Grand Lecturer in 1966 of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines and was elected Grand Master of Mason in 1971. Ill. Tria took his Scottish Rite degrees in November 1952 in the Luzon Bodies. He was invested with the Rank and Decoration of KCCH in February 1957 and was coroneted 33° IGH in February 1961. He was crowned SGIG on January 25, 1966 and thereafter served the Supreme Council in various positions such as Grand Treasurer, Grand Prior, and Venerable Lt. Grand Commander.
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ILL. REYNATO S. PUNO, 33° G.C. Our 7th SGC was Ill. Reynato S. Puno, 33° G.C. who served as SGC for 3 years from 1991 to 1994. Ill. Puno carries impressive academic as well as Masonic credentials. His academic credentials include the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence from the U.P.; Master of Comparative Law from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas; Master of Laws from the University of California, Berkeley, California; and Doctor of Juridical Science from the University of Illinois, USA. He was awarded the Degree of Humanities, honoris causa, by the Wesleyan University; Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by both the Angeles University Foundation, and also by the Bulacan State University; and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Law, honoris causa, by the Hannam University of South Korea. Born on May 17, 1940, his Masonic Credentials include his being raised to the Sublime Degree of MM in Hiram Lodge No. 88 at the age of 24 years old; and was elected WM of his lodge in 1976, one of a few Masons who had been elected WM from the floor. He was elected Grand Master of Masons in 1984 at the age of 44 years, at that time the youngest to have been elected to the Grand Oriental Chair. He took his Scottish Rite degrees with Luzon Bodies where he received his KCCH rank on February 11, 1978 and his 33° IGH on February 11, 1973. He was elected and was crowned on September 25, 1986 as SGIG. In March 1991 he was elected our 7th SGC for a 3-year term, at the age of barely 51 years, the youngest to be elected SGC in the 45-year history of the Supreme Council. In the 1994 Annual Session on the Supreme Council, the Members wanted to elect him to another term but he graciously declined due to the mounting judicial work in the Supreme Court where he was first appointed Associate Justice in June 1993. A TOYM Awardee in the field of Law in 1977, our 7th SGC was awarded in 1998 as the Most Outstanding Law Alumnus of the U.P., and in the same year, he was the recipient of the Grand Cross which is the highest award of the Supreme Council, 33°A.&A.S.R.; the Gold Medal of Honor which is the highest award of the Grand Lodge of F.&A.M. of the Philippines; and the Grand Cross of Rizal, which is the highest award of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, which led him to quip that in the parlance of sports, he scored a rare grand slam that year. On December 7, 2006, he was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the age of 66 by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In his acceptance speech, our Bro. Rey said: “_ _ _ I pledge to do what is expected of me: to espouse no ideology but constitutionalism; to uphold no theology but the rule of law.” |
ILL. RUDYARDO V. BUNDA, 33° G.C. Our 8th SGC was Ill. Rudyardo V. Bunda, 33°G.C. who served as SGC for 5 years from 1994 to 1999. He was first elected SGC in 1994 for a 3-year term of office, the last to have been elected to 3 year term. Subsequently, the Statutes were amended to provide for a 2 year term of office for the SGC and in 1998, he was the first to have been elected to a 2 year term of office as SGC. |
ILL. ROSENDO C. HERRERA, 33°G.C. Our 9th SGC was Ill. Rosendo C. Herrera, 33°G.C. who served as SGC during a three (3) 2-year term of office, from 1999 to 2004, or a total of six (6) years. A member of Pilar No. 15 where he was raised on November 21, 1970, he eventually became a dual member of Cosmos Lodge No. 8 where he was elected WM in 1977. At the young age of 44 years, he was elected Grand Master of Masons in 1983. He holds the undisputed record of being the most traveled Grand Master of Masons, having traveled the entire jurisdiction and beyond, during his tenure as GM. Born of a poor family in the fishing village of Naic, Cavite, Ill. Bro. Herrera struggled in his youth to obtain an education. He worked at selling newspapers and shining shoes, and at times caught fish and picked tamarind fruit which he sold to support himself through school as his parents could not send him and his siblings to school. Even in college, he worked as a janitor but was a steadfast scholar. Finally, in 1963 he graduated from the Philippine Maritime Institute at the top of his class, receiving certificates of excellence in navigation and seamanship. An extraordinary event took place in 1971 when Bro. Rody was a fledgling sea captain of a cargo vessel, the SS ‘INTERWAVE” which was stranded in India when the owners abandoned the ship. The vessel owner had stopped providing the officers and crew with the funds necessary to pay their wages and to buy food and fuel for the ship. Bro. Rody was faced with a restive crew when Indian brother Masons, learning of the plight of a brother, came to his aid and succor by providing food and funds for him and the crew. This event made him realize the value and importance of Masonry in his life. With the situation under control, Bro. Herrera returned to Manila and his employers were so impressed by his performance that he was promoted to the position of Crewing Manager. In the Scottish Rite, Ill. Herrera was a member of Luzon Bodies where he attained the 32° on June 28, 1972 and was elected Venerable Master of its Lodge of Perfection. He was invested with the rank of KCCH on March 12, 1987 and coroneted 33° IGH on March 10, 1990 on March 13, 1992 he was elected SGIG and was crowned Active Member of the Supreme Council on September 12, 1992 at Iligan City and was assigned SGIG for the Orient of Cavite. He was elected Ven Lt. Grand Commander of the Supreme Council in 1997. In the Annual Session of the Supreme Council in April 1999, he was elected the 9th SGC for a 2-year tenure. |
ILL. JAINAL D. RASUL, 33° Our 10th SGC was Ill. Jainal D. Rasul, 33°G.C. was elected to a 2-year term during the Annual Session of the Supreme Council in March 2004. He has the distinction of being the first SGC to be elected who was not a Past Grand Master, the first nine SGC to be elected who was not a Past Grand Master, the first nine SGCs all having been PGMs. Ill. Jainal D. Rasul, 33° G.C. has a distinguished professional and Masonic career. He was a Provincial Fiscal in Sulu, and then was appointed Municipal Judge in Tawi-Tawi, Judge of the Court of First Instance in Basilan, then Judge of the Regional Trial Court in Pasig, Metro Manila between the years 1958 to 1989. He was Chairman of the Sharia Bar Examinantions from 1997-1999 as sponsored by the Supreme Court. He was subsequently promoted to be a Justice Court of Appeals where he retired on December 6, 1999 as Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals. He is a member of Bud Daho Lodge No. 102 where he was raised as Master Mason on June 23, 1962 and was elected WM of his Lodge in 1966. He is a Past DDGM (3 terms) and Past Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge. In the Scottish Rite he was conferred the 32° on December 16, 1962, invested as KCCH on February 11, 1967 and coroneted 33° IGH on December 9, 1973. He was elected and crowned SGIG on May 25, 1974 and occupied various positions in the Supreme Council for several terms as Grand Chancellor, Grand Prior, and Ven. Lt. Grand Commander. He was elected our 10th SGC in the Annual Session of the Supreme Council in March 2004. In the following year, the Supreme Council awarded him with its highest award, the Grand Cross of the Court of Honor. |
ILL. EUGENIO S. LABITORIA, 33° He was raised to the sublime degree of Master Masons on February 18, 1969 in Magat Lodge No. 68. He became an MRS in Cagayan Valley Bodies, A&ASR in June 1969; was conferred the Rank and Decoration of KCCH on February 2, 1979, coroneted IGH on February 12, 1982 and was crowned Active Member (SGIG) of the Supreme Council, 33° on March 9, 1999. He is a Past Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Philippines. He is presently the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, 33°. |
