Ladies and gentlemen good evening.

     I feel honored and priviledged given this oppotunity to introduce to you our guest speaker and inducting officer for tonights event.

     Some of you probably don’t know of him since he grew up in Manila. I myself had to do some research of his ancestry. I even checked the Vergara family tree on the San Esteban website but to no avail. Finally a couple of nights ago as I was watching television it came to me. Why not call Auntie Florence (SBM Dr. Florence Vergara Ramirez) in San Esteban? Well, this is what she told me. His mother is the late Fely Sipin Vergara, daughter of the late Miguel Sipin Vergara who is the brother of the late Juan Sipin Vergara, former mayor of San Esteban.

     His fondest memory of San Esteban was rollling tobacco under his grand fathers house. As for favorite food, he likes bagnet and dinengdeng. Well maybe in our next fund raising event you could join us and we’ll try to have your favorite ilocano delicacy.

     He finished his elementary education at Divine World Mission Seminary Quezon City 1965-1968. Graduated high school at J.P. Laurel Sr. High School Quezon City 1968-1970. Attained his Bachelor of Arts, Journalism at the University of the Phillippines, and graduated in 1976.

     He was a writer/reporter, presidential press staff office of the Phillippine President in Malacanang in Manila. He also worked as an assistant city editor of the Times Journal from 1980-1983, a Journalist for the Strait Times in Singapore from 1983-1986,then as a Managing Editor of the Manila Chronicle in 1986-1991.

     He then moved to Brunei and worked as Editor of MUHIBAH Inflight Magazine of Royal Brunei Airlines. In 1991 he was hired to refurbish the design and content of the magazine. He lived and worked in Brunei for 3 year, then migrated to the United States of America. To this day, with the advancement of information technology, he continues to edit the magazine from his California office.

     He is currently the Editor in Chief of the Phillippine News since June 2002. Philippine News based in San Francisco with a circulation of 60,000 is the largest and the only newspaper circulated in Filipino communities across North America.

     He joins a few elite and prestigious journalist from our home town of San Esteban namely Amante and Jesus Bigornia and the late Prudencio Europa.