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Unfortunately, our genealogy could only be traced back to our four sets of grandparents. We still have to rummage through the City Hall's Civil Registry to find out the names of our great grandparents. As for the four sets of grandparents, they were siblings --1) Julian 2) Martin ; 3) Genoveva ; and 4) Macario Lomibao. My late mother, Juana or Aning Lomibao Villanueva was the daughter of Julian and Felipa Lomibao. I am a third generation child from my known grandparent Julian Lomibao. The Lomibao Clan has actually produced six generations from the known four sets of grandparents. And alas, only one senior citizen (77 years old) cousin. Johnny Siapno recognized some 80 percent of the attendees at our recently-held reunion. Basically, those in the fifth and sixth generations, and some in the fourth generation, do not know each other at all.
Why did we organize the reunion?
This is the reason why we organized the first Lomibao Clan reunion last 9 January 2011 in Dagupan Pangasinan. Imagine, the Lomibao clan has created six generations of relatives and only one claims to know 80% of its members? Well, that is to be expected. My relatives are scattered all over the Philippines, not to mention the world. Some are in Manila, in Bulacan, in Dagupan, in Australia, East Timor, in Canada and in the U.S. Yes, you guessed right--the younger generations (from fourth to sixth) are mostly living outside the country. So what else is new? But if more than 50 percent of the Lomibao clan is living outside the country, that is indeed something to worry about--the eventual extinction of the Lomibao clan living in their native land.
Secondly, we needed to connect and reconnect the Lomibao offsprings because they have been usurped by other family names-- they have become Siapnos, Villamils, Villanueva, Carlos, Jovellanos, Prado, Ballesteros, Fernandez, etc. The reunion had to trace who are the original carriers of the Lomibao family name and alas, it really looks like it is doomed to extinction because our grandparents did not produce enough male offsprings who can carry over the family name to the next generations. A cursory count reveals that there are more female offpsrings than male and they are more prolific in many aspects, including producing offsprings under their husbands' family names. I guess in the next 15 years, the Lomibao family name will disappear into oblivion if not from the flagging memories of its senior citizens now plagued with frequent senior moments and awaiting their tryst with the Lord.
So we have to act fast before the Lomibao elderly members leave the world and bring their family names with them forever!!!
How it all started
The reunion has been in the making for the last two years with a core group, e.g., Fr. Pio Lomibao, Dora Siapno Carlos, Lois Villanueva, Grace Villanueva, Rupe Lomibao and Camilo Siapno. The discussions were never ending for the last two years until last November 2010, Lois and Grace Villanueva, Grace Rafols, Precy Lomibao and Camilo Siapno decided that it is time to act and get the logistics in place. So in two months' time, the reunion materialized!
First things first. Who is family? Who should come and who should not? We had to tackle that issue first. Is there anything in print that gives SOME guidelines for proper family reunion etiquette with regard to who can attend a family reunion and who cannot? In this day and age, how does one deal with “significant others?” There are folks with two or more wives and host of children, legal and illegal, and those living together without being married. Some folks even want in-laws who are not blood to attend. Anyway, we rightfully decided that for this first time it is being held, only the direct descendants of the four siblings (our four sets of grandparents) will be invited.
Though the logistics part got organized in two months' time, the building of the Family Tree started some six months earlier. My sister, Grace, was hell bent in putting together a Family Tree through all kinds of technology she can muster, e.g. email, Facebooks, telephone calls, texting, etc. And lo and behold by the time the Reunion started, it had 205 members signing up. She was able to motivate and inspire a handful first to join the Family Tree. After a few relatives signed up, the participation became viral-- it spread to all corners of the world at a high speed and soon the Family tree took a decent shape.This activity created a lot of awareness and stimulated interest across six generations to connect and reconnect. As to be expected, those who joined were those who were connected electronically and technology savvy.
Who were there?
Some 140 relatives attended the Reunion, with 80% coming from Dagupan, the rest from Manila and from abroad. We were lucky to have at that time a few relatives from abroad vacationing over the holiday season who jumped on the opportunity to join the Reunion as well. They were Jacqueline Siapno de Araujo, Interim First Lady of East Timor and wife of Fernando de Araujo, Speaker of the House of East Timor. Jackie was with her son, Hadomi. There were also Bing and Bernie Ballesteros from Edmonton Canada and Jay Siapno and son Gabriel from California.
The reunion exceeded everyone's expectations. Everyone knew it was organized just under two months' time, without committees, rehearsals, scripts, dry run, etc. The core group just quickly decided on various logistics, venue, food, program, etc and off we went wishing ourselves good luck. With a shrug of the shoulders, we comforted ourselves by telling each other that everything would be just for fun, whatever happens.
How did it go?
January 9 was a spectacular day to unite and reunite the families. It was a clear and sunny day. All the program activities fell into place, well almost. Things went smoothly except for few insignificant lapses. There was first the thanksgiving mass officiated by a cousin, Fr. Pio Lomibao from San Beda, who had to wake up at 4 a.m. to make it to Dagupan before 9 a.m. for the mass. Grace Rafols had to ask for permission from the local church to allow Fr. Pio to say mass in the vicinity. This was followed by the opening ceremonies--we have to hear from the elders right? I opened the program by giving the welcome remarks. I engaged my relatives by asking them to identify their lineage from the four sets of grandparents and challenged them to say who among them really knew at least 80% of their relatives in attendance. This provided the segue to the articulation of the purposes of the reunion. I stated that connecting, reconnecting, rediscovering and strengthening the linkages of the Lomibao clan across six generations was the immediate objective. There could be other objectives such as: 1) documenting the heritage and historical development of the clan, identifying its achievements and its contributions to the society of Pangasinan; 2) harnessing the resources and talents of the more endowed relatives to help the poorer relations; and 3) implementing a flagship developmental project to contribute to the upliftment of the Pangasinense society. Of course, I ended my welcome remarks by acknowledging those who came, those who donated substantive amounts, those who organized the reunion and those who did not come but contributed to the Family tree.
Acknowledgments were always part and parcel of the program. Thanks were offered to those who gave substantive contributions which made it possible for cash-strapped relatives to attend the reunion: Dr. Dora Siapno Carlos, Lois Villanueva, Bing and Bernie Ballesteros, Camilo Siapno, Rupe Lomibao, and lechon donated by Carissa Fernandez and Eulah Villamil.
Jacquie Siapno de Araujo, the Interim First Lady of East Timor and daughter of Johnny Siapno, gave an inspirational talk right after the welcome remarks. She talked about family conflicts, pains, and hurt and gave examples of how family members can ignore and be inhospitable to each other but ended saying that one has to be resilient under all family stresses. She talked about mobilizing family support to fund projects which can in turn promote family honour and distinction, i.e. providing support to the Juan Siapno Sr. elementary shcool.
The next speaker was supposed to be the Mayor of Dagupan, Mayor Benjamin Lim who did not arrive on time but gave his short remarks much later after lunch. Instead, two elderly relatives were called upon to do their sharing and reminiscences. The first one was Kuya Nonong Siapno who picked up on my remarks about documenting achievements and contributions to society by the clan by highlighting two of her nieces who made good in the world -- Jacqueline Siapno de Araujo, Interim First Lady of East Timor and Professor at the Natioanl University of Korea and Filipinas Siapno Manuguid who has become a renown international consultant in the field of medicine paid at an amazing salary level. Then the next speaker was Dr. Rhodora Siapno Carlos who recounted stories about her grandmother who was a woman of character who left a legacy of feminist values to her grandchildren. We should have more of such stories! Next time....
As lunch time was fast approaching, the family albums on the Family Tree portrayed by the PowerPoint presentation came alive as each family went up the stage to introduce its respective members. Some families were prolific in number, some were small, some rowdy, some formal, some cheerful, some serious, some made jokes and some went on and on about their family's accomplishments. Families do have their strange behaviour but who cares as long as they are Lomibao descendants!! Can you imagine if all Lomibaos were serious, formal, intellectuals and behaved? BORING!! As they say, "we do not care how you got here or from where, we're so glad you came!".One or two of the branches I've found were very small, and were freaked out that they were part of such a much larger family unit.
Venue and food enhanced the gathering
I must say that for only 280 pesos per head, the lunch impressed everyone with carefully selected popular dishes enhanced by a large lechon donated by Eulah Villamil and Carissa Fernandez. The venue called "Kusina ni Laki Digno", the owner of who is also a relative from the Siapno side, was a most appropriate one considering that it offered a sprawling grounds where the hyper kids can run around and where a mass can be celebrated in the adjacent pebbled-stone yard outside of the bahay-kubo like pavilion. The elevated pavilion could only occupy 80 persons and the rest spilled over the veranda sides, where happily the macho men in the family took control over as a place for their drinking spree and rowdy exchanges. The pavilion was adorned with red and green table cloth and given its identity with the streamer and tarpaulin put up to announce the First Lomibao Clan Reunion and its theme "Connecting, reconnecting and rediscovering across six generations".
By and large, the venue supported the family type of gatherings-- spacious, garden-like, pleasant, and homey which was all the more appreciated by everyone because of the generosity of the owners who agreed to include dishes priced at higher rates, adding one more dessert, offering "pulutan" to alcohol-drinking male relatives, and discounting 22 heads from the total costs. And true to being a hospitable relative, they even gave "pabaon of rellenong bangus" to three of the organizers. What more can you ask for?
Showtime
The rest of the afternoon after lunch was spent in displaying the talents of the families, in both adult and youth categories, followed by games and raffles. One thing that the Lomibao clan can be proud of is its being a musical family. Many members can play the violin, piano, and organ, a heritage perhaps originating from the second generation and now taken on by the offprings until the fifth generation. Showtime started in the adult category with Johnny Siapno and Igon Siapno displaying their skills on the violin one after the other, both playing their own versions of the Filipino Kundiman classic entitled "Hatinggabi". If there was a piano available, there could have been a concert by at least five members of the clan. But there was only an organ which nevertheless found its use in the youth category when Kenneth Villamil, the son of Sergio Villamil played it with dynamism, enthusiasm and vibrancy, to say the least!! The boy had stage presence!! Not to be outdone, the grandchildren of Precy Lomibao performed a remix dance number, so very into the young generation's world. The adult relatives felt they didn't belong!!
Parlour games galore followed. This part of the program was aimed at having the family do things together. Somehow, the games got everyone engaged once more, creating not only a social value but entertainment as well for everyone. The games that divided the members into family groupings to compete with each other were regarded the most popular and entertaining, posing a challenge as to which family can beat the other and perform better!! Games also engendered family cooperation, interaction and team work. But whatever the game was, the spectators were truly entertained, capping the day's event to everyone's satisfaction and delight.
A family reunion cannot end without a family photo. When it was announced that there would be a photo taking session, the family members immediately congregated and found their own space in the line-up in no time. It was indeed a potential memorabilia in the future--a baseline for measuring how the rate of attendance has grown in succeeding family reunions.
After all the game and raffle prizes were awarded, it was time to call it a day. A day of great success ..a trail blazer to speak of. Hugs, warm farewell, see-you-again beso beso, see you in two years time, on the same date and in the same place perhaps. ....and soon everyone went their own way. But let it be said that relationships are built on experiences, not just seeing each other every reunion, so family members should exert extra effort to stay in touch and perhaps organize mini reunions regularly.
Postmortem
The reunion quickly organized, successful nevertheless, offered numerous lessons learned. Here they are, next time, we should:
1) Set up of committees to involve more relatives, here and abroad
2) Set up a Memorabilia Table which will display treasured family memorabilia - historic photos, military medals, old jewelry, family bibles, etc.
3) Include an oral history odyssey in which one of our relatives with a video camera is willing to interview different members about the family. We can also organize a family history reenactment. Using stories from our own family history, have groups of attendees develop skits or plays that will retell the tales at your family reunion.
4) Or there could be a storytelling hour to hear interesting and funny stories about our family and if everyone agrees, have someone audiotape or videotape this session.
5) Post a Family Tree Wall Chart displaying as many generations of the family as possible. Family members can use it to fill in the blanks and correct any inaccurate information. Wall charts are popular with reunion attendees as they help people visual their place within the family. The finished product also provides a great source of genealogical information.
1) Set up of committees to involve more relatives, here and abroad
2) Set up a Memorabilia Table which will display treasured family memorabilia - historic photos, military medals, old jewelry, family bibles, etc.
3) Include an oral history odyssey in which one of our relatives with a video camera is willing to interview different members about the family. We can also organize a family history reenactment. Using stories from our own family history, have groups of attendees develop skits or plays that will retell the tales at your family reunion.
4) Or there could be a storytelling hour to hear interesting and funny stories about our family and if everyone agrees, have someone audiotape or videotape this session.
5) Post a Family Tree Wall Chart displaying as many generations of the family as possible. Family members can use it to fill in the blanks and correct any inaccurate information. Wall charts are popular with reunion attendees as they help people visual their place within the family. The finished product also provides a great source of genealogical information.
6) Games should include trivia questions such as: What was great-grandfather Lomibao’s first name? Which Aunt had twins? Where and when were Grandma and Grandpa Lomibao married? Is there someone born in the same place as you?
7) Invite attendees to bring their old, historic family photos to the reunion, including pictures of people (great, great-grandpa), places (churches, cemetery, the old homestead) and even previous reunions. Encourage everyone to label their photos with the names of the photographees, the date of the photo, and their own name and an ID number (a different number to identify each photo). If we can get a volunteer to bring a scanner and laptop computer with CD burner, then set up a scanning table and create a CD of everyone's photos.
8) Create a theme for a family reunion to create more interest and make them more likely to attend. Family history themes are especially popular, as are reunions which celebrate a very special family member's birthday or anniversary, or the family's cultural heritage. 7) Invite attendees to bring their old, historic family photos to the reunion, including pictures of people (great, great-grandpa), places (churches, cemetery, the old homestead) and even previous reunions. Encourage everyone to label their photos with the names of the photographees, the date of the photo, and their own name and an ID number (a different number to identify each photo). If we can get a volunteer to bring a scanner and laptop computer with CD burner, then set up a scanning table and create a CD of everyone's photos.
9) Raise funds- we can hold an auction or raffle at the reunion or making and selling family hats, t-shirts, books or reunion videos.
And many more. I am sure the next family reunion will be even more fun, well-attended and successful!
