Kangleon, Dapat join Davide in ANS Alumni Hall of Fame
Decorated war hero and late statesman Ruperto K. Kangleon headed the batch of honorees this year in the biennial Abellana National School (ANS) grand alumni homecoming recently at the Sarrosa International Hotel in Mabolo, Cebu City.
Kangleon was posthumously inducted into the ANS Alumni Hall of Fame in an awards night last Jan. 27 where he was represented by his grandson.
A native of Macrohon, Leyte, Kangleon came to Cebu after completing his elementary education and eventually graduated from ANS (formerly Cebu High School), where he distinguished himself as an all-around athlete that landed him a slot in the first Philippine team to the Olympic Games in 1913.
However, he instead went to the Philippine Constabulary Academy (now Philippine Military Academy) in Baguio and graduated three years later in 1916.
Colonel Kangleon served as provincial commander of Cebu and Bohol before World War II erupted.
As a World War II hero, he earned 17 medals and decorations including the USA’s Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in combat, which was pinned on him by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the presence of Philippine Commonwealth President Sergio Osmeña Sr.
After the war, Kangleon became Secretary of National Defense under Presidents Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino from 1946 to 1950. He was subsequently elected to the Senate in 1953, but was not able to finish his six-year term as he died of myocardial infraction in 1958 at the age of 67.
In 1994, Colonel Kangleon was posthumously conferred the rank of brigadier general by President Fidel V. Ramos.
Also inducted into the Hall of Fame was Honorary Consul to Denmark Sabino Dapat, who formerly served as president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and an active officer of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Kangleon and Dapat joined former Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide in the ANS Alumni Hall of Fame. Davide, who was also the guest speaker in the 2012 Grand Alumni affair, is a member of Class 1973 and was the first ANS alumna to be installed in the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Other awards were also handed out. The loyalty award was bestowed on Luciano Arinque of batch ’55, who worked as janitor of ANS for 21 years.
Twenty-two former ANS students were named Outstanding Alumni, while eight were recognized as achievers.
Among the outstanding alumni were Cebu Archdiocesan Catechetical Ministry Director Msgr. Vicente Tupaz Jr. and engineer Robert D. Yee of Batch ’79, engineer Bill Peralta of Batch 1979. Hilongos (Leyte) Mayor Emery Joy Roble of Class ’86, LTFRB Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon of Batch ’80, and Class ’87’s Lt. Col. Gulliver Señires.
Those honored as achievers include DSWD Regional Director Evelyn B. Macapobre of Class ’75, DepEd Regional Director Recaredo Borgonia, Labor Attache to Taiwan Elias A. Cayanong, Cebu Normal University president Dr. Marcelo Lopez, Environmental lawyer Grizelda Mayo-Anda of Batch ’76, and Ret. COA Commissioner Sofroño Ursal.
The two-day ANS 2012 Grand Alumni Homecoming was a success due to the efforts of Abellana National School Alumni Federation Inc. President, Engr. Daisy Toledo with the support of batch 1979 as working committee.
