The founding of the Eagles Fraternity was heavily preceded by a series of marathon meetings by its key architects and founders who had virtually cut the bridges behind them. Lo and behold, the die was cast and they were ready to face up to the enormous challenge of founding an indigenous socio-civic fraternal organization intensely determined in the light of local environment and necessity.

What was once only a vision, became an idea that lingered in the minds of these men. And the idea was born! It came into fruition when the following dynamic men of integrity formed themselves into an Ad-Hoc Committee tasked to primarily discuss the real meaning of what has been going to explode out from their ambitious minds which held marathon meetings for almost a period of two months from May to June 1979. The Ad-Hoc Committee became the nucleus of the dreams and aspirations of the founders.

The following were the original eleven (11) members of the Ad-Hoc Committee who eventually founded the Eagles Fraternity in 1979. The members of the Ad-Hoc committee were the prime movers of the fraternal movement. The words spoken and ascribed to them had been refined to approximately reflect their thoughts not only of their characters but also of the movement itself. Here, they are:

• NILO H. RAYMUNDO - A known wealthy, benevolent, and cause-oriented businessman, who eventually became the Charter National President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (Philippine Eagles). The Haring Agila!
• PEDRO R. BALBANERO - A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy known as the Strategist, Muscle, and the Adviser of the movement.
• CELSO P. MARIANO - A prominent election lawyer, who became the chairman of the Ad Hoc committee and was the “Literary craftsman” of the movement who wrote the historic Declaration of Goals and Objectives of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (Philippine Eagles) and its Constitution and Magna Carta!
• CRISANTO T. SARUCA - The ever colorful lawyer, the gut and dramatic articulator, of the movement. Together with Celso Mariano, they were given the task to do the research and find the appropriate name for the soon to be born movement.
• RIZAL ALBERTO C. NOLIDO - An engineer-businessman, characteristically very uncontroversial but possessed a very strong conviction for the movement when he made a strong declaration by saying: “I have pledged not to join any other civic organization after we have founded the Philippine Eagles. I have absolute faith that the Philippine-born civic organization will deserve the support of the Philippine community”.
• MEL P. SAMSON - An engineer-businessman, is another Key founder and pillar of the Fraternity, ever generous, accommodating and steadfast. His views and those of Bert Nolido run parallel. He is alive and still strong in his age past the middle eighties!
• ELEUTERIO C. DUMOGHO - A business consultant and political analyst, was a fundamentalist and better remembered as the early “father of the Eagles Seminars.”
• EUGENIO E. LLARENA - An engineer, was very valuable to the movement. With Dominador Ordonez, he had vastly given and committed his time to the fraternity.
• DOMINADOR ORDONEZ - Was also valuable to the movement. While he was an ambivalent founder as he was not prepared to cut altogether his umbilical connections with the Lions international.
• LORENZO TOLENTINO - An engineer-businessman, is a key founder of the Philippine Eagles. He designed the first LOGO of the movement.
• WILSON C. WY TIU - Another engineer-businessman, is one singular founder by-passed by the history of the movement. He was so dedicated and steadfast. Unfortunately, Wilson missed the historic signing of the Declaration of Goals and Objectives of the Fraternity on June 22, 1979.

To the founders and pillars of the movement: “Birth is responsibility.” Today, their hands are deliberately laden with care and burdens no less demanding from them to continue exercise their unselfish hands and minds to blueprint the long-range objectives of the Philippine Eagles planted in the Philippine service milieu.

In the search of a name of the movement (organization), the Ad-Hoc Committee deliberated for several suggestions and recommendations such as LAKAN, TAMARAW, GRIFFIN and Philippine monkey-eating eagle. And finally, after intense deliberation and discussion, the name of the movement adopted by the Ad-Hoc Committee, was the THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES (Philippine Eagles) which was unanimously approved by the body. They called themselves the Philippine Eagles whose guiding principle is “Service Through Strong Brotherhood”.

And by definition, the Philippine Eagles shall be:

• E: Enlightened and innovative humanitarian.
• A: Animated primarily by a strong bond of brotherhood and fraternal ties.
• G: God-fearing, God conscious, non-sectarian.
• L: Law abiding, liberty-oriented, non-political.
• E: Emblazed with an intense mission of service.
• S: Service to country, its people, and its community.

Chartering of New National President 1979-1981

Eagle Nilo H. Raymundo took his oath as the charter national president of The Fraternal Order of Eagles (Philippine Eagles) during the chartering of the first Philippine Eagles club, the Quezon City Central Eagles Club held at the Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan City.

Eagles’ Club Chapters

The Eagles movement had spread out and rooted nationally, in the decade. Scores of club chapters were formed and organized in the major parts of the country as it continued to enjoy the confidence of young dedicated men who desired to join and become members of the organization under its guiding principle of “service through strong brotherhood”.

It readily spread out in the Mindanao area especially in Northern Mindanao when the Cagayan de Oro Eagles Club, the Iligan City Eagles Club, and the Ozamis City Eagles Club were eventually chartered in three successive nights each between them spearheaded by the amiable and charismatic leadership of Eagle Sancho K. Chan.

The National Leadership then in 2006 decided to register the organization with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the name: THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES (Philippine Eagles) Inc. The incorporators were all past national presidents of the Eagles Fraternity, namely:

• CELSO P. MARIANO
• CRISANTO T. SARUCA
• MELENCIO P. SAMSON
• RIZAL ALBERTO C. NOLIDO
• CESARIO C. DUMOGHO

The application was eventually approved by the SEC which granted SEC Certificate of Incorporation No. CN200618418 dated December 04, 2006.

Recent Challenges and Changes

Since then, the Eagles Fraternity was running smoothly. It was only in 2019 when it was discovered that another entity of practically the same name was surreptitiously registered with the SEC in 2017 by the group of Lucio Ceniza as incorporators.

In the third quarter of 2019, agitations grew and the feeling of unrest farther worsened within the organization when Conrado Cedeno and Dan Roleda, the National President and the Attorney General respectively then, issued a manifesto that blatantly expelled some national and regional officers including some prominent members of the PENAPLE without due process for betrayal of public trust who vehemently were against their way of governance.

Alarmed by the growing sentiments of discontent, the PENAPLE decided to have a meeting at Dynasty Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City on September 20, 2019. The meeting was attended by:

• Eagle Mike V. Piso
• Eagle Jojo Longcob
• Eagle Erlquin Lim
• Eagle Roberto R. Seelin
• Eagle Samuel Lim
• Eagle Cesar C. Dumogho

Serious issues were discussed, including:

• Financial reports of Lucio Ceniza for 2016 and 2017 during his incumbency as national president.
• The indiscriminate expulsion of some national and regional officers including some prominent members of the PENAPLE.
• The bad actuations of Lucio Ceniza before the Eagles clubs in Italy towards Kuya Samuel Lim.
• The present status of THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES – PHILIPPINE EAGLES which indiscreetly Lucio Ceniza and company may have already been using during their ceremonies, operations, and activities.

The PENAPLE decided to bring up these issues to the plenary the following day.

The Turning Point

On September 21, 2019, the PENAPLE attended the Plenary at the Grand Caprice, Limketkai Complex in Cagayan de Oro City. As expected, the position papers made by the PENAPLE were not accepted and were not included in the Agenda of business for being out of context. The group led by the PENAPLE and the contingent of loyal and true blooded Eagles led by Kuya Ben Rada and Kuya Jing Cadiz walked out from the session hall and proceeded to Mallberry Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City where the Declaration of the Withdrawal of Support to the administration of Conrado Cedeno was fully announced.

After the reading of the Declaration of Withdrawal of Support, the Proclamation of establishing an Interim Government followed. The Proclamation reads as follows:

We, the undersigned, all bona-fide members of THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES (Philippine Eagles) coming from the different Eagles clubs under the various Eagles regions within the Philippines, have walked out from the 3rd National Assembly Session held in Grand Caprice, Cagayan de Oro City in view of serious misunderstanding and irreconcilable differences, do hereby unanimously pledge to support in the formation of an Interim Government of the TFOE (PE) to set up and elect an interim set of National Officers to run the day to day affairs of the Eagles Organization. By acclamation, we have declared and proclaimed by VIVA VOCE the election of Kuya Eagle Roberto Seelin as Interim National President of THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES (Philippine Eagles) effective today, September 21, 2019, to serve the office until December 31, 2019.

He will be vested with all the powers to organize the Fraternity as he deemed necessary under the present circumstances.

So help us Lord our God!!!

(NOTE: Signed by more than 500 Eagles who formed the core group in support of the PROCLAMATION. The papers containing the list are on file for safekeeping.)

After the Proclamation, the Interim National President, Eagle Roberto R. Seelin took his oath of office. He was sworn in by the Acting PENAPLE Chairman, PNP Erlquin Lim.

Postlude

The date, September 21, of the “walk out” was historic and unplanned. While we remember September 21, 1972 as the Proclamation of Martial Law, for us Eagles, September 21, 2019, will always be remembered as the Proclamation of a New Era in Eagleism, ushering in a new beginning to clean the mess and unshackle the greed and selfish vested interests that have already crept into the heart of THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES (Philippine Eagles) 1979. It was a providential event directed by Divine Providence which only He can intercede! Armed by this commitment, we the true blooded Eagles shall continue to pursue our noble mission anchored on its guiding principle of “Service Through Brotherhood”!