THE TRESTLEBOARD

Immediately after his installation as the District Deputy Grand Master of the newly created Masonic District R-III Nueva Ecija East and Aurora, DDGM Rhomel Martinez convened the first district meeting that was hosted by Model Masonic Lodge No. 373 in Baloc, Sto. Domingo Nueva Ecija on 21 December 2019 and attended by representatives of the District’s 8 subordinate Lodges where his plan to for the remaining Masonic Year was presented, discussed and agreed. The DDGM’s plan of action for what was then a short stint (December 2019-April 2020) was mainly to consolidate the newly established District that led to the following major outcomes: Adoption of the official District logo that represent the main characteristics of the new District: the 8 rays of the sun representing its 8 subordinate Lodges, the colors green representing Nueva Ecija’s agriculture industry and blue for Aurora’s fishing industry, and a representation of the 8 Worshipful Masters who govern the District’s eight lodges su...

  The idea of establishing a Masonic lodge in the Municipality of Llanera was conceived by VW Geronimo Pascua of Narra Masonic Lodge No. 171 and Kadanglaan Masonic Lodge No. 392, whose wife is from the said town, after a casual conversation with WB Egay Cruz at the Central Luzon Multi-District Convention held at the Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija on September 2017. A few months later on January 2018 after the installation ceremonies of Kadanglaan Masonic Lodge No. 392, a group composed of VW Pascua, VW Freddie Lozano and VW Eduardo C. Vendivil of Molave Masonic Lodge No. 392, and VW Virgilio Catbagan Jr. of San Jose City Masonic Lodge No. 309 agreed to spearhead the establishment of the lodge. On March 2018 during a wake for the late VW Michael Valenzuela, the group again met with WB Gary Sinagose of Molave Masonic Lodge No. 392 and Bro. Riberto Chua Jr. of San Jose City Masonic Lodge No. 309 and decided to invite other interested brethren to join the initiative. The first info...

VW Rhomel A. Martinez is officially the first District Deputy Grand Master appointed to preside over Masonic District Nueva Ecija East and Aurora. Although relatively young at 46 years old for such delegation, DDGM Rhomel has been honed to assume the task by his outstanding Masonic journey. He was raised as a Master Mason on 13 December 2003 at Pantabangan-Bonari Lodge No. 203 which he later served as Lodge Treasurer in 2008, Lodge Secretary in 2009 and finally as Worshipful Master in 2012. He served as Grand Lodge Inspector for Talavera Lodge No. 273 twice, in 2013 and 2015, and was appointed as District Grand Lecturer for Masonic District Nueva Ecija South & Aurora in 2014. He wears the white cap of an Inspector General Honorary of the 33 rd Degree of the Munoz Bodies of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rites where he served as its Venerable Master in 2011 and is also a Past Royal Patron in 2007 of the Pantabangan-Bonari Courth No. 46 of the Order of the Amaranth. He is the inc...

The Groundwork The former Masonic District Nueva Ecija South & Aurora has 19 Lodges under its jurisdiction that is stretched 238 kilometers from Gapan City along Nueva Ecija’s boundary with Bulacan in Central Luzon, to Casiguran near Aurora’s boundaries with Quirino and Isabela in Cagayan Valley. And over time, governing such a wide geographic area has become challenging due to the resources and time required and has resulted in unintended consequences. Lodges in the fringes felt distant and somehow detached to the District’s seat of governance in Cabanatuan City, and some of them were disappointed that they are often left mostly by themselves to stand in vigil to honor the memory of a departed brother, a most solemn and important obligation where the District is expected to mobilize the participation of all Lodges within its jurisdiction. Recognizing these constraints, WB Monico G. Delgado, a Past Master of Nueva Ecija Masonic Lodge No. 73 and Zaragoza Masonic Lodge No. 263 and th...