HERITAGE

     The blissful history of AG MW Pedro M. GIMENEZ Memorial Lodge No. 370 F&AM started inside the walls of the Commission on Audit as a Square and Compass Club. MW Pedro M. GIMENEZ brought life to the fraternity in the service but also left an indelible history as Auditor General who practiced humility and camaraderie even to the lowliest rank and file employees of the General AUDITTING Office (GAO). Unfortunately, when MW GIMENEZ died in 1979, the vibrancy and activeness of the brethren in the Commission went along with him. Nearly several decades hence, another Master Mason, inspired by the imprints of MW GIMENEZ’S past, has achieved a milestone in his career who, climbed the ladder of leadership and appointed to the coveted position as one of the cornerstones of the Commission. Bro. JUANITO “Jun” G. ESPINO Jr. has taken the bold stride and carried the responsibilities of bringing the brethren back to the folds. With high hopes and spirits of making the good old days shine to the fullest, the COA Square and Compass Club was established to give honor to the great Auditor General. The primary objectives of the club is to impress upon the brethren that the tenets of masonry can be used as a catalyst to improve public accountability and moral standards in COA and to bring about changes in the government management to foster the freemasonry’s share in nation-building and good governance. The club also serves as a venue for the COA brethren to communicate with one another as the need arises and caters to their needs while they are away from their respective abodes and sojourning in Manila. As a typical organization, the Square and Compass Club started with simple meeting of Master Mason Auditors and was informally institutionalized in October of 2006 when several Auditors brethren visited the Central Office to attend to their administrative obligations. After a series of fellowships and gatherings, election was held on 14 July 2006 with their Bro., and subsequently MW, JUANITO G. ESPINO Jr. at the helm of leadership. On 24 November 2006, a General Assembly of the club was held at Kowloon House in Quezon City to finalize the draft and to thresh out the minimal problems in documentation. As the brethren moved to adjourn the assembly, the club overwhelmingly approved the draft. The realization of all the hardships has come into fruition as the Square and Compass Club was instituted by Grand Master Jaime Y. Gonzales at the Grand Lodge of the Philippines on 13 July 2007. The Institution of the Lodge, led by WM Jun ESPINO, was highlighted with the Installation of the appointed officers of the Lodge. It was attended by no less than then Grand Master of Masons, MW Jaime Y. Gonzales, and almost 450 guests and dignitaries from different Masonic districts and jurisdictions.                 

HERALDRY

     The Commission on Audit is the home of many travelers nationwide and almost all the regions in the archipelago housed Master Mason Auditors and senior officers. One of its finest and glorious years was during the stewardship of MW Pedro M. GIMENEZ, PGM as Auditor General in 1957. He steered the office for eight (8) years with the highest esteem and dedication to work that brought the Commission in high regard in the parlance of public service. As a prudent manager and a specialist as he was, he recruited the best in the fields and brightest individuals whom were mostly members of the Craft to help him invigorate the public’s trust and confidence. Square Emblem of Truth and Morality and it symbolizes the rule and guide of a Mason’s actions. Compass Symbolizes the emblem of virtue, the true and only measure of a Mason’s life and conduct. TROWEL SYMBOLICALLY USED it to spread the cement of brotherly love and affection. Sprig of Acacia Symbolizes, not only the COA brethren from various Masonic districts throughout the Philippine jurisdiction that forms the blue lodge, but also of the Immortality of the Souls, Innocence and Initiation that all Masons have undergone. Banner – Wisdom, Strength and Beauty, Symbolizes the characteristics of the three principal officers of the lodge.

HEART

     Following its initials outings and with the strings of COA meetings, conferences and consultation in the region, the Worshipful Master again requested a dispensation to the NRC E District to hold the stated meetings outside of Metro Manila. In November 2007, the meetings were held in Davao City, where the Lodge also had its first raising of brethren to the Sublime degree of Master Mason. The lodge was welcomed by the brethren of Masonic District Region XI- A and had a sumptuous dinner and refreshments at the hotel. Soon, the Lodge has gained wider inception and acceptance of being a traveling lodge in the jurisdiction and many brethren, including the Grand Lodge, have lauded the Worshipful Master and brethren for their initiatives. One of the peak moments in the history of AG MW Pedro M. GIMENEZ Memorial Lodge came in 2009, when MW JUANITO G. ESPINO, PGM was elected as the JGW of the MW Grand Lodge of the Philippines, nearly 80% of the delegates voted in his favor, The so called travelling lodge conducted their stated meetings in BUTUAN, SARANGAN Province, Cagayan De Oro, BATANGAS, PANGASINAN, Nueva VISCAYA and Nueva ECIJA. In 2012, MW ESPINO went on to become the first member of the AG MW Pedro M. GIMENEZ Memorial Lodge No. 370 to be Grand Master of Masons the whole Philippines Jurisdictions. Indeed a landmark achievement, as one of the youngest lodges to ever produce a Grand Master. In its 10-year history, countless medical, dental and optical missions have been conducted by the members in various locations throughout the archipelago, one was held in ANAO, TARLAC, in coordination with the brethren from ARCADIO R. Evangelista Memorial Lodge No. 254 on February 13, 2016, immediately preceding both lodges INSTALATION Ceremonies. With its blissful chronicle, the Lodge will not definitely rest in its laurels. It will continuously shine and live with the tenets of the brotherhood and will continue to be the Traveling Lodge in our jurisdiction.