Cordillera Lodge No. 178
The Name
The Cordilleras are the most prominent feature of Northern Luzon. This high and rugged mountain range rises abruptly from the Central Plain of Luzon and stretches for about 300 kilometers to the North Coast of Luzon. It is the largest compact upland mass In the Philippines.
The Lodge
On June 25, 1964, Grand Master Charles Mosebrook issued a dispensation to nineteen Master Masons led by Francisco T Cabanag, Servando Gallardo, Paulino Estabillo, and Rufino S. Roque, Sr. authorizing them to form a lodge in Bagabag, Nueva Viscaya to be named Cordillera Lodge.
At the annual communication of the Grand Lodge in April 1965, the Committee on Charters reported that the newly formed lodge had complied with the requirements of the Grand Lodge and recommended that it be granted a charter and assigned number 178.
On July 17, 1965, Senior Grand Warden Mariano Q. Tinio, upon the request of Grand Master Serafin L. Teves, motored to Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya and opened a Special Communication of the Grand Lodge. With the assistance of Vicente Tecson, Eulalio Perdido, Cornelio Gallardo, Simplicio Alegre and other Masonic dignitaries, he forthwith constituted Cordillera Lodge No. 178. Immediately thereafter RW Tinio installed the officers led by Francisco T. Cabanag, Master; Nepomoceno Callo, Senior Warden; and Benjamin G. Lodriquito, Junior Warden. Speeches were delivered by RW Tinio and WB Cabanag.
The lodge purchased the administrative building in Bagabag of the defunct FACOMA and for a time the members held their meetings there. The lodge, however, did not own the lot, so the members joined hands to raise money for the construction of a Temple on their own lot. Fortunately, WB Matiniano Bullecer and his better half donated a lot to the lodge which is now registered in the name of Cordillera Lodge No. 178, F. & A. M., Masonic Temple Association. The cornerstone of the Temple was laid in 1983 and thereafter the Temple slowly began to rise. In January 1993 the members were able to hold their stated meetings in the Temple. The Temple still needs finishing touches, but the members are confident that, in due time, they will complete its construction.
Location: Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya