Julian Ocampo Memorial Lodge No. 146

The Name

                This lodge was named in honor of Bro. Julian Ocampo, a very active Masonic leader in the Bicol region and a former Governor of Camarines Sur. Before World War II, he run for Senator but lost.

The Lodge

On March 20, 1956 Grand Master Camilo Osias issued a dispensation to brethren residing at or near Iriga, Camarines Sur authorizing them to organize a lodge in Iriga to go by the name Julian Ocampo Memorial Lodge. The dispensation was given too close to the Annual Communication which started on April 24, 1956, because of which the brethren had no time to form the lodge and comply with requirements. The lodge therefore was not given a charter at that communication.

At the Annual Communication held the following year in April 1957, the Committee on Charters, after a careful examination of the records minutes, returns, financial statement and reports of the officers of the lodge, recommended to the Grand Lodge that the lodge be granted a charter. The recommendation was approved and accordingly the lodge was issued a charter and it became Julian Ocampo Memorial Lodge No. 146.

On February 22, 1958, Grand Master Vicente Y. Orosa, accompanied by Grand Lodge Officers, left Manila by plane early in the morning and at 7:00 pm opened a Special Communication of the Grand Lodge at Iriga, Camarines Sur and proceeded to constitute Julian Ocampo Memorial Lodge and install its officers.

The lodge did very well at the start, thanks to the very dynamic leadership of Leon B. Tiansay. When he died, however, the activities of the lodge went into a sharp decline. The members transferred the lodge to the town of Goa, where most of them resided, but that did not help. During the Annual Communication in April 1962, Grand Master Juan S. Alano informed the brethren that unless the members of the Julian Ocampo Memorial Lodge showed more interest in improving the condition of their lodge he would be constrained to recommend the arrest of its charter. The brethren of the lodge, however, failed to get their act together; no improvement was made. In April 1963 it was the sad office of Grand Master William H. Quasha to inform the brethren that he arrested the charter of the lodge, because it had not been functioning for some time. He said: "I personally verified the situation before taking drastic action. I could not see the point of allowing a lodge to exist in name only.

The lodge was closed for 27 years. In March 1990 a few enterprising brothers led by Eduardo A. Taduran, Santiago Villanueva and Benjamin S. Ngo managed to reactivate the lodge. On March 17, 1990 Grand Master Juan C. Nabong, Jr. motored to Iriga and personally presided over the reactivation rites. The lodge still meets at Iriga. Hopefully, someday soon, it will evolve into a strong lodge.

 Location: Iriga City, Camarines Sur.