Kalilayan Lodge No. 37

The Name

Kalilayan is a Tagalog word that means tenderness. It is the name that was given to the first town established in the province of Tayabas before the Spanish regime, which is now called Unisan. When the province was created in 1691 it was also called Kalilayan. A creek in Unisan is also called Kalilayan.

The Lodge

The chronicles of Kalilayan Lodge No. 37 trace its start from July 13, 1913 when it was organized by Gen. Vicente Lukban who served as its Master from 1913 to 1915. The lodge was founded under the jurisdiction of the Grand Oriente Espanol, but before it could secure its charter from that Grand Jurisdiction,  a unification of Masonic forces in the Philippines took place. As a result of this union, Kalilayan Lodge transferred allegiance to the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands. At the Annual Communication of the Philippine Grand Lodge held in February 1917, it was granted a charter as Kalilayan Lodge No. 37. On February 14, 1917 it was duly constituted together with thirty other subordinate lodges.

From 1914 to 1934 Kalilayan Lodge was governed by only seven Masters each of whom served the lodge as Worshipful Master for at least two years. Thereafter the lodge suffered a decline in its activities, and when the Second World War broke out its Masonic work came to a complete stop.

In December 1945, at the end of the war, the Grand Lodge asked WBros. Eligio Magallanes and Amado E. Palilio, the Treasurer and Senior Warden, respectively, of the lodge at the outbreak of the war, to submit the names of the members of the lodge preparatory to its reorganization.

When the lodge was finally reestablished in 1946, it had no lodge hail so it held its meetings at the residence of WB Ariston Solis. Later, it had the good fortune to acquire a lot from the widow of WB Felimon Perez at half the price. Pere7, by the way, was the Master of Sinukuan Lodge No.17 in 1930. He was, at one time or another, the governor of Quezon Province, a member of the Philippine Legislature, and the Secretary of Commerce and Industry

After acquiring the lot, the members established the Felimon Perez Masonic Corporation for the purpose of raising funds for the construction of a Temple. Thirty thousand pesos was raised and in 1948 the lodge Temple wa1/4, erected which the brethren named the Don Felimon Perez Masonic Temple.

 Kalilayan Lodge has since been holding its meetings at the Felimon Perez Masonic Temple and has been maintaining its stature as one of the honored lodges in the region.

Location: Lucena, Quezon.