Not until Tita Sally Sobrepeña posted on her FB account about her attendance at the 1968 Class Reunion of Victorino Mapa High School never did it cross my mind that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona is a product of a public school.

I’ve always assumed that Gov. Eli was schooled in a private institution and I believe that goes as well to some of us, including bankers, market movers and players. Wrong assumption. Mea culpa.

Chicago-based Tita Sally, the aunt of my long time friend Milet Belicena, Gov. Eli and seasoned-bank treasurer Boy Bombais were classmates in V. Mapa, the only public school along Mendiola Street.

Other schools – the College of the Holy Spirit, La Consolacion College, San Beda, Centro Escolar University – that lined-up the famous Mendiola St. are privately owned and managed.

Just a bit of history, Mendiola, which is by the way the middle name of Gov. Eli, was named after educator, textbook author and the first member of the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines Enrique Mendiola.  It’s been the site of numerous uprisings like the Battle of Mendiola Bridge during the Marcos regime in 1970 and the Mendiola Massacre during Corazon A. Aquino’s administration in 1987.

Now about Gov. Eli, even back see then Tita Sally already had an inkling that the “unassuming Eli” is destined to shine. “Eli was very intelligent. He was our valedictorian. I knew, then, he’ll have a brighter future.”

Thus, it wasn’t much of a surprise to the entire V. Mapa Class of 1968 that their classmates and batchmates that he was minted last year as BSP Governor vice Felipe Medalla.

For her, the BSP Governor and veteran bank treasurer, Boy, have essentially the same qualities (both are brilliant) and flaws. The former was the “quiet” type while the latter was “a little bit shy.” However, “Eli, the geeky one, excelled and was “oustanding academically.”

Mr. Boy admitted, after downing several glasses of wine, to his classmates during the reunion that his “confidence soar when he got a good job and climbed the corporate ladder.”  

Treasury has always been in the heart of this Business Management graduate of the University of Santo Tomas from Insular Investment & Trust Corp. to Philippine Business Bank and now Cebu City-based Wealth Development Bank.

I’ll let you in on a secret. From what I’ve heard,  Mr. Boy has metamorphosed into a “chick boy after his beloved wife passed on.” Way to go!

At their reunion last Monday at the Grand Dame, Manila Hotel, Gov. Eli and Mr. Boy were conferred/awarded the most outstanding alumnus and best in the field of banking and finance, respectively.

They joined the ranks of distinguished V. Mapa alumni, among them former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban; the late Arturo M. Tolentino, the country’s 9th vice president; SGV & Co. accounting firm co-founder Washington SyCip; National Artist for Music and Literature Levi Celerio; former Police General and chief of Manila Police District Ernesto Diokno; former chairman of the Commission on Elections Jose Melo; and Zacarias S. Chavez, Jr., commander of the US Coast Guard.

Salud!

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