Letran Alumni Association, Inc. (LAA)

The Association started as an informal organization – a gathering of alumni who wished to revive fond memories of their school days and also to learn what new events were shaping each other’s lives. They called themselves the “Asociacion de Ex-alumnos de San Juan de Letran”.

In the first-recorded reunion held at the salon de actos of the school on Nov. 11, 1917 during the Dia de Letran , Jose Ma. Arroyo, the president of the Comite de los Ex-alumnos created a committee to study the proposal of then Senate President Manuel L. Quezon that will give the association a formal status and will also draft its rules and by-laws. The thrust of the proposal aside from convening the alumni during the reunions were two-fold: to provide educational benefits to the students, and to compile a perpetual alumni directory for the inspiration of future generations as well as to serve as a memorial of the past generations.

Ignacio Villamor, president of the University of the Philippines chaired the committee together with fellow alumni: Francisco Ortigas, Angel Ansaldo, Gabriel La O and Honorio Ventura. In the 1918 homecoming presided by M. L. Quezon, the committee report dated September 5, 1918 was approved unanimously. Thus was born the Letran Alumni Association.

The reunions- held in the school’s salon de actos were held every November to celebrate the feast of San Vicente Liem de la Paz, Letran’s foremost alumnus. The participation of the alumni added to the air of festivities in the campus. The affairs – usually attended by a large and loose number of alumni including prominent leaders of the country, whether in the political, economic, educational or other fields of endeavour – started with a banquet. At the end of the banquet, the alumni president requested some of the illustrious members, or “ilustrados” as they were called then, to make speech about their school days. These after-meal speeches were eagerly awaited by everyone not only for the naughty little student stories but more on the lessons gained from the insights of the speaker into a student’s life – a Letranista’s way of life.

Students attended these gatherings, and the more fortunate among them were the “internos” who were given the privilege to sit in the gallery of the hall. The war damaged the buildings in Intramuros; however, as good fate would have it, some alumni continued to hold organized meetings some place else where they went on with the task of electing officers and perpetuating the existence of the association. By tradition, whoever was the president had to foot the bill.

The association was largely through informal gatherings in the past and no one thought of registering it with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In September 1, 1981, in order to transform it into a legal entity, smoothen operations and to foster and ensure its growth, the Alumni Board headed by President Jaime A Cura registered the association with SEC. The SEC official approval was granted September 30, 1981 and the informal organization became officially known as the Letran Alumni Association, Inc. or by its acronym LAA.. Through this vehicle, we hope to sustain the burning inspiration of DEUS PATRIA LETRAN.