25/08/2022
The Odd Fellows is an ancient and worldwide ethical and humanitarian fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in London, although some self-instituted lodges are believed to exist much earlier.
History books and records mentioned that the fraternity first spread into the Philippine Islands in 1872. When the revolutionaries’ unilaterally declared Philippine independence from Spain in 1898, there were approximately 10,000 Odd Fellows stationed in the country who formed the "Odd Fellows Association of Manila".
After the Filipino-American war ended, the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows issued a charter to formally institute "Manila Lodge No.1" in 1902, composed mostly of military men, businesspeople, lawyers and government officials. A "Rebekah Club" was also formed in 1905, followed by “Luzon Lodge No.2" and “Manila Encampment No.1” in 1915. Hon. Charles Burritt, who served as Chief of the Mining Bureau and Judge of the RTC of Leyte, was the first District Deputy Grand Sire of I.O.O.F. Philippines. During World War II, thousands of Odd Fellows fought the war and many died during the Battle of Manila beginning 1943.
In 1985, “Watchdog Committee” was founded as a separate organization with several chapters in the Philippines. This organization merged with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was chartered by The Sovereign Grand Lodge of the I.O.O.F. as “Watchdog Lodge No.1” on November 21, 2009. The lodge then helped charter or revive lodges across the country.
Together with “Mindanaon Lodge No.2”, “Sillimanian Lodge No.3”, “Golden Luzon Lodge No.4”, “Marilag Lodge No.5”, “Banggiitan Lodge No.6”, “Cagayan de Misamis Lodge No.7” and “Manila Lodge No.8”, the “Grand Lodge of the Philippines, I.O.O.F.” was instituted on October 23, 2015, with the following founding fathers and mothers:
1. Brother Louie Blake S. Sarmiento, PDDSGM
2. Brother Rex Boyson Olpoc, PDDSGM, PGW
3. Brother Anatoly Karpov Buss, PDDSGM
4. Brother Glenn Dimayuga, PDDSGM, PGS
5. Brother McAldous Castânares, PGS
6. Brother Kelvin Acebron, PGW
7. Sister Maria Celeste Guimong, PG, Past Grand Secretary
8. Brother Jan Vincent Lagria, PGT
9. Brother Apollo Neil Monroy, PGS
10. Sister Sheema Bajana, PG
11. Sister Virginia Menguito, PG
12. Sister Corrine Cornelia, PG
13. Sister Adelfa Lustanas, PG
14. Sister Ivana Mae Canlas, PVG
The purposes for establishing the Grand Lodge of the Philippines are the following:
1. To act as a source of unity that promotes camaraderie, harmony, equality and justice between and among members, lodges and other recognized branches towards attaining its general mission as follows:
(a) To help improve and elevate the character of mankind by promoting and practicing the principles of friendship, love, truth, faith, hope, charity and universal justice as exemplified in the degrees of initiation and practiced in our daily lives.
(b) To help make the world a better place to live by aiding each other in times of need and by organizing charitable projects and programs that would benefit the less fortunate, the youth, the elderly, the community and the environment guided by the command: “to visit the sick, relieve the distress, bury the dead and educate the orphan”.
(c) To promote goodwill and understanding amongst peoples and nations through the principle of universal fraternity, holding the belief that all men and women regardless of race, nationality, religion, social status, gender, rank and station are brothers and sisters.
2. To act as an agency of service and inspiration that will assist members, Lodges and recognized branches in maintaining growth and development, training and education of its leaders and members, and in promoting and protecting the principles and traditions of the organization:
(a) To protect the use of traditional degrees of initiations, ceremonies, ethical lessons, object clause, logo, signs and symbols and assure that they remain effective in improving members’ morals.
(b) To help generate funding and coordinate the activities, projects and programs in the Philippines.
(c) To promote positive exchange of information and ideas among and between members and develop recommendations to all members for the good of the organization.
(d) To provide counsel and support to members, Lodges and all recognized branches; receive, determine and hear appeals; redress grievances and complaints arising in the several Lodges and recognized branches.
3. To act as an agency of promotion that will monitor publicity, initiate studies and review and adopt such action for the purposes of promoting advancement and expansion of the Odd Fellows in the country and maintaining goodwill and understanding between the association and its public.
4. To act as a central office of records of all members, Lodges and recognized branches in the Republic of the Philippines.
5. To grant charters and dispensations to Lodges and other recognized branches of the in the Philippines; of suspending or taking away the same for proper cause.
6. To have general supervision over the Lodges and other recognized branches in the Philippines including properties and assets such as:
(a) Meeting Halls
(b) Orphanages and Homes
(c) Camps
(d) Cemeteries
(e) Building Associations
7. The Lodges and branches chartered by the Grand Lodge of the Philippines shall be treated as a continuation of this registered national association. The laws of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines and all amendments thereof duly registered shall be binding on all the Lodges and members and in all cases of inconsistency shall prevail over special laws of a Lodge or Branch.
8. The outlook of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines as a national governing body shall be practical, progressive and results-oriented; not focused on status-quo and bureaucracy but rather centered on ensuring national unity, cooperation and respect for expansion, growth and development; and on preventing stagnation, rivalries and factions among members and lodges.
9. The Grand Lodge of the Philippines shall respect local autonomy for each lodge or branch as long as their activities and decisions are not in conflict with the principles and purposes of Odd Fellowship, unity among lodges and preservation of its teachings.
The official Grand Lodge Seal was designed by Brother Glenn Dimayuga, Brother Louie Sarmiento and brother Rick Silot. This version is optimized by brother Eric Fuertes.
