On May 12, 2022, Mr. and Mrs. Gil and Cloty Espiritu had an early celebration of their 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary. Sir Gil, among many other prestigious positions he held before he retired, was a respected and beloved teacher of SLU Boys High School Senior Class of 1979 and the class adviser to Section E, the "Eagles." Ma’am Cloty was also a teacher at Boys High.
They checked in at the Baguio Country Club in time for a sumptuous lunch at the Verandah. After lunch, they relaxed in their room overlooking the manicured, pine tree lined golf course. Later that afternoon, ma'am Cloty had her hair done at the Club salon and sir Gil had a one-hour Swedish massage at the spa. Feeling refreshed, dinner followed at the Hamada, Baguio's premier Japanese restaurant, also located at the Club.
View of the golf course.
Later that evening they had a surprise visitor. One member of the Eagles, Geoffrey Perez, showed up with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a bouquet of flowers for ma'am Cloty to help them celebrate this significant milestone. Geoff hung out with sir Gil for a while and reminisced about senior year high school.
I have two funny and vivid memories with sir Gil back then. One time, one of my classmates asked during a candid conversation with him about sex and sexuality, "Sir, is it a sin to masturbate?" His response, and I'm paraphrasing here, was, "Boys, there's nothing wrong with masturbation. It's normal behavior for your age. Just don't overdo it. You want to save the best of yourself for your future wife." Classic sir Gil.
Later that year, I went to him and said I was resigning as the class president. He asked why and I said my classmates were too hard-headed and uncontrollable. He said, "Richard, do not quit, you can do it. I have trust and confidence in you. You just have to be more persistent. They will follow you." These words had a profound impact on me and guided me throughout my life.
I'm sure many of you had similar experiences with sir Gil and/or the other teachers back in senior year. And so to pay him back in our own very small way, and inspired by the Rene Acantilado teacher-reach-out narratives, I concocted this plan and enlisted the help of some of the Eagles besides Geoff - Egay Cabanayan, Jock Sta. Maria, Rollie Obusan, Vic Nieva, and Jeff de Guzman, and gifted him and his lovely wife an overnight all expenses paid stay at BCC. I apologize to the other Eagles, I know you all wanted to chip in. This was very short notice due to the availability, or lack thereof, of rooms at BCC (the tourists are back) so I reached out to the ones close by only.
The following morning, after breakfast and before checking out, sir Gil and Ma’am Cloty video called me and we had a lively chat. They were very thankful for the gift. I reiterated that it was such a small gesture and the pleasure was all ours. At one point I asked him how he had such patience and composure for rowdy teenage boys with raging hormones who were experimenting with all kinds of stuff like alcohol and marijuana. He admitted that it was quite a challenge but he always understood that his role wasn’t so much of a disciplinarian but more of a mentor and a guardian. He had a strong faith and said a lot of prayers for us. As a matter of fact he said that to this day he continues to pray for us.
Sir Gil taught at Boys High for only three years. After that he was hired to replace Mr. Foronda as the Dean of Student Affairs at Saint Louis University, a position he held for 30 years before he retired. He said his experience teaching high school, especially the Batch of '79 prepared him for the job and provided him with tools to deal with problem college students. Lol.
I really believe that we were so lucky and blessed to have Mr. Gil as our teacher and mentor in high school. Undoubtedly, he touched our young lives and made life-changing impact on us. It's nice to know that he moved on to do the same to many many more young students after us. Nevertheless, he said he has never forgotten our batch and that we always have a special place in his heart. His parting words, "I love you, guys."
