APO bristles over ‘destructive gang’ tag

MANILA, Philippines — Alpha Phi Omega, the country's largest collegiate service fraternity, slammed Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) chief Butch Belgica for labeling it as one of the 'most destructive gangs in Metro Manila." Magleo V. Adriano, APO national president, said on Saturday that the media attack of Belgica was "malicious" and the tag was "based on ignorance." APO has no community chapter and only accepts pledges from colleges and universities, contrary to the mistaken belief of Belgica, he added. "Coming from a government official charged with the investigative powers, Commissioner Belgica is apparently ignorant of the true nature of Alpha Phi Omega, which counts among its numbers no less than the former US President William Jefferson Clinton and the present defense secretary, Robert Gates," he added. "Alpha Phi Omega was founded on Dec. 16, 1925, at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, as a service-oriented fraternity and presently exists in more than 600 campuses in the United States as the only collegiate service fraternity. "Following the same principles of leadership, friendship and service, the Alpha Phi Omega was organized in the Philippines on March 2, 1950 and has chapters in more than 300 campuses in the Philippines. It has been duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a nonstock, nonproft service organization since 1990," Adriano stressed. He further explained that the fraternity never made it official policy to recruit members who are not college students at the time of their entry into the organization. “It has more than 100 alumni associations organized along collegiate chapter, professional and territorial lines," Adriano said. "However, these alumni associations are not and cannot accept members as only college students may become members. A cursory check with the SEC would have amply shown this Belgica. Moreover, its leadership strictly adheres to a 'no hazing' policy." The rest of Adriano's statement follows: "Alpha Phi Omega takes pride that through the years, it has already institutionalized its numerous service projects such as building houses for the poor with Gawad Kalinga, Trees for Peace and Coastal Bay Clean-ups with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and various local government units (LGUs) and other agencies, and blood-letting programs with the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). "In fact, APO has been recognized by the PNRC as its No. 2 donor, next only to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Aside from these institutionalized service projects, we conduct on a regular basis surgical, medical, ophthalmological and dental services for many communities that need them. In furtherance of the peace effort, APO has espoused the 'Yes for Peace' project which has been endorsed by Archbishop Lagdameo, head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)." - GMANews.TV