Eastwood Richmonde Hotel, Quezon City
15 July 2013

President Benigno S. Aquino III joined the “Brotherhood of Scholars” of the University of the Philippines Beta Sigma (Betan) Fraternity as they celebrated 67 magnificent years of excellence in their respective fields of knowledge while contributing to nation building.

In his speech, the President mentioned three members of his Cabinet in the agriculture, environment and defense sectors who belong to the fraternity and are now working with his administration in building a better nation. He enumerated some of their contributions which also coincide with the fraternity’s core value. President Aquino believes that with the support of the Betans, the government’s journey to a straighter path could give a better future for every Filipino. He also hopes for a lasting peace which leads to a progressive country.

The U.P. Beta Sigma Fraternity is considered as the first post-war fraternity in the Philippines and one of the largest fraternities in the country in terms of the number of established university based and alumni chapters. Its name represents their core ideals of scholastic excellence, taken from the Greek letters Beta (β) and Sigma (Σ) which stands for “Brotherhood of Scholars”. Some notable Betans are Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Jesus P. Paje, Department of Agriculture (DA) Proceso Alcala and Department of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin.

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