Heritage advocate and former Tacloban Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin led the oath-taking ceremony for the new members of the Leyte-Samar Heritage Society, Incorporated (LSHSI) during the Annual General Assembly on December 27, 2024 at Hotel Alejandro, Tacloban.
“Preserving our culture and history is not just honoring the past; it’s a gift we give to the next generation,” said Yaokasin during the event.
Yaokasin, who owns the Espazio Arts + History Café in Tacloban, lauded the group for leading cultural conservation efforts in the Eastern Visayas region for more than a decade.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees of 2024, I would like to thank you all for the trust, confidence, and support that you have accorded us in the leadership of our beloved LSHSI and in the implementation of our thrusts through the projects that, despite almost insurmountable obstacles and challenges, we all successfully carried out,” added LSHSI President Joycie Dorado-Alegre.
The new members are Carmelito Abolencia, Ericson Acebedo, Lakan Uhay Alegre, Bryan Borja, George Emmanuel Borrinaga, Rolando Borrinaga, Jaime Belle Evangelista, Monica Manaog, Jobert Narte, George Plecerda, Ronald Reyes, and Kay Bathala Santos.
LSHSI envisions itself as the premiere resource center for the protection, preservation, and promotion of Eastern Visayas’ natural and cultural heritage.
As a non-stock, non-profit corporation composed of passionate heritage advocates, LSHSI “seeks to accomplish this through research, publications, education, and advocacy in partnership with government, private institutions, and communities for the social and economic empowerment of the people.”
2024 Board of Trustees
Rev. Msgr. Ramon Stephen Aguilos
Rev. Msgr. Gilbert Urbina
Joycie Dorado Alegre
Jocelyn Yraola Dorado
Imelda Diamante
Anita Cular
Joey Nival Lianza +
Photos courtesy of LSHSI
Texts by Ronald Reyes
