EDICT NO. 79

ON HONORS, AWARDS AND CITATIONS

TO ALL MASTERS, OFFICERS & MEMBERS OF LODGES UNDER THIS JURISDICTION:

In order to consolidate in one Edict all existing rules on the granting of Masonic honors, awards and citations in this Grand Jurisdiction, and in order to regulate the granting of Masonic honors, awards and citations and provide for the necessary guidelines and regulations on the subject, I, Rudyardo V. Bunda by virtue of the powers and authority in me vested as Grand Master of F&AM, in the Jurisdiction of the Philippines, do hereby decree that there is hereby created a System of Honors, awards and Citations in this Grand Jurisdiction, subject to the general and particular rules and regulations specified in this Edict, to the exclusion of any and all previous rules and regulations promulgated on the subject which previous rules and regulations are hereby declared to be, as they are, repealed.

GENERAL REGULATIONS

I. As a matter of general policy, the conferring of any Masonic award, honor or any other form of recognition for outstanding services or achievement or for any other purpose upon any Master Mason in this Jurisdiction shall be, as it is hereby declared to be, the sole prerogative of the MW Grand Lodge of the Philippines. Henceforth, no Masonic District or subordinate Lodge under the Jurisdiction of the MW Grand Lodge of the Philippines is authorized to grant or confer on its own authority any Masonic Award, honor, citation or other form of recognition for Masonic services or achievements for any other purpose, except in the manner as hereinafter provided.

II. Henceforth, any and all honors, awards, citations or other forms of recognition shall be granted only to individual brethren, and the practice of giving awards or other forms of recognition to Subordinate Lodges and Masonic Districts as such, is hereby ordered to be discontinued.

III. All Masonic Honors, Awards and Citations in this Grand Jurisdiction shall be of two (2) classes, namely:

A. Longevity Awards B. Service or Achievement Awards

IV. Longevity Awards shall comprise only the following:

A. Twenty-Five year Silver Button w/ Diploma B. Fifty year Gold Button w/ Diploma

V. Service or Achievement Awards shall comprise only the awards enumerated below in the order of importance and significance, from the lowest to the highest category, namely:

A. Diploma of Merit B. Jose Abad Santos Bronze Medal, w/ Citation C. Jose Abad Santos Silver Medal, w/ Citation D. Grand Lodge Medal of Honor, w/ Citation

Henceforth, the highest award that is within the capacity of MW Grand Lodge to confer is, therefore, the Grand Lodge Gold Medal of Honor, accompanied by the appropriate action.

PARTICULAR RULES AND REGULATIONS

I. TWENTY-FIVE (25) YEAR SILVER BUTTON WITH DIPLOMA

A. Description of Button & Diploma. The button shall be in the form of a circular button with a screw back to be worn on the lapel or collar, made of sterling silver or silver-plated and about the size of a ten-centavo (Bagong Lipunan Series) coin. The Square and compasses shall be placed on the upper half of the button and the Roman Numeral "XXV" shall be placed on the lower half. The Masonic symbol and the Roman Numeral shall be rendered in blue enamel. A cable design shall be placed around the extreme edge of the button, with the following inscription in small raised letters: "MW Grand Lodge, F. & A.M., Philippines— TWENTY-FIVE YEARS". The form and wording of the accompanying diploma to be adopted is that presently provided for and as appearing on Page 245 of the Masonic Law Book, 1980 Edition.

B. Purpose of this Award. This award is primarily a longevity award and is conferred upon any Master Mason who qualifies and is recommended to receive the award in accordance with the applicable procedures.

C. Basic Qualification of Candidates for the Award. Any candidate for this award must have all the following qualifications:

1. He must be a Master Mason in good standing.
2. He must have been a Master Mason and a member of a Subordinate Lodge in this Jurisdiction continuously for at least twenty-five (25) years at the time of his election to receive the award, counted from the date of his Raising.
3. He must not have been suspended either for non-payment of dues or otherwise, or expelled from Masonry. Demits of not more than six (6) months duration are not to be counted against his continuous membership in a Lodge, unless he has failed to affiliate with some other Lodge within the six (6)-month period provided for in the Constitution and Regulations of the MW Grand Lodge.

II. FIFTY-YEAR GOLD BUTTON WITH DIPLOMA

A. Description of Button & Diploma. The button shall be in the same shape and form as that of the 25-Year button, except that the button shall be made of at least 14K gold or gold-plated, and shall have the Arabic Numeral "50" instead of the Roman Numeral "XXV" and that the inscription shall state: "FIFTY YEARS" instead of the "TWENTY-FIVE YEARS" in the 25-Year button. The accompanying diploma shall be in the same form and wording as that provided for and as appearing on page 247 of the Masonic Law Book, 1980 Edition.

B. Purpose of this Award. This award is one of two longevity awards conferred by the MW Grand Lodge and is given to a qualified brother in recognition of the length of time the brother has been a faithful member of the Craft.

C. Basic Qualification of Candidates for Award. A candidate for this Award must possess all the following qualifications:

1. He must be in good standing.
2. He must be a Master Mason and a member of any subordinate Lodge in this Jurisdiction continuously for at least fifty (50) years, counted from the date of his Raising.
3. He must not have been suspended either for non-payment of dues or otherwise expelled from Masonry. The rule on demits applicable to the twenty-five (25)-year button award applies equally to this award.

III. ACHIEVEMENT OR SERVICE AWARDS

A. Basis of Awards. The four (4) categories of achievement or service awards hereby created are intended to be conferred upon those brethren in this Jurisdiction in formal recognition of exceptionally meritorious and outstanding achievements and/or services that they may have rendered in their public or private lives. Such service includes, but is not limited to, exceptional service to the Masonic Fraternity or achievements in the field of any Masonic activity or endeavor. Service to the community or to society at large of such a nature as to bring honor not only to the recipient in particular, but also to the Lodge of which he may be a member and to the Craft in general, as well as any significant import, are also factors well worthy of consideration in conferring these awards.

Some of the factors to be considered in granting any of the service or achievement awards hereby created, are the following:

1. Masonic Services and/or Achievements:

a) Attendance at Lodge Meetings b) Proficiency in Ritual c) Involvement in the work of Lodge, District or Grand Lodge Committee d) Participation in Lodge, District or Grand Lodge projects or activities other than conferrals e) Participation in conferrals or degree work, including funeral rites f) Knowledge of Masonic philosophy, history, symbolism and jurisprudence g) Material Contributions to Lodge, District or the Craft in general

2. Community Services or Achievements:

a) Material assistance rendered, especially in times of calamity and distress b) Participation in educational development and services c) Involvement in Youth development projects and activities d) Participation in peace and order activities, including legal services e) Involvement in medical-dental services and projects f) Involvement in other civic activities g) Active membership in other service-oriented organizations h) Government or public service or field of expertise in the private sector

Basic to these awards is, of course, the general moral fitness and uprightness of character of the candidate for the award.

B. Description of Awards

Diploma of Merit. The Grand Lodge Diploma of Merit shall be in the same form and wording as that presently in use and appearing on Page 242 of the Masonic Law Book, 1980 Edition.

Jose Abad Santos Bronze Medal. The medal shall be circular in shape, the size of a Philippine Peso coin (1972 series), made of bronze. The obverse (front) side shall have the relief of MW Jose Abad Santos stamped on its surrounded by the following words and letters: "M.W. GRAND LODGE, F.&A.M., Philippines—SERVICE IN MASONRY", which shall be placed in raised letters. The name "MW Jose Abad Santos" shall also be placed in small raised letters at the bottom of or in an appropriate place near the relief. The extreme edge of the medal shall have for its edging a Cabletow to encircle the entire medal. It shall be suspended from a Bronze bar on which will be placed in raised letters the following words: "MEDAL OF HONOR". The Square and Compasses in raised design shall be placed on both ends of the Bar. The reverse side of the medal shall bear the following inscription: "Awarded to (name of Awardee) for meritorious service (or achievement) in Masonry". The date of the award, expressed by Arabic numbers in terms of month, day and year, shall also be placed below the inscription.

Jose Abad Santos Silver Medal. This medal shall be of the same shape, form and inscriptions as that of the JAS Bronze Medal, except that it shall be struck in sterling silver, or silver plated.

Grand Lodge Gold Medal of Honor. This medal shall be circular in shape, to be struck in at least 14K gold the size of a Philippine Peso (1972 series). The obverse side shall be similar in all respects to the Great Seal of the MW Grand Lodge minus only what appears on the upper left-hand and top right-hand quadrants of the oval located in the center of the Great Seal. In lieu thereof, the following inscription shall be placed in raised letters centered in both upper quadrants of the oval: "MEDAL OF HONOR".

The reverse side shall bear the following inscription engraved: "Awarded to (name of awardee) for outstanding service (or achievements) in Masonry". Below this inscription is to be engraved the date expressed in Arabic numbers in terms of the month and year.

The medal shall be suspended from a collar made of purple velvet material of one and one-half inches (1-1/2") wide.

The accompanying Citation shall be of the same shape and form as that of the Grand Lodge Diploma of Merit except that it shall be entitled: "Citation for Grand Lodge Medal of Honor". It shall contain a brief and concise recital of the facts constituting the various services or achievements of the Awardee that formed the basis of the Award.

C. Basic Qualifications of Candidates for Service or Achievement Award. A candidate for a service or achievement award must possess all the following basic qualifications at the time of his nomination:

1. He must be a Master Mason in good standing.
2. He must be a resident of this jurisdiction.
3. He must be a member of a subordinate Lodge at the time of his nomination.
4. He must have been a member reasonably active in his Lodge. What is reasonable is always a question of fact depending on the circumstances of each case and is not to be equated in all instances with actual attendance at Lodge meetings.
5. Additional qualifications for the different categories are as follows: a. For Diploma of Merit - candidate must have been a Master Mason for at least three (3) years, reckoned from the date of his Raising, at the time of this nomination. b. For Jose Abad Santos Bronze Medal - candidate must have been a Master Mason for at least five (5) years counted from the date of his Raising at the time of his nomination. c. For Jose Abad Santos Silver Medal - candidate must have been a Master Mason for at least ten (10) years, counted from the date of his Raising at the time of his nomination. d. For Grand Lodge Medal of Honor - candidate must have been a Master Mason for at least fifteen (15) years, counted from the date of his Raising, at the time of his nomination.

IV. Awards given by lodges and districts

While it is the sole prerogative of the MW Grand Lodge to grant or confer Masonic honors, awards and citations in this Jurisdiction, Subordinate Lodges and Masonic Districts, as such, may confer awards and citations only to their members subject to the following rules and guidelines:

A. Prohibitions. No Subordinate Lodge or Masonic District, shall on its own authority as such:

1. Confer upon any member or other Master Mason any kind of longevity award except in accordance with the procedures relative to this type of award as provided for in this Edict.
2. Confer any achievement or service award upon any member or Master Mason who would qualify under this Edict to receive any category of service or achievement award specified herein.

B. Authority of Lodge or Masonic District. Any Subordinate Lodge or Masonic District shall have the power and authority, as such Lodge or District, to confer upon any member or Master Mason under its Jurisdiction, the following types or classes of awards, honors, or citations:

1. Awards of Honors for any sports or athletic event, contest or tournament held among the members of the Lodge or District, subject to the following guidelines: a) Any Lodge or District shall have full authority and power to set the rules for the conduct of any sports or athletic contest or tournament held among its members. b) Any Lodge or District shall have full authority and power to fix the nature of the award (Trophy, diploma or the like) and to appropriate funds for the purpose subject to the limitation specified in Chapter IV, Art. II, Section 3, Sub-par. (w) of the Masonic Law Book (1980 Edition) and the prohibition provided for in Chapter IV. Art. IV, Section 1, Sub-par (d) of the Masonic Law Book (1980 Edition). (Now Art. V. Sec. 8 Ordinances & Art. IV, Sec. 2, Sub-par e, Ordinances) c) Any sports or athletic award or honor to be conferred in accordance with these rules, shall be made under the authority and responsibility of the Worshipful Master for Lodge-sponsored contests or tournaments, or under the authority and responsibility of the District Deputy Grand Master in cases of District Awards, either of whom shall have the sole and the final decision and responsibility in the conferring of the award. d) The Service or Achievement Award to be made, if any, shall be in a form of a Diploma of Merit, similar in wording to that of the Grand Lodge Diploma of Merit, except that instead of the name of the MW Grand Lodge appearing in the heading, the name of the Lodge or District conferring the award should appear in the Diploma of Merit, and to be signed by the Master or District Deputy Grand Master, and duly attested to by the Lodge Secretary or District Secretary, as the case may be.

This Edict shall be read in open Lodge at the stated meeting next following its receipt and this action to be noted in the Minutes. It is also specifically ordered that this Edict shall be published in full in the "Cabletow" magazine as soon as convenient.

GIVEN under my hand and the seal of the Grand Lodge at the City of Manila, this 23rd day of March, 1983 A.D. 5983, A.L.

(Sgd.) RUDYARDO V. BUNDA Grand Master ATTEST: (Sgd.) MANUEL M. CRUDO, PGM Grand Secretary