Phi Beta Rho Confraternity

]]

Phi Beta Rho Confraternity (ΦΒΡ) is a coeducational student organisation founded in 1962 in the Philippines.

History

Phi Beta Rho began on the 24th of June 1962 at the National University, Manila. Three engineering students, Ariel Gomez, Conrad Aquino, and Ruel Ramos, leaders of the rural farmers in their provinces and also members of the N.U. Bulldogs Varsity Team, were the founders. Their mutual goal was to promote the interest of the Filipino people specifically the students, marginalized sector such as the peasants, the workers, and the urban poor. In August 1 of the same year, they voted to recognise their co-athletes Annie Lactao and Isabel Romero to be the Founding Sisters of Rho Beta Phi Sorority as counterparts in upholding their principles and objectives.

Political struggle

The franternity was active in the First Quarter Storm, a period of political unrest in the Philippines, composed of a series of heavy demonstrations, protests, and marches against the government from January to March 1970. Members under the name Kapatirang Mag-Aaral ng Republika (KAMARA) participated in student demonstrations against growing social injustices, graft and corruption in the government.

Martial Law was declared on September 21, 1972 through Presidential Proclamation 1081, wherein it disbanded the fraternity and other political organizations. Many fraternity members active in the protest movement were arrested, while others were forced to relocate to their provinces and went underground to organize labor unions, farmers, and new school chapters mostly in Central Luzon.

Recognition

Following this period, the fraternity's primary objective was to be legally recognized by school administrations, and indulged themselves within the University Student Council, promoting the interest and protecting the rights of the students. They earned the reputation for being the principal leaders of their respective academe organizations, and were instrumental in the formation of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) in Region III.