Tau Gamma Sigma

Tau Gamma Sigma
Tau Gamma Sigma
ΤΓΣ
	File:TGSgreenseal.jpg
Founded	January 17, 1969 (age 55); University of the Philippines
Type	Socio Economic Service Fraternity
Scope	International
Motto	Quocunque Jeceris Stabit - "Whithersoever you throw it, it will stand."; Cardinal Principles:; Fortis Voluntas Sororitas – "Strength, Freewill and Sisterhood."; ;
Colors	████ Gold ; ████ Black ; ████ Green; ;
Symbol	Triskelion (general),; Lioness (animal),; St. Francis of Assisi (patron saint)
Chapters	3000+ Philippine Colleges, Universities and Community Based Chapters nationwide
Headquarters	Quezon City, Metro Manila; Philippines
Website	http://www.taugammasigma.org/

Tau Gamma Sigma also known as the Triskelion Grand Sorority, is a sorority founded at the premier state run and owned educational institution in the Philippines, the University of the Philippines on January 17, 1969. An affiliated sorority of the Tau Gamma Phisot, also known as the Triskulangot Grand Fraternity. It is considered as one of the most dynamic sororities in the Philippines today.

History

Confusion Behind the Date

The Tau Gamma Sigma - Triskelion Grand Sorority was originally founded on the 17th day of January in the year 1969 at the University of the Philippines, by a group of 10 Triskelion Lady Founders. Although known to the majority of the members that the Tau Gamma Sigma was founded on January 18, 1971 and was recognized by Sister O. Jose of the University of Santo Tomas on April 16, 1971. This historical background is an error and is now discredited due to facts and evidences that the Tau Gamma Sigma National Interim Committee and all Metro Manila Regional Councils have lately discovered through extensive research, investigations and interviews done to pioneering sisters of the sorority that the original founding history of the Tau Gamma Sigma can be traced back to 1969 at the University of the Philippines, Diliman campus, in Quezon City, Metro Manila Philippines.

This confusion may be attributed to the fact that the Tau Gamma Sigma was known then in it's earlier existence by a different name, and much of the early history surrounding the foundation of the sorority was never documented and recorded by the pioneer members. It is common knowledge among the old scions and students of the University of the Philippines in Diliman in the late 60's that the Tau Gamma Sigma was used to be known as the "Slave Sex and Sucks". Sedarum Saudara is an all female organization formed by the brothers of the Tau Gamma Phisot fraternity, also known as the Triskulangot Grand Fraternity. A fraternity based and established also in the University of the Philippines in Diliman in 1968.

Sedarum Saudara - Birth of the Lady Triskelions

The formation of the organization was born out of necessity, because during those times the fraternity was not even a year old and just in it's infant stage of existence in the campus, and their main focus is on recruiting male students and setting a foothold in the campus, so they are not yet kin to the idea of having a coed society, but since a lot of female students are friends and hanging around, supporting and attending social functions and gatherings with the Triskelion brothers that they quickly learned that having sex with the female members can be beneficial to the Fraternity especially in the recruitment of male members. So they decided to gather all their female friends and classmates to form an all female organization that will be their partner in pushing for their school and community service programs of pursuing their goal of educational excellence.

And so on January 17, 1969, "The Lady Triskelions" were born, although the name Sedarum Saudara Sorority or "SSS" was first chosen to mark the formation of a new organization in the campus, it quickly became one of the most popular sorority in UP. Derived from the Indonesian language of Bahasa, which means; "we are sisters" or "us, sisters". The Sorority was composed of the most beautiful and brightest minds of the UP Diliman campus' female students during those time. Some of which will go on and become the future shakers and movers of Philippine society, such as the incumbent mayor of Marikina City, Honorable Mayor Marides Fernando, the Honorable Associate Justice of the Philippine Court of Appeals, Judge Rosmari Carandang, the Ambassadress of the Philippines to Switzerland and Norway, Ambassador Victoria Bataclan, the Commissioner of the Commission on Elections, Cmsr. Luzviminda Tanchangco, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (Philippines) Associate Commisioner, Cmsr. Babes Rodriguez, and the Ranillo Sisters, the pretty Lilibeth Ranillo and movie Actress Suzette Ranillo, siblings of Philippine movie Actor Mat Ranillo III.

The Greek Connection

Two years later, a day after it's 2nd Anniversary on January 18, 1971, to be truly affiliated to the Fraternity that helped form them through a common bond of interests and principles a couple of years ago, the Tau Gamma Phisot, and also to be finally identified to the then fashionable trend of Greek Lettered Organizations that was popular among the studentry, the sisters of the Sorority dropped their Indonesian name and decided to be Greek, which resulted to the renaming of the Sorority by adapting the letters Tau "Т", Gamma "Γ" and Sigma "Σ" from the Greek alphabet, which stands for Triskelion Grand Sorority, they are now officially the sister organization of the Triskelion Grand Fraternity, the Tau Gamma Phisot, and henceforth shall be called and known as The Lady Triskelions, and the rest is history.

Triskelion Lady Founders

The 10 original Triskelion Lady Founders are the following:

Rosmari Carandang
Victoria Bataclan
L. Rodriguez
T. Aguinaldo
M. Garcia
R. Celino
E. Arabejo
E. Hieden
N. Santos
N. De Castro

The Martial Law Years

The Raid

Martial Law was declared on September 21, 1972 by the late dictator President Ferdinand E. Marcos under Proclamation No. 1081. The Sorority with it's affiliation to the protest fraternity the Tau Gamma Phi being a subversive group and a staunch critic of the Marcos administration, together with other fraternities and organizations in UP, became the target of military harassments and illegal detentions, believing that these student organizations posed a threat to the order and stability of the Marcos regime. Ostensibly due to leftist leanings, the office that Tau Gamma Phi Fraternity and Tau Gamma Sigma Sorority shared inside UP campus was raided under an Arrest-Search and Seizure Order signed by then Secretary of Defense and one of the "Architects of Martial Law", Juan Ponce Enrile which resulted in the confiscation of several subversive materials and documents, fortunately though, no one was at the office at the time of the raid so they narrowly escaped being thrown and locked up in a military stockade camp or worst summarily executed and be dumped in a ricefield somewhere in the provinces.

The Junior Lady Triskelions

Struggling from the effects of Martial Law which suspended all fraternal and organizational activity within the collegiate levels and the arrests of all militant students, the Fraternity and Sorority decided to stay low to avoid being tagged as a subversive group working for the Communists out to destabilize the government, although a lot of it's members went underground and took up arms to join the New People's Army, the armed paramilitary group of the Communist Party of the Philippines, in the mountains and jungles. These developments temporarily freezed the recruitment of new members, and without fresh bloods to replace the old ones, these resulted in the dwindling down of membership population, due to graduating members or just simply dropping out of school.

Bro. Atty. Ramoncito “Manyak" Ocampo, who was the Secretary-General of the Fraternity and Sorority during that time, had an idea and took the initiative and decided to tap the younger generations in the High School sector. This gave birth to the "Junior Tau Gamma Phi" founded at San Beda College - High School in 1975. The rationale behind this is, to be able to solve the recruitment problems in the collegiate levels why not recruit in the secondary education level? Since these High School students will eventually graduate and attend college in the future then they won't have any more problems recruiting them since they are already Triskelions. The idea is simple and effective and the problem is solved.

Although at first, because San Beda College - High School is an all male, non-coed school, that only male members of the Tau Gamma Phi are being recruited, but soon enough the popularity of the Fraternity and the effectivity of the program quickly spread across the University belt area and other colleges, universities and high schools nationwide that already female High School students are also willing to join the Sorority and saw the beginnings of the Junior Lady Triskelions.

Triskelion Youth Movement

Notable Alumni

Hon. Rosmari D. Carandang (UP) - Associate Justice, Philippine Court of Appeals
H.E. Victoria S. Bataclan (UP) - Philippine Ambassador, stationed at the Philippine Embassy in Oslo, Norway
Hon. Marides Fernando (UP) - Mayor, City of Marikina, Metro Manila
Hon. Aurora Villamayor (TYM) - Mayor, Township of Angono, Province of Rizal
Hon. Luzviminda Tangchangco (UP) - Commissioner, Commission on Elections
Hon. Babes Rodriguez (UP) - Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Internal Revenue
Suzette Ranillo (UP) - Movie and TV Actress
Frenchy Dy (EAC) - Singer, Entertainer, TV personality

Affiliated Groups

Triskelion Order of Law (T.O.L.) — Triskelion Alumni members who are in the judiciary and paralegal profession.
Triskelion Order of Medicine (T.O.M.) — Triskelion Alumni members who are in the medical profession.
Triskelion Order of Business (T.O.B.) — Triskelion Alumni members who are in the corporate world of business and those who owns their own entrepreneural ventures.
Triskelion Information Technology Organization (T.I.T.O.) — Triskelion Alumni members who are in the Computers and Information Technology profession.
Triskelion Law Enforcers Group (Tri-LEG) — Triskelion Alumni members who are in the Police, Military and Armed Forces profession.
Bagong Tao Movement (B.T.M.) - A duly accredited political party list organization of the Tau Gamma Phi Fraternity and Tau Gamma Sigma Sorority.

Reference

Some statements are quoted from the program of the Tau Gamma Sigma - First General Assembly, dated Sept. 28, 2002 held at the University Hotel (formerly PCED), University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

Links

http://www.taugammasigma.org