Ateneo gives thanks to Mr Francisco A Dizon in A Gathering of Eagles

For almost four decades, Mr Francisco "Pacquito" A Dizon has helped multiple Ateneans complete their studies through the various scholarships he and his family have put up. To give thanks to Mr Dizon for all that he's done, Ateneo held an intimate thanksgiving mass and lunch at an event called "A Gathering of Eagles," at Areté, on 2 December 2023.

A "true blue" Atenean who had studied in Ateneo since Grade School, Mr Dizon graduated from the University in 1971 with an AB General Studies degree. After he got his MBA from the Asian Institute of Management, he went into banking where he eventually saw a fair degree of success, first as president of AB Capital and Investment Corporation in the 1980s, then later as  President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and Asian Bank during the late 1990s, and eventually Chairman of the Philippine National Bank in the early 2000s.

In 1986, while he was still with AB Capital and Investment, he and his brother Mr Johnny Dizon established the Paz A Dizon Memorial Scholarship, named in honor of his mother. Since then, this scholarship has helped put eight Ateneans through college and is currently supporting one more.

In 2009, during Ateneo's Sesquicentennial Anniversary, he established a second scholarship, the Francisco Dizon Scholarship. This fund has helped four Ateneans with their studies before it was replaced in 2021 by the Francisco, Joyce and Miguel Dizon Endowment, named in honor of his wife and late son. This endowment is currently helping one student.

In addition to helping Ateneans get through college, Mr Dizon also helped young Ateneans through high school. In 2009, he established the Miguel Dizon Memorial Scholarship. Named in memory of his late son Miguel (GS ‘98, HS ‘02), who passed away on 18 Nov 2008 from a brain aneurysm.

Established on 18 October 2009 – on what would have been Miguel’s 25th birthday – this fund has supported five scholars through the Ateneo High School. 

Mr Dizon has also passed on his passion for helping others to his daughters. In 2021, the latter established the Dizon Sisters Scholarship. This endowment currently supports one scholar in college.

In addition, Mr Dizon and his brother Manuel also contributed to the construction of the Bienvenido Y and Paz A Dizon Faculty Room at the John Gokongwei School of Management, named after their parents.

The event started with a thanksgiving mass presided over by Fr Bill Kreutz, SJ. Fr Asandas Balchand, SJ, was one of Mr Dizon's teachers from Ateneo High School, was also present at the event.

Lunch was served after the mass. The lunch itself was punctuated by thanksgiving messages from the scholars that Mr Dizon had supported, with some expressing how his generosity had also inspired them to try to help others.

The former scholars who sent their thanks were Mr Adinoel S Garcia (BS Management, 1993), Hon Jose Janello A Covarrubias (AB Economics, 2007), Mr Jules Ivan N Lo (AB-MA Political Science, 2013), Mr David Justin Ples (BS Life Sciences, 2015), Lorenzo P Espacio (AB Development Studies, 2017), Alexander P Sarino (BS Applied Mathematics with Specialization in Mathematical Finance, 2017), Mr Mar Lorenz Jamero (BS Legal Management,
Batch 22), Reihan Seth E Leongson (BS Management Engineering, 2022), Mr Bryan Zerrudo (BS Management Information Systems, 2017, AHS 2013), and Ms Crystal Balili-Lanot (BS Management Engineering, 2011). In addition, current scholars Mr Hosea Raphael E. Encarnacion (Current Scholar, 4 AB Management Economics), Ms Rianna G Ronquillo (4 AB Management Economics), Ms Avi Conerose Therese S Malana (3 BS Chemistry - BS in Materials Science and Engineering) also went on stage to express their gratitude to Mr Dizon.

Following the messages from the scholars, University President Fr Roberto C Yap, SJ took to the stage where, on behalf of Ateneo, he expressed utmost gratitude to Mr Dizon, thanking him for all that he and his family had done for the scholars.

The event concluded when Mr Dizon himself took to the stage to address the crowd and tell his own story of how he and his family came up with the scholarships. He also expressed appreciation for how the scholars have themselves tried to pay back the generosity shown them by also trying to help others.

"I'm very happy to hear all of these stories," Mr Dizon stated.

"The spirit of giving will continue," he continued in his message to the scholars. "And I hope that we've also been able to pass this on to you our scholars."

He ended his speech by calling on the scholars to make sure that "they make a mark in our society for the better."