The Alpha Phi Omega Philippines Incorporated, commonly known as Alpha Phi Omega Collegiate Service Fraternity and Sorority or simply Alpha Phi Omega or APO (ΑΦΩ), is a service fraternity and sorority in the Philippines founded in 1950. It is the first established national chapter of Alpha Phi Omega outside of the United States, although both organizations have separate leaderships and operate independently. Alpha Phi Omega has 250 chapters in the Philippines and 150,000 members as of 2010. Alpha Phi Omega commits to the "development of a world-class membership that cares for the quality of life with complete complement guided by the three cardinal principles of Leadership, Friendship, and Service." Founded under the ideals of the scouting movement, the fraternity uses scouting ideals such as the Scout Law as the basis for its code of conduct.

History

The Alpha Phi Omega in the United States was established by Frank Reed Horton on December 16, 1925, at Lafayette College. In 1950, professional scouter Sol George Levy, an APO member from the University of Washington in Seattle, went to the Philippines to generate interest in the scouting movement in the country. Levy invited scouts in Manila to a conference, where he proposed that a scouting-based service fraternity be established in the country and distributed APO publications to the audience. A group of scouts led by Ibrado I. Ureta from the Far Eastern University were particularly interested, and on March 2, 1950, he and 20 others established the first organization of APO outside of the United States, now known as the Alpha Chapter. The organization was later registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the name Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines) Incorporated, then later renewed in 1981 as Alpha Phi Omega International Philippines Incorporated.

Sorority and inclusion of women

In 1965, the Alpha Phi Sigma Sorority was established to serve as an umbrella organization for the sister sororities of the various fraternity chapters of Alpha Phi Omega. Before its establishment, it was not uncommon for individual fraternity chapters to associate with sororities bearing different names. In 1971, the sorority was formally renamed and recognized as the Alpha Phi Omega Auxiliary Sorority, as the sister association of the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity. However, as the term "auxiliary" suggested dependence and subservience to the fraternity, in 1979 the by-laws of the organization were amended to establish the Alpha Phi Omega Service Sorority and the creation of the Office of the Vice President for Sorority Affairs to fully recognize women membership in the fraternity. The organization was renamed Alpha Phi Omega International Philippines Incorporated Service Fraternity and Sorority. In 2023, Alpha Phi Omega elected its first woman national president.

Association with Scouts Royale Brotherhood

On September 22, 1975, four members of the APO Alpha Delta chapter in San Sebastian College – Recoletos established the Scouts Royale Brotherhood (SRB), a fraternity exclusively for high school students. SRB was initially intended to be the youth arm of APO, as both fraternities share the same traditions, core principles, motto, colors, and symbols. Today however, SRB is nominally an independent and separate entity from APO that has expanded its membership to include college students as well. Despite this, many outside observers still consider SRB as the "youth arm" of APO.

Organization

The national organization of APO maintains a seven-layer administrative structure:

National Office

The National Office for Alpha Phi Omega of the Philippines is at 301-A Two Seventy Midtower Condominium, 270 Ermin Garcia Street, Barangay Silangan, Cubao, Quezon City. Past locations of the Alpha Phi Omega of the Philippines office include:

Activities

National Programs

Since 1976, the national leadership of Alpha Phi Omega has formulated a two-year national program for all chapters to emphasize a particular project or need of the community. Such projects include national blood donation drives, medical missions, volunteer drives, tree planting, relief operations, and internal organization strengthening.

Oblation Run

The Oblation Run is an annual event held by the Alpha Phi Omega chapters in various campuses of the University of the Philippines and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, where male members of APO wearing masks run naked in public places along a designated route. The run is named after the Oblation statue, which depicts a naked man facing upwards with arms outstretched to symbolize selfless devotion. It is typically held annually on December 16 to celebrate the international founding day of Alpha Phi Omega. Contrary to popular belief, all of the runners are volunteer members, as neophytes are forbidden from participating. Since 1999, the Oblation Run has been used as a protest platform to raise awareness for national issues such as education budget cuts, political corruption, environmental degradation, and human rights violations.

Chapters

The APO has charters (either fraternity, sorority, or both) at 250 colleges and universities.

Controversies

Hazing deaths

Alpha Phi Omega has been directly involved in the hazing deaths of several neophytes. According to the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group, Alpha Phi Omega has the second highest number of recorded hazing deaths among all Filipino fraternities, with six deaths as of March 2, 2023.

2010 Philippine Bar exam bombing

On September 26, 2010, a grenade exploded outside De La Salle University in Manila minutes after the end of the 2010 Philippine Bar Examination, injuring 47 people with two people needing amputations. Initial police investigations revealed that the grenade was targeted at members of Tau Gamma Phi, with whom Alpha Phi Omega had a conflict with. The grenade fell short however, and exploded near a group of Alpha Phi Beta members along with several female exam takers. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) took over the investigation and identified Alpha Phi Omega as the perpetrator of the blast, as well as two other previous grenade attacks on college campuses in Metro Manila. On October 27, 2010, the NBI's prime suspect Anthony Leal Nepomuceno, a 26-year-old call center agent and APO member, surrendered to Vice President Jejomar Binay, who was also an APO member. Nepomuceno denied all accusations, with Binay and APO defending his innocence. In response, several members of the House of Representatives criticized Binay for clearing Nepomuceno while the investigation was still ongoing. On April 28, 2011, the Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended the indictment of Nepomuceno after finding his defense "weak", and was charged with multiple murder for causing "almost fatal" wounds to victims Raissa Laurel and Jokat Ledda. He was also charged with multiple frustrated murder, multiple attempted murder, and illegal possession of explosives. On July 14, 2015, the Court of Appeals affirmed Nepomuceno's indictment and denied his petition to nullify the 2011 DOJ resolution.

Rivalry with Tau Gamma Phi

Alpha Phi Omega has been involved in several fatal clashes with long-standing rival fraternity Tau Gamma Phi:

Notable members