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By Cyrus A. Natividad

Dr. Lejo C. Braña is a long-time member of the ̽����ѡ Board of Trustees.

In the morning of August 30, 2021, at around 8:00 in the morning, ̽����ѡ Board of Trustees Member, Dr. Lejo C. Braña breathed his last at the Iloilo Mission Hospital – due to Cardio Pulmonary Arrest.

Dr. Braña was born in Janiuay, Iloilo on February 8, 1938. He was married to the late Concordia Magno “Baby” Braña. They have one daughter, Mercury Ann Alabi who is residing in the U.S.

̽����ѡ Board of Trustees conveyed its deepest sympathies to the family. A Distinguished Centralian, and known as the Father of Philippine Packaging Engineering, Braña donated 11.5 Million worth of Packaging Equipment from the United States to his beloved Alma Mater. He set it up and helped establish the ̽����ѡ School of Packaging Engineering- which is the only one in Southeast Asia and offered only in ̽����ѡ College of Engineering.

“It’s time to give back to the country, to ̽����ѡ and the people of Iloilo through education and livelihood promotion,” Braña said. He was honored by the Department of Science and Technology in its ‘Balik Scientist Program “for being a Filipino expert in life and applied sciences; who have made their mark abroad and chose to return home”.

On March 17, 2010, ̽����ѡ President Dr. Teodoro C. Robles received the Deed of Donation document from Dr. and Mrs. Lejo C. Braña in a meaningful turn-over ceremony at ̽����ѡ. It was a full-service packaging set of testing equipment. Braña’s brother, Rollin was a witness to the event which was also attended by the pioneering class of Packaging Engineering students.
In his message to students, Braña said that “Not only ̽����ѡ students will benefit from the complete packaging equipment, but also the country, and even Asia as well”, pointing to the newly delivered equipment. He added that “Packaging Engineering will apply scientific and engineering principles to solve problems in the design, production and preparation of packaged products for distribution.

Braña was the first Filipino Certified Professional in Packaging; the first Filipino and Asian to receive a prestigious award in the packaging community in the United States and worldwide – of being elected to the US Packaging Hall of Fame. He is a Filipino Packaging Professional for more than 48 years and was President of G- Packaging Technology Partners, Inc. He was a Certified Member of the Institute of Packaging UK. He served as Director for Packaging for more than 28 years at Riviana Foods. He was Consultant, Director and Manager of many other companies – including S.C. Johnson, Procter and Gamble and Hunt- Wesson Foods among others.

He graduated his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology in 1957 and his Secondary and Elementary Education from ̽����ѡ in 1950. He had several Committee Memberships and Chairmanships in ̽����ѡ and was a Regional Representative to ̽����ѡAAI in America and Canada from 1999 to 2002. He was an adviser of ̽����ѡAAI of Houston, Texas from 1980 to 1994

Braña left a legacy of wisdom to the Packaging Engineering Department, the College of Engineering, and ̽����ѡ. Engineer Bernie Cangrejo, Chairperson of the ̽����ѡ Packaging Engineering Department, expressed gratitude for Dr. Braña. He said that “Dr.Braña was a very generous person and always looks on the needs and concerns of our department and the University at large”. Cangrejo is expected to oversee everything that Dr. Braña started at the ̽����ѡ Packaging Institute.

“He has a real concern for the College of Engineering and the University; we meet oftentimes during BOT meetings and he would ask me, ‘How is the development of our computer system? Engr. Jeriel Militar, Chairperson of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Affiliated Renewable Energy Center (AREC) Project Leader recalls. Militar has been a Staff Representative to the Board of Trustees.

For Nica Abaldo, Administrative Officer of the BOT, “Dr.Braña was well respected by all members of the ̽����ѡ Board of Trustees; he always had a lot of inputs”. “He was one of those who warmly welcomed me in 2015 when I was sponsoring an event.”

Dr. Florentino Alerta, Vice President of ̽����ѡ Alumni Association and a Health Officer of Iloilo Mission Hospital commented on Dr. Braña as an “Epitome of a true Christian in action.”