SAN JOSE, Antique – Freemasons of Hamtik Lodge No. 76 in San Jose, Antique have conferred the “Hiram Award” upon lawyer Nery G. Duremdes. The award is the highest a freemason can receive from his lodge.
Duremdes was cited for his leadership and constant presence in lodge activities. He rallied the brotherhood into planning and constructing the Antique Masonic Center which was completed in 2004. The Center has become a prominent landmark in the capital town of San Jose.
The Justice Calixto Zaldivar basketball league that Duremdes helped organize has also become a byword in the local sports scene.
Duremdes is a cum laude alumnus of Central Philippine University (1972). He became a professorial lecturer teaching civil and mercantile law at the same university. He has also written books, legal treatises, and articles.
Duremdes was a regional trial court judge in Antique from 1996 until his retirement in 2016. He became provincial administrator of the Province of Antique in 2017, a position that he holds until the present./PN
