It was the eve of World War II. The country looked forward to the second election under the 1935 Constitution. President Manuel L. Quezon was advocating a partyless democracy, causing apprehensions among the youth
on his true political intentions.

In October 1939, the second semester of the academic year 1939-1940 of the College of Law, University of the Philippines, started with the feeling that history would soon be made. It was then when some juniors and sophomores of the College were moved to marshall unaffiliated scholars and student leaders into an organization that would be held together by close fraternal bonds. They aspired to be a relevant factor on campus, and in national affairs. The immediacy of their resolve was spurred by the desire to mobilize the studentry and place themselves in the forefront of the effort to dampen what they perceived was
a threatened dictatorship about to be born.

It was in this context that the "Association of the Philippine Barristers" was conceived. The Greek letter equivalents of its initials, Alpha Phi Beta, were adopted as its name. The group complied with University requirements for registration. By November 1939, the Constitution and By-Laws of the fraternity were drafted and filed with the University Council Committee on Student Organizations and Activities (UCCSOA). Shortly thereafter, the UCCSOA granted official recognition to the fraternity.

The Alpha Phi Beta was born. The fraternity and its founders were ready
to make, not merely find, their place in the sun.