For Roberto Laurel, president of the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU), the partnership between the school and Swatch Philippines was a collaboration of two brands committed to building a legacy of quality and sterling reputation.
Pride and joy were written on Laurel’s face as he told his audience of university officials, faculty members and students, and a few guests, “This watch is really the fruit of our labor and our efforts and the labor and efforts of those who came before us.”
The watch was the special-edition Swatch, commissioned to mark LPU’s 60th anniversary. Swiss-made to description, it is a Swatch X-large watch with a face in Lyceum red and a translucent plastic case. The silicone strap, also in red, bears the LPU logo and the numeral 60.
Laurel said, “I would like to think we own this watch and because we own it, and because of our efforts, we will be passing it on to the next generation (of Lyceum students).”
He said the launch of the special LPU Swatch was a “celebration of our achievement.”
“Quality and (a good) reputation are the most precious legacies we can pass on to our students and those who will be entering our corridors in the future,” he added.
Laurel said the LPU Swatch was symbolic of the school’s achievements.
Lucky 13th
The LPU president congratulated the university community “because you have made Lyceum what it is today, and you have given your best. I know you will give your best tomorrow,” a sentiment carried on the Swatch box that declared: “Time to Commit.”
Lyceum is the 13th school to have a Swatch watch, after Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, St. Scholastica’s College, Immaculate Conception Academy, Xavier University, St. Theresa’s College, Assumption College, St. Paul University, San Beda College and Miriam College.
Laurel would later be rendered almost speechless when Swatch Philippines president Virgie S. Ramos presented him a photograph of his grandfather, the late President Jose P. Laurel, with her, at a very young age, and her parents.
“I am excited to learn we go back a long way,” an emotional Laurel said.
The late President himself founded in 1952 the school which, together with the University of the Philippines, would acquire a reputation as a bastion of the nationalist movement. When the president passed on in 1959, he was succeeded by his son Sotero, father of the current Lyceum president.
The school that a Philippine president founded would expand from its base inside the Walled City, Intramuros, to the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas.
Laurel told Ramos that the old photograph would be preserved in the university archive as part of its history.
“The connection between Swatch and LPU is now complete,” he said. “This (the photograph) is priceless.”
Laurel took advantage of the occasion, held in the ballroom of Lyceum’s spanking new Bayleaf (English form of his family name) Hotel to give guests a quick tour of the latest addition to the Intramuros complex.
The LPU president described the establishment as a “3-4-5 hotel”—three-star hotel with four-star amenities and five-star service.
Making old new again
Built on the site of an old office building, one of the few multi-storied edifices in Intramuros, and integrating the structure in the new architectural design, Bayleaf is both laboratory and showcase for the school’s travel and tourism and culinary arts students.
Professionals and students work side by side to ensure a stay at the hotel or a visit to one of its food outlets is an experience worth repeating.
The view from the roof deck is not to be missed. Viewed from several meters above the ground, Manila is transformed, almost regaining the old glory that led the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to call it “the noble and ever loyal city.”
The Manila Cathedral and churches inside Intramuros, the City Hall and other historical city landmarks all look magnificent lit only by streetlights.
On the sea side, lights from ships anchored away from the port and cranes used in the South Harbor draw a magical silhouette of the famed Manila Bay.
The opening of the Bayleaf makes LPU’s 60th year truly a milestone to be marked in a special way, like having an exclusive Swatch.