This past week has been a very heavy but fulfilling one. It started with the launching of the 17th Cebu Press Freedom Week at the Social Hall of the Cebu Capitol Building. The following day brought me to the Samuel Maclintock Hall of the Cebu Normal University for the Forum on Islam: Tolerance and Peacemaking by the Ahmmadiya Lahore Islamic Society based in Ohio. This is the second of a series of fora on tolerance this year. The first was held last February 2011 at the UP Cebu Conference Hall. The society also has contracted me through the endorsement of Prof. Henry Espiritu of the Social Sciences Division of UP Cebu to translate to Cebuano the English translation of the Qur’an with commentary. It’s a very challenging task but very informative. Midweek, the cluster editors of the Cebu provincial town history project had their final meeting with the project management to discuss the comments and suggestions of the local governments about the manuscripts of their town histories, which were distributed to them. The comments were varied. The hostile ones did not accept the town history, claiming that the account was based on hearsay. They declared that they would write their own. However, they did not specify which parts they did not like. To recall, at the start of the project many of the town mayors did not endorse any person from their town to write the town’s history, so other people who were non-residents but were interested and could write were accepted. Others corrected some data like names, dates and terms. A few did not have any comments but they still have to put it into writing.
The most interesting event of the week was the visit of UP president Alfredo Pascual to UP Cebu last Friday to commemorate the first anniversary of UP Cebu’s autonomy (Sept. 24) and as part of the Investiture activities of Pascual as UP’s 20th president. Friday morning brought UP Cebu constituents to the site of the groundbreaking of a new extension campus at the SRP and then back to the main campus in Lahug for a cultural program (I could not attend since it was my schedule for dialysis). The afternoon program opened with a Parangal for the five faculty and one staff retirees and awards for those who have served the university for 25 years. There were three retirees from the Social Sciences Division—Prof. Felisa Etemadi, Dr. Rosario Ballescas, and myself; and two from the Management division—Dr. Neri Gantuangko and lawyer Lourdes Barcenas. Speaking on behalf of the retirees, Prof. Etemadi gave a very entertaining recall of her experiences in UP Cebu focusing on her three loves—the campus, the students, and the working environment. Two consultations with president Pascual followed the program, first with the students and the faculty, and second with the alumni. The alumni consultation extended to an intimate dinner at the Cebu Country Club. UP High alumni discussed the history, status and their proposals for the high school’s future. Their passion was so infectious that even president Pascual commented that he was being infected by it.
The strongest punch in the alumni consultation with the president was given by Dr. Romero Villar, former president of the UP Alumni Association Cebu Chapter Foundation Inc. He stressed that the essence of a UP education is to give back to the people. He bemoaned that 70 percent of the graduates from the UP College of Medicine leave the country. He commended the recent move of the UP College of Medicine to require students enrolled in any of the health sciences program to render service for five years after graduation, and if they decide to leave the country without rendering service, they have to pay for the state subsidy they enjoyed as a student. On my part, I am very proud to know that many of my former students both in UP Cebu high school and college have not left the country and are serving depressed communities. On the other hand, many well-placed alumni are paying it forward, too, through scholarships, training, consultations, civic and apostolic works. For us retirees, we continue to pay forward with the institutions we have long served and the larger community that needs our expertise and experience.
We would like to thank the Parangal committee for putting up the recognition program, the diligence in finding and mounting on video our old pictures, our colleagues, the staff and students for making our long stay in UP Cebu memorable. For president Pascual, we wish him all the best in his administration. For UP Cebu, we wish a smooth and clear transition from a college to a constituent university and more exciting programs and activities as it approaches its centennial in 2018.