The other Arcellana

MANILA, Philippines—Some other woman could have been relegated to the background, occasionally “dusted off” to be displayed at public events to bask in the reflected glory of a lionized husband.

But while the late Francisco Arcellana might have been a National Artist for Literature, his wife, the former Emerenciana Yuvienco, was never a simple appendage.

In fact, although Franz, as the eminent literary figure was popularly known, was already being hailed a genius on campus at the University of the Philippines (UP), then still based on Padre Faura in Manila, it was Emerenciana who would make history at the state university and even make headlines on her graduation.

Already mother of two graduated in 1948, she graduated with summa cum laude honors for getting a weighted grade average (WGA) of 1.02 (actually 1.018). The grade was just slightly lower than the prewar flat one of Exequiel Sevilla, a mathematics major who became one of the country’s first actuaries.

Arcellana is amused recalling the fuss generated by her accomplishment in 1948, including front page newspaper stories, but also thrilled that the president of the Philippines then, Manuel Roxas, told her, “If you need anything, just come to Malacañang” promising to give her whatever job she wanted.

And his wife, Trinidad, when presented a corsage by the top graduate, said, “Coming from you, it’s a great honor.”

Decades later, the 87-year-old UP professor emeritus is once again amused that her feat is being talked about following the recent graduation of John Gabriel Pelias, 19, another mathematics major, with a WGA of 1.016.

Mother’s joy

While Arcellana herself talks casually about her accomplishment, she admits “my mother (the late Maria Rillo Angeles Yuvienco) was elated” as bouquets filled their home after the newspaper story on the lone summa cum laude of the 1948 UP class, the last graduates before the state university system made Diliman in Quezon city its main campus.

The pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts (AB) in Political Science degree was some kind of detour for Arcellana, who was studying to be a lawyer before World War II broke out. She had already received an Associate in Arts (AA) in Political Science certificate and was in the first semester of freshman law when her plans drastically changed.

The threat of the Japanese invasion not only cut short her law studies but also hastened her marriage to Franz. With the news getting worse every day, she says they were advised “kumuha na kayo ng partner. Ang may boyfriend mag-asawa na.” (Better get yourselves partners. Those with boyfriends should get married.)

At 17, she was told she would be quite vulnerable as the enemies had a liking for young women.

The early part of the war was spent by the couple moving from one family’s house to the other, depending on which area was most at risk from the advancing enemy forces. Eventually, after Manila was declared an Open City, they declared their own “liberation” from in-laws.

After the war, Arcellana did not waste time returning to UP. All thoughts of a law degree, however, had to be abandoned now that she was a wife and mother.

“I just wanted to graduate,” she says though she had to juggle her roles as student and homemaker. “Papunta doon (going to UP), I was a student. Pabalik (going home), I was a housewife” as she would pass by the market after her classes and buy fresh vegetables.

Since she already had an AA and the UP, including its library and other academic resources and facilities, was as badly devastated as the rest of Manila, she decided to “maximize the advantages of my prelaw preparation”, completing the requirements for AB in just three semesters.

She took the normal academic load of six to seven subjects, as well as all the other requirements—physical education, euthenics.

“I learned to swim and dance” in PE, she says. She even played hockey.

She was also active in theater. Before the war, one of her theatrical works earned a rave review from the smitten Franz, published in his column “Art and Life” in the prewar Herald Midweek magazine.

Reading it, her mother angrily declared, “This is not a critique. This is a public marriage proposal.” Arcellana says UP gave her a rounded education, like the Greek education.

One thing she is proud of is that she never chose her professors to maintain her high grades.

“Hindi uso (ang namimili ng professor). Basta sa terror ka napunta, pasensiya ka (it was not the practice then to choose your professors. If you end up with a terror, you have to deal with it),” she says.
Besides, she really did not have the luxury of shopping for lenient instructors. “My schedule (would not allow me to choose). I had to take all my subjects in the morning (because of family obligations),” she says.

She may have made racking up those high grades seem easy (she says, some semesters, they would just draw a straight vertical line from the first subject to the last to show she got a flat one in all subjects, instead of putting a grade beside each course, to save time) but summa cum laude graduates used to be a rarity at the UP.

Arcellana was the only one for class 1948. Some years not a single graduate merited the honors.

With Franz already working, Arcellana says she was his “first scholar, so to speak, because he allowed me to go back to school, supported my needs and even typed and edited my term papers. I owe him a good part of my summa.” Not that she had to pay anything being a university scholar all throughout.

After graduation, the UP immediately hired her—to teach geography. She recalls a university official stating, “Grab her. She can teach anything.”

Though geography seemed a far cry from political science, she was able to relate it to her field, discussing geography in terms of politics, economics, etc.

She could have taken a more lucrative job but Arcellana is proud to have mentored future diplomats, legislators, Supreme Court justices.

Happy choice

She herself was rather inclined toward diplomacy but “my options were limited by my status as a wife and mother. My first duty is to them. (Teaching is) where I can be of greatest service without compromising my children’s and husband’s welfare and happiness.”

Arcellana says, “I thought this the happiest choice for a fulfilling career and a happy life among loved ones.”

She would receive fellowships and scholarships to pursue post-graduate studies overseas. She started her Master of Arts in Political Science at the University of Michigan and Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science at the State University of Iowa, but finished both in the UP primarily because, since she was writing about Philippine politics, the materials she needed were all here.

Throughout her career as a professor she appears to have acquired a reputation as a strict mentor, but never a terror. She says she did not hesitate to give a grade of 1 if someone was truly deserving.

The author and editor of several books, including “The Social and Political Thought of Claro M. Recto” that became bedtime reading for justices and other government officials, she was a member of the UP Board of Regents, dean of the UP Graduate School and president of the UP Faculty Organization, among others.

She was a member of the first UP professors’ delegation to China and a member of the 1985 Philippine delegation to Tripoli, Libya, where she met a young leader named Moammar Gadhafi. She would return to Libya in 1988 as head of the Philippine delegation of professors.

Despite her headline-grabbing achievement, Arcellana said her kids rarely asked for help with school work. The children, instead, read voraciously, making the most of the family’s extensive book collection.

Her six children all went to UP, two graduating magna cum laude and two finishing cum laude. “We did not know they were graduating with honors,” she says.

Her WGA was hardly mentioned in the family although other members of the Class of 1948 were calling her “Summa” instead of her real name, probably because they have forgotten what it is, she laughingly adds.

Arcellana, who gives occasional lectures at UP, is currently working on a book on indigenous peoples of the Philippines.