I was surprised when I received an email that I am one of the Distinguished Alumni Awardees of the University of the Philippines for 2011.  I did not expect this as I have this idea that such awards are bestowed upon senior individuals who have done much for the society.  I just barely graduated from UP more than a decade ago.  Awardees, I thought, are normally retired.  To think, I am just in the middle of my career.  Besides, UP produces a lot of very good graduates known not only in the country and also in other parts of the world.


 
Well I flew to the Philippines to attend the ceremony.  It was indeed quite an honour to be one of the awardees. No less than the Vice-President of the Philippines Jejomar Binay was named Most Distinguished Alumnus.  Four prominent individuals were honoured with Distinguished Award for Lifetime Achievement—biochemist and neuroscientist Dr Baldomero Olivera, National Artist Pitoy Moreno, visual artist Araceli Limcaco-Dans, and dance artist Corazon Generoso-Ińigo.


 




 
I heard that choosing the awardees was an arduous task.  There were more than a hundred nominations.  It was shortlisted to 70 with a good distribution from different fields.  Normally 20 are named.  This year 39 were awarded Distinguished Alumni Awardees in their respective fields.  There were six from the UP College of Medicine including myself.  They were mostly my professors.  Dr Marita Reyes was my Dean when I entered.  Other awardees were Health USec Teodora Herbosa, pediatric surgeons Josefina Almonte and Francisca Tolete-Velcek and psychiatrist June Caridad Pagaduan-Lopez.  I found New-York-based Dr Velcek very motherly.  She even ‘adopted’ me right there and then.  Her other ‘adopted’ son, Vienna-based Ecuadorian-German pediatrician Carlos Reck flew in to witness the event.
 
The other awardees from other colleges and UP campuses were just as impressive—Science Secretary Mario Montejo,  Science USec Fortunato de la Peńa, Ilocos Sur Vice-Governor Deogracias Victor Savellano, broadcast journalist Luchi Cruz-Valdez, social activist Teresita Ang-See, music artist Grace Nono and a number of unsung heroes who have served the country and their communities in a number of noble ways.  I was happy to meet my co-TOYM awardees Prof Olivera and Grace Nono.






 
The alumni affair was a string of events held for three days.  First, there was a lovely dinner reception hosted by UP President Alfredo Pascual at the Executive House.  It was my first time to be in this place though I have been seeing it during Diliman days.  It was also my first time to meet many high-ranking UP officials and the other awardees.  My mother who flew in from the US joined me.  I met two impressive new graduates of UP—Miss Philippines Universe Shamcey Supsup who finished Architecture magna cum laude and topped the board exam, and John Gabriel Pelias who graduated summa cum laude with a general weighted average (GWA) of 1.016, which appears to be the highest garnered in UP history after World War II.  Very impressive indeed.








 
The following day was an interesting UP Alumni Council Meeting. The UP President, UPAA President Gladys Tiongco and Director of Alumni Affairs Jose Wendell Capili led the event.  It was attended by many prominent individuals who advice UPAA including Chief Justice Davide, Solita Monsod and deans and heads of UP units.  There were heated debates on numerous issues which is quite healthy for university democracy.  The meeting was followed by the UPAA Chapters Meeting. As I am also the President of UPAA-UK, I gave my report to the UPAA Board.  I met most of the organization heads of other alumni groups locally and abroad.
 

The Grand Alumni Homecoming was the highlight of the series of events.  It was a fabulous night with all the performances from many UP talents.  Diamond and Golden Jubilarians were awarded medallions.  Ruby and Silver Jubilarians entertained the crowd with presentations.  They reminisced the martial law years as it was the height when they were at UP.  This was the night we were given our awards.  VP Binay gave the response on behalf of the awardees.
 
Looking back to my time at UP Diliman and Manila, the university has gone far.  There is still however a lot of space for the university to grow and develop. Hopefully with the vision of the new UP President and the support of an enthusiastic faculty and alumni, he will be able to steer the university to newer heights at the same time addressing national issues while becoming a globally competitive university.   
 

 

 

Munting Nayon News Magazine