Today, we remember with fondness and gratitude Dr. Placido “Cidito” Ledesma Mapa, Jr., who passed away on May 5, 2019 at the age of 86. He was the founding chairman of the Board of Trustees of UA&P Foundation, Inc. (UA&PFI).
Jubilee Countdown Launch, Celestino Dizon Auditorium.
Dr. Placido L. Mapa, Jr., Ph.D. (Harvard), was the one and only Chairman of the Center for Research and Communication (CRC) and its successor institution, the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), until his demise. Throughout these 52 years, CRC and UA&P benefited immensely from the wisdom, prudence, and professionalism of Dr. Mapa, who was well known for his having been an institution builder in the Philippines. With his great attention to details, insistence on good corporate governance, and admirable people-oriented skills, he worked with the administrative staff and faculty of CRC-UA&P in developing a corporate culture that is based on unity of purpose and integrity in action. He shared with the people of CRC-UA&P his rich experiences in building other long-lasting institutions in the Philippines, e.g., the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), of which he was the second Director General; the Development Bank of the Philippines, of which he was the Governor; the Parents for Education Foundation (PAREF), of which he was among the founding parents; and of the Philippine National Bank, of which, at the age of 52, he was the youngest President.
We at CRC and UA&P are fortunate to have had Dr. Mapa leading and guiding us through the difficult times of the last quarter of the twentieth century when the Philippines was known as “the sick man of Asia.” He always had a positive outlook as we addressed some of the economic difficulties of sustaining the work of the then fledgling think tank, CRC. Despite the many other responsibilities with the government and private institutions he was heading, he always had time to help in putting us in touch with the right individuals and institutions. At the very start of CRC as an economics think tank, his professional expertise, especially in the field of money and banking, which was his specialization in his doctoral studies, was of great help to our economists. His high level of prestige in the banking sector opened many doors to us, both in the content and quality of our research and in our obtaining the necessary funding for our operations and capital expenditures. As our Chairman, he lent to us his prestige in both the public and private sectors so that we could approach leading business enterprises and foundations for assistance in the research and educational work we were doing.
As he retired from active management positions in the many institutions he helped to build, he devoted more time to his position as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Asia and the Pacific. He actively participated in setting strategic directions for UA&P and formulating policies in all aspects of the governance of our academic institution. He continued to use his well-deserved reputation as a respected government official and top banker to put the people of UA&P in close touch with leading educational, business, and government institutions. Thanks partly to his close connections with the business world, we were able to raise the necessary funding for our continuing expansion of the physical facilities needed for the increasing enrolment in our various academic programs. Dr. Mapa also quietly worked at the sidelines, setting a good example of humility and generous self-giving even when it became physically more difficult for him to attend University activities as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He has accompanied us all the way from the beginnings up to where we are today.
In one of my last conversations with him before he joined his Creator, he expressed very much his desire to be cured from his fatal sickness because, in his words, “We still have much to do in building our next campus in Batangas.” And while he was already in the hospital, he was still concerned about the schedule of our next Board of Trustees meeting. Now that God had wanted to take him to His bosom, we can be comforted by the fact that when we pray to him, as our new intercessor for UA&P, he knows every detail of what we need to continue serving Philippine society through our various educational and research programs. I am sure Cidito, as we fondly called him, will continue to work intensely for us as he did during those 52 years when he was our Chairman.#
Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas is the co-founder of CRC and the vice president of UA&PFI.
Banner photo by Mercedes Bosquet on Unsplash.
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