This commencement address was delivered by Congressman Roman Romulo, representative of the Lone District of Pasig, during the 27th UA&P Graduation Rites held on August 21, 2022 at the PICC.
…A pleasant afternoon to all of you!
Not since World War II has life—not only in the Philippines but globally—has been so disrupted. Although we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all hopeful, and there are good signs we are about to turn a corner. Now, more than ever, the motto of UA&P must be lived by each one of us – unity between faith and reason, unity between religion and life, as well as unity with each other – Unitas!
By this graduation ceremony, the UA&P has fulfilled its role to form individuals who are professionally competent, creative, and enterprising, who have the passion and desire to promote the common good. Actually, listening to our speaker earlier, Mr. Juan Miguel de Leon, when he was pointing out to his fellow graduates that soon they will be at a crossroads, [with] many choices to make, I was reminded of my stint when I was still the chairperson of the [House] Committee on Higher and Technical education. During that time, I had the opportunity to visit many of our universities and colleges from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. And to be honest, to be frank with everyone, especially to Mr. de Leon, who had spoken earlier, the Filipino has talent. Dr. Villegas and I, with Dr. Stan, were talking about this earlier. Pagdating sa abilidad, ang Pilino—walang duda—pinakamagaling. Pero minsan po, magtatanong talaga tayo. Bakit lagi nating sinasabi [na] magaling ang mga Pilipino—ang dami nating OFWs, in fact, pinag-aagawan ang OFWs natin—pero bakit hanggang ngayon [ay] third-world country pa rin tayo? Why, to this day, does it seem like we have not gotten our act together?
Based on my experience when I visited different universities and colleges, talking to college graduates all over the Philippines pre-pandemic, it seems to me that if there is one thing that Filipinos must improve on is having confidence in one’s self. I’m not talking about arrogance; [confidence is] just belief in one’s self. Alam n’yo po, kahit saan ako pumunta… kahit sino po ang kausap kong estudyante—mayaman, mahirap—pagdating sa talino po, alam po nila ang pinag-uusapan nila. ‘Yun naman po ang totoo. Pero minsan, ‘pag hindi na natin kasama ang ating mga kaklase, when we are no longer in the company of those we are familiar with, it seems that we turn into a different people. It seems insecurities start creeping up. It seems that we feel that when we are before other people, especially kung [sila ay] maputi, matangkad, dayuhan, akala po natin mas magaling na po [sila] sa atin. Pero time and again, it has been shown that Filipinos are better. Kelangan lang po talaga natin [ay] kumpiyansa, confidence in one’s self.
Dr. Torralba made mention earlier of a grand uncle of mine, Carlos P. Romulo. After World War II, he was sent by the Philippine government as our representative in the formation of the United Nations. At that time, the Philippines was relatively unknown; we were not a superpower. But Carlos P. Romulo and his delegation, when they went to San Francisco (where the assembly was held at that time), they told themselves, “Pagdating natin dito, kelangan makilala rin ang Pilipinas. Kelangan, kahit papaano, kahit hindi naman tayo world power, marinig nila kung ano naman ang nasa isip at puso ng bawat Pilipino.” When he went to the United Nations, in every possible debate that Filipinos including CPR (Carlos P. Romulo) could stand up, they stood up and gave the view from the Philippine perspective. It came to a point that other superpowers were suddenly saying, “What is the Philippines? Who is that short person who keeps on standing up?” In fact, the Russian representative then, [Andrei Vishinsky], stood up, went to the microphone, and told the body, “What is this small man from a small country doing here in the United Nations, telling us what to do, giving his point of view?” But Carlos P. Romulo, despite that insult, stood up before the body, [and] also declared, “It is the duty of the little Davids of this world to sling the [pebbles] of truth in the eyes of blustering Goliaths such as you.” Because of that, Carlos P. Romulo became the first Asian president of the United Nations.
I mentioned this story simply because hearing earlier about the possible choices one must make as a graduate, again, graduates, you have no problem. You have been educated holistically in one of our best schools. But what is needed is confidence in yourselves. Know that you can face anyone, anywhere. You may not have all the answers immediately, but so will the other party. No one is all-knowing, so be assured that with your background, with the education given to you by your school, you will be able to face anybody. In fact, during the pandemic, I’m reminded of another story for those who are interested or those who follow the explorations of NASA. If you will recall, NASA has always been trying to conquer Mars. They’ve been trying to explore Mars, but [it was] always unsuccessful. In March 2021, they were able to land the Mars Perserverance, and the chief engineer was a Filipino. That Filipino, in fact, graduated from St. Louis [University]-Laboratory High School in Baguio, but it was his interest in space exploration that led him to the JPL [Jet Propulsion Laboratory] of NASA, and he is now the chief engineer. That is why they successfully landed in Mars.
So makikita po natin, ang Pilipino ay matalino talaga. Ang kailangan lang po natin ay kumpiyansa sa sarili, na kahit ano pong bagay ay kaya natin. Hindi lang naman po dahil sa matalino ang Pilipino kaya lamáng tayo. Meron pa rin po tayong isang trait na, para sa kin—hindi dahil sa Pilipino ako—lamáng na lamáng po tayo kahit kanino: tayo po ay marunong umunawa sa isa’t isa. In fact, that’s why we have a lot of OFWs. Alam po ninyo, nung isang araw, umikot po ako sa distrito ko sa lungsod ng Pasig…. Paglabas ko sa isa kong binisitang wake, may lumapit po sa akin na isang babae. More or less po ang age nya, mga 25 to 30 years old. Lumapit po sya sa akin. Ang sabi po n’ya sa akin, “Congressman, yung tatay ko, may sakit. Matagal na po kaming humihingi ng tulong sa gobyerno. Pwede ho naming malaman ano’ng nangyari?” Sinagot ko po s’ya. Sabi ko, “Pwede kong makuha yung number mo? Pwede kong makuha ‘yung pangalan mo? Papatawagin kita sa opisina para matulungan ka kaagad.” Alam po ninyo kung ano ang isinagot n’ya sa akin? Instead na sabihin na lang sa akin, “Sige po. Intayin ko po ‘yung tawag,” hindi po eh. Nagulat nga po ako eh. Ang sabi po n’ya sa akin, “Cong[ressman], pati ‘yung mga kapitbahay ko, ‘yung may sakit rin ‘yung kanilang mga magulang, kasama ko?” Sabi ko, “Ah, tingnan po natin. Depende —“ Sabi n’ya, “Hindi ho. Hintayin ko na lang ho ng turn ko. Hindi naman ho ‘ata fair na nakita ko lang kayo, mauuna na ako.” Alam po ninyo, dahil sa mga bagay, sa mga sitwasyon, na ganito, talagang magkakatiwala ka sa mga Pilipino eh.
Alam ko, kakatapos lang natin ng isang political exercise. Dito sa political exercise [na ito], kahit papaano, nahati po talaga ‘yung isipan [at] damdamin ng marami. Marami nga ho—sabi nga kanina, chairperson ako ng committee on basic education and culture—marami po akong sulat na nakukuha. Ang sinasabi nga ‘yung tungkol sa GMRC [na] sana papaandar na. Bakit? Sabi sa akin, “Alam mo, Congressman, kelangan na ‘yun eh. Kasi sa totoo lang, parang ang mga bata ngayon, mahilig na sa Tiktok, mahilig na sa cancel culture.” Pero sa totoo po, maaaring merong ganun pero umikot po kayo. Tingnan po ninyo. Our faith in the Filipino youth is still strong. Makikita po natin, ang kabataang Pilipino po, sa totoo lang, maayos talaga po. Ang kailangan lang [ay] gabay at tamang payo galing sa mga nakakatanda.
To our parents, who are also here this afternoon, as earlier stated, this afternoon is also for you, your sacrifices, your efforts in order to assure that your children, nephews, nieces, come to this day, have borne fruit. Pero sa ating mga magulang, sa totoo rin po, lahat ng hirap [at] sakripisyo po ninyo was well worth the wait. Ang totoo po, kahit saan po ako pumunta, kahit saan pong unibersidad o kolehiyo na pumunta, kahit ano pa ang sabihin natin sa kabataang Pilipino, iisa ang sigurado ko sa kanila: yung pasalamat po nila sa kanilang mga magulang ay hindi mawawalay. Talagang andun po. Alam po nila ‘yung sakripisyo po ninyo. Ang totoo po, siguro before the pandemic, ‘yung huli ko pong na-attend na graduation na face to face, pagkatapos ko pong magsalita, sumunod naman po sa akin dun ‘yung valedictory address. Nung tinawag po [yung kanilang class valedictorian] nung kanilang university president, pumunta po s’ya sa entablado. Pagpunta po sa entablado, bago po s’ya magsalita, kumuha po ng medalya ‘yung university president at isinabit po sa kanya (class valedictorian). Pagkalagay po sa kanya, parang sinabi sa kanya [ng presidente] na pwede nang magsalita. Instead po na magsalita, ang ginawa po ng valedictorian, bumaba po ng stage, pumunta po sa likod, hinanap po ang nanay at tatay n’ya. At ‘yung nanay at tatay po n’ya ‘yung iniakyat n’ya sa entablado. At ‘yung buong speech po n’ya, napakasimple lang. Sinabi n’ya, “Maraming, maraming salamat sa nanay at tatay ko. Hindi man sila nakapagtapos ng kolehiyo, sa pagtatapos ko na ito na valedictorian po ako, parang sila na rin po ang nagtapos na veldictorian.” Ganyan po talaga ang kabataang Pilipino. Kaya sa mga magulang po, sa mga mas nakakatanda, wala po tayong dapat ikabahala. Ang susunod na henerasyon po, they are ready and they are competent, as stated in the last SONA. Because of our graduates, the state of the nation is indeed sound.
Mabuhay po ang ating graduates!#
Banner photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash.
Related articles:
Two and a half and beyond: Valedictory address 2022
The courage to dialogue: UA&P President’s Greetings to the Graduates of 2022
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