QUALITY EDUCATION AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

Guest of Honor, University of the East Mid-Year Graduation Ceremony, 9:00 am, 1 December 2003, UE Recto Campus

"Chairman Panfilo Domingo, Acting President Bartazar Endriga, Dear Parents, Distinguished Guests, and most especially the Graduates of this acclaimed university, Ladies and Gentlemen, Magandang Umaga Po!

Isa pong napakalaking karangalan para sa inyong lingkod ang mabigyan ng pagkakataon na makaharap kayong lahat sa araw na ito. Mahalaga sa akin ang okasyong ito hindi lamang dahil ang UE ay aking Alma Mater, higit sa lahat, malapit sa puso ko ang mga kabataang tulad ninyo na nagsumikap upang makapagtapos ng pagaaral.

Looking at you today brings back to me the memories of my youth. Not too long ago, I, like most of you, was an aspiring but underprivileged student. My daily concerns include not only my grades but also my daily sustenance and saving enough for books and other school requirements.

Despite these hardships, my college days in UE were among the most memorable.

Marami ng mga pagbabago ang nangyari sa UE mula noong aking graduation, way back in 1971.

Kung dati ay kaunti lamang ang mga sasakyan sa kalsada at mga establisimiento sa paligid ng University Belt, ngayon ay napapaligiran na ito ng commercial buildings at masikip na vehicular traffic. Dati ay nakakaya pa namin ang paglalakad mula sa aming apartment papasok ng unibersidad. Ngayon siguro ay hindi na ito kaaya-aya sa inyo dahil sa baha, usok at iba pang polusyon sa kalsada.

But certainly, the University of the East had progressed in time. Through the decades, the University of the East has earned for itself a place among the best universities in the country today.

Since the founding of our beloved university, shortly after World War II, the University of the East has trained 348 top placers in the CPA Board Examinations, including 29 in first and 50 in second and third places. UE has likewise dominated the Dental Board Examinations with 600 topnotchers, 42 in first place. Meanwhile, the College of Engineering has produced 11 first placers, 9 second placers, and 7 third placers in the Engineering Board Examinations. The College of Law has 44 graduates among the top bar examinees.

For these, I stand proud of my Alma Mater.

These are just some of the many accomplishments of UE in the past 50 years. And the legacy of excellence and quality education continues in all of us, sons and daughters of this great institution. Because I believe that a university is only as good as its graduates.

As you each receive your diplomas, bear in mind the accompanying unwritten responsibilities that goes with it. And that is the responsibility to carry on the quest for excellence, which started in this school, in everything you do. With hard work and guidance from our God, I am confident that you will reach your goals.

What I am today, I owe to my teachers in my hometown of Pola, Oriental Mindoro, and my dedicated college professors who developed and honed my skills and values needed to succeed in the highly competitive world of broadcast journalism.

To my elementary and highschool teachers, I owe my social conscience, my deep compassion for the condition of the poor. Having grown up with them, i have appreciated their simple desires and their undying hope for a better tomorrow.

At U.E., my eyes were opened to the injustices and inequalities of this world. I learned from my professors that poverty is not a natural state but the failure of government to distribute equitably the fruits of labor and enterprise.

During my college days, protest actions and violence were prevalent in the streets. This was the period of the “First Quarter Storm”. But even at a young age, back when communist insurgency movements were at their peak, I rejected the idea that equality be won by violence and by force of arms.

U.E. education has taught me that individual liberty, free choice, and self-discipline are the better course to self-fulfillment, and happiness. prosperity certainly awaits those who persevere.

Nasabi ko ang lahat ng ito upang ipaabot sa bawat isa sa inyo na ang kahalagahan ng edukasyon ay hindi nasusukat sa grado, ito ay naipapakita sa prinsipyo at integridad ng inyong pagkatao.

I am happy to know that moral and civic values remains to be an integral part of U.E. education.

I am, like most Filipinos, alarmed by the decline of public ethics and national morale. Despite high-minded statements about eradicating graft and corruption in government and society, these major problems persist. The desire for personal gain wins over the imperatives of public good.

It need not be this way. The Filipino nation is a talented race. We, individually and collectively, have shown that we can achieve our goals. We can overcome adversities by summoning our spiritual strength. On those momentous occasions, the Filipino youth were at the forefront.

Kayong mga kabataan ang tunay na yaman ng ating bayan. Kayo ang langis na nagpapatakbo ng makina ng ating pamahalaan, ekonomiya, komersyo, at ng bawat tahanan. Nasa inyong mga kamay nakasalalay ang kinabukasan ng ating Inang Bayan. Ang mga kamay ding iyan ang papatag at aayos sa lubak-lubak na daan na tatahakin natin bilang isang sambayanan sa hinaharap.

Indeed, the youth have always been the finest assets of our nation throughout the history of our country. We dare not forget that today we are free and we are enjoying the fruits of more than a century of freedom and democracy, thanks to the supreme sacrifices that the youth of this country made.

Today, we as a nation face a different kind of challenge. Our enemies are no longer foreign colonizers. We are beleaguered today by the problem of low morale and national pessimism. We portray ourselves as less than what we really are. We like to harp on our deficiencies rather than our strengths.

The educational system plays an important role in finding a solution to this social problem. Our schools should aim to provide spiritual re-education to the Filipino youth. We should instill in our youth the basic values of patriotism, social consciousness, and civic responsibility. Schools should also prepare the youth for productive employment either as employees or entrepreneurs. Either way, work is what gives purpose to daily life.

Those of you who will become employers should regard your good fortune as an opportunity to help others. Allow yourselves to be bridges of God’s grace for others. I was given a helping hand when I started my career. In turn, I do my best to help as many young people get started in life. Ang pagtutulungan ay isang kaugaliang Pilipinong dapat nating panatilihin.

This graduation ceremony is made even more significant by the fact that it comes at a critical time in the history of our country. This is a time when majority of our population LIVE below the poverty level and the government is challenged from all sides.

Bagamat masama ang kondisyon ng ating ekonomiya at politika, nagawa ninyong magtagumpay sa inyong pag-aaral.

Do not forget that you owe your individual success to your respective families. What you are today is reflective of the kind of families you have. Your diplomas bearing your respective names are also your family’s certificate of success. Kaya sa lahat ng mga magulang na kasama natin ngayon, pinapaabot ko rin sa inyo ang aking respeto at taos-pusong pagbati.

So allow me to pose a strong challenge to each of you: “Never compromise your principles, take an active part in society, keep critical eye on your public servants and remain vigilant so that we in public service are constantly reminded of our public duties and moral obligations”.

I believe that it is the government’s sacred responsibility to create and maintain an environment of peace, justice, progress, productivity, and responsibility in our communities, especially for our youth. But you have to do your part.

Many solutions to our recurring national problems have been prescribed, but ultimately the required improvement in the lives of our people can only come from the united resolve and commitment of the government and its constituents to which you belong.

Thus, it is high time that we re-evaluate our standards of leadership. We need a leader who inspires, not a leader who inflicts despair and hopelessness. We need a leader who listens then decides, and not a leader who dictates without considering the common will of the people. We need a leader who can heal the wounds of our divided nation, not one who sows division among our people.

Manguna nawa sana kayong mga kabataan upang makakita tayo ng lider na tunay na kakatawan sa puso at damdamin ng bawat Pilipino.

May you be the catalyst of change for the betterment of our society and instruments of development and sustainable progress for all of US.

Before I end my speech, I would like announce that beginning next school year, the “Kabayan Noli De Castro Foundation” will sponsor two full scholarship grants to poor but deserving students, one each from the College of Business Administration and the College of Arts and Sciences. Ito ay isa lamang patunay na ang inyong Kabayan ay hindi nakakalimot sa kanyang pinanggalingan.

Ang pagtutulungan ay isang katangian nating mga Pilipino. Kung kayo naman ang palarin sa hinaharap, huwag sana ninyo ipagkait ang inyong tulong para sa nangangailangan nating kababayan.

It is often asked, Am I my brother’s keeper? My answer is a resounding “yes”! We are all our countrymen’s keepers.

Tayong lahat ay mga Kabayan, at ang sama-sama nating pagsisikap ang tutugon sa mga suliranin na kinakaharap ng ating bayan.

Again, Thank you very much and best of luck to all the graduates.

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