ACUP 2023 embraces ‘synodality’; AdU delivers largest delegation

By Christian Joshua D. Corcuera

Delegates from Adamson University attended the 2023 National Conference of the Association of Catholic Universities of the Philippines (ACUP) in Baguio City last February 23 to 25.

The delegation from AdU, which was recognized by ACUP as the largest for this year, had a total of 23 participants which include administrators, executive officers from The Adamson Chronicle, the Adamson University Student Government, and the Campus Ministry Office.

The association of 36 universities across the archipelago opened with the theme, “Embracing the Spirit of Synodality: Communion, Participation, and Mission.”

Archbishop Charles John Brown, Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican to the Philippines, delivered a keynote address on the first day of the conference. He noted that the Philippines is ranked 36th globally and 2nd in Southeast Asia in terms of college graduates.

“It is a success story largely

POLSCI/P1

The late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was top on the list among the speaker’s examples of officials who best support his argument. In fact, Marcos Sr. studied law in the University of the Philippines and garnered a 92.35% grade in the 1939 bar examination.

The 23-year-old graduating student argued, “We have Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who was a bar topnotcher, but was nevertheless one of the most despicable human beings to ever live.” He added that in spite of legal experience as a lawyer, previous chief executive Rodrigo Roa Duterte, known for his infamous drug war campaign, contributed to by the Catholic Universities of your nation,” Brown remarked.

Despite this, the nuncio acknowledged that most students attending higher education are economically privileged.

“We need to challenge ourselves to bring young people from [Classes] D and E to Catholic Universities,” Brown said. “We need to think creatively and innovatively how to help them,” he continued, referring to youth from the lower and lower-middle economic classes.

Meanwhile, Fr. Daniel Pilario, Director of the Center for Research and Development of AdU, discussed the mission of Philippine Catholic Universities towards humanization in education through research.

Consequently, the main highlight of the second day of the conference is the community engagement activity. In the said event, participants were transported to Sablan, a municipality in Benguet, to interact with the still blatantly violated human rights. locals of the area.

“If Bongbong was able to get a college degree, do you think it would change anything? It will not. Because college degrees are not a deterrent to the most violent, to the most corrupt politicians,” the speechmaker asserted.

Meanwhile, Jayvee Macapagal, also a Political Science student, agreed with Baniqued and asked, “How about the people who may not have the privilege to attain a college degree? How would they be represented in the government?” He maintained that the Filipino people must ensure their qualification to vote as well.

There, local children clad in traditional garments performed a traditional dance, while elders offered products as pasalubong such as ube jam, brooms, chocolate tablea, among others.

On the final day, some participants watched the street dance performances of the 2023 Panagbenga Festival in the morning. After lunch, Fr. Marcelo V. Manimtim, University President, read the message of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for ACUP 2023.

“The Church has a mission to evangelize,” Manimtim read. “To be witness in proclaiming the word of God, in word and in deed,” he continued.

The Catholic Church, which already has over 1.34 billion followers globally as of 2019, continues to evangelize people by sharing the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus Christ to others.

“We respond to the call of Pope Francis to rediscover the synodal nature of our church by communion, participation,

On the contrary, John Michael Concha from the same program supported the necessity of bachelor’s degree for politicians. He said that it takes a lot of courage, knowledge, and wisdom to lead and it is not easy to study the constitution.

Ultimately, Baniqued was announced champion of the said competition, followed by Macapagal and Concha as the 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up, respectively.

The said event was a constructive speech contest conducted by AdU-PULITIKA, echoing socio-political issues in the Philippines which showcased the viewpoint of 13 Adamsonians through free speech.