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Copyright © 2013 by Office of Alumni Relations (OAR) University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) ISSN 2244-5390 (print) • ISSN 2244-5587 (online)5587 All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. editor: Kathleen B. Solon-Villaneza cover design: Lorina Lepon circulation officers: Ma. Theresa Quires Sharina Edullantes
Published by Office of Alumni Relations (OAR) University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu City 6000 PHILIPPINES http://uspfalumnirelations.blogspot.com email: alumnirelations@uspf.edu.ph cc: uspf.alumnirelations@gmail.com phone: (+63)32.414.7773
The Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest is a collection of annual speeches delivered in honor of the founding father on his birthday, August 28 at the Theater for the Performing Arts, University of Southern Philippines Foundation. Included in this maiden issue are those lectures from 2009 to 2013.
Ms. Kathleen B. Solon-Villaneza Director, USPF Alumni Relations
editor’s message page 6 messages of felicitations
Dr. Genaro V. Japos President, IAMURE & PAIR
page 8
Dr. Djuwari Director, STIE Perbanas Surabaya
page 9
Dr. Alicia P. Cabatingan President, USPF
page 10
Mrs. Lourdes D. Jereza Vice President for External Relations, USPF
page 11 keynote speakers’ bionotes page 12 memorial lectures
2009 “The Legacy of Don Agustin M. Jereza” Atty. Eleuterio “Amay” P. Ong Vaño 2010 “The Exemplary Life of Don Agustin M. Jereza ” Atty. Alicia E. Bathan 2011 “Continuing the Legacy” Dr. Lelani Echaves-Paredes 2012 “The Legacy-Builder of Strong Tenets, Don Agustin M. Jereza” Dr. Elsa Suralta 2013 “USP In A Knowledge Industry” Dr. Florian A. Alburo
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Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
Welcome to the maiden collection of speeches on the quintessential life of Don Agustin M. Jereza, founder of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF)! The digest brings together kismets and events in the lives of USPians where the inspiration, vision and lifework of Don Agustin are truly lived. It gives the reader a magnifying lens on how a simple boy became a profound Grand Old Man who founded the University. In a nutshell, Don Agustin built unsullied structures and futures. Education is his lasting legacy (Ong Vaùo 2009). Regardless of economic circumstance, the opportunity to be educated is never nullified (Bathan 2010). The education from a competitive knowledge industry (Alburo 2013) grounded on unblemished tenets (Suralta 2012) is always preferred. It is compassed to know where efforts are focused (Paredes 2011). Exemplified, the five highly esteemed USPian alumni keynote speakers weave the implication of Don Agustin’s life and the education received at USPF to the quality of human life and contribution to the community. Myriad of gratitude to Don Agustin and USPF! Cheers to you, dear readers!
KATHLEEN B. SOLON-VILLANEZA
Director, Alumni Relations University of Southern Phils. Foundation
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Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
I am very happy to convey my message of felicitations to the maiden issue of the Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest with print ISSN 2244-5390 online ISSN 2244-5587 copyright 2013. This publication is a welcome addition to the scientific community for there are few universities in the Philippines that sponsor professorial lectures. The crystal clear and diamond thoughts of Don Agustin through the lecturers allow us to know more about the Grand old Man of the University of Southern Philippines. My fervent hope and prayer that the digest will be translated to video historical presentation for the young generation to appreciate, and will be included in social orientation classes of the university. The ideas can also be integrated in the university’s vision- mission-goals. My warm congratulations to the management of the university particularly the Editor Kathleen B. Solon-Villaneza. I will be happy to circulate the e-copy of the digest to the IAMURE and PAIR members in 70 countries to inspire them of your work.
DR. GENARO V. JAPOS
President, Int’l Assoc. of Multidisciplinary Research (IAMURE) President, Phil. Assoc. of Institutions for Research (PAIR) 8
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I feel highly appreciated to be given an opportunity to write a message for the maiden issue of the Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest. Today, globalization’s positive impact penetrates all aspects of human existence but more specifically on the ease for people to get in touch with others across continents using advanced technology. People in all business, educational, and social levels can now exchange their ideas and share their experiences with a click of a button. The only way to work globally, especially in the systems of education, is to keep up with the advancements of the times. Enhancing international collaboration in educational affairs promotes stronger friendships among universities all over the world. With collaboration, academics are more abreast with the present developments and best practices they can benchmark with. They have better avenues for intellectual discussions that take out geographical boundaries and other development handicaps, more interactions that engage mutual benefits for improvement in a holistic aspect, and more sources of encouragement from colleagues in the global community. There exists today a voluntary obligation to get in touch with other intellectuals for exchange of both tested and novel ideas, and sharing of significant experiences. The memorial lectures digest is a novel creation of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation that (re)kindles friendship with local, national and international academics without losing sight of its contribution to the global community’s information highway. In this respect, I wish to express my warmest felicitations to the University, the active alumni memorial lecture speakers, and the management of this maiden issue!
DR. DJUWARI
Director, Language Laboratory STIE Perbanas Surabaya, Indonesia Chairperson for Southeast Asia, Int’l Accreditation for Academic Journal (IAAJ) 9
Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
My warm felicitations and congratulations to all those responsible for this maiden issue of the Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest which produces a collection of annual speeches delivered in honor of the founder on his birthday. This digest reminds everyone of Don Agustin’s dedication to education by building a school and of his vision that transcended his time. Today a fulfillment of one of the founder’s dreams, the University of Southern Philippines Foundation stands high as one of the excellent schools in the world.
DR. ALICIA P. CABATINGAN President University of Southern Phils. Foundation
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OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY VICE PRESIDENT
Countless tale-talk at gatherings and reunions regarding Don Agustin Jereza’s magnanimity, integrity and devotion in uplifting the lives of the underprivileged and his life-long determination in providing quality education made him the Champion of Founders. With his humility and charisma as the “Father of Many,” Don Agustin emerged as the victor of countless individuals with whose lives have wonderfully influenced and blessedly changed. What he did in the past we honor, what we do at present we treasure. Let this digest shape the future of our teachers, students and USPF family, and renew our direction that Don Agustin’s life may manifest in the way we live, work and relate with self and others. Congratulations to this valuable endeavor that fulfills the eternal loyalty that rings, “’neath the Southern Skies we have no Peer.”
MRS. LOURDES D. JEREZA
Vice President for External Relations University of Southern Phils. Foundation
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Atty. Eleuterio Ong Vaño Keynote Speaker, 2009
Atty. Eleuterio P. Ong Vaño is a respected lawyer and highly accomplished real estate professional. A consistent achiever, Atty. Ong Vaño finished his elementary education as class valedictorian at the University of Southern Philippines in 1960. A seminary scholar, he received the second honors during his high school graduation at San Jose Seminary, Quezon City in 1964. Still a seminary scholar in college, he was an active student leader who devoted time as editor of The OAR (Philosophical - Literary Publication), an orator and stage play actor while studying at Seminario Mayor Recoletos, Baguio City and was conferred the degree Classical AB major in Philosophy in 1968. On to further exposure, he was in Seminary Novitiate at Convento de los Padres Recoletos, Monteagudo, Navarra, Spain from 1968-1969. Back in Cebu City for advanced studies and active service as student representative of the Graduate School Supreme Student Council, Atty. Ong Vaño took up masters course in Philosophy at the University of San Carlos from 1970 to1971. Thereafter, he taught at the Philosophy College of the University of San Carlos and at Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City. Studying law, Atty. Ong Vaño actively served as class president, debater of the College of Law Debating Team, and national president of the Philippine Association of Law Students. He earned his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) at the University of San Carlos College of Law in 1982, and a year later in 1983, is admitted to the Philippine Bar. Atty. Ong Vaño is active in civic and professional organizations. He holds membership to the Young Lawyers Association of Cebu, member and Local Government Relations Committee chairperson of Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc. (CCCI), member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), president of the Cebu Capitol Lions Club (1984-1985), competent toastmaster and club secretary of the Cebu Toastmasters Club in 1987, served as legal consultant to OIC Cebu City Major Jose V. Cuenco in 1987, president of PAREB-Cebu Realtors Board, Inc. (CEREB) from 1989-1991, national president of the Philippine
Association of Realtors Boards, Inc. (PAREB) from October 1991 to December 1992, examiner of the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection Real Estate Brokers Licensing Examination in 1992 and 1993, chairperson of the Legal Committee at Realty Service, Council of the Philippines in 1993, president of the Electronic Realty Associates Philippines (ERA Phils., Inc.) from August 1995 to November 1996, club secretary of the Rotary Club of Cebu-Mother Club in 2003-2004 and its vice president for two terms in 2004-2006, president of the University of Southern Philippines Alumni Association, Inc. (USPAAI) from 1998 to 2006, and president of the University of San Carlos Law Alumni Association, Inc. (USCLAAI) from 2003 to 2007. For his professional and civic functions with PAREB and Lions Club, Atty. Ong Vaño travelled to at least eight states including Georgia, Kansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New Orleans, and San Francisco in the United States of America. He is invited as resource speaker and participant in national and local activities with IBP and USC. Atty. Ong Vaño received recognition awards for his active leadership in Lions International District 301-B, Cebu Capitol Lions Club, Philippine Association of Realtors Boards, Inc., Cebu Realtors Board, Inc., and Cebu Toastmasters Club. In 1990, USCAAI awarded him the Most Outstanding Alumnus in the field of Realty Development and the only Philippine citizen to earn the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation listed in the 1998 Who’s Who in International Real Estate as awarded by the National Association of Realtors (NAR-USA). Presently, Atty. Ong Vaño is the manager/ proprietor of Ong Vaño Insurance Agency since 1972 and the president of the Ong Vaño & Associates Realtors, Inc. since 1988. Atty. Ong Vaño is husband to Aileen Flores Villamor and father to six children, namely: Anna Catalina, Angela Marie, Amanda May, April Mae, Amai Anthony, and Augustine Ignatius. 13
Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
Atty. Alicia Evangelista-Bathan
Keynote Speaker, 2010
Atty. Alicia Evangelista-Bathan is Senior and Managing Partner at the Bathan, Reyes, Abadiano & Associates Law Firm (originally opened in 1952 as Fernan and Associates) and Dean of the College of Law at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) since June 2011. Engaged in the practice of law for more than 40 years, Atty. Bathan is legal counsel of several corporations and educational institutions including the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) among others. An educator, she is professor handling Master of Laws courses at the USPF from 2005 to the present. At the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City Chapter, she served as Director in 1975-77, Treasurer in 1977-78, and then as Vice President in 1978-79. In addition, she served as Director, Auditor at the Philippine Association of Law Professors (PALP). Fortified by experience in service at the Colegio de San Jose-Recoletos now USJ-R, she served as Secretary and Assistant to the Law Dean moving her way up to Assistant Law Dean, Acting Dean, and finally the Dean in 1986 up to May 2005. Since 1969 up to the present, she served as faculty member of the College of Law and Commerce. She also held position at the Faculty Club and the USJ-R Alumni Association as well as at the USJ-R Law Alumni Association. Outstanding student, best debater and best 14
orator in her high school days, Atty. Bathan earned the honors One of Ten Outstanding Alumni of the University of San Carlos (USC) in 1982 and USJ-R in 1983. Additionally, she is awarded the Outstanding Alumna in the field of law teaching of USJ-R in 1982. Member of the Honor Society of CIT, she is honoured twice as Outstanding Alumna of CIT in 1990 and in 2004. Atty. Bathan attended local, national and international seminars on laws including those conducted by the Philippine Association of Law Professors, Philippine Association of Law Schools, World Law, International Law Association, MCLE & IBP, UP Law Center, Ateneo Law School; Association of Law Schools in Jakarta, Indonesia and LAW ASIA in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Active in civic, social and religious organizations, Atty. Bathan is associated with Innerwheel Club of Mandaue North, Zontac CII, USC Girls High School Alumnae Association, USJ-R Alumni Association, USJ-R Law Association, IBP, and Bukas Loob Sa Diyos Covenant Community. Atty. Bathan finished her Bachelor of Arts in 1964 with honors at CIT, and Bachelor of Laws cum laude in 1969 at Colegio de San Jose-Recoletos; admitted to the bar in 1970; and, earned her Master of Laws at USPF in 1986. She is the daughter of Fiscal Thomas Evangelista and Felisa C. Evangelista, and wife to Vicente Y. Bathan with whom she has 5 children.
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Dr. Lelani Echaves-Paredes
Keynote Speaker, 2011
Dr. Lelani Echaves-Paredes is a corporate trainer, human resources practitioner, consultant on public relations, corporate communications, administrative systems and procedures, editor, and writer. Her work experiences with various institutions include multinational companies, government agencies, non-government organizations, foundations, business and commercial industries, private academic institutions, state colleges and universities, religious groups, student groups, parent and faculty associations, alumni groups, and media groups. An exceptional student, Dr. Echaves-Paredes obtained three baccalaureate degrees in three consecutive years. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Foods and Nutrition as a University Scholar at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation in 1965. Immediately after, she went on to St. Theresa’s College, Cebu to earn two more baccalaureate degrees wherein she always finished as one of the Top Ten Outstanding Students: Bachelor of Science in Education major in Natural Sciences in 1966 and Bachelor of Arts major in English in 1967. Studying as a University Scholar, she finished her Masters of Education major in Administration and Supervision at the University of the Philippines in 1973. In tune with the zeitgeist of 1986 Philippines, she earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Education at the University of San Carlos, Cebu. A leader in various fields, Dr. Echaves-Paredes is the lone Filipino grantee of Federal Republic of Germany in 1989 and Swedish Government in 1991, the five-award recipient of Dale Carnegie Course in 1991, the University of San Carlos Most Outstanding Alumna for Communication for 1989, and a Cebuana Trailblazer/Subuanang Tag-una awarded by the Provincial Government and the Women’s Commission of Cebu Province in August 2011. As of July 2011, Dr. Echaves-Paredes conducted
a total of 278 international, national and local professional trainings and conferences on visioning and strategic planning, strategic corporate communication planning, management and human resources management, supervisory skills development, total quality management and productivity, trainers training, training for teaching in the U.S.A., team building, quality and productivity, market research and customer service, business writing for results, marketing communication, effective communication and human relations, media communication and values formation, communicating through trimedia, news writing, feature writing, and technical writing. Sourced by respected institutions and organizations, she shared expertise with the Asian Productivity Organization, Goethe Institute in Sweden, Inter Nationes Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, Association of Catholic Broadcasters, and the United States Information Service among others. Presently, Dr. Echaves-Paredes holds important positions: Vice President for Training and Development of Intelliprime Diagnostic Center and Consultancy since 2010, Managing Partner of LEAN Consultants since 1992, PR Consultant of Aboitiz Equity Ventures since 2004, and Consultant for Performance Management at the Office of the Governor of Cebu Province since 2010. Additionally, she is a professor at the Graduate School of the University of San JoseRecoletos and a prolific opinion columnist since 1986 of Sun Star Daily. She has published 2,350 opinion-editorial essays and feature stories in community and national papers as of January 2011. Dr. Lelani Echaves-Paredes is the only daughter of three children to RTC Judge (retired) Vicente B. Echaves, Jr. and the late Rosita PastranoEchaves. She is mother to two accomplished Mass Communications graduates and entrepreneurs, Laarni Mae Springer and Lara Naomi Agua, and grandmother to two years old Ravi Angelo Agua. 15
Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
Dr. Elsa Suralta
Keynote Speaker, 2012
Dr. Elsa Suralta is University President of Southwestern University (SWU) since 2010. She is a published curriculum expert, honored educator, trainer, manager and consultant.
a Goodwill Cultural Visit to Denver, Colorado with thirty (30) members of the Subangdaku Elementary School Rondalla and fifteen (15) DepEd officials from the Division of Mandaue City.
To the very core an educator, Dr. Suralta’s work experience with the Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Office VII include Educator Supervisor I, II and III from 19861997 and Chief of the Secondary Education Division in 1997-1998; Assistant Schools Division Superintendent for a decade at the Division of Bohol from 1998-1999; Assistant Schools Division Superintendent for four years at the Division of Mandaue City, Cebu from 1999-2003; Schools Division Superintendent for two years at the Division of Talisay City, Cebu from 20032005. She further explores the challenges of the academe as School Administrator and Dean of the College of Education at the Lyceum of Cebu in 2006-2009 on her way to lead as the university president of one of the most respected universities in Cebu, Southwestern University.
A well-travelled and education-devoted professional, Dr. Suralta immerses herself with training, workshops and scholarships including the Study Tour in Educational Management (STEM) in Brisbane, Australia; the Language Study at the Regional English Language Center (RELC) in Singapore; the educational exposures in the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Philippine Normal University, and National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP); and, the coordinator of Peace Corps Volunteers. She publishes Sourcebooks in English I, II, III and IV for public school teachers; Workbooks in English I, II, III and IV for public school teachers; Teacher’s Guide in Drama, in Language Teaching and Teaching with Television in cooperation with U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers Carolyn Denton and Eduard Sheblak; Session Guides with Reading Materials for the Teachers’ Mass Trainings; Language Interaction Experience (LINE) for Secondary students in English; and, other curriculum materials in Language testing and school management.
The preparations and fortifications for her unsullied career, Dr. Suralta holds licenses in Management Aptitude Test Battery (MATB) in 1995, School Division Superintendent Licensure Examination (PRC) in 1997, Assessment Center (CESB) in 1999, and Career Service Officer (CESO) in 2000. Dr. Suralta is known for her outstanding performances in teaching, management in both supervisory and administrative leadership functions, training, consultancy, and liaising. She is celebrated for heading 16
Dr. Suralta finished her elementary education at Tudela Central School, her high school and Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, and her Master of Arts in Education and Doctor of Education at Southwestern University. She resides with her family at V & G Better Homes Subdivision in Consolacion, Cebu.
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Dr. Florian A. Alburo
Keynote Speaker, 2013
Florian A. Alburo is President of the Center for the Advancement of Trade Integration and Facilitation (CATIF) and Professorial Lecturer at the School of Economics University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines; Fellow, Center for Internet Studies, Institute for International Policy at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington U.S.A.; Advisor on Trade Facilitation of the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand; Course Director, National Defense College of the Philippines, Camp Aguinaldo, Philippines and Lead Faculty, Phnom Penh Plan for Development of the Greater Mekong Subregion, Asian Development Bank. Dr. Alburo earned his high school diploma in 1963 and Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966 at the University of Southern Philippines. Moved to Manila for graduate studies, he earned his Masters of Arts in Economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1968. Thereafter, he flew to the U.S.A. for his post graduate studies and earned the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Economics at the University of Colorado in 1973. Dr. Alburo has over two decades’ professional and managerial experience on international trade and finance, investment and development policy administration as senior government policy maker, project director of programs and projects, leader of consulting teams, and independent consultant to international organizations and private sector. Previous experiences include Deputy Minister (Acting Secretary) of SocioEconomic Planning and Deputy Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines; Trade Specialist
of the Greater-Mekong Sub- Region of Asian Development Bank (ADB); Team Leader managing multi-awarded ADB website Asia Regional Integration Center (www.aric.adb.org); Faculty of World Trade Organization (WTO) Regional Trade Policy Course; Panel Member Pacific Economic Outlook, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council; Team Leader, Development Alternatives, Inc., United Nations Development Program, Pragma Corporation; Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore) and Overseas Development Council (Washington, D.C.); and Project Specialist in Economics and Rural Development of the Ford Foundation. He is consultant to many international and domestic institutions including OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), World Bank, GTZ (German Technical Cooperation Agency), ILO (International Labor Organization), IMF (International Monetary Fund), EUD (Delegation of the European Union), SBTC (Security Bank), Holcim, BSP (Bangko Sentral), student organizations and non-government organizations. A published writer and editor whose works appear in professional journals, opinion pages of newspapers, and publications, Dr. Alburo has over 120 papers and publications, received grants and awards including Outstanding Publication from the National Academy of Science and Technology, travel and study grants from foundations, and a candidate in the World Bank’s Young Professional Program. The youngest of four siblings, Dr. Alburo is brother to Undersecretary of Tourism and consultant of USPF School of Business and Management’s tourism program Mr. Phineas Alburo. 17
Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
Do単a Beatriz Jereza unveils the portrait of Don Agustin M. Jereza.
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“The Legacy of Don Agustin M. Jereza” Atty. Eleuterio “Amay” P. Ong Vaño
D
on Agustin M. Jereza, founder of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, was born on August 28, 1888, exactly 121 years ago today, at Jaro, Iloilo City. He was named after and in honor of one of the greatest saints of the Church, St. Augustine, whose feast day we likewise celebrate today. Don Agustin had long passed away and most of us who are here present today have not personally met or seen him in life, and yet we collectively continue to remember him and commemorate the date of his birth and his life year after year on his birthday and, more importantly, to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of his life. Don Agustin and his wife Doña Beatrice did not have any biological child of their own. In that respect, the couple did not contribute to the perpetuation of the human species by procreation. But what they contributed to the human race is a greater legacy: enhancing the evolution and improvement of the human mind through education. It is said that dogs existed long before mankind, but have we ever heard of or observed dogs, or any breed of dogs for that matter, having built a dog house? In the millions of years that fish existed and lived underwater, have we ever heard of or observed any school of fish having built a school campus? Who cares if man originally came from monkeys? In fact, scientists believe that humans and chimpanzees share 99.4 percent of their DNA, the molecule that codes for life. But have we heard of or observed any monkeys having built a condo type tree house? This only proves the enormous and limitless power of the human mind, which differentiates man from the other species of the animal kingdom. And, indeed, man has evolved from the beginning of his primitive existence not only physically but also mentally. Man possesses the strength of the body and the power of the mind. And Don Agustin being
an educator and founder of an educational institution, had his important role in the evolution and improvement of the human mind for the better through education. This is precisely the significance of the life of Don Agustin. No doubt, the greatest legacy of Don Agustin is the promotion of education as a tool and ticket to a better future for every student who enters through the portals of this great educational institution. This ticket may not guarantee that the student will reach his destination, but, at least, he gets to ride the train. Otherwise, he would just be like a carabao in the field watching the train go by. By way of providing the gift of education mostly to the less financially privileged students in the community, Don Agustin, although childless, became a father of thousands of students through the years. We consider him and call him the “father” of this great university, just as U.S. President George Washington, who was likewise childless like Don Agustin, was fondly called by the American people: “The Father of the Country.” 19
Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
Indeed, Don Agustin succeeded to live longer than his life and beyond the walls of his grave. He is remembered longer than he lived. And proof to that is our gathering today in commemoration of his life and in celebration of the fruits of that life. What matters most is not how long a man lives, but how long he is being remembered after his death. Don Agustin is remembered and his life recorded. It may be interesting to note the significance of the etymological difference between these apparently synonymous words: remembering and recording. To remember is to call to mind again, originally coming from the Latin words, “re” and “memorare”. The word “to record” likewise comes from two Latin words, “re” and “cor”, meaning the heart, from which the Spanish word “corazon “ and the English word “cordial” are derived. Thus, “to record” literally means to call to heart again. The lives of ordinary mortals are recorded as mere statistics in death certificates, while the lives of extraordinary mortals are also recorded in books and journals and continuously being called to mind or to heart again and again, as we are doing today. That is the difference between being ordinary and extraordinary. If you look at it closely, the difference is only one little word “extra”, but that little difference makes a lot of difference. And I believe that, at least as of today, this may likewise be the difference between us present here today and Don Agustin. 20
Perhaps, many of us or even most of us here today do not know or have somehow forgotten some salient details and significant events in the life of Don Agustin, which can teach us a lesson or two. When he was only 12 years old, the young Agustin was already filled with the spirit of adventure and enthusiasm to break the chains of ignorance and its concomitant consequence of poverty. Together with an elder brother, he packed up what scanty clothes he had and sailed on a steamboat to seek his dream for an American education and a greener pasture in life. Thus, he took the risk and bravely followed the law and flow of the process of evolution by migrating to a foreign land. At age 21, year 1909, he finished his secondary education at the College of the Pacific in California, U.S.A. He workedhis way through college by picking one odd job after another, as a school janitor and as a waiter in restaurants during the summer breaks, although he was partly financially supported by his sister Rosalina from home. At age 25, year 1913, he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from the State University of Iowa, majoring in Sewerage System and Building Construction, a course he was able to finish as a sprinter athletic scholar. At said, American university, the young Agustin had a best friend by the name of Jesse Owens, a black American track and field athlete, who participated in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, and who won 4 gold Olympic medals to the embarrassment and displeasure of the racist leader then of Germany, Adolf Hitler. When he came back to the Philippines, after seven years of absence, he took and passed the examinations given by the Civil Engineering Board. At age 25, during years 1913-1919; he was Assistant District Engineer for the Province of Cebu. He had also served as District Engineer of Agusan Province and Bataan. Then, he decided to go into private contracting and left the government service
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in 1919. As a private contractor, Engineer Agustin Jereza constructed buildings, bridges, roads and other infrastructures, which changed the skyline of Cebu and other parts of the country. His genius and skill in engineering, characterized by sheer simplicity, functionality and durability, were shown in the edifices, to name some, of the U.P. Cebu College, the Bank of the Philippine Islands at Magallanes Street of Cebu City, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the University of San Carlos Main Building, the old Club Filipino de Cebu, the former Southern Islands Hospital, now the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, and the modern university structures of our beloved Alma Mater right here in the Lahug campus.
of this educational institution, we do have a personal and innate obligation to the evolution of the human race by helping improve the minds of the youth through education, which is the greatest and most effective social equalizer. It is a gift, once given, which cannot be taken away from the recipient thereof. We happen to be among those recipients. Our advantage over Don Agustin is that we do not have to start from the beginning, for life may sometimes be too short for us to start from the beginning.
Having reached the summit of his engineering profession, Engineer Agustin Jereza’s pioneering courage and determination propelled him still further to another field of human endeavor, and that is, as an educator and founder and founder of a school. In 1927, he founded the Southern Institute, which later became the Southern College in 1937, which was subsequently granted university status in 1949. In 1959, the University of Southern Philippines, Inc. became the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, Inc. Don Agustin served as President of the University and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for over 25 years before his death in 1968 at age 80.
Let me conclude this sharing with you by quoting an excerpt from the inaugural address of Don Agustin as the 1ST President of the USPF, as printed here in your program today: “I consider this day a milestone in my life because it marks the fulfillment of one of my fondest dreams – my dream of giving this institution a strong and firm basis that will ensure its continual existence and growth long after its original founders will have been gone.”
Don Agustin devoted the last and the best years of his life to education, which is his lasting legacy and gift to those whose lives he touched. He built not only structures, but, more importantly, he built people. His remains are buried under the ground there at the Cebu Memorial Park, but his memory and his legacy are buried in our minds and hearts.
Indeed, we are proud to be called the children of Don Agustin. That is why we are here today, not only to commemorate and celebrate but also to perpetuate his legacy.
My reaction to this statement of Don Agustin is that he was just being too humble for saying that his institution was a milestone in his life. In truth and in fact, it is more than a milestone, more than a marker in his life story. It is a symbol larger than his life, indicating that his life is not only successful, but also significant.
And, finally, on our part, what can we do or what should we do to continue and perpetuate the legacy of Don Agustin Jereza? As educators ourselves and stakeholders
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Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
“The Exemplary Life of Don Agustin M. Jereza ” Atty. Alicia E. Bathan
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n St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, he exhorted “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
A famous writer once wrote: just about anyone would agree that growing is a good thing, but relatively few people actually dedicate themselves to the process. Why? Because growth requires change, and change is hard for most people. However, the truth is that without change growth is impossible. In fact, most people fight against change, especially when it affects them personally. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. The ironic thing is that, change is inevitable. Everybody has to deal with it in their lives. On the other hand, growth is optional. You can choose to grow or fight it. But know this: people unwilling to grow will never reach their potential. Ladies and gentlemen, the man whose life and greatness we commemorate today, was not afraid of change, he desired growth and found the courage to pursue them. Whenever you see significant progress in an organization like this educational institution he founded, it’s because the leader made courageous decisions. However, a leadership position does not give a person courage, but courage can give him the leadership position. He knew and submitted himself to the reality that courage begins with an inward battle, that this is making things right not just smoothing them over, and that courage in a leader inspires commitments from followers so they can continue his dream of achievements for the organization and his community. He is the realization of the late Martin Luther King 22
Jr’s, description of a courageous leader. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy. Many of you have not seen or met the founder of this University, Don Agustin M. Jereza. I had the rare privilege of seeing this great man, sometime in 1965, when I applied for a part time teaching position in the College of Arts and Sciences at the USP in Mabini. This was to be my first job fresh from college. I had very happy memories in USP as a young teacher handling social studies under the Liberal Arts Department with Eloisa Lopez as our Dean. My being tasked to be the memorial lecturer on Don Agustin M. Jereza this year is not a coincidence but destiny. I have been holding office at the Second Floor of the Bank of the Philippine Islands Building in Magallanes St., since 1970 at the Fernan Osmeña law office after passing the bar exams up to the present and this historic building is one of the edifices constructed by Engr. Agustin Jereza, a product of his skill and genius in engineering. Who is Don Agustin M. Jereza, whose 122nd birthday we celebrate today? Why
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are we here to remember him long after he passed away. Don Agustin M. Jereza, the founder of this university was born on August 28, 1888 in Jaro, Iloilo from a family of modest means. His humble beginnings did not prevent him from seeking his destiny and carving his place in history. At the age of twelve, he and an elder brother in quest for an education, sailed on a steamboat to seek for an American education. At 21, he completed his secondary education in the College of the Pacific in California. Life was not easy as he had to work his way through college, as school janitor and as a waiter in restaurants during summer breaks. In 1913, at the age of 25, he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the state university of IOWA. His firm determination to become an engineer, despite the financial constraints and the difficulties and bitter toil he had to undergo, is a legacy that all in similar circumstances, can emulate. From 1913 to 1919, Engr. Agustin Jereza was Assistant District engineer for the Province of Cebu and also served as District Engineer of Agusan Province and Bataan. His public service was untainted and characterized by integrity, honesty and humility. He was a man of honor. In 1917, he
got married to a Beatriz Duterte, a lady of grace, gentleness and dignity, who gave him support in all his dreams. In 1919, he left government service and became a private contractor. He built buildings, bridges, roads and other infrastructure, changed the skyline of Cebu. Some of the structures showing his skill and genius in engineering are the U.P. Cebu College Building, the Bank of P.I, where I still hold office in Magallanes St., the University Of San Carlos Main Building, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral among many others. Not content with his success as a civil engineer, Don Agustin M. Jereza ventured into another lofty human endeavorEducation. In 1927, he founded the Southern Institute which became the Southern College in 1937. Through his inspiration and hard work, the school attained university status in 1949. In 1959, University of Southern Philippines became University of Southern Philippines Foundation, Inc. For 25 years, Don Agustin M. Jereza was the President of the University, and concurrently served as a chairman of the Board of Trustees. He was a man par excellence. He never rested on his successes. He contributed to civic organizations, his time, skill and wisdom. In brief, he was a man who never wasted a minute of his life, sharing his time, skills and knowledge to others and leaving a legacy of education to others which will outlive all of us. Indeed, when Don Agustin M. Jereza meet his maker, I am certain the Lord told him that he bore good and bountiful fruits. I remember during my stint as part time college teacher that Don Agustin M. Jereza was fondly called 23
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“Tatay” by the old timers in our college. Truly, he was a father to all, kind, compassionate and generous. He had a special place in his heart for the athletes in the University. USP was known for excellence in athletics, nationally and internationally. USP athletes were one of the prides of this great man.
Truly, we have much to thank Don Agustin Jereza and Doña Beatriz Jereza. This day which is also the feast day of one of the greatest saints of the church, St. Augustine, as we celebrate and enjoy Don Agustin’s life. Allow me therefore, to conclude this lecture with a prayer.
After hearing this brief biography, of Don Agustin M. Jereza, what lessons can we and our future generations, learn from his life and the way he lived it:
Lord, on this special day, grant your special blessings on the successors and benefactors of Don Agustin M. Jereza and Beatriz D. Jereza, that the virtues of wisdom, hope and love will pervade from generation to generation. May Don Agustin’s greatest legacy of giving from the heart, as he offered the best years of his life and this institution in the service and upliftment of the people and community he cherished so dearly, continue to inspire and influence them in their efforts to observe the laudable traditions and chart the destiny of the foundation. In the gospel of St. Mark that perhaps became the basis of Don Agustin’s outlook in his relationship with his fellowmen, it is written: “In the measure you give, you shall receive, and more besides. To those who have (given), more will be given, from those who have not, even what little they have will be taken away.” Heavenly Father, may your holy word, be fulfilled in our Lives. This we ask in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen
Firstly, we learned that lack of financial resources should not, and cannot be an excuse for a person not to break the bonds of ignorance. Secondly, we should dream big and pursue that dream, with the same spirit of focus and enthusiasm of this great man. Thirdly, that dreams are attainable, if it is pursued with determination and seriousness, and of course, dependence on the will of God. Lastly, we should know our purpose in life and knowing this, if we should spend every moment of our life, fulfilling such purpose. This is the legacy of Don Agustin M. Jereza, educator, founder of an educational institution worthy of note. Every student, school administrator, academic and nonacademic personnel who enters the portals of this great institution, now, experiences the heights already reached by this great University. From its humble beginnings of being the Southern Institute in 1937, it is now the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, Inc., with numerous course study offerings and trainings, offered to the public. It is with gratitude that all of us remember this great man, Don Agustin M. Jereza, who helped mold the minds of the youth through education. I am one of those recipients having obtained my Master of Laws in 1986 from this University, the only institution offering Master of Laws at that time in Cebu City. 24
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Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
“Continuing the Legacy” Dr. Lelani Echaves-Paredes
J
ust over a year ago, I was invited to deliver this lecture here. But I politely declined, saying I didn’t know enough about the man to give a full-blown memorial lecture. I have no regrets about declining last year, because today I’m better prepared to do justice to the man for whom we are gathered here this morning, Don Agustin Jereza. I think of Don Agustin Jereza and I see how his life puts shape and form to many words of wisdom we’ve seen on the printed page. If we invoke the Biblical passage “By thy fruit thou shalt be judged,” then Don Agustin readily stands tall, sturdy and formidable. Just as he built roads and bridges, he built churches, hospitals, schools and commercial buildings as well--- the Bank of the Philippine Islands on Magallanes Street, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Mabini Street, the University of San Carlos Main along P. del Rosario Street, the erstwhile Southern Islands Hospital, now Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, on B. Rodriguez Street, and the U.P. College Cebu here in Lahug. He may have died 43 years ago, but these buildings remain powerful testimonials to this engineering genius and skill.
an American education. At age 21, he completed his secondary education at the College of the Pacific in California. At 25 years old, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the State University of Iowa. Second, that there are many things in life that will catch your eye. But only a few catch your heart; pursue those. In today’s buzzwords, that means passion, the crucial element that differentiates success from failure. How often do we hear of students quitting school because of financial constraints, or of people quitting their jobs because their managers were difficult to work with, or of still others failing because Lady Luck was supposedly not on their side?
How can Don Agustin’s life inspire us, especially the younger ones here in the audience?
American writer Mark Twain would pointedly say to them, “Don’t go around saying that the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing; it was here first.”
First, that you cannot discover oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. The civil engineer that he later became started when as a twelveyear-old, he and his elder brother left their humble beginnings in Jaro, Iloilo to pursue
And so we differentiate between being “broke” and being “poor.” Being broke is temporary; being poor is being permanently broke. Don Agustin may have come from humble beginnings, but he wasn’t poor. To address his financial constraints, he worked
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his way through college. During summer breaks, he worked as a school janitor, as a waiter in restaurants, or other odd jobs. And when success finally came, it was his to relish. Clearly, Don Agustin loved to build, and build them strong and beautiful. Earlier in his career as a civil engineer, he worked in government. For six years, he was the Assistant District Engineer for the Province of Cebu, and later the District Engineer of Agusan Province and Bataan. In those days when government officials were like knights in shining armor and lived by a code of honor, Don Agustin kept his name clean and his integrity, intact. Unsurprisingly, he became a contractor after leaving government service. Unsurprisingly, too, building significant and magnificent landmarks in the city, he decided to plunge into the deep and built his own school, the Southern Institute, in 1927. Ten years later, it became the Southern College. Another twelve years later, in 1959, it achieved university status and, thus, became the University of Southern Philippines.
If we examine the word LIFE, half of that four-letter word is “IF.” And so today as well, I ask, “IF Don Agustin had not built his own school, IF he had not become an educator, If he had not become a contractor, and IF he had not left government service, where could his passion have led him to build still, to innovate, to go where others had not tread? Among my discoveries while reading about Don Agustin Jereza is that for his civil engineering degree, his major was Sewerage System and Building Construction. In 1913 at age 25, if there was an appropriate support from the government, he could’ve spearheaded the country into developing a sewerage system comparable to all developed countries like the U.S., Europe and Asian countries like Japan, Singapore and to some degree, Thailand. In a good sewerage system, the waste from the restroom goes into a sewer pipe which delivers the waste to a sewerage treatment plant. The treated waste water is then disposed either into the rivers with an acceptable quality, thus not polluting the rivers. If not the rivers, the water can be recycled for non-potable use like watering plants or golf courses.
Passion drove him to build his own school. That selfsame passion saw Don Agustin serve as its President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for over 25 years before he died at 80 years old. Today, the 123rd birth anniversary of Don Agustin Jereza, we honor him and thank him once again for the greatness of his life and for the many ways he touched others’ lives.
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Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
sacrifice, without science humanity, business ethics.”
In Singapore, the treated waste water undergoes a further treatment and then undergoes reverse osmosis, so that the final product is again potable. In the whole Philippines, there are only a few pockets with some semblance of a sewerage system. But these are constructed by a business center or commercial center like Ayala here in Cebu, or Magallanes Subdivision in Manila, or near U.P. Diliman in Quezon City. In general, however, the Philippine experience is that Filipinos depend on septic tanks to dislodge the waste. To be effective, this dislodging has to be done every 5 years. Otherwise, the waste will overflow and go through the drainage system and eventually into the rivers, thus polluting our water. Sometimes, too, some septic tanks are bottomless. Thus, the waste seeps into the ground and contaminates our groundwater which unfortunately is the source of our drinking water. So should we wonder why outbreaks of diarrhea, typhoid or cholera often reach epidemic proportions in different parts of the country, thus resulting in morbidity or mortality? The great Mohandas Mahatma Gandi once said, “There are 7 things that will destroy us--- Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, religion without 28
politics principle, without and without
As we commemorate Don Agustin Jereza’s 123rd birth anniversary and celebrate the life he lived and the contributions he made, let us ask how we can continue his legacy of serving people. Teachers, after all, have two jobs---To fill young minds with knowledge, but more importantly, To give those minds a compass so that that knowledge doesn’t go to waste. Don Agustin’s life showed that while effort is important, knowing where to focus the effort makes all the difference.
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“The Legacy-Builder of Strong Tenets, Don Agustin M. Jereza” Dr. Elsa Suralta As an introduction may I read this poem written by the Sufi poet, Rumi, as a tribute to the founder:
“You were born with goodness and trust, You were born with ideals and dreams, You were born with greatness, You were born with wings, You are not meant fro crawling, so don’t. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly!”
The unique way of looking at a great heritage, could be traced from its beginnings. The legacy is very much alive and the beneficiaries abundant and farreaching. If Don Agustin Jereza were alive today, what could be your expression of gratitude and thanks? A legacy is in itself a tangible and concrete manifestation of something good which has lived and survived through the years – treasured, loved and nurtured by the present generation of beneficiaries – the harvesters of the goodness of that miracle. I am more than elated to proclaim, that I am one of those touched by this manifestation. The University of Southern Philippines has been that tapestry of an ideal work which has showered and spread to millions of young Filipinos, who come and go under its portals – to come out as better citizens of society and the international world. The experience of this memory might not be rightfully in words but the feeling
of gratitude is manifested through the application in behavior of knowledge, integrity, humility and success: treasures that could be destroyed through the years. In this occasion of conducting a Memorial Lecture, we honor once again, the man who is responsible of bringing into existence, an institution of learning, serving the young people of our society and catapulting their dreams into reality. 29
Don Agustin M. Jereza Memorial Lectures Digest
This activity is our way of saying thank you to the man, who was destined to build a cathedral of learning, his way of serving and touching lives as a contribution to the society of men. That man is our founder, Don Agustin Jereza, who celebrates his birthday, today. May I begin with my story? As a newly graduated student from the elementary level of Tudela Central School in far, Camotes Island, I came to study in high school at the University of Southern Philippines. The school was the choice of my father because according to him, strict discipline and high academic learning focus, are the school’s strengths and mantra. I finished high school at the old Sanson Building discovering out that I was able to develop what was best in me, through dynamic faculty members, classmates who never discriminated students because of their economic status and true enough – the firm discipline to achieve, follow rules and the authority and the value of studying hard. During my high school years, I discovered my love towards English, Literature and Writing – this because I was properly guided to hone my skills and knowledge in the different disciplines. In college, I wanted very much to become a lawyer, but my father convinced me to take up a degree in elementary
education. I enrolled in the same university, because during this time, this time there were already three of us siblings studying in the city. With the salary of an employee at the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office, Pap could barely afford to send us all to school at the same time. At the University, President Agustin Jereza already knew that every during examination days, my father, almost always would go up to him, with a promissory note, so that we could take the test. I never remembered that our admission slips were signed by the cashier as what was regularly done. My love for English and Literature was honed more while I was in college, what with excellent professors in these courses coming from the University of the Philippines. It was hard work to earn the BSEED degree. After the first year, more classmates of mine transferred to other schools. The hard climb paid off because while I was still in fourth year, a graduating student, I was able to pass the two Civil Service examinations for teachers. I was already a teacher eligible even before I had graduated from college. It was the rigorous training which made me more than ready to practice my teaching profession. The research work required in every subject, would send all of us to work through the night that sleeping and eating were no longer options. I remember very well how I finished reading two volumes of thick books of the novel, “The Count of Monte Cristo”, by Alexander Dumas, even while I was cooking, with one book in one hand and the ladle with another. This experience has proved for my love of reading and thinking skills development. During my four years in college I participated as one of the chorus girls in the annual Operetta, as staged by
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the University. The experience has taught me the skills in acting, singing, directing and even show production. In the process, I learned how to manage my time, with rehearsals until the wee hours of dawn and attending classes at seven o’clock the following morning. The values that I have learned out of the experience are priceless, since, these have contributed to what I have become today. I would have graduated with Latin honors in college, if not for an honest mistake committed by a professor out of the confusion of similar surnames and assigning grades in exchange for each other’s credit. I did not resent because there was nothing that could be done. However, the situation motivated me to achieve more in my field of work. Just to support my point of how sincere was the University in taking care of its students and how it took responsibility in making its graduates ready for work, one of the eleven who graduated with me, was made to agree on a condition that after graduation, she has to undergo one more semester in practice teaching in the University laboratory school. In my time, a student teacher was to perform five demonstration classes in different grades and subject areas with three professors as critic officers or evaluators, as a strict requirement for graduation. It was easy for me to climb the ranks in the workplace. My promotions came in handy from a classroom teacher to a principal, district supervisor, division supervisor, regional supervisor and Chief of the Secondary Education Division of the Regional Office. I passed the schools Division Superintendent PRC Licensure Examination and the Career Executive Service Officer. I retired as Schools Division Superintendent. The rest is history.
responsibility, it is my chance to touch more lives of the young. My training has guided me to do the best out of any duty delegated to me, for the situation flies but only once and never to be back again. Never will I pass that similar way once more. I was more that blessed to be one of those, who in their youth, was able to be grounded with the tenets of a University, which has marked and given meaning to my life. All these happened because one man, Don Agustin Jereza, has founded an institution to transform lives which are molded for service. My dear students, faculty members lets us realize that the University of Southern Philippines has touched and nurtured numerous lives, including yours and mine. The legacy to be continued, because noble ideals have no cause to stop and fail. It is with honor and pride, to declare once more, our gratitude and thanks to that great man, Don Agustin Jereza. In closing, may I share with you a beautiful prayer, author unknown, the title of which is: Prayer at Sunset “I bring Thee now, O Lord, the parcel of a completed day. For I have wrapped it in my acts, tied it with my thoughts, and stored it in purposes for which I live. “As the evening comes, and while I search Thy face in prayer, grant unto me the joy of good friends, the curative power of new interests, the peace of the quiet heart. “Bestow upon me, Eternal Spirit, light as darkness fallslight not the sun but of the soul, not of the mind but of the heart; light by which to judge the wisdom And the errors of the day’s work; light for the path that the soul must take in the tangled ways of the coming days. “And grant thou again the healing touch of sleep, amen.”
At the USP, I was toughened as an ore in the furnace, ultimately to come out as an instrument of service to education. I know that every time I am given a piece of 31
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USP In A Knowledge Industry Florian A. Alburo unable to match the adequacy with which they tracked our founder’s life. I may be able to give some snippets of Don Agustin Jereza from a vantage point of personal experiences but they simply give added color not re-shape what the others have delivered.
L
et me thank the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation for inviting me to give this 2013 Don Agustin Jereza Memorial Lecture – especially the administration and the alumni. I am indeed honored and challenged to give meaning and substance to today’s celebration. I am humbled to impart some of what I know after having been nurtured in USP’s environment. Before I forget, please allow me to laud USP in having this memorial lecture series not just to honor our founder but to celebrate what he stood for and the vision he had as contribution to society. There are of course many other Mr Jereza’s around the country – unfortunately I have not been wherever they are. It is here in USP that I have the first-hand witness of why we celebrate Founder’s Day and I am privileged to deliver that before you. I do not intend to recount Don Agustin Jereza’s life, his journey in founding USP from a small college to what it is today. This had been adequately and eloquently given in past memorial lectures besides my being
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I will take a different tack. I will develop a framework with which to look at what Don Agustin Jereza founded and situate him in that framework. I propose to do the following. First, I will argue that the formative years in a person’s life are not only essential, not only critical, but a necessary though not sufficient condition for what he or she eventually becomes. Here the important component is what I would call the learning environment. Here I ask the question – what was USP like in a person’s formative years? I will have to ask your indulgence as I deviate into personal musings if only to support my argument. This won’t be a long digression so please bear with me and don’t open your cell phones to check on messages. I will then go into the meat of my lecture and hypothesize that USP as founded by Don Agustn Jereza belongs to what is now commonly known as the knowledge industry. This industry is quite unique among all goods and services industries and I will briefly explain why this is so. The more important argument I propose to make is that there are a number of factors that define the quality of knowledge products. For each of those, and for sure they are not exhaustive, I will cast along what Don Agustin Jereza made of them – and I invoke my personal experiences. In the third part I will admit that my arguments rely mostly in the past, my past – and those of fellow alums. I can not speak for the present or the future. I leave the present to those who are here, are actually studying here, imbibing USP’s life and being involved in it. Today’s environment characterized by
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technology can be harnessed in the sense of either easing the constraints imposed on how past knowledge products were fashioned or avoiding its deadweights in the future. To put my message in perspective I will bring you from USP to UP (without the S) – to my class and how we maximize technology-use and minimize its negative effects. Finally, I will close by suggesting that in today’s expanding knowledge industry USP’s niche remains as close to what its founder had envisioned it to be and keep the strengths it has accumulated. USP In A Formative Period of Its Students’ Life. I venture to say that it was no coincidence that USP evolved from offering a complete elementary education and half of secondary education before completing the latter and moving into college degrees. It was this recognition of the importance of such preparatory education that our Alma Mater was born. But what is a formative period and where does USP fit in such a formative time? How important is this to a person’s eventual productive life in society? We can partly attribute the poor academic performance of our high school and college students across a wide swath of disciplines, including by the way those from the University of the Philippines in Diliman with emphasis on the brand, to equally poor formative period. So the next question is defining formative period. Many years ago on an international flight, I was seated next to a Jesuit priest and we conversed about child education. What struck me was what he said that to the Jesuits, “give us the first 10 years of your child’s life and you can have the rest”. From that I understood why, during my time, wealthy families were known to have sent their spoiled children to Ateneo de Cagayan where they would be boarded and come out upright. From what I know that did not really do the trick. It is true that the school builds the discipline and character of a person during those formative years but it is not the
panacea. As an elementary and high school student at USP, it has been an important part to my formative years. It built my educational foundation but even more it gave me discipline and character. USP’s teachers at both levels were no-nonsense tutors – homeroom teachers from Mrs. Pahang (where I was stuck for 3 years in Kindergarten) to Ms Dinsay, Ms Pahang, and Mr Comendador, among others I have only to thank for; class advisers in High School – among them Ms Jueco, Ms Ouano, Ms Herrera, Ms Montaño, Ms Ruedas and our principal Mr Jueco – molded students like me into independent individuals. But missing in all this is the moral compass that can only be directed at home. After all, education trains us through structured curricula and we respond according to that structure. Once exposed to the elements of the real world, it is our response to unpredictable situations that ultimately define us, making us complete. Indeed it is doubtful if we can actually legislate this formative period such as BESRA (Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda) and its flagship strategy Enhanced K+12. That is another story and for another forum. In fact, one generation ago, students were even capable of being accelerated rather than being stuck in a crooked educational ladder. That is also another story and for another forum. There is now a revival of attention and focus on this formative period in a person’s life. While the major force in such revival may be Christian, the rationale and intent affect all of us. While the declaration is that children are being disciple by the world, what is really being said is that the school, and sadly, the home, is losing its influence in that formative period. This world-wide movement, the 4-14 Movement, is aimed at re-capturing that most important period affecting a large share of our population both in the world and in the country. Given the fact that our environment has dramatically changed, as some would say, not for the better, battering us in so many directions, it is a movement worth looking into and re-examining our 33
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selves. Google that to view and to join (try this one first before the main window: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG4cjiE Gu6U&noredirect=1). I now understand where the Jesuits are coming from – it is not really entrusting the child from birth to ten years of age but from the time he or she enters the formative years. I now appreciate the importance of such a period and the confidence in saying you can have him or her for the rest of his or her life. It must be a very strong foundation. Conversely, failing in those formative years potentially ruins the rest of your life although as I qualified it, it means the combination of school and home builds enough resistance against the vulnerabilities of the real world. USP, in both elementary and secondary education, stood tall in ensuring a strong formative period. For those of us who went through both levels at USP, the combination of principals Mrs Liao Lamco and Mr Jueco were a formidable tandem. They, and their teachers, demanded full attention to the learning in such a period, reprimanding those who did not pay attention to lessons, were late (tardy), or who daydream the period away – in today’s world that is euphemistically termed as multi-tasking. And tolerated! I now understand where the Jesuits are coming from – it is not really entrusting the child from birth to ten years of age but from the time he or she enters the formative years. I now appreciate the importance of such a period and the confidence in saying you can have him or her for the rest of his or her life. It must be a very strong foundation. Conversely, failing in those formative years potentially ruins the rest of your life although as I qualified it, it means the combination of school and home builds enough resistance against the vulnerabilities of the real world. USP, in both elementary and secondary education, stood tall in ensuring a strong formative period. For those of us who went through both levels at USP, the combination of principals Mrs Liao Lamco and Mr Jueco 34
were a formidable tandem. They, and their teachers, demanded full attention to the learning in such a period, reprimanding those who did not pay attention to lessons, were late (tardy), or who daydream the period away – in today’s world that is euphemistically termed as multi-tasking. And tolerated! The formative period in one’s life is thus a critical if not the critical phase that defines the rest of life. USP has contributed immensely to those who passed by its corridors, high school graduates in the thousands for example. I am not claiming that it has only been USP that has molded productive lives. It has however a credible claim that for those who went through the tutelage of Don Agustin Jereza’s cadre of faculty their eventual lives – however imperfect – have been permanently shaped at USP. I do not have any strong evidence to this assertion, except myself and others having passed through. USP In A Knowledge Industry. Let me now turn to the main part of my lecture, putting USP in the context of a knowledge industry. After a simple analytical description and meaning of this knowledge industry, I will then lay out some factors that are associated with the quality of its products and I propose to intersperse them with illustrations from USP and my own experience. Like other industries, the production of knowledge requires combinations of inputs (e.g. specialized knowledge and skills, intelligence, time, etc.). Once that knowledge product is finished, it is distributed and delivered in the form o f services through for example schools and research organizations. Unlike other services however (e.g., food services, beauty services, financial services, etc.), knowledge products are characterized by 2 important properties. One is that a knowledge product does not diminish in quantity and even quality once it is delivered – technically we call such products as non-rivalrous in comparison with other products where its consumption by
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one denies its consumption to another one. In fact the more such products are delivered the quantity of its source remains the same, and in some instances, may even increase. In fact after I finish this lecture, some of you may learn something than before you came here yet what I know through this lecture does not diminish and may even increase from interaction with you. The other is that in general knowledge products are expensive to produce but, especially in today’s world, cheap to reproduce. It takes time for knowledge products to evolve but can be quickly reproduced. Creativity does not happen overnight; require often long gestation periods before coming on stream. Once they are out, they can be copied and imitated without having to incur the same high costs as the first product. In the 70’s BC (before cell phone), textbooks in the sciences, engineering, nursing, and architecture, among others were expensive but Marcos gave a decree granting National Book Store and others to reprint these types of books for a fraction of the cost of the original. Overnight there came to be a cottage industry reproducing those books and making money. Today, box-office movies remain expensive to produce but easy and cheap to copy whether authorized or pirated. Software applications especially operating systems are not easy to develop but easy and cheap (costing practically nothing) to reproduce. And the copies (with the exception of those brown-paper locally reprinted textbooks of t he 70’s) are hardly distinguishable from the originals. USP is therefore, in the nature of what I characterize as knowledge industry, a producer of knowledge – may be not-earthshaking ones or even the more profound ones – but nevertheless products that satisfy the 2 properties I described above. It is also in the business of delivering knowledge products. Indeed, I for one believe that those lesson plans my teachers have had to produce and submit to our principals were knowledge products they would repeatedly deliver to incoming students as soon as those
who have completed move on. Knowledge products however differ especially in quality even if they satisfy the 2 properties. In fact quality education differs precisely because of differences in knowledge products producers’ offer within the industry. So the key element is to find out what are those factors that make one knowledge product superior in quality versus another. Let me offer a few of these factors not in any order of importance that are associated with or influence knowledge products be they elementary and high school curricula (those that address the formative period), or college degrees or even post-graduate courses. First there is an inherent vision as to what products to produce and deliver which may of course come from understanding of existing environment. Steve Jobs clearly had a vision of what an iproduct would look like that eventually paved the way for others to follow. Earlier I pointed out how fortuitous was the initial offering of the Southern Institute for complete elementary and secondary curricula before broader knowledge products responding to what can be termed as formative period in a persons’ life. USP’s archival history telling of combined thinking among a group of forward-looking founders is evident enough of such a vision even on hindsight. On the other hand its choice of initial leaders – principals for example in elementary and high school knowledge production and the early deans of colleges – similarly reflects such vision. I can also offer more personal evidence. Corollary to this is the ability of producers to move beyond their traditional shells (where family owned or limited ownership) and engage professional managers to oversee all the facets of production, marketing and distribution, re-organize, re-engineer, and continually review their strategies. After gaining foundation status in 1959, Don Agustin Jereza began to bring in professional education administrators and those with letters after their names – Drs. Castillejos, Dimaya, Martinez, for example during my time. 35
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within a knowledge product (within a college) to entirely new track (new college). For example, USP was one of the first in the region to offer the social work discipline (degree) and sanitary engineering; it created a Dean of Women not to promote conservatism but spread women’s participation long before gender equality was even in the vocabulary; it opened a dormitory for girls a full generation before the Sys, Gokongweis and Ayalas built highrise condos for students; There must be many more of these innovations after I left that I am not aware of but clearly manifesting this factor that enhances knowledge product. Second is the existence and nurture of an environment for excellence not only by which knowledge products are developed but more importantly sought after and availed of by users of these products (the students in the case of education). Auxiliary to knowledge production are those that enhance knowledge delivery including increasing outreach and promoting broader participation by users – in academic life this would mean all those that develop users (students) to become whole well-rounded beings. For example I recall there were drama clubs and opportunities to be in USP’s yearly operetta; there were debating competition, oratorical contests, extemporaneous speaking tourneys; of course there were the regular intramural games among departments in basketball, volleyball, and track and field; long before San Carlos had its Talamban campus there was already a Bantayan college USP had in Bantayan island. There was no shortage of these measures that enhance knowledge production and utilization. Third is a capacity for innovation even along a standard knowledge product. The term for it today is “tweaking” i.e. enhancing product functions or adding new routines or modules. On the other hand it could be a new product by itself. In the case of USP this could range from new disciplines 36
Fourth is the provision of facilities and support capacities that enable the knowledge production system to function effectively and create new knowledge or efficiently deliver knowledge. Library facilities provide access to frontier knowledge essential to further knowledge expansion. In USP while its library was modest, it had the basic collection and continued to acquire new materials especially when it registered with Asia Foundation for its book program. USP even had its own printing press to support academic needs long before desktop publishing came into being. Finally, there are factors that go with the active use of knowledge products that also contribute to increasing their quality as well in feedback mechanisms. In other words, frequent use of such products eventually improves them increasing knowledge itself. One is competition among users that raises the quality of knowledge products. Indeed as more consume such products their improvements are more likely than if there were no users. Intense competition from among the section 1 students in USP raised the quality of USP’s products as well. Another is that products often become sources of inspiration, teachers become idols or icons, and practices emulated. Students try to excel if only to show to their icons their abilities to reach a bar of inspiration.
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What I have enumerated are only selected factors associated with a quality knowledge product, not an exhaustive list. What I have lain out, singly and in combination, affect the ability of a knowledge institution to deliver knowledge products. Some may be externally driven or affected by forces outside the institution. Others are quite internal to the institution (firm) and therefore under its direct control and management. The point is that these factors also provide clues and implicit measures to take in order to address them and to ensure that they lead to a quality knowledge product. Our identification of many initiatives at USP under the vision of Don Agustin Jereza all fall within the framework I have outlined. But while the framework works across time, my illustrations have a historical mark – they took place ages ago and historians may re-write USP’s history noting these relevant episodes. I do not doubt many more alumnus of the university have oral recollection that can enrich our appreciation of our Founder’s path-breaking work. Those of you who are walking the corridors of USP today bear greater witness to the knowledge products you are acquiring from mentors and administrators something that I am completely out of the loop. My understanding however is that this University has had widespread accomplishments that can be seen in topping professional examinations, high job absorption, and distinguished records in varying endeavors. The last factor I mentioned as influencing quality exactly fits with these contemporary events. USP in A Technology-Driven Knowledge Industry. There is a sea-difference between knowledge industry as developed and carried out by Don Agustin Jereza and today’s crop of knowledge producers. The factors associated with knowledge production remain the same but the means have dramatically changed. Those differences are defined by technology – particularly digital technology. Indeed the most profound technologies are those that disappear – “…
they weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it…” (Mark Weiser 1991). The increasing ubiquity of cellular technology, Internet medium and the World Wide Web, and many of the related peripherals clearly have positive social impacts which need to be harnessed. Unfortunately, they also have negative impacts which if not addressed lead to serious consequences to everyone. Indeed many of what students of the past (including those in USP) experienced are still very much alive but only electronically expressed – think of electronic bullying, electronic copying, electronic cheating, electronic stalking, among many others. I will quickly list down an array of parts of technology that can be harnessed on the part of knowledge producers (such as USP) and on the part of knowledge users (such as USP students) without extensive elaboration. On the part of producers many of the technologies actually reduce longterm costs, minimize real resource needs, and potentially contribute to saving the environment. First while there would still be essential collections in libraries, there is now greater public access to other libraries, books and publications which patents have expired, scholarly papers in other knowledge producers, and other documents. What is needed is to have a university-wide accessibility – dedicated own-servers for students and faculty with sufficient safeguards (e.g. proxy servers and filters). Second, producers can create networks, host discussion rooms, post assignments and notices, and conduct remote exchanges. Third, tasks and assignments can be monitored to ensure compliance to deadlines – users with IP addresses can be monitored. Fourth, producers can encourage and require group presentations utilizing available resources from all over the world. Finally, electronic reports can take the place of what would have been humanly written reports in yellow pads, intermediate pads, columnar pads, and even notebooks. In fact we can actually carry out knowledge production, distribution, and delivery completely paperless. 37
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For the part of knowledge users, it would be safe to assume many have tech gadgets that occupy their time, they surf the Net constantly, most are registered in social media, they engage in live chats and email, frequently check their gadgets for messages, and sleep with their gadgets. It is also safe to assume most are actually electronic addicts (many experience phantom pocket vibration syndrome), wander around the Net with no distinct direction, are always communicating but through a screen, and are bored without their gadgets. The information age is characterized by wealth of information but poverty of attention. Concrete activities can be geared in specific modules (e.g. classes) of knowledge users through at least 3 ways. First is providing them with directed access to information, analysis, and encouraged search branching on selected topics and areas of inquiry. An initial reading list by topics gives direct url to follow (not home pages). Second is individual or group work on presentations of their knowledge inquiries and analysis. Creativity can be drawn out from users so long as their work can be verified as original and not cutand-paste from the Net. Finally, although form allows users to fruitfully use their tech gadgets, the focus should really be content and analysis. 38
Co n c l u d i n g Remarks. I have tried in this lecture to examine a knowledge industry arguing that USP is part of that industry. Its knowledge products span the range from formative period (basically elementary and high school) product to professional school, from non-degree to finishingschool products. But whether the knowledge industry is technology driven or not, there are important factors that shape the quality of knowledge products. I argued that for those factors that I analyzed, USP satisfied if not excelled. That was the University of Southern Philippines that I grew up with and provided me with a quality formative environment and even into tertiary education. Some 70 years after its first graduates, which quality has remained. Indeed, ‘neath the southern skies, you have no peer.
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Don Agustin M. Jereza photos courtesy of
VP Lourdes D. Jereza
1960 USP Elementary Closing Exercises photo with Don Agustin M. Jereza courtesy of
Atty. Eleuterio “Amay” P. Ong Vaño Memorial Lecture photos courtesy of the
USPF Instructional Media Center (IMC)
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