MANILA, Philippines — Congratulations to Dr. Manuel B. Agulto, former director of the Institute of Opthalmology, who was recently elected  8th Chancellor of UP Manila. Manny, who obtained a unanimous vote from the UP Board of Regents, was urged to run for the top position by his colleagues who thought that he would be the best person to “ease the flow of indigent patients” at the various health centers of UP Manila, as well as one who can develop the latter as an entrepreneurial university.

A graduate of the UP College of Medicine, he  was former chair and professor at the UP Department of  Opthalmology and Visual Sciences and former president of the UP Medical Alumni Society. In his inaugural speech, Chancellor Agulto presented his vision for UP Manila to become nationally and internationally recognized as:

Center of excellence in health, social sciences education and training.

Center of excellence in transnational research.

Center for caring, competent and world-class health care and social services.

Center for collaboration, policy generation, and advocacy.

UP Manila is more widely known as the center of health science education in the country, especially after the establishment of the National Health Sciences Center. Regarded as a reputable research center in the health sciences in the Asia-Pacific region, it also exercises administrative supervision over four units which include the Philippine General Hospital and the Continuing Education Center.

The Philippine Genome Center which was launched last November, focuses on health, agriculture, biodiversity for drug discovery and bio-energy, forensics, ethnicity, and ethical, legal, and social issues associated with genomic research. With his focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, we can expect Chancellor Agulto to put the country in the Asian map in terms of pioneering work on new technologies in health and related  sciences.

I would like to pay a similar tribute to another friend – Dr. Lily Rosqueta Rosales, former Dean and Professor of the UP College of Education. Both Lily and Manny are two of the mainstays of the Alumni Chapter of the UP Christian Youth Movement which was formerly headed by the late Dr. Ledy Carino. Lily succeeded the latter, and she was succeeded by Chancellor Manny who is now the current president.

Just the other day, Lily, a multi-awarded professional (she was honored last year by the Professional Regulation Commission as the 2011 Outstanding Professional of the Year, the highest award given by the PRC to a professional recommended by peers; a UP Alumni Distinguished Alumni Award for 2010 in Human Resources Development (Guidance and Counseling); and the Sigma Beta Sorority’s highest honor given to her during its 75th anniversary), was this time  honoree at a Tea Party hosted by her daughter Lillian.

This was in celebration of a milestone – her reaching what is described as the “elegant” age of  80! What made it such a lovely party was the sharing of memories, listening to our kind of music, and that wonderful sense of sophistication that we all felt while wearing our hats of varied colors and style. This triggered a comment from Flery Romero, former Supreme Court Justice who remarked that hats not only look beautiful and stylish on Filipino ladies, but practical as well, because of our climate.

Lily surprised us by sharing a biography of her father (and family) that she had written. Earlier, she had published short stories, poems, lyrics for musical compositions, professional articles and books. In this latest book, she narrates the story of family life in  Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, and Los Baños, Laguna,  as she shares memories of her father, a former professor of accounting and economics at UP Los Banos.  From this biography, one can appreciate the significant role of parents in the nurturing of a generation of exemplary citizens and high achievers. My e-mail is florangel.braid@gmail.com.