Such were the virtues exhibited by Manila Bulletin President Emeritus Dr. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC. He served as Manila Bulletin President from 1991 to 1998 and again from 2001 to the time of his death on January 29, 2006. He was elevated to the position of President Emeritus for his dedicated services to the corporation by a unanimous decision of the Board of Directors during their regular monthly board meeting held on January 26, 2006.

As a boy, Bro. Andrew already showed academic prowess. He was accelerated in the early grades and graduated ahead of his contemporaries in De La Salle Manila. Upon graduation from high school, he took on the religious vow as a Christian Brother. After his vows, he proceeded to take his baccalaureate degree at St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota, USA, and graduated summa cum laude. He came back to teach religion and language courses in La Salle schools in the Philippines and, a few years later, proceeded back to the United States to obtain his master’s and doctor’s degrees at the University of California-Berkeley. When he returned to the Philippines, he plunged once more to the vocation of education, school administration, and scholarly research that had run in his own lineage, for his grandfather, Dr. Joaquin Gonzalez, was the first President of the Universidad Literaria de Filipinas under the Malolos Republic and his uncle, Bienvenido Ma. Gonzalez, was the President of the University of the Philippines when the university was transferring from Manila to its Quezon City campus.

Bro. Andrew’s gifts were put to good and maximal use in the building of La Salle educational institutions in the country. After the untimely death of his friend and confrere Bro. Gabriel Connon, FSC, Bro. Andrew was installed as President of De La Salle University, a position he held for 18 years, first from 1979 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 1998. As President of DLSU, Bro. Andrew expanded DLSU from a single-unit educational institution to a system of six autonomous units, with one more, De La Salle-Canlubang, on the drawing board.

As a linguist, Bro. Andrew’s researches contributed much to the understanding and development of our national language. Acknowledging his research output, Bro. Andrew was given the ultimately recognition that any researcher and scholar aspires for – election to the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).

Before his election to NAST, Bro. Andrew had been conferred a number of honorary degrees by local and foreign universities and awarded several medals of merit by foreign countries and local organizations. He had served in many boards of educational and sociocivic institutions as well as corporations. He was also elected President of several international associations of educational institutions, including the International Federation of Catholic Universities.

Bro. Andrew heeded the call for even more expansive service when he took on the challenge of leading the country’s largest and most critical department – the then Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS). In the short span of less than three years, Bro. Andrew instituted reforms in the procurement processes in DECS, started the review of the basic education curriculum, deployed the resources necessary to jump start an honest to goodness development program for public school teachers, and pushed for the mobilization of private sector support in augmenting the meager resources provided to improve the quality of public education through the construction of new facilities and the acquisition of learning resources under the Adopt a School Program.

In all that Bro. Andrew accomplished, the most remarkable was his unfailing optimism on what could be achieved not only through his abilities but in the goodness of the heart, commitment, and the competence of his co-workers.

Farewell to a distinguished educator, an intellectual giant, visionary leader, a generous benefactor of many worthy causes, and a faithful follower of Christ. We know that he is now in the loving arms of our Creator. We shall surely miss his moral leadership and wisdom.

The Manila Bulletin Chairman, Directors, Officers, Editors, and Staff extend their condolences and sympathies to the family, relatives, and friends of Dr. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, on his untimely demise and pray for the eternal repose of his soul.