Right man for the right job

My fellow alumni of Far Eastern University requested me to print my remarks on Jan. 28 at the investiture of Dr. Michael M. Alba as FEU’s 11th president. Non-Tamaraws will please bear with us. I edited my talk to fit it in my limited space, as follows:

Educational journey. Many people know me as the first FEU law graduate to reach the highest court of our land and later to be chief justice of our country. Permit me, however, to modify that a little bit. I became a justice of our Supreme Court, and later, the 21st chief justice of the Philippines, because I am an FEU graduate!

I said that with some levity but it contains grains of truth because what I have been, what I am, and what I will ever be, I owe first and foremost to our Lord Jesus Christ; second, to my parents; and third, to the education, training and upbringing I imbibed from FEU and the other schools I was fortunate to have studied in. Incidentally, only five local schools have produced chief justices: UP, UST, Escuela de Derecho (now known as Manila Law College), Ateneo de Manila and FEU.

After finishing my secondary education, I, along with my batch of honor graduates from Mapa High School, wanted to enroll at the University of the Philippines. Even before we graduated, we would go to the UP campus, and before the Oblation, we promised one another that we would study diligently to earn scholarships at the only state university at that time.

True enough, my batch mates and I got our cherished UP scholarships but unlike them, I was not able to study at UP because my impoverished parents could not afford the then 15-centavo bus fare between our small rented apartment in Sampaloc, Manila, to the UP campus in Quezon City. So, they encouraged me to enroll at nearby FEU, which also granted me a scholarship.

Important people. In FEU, I met some of the most important people who molded my young mind, starting with arts and sciences Dean Alejandro R. Roces who, at 37, later became the youngest secretary of education.

Then, there was the brilliant law Dean Jovito R. Salonga who took a personal liking to me and taught me what I call the “FEU model” of legal education, which was a combination of Dr. Salonga’s insights from the three universities he graduated from—namely, UP for his basic law degree, Harvard for his master’s degree, and Yale for his doctoral degree.

Third, let me hail Fr. Michael Nolan, the erudite FEU chaplain, who taught me the rudiments of my Catholic faith. In turn, I helped Father Nolan (and the other school officials) build the FEU Chapel.

And finally, there was Dr. Teodoro Evangelista, the epitome of dignity, prudence and fortitude. He served as FEU’s president for 19 years, from 1952 to 1971, which overlapped with my 6-year stay at FEU from 1956 to 1960. Though I was only one of the 36,000 students at that time, he would see me often because of my student leadership activities, which he encouraged.

Yes, FEU taught me not only the arts and sciences, not only my religious faith, not only the law; it also gave me the opportunity to excel in student leadership. I was the youngest and first sophomore student to be elected president of the FEU Central Student Organization, which gave me time to cofound and head the National Union of Students of the Philippines, the largest national student organization then and now.

My parents and my high school batch mates were surprised at how I metamorphosed from a shy introvert in Mapa High to an active student leader in FEU and in the nation.

I personally know all the FEU presidents who succeeded Dr. Evangelista—namely, Dr. Nicanor M. Reyes Jr., Dr. Josephine C. Reyes, Dr. Felixberto C. Sta. Maria, Dr. Edilberto C. De Jesus, and Dr. Lydia B. Echauz.

Michael M. Alba. I did not know Dr. Michael M. Alba till last month when FEU chairman Aurelio R. Montinola III introduced us to each other. Though we spoke for only an hour, Dr. Alba impressed me as perceptive, knowledgeable, purpose-driven, humble and possessed of distinct educational ideas designed for the 21st century. His ideas blended the legacies of the past with the exigencies of the present and the hopes of the future.

I am certain he will equal, and I hope surpass, the tradition of excellence of his predecessors. I am confident that, under him, FEU will produce alumni more worthy than me and many others of my generation.

More than five decades ago when I was enrolled at FEU, I marveled at the magic of black and white television and the wonder of voices transmitted through telephone lines. Then came the telex, fax machine, cell phone, SMS, personal computer, Internet, e-mail, iPad, smartphones, tablet, Google, GPS, YouTube, Magic Jack, Skype, Facebook, Viber, Twitter and Square. Indeed, times have rapidly changed since then. And so have the scope, methods, needs and ends of education.

We are fortunate to have as the new president of our alma mater a man of varied interests: an academic (PhD from Stanford), economist (economics professor at DLSU and UP, and past president of the Philippine Economic Society), educator (past DLSU dean) and internationalist (former WB, ADB and USAid consultant) who understands the vagaries of the present and the promises of the future.

As a proud alumnus, I welcome his investiture as the 11th president of FEU. I congratulate the board of trustees for its prudent choice. I believe Dr. Alba is the right man for the right job at the right time for the right institution. Cheers!

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