A social gathering in honor of UP public servants led by Ugnayan ng Pahinungod and Padayon Public Service Office pioneers followed the 2nd Gawad Pangulo for Excellence in Public Service awarding ceremonies on December 5, 2017 at the Institute of Biology, UP Diliman.
Certificates of recognition from the Padayon Public Service Office were handed out to the former director of the UP System Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, Dr. Grace Aguiling-Dalisay, and former directors of the Padayon Public Service Office, Dr. Ferdinand Llanes and Prof. Nelson Cainghog. Dr. Glecy Atienza received a special citation. Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Ranjit Rye received the award on behalf of Cainghog.
Dalisay spoke of the “rich” experience of voluntarism under Ugnayan ng Pahinungod; Atienza, on community outreach using the arts; and Llanes, on proposing a public service office at the UP System level in the tradition of Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, and also on being its founding director.
UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla, who was the director of the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod of UP Manila, delivered a message highlighting the character-building and unifying effect of voluntarism and how she insisted on the Ugnayan’s continuation in UP Manila. She invoked a programmed provision of space for voluntarism open to all sectors of the University.
The gathering also saw the presentation of an online public service reporting and monitoring system developed with a team, led by Vince Teodosio, from the Office of the Vice President for Development . It is set to be launched in January 2018. Also presented was The Disaster Risk Reduction Management Handbook for Academic Institutions: A UP Experience, edited by Llanes, which took lessons from UP System-coordinated responses to recent disasters.
UP Executive Vice President Teodoro Herbosa and current Padayon Public Service Office Director Ma. Crisanta Flores received the guests, handed out the citations, and acknowledged the presence and contributions of other veteran volunteers and public service pioneers, including Oscar Ferrer and Theresa de Villa, both former directors of Ugnayan ng Pahinungod. The late Ledivina Cariño of UP Diliman, the late Severino Cuevas of UP Los Baños, and Ruben Gumala of UP Visayas were also mentioned.
Faculty Regent Patricia Arinto and Chancellor Raymundo Rovillos were also present to meet and greet them that afternoon, Flores described as “an afternoon of gratitude and nostalgia”.
Public performance artist and art therapy pioneer Vim Nadera recited an apostrophe to UP, with national banduria champion Nikki Zen Obmasca of the Philippine High School for the Arts in accompaniment. Atienza performed a couple of songs used in her community outreach, with Robert Mendoza of Manila Tytana College accompanying her on guitar. (Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO)
Text and photo by UP Media and Public Relations Office (MPRO)