Theme: “Role of UP Manila in Urban Transformation of its Environment and Community”
As a proud son of the University of the Philippines, I wish you all a happy 30th UP Manila Day, as well as a glorious 35th Anniversary of your autonomy as a Health Sciences Center in the country.
A few days ago, I concluded an official visit to Israel. While the Holy Land was a fitting conclusion to a leg of official travel that culminated with the canonization of the second Filipino saint, Saint Pedro Calungsod, it was difficult to overlook the vast technical advances in Israel.
In agriculture and food production, as well as in high-technology research, there is a wealth of activity ensuing. The resulting technologies are not only applied to their own challenges but exported worldwide in the spirit of global kinship and trade.
This sophistication in innovation not only allows the small state to survive. It has made them thrive as a center of technological excellence. The advances that they usher in are largely a product of their universities. A good example is the Weizman Institute of Science, established by one of Israel’s past presidents, which is among the first institutions in the world that sought to utilize its findings for commercial purposes.
In active collaboration with state and the private sector, Israeli universities continue to be part of the Jewish nation’s continued progress in different capacities. In every square foot of each of their science parks is a revolution waiting to be unlocked.
Increasingly, we are coming to a global consensus that nothing plays a more central role in society’s development, growth and progress than education. In centuries past, it was easier to measure a nation’s prosperity in gold, oil or dollars. Today, while these goods and currencies still hold value, it is increasingly clear that a country’s intellectual wealth is the true cornerstone of its growth and prosperity.
The University of the Philippines knows this all too well. From its birth, it was bred to provide expertise critical to the task of nation-building. And since it first broke ground, it has lived up to this mission directly as an institution and indirectly, through its sons and daughters who rise to the very top of their professions.
Over the years, the base of UP’s strength and engagement has evolved, with the establishment of the different campuses, centers and institutes focusing on specialized concerns. Through strong ties with the national government and international associations, the University continues to display its relevance, as it should. And I pray that we, the nation’s leaders and the University’s children will continue to insure that the entire UP system has both the resources and opportunities needed to fulfill its timeless mission.
In my capacity as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, these opportunities are not in short supply. I have seen the increasing need to protect our countrymen from the threat of intensified storms and flooding, as well as frequent occurrences of earthquakes, even as we push for the proper utilization of our land and the formation of sustainable communities.
The poor who are forced to reside in dangerous areas such as waterways are the most vulnerable, and their relocation to places that will not only protect them from physical harm but also see to their livelihood and growth is one of our foremost priorities.
The National Informal Settlements Upgrading Strategy or NISUS is one of the developments that I constantly cite in working towards this objective. This strategy is being formulated by the HUDCC in partnership with the World Bank, and I am confident that the insights of the academe will prove vital in ensuring that our plans are inclusive, comprehensive and lasting. I am extending this invitation to take part in conceiving a durable plan in our mutual desire to uplift the lives of less fortunate countrymen. I have the highest hopes that you will respond to this request the way the UP system always has.
The role of the academe, in this case UP Manila, in nation-building can never be undervalued. During our efforts to transform Makati from a debt-laden municipality to a vibrant financial center where all sectors of society are partners in social and economic progress, our collaborations with leading educational institutions played a pivotal role in identifying where government’s financial resources can best be applied.
By partnering with centers like the UP National College of Public Administration and School of Urban and Regional Planning, for example, we were able to train our employees so they could confidently and competently take on the challenges presented by local governance. We have since adopted this system in the city government-run University of Makati, where institutions as the Pimentel Institute for Leadership and Governance have been established to cater to the needs of Makati and other local governments working towards progress.
My friends,
Today UP Manila grants me another immense honor. The University of the Philippines-Manila has invited me to be a partner in its long-term development plans and it is my distinction to lend my support to your noble efforts.
In particular, Chancellor Manuel Agulto has asked me to stand behind the TORCH program. The university has staked its claim as an active player not only in the welfare of the immediate community, but also of the whole nation. This will require a lot of work from all of us and before this torch can host a flame bright enough to set the land on fire, we shall need to kindle it with our own flickers and sparks.
Tonight, on the launching of the Torch program, we begin to fan the embers that glow within each of us, the very embers of service and technical competence that the University planted in us.
I am confident that this 25-year plan will succeed in implementing needed changes in the nation’s health system, and if we keep our course, we shall live to see a future made bright by our solidarity, our excellence and our torch.
Thank you.
Mabuhay kayo!