Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
13 Feb 2008

 

 

There is an interesting small college trivia in Punchline about big time personalities entrusted to govern our country and its people.

The trivia reminds me of Ateneo homecoming speech delivered by another big time personality, a surprise guest speaker who was surprised because he was formally recognized as an Ateneo Alumnus after all those years before he became a President of the country.

The speaker was His Expellency Erap, who graduated from Ateneo grade school and a 2nd year student of Ateneo High School before he was expelled because he got into a fight with classmates who were bullying another classmate who later became the Secretary of Energy during his term as President.

Interestingly, Erap was introduced to the audience by a former classmate in grade school. Erap told the crowd that he used to copy from his classmate and he became the President while his classmate is only his Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

The speech delivered by Erap gave us a clear idea about the making of the President and his cabinet men in the government.

As we all know, His Excellency Expellency Erap was also kicked out from the Office of the President, prosecuted, tried and convicted beyond reasonable doubt of plunder and immediately pardoned by another Ateneo alumnus, Her Excellency GMA.

As we watch current events unfolding in our beloved country, Filipinos around the globe are very much aware of the possibility that Her Excellency can become Her Expellency and suffer the same fate. Who is going to give her presidential pardon in case that will happen?

According to Erap, there are only two schools: Ateneo and others. He said, if you come from some other schools, you would probably need at least a college degree to be considered qualified to be president but if you come from the Ateneo, all you need is to have finished second year high school.

He also said that other brilliant alumni like Claro M. Recto, Raul Manglapus, and Emmanuel Pelaez tried in the past but unfortunately, were not successful. It took a drop-out like him to bring home the trophy to the Ateneo.

It is very interesting to note at this point that PGMA spent her primary and secondary education at the Assumption Convent graduating high school valedictorian, was always in the Dean’s list at Georgetown University where she took up AB Economic and continued to pursue the same course at Assumption College, graduating as Magna Cum Laude, took up her MA in Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University and her Ph.D in Economics at UP School of Economics.

According to religious leaders managing Ateneo de Manila University, to understand the soul of the university — what shaped it and where it came from, where it is going and where it can take you — it is essential to understand its motto, Lux in Domino, or “Light in the Lord.” How can this be if the souls of some religious leaders in the country are more in politics than in the Gospel of the Lord our God?

It is also very interesting to note that last December 10, 2004, Ateneo de Manila University celebrated its 145th anniversary and 145 years of the return of Jesuit Education to the Philippines.

According to their history, it all started in 1859 when His Expellency Father Cuevas, the Jesuit Mission Superior, could not resist the pleas of the burghers of Manila so the Jesuits, expelled from the Philippines a century earlier, returned.

Isn’t it about time that religious organizations doing business in the Philippines obey our beloved Jesus Christ who said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”?

Filipinos should dance the Cha-cha as soon as possible to remove the religious organization’s tax holidays successfully enshrined in our Constitution by religious leaders who are constitutional experts.

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