Learning the Ropes

I am always amazed by the vision and wisdom of my Papa Inting. After the country’s liberation from the Japanese in the 1940s, he worked at once to re-establish the Visayan Institute that he had started long before the war. He continued on his project to bring education to people’s backyards – by establishing satellite schools in the northern and southern towns of Cebu.

Papa’s first satellite school was the Gullas Pardo High School. It was really a significant move at the time, as there were no public high schools outside of Cebu City then. To add to the novel idea, he also introduced the study-now-pay-later plan in the 1950s.

Back then there no school anywhere in the country offering a program specifically on how to manage an academic institution. Papa, again, thought of a creative way about it. He encouraged me to attend the meetings of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) in Manila. He patiently waited until I caught on with his enthusiasm.

I was then preoccupied as a basketball player and, eventually, as coach of the UV Green Lancers. I was also president of the Cebu Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) in 1971, the precursor of what is now known as Cebu Schools Athletic Federation Inc. (CESAFI). In due time, Papa’s gentle prodding for me to attend the PACU meetings got to me.

The monthly meetings of school heads in Manila would usually last for hours from mid-mornings to late afternoons, on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays. There I got to learn the ropes, so to speak, of running a school. Every time, I’d come back to Cebu a little more confident in assisting my parents in handling academic concerns and issues as these would arise.

In those PACU meetings I had the honor and privilege to be in the same circle with Dr. Santi de la Cruz, co-founder of the University of the East; Dr. Armand Fabella, former Secretary of Education and owner of Jose Rizal College; Dr. Jess Jocson of the National University; Oscar Mapua of Mapua Institute of Technology; and Dr. Amading Dizon, whom we fondly referred to as Mr. PACU because he was very knowledgeable and had written numerous books on the Philippine education landscape. In the company of those great minds, my own knowledge grew.

I learned that managing a school is like managing any business enterprise. The only difference is that in your hands lies the future of your students with whatever profession they choose for themselves. The school is known by the kind of graduates it produces – the quality of graduates is a reflection of the school they come from.

When I was already running the school myself, Dr. Felicidad “Fely” Reyes convinced me of the need to have our academic programs undergo accreditation. Back then the University of the Visayas didn’t quite appreciate the value of “accreditation.” With Dr. Reyes’ guidance, I’d come to realize that we needed a system to ensure consistent high educational standards.

And so I appointed a quality assurance representative in UV. Since then, our programs have been regularly undergoing accreditation. We have also adopted innovative learning platforms, like Moodle and robotics, for our students.

We have since given particular attention to our choice of deans and faculty members. We emphasize the need for them to understand that each moment with the students is important; and they shall give their best in imparting knowledge to their students. I believe that the passion and dedication of teachers leave a good impression in the students.    

Every moment is precious. Time is a gift given to us by the Lord. It is a gift of opportunity, too, that in life we meet certain people whom we admire and respect. Papa Inting once said to me, “Dodong, you cannot demand respect, you have to earn it.” Lola Andrea’s words sealed it further: “Dodong, walay dahon nga matagak kun dili pagbuot sa kahitas-an.” (Not a leaf falls if not by heaven’s will.)