NEXT UP DILIMAN CHANCELLOR: PROFESOR ROLANDO TOLENTINO (An Unsolicited Endorsement)

[Our friend, Dr. Roland Tolentino, has accepted his nomination for UP Diliman Chancellor... I am posting here a piece written by Marc Guerrero, a former newspaper colleague of ours.]

NEXT UP DILIMAN CHANCELLOR: PROFESOR ROLANDO TOLENTINO

(An Unsolicited Endorsement)

...from a communicator grandson of one of the first Filipino public-school principals and district superintendents under the American Thomasites

Roland T. during a Cultural Center of the Philippines Workshop for Grassroots Poets @ Makiling Arts Center in Laguna.

Photo by CHI

To all creative and compassionate Filipinos (in the homeland and worldwide), who aspire to become good, better, best, great, finest, excellent, perfect and divine:

Ang KABATAAN ANG PAG-ASA NG BANSA, NGAYON, HINDI BUKAS, NGAYON NA...

I and my press, media, literary and cultural colleagues --they will come forward to be recognized, as we go along-- have all the reasons to believe that NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME FOR YOUNG (FREE, RESPONSIBLE AND RESPONSIVE) FILIPINOS TO REIGN IN OUR COUNTRY in the academe and all other clusters of our society.

Adults, old people, elders and seniors - not all of them had exemplified GENUINE STATESMANSHIP in their thoughts, feelings and actions. But elders, if and when they chose to be young-again, forever-young or YOUNG AT HEART, can definitely contribute their valuable experiences and expertise in young Filipino leaders' youth and idealism, youth and realism, dynamism, innovation, intellectual and intuitive risk-taking and synonymous other qualities of FILIPINOS na MAIKARARANGAL SA BUONG MUNDO.

The elders ought not to hang on but move on, move up, move right to their proper places in history by giving way to the youngsters who are inspired enough to lead, to serve, to manage, to administer, to govern and to serve.

I am one of the hundreds of mga "piping saksi" or silent witnesses as to how Committed writer, journalist, humanist and teacher, Professor ROLANDO TOLENTINO, grew as a person and as a professional (from the only Filipino broadsheet daily newspaper of the late-1980s, Diyaryo Filipino onwards), and how he nurtured himself (his career, his human relations and all) together with that of his juniors (his teachers and elders and anyone ahead of him, included) to achieve where he is now and to help them achieve where they are now.

Youth is sometimes wasted on the young, but not on Professor Tolentino.

Professor Tolentino – by and through discipline, hard work, studies and sacrifice – had become a highly respected Filipino in and out of the academe.

It is not only for these reasons that we endorse Professor Rolando Tolentino to be elected or appointed the next CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-DILIMAN.

We believe he can (r)evolutionize the UP System to the optimum, because Professor Tolentino is a "revolutionary," he is a "revolutionist" - with a capital E, and not with a capital R.

Lady “Juvenocracy” is knocking on our doors. She wants the young not just to rule, govern and reign, but most importantly, to inspire the elders, together with this and the next generation of Filipinos, in order to journey together (“magkahawak-kamay,” at “magkakapit-puso”) towards the ultimate destination:

We have to evolve as a Filipino nation.

Faithfully,

Marc Guerrero

Proponent of Journalism with Compassion

marc_guerrero@journalist.com