Histroy — The Great Teacher
“History, the Great ձ”
(Words of welcome delivered during the 117thPhilippine Independence Day celebration on June 12, 2015 at the SU-ROTC Center, Col. Roman Yap Hall.)
“There is a history in all men’s lives!” – is a line fromHenry IV, a history play by England’s most famous playwright, William Shakespeare.
Indeed, there is always history in the life of all men and women … and today, as we commemorate our 117th Independence Day, we continue to write that history for the first time outside of Luzon – when PresidentNoyܾԴwrites thathistory in Sta. Barbara town in Iloilo where the Philippine flag was first raised outside of Luzonon November 17, 1898.
Precision is then the keystone to any history, the story of our collective identity as a nation–whenever history is written, recorded, documented.
Welcome to Ǹ’s own commemoration of the significance of Independence Day in our lives as a knowledge community.
Welcome too, tothis ROTC Center here at the Col.Roman YapᲹ,the place that honors for posterity howTrustee Col. Roman T. Yap faithfully served Silliman especially as Chair of our Board of Trustees.
Silliman University 1901-1976,the book on the history of Ǹcopyrighted in 1977andauthored by three great minds at Silliman–DoctorsEdilbertoTiempo, CrispinMaslog, andT.ValentinoSitoy– has recorded for us too, a historical gem:”. . .that soon after the fall of Manila on January 2, 1942, the entire Silliman ROTC corps was inducted into the United States Armed Forces in the Far East or USAFFE.”
Let mealso share with each one of you that theUSAFFEhadpersonal significance forusin our familyasmy father,EudosioC. Bustamanteanduncles,Francisco and AndresCastilBustamante, were alsowith theUSAFFEthen.
It must be noted too, thatatSillimanUniversity – who received official recognitionasauniversity in 1938as yet – had herROTCrecognizedas“the only college cadet corps in the country to have this distinction.”Moreover, as“the battle for Bataan and Corregidor raged, a USAFFE airstrip was constructed inSibulanwhichextendedto the sea that also cut through ourSilliman Farm”at the College of Agriculture.
As we celebrate our 117thIndependence Day,shall we give our University – and herrolein our commemorationtodayofthat most significantdayin ourcountry– a warm round of applause?
History is the mirror that helps us reflect on and learn from the many precious gems in our country. And because we are a knowledge community, one of those gems worth learning comesfrom the core values of the American Veterans Affairs in their simple identity, I-CARE, to mean Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, Excellence.
At Silliman, where education for excellence is our core value, such vision can onlybereached through Integrity in our knowledge work, our Commitments to be in the service for others, our Advocaciesfor causes towards justice and fair play, and mutual Respect – a basic trait for one another in our humanity.
On behalfofSilliman University president, Dr.BenMalayangIII,welcome to this ROTC Center where today we do not only commemorate Philippine Independence but alsocreate another facet of our History as a people, as a nation.Our national hero, Jose Rizal,alsoremindedus thatmoving forward is impossible without us looking back into the past, as individuals and as citizens of our country! Learning then can never stop.
In the academe therefore, history is our great teacher . . . and Shakespeare has been right all along: “There is a history in all men’s lives!”
