Thursday, June 2, 2016

Holy Angel University

Acceptance Speech
On conferment of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa
M. V. Carpio-Bernido
Holy Angel University, Angeles City
25 April 2012

       The Most Rev. Paciano B. Aniceto, D.D., Archbishop of San Fernando and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sr. Josefina G. Nepomuceno, distinguished Trustees, University President Dr. Arlyn Sicangco-Villanueva, members of the faculty and staff, parents, graduates, ladies and gentlemen:
        First of all, allow me to express my deepest gratitude for the distinct honor bestowed by the Holy Angel University upon my husband Chris and myself. We are doubly grateful since your President, Dr. Sicangco- Villanueva, in graciousness and humility, personally came to our small high school in Jagna, Bohol, to extend the invitation to this affair. 
         For me, being trained in the natural sciences, it is quite overwhelming to be recognized for work in the ‘Humanities’. You see, being blessed with parents, Papa Tony and Mommy Edith Carpio, who engaged me and my 13 siblings in family dinner table conversations about philosophy, law, religion, literature, history, music and the arts, the humanities have always occupied a privileged place in my heart.
        Yet, confessing to feelings of inadequacy for this honorary degree and the privileges that come with it, I determined to manage these feelings by taking this as a source of encouragement to pursue the vision Chris and I have for the education and training of the young people of our motherland.
     In popular contemporary language, Wikipedia tells us that, the humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences. Furthermore, it states that, in the philosophical tradition [critique] is a methodical practice of doubt. The contemporary sense of critique has been largely influenced by the Enlightenment critique of prejudice and authority, which championed emancipation and autonomy from religious and political authorities.
        In a sense, this is what Chris and I have done for the past decades. We have been studying the human condition, in particular, the Filipino condition, using analytical, critical and scientific methods. We have questioned prevailing pedagogical dogmas and fashionable trends. This is so because, having been exposed to the lifestyles and intellectual intensity of academic communities in the advanced countries, it had become increasingly painful for us to see our own nation suffering in backwardness – in both economic and intellectual domains. 
         Yes, there may be a proliferation of five-star hotels and condominiums, five-star shopping malls and residential villages. There may be more access to the latest gadgets and links to the World Wide Web. Yet, squatters, now called ‘informal settlers’, and the rural poor, continue to live in subhuman conditions in many parts of our cities and provinces. Our airport services have been downgraded – reputed to be among the lowest in quality in the world. Chris has mentioned our poor performance indicators in internationally recognized measures of intellectual creativity in the STEM disciplines. Indeed, the list is long, and many have wondered what is wrong with us Filipinos.
         The few Filipinos, young and old, who have distinguished themselves in various areas in global competitions, are not enough to balance the tens of millions who make up the Philippine image of mediocrity in an age of global transparency. We have been left far behind even by our nearest neighbors in Southeast Asia.
        Chris and I thus set out to systematically determine what is wrong with us. Then we endeavored to find low-budget yet sustainable remedies that would progressively bring the millions of our young people to globally competitive performance levels. Our vision has always been to have the average Filipino child from any part of the country – in Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao – perform at least as well as the average Singaporean, Chinese, German, or Finnish child. This should be in spite of lack of human and material resources.
     Our small school in Jagna, Bohol, the Central Visayan Institute Foundation, clearly was a microcosm of the larger Philippine society. (Of course, we were helped in our endeavors by the fact that in Jagna, Bohol there is no night life, and we do our groceries 63 kilometers from where we live. The drive along the coast of the Bohol Sea allows many opportunities for deep thinking and contemplation.) 
        After a decade, it seems that we can offer a package of solutions contained in the CVIF Dynamic Learning Program. From experience and observation, from studies of recent results of pedagogical and neuroscientific research, from statistical analysis of extensive data we have accumulated so far, we can now say that with the right learning program, in a relatively short period of time, and at small cost to the Filipino people, we can have many of our young people performing at globally competitive levels, even in the proverbially challenging disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
        This is then the invitation and challenge I extend to you, our fellow graduates who have received academic degrees this afternoon. I invite you to join us in contributing as ordinary citizens to the building up of our beloved motherland. 
        For this, you do not have to go out into the streets to shout and raise placards. You do not need to join movements that advocate violent reform. All you need to remember is that, in a larger sense, being graduates of a Catholic university is a special responsibility. It requires ‘sanctification’ of every duty and task, every endeavor and enterprise. 
       Thus we cannot let our degrees be just passports to jobs for the highest incomes. Nor can we let the education we have received be simply laurels to boost our entrepreneurial investments for generating millions for ourselves and our immediate families.
      For those who will set up their own businesses, Catholic education requires that products and services be produced or rendered in such a way that they redound to further human development, all for the greater glory of God. It means taking Corporate Social Responsibility to a higher sanctifying level, remembering what was said over two thousand years ago –  “What you do unto the least of My brothers, you do to Me.”
      For those who will join the academe, a degree from a Catholic university requires that every effort be exerted towards professional competence in teaching and research. Mentoring must be done in a Christian manner. There should be no place for terror teachers who find professional fulfillment in having many students fail their course. Neither should there be any place for dishonesty in exams and scholarly work.
     For those who will work in the public or private sector, services have to be rendered in a professional and humane manner that maintains the dignity of the person being served – whether rich or poor, pleasing to the senses or not. It means feeling a sense of urgency in serving not only those who are rich and mighty, but most especially, those who do not even know that they have the right to demand service from public servants.
     For those who will eventually become government officials, may you be the new breed of professionally competent Filipino leaders who truly wish to serve through their position. Our nation has long suffered from dishonest and corrupt officials. But it has also long suffered from well-meaning honest but incompetent officials. 
        There is much to do for our country to achieve a place of dignity in the community of nations. There are many challenges to overcome. Nevertheless, I believe Filipinos working together can achieve this. After all, we have been shown a shining example of Filipino strength, fortitude and unfading hope by you, the people of Pampanga. You rebuilt what was devastated by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. And this you did in a relatively short period of time, defying dire predictions of many.
       May all Filipinos then be given the grace by Divine Providence to respond to present national challenges for love of God and our nation, the Philippines.  
         Laus Deo Semper .

Saturday, May 28, 2016

UP Manila 2013 Commencement Speech CCB

2013 Commencement Exercises
University of the Philippines Manila 
19 April 2013, Philippine International Convention Center 
Dr. Christopher C. Bernido 

Honorable Members of the Board of Regents, Dr. Manuel B. Agulto, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Manila, faculty members and officials of UP Manila, the 2013 graduates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. 
  It is indeed an honor to be asked to be a speaker for the 2013 Commencement Exercises of the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila knowing that your campus is the birthplace and cradle of the University of the Philippines System when it was founded in 1908. Allow me, therefore, to congratulate the 2013 graduates who survived the rigors of UP the past four years or more. 

Sunday, May 15, 2016

UP Manila 2013 Commencement Speech MVCB


M. V. Carpio-Bernido

UP Manila Commencement Speech

April 19, 2013


      Honorable members of the Board of Regents, Chancellor Manuel B. Agulto, Vice-Chancellors, Deans, Members of the Faculty, Staff, distinguished guests, parents, grandparents, relatives and friends of the graduates, members of UP Manila Class of 2013:

      First of all, I would like to congratulate the graduates, their mentors, parents, grandparents, and relatives. This is a special moment of achievement for you, and it is a great honor for Chris and myself to be invited by your University officials to be part of this memorable occasion.