Celebrating ‘Tatak UP’ excellence at the alumni homecoming – Part 2

Continuing from last week’s column, let me highlight the other remarkable alumni recognized during the University of the Philippines Alumni Association Cebu Chapter Grand Alumni Homecoming held on December 6.

Prof. Palmy Marinel Pe-Tudtud (Arts, Design, and Culture), current vice chancellor for Academic Affairs of UP Cebu, previously served as the dean of the College of Communication, Art, and Design when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. She led her team at the UP Cebu Fabrication Laboratory to produce the much-needed but scarce face shields at the time which were distributed to hospitals, barangay health centers, and other frontliners.

Prof. Ligaya Rabago-Visaya (Arts, Design and Culture), a fellow columnist of The FREEMAN, is a multi-awarded actress, beloved professor, and cultural advocate whose works have enriched Cebuano arts. Over her four decades of teaching at UP Cebu, she has profoundly influenced students in Philippine Arts, Theater Arts, and Sugbuanon Literature.

Dr. Juanito Zuasula, Jr.’s (Public Health and Medicine) work as senior epidemiologist in the Data Management and Research Unit of the Department of Health-7 had far-reaching effects on how health authorities approached the COVID-19 crisis from 2020 to 2022. He has been a tobacco cessation specialist at the Cebu City Medical Center since 2015.

Tatak UP Awards also has Affirmation Awardees, or those who have previously been recognized by other award-giving bodies within the university system. It affirmed their previous recognition by giving them the Tatak UP Award. They are Dr. Felisa U. Etemadi (Education), Dr. Peter Y. Mancao (Public Health and Medicine), Eileen G. Mangubat (Media and Communication), Alice K. Queblatin (Business and Entrepreneurship), and Telibert Laoc (Social Change: Community Empowerment).

Etemadi is recognized in Cebu as an excellent teacher and researcher, having authored papers on local governance, poverty alleviation, and other critical issues. Cebu City named her Most Outstanding Individual in 2000, and the Metrobank Foundation honored her twice as one of the nation’s outstanding teachers.

Dr. Mancao (Public Health and Medicine) is an accomplished thoracic-cardiovascular surgeon who tirelessly worked with the Cebu City government during the height of the pandemic by supervising Project Noah and being deputy task force leader of the Cebu City vaccine roll-out program.

Eileen G. Mangubat (Media and Communication) logged in 32 years in journalism as a reporter, news editor, editor in chief, and publisher. In 2003, she received the Benigno S. Aquino Fellowship Award for Professional Development. In 2013, she was awarded the Marshall McLuhan Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism.

Alice K. Queblatin (Business and Entrepreneurship) is a pioneer in the travel and tourism sector of Cebu business. As an eco-tourism advocate, she has led initiatives and created products that link communities to the rest of the sectors in the tourism value chain.

Telibert Laoc (Social Change: Community Empowerment) was the national executive director for five years at NAMFREL, as well as national co-chairman for operations and strategy. Presently, he is a founding trustee of the Democratic Insights Group, a think and do tank on competitive elections and voter-centered processes.

As a concluding note, if we want to progress as a society and nation, we must focus on rewarding what is good and discouraging self-serving actions that harm society’s well-being. Awards like the Tatak UP Awards create a positive impact towards this direction, standing in contrast to how social media often incentivizes harmful behaviors such as disinformation, thirst-trapping, and conflict-driven content for monetization. By rewarding sensationalism and divisive material, social media platforms contribute to laziness, brain rot, and the growing polarization of our times.