In Memoriam

With sadness, we announce the death of our father, Honorato “Amang” Reyes, Jr. He was diagnosed with terminal kidney failure only last June. He celebrated his 80th birthday last July 2, and entered hospice care two weeks later. His was a full life consumed by great loves.

He loved the law. After graduating from the UP College of Law (Class of 1969), he declined to join a law firm and instead became the “in-house counsel” of Nepa-Q-Mart, holding office at the heart of a palengke teeming with burly life. His career as a litigator spanned 53 years, including a stint as the Head of the Litigation Department of San Miguel Corporation. He cross-examined his last witness at his last hearing only last July 10. Two weeks ago, he learned from the Supreme Court he had finally won this case he had been litigating for 16 years. The shriek of joy from Papa from his hospital bed as he held that “pink resolution” is something we will never forget; it was meant to be that he would live to see his win. It was a storybook ending to a career that gifted him much pride and joy.

He loved teaching. He was a devoted professor at the Jose Rizal University School of Law, where he had taught since 1998. He especially enjoyed teaching Evidence and Property. Until he entered hospice care, he was very much looking forward to teaching yet again this current semester. Yet even more than his love for the subject matter, he loved his students as people and even as friends. His solicitude for their welfare became a distinguishing trait.

He loved writing, poetry especially. This is well-known especially to those who had mainly encountered him through Facebook. He found purpose in connecting with other people through his poems, in reciting aloud his poems, in hearing his poems recited out loud. Though never formally trained in writing poetry, he was wise to know his insights into the human condition more than qualified him to write about life through verse. In his last weeks, even as his physical strength failed him, he still tried to write – there are perhaps dozens of unwritten poems which nonetheless were fully formed in his mind. Most of all, he told us of his desire to write final verses of farewell to his audience, expressing his profound gratitude to all those who shared with him, who stood with him, and who expressed their appreciation for him. He was consumed by the desire to thank you all.

He loved our Mama, his everlasting flame. They were married within one month from first meeting. Her light, and later her memory, illuminate many of his poems. He delighted in seeing how his only granddaughter Kiara ended up resembling our Mama. Kiara survives him, as do his grandchildren Akio and Marcus, and his two children Oliver and Jenny (with Glenn). He is also survived by his siblings Albert, Lulu, and Lilia. He was predeceased by his brother Efren, his parents Natoy and Lucia, and his wife Julita with whom he will be interred. We who survive him are proud of our Papa and the life he lived to the fullest and always with passion.

The details of the wake and funeral will be announced once finalized. Please keep him alive in your prayers and in your own inspirations.

Source: Amang Reyes Facebook page

The Institute of Biology, UP Diliman is saddened by the passing of Dr. Virginia S. Cariño.

Ma’am Virgie was a towering figure, both literally and figuratively, at the then Department of Zoology and at the Institute of Biology. She graduated with a degree of B.Sc. in Zoology (1952) and M.Sc. in Zoology (1961), before she completed her Ph.D. in Environmental Science in the 1980’s, all in UP Diliman. She started her career as a Technical Helper at the College of Agriculture in UP Los Baños in 1951 before moving to the Department of Zoology in UP Diliman as Instructor in 1952 and rose through the ranks until she retired as Professor 12 at the Institute of Biology in 1994. She has made a name for herself as a teacher and researcher in the fields of Developmental Biology and Environmental Science.

Some of the notable accomplishments of Ma’am Virgie include being a founding member of UP’s Zoological Society, Director of the Natural Sciences Research Institute, President of the Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society Alpha Chi Chapter, President of the Biology Teachers Association of the Philippines, and a recipient of the Metrobank Outstanding Teacher Award – Tertiary Level in 1988.
Despite retiring in UP in 1994, Ma’am Virgie remained active in teaching, which is one of her primary passions, by becoming a Professorial Lecturer of the Institute. She was also active in Kalayaan College and in the Philippine Society for Developmental Biology.
Though we mourn the loss of Ma’am Virgie, we are grateful that we were able to partake of the full life she lived and the passion she shared.

Rest in Power, Ma’am Virgie!

(The viewing of her ashes is at Sta. Rita de Cascia Parish at PhilAm Homes in Quezon City until the morning of August 1. A Mass will be held at 9 AM, after which her remains will be brought to her hometown of Biñan, Laguna. Another Mass will be celebrated at 1 PM at the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of San Isidro Labrador de Biñan.)

Source: UP Institute of Biology Facebook post

The University of the Philippines Mindanao mourns the passing of Sebastian “Angie” Lim Angliongto, a member of the UP Los Baños College of Agriculture Class of 1959. Sir Angie’s life was intertwined with his UP education and UP Mindanao, in particular.
The idea of having a UP in Mindanao can be traced back to the desire of having a UP in Mindanao by the members of the UP Alumni Association Davao (UPAAD) in the 1950s. Various talks between UP officials and the Davao alumni continued in the subsequent years, which saw intermittent efforts to extend UP education to the southern Philippines.

Sir Angie was elected president of the UP Alumni Association Davao in 1988, a time when the sentiment for the creation of a UP in Mindanao was gaining wider support.

In 1989, the UPAAD organized the 12th UP Regional Alumni Institute, at which a “Resolution for the Promotion and Establishment of a UP unit in Davao City” was issued at the closing session on November 25, 1989, signed by Sir Angie as conference chairman. Sen. Edgardo Angara, Rep. Carlos Padilla, and Rep. Prospero Nograles would draft bills in their respective houses in the next few years. Meanwhile, the UPAA Davao crafted a concept paper and a position paper to serve as inputs to the legislative initiatives.

In 1992, Fidel V. Ramos was elected president. He attended the 2nd Mindanao Business Conference in 1993 as the keynote speaker. Sir Angie took the opportunity and passed him the position paper. President Ramos, himself a product of a UP primary education, was surprised by the realization that there’s no UP in Mindanao. Immediately, he penned a notation for Senator Teofisto Guingona to create a fact-finding committee for this concern.

Sir Angie continued to send the position papers to various offices and officials in UP and the government until Rep. Elias B. Lopez introduced House Bill 13382. Eventually, incorporated with the various bills, it became Republic Act 7889, “The UP Mindanao Act,” which President Ramos signed in 1995.

Since then, Sir Angie and his fellow alumni created the UP Mindanao Foundation, which provided scholarships to students and assistance to faculty members. He was an adviser to the various UP Mindanao administrators, an energetic advocate of UP Mindanao to various prospective donors, and a constant presence in UP Mindanao’s graduation ceremonies.

The funeral wake will be held on July 26 – July 30 2024, at the Venice Room, Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes and Crematory. In lieu of flowers, the family wants to honor Sir Angie’s wishes by supporting the scholarship program of the University of the Philippines Mindanao Foundation Inc. (UPMFI) as it was very dear to him.

The University is forever grateful for the lifelong efforts and the love Sir Angie has given to this institution.
You will be missed Sir Angie. Your memory will live on in our hearts.

(Source: “The UP Mindanao Story,” an unpublished manuscript by Dr. Agnes S. Togon)

Source: University of the Philippines Mindanao Facebook post

Former UP Professor of English and Comparative Literature Josefina Dionisio (JD) Constantino (28 March 1920-19 July 2024), known to many as Sr. Teresa Joseph Patrick of Jesus & Mary, OCD, passed away at 4:00 a.m. today, 19 July 2014. She was 104.

Sister Teresa is a UP College of Education and Columbia University (English and Comparative Literature) alumna. She was a student of pioneering fictionist and creative writing teacher Paz Marquez Benitez at UP and Pulitzer-winning poet and critic Mark Van Doren at Columbia. Later, she held grants and fellowships at Edinburgh, MIT, and Michigan.

In UP, she was Secretary of the University and the Board of Regents under President Vidal Arceo Tan (1951-1955). Her students include National Artist Amelia Lapeña Bonifacio, poet Virginia Moreno, Inquirer columnist Belinda Olivarez Cunanan, and former Malacañang Press Secretary and Manila Bulletin Editor-in-Chief Crispulo Icban.

As a critic, she is widely remembered for her critiques on National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin: “The Woman Who Had Two Navels” (review), published in Philippine Studies [vol. 9 no. 4 (1961): 639–650], and “Illusion and Reality in Nick Joaquin,” in Philippine fiction: essays from Philippine studies, 1953-1972 [ ed. Joseph A. Galdón S.J., Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1972: 13-24]. Her other works include The Asian religious sensibility and Christian (Carmelite) spirituality, the folly is the glory of the cross (UP Press, 2010), and Five Letters to St. Teresa (2011). Before joining the Carmelites, she became a Development Bank of the Philippines and a Manila Chronicle columnist.

Schedule of Viewing of +Sr Teresa Joseph Patrick of Jesus and Mary, OCD
July 19 – 1 p.m. until 9 pm
July 20 – The gate will open at 5 am
Funeral Mass at 1 pm to be presided over by the Bishop of Cubao, Most Rev. Honesto F. Ongtioco, D.D.
Schedule of Viewing of +Sr Teresa Joseph Patrick of Jesus and Mary, OCD
Today, it will start at 1 p.m. until 9 pm
July 20 – The gate will open at 5 am
Funeral Mass at 1 pm to be presided over by our dear Bishop of Cubao, Most Rev. Honesto F. Ongtioco, D.D.
Masses for Sister Teresa will be streamed online.

📷 Jesus and Mary of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCD), Gilmore, Quezon City https://www.facebook.com/share/v/FKG6iLVN4oDQfmvf/?mibextid=VuxXZ0

Source: Jose Wendell Capili I Facebook post