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
