“NEVER stop asking the hard questions and be disruptors for good”.
Veteran journalist Jessica Soho reminded the graduating students to be one with the community and society during her speech as a guest speaker at the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) 114th General Commencement Exercises on July, 2025.
The theme for the 2025 celebrations was ‘Lunas” reminding the UPD community and the public that “reflexivity and a holistic perspective are key to harnessing the collective knowledge within and outside the University to find sustainable and humane solutions” to society’s problems.
“Reach out to more people. Get out of your own circles or silos or echo chambers. At this age where we all have a voice that can be amplified through social media, we also need to listen well. You will be surprised at what you can find out,” Soho said. “UP and society must go hand in hand. We are not above the people, we are part of them.”
Soho explained: “UP is not a vacuum, and more importantly, not an ivory tower. It is easy to connect what we learned to the realities of life, because just beside our academic buildings and hangouts are the homes and small businesses of workers in the campus.”
The sudden downpour did not deter the spirit of the Iskolars ng Bayan who attended the event at the University Amphitheater wherein academic degrees on 5,017 graduates were conferred.
Among the 3,876 bachelor’s degrees holders, 2,369 finished with Latin honors wherein 241 are summa cum laude, 1,143 are magna cum laude, and 985 are cum laude.
A Latin phrase that translates to “with the greatest honors,” summa cum laude is the university’s highest academic distinction for graduates with a weighted average grade of 1.20 or higher followed by the magna cum laude (1.21-1.45) then cum laude (1.46-1.75).
Admission to UP is highly selective, with thousands of applicants competing for limited slots across the university’s eight constituent units and 17 campuses.
The Diliman campus was my solace for a decade as a student at the UP School of Economics (1987 to 1991) and later at the UP College of Law (1992 to 1998). After engaging in graphs, formulas and laws of supply and demand as an Economics major, I crossed the street to pursue my law degree.
Sunflowers and sablay have become the symbol of the ultimate rites of passage in the university.
It is said that the blossoming of sunflowers during graduation season was already a tradition since the 1970s.
Sunflowers always follow the direction of the sunlight. Graduates should always follow the light, a light that calls them to serve the country.
I did not wear a sablay as the university amphitheater was just a sea of traditional black togas.
“Sablay,” translated from “tagumpay”, or “triumph,” is just a fitting sash for the students that have completed their studies, which became the official academic costume of UP officially adopted in 2000.
It symbolizes nationalism and the importance put upon our indigenous culture, which are among the values learned from the University.
“Sablay” is inspired by an indigenous loose garment traditionally used for formal occasions.
The Sablay is adorned with ukkil and geometric elements. The ukkil represents the growth of knowledge while the triangles and chevrons, as geometric patterns, are common design elements across indigenous cultures in the Philippines.
The university’s acronym appears as a symbol on the Sablay based on the baybayin for “U” and “P”
The sablay is worn initially over the right shoulder. After the President has conferred the degree, it is moved from the right to the left shoulder without being taken off.
Some sectors raised the issue of “grade inflation” which refers to a situation where a larger proportion of students are graduating with Latin honors than in the past, often attributed to a perceived easing of grading standards.
For summa cum laude, there were 54 in 2019; 28 in 2020; 29 in 2021; 150 in 2022; 305 in 2023; 286 in 2024; then 241 in 2025.
For magna cum laude, there were 437 in 2019; 302 in 2020; 199 in 2021; 661 in 2022; 1,196 in 2023; 1,109 in 2024; then 985 in 2025.
For cum laude, there were 1,173 in 2019; 683 in 2020; 456 in 2021; 644 in 2022; 742 in 2023; 788 in 2024; then 985 in 2025.
There were less than 5 summa in 1991, including Marikina representative Stella Quimbo as our batch valedictorian in BS Economics.
In 1911, UP had its first commencement exercise. But it was in 1949 that general commencement exercises were first held at the UP Diliman Sunken Garden.
It was the same year of UP’s 40th anniversary celebration held in February 1949 that was highlighted by the transfer of the Oblation from UP Manila.
To the new UP graduates, savor the brightness of the sunflowers and be true to the lyrics “Humayo’t itanghal, giting at tapang. Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan!”
(Peyups is the moniker of University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808.)
