LAST September 28, the UNO-Recoletos Blue and Gold Alumni Association gathered once again all its members for a grand alumni homecoming. It was a whole day affair that opened with a thanksgiving mass celebrated by Fr. Jojo Jadulco, OAR at the university auditorium. My congratulations to high school batches '69, '79. And '94.
Fr. Ronel Gealon, OAR, in his inspirational message during lunch reported the achievements of the university in the past year and presented the plans for the future. You showed again the meaning of the commentary of St. Augustine on how great it is to see brethren live in common.
During the Grand Alumni and Awards Night at SMX, Fr. Don Besana, OAR, UNO-R president, said in his message that coming back to the university is like a marriage where both parties have made a vow to strengthen their relationship by being one. Homecomings are like the renewal of vows.
A proposed plan for the restoration and renovation of the UNO-R auditorium was presented to the assembly. This is a bold project to be undertaken by the Blue and Gold Alumni Association. The idea of the renovation was started by then Fr. Demetrio Penascoza and now it is pursued by the present administration. The challenged was accepted by the Silver and the Ruby Jubilarians who donated immediately. So, the call today it to make a place in the university that every ONI, UNO and UNO-R alumni could say that it is a product of a communitarian effort. It is really high time for the alumni to have a place at the university to call their own. So, the race is on for the golden hearts of the alumni to make the dream a reality before the celebration of UNO-R's 75th year in 2022.
So once again, congratulations to the alumni of Occidental Negros Institute, The University of Negros Occidental and UNO-Recoletos. Your homecoming commenced and every year, let the spirit of interiority, community, friendship, solidarity and justice, freedom and love move you to always come back. Congratulations.
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Mass actions, protests, and strikes have the objective to put misery and difficulty to the "status quo" so that attention would be given by the governing authority to a certain issue or situation that affects greatly the majority. In the past, these actions were done as a prelude to topple down a dictator. Those who joined the protest actions had a common vision to awake the minds of the sleeping majority of the injustices and unjust practices of that dictatorial regime. It was almost 20 years of action and protests that culminated to a national protest that really sent he dictator away but its roots continued to grow and crept once more to the halls of authority.
The protest action done on the last day of September is to tell the administration to abandon its plan to modernize the transport industry through phasing out of the old model and replacing it with modern and too-expensive transportation which might end up once more to the monopoly of the transportation industry in the country. Who could afford a new public transport unit today? Unless the government subsidizes this, this will fall into the hands of rich capitalists. Or worse when the government taps the private businessmen to finance the project, it would mean a monopoly of the business. The modernization plan is good but there is a great need to really plan this out. Three to four years after now would be a good time frame but having it next year would mean suicide or genocide for the transport sector. The 2020 plan would give birth to a transportation monopoly in the country.
If by the next months, we see a crackdown on the big transportation companies in the country, then we have to brace ourselves with a new monopoly of the business.
We need to do our share as public. We need to be critical of the plans. Allow me to have a quick look at the whole plan in recent history. We are known as a people who allow evil to persist. Look at the issue on extra-judicial killings, it has becoming a part of our culture to just allow the persecution to go on. So, would we allow a monopoly of public transportation? The Monday transport strike was a wake-up call for all the sectors of society to discuss further the future of our nation.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.