It has been two months since Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II formally assumed the position of UP Diliman (UPD) chancellor. On June 5, the chancellorship’s turnover ceremony was finally held at the Quezon Hall lobby.
The inauguration ceremony Pasasalamat at Pagsalubong began with the UP Rayadillo Honor Guards (Rayadillo) of the UPD Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Unit rendering arrival honors to outgoing chancellor Fidel R. Nemenzo, DSc. followed by Vistan. The Rayadillo was led by C2Lt. Brenden Ashley Molina 3Cl.
Col. Randy O. Remonte (GSC) PA, ROTC commandant, and Maj. Ferdinand Paulo S. Quiocho, ROTC assistant commandant, served as the military hosts.
After the ceremonial inspection of the unit’s honor guards, the ROTC Corps of Cadets then led the first flag-raising ceremony under Vistan’s tenure. The entire ceremony was accompanied by the ROTC Band.
After the flag-raising ceremony, UP President Angelo A. Jimenez greeted everyone present and invited Nemenzo to join the ranks of the UP System officials under his administration. He then reminded UP’s academic community to honor their commitment to public service.
“That we are measured by our struggling, teeming masses out there based on the changes that we have effected on their lives. Citations are good. Academic achievements are good. Our titles are good. We need it, but at the end of the day, the people are expecting results. And we cannot afford to be inward looking, self-absorbed. We have to move forward and embrace this challenge,” he said.
His speech was followed by the ceremonial passing of the chancellorship symbolized by the turnover of the UPD mace from Nemenzo to Vistan.
In his address, Vistan spoke about his intention to build a system and culture centered on the core values of honor and excellence, which he acknowledges is simple to say but difficult to consistently reflect throughout UPD’s history.
“[T]he mark I hope to leave as chancellor is the development of a system, a culture that will allow us to achieve all these in a sustainable manner. I believe that our mission now should be to position and capacitate ourselves to accomplish these again in the next 75 years and beyond by focusing and making systematic reforms in how we do our work,” he said.
Vistan said there should be a support system that will bring out the best in the people working for UPD.
“The key human component should be supported by infrastructure, equipment, clear and efficient work systems, nurturing working conditions, and continuous capacity building,” he said.
It was also this time that he formally introduced to the UPD community the vice chancellors who will aid him in his quest for honor and excellence.
Both Vice Chancellor for Administration Adeline A. Pacia and Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Raquel B. Florendo, PhD will be continuing their work to ensure continuity in the “key programs and reforms in our administrative structures and processes” as well as the implementation of ongoing projects.
Current University Registrar Maria Vanessa P. Lusung-Oyzon, PhD will step into the shoes of Ma. Theresa T. Payongayong as the new Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs after the admission processes are completed.
Jerwin F. Agpaoa, an assistant professor of philosophy at the Department of Philosophy of the UPD College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, will be once more taking the reins of the UPD Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, a position he held from 2016 to 2020 during the second term of former chancellor Michael L. Tan, DVM, PhD.
Luis Maria T. Bo-ot, PhD will be relinquishing the UPD Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs to focus on the deanship of the UPD College of Architecture. Roehl L. Jamon, an assistant professor of film at the UP Film Institute of the UPD College of Mass Communication, will be taking charge.
Carl Michael F. Odulio, PhD, a professor of electrical and electronics engineering at the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute of the UPD College of Engineering, was appointed Vice Chancellor for Research and Development in May 2023.
Vistan’s address was followed by a performance of Iisang Bangka Tayo by The Dawn sung by Bianca Camille Lopez-Aguila, an alumna of the UPD College of Music.
Vistan acknowledged the presence and contributions of his family, his wife Maria Francia Fatima Caganda-Vistan, children Natalie Maria, Andrea Lucia, and Rafael Carlos, and his mother Maria Isabel Lasam-Vistan.
An assistant professor at the UPD College of Law (LAW), Vistan was appointed the 12th UPD chancellor by the UP Board of Regents at its 1379th meeting on April 3. The last turnover ceremony was held in February 2020 when Tan turned over the reins of UPD to Nemenzo.