Just as the country had downcast skies from storms that struck in August, UP Diliman (UPD) faced another reason for an overcast sky. On August 24, the campus suffered a profound loss with the passing of three of its beloved faculty members: Wystan de la Peña and Herman Bognot, professor and assistant professor, respectively, at the UPD Department of European Languages (DEL), and Jose Laureta, professor and lawyer from the UP College of Law (UP Law).
A former DEL chair and professor of Spanish, De La Peña was renowned for his work in Hispanofilipino literature. The DEL has described him as a “prolific academic, writer, and translator.” Among his recent work was a Filipino translation of Doña Perfecta, a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós, published by the Ateneo de Manila Press in 2024.
De La Peña was a recipient of the French Ordre des Palmes académiques (Order of the Academic Palms). The P. De Greef website describes the award as “a prestigious French decoration established in 1808 by Napoleon Bonaparte,” granted “to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the fields of education, science, and the dissemination of knowledge.”
In a separate post, the UPD College of Arts and Letters (CAL) described De La Peña, also the former deputy director of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española, as a passionate mentor who “significantly shaped the intellectual development of numerous students and scholars at the DEL and the UP Center for International Studies.”
The DEL further remembered De La Peña for “his affability in the classroom and the variety of subjects taught, ranging from Peninsular and Fil-Hispanic literatures to techniques of translation, from the literary milieu of the Franco regime to European multilingualism.”
The DEL Facebook page announced that De La Peña’s wake was held on the third floor of the Loyola Memorial Chapels on Commonwealth Avenue. He was scheduled for cremation on Aug. 29 at 10 a.m.
CAL also paid tribute to Bognot in its Facebook post, describing him as a “distinguished Russian language and literature authority in the Philippines.”
Bognot earned his Master’s degree in philosophy from Kiev State University in 1990, and according to CAL “his research focused on the connections between Russian studies, Philippine history, and the National Liberation Movement.”
The DEL noted that Bognot was, for a long time, the lone professor of Russian in the University. He was “a staunch promoter of Russian language and culture in the Philippines” and was instrumental in advancing many academic exchanges between Russia and the Philippines.
Among Bognot’s works was the Filipino translation of Feodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment titled Pagkakasala at Kaparusahan, published in 2020 by the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino-UPD.
Bognot’s wake was held at his home in Tibag, Pulilan, Bulacan, and a requiem mass was offered at the Chapel of San Pedro de Tibag on Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. His remains were cremated immediately afterward in Malolos.
Aside from CAL, the UP Law also mourned the loss of Laureta on the same day.
The UP College of Law – Office of the Dean Facebook page expressed its sympathies to Laureta’s family, describing him as a “distinguished alumnus and long-time member of the [college’s] faculty.”
According to the UP Law, Laureta was “among the true exemplars of the UP Law professors: erudite, insightful, inspiring, and at times, intense.” The University also remembered him for “his sharp wit and humor” and for generously sharing his knowledge and wisdom.
The UP Law shared that Laureta “was the one who chose the quote of J. Holmes that now adorns the lobby of Malcolm Hall.” In its tribute, UP Law’s wrote: “Indeed, he is one of the true products of a law school: a great lawyer.”
UPD bids farewell to De La Peña, Bognot, and Laureta. Thank you for your honorable and excellent service to the University.