UP Diliman’s (UPD) 112th General Commencement Exercises on July 30 at the University Amphitheater pushed through as scheduled.
Clad in rain gear, students and their families gathered at the venue as early as six in the morning for the much-anticipated graduation ceremonies, the second one since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
The program started on time, but due to persistent heavy rains, UPD officials decided to cut the ceremony short.
Right after the singing of the national anthem, Percival F. Almoro, officer-in-charge of the UPD Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, presented to UPD Chancellor Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II the 4,478 candidates for graduation. Vistan in turn, presented the candidates to UP President Angelo A. Jimenez.
Jimenez then conferred the academic degrees and titles to the candidates. The graduates then did the ceremonial shifting of their sablay from the right to the left shoulder.
Jimenez also administered the pledge of loyalty to the University. Fernando C. Sanchez Jr., third vice president of the UP Alumni Association (UPAA), then inducted the graduates into the UPAA.
The ceremony, livestreamed on the UPD website and YouTube channel, ended with the singing of UP Naming Mahal.
While the graduates and their parents exited, some choosing to proceed to the stage, some to the Oblation Plaza, and others to the sunflowers planted along the University Avenue for that snapshot of a lifetime, JM Yosures entertained the crowd with his interpretation of Mangarap Ka by Wency Cornejo and Tala by Nica del Rosario and Emmanuel Sambayan, accompanied by the Jenny and Jeff Band.
The UPD Class of 2023 had 305 summa cum laude, 1,196 magna cum laude, and 742 cum laude graduates.
The shortened UPD graduation did away with the delivery messages of the class representative and commencement speaker, including the remarks of the chancellor and the introduction of the commencement speaker. Jimenez was the commencement speaker and Jessie S. Malibiran was the class representative. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree (BA-MA Honors Program).