A 'week' at the UP - NCPAG

My post grad alma mater – the University of the Philippines – National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG)

It has been quite a while since I last visited my post graduate school alma mater inside the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines – the National College of Public Administration and Governance or NCPAG. Back in the old days, it used to be simply known as the College of Public Administration or CPA.

As the premier academic institution of Public Administration in the country (and quite possibly in the whole Asian region), it has been around for more than half a century since its establishment as an Institute in UP in 1952.

It may be of interest to blog readers that my batch for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program way back in school year 1987-88 was the last to hold classes in the UP Manila campus (where the college was originally from) and the historic first batch to be transferred to our new home then – the State Accounting and Audit Center or SAAC building in UP Diliman.

Nearby was the former UP-CPA building (the State Accounting and Audit Center of the Commission on Audit)

Just seeing the College after years of absence always brought tons of memories back to my mind. The opportunity to be there for almost a full week gave me a chance to touch base with many friends and acquaintances still connected with the College.

My office named me as one of its estimated 72 participants which along with 10 participants from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and 2 from the Bureau of Customs (BOC), to attend an executive course entitled “Strategic Planning and Management of an Effective Corruption Prevention Program”.

Inside the NCPAG Assembly Hall

Divided into two batches, my group was scheduled to undertake the course from Jan. 26 to 30 and from February 2 to 4. I actually missed out on the first day as it fell on my wedding anniversary date. Still, the next four working days gave me plenty of time to reconnect with my college.

Isang Iskolar ng Bayan (a College Scholar at UP)

Talking about those tons of memories, I still proudly hold on to several claims of academic novelty with regard to my schooling in UP-NCPAG. For one, I believe I was and still am the youngest MPA degree entrant in the College at the youthful age of 19, fresh my college at De La Salle University. A schoolmate and presently Director of the Center for Policy and Executive Development (CPED), Dr. Joel Mangahas may have a thing or two to say about this assert, but in the meantime I still maintain this assertion. I also believe I am the youngest grad student to have obtained a MPA degree at the age of 21, at a time when the average age of MPA students was around 36 (if I correctly recall the outcome of a exercise in descriptive statistics in our PA 299.1 class). Finally, I believe I may also have been the youngest entrant to the doctoral program (DPA), applying fresh from taking my masteral degree. I still remember the Secretary of the College then, Professor Chit Tapales actually discouraging me from entering the doctoral program. Instead, she advised me to go out into the world and gain some working experience.

There must have been a bit of wisdom in Prof Chit’s advice as the pressures and responsibilities of work and life as a family man eventually made me re-prioritize things in my life. I virtually discontinued my doctoral studies after completing six units from the DPA core subjects. In time, my eligibility for residency ran out.

I remember being inspired by Prof. Alex Brillantes’ personal success of finishing his PhD by the age of 30 in the University of Hawaii. Emulating his academic achievement, I once vowed to finish my DPA by the age of 25…but it wasn’t meant to be. I try not to think about it much but I guess not finishing my DPA remains to be one of my very few frustrations in life.

Rather, I am grateful for so many things during my stint as a graduate student in UP. For one, I was granted a full academic scholarship on my second year of schooling. I recall the days going to the PNB branch near UP COOP to get my book stipend per semester of 500 pesos and monthly stipend of 1,000 pesos. Back then of course those amounts was a huge help to augment my meager earnings teaching part-time at the Political Science Department of DLSU.

Old acquaintances at the College (Miss Au and Dan Saguil, the current College Secretary)

All these structures weren’t there yet during my graduate school days

I’m also grateful to have been privileged to serve in the local Student Council as MPA Representative. As a microcosm of the Philippine political environment, active participation in UP Diliman’s dynamic school politics (e.g. socialized tuition fees, float parades, NatDem or SocDem leadership, UP Workers’ rights and CBA, etc.) fairly gives you a unique and well rounded experience.

With members of the Center for Policy and Executive Development (CPED)

With co-participants from the OMB and one of the Course Speakers, Mr. Chua Cher Yak (5^th person from the left) from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) of Singapore

With old friend and classmate and now Director of the Local Government Center (LGC) Sammy Ilago

My best memories of NCPAG are those with the people I have had the privilege of calling friends in the College. Classmates like Sammy Ilago (and wife Nida formerly of SGV) who now heads the CLRG (formerly known as the Local Government Center or LGC), Edna Co who currently teaches at the NCPAG, Rey Trias of PNB (a descendant of General Trias, a leader of the Katipunan’s Magdalo faction) or Bella Ilagan whom I believe may still be connected with the Philippine Crop Insurance Commission (PCIC). Sadly, several professors including one of my favorites, Prof. Elena Panganiban had already passed away. Professor Brillantes, our Hawaiian shirt wearing Publica (Public Administration) part-time college professor in De La Salle University, is presently the Dean of NCPAG. Due to our high regard for Dean Alex and his wife Lulu, my wife and I got him to be one of our wedding sponsors (godfather) in 1991.

These friends along with other nameless faces bring to mind countless after class get-togethers at UP hangouts like Trellis Restaurant (where I was introduced to sizzling pork sisig and baby pusit!), weekend lunches at the proletarian Cooperative Canteen (kare-kare with bagoong) or bourgeois CASAA cafeteria, or friendly duckpin bowling or billiard competitions at the Alumni center.

The NCPAG takes on a social cause – Gawad Kalinga (GK)

With the “beauty” of our college library – Ms. Alice

Yup…those were the good ol’ days for me.

This extended visit to my alma mater gave me the chance to greet old friends and relive some of those cherished memories.

While prodded by some to reboot my aborted DPA degree, at this point I think it is highly unlikely that I would. For one, I am currently setting my sights to apply for an office sponsored scholarship to the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) for a Masteral degree in National Security Administration (MNSA). But even that highly rests on the fancies and prerogative of the current leadership.

The halls of UP beckon me...

Regardless, I remain a proud alumnus of this respectable institution. By no small means has my UP-NCPAG experience helped and molded me to become who I am now, and to have achieved what I have done so far. For this reason, to my grad school I am ceaselessly grateful.

Salamat…UP kong mahal!