President Jimenez’s 29th Anniversary Message to the UP Mindanao community
Madayaw na hinaat kaniyo na tanan. Good morning to everyone. Congratulations to the University of the Philippines Mindanao on your 29th founding anniversary with the theme “Duyog sa pag-alagad. Sustainable partnerships in the service to the people.”
Almost three decades ago, when UP Mindanao was established, I was a young lawyer who had just passed the bar and was eagerly looking forward to a future in the service of justice, peace, and prosperity for our people. Like many idealistic youths, I would soon realize that the road to fulfilling our dreams is more torturous than we can imagine. Full of twists and turns, potholes, and steep ravines. But, I also discovered that if we keep true to our vision and hard work to achieve, great things can happen, whatever the odds. It was thus no coincidence that when I held my investiture last year as the 22nd president of our beloved university, I chose for it to happen at none other than UP Mindanao. As UP’s first president with lumad roots in Mindanao, I felt that our destinies were intertwined. I have a personal stake in your success and in the hopes and aspirations of the many thousands of Mindanaoan students you have graduated.
