In 1976, I was appointed Chairman of the MBA Department of the Graduate School of Divine Word University (DWU) in Tacloban. By adapting the Harvard University case study method, which I learned from the Asian Institute of Management, the MBA course in DWU zoomed in enrolment from a mere 10 students in 1976, to around 300 students starting 1978. We had very lively and fruitful case discussions in the MBA classes, and I looked forward to these sessions, despite an 8-hour workload earlier in the day as VP Finance and Administration of DWU.

To augment the development of DWU, I thought of several projects which I assigned to a batch of MBA students as their masteral thesis dissertations. These projects and their thesis proponents were the following:

• Imelda Housing Project (now Arnoldus Village): Engr. Otillo Crisostomo, Jr.
• DWU College of Medicine: Ms. Marmel Benedicto
• DWU Radio Station (now Radio Diwa): Mr. Eusebio Abenio
• DWU Student Dormitory: Mr. Dick Enerlan (now deceased)

It is to the credit of my MBA students that they finished their assigned thesis and projects, and all of these are existing today, except the DWU College of Medicine, due to the unfortunate closure of DWU, which is another story by itself.

The students were able to start the implementation of their respective projects at once after graduation, except Ms. Benedicto, chiefly because DWU it was quite difficult to obtain a permit from the MECS (Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, now CHED) for such a college. It was around this time that incumbent DWU President - Fr. Gregorio Pizarro, SVD (deceased) - and myself were invited by then Gov. Benjamin Romualdez to his famous Nipa Hut, which served as his office and residence in Tacloban City, to discuss the opening of a College of Medicine for Region VIII. I immediately informed the Governor that we were prepared for such an eventuality, since we already had a feasibility study on this. The Governor was elated at this information and immediately set about forming a Foundation for this. This Foundation - Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Foundation, Inc. (RTRFI) - named after his mother, was thus established with the DWU President, the Administrator of St. Paul's Hospital, the President of Makati Medical Hospital (Dr. Constante Manahan, deceased), and two other dignitaries as incorporators. RTRFI would then own and operate the College of Medicine in partnership with DWU. The responsibilities were parceled out as follows:

DWU:

• To recruit professors and students of the College of Medicine
• To provide the facilities, rooms, equipment for the College
• To operate the College as an integral part of DWU

RTRFI:

• To provide the funding needed for the College of Medicine
• To obtain the MECS Permit to Operate

With this agreement, we then set out to fulfill our responsibilities. Ms. Benedicto and I literally moved heaven and earth to establish the College of Medicine. DWU provided for everything, except for a set of microscopes loaned to us by the DOH thru the Office of the Governor. RTRFI did not give a single cent. The only thing it contributed was to facilitate the release of our Permit to Operate for the First Year from MECS.

The first year went smoothly enough for the infant College of Medicine, and everybody was reasonable satisfied with its performance. Towards the middle of the first year, we started preparations for the second year of operation, acquiring more facilities, equipment and rooms for the expanding College. Our enrolment was quite good, and we thought that everything would run smoothly, even if RTRFI did not give any contribution to the Partnership. Again DWU shouldered all the expenditures and work.

And then the bombshell erupted. Just two days before the scheduled opening of the second schoolyear, RTRFI sent DWU a written notice that it was unilaterally pulling out from the partnership with DWU in the College of Medicine. A new RTRFI Board had been elected wherein the DWU President and SPH Administrator were excluded. This new Board would then operate the College of Medicine on its own without DWU. RTRFI then took over a public schoolbuilding being used by gifted and talented schoolchildren as its campus, taking a good number of our students and faculty with them. (I then wondered how a private entity such as RTRFI could take over a public building, putting out its occupants to the streets in the process. But this was during Martial Law, and I guess anything could happen without accountability then.)

I could not take this lying down, since we put up the College of Medicine by the skin of our teeth, as it were, and just as we could see the success of our efforts, the whole thing would be taken away from us lock, stock and barrel, without so much as even a bland thank you! I was momentarily in a quandary, since this was during Martial Law, and people with "dissenting opinions", were routinely picked up and confined in the military stockade. But my quandary was only momentary, especially when my whole MBA class declared their willingness to fight tooth and nail this unjust takeover.

I then organized an underground campaign – although sometimes we went aboveground and used media: radio, TV, newspapers - to dramatize our cause and bring it to public attention. My reliable and indefatigable lieutenants in this campaign were Fr. Larry Loable, SVD, Ms. Marmel Benedicto, Ms. Elvie Solis, and Ms. Mabel Kierulf, among several others. We plastered the city with banners and notices denouncing the unjust takeover, but being careful not to attack personalities. For my part, I went on TV and radio interviews on this subject, fearing all the while that I would be picked up anytime for subversive activities and incarcerated in the stockade, like many of my colleagues among the activist students and farmers (I was classified by the Military as an activist priest in the category of Frs. Emy Maningo, and Ric Ruiz).

But I was not harassed nor incarcerated, much to my surprise and relief. In fact RTRFI or the people behind it kept silent on the whole issue, hoping perhaps that it would just die away. But our ragtag propaganda machine kept sputtering on bombarding Tacloban City with our advocacy.

Finally, the Governor invited us to a dialogue on this matter in the office of Atty. Delia Tantuico, the sister of Atty. Francisco Tantuico, Jr., the then COA Chairman, and chief adviser of the Governor on this matter and many others. On the DWU side were the new DWU President, Fr. Benjamin Mamawal, SVD., the VP Academics, Fr. Ernesto Lagura, SVD, and myself. On the RTR Foundation side were Judge Dacuycuy, Judge Cuna and two other officers whose names now escape me. RTRFI was firm in its withdrawal from the partnership, and urged us to accept it. We were equally firm in our insistence that the College of Medicine should continue in DWU, since it was a MECS requirement that a medical college should be situated in a university setting. I also informed RTRF that DWU was organizing a student rally the next day, not against the Governor, but against RTRF and MECS: against MECS for giving a Permit to Operate to a new entity - RTRF - which had no capacity, expertise and campus for a College of Medicine, whereas all these were present in DWU; and against RTRF for its unilateral breakup of a valid partnership agreement with DWU. Still RTRF insisted on their position. We broke the meeting in a stalemate, and I proceeded to Tacloban to organize the rally.

Engr. Bebot Crisostomo organized the Engineering students for the placards, banners and student power. I instructed the DWU carpentry shop to fabricate the placards and banners. The Engineering students remarked how well made these were, in contrast to their "homemade" paraphernalia in their usual rallies against the Administration, saying "...maupay gud man kun an Administration an magsponsor hin rally!"

At around 4:00 AM of the day of the big rally, I received a phone call from Fr. Lagura, instructing me to call off the rally because DWU would now allowed to have its own College of Medicine, details to follow.

But since everything was already prepared (omnia parata sunt), the entire student body gathered at the University quadrangle at around 7:00 AM that day, complete with our well-made banners and placards, all ready to march the streets of Tacloban. I then went out and addressed them, telling them I had good news and bad news, and which one they wanted to hear first. They shouted in unison that they wanted to hear the good news first. I then declared that the authorities had relented, and that DWU will have its own College of Medicine. Formidable applause, cheers and jubilation erupted to high heavens from the studentry. Next, I told them the bad news: the condition was that we should not anymore continue with our demonstration. This was greeted by a volley of groans and moans from the students who were all fired up to go on the rally (those were Martial Law days, remember, and rallies were taboo). But I told them that there was nothing to prevent them from going on a victory parade instead. Which they did with much gusto. They paraded around the streets of Tacloban with a lot of noise and jubilation. It was indeed a grand day for DWU and justice in the midst of Martial Law.

Later I learned that the other condition for DWU's being allowed to go ahead with its College of Medicine was that RTRF should also be allowed to go ahead with its own College of Medicine. I told the DWU Board that this was not tenable for us, since the patrons of RTRFI controlled Leyte and Samar, and that they would make it difficult for us to operate and recruit faculty and staff. I was told to be charitable, and accept this condition. Which I did against my better judgment.

And indeed, they made it hard for us to operate. It was difficult for us to find qualified local faculty to teach, and so I had to recruit the teaching staff almost entirely from Cebu, except for a few courageous souls, like Dr. Go Uy Ping of St. Paul's Hospital. We got feedback that our medical students were threatened that if they enrolled in our medical school, they would not be made to pass the medical board exam. And we would also be hard put to find government and private hospitals in Region VIII for our medical students’ clinical practice. Despite these difficulties, we continued operations, and we produced good doctors, like Sr. Dr. David, who later became Medical Directress of St. Paul’s Hospital, and opened St. Scholastica’s Academy in the High School Building of DWU, when DWU closed down.

The DWU College of Medicine continued splendidly on its own, registering a respectable passing rate at the annual medical board exam. It was unceremoniously closed when DWU, because of very unfortunate but preventable causes - as you are well aware - had to close operations itself. The closure of DWU rocked Leyte and Samar, and caused widespread dislocation in these provinces. But that is another and greater story and saga by itself, and perhaps the true story can and will eventually be told someday...

Samuel J. Yap, XVD

PS:

Time has healed all wounds and hurts, and we greet as friends our counterparts in RTRFI. For indeed, when DWU closed, RTRFI continued doing its part in providing Region VIII with a College of Medicine whose graduates now serve Leyte and Samar, the Philippines and the world.

Vivant sequentes!