Maayong aga sa inyo tanan.
Last December 2025, the Office of the Faculty Regent gathered faculty, staff, REPS, even JO/COS personnel from across eight constituent universities of the UP System and held the Kaayohan Summit. Kaayohan is a Visayan term that translates to kaayusan o kagalingan, and I have always taken it to mean collective well-being and dignity.
The Kaayohan Summit was a forum where we discussed pressing issues related to our wellness, welfare, and well-being as members of the University of the Philippines.
During that time, I had the pleasure of listening to Doc Shelley discuss matters that emphasized just how important it was to look after ourselves while we were young to minimize the risk of being looked after when we grow old.
It was quite an eye-opening talk for me, especially as someone who was approaching perimenopause and all of a sudden feeling aches and fatigue and brain fog as seemingly inevitable parts of my daily existence. My experience in organizing the Kaayohan Summit and listening to the plight and heartaches of university workforce also furthered my resolve to insist upon policies at the BOR level that prioritized the overall health of UP stakeholders.
This is why, when Doc Shelley proposed to organize a forum where multiple aspects of growing old can be discussed, I eagerly wanted to be a part of it.
Over the past two years, I have endeavored to bring multiple faculty and staff welfare issues to the Board of Regents.
Many of these issues have been traditionally marginalized for one reason or another, not the least of which perhaps is the perception that they do not really contribute to World Rankings and other flashy aspects of university life.
For example, the plight of our UP basic education units, the compensation discrimination against our Physical Education faculty, and even the struggles faced by faculty and staff of the UP Manila School of Health Sciences.
Before my term ends as Faculty Regent this December, I am eager to forward the call of the present and future old to my fellow BOR members.
And this is where I need your help. Urgently.
Bago po ako naging faculty regent ay nagsilbi po akong pangulo ng All UP Aacdemic Employees Union sa UP Visayas. Laging blockbuster ang mga pag-uusap na health-related dahil primary concern talaga ng mga tao ang kalusugan nila. Di ba sabi nga po nila, kahit gaano pa katayog ng pangarap mo sa buhay, kapag may sakit ka ay gusto mo lamang na gumaling.
Sa pagtatapos ng Kaayohan Summit, may isang bagay na lumitaw na sa tingin ng mga dumalo ay kritikal na nagdidikta ng kaayohan natin sa pamantasan — policy and leadership. I recognize this high level of accountability expected from us as members of the highest policymaking body of the university.
Thankfully, I am positive that through this gathering, I will be equipped with the data and insights that I will need to send a very important message to the UP Administration: the wellness, welfare, and well-being of our present and future old need urgent attention.
Mapalad akong maging bahagi ng pagtitipong ito dahil hindi lamang po kayo ang pinakamagagaling sa larangang ito, naniniwala po akong kayo din ang pinaka-mayroong malasakit sa mga apektado ng usaping ito.
We need to look after one another.
And we need our university to look after us, especially as many of us have given a good part of our lives serving it.
May we all have a productive discussion as we shape a future where adding years to our life equates to adding joy and meaning to it.
Padayon, mga manggagamot at mananaliksik ng bayan.
Madamo gid nga salamat sa inyong pagsisigasig, at magandang umaga po sa ating lahat.
Ang mensaheng ito ay bahagi ng programang “The Future of Long-Term Care,” isang pagtitipong inorganisa ng National Institutes of Health, UP Manila, noong Oktubre 15, 2026, upang talakayin ang iba’t ibang aspeto ng pagtanda.