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April 25, 2012 at Lyceum of the Philippines around 9:00 am, The 747 College students graduated with Senator Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos as the keynote speaker. Attended by the President of the school Mr. Peter P. Laurel, Executive Vice President, Dr. Esmenia R. Javier LPU Vice Presidents and The University Registrar Trustees, Officers and Administrators, Members of the Faculty and Parents. This is the complete transcript of Senator Marcos speech.
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Magandang Umaga po sa inyong lahat. Thank you very much for inviting me this very important event of this great institution of learning, indeed a momentous event for all the graduates and their families. In almost two weeks from now, Congress will resume its session and we will be back to the hectic pace of our legislation work and return to the grueling grind of the impeachment proceedings in the Senate. That is why I welcome this rare opportunity to share my thoughts with you, your families and school officers on this special day.
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You may not know it but I my late father had held the Laurel family in very high esteem, not only because of their leadership in the political arena led by the late Philippine President Jose P. Laurel, followed by his son the Honorable Speaker Jose Laurel, Jr., continued by Vice President Doy Laurel, Representative Lally Laurel and Ambassador Jose Macario Laurel IV, but most especially the family’s pioneering focus in the field of education as highly evidenced by the founding of this great academic institution, The Lyceum of the Philippines which, is known worldwide for its flagship courses like Nursing, Medical Technology, Marine Technology and Customs Administration. And no less than the ideal and vision of the late Philippine President, an illustrious son of Batangas, Jose P. Laurel, inspired the founding of this Batangas-based Lyceum of the Philippines University.
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But what impressed me even more when I was going over the pages of the history of your University was the fact that the LPU of Batangas, founded by the great eminent educator Dr. Sotero H. Laurel, in July 1966 was established primarily to meet the pressing need to improve the quantity and quality of education in the province of Batangas, taking off from the experience gained from The main campus of the Lyceum of the Philippines in Manila, and bringing to Batangas the high standards of academic excellence in the fields of business humanities, law and foreign service. Indeed Batangas is most fortunate to have benefited largely from the wisdom and vision of the Laurel family of bringing the best of quality education to the youth and families of this province, without having to relocate many of the young generations of Batangeños who were in search for an affordable quality education in their very own province.
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I therefore take my hats off to you, dear graduates for having afforded yourself the chance and for taking advantage of the opportunity right here in your province of Batangas to help your dear parents in acquiring the most important asset – the asset of knowledge and wisdom that a good education brings. And I salute your fathers and mothers for the guidance they have provided you and the encouragement they continue to give you to pursue the noble objective of acquiring the power of knowledge through LPU, the education that has prepared you for your future careers and professions in the real world.
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As each of you accept your diploma this afternoon please be most thankful for this great blessing that has been showered upon you. But more importantly, be always mindful of the fact that with this blessing and with this opportunity goes the responsibility that you carry as a concerned and a proactive member of your province, and most of all, as a citizen of our beloved country.
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You have been so fortunate for this holistic formation that your school administrators and mentors have prepared for you so as to mold you to become men and women for others, not only in your local communities, but more especially as you take part in the challenging task of nation building for a better Philippines in the community of nations!
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Be that as it may, let me therefore move on to my message for you all today. If you will recall, a few years ago, the media and advertising world were abuzz about Generation X – its hopes, attitudes and defining lifestyles, where the so-called.
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Generation X denoted all those who were born between 1965 and 1980. Today it’s now your turn on the national and global stage. As the successor generation to Gen X, you have been initially dubbed as Generation Y, which comprises all those born between 1981 and year 2000. But more aptly, you have been christened as “the Millennial Generation” or the Millennials, for short, who are now at the frontiers of inte</b>rnationalization! The name is fitting and striking for several reasons:
• First, you – and your counterparts all over the world -- are the last group of children born in the 20th century.
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• Second, you are the first generation that is coming of age in the new Millennium.
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• Third, You are the first generation in human history who regard behavior like tweeting and texting, along with websites like Facebook, YouTube, Google and Wikipedia, not as astonishing innovations of the digital era, but as everyday parts of their social lives and their search for knowledge
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• More than any generation before you, your generation is more tech-savvy or technically literate. Technology has always been part of your lives, whether it's computers and the Internet or cell phones and text pagers.
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• Millennials, it has been observed by sociologists, are good at multitasking. You have successfully juggled academics, sports and social interests throughout your schooling. So you can be counted on to work hard.
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• According to one fellow of the Brookings Institute in the United States, it can be safely forecast that the Millennials will likely change the world. By the same token, I believe also that your generation here in our country is destined to change our nation and its standing in the world, in this so-called Age of Globalization or Internationalization. Let’s dwell on this thought a little bit because it lies at the heart of my message to you today. Mirror Image of revolutionary generation I say that your generation is destined to change our country, and accomplish great and exciting things in the world stage for two reasons:
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Your generation today is the mirror image of the generation at the turn of the 19th century that gave us Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifafcio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini and so many other heroes and heroines and lead our people to nationhood. Like you, Rizal and company were no more than young men and women when they heeded the call to service and heroism. Together they dared to dream of the day when the Philipines would be independent, a free nation recognized by all the world. Together, they laid the foundations of our nation.
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Like you also do now, during the last two decades of the 19th century they stood on the edge of a new era of great change and promise – which heralded tidal changes in world affairs, science, culture and technology. Similarly, You, young graduates, are coming of age at a time of great change in our country and in the world at large. The internet revolution and globalization have brought forth great new opportunities and challenges before our country and our people.
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Now is a time when the world’s center of gravity is shifting from Europe and America towards the Asia- Pacific. And we are part of this new center of gravity. No less than the World Bank and all the major financial institutions have declared that the Philippines today has a great window of opportunity to dramatically accelerate its pace of economic modernization and development, and lift millions of our people out of poverty within this decade.
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One feature of this window is that foreign investors, as well as our business leaders are now fully convinced that we are going to be the next great Asian miracle – following the great leap forward of China, India and Indonesia. If our national leaders can marshal the will and imagination to muster the great forces of change, we will see an unparalleled period of job creation and dynamic growth during this decade. Individually for our people, especially for young people like you, this era offers the promise and the chance to fulfill your dreams.
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This is a propitious time to focus your attention on the great cares of life – on the future you want to be yours, the life and career you want to have, the family you want to start, and the kind of person you want to be for your family your university and your country as a participant in the community of nation.
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3. The importance of knowledge By successfully completing your studies, you have given yourselves a tremendous head start in this great adventure of life. When you leave this university, you will take your place among the knowledge-workers of the world. One-knowledge worker has described the new situation this way: “Wealth was once measured in gold. Now it’s measured in what we know.” This means that you have to keep learning more of what’s happening in your field and what’s taking place in the world around you. The writer Malcolm Gladwell postulates what he calls “the 10,000-hour rule.” Wherein he claims that to be good at what we do, every human being has to put in, at the minimum, 10,000 hours of practice in his occupation or job. It has also been shown that people in different kinds of jobs and walks of life have reached high levels of excellence through practice. And 10,000 hours of practice is said to be the minimum. Calculated in years, it comes down to ten years.
In the same vein, Bill Gates developed Microsoft after working for nearly ten years at his computer. The Beatles similarly honed their music in the same manner. Manny Pacquiao did not become the greatest fighter in th world today without putting in tthousands of hours in training and boxing. Let me therefore summarize this insight into success this way:
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“Practice isnt’ the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
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5. The Spirit of Giving The next point that I would like to emphasize to you is the importance of incorporating in your lives the spirit of giving, and of reaching beneficently into the lives of others. Too many people shrink as they grow older or become more successful. They narrow their area of concern to just “me and mine.” This would be a huge mistake. Our interests should not grow narrower and narrower, until at last the only interest left is self-interest. I believe public service and citizenship as well as participation in the global network is meaningless without this sense of growing to touch and affect the lives of others, in its broadest sense. One teacher has said that each of us has something precious to give and share with others. He wrote: “We have so much more to give than mere money, even if only a gracious gesture which we can give to all by way of saluting and respecting the basic dignity of every human bring.”
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He concluded with this powerful and unforgettable Observation: “None of us is so poor that we have nothing to give. None of us is so rich that we are not in need of gifts.” So, dear friends and graduates, inculcate in yourselves this spirit of giving. Make a Difference: This leads me now to my conclusion: All of us want reform and change for the better to happen in our country and in the international stage. You will ask and wonder: What can one person do to make our country and our world a better place? What can you really that will make a difference. The answer is simple – You can do a lot. One writer has answered the question this way. “In each of us, all the centuries coalesce. In each of us, all the future centuries have their beginnings. “In the eyes of our Creator, we are not statistics. We are each the object of God’s care and compassion. “We each have extraordinary capacities and all kinds of latent force. We each have the power to transform our lives.
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We can each make a decisive difference in the world.” So, my dear friends and graduates, think about this in the coming days as you reflect on what you are going to do with your lives and in your future careers. Believe that You Have the power to make a difference. WE all possess enormous potential, power and energy within ourselves. If we utilize that power, we can indeed effect decisive changes within ourselves. And together we can make our country and our world a better place. Congratulations once again for your successful graduation from this great institution of learning. And to the Chairman, President, Trustees and officials of your internationally renowned Lyceum University of the Philippines, and to the parents of our fortunate graduates go our highest respects and deepest thanks for the gift of affordable but quality education that you have given to the most deserving of our children in the Province of Batangas and the neighboring CALABARZON provinces!
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More power to you all and my sincerest words of success for each and everyone of you. Maraming Salamat, Magandang umaga muli at mabuhay ang Pamilyang Laurel, ang lalawigan ng Batangas at ang sambayanang Pilipino!
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This is to inspire the new graduates and to get ready for the reality that they are about to face. (Grace Bondad Nicolas)
