Now is the time for all of us, alumni of the Pamanstasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, to take the initiative to make the appointment of a PLM alumnus/alumna as the university president a reality.
This month’s forthcoming alumni reunion is an opportune time for us to close ranks and keep on appealing, knocking on the corridors of power at the Manila City Hall to make our dream come true.
We don’t lack qualified people for that position because, through the years, we have produced top-notch professionals—lawyers, doctors, nurses, engineers, professors, journalists, and deans—and some of us were even top notchers in the professional board exams.
In short, we have enough qualified alumni who can measure up to the challenges of the PLM presidency.
However, this initiative is not meant to belittle the commendable achievements of the previous PLM presidents—no doubt they have done a lot to put the university on par with other exclusive and well-known universities in the country.
The appointment of an alumnus/alumna at the top helm of the PLM is an idea whose time has come. What a great honour it would be to see an alumnus now running the affairs of his alma mater to the delight of the rest of the university’s stakeholders: students, faculty members, and the thousands of its alumni.
It’s much easier to look for alumni who can qualify for the presidency because some of us have acquired the skills, competence, and integrity through our years working in big private and public firms, here and abroad.
These alumni are now making waves in our community; thus, they are indeed the pride of the PLM.
An alumnus getting the school’s top post could bring new ideas on how to turn the PLM into a People’s University where the poor but talented graduates of Manila’s public schools are given the hope of breaking their cycle of poverty.
Aside from our professional competence, our integrity is beyond reproach. Over the years, not one of our thousands of alumni has been imprisoned because of involvement in some anomaly.
The irony is that some of us have become deans of other schools, managers of top private and public corporations, and holders of master’s and doctoral degrees.
Why not give us a break to prove we can significantly help our beloved alma mater?
Let’s put aside politics as the driving force in appointing the university president.
Our lack of political connections should not deter us from pursuing our dream. We should not lose heart; giving up is not an option—let’s keep trying until we see an alumnus from our ranks being given that honour and pride as president of our alma mater.