el toro bumingo: The UP Oblation (Replica)

Sunday, February 24, 2013

The UP Oblation (Replica)

I first time I saw the replica of the Oblation at the University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman was in 1993, during my last year at high school. I took the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) but I didn’t make it for Diliman. I only made it to UP San Fernando (Pampanga).

The famous icon of UP Diliman, The Oblation, is actually a replica. The original is inside the Main Library.

My second visit to UP Diliman was just recently when my aunt who’s living in the US went here for a short vacation. We passed by UP on our way to visit a relative in Quezon City. This was the first time that I took a picture of the UP Oblation, which I later found out from Wikipedia, to be a replica.

Today, that sculpture is only a bronze replica (which was recast from the original in Italy in 1950,under the supervision of Tolentino himself) dedicated on U.P.'s Golden Jubilee on November 29, 1958. The original sculpture is being kept at the Main Library (Gonzalez Hall), the former site of the U.P. College of Fine Arts. (Wikipedia)

I would probably visit again UP Diliman for the 3^rd time to visit the original UP Oblation statue. By the way, the markers about the Oblation read:

ANG OBLASYON
Ang Oblasyon ng Pamantasan ay nilikha ni Guillermo E. Tolentino (1890-1976) bilang walang pagkupas na sagisag ng mga adhikain at tradisyon ng Unibersidad. Nagsimulang pag-isipan ang pagbuo ng bantayog ng Unibersidad sa panunungkulan ng Pangulong Rafael Palma at natupad sa panahon ng Pangulong Jorge C. Bocobo.
Ang Oblasyon ay nagsasaad ng patuloy na pagtuklas ng karunungan at katotohanan, kahusayan sa lahat ng gawaing pantao, pag-ibig sa bayan at paglilingkod sa sambayanan at sangkatauhan. Ang makisig na kabataang lalaki na nakatindig nang tuwid, nakadipa, nakatingala, at bahagyang nakapikit habang nagninilay ay larawan ng lubos na pag-aalay ng kabataan sa mga adhikaing ito.
Niyari ang orihinal sa pinatibay na kongkreto at pinintahan upang magmistulang bronse. Ang kalakhan sa ginugol upang ito’y matapos ay galing sa abuloy ng mga estudyante noong 1935-1936, sa Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral, na pinamunuan ni Potenciano T. Ilusorio sa unang semester at ni Jose B. Laurel, Jr. naman sa pangalawa. Nag-abuloy si Ilusorio ng karagdagang halaga upang matapos at mapasinayaan ito noong Marso, 1936.
Unang itinayo ang Oblasyon sa Padre Faura, Maynila, inilipat sa Diliman, Lungsod ng Quezon noong Pebrero, 1949.

For the benefit of my Czech friend Honza and other foreign readers, allow me to translate it (to the best of my ability) in English:

The Oblation
Guillermo E. Tolentino (1890-1976) created the University Oblation as an eternal symbol of the desires and traditions of the University. The plan for the construction of the University statue began during the term of (University) President Rafael Palma and was fulfilled during the term of President Jorge C. Bocobo.
The Oblation symbolizes the continued search for knowledge and truth, excellence in human endeavor, love of country and service to society and mankind. The well-build young man who stands straight, arms stretched with slightly-closed eyes on heaven while contemplating shows the youth’s commitment to these ideals.
The original (statue) was made of reinforced concrete and painted to look like bronze. The amount used to finished it came from student donations in 1935-1936 and from the Student Council headed by Potenciano T. Ilusorio in the first semester and Jose B. Laurel Jr. in the second (semester). Ilusorio donated additional funds to complete the statue for inauguration in March 1936.
The Oblation was first built in Padre Faura, Manila and was transferred to Diliman, Quezon City in February 1949.

Another marker near the Oblation reads:

University of the Philippines
(Founded 1908)
25^th Anniversary of the “Exodus”
1949-1974
This marker commemorates the transfer of the University from the cramped quadrangle on Padre Faura, Manila to the spacious campus in Diliman, Quezon City. President B.M. Gonzales effected the Exodus during the Christmas recess of 1948-1949 and classes were resumed on the new campus in January 1949 in sawali and Quonset huts vacated by the U.S. Army. The transfer enabled the University to develop into the multiversity it has become. Now known as the University of the Philippines System, established in 1972. The spaciousness of this campus, matched by the largeness of the ideas to which the University is dedicated as well as the purpose it serves. We owe to the courage and vision of President Gonzalez.
Dedicated on April 27, 1974.
(Signed) Salvador P. Lopez
President

There were other markers scattered around the UP Oblation and it reads:

The University of the Philippines has been erected on this new site with the aid of The People of the United States of America under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946 as a lasting contribution to the education of the youth of the Republic of the Philippines

The last marker I’ve seen reads:

University of the Philippines
Founded on June 18, 1908 under Act No. 1870 of the First Philippine Legislature. Commemorated the U.P. Diamond Jubilee Year on June 18, 1983 to reassert the University’s role as the fountain of learning and source of leadership of the Filipino people. Proclamation No. 2147 of His Excellency Ferdinand E. Marcos, President of the Republic of the Philippines, created a Presidential Commission on the U.P. Diamond Jubilee composed of:
Cesar E. A. Virata, Chairman
Onofre D. Corpuz, Co-Chairman
Edgardo J. Angara, Vice-Chairman
Members: Manuel S. Alba, Roberto S. Benedicto, Francisco Tantuico Jr., Simeon Datumanong, Muss Isquierdo, Juan Ponce Enrile, Maria Kalaw Katigbak, Emil Q. Javier
Oscar M. Alfonso, Secretary
Dedicated on the 77th Foundation Day, June 18, 1985.