University of San Agustin, oldest university in Western Visayas, promotes cultural heritage

University chapel

AT OVER 100 years old and Western Visayas’ first and oldest university, the University of San Agustin (USA) in Iloilo is focusing on heritage and history, especially the conservation of the cultural patrimony of the Augustinian institution and of the Church and people of Panay island.

The focus will be evident in USA’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of its declaration as a university on March 1. Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), will be the main celebrant of the thanksgiving Mass at 9 a.m. at the university gymnasium.

Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA,  vice president for academic affairs and former commissioner of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, said the festivities would  be “a commemoration of the past, a celebration of the present, and a commitment to the future.”

USA was declared a university such by the Philippine government on March 1, 1953. As a memorial, USA will construct the Garden of Firsts, a gallery of leaders, events, and innovations that have contributed to the welfare of society.

Historical markers will also be mounted near the Urdaneta Hall, built in 1939, the oldest intact building inside the  campus, which survived World War II.

Youth pledge to help Church in conserving her cultural patrimony

ASKED ABOUT WHAT SHE HAD learned about Filipino culture in the Angat Kabataan Camp 2010, 12-year-old Meryl Guintu smiled and replied: “Experiencing the actual historical sites is quite different from reading our heritage in books at school.”

Guintu took part in the youth camp this month, declared by law as National Heritage Month. It was the first-ever assembly of youth delegates from the 33 churches declared either by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) as World Heritage Sites; or by the National Museum, National Historical Institute and National Commission for Culture and the Arts as National Cultural Treasures.

Other youth leaders from all over the country also joined the event.