Past President
Atty. Adel A. Tamano
www.adeltamano.phwww.adeltamano.ph

Note: Atty. Adel Tamano has resigned effective 01 December 2009. In lieu of him, Atty. Rafaelito M. Garayblas, Executive Vice President, was designated as Officer-in-Charge and later as Acting President.









23 November 2009


CET @ 40: Sustaining the Legacy of Excellence in Technology
[Message on the Ruby Anniversary of the College of Engineering & Technology]

Forty years of making waves is a feat to match. In such a span of time, countless faithful efforts have been shared through by well-meaning achievers like you; but four decades is also a gateway to longer years of deeper excellence. For an institution as fermented by wisdom and tested by time as the CET, its Ruby theme is a fitting testament to its unbridled reputation as a center of profound technological education in the country, -- serving as the keystone for a stronger commitment to nurturing brilliant minds, firmer hands and stouter hearts.

As I bequeath the mantle of my leadership in the University, I could only bask in deep gratitude for all the meaningful support that one and all have extended me. I could have never made it this far and this much if not for everybody’s immense trust and confidence so profusely given their leader. As I am humbled by leaving an imprint of the legacy programs of great impact to the well-being of our community, which we achieved together and by which the CET is among the beneficiaries, I could never ask for more! As always, I will hold dear your unbending support as my inspiration for continuing as your leading partner in providing essential public services to our fellowmen.


Atty. ADEL A. TAMANO, A.B., J.D., MPA, LL.M.
University President, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
National President, Association of Local Colleges and Universities

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02 October 2009

This year’s celebration of my birthday, unlike in the past, is burdened by the grief of thousands of our fellow citizens who, like most of us, have been victims of nature's latest unusual rage.

Typhoon Ondoy’s unprecedented wrath has displaced many of our people, rich and poor alike, from the comfort of their homes, -- most having been left with nothing but the mud-soaked clothes they were clad in when Ondoy struck its lethal raindrops.

As our nation continues to struggle to survive the aftermath, we cannot help but reflect and look beyond today’s quagmire of haplessness and helplessness in sourcing inspiration from what the future is in store for everyone of us.

Today, on my special day, I appeal to the PLM community to bond strongly and rise up to this rare occasion to exude once more our noted sense of volunteerism and extend our aid to those who need our helping hands to get on their feet again. They have no one to turn to but us.

Let our ordinary sense of community service make a lasting difference in delivering public services -- at an extraordinary fash
ion -- by letting our hearts reach out to our brethrens whose fragile hopes have been drowned with the flood or dimmed by the rainstorm’s gale.

There is nothing more heroic than doing our fair share at the right time and at the precise moment when it is done with a big heart. As they say, hope and selflessness among our people indeed spring eternal.

Let this fervor continue even during ordinary times, and let this virtue shape up our culture of public service for which our forefathers and our people have intended our University to be known for.

Atty. ADEL A. TAMANO, A.B., J.D., MPA, LL.M.
University President, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
National President, Association of Local Colleges and Universities

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15 June 2009

To all the freshmen who just joined our PLM community, WELCOME!

As you enter the portals of PLM, feel in your heart the prestige of the privilege of PLM education. Rare and precious as it is, the counsel of PLM scholarship must be cherished as your sure ticket to a brighter future.

But more than that is your equal realization that much is expected of you as scholars of the City of Manila. PLM, as the People's University, has a deep commitment to social transformation. As its newest breed of scholars, your forebears shall measure and weigh your worth as future alumni with high regard for public and social welfare as among your top personal values.

Again, welcome to our scholars' university. We will never be complete without you. You are the chosen ones as the next bearers and custodians of the PLM's torch of excellence
.

Atty. ADEL A. TAMANO, A.B., J.D., MPA, LL.M.
University President, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
National President, Association of Local Colleges and Universities


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44th Commencement Message (2009)

18 April 2009

This year’s graduation theme, “Rising Above Challenging Times,” has a special significance for me because I have always loved a good challenge. While some fear challenges and seek instead to create a life of ease and comfort, I have always subscribed to Theodore Roosevelt’s model of the strenuous life, one full of challenges and obstacles – and finding ways to overcome them – as the type worth living. If men and women had refused to take challenges head on and did not seek to create a better life for themselves, then humanity would have never progressed and we would still be living in caves and using stone tools. 

So never let others tell you that challenges of whatever nature - economic, social, familial, political, etc. – are bad for you or that you cannot achieve or, worse, you do not deserve to achieve your aspirations. The opposite is true, challenges are great for you; they make you stronger and better.  Challenges are the life application of the principle of resistance training for athletes – you have to increase the weight that you lift in order to get stronger and you have to face greater personal challenges to become a better person.

When I applied to take my Master’s in Law at Harvard Law School, many laughed at me behind my back because no Filipino Muslim had ever been accepted. I applied anyway and not only was I accepted but I was the commencement speaker of my graduating class. Similarly, when I took over as President of PLM in 2007, critics said I was too young, inexperienced, and unqualified to run the most prestigious local university in the Philippines. However, in the span of two years, on the academic side, we developed topnotchers in, among others, Nursing, Architecture, and Physical Therapy. We also established a free shuttle service for our employees, a fitness center, free internet stations for the students, a first-class air-conditioned cafeteria, and a modern gymnasium.

So do not let the global economic crisis and worries about finding a job plunge you into despair. Remember that by being a PLM graduate, you have a distinct advantage of obtaining education from the country’s premier local university. Also, don’t forget how hard it was to get accepted in PLM in the first place, we only get the top twenty five per cent or so, and how hard it was to maintain your grade point averages for you to stay in the University. You have been through tough times before and have risen above them. I know that you will also arise above the challenges of the times.

As a parting word, do not forget that your education is, in every sense of the word, a gift. In a country where only one out of ten grade school students finish college, your obtaining a tertiary education is a real privilege. So don’t squander it and do something good for your country. And doing good for the country should be the real challenge that we must seek to face.

My dearest graduates, I honor and congratulate you all.

Atty. ADEL A. TAMANO, A.B., J.D., MPA, LL.M.
University President, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
National President, Association of Local Colleges and Universities