In Memoriam

Ex-UPLB vice chancellor Gomez passes away

March 21, 2022

By: Carla Gomez – @inquirerdotnet

Dr. Arturo Gomez (Photo from Facebook account of Dr. Arturo Gomez)

BACOLOD CITY – A former vice chancellor for academic affairs of the University of the Philippine Los Baños (UPLB) and director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) passed away in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday, March 17.

A funeral service for Dr. Arturo Gomez, a native of Ilog town in Negros Occidental, will be held at the Rangsit Methodist Church in Bangkok on Monday morning, March 21, and will be followed by his cremation.

Gomez was a professor and vice chancellor for academic affairs of UPLB, and the fifth director of SEARCA, a non-profit organization that works to elevate the quality of life of agricultural families through sustainable livelihoods and provide access to modern networks and innovative markets from 1988 to 1993.

In a UPLB statement, Gomez was described as a “beloved mentor, colleague and a friend to many in the circle of agriculture science.”

“Dr. Art will be missed by many, and will be remembered for his passion and contribution for Philippine Agriculture,” it said.

SEARCA, in its Facebook page, said Gomez was an agronomist and statistician, and was one of the pioneers of multiple cropping systems in the Philippines.

Gomez and his wife co-authored text books, including the “Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research” that has helped a lot of students and research scientists.

He was survived by his wife, Dr. Kwanchai Gomez, and his son, Victor.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1571025/ex-uplb-vice-chancellor-gomez-passes-away

UP salutes Prof. Gerardo B. Agulto, Jr., 79

March 14, 2022



The University of the Philippines (UP), especially the UP Diliman – Extension Program in Pampanga and Olongapo (UPDEPPO), “will always celebrate” the life of Prof. Gerardo B. Agulto, Jr., who passed away last March 10 at the age of 79.

After retiring from service in 2007 as Associate Professor of the UP College of Business Administration, now the Virata School of Business, Agulto served as Executive Director of the UP Foundation until 2021.

“Prof. Agulto has always been known as the Father of the Master of Management Program… He recruited the best and brightest of his former students from Diliman to establish and enrich the MM program… The magic fiber of his being is most memorable: cultivating the life of the mind as well as giving heart to the UPDEPPO community,” Dr. Julieta C. Mallari, former director of UPDEPPO, wrote in a testimonial posted on the Facebook page of the UP Clark and Subic Master of Management Program. Memorial services were held from March 11 to 13 in Quezon City.

Agulto grew up in San Jose, Nueva Ecija. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1963 and his MBA in 1974, both in UP Diliman. His mother, Socorro Bautista-Agulto, was a UP BS Pharmacy alumna (1938).

Agulto worked in the private sector from the 1970s to the 80s. Initially, he worked for Coca-Cola Export Company as Management Information System Coordinator for the Pacific Region and later, as Product Manager. He also became Senior Vice President of the Philippine National Bank.

He rose through the ranks at the UP College of Business Administration (renamed Virata School of Business). He was a Project Assistant in 1968, served as an Instructor, was eventually promoted to Assistant Professor, and was Associate Professor 7 when he retired in 2007. He was Officer-in-Charge of the College from August 1, 1990, to April 30, 1992. He also served as Director of the UP MBA Alumni Society from 1997-1998.

Source: UP MPRO

Former UPD CHE Dean Gonzalez, age 96

Image from the UPD CHE Facebook page


The University of the Philippines (UP) mourns the passing of Prof. Eva Beatriz Gonzalez last March 10 at the age of 96. She served as dean of the UP Diliman College of Home Economics. She was also Officer-in-Charge and College Secretary of the UP College of Education.

Gonzalez epitomizes the principles of her Alma Mater: honor and excellence. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, cum laude, from UP in 1948. She is the first Filipina to earn her M.A. (1951) and Ph.D. (1958) degrees in Home Economics from Cornell University. At Cornell, she also minored in Child Development and Family Relations.

Gonzalez taught at UP Diliman and St. Scholastica’s College as an instructor. She became Assistant Professor then Associate Professor at the UP College of Education and the UP College of Home Economics.

Gonzalez also worked as a UNESCO consultant and adviser.

Among the academic posts she held were: Vice President of the Philippine Mental Health Association, from 1994 to 1995; President of the UP College of Education Alumni Association, from 1988 to 1992; Director of the UP Alumni Association, from 1981 to 1984; Board Member of the UP College of Home Economics Alumni Association, from 1979 to 1981. She is also an alumna of the UP Delta Lambda Sigma Sorority; and a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Dean Gonzalez comes from a distinguished family of educators and administrators. Gonzalez’ father was UP President Bienvenido Ma. Gonzalez served from 1939 to 1943 and then from 1945 to 1951. Many of UP’s colleges and units were relocated from Manila to the Diliman campus during his term.

UP President Gonzalez’s father, Joaquin Gonzalez, was a member of the Malolos Constitutional Assembly and was the founding Rector of the Universidad Literaria de Filipinas under the Aguinaldo Government. Gonzalo, Dean Gonzalez’s brother, served as UP Regent and Professorial Lecturer at the UP College of Law. Former UP Regent Gizela Madrigal Gonzalez-Montinola is Dean Gonzalez’s niece.

Source: UP MPRO

Artist Kidlat de Guia, Kidlat Tahimik’s son, dies at 46

March 11, 2022



Filmmaker and visual artist Kidlat de Guia, an emerging movie director best known for his artworks and son of National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik, has died in Madrid, Spain. He was 43.

His brother Kawayan de Guia shared the family’s loss in a Facebook post Thursday.

The younger Kidlat helped his father in mounting his art pieces for a colonial art exhibition in Madrid, which began October 2021.

At the time of his death, de Guia was working on the completion of his documentary under the auspices of the Film Development Council of the Philippines ( FDCP) and the building of a cinema center in Baguio.

“I am shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Kidlat de Guia. He was a good friend for many years even before I chaired FDCP,” FDCP chairperson Liza Diño told ABS-CBN News Thursday.

“I was so pleased that FDCP was working with him to finish his 8-year-old documentary ‘Rangtay Papan Idjaybangir’ which was granted the CreatePHFilms Post-Production Support, as well as finding a new home for our Cinematheque Baguio, and working on the collection of his Tatay through the Philippine Film Archive.“

The younger Kidlat was also known his unique and evocative weaving of photography and other visual arts forms.

“He was as talented and as dedicated to the arts as a visual artist as his father. We had so many plans of working together, and I am devastated to lose a dear friend,“ added Diño.

The de Guia family has yet to share official details of the exact date and cause of Kidlat’s sudden passing.

In his post, his brother Kawayan paid tribute to Kidlat with these words: “To you, my brother, our brother, our friend, our partner in crime, the playful eye, the comfort zone, the bearer of good and bad news, you, my friend, you! The backbone. My love, our love, love.”

Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/03/10/22/artist-kidlat-de-guia-son-of-kidlat-tahimik-dies-at-46