by GIOVANNI TAPANG, PhD
November 30 marked the birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio, Filipino nationalist and revolutionary and Supremo of the Katipunan. His anniversary yesterday was marked by protests actions in the metropolis by workers and peasants due to the ever increasing costs of living nowadays. Pressed by current economic concerns, the celebration of his birth was also a time to reflect on the value of heroism in our time.
Last Monday, the College of Science of the University of the Philippines in Diliman held a forum entitled “Our Heroes and Science.
It featured various speakers who recounted how some of our heroes and past personalities were themselves men of science and that our national hero Rizal was well trained to do observational work. The discussion also dwelt on the continuing relevance of their work and their heroism in line with celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Rizal.
Gracing the program were various personalities, faculty and students from the University. Dr. Maris Diokno of the National Historical Insititute and professor of history in the University gave the opening remarks where she noted how Rizal used a medical analogy to expose the ills in our country in his The Indolence of the Filipinos. The main speakers were Dr. Benjamin Vallejo of the Institute of Environmental Science and Management of UP Diliman for Antonio Luna, Dr. Mercedes Planta of the UP Diliman History department for Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, and Dr. Perry Ong who discussed Rizal.
According to Dr. Vallejo, Antonio Luna, while popularly known in history as a military general in Aguinaldo’s army, is also one of our first post-docs from the Philippines. He gained a doctorate degree when he studied chemistry and pharmacy during his stay in Spain from 1894 to 1897. He then proceeded to his post-doc at the prestigious Institut Pasteur in Paris.
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