UP professors from Pangasinan rediscover their home province

Lingayen – Professors and experts from the University of the Philippines (UP) who shall comprise the Pangasinan Studies Center (PSC) visited the province on August 13 – 14 to see and feel up close the transformation of Pangasinan under the watch of Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr.

            The UP professors – most of whom are Pangasinenses but have not visited their home province, Pangasinan, for years – were received by Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. along with provincial officials and department heads of the provincial government.

            Owing gratitude to the UP professors, Governor Espino, in a short message during a fellowship activity, sought their help in the over-all effort to reawaken cultural sensitivities of Pangasinenses, as he vowed to focus on the tie-up with UP for the remaining 10 months of his last term.

            Board Member Alfonso Bince, Jr., a UP college of law alumnus, manifested the provincial board’s all-out support to all endeavors that will be undertaken with the UP professors for the establishment of the PSC. 

Earlier, UP Vice President for Public Affairs Prospero De Vera III, who hails from Tayug town, stressed during a briefing and initial talks with some department heads held at the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Conference Hall that the visit of UP professors is “a way of reconnecting, renewing ties and giving back to Pangasinan.”

            The group, De Vera disclosed, will also provide inputs to further improve agriculture in Pangasinan, aside from giving assistance on matters related to culture and the arts, language and history.

It is stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by UP President Alfredo Pascual and Governor Espino on June 18 that UP professors who hail from Pangasinan will be urged to assist on the preparations for the establishment of PSC.

The latest agreement forged between UP and the provincial government will “reinforce a comprehensive research for the preservation of Pangasinan culture and language” and step up the existing efforts of the provincial administration for cultural development which will lead into a wide-ranging (cultural) mapping of places, events and personalities, including customs and traditions in the province. 

            UP professors took their oath as members of the “I Love Pangasinan Movement,” a non-partisan organization that seeks to heighten the awareness and stir up expression of love for the province and its people.

            As part of their visit, tour guides from the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO) toured the UP professors at the famous landmarks and tourist spots within the Capitol Complex.