Many weeks ago, I attended the PUP Hard Hatting and Pinning Ceremony Batch 2 to deliver the closing message. Hindi ako magyadong nag-stay sa ceremony because I have to meet people in the Main Campus since paminsan-minsan na lang tayo nakakapunta ng Main.
Interestingly, when it is my time to talk, biglang tumahimik ang lahat, including ang mga naka-puting incoming 4th years na mukhang member ng catering group. Others are taking pictures and videos. Mukhang seryoso sa pakikinig pati mga parents at nagpanggap na parents nila.
So since sa Batch 2 lang ako nag-speak, sharing here the complete speech (without adlibs) for all student to know bakit hindi ako fan ng hard hatting and pinning ceremony na pinapauso ngayon sa CEA.
Read on...
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𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲
𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨
𝙋𝙐𝙋 𝙀𝙀 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙋𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮
𝘽𝙪𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙤 𝙈. 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤
16 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙮 2026
I have a confession to make.
I'm not a big fan of ceremonies like this.
I don't believe a pin makes you an engineer. I don't believe wearing a hard hat makes you ready for the profession. And I certainly don't believe that titles are earned because we stood on a stage and had our pictures taken.
But before you think I'm against today's celebration, let me explain.
I believe ceremonies are meaningful only when they remind us of something far greater than the ceremony itself. They should not celebrate what we have already become; they should remind us of what we have yet to earn.
Today, you did not become engineers. Today, you accepted the challenge of becoming one.
That thought reminded me of something from my own days here at PUP.
Twenty-two years ago, in 2004, I was the News Editor of The Engineering Spectrum, the official student publication of the College of Engineering. In our first issue that year, a Computer Engineering freshman named Tim Nabong submitted a poem entitled "Mahirap Maging Superhero."
More than two decades have passed, but I think its message remains as relevant today as it was then.
Allow me to read it.
𝑀𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑝 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜
𝑁𝑖: 𝑀𝑜𝑇𝑖
𝑀𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑝 𝑑𝑎𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒
𝐿𝑎𝑙𝑜 𝑛𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑔 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑎 𝑘𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑒
𝐷𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑙 𝑠𝑎 𝑝𝑢𝑦𝑎𝑡, 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑎 𝑘𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑝𝑒
𝑆𝑎𝑤𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑔 𝑛𝑔 "𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑎 𝑚𝑜 '𝑦𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒!"
𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑟. 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑟., 𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑝𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑤
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑦𝑟. 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑟., ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎 𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑤
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑔 𝑓𝑖𝑓𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑟., 𝑑𝑖 𝑚𝑜 𝑛𝑎 𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑎𝑏𝑖 𝑠𝑎 𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑤
𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑡 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑡 𝑝𝑎 𝑖𝑘𝑎𝑤 𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑤
𝐾𝑎𝑦𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑤 𝑔𝑎𝑦𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑖 𝑆𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑛
𝐿𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑔𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑚𝑡𝑎𝑛
𝑂 𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑎 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑖 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑛
𝐼𝑠𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑎ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑔-𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛
𝐾𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎, 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖 𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑖 𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑛
𝑀𝑎𝑔-𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑎 𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑐𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑘𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑛
𝑌𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑏𝑎 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑎 𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑛
𝑁𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑔 𝑛𝑎ℎ𝑖ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛
𝐾𝑎𝑦𝑎 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑚𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑝 𝑝𝑎𝑔 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑘𝑎
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑖𝑡 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑔 𝑔𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑤𝑒𝑦𝑡 𝑘𝑎 𝑛𝑎
(𝑂 𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑘𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑎 𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑖𝑏𝑎)
𝐾𝑎𝑠𝑖 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑎 𝑛𝑎... 𝑆𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑘𝑎 𝑝𝑎!
Twenty-two years have passed; engineering has changed. Technology has changed. The world has changed.
But one thing has remained exactly the same.
Engineering is still difficult. It still demands discipline. It still humbles brilliant people. It still teaches us that talent, beauty, and handsomeness are never enough.
And this is why I began by saying that I don't believe in ceremonies.
If today's ceremony gives you the impression that you've already arrived, then it has failed you.
But if today's ceremony reminds you that the hardest—and most meaningful—part of your journey begins tomorrow, then today has been worthwhile.
As someone who now works as an engineer, a researcher, a writer and editor, a leader and manager, and an educator, let me tell you something that the profession has taught me for the last 17 years.
Electricity does not care how confident you are. It does not care how many people applauded today. It does not care how many pictures were taken or how many reactions your post receives online.
Electricity responds only to sound engineering, careful calculations, ethical decisions, and competent professionals.
One mistake in our profession can cost millions of pesos. One mistake can interrupt power to an entire community. One mistake can cost a life.
That is why competence matters more than appearances, ego, and self-interest.
So, wear your pin—not as a badge that says, "I have arrived," but as a reminder that you still have so much to learn.
Wear your hard hat—not because it makes you look like an engineer, but because one day you will carry the responsibility of ensuring other people's safety.
The real pinning happens when your integrity is tested. The real hard hatting happens when people begin to trust your decisions.
And the real celebration comes on the day you earn the privilege of writing RME, REE, or perhaps even PEE after your name—not because someone placed a pin on your chest, but because your competence, your character, and your commitment have earned society's trust.
So let me leave you with this: 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚.
Congratulations to all our incoming fourth-year Electrical Engineering students.
I look forward to the day when I no longer call you our students, but our fellow engineers.
Good luck and may God always keep everyone in the palm of His hands.
Maraming salamat at magandang hapon sa inyong lahat.
#tatakmadam