ASoG holds commencement exercises for its largest batch of 139 MPM graduates 

The Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) held its Commencement Exercises for its Master in Public Management (MPM) graduates for 2022. In a well-attended ceremony held last December at the Hyundai Hall, Arete, Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Heights campus, a total of 139 students coming from various MPM tracks (Standard, Health Governance, and Energy Track) earned their degrees. 

The first in-person graduation ceremony during the pandemic also served as a recognition of the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 graduates who officially received their degrees in a virtual ceremony in December 2021.

Dr. Jamie Eloise M. Agbayani, MD, MPM was chosen as batch valedictorian.  In her valedictory address, Dr. Agbayani called on her fellow graduates to live up to the principles of Ignatian Spirituality in Servant Leadership and the effective, empowering, and ethical leadership framework they learned in their MPM courses in their respective professions.  

"May we cherish this gift of having the opportunity to come together as agents of change, and of hope for our country," Agbayani said. 

A pediatrician and a faculty at the St Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quash Memorial, Inc., Dr. Agbayani took the MPM Health Governance track, a specialized version of the MPM that focuses on the six building blocks of universal health care. For her capstone professional thesis, Dr. Agbayani studied COVID-19 pandemic response of her hometown, Baguio City. In her capstone Governance Innovation Report (GIR) which she presented in a webinar in November, Dr. Agbayani illuminated on the COVID-19 response’ best practices from the lens of public health of the country’s Summer Capital.  

Dr. Antonio GM La Viña, former Dean of the Ateneo School of Government and currently Manila Observatory’s Associate Director for Policy and International Relations, was the chosen commencement speaker for the year.  Dr. La Viña recalled his various experiences in public service from his stint as an undersecretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) during the Ramos administration and his years as a negotiator in the peace talks and in the global climate negotiations. Dr. La Viña encouraged the graduates to think innovatively in solving complex and wicked governance problems. 

"Our governance problems are complex but they do not require rocket science to solve," he emphasized. 

He also called on the graduates to continue fighting for what is good for the country despite the challenges that lie ahead. 

May you always fight for the right and against the wrong. One big fight…for the Philippines, our people, and the planet. Huwag mapagod lumaban.

This recently-held graduation ceremonies was also the first ceremony to be held under the ASoG’s newly-named dean Dr. Philip Arnold Tuaño and the current University President Fr. Roberto “Bobby” C. Yap SJ. 

In his final remarks, Fr. Bobby Yap also urged the graduates to take a more proactive role in ensuring that society’s public interest is prioritized in the face of corrupt politics.

Use this as an opportunity to deepen your civic leadership. Engage, teach, and practice to help strengthen our shared communities and participate meaningfully in a democratic society.