Little things that count about Don Vicente Gullas

For a change, I'm using the first person… I'd been privileged to speak twice on the multi-faceted personality of UV's grand Old Man, whose 118th birth anniversary come January 12 shall be aptly honored in memoriam by the UV community as its Founder's Day. Such twin sincere tributes now grace the pages of my humble book, "Footnotes in Time".

But there are yet untold snippets I had experienced with Don Vicente which I have hitherto kept to myself for two reasons. First, they were too personal, that I wanted to treasure alone in memory. Second, for fear of being misunderstood as bragging closeness to the Old Man which, in reality, had not been so, having in mind his hordes of beneficiaries.

It's just that Pres. Gullas had a way of making even a nodding acquaintance feel that special sense of importance from his folksy manners, and his gift of lending an ear even to any young student, or any man on the street.

If only to encourage the countless many whose lives have been touched, and eventually shaped, say, the "UV Strivers" and their household staff, by the Old Man's and his family's kindness, to come out with their personal vignettes, is reason enough to be candid, albeit with self-discomfort lest I be misunderstood. Anyway, all these are about his greatness in many little ways, and I was just one of the huge flock he had shepherded in his lifetime…

For one, with the advent of our high school graduation, our students' council had the temerity of inviting the then popular Manila Mayor Arsenio "Arsenic" Lacson as commencement guest speaker. Although it turned out that he already had another national figure in mind, Pres. Gullas nevertheless gave way to us impulsive teeners, but making Mayor Lacson as commencement speaker for all UV colleges and the high school. This bespoke the tolerance of the Old Man to listen to even high school teenagers.

For another, perhaps knowing our poverty from his only daughter Inday Sering as my sophomore classmate, and Dodong as junior and senior high classmate, there came a time when Don Vicente indirectly offered a weekly allowance. In hindsight now, perhaps to smoothen my pride from outright dole-out, he urged me to invite my friends to have snacks at 'Na Patring Ilaya's campus refreshments/snacks "coop" at his expense. Upon knowing later that no "lista" was incurred, he had me summoned. In short, I had to comply for some weeks. Eventually though, having goose pimples over it, I had to stop. Obviously realizing my discomfort, the Old Man also let it pass. This episode revealed the kindness of Don Vicente, and also, his understanding of my unease.

For still another, Don Vicente had to stoop in asking permission through his office staff - either the late Winnie Lumapas or the late Nedo Ortiz - to have my photo included in his book "The Art of Living Well", with ego-inflating caption as it turned out. Again, his gesture of respect for a nobody being honored, exemplified the depth of the Old Man's overall humble personality of which I have always been gratefully in awe.

And then, when I graduated from B.S.E. in English, I had the happy surprise when the late Mr. Leandro P. Sanchez who was then the Director of the UV Secondary Department whom I held in high respect, revealed that Pres. Gullas had made an order for me to be a full-time faculty member… And, there were still other unquantifiables I have owed the Old Man.

In recap, while outsiders of the UV circle have not fully fathomed the real meaning of the "UV Spirit" and why a typical loyal Visayanian proclaims with pride that the "UV is my second home", its nuances bespeak the hearts and the souls of the UV's Old Man and Inday Pining Gullas whose children Inday Sering, Eddie, and Dodong with their families, are as equally imbued with the UV mission: "Amor-Servituum-Humanitas".

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