The Unforgettable Mr. Pagsy

For ordinary Filipinos, the deeply-moving song Hindi Kita Malilimutan evokes deep feelings of love and faith in the Lord. But for generations of Ateneo High School students, the song summons a different kind of inspiration, one that springs from a memory of a well-loved mentor.

Fresh from a spiritual retreat back in the ‘80s, an unassuming teacher came to class, not only with renewed faith in the Lord but greatly inspired by an English song played in the retreat whose lyrics was based on Isaiah 49.

"Ang grabe ng lakas ng kabig ng kantang yan. Pero bakit pa-English-english pa?" he recalls now.

Then an inter-level song-writing competition during the Linggo ng Wika came. In his class, he had the boys open their Bible and challenged them to come up with a rough translation of the biblical passage in Filipino. The class got all worked up.

"It’s easy, I’ll give you the first line," he said and then scribbled on the blackboard: Hindi Kita Malilimutan.

Hands shot up, more suggestions rushed in, and before they realized it, the entire first year class authored the lyrics of the award-winning classic, Hindi Kita Malilimutan.

He then asked three of his musically inclined boys to create the rhythm. From among the juvenile compositions, he chose the work of a shy but very talented young man –now Jesuit priest Manoling Francisco, composer of other beautiful church hymns including, among others, Bukas Palad, Sayo Lamang, Tanging Yaman, to name a few.

Now the song’s tune is as unforgettable as the man who made it possible–Dr. Onofre Pagsanghan.

At the sprawling Ateneo campus in Loyola Heights, he was more popularly known as–and in fact prefers to be called–Mr. Pagsy. An American Jesuit’s struggle to pronounce Pagsanghan birthed the nickname. Why it stuck through the years is probably because it’s like a caricature: it’s so easy to catch Mr. Pagsy bantering with the boys like an old friend, but with the authority of someone born to teach.

At 75, Mr. Pagsy still teaches Filipino and English at the Ateneo. He advises the first year honors section and proves to be the perfect example of someone small in frame but who loves the biggest of responsibilities.

Hindi Kita Malilimutan was not his only contribution to Ateneo and the Filipino nation. Dulaang Sibol, a high school theater company–the theater has been renamed Tanghalang Onofre Pagsanghan– which National Artist Leonor Orosa Goquingco hailed for its "professional polish" and for having successfully run 130 performances to date, is another big achievement.

For years, he had high school students write plays in Filipino and has bred talents such as musician Jim Paredes, actor Leo Martinez, abs-cbn’s Johnny Manahan and noted playwright Paul Dumol, whose Ang Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio, one of his first plays staged at Dulaang Sibol, is the most frequently-performed Filipino one-act play today.

"The first breakthrough for the national language," praised writer Alfredo Roces. "A seminal force in the development of Pilipino writing," lauded noted critic Bienvenido Lumbera.

"Noong una, ang akala ko yung pagtuturo ko ng Pilipino para lamang ingatan yung kabang-isipan ng ating kulturang Filipino. Hindi lang namin iniingatan kung di nakapagdaragdag pa kami," says Mr. Pagsy.

He has also heaped awards from various organizations including the very first Metrobank 10 Outstanding Educators Award in 1977, Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas by the Unyon ng Mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (umpil) in 1992, Centennial Award for Art & Culture by the National Centennial Commission in 1999, Huwarang Pilipino Award in 2001 and the Gawad Paz Marquez Benitez for Outstanding Educator in Literature also by umpil this year.

Given all these accolades, who would have thought that Mr. Pagsy was first deemed unfit to teach in 1951?

After graduating with an education degree from the Ateneo, he weighed a measly 87 pounds that the school principal doubted his chances of surviving the rigors. His application got accepted but on condition that he had to put on weight by sleeping in an unoccupied classroom during his free time.

Fortunately, he gained the pounds and stayed on as a teacher. Today, he is still slight of frame, but is as healthy as can be. His secrets: the therapeutic walking exercises, the early rouse to catch Holy Mass, lots of laughter and the age-defying love of his family. He also cites his wife, Florinda: "She takes the butt ends of the day and makes me whole again another day."

More importantly," he stressed, "you’ve got to believe in and love what you’re doing. If you love what you’re doing, then you never grow old!"

Indeed, Mr. Pagsy’s devotion to what he’s doing is indefatigable– hardly measured by the sum of years or the number of awards he has received. If a great teacher is one who inspires, he for one knows that "there are students who had higher IQs, more talent, and bigger hearts than I did"–but he was in the best position to help bring out those gifts within.

Mr. Pagsy’s own devotion to teaching was inspired by mentors who, in his youth, gave his life direction and purpose. The first one was his Grade II teacher at Cecilio Apostol Elementary School. "I remember I was a Tuesday cleaning boy. We didn’t look at it as a demeaning job; in fact, we were happy because that meant we could have one more hour with a teacher whom we loved," he recalls.

"Why did we love her?" Mr. Pagsy intimates. "Pag-sinabi niya ‘Today, mag-floor wax tayo’, sabay namin nakatuwad si Ms. Ancheta. O pag sinabi niya, ‘Today, magpapakintab tayo ng sahig’, sabay namin nagbubunot si Ms. Ancheta. How could you not love a teacher like that?"

When he got into Ateneo High School on a scholarship, he met Fr. John Delaney, his personal coach and critic when he started joining inter-school oratorical contests and penning his own speeches. He remembered Fr. Delaney once telling him, "You know you have this particular gift. You can bring some very profound ideas in such everyday language that the man in the street would understand." Then, the Jesuit priest looked at him in the eye, and left him pondering, "Have you ever thought about giving your life to being a high school teacher?"

"It’s a beautiful life," is how he sums up his lifelong stint in the academe. "I would recommend this to anybody crazy enough not to want to be rich. If you want to be rich, don’t teach."

A student, Jose Buñag, says, "Mr. Pagsy may have gained in years, but he has the heart of and for the young." Another student, Justin Favis, adds, "I would like to be like my dad who was a good man because he was a student of Mr. Pagsy."

Mr. Pagsy feels so blessed because for years he has had the opportunity to teach the country’s brightest young men, who in turn have taught him that in life, what matters most is the number of lives you touch.