FORMER UST Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. said the secret to successful leadership is successful followership during the 2006 Outstanding Thomasian Alumni Awards (TOTAL) last Feb. 17 at the UST Central Seminary Gym.
An honoree for his achievements in the field of education, de la Rosa, who is a former chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, said the award is not a recompense for his achievements, but a recognition of his contributions to education. He said the secrets of successful leadership are prayers and the support of a good staff.
“You cannot become a good leader if your followers are not good,” de la Rosa said. “The success of a leader depends 99 per cent on the followers that he has. What is more important in an organization is followership rather than leadership.”
The other honorees were: Pablo Panlilio, designer of the American Veterans Memorial Hospital and founder of the League of Philippine Architects, for architecture; Eugenio Reyes, one of the pioneers of the accountancy profession in the country and senior partner of the Sycip, Gorres and Velayo accounting firm, for business; Leonardo Riingen, owner of Informatics Training Institution, for science and technology; Dr. Manolo Gabriel, deputy secretary general of the Philippine Taekwondo Association, for sports; Raul Isidro, leading painter and print maker, for visual arts; Dr. Florentino Hornedo, commissioner of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines and a Don Carlos Palanca awardee, for the arts and humanities; Atty. Salvador Lao, founding partner of the Lao Veloso Lao law offices and president of the World Association of Law Professors, for law; Ambassador Francisco del Rosario, Philippine envoy to Germany, for government service; and Joselito Sayson, first Filipino doctor of manual therapy and NASA scientist, for the Health-allied fields. Dr. Allan de Guzman, director of the UST Center for Educational Research and Development and SEAMEO INNOTECH fellow, was named as this year’s Young Thomasian Achiever.
The TOTAL award is the highest recognition given to an alumnus by the University. It is an annual event that recognizes the achievements of alumni in various fields. April Dawn Jennifer C. Adriatico and Edsel Van D.T. Dura
