FORMER Faculty of Arts and Letters professor Jose David Lapuz, a longtime academic who taught the life of Dr. José Rizal for decades and served under three presidents, died on Wednesday, March 8. He was 84.
His death was first announced by the Royal Institution, Singapore, which had named Lapuz an honorary fellow.
“Prof. Lapuz was a remarkable man, and he was an inspiration to everyone who had the privilege to meet him,” the institution said in its Facebook post.
“For those of us that had the privilege of calling him ‘friend,’ we were humbled by his kindness and compassion,” it added.
Lapuz was a sought-after lecturer on Rizal who had taught the subject since 1964. For his work, he was bestowed a Knight Grand Cross by the fraternal organization Knights of Rizal.
He also taught political courses at UST during his tenure from 1970 to 2007, including international relations and comparative politics, global issues, and Philippine government and Constitution.
Lapuz was appointed to the national commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) by Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, occupying the post from 1999 to 2005.
He was elected vice president of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations in 2009.
Lapuz later served as presidential consultant on education and international organizations under President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017.
The tough-talking president was Lapuz’s student at the Lyceum of the Philippines in the 1960s.
Lapuz became controversial for campaigning for Duterte in the 2016 election. He spoke in two rallies, including the May 7 miting de avance of the Duterte campaign at Quirino Grandstand.
Lapuz finished his bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He became chairman of the Lyceum of the Philippines’ Department of Political Science from 1967 to 1973.
He pursued post-graduate studies in international politics and foreign studies at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
His remains will be interred at Loyola Memorial Chapels in Marikina starting Monday, Mar. 13. Ammiel B. Maestrado
