To the community of the Mapúa schools,
Amidst the torrent of issuances, advisories, and social media posts about COVID-19, I wish to send a singular message of oneness amongst ourselves and with the larger communities of which we are a part – the Filipino people and indeed humanity. It could have happened under better circumstances, but the current situation has made us acutely feel this sense of belongingness as, perhaps, never before.
We are now in the thick of a very global and yet very local public health battle that can be won only with common resolve and unified action. As in any battle, drastic or even draconian actions may have to be taken to stem the tide against the adversary. Such actions will inevitably involve much difficulty and even sacrifice on our part. But our part we must do.
In the unaccustomed distance between each of us that we now find ourselves in, we have to find new ways to continue to operate to achieve our customary tasks. We are fortunate perhaps that we have earlier put in place the online tools that can dispel such distance. We must now maximize its use for the academic and administrative tasks that need to be carried out. This attempt to carry on despite the circumstances – keeping a part, small though it may be, of the socio-economic life of our nation humming – constitutes a major contribution to the fight.
I wish to thank our students, faculty members, administrative staff, alumni, officers, and trustees who are doing their best to help our Mapúa schools cope with the situation.
I wish that we can all pull together, as one Mapúa community, to make the personal situation of each and everyone of us as safe, and as less fraught with difficulties, as possible.
I wish that we can continue to support the bigger effort to win this battle against a global pandemic whose face we have now seen up close. Together, we shall overcome!
Ingat po tayong lahat!