Don’t Settle for Mediocrity: A Challenge for Graduates Everywhere
MANILA — Senator Loren Legarda challenged graduates of Batangas State University (BatStateU) to reject mediocrity in their professions, according to a statement from her office released Tuesday.
“Whatever profession you may get into, where people rely on your knowledge, time, service, or decision, there are lives and futures that your job may affect,” Legarda said in Filipino during her address at the university’s 58th Commencement Exercises. “So don’t get accustomed to ‘pwede na’ [that will do]. Don’t allow getting something ‘almost right’ as enough if you have the opportunity to ‘make it right’.”
Learning from Batangueño Heroes
Legarda cited three revolutionary heroes from the province as models for the discipline, patience, and clarity of judgment that careers demand:
- General Miguel Malvar of Santo Tomas, the last Filipino general to surrender in the Philippine-American War
- Marcela Mariño Agoncillo of Taal, who hand-sewed the Philippine flag in exile in five days
- Apolinario Mabini of Tanauan, known as the “Brain of the Revolution” against Spanish colonial rule
“They were not born heroes. The time just arrived when something needs to be done, and they chose not to turn their backs on it. I share their stories because I hope to see something of them in each of you,” Legarda said.
She mapped each figure onto a graduating program: Malvar’s discipline for criminology graduates, Agoncillo’s patience for hospitality management graduates, and Mabini’s habit of reading the fine print for all graduates. From all three, she urged tourism management graduates to present the country’s islands, history, food, and communities so the world sees the Philippines rightly.
Between Commerce and Conscience
Legarda traced BatStateU’s growth from a small trade school founded in 1903 to the country’s National Engineering University, now serving over 60,000 students from 55 provinces across 12 campuses. She tied that growth to Batangas province’s economic weight: the heart of Calabarzon, the country’s second-largest economic region, with a port moving goods for half of Luzon, refineries and industrial estates powering industries, and coastlines in Anilao and Nasugbu drawing divers and travelers worldwide.
“Batangas has never had the luxury of choosing between commerce and conscience. It has always had to carry both,” she said.
Education at the Center of Her Legislative Work
Legarda emphasized that education has long been central to her legislative work, as government must remove burdens preventing Filipinos from completing their education. She co-authored and co-sponsored the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (Republic Act No. 10931), which made tuition free in state universities and colleges. She also principally authored Senate Bill No. 1894, strengthening the Tertiary Education Subsidy to help poor and vulnerable students stay in school.
Her support for BatStateU includes funding for educational assistance and land acquisition for the BatStateU Lemery Campus. “Education must remain within reach through every difficult semester until a student reaches graduation,” she said. “The future of our nation will not be transformed by extraordinary people. It will be transformed by ordinary Filipinos who choose each day to live and work extraordinarily well.”