An "Honoris Causa" for the president?

The UP community in Diliman expressed a collective outrage at the proposal to confer on President Rodrigo Duterte a doctorate degree, "honoris causa". They might have their own reasons and whatever said reasons are, they have the right to express them. But the rest of the Filipinos do not necessarily subscribe to the UP peoples' mentality. I suppose that said reasons include that many of the people there, except for the enlightened few, have always shown superiority complex over all the rest of the nation. They seem to be feeling that they are very special people, and the rest of humanity are their inferiors. Such intellectual arrogance might have been developed as a culture because in that virtual republic in Diliman, they have always enjoyed all the privileges that are denied to the rest of the people.

The Filipino taxpayers are subsidizing the education of these special people. They are given a special center of excellence in all facets of education, a big tract of land dedicated to these special breed of brilliant Pinoys. They are provided superior facilities and learning environment that are denied to the rest of the population. Their professors, teachers, and non-teaching staff are paid with government funds, and tremendous opportunities for foreign grants and endowments are allowed to be bestowed on this institution. They have the best books, the most up-todate research facilities and laboratory instruments that can compare with the top-of-line in the whole world. And all these are made possible by the grace of the government and foreign patrons, donors, and supporters.

Because the UP community, or at least, the more influential segment of that elite community are looking down at the president with an unabashed sense of condescension, they could not accept that their "inferior" in intellect and brilliance would get a doctorate. They behave as if they own UP. They publicly declare their opposition to the proposed conferment of the "honoris causa" to President Duterte probably because the president never studied in UP. He went to Ateneo (de Davao) and to San Beda for his law degree. Most of the cabinet members are Bedans, except perhaps the communist-nominated Judy Taguiwalo of DSWD and Leonor Magtolis-Briones of DepEd who are both from UP, both professors.

The president never asked to be conferred that honorific decoration in the first place. The initiative came from the UP Board of Regents itself, which, by the way, includes the defeated vice presidential bet Chiz Escudero. The senator declared that he did not object to the proposal because of tradition. He did not say that the president deserves it; it is only because of tradition. That is another shade of UP arrogance. President Duterte is not fond of awards. He does not like the pretensions of superiority emanating from gold-plated medallions and ribbons. He does not relish the trappings of ceremonial decorations. Latin honors are not his cup of tea. And so, let the UP objectors eat their "honoris causa". The president is not diminished by the lack of it nor elevated by accepting it.And so, insult to insult, the president rejected that doctorate. He does not need it, after all.