’Tis the season to be jolly

AS we celebrate the Christmas season this year, i note that this is also the season to be jolly for a great number of alumni of various schools. many of them will be reuniting with their former classmates and going back to their alma matter for their alumni homecoming. the stars of these homecomings are normally the alumni comprising the Diamond, Golden and Ruby Jubilarians who will celebrate their 60th, 50th and 40th year, since graduating from their schools.

I am a member of the Ruby Jubilarian class of the 1979 Accountancy class of the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration (now renamed as the UP Virata School of Business or VSB). I am doubly proud that I will be celebrating this milestone in my school at the same time that I have been selected as the dean of my alma mater, the VSB. I was selected by the UP Board of Regents to be the dean of the VSB on October 11, 2019.

On December 7, 2019, the alumni of the VSB will be proceeding to the annual homecoming to be held in a new venue at the UP campus, the Promenade. This is located near the Main Library with access from the Palma Hall parking area. The Promenade provides a wonderful venue for our homecoming since this is the newly constructed park with a grand plaza and greenery full of trees and flowers that can accommodate a greater number of our VSB community. We expect more than 300 alumni, their families and guests to come.

Our homecoming will have a fiesta motif. We will have a grand event amid the folk song of “Liron Liron sinta” and other favorite songs that are popular now and in the not too distant past. Liron is used instead of the original name of Leron since this is the acronym of my program as dean of “Looking in Reaching out Now na.”

We start the homecoming with the celebration of the Holy Mass. After the mass, our alumni and guests can tour the school premises with student exhibits in the various areas of our building. They can also take a guided bus tour of the UP Diliman campus with its new buildings and facilities.

Registration for our fiesta homecoming starts at 10 a.m. in the Promenade. Upon registration, the alumni will be given PayMaya VSB commemorative cards that will serve as their e-wallet for spending in the homecoming. Upon entering the venue, there will be a festive drum and bugle band and, colorful banderitas hanging in poles to welcome the guests.

The alumni can while away their time visiting the many food stalls, tiangge and gift shops, and game booths scattered throughout the Promenade fiesta park. There will be tents selling UP VSB souvenir items and exhibiting various alumni corporate products and services.

Of course, the alumni will be there to relive good times with their batch mates and their families, and

Our homecoming will have a fiesta motif. We will have a grand event amid the folk song of “Liron Liron sinta” and other favorite songs that are popular now and in the not too distant past. Liron is used instead of the original name of Leron since this is the acronym of my program as dean of “Looking in Reaching out Now na.”

to enjoy networking with their fellow VSB alumni.

The formal program will start at 12 noon. We will recognize the honoree classes consisting of Batch ’59 (Diamond), Batch ’64 (Emerald), Batch ’69 (Golden), Batch ’74 (Sapphire), Batch ’79 (Ruby), Batch ’84 (Coral), Batch ’89 (Pearl), Batch ’94 (Silver), Batch ’99, Batch ’09, Batch ’04 and Batch ’14. We will know during the program who will be the Distinguished Alumni Awardee/s. Of course, all other alumni of the school are welcome to attend. I, as the new dean, will share with the VSB community what my Looking in Reaching out initiatives are all about

Be prepared to be entertained and to have fun. Listen to your batch mates as they compete in the “Mr. & Ms. Videoke” contest. Watch our brave alumni test their brains and wit in the “Q&A” competition. Enjoy the grand entertainment musical show that we have prepared for the alumni, their families and friends who will be going to our Liron Liron sinta fiesta homecoming in the UP Promenade on December 7.

Please enjoin your batch mates and the rest of the VSB community to confirm their attendance to Marielle Cruz by e-mailing her at marielleanncruz@gmail.com, or calling 892-97991 or contacting your batch representatives.

Let us all enjoy our alumni homecoming during this season to be jolly.

Joel L. Tan-Torres is the dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. He was the former commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2009 to 2010, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy from 2014 to August 2018, and a partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., CPA, from 2011 to October 2019. He is a certified public accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979.

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