ALEDRO, Micaela L / 2018-02317

Eng13 – WFR5
Critique Paper: Final Draft
May 29, 2019

The Silent Witness

In line with the Diliman Arts and Culture Month 2019 celebration, the Lupang Hinirang: Mga

Kuwento ng Pagsasalugar ng UP Diliman Exhibit is launched last February 15. Narrating the spatial

history of UP Diliman, the exhibit features various perspectives, events, and objects such as the Oblation,

which embodies the idea of sacrifice that is eminently embedded in the UP identity. Indeed, Oblation or

Oble is an integral part of the university thus, this begs the question of its role as a metaphor of sacrifice

in shaping the soul of the UP community. Taking into account the recent attacks on the institution through

red-tagging of students and faculty and the prevailing culture of historical revisionism, Oblation’s role

becomes more than being a reminder and embodiment of the ideals that the institution stands for, rather it

bears witness of the past, present, and future that molds the soul of the institution.

The role of Oblation in bearing witness can be examined through the ideas presented by Resil

Mojares (2002) in his essay, The Haunting of the Filipino Writer which problematizes the soul drift that

our nation is experiencing. Grueling as drifting of the soul may be, Mojares (2002) admits that in this

haunting of the soul we can only “weave the various strand of our shared life into a stronger sense of self

and nation” because haunting is a form of desire. Similarly, as an institution that shapes the minds that

shape the nation, the soul of the university is also being haunted by its aspirations and hopes for the

motherland and Filipinos.

The Oblation, a completely nude figure of a young man with outstretched arms and open hands,

with tilted head, closed eyes and parted lips murmuring a prayer, with breast forward in the act of offering

himself, is the National Artist Guillermo Tolentino’s rendition of Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios second stanza,

as a response to the request of late UP President Rafael Palma. It adheres to the principle of beaux arts

which aims to create the ideal and proportional figure of a human being (Cañete 2012). Oble, embodying
sacrifice for the country, is embedded with symbolism as well. The pose itself is an exaltation to the

“unknown heroes who fell in the night.” Moreover, according to Encarnacion (2017) the cornerstone is a

representation of the Philippine archipelago with rocks from Montalban Gorge to highlight its cultural

and historical significance. Its height is 3.5 m which signifies the duration of the Spanish rule over the

Filipinos while the katakataka plant blossomed on the feet and the base symbolizing the patriotism that

persistently grows and fosters in different parts of the country.

In the exhibit, the face of Oble is illuminated. This lighting adds hauntedness to the overall mood

of this section in the exhibit. It creates the illusion of chasing the light amidst the darkness which

resonates Mojares’ sentiments regarding how haunting of the soul produces desire. Mojares explains that

“to be haunted is to be suspended in a dream between past and future,” which reflects the role of Oble in

bearing witness. As a witness, you desire to preserve the truth (which signifies the light) and

communicate it to others despite the opposition and struggle (which depicts the surrounding darkness).

Oble stands witness to the various milestone of not just the university but also of the nation. From the

seemingly impossible transfer from Faura to Diliman to the darkest regime that blazed the spirit of

Diliman Commune until the contemporary time of continuous struggle of defending democracy and

national interest, Oble carries the memories and the narratives that mold the soul of the university.

However, the sculpture does not only bear witness of the past but also of the present and future.

Signifying the role of the university’s graduates in nation-building, a Sablay, the official academic

costume of the university which symbolizes nationalism (University of the Philippines Diliman Office of

the University Registrar n.d.) is draped over the Oblation during commencement rites.

Aside from the lighting, the background sound, the recording of the second stanza of Mi Ultimo

Adios and El Filibusterismo excerpt, emphasizes the personification of sacrifice in Oblation. Rizal’s

portrayal of the youth in the excerpt, whom he envisions as the hope of the nation, reflects the role of

Oble in bearing witness to the duty of the university in molding “iskolar ng bayan para sa bayan.”

Similarly, Mojares (2002) argues that haunting does not only reminisce pasts but also anticipate the future

because it is “to dream not only of something past but the trace of what one had desired but had not quite
accomplished.” Therefore, haunting is not only a form of desire but also an appeal for sacrifice in order to

fulfill one’s aspirations and hopes. More than imparting truths, being a witness is invoking actions that

benefits, not one’s own interest but the interest of the Filipino people and of the country and the Oblation

calls for the spirit of activism and dedication of service to the Filipino people to continuously kindle in

the soul of the premier university and its stakeholders.

Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings, and afterward our buildings shape us.” Indeed,

the Oblation is designed to be both a tribute and a reminder to the Filipino people of our history filled

with sacrifice as Cañete (2012) concluded. Yet, as time passes by, Oblation, as it silently bears witness of

the unfolding history of the university and of the nation, it begins to mold the UP soul and identity as an

institution that is for the nation and for the people. (935)

Bibliography
Cañete, Reuben Ramas. 2012. "Sacrificial Bodies: Birth of Oblation." In Sacrificial Bodies: The Oblation

and the Political Aesthetics of Masculine Representations in Philippine VIsual Cultures, by

Reuben Ramas Cañete, 152. Diliman, Quezon City: The University of the Philippines Press.

Encarnacion, Andre DP. 2017. "UP Forum: ‘For the nation, for the people’." University of the

Philippines. October 18. Accessed March 05, 2019. https://www.up.edu.ph/index.php/for-the-

nation-for-the-people/.

Mojares, Resil B. 2002. "The Haunting of the Filipino Writer." In Waiting for Mariang Makiling: Essays

in Philippine Cultural History, by Resil B. Mojares, 297-314. Quezon City.

University of the Philippines Diliman Office of the University Registrar. n.d. Academic Costume.

Accessed May 28, 2019. https://our.upd.edu.ph/acad.php.