The University of the Philippines Mindanao mourns the passing of Sebastian "Sir Angie" Lim Angliongto, a member of the UP Los Baños College of Agriculture Class of 1959.

Sir Angie's life was intertwined with his UP education and the establishment of UP Mindanao.

The idea of having a UP in Mindanao can be traced back to the "bulung-bulungan" of the UP Alumni Association Davao (UPAAD) members in the 1950s. Subsequently, various meetings between UP officials and the Davao alumni continued in the following decades, which saw intermittent efforts by UP to extend its instruction to the southern Philippines.

In 1988, Sir Angie was elected president of the UP Alumni Association Davao, a time when the sentiment for a UP in Mindanao was gaining wider support.

In 1989, the UPAAD organized the 12th UP Regional Alumni Institute, at which a "Resolution for the Promotion and Establishment of a UP unit in Davao City," signed by Sir Angie as conference chairman, was issued at the closing session on November 25, 1989.

Consequently, Sen. Edgardo Angara, Rep. Carlos Padilla, and Rep. Prospero Nograles would draft bills in their respective houses in the next few years. Simultaneously, the UPAA Davao crafted a concept paper and position papers as inputs to the legislative initiatives.

In 1992, Fidel V. Ramos was elected president. When he attended the 2nd Mindanao Business Conference in 1993 as the keynote speaker, Sir Angie took the opportunity to pass him a position paper. President Ramos, himself a product of a UP primary education, was surprised to realize the absence of a UP in Mindanao. Immediately, he penned a notation for Senator Teofisto Guingona to create a fact-finding committee for this concern.

Indefatigably, Sir Angie continued to send the position papers to various offices and officials in UP and the government. Finally, Davao Representative Elias B. Lopez introduced House Bill 13382, which, incorporated with the various bills, became Republic Act 7889, "The UP Mindanao Act."

President Ramos signed RA 7889 in Malacanang on February 20, 1995, after which he flew to Davao City the next day, on February 21, to re-enact the signing ceremony at the Central Bank Building in the presence of the UP alumni. 

Immediately following their success in realizing their dream of creating UP Mindanao, Sir Angie and his fellow alumni created the UP Mindanao Foundation Inc. (UPMFI), also in 1995, to support UP Mindanao. Since then, the UPMFI continued to provide scholarships to students and assistance to faculty members.

Through the succeeding years, Sir Angie was an informal adviser to the various UP Mindanao administrators and UP presidents. He served as an energetic advocate of UP Mindanao to various visiting parties and prospective donors. He and fellow alumni were a constant presence in UP Mindanao's special events and graduation ceremonies.

 

The University is forever grateful for the lifelong efforts and the love Sir Angie has given to this institution.

"You will be missed, Sir Angie. Your memory will live on in our hearts."

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(Source: "The UP Mindanao Story," an unpublished manuscript by Dr. Agnes S. Togon)