Remigio E. Agpalo’s Collection: formal turnover ceremony and exhibition
Dr. Remigio E. Agpalo’s invaluable collection has now found its
perpetual home at the DLSU Library. The turnover ceremony was held last June
10, 2013, in time for his birth anniversary, at the 13th floor of Henry Sy, Sr. Hall. The occasion was well-attended
by immediate family, relatives, friends and colleagues of Dr. Agpalo.
In the short program, Ms. Christine Abrigo, Assistant Director for
Operations, thanked the family of Dr. Agpalo for making the donation. Ms.
Marita Valerio, one of the librarians who catalogued his books, provided a
background on the composition of the collection. Afterwards, Ms. Christine
Helen Perez-Eustaquio, the daughter of Dr. Agpalo, delivered the Remarks of
Circumstance and shared some stories she has about her father. She also
expressed her thanks because his father’s precious collection will be preserved
at the DLSU Library. A former colleague of Dr. Agpalo and Dean of College of
Liberal Arts, Dr. Julio Teehankee, also gave a message during the event. Dr.
Teehankee was the one who convinced the family to donate Dr. Agpalo’s
collection to the Library.
Dr. Agpalo’s invaluable collection reflects his persona, character
and individuality. He has a deep knowledge of philosophy, religion, history,
literature, and politics as mirrored in the books he read and kept over the
years. Notably included, to name a few are the thick volumes of “Dialogues of
Plato”, “Religious Revolution in the Philippines”, “Our Oriental Heritage", “La
Solidaridad” and a lot of history and political science books. He was
interested in the political thought of Jose Rizal, Emilio Jacinto, and Jose P.
Laurel. He wrote the books “Jose P. Laurel: National Leader and Political
Philosopher” and “Models of Political Systems and the Philippines”.
Based on his collection, it can be gleaned that he loved reading
ancient and medieval political thought as shown through the titles he accumulated.
One title that probably inspired him to write his own precious book “Adventures
in Political Science” was the one written by Alfred North Whitehead titled "Adventures of Ideas”, where he liberally wrote and underlined the statements
written on the book's pages.
He has also an ample literary collection both in Filipino and
Western poetry. He was fond of reading biographies of great men like those of
Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy as well. On a lighter side, he has, in his
collection, some of his favourite novels written by Nicholas Sparks and Nora
Roberts.
Dr. Remigio Agpalo is a well-known and well respected professor and
author. He authored several journal articles and books including Pandanggo sa Ilaw : the Politics of
Occidental Mindoro and The Political Process and the Nationalization
of the Retail Trade in the Philippines. He was included in the 2003 International
Register of Profiles and he was one of the leading political scientists in our
country and was called the Father of Political Science in the Philippines.
Gallery: