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.

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