Honor before excellence

When one enters the University of the Philippines, or even when one hears about UP, the phrase “honor and excellence” may come to mind. 

Although it has been changed, with the word “service” added by UP President Angelo Jimenez, the principles of honor and excellence are ingrained into every aspirant and every alumna of the University of the Philippines.

However, honor and excellence are not two combined principles that an Iskolar ng Bayan must take to be self-actualized. They are separate, coexistent, and for many, honor is the precedent of excellence.

And as Professor Solita Monsod said, “honor before excellence.” 

We are all aware of academic honesty, or the honor of honesty itself, as a principle that should guide not only the students of UP but those who seek to enter its hallowed walls. That one should be true to the principle of reason and fairness and seek to show what perceived reality is—in short, honesty is self-awareness.

Honesty is a naked presentation of what one is—their capabilities, their struggles, their philosophy. 

But, if one is to be dishonest over their work, what more is the honor that is bestowed upon an Iskolar ng Bayan? 

What more use is it to be given the epitaph of it—moreso the privilege to study at UP?

The University of the Philippines College Admission Test or UPCAT is not a test of excellence only, but honor foremost. To what extent is the UPCAT able to assess the habitus of students, but only their academic excellence? 

For one to truly pass the test in being an Iskolar ng Bayan is not measured simply in sitting representative of the studentry in councils, forming discussions on the matters of the state, nor is it to watch a game of UAAP.

It is excellence driven by honor and integrity. 

Honor and integrity to show up and man up when your constituents ask the matters of your departments, colleges, or even at the University level. 

To not simply preach and proselytize but actualize oneself in the many cries for justice and equity in the state. 

To use knowledge when it is right, only in the right ways, and not in unjustifiable means. 

It is a harsh world that we have, that amidst our tireless run to gain excellence, we forget honor and integrity itself. That we err in deciding that artificial intelligence is a better judge than us, Iskolars ng Bayan who have been built by a desire to uplift not only the country, but along with it, the proletariat and those who deserve to live in a society with equal footing. 

Honor and excellence must come with the thought that we, as products of the University of the Philippines, must serve the people in a manner that is with honor first, and excellence only as a consequence. 

For if excellence is pursued without the anchor of honor, it becomes hollow— dangerously performative, aimed not at uplifting society but at glorifying the self. 

The true Iskolar ng Bayan is not the most decorated, the most articulate, or the most published, but the most accountable, grounded, and principled. 

It is in small, almost invisible acts such as choosing truth in the face of temptation, owning up to failure than cheating the way to success, and resisting the easy path when integrity demands the harder one, that the ethos of “honor before excellence” becomes real. 

To continue this thought is to challenge the culture of results-over-process. In our hallowed walls of AS, RH, or PhySci, where grades become the only pursuit, we must remind ourselves: what does it mean to earn an uno at the expense of honesty? What does cum laude mean if it rests on compromised values? What leadership do we cultivate if we reward competence over character? 

The call to serve the people is not fulfilled in empty slogans or aiming for aesthetically representing the university. As Jose Dalisay said, “[we] are UP because no one can tell [us] to shut up, if [we] have something sensible and vital to say.” 

We embody this in how we live each day, whether we speak up when it’s easier to stay quiet, whether we resist complicity when it costs us comfort, and whether we choose to build rather than just critique. 

The revolutionary act today may not always be a march. It could be the refusal to plagiarize, the courage to say, “I can’t do it,” or the grace to lift our fellow Iskolars instead of stepping over them. 

UP will continue to shape minds that shape the future, and it should also protect the soul of its mission. Excellence is not a sorry excuse to abandon empathy nor integrity, and brilliance must never blind us to the truth of our duty. 

We are not simply built to become thinkers, doctors, nor scientists. We are meant to be conscientized citizens, moral actors, and embodiments of the very transformation we demand.

So yes, honor before excellence. Only then can we serve, and only then can excellence be truly honorable.