Last October 3, 2025,  I had the occasion to meet with relatives and friends of Celestino M. Dizon, one of the top Filipino entrepreneurs who pioneered in gold and copper mining.  It was a gathering at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) celebrating the construction of the Celestino Dizon Auditorium at the main campus of the University way  ack in 1991 and the launching of  a fund campaign to renovate the facility which has played a major role in the evolution of what started as the  CRC College of Arts and Sciences into the University of Asia and the Pacific.  Part of the fund campaign consisted in the sale of works of Art of descendants of Celestino Dizon and other artists  friends. 

            Because of talks of coups today, I was reminded of that politically turbulent period between 1986 (People Power revolution) and 1992 (the year Fidel V. Ramos was elected President).  There were so many coup attempts, the worst of which was that of November 1989, during the same school year when our CRC-College of Arts and Sciences began operation.  I used to refer to them as “mosquito” revolutions because all of them failed owing to the popularity of President Cory Aquino.  When, through the generosity of the Celestino M. Dizon Foundation, we were able to construct an auditorium, the facility became very useful for the economic briefings for which CRC became famous during martial law and the aftermath of the EDSA revolution.  Dr. Jess Estanislao, Joe Romero, Henry Esteban and I—aided by some young economists in training, gave economic briefings during martial law in auditoria we rented, one belonging to  the San Miguel Corporation on Ayala Avenue, and the other to PCI Bank on Makati Avenue.  Modesty aside, we were the only credible economic forecasters at that time so that our briefings would attract hundreds of people from the business and diplomatic communities.  When in 1991 the Dizon Auditorium was completed, we moved  the briefings to our campus in Ortigas, at that time still surrounded by open fields where some animals were still grazing.

            Coincidentally, it was also in 1991 when the famous Filipino writer and novelist, Nick Joaquin, finished writing the biography of Celestino M. Dizon.  The book was titled TATANG:  The Life Story of Celestino M. Dizon.  To highlight the fact that Celestino Dizon embodied many of the values that we at UA&P try to inculcate into our teachers, students and administrative staff, let me quote some passages from Joaquin’s book: “Man being a fallen creature, no person can claim to inborn greatness.  Virtue is something we have to create.  We don’t just have it.   Celestino Dizon was a good man because he learned to control the selfishness natural to every man.  He had many faults, the most grievous being a violent temper, but he succeeded in correcting what was wrong in his nature and recreating himself as a gentle human being whose heart was for others.  It is because of this success that he can be rated a great man.  In fact, people who admire him cite in his honor, not the many firms he founded, nor the ventures in which he pioneered, nor his triumphs as entrepreneur but his humility and benevolence.   He was humane. “

            Today, we hold our economic briefings in another auditorium within our campus.  Celestino Dizon Auditorium has become mainly a venue for culture and arts, in which our faculty and students organize musical concerts, dramas and plays, and art exhibits.  That is why, those who are raising funds to upgrade the auditorium to meet the demands of the Z generation decided to hold an auction of art works entitled “Giving HeART:  The Art Auction and Sale.”  For many years now, the Dizon Auditorium has hosted countless recitals, concerts, plays, student assemblies, and academic gatherings.  At least three generations of students have stepped onto its stage, and generations of families have filled its seats.  Beyond the economic briefings that characterized the first few years of the Auditorium, the Dizon Auditorium has always been more than a hall.  It has been literally a second home—a place where our academic community came together to learn, to celebrate, and to be inspired.

            Going back to the origins of the precursor of UA&P—CRC College of Arts and Sciences—I remember some of the earliest performances held in the Dizon Auditorium, when our facilities were far more modest than they are today.   The sound system was not perfect, the lights sometimes flickered, but what mattered most was the spirit of the students (echoing the entrepreneurial spirit of the young Celestino Dizon) who sang, acted, and spoke with so much passion.  Those early years taught me that what makes a venue special is not its structure, but the lives it shapes.  That is the reason why the present management of UA&P—already being led by distinguished alumni of our own university—want to renovate the auditorium:  so that future generations will have a stage worthy of their talents and dreams.

            During that event on October 3, the UA&P community paid tribute to the descendants of Celestino who are continuing his spirit of service.  Luis “Chito” Dizon, the only surviving son of Celestino, is a long-term friend of UA&P.  I got very close to his family when they used to invite me frequently for meals in their home in Barcelona where I spent two years as a Visiting Professor at the IESE Business School.  Two from the third generation, Philip and Gary, have assumed the responsibility of sustaining the legacy of their grandfather.  Their helping us to modernize the Auditorium named after their grandfather remind us that true stewardship is not confined to one lifetime—it is passed from generation to generation.

            Also worthy of the deepest gratitude from the Dizon clan and the UA&P community are the artists who shared their works in the fund raising auction and the generous patrons who placed their bids with great enthusiasm.  Every artwork, every bid, every gesture of support was more than a transaction.  It was a contribution to something much larger than the preservation of a space where culture, learning, and community life can flourish.

            In this tribute to Celestino M. Dizon, let me also recognize the role played by his  children and grandchildren in doing good as they honor the memory of their beloved  “Tatang.”  As Nick Joaquin wrote in his biography, “His children have set up the C.M. Dizon Foundation which unobtrusively gives assistance to the needy.  This memorial of his passion for helping people makes it possible for Tatang to be still around and ensures his continuing presence in the years to come. Funded by the wealth his mines are now making, the foundation is also a reminder that  Tatang was never obsessed with wealth .  Thanks to his children and grandchildren, the UA&P community has benefited from that admirable detachment that Tatang manifested, a trait that we at UA&P are trying our best to instill in our own budding young entrepreneurs. For comments, my email address is Bernardo.villegas@uap.asia.