University of Manitoba

Dr. Magsino continues to reap laurels in Canada and RP

By AL PALOMAR

Rodor receives the Pamana ng Pilipino Award from Philippine President Gloria Macapagal last December 2006

The latest family picture taken in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photos courtesy of Ron Cantiveros, FILIPINO JOURNAL

Lt.-Gov. John Harvard (centre front), wife Lenore Berscheid (to his left) and Premier Gary Doer (centre rear) during the investiture of Order of Manitoba nominees (back, from left) Sophia Rabliauskas, David Gislason, Robert R. McLean, Hartley T. Richardson, David Glenn Friesen, John Bock, Muriel Smith and (front, from left) Evelyn Shapiro, Peter Sawatzky, Catherine (Myrtle) deMeulles, Helen Preston Glass and Romulo F. Magsino.

Dr. Romulo Magsino with, from left, Les Crisostomo, MLA Flor Marcelino, Norman Barnabe, Dr. Roland Guzman, grandchild Maya, Leah Magsino, Romulo Magsino, Jr., Tricia Barnabe, Mabel Briol and Dr. Neil Parado.

Romulo F. Magsino

What can one say about a friend that wouldn’t be misconstrued as biased or even self-serving?

Why self-serving? It’s because anything we say in praise of a close friend will always be heard in connection with our relationship with him. Complimenting a friend almost feels like giving ourselves a pat on the back.

This is the difficulty I’m having with writing about Rodor. I‘m afraid that whatever I say people might react, “Of course he’d say that: they are close friends.

But I’ve decided any of those concerns should not stop me from letting people know my deep respect and high regard for him. Whether these thoughts are objective or subjective is irrelevant. They are my thoughts.

There is no need for me to mention all the honors Rodor has received in his lifetime. Everyone knows he has received the highest honors his profession can possibly bestow upon him. I am sure there would be many more coming his way. From his boyhood to adulthood Rodor has been showered with medals, plaques, trophies and other concrete prizes that recognize the hard and excellent work he has shown in every task and responsibility placed upon him.

Rodor’s accomplishments, in Bal’s words, speak for themselves. All those who know him, not just his family and friends, acknowledge that people have benefited and continue to benefit from his work. Aside from his job as a university professor and his years of voluntary community service, he has written books that will serve readers for generations to come.

But more than anything else, Rodor’s legacy rests in the way he has led his life as a decent human being. He is a great friend and teacher and an even greater family man. His character is unassailable.

It’s not the many honors he has received that he will be remembered for---material things are evanescent. It’s his deep respect and devotion to pursuit of knowledge that will immortalize him. His tireless dedication to his quest for wisdom reminds us that acquisition of knowledge as pointed out in Ecclesiastes can’t just be “ a chasing after the wind.” It’s what we do with the knowledge we have acquired that counts in the end.

Rodor has shown us what it means to be a scholar; but above all, he has demonstrated to us, by the way he has led his life, what it means to be a good human being.

Al Palomar

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