Unlike the UP-NIGS, the UP Department of Geology and Geography was a mere corridor with rooms on both sides. Located in the third pavilion of the Arts and Science Building, the Department was confined within the second floor, the first floor being occupied by the Physics Department. Within this small space was the Geography faculty room, two Geology faculty rooms, office of the Chairman, office of Dr. Mateo Tupas which also served as the petrography-optical mineralogy laboratory, mineralogy laboratory, library and three classrooms. At the end of the second floor was the Men’s Room and below the stairs at the end was the thin section and polished section work station which was run by Mang Vestre.

Around this time, there were only four female students, namely, Boboc Bausa, Luz Santos, Mila Villavicencio, Charito Pizarro and Chit Jundos. Luz went off to other parts unknown without finishing her geology studies and only four graduated between 1962 and 1963. The first female geologist to graduate was Boboc Bausa, now Assistant Secretary at DOE. A few years would pass before another female student enrolled in Geology.

We did our petrography / optical mineralogy laboratory exercises at the office of Dr. Mateo Tupas, with Ray Punongbayan assisting. At the time we used a monocular Leitz microscope with reflected natural light as source of illumination. From time to time, we would rest our eyes by looking out the window, or looking down at couples necking on the front seats of cars parked below.

Many of the Ruby Jubilarians took their summer field work in the concession of White Eagle at Bondoc Peninsula, among them, Noe Caagusan, Rugged de Luna, Pepe Nazario, Ed Pastoral, Rolly Peña, Paeng Romero and Levi Toquero. Prof. Emmanuel Tamesis supervised the fieldwork, assisted by Catalino Domingo of White Eagle and Ray Punongbayan, who was then an instructor of the Geology Department.

Among our professors, Dr. Mateo Tupas and Dr. Arsenio Gonzales were among the pioneers in the use of the vernacular during classes. One time, during the first day of class for mineralogy, Dr.Tupas (who always sports a hand lens around his neck) looked through the deck of class cards, then exclaimed, “P… ina, ang dami-dami ninyo, mabuti pa mag-drop na ang iba sa inyo!” None of us, including the Chemistry students, dropped the course, but some of the female Chemistry students were visibly shocked.

Dr. Arsenio Gonzales was the only one who smoked during classes. (His brand was Philip Morris without filter, which come in brown packs.) During one of his lectures on the derivation of the bisetrix for biaxial minerals, he asked after his explanation, “Is that clear?” This drew only blank expressions. So, he repeated his lecture, then asked again. No response. He then said, “O, tagalugin na natin, ha. Ganito…..” Afterwards, he inquired once more, “Ano, naintindihan na ba nyo?” Nobody could say yes, so he exclaimed, “Tinamaan ng koryat, mabuti pa, mag-uwian na lang tayo.” And forthwith he left the room.

The period was the time of the formation and growth of AFAG, which stood for Association of Filipino Amateur Geologists, with chapters in Mapua and Adamson. Some faculty members were distressed by its existence, which was viewed as an organization that undermined the UP Geological Society. This was not altogether true because some of the AFAG members were also able to work for the UPGS, as well as its publication, Bedrock.

Sad to say, some of the Ruby Jubilarians this year cannot join us. Some of them passed away early in their careers, such as Mac Benitez, Ato Contreras and Charlie Reyes, while Ed Pastoral, Fred Buenaventura and Paeng Romero left this world some years ago. Boy Bobis went off to fly planes instead of trudging over mountains and Charito Pizarro practiced geology briefly then devoted her time to teaching piano at the UP College of Music. Art Nisperos has made his mark in the US, being one of the leading experts on the petrography of concrete. The rest are still very much around. Pedro Almoradie, Noe Caagusan and Rugged de Luna are still practicing their profession in the private sector. Fred Troncales has retired from PNOC but is still connected with the office as consultant. Rolly Peña is a Regional Director of MGB (but holds office at the DENR) while the fairest among this batch, Boboc Bausa, is Assistant Secretary at DOE.

Yes, many of us are still around. We don’t hammer at rocks as furiously as before, and some spend their time sifting papers. We still have rocks in our heads, and when we’re with fellow geologists, we are good at trading stories. And sometimes you can pick out gems from the rocky material.

By Rolando Peña
BS Geo ‘62

BS Geo Batch 1962