“I WILL teach, because if I don’t teach, I will die.”
Before being confined in Medical City in the middle of 2013, this is what Professor Emeritus Ramon Reyes, PhD told colleagues whenever they discouraged him from teaching because of his health condition.
Due to nutritional and age-related factors, Reyes developed multiple diseases and was hospitalized several times in 2013.
The 79-year-old philosophy professor, known to generations of Ateneans and philosophers as Doc Reyes, passed away on January 17, a school year after he stopped teaching.
Students and colleagues mourned his passing in the Immaculate Concepcion Chapel in Gonzaga Hall from January 18 to 21. Reyes’ internment was held on January 22 after a Mass presided by former University President Bienvenido Nebres, SJ held at the Church of the Gesù.
Considered a legend by many, Reyes left quite a remarkable legacy in the field of education.
Reyes graduated magna cum laude from the Ateneo in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then came back to the Ateneo after finishing his doctoral degree at the Belgian Université Catholique de Louvain in 1965. From 1968 to 1981, he was chair of the Philosophy Department.
He was also a member of the Ateneo Board of Trustees from 1970 to 1973 and from 1994 to 2005. In 1987, he was the recipient of the Metrobank Most Outstanding Teacher Award.
Reyes also helped promote quality education beyond the Ateneo. He was president of the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (Paascu) from 1987 to 2006.
He also served as president of the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines.
Revamping Ateneo philosophy
Together with Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ and Fr. Jose Cruz, SJ, Reyes introduced existential phenomenological thought in Philippine philosophy.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Eduardo Calasanz said in an interview with The GUIDON that philosophy in the Ateneo was once a “rehash of the philosophy courses in the seminaries, especially in Jesuit seminaries.”
“As an approach or as a method, as a way of proceeding in philosophy, they (Reyes, Ferriols and Cruz) introduced existential phenomenology because it was [the most] concrete approach that seems to address both the question and the need of the student,” Calasanz said.
Existential phenomenology allows students to deepen their understanding of life by using lived experiences as a starting point.
Two sides
Though Reyes was known for being quiet and reserved, he never failed to show that he cared for others.
“Dr. Reyes was never one who wore his heart on his sleeve; he was never lavish with displays of affection, at least in the Philosophy Department,” said Calasanz during a wake mass for Reyes held in the College Chapel on January 21.
“But he was always caring, concerned with the lives and loves of his students and colleagues,” he added.
Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Viña further explained that this caring nature became more apparent with the birth of Reyes’ first son. After that, Reyes seemed to find it easier to relate to his students.
“Indeed, Ramon only looked reserved because he didn’t want to impose himself on others. He valued independence of mind,” said Philosophy Department Associate Professor Leovino Garcia, PhD during his eulogy for Reyes.
According to Calasanz, Reyes used to tap his students on the shoulder as a sign of his concern and as a form of encouragement after a bad oral examination.
However, Paascu Director Concepcion Pijano said that when Reyes was faced with crises, such as when the government wanted to take over Paascu, he could always stand firm.
“Although he was known for being gentle, kind, he could also be bullheaded, especially at times when the basic principles of voluntary, non-governmental accreditation are threatened or challenged. He stood tall,” said Pijano during Reyes’ funeral Mass held at the Church of the Gesù on January 22.
Man of discernment
Apart from fondly being known as the professor who left the classroom with the blackboard and his clothes covered in chalk, Reyes will also be remembered by his students and colleagues as a person who can deeply reflect on his decisions.
A popular instance of his decision-making acumen was when he was offered a managerial position for a company that sold soap.
He rejected the offer upon consultation with a Jesuit priest, who said to him, “Why sell soap when you can build people?”
After declining the offer, Reyes went to St. Mary’s University in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya to teach for two years.
According to Calasanz, Reyes’ message through this story is that moments where we have to make “fundamental decisions” come rarely. When such an opportunity comes, we should seize it, because it “determines the way our life unfolds after.”
Reyes was also able to impart to his students this same practice of discernment.
La Viña said Reyes would constantly remind his students to always ask themselves if they were doing the right thing and if they were telling the truth.
“He didn’t make your choices for you. He was very conservative. Very rational… His influence was not in telling me what to do but in helping me ask the right questions,” he said.
He further described Reyes as “master teacher who gave his life to teaching.”
Even during his internment, his doctors were able to learn from how Reyes “bore his helplessness and pain. He remained a teacher and a philosopher to the end,” said former University President Bienvenido Nebres, SJ during the internment mass.
