The Oblation
A trip to the University of the Philippines is not complete without a trip to the UP Oblation, an sygil of the University of the Philippines. The original one though is housed somewhere higher - the topmost floor of the UP Main Library at the Institute of Library and Information Science. The statue was conceptualised from a stanza found in the poem from Mi Ultimo Adios, which was written by the Philippines National Hero Jose Rizal. It was Professor Guillermo E. Tolentino who created the Oblation, with the aid of his assistant Anastacio T. Caedo. The popular belief was that Fernando Poe Sr was the model used for the statue, but some have said that it was actually Caedo who was the model. The Oblation also lents its name to the annual running of volunteer members of the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity naked around the campus. Known as the Oblation Run it has become a tradition of sorts, a protest action, and a media event during Christmas.
Here is the original one. The photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
More stuff about the Oblation on the Web:
