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| (L-R) Atty. Edgar Tarriela, Flor Gozon-Tarriela, WUP President Judge Benjamin Turgano, Butch Jimenez, and Tricia Amper-Jimenez at the inauguration ceremonies of the Carolina L. Gozon Institute for Lifelong Learning (Image Source: GMA Network) |
Wesleyan University Philippines (WUP) recently held the inauguration of the Carolina Lapus Gozon Institute for Lifelong Learning as a tribute to Mrs. Carolina Lapus Gozon, the late mother of GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon. The Institute will serve as an applied knowledge center for continuing education initially in Region III and the centerpiece of WUP’s public service and social accountability thrusts. It also aims to provide new avenues and opportunities for continuing education and skills training, especially for disadvantaged Filipinos who are likely to struggle more severely toward a post-COVID-19 recovery period.
Mrs. Gozon, despite being born into an affluent family, continued to explore wider opportunities beyond her academic field of specialization to help provide for her family. She bravely started her own business by borrowing 20,000 pesos as capital from her mother and supplying for Rufina Patis. Even after losing her principal buyer, she remained hopeful and struggled to produce her own brand, Dalisay Patis which ushered her early business success. She eventually went on to own a salt mine, start a quarrying business, and supply coffee seedlings. The inauguration ceremonies, held last March 18 at The Manila Hotel, was led by WUP President Judge Benjamin D. Turgano along with OIC-Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. John Mark F. Bondoc, Carolina Lapus Gozon Institute For Lifelong Learning Director Christian Jan Fausto, and European Union Delegation to the Republic of the Philippines Deputy Head of Delegation Dr. Ana Sanchez Ruiz. Some members of the Gozon family who were present at the launch expressed their heartfelt gratitude to WUP for giving this tribute.
“At one point in her life, nakilala niya ang Diyos nang lubusan and that, to my Wesleyan family, is the woman you are honoring. It is not a woman of great achievements; she is a woman of great faith,” said Butch Jimenez, Gozon’s grandson. As part of their tribute, Jimenez’s wife, Tricia Amper-Jimenez, also performed a song interpretation of one of the poems written by Gozon. “My mom’s life was abundant, it was full, but it was also enriched by the many trials that she endured and lived with absolute trust, faith, and love in God. She passed away peacefully at 97 with her mental faculties intact. She valued education and sacrificed to ensure that we will go to the best schools and go abroad. She said education is a way to prepare us to face the future. But she said it’s not enough. To meet life’s tests and challenges, she said it is to know that Jesus is the answer and Jesus is all we need,” shared Gozon’s daughter, Flor Gozon Tarriela. "Thank you to Wesleyan University for honoring our mother, Carolina Gozon. God bless us all,” she ended.
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Prior to the inauguration of the Carolina Lapus Gozon Institute For Lifelong Learning, WUP bestowed upon Atty. Felipe Gozon an honorary degree of Doctor Of Laws (Honoris Causa) in an academic convocation held at the Central United Methodist Church in Manila which was attended by Mrs. Teresa Gozon, Gozon family members, GMA Network Independent Directors Dr. Jaime Laya and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and GMA Network executives. The conferment rites were led by WUP President Judge Benjamin D. Turgano along with OIC-Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. John Mark F. Bondoc, Board of Trustees Secretary Atty. Gideon C. Salatan, Legal Education Board Chairperson Atty. Marie Melanie B. Trinidad, and Board of Trustees Member Renato G. Simbulan. “I am deeply humbled by the degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa you have conferred on me. This recognition speaks of the many things that I stand for, the things that give my life meaning, and the values I live by. For all of that, I am most grateful, especially to our Lord,” said Gozon in his speech.
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A noted legal scholar, Gozon graduated in the top ten of UP Law Class of 1962 and placed 13th in the 1962 Bar Examinations. He pursued graduate studies at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA and finished the degree of Master of Laws in 1965. He had opportunities to pursue a lucrative law practice in the United States but he chose to return and serve in his own country, the Philippines. His visionary leadership provided the framework for the rise of GMA Network to become the largest broadcasting network and the most watched and most trusted television station in the country. Gozon joins former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil and other accomplished persons in government, academe, religion, and business as WUP’s honorary degree recipients.
