BISU Balilihan’s Honoring Excellence: A Tribute to Parents

Bohol Island State University (BISU) Balilihan Campus held its much-anticipated Recognition Program and Tribute to Parents on June 13, 2025 at BISU Balilihan Multi-Purpose Covered Court. But beyond the awards and applause, it was the powerful voices of the event’s main speakers that truly defined the morning—offering not just praise, but purpose.

The ceremony began with a formal processional march, symbolizing the end of one journey and the beginning of another. Among the honored groups were the Dean’s List awardees, Honor graduates, Faculty members and staff, Deans and Directors, Campus Director, Guests, University officials, Vice Presidents, and University President of BISU. After the singing of hymns led by Ms. Leany G. Arcayena (BSIT-FPSM Graduating Student) and invocation by Ms. Pearl Angelie O. Lansang (Cum Laude,BSIT), the words of welcome was shared by Ms.Stefanie Mae H. Abucay (Cum Laude,BS Criminology). Then the stage was set for the event’s most inspiring moments.

The esteemed College Deans presented the candidates for Recognition: Dr. Shella C. Olaguir (Dean,CCIS), Mr. Jun Rey J. Poyos (Dean, CTAS) and, Dr. Marry Joyce G. Ale (Dean, CCJ). Meanwhile BISU Balilihan Campus Director Dr. Jean F. Nebrea led the Recognition of the Candidates for Graduation.

𝗗𝗿. 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗠. 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘀𝗼: 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀

University President Dr. Anthony M. Penaso delivered a speech filled with conviction and pride, acknowledging the hard work of the graduates while urging them to become changemakers in their communities. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘩, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯,” he said, adding that, “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺.” He reminded the students that their journey of achievement is already underway, and that each step forward contributes to a lasting legacy.

He emphasized that the celebration goes beyond individual accomplishments, stating, “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴—𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.” He continued, “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵—𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴.”

With warmth and wisdom, Dr. Penaso reminded the students that 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅, encouraging them to “𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔.”

Dr. Nebrea along with the College Deans, assisted the University President, Dr. Penaso, who led the awarding ceremonies and the presentation of tokens, reinforcing hands-on dedication to student success and community-building.

𝗠𝗿. 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗛. 𝗜𝗻𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗱: 𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 — 𝗧𝗿𝘆. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱. 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵.

The most awaited moment of the ceremony came when Mr. Mickell H. Inahid, an BSElexT Alumnus from Batch 2012, took the stage as the guest speaker. Now a successful professional in his field, his very presence stood as a living testament to what a BISU education can achieve. Yet, it was his inspiring message—that truly gratifies the hearts of everyone in the room.

“𝗧𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺, 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗼𝘂.”

With these opening words, Mr. Inahid set the tone—not just for celebration, but for deep gratitude. Speaking with openness and clarity, he shared glimpses of his own journey: the trials he faced, the lessons he carried, and the quiet perseverance that brought him forward.

“𝘛𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘛𝘳𝘺. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴… 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵.”

His words, simple yet profound, urged the students to trust the process, lean on their foundation, and recognize the spark within—even when it’s hard to see.

“𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥… 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴.”

He emphasized that success isn’t marked by a diploma alone, but by every small act of persistence that led up to that moment.

“𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.”

In closing, Mr. Inahid brought the audience back to the heart of the occasion—pride in the journey, gratitude for the people who made it possible, and a celebration of hard-earned victory:

“𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.”“𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘐𝘚𝘜 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴, 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 2025, 𝘈𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴—𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘒𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘯!”

He was later honored with a plaque and token of appreciation from Dr. Penaso and Campus Director Dr. Jean F. Nebra, a gesture that underscored the impact of his return.

𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁: 𝗔 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

The second half of the program, Tribute to Parents, was just as moving—if not more—than the ceremonies that came before it. It became a space for raw emotion, deep gratitude, and heartfelt reflection.

𝗠𝗿. 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢. 𝗗𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿, Batch President and recognized as the Most Outstanding Criminology Student in Region 7, bravely stepped onto the stage to express his thanks. Visibly emotional, he opened up about his journey—his struggles, his aspirations, and the quiet strength that carried him through. With trembling voice, teary eyes, and steady heart, he thanked not only his parents but also every loved one, mentor, and supporter who stood beside him along the way.

Following his powerful message, 𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗛. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗼, who spoke on behalf of all parents, delivered a message wrapped in warmth and wisdom. Speaking with the voice of a mother and the heart of every parent in the audience, she acknowledged the unseen sacrifices made through the years. Her words were both blessing and reminder as she told the graduates:

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

As if to seal the emotions in song, Alison Yap’s soulful rendition of “In This Moment” became the emotional crescendo of the tribute. As the melody played, a wave of hugs, tears, and tender exchanges filled the hall—students offering simple tokens of gratitude, holding their parents close in what became a truly unforgettable moment.

Guided seamlessly by Mrs. May Sheryl E. Hinay, the ever-graceful Lady of Ceremony, the event closed not just with applause, but with genuine love, laughter, and a few well-earned tears. All of it beautifully echoed this year’s resonant theme: “Kadaugan: Celebrating Successes, Building Legacies.”

But long after the program ended and the seats were emptied, what lingered were the voices that spoke—not only to congratulate, but to inspire. Voices that reminded everyone present of the strength in sacrifice, the beauty of gratitude, and the legacy being written by a generation ready to rise.