What is the UP Gawad Oblation, and Why Do the Eraserheads Deserve the Honor?
On August 20, the Eraserheads were awarded Gawad Oblation medals. The Gawad Oblation is a special award for University of the Philippines alumni, friends, individuals, organizations, and institutions that have rendered extraordinary service with or in the name of the University of the Philippines.
Previous recipients of this award are Robina Gokongwei-Pe. Ramon Ang, and Manny Pangilinan.
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According to guidelines set by the university, “extraordinary service,” in this case, can be rendered in various areas, including alumni leadership and public service, teaching, research, creative production, public and university administration, exceptional generosity and modern tourism, and fundraising. A potential awardee should have increased the institutional visibility, international prestige, and recognition of UP, and helped fulfill its mandate to become the national university, as envisioned in Republic Act 9500 or the UP Charter of 2008.
Marcus Adoro
The award is named after the university symbol, the Oblation, which is a sculpture by national artist Guillermo Tolentino. The Oblation signifies offering of oneself in service to the nation. Leo Abaya of the UP College of Fine Arts designed the Gawad Oblation medal.
Based on the definition and guidelines set by UP, the Eraserheads’ Marcus Adoro, Ely Buendia, Raymund Marasigan, and Buddy Zabala most certainly deserve the award. They have, in all their years as a band and in the decades that followed, amplified the visibility, prestige, and recognition of UP as an institution for creative genius and freethinkers. Their songs have told stories of personal battles and triumphs and tragedies, all set in the campus. These stories, however, are not tales of Iskos and Iskas alone; they are emblematic of the struggles and concerns of the Filipino youth everywhere.
Raymund Marasigan
Formed in 1989 at UP Diliman, the Eraserheads are one of the most beloved and iconic bands in the Philippines, best known for hits like “Pare Ko,” “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” and “With a Smile,” and many, many more.
The band has received numerous accolades, including the MTV Video Music Awards, Viewer's Choice Award for Asia in 1997 and Esquire Philippines’ Music Artist of the Year in 2022. The Eraserheads’ reunion concerts, including The Final Set in 2009 and Huling El Bimbo in 2022, showcased their enduring legacy, still attracting record-breaking crowds despite their long hiatus as a band from the music scene. Currently on an extended world tour, the Eraserheads continue to captivate audiences around the globe.
Buddy Zabala
UP President Angelo Jimenez, who bestowed the medals on the four musicians, couldn’t have said it any better: “The Eraserheads are a pivotal force in the history of Original Pilipino Music. They remain a cultural icon for the ages.”
Also at the event were broadcast executive and former MTV Philippines head honcho Francis Lumen and Dr. Robin Daniel Rivera, the ‘Heads former humanities professor and longtime studio producer. Both gave glowing testimonials.
Lumen referred to the Eraserheads as “a band whose legacy has transcended the boundaries of time and genre; a band who has not only defined an era of music, but has also profoundly influenced our nation.”
“The Eraserheads are more than just a band; they are an institution, a movement, a symbol of generation, voice, and dreams,” Lumen added.
Ely Buendia
Dr. Rivera recalled listening to a cassette tape of the ‘Heads demos for the first time. It was, according to him, “one whole C60 cassette dripping with originality, wit, colloquialisms, imagery, and intensity wrapped up in the language of their generation.”
Rivera continued, “Their songs were so irresistible that I volunteered to produce a better recording with the remnants of what was once muy home studio.”
Speech highlights
Starting with Adoro, each member of the band gave a personal speech at the awarding ceremony.
“Free your mind,” he said. “Blow it. Sa apat na sulok ng mga gusali ng institusyong UP Diliman namin naranasan ang tunay na kalayaan. Kalayaang pumili, kalayaang maghayag, kalayaang sundin at pakinggan ang sariling himig.”
U.P. President Atty. Angelo Jimenez
Marasigan also delivered his brief speech in Filipino, saying, “Maraming salamat, UP, sa ‘di namin pinangarap na pagkilala. Nais naming bigyng-pugay ang mga sumusunod: para ito sa aming mga magulang, na ‘di man namin nabigyan ng diploma, patuloy pa ring sumoporta; para sa aming mga anak, na sa UP din tumapak, napdpad, at lumipad; para sa aming mga kabiyak at ang kanilang napakahabang pasensiya at pag-unawa; para sa aming mga gabay na nagbukas ng utak at diwa, lalung-lalo na si Dr. Robin Rivera, isa sa mga unang naniwala at nagtulak. Salamat kay Ely, kay Marcus at kay Buddy para sa mga himig at rock ‘n roll; para sa mga nauna, sumabay, at nagpapatuloy, walang-humpay na pasasalamat at padayon.”
Zabala also honored Dr. Rivera, who “impressed on four adventurous college stu–delinquents–the need to question and defend their musical choices.” Rivera helped the Eraserheads from the start.
Last to give his speech was Buendia, who made quite a few revelations about his tenure in university, including enrolling late on his freshman year and almost getting a failing grade in Spanish, one of the three subjects he was able to enroll in. The musician’s Spanish professor had asked him, “’Do you have anything that would make me consider passing you? Anything at all?’”
Francis Lumen
“Well, I can write a song,” Ely had replied. He furnished his professor with a demo cassette of “Pare Ko,” and prayed. “Pare Ko” was inspired by Rafael Umali, a friend of Ely who was going through heartbreak when Ely decided he would write a song.
Ely didn’t get a cinco in Spanish. He passed.
“This taught me that for one, my professor can’t understand Tagalog. And two, that from that point on, music can get me through anything in life,” Buendia said during his speech.
The rest, they say, is (music) history.
