We feel a wrenching sadness that Chairman P. O. Domingo is, in a physical sense, no longer with us. In the mystery of life, he faced the mystery of death. Yet, he will always be with us. When a person has so touched and enriched the lives of others, that person will always be with them.

Yes, Chairman P. O. Domingo will always be with us. He will continue to live with us—for he was a part of all of us in UE for almost two decades.

His was a familiar figure attending indefatigably to the needs of the school…the faculty, students and employees. In every occasion and celebration that we had, his was an inspiring and refreshing presence. There was always this pervading feeling among us that the affair would not be complete without him. His sense of humor and his love for telling stories we would sorely miss.
I first came to meet Chairman P. O. Domingo when I was the President of the faculty union way back in 1990. Even that early, I was already struck by his dreams for UE. As a fellow alumnus of UE, we spoke of the University’s golden years and shared the same aching yearning for the return of those years. When he assumed the chairmanship, the school was in dire financial straits. We felt humbled by his sincerity in rebuilding UE. We, the officers of the union, did our share in making him realize his grandiose plans.

Chairman P. O. Domingo became a chaser of dreams in UE. His dreams were aplenty. He became indefatigable in pursuing his dreams. He truly wore his heart and soul on his sleeve for UE. Making UE very competitive and able to deliver quality education almost became his obsession. With the complete trust reposed in him by Dr. Lucio Tan, he lost no time in putting the wheels of change into full blast motion. He rebuilt UE.

Chairman P. O. Domingo knew fully well that the changes should start with the infrastructure of UE, both physically and technologically. Thus, in the early 1990s, seeing him every afternoon with EVP Carmelita Mateo in tow—going into every nook and cranny of all the buildings, searching for what else should be done to improve the University—was a familiar sight. He dared go into even the darkest and dirtiest part of our buildings where, ordinarily, no man of his stature would bother to go. But he was there and we would cringe in embarrassment whenever we saw him coming out of those places.

The physical transformation of UE in both Campuses, Manila and Caloocan, amazed everyone. Clean and spectacular, no member of the UE community failed to throb with joy and pride when complements are received from visitors and alumni.

We knew that even at the time that he was struggling against his ailment, he still had many plans for UE. He was still chasing his dreams.

Now he is gone. But we who knew and understood him will work doubly hard to preserve his legacy…that of making UE always one of the best schools. We thank him for making UE what it is now.

No words are needed to say that what UE is, is due in large part to him. We will miss him.
On my own, I admired him living, and I admire him still and will always.