UE to Posthumously Confer Honorary Degree on Former UE Chairman-CEO P. O. Domingo

The University of the East will posthumously confer the degree of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, upon Dr. Panfilo O. (“PO”) Domingo on June 1, coinciding with his birthday, at the UE Manila Conference Hall. Dr. Domingo had been UE’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for 18 years until passing away on June 26, 2008. He will be the first posthumous recipient of an honorary degree from UE, the 26th recipient, the eighth recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree, and the seventh UE graduate to be conferred an honorary degree by UE.
The Tarlac-born Dr. Domingo, who earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, Magna Cum Laude, from UE in 1950, was the first UE alumnus to become its Chairman-CEO. After passing the 1950 CPA licensure board examination, he worked full-time at the Philippine National Bank, staying there for 35 years and rising from the ranks to become its President from 1972 to 1982.
After his retirement from PNB, Dr. Domingo was elected Chairman of the Board and CEO of UE on May 27, 1984. At the time, UE was in dire straits, exacerbated by a looming takeover by the Age of Enlightenment Foundation of the Maharishi organization. On September 30, 1984, Dr. Domingo resigned the UE chairmanship due to the looming takeover—which was ultimately declared unconstitutional by the then Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On June 6, 1990, Dr. Domingo reassumed the UE chairmanship. With the blessings of UE benefactor Dr. Lucio C. Tan, Chairman Domingo steered UE back to health with the help of a newly beefed up management team, comprised mostly of fellow accomplished UE alumni. In less than seven years, he guided UE to an unprecedented turnaround of its financial situation, wiping out the deficit in the University’s books and making UE totally debt-free.
During his term as UE Chairman and CEO, Dr. Domingo implemented infrastructure improvements, as well as the investment of internally generated funds into the incorporation of Information Technology into all aspects of the UE and upgrading UE IT facilities, making UE one of the most IT dedicated and most wired universities in the country. Dr. Domingo, who was concurrent UE President thrice, also implemented UE Total Student Care and Total Faculty Care policies.
In recognition of his achievements, the UE Alumni Association Inc. awarded Dr. Domingo four awards: as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Alumni in 1969, the Most Distinguished Alumnus in 1973, the Most Outstanding Jubilarian at the UE Grand Alumni Homecoming in September 2000 and an Award of Distinction for being the “Savior and Champion of UE” during UE’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration on September 29, 2006. Since 2006, he had also been an Honorary Life Member of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which conferred upon him the Distinguished Achievement Award on May 19, 2008.
Dr. Domingo had been conferred two honorary doctorate degrees: Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa, from the Laguna State Polytechnic College in September 2006, and Doctor of Pedagogy, Honoris Causa, from the University of Luzon in April 2007. He pursued further studies via Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s MBA Special Management Program where he graduated Master in Business Administration, Benemeritus, in March 2007.