Written by: Doroteo D. Prudenciano II and Aliah Nicole C. Brillante
Photo by: Jeremy Edera
As a culmination for the first half of the academic year, around 51,000 Thomasians gathered for the face-to-face comeback of the long-awaited Paskuhan Concert last December 19, 2022.
The UST Yellow Jackets, the official Pep Squad of the University, led the opening of the Paskuhan Concert with their exhibition performance in front of the UST Main Building.
“There’s a lot of worry since we don’t know what to expect [because] this is a transition Paskuhan, and nonetheless excited kasi ang daming in store for everyone who is excited to go back to Paskuhan,” UST Chemical Engineering Society (UST ChES) Adviser Engr. Aldrin Lorrenz Chan, MSc, said.
“This is our reward for our finals week and hopefully we all did well. This is different kasi it’s a Monday, different from our previous Paskuhans, we had Thursdays and Fridays. So hope we could all enjoy this as a reward after the exam,” he added.
Meanwhile, UST Civil Engineering (CE) Department Chair Engr. Rajiv Eldon Abdullah, MEng., uttered, “I think this Paskuhan is a redemption and is also a part of hope din kasi we’re transitioning back to more on-site classes. It’s nice to see happy faces ngayon and sana okay lahat ng grades nila for final exams.”
Guest performer Earl Generao set the stage for the concert as the first act. This was followed by other guest performances from Dotty’s World, Kenaniah, and Soapdish.
UST Faculty of Engineering band Illumina also graced the stage, together with fellow Thomasian bands Lucy and Sean Archer. This lineup emerged as winners from the “Tunog Tomasino: Stellaris Bound” battle of the bands held earlier this month.
“Wala kami masabi, iba kasi yung experience, matagal na naming pinangarap ‘to, ito na yun. Sana maenjoy niyo ‘yung Paskuhan niyo this year lalo na at kababalik lang natin,” Illumina said after their performance.
College-based and university-wide dance troupes 1Shade, Ba Dauncén, College of Science DT, Engineering DT, INTENZYC-CTHM, Nursing DT, Paci Rhutmos, UST Prime, UST Salinggawi DT, UST Sinag Ballroom, and UST Yellow Jackets jived with the crowd with their dance performances.
Solo artist Adie serenaded the crowd with his acoustic rendition of his songs “Kabado”, “Tahanan”, “Mahika”, and “Paraluman.”
Lola Amour also performed in their third Paskuhan guesting where Thomasians got to sing along live with their tracks “Pwede Ba” and “Fallen” among others.
Prominent OPM band Mayonnaise performed last and hyped the Thomasian crowd with their hit songs “Tayo na lang Dalawa”, “Bakit Pt.2”, and their famous “Jopay”.
The Paskuhan celebration was concluded with the much-awaited eight-minute pyro-musical fireworks display with the theme, “Pananabik, Pagbabalik, Panunumbalik” and the singing of the UST hymn.
“[Paborito kong parte ng Paskuhan] ‘yung sabay-sabay kaming tumatalon at kumakanta ng mga kaibigan ko sa Jopay,” Rondem Bandiola, a graduating Electronics Engineering (ECE) student, said when asked about his favorite Paskuhan moment.
“Wala naman ako masyadong naramdaman before pero after paskuhan parang bittersweet kasi last ko na pala yun,” he added.
Whereas CE sophomore Timothy Sagun said, “Singing along with the crowd and witnessing the eight-minute long fireworks display really made my first face-to-face Paskuhan a memorable one.”
Meanwhile, the long queues posted an unpleasant sentiment for some, including sophomore CE student Marjorie Tycangco.
“As a first timer na umattend ng Paskuhan, ang haba ng pila, nakakahaggard, tapos feel ko mas okay na walang outsider kasi ang haba na nga ng pila how much more pag may outsider pa,” Tycangco commented.
In anticipation of the large volume of attendees, the University declared the Thomasian-exclusive festivities a carless day. Additionally, long entrance queues were due to heightened security amid the pandemic.
