12p - De La Salle University - St. La Salle
Hall - Singles
(40,000)
Layout Artist: Eunice Beatrix U. Dabu
Design: De La Salle University (DLSU)
Coordinator: Jocelyn E. Cacho
Researcher/Writer: Maria Abigail D.
Tarrova
First Day Covers:
Manila
DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY - ST. LA SALLE HALL CENTENARY
The Philippine Postal Corporation
(Post Office) issues stamps and official first day covers for “De La
Salle University – St. La Salle Hall Centenary (1921-2021)”, to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first classes held in St.
La Salle Hall of its Manila Campus.
The De La Salle University in the
Philippines was established on June 16, 1911, by the Catholic
teaching congregation, Fratres Scholarum Christianarum (est. 1680),
or Brothers of the Christian Schools. The organization had been
founded in 1680 as a community of consecrated laymen by St.
Jean-Baptiste La Salle whose vision of teachers were those who
“teach minds, touch hearts, and transform lives”. Thus the first La
Salle school in the Philippines was opened by the Brothers in Paco,
outside the old city of Manila, under the urging of the American
Archbishop of Manila for them to pave the way to introduce
English-based quality Catholic education in the country. In 1912 it
was incorporated as the De La Salle College (DLSC), and the
institution from then would grow to serve a greater number of
students. As the DLSC and its reputation for excellence in business
education escalated, its enrollees increased as well, and in 1921,
the DLSC moved from the Nozaleda campus (currently General Luna St.)
to its present location. The first classes were held in the
neoclassical St. La Salle Hall, designed by Filipino architect,
Tomas Mapua, on October 3, 1921. The hall would be finished in 1924,
and the architect’s design was fully realized with the completion of
the north wing in 1938.
The DLSC was allowed to remain open
for much of World War II. It absorbed students from schools that had
closed, even while Japanese forces occupied part of the campus. The
massacre of 16 brothers and 25 other residents on February 1, 1945,
during the Liberation of Manila forced its closure. The college,
with the rest of the devastated city, embarked on redevelopment.
Rebuilding a nation requires a populace ready and prepared, thus the
college reopened with improved programs and offered courses on new
fields. Responding to changing times and the emergence of the
Women’s Liberation Movement, the college held its first Student
Council Elections in 1969, and in 1973, started accepting female
enrollees. The college was granted university status on February 19,
1975. Since then, it has been known as De La Salle University
(DLSU).
The DLSU began its bid to become a
research university in the 1990s, growing its research output to do
so. As its centennial year drew near, the Philippine Lasallian
community framed the Lasallian Guiding Principles (LGP) in 2003
which directed the subsequent framing and institution of the
Lasallian Pedagogical Framework (LPF) and the Lasallian Core
Curriculum (LCC) in 2004. In 2008, these were applied in the
formulation of the Expected Lasallian Graduate Attributes (ELGAs).
The University established its College of Law in 2009 to play a
critical role and to contribute to human rights advocacy in
Philippine society. DLSU elevated its Economics Department into the
School of Economics to give the institution’s well-regarded arm more
leverage on influencing national policy development.
The heritage of the DLSU and its
legacy of excellence in education is recognized through stamps and
official first day covers featuring the profile of the iconic St. La
Salle Hall, with the years “1921-2021” highlighted along with the
name of the esteemed institution. The easily recognizable pediment
and façade of the iconic building decorates the official first day
cover. The philatelic items bear the official colors of the
university, which after a hundred years, continues to be inspired by
the charism of its founder, aspires to be a leading learner-centered
research university, and commits itself to bridging faith and
scholarship in the service of society, especially the poor.