Written by Patricia Dy and Rodge Chanco. Edited by Denise Joaquin and Matthew Yuching.
Photo Header by Janela Gaw.
Former Legal Management-turned-Philosophy major of the Ateneo de Manila University, Sir Marc Oliver Pasco has been a full-time Philosophy 101 & 102 professor for 13 years. More commonly known as the look-alike of Jesus, Sir Pasco can bring light to any discussion with his overall chill and quirky demeanor. Every class with him will surely not be a bore.
Fun Fact: Has an undeniable passion for movies and was the moderator for LFC.
On his most memorable experience as a student
“As a student, noong bagong shift ako from LM to Philo, ung unang klase ko ay under Fr. Ferriols. That was ancient Greek Philosophy. And 1st day of class I was late and incidentally that was also the year in my college life when I had my hair dyed blond. So I had blond hair like Eminem. I was late and I was creeping at the back of the class and Father Ferriols notices me and shouts at me, “Hoy, ikaw taong dilaw anong ginagawa mo dito!” So medyo nagulat ako doon. Tinawag niya akong taong dilaw, si Fr. Ferriols who I think is now [94] years old — as old as Ponce Enrile both are still alive so ayun di ko makakalimutan na tinawag ako ni Fr. Ferriols na taong dilaw.”
On what inspired him to be a professor
“To become a professor, may isa akong teacher na siguro kilala niyo namang lahat, si Bobby Guevara. Si Bobby Guev ng Theology Department na after my orals—I was not an excellent student—but after my orals he asked me sabi niya, “Ice gusto mo bang magturo?”. Before that, I never entertained the thought of being a teacher ‘cause my plan originally was to enter law school. So siya yung unang naglagay ng punla ng posibilidad ng pagtuturo sa isip ko at siya na rin yung nagsilbing inspirasyon ko sa pagtuturo dahil magaling, mahusay, at mabuting guro siya para sa akin at para sa maraming Atenista.”
On his most memorable professor
“Most memorable prof ko siguro ay si Dr. Antonette Angeles who’s now the current Dean, I think, or VP of the Ateneo [Graduate] School of Business. Dati siyang VP for the Loyola Schools. She was my teacher for epistemology.”
“Memorable siya kasi it was a 7:30 am class and she was quite strict, but at the same time it was the type of class na makikita mo talaga na mahalagang matutunan ‘yung pinag-uusapan. So you drag yourself to school to not be late, pero I will always still be late and, uh, favorite ko siyang prof kasi I guess very engaging siya kahit 7:30. You would think pag 7:30, aantukin yung mga estudyante tapos aircon pa yung klase namin sa Berchman’s but we were all awake, and we were all engaged. She was an excellent professor and that’s for undergrad.”
On how his stay as a teacher changed his views
“Well akala ko noong nagsisimula ako magturo, yung parang syempre the focus was on myself, that I wanted to become better. I wanted to deliver the message of philosophy the best way that I can so medyo sa unang I guess first 5 years, the focus was on myself. I was, I guess, building my reputation as a teacher and then after 5 years, mga ilang years na ba ako full time? 13 years!”
“You realize na di tungkol sayo ang pagtuturo—na talagang estudyante ang focus ng pag-aaral ng pilosopiya at natutuwa ka di na dahil sa mga nasasabi mo kundi sa mga naririnig mo sa mga estudyante. Hindi ka na natutuwa sa sarili mong ideya, di ka na naaaliw na, “Wow naisip ko yun” o “Wow ang ganda ng example ko. Wow ang galing-galing ko.” Di ko na yun iniisip. Nabaliktad na. Na-decenter, completely decentered. And the focus became the student that you really want them to enjoy doing philosophy. You want them to be able to see the value of it so it’s like you’re no longer… it’s like a salesman na sa una masyado ka nga ano sa quota mo. Gusto mong maging best salesman pero now you’re concerned about the product and the customer satisfaction—parang ganoon.”
On regrets
“Well sa ngayon—sa totoo lang—these past few years I’ve been having sort of a crisis na ‘cause the more I found out about my peers, my friends who are now full time lawyers, corporate people, honestly naiinggit ako sa kinikita nila. Sa edad nila nakakpagpatayo na sa mga executive subdivision, VP na ng Chevron for Marketing, VP na ng Globe for Finance so there is that temptation to try. Alam ko yung path na parang I never tried because I didn’t really take the law exam, but yeah, it’s a possibility still for me parang kung topakin ako… You’re never too old to be a lawyer. Habang nabubuhay.”
On his most memorable class
“Well, may isa kaming Christmas party I guess 3 years ago noonng nagpapa-Christmas party pa ako noon, tapos nagvideoke kami sa classroom sa Berchman’s so maingay. Nagdownload sila sa Youtube mismo ng videoke and inayos namin yung mga upuan tapos para kaming nasa videoke bar, kumakanta lang kami ng Air Supply [Sings ‘I Can’t Keep Living This Without You’]. Mga ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’. It was fun and we had many games kasi yung emcee mga [Ateneo ENTABLADO] so very… sila VJ Serag tapos si Ana Razon sila yung parang emcee. Di ko makakalimutan sila yung makukulit ang daming games tapos we ended with a videoke session so ayun that I think that was the most fun Christmas party I’ve had as a teacher.”
On his most memorable vacation
“Hindi naman talaga ako mahilig magbakasyon. Pero I guess, so far yung last family vacation namin sa Pico de Loro with my family kasi yung sister ko is based sa [United] States and she doesn’t really go back here regularly. So after parang 4 years nakauwi siya so nagbakasyon kami doon sa Pico de Loro sa Batangas, and memorable kasi matagal kong ‘di nakita yung kapatid ko. Beach beach, bonding bonding after many years. So that’s why it’s a recent memory of my most memorable vacation.”
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