While there are some PhD holders who insist on being addressed by their formal “Doctor” title, there is one professor – a genius even – who doesn’t put on airs. Call him simply “Doc” and he’ll respond. His down-to-earth attitude and genial personality makes him instantly well liked and popular by anyone who meets him.
 Doc, circa 2007 |
 Doc, 15 years ago |
Before he was even 19, Dr. Manuel “Manny” Bonita (Magnificent Seven ’67) graduated cum laude with a BS in Forestry from UPLB. Because of his genius status, the University of British Columbia (UBC) from Canada accelerated him; he skipped having to get his Masters and immediately began his PhD coursework. At 23, he was the youngest person in the UP System to have a doctorate degree.
Manny, who hails from Guindulman, Bohol, is happily married to a Varron – Roucella Lee (Survivors ’78) – with whom he is blessed with five wonderful children.
For the sake of those who did not have the opportunity to have met this “gentle giant”, please give us a short biography.
Your generous introduction already serves as my short biography. As Sis Cion had said in the aftermath of her own interview, one could get embarrassed to see paraded, even just within our organization, one’s accomplishments and awards, but to be honest, I take pride in sharing with you an award that I received from the UP System (during the Diamond Jubilee Homecoming in 1983) as one of the outstanding alumni of the university, similar to the award received recently by Sis Cion.
I would also like to add one thing that I did not do in my life, rather than tell all the things that I have done. After my studies at the University of British Columbia, I missed the chance to work at the University of Munich, which offered me a job in 1972 and also meant missing the opportunity to watch the Munich Olympics and travel around Europe. The College disapproved my request for further leave for another year, I guess, for fear that I would not return to fulfill my obligations. I acceded to their decision because I was very homesick, having been away from the country for more than three years.
I rejoined UPLB as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor after three years and later appointed as Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development. My life at UPLB has been worthwhile and quite memorable, so it is but natural that I am and will always be tied to the place. My only regret is that during my last years as a UPLB faculty member, the country’s economy (hence also the university budget) fell on hard times that I could not be promoted to a full professorship because of lack of funds. Maybe Dean Mon can rehire me as a full professor a year from now if no faculty Vrod or Sis would object.
I have been on full-time consulting work since leaving UPLB in 1986. I was the main writer of the Master Plan for the Forestry Sector of five countries (Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Kenya). After ten years in that line of work I went from macro-level, forest sector planning in 1996 to micro-level forest management planning and plan implementation on-the-ground. Since then I have been working in the shadow of Lao officials as the architect and builder in establishing and developing the Lao forest management system known as “Participatory Sustainable Forest Management”. From zero management, our project areas have risen within a few years to be included in the FAO list of exemplary managed forests in Asia and later granted a forest certification by the Forest Stewardship Council.
In the last three years, I had been coming home frequently from my Lao sojourn to look after my pet housing project in Los Baños for low-middle income earners.
When you are not in UPLB and away from your family, how do you pass the time after work?
Doc with wife Roucelle (sitting right) and their five children.
As one nearing the age of a senior citizen, I normally go to bed early and thus wake up early. Before I head for the office at 7 am, I would already have worked for an hour with my computer, jogged for more than half an hour, showered, and had breakfast while catching up with the world by watching CNN. Having started the day early, my day also ends quite early, so there is really not much time between work and bedtime. I no longer go for fun nights unlike when I was younger; I just play computer games until bedtime.
Last Updated on April 11, 2021 by Tudla_Admin
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