You could not fight with honour and dignity if you do not believe and are shameful with what you are fighting for.

One of the most anticipated events in the University of the Philippines in the Diliman campus is the oblation run held every December 16th of each year.  I have heard about it and I myself wanted to witness it even once in my life.  However, for the many years that I have stayed with the university, I have not witnessed any runs.  Why? 

For one, I do not support fraternities, thus it is just reasonable that I would not also support their activities.  I do not see the ideals of a unified brotherhood by selecting a few members who are mostly neophytes to engage in such activities that are embarrassing and probably pointless.

Second, I see the event as an opportunity for voyeurism instead for a call of awareness to a cause.  I bet the reason of most spectators who lined up along the lobbies of the University is not to support whatever advocacy the run is for but to satisfy their curiosity of what the naked bodies are to offer.     

And third, I do not see the reason why run naked wearing a mask if you do it for a cause.  President Vicente Sinco stated during the University’s golden jubilee ceremony that the Oblation “has stood for many years as the visible and tangible embodiment of purity of purpose and unhidden motives”. I could not see the sincerity of the motive or the purpose of the event or tradition.  Wearing a mask simply means that one is shameful of what he is doing.  If you want to fight, fight with dignity and with courage.

"The completely nude* figure of a young man with outstretched arms and open hands, with tilted head, closed eyes and parted lips murmuring a prayer, with breast forward in the act of offering himself, is my interpretation of that sublime stanza. It symbolizes all the unknown heroes who fell during the night. The statue stands on a rustic base, a stylized rugged shape of the Philippine archipelago, lined with big and small hard rocks, each and everyone of which represents an island.

The katakataka (wonder plant) whose roots are tightly implanted on Philippine soil, is the link that binds the symbolized figure to the allegorical Philippine Group.

Katakataka is really a wonder plant. It is called siempre vivo (always alive) in Spanish. A leaf or a piece of it thrown anywhere will sprout into a young plant. Hence it symbolizes the deep-rooted patriotism in the heart of our heroes. Such patriotism continually and forever grows anywhere in the Philippines.

The 3.5 meter height of the statue stands for the 350 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. The rocks on the base of the relic were taken from Montalban (Rizal) gorge, site of the fierce fighting between Filipino guerillas and the Japanese army during the second World War." 

- Prof. Guillermo E. Tolentino

Translating the Oblation to an annual commemorative run may have noble intentions.  However, the means to achieve it is not a reflection of what it really symbolizes. Fighting for a cause must root from volunteerism and not by coercion.  The runners should have come not only from a single organization of the university but from the entire body of students, alumni, and faculty.  It need not also be on an annual basis with a fixed date but on an immediate and spontaneous response to an issue or event.  It could be a collective or a solo effort. Right now, the phenomenon that is the Oblation run has become more of a sensational media event rather than an advocacy for truth, justice, and patriotism.

En campos de batalla,
luchando con delirio,
Otros te dan sus vidas,
sin duda, sin pesar,
El sitio nada importa:
cipres, laurel o lirio,
Cadalso o campo abierto,
combate o cruel martirio,
Lo mismo es si lo piden
la patria y el hogar

- Jose Rizal “Mi Ultimo Adios” second stanza

More on the history of the UP Oblation here.