Former students share lasting lessons from Prof. Winnie Monsod

“The Philippines is your business, Filipinos are your business, humanity is your business. And to the extent that you can help that, you should. You are given great gifts and to whom much is given, much is expected,” said Prof. Solita “Winnie” Monsod to one of her economics classes in the University of the Philippines.

Mareng Winnie is known to her viewers and readers as fierce and straightforward. But who is Mareng Winnie as professor?




For the second anniversary special of the GMA News TV program “Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie,” the show’s staff surprised their host by inviting some of her former UP School of Economics students to the set.

“Looks like we’re going to talk about Mareng Winnie and her students,” said the surprised host, who thought she was going to discuss lawyers and the bar exam.

Rave reviews for Prof. Monsod

Prof. Monsod’s former economics students Paolo Tamase, Gabriel Luis Roque, Leo Draper, Shin Boo Ponterrada, and Mimalanie Mabanta shared fond memories and candid stories about life under the tutelage of their feisty teacher. The students all agreed that Prof. Monsod was one of the most inspiring and effective professors they had in UP.

“[She was] able to show us kung paano sinusubukan ng [mga] ekonomista ang problema ng lipunan. Hindi lang puro theories, et cetera [sa klase niya],” recalled Paolo.

Leo said that Mareng Winnie wasn’t afraid to challenge her students to be better people: “Minsan sobrang ingay ng class. Thrice niya nang sinaway. Sumigaw siya, tapos sabi niya, kaya raw hindi umuunlad ang bansa dahil rally nang rally mga estudyante, hindi naman naiintindihan ang ekonomiya ng bansa.”

When asked to rank Mareng Winnie’s teaching abilities on a scale of 1 to 10, Gabriel said without hesitation: “Twelve!”

“Siya ‘yung type of professor na kahit anong makuha mong grade in the end, it would be worth it kasi na-experience mo for one whole semester yung legend that is Winnie Monsod,” he explained.

“Bawal ang Pasaway” also interviewed Fred Angulo, another one of Prof. Monsod’s former students, who even created a Facebook fan page for his favorite teacher. “Na-touch [kasi] ako sa message niya for us na bilang iskolar ng bayan, na paglabas namin ng unibersidad, responsibilidad namin na mag-give back at i-repay yung opportunity na binigay ng taxpayers at mga Pilipino sa amin na makapag-aral dito sa UP,” explained Fred.

The professor in the hot seat

The producers of the show asked some of Mareng Winnie’s students, who were in the audience when the episode was taped, to submit questions that they have always wanted to ask their professor. Mareng Winnie took time to answer some of the best ones.

Question: Sino si Winnie Monsod bilang student?
Mareng Winnie: I would cut class to go to the bowling alley. One time, nahuli akong naglalaro. I got the highest grade in class and my professor gave me a 3.0.

Question: Who would be in your ballot this coming May?
Mareng Winnie: I am going to look at all their vitae, [but] definitely I am not going to vote for anybody who belongs to a political dynasty. That’s rule number one.

Question: Ano ba ‘yung nasa bucket list n’yo habang nasa econ pa kayo?
Mareng Winnie: Ako’y magtuturo hanggang mamatay ako.

Question: Kung hindi economics, ano po kaya ‘yung field n’yo at ituturo n’yo?
Mareng Winnie: I’d probably do law because diyan talaga kailangan ng improvement.

Question: Anong klaseng estudyante ‘yung maaalala ni Mrs. Monsod?
Mareng Winnie: The very brightest ones and the very dumbest ones. ‘Yung in between, mediocre, masyadong marami. There’s very few bright and a very few dumb.

Question:  Ano sa tingin n’yo ang pinakakulang sa bansa ngayon?
Mareng Winnie: Scarcity of good managers both economic and political. Many are competent but dishonest, some are honest but incompetent.

Question from student: If you could have coffee with anyone in the history, sino po ito at ano ang tatanungin n’yo sa kanya?
Mareng Winnie: I would love to have coffee with Jesus Christ. Ask about his love life because Jesus Christ was human in everything except sin so he must have loved somebody. I would like to know who he loved.

“Teachers, be the best you can”

Before the second anniversary special ended, Mareng Winnie left an inspiring message for Filipino students and teachers everywhere.

“Be the best you can,” Mareng Winnie told teachers. “You are not touching only one life, but many lives and you will be influencing, who knows, the decisions of your students 30, 40, 50 years from now because they learned something from you.”

- Ria Landingin/PF, GMA News