You Never Saw Him Coming

by Gio Pamplona & Jenny Serfino

Stunned.

   Surprised.

      Flabbergasted.

Mere words cannot express every UPV student’s reaction to what we can undoubtedly call (say nein if you disagree)...THE BEST & HOTTEST SELFIE OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR!

original photo from Raoul's Facebook account

We’re talking about Raoul Daniel Abellar Manuel (yes, it has to be complete), University of the Philippines Visayas College of Arts and Sciences Student Council Chairperson, 4th year Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics, and most probably…the first ever summa cum laude of UPV. 
Most of you might see Raoul as the nice slash geeky guy that you can approach easily along the corridors of our beloved University, but based on his “Selfie that launched a hundred likes” (600 and counting!) he proved us wrong; he showed as that he has a naughty and… and a… HOT side? We hear shrieking, underclass girls

Proof of Raoul’s Dark side are some of these testimonies (as given by Raoul’s fellow Student Council members). From Vanessa Yunque, she told us that Raoul once entered an MTAP quiz here in UPV, with a hungover...but still won--FIRST PLACE (Wow pare! Rock en Roll!). Dude, we could barely even qualify ourselves to a Math competition sober, let alone win one with unforgiving alcohol levels in our blood stream.

Another one is from Jude Mangilog who says that Raoul always finishes all the food they couldn’t eat and also eats the veggies which are otherwise left alone by the others. Jude and Vanessa got on a debate here, because they’re not sure if it’s Raoul or Sigrid (peace, girlfriend!). (Gio, you’ve got a tough competitor here :D) And we should absolutely try eating our friends’ unwanted vegetables (Oh wait, we already do that -Jenny) (Guilty -Gio).

Raoul is also guilty of sleeping during long trips in public transportation. As shared by Reysel “GANDA” Montero (Yes, there has to be GANDA), Raoul sleeps with his mouth open during their trips. Is this how you extract all the knowledge from the world with your eyes closed? If so, teach me your ways, Sensei.

Raoul is also quick to laugh, as told by one of Raoul’s classmates in high school. His former classmate reveals that he laughs at the corniest of jokes and also takes him a while before he could completely get over it (Don’t worry Raoul. I know your SC members are willing to build you a bridge to get over the jokes lol).

Speaking of laughing, Fydah Sabando, one of Raoul’s classmates since high school and also his fellow SC member says that he has a very very loud laugh, “When he laughs, it’s like there’s no tomorrow”. And probably one of the most disturbing tidbits Fydah told us is how Raoul says “Huo” (That’s “yes” in Hiligaynon, pips); it’s like he’s sucking in every person around the room (uhmmm, it’s hard to translate o’ mighty readers, but make of it what you will) Haha! (I can’t imagine how the word “Huo” could suck people into someone’s mouth, but I think it’s scary. -Gio)

Scary? Yep. Hard to believe but, Raoul is very capable to stare you down, especially when you’re late for your council meeting or you forgot to accomplish one of your duties. Reysel discloses that the chairperson is fond of rolling his eyes at you when you fail to do something (#YouHadOneJob).  But not to worry, Reysel added that he says sorry for rolling his eyes five minutes after (Awwwwwwe <3 - Jenny). This shows us that Raoul is not just all fun and games, but he’s also strict and serious when it comes to work ethics (#Respect).

photo from Raoul's Facebook account

These facts about Raoul are not in any way to make fun of him (okay, maybe a little); but it’s to show us that even the most unassuming, polite, and nicest people also have quirks and funny sides. Raoul is a perfect example of a UP student; gracious, studious, intelligent, but still able to adapt to any environment he is in. “He’s perfect”, Fydah finally claims.

Brains AND body? We couldn’t agree more, Fydah. We couldn’t agree more ;)

This article does not intend to harass or embarrass the person featured, but to show the readers that we all have quirks and funny sides to ourselves. Consent was given by the featured person to the writers of this blog post.