MANILA, Philippines – A hundred fraternity members and alumni sprinted naked along the campus streets in the University of the Philippines (UP) before noon Wednesday to commemorate the premier state university’s centennial anniversary.
100 resident members of the UP-based Alpha Phi Omega (APO) Fraternity and several UP alumni participated in the “UP Oblation Run," which started shortly after 11 a.m. Donning only shirts wrapped around their heads and masks covering their faces (???), the naked runners dashed from the UP Vinzon’s Hall to the nearby Palma Hall.
As in every Oblation Run, the naked participants also handed out roses to female college students who witnessed the event.
ontrary to popular belief, the famous Oblation Run was created not as part of the fraternity’s initiation rights but rather as a promotional stint for the organization’s 1977 play “Hubad na Bayan" – an homage to one of the group’s members who were killed in a rumble.
The APO has said that more than a form of protest, their running bare-naked was more like a reminder to the UP students of the symbolism of the Oblation statue.