<p dir="ltr">Sports journalist Pablo Torre, a Harvard graduate, sparked mixed reactions from netizens when he wore the Sablay, the official academic costume of the University of the Philippines (UP), to a non-academic event.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Sablay is a garment adorned with ukkil and geometric elements that symbolize nationalism and the importance of preserving the country's indigenous culture.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://dzrh-bucket.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/featuredimage/blobid1683771730107" alt="" width="551" height="200" /></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Photo courtesy:&nbsp;Jefferson Villacruz of Diliman Information Office via UP website</span></em></p>
<p dir="ltr">The university advises that the Sablay should only be worn during academic functions and activities such as commencement exercises and awarding ceremonies, and should be paired with formal clothing such as the Barong Tagalog for men and knee-length or midi dresses for women.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">Torre explained that the Sablay he wore belonged to his father, who is a UP graduate, and he borrowed it to pay tribute to him and his UP alumni grandfathers.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;So, just wanted to answer a couple questions about the sash I'm wearing here, which is called a sablay. And this specific one proudly belongs to graduates of the University of the Philippines,&rdquo; he said in an Instagram post.</p>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsASANlJURi/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14">
<div style="padding: 16px;">
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsASANlJURi/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Pablo S. Torre (@pstorre)</a></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;I didn't go to UP. But both of my parents, and both of their late fathers, did. So shoutout to my dad for letting me borrow his sablay for one night, so I could pay tribute to all of them,&rdquo; he added.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Some netizens praised Torre&rsquo;s gesture, while others criticized him for treating the &lsquo;sacred&rsquo; garment as a mere fashion accessory.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">You have no right to treat it as an accent piece. That&rsquo;s an academic dress for UP graduates and can only be worn for academic functions of UP with very specific Filipino formal dress/ethnolinguistic attire. <br /><br />We alumni worked hard for it. It&rsquo;s not a mere accessory.</p>
&mdash; Maurice Joseph Maglaqu&iacute; Almadrones 🧠🫀🎀 (@TheCatSaysMao) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCatSaysMao/status/1656139866680467458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Pablo Torre's reading all of the comments on the sablay debacle and is willfully ignoring the negative criticism while basking in the positive attention.<br /><br />I don't have strong feelings about sablay etiquette, but the un-willingness to listen what Filipinos have to say is annoying. <a href="https://t.co/sH3PGLWIt3">pic.twitter.com/sH3PGLWIt3</a></p>
&mdash; Ryan Alba (@_alba__) <a href="https://twitter.com/_alba__/status/1656218684732633088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I think I&rsquo;ll give Pablo Torre the assumption that he doesn&rsquo;t know the UP protocols. Yung tatay na nagpahiram siguro kailangang iremind.<br /><br />My suggestion though is he wear (invest) in Barong Filipino and use a non-academic sablay next time. :)</p>
&mdash; Berniemack Arellano (@habagatcentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/habagatcentral/status/1656178054883053568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<p dir="ltr">UP has not yet issued a statement on the matter.</p>

you might like

LOOK: Fil-Am sportswriter draws flak for wearing UP's 'sablay' at Gold Gala