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Oblation Run

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Oblation Run

The Oblation Run (sometimes referred to as Pylon Run or the Ritual Dance of the Brave) is an annual event held by the University of the Philippines (UP) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) chapters of Alpha Phi Omega (APO) on the PUP and different UP campuses. The runners are male, and traditionally run completely naked in public places, with their genitals fully visible, on a designated route. The event was first organized in 1977 at the University of the Philippines Diliman to promote Hubad na Bayani (Tagalog for Naked Hero), a film. It draws its name from the Oblation, a statue of a nude man located in every University of the Philippines campus, which symbolizes "a selfless offering of one's self to the country." The event is usually done on December 16, and serves as a protest to contemporary national issues.

Participants in the Diliman Oblation Run are male APO members numbering 24 on average. Women participating in the event, however, are not unheard of. Runners usually wear masks to hide their identities, and may wear leaves to cover their genitals. They usually hand roses to a number of female spectators. Additional runs are sometimes held at special events, such as the Centennial Run in 2008 where 100 members ran to celebrate the 100th anniversary of UP.

The run has been criticized by Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., a Philippine senator, calling it a "blatant display of male genitals" and a "wanton disregard of the rules of decent society," and comparing it with exhibitionist behaviors that are prohibited by the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. In line with this, he called for an investigation in March 2009 to determine if the event violated that law.

Alpha Phi Omega is a fraternity founded on December 16, 1925 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States. The first Philippine APO chapter was chartered on March 2, 1950 at the Far Eastern University in Manila. The Eta chapter was established on February 10, 1953 at UP Diliman. UP Diliman is the main campus of the University of the Philippines, a Philippine state university founded in June 1908. It is particularly known for its student activism.

Despite inconsistencies, sources generally agree that the Oblation Run started in 1977. Also known as the Ritual Dance of the Brave, it takes its name from the Oblation, a statue of a nude man unveiled in 1939. Originally completely nude, a fig leaf was added to cover its genitals during UP President Jorge Bocobo's term (1934–1939). It is found in every UP campus, and has since become UP's identifying symbol. The run has since spread to other UP campuses, including Baguio, Los Baños, Manila and Visayas, and non-UP colleges and universities, such as the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University and Bulacan State University.

According to a 1996 article published by the UP Diliman APO website, the run originated when an unnamed APO member ran naked inside the campus to promote an APO-sponsored play called Hubad na Bayani (Tagalog for Naked Hero). The play is dedicated to Rolly Abad, an APO member who was killed in a brawl a few months earlier. The run was a success so APO decided to stage it every year on the fraternity's anniversary, December 16. This view is supported by a GMA News and Public Affairs report.

A newer account by Oble, a student newspaper of University of the Philippines Baguio, gives a different story. According to a 2011 article of the paper, the first Oblation Run was done by Rolly Abad himself to protest the Ferdinand Marcos's banning of Hubad na Bayani, a play detailing human rights violations during his martial law regime. Rolly Abad would be killed a few months later in a brawl. In his honor, APO decided to stage the run annually and voice contemporary socio-political issues along with it.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Daily Inquirer notes an APO member, Menggie Cobarrubias, saying "We [I and four others] started it as a prank when the Marcos dictatorship did not allow the showing of the play, Hubad na Bayani." The play was a political satire against Marcos.

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