All over the country,  graduating students in academic gowns (called toga by many, although they have no resemblance to the ancient and traditional  Roman  toga) and mortar board with tassel will soon gather in schools  to receive their diplomas. In a country which values its educational system, graduation is a big event to families and  the community. Families proudly adorn their walls with photos of their graduating children in black caps and gowns. Elementary and high schools have taken up the tradition, with white caps and gowns. This year, however, this old tradition of formal graduation wear will give way in the nation’s public schools  to  a simpler “sablay,” an indigenous loose garment draped across  the body, worn over the traditional “barong” for men and “baro at saya” for women. The University of the Philippines pioneered the use of the “sablay” instead of the traditional toga  that Philippine schools inherited from the Americans who, in turn,  inherited it from it from Europe. The toga,  in particular, is an ancient Roman  costume that came to be  identified for use in  formal occasions. UP introduced the use of the “sablay” in graduation rites in 1990 and officially adopted it  in 2000.   It is a broad loop of  cloth inspired by the “malong” of Muslim Mindanao, with the  initials “UP” inscribed in the indigenous Babaylan letters of pre-Hispanic Philippines. It is draped  over the right  shoulder, diagonally across the body to the left hip. It is ceremonially shifted to the left shoulder after the graduate  is  officially conferred the  degree. Last month, Undersecretary Alain del Pascua of the  Department  of  Education  confirmed on-line reports that the DepEd was poised to use the “sablay” in  public high and elementary school graduation rites for a number of reasons.  The academic gown is impractical in the Philippine summer heat. It a reminder of the country’s colonial past. The “sablay”  will help promote local culture and national diversity as it will make use of local textiles and designs of indigenous peoples in the country. And it  will support  and sustain local and traditional weaving enterprises all over the country. Last weekend, Malacanang, through presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, supported the DepEd proposal to make the “sablay” the standard graduation  wear in public high and elementary  schools.  This month we will thus see its introduction  in graduation  rites all over  the country. The toga or academic gown will remain standard graduation wear in private schools following their own traditions. In time, some of them may accept the reasoning for the shift in public schools  to  the  natïve “sablay” --  an end to the colonial toga, the  Philippine summer heat which makes the black academic gown so impractical, and the boost it will give  the Filipino weaving industry.