MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) popped the champagne as it was named the top university in the Philippines, besting the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University and Mapua Institute of Technology.

But “top” is relative especially when seen from a wider scheme of things.

Ateneo placed 84th in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2023. That’s 83 notches lower than the top universities in Asia.

The University of the Philippines (UP), meanwhile, was in the 201-250 bracket, after placing 129th the year prior. Quite an embarrassing feat for the country’s state university, which boasts of a student population of “scholars” (Iskolar ng Bayan).

U.P. is the alma mater of ex-Vice President Leni Robredo, ex-Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon and other leading Opposition politicians. But we digress.