Poster 12x18b.pdf 1 10/29/12 2:29 PM
L I V I N G S P A C E S
Y
CM
C
M
MY
CY
CMY
K
TO QC
UST
GOLDILOCK’S
TO QUIAPO
FEU
MORA
YT
A
TM
TM
Disclaimer: This material is for announcement purposes only. It is intended primarily to provide a general reference for myDorm One España. This material therefore does not constitute part of an offer or contract. While the details showed herein were prepared with utmost care and are presented in good faith, interested parties are encourage to verify their correctness and subsequent changes, if any. In the Developer’s continuing effort to meet the challenge of product improvement, the Developer reserves the right to modify or change features, plans and specifications without prior notice.

The Varsitarian
By BERNADETTE D. NICOLAS
UST OFFICIALS have brought a dispute over tenureship to the Court of Appeals, insisting that newly hired faculty members cannot become regulars without earning their master’s degrees within a period of five semesters.
Last October, the National Labor
Relations Commission (NLRC) sided with three instructors of the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) dismissed in 2010 after refusing to sign a waiver renouncing their right to tenureship for failing to earn master’s degrees. A motion for reconsideration filed by UST was junked by the NLRC last Jan. 22.
“We are filing an urgent petition with the Court of Appeals to set aside and reverse the patently erroneous resolution of the NLRC,” said Civil
Law Dean Nilo Divina, who is also legal counsel of UST, in an e-mail to the Varsitarian .
The dispute centers on a provision in the collective bargaining agreement between UST and the
UST Faculty Union (USTFU), which supposedly grants tenure to faculty members after five semesters of teaching. But UST claims this has been trumped by Commission on Higher Education (CHEd)
Memorandum Order 40, series of
2008 (CMO 40), or the Manual of
Regulation for Private Education of
2008 (Morphe), which states that a faculty member can only be tenured in a higher education institution when he or she is “a holder of master’s degree,” and, if applicable, a holder of the appropriate professional license.
The NLRC ruling is an invalid exercise of police power and a violation of the academic freedom of the University, Divina said. “It also undermines the continuing efforts of the University to improve its academic standards,” he added.
The three dismissed CFAD instructors—Raymond Son,
Raymund Antiola and Wilfredo
Pollarco—sued UST officials for
“unfair labor practices” and illegal dismissal in July 2010.
Divina said the latest NLRC ruling misread CMO 40. “It is crystal clear that possession of master's degree is a condition for continuation of employment,” he said. “Simple logic dictates that if the faculty member does not obtain a master's degree within a reasonable period, the same shall constitute a valid ground for termination of employment.”
The University’s motion for reconsideration filed before the NLRC last Nov. 18 said the commission
“gravely erred” in refusing to recognize that the CBA provision on tenure had been superseded by
CMO 40, and in ruling that the CHEd memorandum was “merely directory and not mandatory.”
Reynaldo Reyes, USTFU
Admin Page 16
By DENISE PAULINE P. PURUGGANAN and GRACELYN A. SIMON
By LORENZO LUIGI T. GAYYA
THE VARSITARIAN , the university’s official student publication, reached another milestone in Philippine campus journalism, celebrating its 85th year last Jan. 16.
To cap off the sapphire anniversary celebration, the
Varsitarian hosted the “Valik-
Varsi” grand alumni homecoming last Jan. 26 at the Harbor Garden
Tent of Sofitel Philippine Plaza
Manila in Pasay City.
Among who attended were
National Artist for Literature
Bienvenido Lumbera; veteran writers Gloria Garchitorena Goloy,
Adoracion Trinidad-Gamalinda and Alice Collet-Villadolid, artist
Remy Boquiren; and Philippine
Daily Inquirer columnist Neal
Cruz, among others.
As the oldest Catholic paper’s anniversary coincided with the Year
Faith Page 10
THE VICAR OF CHRIST. Pope Benedict XVI exposes the Holy Eucharist during the 2011 World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid, Spain. The Pope last Feb. 10 shocked the world when he announced that due to failing physical health, he would step down from the papacy on Feb. 28.
Photo by KaRLa MIDeS C. TOLeDO
By DAPHNE J. MAGTURO
IN THE end, it was her faith in God that guided her journey towards becoming a beauty queen.
Miss Universe 2012 first runner-up Janine Mari Tugonon has nothing but gratitude to the University for giving her Thomasian values, especially a strong faith. She believes this gave her an
“edge” over the United States’ Olivia Culpo, who was crowned Ms.
Universe.
“ Siguro ‘yung edge ko na lang is ‘yung aura na very happy, very fun, very confident. Kasi iba talaga ‘pag deep inside ay matindi ‘yung faith mo kay God. Sabi nga nila nu’ng nandoon ako sa stage, parang nage -enjoy lang ako, hindi ako tensed,” Tugonon said in a press conference during her homecoming to UST last Jan. 7.
The celebration started with a motorcade around campus, where the title-holder was warmly welcomed by the Thomasian community, followed by the awarding of a plaque of recognition and a reception.
Tugonon Page 5
2012 Miss Universe first runner-up Janine Tugonon warmly greets the
Thomasian community during her visit in UST last Jan. 7.
SHeRWIN MaRION T. VaRDeLeON
For breaking news and digital copy, visit
LIKE the rest of the world, the Pontifical and
Catholic University of the Philippines was both shocked and saddened with the sudden abdication of Pope Benedict XVI.
But the University of Santo Tomas expressed profound gratitude to the 85-year-old
Vicar of Christ, known as a “teaching pope” and a staunch defender of the Church’s timeless truths amid a tide of secularism and moral relativism sweeping much of the western world.
“We are saddened and surprised but we are also grateful for the service he has rendered to the Church. We wish him well and we should also pray for the cardinals tasked to elect a new pope,” UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. told the Varsitarian .
The Supreme Pontiff announced on Feb. 11 that he would renounce the Throne of Peter at 8 p.m., Roman time, on Feb. 28, ending close to eight years of a papacy that sought to renew the
Christian message.
“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” said Pope Benedict
XVI in a message before a consistory.
The gathering of cardinals was supposed to confirm the canonization of three new saints,
Benedict Page 16
By DENISE PAULINE P. PURUGGANAN
THE LIFE and teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas may soon be included in the curriculum of UST.
Philosophy department chair Paolo
Bolaños has proposed to the Office of
Academic Affairs to include a course on the life of St. Thomas Aquinas to be “at par with
Catholic universities teaching more humanities courses.”
“The approach of the Department of
Philosophy will be a bit different from Institute of Religion because we are not simply going to focus on his theology,” Bolaños said.
Aquinas’ five-way argument on the existence of God or the Quinque Viae from the Summa Theologica , his most significant work, is already included in the syllabus for introduction to Theology.
The philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas,
Aquinas Page 16
Check out the Varsitarian on your mobile phone at

NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY’S Psychology program was declared a Center of Development (COD) by the
Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) last
Dec. 20, following a rigorous review process.
“CODs serve as potent catalysts for world class scholarships, best practices, innovative curriculum, research and extension and professional development,” CHEd said in a memorandum.
The psychology program of UST is the lone COD, while the programs of University of the Philippines-Diliman, Ateneo de Manila
University, and De La Salle University were named Centers of Excellence (COE).
The criteria for COE and COD are
Instructional Quality (45 percent), Research
Publications (30 percent), Extension and
Linkages (20 percent), and Institutional
Qualifications (five percent).
UST programs in Literature, Philosophy,
Music Education, Nursing, Architecture,
Medicine, Teacher Education, Chemistry, and Biology are Centers of Excellence, while the Civil Engineering program is a
Center of Development. NIKKa LaVINIa g.
VaLeNzueLa
THE TOURISM program of UST has been granted a Level 3 accreditation status—a step closer to becoming a Center of Development.
The Hotel and Restaurant Management program, meanwhile, received Level 2 reaccreditation from the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on
Accreditation (PACUCOA).
“UST is being looked upon and sought after as a premier tourism and hospitality Management learning institution,” said Tourism and
Hospitality Management Dean Maria Cecilia Tio
Cuison, citing the college’s increasing enrollment rate and leadership of the students’ and faculty members in professional organizations.
According to the PACUCOA website, programs with Level 1 and 2 accreditation are granted full administrative deregulation, financial deregulation in setting tuition and other fees, authority to revise their curriculum without
CHEd approval, and priority in the awards of grants, subsidies, or funding assistance from
CHEd or the Department of Education. DaPHNe
J. MagTuRO
4
The Varsitarian
DESPITE the “end of the world” prediction last Dec. 21, there was no stopping UST from holding its annual Paskuhan celebration.
An estimated 70,000 Thomasians and outsiders gathered for the main program at the
UST Grandstand and Open Field to watch the
Salinggawi Dance Troupe and performances from bands like Spongecola, 2 Years Apart,
Silent Sanctuary, Letter Day Story, Join the Club, December Avenue, Mayonnaise,
Paraluman, Urbandub, and Radioactive Sago
Project.
Yael Yuzon, lead vocalist of Spongecola, said he was overwhelmed by the crowd’s enthusiasm.
“We played here before pero parang this year it’s different, the energy is so much.
The whole time I was singing ‘Tambay’ I was thinking ‘What do I do, How do I attack this?’” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to be surprised, but, you (Thomasians) exceeded everything, again.”
Join the Club, a local band composed of
Conservatory of Music alumni, also performed in the concert for the first time in five years.
“ Nakakatuwa na na -invite ulit kami rito .
Mixed emotions. [The last time we performed] bata pa kami, iba pa noong ang crowd ay kaklase namin, ngayon bagong generation na ,” lead vocals Chris Renia told the Varsitaran .
First-time performers Silent Sanctuary and
Mayonnaise became crowd favorites.
Mayonnaise lead vocalist Monty Macalino said their first performance in UST was touching because 10 years ago, he was just a part of the Paskuhan crowd.
“Sana maulit ‘to kasi sobrang saya ng paskuhan. It’s an amazing experience,” he said.
College of Fine Arts and Design alumna and Paraluman lead vocalist Madeline
Ramboyong described the crowd as “very
Paskuhan Page 7
Members of the College of Fine Arts and Design's One Shade celebrate for winning the annual Cheermania event last Jan. 25. JaIMe T. CaMPOS
ENGINEERING courses may soon be trimmed to four years, following the K to 12 curriculum imposed by the government.
This is because general education subjects will be brought down to senior high school
(Grades 11 and 12), to give way to professional subjects in the tertiary level, said Julito Vitriolo, executive director of the Commission on
Higher Education.
The reformed curriculum is aligned to the international standard of 16 years of education, he added.
Half of general education subjects such as social sciences,
English, Science and Mathematics will be removed from the college curriculum.
Other five-year courses such as Occupational Therapy, Physical
Therapy, and Accountancy may also be shortened to conform to international standards.
Meanwhile, four-year college courses will be retained, but general education subjects will be replaced by professional courses to enhance the curriculum.
Architecture not affected
Architecture Dean John
Joseph Fernandez said the
Architecture course will not be reduced to four years because only a minimal number of general education subjects will be removed.
He echoed Vitriolo, saying that the reduction of the general education subjects in the college curriculum will give more focus on professional subjects.
“Sometimes, general education subjects consume a lot of time for college students, so instead of focusing on professional subjects, the students have the general education subjects to worry about,” he said.
According to the government’s Official Gazatte, the core curriculum of senior high school will be composed of six subjects—Social Sciences,
Humanities, Languages (English and Filipino), Mathematics,
Philosophy, and Science.
Senior high school will provide students pathways to five career tracks: Business and
Entrepreneurship; Humanities and Social Sciences; Science,
Technology and Engineering;
Sports; and Technical-Vocational.
Vitriolo said the shortening of the college courses can result in
K to 12 Page 7
THE CENTRAL Student
Council (CSC) has defended the
University’s decision not to push through with a “senatorial forum” initiated by outsiders that had lobbied for the reproductive health
(RH) law.
What was supposed to be a forum for senatorial candidates could have ended up advocating
RH and endorsing pro-RH bets, said Central Student Council vice president Argee Gonzales, noting that UST had opposed the passage of Republic Act 10354 or
“The Responsible Parenthood and
Reproductive Health Act of 2012.”
The decision was due to the
“firm stand of the University,”
Gonzales said.
“We understand that they really want to express their views on different issues, but at the end of the day, UST is UST. Nobody can just sway or change our stand, beliefs, and traditions,” Gonzales told the Varsitarian .
The forum, titled “Now
Population and Development,”
Trending #Youthvote 2012:
Senatorial Forum on Health, was supposed to be held last Jan.
11 at the Medicine Auditorium.
not informed of the plans until a few days before the event date and became apprehensive when it turned out that one of the organizers was the pro-RH group
Forum for Family Planning and
Development.
the student council proposed to change the topic to education. UST plans to hold senatorial forums closer to the May polls, Gonzales said.
Gonzales said UST was
The decision stayed even if
“The University administration was supportive of our advocacy to educate the youth voters this coming elections, but
[they] were just cautious of the things that are not in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church,”
Gonzales said.
Anti-RH groups also called attention to the fact that pro-RH candidates like Akbayan’s Risa about health and population and development, he said.
The RH law was originally titled “The Responsible
Parenthood, Reproductive Health G. VALENZUELA and Population and Development
Bill.” UST WILL host the bar
“The administration’s decision was done to avoid misimpressions that we support and endorse those candidates,”
Gonzales added.
The forum, in partnership with media outfit TV5, the First
Time Voters’ Network, the Student
Council Alliance of the Philippines, and Smart Communications, was supposed to gather senatorial aspirants Richard Gordon, former
Movie and Television Review and
Classification Board chief Grace
Poe Llamanzares, Bayan Muna
Rep. Teddy Casiño, Lito David, and Hontiveros.
Hontiveros was quick to criticize UST. “It imperils the business of universities like consecutive year, which will see a return to the old essay test format.
A Bar Bulletin posted on the website of the Supreme
Court said the exam for aspiring
UST—the education of our youth. It curtails the studentry’s
CSC Page 5 lawyers will be held in UST during the four Sundays of
October.
Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said law school deans had unanimously endorsed UST to the Supreme Court as the venue of this year’s exams.
“[The University] has excellent facilities and it is pleasing to the eyes. It is also because of the hospitality of the administration,” Divina said.
Divina, executive vice president of the Association of
Bar exams Page 18
Uste
KAPAKANAN ng mga mag-aaral ang unang dahilan ng pagtatayo ng mga bagong gusali sa Unibersidad.
“Taun-taon nagkakaroon ng forum ang [Central]
Student Council (CSC) at ang administrators ,” ani Enrique
Sta. Maria, in-house architect ng
Unibersidad. “ The CSC serves as the student’s echo and these concerns serve as great factors that affect project proposals .”
Aniya, anumang proyektong nakasentro sa pag-unlad at pagsulong ng kapakanan ng mga mag-aaral ay 90 porsiyento at mabilis na sinasang-ayunan ng mga administrador. Samantala, ang mga pagpapaayos ng mga opisina ng mga dekano at mga guro ay tumatagal mula lima hanggang 10 na taon.
Halimbawa ng pangyayaring ito ang naunang paggiba ng Rizal
Conference Hall sa gusaling St.
Raymund Peñafort upang gawing mga silid-aralan na sinundan naman ng paglipat ng faculty room mula sa una tungong ikalawang palapag.
Ang kasalukuyang suliranin sa kawalan ng sapat na silid-aralan ay maaaring magkaroon na ng solusyon sa inaasahang pagtatapos ngayong taon ng itinatayong
Alumni Center.
Ang Alumni Center ay sinimulang itayo noong 2011, kasunod sa paggiba ng UST
Gymnasium na naitayo na simula pa noong 1932.
“ The Alumni Center, originally, was to have four floors, five, or six and now it’s going to be twelve, ” ani Sta. Maria. “ The increase in the number of stories and floors is because we are addressing the lack of classrooms .”
Ang pagkawala ng UST naman ng pagpapatayo ng UST
Quadricentennial Pavilion na sinimulan noong 2009 at nagbukas noong 2012.Nakaharap sa España
Boulevard, ang UST
Quad r icenten nial
Pavilion ay nabigyang daan nang gibain ang
Engineering Sports
Complex.
A n g kinalalagyan ng gusaling Beato
A n g e l i c o , itinayo noong
2001 at nagbukas noong 2003, sa kanto ng España at P. Noval ay dating gusali ng
UST Printing
Press, giniba upang madagdagan ang mga silid-aralan para sa mga mag-
Gymnasium ay sinalubong
Samantala, ang UST
Printing Press na ngayo’y kilala bilang UST Publishing House ay inilugar kaloob ng Beato
Angelico.
H i n d i
Usapang Uste PaHINa 17

The Varsitarian
PLANS are underway to put up the Department of Information and Computer Studies (ICS) to improve and strengthen information technology education in the
University.
ICS, which has been under the
Faculty of Engineering since 2004, is expected to gain autonomy in June
2013, newly appointed Engineering
Dean Philipina Marcelo announced last semester.
But the administration has yet to come up with a concrete plan for a “smooth transition” of the department to an institute.
Clarita Carillo, vice rector for academic affairs, said an initial discussion regarding the separation had been conducted to guide the faculty in coming up with a feasibility study, which was to be submitted by the end of January for review.
“I arranged for a meeting with the officials of Engineering and the officials of other academic units
(colleges) who also went through this same transition,” she said in an interview.
Carillo was referring to the colleges of Tourism and Hospitality
Management, Accountancy, and
Rehabilitation Sciences. These colleges were previously part of
Education, Commerce and Business
Administration, and Medicine and
Surgery, respectively.
“The separation of ICS from Engineering will give both programs [ability to] focus and
A woman browses the list of applicants who passed the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test, the results of which were released last Jan. 28. SHeRWIN MaRION T. VaRDeLeON
UST has implemented changes to admission policies in a bid to improve the process of screening applicants.
The academic placement scheme, in which applicants who did not meet the cut-off scores of their chosen courses were given the chance to apply for other colleges, has been abolished.
Faculties and colleges will instead fill up their slots by drawing from wait-listed applicants, considering the huge number of examinees every year.
Office for Admissions
(OFAD) officer-in-charge Marie
Ann Vargas said the University will give priority to applicants under the “wait-list” status, rather than place applicants in programs
“which are not of their choice.”
“In a program, we can only afford to take this number of applicants, so why do we need to have academic placement? We have a bigger number of [those in] the waiting list who want those programs,” Vargas said.
An estimated 45,000 examinees took the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test or
Ustet, the results of which came out last Jan. 28.
However, colleges and faculties still have the discretion
[process] is not really under the control of the OFAD, it’s already college-based,” she said.
Ustet results now include the over-all average and ranking of examinees, to be “transparent in the release of the results.”
“ Ang objective
Vargas said.
PaTRICIa S. PeRez kasi is to give the applicant an idea kung bakit siya hindi nakapasa ,”
Those who did not pass UST have the choice of enrolling in two other Dominican schools—
Colegio de San Juan de Letran in
Manila and Angelicum College to reconsider applications,
Vargas said. “The reconsideration in Quezon City. BeRNaDeTTe
D. NICOLaS and CaRLa
Information Page 7
5
HINDI man sapat ang bilang ng mga guidance counselors sa UST, natutugunan naman nila ang pangangailangan ng mga Tomasino.
Ito ang sinigurado ni Lucila Bance, pinuno ng Guidance and Counseling department ng
Unibersidad.
Sa kasalukuyan, mayroong 41 na guidance counselors ang Unibersidad kung saan ang isang guidance counselor ay tumutugon sa bawat 1,200 na mag-aaral sa UST.
“ In terms of the ratio of the students with guidance counselors, it is not actually enough ,” ani Bance. “ The prescribed is 1:500 although we are able to meet this in [UST] High School.”
Aniya, mas kinakailangan ng mga magaaral mula sa high school ang patnubay ng guidance counselors kumpara sa mga nasa kolehiyo dahil sa pagiging mas mature nito.
Hindi man akma ang bahagdan ng guidance counselors sa mga mag-aaral sa Unibersidad, ang UST naman ang may pinakamalaking bilang ng mga guidance counselors sa mga paaralan sa bansa.
“ We have the biggest number of guidance counselors because we also have a big number of students ,” ani Bance.
Mayroong pitong guidance counselors sa Faculty of Engineering, ang may pinakamaraming bilang ng mag-aaral sa UST.
“Magagaling kasi ang ating mga guidance counselors [at] talagang multi-tasking sila kaya lang nahihirapan sila at hindi talaga masubaybayan ang bawat mag-aaral,” aniya.
Ngunit napatunayan naman ng exit survey na “very satisfactory” pa rin ang pagganap ng mga guidance counselors pati ang mga serbisyo at programang ibinibigay ng nasabing departamento, ayon sa pagsusuri ng mga magaaral at ng Office for Faculty Evaluation and
Development (OFED).
Ayon kay Bance, hindi rin sila maaaring magdagdag nang magdagdag ng mga guidance counselors dahil kinakailangang tiyakin ang ng sapat na espasyo sa mga kolehiyo.
RE-EXAMINING laws is one way of curtailing the alarming increase of HIV/AIDS cases in the country.
In a forum last Jan. 8, former
Faculty of Arts and Letters dean Armando de Jesus and his team of researchers called for a reassessment of the framework and paradigms of Republi Act
(RA) 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Drugs Act of 2002, amid the surge in cases of HIV/AIDS in the country attributed to the use of needles.
“[RA 9165] was the product of a situation in 2002 just as the RA 8504 was a product of a situation in 1998,” De Jesus said in his lecture at the Thomas
Aquinas Research Complex. “But obviously, things have changed since then.”
RA 8504, or the Philippine
AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, sought to prevent and control HIV/AIDS in the country through an information system as well as HIV/AIDS educational programs.
Department of Health (DOH)
Assistant Secretary Enrique
Tayag, one of the reactors in the forum, said the law prohibits certain measures in addressing
HIV/AIDS cases, particularly those involving “people who inject drugs” (PWID).
“All of this is a tug-of-war between preventing HIV/AIDS spread and making sure that the drug problems will not grow,”
Tayag said.
De Jesus’ study showed that
HIV/AIDS transmission is highly attributed to heterosexual contact
(50 percent), which is considered the most prevalent mode of transmission. It was followed by homosexual contact, or men having sexual intercourse with other men (33 percent), motherto-child transmission, blood transfusion, and bi-sexual contact.
Drug use through shared needles, meanwhile, accounted for only three percent.
While the focus is solely on the heterosexual transmission of
HIV/AIDS, the minute percentage of other factors, particularly needle use, should not be ignored,
De Jesus said.
In 2011, a drastic rise in the cases of HIV/AIDS occurred, driven by the use of needles in at least three “sentinel” sites: Cebu,
Zamboanga, and Mandaue. From a mere one percent hike in 1984 to 2009, the number of HIV/
AIDS cases due to administration of drugs through injection rose by
6.89 percent in 2012, the study showed.
One of the measures considered to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS among PWIDs is the Needle Exchange Program
(NEP).
According to Avert.org,
NEP offers access to disinfected needles and syringes to lessen the risk of PWIDs being exposed to other users’ blood. However, such program could not be introduced in a country that considers as illegal the use of needles and syringes for recreational drugs.
Under RA 9165, mere possession of “any paraphernalia, apparatus, materials or appliances intended for administering or producing dangerous drugs” is considered unlawful unless prescription is provided.
“The law would classify needles and syringes as drug paraphernalia,” Tayag said.
“ Kapag nagbigay ka ng needle, huli ka .” syringe
HIV-AIDS Page 10
Isyu ng pagpapakamatay
Maraming aspeto ang maaaring maging sanhi kung bakit naiisipan ng iba na magpatiwakal, ani Bance.
“Kapag nakilala ng isang tao ang kanyang sarili at siya ay naging acceptable sa ibang tao, hindi siya mag-iisip nang [pagpapakamatay],” ani Bance.
Kinakailangang makipagtulungan sa mga malalapit na kamag-anak at kaibigan ang mga taong may suicidal tendencies, aniya.
“ We have to work hand in hand with the significant persons in the life of students because those who commit suicide mostly
[came] from dysfunctional families and they cannot open their problems with them ,” aniya.
BeRNaDeTTe D. NICOLaS
FROM Page 3
“Actually kagabi pa lang excited na talaga ako bumalik
[sa UST] . Sobrang warm ng pagwelcome nila, parang pang-
Miss Universe talaga ,” said the
Pharmacy alumna. “ Siyempre iba
‘yung pakiramdam ‘pag bumabalik ka kung saan ka nagmula .”
“Ms. Janine Tugonon’s impressive performance in an international competition proves that Thomasians truly excel in almost every field, and more importantly, she has become a positive role model to many young people because she exemplifies determination, hard work, beauty, and intelligence,” said Rector Fr.
Herminio Dagohoy, O.P.
The Binibining Pilipinas-
Universe defined a true Thomasian as “someone who keeps his values and principles alive and fights for what he believes in.”
“’ Pag nandoon ka na (Ms.
Universe pageant), lahat kayo magaganda , sexy, matatangkad.
Pero what will make you stand out is what you really are—your personality. At ‘yung personality, mabubuo ‘yun kung saan ka nanggaling, ” Tugonon said.
“ Sa akin, napakalaking tulong ang binigay ng UST dahil naenhance ko ‘yung values ko, ‘yung principles ko , and I thank UST.”
It was in the University where
Tugonon first entered the world of beauty contests.
She joined her first pageant in 2009 and was crowned Miss
Pharmacy. The following year, she won Miss UST in The Search for the Ideal Thomasian Personalities.
‘Grade-conscious’
The cum laude graduate admitted that she was not really a fan of beauty pageants.
During her days in UST,
Tugonon said she was a quiet student who focused more on academics, as she was very conscious of her grades.
She also believes that pageants are more than mere beauty contests—they are
“personality pageants” that require a “pure heart and a strong mind.”
“Being a beauty queen is having a total package; that you are beautiful in and out, and intellectually able to [get along] with different people and personalities,” she said. “ Hindi lang siya beauty pageant, it’s a personality pageant.”
FROM Page 4 exercise of their own conscience, the principle upon which many
Filipinos, including those opposed to RH, anchored their stance on this issue,” she said in a statement.
said.
But Gonzales said UST was just being “true and firm on its beliefs and morals.”
“We understand the rights of candidates. But they should also understand ours. UST is an institution, that no matter what happens, will always protect its name and image,” Gonzales
ReDeN D. MaDRID
FROM Page 14 the most attractive opportunity,” Pachauri said.
Moreover, Recabar highlighted the importance of doing “simple things” to slow down the climate change.
“Simple things like lessening the consumption of electricity, doing waste segregation, and having a healthier diet can help reduce the production of greenhouse gases,” she said. “If we have the passion to do more as a citizen and we are informed of what climate change is about, [then] we can combat the phenomenon.” aLTIR CHRISTIaN
D. BONgaNay and gIuLIaNI ReNz g.
PaaS with reports from HeDRIx aR-aR C.
CaBaLLe

6
The Varsitarian
Editorial Page 7
FOUNDED JAN. 16, 1928
RAFAEL L. ANTONIO
Editor in Chief
BRYLLE B. TABORA
Managing Editor
JAMES BRYAN J. AGUSTIN
Associate Editor
REDEN D. MADRID News Editor
MARIA LUISA A. MAMARADLO Assistant News Editor
JAN EDWARD B. BALLESTEROS Sports Editor
LORENZO LUIGI T. GAYYA Special Reports Editor
RODOLFO SERAFIN JEROME T. LOZADA Features Editor
JAN DOMINIC G. LEONES Literary Editor
MARIA ARRA L. PEREZ Patnugot ng Filipino
GERVIE KAY S. ESTELLA Witness Editor
NIGEL BRYANT B. EVANGELISTA Sci-Tech Editor
MARIANNE S. LASTRA Circle Editor
ANGELICA GABRIELLE O. NAVARRO Art Director
SHERWIN MARION T. VARDELEON Photography Editor
News Daphne J. Magturo, Bernadette D. Nicolas,
Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela, Cez Mariela Teresa G. Verzosa
Sports Hedrix Ar-ar C. Caballe, Alexis U. Cerado,
Jose Antonio R. Nisay, Carla Patricia S. Perez
Special Reports Kristelle Ann A. Batchelor, Andre Arnold T. Santiago
Features Alfredo N. Mendoza V, Catalina Ricci S. Madarang,
Juan Carlos D. Moreno
Literary Jon Christoffer R. Obice, Sarah Mae Jenna A. Ramos
Filipino Elora Joselle F. Cangco, Jonah Mary T. Mutuc
Witness Denise Pauline P. Purugganan, Gracelyn A. Simon
Science and Technology Altir Christian D. Bonganay, Giuliani Renz G. Paas
Circle John Joseph G. Basijan, Romina Louise C. Cunanan,
Christopher B. Enriquez
Art Karel Daye B. Gascon, Ma. Aurora A. Gonzales
Photography John Paul R. Autor, Jaime T. Campos, John Daniel J. Hirro
FELIPE F. SALVOSA II
Assistant Publications Adviser
JOSELITO B. ZULUETA
Publications Adviser
Letters/comments/suggestions/contributions are welcome in the
Varsitarian. Only letters with signatures will be entertained. Original manuscript contributions must be typewritten, double-spaced, on regular bond paper, and should include a signed certification bearing the author’s name, address, year, and college. The identity of a writer may be withheld upon request. The editors will not be responsible for the loss of materials. Contributions must be sent to The VarsiTarian office, rm. 105, Tan Yan Kee student
Center Bldg., University of santo Tomas, españa, Manila.
THERE seem peculiar similarities between the
Olympians—the 12 major gods who lived on Mt. Olympus and ruled the world—and the
Senate of the Philippines. In
Greek Mythology, human fate depended on the whim of the gods. When there was turmoil among them, one should expect nothing good. In her book,
Mythology, scholar Edith
Hamilton said the gods were the reverse of human benevolence for the most part.
A celebrated rivalry within the Olympians was between
Zeus, the supreme overlord, and his brother Poseidon, the proud ruler of the seas. Their sibling rivalry was often rooted on the desire to usurp each other’s status and power. Another was between opposing gods Athena and Ares who were both deities of war.
Imagine the thunderstorms, tsunamis and earthquakes brought upon humans caught between the fighting and despite all of these, who regularly have to give taxes—or rather offerings—to the gods!
Though not as majestic in proportion, the Philippines
former chief of staff, Gigi Reyes, for their alleged close ties with former president Gloria Arroyo and the Tingas, his wife Lani’s political rivals in Taguig. Enrile, end. People don’t pay taxes to watch television and see their elected senators throwing dirt at each other. It’s more entertaining to see Zeus and Poseidon hurl thunderbolts and waves at each other, or Athena and Ares cross spears, than adults act like children—and worse, one of them is already 88 years old.
But what do you expect, really? The upper chamber is composed mainly of either movie stars or descendants of political dynasties. As midterm election approaches, Jack Ponce Enrile— also has her own version of
Olympians. It is not hard to see the hot-headed Zeus in Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile, and, likewise, Poseidon in Senate
Minority Leader Alan Peter
Cayetano.
The two senators’ longrunning bickering and debate, rooted from God knows what, have gone beyond logic and reason. They now dig up personal dirt to throw against each other.
Cayetano criticized Enrile’s treatment of the minority and got personal, criticizing Enrile and his on the other hand, went as far as to disclose a P37-million debt allegedly incurred many years ago by Cayetano’s late father, senator Rene Cayetano, who died in 2003.
Meanwhile, two other senators—Miriam Defensor
Santiago and Panfilo Lacson— are in the verge of pulling each other’s hair off. Lately, Santiago has insinuated that Lacson was a homosexual following threats of incriminating evidence, according to Inquirer . Even Athena and
Ares would laugh at the juvenility son of the Senate president—and
JV Ejercito, the brother of Sen.
Jinggoy Estrada, are running for the same position as their kins’. Outgoing senators Manny
Villar and Edgardo Angara will try to have their wife and son, respectively—Cynthia Villar and of these two.
Although the drama has its entertainment value, the lawmakers’ constituents are the ones who suffer the most in the
Juan Edgardo Angara—take over their “legacies.” Cayetano will run again to retain his post, together with his sister Pia Cayetano, who’s also in the Senate! Meanwhile, callow Paulo Benigno “Bam”
Aquino IV tries his best to look like his grandfather in an attempt to deceive people into thinking his
Vorpal Page 16
LAST Jan. 27, Manila tour guide Carlos Celdran was convicted for “offending religious feelings” under
Article 133, Section 4 of the
Revised Penal Code. Judge
Juan Bermejo of the Manila
City Metropolitan Trial Court
Branch 4 sentenced him to a prison term of two months to 13 months and 11 days.
The case stemmed from the incident on September 30,
2010 when Celdran disrupted an ecumenical service at the
Manila Cathedral by going
in front of the service and brandishing the sign with
“Damaso” inscripted, referring to the negative friar character in Jose Rizal’s novel Noli Me
Tangere . He said he did the act to protest Church meddling in political affairs especially its opposition to the Reproductive
Health (RH) bill.
The conviction sparked outrage among social networking sites critical of the Church’s opposition to the
RH law. Internet supporters of
Celdran said the conviction was the Church’s way of getting at those who supported the RH law.
They put up a Facebook page, “Free Carlos Celdran,” as if Celdran had been imprisoned when in fact he was allowed to post bail and appeal the ruling.
According to the page’s description, this was made by friends of Celdran who were
“clamoring for his release, condemning the antiquated views of the CBCP, and supporting the Reproductive
Health Bill to uplift Filipinos’ lives.”
But of course, the page was just an excuse to rally cyber bullies against the Church.
President Aquino jumped into the fray by calling on the
Church to forgive Celdran.
Apparently he was impervious
Celdran’s supporters said he should not have been convicted since he was merely exercising his right to free speech.
the fact that it was his own
Department of Justice that continued to prosecute the case after Cardinal Gaudencio
Rosales had forgiven Celdran and didn’t pursue the complaint anymore.
President Aquino apparently is no respecter of interbranch comity or at the least, ignorant of the protocol that the Executive should not meddle with the Judiciary.
(If he could have a chief justice impeached by rallying his Congress cronies and prostituting supposedly independent bodies such as the central bank, Ombudsman and audit commission, why should we respect such a protocol?)
How could he respect such a protocol when he had certified the RH bill, something that he had not promised in the election campaign of 2010?
Strangely enough, the bill that he promised to have passed in the campaign, the Freedom of Information bill, has been stagnating in Congress.
In any case, why should
Aquino push for the FOI bill when he and the other devotees of Carlos Celdran have already canonized him as the apostle of free speech and anointed him to spread the gospel of freedom to inveigh and generally practice hate language against the
Church?
His supporters said that
Celdran had been judged guilty of violating an outdated law meant to protect the Church establishment, but they seemed impervious to the fact that the service that Celdran disrupted was an “ecumenical” service that also included Protestant and other Christian denominations, whose sensitivities could have also been offended by his obnoxious and irreverent act.
Celdran’s claque also seem to be impervious to the fact that he calls himself a free thinker and atheist and that he has generally gone around places and posted comments on the
Internet, saying that the Catholic
Church has contributed nothing to the Philippines.
His comments are odd since Celdran generally makes a living out of being a culture guide touring locals and foreigners gullible about
Unwritten Page 15

The Varsitarian
7
THE HEAVENLY scent of popcorn permeated the air as my grandmother and I bought movie tickets in a mall one cold
December evening. Amidst throngs of moviegoers and patrons of the Metro Manila
Film Festival, we trudged our way through—I excited to see the much-talked about film and she driven by absolute adoration for the “Superstar.” Yes, one could say we were practically giddy for Thomasian director
Brilliante Mendoza’s Thy Womb starring Nora Aunor!
I felt my hopes sunk, though, when I saw the cinema occupied by only a handful of people. Most of them were senior citizens like my grandmother, and the rest were adults most probably middleaged. The number of people was so miniscule that by the time the movie ended, it felt like were almost freezing to death due to the undisturbed flow of the air conditioners inside the cinema.
As if to prove this further, my grandmother stood up and headed towards the center aisle. With a smirk on her face, she began pointing and counting the number of people present in the cinema, earning
FROM Page 4 energized.”
The concert was capped by a six-minute pyromusical that played along chart-topping songs such as “Gangnam
Style.”
To secure the event, the UST Security Office
smiles and chuckles from several individuals. Initially, I was pretty much embarrassed by what I thought was an unnecessary move.
“More or less than thirty people,” she announced as she took her seat. Effectively, that changed my disposition.
I honestly do not know if I am missing anything here.
For years, I have been hearing people rant and complain about the quality of locally-produced films. And I could not agree more! We are faced with the same concepts and storylines over and over again—save for some minimal alterations here and there. So when Mendoza’s internationally-acclaimed masterpiece was finally brought
The Paskuhan celebration began on Dec. 19 with the annual Thanksgiving Mass led by Rector Magnificus Fr.
Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. was Fr. Bruno Cadoré, O.P.,
Grand Chancellor of UST and
Master General of the Order of Preachers, assisted by Fr.
Vincent Ha Vien Lu, O.P., assistant to the master general implemented a “buddy system,” wherein outsiders were not allowed to enter the campus unless accompanied by Thomasians, said Benjamin
Zoilo Mario Ravanera III, president of the Student
Organizations Coordinating
Council.
the Mass were donated to the
The Central Student
Council later hosted the
Paskuhan Aftermath, an “after party” that also served as the victory party for the Growling
Tigers’ victory over the Ateneo
Blue Eagles in the Philippine
Thomasian Idol, and the
3/4 and Flooza bands was held alongside the parade to kick start the main program.
DaPHNe J. MagTuRO
Collegiate Championships
League.
FROM Page 4 better preparation and focus on the major subjects.
Philosophy department chair Paolo Bolaños said there is a module developed by
CHEd called “Pagpapakatao” which delves into Philosophy.
“There is a strong philosophical bend to that module because it is actually the philosophy technical committee coordinating with the DepEd,”
Bolaños said.
FROM Page 6
A pre-show featuring to local screening, I was expecting immense support and wide patronage from his fellowmen.
Evidently, my expectations were proven wrong.
Among the MMFF’s eight official entries, Thy Womb placed last, earning only a little over P900, 000 on its first-day gross. Due to poor screening performance, numerous movie theaters nationwide began to pull out Mendoza’s film, prompting the multi-awarded director to plead in national television for Filipinos to support the movie.
Sisterakas garnered a whopping
P39, 000,000 on its first day of showing alone. I do not want to
FROM Page 5
The main celebrant for Asia-Pacific.
Love offerings during families hit by typhoon Pablo in Mindanao.
The second day of the twoday Paskuhan festivities started with a Disney fairy tale-themed parade participated by the different faculties and colleges.
the UST Yellow Jackets,
VaLeNzueLa
The only Philosophy course offered in UST as general education subject is
Logic. Bolaños said if Logic is the only Philosophy course that will be transferred to senior high school, the department would rather focus on research.
“If we’re going to focus on
[teaching in high school], we’re going to miss what the K to 12 structure can offer us. We can also develop higher education, not only in teaching but also in research,” Bolaños said.
BeRNaDeTTe D. NICOLaS and NIKKa LaVINIa g.
VaLeNzueLa
In contrast, the idiotic
Technology division chair
Rochellelyn Lopez said. “[The desire] to further enhance other].”
Curbing overpopulation
The four-story Roque
Ruaño building houses about
7,000 engineering students,
2,280 of them are from ICS, data from the Office of the Registrar showed. Last semester, ICS had
2,382 students.
The growing student population may reduce the effectiveness of classroom instruction, Carillo said.
“Any teacher knows management and they will all agree that if you have a very
delve further into finding out how such an atrocity could even be produced.
I asked the opinion of several of my friends regarding the demise of Thy Womb.
It was, according to them, probably due to the fact that
Filipinos prefer comedies and family-oriented movies during the Christmas season.
So why did Shake, Rattle, and Roll 14 as well as One More
Try —which also won Best
Picture—make it as two of the top grossers of the film festival?
Are gory horror movies and sex melodramas family-oriented?
It’s absolutely depressing when people demand for change but cannot apply it to themselves. We desire higher standards when it comes to local films, but we almost always fail to show the slightest support whenever a remarkable work of art like Mendoza’s Thy Womb manages to break through the monotony of clichés and recycled storylines.
Is there hope left for the local film industry? Yes, profitably speaking. But in the context of quality and cultural significance, we still have a lot to work on.
the programs, not only [in] the academe but also [in] the industry, entails a little independence [from each big class to handle, it affects the efficiency of all the services that you [offer],” she said.
Lopez said the separation would address problems with space in the building, enabling the University “to offer new programs and strengthen existing programs.”
“Based on [feedback from] accrediting agencies, we need around 10 laboratories, but now,
[ICS] only has four laboratories and we are borrowing from
Engineering [this] second semester,” she said.
However, considering
UST's limited facilities, it will be premature to conclude that there would be a physical separation,
Carillo said.
Aside from plans to separate ICS from Engineering, establish its own Pearson Vue
Testing Center, or an electronic testing outfit that will give
AbSTINeNCe , fasting , penitensiya,
Pasyon—iyan ay ilan lamang sa mga salitang nagbibigay kahulugan sa panahon ng Kuwaresma o Mahal na Araw.
Kaakibat ng mga ito ay ang katakut-takot na hinaing sa naturang panahon: kung bakit bawal ang karne, kung bakit bawal kumain, at maging ang mga paniniwala ng mga nakatatanda na bawal mag-ingay at maligo pagsapit ng ika-3 ng hapon ng Good Friday. Bilang tugon, katakut-takot na paliwanag ang maaaring ilatag ng Simbahang Katolika kung bakit nararapat lamang gawin ang mga ito—ngunit, sa huli, tiyak na paulitulit na pakikipagtalo at pagdadahilan lamang ang magiging kasunod nito. ‘Ika nga, walang kahit anong paliwanag ang sasapat para sa isang taong hindi naniniwala.
Isang katotohanan na hindi relihiyon ang humuhubog sa pagkatao ninuman—ngunit isang katotohanan din na masarap mabuhay nang may pinaniniwalaan, nang may isinasakripisyo para sa isang paniniwala.
Tanong ng ilan: “Magiging mabuti ka ba kapag hindi ka kumain ng karne tuwing Biyernes sa panahon ng
Kuwaresma?” Sa palagay ko, hindi naman; ikaw pa rin iyan, at hindi magbabago ang anumang inaakala mong mababago.
Ngunit, ang hindi pagkain ng karne sa mga Biyernes ng
Mahal na Araw ay hindi naman talaga itinakda upang maging tanda ng pagpapakabuti, kundi gawi ng pagsasakripisyo— sa paraang iiwasan mo ang isang bagay na iyong gusto’t nakasanayan, upang maialay ang nalalabing parte ng sarili para sa mas makabuluhang bagay.
Kung ang hindi pagkain ng karne ang siyang nagbibigay kahulugan sa abstinence, nariyan din ang fasting, o ang pagkain lamang ng isang full meal sa loob ng isang araw.
Siyempre pa, magsusulputan ang mga matatabil ang dila—
“Hindi ba’t masama sa kalusugan ang pagpapagutom?” o di kaya’y “Mabubusog ba ang mga taong nagugutom kung sadya akong hindi kumain?”
Ang fasting ay ‘di tuwirang pagpapagutom; maaaring kumain basta’t kaunti lamang sa nakasanayang dami ng pagkain at, base sa nabanggit na kahulugan nito, isang full information technologists,
Lopez said. Cez MaRIeLa
TeReSa g. VeRzOSa
meal lamang ang maaaring kainin sa loob ng isang araw. paraan, matututo ang sinuman na makisimpatya sa mga taong napagkaitan ng kakayahang makakakain ng humigitkumulang tatlong beses sa isang araw.
Samantala, ibang tipo ng sakripisyo naman ang nais ipamalas ng ilang deboto. Nariyan ang pagsusugat sa sarili gamit ang palaspas, ang pagbubuhat ng krus na gawa sa kahoy, at ang pagpapapako sa krus—lahat ng ito’y nakapanlulumo’t nakasasakit nang pisikal, ngunit pinili pa ring akapin ng mga taong nagkataong naniniwala sa kung anumang dulot na kapanatagan nito sa kanila.
Nariyan din ang umaalingawngaw na tinig ng mga mangaawit ng Pasyon. Mula bata hanggang matanda, pagbabaliktanaw ng buhay ni Hesus ang nananaig sa bawat liriko ng awit. Para sa mga taong naniniwala sa Kaniya, milagro’t mas pinatibay na pananampalataya ang dulot ng bawat linya ng awit, samantalang dagdag na kaalaman at kasaysayan naman para sa mga taong kaiba ng paniniwala.
Pitong Biyernes mula ngayong Pebrero, at isang linggo sa darating na Marso—iyan lamang ang hinihingi ng panahon ng Kuwaresma upang iyong paglaanan ng karampatang pagninilay.
Ito ay hindi para sa mga sagradong Katoliko. Hindi rin ito para sa mga may relihiyon. Hindi rin ito para sa mga mistulang nakalimot na sa sarili’t para sa relihiyon na lamang nabubuhay. At mas lalong hindi ito para sa mga nahibang na’t inaakalang sila lamang ang may pananampalataya.
Ito ay para sa iyong may pinaniniwalaan—naniniwala ka man sa meron, o sa wala—at handang maglaan ng kaakibat na sakripisyo para sa napiling panindigan.
In the article “Faculty Union ex-prexy files libel case vs
VP,” which appeared in the Dec. 17 issue (Vol. LXXXIV No.
9) of the Varsitarian , it should have been reported that UST
Faculty Union (USTFU) employees Samantha Lei Bernal and Allison Pasicolan were not included in the libel case filed by former USTFU president Gil Gamilla against incumbent internal vice president Rene Tadle.
Our apologies. -Ed

8
The Varsitarian
By DENISE PAULINE
P. PURUGGANAN and GRACELYN A. SIMON
MORE THAN nine million people clad in maroon and yellow filled the streets surrounding Quiapo last Jan. 9, clutching their white towels and handkerchiefs and throwing these to the marshalls to wipe the miraculous image of Jesus, the Black Nazarene.
Since 1963, Renato
Roquiño has been struggling among the mass of devotees who believe in the image’s power to change lives. The 64-yearold manghihilot or taga-tawas travelled from Bulacan to be a part of this year’s procession.
“ Manalangin lang kayo. Hindi kayo pababayaan noon ,” he said.
Roquiño claimed the
Black Nazarene has granted
Devotees fill the streets of Manila to pay homage and celebrate the Feast Day of the Black Nazarene. him many blessings. But the
“biggest miracle” was when he was spared from a heavy storm that hit his province. He remembered praying to the
Black Nazarene, pleading for his life.
“ Marami kami ‘nun, sa Leyte, nagdagat kami, at inabutan ng malakas na bagyo.
Siyam na basneg (nets) ang nabagyo, lahat nadurog. ‘Yung sa amin lang ang natira ,” he added.
Despite the unbearable heat, fatigue and great discomfort from blisters, young and old Catholics never wavered in their faith and struggled to wipe their towels on the image of the Black
Nazarene, or at least touch the rope connected to the carroza of the centuries-old image.
parang kapag papasok ka ng bahay months pregnant and a member of Soldiers of Christ, admitted that she experienced difficulty in joining the procession this
Alejandro Cabigting,
74, was one of the barefoot believers who walk toward
Quirino Grandstand from
Quiapo Church every year to join the annual procession.
“ [Ang paglakad ng nakapaa ay] tanda ng panata at pag-alay [para sa poong
Nazareno]. Ito ay parang pagpapakita ng paggalang,
,” Cabigting said.
Joavy Llanto, eight year, her first time. “Nahirapan ako lumabas, ‘yung tiyan ko naipit,” she said.
Llanto, accompanied by her husband, travelled from
Quezon City to Quiapo at around 4 a.m., undaunted by the crowd size or any untoward incident that could happen to her. She prayed for the safe delivery of her child and for the well being of their family.
According to media reports, more than 1,400 devotees were treated for wounds, exhaustion, dehydration, chest pains, and even seizures. This year’s procession lasted for 19 hours.
Dr. Fernando Nakpil
Zialcita of Ateneo de Manila
University’s Department of
Sociology and Antropology said Filipinos are able to identify with the image of the
Black Nazarene. This is why it is able to draw large crowds.
Most of the devotees are from the low economic classes, asking for special graces from the Black Nazarene. Unlike educated Catholics, who tend to be less physical, Nazarene devotees are not exposed to theology and philosophy, according to Zialcita.
“When you are exposed to theology and philosophy, inward he said.
mas ang pananampalataya ,” its color. It was said that when to Manila, fire broke out on
Nazareno throughout the ages
The life-sized, darkcolored, wooden sculpture of Jesus Christ known as the
Black Nazarene was carved by a Mexican-Indian artist and came from Acapulco, Mexico on board a galleon.
No existing records tell when exactly the image of the
Black Nazarene arrived in the country. Zialcita said he had searched archives and historical documents but came up with no answer.
Speculations abound on missionaries brought the icon the vessel. The icon of the
Black Nazarene caught fire, causing its dark color. Despite its condition, the Nazarene was kept safe and honored from then on.
Zialcita refuted this, saying the image has been black ever since. “So many images in
“Catholicism developed in agrarian society. The farmers in the society have identified with figures that are black kasi ganun talaga ang matabang lupa ,” Zialcita said.
The Black Nazarene made a lot of miraculous deeds. The image survived the great fires that destroyed Quiapo Church in 1791 and 1929, the great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863, and the bombing of Manila in
1945 during World War II.
Catholic [and] Christianity are black. In Europe, the virgins were black, [like the] patroness of Poland, (the Black Madonna of Częstochowa),” he said.
Other black images include Sto. Niño in Tanggapan and Santo Cristo de Longos in
Tondo.
The anthropologist suggested that the black shade was common among images in an agrarian society, where the color of the saints was often associated with the fertility of the soil.
Today, the head and the cross of the original image are housed in the Altar Mayor of the Quiapo Church, while the original body of the Black
Nazarene is used during processions.
JaIMe T. CaMPOS
Devotion to Nazareno
In his homily at Saint John the Baptist Church or Quiapo
Church on Jan. 9, Bishop
Broderick Pabillo noted that the devotees were never forced in professing their strong devotion to the Black Nazarene.
“ Nakikita ko ‘yung tuwa at kapayapaan sa loob nila ,”
Pabillo said, referring to the people he interviewed before the Mass. “ Tayong mga deboto, hindi tayo natatakot sa kahirapan at sakripisyo.
Sa pamamagitan nito, tayo ay magtatagumpay .”
Pabillo said the Holy
Cross, a symbol of punishment for sinners back then, became the instrument of salvation as
Jesus Christ carried it without anger or resentment. Thus, the cross can also become a symbol of success if Christians learn to bear it with love.
Msgr. Jose Clemente
Ignacio, parish priest of
Quiapo Church, said in his article titled “Devotion to the Black Nazarene: Pastoral
Understanding” published for the celebration of the feast, that the tradition liberates the heart of the devotees.
He added that the secret force of the pilgrimage is the movement it brings to the heart and the intensified excitement of one’s faith and religion.
“It is here where they receive a [kind of] ‘liberation,’ undergoing a direct experience of the sacred, either in the material aspect of miraculous healing or in the immaterial aspect of inward transformation of spirit and personality,”
Ignacio said.
Touching or kissing
Catholic images does not mean idolatry. It is a symbol of
“concreteness,” which is one of the traits of religious Filipinos.
“Filipinos are a people of ‘the concrete.’ Our expressions are expressed in the concrete.
It is a Filipino trait to wipe, touch, kiss, or embrace sacred objects. We Filipinos believe in the presence of the Divine in sacred objects and places. This is a way of expressing one’s faith. It is an expression of their devotion,” he said.
Pabillo reminded the devotees that as they pray for their personal intentions and wipe their towels on the image, they should also ask for God’s will.
“ Hindi lang po sa pisikal na paghahawak [ang pagiging malapit sa Diyos] ,” he noted. “ Tayo ay maging malapit sa Kaniyang kalooban.
Para maging isa sa kaniya, hanapin natin ang kaniyang kagustuhan.
”
Ignacio said that if one looks at the image carefully, it could be interpreted as Christ standing up after the fall.
FR. ANSCAR Chupungco,
O.S.B. the country’s top liturgist, died last Jan. 9, just days before he was to receive the Papal
Cross of Honor for service to the
Catholic Church. He was 73.
On the Feast of the Black
Nazarene, the Benedictine monk succumbed to heart attack at around 5 a.m. in Malaybalay,
Bukidnon.
Aside from the papal award, which is also known as the Pro
Ecclesia et Pontifice award,
Chupungco was also set to receive the Jorge Barlin Golden
Cross Award from the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP).
The Jorge Barlin Golden
Cross is awarded to those who have given exemplary service and dedication to the Catholic
Church and is considered one of the highest awards given by the local hierarchy, while the Cross of Honor is the highest award that can be bestowed on the laity by the Pope.
posthumously given at the
CBCP’s 106th plenary assembly generated both praise and criticism. He mentored top
Filipino liturgists.
His remains were interred at the La Loma Catholic Cemetery last Jan. 17 after the funeral mass
Rosales, archbishop emeritus of last Jan. 26.
Chupungco is known worldwide for his work on liturgical inculturation, which
Manila, at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat in Manila.
Jose Herminio Javier
Chupungco was born on Nov. 10,
1939 in Cainta, Rizal. He took the name “Anscar” when he became a monk of the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat at the age of 19 in
1958. He was ordained priest in
1965.
Chupungco received two honorary doctorate degrees:
Humane Letters from Ateneo de Manila University (1996) and Theology from the Catholic
Theological Union of Chicago
(1997).
He earned his licentiate in
Philosophy and Theology from the University of Santo Tomas, which gave him The Outstanding
Thomasian Alumni Award in
2000. Chupungco obtained his doctorate in Sacred Theology specializing in Liturgical Studies at the Ateneo d' San't Anselmo in
Rome.
Both awards were In 1973, he became the first
Filipino member of the faculty of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome, where he served as a professor and rector.
conferences and clergy in the
United States, Africa, Asia and
Europe, before returning to the
Philippines to become executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal
Commission on Liturgy.
In 1993, Chupungco founded the Paul VI Institute of
Liturgy in the Philippines, a center for forming liturgists for Asia. He also founded the Graduate School of Liturgy in San Beda College,
Manila where he served as a rector and president from 2001 to 2007.
One of his most recent works was primer on the new English translation of the Roman Missal, released last year.
Chupungco wrote the
Handbook for Liturgical Studies, a standard set of textbooks for liturgical education used worldwide.
He also worked as a consultant in the Sacred
In 2010, he was conferred the Serviam Award by Rosales. In
Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments of the Vatican, and had lectured to bishops’
2011, the Federation of Diocesan
Liturgical Commissions of the
United States of America awarded
Chupungco the McManus Award for his contribution to pastoral liturgy. gRaCeLyN a. SIMON
THE SANTO Domingo Church unveiled last Dec. 14 its newly restored pipe organ, ushering in a revival of sacred music in the shrine of Our Lady of La Naval.
As a result of several projects initiated last year, the mother church of Filipino
Dominicans was able to restore the pipe organ which last played in 1980.
Among the fund-raising efforts were the “Adopt-a-Pipe” and “Pinggan para sa
Pipe Organ.”
“In less than a year, [ naipon na 'yung funds]. Marami kasing deboto ang ating
Birhen ng La Naval,” said Fr. Guiseppe
Arsciwals, O.P., prior of Santo Domingo
Convent and rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Naval.
The pipe organ was made in Rosaryhill,
Hong Kong on Nov. 24, 1935. After the closure of St. Albert the Great Priory
Chapel, the center of religious formation and studies of the Dominican Province of the Holy Rosary, the more than 1000-piece pipe organ was transferred to the Santo
Domingo Church in Quezon City in 1954.
Cealwyn Tagle of Diego Cera
Organbuilders, Inc. was tapped for the restoration.
"Patungong Langit" Photo by NeIL CHua
Photo exhibit on La Naval
Coinciding the blessing of the pipe organ, photos of the feast of Our Lady of
La Naval were highlighted in an exhibit at the Santo Domingo Church Museum from Dec. 14 to Jan. 30.
Arsciwals blessed the exhibit titled
“La Naval: Honor of Faith.”
The convent prior commissioned
Mark Heinrich Go, president of
Fotomasino, to lead in the exhibit of the photos taken during the procession of Our Lady of La Naval last Oct. 14.
Fotomasino is the photographers’ guild of UST.
Some of the pictures displayed were
“Santo Domingo de Guzman” by Go,
“The Roaming” by Jericson Jabar, “Faith and Light” by Paul Quiambao, and “St.
Joseph” by Neil Chua.
Karl Bautista, Fotomasino marketing consultant, said about 50 pictures were chosen from more than 300 that were taken during the procession.
Among the themes of the exhibit were “Sanctuary of Faith,” “Professions or Traditions of Faith,” and “Visuals of
Faith.” geRVIe Kay S. eSTeLLa

The Varsitarian
9
By ROMINA LOUISE C. CUNANAN
TWO THOMASIANS are included in the roster of Gawad CCP Para sa Sining for their
“outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of culture and arts.”
Zeneida Amador, the founder of Repertory
Philippines, will receive the award for theater, while scholar-writer Florentino Hornedo received this year’s award for cultural research.
Gawad CCP highest
Cultural
Para sa Sining is the award given by the
Center of the
Philippines
(CCP).
A theater revolutionary
Amador created Repertory Philippines, one of the country’s premiere theater companies, which has produced stars on theater and
Broadway that include Monique Wilson,
Menchu Launchengco-Yulo, and star of the Miss
Saigon fame, Lea Salonga.
Born on Feb. 7, 1933, Amador took up Bachelor of Arts and master’s degrees in the University before pursuing drama at the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New
York. After studying abroad, she came back to the Philippines and established her own theater company, producing a myriad of stage performances. Amador had since participated in over 350 productions, directed over 200, and performed prominent roles such as Berthe in
Pippin.
“Tita Bibot,” as she was fondly called by her students, was known for her harsh tongue and stingy comments during rehearsals. But her strategies proved to be effective as her talents became even more prominent as they moved on and pursued their career further in performing arts, even sharing their knowledge and passion for the craft.
Among her students were Audie Gemora of Trumpets, Robbie
Guevara and Joel Trinidad of Upstart Productions, and
Wilson, who put up New Voice
Company.
Amador’s stage career
Hornedo
By JOHN JOSEPH G. BASIJAN reached 45 years, until her death due to lung cancer in 2004.
Cultural scholar
A prolific scholar and researcher,
Hornedo received his undergraduate degree from the University in 1961, as well as his post-doctorate degree in History and
Political Science in 1977 and 1985, respectively.
Born in Sabtang, Batanes, Hornedo has come a long way in making a name for himself in the field of philosophy and culture. His vast study of the Ivatan culture has marked him as one of the country’s authorities on cultural heritage research.
Hornedo has also produced numerous publications, which include books and articles in both local and foreign journals.
Some of his works include The Philosophy of Freedom, Laji: The Ivatan Folk Lyric
Tradition , and Panitikan II: An essay on
Philippine ethnic Culture .
Hornedo’s accolades have earned him countless awards such as the Don
Carlos Palanca Award for Literature, the Pilak Award from the CCP, the Batanes
Provincial Achievement Recognition for Cultural and Social Research, and the Recognition Award for Social Research from the UST College of
Education Alumni Association, Inc., Hornedo was also a recipient of the Varsitarian ’s Parangal
Hagbong for Lifetime Achievement in
Letters, and the Most Outstanding Thomasian
Alumnus in the Arts and Humanities in 2011 and
2006, respectively.
Amador
Hornedo held many positions in the academe. He has had teaching stints in the
University, Ateneo de Manila University, and
St. Dominic College of Batanes. He is also a commissioner of the UNESCO National
Commission of the Philippines.
Another Thomasian who will receive the award is poet Cirilo F. Bautista. Other recipients are Brenda Fajardo for Visual Arts, Agnes Locsin for Dance, Ramon Santos for Music, and Rodolfo
“Dolphy” Quizon for Film and Broadcast Arts.
The awarding ceremony will be on Feb. 27.
UNDERSCORING the importance of the family in society, the artworks of alumnus
Michael Blanco depict the lives of people in rural communities, exhibited in Pagpupugay sa
Pamilyang Pilipino at the UST Museum from
Jan. 10 to 31.
The roster of artworks was mainly inspired by Blanco’s travels and immersions in South
Cotabato and other local communities in the country.
According to Blanco, he wanted to present the pleasant values of the Filipinos, such as their simplicity and diligence.
“The Philippines is [a] great [subject] to paint,” Blanco said. “My goal is to show to others our country’s culture and traditions.”
Born on July 21, 1966 in Angono, Rizal,
Blanco came from an established family of visual artists. Under the tutelage of their father and renowned painter Jose “Pitok Blanco, he and his siblings were able to harness their skills in paintings.
Utilizing bright and warm colors, some of his artworks depict festive scenes and feasts, such as “Kapistahan,” “Miting de Avance,” and
“Barrio Fiesta.” Trees, fields, and the common backdrop of the province are presented in littlest details, while the subjects are rendered in an almost life-like quality.
On the other hand, contrasting hues dominate
“Escape to Higher Grounds.” People donning colorful clothes are seen fleeing from the erupting
Mayon Volcano painted in a cool, bluish hue.
At the center of the exhibit is “Cross,” a painting of a South Cotabato waterfall enclosed in a gold-colored cross-shaped frame.
“The flow of the water is very powerful,” he said. “It represents the blessings that continue to flow our way.”
Blanco graduated from the University in 1987, with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in
Literature.
The exhibit features artworks depicting rural life and family ties (above);
"Kapistahan" illustrates colorful
Filipino traditions and festivities
(right).
Photos by JOHN
PauL R. auTOR
Lantin's "Aileen Chua"; "Chinese Girl with Umbrella"; and "Mrs. Armi D. Carreon" (from left).
Photos courtesy of eDgaRDOLaNTIN.COM
By JOHN JOSEPH G. BASIJAN and CATALINA RICCI S. MADARANG
FOR CANADA-BASED artist and UST alumnus Edgardo Lantin, painting human subjects require determination and practice to portray them in a life-like figure, and illumination is the key to make them come to life.
Twenty-one of his commissioned portraits of Filipinos and Filipino-Canadians were exhibited in Portraying Luminescence: The Art of edgardo Lantin at the Artist Space of the
Ayala Museum from Jan. 18 to 30.
Lantin, an Advertising alumnus, said that his paintings serve as homage to old art masters from the likes of Rembrandt and other
American, European, as well as Filipino artists.
His artworks vary from subjects in candid poses to those portrayed in a formal stance. These subjects were subtly illuminated, accentuating their features and highlighting various backdrops.
Lantin’s artworks are done with elaborate and fine strokes, revealing even the littlest details of his subjects’ dress and accessories. Painted in a realistic manner, subjects are portrayed at their most natural while radiating a sense of brilliance.
One particular painting features
Stephanie Sy, a fellow alumna. Serving a background is the University’s façade with the Arch of the Centuries.
Sy is portrayed donning the UST
Hospital doctors’ uniform, showing her as both a working individual and faithful alumna.
Apart from Sy, most of Lantin’s subjects donned intricate and elegant attires, ranging from simple sundresses and long sleeves to sophisticated suits, gowns, barong tagalogs, and baro’t sayas .
“You have to make your subject come alive,” he said. “You tend to look at their character and personality. You have to put in your artworks the uniqueness of a person.”
Lantin earned a Fine Arts degree from the
University in 1976. Upon migrating to Canada in 1981, he took lessons from prestigious art institutions such as the New York Academy of
Art and the Art Student League in 1986, where he earned a full-year scholarship.
He received numerous distinctions from international award-giving bodies, including a first prize win at the Western Art Circle
Juried Show in Canada and a grand prize at the
Federation of Canadian Artists Open for his works, “Portrait of a Man with Notebook” and
“Vegetable Vendor,” respectively.
Lantin had commissioned portraits of several distinguished personalities, such as philanthropists Whitford J. VanDusen and Dr.
James A. McEwen. But his most important commissioned work was a portrait of former president Corazon Aquino in 1989, which is mounted at the Malacañan Palace Museum.
Lantin stands beside "Stephanie
Sy", featuring the
University's Arch of the
Centuries as backdrop.
Photo by JOHN PauL
R. auTOR

10
The Varsitarian
The lighTs are out and the green flag is up.
Fasten your seat belts for Pautakan 2013, the
Varsitarian’s Annual Intercollegiate Quiz Contest.
Fourteen teams from the University’s colleges and faculties will rev up their engines in a race to win the sought-after Pautakan cup. Now on its 36th year, Pautakan is the country’s longest-running campus-based quiz contest.
Former UAAP court side reporter and Pautakan mainstay Claude Despabiladeras, and MYX channel video jocks Chino Lui-Pio and Bianca Roque will be this year’s quiz masters.
Who will accelerate and conquer? Who will run out of gas and crash? Place your bets and cheer for your team and get a chance to win awesome prizes on Feb. 18 at the
Medicine Auditorium of the St. Martin de Porres Building from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit the Varsitarian office at
Room 105, Tan Yan Kee Student Center, UST, España,
Manila, or call at 406-1611 loc. 8235 and look for Carla
Patricia S. Perez (0917.907.8237) or Reden D. Madrid
(0915.128.4191).
By CATALINA RICCI S. MADARANG and JUAN CARLOS D. MORENO
WHAT was supposed to be the end of the world in the Mayan apocalyptic prophecy was just the beginning of a new life for a young couple.
While the Thomasian community reveled under the magnificent pyro-musical during the annual UST Paskuhan last Dec. 21, Johannes
Cortez dropped to his knees in front of his girlfriend Diana Bacual at the rooftop of the
Thomas Aquinas Research Complex to ask for her hand in marriage, as their close friends watched with mouths agape.
Starting off as friends nine years back and being classmates at the College of Education,
Cortez, 34, and Bacual, 27, never imagined being in a relationship together.
After ending a seven-year relationship in 2007, Cortez said that Bacual’s own commitment to her boyfriend for eight years was the greatest challenge he faced in pursuing his love for her.
“It’s really hard to pursue someone who has a boyfriend. As I’ve said, if I don’t end up with her, it will be okay for me to grow up alone,” he said.
But as fate would have it, Cortez and
Bacual, after some failed relationships each with their previous partners, they ended up together.
“It was as if we once again found ourselves empty and longing for something that has been there but never really acknowledged,” Bacual said.
Meant to be
Their deep friendship began in 2005 when they were placed under the same group for a course requirement in education. Cortez was an irregular student in Bacual’s class.
“That’s when we really became close,” he said. “Every time we went to practicum, we were always together.”
Soon the friendship blossomed into romance.
“I could not actually recall when the courting started. We just eventually realized how we loved each other during the times that we found ourselves free from our failed relationships,” she recalled.
‘Big’ surprise
Two years into the relationship, Cortez felt it was to take it to the next level.
The Paskuhan festivities gave the perfect opportunity. Since he was on vacation for the whole month of December, he knew both of their family and their friends would be on hand to witness the event.
Cortez initially planned to propose atop the Main Building, complete with music and a red-carpet entrance. He was denied.
“I never thought of an option. When I was disapproved, they suggested the fourth floor with the statues of saints,” Cortez said.
“They gave me the area around Benavides
Statue, but I said there were so many people there. So I thought of Plan B.”
With time running out, he went for the
TARC building and thought that since he worked there, his associates could provide some assistance.
Amid all the preparation, he entertained the idea of being turned down.
“I was nervous. I couldn’t focus during our Christmas party because I was preparing
[for the proposal]. There was no backing out,” he recalled.
said.
But Bacual eventually said “yes” and they’re now preparing for the big wedding.
“Her mother and sister cried. But my girlfriend just laughed,” he said.
Bacual said she was surprised and overwhelmed.
“I was not expecting such an extravagant proposal could be pulled off by him, but he actually did in the midst of the multitude,” she
Indeed, it was unexpected even for someone who’d been used to regularly getting a bouquet of her favorite flowers, on top of personal messages on Skype and Facebook.
“I don’t want to be contented in what
I have because it really is a different thing when you love someone. I changed all of my perceptions in life,” Cortez said.
Cortez and Bacual plan to tie the knot in January next at the Santisimo
Rosario Parish Chapel where they usually attended Masses.
Bacual said that she prayed
Cortez would continue to be the honest and simple person she had known since.
“As we grow old together, we will be watching our children and our children’s children live to retell our wonderful story with all its triumphs and difficulties,”
Bacual said.
Different twists of fate have led to the romance of Cortez and Bacual who are now on the verge of tying the knot. SHeRWin MaRion t. VaRdeleon
fRoM Page 1 of Faith declared by Pope Benedict
XVI, the Varsitarian also honored its alumni who devoted their lives to the
Church.
Piece of history
In 1927, a group of students led by Jose Villa Panganiban, dubbed as the “Father of the Varsitarian ” who would later become director of the
National Language Institute, lobbied for a university-wide paper.
It wasn’t easy, but Panganiban and the others managed to convince rector Fr. Serapio Tamayo, O.P. after long and arduous trials prompted some of Panganiban’s friends to abandon the cause. By morning of Jan. 16,
1928, the first issue of the Varsitarian was published.
Eighty-five years later, the
Varsitarian remains the premiere chronicler of Asia’s oldest and only
Pontifical university, reporting
University-wide and national news, especially issues involving the
Church.
Star-studded alumni
The Varsitarian is the only campus paper to be included in the
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Encyclopedia for having produced a roster of top writers and artists.
Some of its prominent alumni include National Artists for Literature
F. Sionil Jose and Lumbera, National
Artist for the Visual Arts J. Elizalde
Navarro, Paz Latorena, Ophelia
Alcantara-Dimalanta, Rogelio Sicat,
Cirilo Bautista, Cristina Pantoja-
Hidalgo, Celso Al. Carunungan,
fRoM Page 14 such.
“In terms of possibility, it is possible to sustain life, but the technology today has not yet been perfected,” he said.
In addition, the 10-year study of
SynCardia also showed some negative effects.
former Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson, former Vice President Emmanuel
Pelaez, former Asean secretary general
Narcisco Reyes, former senator
Francisco Tatad, former Philippine
Medical Association president
Vicenter Rosales, Sr, former New
York Times correspondent and press undersecretary Alice Colet-Villadolid,
ABS-CBN corporate communications head Ramon Osorio, PLDT Senior
Vice President Jun Florencio,
Philippine Daily Inquirer columnists
Rina Jimenez-David and Neil Cruz,
Manila Bulletin associate editor Jullie
Yap Daza, press freedom hero Jose
Burgos Jr., actor Bernardo Bernardo, and Sr. Delia Coronel, vice president for research of the Mindanao State
University who was the first Catholic nun to be kidnapped by Moro rebels.
Two of UST’s former rectors—Fr.
Norberto Catillo, O.P. and Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., the “Quadricentennial
Rector” who became Commission on
Higher Education chairman—are also from the Varsitarian .
UST’s official student publication had been named Best Edited College paper in the Philippines by the College
Editors Guild of the Philippines, which the Varsitarian co-founded, 26 times.It is a recipient of numerous awards such as the Gawad Batingaw, and Gawad
Pedro Bukaneg, among others.
Seven Varsitarian alumni—
Dimalanta, Lumbera, Sicat, Bautista,
Pantoja-Hidalgo, Yap-Daza, and Juan
Gatbonton—have received the Gawad
Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas, a prestigious award for writers given by the Union ng mga Manunulat ng
Pilipinas (Umpil).
Jose and Lumbera, on the other hand, are recipients of the Ramon
Magsaysay Award—Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize.
“Infections were the largest contributing category to overall adverse events. The majority of infections did not affect patient outcome. Most were respiratory infections followed by genitourinary infections which occurred the first few weeks following implant,” the study stated.
Yamamoto said that aside from infections and bleeding, the expensive procedure and probable mechanical malfunctions are also major disadvantages.
STUDYING Law is no easy task, but one journal is trying to extend some help.
The UST Law Review (ULR), the official law journal of the University of Santo Tomas, hopes to make the subject more understandable by publishing articles from legal luminaries, legislators, and law students.
“The goal of the ULR is to bring the [civil] law closer to the people with our policy, as much as possible, and to avoid [legalese] because the legal profession has its own jargon,” said editor in chief
Lamberto Santos III.
“What ULR is trying to do is to make the language easily understood by common and ordinary men, so they would know what their rights are and what legal issues to confront,” he added.
The journal interprets the sides, the positive and negative facets, and then publishes articles that would make the technicalities of law more understandable for those outside of the profession.
“ULR tackles legal issues and the rudiments of law, so anything that has anything to do with law or any aspect in your life, be it marriage, business, so long it has significance in law, will be included in the
ULR in a scholarlywritten academic paper,” said Santos.
Establishment
Founded in March 1950 by former Chief
Justice Andres
Narvasa, the UST
Law Review started as a quarterly publication. Financial constraints forced it to fold up in 2000, but it staged a comeback three years later. It has since been an annual publication.
Since its restoration, the ULR has been cited many times in several judicial cases, the first one coming in April
2008 in the case of Carlos S. Romualdez and Erlinda R.
Romualdez versus the Comelec and Dennis Garay (G.R. no.
167011).
Besides Narvasa, ULR alumni include Chief Justice
Roberto Concepcion, former dean and solicitor general
Alfredo Benipayo, and justice undersecretary Ernesto L.
Pineda.
ULR is distributed not only in the three branches of government and UST, but also in top law firms in the
Philippines through subscription.
The ULR is also the first law review journal to establish a website.
Fostering political awareness
The 63-year-old publication also influences the law-making processes of the government by bringing the sentiments of people into recognition through scholarly written discourse, and interpreting the law’s technicalities.
“We carry what the opinions, historical backgrounds, current sentiments of the people are,” said Santos.
ULR’s writers correlate their opinions based from the sentiments of the people with the issues of law being discussed by writing scholarly articles.
“Although each article is the opinion of the writer, we respect it but we make sure that in every article, there is a background, a more expanded and validated discussion on various facets on the matter,” Santos said.
It is virtually new for law review journals to draw a parallel on law and opinion—integrating public opinion and mixing other disciplines to the said matter wherein in the past, it was strict political and legal discourse.
“Now there is a multidisciplinary approach which intends to correlate Law with other disciplines like medicine, journalism and even literature,” said Santos. alfRedo n. Mendoza V
fRoM Page 5
But De Jesus noted that the program, which is practiced in
82 countries, does not lead to the increase of drug use in general.
“The [NEP] is not just really a matter of providing needles but it is a way of building communication with the drug dependents,” he said.
“The [NEP] should be seen in a more holistic [and] integrated perspective.”
Previously categorized by the
DOH as a “notifiable disease” in
1986, HIV/AIDS became a “nascent epidemic” or an emerging outbreak in 2000. It eventually worsened into a “hidden and growing phenomenon” in the period 2006 to 2010, De Jesus reported.
A report released by the United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in November showed that there has been a 25-percent increase on such issue in the last decade in the country.
In 2011, the Philippine National
Aids Council (PNAC) projected that by 2015, 62 in 100,000 adults would be infected with AIDS.
The United Nations
Development Program funded the seven-month-long study, which was part of the umbrella program
“Scaling-Up Effective and Sustained
Response to HIV and AIDS.” Cez
MaRiela teReSa g. VeRzoSa
AFTER the rock and roll scene of Sazi’s bar along España Boulevard ended about a year ago, two Medicine graduates decided to turn what was then a raucous ambiance of the premises into a living space for Thomasians.
Thanks to Dr. Juanito “Jon” Abaquin and Dr. Noel Martin Bautista, it thus became an upscale dormitory.
Sandwiched between two high-rise condominiums, Dormus Boutique Living
Spaces is a high-end dormitory equipped with electronic keys and minimalist design of glass-paneled walls.
Dormus is the perfect abode for
Thomasians looking for a good space amid the rigors of academic life, said Bautista.
“An environment must be provided for them outside of the school, that is
A unique mix of history and modern architecture is what these physiciansturned-entrepreneurs Juanito “Jon”
Abaquin and Noel Martin Bautista have constructed in Dormus. Photos by JoHn daniel J. HiRRo and noel
MaRtin S. BaUtiSta optimally conducive for their full intellectual development,” he said.
Abaquin’s dream of a premium
“‘Boutique Dormitory” became a reality when he worked on the dilapidated Macaraeg building in 2005.
Eight years in the dormitory business,
Bautista said that while most dormitories in the area offered similar amenities like double-deckers and shared tables, they were wanting in better comfort and security for the students.
“I observed that most dormitories in the area are cookie-cutter types, almost all offering the same menu,” Abaquin noted.
He added that he did not find a dormitory which offered prime location, security, comfort and safety fit for the highend market.
Since 1983, the Macaraeg building had been a haven of Filipino music. It’s where bands like Moonstar88, The Jerks, 6
Cyclemind were born. The list includes UST bands like Callalily and Paraluman through the iconic Mayric’s, which was later renamed
Sazi’s.
Bautista and Abaquin decided to keep the building’s structure but redesigned it, with hopes to turn it into an “aesthetic and iconic landmark” to breathe life into the vicinity.
“We could not, in good conscience, tear down the property and let developers turn it into another non-descript concrete and painted high-rise,” Bautista said.
Dormus began to take its “Learning/
Living Lifestyle concept” last November when myDorm Inc. collaborated with
Jagnus Design Studios to start the Dormus project.
Bautista, vice-president of myDorm
Inc., said the “Learning Lifestyle” was aimed at providing tenants with “utmost comfort and amenities.”
Architecture alumni Sonny Sunga and
Arnold Austria of Jagnus Design Studios, which was behind the Ronac Art Studio in Ortigas, worked on the structure of the dormitory using a sleek, modern and minimalist design.
The design studio came up with the word Dormus, combining the colloquial term “dorm” for dormitory and “Domus,” a palatial private family residence in ancient
Rome and Pompeii.
With a view of the treasures
Dormus is located across UST on
España Boulevard, just beside the Shakey’s restaurant. It provides residents a good view of the campus, the parade grounds, Arch of the Centuries, and Central Seminary.
“In fact, the roof deck is envisioned to be an exciting events place for in-dorm activities and viewing parties during the
Paskuhan festivities,” Bautista said.
Besides being in a historic location,
Bautista added that España is often busy with people, adding that Dormus “will offer the residents additional sense of security.”
Unique dormitory life
Abaquin said that as far as they know,
Dormus would be the first boutiquestyle living quarters with its upscale and contemporary environment in Sampaloc area.
“As such, it has to offer more in terms of location, security, safety and amenities in order to raise dormitory living to a new level,” he said.
The dormitory has round-the-clock security, CCTVs, and card keys to help keep intruders out.
Male and female tenants occupy separate floors, but a common hall is available for interaction. The dorm can house a maximum of 162 people. Each room, fully furnished and air-conditioned, can house three to four occupants. It also has a 12-foot entrance and large windows.
“Dormus will be a place to live in for the mind to flourish and the body to thrive in. In a way, Dormus will be elevating dormitory living to a new level,” Bautista said. Catalina RiCCi S. MadaRang
11

12
The Varsitarian

The Varsitarian
By ANDRE ARNOLD T. SANTIAGO
JURISDICTION over Asia’s oldest and only Pontifical university will finally be turned over to the Filipino
Dominican province from the Romebased Master of the Order Preachers this year, but top officials are quick to dispel any notion that UST will be completely “Filipinized.”
Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III,
O.P., prior provincial of the Dominican
Province of the Philippines (DPP), said in an interview that the transfer of jurisdiction of UST to Filipinos is not about Filipinization, Hispanization or Romanization, which, he said, are concepts from a post-colonialist struggle that already belongs to the past.
“We are more conscious now of the ‘Catholicity’ or universality of the mission of the Church and of the Order that cannot be circumscribed by any single nationality alone,” said Timoner, who is also UST vice chancellor by virtue of his post as prior provincial.
Timoner added that the transfer of jurisdiction mandated by the General
Chapter of the Dominican Order in
Rome in 2010 means entrusting the mission in UST of the centuries-old order founded by St. Dominican de
Guzman to the DPP.
“It means that the Provincial of the
DPP is entrusted with the responsibility of assigning Filipino and non-Filipino brothers to the Priory of St. Thomas, the Dominican community charged with administering UST,” he said.
that this is an act of obedience to the will of the Master of Order who sees to it that the acts of the chapter are faithfully carried out.
Ahead of the 2013 deadline,
Cadore sat with the UST Commission last Dec. 11 to discuss the turnover.
“The body also approved of the University whenever the amount would require incurring a debt or a loan and the amount is beyond the competence of the Board of Trustees,”
Pedregosa said.
amendments entailed by the entrustment of UST to the jurisdiction of the DPP,” said Timoner, opting not to discuss the amendments until the Rome-based Congregation for
Catholic Education officially approves the revised statutes of UST.
No more Spaniards?
Meanwhile, Department of
History chair Augusto de Viana fears the turnover would lead to the departure of the Spanish friars.
Spanish Fr. Joaquin Valdes, O.P., regent of the College of Rehabilitation
Sciences, believes “Filipinization”
Changes
UST Rector Fr. Herminio
Dagohoy, O.P. said there would be changes following the turnover. “The
University will become an official apostolate of the Dominican Province of the Philippines,” he told the
Varsitarian .
won’t be completed this year. “I think there is a certain process that still needs to be taken over by another General
Chapter,” Valdes said.
Pedregosa, however, said the turnover would not mean an all-
Filipino set of UST officials. “It’s not a question of Filipinization, and they (Spanish friars) may continue to assume their roles,” he said, noting that
Spanish friars voluntarily relinquished their administrative positions as early as the 1990’s.
DPP.
Central Seminary Rector Fr.
Quirico Pedregosa, Jr., O.P. echoed
Dagohoy, saying the transfer would mean greater responsibility for the
General Chapter of 2010
In 2010, the General Chapter of the Order of Preachers in Rome tasked the Master of the Order, Fr. Bruno
Cadore, O.P., to appoint a commission for the turnover of UST to the Filipino
Dominicans this year. The General
Chapter, the supreme authority of the
Order, gathers leaders of Dominican provinces worldwide every three years.
The turnover seeks to achieve subsidiarity in governance for the
University, Timoner said. “The principle [of subsidiarity] holds that, as far as possible, important decisions must be made at the local level,” he said in a previous interview, adding
DPP. “UST will have a very active role to help us in our collaborative activities and programs,” Lana said.
With the transfer of jurisdiction, the Master of the Order of Preachers who is ex-officio Grand Chancellor of
UST will transfer his power to appoint
University administrators to the prior provincial of the Dominican Order in the country, who is ex-officio vice chancellor of UST.
The prior provincial will also have budget supervision, Pedregosa said.
However, the vice chancellor’s decisions will still require approval from the Master of the Order.
“The Provincial in his Council has to approve unbudgeted expenses
Filipinization wave of the ‘70s
Pedregosa, formerly prior provincial of the Filipino province, said local friars have called on the rector to submit a report to the Holy
See, the Master of the Order, and the prior provincial following the transfer.
In a general assembly of local schools under the Dominican Order last Dec. 5, former UST rector Fr.
Tamerlane Lana, O.P. also confirmed that UST would become part of the
Caleruega, Spain, the Priory of St.
Thomas Aquinas was transferred from the Holy Rosary Province to the Dominican Province of the
Philippines, the first step toward the eventual transfer of jurisdiction over
UST to the Filipino Dominicans.
occur under a “climate of mutual understanding and of fraternal search for consensus.”
Filipino Dominicans, former rector
Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. said the Filipinization movement of the
Dominican Order began in 1951. In the
1970s, students staged demonstrations and demanded the Filipinization of the
UST administration, which was almost completely under the Spanish control.
Dominicans in UST fought for the Filipinization not only of the
University but also of the entire province. It was eventually fulfilled when the Dominican Province of the
Philippines was established on Dec. 8,
1971.
In the 1995 General Chapter in
It insisted that the transfer
In the book, Beginnings of the
De la Rosa added that Filipino
The Varsitarian was part of the campaign to install more Filipino Dominicans in key administrations in UST. Photos above show the installation ceremonies of Fr.
Rogelio Alarcon, O.P. and Fr. Leonardo Legaspi, O.P. as first Filipino provincial and UST rector, respectively, which were preludes to the eventual 'Filipinization' of
UST. FILe PHOTOS
13
By KRISTELLE ANN
A. BATCHELOR
THE FIGHT is far from over.
Pro-life groups are challenging the constitutionality of Republic
Act No. 10354, otherwise known as “An Act Providing for a National Policy on
Responsible Parenthood,” after
President Benigno Aquino III clandestinely signed the bill last Dec. 21.
Lawyer James Imbong and wife Lovely-Ann filed a petition against the reproductive health (RH) law before the Supreme
Court last Jan. 2 to strike it as unconstitutional.
Faculty of Civil Law
Dean Nilo Divina said that upon filing, such petition seeks a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prohibit the government from spending taxpayers’ money to achieve the purposes of the law.
The Supreme
Court will then have to either issue the TRO immediately or set a hearing,
Divina said.
Lawyer Jo
Imbong, who is handling the case, told the media that the petition was not on behalf of the Catholic
Church but on behalf of the unborn, who are protected by the Constitution. She said the act, which mandates a national contraception and sterilization program, would wreak havoc and destroy Filipino families.
Jo Imbong, who is also a lawyer for the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP), is the mother of James
Imbong.
The petitioners said they are “Catholics who have deeply held religious beliefs upon which faith their conscience is rooted against complying with the mandates of the act.”
“This case will present the
illegality of the Act as it mocks the nation’s Filipino culture– noble and lofty in its values and holdings on life, motherhood and family life–now the fragile lifeblood of a treasured culture that today stands solitary but proud in contrast to other nations,” the couple said in the petition.
Atty. Jo Imbong echoed her son and daughter inlaw, saying the RH law, an imposition of western lobby groups, would destroy Filipino culture and identity.
The Alliance for the
Family Foundation Philippines,
Inc. (ALFI), a non-profit organization, filed a second petition last Jan. 9, saying the act violates constitutional provisions protecting life and health.
ALFI president Maria
Concepcion Noche told reporters they are against the act’s provision promoting abortifacients such as hormonal pills. Noche added that the RH law mandates health providers
to offer reproductive health services even if these are against their religious convictions.
Many other groups have also filed petitions against the
RH law.
constitutional points being raised by anti-RH groups.
“The arguments I have seen can be reduced to one sentence—the law is unconstitutional because it does not hew closely to the teaching of the Catholic Church on Divorce, abortion next
Divina said the RH law is the prelude to other contentious issues such as the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage.
“There is hope, however, that the act may be overruled by contraception,” said Bernas.
He pointed to the
Compendium of the Social
Teaching of the Catholic
Church, which, he claimed, bars the Church from discriminating the Supreme Court, challenging its constitutional nature,” against other religious groups.
Divina said in an interview.
Divina said members of the Supreme Court are usually divided in terms of dispositions. The issue is about defining conception—whether it begins from fertilization or implantation.
“If you have read the law, it says the state protects the unborn [from the moment of] conception, but the argument lies on how you identify conception,” Divina said.
Another contentious provision is the ambiguity of the right to choose, he said. “If you don’t follow, you will be penalized. So, are they being consistent?” he asked.
Not impressed
In his column in the
Philippine Daily Inquirer ,
Fr. Joaquin Bernas, S.J., a known critic of the Church’s stand on the RH bill, said he was not impressed with the
Catholic vote movement
With the passage of the bill, some Catholic groups launched the “Catholic Vote
Philippines” movement in a bid to “encourage Catholics to vote as Catholics.”
The movement was formed on the day the House of
Representatives approved the bill on second reading.
The group’s purpose is to educate voters in electing government officials based on
Christian moral standards.
However, CBCP President
Archbishop Jose Palma said the hierarchy won’t endorse any candidate or party.
Bernas, meanwhile, said he was dismayed by moves to campaign against pro-RH candidates.
“I am rather disturbed by preachers who use their opposition to the law as a way of defeating electoral candidates who favor or have favored the law,” he said.

14
The Varsitarian
T
HE EARTH is having an abnormal shift in climate, and we are now starting to experience the consequences.
Ban Ki-Moon, secretarygeneral of the United Nations
(UN), said climate change is taking place so fast that a solution has to be made as soon as possible.
“Climate change is happening much, much faster than one would understand,"
Ki-Moon said during the Doha
Climate Change Conference in `November last year. “The science has plainly made it clear: it is the human beings' behavior which caused climate change, therefore the solution must come from us.”
He also noted that most of the carbon emissions, one of the major causes of climate change, contributing to the aggravation of climate change are now coming from developing countries like the Philippines, which even ranked 43rd in the world’s largest carbon pollutants according to the
Carbon Dioxide Information
Analysis Center of the United
States' Department of Energy.
Climate change is a phenomenon resulting from global warming, a condition where greenhouse gases
(GHGs) like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbon are trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the surface of the Earth to increase in temperature.
Recent studies published by the World Bank warn the global community that there has been a 1.8 °C temperature increase in the past century, which will even boost to 4°C by 2100.
“Prolonged heat waves are generally the most destructive as mortality and morbidity rates are strongly linked to heat wave duration, with excess deaths hot day,” the report stated.
“Temperature conditions experienced during these recent events would become the new norm in a 4°C warmer world and a completely new class of heat waves, with magnitudes n e v e r exper ienced before in the
20th century, would occur regularly.”
While UN and other foreign research agencies have created several predictions on the global climate in the next decades, various government agencies in the Philippines have also monitored the status of climate change in the country as well as its implications.
Sandee Recabar, senior science research specialist from the country’s Climate
Change Commission (CCC), said the phenomenon may have several effects in the country such as unusual increase in temperature, possible sea level rise, and irregularities in precipitation resulting in too much or too less rainfall.
“There is a trend right now that we experience an increase in temperature and the Philippine Atmospheric,
Geophysical, and Astronomical
Services Administration
(PAGASA) came up with some models [presenting] scenarios on the probable temperature
[increase] in 2020 and 2050 based on historical data,”
Recabar told the Varsitarian .
PAGASA projects temperature increase to around
27°C from the average 26.1°C in Metro Manila. A two-degree increase is expected by 2050.
Moreover, the amount of increasing each additional rainfall during dry seasons is expected to lessen by 12.8 and 17.3 percent in years 2020 and 2050, respectively, while also expecting increase in the frequency and intensity of typhoons during wet seasons.
“More typhoons with higher amounts of rainfall are expected to pass through the country because of climate change,” Recabar said.
Risky archipelago
Reports from the UN
World Risk Index of 2011 showed that the Philippines was ranked third in terms of vulnerability to disaster risk and natural hazards management due to lack of extensive disaster preparedness plans.
The country also landed
10th with regard to climaterelated disasters based on the 2012 Climate Risk Index a German non-government organization which evaluates the climate protection performance of different countries worldwide.
The Asian Development report stating that a total of
13.6-million people are at risk from possible sea level rise in 2050, characterized by local flooding and extreme precipitation events.
“Vulnerability to these impacts of climate change is based on the existence of hazards, presence of the people, and the economy of the Philippines in the incidence of typhoons,” Recabar said, adding that climate change brings negative impacts on health, agriculture, and species biodiversity.
“Water-related diseases like diarrhea and cholera, respiratory illnesses, and even vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria are some of the major consequences of the hazards brought by climate change,” she added.
Droughts and typhoons, which will be normal with climate change, may endanger the crops and irrigation, which will have a big effect on the country’s agricultural sector.
In addition, the rich biodiversity of plants and animals in the country is threatened because some species can only live within a certain temperature range.
“There are some species that cannot handle very high temperature and when their environment reaches a certain temperature, it may not be feasible for them to live and possible extinction may occur,”
Recabar said.
Action against destruction
As answer to the pressing issues induced by the phenomenon, CCC was established in 2009 through the Climate Change Act or
Republic Act 9729 to be the country’s primary policymaking body concerning climate change.
“One of [CCC’s] tasks it to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the programs and actions of the government relating to climate change,”
Recabar said. “[CCC] wants to make a successful transition to a climate-smart development and enhance the resiliency of the communities to climate change impacts.”
CCC formulated a set of strategies, called National
Climate Change Action Plan
(NCCAP), to help solidify the country’s foundation against climate change.
The NCCAP recognized food security, water sufficiency, environmental and ecological stability, human security, sustainable energy, climatefriendly industries and services, and capacity development, financing, valuation of natural resources as the seven strategic priorities of the agency’s course of actions.
UN Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change chair
Rajendra Pachauri urged the people to lessen their meat consumption, as a 2007 report of the Food and Agricultural
Organization of UN showed that 20 percent of the total greenhouse gases were due to meat production.
“In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is
Climate Page 5
Info
By GIULIANI RENZ G. PAAS
A THOMASIAN biologist has discovered another beauty in the country’s rich biodiversity.
Mae Lowe Diesmos, a biology professor at the College of Science, together with her team, uncovered three new species of the genus
Brachymeles, a type of lizard also known as skink, in the forests of Camiguin Sur, Samar, and South Cotabato.
In the paper “Phylogeny-Based Species
Delimitation in Philippine Slender Skinks
(Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) III: Taxonomic
Revision of the Brachymeles gracilis Complex, with Descriptions of Three New Species,” authors Mae, her husband Arvin from the
Zoology Division of the Philippine National
Museum, and foreign herpetologists Cameron
Siler, Robin Jones, and Rafe Brown of the
University of Kansas, named the new lizard species as brachymeles vulcani , brachymeles samad , and brachymeles tiboliorum which are all proven to be exclusively found in the country.
Before the discovery, there were already
31 species belonging to the said genus, whereas
29 are said to be endemic, or species of animals or plants only found in a particular geographic region, in the Philippines.
The research also summarizes the changes in the taxonomic information of a specific species group of Brachymeles, which provides comprehensive descriptions of the distinct physical features of these organisms.
Mae, who is also a researcher from the
Research Center for the Natural and Applied
Sciences, said skinks have diverse physical features—one of the most noticeable is the variation in the number of digits, which are the fingers and the toes.
“Some [skinks] have five digits [per limb], others have three to one while some have totally lost their digits,” she said.
Meanwhile, Arvin noted that molecular data were used in order to support the morphological description provided by their team, as well as the claim that the lizards discovered are not similar with other Brachymeles species previously described.
“Many scientific researches today in taxonomy and systematics utilize traditional morphological data with novel techniques like
DNA sequencing,” he said. “Scientists make use of both techniques to see if the results complement each other and these [methods] provide solid support to our taxonomic descriptions.”
Natural habitat
Among the new species found, b. samad are seen particularly in the Eastern Visayas, while b. vulcani and b. tiboliorum can be located from
Camiguin Sur and South Cotabato, respectively.
“The skinks of genus Brachymeles are typically found in forested areas, although some species are found in human environments like agricultural plantations, so long as those habitats are close to forests,” Mae said.
The study also noted that the International
Union for Conservation of Nature criteria for the conservation status of animals classified b. vulcani as vulnerable and may likely become endangered if their survival becomes threatened due to destruction of natural habitats and decline of species reproduction.
More fortunate than the first species, B. samad, is classified as least concern due to
“broad geographic distribution” and abundance in its localities, while b. tiboliorum is classified as “data deficient” because of lack in adult specimens sampled in the area.
The study was published in the 26th volume of Herpetological Monographs, a scientific journal focusing on reptile and amphibian biology, last December 2012.
B. Samad (left) is one of the three newly-discovered lizards endemic in the Philippines, the other two are
B. vulcani (Camiguin Sur) and B. tiboliorum (South
Cotabato). Photo courtesy of Mae and aRVIN
DIeSMOS, CaMeRON SILeR, ROBIN JONeS and
RaFe BROWN
By ALTIR CHRISTIAN D. BONGANAY
THERE is an “artificial” hope to extend life.
Artificial heart transplantations have made it possible for patients with deteriorating hearts to buy time while waiting for a donor.
According to Dr. Jose Yamamoto, a surgeon at the UST Hospital, an artificial heart serves as a pump circulating blood to the parts of the body, just like what a normal heart does.
“The artificial heart is like a pump, which has its own power source, that drives the device toward the pumping action so it can temporarily take over the failing heart,”
Yamamoto said.
The first artificial heart, called Jarvik-7, was implanted on Barney Clark on Dec. 2,
1982 and lived for 112 days with the device on. William Schroeder, the second person to receive the artificial heart, survived for 620 days after the procedure.
Made of an extremely flexible and durable material called polyurethane, the device is used as temporary replacement for the ventricles, or the heart’s pumping chambers, that were removed from a diseased heart.
One of the approved artificial hearts used today is the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, which was created after 10 years of clinical study.
Though it is approved by the Food and
Drug Administration of the United States and is able to pump 9.5 liters of blood in a minute, a serious drawback of the product is that it weighs 418 pounds and may cause difficulty in movement for the patient wearing it.
A 2010 version of the artificial heart was released, weighing only 13.5 pounds, to allow the person to move around.
According to the University of
California, Los
Angeles Health
System, patients availing the
S y n C a r d i a artificial heart are usually the
“sickest of the sick,” or whose heart chambers can no longer expel enough blood to the body to keep it functioning properly.
Just a ‘bridge’
However, Yamamoto clarified that artificial heart transplantation is still not the ultimate substitute for it is only a “bridge” temporarily sustaining life while waiting for a donor.
“The artificial heart is not the end by itself because right now, there is still no suitable replacement for a transplanted heart,” he said. “It only provides a bridge for heart transplantation and a temporizing action of sustaining the pumping responsibility of the heart until a suitable heart becomes available for transplant.”
The transplantation of this device has been shown to be effective, with 1,374 days as the longest life-span of a patient with a SynCardia.
While Yamamoto believes that artificial hearts being able to support life for a lifetime is possible, he thinks that the current state of technology is not yet enough to accomplish
Artificial Page 10

The Varsitarian
15
YOU SACRIFICE the feeling in your hands as
I squeeze, no, crush them to numbness in pain and joy.
About 12 hours ago, when I started to labor, you buzzed with anticipation and anxiety which the nurse suggested even anti-anxiety pills wouldn't be even able to restrain.
You watch the lower part of my body contort to angles you (and I) never thought
I was capable of, even though I was part of the university dance troupe. Your legs tremble at the sight of the body-shaking pain
I am going through.
They are hard with muscle from all the training you received from your coach's rigorous exercises, but ironically, your legs suddenly fold in half.
You catch yourself, but a second too late.
From the germ-filled, bacteria-infested, public hospital floor, you pick yourself up and dust off the visible dirt on your shorts.
As you shake the weariness away, flailing your body, you hit the tray on top of the small table behind you. A glass bottle labeled anesthesia falls to the floor. You feel your right pocket where you keep your flaked-off black leather wallet. The money left in your pocket is just enough for a tricycle ride back home. You sigh in relief as you realize that the bottle is empty. You sigh heavier as the breaking clank of the bottle sparks at the wick of your memory as you flashback to seven months ago.
You forced me to have an abortion. At that time, your father drove you out of your home.
Your mother just stood behind him, crying, as if those tears were going to do you any good, let alone provide you with shelter, helpless at the sight of her own child being thrown away.
For a week during my first trimester, you secretly slipped cheap abortion medicine in my food. You had bought it outside Quiapo
Church. But after seeing me vomit and lose consciousness a couple of times—which, at that time, I thought were only the effects of being pregnant—you realized you wouldn't want to lose us both.
Your mother wanted us to keep the child.
The sentiments came from the loss your mother flushed down the toilet 32 years back—caused by medicine your father forced down her throat. The kind of medicine religious doctors and pro-life advocates would never approve of.
That is why you share the same emotional distress your mother carries. The possibility of maybe having an older brother or a sister.
If only she had kept it three months more, you would have at least known the gender.
Snapping you out of your reverie, you get asked by a nurse from the other side of the large, but shared room, “What batch?” as she points at your college soccer jersey. You love wearing your jersey to sleep. You do not bother to change it in hurry to bring me to the hospital.
You do not answer her. The sarcasm in her tone makes you cringe in place while sweat drips down your stubble-filled chin.
She walks away; you swear under your breath as she does. But before you can even utter another word, I grunt in an octave that startles you.
Labor hits me another time, the occasional contractions turn out every five minutes or so.
It is a sign of the nearing birth of our child.
You again find my hand, and hold it tightly, but you start to lose grip from reality. Maybe the five beer bottles you had earlier with your friends wasn’t a good idea. The heady mix of alcohol, sweat, and anxiety now fills your stomach.
My pelvis begins to expand.
Your energy now seems to have been sapped from your life force as you stand there, paler than the bleachsoaked blood stains on the nurse's apron.
After nine months, the moment we both have been waiting for could be just minutes away. Though you keep a smile of anticipation, the sweat that keeps dripping from your face down to the hospital bed makes me feel that you are closer to fainting than I am.
You hear other women shriek in pain from the adjoining rooms. You hear another loud scream, only more piercing this time, until you realize it came from me.
I can feel the frequent contractions the nurse warned me about as you have contractions of your own. You no longer have the ability to talk. It's as if your tongue made its way to the back of your throat. I keep on asking if you feel all right. A question, I believe, you should be the one asking.
You look at my face, moist with sweat, but you kiss my forehead, just like how your mother does it when you are scared. Before you can move to a safe distance, I, again, scream in pain. You gently pat your ear as you realize that this might be it. You call for the midwife and, suddenly, our hands are intertwined to a painful anticipative grip of bliss.
I breathe heavily while you forget how to. You see the toes on my feet clench in pain as you take your eyes away from them and look me dead in the eyes.
“You can do it,” you say.
A tear slowly makes its way to the left side of my face and you wipe it off.
“Push,” says the midwife, whom you presume to be an intern, judging from her lack of confidence. But you know that interns aren't allowed to deliver babies. You then assume that maybe it's her first time delivering a child and it makes you want to call a real doctor. But even with both our allowances combined, we won't even compensate half of what a real doctor's professional fee would sum up to.
“Push,” she says again. As you hear me synchronize with her with a "hu-ha" sound of deep breaths.
Your first born son, ready to be delivered in a world where you once tried to deprive him of.
Afterward, you find me panting drastically after I let the 7.2-pound bundle of joy take its first gasp of air. Finally, he finds his way outside my womb. You feel a slight disgust as you see him drenched in blood and that umbilical cord you find nerve-wracking, and yet, you were first to hug the little man.
After all the drama, you still find him worth all the losses you incurred, but as you see him smile, you tell yourself, none of that matters. You look at him and find a reason to smile. You look at him another time, and you swear he looks just like you 19 years back, except for the noticeable cleft lip he has.
“What should we name him?” you hear me ask. My voice reminds you that I, too, am a parent of the child you hold so gently in your arms.
You ignore me and start to talk with our son in baby language, a language that no linguist can decode, yet we all love to hear.
JaN DOMINIC g. LeONeS
A FOUR-YEAR hiatus does not spell death for
UST’s Center for Creative Writing and Literary
Studies (CCWLS).
Fourteen years after its establishment, the newly-furbished and much-improved center welcomes its new home inside the Benavides
Building.
UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. gave his blessings to the center last Jan. 22, which formally marked the revival of the new haven for Thomasian litterateurs.
“I decided to revive the center because
I believe in its importance in molding the creative minds of students,” Dagohoy said.
The center went dormant in 2008 when the administration shut down all centers for assessment and to give way for streamlining.
“We, writers and artists, are not orphans.
We are welcomed here,” said Cristina Pantoja-
Hidalgo, director of CCWLS, as she invited professors and writers to embrace UST’s
UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies Director Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo warmly welcomes Rector
Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P during the blessing ceremony of the new office at the Benavides Building.
Photo by JaIMe T. CaMPOS
IN HIS signature style, National Artist for
Literature F. Sionil Jose narrates the eyeopening, collar-gripping tale of Juan “Sunny
Johnny” Bacnang in his new novel, of Juan bacnang (Solidaridad, 2011).
As with most of his highly acclaimed works, Jose intricately loops highlights from
Philippine history with his Ilokano heritage.
The novel starts with beginning of the end of the life of Bacnang as he looks back at the ups and downs of his haywire fate.
Every chapter of the novel tells of the demented encounters Bacnang faced and the filthy-rich secrets his politician father kept from everyone—except from Bacnang.
But Juan hides a smelly secret he shares with his father: a pair of ugly feet with big toes webbed to the rest, hideously small and broad—an omen, as was said when he was born. The same set of feet which, ironically, are also his ticket to a rollercoaster life of luxury.
Heir to an empire
A young, charming, and intelligent boy, Bacnang is the stereotypical Ilokano— thrifty, hardworking and persevering even amid destitution.
Bacnang skirmishes into Manila where he finds his well-off father, Senator Juan de la Cruz III, after a criminal twist of events that jeopardized his stay in the barrio of
Nalipatan. The meeting catapults the young
Bacnang into the fast-paced, high-stakes life
FROM Page 6
The Feet newly-reconstructed home for literature.
The CCWLS, which used to be under the Faculty of Arts and Letters, is now an autonomous unit under the Office of the Rector.
Hidalgo also said the recent renovation of the said office will highly promote heightened appreciation for literature not only for Thomasians, but also to everyone who is interested in writing.
Pantoja said in an interview with the
Varsitarian that it was the Rector’s decision to relocate the office of the CCWLS because of the frequent flooding on the ground floor of St.
Raymund’s de Peñafort building.
Along with the revival of the CCWLS is the comeback of TOMAS, a literary journal for literature and visual arts which was first introduced under the late Ophelia Alcantara-
Dimalanta’s term as director. TOMAS will be produced once every semester.
CHRISTOFFeR R. OBICe
t ra nsfor mat ion from a s i m p l e r u r a l boy to a lawyer and then t y c o o n , who comes to be known
Johnny”.
T h o u g h secure.
society.
JON
his antics (he also calls himself a “performance artist”) and he takes them around Intramuros and shows them the beautiful churches and convents and their museums, all hallmarks of the cultural patrimony . In short, he cashes in on his hate objects.
Celdran and his cult said he has the right to free speech, but in March 2011, he was caught by CCTV cameras tearing down the anti-RH streamers of the Catholic Bishops Conference of of the city where he discovers that he is his father’s only male heir—among dozens of children from different women—to the vast empire of the De la Cruzes.
He undergoes a as “Sunny
Bacnang may seem the epitome of success, he soon finds that there are things of great importance not even his vast wealth can
The Feet of Juan bacnang will seize and pull readers and take them to the crossroads and dead-ends of Philippines history.
With decades of literary excellence behind him, it is not surprising that Jose returns into the spotlight with an exposé of a novel on the social turbulence that seems the chief characteristic of Philippine culture and
SaRaH Mae JeNNa a. RaMOS the Philippines in Intramuros.
In fact, they want them to shut up. They want them silenced.
Ah, but the Church of Celdran said that he’s merely following the footsteps of Jose Rizal.
In fact, when he disrupted the service at the cathedral, he was wearing the derby hat and coat of Rizal.
But funnily enough, for former Comelec chair Christian Monsod, who’s pro-RH and
Celdran’s co-religionist, the convict didn’t look like Rizal but “Charlie Chaplin.”
What do you call such likes?
“Pathetic.”

16
The Varsitarian
FROM Page 3 but Benedict surprised his closest collaborators by announcing what had not been done in more than seven centuries—the voluntary abdication of a pope. The last pontiff to do so was
Celestine V, who quit in 1294 after reigning for only five months.
UST Central Seminary Rector Fr.
Quirico Pedregosa, Jr., O.P. said the news “came as a surprise” considering the Pope had no known serious health problems.
Vatican officials have clarified that the Pope was not suffering from any disease, and that Benedict decided to renounce the papacy simply because of old age. There was also “outside pressure,” said Vatican spokesman Fr.
Federico Lombardi.
“In order to govern the bark of
Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few month, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me,” the Pope said.
Pedregosa said the people should respect the Pope’s decision, noting it was product of careful examination of his own capabilities.
“He is a person who thinks and prays a lot. He recognized that he does not have the strength adequate to lead the Church so we have to respect his decision as an expression of his own integrity,” Pedregosa added.
The former head of the
Dominican Province of the Philippines also said the Catholic community has to be thankful for what the Pope had done for eight years of service to the
Church.
“The initial impact would be sadness of losing such a good pope.
He has been a good pastor, a good shepherd and a good teacher. We thought we would enjoy a little more of that kind of leadership,” he said.
Pope Benedict said he would spend the rest of his life “dedicated to prayer.”
Lombardi said Benedict won’t influence the conclave of cardinals that will choose the next Bishop of
Rome.
“Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects,” the Pope said in Latin, the official language of the Church.
New evangelization
Benedict will leave behind his ambitious project to “re-propose” the
Christian faith to the secular West under a “new evangelization.” He is leaving the papacy as the Catholic
Church celebrates the “Year of Faith,” which aims to reintroduce Christian precepts using modern means.
The former Joseph Cardinal
Ratzinger was elected the 264th successor of St. Peter on April 19,
2005, succeeding Pope John Paul
II. His reign was not the “caretaker papacy” expected after the nearly three-decade pontificate of the wellloved and media-savvy John Paul II.
Benedict wrote three bestselling books reintroducing Christ to ordinary Christians as a response to reconstructions by liberal exegetes who sought the “historical Jesus” by stripping away his divinity.
The former prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith carried out his own vision of liturgical reform, not by constant adaptation but by emphasizing a dignified celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass. Benedict liberalized the
Thousands of spectators greet Pope Benedict XVI as he rides the popemobile at the 2011
World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid. KaRLa MIDeS C. TOLeDO traditional Latin Mass through the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum and set an example to fellow ministers of the Eucharist through his use of traditional vestments and gestures such as administering Holy
Communion on the tongue to kneeling communicants.
Benedict also approved the corrected English translation of the Roman Missal to adhere to the original Latin.
He made landmark visits to
Britain, Spain, Cuba, Turkey, and
Africa, and opened full diplomatic relations with Russia.
He created “ordinariates” for disaffected Anglicans who wanted to
Benedict Page 18
FROM Page 3 meanwhile, consists of his principles on Metaphysics or Cosmology,
Theory of Knowledge, Theory of
Education, Theory of Human Being or Philosophical Anthropology,
Theory of Reality, and Theodicy or
Theory of God.
In the curriculum of the Ateneo de Manila University, humanities subjects consist of 42 units—12 units each of Philosophy and Theology, and other units in Literature, English, and a modern foreign language like
French, Italian, Spanish, Portugal,
Korean, or Japanese.
According to Prof.Mark Joseph
Calano of Ateneo’s department of
Philosophy, the curriculum operates within the “artes liberales.”
“Even the philosophy courses operate within certain principles of the SpEx (Spiritual Exercises of St.
Ignatius). It begins with six units of the Philosophy of the Human
Person, three units of Philosophy of Religion, and three units of the
Foundations of Moral Value. These are the core Ateneo courses and they are consciously phenomenological,”
Calano said in an e-mail to the
Varsitarian .
Bolaños said his departmet proposed three subjects with nine units: Introduction to the Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, Philosophical
Anthropology, and Ethical Systems.
However, the titles are still tentative as the department is still in the process of reviewing the K to 12 schme of the Department of
Education.
In the new basic education scheme, Logic, one of the philosophical subjects in the university-wide curriculum, will be and to the Rector, he said.
transferred to high school level while the new subjects proposed will be taught to first-year college students.
He added that the department was still laying down the specific themes in Aquinas’ philosophy to be discussed in the course. Only
Philosophy instructors with master’s degrees will be qualified to teach the subjects.
“It is important to present him in a comprehensive way,” Bolaños said. “The main purpose of that is to introduce the students to the history of philosophy to the basic branches of philosophy. And the second part of that is to feature the basic and most useful aspects of the works of St.
Tomas Aquinas.”
After obtaining the approval of
Academic Affairs, the proposal will be presented to the Academic Senate
Contribution to Thomasian identity
In the context of university education, the department proposed to fill what it thought were gaps in
Thomasian education, Bolaños said.
“The fact that the name of
Thomas Aquinas is used as the name of the University tells us a lot of the origin of the University. Its origin [is] in the humanities,” he said.
The mission statement of
UST, indicating that the ideas of St.
Dominic de Guzman and the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas are essential to the development of “competent and compassionate professionals,” implies that philosophy subjects are also needed, Bolaños noted.
St. Thomas, a Dominican friar, and the Church's foremost theologian, was canonized in 1323. Pope Pius V declared him a Doctor of the Church.
His feast day is celebrated on Jan. 28.
The department also intends to address how people think of
St. Thomas Aquinas, who is often regarded as a porvayer of dogma.
Bolaños said the department was unsure of how the faculties and colleges would react to the proposal, particularly on the number of units.
“The trend today is to cut down on the humanities subjects which I think is quite dangerous,” he said.
“The concept of university itself is grounded in humanities.”
The role of the University to produce holistic and competent individuals “attuned to human sensibility” with “a sense of culture,” not just with technical knowledge, he added.
“The question of Thomasian identity is something everybody is aware of. But not everyone has a ready answer to it,” Bolaños said.
FROM Page 3 vice president for grievance and complaints, said the NLRC ruling was a relief to faculty members who have been victims of unfair labor practice or illegal dismissal.
He also reiterated that the waiver issued by the University was a violation of both CMO 40 and the CBA. “With the waiver, [the
University] allows you to continue teaching even though you have no master’s degree so it is against the
CHEd memo, because the CHEd said you can’t teach without master’s degree,” Reyes said. “[Teaching] without master’s degree but not
[getting] tenured is against the CBA.”
Divina pointed out that UST had given the concerned faculty members reasonable time to obtain their master's degrees. “In other words, during that interim period, the University will not enforce strict compliance with such directive. The decision not to immediately and strictly enforce the master's degree [requirement] during that period should not be construed against the University,” he said. “It should not be taken as a waiver of the right of the University to enforce the requirement.”
But USTFU Internal Vice
President Rene Tadle said the
CHEd memorandum did not state that a school has to terminate faculty members who do not have master’s degrees. “What I think the memorandum states is that UST should help them to acquire those master’s degrees,” Tadle said.
“[UST] should not blame the union as well as the faculty members
… there is an agreement [between] both parties, UST and the union, and so we are just being consistent with that,” he said.
FROM Page 6 abilities are parallel to the late Benigno
Aquino, Jr.
It is quite alarming that quite a number of our top leaders—and those seeking high positions—unabashedly violate simple rules. Article II Sec. 26 of the 1987 Constitution prohibits political dynasties as “the State shall guarantee equal access to opportunites for public service.” But the provision against dynasties is not self-enabling; it can only be activated by legislation, which of course our lawmakers wouldn’t bother.
In short, our lawmakers and politicians make a mockery of democracy to which they owe their power to. This reflects the dynamics of
Philippine politics and explains why there are Zeuses, Poseidons and petty gods in the Senate. The country needs competent leaders who would set a good example to their constituents. In contrast, what Enrile, Cayetano and other lawmakers are petty and a debasement of democracy.
People should be critical how their vote come May 2013. No one wants malevolent Olympian gods for leaders.
Let myths remain myths.

The Varsitarian
17
S
A PAGLALAYONG mas maipakilala sa mga Tomasinong manunulat ang mga uri ng sining, isinagawa ang isang seryeng diskusyon kung saan tinalakay ang kahalagahan ng sequential art bilang isang epektibong midyum ng komunikasyon.
Naganap ang kauna-unahang “Sequential
Art Project” noong ika-12 ng Enero sa audio visual room ng gusaling Beato Angelico, sa pangunguna ng Thomasians’ Writers Guild, samahan ng mga manunulat sa Unibersidad.
Ayon kay Jon Zamar, ang lumikha ng “Codename: Bathala,” ang komiks ay sumisimbulo sa malayang ekspresyon na hindi natatakot kumawala sa kumbensiyonal na pagguhit.
“Hindi nangangahulugan kung ano ang sikat at pinapaboran ay ayun na rin ang gagawin mo,” ani Zamar.
“Maging matapang din dapat ang loob ninyo na gumawa ng bago.”
Ang sequential art ay gumagamit ng mga dibuho at mga salita upang magkuwento. Ito ay kadalasang nakikitang nakalagay sa mga sunodsunod na mga panel o mga frame at naglalayong makapagbigay ng mga direksyon o magbigayaliw sa mga mambabasa.
Sinabi pa ni Zamar, isa rin sa mga organizer ng “Komikon,” ang artists ay nararapat na maging mapanuri at kritikal sa kaniyang mga nagiging impluwensiya upang maiwasang magaya o makuha ang mga pagkakamali at pagkukulang ng ibang artists.
“Mahirap na naglalagay tayo ng tao sa pedestal; baka kasi hindi natin na namamalayan na kinokopya natin ang work nila, maging ang mga pagkakamaling ginagawa nila,” aniya.
Ang Komikon at Philippine Komiks
Convention ay taunang ginaganap para sa mga sumisibol na mga independent comic artists at para sa mga taong mahilig magbasa at mangolekta ng mga komiks.
Sinabi naman ni Josel Ray Nicolas, lumikha ng ilang independent comic books tulad ng seryeng “Windmills” at “Roleplay,” na liban sa techniques ay mahalaga ang paggawa ng kakaiba at maayos na pagdaloy ng kuwento sa isang komiks.
“ As much as this is a figure work, it is also about the story of the comics. It is also a craft or medium of disseminating information on the page ,” ani Nicolas. “Ang komiks ay laging may naglalayong makapagpahayag ng kuwento na dapat makakaconnect din ‘yung mga readers mo.”
Aniya, upang magtagumpay sa nasabing larangan, ang isang artist ay hindi dapat matakot sa magiging reaksyon ng kaniyang mambabasa sa mga kuwento at dibuhong kaniyang ginagawa.
“May kaisipan kasi na kailangang nakakatawa ang isang komiks,” aniya. “ It only has to be what it needs to be for you to convey information to your readers .”
Samanatala, sumang-ayon naman si “Dark
Chapel,” tumangging ibigay ang kaniyang tunay na pangalan, isang comic artist at isa ring
Tomasino, sa sinabi ni Nicolas na ang isang artist ay hindi dapat pigilan at sayangin ang sarili na iguhit o isulat ang naiisip niyang mga ideya.
“Kung may gusto kayong gawin, gawin
Ni ELORA JOSELLE F. CANGCO niyo. Hindi niyo dapat pigilan ang mga sarili niyo,” ani Dark Chapel. “Huwag niyong hayaang gayahin niyo na lang ang mga ideya at istilo ng iba pang comic artists .”
Naniniwala naman si Jose Maria
Tristan Yuvienco, isang mag-aaral ng Visual
Communication sa University of the Philippines, dapat handang matuto ang isang artist sa mga ginagawang pamamaraan ng mga dalubhasa sa larangan at gamitin ito sa paghubog sa nasabing sining.
“ I try different styles. I applied in my drawings what I learned from other artists ,” ani
Yuvienco.
“ A person should keep drawing. You never get good unless you practice. No one gets good overnight. Just have the motivation and never run out of inspiration ,” dagdag pa niya.
Si Yuvienco ang gumawa ng isang digital art na pinamagatang “The Last Tree” na nagkamit ng unang gatimpala sa “Power Mac Center
Green Canvas Digital Illustration Contest.”
Naninindigan din ang mga comic artists na walang katotohanang namamatay na ang Filipino komiks sa bansa lalo na at laganap pa rin ang mga ganito lalo na ang illustration outsourcing sa bansa.
Sinabi rin ni Nicolas na wala namang isyu ang paggaya ng mga artists sa mga estilo ng
Animé. Sa halip, ang dapat pag-isipan ay ang paggawa ng mga kuwentong ang pangunahing lokasyon ay dito sa bansa o ang paggamit ng
Filipino bilang midyum ng usapan ng mga tauhan sa isang komiks.
Para naman kay Dark Chapel, ang paggamit ng Animé bilang isang istilo ay isang malayang kagustuhan. Aniya, ang dapat gawin ay suportahan ang paggawa ng mga komiks na sumasalamin sa kinahaharap sa kasalukuyan ng bansa.
“ Individual taste rin kasi ang paggamit niyan.
Ayan ang kinalakihan mong drawing at ayun ang gusto mong i-drawing. Dapat lang na suportahan natin ang sariling atin,” ani Dark Chapel.
(Muka kanan) Tinalakay nina Jose Ray Nicolas, Jose Maria Tristan Yuvienco, at Jon Zamar ang kanilang mga karansan bilang mga artist noong ika-12 ng Enero sa audio-visual room ng Beato Angelico building.
Ma. auRORa a. gONzaLeS
MuLa PaHINa 2 lahat ng gusali ng Unibersidad ay pinaplanong baguhin, tulad na lamang nang aksidenteng nasunog noong 1975 ang gusali ng UST High School kaya kinailangang magtayo ng bagong gusali para sa mga mag-aaral ng high school na kilala ngayon bilang gusaling
Miguel de Benavides.
Hindi na rin matatagpuan sa kampus ang Quonset Hut o “concert hut” na dating gusali ng mga mag-aaral ng Conservatory of Music. Giniba ito at ang kinalagyan ay ngayo’y tinatayuan ng Albertus Magnus building.
Ayon kay Sta. Maria, ang Quonset huts ay mga labi ng Unibersidad bilang kanlungan noong panahon ng digmaan.
Bukod sa kulang na silid-aralan, isang suliranin din ng mga mag-aaral ang kakapusan ng sapat na parking space sa Unibersidad. Katunayan, ang tatlong kalsada sa palibot ng
Unibersidad—Lacson, Dapitan, at P.
Noval—ay nagsisilbing paradahan ng mga mag-aaral.
“Noon kasi, there is an abundance of parking inside the campus ,” ani Sta.
Maria.
Ayon kay Sta. Maria, ang gusali ng Accountancy, Quadricentennial
Pavilion, Quadricentennial Plaza, gusaling Tan Yan Kee, at ang harapan ng Plaza Mayor ay dating openparking spaces .
“ They prioritized the student’s academic welfare so nasacrifice ang parking [space,]” ani Sta. Maria.
Sa kabilang banda, ang lumalaking bilang ng mga Tomasino ay hindi inaasahang pipigilan ng administrasyon, kundi’y bibigyang solusyon ng mas malaking proyekto—
Laguna at General Santos expansions .
Sa kasalukuyan, ang Manila kampus ng Unibersidad ay malayong magkaroong ng mga bagong gusaling itatayo dahil idineklara na itong
National Heritage.
Tomasino siya
Alam n’yo ba na isang Tomasino ang isa sa mga nagtaguyod ng larangan ng accountancy sa bansa?
Nagtapos bilang cum laude sa
College of Commerce and Business
Administration noong 1940 at naging ikaapat sa Certified Public
Accountants Licensure Examination, si Eugenio Reyes ay binansagang
“the conscience of SGV”—o SyCip,
Gorres, and Velayo (SGV and Co.), ang nangungunang sa Pilipinas. accountancy firm
Isa si Reyes sa mga naging katuwang ng Fleming and Williamson,
CPAs, isa sa mga kompanya na nagpasimula ng larangan ng accountancy sa bansa noon 1950s.
Taong 1958 nang nakipagsanib ang naturang British na kompanya sa SGV and Co., at mula noon hanggang sa kaniyang pagreretiro noong 1980, nagsilbing senior partner ng kompanya si Reyes sa loob ng 22 taon.
Taong 1975 hanggang 1976 nama’y naging pangulo rin si Reyes ng Philippine Institute of Certified
Public Accountants (PICPA). Sa kaniyang pamamalakad, ginawaran ng Philippine Professional Regulation
Commission ng certificate of accreditation ang PICPA dahil sa nagawa nitong pag-isahin at gawing propesyonal ang mga CPA sa bansa.
Sa ikalawang termino ni
Reyes bilang pangulo ng PICPA taong 1976, isinagawa ang kaunaunahang pagtitipon ng accountants sa Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN). Itinuturing si
Reyes bilang tagataguyod ng ASEAN
Fedaration of Accountants (AFA) at ang kaun-unahang Pilipinong pangulo ng naturang samahan. ang kaniyang pamumuno sa komite n. Sa kasalukuyan, siya ay nagsisilbing pangulo, direktor, katuwang na pangulo, at ingat-yaman ng
17 na korporasyon sa industriya ng accountancy.
T. MuTuC
Sanggunian:
2006. TOTAL Awards 2006 Souvenir
Program.
JONaH MaRy
Tomasalitaan
Layat (png)—lundag
Hal.: Sa paglayat ng kamay ng orasan sa malamig na opisina, bumibilis ang tibok ng puso ng magaaral na nasakdal.
Ni JONAH MARY T. MUTUC
KUMUSTA na nga ba ang
Bonifacio na nakatala sa kasaysayan. Dito ibinahagi ni
Almario ang negatibo’t positibong pagkakakilanlan ni Andres
Bonifacio sa makabagong henerasyon?
unawain, at mahalin si Bonifacio— ito ang panukala ni Virgilio Almario, pambansang alagad ng sining, sa kaniyang aklat na “Ang Pag-ibig sa Bayan ni Andres Bonifacio”
(UST Publishing House, 2012) na inilunsad kasabay sa pagdiriwang nang kamatayan ni Bonifacio noong ika-30 ng Nobyembre 2012.
lamang ang mga paniniwala ni
Almario ukol sa kay Bonifacio bilang bayani, kundi makababasa rin ng iba’t ibang pananaw at saliksik ng mga historyador ukol dito.
Nararapat na muling kilalanin,
Matutunghayan sa akda hindi
Ayon kay Almario, ilang taon din ang kaniyang iginugol upang maisatitik ang librong nahahati sa pitong bahaging magpapamalas ng kakaibang mukha ng kabayanihan at pagmamahal sa bayan ni
Bonifacio.
si Bonifacio bilang bayani at ‘di rin kinikilala ni Agoncillo si Bonifacio bilang isang makata.
Pagkakaahon kay Bonifacio
Tumatalakay ang unang bahagi ng aklat sa iba’t ibang pagkakakilala k a y
“Naniniwala si T.A. Agoncillo na ang tinig na mapanghimok ay isang mababang ‘layunin’ alinsunod sa pamantayang pampanitikang lumaganap sa panahon niya at naisaloob niya bilang kritiko,” ani
Almario.
Mababasa rin ang ilang kaganapang nagpapatunay sa
‘di pagkilala kay Bonifacio bilang bayani. Noong 1910, may inilathalang proyekto para magpatayo ng bantayog para kay
Bonifacio. Kaagad itong tinuligsa ng pahayagang Libertas noong
Pebrero 10 ng naturang taon bilang
“estatua al crimen.”
Ayon sa aklat, iniharap ni
Lope K. Santos noong Nobyembre
30, 1920 ang panukalang kautusan na ipagdiwang bilang pambansang pista ang kaarawan ni Bonifacio.
Ang panukala’y napagtibay na Batas
Blg. 2946 kaya’t ito’y sinimulang ipatupad noong Nobyembre 30, 1921.
Bago pa man ang pagpapatupad ng panukalang ito, simula 1901 pa lamang ay ipinagdiriwang na sa
Kalye Alvarado, Binondo, Maynila ang araw ng pagsilang ni Bonifacio.
Ang pagsulat ni Almario sa pagkilala at ‘di pagkilala kay
Bonifacio bilang bayani ay nagbigay ng mas malawak na pananaw sa mga mambabasa. Hindi ikinakahon ng libro ang imp
Ang dalawang sumunod na bahagi ng libro ay naglahad ng isa sa mga pinakabantog na paraan ng pagpapahayag noong panahon ni pagpapalaganap ng kaisipan at kahalagahang kolonyal at feudal sa panahon ng pananakop ng mga
Espanyol. Sa isang banda, nagdulot din ang pasyon ng pagkakataon upang maipagtanggol ng mga indio ang ilang piraso ng kanilang katutubong kasangkapan sa harap ng kapangyarihang banyaga.
Sa panig ni Bonifacio bilang isang makata, ang kaniyang payak na wika, kung ihahambing kay Jose
Rizal, ang pambansang bayani, ay isang usapin ng kaniyang sukatan bilang isang makata.
“Ang tula ni Rizal ay para sa tradisyong edukado at Espanyol,
[samantalang] ang tula ni Bonifacio ay para sa tradisyong katutubo at
Filipino,” ani Almario.
Bilang patunay sa pagiging makata ni Bonifacio, ayon kay
Almario, si Bonifacio ang unang nagsalin ng Mi Ultimo Adios ni
Rizal; katibayan ni Almario sa turing na ito ang pagsasadiwang
Katipunero ng “redencion final.”
Dagdag sa mas malalim na pagunawa ng mambabasa ang hayag na pagkukumpara kay Bonifacio sa iba pang mga bayani.
Ang huling dalawang bahagi ng libro ni Almario ay inilaan para sa dalawang likhang-panitikan:
Ang Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Bayan ni Andres Bonifacio at Pag-ibig sa
Tinubuang Lupa ni Marcel del Pilar
(kalakip ng orihinal na “El amor patrio” ni Jose Rizal.)
Ayon kay Almario, magandang simula ang mulingpagpapaliwayway sa “pag-ibig sa bayan” alinsunod sa tula ni
Bonifacio, ang banal na pag-ibig sa nilambungan ng magkasabwat na kataksilan ng repormistang naghaharing-uri at ng pananakop na
Amerikano, ngunit nag-iisang bihi
Bonifacio—ang rebolusyon.
Tampok din ang mga pasyon bilang kasangkapan sa ng liwanag upang maging “dakila at iginagalang” ang Filipinas.
MaRy T. MuTuC
JONaH

18
The Varsitarian
THE UST men’s and women’s football teams both settled for scoreless draws in separate matches against the Ateneo de Manila
University.
The Golden Booters failed in their quest to hand top-ranked Ateneo its first loss of the season, while the Lady Booters could not break free from Ateneo’s suffocating defense in their duel last Jan. 21 at the Ateneo Ocampo
Football Field.
Golden Booter Peter Ricamora launched two attacks in the 61st and 65th minutes in hopes of snatching the victory for UST. But both shots went straight into the hands of
Ateneo’s goalie.
With only four minutes left, Leo Liay’s attempt from the left flank was successfully deflected by UST’s goalkeeper.
“The team’s way of playing is now back,” coach Marjo Allado said. “Even though we had a draw today, we still dominated Ateneo in terms of attempts.”
UST’s Shinmar Felongco, whose back-toback goals helped the Golden Booters blank
National University (4-0) last Jan. 20, received a red card in the closing minutes and will miss a game.
In women’s play, Ateneo almost converted in the 59th, 62nd, and 78th minutes. But UST’s rookie goalkeeper Mira Nonato denied Ateneo each time.
The Lady Booters had their chances as well, including a sorry-miss attempt toward the left post in the 83rd minute.
“Okay naman ‘yung mga chances na nakuha natin ,” coach Bon Estrabon said. “ Pero baguhan pa rin ‘tong mga players natin . At least ngayon lumalaban na .”
Midfielder Joma Clemente, who scored both goals in UST’s 2-1 upset of Ateneo in their previous encounter last Jan. 13, was slapped with a red card late in the match for excessively arguing with the referee. She will sit out the next game.
“Must-win na lahat ‘tong natitirang games natin para makapasok sa finals,” Estrabon said.
The Golden Booters have a 3-1-5 windraw-loss slate and sit at fifth spot, while the
Lady Booters are at third place with a 2-2-2 card. HeDRIx aR-aR C. CaBaLLe and
CaRLa PaTRICIa S. PeRez
FROM Page 4
Law Deans said Civil Law will also offer
UST as the venue for the Bar exams next year.
The Supreme Court has decided to bring back the original format of the exam, which contains essay questions.
In a survey conducted by the Supreme
Court, law deans favored the essay questionnaire over last year’s format, in which 60 percent consisted of multiple choice questions.
The survey offered three options—the first bar examinations format composed purely of essay-type questions; the
60-percent multiple choice and 40-percent essay format used last October; and the proposed 80-percent essay and 20-percent multiple choice format.
The third option was approved.
“Based on the result of the survey, majority of the deans preferred to revert to the traditional essay question which will consist of 80 points,” Divina told the
Varsitarian .
“The new Bar chairman raised the bar for examinees because “ a law student should be gauged by his ability to express himself, verbally and through writing,” he added.
Associate Justice Arturo Brion is incharge of the exams this year.
The 2013 Bar exams was scheduled in October to give examiners more time to check the papers.
“Because the exam will revert to essay questions, Justice Brion thinks the examiners need more time to be able to check the papers so the results can be released by March or
April,” Divina said.
The examinations on Political and
Labor Law will be on Oct. 6. Civil Law and
Taxation will be on Oct. 13, Commercial
Law and Criminal Law on Oct. 20, and
Remedial Law and Legal Ethics on Oct. 27.
Last October, 5,686 bar examinees trooped the University for the examinations.
The results of the 2012 exam will be announced in March.
THE UST Lady Spikers are back on track after thrashing the University of the East, 26-14, 25-16, 25-23, in their
UAAP tussle at The Arena in San
Juan last Jan. 30.
The Lady Spikers, who faltered against two-time champion De La
Salle University last Jan. 26, remained in the hunt of a Final Four seat with a
6-4 win-loss card. They are tied with
Adamson University and
Far Eastern University at third spot.
Sophomore Carmela
Tunay unleashed 11 points, including two blocks, for UST. But it was the offensive trio of team captain Judy
Caballejo, Maika Ortiz, and Maru Banaticla that did most of the damage in the third set.
UE drilled five-straight points on UST’s unforced errors in the last frame to stay within striking distance.
But that was the last time the Lady
Warriors would score as Lady Spiker
Chlodia Cortez denied a Leuseht
Dawis attack to put the icing on the cake.
Sarina Bulan paced the UE side with 13 markers while Dawis added
10.
“I’m more of giving motivation to the team because it’s already too late to change the system,” coach Odjie Mamon said. “Our veterans played really well especially when they‘re needed the most.”
Earlier, the Tiger Spikers fell short against long-time rival FEU
Tamaraws, 23-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-
22, 15-17.
Mark Gil Alfafara exploded for a careerhigh 27 points to go with six blocks for the Tiger
Spikers, who are tied with La Salle at fourth place with a 5-5 record.
Karl Dela Calzada led the Tamaraws with 21 markers.
In the deciding set,
UST’s Romnick Rico blew a 14-13 UST advantage with a service error, allowing FEU to tie the count.
Alfafara immediately retaliated with a kill to put the squad on top,
15-14, before John Ian Depamaylo scored three-straight points and deal the Tiger Spikers their fifth loss. HeDRIx aR-aR C. CaBaLLe and aLexIS u. CeRaDO
Team Captain Judy Caballejo finds an opening against the defense of UP.
JOHN DaNIeL J. HIRRO
WHEN one of them couldn’t find his groove, the two other stepped up.
That’s how the Tiger Cubs’ Big
3—Prince Martin, Alvin Ungria, and Nicko Bahia—played all season long, complementing each other especially in crucial stretches.
Though the team didn’t bag the title, the Cubs improved from sixth to third place this year.
Unfortunately for the Cubs, they will be without the trio next season. The Big 3 will be showcasing their skills in the collegiate ranks, hoping to land spots in the loaded Growling Tigers’ roster.
The 5’11’ Martin, a product of the School of St. Andrew, had a breakout season with the Cubs, with two career-high, 40-point games.
He averaged 16.1 points and seven rebounds in 15 games this season.
In the FCBL-Freego
Cup last May, Martin displayed his torrid shooting, collecting 40 points, including nine triples, to lead the
Cubs against Chiang Kai Shek
College, 75-63.
He later duplicated this feat the second round of the UAAP when he exploded for 41 markers on an 11 of 16 field-goal shooting as UST turned back the De La Salle Junior
Archers, 85-63.
The 17-year-old Martin was later included in the Top 10
Outstanding by the Philippine
Secondary Schools
Basketball Championship
(PSSBC) as he averaged
15 markers per game. He is now training with the Growling
Tigers. so he has to work hard and wait for his break to come.
“I know that it’s really different in college. It‘s survival of the fittest and I‘ll try my best [to be a member of the Tigers],” he said.
Junior ‘beast’
Ungria was named selected in the UAAP junior’s mythical five after averaging 15.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per outing. Not bad for forward, who, at 5’11,” is relatively small for the position. But he makes up for it in explosiveness.
Ungria scattered 31 points in the Cubs’ 83-77 victory over the
Ateneo Blue Eaglets in the first round.
Bahia played a crucial role, especially during crunch times, in his two years as a Tiger Cub.
In a game against University of the Philippines where he tallied his season-high 18 points, the agile shooting guard, known for his pullup jumpers, chipped in two crucial three-pointers. His efforts helped the Cubs earn their ninth win and book a ticket to the Final Four.
A transferee from Ateneo High
School, he was the focal point of offense in Season 74, following the departure of Kevin Ferrer, the previous season’s MVP. The
Cubs finished at sixth place with five wins and nine losses, the worst in five years, that time.
B a h i a h e l p e d t h e changed things following year.
With the help of Martin and Ungria, he led the Cubs to a decent thirdplace finish.
“Every game, you should be all-out because the next game could be a do-or-die game. I’m glad all my perseverance paid off,” said Bahia, who averaged 10 markers per game this season. aLexIS u. CeRaDO
FROM Page 16 return to Catholicism in a new approach to ecumenism, although a bid to take back members of the schismatic Society of St. Pius X failed due to differences over how to interpret Vatican II.
Pope Benedict is a proponent of the “hermeneutic of continuity,” which views
Vatican II as continuation of the life of the Church, rejecting the
“hermeneutic of rupture” which holds that Vatican II ushered in a modern Church in a complete break from the past.
A humble, good pope
Pedregosa, who had served in Rome as assistant to the
Dominican master general for
Asia-Pacific, described Benedict as a “humble pope, who has sought to dialogue with people in the light of faith.”
Despite scandals such as his butler’s leaking of his personal letters and attempts to hold him responsible for covering up child sex abuse cases, the pope remained firm in upholding Catholic doctrines.
“He tried to confront issues head-on because he engages people even in the level of reason.
He was not afraid to speak to the world and to confront issues and that is a Catholic heritage, the dynamic relationship of faith and reason,” said Fr. Filemon de la
Cruz, O.P., vice rector for religious affairs.
Pedregosa recalled that the
University had invited the Pope to the Quadricentennial festivities.
The invitation was declined due to the toll a long trip would take on the pontiff’s health.
New beginning for the Catholic
Church
It was the common sentiment among priests that Pope Benedict
XVI is a pope Catholics can be proud of, being an intellectual person in touch with reality, according to De la Cruz.
love, as discussed in his first encyclical Caritas in veritate or
Charity in truth.
“Our dignity and identity is to become like God who is love and that has been revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ,” he said.
Although this is not new, the
Pope’s emphasis “on the centrality of the love of God revealed in Jesus
Christ” is what made his teachings significant.
Benedict released three encyclicals— Deus caritas est ,
Spe salvi and Caritas in veritate — emphasizing the love of God for humanity.
Pedregosa said one of the greatest contributions of the Pope would be his teaching about God’s
Pedregosa said the sudden change opens the Church to a new beginning.
“It opens for us a new chapter in the life of the Church. It brings about another possibility to have a new kind of pope because every pope brings something new to the life of the Church,” Pedregosa said.
De la Cruz said the Church’s leader will not necessarily be the best or the most popular, but one who responds to the call of the times.
“We pray that who will be elected will be the right person to lead us in these complex times,” he added.
A new pope is expected to be elected before the Church enters
Holy Week. Pope Benedict is scheduled to bid farewell to the public during his last Wednesday general audience at St. Peter’s
Square on Feb. 27.

The Varsitarian
19
By JOSE ANTONIO R. NISAY
PBA’s loss is UST’s gain.
The bad news is Pido Jarencio won’t fulfill his dream of coaching his own team in the professional league soon. But the good news is he’s staying with the Growling Tigers in the next UAAP season where they are the clear favorite to bag the title.
No less than legendary UST coach Aric del Rosario is convinced that Jarencio is the best man to steer the Tigers to at least another Finals appearance.
“He’s tried and tested so he should stay on,” the 72-year-old del Rosario, architect of the Tigers’ four-straight titles in the 90s, said in
Filipino. “He should just keep trying and he should improve the confidence of the team.”
Del Rosario, who ended a 10year coaching hiatus to head the
University of Perpetual Help Altas last June, said the Tigers remain strong despite the graduation of team captain Jeric Fortuna and forward
Carmelo Afuang.
“They’ll still go to the Finals because they only lost two players, but the others have improved. They should just work more on offense, defense, and team work, especially in crucial games.”
Jarencio was in talks to coach his own team in the PBA where he was an assistant at Petron Blaze. But he said his mother squad, San Miguel Corp., kept him from accepting the offer from a rival team.
“San Miguel, my mother team, stopped me,” he said. “They told me not to proceed. Perhaps, they have a plan for me so I didn’t insist anymore.”
Del Rosario said Jarencio’s time would eventually come.
“He could still coach in the PBA.
He should just persevere. At least, now, he can still coach [UST],” he said.
Fr. Ermito de Sagon, O.P., director of the Institute of Physical
Education and Athletics (IPEA), said
Jarencio’s appointment as UST head coach was good until March 31.
“He has not divulged any plan to go away, so [he] may be re-hired,” he said in a letter to the Varsitarian , noting that Jarencio had not “submitted any resignation paper” despite reports that he was leaving UST before.
Jarencio insisted he
“never left.”
“There were offers that didn’t push, but it’s okay,” said the 48-year-old coach.
“At least I’m here with UST, our alma mater.”
Jarencio is still bent on going over the hump, recalling the Tigers’ bitter loss to the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP Finals last October.
“Of course, we shouldn’t be contented with second [place], right? I hope we could exceed our performance in the 2012 season,” said
Jarencio, who later steered UST to the Philippine Collegiate Champions
League crown, beating Ateneo and other top collegiate teams around the country.
Jeric Teng, the incoming UST team captain, welcomed the return of
Jarecio next season.
“It boosted our moral and confidence,” he said. “We’re used to the system of Coach Pido, especially in the four years that I’ve been with him.”
FAITHFUL. Coach Pido Jarencio will return to the Tiger sidelines after speculations of his exit from the school he once led to a championship.
SHeRWIN MaRION T. VaRDeLeON
UST MALE Woodpushers claimed solo second place following a 2.5-1.5 victory over the
Ateneo de Manila University in the UAAP chess tournament at the Far Eastern University (FEU)
Technology Building last Feb. 3.
The Male Woodpushers, who last held the crown in 1999, collected 22.5 points after nine meetings to stay within striking distance of sixtime defending champion FEU Tamaraws, who remained on top with 24.5 markers.
UST team captain Patrick Erle Florendo and sophomore Steven James Dacanay racked up twin victories against Ateneo’s Louell Que and
Lance See, despite the absence of veteran player
Jude Fronda due to an academic commitment.
Earlier, Timothy So-Kua settled for a draw with international master Jan Emmanuel Ibarra to award UST half a point.
Rookie Eugene Samonte was the lone UST casualty after he faltered against Blue Eagle Carl
Angelo Perez.
“ Ang maganda sa men’s team, may lucky punch pa para sa championship lalo na kung maganda ang result sa last day kalaban ang FEU,” coach Ronald Dableo said.
The Female Woodpushers, who finished at seventh place last year, continued to struggle after absorbing a 0-4 defeat against reigning titlist La Salle, a two-time champion. They currently sit at sixth place.
Michelle Concio failed to pull off a win over Kyla Camacho in what could have been
UST’s lone victory.
Junior Woodpushers Christine Laz and
Loraine Salinas suffered the same fate at the hands of Season 74 Most Valuable Player and
National Master Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Judith
Pineda, respectively.
“ May system naman kami hindi lang talaga nai -execute. Ang plano lang namin this season ay maimprove sa fourth ang women’s team,” Dableo said. aLexIS u. CeRaDO
Woodpusher Timothy So-Kua thinks of a better move to finish his Ateneo counterpart last Feb. 3 at the
FEU Auditorium. SHeRWIN MaRION T. VaRDeLeON
MENTAL lapses proved costly for the
UST Golden Sox as they bowed down to defending champion National
University, 7-12, in the UAAP baseball tournament at the Rizal
Memorial Stadium last Jan. 31.
UST slid to third place with a
5-3 slate while NU grabbed the solo second spot, 6-2, behind Ateneo de
Manila University (7-1).
The Golden Sox, who beat the Bulldogs in their first-round encounter (7-5), pulled to within one,
5-6, at the bottom of the fifth inning.
Team captain Glenn Tuazon walked to the home plate when rookie Bernardo
Siaotong was hit by pitch, which accounted for a walk to the first base.
Just when UST needed one good defensive stop in its turn at fielding,
UST’s third base man and short stop weren’t able to catch a grounder allowing NU to steal a run. In the ensuing play, UST’s catcher threw a high pass that slipped through the outstretched arm of the third base man, allowing NU’s Jez Rosito to sneak another point for NU, 5-8.
But the catching woes continued for UST in the seventh inning as the
Bulldogs put the game away. In what seemed to be an easy out for NU,
UST’s third baseman threw an errant pass to the first base, which allowed
Herkel Fortunato to score a double.
Bulldog Mar Gante delivered the finishing touch for NU with a two RBI
(Runs-Batted-In) double off a deep center field hit, 6-10.
“Mostly it was our errors that hurt us in this game,” said coach
Jeffrey Santiago.
Despite the setback, Santiago still brims with hope that his team still has what it takes to make it all the way.
“We still have hope in this season, we just need to take care of our remaining games against La Salle and
Ateneo,” Santiago said. “We just need more preparation especially on our conditioning and mental toughness.”
Fifth-inning meltdown
The UST Softbelles failed to sustain a good start and gave in to lower-ranked University of the East,
2-7, in their UAAP softball match at the same venue last Jan. 30.
After a relatively decent start which saw UST temporarily holding on a 2-1 advantage in the first four frames, UE blasted away five runs in the ensuing inning to shock the
Softbelles.
UE’s Joan Marron made it tougher for UST as she swung a three
RBI single on a strong left field hit.
Despite the upset, the Softbelles remain in third place with University of the Philippines (5-4). UE improved to fifth spot with a 4-6 card.
Coach Sandy Baredo said offense was a non-factor for them and will give more emphasis on it in their next outings. JOSe aNTONIO R. NISay and CaRLa PaTRICIa S. PeRez
UST Golden Sox third baseman Nico Reyes protects the base and anticipates for the baseball.
JaIMe T. CaMPOS