The Varsitarian
Founded 1928
Volume LXXXII, No. 10 • January 26, 2011 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas Manila, Philippines
UST turns 400
Unending Grace. UST erupts into thanksgiving and joy as it breaks into its fifth century.
PAUL ALLYSON R. QUIAMBAO
Cardinal
Rosales opens
‘Quadri’ week
By MIKA RAFAELA A.
BARRIOS
MANILA Archbishop Cardinal
Gaudencio B. Rosales formally
opened UST’s Quadricentennial
festivities last January 24,
ushering in a Jubilee Year or a
year of pardon.
The prelate declared the
Santisimo
Rosario
Parish
Church or UST Chapel a Jubilee
church, granting pious visitors a
plenary indulgence which remits
punishment due to sin under
Church teaching, and giving the
Quadricentennial celebrations a
spiritual dimension.
Thomasians witnessed a
once-in-a-lifetime Church event
when Rosales struck the portal
of the chapel with a hammer
three times and knelt at the
entrance. The clergy led by Fr.
Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., Rector
of the University, opened the
door to let the penitents process.
The choir sang “Christus vincit,
Christus
regnat,
Christus
imperat,” or “Christ conquers,
Christ rules, Christ commands.”
Cardinal Rosales, who
obtained the Pope's permission
to grant special blessings and
indulgences to UST community,
said the Holy Door symbolizes
Christ, the only door to salvation.
The cardinal presided over
a Concelebrated Mass in which
he called on Thomasians to
spread the University's blessings
as it marks its 400th year. The
Thomasian community must
share the value of education
brought by the “miracle of the
first door UST opened 400 years
ago," he said.
Cardinal Page 14
From ‘mustard seed’ to world’s Vatican
declares
largest Catholic university
WHAT the University of
Santo Tomas has become
now is akin to the parable
of the mustard seed found in
the Gospel of Matthew­.
From a personal library
Editorial
and an endowment of 1,500
Spanish pesos bequeathed by
Msgr. Miguel de Benavides,
O.P., UST founder and third
archbishop of Manila, the
instit ution— originally
a
“seminary-college” to
prepare young men for the
priesthood—has, at present,
become of a major player
in building the Philippine
nation, the Universal Church
and the Christian family.
It has become, as Cardinal
Gaudencio Rosales has said
during the Jubilee Mass last
January 24, “the world’s
largest Catholic university.”
In its four centuries
of existence, UST has not
only distinguished herself
in the sacred disciplines
and ecclesiastical service,
producing several theologians
and bishops who made
their mark on the Church
here and abroad; it has also
spawned the founders of
the Philippine nation—Jose
Rizal, Apolinario Mabini,
Emilio Jacinto, and nearly all
of the framers of the Malolos
Constitiution—that enabled
the Philippines to become the
first republic in Asia. Not only
did UST alumni found the
Philippine republic: they have
consolidated it and continued
to sustain it, as shown by four
Philippine presidents (Manuel
L. Quezon, Sergio S. Osmeña,
Jose P. Laurel and Diosdado
P. Macapagal) who were
trained in UST, several chief
justices of the Supreme Court,
countless jurists, legislators
and public servants, as well as
writers, humanists, educators,
scientists,
architects,
engineers, physicians and
other health professionals, and
others who contribute to the
vitality and vibrancy of the
Filipino nation.
Thomasians were also
there on the streets during the
Editorial Page 4
UST is oldest, period
By CHARMAINE M.
PARADO
NOW IT’S settled.
A scholar from Cebu has
sided with the University of
Santo Tomas (UST) in the
lingering dispute with Cebu’s
University of San Carlos
(USC) over who’s the oldest.
In an article in the
January-April 2011 issue
of Philippiniana Sacra, the
official publication of the
Ecclesiastical Faculties of
UST, Fr. Aloysius Cartagenas
argued that Santo Tomas,
founded in 1611, has the
rightful claim to the title, not
San Carlos, which can only
trace its foundation to the
year 1867.
San Carlos cannot claim
to have descended from the
Colegio de San Ildefonso
Photo from UST ARCHIVES
UST’s old campus in Intramuros, Manila.
founded by the Jesuits in 1595,
despite taking over the latter’s
facilities when the Jesuits were
For breaking news and digital copy, visit www.varsitarian.net
expelled by Spanish authorities
in 1769, Cartagenas said.
Cartagenas is a professor at
the Seminario Mayor de San
Carlos of Cebu, part of the
same institution as the then
College of San Carlos until
1924 when they separated.
Cartagenas
echoed
the position of the Spanish
Dominican historian Fr.
Fidel Villarroel, O.P., who
maintains San Ildefonso
ceased to exist with the
expulsion of the Jesuits.
The Cebu theologian
said there is “no visible and
clear link” between Colegio
de San Ildefonso and USC.
On its website usc.edu.
ph, San Carlos claims to be
the “oldest in the country.”
“It was also here [in Cebu
City] that the oldest school in
the country emerged—the
University of San Carlos,”
USC said on its website.
UST is oldest Page 12
Jubilee
Year
POPE Benedict XVI has
declared a Jubilee Year from
January 2011 to January 2012 to
mark UST’s Quadricentennial,
underscoring the spiritual
nature of the celebrations
at Asia’s only Pontifical
University.
The Holy Father won’t
make it to the festivities but
will deliver a recorded video
message on January 28,
University officials said.
In
a
decree
last
December 21, the Roman
Catholic Church’s Apostolic
Penitentiary allowed Manila
Archbishop
Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales to bestow
a Papal Blessing carrying a
Plenary Indulgence following
the Jubilee Mass on January
24.
A separate decree also
granted plenary indulgence
to “all those who piously join
the sacred rites, ceremonies,
and activities in celebration of
the Jubilee at the University of
Santo Tomas” upon the request
of the Rector, Fr. Rolando de la
Rosa, O.P.
Plenary indulgence wipes
out all temporal punishment
due to sin, according to Church
teaching.
But
receiving
the
indulgence
requires
confession, Holy Communion,
and prayers for the intentions
of the Pope.
The Apostolic Penitentiary is one of the three tribunals
Jubilee Page 12
Check out the Varsitarian on your mobile phone at www.varsitarian.mobi
2 News
The
Varsitarian January 26, 2011
Assistant Editor: Jilly Anne A. Bulauan
BSP, Philpost bare Quadri collectibles
House of Representatives passes resolution lauding UST
By CLIFF HARVEY C. VENZON
HERE come the UST collectibles.
UST’s Quadricentennial is being celebrated on
a national level with the release of commemorative
bills, coins, and postage stamps.
Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., Rector of UST,
together with officials of the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Philippine Postal Corp.
(Philpost) unveiled the commemorative items
before the press last January 21 at the Main
Building lobby.
The BSP is releasing P2 billion worth of P200
bills with an overprint of the Quadricentennial
logo, and gold and silver medals with the image of
Msgr. Miguel de Benavides, O.P., founder of UST
and the third archbishop of Manila.
The bills are legal tender but the medals have
no value, the central bank said.
The BSP will also release 400 special copies
of two uncut P200 bills equal to P400, matching
UST’s years of existence.
Fe de la Cruz, BSP director for corporate
affairs, told the Varsitarian that currency overprints
are rare and only events of great importance are
allowed to have an overprint on Philippine bills.
“It has to be very special on a national level.
This [currency overprint] symbolizes BSP’s
recognition of the significance of UST as an
educational institution,” De la Cruz said.
Philpost
released
on
January
25
commemorative stamps featuring key landmarks
of the campus declared national treasures last year,
including the Main Building and the Arch of the
Centuries.
Elenita San Diego, manager of the postage and
philatelic department of Philpost, said post offices
nationwide will soon begin using the stamps. “We
will also ask the members of the Universal Postal
Union to use the stamps,” San Diego said.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives
passed Resolution No. 51 last January 18,
acknowledging the University’s achievements on
its 400th year.
“Its reputation has reached global proportions,
and is one of the most venerable institutions of
higher learning in the world with its distinguished
roster of alumni including four Philippine
Presidents, six Chief Justices of the Supreme Court,
Jubilee Door. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales blesses the Holy Door at the Santismo Rosario Church last January 24, opening
the Quadricentennial week.
PAUL ALLYSON R. QUIAMBAO
The 200-peso bill
with an overprint of
the Quadricentennial logo (right) and
the commemorarive
postage
stamps
featuring key UST
landmarks. These
were unveiled last
January 21 at by
central bank ang
Philippine
Postal
Corporation
officials at the Main
Building
BSP, Philpost PAGE 10
Aquino appoints
Artlets alumnus
as political adviser
By DARENN G. RODRIGUEZ
PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed
a former student activist and UST Journalism
alumnus as his adviser on political affairs last
January 21, adding to the growing number of
Thomasians named to government posts.
Ronald Llamas, a former Varsitarian features
editor, is president of the Akbayan Citizens’ Action
Party, which endorsed Aquino’s presidential bid.
Malacañang Palace said Llamas, who
frequents the shooting range with the President,
will serve as a “bridge” to political parties.
In 1981, Llamas became the president of
AB Student Council and wrote the first student
constitution in the University in order to check
the administration’s meddling. Other colleges
followed suit. Later, the Central Student Council
was formed.
Llamas also wrote for Hudyat, the official
newsletter of the then Samahan ng mga Tomasino
sa Pamamahayag (now the UST Journalism
Society), and The Flame, the official student organ
of the Faculty of Arts and Letters.
Llamas personally gave a letter to Pope John
Paul II containing the Filipino students’ sentiments
against the Marcos dictatorship during the Pontiff’s
first papal visit to the country.
After graduation, Llamas joined the trade
unions and pushed for the approval of the party-list
law, which would enable grassroots leaders to form
alternative political groups and become members
of the House of Representatives.
In 1998, Akbayan was formed, and Llamas
was elected as its president.
Other Thomasians earlier appointed to
top government posts were Paquito Ochoa Jr.,
Eduardo de Mesa, and Joel Villanueva as executive
secretary, presidential legal counsel, and head of
the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority, respectively.
UST sues carpark operator, tenants
By ROMMEL MARVIN C. RIO
UST HAS sued multi-deck
carpark
developer
Selegna
Holdings Corp. and more than 20
tenants at the carpark, including
a firm owned by Thomasian
whistleblower Rodolfo Noel
“Jun” Lozada and fastfood
restaurants Jollibee and KFC, for
entering into lease deals without
the University’s approval.
The University is primarily
accusing Selegna Holdings of
fraud, claiming the carpark
firm gave sister companies and
children of the owner cheaper rent
than other tenants, and sublet the
spaces at higher rates.
In a complaint dated
December 28, UST lawyers
sought a temporary restraining
order and an injunction from
the Manila Regional Trial Court
(RTC) to stop the supposedly
anomalous leases, as well as P3.5
million in damages in part for
“impairing the good reputation
of UST.”
Selegna Holdings built the
carpark under a 15-year buildoperate-transfer (BOT) contract
signed in 2004, financed by
a
P247-million
Metrobank
loan partly guaranteed by the
University.
But Selegna Holdings,
led by businessman Edgardo
H. Angeles, has been having
difficulty repaying the loan,
and this was because Selegna
Holdings and its affiliates have
been keeping the earnings, the
complaint filed by the law firm of
Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said.
Moreover, UST said it has
not been getting its 10 percent
share of carpark revenues under
the BOT contract.
The contract states that UST
can scrutinize the carpark’s lease
deals, including payment terms
and commercial space layouts.
UST
called
Selegna
Holdings’s attention to the
“anomalies” in 2008, the
complaint said.
“[D]efendants deliberately
and irresponsibly disregarded
UST’s contractual right and
prerogative of prior approval
under the BOT contract and the
contracts of lease,” it said.
The
complaint
stated
that six Selegna affiliates and
concessionaires,
wholly
or
partially owned by Angeles and
his children, acquired “favorable
rental rates.”
“Not only did Selegna
affiliates
obtain
favorable
rates, they also surreptitiously
contracted sub-lease agreements
which resulted in serious losses
to UST because the rentals
which the lessees are paying
to defendant Selegna are much
lower than the rentals which the
same lessees are collecting from
the sub-lessees,” the complaint
said.
UST is “continuously being
deprived and deceived of the
correct amount of its additional
share in revenues equivalent to
10 percent of gross rental receipt
per month from the commercial
spaces [at the carpark].”
UST is asking for P1.5
Carpark PAGE 10
Usapang Uste Bakit Enero ang pagdiriwang ng Quadricentennial?
MULA SA pagkatatatag nito
noong Abril 28, 1611, ang
UST ay magdiriwang ng ika400 na anibersaryo nito sa
darating na Enero 28 kasabay ng
pagdiriwang ng pista ni Santo
Tomas de Aquino, ang patron ng
Unibersidad.
Paliwanag ni Giovanna
Fontanilla, direktor ng Office of
Public Affairs, Enero, at hindi
Abril ipagdiriwang ng UST
ang ika-400 anibersaryo nito
sapagkat buo ang UST bilang
isang pamilya tuwing Enero.
“Sa Enero, kasama nating
ang mga pinakaimportanteng
mga stakeholder natin—ang mga
mag-aaral. Ang populasyon ng
Unibersidad na mahigit 40,000 na
mga mag-aaral ay naririto. Tayo ay
kumpleto bilang isang pamilya,”
ani Fontanilla.
Ang pagdiriwang na
ito ay sinimulan pa noong
ika-20 siglo ng mga paring
Dominikano simula noong
kinilala na si Santo Tomas de
Aquino bilang patron ng mga
paaralang Katoliko.
“Ang pista ng Unibersidad
ay ipinagdiriwang tuwing
buwan ng Enero dahil si Santo
Tomas ang kinikilalang patron
ng Unibersidad at ang buwan
ng Enero ang simula ng taon,”
ani P. Angel Aparicio, O.P.,
Prefect of Libraries.
Ang mga pagdiriwang para
sa ika-400 taon ng Unibersidad
ay hindi lamang tatagal ng isang
araw kundi isang buong taon
upang magbigay-pugay sa mga
naging ambag ng Unibersidad
Usapang Uste PAHINA 13
Editor: Charizze L. Abulencia
January 26, 2011
Thomasian professors win international research prize
TWO THOMASIAN researchers
clinched the country’s first
Award for Outstanding Research
on Development last January
14 at the Global Development
Awards and Medals Competition
in Bogota, Colombia.
Faculty of Arts and Letters
professors Alvin Ang and
Jeremaiah Opiniano, who are
both under UST’s Research
Cluster on Culture, Education,
and Social Issues, won the top
prize for their research proposal
titled “Remittance Investment
Analysis in Rural Hometowns
(Ricart): a piloting tool to
determine
where
Overseas
Filipinos from two rural
hometowns can best invest their
money.”
The proposal contained
general guidelines on how
the remittances of overseas
Filipinos from two fourthclass municipalities can be best
utilized for investment and
development finance.
“Maybe we won [because]
nobody in the world has talked
about doing this research
that analyzes the investment
friendliness of a hometown in
the eyes of overseas migrants.
There were studies made before
[related to this one but] all in the
context of the people living [in
the hometown],” Opiniano said.
“Basically, Ricart is a
means to attack the root causes
Professors Page 6
to respond to the challenge
of public life with Catholic
principles. Icusta currently has
24 members.
As of January 20, 43
delegates, including Peadar
Cremin, former president of
Icusta and president of the Mary
Immaculate College in Ireland,
Joseph McFadden, executive
director of Icusta, and former
UST Rector Fr. Ernesto Arceo,
O.P., now rector of Aquinas
University in Legazpi, Albay,
are expected to attend the
conference. Varsitarian
News 3
UST chosen as
new venue
of bar exams
By DARENN G. RODRIGUEZ
Professors Jeremaiah Opiniano and Alvin Ang (left) receive the award
after winning the Global Development Award research competition in
Bogota, Columbia.
CommsConsult (UK)
Heads of ‘UST’ schools
worldwide grace celebration
UST will host the 10th Biennial
Conference of the International
Council of the Universities of
St. Thomas Aquinas (Icusta) on
January 26 to 28 at the Thomas
Aquinas Research Complex
Auditorium, with President
Benigno Aquino III expected to
deliver the keynote speech.
International and local
delegates
of
Icusta,
the
colloquium of universities named
after St. Thomas Aquinas, will
be coming to the University
to discuss and forge strategic
ways for member-universities
The
The theme of this year’s
conference is “The Role of
Universities in Permeating
Public Life with Catholic
Principles.”
The meeting will begin with
a Concelebrated Mass to be led
by Archbishop Joseph Edward
Adams, Apostolic Nuncio to the
Philippines.
On the second day, a
Concelebrated Mass will be
led by Manila Archbishop
Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, to
be followed by a discussion of
Icusta’s programs and strategies,
group reports, resolutions, and the
reading of Icusta’s “manifesto of
commitment.”
The delegates will attend the
Quadricentennial Thanksgiving
Mass on the third day. Delegates
will also be given a cultural tour
of Manila.
Icusta is an international
association of Catholic institutions
that adhere to the ideals and
teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The University was chosen
to host the conference in 2009
Icusta PAGE 12
Photo by PAUL ALLYSON R. QUIAMBAO
UST WILL be the new venue of this year’s
bar examinations, which will take place in
November or two months later than usual.
Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said the
Supreme Court had decided to transfer the bar
exam to UST in November, after the monsoon
season. This gives aspiring lawyers more time
to review.
“It’s perfect and very timely since it
coincides with our Quadricentennial year,”
Divina added.
The implementation of a multiple-choice
exam will also start this year, as earlier proposed
by former Civil Law dean Roberto Abad, now
associate justice at the Supreme Court.
“The first three Sundays will be allotted to
the multiple-choice questions while the fourth
will be dedicated to the essays,” Divina said.
Divina said a contract has been signed
between UST and the Supreme Court, which
makes the campus the exam venue only for this
year.
“We’re not yet sure for next year but I’m
sure UST is a priority. The contract should be
subject to acceptable terms and conditions,”
Divina said.
Safer venue
The Supreme Court picked UST over
Adamson University and the Philippine
International Convention Center after De La
Salle University declined to host the bar exams
this year.
Court spokesman Midas Marquez said the
transfer had nothing to do with the grenade blast
that injured 44 people in last year’s exams.
Divina said UST is a “safer” venue and
has better facilities for the 5,000 bar examinees
each year.
“The University has a lot of space for the
students. Bar takers can be better prepared and
conditioned because we have the Santisimo
Rosario Parish and the UST Hospital just in
case,” Divina said.
The Varsitarian
holds ‘Pautakan
2Q11’ in February
In celebration of the University’s
400 years of unending pursuit for
intellectual competence, the Varsitarian,
the 83-year-old official student publication
of the University, holds Pautakan 2Q11:
the 34th Annual Intercollegiate Quiz
Contest, on February 28, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
at the Medicine Auditorium, St. Martin de
Porres Building in UST campus.
Teams from different faculties and
colleges will gather on the battleground
of glory as they put their wit and fate to
test to take home the revolving Pautakan
trophy this Quadricentennial.
Honor from the House. Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., Rector of the University, receives a copy of Resolution No. 51 from Speaker Feliciano Belmonte
at the House of Representatives. The Resolution lauds UST for being “one of the most venerable institutions of higher learning in the world.”
Sec-Gen unblocks Facebook for ‘Quadri’ updates
ENJOY it while it lasts.
The school administration
has allowed temporary access
to the widely popular social
networking site Facebook
to help promote UST’s
Quadricentennial celebration.
Fr. Florentino Bolo Jr., O.P.,
secretary general, authorized
the Santo Tomas e-Service
Providers (STEPS) to unblock
access to Facebook—which is
usually barred on campus — to
help disseminate information
regarding this month’s
activities. Access began in the
first week of January and would
be allowed until the end of the
month, he said.
UST officials were
traditionally wary that allowing
access to Facebook and other
popular sites might distract
them in their school work.
“The official
announcements are posted
here on Facebook so whenever
there are last-minute changes
on small matters like time,
they can be easily remedied,”
Bolo said, adding
that the
updated
schedule
of the
Quadricentennial activities are
posted on the “UST Quadri”
fan page, which he personally
moderates and updates.
Sebastian Raymond
Mendoza, Steps assistant
director for network operation,
said Facebook access
might be extended
depending
on how
much it
would
affect
the
school’s
bandwidth.
Paul John Panopio, a
Mechanical Engineering
student, said that allowing
access to social networks
would be beneficial to the
students.
“It would benefit those
who have long-hour breaks,”
he said. “So it would really
depend on the students on how
they would use it.”
Asian
Studies
junior
Jose Nicolo San Diego said
Facebook was useful because
most of the announcements in
their class were being posted on
the site.
“It’s very useful especially
if I need to get updated on
class announcements because
Facebook PAGE 14
This year’s hosts are former UST
courtside reporter Claude Despabiladeras,
TV personality Dino Imperial and disc
jockey Andi Manzano.
All Thomasians are invited to witness
this event and get a chance to win exciting
prizes!
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 Brylle B. Tabora (0906.881.0376)
or Charizze L. Abulencia (0916.371.2040).
4 Opinion The
Varsitarian January 26, 2011
Editorial
FROM PAGE 1
tumultuous times of a wounded nation, marching
and calling for the ouster of two presidents who
betrayed the nation.
With its primary mission of providing
affordable education, UST has been a haven for
middle-class families who want good education.
That mission continues with UST’s expansion in
Santa Rosa, Laguna and General Santos City in
Mindanao. As Father Rector Rolando de la Rosa,
O.P., said in a press conference when a reporter
asked about the development of the UST Sta.
Rosa, Laguna, “We are just waiting for more
middle-class families to [live in the area.] You
know that UST caters to the middle class.”
UST caters to all classes of young people who
want to be nurtured in Thomasian education.
While this move is sometimes criticized as
“mediocrity”—a purely baseless notion from an
elitist view—the University has been consistently
dominating state licensure exams set by the
Professional Regulation Commission, making
it the best private university in the country in
terms of the number of professional produced
every year. Among private schools, too, it has the
highest number of programs declared as Centers
of Excellence and Centers of Development by
the Commission on Higher Education.
The University has also succeeded in
building the family and the community. UST
has been rehabilitating the Aeta communities
in Central Luzon. UST has trained “pseudoteachers” for the education of our brothers and
sisters in the mountains whose remote location
did not hinder Thomasians to render community
service. An Aeta woman once declared during
the annual Rector’s Report program in 2009,
“Ipinagmamalaki kong ako’y isang Aetang
Tomasino!”
UST’s commitment to community service
could also be seen through its Quadricentennial
centerpiece project, Simbahayan, where UST
will rehabilitate 400 villages through medical,
literacy, community and peace “interventions.”
But needless to say, as long as UST is existing, its
commitment to community service and nationbuilding will be beyond the construction of the
400 villages. For example, the UST Medical
Mission has been giving medical services for the
needy since its foundation 50 years ago.
UST, a bastion of Catholicism, has also made
a huge contribution in the moral and spiritual
formation of Filipinos.
UST Central Seminary has produced
countless priests, bishops and church leaders
who have played crucial roles in building the
Editorial PAGE 5
The
Varsitarian
Founded Jan. 16, 1928
CLIFF HARVEY C. VENZON
Editor in Chief
ADRIENNE JESSE A. MALEFICIO
Associate Editor
charizze l. abulencia News Editor
JILLY ANNE A. BULAUAN Assistant News Editor
JEREMY S. PEREY Sports Editor
ALEXIS AILEX C. VILLAMOR JR. Special Reports Editor
ROSE-AN JESSICA M. DIOQUINO Features Editor
MIKA RAFAELA A. BARRIOS Literary Editor
DANALYN T. LUBANG Patnugot ng Filipino
ROBIN G. PADILLA Witness Editor
ANTONIO RAMON H. ROYANDOYAN Sci-Tech Editor
LESTER G. BABIERA Circle Editor
CARLA T. GAMALINDA Art Director
PAUL ALLYSON R. QUIAMBAO Photography Editor
News Charmaine M. Parado, Rommel Marvin C. Rio,
Darenn G. Rodriguez
Sports Angelo Nonato P. Cabrera
Anne Marie Carmela L. Dayauon, Frauleine Michelle S. Villanueva
Special Reports Ian Carlo B. Antonio, Marnee A. Gamboa
Monica N. Ladisla
Features Margaret Rose B. Maranan, Alma Maria L. Sarmiento
Literary Azer N. Parrocha, Jonas Eleazar B. Trinidad
Filipino Patricia Isabela B. Evangelista
Witness Jennifer M. Orillaza, Brylle B. Tabora
Science and Technology Camille Anne M. Arcilla
Circle Maria Joanna Angela D. Cruz, Ana May R. De la Cruz, John
Ernest F. Jose, Alyosha J. Robillos
Art Fritzie Marie C. Amar, Patrick C. de los Reyes,
Jasmine C. Santos, Jilson Seckler C. Tiu
Photography Josa Camille A. Bassig, Isabela A. Martinez,
Jilson Seckler C. Tiu
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.
On ‘Q’
A FEW days ago, I was stuck
in front of the computer in an
attempt to write this issue’s
editorial and I ended up staring
at the blinking cursor for quite
some time. I was tasked to
write about UST’s relevance
and contribution in building
the nation, the church, and
the family, and I found that
doing this was a difficult
undertaking. I felt that writing
about the University’s role in
nation-building is tantamount
to writing volumes of books,
and it’s quite dangerous to
miss a point. Tired of wasting
my time, I decided to switch to
writing a chapter of my thesis
and I put the Quadricentennial
song, “Ako’y Isang Tomasino,”
on repeat until I got my writing
spirit back.
As a news writer for the
‘V’, I covered the awards night
of the Quadricentennial Song
Fest last year at the Albertus
Magnus Auditoruim. That
was when I first heard that
entry composed by Industrial
Engineering alumnus Gerardo
Santos, and I knew right then
that it would be chosen as the
Quadricentennial song.
Its lyrics and musical
score are poignant and
are weaved thoughtfully,
While the Sampaloc
campus is perfectly
groomed for the
Quadricentennial,
Plaza Santo Tomas
in Intramuros is all
squalor and decay
describing what the University
had been through and what
she has accomplished in the
last 400 years. So let’s all sing
and reflect on it on January 28,
while savoring our University’s
resilience, endurance and
relevance. Let’s all be proud to
say: Ako’y isang Tomasino!
***
It was in August when I
last heard of the launching of
Simbahayan project, which is
touted as the Quadricentennial
centerpiece project. It started
in Northern Luzon in an aim
to rehabilitate 400 villages in
terms of medical, literacy, and
community service and peace
“interventions.” The project
affirms UST’s pledge to charity
and community service, and
reaffirms the University’s
selflessness. I would often
tell my friends from other
universities about this project,
and they they admire the fact
that UST has this commitment.
I just hope Simbahayan will not
be forgotten.
***
While we are all busy
preparing for our venerable
University’s Quadricentennial
celebration, a friend of mine,
who revisited UST’s old site in
the Walled City, commented
on the present condition of the
ruined UST campus. He was
appalled and disappointed
because the ruins were
“vandalized and virtually
squatted upon.” He also said
the “location of Plaza Santo
Tomas has been occupied by
vendors and shanties.” Though
I have not seen it personally, it
made me sad just hearing about
it. I think we should initiate
a move to ask the Intramuros
administration to take care
of, if not preserve, UST’s old
site. For a school taking pride
in heritage conservation (the
University allots money for
the restorations of painting
and murals), we should not
forget the original grounds
that saw the beginnings of our
University.
***
I hope UST’s celebration
of its unending grace will not
stop after all these festivities.
Considering what the University
has achieved, it’s only right for
us to celebrate UST’s birthright
and destiny beyond 2011. I
pray that all of us Thomasians
would inherit UST’s good faith
in everything that we do, and
carry the teachings and values
of our beloved institution as we
embark on endeavors outside
the University’s walls. I think
this is the only way that we can
give back to UST, in gratitude
for the education that she has
bestowed on us. I can imagine
the bliss that Archbishop
Benavides feels seeing the fruit
of his dreams.
Black scenes on white sand
FIRST, environmental issues,
then overbuilding and faulty
sewerage system, and now—
sex on the beach. Has the
most famous island in the
Philippines now become
infamous for scandals?
Boracay boasts its fine
sugary white sand beaches,
a strong contender for the
world’s finest beaches. But
this once primeval island,
which attracts 650, 000
tourists annually, is slowly
turning to be overdeveloped
over the years.
A
study
of
the
Department of Environment
and Natural Resources on the
“tourism-carrying capacity
revealed that the island was
“on the brink of exceeding its
carrying capacity.”
Similarly, a study made
by the Canadian Urban
Institute
concluded
that
“present systems in Boracay
are incapable of meeting
future challenges” and that
effective implementation of
environmental policies is
essential.
Soon enough, green
algae started to float on the
once crystal waters at certain
times of the year, one of the
negative effects the study
cited. I have seen them myself
Foreigners should
conform to our
culture, as much as
Filipinos try to adapt
to foreign cultures
when traveling
last summer and they were
actually covering a vast
portion of the shores.
In a report on abscbnnews.com,
Tourism
Secretary Alberto Lim said
that
environmental
and
zoning regulations are not
being enforced on the island.
Perhaps to complement
the
environmental
degradation images of the
island as a haven of sexual
promiscuity have inculcated,
such as foreign couples
having sex on the beach last
New Year as shown by ABSCBN.
In 2008, the Philippine
Daily
Inquirer
reported
that a Russian woman
has been kicked out from
Boracay because of “alleged
indecency” in public areas
like bars and resorts.
What’s worse is that
it happened in one of the
tourist spots of the country,
where traditional Filipino
characteristics and values are
being upheld.
As I was scanning
through the comments about
the news published online, a
foreigner criticized Filipinos
for
falsely
generalizing
Westerners of being liberated
while attacking more serious
issues that need to be
tackled by the people, like
the establishment of a more
credible judicial process and
an improved educational
system.
Foreigners
visiting
premier destinations in the
archipelago must learn to
respect the tradition and
culture of the country. They
should conform to our culture,
as much as Filipinos try to
comply with theirs when
traveling lands.
People must understand
that having sex on the beach
in open and public areas is
scandalous.
What is also appalling is
that tourists, whether locals
or not, have low regard for
Boracay despite the high
standards that the Boracay
hospitality tries to promote.
Maybe, it’s because of
previous failures of the local
government of the island
to implement ordinances in
saving the slowly deteriorating
island, people think it is okay
to do whatever they want
because nothing prohibits
them to do so, or nothing
effectively prevents them.
Perhaps,
people’s
perception
of
Boracay
is brought about by the
disparaging reportage of
media that shows similar
incidents that put the image
of the island in a negative
light—from a family-friendly
destination to a place where
Pensieve PAGE 14
January 26, 2011
Kick the habit
RECENTLY, five former
health department chiefs
decided to ask the Supreme
Court to allow them to
intervene in a local case
between cigarette companies
and the use of graphic images
for anti-smoking campaign.
Not a breath of fresh air
as one may put it. The former
health secretaries should have
intervened last year when the
issue was very hot back in
summer.
Philip Morris Philippines
Manufacturing
Inc.
and
Fortune Tobacco Corp. filed
separate cases in response to
the Department of Health’s
(DOH) campaign to put
disturbing images of the ill
effects of smoking on cigarette
packs.
The case remained in
limbo during the past year
and recently, it has been given
attention by government
officials. I believe that for this
case to succeed in Court, more
attention should be given by
anti-smoking advocates and
ultimately, the government
itself.
Along
with
Cabral,
If one is really blind,
one may notice
that many Filipino
teenagers are
picking up the habit
nowadays.
former DOH chiefs Francisco
Duque III, Jaime Galvez-Tan,
Alberto Romualdez Jr., and
Alfredo R.A. Bengzon filed a
petition and a motion asking
the high court to allow them
intervention with the cases.
The disturbing images,
along with the ominuos
messages, should be enough to
shun smokers from smoking.
The images, used by countries
like the United Kingdom and
Singapore, have helped reduce
smoking among its citizens.
The rate of smoking from
26 percent in 2000 has been
reduced to 16 percent in 2009.
Likewise, the government
should give priority to the fact
that more and more are killed
by lung cancer every year, 80
percent who were diagnosed
with it succumbed to the
disease and only survive 15
percent.
According to the Global
Adult Tobacco Survey back in
2009, 28 percent of Filipinos
are smokers. Along with
that, only five percent of the
smokers have successfully
quit smoking.
The case filed by the
tobacco companies might be
affirmed by the fact that the
President is also smoker, a
“heavy smoker” to be precise.
Although the case got
attention recently, it still is
Golden Sox
FROM PAGE 15
With two more games
remaining in the second
round, UST can claim the
championship should it beat
Season 72 titlist Adamson
University and runner-up
NU.
“We just focus on every
Editorial
FROM PAGE 4
church and the propagation
of faith not only in the
country but in Asia and the
rest of the world as well.
UST alumni bishops and
clergy are devoted vanguards
of Catholic faith and have
unwaveringly opposed the
Reprowductive Health Bill
because it is fundamentally an
anti-life, anti-poor measure,
a Stalinist social-engineering
bill masquerading as a health
legislation .
It should also be noted
It might take more
than a few painful
tries to win over our
own Disney-dominated
hearts, but as long as
were young and in love
with what we do, we’ve
got plenty of time.
Varsitarian Opinion
5
USTe
good to know that some
people give a hoot that more
Filipinos should quit smoking.
If one is really blind, one may
notice that many Filipino
teenagers are picking up the
habit nowadays.
In relation to that, I
recently watched the movie,
Thank You For Smoking, and
picked up a few ideas why
smoking cannot be fully
stopped. The movie focused
on the role of the media,
particularly PR men, who
subtly persuade America’s
youth into smoking. The
movie pointed out one thing
to me, as also shown in the
movie.
Also,
the
Filipino
entertainment industry’s role
has been to convince more
people to smoke, because of
the fact that many television
shows feature young people
smoking. The shows appear
as though smoking is not bad
and portrayed as cool.
At the end of the day,
always follow what health
advocates have been saying
for a long time that smoking
is not cool.
Metanoia postscripts
A FEW weeks ago, I was trying
to decide which among the 36th
Metro Manila Film Fest entries
I was going to watch: I decided
between RPG Metanoia, the
first Philippine full-length
computer-generated
feature
film in 3D, and Rosario, which
by then I have presumed to
be one of those glorified love
stories.
I ended up placing my
hundred-eighty peso bet on
Rosario despite its exceptionally
unimaginative title. I didn’t
have the guts to believe that
RPG Metanoia wasn’t as awful
as the Super Inggo and Super
Tropa series. And Filipino
animation did not exactly own
a good record when it comes to
motion picture.
Two years ago, I was so
keyed up when I heard the news
about Urduja, a locally produced
movie created by an all-Filipino
group. Finally, a foretaste of
what Pinoy animation would be
like, I thought.
But it had turned out to
be a quite sour. I didn’t think
that the aftermath of three
The
audience.
We have a long, rockstrewn path to climb, but we
have to admit, RPG Metanoia
is a huge leap for the Philippine
animation industry; no matter
how frozen the characters’ hairs
are or how much they reminded
me of those kids in the animated
movie,
Despicable
Me.
Mimicry is a learning process
after all; they say even dear
Astro Boy was a derivative of
Mickey Mouse. And Japanese
animation had turned out to be
more than well, so why can’t
we? Because if there’s one
thing that Filipinos will never
be deprived of, that would be
natural and genuine talent. Even
if this profession isn’t spared of
the charm of greener currency,
I still believe in those who have
the spirit to stay and make a
name for our country.
It might take more than a
few painful tries to win over our
own Disney-dominated hearts,
but as long as were young and in
love with what we do, we’ve got
plenty of time.
centuries of colonialism was
this critical until I saw the
animated Pangasinense warriorprincess looking so much like a
plagiarized Pocahontas.
Yes, I know about the
standard line up of justifications;
that we’re a fiscally-pitiable
country and we don’t have
those technologies that make
the foreigners look so good.
But what kind of excuse do we
have for these look-alikes? If
this is their strategy of getting
close to the level of the firstworld animation studios, they
better design a new one—fast.
Because whether we can bear
it or not, studios like Disney
exist. And they excel in their
existence so much that anything
created in attempt to go after
them would be sucked in and
digested by ignominy (long
before we even get a chance to
see the unfortunate thing).
Sadly, this blemished
record became roots of
the biggest barrier that our
animators must surmount. More
than the budget constraints,
second-rate technology, and the
resemblance of their designs to
foreign characters, they would
have to endure the utter lack of
confidence of their own local
game and try to win it. We try
not to think about sweeping
the round,” said Santos.
In earlier games, UST
d e f e a t e d U P, 8 - 6 , l a s t
January 13 and escaped La
Salle, 5-4, via an extra 10th
inning last January 9. This
was the second time blackand-gold batters battled the
Taft-based squad and needed
an extra inning to win the
game. UST also defeated La
Salle (8-6) and Ateneo (82) last December 12 and 9.
Not so lucky
T h e UST S of t b e l l e s
bowed down to a merciless
Adamson squad, 0-9, at the
Rosario Sports Complex in
Pasig last January 12.
A f t e r t h e e xo d u s of
Aiza dela Torre, UST relied
on Melanie Laserna, Erika
Panganiban, and Angelique
P a n g a n i b a n ’s p i t c h i n g
prowess for defense. At the bottom of the first
in ning, the Espana-based
softbelles executed a rigid
defense as catcher Jocelyn
Un g s o d c a u g ht M ic h el le
L e n t ija’s f ly- b a l l , w h i le
Lu z v i m i nd a Embudo was
st r uck out with Laser na’s
pitch ending the first inning
with 0-0. A barrage of Adamson
runs caught UST off guard,
0-5, in the second frame.
“For the next games, we
will concentrate on offense
since we do not have legitimate
pitcher.”
that the UST Hospital Clinical
Division is the biggest private
charity ward in the country,
purely subsidized by the UST
Hospital to render medical
services to the poor.
UST’s
contribution
in the science, arts and
humanities cannot be denied;
it has produced the best
scientists, writers and artists
in the country. Many of them
have been named National
Scientists
and
National
Artists.
Thomasians have also led
in the building of Philippine
business
and
economy.
Thomasians
Washington
Sycip and Alfredo Velayo
built the first international
accounting firm in Asia.
UST Engineering alumnus
Francisco
Eizmendi
led
San Miguel Corporation to
become Southeast Asia’s
biggest food and beverage
firm. Tony Tan Cak Tiong
built Jollibee and made it a
Philippine fast-food export
to rival McDonald’s. UST
Pharmacy alumna Vivian
Que-Azcona led Mercury
Drug to be the paragon in
retail drug excellence.
The
University
at
present is the largest Catholic
University in the world in
terms of student population.
It sports the grandest
appellations. It is the Pontifical
and Royal University of
Santo Tomas, the Catholic
University of the Philippines.
To some extent, the
University, like the proverbial
mustard seed, has become
the Kingdom of Heaven,
a reflection, yet ineffable
admittedly but emerging more
evidently as the centuries go
by, of the greater glory that
awaits those who accept the
faith and labor to the full
realization of the reign of
faith, hope and love in the
universe. Truly, UST, 400
years old and counting, has
been the beneficiary and the
source of unending grace.
Hindi Unibersidad ng Santo
Tomas (UST) kundi Unibersidad
ng San Carlos (USC) ang
pinakamatandang paaralan sa
Pilipinas.
Noong 1995 pa lamang,
ipinagdiwang na ng USC, o ang
sinasabing dating Colegio de San
Ildefonso, sa Lungsod ng Cebu ang
kanilang ika-400 anibersaryo.
Kapuwa mas matanda pa sa
Harvard University ng Estados
Unidos na itinayo ng isang
Protestanteng alagad ng Diyos na si Rev. John Harvard noong
1636!
Bagama’t ipinaglalaban pa rin ang nasabing rekord ng UST,
na kilala noon bilang Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Rosario,
masasabing UST pa rin ang naunang maging “unibersidad”
nang igawad ito noong 1645 gayong nakamit ito ng USC noong
1948.Ang atas o utos na ito ay mula pa kay Santo Papa Inocencio
X.
Isa pang argumento ng UST ay ang pagsasara ng totoong
USC noong 1769 nang pinatalsik ang mga Heswita at muling
magbubukas noong 1783 nang may bagong pangalan at may-ari.
Sa kabila ng lahat, ano naman kung ngayon pa lamang 2011
magiging 400 taong gulang ang UST, na mas kilala na bilang
Ustě?
Dahil nga katandaan, ang Ustě ay nauna sa maraming
bagay.
Ito ang may pinakamatandang eskuwelahan sa Pilosopiya
na itinayo rin noong 1611; ang may pinakamatandang
eskuwelahan pagdating sa Batas Kanon na itinatag noong
1732; ang may pinakamatandang eskuwelahan sa Medisina na
itinatag noong 1871;at ang may pinakamatandang eskuwelahan
ng Parmasiya na itinatag noong 1871.
Pinakaluma rin sa bansa ang imbakan nito ng lahat ng luma
sapagkat noong 1682 pa man mayroon na itong museo.
Dala-dala ng mga Dominiko ang teknolohiya ng imprenta
kaya sila ang naglimbag ng kauna-unahang aklat sa Pilipinas
noong 1593—ang Doctrina Christiana—na nailigtas nang
bombahin noong Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig ang
Maynila.
Pakatandaang ang Ustě noon ay 300 taong nasa loob ng
Intramuros.
Nang dumami ang mga estudyante rito, inilipat ang Ustě sa
Sulucan, Sampaloc mula pa noong 1927 sa kinalalagyan nitong
kampus ngayong may sukat na 21.5 ektarya.
Dahil walang humpay ang USTě
sa paghasa at pagdalubhasa
ng kaguruan, sumasabay rin sa
modernisasyon ang aklatan nito na
isa sa pinakamalaki sa Asya.
Ang tinatawag na Main Building ay itinayo ni Padre
Roque Ruaño bilang kontra-lindol subalit hindi kontra-ligalig.
Saksi sa kasaysayan ang Ustě sa dahilang ito ay ginawang
himpilan ng mga Ingles noong 1762; ginawang tanggapan ng
mga propesor at mag-aaral na ibig tumulong sa rebolusyon
noong 1898; ginawang ospital noong mga panahon ding iyon;
at ginawang kampo ng mga dayuhang bilanggo ng mga Hapon
noong Dekada 40.
Ang lahat ng ito ay nasa kuwento ng mga bato at sementong
ginamit sa Arch of the Centuries, na dating nasa tarangkahan
ng Intramuros, ngunit inilipat din sa bukana o bungad nito sa
Kalye España sa Maynila noong 1954.
Kung makapagsasalita lamang ang tansong estatuwa
ng tagapagtatag ng Ustě na si Padre Miguel de Benavides,
isasalaysay nito ang pasinaya nito noong 1891 at 1946.
Disin-sana’y mapasasalamatan ni Padre Benavides, na
dumating noong 15 Hulyo 1587, ang mga personalidad at iba
pang nagluklok sa Ustě sa kinatatayuan nito ngayon.
Lalo na nang ito ay ginawa nang “The Royal University” ni
Haring Carlos III ng Espanya noong 7 Marso 1785; “Pontifical
University” ng Santo Papa Leo XIII noong 17 Setyembre 1902;
at “Catholic University” ng Santo Papa Pio XII noong 1947.
Binigyan din ang Ustě ng “The Civil Order of Alfonso X
el Sabio,” ang pinakamataas ng gawad para sa agham at kultura
sa Espanya noong 18 Hulyo 1961.
Isang karangalan ding maipagmamalaki ang pagiging
bukod-tanging unibersidad na dinayo pa ng dalawang Santo
Papa nang tatlong ulit.
Si Santo Papa Pablo VI ay dumalaw noong 28 Nobyembre
1970, samantalang si Santo Papa Juan Pablo II ay dumalaw
noong 18 Pebrero 1981 at 13 Enero 1995.
Sa loob ng 400 taon, nakapagsilang ito ng mga santo at
mga sagrado.
Ustě rin ang magulang ng mga bayani, mga martir, mga
pangulo, mga senador at kongresista, mga kasapi ng hudikatura,
mga miyembro ng gabinete, at iba pang dakila.
Kabilang ang mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining—
na sina Leandro Locsin, Juan Nakpil, at Ildefonso Santos
Jr. (Arkitektura); Antonio Buenaventura at Ernani Cuenco
(Musika); Nick Joaquin, Francisco Sionil Jose, Bienvenido
Lumbera at Rolando Tinio (Panitikan); Victorio Edades,
Carlos Francisco, Ang Kiukok, at J. Elizalde Navarro (Sining
Biswal); Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana (Teatro)—na ang mga
yapak ay sinusundan at sinusunod ng kabataang Tomasinong
pinapanday ng palihan sa loob at labas ng Ustě.
Makaraan ang 400 taon, uugud-ugod na ba ang Ustě?
Hindi, sapagkat kinikilala ito palagi ng Commission
on Higher Education: bilang Center of Excellence sa
larangan ng Arkitektura; Kemistri; Edukasyon; Elektroniko
Guest Columnist PAGE 14
6 Witness The
Varsitarian January 26, 2011
Possession a way to God,
says exorcism book
By JENNIFER M. ORILLAZA
THE COUNTRY’S leading exorcist has launched a new
book, focusing on the rite as a spiritual journey.
Stripped down to its spiritual grounding, curing
the possessed is more about leading them back to God’s
love, according to Thomasian Fr. Jose Francisco Syquia,
author of Exorcist: A Spiritual Journey.
The new book, which was launched at the San
Carlos Seminary last January 8, takes off from Syquia’s
successful first title, Exorcism: Encounter with the
Paranormal and the Occult.
Syquia’s latest work presents exorcism as more of a
healing process wounded souls go through to reconnect
with God.
“Exorcism is merely God manifesting His true
nature, seeking with love what is lost. When the
[demonized] child chooses freely to return to Him,
God uses this ministry to destroy past attachments,
obstacles, and painful memories so that the repentant
child can again belong
and experience His love,”
he said.
He added: “Those
who lack faith with the
Lord and those who
expose themselves to the
paranormal are common
preys used by evil
spirits.”
Syquia said demonic
possession
allowed
people to discover the
true face of God’s love,
to discover what it means
to be cut off from His
infinite love, and what it
means to be deceived by
the devil.
In one of his
encounters
with
a
possessed person, he recalled feeling pity more than
fear for the suffering victim.
“When exorcising possessed people, I do not
feel fear because it is not the devil that I see on their
faces, but the image of Jesus suffering,” he, head of the
Archdiocese of Manila’s Office of Exorcism, said.
Syquia said driving away evil spirits required
“proper disposition” for exorcists.
“I ask myself many times if this endeavor is really
meant for me. But I thank the Lord because [this]
allowed me to gain experience and see His true love and
power,” he said.
Apart from driving away evil spirits from the
body of human beings, Syquia noted that exorcism is
a ministry which promotes forgiveness among the
prodigal children of the Lord.
Fr. Domie Guzman, Publication Director of St.
Paul’s Publishing Philippines, said that Syquia’s new
book greatly portrays the Christian tradition of healing,
forgiving, and returning back to the Lord.
The book, according to Guzman, shows the people
that there are really periods in a person’s life when his
faith and spiritual belief are being tested.
“This book is a serious synthesis of letting Catholics
know that in the very heart of the Catholic tradition,
healing and deliverance are the richest,” Guzman said.
“It deals with a serious fact and presents the reality of
Christian life as a spiritual warfare.”
A member of the International Association of
Exorcists based in Rome, Syquia attended the San
Carlos Major Seminary and UST Central Seminary. He
also finished his master’s degree in Psychology from
the UST Graduate School and his Licentiate in Spiritual
Theology from the Angelicum University in Rome.
Metanoia
FROM PAGE 11
the animation team were
helping the modeling team,
and vice versa,” Enriquez
said.
But the effort was worth
it, watching their work on
the big screen and seeing
their names roll more than
made up for the difficulties.
“During the making of
the film, when we saw that
our animation is working
f lawlessly, we felt motivated
to go on,” Eliscupides said.
Enriquez
and
Eliscupides advised students
who plan to make animation
their career to be passionate
in what they are doing.
“You must also keep
in touch with the latest
technology in animation.
Never
stop
learning,”
Enriquez said.
RPG Metanoia won the
Third Best Picture, Best
Theme Song and Best Sound
Recording in the festival.
It has also been rated “A”
by the Cinema Evaluation
Board, which entitles it to a
100 percent amusement tax
rebate. The film was a joint
project of Ambient Media,
Thaumatrope Animations,
and Star Cinema.
The f ilm is about the
adventures of Nico and his
friends as they save the world
of Met anoia, a massively
mult iplayer on li ne game,
from a computer virus that
alters the behavior of its
players through subliminal
messages. In addition, the
film also sends a message that
there is more to childhood
than just playing computer
games. John Ernest F.
Jose
Editor: Robin G. Padilla
RP Dominicans produce
internat’l film on St. Dominic
THE THOMASIAN community now has a “reel-life” evidence
of how the Order of Preachers
became the stronghold of Catholic faith.
The Dominican Province
of the Philippines gave tribute to
the Dominican order, which is
set to mark its 800th anniversary
in 2016, by producing the first
full-length feature film on St.
Dominic de Guzman.
The film, Dominic: Light of
the Church (Lumen Ecclesiae),
premiered last December 11
at the Medicine Auditorium
and zeroes in on the life of St.
Dominic de Guzman and the
beginnings of the religious order
he founded.
Starting from the childhood
of St. Dominic, the film tells the
story of a boy who grows up
and studies in the monastery of
Palencia, Spain at such a young
age.
His journey of preaching
starts when he accompanies
the Bishop of Osma to travel to
the kingdom of Castille. There,
he encounters heretics who
erroneously preach the word of
God.
During a meeting with the
bishops in Rome to counter the
growing sect of heretics, the
bishops agree to send Dominic to
lead a mission of preachers who
will travel across Europe, using
the concept of Vita Apostolica.
The preachers embrace three
principles: evangelical poverty,
passionate love for souls, and
close study and preaching of
God’s Word.
Like the Apostles, the
band of brothers, rallied by St.
Dominic, start their mission,
bringing only their staff and
travelling robes and sandals. For
their food, they depend on the
generosity of people to whom
they preach. To better cover more
ground, the group of clergymen
split up and eventually call
themselves the Order of
Preachers.
Cinematography is top
quality due to the use of hightechnology equipment. But the
film could have enhanced its
realism had the dialogue been
in authentic Spanish and French
rather than in English. In any
case, the actors are obviously
continental Europeans and have
a difficulty speaking in English.
Despite the panoramic
shots of landscapes, the
cinematography and editing tend
to linger too much, so that the
audience may lose sight of the
narrative.
Still, the film is faithful to
the main points of the life of St.
Dominic.
Spiritual experience
For Fr. Christopher Jeffrey
Aytona, O.P., executive producer
the film is the product of “Divine
Providence”.
The idea for the film
was hatched during the 40th
anniversary of the Dominican
Province of the Philippines,
when the movie on the life of the
founder of the Order of Preachers
to mark the eighth centenary of
the Dominicans was proposed
and approved.
“I was thinking of what
would be a good proposal for
the activities of the Dominican
Dominican establishments all
over the world.
Aytona said the production
of the movie was a spiritual
experience.
“After every shoot, we felt
totally problem-free because
of limited resource. It was also
difficult looking for actors.
“We went to Madrid to
look for actors, especially for the
main character,” he said. “The
Movie screenshots courtesy of Dominican Province of the Philippines
Province of the Philippines and
I thought that there hasn’t been
a movie of St. Dominic made
before,” said Aytona. “I sent my
proposal to the Roman Curia (the
administrative department of the
Vatican) and they approved.”
Although
the
film’s
technical crew is all-Filipino,
including first-time director
Fr. Marcelino Saria, O.P., the
production got assistance from
Professors
FROM PAGE 3
of migration because what happens
now is that Filipinos are pressured to go
abroad, like there is no other option,”
Opiniano added.
Ang and Opiniano bested around
248 participants from developing
countries. The Philippines beat Bulgaria
and India for the top prize.
The study is set to be pilot-tested
in the municipalities of Magarao in
Camarines Sur and Maribojoc in Bohol.
like we were in a recollection,”
Aytona, a UST Communication
Arts graduate, said. “The
production seemed like a twomonth retreat for the staff with St.
Dominic as our retreat master.”
Aytona said the crew shot the
film in places where St. Dominic
actually travelled in his preaching,
in order to give audiences a feel of
the authentic.
But the production was not
The Global Development Awards and
Medals Competition is an international
research contest organized by the
Global Development Network (GDN)
for developing-country researchers and
policy research institutes.
The two professors, and the other
finalists from different categories and
awards, presented their researches
before a panel of judges and over 500
practitioners in the field of development at
the GDN’s Annual Global Development
Conference last January 13 to 15.
Opiniano and Ang received
$30,000. The grant was sponsored by the
Japanese Ministry of Finance. The last
mayor there even helped us look
for actors and even put up posters
for an audition.”
Aytona said the movie seeks
to bring a new perspective to the
life of St. Dominic.
“The purpose is to introduce
St. Dominic (to the younger
generations),” he said.
The movie seeks to make St.
Dominic relevant to the times, he
added. Robin G. Padilla
time the Philippines placed in the Medals
competition was in 2000, when economist
Lorelei Mendoza of the University of the
Philippines-Baguio won second place in
the first competition.
Ang, an economics professor, heads
the research cluster, where Opiniano,
who teaches journalism, is a research
associate. Opiniano is a former sports
editor of the Varsitarian.
Last year, Ang and Opiniano also
made it to the top three of the competition
for a research proposal dealing with the
impact of the economic crisis on overseas
Filipino workers. Rommel Marvin C.
Rio
Editor: Alexis Ailex C. Villamor Jr.
January 26, 2011
The
Varsitarian Special
Reports 7
Photo by ISABELA A. MARTINEZ
Steady hike in freshman enrollment each year causing congestion
Too many students, so few classrooms
By Marnee A. Gamboa
and Monica N. Ladisla
TOO MANY students go
for UST and it shows in
the school’s increasingly
congested classrooms.
The problem is evident
in the Faculty of Arts and
Letters where one Theology
class—despite the standard
room
air-conditioning—is
stuffed with as many as 59
students. The number is 14
more than the accepted ratio
of 45 students per classroom.
Students paid at least
P43,000 this semester.
Since 2005, freshmen
admission
has
steadily
increased by almost 21.6
percent, according to data
from the Office of the
Registrar. In 2006, UST
accepted 10,271 first-year
students. The figure climbed
to 12,765 the following year,
13,132 the next, and 13,324 in
2009.
The
increasing
enrollment
indicated
a
continued preference for UST
as the university of choice
among
many
Filipinos,
especially when other schools
in the University Belt are
said to be experiencing an
opposite trend.
Still, the population
problem is real and it requires
structural, if not, creative,
solutions soon.
“We
borrow
rooms
because we do not want the
students to have classes in
a large number,” said Jean
Reintegrado, secretary of
the College of Fine Arts and
Data from the Registrar’s Office show the number of students who have
enrolled in the different faculties and colleges of the University in the past
three years.
Graphics by PATRICK C. DELOS REYES
Design, noting that CFAD
students hold lectures at the
Faculty of Engineering on
certain days.
“We want the students
to have enough breathing
space,” she said.
CFAD students also
use two classrooms in the
Domus Mariea Residences,
a dormitory beside the Beato
Angelico Building.
The colleges of Science,
Rehabilitation Sciences, and
the Faculty of Civil Law also
have to deal with classroom
shortage due to the increase
in students.
Science Assistant Dean
John Donnie Ramos said the
college had difficulties with
room assignments at the
start of the academic year
because the Biology program
added another section, and
Civil Law took some of the
college’s classrooms.
“Because of these, we
were left with no choice but
to use our laboratories as
lecture rooms,” he said.
Civil Law Dean Nilo
Divina said he had to
“borrow” classrooms because
of bigger enrollment.
“From
around
200
students, we were able to
spring to 300 [this year]. Our
college now has a very good
number of 670 students from
first year to fourth year,” he
said.
Science and Civil Law
are both housed in the Main
Building, together with the
Faculty of Pharmacy and
administrative offices.
While
classrooms
are in short supply, the
College of Rehabilitation
Sciences (CRS) wants more
laboratories. The CRS is
using the Main Building’s
laboratories, as those in St.
Martin de Porres Building
are already being used by
the College of Nursing and
Faculty of Medicine and
Surgery.
“We would particularly
want to request for more skills
laboratories for we don’t
have enough laboratories
for
zoology,
chemistry
and physics,” CRS College
Secretary Donald Lipardo
said.
Control
The pressure actually
comes from the growing
number of applicants passing
the entrance examination
every year.
Faculty of Pharmacy
Dean Priscilla Torres said
her college saw an increase
in the number of applicants
this year to 5,000 from 3,000.
However, because of the
limited number of rooms and
laboratories, Pharmacy can
only have as much as eight
sections.
“We had seven sections
in the last two years in the
Medical Technology and
Pharmacy programs, but we
have eight sections this year,
and only one section for
Biochemistry,” Torres said.
“We can’t accept more even if
we wanted to.”
The
College
of
Commerce and Business
Administration offers this
advice to other colleges—
control the population by
setting the bar higher when
the number of applicants
jump.
Dean Ma. Socorro Calara
described this as “control
over admittance.”
“The
number
of
applicants in our college has
not changed conspicuously
in the past, but there has
been a large increase in the
number of applicants this
year,” Calara said. “[In order]
to compensate for that (the
increase in applicants), we
set the bar higher for them
(applicants) and slots are
strictly on a first-come, firstserved basis.”
Calara, however, said she
can accept more applicants
this coming school year.
“We try to maintain 24
or less sections for freshmen
with only 45 students each
because that is just how much
the building permits us to
accommodate,” Calara said.
Commerce
has
21
sections for Basic Education
in Business and just two
sections for Entrepreneurship
in the first-year level.
Meanwhile, Science and
CRS are experimenting by
compressing classes to four
days to free up classrooms.
But students have to endure
longer hours.
“To
maximize
the
utilization of the available
classrooms, we extended the
class hours from 7 (a.m.) to
7 (p.m.),” the CRS’ Lipardo
said. “However, we make sure
that students have at least
one day off a week, either
on Monday, Wednesday, or
Saturday.”
Lipardo said the college
has also imposed higher cutoff in scores in IQ, Science,
and English in the entrance
exam for freshmen to
maintain the ideal 45:1 ratio
of students to classrooms.
But in the first year,
CRS still maintains two
sections for Occupational
Therapy (OT), three sections
for Physical Therapy (PT),
and one section for Speech
Therapy and Sports Science
at up to 53 students each.
In the College of
Architecture, Dean John
Joseph
Fernandez
said
the population has been
consistent since 2007.
“Every year, almost
2,000 students apply for our
college, but we only take in
480 to 550,” he said.
Fernandez
said
Architecture has also devised
a system to manage the
student population.
“We initiated a system
three years ago which
heightened the cut-off rate
as they (students) go up the
program, meaning freshmen
were being filtered and those
who stay need to sustain good
grades,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Faculty
of Engineering makes sure its
facilities can accommodate
enough
students
by
evaluating regularly the
number of freshmen to be
admitted every year.
“A committee comes up
with a study that shows how
to maximize the resources of
the building,” Dean Josefin
de Alban said. “This school
year, we had to have Monday
to Saturday classes.”
“When the computer
courses were first transferred here
from the College of Science, they
only had one section per level,”
Alban said. “But the demand for
computer courses rose and now
we accept four to five sections in
the first-year level.”
De Alban noted that while
the college has been accepting
2,000 freshmen annually in the
past five years, only 700 to 800
graduate.
8
Editors: Rose-An Jessica M. Dioquino
FEATURES
The
Varsitarian January 26, 2011
9
w
Valik Varsi: A Toast to the UST Quadricentennial
By Rose-An Jessica M. Dioquino
Lumbera
Tatad
IT WAS not only a night of looking back and cherishing fond
memories shared with colleagues and friends, but a homecoming
in the truest sense of the word.
More than 200 of the Varsitarian’s former staff members—
who all witnessed and chronicled the many twists, turns, and
happenings that the University has gone through for the past
century—gathered under canopies and starry skies at the Plaza
Mayor for the Quadricentennial Valik Varsi last December 11,
and finally returned to their alma mater’s embrace to celebrate as
her much-anticipated 400th anniversary approaches.
The night filled with laughter and chatter saw the meeting
of friends and colleagues who hadn’t seen each other for a long
time. It was, as one ‘V’ alumnus put it, an evening when “the
stars have descended”.
Prominent Varsitarian alumni such as National Artist
Bienvenido Lumbera and pioneer women journalists Doris
Trinidad-Gamalinda, Alice Colet-Villadolid, and Gloria
Garchitorena-Goloy were also present.
The affair was hosted by poet and TV personality Lourd
de Veyra and Manila Bulletin sports columnist Kristina Maralit,
former ‘V’ Literary writer and Sports writer, respectively. The
homecoming was dubbed a “special edition”—in line with the
festivities for UST’s Quadricentennial. Unlike the other reunions
which were held every five years, this was organized only two
years after the publication’s 80th anniversary in 2008.
“Aside from the Varsitarian’s tendency to celebrate at the
slightest excuse, it is only proper for the paper’s staff and alumni
to give credit where credit is due,” said publications adviser
Joselito Zulueta. “After all, we would not be one, big, happy ‘V’
family if not for the fact that we belong to the one, big, happy
universe that is our beloved University of Santo Tomas.”
Give and take
As the hands on the clock atop the Main Building moved,
recollections about the second family that is the Varsitarian
poured forth, sending nostalgia up in the air.
Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Neal Cruz, who held the
Literary editorship in the 1950s, thanked the Varsitarian for
letting him flourish as a writer while giving him compensation,
which helped him sail through his schooling.
“Without [the scholarship and stipend], I doubt if I could
have finished college, so I’m very grateful to the ‘V’,” the
Inquirer columnist said.
Representing the 70s, Sunday Inquirer Magazine executive
editor Pennie Azarcon-Dela Cruz shared that one of her
batchmates joined the ‘V’ because “there was an allowance and
a scholarship that went with one byline and name in the staff
box.”
“[At that time], it ranged from five to 50 pesos per issue,
for reporters and editors, respectively. It was a small fortune, but
could buy lots of Tropical Hut hamburgers at four pesos each,”
she said.
‘A certain oneness’
But the 1975 associate editor noted how the ‘V’ provided
staff members with more than an allowance that came with
every issue they managed to publish. She said that the
publication was where they found their lifetime careers and
where they were transformed from wide-eyed innocents to
sensible, watchful citizens that saw the end of “the era of
turbulence and torment”.
“While Martial Law restrictions and the [University]
administration prevented us from out and out militancy, we
found that it was still possible to push the envelope and to couch
articles in seemingly innocuous turns but still brought home the
message,” she shared.
Dela Cruz added that the ‘V’ was the place that showed
them how deep, lasting friendships could develop while
competing for excellence.
“We stayed and stayed because we found friends and
lovers and established enduring relationships amid the clutter of
typewriters,” she said. “Everyone felt a certain oneness—a bond
with one another that fell short of an actual fraternity minus the
training, the Greek letters, and initiation rites.”
Poet Vim Nadera proudly declared “Ang fraternity ko,
Varsi,” and talked about the 80s—the decade that saw the
peaceful revolution that toppled down a dictatorship. That was
also the batch that coined the term “amihan”, referring to ‘V’
alumni.
The former editor in chief recalled that, during his time,
there was the dark room, the antics that spelled a challenge to
prove oneself, and the staff’s fondness for words that begin with
the letter V.
Giving his recollection of the “golden years” that was the
1990s, cardiologist and UST Rehabilitation Sciences instructor
Don Robespierre Reyes shared the staff’s experience during the
1995 World Youth Day, which was held in the University. Then
Varsitarian editor in chief Karina Torralba, now a successful
rheumatologist, was asked to deliver the address to the Pope on
behalf of the Filipino youth at the UST Grandstand. But due to
Torralba’s generosity, the speech was not her stand alone.
“She tried to solicit the comments and opinions of all the
‘V’,” the former editor in chief said. “What she said before the
Pope and the whole wide world was the stand of the ‘V’ staff.”
But the staff’s oneness did not stand without conflicts that
saw temporary breakage of friendships, Reyes added. The doctor
noted that it wasn’t because staff members hated each other, but
because they chose to stand with their beliefs.
“As time passes, we become better persons and then we
regain the friendship that we once lost,” he said. “It’s all because
of the Varsitarian.”
Legacy and tribute
For Cruz and former senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, the
‘V’ and UST are responsible for producing journalists who
continually live by values that shield them from the “evils” in
the field.
“I’ve come to believe that there is something in the air we
breathe here that makes UST journalists more resistant to the
evil outside,” said Tatad, a two-time Literary editor of the 1960s.
Cruz acknowledged the publication’s contributions in
rearing Thomasian journalists who dominate the media.
Tatad also said that he felt so proud after seeing copies of
the Varsitarian, which has stayed “better written and better
edited, and therefore more readable than other pretentious papers
in the market.”
“I guess one can only hope that our young journalists on
campus will retain their integrity and their spirit once they step
out of the campus and join the crowd outside, where it is quite
unpredictable,” he said.
National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose addressed the
younger generation of the ‘V’ family and reminded them of the
legacy that they carry as part of the University and its official
student publication.
“The country’s best writers were reared in this University,”
he said. “That means you have a legacy which proves that we
Filipinos are a very talented and heroic people.”
The former Varsitarian editor in chief, who represented
the staff of the 1940s, also challenged them by saying that he
expects them to go beyond what the seniors have done while
carrying the canons of virtue and excellence.
“In trying to outdo us, you must remember that this
University has created a community of people who, in spite
of a very limited number, have contributed so much to the
formation of this nation and this nation’s cultural heritage and
consciousness,” he said. “Don’t forget that your loyalty is not
only to this University but also to the community that is much
much larger than what this University offers us.”
Then and now
One of the highlights of the evening was the balagtasan
staged by former ‘V’ staff members Nadera and Michael
Coroza together with renowned Filipino poet Teo Antonio.
The three poets tackled the differences of the old and the new
University through rhymes, teasing, and adlibs.
Antonio, a product of the former College of Architecture
and Fine Arts (now split into Fine Arts and Design and
Architecture), stood by the old UST, stating the glory which he
said the present University is slowly losing.
He scrutinized the University’s educational system and
used the requirement for academic titles in his argument.
But Coroza, who sided with the new UST, countered
that degrees are but formalities that do not exactly define a
Thomasian teacher’s ability to impart knowledge to the new
breed.
“Mga guro dito’y pawang masisipag na magturo, sa
buhay man o akademiya’y nasanay sa pagkukuro. Paramihan
ba ng MA o Ph.D. ang batayan?” he argued, saying that there
are MA and Ph.D. holders who are not good educators.
Then, mentioning the names of successful UST alumni,
such as former presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Manuel
Quezon and former senator Claro M. Recto, Antonio said that
the old UST left a lasting mark on the country that the present
generation would not be able to surpass.
“Kaya ngayo’y laging windang ang patakbo ng gobyerno,
sapagkat ang mga lider ay hindi na Tomasino,” he added.
He pushed through with his argument by reciting the long
list of Thomasian alumni—including National Artists and
former Varsitarian staff members Sionil-Jose, Bienvenido
Lumbera, and J. Elizalde Navarro—who have contributed so
much to the nation’s culture, literature, and arts.
Coroza was quick to answer with names of the current
generation’s artists and writers like Nadera, De Veyra, and
poet-prodigy Angelo Suarez, who are making their own marks
in the nation’s culture.
“Alam naming [mga] Tomasino ang kasaysayang sa
balikat nami’y isang hamong nakaatang,” he added. “Sa
paratang mo, katalo, lubos akong tumututol. Ang UST ay
palaging mangunguna sa pagsulong!”
To greet the “birthday celebrant”, the publication’s alumni
and current staff members all rose to sing “Happy Birthday”
with the accompaniment of the Manila Symphony Orchestra
(MSO), and everyone blew the candles on individual cupcakes
specially-made for the occasion.
The Varsitarian’s celebration for the University’s
Quadricentennial ended with a 400-second fireworks display
that burst as MSO played “Ode to Joy”. The event was also
graced by inspirational singer and UST alumna Jamie Rivera.
The country’s best writers
were reared in this University.
That means you have a legacy
which proves that we Filipinos
are a very talented and heroic
people.
- National Artist for Literature
and former ‘V’ editor in chief
Francisco Sionil-Jose
Photos by Paul allyson R. quiambao, jilson seckler c. tiu, and julienne krizia v. roman
Tatad with Crispin Maslog, the father of Development
Communication in the Philippines, and Hermenegildo Azarcon
(1950s and 1960s)
The Varsitarian through the years.
The staff of 2000s
The staff of 1970s
The staff of 1990s
Pioneer women writers Doris Trinidad-Gamalinda and Gloria Garchitorena-Goloy with
Inquirer columnist Neal Cruz and the staff of 1940s and 1950s
The staff of the 1980s
The Quadricentennial staff
10 Filipino The
Varsitarian ika-26 ng ENERO 2011
Patnugot: Danalyn T. Lubang
Bagong taon, bagong era
MAKALIPAS ang mahigit
dalawang dekada, muling
natunghayan ng bansa ang
pagpapalit ng disenyo ng
mga pera na sinimulan noong
Disyembre 2010, kung saan
unang inilabas ang P20 at P50
perang papel, samantalang
nakatakdang ilabas ng
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
(BSP) ngayong Enero lahat
ng mga bagong d ise nyo.
Ang mga bagong disenyo
ay gawa nina Diwa Gunigundo,
BSP Deputy Gover nor, at
Ambeth Ocampo, tagapangulo
ng National Historical Institute.
Ang pagbabago ng
mga salapi ay inianunsiyo
n o o n g 2 0 0 9 n g B S P.
Ayon kay Fe Dela Cruz,
tagapagsalita ng BSP, isa sa
mga rason kung bakit pinalitan
ang mga disenyo ng pera
ngayon ay dahil madali na itong
magaya ng mga namemeke.
“Sa katunayan, ang mga
bangko sentral sa buong mundo
ay karaniwang nagpapalit ng
disenyo ng kanilang pera upang
makaiwas sa mga namemeke.
Isa pang dahilan nito ay upang
masala m i n ng at i ng mga
salapi ang mga mahahalagang
mga bagay para sa ating mga
Filipino dahil ito ay pera
natin, pera ng bayan, pera ng
mga Filipino,” ani Dela Cruz.
“Bagong” pera
Naglalaman ang bagong
disenyo ng iba’t ibang mga
h ayo p a t t a n aw i n n a s a
Pilipinas lamang matatagpuan
tulad ng tarsier, butanding,
C ho colat e H i l ls, Ba naue
R ice Ter races, at iba pa.
Ilan sa mga katangian ng
bagong pera ay ang simbolo ng
Republika ng Pilipinas at ng
BSP; ang pag-iiba ng kulay sa
pag-ikot ng pera sa 45 digring
anggulo nito tulad ng nasa
P500, kung saan nagpapalit
ito mula sa mukha ni dating
Senador Benig no Aquino
BSP, Philpost
FROM PAGE 2
heroes, national artists, saints
and professionals in various
fields of expertise required
in the process of building a
nation,” it stated.
The resolution also noted
that UST has notched many
firsts in Philippine culture and
history, having the oldest school
of Philosophy (1611), oldest
museum in the Philippines
(1682), oldest canon law
school (1732), oldest school of
Medicine and Surgery (1871),
and oldest school of Pharmacy
(1871).
MVP donates
­­Meanwhile,
PLDT
corporate
communications
chief Ramon Isberto handed P5
Jr. tungo sa nakasulat na
P500; ang pagkaroroon
nito ng micro prints at
security thread na ilan
sa mga security features
upang maging mahirap
a ng p a ng g a g aya r it o.
Ito r i n ay na kaangat (embossed), isang
katangiang para sa mga
bulag. Ang bagong pera,
na gawa sa 80 porsyentong
cotton at 20 porsyentong abaca,
ay mayroon ding katangiang
ant i-bacterial na kaya ng
tumagal ng tatlong taon para
sa malalaking mga halaga.
Ayon kay Dela Cr u z,
maaaring pumunta sa mga
bangko ang mga mamamayan
upang papalitan ang kanilang
mga lumang pera, ng unit
umapela rin siya sa publiko
na huwag itago ang bagong
pera para gawing souvenir.
“Kung makakakuha
kayo no’ng bagong currency,
‘wag n’yo ho sana ubusin
l a h at a g a d p a r a m a r a m i
r i n a ng mag k a roroon ng
pagkakataon na makakuha
n i t o . H u w a g n’y o s a n a
itago lahat kasi hindi iyan
ka kalat,” a n i Dela Cr u z.
Sa gitna ng kasikatan
ng pag palalaba s ng mga
bagong disenyo ng pera, agad
rin naman itong binatikos
dahil sa ilang mali sa mga
nilalamang tanawin at hayop
nito na bahagi ng disenyo.
Isa sa mga puna rito ay
a ng mali ng pag kasusulat
ng scientif ic name ng
tarsier na Tarsius syrichta,
na nakasulat sa li kod ng
P200 na Tarsius Syrichta.
Ang scientific name ay
dapat nasusulat ng pahilig at
ang ikalawang salita ay dapat
nakasulat sa maliit na titik.
Ang iba ring mga salapi
ay naglalaman ng maling
mga scientific name tulad ng
sa butanding at maliputo na
nakasulat sa maliliit na titik.
“Remember that this is an
artistic output. Hindi naman ito
pang-aklat. We chose a specific
family of fauna. We went for
the artistic [side] otherwise
magiging masyadong magulo
na. So this is an artistic
rendition of certain elements.
The reaction of the public has
been generally positive,” aniya.
Ayon naman kay Amando
Tetangco, tagapangulo ng BSP,
million to an endowment fund
intended for the Simbahayan
project.
Touted
as
the
Quadricentennial centerpiece
project, Simbahayan will
rehabilitate 400 villages through
medical, literacy, housing, and
peace “interventions.”
“This is a very unique
celebration. It is not usual that
an institution is celebrating its
400th anniversary,” Isberto told
the Varsitarian in an interview
at the sidelines of the press
conference last January 21.
“That is why Mr. Pangilinan
decided to support this
community service [project].”
Smart Communications,
Inc., a PLDT subsidiary, also
launched Smart SIM cards and
limited-edition prepaid cell
cards with a photograph of the
Main Building. They will be
available next month.
Smart’s Sweep wireless
communication
technology,
meanwhile, will aid the
University’s
electronics
Engineering program.
“Oftentimes, schools are
having difficulties in coping
with the latest technology.
This will help the engineering
program on the latest trend in
electronics,” Isberto said.
“We will first introduce the
program, and later on we will
build a Sweep laboratory,” he
added.
During
the
press
conference, De la Rosa,
thanked the UST Medical
Alumni Association in America
for raising $1 million for the
UST Alumni Center, which will
be opened in 2012.
De la Rosa also said the
inauguration of the new UST
Sports Complex will be on
August 15. The gym will have
a seating capacity of 5,000.
with reports from Danalyn T.
Lubang
Carpark
Tracksters
FROM PAGE 15
did a very good performance,” said UST
coach Manny Calipes,
“I believe they will have a buildup
of confidence [for the UAAP]. Especially
the international meet, it’s a very big
help. It’s a different experience.”
The Male Tracksters tallied a
6-3-4 gold-silver-bronze medal output,
leading De La Salle University (4-62) and Colegio de San Juan de Letran
(3-6-4), which placed econd and third,
respectively.
Gold medals poured in for team
captain Emmanuel delos Angeles in
the 100-meter hurdles (15.0), Vincent
Osorio in the 10000-meter run (36:01.7),
Jennard Bercasio in the hammer throw
event (22.63 meters) and Mark David
Madera in the decathlon event (4209
points). Jordan Paul Billones harvested
a double gold in the 800-meter (1:57.9)
and 1500-meter run (4:10.1).
Delos Angeles chipped in two
more silvers in the 100-meter (10.7)
and 200-meter dash (22.5) while the
Thomasian quartet of Michael Angelo
Baay, James Neil Borres, Madera and
Billones also finished second in the
4x400-meter a 3:27.1 clocking.
Baay earned a bronze in the
400-meter run with a time of 51.1.
Madera and Milbert Nabuab finished
third in the 400-meter hurdles (58.5) and
10000-meter run (37:42.6) respectively.
Ernie Sabiduria threw the javelin for
42.91 meters, en route to a third-place
finish.
FROM PAGE 2
million in damages equivalent
to the actual rental income
earned by the carpark but not
remitted to UST; P1 million
in moral damages; P500,000
in exemplary damages; and
P500,000 in attorney’s fees
and litigation expenses.
The
“fraudulent
practices” were “perpetrated”
by Selegna Holdings, D2B
Multi Ventures Inc., Avent
Holdings Corp., Deimos
Holdings Corp., Pinthai Food
Corp., Elmcrest Holdings
Corp., Angeles, and Ma.
Rulette
Angeles,
UST
claimed.
Others charged were:
Cereality Inc., Pink Gold Gift
Shop, Ate Eva’s Grill, San
On the distaff side, the Female
Tracksters’ 3-9-9 medal harvest was good
enough for third, behind tournament
champion Far Eastern University (1610-9) and runner-up La Salle (4-2-3).
Promising rookie Jilla dela Rosa,
Miriam Miranda and Janice Marquez
snared a gold apiece in the 1500-meter
run (4:57.8), 3000-meter steeplechase
(12:12.6) and 5000-meter walk (32:40.6)
events, respectively.
Dela Rosa collected silver medals
in the 800-meter run (2:22.9) and
3000-meter steeplechase (12:24.5). In
the long jump event, Marinel de Chavez
finished second after posting a 4.73. Joy
Albinio also placed second with a 2.35
meter record in the pole vault event.
Albinio also contributed a silver medal
in the heptathlon event with 3,354 points.
Miranda, Raquel Joyce del Socorro
ang bagong pera ngayon ay
mailalarawan gamit ang apat na
letrang M—maganda, makulay,
malinis, at matibay. Ang unang
M ay n a nga nga hu luga ng
maganda, tulad ng mga
tanawing matatagpuan
sa bansa. Ang ikalawang
M ay nangangahulugang
makulay, tulad ng ating
kasaysayan at mga
bayani. A ng ikatlo ay
nangangahulugang malinis
dahil sa mga anti-bacterial
features nito na tulad ng
ating nais na magkaroon
ng malinis na pamamahala.
A n g i k a h u l i n g M ay
nangangahulugang
matibay na tulad naman
n g a t i n g e ko n o m i y a .
Sa k a saysaya n ng
BSP, apat na beses lamang
ito naglabas ng overprint.
Ito ay ginagawa lamang
kung ito ay mahalaga sa
pambansang lebel. Una ay
noong United Nations Year
of Microcredit, sumunod
noong ika-60 anibersaryo
ng BSP, i k atlo noong
ika-100 anibersaryo ng
Unibersidad ng Pilipinas
at ikaapat, ngayong ika400 na pagdiriwang ng
Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas.
“Isang pambihirang
pagkakataon ang pagpayag [ng
BSP] na maglagay ng overprint.
Sa pananaw ng BSP, naging
napakahalaga ng mga naging
kontribusyon ng Uniberisdad
sa bansa,” ani Dela Cr uz.
Ang UST rin ay
lumabas ngayong taon sa
planner at kalendar yo ng
BSP bi l a n g p a g p u p u g ay
sa mga nagi ng ambag sa
l ipu n a n ng Un ib e r sid a d .
“Hindi na bago”
Ayon sa historyador na si
Augusto De Viana, tagapangulo
ng Department of History sa
UST, ang pagababago ng pera
Miguel Food, Inc., Lozada’s
Galileo Educational Corp.,
AVA Food Summit, Funn
Food Corp., I-MD’s Food
Services, Imperial Dimsum
Corp., Quantum Care Medical
Products,
Inc.,
Ultimate
Burgers, Inc., Manheaven
Salon and Beauty Products,
Celebration
Foods,
Inc.,
Onaka Ippai, Chubby Kitchen
Corp., and Top Eats Food
Corp.
Whistleblower sued
Engineering alumnus Jun
Lozada’s company was also
included in the complaint.
In a 2008 interview with
the Varsitarian, Lozada—
who exposed corruption in
the Arroyo administration’s
$329-million
national
broadband network project
—denied any dealings in
connection with the carpark
project amid Internet rumors
and Rookie Gwendolyn Narciso also
captured the silver in the 5000-meter run
(19:56.3), 5000-meter walk (33:46.8)
and 400-meter run (1:02.1), respectively.
Following the lead of their male
counterparts, the black-and-gold squad
of Albinio, Narciso, Cristine Delfin and
Manilyn Clavejo placed second in the
4x400-meter relay with a time of four
minutes and 13.2 seconds.
Clavejo also contributed a twin
bronze in the 400-meter hurdles (1:09.5)
and 400-meter run (1:30.0).
Also snatching bronze medals were
Albinio in long jump (4.65 meters),
Chairy Palermo in high jump (1.50
meters) and Ma. Trecia Ricalde in
hammer throw (28.78 meters).
Vilma Sta. Ana, Miranda and
de Chavez pitched in bronze medals
apiece in the 5000-meter walk
ay huling ginawa noong 1980’s
upang palitan ang Bagong
Lipu nan Ser ies ni dating
Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos.
Ang pagbabago ng pera,
ayon sa kaniya, ay dapat
mayroong mga security features
tulad ng pera na Singaporean
dollar na naglalaman ng plastic.
“Isa sa mga konsiderasyon
ng pera ay dapat tumatagal
ito. Ang karaniwang buhay
lamang kasi ng papel na pera
ay isang taon,” ani De Viana.
Kaugnay sa mga
kontrobersiyang nagsilabasan
ukol sa bagong pera, para kay
De Viana, hindi na ito bago sa
mga Filipino dahil ang mga
pagkakamaling ito ay nagiging
mga colle ctor’s ite m na.
Para sa kaniya, magiging
c o l l e c t o r’s i t e m n a a n g
mg a u n a ng i m p r e nt a ng
bagong pera sakali mang
p a l i t a n i t o n g d i s e n y o.
“Kung alisin ito o baguhin
(m g a m a l i n g i m p r e n t a),
magiging collector’s item
ito gaya ng ‘Arrovo bills’,
k u n g s a a n n a p a l it a n n g
letrang v ang letrang Y sa
apelyido ng noong Pangulong
G l o r i a A r r o y o ,” a n i y a .
Dagdag pa niya,
nag ka karoon di n ng mga
misprint kung saan nagiging
dalawa ang imahe ng isang bagay.
Sa pagdiriwang ng ika400 na taon ng Unibersidad,
ayon kay De Viana, nararapat
lamang na magkaroon ng
commemorative bill ang UST
dahil hindi mo ito maihihiwalay
sa k a saysaya n ng ba n sa.
“Itong commemorative
bill ay ang unang pagkakataon
ng Unibersidad na magkaroon
nito. Mahalaga tayo (UST)
dahil nationally significant
naman ang ating kasaysayan.
H i n d i m o m a i h i h i w a l ay
ang UST sa kasaysayan ng
Pilipinas,” ani De Viana.
he had brokered the contract
between UST and Selegna
Holdings.
Lozada’s
Galileo
is
an information technology
training firm.
Selegna Holdings had
sought financial rehabilitation
from the courts—the same
procedure being undergone
by failed pre-need firms
such as College Assurance
Plan and Pacific Plans—for
debts totalling P842 million
including the carpark loan,
court records showed. The
Supreme Court rejected the
plan in 2009.
Selegna
Holdings
is owned by the same
group of people behind
Asian
Construction
and
Development
Corp.
or
AsiaKonstrukt, the favored
contractor of the graft-ridden
Expo Pilipino theme park
project. (35:53.5), 1000-meter run (43:59.5)
and 60-meter dash (8.2) respectively.
In the 4x100-meter relay, Albinio teamed
up with Narciso, Clavejo and De Chavez
(52.6) to cop a bronze.
Jins on the scene
Aside from the Tracksters, the UST
Jins also took part in the Philippines’
medal haul in AUG. Lady Jin Jade Zafra clinched a gold
in the women’s lightweight +57 kg -62
kg division, the lone gold the country got
for the sport. Three bronze medals were awarded
to Thomasians Christian Al dela Cruz
in the men’s lightweight +68 kg -74
kg, Marlon Avenido in the men’s
welterweight +74 kg -80 kg and
Maria Camille Manalo in the
women’s welterweight +62 kg -67 kg
divisions.
January 26, 2011
Editor: Lester G. Babiera
The
Varsitarian Circle
11
UST Museum exhibits restored paintings
By Alyosha J. Robillos
IN CELEBRATION of its 140th year and the
University’s Quadricentennial anniversary,
the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences opened
a part of its vast visual art collection for public
viewing.
The exhibit, Visual Color of Grace, which
opened last January 7 and will last until
January 29, features a total of 48 paintings
by renowned Filipino masters and up and
coming artists alike.
Among the wide selection of artworks
seen in the show are those of National Artists
for visual arts Fernando Amorsolo, Carlos
“Botong” Francisco and Vicente Manansala.
Works of established artists such as
Juan Luna, Galo Ocampo, Anita MagsaysayHo were also displayed, along with works of
Thomasian newbie painters like Mark Ramsel
Salvatus, Ivan Roxas and Ronaldo Ventura.
The older works consist of genre works
such as portraits and landscapes while newer
works tackle edgier themes, and subjects,
charting the evolution of Philippine art.
The exhibit boasts of a Juan Luna
watercolor piece titled “Italian Soldier,”
which dates back to 1880. The portrait shows
an Italian soldier in full uniform set against
pale tones of daytime.
Portraits of Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa,
O.P., rector of the University, and former
UST rector Fr. Silvestre Sancho, O.P., by
Alfredo Esquillo and Fernando Amorsolo,
respectively,
are
also
exhibited alongside a 19th
century painting of Mary
Magdalene by Juan Arzeo.
The last mural, showing
angels showering vibrant
fruits and flowers on the
Magdalene, banners the
exhibit. It was chosen to
embody “unending grace”
in time for the 400th
anniversary of UST.
According to Fr, Isidro
Abaño, O.P., the director of
the UST Museum, Visual
Color of Grace is the
museum’s way of expressing
gratitude to its patrons
who have supported UST’s
heritage conservation efforts
through the Christmas
Concert Gala 2010, its
annual project to raise
funds for the restoration and
conservation of the visual
arts collection.
The display is not
merely an exhibit but a
comprehensive timeline of
the history of Philippine
visual art as well, Abaño
added.
“Another purpose of the
exhibit is to give the alumni
the chance to see this very
rare collection,” said Father
Abaño.
Audiences will not be
shortchanged as most of
the works on display are
those which, on normal
circumstances,
could
only be seen in books and
documentaries. The exhibit
(Clockwise from left) An 1820 titled Portrait of Fr. Juan Antonio Zulaybar, OP, by Juan Arceo; UST is only five percent of UST’s
alumna and top cosmetic surgeon Vicky Belo looking at Nuestra Senora de La Paloma, by an vast fine art collection,
Abano said.
unknown artist; and Bayanihan by Fernando Amorsolo, dated 1959.
Photos by paul allyson r. quiambao and Jilson Seckler c. tiu
Architect-artists
display works
in Metropolitan Museum
ARCHITECTS who have turned
to the visual arts and have made a
name in the field is the focus of the
exhibit, Architect Artists.
The exhibit, which runs
from until April 2, feature eight
architect-artists led by National
Artist Victorio Edades, the founder
of the school of fine arts in UST,
and UST Architecture alumni
Roberto Chabet and Agustin Goy.
Edades’ “Moro Lass” portrays
a young girl in Muslim costume.
His “Lady in Red” is a bright
painting of a woman wearing a red
Chinese costume.
His
landscape
painting,
“Montalban
Woods,”
is
an
interplay of soft colors, while
“Market Scene” evokes the chaos
of a market place by contrasting
the dark foreground with the bright
background.
Works of Chabet, founding
director of the Cultural Center
of the Philippines Museum and
the founder of the annual CCP
13 Artists Awards, are along his
trademark conceptual style.
His “Series #2” and “Bag
Series” are both mixed-media
artworks consisting of a vertical
strip of paper where doodle-like
figures are drawn with a black
marker pen and colored with
ashen pastel. The papers are each
margined by black paper or board
and mounted on an elevated metal
frame.
Meanwhile,
Chabet’s
“Window” is an oil-on-canvas
painting which deceptively looks
like a collage of black and offwhite paper assembled to create an
image of frosted panes with black
frames.
Goy is represented by an
architectural plan of a house
in Quezon City and “Late
Afternoon,” a watercolor-on-paper
landscape painting of a small nipa
hut surrounded by trees
painted in vivid colors.
The
architectural
plan is of his residence
and is reminiscent
of a Holland house
because of its rigidly
rectangular
walls
with brick details and
a perfectly triangular
roof. The plan even has
a chimney.
In the ‘60s, Goy
was a neighbor of
Vicente Manansala
in San Francisco del
Monte, where they painted
landscapes.
Maria
Joanna Angela
D. Cruz
Thomasian animators behind first
3D Filipino film ‘RPG Metanoia’
THOMASIAN multimedia artists
introduced a breakthrough in
Philippine cinema in the form of
a full-length 3D animation film
,RPG Metanoia, one of the entries
in the 36th Metro Manila Film
Festival (MMFF) last December.
Among the alumni who
showcased
their
animation
expertise were lead animator Paul
Eliscupides and lead modeler Leon
Enriquez, both products of UST’s
Industrial Design program. UST
Advertising Arts alumni Ana
Katrina Pangilinan,
photo from TheRPGMovie.com
Voltaire Cada and Alan Escio,
Architecture alumnus Alexander
Matias and Aylwin Velez, who
studied information and systems
management in UST, were also part
of the production.
Enriquez and Eliscupides said
the movie took four years to make.
“We were all pressured to meet
the expectations of the viewers,”
Eliscupides said. Their film had to
be at par with the ones being shown
in the Hollywood. But then, they
realized that instead of mimicking
their animation style, they had to
create something that is distinctly
Filipino.
Generating revenue for the
project became a big concern, since
creating an animated film costs a
lot. The production was anxious
whether Filipinos would patronize
the film.
It was also understaffed,
requiring multi-tasking among the
modeling and animation teams.
“During the modeling phase,
Metanoia PAGE 6
Nico, the lead character of RPG Metanoia, playing tumbang preso, lead modeler
Leon Enriquez (left) and lead animator Paul Eliscupides (right).
John ernest jose
12 Limelight The
Towazinos
Varsitarian January 26, 2011
Art Director: Carla T. Gamalinda
by Jasmine C. Santos
Bits of USTe
by Fritzie Marie C. Amar
UST is oldest
FROM PAGE 1
San Ildefonso was a
grammar school for boys
attached to the Jesuit residence.
But what emerged in 1783 or
fourteen years after the Jesuit
expulsion was a diocesan
seminary named ColegioSeminario de San Carlos,
named after St. Charles
Borromeo.
Cartagenas said USC
only took over the facility of
the former Colegio de San
Ildefonso.
“The latter (USC) was
specifically for the training of
diocesan priests, and it simply
took over the facility of the
former, a Jesuit central house
with an attached day school,”
Cartagenas said.
Cartagenas said that the
Vincentians took over the
seminary in 1867 from the
Cebu diocese and turned it
Jubilee
FROM PAGE 1
of the Roman Curia, which
has the authority to absolve
excommunications for grave
sins, dispense of impediments
to the sacraments, and govern
indulgences.
In an interview with the
Varsitarian, Fr. Florentino
Bolo, O.P., secretary general,
said the Pope will give a
video message following
the Thanksgiving Mass to
be offered by his official
representative,
Archbishop
Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski,
prefect of the Vatican’s Sacred
Congregation for Catholic
Education.
“Gaudencio
Cardinal
Rosales played a big role in the
request for a papal greeting,”
Bolo said.
Bolo said the University
no longer had to send a team
to the Holy See as the Vatican
Press Office volunteered to
record the message.
Other celebrants in the
Thanksgiving Mass include
Apostolic Nuncio to the
Philippines
Archbishop
Edward
Joseph
Adams,
into a seminario-colegio, or
a seminary with a program of
secondary education for boys
not intended for ecclesiastical
service.
“Following
Church
tradition, the foundation event
and date of University of San
Carlos should be the decree
of Bishop Romualdo Jimeno
on 15 May 1867 (turning
over the seminary to the
Congregation of the Missions)
and the first day of classes in
the history of what is now
USC is 1 July 1867, the day P.
Jose Casarramona welcomed
the first lay students to attend
classes at the Seminario de San
Carlos,” Cartagenas said.
Historians point out that
unlike UST, whose operations
were interrupted only by war
and were continuously under
the Dominicans, San Carlos
changed owners several times.
In 1924, San Carlos split
into two under a Vatican decree
that seminaries should only
be for priestly training. In the
1930s, the San Carlos college
moved to a different location,
P. Del Rosario Street, while the
seminary remained at Martires
Street.
The Society of the Divine
Word took over the college in
1935. It became a university
only in 1948.
The seminary, meanwhile,
was returned to diocesan
control in 1998.
UST has been a university
since 1645.
University Chancellor Fr.
Bruno Cadore, O.P., master
of the Dominican Order,
Rosales, Vice Chancellor Fr.
Quirico Pedregosa, Jr., O.P.,
and Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P.,
prior of the Convent of St.
Thomas Aquinas.
Around 130 bishops
from the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines
will also come for the Mass,
Bolo said.
Public Affairs chief
Giovanna Fontanilla said
dignitaries, members of the
diplomatic corps, and alumnipriests will attend.
“Thousands are expected
to come. We are hoping to
gather as many attendees to
the Mass because the grand
dinner will immediately
follow,” she added.
Thomas Aquinas, feasts of
Dominican saints and UST
martyrs celebrated by the
University, masses presided
by the Archbishop of Manila,
spiritual exercise participated
in by students, faculty, staff
and alumni, and visits to the
Santisimo Rosario Chapel.
Penitents should recite
The Creed, the Our Father,
and the Hail Mary, pray
for intentions of the Pope,
and
prepare
themselves
spiritually.
The Rector said in a press
conference last January 21
that the indulgence will be
effective until January 2012.
Bolo said: “When you
say indulgence, it is to forgive
born out of the sacrifices of
the [saints]. Because of their
prayers, indulgence, we are
remitted of our temporal
punishment.”
UST sought the apostolic
blessing and plenar y
indulgence last November from
Fortunato Cardinal Baldelli,
head of Vatican’s Apostolic
Penitentiary. Kalaine Nikka
Plenary indulgence
Bolo said the Vatican
granted the special indulgence
to those who will attend the
opening of the Jubilee door
on January 24, opening of the
Quadricentennial celebration,
the
Quadricentennial
Thanksgiving Mass presided
by Cardinal Grocholewski,
the
Solemnity
of
St.
Guest Columnist
FROM PAGE 5
at
Komunikasyon;
Inhenyeriya;
Literatura; Medisina at Siruhiya;
Musika; Narsing; at Pilosopiya; at bilang
Center of Development sa larangan
ng Biyolohiya; Administrasyong
Pangnegosyo;
at
Inhenyeriyang
Kemikal, Elektrikal, Industriyal, at
Mekanikal.
Ngayong ito ang pangalawang
tahanan ng humigit-kumulang 40,000
estudyante, Ustě ang maituturing
Historian’s explanation
Villarroel, a former UST
archivist, had debunked USC’s
claim as early as 1995 in an
article in Unitas, the UST
scholarly journal. That year,
San Carlos celebrated its 400th
year.
“Whatever
date
may finally be fixed and
conventionally accepted as
[USC’s] foundation date, it
cannot be the year 1595,”
Villaroel said in his essay
published in the September
Kay C. Grafil with reports
f r o m C liff H a rv e y C .
Venzon
na pinakamalaking unibersidad na
Katoliko sa buong mundo.
Dahil walang humpay ang Ustě sa
paghasa at pagdalubhasa ng kaguruan,
sumasabay rin sa modernisasyon ang
aklatan nito na isa sa pinakamalaki sa
Asya.
Ganitong
pagsisikhay
ang
nagpapahusay sa mga mag-aaral na
iginagalang pagdating sa agham,
arkitektura, elektroniko, inhenyeriya,
kemistri, medisina at siruhiya, narsing,
nutrisyon, parmasiya, teknolohiya, at
terapiyang pisikal at okupasyonal.
Ayon sa Times Higher EducationQuacquarelli-Symonds
(THE-QS),
1995 issue of Unitas.
He said that in that
year, the Jesuits established
a mission in Cebu consisted
of a residence and a church
“under the advocation of San
Ildefonso.”
“It should be noted that
most Jesuit residences in the
Philippines, as elsewhere, were
called colegios, whether they
were educational institutions,
houses of formation, centers
of apostolate, or seats of
government and administration
for the Society,” Villarroel said.
Villarroel also noted that
when the Society of Jesus was
expelled in 1769, the Spanish
government confiscated all its
institutions, houses, churches,
schools and properties, leaving
only the Colegio de San Jose of
Manila in operation.
“All
other
Jesuit
institutions, without exception,
ceased to exist, never to rise
again as they were,” Villarroel
said. “No institution took over
its works and mission, and none
Icusta
FROM PAGE 3
during the Icusta meeting in
Ireland, where Fr. Rolando de
la Rosa, O.P., Rector of UST,
was elected president.
“It took several months to
plan this conference including
the theme and logistics.
With the cooperation of
the preparatory committee
members, and with God’s
grace, the conference will
proceed as planned,” De la
Azkal
FROM PAGE 14
school at the Colegio de San
Juan de Letran. He was also
into swimming and track and
field, but knew football was
perfect for him.
For Basa, football is
different from any other sport
since it uses more of the
mental skill than the physical.
“You need creat ivit y
and mind to be able to play
the sport. But beyond that,
it’s also really fun playing
football,” he said.
tumabla ang Ustě sa Tokyo University
of Agriculture and Technology
ng Hapon at sa Prince of Songkla
University ng Thailand bilang ika-101
sa 200 Pinakamahusay na Unibersidad
sa Asya noong 2009-2010.
Nilampasan ng Ustě, dating ika144, ang pang-106 na Pamantasang
De La Salle, na ang koponang Green
Archers ay naging kontrapelo ng UST
Growling Tigers sa University Athletic
Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
Nasa ika-58 puwesto ang
Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila na
naging 150 taong gulang noong 2009
samantalang nasa ika-78 puwesto ang
claims to be its continuator.”
However, Villarroel said
the Colegio de San Ildefonso’s
buildings were not demolished
and were left to fall to ruin
until Most Rev. Mateo Joaquin
Rubio de Arevalo, bishop of
Cebu, requested the Spanish
government to use the structure
for the establishment of a
diocesan seminary.
“King Charles III granted
the request, and steps began to
be taken for the foundation for
the seminary,” Villaroel said.
“[In 1867], the Cebu Seminary
of San Carlos became a
mixed seminary, a seminarycollege,
offering
courses
to the candidates for the
priesthood and, besides, some
basic courses in humanities
(then called latinidad) to nonboarding Cebuano kids.”
The Colegio de San Carlos
of Cebu, according to Villarroel,
was “entirely separated from
the Seminary” in 1924 due to
the Church’s “disapproval of
mixed seminaries.”
“The publication of the
new Canon Law promulgated
by the Sacred Congregation
for the Seminaries left the
Vicentian Fathers with no
option but to comply with
the Church’s legislation and
separate the college section
from the seminary proper in
all the conciliar seminaries,”
Villarroel said.
“It is [my] contention that
the passing from one institution
to the other has not been done
by homogeneous growth, and
so one does not become the
other,” Villarroel said. “You do
not call a mango tree an orange
tree just because the mango
tree has grown in the place
where formerly an orange tree
was planted, grew and died.”
“Hopefully,
some
future historian of San Carlos
University, with the aid of
original documentation, may
arrive at the clarification of
the origins of his institution
beyond any reasonable doubt,”
Villarroel said.
Rosa said in a letter to the
Varsitarian.
According to its official
website, stthom.edu, Icusta
was founded in 1993 in
Chile by Dr. Gerardo Rocha
Vera, president of the UST
Corporation in Chile.
The group decided to
expand and hold a biennial
meeting,
beginning
in
1995 with the University
of St. Thomas in Houston,
Texas. Since that time, the
organization has expanded
to its membership of 24
institutions. UST of Manila
hosted the conference in 1997.
After that, the meetings
were held in Freder icton,
Canada in 1999; Angelicum,
Rome, in 2001; Mar del Plata in
Argentina in 2003; Abat Oliba
University in Barcelona, Spain
in 2005; Australian Catholic
Universit y in Melbou r ne,
Aust ralia i n 20 07; a nd a
Mary Immaculate College in
Limerick, Ireland, in 2009.
Although the popularity
of football is still no match
to other sports like basketball
despite its early fame in the
1970s and 80s, Basa makes
his own little ways to be able
to share the joy of the sport to
other people—he coaches his
college’s men’s and women’s
football teams in the annual
Thomasian Goodwill Games.
“Show them how fun it is
to play the sport. Teach them
how to play. Just give them
an eye-opener and let them
discover what football really
is,” said Basa. Frauleine
Michelle S. Villanueva
Unibersidad ng Pilipinas na naging 100
taong gulang noong 2008.
Kung baga, wala ito sa tanda.
Wala ito sa tagal kundi sa talino!
Sinong
mag-aakalang
ang
paaralang inumpisahan ng naging
Ikatlong Arsobispo ng Maynila, na
pumanaw noong 26 Hulyo 1605, mula
sa kaniyang aklatan at ari-ariang
nagkakahalaga ng P1,500 noong 1611
ay aabot ng 400 taon?
Matapos ang apat na dantaon,
hindi pa rin ito mapipigilan bilang kaisaisang royal, pontifikal, at Katolikong
unibersidad sa Pilipinas.
Katunayan, sa kauna-unahang
Jilly Anne A. Bulauan
with reports from Justinne
Chynna V. Garcia
Fencers
FROM PAGE 14
managed to garner a single
bronze the entire tournament
dominated by the powerhouse
UE squad.
UE dominated all the six
individual and team events,
plus a silver in the individual
sabre to walk away with the
championship.
Nonetheless, UST did not
go home empty-handed as
Michelle Manimtim snared a
bronze in the individual foil
category.
pagkakataon, ito ay magkakaroon na
ng UST Sta. Rosa sa Laguna at UST
General Santos sa Timog Cotabato.
Patunay lamang ito sa patuloy sa
pagsulong ang Ustě.
Ano’t ano man, huwag sana
itong tumigil na kamtan ang ideya
at ideyal ni Santo Tomas de Aquino,
lalo sa edukasyong siyang tulay sa
pagkila ng tao sa karunungan bilang
kapangyarihan, kung kaya, lagi’t laging
may kakawing itong tungkuling moral.
Inaasahan ang mag-aaral na
ang kaniyang kamalayan ay maging
Guest... PAGE 14
January 26, 2011
Editor: Mika Rafaela A. Barrios
Antidote
By Jonas Eleazar B. Trinidad
The old woman pointed at the
tattered sofa. “Remember when
Joyce used to sit on that spot? She
ran away just recently with a man we
do not like.”
“Joyce ran away with a man?
Who is he?” Jason
answered, hardly
believing the fact.
“A
businessman.
They’re probably in
Dubai already.”
“Why didn’t
you give him your
approval? Joyce will
have a great life with
him.”
“I don’t want
that naïve girl
depending on the
man’s riches. She has to earn on her
own.”
“That’s a little harsh, don’t you
think?”
“You know your cousin Joyce.
She always wants it easy.”
Jason took a seat on a familiar
spot as the old woman took her
place by the lonely chair in front
of an open window. The sun sifted
through the bars, casting shadows on
the concrete floor. The stench of the
What birthday? Birthdays
are for six-year-olds whose parents
feel a happy obligation to bring
sweet spaghetti and ice cream to
the whole class. The 400th birthday
is a lame phrase. The number
beams with tectonic magnificence,
conjuring images of monumental
cliffs, mountain peaks vanishing
in feathery clouds, the sun, the
slow-dance to the rhythms of
the geological clock. “Birthday”
smacks of silly party hats and parlor
games.
We never use “birthday”
when referring to manifestations
of nature’s might. The Rock of
Gibraltar, the cliffs of Dover,
the Arctic glaciers. For me, it is
much easier to imagine the sounds
and smells of the Pleistocene era
than to imagine UST being born,
being constructed. Don’t ask me
why. Perhaps it is because the
university feels older than the earth
itself—even with the presence of
a McDonald’s and a KFC. There’s
just something in the air, the trees,
the bricks, even if the brick had
Jason said.
“Ten years brought plenty
of change. This place is actually
scheduled for demolition.”
“Demolition? But this land was
given to us by relocation.”
“It’s sad to think
that money makes all the
promises nowadays, not
good faith.”
“But where will we
go from here?”
“I don’t know, dear.
It’s only a matter of time
before the bulldozers
return.”
Jason decided to go
back to the case of the
missing family members.
He knew the fate of his
cousin. Now, he wanted
to know what happened to the others.
“Where are Tito Largo and the
kids?” he asked.
“They left this place five years
ago for a better life abroad, just like
your cousin Joyce,” she replied.
When Jason stormed out to
take a look, he saw a poor
five-year-old child lying on a
stretcher carried by two men
clad in white. Around him
stood his bereaved family.
creek disturbed Jason.
“That creek used to be very
clean when you were still a kid,” said
the old woman. “Look at it now.”
“And this place used to have
more elbow room than I remember,”
Happy Birthday, Tomas!
By LOURD ERNEST C. DE VEYRA
Varsitarian Literary
Illustration by FRITZIE MARIE C. AMAR
T
HE SLUMS may as well be
the last place he wanted to
be in. The stench of stagnant
water and garbage brought an
unpleasant welcome to the small
community of scrap houses. Shanty
people—men, women, and children
dressed in tattered rags with black
smudges from head to toe—
watched the neatly-dressed stranger
squeezing himself through the
cramped path between the makeshift
homes. As he went deeper into the
shanties, he felt the residents’ hostile
gaze. The smell of rotting garbage
pointed to a creek at the end of the
claustrophobic trail. Aside from the
fact that the water wasn’t flowing
at all and was trash lining the
banks, dengue-carrying mosquitoes
also buzzed around in swarms.
Nevertheless, the children still chose
to swim in the dirty water.
He felt like stopping these kids
splashing in the dirty creek. But
remembering the look he received
from the locals earlier, he prompted
to leave the kids to their business.
He felt like a single deed, good or
bad, could stir trouble in the slums.
The man walked along the
elevated side of the creek, leaving
the group of kids to catch their
diseases. As much as he hated to
leave those kids be, he feared the
shanty town people’s reactions if
ever he interfered.
At the end of the creek side
was the man’s destination—a small
shanty. An old woman sat on a
rocking chair swaying back and
forth outside the house. Unlike the
rest of the neighborhood, the old
lady smiled warmly at the man at
her doorstep.
“I’m home.” he said.
“Jason!” she cried with joy.
“Look at how much you’ve grown.”
“I know. I haven’t come home
for 10 years.”
“Come in, we have so much to
talk about.”
“I guess we do.”
The inside of the house was as
simple as it used to be. The dining
room, living room, bedroom and
bathroom were all crammed as one.
Only candles fixed in old mugs lit
the house up at night. Not a single
plug was in the house, meaning there
was no room for the TV, telephone,
and computer—none of the luxuries
only those with the money can
afford. The household only fed on
endless stacks of canned goods
and instant noodles on the shelves.
At one corner of the house were
huge drums filled with clean water,
covered to keep the mosquitoes
away.
“Where is everybody? This
place used to be lively,” said Jason.
“They all left this place ages
ago, dear,” replied the old woman.
“What do you mean?”
The
been laid just last week. For me,
the university has been there for as
long as the stars and the sky have
been there. For grace unending is
grace without beginning.Of course,
I am aware that behind each stone,
each brick, each nail—ancient
or otherwise—lies the mark of
human toil. But like Beethoven’s
fifth and ninth symphonies, the
“Toccata” of J.S. Bach, Picasso’s
“Guernica,” the Sistine Chapel,
Citizen Kane, Joyce’s Ulysses, the
Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds,” the
Christo Redentor in Brazil, the
Great Wall of China, Machu Pichu,
the Taj Mahal,Michael Jordan’s
final jumpshot against Utah, these
go beyond human provenance and
enters the realm of the divine.
Divine, yes, even if sometimes
we see the occasional teen idols
from ASAP dancing here every
now and then. Even if a lot of
students taking on the choreography
of noontime-show harlots replete
with thumping pelvises and
jiggling mammaries. Even if it has
charlatans and traitors equaling the
number of heroes and geniuses on
its list of alumni. The University
transcends all these, just as the
earth is beyond the middling and the
trifle. But then again, I understand
the value of commemoration and
history, so by all means, uncork the
champagne, roll out the red carpet,
launch the fireworks, ribbon-cut
the exhibits, gather the intellectuals
for the endless string of symposia,
unveil the new, expensive pieces
of sculpture. But a force of nature,
both human and celestial, like
the school deserves a much more
solemn, more pagan celebration,
like worshipping stones, chanting,
ritual sacrifice on the football
field—oh, wait. Sorry. This is a
Catholic institution.
The University has been there
for 400 years and will be there
for another 400—assuming that
the ancient Mayan astrologers are
wrong about the world ending in
2012.
So stop this “birthdaybirthday” business already. The
word does not do justice to the
sheer grandeur of the number. So
pardon, if you will, this absence
of sentimentality and gushing
expressions of cheer and felicitation.
You’re 400 years old. You’re a big
boy now.
Usapang Uste
MULA PAHINA 2
sa bansa.
Tomasino siya
Maraming
Tomasino
ang
nakaaalam sa botika na Mercury Drug,
ngunit ang hindi alam ng nakararami
ay isang Tomasino rin ang nasa likod
ng matagumpay na botikang ito.
Si Vivian Que-Azcona, pangulo
ng Mercury Drug Corporation, ay
nagtapos ng kursong Pharmacy sa
UST noong 1977.
Bago magsimula ang Ikalawang
Digmaang Pandaigdig, nagtayo ng
isang botika sa Maynila si Mariano
Que, ama ni Azcona at isa ring
Tomasino, kung saan nagtinda ito ng
mga gamot na magagamit sa digmaan.
Pinangalanang Mercury Drug
ang botikang ito noong 1945, hango sa
pangalan ng isa sa mga diyos ng mga
Romano na si Mercury na humahawak
sa caduceus, ang simbolo ng medisina.
Taong 1963 nang buksan ang
ikalawang botika nito sa Makati, at ang
ikatlo noong 1965 sa Quiapo, Maynila.
Dekada ‘70 nang palawigin
ng Mercury Drug ang serbisyo nito
mula sa pagtitinda ng mga gamot
hanggang sa pagbebenta ng iba’t
ibang pharmaceutical supplies at mga
instrumentong ginagamit sa surgery
na nagbunsod dito upang palitan
13
“Why are more people choosing
to leave?”
“They have given up all hope
for change.”
“But what about me? I stayed. I
still believe.”
“And I’m very proud of you,
dear. You’re the only one who stood
by me when I tried stopping your
relatives from living abroad.”
Jason heaved a deep sigh. Noise
suddenly echoed just outside the
house. When Jason stormed out to
take a look, he saw a poor five-yearold child lying on a stretcher carried
by two men clad in white. Around
him stood his bereaved family.
“That’s the fifth one this week,”
said the old woman.
“Fifth what?” asked Jason in
reply.
“Dengue victim. Most of them
are children.”
“I just saw some children
swimming in the dirty creek on my
way here. I wanted to stop them
but—”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t,”
said the old woman briskly.
“But why? Those kids will end
up in ward beds eventually.”
“Let them be, Jason. This is
their home. Where would they go
away from here?”
Jason fell silent looking at
his grandmother. He gazed at the
kids splashing by the dirty creek.
A mother descended down the
makeshift ramp to the creek to hand
towels to the kids swimming below.
Even from far away, he could tell
how they were enjoying their quality
time regardless of the murky color of
the creek and swarms of mosquitoes.
The kids jumped back on land and
dried themselves with the towels.
“This is where they belong,”
said the old woman, following
Jason’s stare. “They know as well as
you do.”
Jason tore his eyes away from
the irksome scene.
“Do you think Joyce and Tito
Largo will come back?” asked Jason.
“I pray that they do,” said the
old woman.
“Yet with no hope for change?”
“There is change, dear. It is
inevitable.”
“Where? When?”
“Wait for it.”
That afternoon, Jason bid his
grandmother farewell. Tracing his
steps back to the road at the other
side of the slums, he looked at the
creek one last time. Maintenance
workers stood on both sides of the
creek while guiding a backhoe
slowly towards the heaps of trash
clogging the waterway.
Jason chuckled softly.
“I guess grandma was right.”
ang pangalan sa Mercury Group of
Companies, Inc.
Sa kasalukuyan, mayroong 700
na botika ang Mercury Drug sa buong
bansa, na mayroong higit kumulang
9,000 na empleyado.
Isa si Azcona sa pinangalanang
Top 15 na pinakamayamang tao sa
Pilipinas noong 2010.
Ang Mercury Group of Companies
Inc. ay nakatanggap ng iba’t ibang
parangal tulad ng Most Outstanding
Drug Store Chain noong 1999, silver
award sa Top 3 Retailers sa bansa mula
noong 2004 hanggang 2008, at 2005
Outstanding Retailers of the Year.
Noong Disyembre 2010, isa si Azcona
sa mga pinarangalan ng Outstanding
Thomasian Alumni Business Leaders
Award mula sa Office for Alumni
Relations. Patricia Isabel a B.
Evangelista
Tomasalitaan
Mananap (png)- hayop
Halimbawa: Ang mga mag-aaral
ng medisina ay gumagamit ng mga
mananap sa kanilang pag-aaral sa
anatomiya.
Mga Sanggunian:
Vivian
Que
Azcona
WikiPilipinas: The Hip ‘n Free
Philippine Encyclopedia. (n.d.).Main
Page - WikiPilipinas: The Hip ‘n Free
Philippine Encyclopedia. Retrieved
January 5, 2011
14 Sports The
Varsitarian January 26, 2011
Editor: Jeremy S. Perey
‘Azkal’ forward is Thomasian David Basa
The next big thing
in Philippine football
Newly recruited Azkal David Basa decides to drop the game against
Mongolia at Panaad stadium in Bacolod City to play for the UST
Golden Booters in his last UAAP playing year.
JOSA CAMILLE A. Bassig
Male Fencers wound
up third in piste wars
By JEREMY S. PEREY
DESPITE having no training
facilit y of their ow n, the
UST Male Fencers scored
a respect able th i rd place
performance in the UAAP to
offset the last place finish of the
women’s squad.
The Male Fencers chalked
up a 1-2-1 gold-silver-bronze
medal haul, only one gold shy of
reigning champion University
of the Philippines’ collection
of 2-1-2 medals and runner-up
Ateneo’s 2-0-1 finish.
Coach Arman Bernal said
the outcome would have been
better if the fencers had a
regular training facility on
campus.
“We used to train in Ultra
where other schools train as
well, that’s why they might
have read and studied our
techniques,” he said in Filipino.
“But equipment-wise, we don’t
have any trouble, that’s why we
work hard to win and give the
glory back to UST.”
UST could have won the
title easily if it aced any of the
head-to-head matches either
in the individual or team epee,
where it settled for a twin silver.
UP cemented its lead early on,
reaping a double gold in team
sabre and individual epee in the
tournament held at the Ateneo
de Manila University’s Blue
Eagle Gym from December
9 to 11.
Sydney Nogodula was
responsible for UST’s lone gold
medal by ruling the medal’s
individual sabre. Nogodula
bested Ralph Ramos of UP
(silver), Michael Nicanor of
University of the East (bronze)
and Lino Manubag Jr. of Far
Eastern University (bronze).
Season 71 MVP Harris
Orendain placed second to
Joshua Paunil of UP in men’s
individual epee, while Gian
Rodriguez of De La Salle
University and John De Los
Santos of UE snared a bronze
apiece.
O r e nd a i n t e a me d u p
with Jake Jimenez and Joshua
Caballero to score a runner-up
finish in the team epee.
In the team sabre category,
t h e UST t r i u mv i r a t e of
Nogodula, Dindo Raquin, and
Miles Fajardo finished third,
behind UP and FEU which
landed in first and second place,
respectively.
The Lady Fencers had
another disastrous campaign
dropping to sixth spot from
fifth place last year.
Losing last year’s epee
bronze medallist Daryl Kaye
Natividad to graduation, UST
Fencers paGE 12
The Philippine Azkals, which
made football history by shaming
a regional powerhouse last year,
included a Thomasian.
Though Golden Booter David
Basa spent most his time warming
the bench, he knows the experience
was priceless especially that day
the Azkals routed Vietnam before a
capacity crowd of 40,000 at the My
Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.
“I felt the pressure of the people
as well as the weight of representing
the country,” said the 21-year-old
Basa, who is on his last playing year
at the UAAP. “The intensity of the
game was very different.”
Basa drew the interest of a
member of the national team’s
coaching staff who saw him play
in UST’s tune-up games with the
squad. He was formally recruited
last August.
“Their coach saw me play and
told me to go to their training. So
I went there and they took me,” he
recalled. Filipino booters put the country
back in the football map just before
the year ended with the unexpected
success of the underdogs in the
ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki
Cup 2010 last December.
The Azkals defeated no less than
former champion and powerhouse
Vietnam, 2-0, to barge into the semis.
The feat was not unlike a UAAP
basketball squad embarrassing the
national team.
“T he exper ience that I got
there was something that I cannot
experience here since this is not a
football country,” Basa added.
Although he was not included
in the first 11, he said far more
important was the experience he
gained in his journey with the pack.
“As a player, I’m still developing.
The pace was really different and
my teammates have a higher level
Tennisters
of playing. When you get to play
with players like James and Phil
[Younghusband] every day, somehow
your confidence really improves a
lot,” Basa said.
“My k nowledge of football
widened because of them,” he added.
Although the Azkals fell short
of making it to the championship
after failing to score a goal against
Indonesia, reaching the semi-finals
in a tournament like the Suzuki Cup
was already something to be proud of
for the young booter.
“We were really considered
underdogs there. The challenge for us
was to show how the Filipinos played
because almost everyone said that the
Philippines was not (that) developed
when it came to football,” he said,
“But we reached the semi-finals and
that’s it. Everyone came to know that
there’s a football team here.”
T h e A z k a l s’ v i c t o r y ove r
Vietnam was arguably the biggest
upset in the tournament’s history,
according to English-based football
journalist Georgina Turner, who gave
the Philippines an honorable spot in
Canlas in a long three-setter, 6-4,
3-6, -6 but UST still emerged as
the winner via a 3-2 verdict.
“He’s (Bernanlou Bering)
showing a lot of fighting heart,”
Santamaria said. “Although he
lost the game today, he has been
playing really well. I told him
that I like the way he finished
the match.”
A week after the win against
the Katipunan-based tennisters,
UST walked over the University
of the East via a 5-0 shutout last
January 15.
her article in the Sports Illustrated
magazine. Their success story was
among the Top 10 football stories for
2010 despite the year being a FIFA
year.
“Love affair” with football
Basa was supposed to get another
stint in Mongolia this February with
his fellow Azkals, but chose to play
for UST because this was his last
playing year in the UAAP. He is also
one of the team captains of the UST
football team.
Golden Booter coach Marjo
Allado said his exposure with the
national team would help the blackand-gold squad in its pursuit of the
title.
“It is natural for a player who
went to play with the national team
in another country and come back
with a higher level of confidence,”
said Allado.
A student from the College of
Tourism and Hospitality Management,
Basa started playing the sport in high
Azkal paGE 12
Photo courtesy of THE PHILIPPINE AZKALS
Wasted effort
The UST Lady Tennisters
suffered its first defeat against
the UP Lady Maroons, 2-3, at the
Rizal Tennis Court last January
15 to drop down to second
place, 1-1.
Coach Dennis Sta. Cruz
blamed the loss on a bad draw.
“We were unfortunate since
UP’s top players took advantage
of the match-up,” Sta. Cruz said.
“Their No.1 player took the first
match easily.”
UP’s Sarah Jane Lim drew
first blood, overpowering UST’s
Nikki Manalo, 3-6, 2-6.
But UST bounced back
with the double’s tandem of
Dianne Bautista and Jhiji Hellar
prevailing in a baseline war and
emerging triumphant against
Zhane Quitara and Madelene
Ramos, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
UP exacted revenge, taking
back the lead after Joie Alitche’s
brutal 6-1, 6-1 win, trashing
UST’s Lis Magaway
Unable to recover and
helpless in both the baseline
and the net, the duo of Kat
Castro and Jacy Ortellano fell
prey to UP’s Karen Guillermo
and JV Custodio. The last game
was won by UST’s Len Santos,
who pounded the baseline with
groundstrokes to topple UP’s
Julie Botor out of the game,
6-3, 6-3.
“I didn’t expect the [duo
in the] second doubles match
to lose since they were our best
pair,” Sta. maria said.
UST opened the season
with a victory over Ateneo, 3-2,
at the Rizal Tennis court last
January 8.
Facebook
Cardinal
Guest...
Pensieve
FROM PAGE 3
FROM PAGE 1
FROM PAGE 12
FROM PAGE 4
patnubay
ng
kaniyang
pagpapasiya at pagkilos para sa
ikabubuti ng mas nakararami.
Ito
ang
siyang
magpapaintindi sa kung anong
iniwan ng Realismo at Idealismo.
Ito ang mistikong mukha
ng kaalamang Tomismo, o
Bagong Tomismo.
Ito mismo ang pamantasang
nag-uukilkil sa bawat diwa at
damdaming Tomasino na hindi
lamang katawan kundi pati
kaluluwa ang gurong magtuturo
sa lahat.
Tungo sa darating pang 400
taon!
lovers take pleasure in its
offerings.
Even, the citizens bash
plans to impose an ordinance
of prohibiting sensual and
intimate acts of the island.
But it should be understood
that this “meager” step of
the local officials to impose
certain ordinance relating the
matter is geared towards the
maintenance and revival of
the image that was Boracay.
Hopefully, this incident
would make it clear that
some things are simply
unacceptable to Boracay and
local tourism. Respect and
sensitivity to the local culture
must be upheld.
FROM PAGE 14
third set, which saw several
deadlocks and lead changes. But
the UST tandem of Al Potutan
and Bernardine Bering still
prevailed over Miguel Belda
and Leandro Fernandez, 6-4,
3-6, 6-4.
To cap off the tournament
that day, UST rookie Bernanlou
Bering finished the third singles
match against Ateneo de Manila
University’s Ayo Canlas, a
no-bearing game which was
postponed due to heavy rain last
January 9. UST posted a 3-1 win
against Ateneo. Bering lost to
people now prefer posting
on Facebook rather than
texting, which would cost
us,” he said.
But
fourth
year
Journalism student Remigia
Trinidad
said
allowing
Facebook on campus was not
necessary.
“Facebook has been very
helpf ul for disseminating
information and instructions
to my groupmates because
of its feat ures. But it has
b e c o m e a d i s t r a c t io n t o
students who use their laptops
in class,” she said. Darenn
G. Rodriguez with reports
f ro m C a mill e Ann e M.
Arcilla.
Dwelling on the vision
of UST's founder, Miguel
de Benavides, O.P., the
third archbishop of Manila,
Cardinal Rosales paid tribute
to Thomasian education and
its contributions to society.
“Education is beneficial to one’s
own formation –– for one to be
able to contribute to the good
society with their duty to God
and country,” Cardinal Rosales
said.
De la Rosa said the
proclamation of the Holy Year is
a “gift from the Church” to the
University.
UST also opened the
Quadricentennial Fair to start
the Quadricentennial Week,
which runs until January 28.
*Ang guest columnist ay
dating punong patnugot ng
Varsitarian.
Kasalukuyan
siyang natuturo ng malikhaing
pagsulat sa Unibersidad ng
January 26, 2011
Editor: Jeremy S. Perey
The Varsitarian Sports
15
Untouched Golden Sox enters semis
By anne Marie carmela l.
dAYAUON and fRAULEINE
MICHELLE s. villanueva
THE UST Golden Sox barged
i n t o t h e F i n a l Fo u r w i t h a
perfect record, claiming their
eight straight win after defeating
Ateneo de Manila Universit y,
6-5, last January 16 at the Rizal
Memorial Baseball Park.
The black-and-gold bat ters
swept the first round of Season
73 h o s t i l i t i e s l a s t D e c e m b e r
and maintained an im maculate
8-0 win-loss card in the second
round. Trailing UST are National
University and Ateneo with a 4-3
and 4-4 standing, respectively. NU’s
second game against University of
the Philippines was postponed
because of the hard rain last
January 9.
But keeping the undefeated
slate was not a walk in the
park for the España-based
squad. UST pitcher Glenn
Tuazon was a bit off his
usual game, which
Golden Sox coach
Jeffrey Santos
attributed to a bad warm-up. Santos
was not able to relieve Tuazon on the
mound because ace pitcher Gerald
Mitra was also not in top form.
“He [Mitra] was feeling something
in his arm. But next game I will be
able to use him already,” Santos
said.
Only on the fourth inning did
the UST batters get the lead and kept
Ateneo from scoring again.
“We are lucky we made it through
that pressured game,” said Santos.
In the bottom half of the fourth,
Ka’sulhay Argel made the winning
r u n as he hit the
b a l l
t o c e nt e r f ield
and
rushed to second base after Ateneo’s
first base man Iñigo Olivares made
an error and failed to ground him
out. He was then propelled to home
base by UST batter Harry Galapon’s
centerfield hit, 6-5.
Despite scoring early runners
in the first inning via Julian Teves,
Arvin Plaza, and Carlo Conge, 3-0,
the UST sluggers had to catch up as
Ateneo batters completed five runs
in the second and third.
Ateneo made two runs in the
second frame as Joshua Rapaport’s
hit drove the ball to centerfield,
sending home teammates Niklas
S a r d a a n d A n d r e w Ta n , 2 -3.
The Blue batters briefly took the
lead in the third inning as they made
three more runs. Felipe Remollo
was sent home by Sarda’s right field
hit. Sarda was also sent home Cesar
Esguerra II, who later made the last
run for Ateneo via Olivares batting
the ball to centerfield, 5-3.
I n t he bot t om hal f of t he
same inning, the España clobbers
answered the opponent with two
runs to level the play field. UST
catcher Galapon was sent home
by rookie John Aligno’s left field
h it a n d w a s
also able
to bring
Amber
Pl a z a
to th i rd
base
a f t e r
Ateneo
made
errors.
Plaza
made
the other run as Teves sent the ball
flying to left field, setting the score
at 5-5.
Golden Sox paGE 5
No safe landing for the Eagle. UST Golden Sox baseman John Aligno halts an Ateneo Blue Batter from reaching the third base.
JOSA CAMILLE A. Bassig
Tennisters grab top spot
By JEREMY S. PEREY and ROBIN G. PADILLA
Spikers face a UP upset
By anne Marie carmela
l. dAYAUON
DEFEN DI NG cha mpion
L a d y Spi ke r s s u f fe r e d a
monu me nt al upset at t he
h a n d s of t h e Un i ve r s i t y
of t h e P h i l i p p i n e s L a d y
Maroons for their third loss
of the season.
The Lady Maroons, the
cellar dwellers, played more
like the championship team
i n p ou nd i ng out a g r it t y
25-23, 13-25, 25-23, 20-25,
24-22 victory against UST
at The Arena in San Juan
last Sunday.
Despite the defeat, the
powerhouse Lady Spikers
kept their hold on the second
s p ot w it h a 7-3 w i n-loss
card.
Pre-game analyses
pred icted a Sa nto Toma s
onslaught against a hapless
UP squad, which went into
the game with just one
victory against 8 losses. The
Lady Spikers were riding
h ig h o n t h e i r d o m i n a nt ,
t h ree -set v ictor y agai n st
the National University four
days earlier.
But UP played with a
g reater sense of pur pose,
led by Car melo Lopez,
who consistently scored on
UST’s porous defense. The
veteran spiker finished with
20 points.
Before the victor y
against NU, the Lady Spikers
lost in three seats--23-25,
14-25, 20-25—against the
Ateneo de Manila University
last Jan. 15.
“ We ’ v e b e e n d o i n g
everything during practices,
bu t t h e p r oble m i s t h e i r
on-court performance and
that (inconsistency) is what
I want them to figure out,”
coach Cesael de los Santos
said in Filipino. UST rallied earlier in
the first set courtesy of Aiza
Maizo’s cross court shots,
16-15, but unforced errors
allowed Ateneo to take the
set, 23-25.
The Lady Spikers tried
to gain moment um in the
s e c o n d f r a m e fol l ow i n g
rook ie Midor i Hi rotsuji’s
b l o c k , 4 -7. B u t a m o r e
persistent Ateneo side
responded with a 5-0 run.
I n t he decisive t h i rd set,
the Lady Spikers banked on
Judy Caballejo’s crosscourt
a t t a ck s t o a l low UST t o
inch closer, 12-16. Cabellejo
attempted to take hold of the
third set with another kill,
19-23. But UST ended the set
with a four-touch violation.
campaign by blanking the University of
the Philippines (UP), 5-0, at the Rizal
Tennis Court last January 16.
Promising rookie Kim Saraza
played like a real veteran in whipping
UP’s Daniel Echague in the first singles
match, 6-2, 6-1, to draw first blood for
UST.
Gerald Pinili and Ryan Montalbo
followed suit, pulverizing the UP
tandem of Julian Mendoza and Dennis
Vitaliano in the first doubles match,
6-4, 6-1.
Team captain RK Barte, who is
in his first playing year for UST in
the UAAP, almost wiped out Justin
Mendoza, 6-1, 6-0, in the second
doubles match to increase UST’s
advantage, 3-0.
Last season’s best rookie Arn
Procianos joined the onslaught by rifling
crosscourt shots and volleys to seize
the third singles from UP’s Jay Lance
Cinco, 6-2, 6-1.
UP gave the Espana-based
tennisters a semblance of a fight in the
second doubles match after a pulsating
By fRAULEINE MICHELLE
s. villanueva
Tennisters paGE 14
JOSA CAMILLE A. Bassig
Male Tennister Bernardine Bering volleys a shot to ace the third set
against the UP duo of Miguel Belda and Leandro Fernandez, 6-4, 3-6,
6-4, in the double's match as he teamed up with UST's Al Potutan (not
JOSA CAMILLE A. Bassig
in the picture).
WHEN YOU lose your aces, you go
with what’s left in the deck.
Fortunately for the UST Male
Tennisters, holdovers from last year’s
champion team delivered as they moved
a step closer to sweeping the first round
of the UAAP Lawn Tennis eliminations.
They will ride on a clean 3-0 slate, going
into an anticipated showdown with De
La Salle University.
“If we want to win, we can’t
win by our veterans alone,” coach
Karl Santamaria said. “Everyone has
to chip in. Right now, we have three
rookies playing important roles in the
team without our top players from last
year and I told them to expect a hostile
environment.”
Season 72 co-MVPs Raymond
Villarete and Miguel Narvaez, who
piloted the team to the championship
last year, are not available this season.
Villarete transferred to the College
of St. Benilde, while Narvaez had an
academic illegibility.
The Male Tennisters began their
UST reaps
medals
in Asean
Unigames
Lady Spiker Maruja Banaticla's one-man block failed to
stop the solid spike of the power-hitting De La Salle tosser
Jacqueline Alarca.
IN SEPARATE competitions
during the Christmas break, the
UST Tracksters brought glory,
not only for the school, but also
for the whole country.
Seven UST Tracksters
joined the Philippine delegation
in the 15th ASEAN University
Games (AUG) held in
Chiangmai, Thailand from
December 15 to 23.
Tracksters Meriam
Colangoy, Luville Datoon, Serenata Saluan, Keizel
Pedriña, Viena Mae and Ma.
Dela Paz Banebane, and
Roger Denolo contributed five
out to the 33 medals of the
Philippines, 10 of which came
from the Athletics division.
Colangoy, team captain
of the UST Female Tracksters,
clocked in two minutes
and 57.13 seconds in the
hepthathlon event to bring
home a silver medal. The Banebane sisters also
made their mark as Viena Mae
finished third in the 100-meter
hurdles (15.81) and Ma. Dela
Paz reaped a bronze in the
400-meter hurdles (1:09.41).
Dato-on, Season 70’s Rookie
of the Year, chipped in two
more bronze medals after she
covered 5.29 meters in the
long jump and 11.64 meters
in the triple jump events.
Back in the home country
In the local scene, the
Male Tracksters topped the
Philippine Inter-collegiate
Athletics Meet (PICAM) last
December 18 and 19, while
their female counterparts
settled for third place despite
the majority of the lineup
competing in Thailand at the
time.
“They [Male Tracksters]
Tracksters paGE 10
The
Varsitarian
Lenspeak
JaNUARY 26, 2011
Editor: Paul Allyson R. Quiambao
Photos by PAUL ALLYSON R. QUIAMBAO