The Varsitarian
Founded 1928
Volume LXXXIV, No. 9 • December 17, 2012 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSIT Y of Santo Tomas Manila, Philippines
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2 News
The Varsitarian DECEMBER 17, 2012
Editor: Reden D. Madrid
Crime rate in University Belt soars anew
BEYOND the walls of the University, danger
prevails.
Crime incidence continued to increase in the
university belt area (U-Belt) in the last quarter
of the year, data from the University Belt Area
(UBA) police station showed.
“This year, one university in U-belt recorded
two cases: homicide and murder,” said Police
Officer Shirley Inclan of Manila Police District
Station 4 in Sampaloc.
Inclan was referring to the Oct. 2 incident
wherein a former student of UST was stabbed
inside the Far Eastern University (FEU) campus
by a group of female students, while three
members of FEU’s drum and bugle band were
shot by unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen
last Dec. 4. Two of them were pronounced dead
after being rushed to UST Hospital.
Moreover, a UST junior Pharmacy student
was severely injured after being beaten and shot
by a group of students at the corner of P. Noval and
J. Barlin streets last Nov. 23.
“Although these cases are still under
investigation, most of the time such kind of
incidents are caused by fraternity wars,” Inclan
said.
These incidents prompted National Capital
Region Police Office chief Leonardo Espina to
sack Precinct Commander Antonio Naag of UBA
Police Station on P. Noval Street for “supposed
operational lapses,” reports said.
UBA blotter entries for the last quarter of
2012 revealed that Lerma Street was the scene of
most cases, with 19 incidents. The surrounding
streets, which include S.H. Loyola Street and
Claro M. Recto Avenue, recorded 12 and six cases,
respectively.
España Boulevard came in with 18 and P.
Noval Street with 15 reported incidents. Lacson
Avenue recorded nine while Dapitan Street had
eight occurrences.
Yuletide, elections blamed
Theft was the most rampant case in the U-belt
with an average of three reports per day, Inclan
said.
“Minors are usually the suspects of snatching
incidents, but there’s a law prohibiting them from
detention so we turn them over to the DSWD
(Department of Social Welfare and Development)
instead,” she said.
Theft cases in the UBA have reached 43 since
October, followed by robbery with 38 reported
incidents.
Cases of the modus operandi “salisi”
Crime PAGE 3
NLRC rules
in favor of CFAD
profs vs UST
LABOR arbiters have sided with sacked
instructors of the College of Fine Arts and Design
(CFAD) in a dispute with the administration over
the University’s “no master’s, no teaching load”
policy.
In an Oct. 30 decision, the National
Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) said the
dismissal of CFAD professors Raymond Son,
Raymund Antiola, and Wilfredo Pollarco in 2010
was “illegal.” The ruling granted a motion for
reconsideration filed by the dismissed mentors,
reversing a March 26 ruling in favor of the
University administration.
“As correctly ruled by the Labor Arbiter
and sustained by this Commission in its August
10, 2011 Decision, complainants at the time of
the termination of their services, have already
attained permanent regular status pursuant to
Section 1(a), Article XV of the 2006-2011 UST
Faculty Union [USTFU] Collective Bargaining
Agreement (CBA), and such being the case, they
cannot be terminated without cause and proper
observance of due process,” NLRC Presiding
Commissioner Raul Aquino said in the decision.
The labor dispute began when UST removed
the professors from service upon their refusal to
sign an agreement which required professors
without master’s degrees to sign waivers
renouncing their right to tenureship.
The three CFAD professors then filed
charges before the NLRC on July 5, 2010 against
former UST rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa,
O.P., Academic Affairs head Dr. Clarita Carillo,
CFAD dean Dr. Cythia Loza, Regent Fr. Edgardo
Alaurin, O.P. and the CFAD Faculty Council.
UST’s legal basis is Commission on Higher
Education (CHEd) Memorandum Order 40,
Labor PAGE 3
Civil, Chemical
Engineering post
higher scores
By CEZ MARIELA TERESA
G. VERZOSA
RP Dominicans to take over UST in 2013
THE TOTAL “Filipinization” of
UST will take place in 2013.
This was confirmed by former
UST rector Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P.
during a general assembly of schools
under the Dominican Province
of the Philippines (DPP), which
tackled “uniformity of education.”
“UST will become part of
the Dominican Province of the
Philippines. In other words, UST
will now have a very active role
to help us up in our collaborative
activities and programs,” Lana said
during the meeting last Dec. 5.
Lana, who served as rector of
UST from 1998 to 2006, is in his
second term as rector of Colegio de
San Juan de Letran in Intramuros,
Manila.
In 2013, UST will be
turned over to the DPP from the
jurisdiction of Dominican Master
General to achieve “subsidiarity”
in governance. The order’s General
Chapter in Rome approved the
turnover in 2010.
“We commission the Master of
9th USTv
Awards focuses
on Catholic Year
of Faith
By DAPHNE J. MAGTURO
THOMASIANS must look
beyond glamor and popularity
and vote for television shows
and personalities that embody
Filipino and Catholic values, the
organizer of the annual USTv
awards has said.
“This year’s USTv focuses
more on the values and influences
of TV programs, networks, and
the personalities. It’s not all
about the glamor and the fame;
we look into the that which
they portray and not the acting
craft,” said Benjamin Zoilo
Mario Ravanera III, president
of the Student Organizations
and Coordinating Council
(SOCC), during the USTv
Students’ Choice Awards
kickoff party at Plaza
Mayor last Dec. 13.
This
prompted
the SOCC to remove
“unessential”
awards
USTv PAGE 8
the Order to appoint a commission
to formulate the concrete measures
required for the transfer of the
University of Santo Tomas (UST)
Manila, to the jurisdiction of
the Dominican Province of the
Philippines, as stipulated in n. 120
of the AGC (Acts of the General
Chapter) 1995 Caleruega, Spain.
The work of this commission is to
be completed and submitted to the
Master and his council for approval
and implementation by 2013,”
said the 2010 Acts of the General
Chapter of Rome.
The Filipinization of UST
began in 1971, when Fr. Leonardo
Legazpi, O.P., was named the first
Filipino UST rector. The incumbent
rector, Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P.,
is the seventh Filipino rector of UST.
Dominican
tradition,
traits
needed
In his lecture, Lana identified the
four pillars of Dominican education:
study (the pursuit of truth), prayer
(life of faith), community life, and
Usapang Uste
service (compassion for others).
“Tradition emanates from the
teaching charism nourished by the
four pillars, especially compassion
for the poor. This is where the
distinctive Dominican competencies
begin,” he said.
Lana told the Varsitarian that
standardizing academic programs
among Dominican schools would
allow students to transfer to
other Dominican schools without
difficulty.
He reiterated the need to
improve research in UST, adding
that the University still has to
achieve its vision to become “worldclass.”
“One of the criteria of good
universities is that it is generating
knowledge, not only imparting
knowledge,” Lana said. “That’s a
sign of a mature university.”
Dominican schools plan to
support research capabilities of
religion educators, including the
Dominicans PAGE 3
Ang Paskong Tomasino
kulay lila para sa kampanaryo ng
Main Building at sa Christmas
tree na sumisimbolo ng pagiging
marilag na estado ng Unibersidad
at paggunita ng panahon ng Advent
na nakatakda sa kalendaryo ng
Simbahang Katolika.
Ngayong taon, hindi gaanong
nilagyan ng dekorasyon ang
Main Building bilang pagtugon
sa pagkahirang ng gusali bilang
isa sa mga United Nations World
Heritage Sites.
“Hangga’t maaari, iniiwasan
naming gumamit ng mabibigat
na mga dekorasyon na puwedeng
makapinsala sa Main Building,”
ani Fontecha.
Samantala, ang higanteng
Christmas tree na kasalukuyang
makikita sa tabi ng Grandstand
ay unang itinayo noong 1980 sa
tabi ng Arch of
the Centuries.
Ang naturang
Christmas tree
na dinisenyo ni
Rey
Mañago,
propesor
ng
College of Fine
Arts and Design, ay may taas
Unibersidad lamang noon na 10 talampakan.
ay pinalitan ng Matapos ang tatlong taon, inilipat
DATI’Y simpleng pagniniig at
pagsasalu-salo, ngayo’y isa na
sa mga pinakainaantabayan ng
mga Tomasino—ito ang Pasko sa
USTe.
Ayon kay Froilan Fontecha,
isang propesor sa College of
Architecture at ang nagdidisenyo
ng mga Pamaskong palamuti sa
Unibersidad sa nakaraang pitong
taon, ang kasalukuyang tema
ay orange accent at mga usa na
sumisimbulo sa karunungan.
Noong 2010, gumamit si
Fontecha ng apat na parol
na may disenyong araw
na nakasabit sa Main
Building
para
sa
pagsalubong ng ika400 na taon ng UST. Ang
nakagawiang
dilaw
na
tema
sa
THE UNIVERSITY improved its
showing in the November licensure
examination for chemical engineers,
with two Thomasians entering the
Top 10.
Daryl Carillo led the new batch
of Thomasian chemical engineers at
seventh place with an 80.80-percent
mark, followed by Jerome Magpayo
who ranked eighth with a score of
80.70 percent.
The last time a Thomasian
joined the roster of top examinees
was in 2006 when Jerico Maliwanag
snatched the fourth spot after
garnering a score of 84.50 percent.
UST recorded a better overall
passing rate of 60.50 percent (72
out of 119 examinees), from last
year’s 59.74 percent (46 out of
77 examinees), data from the
Professional Regulation Commission
(PRC) showed.
University of the PhilippinesDiliman was this year’s topperforming school, after posting a
91.75-percent passing rate wherein
89 out of their 97 examinees made
the cut.
The national passing rate rose
to 54.83 percent, with 426 out of 777
examinees passing the test, from last
year’s 47.17 percent or 301 passers
out of 638 examinees.
Meanwhile, UST recovered its
second place in the civil engineering
roster of top-performing schools this
year, after obtaining an 87.74-percent
passing score, data from PRC showed.
The University yielded the
largest number of new civil engineers
as 136 successful Thomasians out
of 155 passed the test. A total of 132
from UST were first-time takers.
Last year, UST dropped out of
the list of top-performing schools
when its passing rate slid to 79.57
percent.
No Thomasian entered the Top
10 list this year, unlike last year when
two Thomasians grabbed the sixth
and 10th places.
This year’s national passing rate
went up to 41.41 percent as 2,380 out
of 5,747 examinees passed. Last year,
1,770 out of the 5,163 made the cut,
equivalent to a 34.28-percent passing
rate.
ito sa field.
Sa nakalipas na mga dekada,
ang naging paggunita ng Pasko sa
Unibersidad ay sa pamamagitan
ng
musical
programs
at
pagdiriwang ng misa. Pagsapit
ng 1991, idinaos ang “Paskong
Tomasino: Paskong Filipino
’91.” Maliban sa pagsasadula
ng “Panunuluyan” sa loob ng
Unibersidad, nagsagawa rin ng
programa ang Unibersidad na
pagtanggap ng mga tulong para
sa mga taong naapektuhan ng
pagsabog ng Bulkang Pinatubo at
ang pagbaha sa Ormoc.
Ang Paskuhan ay nagsimula
lamang noong 1993 bilang isang
salu-salo sa UST na pinangunahan
ni Fr. Tereso Campillo, O.P., dating
ingat-yaman ng Unibersidad. ‘Di
kalaunan, naging isang malaking
pagdiriwang na ang Paskuhan
dahil isinabay ito sa selebrasyon
ng nalalapit na pagdating ni Pope
John Paul II.
Sa buwan din ng Disyembre
isinasagawa ang taunang “Book
Fair” ng UST Publishing House
kung saan sila’y nagbebenta ng
iba’t ibang aklat na inilimbag ng
Usapang Uste PaHINA 16
Assistant Editor: Maria Luisa A. Mamaradlo
DECEMBER 17, 2012
The
Varsitarian News
3
Congress OK’s population control bill
Erlinda Fule; 79
Erlinda Fule, former
dean of the Conservatory
of Music, passed away last
Dec. 13 due to multiple
organ failure. She was 79.
Professor Fule, who
served the University for
52 years, is considered
one of the pillars of the
Conservatory.
Her pioneering efforts
led to the establishment
of the UST Symphony
Orchestra, Sampung mga
Daliri Concert, and the
annual Music summer camp.
She introduced the postcollege bridging program
for elementary and high
school teachers, with help
from the Commission on
Higher Education (CHEd).
It was during her term
as dean, which began in
1992, that CHEd declared
the Conservatory a Center
of Excellence in Music
Education. Enrollment of
Music students soared as she
opened the Conservatory’s
gates to beginners.
“During her time, we
did not reject students
even if they did not really
play well. Her philosophy
was that everybody must
be given a chance to learn
music because even if a
student stopped studying
after two years and returned
to his hometown, he will
still be the greatest musician
in his province,” said music
education professor Dolores
Tecson-Andres.
Fule, who was known as
a disciplinarian, produced
musicians
who
have
excelled in and out of the
country.
Fidel
Calalang,
Jr.,
conductor of the worldrenowned UST Singers,
described Dean Fule as
a “bukod-tanging terror
professor” and an excellent
Fule PAGE 15
Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez, an opponent of the
Repoductive Health bill, is pensive after the House of Representatives voted
for the bill on third reading.
JOHN PAUL R. AUTOR
Faculty Union ex-prexy files libel case vs VP
FORMER UST Faculty Union
(USTFU) president Gil Gamilla has
filed another set of libel cases, this
time against the union’s internal
vice president and two others,
citing “malicious imputations”
over alleged anomalies involving
USTFU funds.
In his complaint before the
Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office
dated Oct. 2, Gamilla said Rene
Tadle, and USTFU employees
Samantha Lei Bernal and Allison
Pasicolan made statements against
him in a joint counter-affidavit
that involved a different case—
an earlier complaint for slander
filed by former UST executive
vice-president
Gil
Garcia.
Garcia’s complaint has since been
withdrawn for lack of witnesses.
“[D]ue
to
his
abovementioned malicious imputations,
which are irrelevant to respondent
Tadle’s defense against the charge
of Slander by Mr. [Gil] Garcia, I
am suing him for four (4) counts
of libel,” Gamilla said in his
complaint-affidavit.
“Hence, for Mr. Tadle to
repeat those allegations in his
counter-affidavit is nothing else but
intentional and malicious because
these allegations are not related at
all to his defense of prescription,
relating to the charge against him
for slander by Mr. Garcia,” Gamilla
said.
“His wayward remarks had the
tendency to influence the judgment
of the Investigating Officer that Mr.
Garcia and I, his witness, are of
doubtful criminal character, who
should not be given credence at
all,” added Gamilla, who resigned
from USTFU presidency in 2011.
But Tadle said they cannot
stop them from filing cases against
them.
“[W]e have roles to play—
duties and responsibilities that we
have to perform in the best way we
can,” he said. “I just have to pursue
the course of action I deemed
necessary to protect the interest of
USTFU including the recovery of
the 9.5 million.”
Tadle, he said, remained
unwavering in his accusations
that there were anomalous
transactions involving P9.5 million
allegedly released to a company
for a condominium project. “[H]
is insinuations and imputations
are not only unfounded but false
because the evidence shows it was
actually a placement,” said the
complaint-affidavit, obtained by
the Varsitarian.
Tadle added that since the
P9.5 million controversy has
affected many people and has
“eroded the trust and confidence”
that the members have bestowed
on the Union, this could be a
“learning opportunity for more
accountability, responsibility, and
vigilance on the part of officers and
union members.”
“This is an opportunity to
reform and improve the system.
A wake-up call for everyone, that
for a leadership to be dynamic
and responsive, we need a more
engaged and critical membership,”
he said. “That is why we are
pursuing this, to make sure that the
same will not happen again.”
Earlier this year, Gamilla filed
a libel case against the union’s vice
president for legal affairs due to
supposed “libelous” statements on
the questionable disbursement of
union funds.
In 2009, USTFU officials
signed an agreement with Saturn
Resources, Inc. which involved
an investment with Wise Capital
Investment and Trust Company
(WiseCitco).
WiseCitco was supposed to
lend money to Saturn Resources to
construct a condominium building
for the faculty, but this did not push.
In January 2010, a faction of
faculty members called the “Fidelity
Dominicans
Crime
FROM PAGE 2
FROM PAGE 2
publication of scholarly journals and
common textbooks.
Aside from Letran-Manila,
other Dominican schools that
participated in the two-day event
were the Colegio de San Juan
de Letran’s Calamba and Bataan
campuses, Angelicum College
in Quezon City, and Aquinas
University of Legazpi. Denise
Pauline P. Purugganan
and Cez Mariela Teresa G.
Verzosa
numbered 26, most of them occurring
on Bustillos and M. Earnshaw streets
near España. The number of salisi
crimes increased significantly from
seven incidents in October to 13 in
November.
Inclan cited the Christmas
season and the upcoming elections
as factors that led to the surge in
crime volume in the Sampaloc area.
“While the crime volume
surges, our follow-up operations
likewise increase so we are able to
find ways to solve them eventually,”
she said.
Crimes usually occur at España
Boulevard and Morayta during rush
hours, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Inclan
said.
Physical injuries and threats,
meanwhile, remained rampant in the
residential areas of Sampaloc.
Cases of threats were higher in
November with 17 reported cases,
while October and December posted
seven and five cases, respectively.
Reports of physical injuries,
however, decreased from 10 in
October to six in November and
one in December. There were also
reported cases of car theft, assault,
alarm and scandal, and rape.
Two cases of theft at the UST
multi-deck carpark building were
recorded in the past two months,
reports showed.
Inclan advised students to take
responsibility for their actions when
outside campus premises.
“Students must go home
right after school and they should
keep away from places which they
know are dangerous,” she said. “At
kung maglalakad kayo, parating
may kasama. At huwag masyado
mahilig sa mga gimik-gimik.”
Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela
and Cez Mariela Teresa G.
Verzosa
faculty members five semesters to
earn their master’s degrees, or be
removed from service.
“[S]ince complainants have
already obtained security of tenure,
they cannot be terminated without
just or authorized causes and
observance of due process. Failure
to obtain a master’s degree does
not constitute a just or authorized
cause for terminating complainants’
services as provided for under
the Labor Code,” the CBA stated.
“And nothing is stated in the CHEd
Memorandum Order No. 040-08
that failure to obtain a master’s
degree shall be a ground to terminate
the services of the faculty.”
Reynaldo Reyes, USTFU
vice president for grievance and
complaints, said the union cannot
allow the administration to violate
any CBA provision.
“[T]he act of the University
asking them to sign the waiver is
in itself a violation of the two laws
—the CHEd memo or requirement
and also the Labor Code. [On one
hand], you are violating the CBA
and therefore it is against the law.
On the other hand, it is a violation
of the CHEd memo, because the
waiver would allow the faculty
concerned to continue teaching
despite having no master’s degree,”
Reyes said.
Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina
disagreed.
“Unfair
labor
practice
presupposes a flagrant violation of
the CBA. In this case, not only there
is no flagrant violation, there is no
violation in the CBA,” Divina told
the Varsitarian in an interview.
“We maintain our position that the
CHEd memorandum is integrated in
any CBA. If [the CBA] is in conflict
with the CHEd memorandum or the
policy of the state … the law or the
regulation of the state prevails.”
The
Varsitarian
sought
comments from Son, Antiola, and
Pollarco but they have yet to reply.
Bernadette D. Nicolas
Labor
FROM PAGE 2
series of 2008 (CMO 40), or the
Manual of Regulation for Private
Education of 2008 (Morphe),
which states that a faculty member
can only be tenured in a higher
education institution when he or
she is “a holder of master’s degree,”
and, if applicable, a holder of the
appropriate professional license.
Meanwhile, Article 15 Section
1A of the 2006-2011 USTFU
Collective Bargaining Agreement
(CBA) gave previously hired
Faculty Union PAGE 7
WITH PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III
certifying it as "urgent," the controversial
“reproductive health” (RH) bill passed on
third and final reading in both houses of
congress on Monday (Dec. 17), despite
vigorous opposition from the Catholic Church
and pro-life groups.
The “yes” vote in the House of
Representatives ended with an overwhelming
margin, with 133 voting in the affirmative,
79 negative, and seven abstentions. Of
287 lawmakers, 88 were absent during the
deliberations. The House passed the bill –
which provides for a national contraception
and sterilization program as well as statedesigned and compulsory sex education – on
second reading on Wednesday last week.
Senators were able to vote on second and
third reading on the same day as a result of the
presidential certification, which did away with
the three-day rule between successive votes.
Pro-RH senators outnumbered the anti-RH
bloc, with 13 voting in the affirmative, eight
negative, and no abstention. Only Senators
Lito Lapid and Sergio Osmenia III were
absent during the voting.
Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes, who had
monitored the deliberations in the Batasang
Pambansa, said the RH bill is a “big mistake.”
“I’m very sad because the executive
department became the corruptor of
congressmen,” Reyes said. “They made them
change their principles by means of promises
or threats of not giving pork barrel if they
would vote versus the RH bill, promises of
government projects, political favors, and so
on. That is corruption of people.”
Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said
before the plenary that the majority had voted
for the voice of the powerful and not the voice
of their constituents.
“It is the job of the government to
make sure that our citizenry will grow
upright, morally fit, to become citizens of
this country. But I’m afraid most provisions
of this measure we put money on the wrong
priority,” Magsaysay said. “We are attacking
the problems with the wrong solutions.”
Magsaysay claimed her colleagues in
the anti-RH bloc who were absent had been
threatened by the ruling Liberal Party that if
they voted against the measure, they would be
sanctioned.
“We should be given the mandate to
decide for our constituents for what we think
is right. You may have won the battle, but I am
afraid, you might lose the war. And I hope this
will be on the conscience of those who forced
[lawmakers] to vote just because they wanted
to please some people,” she added.
At the House, the number of “no” votes
dwindled to 79 in the vote for third reading
from 104 in last week’s second reading.
RH bill author Rep. Edcel Lagman of
Albay denied that the Aquino administration
had dangled favors before lawmakers in
exchange for the passage of the bill. “[They]
should stop the black propaganda. They
should accept what the people want. As they
say, the voice of the people is the voice of
God,” Lagman said.
Pro-RH advocates in the Batasan
emerged victorious, distributing violet flowers
to lawmakers after the announcement of the
result of the nominal voting.
Former representative Risa HontiverosBaraquel, a known RH lobbyist, told reporters:
“Para akong lumulutang sa ere. Finally,
justice is served to women and children.”
The House and Senate versions of the
bill will now go to a bicameral committee,
which is tasked to produce a consolidated
version for ratification of both houses. When
the bill is ratified, it will go to the President
for signature.
“Before the end of the year it will become
a law, as long as we are able to harmonize the
differing provisions in the bicameral conference
committee, which I hope will be called [on
Tuesday],” Lagman said.
Human Life International President Fr.
Shenan Boquet lamented that the “last pro-life
and pro-family nation in Asia” had passed a
measure which “threatens life.”
“The wealthy Western elites who find
in the children of the developing world only
a threat to be eliminated appear to have won
their most coveted crown. They used their
billions to exploit the famously corrupt political
environment of the [Philippines],” Boquet said.
The US-based international organization
called on to the Catholic Church to “redouble
her efforts” and support anti-RH lawmakers and
laypeople.
“The battle is not over, it is only entering
a new stage,” he added. Andre Arnold
T. Santiago and Nikka Lavinia G.
Valenzuela
4 Opinion The
Varsitarian decemBER 17, 2012
Editorial
Pro-RH Aquino
and Congress: Fiddling
while Rome burns
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda
rejected the comparison made by Batangas
Archbishop Ramon Arguelles between the
gruesome Connecticut school massacre and
President Aquino eventually signing the
Reproductive Health bill that had been passed
on third reading by both houses of Congress.
Arguelles was quoted as saying that the signing
of the RH bill would be similar to the tragedy in
Connecticut, where a 20-year-old gunman killed
20 children and seven adults. “Our President
intends to kill 20 million children with a fountain
pen [if he signs] the RH bill into law,” the bishop
reportedly said. Lacierda protested, saying that the
American incident was an “unfortunate tragedy and
it should not be visited on any community,” and
that Arguelles’ statement was “grossly malicious”
and “unbefitting of a bishop.”
But the emotionally charged metaphor of
the bishop was apt. Aquino himself is a rabid
gun enthusiast under whose administration gun
control has been stymied and loose firearms have
hardly been checked. He might as well have
been honorary president of the American Rifle
Association. Moreover, the most fundamental
right is the right to life. It does not take scholarly
hermeneutics to determine that the RH law would
result in the compromise, not the protection, of
life from conception, in the face of constitutional
enshrinement of such a protection. This is the
reason why the pro-RH majority refused to discuss
the question, “When does life begin?” And with the
basic right to life compromised, downgraded would
be other rights. No wonder that on human rights,
Aquino has been wishy-washy: He promoted and
appointed as Armed Forces intelligence chief the
former Army intelligence chief implicated in the
abduction, disappearance and possibly summary
execution of Jonas Burgos, the son of press-freedom
icon and UST alumnus Jose Burgos Jr. Earlier, he
had gone along with the Beijing-initiated boycott
of the Oslo ceremonies awarding the Nobel Peace
Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiabao, a prisoner
held incommunicado by the communist bosses of
China, the first time that the Philippines had been
absent from the ceremonies. It is noteworthy that
on human rights, Aquino seems to have taken the
side of China, which has implemented a one-child
policy to control its population, resulting in forced
abortions and what’s probably the worst genocide
in history. That genocide may yet be transposed
to the Philippines, care of the pro-Beijing Aquino
government!
Editorial Page 5
The Varsitarian
Founded Jan. 16, 1928
RAFAEL L. ANTONIO
Editor in Chief
BRYLLE B. TABORA
Managing Editor
JAMES BRYAN J. AGUSTIN
Associate Editor
REDEN D. MADRID News Editor
MARIA LUISA A. MAMARADLO Assistant News Editor
JAN EDWARD B. BALLESTEROS Sports Editor
LORENZO LUIGI T. GAYYA Special Reports Editor
rodolfo serafin jerome t. lozada Features Editor
JAN DOMINIC G. LEONES Literary Editor
MARIA ARRA L. PEREZ Patnugot ng Filipino
GERVIE KAY S. ESTELLA Witness Editor
NIGEL BRYANT B. EVANGELISTA Sci-Tech Editor
MARIANNE S. LASTRA Circle Editor
ANGELICA GABRIELLE O. NAVARRO Art Director
SHERWIN MARION T. VARDELEON Photography Editor
News Daphne J. Magturo, Bernadette D. Nicolas,
Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela, Cez Mariela Teresa G. Verzosa
Sports Hedrix Ar-ar C. Caballe, Alexis U. Cerado,
Jose Antonio R. Nisay, Carla Patricia S. Perez
Special Reports Kristelle Ann A. Batchelor, Andre T. Santiago
Features Alfredo N. Mendoza V, Catalina Ricci S. Madarang,
Juan Carlos D. Moreno
Literary Jon Christoffer R. Obice, Sarah Mae Jenna A. Ramos
Filipino Elora Joselle F. Cangco, Jonah Mary T. Mutuc
Witness Denise Pauline P. Purugganan, Gracelyn A. Simon
Science and Technology Altir Christian D. Bonganay, Giuliani Renz G. Paas
Circle John Joseph G. Basijan, Romina Louise C. Cunanan,
Christopher B. Enriquez
Art Karel Daye B. Gascon, Ma. Aurora A. Gonzales
Photography John Paul R. Autor, Jaime T. Campos, John Daniel J. Hirro
FELIPE F. SALVOSA II
Assistant Publications Adviser
JOSELITO B. ZULUETA
Publications Adviser
Letters/comments/suggestions/contributions are welcome in the
Varsitarian. Only letters with signatures will be entertained. Original
manuscript contributions must be typewritten, double-spaced,
on regular bond paper, and should include a signed certification bearing the author’s name, address, year, and college. The
identity of a writer may be withheld upon request. The editors will
not be responsible for the loss of materials. Contributions must
be sent to The Varsitarian office, Rm. 105, Tan Yan Kee Student
Center Bldg., University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila.
The intractability of ‘jueteng’
“TIMES really have changed,
haven’t they? Not so long
ago, you could only see vast
plainfields and fishponds
and nipa huts all around our
community,” my Lolo told me
during our hometown vacation
last semestral break. “I’m quite
surprised many houses here
in Pangasinan are now as big
and as luxurious as those in
Manila!”
“That’s because many of
our neighbors have relatives
working abroad, and have
been earning enough to build
such houses,” my Lola replied.
“‘Yung iba naman, katas ng
jueteng!.”
Lola then recalled how
one of her amigas was able
to send her children to private
schools until they graduated
in college, out of the money
she gained from betting in
jueteng. Likewise, Lolo related
how his kumpare has found
his way to prosperity after
becoming a kabo or the person
who oversees the kubrador
(collector).
I may not have enough
idea how rampant jueteng has
been in our hometown, but
the presence of such houses
and “stories of success” only
manifest how this illegal
numbers racket has continued
changing the lives of some of
our townsmen from misery to
But no matter how
we conceal such
misdemeanor with
a charitable image,
even in the passage
of time, it will always
remain appalling.
instant fortune.
One could win as much
as P900 in jueteng with only a
peso as bet, making it popular
among the poor. One has to
bet two or three numbers from
1 to 37 and choose the type of
play from the various gaming
schemes, such as casas (betting
on three numbers), pompiang
(betting on a similar number),
and tumbok and sahod (betting
on the order of numbers drawn).
Just hope that the best of luck is
in your favor once the numbers
are drawn.
And with the charm and
excitement of jueteng, many
have continued to patronize
this
centuries-old
game
wrongly believed to have been
introduced by the Spanish
conquistadors. (It evolved
during the Spanish era but it was
not exactly introduced by the
colonizers.) But no matter how
we conceal such misdemeanor
with a charitable image, even
in the passage of time, it will
always remain appalling.
Recently, Pangasinan Gov.
Amado Espino, Jr. graced the
headlines for allegedly being
linked with jueteng operators
in the province. Whistleblower
and Bugallon Mayor Rodrigo
Orduña has filed a plunder case
against Espino before the Office
of the Ombudsman, exposing
the alleged P900 million in
protection money the governor
received from the gambling
operators.
Orduña,
who
also
admitted his involvement
in the underground lottery,
said Espino—a retired police
officer—is the “big boss”
of jueteng operations in the
province since he became
governor in 2007.
But the illegal numbers
racket is rampant in other
provinces
apart
from
Pangasinan.
LingayenDagupan Archbishop Emeritus
Oscar Cruz said jueteng is alive
in many provinces of Luzon,
including Tarlac, President
Aquino’s home province. The
prelate said he’s not surprised
about how extensive jueteng
is played in Luzon since the
President himself has declared
its eradication is not a priority
in his administration.
Sen. Miriam DefensorSantiago, meanwhile, said
the illegal numbers racket is
obviously prevalent in the
six cities of Metro Manila:
Quezon City, Makati, Manila,
Mandaluyong, Pasay, and
San Juan, adding that it is the
“biggest source of corruption in
the country.”
Presidential Spokesperson
Edwin Lacierda, in defense,
said Aquino would not tolerate
the multi-billion peso illegal
gambling industry, adding that
whistleblowers must support
allegations with hard evidence.
Jueteng,
which
is
commonly concealed in the
form of small town lottery or
based in the winning results
of jai-alai, a sport involving
bouncing a ball off a walled
space, is just among the
Espionage PAGE 5
Manny Pacquiao: The Filipino supernova
Supernova,
noun—the
explosion of star in which the
star may reach a maximum
intrinsic
luminosity
one
billion times that of the sun
(Merriam Webster)
***
THE
LAST
observed
supernova, said to have briefly
illuminated the whole galaxy,
was in 1604. The discovery
was made by Johannes Kepler.
Though not as equally
bright in proportion, the
Philippines had its own
supernova, which emanated
in General Santos City, in the
21st century.
Manny
“Pacman”
Pacquiao took the Philippines
by storm with his world
dominance in professional
boxing. Known for his
exciting fighting style—a
combination of power, speed,
skill, and gamble—Pacquiao
was the first boxer to become
world champion in eight
weight divisions, in which he
won ten world titles.
It was enough reason to
regard him as a local hero and
icon for the Philippines, which
is still an understatement
compared with the totality of
It was never Manny
Pacquiao the boxer,
it has always been
Manny Pacquiao the
Filipino.
what Pacquaio means to the
country.
On Dec. 4, 2012,
however, Filipinos grieved
over the sight of “the greatest
boxer,” the Filipino hero,
lying senseless on the canvas
of MGM Grand Arena after
being knocked out with a
single punch by his Mexican
rival, Juan Manuel Marquez,
in their fourth bout. It was
the first time Pacquaio got
knocked down since 2001.
Perhaps his dominance
made people forget that
Pacquiao is not immortal.
Somebody’s bound to hit his
Achilles’ heel sooner or later.
In this case, it was Marquez.
Post-fight
questions
included: Is this the end of
an era, the denouement of
the supernova? Maybe. Who
knows?
But it is important to note,
meanwhile, that Pacquiao’s
athletic conquest alone did not
make him what he is today.
He’s somebody most
Filipinos can relate and
sympathize with, and be proud
of, having risen from poverty
to riches and greatness;
somebody who despite his
success, still keeps faith to
God and his feet flat on the
ground, which makes me
wonder whether he uses the
superglues advertised during
commercial breaks in his
televised fights to keep his
feet on the ground. No camera
tricks!
Even in defeat, Pacquiao
retains his humility, unlike his
former colleague Amir Khan
who, in loss, blamed referees
and his trainer.
In a Twitter post,
journalist Teodoro Locsin, Jr.
said Pacquiao’s loss was not a
case of “How are the mighty
fallen,” quoting 2 Samuel 1:27
of the Bible, because he was
never proud in victory “and
met every win with wonder
and gratitude, like a surprise
present from God.”
When Pacquaio’s era
comes to an end, when all the
succubi—greedy politicians
and shady pastors—swarming
around him leave and all he has
left is his family, he will still
be the legend that he is, for at
that moment he was knocked
out cold, the world, as far as
Filipinos were concerned,
stopped. Many were horrified
and angry, some even wept.
And from there we knew
that Pacquiao is not merely a
gladiator for the Philippines.
He is a true hero, someone
people cheer and cry for.
Neither Marquez’s single
punch nor the mediocre singer
Vorpal PAGE 5
decemBER 17, 2012
‘Pablo’ and climate change
“THE ABNORMAL is the
new normal.”
These words of United
Nations
(UN)
Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon sum
up how climate change and
erratic weather patterns have
become the norm rather than
the exception...
That climate change is
just a hoax has become less
and less convincing, especially
with the globe warming up by
0.8 degree Celsius (oC) over
preindustrial levels, oceans
by 0.09oC since the 1950s,
and the sea levels rising 3.2
millimeters per year. The
numbers may be quite small
but the recent World Bank
climate study warns that by
2100, world temperature
is projected to have a fourdegree rise, that is, if it does
not reach that level earlier by
2060 because of uncontrolled
carbon emissions.
Moreover,
with
the
permafrost
covering
the
polar regions of Antarctica
and Greenland, sea levels
are expected to rise at
approximately 0.5 to 1 meter
from its present state in 2100
if the waters exist in what
the World Bank calls “a 4
oC world.” Rising waters can
affect vulnerable low-lying
countries situated at coasts
especially at extreme weather
events, like the Philippines.
Even
concentrations
of carbon dioxide, the main
greenhouse
gas
trapped
inside the atmosphere, has
been increasing from its
preindustrial concentration of
around 278 parts per million
(ppm) to over 391 ppm last
September, rising 1.8 ppm per
year; and it may reach 800
Espionage
FROM PAGE 4
concrete manifestations of
assaulting public interest by
appealing to their economic
deficiencies. Worse, some
government
officials
are
tolerating this illegal activity in
exchange for protection money
from jueteng lords, making it
more difficult to eradicate. As
Santiago lamented, the roots
of jueteng “have gone down so
Editorial
FROM PAGE 4
If Bishop Arguelles must
be taken to task, it is that he
should not have searched
elsewhere for analogies. As
Aquino and his government
were maneuvering to have
the RH bill passed by hook
or by crook, Mindanao was
being laid waste by typhoon
“Pablo,” resulting in more
than 1,000 deaths, with some
800 people, as of this writing,
missing and probably dead,
and agriculture and industry
of the Compostela Valley,
which had borne the brunt of
the typhoon's wrath, totally
wiped out. Up to now, the
situation has not normalized.
The shamelessly pro-RH,
Aquino-friendly metropolitan
media have hardly reported
on the disaster, training their
resources to serve the ends of
RH propaganda instead; but
dispatches by the off-stream,
non-capitalist press show
that government rescueand-relief are a shambles,
with many people rioting in
desperation or complaining
of government abandonment.
One news dispatch quoted
Bishop
Antonio
Ablon
of the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente saying that
Many catastrophes in
2012 may have been
caused by nature, but
less damage could have
happened if we did our
part in protecting the
environment.
inundated UST with the rest
of Metro Manila. The floods
mind you were caused not by
typhoons but by heavier than
usual monsoon rains.
As in 2011 when
Sendong ravaged Visayas and
Mindanao, the Philippines
ended 2012 with a typhoon and
heavy flooding in Mindanao.
To cap the year with a bang,
typhoon Pablo devastated
the rarely-stormed Visayas
and Mindanao, leaving at
least 1,020 dead and 844 still
missing as of press time.
When I learned the
country ranked fourth with the
highest risks to environmental
changes in the 2013 Global
Climate Risk Index by
Germanwatch, I was not
shocked. As Sendong and
Pablo have shown, forest
denudation has contributed
not only to climate change
but more lethal devastation by
inclement weather.
The Mayans might have
made a wrong prediction
that the world would end
on December 21, 2012. But
they were at least right that
the world could be ending
around that date, more or less.
Humans themselves would be
the agents of that destructive
end, it appears. But it’s not
yet too late to act. We can still
slow down the change. Cut
down greenhouse emissions
by reducing electricity use
and other activities involving
these gasses. Drive less and
use public transportation or,
better yet, bicycles. Reduce,
reuse, and recycle. Plant
trees, take care of the corals,
and keep the balance in the
ecosystem. Every small move
is a big step.
ppm by 2100. Such high-level
concentration is enough to
acidify oceans, which in turn
can lead to the destruction
of marine biodiversity and
ecosystem.
In addition, stranger
weather events, clean water
and food shortages, as well
as other ecosystem shifts, can
appear more normal because
of the “new” climate by the
next century.
Why have we ended up in
such a situation? It is primarily
because we, the human beings
who were tasked to be the
stewards and protectors of
nature, have turned against the
world that nourishes us. While
change is naturally inevitable
even in temperatures and
climates, we cannot deny
that we have sped the whole
process up and damaged our
home as a result by our own
destructive habits.
During
the
recently
concluded UN Framework
Convention
on
Climate
Change in Qatar, Ban
presented a challenge: to keep
global temperature below 2 oC
by creating a global pact that
would cut global emissions of
carbon dioxide.
Global emissions has
been
rapidly
increasing,
jumping to three percent last
year and may even rise to 2.6
percent more by the end of the
year. As a result, UN-member
nations are pressured to create
a treaty to protect Earth due
2015 or face the unwanted
consequences in the following
years.
"The science has plainly
made it clear: it is the human
beings' behavior which caused
climate change, therefore the
solution must come from us,”
Ban said.
True
enough,
many
catastrophes in 2012 may have
been caused by nature, but less
damage could have happened
if we did our part in protecting
the environment.
In
North
America,
Hurricane Sandy battered
the United States’ East Coast
and portions of the Caribbean
which caused 253 deaths and
an estimated $63-million in
damages. Unusual frequency
of flooding in the United
Kingdom has also been lately
noted.
Flooding
in
the
Philippines
has
become
more and more frequent and
more destructive, especially
the floods early August that
deep that it will be very difficult
to exterminate.”
There should be urgency
for a national policy in order
to suppress the flourishing
of this multi-billion peso
illegal gambling. Should the
government begin prosecuting
government and police and
military officials involved in
jueteng, citizens, in the very
least that they can do, must
stop betting and tolerating
the numbers game. After all,
discipline is needed to curb
one’s destructive appetite.
Vorpal
and Grammy-snubbed Justin
Bieber’s insults can diminish
Pacquiao’s greatness, for he
has already been immortalized
way beyond boxing rankings.
Another Filipino will
eventually replace Pacquiao
as the world’s greatest boxer,
yes. Nonito Donaire, Jr.,
coming from four consecutive
impressive victories this year
alone, seems to be on his way.
But Donaire, with all due
respect to his achievements,
can never be half of what
Pacquiao was.
It was never Manny
Pacquiao the boxer, it was
Manny Pacquiao the athlete,
the actor, the endorser, the
politician, the poorman, the
Catholic, the evangelical
Christian. More importantly,
it has always been Manny
Pacquiao the Filipino. And
there can be no supernova like
him for a long, long time.
many victims had been
overlooked by government
and had resorted to desperate
measures. "There is a reason
for this desperation,” he said.
Therefore, while the
story that the emperor
Nero fiddled while Rome
burned may not be entirely
historically accurate, it may
yet provide a fitting analogy
of what happened in the
Philippines. The sight of
Aquino and his minions—
legislators, leftists raw, and
Catolicos kuno—singing the
pro-death, anti-life anthem
of the RH bill, insisting on
their alleged right to have a
safe and satisfying sex life,
generally betraying their
quirky bedroom habits (what
acrobatics do they really do
and what torture instruments
do they use in bed that make
their fornication “unsafe”
and needing state-sponsored
amelioration?), and having
the state sanction and the
taxpayers supporting their
hedonism and their sybarite
ways,
while
thousands
were drowning and being
killed and displaced in
Mindanao, should provide an
appalling portrait of the sheer
insensitivity of power and
officialdom to the travails
faced by common humanity.
Worse, while government
scrimped on disaster relief,
with Malacanang officials
suggesting that contingency
funds might be running
out, Aquino officials were
wooing lawmakers to the
RH cause with enticements
of patronage, as the presence
of Interior and Local
Government
Secretary
and vice-presidential loser
Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and
Budget Secretary Florencio
Abad during the crucial
second reading of the bill
should
show.
Claiming
they’re proponents of new
politics, Roxas and Abad
are really hoary traditional
politicians. Both are former
congressmen and have thrived
in the dynastic ambience
of
Philippine
politics:
Roxas’ clan has dominated
Capiz politics since time
immemorial and Abad’s
spouse is an incumbent
congresswoman of Batanes.
Roxas and Abad give the lie
to the pro-RH’s contention
that
there’s
correlation
between
overpopulation
and
underdevelopment.
Their provinces have low
population but are very poor.
Aquino
had
said
lawmakers
should
vote
according to their conscience
and his spokesman had urged
Arguelles and the bishops
to stop the “name-calling”
and contribute instead to
“intelligent discourse” on
the RH bill. But the fact is
that the RH bill was passed
not because of intelligent
discourse or the practice
of conscience but because
of the pork barrel. Many
congressmen did not vote
according to their conscience:
they voted with their wallets!
As Cebu Archbishop Jose
Palma told the Varsitarian,
“We are aware of the
monetary
considerations
that are actually the very
important playing factor in
the approval of the bill.”
Perhaps worse, the
pro-RH propaganda, while
pillorying Manila Auxiliary
Bishop Broderick Pabillo
for making a connection
between the typhoon and
God’s alleged displeasure
over the RH bill, basically
blamed the victims of Pablo
themselves for their ordeal.
One commentator, who
has unabashedly defended
Aquino initiatives and has a
relative in his government,
said that the lesson from
Pablo is that “we need to
slow down the growth of our
population, for it is human
interventions . . . that have
made natural disasters so
destructive and tragic.” The
writer’s warped logic should
take its place alongside
Aquino’s disdainful attitude
FROM PAGE 4
The
Varsitarian Opinion
5
‘Overweight’
at ‘obesity’
“WALANG diet-diet ngayong
Pasko.”
Marahil iyan na ang iyong
pinakamadalas na dahilan sa tuwing
labis sa nakasanayang dami ng
pagkain ang iyong mauubos sa
bawat handaan na iyong dadaluhan
ngayong holiday season. Maaaring
ito rin ang iyong gagamiting alibi
sa tuwing may magtatanong sa
iyo kung bakit tila tumataas ang
iyong timbang nitong nakaraang
mga linggo. Sa paulit-ulit na
pagdadahilang ito, mistulang sinisisi
mo pa ang Pasko kaya’t nakalimot ka sa dati’y sapat na
pagkain para sa iyo.
Sa ginawang pagsusuri ng Food and Nutrition Research
Institute ng Department of Science and Technology,
tinatayang taong 1993 pa lamang ay nakapagtala na ang bansa
ng 5.7 milyon kataong overweight at obese. Bawat taon, nasa
4.3 porsiyento ang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga overweight
at obese na mga Pilipino. Ang pagiging overweight ay ang
pagtaas ng timbang na may kaugnayan sa tangkad ng isang
tao, samantalang ang pagiging obese nama’y pagkakaroon
ng labis na taba sa katawan.
Walang nakikitang okasyon o pagdiriwang ang mga
taong overweight at obese—mapa-Pasko man o sa pangaraw-araw na pamumuhay, napalalabis ang kanilang
kinakain. Kadalasan, nagiging tampulan din sila ng tukso—
sa kanila ipinupukol ang mga katawagang mula sa mga
hayop hanggang sa mga bagay na may relasyon sa pagiging
mataba. Sa kabila nito, hindi sila dapat itatwa o ikahiya;
bagkus, nararapat silang paalalahanan.
Maaaring nakatuon nga ang mga mapanghusgang mata
ng mga tao sa pisikal na anyo ng mga overweight at obese—
ngunit, higit pa rito ang tunay na banta ng kalusugan kung
hindi bibigyang solusyon ang mga naturang kondisyon.
Diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer (sa
endometrium, cervix, ovary, breast, at prostate), at gall bladder
Maaaring nakatuon nga ang
mga mapanghusgang mata ng
mga tao sa pisikal na anyo ng
mga overweight at obese—
ngunit, higit pa rito ang tunay na
banta ng kalusugan kung hindi
bibigyang solusyon ang mga
naturang kondisyon.
inflammation—iyan ay ilan lamang sa mga sakit na may
mas malaking tiyansang makuha ng mga taong overweight
at obese, kumpara sa mga may malusog na pangangatawan.
Bukod dito, mas bumababa rin ang life expectancy ng mga
taong overweight at obese sa bawat paglabis ng kanilang
pagkain.
Ang totoo niyan, ang mga paalalang ito’y common
knowledge na—hindi na dapat pang sinasabi ang mga ito,
ngunit dahil sa nagbabagong panahon, marahil ay kailangan
ng pagpapaalala hindi lamang para sa mga maihahanay
bilang overweight at obese kundi para na rin sa lahat.
Hindi naman dapat magmalabis kung nais mong
magbawas ng timbang. Ayon nga sa mga eksperto, isa sa mga
pinakamabisang paraan ng pagpayat ay ang pagkain nang
madalas ngunit kaunting dami lamang.
Hindi rin hinihiling ang tuluyang ‘di pagkain dahil
pakiramdam mo’y tumataas ang iyong timbang—marahil ay
ito naman ang makapagdulot ng anorexia o pagkawala ng
ganang kumain.
Hindi rin ipinagbabawal ang paminsan-minsang guilty
pleasure—tulad ngayong Kapaskuhan—pero nararapat
isiping minsan lamang ito sa isang taon, kumpara sa maaari
mong anihing pangmatagalang karamdaman.
At higit sa lahat, hindi mapapantayan ng kahit anong
handaan ang pagdiriwang ng pagiging malusog at pagkain
nang tama—kapag ika’y malusog, mas hahaba ang iyong
buhay at mas maraming pagkakataong matikman ang lahat
ng pagkaing gusto mo: sa tamang dami, sa tamang pagpipigil,
nang may tamang disiplina.
toward the poor—his cacique
mentality—especially when
he said in his last state of
the nation address that the
backlog in education must
be checked by population
control.
Both
remarks,
evincing their writer’s, or
speaker’s, superciliousness,
their contempt of the masses,
should at least underscore
that the RH bill is intrinsically
anti-poor.
Lacierda could say that
the Connecticut incident
should not be visited on any
community; but Arguelles,
Pabillo, Palma, and the
Church could as well say that
the tragedy of an insensitive
government like Aquino’s—
pressing for a measure that
was severely dividing the
nation and pressing for it
through allurements and
offers of patronage and other
public troughs to lawmakers
while
Mindanao
was
drowning and dying—should
not be visited on Filipinos.
But alas, the dark
visitation has taken place.
May God have mercy on the
Philippines!
6 Witness
The Varsitarian decemBER 17, 2012
Editor: Gervie Kay S. Estella
Nation celebrates Calungsod’s sainthood
By BRYLLE B. TABORA
SOUTH Road Properties, Cebu
City—CEBU Archbishop Emeritus
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal called on
hundreds of thousands of devotees
to yearn for the "true love of Christ"
—the same love that compelled St.
Pedro Calungsod to “die a thousand
deaths"—in his homily during a
thanksgiving mass last Nov. 30.
“True love and pure love flow
from the heart of Jesus crucified,”
Vidal said. “Pedro [Calungsod]
made many sacrifices. He had to die
a thousand deaths so that one more
death doesn’t matter anymore.”
Speaking before a crowd of
roughly a million devotees, some
of whom flew from other parts of
the country for the National Day
of Thanksgiving for Calungsod's
canonization, Vidal said the second
Filipino saint should be emulated
for being steadfast even in the face
of mortal adversity.
“We have to follow Calungsod
in his youth, to be honest,” he
said. “It is the love of Christ that
compelled him to lay down his life
and it is this love that compelled us
to honor a life called out of love.”
Love today, he said, is rooted
in self-serving ways, seeking only
fulfillment. This is the complete
opposite of the short life lived by
Calungsod, who did not experience
the frivolities of youth.
“Our love today seeks the
easy way out and fulfillment
without facing consequences,”
Vidal said. “Calungsod spent
his youth learning the basics of
faith, acquiring self-discipline,
developing virtue in the fibers of
his flesh and in the marrows of his
bones."
“Some people say they can
love without believing, but that
is like saying to swim without
even jumping into the water, or
breathing without air,” he said.
“Even the most elementary form
of love requires us to believe in the
love of Christ.”
Vidal
said
yesterday's
thanksgiving was meant to give
honor to the one “who was
forgotten but now remembered.”
“The celebration today is a
testament of how one life refuses
to die because it lives on as part
of God,” said Vidal, who worked
for the beatification of Calungsod
during the papacy of Pope John
Paul II.
Meanwhile, President Benigno
Aquino III urged Filipino Catholics
to “remain ardent in our pursuit of
the full Catholic’s way of life” as
he recounted the life of Calungsod.
“Our
gathering
today
embodies the Filipino pride and
the contribution of St. Pedro
Calungsod,” he said in his message
to the nation following the mass.
"Centuries have come and
gone and still we see today that the
light of his (Calungsod) faith in
the Lord burns brighter than even
before," he said.
He added that Calungsod,
who was canonized last Oct.
21, reflected the kindness of
the Visayan and showed how an
individual becomes a bulwark of
faith.
“May the life of Calungsod
continue to be both guide and
inspiration to the Filipino nation
and to the entire human race,”
Aquino said.
Calungsod studied catechism
at a very young age. At 14, he had
to leave his family and friends to
join the Jesuit priests in the island
of Ladrones (now Marianas).
In Marianas, he assisted
Fr. Diego Luis San Vitores. The
mission territory proved to be
hostile. Some even accused the
missionaries that the water they
were using for baptism was
poisoned.
Calungsod died at the age of 17
on April 6, 1672. A native stabbed
him with a spear and bludgeoned
him in the head with a machete
out of hatred for the Christian
missionaries.
A procession preceded the
thanksgiving mass, with images
coming from dioceses surrounding
Cebu. The pilgrim image of St.
Pedro Calungsod was brought
to the "Templete" at South Road
Properties by a fluvial parade.
Mayan doomsday claim belied
by Mayan research itself
By GRACELYN A. SIMON
NO WORRIES—it’s not the end of the
world.
This is the position of the Church, and,
surprisingly, even of the Mayans, to whom
the doomsday prophecy that the earth will
perish on Dec. 21 is attributed.
Fr. Jaime Achacoso, JCD, STB,
theologian from the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP)
Canon Law Society, told the Varsitarian
in an e-mail that “the end of the world will
come after all people have had the Gospel
preached to them, but God only knows
when the end of the world will come.”
Meanwhile,
Jaime
Licauco,
founder and president of the Inner Mind
Development Institute, a training center for
parapsychology and philosophy, said the
Catholic and Mayan people are in fact not
contradicting each other when it comes to
the end of the world.
“I do not see any contradiction between
the Mayan calendar prophecies and
Catholic teachings. In fact, the Apocalypse
of John in the Bible goes farther than what
the Mayan calendar has predicted,” said
Licauco, who is also a Lifestyle section
writer of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The Mayan calendar, he clarified, did
not predict the end of the world on Dec. 21,
but a time of transition from “World Age”
into another era.
”I know of no Mayan calendar expert
who said that the world will end on Dec.
21, 2012. Such a prediction is not contained
in the Mayan calendar prophecies. It talks
of natural calamities (earth quakes, floods,
volcanic
eruptions)
before
the end
of each
e a r t h
cycle, but
not the end
of the earth.
The calendar
talks about
the end of
the fifth cycle
of the earth,”
Licauco added.
The world
had
been
predicted
to end so
m a n y
times.
In 634
B.C., many Romans feared the city would
be destroyed in its 120th year of founding.
Likewise, in the first century A.D., early
Christians believed that Jesus would return
within one generation after his death.
Isaac Newton also predicted that Christ's
Millennium would begin in year 2000.
“These false predictions only make
people worried and apprehensive. The
media should stop publishing such
nonsense. Near the end of every century
there are predictions of the end of the world
which never happens and will not happen
for a long, long, long time,” Licauco said. “I
never believed any prediction of the world
coming to an end, whether Mayan or other
sources.”
Meanwhile,
Achacoso
warned
Catholics against predictions that go against
the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“That is the sad part: Such doomsday
scenarios distract the people from the
real challenge of living in the present,”
Achacoso said. “The Pope put it very well:
To remember the past with gratitude, live
the present with confidence, and look to the
future with hope. Carpe diem!—the ancient
Romans had said. Seize the day, and I would
even say, seize the moment!”
Mayan calendar
Experts had estimated that the cycle
in the Mayan calendar began in 3114 B.C.,
and would have run through 13 baktuns, or
5,125 years, up to Dec. 21, 2012.
Carlos Barrios, a Mayan expert and
an Ajq'ij or a ceremonial priest as well as
spiritual guide of the Mayan Eagle Clan,
explained what will happen on Dec. 21.
“The Mayan calendar predicts the end
of a 26,000 year cycle and the beginning of
another cycle on Dec. 21. The world will not
end,” Barrios said in an e-mail interview.
There will also be a rebirth of earth
which is the start of the “Fifth Sun,” a new
era where the earth will align itself with the
galaxy, he said.
The emerging era of the Fifth Sun will
call attention to a much-overlooked element.
Whereas, the four traditional elements of
earth, air, fire and water have dominated
various eras in the past, there will be a
fifth element to emerge within the time of
the Fifth Sun. That element is “ether”—a
hypothetical substance supposed to occupy
all space, postulated to account for the
propagation of electromagnetic radiation
through space.
Barrios added that this alignment
Mayan Page 8
Around one million devotees gather for Saint Pedro Calungsod’s thanksgiving Mass
last Nov. 30 in Cebu City.
Photo by JAIME T. CAMPOS
Virgin birth a historical fact, says Pope
By DENISE PAULINE
P. PURUGGANAN
THE MESSIAH was definitely
born of the Virgin Mary but
years earlier than what the
Christian calendar had set, and
was not surrounded by animals
in a manger in Bethlehem.
A few weeks before
Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI
clarified a number of popular
Christmas traditions and at the
same time confirmed historical
truths regarding Jesus Christ’s
birth, in the third and last
installment of his book series,
Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy
Narratives.
The Holy Father noted
that the historical date of
Jesus’ birth fell around 4
B.C., King Herod’s death,
as the population census
that led Mary and Joseph to
Bethlehem was called during
that time.
“The starting-point for
our reckoning of time—the
calculation of Jesus’ date of
birth—goes back to the monk
Dionysius Exiguus (c. 550),
who evidently miscalculated
by a few years,” the Pope
stated in his book.
Though the book is
complete with historical
criticism and a theological
framework, it did not adopt
a scholarly, dull tone that is
often the first impression on
theological papers.
On whether the virgin
birth is historical truth, the
Pope wrote: “The answer is
an unequivocal yes.”
The virgin birth and the
resurrection of Jesus were
described as “scandals to the
modern spirit” as God had
intervened directly in the
physical world.
“In
that
sense,
these
two moments—
the virgin birth
and the real
resurrection
from
the
tomb—are the
cornerstones
of faith. If God
does not also
have
power
over
matter,
then He simply
is not God,” the
Pope added.
T
h
e
Vatican said the
book was published with
an initial run of one million
copies worldwide. It has been
translated into 20 languages,
and is expected to be an
international bestseller in the
footsteps of the first two books:
Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus of
Nazareth: Holy Week, which
covered Jesus Christ’s public
ministry, passion, death, and
resurrection.
Pope Benedict explained
the universality of Jesus’
mission using the accounts
of his childhood from the
Gospels of Matthew and
Luke,
which
includes scenes
of the Joyful
mysteries of the
Holy Rosary
—from
the
Annunciation
to
the
Presentation of
the Child Jesus
in the Temple.
T h e
book
earned
criticism from
the
online
c o m m u n i t y,
Pope Page 7
Thousands join grand Marian procession
THOUSANDS of Catholics took part in the
biggest Marian procession in the country
held in Intramuros last Dec. 2.
Marian devotees from all over the
nation followed 90 images of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, accompanied by marching
bands. Dance performances lent a festive
and colorful mood to the annual event.
"This year of faith has given an
opportunity to so many devotees of our
Christian faith, to show their devotion to
the Blessed Mother. I am impressed with
the sacrifices the young people have shown
coming from other provinces, travelling
many hours," said Tuguegarao Archbishop
Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan.
"They believe in the Blessed Virgin
Mary as the Mother of God and our Mother.
I believe this is another case for us to
strengthen our faith,” Talamayan added.
The grand procession has been a
tradition every first Sunday of December
since 1980. The event is an anticipated
celebration of the Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception, which Catholics
celebrate every Dec. 8, and an observance
of the first week of Advent.
The procession, led by the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP), included
images of San Pedro Calungsod, the
second Filipino saint; La Naval de Manila
from Santo Domingo Church; and Nuestra
Señora de la Consolacio y Correa from San
Agustin Church in Intramuros.
Most of the devotees came from
Pakil, Laguna, occupying 50 buses. They
participated in the procession with their
patroness, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores
de Turumba.
La Pieta International Prayer Group,
consisting of devotees from New York,
Chicago, Florida, and California in United
States, accompanied the image of Mother
of Love, Peace and Joy.
Images that came from the provinces
included the Virgen Milagrosa del
Santissimo Rosario from Orani, Bataan
and Nuestra Señora de Visitacion from
Piat, Cagayan. DENISE PAULINE P.
PURUGGANAN
Editor: Lorenzo Luigi T. Gayya
decemBER 17, 2012
The
Varsitarian Special
Reports 7
Stable economic growth
needed to ease poverty
The Philippine economy
grew by a surprising 7.1
percent in the third quarter,
an indication of the country’s
resilience despite problems
overseas.
If the government keeps
this pace of growth in gross
domestic product (GDP) in the
next quarters, it may make a
dent on the poverty problem
without necessarily resorting
to controversial policies such
as population control, an
economist said.
“Right now, the important
thing is to focus on what
we’re doing [which is to solve
corruption],” said Alvin Ang,
vice president of the Philippine
Economic Society.
The Philippines exceeded
expectations of economists
and multilateral organizations
such as the World Bank,
International Monetary Fund,
Asian Development Bank,
after posting its highest
quarterly growth since the
third quarter of 2010.
“The beyond-expectation
third quarter growth was
driven by the services sector
with the robust performances
of transport, storage and
communication,
financial
intermediation,
and
real
estate, renting and business
activities supported by the
five consecutive quarters
of
sustained
accelerated
growth of the industry and
the
seemingly
weathertolerant agriculture sector,"
the
National
Statistical
Coordination Board said in a
report.
Ang, the former director
of UST Research Cluster for
Cultural, Educational, and
Social Issues, said he did not
expect that high growth would
come from these sectors,
particularly
construction,
which grew by 24 percent.
“The most important
sector
is
manufacturing,
because that’s where you
produce
products,”
he
said. “Construction is not
sustainable, because once
construction is done, it’s
done.”
If the country continues
to produce 7 percent growth
rate for the next seven years,
poverty in the Philippines
could be reduced significantly.
“If you grow 7 percent every
year for the next seven years,
it means the economy will
expand by 49 percent, that’s
almost half,” Ang said.
“That means the poor will
experience the spillover effect
of the growth.”
The Philippines has been
getting good international
press recently, with entities
such as HSBC projecting
economic expansion due to a
rise is the number of workingage people.
The
HSBC
Global
Research report titled “The
World in 2050” said the
Philippines would leapfrog its
way to the 16th spot among
the world’s largest economies
by 2050 with a robust and
young population.
With 7 percent growth
rate for 2010, the country can
achieve development in the
next 40 years and advance to
No. 16 from being the 44th
largest economy, the report
said.
Last August, New York
Times cited the country’s
young and growing population,
hailing the Philippines as
“Asia’s economic bright spot.”
The young population
of the Philippines drives its
strong outsourcing industry, it
noted. “[The Philippines] will
remain competitive due to the
sheer abundance of workers
joining the labor force,” said
in the article.
Pope
accounts, Pope Benedict said
there was no reference to
animals present in the birth of
Christ. Setting up the nativity
scene with the inclusion of
animals as part of Christmas
decorations is a popular
tradition, however.
The Pope cited verses
from the Old Testament: “The
ox knows its owner, and the
ass its master’s crib” (Isaiah
1:3) and “In the midst of
the two beasts wilt thou be
known” (Habakkuk 3:2).”
“Christian iconography
adopted this motif at an early
stage. No representation of
the crib is complete without
the ox and the ass,” the Pope
said, not entirely dismissing
the tradition.
The Holy Father said that
according to the Gospel of
Luke, the angels did not sing,
but greeted the shepherds with
good news.
“Christianity has always
understood that the speech
of angels is actually a song,
in which all the glory of the
great joy that they proclaim
becomes tangibly present,”
Pope Benedict wrote.
“It is only natural that
simple believers would then
hear the shepherds singing
too, and to this day, they join
in their carolling on the Holy
Night, proclaiming in song the
great joy that, from then until
the end of time, is bestowed
on all people,” he said.
The Pope also said it was
correctly deduced that Christ
was born in an “inhospitable”
space—a stable.
He said: “In the area
around Bethlehem, rocky
caves had been used as stables
since ancient times. As early
as Justin Martyr and Origen,
we find the tradition that Jesus
was born in a cave, which
Christians in Palestine could
point to.”
He added that the Gospels’
aim was not to produce an
exhaustive account, but a
record of the important facts
for the faithful community.
“What Matthew and Luke
set out to do, each in his own
way was not to tell ‘stories’ but
to write history, real history
that had actually happened,
admittedly interpreted and
understood in the context
of the Word of God,” Pope
Benedict said. “The infancy
narratives are interpreted with
history, condensed and written
down in accordance with
interpretation.”
FROM PAGE 6
which called the Pope the
“Grinch” who stole Christmas.
Headlines from different news
websites included: “Killjoy
pope
crushes
Christmas
nativity traditions” and “Pope
bans Christmas.”
However,
Zenit,
an
international Catholic news
agency, called the book “one
of the Pope’s finest gifts to
the Church,” describing the
installment as a “meditation
for Advent.”
Fr.
Robert
Dodaro,
professor of patristics or the
study of early Church writings
at Rome’s Patristic Institute,
said in Reuters’ online report
last Nov. 28 that the Pope was
trying to be as historical as
possible.
“He wants to see the
biblical narratives as history
where possible, but he is also
trying to explain details in
the narratives that cannot be
historically verified,” Dodaro
said.
No animals in nativity scene
Citing
the
Gospel
reforming its structure.
A study titled “Population
Policy and Economic Growth:
The Case of Thailand and the
Philippines” by Ida Pantig
of the University of Tokyo
said there was no direct link
between population control
and
economic
growth.
“Enabling conditions” were
responsible for economic
growth, the study said.
Kristelle
Ann
A.
Batchelor
Education needed
Ang, however, warned
that the Philippines would not
be able to utilize its growing
and young population without
an empowered education
sector.
Human capital is only
potential capital and must be
nurtured by providing the right
education and proper health to
become effective, he said.
“If everybody gets access
to right education, population
control will not be a function
of the government but instead,
an informed choice that is
voluntarily rooted from the
people themselves,” Ang said.
Ang said population
control in itself is not evil,
but if the government wants
to make it a policy, it must be
able to justify it.
“If they think the
population control is the
way to do it, they have to
show why,” Ang said, citing
Thailand, which he said was
like the Philippines during the
1960s but was able to improve
its economy essentially by
CSC awaits Rector's OK for Students’ Code
WITH less than four months left in their
term, Central Student Council (CSC) officers
remain optimistic that UST will soon have a
Students’ Code.
CSC President Rubi Anne Dauan said
passing the student charter that has remained
pending with the administration for eight
years is still possible.
“If the administration and the faculty
are willing to accept it and the studentry
approves of it, it is doable,” Dauan said in an
e-mail to the Varsitarian.
In a previous report of the Varsitarian,
the CSC explained the long and tedious
process of ratification of the Students’ Code,
which was delayed anew with the turnover of
the University’s rectorship from Fr. Rolando
de la Rosa, O.P. to Fr. Herminio Dagohoy,
O.P. earlier this year.
kept mum on the Students’ Code as they have
yet to review its latest version.
Waiting for the Rector
Dauan said they are now waiting for
Dagohoy’s approval before submitting the
code to the student body for a plebiscite.
“As of the moment, Father Dagohoy has
not yet replied to our requested schedule for
a meeting,” she said.
According to Dauan, the Office for
Student Affairs and the UST Faculty Union
have approved the code, following the
Academic Senate and the Council of Regents.
Many academic officials previously
interviewed by the Varsitarian, however,
Raising awareness
Dauan said the charter is not generating
buzz because it is not as “interesting” as
other CSC projects, such as contests.
“We consider that the studentry is
preoccupied with so many things,” Dauan
said.
However, there are plans to launch
events to inform students about the code.
“When students are informed, it is
easier to involve them in the process of
approval,” Dauan said. Andre Arnold T.
Santiago
Ang ika-28 Gawad Ustetika ay tumatanggap na ng mga lahok na akda sa mga kategoryang
Fiction, Katha, Poetry, Tula, Essay, Sanaysay, One-Act Play, at Dulang May Isang Yugto.
Ilakip sa isang envelope ang mga sumusunod: limang (5) kopya ng akda, kasama ang
orihinal (font: Arial, font size: 12, double-spaced, sa short bond paper), at soft copy nito sa
isang malinis na CD (MS Word format, .docx); kopya ng pinakabagong registration form (UST
Form 1) ng awtor, nasagutang application form, at ang certification of originality na napirmahan
ng dalawang (2) propesor sa Ingles o Filipino (matatagpuan ang certification clause sa ibabang
bahagi ng application form).
Ipasa ang mga likha sa tanggapan ng Varsitarian, Room 105, UST Tan Yan Kee Student
Center, bago o sa ganap na ikasiyam ng gabi ng ika-12 ng Enero, 2013, Sabado. Hindi
tatanggapin ang mga lahok na kulang sa mga nabanggit na requirements.
Para sa iba pang detalye, maaaring tumungo sa tanggapan ng Varsitarian o tumawag kina
Maria Luisa Mamaradlo (09064993000) o Elora Joselle Cangco (09151291938).
Wide scope
Dauan said the wide scope of some
provisions is also causing delay. She cited
Article 2, Section 7 of the latest version which
states that “students have the right against
unreasonable deadlines and requirements.”
“[The provision] should be quantified
clearly through an IRR (implementing rules
and regulations),” Dauan said.
CSC Vice President Raymond Angelo
Gonzales cited Article 2, Section1, stating
that “a married pregnant student shall not
be denied enrollment and/or scholarship,”
saying it contradicts the University’s
Catholic character and the UST Student
Handbook.
Faculty Union
FROM PAGE 3
Group” accused Gamilla of
“impropriety” for the alleged
illegal release of union funds
to property developer Saturn
Resources, without permission
from the members of the union.
This prompted the formation
of the Committee of Peers to
investigate the issue.
Gamilla has a separate
case against the Fidelity Group
for releasing to the public
reports or documents about the
alleged illegal disbursement of
union funds.
The Varsitarian sought
comments
from
Gamilla
but he has yet to respond.
Bernadette D. Nicolas
8 Features
The Varsitarian decemBER 17, 2012
Editor: Rodolfo Serafin Jerome T. Lozada
Fr. Gregorio L. Bañaga, Adamson University president
This Vincentian
is a Thomasian
From a kid who did not know much about religous orders, Fr. Gregg Bañaga has
become a devoted Vincentian priest.
JOHN DANIEL J. HIRRO
By CATALINA RICCI
S. MADARANG and JUAN CARLOS
D. MORENO
G
ROWING up with members of
the faith, the president of the
Adamson University continued to
soar in serving the Vincentian mission to evangelize those in need
through quality education.
As early as high school, Fr.
Gregorio Bañaga, Jr., C.M. had been
inspired by his uncles and aunts to
enter the seminary of the Congregation of the Mission, an order of
priests and brothers following the
teachings of St. Vincent de Paul.
“My younger brother and I
both became priests after entering
the seminary,” Bañaga said.Fondly
called Fr. Gregg, Bañaga finished his
degree in Philosophy in Adamson
before continuing his studies in UST
where he earned a degree in Theology. He was ordained a priest in 1979.
At present, Fr. Gregg is the president of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP),
th nationwide association of Catholic
educational institutions.
“It is a very heavy responsibility
because you have to be the president
of 1,345 schools all over the country
so it is a huge responsibility on my
part,” he said.
Foundation of faith
Fr. Gregg at first “just wanted to
become a priest” without knowing the
differences among religious orders
when he entered the seminary in his
first year of high school.
He said that it was only when he
was ordained that he realized that “the
real meaning of being a Vincentian is
to evangelize the poor.”
After entering the priesthood, he
was sent to various missions in poor
areas in the provinces of Rizal, Pangasinan, Camarines Sur and Bataan.
This was interrupted for more than a
year after he was assigned as a parish
priest in the St. Vincent de Paul Parish
in Manila.
He said that he was really thankful for this work in the missions because it would give the “foundation of
faith” needed to quell skeptical minds
about religion.
“Because, you know, if your
foundation is not really strong intellectually, you will have difficulty in dealing with questions of the faith, questions that you have to grapple with
as a priest,” said Bañaga, who took a
Master’s degree in Organizational Development at the Loyola University in
Chicago, Illinois.
Aside from taking up religious
duties, his father wanted him to take
up Architecture or Engineering because of his good technical skills, but
his mother pushed him further into
his vocation when she told him that
she would be truly happy when all her
children become priests and nuns.
Despite an early exit by his
brother from the seminary, Fr. Gregg
‘If your foundation is not really strong
intelectually, you will have difficulty
in dealing with questions of the faith’
-Fr. Gregg Bañaga
said that his family was really happy
for him when he took the highest seat
in Adamson and CEAP, but they were
also worried that he might not be able
to live up to the demands of his positions.
“I also know that while my brothers and sisters are very happy, they
were also concerned about my health,
how I will carry the leadership role,”
said Bañaga.
In 2003, a twist of fate happened
for Fr. Gregg when he learned that he
would be sent to Adamson after finishing his studies in the States.
“I never envisioned that I will be
in Adamson. My plan is to be of better
service to the Philippines, especially
in the rural areas,” he said. “After that,
my superiors called me and asked me
where I wanted to be assigned but Adamson was not in my list.”
“Sometimes we cannot plan everything in our lives. There are times
wherein God has different plans for
us,” he added.
Faithful to the mission
Being the president of a nationwide organization, the UST alumnus
strived hard to shoulder the huge responsibility given to him in handling
1,345 schools in the country.
“I was happy with the trust that
was given to me by the board of trustees of CEAP. But at the same time I
could feel the heavy responsibility that
always goes with that kind of privilege,” he said.
To perform his two roles, his sole
motivation was God.
“At the end of the day, it is between me and God. That is very important. I did what I was supposed to
do and followed what I though should
be done,” said the Fr. Gregg.
Through the years, the CEAP
president was also a member of the
Movement for a Better World, an
international non-government organization which aims to provide a “better
world” through evangelization projects
to various religious institutions and
parishes, starts the work of making the
world better in the university he runs.
Although he has defected to the
Falcons, Fr. Gregg has not missed out
what UST has instilled in him and
continues his mission to radiate goodness to the society.
“The greatest value I got from
UST is intellectual rigor and theological formation according to the mind of
the Catholic Church,” he said.
The why’s and wherefore’s of suicide
WHAT really drives a person to commit suicide?
Dr. Lucila Bance, director of the counselling
department of USt, said factors could range
from dysfunctional families, changing family
structures, economic depression, to climate
change, globalization and technological changes.
For some students, academic problems could be
a serious problem.
In an article on MedicineNet.com,
Dr. Melissa Conrad Stöppler said stress is
predisposed by the external and internal
factors that affect the physical, emotional or
psychological balance of the individual.
External factors include the physical
environment,
job,
relationships,
home,
challenges, and difficulties of everyday life,
while internal factors are those that could
influence one’s ability to handle stress like
nutritional status, overall health and fitness
levels, and emotional well-being
To some, the amount of stress can be so
great that it can even lead to thoughts of violence,
depression, or even suicide.
According to Dr. Alex Lickerman of
Psychology Today, a website about diverse
topics on psychology, there are six primary
reasons that could lead a person to take his own
life—depression, psychosis, impulsion, helpseeking, religious or philosophical reason, and
last-resort escapism.
Lickerman said escapism is the most
Mayan
FROM PAGE 6
would open a channel for cosmic
energy to flow through the earth,
cleansing it and all that dwells upon
it, and raising all to a higher level
of vibration that would result in the
movements of the planets and other
heavenly bodies.
“[The end of the world] is just
their imagination. Other people write
about prophecy in the name of the
Maya. They say that the world will
end in December 2012. The Mayan
elders are angry with this. The world
will not end. It will be transformed,"
common cause of suicide and to some rare cases,
a psychological problem.
Overcoming the struggles
There are methods to detect stress.
“Stress comes from varied sources and
is inevitable,” Bance said. “The way an
individual handles stress depends on the nature
of his personality. Knowing oneself is the key to
managing stress and the most common is using
cognitive-behavior therapy.”
Cognitive-behavioral
therapy
is
a
psychological
approach
that
addresses
dysfunctional emotions and malevolent,
unbalanced behavior.
She said that having good health habits,
maintaining a healthy lifestyle and having a
support group were an effective form of stress
handling and management.
Bance said that not all kinds of stress are
harmful.
“There is eustress which motivates people
to perform better. It is normal for any person to
experience stress we just have to have effective
ways of facing them,” said Bance.
For Roland Adrian Ignacio, a first-year
Engineering student, he believed that suicide
only happens when the level of stress is too
high to bear that it deteriorates the physical and
mental health of the person.
“Suicidal tendencies also occur because
Barrios said.
Still, Barrios emphasized that
the Mayan prophecy will happen,
but its effect on people will depend
on how they deal with it.
"The prophesied changes are
going to happen, but our attitude
and actions determine how harsh
or mild they are. We need to act, to
make changes, and to elect people to
represent us who understand and who
will take political action to respect
the earth,” Barrios said. "Humanity
will continue, but in a different way.
Material structures will change. All
the prophecies of the world, all the
traditions are converging now. There
is no time for games. The spiritual
ideal of this era is action."
the person looks into more radical and extreme
forms of escapism like alcoholism or drug
addiction” said Ignacio.
Suicidal ideation
According to the suicide
prevention programme by
the
World Health Organization,
there are about one million
people committing suicide
every
year
worldwide.
The estimate translate to
a mortality rate of 16 per
100,000 people, or one suicide
every 40 seconds.
In the Philippines, the rate
of suicide has gone up in the last
20 years, according to studies
made by the National Statistics
Office. The rate has gone to nine
out of 400,000 from significantly
lower rates before.
In UST, there have been two
confirmed suicide cases in the past
eight years.
There are professional methods
for psychologists like
Bance to detect and
prevent
suicidal
character tendencies
of students.
USTv
FROM PAGE 2
such as best actor and best actress,
and add six more categories
including best network foundation,
best full-length film, and best TV
personality.
There will also be a more
stringent selection process as five
judges will trim the nominees to
only five to six per category.
With the theme “Catholic Year
of Faith,” the ninth edition of USTv
aims to increase student voters’
turnout to at least 20,000 from
last year’s estimated 8,000-10,000
Bance said that early warning signs are
also indicators of declining performance
like absences, tardiness, poor grades, poor
interpersonal relations, being aloof and poor
control of emotions.
She said that monitoring, support, devotion
and understanding student dilemmas by their
parents are strong provisions for better stress
handling and suicide prevention. Alfredo N.
Mendoza V
voters.
“Our faith has declined but we
must always go back to our roots,
and our origins will always be our
Thomasian values,” Ravanera said.
Representatives from ABSCBN, GMA, TV5, Studio 23, and
UNTV attended the kickoff. Unlike
last year, there was no parade of
celebrities around the campus
before the launch.
The USTv Awards, which
is headed by the Office of the
Secretary General with the SOCC as
its implementing arm, is the annual
awarding ceremony for television
programs that embody Filipino and
Catholic values. Awards will be
handed out in February next year.
To
mark
its
85th
anniversary,
the
Varsitarian, the official student
publication of the University of Santo
Tomas, invites all Varsitarian alunni
to the grand homecoming on Jan. 26,
2013 at the Harbor Garden Tent, Sofitel
Philippine Plaza Manila, Pasay City.
For inquiries and registration, visit
the Varsitarian office at Rm. 105, Tan
Yan Kee Student Center, UST, España,
Manila, e-mail valikvarsitarian@
gmail.com, or call at 406.1611 loc.
8235 and look for Maria Luisa
Mamaradlo (0905.508. 4934).
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CIRC
Nativity table
Book of Hours sho
10
Editor: Marianne S. Lastra
Dominic Rubio
paints Old Manila
By CHRISTOPHER B. ENRIQUEZ
By JOHN JOSEPH G. BASIJAN and ROMINA LOUISE C. C
PRE-WAR Manila at its finest was brought back to life
by Thomasian painter Dominic Rubio through his new
exhibit, Balik Maynila: Binondo, Escolta, & Old Manila,
at the Art Center of SM Megamall A in Mandaluyong from
Nov. 12 to 20.
Known for his portraits of thin-necked men and
women with enlarged heads, Rubio presented again
nostalgic depictions of turn-of-the 20th century Manila.
Rubio again made the evocations through the use
of solid background colors, making each scene look like
a neat cut-out. Also notable is the scale of the character
versus the buildings, providing emphasis on the figurative
subjects while not dwarfing the whole scenery.
“Familia de la Escolta” depicts the importance of
family ties in Filipino culture; it shows a family of three—
the father looking crisp and neat in Americana, the mother
with her illustrious Maria Clara dress, and their child neatly
dressed in his barong—walking along old streets lined
with stone houses.
“Almusal de Familia” features three women starting
their day with seemingly warm remarks over cups of coffee.
“Before the Cockfight” portrays a Chinese sabongero in
siesta blowing a puff of smoke into his rooster to boost it
before a fight.
Meanwhile, “Escolta Intersection” features illustrados
and commoners coming together in a leisurely stroll along
streets lined with shops. “Pasyal, Father, and Son” shows
a father and a son on their way from Escolta sporting
bayongs and tampipi.
“Loob ng Maynila” shows a mother and her child and
a little dog passing by the Manila City Hall. Important
landmarks such as Plaza Binondo and the Post Office serve
as backdrop.
A young couple standing side by side with an image
of the University’s Main Building in the background is
depicted in “University of Santo Tomas.”
Rubio took up Commercial Arts at the old UST
College of Architecture and Fine Arts.
VARIOUS depictions of the iconic Nativity
scene ranging from belen and painting
reproductions are displayed in Misteryo: Ikaw
at ang Pasko at the Miguel de Benavides
Library. The exhibit opened last November 13
and will run until December 22 when it will
close for the Christmas break.
The exhibit will resume next
year on January 3 and run until
February 2.
Many of the belen icons
come from the collection of
Gloria Ocampo-Reyes and
originated from various
countries such as Australia,
El Salvador, Germany,
Guatemala, Russia, and
Spain.
They were not only crafted from the usual
ceramic, wood, porcelain and resin, but also
from unconventional materials such as polymer
clay, foil, tin, fabric, and paper.
A belen from Japan has all the characters
garbed in traditional kimono. Another,
coming from the Philippines, has the
Holy
Family
and
o t h e r
characters wearing the barong tagalong and the
baro’t saya.
Carved from a wood panel, a belen from
Spain depicted the Nativity scene in an open
stable. Two angels sit nearby, joyously watching
the birth of Christ. Veering away from the usual
image of the Holy Family, a
belen made in the United States
features the different scenes of
the Nativity enclosed in a starshaped frame.
Reyes said she loaned her
collection to the UST exhibit
so that “more people can
appreciate it.”
“I want more people to
get into the spirit and realize the true
meaning of Christmas…the gift of sharing, the
gift of loving and the gift of sacrifice,” she said.
Aside
from
Nativity
Rubio revives the grandeur of pre-war Manila through his works
“Before the Cockfight”, “Almusal de Familia”, and “Familia de la
Escolta” (from top).
Photos courtesy of Gallerie Joaquin
Teatro Tomasino's
new production
By ROMINA LOUISE C. CUNANAN
ON its 35th anniversary this year,
Teatro Tomasino updated Hans
Christian Andersen’s children’s tale,
The Emperor’s New Clothes, and
adapted it for the stage.
Directed by Hotel and
Restaurant Management alumnus
John Lapus and written by Carlos
Palanca Memorial awardee George
de Jesus III, D’Emperor was staged
at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium
Nov. 27 to 29.
The adaptation refocused the
original story’s concerns from the
royalty to the fashion industry.
The play begins at the struggling
Le Fashion Empire du Jour Fashion
House, where the staff is busy
interviewing Benedicta Belen, an
applicant for the fashion blogger
position. Benedicta allows herself
to be convinced that she needs to
change her image in order to fit into
her new job. Christened with a new
name and wardrobe, Bebe is slowly
inducted into the empire by Myra, the
manager; Paul, the personal assistant;
Pat, the public relations officer; and
Peter, the photographer.
Garbed in fabulous fabrics
and glistening high heels, Bebe is
introduced to the vain and narcissistic
fashion emperor, Emman. A man
obsessed with
extravagant
fashion and
with no concern
for anyone but
himself, Emman
is slowly
burning
his fashion
empire to the
ground. In an
effort to save
it, and to keep
the emperor
pleased, the staff decide to showcase
him in a new, one-of-a-kind outfit in
the annual fashion show.
Tasked to create the emperor’s
outfit are Coco and Sazsa, swindlers
who dupe him into believing that
they have created a unique fabric
only those who are competent
enough can see. During the show,
the audience plays along with the
emperor’s belief until a little girl
from the crowd shouts that the
emperor has nothing on. When
the emperor refuses to believe her,
saying that the opinion of a little girl
with no credibility would not matter,
Bebe exposes him in her blog as a
pompous narcissist.
With gay themes and popculture slang, the play showcased a
unique take on a classic tale. Witty
one-liners and trendy topics were
integrated into the script, eliciting
laughter from the audience.
It helped that the art direction
was aided by contributions from
fashion designers Rajo Laurel, JC
Buendia and Dada Suarez, stylists
Bang Pineda and Bing Cristobal, and
internationallyacclaimed
shoe designer Kermit Tesoro.
But at nearly two hours and a
half, the play was too long. There
were too many drawn-out scenes,
obviously made to flesh out the
characters, who were mainly
stereotypes, and make up for their
basic one-dimensionality. The
monotony was made worse by the
amateur musical performances. And
because the play aimed more at
slapstick and pop-culture trendiness,
the significance of its message might
have been lost.
But perhaps the production
could be refined. One should
always hope for the best for Teatro
Tomasino, which was established by
Professor Myrna Hilario in March
1977 to gather and train students
with a passion for theater and the
performing arts. The passion has
been by and large been sustained
for 35 years, although one may have
reservations if a more-than-twohour production of what's basically
a fashion-world and gay parody of a
simple children's story could really
be a fitting way to celebrate such a
milestone.
Emperor Emman and his staff are the
main characters of Teatro Tomasino’s
fashion-centered play.
Photo by JOHN DANIEL HIRRO
Christian Bautista and Karylle play King Rma and Princess Sita, respectively.
‘Rama Hari’ makes succ
By MARIANNE S. LASTRA
MORE than three decades since
its premiere, the Filipino musical
Rama, Harim based on the Indian
epic, returned to the Cultural
Center of the Philippines’ (CCP)
Main Theater last November 30
and ran until December 9.
With its libretto written
by UST alumnus and National
Artist for Literature Bienvenido
Lumbera, the pop ballet musical
featured the music of Ryan
Cayabyab and the choreography
of Alice Reyes.
The costumes and production
set were designed by the late
National Artist for Theater Design
Salvador Bernal.
Leading the roster of
performers were pop singers
Karylle and Christian Bautista
as King Rama and Princess Sita,
respectively.
OJ Mariano and Kalila
Aguilos served as understudies.
Other performers were Robert
Seña and Christian Rey Marbella
as the demon Ravana, Noel
Rayos, Lani Ligot, Amparo
Sietereales, and Brezhnev Larlar.
The Manila Symphony
Orchestra
provided
the
accompaniment.Ballet
Philippines’ principal dancers
Jean
Marc
Cordero
and
Richardson Yadao acted as the
dancing counterparts of Rama
while Carissa Adea and Katherine
Trofeo were S
The mus
Indian epic Ra
romance betw
whose love is
adventures an
Among
celebrated so
“Magbalik Ka
ng Pagsinta,”
“Type Kita, R
simple.
The pro
minimalist an
gilded costum
props contra
with a plain w
out with se
blocks. Servin
CLE
eaus,
owcased
11
The Varsitarian DECEMBER 17, 2012
CUNANAN
tableaus, the exhibit is also displaying the Book
of Hours, which became popular in Europe
during the Middle Ages. The centuries-old
book is essentially a Christian devotional book
that contains prayers and psalms, with each
page made out of vellum and printed using egg
tempera. The book was believed to have been
made around the 1520s.
Professor Regalado Trota-Josa of the UST
Archives said that the exhibit was the perfect
opportunity to display the book for the first time
and share it to the public. The Book of Hours,
he said, is the only one in the country. He added
that it was not clear how the Archives acquired
the book.
The exhibit also featured the paintings
of Fra Angelico, the Italian Dominican
Renaissance painter. Beatified by Pope John
Paul II, he is now more known as Beato
Angelico and is the patron saint of artists.
UST Christmas Gala marks first decade
A Filipino-inspired belen showsthe
Holy
Family
By JOHN JOSEPH G. BASIJAN and ROMINA LOUISE C. CUNANAN
donning traditional clothing amid farm animals and
customary way of living (below); the Book of Hours
(inset). SINGING its way into its first decade, the annual UST Christmas Concert a soprano rendition of “I Believe in Father Christmas,” the number ended
Photos by SHERWIN MARION T. VARDELEON
Gala showcased the University’s home-grown talents at the Santisimo with a breathtaking union of voices in “Nella Fantasia.”
Rosario Parish last Dec. 6.
Opening the event was a tree-lighting ceremony initiated by concert
organizers Maricris Zobel and Conservatory of Music Dean Raul Sunico.
Zobel, along with UST Museum of Arts and Sciences director Fr. Isidro C.
Abano, O.P..
Father Rector Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. greeted the guests. He thanked
the organizers for the hard work put in to the production of the concert,
noting that they had “never taken a shortcut to Christmas.”
Leading the concert was the UST Symphony Orchestra under its
conductor Herminigildo Ranera. The UST Brass Ensemble delivered a
lively performance of “Brassy Christmas,” followed by the UST String
Orchestra’s rendition of National Artist Felipe de Leon’s “Payapang
Daigdig,” sung by young soprano Vyktoria Therezze Bayle.
The Hail Mary the Queen Children’s Choir conducted by Maria
Theresa Vizconde-Roldan followed suit with their performances of “Bells
at Christmas” and “Kampana ng Simbahan,”
A union of melodies was encapsulated in cellist Renato Lucas and
harpist Lourdes Greogrio’s performance of “Siciliene.”
Top voice talents of the faculty of the Conservatory of Music were
showcased when sopranos Nenen Espina, Thea Perez and Naomi Sison
teamed up with tenors Lemuel de la Cruz, Eugene de los Santos and Ronan
Ferrer sang “Christmas Fantasia.”
Starting with a tenor solo of “When a Child is Born” and followed by
Bonifacio Cristobal exhibit mounted for the first time
By JOHN JOSEPH G. BASIJAN
Photo courtesy of GOOGLE IMAGES
cessful return
Sita.
sical, based on the
amayana, depicts the
ween Rama and Sita,
tested by numerous
nd temptations.
the
musical\s
ongs featured are
a Na, Mahal,” “Awit
” and the playful
Rama.” Ornate yet
oduction was both
nd elaborate. Jewelmes and colorful
asted harmoniously
white stage, decked
everal slopes and
ng as backdrop was
Much anticipated since they have won the Choir of the World title
twice, the UST Singers, under conductor Fidel Calalang, did not disappoint
the guests with their take on “My Grown Up Christmas List” and “A
Christmas Carol.”
Filling the chapel with high notes, mezzo-soprano Clarissa Ocampo
performed “But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming,” while premiere
soprano Rachelle Gerodias made the crowd swoon with Johann Bach’s
“Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen.”
Leading the finale was Coro Tomasino singing a string of Christmas
songs such as “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” Jose Mari Chan’s “Christmas in
Our Hearts,” and “Pasko sa UST,” which is composed by assistant professor
Antonio Africa.
The event ended with the audience singing along with the performers
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “Joy to the World” as white and gold confetti
rained on them.
Ranera expressed satisfaction at the musical selection and performances.
“I think that it is one of the best, if not one of the best shows we have
performed,” he said.
Overwhelmed by the show’s outcome, Zobel said that the University
has so much talent that she is honored to showcase the event every year.
“I have only been in this for five years, but it has improved greatly from
the set design to the way everything flows,” Zobel said. “There is so much
professionalism shown here.”
a metallic retro-inspired pattern
that harmoniously reflected the
musical’s vibrant lighting.
Subtitles,
translated
in
English by the late National
Artist for Theater and Literature
Rolando Tinio, were flashed on
the stage proscenium.
The music and choreography
were infused with both Indian and
Filipino influences.
The music was set in ethnicinspired Asian instrumentals,
while the dances combined both
rapid and subtle movements.
Rama, Hari was first staged
in 1980, with Kuh Ledesma as
Sita, Basil Valdez as Rama, and
Leo Valdez as the villain Ravana.
IN CELEBRATION of the late artist Bonifacio
Cristobal’s 100th birth anniversary, his artworks
of were displayed for the first time in an exhibit,
Damian’s Son: Century of Bonifacio Cristobal, at
the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)
Museum of Art from July 27 to Nov. 30.
Cristobal was a pioneer modernist and a
teacher for many years at the University of Santo
Tomas school of fine arts. National Artist for the
Visual Arts Victorio Edades, the founder of the
UST fine arts program, included Cristobal in his
famous Thirteen Moderns, that is, the original
Filipino modern artists.
Among those exhibited were the awardwinning “Hingutuhan” and the “Madonna of the
Sampaguita.” “Hingutuhan,” an oil-on-canvas,
portrays a mother and her two daughters picking
lice from one another’s hair, a practice known to
the Filipinos as hingutuhan. The artwork won first
prize at the 1948 National Art Competition of the
Art Association of the Philippines (AAP).
“Madonna of the Sampaguita,” on the other
hand, depicts the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus,
the former wearing the traditional baro’t saya and
the latter holds a rosary made of jasmine flowers.
The painting won first prize at the Marian Year
Painting Contest in 1954 and was the recipient of
the Papal Nuncio Cash Purchase.
Meanwhile, “Christ in Mountain Province”
shows Jesus in the fields of the Mountain Province
in Cagayan as he preaches to the natives. Other
A collection of Bonifaco Cristobal
memorabilia was desplayed at the GSIS
Exhibit Hall.
JAIME T. CAMPOS
religious artworks such as the “Bird’s Eye View of
Last Supper,” “Mother and Child” and “Modern
Map of the Holy Land” were also featured.
In his life, Cristobal painted landscapes such
as the Mayon Volcano and the Pasig River and
animal-movement studies. He also did several
portraits of his family as well as sculptures of
Rizal.
Cristobal also painted an image of Emilio
Aguinaldo as an entry to a painting contest
sponsored by the Aguinaldo Memorial Society.
Born at Sorsogon in 1911, Cristobal went to
Manila to study art. He was granted a scholarship
at the University of the Philippines’ School of Fine
Arts and graduated with a Certificate in Painting
and a Medal Award for Excellence in 1937. He
then travelled to Europe and studied at the École
des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian at Paris,
where he trained in painting and sculpture. He
was conferred a Diploma de Peinture (Master of
Figure Painting) in 1938 and was also granted
a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Rome.
Cristobal later moved to the Royal Academy of
Florence.
Even as a student, Cristobal was joining
and winning several art competitions locally and
internationally, including the annual Spring Prix
for Painting.
Cristobal went back to the Philippines in 1940
and taught at Gubat High School in Sorsogon.
In 1944, his work, “Prayer,” won honorable
mention in an exhibition celebrating Jose Rizal’s
83rd birth anniversary.
After the war, he began teaching in several
universities, including the University’s College of
Architecture and Fine Arts (Cafa) in 1947, where
he stayed until his death on May 20, 1977.
Cristobal painted a mural for the University’s
old High School building and the portraits of
Saints Cosme and Damian, which are currently
with the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. The
portrait of Saint Damian, which was featured in the
exhibit, was returned to the Faculty last November
8.
Some of his artworks commissioned by the
University were the “Miracle of St. Catherine
of Sienna,” “The Blessed Imelda,” and the
“Appearance of the Angels to St. Thomas Aquinas
in Prison.”
He also published Anatomical Notion for Art
Students and co-authored and illustrated Philippine
Folk Tales with Gaudencio V. Aquino and Delfin
Fresnosa in 1970.
Unlike the other artists that were coined as the
Thirteen Moderns, led by Victorio Edades, Carlos
“Botong” Francisco, and Galo Ocampo, Cristobal
was considered as one of the least known, with no
solo exhibits during his lifetime.
Associate professor Mary Ann Bulanadi of
the College of Fine Arts and Design, who wrote
a research paper about the Thirteen Moderns,
described Cristobal’s works as “almost free from
subjective interpretations and distortions of form.”
With reports from Cez Mariela Teresa G.
VerZoSa
12 Lenspeak
The Varsitarian decemBER 17, 2012
Editor: Sherwin Marion T. Vardeleon
UST Christmas
Concert Gala
Photos by JOHN PAUL R. AUTOR and JOHN DANIEL J. HIRRO
Conductor Herminigildo Ranera leads the UST String Orchestra and UST Brass
Ensemble (above); Rector Magnificus Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. opens this year's
Christmas gala concert (left); Event chairperson Maricris Zobel, Tony Zobel of Air Asia,
and Conservatory of Music Dean Raul Sunico lead the lighting ceremony (right).
(Clockwide from top
left) Performers sing final
musical
piece;
Mezzo
soprano Clarissa Ocampo
delivers fine performance;
Performer strums a lyre; Fidel Calalang, Jr. gleams
under the spotlight as
he conducts the UST
Singers; A member of
the Hail Mary the Queen
Children's Choir performs
a solo; Award-winning
soprano Rachelle Gerodias
performs as Herminigildo
Ranera conducts the UST
Orchestra; Harpist Lourde
Gregorio plays "Siciliene."
(Clockwise from top) The
Hail Mary the Queen Children's
Choir captivates the audience;
Cello player impresses the
crowd; Tenors Lemuel de la Cruz,
Eugene de los Santos, and Ronan
Ferrer; Baritone Andrew Fernando
renders a number with the UST
Symphony Orchestra.
Choral groups and vocalists perform in the closing number (left); Fr.
Rector Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. and Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P applaud the
performers (right)..
Editor: Nigel Bryant B. Evangelista
decemBER 17, 2012
The
Varsitarian Sci-Tech
13
50 years of science research in UST
By GIULIANI RENZ G. PAAS
CHANGING times call for more
discoveries.
With the University celebrating
the 50th year of the UST Research
Center (on the natural and physcal
sciences), more Thomasian scientists
and engineers are being encouraged to
create innovations that would address
the demands of modernization.
Before, faculty members and
Dominican priests who were inclined
toward the natural and physical
sciences had dedicated themselves in
scientific research..
“Dominican priests [back then]
noticed that there had been a lot of
researches conducted earlier than the
350th foundation year [of UST], and
so they thought of formalizing it,”
said Christina Binag, director of the
UST Research Center for the Applied
and Natural Sciences (RCNAS), as
the center is now called.
Research in UST was formalized
in 1865 after the establishment of the
Museum of Natural History, now
UST Museum of Arts and Sciences,
and two research laboratories for
chemistry and physics.
However, a research center
that housed natural and social
science researches was not present
until 1962, when late Fr. Lorenzo
Rodriguez, O.P., a former dean of the
Faculty of Pharmacy, suggested the
establishment of an official research
center for the University on its
upcoming anniversary.
“It was during the time of Fr.
Juan Labrador, O.P. [former rector
of UST] when Fr. Rodriguez drafted
the rules, regulations, and policies
for the establishment of the proposed
research center,” Binag said. “This
proposal was presented to the Rector
and the economic council on Nov. 4,
1961 and was unanimously approved
on March 31, 1962—the official birth
of the UST Research Center.”
The research center took charge
of ten research divisions grouped
into two—the cultural and allied
sciences which focused on the social
sciences, while the technical sciences
had physics, biology, microbiology,
medical sciences, and genetics as
fields of interest.
Due to the research center’s
affinity toward the natural sciences,
it was eventually renamed as the
Research Center for the Natural
Sciences in 1985, and later on,
RCNAS in 2008, widening its doors
to more fields of interest that will
cater the recent advancements and
trends in science and technology.
Binag said faculty members who
are currently affiliated to RCNAS
are working on a wider variety of
research topics.
“Under the natural sciences,
we have chemistry, biology,
microbiology, and mathematics while
[studies in] physics start to focus on
nanotechnology,” she said. “We also
have biochemistry under the Faculty
of Pharmacy.”
Binag added that researches in
engineering sciences include food
engineering and a collaborative work
between biological sciences and
mechanical engineering researches.
At present, a total of 41 resident
researchers work in RCNAS. These
researchers come from the Faculties
of Engineering and Pharmacy and the
Colleges of Science and Nursing.
Powerhouse groups
Three of the strongest research
groups in RCNA include the
phytochemistry group, chemical
sensors and biosensors group, and the
biochemistry and molecular biology
group.
Binag said researchers from
RCNAS started the studies in
phytochemistry in the Philippines
in 1990s under the leadership of
Prof. Emeritus Beatrice Guevara, a
former professor from the College of
Science.
Phytochemistry is the study of
plant-derived chemicals which could
serve as potential cure for several
diseases. Phytochemicals are widelyused components of antimicrobial,
anti-inflammatory, and anticancer
drugs.
“We
are
famous
in
phytochemistry because of our strong
ties with our research partners from
Australia and Japan,” Binag said. “Dr.
Guevara was appointed as Unesco
point-of-contact, wherein Unesco
poured in resources and [research]
grants for natural products chemistry
and Filipino phytochemists are sent
overseas for collaborations.”
Meanwhile,
studies
in
biochemistry and molecular biology
were spearheaded by the late Prof.
Gloria Bernas, a former Science
dean, whose works focused on the
evaluation of phytochemicals which
exhibit anticancer activities.
Another strong research group is
the chemical sensors and biosensors
group under the mentorship of
Fortunato Sevilla III, former assistant
to the rector for research and
development and currently teaching
at the College of Science.
A sensor is a device that
transforms chemical information into
useful signals which are used by the
device in creating outputs.
The study of chemical sensors
and biosensors in the Philippines
were also pioneered by researchers in
UST where Sevilla received a patent
on low-cost chemical equipment.
‘Lighting the fire’
About 60 percent of the total
score in university rankings are
based on publications and research
citations, where the University seems
to have more improvement.
“The University lacks [in that
aspect] because we are mainly
focused on instruction (teaching),”
Binag said. “[UST] might be the last
of the four universities in the rank, but
it has a lot of potential researchers.”
Binag emphasized that there are
several faculty members who have
earned doctorate degrees in their
fields of expertise and this manpower
could have the potential to publish
more research papers in the future.
There are also contributions
from resident researchers in scientific
research by bringing about 37-million
pesos worth of research grants in
RCNAS as of academic year 2011 to
2012.
“These are external grants
given because of the credibility of
the resident researchers. They were
able to win the approval of granting
agencies from the Department of
Science and Technology and different
councils,” Binag said.
Among the biggest research
grants obtained last year was the
research on shrimp biotechnology
by Mary Beth Maningas, a biology
professor from the College of
Science, who also obtained the
highest amount of research grant
awarded by the Philippine Council
for Aquatic and Marine Research
and Development.Maningas’ study
focused on white spot syndrome
virus (WVVS) that causes infection
and rapid death among shrimps in
Philippine aquaculture.
“[Her] study of WSSV aims to
come up with a diagnostic tool for
early detection of this virus among
shrimps,” Binag said, adding that
other shrimp producing countries
have already developed their
own diagnostic tools while the
Philippines does not have any.
Early
diagnosis
of
WSSV among shrimps
will prevent the rapid death and total
wipeout of the cultures so shrimp
farmers could efficiently harvest and
sell these products in the market.
Building the future
Now that the Office of Research
and Innovation has already been
established in the University to bring
research on a higher level, Binag said
more centers dedicated for research
could be established. Future target
of scientific research will be on
innovation and creation of patents.
“Before, we have published
and presented [our studies], now
we have to make it sure that it will
be used by a larger community. We
have to translate our benchworks into
marketable products that we will be
able to sell to the industry for it to be
commercialized.”
Binag noted that the faculty
researchers should be able to
mentor and nurture the new breed of
scientists.
“It should be the role of senior
faculty members and researchers
to entice the young students to do
research because you can’t impose it
to them. You have to show them that
you really enjoy doing research,”
Binag said.
'[UST] might be the last of the four
universities in the rank, but it has a
lot of potential researchers.'
Christina Binag, UST-RCNAS director
Photo by JOHN DANIEL J. HIRRO
Pyrotechnics-prone New Year’s Eve revelry bedevils public health
By ALTIR CHRISTIAN D. BONGANAY
BOOMING sights might have dangerous
consequences.
Despite never-ending precautions from the
government, having fireworks or firecrackers for
the New Year’s celebration remains a common
Filipino practice.
Statistics from the Department of Health
(DOH) showed that 987 of the 1,021 fireworksrelated injuries are directly caused by fireworks
and firecrackers during Christmas and New Year
festivities last year. The figure was slightly higher
than the recorded 972 out of 1,022 in 2011. Also,
cases of firecracker ingestion also went down
to five from 11, as well as stray bullet incidents
from 39 to 29.
However, since the culture of using
fireworks in the country still remains, experts
advise extra caution in usage as to not result in
dangerous infections.
According to Maria Salve Olalia, UST
Health Service director, infections such as tetanus
come as a result of mishandling firecrackers.
“Tetanus, a secondary infection of sustained
wounds, is a serious disease arising from
firecracker misuse,” Olalia said. “In the case of
ingestion, the main ingredient of watusi, [which
is] phosphorus, is toxic and can lead to serious
conditions.”
Tetanus is an infectious and fatal disease
caused by the toxin-producing bacterium
Clostridium tetani often reproduced in deep and
contaminated wounds.
Moreover, a study conducted by the Spainbased Institute of Environmental Assessment and
Water Research (IDAEA) showed that metallic
particles dispersed through firework smoke pose
a threat to one’s health.
“The toxicological research has shown that
many of the metallic particles in the smoke from
fireworks are bio-reactive and can affect human
health,” said Teresa Moreno, a researcher from
IDAEA.
The metals contained in fireworks produce
colors when exposed to the heat which further
form the reaction among the fireworks’ main
ingredients—fuel, gunpowder, and oxidizers—
which are agents used to support the combustion
of fuel.
The most common oxidizing agent used in
fireworks is perchlorate, a kind of salt that replaces
iodine in the thyroid gland when ingested. Such
ingestion could impair the function of thyroid
hormones, which are responsible for metabolism
and mental development, and may possibly lead
to hypothyroidism.
Experts warned that these metals are
hazardous, especially for the respiratory system,
because these are not fully-consumed during the
combustion process.
“They can get aerosolized and breathed in
or they go into the soil and water,” said David
Chavez, a chemist from the Los Alamos
National Laboratory (LANL)
based in the United States.
Meanwhile,
Moreno
said the particles could
be
particularly
harmful to people with existing respiratory
problems.
“This poses a risk to health, and the
effects are probably more acute in people with
a background of asthma or cardiovascular
problems,” she said.Smoke from fireworks also
contains minute particles that can get lodged
up in the lungs, where further exposure to these
particles has been proven to cause lung cancer.
There are also treatments that a patient would
have to undergo to treat the complications caused
by fireworks and firecrackers misuse.
“Emergency care involves wound care,
tetanus vaccination and surgical intervention, and
toxicology treatments,” Olalia said.
‘Green’ fireworks
As an answer to the need for a safer and
“greener” way of celebrating special occasions,
experts were able to come up with a less
dangerous kind of fireworks.
LANL chemist Mike Hiskey came up with a
set of nitrogen-based fireworks, which consume
only a tenth of the barium found in conventional
fireworks and are free of perchlorates.
This kind of fireworks substituted
perchlorates with nitrocellulose, a highlyflammable compound commonly used as
propellant or explosive.
“Nitrocellulose has its own oxygen, so it
doesn’t require a lot of additional oxidants, and it
burns
very cleanly,” Hiskey said.
These pyrotechnic devices produce less
smoke which makes its colors look more vivid
and are able to produce deep red and blue colors,
unlike the traditional ones, Chavez added.
Finding alternatives
DOH launched “Aksyon Paputok Injury
Reduction” or APIR as a new strategy to promote
safety during the celebration of holidays last year.
The said campaign, which is relaunched
for 2012, circled on the spread of the proper
guidelines for not using pyrotechnics and safety
reminders to avoid the worst case scenario.
“This is line to reduce the number of injuries
this year and possibly, zero deaths,” DOH
undersecretary Eric Tayag said, adding that the
results were insignificant last year.
The health department added the Gangnam
Style in their campaign launch, hoping that they
can get more attention in preventing or reducing
the numbers through the dance craze’s popularity.
The Philippine National Police also released
guidelines to identify what constitutes an illegal
firecracker.
Included in the criteria are oversized
and overweight firecrackers, perchlorate and
phosphorus mixtures, fuse exploding less than
three seconds or more than six seconds, and
imported fireworks.
DOH suggested the use of alternative
noise-makers like car horns and torotot, active
participation in community fireworks display,
and joining street parties, concerts, or
games.
14 Literary
O
The Varsitarian decemBER 17, 2012
NE WAY of learning to understand a text
is through “enter it through the body,” said
poet Merlina Bobis during the third annual
international literary festival dubbed “Read Lit
District,” play on words of “red light district,”
from Nov. 14 to 16.
Faculty of Arts and Letters alumna Bobis,
who is a senior lecturer on creative writing at
the University of Wollongong in Australia,
presented her paper “Body Knowing: Using
Literature to Address Students’ Sexual
Awareness” which centered on the pedagogy of
literature. Through this, she said that the teacher
should be a storyteller and a performer at the
same time.
Bobis said she embodies music, dance, and
theatre in teaching her students.
“Teaching is a performance. You enter the
text through their bodies,” she added.
Bobis also underlined that the mode of
teaching literature in college should be a lot
different than the high school way of teaching it.
“Unlike in some high schools where most
students study literature by depending on plain
reading and narration, teaching in college
should be the take-off point to start appreciating
a story in its entirety,” she said. “In this way,
students are taught not to depend on the author’s
narration but instead, they can comprehend the
story through the close analysis of the details
and images.”
For people who don’t read literature, they
might find it quite a bore. According to Bobis,
this has always been the real challenge for
teachers. She said that one way of keeping up
with them is by bringing the story “home” to
their bodies, making the story more relevant to
their own experiences.
For Bobis, what a story or a poem does to
her heart and sensibility, what a story imagines
for society, and what it dreams for humanity,
are enough to be considered as the marks of the
glory of Philippine literature.
“The little exultation or the pinprick in the
Literature must pass
through the body
By JON CHRISTOFFER R. OBICE
J. Neil Garcia, Merlinda Bobis, Eros Atalia, and Allan Popa discuss the literary stature of the Philippines
during the Read Lit District event last Nov. 14-16 (clockwise from top left).
JOHN PAUL R. AUTOR
individual human heart, or the tingle of pleasure
in the spine from reading a well-written and
moving story is glory enough for this reader,”
Bobis said.
Globalization
Even before the globalization took place,
Filipino writers have been already exposed
to foreign influences, said J. Neil Garcia, a
PEN Congress tackles
the writer and his publics
EVERY Filipino writer must first examine the challenges they
face in their mission to become social agents before transcending
their experiences to fine writing.
This was the message of National Artist for Literature
Bienvenido Lumbera during this year’s Philippine PEN (Poets,
Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists) congress with the theme “The
Writer as Public Intellectual” last Dec. 6 and 7 at the Cultural
Center of the Philippines.
On the panel about the “Writer and National Discourse,”
UST alumnus Arnold Azurin said that the national discourse of
Filipino writers we have today is a mirage of nation builders.
“The national discourse that we have is invented and
remains as a mere fantasy,” Azurin said.
He also blamed the Filipino writers who opt to write in
English for the poverty of our national discourse. However, he
said that writing in Tagalog does not at all guarantee a writer in
writing for the national discourse.
“Just because people write in Tagalog, [it] does not mean
that they are writing in pambansang panitikan. One must be able
to interweave the chosen medium of language with the other
regional dialects of the Philippines,” Azurin said.
Peace in Mindanao
Meanwhile, former Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr.
presented his paper during the panel “The Quest for Peace in
Mindanao.”
In his presentation entitled “Framework Plan for Peace,”
Pimentel said that war and peace in Mindanao is not a problem
of Mindanao alone, but all of the people in the country.
Since Marcos’ reign in 1972, hundreds and thousands of
innocent children, women, elderlies, and even foreigners had
been mercilessly killed, and the number of internal displacement
in the Philippines rose to almost 930, 000 in an attempt to escape
the risk of living in Mindanao.
For decades, the difference in religion and custom spurred
never-ending conflicts between the Philippine government and
the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic
Liberation Front. Since then, five presidents had been elected,
but the unending feud between Christians and Muslims in
Mindanao still remains.
Speaking as a novelist, three-time Don Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards for Literature Awardee Antonio Enriquez
refused to believe in the capacity of peace talks to mend and
bridge gaps between Catholicism and Islam.
“I don’t believe in peace talks. We have been doing just
that since the very beginning and look at what it has brought,
nothing,” Enriquez said.
Pimentel said that the renewed attempts of Aquino’s current
administration for a concrete plan for peace talks in Mindanao
are seen positively. But he believes that gaps between the
government and the MNLF still need some “fleshing out.”
“Kahit anong mangyari, kahit magkagulo, ‘wag na ‘wag
niyong buburahin ang aming kultura,” Pimentel quoted Nur
Misuari, a former leader of the MNLF.
Meanwhile, playwright Malou Jacob said that the sad reality
about the rift with Filipino Muslims continuously aggravate
because of how Christians perceive Muslims.
“Oftentimes, we treat them (Moro people) not as equal, but
as subordinates. We should learn to treat the Moro people with
dignity,” Jacob said.
Jacob also added that it is the notion of Christians as a
superior class of people that create fear among marginalized
Muslims, and thus, hinders them to mingle with Christians.
“They actually want to be reunited with us, but the problem
is, we treat them as second-class citizens,” Jacob said.
National Artist for Literature and The Varsitarian alumnus,
F. Sionil Jose, moreover, said we should start referring to Filipino
Muslims as “Moros” to avoid confusion and verbal offense
caused by ignorance.
He also added that if we will only give them a chance to let
themselves be known, we would be amazed by the similarities
that bind our intermingling cultures.
“We have more things in common than things that separate
us,” Jose said.
Aside from the convention of Filipino writers, the Philippine
PEN congress was also an avenue for the members of the PEN
board to discuss and renew their stands about the controversial
national issues that captivate a Filipino’s sense of nationalism.
Few of the issues that the Philippine PEN highly upholds
are the support given to imprisoned Filipino writers since the
Marcos regime and the condemning of the 2009 Maguindanao
Massacre. J.C.R. Obice
renowned poet and director of the University of
the Philippines Press.
Garcia added that language preference
of Filipino writers plays a crucial role for
the development of contemporary Philippine
literature.
“English in our literature remains, and
ironic language remains an ironic language—
ironic because, historically, it shouldn’t even
have been an option to begin with; and ironic
because, the everyday reality of most Filipinos
isn’t monolingual at all,” Garcia said.
Bobis, however, said that despite the fact
that the international literary industry is still
dominated by the literature produced by first
world countries like those of Great Britain and
The Americas, she still believes that Philippine
literature is still as glorious and as rich as ever.
“We just have to keep working on getting
our literature out there, read, heard, experienced,
and appreciated,” she told the Varsitarian.
UST graduate Jose Wendell Capili, who
is the moderator of the panel, shared what late
Thomasian poet Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta
used to tell him when he was still a student.
“Teaching and writing is like kite-flying.
You should know when to let it go and when to
hold it back,” Capili quoted Dimalanta.
Read Lit District was graced by foreign
writers like British poet David McKirdy,
Australian novelist Ken Spillman, and
American fictionists Tim Tomlinson and Juliet
Grames. Other panelists include Filipino writers
Efren Abueg, Abdon Balde, Marne Kilates,
Alred Yuson, Isagani Cruz, National Artist for
Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, and Christina
Pantoja-Hidalgo, director of the UST Center for
Creative Writing and Literary Studies
The event was a convention organized by
the National Book Development Board in a bid
to reawaken the sensibilities of aspiring Filipino
writers and little by little, and to re-position
the Philippines in the international map of
literature. Benavides on Paskuhan
LIKE Aristophanes and
Shakespeare—
my concrete comrades,
I stand infallible,
age-old yet frozen
in youth
only centuries can confer.
I am baptized
by javelins of twilight
before being
swallowed
by the sea of students
who’ve come
not for me.
I envy Aristotle
and Saint Augustine,
who unlike
I, do not
know solitude
that roll with
the turn of decades.
My body
echoes
the cool of the night—
disregarding
radiant heat
from languid
neighboring lights.
Could this be,
Plato’s brand
of melancholy—
not that of knowing
you are sad
but that of remembering
you are alone? SArah Mae jenna a. ramos
Editor: Jan Dominic G. Leones
decemBER 17, 2012
The
Varsitarian Literary
Confessions of a wilting flower
She had everything I wanted,
except for the good looks, of
course.
Her husband, however, was
not the best man on earth. He
played one of the leads in one
of my favorite soap operas on
TV, although he was not gifted
with much intelligence. She
had first met him during one of
their tapings in his latest show
in which we were invited by our
good friend, Nancy, who worked
there as a scriptwriter. He was
standing at the far end of the
corner munching on some carrots
when our gazes accidentally met.
Before I could avert my eyes, he
was standing right in front me.
He had a conspiratorial smile
that belied his doleful eyes, his
hands dug deep into his pockets,
and shoulders loosely slackened
to show equanimity. He asked my
name and what high school I had
graduated from. We talked a little
and exchanged numbers. We saw
each other a couple of times, and
every time we met, I felt my heart
racing.
Months later, I got the news
that he and Jean were together.
I was the one who planned
Jean’s wedding, as with my
cousins and all my friends from
college and some from high
school. I guess I took up the
wrong profession. It was so hard
for me to see things that made me
happy—the kind of happiness that
stings as soon as you realize the
things you have always wanted
belong to somebody else. I help
people transform their dreams into
reality, yet I couldn't even make
my own a possibility.
I would always tell myself
that being beautiful was the only
thing that mattered in this world
filled with superficial aspirations.
I never knew Jean would get
By JAN DOMINIC G. LEONES
THE LAST time I saw someone
receive flowers picked from the
veins of the heart was when my
best friend Jean got married last
September in a garden wedding I
organized. I remember it just like
it was yesterday.
Jean was all dressed in
carnation silk, matched with
five-inch stilettos—which, in all
honesty, did not resemble even the
slightest the Jean I had come to
know for the past 23 years.
She would usually be caught
wearing her favorite gray hoodie
and half-torn jeans, along with a
bed-head which seemed like she
never knew how to tame with
a comb. Or it could be that the
lice that lived there always made
her scratch away and in return,
kept messing up her do. Her face
was pockmarked, as if miniature
atomic bombs had exploded on
them. As harsh as it may sound,
that was how she really looked,
well at least for me that is. Yes,
she wasn't the prettiest flower in
the patch, but she got what I had
always dreamed of getting.
I had a greenhouse built
beside my house. It was even
bigger than the house and had
different kinds of flowers growing
all over it. “These flowers are the
only ones you will ever have,”
Jean would mock me whenever
she'd help me work my green
thumb.
Jean was happy, or at least
that was the way I saw it, or the
way I would feel if it had been me.
I remember during Jean’s
wedding day, instead of throwing
the usual rice on the bride and
groom, she had let the entourage
use flower seeds. It was a good
thing she had a garden wedding,
which I wanted for my wedding.
Fule
FROM PAGE 3
educator
who
showed
utmost concern and love
for her students.
“She likes to share
everything—her
heart,
knowledge, talent, riches,
and time,” Calalang told
the
Varsitarian.
“We
feel that we have lost a
very important person. I
think the Conservatory
will not be like this
without her expertise as an
administrator.”
Anthony Say, piano
department
coordinator,
said Dean Fule made great
impact, and served as the
“link between the past
and the present” since she
had lived her life serving
the Conservatory and the
University.
She was also very
dedicated to her job—
always the first person to
open the office at 7 a.m.
and the last one to leave
at night. She taught on
Sundays whenever there
was a need to, he said.
Among the subjects
she handled were Piano,
Theory,
Keyboard,
Counterpoint, Philippine
History,
Philippine
Government
and
Constitution, and Rizal
Course.
Dean Fule earned her
master’s degree at the
Peabody Conservatory of
Music in Baltimore and
finished Music, Liberal
Arts, and History at the
College of the Holy Spirit.
Her remains lie at the
Green Meadows Memorial
Chapel in Quezon City.
Daphne J. Magturo
married, not in this way though.
I had actually thought that I
would be the first one to walk
the aisle before her. How life had
something different in store for us.
As I looked at Jean, now the
rose instead of the thorn she had
always been, I felt envy sharply
stinging like a thousand bees.
As she was giving her bows,
her delicate fingers draped over
her gloved hand, I caught her
husband’s eyes staring back
at me. He shot me a smile and
immediately lowered his gaze.
Right at that moment, as a
sort of flashback, I remember six
Valentine's ago, after I had learned
that Jean and her husband were
together, I bought a bouquet and
placed it in front of my doorstep in
the middle of the night and picked
it up in the morning, pretending
it was from some secret admirer,
just to ease the longing. I cried the
next day.
Thinking about it now, I have
never received any flowers from
anyone. It must have been that I
was too good to receive such, but
I’m pretty sure it was not it. Luck
just didn’t play fair with me.
Of all the parts of the
wedding, I always get excited in
the tossing of the bouquet. How
blood-hungry single ladies would
lunge at other people just to
possess that bouquet believed by
many to make those who catch it
to get married next.
At the reception, I saw this
beautiful pink gardenia on one
of the tables. Without anybody
looking, I snuck a flower and hid
it under my coat, as a present for
myself perhaps.
Jean’s wedding made me
feel like somebody had hit the
slow-motion. Everything was
in a trance, as if we were in a
surreal world. Jean turned her
‘But, as they
say, if you’re
happy with
what you do,
you’ll never get
tired of it. And
I guess 15 years
in the industry
just proved my
ignorance’
back, as did most of the guests.
She counted one, two, three,
before she threw a flower trophy
in a trajectory motion toward us.
The bouquet flung high in the
air until it started to fall down
the zealous crowd. There were
thrusting, jostling, pushing,
another thrusting, as it drove my
body wild and aching with a lot of
emotions as I joined the women
who raised their arms up high and
hoisting themselves in the air.
I didn’t get the bouquet in the
end.
Later that night, in my
greenhouse surrounded by my
most valuable flowers—from
freesia, to daisies, to amaryllis—it
felt as if they were starting to
mock me with their little petalhead for the one thing I had
always wished for. And in that
moment, the greenhouse, for what
it was worth, seemed more like
a burial ground for the lifeless
petals of my dreams, and the
centerpiece flower which had
started to wilt underneath my
coat.
Dimalanta’s little-known work How it had all
on Aquinas disclosed
come to this
By SARAH MAE JENNA
A. RAMOS
FRANCESCO Petrarch had
said that translation should be
similar to the original but not
the very same. This was the
focus during the 2nd Ophelia
Dimalanta Memorial Lecture
last Nov. 28 as literary critic
Isagani R. Cruz discussed
Dimalanta’s unpublished play
and its counterpart translation
by poet Michael Coroza.
Dimalanta, known for her
erotic and prolific poems, in
her finals days wrote the play
entitled “Thomas Aquinas in
a Minor Key in three acts”
as a fictional account of
the title character. Coroza,
who teaches at the UST
Graduate School, provided
the Filipino translation that
will be published alongside
Dimalanta’s work in February
next year.
Cruz said that there were
a lot of differences between
Dimalanta’s play and Coroza’s
translation in terms of their
gendered writing, the taste in
word usage, and the different
cultures of the language used
that affect the work had been
of the issue.
He added that bilingual
literary theories are not
common and had urged
the audience to actively
participate in the forging
of new and better theories
that will cater to a bilingual
reading culture—especially
for Filipinos.
Western
literary
thought had a very shallow
understanding of translated
work, he said.
“The reader must read
both the English and Filipino
[versions of the play] to get
the full power of the work,”
Cruz said.
But translation does not
only pertain to the written. In
the case of Dimalanta’s work,
translation can also happen
when the play is adapted on
the stage. Cruz said that it is
not common that the written
piece and the play onstage
differ with interpretation
and stage direction. He even
added that sometimes stage
directions are not often
followed by the director
and are only present for
the reader’s sake.
“We’re
reading
both the author and the
Literary
critic
Isagani
Cruz
tackles the difference of Ophelia
Dimalanta's work and its translated
counterpart by Michael Coroza.
JOHN DANIEL J. HIRRO
interpreter,” Cruz said.
Moreover, Cruz said that
some plays in the University
of the Philippines are done
twice—one time in Filipino
and another time in English,
but maintains the same
actors and stage directions to
emphasized that despite the
slight variation in language,
the impact is somewhat
different.
“[We] must come up with
a new process for reading
translations, and I believe we
aren’t the only ones bothered
by this. it is up to you to make
the theory,” he said.
It had always been your choice
this type of falling
away from your friends and family.
Not even gravity could have pulled you further.
And between the ties of the lunge and the fall,
there was silence, and a growing number
of people, their hands clenched to fist,
mouths open exchanging breaths of life,
and your tousled hair among crushed sprays
of santan and sampaguita.
Pablo Neruda was right to say that death sweeps
us like broomsticks, collecting some of us
in bulks, as we join the weights of mammoths
that have long since passed into extinction.
The earth is one less soul-heavy now,
all mourning and mawkish. The women should
have known better than to sing at funerals
because it wakes the dead in their slumber.
And one must know the dead should not be stirred.
How suddenly, over an afterthought, it had all
come
naturally that Death would fetch you in your
bed
because you have summoned upon him.
Now, everything else is a desire for respite,
for one son joining his father, and one mother
all soaked up in sweat and shaking in her sleep.
Notice how your friends in their purest clothes cry:
How it had all come to this.
Your embalmed face basks in the dry moon
shining its artificial light on you.
But that is just one way of looking at it. brylle b. tabora
15
16 Filipino
The Varsitarian ika-17 ng disyemBRE 2012
P
inangunahan
ng
Linangan
sa
Imahen,
Retorika at Anyo (LIRA) at
ni Mayor Alfredo Lim ng
Lungsod ng Maynila ang
pagdiriwang sa ika-149 taong
kamatayan ni Bonifacio sa
pamamagitan ng pag-aalay
ng bulaklak sa kaniyang
monumento noong ika-30 ng
Nobyembre sa Dambanang
Gat Andres Bonifacio.
Ikinagalak ni Emiliano
Distrito, apo ni Bonifacio,
ang patuloy na paggunita sa
kabayanihan ng kaniyang lolo.
“Proud ako kasi hindi nila
nalilimutan lahat [ng inialay
ni Bonifacio sa bayan],” ani
Distrito. “Kung hindi [dahil]
kay Bonifacio, wala tayo rito at
baka alipin pa rin tayo ng ibang
bansa.”
Dagdag pa sa galak ni
Distrito at ilan pang kamaganak ni Bonifacio na sina
Purita Distrito Dimalanta,
Amor Catalasan, Eleanor
Catalasan, at Jose Enrico
Morales ang pagsasapubliko ng
opisyal na logo ng “Bonifacio
@ 150,” tanda ng simula
ng isang taong paghahanda
para
sa
sesquicentennial
na pagdiriwang ng araw ni
Bonifacio.
Bonifacio, isinalibro
Para kay Virgilio Almario,
pambansang alagad ng sining,
ang araw ni Bonifacio ang
tamang pagkakataon upang
ilunsad ang kaniyang aklat
na “Pag-ibig sa Bayan ni
Bonifacio” na inilimbag ng
UST Publishing House.
Laman ng libro ang mga
impormasyong sumasalungat
sa karaniwang mga kaalaman
tungkol kay Bonifacio.
Sa
kaniyang
aklat,
pinagkumpara rin ni Almario
sina Kristo at Bonifacio.
“Si
Kristo,
tinubos
tayo
sa
pamamagitan
ng
pagpapakasakit,
sa
pamamagitan ng pagtitiis;
hindi ganoon ang ating
bayaning si Andres Bonifacio,”
ani Almario. “Ang modelo
ni Bonifacio ay modelo ng
bayaning handang mamatay at
pumatay para sa kalayaan ng
kaniyang bayan.”
Ilang
karaniwang
kaalaman din tungkol kay
Bonifacio ang sinalungat ni
Almario.
Ayon
kay
Almario,
hindi tabak kundi revolver
ang ginamit ni Bonifacio sa
pakikipaglaban. Totoo man na
hindi siya nagkaroon ng mataas
at pormal na pag-aaral, hindi
ito sapat na sukatan upang
sabihing si Bonifacio ay pobre
at ‘di kaaya-ayang manamit.
“Kung siya (Bonifacio) ay
mahirap, hindi siya tatanggapin
sa masonry at sa ‘La Liga
Filipina’ dahil ang masonry
noon ay binubuo lamang ng
mga Ilustrado at mayayaman
dito sa Maynila,” ani Almario.
Paliwanag ni Almario,
ang nakatala sa kasaysayang
maliliit na trabaho ni Bonifacio
tulad ng pagtitinda ng abaniko
ay ginagawa lamang niya
upang makapag-ambag at
makatulong sa gastusin ng mga
samahang kinabibilangan niya.
“Iwasan na rin natin ang
kaisipang laging nakadamit
na gusgusin si Bonifacio,” ani
Almario. “Kung gusgusin siya,
bakit ang isang kapitan na si
Emilio Aguinaldo ay dumayo
pa ng Maynila para sumumpa
sa kaniya?”
Lingid din sa kaalaman
ng nakararami, isang makata si
Bonifacio.
“Nakapagsasalita
siya
(Bonifacio) ng Ingles at
Espanyol,”
ani
Almario.
Patnugot: Maria Arra L. Perez
Pinagpugay ang ika-149 taong kaarawan ni Bonifacio
sa kaniyang dambana sa Lungsod ng Maynila
noong ika-30 ng Nobyembre. JOHN PAUL R. AUTOR
Andres Bonifacio
Tabak o revolver?
“Katunayan, nakasulat pa siya
ng isang tula na Espanyol.”
Ayon kay Almario, kung
ihahambing ang pagiging
makata ni Bonifacio sa
Pambansang Bayaning si Jose
Rizal, kapuwa sila mahalagang
mga kawil sa kasaysayan ng
tula—magkaiba lamang ang
katangian ng kanilang mga
isinulat.
“Ang tula ni Rizal ay
para sa tradisyong edukado
at Espanyol, [samantalang]
ang tula ni Bonifacio ay para
sa tradisyong katutubo at
Filipino,” ani Almario.
‘Lungsod ng mga bayani’
Ayon kay Lim, ang
naturang pagdiriwang ay isang
pagkakataon upang ipalaganap
ang tunay na katauhan ng
Maynila: isang lungsod ng
mga bayaning binigyang
buhay ng mga dumalong
kamag-anak ng iba pang mga
bayaning
Pilipino—Franz
Villafuerte, kamag-anak ni
Hen. Leon Villafuerte, Edgardo
Ocampo, kamag-anak ni Hen.
Glicerio Geronimo, at Henry
Resurreccion, kamag-anak ni
Hen. Antonio Luna.
Para kay Lim, ang
pagbibigay-pugay sa mga
bayaning tubong Maynila
ay pagbantayog na rin sa
kadakilaan ng lungsod.
“Ang
Maynila
ang
Wikang Filipino sa panahon ng neo-liberalismo
Para kay Nolasco, mabisang midyum sa pagtuturo ang wikang Filipino sa panahon ng neo-liberalismo. Retrato mula kay HAIDEE C. PINEDA
WIKANG Filipino: hubog mula sa radikal at positibong transisyon
sa kasaysayan ng bansa.
Ito ang pinatunayan ng mga pantas ng wika sa seryeng
diskusyong “Ang Filipino sa Labas ng Wika: Talakayan sa Neoliberalismo at Wikang Filipino” noong ika-27 ng Nobyembre
sa University of the Philippines (UP) sa lungsod ng Quezon. Sa
pangunguna ng Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and
Democracy (Contend-UP), tinalakay ang lagay ng wikang Filipino
sa labas ng mga usaping intelektuwalisasyon at istandardisasyon sa
kasalukuyang panahon.
Sa papel na “Pambansang Wikang Filipino at Neo-liberalismo”
ni Gonzalo Campoamor III, propesor at campaign officer ng
Contend-UP, isinaad na ang wika ay hindi maaaring bigyan ng
materyal na halaga tulad ng isang kalakal.
“Ang wika ay hindi gaya ng sektor ng manipaktura na
madaling matukoy ang kahalagahan ng produkto dahil sa taglay
nitong materyal,” ani Campoamor. “Pero nagsisilbi ang wika bilang
integral na sangkap sa pagkakaisa ng bayan.”
Ayon kay Campoamor, ang neo-liberalismo ay isang
ekspansiyong kapitalista kung saan pinaiiral ang malayang
kalakaran. Aniya, dahil madaling nakapapasok ang mga produktong
banyaga sa bansa, hindi nabibigyan ng pagkakataong malinang ang
mga lokal na produkto.
“Ang mabilis na paraan ng pag-export at pag-import ng mga
materyal at iba pang kalakal na lalong pinalakas ng mahusay na
Usapang Uste
MULA PAHINA 2
publishing house sa mas mababang
halaga kumpara sa orihinal na presyo.
Taong 1991 unang ginanap
ang taunang bentahan ng mga libro
ay nakagawiang nakikita sa dating
España covered walk na tumatagal ng
halos dalawang linggo.
Tomasino siya
Alam n’yo ba na mula pa dekada
komunikasyon sa pamamagitan ng Internet, mass media, at iba
pang prosesong teknolohikal ang sumisiguro na hindi patas ang
nangyayaring kalakalan sa bansa,” ani Campoamor.
Ngunit aniya, sa kasalukuyang panahon ng neo-liberalismo,
sinisikil ng mga negosyante at iba pang “mga makapangyarihan
sa itaas” ang malayang paggamit ng wika dahil tinutumbasan nila
ito ng halaga’t salapi, gaya ng mga kompanyang nasa business
processing outsourcing.
“Batay sa napakaabstraktikong pagtingin, maaaring sabihing
may totoong kalayaan din ang paggamit ng wika—anumang salita,
anumang parirala, at anumang pangungusap na inilalahad sa isang
talumpati nang hindi nangangamba sa presyo ng pagkukuwento at
sa halaga ng bawat salita,” ani Campoamor.
“Pero kahit puhunang maituturing ito (wikang Filipino),
kaakibat pa rin nito ang pagsasamantala ng mga negosyante gaya ng
call centers,” dagdag pa niya.
Naniniwala naman si Melanai Abad-Flores, vice-chancellor
para sa mga gawaing pampamayanan ng UP, kailangan munang
magbigay ng pundasyon sa wika bago tuluyang magdagdag ng iba
pang pamantayan ukol dito.
“Hindi pa nabubuo ang wikang Filipino,” ani Campoamor.
“Ang problema, hindi pa lumalago, hinihinto na ng mga tao.”
Iginiit din ni Flores na dapat baguhin ng mga Pilipino ang
kamalayan na ang paggamit ng wika ay isang mababang uri.
“Dapat ay magkaroon ang mga tao ng kakayanan at respeto na
60’s, mayroon nang Tomasinong
nanguna
sa
Certified
Public
Accountant (CPA) Licensure Exam?
Nagtapos noong 1963, si
Mercedes
Diokno-Rovira
ang
pinakaunang Tomasinong nakamit
ang unang puwesto sa CPA
Licensure Exam, ayon sa saliksik
na “College of Commerce and
Business Administration: A Story of
Phenomenal Success” ni Augusto de
Viana, puno ng Department of History
ng Unibersidad.
Sa
ginawang
pananaliksik
ni Augusto de Viana, propesor
ng Unibersidad at historyador,
na “College of Commerce and
Business Administration: A Story of
Phenomenal Success,” si Mercedes
Diokno-Rovira ang kauna-unahang
Tomasinong nanguna sa CPA
Licensure Exam.
Sa
naging
tagumpay
ni
Rovira
noong
1964,
tumaas
ang nagparehistro sa College of
Commerce at nakapagtala ang
naturang kolehiyo ng 5,149 na mga
mag-aaral noong akademikong taon
1967-1968.
Pinarangalan
noong
1969
ng kolehiyo Rovira bilang isa sa
kanilang Outstanding Alumni sa
nagdulot ng mga anak
ng pagbabago sa lahat ng
larangan ng buhay mula sa
mga manunulat, siyentista,
abogado, doktor, negosyante,
at iba pang propesyonal,” ani
Lim.
Kadakilaan din ang buod
ng mensahe ni Felipe de Leon,
tagapangulo ng Pambansang
Komisyon para sa Kultura
at Sining. Nais iwasto ni De
Leon ang imaheng marahas
ni Bonifacio bunga ng
paghihimagsik niya.
Ayon kay De Leon,
nararapat lamang ang naging
karahasan ni Bonifacio dahil
sa pang-aabuso ng mga
Kastila at mula dito’y nabuo
ang Katipunan at naisulat ang
kanilang kartilya.
“Ang Kartilya ng Katipunan
ay walang anumang tungkol
sa karahasan,” ani De Leon.
“Tungkol ito sa pagkamakatao,
paggalang sa kapuwa lalo na
sakababaihan, pagmamahal sa
bayan at sa Diyos, at tungkol sa
karangalan.”
Ang
pagdiriwang
ay
naging daan din upang idaos ang
Citizen’s Day Awards kung saan
pinarangalan ni Lim ang piling
mga mamamayan na nagpakita
ng
‘di
pangkaraniwang
pagmamahal sa bayan at
nagsisilbing mga makabagong
bayani. JONAH MARY T.
MUTUC
magpahayag ng nais nilang sabihin sa sarili nilang wika,” ani Flores.
Pagpasok ng ‘makabagong wika’
Sinabi naman ni Rolando Tolentino, dekano ng Kolehiyo
ng Komunikasyong Pangmadla sa UP, kaakibat ng pagyakap ng
bansa sa panahon ng neo-liberalismo at globalisasyon, maraming
makabagong wika ang pumapasok sa atin na walang tuwirang
pagsasalin sa wikang Filipino.
“Ang pagpasok ng makabagong wika na ito ay wala namang
ipinapakitang angkop na kultural na materyal na konsepto at
ipinapataw lamang ito ng mga makapangyarihan sa itaas,” ani
Tolentino.
Aniya, ang makabagong wikang dulot ng globalisasyon ay
walang ibinibigay sa bansa na “culture of security”—kung saan wala
naman itong tahasang translitirasyon sa kultura ng mga Pilipino,
tulad na lamang ng mga salitang “impunity” at “pandarambong.”
Naging likas na lamang ito sa mga tao dahil kasabay na itong
naipasok nang tuluyang yakapin ng bansa ang konsepto ng neoliberalismo.
“Walang translitirasyon ang mga Pilipino sa ganitong
kultura tulad ng ‘pandarambong’ na kaya nating makalusot sa
anumang krimen tulad na lamang sa mga pumatay sa 58 katao sa
Maguindanao,” ani Tolentino. “Ang ganitong klase ng wika ay
naipasok lamang dahil sa globalisasyon.”
Binanggit naman ni Ramon Guillermo, propesor ng Kolehiyo
ng Arte at Literatura sa UP, mas pinahahalagahan ngayon ang
mga pananaliksik na “commercially viable” na nakalathala sa
wikang Ingles, kaya’t napababayaan ang kalidad ng mga lokal na
pananaliksik.
“Dati, ang pinakamahalaga sa lipunan ay ang makapagsulong
ng kaalaman ng mga tao sa bansa at ito ang liberal na diskurso,” ani
Guillermo. “Ngayon, ang tinitingnan ay ang mga pananaliksik na
nasa banyagang wika.”
Samantala, sinabi naman ni Ricardo Nolasco, isa ring propesor
at lingguwistiko, maraming pag-aaral na ang nagpatunay na mas
epektibo ang paggamit ng wikang Filipino sa pagtuturo ng iba’t
ibang asignatura, gaya ng “Functional Literacy and Educational
Mass Media Survey.”
“Dominante ang paggamit ng wikang Ingles sa sistema
ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas bilang midyum [sa pagtuturo] na
kinokondena ang maraming kabataan sa pagkatuto,” ani Nolasco.
Elora Joselle F. Cangco
pagiging dalubhasa sa larangan ng
pagnenegosyo.
Sa kasalukuyan, ang Unibersidad
ay mayroong pinakamalaking bilang
ng mga pumapasa sa CPA licensure
exams at isa sa top-performing
schools sa mga nagdaang taon.
Elora Joselle F. Cangco
Tomasalitaan
Saluno (png)—pagsalubong sa
daan; pagsundo
Hal. : Halika’t magpasaluno
sa kahapon at takbuhan ang mga
hindi mawaring hinagpis at takot ng
hinaharap.
Mga Sanggunian:
Celzo, J., & Patricio, S. (1999,
December 16). Ang Higanteng
Christmas tree sa USTe. Varsitarian
Manipon, R. (1994, December
23).
A
Christmas
Tradition.
Varsitarian.
Tajuco, J. F. (2000, December
16). Paskuhan. Varsitarian
Torralba, K. (1991, Dec 3).
Thomasian
Celebrate
Paskong
Filipino. Varsitarian .
Viana,
A.
D.
College
of
Commerce
and
Business
Administration:
A
Story
of
Phenomenal Success.
18 Sports
The Varsitarian decemBER 17, 2012
Softbelles continue
winning ways
THE UST Softbelles outlasted the University
of the Philippines (UP), 8-6, in the UAAP
softball tournament at the Rizal Memorial
Stadium last Dec. 12.
Jocelyn Ungsod hit three RBI (Runs
Batted In) in the first two innings as the
Softbelles built an early 6-0 lead.
UP sluggers tallied three straight runs in
the third frame courtesy of Denise Cruz, Alex
Zuluaga, and Hashimoto to narrow the gap,
5-6.
But UST outfielders Kristine Lacupa
and Francine Areglado scored two runs in the
fourth and fifth innings, respectively, to ensure
the victory for the Softbelles, who now have a
2-1 win-loss card.
“We had a one big inning at the start of the
game. The players delivered well,” said coach
Sandy Barredo.
UST demolished the Ateneo de Manila
University, 8-1, in their Dec. 5 opening day
match, but the Softbelles bowed down to the
National University, 4-6, last Dec. 8. Carla
Patricia S. Perez
Thomasian shines
in World Karate
By ALEXIS U. CERADO
THOUGH only 5’4” tall, Thomasian martial artist
Prince Andreen Zipagan stood out and topped all his
events for the Philippines in the 2nd International
Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) World Shoto
Cup Karate Championships last Nov. 8 to 11.
Zipagan powered the national team, which
bagged 16 gold, 14 silver, and eight bronze medals
in the international event.
The pint-sized Zipagan, a freshman from the
AMV-College of Accountancy, took the limelight
after taking home four gold medals in four
categories.
He stomped his class in the 16-17 boys’
individual kata (form) after blanking a much taller
Canadian opponent in Victor So, 2-0.
Zipagan shone anew in the kumite (sparring)
category, and even defeated his foes from the
powerhouse Argentina and United Statres squads in
the team kata and kumite competitions.
“It was hard for me because you need to
balance the sport and your academics especially in
Accountancy,” Zipagan said. “I was happy that I
didn’t fail all the people who supported me.”
At the age of seven, he was already learning
the different techniques of the martial art. It has
become a hobby for him since then. But his favorite
pastime brought him to new heights.
“You need a lot of training before getting into
the sport,” he said.
At 16, he already competed and won in various
karate tournaments locally and internationally in
Thailand and Singapore.
With the success, Zipagan aims to earn a spot
in the karate national team, the Philippine Tycoon,
and play in the South East Asian (SEA) Games in
2013.
Rhea stays at UST, but as mentor
A year after bidding her
UAAP career goodbye, former
UST Lady Spikers captain and
setter Rhea Dimaculangan is
back with the team as part of
the coaching staff. “Nakalagay
sa I.D. ko, trainer,” said the
21-year-old Sports Science
major, the Season 72 Finals
MVP. “Tumutulong ako na
mag-motivate sa players.
Minsan nagtuturo sa setters
pero every game, statistician
ako.”
Dimaculangan,
who
is
just
waiting for the
completion of her
internship before
she
receives
her
diploma,
landed a spot in
the
coaching
staff to fill the void
left by assistant
coach Ian Fernandez.
Fernandez is set to
return in February after
flying to the United States
last October.
But coach Odjie Mamon
clarified that Dimaculangan,
who also racked up various best
setter and best server awards
in the UAAP and several offseason tiffs, would still be part
of the staff until she graduates.
“She’s
still
under
scholarship so instead of
getting out of shape, she trains
with the team,” Mamon said.
“She’s part of the scrimmages
and she also imparts her
knowledge of the game and
her experience to the younger
players.”
Even if Dimaculangan
does not see herself manning
the sidelines as a head coach,
Mamon is willing to teach his
former ward the tricks and
trade of coaching.
“Hopefully next year or
after she graduates, kapag
gusto niya pa rin dito,
matutulungan namin siya in
regards na mabibigyan namin
siya ng tamang training to be
a coach.”
After towing UST to its
last championship three years
ago, Dimaculangan functions
as the “internal arm” of coach
Mamon to the team by fulfilling
a “sister figure” to the players.
“Kaka-graduate lang niya
[from playing] so the level
of respect from the players
‘di pa mentor-level. Parang
teammate pa rin so parang ate
pa rin siya,” Mamon said.
But amid her extended
tenure
with
the
team,
Dimaculangan confessed that
sometimes she feels an itch to
hop back into the court and suit
up for the Lady Spikers.
“May
time
na
nakakainggit kasi nakakamiss
din maglaro,” Dimaculangan
said. “Pero ngayon na nandito
na rin ako, kahit presence man
lang makatulong sa kanila.”
Learning the rudiments
of volleyball from her eldest
brother Ronwald, Rhea got the
urge to study the game after
getting jealous of her brother
Ray Karl who always came
home with medals. Ray Karl is
a former UST Tiger Spiker.
Now, with an illustrious
playing career under her belt,
Rhea adjusts to her poststudent athlete life by focusing
on her studies and keeping her
sights on jumping to the pro
ranks, aside from her coaching
stint with the Lady Spikers.
“Nag-aaral ako tapos
nagte-training para sa PVL
(Philippine Volleyball League).
Parang normal routine pa rin
pero nawalan ng kaunting
pressure.”
But for Dimaculangan,
the reduction of pressure to
play does not necessarily
translate to the reduction of her
commitment to succeed.
“Basta hindi ko pa rin feel
na nandito na ‘ko kasi parang
ganun pa din. Same mentality
pa rin. Kapag nanalo, feeling
ko nanalo rin ako, feeling ko
naglaro pa rin ako.” Jose
Antonio R. Nisay
AB, Commerce rule Goodwill basketball tilt
THE FACULTY of Arts and Letters (Artlets)
pummeled the Faculty of Engineering to claim
the men’s basketball crown, while the College
of Commerce and Business Administration
clinched its women’s title during the Thomasian
Goodwill Games at the Quadricentennial
Pavilion last Dec. 12.
The Artlets, who also swept the
Engineering team in the 2007 Finals, erected
a 26-point advantage, 70-44, in the payoff
period to pull away for good. Engineering was
competitive only in the opening quarter, and
was dominated by the Artlets for the rest of the
game.
"This championship is overdue kasi naupset kami last year," AB coach Noy Crisostomo
said. “We greatly depended on our defensive
strategies kasi medyo may size advantage
talaga ang mga players ng Engineering.”
Legal Management senior Jay Pascual,
who was named Most Valuable Player, and
Stacey Balagtas scored 14 points apiece to lead
the Artlets, while Jason Anderson paced the
Engineering team with 10 markers.
The Engineering’s loss also saw an end to
its two-year reign in the ournament.
Champions anew
In women’s basketball, Commerce pulled
off an upset over a favored Artlets squad with
a come-from-behind 71-68 victory in overtime.
MVP Tin Rala took charge in the extra
period, piling up six points. But the Artlets
would not go down without a fight, cutting
the lead to two, 68-70, with 53 seconds left.
Commerce’s Michelle Kiac later iced the game
after splitting her free throws.
“We were down at some point in the fourth
quarter, we were given another chance through
the overtime period, and we kept fighting. Kahit
down na ‘yung team ng ilang points, we still
responded and kept our momentum going,”
Commerce coach Mark Laouie Usal said.
MVP Rala racked up a game-high 24 points
while Karen Liwanag added 16 for Commerce.
Gemma Retuba and Emem Quicho paced the The Artlets basketball team made mince meat
Artlets with 19 and 16 points, respectively. of last year's champions Engineering basketball
Hedrix Ar-ar C. Caballe
team.
Photo by JOHN DANIEL J. HIRRO
by Karel Daye B. Gascon, Ma. Aurora A. Gonzales, John Daniel J. Hirro, and Angelica Gabrielle O. Navarro
Editor: Jan Edward B. Ballesteros
DECEMBER 17, 2012
The
Varsitarian Sports
19
UST Spikers stay
on winning track
By JAN EDWARD B. BALLESTEROS
and CARLA PATRICIA S. PEREZ
THE UST Spikers barely broke a sweat as
they disposed of separate foes in the UAAP
volleyball tournament at the Arena in San
Juan last Dec. 15.
The Lady Spikers thrashed the University
of the Philippines, 25-18, 25-11, 25-14, to snap a
two-game losing streak halfway through the first
round.
Their male counterparts also made short
work of Ateneo, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19.
Ateneo threatened to bounce back in the
last frame and came to within three points, 1916. But UST’s Christian Arbastro and Romnick
Rico denied Ateneo’s Ysrael Marasigan twice in
succession to pull away, 21-16.
Maru Banaticla, who had been averaging
only 2.5 points in the last two games, came alive
against UP to make up for the futile game of
team captain Judy Caballejo. Banaticla produced
13 points, while Maika Ortiz scored 14 for UST.
In a game that also saw seldom-used
skippers Jem Gutierez and Alexine Cabanos
enjoying more minutes, UST opened the last
frame with a 10-0 surge, capitalizing on UP’s
porous floor defense.
"We prepared not for the other team but for
our own strategy," coach Odjie Mamon said.
"We fixed our system because it hadn't worked
for us in the past games."
Mark Alfafara led the Tiger Spikers with
15 points while contributing five to the team’s
12 blocks. Marasigan and John Sandoval paced
Ateneo with eight markers apiece.
Despite the team’s improved blocking,
coach Emil Lontoc said the Tiger Spikers still
needed to improve their service.
“‘Di masyadong maayos ‘yung float ng
mga serve, kailangan pang i-practice,” he said.
In their previous game, the Tiger Spikers
upset Adamson University, 25-20, 25-24, 25-20,
behind John Depante’s 17 points.
Veteran Maika Ortiz drops 14 points to lift the Lady Spikers past a helpless University of the Philippines
squad.
Photo by SHERWIN MARION T. VARDELEON
Female Fencers rise from cellar, clinch 2nd place
championships this year because
they had the advantage of having
national team-calibre players. But
finishing at second place isn’t a
bad start, so expect a tougher team
next year because we’re aiming
next for the gold.”
A UST Fencer scores against his counterpart in their UAAP match.
WITH the overall championship
title at stake, UST Fencers kept the
University within striking distance
from De La Salle University
as they scored decent finishes
in the UAAP tournament at the
PhilSports Arena Pasig from Dec.
11 to 14.
A cellar-dweller last season,
the Lady Fencers improved to
second place behind six-time
champion University of the East.
Haniel Abella’s gold medal in the
women’s epee individual category
led UST.
The quartet of Donita
Navarro, Kimberly Camahalan,
Joanna Marie Guevarra, and
Maylene Pailma finished second in
the women’s sabre team category.
JOHN DANIEL J. HIRRO
Abella also teamed up with Kristine
Daena Paraso, Dyrem Penaflor,
and Christine Alegria to claim the
bronze medal in women’s epee.
“Our women’s team greatly
improved this year, kita naman
natin na kahit halos puro rookies
ang female players natin, they still
became second,” coach Arman
Bernal said. “UE dominated the
Male Fencers drop to fourth
The UST Male Fencers, the
Season 74 champions, settled for
fourth place.
UST played without last
year’s MVP Donnie Navarro, who
left the team for personal reasons.
Team captain Jake Jimenez
snatched a bronze medal in the
men’s foil individual category,
while the men’s foil team
composed of Jimenez, Christopher
Fombuena, Alexander Macaraig,
and Mark Anthony Garcia captured
a silver.
“We really had a rough time
trying to contain the strong players
of UE,” Bernal said. “It was hard
for us especially one of our ace
players, Donnie (Navarro) left the
team. Another factor is that seven
of our players this season are just
rookies. We still have to train them
and hopefully, we can get another
championship
next
season.”
Hedrix Ar-ar C. Caballe
Tracksters duplicate ‘74 UAAP performance
By JOSE ANTONIO R. NISAY
EVEN if the team failed to win the
championship, coach Manny Calipes
was satisfied with the performance of
the UST Tracksters,
w h o
finished second and
third
in
the UAAP track and
field
tournament
at the Philippine
Sports
Complex
from Dec. 4 to 7.
"We achieved
what we came
here for, ‘yung
makadikit
sa
general
championship,"
coach Manny
Calipes said,
referring to the
UAAP overall
race
where
UST
trails
De La Salle
University
after the first
semester.
“From
eight points,
nabawasan n
g
apat so lima na lang
ang lamang ng La
Salle. At least we have done our
job. ‘Yung ibang teams naman ang
magtrabaho.”
The Male Tracksters scored a
runner-up finish with a 3-4-6 goldsilver-bronze
medal
harvest behind the 390
points of the Far Eastern
University (FEU), the
top squad in the last three
seasons.
In women’s play, the Female
Tracksters dropped from
second place last season
to third place this
year.
T
h
e
España-based
Female
Tracksters
finished with a 5-33 medal tally that
accounted for their 254
points
behind
University
of
the East (311),
and FEU (534),
which won its
10th straight title.
T
h
e
M a l e
Tracksters clinched two of the three
podium finishes in the 1,000m walk
and 800m run.
In the 10,000m walk, gold
medalist Lambert Padua (51:18.4)
bested fellow Thomasian Dave
Gumacal (53:43.9), who settled for
silver. Male Trackster Elbren Neri
(1:55.27) placed second in the 800m
run followed by teammate
Rudy Medalla (1:57.32),
who ran away with the
bronze medal.
Neil Borres and
Gumacal
topped
the
triple
jump
(14:37) and 5,000m
walk
competition
( 2 4 . 4 5 . 4 7 ) ,
respectively, to cap
the Male Tracksters’
gold haul.
The men’s team
extended its medal rush
in the group events, as
Marvin
Lupinario,
Mark
Madera,
Michael
Baay, and
Golden Booters
bow to La Salle
Green Archers, 1-3
MIDWAY in the first round, the UST Booters
remained in search of cruise control of their
rough UAAP football sailing.
The Golden Booters could not overcome a
relentless De La Salle University, 1-3, to level
their record to 2-2 in the tournament at the
Ocampo field in Ateneo de Manil University last
Dec. 13.
At the 79th minute, Green Archer David
Angelo Diamante caught the Golden Booters off
guard to score his second goal and wrap up the
match at 3-1.
Ronald Lagrimas converted UST's lone goal
at the 17th mark off a short pass from returning
Golden Booter Jejomar Valdez to take an early
lead in the first half, 1-0.
In the middle of the tangle between UST
Lady Booters and Ateneo, the UAAP football
committee had to postpone the encounter due to
heavy rains.
The committee has yet to announce the replay, which is likely to happen next year as the
Christmas break looms near.
At the 55th minute, UST was trailing Ateneo
by a whisker, 1-2, before heavy rains poured
down to prompt the officials to postpone the
game.
Earlier, Kara Corpus jacked up a goal from
the middle to make it 1-0, but it wasn’t long before
Marie Kadayun of Ateneo shot an equalizer, 1-1.
H.A.C. Caballe and A.U. Cerado
Gerard Morales seized the bronze in
the 4x100m with a record of
43.57 seconds. With the
replacement of Lupinario—
who finished third in the
Decathlon event—by June
Gan, UST also grabbed a
bronze medal in the 4x400m
event by clocking a 3:23.18
finish.
In the women’s
bracket,
Michelle
Loterte and Aldee
Denuyo ruled the
1 0 0 m
hurdles
( 1 4 . 9 6
seconds)
and
long
jump (5.13)
competitions,
respectively.
T h e
two
gold
medalists
w i t h
t h e
paired up
Joy Albinio,
runner-up in the
Heptathlon event,
a n d
Rechelle Abotalmo
to claim
twin silvers in the 4x100m
(48.94) and 4x100m (3:59.39)
games.
The other gold medallists
for the Female Tracksters were Jessah
Fernandez in the hammer throw
(34.54 m) Janice Marquez in the
3000m walk (16:22.05), and Riza
Sombilla in the shotput (11.06) events,
respectively.