Books, memorabilia of journalist-teacher Nestor R. Mata donated to UST library

Gatchalian pitches for back-to-school scheme to hike BARMM enrollment

SEN. Sherwin T. Gatchalian wants to enhance the Bangsamoro Region’s backto-school program as a way of addressing enrollment woes in the said area.

Gatchalian lamented the low cohort survival rate in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Based on data from the Department of Education (DepEd) and analysis from the senator’s office, only 17 out of every 100 students who attended Grade 1 in School Year (SY) 2010-2011 completed Grade 12 in SY 2021-2022. This is by far lower than the national cohort-survival rate, where 51 out of 100 learners who attended Grade 1 in SY 20102011 completed Grade 12 in SY 2021-2022.

City Savings Bank bats for recycling in public schools

CITY SAVINGS BANK (CitySavings) recently launched its “Turning Plastic into School Chairs” campaign to help public schools to become more sustainable.

Led by the bank’s branch operations head Hannah Contreras, the goal was to collect as much plastic waste from the employees in a month. The recycling drive gathered almost 2,000 kilograms of waste plastic from CitySavings branches and corporate offices nationwide. These were then turned over to Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc.—a company based in Davao City which produced the school chairs, each made out of 30 kgs. of plastic waste, at a discounted rate.

“We are proud of our CitySavings Bankers for their all-out support as sustainability stewards,” Contreras remarked in a press statement. “The success of this initiative clearly showed how the spirit of ‘ubuntu’ moved us to connect and partner with our stakeholders and communities in minimizing our environmental impact for a better and more sustainable future. This is employee engagement and sustainability in action.”

She said the recycling drive produced a total of 50 chairs, which were donated to Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elementary School in Davao City, and Tunasan National High School (TNHS) in Muntinlupa City, aiding the Education Department’s “MATATAG” agenda aimed at augmenting basic education facilities and services.

During the turn-over ceremony, TNHS principal Dr. Ador Querubin mentioned: “Our school population has grown from 6,000 to 9,000 students in the past few years. [As such, there is a need to increase the number of facilities being used by our learners...The sustainably-produced chairs donated by CitySavings will not just help our] 25 students, but generations of students to come.”

Dr. Querubin also shared sustainable practices that can make the learning environment more conducive and comfortable for pupils.

Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

- vor of the plane crash that killed former president Ramon Mag - saysay in 1957. The university named the former an outstanding alumnus some years ago.

The turnover from the Mata family to the Royal and Pontifical University was formalized on Wednesday, June 14, as the prefect of UST Libraries Fr. Angel A. Aparicio OP received the donation at the UST Miguel de Benavides Library lobby.

There, Fr. Aparicio met Mata’s son Jan and his siblings in a formal signing ceremony for the donations.

UST officials revealed the plan to name a portion or section of the library’s fifth-floor level as the “Nestor Mata Reading Room.”

In past decades Mata served as a professorial lecturer on foreign affairs at the university’s Faculty of Arts and Letters, upon the invitation and insistence of former rector magnificus Rev. Fr. Frederik Fermin OP who was one of the most admired and beloved UST officials.

US allocates P20M in grants to aid PHL’s unschooled youth

THE United States govern - ment, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced new grants worth more than P20 million ($370,000) for Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) working on innovative programs to improve the lives of Filipino out-of-school youth.

Administered through the “USAID Opportunity 2.0” program, the announcement on May 30 includes two types of grants: the “O2 GAIN Grants” which will address local development priorities for out-of-school youth, and the “O2-ASPIRE Grants,” which will support partnerships between Philippine and US HEIs on out-ofschool youth advancement. Said grants will help fund academic research, develop technological solutions, and enhance the quality of services for out-of-school youth.

USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn announced the new grants during Opportunity 2.0’s “Higher Education Learning Summit” in Quezon City that brought together more than 200 USAID partners from across the country. The conference highlighted the pivotal role of higher education partners in building a better future for out-of-school youth, then gave stakeholders a space for further collaboration.

“Working together, we have been able to make progress and open doors for thousands of outof-school youth to better education, employment, and entrepre - neurship opportunities,” said Washburn.

To date Opportunity 2.0 has supported around 35,000 Filipino youth by helping them gain employment, start their own businesses, or go back to school.

“I am confident that this learning summit will facilitate meaningful exchanges, foster collaboration, inspire innovative approaches, and find common ground to address the complex needs of out-of-school youth,” said Commission on Higher Education chairperson J. Prospero De Vera. “I therefore express my gratitude to the USAID Opportunity 2.0 program and all the organizers for their vision and dedication [in] making this sum - mit a reality.”

“Education is the cornerstone of all progress, and HEIs play a pivotal role in order to accomplish this, as they serve as homes for training the minds of the youth and preparing them for the challenges of the ever-evolving world,” said Quezon City vice mayor Gian Sotto. “We view our [HEIs as our beacons] of hope. We are confident that, with your help and support, we can make out-of-school Filipinos return to studying, and get the quality education that they deserve.”

Interested grant applicants may contact GrantsPH@edc.org , or follow USAID Opportunity 2.0 on Facebook and LinkedIn for updates and additional information.

JPEPA candidates for care work, nursing pass Jap. language training

ON June 1 the 15th batch of Filipino candidates for nurses and certified care workers bound for Japan under the Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and the Philippines (JPEPA) marked the completion of their Preparatory Japanese Language Training (PJLT) with an online ceremony.

First Secretary and Labor Attaché Chihiro Kanno from the Embassy of Japan and Undersecretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac from the Department of Migrant Workers delivered their inspiring words for the candidates.

Japan Foundation-Manila’s Ben Suzuki, Nihongo Center Foundation Inc.’s Philip B. Sanvictores, Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services’ Yoshikazu Kataoka, and Karen Melody Gonesto Kumazawa who represented the candidates shared their messages through a compiled video presentation. The Japan Foundation-Ma -

The senator was also disappointed that almost half a million youth in BARMM remain unenrolled. Numbers from the DepEd, as well as estimates from both the senator’s office and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), reveal that while enrollment in the said locality is at 991,243, 32 percent or 463,963 youth are nonmatriculated.

Figures from the DepEd further revealed that only 6 percent, or 28,832 out-of-school youth, are enlisted under the alternative learning system (ALS).

Based on the PSA’s 2019 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey, the top reasons for non-attendance in schools among those aged 6 to 20 are lack of personal interest (34 percent) and the insufficiency of family income to send children to school

(25.6 percent).

As chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Gatchalian sees the need to encourage parents and youth in BARMM to head back to and stay in school. In Filipino, he urged a house-to-house approach in ensuring that fellow Filipinos will not be denied their right to education.

For the back-to-school campaign implementation, the solon called for a collaboration with the BARMM’s Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education. He also pressed the need to visit every household—a move that he says should involve mayors, barangay captains, and other community leaders.

Gatchalian sought the development and implementation of projects that will keep children, especially Grades 1 to 6 learners, in school—including the school feeding program.

The senator also sought the strengthened implementation of the ALS program to enhance the skills and abilities of the current working population and out-ofschool children and youth.

Top 10 tips in tackling the tough Bar exams

By Atty. Vhalerie S. Buluran-Reyes

ARE you currently studying or reviewing for the Bar exams?

As someone who recently hurdled the dreaded tests, allow me to share some tips that are probably cliché, but nonetheless will give you that needed push to power through this review season.

Tip 1: Read the codal and follow the “Bar” syllabus. Many “Bar” reviewees make the mistake of forgetting to read the codal and prioritize topics that are not in the Bar syllabus. When you are not familiar with a question, but know the law by heart, there is always something that you can write as a justification to your answer. As to the Bar syllabus, believe that it was made to guide you, and not trick you.

Tip 2: Prepare the materials you need and stick to them. Not everyone will like a “Q&A” type of reviewer, or those with long narratives. A “better” one will always come out, but remember to save your precious time and stick to one or two materials.

Tip 3: Set realistic goals and give yourself a break. Plan your study schedule in days or weeks, and group topics together. When you have extra time, do rest. Forgive yourself on the days you are not at your best. Rest so you can move forward. Burnout during review season is more common than you think.

nila and the Nihongo Center Foundation Inc. held the training online, and onsite for a select few toward the training’s latter part.

All 231 candidates received daily living and Internet-connectivity allowances, as well as tablets that were provided on loan.

Upon their arrival in Japan, they will have 6 more months of Japanese-language training prior to their work term in local hospitals and care-giving facilities.

Tip 4: Whatever your study method was during law school, adopt the same in reviewing for the “Bar.” Be it the “pomodoro” method or time blocking, you have survived four years of law school. There must be something about that study habit that makes you efficient.

Tip 5: Allow yourself to be a beginner. Take one step at a time. When studying for the “Bar,” think of yourself as a beginner, someone who will take up a topic for the first time. You will be amazed by how much knowledge you will gain.

Tip 6: Write and make your own reviewer. We already know that writing by hand helps with memory

BULURAN-REYES retention. What’s also good is that you have your own notes of what you think will need reinforcement to remember.

Tip 7: Twice daily, answer a “Bar” question. It will help you gather thoughts, practice ALAC (Answer, Legal Basis, Analysis and Conclusion), as well as your use of grammar and punctuation marks.

Tip 8: Read the “Bar” Q&A from the past 10 years. It helps with building comprehension and spotting the issue in a question.

Tip 9: Give time for reading the “Last Minute Tips,” more so during the “Bar” week. Calendar it. I didn’t realize it took me 2 hours to read a 15-page LMT.

Tip 10: Pray, manifest, and believe in your capabilities. You didn’t make it this far just to not make it. You are more than ready!

All the best to our Bar exam reviewees!

Atty. Vhalerie S. Buluran-Reyes, who passed the 2020 to 2021 Bar exam with exemplary performance, is a senior associate in Isla Lipana & Co—the Philippine member-firm of the PwC Network. Her practice is in Corporate and Tax Law. A proud mother of two, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution ManagementHospitality Management track at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, and her Master of Marketing Communications and juris doctorate at the De La Salle University.

Tourism Editor: Edwin P. Sallan