UST approves F2F baccalaureate mass

UST approves F2F baccalaureate mass and graduation rites in June

Justine Olaguera

The Office of the Secretary General has announced that The University’s Crisis Management Committee approved the conduct of face-to-face graduation ceremonies and Baccalaureate Masses in June to be held at the Sampaloc campus for the first time after three years.

The in-person rites will be held for the Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 from tertiary, post-baccalaureate, and graduate levels. For the Senior High School graduates, only the Class of 2022 shall have in-person graduation. UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. said that the first batches, specifically Batch 2020 and 2021, had already virtual ceremonies.

Two Baccalaureate Masses will be held in June, specifically June 3 and 4. While solemn investiture rites will take place from June 6 to 30. The schedule varies depending on the college or faculty.

The University will not stage a firework display as this year’s mass will be “solemn and austere” according to the OSG.

During the graduation rites, only two companions will be allowed. Moreover, the University requires all attendees of in-person rites to be at least fully vaccinated.

Should there be changes in the alert level status in the National Capital Region (NCR), the University will reschedule the rites.

Coronel said, “Just in case magkaroon ng surge […] we will reschedule to the best possible schedule after that. So ngayon, buong June siya, baka maging July or kahit mag-opening na tayo ng [classes by] August, pwede pa naman n’un.”

In the Baccalaureate Mass, the students’ respective Type A uniforms shall be the default uniform requirement. For their togas, the graduating students will be asked for their measurements.

Photo From The Varsitarian

Presidential Aspirants Lens on Labor Sector Highlighted During the CNN Debate

Czarina Chescka Angela Bernardo

The Philippine presidential bets agreed on the need for reform in the health and labor sector but clashed on the proposed minimum wage during the CNN presidential debate last February 28, 2022.

A few days after Labor Day, where the rights of every Filipino worker are celebrated and remembered, only a few days are left before the 2022 Presidential Elections in the Philippines. Looking back on the CNN Presidential Debates, labor in the Philippines is one of the most talked-about and pressing issues that a president should be able to manage. This debate was attended by nine out of ten presidential candidates. Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was the only one unable to participate.

One of the topics about labor discussed was related to the issue in the health sector and the COVID-19 pandemic. As the working conditions for the medical frontliners and laborers continue to worsen, many Filipinos opted to work abroad due to better salaries, benefits, and other compensations. If this were to continue, the country’s labor supply for medical personnel would be negatively affected. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno argued that it is high time for us Filipinos, with the government’s initiative, to invest in the health sector and the overall quality of health in the country. If elected president, his first two years will be focused on health and livelihood, particularly for the displaced laborers unable to find jobs during the pandemic.

Senator Ping Lacson agrees with Moreno that salaries must be increased together with additional benefits to keep Filipino nurses in the Philippines. However, this is easier in public hospitals than in the private sector. Senator Manny Pacquiao added that once elected, he will automatically increase the salaries of healthcare workers in the Philippines so that laborers will be less tempted to work abroad and instead remain in the country with their families.

The next topic about labor discussed in the debate is the standardized and increased minimum wage proposed by the presidential bets. Labor leader Leody de Guzman proposed a seven-hundred and fifty pesos daily minimum wage for laborers. He stated statements from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) that prevailing minimum wage rates in the country are nowhere near livable due to the high prices of essential goods and commodities in the Philippines. His proposed minimum wage and additional benefits for laborers will strengthen and revitalize the economy due to increased economic consumption. On the other hand, Senator Pacquiao suggests a twenty to thirty thousand monthly minimum wage.

However, Dr. Jose Montemayor asked De Guzman if his proposed salary considers the employers and the businesses in charge of giving the wages. De Guzman further rebuts that laborers deserve a comfortable and good quality of life.

Photo from Rappler

Pfizer: Covid vaccine for all variants possible before 2023

Justine Olaguera

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla told on Wednesday at a media briefing organized by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) that the company could possibly develop a COVID-19 vaccine effective against all variants before the end of 2022.

Bourla said that the company was also aiming for manufacturing a vaccine that could perhaps last for a whole year and offer protection to people. According to him, it is “technically very challenging to do it with its virus. But we are working on it.” Additionally, this will become the “optimal public health solution.” It has seen that vaccines that will be taken annually are likely more significantly easy to be administered.

“You don’t have to do different vaccines for different variants… I hope clearly by autumn… that we could have a vaccine” that is effective against multiple variants, including the dominant Omicron, he said.

“It is a possibility that we have it by then. It is not a certainty,” Bourla said.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is known to be one of the most effective against COVID-19. However, like other vaccines, the efficacy rate declined over time.

Despite that, it still provides strong protection against serious illnesses, hospitalization, and death.

COVID Resurgence possible says Expert

Jelo Juan

Crowd gather near the Office of Comelec in Intramuros, on May10, 2022, Tuesday morning. (Photo from the Manila Police Department Public Information Office via Inquirer.net)

Manila, Philippines - The possibility of a surge in COVID-19 cases has been expected due to the election activities, an expert says. As the polls last May 9 opened, voters have yet to comply with different health protocols due to the massive number of voters, which may cause a surge of the Omicron variants after 1 to 2 weeks.

Dr. Rontgene Solante, head of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Section at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila and a member of the vaccine expert panel of the government, urged voters should monitor themselves for symptoms and signs of infection as the polling precincts could not strictly observe health protocols.

“Sa dami ng superspreader events for the last 2 weeks at meron pa ring community transmission ang omicron variant na napakataas ang hawaan, expected ‘yan na meron talagang uptick ng cases within the first week or the 2nd week after ng election,” the expert said. It takes an average of three to five days after the exposure for the symptoms to appear due to COVID-19’s incubation period, which is why the expert recommends voters to closely monitor themselves who were heavily exposed last May 9 to count five to seven days as symptoms may appear next week.

Polling precincts, which are usually classrooms, are known to have poor ventilation in which an infected person with mild symptoms can infect five to eight other people once they remove their mask, Solante added.

“If that’s the scenario, there will really be a possibility of transmission and that is really worrying [because] this type of event can be a superspreader event,” he said.

The expert says that if we do not see a huge spike in cases in the following week, it means that the protection rate and the vaccine movement has been successful and strong so far.

“If we’re OK after two weeks, then hopefully we can continue being so. But we should also continue to be vigilant in our health protocols and vaccination drive,” Solante said.

Solante also reminded everyone that Omicron subvariants have high transmissibility rates and the ability to bypass the protection that a vaccine provides, which may cause spikes in cases in other countries. This is why he is urging for booster shots to be taken by everyone eligible in the event that other variants were to enter the country.

“Our objective is to increase first booster shot coverage among the [eligible] population. Because based on data, if you already got the first booster or third dose, there’s a big chance of [you] getting protection, even with these subvariants, against severe disease,” he said.

Putin rejoices at Russia’s Victory Day celebrations despite massive losses

Moses Montalvo

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes anniversaries very seriously. His invasion of Ukraine happened a day after Defender of the Fatherland Day, a commemoration of Russia’s military achievements. Putin took the first move towards annexing Crimea from Ukraine on the same day in 2014 through organized pro-Russian protests on the peninsula. On Monday, the country’s most patriotic day, the Soviet Union’s participation in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, was commemorated when Germany signed its Instrument of Surrender in Berlin, ending the combat in Europe, on May 8, 1945 (May 9 in Moscow’s time zone).

Russia’s argument for war in Ukraine implied a Victory Day timetable for victory. Putin and his government have repeatedly stated that the goal of their so-called “special operation” is to “denazify” Ukraine and that removing Nazis from the nation is a matter of Russian existence. It’s a meaningless argument, a transparent cloak for Russian revanchism. Even with the massive weapons the West is bringing in, Russia’s military outnumbers Ukraine’s in every way.

Ukraine’s military forces allege that Russia has lost more than 24,000 men, 1,000 tanks, 2,600 armored vehicles, and hundreds of aircraft in just over two months. CNN cannot independently verify these figures, and the Ukrainian side is sure to suffer significant losses as well. Even still, Russia’s military is undeniably weaker. Even though Russia’s military outnumbers Ukraine’s in every manner, it has failed to conquer land in the north, let alone the capital, Kyiv, and is failing to make gains even in the east, where it is now concentrating its efforts.

Russian gains have been limited even in the east, where Russian forces are attempting to march across the Donbas region. For years, pro-Russian rebels have been stationed in the self-declared separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, but Russia has yet to annex those territories, and its forces are battling to overcome robust Ukrainian resistance in major cities.

Photo from Getty Images