DWCC @ 77: College Days 2023 makes a comeback

Withthe lightened pandemic restrictions allowing a plethora of in-person activities to be explored by every Divinista, Divine Word College of Calapan (DWCC) celebrated its 77th founding anniversary with the theme “DWCC @ 77: Pagyakap sa Hamon ng Makabagong Katotohanan” from April 13-16.

During this 4-day pause from the regular college schedule, events geared towards creativity and expression were displayed in the limelight.

The Miss DWCC took place the night before with the throne being passed to School of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts (SEAFA)’s queen, Andrea Ysabelle Aguirre Escarilla.

With the rise in popularity of Korean culture, especially that of K-pop, the first day officially began with a K-pop festival parade and the DANSIKLABAN –with Divinistas adorned in different themed K-pop outfits.

Still, the promotion of local culture and arts were at the forefront and were freely open to all, these included the museum tour, taruk dance, festival dance, beads making, Surat Mangyan, basket weaving, musical instrument, and creative book reading.

Managed by the fine arts class, Divinistas relished in a five-station art workshop featuring coffee-painting, watercolor painting, string pulling painting, pen & ink painting, and chalk art.

Sine Divinista also returned after 2 years with student-made films per department and with the Basic Education sector, showcasing the diverse range of acting, writing and producing for moviegoers to witness.

An E-games championship followed by the Campus Heartthrob 2023 concluded the first day.

Familiar Filipino games started the second day, and ultimately, Campus Hearts Club, Family Feud, Larong Divinista, and I Can See Your Voice.

Students who performed well in and out of the institution were congratulated in the Academic Awards and Recognition portion of the day.

Furthermore, to end it with a blast, the Student Affairs Office and Student Council organized the Hydro party, accompanied by the Battle of the Instruments and a foamy set-up.

Saturday was mainly for the administrators, alumni, and faculty with the GPTA Raffle and Testimonial Dinner for Board Passers, and Sunday was for a 4 am Color Fun Run.

The grounds were filled with booths headed by the different departments and organizations scattered around like the picture booth, marriage booth, face-painting booth, karaoke booth, and so on.

SCR slows down on first day, tech problems surge

In line with the implementation of RA 11934 or the SIM Registration Act, telecommunication companies experienced server issues and heavy online traffic upon signing up in the system in the first hours of mandatory Sim Card Registration (SCR), December 27.

SIM card users complained about the registration portals as soon as they access which many were not able to either successfully enter or sign up through the link.

Telecommunication companies such as Globe, Smart, and DITO turned up delays displaying prompts but remained firm in improving the registration process.Hours after, the Globe registration portal was removed to add the system’s new requirement, syncing a self-generated picture as issued by NTC

RESULTS:

and DICT.

PLDT and Smart Corporate emphasized that it will only take 3 minutes to register while, Smart told to public that it is working on its increasing capacity already. The act required subscribers to register phone numbers within 180 days from December 27; unlisted phone numbers will be automatically deactivated after a 120 days extension period.

Fr. Jun Vicente Castro, the Vice President for Administration called for stricter implementation of Fire Drill Simulation Activity and reiterated that it is within the institution’s capacity and capability to lessen the damages of possible disaster based on the evaluation and assessment.

According to the Vice President, the community should identify the situation, mark all possible activities that can occur, and provide better solutions after.

“It all starts with consciousness. I think we have to truly identify the situation”, he said in his speech during the evaluation.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) – Calapan City led the Fire Safety Orientation and Evaluation last September 23 at the College Gymnasium. There was also a simulation activity where a small fire was created on the 3rd floor of the academic building.

Fr. Jun also emphasized particularly the need to make sure that all staff has undergone such orientation. He denoted that in forums, the employees that were not able to attend must join the next seminar schedule.

He stressed that there are who does not care, because there is a failure of getting involved, “In seminar, mas maganda siguro, ‘yung nakaattend na rito, sa susunod na drill, ‘yung mga hindi naman nakakaattend - kasi pare-parehong lang tayo dito. Kaya maraming nananatiling walang pakialam dahil hindi nila nalalaman.”

“I think what is valuable in this moment is the feedback. 'Pag tayo ay wiling to correct ourselves, maraming magandang mangyayari. Pero 'pag wala tayong will, sarado tayo sa feedback, wala tayong improvement nyan,” Fr. Jun added while boasting institutions efforts in investing for disaster preparedness materials and precautionary measures equipment which was tested by the BFP already for certification purposes.

The institution's safety officer, Mr. Mario Espiritu, told TDG that it takes ‘calmness’ to be able to address and direct our focus in getting away with such a disaster, like fire.

He also reiterated the importance of putting a systematic structure in fire drills and orientations and wished to separate the emergency exit drill, which according to him should be done every semester, the fire drill, and the earthquake drill.

“Ang emergency exit drill ay dapat every semester, ganon din ang fire drill ay iba parin sa earthquake drill,” he added.

“Para hindi tayo mabibigla, dapat madevelop sa atin ang pagiging kalmado. Hindi tayo nagpapanic. Alam natin nang malinaw sa ating isip kung ano ang ating magiging reaksyon in case magkaroon ng anumang disaster dito sa school. Kaya nagkakaroon ng tayo ng drill, nilalagyan nating ng structure and movement ang lahat ng andito sa loob upang maiwasan pa natin ang pagkakaroon ng aksidente. Halimbawa ay di malinaw ang pageexit, na posibleng magkaroon ng stampede”, Mr. Edwin Escosora said in an interview.

The orientation and evaluation were participated by the representatives of all offices as well as the schools. Criminology students were present in the forum as well.

The drill also showed potential casualties who were rescued by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).

Armedwith pure expertise in the field, Divine Word College of Calapan Computer Engineering (DWCC CpE) students were hailed as overall champions in the Institute of Computer Engineers of the Philippines (ICpEP) Regional Online Computer Engineering Challenge, with the theme of “Transformational Solutions through Creative Innovations”, November 29-30.

In the breadboarding competition, Cris Jan Angcaco, Claire Calanog, and John Lester Magbuhos were still able to finish the given problems despite being first-timers. In the easy round, both teams accomplished the task. Still, in the middle of the rivalry, DWCC Team took the advantage after Mindoro State University (MinSU) failed to complete the average round and gain victory.

Angcaco said to TDG that being a pioneer is the most difficult challenge that they faced in the contest, pushing