UP News May-June 2013

Vol.xxxiv no. 5 diliman quezon city May-June 2013 2013

U.P.News

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University of the Philippines Community Newspaper

Photo by Jun Madrid

Timor Leste PM visits UP, urges world peace Timor Leste ‘freedom fighter’ turned Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao shared his personal feelings about peace and world order during a recent visit to the University of the Philippines.

Gusmao, who was on a tour to promote his country, was invited to the College of Law by the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) last June 7.

The two institutions were instrumental in bringing about international support for the Timor Leste independence movement.

Gusmao, himself a former political prisoner, talked on “Peace and Reconciliation: Timor Leste Now and Then” in the same venue in 1994 where an international group of 130 people gathered around for a meeting called “Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timor” to urge the Indonesian government to release Gusmao, and threw their support behind the struggle for the East Timor independence.

The recent event was attended by some original members of the group, including Fernando Peña and Augusto Miclat Jr., IID chair and executive director, respectively.

In his welcome address, UP president Alfredo Pascual recounted numerous

Photo by Bong Arboleda

By Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc

UP Alumnus Woodbury University President comes home

By Andre Encarnacion

“As an “iskolar ng bayan,” I have returned to the Philippines intermittently since 1988 and every year since 1995 to give back (what I gained here).”

Dr. Luis Ma. Calingo, the first Filipino president of the 128-year-old Woodbury University in the United States, made this revelation in remarks during his visit to UP Diliman last June 21.

Calingo earned both a BS in Industrial Engineering and master's degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from UP IID Chair Fernando Peña ushers in the East Timor Prime Minister, who was welcomed by UP Diliman. He also holds both an MBA President Alfredo Pascual, to the lobby of Malcolm Hall, UP Diliman. and PhD degree from the University of instances when Filipino advocates and In his speech, Gusmao called for more Pittsburgh.

B e f o r e j o i n i n g Wo o d b u r y experts helped Timor Leste “carve a place equality among nations, and for the lessin the community of nations.” developed nations to be truly independent University as its 13th president, Calingo served as executive vice president and chief Timor Leste is now one of the fastest- in the global community. growing economies of the world.

He decried a global hegemony with academic officer at Dominican University.

Joined by his wife Gemeline, Pascual assured Gusmao that UP poor nations succumbing to the will of the would continue supporting Timor Leste’s more powerful ones that were unmindful Calingo called on UP president Alfredo Pascual who later hosted a luncheon endeavors. of special needs of other states.

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Photo from abscbnpr.com

Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) chief executive officer (CEO) Darlene Marie Berberabe of the, commonly known as the Pag-IBIG Fund in the Philippines, is this year’s CEO-of-theYear awardee of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).

Berberabe, a lawyer, was cited for her exceptional leadership at the HDMF, also known Pag-IBIG Fund, and reputedly the country’s premier national savings program. The Fund is also said to be the answer to the need for affordable shelter financing for ordinary Filipino workers.

The award was given during the Welcome Reception and Awards Night held last May 22 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in conjunction with the ADFIAP Annual Meetings.

Under her leadership, Pag-IBIG

Photo by Bong Arboleda

Atty. Berberabe, CEO-of-the-Year

Freshmen welcome assembly

To give the newest Scholars of the People a glimpse of university life, the entire UP community greeted the Freshies of 2013 with inspirational messages, songs and performances last June 10 at the University Theater, UP Diliman, Quezon City.

doubled its home loan cap from P3 million to P6 million without increasing the members’ P100-monthly contribution/ savings. The agency also introduced a socialized housing program that fits the needs of minimum wage earners with the lowest interest ever offered in the entire history of the agency – 4.5 per year, guaranteed for 10 years.

Berberabe also embarked on an intensified membership recruitment campaign Instead of increasing the members’ monthly mandatory saving contribution.

The Fund forged ties with government and private institutions to extend the coverage of Pag-IBIG fund to all sectors of the national workforce.

Local government units (LGUs) now require all employers to register their workers with the HDMF before they could start operating. The Fund also inked an agreement with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to facilitate the registration of overseas Filipino workers as Fund members.

To generate membership with the Fund, Berberabe also initiated partnerships with various associations of public utility vehicle drivers and household service providers, who were among the lowest paid in the country’s workforce.

In 2012, Pag-IBIG posted tremendous growth, with home loan approvals rising by 12 percent from the previous year’s figures, representing P42.8 billion in home

financing to create 60,883 units. Calamity loans also registered a 102 percent increase in borrowers volume from 312,286 in 2011 to 631,426 by end-2012.

Disbursements totaled P12.4 billion for the year – the highest since 2009.

Berberabe’s management savvy was regarded as a game changer in the country’s home mortgage industry.

With her unquestionable integrity and outstanding achievements, the University of the Philippines (UP)-educated lawyer was deemed deserving of the acclaim and recognition of the ADFIAP Award for her vision and her many worthy accomplishments in her institution. http://www.adfiap.org/news/msberberabe-ceo-of-the-year/

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may-june 2013

Philippine education goes Google!

By Ronald S. Lim

Last week, the entire University of the Philippines system entered into a partnership that put them at par with some of the best universities all over the world -from Georgetown University in the United States, to the University of Westminster in Britain, to Monash University in Australia.

At an event dubbed “Going UP with Google”, the country’s premier state university announced its adoption of Google Apps for Education throughout the UP system of campuses nationwide.

Google Apps for Education is a suite of free online productivity and collaboration

tools that the Internet giant offers to various academic institutions all over the world.

With the partnership, more than 70,000 students, faculty, staff and alumni of the University of the Philippines are expected to enjoy 30GB of inbox space, greater file sharing capacity, as well as a supportive environment for online collaboration. The applications that the University of the Philippines is expected to enjoy include GMail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Drive, and Google sites, all of which will be personalized for the university.

“We welcome the chance to utilize new and engaging ways to work in the offices and the classrooms of the university,” remarked Dr. Elvira A. Zamora, vice president for development of the UP System. “These tools encourage sharing and group work online. It will open up more avenues for sharing among campuses. We can use this to generate solution to persistent problems we are all aware of.”

The project is part of UP’s University of the Philippines executives and Janet Yoon, head of Google Apps Supporting Program for the Philippines (third from left, standing), celebrate the premier state university’s adoption of Google Apps for eUP prog ram, which seeks Education. Also in photo are (seated, from left) UP Open University Chancellor Grace Javier Alfonso; UP to integrate, harmonize, and Vice President for Development Elvira A. Zamora; UP Mindanao Chancellor Sylvia Concepcion; UP Los Banos Human Ecology Dean Maritess Gatchalian-Yee; (standing, from left) UP Cebu Professor Jocelyn interoperate Information and Pinzon, Former GE Chair of the Arts and Humanities Cluster; UP Cebu High School Principal Aurelio Communication Technolog y Vilbar; Google Asia representative Janet Yoon; UP Diliman Film Professor Arminda Vallejo-Santiago; (ICT) systems and infrastructure Assistant Vice President for Development Jaime D.L. Caro; Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs across all universities of the UP Jose Wendell P. Capili.

System.

Phl to get ‘supercomputer’ supercomputer is our concrete contribution [in advancing] R&D initiatives in the country,” she added.

The DOST and IBM will collaborate on how the supercomputer can complement the department’s Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) project, the government’s flagship program and integrated information system for disaster mitigation and climate change.

The supercomputer will enable local scientists to process and gain insights from the massive data collected; produce faster, more accurate forecasts; and improve localized weather predictions for the country.

The country was expected to benefit greatly from this project once completed, as citizens and various government agencies can better prepare emergency-response programs in cases of typhoons and other natural calamities.

“The IBM Blue Gene supercomputer will be most applicable to DOST’s major programs such as NOAH and Smart Agriculture,” DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said.

“First we will work toward Blue Gene’s integration into Project NOAH to provide more advanced seven-day local-weather forecasts. We can also use it to run various weather models and validate the accuracy of results in almost real time,” he said.

“Smart Agriculture, the newest flagship program of the DOST, will also gain from our newest supercomputing capability in modeling climate-change scenarios, building a database for agricultural-land use, and computing for monthly irrigation requirements per province,” Montejo added.

Other possible projects to be aided by the supercomputer included flood management and genomics. http://businessmir ror.com.ph/ index.php/features/science/13618dost-bolsters-r-d-capabilities-with-ibmsupercomputer

UP isn’t alone in this endeavor either.

The Commission of Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Education (DepEd) have already adopted the system last year, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) adopted it earlier this year, effectively making the entire education department

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

During the launch, Sandra Lovenia of the Ateneo de Manila University’s (ADMU) Department of Information Systems and Computer Science recalled the experience that ADMU had when it adopted Google Apps for Education.

“We actually had two phases of using PAGE

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The Philippines will soon get a so-called “supercomputer” meant to bolster the government’s priority research and development (R&D) projects in such concerns as poverty alleviation, improvement of bureaucratic tools and processes, and upgrading of weather forecasting and management systems.

Called IBM Blue Gene, the supercomputer was expected to provide high-performance computing capabilities to help develop practical solutions addressing the country’s basic problems.

A priority project on weather gets the first crack at the supercomputer, the acquisition of which is deemed a significant milestone in the country’s governmentprivate-academe collaboration for national development.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the University of the Philippines and IBM announced last May 16 that the country will soon acquire the world-renowned IBM Blue Gene in support of key R&D projects identified under the National Economic and Development Authority’s Medium Term Development Plan.

The gadget is seen as a platform for select R&D projects that are aligned with the country’s efforts to boost poverty alleviation, along with transparency in government; rapid, inclusive and sustained economic growth; peace and order; and environment and climate-change mitigation.

“This is a direct result of the agreement between the DOST and IBM in May 2012 to jointly build a Philippine Systems and Technology R&D Lab to help accelerate national economic growth,” said Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, president and country general manager of IBM Philippines.

“It is IBM’s response to President Aquino’s call for support to R&D projects to enable transformation and progress in the country. The IBM Blue Gene

NOT ALONE

of the Philippines users of the Google suite of apps.

Also adopting Google Apps for Education alongside UP were Adamson University, Asian Institute of Maritime Studies, Ateneo de Zamboanga, Berkeley School, Eastern Visayas State University, Educational Systems Technological Institute, Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology, Immaculate Conception Academy, La Salle University-Ozamiz, Miriam College, Rizal Technological University, Siliman University, St. Paul University, St. Scholastica’s College, and University of San Juan Recoletos.

Other universities that have already adopted Google Apps for Education, or are in the process of adopting it, include AMA Computer University, Angeles University Foundation, Assumption College, Ateneo de Manila University, Baguio Patriotic School, Bicol University, Cebu Institute of Technology University, Centro Escolar University, Colegio De San Juan De Letran, De La Salle Santiago Zobel, Lyceum of the Philippines, Mapua Institute of Technology, Mindanao University of Science and Technology, Misamis University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Philippine Christian University, Philippine Women’s University, San Sebastian CollegeRecoletos, St. Joseph’s College, St. Jude College, STI, Technological Institute of the Philippines, University of Baguio, Universidad de Zamboanga, University of Perpetual Health System Dalta, University of the East, University of Santo Tomas ICS Department, and St. Louis University.

UP as venue of Pride. Rainbow colors mark photos taken on June 27 of the UP Pride March 2013, at the Oblation Plaza, Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City. Organized by the UP Babaylan and supported by several on and off campus organizations, the march is one of a series of activities celebrating Pride Week in the university. For more details, please visit the UP Babaylan Page (https://www.facebook.com/upbabaylan).

may-june 2013

By Leonard T. Pineda I

ILOILO CITY(PIA) , May 15 - The Climate Change Commission (CCC) has forged a partnership with the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) in management of disaster risks and adaptation of the impact of climate change vis-a-vis sustainable development.

In a statement, the CCC recognized the UPV as a leading academic institution that would collaborate with the agency to raise the capacity of key local players in the cities and municipalities within the Jalaur River Basin in Iloilo in disaster risks reduction and climate change adaptation.

The UPV said that as part of this collaboration, five representatives from the university participated in the training of trainers on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation held recently in Tagaytay City for the benefit of local stakeholders in the Cagayan and Jalaur River Basins.

The capacity-building exercise aimed to ensure that people, institutions, structures and government are better prepared to and cope with disasters, while at the same time working towards reducing risks and building the people’s capability to overcome such challenges.

The UPV team was led by Prof.

Nestor Yunque, UPV’s vice chancellor for administration, along with two faculty members, a university research associate, and the chief of the campus and maintenance development office.

Implementation of the partnership is part of a project dubbed as “Resilience Capacity Building for Cities and Municipalities to Reduce Disaster Risks from Climate Change and Natural Hazards,” supported by the United Nations Development Program.

T he three-year project is also being funded by the New Zealand Aid Program.

The CCC, which operates under the Office of the President, is the lead policymaking body tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government concerning climate change issues. (JCM/LTP/PIA-Iloilo) http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index. php?article=2421368589591

Phl gets first disaster damagesetting computer Employing the infinite power of computers, Philippine authorities may yet be able to predict with some degree of accuracy the cost of potential damage to property brought about by natural calamities such as typhoons, floods, and earthquakes.

T his developed following the signing of a four-party memorandum of Understanding (MOU) providing for the adoption of a precedent-setting computer-assisted “catastrophe (CAT) model” capable of estimating the cost of potential damages to buildings and other structures arising from such phenomena as earthquakes, hurricanes, and typhoons which may in turn be used as benchmarks for setting non-life insurance premiums.

Signatories to the MOU forged last May 29 were the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) , the Insurance Commission (IC), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology

UP, Climate Change Commission to work closely for a climate change resilient Philippines

by KIM Quilinguing

William D. Dar, Director-General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), has received the M.S. Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture for 2013.

The award was presented to Dar by K. Kasturirangan, Member (Science), Planning Commission, in New Delhi today. An excerpt from the award citation states, “His work has created great impact on the lives of resource poor farmers. Dar has also actively promoted Public-Private-Farmer partnership linking strongly the end users

with the National Agricultural Research System as well as International Agricultural Research Centers.” William Dollente Dar is a citizen of the Philippines and received his doctoral degree from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Prior to joining ICRISAT, he had served as Advisor to the President of the Philippines.

(This article was published on June 24, 2013) http://www.thehindubusinessline. com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/ award-for-icrisat-chief/article4846944.ece

with providing a unique and distinguished leadership role in higher education and development, UP is ready to assist CCC (Climate Change Commission) in its efforts to combat the effects of climate change by harnessing UP’s expertise from all across the System”, Pascual added.

Prior to this MOA signing, UP had undertaken several activities geared towards the study of climate change and its consequences on the country’s biodiversity and population. Among the projects launched under the administration of President Alfredo Pascual are: the 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition, which mapped out terrestrial and marine biodiversity and the effects of climate change on these organisms; the Indigenous Communities’ Conserved Areas (ICCA) National Conference in 2012, where academicians and representatives of the indigenous called for the recognition of indigenous communities conserved areas and ancestral domains and its protection from the effects of climate change and corporate encroachment.

Ke y i n i t i a t ive s o f t h e A q u i n o administration, such as Project NOAH, also involve UP experts in the mapping and monitoring of weather patterns as well as hazardous areas in the country; and the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) program, which uses Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to prepare much more detailed topographical maps of the country are used for disaster risk reduction management programs.

The university has also taken the lead in the adoption and promotion of environment-conscious policies and practices. Green UP, which is among the university’s flagship projects provides for the use as well as design, of energy-efficient and environment-friendly measures and structures in UP’s units. The new UP Integrated School (UPIS) building in UP Diliman, which maximizes natural light and ventilation, uses environment-conscious building techniques reducing energy and water consumption.

With the signing of this agreement with the commission, the university’s experts, working with the commission in capacitybuilding trainings in the communities, will be able to share their knowledge and expertise in fields such as geology, engineering, urban planning, environmental management, disaster risk reduction and management, as well as hygiene, child and maternal care and food security. Their involvement with the CCC, as well as with the communities they will be training, is a testament to the continuing fulfillment of the university’s mandate to provide its unique and distinctive role in higher education and development.

(PHIVOLCS), and the Philippine Insurers & Reinsurers Association (PIRA);.

The accord provided for collaboration in the conduct of “research work and parallel studies on earthquake, fire, flood, severe wind and other hazards intended as inputs to the build-up of data for the government’s Risk Mitigation/Assessment and Risk

Reduction Management Programs.”

At present, all buildings in UPD are insured under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), a standard procedure for all government owned structures.

Chancellor Caesar Saloma represented UPD at the MOU signing, while Emmanuel

Dooc, Dr. Renato Solidum and Emmanuel Que represented IC, PHILVOCS and PIRA, respectively.

Witnessing the event were Dr. Benito M. Pacheco, UPD Vice Chancellor for Research and Development; Dr. Aura Matias, dean of UPD CoE; and officials from IC and PIRA. — ACG

Photo by El Bacani (UPSIO)

CCC-UPV tieup in disaster risk management

U.P. News 3

Among the key personalities during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between UP and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) on June 19, at the Board of Regents Room, Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City are (top photo) CCC Climate Change Office Deputy Executive Director Joyceline Goco, CCC Vice Chair and Commissioner Mary Ann Lucille Sering, GIZ’s Dr. Bernd Markus Liss, UP President Alfredo Pascual and UP Vice President for Public Affairs J. Prospero De Vera III. Also present were UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Gisela Concepcion and UP Los Baños Chancellor Rex Victor Cruz.

As tropical cyclone Emong brings rains and floods to the country, the University of the Philippines and the Climate Change Commission signed a Memorandum of Agreement on June 19, at the Board Room, Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City to jointly work together for a climate resilient Philippines. The memorandum brings together the expertise, resources, and networks of the two institutions to strengthen the capacity of communities all over the country to the address the effects of climate change.

This is the first time that the UP mobilizes it seven constituent units, 1 constituent college and 17 campuses to work hand-in-hand with an agency of government dedicated to the study and recommendation of solutions to the changing patterns of weather and the environment.

UP has been aggressively partnering with key agencies and media networks to implement its public service mandate.

The university earlier forged memoranda

with government institutions such as the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC); as well as private institutions like ABS-CBN Corporation, in the interest of pursuing its mandate of providing public service through the extension of its expertise in fields such as economics, agriculture, health, sociology, and public administration.

UP President Alfredo Pascual succinctly captured the essence of the university’s involvement when he said “Many of our faculty members are very visible in sharing their expertise in both natural and mamade disasters that hit our country. From the devastation of typhoon Sendong in Mindanao to the oil and gas leaks in Makati and the Bonifacio Global City. From making available flood maps online so communities can go to safer grounds, to providing health care in evacuation centers.”

As the National University tasked

Award for Icrisat chief

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may-june 2013

US marine bio expert sounds alarm vs death threats to Phl coral reefs

By Andre Encarnacion

Photo fby Jun Madrid

“This is not a surprise to all of you.

I'm sure you're all proud that the Philippines has the most diverse coral reefs of any country on the planet.”

This bit of trivia came from marine biodiversity expert Dr. Nancy Knowlton, the Sant Chair for Marine Science at the American Smithsonian National Mueseum of Natural History.

At the same time, Knowlton gave an alarming assessment of an impending disaster that could potentially wipe out the country’s rich coral resources unless decisive steps are taken in time to ward off the calamity.

Knowlton was main speaker at a roundtable discussion dubbed “Making Dr. Nancy Knowlton (L) of the Smithsonian Institution exchanges views with Dr. Edgardo Gomez Marine Biodiversity a Priority for US- (R) of the UP Marine Science Institute and the rest of the panel on the protection of Philippine coral reefs at the UP-MSI in UP Diliman.

Philippine Research,” held at the Marine Science Institute in UP Diliman last June she said. nothing is done to reverse these trends.”

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Knowlton added that not only are What's even worse is that far from In her lecture, Knowlton zeroed scientists limited in their knowledge of how being an isolated problem, Knowlton and in on two critical observations during her many species are there in the oceans, they her Philippine counterparts reported that a trip to the Philippines. The first focused are also constantly discovering new things vast majority of reefs in the country are in on how rich the marine biodiversity in the about what these species actually do in their a similar state.

Philippines actually is, most especially in environments.

She cited a study done by a coral reefs, and second, how important it is “The other thing I would say is that certain Dr. Ed Gomez which showed to increase the limited knowledge scientists we know very little of what the vast majority that as early as 1994, 75 percent of the have about reef biodiversity. of these species are doing. And most of reefs in the country were in either fair or “I'm at least a part-time taxonomist,” these are based on taxonomic estimates. poor condition. Despite the presence of Knowlton said, “so I have some feelings for (Taxonomists) are people who work on a few marine protected areas (MPAs), the the information we actually have on these figuring out how many species there are, situation would remain dire if larger scale groups, and I have to tell you, it's relatively but they are not typically ecologists. So solutions are not found. limited.” they don't really study what these species Despite the g rim situation, As an example of how much are doing in their natural environment,” Knowlton still sees hope. Recalling her her colleagues are still learning about Knowlton explained. dive in Batangas, she noted that amidst biodiversity in the Philippines, she cited a According to Knowlton, it was of the “bombed out” appearance of the reef paper she read while researching about the primary importance to acquire more data in general, she saw a spot the size of the country's coral reefs. In this study, what on biodiversity, and toward this end, to event's auditorium that had “more coral was once believed to be a single species of develop more sophisticated methods of species than those that exist in the entire seaweed was eventually discovered to be 21 extracting these data.

Caribbean”. different species in the Philippines alone.

“These reefs in this region are “Most of the pieces are still there,” “To the extent that you have that dying,” she added. “And (Licuanan) told she said on a chance to turn things around. kind of uncertainty – one species turning me that when he takes his students to the “But it's living on borrowed time. And there into 21 different species, from actually what reefs, he says to them: 'say goodbye to these is no way that conservation in the Philippine was a relatively limited number of samples, reefs because they'll be gone in 10 to 15 context is going to work, unless it's really gives you a feeling of the scale of the years.' And I think he is not overly dramatic. scaled up to a level that I'm not sure is really uncertainty of these biodiversity estimates,” Those reefs will be gone in 10 to 15 years if being contemplated.”

Lopez Group grants P13M to seven disaster risk research projects By Paul Anthony A. Isla The country’s disaster risk management program gained added momentum following the grant of P13-million financing aid by the Oscar M. Lopez Center (OMLC) for seven research projects proposed by three leading universities based in Metro Manila.

The Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation Inc. (OML Center) said on Friday it awarded research grants to the seven projects aimed at mitigating climate change.

The proponents—University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University (DLSU)—received a total of P13 million in funding for project proposals.

UP’s three proposed projects were combined into one program called “Whatsup” designed to develop weather and hazard alert and tracking system for urban areas through the use of mobile applications. Practically anybody who owns a mobile phone would be able to forecast and monitor local weather conditions, assess disaster risks, and provide feedback to minimize forecasting errors.

One of DLSU’s proposed projects involve putting up a flood-detector system in three chosen areas, and develop a guidebook containing the impact of climate-change adaptation and mitigation measures applicable to the agriculture sector.

Another project calls for the design of a car flotation system that would enable cars to float on floodwaters.

DLSU’s third proposal involves the design of a mathematical model that can predict the economic consequences of man-made and natural disasters. The model which they intend to post online can be used by any government agency, non-governmental organizations or private firms in developing policies and measures to mitigate risks.

The OML Center said Ateneo’s project seeks to reduce risks through the development of an evidence and space-based decision support for Climate Change AdaptationDisaster Risk Reduction Management. ”The OML Center aims to be a leading catalyst for generating science-based solutions to climate- related risks and disasters in the developing world,”, OML chair Federico Lopez said.

He noted that while billions of pesos worth of resources were being allocated to build the resilience of communities to climate related risks, there was less support for generating scientific information that could lead to long-term, practical and sustainable solutions to climate change.

“We will support applied research with practical outcomes to help the most vulnerable (sector) deal with the impacts of climate change and natural disasters,” Lopez said.

‘Sun block’ for crops introduced in UPLB

By Maricar Cinco Inquirer Southern Luzon

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—A crop sun block? Why not?

Grade school science taught us how plants needed sunlight for food production, but too much exposure, as it is for humans, does more harm than good.

Sinochem Philippines, a member of the Chinese state-owned corporation Sinochem Group, on Wednesday launched Purshade, a calcium-based plant protectant described to be effective against “solar stress.”

Basically, “it’s like sun block for the plants,” said Sincohem Philippines country director Bernard Canapi, following a product launch and demo at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus here.

Purshade is 62-percent calcium carbonate, which is sprayed on crops and for ms a protective film against ultraviolet and infrared rays from the sun while allowing “photosynthetic” light to penetrate the plants, its product brochure said.

The product is 100-percent organic, with ingredients commonly used in medicines, toothpaste and preservatives, the brochure said.

In the Philippines, Canapi said the product was first tested in corn plantations in Pangasinan and Isabela over long periods of drought last year.

The field trials, he said, showed a 15-20 percent increase in yield.

“Too much sun exposure affects the plant’s moisture, hence the farmer ends up spending more for irrigation,” said Sinochem Philippines brand manager Katherine Ramos.

The company also launched Roundup Toboplus, an herbicide that its manufacturer said would not be “easily washed away by rain,” Ramos said.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer. n e t / 4 3 4 9 2 7 / s u n - b l o ck - f o r- c r o p s introduced-in-uplb#ixzz2Y6vjYx00

P30M set for sugar research The Department of Science and Technology, the Sugar Regulatory Administration, University of the Philippines-Los Baños and the Philippine Sugar Research Institute will pour in P30 million for a research program that would easily detect diseases in sugarcane.

Oscar Gil Ascalon, who is also assistant to the chief operating officer of Philsurin, said yesterday that they have signed a memorandum of agreement for the formal launch of the project this year.

Ascalon said the research will get DNA samples of a specific sugarcane variety while the plant is still under quarantine.

Philsurin presented six new varieties of sugarcane to the farmers during the field day of the research institute in Hacienda Bearin in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental yesterday.

Ascalon said that since the research institute was established, they have bred about 18 varieties of sugarcane.

He said they are also importing other sugarcane varieties from China, Vietnam, Mauritius, States and Australia.

Before Philsurin release a new variety of sugarcane, they make sure that they are suitable for a specific area, he said.

Meanwhile, sugarcane planters in Negros Occidental should brace for the effect of the impending decrease of tariff on sugar importation by 5 percent in 2015.

Francis de la Rama, a trustee of Philsurin, said they are ready to take on the challenge of bringing down the cost and maintain the production so they could continue to compete with the world market.

Pablo Azcona, a Philsurin trustee, said the decrease on tariff will lead to lower prices of sugar and to fight this, sugarcane planters need to be more productive.

Underthe ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement, tariff on imported sugar entering the country dropped from 38 percent last year to 28 percent this year.

It will further drop to 18 percent in 2013, 10 percent in 2014 and 5 percent in 2015.*APN http://www.visayandailystar. com/2013/July/04/businessnews2. htm

may-june 2013

Pascual bats for excellent customer/ public service

UP Regents hike students’ loan rates

By Rene Estremera

University of the Philippines (UP) president Alfredo Pascual has issued an

order empowering heads of constituent units to approve student loans with

Photo by Bong Arboleda

By Joanna Rose T. Laddaran

University of the Philippines (UP) president Alfredo Pascual has underscored the importance of pursuing academic and operational excellence in line with the school’s vision of becoming a great university.

Speaking at the recently concluded twoday seminar dubbed “Customer Service Excellence: Courtesy and Effective Public Service,” Pascual said having excellent faculty and students is not enough and that even the administrative staff have an important role in creating an enabling environment.

The UP Office of the President, Office of the Vice-President for Administration and ISSI jointly spearheaded the seminar, subtitled Kawani ng Bayan: Tatak UP – Magalang, Mahusay, at May Malasakit (Public Ser vants: The UP Mark – Courteous, Excellent and Concerned) last Thursday and Friday, May 23 and 24, at the UP ISSI Teodoro Room with a total of 95 participants in attendance.

In his speech, Pascual cited Republic Act 6713, also called the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees which mandates that public servants should know the job they are doing, and that service must be done, not because it is a requirement, but because public servants enjoy doing it.

At the end of his talk, Pascual urged the seminar participants to share with others what they learned from the exercise.

Meanwhile, UP assistant vice-president for administrative affairs and concurrently UP ISSI director Prof. Nestor Rañeses noted that one of the forum’s objectives was to train the frontline UP System offices the value of courtesy and public service by keeping in mind that “excellence

President Alfredo Pascual speaks at the Customer Service Excellence seminar. With him on the panel are Vice President for Administration Maragtas Amante and Assistant Vice President for Administration and ISSI Director Nestor Rañeses.

is a habit.”

“We are here because we want to serve our customers and because we love UP,” Raneses stressed.

Other resource speakers at the seminar were Teresa Bagaman of Globe Telecommunications, Chit Ventura of Investors in People Consultancy, and Dr. Belen Calingacion of the UP College of Arts and Letters’ Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts.

The participants during the forum were composed of the frontline UP System offices, namely, the Center for Women Studies, Center for Integrated Development Studies, Executive House, Human Resources Development Office, Office of Admissions, Office of Alumni Relations, Office of Institutional Linkages, Office of Scholarships and Student Services, Office of the Secretary of the University, Office of the University Registrar, Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice President for Administration, Office of

the Vice President for Development, Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs, Office of the Vice President for Planning and Finance, Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs, Philippine General Hospital, System Accounting Office, System Budget Office, System Information Office, System Supply and Property Management Office, Technology Transfer and Business Development, UP Diliman, UP Information Technology Development Center, UP ISSI, UP Los Baños, UP Manila, UP Padayon, and UP Press.

The seminar ended with an acclamation from the UP vice-president for administrative affairs Dr. Maragtas Amante: “Magalang, mahusay, may malasakit tayong lahat [We are all courteous, excellent and concerned!” He also urged the participants to pursue excellent public service by working closely together.

UP ISSI’s Crispina B. Almonte acted as moderator in the open forums during the two-day seminar.

Performance Based Bonus, Wala pa rin

Wala pa ring katiyakan kung kailan maibibigay ang ipinangako ng gobyernong Aquino na Perfomance Based Bonus (PBB) para sa mga kawani ng gobyerno.

Ang PBB ay ipinangalandakang bagong

Height Requirement sa mga Security Guards, binatikos ng unyon

Dahil panahon na naman ng pagpapalit ng mga agency ng mga security personnel, naglabas ng bagong requirements para sa pagrerenew ng mga security guards sa UP Diliman campus. Base sa bagong requirement, ang mga lady guards ay kinakailangang may minimum height na

By Lyncen M. Fernandez

5’2” upang ma absorb ng mga bagong agency. Binatikos at tinutulan ito ng unyon dahil ito ay isang porma ng diskriminasyon at naniniwala tayo na walang kinalaman ang naturang arbitraryong pagtatakda ng height sa paggampang mabuti sa kanilang gawain. Maraming maaapektuhan sa naturang requirement at karamihan pa sa kanila ay matagal na naglilingkod sa UP. Ang usapin ng seguridad sa campus ay tinitignan natin na hindi mareresolba sa pagpapalit lamang nang height requirement bagkus ay sa patuloy na pagiging vigilant sa pagprotekta sa seguridad nang buong campus.

Demolisyon at Pagdemonize sa mga maralitang tagalungsod, hindi makatarungan

Kasama ang ating unyon sa mga tumututol sa demolisyon at pagdemonize, o pagpapalaganap ng masamang imahe, ng mga maralitang taga-lungsod. Hindi makatarungan na ituring na gawaing masama ang pagiging maralita sa lungsod.

Karamihan sa mga taong ito ay katulad rin natin na naghahanap lamang ng matitirahan sa lugar kung saan may mas PAGE

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Photo courtesy of UPV-IPO

Inaprubahan noong Hunyo 20 BOR Meeting ang kahilingan na maisama ang mga nagretirong kawani at REPS mula Enero 2011-Marso 2011 sa makakatanggap ng Service Recognition Pay (SRP). Kung matatandaan, matapos ang mahabang panahon ng paggiit natin na tayo ay mapagkalooban ng kahalintulad na biyaya na tinatangap ng faculty (15 days additional sick leave ang sa kanila) ay inaprubahan ito “in principle” noong Abril 1,2011. Sa naunang guideline hindi naisama ang nagsipagretiro ng buwan ng Enero at Marso 2011. Sa kahilingan na rin ng mga retirado na apektado, ang nasabing usapin ay binitbit ng ating Staff Regent Jossel Ebesate sa hapag ng BOR na sinang-ayunan naman ng mga rehente.

bonus ng pamahalaan noong Setyembre 2012 para sa mga empleyado na may good, better at best performance. Ginawa ring dahilan ito ng gobyerno upang kaltasan ng P5,000 ang Performance Enhancement Incentive (PEI) ng mga empleyado kasabay ng pangakong may PBB naman magiging kapalit. Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, karamihan lamang sa nakatanggap ng PBB ay ang mga GOCCs na may mga malalaking pondo at ang UP at iba pang SUCs ay hindi pa rin nakakatanggap. Ayon sa mga opisyal ng Unibersidad na nakapanayam ng unyon, gumagawa ng bagong guidelines muli ang DBM upang mabawasan ang kanilang ilalabas na pondo para sa naturang pondo.

amounts over the ceilings currently observed by the school.

Executive Order (EO) PAEP 13-04 issued last May 31 enables appropriate UP officials to grant special loans to needy students even up to 100 percent in excess of the assessed amount on a case-to-case basis.

The EO is addressed to the Chancellors and the Dean of UP Cebu.

Pascual cited the 1287th meeting of the Board of Regents held last April 12, where they reaffirmed the policy that “no qualified UP student shall be denied access to education due to financial incapacity.”

“In line with this policy, and effective immediately, the Chancellors of the seven constituent universities (CUs) and the Dean of UP Cebu are hereby authorized to approve, on a case-by-case basis, applications and appeals from students and/or their parents/guardians for loans under the University’s Student Loan Board in amounts beyond the cap currently observed in the concerned campus and up to 100% of total assessed fees.

“This grant of authority is designed to equip the CUs and UP Cebu with the means to promptly facilitate the registration of students who are in need of additional financial assistance due to unexpected delays in their receipt of funds for enrolment, sudden changes in their family’s financial situation, or some other valid reason, and/or while waiting for the decision on their STFAP [Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program] applications or appeals.”

A copy of a memorandum furnished by the University secretary to UP officials and constituents stated that the Board “adopted a policy that would ensure that students, especially those from the low income brackets, to finish their UP education despite financial constraints.”

‘No qualified UP student shall be denied access to education due to financial incapacity,” it added. http://www.upmin.edu.ph/index. php?option=com_content&view=categ ory&layout=blog&id=1&Itemid=78

Ramirez is new UP staff regent

Balitang Unyon SRP Enero-Marso 2011 Aprubado sa BOR

U.P. News 5

Anna Razel L. Ramirez, President of the UP Visayas All UP Workers Union (AUPWU), has been voted by her peers as the next UP Staff Regent.

During the online, system-wide election held last March 19, Ramirez got an overwhelming, majority vote of 60 percent over Myrna Talatala of UP Los Baños who got 39 percent. Ramirez, of the Information and Publications Office, will sit as the 3rd Staff Regent for a term of two years effective June 20, 2013 to June 2015.

She is an alumna of UPV (BA Broadcast Communication-Community Development) and has been serving the University since 1996.

6 U.P. News

may-june 2013

NHSRC chief says hearing tests critical for newborns “Of the 1.8 million babies born every year, our target is to have 1o percent of those babies screened under this project for the first year and escalate this over a period of 10 years,” she added.

Dr. Chiong and her team conducted a research involving some 700 babies born in a Bulacan provincial hospital. The team found that the incidence of profound congenital newborn hearing loss was one per 724 or 0.14 percent.

“It means that at least eight profoundly deaf babies are born everyday in the Philippines, or one deaf baby born every three hours,” Dr. Chiong explained.

Photos from UP Manila-IPPAO

Hearing interventions

Dr. Chiong and team conduct hearing tests in a rural community. Upper left photo shows a machine for a hearing test called Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) on a baby.

Potential hearing disorders in infants may be detected within six months after birth, a medical expert on newborn babies said.

Dr. Charlotte Chiong, director of the Newborn Hearing Screening Reference Center (NHSRC) based at the UP Manila National Institutes of Health (UPM-NIH), said a hearing test called Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) may be conducted on newborns to determine whether or not

UP Kontra Gapi’s 2013 European Tour well received; German leg most hectic UP Kontra-Gapi’s 2013 European Tour is almost halfway through, but already the group has scored achievements in spite of grueling schedules, the latest of which was in Darmstadt, Germany.

Kontra-Gapi’s 2013 European Tour saw the group conducting concerts, music and dance workshops and lectures in five European countries: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Artistic Director and founder Prof. Edru Abraham in an email said since May 4, the group “has had 42 engagements in 45 days including concerts, music and/or dance workshops and two academic lectures.” All events were free of charge.

Following the group’s two successful performances before a Swiss audience at the University of Bern and at Calvinhaus in Berne, Switzerland in May, UP KontraGapi mounted 10 shows in Darmstadt, Germany on June 14.The Darmstadt shows, by far the tour’s most hectic schedule had UP Kontra-Gapi conducting two shows, four workshops in a middle school, three 20-minute performances in a mall, and a full evening concert in a span of 12 hours, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Abraham also said Kontra-Gapi will be participating in the Salland Festival in Raalte, The Netherlands, “our first folk fest on tour.”

The International Folkloristic Salland Festival takes place every year in June in Raalte, where groups from all over the world show their special culture.

UP Kontra-Gapi or UP Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino, the resident ethnic music PAGE

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their sense of hearing is normal.

Chiong said the OAE involves a machine placed in the ear canal to introduce a certain sound to the baby. If the child’s hair cells were healthy, they will move and emit energy that could be picked up by a sensitive microphone in the ear canal.

The tests would be done only in the localities with accredited newborn hearing screening centers with trained health workers.

The screening is required under Republic Act 9709 which establishes the “Universal Newborn Hearing Screening for the Prevention, Early Diagnosis, and Intervention of Hearing Loss.”

Dr. Chiong said this law provides for the mandatory hearing screening of all Filipino newborns, to be implemented within this year after we have set the protocols and procedures, trained the health workers, and acquired the necessary facilities.

UPD sends off athletes to UAAP, Filipiniana Alumni Group to France

UP Volleyball Team

UP students, faculty members, parents, alumni and friends came in full force to support the UP varsity teams at the Pep Rally staged at the College of Human Kinetics (CHK) Gym last June 24.

Organized by the CHK Student Council, the Pep Rally is an annual university wide event. It gathers all the UP varsity teams and other performing groups before the whole UPD community as a send off and as a morale booster for their participation in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) games.

T he Pe p Rally also provides the student athletes to showcase their hidden talents other than t h e s p o r t s t h e y p l a y, a n d f o s t e r s stronger bonds among varsity teams.

All the varsity teams fielded a dance or song number, or a video presentation.

The one-and-a-half hour Pep Rally was followed by the send off dance concert of the UP Filipiniana Alumni Group slated to leave on June 27 to participate

in several dance festivals in France from July to August. The dance troupe, under the direction of Prof. Corazon Iñigo, is composed of resident and alumni members of the Filipiniana Dance Group, and selected members of the UP Dance Company and the UP Varsity Pep Squad.

The UAAP 76th Season opens on June 29 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena. Adamson University (AdU) hosts the season.

Teams (men and women) set to compete in the first semester are the basketball, badminton, beach volleyball, judo, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, and UP Varsity Pep Squad. Baseball, chess, fencing, football, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball teams will vie in the second semester.

The UP Men’s Basketball Team is set to face the AdU Falcons on June 30, at 2:00 in the afternoon, at the MOA Arena.

UP Fight! — ACG (Text and photo from http://upd.edu. ph/~updinfo/jun13/index26.html

Dr. Chiong emphasized that hearing intervention is critical before the age of six months. Without intervention at this age, she pointed out that hearing-impaired children would likely experience some form of language delay. They can speak but, compared with their normal peers, their level of speech comprehension and speech development would be lower, she said.

“At the PGH Ear Unit, we were able to establish that only 30 percent of these were being referred to us at less than one year of age. All studies support the fact that intervention is needed at age six months for the child to develop age-appropriate language. We know that even here at PGH, we are already delayed in diagnosing because we are not getting the children referred to us at the proper age,” she clarified.

“Under the law, the goal is to screen the child below the age of one month, and to be able to repeat the screening before the age of three months if the initial test failed for proper diagnosis of hearing loss.

If positive, we should be able to put the amplification tool or hearing aid before the age of six months. This would optimize the possibility of the child developing some language despite the presence of severe hearing loss.”

The database of newborns will be the responsibility of NHSRC and will serve as input for policy making and changes in program implementation.

At present, the OAE hearing test costs P200-300 pesos or slightly higher in some tertiary hospitals and in private clinics.

Once universal screening gets underway, PhilHealth will shoulder P200 of this amount. Feasibility studies show that a center will be able to have a Return of Investment for the machine within three years even with a P150 charge/test. So there is no reason for a family to be denied access to the health service.

According to Dr. Chiong, the basic analog hearing aid is P9,000-10,000. A good hearing aid will cost about P25,000-30,000.

The Philippine Charity and Sweepstakes Office will cover the hearing aid but the usual requirements of three quotations and validation of hearing test by PGH or University of Santo Tomas will apply.

“What we are saying is that when the law was made, we did not want to penalize the doctors and parents who did not bring the children early. We wanted it to be an incentive providing type of law. Over the next few years, what might come out will be a program where a mother who brought her child for hearing screening will be given a 20% discount because of the disability law that will also cover hearing aids. PCSO can help the families earlier with early diagnosis while the government will save millions of pesos for every child given early intervention at six months based on cost effective studies,” Chiong said.—By Cynthia M. Villamor

may-june 2013

U.P. News 7

PGH Dep’t of Pediatrics: A healing place for chronically ill children to help indigent pediatric patients by donating funds through the Mely and Rick Rey (brother of Teddy Rey) Foundation, Inc.” The Healing Place was Dr. Padilla’s last project before her term as chairperson ended in February 2013.

The Pediatric department tendered a testimonial program last February 6 for her numerous achievements and contributions in steering and leading a department through its multi-faceted roles in pediatric care. This Healing Place is one such legacy Dr. Padilla’s administration will be remembered for and treasured.

“The Department sees 30,000-40,000 patients a year. Of these patients, 30 are on ventilator every day. We need 10 to 15 ventilators more to accommodate these patients. Hence, we are appealing continuously to donors,” Padilla added.

She said she did not know Teddy Rey, but was nevertheless confident that there

were enough generous people who would always want to help fund a good cause.

Teddy Rey, an alumnus of UP from preparatory school to college, passed away in 2008. He was a member of the UP Beta Sigma Fraternity and the UP Vanguard.

He headed several government entities, such as Philippine Airlines, Farm Systems Development Corporation, Laguna Lake Development Authority, Ministry of Human Settlements, and the Quezon City Government. As such, he mentored several government leaders and technocrats on management systems.

The new facility was welcomed by teachers and parents of the students. A mother of one of the students expressed relief because they do not have to pass through Ward 9, 11 and ER anymore in going to the school. Another parent was thankful that the new classrooms were more spacious and conducive to learning and the children’s state of health.

“Masaya, malungkot ang buhay namin dito,” said Yvette Selispara, one of the teachers. “Parang mga anak na ang turing namin sa kanila, kaya masakit kung may mawala.” She was referring to the recent demise of one of their wards.

“Everyday is a learning experience, a challenge with its own rewards. We are not ordinary teachers here because we are teaching multi-level students dealing not only with books and modules but grappling with different chronic ailments,” Selispara stressed.

Thus, the Teddy Rey Healing Place has become a much appreciated healing facility. Apart from the classrooms, the facility includes a lactation/breastfeeding room, play room, prayer/meditation room and offices and rooms where physicians can meet with their patients’ families for consultations and counseling.

Former Department of Energy and Natural Resources Sec. Victor Ramos gave a testimonial on Teddy Rey during the program. (Cynthia Villamor) ( Article and photo from http://upm. edu.ph/downloads/announcement/ CMVILLAMOR%20A%20healing%20 place%20for%20chronically%20ill%20 children.pdf)

Rick Rey of Mely and Rick Rey Foundation Inc. is assisted by National Institute of Health ‘s (NIH) Dr. Carmencita Padilla and UP Manila Chancellor Manuel Agulto in cutting the ribbon to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) center named after his brother.

Photo from UP Manila-IPPAO

Cindy (not her real name), a 10-yearold Grade 3 student from Pasay City, was diagnosed days after birth with Tetralogy of the Fallot. This is a congenital heart defect characterized by low oxygen in the blood and is the most common cause of the blue baby syndrome.

Rosa (not her real name), is a second year high school student suffering from osteogenesis, a congenital disease characterized by brittle bones. Her mother said her daughter needed injection every other month costing P6,400 each, to strengthen her bones and enable her to move well.

Cindy and Rosa are just two of 22 chronically ill patients of the PGH Department of Pediatrics, where they are also students of the Department’s Silahis ng Kalusugan School for Chronically Ill Children.

The 15-year-old school caters to indigent children afflicted with lingering illnesses, such as cancer, congenital heart diseases, ailments of the kidney, and many other maladies.

From a small, crowded room at the old SK facility, they recently moved into two new and more comfortable classrooms at the Teddy Rey Healing Place adjacent to Ward 9, the pediatrics charity ward.

“For this facility, we encountered a lot of hitches that at some point, we wanted to give up. But we were glad we didn’t (surrender),” said Dr. Carmencita Padilla, former department chairperson, and concurrent director of the National Institutes of Health’s Newborn Screening Reference Center.

Padilla, who is also executive-director of the Philippine Genome Center said the facility “has become a magnet for donors, people we did not know but who wanted

A job that rocks!

By Jayson Mangalus

The global demand for geologists has increased in recent years, along with the increase in the salary of those who decide to make it their line of expertise.

Oil producing countries like Canada, for instance, are in need of petroleum geologists to man their oil fields or explore possible reserves. With the projected boom in the mining industry, companies are also searching for these professionals with the technical know-how.

NO ORDINARY ROCK

is not just about the study of rocks. Dr. David says that this field of science also teaches about the earth and the different phenomena that affect people.

David is one of the scientists who formed Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazard) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which aims to reduce the risk of natural hazards like flooding and landslides through a monitoring website. “‘Yung Geology kasi, it is just your starting point. After your BS Geology, you can become a mining geologist working in the mines, volcanologist studying volcanoes or hydro-geologist where you study water, look for water and try to clean water. At

LEARNING ABOUT EARTH

In contrast to common belief, Geology UP NIGS Professors Carlos Primo David

marami pang iba, like Paleontology if you want to study fossils,” he relates.

A good school offering Geology is not hard to find. In fact, many educational institutions with this program are scattered all over the country. The Negros Oriental State University, The University of Saint Louis in Tuguegarao and the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao are just among the many schools offering Geology as an undergraduate course while the University of the Philippines Diliman and the Mapua Institute of Technology provide both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Geology.

(Article and photo from http://mb.com. ph/SCU/Featured_Stories/18004/A_job_ that_rocks!)

Photo from Geological Society of London

Dr. Carlos Primo “CP” David, one of the country’s top geologists, shares that after he graduated from high school, he too had difficulty determining the course that he should take in college that fit his interests.

“Noong nag-aaply ako sa UP (University of the Philippines), like many high school students hindi ko alam kung ano ang kukunin ko. My mother helped me and described all the courses offered in UP. We went from A to Z, from Agriculture to Zoology and somehow ‘yung description ng Geology nag-click sa akin. Ang description lang niya, I remember, was that geologists are scientists but they are not inside the laboratory because what they’re studying are outside, on the mountains and in the oceans. Sabi ko gusto ko ‘yun, gusto kong maging scientist at mag-explore ng nature,” David recalls.

And he was not wrong. Soon he was out in the provinces, visiting places he had never been before while making

fascinating discoveries that made his study more exciting, adventurous, and educational at the same time, as he learned how important seemingly worthless things are.

“Sobrang interesting talaga ng geology kahit na iniisip ng iba na pag-aaral lang ito ng bato. Maraming puwedeng malaman sa bato,” points out David, who is also a faculty member at the UP National Institute for Geological Sciences (NIGS).

Most people ignore the rocks that they see everyday, being an ordinary part of nature. But to geologists, even the smallest grain of sand is a wonder to behold, just like a book that tells stories of long ago. No wonder a geologist loves to wear clothes with many pockets – it’s actually to keep rock samples they get along the way.

“Sa bato, dahil nga na-form siya millions and millions of years ago, if you analyze it you will actually able to deduce what happened millions and millions of years ago. For example sa UP, and all across Metro Manila, there is this type of rock called adobe, ito ay tumigas na volcanic deposit so may malapit palang bulkan sa Metro Manila noong panahong iyon,” says Dr. David. “Ang resources natin ay nasa bato, maraming uses ang bato such as building materials, mineral resources like gold and copper. Even oil and coal nasa bato rin ‘yan. And also by studying rocks, you will know that this certain rock is very weak therefore prone to landslide.”

8 U.P. News

may-june 2013

Photo by Bong Arboleda

CIDS hones policy research skills The UP Center for Integ rative and D e ve l o p m e n t S t u d i e s (UP-CIDS) held last May 17 a workshop geared at boosting capability to do policy research among young faculty membersresearchers, as well as to write policy papers for publication.

The workshop, dubbed “Building Capacity To Do Policy Research” was held at the CIDS office in UP Diliman.

Faculty members and r e s e a r ch e r s f r o m U P Diliman , UP Los Baños, UP Manila, UP Baguio, and UP Open University attended the event.

The presentations involved a panel of four experts from different a c a d e m i c d i s c i p l i n e s.

Among them was Higher Education Commissioner Higher Education Commisioner Cynthia Rose Bautista speaks and former Social Sciences about policy research as basically integrative. a n d P h i l o s o p hy D e a n

Cynthia Bautista who talked about policy research in the social sciences, education, and arts and letters.

The three others were Philippine Institute for Development Studies president Josef Yap who discussed economics and law, Institute of Biology Director Perry Ong who tackled basic and applied sciences, and Dr. Temario Rivera of the Department of Political Science who talked about writing and publishing policy papers.

The presenters discussed the issues and limitations in doing policy research.

Bautista described policy research as basically a “scholarship of integration.” She noted the difficulty of forming full-time multidisciplinary teams.

On the other hand, Yap highlighted the need for mechanisms to ensure the independence of the research.

For his part, Ong noted that “without solid basic research, policy research will be impossible to do”.

Rivera delved on the important elements in writing and publishing policy research, saying what is new, innovative, and feasible in the policy findings should be emphasized.

At the end of the presentations, the participants shifted to a workshop where they shared their expertise and ideas in

UP Baguio boosts culture and arts program

Photo by UP SIO

By Arellano Colongon, Jr.

A file photo of UP Baguio Chancellor Raymundo Rovillos after an oath-taking ceremony with President Alfredo Pascual and his family at Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City.

The University of the Philippines in Baguio City (UP Baguio) has taken a long hard look at its Culture and the Arts program with a view to enhancing it in order to attract greater public support and attention.

Towards this end, the UP Baguio Committee on Culture and the Arts (UPBCCA) conducted a workshop at Marand Resort in Bauang, La Union last April 29-30 to plan out activities for the academic years 2013-2015.

Facilitated by Chancellor Raymundo Rovillos, himself, the participants began with an assessment of the school’s state of culture and arts work..

Luchie Maranan, a UP Baguio alumnus and an active member of the Baguio Writers’ Group, was invited to share insights on the state of culture and arts work in Baguio City in particular and the Cordillera region in general.

The participants identified internal and external factors in UPB, as well as the strength and weaknesses of the CCA, and concluded that culture and the arts ‘took a back seat’ during the school’s transition to autonomy.

The participants saw the workshop as an opportunity to reinvent and reinvigorate

the culture and arts in UP Baguio, notably in the context of being an autonomous unit of the UP System.

They affirmed UPB’s commitment to being a cultural center in the region, which the CCA would pursue in two ways. One way is to submit a proposal to reorganize and redefine the CCA’s functions, for approval by the University Council. This would include ideas regarding standards to achieve the status of a university performing group, as well as incentives for artists. And two, to implement a program of activities for the next two academic years, while waiting for the proposal’s approval Both approaches are guided by the participants’ affirmation of the university’s role in culture and the arts as spelled out in Executive Order 93-72 which identified the following functions for the CCA: • enrich the cultural and artistic experience of students and UP personnel beyond the confines of the classroom and offices; • develop among the students and university personnel a humanistic orientation, making them aware of their cultural heritage and various artistic forms; • stress the importance of cultural

and artistic exposure and appreciation as having significant educative value; • create a climate conducive for the artists, especially among UP students and personnel, to realize their potentials in the context of the university’s and society’s values.

On the second day, the workshop came up with the CCA’s calendar of activities. It included back-to-back plays to be mounted by Dulaang UP Baguio, music and dance performances by local and invited performing groups, song writing competitions, and independent film festivals for students, exhibits, and lecture-performances.

The main objective in the next two school years is to re-establish or ‘cultivate’ an audience for culture and the arts in UP Baguio, which of late has been mostly limited only to popular culture promoted by the mass media.

To address the challenge of ‘limited space for performances’ due to the ongoing building constructions/renovations at the campus, the participants suggested alternative spaces for the Chancellor’s consideration that could be used as temporary venue for performances, until construction of a permanent auditorium has been completion.

The participants likewise looked forward to the crucial role of faculty members in incorporating arts and culture in class discussions, in the same way that “green campus” and “gender consciousness” were being integrated into the mainstream.

The workshop was attended by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Wilfredo Alangui, current CCA members, invited faculty members and former chairpersons of the committee. It ended with a commitment from the participants to support the effort to revive the arts and culture scene in UP Baguio, and to take advantage of the commitment of support given by Chancellor Rovillos.

(Article and photo from Ti Similla May 2013)

doing research.

They were subsequently enjoined to submit a capsule proposal on a policy research they wish to undertake. They were furnished the “4E framework” of UP CIDS, under which topics they can classify their research.

The 4Es refer to education, employment, economic emancipation, and environment, which all have governance as a common factor.

The participants were also given a proposal format for policy research. --Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc, with report http:// cids.up.edu.ph/building-capacity-to-dopolicy-research-workshop/

UPOU expands distance education in Asia The UP Open University (UPOU) has expanded further the coverage of its distance education program to include Hanoi Open University (HOU) and Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU).

The UPOU signed last 26 April 2013 at Bandung, Indonesia a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) with HOU on one hand, and the STOU, on the other hand, providing for mutual cooperation and collaboration in the field of education at the regional level.

UPOU chancellor Grace Javier Alfonso inked the accord in behalf of her institution , with HOU president Le Van Thanh and STOU president Chailerd Pichitpornchai signing for their respective schools..

The document stipulated the parties’ commitment to expand the cooperation through joint collaboration in the development of academic programs and materials; exchange of faculty members and students for lectures, seminars, discussions and cultural activities; exchange of publication, course materials and research information; and joint research in areas of common interest.

Philippine education goes Google! ◄

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Google. We gave Ateneo email addresses for our students, and it was a cost-effective service. Students found it cool. When we started the use of Google for our employees in March, we already got very good feedback from our employees. In our old email system, we had very limited space.

The large email space of GMail makes it more productive when they use their email,” she shared over a Google Hangout arranged by the UDante Gideon Vergara, director of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) Information Technology Center, revealed at the same Hangout that UPLB was already using Google Docs and Google Drive, and believes that the adoption of Google Apps for Education will be a boon for the UP System.

“We’ve only scratched the surface. We use Google Docs and Drive. We use it for collaborations and technical working groups, as well as references,” he says. “Hangout is an opportunity to teleconference at no cost at all. I think maraming potential ang Google Apps for collaboration.”

(Article and photo from http://mb.com. ph/SCU/Featured_Stories/18686/ Philippine_education_goes_Google!)

may-june 2013

UPAA bares Lifetime Achievement awardees

Among those recognized during the recent UP Alumni Homecoming are (back row) the respective representatives of the 2013 UPAA Multi-Generation UP Alumni Families; (middle row) the UPAA Presidential Awardees for UPAA Past Presidents and the UPAA Presidential Awardees; and (front row) the representatives of the UPAA Distinguished Service Awardees for an Alumni Chapter and the UPAA Distinguished Service Awardees for an Alumnus/Alumna, together with UP President Alfredo Pascual, UPAA President Ponciano Rivera, Jr., and UPAA 1st Vice-President Renato B. Valdecantos.

The University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) celebrated its Centennial anniversary last June 22 highlighted by the conferment of awards to 11 outstanding alumni who excelled in their respective fields.

The awards rites were held in conjunction with this year’s UP General Alumni-Faculty Homecoming and Reunion The list of awardees who were cited for Lifetime Distinguished Achievements included Dr. Rhodora V. Azanza, fondly called the “Red Tide Lady,” for her pioneering research on seaweeds and microalgal biology, coastal environment management, and seafood safety.

Renowned Prof. Benjamin H. Cervantes, a multi-awarded actor, screen and stage director, also made it to the elite club.

Dr. Nora J. Cruz-Quebral was recognized for her pioneering work in development communications that paved the way for the study to become an academic discipline. Thus earning for herself the distinction “Mother of Development Communication.”

The other lifetime achievers were Dr. Isidoro P. David, deemed the first Filipino statistician to be honored by the International Statistical Institute for his achievements in statistics and the promotion of best statistical practices; entomologist Dr. Aida C. Decena-Solsoloy who was reputedly one of the country’s leading experts in technology development for pest management; ` Ecologist Luz Escalante-Sabas, co-founder of the Zero Waste Recycling

UP Concert Chorus “mesmerizes’ Malaysia

By Ira Agting

Photo courtesy of the UP Concert Chorus

and prospective readers.

Reinoso took his early education at San Beda College where he received the gold medal for academic excellence when he graduated from high school in 1978. He was also recognized as one of the Most Distinguished Bedan Awardees by the San Beda College Alumni Association in 2012.

He later took masteral studies in economics at De La Salle University Graduate School of Business and Economics. He earned his masters degree in business administration, with distinction, from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.

(Article and photo from http:// business.inquirer.net/125077/reinosoappointed-ipi-chief-operating-officer/ renato-r-reinoso)

Photo by Bong Arboleda

UP grad Reinoso named IPI COO Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) president and chief executive officer Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, has announced the appointment of Renato R. Reinoso as the new chief operating officer (COO) of the Inquirer Publications Inc. (IPI) effective June 1, 2013.

Reinoso obtained his business economics degree from the University of the Philippines School of Economics, earning a dean’s medal for academic excellence.

With over 30 years of newspaper management experience, Reinoso will take on his new role concurrent to his present job as COO of the PDI which he assumed last November.

IPI also publishes the multi-awarded Cebu Daily News and the tabloid Bandera, both niche publications catering to diverse markets.

“There is so much potential in this space where readers can get relevant news and information at affordable prices and advertisers can reach their target audiences more efficiently through all the print products of the Inquirer Group,” Reinoso said. ”My goal is to strategically align efforts to reach and engage a wider range of print readers and audiences,” he added.

Cebu Daily News is reputedly one of the most preferred regional papers in the Visayas, while Bandera is deemed the largest selling national tabloid in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Reinoso would be responsible for the development and implementation of IPI’s business plans and goals, and ensuring that revenue, income, circulation and market share objectives are effectively achieved.

He would oversee IPI’s advertising sales, circulation, classifieds, marketing, finance and administration, human resources and information technology departments.

His colleagues regard him as a general management specialist, a team player and a great motivator of people to achieve desired business goals.

Reinoso would closely collaborate with the editorial teams of Cebu Daily News and Bandera to enhance readership, circulation and on-time delivery to existing

U.P. News 9

The singing and dancing group, headed by Prof. Aracama, performs to a dazzled audience in Sabah, Malaysia.

The University of the Philippines Concert Chorus (UPCC) bridged borders when they performed in Sabah, Malaysia on June 4 at the Dewan Recital in The Universiti Malaya Sabah to celebrate the “Enduring Friendship Between Malaysians and Filipinos.”

The UPCC performed before a mixed crowd of some 600 Malaysians and Filipinos, among them Sabah head of state consort Toh Puan Norlidah Datuk Jasni.

Filipino pride beamed through the

Chorus’ repertoire of original Pilipino music (OPM), folk and pop songs, adding to a Broadway lineup and a “Glee” medley, tailored by Prof Janet Sabas Aracama to fit the Malaysian-Filipino crowd.

The UPCC also performed in another event called “A Celebration for Peace” in Kuala Lumpur in October 2012, following the signing of the peace agreement.

“Our role as singers goes beyond singing and entertaining. In fact, it really has more significance now, culturally,” Aracama.

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Movement of the Philippines, and trained countless people across the country on zero waste management; banker Edgardo Espiritu whose long career in banking and finance peaked with his stint as Finance Secretary and World Bank Governor for the Philippines; Dr. Augusto D. Litonjua who was also called has the “Father of Philippine Endocrinology” and one of the country’s leading doctors in diabetes care and treatment; lawyer Estelito Mendoza, erstwhile Solicitor General, director for many publicly listed corporations, and a professorial lecturer at the UP College of Law; Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson, a for mer chair man and president of the Bases Conversion Development Authority who pushed for public-private partnership as a linchpin of national development; and Mrs. Nelia Teodoro-Gonzalez, one the country’s first top female executives who inspired generations of women across Southeast Asia for her business acumen.

Distinguished alumni awards was also given to Brig. Gen. Marcelo Javier, Mr. Rozel Alexander Santos for community empowerment; Dr. Abelardo Apollo David, Jr. and Annie Oro-Ty for community service; Luis Yee, Jr. for culture and the arts; Dr. Elena Bautista-Sparrow for educational innovation; Engr. Ramon Castillo for entrepreneurship and employment generation; forester Arsenio Ella for environmental conservation and sustainable development; Sen. Lorna Regina “Loren” Legarda for environmental protection and climate change adaption; Prof. Aurora Javate-de Dios and Dr. Carolyn Israel-Sobritchea for gender equality and women empowerment; Dr. Milton Amayun for global public health; Dr. Leonor MagtolisBriones and Sen. Jose Ejercito for good governance; Justice Jose Perez for judiciary; Dr. Sukarno Tanggol for peace and social cohesion; Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvaña for public health promotion; lawyer Simeon Marcelo for public service and for science and technology: Dr. Silvestre Andales, Dr. Josefino Comiso, Engr. Hilary de Leon, Mr. Manuel Gamboa, and Dr. Windell Rivera.

T h e U PA A a l s o h a n d e d o u t the Distinguished Service Award, the Distinguished Service Award, the Presidential Awards, the Presidential Award for past UPAA presidents and the Multi-Generation U.P. Alumni Family Recognition.

10 U.P. News

may-june 2013

Photo by UPSIO

UPOU Chancellor Grace Alfonso

◄

1 He hopes powerful countries would not easily label other states as enemies and discard policies of political hypocrisy, exclusion, isolation, hostility, distrust, and vengeance.

Gusmao introduced G7plus, a global organization established in 2010 and headed

by Timor Leste. It promotes a paradigm of international engagement whereby fragile states are given a voice. According to its website, one of the group’s activities is to facilitate international dialogue “on urgent reforms to the way aid interventions are managed, designed and delivered.” The website indicates a 17-country membership, mostly in Africa.

Gusmao emphasized the importance of reconciliation and peace-building in building a country. According to him, revenge creates a cycle of conflicts that is detrimental to development. Timor Leste has thus established a foreign policy PAGE

of “zero enemies” and made peace with Indonesia. Internally, it has instituted a process whereby former supporters of aggressors are welcomed back to the community.

He expressed hopes that peace-building continue in the Philippines, particularly in Mindanao.

In closing, former College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan praised Timor Leste’s reconciliation strategy. He said it is imperative upon the Philippines to likewise put proper closure to its dictatorship past.

He said the Law Center continues to monitor developments in East Timor and mentioned developments in the “Timor Gap” as a model for resource sharing, particularly applicable to the South China Sea. After the talk, the Timor Leste contingent proceeded to the UP Executive House, where they were the UP President hosted a lunch in their honor

Woodbury University President ... ◄

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Gusmao and Pascual exchange gifts after the former’s lecture at the Malcolm Hall Auditorium.

1 Photo by Jose Wendell Capili

Philippine mobile services provider Smart Communications and the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) have partnered on a mobile application development course for Android devices, which will start in August. The offering of the Android apps development course coincides with the launch of UPOU’s online platform for massive online open courses (MOOCs) called Aral.

The mobile apps development course is part of UPOU and Smart’s partnership agreement signed in February, whcih also covers development and offering of a “technopreneurship” course. http://www.telecompaper.com/ news/smart-opou-partner-on-androidapp-development-course--952320

Timor Leste PM...

Photo by Bong Arboleda

Smart, OPOU partner on Android app development course

UP Concert Chorus... ◄

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“Music is now used as a venue for peace and goodwill and understanding because it really touches the heart, the soul of people and even to our brothers and sisters here in Malaysia and our own kababayan here,” Aracama explained.

Philippine ambassador to Kuala Lumpur J. Eduardo Malaya invited the UPCC to Malaysia, the group’s second trip for a Dewan Recital.

“Deep in my heart, I knew that there was no one, no other group better than the UPCC,” he said.

Malaysian newspaper Daily Express hailed the UPCC’s performance as “mesmerizing.”

Jose Danilo Silvestre, director of the UP’s Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts, said UPCC’s performance was a product of pure hard work.

“All looked effortless but you should have seen the way they practised and trained for this...It’s one percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration,” he said.

The UPPC will do a similar concert in the Philippines on July 12 at the UP College of Music. h t t p : / / w w w. r a p p l e r . c o m / entertainment/30951-up-concertchorus-dazzles-malaysia

UP Kontra Gapi... ◄

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and dance ensemble of the UP Diliman College of Arts and Letters embarked on their 2013 European Tour this May with Paris, France as its first leg.

They will fly back to Manila end of July.— July.—MDJ http://upd.edu.ph/~updinfo/ jun13/index27.html

Calingo speaks at a lunch in his honor at the UP Executive House in UP Diliman, while President Alfredo Pascual listens.

Former UP President Emerlinda Roman, Woodbury University President Luis Ma. Calingo and UP President Alfredo E. Pascual

conference at the Executive House for the visitors, joined by several UP officials and faculty members from the UP College of Engineering and the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning.

Calingo shared his experiences, both as a university president and as a former student of UP Diliman.

“Although I spent the majority of my life outside the Philippines, I owe much of my intellectual formation to the University of the Philippines” Calingo said.

“I was more than an innocent bystander to the Diliman Commune and the First Quarter Storm and student activism,” he recalled.

He cited the UP College of Engineering for developing his love for quality management and systematic analysis.

On the other hand, he said the School of Urban and Regional Planning developed his love of designing complex social systems.

“Those are really what define my work today, and what has kept me distinctive in my job, modesty aside,” he stressed.

Calingo bared that he returns to the Philippines every year as a consultant for developing the Philippine Quality Awards – the country's version of US Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award.

According to him, the Philippine

Quality Award is “the highest citation for quality and business excellence in the country.”.

Calingo admitted that his road to the Woodbury presidency was fraught with difficult challenges.

“A California university presidency is said to be the most sought-after presidency in the USA because many academics are attracted to California especially during the last years of their academic careers,” he noted.

He said he was chosen from a highly competitive pool of almost 50 sitting presidents, deans and provosts from across the United States.

According to him, there are only four Filipino-American college presidents in the US right now, out of the more than 40 Asian Americans in office.

“Three of us are university presidents, and three of us are proud UP alumni,” he pointed out.

Calingo gave his audience insights about the differences and similarities of running a university like UP and running a smaller university like Woodbury.

He said Woodbury's academic offerings are typified by the integration of four components: transdisciplinarity, design thinking, e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p, a n d c iv i c engagement. “This intentional integration is our core competence.”

Calingo said maintaining this core

competence is essential, especially when there is no government support.

“More than half of our students (70-75 percent) are the first in their families to go to college... We cannot set tuition that is very high. In fact, our tuition is set at the 25th percentile of our peers.”

He said this reality ensures that operational excellence is part of everything they do.

Another key difference is size, with Woodbury University having only 1,800 students as of this year. “The lack of support from economies of scale has made entrepreneurial thinking a trademark of Woodbury's success,” he said.

“We have achieved our academic reputation because we have decided to focus on liberal arts-based professional education—and only on a limited set of disciplines,” Calingo disclosed.

He described Woodbury University a “botique university” that concentrates and excels in a few select fields.

“Woodbury University has to be balanced in terms of our emotional commitment to the programs that we offer... We engaged an external consulting firm to provide us with objective analysis to support our decision making,” he said.

The entrepreneurial drive to clearly see which programs should be strengthened and which should be discontinued has, been one Woodbury's winning strategies, he added.

may-june 2013

New ‘pirate ant’ species found in Laguna

Balitang Unyon ◄

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by Jojo Malig, ABS-CBNNews.com

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malapit na trabaho o pagkakakitaan.

Kahit ang mga mismong empleyado ng UP ay walang sariling bahay at pag minsan ay kasama rin sa mga binabansagang informal settlers. Tinitignan natin na ang demolisyon at pagdemonize sa mga maralitang tagalungsod ay isang duwag na sagot ng gobyerno sa pagharap sa usapin ng kahirapan. Sa halip na gawin ng gobyerno ang pangako na ating naririnig tuwing eleksyon, na iaangat nila ang kalagayan ng mga maralita, walang habas ngayon na ginigiba at pinagtatabuyan sila sa malalayong lugar. Hindi solusyon sa kahirapan ang simple pagtaboy ng mga maralita sa lugar kung saan hindi sila makikita.

Internasyunal na Kumperensya tungo sa Internasyunalisasyon sa mga Institusyon ng Mataas na Edukasyon binatikos ng mga progresibong guro

Naganap nitong nakaraang Hulyo 3-4, 2013 ang isang International Conference on Strengthening the Internationalization Strategies of Philippine Higher Education Institutions. Ang mga co-sponsor ay ang Comission on Higher Education

(CHED), Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) at Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Nagsalita sa kumperensya ang ilang tinaguriang “internationalization experts” na nagbahagi ng kanilang kaalaman para diumano makatulong sa pagprodyus ng UP ng mga gradweyt na maibebenta sa pandaigdigang pamilihan at upang gumanda raw ang internasyunal na reputasyon ng UP. Naglabas ng pahayag ang mga gurong progresibo (Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy-University of the Philippines) na kumondena sa aktibidad na ito. Ayon sa kanila, “We should never be seduced by the false promises of such marketization that simply aims further commodifying education further. As educators, we should never allow the conglomerates and conduits of imperialist pedagogical machine define our national agenda according to their profit-driven whims.

Education is a weapon for social transformation, not a tool in the hands of neoliberal corporate managers to advance the interests of their imperialist masters and their local supporters.”

‘Adarna’ jumpstarts Dulaang UP’s 38th season

Bernal medallion turnover. The Ledesma family turned over to the university the National Artist (for Film) medallion of their brother, UP English alumnus Ishmael Bernal, which was secured for safe-keeping by the late film director Marilou DiazAbaya, a close friend of Bernal. The turnover rite was held at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery, UP Film Institute, College of Mass Communication (CMC), UP Diliman, Quezon City. In photo are (front left) Tino Gregorio, Carmen Ledesma Gregorio, Prof.

Joni Gutierrez, UPD CMC Dean Rolando Tolentino, Lily Ledesma, Prof. Sari Lluch Dalena, Dr. Arminda Santiago, filmmaker Keith Sicat, Ging Luciano Ledesma, and Linda Alcantara Ledesma.

Filipinos. The tale is re-imagined through a multimedia theatrical presentation.

Adarna is adapted for the stage by Vlad Gonzales. Set and lights design is by Lex Marcos; puppetry by Don Salubayba; costume design by Brenda Fajardo; music and musical direction by Jeff Hernandez; and direction by José Estrella.

Adarna runs from July 17 to August 1, 2013 ( Wednesday t o Friday, 7 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM and 3 PM), and July 26 at 2 PM, at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, Palma Hall, University of the Philippines Diliman. For sponsorship and ticket inquiries, please contact the Dulaang UP Office at 926-1349, 981-8500 local 2449 or 433-7840.

MANILA, Philippines - Scientists have discovered a new ant species with a bizarre pigmentation pattern in Laguna province in the Philippines.

Cardiocondyla pirata or the “pirate ant” was named as such because of a black ribbon across its eyes that is similar to a pirate’s blindfold, according to Universität Regensburg PhD student and ant researcher Sabine Frohschammer.

Frohschammer, in a study published in the open access scientific journal Zookeys, said the ant’s bizarre pigmentation pattern has no equivalent worldwide.

The ant species was found living under large rocks at a streambed at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños’ Hortorium in Laguna.

“The tiny ants were nearly invisible.

Under bright light and a magnifier, we detected the nice stripe across the eyes,”

Frohschammer said in a statement.

The ants’ markings remain a puzzle for scientists. “The poor vision and the fact that these ants mate in the dark exclude one of the most obvious hypotheses that the dark patch serve as a sign for sexual differentiation and thus a cue for recognition during mating,” Frohschammer said.

“A possible guess about the function of this bizarre pirate-like coloration pattern is that it serves as a tool to distract and confuse the enemy,” she added. “The combination of the dark stripes together with a rather translucent body when living could leave the impression in predators that the anterior and posterior body parts are in fact two separate objects.”

(Article and photo from http:// newswatch.nationalg eog raphic. com/2013/05/29/pirate-ant-discoveredphillippines/)

Cardiocondyla pirata, or the pirate ant, can be distinguished by a dark stripe across the eyes similar to the eye patch of a pirate.- Photo by Bernhard Seifert

Photo courtesy of Dulaang UP

“Adarna,” the well-known Filipino folk tale, opens the 38th theater season of Dulaang UP. “Adarna” tells the story of Don Juan, the youngest of three princes who went on a journey to find the elusive mystical bird called Ibong Adarna believed to be the cure for their ailing father, the king of Berbanya. Don Juan’s quest sends him to adventures in different lands, encounters with sage men and beautiful princesses and challenges that will test the young prince’s courage.

Director José Estrella (“Umaaraw, Umuulan Kinakasal ang Tikbalang”) and her artistic team breathe new life into this story of adventure, magic, courage, and love popular to generations of

U.P. News 11

12 U.P. News

may-june 2013

Alumnus wins Obie award UP College of Arts and Letters (Theater Arts) a llumnus u m nus C Clint lin t Ra Ramos mo s has won inter national recognition as costume designer during the 58 th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards recently at Webster Hall, New York.

T he h e awar awards, ds, which recognize achievements in the Off-Broadway and offoff Broadway theaters, was co-hosted by Jessica Hecht and Jeremy Shamos.

T h e t r o p h i e s we r e presented by Bobby Cannavale, Tracee Chimo, Cyndi Lauper, Judith Light, Krysta Rodriguez, Duncan Sheik, Meryl Streep and Courtney B. Vance.

A medley from the highly acclaimed new Off-Broadway musical, “Here Lies Love” was performed by the cast. The Brazilian jazz-pop group Banda Magda was among the performers.

The panel of judges included Chairman Michael Feingold, Alexis Soloski as secretary, Obie Award-winning playwright Erin Courtney; director-performer Mia Katigbak, co-Founder of NAATCO; critic and Theater magazine editor Tom Sellar; and Obie award-winning director Leigh Silverman.

Meryl Streep presented the 2013 Obie Awards for Lifetime Achievement to Lois Smith and Frances Sternhagen.

In a tie vote, the judges accorded the

award for Best New American Play to Lisa d’Amour’s Detroit ((Playwrights Playwrights Horizons Horizons)) and Julia Jarcho’s Grimly Handsome (Incubator Arts Project), with each playwright receiving a $500-cash prize.

Ramos, a set and costume designer, won for “Sustained Excellence of Costume Design,” for his projects.

A Philippine Daily Inquirer report said Ramos was also the recipient of the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Scenic Design and a nominee of Outstanding Costume Design for his work on “Wild With Happy” at The Public Theater.

Earlier this year, Ramos also received the 2013 Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best Costume Design for his work on the Huntington Theatre Company of Boston’s production of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the Inquirer report said.

One of his current costume design credits was for the highly acclaimed offBroadway musical “Here Lies Love.” Critics have lauded his work as “vast and fabulous” (New York Times), “(providing) beautiful symmetry” (The Hollywood Reporter), and “top-notch” (New York Magazine).

After graduation in UP, Ramos relocated to the US in the mid-90s, where he took up higher studies. (http://www.villagevoice.com/obies/)

UP College of Mass Communication Profs Rose. Feliciano and Jane Vinculado (6th and 7th from left) receive two Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Golden Dove trophies in behalf of the UP-run DZUP radio station in ceremonies held last 26 April at Star Theater in Pasay City. The awards are given to outstanding broadcast stations, programs, program materials, and individuals who excel in the broadcast industry.

DZUP wins KBP Golden Dove Awards The station’s public service announcement on waste segregation entitled Plastik at Mapapel, which was produced by DZUP interns Jenn Cayanan and Charmaine Reyes, received the award for Best Radio Public Service Announcement.

The station also earned the golden dove trophy in the Best Promotional Material category for its Christmas plug entitled Kasali Ka sa Araw ng Pasko, which was composed by Edgie Uyanguren and arranged by Onie Badiang. Aside from these awards, DZUP and its programs were chosen as finalists in the following categories:

• DZUP1602 - Best AM Radio Station in Metro Manila • N a t u r e Ve n t u r e ( M o n d a y s 1-2p.m., produced by the College of Mass Communication) – Best Radio Documentary • Health Matters (Tuesdays 4-5p.m., produced by the UP Manila College of Medicine) – Best Radio Science and Technology Program • Sciencia Na Kayo (Fridays 4-5p.m., produced by the College of Science) – Best Radio Science and Technology Program h t t p : / / w w w. d z u p . o r g / events/2013/05/15/dzup-wins-kbpgolden-dove-awards

UP Pep Squad reaps awards in intl cheerleading fest in Japan...

The University of the Philippines Pep Squad bagged second place in Partner Stunts and won third place in the Group Stunts Mixed categories at the annual 7th Cheerleading Asia International Open Championships (CAIOC) held recently in Tokyo, Japan.

The team scored 171.5 in the Partner Stunts event, next to Thailand’s RSU ‘s 211.

In the Group Stunts Mixed category, the UP squad garnered a score of 177 to make it to the third spot, following Thai RSU and Chinese Taipei’s Rock Bear, who got scores of 236.5 and 217, respectively.

The UP Pep Squad was also in the top 20 in the Cheerleading category, getting the 19th spot with a score of 346.0.

This year’s CAIOC, held from May 18 to 19, was hosted and organized by the Japan Cheerleading Association (JCA) in Tokyo, Japan since 2007.

In 2011, the UP Pep Squad led the Philippine contigent to the 6th Cheerleading World Championships in Hong Kong.

The UP Pep Squad is no stranger to victory at the homefront.

Last year, the UP Pep Squad claimed their third straight victory at the 2012 UAAP Cheerdance Competition. They have also won five titles over the last six years.

- Gian C. Geronimo/VVP, GMA News

...then dominates Philippine National Games After making waves in the recent Cheerleading Asia International Open Championships in Tokyo, Japan, the UP Varsity Pep Squad (UP Pep) once again displayed its virtuosity on the floor by winning the top awards in all of the categories it joined in the 2013 Philippine National Games (PNG) Cheerleading Competition at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on May 26.

The UP Pep, an eight-time UAAP Cheerdance Competition champion, bagged the gold medals in the cheerdance, mixed group stunts, mixed team cheer, and partner stunts categories.

In the cheerdance category, UP Pep bested

U.P. NEWS J. PROSPERO E. DE VERA III Editor in Chief DANTE M. VELASCO Editorial Consultant JOSE WENDELL P. CAPILI Issue Editor JO. FLORENDO B. LONTOC Managing Editor JIMMY MONTEJO Copy Editor ARBEEN ACUÑA, STEPHANIE CABIGAO, FRED DABU, ANDRE ENCARNACION, CELESTE ANN CASTILLO LLANETA, JO. FLORENDO B. LONTOC, KIM QUILINGUING, ARLYN VCD P. ROMUALDO Writers BONG ARBOLEDA, MISAEL BACANI, JONATHAN MADRID Photographers OBET EUGENIO Editorial Assistant TOM MAGLAYA Circulation The U.P. NEWS is a monthly publication of the UP System Information Office, Office of the Vice-President for Public Affairs. We welcome contributions from the faculty, non-academic staff, REPS and students. Please send your contributions to: THE EDITOR U.P. News Mezzanine Floor, Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City 926-1572, 436-7537 e-mail: upnewsletter@up.edu.ph upsio@up.edu.ph

the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Miriam College, which placed second and third, respectively. UP Pep Squad’s cheerdance team was composed of Nicolette Ambulo, Marielle Barraza, Chelsea Cacho, Aya Casim, Sarah Esguerra, Noelynne Figueroa, Lara Limjap, Lian Melegrito, Ella Mendoza, Audrey Muñoz, Nesza Salvador, Trixie Segundo, Abby Tuazon and Zsarinah Yu. Meanwhile, the team of Kiko Cortez, Nil Patrick Costales, Christian Gorgonia, Lara Limjap and Nesza Salvador outscored UST and Centro Escolastica University (CEU) to take the trophy in the mixed group stunts category.

UP Pep also topped the mixed team cheer department. The team was composed of Marielle Barraza, Louie Castro, Kiko Cortez, Nil Patrick Costales, Noelynne Figueroa, Meliton Gerona, Christian Gorgonia, Bien Insigne, Lara Limjap, Audrey Muñoz, Pio Niño Opinaldo, Nesza Salvador, Raymond Santos, Leo Segundo, Trixie Segundo, and Carlos Soriano.

CEU placed second while Lyceum of the Philippines took the third place.

The duo of Marielle Barraza and Louie Castro, with Carlos Soriano as spotter, captured the gold in the partner stunts category, with the Zamboanga Red Bombers

and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) coming in as second and third place, respectively.

Apart from the four trophies won by the UP Pep, there were four other honors for the taking in the 2013 PNG Cheerleading Competition. These were: all female group stunts, all female team cheer, all male group stunts, and team acrobatics.

The PNG is an annual competition organized by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.

The event aims to “assess the expanse of athletic potentials as by-product of national programs, serve as the ultimate challenge grounds to bring out the best of the national crop and the emerging ones, and finally, serve as the final ‘ranking and selection ground’ for possible composition of the national pool, and from which athletes for future international competitions may be picked.

Partner stunts This year, two cheerdance clubs and 16 schools participated in the competition. The clubs were Rhufa’s Army and Zamboanga Red Bombers. The schools included Ateneo De Manila University, CEU, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Letran College, Lyceum of the Philippines, Miriam College, Miriam High School, Philippine Normal University, Philippine Women’s University, PUP, Saint Scholastica College Manila, San Beda College Alabang, Santa Elena High School (Marikina), UP Diliman, UST and Saint Pedro Poveda.

The UP Pep first participated in the PNG Cheerleading Competition in Bacolod in 2011 and swept all the three competition events. The Squad’s winning performance earned it the right to represent the country in the 6th World Cheerleading Championships held in Hong Kong on November 26 to 27, 2011, where it placed third in the cheer mixed category.

Coaching the UP Pep is Prof. Lalaine Juarez-Pereña of the College of Human Kinetics, with the tandem assistance of Niño Jose Antonio and Pio Niño Opinaldo.

— ACG