Volume XC, No. 11 • July 21, 2018 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF SANTO TOMAS Manila, Philippines
MOVED WITH COMPASSION. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle embraces Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David during the turn over of funds raised for the orphaned children of Jennifer and Ryan Taburada who were both brutally killed in Caloocan City. The funds were collected in a Mass on July 19, the second day of the 5th Philippine Conference on New Evangelization at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. ENRICO MIGUEL S. SILVERIO
Clergy urged: live up to faith amid killings “
Martyrdom is not about dying for a cause. It is about living out one’s faith no matter if it could mean suffering and death.
”
Caloocan Bishop Pablo David
AN ESTIMATED 2,000 members of the clergy and religious were urged to continue living up to the faith amid the recent clerical killings and persecution in the country, during the 5th Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization (PCNE) held at the University from July 18 to 21. Caloocan Bishop Pablo
4 programs receive Asean University Network quality stamp FOUR undergraduate programs of the University have received the coveted Asean University Network (AUN) Quality Assurance (QA) seal. UST’s biochemistry, chemical engineering, electronics engineering and nursing programs were granted certifications after an institutional assessment last April by the AUN, an organization of Southeast Asian universities. Last March, UST’s elementary and secondary education, pharmacy and medical technology programs were granted certifications In August 2017, the accountancy, biology, chemistry and psychology programs of the University received AUN certifications, placing them at par with the best universities in the region. UST joined the three top Philippine universities, the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University in the AUN in January 2016 when it became an associate member. Asean PAGE 14
service was beyond upsetting. The cruelty that I had to go through in his hands was nothing compared with the sanction he’d be receiving,” said Arcena, 20, in an online interview. Viray declined to comment, but told the Varsitarian that he would give a statement after getting in touch with his lawyer. Viray was found guilty of “inflicting injuries, physical or otherwise, on another person, whether inside or outside the campus,” she said. Members of the Student Welfare and Development Committee of the College of Science themselves acknowledged that under the Manual of Regulations for Private Higher Education issued by the government, the appropriate penalty for violent or destructive behavior is “exclusion.” The May 8 resolution of the
OFFICIALS and student leaders of the country’s pontifical and Catholic university slammed President Rodrigo Duterte for calling God “stupid,” saying it was uncalled for and unbecoming of the highest official in the land. Fr. Napoleon Sipalay Jr., O.P., prior provincial of the Dominican Province in the Philippines and UST vice chancellor, said Duterte must learn to “respect the sensitivity of people’s faith.” “The Office of the President is the office of authority and it’s an office [that keeps] the order of law. It must respect the sensitivity of people’s faith. [F]or me, it’s unbecoming for a president to make that comment,” Sipalay told the Varsitarian in an interview on June 27. Duterte had earned widespread condemnation from religious leaders and lawmakers for his remark on June 22 that God was “stupid” for allowing Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, which caused their banishment from the Garden of Eden. The President, a graduate of Catholic schools Ateneo de Davao and San Beda College, mocked the doctrine of original sin and the practice of hanging crucifixes to remind the faithful of Christ’s sacrifice. Sipalay said Duterte’s position did not give him to right to “trample on people’s faith” and point fingers at those not living up to it. “He may have the high office, but he has no right to trample on people’s faith. We all have our weaknesses. But it doesn’t [allow] us to point fingers at others who aren’t keeping the faith,” he said. The prior provincial said Catholics “should not just simply stand at the side and watch,” and should be vocal on national and Church issues. On the government’s proposal for a dialogue with Catholic Church leaders and other religious groups, Sipalay said: “I believe President Duterte has well-meaning advisers. The one who hurts will be the one
Abuser PAGE 3
Duterte PAGE 2
Virgilio David, in a strongly worded homily delivered on the second day of PCNE, said religious life has no room for the fainthearted. “If a priest is murdered because he is defending human rights, speaking out on environmental protection, protecting the victims of rape and defending the Catholic faith, and he dies and his death causes
you discouragement instead of inspiration, then I advise you to forget about the priesthood,” he said. David, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), urged the clergy not to despair, saying the slain priests were martyrs who chose to live out their faith PCNE PAGE 12
Victim decries UST’s leniency toward alleged abuser A UST biology student has come out in the open to decry the leniency extended by University authorities to her ex-boyfriend, a fellow student, who allegedly inflicted multiple physical abuse on her earlier this year. A student discipline committee took a “compassionate approach” and did not expel biology student Kyle Viray even if he was found guilty of violating the Student Code of Conduct and Discipline, said the victim, Diane Arcena. Arcena told the Varsitarian that Viray was merely asked to render 250 hours of community service as a condition for the release of his graduation credentials, and then barred from attending the solemn investiture or graduation rites of the College of Science. “[T]he fact that he was only sanctioned 250 hours of community
UST officials, student leaders hit Duterte for calling God ‘stupid’