The Varsitarian P.Y. 2017-2018 Issue 04

Volume LXXXIX, No. 4 • November 29, 2017 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF SANTO TOMAS Manila, Philippines

UST goes red for persecuted Christians

RED WEDNESDAY. Christians in red clothing gather at the Manila Cathedral to commemorate all persecuted Christians who offered their lives in the name of faith.

DEEJAE S. DUMLAO

THE BISHOP of Marawi urged the Thomasian community on Nov. 22 to fight for religious freedom, as the University participated in the global “Red Wednesday” campaign to honor Christians persecuted for their faith worldwide.

Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Peña called on Thomasians to take inspiration in the youth of Marawi — the “seeds of hope” for rebuilding of the Catholic community after the terrorist attack by the Islamic State-inspired Maute group.

“If they volunteered their service to us, it is because they trust us. And what is very amazing about it is that most of our volunteers are young people who are [Muslims and Maranaos]. This is the seed of hope for the prelature of Marawi, the young people who are helping us,” de la Peña said in a forum at the Central Laboratory Auditorium.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a pontifical foundation providing support for persecuted Christians and suffering churches worldwide through prayer and information campaigns, launched a fundraising project called “Duyog Marawi” to help the persecuted people of Marawi and rebuild the city’s churches.

Jonathan Luciano, national director of the ACN–Philippines, stressed the need to eradicate religious hatred, noting that Christianity promotes inclusivity.

“We should strive to live together in harmony. It’s called religious tolerance. When religious tolerance disappears, violence, hate and anger would follow. That’s Christian love, [the] message of Christianity -- to live side Red Wednesday PAGE 7

Union president urged Ombudsman: Nation needs ‘army of intelligent readers’ to resign over CBA mess

UST Faculty Union President Dr. George Lim

CALLS for the resignation of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) leadership are growing amid tensions over the forfeiture of P55 million in the faculty’s share in the tuition increase from Academic Years 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 and plans to amend the union’s constitution and by-laws.

In a statement in reply to USTFU President George Lim’s letter to faculty members, the “Reform the Union Movement” said union members were losing confidence in Lim’s leadership after he supposedly agreed to allow the UST administration to deduct P55 million from P81.8 million in tuition hike collections, to pay for incentives to higherranked professors whose loads were reduced because of the K

to 12 transition.

Lim has also lost the majority’s mandate after plans for a charter change were foiled because of the lack of the required two-thirds or 842 votes, critics claimed.

“We agree with Dr. Lim that the minority who voted for the new Constitution and By-Laws share his vision, but we argue in the same way that the majority of the faculty does not share his vision anymore.

Without such mandate from the majority, to resign is a noble thing to do. With such ‘delicadeza’, let him vacate his office,” the statement read.

The general assembly held last Oct. 13 was supposed

OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio Morales urged writers to defend the truth at the 60th National Congress of the Philippine PEN (Poets and Playwrights, Essayists and Novelists) on Nov. 22 at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building.

“Whether in Jose Rizal’s time or in this lifetime of ours, truth is constantly under siege.

Only the boldest can rise to this occasion with pens as swords. It is the high time for writers to reaffirm their commitment to truth and freedom,” Morales said in her Jose Rizal lecture.

Morales said writers should not just beat the deadline and instead encourage readers to be prudent. “I think the nation has an abundance of writers. What the nation now needs is an army of intelligent readers,” she said.

The ombudsman, who has been threatened with impeachment by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, said public service requires a high standard of ethics and leaders should be

Union president PAGE 5

Ombudsman PAGE 2

Fratman spills beans on Castillo hazing Businessman is AEGIS Juris master initiator Axel Munro Hipe led the initiation rites, while “grand praefectus” Arvin Balag dealt the final blow on hazing victim Horacio “Atio” Castillo III, state witness Mark Ventura has revealed.

The former Aegis Juris secretary, who agreed to testify against his fraternity brothers on Wednesday, recalled the initiation rites on Sept. 17 that killed 22-yearold Atio.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II had quoted Ventura as saying the initiation lasted for four hours, from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., after which Atio fell unconscious.

Ventura revealed that Atio received four paddle strikes before he collapsed, Aguirre said. The

fifth one, given by Balag, rendered the Aegis Juris neophyte unconscious.

The Civil Law freshman was supposed to endure 11 paddle strikes from each Aegis Juris Fraternity officers and members present in the hazing rites after they punched him until his muscles bulged, Ventura stated.

“Noong third paddle against Atio, tinanong pa siya kung kaya pa niya, sumagot pa ata si Atio na kaya pa niya, but on the fourth paddle, hindi na niya kaya and he collapsed already,” Aguirre told reporters in a press briefing on Wednesday. “[A]fter a few minutes, siguro nakita na nila na nagkakamalay si Atio, they struck him the fifth time with a paddle, fourth nag-collapse na, ‘yung fifth lalong nag-collapse,” he added.

Ventura said the fratmen dripped candle wax on Castillo to wake him up but the latter did not respond.

“Hindi na niya kaya and he collapsed already. Unintelligible na ang kaniyang response. Umuungol na lang siya,” Aguirre said, quoting from Ventura’s testimony.

Attempts to revive Atio were supposedly made by the Aegis Juris fratmen until John Paul Solano, a licensed medical technologist, arrived and brought the neophyte to the hospital, allegedly under the orders of the law fraternity leader, Balag.

At that time, Castillo still had pulse and was placed in a vehicle.

Fratman PAGE 2

‘weekend warrior’ in Marawi siege

“

This is the only time I can pay back the country. It’s a privilege to serve in the main battle area because not everyone is called.

”

Page 6

2 News

Editor: Maria Crisanta M. Paloma

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

UST aces CPA, psych, eng’g board exams A THOMASIAN topped the October 2017 licensure exams for certified public accountants (CPA), leading six other graduates of the UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy in the top 10.

Alfonso Solomon Magno led the fresh batch of accountants with a score of 91.33 percent.

The University was the third top-performing school with 91.99-percent passing rate, or 333 out of 362 examinees. This was higher than last year’s 90.72 percent or 352 out of 388 examinees.

Thomasians Ray Jay Dizon and Alvin Thomas Andaya placed fourth and seventh with scores of 90.67 and 90 percent, respectively.

Sharing the ninth spot were Maria Isabel Marfil and Marc Leuvill, both scoring 89.67 percent.

Christine Mae de Leon and Louize Allaine Areño shared the 10th spot, with identical scores of 89.33 percent.

State-run University of the PhilippinesDiliman remained the top performing school in the CPA licensure exams, maintaining a 100-percent passing rate. All 69 UP examinees made the cut.

The national passing rate slid to 30.45 percent or 4,511 out of 14,816 takers, from last year’s 36.48 percent or 5,249 out of 14,390 examinees.

Psychometrician, psychologist board exams UST emerged as the second top-performing school in the October 2017 psychometrician licensure exams, with five Thomasians landing in the top 10.

Romelito Manuel Clorina led the new batch of Thomasian psychometricians, placing sixth with a score of 83.40 percent.

Ma. Angelica Dicioco clinched the eighth spot with a score of 83 percent, while Benson Mar Mengullo, Michael Raymond Quejas and Reine Maeko Ruiz secured the 10th spot (82.60 percent).

The University’s passing rate rose to 96.53 percent or 139 out of 144 examinees, from last year’s 91.86 percent or 158 out of 172 examinees.

UP-Diliman was named the top-performing school with a passing rate of 97.67 percent.

Boards PAGE 10

Thomasians promote Aeta culture in Araw ng Katutubo THE UST Simbahayan Community Development Office celebrated last Nov. 11 the “Araw ng Katutubo” (Day of Indigenous Peoples) with the University’s partnercommunities in Bamban, Tarlac, as part of efforts to promote Aeta culture.

About 200 participants from sitios Malasa, Mabilog, Santa Rosa, Buok, and San Martin performed cultural presentations. Representatives from the Lumad of Mindanao and Dumagat of Sitio Mainit, Rizal also participated.

The annual event, which started in 2003, was part of the Simbahayan’s distance education program involving literacy education, wherein UST professors taught adult Aetas. The University first engaged the Aeta communities through distance education in 1991.

“If UST did not respond to the immersion here in Bamban, baka kahit anong batas na pagselebra ng Araw ng Katutubo ay hindi mapansin,” Carlito Policarpio, municipal administrator in Bamban, said.

Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 orders the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous people.

Joanna Mae Anain, a graduate of the teacher certificate program of UST, said young indigenous people should study well to give hope to their culture.

“Kulot ka, beluga ka; huwag mong hayaang bigyankahulugan ka ng mundo…kasi ang mundo ay paghahalo ng pagkikilanlan.” Anain said in a forum. CHRIS V. GAMOSO

Thomasian doctor receives ‘Gusi Prize’ for research in medicine A THOMASIAN doctor was given the 2017 “Gusi Peace Prize” on Nov. 22 for her outstanding work in medical health education research and patient care service.

Dr. Leilani Asis, a full professor at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, received the award for medical research at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay.

Asis, an endocrinologist at UST Hospital, said she collaborated with the US National Institutes of Health in Maryland for her project, which allowed her to treat patients with rare diseases for free.

Asis said she continues to do medical research because she wants everyone to receive the same quality of health care regardless of social status.

“To serve is a human nature, whatever race, whatever culture. But to serve with equality is putting ourselves in the very essence of our Lord God,” Asis said in her acceptance speech during the awarding ceremony.

Asis and former health secretary Paulyn Ubial represented the Philippines among 15 other “laureates” from Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Gusi PAGE 5

GREETINGS. Aquila Legis Fraternity members greet a member after the second week of the grueling bar examinations held at the UST campus last Nov. 12

MARIA CHARISSE ANN G. REFUERZO

Fraternities placed under tight watch as bar exams end FRATERNITIES and sororities were kept at bay by at least 700 security personnel deployed in UST on Sunday, as the 2017 Bar Examinations came to an end.

Manila Police District (MPD) Chief Supt. Joel Coronel said Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, Bar Exams chairman, instructed the police to watch over fraternities to prevent violence. “[A]s instructed by Justice Bersamin, we have to monitor closely the fraternities engaged in bar operations here in UST to prevent any incident [of] rumble or violence or anything that might disrupt the bar operations in UST,” Coronel told the Varsitarian in an

interview.

Coronel said fraternities were not banned during the Bar Exams but security personnel closely monitored them.

The Aegis Juris Fraternity, which figured in the news following the death of UST freshman Horacio Castillo III, was among the fraternities monitored by the MPD around the University.

Other fraternities present during the last day of the Bar Exams were Beta Sigma, Beta Sigma Lambda, Tau Gamma Phi, Delta Gamax Sigmaru, Utopia, Mu Kappa Phi, Aquila Legis, Beta Sigma Upsilon, Ductus Legis and Lex Cerbus, information from the MPD showed.

A total of 6,290 examinees took the test on Nov. 19. About 1,000 were “no-shows,” said Joel Gayanan, assistant chief security of the Supreme Court said.

The total number of examinees increased to 7,290, higher than last year’s 6,831 examinees.

UST had a total of 96 firsttime examinees this year, Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said.

The UST Main Building and the Benavides, San Martin de Porres, and St. Raymund de Peñafort buildings were designated as testing venues for examinations on the four Sundays of November. The Tan Yan Kee Student Center served as the Supreme Court’s campus

headquarters.

Strict security measures were implemented within and outside the campus, with personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP), UST Security Office, Manila Police District, Supreme Court security, the Philippine Coast Guard, Metro Manila Development Authority, Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and the National Bureau of Investigation.

The exams covered political law, labor law, civil law, taxation, mercantile law, criminal law, remedial law, and legal and judicial ethics.

IANNA GAYLE S. AGUS, PAULINE FAYE V. TRIA

ALS

Ombudsman

Fratman

FROM PAGE 3

FROM PAGE 1

FROM PAGE 1

mga nakakasama nila,” she said.

For the results of the rehabilitation to be in full effect, aftercare must be strengthened by providing livelihood to drug surrenderers, Miranda asserted. “`Yong sa aftercare mas mapalakas pa sana siya kasi nu’ng una, bigla silang nahinto sa pagpunta sa pod, napapaisip na naman sila kung ano’ng gagawin nila. So mas maganda kung dirediretso na talaga,” she said.

Lack of safety, budget Another problem is the safety of teachers, Lumanog said.

“Siyempre may risk lalo na sa amin na nagtuturo sa kanila kasi hindi natin masabi kung anong level na ba `yung condition nila,” Lumanog said.

“For me, kailangan pa talaga ng policy guidelines at proposal for these surrenderers to tie up with DepEd ALS kasi mahirap na walang dashboard or roadmap ang Cadac, pare-pareho kaming nangangapa. Parang trial-and-error ang dating e, at stake ang mga teachers sa Cadac,” she added.

There is also a lack of ALS facilitators, and feedback and assessment from them.

“The module is inadequate. When I check in on the ALS sessions, all they seem to do is show recorded videos to the participants. There is no interactivity nor substance to the learning being provided,” Labastilla said.

Moreover, sustainability is in doubt because of the lack of budget, Lumanog said.

“Financial support is needed to sustain the program kasi walang mga materials na pagkukuhaan lalo na kapag informal education, `yung sa livelihood,” she said.

Sponsors are needed to properly implement ALS in their sessions, she said.

compassionate and consistent.

“Ang puwesto mo ay hindi mo nakamit. Iyan ay ipinagkatiwala lang sa’yo ng mga Pilipino. What we need is a good, compassionate and consistent leader. Service requires a high standard of ethics. It is sometimes a thankless job.

Being a leader is a reward in itself, she added.

Writers were also urged to write about the atrocious human rights conditions under Duterte’s bloody drug war.

“The killings have not stopped.

What then is the task ahead of us? The challenge to us (writers) is to be true to our hearts. For any killings that happen, to any assault to the truth, we counter these atrocities with our work,” Filipino screenwriter Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. said.

“Unlike guns that destroy and kill, our work creates. Each work of ideas […] makes us experience the values of being more Filipino,” he added.

Writings that discuss current social issues can also enlighten the authorities to correct their wrongdoings, del Mundo said.

The conference of the Philippine PEN, the local chapter of the international federation of writers promoting freedom of expression, focused on reaffirming writers’ commitment to truth and freedom. ELMER B. COLDORA

He was taken out of the vehicle and brought back to the library to be revived.

“When they did not succeed, they board him on a pickup,” Aguirre added.

According to Ventura, more than a dozen members of Aegis Juris Fraternity participated in the initiation rites. Six fratmen used a videoke machine while drinking, to drown out the noise during the initiation rites.

In his six-page affidavit filed with the Department of Justice, Ventura said those present at the fraternity library during the hazing rites for Atio were the following: Balag, Ralph Trangia, Oliver John Audrey Onofre, Mhin Wei Chan, Edril Pilapil, Danielle Hans Matthew Rodrigo, Karl Matthew Villanueva, Joshua Joriel Macabali, Axel Munro Hipe, Marcelino Bagtang, Zimon Pedro, Jose Miguel Salamat, Zach Abulencia, Daniel Ragos, Dave Felix, Sam Cagalingan, Alex Cairo, Luis Kapulong, Leo Lalusis, Kim Cyrill Roque, Alex Bose, Robin Ramos, Ged Villanueva and an unidentified female.

Hipe, Balag and Ventura were among the several suspects facing complaints of murder, robbery and violation of the Anti-Hazing Law. ELMER B. COLDORA

Editor: Neil Jayson N. Servallos

Special Reports 3

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Senate: UST lax in monitoring frats HAS HAZING been happening right under the noses of UST administrators?

Senators questioned the University’s policies on college fraternities as they resumed an inquiry last Nov. 6 into the death of Civil Law freshmen Horacio “Atio” Castillo III following the hazing rites of the Aegis Juris Fraternity.

This came after former Aegis Juris secretary Mark Anthony Ventura admitted that he went through hazing last year, during initiation rites similar to Castillo’s rites.

Frat members Jason Robiños and John Paul Solano said in previous Senate hearings that they also went through hazing.

UST Office for Student Affairs (OSA) Director Socorro Guan Hing, who was appointed only this academic year, said advisers of fraternities should be “actively involved” in all activities of the fraternity.

“The corresponding advisers [should] monitor to be actively involved. For example, if [an] organization will plan an activity, it should be done together with the adviser… The adviser has to go through the different parts of the activity; where it will be conducted [and] how it should it be conducted should have gone [under the adviser’s] scrutiny,” Guan Hing said during the Senate probe.

However, Asst. Prof. Irvin Fabella, adviser of Aegis Juris from 2010 to 2016, claimed that he was not aware of hazing rites in the law fraternity during his time. He said during the hearing he was only involved in two major frat activities—the Bar Exam operations and anniversary celebrations held every December.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian was baffled that none of the UST officials had any knowledge of past hazing incidents in University.

“I’m really disappointed with the measures undertaken by UST,” he said. “This [hazing] is a criminal act, go deeper into this problem and come up with a more proactive approach.”

A clearer fraternity recruitment policy should be implemented by UST officials, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

Castillo was recruited by the Aegis Juris despite the memorandum released by the Faculty of Civil Law last Feb. 24 prohibiting the recruitment of freshmen and their failure to be a “recognized student organization” by OSA this academic year.

“The [OSA] said the [Aegis Juris Fraternity] is not recognized [this year]. What do they mean about recognized? How come [the fraternity] is still recruiting members? Last June or July, the fraternity should have [been] banned from recruitment and Atio should not have died,” Zubiri told the Varsitarian.

Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina told senators he merely presumed that fraternities had stopped recruiting freshmen because of the memorandum that also ordered the organizations to “strictly follow the Anti-Hazing Law.” “Freshmen students must be given the opportunity to reasonably and intelligently determine the status of the organizations they would like to become members of,” the document read.

Guan Hing said the University was planning to issue a moratorium on the different activities of fraternities and sororities, without going into details.

Section 2 of the Republic Act 8049 of the Anti-Hazing Law of 1995 states that “no hazing or initiation rites in any form by a fraternity, sorority or organization would be allowed without prior written notice to the school

Senate PAGE 9

UST Office for Student Affairs Director Ma. Socorro Guan Hing speaks before a Senate probe last Nov. 6.

JOELLE ALISON MAE P. EUSEBIO

‘Alternative Learning System’ eyed as solution to drug problem By: ARIANNE AINE D. SUAREZ THE ALTERNATIVE Learning System (ALS) offered under the local government’s drug rehabilitation program has a potential to help solve the drug problem in the country that is still reeling from the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war.

Department of Education (DepEd) program specialist Kristine Lumanog said the country’s drug problem could be eradicated with proper guidance and counselling of drug addicts.

“Kung ma-encourage [ang mga drug surrenderers], mas [ma-lessen] na mahikayat sila ng maling barkada,” she told the Varsitarian.

The Community-Assisted Rehabilitation and Recovery OutPatient Training System, founded by the Caloocan Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac) in September 2016, started to offer ALS to drug surrenderers last July.

Sikini Labastilla, executive director of the Cadac, said the ALS alone would not be a solution to the drug problem.

“The drug menace can be solved by reducing supply, demolition of distribution networks and reducing demand by rehabilitating and continuously educating the users. ALS has a place in both the education and the rehab but not in the other pillars,” he said in an interview.

Cadac’s rehabilitation and training system for drug surrenderers is a six-month program involving rehabilitation activities for former drug users who were included in the police’s watch list and had voluntarily submitted themselves to authorities.

The rehabilitation activities are held at three shelters or pods in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Camarin and Bagong Barrio and San Roque Parish in Caloocan City.

Drug surrenderers undergo screening by the police, psychiatrists and doctors to determine if they are

qualified for community-based rehab, before they are included in the list to be given to Cadac. A total of 101 drug surrenderers joined the first batch of ALS in the three pods.

“Mayroong aftercare na monitoring pa rin sa [drug surrenderers] for 10 months. Sa first month nire-require pa rin sila na mag-report weekly sa Caloocan City Social Welfare Development,” said Amillany Miranda, Cadac pod leader.

Miranda, who is also a psychometrician, said ALS was

meant for drug surrenderers who were not able to graduate from high school.

‘Strengthen aftercare’ There is a tendency for the patients to go back to using illegal drugs when they are not monitored after rehabilitation.

“May mga bumabalik kasi hindi naman natin sila hawak.

Kaya nga community-based, uwian ‘yang mga yan e. Hindi mo talaga ma-monitor `yung pagdating nila ng bahay nila, kung sino `yung ALS PAGE 2

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT. Nuns from the Caloocan City prelate leads one of the ALS sessions conducted for drug users ARIANNE AINE D. SUAREZ

‘Practice good politics in Marawi rehab’ By: MA. CONSUELO D.P. MARQUEZ

POOR coordination with the national government could lead to malversation of funds in rebuilding the war-torn Marawi City, experts have warned.

Dennis Coronacion, chairman of the UST Political Science department, said the government was bound to repeat the mistakes in the rehabilitation of Tacloban in Leyte after the 2013 Typhoon Yolanda calamity without coordination between the national and local governments.

“We should learn from the lessons of Yolanda. The temporary shelters have not been completed [and] only 2 percent of the promised shelters have been built so far. [So] if you rehabilitate Marawi, there should be a smoother relationship between the national government and the local government,” Coronacion told the Varsitarian.

The Department of Budget and Management allotted P5 billion to rebuild Marawi in 2017, and P10 billion in 2018, eyeing 2,747 permanent housing units for Marawi residents.

Coronacion said the government must practice transparency in the cash flow and distribution of relief funds by “[creating] guidelines in disbursing funds, posting the amount of certain projects in public places and involving the Commission on Audit.”

Kabataan Party Rep. Sara Elago said the national and local governments must consider the interest of Marawi citizens to avoid wasting rehabilitation funds.

“What we need here is to not treat [rehabilitation] as a business and not a source of corruption. We should not think of personal interest and profiteering but the interest of Marawi citizens who are victims of the crisis,” Elago said in a chance interview.

Eduardo del Rosario, head of Task Force Bangon Marawi, the government’s interagency task force for the rehabilitation, assured the public that they would allow the Marawi citizens to be involved in the rehabilitation of the city. “[We include the] engagement and inclusion of the Marawi residents in all the plans of the government. And on our part, we will ensure that what we plan, that what we promise, will be delivered to them,” del Rosario said in a press briefing last Nov. 10.

‘Protect Muslim identity’ Eric Zerrudo, director of the UST Graduate School Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics, said Muslim scholars should be involved in the rehabilitation to protect the identity of Muslim culture in Marawi City. “[Architects and urban planners] have to involve Muslim scholars [to be] sensitive enough to their alleys and their whole life

cycle,” Zerrudo told the Varsitarian.

“You have to put into consideration the whole rebuilding of the whole city… Their psyche is based on their religion…You have to rebuild mosques and even their market trades.”

A “people first” plan should be maintained to preserve Islamic culture in the rehabilitation, said Felino Palafox Jr., Thomasian architect and urban planner.

“The crisis in Marawi gives opportunity to a better, smarter, safer and more sustainable [rehabilitation plan.] We can make [Marawi into] an international Islamic interface and an inclusive and more environment-friendly city,” Palafox said in a phone interview.

Policies on land titles should also be enforced to assure the Maranaos that they will own a piece of land, and to prevent landgrabbing, Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, said.

“There should be land-titling in order to [give assurance to the public] that the people will own a piece of land… In the absence of a clear plan on land titling, [it] might start a new rebellion,” Casiple told the Varsitarian.

Marawi has the largest population in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao with 201,785 resdients, figures from the 2015 census showed.

Marawi City, which is dominated by the Maranaos, is known for market trade and is considered the country’s Islamic capital.

4 Opinion

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Editorial

Beijing lapdog Duterte makes a mockery of Asean DESPITE chairing the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit this year, in which he could have lead Southeast Asian nations in checking Communist China’s imperialist tendencies as shown in the latter’s encroachments on islands off seas surrounding the region, especially the West Philippine Sea, President Duterte unsurprisingly played cozy with totalitarian Beijing who was represented in the meeting by no less than by Premier Li Keqiang, In the process, he not only failed to press for the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, but also failed to advance the interest of the Asean, many of whose members, such as Vietnam, had suffered territorial encroachments by China.

Duterte, who goes on a daily harangue of his pet peeves and those who disagree with him, especially women, cursing them and uttering chauvinistic expletives, was suddenly diplomatic if not silent of Chinese expansionism and militarization in the region.

Ang yabang-yabang dahil babae “lang” ang kalaban, pero tiklop at bahag ang buntot naman kapag kaharap ang “machong” Tsina!

Duwag pala ang hambog na taga-Davao!

During the opening of the Asean summit last Nov. 13, Duterte emphasized the need to address threats of terrorism and violence in the region, but deliberately made no mention of the West Philippine Sea, the potentially oil-rich maritime space being fought over by countries like China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

In a business conference a day before, Duterte said the country’s territorial dispute with China “is better left untouched. Nobody can afford to go to war. It can ill-afford a violent confrontation.”

While Duterte wants the people to believe that he is all for peaceful diplomacy, it is perhaps Duterte has grown more and more closer to China. It seems that he is willing to forego his own country’s interests to please his precious totalitarian bosses and also to satisfy his totalitarian desires.

China has deliberately ignored claims of the 10-member Asean bloc on the West Philippine Sea and especially ignored the ruling of an international tribunal in The Hague that immensely favored the Philippines.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping insisted that China’s “territorial sovereignty and marine rights” Editorial PAGE 5

FOUNDED JAN. 16, 1928 AMIERIELLE ANNE A. BULAN Editor in Chief BERNADETTE A. PAMINTUAN Managing Editor ALHEX ADREA M. PERALTA Associate Editor MARIA CRISANTA M. PALOMA News Editor HANNAH RHOCELLHYNNIA H. CRUZ Assistant News Editor RANDELL ANGELO B. RITUMALTA Sports Editor NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS Special Reports Editor CHELSEY MEI NADINE B. BRAZAL Features Editor NIKKO MIGUEL M. GARCIA Literary Editor JOLAU V. OCAMPO Patnugot ng Filipino LEA MAT P. VICENCIO Witness Editor EDRIS DOMINIC C. PUA Science and Technology Editor AUDRIE JULIENNE D. BERNAS Circle Editor CHRISTIAN DE LANO M. DEIPARINE Online Editor SHAINA MAE L. SANTANDER Art Director DEEJAE S. DUMLAO Acting Chief Photographer News Ianna Gayle S. Agus, Samantha-Wee Lipana, Jacob Marvin D. Urmenita, Pauline Faye V. Tria Sports Jan Carlo Anolin, Mia Arra C. Camacho, Ma. Angela Christa Coloma, Ivan Ruiz L. Suing Special Reports Ma. Consuelo D.P. Marquez, Arianne Aine D. Suarez Features Louise Claire H. Cruz, Daphne Yann P. Galvez Literary Karl Ben L. Arlegui, Elmer B. Coldora Filipino Erma R. Edera, Chris V. Gamoso, Winona S. Sadia Witness Lexanne O. Garcia Science and Technology Alyssa Carmina A. Gonzales Circle Klimier Nicole B. Adriano, Kathleen Therese A. Palapar Art Mariyella Alysa A. Abulad, Blessie Angelie B. Andres, Rocher Faye R. Dulatre, Joelle Alison Mae Eusebio Photography Ann Margaret De Nys, Vince Christian C. Imperio, Miah Terrenz Provido, Maria Charisse Ann G. Refuerzo, Michael Angelo M. Reyes, Rhenwil G. James Santos, Vladlynn Nona Maryse L. Tadeo, Pauline Faye V. Tria FELIPE F. SALVOSA II Assistant Publications Adviser JOSELITO B. ZULUETA Publications Adviser

Letters/comments/suggestions/contributions are welcome in the Varsitarian. Only letters with signatures and corresponding contact details will be entertained. Original manuscript contributions must be typewritten, double-spaced, on regular bond paper, and should include a signed certification bearing the author’s name, address, year, and college. The identity of a writer may be withheld upon request. The editors will not be responsible for the loss of materials. Contributions must be sent to THE VARSITARIAN office, Rm. 105, Tan Yan Kee Student Center, University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila.

Castillo hazing: Wake-up call for OSA SCHOOL policies are made to guide the student body about proper campus behavior and decorum.

But with the recent hazing incident, the University’s student protocols have been exposed to be inadequate or mismanaged.

The University is in hot water after officials admitted they were not aware of the hazing rites practiced by the Aegis Juris Fraternity following the death of Law freshman Horacio “Atio” Castillo III. It turned out that the University has not given special attention to and kept watch over fraternities, despite their historically notorious predisposition toward conducting hazing and violent initiation rites.

Worse, despite the law against hazing, the Office for Student Affairs (OSA) has not formulated or evolved regulations all these years to better police fraternities and stop them from doing anything remotely connected with hazing that’s not only conduct unbecoming of a student but also illegal and criminally unlawful.

In the Code of Conduct of the UST Student Handbook, hazing is mentioned under

The OSA has overlooked a more important concern and not done its job: to check fraternity violence. the Maintenance of Peace and Order section, which supposedly prohibits students from engaging in any hazing or brawls on or off the campus. The Anti-Hazing Law is attached to the handbook as an appendix.

No other mention of initiation rites or fraternities is made in the handbook.

In contrast, the University of the Philippines-Diliman’s 2012 Code of Student Conduct specifies hazing as a serious offense; officers and members involved in the hazing will be subject to expulsion. Offenders will also be disqualified from registration in UP for at least five years. The student (or neophyte) who subjects himself to hazing shall also be suspended and will undergo counseling.

The UP-Diliman code also

2017, ordered a stop to the recruitment of fraternities of freshmen. According to the memo posted on Facebook, this was to give the freshman time to better check the organizations trying to recruit them.

But the Varsitarian did not see the actual memo and couldn’t corroborate Divina’s claim. Nor could it confirm if the memo had been posted on the Civil Law bulletin board or circulated officially and properly.

In any case, according to the memo, violation of the new rule would be sanctioned according to the UST Student Handbook, which is, as we’ve said, generally mum on fraternities and fraternityrelated violations.

The OSA has generally busied itself with paper work, requiring all student organizations to apply for recognition every year, including organizations to which students are affiliated according to their academic programs (UST Biology Society, Political Science Forum, etc.)

Do academic organizations really need OSA recognition?

Wouldn’t the college administration be in a better

makes it clear that freshmen are not allowed to join fraternities.

Those who will accept a student who has not completed the residency requirement of one academic year will be subject to suspension for one semester.

Admitting two or more recruits would subject fraternities to one academic year suspension and even expulsion.

At De la Salle University, all officers of an organization are considered liable once hazing is committed. La Salle’s 2015-2018 student handbook states that hazing is considered a major offense subject to probation, suspension, nonreadmission, or expulsion.

Dean Nilo Divina said the UST Civil Law Student Welfare and Development Board, in a memorandum dated Feb. 24, Chasing currents PAGE 5

The sad truth about our healthcare system THE COUNTRY’S healthcare system has gotten ill.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which labels a healthcare system as “well-functioning” if it has impartial access to quality healthcare while protecting the people from financial consequences of poor health, referred to the Filipino Healthcare System as “fragmented.”

This is because many Filipinos do not get access to basic health care. This problem is evident with the high maternal and newborn mortality rates that creates problems for those who have limited access to basic care or for those living in generally poor health conditions.

Although most medical practitioners and health workers in the country are graduates from top universities that have excellent standards, problems still arise in the healthcare system with the disparity between public and private hospitals.

It is a two-faced system: private, the one for those who could afford to pay, and public, for those who could not.

Private healthcare services are well-established and growing in Philippines

Healthcare in the Philippines suffers from a shortage of human medical resources, especially doctors. through specialist clinics and private hospitals. In there, the administration, staff, all the doctors, are under control of the patient and processing of funds.

The public system is the “go-to” for the majority of the population that has little choice when stricken by disease so they accept what is available and affordable regardless of quality.

According to 2009 statistics of the Department of Health, 60 percent of the hospitals are privately-owned and 48 percent of the population who need inpatient care is confined in private hospitals.

Catering to 30 percent of the population, the private sector is much larger than the public sector in terms of human,

financial and technological resources.

Public hospitals, on the other hand, are completely and entirely run by the government’s funding and money—from the construction to the fees of the doctors to the equipment, medicines rely on the government budget.

Since the services are mostly free, waiting time is longer. For some operations, patients have to wait for years until they get their place in the long list.

Most public hospitals continue their slide down toward decline, starved of government subsidy.

Brain drain caused by poorly paid, overworked medical professionals is not

something to be surprised of.

Healthcare in the Philippines suffers from a shortage of human medical resources, especially doctors.

This makes the system run slower and less efficiently.

With a stark decrease of medical professionals left in the country, 70 percent of Filipino health professionals are working in the private sector that serves only 30 percent of the population.

Only 30 percent of health workers are employed by the government to address the health needs of the majority of Filipinos.

There is a history of unjust and unequal access to health services that significantly targets the poor.

Private hospitals continue to do business catering to the country’s elite, but becomes more and more unaffordable to the lower classes.

Although advances have been made to improve the healthcare system in the Philippines, there are still many obstacles and issues that the country has to overcome to achieve high quality but also cost efficient healthcare system that can be accessed by all Filipinos.

Opinion 5

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Apo Whang-od: Eye-opener on indigenous people WHILE Apo Whang-od Oggay’s recent ManilaFame guesting sparked debates on exploitation and commodification of culture, there is a bigger issue on the country’s cultural appreciation that we have to address.

Whang-od, the eldest living “mambabatok” (tattoo artist) visited Manila as a guest with her grandnieces to showcase their tribe’s craft with the participation of five to seven people who would receive the prized Kalinga tattoo. Seeing that many people wanted to get their own tattoo, Whang-od agreed to do more.

In two days, the eldest Kalinga tattoo artist had tattooed almost 300 people, charging P2,500 per tattoo.

The event went viral after a Facebook user uploaded a photo of Whang-od seemingly

Whang-od’s participation in ManilaFame should be an eye-opener for all of us to give our indigenous brothers and sisters the chance to share and engage with us.

and even participate in it. Now, what was once exclusive to the tribes and warriors of Kalinga has been shared with and appreciated by other Filipinos.

In the contract signed

by Whang-od and her niece, the Kalinga members agreed to conduct a two-day live tattoo session and take part in a panel discussion by Create Philippines.

Whang-od’s participation in ManilaFame should be an eye-opener for all of us to give our indigenous brothers and sisters the chance to share and engage us in preserving their cultures.

This is a call for the government to exert more efforts to promote and help indigenous peoples and their cultures to be known, especially by urban Filipinos.

tired while attending a panel discussion during the expo.

The image caused a flak among Netizens who accused organizers of commodifying and appropriating Whang-od’s craft.

Whang-od’s live tattoo session was likened to the Philippine Exposition at St. Louis World Fair in 1904, in which Philippine indigenous people were brought in the

United States to be a part of the living exhibition.

Some concerned citizens thought this was “exoticizing” Whang-od. But while St. Louis affair did exoticize our people back then, with whites making them a spectacle, the Whang-od situation was very different. The event was in the Philippines and her fellow Filipinos were given the chance to see her art practice

were not affected at all by the international arbitration case and that the ruling was “null and void.”

The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling’s in July 2016 overwhelmingly favored the Philippines and said China has no right to exploit the resources in the disputed island “within the Philippines 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone.”

In a statement last Nov. 13, Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar has said Asean leaders and China have agreed to start the talks on a proposed legally-binding regional Code of Conduct in the West Philippine Sea,

which aims to promote maritime cooperation among involved parties and prevent conflicting territorial claims to evolve into more complicated disputes.

The spokesman said negotiations will probably begin next year when Singapore takes over the Asean chairmanship from the Philippines, and that leaders want an early conclusion of the code, which has already been on the drawing board for 15 long years.

Last August, Chinese and Asean foreign ministers adopted a negotiating framework for the said code of conduct, which only China took advantage off to strengthen its control over the maritime space.

However, there is no assurance that the code will be finished soon enough as Asean leaders have been slow to arrive at unified decisions. The code may be years away from now when China has fully consolidated its power, and this deficiency of Asean leaders in fast decision making has slowed down headway for the interests of the region. Asean has made no clear progress in recent years while China has been conducting reclamation activities and has seen steady progress in constructing military facilities on reefs and islands on the tensed waters, not to mention installing missiles to bolster its solid claim in the region.

Duterte, who even

threatened to personally ride a jet-ski to the contested waters to underscore the country’s claim when he was running for elections, has hardly done enough to boost the Philippine’s stance on the matter. In fact, just this month, he ordered the military to halt the construction of hut shelters for Filipino fishermen on sandbars off the coast of Manila-claimed Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea to appease China.

Duterte has again missed an opportunity to defend Philippine--and Asean--interests. And he purposely has done so because he’s Beijing’s lackey: China controls not only the West Philippine Sea but also Malacañang.

Gusi

Chasing currents

Egypt, Greece, Haiti, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

In 2011, Thomasian architect Felino Palafox, Jr. was given the award for his advocacy of mitigating the effects of climate change through architecture and urban planning.

The annual Gusi Peace Prize recognizes the efforts of individuals in promoting peace and respect for human life. It is organized by Barry Gusi, and named after World War 2 guerrilla leader Gemeniano Javier Gusi. IANNA GAYLE S. AGUS

position to accredit them?

We don’t really know the logic to all of this red tape save for the tired reason that the bureaucracy is selfperpetuating.

Bureaucrats would like to be seen busy and officious, the better to improve their chances at being perpetuated in their jobs and their paychecks.

UST has prided itself with earning “quality management” certifications, but if one looks at the mountains of papers that a student organization must submit to the OSA every year— and the long list of signatories who must affix their names— just to renew OSA recognition,

it appears that the certifications are mere, er, paper? (Or perhaps the certifications are not really for “quality” but for “quantity management”?)

Therefore, the Castillo hazing tragedy should be a wake-up call. At the least it should show that the OSA has busied itself with merely peripheral concerns and even encroached on the prerogatives of college administrations in an instance of overextension.

In the meantime, the OSA has overlooked a more important concern and not done its job: to check fraternity violence.

Welson Chua was killed after revealing the corruption in the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps, which included hazing.

Five years before, in 1995, the anti-hazing law had been passed.

More than two decades after the law was passed and the Chua killing took place, UST still does not have a firm policy and regulation on fraternities and hazing.

Father Rector Herminio Dagohoy, O.P, has vowed to improve the rules of the University on fraternities and sororities, noting that it is “high time” for the University to “revisit” the rules. We welcome the development and urge everyone in the Thomasian community to declare, “Amen!”

Editorial FROM PAGE 4

FROM PAGE 2

Union president

FROM PAGE 1 to tackle amendments to the USTFU constitution and bylaws to allow union officials to handpick negotiators for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with UST, among other proposals which former union vice president Rene Tadle and other union critics, such as Arts and Letters Faculty Association President Danielito Jimenez, are also opposing. A CBA is an agreement between employees and their employer over terms and conditions of work.

Questions over the faculty’s share in the tuition increases under the renegotiated CBA for 2011-2016, however, derailed the discussions. As a result, only 465 voted in favor on the amendments, 365 voted against and 424 members chose not to vote or were not able to vote.

Critics pointed to the illegitimacy of the members of

FROM PAGE 4

the USTFU negotiating panel who were mostly appointed by union leaders, instead of elected as required by the union charter.

“The incumbent USTFU Panel is composed of illegitimate members. [M] ajority of the negotiators, including Dr. Lim, were not elected but were appointed by the board instead. [T]hus, the ‘ratified’ CBA renegotiated economic benefits may be deemed invalid since the majority of the Union negotiators were not lawful representatives of the general faculty,” the statement said.

“As a doctor, let the hospital be his office; the union office belongs to a dedicated labor leader who works for the interest of his co-faculty –not through the rear door,” critics added.

Avoiding legal accountability?

Lim’s warning of “legal implications” for USTFU

Mark Welson Chua It is not as if this is only the first time that UST is confronted with the issue.

In 2001, Mechanical Engineering student Mark members supporting a signature drive calling for the resignation of union officials sounded more of a threat rather than a warning to avoid legal responsibility, critics said.

“Dr. Lim’s piece of advice sounds more of as a threat (legal accountability) than a friendly advice. [His] “threatening piece of advice” is intended to avoid any legal accountability which he and his panel may meet once the signature campaign succeeds,” the statement read.

Lawyer Danielito Jimenez, president of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association, said it was high time for Lim to step down from office to prevent further damage to the interest of the faculty.

“In other situations, “delicadeza” may come into play and dictate that once there is a loss of confidence or if moral leadership to govern is lost, those responsible should make the ultimate sacrifice to step

down to spare the organization from further damage. Rather than respond with a so called “legal implications”, it is best to listen,” Jimenez told the Varsitarian in an online interview last Nov. 9.

Jimenez downplayed threats of a libel suit, saying the call for resignation of union officials was “not a personal attack on their character as individuals.”

“With all due respect to the members of the panel and its head, especially those who were not even elected, the call for their resignation is not a personal attack on their character as individuals. The call is an objective appeal to step down as many felt they failed in their mandate,” he added.

A signature campaign calling on USTFU officials to resign has been circulating following the distribution in October of tuition hikes collected for Academic Years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016

Is UST’s Literature program on the decline?

IS THE University’s Literature program on the decline?

In 2013, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) relegated the University’s AB Literature program from Center of Excellence (COE) to Center of Development (COD). The latter status will last up to Dec. 31, 2018 after which UST could apply for a restoration of its COE status.

But has UST prepared well for the new application?

In its criteria in 2013, CHEd prioritized “Instructional Quality,” which weighed in at 45 percent of the overall score; 15 percent of this was allotted for “Faculty.” Thirty percent was allotted for “Research and Publications.”

Having been numbered among students halfhearted about the program, I find that attaining my original dream has become remote and farfetched.

When I browsed the official websites of other universities which offer literature programs named COEs or CODs, I was flabbergasted. They boasted of literature professors with master’s degrees, some of which were acquired abroad.

The same was true for those with doctorate degrees, which were acquired from prestigious institutions such as the National University of Singapore, University of Manchester, University of Chicago, Brown Universitry, Hong Kong Baptist University.

On top of that, literature professors from other universities consistently publish in academic journals and present research papers, locally and internationally.

Sadly, many UST literature professors do not have master’s degrees, much less degrees acquired from abroad; they have not published consistently, much less presented papers internationally.

Part of the reason for the decline of the Literature program is how the UST administration has treated it as a “reconsideration” for some students who did not pass their original preferred programs. They compromise the program.

Worse, I know of cases in which students on the brink of debarment from demanding programs were allowed to continue their stay in UST so long Breaking bad PAGE 9

Erratum

In the story “Health service conducts drug tests ahead of DepEd mandate” (Volume LXXXIX, No. 3, October 25, 2017), UST Health Service Director Rhodora de Leon was erroneously quoted as saying “students who will test positive should not be discouraged from using drugs.”

The correct quote is “students who will test positive should be discouraged from using drugs.”

We apologize for this mistake. under the renegotiated CBA. As of writing, the number of signatories has reached more than 300 faculty members, which includes lawyers from different faculties and colleges, a source told the Varsitarian.

“It has come to our attention that nameless “concerned” faculty members have been circulating unsigned/ anonymous letters soliciting your signatures calling for the resignation of some Union officers the basis of which we find baseless and malicious,” Lim said in his letter to USTFU members in October.

“Please be more cautious and circumspect before you affix your signatures on any of those documents as your act includes accountability for it along with any legal implications it may have to you and to other USTFU Officers, Directors and members,” he added. P.F.V. TRIA

Social media

FROM PAGE 7 “Naging propaganda machine rin [ang social media]. Ito ‘yung nakakatakot.

‘Yung mga trolls [...] ay iisa lamang ang intensyon dati.

Away lang [dati], ngayon, may agenda. The agenda is itatawid kung ano ang kanilang, mostly, political agenda,” he said.

Family life advocate Michelle Alignay advised social media users to ignore the trolls who post and share “fake news.”

The Catholic Social Media Awards took place after the summit. Santisimo Rosario Parish was nominated for the Best Parish Facebook Page award, while the Young Thomasian Professionals-Lay Dominicans was nominated for the category Best Catholic Organization Website.

ELMER B. COLDORA

6 Features

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Editor: Chelsey Mei Nadine B. Brazal

Businessman is ‘weekend warrior’ in Marawi A LETTER from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in May signaled an about-face in the life of an executive from a telephone communication industry.

Businessman Roberto Almario, 48, was summoned by the AFP to report for active duty as lieutenant colonel in Marawi on the night President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao.

Despite his family’s hesitations, Almario found himself assuming the position and hopping on a plane the day after he received the summon.

“This is the only time I can pay back the country.

It’s a privilege to serve in the main battle area because not everyone is called,” he told the Varsitarian in an interview.

Almario, a graduate of Sociology in 1990, was one of three reservists mobilized in Marawi to facilitate the military’s communication signals. His companions were a senior vice president of a bank and an information technology expert.

Although their duties in the war zone deals with communications, the reservists, clad in full military fatigues, were also placed on the front line. They camped under roofless structures to dodge sniper bullets, were unable to bathe for weeks and had irregular meals of rice and sardines.

Lucky for Almario, he had already been acquainted to the life as an Army reserve.

Back in UST, Almario was an advanced Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadet officer, a position he pursued when he aspired to be a soldier like his father and uncle.

Even though he ended up in the business industry after graduation, he became actively involved in the Army Reserve Command, volunteering every Saturday for almost 20 years.

“I’m a weekend warrior. We are on active training for 60 days a year and we report on the weekends to train,” he said.

Upon arriving in Marawi, he was met with long lines of thousands of Maranaos exiting the conflictstricken city. They carried the barest essentials,

leaving most of their belongings behind thinking the conflict would only last for a few weeks.

“Every time I volunteer to go to the evacuees, ang hinihingi nila ay ‘wag bombahin ‘yung mga bahay nila,” Almario said.

During military operations, Almario had to duck from sniper bullets and shrapnel and fire back when the enemy engaged.

His experience in an actual battleship led him to find new respect for for regular troops who sacrifice for theircountry.

“Makikita mo ‘yung hardship na ginagawa ng mga sundalonatin araw-araw. They make do with what they have,” he said.

Unexpectedly, it was not a bullet that struck Almario down. It was dengue.

The unsanitary living conditions caused a dengue outbreak, which prompted the AFP to send Almario back to Manila by the end of September to recuperate.

Almario said it was unusual for a reservist to be called for duty during a conflict. He said reservists usually came into action in the rehabilitation after the conflict and in disaster situations like typhoons and floods.

“Kami ‘yung tinatawag para sa mga rehabilitation. Ngayon lang nangyari namobilize [kami] during the conflict,” he said.

But in the battlefield, Almario added, the line between a reservist and a regular soldier diminishes. “When you’re in the warzone, you are treated as a regular soldier.”

Almario said he will gladly render his services to the country for another time if needed.

“Those were the values we [inculcated] in UST: to serve our country in any little way,” he said. DAPHNE YANN P. GALVEZ

Almario

Thomasian lensman’s photograph of Badjao kid reaps international acclaim THE IMAGE of a severely malnourished Badjao boy by the window in Lucena City brought acclaim for photographer John Even Dominic Regala.

But more importantly, Regala’s “Bata sa Bintana” was a powerful represenation of a reality in the Philippines that needs attention.

“I think it connected well with the jury in terms of showing a side of the Philippines that’s not just fighting war on drugs, but is also a country that’s dealing with hunger,” said Regala, 31, a faculty member of the UST College of Fine Arts and Design.

The boy, 13-year-old Zoren, was so weak and malnourish that he couldn’t leave home, seeing the world outside only through a window Regala chose Zoren as the subject of his documentary for GMA Network TV’s show Front Row, with the title “Bata sa Bintana.” Zoren also became the center of the photograph Regala entered to the 2017 International Photography Awards—Philippines. Both pieces garnered awards.

“Bata sa Bintana” won the gold medal last April in the Human Concerns category of the 2017 New York Festivals “World’s Best TV and Films” Competition, which honors outstanding TV programs and films from over 50 countries.

Regala’s winning photograph titled “Hunger” bagged the Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year, as chosen by an international jury of acclaimed photographers.

“When I met Zoren, I have this gut feeling that this subject is the perfect entry for the category of a deeper perspective,” Regala said.

People tend to overlook that the Philippines is also a third-world country and hunger is one of the issues the country faces aside from several others.”

When Regala visited Zoren a month ago, almost a year after they shot the documentary and photographs, his condition has improved.

“As a photographer, you see that you have [to] help your [subjects] a lot of ways through your art [and] craft,” Regala told the Varsitarian in an interview.

Following father’s footsteps When Regala was on his third year as an advertising arts student, he worked as a student apprentice under a commercial photography company. It was his father who sparked his passion for the craft.

His father, renowned film

Boy by the window. Images of the 13-year-old malnourished Badjao boy Zoren. Photos courtesy of John Even Dominic Regala.

director Tata Esteban (born Steve Paolo Regala), was behind movies in the 80’s such as “Salamangkero,” “Alapaap,” among others.

The younger Regala now works as the director of photography of The Extra Mile Productions, a wedding videographer for Mayad Studios and is also a director of photography in GMA Network.

After graduating in 2008, he worked as a freelance photographer in and out of the country. He spent the next six years traveling for work until he decided to settle in 2014 and venture on film and documentary making.

His first documentary was “Fields of Hope” which won the Best International Documentary Film in the 2016 Manhattan Film Festival. He has also worked on “On the Brink: Uncharted Waters” which won the Conservation Award in San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival in 2016 and was featured in and purchased by the National Geographic Channel Philippines. LOUISE CLAIRE H. CRUZ

John Even Dominic Regala

Editor: Lea Mat P. Vicencio

Witness 7

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Evangelize, condemn brutal drug war through social media—Caloocan bishop SOCIAL media should be used as a tool to evangelize and enlighten Filipinos on their wrongdoings, such approval of extrajudicial killings in the Duterte administration’s war against illegal drugs.

Speaking on the theme “Inspire: Dispelling the Darkness in Social Media,” Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David encouraged the attendees of the 6th Catholic Social Media Summit to utilize social media in promoting the culture of truth and empathy.

“God works also through the social media and it is indeed the forum of truth and empathy,” David said during his inspirational talk at Siena College of Quezon City last Nov. 18.

David said President Rodrigo Duterte’s “sound bites,” which try to defend and validate the drug war, must be countered by Filipinos through social media. “[T]hese sound bites [...] are [now] taken as gospel truths by people. If we just listen to them and not react to them, these will become gospel truths because the people who say them are in authority. The sound bites are quickly accepted if they

are unquestioned,” David said.

David cited the “Lord Heal Our Land Sunday” Mass and march last Nov. 5 as a proof that social media could be used to promote the value of life.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) used social media as their platform in urging Filipinos to join the national healing march.

“Ang panawagan namin ‘stop the killings, start the healing’ then you’ll find [people] walking with you. Ganiyan katindi ang epekto ng social media. [W]hen you’re able to move their consciences, they will come out of their homes and they will walk with you,” he said.

“Ang problema ay mas matatapang at mas malalakas ang loob ng mga nasa kabuktutan, nu’ng mga nasa katiwalian, at mga mamamatay-tao. We should not allow that,” David added.

Battling with the trolls Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, director of the CBCP Media Office, said people behind trolling were using social media for black propaganda.

Social media PAGE 5

Caloocan Bishop Virgilio David speaks during the 6th Catholic Social Media Summit last Nov. 18.

UST exorcist pushes for revival of exorcism ministry A FILIPINO exorcist has called for the revival of the Ministry of Spiritual Liberation in the Philippines amid Filipinos’ inclination to “superstitions and occult practices.”

Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P., regent of the College of Education, said the Ministry of Spiritual Liberation would be a “beacon of hope” for individuals victimized by the spiritual powers of darkness.

“The Ministry of Spiritual Liberation is a beacon of hope, with assurance of real liberty and salvation in Jesus Christ. However, this freedom is not easily obtained without a fight between the deceiving spirits and the afflicted spiritually,” Cabading told the Varsitarian in an e-mail interview.

Echoing the words of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle during the Second National Conference on the Ministry of Spiritual Liberation last August, Cabading said reviving the ministry was part of proclaiming the Word of God as it is “integrally situated in the Catholic Church’s office of sanctification.”

“In the Catholic Church, [it] is a visible sign of the power of liberation inherent in the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is part of the sign that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and the Church is a witness to that reality,” Cabading said.

“The presence of a very active

Red Wednesday FROM PAGE 1

by side with people of other faiths,” he said.

‘Gospel of love, mercy and compassion’ In his homily for Red Wednesday Mass at the Manila Cathedral, de la Peña decried the violent terrorism and

Ministry of Spiritual Liberation, and the appointment of duly designated and prepared priestsexorcists in the local church, give confidence to the faithful,” he added.

Cabading said Filipinos’ belief of superstitions could be an entry point for demonic infestation and the presence of malevolent spirits.

Cabading cited the practices of “padugo” (blood sacrifice) and “alay” (offering) as reasons for demonic infestations in the country.

In the case of “padugo,” a person offers the blood of animals or even one’s own blood to the spirits, as a symbol of atonement, to prevent them from doing mortal harm to people or property.

The “alay” is done by giving offerings to spirits in the form of food, at times also animal blood, or something of the victim, like clothing, Cabading explained.

Cabading said these offerings were not for the “lamanlupa” or “engkantos” (fairies), but for the “fallen angels” or to “demons.”

Other practices that attract malevolent spirits include geomancy or the belief that the arrangement of

extremism in the Middle East and Philippines.

“For the first time in the Philippines, we vow to make an effort to stop the persecution by [the] power of the Gospel of God’s love, mercy, and compassion, and ensure that they will no longer be forgotten through our prayers and [our] spiritual and corporal works of mercy,” the Marawi prelate said.

De la Peña encouraged the

Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia celebrates the Eucharist at the Manila Cathedral.

certain elements and fixtures would allow the flow of good fortune or luck.

The presence of idols, charisms and charms of pagan provenance, such as New Age rosaries, in Catholic homes also attract malevolent spirits.

“The presence of any ornament or furniture that was taken from a pagan temple or a pagan cemetery, or sacred place, or home where offering to pagan deities or spirits were done to the object in consideration will harbor malevolent spirits that will certainly infest Catholic homes,” Cabading said.

Demonic possession or medical c o n d i t i o n ?

Cabading also explained the difference between demonic possession and a medical condition.

“A seasoned exorcist who has many experiences of demonic possession can pretty much sense if a case is purely psychological or psychiatric, spiritual and therefore demonic, or a mixture of both spiritual and psychological or psychiatric,” he said.

faithful to always remember persecuted Christians and actively help in alleviating their sufferings.

“Let our coming together ignite lively response of faith from the Church in the Philippines. We pray to look for the plight of the persecuted Christians into temporary, spiritual and material help for the victims of violence and hatred against religion,” he said.

The faithful light candles at the Manila Cathedral to symbolize the fight for religious freedom.

The Roman Ritual of Exorcism identifies the signs of a demonic possession, which include exhibiting strength beyond the normal state of the person’s age, gender and built.

Knowledge of a “language beyond the person’s ability, [and] of hidden things which are unknown to the person,” are also among the indications.

The Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism also considers energy and spiritual channeling as a case of demonic possession.

“Those who practice spirit channeling such as mediums and those who do energy channeling from New Age practices to be in a possessed state whenever they enter into a trance…Those who enter into a trance and wake up from it without remembering anything, is considered to be possessed,” Cabading said.

Trauma and childhood upheaval also contribute to a person’s mental and emotional health, which may attract evil and malevolent spirits, he said.

Cabading said strong negative passions such as hatred, anger, envy, jealousy, unforgiveness, lust, guilt, rancor, pride, sloth, despair, gluttony, and many other negative emotions, if unchecked, would allow evil spirits to latch into and fortify a person, and subsequently prevent the person from being healed emotionally.

Founded in 2006, the Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism tends to souls who need liberation from demonic attacks.

LEA MAT P. VICENCIO

The University’s Main Building, the Santisimo Rosario Parish and the Arch of the Centuries were floodlit in red to support the Red Wednesday campaign.

Spearheaded by ACN’s United Kingdom office, the Red Wednesday campaign was a prayer campaign to raise awareness on Christian persecution and call Christians to action.

Data from the 2017 World

Watch List by Open Door USA showed that nearly 215 million Christians had been persecuted worldwide.

LADY CHERBETTE N. AGOT, LEXANNE O. GARCIA, PEARL ANNE GUMAPOS AND MAREM DE JEMEL

Fr. Roberto Luanzon, O.P. leads the Red Wednesday Mass at the Santisimo Rosario Parish.

8 Filipino

IKA-29 NG NOBYEMBRE, 2017

Patnugot: Jolau V. Ocampo

Higit sa ‘po’ at ‘opo’ ang paggalang —kawani ng KWF SA PAGDIRIWANG ng Filipino Values Month ngayong Nobyembre, nais palawakin ni Jerry Gracio, manunulat at komisyoner para sa mga wika ng SamarLeyte sa Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, ang pananaw ng mga Filipino ukol sa paggalang sa mga kultura ng bansa.

“Dapat nating tingnan na ang Filipino ay multicultural. Halimbawa, iyong simbolo ng paggalang sa paggamit ng ‘po’ at ‘opo’ ay hindi totoo sa lahat ng ethnic groups natin,” ani Gracio sa isang panayam sa Varsitarian.

Binigay niyang halimbawa ang mga Ilokano at ang mga Bisaya na hindi tunay na gumagamit ng mga nabanggit na salita sapagkat walang katumbas ang mga ito sa kanilang taal na wika. Ginagamit lamang nila ang mga ito sa Maynila upang makipagsabayan sa nakasanayang paraan ng pakikipag-usap dito.

“Malaking problema na lagi tayong nag-iisip mula sa capital o sa Maynila.

Ang tingin natin, kung ano ang tatak ng pagiging magalang ng mga Tagalog, iyon din ang values na dapat taglayin ng ibang mga pangkat,” dagdag pa niya.

Iginiit ni Gracio na sapagkat hindi nakasanayang gumamit ng “po” at “opo” ng ibang mga pangkat bukod sa mga Tagalog, maaaring isipin ng mga taga-Maynila na hindi sila magalang sa pakikipag-usap.

“Kung gumagamit ka ng Bisaya, halimbawa, magalang ka pa rin kahit

walang ‘po’ at ‘opo.’ Ibig sabihin lang, iyong paghahayag ng paggalang ay may iba’t ibang pamamaraan sa iba’t iba nating mga lugar,” wika niya.

Giit ni Gracio, bagaman walang tiyak na katumbas ang mga nabanggit na salita sa kabisayaan, ipinapakita nila ang pagbibigay-galang sa pamamagitan ng paglalakip ng m g a angkop n a

Luma at bagong ortograpiyang Filipino, kabilang sa Filipino Spell Checker BANAS ka ba sa Microsoft Word tuwing nagkakaroon ng kulay-pulang linya sa ibaba ng mga salita sa wikang Filipino, dahil hindi ito naka-programa sa popular na wordprocessing software?

Huwag mayamot dahil ang ortograpiyang ginamit nina Rizal, Bonifacio, at iba pang mga bayaning manunulat ay ilulunsad na “Filipino Spell Checker” sa susunod na taon sa pangunguna ng Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).

Humigit-kumulang 60 milyong mga salita mula sa iba’t ibang wika sa Filipinas ang nakapaloob sa Filipino Spell Checker. “‘Yung corpus collection ay hindi naman namin nililimitahan sa mga corpus na nakukuha o nilathala o n l i n e .

‘Yung mga ganoong

document kinokolekta pa rin namin siya, lalo na ‘yung mga article ni Bonifacio, ni Rizal, so kailangan pa rin natin silang tingnan,” wika ni Jeslie del Ayre, mananaliksik sa wika sa KWF. Binigyang diin ni Ayre ang kahalagahan ng teknolohiya sa modernong paggamit ng wikang Filipino.

“Marapat lamang na magkaroon din ng ibang paraan gamit ang teknolohiya para naman sa modernong paggamit ng Filipino,” aniya.

Taong 2016 nang simulan ang pagbuo ng nabanggit na software sa pamamagitan ng pagbuo ng mga rule pattern na nakabatay sa Ortograpiyang Pambansa na inilathala ng komisyon noong 2013.

Nagkaroon ng pilot-testing sa tanggapan ng KWF ngunit patuloy pa rin ang ilang kawani ng komisyon sa pagsasanay sa software at pagsasayos sa mga kakulangan nito.

Dagdag pa ni John Enrico Torralba, pinuno ng sangay ng edukasiyon at networking sa KWF, sa mga pormal na sulatin mas malilinang ang paggamit ng nabanggit na software. ERMA R. EDERA

tawag sa mga nakatatanda.

“Mayroong tawag sa mga nakatatanda, halimbawa, ang ‘manong’ at ‘manang.’

Katumbas iyon ng ‘kuya’ at ‘ate,’” wika niya.

Halagahan sa pamamagitan ng mga kilos Samantala, iminungkahi naman ni Gracio na bagaman hindi magkakatulad ang mga paraan ng halagahan sa iba’t ibang rehiyon sa bansa, nagkakasundo naman ang mga ito sa pamamagitan ng pagkilos tulad ng pagmamano.

“Karamihan sa mga Pinoy ay nagmamano. Sa urban areas, napalitan na ito ng pagbeso. Kaya nagbabago iyong pamamaraan ng pagpapakita ng value o h a l a g a h a n ,” aniya.

Binanggit din ni Gracio ang hindi pagsagot nang pabalang sa mga nakatatanda bilang isa sa mga katangian na karaniwan sa lahat ng mga pangkat at rehiyon sa Filipinas.

Aniya, paraan ito ng pagtanggap na higit na malawak ang kaalaman ng mga nakatatanda kumpara sa mga nakababata sapagkat mas marami nang napagdaanan sa buhay ang mga ito.

“Kahit na wala kang ‘po’ at ‘opo’ sa Bisaya, hindi mo sasagutin nang pabalang ang mga tao. Iyon ay nagpapakita ng paggalang bilang bata ka pa at siya ay matanda at alam mong mas maraming wisdom na ang na-accumulate nito kompara sa iyo,” paliwanag ni Gracio.

Higit pa sa pagbibigay-galang sa pamamagitan ng pananalita at sa pangaraw-araw na kilos sa paligid ng mga nakatatanda at sa awtoridad, binigyang-diin ni Gracio na may mga katangian ang mga Filipino na kinakailangan nilang paigtingin.

“Mas kailangan nating paigtingin ang pagdadamayan, pakikipagkapuwa, o baka kailangan nga nating paigtingin iyong paggalang sa kapuwa sa kasalukuyan,” wika niya. “Sa kabuuan, ang tingin ko ay hindi nasusukat sa salita lamang ang paggalang, nasusukat ito sa actions o sa gawa. Iyong paggalang ay nasusukat sa iba pang values tulad ng pakikipagkapuwa at pagdamay. Kasi kung mayroon kang paggalang, mayroon ka rin pagdamay.” WINONA S. SADIA

Usapang Uste

Monumento para sa mga nasawi noong digmaan Ni CHRIS V. GAMOSO

ALAM ba ninyong mayroong mungkahi noon sa pagpapatayo ng monumento bilang pag-alala sa mga Tomasinong namayapa noong Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig?

Pinangunahan ng UST Post, isang asosasiyon ng mga dating mag-aaral ng Unibersidad, ang pagtatayo noong 1949 batay sa ulat ng Varsitarian.

Ginamit dito ang disenyong ginawa ng Dekano ng Kolehiyo ng Arkitektura na si Antonio Rocha. Hindi naman pinangalanan ang mga Tomasinong pinaglalaanan ng monumento.

Ayon sa ulat, nagkakahalaga ng humigit-kumulang dalawang libong piso ang monumento. Nabuo ito sa pamamagitan ng boluntaryong pamimigay ng kontribusiyon.

Naglaan ang mga dating mag-aaral sa Unibersidad ng tatlo hanggang 10 piso bawat isa. Nagbigay naman ng ambag ang mga kasapi ng fakultad kung saan nabibilang ang pangulo ng UST Post at propesor sa Kolehiyo ng Medisina na si Basilio Valdes.

Nakipag-ugnayan ang asosasiyon sa Central Board of Students at iba pang mga organisasyon sa ikatatagumpay ng gawain.

Inilahad din ng Secretary General noon na si Padre Francisco Villacorta, O.P. ang pakikipagtulungan ng administrasiyon sa mga nag-ayos nito.

Subalit sa kabila ng mga plano at inambag ng mga Tomasino, hindi natuloy ang pagsasagawa ng nasabing proyekto.

Tomasino siya Ang kontribusiyon at dedikasiyon sa Simbahang Katolika ang nagpapatunay na karapat-dapat parangalan bilang

Outstanding Thomasian si Arsobispo Bernardito Auza.

Nakuha ni Arsobispo Auza ang kaniyang Licentiate in Philosophy noong 1981 at Licentiate in Theology, master’s degree sa Education noong 1986 sa Unibersidad. Inordina naman siya noong Hunyo 29, 1985.

Nagtapos siya ng Doktorado sa Sacred Theology noong 1990 at Licentiate in Canon Law noong 1989 sa Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) sa Roma.

Nakumbinsi siyang pumasok sa Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (Vatican Diplomatic School). Dito niya nakuha ang diploma para sa Holy See Foreign Service noong 1990.

Kasalukuyan siyang umuupo bilang Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations sa New York at Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Organization of American States sa Washington, D.C. Si Arsobispo Auza rin ang Titular Bishop of Suacia, Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, at Co-Consecrated Bishop sa Saint Peter’s Basilica sa Vatican.

Tomasalitaan kulukutí (png.) maliliit na paninda na karaniwang makikita sa maliliit na tindahan.

Hal. Sa Filipinas lang nakikita ang mga tingi-tingi maging ang mga kulukutí na tila palamuti.

Mga Sanggunian: The Varsitarian TOTAL Awards 2016 UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Editor: Edris Dominic C. Pua

Sci-Tech 9

Pain and trauma:

The science behind hazing deaths HAZING is supposed to be illegal, but as the case of Horacio Castillo III has shown, it still is happening.

But while the pain inflicted is common among fraternities, why do some neophytes survive and others do not?

“It is simply a case-to-case scenario,” Rowen Yolo, the Director of Board of Governors of the Philippine Society of Pathologists, told the Varsitarian.

A copy of Castillo’s death certificate highlighted that Castillo suffered from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).

HCM is characterized by myocardial hypertrophy or the massive enlargement of the heart muscle tissues, making the heart wall grossly thickened due to high blood pressure.

Castillo’s parents insist he was healthy and active in playing football.

“HCM is one of the most common causes of sudden, otherwise unexplained [deaths] in young athletes,” said Yolo, who teaches at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

Also considered in this case was rhabdomyolysis, a syndrome caused by injury to skeletal muscle and involves leakage of large quantities of toxic contents into the body.

Rhabdomyolysis may also cause kidney damage that can be detrimental to the body.

Trauma that commonly occurs in accidents and even in physical blunt trauma encountered in hazing injuries can cause rhabdomyolysis. “[Therefore, Castillo’s] death was related to both the consequence of kidney failure and very likely, compounded independently

Junior Tigresses FROM PAGE 11

Reyes told the Varsitarian that the Lady Bullpups were able to get blue-chip recruits every year, making them harder to beat.

“Hirap nila gibain every year kasi may bago silang playerna alam mo ‘yung quality player sa labas.

‘Yung (Alyssa) Solomon, may bago na naman silang reinforcement..

Senate

FROM PAGE 3

authorities or head of organization.”

Section 3 states that the head of the school or organization must assign at least two representatives to monitor initiation rites of a fraternity.

‘Reevaluate OSA’s system’ Sen. Grace Poe said OSA’s policies for suspension on members of organizations and fraternities should be reevaluated to fully inform students thinking of joining fraternities.

“The process of [OSA] is not clear,” Poe said. “There are different departments issuing suspensions [of fraternities]. It should be consolidated.”

Poe questioned Aegis Juris Fraternity members’ presence in the Civil Law freshmen orientation last August, which allowed the fraternity to conduct recruitment activities.

But, Guan Hing said the orientation was not meant for recruitment and “all organizations that submitted their papers for recognition are presumed to have regularity or complied with all the requirements.”

“It was only in September that [the Aegis Juris Fraternity] was not recognized… that was after the [freshmen] orientation,” Divina said, echoing Guan Hing.

Zubiri advised the OSA to issue recognition certificates before the freshmen orientation to prevent unrecognized groups from recruiting during the orientation.

Civil Law Student Council President Jonathan Santos said he did not receive any notice from the OSA and the Civil Law dean when asked

by Sen. Panfilo Lacson regarding the recognition status of the Aegis Juris Fraternity.

“Prudence dictates that [Divina] could have given notice [to the students] that this fraternity is not recognized or it was suspended this year. Was it a case of negligence?”

Lacson said.

by sudden cardiac death because of a preexisting cardiac pathology,” said Yolo.

“What is clear is that [Castillo] sustained an injury far beyond what his body could tolerate, no matter how much degree of injury was delivered,” he added.

Yolo said Castillo must have died “a slow and painful death.”

“My tolerance of the degree of pain is different from others and may not necessarily reflect a scale similar to the degree of pain [that] Castillo experienced,” he said.

Body tolerance is dependent on many factors such as age, physical stature, gender and conditions such as heart diseases, said Yolo.

Pain threshold is the minimum intensity at which a person begins to perceive, or sense, a stimulus as being painful. Pain tolerance, is the maximum amount, or level, of pain a person can tolerate or bear.

The threshold for pain can differ between men and women, and can fluctuate based on many other factors.

Pain researchers believe regular exposure to painful stimuli can increase one’s pain tolerance.

Some individuals learn to handle pain by becoming more conditioned to it, however, there is also evidence stating that repeated exposure to pain can make a person respond more vigorously to minor pain in the future.

Though a high tolerance for pain can be good in many ways, people with a high pain tolerance must be vigilant to pay attention to their bodies because even a perceived discomfort can be a sign of a major health issue.

Based on the Latin word “dolor” (“pain”), researchers at the University of Cornell devised a unit of measurement for pain (the dol) in their efforts to quantify it.

Yolo insists that the scale is a subjective assessment of pain experienced and quantified by the individual involved in sustaining an injury.

“My tolerance of the degree of pain is different from others and may not necessarily reflect a scale similar to the degree of pain [that] Castillo experienced. Personally, [I think] the poor unsuspecting student must have died of a slow and painful death,” said Yolo.

Psychologically, people tolerate pain in different ways.Some prefer to bear their pain in silence and stoicism, such as those who suffer chronic illnesses or injuries, while others resort to complaining, crying and pill-popping as their manifestation of pain.

Some cultures see the admission of pain as a sign of weakness, so they have been conditioned in a “mind over matter” attitude by their family or society.

Yolo said that neophytes are certainly not physically and psychologically prepared for initiation rites.

“That’s why you are called a neophyte.

You are not aware of the details of forthcoming series of initiation rites that is to be undertaken. This is the risk that a neophyte will take,” he said. ALYSSA CARMINA A. GONZALES

Wala tayong katulad nila (NU) na in terms of recruitment,lamang na lamang sila,” Reyes said.

To dethrone the Lady Bullpups, Reyes said the team needs to minimize its errors.

In their second-round encounter last Nov. 12, UST lost to the Lady Bullpups and committed 29 errors..

“During natatalo tayo, kaliwa’t kanang error so ma-minimize ‘yung unforced errors namin. Dun lang naman si NU sa amin. Hindi sila

nagbibigay ng maraming errors, tayo naman ‘yung maraming nagbibigay na errors,” Reyes said The long preparation for the finals gave ample time for Laure and team captain Maji Mangulabnan to recover from their shoulder injury and ankle sprain, respectively.

The best-of-three finals will start on Nov. 27, Monday, 4 p.m., at the same venue. IVAN RUIZ L. SUING

Emerson Aquende, head of the Legal Education Board, said law schools should be responsible for regulating fraternities to prevent hazing incidents.

Breaking bad

Stiffer penalties, disbarment for Aegis Juris fratmen Zubiri has also called for disbarment raps against lawyers involved in Atio’s hazing. “[These lawyers involved in hazing of Atio Castillo] evidently violated their oath not only the Revised Penal Code but also the Anti-Hazing Law,” Zubiri said. “Their intent to deceive and to cover up crime…are strong grounds for disbarment.”

Aquende said reclusion temporal or imprisonment of 17 years and four months should be a penalty for obstruction of justice in the hazing cases.

Maria Christina Layusa of the Supreme Court Office of the Bar Confidante said there should be a complainant on disbarment proceedings.

Fratmen involved in the hazing incident will not be allowed to take the Bar Exams.

“In the petition to take the bar exams, there is a question, if that have you been charged with a criminal complaint. You have to submit the copy of the complaint or the status of the case to the Office of the Bar Confidante. Then, we report to the court to allow or deny the application to take the Bar Exams,” she said during the probe.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) will form a technical working group to hammer out stiffer sanctions on schools that fail to prevent violence among fraternities, CHEd director of legal and legislative service Cinderella Jaro said.

CHEd released a memorandum way back in 1995 calling for preventive measures against violence and sanctions for fraternities and other student organization. MA. CONSUELO D.P. MARQUEZ

FROM PAGE 5

as they transferred to Literature.

Many of these “reconsidered” or “save-from-debarment” students remain listless and undecided about their career prospects even when they’re about to graduate. Their indecision and halfhearted studies in the Literature program may rub off on other students who truly love taking up Literature.

That such students have not been inspired by the program all these years may also reflect on the uninspiring faculty. In any case, such students are an insult to those who have earnestly enrolled in the program and to the more diligent literature professors.

Such students cut classes, become absent without valid excuse, submit half-baked papers, don’t read assigned texts, recite poorly, and flunk exams without any anxiety.

Their mediocrity is abetted by mediocre teachers and overly lenient professors too eager to pander to the students so they could score well in performance evaluation surveys.

When I entered the UST Literature program, I did so out of the wish to join the ranks of Thomasian literature greats such as Paz Latorena, Ophelia Dimalanta, Bienvenido Lumbera, and Cirilo Bautista. But having been numbered among students halfhearted about the program and who joined it for shallow reasons, and having learned things literary from uninspiring teachers, I find that attaining my original dream has become remote and farfetched.

Poomsae FROM PAGE 11

Siblings Marielle and Marjelle Sy, Jeshlin Gas and Jovy Murillo with Tiger Jins Isaiah Lorbes, Rhayzor Catris and Lennard Perez have exhausted their playing years this season.

With a new-look team next season, Simpao is confident the junior players transitioning from senior high school will form a stronger squad.

“Hindi na kami magpapahinga ngayon [sa training]. We’llonly have one week of rest and after that,

diretso na ulit kami. We [need] to focus in the off-season,” Simpao said.

With the growth of NU as a powerhouse, Simpao said the team’s preparation for Season 81 will require a whole-year round of exposure in off-season tournaments.

In the individual category, Gas (flyweight) and Colleen Heria (bantamweight) notched silver while Reign Ragutana (heavyweight) took bronze.

Aries Capispisan (lightweight) secured gold while Isaiah Lorbes (welterweight) nabbed silver.

Rhayzor Catris (featherweight) pocketed bronze. MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO and IVAN RUIZ L. SUING

10 Limelight

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

TOMA N’ SHAN BY MARIYELLA ALYSA A. ABULAD

SI TALA AT IBA PA BY BLESSIE ANGELIE B. ANDRES

KWENTO NI MATO BY JOELLE ALISON MAE P. EUSEBIO

Boards FROM PAGE 2

Caressa Lynn Siglos of the College of St. John in Roxas City topped the psychometrician board exams with a score of 84.60 percent.

The national passing rate stood at 56.97, or 4,957 out of 8,701 examinees, from last year’s 50.46 percent or 3,690 out of 7,312 examinees.

UST’s passing rate in the October 2017 psychologist licensure exams meanwhile soared to 91.67 percent or 11 out of 12 examinees, from last year’s 38.46 percent or 63 out of 120 examinees.

Leading the country’s fresh batch of psychologists was Anna Cristina Tuazon who got a score of 82.90 percent. No Thomasian made it to the top 10 this year.

De La Salle UniversityManila was the sole topperforming school after registering an 82.61-percent passing rate.

The national passing rate for psychologists climbed to 64.86 percent or 96 passers out of 146 examinees, from last year’s 52.50 percent or 62 out of 120 examinees.

Electronics tech, electronics eng’g board exams The University remained the top-performing school in the October 2017 licensure exams for electronics technicians, with all 78 Thomasian examinees making the cut, results from the Professional Regulation Commission showed.

UST shared the top spot with the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) Visayas after both registered 100-percent passing rates.

Arnulo Baruc Jr. of TUP Visayas topped this year’s electronics technician board exams with a score of 95 percent.

The national passing rate stood at 89.50 percent, or 2,916 out of 3,258 examinees.

The University meanwhile recorded a higher passing rate in the electronics engineering licensure exams, at 81.51 percent or 97 out of 119 examinees, from last year’s 74.66 percent or 115 out of 154 examinees.

Erwin Cabrera led the fresh batch of Thomasian electronics engineers with a score of 92.30 percent, good for third place.

Dino Dominic Ligutan of De La Salle University-Manila topped this year’s electronics engineering board exams after obtaining a score of 94.40 percent.

UP-Diliman was the topperforming school with a passing rate of 98.33 percent.

This year’s national passing rate rose to 46.72 percent or 2,235 out of 4,784 examinees, from last year’s 40.36 percent or 1,784 out of 4,467 examinees.

Chemical, civil eng’g board exams A Thomasian placed third in the November 2017 licensure exams for chemical engineers, in which the University saw a significantly higher passing rate.

John Rave Magalang led the fresh batch of Thomasian chemical engineers with a score of 83.70 percent.

UST’s passing rate jumped to 80.17 percent, or 97 out of 121 examinees, from last year’s 66.14 percent or 84 out of 127 examinees.

UP Diliman was hailed as this year’s top-performing school with

a 98.77-percent passing rate, or 80 out of 81 examinees.

John Cyril Claur of University of Saint La Salle and Jared Philip Condez of UP Visayas in Iloilo City were named topnotchers after obtaining a score of 84.60 percent.

The national passing rate rose to 66.56 percent, or 627 out of 942 examinees, from last year’s 58.17 percent or 534 out of 918 examinees.

A UST graduate clinched the ninth spot in the November 2017 licensure exams for civil engineers, which saw UST getting a higher passing rate.

Thomasian Christian Gonzales led the fresh batch of Thomasian civil engineers, placing ninth with a score of 95.20 percent.

UST’s passing rate rose to 86.88 percent or 192 out of 221 examinees, from last year’s 85.98 percent or 184 out of 214 examinees, results from the Professional Regulation Commission showed.

Former Varsitarian Special Reports writer John Paul Corpuz was among those who passed the exam.

UP Diliman remained the topperforming school after recording a 97.41-percent passing rate, with 113 out of 116 UP examinees making the cut.

Nikho Lawrence Corres of UP Diliman topped the board exams with a score of 97.90 percent.

The national passing rate stood at 48.81 percent, or 6,075 out of 12,447 examinees, up from last year’s 45.90 percent or 5,036 out of 10,972 examinees. CHRISTIAN DE LANO M. DEIPARINE, SAMANTHA-WEE LIPANA, PAULINE FAYE V. TRIA and JACOB MARVIN D. URMENITA

Art Director: Shaina Mae L. Santander

Editor: Randell Angelo B. Ritumalta

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Sports 11

UST Judokas score golden double anew

By MA. ANGELA CHRISTA COLOMA

THE UST Judokas dominated the UAAP judo tournament anew, taking home the men’s, women’s and boys’ division titles at the De La Salle Santiago Zobel Sports Pavilion in Alabang last Nov. 11 to 12.

The Lady Judokas e a s i l y grabbed their fourth-straight title with 45 points, including a 4-4-5 goldsilver-bronze medal tally. The University of the East placed second with 32 points.

With the championship, the Lady Judokas secured their third fourthstraight title run in tournament history. The University of the Philippines did it twice in 2003 and 2011.

Season 80 Most Valuable Player Almira Ruiz (-57 kg), Jamaika Ponciano (-78 kg), Renielyn Castillo (+78 kg) and Khrizzie Pabulayan (-48 kg) led the charge for UST with gold medals.

Khrishia Rotario (-70 kg), Devrah Devaras (-57 kg) and Kimberly Pantoja (-48 kg) reaped silver while team captain Lorelei Tolentino (-63 kg), Bernadette Carpio (-70 kg), Rhodesa Mae Bayas (-52 kg) and Tracy Honorio (-52 kg) settled for bronze.“Pinakamasarap sa lahat [ang championship na ito]. Kasi may curse kami na ‘yung last time na dapat mag-four peat, naging fourth place kami.

Talagang bangungot samin yung dati. Napakasarap na ma-break ‘yung curse na ‘yun,” Lady Judokas head coach Gerard Arce told the Varsitarian.

Arce was referring to Season 76, when UST had the chance to bag four-consecutive titles but miserably crashed to fourth place.

“Tama naman ang projection namin. Lahat ng prediction tama kasi alam namin ‘yung kapasidad ng kalaban namin. Magaling ang team natin at malakas [kaya] alam kong kaya nila,” Arce added.

UST is on track for a fifth-straight title, but they would have to do it without key players Tolentino, Honorio and Castillo.

“After nito, pahinga muna kami. Study muna, then recruitment ulit or training. Kailangan din namin bantayan ‘yung kalaban kung lalakas,” Arce said.

In men’s play, UST shared the championship with rival Ateneo de Manila University after finishing an identical 3 - 2 - 3 g o l d silver-

Diether Tablan

bronze medal tally.

The Male Judokas remained the winningest team in the league with 12 crowns while Ateneo notched its fifth title.

This was the first time two teams shared a judo championship since its inception in 1995.

The UAAP board has yet to decide on whom to give the MVP award and what point scheme to use for the general championship tally due to the twin titles.After squandering the first-day lead, Male Judokas head coach Steve Esteban lamented on missed opportunities in the medal matches where some of his wards missed on bronze medals.

“Ang daming pagkakataon dahil may mga bronze matches. Kahit one point lang sana makukuha na kaso ‘di natuloy,” Esteban said.

UST had an 18-12 point advantage in the first day before Ateneo stormed back with two gold medals in the second day.

Season 79 MVP Daryl Mercado (-60 kg) and co-captain Renzo Cazenas (-90 kg) ended their UAAP careers with gold medals while Dither Tablan dominated anew in the +100 kg category.

Team captain Sherwin de Rosa (-60 kg) and Luis San Diego (-81 kg) captured silver medals while Russel Lorenzo (-55 kg), Jeunesse Ong (-73 kg) and Kim George (-100 kg) notched bronze medals for UST. De Rosa, Mercado, Ong, Cazenas and Atienza will no longer see action for the Male Judokas in Season 81 after exhausting their playing years.

In juniors’ action, the UE juniors team squeaked past the UST girls’ team by one point to prevent UST from earning back-toback grand slam titles.

Junior Golden Tigresses back in UAAP finals THE UST Junior Golden Tigresses advanced to the finals after dismantling the De La Salle-Zobel Junior Lady Spikers, 25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-16, in the UAAP Season 80 girls’ volleyball semifinals last Nov. 17 at the Arena in San Juan.

The Tigresses entered the finals for the fifth-straight time and will face the defending champions, the Nazareth School of National University Lady Bullpups starting at Nov. 27.

The Tigresses ignited a 14-5 run to erect a 20-10 lead. A down-the-line hit from Regina Jurado sealed UST’s spot in the finals.

With UST at set point, 24-16, Imee Hernandez went for a crosscourt kill to give UST a 2-1 set advantage.

“Kailangan lang naman nila bumalik, kailangan naming mag-usap then i-enjoy ‘yung laro. Minsan naooverwhelm sila sa occasion,” UST head coach Emilio “Kung Fu”

Reyes Jr. said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

The Tigresses were at set point in the second canto, 24-23, when La Salle swung a three-point blitz capped by Justine Jazareno’s crosscourt kill to salvage its lone set win.Trailing 11-16 in the opening set, UST uncorked a 14-5 run capped by a La Salle mishit to gain first blood.

Eya Laure pounded a seasonhigh 21 points while Hernandez had 12 markers. Angel Canino had 11 points for La Salle.

Rivalry The Junior Golden Tigresses and the Lady Bullpups faced each other in the UAAP finals five times since 2013. UST won their first encounter before NU grabbed the next three championships in Seasons 77, 78 and 79.

Junior Tigresses PAGE 9

The Junior Golden Tigresses celebrate after winning against De La Salle Zobel.

UST cops poomsae, taekwondo crowns

Junior Tiger Jin

THE UST Tiger Jins regained the poomsae title while the Junior Tiger Jins snatched the juniors’ crown in the UAAP Season 80 taekwondo tournament last Nov. 14 to 17.

The Tiger Jins dethroned De La Salle University after winning three gold medals and one bronze to become the winningest team in the poomsae tournament with three championships since the sport became a regular in 2013.

The Archers dropped to second with a 1-2-1 gold-silver-bronze medal tally while the Far Eastern University completed the podium at third place with one gold and one bronze.

National team stalwarts Jo Ninobla and Rodolfo Reyes Jr. struck gold in the individual female and male categories,respectively, before teaming up to clinch the team’s third gold in the mixed pair category.

“Early this year pa lang, na-formulate na namin ang teams, kung sino ang bagay sa each category,” UST head coach Rani Ortega said.

The triumvirate of Cyrinne Abenir, Erin Saceda, and Nasatassja settled for bronze in the women’s group category after a 7.90-point output..

Reyes and Ninobla burned up their UAAP years together with Joseph Calo, Alyssa Bautista and Maica Peralta, who played alternatives.

Reyes said Ortega instilled humility and discipline on the Tiger Jins, which kept them sharp throughout their UAAP careers.

“Once na lumaki ulo mo, doon na po mawawalan ng gana sa training. Lagi po namin tinatandaan ni Jo as team captains na always train kahit na wala si coach,” Reyes said.

Ninobla capped her UAAP career with four gold and two bronze medals while Reyes ended his decorated run with a 10-2-2 goldsilver-bronze medal haul.

Ortega said the duo will still help train the team for next season.

“But we need to move forward and discover new talents,” Ortega said.

In juniors’ taekwondo action, the Junior Tiger Jins spoiled the University of the East’s five-peat bid.

UST was hailed the champion after defeating National University (NU) in an extra match-up. Both teams had identical 4-1 winloss records.

Their male and female senior counterparts,

however, finished third and fourth, respectively, both losing to NU. NU spoiled UST’s four-peat bid after edging out the Tiger Jins, 6-1, and take home their first men’s championship.

The Bulldogs cruised to four consecutive wins after Diether Baylon sent a kick in the torso of UST’s Lennard Perez in the fourth match, 15-7.

UST easily won over University of the East after the Red Warriors failed to field players in four categories.

In women’s play, NU secured its secondstraight women’s crown after Rhezie Aragon blasted Lady Jin Alyssa Asegurado in the fourth game, 29-19.

Against Ateneo, Lady Jin Marjelle Sy fell from a kick in the torso in the sudden death round against Lady EagleDanielle Morales, 11-13, in the sixth game.

“We played well but we fell short. NU is one of the seeded teams. Sila ‘yung may mga key players and they performed much better than we did,” UST head coach Jasmin Simpao told the Varsitarian.

Poomsae PAGE 9

Sports

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

SABLAN OUT

Growling Tigers suffer worst season in 28 years

By JAN CARLO ANOLIN AND MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO THE UST Growling Tigers averted a winless season by notching their first victory on their final game of the season against the UE Red Warriors, 88-85, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Nov. 12.

Oliver De Guzman sank two freebies to seal the game after JC Cullar’s layup pulled UE to within one with four seconds left, 86-85.

“Siyempre masaya [ako] kasi hindi kami na 0 [wins] and at the same time heto ‘yung part ng rebuilding process namin,” head coach Rodil “Boy” Sablan said.

Team captain Marvin Lee said the win felt as if they won a championship game.

“Masarap ‘yung feeling na nanalo.

Parang nag-champion na kami pagdating doon…’yung mga nangyari samin [sana] maging aral sa amin at inspiration para sa next season,” he said.

The Tigers ended their 17-game losing streak dating back to last season.

The last time UST won was against the National University on Oct. 15, 2016.

The Tigers finished the season with just one win for the first time in the Final Four era, reaching a new low after mustering three wins last year.

UST’s one-win season is the fewest since the team won two games in 1989.

Five Tigers scored in doublefigures led by Reggie Basibas’ 21 points, nine rebounds and three steals while Steve Akomo hauled 18 markers and 20 boards.

Lee, Eric Caunan and Christian Garcia also combined for 35 points.

The Tigers uncorked a late run in the first half to take an 11-point lead before UE surged back to cut the deficit to four, 43-39.

UST enjoyed an early 23-9 lead in the first quarter to gain the biggest margin at 14.

Alvin Pasaol paced UE with 18 markers and five steals while three other Warriors scored in double-digits.

The Tigers will remain intact with only big man Jeepy Faundo leaving the team after exhausting his playing years.

Sablan out The Tigers are looking for a new coach to replace Sablan, who was finally sacked following a 1-13 UAAP season.

Sablan, who won only four games in two years as UST coach, will be out effective Nov. 30, Rector Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. told the Varsitarian.

Dagohoy did not say if the entire coaching staff would be replaced.

“In spite of the unsuccessful season for the Tigers, we thank them for their contributions to our program,” he said in a text message.

Dagohoy said UST was still in the “process of determining who the (next) coach would be.”

Growling Tigresses assistant coach Arsenio Dysangco Jr. will facilitate practices for the Tigers until a new coach is named in December.

Sablan’s replacement will be named by the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics, he said.

Boy Sablan

Salinggawi seeks to end 10-year title drought

By MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO THE UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe is focusing on a “solid yet perfect” routine in an attempt to end its decade-long championship drought in the UAAP Season 80 cheerdance competition.

Since a historic five-peat from 2002 to 2006, the squad has been inconsistent. It finished fourth last year.

“Ngayon, ‘yung level of difficulty ng cheer elements ay malayong mas mahirap compared to the previous seasonsna sinasabi ng mga tao na puro linis lang. Mas palaban naSalinggawi ang makikita nila,” first-year Salinggawi head coach Mark Chaiwalla told the Varsitarian.

The team conceptualized its theme in late June and started training in mid-July

after Chaiwalla’s official appointment.

Through the collective effort of the coaching staff, members and the squad’s artistic committee, the official choreography and costume design was finalized in August.

Despite the improved elements, the 26-year-old coach ensured that the health and safety of the dancers are still the priorities.

Chaiwalla said this year’s roster had a hard time keeping up with the dangerous stunts during the initial weeks of rehearsals.

But after the team doubled its training, Chaiwalla sawimprovement in discipline, endurance, strength and flexibility.

“Malaki ang in-improve nila. Noong first run nila halos wala talagang tumatayo sa stunts pero ngayon paisa-isa na lang ang

laglag. Sinusubukan namin na walang ni isang malaglag. They are much ready now compared to last month,” he said.

With a few weeks left before the competition, Chaiwalla is confident they have enough time to perfect the tiny detailsand ensure a flawless six-minute routine.

Adjusting with a new coach that came five months before the competition, team president and captain BenjoGutierrez reminded his teammates to trust the processand the new management.

He added that the strong criticisms of their coach set the team free from their comfort zone.

“Hindi kasi maiiwasan na mag-doubt sila dahil naging magaling din si coach Ramon Pagaduan pero ‘yung pagtuturo

ni coach Chaiwalla really pushed us beyond what we thought we were not capable of doing,” he said.

During the offseason, Salinggawi snatched a bronze medal in the World Cultural Dance Festival in South Korea last June 29.

Salinggawi is seventh to perform in the competition on Dec. 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Under his helm, Chaiwalla believes that this new and improved version of Salinggawi is ready to bring back the glory for UST. UST is tied with the University of the Philippines as the winningest teams in UAAP cheerdance history with eight titles.

Growling Tigresses settle for third

By JAN CARLO ANOLIN

THE UST Growling Tigresses crashed out of finals contention after yielding to the University of the East Lady Warriors, 62-69, in the UAAP Season 80 women’s basketball tournament stepladder semifinals at the Mall of Asia Arena last Nov. 25.

UST finished the tournament at third place, an improvement from their fifth spot last year.

Trailing by nine points after the third, UE started the final frame on a 17-3 run to take a 64-59 lead with 1:30 to go.

UE clamped down on the Tigresses in the fourth and outscored UST in the period, 22-6.

The Tigresses’ first points came with 4:23 left via Kikay Gandalla’s triple.

“We’re not getting the calls na tinatawag nila sa UE. They gave 35 freethrows against 19 sa amin,” UST From left: Lon Rivera, Jhenn Angeles and Ruby Portillo

head coach Haydee Ong said.

UE drained 26 of its 35 freethrows, including nine out of 15 freebies in the fourth quarter alone.

UST went 11-of-19 from the stripe.

Love Sto. Domingo led UE with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Eunique Chan and Joyce Francisco chipped in 16 and 14 markers, respectively.

Larosa and Anjel Anies had 16 points apiece for UST. Overachieving For the past two seasons, the Tigresses fell short in playoff games and placed fifth in the rankings. But this time, Ong saw a huge improvement in her wards’ overall performance after finishing third place.

“I told the team [that] it’s a one hell of a season for us. It’s a great

run. And we will come back stronger next season,” the two-year tactician said.

UST will miss the services of Anies, team captain Jhenn Angeles, Tata Jerez, Marian Isanan and Bets Penaflorafter exhausting their playing years.

Angeles was among the scoring leaders with 16 ppg while Anies tallied 12 ppg.

With five players leaving, Ong said the team will berebuilding next season and will start to scout new players.

As previously reported by the Varsitarian, rookies Tabitha Valera, daughter of former Growling Tiger Boy Valera, and 6’3” Congo-native Grace Irebu are expected to suit up for UST next year.

Should the one-year residency be applied, Irebu would be cleared to play for the Tigresses in Season 81.