The Varsitarian P.Y. 2017 to 2018 Issue 08

Volume XC, No. 8 • April 5, 2018 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF SANTO TOMAS Manila, Philippines

CSC presidential bets favor divorce

GOOD FRIDAY. ANGELES, PAMPANGA—Three penitents reenact the passion and death of Christ on Good Friday, March 30.

MICHAEL ANGELO M. REYES

PRESIDENTIAL candidates in the upcoming Central Student Council (CSC) Executive Board elections backed proposals to allow divorce in the country during their mandatory debate on April 3.

Francis Gabriel Santos and Karizza Kamille Cruz said divorce was an alternative to annulment, and would be a quicker process to end abusive relationships. “[M]arami tayong data na magpapakita na maraming babae o maraming couple na nagkakaroon ng unhealthy relationships to the point na nawawala na ‘yong sanctity of marriage. Para sa akin mahalagang protektahan ang pamilya, pero ano pang poprotektahan natin kung wala naman na talagang nagwowork? So para sa akin, I’m for divorce,” Santos said.

He said however, that the decision of lawmakers on the divorce bill won’t affect UST. “Naniniwala ako na kung ano mang mangyari o ano mang gawin ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas, naniniwala ako na walang magiging epekto ‘yun pagdating dito sa [ating] University,” he added.

Like Santos, Cruz said divorce would be a cheaper and faster process compared with annulment.

“Sa mga kababaihan na inaabuso… kagaya ng aking tita, gustong-gusto na niyang makawala sa kasal nila ng aking tito pero hindi niya ‘yun magawa dahil mahal ang annulment. Pero dito po sa diborsyo, magiging mabilis na po na makawala siya sa kasal na ‘to,” she said.

In a roundtable discussion with the Varsitarian, Cruz and Santos claimed that their support for divorce is a personal belief which does not reflect the stance of the council and the University as a Catholic institution.

“I highly respect the [Church and their teachings] and I believe na meron naman grounds ang kanilang paniniwala. It’s just that in a democratic country such as the Philippines, we need to have mutual respect on whatever it is a person believes notwithstanding your own belief,” Santos said.

Divorce PAGE 5

Enact laws to strengthen

Christ’s empty tomb a ‘search for truth marriages instead of divorce, and love,’ UST Rector says on Easter lawmakers urged UST RECTOR Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, OP said Jesus Christ’s empty tomb is a reminder that doubt is the beginning of the search for truth and love, in his message during the Easter Vigil last April 1 at the Santisimo Rosario Parish.

In his homily, Dagohoy said doubt and perplexity were the immediate reaction of those who first discovered the resurrection.

“Let the empty tomb of Jesus remind you that doubt was the first reaction of the people on the resurrection. It was not an obedient joy. [K]apag tayo ay nagdududa at nagtatanong, it would be the beginning of the search for truth and for love.

The empty tomb reminds us that love includes doubt,” he said.

He said people who are “certain of everything” or never question are lifeless.

“Bahagi ng pagiging buhay ang pagtatanong at pagdududa.

Those people who are so certain of everything, who have answers to unconceivable questions, those who don’t doubt, or don’t experience being perplexed, those who do not question, are lifeless,” he said.

Dagohoy urged parishioners to have the courage to “roll the stone of death” and give life to others as Christ did in His resurrection.

“As a Church and as a people, we should have the courage and strength to roll the stone of death. [B]ecause of Easter, God has given us life. Ang mga binigyan ng buhay ay dapat nagbibigay

din ng buhay,” he said.

During the Easter Vigil, which ended the Holy Week Triduum, the Paschal Candle was lit from new fire, signifying Christ as the light of the world and his triumph over darkness.

The faithful also renewed their baptismal promises.

Fr. Louie Coronel, OP, pastor of the Santisimo Rosario Parish, said Easter invites the Christian community to welcome God’s sacrifice and victory over death, even if non-believers find such ideas foolish.

“Sa mata ng mundo, ‘yun ay kahangalan. Pero sa mata ng mananampalataya, ‘yun ang pag-ibig ng Diyos,” Coronel said.

Easter PAGE 8

THE ARCHDIOCESE of Manila’s Commission on Family and Life urged lawmakers on March 6 to enact laws that will promote healthy marriages instead of legalizing divorce and allowing the dissolution of validly contracted marriages.

In a statement, the commission said lawmakers should craft laws that would “adequately prepare men and women who wish to enter the covenant of marriage, help promote and keep healthy marriages, and support couples struggling.”

“Couples who overcome trials in marriage together grow in virtue and happiness. That is why decent peoples of the world accompany couples and families toward reconciliation and healing. And our holy Mother, the Church, will

always and everywhere be there to help,” the statement read.

Noting that the 1987 Philippine Constitution is the first pro-family constitution in the world, the commission cited Article 15 Section 2 of the charter, which recognizes marriage as an inviolable social institution and the foundation of the family that shall be protected by the State.

The commission said lawmakers should focus their efforts toward ensuring that the sanctity of marriage and family is protected instead of “weakening and undermining” these institutions with a divorce law.

Strengthen PAGE 5

Aegis Juris fratmen in Atio hazing case surrender to NBI MEMBERS of the Aegis Juris Fraternity charged in the hazing death of UST law freshman Horacio “Atio” Castillo III voluntarily surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on March 23, a day after a court ordered their arrest.

NBI Director Dante Gierran said the fratmen turned themselves in and were admitted to NBI custody at 11 a.m.

“Their parents are here, together with the [legal] counsels. [T]his is a prearranged surrender to the NBI. We will inform the court of their surrender and will wait for the commitment order from the court,” Gierran said in a press conference.

The fratmen will be temporarily detained at the NBI until a commitment order from the court is released, indicating the place where they will be detained.

The Manila Regional Trial Court

ordered the arrest of Mhin Wei Chan, Jose Miguel Salamat, John Robin Ramos, Marcelino Bagtang Jr., Arvin Balag, Ralph Trangia, Axel Munro Hipe, Oliver Onofre, Joshua Macabali and Hans Matthew Rodrigo, who were all formally charged with violating the Anti-Hazing Law last March 8.

Carmina Castillo, mother of Atio, said the release of warrants of arrest by the Manila court affirmed the fratmen’s involvement in the hazing of the 22-yearold Atio last September of 2017.

“The issuance of warrants of arrest in violation of the Anti-Hazing Law of 1995 (also the year Atio was born) only proves that Aegis Juris practices hazing and that my son died in the hands of people who supposedly know the law are going against the law,” Castillo told the Varsitarian in an interview.

“The Aegis Juris fraternity practice a culture or violence. For me, the

Aegis Juris fraternity is a disgrace to our country, they should be defenders of justice and not be a part of a big coverup and abusers of human rights,” she added.

Civil Law Student Council President Jonathan Santos said the pace of Atio’s case was “surprisingly fast.”

“We are looking forward to the best outcome of the trials for Horacio. Let us just wait for further developments.

What we see now is just the beginning of the many legal battles. We might be surprised with their defenses,” Santos said.

John Paul Solano, a licensed medical technologist who brought Atio to the Chinese General Hospital after the hazing rites of the Aegis Juris Fraternity in September, was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. JULIA CLAIRE Aegis Juris Fraternity members. From left: John Paul Solano, Ralph Trangia,

L. MEDINA and SAMANTHA-WEE LIPANA Arvin Balag, Aeron Salientes, Zimon Padro and Jose Miguel Salamat.

JOELLE ALISON MAE P. EUSEBIO

2 News

Editors: Maria Crisanta M. Paloma and Hannah Rhocellhynnia H. Cruz

APRIL 5, 2018

Student polls back to electronic voting THIS year’s central and local student council elections will switch back to electronic voting and canvassing, the UST Central Commission on Elections (Comelec) bared last March 8.

In a news conference, Comelec Chairman Arvin Bersonda said the poll body reverted to electronic voting as it would be more convenient and costeffective compared with the manual voting system.

“Our goal is to establish a safe, secure, and reliable online electronic voting system [and also] for collecting, storing and canvassing… to minimize the issues on limited manpower, extensive canvassing time,” Bersonda said.

The server for the electronic system will be supplied by the Santo Tomas e-Service Providers (STePs), he added.

Comelec opted for manual voting and canvassing last year after the 2016 electronic voting system was riddled with technical problems, wherein the proclamation of elected officers was delayed because of a glitch in the downloading of votes from the e-Learning Access Program, the online learning system of the University.

Angel Luis Santos, student project manager of this year’s electronic voting system, said the new system went through a series of tests to ensure the security of votes.

“Sa system namin, may mga access levels. May limit `yung mga access ng mga tao. `Yung system, maa-access mo lang kapag nasa isang UST Computer Lab ka, so ‘di siya [ma-access] ng hackers via Internet,” Santos said.

The polls will remain independent from the Office for Student Affairs, said Allan Hernandez, staff for student activities.

Student polls PAGE 5

UST improves in physician, drops in pharma board exams

THE UNIVERSITY recorded a higher passing rate in the March 2018 physician licensure examinations, where two Thomasians landed on the top 10.

UST posted 90-percent passing rate or 36 out of 40 examinees, from last year’s 88.89 percent or 32 out of 36 examinees.

Thomasians Abdulraoph Deki and Regina Mae Ang clinched the 5th and 6th spots, respectively.

Jerald Pelayo of the University of the EastRamon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center topped this year’s licensure examinations with a score of 88.17 percent.

Far Eastern University-Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation was the sole top-performing school, with a passing rate of 89.29 percent or 150 out of 168 examinees.

The national passing rate dropped to 66.65 percent or 1,067 out of 1,601 examinees, from last year’s 82.19 percent or 3,340 out of 4,064 examinees.

Pharma board exams The University recorded a 61.54-percent passing rate in the March 2018 pharmacy licensure examinations, with 16 out of 26 examinees making the cut.

Boards PAGE 10

Songco is new UST Alumni Association president

FORMER student affairs chief Evelyn Songco was elected president of the UST Alumni Association, nearly two months after the resignation of Henry Tenedero for giving an award to controversial Palace Communications Asssistant Secretary Mocha Uson.

Songco served as Songco head of student affairs from from 1990 to 2006 and 2010 to 2014. She was director of the Office for Alumni Relations from 2007 to 2010.

Songco was among the recipients of the Gawad Benavides in 2009 for 35 years of service to the University.

She finished her master’s and doctorate degrees in development education in the University.

Tenedero resigned after the alumni association drew flak when it bestowed a government service award to Uson, a die-hard supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, and widely accused of being a purveyor of “fake news.” SAMANTHA WEELIPANA

BACK TO ELECTRONIC. (From left) Medicine Representative Ivan Pulanco, Comelec Vice Chairman Mely Cruz and Comelec Chairman Arvin Carlo Bersonda hold a press conference for elections last March 8.

JOB ANTHONY R. MANAHAN

Bernardo Bernardo ‘man of joy, selfless teacher’ ACCLAIMED actor and writer Bernardo Bernardo, known for his role on “Home Along Da Riles,” was not only a man of joy, but he was also a selfless teacher who wanted to impart his art to the world, his relatives and colleagues told the Varsitarian.

Bernardo passed away on March 8, as confirmed by his niece Susan Vecina Santos on Facebook. He was 73 years old.

The former Varsitarian editor in chief revealed in January through a Facebook post that his pancreas was swelling due to a tumor. “[M]y pancreas is swollen because of a tumor, possibly malignant, growing in the head of the pancreas. As it grows it begins to press on the bile duct and the pancreatic duct and with increasing pressure, the ducts eventually get pinched off,” Bernardo said.

The veteran actor obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism in UST in 1966 and his theater training at the University of California. He graduated with a Master of Arts degree at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

He was best known for his comedic role in Dolphy’s hit TV sitcom “Home Along the Riles” before he left local show business to pursue acting and academic careers in the United States.

His last projects were “Ang Larawan,” a musical based on National Artist Nick Joaquin’s “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” directed by Loy Arcenas, and romantic drama “The Significant Other” directed by Joel Lamangan.

Bernardo won the Gawad Urian Best Supporting Actor award in 1981 for his role as “Manay Sharon” in Ishmael Bernal’s “Manila By Night.”

He recently served as stage director of “Brushes with Words and Chords,” a presentation held on April 26, 2017 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Center Auditorium following his comeback to UST as senior visiting fellow of the Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS).

Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, CCWLS director, paid tribute to Bernardo, who was a CCWLS fellow and who also taught at the UST Graduate School. “[V]ery sad to learn of the passing of my dear old friend and UST schoolmate, Bernardo Bernardo. We in the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies were fortunate that he accepted our offer to be Senior Resident Fellow, and to teach in the UST Graduate School and be part of the teaching panel in our National Writers’ Workshop. He brightened our lives the last few years! Our deep condolences to his family. May he rest in peace,” Hidalgo said in a Facebook post.

In an interview with the Varsitarian, Hidalgo said Bernardo’s life served as an inspiration to many people, especially to those he mentored.

“I’m sure [his life] served as an inspiration to many people, particularly the young who were interested in a career in theatre and film,” she said. “He’s very very wonderful with young people. He inspires them. He’s very generous with his time and his experience.”

Condolences and messages of sympathy from celebrities who had worked with Bernardo also poured out on social media.

Actress Lea Salonga posted on Twitter: “Tito Bernie was my very first

Bernardo Bernardo Photo courtesy of Dulce Maria Teresa Magdalena

leading man in the very first show I ever did, The King and I (he played the King of Siam and I was one of his daughters). Kind, funny, ebullient, brilliant, big hearted.

Sigh.”

Bernardo PAGE 5

Science programs keep Level 4 status FIVE PROGRAMS from the College of Science were granted anew the highest level of accreditation by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), the central network of accrediting agencies in the country.

The applied mathematics major in actuarial science, biology, chemistry, microbiology and psychology programs received the Level 4 re-accreditated status, valid until November 2021.

College of Science Dean John Donnie Ramos said the FAAP decision validated the high quality of education delivered by the College of Science to its students.

“We believe [that] through

accreditation, we can actually improve on our services… how our teachers are equipped with pedagogy, their teaching skills, and at the same time [their] research ability,” Ramos said.

Level 4 status means “full autonomy” for the program for the duration of its accredited status. It enables school administrators to offer new graduate programs and open learning or distance education and extension classes related to existing Level 4 courses, without prior approval of the Commission on Higher Education.

Under the accreditation process, schools are assessed based on purpose

and objectives, faculty, instruction, library, laboratory, physical plant and facilities, student personnel services, social orientation and community involvement, and administration and organization.

The College of Science is the first college in UST to receive Level 4 accreditation. It was also the first in the University to get Level 3 status, in 2006.

FAAP was established in 1977 and is authorized by the Commission on Higher Education to certify the levels of accredited programs for the purpose of granting progressive deregulation and other benefits.

JOB ANTHONY R. MANAHAN

IKA-5 NG ABRIL, 2018

Patnugot: Jolau V. Ocampo

Filipino 3

Mga manunulat, bigong makamit ang unang parangal sa kategoryang Sanaysay, Essay sa ika-33 Gawad Ustetika

MULA sa pitong kategorya, tanging sa kategoryang Essay at Sanaysay walang nagkamit ng una at ikalawang parangal sa idinaos na ika-33 Gawad Ustetika, ang taunang palihan pampanitikan ng Unibersidad, noong ika-10 ng Marso sa bulwagan ng gusaling Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Ayon kay Oscar Campomanes, isa sa mga hurado para sa Sanaysay, muling lumitaw ang mga dating problema; hindi alam ng ibang manunulat ang pagkakaiba ng sanaysay sa maikling kuwento sa kanilang mga ipinasang akda.

“Pwede namang gamitin ang naratibo bilang pamamaraan ng paglalahad sa sanaysay, kaya lang sa mga nagpasa, nangingibabaw ang naratibo at nasasapawan ang anyo ng sanaysay,” diin ni Campomanes.

Dagdag pa niya, katulad ng mga nakaraang taon, mababaw ang mga paksang inilatag ng mga naipasang akda.

“Maraming mabibigat na usapin at bukas ang anyong sanaysay sa mga inobatibong lapit, ngunit mas pinipili ng mga lumalahok na talakayin ang mga pangkaraniwang tema na may kinalaman sa henerasyon nila.

Bibihira ang nagtatangkang umigpaw sa ganitong sentimiyento,” wika pa niya.

Sinang-ayunan ito ni Gary Devilles, isa ring hurado. Ayon sa kaniya, kailangang mahigitan ang pagsusulat ng mga personal na isyu, bagkus, iugnay sa nakararami ang mga dinaranas ng may-akda o ng isang indibidwal.

“The essay is the most abused genre for egotism, as most essays we received are personal essays that fail to move beyond personal musings,” paliwanag ni Davilles.

“Sanaysay primarily is about ‘saysay’ and ‘sanay’ an exercise on sense-making. Most

of our essay writers have forgotten about this. They are deluded into thinking that what happened to them counts as essay.”

Iginiit ni John Wendell Capili, dalubguro sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas at hurado sa kategoryang Essay, na halos magkakatulad ang temang tinatalakay ng mga akda tulad ng komentaryo sa mga suliraning politikal o panlipunan na kinahaharap ng bansa.

“Hinahanap naming [mga hurado] ang kakaibang anggulo sa mga naturang tema. Walang nakapapantay sa napakataas na antas ng mga sumali noon kung ikukumpara sa mga sumali ngayon,” sabi ni Capili.

Iginawad ang ikatlong gantimpala sa akdang pinamagatang “In Transit” ni Marianne Freya Nono habang nasungkit naman ng “Big and Small Dimensions” ni Leanne Nakamit ni Abrielle Abrigo (pangalawa mula sa kaliwa) ng AB Literature ang Rector’s Literary Award.

MARIA CHARISSE ANNE G. REFUERZO Claire Bellen ang karangalang sa pagpapamalas ng adhikaing Kristiyano, banggit para sa kategoryang Essay. the impermanence of such is desperately Nakuha naman ni Christian Mendoza, mula sa lahat ng mga akdang nagkamit ng sustained by those who value it, myself unang gantimpala. sa kategoryang Sanaysay, ang ikatlong included.”

“Lakása is the Ilocano term for baúl, gantimpala para sa kaniyang akdang “Alas Pumapatungkol din ang koleksiyong ito meaning wooden chest in English.

It caters Nwebe Anwebe.” sa kahulugan ng tahanan, bigat ng paglisan at another definition: the literal sense of kahalagahan ng wika. the word, the chest itself,” paglalahad ni Paggawad ng Rector’s Literary Award “It was definitely unanticipated, winning Iginawad kay Arielle Abrigo, mula sa Abrigo. “The primary intention was for the the Rector’s Literary Award. Referring to collection to imitate the gesture of a lakása, AB Literature, ang prestihiyosong “Rector’s the letter written by the Rector, to be able Literary Award” (RLA) para sa kaniyang the opening to reveal things contained inside to reach that standard—‘to stir people’s it.

Objects and residues.

The exposure akda na “LAKÁSA” sa kategoryang Poetry. of their fragmentary nature, and how Ibinibigay ang RLA sa akdang umangat Ustetika PAHINA 7

Usapang Uste

Pagkakaroon ng unang TV system sa Silangan UNANG nagkaroon ang Unibersidad ng television system sa buong Filipinas at sa buong Silangan.

Ayon sa ulat ng Varsitarian noong 1950, pinangunahan ni Jose Nicolas, assistant technician ng UST Electronics Laboratory, sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng dating assistant dean ng Fakultad ng Inhinyerya na si Jose Mijares ang pagbuo nito.

Tatlong taon ang inilaan upang matapos ang paglikha ng unang telebisyon sa tahanan ni Nicolas sa Sampaloc sapagkat wala pang angkop na lugar (o laboratoryo sa loob ng Unibersidad) upang gawin ito.

Maraming suliranin ang kanilang kinaharap tulad ng paghalili sa mga madaling masirang bahagi ng telebisyon kagaya na lamang ng iconoscope, ang tubo na dinadaluyan ng mga larawan mula sa receiving set.

Ginamit ang naturang telebisyon upang sanayin at hasain ang mga magaaral ng Electrical Engineering habang papausbong pa lamang ang ganitong klaseng teknolohiya noon.

Tomasino siya Hindi lamang sa larangan na pagnenegosyo at Accounting kinikilala ang Tomasinong si Laura Suarez Acuzar kundi pati na rin sa kaniyang pambihirang kakayahang mangasiwa at magtaguyod ng iba’t ibang organisasiyon sa Unibersidad.

Nagtapos bilang magna cum laude si Acuzar sa degree na Accountancy sa Unibersidad noong 1970. Tumanggap din siya ng Rector’s Award for Academic Excellence sa kaniyang pagtatapos.

Isa si Acuzar sa mga nagtatag ng UST College of Commerce Alumni Foundation, Inc. (UST COCAFI) noong 1992. Malaki ang kaniyang naging bahagi sa paglikha ng Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy na programa lamang noon sa Kolehiyo ng Komersyo.

Naging pangulo rin siya ng UST

Alumni Council, kilala ngayon na UST Alumni Association, Inc., mula 2007 hanggang 2009. Sa kaniyang pamamahala, lumobo ang bilang ng mga kasapi nito at nagsimula rin ang paggawad ng Meritorious Award para sa mga mahuhusay na Tomasinong nakapag-aral ngunit hindi nakapagtapos sa Unibersidad.

Isa rin si Acuzar sa mga nagambag para sa pagpapatayo ng Blessed Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P., Building na kinalalagyan ng Thomasian Alumni Center at kasalukuyang tahanan ng ilang mag-aaral ng Senior High School.

Nanilbihan din siya bilang International Audit and Business Advisory Partner, tagapangasiwang direktor ng departamento ng Business Risk & Consulting Service at kasapi ng Board of Directors sa Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co., isa sa pinakamalalaki at pinakarespetadong accounting firm sa bansa, noong 1986-2001. Naging tagapangasiwa o miyembro naman siya ng Audit Committee ng Board of Directors ng iba’t ibang pribado at pampublikong kompanya sa bansa sa taong 2002-2008. CHRIS V. GAMOSO Tomasalitaan haguhap (pangngalan) apuhap, hagilap, kapa, kapkap Hal. Kung gaano kaiksi ang aking pasensya, ganoon naman kahaba ang pila habang tanaw ko ang ginagawang masuring haguhap ng guwardiya sa aming bag.

Mga Sanggunian: The Varsitarian Mabini, M.C. (2012). The University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Engineering: The First 100 Years.

Manila: UST Publishing House.

TOTAL Awards 2014 Diksyunaryong Jose Villa Panganiban

Katotohanan sa isyu ng pantaseryeng 'Bagani'’ BAGO pa man ipinalabas sa telebisyon ang unang kabanata ng Bagani, isang pantaseryeng pinagbibidahan ng ilang mga tanyag na aktor sa Filipinas sa kasalukuyan, umani na ito ng samo’t saring negatibong pahayag sa mundo ng social media.

Inakusahang nagpapakalat ng kasinungalingan ang mga utak sa likod nito dahil sa kanilang “magaáng na paggamit ng salitang ‘bagani.’”

Sa ilang mga tribo sa Mindanao kung saan nagmula ang salita, inilalangkap lámang ang titulong bagani sa mga katutubong nakapagmamalas ng tapang at lakas upang ipagtanggol ang kanilang pangkat laban sa mga mananakop.

Sapagkat mabibigat na pagsubok ang kailangang lampasan bago maituring na isang bagani, nangangahulugan din ito ng malalim nilang pagmamahal sa kanilang tribo at pagkakakilanlan.

Makahulugan ang pamagat at mahihinuhang napakahalaga sa mga naunang gumamit at patuloy na gumagamit nito.

Bagaman wala pang nasusundang naratibo, ikinagalit ng ilang mga kritiko ang “mababaw” na pag-intindi ng

tagapagkuwento sa ikinukuwento nito. Sinalubong ito ng ilang mabibigat na akusasiyon tulad ng cultural misappropriation, pagnanakaw ng katutubong wika at lantarang pambabastos sa mga katutubo.

Sa isang liham sa pangulo ng ABS-CBN noong ika-2 ng Marso, binatikos ni Ronald Adamat, komisyoner sa Komisyon ng mas Mataas na Edukasyon, ang naturang teleserye at inilarawan bilang “devoid of real meaning and substance.”

Nanawagan si Adamat na rebisahin ang konsepto ng Bagani at gawing historikal at edukasiyonal ang

kabuuang pagtatanghal upang kapulutan ito ng aral ng mga manonood.

Sa isang punto de vista, maaaring salagin ng malikhaing lisensya ang mga ipinaratang ni Adamat sa pantaserye. Bukod pa sa katotohanang trailer pa lamang ang kaniyang basehan nang ipadala niya ang nabanggit na liham, hindi naman talaga Bagani PAHINA 10

4 Opinion

APRIL 5, 2018

Editorial

Fake macho Duterte is anti-woman A MISOGYNIST and a coward hiding behind the bluster of machismo, Rodrigo Duterte still pursues his chauvinistic antics as he attempts to eliminate his political critics who are, apparently, mostly women whose intelligence is evidently superior and bolder than his own primitive logic and sissy ways.

As if concretizing the last chapters of his martial law plot, Duterte currently targets the judiciary as he pushes for the impeachment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the first woman to lead the Supreme Court.

On March 8, the House justice panel, overwhelmingly filled with Duterte lap dogs and voting 38-2, “found” probable cause to impeach Sereno over alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes, voting 383.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte had nothing to do with the ouster of Sereno. But what was he expected to do but defend his boss who last October had directly pointed his finger at Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales for allegedly conspiring with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV who had accused him of racking up more than P2 billion in bank transactions in 2006 to 2015.

“We will file an impeachment case against her and I would tend to believe (Morales) was part of the conspiracy, the fabricated papers,” Duterte said.

Duterte indicated he wanted the same for Sereno, noting his Congress allies had already initiated her impeachment.

It is curious that despite his vehement denials, Duterte has not shown anything to prove his innocence.

All he could do was to accuse Trillanes of allegedly keeping fat accounts in two Singapore banks, which the senator promptly answered by going to Singapore and getting certifications from the two banks that he didn’t have any account with them. In short, Duterte resorted to what his presidency has been very good at—fake news.

Vulgarity and crudity Vulgarity has always been Duterte’s style even before he was elected as president. His words have always involved crudity with swear words and bawdiness which are largely unbecoming of a state leader.

One of the several instances when his behavior became controversial was when he catcalled broadcast reporter Mariz Umali in a press conference in September 2016. The incident sparked public outrage but Duterte never apologized. His camp stupidly defended him, saying that he was always being taken out of context and the media had always been biased.

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 CHRISTIAN DE LANO M. DEIPARINE, THEODORE JASON PATRICK K. ORTIZ Online Editors 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 SHAINA MAE L. SANTANDER Art Director DEEJAE S. DUMLAO Acting Chief Photographer News Kevin A. Alabaso, Samantha-Wee Lipana, Job Anthony R. Manahan, Julia Claire L. Medina, Jacob Marvin D. Urmenita, Pauline Faye V. Tria Sports Jan Carlo Anolin, Mia Arra C. Camacho, Ma. Angela Christa Coloma, Ma. Angelica D. Garcia, Ivan Ruiz L. Suing, Justin Robert Valencia Special Reports Ma. Consuelo D.P. Marquez, Louise Cleindale L. Penera, Arianne Aine D. Suarez Features Louise Claire H. Cruz, Daphne Yann P. Galvez, Julia Camille B. Ocaya Literary Karl Ben L. Arlegui, Elmer B. Coldora Filipino Erma R. Edera, Chris V. Gamoso Witness Marem A. De Jemel, Lady Cherbette N. Agot, Lexanne O. Garcia, Pearl Anne M. Gumapos Science and Technology Miguel Alejandro IV A. Herrera, Beatriz Avegayle S. Timbang Circle Klimier Nicole B. Adriano, Kathleen Therese A. Palapar, Lyon Ricardo III M. Lopez Art Mariyella Alyssa A. Abulad, Blessie Angelie B. Andres, Rocher Faye R. Dulatre, Joelle Alison Mae P. Eusebio, Mari Kloie D. Ledesma, Nathanael Jonas S.J. Rodrigo Photography Ann Margaret De Nys, Miah Terrenz Provido, Maria Charisse Ann G. Refuerzo, Michael Angelo Reyes, Rhenwil James Santos, 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.

Channels for student social engagement needed FOURTEEN years had passed but the UST Students’ Code of Rights is still pending, and the students still have to look for means to channel effectively their grievances or express their stand on social issues in the proper forum.

Last Feb. 20, some Senior High School (SHS) students staged what they called a silent protest against the K to 12 program. The students marched from the 11th floor of the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, OP Building and were blocked from the sixth floor by authorities. They were summoned to the principal’s office where their IDs and mobile phones were confiscated.

Last Feb. 23, students from UST and other universities joined walkout protests against extrajudicial killings and state attacks on press freedom. A text message circulated in the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD), ostensibly from the administration, warning students against walkouts and citing the UST student handbook’s code of conduct and discipline.

“Only duly recognized student organizations may: Organize and/or engage in any approved group activity.

Students who organize and/

rules and regulations.

In a 2016 report by the Varsitarian, then Central Student Council (CSC) president Anna Mariz Mangalili said the approval of the UST administrative offices was taking time. Two years later, the students’ code remains a draft in the CSC website.

Given more than a decade for lobbying the students’ code is the fault of the CSC and local student councils for having lack of progress on the students’ code or the administration is not really in favor of its contents?

And most important, school The University should officials have had established adhere or at least hear the policies but has not given enough students’ sentiments by involving attention to approve or revise the students with their plans for each proposed students’ code.

Academic Year, because students The proposed Students’ are greatly affected by the shifts Code, formerly Magna Carta of inside and outside the campus.

UST Students which started to In other words, if the be drafted in 2004, encloses a administration really cares and provision on the students’ right listens to its students, it should to freedom of expression. help facilitate the passage--or Article 3 Section 3 of the at least pose no obstacle to the proposed code states the freedom passage and ratification--of the of students to assemble to express student rights’ code. The fact that disagreement of school policies the proposed code has not been which are deemed “contrary passed and remains a draft after to their welfare and interests.” all these 14 years should indicate Under the same provision, there’s something wrong with students must also be given both the student leadership and the right to air their grievances the UST administration. without being penalized but still subjecting to existing University

The University should hear the students’sentiments by involving them with their plans for each Academic Year.

or engage in any group activity must exercise diligence in its conduct,” the text message quoted the Code of Conduct of the UST Student Handbook as stating.

These are just some of the incidents where students tried to express their stand on national issues but the University rules hinder them fully engage themselves in socio-political concerns.

Meanwhile, school officials have more time prohibiting students from joining rallies and protests but not on proactive dialogues and interaction among the students. They focus on reprimanding students rather than opening their offices for suggestions and consultations.

In memoriam : Bernardo Bernardo

ON THE morning of March 8, I woke up to the sad news of veteran actor Bernardo Bernardo’s passing. He was 73 years old.

“Sir Bernie” or “BB,” as he’s fondly called, succumbed to pancreatic cancer. He revealed his deteriorating health condition earlier this year on a Facebook post, where he implored his “irogs” (friends and followers) to pray for him.

While majority of Sir Bernie’s fans knew him as Steve Carpio in “Home Along Da Riles” and Manay Sharon in “Manila By Night,” among many other memorable roles he had portrayed on TV and the movies, I apparently did not. As a matter of fact, unfortunately, I never saw him until the end of my junior year at UST. I first met him last April at the Blaylock Hall of the Benavides Building (UST High School). It was during “Banyuhay 2017: Brushes with Words and Chords,” a project of the UST Center

A juvenile like me who wishes to make a big break, just like him, he said, must be “foolish” and “brave enough” in making opportunities, instead of taking, he clarified. for Creative Writing and Literary Studies for National Literature Month. I was one of the performers and he was the stage director.

As if late for a doctor’s appointment, I remembered scurrying toward the place for rehearsals with Sir Bernie, whom I was about to see for the very first time.

Yet my late arrival was no big deal for Sir Bernie, who was already at the podium briefing some UST administrators, professors and musicians for minutes. Being the only undergraduate performer there,

I sat at the front row and quietly apologized. Surprisingly, he greeted me with a banter about being the only “baby” there.

Everybody laughed at his jest.

I took it as a sign of the gaiety of his personality, his zest for life.

A comedian by profession, Sir Bernie was intermittently cracking jokes as he gave pieces of advice for us performers. Not even the Fine Arts Dean Christie Que and the erstwhile UST Publishing House deputy director Ma. Ailil Alvarez were left “unscathed” by his

wisecracks.

Sir Bernie painstakingly coached me for my performance of Alejandro Abadilla’s “Ako Ang Daigdig.” He’d tend to have a “one-on-one” session with me in the corner of the room, asking me to show him my rendition first before giving his constructive criticisms.

Then, he’d advise me the more suitable pacing, cadence, facial expression, and gesticulations.

Of course, he would still joke in-between.

After practicing me a few more times, Sir Bernie would finally let me have my “entrance” toward the podium and “perform” in front of everybody, whom he’d also approached individually throughout the session. Yet his instructions didn’t serve as rigid laws; he still gave us the liberty for us to do our interpretation.

During the performance day itself, Sir Bernie was bidding everyone at the Breaking Bad PAGE 5

Opinion 5

APRIL 5, 2018

Divorce FROM PAGE 1

“Bawat tao mayroong sariling pananaw, [...] may sariling pag-iisip, [at] may karapatang mamili kung ano yung pinaniniwalaan nil[a].

Personal stand ko [‘yun].

Sasabihin ko lamang po na kung ano po yung stand ko bilang ta[o],” Cruz said.

Article 2 Section 1 of the 2003 CSC Constitution states that the CSC “shall uphold the Christian ideals and objectives of the University.”

The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the bill titled “The Act of Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage” on March 19, with 134 congressmen voting for the measure, 57 voting against, and two opting to abstain.

Seeking to grant divorce in “irremediably failed marriages,” the grounds for divorce in the bill include: reasons stated for legal separation and annulment under the Family Code of the Philippines, psychological incapacity, gender reassignment surgery, irreconcilable differences and separation for at least five years, among others.

The bill also aims to make divorce proceedings affordable by waiving filing and lawyers’ fees and ordering courts to provide psychiatric and psychological

Bernardo FROM PAGE 2

Singer and activist Leah Navarro said: “Goodbye, Bernardo ‘Bernie’ Bernardo.

It was a treat to work with you in ‘They’re Playing Our Song’ so long ago. You were wonderfully talented, funny, sensitive, and kind. Rest peacefully with God forever, old pal.”

Film Development Council head Liza Diño-

Student polls FROM PAGE 2

“The flow will come from the Comelec. The developers interpret what is necessary. My intervention is I make sure the system will not be tampered with. I also have a background in programming,” Hernandez said.

A mock election was held on March 9 to test the capacity of the system to receive and handle votes.

Regular elections will run from April 11 to 21, where the proclamation of the new set of officers will also take place.

No ‘Abstain’ votes Comelec has removed the option to “Abstain” from choices in the ballot this year in compliance with the order of the Central Judiciarya Board last year, which said the Comelec violated the UST Student’s Election Code (USEC) of 2011 by including “Abstain” on the 2017 ballot. “[T]he abstentions should not have been counted or tallied because they are not votes,” the board resolution read.

Article 10 Section 5 of the USEC states that the ballot shall contain the printed names of candidates, their positions and their parties , a box before each candidate’s name, serial number and the instructions.

SAMANTHA-WEE LIPANA and JOB ANTHONY R. MANAHAN

services.

Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, had said marriages and families were “bound to break up more easily” when divorce is presented as an easy option.

“The social costs that go with an easy recourse to the dissolution of a marriage when couples begin to face the difficult challenges of marital love and commitment are what we ask our legislators to consider seriously,” he said.

“Even couples in seemingly successful marriages would often look back and recall the countless challenges that had almost brought their relationship to a breaking point if they had not learned to transcend personal hurts through understanding and forgiveness, or sometimes through the intervention of a dialogue facilitator such as a marriage counselor,” Romulo said in a pastoral statement last March 13.

The Davao prelate urged lawmakers to reconsider voting for divorce as it “might end up destroying even those marriages that could have been saved by dialogues or the intervention of family, friends, pastors, and counselors.” ELMER B. COLDORA and SAMANTHA-WEE LIPANA

Breaking Bad

Seguerra said in a Facebook post: “At the time when everyone was in doubt, he stood up for me. Sa tuwing merong mga bashers or negative people na nagsasabi ng ‘di maganda, siya ang unang nagtatanggol sa akin. Napakarami niyang pangarap para sa industriya at sa tuwing nagkikita kami, lagi niya itong binabahagi sa akin. Maraming salamat sa lahat. Ang hirap tanggaping wala ka na. Isang tunay na kaibigan at kakampi.”

Ramon Vecina,

Bernardo’s brother, said he had contributed tremendously to society with his work and he could not ask for anything more for a brother.

“I’m proud of him, marami siyang naitulong sa publiko, marami siyang natulungan, especially sa education [and] acting. Wala na akong maihihiling pa,” Vecina said.

Noel Ferrer, Bernardo’s “confidant,” said he was more than just an actor.

“I knew him as a teacher more than being an actor. He

Strengthen FROM PAGE 1

In a pastoral statement last Feb. 21, the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said marriage was important in the psychological, physical and spiritual growth of children and in helping them become productive members of the society.

Editorial FROM PAGE 4

Even during the campaign, Duterte had been sexist and insensitive and even downright brutal. We recall here his disgusting remark in defense of ordering rioting prisoners involved in the 1989 Davao prison crisis killed.

Saying he did so after the prisoners raped an Australian missionary, he said: “Nagalit ako kasi ni-rape? Oo, isa rin ‘yon. Pero napakaganda, dapat ang mayor muna ang mauna. Sayang,” Now, who in his right mind would crack such a vicious joke amid tragedy? Did Duterte apologize for such a joke?

Never. In fact, he lashed out at the Australian embassy for protesting. That’s the person elected as president.

Such irresponsible,

and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.”

For Sir Bernie, certain people at work seemingly forget being humane especially toward their colleagues; they become power-hungry and -blinded with what they do, for their personal gain and to the best of their interests. I knew a lot of such accounts in college, and his caveat about arrogant ambition has become a moral lesson for my keepsake.

On the last few moments of our coffee conversation, Sir Bernie disclosed his writing project to me. It was a book of memoirs which he provisionally titled “Acting With Legends (Myth Pa Po Ako).” However, I’m not sure if it would still see the light of day.

There’s a particular verse on the Abadilla poem that I performed, which I think resonated with Sir Bernie: “ako / ang walang maliw na ako / ang walang kamatayang ako / ang tula ng daigdig” (my imperfect translation: “i / the immortal i / the undying i / the poem of the earth”). The memories that Steve Carpio, Manay Sharon, among others, left for his “irogs,” from his shows to his jokes, are immortal and undying.

More importantly, by the same token, Sir Bernie has become immortal and undying for me: someone who has stayed with and in me since beyond Blaylock Hall.

FROM PAGE 4

backstage good luck and was even congratulating us in advance. Surely enough, his charisma, encouragement, and expertise since the beginning paved way for the success of Banyuhay 2017.

Since then, Sir Bernie has changed my notion of dramatic performances. He has also changed my outlook on life, especially since we met for coffee somewhere in Taguig a few weeks after the event.

I came across Sir Bernie differently: an easygoing mentor, a humble leader, an empathetic friend, and a very kindhearted person altogether, who would influence me a lot later on as a Literature major and Varsitarian staffer.

I’ve never forgotten the wisdom Sir Bernie imparted.

A juvenile like me who wishes to make a big break, just like him, he said, must be “foolish” and “brave enough” in making opportunities (instead of taking, he clarified) for myself. Yet, I must “be necessarily empathic” and “not become abrasive” to others.

He also shared his plight about being burnedout at the industry, becoming a “hollow shell” in the process. As he warned, the “business” involved fleeting relationships, in which there were “no permanent friends

was a very generous teacher ‘yung tipong hindi niya sasarilin yung knowledge and skills na meron siya. He would pass it on to people,” Ferrer said.

Mariliu Soriano, Bernardo’s niece, said kindness remains as the actor’s legacy.

“Yung kabaitan niya sa tao, ‘yun ang tumatak sa amin,” Soriano said.

PAULINE FAYE V. TRIA

“Science and human experience tell us that marriage is an immutable and undeniable good. Its demands and benefits lead to a better, compassionate, stable and more dynamic society. Our Constitution’s goal of the common good demands all these,” the statement read.

Canon law defines marriage as “a union by a man and a woman who establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of narcissistic, demonic comments come fast and quick from Malacanang these days—and they’re mostly directed at women. In fact, he’s fond of saying the “PI” word. He’s just cursed just about everybody’s mother except his own, whom he had betrayed by allowing a hero’s burial for the macho despot Ferdinand Marcos, whom his mother opposed.

Of course, Roque and his lap dogs would always defend him. But “misinterpretation” and “language barriers” are now worn-out alibis. He’s clearly a chauvinist and he picks on women because he’s a sissy and cannot pick on Trillanes or China.

De Lima, VP Robredo Sen. Leila de Lima and Vice President Leni Robredo are probably the most hard-pressed victims of the

offspring.”

Last Feb. 21, the Committee on Population and Family Relations of the House of Representatives submitted the bill titled “The Act of Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage” for plenary deliberations.

The bill will make legal proceedings affordable by waiving filing and lawyers’ fees and ordering courts to provide psychiatric and psychological services.

LEXANNE O. GARCIA

president’s disdain and mockery of women—specifically, women who threaten to dismantle his autocratic administration.

Filipinos would never forget how disturbing it was to allow De Lima’s alleged sex tape to be shown in the House probe last September 2016 just to establish the relationship between the senator and her former bodyguard, Ronnie Dayan. Robredo then condemned this move by labeling it as a “public shaming of a woman and the infliction of grave harm on her dignity as a human person.”

Alas, on December 2016, Duterte gave instructions for Robredo to “desist” from attending Cabinet meetings, which also prompted her to resign from the Cabinet.

Barbarian, anti-poor His barbarism has made the Philippines an international

Gone too soon

By RALPH SEMINO GALÁN

VETERAN stage, film and television actor Berardo Bernardo, Bernie to his friends, passed away on March 8, 2018, after being diagnosed of having a tumor in the pancreas only last January of the same year.

Best known for his portrayal of the catty gay character Steve Carpio in ABS-CBN’s comedy series “Home Along the Riles”, Bernardo has also essayed many memorable roles for the stage and film, the more recent ones as lead actor of Red Turnip Theater’s production of Jennifer Hayley’s sci-fi crime drama “The Nether”, and as featured actor of Culturtain’s film version of the musical “Ang Larawan”, which is based on Nick Joaquin’s three-act play “Portrait of the Artist as Filipino”.

Aside from winning two Urian Awards for acting, Bernardo is also a prize-winning director and writer for stage, television and film. In his more than 40 years in the performing arts, he has done significant work with National Artists, like Ishmael Bernal, Bienvenido Lumbera, Lamberto V. Avellana, Nick Joaquin, and Rolando Tinio.

Bernardo has a Litt.B. in Journalism from the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters, and had served as Editor-in-Chief of the UST Varsitarian while performing as a budding actor with the Aquinas Dramatic Guild. He has an M.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.A. in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix.

He took further studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art under a British Council grant.

“Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio”, Bernardo’s Tagalog translation of the Obie Award-winning play by Lonnie Carter (based on a Carlos Bulosan short story), merited five major nominations in the prestigious LA Weekly Theater Awards. The play gave Bernardo the Best Director award in an American mainstream competition. For this achievement, Bernardo also received the Ani ng Dangal Award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The full text of Magno Rubio is the main feature of the Drama issue of the five-volume “Tomás” 5th Year Anniversary Issue.

At the time of his death, Bernardo was a faculty member of the UST Graduate School and a Senior Visiting Fellow of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies. He was scheduled to be part of the teaching panel of the UST National Writers’ Workshop for the second straight year, under the sponsorship of the UST Varsitarian. Aside from working on a memoir of his life on stage and on the big and small screens, and a manual of acting for Filipino performers, he was also planning to help revive the UST Graduate School Academic Theatre, and train the student actors of Teatro Tomasino, as part of his personal project of leaving a lasting legacy behind.

As his former student in playwriting in the UST Graduate School and as a colleague and friend, I have first-hand experience of Sir Bernie’s generosity and patience as a mentor, his unflappable spirit and resilience in the face of adversity as a colleague, and his ebullience and the range of his humor—from deadpan to high camp—as a friend.

He will be sorely missed!

pariah.

In the wake of his tirade against the United States, European Union and the United Nations last October 2016, former senator and diplomat Leticia RamosShahani advised him not to make enemies but to take a “beginner’s course” in diplomacy. It was in an earlier speech in Butuan City that he once again threw shade upon the international bodies which had been very critical about his war on drugs in the country.

Also, on September that year, it can be recalled that Barack Obama cancelled a meeting with him at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos, after Duterte “cursed” the US leader for alleged human rights violations

of the government’s anti-drug campaign.

At present, if Duterte’s supporters’ lone motivation for blind loyalty is his promise of “change,” they should have already seen how his anti-drug campaign was a huge flop. It is largely anti-poor, resulting in 7,080 people killed since July 2016.

Moreover, they should have already realized how the murder of these thousands of men, most of them perhaps breadwinners of the poorest of the poor Filipino families, left mothers, widows and daughters weeping and cursing the tough-talking mayor who once promised to uplift the impoverished sectors of the society.

They should have perceived by now that Duterte’s war is neither against narcotics nor corruption, but against democracy, the poor, and women.

6 Circle

Editor: Audrie Julienne D. Bernas

APRIL 5, 2018

Sunico returns to CCP stage HE MIGHT have been president for several years of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), but it was only last March 17 that former Conservatory of Music dean and pianist Raul Sunico was able to perform a full piano concerto again at the CCP Main Theater.

Sunico played masterpieces from the Romantic period in “Romancing the Classics,” a joint piano concert with Ingrid Sala Santamaria.

The concert was held to mark the 35th anniversary of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), the resident orchestra of the CCP. PPO in fact accompanied the two pianists throughout the concert. Conductor was Conservatory professor Herminigildo Raner.

“I was invited to perform several times when I was president of CPP, but I declined,” Sunico told the Varsitarian. “I was the one who ultimately decided on the soloists so I’d rather not play then. Ngayon na lang ulit.”

With Santamaria, Sunico performed German composer Felix Medelssohn Bartholdy’s “Concerto for Two Pianos in A flat major.” “Concerto” is a 30-minute piece composed of three movements—the first and last characterized by brisk, playful runs. Its second movement carried a soulful touch, ending meekly with a rippling sound.

“It’s exciting to play with her,” Sunico said of Santamaria. “This is the first time we did it together. It’s sort of a bigger challenge than playing solo because we had to coordinate our tempo, interpretation, and musical ideas.”

Santamaria in fact initiated the “Romancing the Classics” series with the late famous US-based Filipino pianist and pedagogue Reynaldo Reyes, also a product of

Piano masters Raul Sunico and Ingrid Santamaria

the Conservatory. The series made the rounds of Philppine provinces to bring classical music to the grass roots. Reyes died in 2016.

As part of the classical repertoire, the PPO also rendered Japanese songsmith Toro Takemitsu’s “Requiem for Strings” and German melodist Johannes Brahms’ “Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98.”

“Requiem for Strings” is a heavy 15-minute composition that bears a wistful melody, with delicate upbringings in the beginning, ending with a resounding tone of melancholy.

“Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98,” on the other hand, is more serene in melody, with a continuous unfolding of tunes turning furious with the sound of the timpani in the end.

A Music and Mathematics graduate of the University of the Philippines, Sunico served as dean of the UST Conservatory of Music from 2002 to 2016. He obtained his master’s and doctorate degree from The Juilliard School and New York University, respectively.

Sunico has won numerous awards. He was a silver medalist in the 1979 Viotti International Piano Competition in Vercelli, Italy; a finalist in the 1979 Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy; a recipient of the Henry Cowell Prize in the 1980 University of Maryland International Piano Competition; The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (Toym) awardee for music in 1986; and a UST Dangal Outstanding Artist Awardee in 2008.

The concert series “Romancing the Classics,” kicked off last Sept. 15 and will run until April 13, with Thomasian trumpeter Raymond de Leon as finale act. KATHLEEN THERESE A PALAPAR

Raul Sunico embraces Prof. Herminigildo Ranera onstage.

Villafranca, Roldan, Cabrera, Ambie Abano, Manalang make a splash in Art Fair PH ART FAIR Philippines 2018 saw over 35,000 guests registering—more than six times the foot traffic since the fair’s inauguration in 2013—and going up and down the seven floors of The Link Carpark in Makati on March 1 to 4, viewing art exhibits and installations.

Some 13,000 square meters were given to gallery spaces, sponsors’ booths, and food and beverage concessions.

Organizers called the 2018 edition the “biggest and best show yet” of the art fair, with 51 local and international galleries participating.

“We’ve developed our educational thrust over the years to accommodate the growing and eager audience for this aspect of the fair,” said fair cofounder Dindin Araneta.

This year saw the debut of the ArtFairPH/ PHOTO section, which featured photo-books tackling social issues. Mounted were works by street photographer Arthur “Weegee” Fellig.

Also mounted were the famous Cordillera photographs of Eduardo Masferre.

Veteran photographers Neal Oshima and Velasco Shaw were also featured.

UST Fine Arts alumnus Veejay Villafranca launched his photo book, “Signos,” in the group exhibit of documentary photographers titled “Provocations.”

Villafranca’s was a collection of black-andwhite photos that showed the extreme changes in weather conditions around the country and their catastrophic aftermaths. “[The photo-book] is a six-year work that tackles the issue of climate change and displaced communities all over the Philippines,” Villafranca

told the Varsitarian.

Reliving the Pasay Manila’s Golden Gays, a nonprofit organization established in 1970s to cater to elderly and homeless homosexuals, after their disbandment in 2012, Thomasian Geloy Concepcion rendered “Reynas Delas Flores: Manila Golden Gays,” a collection of photographs of the elderly group in their fashionable clothes.

Aside from photographers, seven UST artists works were also featured in the fair.

Renowned glass sculptor and Architecture alumnus Ramon Orlina graced this year’s Art Fair with “Seijaku,” a collaboration exhibition with French-Filipino textile artist Olivia d’ Aboville. The exhibit’s main piece was Orlina’s aqua blue optical glass sculpture which reflected their theme, “serenity in the midst of activity.”

Norberto Roldan ‘s installation, “Two Sisters and Two Aliens.” was a nostalgia piece composed of vintage items as a tribute to his mother. Old perfume bottles, lipsticks, picture frames, and flower vases filled the three wooden cabinets Roldan brought to the exhibit.

Roldan is known for his found-object installations that mimic Catholic altars in Philippine homes. He said the found objects provide a “narrative” that when put together, provide a “larger narrative” and with deeper significance.

In “Searching for the Center,” veteran printmaker Benjie Torrado Cabrera engraved a man’s facial proportions with an emphasis on its geometric style in a 48 x 18-inch mirror.

Noli Principe Manalang’s “Double Crossed,” a 44 x 18-inch painting, depicted the crucifixion of Christ with a yellow “Do Not Cross” tape.

In print artist Ambie Abaño’s “There are No White Clouds,” scattered cloud-shaped patterns were depicted

“Eastern Samar” by Veejay Villafranca

on a woodcut canvass.

Alvin Zafra went digital with “Revolver,” a two-hour video showing the dismantling of a gun.

Antonio Victorio, another Thomasian, was one of several artists who collaborated in “Tira”, an installation of a decorated tent with broken objects inside, such as severed doll’s hands. Two major images were painted on the tent; one of a sunrise and another of a sunset.

Untitled work by Ramon Orlina

Editor: Nikko Miguel M. Garcia

APRIL 5, 2018

Literary 7

‘Renato Madrid’, Quito honored by Varsitarian Cebu cleric-writer-composer and late philosopher given the Parangal Hagbong during Gawad Ustetika for lifetime achievement in Thomasian letters

Book Awards, particularly for his ARCHDIOCESE of Cebu short story collection, “Southern Monsignor Rodolfo Villanueva Harvest,” published by the New Day and the late philosophy pedagogue Publishers in 1987.

Emerita Quito were given the Villanueva also wrote novels Parangal Hagbong for their that appear to combine sociology distinguished body of writings and religion, much like the fiction during the 33rd Gawad Ustetika of his friend and literary mentor last March 10 at the Buenaventura Nick Joaquin, such as “Devil Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building.

Wings” and “Mass for the Death of Hagbong, from an old an Enemy,” published in 1997 and Tagalog word in Quezon Province 2000, respectively, by the Ateneo De meaning “laureate,” has been Manila University Press. given by the Varsitarian since Fr. Raul Go, a student of 1997 to UST alumni for lifetime Villanueva in Cebu’s Calag Seminary achievement in letters. in 1972 and who has studied at the Monsignor Villanueva was UST Ecclesiastical Faculties, said cited for his notable contributions Villanueva’s “sense of humor” is his to Philippine literature, arts, and most compelling quality as a writer. culture as a fictionist, playwright, “[I admire] the way he plays and composer. with words, the pun—the humor Written under the pseudonym itself. Usually he writes in a “Renato Madrid,” Villanueva’s conversational manner, [...] light and short stories in the 1960’s were [satirical] also. We used to laugh on published by National Artist for the scenes where we are part of a Literature Nick Joaquin, when the play and then when we are asked to latter was editor of the Philippines read his words,” he said.

Free Press. They subsequently Villanueva is boarding at the won for Villanueva the Free Press Carmelite Monastery in Cebu, after and Palanca literary prizes. retiring from teaching. However, In the 1980s, his stories were he maintains his post as a resident collected in “Southern Harvest,” professor of Music and English at which won the National Book San Carlos Seminary College and Award of the Manila Critics a lifetime visiting faculty at the Circle.

Dipolog and Dumaguete Seminaries.

Quito meanwhile was given the Hagbong posthumously for Quito, philosopher her writings on philosophy. She Emerita Quito graduated magna died last Sept. 17; she was 88. cum laude with a bachelor’s degree Former Varsitarian Filipino Msgr. Rodolfo Villanueva V.N.M.L. TADEO Emerita Quito Photo courtesy of Anne Quito in Philosophy at the University. She staffer Rogelio Sicat and National took higher studies at the Universite Artist for Theater and Literature Rolando Tinio music. He also produced book publications career as a musician is his “Scenes from a de Fribourg in Switzerland and University of were the first recipients of Parangal Hagbong. and sound recordings of his music. He has a Martyrdom,” a full-length musical. He was Sorbonne in Paris.

They received the award posthumously.

Her 1969 dissertation, “La Notion de la two-volume collection of choral arrangements also asked to write “something for Visayans,” which focuses on old and new Cebuano carols; as part of the celebration of the beatification of Liberté dans la Philosophie de Louis Lavelleis,” Msgr. Villanueva was the first work in French written by a it also preserves old Cebu “harana” and love Visayan martyr Blessed Pedro Calungsod.

Villanueva, 77, was ordained in 1963. He songs.

Lorenzo Niñal, Villanueva’s music and Filipino. It was accepted for publication by the obtained his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy Some of Villanueva’s collections literature student in 1990, said Villanueva’s Universite de Fribourg. and Theology at San Carlos Seminary in Cebu widely used by the local church musicians songs are always a time of “elevating the level In 1973, she was given a grant by the and his master’s degree in English from UST. French government to pursue studies in are “Cancionero Cebuano,” “Twenty-Four of local music and Cebuano music.”

He also earned a bachelor’s degree Masses,” “Salterio Cebuano,” and the three“There’s a classical touch to this music Comparative and Sanskrit Philosophy at the in Music in Piano and master’s degree in volume “Festival Series.” His “Melodies of and at the same time, it’s so grounded to the University of Sorbonne.

Music Composition from State University in Carmel” is also among his large collections of Cebuano experience. [M]ost of his liturgical A former faculty of UST, Quito, known for Minnesota. religious songs in English. songs are in Cebuano,” he said. “Cebuanos are being a strict professor, was one of those who Villanueva became a piano accompanist Villanueva’s 40-minute ballet, “Fate of the not aware that they are singing songs that have tackled the Filipinization of UST at the turn of for the Schola Cantorum (singing school) at the Unprepared,” highlighted his musical career as unusually high quality. Those are so different the 1970’s.

Cebu seminary, Pro Musica Antiqua (a classical it was commissioned by the Las Piñas Bamboo from a lot of liturgical songs of the masses.”

The UST Press published Quito’s “A New chamber group), and the composite chorus of Organ Festival, first performed by Leopold Concept of Philosophy” in 1967. It was actually the Minnesota school. the Discurso de Apertura or the inaugural Oehms (bamboo organ) and Rey Gillamac Much-awarded writer Villanueva, who headed for several years (piano) and presented by the Cultural Center of As an esteemed writer, Villanueva received the Cebu Church’s Sub-commission on Sacred the Philippines Dance Company. literary distinctions such as the Don Carlos Hagbong PAGE 10 Music, mostly composed choral and solo vocal Another highlight of Fr. Villanueva’s Palanca Awards for Literature and National

UST launches special reprint of critical essays on Nick Joaquin’s works THE UNIVERSITY launched a special reprint of a critical work on the writings of National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin last March 15 at the St. Raymund de Peñafort Building.

“Subversions of Desire: Prolegomena to Nick Joaquin” by US-based scholar E. San Juan, Jr. was launched under Unitas, UST’s official scholarly journal for humanities, arts and the social sciences.

San Juan’s book, originally published in 1987 by Ateneo de Manila Press, is a collection of critical essays discussing the struggles of Joaquin in searching for the true Filipino identity. “[Its] primary motivation [is] to reinscribe Joaquin’s text in the field of sociopolitical contradictions defining our nation since the Filipino-American War and its fraught aftermath,” San Juan said in his remarks.

San Juan said the launching of Joaquin’s “The Woman Who Had

Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic” as a Penguin Classic in 2017 prompted him to reissue his own book.

San Juan, a former Fulbright lecturer, urged his readers to remember his book’s “historical context of composition.”

He also praised the University for being “one of the first instigators of nationalist revival.” “[B]y holding regular seminars on Joaquin’s achievement [and] with the reprinting of this book… UST continues its patronage of the arts,” he said.

San Juan said he hoped his book would challenge more Filipino scholars, noting that Joaquin, who died in 2004, was “scarcely read by 103 million citizens.”

“What their collective judgment of this book may be, together with its uncalculated effects, will depend on the outcome of the current democratic struggles and not on any single individual critic,” he said. K.B.L.Arlegui

The first edition of San Juan’s book of critical essays about the works of National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin.

Ustetika

FROM PAGE 3 feelings and emotions, and elevate the spirit by bringing out moral values’—of what is expected of aspiring writers, like myself, is beyond me,” wika ni Abrigo.

Naging lahok din si Abrigo sa ika-13 Creative Writing Workshop sa parehong kategorya noong Oktubre at kasalukuyang tumatayong bise-presidente ng Public Relations sa Thomasian Writers Guild.

Hinangaan ni Allan Pastrana, isang makata at isa sa mga hurado sa kategoryang Poetry, ang akda ni Abrigo.

“Arielle’s collection is the most consistent. The wording in her work helps one understand a small part of the human condition, a brief section of human experience.

And that specificity is as valuable as any universal one,” wika niya. “But a reader is surprised as well by the self-reflexive dimension of the poems. They are not only about events; they are also about language, the directness and simplicity of which, as used in her poems, convey sincere beauty and thoughtful intelligence.”

Tumanggap ang mga nagwagi sa timpalak ng sertipiko, tropeyo at cash prize na nagkahahalaga ng P10,000 para sa unang parangal, P7,000 sa nagkamit ng ikawalang puwesto, P5,000 naman sa ikatlong parangal at P3,000 sa karangalang banggit.

Kabilang sa mga kumilates sa mga inilahok ngayong taon sina: Carlomar Daoana, Allan Justo Pastrana at Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta (Poetry); Eric Melendez, Sarge Lacuesta at Augusto Antonio Aguila (Fiction); Vim Nadera, Michael Coroza at Rebecca Añonuevo (Tula); John Jack Wigley, Jose Wendell Capili at Shirley Lua (Essay); Chuckberry Pascual, Eros Atalia at Joselito Delos Reyes (Katha); Gary Devilles, Oscar Campomanes at Beverly Siy (Sanaysay); at Jose Victor Torres, Jerry Gracio and Ralph Galan (One-Act Play/Dulang Isang Yugto).

Taong 1984, sa pangunguna ni Vim Nadera, nang unang pinag-alab ang panitikan sa pamamagitan ng pagkilala ng kahusayan ng mga Tomasinong mag-aaral sa malikhaing pagsusulat sa patimpalak na Gawad Ustetika.

ERMA R. EDERA

8 Special Reports

Editor: Neil Jayson N. Servallos

APRIL 5, 2018

Kin of slain ROTC victim still cry for justice

2 suspects remain at large 17 years after Mark Welson Chua’s killing

By ARIANNE AINE D. SUAREZ and LOUISE CLEINDALE PENERA

IT’S BEEN 17 years, but the family of Mark Welson Chua never lost hope “full” justice would eventually be attained for the killing of the former UST Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadet, as two of four suspects remain at large to this day.

“Partial justice lang ‘yung binigay, hindi full justice.

Hindi ko alam kailan ko matatanggap ‘yong full justice, kung mayroon mang justice ang Pilipinas,” Mark’s mother Amelita Chua told the Varsitarian.

Chua, then a 19-year-old mechanical engineering student, disclosed to the Varsitarian in January 2001 the corruption in the University’s ROTC program together with his fellow cadet Romulo Yumul.

Chua’s exposé was published in the Varsitarian’s Feb. 21, 2001 issue. The story titled “Struggle Against the System” cited the formal complaint of Yumul and Chua that caused the relief of Maj. Demy Tejares from duty as commandant of the ROTC unit, and other Department of Military Science and Tactics (DMST) officials.

Chua went missing the following month. His father Welson received a call claiming Mark had been kidnapped.

The caller asked for a P3-million ransom.

Two days later, on March 18, 2001, Mark’s decomposing body, rolled in a carpet, was fished out of Pasig River; his hands and legs hogtied and his face wrapped with silver duct tape.

“Hindi naman ako nawawalan ng pag-asa kahit hindi na ganun kainit ‘yung kaso. Kasi naniniwala ako sa karma e.

Kung hindi man sa life na ‘to, ‘yung responsible sa pagpatay kay Mark e babayaran din nila,” Amelita said.

In 2004, Arnulfo Aparri, one of the accused in the case, was sentenced to death by lethal injection. He was also ordered to pay the family P50,000 in indemnity. When the death penalty was abolished in 2006, Aparri’s sentence was changed to life imprisonment without parole.

Eduardo Tabrilla, another accused, pleaded guilty to homicide in 2006. Two others, Paul Tan and Michael Rainard Manangbao, remain at large.

Amelita said there had been no significant developments in the case. Pursuing Tan and Manangbao required a huge amount of money that the family did not have, she said.

Mark’s father, Welson, died in February 2006.

“As of now, ‘di ko na alam kung sino lalapitan ko kasi lahat siguro noong time na [buhay] ‘yong daddy ni Mark, nilapitan na niya lahat. If kayo nasa kalagayan ko, if you’ve been in my shoes, ano, sino na?” she said.

Mark’s death brought clamor for the abolition of mandatory ROTC, resulting in the passage of the National Service Training Program law that offers other service options that do not involve military training.

In 2016, the Department of National Defense (DND) called for the reimposition of the mandatory ROTC program.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved the DND’s proposal to restore mandatory ROTC for Grades 11 and 12 in public and private schools in February last year.

A bill is set to be deliberated in Congress to amend Republic Act 7077 or the Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act before mandatory ROTC can be enforced in Grades 11 and 12.

Student participation in charter change sought

By MA. CONSUELO D.P. MARQUEZ THE COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHEd) is eyeing student participation in the process of amending the Constitution, following the creation of a Consultative Committee (Con-Com) to recommend changes to the 1987 charter.

CHEd tasked 112 state universities and colleges to form public forums to help students assess the effects of the overhaul in the Constitution’s educational and economic provisions.

Prospero de Vera III, CHEd officer-in-charge, said the goal was to generate discussions on charter change among students and teachers.

The new charter will not only install a federal government but also support the improvement of the educational system, he said.

“Because one frustration that a lot of people have about discussions on federalism is that we’re only talking about the political side. [We] should also engage on the more substantial side—how will education look like, how will social work look like, what are the economic realities in the region,” de Vera said during the first Philippines-United Kingdom Transnational Education Conference last Feb. 16.

Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, one of the 20 Palace-appointed members of the Con-Com, urged students to question the government’s plans and motives in amending the charter.

Changes to Constitution are expected to be taken up by Congress as a Constituent Assembly later this year. “[Students] should ask us to tell them what the Constitution is being changed for and that will boil down to the basic difference of a unitary government and a federal government,” said Aquino, the San Beda Graduate School of Law dean.

Former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares called on students to watch out for provisions that would allow foreign ownership of schools, citing the proposed draft of the new charter under Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 8.

“In the 1987 constitution, Filipino citizens are allowed to control, own and supervise the educational institutions in the country. But under the RBH 8, it would be open for foreign ownership and transnational corporations,” Colmenares told the Varsitarian.

Colmenares said foreign management of universities would pressure school administrators to impose tuition increases and curriculum shifts due to corporate influence.

“Aside from effects on tuition increase, the foreign investor’s curriculum would also be followed and nationalism or Filipino identity would be at risk,” he said.

Article 13 (G), Section 20 (2) of the RBH 8, filed on August 2, 2016, will mandate Congress to pass laws allowing foreign control of schools and other educational institutions.

“Educational institutions […] shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens, unless otherwise provided by law,” the article read.

Article 12, Section 10 of the 1987 Constitution allows Congress to pass laws on foreign ownership and reserve at least 60 per cent of capital to Filipino citizens.

Despite to the foreign equity provisions in the RBH 8, the consultative body still seeks to maintain the regulation of foreign investments on industries as stated in the 1987 Constitution, Aquino said.

“The only things that the [Con-Com] will change are those able to operate in a federal government. Since that [foreign capital] provision really has no direct bearing on a federal government, I don’t think that would be changed,” Aquino told the Varsitarian.

UST Political Science professor Edmund Tayao, also a Con-Com member, said loose policies on admission of foreign investments would compromise national security.

“Even if you open up [schools] to foreign ownership, you should be able to qualify it in such a way [they] would not be in the control of the foreign investors,” Tayao said.

Tayao said the committee had yet to conduct deliberations on economic provisions but assured the public that the panel would “not leave anything to chance.”

Under the proposed federal government, each of the 18 regions of the country would be granted autonomy, which could allow more economic opportunities for local governments.

‘Weak charter education’ Edmundo Garcia, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, said the reason for Filipinos’ “apathy” toward charter change was the majority’s lack of awareness of the what the charter contains.

“First educate ourselves on the present constitution; 73 percent of our people are still not aware of our 1987 Constitution so there is this obligation to study it and discuss it and discern whether we need a new constitution right now,” he told the Varsitarian in a chance interview.

A 2016 Pulse Asia Survey showed that 73 percent of Filipinos have little or no knowledge of the constitution while 27 have substantial knowledge on the charter.

Dennis Coronacion, UST political science department chairman, echoed Garcia, saying a “diluted syllabus” under the new education curriculum had worsened the ignorance of Filipinos on the Constitution.

“The syllabus is diluted and has very weak component of the constitution. […] If 70 percent of the Filipinos are only aware of the Constitution, what more if you are going to dilute the component of the Constitution in the syllabus,” Coronacion told the Varsitarian.

In June 2015, the Department of Education moved the Constitution component of the Philippine Politics and Governance course to senior high school. It can only be taken by students taking the Humanities and Social Sciences strand.

Mark Welson Chua

FILE PHOTO

The University posthumously awarded Mark the San Lorenzo Ruiz Medal in June 2001 for “showing exceptional and exemplary courage in standing up for the truth and Thomasian ideals,” which his father before he died.

Easter

FROM PAGE 1

Coronel urged parishioners to set aside their own “rock” which might hinder their faith in God. “Ano ang mga bato na nakahadlang para tayo ay mabuhay? Salubungin natin ang Panginoon sa ating puso.

[T]ayo ay mga Easter people [at] may mga problema tayo pero harapin natin ito sa pananampalataya,” Coronel said.

The traditional “Salubong” procession depicting the reunion of the Risen Christ and the Blessed Mother was held inside the University before the Mass at dawn on Easter Sunday.

Good Friday a time for ‘understanding the troubled’ UST Vice Rector for Finance Fr. Rolando Castro, O.P. said Good Friday is not only a time of solemnity with the Lord, but also a time of pausing and understanding the troubled.

“The crucifixion of Jesus is to send out a demonstration of God’s love for us […] This holy day beckons believers and non-believers alike to open their hearts to him

PH Rise FROM PAGE 9

in April 2012 after the Philippine Navy discovered eight Chinese fishing vessels carrying illegally-gathered coral reefs and other marine life in the shoal located at the West Philippine Sea, or South China Sea as claimed

by China.

In July 2016, The United Nations Arbitral Tribunal ruled that China had “violated the Philippines’

in humble trust,” Castro said in his homily during the commemoration of the Lord’s passion at the Santisimo Rosario Parish.

Castro, prior of the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas in UST, stressed that the cross symbolizes the Lord’s sacrifice to cleanse man of sin, and that Good Friday is a time both for believers and sinners.

“We can believe that our sins hold no ultimate power over us because they were meant for the cross by God, continuing to love us in our worst of worst […]

The cross assures us that our sins have a remedy,” Castro said.

Jesus Christ’s passion and death on the cross show’s God’s “unprecedebted response of love,” he added.

“Today, we venerate the cross with truth, because… it also shows us God’s unprecedented response of love, a love that is like no other. [H]indi kailan man magwawagi ang kasalanan, hindi kailanman magwawagi ang kamatayan,” Castro said.

CHRISTIAN DE LANO M. DEIPARINE, LADY CHERBETTE N. AGOT, MAREM A. DE JEMEL and PEARL ANNE M. GUMAPOS

sovereign rights” over West Philippine Sea by building artificial islands and blocking Philippine fishing in the region.

“With China, it is very hard because we do not know its plans. It is a country we cannot decipher. Like ngayon sa Benham Rise, ‘yong names na ginagamit nila sa geographic landmarks, gusto nila ‘yon ang gamitin internationally,” Pavia said.

Editor: Edris Dominic C. Pua

APRIL 5, 2018

Sci-Tech 9

No need to panic over Dengvaxia-linked deaths -infectious diseases expert

By BEATRIZ AVEGAYLE S. TIMBANG THERE is no need to panic over reported Dengvaxia vaccine-linked deaths as most of their findings are inconsistent with dengue, an infectious diseases expert from the University said.

Dr. Daisy Ilagan-Tagarda, a visiting consultant at the UST Hospital, said the bleeding detected in the remains of some anti-dengue vaccine recipients was “not a specific manifestation of dengue” as it could be caused by blood diseases and other infections.

“It is not proven that [these] deaths were strongly associated with Dengvaxia and most of these deaths are secondary to other causes like severe bacterial infection, autoimmune diseases like lupus and [blood] malignancy,” Tagarda told the Varsitarian.

Last Feb. 2, the Philippine General Hospital-Dengue Investigative Task Force (PGH-DITF) reported that out of the 14 children who died after receiving Dengvaxia, 11 did not die of dengue but of other existing ailments, while three died of “dengue shock syndrome.”

Dengue shock syndrome is a severe form of dengue fever caused by the dengue virus which results in bleeding or hemorrhage, abdominal pain and shock.

Dengue fever is transmitted to a person through the bite of an Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying the dengue virus.

Since April 2016, a total of 830,000 children in the Philippines have received Dengvaxia, the world’s first dengue vaccine.

The PGH-DITF suspected vaccine failure as the cause of deaths of two out of the three children who reportedly died of the syndrome.

Risks Seronegative individuals, who were those previously uninfected with the dengue virus, would have a risk of “severe dengue” if given Dengvaxia but the risk was only around two for every 1000 vaccine recipients, said Tagarda, an instructor at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

According to the World Health Organization, severe dengue is a “relatively rare but serious complication following dengue infection due to plasma leaking, fluid accumulation, respiratory distress, severe bleeding or organ impairment.” “[Just] like other vaccines, it is not 100 percent guaranteed that you will not acquire dengue once you receive [Dengvaxia]. But individuals who had dengue prior to vaccination, or the seropositive individuals, will benefit from Dengvaxia because its vaccine efficacy rate is about 81.9 percent,” Tagarda said.

With an 81.9-percent vaccine efficacy rate of Dengvaxia, eight out of 10 seropositive vaccine recipients will not likely be infected with dengue, she explained.

Previous dengue infection could not be accurately evaluated through history and physical examination because many of the seropositive individuals could have a “very mild manifestation” or even without any symptom, Tagarda said.

“For the meantime, as there is still no accurate means to determine previous dengue infection, the [Dengvaxia] program should be suspended.

However, if an accurate test will be available to diagnose previous dengue infection, then they can implement the program again,” she added.

The P3.5-billion dengue vaccination program in public schools in Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon started in April 2016 under former Health Secretary Janette Garin.

In Dec. 2017, Health Secretary Francisco

Duque III temporarily suspended the program after D e n g v a x i a manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur announced in November that the vaccine might increase “risk of hospitalization” due to dengue and severe dengue for those who did not have dengue yet.

No subject died during the phase three of the clinical trial of Dengvaxia which results were released in Sept. last year, Tagarda noted.

Tagarda said that the public should be “objective” on the Dengvaxia matter and should listen to the right health experts.

She added that they should also be vigilant and should consult doctors immediately if dengue-like symptoms such as fever, headache and body weakness would occur.

Common side effects like pain on the injection site and allergic reactions were “adverse” reactions associated with Dengvaxia, she said.

“Other vaccination programs that were proven very effective to prevent diseases and deaths are not being supported anymore because of the Dengvaxia scare. There are already

measles outbreaks in different parts of the Philippines because of the decreasing number of Filipinos supporting immunization program[s],” she said.

“I would rather recommend that people who are more knowledgeable on this matter should give [more] information about the [Dengvaxia] controversy,” she added.

Dr. Jovencio Apostol, a pharmacist from the University, said the public should know that while there was no “perfect vaccine”, the case of Dengvaxia was specific and should not be implied on other vaccines available.

“It is unfortunate and unfair that the public should be scared of immunization in general to the point that even deworming efforts are derailed. [But] experts in public health and the public alike are encouraged to remain vigilant [in case] of the adverse effects of vaccines and report them to the proper authorities,” Apostol told the Varsitarian.

UST scientists slam Duterte spokesman for PH Rise remark

By BEATRIZ AVEGAYLE S. TIMBANG and MIGUEL ALEJANDRO A. HERRERA THOMASIAN scientists slammed Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque for saying that no Filipino had applied to do maritime research on the Philippine Rise, formerly known as the Benham Rise.

Dr. Rey Donne Papa, a biologist and a researcher at the UST Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences, said there had already been a group of researchers from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Institute of Geological Sciences, and University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) who have shared funds and data to study the Philippine Rise.

In a Malacañang briefing last Jan. 23, Roque said “only China has qualified so far” to do research on the Philippine Rise, claiming it was too costly for Filipinos to do so.

“Surprisingly enough for someone coming from UP, he [Roque] is terribly unaware of the type of research in his backyard—in his own institution. The UPMSI is an integral part of the research team that documented various aspects on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the [Philippine] Rise,” Papa told the Varsitarian.

“His statements were based on his own ignorance. It is clear that he was pointing that Filipinos are not capable. For [him] to blatantly say that only the Chinese [scientists] are capable of doing research on our own backyard, I think it is one of the instances when [a] government [official] has not been careful with their words,” Papa added.

The Philippine Rise, a 13-million hectare underwater and volcanic plateau rich in mineral and natural gas deposits, is part of the Philippine continental shelf and territory as per the Constitution.

In May 2017, the Chinese Foreign Ministry argued that the Philippines could not claim the Philippine Rise as part of its territory,

despite the recognition given by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to the country in 2012, allowing it to explore resources in the area.

“Any research that should be done in the Philippines can be done with the Chinese, but it has to be in a collaborative nature.

[We] cannot say ‘only China can do it’, atin ‘yon, eh. We collaborate with scientists from China, and we have published papers which are jointly based on research efforts equal on both sides,” Papa said.

He said Filipino researchers were capable of improvising marine equipment and of producing “scientifically-valid” research outputs despite having limited funds.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding approved by the Philippine government and a foreign collaborator like China, Filipino researchers are protected from being “exploited” during a maritime study, Papa explained.

“Hindi puwede ‘yong papupuntahin mo na lang sila[foreign researchers] rito sa Pilipinas tapos [ang] sasabihin mo ay ‘hindi namin kaya ‘yan, kayo na ang bahala’,” he said.

Dr. Jonathan Carlo Briones, a biologist and an associate member of the National Research Council of the Philippines, said Filipino researchers have acquired reliable knowledge on coastal work that has been enough to do research on the Philippine Rise.

“I think it [Roque’s remark] is out of ignorance, and I do not think he is the one qualified to answer on the issue. If you think about it, sino bang mas makakaalam na magtrabaho sa archipelagic waters?

Mas marami tayong alam sa coastal and archipelagic work because we [Filipinos] live in a place like that,” Briones told the Varsitarian.

“But if only the government actually [moves] to fund more scientific communities [in the Philippines], it would be better—

we would be less dependent on foreign collaborators,” Briones added.

On PH-China collaboration Dr. Richard Thomas Pavia Jr., a marine biologist from the University, said Philippines as the host country of the Philippine Rise maritime research should “control everything” that would happen

during marine surveys with China.

“Considering what they (China) did to Scarborough Shoal, we should be very skeptical about what their plans are,” Pavia told the Varsitarian.

The Philippines-China standoff over resource-rich Scarborough Shoal started PH Rise PAGE 10

10 Limelight

Art Director: Shaina Mae L. Santander

APRIL 5, 2018

TOMA N’ SHAN BY MARIYELLA ALYSA A. ABULAD

KWENTO NI MATO BY JOELLE ALISON MAE P. EUSEBIO

TOMAS U. SANTOS BY NATHANAEL JONAS S.J. RODRIGO

Hagbong FROM PAGE 7

address for UST’s academic year 1967 to 1968.

UST Press also published Quito’s “Herbert Marcuse and Contemporary Society” in 1970, which exerted a “catalytic effect on the phenomenon of student protest in the Philippines.”

In an article in the Varsitarian’s March 1970 issue, Quito urged faculty members to get involved in social concerns.

She explained that the “faculty can be the third force in driving the country’s social and political transformation,” Quito promoted a Filipinooriented curriculum and challenged her fellow professors to teach in Filipino on the academic year 19701971.

Quito challenged Filipino philosophers to write in the national language through her 1971 article, “Philosophy in Pilipino, Anyone?,” published in the Manila Chronicle.

For the pre-martial-law Chronicle, Quito also wrote other articles such as “Mind,” “The Filipino Mind,” “The Oriental Mind,” “The Greek Mind,” “The Medieval Mind,” “The Renaissance Mind” and “The Contemporary Mind.”

In the 1987 article, “Ang Kaugnayan ng Wikang Pambansa at Edukasyon,” published in Malay of De La Salle University (DLSU), Quito condemned the use of foreign

Boards

FROM PAGE 2 Last year’s passing rate was 94.15 percent, or 193 out of 205 examinees, with three Thomasians in the top 10.

State-run University of the Philippines (UP) Manila was this year’s topperforming school in the pharmacy board exams, recording a 100-percent passing rate.

Ryan Joseph Tuzon of UP Manila led the country’s fresh batch of pharmacists with a score of 92.95 percent.

A total of 1,695 passed the test out of 3,039 examinees nationwide.

KEVIN A. ALABASO AND JOB ANTHONY R. MANAHAN

Bagani FROM PAGE 3

kailanman ipinarada ng ABS-CBN ang Bagani bilang historikal o makatotohanang palabas.

Kung gayon, malaya ang mga tagapaglikha na pumitas ng maliliit na bahagi ng iba’t ibang kultura sa Filipinas. Mula sa mga ito at sa mga sinaunang lokal na alamat at mitolohiya, maaari silang bumuo ng alternatibong mundo ng pantasya.

Sino nga naman ba tayo para magtakda ng limitasiyon sa imahinasiyon ng mga manunulat, direktor at producer?

Puwede bang tapós na ang usapan at bansagan na lámang na “overreading” o “overreacting” ang

mapait na pagsalubong sa kontrobersiyal na pantaserye?

Mahirap pumirmi sa isang panig sa puntong ito.

Kung saan ang hanggahan ng malikhaing lisensya—maaaring ito ang nais pag-usapan ng mga pumuna sa Bagani.

Nang hiramin ng mga tagapaglikha ng pantaserye ang terminong “bagani,” nakakumot pa rin dito ang kultural at historikal na elemento nito. Kung lalapatan ito ng karagdagang kulay sa palabas, mainam sana itong pagkakataon upang unti-unting maipasilip sa mga manonood ang mga kultura at tradisiyon ng iba’t ibang pangkat sa Filipinas, sa pamamagitan ng malalim na pananaliksik at pakikihalubilo sa mga

language in Philippine philosophy.

“Kung hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa tayo nakalilikha ng matatayog na panitikan o pilosopiya, ito ay sapagkat tayo ay nahaharangan ng wikang banyaga,” she wrote.

“Nahahati ang ating pagkatao sapagkat hindi natin maipahayag ang ating damdamin sa isang wikang akma sa ating kaluluwa.”

Strict aunt, learned Benjamin Quito, Emerita’s youngest nephew, said he learned philosophy and French from her aunt.

He described her as a “strict teacher” and a person “who hated mediocrity.”

“Every breakfast, she would tell me stories about her struggles when she was a student,” he said. “She would also tell me about philosophy, like, ‘For every question, there would arise another question,’ implying that we should not stop on asking questions about certain things.”

“My most memorable experience with her is when she taught me the French language when I was around 10 to 12 years old,” said Benjamin, a physician at the UST Hospital.

“She was very strict but admirable, due to her being gifted for knowing around five languages.”

After UST, Quito transferred to DLSU, where she became full professor and which gave her a Festchrift in 1990.

The Department of Philosophy of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters held a forum as a tribute to Quito at the UST Martyr’s Hall last March 8, Leslie Anne Liwanag, DLSU

katutubo.

Gayunpaman, hindi lamang naman ang mga tagapaglikha ng Bagani ang may pagkukulang.

Palaging nangangailangan ng pagpapaalala sa sariling kultura ang mga Filipino bunsod marahil ng depektibong sistema ng pagtuturo ng kasaysayan mula pa sa antas ng elementarya.

Bihirang matutuhan sa paaralan ang pagpapahalaga sa kultura sapagkat nauuna munang lunurin ang mga mag-aaral sa mga teknikal na aspekto ng kasaysayan tulad ng mga eksaktong petsa, pamagat ng mga aklat, pagkakasunod-sunod ng mga pangulo at iba pa.

Bilang institusiyong may mahigpit na kapit sa masa, may tungkulin ang midya at kulturang popular

na isalba ang mga manonood sa pagkatuyot ng kaalaman sa sariling kultura bunsod ng nabanggit na kabaluktutan sa pagtuturo nito.

Lampas pa sa kakayahang magbigay-aliw, mahalaga ring pakinggan ng mga namumuhunan at tagapaglikha ng mga palabas ang pangangailangan, hindi lamang kagustuhan, ng mga manonood.

Sa kabila ng ingay na idinudulot ng paghipo ng kulturang popular sa mga paksang bihirang talakayin, may natutuhan naman dito ang mga manlilikha, kritiko, at mga manonood: ang maging matalinong tagapagbigay at tagatanggap ng kultural na kaalaman.

W.S. SADIA

vice chancellor for research and innovation, paid tribute to Quito, the subject of her doctoral dissertation, calling her a role model for “selfless dedication” to philosophy writing.

“In her philosophical works, she did not think of her own sake,” said Liwanag. “She gave recognition to the [social and philosophical] issues that were not discussed in the country,” Liwanag, emphasized how Quito showed her dedication to Filipino philosophy by taking higher studies in foreign universities and applying them in the country upon her return.

“She used philosophy and its discourse to develop Filipinos’ social consciousness and make the Philippines know its own identity,” Liwanag said. “Many of us go abroad for work or to practice our profession. But Emerita Quito, who went abroad, returned to our country and said, ‘Let’s discuss the Filipino philosophy.’” ELMER B. COLDORA

Injuries FROM PAGE 12

medicine doctor, said sports medicine is a sub-specialty of orthopedic and rehabilitation medicine. “[I]n orthopedics, we trained and graduated as orthopedic doctors until we further studied sports that is why we are called sports medicine doctors.

‘Yung mga orthopedic surgeons, mayroong fellowship ‘yan with extra training,” Molano said.

UST only has seven physical therapists to attend to the needs of 17 competing teams.

Whenever a player goes down with an injury, the sports medicine team assesses the situation and undergoes the immediate first aid operations like putting ice packs, bandages, painrelieving sprays and fast-acting pain medications.

Athletes who would show signs of severe pain would then be brought to the UST Hospital.

MRIs and ultrasound would be done for accurate diagnoses of minor tears or major cases on tissues, knees and shoulders while computed tomography scans examine the bones.

Surgery comes next, depending on the gravity of the injury.

Physical therapies, such as lunges and squats, are the usual conditioning practices athletes do to vitalize their knees.

The healing time for ACL takes at least six months of rehabilitation while MCL covers three to five months.

Athletes with minor injuries such as sprains and strains recover within two to four weeks.

Editor: Randell Angelo B. Ritumalta

Sports 11

APRIL 5, 2018

UST Golden Tigresses out of Final Four THE DE La Salle University Lady Spikers eliminated the UST Golden Tigressess from Final Four contention following a straight-set win, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22, in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament at the Arena in San Juan on April 8.

The Tigresses dropped to a 4-9 win-loss record with one game left in the season.

Lady Spikers Kim Kianna Dy and May Luna sealed the win in the third salvo with a block kill and an open attack, respectively. “‘Yong galaw ng tao namin, gusto naman manalo pero ang problema lang talaga ay ‘yong nadadali kami sa dulo, ‘yong pandiin talaga namin ang nawawala,” UST head coach Kung Fu Reyes said

in an interview.

La Salle survived UST’s scare late in the second-set after Dy’s block kill to gain the upperhand, 25-23.

The Golden Tigresses squandered a 23-19 advantage in the first set after the Lady Spikers’ 6-0 run capped by a UST attack error, 25-23.

Dy paced La Salle with 12 points, including four blocks.

Rondina led all the scorers with 23 points while Milena Alessandrini added 10 markers.

UST scattered 27 errors against the Lady Spikers’ 21.

The Tigresses will play their last game of the season against the Adamson University Lady Falcons on April 14, Saturday, at the Blue Eagle Gym. CHRIS V. GAMOSO

Golden Tigresses Dimdim Pacres and Shannen Palec to block Lady Spiker Arriane Layug’s hit.

‘Complacent, unfocused,’ Golden Sox finish 4th

By JUSTIN ROBERT VALENCIA

DESPITE a strong start, the UST Golden Sox suffered a late meltdown in the first round and settled for fourth place in the UAAP Season 80 baseball tournament.

After winning three of their first four games, the Golden Sox dropped to the bottom half of the standings after losing their next four games.

UST finished the season with a 4-6 win-loss card, three wins less than their Season 79 record which got them to the finals.

Golden Sox head coach Jeffrey Santiago attributed the struggle to the team’s complacency.

“Nag-lie low ang mga bata, minsan hindi nakakapag-ensayo ang iba [dahil] maraming dahilan. Masyadong naging kumpyansa ang mga bata,” Santiago told the Varsitarian.

The Golden Sox took two discouraging mercyrule losses during their four-game skid, first from eventual-finalists De La Salle University Green Batters last Feb. 25, 11-1, and then from fifth-placers National University Bulldogs last Feb. 28, 15-5, which got them eliminated from finals contention.

Three of their losses were decided by three points or less, including two one-point defeats against Adamson University and Ateneo de Manila University in the second round.

Santiago cited the team’s dependence on its pitchers as another reason for its downfall.

“Bumaba ang performance ng pitching noong kalagitnaan, naging dependent ang team doon.

Noong bumigay na, hindi nakatulong yung [ibang] nasa field, bumigay na lahat, ‘di na nakaangat,” Santiago said.

The team’s pitchers dictated the tempo of the game and anchored the defense.

Santiago also cited the on-the-job trainings of graduating players as a key factor on why the team had a hard time practicing regularly.

But despite the early exit, Santiago lauded his wards.

“Kahit fourth kami, we proved na talagang rerespetuhin kami ng kalaban. Close play, talagang napupunta lang ang breaks sa kalaban,” he said.

UST will lose team captain Marlon Gonzales, cocaptain Noriel Valencia, Mark Perez, Lesmar Ventura and Khino Sabiniano after exhausting their playing years.

Golden Sox head coach Jeffrey Santiago

New breed Santiago said three “quality players” from Season 80 champions Junior Golden Sox will join the seniors’ team next season to help in the team’s bid for a championship they last won in 2011.

The recruits include Most Valuable Player Mark Beronilla, who also bagged the most home runs, most runs-batted-in, best slugger and best third baseman awards. Other recruits are Mythical Nine member John Israel Antonio and Ivan James Llave.

Santiago also said recruits from the 2018 Palarong Pambansa in Ilocos Sur this April will also bolster the Golden Sox’s “more intact” lineup for the next season.

La Salle outplays UST for UAAP crown UST juniors’ team wins first BACK-TO-BACK Most Valuable Player Kyla Inquig scored two goals as the De La Salle Lady Archers successfully defended their UAAP title, 2-1, against the UST Lady Booters at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last Thursday, April 5.

It was sweet revenge for La Salle after absorbing two losses against UST in the eliminations. The Lady Archers also defeated the Lady Booters in the finals last season, 3-1.

Inquig’s free kick put La Salle on the scoreboard in the 12th minute before another goal in the 79th minute that sealed the championship.

Best Striker Shelah

Mae Cadag kept UST afloat after scoring an equalizer in the 22nd minute.

“Nalilito sila kung anong gagawin.

Hindi nila na-ma-manage ang emotions nila so parang hindi kami marunong manalo ng championship,” Lady Booters head coach Prescila “Aging” Rubio said.

Charisa Lemoran could have sent the game into extra time in the 89th minute but her bicycle kick went outside the box.

The Lady Booters will have an intact core next season after losing Marielle Eusebio, Camille Pascual and Tin Cleofe to graduation. IVAN RUIZ L. SUING

Maricar de la Rosa and Chelo Hodges

UAAP streetdance crown

UST’s juniors’ streetdance dance team Galvanize captured the first tournament championship in the UAAP Season 80 streetdance tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena last March 11.

UST’s contemporary hip-hop routine was good for 82.30 points, besting the FEU Baby Tamaraws Dance Company (71.5 points) and UE Street Warriors (71.1 points), who placed second and third respectively.

“Being the first champions, we don’t feel the pressure for next year yet. We’re just living in the moment and we’re grateful that the efforts of our kids paid off and we’re happy about the outcome,” UST Galvanize coach Matthew Almodovar said.

After claiming two-straight bronze finishes, UST Prime’s safari-themed routine fell out of the podium at fourth place after scoring 75.6 points.

The FEU Street Alliance bagged their first championship in the seniors’ division, scoring 85.75 points with their vintage gangster-themed performance.

FEU bested defending champions La Salle Dance Crew-Street, whose emojithemed performance placed second (79.5 points), while three-time champion University of the Philippines Streetdance Club’s OPM routine was good for third (78.6 points).

“Dapat i-improve na lang namin ‘yung NDC (2018 Nationals) performance this year if ever na mag-champion kami roon. Since hindi nag-work, kailangan talaga naming baguhin lahat,” UST Prime assistant coach Meeko Evangelista said.

Prime placed third in the 2018 Nationals last Feb. 27 with their zumbathemed routine.

The University of the East Street Warriors placed fifth with 72.20 points while the Company of Ateneo Dancers tallied 69 points.

The NU Underdawgz, who returned after a two-year hiatus, placed seventh with 67.50 points and Adamson CAST were dead last with 57.50 points. MA. ANGELA CHRISTA COLOMA and IVAN RUIZ L. SUING

Sports

APRIL 5, 2018

Unstoppable tennisters bag UAAP crown THE UST Female Tennisters ended their five-year title drought after besting the Ateneo de Manila University in the finals, while the injury-plagued Male Tennisters dropped to fourth place as the UAAP Season 80 lawn tennis tournament came to a close last March 17.

UST became the winningest team in the women’s division after notching its seventh championship. Ateneo and De La Salle University notched second and third places, respectively.

With National University unable to field a team this year, the Female Tennisters dominated the tournament en route an unblemished seven victories, including six in the eliminations.

Victory did not come easy for UST as it went neck-and-neck against Ateneo for almost seven hours in the finals.

The tandem of Eb-eb Caorte and Danica Bautista delivered the victory for the Female Tennisters after sinking Ateneo’s Jana Pages and Carmen So, 6-3, 6-3.

UST head coach Dennis Sta. Cruz lauded the squad’s performance despite heat and exhaustion taking over the players.

“We started early hanggang umabot ng hapon.

They had this mindset na we can’t expect our opponents na ibigay na lang ang laro. [Tumatak] sa kanila na if they want to win, then we need to stay focused and work our best sa sitwasyon,” Sta. Cruz said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

Team captain Caorte said it was a bittersweet celebration, knowing her journey with UST has ended.

“Last year ko na makakasama sila pero ‘yun nga I’m grateful. Apat na taon na kaming runner-up lagi [so] it is a dream come true for us to have this championship,” Caorte said.

Caorte added it was the team’s “go home or win” mentality that cemented their flawless record throughout the competition.

After losing team captain Caorte, co-captain Kendies Malinis and veteran player Danica Bautista due to graduation, the Female Tennisters will try to defend the title with key players from the UST senior high school and recruits from Mindanao.

“Intact pa rin ang team natin. We are just very happy right now and it was a rewarding feeling for all the players, they were very eager about this,” Sta. Cruz said.

UST’s Erika Manduriao was hailed the Most Valuable Player this season.

Out of the podium The Male Tennisters crumbled to fourth place this year, far from last season’s runner-up finish.

University of the East Red Warriors took home the UAAP title for the second-straight year.

Ateneo and La Salle copped second and third places.

The Male Tennisters opened the season with two-straight wins, but suffered five consecutive defeats in the ensuing games. UST ended the season with a 3-5 win-loss record.

Key player Warren Lagahit endured a right lateral collateral ligament sprain while competing in the doubles category against the University of the East last Feb. 10. He was sidelined for the rest of the season.

“I’m not happy with our performance knowing we had a finals appearance last [year].

We did not make it on top because of the injuries and lack of discipline but we will come back stronger next season,” Male Tennisters head coach Alexander Diego told the Varsitarian.

The Male Tennisters remained the winningest team in the men’s division with 14 titles. They last won the championship in 2011.

Female Tennisters Eb-eb Caorte and Mary Ann San Jose.

Adamson overpowers UST for 8th-straight softball crown THE ADAMSON University Lady Falcons extended their softball dynasty after crushing the UST Tiger Softbelles in the do-or-die Game 3 of the UAAP finals, 6-0, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium Tuesday, March 20.

Adamson used a strong sixth inning to pull away for good as co-Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Edna Severino hit two left-field runs-batted-in (RBIs) single, sending Delyrose Covarrubias and Riezel Calumbres to home base, 5-0.

Jeanette Rusia then drilled another one to the left

for a Severino run off a UST catching error.

In the fifth inning, Lady Falcon Gelyn Lamata’s leftfield sacrificial fly gave way for a Severino conversion before Nicole Padasas nailed another that resulted in a Flor Pabiania run off another catching error, 3-0.

“Walang palo, ‘di nagconnect [at ang] dami pang error.

Walang mangyayari [kung ganun.] You cannot win a game kapag wala kang opensa,” Tiger Softbelles head coach Sandy Barredo told the Varsitarian in an interview.

Padasas hit a center-field

RBI single that sent Severino to home plate in the third inning to put Adamson on board, 1-0.

Adamson pitcher and co-Finals MVP Lyka Basa chalked up five strikeouts and only allowed three hits for the struggling Tiger Softbelles.

Season 80 Best Pitcher Ann Antolihao, catcher Tin Palma and left-fielder Jessie Belaño were the Tiger Softbelles that made the Mythical 9.

UST will lose Antolihao, Season 77 Best Slugger CJ Roa and right-fielder Shiela Perales as they exhausted their playing years. JAN CARLO ANOLIN Softbelles pitcher Ann Antolihao puts her head down in frustration after losing to Adamson in Game 3 of the finals.

Injuries plague UST athletes

By JAN CARLO ANOLIN and MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO INJURIES hampered UST athletes this season.

The Golden Tigresses’ muchanticipated Season 80 campaign suffered a big blow early on after losing three vital players.

Opposite spiker EJ Laure suffered a shoulder injury, while libero Rica Jane Rivera and new Fil-Italian recruit Milena Alessandrini both missed four games because of a right knee meniscal tear and a right shoulder partial tear, respectively.

With a reliable spiker and defensive anchor sidelined, the Golden Tigresses are at sixth place in the standings with a 3-7 win-loss record.

“Sana naman ‘wag kami maiwan sa dulo. Pipilitin pa rin naming at least ‘yung remaining games, guluhin na lang namin ‘yung standings baka sakaling umakyat pa kami,” Golden Tigresses head coach Emilio Reyes Jr. said in an interview.

Male tennister Warren Lagahit endure a right lateral collateral ligament sprain during competition

UST’s top pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena was also sidelined this season after suffering a left anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury while training for the Southeast Asian Games. Obiena was a sure-fire gold medalist for the Male Tracksters in the pole vault category.

While the Female Tracksters copped another championship this year, the short-handed men’s team missed the podium for the first time since 2010 after sliding to fifth place in Season 80.

During a game against defending champion University of the East last Feb. 10, Warren Lagahit of the Male Tennisters endured a right lateral collateral ligament sprain while competing in the doubles category.

The Magnetic Resonance I m a g e ( M R I ) findings of UST Hospital, however, revealed that Lagahit needed

a direct surgical repair the following day which left him on rest for the entire second round.

Lagahit’s injury left a hole in the Male Tennisters’ rotation, which eventually led to the team sinking to fourth place after reaching the finals in Season 79.

Male Tennisters head coach Alexander Diego saw the downside of Lagahit’s absence and said his wards were disheartened in the remaining games.

“Kinailangan ko na mag-adjust ng lineup palagi. Pero hindi gumana, kaya bumagsak na tayo sa loob,” Diego said.

Recovering stage While injuries took a physical toll on the players, the recovering stage hit financial responsibilities at the hands of the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA).

From broken fingers, dislocations, turf toes and sprains to concussions and ligament and meniscus tears, the University has allotted P5 million at IPEA’s disposal for the medication, rehabilitation treatment and surgeries of the players for Academic Year 20172018.

Gabrielle Karch Camangian, conditioning coach of the Golden Tigresses, said there are three people involved when a player gets injured: the sports medicine doctor, physiotherapist or the physical therapist and the conditioning coach.

The sports medicine doctor suggests the necessary steps to be undertaken on an injury.

Alberto Molano, UST Hospital orthopedic surgeon and resident sports Injuries PAGE 10