The Varsitarian P.Y. 2017-2018 Issue 02

Volume LXXXIX, No. 2 • October 2, 2017 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF SANTO TOMAS Manila, Philippines

‘Justice for Horacio’ “He was only 22. He wanted to be a senator. He wanted to be president.

They took that away from him.”

- Carmina Castillo, Horacio’s mother Page 2

“ The only picture I know as a priest that seeks to harm in order to bond is no other than the demon himself – the prince of darkness.”

“Even the sin of a Thomasian will become a responsibility for all of us... Let them fall to God’s justice.”

- Education Regent Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P

- Artlets Regent Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P

Page 2

Page 2

“This is the end of your fraternity.

I don’t know if any neophyte will ever join your organization.”

- Gerardo Castillo, Horacio’s uncle Page 2

“I am not aware of any hazing activity.

We prohibit and denounce hazing in any form or manner.”

- Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina Page 2

Family of Castillo mourn before his remains after the Requiem Mass on Sept. 27.

Suspect names 6 fratmen in hazing rites John Paul Solano disclosed the names in an executive session last Sept. 25 during a Senate probe into Horacio Castillo III’s death.

Mourners bless Castillo’s remains before the interment rites.

Page 14

AEGIS JURIS FRATERNITY Source: Manila Police District Page 14

Arvin Balag Grand Praefectus

Mhin Wei Chan Secundus Internus

Axel Hipe Master Initiator 1

Marc Anthony Ventura Oliver John Onofre Secretary/Master Initiator 2 Treasurer

Joshua Joriel Macabali PRO

Ralph Trangia Sergeant-at-Arms

2 News

Editor: Maria Crisanta M. Paloma

OCTOBER 2, 2017

His brothers, his killers?

By THE VARSITARIAN NEWS TEAM

THE UST community is up in arms over the killing of Horacio Tomas Castillo III, whose fatal hazing has raised concerns over a possible cover-up and the effectiveness of a 22-year-old law.

University officials, in a statement, condemned the killing “in no uncertain terms” and vowed to bring to justice members of the UST-based Aegis Juris Fraternity.

At least three Aegis Juris members, including John Paul Solano, have come forward and denied involvement in the fatal hazing that took place on Sept. 17 at their fraternity library outside UST. The UST statement on Sept.

18 said “violence has no place in an academic institution.”

“We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the perpetrators [will] be meted with appropriate sanctions and brought to justice,” it said.

But why the hazing by a fraternity long recognized by the UST Faculty of Civil Law happened in the first place raised questions on whether the school had done enough to prevent it.

The law school dean, Nilo Divina, is among the most prominent members of Aegis Juris. But he claimed he was on leave from the fraternity and had not been informed about the initiation rites.

Fraternity alumni are divided over how to deal with issue, as some wanted a coverup, said lawyer Paterno Esmaquel, an Aegis Juris founder who has volunteered to be Solano’s counsel.

“This is the end of your fraternity, believe me,” Castillo’s uncle Gerardo told

the Varsitarian.

“I don’t know if any neophyte will ever join your organization.”

He told a Senate investigation on Sept. 25 he had only been asked to attend to Castillo, 22, who he found “half-dead” at the fraternity library on Laon-Laan Street (see related story on page

Mass, condemned the senseless killing, saying a “brotherhood that seeks to harm just to bond does not come from God.” “The only picture I zknow, ‘Half-dead’ as a priest, that seeks to harm in Castillo’s body was initially order to bond is no other than reported to have the demon been found in himself – the Tondo, Manila prince of “We will leave no stone unturned by Solano, darkness,” who rushed he said in his to ensure that the perpetrators the freshman homily. [will] be meted with appropriate to Chinese Cabading G e n e r a l w a s sanctions and brought to justice,” Hospital early accompanied on Sunday, by two vice Sept. 17. rectors – - UST official statement But police Fathers Pablo later found that Tiong O.P. Solano was a member of Aegis 14). and Roland Castro, O.P. Juris and named him a principal Hundreds of mourners “The death of our brother, suspect. turned up for Castillo’s funeral Horacio, does not end in Solano, a medical at the Manila Memorial Park in nothing… it is faith that technologist, later admitted Parañaque last Sept. 27. compels us to act,” Cabading he had been told by fellow College of Education said. fraternity members to make up Regent Fr. Winston Cabading, At the Quadricentennial the story.

O.P., who led the Requiem Square last Sept. 18, students

held a candle-lighting ceremony in memory of Castillo, 22, who finished political science at the Faculty of Arts and Letters.

Artlets Regent Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P. said the death of Castillo should remind Thomasians of the need to denounce the culture of violence and uphold human dignity.

“A Thomasian should do no harm to another Thomasian.

Even the sin of a Thomasian will become a responsibility for all of us. [We] are praying for the conversion of those involved in this criminal activity. Let them fall to God’s justice,” Aligan said during a Mass for Castillo at the Central Seminary chapel last Sept. 22.

‘Welcome rites’ Castillo’s parents, Horacio Jr. and Carmina, in separate Horacio PAGE 5

Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P.

Mourners wearing white “#JusticeForHoracio” shirts

Teresita Castillo, Horacio’s grandmother, kisses her grandson’s forehead during the interment rites.

Photos by DEEJAE S. DUMLAO and VLADLYNN NONA MARYSE L. TADEO

Law dean under fire over fatal hazing

Civil Law Dean Divina

THE DEAN of the UST Faculty of Civil Law is under fire for allegedly failing to rein in his fellow fraternity members behind the fatal hazing of law freshman Horacio Tomas Castillo III. Lawyer Nilo Divina is among the most prominent members of the 38-yearold Aegis Juris Fraternity, but he said he had been on leave from the group since he became dean eight years ago.

The fraternity, whose name means “Shield of Justice,” was still in the process of renewing its annual accreditation at the time of the incident, the Office for Student Affairs said.

But school officials, particularly Divina, should be investigated for possible liability, lawyer Lorna Kapunan, who represents the victim’s family, told a television interview.

“I think we would all be made fools, or he thinks we are all fools, to believe his story that... he didn’t know there was going to be initiation,” said Kapunan, whose other client has filed a disbarment case against Divina over a separate issue – his links to elections chief Andres Bautista.

Divina earlier urged those behind the fatal hazing to come forward, saying “it is imperative that whoever is responsible will be brought to justice.”

“I am making it a solemn commitment to personally champion the cause of Atio, (Castillo’s nickname),” he said in a Facebook post last Sept. 20.

Divina suspended all Aegis Juris members on Sept.

18 and banned them from entering UST. But he later modified the order over concerns the suspension would make

it difficult for police to question them.

Divina told the Varsitarian on Sept. 19 that he was “not aware of any hazing activity” at the UST law school.

“We prohibit and denounce hazing in any form or manner. We also prohibited recruitment of first-year students to any fraternity,” he said in a text message.

“I took a leave eight years ago when I asz̄ sumed the deanship. I have not been involved…in any of their activities since then.”

Divina said on Sept.

28 he was planning to resign from the Aegis Juris Fraternity following the death of Castillo.

“I am seriously considering [resigning], but not now. [The resignation] will have no bearing on the ongoing investigation,” Divina said.

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Assistant Editor: Hannah Rhocellhynnia H. Cruz

News 3

Top Dominican hits drug killings under Duterte MASTER of the Order of Preachers and UST Chancellor Fr. Bruno Cadore, O.P. has expressed deep concern over the spate of killings in the bloody drug war of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, as well as the recent death of a UST law freshman after alleged hazing rites.

The Dominicans’ chief hound dog called on Thomasians to value human life and exercise compassion amid extrajudicial killings in the country.

“No human being can decide

that human life is not promised to sanctity. Obviously, we don’t understand all lives but we can understand that we are called once again to receive the wonderful news that human life has been given to us,” Cadore said in a meeting with student leaders at the Civil Law auditorium on Tuesday.

Cadore reminded Thomasians that learning in the University has to go hand in hand with being human.

“To learn professional competence, to be able to work

in this world and serve at the same time the conviction of [the youth], to share the ability of intelligence, cannot be disconnected with the ability to be a human being. And to be a human being is to be compassionate,” he said. MA. CONSUELO D.P. MARQUEZ with reports from JACOB MARVIN D. URMENITA

Fr. Bruno Cadore, O.P. Master of the Order of Preachers

Robredo: Empathy, selflessness in age of social media

Robredo

VICE President Leni Robredo on Wednesday urged Thomasians to remember their values and practice empathy through “servant leadership,” in a world dominated by social media.

“There is a need to look inwards, and set our hearts towards servant leadership and selfless service.

[These are] old-fashioned values that can save our modern troubles,” Robredo said in an address to students and faculty members of the College of Commerce and Business Administration at the Medicine Auditorium.

Robredo said the world needs empathy, more than sympathy, to transform and heal society.

“What we need in our society is empathy, not just sympathy. The ability to listen deeply and to see

oneself in someone else’s shoes. That is the kind of inner transformation that will heal our society today,” Robredo said in the forum that served as the highlight of this year’s Commerce Week.

Empathy has become lost in an emotion-driven society, where feelings and opinions are expressed in one-liner posts, and friendship is requested and then approved on social media sites, she said.

Relationships between the youth have become impersonal, hindering their ability to listen to one another because of the use of social media, she argued.

“I hear of many young people who constantly interact on social media with friends that they pass by silently in corridors,” Robredo said.

“Do not ever think that you are too young to transform our society,” she added. PAULINE FAYE V. TRIA

Photo courtesy of Brian Daniel Mercado/UST COMMERCE JOURNAL

Aquinas University now UST Legazpi AQUINAS University of Legazpi (AUL) has officially been renamed “UST Legazpi” following the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sept. 12.

UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. earlier allowed the Dominican-run Aquinas University to use the name of the University, in December 2016, after securing the nod of the UST Council of Regents.

The Rector, however, said UST Legazpi will maintain fiscal and administrative independence from the Manila campus.

“UST Legaspi is an independent unit of the University although it will now share the name of UST,” Dagohoy told the Varsitarian in an interview last Sept. 8.

Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P, rector of UST Legazpi, said the renaming of Aquinas University is a “collaborative integration” with UST Manila aimed at improving the quality of education in the Bicol campus through benchmarking, curricular alignment and resource sharing.

“The collaboration will help AUL improve the quality of its education.

[There will be] promotion and impetus to upgrade the level of quality of facilities and education,” Arceo, a former UST rector, said in a phone interview.

Legazpi PAGE 5

Thomasian writer highlights ‘reverence for Earth’ in poetry

IN GRIEF. Thomasians hold a prayer vigil and candle-lighting ceremony at the Quadricentennial Park last Sept. 18, in memory of slain law freshman Horacio Castillo III. DEEJAE S. DUMLAO

AN AUSTRALIABASED Thomasian writer discussed nature and travel-inspired poetry in a lecture at De La Salle University on Sept. 27.

“Let us surface from the deep now and rise into space, so we can see our blue planet as a whole entity and Bobis possibly imagine the interconnectedness of its inhabitants’ fulfillment for everyone’s survival,” said Merlinda Bobis, who obtained her master’s degree in literature in UST in 1987.

The four-time Palanca winner said the relationship between human beings and the planet must be “give and take.”

“I hope that something in us will defy the darkness of the night, the coldness of the ground in outer space and here on Earth that are homebased, because we have the capacity to meet the other with the modicum of respect, civility and humanity,” she said.

One should not be indifferent of others’ POETRY PAGE 7

4 Opinion

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Editorial

Hazing tragedy: Culture of death is alive and well in and out of UST “DO NO injustice, suffer no injustice,” proclaims the Aegis Juris of the UST Faculty of Civil Law in its official seal that is represented by the shield of justice. With the brutal death of neophyte Horacio Tomas Castillo III allegedly from hazing, the motto has been exposed as nothing but mockery and hypocrisy.

Castillo, 22, had been set to attend on Sept. 17 the “welcome ceremonies” for new members of Aegis Juris, and he had allayed his parents’ concern by saying the fraternity was recognized by the law school and even counted the dean, Nilo Divina, as an alumnus. Since hazing is outlawed and Aegis Juris consists of aspiring lawyers if not full-fledged members of the bar, the fraternity should be devoted to the rule of the law. But Castillo and his parents were proven wrong. Despite being a fraternity of law students and law professionals, Aegis Juris seems to have considered itself above the law, even ready to undermine it. And it has proven its case by severely manhandling Castillo, beating him to a pulp and dumping his lifeless body in a Tondo alley like any victim of summary execution. Is this how a fraternity should treat a member? Is this how a brotherhood should operate?

The lawlessness and injustice that Aegis Juris has exhibited contrary to its name and claims, contrast with the avowals and ideals not only of the country’s oldest law school but also of the country’s oldest university, which also happens to be THE Catholic University of the Philippines. UST stands for a host of ideals, and some of those may be particularly relevant in this case: peace, justice, and the sanctity of life. All of these are not only compromised but totally contradicted by the death of Castillo. The death by hazing perpetrated by the Aegis Juris should indicate that all the contrary values have thrived on campus: against peace, there’s violence; against justice, injustice; and against life, death.

During the debate on the reproductive health law several years back, the Varsitarian

Editorial PAGE 5

FOUNDED JAN. 16, 1928 AMIERIELLE ANNE A. BULAN Editor in Chief BERNADETTE A. PAMINTUAN Managing Editor ALHEX ADREA M. PERALTA Associate Editor MARIA CRISANTA M. PALOMA News Editor HANNAH RHOCELLHYNNIA H. CRUZ Assistant News Editor RANDELL ANGELO B. RITUMALTA Sports Editor NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS Special Reports Editor CHELSEY MEI NADINE B. BRAZAL Features Editor NIKKO MIGUEL M. GARCIA Literary Editor JOLAU V. OCAMPO Patnugot ng Filipino LEA MAT P. VICENCIO Acting Witness Editor EDRIS DOMINIC C. PUA Sci-Tech Editor AUDRIE JULIENNE D. BERNAS Circle Editor THEODORE JASON PATRICK K. ORTIZ Online Editor News Ianna Gayle S. Agus, Samantha-Wee Lipana, Pauline Faye V. Tria, Jacob Marvin D. Urmenita Sports Jan Carlo Anolin, Ma. Angela Christa Coloma Special Reports Ma. Consuelo D.P. Marquez, Arianne Aine D. Suarez Features Louise Claire H. Cruz, Daphne Yann P. Galvez Literary Karl Ben L. Arlegui, Elmer B. Coldora Filipino Erma R. Edera, Chris V. Gamoso, Winona S. Sadia Science and Technology Alyssa Carmina A. Gonzales Circle Klimier Nicole B. Adriano Art Mariyella Alysa A. Abulad, Blessie Angelie B. Andres, Rocher Faye R. Dulatre, Joelle Alison Mae P. Eusebio, Shaina Mae L. Santander Photography Deejae S. Dumlao, Maria Charisse Ann G. Refuerzo, Michael Angelo M. Reyes, Vladlynn Nona Maryse L. Tadeo 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.

‘Libreng matrikula’:Marupok, mapusok na konsepto SA PANAHONG lubog sa krisis ang bansa, dapat maging makilatis ang mga mamamayan sa mga pangil ng mga ipinapasang mandato tulad na lamang ng libreng matrikula sa mga mag-aaral ng state universities and colleges (SUC) sa ilalim ng Republic Act (RA) 10931.

Ikaapat ng Agosto nang ianunsiyo ni Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra ang pagpirma ng pangulo sa Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act na magpapatupad ng libreng matrikula sa mga lokal na kolehiyo at unibersidad at mga institusiyong technical-vocational na nasa ilalim ng pamamahala ng gobyerno.

Nagbunyi ang mga pangkat na matagal nang nagsusulong upang maisabatas ang panukalang ito datapuwat hindi maitago ang agamagam ng iilan hinggil sa epekto nito sa kaban ng bayan. Malinaw na

Masasabing kung mamadiliin ang mga proyektong tulad nito, maaaring magahol sa pagkukunangyaman ang bansa at maisakripisyo ang ibang adhikain. bukod sa pagiging usapin ng pribilehiyo, isa itong mahabang diskusyon ng “sustainability.”

Ayon sa batas na ito, mabibiyayaan ang mga mahihirap na mag-aaral sa pamamagitan ng pagaalis ng mga bayarin tulad ng “library fees, computer fees, laboratory fees, school ID fees, athletic fees, admission fees, development fees, guidance fees, handbook fees, entrance fees, registration fees, medical and dental fees, cultural and other similar or related fees,” bukod sa

mismong matrikula.

Para ito sa kahit sinong mag-aaral na o papasok pa lamang sa mga SUC matapos ang pagsasabatas.

Gaano man kaakitakit ang batas na ito, dapat isaalang-alang na hindi lahat ng mag-aaral sa sekondarya o high school ay pinapalad na makapasa sa mga SUC. Ayon sa probisyon ng batas na ito, makakamit lamang ng mga mag-aaral ang pribilehiyo ng libreng matrikula sa mga SUC “provided that they pass the entrance examination and other admission or

retention requirements” ng paaralang saklaw ng mandato. Kung gayon, hindi garantisadong masasakop ng batas ang lahat ng mahihirap na Filipinong mag-aaral.

Mataas ang pinangangalagaang pamantayan ng mga SUC kung kaya’t pilingpili at salang-sala ang mga tinatanggap nilang mag-aaral. Sa taunang University of the Philippines College Admission Test, 15-17 porsyento lamang sa mga kumukuha ng pagsusulit ang natatanggap base sa score na makakalap sa apat na bahagi nito. Idadagdag pa ito sa weighted average ng isang magaaral sa tatlong taon niya sa sekondarya. Maaari ring maging basehan ng admission ang katayuan sa buhay o lugar na pinagmulan ng aplikante subalit kung ganito ang Dagitab PAGE 5

Duterte is a lapdog of the Marcoses FROM his shocking decision to allow the interment of Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani to supporting Bongbong Marcos’s electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, expressing desire to extend Martial Law from Mindanao to Luzon and the entire country, and proposing that the Marcoses be given immunity so they could ostensibly return their ill-gotten wealth, the Duterte administration has betrayed its colors: it wants nothing less than the restoration of the Marcos, his family, and cronies and the corrupt and repressive authoritarianism they once embodied.

The restoration of authoritarian martial rule is pretty evident when Duterte’s own lapdogs in the House of Representatives voted last Sept. 12 to reduce the budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)

Filipinos need to wake up from their dream that the Duterte administration would usher in a regime of welcome change in the country. from P648 million to P1,000. The amount is obviously an insult to the CHR: it is 100 times less than the monthly salary of more than P.1 million of Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.

The measly sum given to the CHR should show how the Philippine government values our human rights. The budget shows how foul and detestable these shameless crocodiles in the lowest of the low legislative chamber are.

Our lawmakers are sickening and infuriating. They even had the guts to pose

the notorious fist-bump made famous by a foul-mouthed and cold blooded mass murderer of a president after they passed the humiliating budget of the CHR, revealing that their only concern was to suck up to the President.

Filipinos now know they not only have crocodiles in Congress, but leeches and suckers as well.

The House of Representatives were apparently enraged that the CHR was probing into extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.

Their bias showed their complicity in the genocide.

Sagip Party-list

Rep. Rodante Marcoleta moved for the slashing of the P678-million CHR budget, saying the CHR was “supposed to investigate every human rights violation irrespective of any group, any location, whether they are soldiers, policemen, NPA, Maute Group or Abu Sayyaf.” He added that the agency was not “validly created” since President Corazon Aquino created the agency on May 5, 1987, who he claimed lost her revolutionary powers at that time.

CHR was signed into office by late President Aquino almost a year after the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, which overthrew Marcos. It was solely created to investigate and protect civil and political rights of Filipinos.

Article 13 Section 18 of the 1987 Philippine Candor PAGE 5

OCTOBER 2, 2017

A call for a new sports leadership PHILIPPINE sports have slowly deteriorated in competence and relevance in the last decade not because of untalented athletes, but rather because of leadership of sports officials.

The country exited the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur with its worst outing in 18 years, collecting a measly 24 gold medals from the projected 50 by the officials.

As things stand, 83-yearold Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. should give up the leadership to someone with a fresher mind and a clearer vision for Philippine sports because ever since his presidency, the country’s performance in international sports has severely dipped.

Team Philippines’ best performance came in 2005, when it hosted the Games in Manila and bagged 113 golds. Coincidentally, it was the same year Cojuangco Jr. first assumed the post.

Dagitab

FROM PAGE 4

pangkalahatang sistema, malinaw na nakaaapekto sa pagkakatanggap sa kolehiyo ang kalidad ng edukasiyon sa sekondarya. Kung gayon, dahil maraming maliliit at malalayong paaralang hindi nababantayan ang kalidad ng pagtuturo, mas lalong numinipis ang bahagdan ng mga benepisyaryo ng RA 10931.

Pinabulaanan din ni Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno ang batas na ito sapagkat hindi pa tiyak kung saan huhugutin ng pamahalaan

Legazpi FROM PAGE 3

Marylou Castillo, SEC director, said UST Legazpi’s board of trustees and administrators, including Arceo, were retained. “[The rector] is still the same. Only the name of the school was changed.

The composition of the board [of trustees] remains the same until the expiration of their terms unless

Horacio FROM PAGE 2

media interviews, said their son had sought permission to join “welcome” rites for new members of Aegis Juris on Sept. 16, after weeklong initiation activities.

Castillo promised to be home the following day. He never came back.

His parents came looking for him at the fraternity library. On their way home, the mother said she got a text message from an anonymous sender saying her son had been brought to Chinese General Hospital.

Sports officials have not moved their best foot forward – or not moved at all – in terms of sustaining our athletes’ needs and putting the sportsmen’s interests ahead of the officials’.

preserved by the government, it would have been a new low in this governing sports office – as if the worsening track record of the Philippines in international competitions is not enough.

Cojuangco does not seem to mind the veritable mess he’s in, not after he said everyone should just move forward to the country’s hosting of the 2019 SEAG. So hew’s planning to stay on till 2019 and beyond it seems despite his disastrous leadership of the POC Moving on is what the concerned countrymen and other sports personnel have been telling Cojunagco. But maybe he and his hazy vision is what holds Philippine sports down.

What the athletes need is a stable and sound and effective sports development program, not an Olympic Committee president who’s overstaying and underperforming and clearly is out of touch with reality.

Editorial FROM PAGE 4

was practically alone on campus in upholding the culture of life versus the culture of death that it claimed was being cultivated by those who support the social-engineering measure of distributing contraceptives and birth-control pills and devices for free to women in the name of population control and “reproductive health.” The middle-class sensibilities of supposedly educated Filipino did not care if many of the devices were abortifacients; at the prospect of “overpopulation” of poor people, such sensibilities would go for contraception and even abortion. Anything seen to hamper progress and development should be neutralized or contracepted. Human ambition and drive to progress should not be delayed by considerations of values and humanity. The culture of death is alive and well in the country: it is the culture of the jungle, governed by the primitive rule of survival of the fittest.

Nowadays, many on campus, even faculty members, clergy, and religious, subtly or not too subtly approve of the strong-arm tactics of President Duterte in checking the drug problem, a movement characterized by a vastly increasing number of extra-judicial killings fueled by hate speech and vicious demagoguery by the President and his followers themselves. Such murderous tactics are supported by the “educated” middleclass, including some sectors in “Catholic” UST, which should know better and whose conduct and thinking should be governedby the simple but stark biblical injunction, “Thou shalt not kill.”

We’re sure that Castillo had applied for membership lured by the prospect of making it in his law studies by being attached to a fraternity that had a reputation for being a “lawyers factory,” a claim proudly touted by the Aegis Juris itself.

And fraternity elders sought to make sure that Castillo deserved the membership. Since the elders themselves underwent hazing, they made sure Castillo should suffer the same fate. He was subjected to the rule of the jungle; he underwent primitive violence. He fell short of the rule so his body was dumped.

In the same way, in 2001, Mark Welson Chua fell short of the rule set up by the old-boy-network of military bossism in the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC). Like lawyers and their frats, soldiers and their military exclusivism have seen excesses of blind loyalty and obedience, even to the point of murder: such an instance was proven in the case of Chua, whose body was later fished out of the Pasig, his mouth gagged by industrial tape. Many of those behind the killing were sons of police and military officers and were convicted in absentia; they’re still at large. Meanwhile Duterte has restored by mere executive fiat compulsory ROTC, which had been abolished by law. And none from UST, which had led the campaign to have that law enacted in 2003, is protesting.

Thus, the culture of death has been thriving on campus all along, fueled by blind ambition, greed and careerism, and by sheer middle-class apathy, mediocrity, and faintheartedness. While making the usual exhortation that justice be served so that Castillo’s death would not be for naught, let us also make this sad episode the wake-up call for a timely accounting of the values we hold dear as a Catholic institution, and whether we have cherished and upheld them not only in speech and thought but most important in deed.

But the country slowly saw itself winning less and less gold medals with every passing SEA Games, And the 24-gold haul this year is the latest debacle in the sinking ship that is Philippine sports.

Cojuangco has since brushed off pleas for him to step down. In fact, he hasnever held himself or his officers accountable for past disasters, why should he held himself accountable now.

Filipino athletes have been weighed down by bad politics and terrible sports leadership that one of their main training

grounds, the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, had been offered for demolition by the Philippine Sports Commission to Mayor Joseph Estrada, the ousted president and convicted plunderer, who wanted to sell the land for private mall development. Sports officials have not moved their best foot forward – or not moved at all – in terms of sustaining our athletes’ needs and putting the sportsmen’s interests ahead of the officials’.

Although the sports complex was ultimately

sa butas na bulsa ng bayan ang pantustos dito.

Wika niya, maaaring umabot sa 100 bilyon ang gastusin. Wala ring alokasyon para rito sa budget sa susunod na taon at malabong sumapat ang walong bilyong budget ng Commission on Higher Education ngayong taon upang sustentuhan ito.

Nasusukat taontaon ang alokasyon ng pambansang budget sa bawat kagawaran at ahensya ng pamahalaan.

Kung ipagpapatuloy ang mandato ng libreng matrikula, ibig ba nitong sabihin ay kailangang kaltasan ang ibang sektor?

Kung gayon, hindi ba ito makasasama sa

ekonomiya?

Sa inilabas na pahayag ng UP School of Economics Student Council ukol sa usapin, idiniin na napakaliit na bahagdan lamang ng mga mahihirap ang nag-aaral sa mga SUC. “SUCs cater to all income levels with bulk from the middle class. Therefore, it would be an erroneous generalization to say that making tertiary education free would absolutely guarantee higher chances for the poorest of the poor to avail of education in SUCs.” Maaaring puro’t dakila ang ugat ng panukalang libreng matrikula subalit hindi dapat

ipagpasawalang-bahala ang pangmatagalang epekto nito. Masasabing kung mamadiliin ang mga proyektong tulad nito, maaaring magahol sa pagkukunang-yaman ang bansa at maisakripisyo ang ibang adhikain.

Ang edukasyon ay para sa lahat at isang unibersal na karapatang pantao ang pagkatuto. Maaaring maraming matulungan sa kasalukuyan ang RA10931 subalit karapatan din ng susunod na henerasyon ang makinabang dito nang buong-buo at hindi lamang makita bilang isang marupok at mapusok na konsepto.

sooner or later changed,” Castillo said in an online interview with the Varsitarian.

Under the integration scheme, which coincides with UST Legazpi’s 70th founding anniversary, its pharmacy, medical technology and master’s programs in pharmacy and law will be supervised

by UST Manila.

The University’s integration plan with other Dominican schools in the country and the construction of satellite

campuses in Santa Rosa, Laguna and General Santos City in Mindanao were first announced by Dagohoy in his Rector’s Report in 2015.

This is part of a wider consolidation of schools run by the Dominican Order in the Philippines into two “traditions,” the UST tradition and the Letran tradition.

The integration of Letran campuses in Manila, Bataan and Laguna went ahead of the UST integration scheme.

In June, Angelicum College in Quezon City signed a memorandum of agreement with UST, renaming the school to “UST Angelicum” with Dagohoy as its Rector and chief executive officer.

Aquinas University was founded in 1948 as Legazpi Junior Colleges

by Spanish philanthropist Buenaventura de Erquiaga. It was turned over to the Dominican Order on June 1, 1965.

IANNA GAYLE S. AGUS

Candor

They found their son at Archangel Funeral Homes in Sampaloc.

Horacio Jr. said his son’s body was bloated, had hematomas on both arms, and bore bruises and burns from candle wax and cigarettes.

Carmina said her son succumbed to a massive heart attack because of severe trauma.

“He died alone… He was only 22,” she said in one interview. “He wanted to be a senator. He wanted to be president.

They took that away from him.”

television footage later showed Solano arriving at the fraternity office and library in the morning of Sept. 17.

He was seen riding a motorcycle that followed a red Mitsubishi pickup and a black Toyota Fortuner to the Chinese General Hospital.

Solano and 16 other Aegis Juris members were placed on an immigration lookout bulletin.

On Sept. 25, they were charged with murder, violation of the Anti-Hazing Law and robbery (see related story on page 14).

Castillo’s mobile phone, cash and credit card were

missing.

Police also charged Solano with perjury and obstruction of justice for giving false testimony.

On Sept. 22, he turned himself in to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who headed the Senate inquiry into Castillo’s killing.

The Manila Police District took custody of Solano, but the Department of Justice later ordered his release for a preliminary investigation.

Aegis Juris members Aeron Salientes and Jason Adolfo Robiños also surrendered to the police but denied involvement in Castillo’s fatal hazing.

Constitution reads that CHR has the power to “investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights.” Section 1 of the Bill of Rights reads “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.”

Hence, it is the duty of CHR to make sure that the Bill of Rights is not violated by the state and its agents LIKE the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Imagine a country without a government agency protecting its citizens from abuses

Charges Closed-circuit

Opinion 5

FROM PAGE 4

like the rampant extrajudicial killings of clowns, corrupters, and killers of the PNP. The PNP is nothing less than the dreaded Philippine Constabulary and Metrocom that committed human rights violations with the Armed Forces of the Philippines during Martial Law of the Marcos Regime.

Filipinos need to wake up from their dream that the Duterte administration would usher in a regime of welcome change in the country. What Duterte and his executioners and lapdogs are ushering back are the dark days of Martial Law with its widespread abuse of human rights.

6 News

OCTOBER 2, 2017

P2-B Senior High building set to rise in 2019 UST SENIOR High School (SHS) students will soon find home in a new building being constructed in front of the campus on España Boulevard.

The University plans to build a 23-storey building with 110 classrooms and nine laboratories to accommodate the growing population of Grades 11 and 12 students beginning Academic Year 2019 to 2020.

The building, to be built on the lot occupied by the former Isabel Building in front of UST, will cost an estimated P2 billion. It will house some 7,000 senior high school students, UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. said.

Dagohoy said the construction of a new building for the SHS would be in preparation for the normalization of the number of college freshmen enrollees by 2021. “[W]e are planning that by 2019, Grades 11 and 12 should transfer to that building because we are going back to [the normal] number of enrollees by 2021. They (SHS students) won’t have space here inside the University,” Dagohoy told the Varsitarian last Sept. 8.

The UST Board of Trustees and the Provincial Council of the Dominican Province of the Philippines have approved the construction of the new building, he said.

Isabel Building, which is being demolished, was acquired by UST from Senior High PAGE 8

Stronger Thomasian voice vs EJKs needed – human rights chief COM M ISSION on Human Rights Chairman Jose Luis Martin Gascon urged the Thomasian community to voice out stronger dissent against cases of extrajudicial killings in Gascon the country in ceremonies marking the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law last Sept 21. “[Dapat] magkaroon ng isang pambansang dialogue ang pamunuan ng UST community o ng mga taong Simbahan kung paano ba natin titigilan ang violence. [Dapat] manawagan sila sa gobyerno upang ipatupad ang law and order pero sa isang paraan na kinikilala ang karapatan ng lahat,” Gascon told the Varsitarian in an interview.

CHR PAGE 7

News media ‘beacon of light’ amid fake news, says ABS-CBN exec THE HEAD of ABS-CBN Digital News Media said media should shed light on relevant issues and guide the public toward verified information in a lecture last Sept. 20 at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. “[T]here’s so much fake content out there online, [so] news media must become the beacon of light that guides the public to the safety of verified information,” Karen Puno said in a lecture on media leadership in the digital era and documentaries.

Netizens also have a responsibility Beacon PAGE 7

SOON TO RISE. The former Isabel building owned by Time Realty is being demolished (left) to give way to the P2 billion UST Senior High School building which will be finished by 2019 (right).

Newly proclaimed CSC officers quit posts LESS than a month after being proclaimed on the Central Judiciary Board’s orders, four Central Student Council (CSC) Executive Board officers who lost to “abstain” votes in the April elections have resigned, Office for Student Affairs Director Ma. Socorro Guan Hing told the Varsitarian on Sept.14.

Steven Grecia, Gabriela Sepulchre, Daveson Nieto and Richard Javier, who were proclaimed on Aug. 25 as president, vice president, treasurer and auditor, respectively, rejected their positions on Monday and filed resignation letters.

“I am confirming that [the

Grecia

Usapang Uste

Sepulchre

officers] have resigned. In their letter, they said that in whatever capacity they are needed, [they] are still willing to serve [the Thomasian community],” Guan Hing told the Varsitarian in an interview on Sept.

14.

The officers resigned to “maintain unity” among Thomasians amid clamor, particularly on social media, for them to reject their positions to pave the way for special elections, she added.

UST Central Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Arvin Bersonda lauded the resignations.

“It was a well-fought battle and I commend them for hearing

Nieto

out the Thomasian electorate,” Bersonda told the Varsitarian in a text message.

Comelec proclaimed the four officers on Aug. 25 on orders of the Central Judiciary Board to declare winners the candidates with the highest number of votes next to “abstain” in the student council elections.

The judiciary board last July 24 nullified Comelec’s May 10 resolution that declared the positions president, vice president, treasurer and auditor vacant.

The CSC’s judicial arm ruled that the Comelec should not have CSC PAGE 7

Javier

Pagsabak ng Unibersidad sa boksing Ni CHRIS V. GAMOSO

ALAM na ba ninyong minsang nanaig ang mga Tomasino sa larangan ng boksing?

Ayon sa tala ng Varsitarian, taong 1932 nang unang sumabak ang Unibersidad sa pampalakasang boksing ng Big Three Tournament, isang ligang kinabibilangan din ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas at National University.

Higit na naging kasabiksabik ito para sa mga Tomasino sapagkat nangyayari ang mga salpukan sa dating UST Gymnasium.

Dumaan sa elimination rounds ang mga kalahok hanggang sa dalawa na lang

ang naiwan sa bawat weight, pinagpasiyahan mula bantam hanggang welter. ng Unibersidad Noon, hindi pa man na ipagpaliban nakikitang sumabak ang mga ang pagsali sa Tomasinong boksingero, pampalakasang ito itinuturing na silang “dark habang hinihintay horse,” lalo na sa welterweight ang desisyon ng division. mga awtoridad Bunga naman ng kung tuluyan pagkapanalo ng Unibersidad nang tatanggalin sa taong 1933, nagbigyan sila ang patimpalak. ng pagkakataong makilala sa Hindi isiniwalat mundo nang inilimbag ang ang dahilan ng pagtigil kanilang larawan sa Christmas dito. At, nagtapos issue ng The Ring, isang bantog ang pampalakasang na boxing magazine sa buong mundo.

Sa 1934–1935 na edisiyon Usapang Uste PAGE 8 ng Big Three Tournament,

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Rector leads groundbreaking of new UST campus in Laguna A NEW UST campus will soon rise in Santa Rosa, Laguna, the first outside Metro Manila, with UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. leading groundbreaking rites on Sept. 10.

UST Santa Rosa will be a 40-hectare campus, twice the size of UST Manila and will be home to 20,000 Thomasians upon its completion.

“We are motivated to open a new campus because we want to provide our students [and] our faculties facilities conducive to learning,” Dagohoy said in his homily during the Eucharistic celebration at the site of the new campus.

Project architect Barbie del Castillo said the expansion would be a “huge undertaking” for UST in its bid to decongest the Manila campus, which houses some 40,000 Thomasians. “[It] is a breath of fresh air, decongesting the Manila campus and moving away from the hustle of the big city,” del Castillo told the Varsitarian in an interview.

Fr. Dexter Austria, O.P., project head and director of the Facilities Management Office, said the first phase of the plan would involve the construction of the main building at the heart of the campus, laboratories, the church and priory, and transport terminals.

The first phase is expected to be finished by 2020, and will accommodate 5,000 students.

Dagohoy consecrated the Santa Rosa campus to St. Rose of Lima, co-patroness of the Philippines.

“On this year that we celebrate the 400th year anniversary of St. Rose of Lima, we dedicate this campus in her name, in the town that honored her memory,” Dagohoy said.

Dagohoy and other Dominicans present buried a time capsule — a “box containing blessed sacramentals, including a rosary, blessed salt, and the medal of St. Benedict, to symbolize the consecration of the 40-hectare lot to God,” UST’s Facebook page said.

“The Mass included an invocation of all Dominican saints and blessed and the holy angels to help protect the place from evil and to bless those who will later dwell in it for learning,” it added.

The University’s integration plan with other Dominican schools in the country and the construction of satellite campuses in Santa Rosa and General Santos City in Mindanao were announced by Dagohoy in his 2015 Rector’s Report. SAMANTHA-WEE LIPANA and PAULINE FAYE V. TRIA

CSC

FROM PAGE 6

included “abstain” along with the names of the candidates in the ballots used during the elections, as it violated Article 10, Section 5 of the UST Students’ Election Code of 2011.

CHR

FROM PAGE 6

Gascon led the unveiling ceremony of the statue of former senator Jose “Pepe” Diokno, an alumnus of the UST Faculty of Civil Law who was the commission’s first chairman, on Sept. 21.

Diokno was among several opposition figures and journalists arrested when the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972.

After his release in 1974, he led the Free Legal Assistance Group, which offered legal counsel to political prisoners and victims of the Marcos regime.

Gascon said the statue, named “The Defiant Diokno,” should remind young people of Diokno’s example when he fought the Marcos dictatorship. “[This] is a place where you can speak, organize to fight for what is right and just and to

News 7

GROUNDBREAKING. A member of the Dominican Order buries a box containing a rosary, blessed salt and the medal of St. Benedict during the construction kickoff rites of UST Santa Rosa.

Photos by MICHAEL ANGELO R. REYES

Thomasians had roundly rejected Grecia, Sepulchre, Nieto and Javier in the CSC Executive Board while two independents, Therese Anjhona Gorospe and Francis Gabriel Santos won the positions of secretary and public relations officer, respectively.

Bersonda said the

Comelec would soon release a resolution on the resignation of the officers, and would adhere to the CSC Constitution in addressing the vacancies in the CSC Executive Board.

IANNA GAYLE S. AGUS and SAMANTHA-WEE LIPANA

prevent any vestige of tyranny from ever returning in the country,” he said in his speech.

Diokno studied law in UST before World War 2 but was not able to finish the program. Still, he was allowed to take the bar exams.

Cristina Rodriguez, executive director of Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Foundation, said students should conduct research to remember the real heroes during the Marcos regime.

“Importante na makilala natin kung sino ang ating mga bayani at kung sino ang nagbigay ng kanilang mga buhay para hindi tayo nakalublob sa pang-aapi,” Rodriguez said in a forum last Sept. 19 in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. The Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Center, a monument in Quezon City dedicated to Martial Law martyrs, recorded 44 deaths under the age group of 21 to 30 and 6 deaths under the age group of 15 to 20 during the Marcos dictatorship. MA. CONSUELO D.P. MARQUEZ

‘Honor Thomasian Martial Law victims’ Mars Mendoza, a UST journalism alumna, called on student leaders and University officials on Sept. 19 to erect a monument honoring Thomasian martyrs during the Marcos dictatorship. “[The monument should] be a program of the student councils.

May mga arkitekto [sa UST who] can come up with a design. It can be a small space to acknowledge yung service ng studentry,” Mendoza told the Varsitarian.

Mendoza said research must be launched to include the names of Thomasians who were victims of Martial Law.

Poetry

FROM PAGE 3

sufferings and natural disasters in writing about them, Bobis added.

The lecture served as the launching of Bobis’s poetry collecti¯on titled “Accidents of Composition,” published by University of the Philippines (UP) Press and Spinifex Press in Australia.

Bobis’s poetry collection

Beacon FROM PAGE 6

to call out people on social media who share fake news, and help them verify information online, she said. “[W]e have to call out the fakes. Because we don’t know what kind of bad effect or impact that wrong information will have to another person even if it’s simple information,” Puno told the Varsitarian in a chance interview.

Jeff Canoy, an ABSCBN News and Current Affairs reporter who also spoke during the event, urged members of the campus press to

deals with her contemplation on the serenity of nature based on her experiences in her home region of Bicol, her stay in Australia for 25 years, and trips to different countries.

Bobis read the poems “After the Grand Canyon,” “Lucy Afloat,” “After Reming,” “Pied Fantail,” “The Perfect Orchid,” “In Our Arms,” “Empathy,” “Migrations,” “Outbound” and “Love is Planetary” from her collection during the lecture. E.B. COLDORA

be critical in reporting university issues.

“I]n this day and age na parang binu-bully ang mga journalists into not telling the truth, I think it’s important to stick to what we do. So in this case, as student journalists, I think [your role] is to really investigate, to cast a light on issues,” Canoy told the Varsitarian. “[M]araming hindi magsasalita, maraming magsasabing umalis kayo dito or ‘wag kayong mag cover. Pero ‘yun ‘yung trabaho niyo… to go into that dark place and to cast a light on what’s happening there, to show or tell people what’s happening,” Canoy said.

8 News

OCTOBER 2, 2017

UST graduates soar in medical, other board exams THOMASIANS ruled this year’s licensure examinations for physicians, with six Medicine graduates making it to the top 10.

UST graduates occupied the first, fourth, fifth, eighth, ninth and 10th places. Vincent Edouard Anthony Gullas led the latest batch of physicians with a score of 90.50 percent.

The University’s passing rate rose to 97.10 percent, or 468 out of 482 examinees, from last year’s 94.84 percent or 423 out of 446 examinees, results from the Professional Regulation Commission showed.

UST graduate Marc Vincent Barcelona secured the fourth spot with a score of 89.83 percent, while Ana Erycka Elaine Peralta placed fifth with 89.67 percent.

Stephanie Marie Seno bagged eighth place with a score of 89.42 percent, Simon Go placed ninth with 89.33 percent,and Kelvin Ken Yu clinched the 10th spot with a score of 89.25 percent.

The Cebu Institute of Medicine and Saint Luke’s College of Medicine were hailed as the top-performing schools after after registering 100-percent passing rates.

UST placed fifth on the list of topperforming schools.

The national passing rate rose to 82.19 percent, or 3,340 out of 4,064 examinees, from last year’s 78.46 percent, or 2,899 passers of 3,695 examinees.

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS. Lumad delegates troop to the Plaza Mayor to converge with fellow cultural minority groups at the España Boulevard during the National Day of Protest on Sept. 21

DEEJAE S. DUMLAO

Plight of indigenous minorities tackled in forum UNIVERSITY officials urged Thomasians to hear the stories of struggle of national minorities as 50 Lumad delegates arrived in UST on Sept. 11 for the annual “Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya,” a people’s caravan to assert the rights of indigenous people.

Representatives of the Lumad, the non-Muslim indiegenous people of Mindanao, entered the Arch of the Centuries Monday morning and celebrated a solidarity night at the UST Central Seminary Gym with Thomasian student leaders.

UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. said he approved the request for UST to host the Lakbayan, for Thomasians to be able to understand their struggle for security and self-determination in their ancestral lands. “[W]e need to hear those stories from the people who have actually gone through a long struggle. We have to learn from them,” Dagohoy said in an interview with the Varsitarian last Sept. 8.

Jong Monzon, secretary general of Pasaka, a confederation of Lumad organizations in southern Mindanao, cited the continuous “paramilitary attacks” and human rights violations in Mindanao. “[Gusto naming] ipaalam sa mga kabataan at sa lahat ng andito `yung tunay na kalagayan namin… dahil hanggang ngayon patuloy talaga

Senior High FROM PAGE 6

Time Realty in 2015.

The structure will be a “smart” building and will have an auditorium, two library floors, a cafeteria, three parking levels, and a basketball court to be powered by solar panels, Dagohoy said.

The construction of the SHS building and the footbridge that will connect it to the UST campus will begin this year and is expected to be finished by 2019.

Plans to ‘decongest’ Students of new tertiary academic programs will occupy classrooms in the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building that now houses Grade 11 students, the Rector said.

Grade 12 students are holding classes in college buildings

`yung human rights violations,” Monzon said.

Vice Rector for Religious Affairs Fr. Pablo Tiong, O.P., together with UST Central Seminary Rector Fr. Quirico Pedregosa, O.P., led the program to welcome the Lumad at Plaza Mayor.

UST Simbahayan Director Mark Anthony Abenir said Thomasians should understand the struggles of the Lumad to keep their ancestral domain from the encroachment end environmental destruction.

“Bilang mga Katoliko, dapat hindi tayo maging bingi at bulag sa kanilang pangangailangan… [we should] see and hear the stories [of the Lumads] first hand [at] kung ano ba ang nangyayari sa Mindanao,” Abenir told the Varsitarian in an interview.

Seminarian Louis Opina, president of the UST Philosophy Students’ Forum, said people should fight for the Lumad through concrete actions.

“Ipaglaban natin ang Lumad hindi lamang sa mga konsepto kundi bilang tao at kapatid,” Opina said during the solidarity night.

The group will camp at the Central Seminary Gym from Sept.

11 to 21 as part of the month-long Lakbayan. IANNA GAYLE S. AGUS and JACOB MARVIN D. URMENITA

where their tertiary programs are being offered.

“There are several programs that we have to approve for academic year 2018 to 2019. The [College of Science] is proposing three programs…The [USTAlfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy] is proposing three new programs, and the [Faculty of Arts and Letters] is also proposing one,” Dagohoy said.

The University also plans to transfer students from the Music and Arts and Physical Education and Sports strands to UST Angelicum, formerly Angelicum College, in Quezon City to reduce the number of SHS students in UST Manila.

The SHS population doubled to 8,614 this year from last year’s 4,960 students as it welcomed its pioneer batch of Grade 12 students. JACOB MARVIN D. URMENITA

Boards PAGE 10

Vatican OKs plenary indulgence for Santisimo Rosario Parish jubilee

By L.O. GARCIA

PILGRIMS who will take part in the festivities of the Santisimo Rosario Parish’s Jubilee Year will gain plenary indulgence following the approval of the Holy See, parish riest Fr. Louie Coronel, OP said.

The Vatican’s grant of plenary indulgence in time for the 75th anniversary of the parish church in October, is “God’s way of of getting close to His people and for them to become holy,“ said Coronel in Filipino.

According to the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, an indulgence reduces the temporal punishment that remains even after sins are forgiven. Plenary indulgence wipes out all temporal

punishment because of sin.

It requires three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of the Pope, and detachment from sin.

Other Jubilee activities include Novena masses, which will be led by former parish priests from Sept. 22 to 30.

In a Mass following the enthronement rites of the Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, Coronel urged parishioners to emulate the Blessed Mother’s unconditional love for Jesus.

“Si Maria ang modelo na dapat nating tularan. The world is suffering

because of war, because of persecution.

However, we are not orphans because we have the Blessed Mother,” he said.

Coronel likened the beginnings of the Santisimo Rosario to the consolation the Blessed Mother provided people in times of need.

He noted that the parish church started at the height of the Second World War so that it could provide consolation in a time of war, he said.

The 75th fiesta High Mass on Oct. 2 will have at its main celebrant Batanes Bishop Emeritus Camilo Gregorio, an alumnus of the UST Central Seminary and a member of the Dominical Priestly Fraternity of the Philippines.

AVE MARIA, GRATIA PLENA. The Santisimo Rosario Church, celebrating its 75th year anniversary stands in the campus of the University.

Usapang Uste FROM PAGE 6

boksing na walang talo ang Unibersidad.

Hanggang ngayon, hindi na ibinalik pa ang boksing sa hanay ng mga pampalakasan sa University Athletics Association of the Philippines o UAAP. Tomasino siya Naiuwi sa unang pagkakataon ni Ma. Lourdes Blanco ang karangalang Most Outstanding Student Nurse of the Philippines para sa Unibersidad noong 1968.

Siya ang kauna-unahang UST-trained nurse na nanguna sa Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) examinations na pinasisinayaan taon-taon mula

1964.

Nakamit niya ang titulo matapos magtala ng pinakamataas na marka sa patimpalak ng Philippine Nurses Association Research Department na nilahukan ng mga mag-aaral mula sa iba’t ibang paaralan at kolehiyo ng nursing sa bansa.

Nagtapos siya bilang magna cum laude at tumanggap ng mga parangal tulad ng Rector’s Award for Academic Excellence, Benavides Award for Campus Leadership at UST Nurses Alumni General Academic Award.

Full scholar si Blanco sa kaniyang limang taong panunuluyan sa Unibersidad.

Aktibo rin siya sa mga cocurricular activities. Naging cultural chairman siya ng Central

Board of Students at namuno sa tatlong yunit ng Pax Romana sa kaniyang kinabibilangang kolehiyo.

Nagsilbi rin siyang punong patnugot ng The UST Nurses Newsette.

Tomasalitaan giyágis (png.) pagkiskis o pagdantay ng katawan sa kapuwa katawan; dagsa ng mga tao patungo sa kaguluhan Hal. Tanaw ang pagmamadali ng midya at giyágis ng mga mamamayan nang maiahon ang katawan ng nawawalang binata sa ilog.

Mga Sanggunian: The Varsitarian UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino

Editor: Chelsey Mei Nadine B. Brazal

Features 9

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Accountancy student’s battle with leukemia

By DAPHNE YANN P. GALVEZ

A PHOTO went viral early this month showing a girl wearing surgical mask and her school uniform, hunched over her calculator and reviewer, her left hand tied to a chemotherapy machine.

There was no stopping Jasmine Aspiras, 19, a management accounting student of UST, who was studying for an upcoming exam. Not even cancer.

She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, described as a type of cancer that begins from the “early version of white blood cells in the bone marrow.”

Aspiras has found a lot of support since she began sharing her struggle online.

“A lot of people were sending me messages, telling me that they were praying for me and stuff. It was really

overwhelming but it’s nice to see I have inspired people in some way,” she told the Varsitarian.

Upon her doctor’s advice, Aspiras skipped a semester and hardly left home other than for chemotherapy sessions.

“I recall finishing the first semester last year na nag-struggle na talaga akong gumalaw because of body pains,” she said.

The photos of Aspiras studying, while undergoing chemotherapy session, that went viral.

Engineer & breastfeed advocate turns to maternity wear designing

Bueno with one of her nursingwear designs

IN A SOCIETY where breastfeeding in public is still frowned upon, a young entrepreneur from UST has found ways to lessen the discomfort among mothers.

Siene Bueno, 32, runs Kaypee Baby, an online store selling fashionable yet affordable maternity wear, kid’s clothing, cloth diapers, toys and other baby items.

“We want to make mothers look and feel beautiful,” she told the Varsitarian. “We want [them] to be confident to nurse anywhere and anytime.”

Making mothers “look beautiful” after giving birth was a

motivation for Bueno, a fulltime mom to a 2-year-old boy.

But this new career as a “mompreneur” was a departure for what she actually trained for.

Bueno is a board-certified electronics and communication engineer. She found an office job after graduating at UST in 2006.

But she realized she wanted do something else, encouraged by breastfeeding seminars she had attended.

Bueno now leads the design and creative team for her online store.

Items are made a talented group of local dressmakers.

Among the company’s more popular products are “twinie” clothes, a set of same-looking apparel for mommies and babies.

Bueno later wants to reach customers abroad. LOUISE CLAIRE H. CRUZ

Samples of Bueno’s nursingwear and “twinie” designs.

Badly wanting to finish her degree, she returned to school last July, but with certain limitations such as fewer subjects and activities.

“I easily get tired. There were times I need to leave early or absent myself from classes to go to the hospital,” she said.

Beatrix Te, her colleague at the college paper where she is a senior layout artist, is a witness to her hard work as

determination.

“The thing about her that I find so inspiring is how thoughtful she is to others even though she also is experiencing pain,” Te said.

For Aspiras, it’s all about trying to live a normal life even if the struggle is real.

“We, cancer patients, are still normal people, even with our masks, our wigs, or our beanies,” she said.

Photos courtesy of Aspiras’ Twitter account

10 Circle

Editor: Audrie Julienne D. Bernas

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Teatro Tomasino turns 40

A SERIES of one-act plays tackling life, love and death opened the 40th season of Teatro Tomasino, UST’s oldest theater guild, early September at the UST Thomas Aquinas Research Complex auditorium.

“Ekis” was a series of four short plays written and directed by Teatro members and alumni that ran until Sept. 9.

Set A was a twin-bill consisting of Medical Technology student Rae Red’s “Kawalan,” a story about an elevator assistant and his daily encounters with building residents, and Floy Quintos’ Palanca-winning one-act play “Evening at the Opera,” about a couple’s conflict over issues of control.

In Set B, struggles of life and death were highlighted in Journalism senior Rela Catucod’s “Baka Sakali,” centering on a man who helps his younger sister recover from a nervous breakdown, and Jay Crisostomo IV’s “Habulan sa Pagitan ng Malilit na Kamay ni Kamatayan,” about a couple speculating on their possible journeys after their inevitable deaths.

Set C consisted of Allan Lopez’s “Higit Pa Dito,” a story about a mother and a son going through oedipal tensions, and Architecture major Alexandra Mora’s “The Best Day,” in which two sisters prepare their eulogy for their mother’s wake.

Self-love was emphasized in Set D. Jayson Mondragon’s “Lipstik” revolves around the struggles of a chubby girl who lacks confidence, while Marketing Management senior Elijah Correa’s “Cliché” is about a couple having a hard time to showcase their true personalities to each other.

Teatro Tomasino has long been known

for upholding the theater tradition in the University and nurturing the interests and talents of Thomasians in theater arts, said entertainer John Lapus, now on his last year as the guild’s professional adviser.

Theme of its 40th anniversary is “Banaag at Sikat,” which, according to Lapus, would allude to the highs and lows of the guild.

Fran Omampo, co-adviser, noted that Teatro had been struggling to get the support of the campus for its productions, noting that past productions did not exactly draw huge crowds.

For audience development, he added, Teatro collaborated with other campus organizations. With the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, it staged plays about San Lorenzo Ruiz’s martyrdom and about Blessed Justus Takayama Ukon. the Japanese samurai lord who was exiled to the Philippines after refusing to renounce his Christian faith in the 17th century during. The plays were staged during the fourth Philippine Conference on New Evangelization, organized by the Archdiocese of Manila and hosted by UST. Aside from collaborations, Omampo said continuous training was vital to ensure the guild’s survival.

“The best way to secure the future of Teatro Tomasino is by training the young ones,” Omampo said. “Quality and excellence is something we adhere to. You’re only as good as your last performance, so every performance must be great.”

Teatro Tomasino was founded on Sept. 17, 1977 by Varsitarian alumna Myrna Hilario and Piedad Guinto, who were faculty members at that time, along with 25 students.

Its first proudction was celebrated

Thomasian cinematographer gets behind the scenes

Thomasian dramatist Orlando Nadres’ tragicomedy, “Ang Awit Na Hindi Matapostapos.” The play was directed by Maryo Delos Reyes, at that time a rising film director (he was later to direct the multi-awarded movie, “Magnifico”).

As a newborn organization, the guild had no permanent workspace and office and shuttled from one office to cramped office several times.

Its first workplace was the “pigeon hole,” a cramped space inside the old Office of Student Affairs in the Main Building. From 1991 to 1998, it was housed at the back of the UST Grandstand and later, behind the Central Seminary. It is now

VLADLYNN NONA MARYSE L. TADEO

UST film critic Mario Hernando, 68

By KLIMIER NICOLE B. ADRIANO

CINEMATOGRAPHER Neil Daza highlighted the transition between film and digital photography in “25 Times: Images from Behind the Camera,” an exhibit marking his silver anniversary in the film industry, which opened on Aug. 3 at the Pasilyo Vicente Manansala in the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Daza mounted more than 30 archival inkjet prints of his behindthe-scene photographs which he took on various sets where he was the cinematographer. His transition from using 35mm film to digital was evident in the quality of his photos.

“I started off as a painter with social realist painters as my inspiration. Later on, I was influenced by cinematographers Mike De Leon, Andrew Pulaski and Francis Ford Coppola,” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

He used his stint as a photojournalist to evoke the stories and emotions of his subjects which are mostly men working behind the camera or cinema projectors, artists and fans curiously watching.

In “Gloria Romero Waited while the Artists Set Up the Lights on the Set of MMK,” he captured the award-winning actress looking lost in thought while waiting on the set of an episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya in 2007.

“Ticket Seller, Galaxy Theater,” (1997)one of Daza’s earlier photographs, depicted a woman waiting for a customer inside a vintage ticket booth.

Gradient blue skies and two people standing in the middle of a barren desert were shown in “Francheska Farr and Mahdi Yazdian lost in Moroccan desert in ‘Emir’” (2010).

“Dream Sequence of Francis Xavier Pasion’s ‘Bwaya’” (2014) captured the scene in Francis Pasion’s film “Buwaya” in which a girl in a white toga is sailing alone in a marsh filled with

“Gloria Romero Waited while the Artists Set Up the Lights on the Set of MMK” by Daza

Photo courtesy of CCP

Boards FROM PAGE 8 “Bayaning Third World” by Daza

wetland plants. The film won him the best cinematography award in the 10th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

“Filmmaking is a very collaborative work. You have to be a team player otherwise you’re not going to last in the film industry.

Daza was also the cinematographer for Sonny Calvento’s “Nabubulok,” which competed in the recent Cinemalaya festival.

An alumnus of the old College of Architecture and Fine Arts, Daza has received film awards such as the 2011 Golden Screen Awards for “Emir”, the 2015 Gawad Urian Award for Best Cinematography and the 2014 Cinemalaya Balanghai trophy for “Bwaya.” He has also produced notable films including “Yamashita: the Tiger’s Treasure” in 2001, “Dekada ‘70” in 2002 and “Emir” in 2010.

housed at the Tan Yan Kee Student Center.

To date Teatro had mounted at least 100 productions, starting with “One of the secrets of Teatro Tomasino is its alumni members,” said Lapus. “They go back to help, to act, to mentor, to do some production works and to have workshops.”

Alumni include Arnold Clavio, Eagle Riggs, Piolo Pascual, Wenn Deramas, Malouh Crisologo, Dang Cruz, and Charmaine Nueros. KLIMIER NICOLE B. ADRIANO and KATHLEEN THERESE A. PALAPAR

Medtech, pharmacy boards UST also posted a higher passing rate in the August 2017 licensure examinations for medical technologists, with four Thomasians making it to the top 10 list.

UST’s passing rate rose to 95.34 percent, or 225 out of 236 examinees, from last year’s 93.77 percent or 286 out of 306 examinees.

Shaira Rae Billena led the new batch of Thomasian medical technologists, placing fourth with a score of 90.60 percent.

Thomasians Neill Steven Cachuela and Joed Ivan Mata shared the eighth spot with 90.20 percent, while Carissa June Ferreras landed on 10th place with a score of 90 percent.

The University of San Agustin, Cebu Doctors University, Holy Name University-Tagbilaran and Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod were named top-performing schools after registering 100-percent passing rates.

RENOWNED Thomasian film critic Mario Hernando passed away on Sept. 5 at the age of 68 after a bout with bone cancer.

Hernando was said to have been found unconscious by his brother in their home in Quezon City the morning he died, and was rushed to Capitol Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead.

A former managing editor of the Varsitarian in the 1960’s, he taught film criticism to journalism students in the University in the late 1990s.

In 1983, he assumed the post of managing editor in Ang Pahayagang Malaya and became the editor of Weekend Malaya, the paper’s weekend magazine.

He was a board member of the Movie Television Review and Classification Board and founding member of the

Marianne Ross Soldevilla of Notre Dame of Marbel University in Cotabato City topped this year’s licensure examinations, with a score of 90.90 percent.

Former Varsitarian literary writer Josef Brian Ramil was among those who passed the board exams.

The national passing rate for medical technologists improved to 85.16 percent, or 4,821 out of 5,661 examinees, from last year’s 80.84 percent, or 4,144 out of 5,126 examinees The University emerged as the second top-performing school in the August 2017 pharmacist licensure examinations. Four Thomasians made it to the top 10.

Leading the new batch of Thomasian pharmacists is Patricia Joyce Si, who secured the fourth spot with a score of 90.92 percent.

Thomasians Madelaine Johanna Abraham placed fifth with a score of 90.82 percent, while Regine Li and Bill Que landed on the sixth and seventh spots with scores of 90.53 and 90.50 percent, respectively.

Jannylene Rose Chua of the University of San Carlos in Cebu topped this year’s pharmacy board

Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, an organization of film scholars and critics that holds the annual Urian Awards, considered the most prestigious film awards in the Philippines.

Hernando’s cousin Ruben described him as a “genial” person who treated everyone fairly.

“Mario was not just a cousin, he was more of a brother [to me].

Despite his busy schedule, he was always a genial, concerned person.

[H]e treated us with warmth every time we met. He will be sorely missed, not only by his friends, but by his family and relatives [as well],” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian on Sept. 7.

Veteran journalist and journalism instructor Nestor Cuartero recalled Hernando as a helpful person to his younger colleagues.

“He was generous in sharing his knowledge about journalism, film and life lessons… He was a fun person who loved socials,” Cuartero told the Varsitarian.

Hernando’s cremated remains will be interred on Sept. 9 at the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish in Quezon City. JACOB MARVIN D. URMENITA

exams with a score of 91.10 percent.

UST’s passing rate soared to 92.50 percent, or 296 out of 320 examinees, from last year’s 63.64 percent, or 14 out of 22 examinees.

Electrical Eng’g UST powered anew to the top spot in the electrical engineering licensure examinations, with one Thomasian landing in the top 10 of the September 2017 exams.

UST’s passing rate slightly increased to 98.67 percent, or 74 out of 75 examinees, from last year’s 98.48 percent, or 65 out of 66 examinees, results from the Professional Regulation Commission showed.

Thomasian Wesley Navarro bagged sixth place with a score of 90.95 percent.

Edilbert Tandaan of Camarines Sur Polytechnic College – Nabua topped this year’s board exams after scoring 91.80 percent.

The national passing rate declined to 62.94 percent, or 2,807 out of 4,460 examinees, from last year’s 68.46 percent, or 2,817 out of 4,115 examinees. IANNA GAYLE S. AGUS, PAULINE FAYE V. TRIA and JACON MARVIN D. URMENITA.

OCTOBER 2, 2017

UST Legends

UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. acknowledges the Thomasian crowd.

Lenspeak 11

12 Witness

Acting Editor: Lea Mat P. Vicencio

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Healing, not killing, in Church drug-rehab programs

By L.O. GARCIA and LEA MAT P. VICENCIO

AMID THE rising number of deaths brought by President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, the Church maintains that comprehensive rehabilitation programs and cultural evangelization are sustainable solutions to the problem of illegal drugs.

Fr. Luciano Felloni, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes in Caloocan, said drug-rehabilitation programs serve as a “refuge” for drug dependents.

“This is a place for the people in the [police drug] watch list where they can somehow be protected and at the same time, eventually be removed from it,” Felloni, who initiated a drugrehabilitation program in his parish, said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

Approved by the Philippine National Police (PNP), the rehabilitation program, which began in September 2016, runs for six months with professionals such as doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and volunteers helping in the recovery of drug surrenderers. “[I]n the first four months, patients may be negative or positive in drug tests.

They can be negative for two weeks, and then relapse. But it gets to a point where they start to be negative in drug tests consistently. You need to count for two consecutive months. If anytime they relapse, they go back to zero and start counting again,” Felloni said.

Once registered as “drug-free,” the patient consults the parish’s resident psychiatrist, psychologist and doctor for a general assessment. A report subject for review will be given to the local government, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the PNP. Felloni said there are four stages of drug addiction and each stage is to be dealt with differently. The parish-based

drug rehabilitation program caters to stages 1 and 2. Stage 1 is the experimental stage and is common among teenagers, while stage 2 drug addicts are drug-dependent yet still capable of withdrawing, with psychological and medical help.

Fr. Roberto de la Cruz, who leads the Restorative Justice Ministry of the Archdiocese of Manila, was also among the pioneers of a parish-based drug rehabilitative program. This was in response to the overwhelming number of deaths in the drug war, particularly during Oplan Tokhang or “knock and plead,” wherein police are only supposed to appeal to drug suspects to surrender. Some suspects however end up dead because of alleged shootouts with the police.

“When Tokhang began, ‘yung dami ng surrenderers started to escalate. We anticipated [that] it will have a domino effect kasi they will give names. So we met with [different government departments] for a community-based rehabilitation program bilang tugon sa drug surrenderers at communities,” de la Cruz said.

The Archdiocese of Manila, in partnership with the UST Psychotrauma Clinic, launched the “Sanlakbay sa Pagbabago ng Buhay” program—a six-month community-based rehabilitation program for persons in the police watch list under Oplan Tokhang.

De la Cruz, Sanlakbay project coordinator, said “manpower to break the stigma on drugs” and evangelization were necessary to help the surrenderers.

Both rehabilitation programs hold random drug-testing in between the sessions. People who finish the program will be cleared from the

Café Inggo: Caffein fix at Santo Domingo Church

By LEA MAT P. VICENCIO

MICHAEL ANGELO M. REYES

PNP watchlist.

Out of the 94 parishes in the Archdiocese of Manila, Sanlakbay has been implemented in only 14 parishes. Many barangay and Church officials fear the consequences of involvement in Duterte’s drug war.

Felloni’s community-based rehabilitation program will also be launched in Sta. Quiteria and Bagong Silang, the “biggest extrajudicial killing fields” in the country. Both areas are in the city of Caloocan.

“It is new so it is not yet [widely] accepted. Maraming takot to [be] involved. Malakas ang resistance that is why we need collaboration and commitment between the Church and the government. We need dialogue,” de la Cruz said.

War against the poor Fr. Atilano Fajardo, who lived with informal settlers near railways, echoed Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle’s pastoral letter published last Aug. 19, which urged Filipinos to reach out to the families of drug war victims.

Fajardo said sharing stories would encourage Filipinos to fight the culture of fear, and see the human dimension of the war on drugs.

“Pinapatay nila ang kalayaan natin. Dahil may culture of fear, walang nagsasalita. Ilang libo na ang namatay sa administrasyon ni Duterte at karamihan sa kanila ay mahihirap. Ilang libo ang pinatay na hindi dumaan sa testing,” Fajardo said.

Fajardo said the poor are deprived not just of due process but also of proper burial rites, which costs money.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES PARISH

“Ang problema sa Scene of the Crime Operatives at sa mga morgue, halos P70,000 ang kailangan sa imbestigasiyon at para matubos ang bangkay.

Kaya napupunta na lang sa mass grave ang mga hindi natubos,” he said.

Felloni blamed poverty for the prevalence of illegal drugs in his parish.

ON THE night of the feast of St. Dominic, a small, cozy café tucked in the corner of the Santo Domingo Parish and convent complex in Quezon Avenue went abuzz with customers.

UST alumnus and ex-seminarian Vic Alcuaz expected only 60 people during the soft opening of the St. Dominic-inspired Café Inggo. But to his whole kitchen and café staff’s surprise, more than 150 people came to visit after the Aug. 8 Mass in honor of the founder of the Order of Preachers.

Alcuaz named his café after the Dominican band “Inggo 1587.” Fr. Jomar Sibug O.P., an original member of the band, asked him to open a café inside the parish compound.

Alcuaz, who is friends with many Dominican friars, said St. Dominic’s charism inspired the interiors and the motifs of the café.

“I thought of this concept. And I want it aligned to the church. The interiors will have to be Dominican,” Alcuaz told the Varsitarian.

Café Inggo’s curtains are black and white, the Dominican colors, and are drawn to the side. A huge portrait of St. Dominic hangs on the wall.

Artist Alex Uy’s illustrations of Dominican churches in Albay and Cagayan are on display.

A porcelain bust of St. Dominic given by the treasurer of the Dominican Order in the Philippines, Fr. Boyd Sulpico, O.P., to Alcuaz is installed behind the counter of the café.

Operating 24/7, the café plays Gregorian chants sang by the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos from four till six in the morning, for the Dominicans who will be sipping their early-morning coffee.

“When people come here, I would like to tell them a story that is related to the Dominicans,” Alcuaz said.

With Royce Hotel and Casino manager Mabel Martinez as chef, Café Inggo serves a variety of Spanish and Filipino dishes.

“I’d like our food to be Spanish-Filipino. This is all Spanish-Filipino. chicken valentino, humba, Ilocos bagnet. The only thing we don’t have yet is the bibingka and puto bumbong.”

Convenient stores wanted the spot, but the parish cannot allow the selling of products such as magazines, condoms and cigarettes.

The soft opening of Café Inggo was flocked by Dominican friars including the prior provincial of the Philippine Dominican province, Fr. Napoleon Sipalay, O.P., worshippers and as well as the UST Singers.

“The root of poverty is very real. For many people, shabu has been a source of living. People think that it is expensive to use shabu. But it is not expensive, it produces money for the user. The selling of shabu is as organized as a small-scale pyramid,” he said.

To raise awareness on the injustices on the poor, Felloni PAGE 17

Taking detours All his life, Alcuaz had taken detours. He was a seminarian at the Santo Domingo Convent, but left religious life after his father died.

“I left the convent in 1972. I was a novice at Santo Domingo. I did not finish because my dad died a year before that and I thought my mom needed some help. I wanted to help the family, and I studied in UST during the evening,” he said.

Alcuaz took communication arts in the University; on evenings, he attended the late “love poet” Ophelia Dimalanta’s literature classes while he worked part time as production assistant for ABS-CBN. Alcuaz, however, did not finish college as there were bigger job opportunities waiting for him. He left school on his third year in college when Philippine Airlines (PAL) offered him a job as a steward.

In 2011, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde granted Alcuaz a diploma in hotel and restaurant institution management.

A good mix of hospitality, TV and concert prods PAL was the start of Alcuaz’s hospitality and management career. At 21 years old, he was assigned to international flights.

“For three years, I was flying international. All around to the United States, to Europe, to the Middle East, to Asia, to Australia. I was seeing the world, it was an enjoyable job,” Alcuaz said.

Alcuaz became a trainer of PAL stewards until his resignation in 1984.

“I was waiting for the next opportunity in my life, I was about 30 years old. And when I was looking at the newspaper, job hunting, Hyatt Regency Manila Hotel was looking for a training manager in 1985,” Alcuaz said.

For Alcuaz, hotels were “just like airplanes,” except they had rooms. He eventually became director for human resources in Hyatt Regency Manila Hotel.

He was also director for human resources when Shangri-La Manila was being established in the 1990s.

“The general manager [of Shangri-La] said that they wanted me to establish the service culture in all the Shangri-Las in the Philippines. We opened Shangri-La in 1992, and they sent me all over the world to take a look at the cultures of Shangri-La. I enjoyed it, it was a wonderful to be part of great hotel chain.” Alcuaz said.

The culture of hospitality and faithfulness to St. Dominic led to the establishment of Café Inggo, he said.

“As a hotel consultant, teaching people how to run their restaurants and hotels, I earned enough money to make me happy and comfortable. But I never thought that one day I’d be opening my own café,” Alcuaz said.

Editor: Jolau V. Ocampo

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Filipino 13

‘Itigil ang dahas!’ panawagan ng mga manunulat sa panahon ng ‘Tokhang’ KINONDENA ng ilang mga pangkat ng mga manunulat sa Filipinas ang kasalukuyang pamamaraan ng “war on drugs” ng administrasiyong Duterte.

Sa kanilang opisyal na pahayag, tinutulan ng Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng Pilipinas (UMPIL) ang paggamit ng pamahalaan ng dahas sa ngalan ng nabanggit na kampanya.

Giit ng organisasiyon: “Such campaign has led to unnecessary bloodshed and the oppression of the powerless. Thousands of lives have been lost, and our days and nights have been filled with rage and disquiet.”

Isang taon matapos ilunsad ang giyera kontradroga o “Oplan Tokhang,” umabot na sa mahigit 13,000 ang kaso ng pagpatay kaugnay nito— kabilang na ang mga napaslang sa kamay ng mga hinihinalang vigilante.

Kinakailangan ng tapat na imbestigasiyon sa mga kaso ng extrajudicial killings sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang administrasiyon upang mapangalagaan ang karapatang pantao ng bawat Filipino, ayon pa sa pahayag ng UMPIL na inilathala sa Facebook noong ika-21 ng Agosto.

Magugunitang ilang mga menor de edad ang napabilang kamakailan lamang sa hanay ng mga biktima ng war on drugs.

Ilan dito sina Kian delos Santos, 17; Carl

Angelo Arnaiz,19; at Reynaldo de Guzman, 14, na binansagan ng pamahalaan bilang “collateral damage” at hindi dapat maging hadlang sa layunin nitong tuligsain ang sirkulasiyon ng ilegal na droga sa Filipinas.

Nakiisa ang Philippine Center for

pagsasagawa ng tapat na imbestigasiyon sa mga kapulisan na may kinalaman sa pagpaslang kay delos Santos at sa iba pang kaso ng extrajudicial killings.

Samantala, nagpahayag din ng pagkondena sa war on drugs ang Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA), isang non-government organization na binubuo ng mga makata sa bansa.

“Ang problema ng droga ay sistemiko’t kailangang harapin sa isang sistemikong paraan, na siyang maaaring maging pangunahing sandigan lalo na ng mga walang yaman at kakayahan,” pagdidiin ng LIRA sa kanilang opisyal na pahayag na inilathala sa Facebook noong ika22 ng Agosto.

Bukod pa rito, inilunsad ng organisasiyon ang “Labintatlong Tulang Tokhang,” koleksiyon ng mga tulang nagpapahayag ng pagtutol sa war on drugs at paggunita sa mga napaslang kaugnay nito.

Narito ang bahagi ng “Kota” ni Aldrin Pentero na inilathala sa unang isyu ng koleksiyon:

International PEN (Poets and Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists), samahan ng mga

Filipino sign language, mas paiigtingin ISINUSULONG ngayon ang pagkakaroon ng Filipino Sign Language (FSL) upang “payabungin ang Wikang Pambansa,” ani Carolyn Dagani, tagapangulo ng Philippine Federation of the Deaf (PFD).

Giit ni Dagani, maging ang pagpilantik ng mga daliri at pagkumpas ng mga kamay ay maaaring maghayag ng ating pagkaPilipino, lalo para sa ating mga kapuwang pipi at bingi.

“Filipino Sign Language is a language owned by the deaf Filipino community.

It’s not similar on what Americans have.

Nakaaakibat siya sa kultura ng Filipino,” aniya sa kaniyang saliksik na “An Introduction to Filipino Sign Language.”

Dagdag pa niya, malaki ang naiambag ng American Sign Language (ASL) sa kasaysayan ng sign language subalit hindi lamang ASL ang ginagamit sa Filipinas.

Taong 1979 nang madiskubre ni Wayne Shaneyfelt, isang guro sa Gallaudet College, na gumagamit ang mga binging Filipino ng kanilang sariling mga senyas.

Sa akdang “Love Signs,” hinikayat niya ang mga mananaliksik na aralin ang mga senyas na ito.

Hindi naglaon, taong 1993, pinatunayan ng dalawang dalubwika na sina Rosalinda Macaraig-Ricasa at Liza Martinez na iba ang mga senyas na ginagamit ng mga Filipino kumpara sa ASL. Base ito sa pagaaral nila ng mag-aaral sa Philippine School for the Deaf, De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde, CAP School for the Deaf, at maging sa mga binging nasa lungsod ng Cebu.

“Buhay na buhay ang FSL. Pero kung hindi ka exposed sa kultura ng mga bingi, hindi mo ito mapapansin,” wika ni Earvin Pelagio, isang mananaliksik sa wika sa Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino.

Iminungkahi ni Dagani ang pagtuturo ng mother tongue sa mga bingi bago ang pagtuturo ng wikang Ingles o iba pang wika.

“Sa school, mas maganda sa deaf ang bilingual. So the first language would be in sign or symbols, not spoken or written.

For example, in Cebu, they learn first the sign language and then learn Cebuano,” paglalahad ni Dagani.

Ginagamitan ang FSL ng isa o dalawang kamay, mukha at iba pang bahagi ng katawan. Nahahati ito sa iba’t ibang pangkat.

Una, nakadepende ito kung ano ang kamay

iginagalang na manunulat sa loob at labas ng bansa, s a

na ginagamit. Ikalawa, pinahahalagahan din kung papaano iginagalaw ang mga kamay. Pangatlo, binibigyang-pansin ang paraan ng paghawak o pagdidikit ng mga kamay sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng katawan.

Katulad ng ibang sign language, gumagamit ito ng non-manual systems tulad ng facial expressions, na hindi na kailangang gamitan ng kamay sa pagpapahayag ng damdamin.

Bukod pa rito, mayroong ilang mekanismo tulad ng hand shapes, palm orientation, movement, at location.

Naging resulta ang FSL sa pagsasama ng Filipino at regional signs sa American Sign Language at Manually Coded English of Foreigners.

Sa kabilang banda, mayroong iba’t ibang diyalekto ang FSL at magkakaiba ang mga senyas na ginagamit sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Filipinas.

“May kani-kaniyang variations ng sign. Katulad ng what do hearing people have, we have dialects, we have Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilokano. Ganoon din sa’min, we have our own dialects as well but we are able to understand each other,” ani Dagani.

Inilahad ni Dagani ang paghanga ng ibang bansa dahil sa pagiging malikhain ng mga Filipino sa paggamit ng FSL. “Mayaman ang senyas ng Filipinas at ang Filipino deaf community ay very creative. Bakit natin gagamitin lang ang American Sign Language? Nagkataon lang na limited ang signs and this is why we’re pushing for FSL; for FSL to be recognized.”

Kamakailan, inihain sa Senado ang batas ukol sa paggamit ng FSL kasunod ng mga natanggap na papuri ng mga language interpreters sa katatapos na State of the Nation Address ni Pangulong Duterte noong ika-24 ng Hulyo.

Nakasaad sa mungkahing batas ni Senator Bam Aquino na Senate Bill No. 966 o Filipino Sign Language Act, ang paggamit ng FSL sa mga paaralan, opisina at broadcast media.

“Una, pagkilala kasi ang [FSL] sa identity ng mga binging Filipino.

Pangalawa, malaking ambag ito sa inclusion nila sa society in general,” ani Pelagio.

Una nang iminungkahi ni Sen. Nancy Binay ang FSL bilang “national sign language of the Philippines” sa ilalim ng Senate Bill 1455. ERMA R. EDERA

panawagan para sa hustisya kay delos Santos, na pinatay sa isang police operation sa lungsod ng Caloocan, at iba pang mga biktima ng kampanya kontra-droga.

Sa kanilang opisyal na pahayag, iminungkahi ng organisasiyon ang

“Muli ngayong nag-uulat, nag-uulit ang umaga.

Pareho ang sinasabi ng retrato sa

diyaryo: Patong-patong na ang bangkay sa napunong punerarya.

Marami pang nakalista’t nakatakdang mabisita.” WINONA S. SADIA

Panitikan, hindi ligtas sa Batas Militar ni Marcos

Abueg

MARAMI ang ipinagbawal noong panahon ng Batas Militar, at isa na rito ang pagtuturo ng panitikan.

Isinalaysay ni Efren Abueg, propesor noong panahon ng Batas Militar sa Polytechnic University of the Philippines, ang pagtuturo ng panitikang naglalahad ng mga damdaming kumakalaban sa paniniil at kawalan ng hustisya sa ilalim ng diktadurya.

Wika niya, pili lamang ang mga panitikang maisusulat o mababasa noon. “May mga radikal na panitikang nasusulat din, ngunit sinusulat ng mga bayaran ng administrasyon at inilalathala sa mga outlet na dagliang inilabas ng pamahalaan.”

Pormalismo ang paraan ng pagtalakay kung saan mga paksang neutral ang istruktura at mga elemento nito, at pumapanig sa mga programa ng reporma ng pamahalaan tulad ng Martial Law, dagdag niya.

Saan napunta ang panitikan?

Mula sa mga kolehiyo at unibersidad, inilipat ng mga mag-aaral at mga propesor sa ilang mga nayon ang panitikang nilikha ng mga kadreng gerilya, at doon nila ito itinaguyod.

“Bunga nito, lumubog na sa mga kanayunan ang mga estudyanteng dati’y litaw at naghahayag ng mga isyung

pambayan. Abenturismo ang magsalita nang hayagan at magturo sa klasrum ng mga araling hindi nagdaan sa paglilinis ng mga ahensiyang dagliang itinayo ng pamahalaan,” dagdag pa ni Abueg.

Lumaganap naman ang mga tula, sanaysay, at iba pang akda ukol sa pagsalungat sa Batas Militar matapos ang pagpaslang ni Benigno Aquino Jr. na siyang naging pangunahing kritiko ni Marcos noong rehimeng diktadurya.

“Isang mohon sa kasaysayan ng pagtuturo ng panitikan ang dramatisasyon ng mga protesta sa lansangang ipinangalan sa isang hindi ganoong pinag-aaralang personalidad sa ating kasaysayan,” ani Abueg.

Ipinahayag ni Abueg na hindi siya nangangamba na maulit muli ang nangyari noon, kung saan hindi pinahintulutan ang pagtuturo ng panitikan sa mga paaralan o unibersidad, sa isang panayam sa Varsitarian.

“Collateral fear lang iyan ng political conflict ngayon. Iba ang mga isyu ngayon. Noon, ibig manatili sa posisyon ang administrasyon, kaya ginagawa ang lahat para gipitin ang oposisyon,” wika ni Abueg.

Hinimok niya ang mga manunulat na magbasa ng kasaysayan ng wikang Filipino at pag-aralan ang papel ng wika at edukasyon sa kamulatan ng bayan lalo na ang mga akda nila Amado Hernandez, Lazaro Francisco, Lualhati Bautista at Edgardo Reyes. ERMA R. EDERA at JOLAU V. OCAMPO

14 News

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Suspect names 6 fratmen in hazing rites ONE OF the main suspects in the death of freshman law student Horacio Tomas Castillo III revealed the names or at least six individuals involved in the Aegis Juris Fraternity hazing rites, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

John Paul Solano disclosed the names in an executive session last Sept. 25 after a Senate probe into Castillo’s death.

“Ibinunyag niya ‘yung nangyari nung umagang ‘yun at nag tell-all siya sa amin...he named at least six frat members,” Zubiri told reporters.

Zubiri said he was convinced Solano was telling the truth.

“Mabigat ang mga impormasyon na ibinigay niya para sa kasong ito and makakatulong ito sa [Manila Police District] to solve the case,” he added.

The senator, a grade school classmate of Castillo’s father Horacio Jr., also said UST Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina swore to “facilitate the surrender of these individuals.”

“Sabi ko sa kaniya, please help the family [and] ‘wag niya pagtakpan ito...he seems to be very assuring and sincere in wanting to clear the name of the frat,” he said. “[L]ahat ng organization may bad eggs e...according to him [there are many] good Samaritans of the frat and sorority (Regina Legis et Juris Sorority) [who want this issue] resolved immediately,” he added.

Not present during hazing Solano, a medical technologist, said during the Senate probe he was not present during the hazing rites, and was only tasked to revive the 22-year-old hazing victim in the Aegis Juris library outside UST at 6:30 a.m on Sunday, Sept. 17.

He claimed he was ordered to accompany his frat brothers in bringing the body to the Chinese General Hospital.

“When we were ready to go to Chinese General Hospital at around 9 to 9:15 in the morning, [the frat brothers told me to [lie] and I was very rattled that time and was very confused on what to do,” Solano told lawmakers during the probe.

Asked by Sen. Richard Gordon why he did not bring Castillo to UST Hospital, which was closer, Solano insisted he was only following orders from fraternity members.

“I was the one who initiated

that the victim should be sent to the hospital and the [frat members] chose Chinese General Hospital and said I should just follow,” he said.

Solano, 27, who is on leave from his studies at the UST Faculty of Civil Law, claimed he did not know who Castillo was.

“Di ko kilala si Castillo...’di ako active member sa [Aegis Juris]...

[The fraternity members] told me that I should go [to the library.] They told me someone collapsed,” he said.

Initially, Solano was considered a witness by the Manila Police District (MPD) after he told authorities he found Castillo’s body in Tondo last Sept. 17.

On Sept. 20, MPD named Solano, along with fellow Aegis Juris member Ralph Trangia and his father Antonio Trangia, as the main suspects in the death of Horacio. The Department of Justice then released a lookout order for 15 other members of the fraternity allegedly involved in the hazing rites.

MPD Director Joel Coronel said Solano gave false information to the police when he said he found the body of Castillo in Balut, Tondo in the morning of Sept. 17. Security footage in the vicinity showed no body was dumped in the area at that time.

Solano surrendered last Sept.

22 to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, who led the Senate probe.

Solano was then charged by the MPD with murder, perjury, obstruction of justice, robbery and violation of the Anti-Hazing Law. Charged with murder, violation of the Anti-Hazing Law and robbery were Axel Munro Hipe, Arvin Balag, Mhin Wei Chan, Marc Anthony Ventura, Oliver John Onofre, Joshua Joriel Macabali, Jason Adolfo Robiños, Ralph Trangia, Ranie Rafael Santiago, Danielle Hans Rodrigo, Carl Matthew Villanueva, Aeron Salientes, Marcelino Bagtang, Zimon Padro, and Jose Miguel Salamat.

Antonio Trangia, Ralph Trangia’s father and owner of the vehicle that brought Castillo’s body to Chinese General Hospital last Sept. 17, was charged with murder Suspects PAGE 16

Chart shows Aegis Juris Fraternity members included in the Department of Justice lookout bulletin.

Frat hazing kills aspiring senator’s dream

“He’s the most selfless guy I’d

ever known and his passing was a great lost not only to the Thomasian community but to this country.”

- Asst. Prof. Edmund Tayao

IN A FAMILY of professionals, Horacio “Atio” Castillo III wanted to be the first lawyer.

But just months into law school, members of a UST-based fraternity killed the 22-year-old Atio’s dream, something his family could not accept.

“Masaya ako para sa kanya kasi magpa-proper law na siya. Pagkatapos nito three [or four] years from now, magba-bar [exam] na siya. Lawyer na siya. Mayroon na kaming lawyer sa family. May kuya [na] silang lawyer kaso…” his aunt Tata Castillo said, gesturing at his coffin.

Hundreds of mourners turned up for Castillo’s funeral last Sept. 27, condemning his killing and demanding that perpetrators be brought to justice.

But they know it likely won’t come sooner.

They’re up against a fraternity described as a “factory of lawyers,” a label suggesting it influence and connections.

In the meantime, relatives prefer to remember the Atio they knew.

He was generally quiet but would light up whether conversations ventured into politics and the law, they recalled.

“He’s very interested in Philippine

politics, it’s a discussion he was enticed with,” aunt Arlene Topacio said. “‘Yung goal niya maging senator or part of the Supreme Court.”

Such keen interest was not left unnoticed by his classmates and professors at the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters where he earned a political science degree.

“He loved to engage anyone in discussions about current political issues.

He made it a point that he was aware of the major political issues,” Prof. Dennis Coronacion said.

Quite surprisingly, enrolling in law school was a last-minute decision for Atio, said Asst. Prof. Edmund Tayao.

“You know his [actions] would always be [that of] wanting to be relevant. He did not mention this to me but also to his other professors,” Tayao said.

“I’ve been honored to have known a true servant leader and friend who was Horacio. He’s the most selfless guy I’d ever known and his passing was a great lost not only to the Thomasian community but to this country.” C.M.N B. Brazal, L.C.H. Cruz and D.Y.P. Galvez, with reports from LEA MAT P. VICENCIO

Editor: Neil Jayson N. Servallos

Special Reports 15

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Senators push for stronger anti-hazing law LAWMAKERS vowed to ban hazing rites in fraternities, sororities and other organizations, calling for the repeal of the Anti-Hazing Law or Republic Act (RA) 8049 following the death of law freshman Horacio Castillo III on Sept.

20.

Critics pointed out that RA 8049 does not prohibit hazing, but only regulate it.

Hazing and initiation rites may be conducted as long as the permission of school authorities is sought, and there are at least two school representatives.

The law defines hazing as “an initiation rite or practice as a prerequisite for admission into membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization by placing the recruit, neophyte or applicant in some embarrassing or humiliating situations such as forcing him to do menial, silly, foolish and other similar tasks or activities or otherwise subjecting him to physical or psychological suffering or injury.”

Penalties range from four years in prison to a life term, depending on how severe the injuries were because of hazing.

Since RA 8049 was passed in 1995, there has only been one conviction – the 2006 hazing case where a student of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños died – upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015.

“Since [the Anti-Hazing Law’s enactment] in 1995, with dozens of reported deaths due to hazing, only one conviction has been decided by our courts. Only one. So much senseless death, so much wasted youth. And the bright future of these students is suddenly gone as was the case of [Horacio] Castillo,” Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said in a privilege speech last Sept. 20.

Zubiri is a grade school classmate of Castillo’s father, Horacio Jr. The hazing victim’s sister is an intern in Zubiri’s office.

“Clearly, regulating hazing, as specified in the current law, is a failure.

What could be the reasons? One, the title; it regulates it, it doesn’t prohibit it,” he said.

Only written notice required Section 2 of RA 8049 or “An Act

Regulating Hazing and Other Forms of Initiation Rites in Fraternities, Sororities, and Other Organizations and Providing Penalties Therefor,” states that hazing rites may be performed if there is a notice given to “proper authorities” seven days before the initiation is conducted.

“The written notice shall indicate the period of the initiation activities which shall not exceed three days, shall include the names of those to be subjected to such activities, and shall further contain an undertaking that no physical violence be employed by anybody during such initiation rites,” it says.

Sen. Joel Villanueva, a UST alumnus, said hazing should be treated clearly as a crime. “[There is] definitely a crystalclear initiative right now to amend this, and perhaps if you go further, [repeal] the law and come up with a law that is clear about criminalizing these kinds of hazing,” Villanueva told the Varsitarian.

The House of Representatives passed a bill replacing the Anti-

Hazing Law in 2015 with a new one criminalizing hazing. But it was all for naught as the counterpart bill in the Senate did not pass the committee level.

The author of the 2015 House bill, Sherwin Gatchalian, is now in the Senate and his Senate Bill 199 is among five bills seeking to replace RA 8049. The bills are pending in the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs led by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

In the House, there are four pending bills, filed by Representatives Wes Gatchalian of Valenzuela, Bernadette Herrera-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon party-list, Winston Castelo of Quezon City, and Rodel Batocabe, Alfredo Garbin Jr. and Christopher Co of Ako Bicol party-list.

Senator Gatchalian’s bill bans hazing and imposes stiffer penalties on violators – a maximum of life imprisonment and a fine of P3 million.

In a statement, Gatchalian said his bill seeks to repeal RA 8049 “to institute a more comprehensive anti-hazing regime by providing a more prohibitive definition of hazing, expanding the scope of liabilities and increasing the penalties for hazing offenders, and mandating educational institutions to play a central role in hazing prevention and awareness.”

“The Anti-Hazing Law must be overhauled to eliminate loop holes and ensure that all persons responsible for these cruel and senseless hazing deaths will be held accountable to the full extent of the law.

It’s time for the Senate to take up this proposed legislation,” Gatchalian said.

‘Presence in hazing enough evidence of guilt’ The author of the Anti-Hazing Law, former senator Joey Lina, however argues that RA 8049 “has very sharp teeth if strictly enforced since punishment is tough.”

“My view is supported by the Supreme Court when it said that ‘it is convinced that the law is rigorous in penalizing the crime of hazing,’” said Lina, a UST alumnus, in a statement.

Lina pointed out that the mere presence in a hazing incident is enough evidence to prove guilt.

M o r e o v e r , circumstantial evidence can be used to prove guilt, he said, citing the Supreme Court. “[I]f direct evidence is insisted on under all circumstances, the

prosecution of vicious felons who commit heinous crimes in secret or secluded places will be hard, if not impossible to prove,” he said.

Before the Anti-Hazing law was implemented, investigators were faced with the difficulty of dealing with the “innate conspiracy of silence” between the perpetrators, the former lawmaker said.

“With the Anti-Hazing Law now in place, it is easier for police investigators and prosecutors to prove their case in court. Quantum of evidence does not have to be proof beyond reasonable doubt to show intent to commit a wrong, because such is presumed to be part and parcel of the act of hazing,” he added.

“Even if hazing causes no injury or injuries are so minor that no medical attention is needed, the punishment is a minimum of prison correccional (imprisonment of 4 years, 2 months, and one day to 6 years).”

Lina blamed the confusion over RA 8049, and whether or not hazing is a crime, on the law’s title, which he said was adopted by a congressional bicameral conference committee when he was no longer part of the Senate.

“Be that as it may, legal minds agree that the title of a law is not the law itself. As pronounced in Supreme Court rulings, what is controlling in interpreting a law are the provisions themselves, or the body of the law itself, and not the title,” he said.

“With this clarification, it is my fervent hope that the bereaved family of the latest hazing victim, Horacio Castillo III, would eventually find justice under the current AntiHazing Law.” Senate sets probe Lacson’s Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs will conduct a probe into Castillo’s death on Monday, Sept. 25.

Zubiri said: “I challenge [Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina] and members of the faculty who are also members of the Aegis Juris, to tell all that they know.”

Villanueva called on Divina, a former member of the Aegis Juris fraternity, to lead the investigation on the case.

“The least he could do is lead the investigation and pangutin niya itong mga taong nasa likod ng krimen na ‘to,” he said.

Rita Castillo, the 22-yearold Castillo’s aunt, called for the immediate passage of a law banning hazing.

“It’s about time [for] the passing of a law that underscores the initiative to stop this evil action para wala nang ibang pamilyang mag-suffer in the future,” she said in a chance interview. A.A.D.S and J.M.D.U.

Conservation experts hit loopholes in heritage law

By MA. CONSUELO D.P. MARQUEZ

ADVOCATES are calling for amendments to heritage protection laws to stop the construction of high-rise structures that ruin the skylines behind cultural and national landmarks.

Eric Zerrudo, director of the UST Graduate School Center for the Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics, pointed to loopholes in the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 or Republic Act (RA) 10066.

“The law does not tell you the principles, such as there should be a specific height on the construction of a building,” Zerrudo told the Varsitarian.

Legislation should be passed immediately as the construction of corporate and residential buildings are fast-paced.

“It may be too late if we don’t start protecting the viewpoints of our landmarks now,” he said.

Jose Victor Torres, faculty member in the history department of De La Salle University, agreed that the law cannot protect the sightlines of heritage structures.

“Buffer zones are existing but modern structures can be built outside the buffer zones and [still] destroy sightlines

[while] still [following the] law,” Torres said in an online interview. “It is a clear violation of principles, not laws.”

Torres also slammed local government officials for viewing cultural heritage as a hindrance to development.

On April 25, the Supreme Court lifted the temporary restraining order against DMCI Homes’ construction of the Torre de Manila condominium, which has ruined the skyline of the Rizal Monument.

Mark Evidente, chief of the Heritage Conservation Society, said the heritage act only provides guidelines on conservation and protection of cultural sites. “[RA 10066] only refers to the protection of the physical integrity of the [heritage] site and whether that site is in danger of significant alteration,” Evidente said in a forum at the National Museum last Aug. 12.

Evidente said National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) guidelines on landmark protection must be turned into law to prevent the viewpoints of cultural structures from being blocked.

The Heritage Act of 2009, which seeks to “protect, preserve, conserve and promote the nation’s cultural heritage,

properties and histories and the ethnicity of local communities,” was signed by President Gloria Arroyo on March 26, 2010.

the Philippines, National Library of the Philippines, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

New Cabinet department Zerrudo also backed the proposal to establish a Cabinet department for culture and the arts, filed by Sen. Loren Legarda. “[The Department of Culture and Arts] should have direct links with other departments of the government so they will streamline these three cultural agencies such as NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts), NHCP and National Museum,” he said.

Zerrudo criticized the overlapping functions of cultural agencies, saying it adds to the difficulty of advancing cultural heritage efforts.

“We should be proactive enough in defining agencies. It [is] not clear which cultural agency will do what.

Some cultural agencies share the same function,” he said.

In June 2016, Senate Bill 31 or the Department of Culture and the Arts Act was filed by Sen. Legarda.

The bill seeks to strengthen the NCCA’s management of cultural agencies such as the Cultural Center of

Student participation, state funding Zerrudo said cultural education and research should not stay in museums and classrooms.

“How [will] you translate heritage impact in the aspect of tourism? You really have to compel them to do research and have a good grasp of our heritage sites,” he said.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and NCCA have a P300-million fund for creative grants titled “Salikha,” which is offered to teaching and non-teaching personnel with reduced workloads because of the K to 12 transition.

Rica Santos, research program officer in CHEd’s K to 12 transition management unit, said the proposals would be used for the development of the arts and culture.

State funding for the NCCA has grown in the past five years. The P187-million budget for 2017 was an increase of more than 700 percent from P23 million in 2013, figures from the Photo courtesy of SunStar Manila Department of Budget showed.

16 Literary

Editor: Nikko Miguel M. Garcia

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Atalia wins Palanca grand prize for ‘nobela;’

leads UST winners in 67th Palanca

By NIKKO MIGUEL M. GARCIA

THOMASIAN author Eros Atalia won the grand prize again in the Nobela Category of the 67th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.

His winning entry, titled “Ang Ikatlong Anti-Kristo,” revolves around the story of Marcus, an orphan who was raised by Fr. Domeng, when his entire family died from an earthquake.

Like Fr. Domeng who also happens to be his godfather, Marcus became a priest and is idolized and sought after by the majority for his ideal and desirable traits.

“Maraming humahanga kay Fr. Marcus […] dahil sa taglay nyang karismatikong pagkatao, gandang lalake, lambing ng boses, talino, halos saulado ang Bibliya at nakakaintindi ng mga wika[.] Kinakaibigan na rin sya ng mga makakapangyarihang tao sa lipunan, naging paborito ng mga may katungkulan sa simbahan,” the novel’s synopsis reads.

But, little did Marcus know that he possesses traits which seemingly make him godly because he is the third anti-Christ, a prophecy from 16th century writer Nostradamus about the return of a false Jesus Christ on earth. And that is when the story unfolds.

“Yung premise ng nobela, naisip ko mga 10 years ago. Pinaglalaruan ko yung ideya na ‘What if sa Pilipinas galing ang ikatlong anti-Kristo?’” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

Atalia said he wrote his novel without any intention to attack Catholic beliefs.

“Gusto ko lang talagang magkuwento tungkol sa konsepto ng pagdududa,” he explained.

Atalia first won grand prize

Winners in the 67th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature

in the same category in 2015 for his “Tatlong Gabi, Tatlong Araw.” His first Palanca award came in 2006, for his entry in the Maikling Kuwento category, titled “Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino,” which was adapted into film and became an official entry in the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in 2012.

Atalia became part of the Palanca jury last year, where he served as the chairperson in the Maikling Kuwento category.

Atalia is also known for his “Peksman (Mamatay Ka Man) Nagsisinungaling Ako” and “Ligo na

U, Lapit na me,” published in 2007 and 2009 by Visprint respectively. The latter was adapted into a film in 2011.

Aside from producing critically acclaimed works of fiction, Atalia was also a fellow in the prestigious International Writing Program of Iowa University in the United States last year.

Meanwhile, Jade Mark Capiñanes, UST National Writers’ Workshop 2017 fellow, placed third in the Essay category for his entry titled “A Portrait of a Young Man as a Banak.”

Capiñanes’s piece, a personal essay, discussed his notion of home as

someone coming from a broken family.

Throughout the essay, Capiñanes recalled his stay with his mother and father in Panacan and Sto. Rosario in Davao respectively, and his grandparents in Polomok in South Cotabato.

The Panacan-endemic school of “banak” or grey mullet, which appears in the place was cited intermittently in the essay, as a metaphor to describe Capiñanes himself who pays his family visits as he tries to find where home is.

“Nobody was ever prepared for their swift, unannounced appearance,” he writes. “Those peculiar banak

Suspects FROM PAGE 14 and violation of the Anti-Hazing Law. His wife Rosemarie was charged with obstruction of justice for being an accomplice in the escape of their son to Chicago, via Taiwan, on Sept. 19.

Other members of the Aegis Juris Fraternity and Regina Sorority also face charges.

Thomasian National Artists recognized for promoting Filipino culture, values through writing THOMASIAN National Artists F. Sionil Jose, Cirilo Bautista and Bienvenido Lumbera were named Guardians of the National Memory during the 2017 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards of the Philippines Graphic magazine last Sept. 13 at the B Hotel in Quezon City.

Especially given on Graphic’s 90th anniversary, the Guardian awards were given to National Artists since their literary works were “repositories of the national memory.”

Joel Pablo Salud, Graphic editor in chief and UST journalism alumnus, said he got the idea from the late Fred de la Rosa of the Manila Times.

“I wanted the magazine to be a venue where people’s memory would be preserved then he (De la Rosa) said, ‘Then from this day forward, you (Philippine Graphic) are guardians of the national memory.’ So we adopted that line and took it up as our mission,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, Jose remembered fellow national artist Nick Joaquin and lauded him for his “incomparable” contribution to Philippine literature.

“Joaquin was perhaps the greatest writer we had after Rizal… If there is any storekeeper of our national memory, it is him,” Jose said.

Jose is best known for the Rosales Saga, a series of five novels which cover a century of the country’s remarkable history.

Meanwhile, fictionist Alfred “Krip” Yuson received the award on behalf of Bautista.

Bautista’s magnum opus is “The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus,” a reimagination of Philippine history told in epic verses.

Lumbera is notable for his ingenious Bagay poetry, a breakaway from the Tagalog poetic tradition.

Jose, Bautista and Lumbera are Varsitarian

alumni.

Major awards Christian Ray Buendia, a UST National Writers Workshop 2015 fellow, won first prize for his short story “Mathilde’s Absence.”

The story revolves around the “no physical contact yet intimate contract” between an unnamed destitute woman and a wealthy widower named Mr. Arcega.

The unnamed woman has to portray Mr. Arcega’s dead wife named Mathilde and must come to his place every night, “a house she only saw in dreams and magazines,” to satisfy each other’s financial and emotional needs.

Buendia said he wrote the story with undertones of critiquing the class struggle between rich and poor in the Philippines through the character of the unnamed woman and Mr. Arcega.

“It’s a personal matter because, having come from an economically challenged family, I’ve experienced firsthand the indignities of poverty,” he told the Varsitarian in an interview.

Other winners were Scott Lee Chua’s “Margarita” (second) and Wayne Castillo’s “Certainly a Train Love Story.” Albert Casuga’s “Sons and Fathers,” Danton Remoto’s “The Ruins,” and Alex LecingA’s “Self-Possessed” were honorable mentions.

Anne Carly Abad was conferred the title “Poet of the Year.”

Judges for this year were writers Sarge Lacuesta, Susan Lara and Yuson.

The Nick Joaquin Literary Awards, formerly the Philippines Graphic Literary Awards, is a tribute to Joaquin, the magazine’s first editor in chief, who died in 2004. KARL BEN L. ARLEGUI

What Divina, faculty secretary knew Asked by Gordon if they immediately knew of Castillo’s death, Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina, Faculty Secretary Arthur Capili and Asst. Prof. Irvin Fabella, all “inactive” members of Aegis Juris, said they found out about the incident past noon on Sept. 17.

“The faculty secretary told me [about Castillo’s death] at 12:15 p.m. and I asked to confirm further and get more information on the death of the neophyte and at around 6 p.m., [it was confirmed that] a neophyte indeed died,” Divina said.

On Sept. 18, a text message from an anonymous sender notified the parents of Castillo, Horacio Jr. and Minnie Castillo, that their son was brought to the Chinese General Hospital on Blumentritt Street in Manila.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, said Divina should have alerted the UST administration and Castillo’s parents after he got the information on the hazing incident.

“You knew last Sept. 17 [about Castillo’s death.] I’m sure you could’ve called the leaders of UST because you know you are a lawyer and possibly, UST might get sued,” Gordon said.

Gordon said the parents of Castillo also had the right to know of their son’s whereabouts.

Divina replied that he did not get the full name and address of the neophyte. “[The faculty] only knew the surname but not the complete name. The records are in the [Civil Law] office and it was Sunday [so the] offices were closed,” Divina said.

‘Hazing banned in UST’ Divina claimed he abolished violent initiation rites such as paddling in 1988, when he became a member of the governing body of the Aegis Juris Fraternity.

“I was able to convince the officers of the [Aegis Juris Fraternity] to remove hazing.

I was able to remove [the use of a] paddle as part of initiation rites. I said let’s concentrate in

were also on their own odyssey, still uncaptured, constantly looking for their home, but found it important to visit the place from time to time.”

Capiñanes said his essay is a homage to Irish writer James Joyce, hence the essay’s title serving as a reference to the latter’s novel “A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man.” In terms of structure however, the essay is more of Joyce’s novel “Ulysses,” as it is divided into “episodes.”

Capiñanes is one of the new winners for this year’s Palanca.

A total of 954 entries were submitted, 55 of which are winning works coming from 51 authors, 23 of whom are first-time winners while 28 have already won before.

Thomasians in this year’s panel of judges include Vim Nadera, former Varsitarian editor in chief; Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies Director; Joselito Zulueta, Varsitarian’s publications adviser; Michael Coroza, former Varsitarian Filipino editor; Jose Wendell Capili, former Varsitarian staff member; Joel Pablo Salud; J. Neil Garcia; and Segundo “Jun” Matias, Jr..

This year’s guest of honor was author Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Jr., a 16time Palanca winner and hall of famer himself, who was also the recipient of the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi.

The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, funded by the Carlos Palanca Foundation Inc., recognizes distinguished literary works in the country.

Awarding ceremonies were held at The Peninsula Manila in Makati last Sept. 1.

determining the resolve of neophytes through other means [such as] preparing case digests,” Divina said.

Divina pointed out that hazing rites in all fraternities and sororities are banned by the UST administration.

Last Feb. 24, the Civil Law Student Welfare Development Board released a memo ordering all fraternities and sororities in the Faculty not to recruit freshmen, and to “strictly follow the Anti-Hazing Law.” “Freshmen students must be given the opportunity to reasonably and intelligently determine the status of the organizations they would like to become members of,” the document read.

Violators of the guidelines will be subject to disciplinary action and sanctions based on the UST Student Handbook.

Aegis Juris not recognized Office of Student Affairs Director Ma. Socorro Guan Hing told senators Aegis Juris was not a recognized fraternity for Academic Year 2017-2018.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, however, said there could be weaknesses in enforcement in UST after Solano admitted he underwent hazing rites when he joined the fraternity two years ago.

Divina said “one incident does not mean weakness of policy. There is a policy and sanction that have been imposed and will be imposed.”

The Student Handbook’s section on the “Maintenance of Peace and Order” states that Thomasians are expected to give due regard to rules and regulations of the University, which prohibit “engaging or getting involved in any hazing or inter-fraternity or sorority disorder or brawls, whether inside or outside the campus.”

Violators will be subject to disciplinary action after an investigation.

The handbook also cites Republic Act (RA) 8049 or the Anti-Hazing Law of 1995, which defines hazing as an “initiation rite for admission into membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization by placing the recruit in some embarrassing or humiliating situations such as subjecting him to physical or psychological suffering or injury.”

‘Ban hazing, not initiation’ Divina said hazing should be banned completely, but initiation rites should still be allowed.

“Initiation that does not cause any Suspects PAGE 17

Editor: Edris Dominic C. Pua

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Sci-Tech 17

TOMA N’ SHAN BY MARIYELLA ALYSA A. ABULAD

SI TALA AT IBA PA BY BLESSIE ANGELIE B. ANDRES

KWENTO NI MATO BY JOELLE ALISON MAE P. EUSEBIO

The danger of antibiotic resistance THE BELIEF that antibiotics can cure viral infections is a misconception which may lead to an ‘antibiotic apocalypse’—an era when antibiotics are rendered obsolete, pharmaceutical experts warned.

An antibiotic is an agent that can either kill bacteria or make it difficult for them to multiply. They are primarily used to combat bacterial infections of the human body.

These infections range from something innocuous such as break-outs caused by Propionibacterium acnes to something lifethreatening like sepsis—a general infection of the whole body due to the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream.

In contrast, cold and flu—two of the most common reasons people buy antibiotics—are viral infections. Viruses are entirely different entities from bacteria; they do not have a cellular structure and require a living host to survive.

“You can’t take a drug that acts against bacteria kung ang sakit mo is caused by a virus. Antibiotics have no effect against viruses,” Crystal Gayle Reyes, a registered pharmacist from UST, told the Varsitarian.

“Karamihan kasi ng mga tao eh iniisip na an antibiotic is a one-stop cure for most illnesses,” Reyes added. “Simpleng sipon lang, takbo na agad sa pharmacy to buy an antibiotic.”

When an antibiotic is used haphazardly, microorganisms can develop resistance against it.

Reyes said that not every bacterium is killed when patients do not complete their prescribed dose of antibiotics.

These remaining bacteria develop resistance against the drug through mutation—rendering the antibiotic ineffective when used again for the same disease.

“Once this happens, minsan dagdagdagan na ‘yung dosage, or papalitan na ‘yung mismong drug into a more potent antibiotic,” she added.

‘Super bugs’ Last September 2016, a woman was killed in Nevada due to incurable infections.

According to the Center for Disease Control, she had been infected by bacteria resistant to every available antibiotic.

“This is slowly becoming a reality,” she said.

“If antibiotic resistance continues progressing, baka lahat na ng antibiotics mawalan ng epekto against microorganisms.”

Super bacteria, also commonly known as super bugs, are microorganisms that have grown resistant to most antibiotics. Infections caused by these agents cannot be cured by typical antibiotics and are often very fatal.

“Super bugs present a very dark premise to the future of medicine,” Reyes said.

She noted that one should only use antibiotics with a prescription from a doctor.

“Hindi ito parang paracetamolna iinom ka kaagad kapag masakit ulo mo.

Antibiotics should be taken with a definite duration,” she said.

Most antibiotics should be taken for a total of seven days to completely eradicate the bacteria and prevent antimicrobial resistance.

Reyes also commented that lax pharmacy operations are partly to blame. “Most pharmacies would dispense antibiotics even without a prescription, not knowing they are contributing to the problem,” she said.

Beringuela and her group earned the first place in an infomercial contest sponsored by the DOH in the 2016 Philippine Antibiotic Awareness Week, held last November 14-20, 2016, beating out other universities and institutions.

Beringuela said pharmacists should be able to counsel their patients regarding use of drugs. “Patient counseling is an integral role of the pharmacist and the key to provide awareness about antibiotic resistance,” she said.

According to the latest report by DOH, the top three causes of morbidity in the Philippines are treatable by antibiotics, namely: acute respiratory infection, pneumonia, and bronchitis.

Unfortunately, penicillin, which was the previous drug of choice for these

Awareness The Department of Health (DOH) has implemented various programs aiming to raise awareness toward antimicrobial resistance and promotion of rational antibiotic use.

“Most people are not aware about the existence of this phenomenon.” Krizia Pearl Beringuela, a Clinical Pharmacy student, said in an interview. “As a student, we are already tasked with spreading awareness towards antibiotic resistance and to hopefully slow its development.”

infections, has largely been r e n d e r e d ineffective by

Suspects

Felloni FROM PAGE 12

psychological harm and physical injury to the neophyte should be allowed because there are many ways to determine the resolve of a [new recruit] without subjecting [them] to psychological harm and physical injury,” he said.

Zubiri, however, insisted on repealing the Anti-Hazing Law of 1995 because it does not ban hazing rites (see related story on page SR).

“Unfortunately in the enactment of the Anti-Hazing Law in 1995, only one conviction has been decided by the court. We should put a stop to this senseless death to hazing once and for all,” Zubiri said.

Zubiri was referring to the Supreme Court decision in 2015 convicting two Alpha Phi Omega fraternity members who violated the Anti-Hazing Law and killed University of the Philippines-Los Baños student Marlon Villanueva in 2006. MA. CONSUELO D.P. MARQUEZ with reports from THEODORE JASON PATRICK K. ORTIZ AND WINONA S. SADIA

Fajardo started the “Huwag Kang Papatay” movement in February 2016 to remind people to value life and transformation, which can happen through the Word of God. “This is a form of cultural evangelization.

The Word of God is informative and performative. What is stolen is dignity. We hope to reclaim the stolen dignity [through] this value-based advocacy,” said Fajardo.

“Huwag Kang Papatay” is also the battle cry of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, wherein participating schools were invited to wear statement shirts last Sept. 8 during the feast of the nativity of the Virgin Mary.

FROM PAGE 16

‘Different perspectives, but in coordination’ Felloni believed the death of 17-yearold senior high school student Kian de los Santos in August during an alleged shootout with the police – later belied by closedcircuit television camera footage – served as

resistant organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

“Ultimately, judicious and responsible use [of antibiotics] is the key to prevent antibiotic resistance. Always consult your doctor and follow the prescription,” Reyes said. E. C. TANDOC III

a wakeup call.

“Ngayon gumigising na ang taongbayan dahil kay Kian. It is like providence.

For a long time, people were only seeing the problem of addiction from one perspective.”

As of August 2017, a total of 77 drug war-related deaths have been recorded in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. All were attributed to motorcycle-riding suspects, who remain at large.

Felloni regarded the war on drugs as a “developmental issue” and can be resolved by “professional help.”

“This is a developmental issue. This has to be addressed in different perspectives, but in coordination, and not be in isolation. We need to be more professional in addressing the issue on drugs,” he said.

The death toll in the war on drugs has ballooned to 13,000 since the start of the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, up to September 2017. About 4,000 were killed in police operations while about 2,000 died in vigilante killings.The remaining 7,000 deaths linked to illegal drugs are homicide cases under investigation.

DOST’s IT office to promote digital library in a box

By ALYSSA CARMINA A. GONZALES

A NEW kioskbased digital library called “Starbooks” will soon be rolled out to public schools, providing easy access to academic journals, a science and technology official said.

“Starbooks” -- Science and Technology Academic and ResearchB a s e d O p e n l y Operated Kiosk -- is a user-friendly digital library-in-a-box squeezed in a blue rectangular box much like a computer monitor.

Materials are sourced from local and foreign journals, subscription, archives and other publications, said Richard Burgos, a director at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

The project hopes to tap universities such as UST to include their researches in the Starbooks community, he said.

“Nahuhuli na tayo, so we’ve been trying on our own to deploy the kiosks to schools and other local government units,” he told the Varsitarian, citing unreliable internet connection in many public schools.

The DOST plans to partner with the Department of Education to “preload” Starbooks’ content in computers to be given out to schools.

18 Sports

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Tigers drop to league-worst 0-6 THE UST Growling Tigers suffered their sixth straight loss in a 115-86 blowout against defending champion De La Salle University on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Reigning MVP Ben Mbala had a monster game of 29 points and nine boards to lead the Archers, who led by as much as 31 points.

Steve Akomo had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Oliver de Guzman scored as many markers for the struggling Tigers, who dropped to 0-6.

The Tigers stormed back from a double-digit lead but fell short against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 94-84, in their Sept. 27 encounter.

A three-pointer by UST team captain Marvin Lee trimmed Ateneo’s lead, 81-80. But the Blue Eagles pulled away with a 13-4 run to remain undefeated in five games.

The Tigers missed eight field goals, eight free throws, and committed five turnovers in the last 6:20 minutes of the game.

“Medyo kapos lang pero lumalaban. Hindi katulad last year na kapag natambakan, wala na, out na,” UST head coach Boy Sablan said.

“Nanggigil eh. Tataas confidence nila kung lumamang tayo.”

UST cut Ateneo’s 20-point lead to five with a blistering 17-2 run in the third period.

Matt Nieto led Ateneo with a career-high 22 points, with four triples and a killer jumper with 30 seconds left

in the game.

Lee had 22 markers while Jordan Sta. Ana added 21, with UST dropping to 0-5 for last place in the standings.

By the numbers The Tigers remain winless in six games.

With a mix of eight new faces and eight veterans, UST is still finding its ground and the right flavor of chemistry in the court after dropping to last place in league standings.

“Doon kami siguro nagkakaproblema, sa team chemistry.

Although ‘yung laro namin, ‘yung puso ng bawat isang player, I believe nasa kanila na. It’s just a matter of time para ma-develop pa [at] magimprove,” Sablan told the Varsitarian.

One of the Tigers’ primary troubles this season is controlling the ball.

They averaged a league-worst 28.7 turnovers per game so far, highlighted by a season-high 41 errors against Adamson University last Sept. 16.

The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons are behind UST with 20.8 after four outings.

UST is also second-worst league in outside-shooting, tallying 23.8 percent from three-point range.

Despite a league-best 50.0 rebounds per game, the Tigers’ height Tigers PAGE 19

De Guzman attempts to get past La Salle defenders

Lady Judokas eye 4th straight championship

By M.A.C. CAMACHO DEFENDING champions UST Lady Judokas are looking to bag their fourth-straight UAAP title this season to become only the second team to accomplish this feat.

The University of the Philippines did it twice in 2002 and 2009 while UST fell short of a fourth title in 2013.

But the team will have to do it without Season 79 Most Valuable Player Sueko Kinjho, and gold medalists Eunice Lucero and Aislinn Yap, who all completed their playing years. “Gagampanan namin ang trabaho namin para saUniversity at sa goal na mapangalagaan [ang titulo] kasi hindi pwede na angkinin agad. Mas pressured kamingayon pero paghihirapan namin para ituloy ‘yung nasa atin na,” Lady Judokas head coach Gerard Arce told the Varsitarian.

In Season 76, the Lady Judokas crashed to fourth place with 25 points.

This year, Arce said the team’s rigid conditioning is focused on Newaza (ground techniques) and Tachiwaza (throwing techniques) to easily decide every match with a 20-second pin.

“A standing technique requires a lot of effort.

Some attacks can only score a half-point and this opens

a chance for the opponent to counter and defeat you.

Whether it be standing or gripping, I always tell them to score best,” he said.

A balance of physical strength and mental toughness is the seven-year coach’s constant reminder for the team to have control over their opponents.

In her final playing year, team captain Lei Tolentino will lead the Lady Judokas with a stronger disposition of bringing the gold medal home.

“I have been a consistent medalist in the UAAP. This is not for me but for the whole team. Bukod sa pinakamalaking contribution sa points ang gold, mapapakita ko din na maaasahan nila ako bilang captain,” Tolentino said.

During the offseason, Tolentino snatched a silver medal in the Terengganu International Judo Championships last May 14, and a bronze medal in the Penang International Invitational Judo Championships last July 23, both held in Malaysia.

Tolentino was also a silver-medalist under the lightweight category last season and nabbed gold in the all-Thomasian championship match in Season 78.

With the judo tournament set to open in November, Arce said the team remained humble through the absence of a “star player” treatment, which also created mutual respect among the players.

“Judo is an individual sport, you cannot just label who is the strongest or weakest. Older players may have the experience and build but younger players h a v e the energy. Mind your game and have no mercy,” said Arce.

The Lady Judokas will have an intact core this year, with former team captain Tracy Jean Honorio and Season 78 Most Valuable Player Khrizzie Pabulayan still playing.

Last Season 79, the Lady Judokas hauled three gold, three silver and four bronze medals, including three all-Thomasian championship matches.

Lady Paddlers seek redemption in Season 80

By I. R. L. SUING THE UST Lady Paddlers want nothing but redemption in the UAAP table tennis tournament.

Last Season 79, team captain Nina Nacasabog yielded to De La Salle University’s Chantal Alberto in game three of the finals, allowing the Archers to bag their third-consecutive title.

This year, head coach Lorie Wadjad wants to instill an underdog mentality regardless of the opponent.

“I actually use reverse psychology on the girls and tell that they need to chase after the stronger schools for them to play fearlessly. I don’t want the girls to underestimate anyone whenever they play,” she told the Varsitarian.

Kat Tempiatura

During the preseason, the Lady Paddlers bagged silver in the 12th Uni Orient Table Tennis League and the 3rd Philippine Super League 2017.

They also nabbed bronze in the 4th SSHS Invitational Table Tennis Championships last August 26 to 27.

In spite of the preparations the team underwent, the Lady Paddlers are having a hard time finding training venues following an order from the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA).

Teams must secure a letter from the IPEA office in advance to practice during weekends and holidays.

Aside from venue issues, the Lady Paddlers were rarely complete during trainings with five out of eight players busy

with on-the-job trainings and thesis requirements.

“I understand the requirements of my players but I always tell them to also prioritize their training,” Wadjad said.

Wadjad said she has not been able to attend some practices because her juniors’ team competed in the 9th ASEAN School Games in Singapore last July 14.

“The girls made sure that while I’m gone, they were able to complete their requirements in school so that we can train longer when I get back,” Wadjad said.

With Nacasabog exhausting her playing years, her usual doubles partner Rizza Darlucio will take over as the new team captain.

Paddlers PAGE 19

Editor: Randell Angelo B. Ritumalta

Sports 19

OCTOBER 2, 2017

Palec to lead Golden Tigresses in first PSL stint

By JAN CARLO ANOLIN

THE UST Golden Tigresses will rally under a new captaincy in their first-ever Philippine Super Liga (PSL) Grand Prix Conference stint on October.

Newly-appointed team captain Shannen Palec replaced energizer bunny Cherry Rondina, while libero Rica Jane Rivera will serve as co-captain in the team’s debut in the league.

Head coach Emilio “Kung Fu” Reyes Jr. said the management decided to join PSL instead because it would expose the team to tougher competition.

“Ang nag-break doon sa decision ay ‘yung experience na. Kasi na-experience na

namin ‘yung [Premier Volleyball League] for so many years. Sa PSL [naman], medyo ibang ambiance, ibang pakiramdam,” Reyes told the Varsitarian.

UST bagged the championship crown in the first Shakey’s V-League conference, the founding name of PVL, in 2004.

The squad collected six gold medals, four silvers and a bronze for the past 13 seasons before the league was renamed to PVL. PSL is a semi-professional corporate club volleyball league founded in 2013 to give former collegiate players an avenue to continue their volleyball careers.

But the Tigresses will not play with their two main hitters.

Rondina will suit up for her franchise team Petron Blaze Spikers while EJ Laure will play for the Foton Tornadoes. “[Magandang] mabigyan ng exposure ‘yung mga tao natin. Nasa isang liga na kami at ‘di na kami magtatawid-tawid. ‘Pag dating sa laro, both ways naman ‘yung gain ng experience namin,” Reyes said.

Rebuilding With the volleyball season still months away, Reyes admitted that the team was still “on the process” after four veterans left the team last season.

UST would have to rely on its core this UAAP Season 80 sans setter Alex Cabanos, opposite spiker Pamela Lastimosa and middle

blockers Chloe Cortez and Ria Meneses.

“Kung nag-rebuilding kami noong pangalawang taon [ko], itong taon naman on the process pa rin. Sa sistema na gusto [kong] mangyari, na-adapt [naman] last year pero naubos na ‘yung mga players natin,” Reyes said.

Queenie Salmon, a 6’0” middle blocker from Davao, will be the lone addition to the Tigresses’ defense and firepower.

“Pipilitin naming makakuha ng twice-tobeat advantage bago mag-semis. ‘Yun muna ang gusto kong mangyari. Target lang muna, ‘yun muna ang motivation namin,” Reyes added.

Last season UST advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2012 and ended its campaign with a bronze finish.

Golden Shuttlers welcome new head coach

By MA. ANGELA CHRISTA COLOMA

FORMER assistant coach RJ Ormilla will now call the shots for the UST Golden Shuttlers this season.

Ormilla replaced Ricky Bartolome, who left his coaching position shortly after assuming post on May 15 due to personal commitments.

Despite having been appointed only this month, the former national player accepted the responsibility and started training right away to get the Shuttlers to tiptop shape just in time for the UAAP. “More on court drills [ang tututukan namin] kasi papalapit na ang season at magkaiba ang nakukuha mong court endurance kaysa sa nakukuha [mong training] sa field,” Ormilla told the Varsitarian.

Ormilla also wants to brush up on the team’s work ethics.

“Akala [ng ibang players] ‘yung badminton, physical game lang but it’s more of a mind game.

[Ang badminton] hindi lang basta-basta pagpalo ng bola, kumbaga [it is] more on [applying] techniques,” Ormilla said.

Ormilla was part of the 2012 Male Shuttlers roster, the last UST team that appeared in the Final Four of the tournament.

The 25-year old will inherit a team with four men’s division titles and one female division title.

Despite wanting to keep UST’s Final Four hopes alive, he admits the campaign will not be easy especially with the departure of some key members.

Female Shuttlers Anne Pimentel and Victoria Vismonte will try to fill in the void left by former captain Steffi Aquino, Irish Macalino and Kristine Gaspar.

John Edgard Reyes and Kristian Barrios will be the Male Shuttlers’ go-to players this season after former captain Paul Pantig and Mark Sotea graduated.

“Sa men’s natin, ‘yung skills nila pang collegiate level. Sa women’s naman, medyo [kailangan pang tutukan] kasi sila rin mismo kumbaga na-shock sila [sa intensity ng training],” Ormilla said.

UST settled for identical fifth-place finishes last season with 5-3 (male) and 3-5 (female) records.

The Male Shuttlers came up short of a semifinals appearance after faltering against Ateneo de Manila University.

Former UST head coach Noli Cajefe, who also guided Ormilla during his playing days, believes the new tactician can bring the Shuttlers back to contention.

“RJ is a hard-working and dedicated player. His experience as a national player could boost the team Tiger spirit,” Cajefe said in an online interview.

Ormilla was also part of the national training pool in 2008, but had to leave to focus on his academics.

Despite his short stint as head coach, Bartolome is confident he will leave the team in great hands.

“I know [Ormilla] has a lot to share and he can motivate well for the development of our athletes inside and outside the badminton court,” Bartolome said.

Communication student is new UAAP reporter A 20-year-old communication arts student is this year’s UAAP courtside reporter for UST. Tonie Marie Moreno, who was formally introduced last Sept. 2, was picked from among some 200 hopefuls during a month-long screening.

Moreno, aware how dedicated Thomasians are to their varsity team, knew she had to brush up on her knowledge of basketball.

“I wasn’t really that into sports compared when I initially auditioned.

Come August, I think there was not a day that I would not watch basics on basketball,” she told the Varsitarian.

Moreno replaced Angelique Manto. M.A.C. CAMACHO and I.R.L. SUING Moreno

Ormilla

Paddlers

Tigers

FROM PAGE 18

FROM PAGE 18

The fourth year marketing student said training with different age brackets expanded their skill set for the season.

“The best part of going up against different kinds of players, from high school to veterans, is that we get to learn different kinds of playing styles. It depends on who we’re up against,” Darlucio said.

Rivals La Salle is still considered the team to beat this season after Jamaica Sy and reigning Most Valuable Player Emy Dael played in the Southeast Asian Games last August. The two however, failed to make it into the semifinal round.

Aside from La Salle, Wadjad sees powerhouses Far Eastern University and University of the Philippines as obstacles for a possible return to the finals.

Last season, UST knocked out UP in the stepladder semifinals and erased FEU’s twice-to-beat advantage to march on to the finals, only to be defeated by La Salle in three games.

With the Lady Paddlers currently riding on a 6-0 record in the tournament, Wadjad wants nothing more than to see the team enjoy the game and give everything they have inside the court.

“I want my girls to enjoy the game but also to not get ahead of themselves. Regardless of the outcome it’s fine by me as long as they don’t underestimate the opponent,” Wadjad said.

has not been factor due to their inability to close out games.

In their matches against UP, Ateneo, National University and Far Eastern University, UST either trailed or led by five points or less after the third quarter.

“Siguro [dapat] ‘wag lang kami ma-pressure sa mga press [defense] nila. [Dapat] masunod ‘yung game plan ni coach kasi sa defense okay [naman] kami, pero pagdating saendgame, ‘di namin maexecute,” Macasaet said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

Despite the fumbles and the team crashing to last place, Sablan remained positive of his wards’ development.

“Hindi kami nagpa-panic kasi ‘yung development ng players ko ay napakalaki. Hindi lang naman ako ang nagsasabi niyan, kahit coaches from other teams iba ‘yung nakita nila,” the two-year tactician added.

With the departure of gunmen Embons Bonleon and Renzo Subido, the Tigers found refuge in guard Jordan Sta. Ana and the emergence of bigman Jeepy Faundo.

Sta. Ana led the Tigers in scoring so far with 14.2 points per game (ppg), while consistently putting up double-digit numbers every game. Team captain Marvin Lee followed suit with 12.6 ppg.

Faundo is averaging 10.7 ppg and nine rebounds per game (rpg), a marked improvement from his 5.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg averages last season.

“Hindi ko tinitignan ‘yung points, ang importante ay manalo. Sabi ko sa kanila, hindi pa diyan nagtatapos lahat. Ito lang ‘yung paraan para tumibay kami [at] para magsama-sama kami.

Marami pa kaming remaining games para bumawi,” Sta. Ana said. JAN CARLO ANOLIN and MA. ANGELA CHRISTA COLOMA with reports from M.A.C. CAMACHO