The Varsitarian P.Y. 2016-2017 Issue 03

Volume LXXXVIII, No. 3 • October 25, 2016 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF SANTO TOMAS Manila, Philippines

Faculty union dispute brewing Faithful urged to preserve Marian devotion in La Naval de Manila feast THE LAITY were called to preserve the tradition of Marian devotion, during the celebration of the feast of La Naval de Manila at Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City last Oct. 9.

“Ang isang mabuting bagay, gaya ng inyong debosiyon, ay hindi dapat tinatapos. Ito ay dapat ipinagpapatuloy,” Fr. Rolando Mactal, O.P., prior of Santo Domingo Convent, told devotees of Our Lady of La Naval after a two-hour procession on the streets around Santo Domingo.

Mactal highlighted the Blessed Mother’s role in salvation, saying Mary intercedes for Christians. It would not be possible for man to enter heaven without her help, he said.

In a homily, guest priest Fr. Edgar Dantes called on the faithful to accept God’s love the way the Blessed Mother did.

“God’s love is the kiss that can break the curse of sin in our lives.

His love transforms us into who we should we be. When we surrender to God’s love, we become like Mary,” he said.

The image of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, also known as Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila, is the oldest ivory carving in the country. In 1907, it became the first local Marian image to be canonically crowned.

The feast of La Naval honors the Marian intercession linked to the 1646 victory of Filipino and Spanish troops over Protestant Dutch invaders.

With only two trading galleons to fight 15 Dutch warships, the Filipino and Spanish forces asked help from Our Lady of the Holy Rosary to win the battle, vowing to walk barefoot in procession to the old Santo Domingo Shrine in Intramuros. KATHLEEN THERESE A. PALAPAR

A DISPUTE is brewing at the UST Faculty Union (USTFU), with professors up in arms at the possibility of losing at least P50 million in salary hikes under a plan to charge a three-unit incentive pay to tuition increases.

The head of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association (Alfa), lawyer Danielito Jimenez, is calling on USTFU President George Lim to resign for allegedly agreeing to the deal with the UST administration, without the consent of the 1,500-strong union.

Sought for comment, Lim hit back at Jimenez, saying: “He does not know that I wrote a letter to UST last August challenging the tuition increase figures given to us.”

“We were only given figures and we have not agreed to any of them. Those discussions are better left for the CBA panels to take up in due time,” said Lim. Against non-diminution of benefits USTFU secured the three-unit incentive during negotiations for its 2011-2016 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that lays down salaries and other terms and conditions of work.

As part of measures to adjust to the K to 12 transition, the administration agreed to cut the full-time teaching load of tenured professors to 21 units from 24 units without reducing pay, on a staggered basis up to 2017.

Faculty members led by Alfa President Danielito Jimenez and former USTFU vice president Rene Luis Tadle said it was understood the three-unit incentive pay would be shouldered by the administration.

During the USTFU general assembly last Sept. 30, however, it was revealed that the three-unit incentive pay, initially for professors and associate professors, would instead be drawn from tuition increases in Academic Years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, 70 percent of which, by law, should go to salaries and other benefits.

Drawing the three-unit incentive from tuition hikes that should automatically go to salary adjustments would run afoul of the principle of “non-diminution of benefits” guaranteed by the Labor Code, Jimenez, a labor lawyer, insisted.

Grievance complaint filed In a grievance complaint dated Oct. 10, Jimenez hit Lim for refusing to challenge the administration, and pointed out that faculty negotiators did not agree to such an arrangement during the CBA talks in 2014.

Lim’s position “seems inimical to the best interest of the USTFU membership and may even amount to an impeachable offense for LA NAVAL DE MANILA. Devotees stand before the enthroned image of Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario , La Naval de Manila last Oct. 1 at Santo Domingo Church, Quezon City.

ALVIN JOSEPH KASIBAN

Lack of faculty researchers reason for low QS rating

By ROY ABRAHMN D.R. NARRA

TOP RESEARCHERS in the University are blaming low research output for UST’s failure to advance in the annual Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) world university ranking. UST however should improve its research profile as part of its academic mission, not because it wants to impress QS. Clarence Batan, director of the Research Center on Culture, Education and Social Issues, attributed the low QS rating to the lack of faculty members doing research.

“The simple reason why we have a low rating is because we have not evolved

yet to become a research university. The Commission on Higher Education requires 20 percent of tenured faculty members to become researchers. We have not fully reached that point,” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

UST landed on the published ranking of the QS world university rankings this year, even as it stayed in the same bracket for the fourth consecutive year.

UST was placed in the 701+ bracket along with De La Salle University, and behind the state-run University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila.

UP jumped to the 374th place this year from the 400410 bracket last year, while

Ateneo de Manila held on to its spot at the 501-550 bracket.

In the QS research category, UST received two out of five stars, which is described by QS as “low.”

For UST to become a premiere research university in Asia, all faculty members should do research, Batan said. “[It] may be too e x t r e m e b e c a u s e the only requirement is 20 to 30 percent, but that is the minimum requirement. There is no policy telling you that if you

have 100 percent … that it is a sin,” Batan added.

But there should be a proper definition of a “researcher” in the UST, as the theses of undergraduate students and their advisers have also been counted as part of research accomplishments.

Rating PAGE 5

CBA PAGE 10

Ched seeks state funding for quality education in SUCs THE COMMISSION on Higher Education (Ched) is asking the national government to set aside a higher share of the national budget to fund quality education in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

“We are not used to spending that much on education that’s why it needs a total mind shift.

We need to invest on this,” Ched Chairwoman Patricia Licuanan said in an assembly with student leaders and presidents of SUCs at the House of Representatives last Sept. 29.

Licuanan urged the government to invest particularly in research of public higher education institutions.

“Some of the public higher education institutions go into [research and development] in a very serious way. We have to invest on them so that we also do well in [international] rankings,” she said.

In accordance with the 1987 Constitution, the education sector was given the lion’s share of Ched PAGE 10

2 News

Editor: Alhex Adrea M. Peralta

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Ched eyes drug test for college admission

By CHRISTIAN DE LANO M. DEIPARINE

MANDATORY drug tests will soon be part of the admission process in higher educational institutions, a Commission on Higher Education (Ched) official told the Varsitarian.

Ched Executive Director Julito Vitriolo said this move was a response to PresidentDuterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, and to ensure that campuses remain drug-free.

“Sa kampanya ng pamahalaan laban sa droga, hindi lamang law enforcement ang titignan kundi lahat ng sector. Kasi unang-una gusto nating protektahan ang mga estudyante lalo [na] sa kolehiyo dahil ‘yan ang vulnerable sector,” Vitriolo said in an interview last Oct. 7. “[Ang mga estudyante] ang may kakayahang bumili (ng droga) dahil mayroon silang pera, medyo matanda na rin at ‘yung iba madaling matukso,” he added.

A technical working group was formed to craft guidelines. Members include representatives of the Department of Health, the Dangerous Drugs Board and state and private colleges and universities, Vitriolo said.

‘Balanced’ guidelines Studies will be conducted and the experience of other countries will be reviewed, said Vitriolo. The guidelines also have to be “balanced” to ensure that these won’t hinder students’ access to education.

Ched has also sought the opinion of the Department of Justice to check if mandatory Drug Test PAGE 10

Education High School students to start wearing summer uniforms STUDENTS from the UST Education High School (EHS) will start wearing “Type B” uniforms to cope with the hot weather during the dry months after shifting to the August-to-June academic calendar.

“Our daily uniforms are a bit uncomfortable during hot days and some occasions,” said EHS Student Council President Taña Carmela Sanchez in an email.

EHS Principal Loreto Sauz said administrators also thought of allowing Type B uniforms in place of civilian wear.

“They can also use the Type B uniform during special activities in school, instead of wearing civilian clothes, [like during their] field trip [or] culminating activities,” Sauz said in a phone interview.

Sanchez said students might be able to wear Type B uniforms by January 2017, but with the approval of the principal, it might be allowed in certain events. “[A]s soon as all of the students receive their Type B uniforms, the council, with the approval Uniforms PAGE 10

Thesis guideline for colleges in the works

By ROY ABRAHMN D.R. NARRA and THEODORE JASON PATRICK K. ORTIZ COLLEGES and faculties in the University are crafting formal thesis guidelines to establish a systematic process in thesis writing for students and faculty members.

Clarence Batan, director of the Research Center on Culture, Education and Social Issues, said the thesis guidelines would give students and faculty members a clear idea of the thesis advising and writing process as well as their respective responsibilities.

College of Education Dean Allan de Guzman said a clear-cut thesis writing guide should encourage students to pursue higher studies.

“It will serve two purposes: one is to guide the advisers as to how to approach that particular learning experience and second, to also give clearcut guidelines for our students as to how to go about with their respective theses,” he said in an interview.

“I have always been an advocate of Thesis guide PAGE 10

STATE FUNDING. Ched Chairperson Patricia Licuanan urged the goverment to fund quality education in state universities and colleges in an assembly with student leaders and presidents of SUCs at the House of Representatives last Sept. 29.

MA. ALYSSA ADRIENNE T. SAMONTE

UST eyes producing teachers for senior high school

By MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO and ROY ABRAHMN D.R. NARRA THE COLLEGE of Education is optimistic it will produce high-caliber teachers for senior high school (SHS) to meet the Department of Education’s demand for more teachers under the K to 12 scheme.

Education Dean Allan de Guzman said the college was awaiting the new teacher education curriculum proposed

by Philippine Normal University that would require education majors aiming to teach in SHS to specialize.

“Students will have to undergo still a four year bachelor’s program [in education] but the first three years after their academic preparation will be for content specialization …

After three years, that’s the only time they will venture into a one-year certificate or diploma

course for teaching,” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

The one-year teacher certificate course will offer specialization for Grades 1 to 6 (basic education), Grades 7 to 10 (junior high school) and Grades 11 to 12 (senior high school).

Managing students Alvin Ringgo Reyes, chairman of the college’s teaching education department, said students are trained for the SHS curriculum through their curriculum development subject.

“We also have a course in the fourth year called special topics, where the current issues and trends that are of special interest to students of teacher education could also be tackled. Some of the issues in SHS and K to 12 in general are also discussed in that

special topics course,” he said in an interview.

Reyes said training won’t just focus on content preparation, but also on managing and catering to the needs of SHS students.

“You have to problematize the unique personalities of the students who are in Grades 11 and 12 because it is the first time that we are encountering a typology of students like [them],” he said.

“It is only now that [we] are academically, professionally exploring this typology of students, their nature, their needs, the approach that we should provide them,” he added.

Reyes said one of the innovations UST had introduced in the teacher education curriculum was an 18-unit course in education technology, giving students an edge compared with those in

other schools that offer only two educational technology courses.

Reyes also said the college was encouraging students to take up specialization in math and science not only to meet the government’s demand but also to help with the academic transition from basic education to the tertiary level.

“We encourage them of course to take their license and higher specialization so that by the time they teach in senior high school, it would not be basic education that they will provide unlike what is provided already by [elementary] and high school,” Reyes said.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones had said vacancies still needed to be filled for math and science Education PAGE 11

‘V’ named best college organ in 38th Catholic Mass Media Awards THE VARSITARIAN, the 88-year-old official student publication of the University of Santo Tomas, was named best student organ in the collegiate level at the 38th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA).

The paper won the award for “Learn How to Love: Francis in UST, The Fourth Papal Visit,” a special publication commemorating Pope Francis’ historic visit to the Philippines in January 2015.

Finalists included publications from schools such as Bataan Peninsula State University, Batangas State University, De La Salle-Lipa, Lyceum of the Philippines UniversityBatangas and University of Rizal System.

Fortibus, the official student publication of Paref Northfield School for Boys,

won best student organ in the high school level, while Luntiang Panulat of La Salle Greenhills won the award for the grade school level.

Far Eastern University Institute of Technology took home the Best Student Short Film Award, while the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa’s Mass Communication Department won the Best Student TV Production Special Jury award.

Last year, the Varsitarian won a special citation from the CMMA for its papal visit special supplement.

The Catholic Mass Media Awards honors individuals and organizations that have promoted Christian values in the fields of advertising, film, press, radio and television. This year’s theme, “Communication and Mercy:

CMMA AWARDS. The Varsitarian receives the 38th Catholic Mass Media Awards for Best Student Organ in the collegiate level for “Learn How to Love: Francis in UST, The Fourth Papal Visit.”

ALVIN JOSEPH KASIBAN

A Fruitful Encounter,” was based on Pope Francis’ message for World Communications Day.

The awarding took place on Oct. 12 at the Star Theater in Pasay City. JOHN GABRIEL M. AGCAOILI

Filipino 3

IKA-25 NG OKTUBRE, 2016

Mga Tomasino, nagro-rosaryo pa ba?

PAHALAGAHAN ang pagpapatayo ng Rosarium sa pamamagitan ng pananalangin ng banal na rosaryo rito, ani ng isang propesor ng Institute of Religion (IR).

Wika ni Allan Basas na kalihim din ng IR, bagaman nakapipili ng kani-kanilang espasyo sa pagdarasal ang mga Tomasino, marapat isaalang-alang ang papel na ginagampanan ng Rosarium sa loob ng Unibersidad.

“We should utilize more the Rosarium for the praying of the rosary [even if ] you don’t confine the praying of the rosary to one particular venue,” aniya Limang taon makalipas ang pagbubukas nito sa publiko noong 2011, inalam ng Varsitarian kung nabibigyang-pansin pa ba ng mga Tomasino ang kahalagahan ng pagpapatayo ng binansagang “rosary garden” sa pamamagitan ng isang survey sa 55 na katao.

Ayon sa resulta, 26 sa mga Tomasinong nakapanayam ang pumupunta lamang sa Rosarium para sa mga pagpupulong para sa kanilang mga proyekto sa paaralan. Rosarium Samantala, sampu ang sumagot na hindi sila dumadaan ng mga ilang aktibidad. “With the ‘park dito. Kumain at magpalipas oras ang iba vibe’ that the Rosarium sets, it invites the pang mga sagot. Mayroon namang dalawang students to go there and relax or even use the Tomasinong sumagot na nagmumuni- place as an area for conducting activities,” muni sila kaya pumupunta sila rito ngunit aniya. mas marami ang pumupunta rito para Pinaaalala niya ang kahalagahan ng sorpresahin ang kanilang mga kaibigan sa pagpapatayo ng Rosarium sa lahat ng mahahalagang araw tulad ng mga kaarawan. Tomasino, kabilang na ang mga guro, Nang itanong naman kung nagdarasal o propesor at iba pang mga trabahador dito. nagrorosaryo ba sila rito, may apat lamang Aniya, “This place lets us to meditate upon na sumagot ng “minsan” at “hindi” na ang the word of God in our hearts while uttering sagot ng mga natira. Samantala, 35 naman the word of God on our lips.” ang sumagot na hindi nila alam ang dahilan Binanggit naman ni Jan Erven Ganacias, kung bakit itinayo ang Rosarium. propesor ng sosyolohiya ng Unibersidad, Paliwanag ni Rienzie Lopez, pangulo ang kahalagahan ng pagrorosaryo sa isang ng Youth For Christ (YFC) ng Unibersidad, indibiduwal at ang lipunang kinabibilangan nakasanayan ng mga Tomasino na nito. Aniya, pinagbubuklod nito ang mga tambayan ang tingin sa Rosarium. Aniya, tao sa pamayanan. Pampalakas din daw ito “Nagmumukhang tambayan lang siya, hindi ng loob ng isang indibiduwal upang harapin siya more of sanctuary para maging solemn ang araw-araw na hamon ng buhay. ‘yong lugar.” Dagdag pa niya, kadalasan Batid naman ni Lopez na pinalalalalim itong pinagdarausan ng mga pag-e-ensayo, ng debosiyon sa Mahal na Birhen ang paggawa ng mga proyekto at iba pa. paniniwala sa Diyos. “Our devotion to the Sang-ayon ito sa pahayag ni Bernice Blessed Virgin Mary leads us to a more Mananquil, vice-president for social action profound devotion or worship to Jesus ng UST Pax Romana Central Coordinating Christ.”

Council, na walang pinagkaiba ang silbi ng Rosarium ngayon sa Tinoko Park noon. Kasaysayan Aniya, sa dami ng populasiyon ng mga Likha ng Tomasinong arkitektong Tomasino, idagdag pa ang mga bisita, si Jayson Ramirez ang disenyo ng magkukulang ang Unibersidad sa mga lugar Rosarium. Dahil dito, pinarangalan siya kung saan maaaring tumambay o paggawan ng Quadricentennial Medal at sertipiko

Usapang Uste

Nagbabagong lipunan at pananalangin Inilahad ni Ganacias na naapektuhan ng pagbabago sa ating lipunan ang ating pananampalataya. Isa sa mga pangunahing nakakaimpluwensiya rito ang mass media na isinasangkot rin sa transpormasiyon ng pag-uugali ng tao. Aniya, “Sa isang postindustrial na lipunan ay humihina rin ang impluwensiya ng relihiyon.”

Upang mahikayat ang mga Tomasino na pahalagahan ang pagdadasal katulad ng pagrorosaryo, wika niya, kailangang sumabay ng Simbahan sa pagbabago ng panahon at gumawa ng mga panibagong pamamaraan sa pagpapahayag ng kanilang mga turo upang “masabayan ang impluwensiya ng mass media sa paghubog ng pag-uugali ng mamamayan.”

Idinagdag rin ni Basas na kasabay ng pagdarasal ng rosaryo ang pagninilay na makatutulong upang mas lalong lumalim ang ating pananampalataya sa Panginoon.

Payo naman ni Lopez, huwag lamang magdasal ng mga nakabisa at nakasanayang panalangin. Mas mainam na magdasal nang bukal sa kalooban para mas madama ang pagmamahal ng Diyos.

Dagdag pa niya, hindi lang sa Rosayo PAHINA 11

Pagbabalik-tanaw sa Parokya ng Santisimo Rosario

Parokya ng Santisimo Rosario

SAKSI sa paglawak at pagyaman ng pananampalatayang Tomasino ang parokya ng Santisimo Rosario.

Unang tinawag na University Chapel o UST Chapel, itinatag ito bilang parokya noong 1942 alinsunod sa mungkahi ni

kasabay ng kaniyang pagtatapos sa pagaaral noong taong 2012. Tanyag din siya dahil sa kaniyang disenyo para sa UST Martyrs’ Monument na makikita naman sa tapat ng Santissimo Rosario.

Makikita sa gitna ng Rosarium ang isang malaking bas relief, isang uri ng paglililok kung saan bahagyang nakaangat ang imahe sa patag nitong pundasiyon.

Kabilang dito ang imahe ng Birheng Maria tangan ang sanggol na si Hesus na ipinagkakatiwala niya kay Sto. Domingo De Guzman. Sa parehong malawak na pader, makikita ang iba pang mga bas relief na sumisimbolo sa mga Misteryo ng Tuwa, Liwanag, Hapis at Luwalhati. Mayroon ding dalawang bahagi nito na kinapapalooban ng ukit ng mga rosas at lily na binasagang mga bulaklak ng kadalisayan, kapurihan at pagkabirhen—mga katangiang madalas iniaangkop sa Mahal na Birhen.

Binasbasan ni P. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., dating rektor ng Unibersidad, ang Rosarium o rosary garden kasabay ng pagbubukas nito para sa mga Tomasino noong ika-7 ng Disyembre, taong 2011.

Wika niya, mas mahihikayat ang mga Tomasinong magdasal sa tuwing pupunta ang mga estudyante sa Rosarium na inilarawan niya bilang isang “visual form of the rosary”.

Taliwas ito sa dating gawi ng mga

Tomasino noong isang liwasan pa lamang ito kung saan nagagawa nila ang kahit anong gustuhin nila kawangis ng sa Lovers’ Lane – mag-ensayo ng mga sayaw, kumain, magpalipas-oras at iba pa. At dahil sa pagkakatayo nito sa loob ng Unibersidad, mapagtatanto ng mga Tomasino ang kahalagahan ng rosaryo sa kani-kanilang buhay, dagdag pa niya.

Nakapuwesto ang Rosarium sa kanang bahagi ng Main Building at gawing kaliwa ng St. Raymund Building.

Dati itong kilala bilang Tinoko Park kung saan nakapagpupulong at nakapag-eensayo ang mga estudyante para sa kanilang mga proyekto. Nagsilbi rin itong lugar upang makapagpahinga at makpagkwentuhan ang mga magkakaibigan.

Kasama sa paggunita ng ika400 na anibersaryo ng Unibersidad, maraming pagpupulong at konsultasyon ang pinagdaanan bago pagpasiyahan noong ika-26 ng Hulyo 2011 ng mga administrador ng Unibersidad at Central Student Council (CSC) Board of Speakers ang paggiba sa Tinoko Park para bigyang-daan ang pagpapatayo ng Rosarium.

Msgr. Miguel O’Doherty, arsobispo ng Maynila noon, at sa pag-udyok ng mga Dominikano upang matugunan ang pangangailangan ng mga komunidad sa gabay sa moralidad at ispirituwal na kalagayan.

Dagdag pa rito, naging sandalan din ito ng mga

mamamayan sa kanilang mga pangangailangang pinansiyal noong digmaan laban sa mga Hapon.

Naunang inilagak sa Intramuros ang arsobispado ng Maynila subalit nang atakihin ito sa simula ng naturang giyera, inilipat ito sa Unibersidad kung saan namalagi si Msgr.

O’Doherty kasama ang mga Dominikano.

Sapagkat ginawang concentration camp ng mga Hapon ang Unibersidad, napilitan ang mga Dominikano na itigil ang pagkaklase rito na naging hudyat naman ng pagkawala ng pagkukunan nila ng kita at pondo.

Bukod pa rito, itinatag ang kapilya bilang parokya upang kilalanin ang debosiyon ng mga Dominikano sa Birheng Maria.

Agad naman itong sinangayunan ng mga opisyal ng Unibersidad na nagnanais ding paramihin pa ang nasasakupan at napagsisilbihan ng parokya.

Isang Espanyol ang kauna-unahang naging pastor ng Santisimo Rosario. Itinalaga si P. Emiliano Serrano, O.P. sa puwesto kasabay ng pormal na pagkakatatag sa naturang institusiyon sa isang high mass na pinamunuan ni O’Doherty noong Abril ng nasabing taon.

Noong ika-28 ng Setyembre 1942, inilipat sa Santisimo Rosario ang imahen ng Mahal na Ina ng Santo Rosario, na kilala rin sa tawag na “Mahal na Ina ng La Naval,” matapos itong maisalba mula sa pagbomba sa lumang simbahan ng Santo Domingo sa Intramuros kung saan ito

unang inilagak. Ninais ng mga opisyal ng simbahan, lalo na ni Serrano, na maipagpatuloy ang nakagawiang pagnonobena sa Mahal na Ina. Ipinagdiriwang na simula noon ang pista ng parokya tuwing unang Linggo ng Oktubre.

Subalit noong 1954, ibinalik ang imahen ng Birheng Maria sa bagong simbahan ng Santo Domingo sa lungsod ng Quezon. Dito na ginaganap ang taunang pagdiriwang at prusisyon para sa pista ng Mahal na Ina ng La Naval.

Sa kasalukuyan, nananatiling pook ng matibay na pananampalataya sa Mahal na Ina ang parokya ng Santisimo Rosario hindi lamang ng mga Tomasino kundi pati na rin ng mga kalapit nitong komunidad.

Tomasino Siya: Bago pa man magtapos ng kursong panitikan sa Unibersidad si Maria KalawKatigbak, nagkaroon na siya ng dalawang degree sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas at isa naman sa Unibersidad ng Michigan sa Estados Unidos.

Kalaunan, naging magna cum laude siya sa kaniyang doktorado sa pilosopiya.

Naging aktibo si Katigbak sa mahabang panahon niyang pamamalagi sa kolehiyo.

Pinamunuan niya ang UST Graduate School of Social Work kasabay ng paninilbihan niya rito bilang kawaksing propesor.

Samantala, hindi nabigo si Katigbak nang subukan niya namang sumali sa patimpalak sa pagandahan. Taong 1931 nang koronahan siya bilang Miss Philippines.

Muling nagibabaw ang pangalan niya taong 1961 nang mailuklok siya sa Senado bilang tanging babaeng miyembro ng naturang sangay hanggang 1963. Dito niya isinulat ang panukala na nagtatag sa Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining.

Noong 1981, itinalaga siya ng dating pangulong Ferdinand Marcos bilang pinuno ng Movies and Television Review and Classification Board na naunang pinamunuan ng kaniyang ama na si Teodoro M. Kalaw taong 1929.

Ikinasal siya kay Dr. Jose R. Katigbak, isang hinekologo,

Usapang Uste PAHINA 11

4 Opinion

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Editorial

Lacson flyover an insult to UST THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) considers the plan to construct a flyover along Lacson and Espana Avenues as the best way to ease traffic woes in the area. We beg to disagree.

The four-lane flyover, proposed early in 2012, was initially designed to start at Alcantara Street and end near Dapitan Street. The construction was moved to 2017 due to revisions in the design. DPWH has now extended the endpoint three blocks farther to Aragon Street.

Good enough that the proposed rail construction of the Metro Rail Transit Line 9 project did not push through; it would surely worsen the situation on Lacson as it would transform it into a busier, more crowded, and yes more traffic jam-prone area.

What DPWH has failed to realize is that there might be a long list of problems waiting for nearby establishments and communities once the building of the flyover pushed through. This means that the University and the UST Hospital are in danger of being negatively affected by the structure. The flyover must be an insult to UST, which has been declared by the National Museum and National Historical Commission as National Cultural Treasure and National Historical Treasure, respectively.

We have found out that Alex Bote, DPWH project manager of the Lacson flyover since 2014, has not yet even consulted the administration of UST regarding the revisions.

It is unprofessional in the part of the DPWH not to update the UST administration with its odious plans. Talk about respect to the general hospital and the oldest university in Asia! The UST administration must have taken part in the process because it is not just the motorists whom the DPWH should be concerned with, but also the thousands of Thomasians and the poor patients of the hospital.

We are one with UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. who said in a letter to the Varsitarian dated Jan. 22, 2016 that UST has “expressed its strong reservations on the construction of the proposed Lacson flyover” in a meeting held June 2014 between the Council of Regents and the DPWH. He cited UST concerns such as “issues of safety and security; the need for a noise barrier because of its (flyver construction) proximity to the hospital, Roque Editorial PAGE 5

FOUNDED JAN. 16, 1928 KATHRYN JEDI V. BAYLON Editor in Chief BERNADETTE A. PAMINTUAN Managing Editor DARYL ANGELO P. BAYBADO Associate Editor ALHEX ADREA M. PERALTA News Editor PAUL XAVIER JAEHWA C. BERNARDO Online Editor DELFIN RAY M. DIOQUINO Sports Editor LEA MAT P. VICENCIO Special Reports Editor MARIA CORAZON A. INAY Feautures Editor JOHN GABRIEL M. AGCAOILI Witness Editor AMIERIELLE ANNE A. BULAN Circle Editor KIRSTEN M. JAMILLA Art Director ALVIN JOSEPH KASIBAN Chief Photographer News Mia Arra C. Camacho, Hannah Rhocellhynnia H. Cruz, Christian de Lano M. Deiparine, Roy Abrahmn D.R. Narra, Theodore Jason Patrick K. Ortiz, Maria Crisanta M. Paloma Sports Jan Carlo Anolin, Carlo A. Casingcasing, Philip Martin L. Matel, Randell Angelo B. Ritumalta, Ivan Ruiz L. Suing Special Reports Ma. Angela Christa Coloma, John Paul P. Corpuz, Ma. Consuelo D.P. Marquez, Neil Jayson N. Servallos Features Daniella T. Cobarde, Ma. Czarina A. Fernandez, Alyssa Carmina A. Gonzales Literary Nikko Miguel M. Garcia, Cedric Allen P. Sta. Cruz Filipino Jolau V. Ocampo, Winona S. Sadia Witness Sigrid B. Garcia Science and TechnologyKarl Ben L. Arlegui, Dan Albert D. Besinal, Edris Dominic C. Pua, Julius Roman M. Tolop Circle Klimier Nicole B. Adriano, Audrie Julienne D. Bernas, Chelsey Mei Nadine B. Brazal Art Chinny Mae F. Basinang, Shaina Mae L. Santander Photography Deejae S. Dumlao, Miah Terrenz Provido, Maria Charisse Ann G. Refuerzo, Ma. Alyssa Adrienne T. Samonte, Basilio H. Sepe, Jamillah N. Sta. Rosa 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.

DBM-DSWD-COA red tape killing arts and culture AFTER the silver-medal finish of Hidilyn Diaz in weightlifting in the Rio Olympics, another Diaz has made the nation proud: filmmaker Lav Diaz. His movie, work “Ang Babaeng Humayo,” has won the Golden Lion, the grand prix, in the 73rd Venice International Film Festival, the world’s oldest and along with that Cannes’ and Berlin’s, the most prestigious film festival in the world.

But like Hidilyn who made it to the Olympic finals despite dwindling state support, Lav made it to Venice with hardly any support from government.

Lav Diaz had sought support of the Senate and the Quezon City government so his team could attend the awarding ceremonies, but his request was ignored. He was promised a grant from the Film Development Council of the Philippines but it was

If the people are philistines and illiterate, then their government can only be there to cater to their own mediocrity and meretriciousness. reduced to half and he even had to follow reimbursement processes. Instead, it was a travel agency which flew his team to Venice on credit.

It is almost impossible to protect the arts from the self-aggrandizing leanings of Philippine politics.

But they deserve the same attention as, say, kickbackprone public works or state welfare assistance to the poor.

But artists and cultural workers continue to receive the bad rap from government. Section 66 of

the General Appropriations Act has practically made into a law a stupid memorandum of agreement among the Department of Budget and Management, Commission on Audit, and Department of Social Welfare and Development that requires all government grantees to obtain accreditation from the DSWD. Ostensibly made to avoid a repeat of the Napoles scam—in which lawmakers’ pork barrel were channeled to ghost NGO’s contracted by the lawmakers themselves—

the MOA merely passes the onus of the blame for state corruption to the people who have paid their taxes so that government can have welfare and assistance and grants programs that now cannot be readily tapped by those who need them.

Worse for artists and cultural workers, the NCCA grant applicants are made to comply with the MOA, so that arts and culture foundations have been basically classified as welfare NGO’s such as orphanages and relief organizations.

Typical of a bureaucracy that keeps itself busy with paper work rather than doing its actual job, DSWD has given a grocery list of requirements to applicants of NCCA funding: certificates from the local mayor’s office and barangay chair, business permit Diaphonous PAGE 5

Rising consciousness for cultural heritage WITH ITS reputation as a paragon of heritage and cultural preservation, the University is unreasonably pressured in the way it preserves its national cultural treasures.

Along with the current clamor for the renovation of the Manila Metropolitan Theater, the University, wellknown for withstanding the test of time not only for its 400-year-old establishment but also for its preservation of almost century-old structures, faced clamor as remnants of its grandiose past seemed to have undergone refinements, including the use of pressurized cleaning, due to its noticeable and intriguing changes.

Recently, in pursuit of maintaining the structural stability of the Main Building and the Arch of the Centuries, physical refinements were applied to the two structures, causing some parts to chip off and decolor—reportedly due to the use of a high-pressure cleaner.

The preventive maintenance applied to the cultural treasures faced hubbubs and criticisms as photos of its newly refined parts, accompanied by a

It only proves the shallowness of Netizens reacting to every popular opinion circulating on social media. specific caption about the evident change in color of the Main Building’s exteriors and the small, chipped off parts of the façade of the original arch, which faces the Main Building, circulated on social media, triggering most Thomasians to question the presence and knowledge of architectural experts in the duration of the refinement.

This recent incident has indeed added pressure on the University’s heritage conservation experts who gradually face challenges as they maintain the structural stability of the historical landmarks which are exposed to naturally deteriorating elements such as pollution, weather and movements caused by nearby construction works.

It seemed to have slipped

off their minds that they were referring to well-respected structures which, by common sense, are not allowed to be cleaned or much more refined by people who were not entrusted by those with expertise on the field.

A conservation management plan is always done prior to every refinement or renovation which, according to one of Manila Metropolitan Theater heritage conservationists, acquaints all the workers with the guidelines and policies regarding the preservation.

Every refinement done on historical structures are not single-handedly applied.

These undergo months of rigid planning by architectural experts. It lies on conservationists to document and analyze thoroughly every

applied change, may it be a fragment or moss found in the structure.

Pressurized technique, on the other hand, is a vital part in the application of preventive maintenance as confirmed to me by Rino Fernandez, an architect and instructor from the College of Architecture.

Such approach and results in refining is not new and should not be worthy to be viral about. It only proves the shallowness of Netizens reacting to every popular opinion circulating on social media.

Fernandez noted that the high-pressure cleaning technique is continually used by the National Museum and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

“Pressurized cleaning is part of preventive maintenance and acceptable iyon kasi kailangan mo talagang linisin nang maigi iyung structure,” Fernandez said in an interview. “Ginagamit ang approach na iyon kapag hard ‘yung surface and we all know that the Main Building [is made of] reinforced concrete kaya okay lang iyon.”

Reinforced concrete Anastasis PAGE 11

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Photojournalism and desensitization Darkness seethes through the busy streets of Manila, signaling the start of a long night for the members of the media who are routinely on standby – waiting if there will be new cases of drugrelated killings, in which, usually, there are.

Since the tough-talking President Duterte assumed presidency, there has been a spate of drug-related deaths – whether through legitimate police operations or alleged extrajudicial killings. True to his promise of a drug-free Philippines in three to six months, the president has constantly reminded the public through his cuss-laden speeches that his war on drugs will be relentless.

There has been an overwhelming rise in the number of drug-related killings. The cases have reached over 3,000 deaths since July 1, with an average of 44 killings per day.

The figures are alarming and seemingly incomprehensible.

Normal lives have been disrupted as the city turns into a firing range where the police conduct buybust operations and vigilantes prowl with their questionable reasons for killing people. For the members of the media, for the

Rating FROM PAGE 1 QS however tracks “engagement” in publications, he said.

Focus on teaching Batan also blamed the faculty structure that places more emphasis on teaching than on research.

“We are not yet fully departmentalized, our structure for vertical articulation is not yet fully implemented and we have not yet projected well the ways by which we could combine research with teaching, so we remain to be thinking about teaching rather than doing research,” Batan said.

A document obtained by the Varsitarian showed that the Office of the Vice Rector for Reseach and Innovation (OVRI) had proposed a new policy for faculty members to improve the research quality of the University in relation to the implementation of K to 12 scheme.

Under the proposal, instructors will be given research units by Academic Year 2017-2018 in addition to teaching units.

The proposed combined research and teaching load for faculty (excluding the Graduate School) without research grants is 15 units of research and six units of teaching.

Orchestra FROM PAGE 7

Theory. In the same year he was invited to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York.

He also earned the Master of Musical Arts in Performance degree at the Yale University School of Music.

Maramba reorganized the orchestra, which later on became the resident company of CCP, in 1988 after a 20-

I hope that stepping into crime scenes on a regular basis will not desensitize photojournalists but rather ignite a fervent fire to continue shooting the realities. photojournalists, this new normal will surely take a heavy toll.

With bodies left lifeless on the streets and with vigilantes banking on the so-called ‘cardboard justice’ to get away with the killings, members of the media are embroiled in another dilemma — to stay true to the journalistic duties or to be human and condemn the unnecessary deaths in the country.

For an average person, getting exposed every night to blood, bullets and cadavers is crippling.

But for photojournalists, there is so much that lies beneath such horrific scenes.

Photojournalists need to be mentally and emotionally prepared, and their ethics should

not be compromised while performing their duties.

“In one month, I’ve seen more killings than in one year.”

These are the words expressed

by Philippine Daily Inquirer photojournalist Raffy Lerma to the World Post.

Without proper context, photojournalists can easily be judged of shying away from their morals just to get a good shot.

However, truth be told, these photographs are not reflections of the lack of humanness; the photographs are one of the essentials to expose the dire situation of the country.

Along with the fear of being desensitized, photojournalists also perform a laudable act of bringing the much-needed focus

This will be equivalent to at least 30 hours of work per week.

Those with research grants will be given 18 units of research and three units of teaching, equivalent to 39 hours per week or more if the teaching load involves laboratory courses.

must first demonstrate research capacity.

“We invite [faculty members who are interested to do research] because they want to do research.

[Research loads] are not freely given to those who will just research for higher salary,” she said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

The ideal setup is every faculty member is also researcher, but not everyone can fully commit to producing quality research, she said.

“Not everyone can be a researcher. There can be a good teacher but a bad researcher. [Research] is a vocation, just like the priesthood,” Nonato said.

Batan said administrative work should not be accepted as an excuse for not doing research.

“Administrative work should have been an affirmation of your being an academic,” he said.

‘Administrators should do research, too’ Also under the OVRI proposal, faculty members with academic or administrative assignments may carry research loads of three to six units.

Deans may carry a sixunit research load without teaching while department chairmen may carry sixunit research and six-unit teaching loads. Assistant deans, college secretaries and directors may carry six-unit research and threeunit- teaching loads.

However, Maribel Nonato, vice rector for research and innovation, said not all faculty members would be given research loads immediately. They

QS rating not the goal Batan and Nonato said the University should

Clarence Batan, director of the Research Center on Culture, Education and Social Issues, is critical of the QS survey, saying it’s all about the ‘globalized politics of knowledge’ year hiatus. In 2014, his Diamond Jubilee celebration was feted in that year’s Tribute to the Thomasians where he performed “Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54” by Robert Schumann.

Maramba is known for composing three operas namely, “Lord Takayama Ukon,” “Abal Sto. Niño” and “La Naval.” He established the Annual Summer Music Camp and Music Festival under the reigh of Dean Alejandra Atabug. AUDRIE JULIENNE D. BERNAS

Space FROM PAGE 6 similar to the common style of wallpapers, on an acrylic silkscreen printed on five irregular-shaped canvases of about eight-feet tall.

This triptych artwork was installed in an inclining position.

He was influenced

by Fernando Amorsolo’s “Macra Demonio” in illustrating the wallpaper.

He considered this artwork

on what the public should know and care about — the killings are not normal and they cannot be allowed to constitute the new normal.

A fellow photojournalist who was covering the killing of Michael Siaron, the pedicab driver who was shot down by vigilantes and who became the main subject of the famous “La Pieta” photo, has shared on social media that while the lensmen were taking shots, the wife hugging her lifeless husband told them to stop taking photos and help them instead.

According to him, the words of the widow stirred his soul and conscience.

With this, I believe that desensitization of photojournalists is still far from happening. Lensmen remain human and conscientious despite the harshness of their professional work I hope that stepping into crime scenes on a regular basis will not desensitize photojournalists but rather ignite a fervent fire to continue shooting the realities to the point that the public would no longer turn a blind eye to the real problems of the country. focus on delivering quality research rather than on ways to improve its rating in the QS survey.

“I do not want to say we’re doing all this because we want to improve our QS ranking. I have been so vocal to [Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P.] that we want to do this because we have a vision to achieve. Once we reach that vision, everything will fall into place,” Nonato said.

Batan was critical of the QS survey, saying it was all about the “globalized politics of knowledge” in the academe.

“You will be really surprised that QS is a reflection of social inequality in the world.

You know the best schools are the best resource schools and so, what is it for? Does it translate to quality education in our University? Does it level up our research capability?

Are they giving funds to help out universities to be better? That’s yet to be seen. It’s a business,” he said.

Batan noted that the University has produced numerous books, policy papers and creative works, but these were not part of the QS standards.

“That’s because of the politics of knowledge and the politics of recognizing the indefinite formula for impact factor [of published research],” he said.

as a refreshing art to the audience solely because he reunited with using canvas after almost six years.

Displayed in the center of the exhibit is an installation of three mirrors designed with intersecting asymmetrical vinyl stickers, making it appear like a broken glass.

A graduate of Advertising Arts, Zicarelli is known as one of the recipients of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ 13 Artists Awards in 2012. KLIMIER NICOLE B. ADRIANO

Opinion 5

Editorial FROM PAGE 4 Ruaño and Albertus Magnus buildings; peace and order; access to and from the campus and the overall architectural design of the project.”

The P2.425-billion budgeted flyover, which was reduced to second-level height from the third level, will dehumanize the city. Architects said flyovers destroy the value of landscapes. The requirement for a five-meter reduction of the Lacson sidewalks, resulting in the removal of the UST Hospital’s Clinical Division ramp, shows how the design devoted so much care to cars and private motorists rather than pedestrians, students and poor patients. The plan to reduce the sidewalks threatens the safety of the pedestrians going in and out of the University and commercial buildings as well.

DPWH can’t just remove the space that belongs to UST. The Varsitarian previously reported that Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said the DPWH should first observe the legal process before removing the hospital ramp. It cannot be removed without “judicial intervention,” he said.

If the construction pushes through — which will last for 15 months — just imagine how the community would be troubled by the noise pollution and traffic stress that the construction would bring. How could the students whose classes are held at the Roque Ruaño and Albertus Magnus Buildings study their lessons without getting distracted and annoyed by the racket as a result of the building of the flyover? Does the DPWH they even consider the UST Hospital patients?

Stepping outside the premises of the University will place Thomasians in danger. Just imagine the added danger should there be sketchy people living under the structure.

Maybe it all boils down to the fact that this flyover is nothing but a selfish project by the government. If government really cares about the people, it would have carefully thought about other options on improving the traffic situation in the area. Stricter implementation of traffic rules is what the local government should learn more. The multimillion worth flyover is not the only solution to solve the longstanding traffic along Lacson Avenue. Drivers of the public utility vehicles such as jeepneys and tricycles must be disciplined so that they will no longer park their vehicles along the lanes of Lacson. Traffic enforcers should never hesitate giving tickets to violators so the drivers would not block the supposed smooth flow of traffic.

As The Varsitarian previously reported, the planned flyover in Lacson is not the best solution to alleviate traffic woes because the streets connected to Lacson are narrow and congested.

The Lacson flyover should not push through given all the dangers and inconveniences it would bring. Building the structure at the expense of the communities, commercial establishments, the University and UST Hospital--is being inconsiderate and selfish on the part of the government.

Diaphonous FROM PAGE 4 issued to a “non-profit” organization, NBI clearance for each board director of the corporation, a list of employees, registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, sanitation permit and several more--all of which which can cause delay or scrapping of several projects.

It is no wonder it took the DWSD nearly two years to release the assistance to victims of supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013. By the time the government aid was given, a beneficiary had already died and his widow

ROTC FROM PAGE 8 “If you suddenly bring the ROTC back, it’s as if you are disregarding the victory of the past and that’s also a disservice to Chua’s memory,” David said.

One aspect of the story however seems to have been forgotten – that Mark would not have wanted mandatory ROTC abolished.

In 2006, the older Chua told the Varsitarian that if Mark were alive, he would not have

said she would use the P30,000 assistance for her husband’s funeral expenses.

Filipinos have very little appreciation of the arts.

They are crazy with beauty contests and “Idol” auditions abroad where Filipinos impress jurors with the way they ape western singers and make TV audiences cry with their sob stories of poverty porn. But they give a blank stare at the classical arts and even ridicule the country’s own traditional arts and artists.

Sadly the people get the government that they deserve. If the people are philistines and illiterate, then their government can only be there to cater to their own mediocrity and meretriciousness. supported the policy shift.

“Mark did not want to abolish the ROTC,” said Welson, two years before his death following a heart attack. “It’s not the institution, it’s the way it’s being run.”

Instead of eradicating the anomalies, Welson said, the move might have encouraged more corruption in the two new programs launched by the government under NSTP. “Instead of one ROTC, now the government and the universities would have two other departments to look after,” Welson said. “These departments can be corrupt too.”

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Editor: Amierielle Anne A. Bulan

CIRC

ManilArt 2016 highlights emerging Filipino talents

THE COUNTRY’S longestrunning premiere art fair once again sought to elevate the standards of Philippine art as ManilArt 2016 featured a convergence of new and seasoned works of globally acclaimed Filipino artists, including a number of young and veteran Thomasians.

The eighth year of ManilArt, which was held at the SMX Convention Center of SM Aura Premier in Taguig City last Oct. 6 to 9, was graced by 33 art galleries that showcased more than 200 artworks in line with the theme “Ushering in a New Golden Age of Filipino Art.” Highlights of this year’s ManilArt includes Fil Delacruz’s printmaking demonstration and display at the exhibit of Gallerie Francesca along with fellow Thomasian Gerrico Blanco’s works and Ramon Orlina’s nine

“The Listener” by Navarro

glass sculptures accompanied by the hypnotizing wooden kinetic sculptures of Toronto-based Filipino sculptor Cris Eguaras.

Accentuating nine of Orlina’s signature carved and frosted optical glass sculptures, which welcomed this year’s fairgoers, was Eguaras’ kinetic sculpture displayed behind the glassworks. The moving sculptures, which were not powered by battery or electricity, portrayed circular movements similar to the ticking of the clock.

Master printmaker Delacruz, who did a printmaking demonstration last Oct. 8, depicted Filipino mythical creatures in his four lithograph prints titled “Ibang Anyo” “Sinag,” “Plumahe” and “Bagwis.”

Also in the same booth were emerging artist Blanco’s monochromatic sketches.

Two wooden sculptures and paintings by National Artist and former Varsitarian art director J. Elizalde Navarro were the focal points of Galeria Lienzo’s exhibition.

Known abstractionist Justin Nuyda again displayed his known “Mindscape Search” series in the booth of Artes Orientes.The serues included “Another Time, Another Place,” “Reflections” and “Memories of Summer.”

Four acclaimed Thomasian artists–Raul Isidro, Eduardo Castrillo, Dominic Rubio

“Contrapuntal Memories in Black & White” by Orlina and “The Clouds Will Soon Roll By” by Nuyda

“Townsfolk of Old Manila” by Rubio, “Burdadera” by San Miguel and “Mi Familia” by Rubio and Juvenal Sanso–dominated the booths of Gallerie Nicolas.

Isidro, a Filipino modernist, showed a framed abstract painting titled “Allegory of Hughes V.” His other work, “My Flora,” depicted yellow flowers that coincided thick and thin yellow and orange line against a dark blue background.

The brass works by late Filipino sculptor Castrillo, a collaboration with Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, maximized Alcuaz’s abstract

Photos courtesy of Kurt Copon from Tanghalang Pilipino

Shakespeare classic still magical in Filipino FILMMAKER Carlitos Siguion-Reyna tries his hand in theater in staging Thomasian National Artist for Theater and Literature Rolando Tinio’s Tagalog translation of Shakespeare’s classic, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” last Sept. 30 at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The film director of 1991’s Hihintayin Kita sa Langit (an adaptation of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights) and more recently of the indie movie Hari ng Tondo, Siguion-Reyna was able to apply the humor and whimsy of Shakespeare’s comedy even when staged in Filipino.

Staged by Tanghalang Pilipino, Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang tag-Araw is a comic play that centers on the love interplaying around four young Athenians: Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena. Lysander and Demetrius, formerly battling for the love of Hermia, suddenly fall in love with the unrequited lover of Demetrius, who is Helena. Chaos is caused by the love potion given by Puck (Aldo Vencilao), the jester of the fairy king Oberon (Audie Gemora), who confuses the lovers from determining who their beloved is. Vencilao engaged in an act both alluring and questionable

at the same time—which gave off the idea that he was the person behind the comedy that surrounded the story.

Gemora evinced royalty and highness in his performance as a king of a magical land which highlighted Liesl Batucan’s elegance, who played Titania, the queen of fairies. Teroy Guzman’s doughty portrayal of Teseo (Theseus), the king of Athens, channeled the slapstick into the classic comedy piece.

Also very entertaining were Toni Go and Marco Viaña as Hermia and Lisandro (Lysander), who portrayed the role of lovers.

Designed by sculptor Toym Imao, the production set depicted ancient Greece with its classical stage design and two staircases meeting at a space that acted as a foyer.

With John Batalla on the lights, the set transformed into an Agora, a forest and prairie whenever needed.

The actors melded themselves into the story and the stage along with the extravagant use of language. Not a single element of play was eased; all were presented in high dosages of drama, slapstick comedy, romance and action— which neatly puts it in a simple yet suave category. AUDRIE JULIENNE D. BERNAS

paintings.

The signature human figures of Rubio de[icted figures during the Spanish colonial period.

Fifteen paintings by Fine Arts alumnus Manuel Baldemor displayed in Gallerie Y were the result of Baldemor’s six-month artistic residency in Mexico as a commemoration of the 450 years of Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade in 2014-2015, organized by the Philippine Embassy in Mexico.

“An Evening with Catrina” depicted two intimate skeletons of a man and a woman dressed in festive Mexican garments. The painting was of mixed media, acrylic and oil on amate paper, a type of paper typically found in Mexico used to print Aztec codices.

Baldemor decided to use amate paper for most of his artworks ManilArt PAGE 6

Unconventional materials bring blank space to life

UNCONVENTIONAL materials and seemingly unfinished artistic concepts characterized four installations of Thomasian artist Constantino Zicarelli in his latest solo exhibit, Prelude to a Billion Years, which ran from Sept. 8 until Oct. 8 at Art Informal Gallery in Mandaluyong City.

Unusual materials such as wood cornices and mirrors were used along the line of accelerationism, an art technique that meld technological capitalism and social change.

“The architectural space mattered to me,” Zicarelli told the Varsitarian.

“I was inspired by abandoned buildings, left-over materials from construction sites, as well as films, music and comic books which helped me mount this exhibit.”

A collection of varnished wood

An untitled installation by Zicarelli

cornices dominated one corner of the gallery. Originally supposed to be a geometric sculpture, the piece was not completed due to time constraints, the installation rather featured a pile of wood cornices and unfinished angular figures.

In this unfinished work, Zicarelli put more importance on conceptual art, the process of creating it is more elevated rather than its finished product. He embraced the beauty of unfinished art to let the viewers develop a kind of taste which offers them the enticing sense of mystery.

“Although a total mess as I was not able to achieve my concept, it made my show look stronger and way more interesting,” Zicarelli said.

Zicarelli painted gothic patterns, Space PAGE 5

CLE

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OCTOBER 25, 2016

Fr. Maramba, OSB showcases ageless talent with Maramba on piano

UST Symphony Orchestra

Solares leads the UST Symphony Orchestra

THE UST Symphony Orchestra treated music lovers to a night of classical music with a little help from renowned pianist and pedagogue Fr. Manuel Maramba, OSB in the concert, “Universal Space and Time: A Musical Journey,” last Oct. 2 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

The concert opened with the UST Symphony Orchestra’s rendition of Italian composer Amilcare Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” from Ponchielli’s 1880 opera, “La Gioconda.”

For the second piece, Maramba then accompanied the UST Symphony Orchestra in playing Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s threemovement Piano concerto No. 20 in D Minor K 466.

UST Symphony Orchestra string department

Maramba Photos by BASILIO H. SEPE

It started with the pulsing rhythm of Allegro in D Minor followed by the flamboyant melody of Romanze in B-flat Major. The movement ended with the fast tempo of Allegro Assai in D Minor ending in D Major.

The UST Symphony Orchestra was conducted by UST Conservatory faculty member Jeffrey Solares, who is also the executive director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra, Asia’s oldest orchestra.

It ended the concert with English composer Gustav Holst’s sevenmovement orchestral suite, “The Planets.” It is a famous orchestral suite structured by the movements of the first seven planets in the Solar System

excluding Earth.

Solares said “The Planets” was the toughest and longest work he had ever conducted.

“Everyone from the winds section to the strings, brass and percussions, had to get involved in this piece because of its complexity,” Solares told the Varsitarian.

Conservatory of Music’s Coro Tomasino, led

by Voice Department faculty member Ronan Ferrer, rendered a double chorus of women’s voices on one high note on the seventh suite movement, which played out constantly as it faded to the end of the suite.

The concert was titled “Universal Space and Time: A Musical Journey” in accordance with the piece performed by the orchestra as the ending piece.

Octogenarian virtuoso Now 80, Benedictan monk-musician Maramba is still active in creating new music. He is a retired faculty member of the Conservatory of Music.

At the tender age of 11, Maramba gave his first public performance at the Bamboo Organ in Las Piñas City. At 14, he became the official accompanist of the Las Piñas Boys Choir.

He finished his Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano at the UST Conservatory of Music followed by a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, obtaining his master’s degree and Teacher’s Certificate in Orchestra PAGE 5

Children's fancies brought to life by young Thomasian artists CHILDREN’S book illustrations are not mere childish preoccupations but serious artistic pursuits, as shown by the art show, Tinker Tales, a group exhibit of members of Ang Ilustrador Ng Kabataan (INK) at the Ayala Museum from Sept. 12 to Oct. 16.

INK counts at least seven alumni artists and Tinker Tales showcased some 200 traditional and digital artworks.

College of Fine Arts and Design alumnus Jonathan Rañola created figurines made out of plastic and clay for his twopiece installation, “Dangerous Chase”; it’s the

same title of the story written by 10-year-old Abigail Villa. The

illustration shows two boys sitting on a tree branch, hiding from a dog that is chasing them.

Advertising Arts graduate Diana Mabelo digitally illustrated a young boy wearing a red scarf over a blue coat while playing in a snowy field surrounded by trees for Inoue Co’s story, “Special Snowflake.”

Graphic artist, Maurice Risulmi used acrylic and ink to portray Jacob Borja’s “A Chicken’s Journey.” The artwork depicted images of a chicken on a road with a pig, a grumpy potato and an owl.

Joffrey Atienza, a winner of the 2015 Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) Alcala prize for his book illustration of Cheeno Sayumo’s “The Missing Blanket,” molded three air-dried clay figurines of mythical creatures in achieving an enchanted forest concept Aaron Asis, another Fine Arts alumnus, portrayed a personified brown dumpling dreaming of riding a blue pegasus against a background of blue waves, clouds, plants and cats in “The Wildest Dream,” a story written by Clara Montenejo.

Rian Gonzales, a Fine Arts graduate, used gouache, a painting technique in which water and a pigment of paint are mixed to achieve an opaque finish, in “The Chocolate House,” for a story written by Olin Gavina. The painting depicted a young girl sitting on

a chair made of chocolate while surrounded by house furnishings such as a lamp and a coffee table made in candy and lollipops.

Gel Relova made a digital work of a town terrorized by a threeeyed monster that fights a boy and a personified walking pizza for Dean Ezekiel Del Rosario’s story “The Monster, the Boy and the Pizza Man.” INK was established in 1991 after the PBBY and Goethe Institut Manila felt the need to organize a fellowship and workshop for children’s book illustrators. From 21 members, the INK now has more than 70. C.M.N.B. BRAZAL

“Dangerous Chase” by Ranola

8 Special Reports

Editor: Lea Mat P. Vicencio

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Lacson flyover not enough to solve traffic woes AS THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) pushes through with the Lacson flyover construction in 2017 after four years of delay, it has yet to offer concrete assurance that it would ease traffic woes and not cause noise pollution in Manila’s congested Sampaloc district as well as the University Belt.

Rodelio Tiburcio, chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering, said the four-lane flyover would not be wide enough to accommodate container trucks amid the continuous increase in car ownership. “[The Lacson flyover] would not be enough to eradicate traffic congestion because the main problem would be the increase in volume of cars and we are restricted by what is available to us. Otherwise road widening would be needed,” Tiburcio said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

College of Architecture professor Felicisimo Tejuco pointed out that there had yet to be a proposal to decrease the number of vehicles on the streets.

Design changes The Lacson flyover project was supposed to start in September 2016, but was delayed due to changes in the design and various government approvals that needed to be secured.

For instance, the flyover was lowered to second-level height from the initial third-level height after the proposal to build the Metro Rail Transit Line 9 was cancelled.

The budget increased to P2.425 billion from P1.6 billion because of changes in the design.

DPWH project manager Alex Bote said the construction of the flyover would begin three to four months after the submission of the detailed engineering design (DED) in February 2017. The DED incorporates the “final design, specifications, and estimates” of the structure.

Approvals of the Regional Development Council, barangay chairmen and the National Economic and Development Authority are also needed to proceed with the implementation of the project.

A document obtained by the Varsitarian showed that the flyover design called for “reduction of volume of traffic, noise, intersection delay” and “improvement in road condition, air quality and job generation within the vicinity.”

The flyover will start from Alcantara Street and end at Aragon Street. There will be a one-lane down ramp on Dimasalang Street.

Noise pollution Engineer Lawrence Pangan of the Facilities Management Office warned that the construction of the flyover would worsen noise pollution, affecting classes in the Albertus Magnus and Roque Ruaño buildings.

“Sound pollution has been affecting the Engineering and Education buildings. There are still complaints on cars passing by Lacson,” Pangan said.

Sound barriers were proposed to reduce the noise that might be caused by the flyover.

Bote said the proposal was included in the DED after the DPWH sent engineers to Japan

to “adopt up-to-date noise barriers” for the flyover.

Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy O.P., in a previous interview, said noise barriers would be necessary for noise mitigation.

“If you’re going to construct that then it will affect our Engineering building, our Education building and the hospital. And since it is a flyover then you have to come up [with] a mitigating [structure] to reduce the noise,” Dagohoy said.

But Architecture Dean Rodolfo Ventura said sound barriers would not be sufficient in removing noise pollution.

Noise barriers with a “landscape treatment” such as those on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue would be an improvement in the project design.

“I oppose the [Lacson flyover] and it would definitely be not positive for UST. But given the scenario that we cannot win, the only direction we have right now is acceptance, and find a solution,” Ventura said. JOHN PAUL P. CORPUZ AND MA. CONSUELO DP. MARQUEZ

Slain cadet’s legacy in jeopardy as gov’t proposes to bring back mandatory ROTC IT has been 15 years since Mark Welson Chua was killed after exposing the anomalies in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program of the University.

Chua’s death led to the abolition of mandatory ROTC and the passage of the National Service Training Program Act. But his legacy is in jeopardy due to the efforts of the Duterte administration and the Armed Forces to bring back mandatory ROTC. Mark Welson, then a 19-year-old a mechanical engineering student, and fellow cadet Romulo Yumul exposed the anomalies in UST-ROTC program to the Varsitarian in 2001.

Two months after he exposed the corruption in the UST-ROTC, Mark was abducted on campus and was beaten at the UST Department of Military Science and Tactics (DMST) office on March 15, 2001.

His decomposing body was fished out of the Pasig River, near Jones Bridge, three days later.

His body had been wrapped in a carpet, and his hands and feet were hogtied. To suffocate him, his head was wrapped with duct tape.

Mark was supposed to meet his father, Welson Chua in Makati after speaking to an agent supposedly offering him work in the military’s student intelligence network.

Mark sent a text message to his father saying he was on his way.

Hours later, the Chua family received a call claiming Mark had been kidnapped. The caller asked for a P3-million ransom.

Three months after his death, Mark was posthumously awarded the San Lorenzo Ruiz Medal of Courage, for showing exceptional and exemplary courage in standing up for the truth and Thomasian ideals.

His father Welson Chua, who died in 2008, received the award.

Mark’s death led to the implementation of the National Service Training Program, abolishing the mandatory implementation of ROTC and adding other service options—Civic Welfare Training Service and Literacy Training Service. Both do not involve military training.

Back story Evelyn Songco, former director of the Office of Student Affairs, recalled that prior to Mark’s death, his father filed complaints with her

office and gathered all the students concerned over the UST-ROTC program’s irregularities. “[We] gathered the people who had something to say when they wrote us a letter,” Songco told the Varsitarian.

“Mark Chua was one of them and then of course he was afraid, and we secretly met. After the meeting they agreed to write their testimonies or their complaints, and passed it on to us,” she said.

The complaints resulted in the removal of Maj. Demy Tejares, commandant of the University’s ROTC unit, along with the DMST staff.

The narrative of the students was used by then Varsitarian Special Reports writer Jayme Emerald Brucal to write her story on the supposed anomalies and irregularities in the UST-ROTC. The complaints included bribery, forced payments, insufficient instruction and intimidation.

“The hazing and initiation rites were also issues then—the excessive use of physicality to prove your ‘loyalty’ to the corps,” said lawyer Angelo de Alban, a UST professor and Mark’s batch mate in the UST Golden Corps of Cadets, in an email.

Tejares, however, had nothing to do with the murder. He is now deputy commander of the Task Force Zambasulta, based in Basilan.

Guilty Three years after Mark was fished out of the Pasig River, Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Romulo Lopez sentenced one of the accused, Arnulfo Aparri, Jr., to the maximum penalty of death. Death penalty however was abolished before the sentence could be carried out.

Aparri, who was also ordered to pay P50,000 in indemnity to the Chuas, was then a high-ranking ROTC officer and an architecture student. Aparri surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation on Feb. 9, 2002.

Former ROTC officer Franco Suelto, a suspect-turned-witness, identified Aparri as one of the men who wrapped Mark’s body using an old carpet inside the DMST office on the night of his murder on March 15, 2001. Suelto was then a psychology junior and a member of

the UST Golden Corps like the other suspects.

Aparri’s co-accused—Paul Joseph Tan, Eduardo Tabrilla, and Michael Von Rainard Manangbao—were at large and issued alias warrants of arrest.

A few years later, Tabrilla pleaded guilty to homicide before the Manila court.

Mark as a cadet Known to his close friends as “Baron,” Mark had dreams of joining the army since he was in high school.

He planned to enroll in the Philippine Military Academy after graduating from secondary school, but his grandparents refused, fearing that he might be discriminated against for being of Chinese descent. Mark pursued mechanical engineering in the University instead.

But current DMST Commandant Edgar Nigos said Chua’s death was the result of a “personal conflict” with another cadet officer, whom he did not name.

“The confrontation revolved around personal matters between [Chua] and a cadet officer. ROTC was just pulled into the spotlight because a cadet officer [used his power over the cadet],” he told the Varsitarian in a previous interview.

Chua’s legacy in danger?

Songco said students of private institutions should have the freedom to choose their college service training programs.

“It can be mandatory in the state colleges and universities because that is funded by the government, [but] as to the private colleges and universities, there should really be some options for them because the government does not subsidize their tuition,” she said.

Akbayan Youth Chairwoman Rafaela David said in an interview that reviving mandatory ROTC would be a disservice to Chua’s memory and legacy in higher education.

ROTC PAGE 5

Literary 9

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Creative nonfiction: The dame of 21st Century literature

By NIKKO MIGUEL M. GARCIA and CEDRIC ALLEN P. STA. CRUZ

FOR THREE of the University’s premier writers, creative non-fiction (CNF) is the genre of the technological age.

Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, director of the Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS), attributed the success of CNF to the advent of new journalism or literary journalism which has proliferated through the accessibility of the Internet and social media.

“I think part of it has to do with blogs, which are nonfiction. This is referred to by critic Thomas Larson as ‘sudden memoir’ in which you write an account of something you have just witnessed or experienced,” she said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

However, such “ease” in publishing does not necessarily mean the works are of superior quality.

“There is so much nonfiction being written on the net which are not necessarily literary,” she added. “People post things, and some things are [quite petty]. ‘I ate

hotdog today,’ ‘I ate hamburger today,’ ‘I ate pie today.’”

For John Jack Wigley, director of the UST Publishing House, CNF is “the genre of the new age” and that of millennials.

He attributed this to the emergence of new forms of literary expression such as blogs, food reviews, travel essays and posts on social media.

Dawn Marfil, resident fellow of the CCWLS, however, explained that the ‘petty’ posts actually turn the tide in the genre’s favor because of their truthful nature.

“The reason why CNF is on the rise is because the audience demands stories that are more realistic. They have a hunger for a different sort of knowledge that you get when you get to know people and lives. It coincides with the rise of reality TV shows and normal people appearing on TV on their supposedly unguarded visages,” she said.

Bold and personal art Hidalgo points out the importance of the writer’s tasteful and cautious selection of topics to include in writing CNF. “The challenging thing about creative non-fiction is the risk of intruding the

privacy of other people and revealing too much about yourself which becomes narcissistic if you are not careful,” she said.

For Marfil, there is an inherent challenge to distance oneself from the subject, which is often personal.

“There is that ‘push and pull’ with the writer whether they could write about something that is too close to them because they have to have some sort of ‘psychic distance’ between themselves and the topic and it is hard to do that with creative nonfiction,” Marfil said.

She added that it also presents a challenge on the part of the author as one is essentially of one’s own personal experience.

“Unlike fiction, you create a world, create a story, you know where you want to go. With creative nonfiction, you are dealing with a small pocket of your life,” she said.

Wigley cited that the challenge of the genre is the ability to write for an audience instead of writing for mere popularity. ”Readers will always resonate with writers who are honest, bold and true. In a way, they have a deeper sense of finding out if a writer is telling an honest truth or

faking it. But a writer must always write because he wants to tell a story, not just because he wants to be popular. Ultimately, you are what you write,” he said in an interview through e-mail.

Competition in the market Hidalgo asserted that people are heavily influenced by popular media in the selections they consume.

“Literary tastes today are very much influenced with the desire to get the inside stories, the ‘iWitness’ reports, reality television, which are also influenced by the net,” she said.

Marfil also noted how CNF uses the same techniques as fiction, although she argued that “there is more flexibility in creative nonfiction since you could play around with it, mix it, and cross it with other genres,” hence, its capability to compete with fiction.

For Wigley, the two genres inhabit different camps and while CNF has new things to offer in terms of storytelling, yet he believes that they can and do coexist.

“They are two sides of the same pole.

There is market for each and should never be any competition at all,” he said.

Dipping into the agua bendita

By NIKKO MIGUEL M. GARCIA and CEDRIC ALLEN P. STA. CRUZ OUTSIDE, the sky f lashed and cracked, and the rain poured with fierce abandon. My socks were soggy and my leather shoes were wrinkled with creases.

People came and went into the recently erected Most Holy Trinity chapel, some of them even taking the time to dip their fingers and make a sign of the cross. I simply opened my bag and inspected the damage: my five-page paper on Medieval poetry was soaked, as was my Algebra worksheet and the history book that I was supposed to return to the library last week.

My shoes squeaked annoyingly; echoing through the now almost empty chapel, save for a hermana praying the novena at the last row and a fellow student desperately trying to mend his umbrella which had snapped in the strong wind.

I settled onto a bench in the third to the last row, suddenly noticing the weather let up a little and a beam passing through a glass pane on the left wing of the chapel.

I brought out the rosary my mother had bought in Quiapo.

I toyed with it in my hand a bit and remembered her Catholic upbringing, which I picked up ever since I was a child.

I settled in and noticed the room had fallen silent. I pinched the crucifix between my fingers and began to recite the Lord’s prayer.

I memorized the mysteries of the rosary early on and took pride in my ability to recite Hail Holy Queen in Latin. I did it mostly to make her smile. Today, I pray it out of a promise I made to that I would pray it for her.

Afterwards, I rummaged through my bag and counted my spare change.

“Enough for five pieces of fishball,” I murmured to myself, setting aside fifteen pesos for the twenty-minute jeepney ride home.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

“Christopher?” said a raspy voice. “I need someone to watch the shop tonight. Can you stop by at around nine?”

I regretfully said “yes,” as a crumpled copy of my latest promissory note fell out of my bag.

“Mr. Sisten,” I murmured.

“Could I have an advance on my pay this week? It’s exams week and I─”

“NO! I’m being bled dry by those renovations already! Wait for the fifteenth,” he shouted.

“Mr. Sis─” I tried to say before I was cut off.

It was going to be an allnighter again at Mr. Sisten’s sarisari store. I was probably going to listen to local street drinkers pumped up on cheap beers boast on about which one of their wives had the best figure or who had gotten with the most women before they settled down.

It was certainly more entertaining than huffing paint fumes all day at a hardware store near my house in Balic-Balic, which were among the various odd jobs I had taken up over the years…

The Middle East is not the friendliest place in the world for a practicing Catholic like my mother. She told me to pray the rosary for her and sometimes, she would call me to make sure I actually did, asking me what mysteries were for that day.

That was before the call.

It was a drizzly Tuesday night and my aunt Luz and I were on a steady diet of pandesal and cheese for breakfast and canned tuna for lunch and supper.

“Is this the Morales residence?” a cold, calculating voice said.

“Yes,” My aunt Luz answered.

“Who is calling?”

I eavesdropped from the kitchen, until I began to hear sobbing, which grew louder and louder.

Apart from the crescendo, my aunt turned the television on.

A male news anchor’s voice was discernible and was reporting about a bombing incident from Dubai. Apparently, it is where my mother works.

I prayed that my aunt’s weeping and the news anchor’s reporting are not premonitions of my dear mother’s jeopardy, but I was mistaken and devastated.

It was quick and sudden.

She was reportedly rushed to the nearest medical facility. She had several lacerations to her spine and she took a direct hit to the temple. We were told that the embassy would cover all the expenses.

I ran to my room and slammed the door shut…

I moved from job to job─Mr. Sisten’s sari-sari store, the hardware store, a fastfood delivery

boy and even a dog-sitter for some of the well-to-do neighbors. My college life became a f lurry of alcohol and billiards after classes.

Straight after class, I would do nothing but go straight to the covert drinking place across the street near my university.

Materials and assignments given by my professors are nothing compared to the menu that I would be reading

w i t h enthusiasm.

Sometimes, I even opt to go absent on my classes as drinking sessions on said place are more important.

I also learned to smoke a cigarette for the first time. My first puff was quite messy as I kept on coughing from what I just inhaled, but since I have done it as often as I skip all of my classes, I gained finesse and was even able to pull off some tricks such as creating smoke rings.

Despite all of these acquired vices, I, of course, never forgot to pray the rosary. It was the request of my mother and I take heed of this request dearly.

However, there are times that I become exasperated with all my Latin knowing that they do not actually help in producing money for my mother’s recovery and my education.

“Today was a f luke, nothing else,” I thought to myself as the goblets pelted the roof and a gust of wind swept in from an open window. My phone began to ring.

“Hello? Christopher?” my aunt Luz said. “Are you headed

home?”

“Yes, just caught up in some bad weather that’s all,” I replied.

“Well, when will you be going home? There’s someone here who wants to talk to you.”

There was a moment of silence until I heard a woman’s voice, hushed and cautious almost.

It was from the Embassy of United Arab Emirates.

“Hello? Is this Christopher Torres, the son of Rosario Torres?” she said, steady and careful, like a toddler tentatively trying out a new word.

“Y-yeah. Why?” I asked.

There was another couple of seconds of silence.

“I just want you to know that your mom is now recovering, ” she said. I heard her sob a little. My aunt reclaimed the phone.

“But Tita,” I said before being cut off.

I still couldn’t utter a word.

“She’s doing a lot better now.

Maybe one day, she can come home, if she gets well enough.”

“I have to go now, the street will be f looded soon,” I said, saying goodbye, but not before my mother reclaimed the phone again.

“Always.

Best,” were all I heard before I finally said goodbye.

Contrary to the plan of drinking and smoking today, my first thought in mind right now was to visit the local chapel.

Settled once again onto a bench in the third to the last row, I brought out the rosary my mother had bought in Quiapo. I toyed with it in my hand a bit and remembered her Catholic upbringing, which I picked up when I was a child.

I settled in and noticed the room had fallen silent. I pinched the crucifix between my fingers and began to recite the Lord’s prayer.

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us, my mother Rosario most especially, from evil. Amen,” I uttered in solemnity.

A Catholic Traverse PIQUE interest As to how the hands tread Over the Holy Rosary Like wanderers On a promising boulevard, Traversing bead after Bead after bead Whence grace and salvation Await on the finish.

However, such is nothing But a destination To fool’s paradise Should the roving Be a sole October special, Or if the fingertips Function as marionettes Maneuvered upon The mandate of other fingertips, Hence tread not As winding wanderers But rather as Catholics Heedful of the Holy Mother.

NIKKO MIGUEL M. GARCIA

10 Limelight

Art Director: Kirsten M. Jamilla

OCTOBER 25, 2016

BUHAY USTEDYANTE BY CHINNY MAE F. BASINANG

EVERYDAY ESPAÑA BY IAIN RAFEL T. TYAPON

TOTOY N BY SELDON MAY T. TAGAO

Thesis guide

FROM PAGE 2

strengthening thesis writing in the undergraduate level because if the undergraduate curriculum is a preparation for the graduate school, we have to strengthen it,” de Guzman added.

Jeremaiah Opiniano, thesis coordinator of the University’s journalism program, said a formal thesis guideline would help draw students and faculty members toward research.

“Overall, many college students — speaking in the social sciences even in the

Ched

FROM PAGE 1 the 2016 national budget, with P436 billion. But Licuanan said Ched receives only residual funds.

“The Department of Education gets the larger proportion of the budget but higher education does not,” Licuanan told the Varsitarian in an interview.

“It is just a small proportion ... which is understandable in terms of numbers, but higher education also needs quite a bit of investment,” she added.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago hit the government for giving insufficient funds to the

CBA FROM PAGE 1 betrayal of trust,” Jimenez claimed.

In a letter to Lim last Oct. 4, Tadle urged the USTFU chief to reconsider his stance, warning that the “initial” loss to faculty members could reach P50 million.

Under such a scheme, lower-ranked faculty members will lose out as their share of salary hikes from tuition increases will shrink, Jimenez explained.

Jimenez also pointed out that the scheme would discriminate against non-teaching personnel, who are supposed to share in the tuition hikes as provided by Republic Act 6728 or the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act. Resignation urged Jimenez urged Lim to resign, claiming the USTFU chief was not truthful to the faculty.

“His first reaction is not to act on it. I think it was only upon the clamor of more and more faculty members that he later on conceded,” Jimenez said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

Last Oct. 17, Jimenez’s complaint against Lim was given due course by lawyer Jose Ngo, Jr., USTFU vice president for grievances and

absence of empirical data — hate thesis writing.

That general observation impacts on how the thinking process occurs, the identification of variables yet to be studied, and the correct execution of data-gathering activities to answer precise research questions,” he said.

The thesis guideline will help students produce theses that generate new knowledge, he said.

Only the Faculty of Canon Law and the Graduate School have general thesis guidelines for students. Their guidelines include rules on thesis writing, advising, oral defense, postdefense requirements and publication.

The College of Architecture and College of Science have submitted drafts to the Office education sector.

“The national budget reflects the priority of the government, but little is given to higher education because the government prioritizes debt service,” Elago said.

Ricardo Rotoras, president of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges, said more government funds should be allotted to free and quality education.

“Free access to quality education is the paramount consideration. [We] have to develop the state higher education institutions to a level that can provide quality education,” Rotoras said.

The House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, led by Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Ann Hofer, hosted the assembly.

NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS

complaints. The complaint was forwarded to Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Clarita Carillo for resolution.

In his 12-page complaint, Jimenez said: “We hope … the USTFU leadership … will find ways to implore UST to rectify this questionable charging against [the tuition increase] independent of the grievance complaint.”

Taken for a ride?

Tadle, lead convenor of the Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities of the Philippines, said there seemed to be a “misrepresentation” as faculty members thought the University would finance the cost of the three-unit load reduction to compensate for concessions made by the union to the administration under the 2011-2016 CBA. In his letter to Lim, Tadle pointed out that the CBA took away “many social and political rights and benefits” earned by the faculty in previous negotiations, such as representation in the Academic Senate and a “more liberal” faculty reclassification and promotion system, “without getting much in return.”

Thus, it appears that faculty members who voted to ratify the CBA were “taken for a ride,” he said.

During the USTFU assembly, member Gemma Agoy from the Institute of Religion admitted that she spearheaded the proposal for

of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs. The Faculty of Arts and Letters has produced a draft that will be fine-tuned by thesis coordinators, Batan said.

Writing and defending a thesis is mandatory for all UST students prior to graduation.

However, there is no systematic process between students and thesis advisers because of the absence of guidelines.

The University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila have thesis guidelines for every department.

ROY ABRAHMN D.R. NARRA AND THEODORE JASON PATRICK K. ORTIZ WITH REPORTS FROM MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO

Drug test

FROM PAGE 2

drug testing would be legal.

The technical working group is set to meet next week. Youth leaders and school officials will be invited to a public consultation.

University random drug tests UST started the implementation of random drug tests in the second semester of Academic Year 2006-2007 in compliance with Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the the three-unit load reduction without salary cuts in 2014. She said she was surprised to learn that the union membership would end up shouldering the incentive.

Renegotiation sought The USTFU is set to sit down with the administration to renegotiate the economic provisions of the CBA, Lim bared in the USTFU general assembly last Sept. 30. Lim said the union would write a letter to the UST administration to begin talks on the faculty pay scheme for AY 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

The faculty ratified the CBA in 2014 following backdoor talks between Lim and Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy that averted a strike.

Lim, a physician, won over Tadle in the heated race for USTFU president last year, with the backing of professors from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

Tadle noted that at this point, USTFU should have begun talks for the next CBA, yet it has not even begun renegotiations for the existing agreement.

Lim, for his part, told the Varsitarian: “Stand by for the CBA negotiations and we will see how this all ends.”HANNAH RHOCELLHYNNIA H. CRUZ, THEODORE JASON PATRICK K. ORTIZ, MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO AND CHRISTIAN DE LANO M. DEIPARINE

Uniforms

FROM PAGE 2

of our principal, can officially announce its use on specific events in EHS even before January,” Sanchez said.

Type B uniforms were allowed by the colleges and faculties in the University beginning Feb. 15, 2015 following a memorandum signed by Secretary General Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P. on Feb. 3 of the same year.

The use of the secondary uniform during hot months was proposed in June 2014. MARIA CRISANTA M. PALOMA

Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and CHED Memorandum Order 19 series of 2003.

“Students of secondary and tertiary schools shall, pursuant to the related rules and regulations as contained in the school’s student handbook and with notice to the parents, undergo a random drug testing,” RA 9165 states.

The Ched memorandum called on schools to take into account the “ideals of fairness and rehabilitation and not isolation of the drug dependent.”

Schools must not violate constitutional rights to due process, equal protection and self-incrimination, the Ched order stated.

ManilArt

FROM PAGE 6

to capture the details of the sceneries he studied.

“Amate paper gave me the space to meticulously paint the details of the landscapes I visited, plus it’s easier to manipulate compared to canvas,” Baldemor told the Varsitarian.

Dubbed as the “Father of Filipino Impressionism,” Roger San Miguel, an alumnus of the old College of Architecture and Fine Arts alumnus, painted 14 oil-oncanvas artworks that depicted Filipino values and tradition.

“Burdadera” was a painting placed in a round frame and canvas portrayed two women doing traditional Filipino needlework.

San Miguel said he chose to use a round canvas instead of the traditional square or rectangle for his artworks to highlight the unity and spontaneity of the subjects in his paintings.

Also featured in this year’s ManilArt were CJ Tanedo, Jose Tence Ruiz, Melvin Culaba, Toti Cerda and Flor Baradi.

Editor: Delfin Ray M. Dioquino

Sports 11

OCTOBER 25, 2016

Volleyball never stops for ‘Kung Fu’ Reyes

Emilio “Kung Fu” Reyes, has been coaching volleyball since 2004 and he does not see himself being away from the sport—not until he develops a player better than those he nourished before.

Education FROM PAGE 2 subjects due to the high number of enrollees in the senior high school’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics strand.

A total of 195,302 teachers have been hired following the K to 12 transition.

“We have a challenge in hiring math and science teachers. . . [We need] a huge army of teachers, we’ll recruit more,” Briones told members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations during the department’s presentation of its budget for 2017.

A master’s degree is a requirement for teaching in senior high school. Graduates of science, math and engineering programs, technical-vocational courses with necessary Technical Education and Skills Development Authority certifications, and practitioners with expertise in specialized learning areas offered by the K to 12 program are also accepted as part-time SHS teachers.

In UST-SHS, there are more than 140 faculty members composed of fresh college graduates, non-tenured and tenured faculty members from the tertiary level of the University, and faculty members from other schools.

The teacher education program in UST has been recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as a center of excellence, and has the coveted Level IV status from the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities’ Commission on Accreditation. MIA ARRA C. CAMACHO AND ROY ABRAHMN D.R. NARRA

Rosaryo MULA SA PAHINA 3 asignaturang teolohiya, kundi sa lahat ng asignatura sa Unibersidad, marapat ituro ang kahalagahan ng pagdarasal upang masanay muli ang mga Tomasino at isama ito sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na buhay.

“There is a difference when you pray and when you recite a prayer,” ayon kay Paulo Brillo, pangulo ng Pax Romana. Aniya, hindi lang dapat binibigkas ang mga nakabisang dasal, kundi kailangang sambitin ito nang taimtim at bukal sa kalooban. Sa tuwing nagdarasal ng mga nakabisang panalangin, kailangang mayroong intensiyon kung bakit dinarasal ang mga ito.

Kaugnay nito, maglulunsad ang Pax Romana at iba pang mga organisasiyong panrelihiyon, kasama ang Campus Ministry ng Living Rosary sa Benavides Park sa darating na ika-27 ng Oktubre.

Pinaalala naman ni Basas na kasama sa asignaturang Salvation History ang pagpapahalaga sa Mahal na Birheng Maria. Nilinaw niyang bagaman isang malaking parte ng pananampalataya ang pagdarasal ng rosaryo, hindi lamang ito ang paraan ng pagpapakita ng debosiyon sa Mahal na Birhen. JOLAU V. OCAMPO

EMILIO “Kung Fu” Reyes Jr., coaching multiple volleyball teams not a job but a hobby.

He actually has a day job, working as a logistician and physical fitness trainer at the Philippine Army headquarters in Taguig.

But the 36-year-old Reyes has his hands full in volleyball.

He coaches UST’s collegiate and high school teams, and semi-professional team RC Cola-Army Lady Troopers in the Philippine SuperLiga (PSL).

“If I treated this like a job, I would have quit right now,” he told the Varsitarian. “It is hard but at the end of the day, you go home with a smile on your face and I think, that is the most important.”

Reyes is instrumental in the development of former Junior Tigresses Alyssa Valdez, sisters Dindin and Jaja Santiago, Kim Fajardo and several others when he took his first coaching job as assistant to former UST girls’ volleyball coach Francis Vicente in 2004.

In 2013, he took over as head coach and guided the Junior Tigresses to the title.

“If not for the girls, I already want to stop,” he said. “We might produce more talented players who are better than the players we have developed before.

We are just waiting for that player to come but we do not know when will that happen, that’s why I’m still here coaching.”

Last year, Reyes was named chief tactician of the Golden Tigresses. This year, he also began coaching the Lady Troopers for the PSL’s fourth season.

He said there was no conflict between the training sessions of his teams. But he said overlapping game schedules could be a problem.

And he still finds time to play.

Reyes is the team captain and settle of the Philippine Army Troopers in the Spiker’s Turf league.

“It warms my heart that the lessons I taught my players, they use it outside the court and they enjoy playing the game,” he said. PHILIP MARTIN L. MATEL AND RANDELL ANGELO B. RITUMALTA

There’s a new Sheriff in town ONCE an offensive liability, Jamil Sheriff is finally finding his scoring touch.

The Filipino-Canadian now averages 8.8 points per game (ppg) in UST’s first 10 outings this season, an improvement from his 2.3 ppg output in the past four years.

Sheriff, a pass-first, shootlater guard, even scored a career-high 19 points on top of six steals, four assists and three rebounds in UST’s 73-69 win against National University last Oct. 15.

“This year, all those guys already graduated so coach wanted me to be aggressive and take more shots,” he told the Varsitarian.

With no particular go-to scorers in the team, the 5-foot-7 guard has no choice but to step up in the offensive end.

And Sheriff delivered.

In UST’s win over the University of the East last Sept. 10, he sank a triple and buried contested stepback jumpers en route to 15 points, four rebounds and four assists.

“I feel like people have to watch out for me now because I have gained so much confidence which I now translate into every shot I take,” he said.

Coach Boy Sablan said Sheriff still had to “build his confidence” and shoot more often.

“You need to talk to him and let him shoot,” Sablan said.

Sheriff was not supposed to see action this season because he was deemed ineligible weeks before Season 79 due to the new age limit rule.

UST argued that the 25-year-old Sheriff was still covered by the old rule that set the age ceiling at 24 by June 30.

Sheriff got the go-signal on the eve of the Tigers’ season debut.

UST languishes at sixth place with a 3-7 winloss card. IVAN RUIZ L. SUING

Sheriff

Anastasis

Usapang Uste

FROM PAGE 4

MULA SA PAHINA 3

is a composite material of cement and steel that evokes a compressive strength as the concrete resists the squeezing as well as tensile strength as it resists the bending and stretching.

The fact that the Main Building and the original surface of the triumphal arch from the old Intramuros campus (which now is placed to face the Main Building to avoid being openly exposed to the smokes of Espana Boulevard) proves the effective efforts of heritage conservation experts whom netizens called for after viewing the first phases of a recently refined subject.

Every part and parcel of these declared national cultural treasures that have withstood the test of time but also natural deteriorations still contribute to the historical significance of UST.

at nagkaroon ng apat na anak.

Pumanaw na si Katigbak sa edad na 80 noong 1992.

Tomasalitaan: Busilig (png) – puting bahagi ng mata.

Hal: Halos hindi ko na matanaw ang busilig ng mga singkit na mata ng iniirog ko.

Mga sanggunian: The Varsitarian Tomo XXXIV Blg. 2, Pebrero 7, 1962; 1960-1962, p.1042 Santisimo Rosario Parish: Its History and Guide for Parish Leaders Your Parish Newsletter

Sports

OCTOBER 25, 2016

UST captures twin championships in UAAP volleyball

Anthony Arbasto raises his hand and signals ‘No.1’ in elation as the Tiger Spikers end a six-year title drought.

THE TIGER Spikers put an end to their three-year finals dry spell while the Lady Spikers reclaimed the crown they lost last season as UST took home twin championships in the UAAP Season 79 beach volleyball tournaments at the Sands at SM by the Bay last Oct. 9.

Despite sweeping the elimination round and the finals, it was not an easy road for the Tiger Spikers, especially for Most Valuable Player Kris Roy Guzman, as they suffered three consecutive finals losses the past three years.

Guzman has been to the finals for three straight years only to lose against the National University in 2013 and to the Ateneo de Manila University in 2014 and 2015. This year, he chose to focus on beach volleyball alone, dropping indoor volleyball out of his priorities.

“As long as my playing years are not over, I will not give up in bringing the crown back to UST,” said Guzman, who was moved to tears moments after winning Game 2 of the finals over the Far Eastern University, 21-16, 21-16, with partner Anthony Arbasto.

Women’s MVP Cherry Rondina, meanwhile, had to start from scratch with a new coach and a new teammate in Paul Jan Doloiras and Jem Gutierrez, respectively.

Rondina saw the Lady Spikers, who won the title in 2014, slump to fifth place last season and she had nothing in mind but redemption.

“I’m happy because we redeemed ourselves. I told myself that we needed to get the crown

for all of our hardwork to pay off,” said Rondina.

The Lady Spikers surrendered Game 2 against the Bernadette Pons-Kylie Atienza tandem of FEU but got their bearings back in their 21-17, 21-14 Game 3 win with Rondina chalking up 22 points.

For Gutierrez, who has been with the UST volleyball program for almost five years now but rode the Golden Tigresses’ bench for most of the time, the chance for playing alongside Rondina as replacement for the injured Rica Jane Rivera was the chance she had been waiting for to showcase her wares.

“I’m so happy because this is the break I’ve been waiting for. This is the moment that I can prove myself, I can prove that our coaches are good. I can prove that UST can win, that I chose the right school to play for,” said Gutierrez.

The soft-spoken Doloiras was maybe the lucky charm the team needed for the Tiger Spikers to end their six-year title drought and for the Lady Spikers to win their fourth crown, heartily sharing he won all of his first times: winning titles in his first year in high school and in college before ultimately reigning as champion as a first time head coach.

“I was about to leave before but we had an agreement that I would stay as a coach if they will play under me. They told me to give them the hardest training I could give for them to get the championship. The players fought hard for this championship, sacrificing more than sweat and blood,” said Doloiras.

Cherry Rondina lifts her second MVP trophy as she and the Lady Spikers clinch two championships in three years.

Rookie-MVP claims manhandling; quits Golden Sox REIGNING UAAP rookieMVP Julius Diaz is set to leave the UST Golden Sox following an altercation with a teammate.

Diaz, who was tied for the most runs-battedin at 12 last season, said he could move either to National University or the University of Rizal System, where he played high school baseball.

“UST is really not for me even if I want to be here,” he told the Varsitarian.

Diaz said an older teammate came to his dormitory on the night of Aug. 25 and kicked him repeatedly on the stomach.

He said the teammate confronted him for leaving early and failing to perform with other rookies at a UST pep rally.

KR Guzman finally wins his first UAAP beach volleyball title after falling short in his past three finals appearance.

Probe Diaz identified his attacker as Kirk Daquis.

The Varsitarian tried to contact Daquis for comment but he did not reply.

In a text message, Diaz said a case had been filed at the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). But OSA Director Arlene Calara

said she had not received the complaint.

Diaz’s parents did not take it lightly, telling their son to leave UST. “UST will always be a good school but if your teammates are like that, you must call it quits,” Diaz quoted his mom as saying. “I didn’t let you study in UST just to be kicked.”

Seniority S a n t i a g o acknowledged that Diaz had problems with some of his teammates.

“I’m still doing as much as I can because he plays a pivotal role in the team. But like what I have said, it all boils down to discipline, he had become full of himself and that is difficult,” the coach said.

“I told him that even if he has several awards but is not able to bring the team into the championship or even in the top four, you cannot boast of those awards.”

Santiago said he was still trying to convince Diaz to stay.

Diaz,a former Palarong Pambansa Homerun King, first suited

Diaz

up for the UST junior baseball squad. But he left after a year, saying he found it difficult and costly to travel daily to school from his house in Tanay, Rizal.

“I wanted to be here because this is my dream school,” Diaz said.

The Golden Sox still have a lot of work to do to improve team chemistry.

Former team captain Arvin Plaza said respecting seniority among the players was important.

“All players should know that coping and adjusting with other players are important, especially if a player does not have that much of a playing experience,” he said.

JAN CARLO ANOLIN AND CARLO A. CASINGCASING