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https://up.edu.ph/74-named-up-artist/ | 74 named UP Artist – University of the Philippines | 74 named UP Artist 74 named UP Artist December 12, 2019 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo UP Artists gather for a group photo at the entrance of the Asian Institute of Tourism after the awarding ceremony of the UP Arts Productivity System. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Seventy-four faculty members from across the UP System were conferred the rank and title of UP Artist in a ceremony held on November 29 at the Asian Institute of Tourism, UP Diliman (UPD). Awardees hold the title for three years, which comes with a yearly monetary incentive. The recognition, which may be renewed or elevated to a higher rank, is given based on the Arts Productivity System of the University. UP President Danilo Concepcion emphasizes the importance of giving proper compensation to artists in his welcome remarks. He also announced that new buildings in the University are required to have artwork incorporated in their design. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UPMPRO) Of the 74, 70 are from UPD and one each from UP Los Baños (UPLB), UP Manila (UPM), UP Visayas (UPV), and UP Baguio (UPB). The UP Artists I who were able to attend the ceremony pose for a photo. They are joined by VP for Academic Affairs (VPAA) Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, who is third from left in the back row. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Thirty-three were named UP Artist I and will receive P150,000 annually for three years. They are: Junley L. Lazaga – UPB Honey Libertine Achanzar-Labor – UPM Martin G. Genodepa – UPV Amparo Adelina C. Umali III – UPD Robert Rownd – UPD Josefina C. Santos – UPD Daphne-Tatiana P. Tolentino-Canlas – UPD Ramon Maria G. Acoymo – UPD Ena Maria R. Aldecoa – UPD Alegria O. Ferrer – UPD David Dino S. Guadalupe – UPD Jocelyn Timbol-Guadalupe – UPD Antonio R. Maigue – UPD Jose Santos P. Ardivilla – UPD Romanlito S. Austria – UPD Nina Elisa B. Constantino – UPD Ruben Fortunato M. De Jesus – UPD Fortunato B. De La Peña Jr. – UPD Eyasmin A. Lantz – UPD Marco Ruben T. Malto II – UPD Jamel Joseph A. Obnamia – UPD Mitzi Marie Aguilar-Reyes – UPD Leonardo C. Rosete – UPD Marc J. San Valentin – UPD Arbeen R. Acuña – UPD Cecilia S. De La Paz – UPD U Z. Eliserio – UPD Eloisa May P. Hernandez – UPD Gabriela Alejandra D. Lee – UPD Maria Eileen L. Ramirez – UPD Meliton C. Roxas Jr. – UPD Sir Anril P. Tiatco – UPD Lily Rose R. Tope – UPD In this photo, some of the faculty members who earned the rank of UP Artist II are with VPAA Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, who is third from left in the back row. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Thirty received the rank of UP Artist II and will receive P200,000 annually for three years. They are: Layeta Bucoy – UPLB Matthew Constancio M. Santamaria – UPD Gerard Rey A. Lico – UPD Julius Anthony M. Del Castillo – UPD Benjamin I. Cabangis – UPD Rita B. Gudiño – UPD Mary Catherine P. Sta. Ana – UPD Patrick F. Campos – UPD Sari Raissa Lluch Dalena – UPD Elizabeth L. Enriquez – UPD Jane O. Vinculado – UPD Rodney D.S. Sambat – UPD Janet S. Aracama – UPD Jonas U. Baes – UPD Laverne C. De La Peña – UPD Marie Jocelyn U. Marfil – UPD Raul C. Navarro – UPD Arwin Q. Tan – UPD Luna Sicat-Cleto – UPD Josefina F. Estrella – UPD Eugene Y. Evasco – UPD Vladimeir B. Gonzales – UPD Tessa Maria T. Guanzon – UPD Ramon G. Guillermo – UPD Judy Celine A. Ick – UPD Isabela B. Mooney – UPD Will P. Ortiz – UPD Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete – UPD Rommel B. Rodriguez – UPD Dexter M. Santos – UPD Eight of the 11 UP Artists III with VPAA Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, who stands second from left (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Eleven were awarded the title of UP Artist III and will receive P250,000 annually for three years. They are: Leonilo O. Doloricon – UPD Reuel M. Aguila – UPD Glecy C. Atienza – UPD Patrick D. Flores – UPD Jose Neil C. Garcia – UPD Yason B. Banal – UPD Eulalio R. Guieb III – UPD Rolando B. Tolentino – UPD Edna Marcil M. Martinez – UPD Maria Christine M. Muyco – UPD Josefino J. Toledo – UPD VPAA Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista officially closes the awarding ceremony. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/managing-up-dilimans-buildings-and-sites/ | Managing UP Diliman’s Buildings and Sites – University of the Philippines | Managing UP Diliman’s Buildings and Sites Managing UP Diliman’s Buildings and Sites October 18, 2017 | Written by Fred Dabu As the flagship campus of the University of the Philippines System, the 493-hectare UP Diliman campus is home to renowned cultural sites such as the Oblation Plaza, the University Amphitheater, the Carillon Tower and Plaza, the Sunken Garden, the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, the Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, the UP Main Library, the University Theater Complex, and the Asian Center. The campus attracts thousands of visitors from Metro Manila, the provinces, and other countries daily. The UP Diliman administration manages 167 academic and administrative buildings, 11 dormitories, and 1,143 University-provided housing units, plus its open spaces, parks and protected forest areas. Completion of the DMMME Building, Eng’g Complex College of Engineering Library Learning Commons College of Fine Arts New Building These buildings and sites—and the health and safety concerns of the community—are all attended to by the UP Diliman Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA) headed by Prof. Nestor T. Castro. The OVCCA oversees the following offices to address the community’s ever-growing needs: the Office of the Campus Architect (OCA), the University Health Service (UHS), the Campus Maintenance Office (CMO), the Housing Office, the Chief Security Officer, the Office of Community Relations (OCR), and the Task Force on Solid Waste Management (TFSWM). DOST-UP DMMME Gold Copper Processing Plant in Bicol Region UPCA Auditorium UP Tourism Heritage Complex UP Diliman’s Office of the Campus Architect (OCA), with Arch. Enrico B. Tabafunda as its director, is in charge of infrastructure planning and delivery. To keep up with the demands of the times and to better serve the UP Diliman community, the OCA recently completed several infrastructure projects, and has several more projects currently ongoing. Maintaining the campus grounds The UP Diliman Campus Maintenance Office (CMO), headed by Arch. James Christopher P. Buño, provides building and grounds maintenance services to colleges and units of the University. According to Dir. Buño, “building maintenance services include works in carpentry, painting, plumbing, electrical installations and welding that are necessary for the upkeep of UP Diliman’s buildings. Grounds maintenance services, on the other hand, involve the upkeep of its roads, drainage and sewage systems, sweeping of streets and other open spaces, cutting of grass, collection of litter, and care of trees and ornamental plants.” The CMO annually receives more than 6,000 work orders for maintenance services. Computer Science Building Phase 1. UP EEEI Microsatellite Lab College of Home Economics Complex Phase 1 School of Statistics Phase 2 “Aside from these, the office also provides support services like hauling and assistance in venue setups during special events. It also has a Quick Response Team which handles maintenance operations during typhoons and emergencies and incidents that pose threats to the upkeep of the campus facilities and safety of the members of the UP Diliman community,” Buño adds. The CMO could use more workers, utility trucks, and heavy equipment. The office has a workforce of around 160, but according to Buño, the office is “approximately 40 people short of its projected ideal manpower.” He explains that “continuous development in the campus is also expected to affect the operations of the CMO as more and more buildings being built increases the scope and demand for maintenance services.” To address these challenges, Buño says the CMO teams up with faculty, students and administrators “in improving existing processes and creating new practices, through: active involvement in different committees and projects where the campus facilities and amenities are involved; coordination with Building Administrators who share in the responsibility of maintenance particularly within their respective units; and partnership with faculty and students in various research and academic projects relating to the maintenance of the campus and the office’s other operations.” ——————– Email the author at upforum@up.edu.ph. |
https://up.edu.ph/early-release-of-rice-allowance-aig-for-up-faculty-reps-admin-staff-announced/ | Early release of rice allowance, AIG for UP faculty, REPS, admin staff announced – University of the Philippines | Early release of rice allowance, AIG for UP faculty, REPS, admin staff announced Early release of rice allowance, AIG for UP faculty, REPS, admin staff announced March 24, 2020 | Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta Additional financial support for members of the UP community during the enhanced community quarantine has been made available with the early release of the first tranche of rice allowance for fiscal year (FY) 2020, amounting to P2,350 for each faculty member, research, extension, and professional staff (REPS), and administrative staff, as ordered by UP President Danilo L. Concepcion in his March 23, 2020 message to the UP community. This was announced in a memorandum dated March 19, 2020, issued by UP System Vice-President for Administration Nestor G. Yunque. The first tranche of the Annual Incentive Grant (AIG) for FY 2020 for each UP faculty, administrative employee, and REPS has also been released early. This is according to a memorandum dated March 20, 2020, issued by UP Executive Vice-President Teodoro J. Herbosa. For the AIG, regular and non-regular UP faculty, REPS and administrative staff in active service, who have or will have rendered at least four months of service to UP as of May 31, 2020, will be granted P6,850 each regardless of their salary grade and employment status. This includes temporary, contractual, casual or substitute faculty and staff. Newly hired faculty, REPS and administrative staff, who have or will have served for at least one month but less than four months as of May 3, 2020, will receive a pro-rated share of the AIG. Faculty, REPS and administrative staff who have rendered active service but were separated or expected to be separated from the University from January 1 to May 31, 2020, will also receive a pro-rated share of the AIG. Part-time faculty, REPS and administrative staff in service from January 1 to May 31, 2020 will receive one-half of the benefits of full-time personnel, in proportion to their months of service. The early releases of the first tranches of these financial incentives were done in accordance with Section 2 of Proclamation No. 922, which declared a state of public health emergency throughout the country due to COVID-19. Section 2 mandates all government agencies and LGUs to render full assistance and cooperation and mobilize the necessary resources to undertake critical, urgent and appropriate response and measures in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the COVID-19 threat. |
https://up.edu.ph/upm-main-library-and-learning-commons-starts-construction/ | UPM Main Library and Learning Commons starts construction – University of the Philippines | UPM Main Library and Learning Commons starts construction UPM Main Library and Learning Commons starts construction November 28, 2019 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc Architectural perspective of the building’s ground lobby. Image from UPM-CPDMO The construction of the 12-story UP Manila Main Library and Learning Commons officially started on November 26, 2019 with a ground-breaking ceremony led by UP System and UP Manila officials. “We will change the image of the library. [It will be] not just a study place or rest place, but a place for collaborative work,” UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla said. Architectural perspective of the UP Main Library and Learning Commons. Image from UPM-CPDMO The 12-story building will centralize the campus libraries. It will feature longer hours of operation, an open ground floor, individualized thesis-dissertation rooms, small-group study and collaborative areas, a coffee shop, and free drinking water. “It is the symbol of our commitment to higher learning,” Padilla added. Architectural perspective of an individualized thesis room. Image from UPM-CPDMO Architectural perspective of a reading room. Image from UPM-CPDMO “Natutuwa ako sa pamunuan at samahan ninyo dito sa UP Manila. Mabilis ang galaw ng mga bagay-bagay dito. Dapat ninyo itong gamitin upang gumanda pa ang ating kampus [UP Manila’s leadership and interrelations hearten me. Things move fast in here. You should use this advantage to improve the campus],” UP President Danilo Concepcion said, assuring the constituent university of the UP System Administration’s priority of improving the physical plant of the campuses. Architectural perspective of a discussion room. Image from UPM-CPDMO Architectural perspective of a gallery hall. Image from UPM-CPDMO The upgrade of UP Manila’s library was one of the visions of Padilla when she ran for chancellor in 2014. Former UP President Alfredo Pascual secured funding for a seven-story building in the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA). When presented to the succeeding UP president for project implementation, Concepcion secured additional GAA funding for a vertical expansion which would make the structure “future-ready” and provide the campus with vital open spaces. UP President Concepcion inspects ongoing construction in UP Manila accompanied by UP Manila Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Michael Tee. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO UP President Danilo Concepcion and UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla drop a time capsule into the ground. Assisting Concepcion are Carmen Pascual representing Former UP President Alfredo Pascual, Vice Chancellor Arlene Samaniego, Vice Chancellor Nymia Simbulan, and Vice Chancellor Michael Tee. Assisting Padilla are Vice President Elvira Zamora, Vice Chancellor Armand Crisostomo, and Executive Vice President Teodoro Herbosa. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO UP Manila University Librarian Maria Nimfa Castro takes her turn burying the time capsule. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO UP Manila architects Rosalie Flores-Bernardo and Leonard Cordero bury the time capsule with UP President Danilo Concepcion, UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla, and UP Manila Vice Chancellor Michael Tee. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO UP President Danilo Concepcion discusses possible issues with UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla in the ground-breaking ceremony for the UP Manila Main Library and Learning Commons Building. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO UP President Danilo Concepcion and UP Manila Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Michael Tee, with representatives from the building contractor, BF. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO |
https://up.edu.ph/management-and-staff-meet-on-ideas-in-up-admincon/ | Management and staff meet on ideas in UP Admincon – University of the Philippines | Management and staff meet on ideas in UP Admincon Management and staff meet on ideas in UP Admincon August 1, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The conference participants with Rep. Satur Ocampo. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The offices of the UP Vice President for Administration and the Staff Regent led the holding of the UP System-wide Administrative Management and Staff Conference with the theme: “Serving with honor, dignity, and compassion: Reaffirming the role of administrative personnel as partners in governance” on July 11 to 14, 2018 in UP Visayas. “Why not include honesty?” Rep. Satur Ocampo said in a keynote address. “It is the key attribute for anyone to be regarded as having honor and dignity in public service,” he pointed out. Ocampo affirmed the value of compassion: “It may be the fundamental element that can best measure a public servant’s worth in the eyes of the people. . . and strikes the highest resonance with them.” Management, staff, and administration experts break the ice before the welcome dinner in the UP Visayas Auditorium in Iloilo City. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Hosted by UP Visayas (UPV), the conference gathered together more than 150 delegates from the management and administrative ranks of the constituent universities in the main conference venue at the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences of UPV’s Miagao, Iloilo campus to listen to Ocampo and other resource persons: Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque, former Vice President for Administration Maragtas Amante, Regent Frederick Mikhail Farolan, Regent Angelo Jimenez, and Henrietta Española, MD. UPV shuttle buses ferry the participants between the UP Visayas campuses in Iloilo City and Miagao, and between the dormitories and the conference venue Pidlaoan Hall, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences in Miagao. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) With the input of the resource persons, management and staff tried to achieve a “meeting of minds” on ways to empower employees in support of University operations, strengthen the employee development program, protect employees from disasters and climate change, promote health and wellness, help employees avail of legal protection in the conduct of service; and thus, enable them to serve with honor, dignity, and compassion. President Danilo Concepcion, UP Los Baños Chancellor Fernando Sanchez, UP Visayas Chancellor Ricardo Babaran, UP Open University Chancellor Melinda Bandalaria, UP Mindanao Chancellor Sylvia Concepcion, and UP Cebu Chancellor Liza Corro, and representatives of the rest of the chancellors were present for dialogues. Registration on the first day of the conference proper (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) On the eve of the last day of the conference, the participants gathered in a solidarity dinner in the UPV Miagao Covered Gymnasium and presented cultural numbers by constituent university (CU). On July 14, together with the President, they were ferried from accommodations at UPV Miagao dormitories to visit the UPV Marine Biological Station in the Taklong Island National Marine Reserve off the southern coast of Guimaras for an awareness tour. Ideas Workshops and discussions between management and the staff representatives resulted in some workable ideas. Ocampo and Chancellor Concepcion spoke of the critical role of a strong labor union; and Amante, of the Collective Negotiation Agreement and the Staff Regent, of staff empowerment. Conference participants await the presentations (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) For the legal protection of employees in the performance of their duties, the creation of a claims board with tenured lawyers and alumni assistance to strengthen legal offices were two of many suggested proposals. Vulnerabilities of employees and their families could be addressed by the extension of E-HOPE to family members, the creation of Safety Officer positions and an occupational safety commission for each CU, by formulating protocol for emergencies, and by conducting regular drug checks. To reward compassion in service, an awards program was to be considered. Conference organizers Staff Regent Analiza Fulvadora and Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque, with UP Cebu Chancellor Liza Corro and host UP Visayas Chancellor Ricardo Babaran, sing the national anthem along with the delegates. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Yunque reported on UP’s discussions with the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Commission on Audit on a joint circular to end contractualization among its ranks, and to be able to mitigate its impact. He cited the possibility of forming a labor cooperative, among others, to address the problem. He also reported on the current administration being all for equal opportunities for both academic and non-academic staff in terms of staff welfare and development. The staff in turn reiterated the need to also develop personnel in preparation for the retirement of those already in office. UP Visayas Chancellor Ricardo Babaran formally welcomes to his campus the participants, whom he calls “bida” and “sikat”. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Discussions zeroed in on details, including suggestions to eliminate the category “other duties” in performance targets, which could be used to exploit personnel. Input by the UP President appears in https://www.up.edu.ph/index.php/up-prexy-gets-close-look-at-admin-issues-upv/. (Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) Regent Angelo Jimenez and Regent Frederick Mikhail Farolan talk about legal protection of personnel in the conduct of service and their protection at work and at home in times of disaster and climate change. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Breakout workshop sessions (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) An ice-breaker before presentations of workshop output (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) A medical team stationed at the registration area checks a participant’s blood pressure. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Staff Regent Analiza Fulvadora and Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque give a token of appreciation to the resource speaker on health and wellness, Henrietta Española, MD of West Visayas State University. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Delegates enjoy a native feast at a solidarity dinner. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP Manila delegates present mixed dances and a protest version of UP Naming Mahal. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP Cebu delegates, with Chancellor Liza Corro, perform a Cebuano song, with ukuleles, a beatbox, and projected visuals. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The UP Visayas executive staff join the UP Visayas delegates in the climax of their Iloilo dance presentation. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Delegates from the UP campuses in Tacloban perform a courtship dance. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP Baguio delegates simulate a Cordilleran ritual dance before inviting the public to join them in a line dance. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP Los Baños delegates present a medley of modern dances. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP Mindanao delegates in malongs perform select Mindanao indigenous dances. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Changing to sarongs, the UP Mindanao delegates shift to a modern dance, as they are joined by their top officials and UP Mindanao-based Staff Regent Analiza Fulvadora. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/uplifting-lives-through-interior-design/ | Uplifting lives through interior design – University of the Philippines | Uplifting lives through interior design Uplifting lives through interior design March 9, 2018 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc Interior Design students mount expensive mock-ups for studio exhibits as an old practice for application courses. (Photo by ID 179 students) In an era of soul-searching in UP in the early 1990s, the Interior Design (ID) program saw an opportunity to turn ID’s elitist image around. It started with an insight. To Interior Design Professor Adelaida Mayo, ID should be seen in the context of basic needs. “There’s food, clothing, and shelter. Architecture deals with shelter, but where is its soul? It’s in the space people use. It’s inside. The shelter will just be the shell of it,” Mayo concluded. Without proper interior design, that space is bound to get unwieldy. Worse, it could lead to health problems and accidents. That living space may not be livable. Sadly, interior designers are left out in planning most low-cost and mass housing projects. Financially strapped institutions understandably omit interior designers from their roster of contractors, given their limited budgets. Together with another professor, Raquel Florendo, Mayo ushered the new millennium in the ID program with a concept to address this gap. How about their Special Projects classes doing it? It would be a more difficult task, a radical change from mounting exhibits of the students’ designs. But UP gladly prepared the students for such a challenge. The move to democratize Interior Design started with student volunteers. ID 179 or the Interior Design Special Projects Class called on students to apply “the knowledge, skills and competencies acquired and developed during the first three years of extensive training in interior design (to) a special project of their choice.” The lobby of the Ephpheta Foundation Institute for the Blind as improved by ID 179 students (Photo by ID 179 students) For a long time, ID students worked only in the studio. This was understandable as designing actual interiors and implementing them required a license, which students could not possibly have before graduation. They were compelled to simulate interior space, staging mock-ups of walls and ceilings and floors, furnishing, decorating and then exhibiting them inside halls, all of which was expensive. But all that went to waste once their works were dismantled. The students had no idea how their designs would have held up in actual use. In their new special project, the students would be under the close supervision of the professors, whose licenses would take care of the legal requirements for the projects. Grouped into teams, they helped look for project sites. They consulted with and proposed designs for screening by their professors. They coordinated among themselves to unify their concepts. Making cost estimates, they then set out to raise funds and get sponsorships. In academic year 2001-2002, ID 179 Special Projects rolled out in eight cottages of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Reception and Study Center for Children; the clinic and therapy rooms of the Golden Acres Home for the Aged; and a model unit for Gawad Kalinga. At the end of the first semester, what had been dark, dreary, and beat-up spaces were turned into bright and proper spaces to welcome back children recovering from trauma, the aged regaining strength and positive outlooks, and the poorest of the poor reclaiming their dignity. OLD AND NEW GK. The dining area of a Gawad Kalinga unit as improved by ID 179 students (Photo by ID 179 students) The bar was set for future batches. Since then, students have worked on sections of public hospitals and clinics; schools and dormitories; halfway houses and shelters for women, children, the recovering sick and the disabled; dance studios for the talented poor; libraries; and Gawad Kalinga housing. “Caring for the sick child not only requires competent healthcare professionals,” says Dr. Julius Lecciones, director of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, “but also an appropriate healing environment in the hospital. With the use of smart colors, lighting, and design, the students were able to transform clinically drab and impersonal outpatient consultation rooms into a welcoming haven that exudes warmth, brilliance and comfort.” OLD AND NEW PCMC. A doctors’ outpatient clinic for adolescents in the Philippine Children’s Medical Center as improved by ID 179 students (Photo by ID 179 students) “I can’t thank the students and the teachers enough for their sacrifices, work, physical struggles, and good heart,” says Donald Geocaniga, a Gawad Kalinga director. “They brought joy to seven families whose houses they fixed. They raised the level of their living. They showed the way in caring for the poor, as they volunteered their services to us.” Beyond the gratitude of partner institutions, the students reaped other benefits. As expected, the students got to learn the practical side of their discipline and expanded their competencies into community work. Limited resources stretched their creativity. Also, they got the rare portfolio edge of having implemented designs on special sites, and getting critiques from the end-users. “What they did gave us a place that is very comfortable for the body and beautiful for the eyes. Before, cleaning seemed to make little difference in our unit. It’s much better now,” says one Gawad Kalinga beneficiary. “At night, we finally have the sleep we could only crave in the past. And when we wake up, wow! Our home now energizes us. I am now more active in serving the Lord, bonding with neighbors and other people,” says another. By working on actual spaces with their beneficiaries, all the more do the students realize the importance of consultations, understanding the idiosyncrasies and needs of different people, temperance, and balancing aesthetics, function, and safety. Students also get to feel they are very much needed in the world. By making a difference in people’s lives, they contribute to an awareness of Interior Design as public service, essential to the quality of life. |
https://up.edu.ph/utak-at-pusa-the-cats-and-dogs-of-up-diliman/ | Utak at Pusa: The Cats and Dogs of UP Diliman – University of the Philippines | Utak at Pusa: The Cats and Dogs of UP Diliman Utak at Pusa: The Cats and Dogs of UP Diliman November 15, 2018 | Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta Three of the resident feline “stress-busters” of the UP College of Mass Communication. Note their collars. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) Snowbell, a white cat as plump as she is sweet-natured, has been an unofficial mascot of the high school Practical Arts Pavilion of the UP Integrated School (UPIS). She even has her own Twitter account: UPIS Snowbell @pusaaa. Snowbell, formerly of the UPIS Practical Arts Pavilion. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UPMPRO) Other units in UP Diliman have their own mascots. Name any building, and it likely has at least one feline resident. Even the Balay Tsanselor has its own non-human animal occupants. UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan laughingly describes inheriting ten cats who live at the Balay, whom he now takes care of along with two dogs. UP Journalism professor Khrysta Rara, who hosts a radio show on DZUP entitled “Kwentuhang Pets, Atbp.” and who founded the animal welfare organization Friends of Campus Animals (FOCA UP), notes that the term “stray” might actually be a misnomer when it comes to UP Diliman’s non-human animal residents. “We call them ‘stray’ cats but they’re not actually stray because they live on campus. Many are residents of each college, fed and cared for by students, staff and faculty. That’s why we call them community cats. They’re part of the community.” Although voiceless members of the UP community, the campus animals have made a difference in people’s lives. Rara collects stories of heartwarming encounters between the animals and humans of UP Diliman—stories of students, faculty and staff feeding the animals, rescuing them, and adopting them. UP CMC’s Prof. Khrysta Rara and one of the dogs who visit Mass Comm. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UPMPRO) Animals helping humans In many instances, though, it is the animals who help humans. At the College of Mass Communication, students take a break from the pressures of academic life by sitting with the cats for a while. This has led Rara to dub the cats “stress-busters.” Staff at UP dormitories have shared stories of students from distant provinces whose loneliness was eased by the presence of cats. There was even a foreign student who found it hard to connect with his classmates but would spend his evenings studying with the cats for company. The beneficial effect of pets on mental health has been widely studied, and both Rara and Tan have seen the transformative effect of having an animal companion. Rara herself shares how Kit-Kat, the famous feline matriarch at the CMC who has been featured on Howie Severino’s documentary “Pusang Gala,” comforted her during the difficult time following the passing of her mother. Prof. Rara with Kit-Kat, the matriarch of the UP CMC’s resident cats. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) Tan has also noted the effectiveness of therapy from dogs in easing the symptoms of mental illness, anxiety and stress—at least among people who like animals to begin with—which is why he is considering putting up a system of emotional support animals on campus, as is being done in universities abroad. The campus animals also serve as companions for the staff and the security guards. Tan shares how the lady security guard assigned to the College of Science library building is particularly close to the alpha female who is the sole feline resident of the building. Sometimes, the bond between the animals and humans is so strong that the staff and security guards end up adopting the animals themselves, taking them to be vaccinated and spayed or neutered. This is, of course, on top of the usual benefits of having animals, which is added security, pest control, and somewhat lesser known, as population control for other animals in the unit, since cats and dogs tend to be territorial and will drive away interlopers. Nature abhors a vacuum While there are benefits in having animals around, the uncontrolled population growth of animals does pose serious problems. Given that cats and dogs are territorial, putting too many of them together in one area stresses them out, which leads to fights and injuries. The humans also suffer—from poor hygiene from animal urine and feces; from the risk of the spread of diseases and parasites; and from the risk of bites and scratches. An uncontrolled population of cats and dogs also leads more people to view the animals as pests, which can lead to acts of cruelty that violate RA 8485, or The Animal Welfare Act of 1998. Unit heads faced with an uncontrolled animal population usually resort to having the animals rounded up and taken to the pound, where at the end of a holding period, they are eventually put down. This method, however, presents certain problems. Dr. Rey Oronan of the UP College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, who is Faculty-in-Charge of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) in Diliman, describes it thus: “Once you remove the resident animals in an area and you transfer them to a different place, you are creating a cycle. The resident animals have been removed, so a new batch will come in. Then the place you’ve relocated the animals to will also have a problem, since the number of animals in that area has increased. The other thing is, the animals aren’t really relocated. The pound, for one, is mandated to euthanize the animals.” “The evidence is very clear that the wrong approach is to gather the animals and exterminate them, which is still the dominant thinking,” explains Tan. “Anyone with good training in biology should know that in ecology, Nature does not like vacuums. If you want total extermination, you would have to kill all the animals and you cannot do that. Not just from a humane point of view. It’s also impossible.” Dr. Rey Oronan, Faculty-in-Charge of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at UP Diliman, speaking to the vet-students working in the clinic. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UPMPRO) Especially not in UP Diliman, an extremely porous community with two distinct aspects. It is, first and foremost, an academic community. But where there are people, there are dogs and cats, and UP Diliman is surrounded by residential areas. The campus has around 70,000 residents by Tan’s count, and a conservative estimate of 7,000 dogs. The cats number even more than that, since dogs give birth only twice a year, while cats give birth four times a year. Findings on TNVR on UP Diliman Chancellor Tan’s desk. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UPMPRO) Trap-neuter-vaccinate-return The ideal is for all the animals to have proper homes and responsible owners. Given the realities though, the best option is the “TNVR,” or trap-neuter-vaccinate-return program, the internationally accepted and most effective method of controlling animal populations. This entails humanely trapping the animals, spaying or neutering them, having them vaccinated for rabies and other diseases, ear-tipping them to mark them as spayed/neutered and vaccinated, and returning them to the places they were found. TNVR is what Rara, other like-minded UP faculty, and the student-members of FOCA UP have been doing for the past few years. With help from Dr. Jonathan Anticamara of the Institute of Biology and his highly-trained team, the cats are counted and humanely trapped and with Oronan and the other veterenarians at the VTH performing the spaying/neutering procedures and vaccinations at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, FOCA UP has succeeded in spaying and neutering more than 300 cats and dogs in the campus since 2016 and returning them to their home units. CARA Welfare Philippines has also helped them by neutering more than 30 cats for free while the International Wildlife Coalition Trust has neutered more than a hundred cats and dogs. The Philippine Pet Birth Control Center Foundation has also fixed around 30 cats. Anticamara has also been doing a population count of all the cats and dogs in the campus, while two other UP Diliman professors—Prof. Gregorio del Pilar of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy and Prof. Ibay Sicam of the College of Architecture—are doing research on the campus cats. Animal-loving UP students also initiated Utak at Pusa: Iskolars ng Bayan supporting TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) Operations in Diliman to help control the campus’ cat population in a humane way. A flagship project of FOCA UP, Utak at Pusa aims to raise awareness and rally support for the TNR project for UP Diliman’s cats, with students organizing rummage sales to raise funds for the medicines needed for the neutering surgeries, which Oronan does as a service to UP. Their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/utakatpusa, has over 4,600 followers and welcomes more. FOCA student-volunteers help the cats relax during the Aug. 19 FOCA/IWCT neutering activity. (Photo by Khrysta Rara) Six dogs were neutered from the UPDP during the Aug. 19 FOCA/IWCT neutering activity at the Institute of Biology. (Photo by Khrysta Rara) TNVR is Tan’s preferred method of dealing with campus animals because nothing else works. “We will not of course go with extermination, but if a unit does not want to go into a TNVR program, they have the option to have the animals rounded up, and we will try to look for homes for them. But we will monitor this, because our prediction is those units will keep calling us to round up the animals because the problem will never end. Then we will show that with TNVR, the population will be stabilized, the animals will become healthier, and there will be better relations between the humans and animals.” In a way, Snowbell is luckier than most. She was among the UPIS cats recently rounded up by the Office of Community Relations. She has been adopted, though, and has found a new home, albeit one much quieter than the bustling school she has known. With any luck, she might tweet about it very soon. |
https://up.edu.ph/pet-care-is-smart-care/ | Pet Care Is Smart Care – University of the Philippines | Pet Care Is Smart Care Pet Care Is Smart Care November 15, 2018 | Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan’s two pet dogs. (Photo from UPD Chancellor Mike Tan) There is no question that animal-lovers abound on campus. However, compassion toward our community cats and dogs must be applied with judicious knowledge of animal care. To help control our animal population on campus and create a better environment for both humans and animals, here are some dos and don’ts of responsible pet ownership: If you are a building administrator or are a student/faculty/staff member who cares for the animals in your building: • Do not feed the cats and dogs indiscriminately. Feed them only at designated times and in a designated place a safe distance from the building. This will train the animals not to scavenge or beg for food, or otherwise make pests of themselves. • Do close off all entry points to keep animals outside the building itself. • Do train a cat to avoid a certain place, e.g., a kitchen or dining area, by using a spray bottle to spray their rear ends with water. Also, cats hate the smell of vinegar and anything citrus, so you can put small containers of vinegar or citrus peelings in the area. • Do respect the cats’ individual personalities and teach the other humans to do so. Some cats like being petted and cuddled by humans. Some cats do not. With cats, as with humans, “no” means no. • Do get your all your building cats spayed/neutered and vaccinated as soon as possible. Contact FOCA through Prof. Khrysta Rara of the Department of Journalism or through their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/UPFOCA/. One of the UP CMC’s resident cats. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) If you are an individual pet owner: • Do take care of your pet’s health needs. This means getting them spayed/neutered and vaccinated as soon as possible. Male kittens and puppies as young as three or four months can be neutered, while female kittens and puppies can be spayed at six to eight months. • Do make sure your dogs get enough exercise by walking them on a leash. In case they poop, scoop it up so others won’t step on it. • Do not let your pet wander around outside. Keep your pet within your home. This decreases the risk of your pet getting run over or injured or, if he/she is still intact, reproducing. • Do provide for the basic needs of your pet, such as clean water, healthy food, regular baths and regular check-ups at the vet. • Do have a disaster plan for your pet. Have a proper-sized cage or leash ready, along with around five-days’ supply of food, and pet identification and vaccination records. In case of sudden evacuation, do not tie your dog or cat to a post or a tree. Instead, let them loose and give them a chance to swim or run to safety. • Do not let your pet be a bother to others. This means cleaning up their poop during walks, not letting them roam around, and training them if they have some behavioral problems. Always remember: Taking care of a pet is not a right, but a responsibility. |
https://up.edu.ph/saliksikhay-shines-spotlight-on-upd-research/ | Saliksikhay shines spotlight on UPD research – University of the Philippines | Saliksikhay shines spotlight on UPD research Saliksikhay shines spotlight on UPD research February 12, 2020 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo Engr. Ariston Gonzalez talks about the Sustained Support for Local Space Technology & Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space) Program of the College of Engineering with the Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute. STAMINA4Space builds up on the PHL Microsat Program. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Thirty-four research projects took center stage in Saliksikhay, a two-day conference that aimed to disseminate information on UP Diliman (UPD) research as well as to inspire collaboration among UP units and partnerships between and among industry, government, and the academe. It was held from January 16 to 17 at the UPD College of Architecture Benito Sy Pow Auditorium. Saliksikhay, the word being a combination of “saliksik” (research) and “sikhay” (zeal), clustered the projects into eight categories: education and culture; transport solutions and energy; housing and infrastructure; environmental protection; food and agriculture; disaster risk reduction and resiliency; health and wellness;, and advanced science and technology. In his message, UPD Chancellor Michael Tan said the conference aimed to “build bridges”—to get people to talk to each other, sparking ideas and leading to new explorations. UPD Vice Chancellor for Research and Development and now incoming Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, whose office organized Saliksikhay, said the event expanded on Agham Bayan, a 2018 gathering that focused on scientific research. This was to show the “range of idea production” in UPD and prove that the work done in and by the University is “worthy of public support”. Saliksikhay featured the following projects: College of Science Dean Giovanni Tapang discusses “Versatile Instrumentation System for Science Education and Research (VISSER),” an affordable science experiment kit for high school students. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Education and culture “Versatile Instrumentation System for Science Education and Research (VISSER)” of the College of Science presented by its dean, Dr. Giovanni Tapang; “Using Mathematics to Understand Perceptual Qualities of Philippine Bamboo Instruments” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Franz de Leon; “Gitara ni Juan” of the College of Engineering and College of Music presented by Engr. Crisron Rudolf Lucas; “Learning English Application for Pinoys (LEAP)” of the College of Engineering presented by Prof. Mario Carreon; “Exploring Philippine Alternative Modernity in Music” of the College of Music presented by Dr. Jose Buenconsejo; and, “PAGLULUAL International Ceramic Arts Project” of the College of Fine Arts, presented by Prof. Rita Gudiño. Dr. Joey Ocon highlights renewable energy in “Powering Off-Grid Islands in the Philippines.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Transport solutions and energy “LocalSim: Local Traffic Simulator” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Hilario Sean Palmiano; “Charging in Minutes (CharM)” of the College of Engineering presented by Engr. Leo Allen Tayo; “UP Bike Share” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Nestor Michael Tiglao; “Powering Off-Grid Islands in the Philippines” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Joey Ocon; and, “Tidal Resource Investigation, Device, and Energy Tool (TRIDEnT)” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Michael Abundo. Dr. Benito Pacheco suggests the streamlining of building rules and regulations in “Building Resilience: Philippine Building Act as Major Update of National Building Code.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Housing and infrastructure “TAKBUHAN: Design of a Resilient Evacuation Center” of the College of Architecture presented by Arch. Mary Ann Espina; “DREAM/Phil-LiDAR Program” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Louie Balicanta; “Building Resilience: Philippine Building Act as Major Update of National Building Code” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Benito Pacheco; and, “BAYANIHANETS: Building Robust and Sustainable Cooperative Community Networks” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Isabel Austria. Dr. Herman Mendoza holds up a gold nugget as he discusses “Community-Led Integrated Non-mercury Non-cyanide Gold Extraction Method (CLINN-GEM).” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Environmental protection “Fish-i: A Semi-Automated Method for Measuring Reef Fish Species Population Density and Biomass” of the College of Engineering and College of Science presented by Dr. Prospero Naval; “Solid Waste Management Program” of the UPD Environmental Management Office presented by Engr. Kristian July Yap; “UP Marine Science Institute Bolinao Marine Laboratory Training and Extension Program” of the College of Science presented by Dr. Cecilia Conaco; “A Tale of Two Tools: From Underwater Assessment to Virtual Larvae” of the College of Science presented by Dr. Aletta Yñiguez; and, “Community-Led Integrated Non-mercury Non-cyanide Gold Extraction Method (CLINN-GEM)” of the College of Engineering presented by Dr. Herman Mendoza. Dr. Alonzo Gabriel explains why “UNIQUE-corn: Ready-to-Eat Corn Grit Meals” are a better and healthier alternative to the usual canned food and uncooked rice given to those affected by disasters. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Food and agriculture “Development of Retrogradation-Resistant Thermally-Processed Local Rice Cake Products for Use as Disaster Food” of the College of Home Economics presented by Prof. Benjamin Gonzales; “Towards Integrating Inclusivity in Current Business Relationship in the Coffee Industry” of the Institute for Small Scale Industries presented by Reynold Ferdinand Manegdeg; “UNIQUE-corn: Ready-to-Eat Corn Grit Meals” of the College of Home Economics presented by Dr. Alonzo Gabriel; “Optimization of Ready-to-Drink Sweet Potato Leaf Extract Beverages through the UP-DOST Food Innovation Facility” of the College of Home Economics presented by Dr. Casiana Blanca Villarino; and, “Different Food Processing Technologies using Philippine Mangoes” of the College of Home Economics presented by Prof. Abigail Rustia. Prof. Raymond Freth Lagria says calls for help in social media during times of disaster need to be addressed which is why he explored “A Lookup-Based Decision Support System for Classification and Prioritization of Disaster-Related Tweets for Disaster Response.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Disaster risk reduction and resiliency “Honing Agents for National Disaster Awareness (HANDA) Program” of the Institute for Small Scale Industries presented by Joanna Rose Laddaran; and, “A Lookup-Based Decision Support System for Classification and Prioritization of Disaster-Related Tweets for Disaster Response” of the College of Engineering presented by Prof. Raymond Freth Lagria. Prof. Alegria Ferrer presents “Lunop Han Dughan (Voice of Yolanda),” an original contemporary Waray sarswela as psychosocial support to survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Health and wellness “Lunop Han Dughan (Voice of Yolanda)” of the College of Music presented by Prof. Alegria Ferrer; “Masaklaw na Panukat (MAPA) ng Loob” of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy presented by Dr. Gregorio E.H. del Pilar; “Harnessing the Power of Sport for Resilience” of the College of Human Kinetics presented by Dr. Maria Luisa Guinto; “Discovery and Development of Health Products (DDHP)” of the College of Science presented by Dr. Irene Villaseñor; and, “UPD Psycserv: Bringing Ginhawa to the UP Diliman Campus” of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy presented by Dr. Violeta Bautista. Dr. Nathaniel Hermosa relates his work on “A Generalized Multidirectional Paraxial Optical Cloak” to Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Advanced science and technology “STAMINA4Space Program” of the College of Engineering presented by Engr. Ariston Gonzalez; and, “A Generalized Multidirectional Paraxial Optical Cloak” of the College of Science presented by Dr. Nathaniel Hermosa. The Saliksikhay Book of Abstracts may be viewed here: https://view.joomag.com/saliksikhay-saliksikhay-abstracts-pdfv5/0969879001579050181?short. |
https://up.edu.ph/it-vs-tb/ | IT vs. TB – University of the Philippines | IT vs. TB IT vs. TB March 1, 2018 | Written by Fred Dabu Tuberculosis has been an age-old scourge for Filipinos, killing 14,000 in 2015 (according to data from the Department of Health, while the World Health Organization’s estimate is 22,000 in 2016) and putting the Philippines fourth on the WHO list of countries with high TB incidence. Fighting it hasn’t been easy. “Superbugs” or bacteria that have become resistant to existing first-line drugs have emerged due to inappropriate use of medicines, incorrect prescription, or failure to complete the treatment program. Some anti-TB medicines also cause serious side effects. Filipino scientists have thus been looking for newer and more effective compounds against multi-drug resistant tuberculosis or MDR-TB and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis or XDR-TB, among other superbugs. Drug development is a long and expensive process. But in UP, computer-aided drug discovery and development (CADDD) is now helping to reduce the time and cost of drug discovery. In 2012, a UP research team embarked on a project pioneering the use of computers in discovering new compounds for the treatment of TB. The project was supported until August 2017 by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) of the UP System under the Emerging Inter-Disciplinary Research (EIDR) program. Out of around 5 million compounds screened virtually in the computer laboratory set up in UP Manila, the researchers were able to test around a hundred compounds, and then filter down the number of top hits to around ten active compounds, from which three were considered very promising. How drug leads are discovered (from “Drug Discovery Today: Fighting TB with Technology” on SlideShare https://www.slideshare.net/rendevilla/drug-discovery-today-fighting-tb-with-technology) The project has officially ended, but according to project leader Junie B. Billones, PhD, a professor in Chemistry at the Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics of the College of Arts and Sciences (DPSM-CAS), the work goes on. The computational lab for drug discovery, including the software and computers they used, are still there for UP students and researchers to use. This breakthrough project proved that Filipinos can perform cutting-edge drug discovery and that UP researchers can match what those in universities abroad, with more advanced facilities and equipment, are doing. Dr. Billones, who was formerly Assistant Director of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, says that their group focused on tuberculosis research because TB, a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is still a major health issue as the sixth leading cause of death in the Philippines. Prof. Junie B. Billones (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) “As researchers in a developing country like the Philippines, we should have a contribution on drug discovery to address those areas we feel are quite neglected in terms of drug discovery and development,” Billones adds. This approach is not really new in developed countries because this has been the technique used by large pharmaceutical companies abroad. But as researchers in an academic institution or any research institution in the Philippines, CADDD research is still new in our country.” The project is unique because it utilizes, for the first time in the Philippines, computer software in the discovery of new compounds. “Typically, new compounds are discovered by chance, by trial and error method,” he explains. “We usually discover new compounds from extracts of plants or organisms, like marine life, sponges. We collect the organisms from the field and then we extract them. We characterize the isolated compounds and then we test the compounds for antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, and effects on other diseases. We use them for assays for different diseases. We are lucky if we find new compounds that can be used for the treatment of a particular disease. It’s really a hit and miss experiment for the longest time; that’s how we discover drugs in the Philippines, really very basic, like finding a needle in the haystack. You really don’t know what is in there and for what purpose.” This time, however, UP’s researchers tapped the information from database collections of compounds. Says Billones: “We can now pre-select sets of compounds with very promising activity against a certain target. We are reducing the number of compounds to a very manageable number; so our tests in the lab, the bioassay we do in the lab, are for those that give very highly encouraging results, in terms of binding energy, for example, our criterion for activity. We don’t have to spend for a lot of chemicals or specimens for testing millions of compounds since it is impractical and expensive to do so.” Ten computer units were acquired and installed with software which can perform the functions of “all computational tools in drug discovery, from target modelling to ligand modelling, to modelling interaction between the two, and modification of the top hits, to prediction of ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) properties that can also be predicted using computational and statistical tools” for the purposes of the project. Billones says that CADDD is very cost-effective and quite fast compared to typical laboratory experiments. The software’s two-year license fee costs around P1 million, against more expensive equipment in a typical laboratory setup that could cost as high as P50 million. The UP Manila’s TB Drug Discovery Team includes Maria Constancia O. Carillo, PhD, Voltaire G. Organo, PhD, and other research associates who are also from the DPSM-CAS, UP Manila, and Gisela P. Concepcion, PhD, from the Marine Science Institute, College of Science, UP Diliman. They were also able to publish several articles related to the project in various international scientific journals. Billones says the project also proves that the Philippines has the expertise to perform this kind of research. “Now, there is an increasing number of paper presentations in conferences, from other research groups in CADDD. There’s an increasing number of scientists in the Philippines going into this kind of work. That’s very encouraging. Drug discovery and development should always be accompanied by modern technologies, CADDD tools in discovering and designing drugs. That’s how pharmaceutical companies abroad are doing it. I’m very thankful to the UP System, especially the OVPAA. I hope other scientists will be able to work with us, to share other structures from compounds, from plants, from bacteria, from any organism in the Philippines. Maybe they can do some testing first, through our facility. They can work with us and we can identify the appropriate bioassay for a particular compound. This speeds up the process of discovery.” |
https://up.edu.ph/wheelchairs-for-empowerment/ | Wheelchairs for Empowerment – University of the Philippines | Wheelchairs for Empowerment Wheelchairs for Empowerment May 4, 2018 | Written by Fred Dabu Photo from the Philippine Society of Wheelchair Professionals https://www.facebook.com/pg/WheelchairTrainingPSWP/photos/ The sight of a wheelchair has traditionally evoked pity for the person sitting in it, often presumed to be powerless and incapable. But that perception is changing—as well as the reality behind it. Today, wheelchairs are seen as tools for empowerment, which could change people’s lives for the better. United Nations statistics suggest that 10 to 15 percent of any given population may be persons living with disabilities (PWDs) in need of some form of assistive technology, such as a wheelchair, visual aid, hearing aid, or other devices to help them with their daily needs, activities, and mobility. Given our population of just over 100 million, there could be about 15 million Filipinos living with a disability today. Given these figures, the supply of wheelchairs for Filipino PWDs could be far shorter than the demand, so the University of the Philippines has stepped in to fill the gap and raise the quality of life of PWDs. The UP College of Allied Medical Professions (UP CAMP) in UP Manila initiated a Wheelchair Service Program for indigents in 2012 as part of its Community-Based Rehabilitation Program (CBRP) and the Clinic for Therapy Services (CTS). Dr. Ferdiliza Dandah S. Garcia, a speech pathologist and a medical doctor currently teaching in UP CAMP, oversees the implementation of the WSP. Program staff make adjustments on the wheelchair based on the user’s needs and condition. More than a device Garcia says that the wheelchair should no longer be seen as just a device given out of charity or something to transport a PWD with for him or her to get adequate exposure to sunlight. “Wheelchairs are tools for empowerment. Being among the leading therapy schools in the country, we want to be at the forefront of advancing knowledge and skills that could enable our fellow persons with disabilities,” she says. According to Garcia, wheelchairs enable PWDs to do what they can and want to do. Through the WSP, various organizations such as the Philippine Society of Wheelchair Professionals, Physicians for Peace, KAISAKA Foundation, the provincial government of Bataan, Department of Health (DOH), and others, help them attend to the needs of PWDs. They are also able to impart to their clients and the public the necessary information and training for appropriate wheelchair service provision and access to services. Beyond securing wheelchairs, the WSP also provides services to their users. This new paradigm, Garcia adds, requires the service provider to determine with the PWD and his or her family the appropriate specifications of the wheelchair to make the device suitable to their needs. The wheelchair can then be semi-customized to suit the PWD’s condition, environment or terrain, and activities, whether it is to be used in a school or work environment, or for sports or other activities. In this way, an enabling environment is created for the PWD. The WSP came out of a meeting among wheelchair service stakeholders years ago. Back then, it was estimated that wheelchairs were needed by only one in 100 Filipinos, with only 10 to 15 percent of that subgroup having access to a standard wheelchair. The group’s application for a grant was approved in 2015 and through it, they were able to acquire some equipment for teaching and training faculty and students in UP Manila on how to do wheelchair service provision at the intermediate level. From then on, they were able to assess and fit wheelchairs for low-income clients in UP CAMP’s CBRP and CTS. Attaching cushions and safety straps for a child-customized wheelchair seat. Photos from the Philippine Society of Wheelchair Professionals https://www.facebook.com/pg/WheelchairTrainingPSWP/photos/ Not only for PWDs Garcia says she hopes the program can help the University acquire a steady supply of affordable wheelchairs, and to find other partners who can develop these. Most wheelchairs in use are imported and expensive. The need for wheelchairs, she stresses, is “not limited to the PWD. They also include the elderly, those with chronic illnesses, those needing dialysis, those with a temporary disability, such as a fracture. They all need some form of mobility.” Although the WSP already uses available tools and equipment for semi-customizing wheelchairs, Garcia says the country still needs to establish a viable domestic industry for appropriate wheelchairs because importing is expensive. “There are prototypes for new wheelchairs, especially in other countries. There are designs for low-resource and high-resource types. The wheelchair is just one part of a bigger set of assistive technologies. It can be an industry here in the future. The WHO and UN are pushing for assistive technologies. Later on, there will be funding for other assistive devices such as communication aids, hearing aids, and visual aids. Hopefully, other UP colleges can do collaborative work to develop these,” she add. The WSP now serves as a model for other organizations. Through their partnerships with non-government organizations and local governments, about 90 wheelchairs have been given to children with disabilities. In the college-based CTS and community-based CBRP, more than 50 wheelchairs have been provided since 2014, and about 18 formal training activities were conducted in UP Manila. Some WHO modules were integrated into their Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy classes. Garcia says that UP CAMP is training students in basic wheelchair service provision and hopes to train other health professionals, especially from UP. The WSP also aims to promote access to research and documentation, and to put up a model wheelchair service delivery center in the Philippines. |
https://up.edu.ph/in-photos-up-diliman-pag-iilaw-2018/ | IN PHOTOS: UP Diliman Pag-iilaw 2018 – University of the Philippines | IN PHOTOS: UP Diliman Pag-iilaw 2018 IN PHOTOS: UP Diliman Pag-iilaw 2018 December 5, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The UP Diliman signaled the start of the holiday season on campus with its annual lighting ceremony or Pag-iilaw on November 29. This year’s highlight is the lantern titled “Kamalayag,” an amalgamation of kamalayan (consciousness), malaya (free), alay (offering), and layag (sail). Created by Prof. Toym Imao, who has been designing the Pag-iilaw’s centerpieces since 2015, “Kamalayag” also reflects the season’s theme, “Paglaot, Pagdaong” (sailing out to sea, docking). “Kamalayag” by Prof. Toym Imao (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Front view of “Kamalayag” by Prof. Toym Imao (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Back view of “Kamalayag” by Prof. Toym Imao (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Dr. Jose Antonio Clemente hosts the Pag-iilaw 2018 program. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP Diliman Vice Chancellor Jose Ernie Lope opens the program by inviting everyone to the other activities of the season such as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra concert on December 8 and the annual Lantern Parade which will be on December 14, among others. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The orchestra composed of College of Music students and alumni (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) VP for Public Affairs Jose Dalisay Jr. delivers UP President Danilo Concepcion’s holiday message. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Louise Anne Manuel sings as Kris-belle Paclibar Mamangun dances to the Rico Blanco song, “Posible.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Rosie Sula, a chanter from Lake Sebu, performs a blessing ritual. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) VP for Public Affairs Jose Dalisay Jr. (left) and UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan read excerpts from the poem “Pananalig” by National Artist for Literature Amado Hernandez. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Louise Anne Manuel and Lorenz Edward Sarrondo perform a duet of “Iisang Bangka” by The Dawn. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan (leftmost) closes the program. With him on stage are, from left, Louise Anne Manuel, Prof. Toym Imao, Lorenz Edward Sarrondo, Rosie Sula, a member of the production crew, Kris-belle Paclibar Mamangun, and Dr. Jose Antonio Clemente. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Bateria Brigada kicks off the concert in front of the Quezon Hall lobby. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo, UP MPRO, with report from Anna Regidor, UPDIO) |
https://up.edu.ph/off-the-press-the-carillon-2018-is-now-available-online/ | OFF THE PRESS: The Carillon 2018 is now available online – University of the Philippines | OFF THE PRESS: The Carillon 2018 is now available online OFF THE PRESS: The Carillon 2018 is now available online August 16, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Enjoy the latest edition of Carillon, the University’s official alumni magazine. This January-June 2018 issue includes news tailored for the hundreds of thousands of UP alumni here and abroad, with features such as UP Cebu’s centennial celebrations, Upsilon Sigma Phi’s 100th year, life of former UP President Senator Edgardo J. Angara, UP in several iconic films, and much more! Browse it here: Download a PDF copy here. |
https://up.edu.ph/clarification-on-the-approved-up-diliman-adjusted-academic-calendar-for-the-second-semester-of-academic-year-2019-2020/ | Clarification on the Approved UP Diliman Adjusted Academic Calendar for the Second Semester of Academic Year 2019-2020 – University of the Philippines | Clarification on the Approved UP Diliman Adjusted Academic Calendar for the Second Semester of Academic Year 2019-2020 Clarification on the Approved UP Diliman Adjusted Academic Calendar for the Second Semester of Academic Year 2019-2020 April 30, 2020 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The University of the Philippines would like to clarify that the heading, “REOPENING OF THE SEMESTER*” (for students who opt to complete course requirements within the Second Semester of Academic Year 2019-2020), that appeared in the University of the Philippines Diliman Adjusted Academic Calendar approved by UP President Danilo L. Concepcion on 28 April 2020, DOES NOT refer to reopening nor resumption of classes. Consistent with the implementing guidelines of UP’s Policy on the Second Semester Academic Year 2019-2020 in the Time of COVID-19, released on 23 April 2020, classes officially end today, 30 April 2020. These include face-to-face classes for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Online classes are also discouraged, but may be conducted only for leveling expectations, clarifications, overall guidance, and summation. These real-time online meetings will not impact grading and will be recorded and disseminated to all students concerned. The UP Policy, a resolution approved by the UP Board of Regents at its special meeting on 16 April 2020, was based on the 13 April 2020 recommendations of the UP President’s Advisory Council, which, in turn, were drawn from the recommendations of the UP System Academic Affairs Committee that were based on the decisions of the Constituent Universities’ Executive Committees. The resumption of academic activities after 01 May 2020 will enable students to complete adjusted course requirements by 16 June 2020, the end date set in the adjusted Academic Calendar. Grades of students who are unable to complete the adjusted course requirements by this date will be deferred. They are given until May 31, 2021 to do so. All faculty members with students who opt or need to complete the course requirements within the Second Semester of AY 2019-2020 have until 24 June 2020 to submit their final grades. No student will be given a grade of 4.0, 5.0 or INC for courses in the Second Semester AY 2019-2020. Please read the guidelines here. Additionally, please read the FAQs prepared by UP Diliman on the guidelines. |
https://up.edu.ph/are-lagunas-hot-springs-losing-steam/ | Are Laguna’s hot springs losing steam? – University of the Philippines | Are Laguna’s hot springs losing steam? Are Laguna’s hot springs losing steam? June 11, 2018 | Written by Fred Dabu Researchers, mostly from the University of the Philippines, have pointed out that over-extraction of groundwater by hot spring resorts in Calamba and Los Baños in Laguna Province can cause a variety of problems, such as a drop in groundwater level and competition for water supply in the near future. Will Laguna’s hot springs also “lose steam” or cool down due to over-consumption? Municipalities of Calamba and Los Baños located at the foothills of Mt. Makiling and Mt. Banahaw. (Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 11, June 2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.11.020) Among the tourist attractions that Laguna is known for are its hot spring resorts and water spas sprawling in areas endowed with plenty of groundwater made warm by geothermal activities in the foothills of Mt. Makiling and Mt. Banahaw. The researchers were concerned that “the increasing number of hot spring resorts in the area and the increasing number of visitors entail greater demand for groundwater to be used in the pools,” especially during the summer months from March to May, and in December, peak periods for these business establishments. The research team comprised Karen Ann B. Jago-on of the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) in UP Diliman (UPD); Fernando P. Siringan of the Marine Science Institute (MSI) in UPD; Rosana Balangue-Tarriela of the National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) in UPD; Makoto Taniguchi of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan; Yvette Kirsten Reyes of SURP; Ronald Lloren of MSI; Maria Angelica Peña of NIGS; and Elenito Bagalihog of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) of the Philippines. In an article published in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 11, June 2017, these researchers warned of over-consumption of groundwater in selected areas in Laguna for domestic, agricultural, commercial and industrial uses; and, of possible negative effects of unregulated water use on affected populations, such as conflict or competition over the use of available water. Through their study, they are calling for improvements in the implementation of existing water use regulations and the strengthening of partnerships for the sustainable management of groundwater resources. The researchers are also asking for the crafting and implementation of specific water use regulations for hot springs. The article was one of the team’s research outputs under a bigger research project on human environmental security funded by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN). Their study, “Hot spring resort development in Laguna Province, Philippines: Challenges in water use regulation,” projected the impact of the activities of hot spring resorts in Calamba, where 466 of these were registered, and in Los Baños, where 42 were registered as business establishments with their respective local government units. Only a handful of them, however, were registered with the NWRB. Location of private pools and resorts based on online search and actual survey. (Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 11, June 2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.11.020) The NWRB is the lead government agency that “coordinates and regulates all water-related activities in the country that have an impact on the physical environment and the economy.” Estimates on water consumption were made based on data from government agencies and at least 65 resorts surveyed. The researchers further warned that any increase in the population and in commercial and industrial activities in these areas also leads to increase in water use and demand. According to the study, most of the resorts, typically having one adult pool (usually 6.8 meters × 11.12 m in size and about 1 m to 2 m deep) and one children’s pool (about 3.12 m × 3.82 m in size and 0.6 m to 0.9 m deep), were built only in the past 13 years and operate without water use permits. These “use 1 or 2 motor pumps, and it usually takes about 7 hours to fill the pool with water. The depth of the wells ranges from 3 m to 100 m. The average depth of the wells is about 29 m.” Since the “swimming pools are drained of water every booking of new guests, which on average is about 3 times a week during peak periods of tourist arrivals, the estimated average volume of monthly water consumption per pool is around 1,500 m3 during peak periods and about 700 m3 during lean periods or during the rainy months,” the study reveals. Used water are drained on the streets. (Photo courtesy of research team) The researchers reported a “huge demand of groundwater from these water resorts” based on the estimated total monthly water consumption of registered resorts during peak season in Calamba (around 665,260 m3, or up to 77% of the domestic consumption serviced by the Calamba Water District) and in Los Baños (about 59,959 m3). Furthermore, new data on the pools’ water temperatures, gathered from previous and recent research initiatives, point to a general “decrease in temperature through time”, such as an observed cooling down by 5 to 8 degrees. Estimated monthly water consumption (cu.m.) of surveyed resorts in Calamba and Los Baños during peak season. (Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 11, June 2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.11.020) There have also been some reported changes in the volume of water, such as a “decrease in water yield and flow rate from pumps; increase in the time to fill the pools; and decline in water level making it necessary to dig deeper wells,” due to “unrestrained exploitation of groundwater.” If water extraction from Laguna’s hot springs is left unregulated, as the study warns, water resorts might also “lose steam” (a metaphor for possible consequences, not due to geothermal activities), or could literally cool down (as new data suggests), due to decreasing groundwater supply and over-exploitation of the resource now and in the future. That’s worrisome—but if you take that hot dip now, will you be contributing to the problem down the road? |
https://up.edu.ph/up-cebu-shows-taxis-the-way-forward/ | UP Cebu shows taxis the way forward – University of the Philippines | UP Cebu shows taxis the way forward UP Cebu shows taxis the way forward July 24, 2018 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc Micab developers in a UPCeBuInIT co-working space in 2017. (Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO) Taxicabs have long been the boon and bane of the urban commuter’s existence. And the public sector can only do so much to address the bane. Nurtured by UP’s incubation program, a start-up company is rising to the occasion. In the UP Cebu Business Incubation for IT (UPCeBuInIT), Micab has found a home since January 2015. Even before the Grab issue, Micab had already been pioneering this kind of service in Cebu. As a start-up, it zeroed in on the much-maligned taxicab service, to give commuters an alternative to old-school taxicab fleet management and hailing. In 2012, it pioneered SMS-based taxicab hailing; by 2013, it was a working data-based app. But only when it was taken on by UP Cebu in January 2015 was it able to have staff that would run and continually upgrade the service full-time, with active customer support for its growing number of clients. Now Micab is known as an Internet-based taxicab hailing application, introduced into the national consciousness in the wake Grab’s takeover of the country’s TNVS (transport network vehicle service) private fleets. “Instead of getting fleets from the private sector, we provide the taxis a system by which the fleets are managed and monitored. At the same time, the riding public can get taxis through the app,” Micab Chief Technology Officer Kenneth Baylosis summarizes the system. Taxicab 2.0 Now, according to Baylosis, the Micab app has conquered 50 percent of Cebu’s taxicab fleets or around 3,000 taxicab units. It is now powering over 2,000 taxicab users in Manila, 700 in Iloilo, and 500 in Baguio. It is being introduced in Bacolod, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. Its share of the market qualifies it as a major app provider, even as it struggles to meet demand nationally. Labeled Taxicab 2.0, this has improved the taxicab experience, through the app that has worked out kinks in its early operations and that continuously learns from its partnerships. Baylosis said that Micab embodies the aspiration for modern and professional taxicabs. Micab developers, with VP for Engineering Edison Quiñones Jr., in an old space at UPCeBuInIT. (Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO) The app chooses units to power. The Micab app runs on units that meet standards, certifications, and clearances set by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). These include adoption of modern amenities such as GPS, and the use of units not older than four years. Micab thus partners with highly recognized operators, such as Ken and Yoo in Cebu. “In the app, you can see the complete driver’s profile,” Baylosis adds. “And we are training the drivers, who must of course have undergone regular health and drug checks.” “We began with a difficult situation—a taxicab industry that was very old school in terms of doing business and bad habits already formed. We’re trying to shake those habits out through technology. We’re using technology to change the culture,” he says. “For example, we have a points system to dissuade the drivers from choosing clients. If you accept clients and reach quota, you get incentives. We’re now working to ‘gamify’ the incentives for the drivers’ side,” Baylosis continues. Honing its edge To further ensure safety, the app has a “Share Trip” feature which allows friends and family to track the cab one has taken. But it is Micab’s online support to both operator and customer that gives Micab an edge, Baylosis said. “If you want to report units that reject you or for lost-and-found, they can be traced through customer service. Actually in the app, you can type your complaints. Our customer support is constantly going through all those. We make outbound calls, especially in urgent cases. That’s a salient feature of Taxi 2.0.” Micab Chief Technology Officer Kenneth Baylosis (extreme right) with some of the Micab staff at UPCeBuInIT. (Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO) Micab collects data to support further development. For one, “We make sure that rides with three-star ratings and below go through proper investigative measures.” For a start-up to accommodate such overwhelming demands, it needs all the support it can get. UP’s incubation, with the aid of the Department of Science and Technology, is making it possible for Micab to meet the challenge, first by giving a home, together with some scientific and entrepreneurial network support, to its 20 regular and freelance staff. “Providing this facility here is very beneficial to us, especially when we were still really growing. The rates are not expensive.” Having a Micab office was a decisive step since Baylosis met Micab Chief Executive Officer Eddie Ybañez in a Start-Up Weekend in 2012, when the latter was just pitching a hailing application off his thesis. They started off by borrowing staff from another company. Spreading its wings After three years, moving into a dedicated office enabled it to collect and confine the developers’ energy into focus through a conducive space provided by UP. Now the staff is devoted exclusively to Micab. Additionally, it now has staff to take the Micab expertise toward demands outside the transport network, forming the nucleus for a spin-off start-up they are not yet ready to reveal. Micab’s accreditation by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, dated April 30, 2018. (Photo from www.micab.co) Through UP CeBuInIT, Micab expanded its business network, and was able to be referred to DOST for a grant for technology development. It soon hopes to be able to provide government with the important transport data it needs. UP technology incubation thus remains a boost to Micab, a small start-up now playing against a multinational giant in the transport network service. |
https://up.edu.ph/ups-choral-legacy/ | UP’s Choral Legacy – University of the Philippines | UP’s Choral Legacy UP’s Choral Legacy January 10, 2019 | Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta The UP Singing Ambassador’s conductor Ed Manguiat leading the choir during their “Tunay na Ligaya: A Homecoming and Tribute Concert” at the UP Film Center following their triumphant 2018 European tour. (Photo by Noel Ignacio, from the UPSA Facebook page) In August this year, UP received amazing news. During their three-month tour in Europe, the UP Singing Ambassadors had won the Grand Prize and 17 other awards in the 66th Concorso Polifonico Internazionale “Guido d’Arrezzo,” including top prizes in four categories. The group also reaped awards in various other choir competitions in Berlin, Torrevieja, Spain, and Florence, Italy. Not bad for a choir that started out in 1980 as a freshman dormitory choir created by its conductor Prof. Edgardo Manguiat and which evolved into one of the country’s best choirs recognized by the Consumers’ Choice Awards and the ALIW Awards Foundation. This year, the UPSA became the only Asian choir to win the Grand Prize at Arezzo twice, the first time being in 2001. With this win, UPSA is qualified to compete in the prestigious European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2019. Media described UPSA’s triumph as a “grand slam.” Yet on another level, it was also par for the course for UP’s choral groups in light of how UP has influenced the growth of Philippine choral music since the mid-20th century. Watch “Kilometro” (Choral Cover) by the UP Singing Ambassadors Philippine choral singing is a product of three forces: colonization, Christianization, and Westernization. In churches, singing was part of the liturgy, while schools, which were run by religious orders, also included group singing in the curriculum. The American period saw the development of secular choral music, and before and after World War II, choral groups of Protestant churches dominated Philippine choral singing. In the early 20th century, nationalistic compositions also emerged in the form of hymns. Nevertheless, most choral pieces were pieces brought here from Europe and the US, as well as Catholic church music, with arrangements by some Filipino composers including UP College of Music alumni such as Nicanor Abelardo, Rodolfo Cornejo, Lucio San Pedro, and Ramon Tapales. According to Prof. Andrea Veneracion, National Artist for Music, there were only about a dozen or so original Filipino choral works around the time she founded the Madrigal Singers. From the UP Mixed Chorus to the Korus The 1960s was a turning point for Philippine choral music. In 1962, the UP Mixed Chorus was named the UP System’s official choir by then UP President Carlos P. Romulo. The UP Mixed Chorus participated in the musical extravaganza that marked President Romulo’s inauguration in 1963. During the gala concert, Eliseo M. Pajaro conducted his Prelude and Testament with Aurelio Estanislao as baritone soloist and the UP Mixed Chorus singing in the choral fugue. The UP Mixed Chorus was originally conducted by UP College of Music Dean Ramon Tapales. Dean Rey T. Paguio succeeded him in 1969 while Prof. Janet “Jai” Sabas-Aracama took over in 1999. It became the UP Concert Chorus or simply the “Korus”. The UPCC is famous for pioneering Choreo Capella or choreographed a capella singing in the Philippines. The Korus has been named one of the world’s best choirs, has performed in full-length ballets, operatic works, popular films, TV specials and pop concerts. It has won international competitions in Spain, Hungary and Finland, and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Aliw Awards Foundation in 2012, and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts’ Ani ng Dangal award in 2013. The UP Concert Chorus, with conductor/musical director Prof. Jai Sabas-Aracama (2nd from right), posing at the UP College of Music. (Photo from the UPCC Facebook page) The Philippine Madrigal Singers In 1963, another choir made its debut at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium under Veneracion’s leadership. It was a small group consisting of UP College of Music faculty and students that she had organized to sing madrigals during lunch breaks. The group introduced a new concept in performance—sitting in a semi-circle, with Veneracion, their conductor, seated with them instead of standing in front. The group, known as the UP Madrigal Singers or simply “the Madz”, soon became one of the world’s most awarded choirs, attaining near legendary status for its virtuosity, versatility and vast repertoire. In 1980, the Cultural Center of the Philippines appointed the Madz as its resident artist in choral music, prompting the UP Madz to change its name to the Philippine Madrigal Singers in light of its national recognition. The Madz holds the distinction of being the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, the first time in 1997 under Veneracion’s leadership and again in 2007 under Mark Carpio, who succeeded Veneracion. The Madz has been recognized by the UNESCO as Artists for Peace. Its alumni have since gone on to establish choirs of their own. The Philippine Madrigal Singers performing their spot number during the 2013 UP Diliman performance of Handel’s Messiah. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) A haven for choral singing Choral music in UP continued to blossom as more choirs were created, many of which went on to carve their own niches in the field of choral singing. UP’s official children’s choir, the UP Cherubim and Seraphim, was founded by the UP College of Music’s Flora Zarco-Rivera in 1971. The UP Staff Choral Society, whose members are from the ranks of UP’s faculty, administrative staff and REPS, was founded shortly later, in 1973. A relatively young choir, the UP Dawani Women’s Choir, was created in 2013 as the first all-female resident choir of the UP College of Music. The flowering of choral singing is not limited to one UP campus. The UP Manila Chorale (UPMC), composed of UP Manila students from different disciplines, has performed in major concerts, benefit concerts, nine European tours, with the latest tour in 2018, and performances for heads of state. The UPMC has garnered awards locally and internationally, including, in 2015, 3rd prize in the mixed category and 2nd prize in the folk category in the 33° Festival Internacional de Musica de Cantonigros in Vic, Spain, and 1st prize in the polyphony category of the 61° Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polifonia in Torrevieja, Spain, and the Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors) by the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 2016. The UP Medicine Choir, the official choir of the UP College of Medicine founded in the 1980s, has also gone on local and international tours and won prizes in choral competitions, the most recent being the 7th Bali International Choir Festival. The UP Los Baños Choral Ensemble, founded in 1991, has had numerous concert tours around Europe and Asia, competing in international competitions in Switzerland and Germany. A young choir from UPLB, the Makiling Chamber Singers, which is composed of UPLB students and faculty members, won the top prize in the first UP Gawad Pangulo Choral Competition in 2016. UP Cebu’s UP Serenata, established in 2000, counts UP Cebu students and alumni as its members and has a repertoire that predominantly features Cebuano music. The group has performed in major and benefit concerts, and has been a three-time champion of JCentre Mall’s Melodies of Christmas Choral Competition, grand champion of the 2015 Sinulog Choral Competition, and winner of the best interpretation of the contest piece in the 2017 UP Gaward Pangulo Choral Competition. UP Mindanao’s Koro Kantahanay has for the past 17 years sought to promote Mindanaoan culture, heritage and arts through choral singing. The group has performed all over the Philippines and participated in the 2nd Gawad Pangulo Competition and the Madz Et Al Concert Festival at the CCP. The other UP campuses, too, have their own choirs—the UPOU Chorale, the UP Visayas Tacloban Chorale and the UP High School Iloilo Harana Choir, and Tinig Amianan, one of the first student organizations in UP Baguio. Filipinos singing together “Choral music in the Philippines is at its apex today,” Alfred John De Veyra wrote in Madz: Almost Everything About the Philippine Madrigal Singers (2013). “Philippine choirs…are actively touring the world and winning accolades at international competitions. Filipino conductors sit as international jurors and are actively invited to deliver workshops and master classes the world over. Commissioning of new choral works is gaining popularity today.” This is in contrast to the days when Veneracion had to scrape together Filipino choral materials and encourage members of the Madz to arrange and compose their own pieces. Many composers and arrangers have since gone on to produce their own material, and many of the names in composition and choral arrangement either taught or studied at UP, among them Lucrecia Kasilag, Ramon Santos, Ruben Federizon, Eudenice Palaruan, Ryan Cayabyab, Ily Matthew Maniano, Christopher Borela, and Nilo Alcala II. In short, the Philippine choral music scene today is Veneracion’s proudest achievement—“a nation singing together in harmony.” |
https://up.edu.ph/safeguarding-philippine-cultural-treasures/ | Safeguarding Philippine Cultural Treasures – University of the Philippines | Safeguarding Philippine Cultural Treasures Safeguarding Philippine Cultural Treasures January 14, 2019 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo There’s nothing more culturally devastating than having traditions slowly fade from practice into the dark corners of memory. Music, especially its forms deeply rooted in specific events and experiences, belongs to those traditions. This is why the UP Center for Ethnomusicology is such a high-value cultural resource. The center started out as the UP Ethnomusicology Archives in 1997, when the University Board of Regents recognized the groundbreaking work and authorship of National Artist for Music Jose Maceda. He put together the center’s core collection: an ethnomusicological treasure of around 2,500 hours of recordings, field notes, musical instruments, transcriptions, song texts, photographs, and compositions, among many others, as well as roughly 2,000 books and journals. In 2007, that collection was recognized as documentary heritage and inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Amal Lumuntud, a kulintang player from Datu Piang, Cotabato, playing the instrument under his house (UPCE-P-2492). Photo from Jose Maceda’s research during his 1954 fieldwork among the Maguindanaoans. Taken from the Jose Maceda Collection of the UP Center for Ethnomusicology. The change in name signaled the evolution of the center from archival work and digitization of its collection to conducting its own research, linking up with similar institutions, and pursuing multidisciplinary initiatives. It has ethnomusicological materials from the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and representative areas from different continents. It currently has four facilities: a library, archives, an instrumentarium, and an audio conservation laboratory. One of its biggest projects was Laon Laon, the brainchild of former Executive Director Ramon Santos, who was later named National Artist for Music. Laon Laon was a venue for music research centers across Asia to come together in pursuit of preserving and sustaining music amid the changes brought by modernization. Samaon Sulaiman playing a kutyapi or lute (UPCE-P-5117). Photo from Jose Maceda’s research in 1980. Taken from the Jose Maceda Collection of the UP Center for Ethnomusicology. More than safekeeping College of Music Dean LaVerne de la Peña, who also serves as the center’s Executive Director, says that the center does more than just hold artifacts for safekeeping. Its work is geared toward safeguarding. “I believe there’s a distinction,” he asserts. De la Peña describes safeguarding as not only preserving resource materials, but also ensuring that these keep cultural traditions alive by allowing them to be used for research, practice, and performance, and by “repatriating” what materials the center can to the cultures they belong to. He finds the idea somewhat strange since “We’re supposed to be learning from them and not the other way around.” But the reality is that in some cultures, the younger generation no longer practices these traditions or even knows how to do or perform them. Santos recalls that he, an “outsider,” was asked by teachers and students in a public high school in Baguio to “teach” them the badiw of the Ibaloi. Marking its 25th year In 2022, the center turns 25. It has laid out a roadmap detailing seven goals: to be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities that are at par with similar centers around the world; to improve services by adopting best practices and procedures; to become a dynamic hub of research activities; to further expand the collection and make it more accessible to the public; to enlarge and improve the production of new knowledge; promote awareness of ethnomusicology among students, teachers, and community leaders; and to ensure the permanence and sustainability of the institution as a research unit within the University. De la Peña says one of the biggest challenges is widespread dissemination. These days, it’s mostly done online, but there are still issues with intellectual property that are being worked out. Until then, researchers and the curious will have to go to the UP Diliman College of Music, where the center is located. It is currently in the process of moving into the recent addition to the complex, the Jose Maceda Hall. “Our dream is to have communities set up their own centers for ethnomusicology, where they have documentation and records of their musical traditions. We can help them do these, help them put up these centers and provide information on how to maintain their collections. Ultimately, they are the best guardians of their own cultures,” de la Peña declares. Listen to some of the Center’s collections here: http://upethnom.com/sounds-from-the-archive/ |
https://up.edu.ph/symphonies-in-up-music-to-the-people/ | Symphonies in UP Music to the People – University of the Philippines | Symphonies in UP Music to the People Symphonies in UP Music to the People January 14, 2019 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc Ranera sustains the big sound. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) UP is a musical hub, as it is a leader in culture and the arts with its many scholar artists, national artists, and bright young talents. But not resting on its laurels, it also invites and attracts world-class musicians, exposing the public to the best, and inspiring UP’s own. UP recently forged partnerships with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), the resident orchestra of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, which is regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia-Pacific region. With the University as host, it has brought live symphonic music to the public for free. A collaboration early this year resulted in a public performance that exceeded expectations. The concert “Simulain at Pangarap” rivaled the UP Diliman Lantern Parade and general commencement exercises in audience size. The live concert on March 23, 2018 was one of the few instances in which the UP Quezon Hall Amphitheater was filled with people for an evening of symphonic orchestral music under the moon and stars. Ranera gestures the entrance of strings. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Ranera goes for a more rounded tone. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Part of the woodwinds section (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) “Seeing people here is heartening,” UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan said in his welcome remarks. “The turnout tells us people will come,” he added. “Your presence is most important,” Tan then told PPO. “It is bringing music to the communities and not keeping it within the Cultural Center.” The concert began with PPO’s version of “Lupang Hinirang” just after sunset. It ended with Professor Ramon Acoymo, the program coordinator for UP, singing “UP Naming Mahal”. The crowd applauded the classics “Overture to Gillaume Tell” and “Waves of the Danube Waltz” just as warmly as it did selections from the modern-day musicals Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Symphonic music roused all ages familiar with the Indiana Jones and Star Wars themes, and Aegis, Itchyworms, and APO Hiking Society tunes. The familiar “Three Coins in the Fountain”, “Despacito”, and “Baby Shark” were similarly played for the crowd’s entertainment. Ranera keeps the rhythm steady. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Ranera keeps a note precise. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Part of the brass section (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Many hope that UP’s partnerships with PPO will lead to UP’s establishing its own symphony orchestra. UP has a number of in-house instrumental ensembles, including the UP Symphonic Band, and a UP Orchestra which played side by side the UST Symphony Orchestra in the “No Match” concert in February 2015. The concert featured Herminigildo Ranera, conductor of UST and PPO, and UP’s own Edna Marcil Martinez. Ranera, in an interview with UP Forum during the press conference in August 2018 for the PPO’s 45th anniversary and 36th concert season, said he envisions more collaboration between UP and the PPO. Ranera takes a “watch me” stance. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Double basses at the rear (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Philharmonic violinists and violists (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) The two institutions are currently working on a free public concert set for December 8, 2018. This was announced in the same press conference by Cultural Center of the Philippines President Arsenio Lizaso and its Vice President and Artistic Director Chris Millado. The conference, held in the Manila Hotel, ended with UP Vice President for Public Affairs Jose Dalisay Jr. signing a contract with the PPO for the UP concert in December. The PPO will thus play for the second time on the Diliman campus and for the third time in the University in a year. It has also held concerts in the UP Manila-Philippine General Hospital, giving back to the Filipino community represented by hospital patients, caregivers, health workers and visitors. It played soothing orchestral music that was much appreciated in the bustling public hospital. Ranera turns to the rear of the orchestra, signifies a calming down. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Ranera motions to draw a fuller sound. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Ranera gestures to a small section to his right. (Photos from ‘Simulain at Pangarap’ concert by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) “CCP is bringing art to the people. We are the players, but the art belongs to you,” Lizaso said more than once during the press conference. The public will get a grand serving of that art in the coming December evening event. PPO will join in UP’s traditional Christmas concert which culminates in Handel’s “Messiah”. PPO and 130 UP voices, in a rare collaboration, will play and sing one of the grandest and best-known choral and orchestral works of Western music, on a green expanse under the stars. It will be a treat befitting UP’s celebration of the Christmas season. |
https://up.edu.ph/a-night-of-music-for-edgardo-angara/ | A night of music for Edgardo Angara – University of the Philippines | A night of music for Edgardo Angara A night of music for Edgardo Angara October 24, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office National Artist for Music and UP University Professor Emeritus Ramon Santos conducts the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, soprano Stefanie Quintin, tenor Conrado Calnea Ong III, the UP Concert Chorus, UP Cherubim and Seraphim, and the UP Singing Ambassadors in a special performance of “Awit ng Pagdiriwang” (Song of Celebration). Santos, who was then UP College of Music Dean, wrote the song’s music and lyrics for the investiture of UP President Edgardo Angara in 1982. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo was filled with orchestral music, then applause and cheers as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) performed in a tribute concert to the late Senator Edgardo Angara on October 17. Presented by the CCP and the PPO Society, Inc. (PPOSI) in cooperation with UP, the invitational event celebrated the life and work of the former Senate and UP president, particularly his affinity for and contributions to Philippine arts and culture. In the opening program, CCP President Arsenio Lizaso described Angara as “a champion who believed that every Filipino deserves to experience the arts.” CCP President Arsenio Lizaso delivers the welcome remarks. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Angara served four terms as senator, during which he authored and supported legislation that created the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the National Living Treasures Award, as well as established the Book Publishing Industry Act, National Museum Act of 1998, National Book Development Trust Fund, and the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009. At the end of his last senate term in 2013, Angara was awarded the Dangal ng Haraya by the NCCA in recognition of the impact and value of his work on the culture and arts of the country. Even before his entry into the Philippine Senate, when he was still UP president, Angara formed the PPOSI to help CCP’s resident orchestra. It took care of the procurement and upkeep of instruments, and provided new uniforms annually for the members. PPOSI President Zenaida Tantoco speaks during the opening program. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) According to PPOSI President Zenaida Tantoco, Angara set up gratuity funds for retiring orchestra members. Just six months before his untimely passing, he gave study grants to two PPO members. One was to attend a master class in the United States and the other, to pursue a PhD in Music at UP Diliman. Ramon Orlina (right) presents his sculpture, “Eternal Flame,” to the Angara family represented by Mrs. Gloria Manalang Angara (left) and Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (hidden) . Beside Orlina is UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista representing UP President Danilo Concepcion. Inset: Orlina’s “Eternal Flame” (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) CCP and PPOSI present a sculpture by Impy Pilapil to the Angara family. From left to right: PPOSI Vice President Nestor Jardin, PPOSI President Zenaida Tantoco, CCP President Arsenio Lizaso, Mrs. Gloria Manalang Angara, and Senator Sonny Angara . Inset: Pilapil’s sculpture (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Two glass sculptures were presented to the Angara family during the opening program. The first was “Eternal Flame” by Ramon Orlina, who was inspired by Angara’s unstinting support for the arts. Impy Pilapil created the other sculpture, an interpretation of the natural world’s dynamism and mystery. Senator Sonny Angara delivers the response of the Angara family to the tribute. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) In his response on behalf of the Angara family, Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara expressed gratitude for the tribute. He revealed that his father’s support of Filipino arts and culture stemmed from his conviction that these were necessary to “building a sense of unity across our nation.” Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura conducts the PPO’s performance of “Le Corsaire.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura and the PPO prepare to take a bow after the “1812 Overture.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura and the PPO are joined by Raul Sunico on the piano in “Concerto in F.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The PPO performed Hector Berlioz’s overture, “Le Corsaire,” and the “1812 Overture” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, under the baton of Maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura, its music director and principal conductor. For “Concerto in F” by George Gershwin, they were joined by renowned pianist Raul Sunico. National Artist for Music and UP University Professor Emeritus Ramon Santos introduces his piece and the concert finale, “Awit ng Pagdiriwang.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The night ended with National Artist for Music and UP University Professor Emeritus Ramon Santos conducting the PPO, soprano Stefanie Quintin, tenor Conrado Calnea Ong III, the UP Concert Chorus, UP Cherubim and Seraphim, and the UP Singing Ambassadors in a special performance of “Awit ng Pagdiriwang” (Song of Celebration). The music and lyrics of the piece were composed by Santos, who was then UP Diliman College of Music dean, for Angara’s investiture as the 15th UP president in 1982. (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/upd-celebrates-70th-year-since-exodus-from-manila/ | UPD celebrates 70th year since Exodus from Manila – University of the Philippines | UPD celebrates 70th year since Exodus from Manila UPD celebrates 70th year since Exodus from Manila April 4, 2019 | Written by Fred Dabu A grand fireworks display caps the UP Diliman Arts and Culture Month 2019 opening program. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. February 2019 marked the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) community’s month-long celebration of its 70th year since the University’s transfer or exodus from its original campus or birthplace in Ermita, Manila to the flagship Diliman campus in Quezon City. The actual transfer of the UP Oblation statue by members of the UP faculty and students on February 11, 1949 symbolized the community’s exodus. With the theme, “Lakad-Gunita sa Lupang Hinirang”, the series of activities featured a cultural program, an exhibit, a national conference, a theatrical play, film screenings, walking tours, and an open-air concert commemorating the UPD community’s shared history, national relevance, and social engagements throughout the past seven decades. The UP Symphonic Band performs during the “Pag-alala at Paglulunsad” on Feb. 11, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “Pag-alala at Paglulunsad” UPD’s Quezon Hall lobby and Oblation Plaza served as the center of festivities during “Pag-alala at Paglulunsad”, the grand opening ceremony of UP Diliman Arts and Culture Month 2019 held on February 11, 2019. The night’s program was divided into four parts: Exodus (Pag-alis sa Lugar), Home (Paghubog ng Tahanan), Activism (Lakaran) and New Directions (Liwasan); and it showcased the most significant events in the life of UPD constituents through messages, poetry, imagery, music, and dance performances. UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan delivers his message for the “Pag-alala at Paglulunsad” on Feb. 11, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Among the UP officials and performing groups who made the event more memorable were: UP President Danilo L. Concepcion, UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan; Professor Emeritus and former UP President Emerlinda R. Roman; Dr. Olympia Q. Malanyaon (director of the Information, Publication, and Public Affairs Office of UP Manila, representing UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita D. Padilla); Professor Emeritus and former College of Arts and Letters Dean Flora R. Mirano; the UP Filipiniana Dance Group; the UP Dance Company; the UP Varsity Pep Squad; the UP Repertory Company; the UP Symphonic Band; the UP Concert Chorus; the UP Cherubim and Seraphim; the UP Chorus Classes; and, the UP Manila Chorale. Music, movement and imagery give the audience a chance to experience UPD history during the “Pag-alala at Paglulunsad” on Feb. 11, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Activism (Lakaran) and New Directions (Liwasan) of the “Pag-alala at Paglulunsad” program dramatize the UPD community’s many social issues and dynamic transitions from the 1980s to the present. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Activism (Lakaran) and New Directions (Liwasan) of the “Pag-alala at Paglulunsad” program dramatize the UPD community’s many social issues and dynamic transitions from the 1980s to the present. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “Lupang Hinirang: Mga Kuwento ng Pagsasalugar ng UP Diliman” At the Bulwagan ng Dangal University Heritage Museum, the “Lupang Hinirang: Mga Kuwento ng Pagsasalugar ng UP Diliman” exhibit showed UPD as “a place of dwelling, learning, and doing” as well as “an active heritage site” by combining archival research and installation art. The exhibit ran from February 15 to March 29 and was capped with a forum on “Memories and History of UP Manila and UP Diliman” on its last day. “Pagpunla at pag-ani” was held at the NISMED Auditorium on Feb. 22, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “Pagpunla at pag-ani” “Pagpunla at pag-ani: A national conference to commemorate the 70 years of UP Diliman” was held at the NISMED Auditorium on February 22. The day-long conference gathered some of the renowned academics of UPD to share memories of their experiences and lessons gained as students, educators, and residents of the campus. Leading the roster of speakers were: historian Reynaldo Ileto, National Artist Ramon Santos, National Scientist Lourdes Cruz, Professor Emeritus Randy David, Professor Belen Medina, and Professor Ricardo Jose, director of the Third World Studies Center of UPD. Historian Reynaldo Ileto shares lessons he learned from the 1970s during the “Pagpunla at pag-ani” conference held at the NISMED Auditorium on Feb. 22, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. National Artist Ramon Santos and National Scientist Lourdes Cruz talk about the importance of the Sciences and the Arts in developing well-rounded citizens during the “Pagpunla at pag-ani” conference held at the NISMED Auditorium on Feb. 22, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Ileto talked about life in the Department of History and recalled how he and his fellow teachers faced the challenges of the 1970s. Santos discussed the development of education in modern music and culture at UPD, concluding that the University experience aims to shape students into well-rounded individuals, academics, humanists, artists, and citizens of a global community. Cruz emphasized the importance of rigorous training in science, multi-disciplinary collaboration, advocating for sustainability, and turning knowledge into science-based policies and action programs. David focused on the physical and political transformations of Diliman from a “wilderness” in the 1930s into the community that it is known today, while relating his journeys as a student and an educator in the Department of Sociology in the 1960s up to the present. Medina shared happy memories about life in campus from 1949 when she entered as a college freshman, joined the academe after graduating in 1953, and until her retirement from teaching in 1997, adding that her family now has four generations of well-rounded and loyal UP alumni. Jose highlighted the value of recognizing the greatness and history of the people, buildings, places, and events unique to UP, urging the audience not to take them for granted, and to link the past with the present as we move forward to the future. Sociologist Randy David discusses the political and physical transformations he witnessed in UP Diliman during the “Pagpunla at pag-ani” conference held at the NISMED Auditorium on Feb. 22, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Professor Ricardo Jose of the Department of History talks of the greatness and the history that can be found in UP Diliman during the “Pagpunla at pag-ani” conference held at the NISMED Auditorium on Feb. 22, 2019. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “Nana Rosa” and “Tahan(an): Pista Pelikula” The line-up of activities for the UP Diliman Arts and Culture Month 2019 included: “Nana Rosa”, a play that explores the story of the first Filipino who publicly came out as a World War 2 comfort woman; and “Tahan(an): Pista Pelikula”, screenings of selected films with the themes of displacement and struggle. “Nana Rosa” was made possible by the UP Playwrights’ Theatre of the College of Arts and Letters, Rody Vera, and Jose Estrella, and was staged at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater from February 20 to March 10. “Tahan(an): Pista Pelikula” included the films, Tu Pug Imatuy (Arbi Barbarona), Pureza (Jay Abello), Tundong Magiliw (Jewel Maranan), and others that were screened at the Cine Adarna, UP Film Institute. “Lakad-Gunita” and “Himigsikan” The Walking Tours around the campus were managed by the Asian Institute of Tourism so as to engage participants in appreciating the history and environment of UPD. The “Lakad-Gunita” tours were held around the themes: Fauna (birds of UPD), History (Diliman Commune Revisited), Public Arts and Architecture, Flora (plants and trees of UPD), and Historical Buildings. The open-air live music concert, “Himigsikan”, was held on February 24 at the UP Theater Canopy. The month-long celebration was spearheaded by the UPD Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA). |
https://up.edu.ph/up-weighs-options-for-ay-2021-2022-admissions/ | UP weighs options for AY 2021-2022 admissions – University of the Philippines | UP weighs options for AY 2021-2022 admissions UP weighs options for AY 2021-2022 admissions October 27, 2020 | Written by Jo. Florendo Lontoc File photo / Jun Madrid, UP MPRO The University of the Philippines is set to come out with a system of freshmen admissions unique to the pandemic situation, following a series of consultations with stakeholders. UP experts had earlier come up with five options or scenarios, UP Office of Admissions Director Francisco de los Reyes, a data scientist, told UP News in an online meeting on October 20, 2020. The scenarios are the following: 1) A paper-and-pen administration of the UPCAT, subject to IATF and LGU Covid19 protocols and coordination; 2) An online UPCAT; 3) A hybrid paper-and-pen and online mode for UPCAT; 4) A no-UPCAT scenario where UP may mine data from the applicant’s personal data sheet, high school records, the specific high school and performance of its graduates in UP, etc., to arrive at the University Predicted Grade (UPG); 5) A moratorium on freshmen admissions. The Office of Admissions is holding discussions at every level over which option would be the best for all stakeholders involved. This decision, which is projected to be made during the next meeting of the UP Board of Regents on October 29, will ultimately be based on consultations currently being held with the UP faculty, high schools, UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) contact persons, testing centers, and volunteers. With a go-signal on any of Options 1 to 4, UP may accept applications by November 2020. The University aims to keep with the usual schedule of releasing the qualifiers list by April each year. Based on the recent trend, the University expects over 100,000 applicants to be considered for freshmen admission for academic year (AY) 2021-2022. De los Reyes assures the public that UP remains steadfast to the guiding principle of excellence and equity, whatever option will be taken; and that it will not compromise standardization or waver on the commitment not to disenfranchise any candidate for admission. “Ultimately, planning for our next round of admissions will be inclusive, with the acknowledgment that some applicants do have the economic privilege, and with empathy for the marginalized,” de los Reyes says in a presentation. In the meantime, the UP Office of Admissions is beefing up its automation program and IT infrastructure, in cooperation with the UP Information Technology Development Center and Data Privacy Office, which will greatly help it to cope with the pandemic. Foremost in development are dedicated portals for UPCAT inquiries and fully online applications. |
https://up.edu.ph/statement-of-the-up-diliman-executive-committee-on-the-shutdown-of-abs-cbn/ | Statement of the UP Diliman Executive Committee on the Shutdown of ABS-CBN – University of the Philippines | Statement of the UP Diliman Executive Committee on the Shutdown of ABS-CBN Statement of the UP Diliman Executive Committee on the Shutdown of ABS-CBN May 11, 2020 | Posted by UP Media and Public Relations Office The shutdown of ABS-CBN, especially in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a disservice to the Filipino people. We consider all broadcast media organizations, including ABS-CBN, as partners in engaging the public. They provide channels and platforms for bringing vital information to communities and other places which schools and universities are not able to reach. They offer platforms for the university’s scholars, researchers, scientists, and artists to speak to broader audiences, translating expert knowledge into popular forms and transmitting ideas and discourse into the wider public arenas. For the truth to stand above mendacity, a university provides an arena for contending views to debate. The conditions for academic excellence are the same for media integrity. They require conditions of openness and respect for diversity. This means that the freedom to question, to think, to write, and to speak should be safeguarded for all, regardless of beliefs and background. While ABS-CBN has been criticized for its political biases, it has also given space for diverse political views, a process that is fundamental to democracy. The shutdown of the network on May 5, two days after the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day, was a stunning blow against the freedom of the press and people’s right to information. We cannot stress how important and critical a role mass media plays during this time of crisis. As COVID-19 spreads and worsens at the national and global scale, it is wrong to silence a vital channel of information such as ABS-CBN, which has become, after years of public service, a significant pillar of the media establishment. Moreover, the shutdown has resulted in the loss of jobs for 11 thousand employees, aggravating further the precarious situation of growing economic instability and hunger resulting from containment measures of the pandemic. UP Diliman stands with the workers of ABS-CBN. UP Diliman stands for press freedom. The statement was originally posted by UP Diliman on May 9, 2020 here: https://upd.edu.ph/statement-of-the-upd-execom-on-the-shutdown-of-abs-cbn/. |
https://up.edu.ph/compassion-our-common-ground-investiture-speech-of-danilo-l-concepcion/ | Compassion, Our Common Ground: The Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción – University of the Philippines | Compassion, Our Common Ground: The Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción Compassion, Our Common Ground: The Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción September 20, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office “UP must be that special place within which it should still be possible—despite all divisions and distractions—to work together with the University’s and the nation’s strategic interests in mind.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Compassion, Our Common Ground Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción 21st President, University of the Philippines 20 September 2017, 5:00 p.m., University Theater I stand before you today as a student trained in two disciplines: that of science, which taught me the measure of Nature, and that of the law, which taught me the measure of Man. I cannot claim that I have learned enough because education is a lifelong process, and I expect to live a little longer. But this I have surely come to realize: that while Nature may be bewilderingly complex, Man is infinitely more so. If I had remained an agricultural engineer, I might have been happy designing new tools for farming or more effective irrigation systems. But ultimately, I found law more challenging, that which is the calibration and codification of human and social behavior. And as if that were not enough, and even before UP, I took on teaching and university administration—which, in a strange but logical way, draw on all these threads of thought and experience to form a coherent wholeness of purpose. Indeed the university is probably the one institution in society—with the possible exception of Congress—where diversity and difference are its very nature and intrinsic to its success. Today, with nearly 200 undergraduate and almost 350 graduate programs, UP can proudly claim to offer the broadest canopy under which Filipino students and scholars can learn. Nowhere else in this country can you take such diverse courses as Archeology, Geomatics Engineering, Tropical Landscape Architecture, and Women and Development. That is what a national university is for, and that is why UP is one. We recognize that a national university exists not to profit the pocket, but to enrich the mind and to enlarge the soul of our people. We stand firm in the belief that all forms of knowledge benefit humanity, and that part of our mission is to employ that knowledge for social transformation. At his investiture in 1911, our first President, Dr. Murray Bartlett, made it clear that the new University of the Philippines was not merely going to be a copy of its models in the West but would be a “University for Filipinos” devoted to providing “the intellectual and moral leadership essential to social salvation and progressive national development.” It seems ironic today—given our much-vaunted nationalism and secularism—to remark that Dr. Bartlett was an American and a Protestant pastor. But that irony offers vivid proof that our founders understood that creating a great university would mean stepping out of one’s own moorings into a true community of minds. And so, difference and diversity have been with us since the beginning—and of course, dissension and debate, especially since the University Council was first set up. But again, and notably, we have managed to harmonize our differences over more than a century of discourse to forge a way forward—whether it be in terms of crafting a curriculum for general education, or rewarding performance and productivity. Therein lies our University’s vitality—not in the fact that we argue, because argue we must, but in the fact that we have always managed at some point to agree, because agree we also must. Dissent has been coded into our DNA, the most familiar expression of the critical thinking we have sought to imbue every UP student with. But we also know that between academic inquiry and practical necessity lies much common ground to explore and to inhabit. On June 8, 1933, students at the College of Education boycotted their classes in the first protest ever against a tuition fee increase, from P30 to P50 per semester. Among the leaders of the mass action was none other than Fe Palma, daughter of then UP President Rafael Palma. History does not record what President Palma said to his daughter afterwards, but I suppose he should have been proud, as she was a product of the liberal education that he himself espoused in his inaugural address. Four years later in 1937, when President Quezon pushed for the transfer of UP from Padre Faura to Diliman, UP students led by a young editor named Armando Malay held a straw vote that resoundingly rejected the move by 84 percent. The critics complained that Diliman was a dark and mountainous territory teeming with snakes, monkeys, and mosquitoes. Then UP President Bienvenido Gonzalez was crucified. But twelve years later, when the move had finally happened, Malay spoke again, but this time in Diliman, and acknowledged that it was time “for a closing of the ranks.” These instances of dissent were classically and uniquely UP. We ourselves have made this possible, empowering and emboldening generations of students with reason, enabling them, as Palma put it, “to react properly to the promptings of truth and to the world.” We—and perhaps we alone—have justly and proudly held reason above all other considerations in our academic life: considerations such as creed, kinship, privilege, authority. And it is this supremely valuable faculty to which I appeal today, as I grasp the helm of this great enterprise we call the University of the Philippines. Let reason guide us, but not reason alone; let it be reason tempered with respect, responsibility, and collegiality. Both at the national and university levels, it is becoming difficult to push any agenda forward without being subjected to intense, sometimes malicious, but also often necessary scrutiny. In many instances, we have stopped talking to one another as a people sharing the same future. Truth, reason, and respect have been the prime casualties in these exchanges, which I am sure you have witnessed—if not participated in—online. The phrase “social media” has almost become an oxymoron, as it has become the stalking ground of some of the most unsociable people you could come across. Sad to say, some of that caustic and deeply divisive rhetoric has come to infect our University, not just our students but our faculty, staff, and administrators as well. This is perhaps to be expected, as a university remains, in many ways, merely a microcosm of a much larger society. Our strength lies in our collegiality. If we allow our reason and our rhetoric to be clouded by intolerance, then we will be no more and no better than a gang, indeed than any other collection of ill-tempered individuals. At his investiture in 1975, another of my predecessors, President Onofre D. Corpuz, openly took issue with the University’s characterization as “a battleground of ideas,” calling it a “romantic notion” that the people could ill afford to pay for with their taxes. Rather than a battleground, I prefer to focus on finding, in this University, a common ground, a clearing—a safe, free, and congenial space within which its constituents can teach, study, and work productively to their full potential. UP must be that special place within which it should still be possible—despite all divisions and distractions—to work together with the University’s and the nation’s strategic interests in mind. For this we must promote consensus over conflict, civility over calumny, and collaboration over confrontation. We must foster strategic thinking over short-sightedness, honest labor over opportunism, and shared effort over self-promotion. There should be no better place in this country than UP for the expression of ideas without fear, without fear of violent retribution from one’s colleagues or from the State itself. There should be no environment more welcoming than UP for cutting-edge research, timely policy studies, exciting new exhibits and productions, and provocative art and literature—in other words, the work we have always meant to do, and do best. We will be guided by the overarching vision of UP as a leading regional and global university in an environment that sustains 21st century learning, knowledge creation, and public service for society and humanity. Where our University is situated today would not have been possible without the foundations laid by my esteemed predecessors, whom I acknowledge and thank today, and to whom I make a personal pledge to do my best to live up to their example. President Edgardo Angara, who was not able to make it today, Presidents Emanuel Soriano, Emil Javier, Jose Abueva, Francisco Nemenzo, Emerlinda Roman, and Alfredo Pascual—sa inyo pong lahat, tanggapin ninyo ang aming taos pusong pasasalamat, paggalang, at pagpupugay! Bunsod ng ating hangaring ituloy ang mga mahahalaga at makabuluhang pagbabago, at sa paniniwalang mayroon tayong maia-ambag sa hangaring ito, ini-alay po natin ang ating sarili upang maglingkod bilang Pangulo. Nagsama-sama po tayo sa ating pakay at galaw, at dahil dito, tayo po ay nanaig at nagtagumpay. Ngayon, ang tagumpay na ito ang simula ng ating pagkilos upang patunayan sa lahat na ang mga pangarap at adhikain na sinampalatayaan at pinanghawakan ng ating mga kasama, kakampi man o katunggali, ay kaya nating maisakatuparan at makamtan. Lahat po ng ating balak at panukala ay matutupad at matatapos kung tayo po ay magsa-sama-samang muli sa pagpaplano, pagpapasya, at pagpapapatupad sa lahat ng ating gagawin para sa pagsusulong ng minimithing pagbabago. Upang tayo ay magtagumpay, ang tatlong sangkap ng ating Unibersidad: ang mga mag-aaral, ang kaguruan, at ang mga kawani, ay dapat na magkabigkis-bigkis tungo sa isang layunin. Nasa pagkakaisa nating lahat lamang ang susi ng tagumpay. Totoo, ang pagkakaisa ay tunay na mailap at mahirap makamit sapagkat lubhang maraming pagkakaiba ang ating mga pangangailangan, paniniwala, at pamantayan. Subalit tayo ay nananalig na mayroong isang tagpuan kung saan lahat tayo ay maaring tumayong sama-sama na parang isang katawan. Bilang isang katawan, tiyak nating mapagtatanto at madarama na ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay sakit ng buong katawan. Ang sakit na iniinda ng sinuman sa atin, ay sakit na iindahin ng lahat natin. Hindi natin marahil napapansin subalit ang tagpuang ito ay nasa mga puso na natin. Kailangan lamang po nating itong mapagtanto at madama. At upang tayo ay manatiling magkakayakap sa ating tagpuan, tayo po bilang Pangulo, ang magsisilbing isang pagkit na sa ating lahat ay hahatak at magdi-dikit upang wala ni-isa man sa atin ang mawalay o malisya. Tayo po ay nakalaang makinig kanino man upang malaman ang inyong mga loobin, balak, at pangangailangan upang tayo po ay magabayan sa ating pag-ugit. Sa atin pong pamumuno, mas mahalaga ang kagalingan ng lahat kaysa sa ating personal na pananaw o kagustuhan. Sa ating pagpapasya sa mga hakbang na ating tatahakin, ang ating gabay at panuntunan ay pagmamalasakit. Pagmamalasakit sa ating Unibersidad, pagmamalasakit sa ating mga propesyon, pagmamalasakit sa ating mga sarili, at pagmamalasakit sa isa’t isa. Kung tayo po ay nagmamalasakit, tayo ay lubos na nag-iingat; nag-iingat na ang ating bawat kilos at galaw ay hindi makasasakit o makasasama sa bawat isa sa atin. Kung pagkakaisa ang susi sa tagumpay ng ating mga mithiin, pagmamalasakit naman ang susi tungo sa isang samahang wagas at pangmatagalan. Sa susunod na anim na taon na ating hahawakan ang timon, ito po ay ating hahawakan nang mahigpit at maingat sapagkat maraming hamon at balakid ang ating haharapin, bubunuin, at gagapiin. Sa simula pa lamang ng ating pag-ugit, isang malaking hamon ang agad ay sumalubong sa atin: ang libreng matrikula sa kolehiyo. Tunay po na ito ay isang malaking hamon sapagkat animnapung porsyento ng ating koleksyon mula sa matrikula ay nakalaan para sa ating mga faculty development programs. Kung hindi po ibibigay sa atin ng national government ang katumbas ng dapat ay ating koleksyon, wala po tayong malilikom na pondo na sadyang ilalaan sa mga programang magpapaunlad sa katayuan ng ating kaguruan. Bukod dito, bagama’t totoong libre na nga ang tuition sa UP, makapasa naman kaya sa UPCAT ang mga kapus-palad na kabataan na sa UP ay nais makapag-aral? Wala pong saysay at kabuluhan ang programang libreng matrikula kung sa UPCAT ang estudyante ay di naman papasa. Sa mga nakalipas na pagsasaliksik at pag-aaral, napag-alaman na maliit na bahagi lamang ng mga nagtatapos sa maraming public high schools sa labas ng Metro Manila ang pumapasa sa UPCAT. Ang sinisisi pong dahilan ay ang mababang kalidad ng pagtuturo sa mga public high schools na ito. Dahil dito, panukala po natin na gawing kondisyon sa pagtanggap sa isang estudyante ang pagbibigay ng balik-serbisyo sa ating bayan; balik-serbisyong isang taon pagkaraang makatapos ang estudyante sa kanyang kurso. Sa loob nang isang taon, siya po ay ating pagtuturuin sa senior high school sa mga public schools na ito upang kahit-manawari ay tumaas ang kalidad ng kanilang edukasyon. Ang kondisyong balik-serbisyo ay hindi naman po sapilitan. Malaya po ang estudyante na hindi magbalik-serbisyo, dangan siya po sa halip ay magbabayad ng matrikula kung siya po ay tatanggi bago makatapos, o ang buong halaga ng kanyang edukasyon kung siya ay tatanggi kapag siya ay nakapagtapos na. Hindi rin po libre ang pag-babalik-serbisyo. May bayad po sila habang sila ay nagtuturo. Ganoon pa man, tayo po ay lubos na umaasa na magbabalik-serbisyo ang ating mga iskolar ng bayan. Ito na po ang kanilang pagkakataon na isabuhay ang kanilang isinisigaw na pagmamahal sa bayan. Ito na po ang pagkakataon na patunayan nila sa kanilang mga sarili ang panawagan nilang maglingkod sa kapus-palad nating mga kababayan. Madalas pong magmartsa ang ating mga estudyante, sumisigaw ng pagbabago. Kung ating pong wawariin, parang wala nang katapusan ang kanilang mga reklamo at kahilingan; parang ibig nilang sila na ang magpalakad sa ating Unibersidad, at sila ay mag-aral nang sang-ayon tangi sa kanilang pasya at kagustuhan. Subalit sinasabi natin ngayon sa kanila, na hinding-hindi natin sila pipigilan sa kanilang pagpapahayag ng kanilang mga kaisipan at paniniwala; hinding hindi natin sila bubusalan sa kanilang mga hinaing. Bagkus, sila ay ating pakikinggan, uunawain, at gagabayan. Hindi po natin hinuhubog ang ating mga estudyante sa isang hulmahan. Hinuhubog po natin sila upang magkaroon ng isang malaya, mapanuri, mapagtanong, at malikhaing pag-iisip; upang sila ay magtaglay ng diwang walang takot, ng tinig na hindi pasusupil; at upang sila ay manindigan para sa katwiran at katarungan. Sa ating kaguruan, ang lakas natin ay nasa ating kakayahang mag-talo at magpasya bilang isang kalipunan. Ang kakayahang ito ay ating itataguyod at pag-iibayuhin nang marubdob. Pagsisikapan nating malikom ang pondong kailangan ng ating faculty development programs upang hindi maputol ang mga programang nasimulan na, at upang madagdagan pa. At upang manatili sa Unibersidad ang ating mahuhusay na kaguruan, pag-aaralan po natin na luwagan ang mga regulasyon sa tenure at promotion upang ang mga ito ay maging mas patas at mas makatarungan. Marapat din na sila ay bigyan natin ng magandang working condition, at masaya at masiglang buhay-akademiko sa ating mga campus. Titiyakin po natin na maitayo muli ang nasunog na Facuty Center sa loob ng 3 taon. Ang bagong Faculty Center po na ito ay magiging mas malaki, mas moderno, at mas faculty-friendly. Ang ating pong kaguruan ay binibigyan ng lipunan ng pinakamataas na pagkilala at paggalang habang sila ay nagtuturo sa ating Unibersidad. Hindi po natin papayagan na sila ay mawalan ng dignidad matapos na sila ay magretiro sa pagtuturo. Marahil, dapat tayong magtayo ng isang opisina na walang gagawin kung hindi ihanda ang ating kaguruan para sa kanilang pag-reretiro, at upang sila ay gabayan at tulungan sa kanilang mga pangangailangan, lalong-lalo na sa usapin ng pabahay. Nakalista po sa ating priority projects ang pagpapaganda sa ating mga campuses. Nangangailangan na po ng rehabilitasyon ang ating mga gusali at mga dormitoryo. Dapat na po nating wakasan ang masakit na biro na walang malinis at mabangong CR dito sa UP. Tayo po ay nananawagan sa ating mga alumni na sana tayo ay tulungan at damayan sa krusadang ito. Sa mga matagumpay nating alumni na tumira at nakinabang sa murang bayad sa ating mga dormitoryo, sana’y masumpungan nila sa kanilang mga puso ang magsukli at tumulong sa ating pagbabangong-anyo. Pagsisikapan din po nating magtayo ng pangalawang Philippine General Hospital dito sa UP Diliman. Kasama po sa itatayo ang kakambal nitong College of Medicine at Genomic Cancer Research Institute. Ang medical complex po na ito ay magbibigay-serbisyo sa komunidad ng UP Diliman at ng hilagang Metro-Manila. Ang College of Medicine ay magdaragdag ng mga duktor sa ating bansa at ang Institute po naman ay tutuklas ng lunas sa cancer gamit ang makabagong siyensya ng genomics. Pangarap po natin na ang PGH na ito ay maging pinaka moderno at pinaka magandang ospital sa buong bansa. Naniniwala po tayo na kaya nating isakatuparan ang pangarap na ito sa tulong ninyong lahat at ng lokal at pambansang pamahalaan. Para naman po sa ating mga kawani, sinimulan na po natin ang proseso upang gawing regular ang mga kawaning matatagal na sa serbisyo. Sapagkat mangangailangan ito ng mga karagdang plantilla positions, ang proceso po ay inaasahan nating magtatagal. Subalit habang tayo po ay naghihintay, itataas na po natin ang mga non-UP contractuals, yaong matatagal na po sa serbisyo, sa antas ng UP Contractuals upang sila ay tumanggap na ng lahat ng benepisyo ng isang regular na empleyado. Ganoon pa man, inaasahan natin na ang mga kawani ay magmamalasakit din para sa kapakanan ng ating Unibersidad. Huwag sana nilang igiit ang kanilang mga kahilingan kung ito ay hindi kayang pasanin ng ating kabang-yaman. Kasabay nito, kailangan po nating suriing mabuti ang pangangailangan ng ating operasyon upang ang laki ng ating administrative workforce ay maging tugma rito, at hindi tuluyang lumobo. Ang salop na umaapaw ay di na po dapat dagdagan. Sa ibabaw po ng lahat nang ito, i-aangkas natin ang ating mga reporma sa ating procurement system, sa automation ng ating mga operating systems, at sa paggamit ng ating mga pondo at resources. Tayo po sa ngayon ang nag-iisang Pambansang Unibersidad. Subalit ang karangalan pong ito ay may kaakibat na tungkulin para sa mga unibersidad at kolehiyo sa buong bansa, pribado man o pambupliko. Sa ilalim po ng ating pagmamasid, itataguyod natin ang tambalan ng UP sa mga unibersidad at kolehiyo na ibig makipagtulungan sa ating mga gawaing akademiko at pananaliksik. Pag-aaralan po natin ang pagbalangkas sa isang facility-sharing scheme para sa ating mga SUCs. Dumako naman po tayo sa usaping informal settlers. Lingid sa karamihan, ang pamilya po natin, minsan, ay naging informal settler din. Kung kaya po damang-dama rin natin ang nararamdaman ng ating mga kababayang nakikitirik sa ating mga lupain. Bibigyan po natin ng tamang pansin ang kanilang kapakanan. Ang kanilang kagalingan ay lagi po nating ilalahok sa lahat ng balak at pagpa-plano sa pagsasa-ayos ng ating mga campus. Hindi po tayo gigiba ng bahay kung ito ay gigiba ng buhay. Ang tanging dasal po natin, sana’y magmalasakit din naman sila sa ating Unibersidad at sa ating komunidad. Hindi po natin ikinahiya kailanman na tayo ay galing din sa hirap. Dala po ng kahirapan sa buhay tayo po ay nangailangang tumulong sa ating mga magulang sa pagtataguyod sa pamilya. Tumulong po tayo na magpa-aral sa ating mga kapatid upang magbago ang kanilang mga kapalaran at ng ating mga mahal sa buhay. Sa ating pagtulong, nangailangan pong humingi tayo ng awa sa Panginoon. At upang patunayan na ang ating panalangin ay taimtim, tayo po ay nagbitaw ng isang panata. Panata na tayo po ay hindi hahanap ng kabiyak sa buhay hanggat hindi natatapos ng kolehiyo ang lahat ng ating mga kapatid. Dininig po ng Maykapal ang ating panalangin at malugod naman po nating tinupad ang ating panata. Hindi po tayo nakipag-isang dibdib kay Atty. Gaby hanggat hindi po tapos ng medisina ang bunso nating kapatid. Ngayong hapon, saksi kayong lahat at ang Dakilang Lumikha, tayo po ay gumagawa muli ng isang panata. Panata na tayo po ay maglilingkod ng wagas, sa sukdulan ng ating kakayahan, nang patas at makatarungan, nang buong puso at pagmamahal, nang walang iwanan at laglagan, at higit sa lahat, na walang halong biro! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! Mabuhay and Unibersidad ng Pilipinas! (The English translation of the Filipino portion follows below.) Driven by the sincerest and noblest desire to continue accomplishing meaningful and necessary changes in the University, and with the firm belief that I could contribute to achieve this dream, I humbly offered myself to serve our University as its President. And because we were brought and bound together by our common selfless intentions and pursuits, we prevailed, we succeeded. This success signals the beginning of the more important task of proving to our colleagues—friends and detractors alike—and to those who rely on and believe in us that we will fulfill and deliver the reforms we have committed to achieve. This we will realize through a renewal of our collective and united efforts to plan, decide, and act toward the needed change we have envisioned together. For us to triumph, the three vital components of our University—the students, the faculty, and the administrative staff—should aim as one to hit our targets. Our unity is the key to our success. True, unity is elusive because we fully acknowledge and accept the complexity and diversity of our respective needs, beliefs, and standards. However, we believe that there is a common ground where all of the three components can stand together as one body. We have to act as one body, so that pain endured by one of us will be pain felt by all of us. That common ground is right here in our hearts; we simply have to feel it to realize it. To ensure that all of us will stay in that common ground together as one, I, as your President, shall act as the adhesive that will keep us fastened and bound together, so that no one will fall out, or be left out. I am committed to listen to anyone who needs my attention, so I would know what he or she feels, plans, and needs in order to guide me in my work. Under my leadership, the common good is far more important than my personal views or desire. The road to change is treacherous to say the least. But to guide us in every step of the way, compassion is what shall set our bearings. It is compassion when we feel genuine care for our University, genuine care for our professions, genuine care for ourselves, and genuine care for each other. When we genuinely feel compassion, we are truly careful with our words and deeds; very careful of our every move so as not to hurt or harm the things we value and care for. If our unity is the key to our success, compassion is the key to our solidarity and lasting camaraderie. In the next six years that I will steer the helm of this administration, rest assured that I will hold it firmly and with vigilance, for there will be great obstacles ahead to confront and overcome. Just at the start of my term as President, we already met a major challenge: tuition-free college education. It is a major concern because we have been allocating sixty percent of our collection from tuition fees for faculty development programs. If the national government will not replace the tuition collection we will forego, there will be no funds to finance the programs that develop and uplift the conditions of our faculty. Apart from this, we have to address another concern. While studying in UP may be free, can the students belonging to the less-privileged and marginalized families pass the UPCAT if they intend or wish to study in UP? The free-tuition program will clearly be pointless, senseless, and useless if the students from poor families will not pass the UPCAT. Based on previous studies, only a small percentage of graduates from public high schools outside Metro Manila pass the UPCAT. This low turnout is being blamed on the low quality of instruction in those public high schools. This reality has given rise to our proposal to impose return service as a condition for the admission of students to UP. This return service will be for one year after graduation. Our graduates will be required to teach senior high school students in public high schools that we will identify as UP feeder schools. This scheme, we hope, will uplift the quality of the graduates from these feeder schools. The return-service condition, however, will be voluntary. Any student may opt out from this condition before graduation by paying his tuition, or the cost of his education if he will opt out after graduation. The return service to be rendered by our graduates will not be for free. Our students who will decide to teach will be compensated properly. While it is voluntary, we are very optimistic that our students, the scholars of the nation, will choose to render return service. That is because it will be a perfect opportunity for them to live out their professed love for our country, and their advocacy to serve our poor countrymen. Our students often march on the streets to demand change. Sometimes it seems that their clamors and complaints will never end; that they want to run the University themselves; and that they wish to study as they please or solely what they desire. Nevertheless, we shall guarantee their right and freedom to express their ideas, beliefs, and principles. We will never even attempt to suppress what they want to say, or oppress them for what they fight for. Instead, we shall listen to them, understand them, and guide them. We do not mold them to think one way or another. On the contrary, we mold them to think freely; to develop inquisitive, discerning, and creative minds; to be fearless and assertive; and to uphold what is right and just. For our faculty, our strength lies in our ability to discourse and resolve our differences collegially. We will value and nurture this ability intensely. We will vigorously pursue and secure the funding needed to continue and improve our faculty development programs. In order to retain our valued faculty in our University, we will study how to ease the rules on tenure and promotion to make them fair and just. We will also upgrade their working conditions and provide them with a happy and vibrant academic life in our campuses. After it burned down last year, a bigger, more modern, and faculty-friendly Faculty Center will rise up again in three years. The community bestows utmost recognition and respect to the members of our faculty while they are in the University. We will never allow the loss of that dignity after their retirement from teaching. To accomplish this, we will create an office specifically dedicated to prepare our faculty for a well-deserved retirement life and to assist them with their needs, especially in housing. Included in the list of our priority projects is the rehabilitation of our campuses. It entails the repair, restoration and improvement of our buildings and dormitories. The time has come to put an end to the not-so-amusing joke that there is no clean or decent toilet in UP. I appeal to our alumni for compassion by helping us in this crusade. I am reaching out to our successful alumni who stayed in the dormitories and enjoyed the benefits of living on campus, paying very cheap dormitory fees. I hope they find in their hearts the generosity to pay it forward and help us in the makeover of their dorms. We shall strive to build a second Philippine General Hospital in UP Diliman. With it, we shall establish its complement: the College of Medicine and the Genomic Cancer Research Institute. This medical complex will serve the UP Diliman community and the north of Metro Manila. On the one hand, the College of Medicine will result in a substantial increase in the number of medical students we shall train to increase the number of doctors in our country. And on the other, the Genomic Cancer Research Institute will focus on finding cures for cancer, using the science of genomics as a major tool. We conceive of PGH-Diliman to be the most modern, well-equipped, and excellent hospital in the country. We believe that we can make this dream happen with your support and the help of our national and local governments. For our contractual personnel who have served the University for a long time, we have begun the process of making them regular employees. However, inasmuch as doing it will require the creation of new plantilla positions, the process will take some time. In the meantime, we shall move up our non-UP contractuals, those who have rendered many years of service, to the level of UP contractual so they can be entitled to all the benefits that a regular employee receives. With this, I hope that our staff would feel that we care. We believe that they, too, have compassion for the welfare of our University. I expect them to understand and not to insist on their demands if our coffers cannot afford these benefits. Alongside this, we need to take stock of and examine our operations to ensure a match between the size of our administrative workforce and our operational requirements. We will ensure that its size no longer balloons unchecked. In a larger perspective, we will institute reforms in our procurement system, in the automation of our operating systems, and in the allocation and use of our funds and resources. As the national university, we have an obligation in our Charter towards other universities and colleges, private and public. Under our watch, we shall comply with that mandate. We shall foster cooperation and collaboration with schools that wish to partner with us in academic and research initiatives. We shall study and consider the establishment and operationalization of a facility-sharing scheme. In addressing the concern on the informal settlers in the University, many do not know that my family was also once an informal settler. This is why I know how it feels to be one. We shall give proper attention to their needs and well-being. Their welfare will be included in all of our plans to put in order our campuses. We will not destroy houses if it will destroy lives. My sincere prayer and hope is for them to also have compassion for our University and our community. I was never ashamed of my humble origins. We were so poor that I had to help my parents in supporting our family. I helped them by ensuring that my siblings could finish their schooling to change their lives and futures for the better. To accomplish this, I had to ask a big favor from God. To prove how fervent my prayer was, I made a vow that if God granted my request, I would not marry until all my siblings had finished college. God answered my prayer and I faithfully fulfilled my vow. I did not get married to Atty. Gaby until my youngest sibling had finished medicine. Today, with all of you and God Almighty as my witnesses, I once again make a solemn pledge to serve you faithfully, to the best of my ability, with fairness and justice, with all my heart and soul, leaving no one behind, and with utmost seriousness of purpose. Thank you all! Long live the University of the Philippines! You may watch the video of his speech below: |
https://up.edu.ph/up-webinar-to-focus-on-seizures-neurological-symptoms-and-covid-19/ | UP webinar to focus on seizures, neurological symptoms, and COVID-19 – University of the Philippines | UP webinar to focus on seizures, neurological symptoms, and COVID-19 UP webinar to focus on seizures, neurological symptoms, and COVID-19 November 11, 2020 | Posted by UP Media and Public Relations Office Nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and researchers are still learning about all the different ways that the viral disease can affect the body. One of these is the impact of COVID-19 on the brain and the neurological system. It has been found that patients who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 may also suffer neurological symptoms such as delirium, brain inflammation, nerve damage, stroke and others. These neurological problems pose particular challenges to clinical management. Another factor is the delay in emergency care for patients with neurological symptoms because of COVID-19 infection, leading to hypoxia or the deprivation of oxygen to a region of the body, and an increased risk of seizure recurrence or the development of new onset and acute symptomatic seizures. For the 30th installment of the University of the Philippines’ webinar series “STOP COVID DEATHS: VIRTUAL GRAND ROUNDS”, which will be held on November 13, 2020, at 12:00 noon, the focus will be on “Seizures in a COVID-19 Patient”. The case to be studied will be that of a 90-year-old man who showed neurological signs and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Several attempts were made to give the patient emergency care after he was turned down by seven hospitals, but the patient continued to deteriorate and developed seizures. How the seizures were related to COVID-19 will be discussed. The presenter for this webinar is Dr. Athena Antonio, an EEG and Epilepsy Fellow at the Department of Neurosciences, UP Philippine General Hospital (UP PGH). Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, UP System Executive Vice President and Special Adviser to the National Task Force on COVID-19 is the guest speaker. Dr. Marc Fernandez, Associate Professor at the UP College of Medicine, will be the clinical discussant; while Dr. Leopoldo Vega, Health Undersecretary and Treatment Czar as well as head of the One Hospital Command Center, will be the health systems discussant. The UP webinar series, “STOP COVID DEATHS: VIRTUAL GRAND ROUNDS”, the very first online medical grand rounds in the Philippines, is organized by UP in partnership with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the UP Manila NIH National Telehealth Center, in cooperation with the UP Manila College of Medicine and UP PGH. To participate in this webinar, please register at: bit.ly/StopCOVIDDeathsWebinar30. |
https://up.edu.ph/upv-isat-u-pursue-collaboration/ | UPV, ISAT-U pursue collaboration – University of the Philippines | UPV, ISAT-U pursue collaboration UPV, ISAT-U pursue collaboration August 22, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office UP Visayas (UPV) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) on August 14 following the inauguration of the new College of Management building at the UPV Iloilo City campus. The MOU involves “collaborative graduate level instruction, research, training, and public service or extension programs.” With their shared interests in knowledge generation through “innovative capacity-building programs in fisheries and aquatic sciences” and in the sustained development of technologies, both institutions have seen fit to join forces and use their expertise, resources, and facilities to plan and implement relevant programs. The partnership also aims to strengthen each party’s capabilities in the conduct of research in emerging inter-, multi-, and transdisciplinary fields. The new UP Visayas College of Management building in the Iloilo City Campus. (Photo by Misael A. Bacani, UP MPRO) The memorandum notes that any student working on his thesis or dissertation through the MOU “shall be given priority to use any data generated to complete thesis or dissertation and to ensure timely graduation.” In addition, all publications resulting from these theses or dissertations “shall be co-authored by UPV and ISAT-U collaborators, and must always include the student,” although the assignment of primary author must be agreed upon by both universities. A scientist who has published research as part of the MOU “shall be given the right to be the primary author,” should he desire to include the said publication in his application for tenure. UPV and ISAT-U ink a memorandum of understanding for collaborative graduate research, instruction, training, and public service or extension work. Standing from left to right are CHED Commissioner J. Prospero De Vera III and UP President Danilo Concepcion. Seated from left to right are ISAT-U VP for Research and Extension Carmelo Ambut, ISAt-U President Raul Muyong, UPV Chancellor Rommel Espinosa, and UPV VC for Research and Extension Ricardo Babaran. (Photo by Misael A. Bacani, UP MPRO) UPV Chancellor Rommel Espinosa and ISAT-U President Raul F. Muyong signed the MOU with Commission on Higher Education Commissioner J. Prospero De Vera III, UP President Danilo Concepcion, UPV Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Ricardo Babaran, and ISAT-U Vice President for Research and Extension Carmelo Ambut as witnesses. The partnership became effective upon signing. (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/for-the-love-of-cinema/ | For the Love of Cinema – University of the Philippines | For the Love of Cinema For the Love of Cinema October 18, 2017 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo You’ll recognize it from Giuseppe Tornatore’s film, Cinema Paradiso. It’s the UP Visayas (UPV) Cinematheque in the Iloilo City campus. It currently houses the 77-seater Cinema Exmundo, and a film museum which are open to the public. UP Visayas – Iloilo campus Cinematheque (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) “It’s not big like UP Diliman’s Film Center but also not as small as its Videotheque. It’s our own little intimate film theater,” said Prof. Martin Genodepa, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Culture and the Arts and former Cinematheque faculty-in-charge (FIC). It has that old movie house feel, emphasized by refurbished seats salvaged from Allegro Theater, one of the city’s “vintage” cinemas. Flash back: The origins Funded by UP alumni, the Cinematheque was launched in 2008 as a UP Centennial project and inaugurated in December 2009. It later closed for repairs to the leaking roof and reopened when the work was done. Cinema Exmundo is named after alumni donors Solomon Exmundo and Nilda Lopez-Exmundo, who, along with their son Oliver, furnished the Cinematheque’s interior. Genodepa said the Exmundos are film lovers and wanted to share that love with the UPV community. Prof. Alfredo Diaz, the present FIC, added that Cinema Paradiso is the donors’ favorite movie, which not only explains the building’s design but also the sharing of their passion for cinema. But the Exmundos are not the only alumni responsible for the existence of the Cinematheque. Former Antique Governor Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez is also instrumental in the sourcing of funds for the P3-million building. The 77-seater Cinema Exmundo (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Now showing: a gathering place Diaz told the UP Forum that Cinema Exmundo not only screens classic and independent feature films and documentaries, but is also a venue for lectures. It naturally beckons film enthusiasts in and out of UPV to come together, enjoy movies, and listen to film scholars and practitioners. The engagement of the UPV community has improved, he said. “I’m happy that students have become very active in acquiring rights to movies that they want to be shown here. And if they’re screening it for free, we don’t charge them.” He explained that in the beginning, deciding on the films to be featured fell on the management’s shoulders. The Cinematheque is also rented by alumni to hold private screenings and events. “It’s often nostalgia. They would watch movies that were popular during their high school or college days,” Genodepa said. Even Diaz’s high school batch has scheduled a screening of Bagets to celebrate its silver anniversary this year. Next attraction: The museum The Cinematheque film museum was inaugurated in 2013 and currently exhibits items like an original helmet from Ben Hur, a first issue Mickey Mouse figure, face casts of celebrities famous for their roles as movie monsters, a newspaper used in Titanic, a zoetrope, a praxinoscope, and Han Solo in Carbonite. Right at the entrance of the cinema is a huge old film projector from the Allegro Theater. Prof. Alfredo Diaz (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) While Oliver Exmundo is not an alumnus of UP, he has been supportive of his parents’ initiative. He is recognized by UPV as a major donor and is responsible for the museum’s permanent collection. Genodepa revealed that he regularly adds memorabilia to be displayed. The younger Exmundo was a senior animator at Weta Digital and worked on visual effects for movies such as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Avatar, Maleficent, The Adventures of Tintin, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Ant-Man, among others. Coming soon: Film workshops When it was inaugurated at the end of 2009, future plans for the Cinematheque included the conduct of courses in digital filmmaking, film theory and history, and workshops for those who want to embark on filmmaking. Prof. Martin Genodepa talking about the pieces in the film museum (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) These plans have not been abandoned, UPV is simply ensuring that the conditions are right before moving on to the next stage of the Cinematheque’s development. For now, Genodepa said the building’s second level still needs work. This is to ensure an appropriate space for film-related workshops. While the timeline for the offering of more advanced courses has yet to be determined, it certainly remains part of the Cinematheque’s future. The UPV Cinematheque is almost eight years old. Like a child of the same age, it has a lot of growing up to do before it reaches maturity. But with the support of the whole UPV community—the administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni—things bode well for its future. ——————– Email the author at upforum@up.edu.ph. |
https://up.edu.ph/oysters-you-can-sprinkle/ | Oysters you can sprinkle – University of the Philippines | Oysters you can sprinkle Oysters you can sprinkle November 9, 2017 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo You love oysters, but you hate all that brushing, washing, and shucking. So you give yourself a little treat and pay a pretty price at a restaurant just to get your oyster fix. Well, someone at UP Visayas has some good news for you. Her name is Ernestina Peralta, a researcher at the Institute of Fish Processing Technology; and she has led in the creation of two kinds of oyster powder—one from oyster extract and the other from the meat residue—packed with that distinct flavor you love. You can use them to season your dishes or as base components for sauces and mixes. Ernestina Peralta says the country produces oysters in high volume. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) That’s just one application. Oysters are rich in vitamins, amino acids, and minerals like taurine and zinc, which means the powders can also be used in nutraceuticals. Even those who don’t like the taste of these bivalves can benefit from their nutrients. What’s more, these products are all natural. “Oyster powders aren’t new, but the processes in producing that powder vary. Ours is simplified and aims to preserve the oyster’s nutritional value without the use of chemicals,” Peralta explains. The oyster powder team at the Institute of Fish Processing and Technology, from left to right: Edna Monreal, Grace Palmos, Ernestina Peralta, Rose Mueda, Nona Andonaque, and Salve Sevilleno. (Photo from Institute of Fish Processing and Technology) Peralta also reveals that there are differences in taste and nutritive components between the two powders they created. “The extract powder is stronger in taste but the residue powder has higher nutrition levels. Just choose the kind of powder that suits your needs.” “Oysters are rich in minerals like zinc and taurine,” says Peralta. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) She says the oyster powder idea came from the fact that the Philippines harvests oysters in high volume, yet they remain an underutilized resource and are even considered low-value commodities. As she waits for the patents to be granted, Peralta hopes their products will eventually be able to contribute to making oysters a high-value commodity in the country—an in-demand resource in domestic and commercial food production as well as in the production of nutritional dietary supplements. |
https://up.edu.ph/the-accidental-runner/ | The Accidental Runner – University of the Philippines | The Accidental Runner The Accidental Runner July 12, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office During the 40th National Milo Marathon Finals, December 2016. The current Chair of the UPV Healthy Lifestyle and Wellness Committee, Mary Lyncen M. Fernandez, is a staunch advocate of health, fitness and wellness. “Six years ago, my blood chemistry was going through the roof. A doctor told me that I needed to take maintenance to control my blood sugar, uric acid, high cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure. I was a short, fat, middle-aged woman who weighed more than 80 kilos. I called myself ang babaeng walang leeg (the woman with no neck).” Mary Lyncen says that was her wake-up call. She bargained with the doctor to give her three months to change her diet and vowed to undergo a regular exercise routine. “My Lola died of a stroke in the shower. It was more than an hour before we found her body. My own mother had a stroke in her middle age. The fifth one left her paralyzed for nine years before she died. These two things flashed in my mind in the doctor’s office while listening to her talk about Lipitor, and Losartan.” She says that she was fortunate to live inside the UP Visayas Miag-ao campus with its undulating roads that feature many uphill and downhill slopes. She started walking around and about the campus, which is also thickly populated by trees. Trail Run, July 2017. “Starting was the toughest part, maintaining it even more so. I remember the first time I tried to run up the road which I dubbed the Diwata Road because that is where the Diwata ng Dagat sculpture by National Artist Napoleon Abueva sits. It was the steepest hill inside the campus and I thought I would die after just a few meters. But the feeling of exhilaration stayed with me. It was awesome to have wings on your feet even for just a few seconds.” Being the researcher that she is, she started to read extensively on how to become a runner. If she was going to be one, she said she might as well do it right. “I remember my first fun-run, a 3K event in July 2010. I kept my head down for fear of seeing the snickers of people in seeing this fat, middle-aged woman hobble towards the finish line. What was running in my mind was that I would probably be the last to cross the finish line.” Since then, she has signed up for other fun runs and the 3K progressed to 5K and 10K with some trail running thrown in. On December 2013, she crossed the finish line of her first half-marathon, a 21K run. After some setbacks, one of which was an operation to remove her gallbladder, she did her first full marathon this year in February at the age of 50. “After I crossed the finish line and somebody put that 42K finisher’s medal on my neck, I wept on my husband’s shoulders. He was waiting for me at the finish line. All those years of running and self-training, waking up at 3:00 a.m. to run for three to four hours, running alone, doubting myself, lacing up my running shoes even when I didn’t feel like it, sidelined by sickness and injuries—these flashed through my mind. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be a marathoner. I had never been athletic. Women were not encouraged to go into sports during my time. What is even more astounding is that only 1% of the world’s population has run marathons.” Run UP4, July 2014. UPV folks at CSC Fun Run, with VCA Gumban, March 2012. She adds, “How I wish I had started in this wonderful journey of health and fitness much, much sooner. I had to have my gall bladder removed because gallstones the size of corn kernels had formed there. This was brought about by years of abusive eating, particularly of salty and oily food.” Mary Lyncen says that she is committed to pursuing this lifestyle of health and wellness for the rest of her life. She said that she does not diet but has changed the way she eats, such as giving up sugary drinks and junk food, and trying to eat as much fruit and vegetables as she can every day. “I am stronger in mind and body now that I am 50 years old than when I was in my 30s and 40s. Running has completely changed my life. It has made me strong physically and mentally. I am always at peace with myself and the universe every time I run. Running has given me so much joy and peace and energy. It has given me good health. For the past six years, my blood chemistry results have been excellent. I take no maintenance medication, so far. One of running’s greatest surprises is that you get more energetic after a run.” She says that “That is why I keep urging my fellow office workers, who are strapped into their chairs eight hours a day, five days a week, to engage in this life of health and wellness. I want us to be healthy in mind and body and be more productive at work and still have the energy for family stuff. Along with her fellow UPV Healthy Lifestyle and Wellness committee members, she has been urging the UPV community to get into this new lifestyle. They have come up with a year-long program that consists of a combination of physical activities and information drives through lectures. A year-long, weekly Zumba for Miag-ao and Iloilo city campuses employees has been put in place to encourage office workers to take a break from eight hours of sitting. Lectures on depression, nutrition, menopause and andropause, strength training, and a Palarong Pang-empleyado and year-end Zumba Run have been lined up for 2018. At the finish line of Fernandez’s first 42K, Feb. 18, 2018. “It’s my hope and wish that all members of the UPV community would be fit and healthy long after we have retired from the University. So that we can still be active and productive and not spend our retirement money in hospitals and on maintenance drugs,” Mary Lyncen says. The other members of the UPV Healthy Lifestyle and Wellness Committee include Prof. Catherine B. Anecita, Prof. Brenda Lynn B. Arroyo, Prof. Cristituto S. Rogador, and Ms. Mybelle G. Zulueta, all from the PE Department, Ms. Teresa S. Hortillo from the Office of Student Affairs, Dr. Marchette S. Noble from the Health Services Unit, Ms. Maureen Kay C. Ongo from the Cash Office, and Ms. Melinda C. Sasana, Dorm Manager. (Mary Lyncen M. Fernandez, UP Visayas) Read the online UP Forum April-June 2018 Vol. 19 No. 2 issue in full here. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-prexy-gets-close-look-at-admin-issues-upv/ | UP prexy gets close look at admin issues, UPV – University of the Philippines | UP prexy gets close look at admin issues, UPV UP prexy gets close look at admin issues, UPV July 26, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office President Danilo Concepcion raises a token of appreciation given to him by the organizers of the UP System-wide Administrative Management and Staff Conference 2018 led by Staff Regent Analiza Fulvadora and Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP President Danilo Concepcion visited UP Visayas (UPV) on July 13 and 14, 2018, consulting with administrative personnel representatives of the UP System, inaugurating new UPV structures, and checking on the remote UPV Marine Biological Station on Taklong Island, Guimaras. Concepcion attended the second day of the triennial UP System-wide Administrative Management and Staff Conference held in the UPV College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Auditorium in the UPV Miag-ao campus, where he listened and reacted to the reporting of workshop output on administrative staff concerns. He spoke of his favoring administrative staff directorship of administrative offices. He endorsed equal opportunity for research and free studies for the administrative staff, but urged them to initiate the proposals. He also expressed support for automatic promotion for those qualified, and for raising University revenues to be able to buy land for faculty and staff housing. The new UP Visayas Faculty and Staff Housing before the ribbon cutting, with UP President Danilo Concepcion and (from left) UP Visayas Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Martin Genodepa, UP Cebu Chancellor Liza Corro, UP Visayas Vice Chancellor for Administration Mary Ann Gumban, UP Mindanao Chancellor Sylvia Concepcion, UP Visayas Chancellor Ricardo Babaran, UP Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque, UP Assistant Vice President for Administration Ariel Betan, and UP Mindanao Vice Chancellor for Administration Antonio Obsioma. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP President Danilo Concepcion (3rd from left) and UP Visayas Chancellor Ricardo Babaran (center) cut the ribbon to inaugurate the new UP Visayas Faculty and Staff Housing, with (from left to right) UP Vice President Nestor Yunque, UP Mindanao Chancellor Sylvia Concepcion, UP Visayas Vice Chancellor for Administration Mary Ann Gumban, UP Cebu Chancellor Liza Corro, and UP Visayas Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development Martin Genodepa. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) He said he would find more money to regularize employees. “I will not back down on this promise,” he pointed out, referring to his UP presidential nomination platform. Concepcion also assured the administrative personnel of the University’s legal protection in cases filed against them for performing their official duties. “We should trust each other. I am one with you,” the President told more than 150 administrative personnel delegates, assuring them he would look after their welfare in his decisions. The dialogue ended with Concepcion’s plea to uphold the Filipino characteristic of malasakit. “Magmalasakit sa Unibersidad na pinanggagalingan ng ating kaligayahan, kabuhayan, at karangalan. Magmalasakit sa propesyon, sa sarili, sa isa’t isa,” he said. President Danilo Concepcion sings “UP Naming Mahal” with other UP officials and organizers and delegates of the UP System-wide Administrative Management and Staff Conference 2018. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The President proceeded to inaugurate the Graduate Students Office, consisting of two laboratories and working spaces for up to 57 graduate students; and the new Faculty and Staff Housing, a condominium-style structure, with 49 two-room and single-room units. On the next day, Concepcion took the multi-modal trip to the UPV’s Marine Biological Station (MBS) in the Taklong Island National Marine Reserve off the far southern coast of Guimaras island, where he met with UPV Division of Biological Sciences Chair Frances Nievales and UPV-MBS Head Ma. Celia Malay. The President was briefed on the problems of the marine reserve in general, which include illegal fishing, the influx of visitors, and solid waste; and the biological station, in particular, which include administration, logistics, and communication. UP Visayas Chancellor Ricardo Babaran explains the map of Guimaras Province to UP President Danilo Concepcion during the latter’s visit to the UP Visayas Marine Biological Station on Taklong Island, Guimaras. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP President Danilo Concepcion on a boat docked at the mangrove entrance of the UP Visayas Marine Biological Station on Taklong Island. With him are (from left) UP Visayas Vice Chancellor for Administration Mary Ann Gumban, Lorena Yunque of the Philippine Commission on Women, UP Assistant Vice President for Administration Ariel Betan, former UP Vice President for Administration Maragtas Amante, UP Cebu Chancellor Liza Corro, and UP Los Baños Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Administration Genaro Cuaresma. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Concepcion is only the second UP president to set foot on the island after Emerlinda Roman. The late UP President Edgardo Angara made the trip when he was Senate President, according to UPV officials. On his way to the Taklong island jump-off from the Jordan, Guimaras port, he met with Jordan Mayor Ruben Corpuz and Imelda Fernandez of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project. The three belong to the same Agricultural Engineering batch in Araneta University. (Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/a-physical-high-from-epsilon-chi/ | A Physical High from Epsilon Chi – University of the Philippines | A Physical High from Epsilon Chi A Physical High from Epsilon Chi July 25, 2017 | Written by Andre DP Encarnacion For those looking to get fit and to sweat it out in Quezon City, there are few destinations more scenic or iconic than the UP Diliman campus. Every day, thousands of people visit the 493-hectare campus, many with physical fitness in mind. Campus landmarks such as the Academic Oval, the National Science Complex and the Sunken Garden, among many others, have become go-to destinations for everyone from hardened athletes to beginners carrying out their very first exercise routines. Truly, very few other places in the Metro offer fitness opportunities that are quite as scenic, safe and open as the UP System’s flagship campus. This fact, when combined with the respectable annual showings of UP’s varsity athletes, might lead one to think that fitness is no serious concern for UP’s students in general. This, however, is not necessarily the case, as Dr. Shirley Villosillo-Guevarra, officer-in-charge of the UP Office of Student Housing (OSH) indicates—especially for the University’s beloved dormers. A faculty member from the UP College of Home Economics (CHE) and a proponent of “holistic human development,” Guevarra notes that even the healthful atmosphere in UP has not prevented some dormers from dropping out or falling prey to various lifestyle and mental illnesses. While these cases have many causes, experts like Guevarra have been increasingly concerned by the stresses students face when meeting high-pressure academic requirements, as well as the attendant sedentary habits and isolation that can afflict dormers in particular. It was with great pride and excitement, therefore, that Guevarra and other officials welcomed the decision of the UP Epsilon Chi Fraternity under the leadership of Governer Radian Eugene Ong to donate a legacy project in celebration of the fraternity’s 50th anniversary in 2014. The result of that decision is the Epsilon Chi Health and Fitness Center, which had its groundbreaking ceremony at the Molave Residence Hall on October 2014, and is expected to open its doors to the UP community in early 2018. According to Guevarra, the decision to donate a Health and Fitness Center stems from the desire of both the fraternity and the UP administration to provide a “holistic environment for the dormers,” and, by extension, the rest of the UP community. It is also envisioned to be a convergence center, drawing people from around the campus and the city in the pursuit of health and community. The donation of a health and fitness center, while not always intuitive, is a very important one, primarily for its unique attributes. “There had already been a good number of scholarship grants given to the students by our alumni,” Guevarra says. Epsilon Chi, however, wanted something different. With a good number of them being dormers in the past, the members of the fraternity, Guevarra says, wanted to specifically provide a facility to improve the health of present and future dormers. As opposed to a single scholarship fund, Guevarra said the construction of the facility would provide a “bigger and greater impact” on the UP community that surrounds it. “If you have a facility, it is there and will be there (virtually) forever, if you maintain it well.” And that, indeed, is the plan. First, the Health and Fitness Center will improve existing facilities within Molave, in particular the basketball court. The newly refurbished and now-covered court not only can host basketball games, but can be convertedfor other sports, such as badminton or table tennis. One of the most anticipated features is the addition of a mezzanine containing a gym, with exercise equipment and spaces donated by Epsilon Chi. UPD Chancellor Michael L. Tan and Epsilon Chi Fraternity Radian Governor Eugene G. Ong (sitting, left to right), together with OSH officer-in-charge Dr. Shirley V. Guevarra, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Neil R. Santillan, Engr. Manuel H. Torres and Engr. Roberto C. Ronquillo (standing, left to right), during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Epsilon Chi health and fitness center in UP Diliman, held October 2, 2015, taken from an article written by Haidee C. Pineda, with photo by Leonardo A. Reyes, UP Diliman Information Office. (Photo from the UP Diliman website, http://upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_0452.jpg) In addition, ancillary spaces and facilities are also being constructed. Bleachers were designed, as well as toilets and shower rooms for players and guests to use. Lastly, some stalls are planned from which the place can generate additional rent income, apart from the small fees that will be charged to outsiders for facility use. The income generated will go into a fund that will be used to pay the center’s future staff and repairs, helping to make it self-sufficient. Guevarra says that there are no plans for the outright commercialization of the center and its services—just enough “to generate funding for maintenance of the place.” The center is planned to be free of charge for all UP dormers. Ultimately, for Guevarra, what the center will provide beyond the benefits of health is a sense of community and a clear reflection of what UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan calls “Pride of Place” and “Pride in People.” It is a tangible manifestation, for one, of the will of the UP alumni to give back and “to provide a healthy and holistic place for UP dormers and the community, as well”. “In the CHE, we go for what we call holistic development of people, of Filipino families,” notes Guevarra. “The residence halls are considered homes—second homes of students, so we need to address their needs from multiple dimensions and aspects. These are not just dormitories, where you eat and sleep. There are communities here. That’s why we welcomed this beautiful project. It’s aligned with the OSH’s aim to provide a nurturing environment, encompassing not only psychological, but physical and social aspects as well.” Like Guevarra, UP Diliman Office of the Campus Architect (OCA) Director Enrico B. Tabafunda views the project as a success—particularly as it is the first major alumni donation from Chancellor Tan’s first term. Tabafunda points out that one major advantage of the Health and Fitness Center is that it will give students access to equipment and facilities that they might otherwise have to travel a considerable distance to utilize. Studies show that closing the distance between students and opportunities for exercise may make a large difference in their capacity and willingness to get fit. A 2005 study of American university students by Julian Reed and D. Allen Phillips found that students exercised more and longer the nearer they were to exercise facilities. As a personal display of “Pride in People” and since private funds were being used for the project, Tabafunda had one request—to have a UP architect design the Center, in order to highlight both pride and familiarity with the place, as well as the quality of the UP College of Architecture’s training. Luckily, Governor Eugene Ong took his request seriously and got in touch with UP alumna and Miss Universe 2011 3rd-runner up Arch. Shamcey Supsup-Lee, who agreed to do the design for free. “She really is the architect-of-record in this project,” Tabafunda says proudly. Email the author at upforum@up.edu.ph. |
https://up.edu.ph/first-batch-of-new-up-ids-released/ | First batch of new UP IDs released – University of the Philippines | First batch of new UP IDs released First batch of new UP IDs released September 4, 2019 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo Video recorded and edited by KIM Quilinguing, UP MPRO UP System employees were the first recipients of the new UP ID produced by PayMaya, free of charge, for the University. In a ceremonial presentation, UP President Danilo Concepcion, Executive Vice President Teodoro Herbosa, and Vice President for Development Elvira Zamora received their new IDs from PayMaya founder and CEO Orlando Vea on August 27, the first day of release. Top photo: UP President Danilo Concepcion (center) shows his new UP ID. With him in this photo are, from left, PayMaya Enterprise Head Tisha Quinitio, PayMaya founder and CEO Orlando Vea, UP Executive Vice President Teodoro Herbosa, and UP Vice President for Development Elvira Zamora. Bottom photo: UP EVP Teodoro Herbosa (second from left) and UP VP for Development Elvira Zamora (third from left) hold up their IDs with PayMaya Enterprise Head Tisha Quinitio (leftmost) and PayMaya founder and CEO Orlando Vea (righmost). (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Asked why the fintech company is doing this for free, Vea, a UP Diliman School of Economics alumnus, said that he wants his alma mater to be part of the national initiative toward digital financial inclusion—to be the first university in the country ready to engage in an increasingly cashless economy. UP System employees with their new IDs (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) New UP ID holders will have the option to avail of PayMaya’s financial services that are external to the University, but not required by UP. Rather, this option is a provision that gives holders the flexibility to expand the use of the IDs for added personal purposes. Concepcion, Herbosa, and Zamora, chose to activate their PayMaya accounts and made the first financial transactions with the new UP ID. They loaded money into their accounts through the money-in kiosk at Quezon Hall and made purchases at the Chocolate Kiss Café, Ang Bahay ng Alumni. UP System employees who likewise activated PayMaya services were assisted by PayMaya personnel in a booth at the Quezon Hall lobby. In the top photo, UP President Danilo Concepcion loads his account through the money-in kiosk at Quezon Hall as PayMaya founder and CEO Orlando Vea and UP VP for Development Elvira Zamora look on. The bottom photo shows UP EVP Teodoro Herbosa getting his receipt after using the same kiosk with PayMaya Strategic Communications Manager John Mark Tuazon. (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP President Danilo Concepcion (top photo) and UP VP for Development Elvira Zamora (bottom photo) use their IDs to pay for purchases at the Chocolate Kiss Café, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman. (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The rollout schedule of the new IDs to all UP campuses is still being discussed with the constituent universities. The memorandum of agreement between the University and PayMaya was signed on June 20. |
https://up.edu.ph/dont-break-the-streak/ | Don’t break the streak! – University of the Philippines | Don’t break the streak! Don’t break the streak! September 4, 2017 | Written by Andre DP Encarnacion In both sports and politics the goal of the “clean sweep” is one that competitors continually aspire to. Victory by an overwhelming margin, or a series of triumphs without a loss reflects excellence and superiority. Since 2009, UP Mindanao’s BS Architecture program has been performing clean sweeps of its own. Through a combination of rigor, scholarship, and a sensitivity to regional needs, the program has maintained a record 100 percent passing rate among its graduates in the Architecture licensure exams up to the present year. This achievement has also seen seven topnotchers from the ranks of its alumni. This is highly impressive for the College and the Humanities and Social Sciences-based unit that rose past a troubled start to embody the saying that success does indeed speak for itself. What makes this young program the emerging powerhouse that it is today? We sat down with faculty members of the BS Architecture program to talk about who they are, what makes them unique, and their plans to strengthen the discipline in the future. Silencing doubts For a program that has brought such pride to the region, it is somewhat surprising that it barely made it through its first few years intact. The BS Architecture program was implemented in 1999, with a pioneer batch of only 12 students. From the beginning, says Dr. Isidoro Malaque III, who handled the first thesis batch in 2003, the program was beset with “birth pains,” resulting from early calls for its abolition. Dr. Isidoro Malaque III of the UPMin Department of Architecture (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) One reason, he indicated, was the unique circumstances of UP Mindanao’s creation. This CU was mostly the brainchild of Congress, rather than the UP Board of Regents. Beyond politics, however, the constant question that was being leveled at the program members, given that UP Diliman already had an Architecture program, was “Why are you here?” This annual call to justify their existence lit a fire under the members of the young program, which also saw the entry of long-time chairperson and now College Dean Jean Marie Juanga into the ranks at around that time. “Our faculty wanted to prove that Mindanao needed the program because Mindanao has its own built environment and planning issues,” Malaque says. “Eventually the faculty also inspired the students to do well.” It was in 2007 that the program’s first licensure exam takers tested themselves and attained their first 100% exam results. These successes in both the exams and in research and extension would continue until, by 2012, not a single question about the program remained. A research culture The current faculty members, which now includes architects Ryan Songcayauon, Kristin Faye Olalo, Alexis Ken Cartajenas, Dan Jezreel Orendain, Mark Ndsy Puso, Angelo Felix Regalado and the current chairperson, Myrafe Sebastian-Ylagan, do agree that one major aspect of the program sets it and its graduates apart—a strong research culture. UPMin Architecture department faculty members (from left) Alexis Ken Cartajenas, Dan Jezreel Orendain, and Mark Ndsy Puso (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) As opposed to the majority of schools in the country, the members of the program view their students not only as future professionals, but also as researchers. Unlike most other programs, UP Mindanao requires its graduates to complete a thesis project. It is a process that requires two semesters—the first being solely devoted to a scholarly treatment of the relevant building issues before the final building proposal is made. The treatment is highly scientific, while also being unique to each student. For example, in the design of a nursing home, Malaque suggests that instead of merely abiding by existing Department of Health Standards, a student might study things like the end-of-life process, both conceptually and empirically. “Those who are about to die, how do you make it happier for them and their families?” These and other considerations are then integrated into the final design. “We then look at those,” he continues, “of course via the pertinent standards. But over and above that, each project has uniqueness because of the preceding research phase”. Independent thinkers The members of the department believe that this process, while already highly appealing, does make a significant difference in the way their graduates take the licensure exam and think as professional architects. Malaque says that a strong research culture helps create independent thinkers who think beyond cookie-cutter solutions and can be lifelong learners. “As a teacher, I cannot guarantee that what we will teach will come out in the exam or in practice,” he says. “But the research culture we inculcated in you will make you more versatile thinkers. You don’t need to depend [that much] on your reviewers.” A faculty member and former board exam topnotcher, Alexis Cartajenas, echoes that assessment, especially with the current board exams’ emphasis on comprehension over mechanical drafting skill. “It helps build a problem-solving perspective,” Alexis says. “For example, you’ll be asked what kind of roof you will use for a beach rest house? Asphalt shingles, polycarbonate, or clay? If you look deeper, natural clay roofing is the best. It retards heat and it is heavy. If you look at the structural code, wind forces are stronger near large bodies of water,” he adds. “But if you have weak comprehension and fact-finding, what you usually see or what you find aesthetic is what you would choose. You would not ask questions why.” (from left) Dan Jezreel Orendain, Isidoro Malaque, Kristin Faye Olalo, Alexis Ken Cartajenas, Myrafe Sebastian-Ylagan (chair), Jean Marie Juanga (dean), Angelo Felix Regalado, Ryan Songcayauon, and Mark Ndsy Puso (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The last GI killed With the department’s consistent string of successes, its members believe that the days of justifying their existence are long over. “The last time we had a send-off for our graduates,” Alexis says, “the [UP Mindanao] community was cheering for them to ‘go for 100 percent.’ Don’t break [the streak]!” “So the drive of our newer graduates is more of not to break the streak. Failing is not really a bad thing, but of course you don’t want to be the one who gets singled out. If it were World War II, it’s more like: ‘Try not to be the last GI killed.’ ” In response, the faculty has very tangible plans to build on these successes. According to Dan Orendain, the program is set to receive its first materials development and testing facility, which will allow faculty and students to conduct more scientific tests like compression tests, in addition to being a possible income-generating center for the University. “The next step is revise the curriculum,” says Dan. “We will be incorporating more environmental planning and more indigenous Mindanao issues.” These curriculum changes, they hope, will also get the program accredited by the Canberra Accord and make it consistent with ASEAN borderless practices—steps that would take it from being one of the nation’s best to becoming a truly competitive global program. “We want our courses to be more hands-on like construction,” Orendain continued. “Like if you talk about plumbing, our students won’t just draw. They will go on site, they will know how to assemble things without asking. They will not be clueless.” |
https://up.edu.ph/the-new-herbalists/ | The new herbalists – University of the Philippines | The new herbalists The new herbalists October 4, 2017 | Written by Andre DP Encarnacion They say that one of the biggest life-savers in human history was discovered by accident. In 1928, Alexander Fleming’s laboratory assistant accidentally left a window open overnight, allowing blue-green mold to contaminate a dish of Staphylococcus bacteria. Initially incensed by this act of negligence, Fleming would, however, notice something unusual under the microscope—the bacteria surrounding the mold were either dying or dead. Somehow the mold was preventing the bacteria from forming new cell walls and reproducing. Dr. Aleyla de Cadiz of UP Mindanao’s College of Science and Mathematics (CSM). (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) As it turns out, the fungus in question was Penicillium chrysogenum. And the drug family that was developed from this natural substance, which we now know as penicillin, would change the course of medicine, allowing for the successful treatment of such historical killers as meningitis, pneumococcal pneumonia and syphilis. Not content to wait for good luck to fly in through the window, many scientists would also be motivated by this development to set out in search of natural products to treat human ailments. Thus, so-called “mega-diverse” countries like the Philippines received significant scientific interest for the promise of novel compounds to be found in their terrestrial and marine environments. Fresh from earning degrees in the United States and Japan, both Dr. Joel Hassan Tolentino and Dr. Aleyla de Cadiz of UP Mindanao’s College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) openly admit that such a quest was not initially on their minds. Experts in leukemia and amoeba transcriptomics, respectively, the pair decided to take on the challenge back home anyway, as researchers under the DOST PCHRD’s “Drug Discovery and Development of Health Products” program. Dr. Joel Hassan Tolentino overseeing the work of his student. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) This commitment meant that Joel and Aleyla would be applying their hard-won skills for a new purpose. Their current goal is to find natural bioactive compounds against lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the world. Their source? The endemic and abundant plants of Mindanao. Plant persons The DOST PCHRD’s program taps laboratories from around the country, including four UP constituent universities (CUs)—Diliman, Manila, Baguio, and Mindanao—in the search for drugs and therapies derived from natural products. In UP Mindanao’s case, the search for bioactive compounds involves sampling the area’s terrestrial plants and organisms. This fact has necessarily turned both Drs. Tolentino and de Cadiz into “plant persons,” as they combed the region for samples to bring back to the laboratory. “In Phase One of the project,” Aleyla says, “we had to collect 300 plant extracts,” which were composed mostly of the bark, leaves and stems of around 110 plants that are either endemic, native to the country and Asia, or abundant onsite. Together with their research assistants (RAs), both researchers saw their search for samples as an adventure. After their initial plan to do a collection in Mount Apo failed to materialize, Aleyla says they braved an almost three-hour walk through the fields to get to UP Mindanao’s land reserve, which in turn was cut short due to security issues. Finally, a chance discovery by one of their RAs led them to a semi-wild forest in Tagum’s Banana Beach Resort. With the owner’s support and a permit from the DENR, the team finally began their work in earnest. Isolation and purification After an extensive sample collection and identification stage, the project is now in its second phase, the one where the skill set of both microbiologists is brought to the fore. Joel calls this the “isolation and purification” phase. At the end of the previous phase, the extracts for bioactivity against certain cancers and diseases were screened. In addition, he says, “we also test them on normal cells, like liver cells or kidney cells, to see if we can use them ‘as-is’ for treatments. Our ethnic groups, for example, use herbal plants as-is to treat their illness.” Some plants with cancer-killing activity, however, are toxic to humans. Tolentino and de Cadiz will build on this work in Phase Two by taking the 10 or so crude extracts that they found to have activity against lung cancer and isolating their bioactive compounds. To assess inclusion, the pair utilizes a cut-off value of 30 micrograms per milliliter. “In a crude extract, that amount should kill more than 50% of cancer cells,” Joel said. “That’s the reference standard for our project.” Dr. Joel Hassan Tolentino (left) and Dr. Aleyla de Cadiz (right). (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) After these compounds are isolated, purified and their structure and novelty determined , the next project phase will be chemical synthesis. “It can be difficult to get the same compound from the natural source,” Joel notes. “So you synthesize. And if there is a problem with the compound after synthesis you can modify it. Like you can increase its solubility in water by adding more polar groups, and then test it again.” “Once we understand the compound we can also find other sources that have the same basic structure and by chemical synthesis just add on the rest.” This, both say, reduces the complications of collecting from the wild, where plants are subject to natural phenomena like fires or typhoons. It also avoids killing the plants, which can happen when for instance, researchers remove the bark from a tree. Encouraging Mindanao research A more contemporary model of what Tolentino and de Cadiz hope to achieve is exemplified by the case of camptothecin, a chemotherapy drug obtained from the wood and bark of Camptotheca acuminata, a tree native to China. First isolated in the 1960s, Joel remarks that the compound was initially toxic to humans. “So initially that particular compound did not progress,” he explains, citing its lack of water solubility and side effects in clinical trials. Eventually, however, via chemical synthesis, scientists from the United States were able to modify the compound’s structure. Analogues of camptothecin are used today in the treatment of breast, ovarian, lung, and other cancers. Aside from the obvious life-saving good of their project, both researchers hope it will urge the government and other sectors to invest more generously in Mindanao-based researchers. This wish was inspired by their early days in campus when the lack of equipment hobbled their ability to get results. “If we find something interesting here,” Aleyla adds, “we also hope it encourages Mindanaoans to pursue research into natural products.” Student researcher Shem Gempesaw at UP Mindanao’s Medium Throughput Bioassay Laboratory. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Lastly, despite the nondisclosure agreement that prevents them from naming the species they are focusing on at present, Tolentino and de Cadiz hope that their findings will inspire more Filipinos to take better care of their native flora. “What if, for example, it turns out that rattan has anti-cancer properties? What if durian has unexpected uses?” Aleyla muses. “These can help replenish our endemic trees, and that would be good for our biodiversity.” The ethnobotanist Michael J. Balick said the secret to why traditional cultures found so many effective natural treatments was consummate experimentation; with members constantly observing, testing and trading with everyone they met. These modern-day herbalists are in many ways doing the same thing, and, with the help of modern science, just might revolutionize medicine again. |
https://up.edu.ph/a-better-kind-of-alchemy-2/ | A better kind of alchemy (Part 2) – University of the Philippines | A better kind of alchemy (Part 2) A better kind of alchemy (Part 2) July 30, 2018 | Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta In the alchemy of social change, technology is only one part of the formula. The other, arguably more complex part, is people. This can be seen in the journey to bring the technology dubbed CLINN-GEM, or the Community-Led Integrated Non-Cyanide Non-Mercury Gold Extraction Method, out of project leader Dr. Herman D. Mendoza’s laboratory at the UP Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, and into the communities and day-to-day lives of the country’s artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs). For this part of CLINN-GEM’s journey, the other half of the CLINN-GEM team and Dr. Mendoza’s good friend takes the helm: Dr. Oscar P. Ferrer of the Department of Community Development, UP College of Social Work and Community Development, who came in with his own teams sometime from 2013 to 2014 to handle the social prep work. CLINN-GEM partners: UP Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering professor Dr. Herman “Doc Judge” Mendoza (left), and UP Department of Community Development professor Dr. Oscar “Oskee” Ferrer (right). (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) “I said to Doc Oskee, we need to work together, because we’re not just talking about the technology, but the community that will use it,” Dr. Mendoza recalls. “We’re trying to marry the community and the technology, and that’s the challenge.” Dr. Ferrer explains further: “For large-scale mines, mining is about profit. But for ASMs, this is economic subsistence, livelihoods. If they mine today, they must come home at night with something to put on the table to feed their families. That’s the most challenging part of organizing.” Large scale mines, of course, operate far above the level of day-to-day survival that ASMs do, and can afford the delays that come with transitioning between technologies. But ASMs? “All their lives, what they know to do is amalgamation and cyanidation. Then you come in with a new, environment-friendly technology. What exactly will they do during the transition?” Gold and quartz from the Benguet Consolidated Gold Mine, Philippines. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons taken August 11, 2010 by James St. John.) This is not about resistance to change. Neither is this a lack of awareness of the dangers of amalgamation and cyanidation. The grassroots miners are open to innovations that are beneficial to their communities and families, because of course they are. “They know that mercury tainting the river means death. They know what is environment-friendly or not. This is their milieu, and we have to value that,” says Dr. Ferrer. “It’s in how you handle the balance between the economic needs of the people and the environment. How you treat mining in small communities is different. This is not an issue of anti-mining. This is an issue of human lives.” Transmutation and change So they began with the easiest among the four localities: Benguet, where the ASMs were already organized under the Benguet Federation of Small-Scale Miners, Inc.; therefore, they had a voice and power of their own. Even then, the UP team had to convince the miners of the advantages of CLINN-GEM. They did so by way of a side-by-side competition or parallel testing with the old ways, which Dr. Ferrer laughingly compares to a track-and-field race that Dr. Mendoza’s CLINN-GEM inevitably won. Moreover, the parallel testing did not even take in the environmental damage and the cost that would be incurred when using the old and dangerous techniques of amalgamation and cyanidation. Small-scale miners in the Philippines at work mining for gold. (Photos from the ILO in Asia and the Pacific on Flickr) The challenge was even bigger in the other areas, where the ASMs were unregulated and considered illegitimate, and had no organization to speak for them and deal with UP, the DOST and the local governments on their behalf. Dr. Ferrer and his teams worked within the unique sociopolitical contexts of each area to organize the ASMs from the ground up. The arduous job included things like coaxing the skittish miners to get organized; teaching them about the technology, alongside some basic mining and metallurgical engineering; skills-training to give them alternative sources of livelihood, especially the women and children; and, giving the communities the political, legal and paralegal skills they needed to fend off greedy and unethical agents of the State cloaked with police power, including those mandated personnel at the regulatory and monitoring agencies of the government, who preyed on small miners, thereby giving the communities the power to be self-reliant and to defend their own interests. And this was just within the community. Dr. Ferrer and Dr. Mendoza also had to navigate dense networks of DOST offices; local government officials from the barangay captains to the provincial governors and Congressmen, some of whom did not see eye to eye with each other; state universities and colleges; and, even policymakers and national government agencies. They also had to worry over potential sabotage from economic players further along the value chain that the technology would run over—the merchants selling mercury and cyanide, for instance, and perhaps large scale mining companies who would lose a convenient scapegoat if the ASMs suddenly became environment friendly. “It’s tough. You’re threatening a lot of players,” Dr. Ferrer says, to which Dr. Mendoza adds, “And we are dealing with a very sensitive community.” Marrying the social and the technological Dr. Mendoza described the CLINN-GEM project as 20% technology and 80% community and society. “The technology is intact. UP owns the technology, and we’re trying to deploy it. But you see, deploying the technology is not that easy,” he admitted. “You can just imagine the problems that come with it. Even if UP says, ‘Oh, we have this and that technology,’ how will the community make use of it?” Innovations such as CLINN-GEM are more than just technology. Innovations are social movements, and for Dr. Ferrer, innovations and technologies are key to developing the grassroots. “Our framework is technology for empowerment,” he says. “Give the communities the technology, so they hold the mode of production. Teach them everything—marketing, sourcing, legal and paralegal skills—so they can be autonomous and self-reliant. Then they can say, we can provide for ourselves, and we are empowered.” A “Training on Policy Advocacy” seminar held on November 7, 2015 at the UP National Engineering Center. Photo from the UP-DOST Field Testing Project team. Group photo of the participants of the “Training on Policy Advocacy” seminar. (Photo from UP-DOST Field Testing Project team) Because of this, the two are adamant that CLINN-GEM will benefit only the people who need it the most. “It’s for sustainability purposes. If you give the technology to some rich mining company, they might turn around and oppress the small miners,” says Dr. Ferrer. “Many approach Doc Judge to buy his patent, but we tell them, ‘We will not give it to you. We will give it to the small miners; it’s not for you.’ ” For Dr. Mendoza, it’s about doing it the UP way. “Through this project, we’re doing the mandate of UP. We’re teaching, we’re doing research, and whatever we teach, whatever we do research on, we give back to the community. It’s a cycle, and we follow that cycle.” |
https://up.edu.ph/a-better-kind-of-alchemy/ | A better kind of alchemy (Part 1) – University of the Philippines | A better kind of alchemy (Part 1) A better kind of alchemy (Part 1) July 30, 2018 | Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta There’s something alchemical about extracting precious gold using deadly mercury and cyanide. But for the many who work in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), this bit of alchemy is a grim reality that often results in mercury or cyanide poisoning, death, and environmental degradation. Worldwide, some 15 million artisanal or small miners mine for gold using mercury or cyanide. In the Philippines, which is one of the most mineral-rich countries especially in gold, nickel, copper and chromite, some 300,000 gold miners rely on ASM as their main source of income, producing around 80% of the country’s gold supply. They earn somewhere between P300 to P1500 a day, but they pay for this with their lives, mining under unsafe conditions and using mercury via mercury amalgamation and cyanide via gold cyanidation to extract and purify gold from the ore. Worth its weight in gold This problem called for an engineering, not alchemical, solution. Enter CLINN-GEM, which is short for the Community-Led Integrated Non-Mercury Non-Cyanide Gold Extraction Method. CLINN-GEM is the brainchild of its project leader, Dr. Herman D. Mendoza of the UP College of Engineering’s Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (DMMME), who worked on it from 2008 to 2012. At the time, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), under its Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) program, had been spurring research under its environment and infrastructure R&D track, which included the Better Mine program. The entire CLINN-GEM pilot facility assembled at the UP Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering building, where the entire process takes place, from gold extraction to waste treatment. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) “Better Mine is meant to make the mining and mineral industry better, but we were interested in small-scale mining. We knew there were serious problems in ASM,” Dr. Mendoza recalls. Their top priority was taking mercury and cyanide out of the entire extraction process. So Dr. Mendoza and his teams began developing technological alternatives to amalgamation and cyanidation for extracting gold as well as copper. They hit on the idea of using gravity to separate the gold from the ore by taking advantage of gold’s specific gravity and the way it behaves when placed in water. But for gold that has become as fine as dust and exponentially harder for small-scale miners to recover, Dr. Mendoza and his teams added a spin, so to speak. They used centrifugal force to enhance the separation of very fine gold particles and recover gold form the non-gold particles. This process is called enhanced gravity concentration, and work well in collecting both free coarse gold and very fine gold particles. Engineering over alchemy But collecting the free gold is relatively easy, and many small-scale miners have had to settle for collecting only the gold nuggets and dust and discarding the rest as irrecoverable. However, gold comes in another form—as associated gold, or gold mixed in with or embedded into other minerals. To extract this gold without resorting to amalgamation and cyanidation, Dr. Mendoza and his team collected ore samples from various parts of the country, studied their characteristics, and came up with a practical extraction process: flotation and leaching. A member of the CLINN-GEM research team sifting for gold. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) The first step is flotation, which produces a concentrate consisting of gold associated with extraneous material and waste. The concentrate then goes through a leaching stage, which transforms the waste matrix into a leachable form in order to dissolve the gold easily, resulting in a loaded solution with gold ions, commonly called a pregnant solution. The solution with the dissolved gold then undergoes precipitation, with Dr. Mendoza and his team adding a “precipitant” to fully separate or leach the gold from the copper and remaining minerals. The precipitated gold sinks to the bottom of the solution, ready to be collected and refined. The recovery of gold from the ore is maximized, resulting in more profit for the small-miners. Better, safer, more earth-friendly gold Extracting more gold more efficiently is only one half of what CLINN-GEM can do. The other half is dealing with one of the worst issues regarding the mining industry: tailings and waste. Dr. Mendoza points out that of every batch of ore dug out, only 0.1% of it is actually extracted and collected as valuable while the remaining 99.9% is discarded as waste. These waste materials are usually composed of fine particles, and when combined with the marine environment, they can wreak havoc upon the entire ecology. This is true for all kinds of mining, whether ASMs or large-scale. But CLINN-GEM has a way of treating the waste materials produced by mineral processing in a way that does minimal impact upon the environment. The waste produced by the enhanced gravitation concentration process consists of associated gold, and is put through the flotation and leaching processes to further squeeze the gold out of it. The entire CLINN-GEM pilot facility assembled at the UP Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering building, where the entire process takes place, from gold extraction to waste treatment. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) The waste produced by the flotation process is placed into settling ponds to separate the fine solids from the bulk liquid. Since CLINN-GEM uses no toxic or harmful chemicals, both liquid and solid waste from flotation are considered inert, or chemically unreactive and stable in the atmosphere. The liquids can be safely returned to the rivers, while the solids are packed into sacks and delivered to landfills or used in other ways, such as construction materials. Treating the waste from the leaching process is a bit more complicated, as the waste liquids contain heavy metals. CLINN-GEM also has a way to treat this, however, using both natural minerals and organic materials as absorbents to safely clear the heavy metals from the waste. “So there is a friendly extraction process to extract the gold from the concentrate, and there is a waste treatment part to address all the waste coming out of the plant,” Dr. Mendoza sums up. All of this—from extraction to waste treatment—are contained in just one CLINN-GEM plant or facility. One part of the equation Dr. Mendoza’s CLINN-GEM is designed for Filipino ASMs, using a range of collectors tailor-made for the specific mineral composition of the ore, which varies from area to area, and is built at a scale that makes it ideal for small mining communities in far-flung areas. It’s considerably safer for humans and more environment-friendly, making it the more sustainable option. Moreover, field-testing data has shown that gold (and copper) recovery rate, cost and processing time for CLINN-GEM are better, compared to existing ASM practices. Dr. Mendoza gives a guided tour of the CLINN-GEM pilot plant in the UPDMMME, pointing out features that handle each step of the process, from gravity and enhanced gravity conentration, to gold extraction and collection, to flotation and leaching. (Photo by Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) So the technology is sound. So sound that of the four different locations where CLINN-GEM is undergoing field testing—Benguet, Camarines Norte, Compostela Valley, and the CARAGA Region—one of them, in Itogon, Benguet, already has an operational facility capable of processing up to 10 metric tons of ore per batch. “Technically, we are injecting technology into the extraction of gold, and this is what we want to teach and enable the small-scale miners,” Dr. Mendoza says. “It is still a challenge bringing the technology to the ASM community, and up to now, some of them still cannot see the advantages.” Because, if there is one thing he learned in the ten years he has spent working on the CLINN-GEM project, engineering and technology make up only one half of the alchemical equation for the transformation of lives. And this might just be the simpler half. Learn how the CLINN-GEM project was taken out of UP’s laboratory and brought into the communities and day-to-day lives of the country’s artisanal and small-scale miners in A better kind of alchemy (Part 2). |
https://up.edu.ph/repurposing-typhoon-damaged-trees/ | Repurposing typhoon-damaged trees – University of the Philippines | Repurposing typhoon-damaged trees Repurposing typhoon-damaged trees September 5, 2018 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo When Typhoon Glenda tore through Southern Luzon in July 2014, some of UP Los Baños’ treasured trees—old and huge acacia and mahogany—didn’t escape the tropical cyclone’s wrath. But they’ve been given new life, so to speak, as furniture in all ten UPLB dormitories. Some of the indoor and outdoor furniture created by the UPLB Housing Office skilled workers from trees felled by Typhoon Glenda (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) This was initiated by the UPLB Housing Office (UHO), which takes care of student and staff housing on campus. And UHO Director Zoilo Belano Jr. says they’re not even done. Four years after the disaster, there are still slabs of wood waiting to be repurposed and pieces in the makeshift workshop to be finished. Saving trees, saving on cost Belano explains that when he proposed the project to campus officials, he told them that he didn’t want the trees to simply go to waste and that he had seen wood furniture in Australia they could use as inspiration. In addition, the University wouldn’t have to spend on plastic furniture for the residence halls. It wasn’t hard to get the UPLB administration on board. “Chancellor Fernando Sanchez and Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Serlie Jamias loved the idea and even showed me some examples of repurposing they had seen in Japan,” Belano continues. The UHO carpenters got to work. Their main duties were focused on repairs and other minor construction jobs for housing units under the UHO jurisdiction. Furniture-making wasn’t really part of their tasks and it was something many had to learn. At work in the makeshift workshop and storage area at the Agricultural Training Institute-National Training Center Residence Hall: from left to right, master carpenter Aurelio Heredia, master carpenter Roger Villegas, and foreman Luis Dela Cruz (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Even with the lack of tools for such an activity, they persisted and learned from their more knowledgeable co-workers. It was a side project they worked on when they weren’t called to the dorms and staff housing units to do repairs. UPLB is lucky to have its carpenters, Belano says, because dorm residents now enjoy a variety of tables and benches where they can eat, study, work on their projects, or hang out. There are long and wide pieces of furniture to accommodate big groups, long and high tables with wheels paired with bar stools, round tables with chairs for smaller groups, and outdoor tables and chairs for those who want to go al fresco. Even dorm kitchens have been furnished. Building capacity, inspiring creativity Those pieces are not the only good things to come from the initiative. Some of the workers discovered they were quite good at making furniture. “They are proud of what they have accomplished and they deserve to be. It makes me happy that we were able to help them acquire new skills and realize talents they didn’t know they had,” Belano says. Foreman Luis Dela Cruz describes how inspiration often comes suddenly when determining how to appropriate a wooden slab into furniture. An example is the backrest of the bench he is sitting on, the slab of which was shaped like almost symmetrical wings. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Luis Dela Cruz, a UHO foreman assigned to staff housing, is one of the lead employees in the project. He reveals that the assignment really encouraged them to think creatively in not only using as much of the wood as possible, but also appropriating its use and making it aesthetically pleasing. “It takes an active imagination. There are times when I would sit and stare at the wooden slab and its shape and curves. And then the idea suddenly just comes to me,” Dela Cruz says, explaining his process. Working on the furniture seems to be a welcome respite from doing housing repairs for the UHO carpenters. They profess their enjoyment at creating things and seeing their handiwork being of use to students, staff, and visitors in the residence halls. While the UHO wishes it could have better tools and equipment to handle furniture-making, it takes pride in its workers’ resourcefulness and ingenuity. And it excitedly waits for the next batch of furniture to be completed and delivered to the dorm that needs it. Honey Faith Roa-Evangelista, dorm manager of the Agricultural Credit and Cooperatives Institute (ACCI) and International House Residence Halls, and UHO Director Zoilo Belano Jr. in a furniture set outside ACCI dorm complex (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/ups-tradition-of-protest-music/ | UP’s Tradition of Protest Music – University of the Philippines | UP’s Tradition of Protest Music UP’s Tradition of Protest Music January 14, 2019 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc Jonas Baes’s iron-nail peace chimes, played by the audience for his ‘Patangis-Buwaya’ and ‘Banwa’ compositions to produce subtle glimmering sound like water, over the music sheet for the vocal part of ‘Banwa’. (Photo by Gardika Gigih Pradipta, an arts journalist from Indonesia for a workshop of Baes’s compositions at the Arts Summit Indonesia in Makassar, Sulawesi in 2016, reproduced with permission from Prof. Baes) UP Diliman College of Music Professor and UP Artist II Jonas Baes had a famous kuya. Aloysius “Ochie” Baes, a Bantayog ng mga Bayani martyr, was a student leader who founded the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK) chapter in UP Los Baños. Arrested upon the declaration of martial law, Ochie endured prison through music, sometimes written on the child Jonas’ music sheets, which the latter always carried with him on family visits to the stockade. One song that he managed to smuggle out of prison was a kundiman adapted from an original by Bonifacio Abdon, a musician of the Philippine Revolution and one of the early music teachers at the UP Conservatory of Music. It was one of the first underground protest songs against martial law, “Mutya.” Not long after, in the second half of the ‘70s, musically-inclined campus activists in UP Los Baños formed Tulisanes, a group that collected, created, and performed protest music from those who, like Ochie, had committed their lives to the service of the masses. It was through them that college student Jonas lived his own youthful activism. Art and conscience Prof. Jonas recalls being active in Tulisanes in the late 1970s while he was taking up music in UP Diliman. He regularly commuted between Diliman and Los Baños where he composed and played music for his collective and the so-called parliament of the streets. But in the College of Music in Diliman, he immersed himself in the state-sponsored project of ethnomusicology, which was being led by future National Artists Jose Maceda and Ramon Santos. Instead of co-opting the student to pursue the state narrative, ethnomusicology would be responsible for bringing maturity to Jonas’ activism, as it entailed deeper immersion among indigenous peoples and creating music for and with the communities. It was in the college where Jonas’ art and his social conscience seamlessly merged. Now a professor of composition, Jonas is vocal in his support for the cultural collective, for music’s need to be true to its source. For him, protest music by Filipinos should not just vocalize poetry while assuming borrowed forms. Jonas aspires for music whose form is also a protest statement by being more originally Filipino. His musical projects, like his most widely-performed composition “Patangis Buwaya” based on the narratives of the Iraya Mangyans of Mindoro, echo the cries of indigenous peoples as they suffer from displacement and the exploitation of their living spaces by aggressive development. Jonas’ musical history is a reflection of the history of modern Philippine protest music itself, covering its rise from the kundiman toward more indigenously-grounded forms. Patatag file photo of Jonas Baes and Patatag alumnus Rody Vera, interacting with the audience before a tribute concert to Patatag music in 2015 in the UP Diliman College of Music. A turning point According to Prof. Teresita Maceda’s research on Philippine protest music, the Marcos regime was a turning point in Philippine protest music, when artists with activist inclinations had to veer away from the Philippine Revolution’s kundiman “Bayan Ko,” the marching beat of Maoist songs, and others that immediately tagged them as “red” to authorities. This was the era after Woodstock, of folk songs and rock music as unabashed expressions of counter-culture. The Western-oriented Filipino music industry rode on the trend, experimenting with the vernacular and finding much to protest about the Philippine situation. Popular music could not help but manifest the repression of the times, but were muted at best. On the other hand, the militant subculture, taking the cue, found a new medium with which to reach the masses, disseminate their ideals, describe social realities, and sow the seeds of resistance; and at the same time blend in with the crowd and escape state assault. The University, fighting for its academic freedom, became a nesting ground for activist artists. Thus came the era of “poet-musicians”, who included UP’s Jess Santiago, Paul Galang, Inang Laya’s Susan Fernandez, and Becky Demetillo, and others who offered their poetry set in music to the cause of the resistance. Like Jonas’ Tulisanes in Los Baños, their work was duplicated and distributed far and wide. Bootleg cassette tapes or mimeographs of their songs reached the farthest ends of the country, often without any acknowledgment of the authors, singers, and musicians. However, another musical trove was making its presence felt. Ethnomusicology—promoted by UP’s Jose Maceda and pursued by the younger professor Ramon Santos and then-student Jonas—was revealing its potential to benefit the very musical sources themselves that were indigenous and more powerfully connected to the Filipino psyche. It was soon evident in the alternative music introduced by Joey Ayala and the Bagong Lumad in the early 1980s. The ethnic feel of Ayala’s music gave it an edge in both the protest music and popular music subcultures. Patatag file photo of a 2015 tribute concert in UP Diliman, where a photo of members singing in the parliament of the streets is flashed on stage. At the same time in UP, the Patatag ensemble was formed and gravitated toward Philippine folk songs and ethnic music. It harnessed various musical talents—college students and young professionals—in UP toward activist aspirations. Jonas found this cultural collective characteristic of Patatag, resulting in his production of its third and last album, “Masdan, O Yahweh,” as the 1980s ended. Patatag attracted quite a number of young musical artists. One of them was Dong Abay, who would form the band Yano and who would continue rocking the boat in musical conventions and making his presence felt in protest actions. The protest tradition in UP thus continues to enrich Philippine music and politics. |
https://up.edu.ph/versus-verses-fliptop-as-counterculture/ | Versus Verses: FlipTop as Counterculture – University of the Philippines | Versus Verses: FlipTop as Counterculture Versus Verses: FlipTop as Counterculture January 14, 2019 | Written by J. Mikhail Solitario Performance at Hacienda Luisita Massacre Commemoration Protest Action at Camp Aquino, Tarlac City. (Photo by Max Santiago) The University’s long and rich tradition of celebrating while studying the arts has allowed its sons and daughters to carve out their niche in many industries and art forms. UP has made its mark in mainstream and popular art, but is also in those spaces where counterculture has thrived, through,among others, one of UP’s top cultural performing groups Kontra GaPi (Kontemporaryong Gamelang Pilipino), and Kidlat Tahimik’s films that earned him the well-deserved title of National Artist for Cinema. An emerging form In music, the growing counterculture phenomenon known as FlipTop (which refers to anything related to the actual genre or form “battle rap” or local hiphop) has amassed a significant online following, with its YouTube channel presence of three million subscribers and its Facebook page with more than 2.6 million likes. FlipTop is actually the Filipino hiphop multimedia production company behind the famous rap battles. To the unfamiliar and bewildered, hiphop refers to the culture and lifestyle that has rap as one of its art forms. One of the names that this rising form has produced is BLKD (pronounced “balakid”), a Community Development graduate from UP Diliman. “Modern balagtasan,” according to BLKD, is a battle rap format consisting of face-to-face rap contests. Battle rappers prove their supremacy by rapping verses usually directed against each other. The format originated in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and these videos are what introduced BLKD to rap battles as early as 2006. When he learned that a local counterpart was being produced by FlipTop Battle League in 2010, he joined the fun. He credits his background in writing poetry in high school as his only tool of survival in the cutthroat, high-pressure contest. But he also believes that he has always had the knack for wordplay, hence his naturally learning rapping “on the job.” Spitting verses A typical rap battle is governed by rules and mechanics adopted from its foreign counterparts who first launched battle leagues. The local rap battles run by FlipTop are in the modern format in which the competitors are given prior notice and ample time to prepare their a capella verses before the night of the competition. This is different from the old-school format in which performances are more spontaneous and verses are crafted on the spot with a beat. BLKD’s experience in creative writing and theater in UP gave him a more solid platform on which to compose. But what set his verses apart on the FlipTop stage is his more grounded, more meaningful approach to art creation: his exposure to the social realities that have taken center stage in his works today due to his integration with the basic masses in Community Development as well as his cultural mass organization Sinagbayan. These influences have propelled BLKD to the mission of serving the people through art. His first album, Gatilyo (released in 2015) a collaboration with DJ UMPH featured nine tracks as a concept album built with themes and statements that he personally picked. “I approached it almost as I would a research paper, deciding on chapters (tracks) that would help complete or explain my thesis,” he recalls. For each track and verse, he would decide on the form elements first before content, depending on the vibe of the beat he is writing to. “The process is never really linear. There are adjustments and remixing before the final product.” Performance at the Hip Hop Stage of Fête de la Musique 2016, Makati City. (Photo by Ryan Andres) Bigger battles ahead FlipTop has evolved from being a small battle event in Makati to a national battle league with divisions in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It has also expanded to publishing articles, running an online radio show, and producing new shows about local hiphop, on top of bimonthly events and a steady stream of battle videos online. BLKD is hopeful that FlipTop will become the country’s primary source of hiphop content in the future. BLKD encourages young artists to study the culture and to immerse themselves in the communities first before giving battle rap a serious try. “Battle rap is more than just rhyming and punchline writing,” he believes. “While outsiders can enjoy the spectacle from a distance, future artists in rap battle can only appreciate it when they know the context of the community in which they belong,” he added. This unique part of the music counterculture has reached the national consciousness through the Internet. As it speaks to a more rebellious soul of young culture and expands its reach to more audiences, a bigger stage is set for artists like BLKD to harness and use art as a weapon in the battle against societal ills. |
https://up.edu.ph/two-bands-and-an-orchestra/ | Two Bands and an Orchestra – University of the Philippines | Two Bands and an Orchestra Two Bands and an Orchestra January 14, 2019 | Written by Fred Dabu UP Symphonic Band. (Photo by Han Asuncion) The University of the Philippines community takes pride in its official bands and orchestra: the UP Symphonic Band, a Student Performing Arts Group; the UP ROTC Band, its marching band; and, the UP Symphony Orchestra, its newest system-wide orchestra. UP Symphonic Band The UP Symphonic Band has proven itself worthy of the Honorific Award for Student Performing Arts Group (HASPAG) for all its accomplishments in local and international concerts and events throughout the years. Initially named in 1986 as the UP-Philippine Youth Symphonic Band (PYSB), the group formally changed its name to “UP Symphonic Band” in 1998 under the leadership of its Music Director and Conductor, Asst. Prof. Rodney Ambat of the UP College of Music. Last October 2018, the band held its “Symphonicity” concert at the Abelardo Hall, its latest in its long list of remarkable concerts held at venues such as the Abelardo Hall Auditorium, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philamlife Theater, Concert at the Park in Luneta, and many others. Also recently, the band performed at the closing concert of the UP College of Music centennial in September 2017, the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino in April 2017, and the CCP International Winds and Jazz Festival in July 2016. Many of its members are winners of the National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA) and Philippine Representatives to the Asian Youth Orchestra and Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble (SAYOWE). UP Symphonic Band. (Photo by Han Asuncion) UP ROTC Band The University’s official marching band, the UP ROTC Band, provides music for formal ceremonies, parades, and occasions such as the Lantern Parade, Commencement Exercises, Investiture Rites, inaugurals, and other academic affairs. The Band has more than a hundred years behind it. It was the Philippine Constabulary that formed the “UP Band”, which the UP Department of Military Science and Tactics (UP DMST) then renamed the “UP ROTC Band” as part of the UP Reserve Officers Training Corps (UP ROTC). The UP ROTC Band’s alumni include “top caliber musicians with diverse specializations, National Artists, Gawad CCP Awardees…, top military band commanding officers, principal musicians of Philippine Philharmonic, Manila Symphony, ABS-CBN Philharmonic, San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra, UP Jazz Ensemble, and some of the best marching bands,” writes Leonardo G. Quinitio (2018) in the book Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, 1880-1941. Since the members of this band are also instrument majors of the UP College of Music, there was a period when it was called the “UP ROTC Symphonic Band”. Quinitio writes that this was when the “line up of musicians was upgraded from the basic regimental band structure to one with bigger brass and woodwind sections, additional percussion, timpani, and a string double bass section.” It was also “a vital laboratory for performance classes of the UP College of Music for brass, winds, woodwinds, percussion, and band conducting students.” Prof. Ambat clarifies that the UP Symphonic Band and the UP ROTC Band are two different groups but are comprised of almost the same members of Music students. The 60- to 80-member UP Symphonic Band is under the supervision of the UP College of Music, performs in concerts, and fulfills academic functions, while the UP ROTC Band is the marching band of the UP ROTC. UP Symphony Orchestra The UP Symphony Orchestra, the University’s official system-wide orchestra, recently announced its pioneering roster and first Yuletide treat. The orchestra, under the musical direction of Prof. Josefino Toledo, now has 65 instrumentalists from UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, and UP Manila, and has started its rehearsals for its first public performance in December. Dean LaVerne C. de la Peña of the UP College of Music said the newly-formed UP Symphony Orchestra aims to mount three major concerts per semester, or six concerts plus two special performances each year. Dean de la Peña adds that the orchestra will also serve as a laboratory for UP’s composers, conductors, and performers. The UP Symphony Orchestra is supported by the UP System Fund and hosted by the UP College of Music, as authorized by the UP Board of Regents on August 30, 2018. |
https://up.edu.ph/pag-iilaw-2019-shines-on-upd-as-a-sanctuary/ | “Pag-iilaw 2019” shines on UPD as a sanctuary – University of the Philippines | “Pag-iilaw 2019” shines on UPD as a sanctuary “Pag-iilaw 2019” shines on UPD as a sanctuary December 9, 2019 | Written by Fred Dabu Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. The “Pag-iilaw 2019” ceremony at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Carillon Plaza on November 29 signaled the start of the Christmas season in UP, as University officials formally switched on the decorative lights of the Carillon and all the major buildings and avenues in the campus. With the theme “Pumailanlang”, or “to soar”, the celebration for this season is centered on the Carillon Tower and Plaza, now adorned with bird-like lanterns to symbolize UP Diliman as a sanctuary for wildlife and humans alike, of marginalized sectors seeking refuge in the University, as well as for advocates of civil rights and academic freedom, especially in times of uncertainty and social turmoil. UP President Danilo L. Concepcion highlights the importance of the Carillon as one of UP’s historic structures and an enduring symbol of unity. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan reminds the UP community: “Huwag nating talikuran ang UP Diliman. Huwag nating talikuran ang mahal nating bayan. Huwag nating talikuran ang liwanag.” Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Chase Salazar narrates Severino Reyes’s “Ang Prinsesa ng mga Ibon”. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Katz Trangco conducts the UP College of Music Student Ensemble in “Daluy”, a composition by Professor Jonas Baes. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Cris Go and Ervin Lumauag sing “Noong Unang Panahon” and “Awit ng Pagsinta”, compositions by Nonong Pedero and Ryan Cayabyab and musical arrangement by Jai Saldejano, together with the UP College of Music Student Ensemble under the baton of Katz Trangco. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “Air dance” performance choreographed by Japhet Mari Cabling. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. The Carillon plays as the mythical bird approaches for the “Pagbubukas ng Ilaw”. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Cris Go and Ervin Lumauag sing Rivermaya’s “Liwanag sa Dilim” and Bamboo’s “Noypi”, musical arrangement by Jai Saldejano, together with the UP College of Music Student Ensemble under the baton of Katz Trangco. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. After the ceremony, a live band concert, featuring Moonstar 88 and We Got, and a potluck street party, in celebration of the achievements of the UP athletes who participated in the UAAP Season 82, were held at the Washington Sycip Garden, which is located at the same block and faces the UP Bahay ng Alumni. Most notable of those present were the Men’s Basketball Team and the UP Pep Squad. Concert featuring Moonstar 88 and We Got. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. Potluck street party at the Washington Sycip Garden. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. As a tribute to its historic significance and continuing relevance to the UP community, the Carillon, also known as the Andres Bonifacio Centennial Carillon Tower, serves as this year’s centerpiece and venue for the Pag-iilaw, which is traditionally held at the Oblation Plaza. The bells of the Carillon were rung as part of protest actions marking the ouster of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, and the excesses of the Philippine drug war under the present administration, which has claimed the lives of many innocent victims, among many other social issues. Just like the previous years’ Pag-iilaw designs, the mythical birds for this season were also designed by Toym Imao. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. The much awaited Lantern Parade will be held on December 13 to cap the University’s Christmas and year-end celebrations. The theme “Pumailanlang”, or “to soar”, invites the public to be like the mythical birds Adarna, Sarimanok, Manaul or Tigmamanukan, and other avian characters in Philippine folklore which symbolize the spirit of freedom, honor, and determination to serve with compassion and hope. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. The theme “Pumailanlang”, or “to soar”, invites the public to be like the mythical birds Adarna, Sarimanok, Manaul or Tigmamanukan, and other avian characters in Philippine folklore which symbolize the spirit of freedom, honor, and determination to serve with compassion and hope. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. |
https://up.edu.ph/new-chancellors-of-uplb-upv-appointed-by-the-bor-upm-chancellor-reappointed/ | New chancellors of UPLB, UPV appointed by the BOR; UPM chancellor reappointed – University of the Philippines | New chancellors of UPLB, UPV appointed by the BOR; UPM chancellor reappointed New chancellors of UPLB, UPV appointed by the BOR; UPM chancellor reappointed September 30, 2020 | Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta The University of the Philippines Board of Regents (BOR) recently approved the appointment of Dr. Jose V. Camacho, Jr. as the new chancellor of UP Los Baños (UPLB) and Dr. Clement C. Camposano as the new chancellor of UP Visayas (UPV), as well as the reappointment of Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla for a third term as the chancellor of UP Manila (UPM). Their three-year terms will take effect from November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2023. The appointment of the two new chancellors and reappointment of the chancellor of UP Manila was approved at the UP BOR’s 1354th meeting held on September 24, 2020, according to Memorandum No. OSU2020-01-17 of the UP Office of the Secretary of the University and the BOR dated September 25, 2020. New UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr. Photo from the UPLB website. Dr. Jose V. Camacho, Jr. served as the dean of the UPLB Graduate School prior to his appointment as the new UPLB chancellor. He also served as the chair of academic programs and curriculum, and as the chair of the Department of Economics. He was also Associate Dean of the UPLB College of Economics and Management, specializing in the economics of education, labor and human resources, institutions, and political economy. A professor of economics, he graduated with a Master’s in Economics of Development at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands, in 1995, and a doctorate in Economics at Kyoto University, Japan, in 2007. Chancellor Camacho’s vision-statement, “Future-Proofing UPLB”, saw UPLB as sustaining its relevance “by developing methods, approaches, and framework to minimize the costs and impacts of shocks of future events,” noting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the University and the country. “UPLB will continue as a bastion of innovation, knowledge-generation and as a center for lifelong-learning and public service initiatives. Its cutting-edge research will be utilized for the influence and benefits it shall cause people as they enlarge opportunities to pursue their goals for recovery, development and social transformation,” he stated. New UP Visayas Chancellor Clement C. Camposano. Photo from the UP Visayas Facebook page. New UPV Chancellor Clement C. Camposano is a faculty member of the UP Diliman College of Education. He earned his PhD in Philippine Studies (Anthropology) from the Tri-College Program of UP Diliman in 2009. He earned his MA in Political Science and his BA in both Political Science and History from UP Diliman. In his vision-statement, Camposano envisioned a UPV that is more inclusive and has stronger democratic governance and proposed a “Stakeholders’ Digital Engagement Space” that would serve as a venue for consultations with various UPV sectors using different social media platforms. He also vows to exercise an empathetic leadership by considering the perspectives of his constituents; and envisions a UPV that is more publicly engaged, promotes diversity and safe spaces, and uses its resources for public good. Reappointed chancellor of UP Manila, Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla. Photo from DZUP Balita’s Facebook page. Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla is a professor of pediatrics and was the executive director of the UP-based Philippine Genome Center prior to her first appointment as UP Manila Chancellor in 2014. She is Founding Director of the Institute of Human Genetics and the Newborn Screening Reference Center at the National Institutes of Health, and a pioneer in genetics in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific region. Recognizing her varied contributions to the academic growth of genetics in the Philippines, she was conferred the title of Academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology in 2008. She has been overseeing UP Manila’s and the UP Philippine General Hospital’s critical and timely responses to the COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning of the quarantine. Other UP administrative officials appointed by the UP-BOR at the same meeting were: Dr. Maria Bernadette L. Abrera as Dean of the UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy; Ms. Elvira B. Lapuz as UP Diliman’s University Librarian; and, Dr. Aurelia Luzviminda V. Gomez as Dean of the UP Mindanao School of Management. They will serve until the end of their terms on September 23, 2023. |
https://up.edu.ph/too-ripe-too-soon-fruitect-it/ | Too ripe, too soon? Fruitect it! – University of the Philippines | Too ripe, too soon? Fruitect it! Too ripe, too soon? Fruitect it! October 3, 2017 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo Attention, fruit farmers and exporters: there’s a new way to extend the shelf life of your produce! That’s right. UP Los Baños scientists have discovered a way to help the fruit industry cut back its post-harvest losses by making produce last longer. Dr. Veronica C. Sabularse, Dr. Hidelisa P. Hernandez, and Rhea DC Mallari from the Institute of Chemistry have created Fruitect Mango, a liquid coating formulation that delays the ripening of Carabao mango. Other formulations are suited for White Sunrise papaya, PPY-14 papaya, Smooth Cayenne pineapple, and Lacatan banana. It’s easy to apply. It can be brushed on harvested fruits or it can be used as a dipping solution. It rinses off with just water because it’s not like the usual wax-based coating which needs to be removed with soap and water. In addition, it’s green technology. It comes from agricultural waste, which makes it a byproduct that prevents main agricultural products from going to waste. According to the team, initial data showed that Fruitect can also minimize moisture loss, shriveling, and abrasion during transport. But the measure of success lies in one very important factor: taste. One would think that delaying the natural ripening process would affect the freshness and taste of the produce, but it doesn’t. “Our research assistants ate the fruits in our experiments and they all said, ‘Masarap!’ [Delicious!] Rhea can attest to that,” Hernandez says with a laugh. “So, no. There were no observed changes in taste. The fruits tasted the way they were supposed to, comparable to freshly picked ripened fruits from the farm,” adds Sabularse. The team that created Fruitect, from left to right: Rhea DC Mallari, Dr. Veronica C. Sabularse, and Dr. Hidelisa P. Hernandez of the Institute of Chemistry, UP Los Baños. (Photo by Misael A. Bacani, UP MPRO) The backstory Sabularse actually started working on coating formulations back in 1996. “The idea of coatings has been around for a long time,” she says. “That’s what I worked on when I was on fellowship in Australia and when I came back, I had the idea of making use of agricultural processing waste.” In 2010, Sabularse’s proposed research on nanobiocomposite coatings was one of four exploratory projects on nanotechnology funded by the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development, now the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Three years later, the council’s nanotech exploration had become a program and Sabularse and Hernandez had already joined together and were granted funding for additional research. ”PCIEERD had a condition: that we work on major export commodities. Post-harvest losses range from 20 to 80 percent,” Hernandez reveals. Almost four years later, four Fruitect formulations were created. Trial and error Like any scientific research requiring experimentation, Fruitect and its four formulations resulted from the age-old painstaking process of trial and error— from the optimization of extraction of ingredients from raw materials to making and recalibrating the formulations to actual testing, which involves physical observation and chemical analysis. Each Fruitect formulation is specific to a variety of papaya, mango, pineapple, and banana. “We really have to emphasize that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” Sabularse explains. “We can’t guarantee the desired result if the technology isn’t used as intended,” Hernandez adds. Following export storage conditions of 13°C, Fruitect Mango delays the ripening of the carabao variety by 16 days. At 25°C, the delay is four days. Fruitect Papaya delays the ripening of the PPY-14 variety by five days when stored at 20°C, and the white sunrise variety by 28 days when stored at 13°C. Stored at 25°C, Fruitect Pineapple extends the life of the sweet cayenne variety for six more days. Fruitect Banana also prolongs the life of the lakatan variety by six additional days when stored at 28°C. The coating formulation for papaya has already been granted a utility model patent, while another patent application for mango coating has been filed. Experiment on Carabao mangoes showing control group and group treated with Fruitect Mango. These were stored at 13°C, the storage temperature during export. Fruitect Mango delayed ripening by 16 days. (Photo from Dr. Hidelisa P. Hernandez, UPLB IC) The present and future of Fruitect “We’re always invited to DOST technology transfer events across the country and we’ve been getting calls from interested farmers and exporters,” says Hernandez. These are not just those with thousand-hectare farms and exporters of produce to foreign countries, but also those with smaller farms and who export locally or across Philippine islands. In addition, they’ve been “getting inquiries about coating formulations for other produce like strawberry, cucumber, okra, and tomato,” according to Sabularse. The team says that going around the country to the tech transfer events has been an eye-opener for scientists such as themselves who are usually engrossed in their research and cooped up in their labs. Hernandez is hopeful of the future. “We see a lot of potential in the multitude of problems that are presented to us. There are so many possibilities like other waste materials to repurpose or other agricultural products that could be major exports if only they had longer shelf life after harvest. We can still make so many improvements.” While the team is working toward helping the fruit industry in waste utilization and decreasing post-harvest losses, it also hopes to reach out to regular folk who harvest fruit from a few trees around their houses or even consumers who just want their fruits to last a little longer. |
https://up.edu.ph/amped-up-copra-meal-for-animal-feed-mixes/ | Amped up copra meal for animal feed mixes – University of the Philippines | Amped up copra meal for animal feed mixes Amped up copra meal for animal feed mixes January 5, 2018 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo Step aside, soybean meal, and get ready for competition. Protein-enriched copra meal (PECM) is here to challenge your position as a main ingredient in animal feed. Developed over the last ten years by Dr. Laura J. Pham and her team at the UP Los Baños (UPLB) National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), PECM was created by treating copra meal with microorganisms to enhance its protein content. Protein Enriched Copra Meal created by Dr. Laura J. Pham and her team at the UP Los Baños National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Photo from Dr. Laura J. Pham) Copra meal or copra cake is a byproduct of coconut oil extraction and has around 20 percent protein content. Through UPLB BIOTECH’s patented process, the protein content was raised to as much as 44 percent—quite close to soy meal’s 46 percent. So why is this significant? The Philippines is one of the world’s top coconut producers. According to 2015 data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in January of this year, coconut products were the country’s number one agricultural export commodity, with copra meal earnings of US$70.42 million. Copra meal is already being used in animal feed mixes, but its composition—not enough protein and too much fiber—doesn’t make it an ideal main ingredient, which is what soybean meal is. The problem with soybean meal? It’s not locally abundant, so local feed producers and farmers need to have this protein source imported. This need is so great that the same PSA data shows soybean meal as the country’s second top agricultural import commodity, costing US$888.4 million. “This product was sourced from the USA, accounting for 77.3 percent of the total value of imports,” the agency says. The Philippines was, in fact, identified as “the largest market for US soybean meal” by a 2016 Global Agricultural Information Network report of the US Department of Agriculture. Comparison of milkfish (top) and tilapia (bottom) fed with commercial aquaculture feed (left) and with feed mixed with PECM (right) (Photo from the UP Visayas Institute of Aquaculture) Pham says that due to the “high cost and insufficient supply of nutritious feed components, the animal industry is beset with problems of malnutrition, poor livestock, and the high price of animal products.” Price increase ultimately leads to a decrease in local consumption of animal products, she explains. And this, of course, means low income for Filipino farmers. By providing a cheaper and locally-abundant alternative that’s just as healthy and nutritious, PECM can help ensure the sufficiency of an animal feed protein source and allow the reduction of prices of animal products due to lower production costs. The good news doesn’t end there. People might think PECM is only good for livestock like swine and poultry just because it was developed in UPLB, which is known for its leadership in agriculture education, training, and research. Institute of Aquaculture Director Rex Ferdinand Traifalgar of the UP Visayas College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Well, it’s not. It’s looking pretty good for aquaculture, too. Retired UP Professor Valeriano L. Corre Jr. and Institute of Aquaculture Director Rex Ferdinand Traifalgar of the UP Visayas College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences have been leading the team on “Field trial of PECM as feed protein for tilapia, milkfish, and shrimp aquaculture.” One of the goals of the project is to come up with an optimized feeding guide in the use of PECM in aquatic animal feed. Preliminary trials have posted positive results. Soybean meal could be replaced by as much as 50 percent with PECM, which the team says “could lower the cost of feed inputs in culturing shrimp, tilapia, and milkfish.” Overall, production was good for tilapia, milkfish, and shrimp in low density culture. The use of PECM didn’t affect the look, taste, and feel of the meat from these three products. Traifalgar notes, however, that trials in large-scale commercial-size ponds and tanks need to be completed to see if the results verify those of the preliminary tests. From left to right: UPLB Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Rex B. Demafelis, Dr. Laura J. Pham, BIOTECH Director Rosario G. Monsalud, Former UPLB Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Susan May F. Calumpang, and PCAARRD Deputy Executive Director Edwin C. Villar lead the groundbreaking ceremony of the Phase I construction of the PECM pilot plant facility on 25 May 2016 (Photo from Dr. Laura J. Pham) With funding support from the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology, the development and production of PECM is projected to advance further with the upcoming completion of its pilot plant facility. Pham reveals “the optimization of the process conditions for the pilot scale production at one metric ton capacity will follow.” |
https://up.edu.ph/eats-from-the-garden/ | Eats from the garden – University of the Philippines | Eats from the garden Eats from the garden July 3, 2018 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo A sampling of dorm produce: clockwise from top right, landscape maintenance staff Joel Cia and the chilies at the Men’s Residence Hall; okra; tomatoes; and MS Entomology student Vanessa Jane Acabal getting her hands on some papaya at the International House garden. (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) There’s some kind of food revolution going on at UP Los Baños (UPLB) and it’s begun to take root in student dormitories. Edible gardening is gaining ground as a way of providing students not only more nutritious options in their diet but also food in dorms when students can’t go out to eat. It seems only right, since UPLB is the country’s leading institution in agriculture. The effort also ties in neatly with the University’s initiative on edible landscapes. “Sometimes we have students who are short on cash, so they scrimp and skip meals. Or there are those who study late into the night only to realize it’s far too late to go out and buy a proper meal,” says UPLB Housing Office (UHO) Director Zoilo Belano Jr. on how the idea of edible gardening in dorms came about. He added that some of the more healthy choices are also cheaper, so fruits and vegetables freely harvested from the gardens make better sense. Joeseph Quisado may study insects for his PhD in Entomology but he seems to be good at horticulture, too. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) They’re organic, too UPLB obviously isn’t short on expertise, so the UHO sought the help of Dr. Blesilda Calub of the College of Agriculture and Food Science-Agricultural Systems Institute to teach organic gardening to dorm staff and residents. This was to take better care of food sources that have naturally grown around the dorms, such as papaya and banana, as well as new ones they intend to plant. The edible gardens at dorms are at different stages of development, with some having more variety of produce than others. Belano explains that this is due to varying terrain and manpower availability, although the UHO will continue to work on improving the productivity of the gardens with less produce. At present, the most developed is the International House Residence Hall garden, where they’ve planted tomato, okra, cucumber, habanero pepper, strawberry, and blueberry, among many others. The other dorms have string beans, mustard greens, eggplant, chili pepper, sweet potato, ginger, squash, etc. Those that need more work are the gardens at the Women’s Residence Hall and the Veterinary Medicine Residence Hall. Belano says that the gardens will continue to be developed and maintained through organic farming methods. From left to right, International House residents Joeseph Quisado and Vanessa Jane Acabal with Dorm Manager Honey Faith Roa-Evangelista and UPLB Housing Office Director Zoilo Belano Jr. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Not just for students The UHO is thinking big and it plans to expand its edible gardening initiative to the faculty and staff housing sector. “We have five residential zones for faculty and staff, and what we want is to have at least one common garden for each zone,” reveals Belano. Apart from promoting a healthier lifestyle through nutrient-rich foods, gardening is known to be beneficial to physical, mental, and emotional health for all ages. In fact, a field related to this has developed—therapeutic horticulture. “We also want these gardens to be pockets of social interaction, bringing members of the community closer to each other to make better neighborhoods where residents live harmoniously,” Belano adds. Master Carpenter Roger Villegas tends to the edible garden at the back of the Agricultural Training Institute-National Training Center Residence Hall, where the carpentry workshop of the UPLB Housing Office is temporarily located. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) He is confident the UPLB community will be supportive of these plans and he looks forward to the day edible gardening becomes a widespread phenomenon in schools. After all, as the leading academic institution in agriculture, UPLB is expected to do no less than start the food revolution in its own backyard. |
https://up.edu.ph/from-grief-to-gratitude/ | From Grief to Gratitude – University of the Philippines | From Grief to Gratitude From Grief to Gratitude November 16, 2018 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo Emely Amoloza lost her daughter to cancer seven years ago. But it was gratitude, not grief, that pushed the then administrative officer at the UP Open University (UPOU) to launch a public service initiative that has become an anticipated annual event: the UPOU Blood Donation Drive. Haydelle Amoloza in her high school graduation photo (Photo from Emely Amoloza, UPOU FICS) Her daughter was a quiet young woman who was enjoying university life as a second-year Applied Physics major at UP Los Baños (UPLB). She spent her free time reaching out to children who lived near the train tracks outside campus. She shared her knowledge with them, showed them kindness the best way she knew how. She didn’t even tell her mother about it; she didn’t think herself or what she did exceptional. It was only at Haydelle’s wake, when those children came to visit, that Emely realized the extent of her daughter’s generosity and compassion for others. Haydelle was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2010. Things looked good after her operation, but life took a heartbreaking turn just a few months later. It was December when they learned that the cancer had returned. In January 2011, it had metastasized and was classified as stage IV. She succumbed to her illness on April 18, 2011—twelve days after she had turned 19. Paying it forward “When you go through something like this, you don’t really expect an outpouring of support. But there it was and it was really overwhelming,” Emely recalls, teary-eyed. Emely Amoloza (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Relatives, friends, former classmates at the UP Rural High School and UPLB—hers and Haydelle’s, and UPOU colleagues—rallied around the Amoloza family during those difficult times. And it was something that stayed with Emely. “I was so grateful at the amount of help that was extended to us. I still am. We were really blessed to have received so much love.” It was that feeling of gratitude and her daughter’s kindness that inspired Emely to find a way of helping others, to provide what they need. While it wasn’t very challenging for their family to find blood supplies for Haydelle, she knew that other patients weren’t as fortunate as her daughter. “I thought a blood drive would be a good way of paying it forward.” Critical need There is no substitute for human blood and it is always in high demand. According to the Red Cross, patients with cancer, trauma, extensive burns, blood diseases, and chronic illnesses benefit most from blood donations. Their lives depend on it. Blood is a resource that healthy persons can easily replenish. In fact, they can donate every three months. Donating blood benefit not only the recipients but the donors as well. Apart from the emotional satisfaction of knowing you are helping save lives, bloodletting reduces iron stores in the body. Studies have been made on how high levels of iron in the blood increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and liver diseases, among others. To have a heart Emely, now a university extension associate, says that it wasn’t hard to get UPOU support for the blood drive because public service is one of the University’s main functions. It also wasn’t hard to get the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on board because it welcomes initiatives such as this. 2018 UPOU Blood Donation Drive (Photo from UPOU FICS) Except for 2013, the blood drive has been held in April of each year in memory of Haydelle. Emely said that she has received messages telling her that they were excited to donate, that they were asking more of their friends to go with them, that perhaps the one-day event could be extended to two so that more donors could be accommodated. Since the program started in 2012, the number of donors has been increasing and so has the number of partner organizations. It even encouraged more people to volunteer their services and sponsor items such as food and beverage for blood donors. As a result, UPOU’s program has been cited by the PRC “for meritorious service rendered in the promotion of Blood Services.” Emely’s way of “paying it forward” doesn’t stop with the blood donation drive. UPOU is entitled to ten percent of its total blood collection, freely given to those in need. When it runs out and there are still indigent patients asking Emely for help, she calls other blood drive organizers to ask for their “free blood.” She also extends assistance to those who need to secure blood from the PRC. Emely said that while the program was conceived by a mother’s gratitude, it owes a big part of its life to the University. “Looking back on everything—Haydelle’s selflessness, the generosity of my co-workers in UPOU, the unrelenting support from my schoolmates and my daughter’s schoolmates, my passion for this endeavor—I realize that this blood drive exists because UP taught us ‘puso,’ what it truly means to have a heart. It allowed me to transcend the despair of losing my daughter, to be thankful, and to pass on to others the kindness bestowed upon me and my family.” |
https://up.edu.ph/up-confers-doctor-of-laws-upon-dr-richard-roberts/ | UP confers Doctor of Laws upon Dr. Richard Roberts – University of the Philippines | UP confers Doctor of Laws upon Dr. Richard Roberts UP confers Doctor of Laws upon Dr. Richard Roberts November 23, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office In ceremonies which he said “touched him the most,” Dr. Richard J. Roberts, 1993 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, was conferred by UP the Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, for his contributions in molecular biology, without which UPLB would not have been able to produce its biotechnology products. Dr. Roberts received the honorary degree during a ceremony on Nov. 21 at the DL Umali Hall in UPLB. Dr. J. Prospero E. De Vera III, chair of the UP Board of Regents (BOR) and the Commission on Higher Education, and Atty. Danilo L. Concepcion, president of UP, spearheaded the awarding ceremonies. “I’m overwhelmed. This is an unbelievable honor. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life,” Dr. Roberts said. UP recognized Dr. Roberts for his discovery of split genes and RNA splicing. His contributions to the wide availability of restriction enzymes have also paved the way for many of UPLB’s biotechnology products. The University also took note of his advocacy for the production and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). He has persuaded 138 fellow Nobel awardees to sign a manifesto supporting the safe and responsible use of recombinant technology in improving plant varieties to produce GMOs. In his address and lecture during the event, Dr. Roberts talked about his stand favoring GMOs. “GMO is safe. There is no evidence whatsoever that GMOs are dangerous. There has not been a single credible problem posed by GMOs since they were first introduced,” Dr. Roberts stated. “GMOs are safer than conventionally bred foods for a simple reason that [compared to] conventional breeding, in GMOs, you know exactly what’s in it,” he added. Dr. Roberts said that precision breeding selects only a particular gene to improve the quality of plants, such as resistance to specific pests. He cited Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Corn, Bt Eggplant, Golden Rice and Rainbow Papaya as examples of these GMO crops. He also emphasized the role of GMOs in providing more food, particularly to children of developing countries who suffer from food scarcity and vitamin deficiency. “If you want to make decisions about supporting or not supporting GMOs, have a heart. Think about these kids in Africa. They need food and they are not going to get the food they need by traditional methods, but they can get it by using GMO methods,” Dr. Roberts ended. Witnessing the awarding ceremony were Hon. Angelo Jimenez and Hon. Frederick Mikhail Farolan, both members of the UP BOR; Atty. Roberto Lara, secretary of the university and the BOR; and Chancellor Fernando C. Sanchez, Jr. Also present were National Scientist Dolores Ramirez and National Academy of Science and Technology Academician Dr. Eufemio Rasco, Jr., who introduced Dr. Roberts. UPLB constituents–current officials, past administrators, faculty members, research, extension, professional, and administrative staff, and students–witnessed the ceremony. (Mark Jayson E. Gloria) This article was first published on UP Los Baños News and Updates on November 22, 2018 (http://uplb.edu.ph/top-stories/up-confers-doctor-of-laws-to-dr-richard-roberts/). |
https://up.edu.ph/istorya-ng-pag-asa-calls-for-film-entries/ | Istorya ng Pag-asa calls for film entries – University of the Philippines | Istorya ng Pag-asa calls for film entries Istorya ng Pag-asa calls for film entries January 12, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Are you interested in making films? Do you have a true and inspiring story you want to share? Join the Istorya ng Pag-asa Film Festival! Istorya ng Pag-asa (INP) is a traveling photo gallery featuring extraordinary stories of ordinary Filipinos. Through words and portraits, this project aims to inspire, empower and be a source of hope for all. INP is an initiative of the Office of the Vice President, aiming to direct our social conversations away from animosity toward positivity by spreading stories of hope featuring ordinary Filipinos who triumph over adversity. Officially launched in November 2016, it now continues to grow with stories of hope sourced from local communities, with the help of different socio-civic groups and local government units. INP continues to expand its reach to all corners of the country, with the support of partners and stakeholders from Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Quezon City, Naga, Baguio, Palawan and Dumaguete. Click here to view the mechanics, application form and FAQs. Accepting submissions only until February 25, 2018. |
https://up.edu.ph/danilo-l-concepcion-installed-as-21st-up-president/ | Danilo L. Concepción installed as 21st UP president – University of the Philippines | Danilo L. Concepción installed as 21st UP president Danilo L. Concepción installed as 21st UP president October 13, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Atty. Danilo Lardizabal Concepción was formally installed as the 21st president of the University of the Philippines on September 20 at the University Theater, UP Diliman. He has been in office for seven months. Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, who heads the UP Board of Regents, presided over the investiture rites. As part of the ceremony, she handed over the symbols of the presidency such as the mace and medallion to Concepción. Pres. Danilo L. Concepcion receives the mace from CHED and UP BOR Chair Patricia Licuanan (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) CHED and UP BOR Chair Patricia Licuanan affixes the medallion on Pres. Danilo L. Concepcion’s academic robe along with his wife Atty. Gabriela Roldan Concepcion (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo graced the event along with other government officials. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had been invited but sent his regrets along with his “felicitations to the University and its new leadership.” Members of the diplomatic corps, National Artists, National Scientists, academic leaders, former UP presidents, and University officials from across the UP System were among those who attended the ceremony. When Concepción was still a nominee, his vision sought to redefine UP’s culture, enhancing its time-honored traditions of honor and excellence to include “malasakit” or compassion—a virtue he considers as “UP’s moral core as the national university.” In his investiture speech titled “Compassion, Our Common Ground,” he defined compassion as genuine care for UP, for the professions, and for each member of the University. “When we genuinely feel compassion, we are truly careful with our words and deeds; very careful of our every move so as not to hurt or harm the things we value and care for,” he said. Speaking both in English and Filipino, the new UP President began by looking back at UP’s 109-year-long history and noting that while “dissent has been coded into the University’s DNA,” the current atmosphere of political polarization in the country and even the university had taken its toll on “truth, reason, and respect.” He called for the promotion of “consensus over conflict, civility over calumny, and collaboration over confrontation. We must foster strategic thinking over short-sightedness, honest labor over opportunism, and shared effort over self-promotion.” He said that he would “focus on finding, in this University, a common ground, a clearing—a safe, free, and congenial space within which its constituents can teach, study, and work productively to their full potential.” Pres. Danilo L. Concepcion takes his oath as the University’s 21st president (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) He acknowledged the implementation of the new free tuition policy as his administration’s first major challenge. While tuition is now free, Concepción raised another important student issue: democratizing admissions. A good number of underprivileged students who wish to go to UP fail the UP College Admission Test. To address this, he proposed a voluntary return service agreement for UP students benefitting from free tuition. There are three options: agree to teach in senior high school for one year after graduation with compensation, opt out by paying tuition, or opt out after graduation by paying the cost of their UP education. Concepción was optimistic that UP students would choose to render service. On student protests and rallies, he promised to “guarantee their right and freedom to express their ideas, beliefs, and principles. We will never even attempt to suppress what they want to say, or oppress them for what they fight for.” For UP faculty, Concepción discussed the vigorous pursuit of funding for development programs; easing up the rules on tenure and promotion; the rise of the new and improved Faculty Center in three years; and the establishment of an office to help faculty members prepare for retirement, which includes assisting them with their needs, like housing. Campus rehabilitation is also on his list of priorities. He appealed to the UP alumni for support, specifically for the rehabilitation and upkeep of dormitories. Concepción also revealed plans for a Philippine General Hospital in Diliman, a medical complex that will include a College of Medicine and the Genomic Cancer Research Institute. It will serve northern Metro Manila and nearby areas. Another campus concern Concepción brought up was the presence of informal settlers across the University. He said that his family was, at some point, like them, so he knows how it feels to be one. “Their welfare will be included in all of our plans to put in order our campuses. My sincere prayer and hope is for them to also have compassion for our University and our community.” On staff development, Concepción emphasized the need to match operational requirements with administrative workforce. He also said that his administration has begun the process of regularizing contractual employees. Concepción explained that regularization entails the creation of plantilla items, which takes time. While waiting, non-UP contractuals are being moved up to UP contractual status for now, to let them enjoy the same benefits as regular UP employees. Concepción also talked about seeking reforms in the procurement process, automation of operating systems, and in the allocation and use of funds and resources. He mentioned the drive for more collaborative activities with other universities and colleges. Prior to assuming the presidency on February 10 this year, he was the executive director of the UP Bonifacio Global City campus. He also served as Vice President for Legal Affairs in the administration of his predecessor, Alfredo Pascual. From 2000 to 2002, he was president of De La Salle Araneta University. He has also been serving as the Dean of the UP College of Law since 2011. Born in 1958, Concepción earned his Master of Laws degree from the University of London in 1986 as a Chevening Scholar. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree, cum laude, from UP Diliman in 1983. In 1979, he received his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering degree, summa cum laude, from De La Salle Araneta University. He was elected to the position in November 2016 by the 11-member Board of Regents, UP’s highest governing body. UP’s presidents have traditionally held their investiture several months after taking office. To view a copy of his speech, click here. Click here to view photos taken during the investiture. |
https://up.edu.ph/compassion-our-common-ground-investiture-speech-of-danilo-l-concepcion/ | Compassion, Our Common Ground: The Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción – University of the Philippines | Compassion, Our Common Ground: The Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción Compassion, Our Common Ground: The Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción September 20, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office “UP must be that special place within which it should still be possible—despite all divisions and distractions—to work together with the University’s and the nation’s strategic interests in mind.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Compassion, Our Common Ground Investiture Speech of Danilo L. Concepción 21st President, University of the Philippines 20 September 2017, 5:00 p.m., University Theater I stand before you today as a student trained in two disciplines: that of science, which taught me the measure of Nature, and that of the law, which taught me the measure of Man. I cannot claim that I have learned enough because education is a lifelong process, and I expect to live a little longer. But this I have surely come to realize: that while Nature may be bewilderingly complex, Man is infinitely more so. If I had remained an agricultural engineer, I might have been happy designing new tools for farming or more effective irrigation systems. But ultimately, I found law more challenging, that which is the calibration and codification of human and social behavior. And as if that were not enough, and even before UP, I took on teaching and university administration—which, in a strange but logical way, draw on all these threads of thought and experience to form a coherent wholeness of purpose. Indeed the university is probably the one institution in society—with the possible exception of Congress—where diversity and difference are its very nature and intrinsic to its success. Today, with nearly 200 undergraduate and almost 350 graduate programs, UP can proudly claim to offer the broadest canopy under which Filipino students and scholars can learn. Nowhere else in this country can you take such diverse courses as Archeology, Geomatics Engineering, Tropical Landscape Architecture, and Women and Development. That is what a national university is for, and that is why UP is one. We recognize that a national university exists not to profit the pocket, but to enrich the mind and to enlarge the soul of our people. We stand firm in the belief that all forms of knowledge benefit humanity, and that part of our mission is to employ that knowledge for social transformation. At his investiture in 1911, our first President, Dr. Murray Bartlett, made it clear that the new University of the Philippines was not merely going to be a copy of its models in the West but would be a “University for Filipinos” devoted to providing “the intellectual and moral leadership essential to social salvation and progressive national development.” It seems ironic today—given our much-vaunted nationalism and secularism—to remark that Dr. Bartlett was an American and a Protestant pastor. But that irony offers vivid proof that our founders understood that creating a great university would mean stepping out of one’s own moorings into a true community of minds. And so, difference and diversity have been with us since the beginning—and of course, dissension and debate, especially since the University Council was first set up. But again, and notably, we have managed to harmonize our differences over more than a century of discourse to forge a way forward—whether it be in terms of crafting a curriculum for general education, or rewarding performance and productivity. Therein lies our University’s vitality—not in the fact that we argue, because argue we must, but in the fact that we have always managed at some point to agree, because agree we also must. Dissent has been coded into our DNA, the most familiar expression of the critical thinking we have sought to imbue every UP student with. But we also know that between academic inquiry and practical necessity lies much common ground to explore and to inhabit. On June 8, 1933, students at the College of Education boycotted their classes in the first protest ever against a tuition fee increase, from P30 to P50 per semester. Among the leaders of the mass action was none other than Fe Palma, daughter of then UP President Rafael Palma. History does not record what President Palma said to his daughter afterwards, but I suppose he should have been proud, as she was a product of the liberal education that he himself espoused in his inaugural address. Four years later in 1937, when President Quezon pushed for the transfer of UP from Padre Faura to Diliman, UP students led by a young editor named Armando Malay held a straw vote that resoundingly rejected the move by 84 percent. The critics complained that Diliman was a dark and mountainous territory teeming with snakes, monkeys, and mosquitoes. Then UP President Bienvenido Gonzalez was crucified. But twelve years later, when the move had finally happened, Malay spoke again, but this time in Diliman, and acknowledged that it was time “for a closing of the ranks.” These instances of dissent were classically and uniquely UP. We ourselves have made this possible, empowering and emboldening generations of students with reason, enabling them, as Palma put it, “to react properly to the promptings of truth and to the world.” We—and perhaps we alone—have justly and proudly held reason above all other considerations in our academic life: considerations such as creed, kinship, privilege, authority. And it is this supremely valuable faculty to which I appeal today, as I grasp the helm of this great enterprise we call the University of the Philippines. Let reason guide us, but not reason alone; let it be reason tempered with respect, responsibility, and collegiality. Both at the national and university levels, it is becoming difficult to push any agenda forward without being subjected to intense, sometimes malicious, but also often necessary scrutiny. In many instances, we have stopped talking to one another as a people sharing the same future. Truth, reason, and respect have been the prime casualties in these exchanges, which I am sure you have witnessed—if not participated in—online. The phrase “social media” has almost become an oxymoron, as it has become the stalking ground of some of the most unsociable people you could come across. Sad to say, some of that caustic and deeply divisive rhetoric has come to infect our University, not just our students but our faculty, staff, and administrators as well. This is perhaps to be expected, as a university remains, in many ways, merely a microcosm of a much larger society. Our strength lies in our collegiality. If we allow our reason and our rhetoric to be clouded by intolerance, then we will be no more and no better than a gang, indeed than any other collection of ill-tempered individuals. At his investiture in 1975, another of my predecessors, President Onofre D. Corpuz, openly took issue with the University’s characterization as “a battleground of ideas,” calling it a “romantic notion” that the people could ill afford to pay for with their taxes. Rather than a battleground, I prefer to focus on finding, in this University, a common ground, a clearing—a safe, free, and congenial space within which its constituents can teach, study, and work productively to their full potential. UP must be that special place within which it should still be possible—despite all divisions and distractions—to work together with the University’s and the nation’s strategic interests in mind. For this we must promote consensus over conflict, civility over calumny, and collaboration over confrontation. We must foster strategic thinking over short-sightedness, honest labor over opportunism, and shared effort over self-promotion. There should be no better place in this country than UP for the expression of ideas without fear, without fear of violent retribution from one’s colleagues or from the State itself. There should be no environment more welcoming than UP for cutting-edge research, timely policy studies, exciting new exhibits and productions, and provocative art and literature—in other words, the work we have always meant to do, and do best. We will be guided by the overarching vision of UP as a leading regional and global university in an environment that sustains 21st century learning, knowledge creation, and public service for society and humanity. Where our University is situated today would not have been possible without the foundations laid by my esteemed predecessors, whom I acknowledge and thank today, and to whom I make a personal pledge to do my best to live up to their example. President Edgardo Angara, who was not able to make it today, Presidents Emanuel Soriano, Emil Javier, Jose Abueva, Francisco Nemenzo, Emerlinda Roman, and Alfredo Pascual—sa inyo pong lahat, tanggapin ninyo ang aming taos pusong pasasalamat, paggalang, at pagpupugay! Bunsod ng ating hangaring ituloy ang mga mahahalaga at makabuluhang pagbabago, at sa paniniwalang mayroon tayong maia-ambag sa hangaring ito, ini-alay po natin ang ating sarili upang maglingkod bilang Pangulo. Nagsama-sama po tayo sa ating pakay at galaw, at dahil dito, tayo po ay nanaig at nagtagumpay. Ngayon, ang tagumpay na ito ang simula ng ating pagkilos upang patunayan sa lahat na ang mga pangarap at adhikain na sinampalatayaan at pinanghawakan ng ating mga kasama, kakampi man o katunggali, ay kaya nating maisakatuparan at makamtan. Lahat po ng ating balak at panukala ay matutupad at matatapos kung tayo po ay magsa-sama-samang muli sa pagpaplano, pagpapasya, at pagpapapatupad sa lahat ng ating gagawin para sa pagsusulong ng minimithing pagbabago. Upang tayo ay magtagumpay, ang tatlong sangkap ng ating Unibersidad: ang mga mag-aaral, ang kaguruan, at ang mga kawani, ay dapat na magkabigkis-bigkis tungo sa isang layunin. Nasa pagkakaisa nating lahat lamang ang susi ng tagumpay. Totoo, ang pagkakaisa ay tunay na mailap at mahirap makamit sapagkat lubhang maraming pagkakaiba ang ating mga pangangailangan, paniniwala, at pamantayan. Subalit tayo ay nananalig na mayroong isang tagpuan kung saan lahat tayo ay maaring tumayong sama-sama na parang isang katawan. Bilang isang katawan, tiyak nating mapagtatanto at madarama na ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay sakit ng buong katawan. Ang sakit na iniinda ng sinuman sa atin, ay sakit na iindahin ng lahat natin. Hindi natin marahil napapansin subalit ang tagpuang ito ay nasa mga puso na natin. Kailangan lamang po nating itong mapagtanto at madama. At upang tayo ay manatiling magkakayakap sa ating tagpuan, tayo po bilang Pangulo, ang magsisilbing isang pagkit na sa ating lahat ay hahatak at magdi-dikit upang wala ni-isa man sa atin ang mawalay o malisya. Tayo po ay nakalaang makinig kanino man upang malaman ang inyong mga loobin, balak, at pangangailangan upang tayo po ay magabayan sa ating pag-ugit. Sa atin pong pamumuno, mas mahalaga ang kagalingan ng lahat kaysa sa ating personal na pananaw o kagustuhan. Sa ating pagpapasya sa mga hakbang na ating tatahakin, ang ating gabay at panuntunan ay pagmamalasakit. Pagmamalasakit sa ating Unibersidad, pagmamalasakit sa ating mga propesyon, pagmamalasakit sa ating mga sarili, at pagmamalasakit sa isa’t isa. Kung tayo po ay nagmamalasakit, tayo ay lubos na nag-iingat; nag-iingat na ang ating bawat kilos at galaw ay hindi makasasakit o makasasama sa bawat isa sa atin. Kung pagkakaisa ang susi sa tagumpay ng ating mga mithiin, pagmamalasakit naman ang susi tungo sa isang samahang wagas at pangmatagalan. Sa susunod na anim na taon na ating hahawakan ang timon, ito po ay ating hahawakan nang mahigpit at maingat sapagkat maraming hamon at balakid ang ating haharapin, bubunuin, at gagapiin. Sa simula pa lamang ng ating pag-ugit, isang malaking hamon ang agad ay sumalubong sa atin: ang libreng matrikula sa kolehiyo. Tunay po na ito ay isang malaking hamon sapagkat animnapung porsyento ng ating koleksyon mula sa matrikula ay nakalaan para sa ating mga faculty development programs. Kung hindi po ibibigay sa atin ng national government ang katumbas ng dapat ay ating koleksyon, wala po tayong malilikom na pondo na sadyang ilalaan sa mga programang magpapaunlad sa katayuan ng ating kaguruan. Bukod dito, bagama’t totoong libre na nga ang tuition sa UP, makapasa naman kaya sa UPCAT ang mga kapus-palad na kabataan na sa UP ay nais makapag-aral? Wala pong saysay at kabuluhan ang programang libreng matrikula kung sa UPCAT ang estudyante ay di naman papasa. Sa mga nakalipas na pagsasaliksik at pag-aaral, napag-alaman na maliit na bahagi lamang ng mga nagtatapos sa maraming public high schools sa labas ng Metro Manila ang pumapasa sa UPCAT. Ang sinisisi pong dahilan ay ang mababang kalidad ng pagtuturo sa mga public high schools na ito. Dahil dito, panukala po natin na gawing kondisyon sa pagtanggap sa isang estudyante ang pagbibigay ng balik-serbisyo sa ating bayan; balik-serbisyong isang taon pagkaraang makatapos ang estudyante sa kanyang kurso. Sa loob nang isang taon, siya po ay ating pagtuturuin sa senior high school sa mga public schools na ito upang kahit-manawari ay tumaas ang kalidad ng kanilang edukasyon. Ang kondisyong balik-serbisyo ay hindi naman po sapilitan. Malaya po ang estudyante na hindi magbalik-serbisyo, dangan siya po sa halip ay magbabayad ng matrikula kung siya po ay tatanggi bago makatapos, o ang buong halaga ng kanyang edukasyon kung siya ay tatanggi kapag siya ay nakapagtapos na. Hindi rin po libre ang pag-babalik-serbisyo. May bayad po sila habang sila ay nagtuturo. Ganoon pa man, tayo po ay lubos na umaasa na magbabalik-serbisyo ang ating mga iskolar ng bayan. Ito na po ang kanilang pagkakataon na isabuhay ang kanilang isinisigaw na pagmamahal sa bayan. Ito na po ang pagkakataon na patunayan nila sa kanilang mga sarili ang panawagan nilang maglingkod sa kapus-palad nating mga kababayan. Madalas pong magmartsa ang ating mga estudyante, sumisigaw ng pagbabago. Kung ating pong wawariin, parang wala nang katapusan ang kanilang mga reklamo at kahilingan; parang ibig nilang sila na ang magpalakad sa ating Unibersidad, at sila ay mag-aral nang sang-ayon tangi sa kanilang pasya at kagustuhan. Subalit sinasabi natin ngayon sa kanila, na hinding-hindi natin sila pipigilan sa kanilang pagpapahayag ng kanilang mga kaisipan at paniniwala; hinding hindi natin sila bubusalan sa kanilang mga hinaing. Bagkus, sila ay ating pakikinggan, uunawain, at gagabayan. Hindi po natin hinuhubog ang ating mga estudyante sa isang hulmahan. Hinuhubog po natin sila upang magkaroon ng isang malaya, mapanuri, mapagtanong, at malikhaing pag-iisip; upang sila ay magtaglay ng diwang walang takot, ng tinig na hindi pasusupil; at upang sila ay manindigan para sa katwiran at katarungan. Sa ating kaguruan, ang lakas natin ay nasa ating kakayahang mag-talo at magpasya bilang isang kalipunan. Ang kakayahang ito ay ating itataguyod at pag-iibayuhin nang marubdob. Pagsisikapan nating malikom ang pondong kailangan ng ating faculty development programs upang hindi maputol ang mga programang nasimulan na, at upang madagdagan pa. At upang manatili sa Unibersidad ang ating mahuhusay na kaguruan, pag-aaralan po natin na luwagan ang mga regulasyon sa tenure at promotion upang ang mga ito ay maging mas patas at mas makatarungan. Marapat din na sila ay bigyan natin ng magandang working condition, at masaya at masiglang buhay-akademiko sa ating mga campus. Titiyakin po natin na maitayo muli ang nasunog na Facuty Center sa loob ng 3 taon. Ang bagong Faculty Center po na ito ay magiging mas malaki, mas moderno, at mas faculty-friendly. Ang ating pong kaguruan ay binibigyan ng lipunan ng pinakamataas na pagkilala at paggalang habang sila ay nagtuturo sa ating Unibersidad. Hindi po natin papayagan na sila ay mawalan ng dignidad matapos na sila ay magretiro sa pagtuturo. Marahil, dapat tayong magtayo ng isang opisina na walang gagawin kung hindi ihanda ang ating kaguruan para sa kanilang pag-reretiro, at upang sila ay gabayan at tulungan sa kanilang mga pangangailangan, lalong-lalo na sa usapin ng pabahay. Nakalista po sa ating priority projects ang pagpapaganda sa ating mga campuses. Nangangailangan na po ng rehabilitasyon ang ating mga gusali at mga dormitoryo. Dapat na po nating wakasan ang masakit na biro na walang malinis at mabangong CR dito sa UP. Tayo po ay nananawagan sa ating mga alumni na sana tayo ay tulungan at damayan sa krusadang ito. Sa mga matagumpay nating alumni na tumira at nakinabang sa murang bayad sa ating mga dormitoryo, sana’y masumpungan nila sa kanilang mga puso ang magsukli at tumulong sa ating pagbabangong-anyo. Pagsisikapan din po nating magtayo ng pangalawang Philippine General Hospital dito sa UP Diliman. Kasama po sa itatayo ang kakambal nitong College of Medicine at Genomic Cancer Research Institute. Ang medical complex po na ito ay magbibigay-serbisyo sa komunidad ng UP Diliman at ng hilagang Metro-Manila. Ang College of Medicine ay magdaragdag ng mga duktor sa ating bansa at ang Institute po naman ay tutuklas ng lunas sa cancer gamit ang makabagong siyensya ng genomics. Pangarap po natin na ang PGH na ito ay maging pinaka moderno at pinaka magandang ospital sa buong bansa. Naniniwala po tayo na kaya nating isakatuparan ang pangarap na ito sa tulong ninyong lahat at ng lokal at pambansang pamahalaan. Para naman po sa ating mga kawani, sinimulan na po natin ang proseso upang gawing regular ang mga kawaning matatagal na sa serbisyo. Sapagkat mangangailangan ito ng mga karagdang plantilla positions, ang proceso po ay inaasahan nating magtatagal. Subalit habang tayo po ay naghihintay, itataas na po natin ang mga non-UP contractuals, yaong matatagal na po sa serbisyo, sa antas ng UP Contractuals upang sila ay tumanggap na ng lahat ng benepisyo ng isang regular na empleyado. Ganoon pa man, inaasahan natin na ang mga kawani ay magmamalasakit din para sa kapakanan ng ating Unibersidad. Huwag sana nilang igiit ang kanilang mga kahilingan kung ito ay hindi kayang pasanin ng ating kabang-yaman. Kasabay nito, kailangan po nating suriing mabuti ang pangangailangan ng ating operasyon upang ang laki ng ating administrative workforce ay maging tugma rito, at hindi tuluyang lumobo. Ang salop na umaapaw ay di na po dapat dagdagan. Sa ibabaw po ng lahat nang ito, i-aangkas natin ang ating mga reporma sa ating procurement system, sa automation ng ating mga operating systems, at sa paggamit ng ating mga pondo at resources. Tayo po sa ngayon ang nag-iisang Pambansang Unibersidad. Subalit ang karangalan pong ito ay may kaakibat na tungkulin para sa mga unibersidad at kolehiyo sa buong bansa, pribado man o pambupliko. Sa ilalim po ng ating pagmamasid, itataguyod natin ang tambalan ng UP sa mga unibersidad at kolehiyo na ibig makipagtulungan sa ating mga gawaing akademiko at pananaliksik. Pag-aaralan po natin ang pagbalangkas sa isang facility-sharing scheme para sa ating mga SUCs. Dumako naman po tayo sa usaping informal settlers. Lingid sa karamihan, ang pamilya po natin, minsan, ay naging informal settler din. Kung kaya po damang-dama rin natin ang nararamdaman ng ating mga kababayang nakikitirik sa ating mga lupain. Bibigyan po natin ng tamang pansin ang kanilang kapakanan. Ang kanilang kagalingan ay lagi po nating ilalahok sa lahat ng balak at pagpa-plano sa pagsasa-ayos ng ating mga campus. Hindi po tayo gigiba ng bahay kung ito ay gigiba ng buhay. Ang tanging dasal po natin, sana’y magmalasakit din naman sila sa ating Unibersidad at sa ating komunidad. Hindi po natin ikinahiya kailanman na tayo ay galing din sa hirap. Dala po ng kahirapan sa buhay tayo po ay nangailangang tumulong sa ating mga magulang sa pagtataguyod sa pamilya. Tumulong po tayo na magpa-aral sa ating mga kapatid upang magbago ang kanilang mga kapalaran at ng ating mga mahal sa buhay. Sa ating pagtulong, nangailangan pong humingi tayo ng awa sa Panginoon. At upang patunayan na ang ating panalangin ay taimtim, tayo po ay nagbitaw ng isang panata. Panata na tayo po ay hindi hahanap ng kabiyak sa buhay hanggat hindi natatapos ng kolehiyo ang lahat ng ating mga kapatid. Dininig po ng Maykapal ang ating panalangin at malugod naman po nating tinupad ang ating panata. Hindi po tayo nakipag-isang dibdib kay Atty. Gaby hanggat hindi po tapos ng medisina ang bunso nating kapatid. Ngayong hapon, saksi kayong lahat at ang Dakilang Lumikha, tayo po ay gumagawa muli ng isang panata. Panata na tayo po ay maglilingkod ng wagas, sa sukdulan ng ating kakayahan, nang patas at makatarungan, nang buong puso at pagmamahal, nang walang iwanan at laglagan, at higit sa lahat, na walang halong biro! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! Mabuhay and Unibersidad ng Pilipinas! (The English translation of the Filipino portion follows below.) Driven by the sincerest and noblest desire to continue accomplishing meaningful and necessary changes in the University, and with the firm belief that I could contribute to achieve this dream, I humbly offered myself to serve our University as its President. And because we were brought and bound together by our common selfless intentions and pursuits, we prevailed, we succeeded. This success signals the beginning of the more important task of proving to our colleagues—friends and detractors alike—and to those who rely on and believe in us that we will fulfill and deliver the reforms we have committed to achieve. This we will realize through a renewal of our collective and united efforts to plan, decide, and act toward the needed change we have envisioned together. For us to triumph, the three vital components of our University—the students, the faculty, and the administrative staff—should aim as one to hit our targets. Our unity is the key to our success. True, unity is elusive because we fully acknowledge and accept the complexity and diversity of our respective needs, beliefs, and standards. However, we believe that there is a common ground where all of the three components can stand together as one body. We have to act as one body, so that pain endured by one of us will be pain felt by all of us. That common ground is right here in our hearts; we simply have to feel it to realize it. To ensure that all of us will stay in that common ground together as one, I, as your President, shall act as the adhesive that will keep us fastened and bound together, so that no one will fall out, or be left out. I am committed to listen to anyone who needs my attention, so I would know what he or she feels, plans, and needs in order to guide me in my work. Under my leadership, the common good is far more important than my personal views or desire. The road to change is treacherous to say the least. But to guide us in every step of the way, compassion is what shall set our bearings. It is compassion when we feel genuine care for our University, genuine care for our professions, genuine care for ourselves, and genuine care for each other. When we genuinely feel compassion, we are truly careful with our words and deeds; very careful of our every move so as not to hurt or harm the things we value and care for. If our unity is the key to our success, compassion is the key to our solidarity and lasting camaraderie. In the next six years that I will steer the helm of this administration, rest assured that I will hold it firmly and with vigilance, for there will be great obstacles ahead to confront and overcome. Just at the start of my term as President, we already met a major challenge: tuition-free college education. It is a major concern because we have been allocating sixty percent of our collection from tuition fees for faculty development programs. If the national government will not replace the tuition collection we will forego, there will be no funds to finance the programs that develop and uplift the conditions of our faculty. Apart from this, we have to address another concern. While studying in UP may be free, can the students belonging to the less-privileged and marginalized families pass the UPCAT if they intend or wish to study in UP? The free-tuition program will clearly be pointless, senseless, and useless if the students from poor families will not pass the UPCAT. Based on previous studies, only a small percentage of graduates from public high schools outside Metro Manila pass the UPCAT. This low turnout is being blamed on the low quality of instruction in those public high schools. This reality has given rise to our proposal to impose return service as a condition for the admission of students to UP. This return service will be for one year after graduation. Our graduates will be required to teach senior high school students in public high schools that we will identify as UP feeder schools. This scheme, we hope, will uplift the quality of the graduates from these feeder schools. The return-service condition, however, will be voluntary. Any student may opt out from this condition before graduation by paying his tuition, or the cost of his education if he will opt out after graduation. The return service to be rendered by our graduates will not be for free. Our students who will decide to teach will be compensated properly. While it is voluntary, we are very optimistic that our students, the scholars of the nation, will choose to render return service. That is because it will be a perfect opportunity for them to live out their professed love for our country, and their advocacy to serve our poor countrymen. Our students often march on the streets to demand change. Sometimes it seems that their clamors and complaints will never end; that they want to run the University themselves; and that they wish to study as they please or solely what they desire. Nevertheless, we shall guarantee their right and freedom to express their ideas, beliefs, and principles. We will never even attempt to suppress what they want to say, or oppress them for what they fight for. Instead, we shall listen to them, understand them, and guide them. We do not mold them to think one way or another. On the contrary, we mold them to think freely; to develop inquisitive, discerning, and creative minds; to be fearless and assertive; and to uphold what is right and just. For our faculty, our strength lies in our ability to discourse and resolve our differences collegially. We will value and nurture this ability intensely. We will vigorously pursue and secure the funding needed to continue and improve our faculty development programs. In order to retain our valued faculty in our University, we will study how to ease the rules on tenure and promotion to make them fair and just. We will also upgrade their working conditions and provide them with a happy and vibrant academic life in our campuses. After it burned down last year, a bigger, more modern, and faculty-friendly Faculty Center will rise up again in three years. The community bestows utmost recognition and respect to the members of our faculty while they are in the University. We will never allow the loss of that dignity after their retirement from teaching. To accomplish this, we will create an office specifically dedicated to prepare our faculty for a well-deserved retirement life and to assist them with their needs, especially in housing. Included in the list of our priority projects is the rehabilitation of our campuses. It entails the repair, restoration and improvement of our buildings and dormitories. The time has come to put an end to the not-so-amusing joke that there is no clean or decent toilet in UP. I appeal to our alumni for compassion by helping us in this crusade. I am reaching out to our successful alumni who stayed in the dormitories and enjoyed the benefits of living on campus, paying very cheap dormitory fees. I hope they find in their hearts the generosity to pay it forward and help us in the makeover of their dorms. We shall strive to build a second Philippine General Hospital in UP Diliman. With it, we shall establish its complement: the College of Medicine and the Genomic Cancer Research Institute. This medical complex will serve the UP Diliman community and the north of Metro Manila. On the one hand, the College of Medicine will result in a substantial increase in the number of medical students we shall train to increase the number of doctors in our country. And on the other, the Genomic Cancer Research Institute will focus on finding cures for cancer, using the science of genomics as a major tool. We conceive of PGH-Diliman to be the most modern, well-equipped, and excellent hospital in the country. We believe that we can make this dream happen with your support and the help of our national and local governments. For our contractual personnel who have served the University for a long time, we have begun the process of making them regular employees. However, inasmuch as doing it will require the creation of new plantilla positions, the process will take some time. In the meantime, we shall move up our non-UP contractuals, those who have rendered many years of service, to the level of UP contractual so they can be entitled to all the benefits that a regular employee receives. With this, I hope that our staff would feel that we care. We believe that they, too, have compassion for the welfare of our University. I expect them to understand and not to insist on their demands if our coffers cannot afford these benefits. Alongside this, we need to take stock of and examine our operations to ensure a match between the size of our administrative workforce and our operational requirements. We will ensure that its size no longer balloons unchecked. In a larger perspective, we will institute reforms in our procurement system, in the automation of our operating systems, and in the allocation and use of our funds and resources. As the national university, we have an obligation in our Charter towards other universities and colleges, private and public. Under our watch, we shall comply with that mandate. We shall foster cooperation and collaboration with schools that wish to partner with us in academic and research initiatives. We shall study and consider the establishment and operationalization of a facility-sharing scheme. In addressing the concern on the informal settlers in the University, many do not know that my family was also once an informal settler. This is why I know how it feels to be one. We shall give proper attention to their needs and well-being. Their welfare will be included in all of our plans to put in order our campuses. We will not destroy houses if it will destroy lives. My sincere prayer and hope is for them to also have compassion for our University and our community. I was never ashamed of my humble origins. We were so poor that I had to help my parents in supporting our family. I helped them by ensuring that my siblings could finish their schooling to change their lives and futures for the better. To accomplish this, I had to ask a big favor from God. To prove how fervent my prayer was, I made a vow that if God granted my request, I would not marry until all my siblings had finished college. God answered my prayer and I faithfully fulfilled my vow. I did not get married to Atty. Gaby until my youngest sibling had finished medicine. Today, with all of you and God Almighty as my witnesses, I once again make a solemn pledge to serve you faithfully, to the best of my ability, with fairness and justice, with all my heart and soul, leaving no one behind, and with utmost seriousness of purpose. Thank you all! Long live the University of the Philippines! You may watch the video of his speech below: |
https://up.edu.ph/cis-bares-research-on-native-house-restorations-and-rituals-in-ifugao/ | CIS bares research on native house restorations and rituals in Ifugao – University of the Philippines | CIS bares research on native house restorations and rituals in Ifugao CIS bares research on native house restorations and rituals in Ifugao June 30, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The University of the Philippines–Diliman Center for International Studies (CIS) hosted a couple of events to celebrate the completion of its project entitled “Native House Restorations and Rituals Toward Community-Based Tourism in the UNESCO World Heritage Batad Rice Terrace Cultural Landscape” on 17-19 June 2017. The two mumba’ih performing ritual dancing and chanting before the slaughter. The Pahang, a traditional housewarming ceremony, was held together with the annual harvest of tinawon heirloom rice in Barangay Batad, Banaue, Ifugao. On 17 June, Saturday, the first harvest of rice was done at the terraces of Penneng Ambojnon in Sitio Balihong. Twenty-five local women were joined by several tourists in gathering the rice panicles one-by-one. This joyful event was celebrated with a pig slaughter (sponsored by honorary Batad villagers Rene and Maki Bajit) and a meal shared with everyone in the community. The Pahang ritual, done the following day in Sitio Gabgab, was officiated by the last two mumba’ih (ritualists) of this village. The two septuagenarian mumba’ih, Appo Nappog of Sitio Nabnong and Appo B’fuy-a of Sitio Higib, were joined by a few other elders who still knew the old prayers. Mid-afternoon at the UNESCO World Heritage Batad Rice Terrace Cluster The ritual started at around four in the morning and ended in the afternoon of the following day. It began with an exhortation and invitation for the ancestors and other natural spirits to join the feast. Over the course of the day, the mumba’ih performed small chicken sacrifices, epic chanting, ritual dancing, then culminating in the slaughter and sharing of three pigs. This Pahang was done mainly to honor the couple Tu’paw and Rita Ugay. Mr. Ugay is a b’faluy (native house) builder and craftsman who worked with the project to restore its first b’faluy, the Osmogan-Ugay Lodge. He also joined in the restoration of the two other native houses of the project. This project is funded by the University of the Philippines System through an Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs Enhanced Creative Work and Research Grant. The project proponent, Assistant Professor Raymond Aquino Macapagal, worked with local craftsmen to adaptively restore three b’faluys and develop community-based tourism for the development of the UNESCO World Heritage village of Batad. Once restored, these native houses will serve as lodges for tourists as part of an eco-cultural experience of the rice terraces. Visitors will be given a chance to participate in typical village life, and also get to see the natural beauty of this mountain hamlet. The adaptively restored Osmogan-Ugay Lodge, with UP dedication |
https://up.edu.ph/ana-yose-rakugo-in-english-comes-to-up-diliman/ | ‘ANA Yose: Rakugo in English’ comes to UP Diliman – University of the Philippines | ‘ANA Yose: Rakugo in English’ comes to UP Diliman ‘ANA Yose: Rakugo in English’ comes to UP Diliman September 28, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Organized by All Nippon Airways (ANA) and in cooperation with UP Center for International Studies (UPCIS), The Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) and Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), we bring back Rakugo in English, a Japanese Sit-down Comedy with special Japanese artists to enthrall Philippine audience. On October 6, 2017 (Friday), 6 pm, there will be a special performance at the Aldaba Hall, University Theater Complex, Magsaysay Avenue, UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City. Rakugo is a Japanese comic storytelling art that has been used as entertainment for over 400 years and is still widely popular today, staged at “yose”, which are specialized theatres for Rakugo. The artist speaks to the imagination, and single-handedly creates the hilarious side of tradition of Japan. Enjoy Rakugo with Kaishi Katsura, the world’s top performer of English Rakugo and former Japan cultural envoy, along with Asakichi Katsura and Fukuryu Katsura. Meanwhile, as a colorful counterpoint to all-talk comedy, Kouki Houraiya will amaze audiences with daikagura traditional clowning, a vintage street art with elements of acrobatics, juggling, magic, dance, and comedy. For more information, contact Paul Alcala, Extension Associate at upd.cis@gmail.com or call 981-8500 loc. 2460. |
https://up.edu.ph/upcis-students-join-the-2nd-ferris-university-short-stay-visitexchange-program/ | UPCIS Students Participate in the 2nd Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program – University of the Philippines | UPCIS Students Participate in the 2nd Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program UPCIS Students Participate in the 2nd Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program January 17, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Some of the student-participants with the faculty advisers of the Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program of UPCIS East and Southeast Asian Studies Division and Ferris University pose in front of the welcome banner at the Ferris University Ryokuen Toshi Campus entrance. (from left to right) Assoc. Prof. Amparo Adelina C. Umali, III, PhD, coordinator of East and Southeast Asian Studies Division of UPCIS, Jesse Leigh Morales (3rd Year BA Comparative Literature), Nyle Mikhail Cauli (4th Year BS Computer Engineering), Anna Maria Lourdes Geli (3rd Year BA Comparative Literature), Jacqueline Giron (1st Year BA European Languages), Chelsey Jan Perez (3rd Year BS Economics), and Prof. Ogaya Chiho, professor from the Faculty of Arts and Letters of Ferris University (Photo from UPCIS) Six students enrolled in the UPCIS-offered Global Studies 197 (GS 197) Special Topics Course on Japanese Traditional Performance Practice (JTPP) went in November last year to Yokohama and Tokyo to participate in the Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program. The Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program — a brainchild of Assoc. Prof. Amparo Adelina C. Umali, III, PhD, UPCIS coordinator for East and Southeast Asian Studies, and Prof. Chiho Ogaya, of Ferris University’s Faculty of Arts and Letters – is modelled after the Global Studies Tour organized by the UPCIS and the Yokohama National University (YNU), which the two professors had also initiated. This year, the Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program was organized in cooperation with the UPCIS European Studies Division and the Yokohama National University (YNU). Student-participants participated in discussions, attended lectures by professors, underwent intensive training rehearsals with Noh grandmasters, and visited iconic Japanese sites. Dr. Umali presents “Filipino Performing Noh and Bunraku: Approaching Performance Tradition from the Outside Looking In” to the students of Prof. Takahashi Kyoko of Ferris University prior to the student-participants performance. (Photo from UPCIS) The students discussed with their counterparts from Ferris University “Representation of People of Mixed Ethnicity in Media” and “Territorial Conflict: The Case of Philippine-China Relations and Japan-China Relations.“ With YNU students, they discussed the Philippine economic divide. Dr. Umali lectured on Filipinos Performing Noh and Bunraku: Approaching Performance Traditions from the Outside Looking In to students of Prof. Takahashi Kyoko of Ferris University. UPCIS students, who are eventually invited to become members of the UPCIS Noh Ensemble and the UPCIS Bunraku Ensemble, performed Kiri of Hagoromo (Utai) and Chu no Mai (Hayashi) after the lecture. Prof. Wystan de la Peña, coordinator of the European Studies of UPCIS, delivered a lecture entitled “Ilustrados Enamorados del Japón, or La Tierra del Sol Naciente (Imitating the Rising Sun) in the Filipino Hispanic Elite’s Imagining of a Post-Colonial Philippines” to the students, faculty, and alumni of Ferris University, Yokohama National University (YNU), Japan Women’s University, and the UP Center for International Studies. The lecture was organized by Dr. Umali and Prof. Ogaya as part of the Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program. Prof. Wystan dela Peña, coordinator of the European Studies of UPCIS, gives his lecture on “Ilustrados Enamorados del Japón, or La Tierra del Sol Naciente in the Filipino Hispanic Elite’s Imagining of a Post-Colonial Philippines” students, faculty, and alumni of Ferris University, Yokohama National University (YNU), Japan Women’s University, and the UP Center for International Studies. Among the professors in attendance were Profs. Patrick Heller, Ogaya Chiho and Onishi Hiroshi of Ferris University; Profs. Tanabe Kazuko, PhD and Yasunori Fukuda, PhD of Japan Woman’s University; Prof. Kabashima Hiromi of YNU; and Assoc. Prof. Amparo Adelina C. Umali,III, PhD. (Photo from UPCIS) The lecture used data obtained from the research entitled, Images of Japan in Filipino Spanish Language Newspapers, 1900-1910, funded by the Sumitomo Foundation. The students underwent a seven-hour intensive-training rehearsal with three Noh masters: Noh Grandmaster Osamu Toda, Noh Master for Shite of the Kanze School, Noh Grandmaster Naohiko Umewaka, Noh Master for Shite of the Kanze School and Noh Grandmaster Chozaemon Umewaka, Noh Master for Shite of the Kanze School. Student-participants Anna Maria Lourdes Geli (left) and Xaika Nadine Saldivar (right) discusses on the topic Territorial Conflict: The Case of Philippine-China Relations and Japan-China Relations as part of the Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program. (Photo from UPCIS) The participants also visited: Hibiya Park, Ginza, Harajuku, and Yamashita Park, China Town, and Minato Mirai. The students, who received Japan’s Ministry of Education Culture and Science’s Japan Student Services (JASSO) Short Stay Scholarship for International Students for the program were: Nyle Mikhail Cauli (4th Year BS Computer Engineering), Anna Maria Lourdes Geli (3rd Year BA Comparative Literature), Jacqueline Giron (1st Year BA European Languages), Jesse Leigh Morales (3rd Year BA Comparative Literature), Chelsey Jan Perez (3rd Year BS Economics), and Xaika Nadine Saldivar (3rd Year BA Broadcast Communication), and Laureen Lioanag (2nd Year MA Anthropology). As part of the short stay visit, participants visited iconic/landmark sites including Hibiya Park where the bust of Jose Rizal can be found. The bust also marks the location of Tokyo Hotel. Participants, including Margie Tamayao, a UP Statistics major currently on a one (1) year exchange program in Tsuda College in Japan, pose in front of the National Hero’s bust. (Photo from UPCIS) Margie Tamayao, a UP Statistics major currently on a one-year exchange program in Tsuda College in Tokyo, also participated in the said program. Acting as faculty advisers for the group were Prof. Ogaya, Dr. Umali, and Prof. de la Peña. (Paul Alcala, UPD CIS) |
https://up.edu.ph/ilustrados-enamorados-del-japon/ | Ilustrados Enamorados del Japón – University of the Philippines | Ilustrados Enamorados del Japón Ilustrados Enamorados del Japón January 18, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Two Yokohama women — both daughters of former samurai — may have become footnotes in Philippine history, but not in the lives of two important 19th-century Filipino reformists now considered heroes. Usui Seiko, more popularly known as O Sei San, and Udagawa Okiyo intersected the lives of national hero Jose Rizal (1861-1896) and Mariano Ponce (1863-1918), respectively, during the two reformists’ stay in Yokohama, a port city some 40 km south of Tokyo. Rizal was on a six-week stay in Yokohama enroute to Europe via the United States in the spring of 1888 when he met Usui. Ponce was detailed there as diplomatic representative of the Emilio Aguinaldo-led First Republic from June 1898 to September 1899, during which time he courted Udagawa. Usui has gone down in Philippine history as Rizal’s Japanese romantic interest who introduced him to Japanese culture as they went on afternoon strolls talking in French. Udagawa became Ponce’s wife, left Japan with him, converted into Christianty, bore him children, and never returned to her homeland. Both women lived long enough to witness their Filipino beaus enshrined in the pantheon of Philippine national heroes and experience World War II from opposite sides. Prof. de la Peña gives his lecture “Ilustrados Enamorados del Japón (Illustrados Enamored with Japan), or La Tierra del Sol Naciente (The Land of the Rising Sun) in the Filipino Hispanic Elite’s Imagining of a Post-Colonial Philippines” before the students, faculty, and alumni of Ferris University, Yokohama National University, Japan Women’s University, and UPCIS. (Photo courtesy of UPD CIS) In what he called a “love story-telling session,” Prof. Wystan de la Peña of UP Diliman’s College of Arts and Letters and the UP Center for International Studies (UPCIS), used the Rizal-Usui and Ponce-Udagawa narratives to frame the lecture on Filipino ilustrado patriots he gave on November 23, 2017 at Ferris University, the first all-women university in Japan founded more than a century ago by Western Christian missionaries. Entitled “Ilustrados Enamorados del Japón (Illustrados Enamored with Japan), or La Tierra del Sol Naciente (The Land of the Rising Sun) in the Filipino Hispanic Elite’s Imagining of a Post-Colonial Philippines,” de la Peña’s lecture unravelled the emergence of Japan as a regional power, following its victory in the 1894-95 war against China, and as a nation that the two reformists saw as a model for an independent Philippines. De la Peña, who translated Ponce’s diplomatic correspondence to Filipino and who is also UPCIS coordinator of European Studies, showed powerpoint slides featuring coverage of the Sino-Japanese War by the Barcelona daily La Vanguardia and images of articles from La Solidaridad, the Filipino reformists’ organ. Both newspapers showed favorable representations of Japan. When La Solidaridad folded in 1896, the year Rizal died, Ponce left for Hong Kong to be part of the Aguinaldo government. He later went to Yokohama to procure weapons for the Filipino army during the Philippine-American War (1899-1902). The presentation used data obtained from the research “Images of Japan in Filipino Spanish Language Newspapers, 1900-1910” funded by the Sumitomo Foundation. Students, faculty, and alumni of Ferris University, Yokohama National University (YNU), Japan Women’s University, and the UP Center for International Studies attended the hour-long lecture. Among the professors in attendance were Profs. Patrick Heller, Chiho Ogaya and Onishi Hiroshi of Ferris University; Profs. Tanabe Kazuko, PhD and Yasunori Fukuda, PhD of Japan Woman’s University; Prof. Kabashima Hiromi of YNU; and Assoc. Prof. Amparo Adelina C. Umali,III, PhD. Photo courtesy of UPD CIS During the Q&A forum, Onishi, a historian, expressed interest in researching on Filipino ilustrados in Yokohama, especially Artemio Ricarte (1866-1945), one of Aguinaldo’s generals who preferred exile in Japan than swear allegiance to the United States at the end of the Philippine-American War. Kabashima welcomed the lecture and said all the information she had heard was new to her. The lady professor was present during an earlier discussion between UPCIS and YNU students on the Philippines’ economic divide, part of programmed activities in the Ferris Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program. The UPCIS students also had a similar activity with their Ferris University counterparts. The lecture, arranged by Umali and Ogaya, is one of two prepared presentations of the 2017 Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program organized by UPCIS East and Southeast Asian Studies Division and UPCIS European Studies Division with Ferris University and YNU. The program, a brainchild of Umali, coordinator of UPCIS East and Southeast Asian Studies Division, and Ogaya, of Ferris University’s Faculty of Arts and Letters, began with a visit by UPCIS students in 2015, a year before the two universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). (Center for International Studies) |
https://up.edu.ph/up-and-japanese-students-highlight-cooperation-and-corruption-in-disaster-management-efforts/ | UP and Japanese students highlight cooperation and corruption in disaster management efforts – University of the Philippines | UP and Japanese students highlight cooperation and corruption in disaster management efforts UP and Japanese students highlight cooperation and corruption in disaster management efforts April 30, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Cooperation displayed by Japanese citizens and perceived corruption of Filipino officials differentiate recent Japanese and Philippine disaster management efforts. Assoc. Prof. Amparo Adelina Umali, III, PhD, made this conclusion in synthesizing case presentations made by UP students and their visiting Japanese counterparts in a Global Studies 197 Special Topics on Cultures of Disaster: Learning from Life Experiences offered at the UP Center for International Studies (UPCIS), where she is coordinator of East and Southeast Asian Studies. UPCIS students discussing the effect of typhoon Yolanda on the people of Eastern Visayas. (Photo courtesy of UPCIS) The students exchanged information on their countries’ disaster management experiences during small group discussions in the class. The Japanese, who came to Diliman on February 28, discussed the efforts of Japan’s farmers who cooperated with their government’s disaster management program in the wake of the 2011 earthquake-and-tsunami disaster that produced the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis. UPCIS students, some of whom visited Ferris University in November last year as part of the Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program, discussed unsatisfactory Philippine government rehabilitation efforts in Eastern Visayas in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, where official data showed only 33% of housing targets had been completed as of 2017. During the small group discussions, the Japanese students expressed trust on their government, while the Filipinos wondered where the rehabilitation funds had gone. Japanese professors, who accompanied the visiting students, stressed the importance of government efforts for disaster mitigation. Japanese students presenting the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami. (Photo courtesy of UPCIS) “We have to conduct some research about the cause [of the natural disasters] and why this problem happened. So I think this is the role of the university,” Assoc. Prof. Takaaki Kobayashi of Yokohama National University (YNU) said. Assoc. Prof. Kotaro Yonemura of YNU said that with foreigners living in Japan today, a miscommunication problem can arise if a natural disaster occurs. Japanese local governments are improving their disaster prevention effects, as seen in the use of several languages in documents and signages, added Prof. Chiho Ogaya of Ferris University (FU). Prof. Yuji Kanamura of Wayo Women’s University (WWU) said that the Philippines and Japan experience the same kind of natural disasters, like typhoons and volcano eruptions. “This is a good chance, not only for the discussion, to save lives in the natural disasters that will happen in the future,” he added. Assoc. Prof. Masako Suginohara of Ferris University said that the joint presentation was a “very good opportunity for students from Japan, the Philippines, and some other countries to talk about their own experience, their knowledge, and exchange their views.” In his closing remarks, Prof. Wystan de la Peña, UPCIS coordinator of European Studies thanked the Japanese students for their visit. “You capitalize the ‘I’ of ‘International’ in ‘Center for International Studies,’” he said. Professors and students from UP, YNU, FU, and WWU who participated in the afternoon lecture on disaster management in the Philippines and Japan pose for a souvenir photo. (Photo courtesy of UPCIS) De la Peña emphasized the need for people from different countries to come together to talk about mutual problems and issues confronting them. “We do international studies because what we want to do, at the end of the day, is to have international understanding,” he added. The UPCIS students gave the Japanese a campus tour after the class, and UPCIS hosted a Lebanese-themed dinner in the evening. The exchange program — a brainchild of Umali and Ogaya – is modelled after the Global Studies Tour organized by the UPCIS and the YNU, which the two professors initiated. The Japanese visit is part of YNU’s International and Business Law Field Study Trip 2018 conducted with Ferris University and Wayo Women’s University and followed the UPCIS students’ visit to YNU and FU last year. (East and Southeast Asian Studies Division, Center for International Studies) |
https://up.edu.ph/upcat-2019-online-application-now-open/ | UPCAT 2019 online application now open – University of the Philippines | UPCAT 2019 online application now open UPCAT 2019 online application now open July 11, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The UPCAT Online Application is now open for eligible applicants to the University of the Philippines for SY 2019-2020. Please read the UP Privacy Notice and 2019 General Information Bulletin carefully before starting your online application. Please check https://upcat.up.edu.ph and UPCAT – U.P. System for other announcements. UP Office of Admissions Telefax: +63 2 9274561 Telephone: +63 2 981-8500 loc. 3827/3828/3830/3831 Email: oadms@up.edu.ph Address: Kalaw cor. Quirino Ave., UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines |
https://up.edu.ph/upcat-advisory-as-of-september-28-2018/ | UPCAT Advisory as of September 28, 2018 – University of the Philippines | UPCAT Advisory as of September 28, 2018 UPCAT Advisory as of September 28, 2018 September 28, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office UPCAT 2019 will be held on SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27 & 28, 2018. Please read the following carefully: · PLEASE HOLD ON TO THE TEST PERMITS THAT WERE ISSUED TO YOU BY THE UP OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS. · TAKE NOTE OF THE CHANGES IN SCHEDULE: OLD SCHEDULE in Test Permit NEW SCHEDULE DATE TIME DATE TIME 15 September 2018 (Saturday) 6:30 AM 27 October 2018 (Saturday) 6:30 AM 15 September 2018 (Saturday) 12:30 PM 27 October 2018 (Saturday) 12:30 PM 16 September 2018 (Sunday) 6:30 AM 28 October 2018 (Sunday) 6:30 AM 16 September 2018 (Sunday) 12:30 PM 28 October 2018 (Sunday) 12:30 PM |
https://up.edu.ph/announcement-on-upcat-2019/ | Announcement on UPCAT 2019 – University of the Philippines | Announcement on UPCAT 2019 Announcement on UPCAT 2019 September 12, 2018 | Posted by MPRO The UP Office of Admissions will be postponing the administration of the UPCAT 2019 nationwide. This decision is based on consultation with UP System officials and weather experts on the latest forecast on Typhoon Ompong and its expected impact on Northern Luzon and Eastern Seaboard including Western Visayas, and in consideration of the nationwide scope of the exam that entails synchronized travel arrangements among others which pose undue risks to both UPCAT examinees and UPCAT personnel. The Office will announce a new date as soon as possible and provide instructions to all examinees. |
https://up.edu.ph/12-tips-for-upcat-examinees/ | 12 tips for UPCAT examinees – University of the Philippines | 12 tips for UPCAT examinees 12 tips for UPCAT examinees October 23, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Read the instructions that were provided to you by the UP Office of Admissions. Check your test permit for complete entries, the dry seal on part of your photo, and your signature. This will save you the trouble of doing it on the test day itself. Visit your testing hall in advance so you get there easier when UPCAT day comes. Avoid the frantic search. You don’t want to waste time and end up being late for the test even if you arrived early. For those who will take the test in UP Diliman, you were given maps and you can check out http://diskover.up.edu.ph to get more info. Condition yourself to be calm and focused. Make sure you get a good night’s rest and a proper, but not heavy, meal before the exam. Avoid wearing clothes that are too tight or may cause discomfort. Be ready with a jacket or sweater in case it gets cold. If you feel anxious, take slow, deep breaths to relax. Be early. Arrive at your testing hall before 6:30 AM for the morning session and before 12:30 PM for the afternoon session. Bring and submit documents required of you. The UP Office of Admissions marks these as deficiencies on your test permit. Keep these documents ready and when asked, submit them. Bring good quality pencils—not too light but not too dark. No part of the test will ever require you to use any other kind of writing instrument. No pens of any kind. Just good quality pencils. Bring a snack and drink. You can eat at any time during the test because there are no breaks. But please don’t bring something that might soil the test materials and food so odorous or noisy to unwrap that it distracts your fellow examinees. Don’t bring scratch paper. We’ll provide this for you. The scratch paper we issue is the only paper you must use. You can always ask for additional sheets, so there’s really no need for you to bring scratch paper. Turn off your cell phone or put it on silent mode with the vibration function turned off. This should be self-explanatory. Understand and follow instructions. Read carefully before answering. You can ask examiners or proctors only to clarify instructions and not about any test item you don’t understand. You can also inform them of irregularities like missing or duplicate items or pages in the test booklet. Make sure you’re filling out the answer sheet correctly. Check to see if you’ve written all needed data and shaded the right ovals properly. Take note of skipped items and go back to them when you still have time. Finally, don’t cheat. Don’t even try. Don’t even think about it. Unless you want to say goodbye to the UPCAT and the chance to be admitted to UP. |
https://up.edu.ph/admu-up-team-entry-among-apru-nyt-competition-top-ten/ | AdMU-UP team entry among APRU-NYT competition top ten – University of the Philippines | AdMU-UP team entry among APRU-NYT competition top ten AdMU-UP team entry among APRU-NYT competition top ten June 29, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office On June 26, at the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) 21st Annual Presidents’ Meeting held in Sydney, Australia, APRU Chair and Chancellor Gene Bloc of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) announced the winners of and short-listed competitors in the inaugural APRU-New York Times Asia-Pacific Case Competition 2017. The competition focused on raising awareness of climate change and the future of the Pacific Ocean. It attracted entries from students of 31 universities in 12 economies in the Americas, Asia, and Australasia. The team entry submitted by Carlos Arcenas from the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) and Benjo Buensuceso from the University of the Philippines (UP) was among the top ten entries judged by senior APRU leaders and staff members from The New York Times. The team from the University of Washington won the top prize, while students from the Yale-NUS College and the National University of Singapore (NUS) won the second and the third place, respectively. Entries from students from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Auckland, University of California (UC San Diego) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) also made it to the competition’s top ten. Photo grabbed from APRU winners’ announcement. The top 10 case submissions will be published and reports made available for download next month. APRU was established in 1997 as a premier alliance of research universities to serve as an advisory body to international organisations, governments and business on the development of science and innovation, as well as on the broader development of higher education. APRU aims to contribute to the economic, scientific and cultural advancement of Pacific Rim economies. UP is the only Philippine university in the APRU, where membership is based on the nomination by and votes of member universities. As the voice of knowledge and innovation in the Pacific, APRU pledges to continue using its unique geographical reach to bring together the region’s leaders and brightest minds to address the future of the world’s greatest ocean. (Source: https://www.apru-nyt2017.com/winners) |
https://up.edu.ph/up-hosts-first-akademyang-filipino-forum-assembly/ | UP hosts first Akademyang Filipino forum-assembly – University of the Philippines | UP hosts first Akademyang Filipino forum-assembly UP hosts first Akademyang Filipino forum-assembly December 4, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The Akademyang Filipino’s first general assembly with its board of trustees seated in front. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The University of the Philippines hosted on November 24, 2018, the first general assembly and forum of Akademyang Filipino, a gathering of the country’s thought leaders who aim to elevate the discourse on national issues. UP President Danilo Concepcion welcomed the Akademya’s trustees and members to the main auditorium of the UP Professional Schools in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. According to Concepcion, the promotion of service to the people and to the nation was an objective shared by the University and the Akademya. “We must foster strategic thinking over short-sightedness, honest labor over opportunism, and shared effort over self-promotion,” he said. “Being among you I realize that I stand at the summit of Filipino intellectual, cultural, and moral achievement,” he said. Concepcion greeted the Akademya: beginning with trustee Justice Antonio Carpio; and followed by chairman emeritus and National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose; trustee and National Scientist Angel Alcala; chairman, former Ombudsman and Justice Conchita Carpio Morales; Trustee Felipe Gozon; and members, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., former Prime Minister Cesar Virata, and former UP President Emerlinda Roman. Jose made an appeal for “self-transcendent leadership” in his tribute to Akademyang Filipino co-founder, former UP President and Senate President, Edgardo Angara. Morales addressed the assembly for the first time, calling for “curated information and curative information” for the people. National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose acknowledges what many of the Akademyang Filipino members are doing “to build a nation that is just, sovereign, and also happy”. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The public forum focused on defending Philippine sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. The Keynote speaker was Carpio who, in his speech, criticized Chinese sovereignty claims to areas of the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea as false or fabricated. He explained how some of these areas are consistently part of historical maps of the Philippines and its zones of entitlements. Carpio encouraged Filipinos to strongly and explicitly protest against the false claims, and to make politicians accountable, especially during elections, for their stand on the issue. Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio starts his keynote address by highlighting the economic importance of the South China Sea. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Akademya members and West Philippine Sea experts De La Salle University’s Renato Cruz de Castro, University of the Philippines’ Jay Batongbacal, and author and columnist Richard Heydarian, served as discussants in a panel. In their exchange, the current Philippine government stand on the disputes was described as “classic appeasement”; and a call was made for a clearer and consistent stand, signaling toward deterrence or a freeze in militarization, reclamation, and naval exercises in the disputed areas. UP Vice President for Public Affairs Jose Dalisay Jr., an Akademya trustee, announced the forthcoming release of the academy’s statement which would sum up the points of the forum “with a view toward lending our collective voice toward a more progressive, more just, and more patriotic foreign policy.” In his closing remarks, Dalisay said the academy’s meetings aimed to “broaden the circle of national discourse and to expand our intellectual universe to bring out the Rizals and the Bonifacios in each of us.” Akademyang Filipino, inaugurated in February 2017, is composed of leaders in the arts, sciences, politics, industry, and professions. It includes national artists, national scientists, and the Philippines’ Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. Apart from Jose, Morales, Alcala, Carpio, Dalisay, and Gozon, the academy’s trustees are Sonny Angara, Lydia Echauz, Doris Magsaysay Ho, and Ramon Magsaysay Jr. Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales addresses the trustees and members of Akademyang Filipino for the first time as its chair. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The first general assembly and public forum was sponsored by the UP Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs, the UP College of Law, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. (Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) UP Vice President Jose Dalisay Jr., the master of ceremonies of the Akademyang Filipino’s first general assembly and public forum, delivers his closing remarks. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Watch the replay of the forum here. |
https://up.edu.ph/an-earth-science-olympian-and-his-road-to-france/ | An Earth Science Olympian and his road to France – University of the Philippines | An Earth Science Olympian and his road to France An Earth Science Olympian and his road to France November 9, 2017 | Written by Andre DP Encarnacion When he was younger, UP Integrated School (UPIS) 12th grader Adrian Jeremiah C. Bornilla would make it a point to go over the natural and earth science sections of the almanacs his family had at home. The boy found the topic endlessly fascinating, and it was no surprise that his parents, both engineers, would fill his and his siblings’ younger years with even more books on science and engineering. Little did Adrian realize years later that his childhood interest would give honor to the country in his final year of secondary school. Together with fellow students Maria Janine Juachon (Philippine Science High School Central Luzon), Eugene Toribio (PSHS Bicol Region) and Mikhail Angel Torio (PSHS Main Campus), he represented the country as the lone UP representative in the 2017 International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) in Cote d’Azur, France. Adrian Bornilla (2nd from left) from the UPIS poses with the team and their medals When the smoke cleared, the team had won two gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes at the IESO, a competition for secondary students that tests their skills in all areas of the Earth Sciences: geology, geophysics, meteorology, oceanography, terrestrial astronomy and environmental sciences. The competition is both practical and theoretical: participants are tested not only on their Earth Science knowledge, but also on their ability to conduct scientific investigations in the field. Adrian first got wind of the competition when a letter from Bicol University arrived at the UPIS with the news that after a six-year absence, the Philippines intended to join the IESO once again. “Because France was this year’s host,” he explained, “they were able to waive the entrance fee for the Philippines.” Budgetary constraints had prevented the country from previously sending a team to the competition. Adrian was chosen, together with another batchmate from the same track, to take part in the selection process, which took place in both Metro Manila and Bicol. As fate would have it, he would end up as the sole UP representative in the historic team of four. Earth Science boot camp After being selected, Adrian and his teammates were told to brush up on all pertinent areas of the Earth Sciences. This was the first step in a highly rigorous training process that saw them being taken under the wing of some of the world’s foremost experts in these fields. “The first legitimate training sessions were held in Bicol,” Adrian noted. Here, the world-renowned former volcanologist and Pinatubo expert Dr. Chris Newhall, formerly of the US Geological Survey, trained the team in field methods. They spent a total of five days in Legaspi City, mastering various Earth Science topics. In addition, the team also received astronomy pointers from famous physicist Dr. Reinabelle Reyes, the Filipina who helped confirm Einstein’s Theory of Relativity on a cosmic scale back in 2010. Team Philippines and their mentors at the IESO Welcome Trail The final leg of the training session, however, was held at the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS), where UP faculty members such as Dr. Allan Gil Fernando and Dr. Leonila Bron-Sikat gave them intensive training in geology and other topics. Through it all, mentors Prof. Miguel Cano of Bicol University and Dr. Marietta de Leon of the Geological Society of the Philippines, who joined them all the way to France, guided the team through the process. “It was interesting. I had a subtle attraction to meteorology,” Adrian admits, when asked about his favorite subject among those they studied. He considered geology the most challenging, a subject, he said, that his teammates had a better grasp of. Identifying rocks, for instance, was an activity he had to really work on to master. Luckily for the team, which Adrian now considers a barkada, each one was willing to pitch in during practice sessions and help the others in the area that person was strong in. “We would use the previous exams as reference for practice because they uploaded it to the internet. Our team dynamics was good.” A distinct Olympiad Once in France, Adrian and his friends found the competition to be as competitive as it had been billed. “So far, I think this IESO had the most number of countries—29 countries and 129 students,” he recals. The main selling point of the IESO for Adrian was that, unlike other competitions, there was a very strong collaborative element as well. “There were also competitions that involved groups, but you were grouped with people from other countries. That was what makes the IESO distinct from other Olympiads.” “As a team, we were also surprised to find that hydrology was included for the first time in our training sessions.” That first in training would be a key to victory for the young Filipinos since, unlike in previous years, hydrology took up a significant portion of the written test. “When our mentors saw the test, even they began screaming ‘Yes!’ because its inclusion in training felt so serendipitous.” Adrian Jeremiah Bornilla (in white) poses with his medal For Adrian and his teammates, doing well in this prestigious competition was even sweeter because of the possible good it would do for young scientists. “At first we never thought that we would medal,” he said. “It matters that we medalled, because the funding for the Olympiad in the Philippines has not received real attention.” He continues: “So if you get an award or a distinction in an Olympiad, it could be a reason for the government to consider that maybe the Philippines has potential or that the Philippines is good in Earth Sciences. So why not fund the students who get sent to the Olympiad?” One thing is certain, however, for this international medallist—is future will likely be in the sciences. “My plan so far is to pursue a science-related course,” he said. “I originally planned to take the medical path. But because of the Olympiad, I’m suddenly considering studying geology. But that came very late as I had already passed my UPCAT form! But I’m sure it will be science-related.” |
https://up.edu.ph/the-giant-artworks-that-define-us/ | The Giant Artworks that Define Us – University of the Philippines | The Giant Artworks that Define Us The Giant Artworks that Define Us December 12, 2017 | Written by Andre DP Encarnacion A wreath of flame. An awe-inspiring conch shell. If you have been a religious attendee of UP Diliman’s year-end celebrations over the past few years, you might have noticed a distinct change in the artistic installations people are used to seeing in the University’s Oblation Plaza. UP Diliman’s Pag-iilaw, 2013 (Photo by Arlyn Romualdo, UPMPRO) Everyone from nostalgic alumni to casual visitors have most likely marveled at the keen attention to detail and the rich symbolism that characterize the massive themed structures in front of Quezon Hall over the past few Decembers. At the heart of these displays are the giant lanterns enfolding the Oblation—UP’s most iconic figure—that give a meaningful and otherworldly beauty to events like the Pag-iilaw and the Lantern Parade. Famously designed by UP artist Toym Imao, these figures serve as concrete representations of the overall Celebration themes—themes that define UP Diliman’s identity and purpose in contemporary Philippine society. But what do they mean, exactly, and what is the process that goes into making the themes that inspire them? “The year-end celebration is a reminder and a celebration of the good things that UP Diliman contributed to the community—to the nation, and even to the world,” says Dr. Sir Anril Pineda Tiatco, the celebrated dramaturg, scholar, and director of the UP Diliman Information Office (DIO), one of a select core of artists who convene yearly to develop the year-end theme celebrating UPD’s important national role. Tiatco and colleagues DIO Deputy Director Jem Javier, UP Theater Complex (UPTC) Director Jose Estrella, and UPTC Technical Director Barbie Tan-Tiongco come together as early as August to exchange ideas on both the theme and the central image for the installation. By the time the UPD Committee on Year-End is constituted a month later, the group is more than ready to present their initial ideas. UP Diliman’s Oble amidst his seasonal finery in 2015 (Photo by UP MPRO) “As soon as the committee approves the theme and the image, we immediately discuss them with the artist,” Tiatco says. “Imao provides a series of studies. We talk about his studies until we come up with something – a compromised version, in a way.” Some important constraints on the final output, he notes, are: (a) a tight budget, (b) comprehensibility (can the community relate to the piece?), and (c) aesthetics. The last can be a tricky variable to navigate, especially when different artists can have different visions and creative backgrounds to inform them. “I remember in 2016, it took three weeks before we finally used Himig ng Diliman as our central theme. Originally, we wanted to use Tipunin ang mga Tinig, but we thought it was uninteresting and not indicative of how UP Diliman should present itself to the public”. The end-results of these long discussions, however, are now storied parts of UP Diliman’s history. The debut year for Tiatco and his colleagues was 2015. It featured the year-end theme Dingas (spark), which celebrated, according to Chancellor Michael Tan, UP Diliman’s role as a spark and facilitator of national discourse. Capturing this ideal was the installation Sulo (torch), which saw the Oblation surrounded by sparks of molded steel and plastic. In-between the space between the sparks were three bamboo triangles representing the islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. “In a way the dingas or spark is a testament to UPD’s character as a trailblazer,” Tiatco says, “but subtly it is also a reminder to be careful because others are there to follow. It is a reminder of our social, political, cultural and even moral duties. I believe that ‘spark’ is both exciting and daunting.” The following year’s installation was Budyong at Tambuli, named after the instruments of the same name. In precolonial times, Tiatco says, the sound of the budyong heralded the coming of a visitor or of imminent danger. “What we wanted to present back then was the role of UP Diliman as an institution that heralds the community and its role in announcing the coming of danger.” Here he recalls Imao’s reminder about UP’s tradition of progressive action and thought that warns against threats to the liberties of the people. “The installation vis-a-vis the theme Himig ng Diliman symbolizes UP Diliman’s voices and narratives of the joys and achievements, and at the same time the struggles and dissents.” UP Diliman’s Oble amidst his seasonal finery in 2016 (Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UP Diliman Information Office) “This year,” Tiatco promises, “we will be playful and childlike.” Indeed, the year-end theme for this month’s celebration is UP Diliman: Paaralan/Palaruan, inspired by the author Johan Huizinga’s idea of the centrality of “play” in the foundation and formation of culture. Games, the idea goes, are rule-bound, but also contain within them the possibility of these rules’ being transcended and remade by their own players for the better. Complementing this theme is the lantern-installation, Mulat, which sets the Oblation against a giant eye woven with colored threads that represent diverse ways of seeing. This eye watches over a field of outlines of children at play lining the plaza—representing those who have been lost in senseless conflict, and glowing against the darkness. The University here is represented as an entity watching over the people and an initiator of movements that level the playing field “against threats to society and those who do not play fair.” UP Diliman’s 2017 Christmas season began with the annual Pag-iilaw on November 24, with the Oblation Plaza decked out in “Mulat” by Toym Imao. (Photo by Arlyn Romualdo, UP MPRO) “There are two important images—children and an eye,” Tiatco says. “The kids are happily playing and a huge eye is watching over the kids. Sort of saying that we are responsible for the children. We should take care of our kids. We mould our children—their becoming is our responsibility.” While the mere presence of these structures no doubt inspire wonderment due to their sheer immensity and craftsmanship, Tiatco hopes to emphasize their more functional community role. “While it is true that they are symbolic, I want to emphasize that these are installation arts,” he says. “These art objects are necessary because they help us reflect about the world we live in, and about UP Diliman.” More specifically, their presence allows us, the beholders, to “defamiliarize” ideas and situations that we believe to be commonsensical. “Most of the time, we only recognize the importance of an object when we start defamiliarizing them,” Tiatco emphasizes. “I think that’s what these huge installations have been trying to do since 2015.” ——————– Email the author at upforum@up.edu.ph. |
https://up.edu.ph/databases-vs-filipino-cancers/ | Databases vs. Filipino Cancers – University of the Philippines | Databases vs. Filipino Cancers Databases vs. Filipino Cancers August 17, 2018 | Written by Andre DP Encarnacion Biologist and informatics expert Joeriggo Reyes. (Photo by El Bacani, UP MPRO) Sitting alone in an office built for two, Joeriggo Reyes may not appear at first to be part of a multidisciplinary team tackling one of the world’s deadliest diseases. The lab gowns or sequencing machines that one typically associates with biological scholarship are nowhere in sight. From his room at UP Diliman’s Institute of Mathematics, however, this biologist and informatics expert finds himself at the crossroads of contemporary cancer research. As the lead builder of the scientific database for a CHED-Philippine California Advanced Research Institute (PCARI)-funded project, Reyes’ office is the convergence point for data produced by four groups from the Philippines and the US. Once done, it will house information from laboratories in UP Los Baños, the University of California Davis, UP Diliman, and the Lung Center of the Philippines. These researchers—united more by a common vision and fiber optic cables than physical proximity—are using their expertise in systems biology, medicine and chemistry to unlock the secrets of lung cancer, a disease that claims ten Filipinos per hour, according to the World Health Organization. While building a freely accessible storehouse for researchers sounds like the least glamorous part of the job, Reyes finds his role perhaps the most reflective of how 21st-century science can be done. Scientists today are increasingly relying on large data sets to bring together previously isolated subjects, and to model the interacting components that make up complex phenomena like cancer. At the heart of these efforts is the database—where researchers can access massive amounts of data uploaded by their peers and predecessors to solve previously intractable problems. Reyes hopes the repository he is building will not only benefit his fellow project proponents, but other scientists working towards the next generation of breakthroughs in Philippine biomedical research. What is a database? While a project that marries biology and information technology can sound daunting, describing a database in itself is fairly straightforward. “A simple example of a database is a Microsoft Excel file,” says Reyes. “In an Excel file, you have rows and you have columns. And in these you have attributes like people’s names and birthdays. That’s a simple database, and we just work to make more complex ones.” These more complex databases have now become staples of increasingly multi-part and sophisticated biological research. One example is the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) of the US National Institutes of Health, with its BLAST algorithm. Visualized interactions of the cancer-correlated protein EFGR from STRING database. Visit: https://string-db.org/ “BLAST connects to the repository of all the genetic data of the NCBI,” Reyes explains. “Different institutions from the US, Japan and Europe formed a consortium to ensure that whatever data they have is available to the outside world. So, everyone’s seeing the same thing.” In principle, whenever an experimenter from anywhere in the world sequences a gene (or a genome), one can always use BLAST to look up similar ones within the database. “That way,” Reyes says, “you can identify your gene or your protein, or make an intelligent guess as to its structure or function.” The process applies even to other types of molecular data, such as mass spectrometry fingerprints for proteins and metabolites. A many-part machine The need for an in-house database that is comprehensive and easy to use becomes obvious, given the scale and complexity of Reyes’s project. Communicating mostly over Skype, each of his fellow researchers in the Glycoproteomics of Filipino Lung Cancer Cell Lines for Biomarker Discovery and Anti-Cancer Screening of Natural Products team makes unique data contributions, working autonomously on components that, in sum, contributes to the achievement of broader aims. In total, the project lays the foundation for future research that will allow clinicians to profile a patient and tell, in the shortest time possible, whether he or she has lung cancer, and what therapeutic regimen might be most effective. It will also help us develop drugs that target multiple genes, tailored specifically to the local population. One component of the project, headed by Dr. Francisco Heralde of the Lung Center of the Philippines, will collect tumor tissue and blood samples from Filipino lung cancer patients, and establish cell lines for them. Why is this important? Reyes says the majority of work done on lung cancer so far has used European and American samples. “We have our own sets of mutations, our own genetic profile.” And these samples will both help establish if Filipinos do indeed have unique cancer biomarkers, and help clarify how we might respond differently to therapies, given these profiles. In another component, researchers will be using techniques offered by the UC Davis laboratory of Dr. Carlito Lebrilla, an expert in glycosylation—the attachment of carbohydrates to molecules like proteins. Some of these “glycoproteins” in turn perform functions vital to the cell, such as sending and receiving signals. Lebrilla’s team found out that several types of cancers could be differentiated by analyzing the types and abundance of these carbohydrates or “glycans.” Profiles of these glycans in collected patient samples will be made, in addition to profiles of genetic variation and gene expression to determine how glycosylation errors come about and how these might be diagnostic “markers” which future therapies can target. Reyes skims over large data sets. (Photo by El Bacani, UP MPRO) The third component, led by chemists Dr. Ruel Nacario and Dr. Gladys Completo from UP Los Baños, in collaboration with Dr. Isagani Padolina of Pascual Pharma Corp. R&D Lab will characterize and identify plant extracts from the Makiling area that can help prevent or treat lung cancer. Compounds isolated from these plants will be screened for bioactivity against known cancer cell lines, and those previously collected. A computational team, including Reyes and led by mathematician Dr. Jomar Rabajante, will also try to model the broader cancer network involving genes, their expression, and the interactions between them based on all the collected data. Underpinning all these efforts and constantly fed by information produced by team members will be the project’s database. And while access to this invaluable repository might be limited to the team at this time, it will be available to the world once the project is complete. Thinking in systems For Reyes, advances in technology have irrevocably changed how science is done. Databases like BLAST, KEGG and the one he is helping build, now allow scientists to think bigger and bridge disciplines once considered distinct. “Nowadays, we cannot live in isolation,” he says. “In order to solve scientific questions, you probably have to have a multi-disciplinary team like our project does. It’s invigorating to be in the middle of such a team.” For Reyes, this multidisciplinary and collaborative approach is key to sustaining local scientific progress. Joeriggo Reyes drawing up the interactions between genes and proteins in cancer. (Photo by El Bacani, UP MPRO) Reyes expects their effort to soon be joined by younger researchers, trained from high school onwards to think more broadly about scientific problems. “I don’t know how biology in high schools is taught now, but I think it should include a sense of thinking in systems. That there is so much more beyond the textbook.” On this note, organizations such as the US-based Institute for Systems Biology are introducing systems biology concepts to K-12 students there. If applied in the Philippines, this orientation should produce versatile students that are better prepared for the interdisciplinary and data-driven nature of contemporary research. And when they graduate, the database prepared by Joeriggo Reyes and his colleagues should be there to help that generation’s brightest to make their own breakthroughs. |
https://up.edu.ph/infinity-walk-proponents-break-ground/ | “Infinity Walk” proponents break ground – University of the Philippines | “Infinity Walk” proponents break ground “Infinity Walk” proponents break ground February 21, 2020 | Written by Fred Dabu University of the Philippines (UP) and Tau Alpha fraternity officials lower the time capsule during the groundbreaking rites for the “Tau Alpha Infinity Walk”. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. University of the Philippines (UP) and Tau Alpha fraternity officials marked the start of the construction of the pathway that will connect Quezon Hall to the Main Library of UP Diliman with the ceremonial groundbreaking and laying of the time capsule on January 31, 2020 at the lagoon area facing the Carillon. Dubbed as the “Tau Alpha Infinity Walk”, this legacy project coincides with the fraternity’s 90th anniversary celebrations and will benefit the UP Diliman community as well as the visitors of the campus. The project features a promenade or walkway across the lagoon, a plaza for showcasing artworks and cultural activities, tunnels with vaulted ceilings, and rockscape and waterworks that complement the biodiversity and enhance the natural beauty of the lagoon. The completed project will be turned over to UP in 2022. President Norberto P. Mendoza of the Tau Alpha Foundation said this legacy project would benefit the entire UP community. Chairperson Antonio A. Turalba, Sr. of the Tau Alpha Legacy Project Committee said they presented their conceptual plan and Memorandum of Agreement to UP officials in May and these were approved by the UP Board of Regents in June 2019. He said their design took into consideration the biodiversity in the lagoon to enhance the area, preserve trees and plants, and continue to attract migratory birds. He added that everyone could be proud of the project, as it was also the fraternity’s way of giving back to UP, the institution that had molded them into who they are today. Officials of the University of the Philippines (UP) and Tau Alpha fraternity. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. UP President Danilo L. Concepcion commended the University’s alumni for partnering with UP for projects such as this. He added that the Tau Alpha legacy project was the newest of the many infrastructures being contributed by fraternities such as the Upsilon Sigma Phi, Beta Epsilon, and Epsilon Chi that supported UP’s goals of having a world class campus. Engr. Mario G. Montejo, former Secretary of Science and Technology, thanked UP officials for this opportunity and lauded fellow alumni here and abroad for supporting the project. He added that the project involved UP’s alumni engineers, architects, designers, and managers, and that the fraternity’s commitment to UP went beyond the “Infinity Walk” legacy project. Engr. Mario G. Montejo. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. Also present were UP officials: Vice President for Development Elvira A. Zamora, Vice President for Legal Affairs Hector Danny Uy, Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Jose Wendell P. Capili, Dean Bernadette L. Abrera of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Executive Director Romy S.A. Carlos of the UP Alumni Association, Student Regent John Isaac B. Punzalan, and the residents and alumni of Tau Alpha. A dinner program was held to cap the event at the University’s Ang Bahay ng Alumni. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-hosts-conference-on-philippine-strategic-outlook/ | UP hosts conference on Philippine strategic outlook – University of the Philippines | UP hosts conference on Philippine strategic outlook UP hosts conference on Philippine strategic outlook March 2, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Conference participants discuss strategic forecasts in view of the rise of China as a global superpower. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The Strategic Studies Program (SSP) of the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) and the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (UP IMLOS) hosted the “3rd Katipunan Conference: The Philippine Strategic Outlook 2018 – 2019” on February 27 to 28, 2018 at the UP Law Center in UP Diliman, Quezon City. This two-day conference featured panel discussions on current and emerging issues affecting Filipinos. Resource speakers tackled a wide range of topics, such as: shifting power dynamics in Asia, ICT and strategic advantage, climate change, maritime and regional security, economic and political stability, and forecasts from various stakeholders’ perspectives. Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., National Security adviser and director general of the National Security Council, delivered the keynote address at the conference. Panelists were: Dr. Aileen S.P. Baviera (Asian Center, UP Diliman); Dr. Emmanuel C. Lallana (IdeaCorp.); Dr. Herbert V. Docena (Department of Sociology, UP Diliman); Jaime B. Naval (SSP); Dr. Jay L. Batongbacal (UP IMLOS); Julio S. Amador III (ASEAN Studies Center, New Era University); Ma. Anna Rowena Luz G. Layador-Roaquin (Department of Political Science, UP Diliman); Dr. Gilberto M. Llanto (Philippine Institute for Development Studies); Ramon C. Casiple (Institute for Political and Electoral Reform); Dr. Antoinette R. Raquiza (Asian Center, UP Diliman); Rear Admiral Rommel Jude G. Ong (Naval Inspector General, Armed Forces of the Philippines); George T. Siy (Convergence Realty & Development Corp.); Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado (Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Office of the President); Dr. Henry Chan Hing Lee (East Asia Institute, National University of Singapore); and Dr. Aries A. Arugay (SSP, UP CIDS). Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Launched in 2015, the Katipunan Conference serves as a venue where scholars, practitioners, stakeholders, and decision makers from government, non-government, business, and the academic sectors can exchange views on strategic issues affecting the country. Conference presentations and outputs are posted or published by the UP CIDS (http://cids.up.edu.ph). (Fred Dabu, UP MPRO) Click here for more photos of the event. |
https://up.edu.ph/filipino-migrant-workers-documentary-free-screening-on-august-3/ | UP CIDS presents Italian documentary on Filipino migrant workers – University of the Philippines | UP CIDS presents Italian documentary on Filipino migrant workers UP CIDS presents Italian documentary on Filipino migrant workers July 25, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The public is invited to attend the film screening of Filipinos in the Eyes of an Italian by Italian journalist Francesco Conte, a documentary on Filipino migrant workers in Italy, on August 3, 2018 (Friday), 2:00-5:00 PM, at the UP CIDS Conference Hall, Lower Ground Floor, Ang Bahay ng Alumni UP Diliman. In this film, Francesco Conte depicts an in-depth portrait of Filipinos in Italy where they tell their own stories and talk of the challenges and fulfillments of living and working in Italy. After the film presentation, a panel discussion led by Ambassador Pete Chan (former Consul General in Milan), Fr. Graziano Gavioli and Dr. Maruja M.B. Asis (both from the Scalabrini Migration Center) will take on topics concerning the situation and issues Filipino migrant workers face in Italy. This is event is organized by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, Philippine Italian Association, UP Department of Political Science, and the Scalabrini Migration Center. For inquiries, please contact Jesam Jimenez at pspc.cids@up.edu.ph or through telephone number 981-8500 loc. 4266. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-cids-holds-higher-education-reforms-to-address-the-deficit-in-philippine-health-care-workers/ | UP CIDS holds “Higher Education Reforms to Address the Deficit in Philippine Health Care Workers” forum – University of the Philippines | UP CIDS holds “Higher Education Reforms to Address the Deficit in Philippine Health Care Workers” forum UP CIDS holds “Higher Education Reforms to Address the Deficit in Philippine Health Care Workers” forum August 31, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The Program on Higher Education Research and Policy Reform (HERPR) of the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) invites you to a forum on “Higher Education Reforms to Address the Deficit in Philippine Health Care Workers” on September 4, 2018, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Room 300, UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI), E. Jacinto Street, UP Diliman, Quezon City. The forum will discuss various issues in higher education as they relate to the shortage of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care workers in the country. These include issues on quantity, distribution and quality of higher education programs in medicine, nursing and other health-related fields, and performance of graduates in licensure exams. In light of ongoing legislation on Universal Health Coverage Bill (Senate Bill 1458), the forum will also discuss the deficit in doctors across the country, as well as the feasibility and monetary costs of a suggested scholarship program for medical students that aims to eliminate the deficit in doctors (relative to the standard of 1.1 doctors per 1,000 people) under different timelines. To register, please email us at highereducation@up.edu.ph on or before Friday, August 31, 2018, 5 PM and await confirmation that seats are available. Snacks and lunch will be provided. |
https://up.edu.ph/literature-engineering-in-west-visayas/ | Literature Engineering in West Visayas – University of the Philippines | Literature Engineering in West Visayas Literature Engineering in West Visayas April 4, 2019 | Written by Leoncio P. Deriada A participant at an Ati-Atihan festival in Kalibo, Aklan. Photo by Bernardo “Berniemack” Arellano III, taken January 25, 2014, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ati-Atihan_Festival_Participant.jpg West Visayas is designated Region 6. Its lingua franca is Hiligaynon, but unknown to many, there are more speakers of Kinaray-a than of Hiligaynon. Kinaray-a in its many variants is spoken in all of Antique, all the southern coastal towns and central towns of Iloilo, and all the towns and hinterlands of Capiz. Aklanon, likewise in its various versions, is spoken in all the provinces of Aklan. Sadly, people usually lump these languages together as Hiligaynon. Worse, Kinaray-a and Aklanon are labeled as dialects, as if they were not capable of expressing the best in the minds and hearts of their users. The Mother Language The mother language of West Visayas is Kinaray-a. It must have been the language of the ten Bornean datus believed to be the ancestors of the West Visayans as recorded in the Maragtas and Panay epics. The ten noblemen allegedly got the island of Aninipay (the ancient name of Panay) from the Ati chief Marikudo in exchange for a headgear of gold and a necklace that touched the ground. Hiligaynon developed through the Chinese of Molo, Iloilo’s Chinatown. It is an early example of how colonial mentality works and how economic and cultural power can shape the language of power. The natives spoke Kinaray-a but instead of forcing the Chinese who controlled commerce to master the language of the place, it was the natives who accommodated the linguistic deficiencies of the foreigners. Thus the r in wara (none or zero), daraga (young woman), harigi (post), uring (charcoal), parigos (to take a bath), etc. became wala, dalaga, haligi, uling, paligos, etc. As Hiligaynon developed into a language of the elite, Kinaray-a lost its position and dignity as the mother language. It became associated with the soiled workingman of the farms and the highlands, of the vulgar and uneducated, of the muchacha and the sakada. Meanwhile, Aklanon also developed from Kinaray-a without Chinese acculturation. The most peculiar aspect of the language is its exotic /l/ sound. The so-called normal in Aklan, ulo (head), balay (house), dalaga (young woman), etc. is sounded with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth—Akean, ueo, baeay, daeaga, etc. There are words that have the normal /l/, but only Aklanons know them. The Hiligaynon bala (the Tagalog and Cebuano ba) is baea, but bullet is bala, not baea. The provincial capital is Kalibo, not Kaeibo, and there are towns like Balete, not Baeete, and Malinao, not Maeinao. The folk explanation for this is that Datu Bangkaya, the Bornean who appropriated for his territory the present province of Aklan, had a speech defect. He had a short tongue, and he lisped. So that their chief would not feel abnormal in his speech, his followers imitated his mangling of the /l/ sound. The Engineering The 1986 EDSA revolution is a milestone in the literary history of West Visayas and the country. Three new writings emerged in the region: Kinaray-a, Aklanon and Visayan-influenced Filipino. It started with the new management of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), which encouraged the establishment of local art councils; subsidized conferences, workshops and publications; and awarded writing grants and venue grants at the National Arts Center (NAC) on Mt. Makiling. The first writing workshop I directed as CCP literature coordinator for West Visayas was at UP Visayas in 1987. The following year, the Sumakwelan, the association of Hiligaynon writers, won a venue grant at the NAC, with me directing the writing workshop. Poem included in the original March 29, 2000 issue. In the group were two writers from Antique—Ma. Milagros C. Geremia, a research assistant at UP Visayas’ Center for West Visayan Studies, and Alex C. de los Santos, a former student of UP Visayas and then a senior English major at St. Anthony’s College. Like any other Kinaray-a speaking writer before them, the two never thought of writing in their home language. Then during one of the discussions, I asked them: Why don’t you write in Kinaray-a? And they did. After the workshops, they swamped me with poems, all written in Antique Kinaray-a. I found them very good, some in fact extremely good. The two eventually formed Antique’s first ever writers’ group which they called Tabig. Liberating itself likewise from literary oblivion was Aklanon. Emerging Aklanon writers formed the Aklanon Literary Circle in Kalibo, spearheaded by UP Visayas librarian Melchor F. Cichon and UP Visayas student John E. Barrios, who took on my challenge to the Kinaray-a writers. Soon the Aklan issue of Ani was published by the CCP and launched in 1993. Cichon turned out to be the leading poet in his language and is the first Aklanon to publish a book of poems in his own language. Cichon and Barrios soon won writing grants from the CCP. Poem included in the original March 29, 2000 issue. New localities, richer nationhood More deliberate is my involvement in this radical, more calculated engineering of a brand of Filipino, which I believe is the intention of the Philippine Constitution. The national language is not Tagalog, but the natural fusion of words from Philippine languages and from Spanish, English, Chinese, Arabic and other foreign languages. Left alone, this fusion will take centuries. The development of language can be hastened with planning and judicious implementation. I believe the country needs a national language, and the sooner we junk English as the language of instruction in our school system, the better it is for our people. I resent, however, the manner Tagalog is being forced on us as the national language contrary to the constitutional provision. I have always believed that the national language will be something like the lingua franca of Davao City where I grew up. It is a natural combination of words from different languages, mostly Tagalog and Visayan and a sprinkling of Iloko and other northern languages, Chabacano, and the ethnic languages of Mindanao. So I proposed that the CCP create a category for Tagalog in writing grants, and the CCP eventually separated the Tagalog grant from the Filipino grant. The first winner of the writing grant in Filipino poetry—in Filipino that was not pure Tagalog—was John Erimil E. Teodoro of San Jose, Antique, a product of my workshops. Teodoro won the first prize in the Gawad Amado Hernandez the very next year. Poem included in the original March 29, 2000 issue. The emergence of new writing in West Visayas—in Kinaray-a, in Aklanon and in a Visayan-influenced Filipino—has produced three new literary localities in the region. These three, combined with the more established writing in Hiligaynon and in English, make the literary geography of West Visayas an extremely visible landmark in the country’s mapping out of a richer, more diverse yet more defined nationhood. Prof. Leoncio P. Deriada was a multilingual writer and professor emeritus at the UP Visayas, where he was the head of the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino. He was also an associate of the UP Institute of Creative Writing and a Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards Hall of Famer, and was recognized as the Father of Contemporary Literature in Western Visayas. Condensed from the original article published in the UP Forum March 29, 2000 issue Get your FREE copy of the UP Forum magazine now. Please send an email to upforum@up.edu.ph or visit the UP Media and Public Relations Office at Room 6B, Fonacier Hall, Magsaysay Avenue, UP Diliman, Quezon City. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-min-comm-arts-students-launch-dengue-fever-detection-and-management-campaign/ | UP Min Comm Arts students launch Dengue fever detection and management campaign – University of the Philippines | UP Min Comm Arts students launch Dengue fever detection and management campaign UP Min Comm Arts students launch Dengue fever detection and management campaign May 22, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office (Photo courtesy of UP Mindanao) Fourth year BA Communication Arts students of UP Mindanao conducted a campaign called “Dehydration Bantayan, Peligro sa Dengue Malikayan” at the covered court of Purok 10, Barangay Talomo Proper, Davao City on May 18. The campaign highlighted the importance of hydration as a key preventive measure when one is diagnosed with dengue fever. It emphasized the early detection and proper response during dengue fever’s initial stages. At the same time it also addressed the misconceptions and malpractices that people usually do during the course of dengue detection. More than 60 mothers and household heads attended the said campaign. Ernie Cequiña, Tropical Nurse Unit head from the City Health Office advised the mothers to consult a doctor as soon as possible. Meawhile, Dr. Richard Mata, DOH Consultant for dengue, highlighted that known remedies such as drinking of tawa-tawa tea, eating durian, and eating balut do not necessarily bring one’s platelet count back to normal. Instead, a person infected with dengue should be brought to a doctor as soon as possible, and should be hydrated. (Photo courtesy of UP Mindanao) Informational materials, tumblers, fans, and vitamins were distributed to the participating mothers. Most importantly, hydrite salts were also distributed to aid mothers in the hydration process of the children. The campaign was organized by fourth year students of BA Communication Arts from UP Mindanao, under their Communication Planning course advised by Professor Nelfa Glova, with the aim to reach out to different communities and address the community’s problems and promote awareness, more particularly with regards to health. The campaign was in collaboration with the local barangay hall in Talomo and Davao City Health Office. Barangay Talomo Proper was reported to have the highest incidence of dengue cases from January to May, followed by Brgy. Bunawan, and Brgy. Maa. (Karla Gericka Gador, UP Mindanao) |
https://up.edu.ph/world-class-sports-facilities-in-up/ | World-class Sports Facilities in UP – University of the Philippines | World-class Sports Facilities in UP World-class Sports Facilities in UP July 11, 2018 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc The Davao City-UP Sports Complex as planned, where Structure 1 is the Football and Track Stadium, and Structure 2 is the Training Gym. (Photo by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) Athletes and sports enthusiasts are excited to see new facilities slowly shaping up in the University. Among these facilities are the Davao City-UP and UP Diliman sports complexes. With features at par with world-class standards, they are expected to boost sports not only in the University but in the entire country as well where there is a lack of sports venues available to the public. First to be constructed for the UP Diliman Sports Complex is the football stadium. Several tons of dirt were hauled to the site to raise, level, and compact the grounds. An intricate drainage system was then constructed for the facility. The artificial turf for the football field has passed rigorous certification by FIFA. Soon to rise are outdoor lighting and the grandstand. Construction of the UP Diliman Sports Complex football field is nearing completion with the application of artificial turf. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Plans for the UP Diliman Sports Complex Football Stadium to replace the old grandstand. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Plan for the UP Diliman Sports Complex Swimming Pool and Stadium as it appears on the project tarp. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The facility is expected to boost the performance of the UP men’s varsity football team, which is a perennial champion in the UAAP. The women’s team struck gold in Season 78. Government-funded, an all-weather track oval and a bigger grandstand will be constructed alongside the field. The grounds near the old UP Gymnasium are being prepared for the construction of the new UP Diliman Swimming Pool and Stadium, which is expected to be finished next year. The only other swimming pool in Quezon City to approximate Olympic size is largely unmaintained, located at the Amoranto Sports Complex. After the swimming pool, the softball field will be constructed in the area in front of the UP Vanguard Building near the Ylanan entrance. A miniature rendering of the plan for the Davao City-UP Sports Complex Training Gym. (Photo by Jonathan Madrid, UP MPRO) The Davao City-UP Sports Complex Training Gym, which is now being used by UP Mindanao PE classes. (Photos by UPMin CPDO) Architectural rendering of the Davao City-UP Sports Complex Aquatic Center as it appears on the project tarp. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The Davao City-UP Sports Complex Football Stadium’s Multipurpose Building nears completion. (Photo by UPMin CPDO) In the Davao City-UP Sports Complex, the training gym and the multipurpose building for the football field and track oval are almost complete. With the hope of hosting international competitions, the football field and track oval are currently being prepared for the installation of FIFA-tested and certified artificial turf and an IAAF-certified synthetic track oval. Next in line are the Aquatics Center, featuring an Olympic-sized swimming pool, warm-up/warm-down pool, a diving pool, and spaces required by the Fédération Internationale de Natation. Hopefully, they will all be ready for Davao City’s hosting of the Palarong Pambansa, or the Department of Education’s youth games and the Davao Regional Athletics Association games next year. In 2015, UP and Davao City signed an agreement in which UP Mindanao provided a 20-hectare site for the complex, while the City of Davao would construct facilities at par with international standards. Read the online UP Forum April-June 2018 Vol. 19 No. 2 issue in full here. |
https://up.edu.ph/behind-the-scenes-of-the-birth-of-up-mindanao/ | Behind the scenes of the birth of UP Mindanao – University of the Philippines | Behind the scenes of the birth of UP Mindanao Behind the scenes of the birth of UP Mindanao January 17, 2019 | Written by J. Mikhail Solitario Education as liberation of the poor “For me, I associate education as liberation of the poor,” an animated John Gaisano recalls as he tells the story of how a UP in Mindanao was established. Gaisano, of the famed chain of shopping malls owned by his family, sees the ripple or multiplier effect of how a University of the Philippines campus right in the heartland can alleviate poverty. He illustrates this by citing actual stories from graduates of UP Mindanao. “We have about a thousand graduates, and when they go home to their hometowns, what do you think is in their mind? Of course they want to help their younger siblings. From 800 graduates, you now have about 1,600. And when they get married and have kids, where do they send their kids to? UP.” According to Gaisano, the typical UP Mindanao student is one with parents who may be laborers, farmworkers, or (street) vendors. Gaisano proposes that a UP education may help break the cycle of poverty. Mindanao, after all, has the country’s highest poverty rates. “UP is supposed to be helping the country, but why is it not here in the poorest regions?” Gaisano posed the question. On the 50th Anniversary of UP Alumni Association Davao in December 1999. (Photo from Rene Estremera, UP Mindanao) Gaisano said that in the campaign to have a UP campus in Mindanao, he and his colleagues had to reach out to members of Congress, from senators to representatives. They found out that the Senate that time had a lot of UP alumni. “Actually, you know, it’s like you start a ripple in the water. You keep doing it until it creates a small wave, then a big wave. Now, will it ever happen? We don’t know that but we cannot think it cannot be done. The moment you think it cannot be done, you will stop doing and it will never happen,” he declares. After relentless campaigning, the establishment of UP Mindanao was realized during the term of Philippine president Ramos, seeing the light of day during the term of UP President Emil Javier. However, many other hurdles still had to be overcome. During the term of President Macapagal-Arroyo, then House Speaker Nograles told Gaisano that the amount requested for the UP Mindanao budget was too large to be given under one General Appropriations Act. It could only be through appropriation distributed across three to five fiscal years. During the presentation of Prof. Fernando Sanchez of the UP Mindanao campus development plan with guests and stakeholders. (Photo from Rene Estremera, UP Mindanao) Working from the ground up A university must have at least three colleges before it can be called one. To do this, some capital had to be injected to UP Mindanao. Gaisano along with alumni Angie Angliongto led a series of successful fundraising activities and solicitation of donations. He envisioned UP Mindanao to be a center of expertise when it comes to managing natural resources, such as land, mining, agriculture, and the seas. Gaisano initiated the establishment of the UP Mindanao Foundation, separate from the UPAA Davao, with the goal of encouraging UP faculty from other UP universities to come to UP Mindanao. Later on, the UPMF also extended their financial assistance to the poorest students. During one fund raising event, he remembers sharing a very small table with then Senate President Angara and then UP President Javier to meet with donors who were mostly UP alumni. Gaisano suggested the roles: he would talk about the relevance of having UP in Mindanao, Javier talked in detail how this would benefit businesses in Mindanao, and finally Angara would deliver the punchline. The board of UPMF also decided not to touch the principals of the donations, and instead just use the interest as operating funds to grant financial aid. During the first founding anniversary celebration of UP Mindanao. (Photo from Rene Estremera, UP Mindanao) Gaisano takes pride in being the man behind the scenes, having attended all of UP Mindanao’s graduation ceremonies (except for one when he mixed up the dates and ended up in Manila) by sitting at the back row and casually observing the graduating iskolars in their sablay, the humble, unassuming parents who travelled from the provinces, and the UP Mindanao faculty and administration officials. He bears witness to generations of UP Mindanao scholars who “have become confident and learned to assert their right” and who “have become independent and developed initiative and resourcefulness.” Looking back, moving forward Gaisano was not even supposed to study in UP in the first place. “I think my father valued education a lot because we were based in Cebu and only flew to Manila for studies. That time I think we only paid P300 for my UP education compared to around P5,000 in the school across the street,” Gaisano recalls. Looking forward, he envisions that UP Mindanao will institute important degree programs to help Mindanao grow. UP has both the capacity and the freedom to design specific programs with competent faculty and research staff. He also hopes that the sports facilities will be improved as an added come-on, as more UPCAT takers mean more quality students who could in turn occupy key leadership and influential positions within Mindanao. Taken in 2000 when UP Mindanao celebrated its fifth anniversary. Seated onstage is John Gaisano (rightmost). (Photo from Rene Estremera, UP Mindanao) In closing Gaisano shares a memorable anecdote. He was once invited to a town fiesta in a far-flung area, inaccessible to most modes of travel except by driving or by walking. A lot of his colleagues warned against going there for obvious security reasons as he is a prominent businessman. He nevertheless went and was introduced onstage by the municipal mayor. After the program he was approached by a young lady who introduced herself as the mayor’s executive assistant. “Sir, I was a scholar of the UP Mindanao Foundation,” the lady revealed. UP alumni held a treeplanting activity in the Alumni Oblation Plaza. John Gaisano with UP alumni and local officials. (Photo from Rene Estremera, UP Mindanao) “I’m in the last few chapters of my life,” Gaisano said. “In fact, I’m preparing for the next generation to take over our businesses.” But he sees a great future in the hands of the products of UP Mindanao, one that he helped shaped from vision to reality. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-prof-works-with-google-on-covid-19-online-dictionary/ | UP prof works with Google on COVID-19 online dictionary – University of the Philippines | UP prof works with Google on COVID-19 online dictionary UP prof works with Google on COVID-19 online dictionary August 28, 2020 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo Screenshot of Google’s Diskyonaryong COVID-19, which was launched on Aug. 28. Prof. Eilene Antoinette G. Narvaez of the UP Diliman Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, a member of the Filipinas Institute of Translation, recently worked with Google for the Filipino terms related to COVID-19. Prof. Eilene Antoinette G. Narvaez. Photo from a UP Forum Roundtable Discussion in 2017. This was for Google’s “Isang Gabay sa mga Salitang Kaugnay ng COVID-19”, the site of which, https://diksyonaryongcovid19.com/, was launched on August 28 as part of Buwan ng Wika. In a release by the tech company, it said that the “initiative recognizes the significant role of local languages in creating an understanding among Filipinos regarding the most commonly used COVID-19-related words and in disseminating helpful information.” The site “provides the Filipino and Cebuano translations and definitions of the featured terms, their part of speech, as well as usage in a sentence to further demonstrate their meaning.” It is accessible on any internet-connected device. As of press time, “Isang Gabay sa mga Salitang Kaugnay ng COVID-19” has a list of at least 115 words and phrases, including scientific and medical terms, commonly used in reference to the disease. It also has “new vocabulary that pertains to changes in business, education, and new way of life.” Hannah Marie R. Aranas, a faculty member of the University of San Carlos Department of Languages and Literature, worked on the Cebuano translation of the COVID-19 terms for Google’s e-resource. |
https://up.edu.ph/health-is-wealth-for-pigs-as-well/ | Health is wealth for pigs as well – University of the Philippines | Health is wealth for pigs as well Health is wealth for pigs as well January 4, 2019 | Written by J. Mikhail Solitario Did you know that next to rice, the second biggest industry in agriculture is pig or swine farming? And that in this industry, the latest data show that at least seven out of ten pig farmers are involved in backyard pig farming? Backyard pig farmers are not as well-equipped as their industry-grade counterparts who operate in large tracts of land with tools, equipment, and techniques backed by up-to-date research. Instead, backyard pig farmers rely on their own strategies in raising their own pig farms. Most of these strategies have been passed down one generation to the next in a family. A typical backyard farm illustrating close interactions between animals. (Photo from Dr. Lyre Murao) This potential piqued the interest of Dr. Lyre Espada Murao, Associate Professor at the College of Science and Mathematics in UP Mindanao, who is also part of the University’s Balik PhD program. “There’s a gap that we can fill in as a scientist. What can we do to help them [pig farmers]? Being in the field of infectious diseases, we thought this was something we could bring to the table for them,” Dr. Lyre recalls. According to her TEDx profile, Dr. Murao “teaches anything micro from molecules to microbes and cells but once outside the classroom, she goes hunting for nasty viruses.” This hunt led her to ask the local city veterinarian for data on backyard pig farmers. Her team found out that the local vet had a list of less than 10 backyard pig farmers which did not seem to add up, given Davao City’s expansive area. After reaching out to farmers’ organizations, veterinarians, and technical experts, they were able to zero in on four major districts: Tugbok, Calinan, Bunawan, and Toril. Dr. Lyre and her team went around to survey all the barangays and were able to obtain a comprehensive list of more than 800 farmers. Crafting the study design The next step was to obtain formal permission from the local government to conduct research on pig farms with the backyard pig farmers. The particular research is done in collaboration with Dr. Pete Alviola and his students from UP Mindanao’s School of Management. They crunch the numbers and data, while Lyre takes care of the biological aspect of the study. The main focus is to identify existing management practices and integrate new strategies in terms of managing diseases to help improve the overall economics of the farms. Research staff and thesis students preparing for molecular detection of rotavirus A (Photo from Dr. Lyre Murao) The decision to direct research attention to Rotavirus A is predicated on two primary considerations: one, it has an effect on the pigs; and two, it has a public health dimension. Dr. Lyre explains that the virus causes diarrhea and gastroenteritis in pigs, which stunt the animals’ growth, and lead to smaller profits for farmers. In addition, recent scientific reports indicate that Rotavirus is capable of zoonosis, meaning that the virus can cross barriers among hosts, from pigs to humans, especially children. To gather data, Dr. Lyre’s team monitored randomly selected farms for 12 months, visiting those farms monthly to check the presence of Rotavirus and compare it with the farm’s prevailing management practices. They had to examine fecal samples because this was where the virus showed up. The samples underwent molecular diagnostics, while the team simply interviewed the farmers to obtain data on management practices. While the study design is relatively simple, Lyre believes in the significance and wide use of the findings of the study. Forwarding the findings The findings are interesting: there are certain factors outside of management practice that can predispose a farm to Rotavirus A. For example, the number of pigs, as well as the presence of other animals on the farm, such as goats and chickens, can increase the likelihood of getting infected by the virus. “This goes back to our theory on zoonosis where the virus can just transfer from one host to another,” she explains. However, she recognizes the difficulty in abruptly changing the farmers’ ways of raising backyard pigs. “You can’t just tell them to raise only five pigs, or to stop raising other animals in their backyards. It’s their source of living.” The research team and students working on different aspects of rotavirus A and other pathogens (Photo from Dr. Lyre Murao) Fortunately, hope is not lost when it comes to abandoning old ways. Dr. Lyre relates that after conducting their study, her team was able to identify factors that could be targeted to lessen the risk of contracting the Rotavirus. One is sanitation, where improper disposal and waste management can contribute a 45% increase in likelihood of Rotavirus presence. This can also be remedied by ensuring that there is enough space around the pig pen to isolate waste and not pass the virus on to other animals or humans. Another factor is the putting pigs of different ages together. In this case, there is 35% less likelihood of their getting the virus. A similar study on age difference is conducted in humans. By using mathematical models, it was found that children are more predisposed to pass on influenza because they interact with children only; while adults who are exposed to other humans of varying ages are less likely to get the virus. The last factor is a good diet. The research found that farms using purely commercial feeds have a higher risk of infection, compared to farms which use a mix of forage or natural food which contains fiber. Fiber is good for the pigs’ guts because it strengthens the organ and helps it resist the Rotavirus. Dr. Lyre recommends a mix of organic or natural food and commercial mix because the latter contains only protein and pigs need fiber too. Dr. Lyre Murao speaks at a TEDx event to spread awareness about their research (Photo from TEDxRoxasSt Facebook page) In terms of replicating the research findings and having actual stakeholders adopt the recommendations, Lyre says that a local government official was able to hear the presentation of the research project; so she hopes action may be taken by the government to address the concerns of backyard pig farmers. “It was one of the promises I gave the barangay captains when we reached out to them, that the results would be returned to them. So right now I’m looking for opportunities to do that,” says Dr. Lyre. She recently spoke at a TEDx event of the same vision of sharing what they have discovered by marrying fields such as biology and mathematics. The research will also be published in the Tropical Animal Health and Production journal. “I want to make people aware of what we’re doing as scientists, so they can see that there is relevance in what we do.” |
https://up.edu.ph/up-enhances-ehope-coverage/ | UP enhances eHOPE coverage – University of the Philippines | UP enhances eHOPE coverage UP enhances eHOPE coverage April 28, 2023 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The University of the Philippines (UP) has further enhanced its program for financial assistance for the hospitalization of its employees—faculty members, REPS, and administrative staff—with the approval of the amendments on the amount of eHOPE Benefits and covered hospitalization expenses (professional fees allocation), plus an expanded coverage of eligible employees. The amendments on the policy were approved by the UP Board of Regents (BOR) in its 1380th meeting in Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, on 27 April 2023. Under the program, UP now allows eligible employees across all its constituent universities (CUs)/units to avail of up to P100,000 per year as financial assistance for hospitalization expenses incurred during confinement—hence, an additional P20,000 to the previous limit of P80,000 accumulated maximum amount per year. Furthermore, the coverage of UP Contractuals has been expanded to include even those whose salaries are charged against fund sources other than the General Appropriations Act (GAA). As such, UP Contractuals (faculty, REPS, and administrative staff) who have rendered at least one year of continuous service to the University, have employer-employee relations with the University, and whose salaries are charged against the Revolving Fund/Trust Fund—are now also eligible for the eHOPE. Their eHOPE benefit shall be charged against the same funding source (RF/TF), but subject to availability of funds. The allocation for professional fees (PF) of PhilHealth-accredited physicians and specialists has also been increased. A maximum of twice the amount on the Relative Value Unit (RVU) set by the PhilHealth for specific medical cases can now be covered under eHOPE. The eHOPE, an enhancement of the Financial Assistance Program for Hospitalization Expenses (FAPHE), took effect starting 1 January 2017 under then-UP President Alfredo E. Pascual. Enhancements on eHOPE were proposed by the Ad Hoc Committee on eHOPE Implementation, constituted by physicians/officials from UP Manila and UP-PGH and representatives from the two (2) employee unions. Last April 25, Vice President for Administration Nestor G. Yunque, through Vice President for Planning and Finance Iryn Y. Balmores, endorsed the proposals to President Angelo A. Jimenez, who then endorsed the amendments for the BOR’s approval. |
https://up.edu.ph/salamat-at-saludo-up-fighting-maroons/ | Salamat at saludo, UP Fighting Maroons! – University of the Philippines | Salamat at saludo, UP Fighting Maroons! Salamat at saludo, UP Fighting Maroons! December 6, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Our teams have consistently placed in the top three spots in general UAAP championships but UAAP Season 81 has been a historic campaign for the UP Fighting Maroons and its various varsity teams. We have made significant milestones in track and field where our men’s team ended a 36-year title drought and emerged as champions. Of course, the unwavering support of the UP Faithful has helped propel our men’s basketball team to the UAAP Finals, with an MVP medal to boot—a feat that has not been accomplished in more than three decades. As the second semester arrives, we are looking forward to replicate these victories in softball, football, volleyball, and baseball among other sports. We need your support. SUPPORT THE MAROONS, SUPPORT UP ATHLETICS. DONATE NOW—CLICK THE LINKS BELOW: Donate via Give to UP (https://giveto.up.edu.ph/). Account Name: UPS ON-LINE DONATIONS Account Number: 5375-455-9 Swift Code: DBPHPHMM Bank: Development Bank of the Philippines Kindly scan or take a picture of the deposit slip and send it to giveto@up.edu.ph so your donation can be confirmed. Please indicate if you wish to receive an official receipt. For cash or check donations, please fill out this form: https://giveto.up.edu.ph/gate/donation. For inquiries, contact us through the following channels: Landline: (632) 929-1288 / (632) 981-8500 local 2531, 2532, 2507 Email: giveto@up.edu.ph Donate via Nowhere to Go But UP (http://nowheretogobutup.ph/support) Email them via info@nowheretogobutup.ph or through mobile at 0926 021 9361 or 0908 866 0710. Salamat at saludo, UP Fighting Maroons! Panalo pa rin kayo sa aming mga puso! Hanggang sa susunod na taon, UP, padayon! |
https://up.edu.ph/upeeei-tech-fair-celebrates-engineering-innovation-education-and-collaboration/ | UPEEEI Tech Fair Celebrates Engineering Innovation, Education and Collaboration – University of the Philippines | UPEEEI Tech Fair Celebrates Engineering Innovation, Education and Collaboration UPEEEI Tech Fair Celebrates Engineering Innovation, Education and Collaboration May 27, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office For one day on May 24, faculty, researchers, students and staff of the UP Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (UP EEEI) left their laboratories and classrooms to hold the institution’s first Technology Fair at the UP Professional Schools, Bonifacio Global City. The Technology Fair brought together representatives from private IT companies, government agencies and organizations, and other universities as part of its objective to engage state universities and colleges, government agencies, and industry partners in advancing the Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering fields in the Philippines by setting the platform for collaboration; hence its theme, “Towards a New Century of Innovative and Visionary Engineering Research and Education.” The Technology Fair also held a poster-session and an exhibit of the latest projects and research outputs of the different research laboratories under the UPEEEI. As Dr. John Richard Hizon, director of the UPEEEI, said during his welcoming remarks: “To end our centennial celebration by acknowledging the work of our faculty, researchers, students and staff is a good starting point in defining our institute’s new direction.” In the first part of the program, two representatives from government—Dr. Maridon Sahagun, Director of the Department of Science and Technology Planning and Evaluation Services and Dr. William Padolina, Executive Director of the Philippine-California Advanced Research Institutes (PCARI) under the Commission on Higher Education—delivered messages on behalf of the DOST and the CHED, respectively. Sahagun congratulated the UPEEEI for continuing to be one of the DOST’s most active and productive collaborators in the implementation of its projects as well as the recipients of grants for DOST research and human development programs, such as: the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Program; the establishment of the Philippine Institute for Integrated Circuits (PIIC); and, the “Development of Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite” or PHL-Microsat Program, known as Diwata 1 and Diwata 2. The PHL-Microsat Program, a collaborative research program of UP Diliman through the UPEEEI and the DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute, aims to build, launch and effectively utilize the Philippines’ first micro-satellite for multi-spectral, high precision earth observation. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO Sahagun also noted that the DOST and the UPEEEI are both working toward highlighting the importance of partnerships in nurturing the innovative capacities of the various sectors in a science, technology and innovation ecosystem, a strategy contained in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2017-2020. Chapter 14 of the PDP, she said, was dedicated to advancing science, technology and innovation by increasing R&D expenditure from only 0.14 percent in 2013 to 0.5 percent by the end of 2022, and by increasing the number of scientists, researchers and engineers produced per million population from 270 currently to 300 by 2020. The DOST is also aggressively pursuing programs to accelerate technology production and stimulate innovation in the next six years by: improving S&T infrastructure; enhancing the R&D capacities of our institutions, especially those in the regions; increasing technology transfer; and, strengthening partnerships with industry and other stakeholders, among others. Padolina informed the audience of the available programs under CHED that it was hoped would enhance interaction between industry and academe. He presented an overview of the Philippine higher education landscape, and presented CHED’s efforts to upgrade the capacity for directed R&D extension programs to serve socio-economic goals, particularly in the five high-priority areas of food security, environment and disaster risk reduction, marine resources, smart analytics and engineering innovations, health systems, and education for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, agriculture, math). As part of its promotion of academe-industry linkages in terms of translating industry needs into HEI curricula, the CHED is also exerting efforts to develop or reinstate courses such as: BS Meteorology, BS Business Analytics, BS Business Entertainment and Multimedia Computing, BS Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, and so on. On the other hand, the current industry-academe partnerships that the CHED has been monitoring in the HEIs are on-the-job training, graduate placement, and an early stage of collaboration in R&D by looking at joint R&D programs and commissioned research, technology licensing and spin-off companies. For faculty members who no longer have a teaching load due to the K-12 transition, they are given grants for them to pursue higher degrees and engage with industry partners through research and hired technical services. Padolina also mentioned the PCARI project, which aims to enhance the capacity of Philippine HEIs for R&D that translates to technological innovations that would address societal projects. Finally, Padolina cited several critical concerns for higher education, including: talent development and the job-skills mismatch; the lack of industry relevant knowledge in terms of curricular issues; the lack of skilled labor; the generally low quality of instruction in HEIs; and, the need to strengthen our technology delivery and extension system so that the research output of our scientists and researchers would benefit small and medium enterprises, especially those in the regions. Later in the day, Mr. Lowell Tortona, head of Nokia’s 5g R&D arm in the Philippines, gave a talk on the Internet of Things (IOT) and 5G. 5G stands for fifth generation wireless connection standard, which is based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard of broadband technology, and is built to keep up with the proliferation of devices that need a mobile internet connection. These range from communication and computing devices, to household appliances, medical equipment, vehicles, public safety and transport systems, and factory equipment—the so-called “Internet of Things”. The development of 5G connectivity is the hot topic abroad. It will, however, take time to reach the Philippines, but will enable greater connectivity, responsiveness, reliability, efficiency and even greater environmental protection in areas such as smart industry, smart healthcare, smart home and utilities, smart cities, public safety, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Later in the afternoon, three parallel sessions were held to discuss in greater depth the research being conducted by the UPEEEI’s laboratories and research collaborations with private industries. These parallel sessions were classified according to topic: “Technologies to Harness Renewable Energy” chaired by Assistant Professor Lew Andrew Tria; “Technologies to Enable Internet of Things” chaired by Dr. Rhandley Cajote; and “Enabling Communication Networks” chaired by Assistant Professor Paul Jason Co. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO The UPEEEI’s laboratories and students also presented their research products and output through posters and live demonstrations. Among those exhibited during the Tech Fair were: 1. RxBox (Real Life Experiences in a Box) for efficient portable health monitoring in far-flung areas; 2. The Village Base Station Project, which employs community cellular networks, small-scale, bottom-up cellular networks to provide mobile phone connectivity to poor, remote communities 3. Tanglaw, an automated reading tutor for elementary students of Filipino; Video-based Traffic Monitoring for Philippine Intelligent Transport System 4. Project 2 – Developing Closed Captioning Systems for Philippine Languages; Optimization of an Energy-Aware RPS for Wireless Sensor Networks with Ambient Energy Harvesting; Human Activity Recognition Based on Sensor Fusion in Smartphones 5. Room Occupant Count and Temperature Prediction Models for Optimal HVAC Control 6. Dynamic Matching Circuit in a 5.8GHz RF Energy Harvester for Wireless Sensor Nodes 7. Rese2nse (Resilient Sensory Swarms for Smart Energy and Environmental Monitoring), which uses the concept of global data plan to collect and manage information from different sensor networks and make these information available for the development of different applications 8. Gitara ni Juan, a project initiated by the UP College of Music and EEEI, which is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Filipino musicians and engineers who aim to preserve the country’s luthierie, and to leverage local wood industry using modern techniques for wood selection, wood crafting, and structural design in building quality classical guitars 9. Non Technical Loss Detection Using Data Analytics 10. RF-based Fault Type Classification and Impedance Estimation Models in Distribution Systems Using Phasor Measurements; VREx – Human Hands as Input Device for an Immersive Virtual Reality Experience 11. Aneeme – Synthesizing and Sharing Animation Building Blocks for Rapid Creation of 3D Motion Scene; Smartwire, a project that aims to develop the technology for a smart electrical grid system 12. Event Detection and Wavelet Transform Analysis – Micro-synchrophasor Measurement Units 13. Power Distribution System State Estimation with Limited Sensors Optimal Curtailment Dispatch for Demand Response Energy Allocation 14. Short Term Load Forecasting Using Gaussian Processes under the Interruptible Load Program. The Tech Fair, which was the culminating activity of the UPEEEI’s year-long centennial celebration that began in 2016, was organized in partnership with Nokia. Other sponsors of the event, some of which were featured in their own booths during the fair, were: Artesyn Embedded Technologies, First Philec, Samsung, Maxim Integrated, Xinyx Design Consultancy & Services, Inc., Analog Devices, EVWealth Inc., PHINMA Energy, Chroma, Sqreem Technologies, and Trident Electronics, Corp. (Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/the-stories-of-the-old-trees-of-upd/ | The Stories of the Old Trees of UPD – University of the Philippines | The Stories of the Old Trees of UPD The Stories of the Old Trees of UPD October 18, 2017 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc Trees are silent, and many, like hermits, are dying lonely and unseen. But their silence is deceptive, for they have stories to tell. Much of UP is trees. And trees remain UP’s most widespread physical legacy to Diliman, a vast denuded estate overlooking Marikina valley. Acacias, the traditional choice for public spaces since they were brought in during the early days of Spanish rule, were the first trees planted after the transfer of UP to Diliman in the late 1940s. The hard adobe grounds had to be blasted to allow them to take root. Since then, they have spoken eloquently of UP Diliman’s fast and robust growth. Now larger-than-life, acacias hold sway at the academic center, providing shade where there was once only grassland. But they are also like UP and the country’s colonial past; dominant and lingering, roots long and winding, beautiful and scary at the same time; and as an exotic species, forever imposed, a stranger to the land. But theirs was not the beginning story. A sampaloc and two mango trees at the site of the Arboretum came without design, survived the aridness of the landscape, and the Japanese-American War. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) A few had come before them, and continue to live. A sampaloc and two mango trees at the site of the Arboretum came without design, survived the aridness of the landscape, and the Japanese-American War. There is no account of their histories, except that they, like acacias, are exotic. But together with the native agoho in front of Quezon Hall, which an old hand in the transfer of UP to Diliman recalled being planted before Christmas 1949, they have seen more of campus life than all the acacias surviving to this day. They are forgotten trees. Despite being at the campus portal, the agoho has had no alumnus taking selfies beside it as it stands beside a creek, quietly enduring the thin topsoil, the constructions, many fires, the barricading of Diliman’s iconic building. The tallest tree in the area, it is hidden by bulkier trees, broken, and wasting away. The agoho tree said to be the oldest tree on main campus. (Photo by Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) At the Arboretum, the stories of War and growth of an urban forest are replaced by the story of encroaching urban blight. The roots of one mango tree are now covered by growing mounds of garbage. It nearly died from a treasure hunt digging. The other tree broke in the middle from a typhoon and has become a dump for old bottles. The mighty roots of the sampaloc are laid bare by eroding forces of water, wind, wheels, and feet. The acacias have contemporaries within and outside the Oval. Many now tell the story of holding on for dear life. The camachile, for example, another exotic species, insists on a foothold at several sites on campus. Most would be familiar with the four ones lining Velasquez Street. One had been cut close to the base, but from the large gnarly stump, a new crown has sprouted. Two had fallen from typhoons but from the fallen trunk, several more trunks arose. Same is true for the camachiles at the parking lot of the Alumni Center, and behind the Gymnasium and DMST complexes. A camachile at the Alumni Center parking lot facing Ylanan Street. (Photo by Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) The native ones, like the bitaog, are proving to be hardier. Most visible to freshman applicants would be the dark imposing silhouette up Kalaw street. Its fan-like breadth tells a story. It is one of being cut at the top early in life and being forced to grow laterally, well over to the other side of the street, where the Registrar’s stands. The bitaog on the eastern side of the campus does not enjoy the same space to spread its branches. It is pruned regularly to stay clear of the facade of Malcolm Hall, the mirror building of Benitez Hall, the two pre-war buildings on campus. In old pictures, the bitaog is a distinct growth by the driveway, growing alongside the acacia saplings at the Oval. It sheltered the first nurses from UP until the college had to move to UP Manila. The lawyers from UP would surely remember it, as it has gazed over the entrance since all the living of them could remember. The old bitaog along Kalaw Street. (Photo by Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) At Gonzalez Hall, three towering dungon trees in a row, facing the Sunken Garden, remain steadfast sentinels, guarding over the knowledge seekers on the floors and, once, when the Beach House was in business, food-hunters at their feet. A dungon tree at the side of the old Beach House. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Right at a corner of the Sunken Garden, boughs wistfully bending over toward the grass, the grand calumpit tree has been witness to countless pageants and parades of the past and the youthful revelry of games and UP Fairs of the present. The calumpit tree with its boughs shading a corner of the Sunken Garden. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) But not all the old native trees of UP Diliman have been as lucky. One, which lorded over residences behind the Protestant church, succumbed to a typhoon last year and fell on a day-care center. The other one, in front of Vinzons Hall, once hulking and mighty on the hill, only recently died of rot after its trunk was slowly stripped of its bark by folks who believed in its alleged abortifacient powers. Fortunately, a younger one is surviving, standing guard over the marker of a campus legend, botanist Leonard Co. Their name is dita. Endemic in the Philippines, they are more commonly known in the world as either the devil tree or the scholar tree, names which are stories by themselves. Commonly known in the world as either the devil tree or the scholar tree. But what could be sadder than the story of the diliman? It left no trace or proof of existence in the area. But it must have dominated the primordial forests of the area. It is said to grow on adobe, which the area is known to have a bedrock of, thriving on forest moisture, most likely beside the creeks. It is said to disappear in summer and to return with the rains. One summer, most likely when the last of the forest was felled, it said goodbye for good. UP Diliman is thus named after an orphan. Diliman ferns obtained from a forest at the border of Laguna and Quezon provinces are propagated in the nursery. (Photo by Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) And as stories go, a virtual library of new ones is being told by the 100 exemplars rising in the Washington Sycip Garden of Native Trees behind the Carillon, a donation of the Zuellig Group, and by the threatened native species being planted in natural groupings by the Institute of Biology and the Energy Development Corp. at a new arboretum inside the National Science Complex. But the diliman, the one that the ancients and perhaps even Katipuneros must have passed through in their times, now lives with us only in name. ——————– The author wishes to thank Emiliano Sotalbo and Noel Pomada of the UP Diliman Campus Maintenance Office Grounds Services and Arboretum Division; and Director Perry Ong and Herbarium Technician Ramon Bandong of the UP Diliman Institute of Biology, for their invaluable input to this article. Email the author at upforum@up.edu.ph. |
https://up.edu.ph/call-for-applications-2021-2022-fulbright-foreign-student-program/ | Call for applications: 2021-2022 Fulbright Foreign Student Program – University of the Philippines | Call for applications: 2021-2022 Fulbright Foreign Student Program Call for applications: 2021-2022 Fulbright Foreign Student Program January 27, 2020 | Posted by UP Media and Public Relations Office The application period for the 2021-2022 Fulbright Foreign Student Program (for Filipinos) is now open! The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is a scholarship opportunity for Filipinos to study at the graduate level (master’s or doctoral studies) or pursue non-degree doctoral dissertation research in the United States. Visit https://bit.ly/2021Classic to apply! The online application portal will accept applications until March 20, 2020. Follow Fulbright Philippines for updates. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-climbs-to-no-166-among-emerging-economies-top-universities/ | UP climbs to No. 166 among emerging economies’ top universities – University of the Philippines | UP climbs to No. 166 among emerging economies’ top universities UP climbs to No. 166 among emerging economies’ top universities May 10, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Of the top 378 higher education institutions (HEIs) from emerging economies in 2018, the University of the Philippines (UP) is ranked 166th, a significant rise from last year’s 201st-250th ranking, based on the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. UP is now in the upper half of the top 378 HEIs from countries considered “advanced emerging”, “secondary emerging”, and “frontier” economies by the London-based global index provider, and which thus excluded HEIs from developed economies. THE Global Rankings Editorial Director Phil Baty announced UP’s ranking through a communication sent to the University. “Your institution’s place in this ranking of the best research-led universities among the emerging economy nations is a significant achievement,” he said, noting that THE considered institutions from 50 countries, with institutions from only 42 making it to the final 378. The “THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2018” used the same 13 performance indicators as the THE World University Ranking—where UP made it to the top 601-800—but recalibrated to better reflect the characteristics and development priorities of universities in emerging economies. “More weight is given, for example, to a university’s industry links and international outlook,” Baty said. (Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) The rankings can be viewed at https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/emerging-economies-university-rankings. Click here to view UP’s rank in 2018 THE Asia University Rankings released earlier this year: https://www.up.edu.ph/index.php/up-leaps-into-the-asias-top-200/. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-rises-in-world-ranking-for-medicine-dentistry-health-subjects/ | UP rises in world ranking for medicine, dentistry, & health subjects – University of the Philippines | UP rises in world ranking for medicine, dentistry, & health subjects UP rises in world ranking for medicine, dentistry, & health subjects November 8, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The University of the Philippines has gained recognition in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2019 as a top university for social sciences, life sciences, physical sciences; and for clinical, pre-clinical and health subjects, in which UP rose to the top 126-150 of 721 institutions from top 201-250 of 501 institutions in the 2018 edition of this ranking. UP obtained its best ranking in the clinical, pre-clinical and health subject for the second year in a row. The national university not only rocketed to the 126-150 band but it also placed 7th globally in terms of citations after earning a nearly perfect score of 98.8 points. This was an improvement of more than 10 points since the 2018 edition. The University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Harvard University which took the top three positions for the subject, scored 92.7, 87.4 and 88.5 points in citations, respectively. According to the THE rankings, the clinical, pre-clinical, and health subject ranking “highlights the universities that are leading in medicine, dentistry and health subjects.” Rankings data for University of the Philippines (Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings for UP, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-philippines) UP figured for the first time in the other subject rankings, earning a place in the 501-600 bracket of 751 universities in life sciences; in the 501-600 bracket of 666 universities in social sciences; and in the 801+ bracket of 963 universities in physical sciences. The THE World University Rankings by subject are based on the same range of 13 performance indicators used in the overall World University Rankings (WUR) 2019, where UP placed in the 501-600 bracket of the top 1,258 universities of the world, up from its 601-800 ranking in WUR 2018. The methodology is recalibrated for each subject to suit the individual fields. The UK-based THE World University Rankings, founded in 2004, provide a definitive list of the world’s best universities, evaluated across teaching, research, international outlook, reputation and other factors. Details of the subject rankings in which UP figured can be found at: Clinical, Pre-Clinical and Health Social Sciences Life Sciences Physical Sciences Related story: UP achieves big move in natural, social sciences in new subject rankings |
https://up.edu.ph/up-moves-up-in-asia-university-rankings/ | UP moves up in Asia university rankings – University of the Philippines | UP moves up in Asia university rankings UP moves up in Asia university rankings October 25, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Click to view the QS University Rankings: Asia 2019 The University of the Philippines (UP) now ranks 72nd among the top 500 universities in Asia, three notches higher than its previous ranking, and remains first in the Philippines, based on Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) reports released on October 23, 2018. The performance of UP in the 2019 rankings also establishes it among the top 15 percent of the more than 500 universities ranked, up from the top 20 percent stature in the past two years, according to the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2019 Top 500 fact file for UP. UP’s main strength in ranking high is its employer reputation, which ranks 33rd among the universities. Employer reputation is computed based on an annual QS survey, which gathered 43,000 responses from employers for this ranking year. Academic and Employer Reputation Scores: Asia, 2019 Source: University of the Philippines Fact File, QS World University Rankings: Asia 2019 Top 500. UP ranks 54th in academic reputation, based on 83,000 responses of academics; and 56th in international research network, based on Elsevier’s Scopus data and the Margalef Index. Ranks by Indicator: Asia, 2019 Source: University of the Philippines Fact File, QS World University Rankings: Asia 2019 Top 500. QS ranks the universities using scores in 11 weighted indicators: academic reputation (30%), employer reputation (20%), faculty-student ratio (10%), staff with PhD (5%), citations per paper (10%), papers per faculty member (5%), international research network (10%), international faculty and students (2.5% each), and inbound and outbound exchange students (2.5% each). UP’s highest score is in international research network, which is 88.2 points out of a hundred; followed by employer reputation at 82.5; and faculty-student ratio at 67.9. UP’s lowest score is in staff with PhD; then in international faculty and students, and exchange students; and papers per faculty. Underlying Data for Rankings Calculations Papers period: 2012-2016 | Citations period: 2012-2017 Source: University of the Philippines Fact File, QS World University Rankings: Asia 2019 Top 500. In the Philippines, UP is followed by Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and the University of Santo Tomas, which rank 115th, 155th, and 162nd, respectively. The Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology is the latest to figure in the rankings, joining Silliman University in the 451st-500th bracket. The University of San Carlos is in the 301st-350th bracket; and Mapua University at 401st-450th bracket. |
https://up.edu.ph/public-service-writing-fellowship-applications-extended/ | Public Service Writing Fellowship applications extended – University of the Philippines | Public Service Writing Fellowship applications extended Public Service Writing Fellowship applications extended October 2, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The Public Service Writing Fellowship aims to promote public service as a scholarly and interdisciplinary endeavor. This encourages university faculty and staff to contribute to the body of academic work which were developed from the various public service initiatives. One (1) fellow will be selected from each of the constituent university. The fellowship is open to all UP faculty, staff and REPS who wish to write and publish their experiences from the public service initiatives that they have undertaken. The deadline for submission of applications is on 12 October 2018. You may access the application package here: http://bit.ly/PSWF2. For inquiries, please contact Ms. Jeremi Elaijah M. Barretto at (02) 981-8630 or (02) 981-8500 loc 4256, or via email at padayon@up.edu.ph. |
https://up.edu.ph/upou-marks-23rd-year/ | UPOU marks 23rd year – University of the Philippines | UPOU marks 23rd year UPOU marks 23rd year March 20, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office “We are also here to guide the development of our students into becoming better human beings—using the best of their abilities with integrity, humility, conscientiousness, and compassion. In the end, these qualities will define how we have contributed to the development of our country, our people, and humanity—how we have made good on our commitment to serve.”—UP President Danilo Concepcion, in his anniversary message to UPOU (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) “Distance learning is the future of education.” This was the declaration of UP President Danilo L. Concepcion at UP Open University’s (UPOU) 23rd anniversary program at its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna on February 26. He also emphasized the importance of not only developing UP students through academic rigor but also of guiding them into becoming “better human beings—using the best of their abilities with integrity, humility, conscientiousness, and compassion.” These attributes, he said, will define how the University has contributed to the development of the Filipino people. In her message, UPOU Chancellor Melinda Bandalaria expressed confidence in how UPOU continues to adapt and even revolutionize its distinct form of education. “We can take on the challenges as we move forward,” she said. Authors of chapters in Assessment Praxis in Open and Distance eLearning: Thoughts and Practices in UPOU, which was launched during UPOU’s anniversary program (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The celebration featured the launch of three initiatives: the Universal and Inclusive Accessibility Program;the UPOU Internal Communication System; and, the UPOU Networks Mobile Application. The first program will encompass “all aspects of academic and administrative functions and services” of UPOU. It will be guided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Guidelines on the Inclusion of Learners with Disabilities in Open and Distance Learning. The second is the improvement of UPOU’s internal communication system that consists of integrated online solutions. The third program aims to enhance the accessibility of UPOU Networks—the online repository of learning materials it has produced in various media. Assessment Praxis in Open and Distance eLearning: Thoughts and Practices in UPOU was also launched at the program. It is an open resource book which can be accessed online via the UPOU Networks website. The Gawad Chancellor awardees with University officials: from left, UP Executive Vice President Teodoro Herbosa, UPOU Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Jean Saludadez, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Administrative Personnel (Second Level) awardee Pura Amoloza, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Administrative Personnel (First Level) awardee Gloria Boncodin, UP President Danilo Concepcion, UPOU Chancellor Melinda Bandalaria, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Research, Extension and Professional Staff (REPS) awardee Larry Cruz, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Faculty awardee Dr. Joane Serrano, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Melinda Lumanta, and UP Faculty Regent Patricia Arinto (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Another highlight of the anniversary celebration was the awarding of the Gawad Chancellor—an honor named after a UP constituent university’s highest official. The winners were: Gloria Boncodin, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Administrative Personnel (First Level); Pura Amoloza, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Administrative Personnel (Second Level); Larry Cruz, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Research, Extension and Professional Staff; and, Dr. Joane Serrano, Gawad Chancellor for Outstanding Faculty. UP President Danilo Concepcion (fifth from left) and Chancellor Melinda Bandalaria (to his left) pose for photos with representatives of some of UPOU’s partner institutions. From left, with plaques: Tuntungin-Putho Integrated National High School; Quezon Power Limited Co.; HealthServ Los Baños Medical Center; CoopHub; Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development; Municipal Government of Mauban, Quezon; Veterans Bank; Land Bank of the Philippines; Los Baños Doctors Hospital and Medical Center, Inc.; and Digital Freedom Network (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) It has been a UPOU tradition to recognize its partners in every anniversary program and this year was no exception. Its partner institutions for 2017 to 2018 are: National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Commission on Higher Education; Department of Information and Communication Technology; Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development; DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development; Department of Education-Quezon; Department of Education-Tuntungin-Putho Integrated National High School; Municipal Government of Mauban, Quezon; City Social Welfare & Development Office of Santiago City, Isabela; Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; Cebu Technological University; CoopHub; Digital Freedom Network; Health Serv Los Baños Medical Center; Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; LandBank of the Philippines; Los Baños Doctors Hospital and Medical Center, Inc.; PLDT; Quezon Power Limited Co.; UPOU Foundation, Inc.; and, Veterans Bank. (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo, UP MPRO) —- UPDATE as of 11 June 2018: UPOU has severed its affiliation with COOPHUB and OFW Credit Coop and has no joint program or course offerings with these organizations. UPOU did not also authorize Coophub’s and/or OFW Credit Coop’s use of the university’s name, logo and photos in their websites, social media pages, paraphernalia and marketing activities. View UPOU’s official statement here: https://www.upou.edu.ph/news-and-features/536-statement-on-the-use-of-upou-s-name-by-coophub-multimedia-services-coophub-and-ofw-credit-cooperative-ofw-credit-coop |
https://up.edu.ph/making-ripples-in-mauban/ | Making Ripples in Mauban – University of the Philippines | Making Ripples in Mauban Making Ripples in Mauban May 2, 2018 | Written by Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo Sometimes it doesn’t matter how small the stone is. What’s amazing is how the small ripples it creates become bigger and wider as they move farther away from where the stone was dropped in the water. That’s exactly what the Teacher Development Program (TDP) of the UP Open University (UPOU) has been doing in Mauban, Quezon since 2005. What started as a capacity-building program to help public elementary and high school teachers through training programs and scholarship grants has grown to include other sectors integral to the development of the municipality. Because of its impact, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has cited the TDP in a 2017 report as one of the good lifelong learning practices in Southeast Asia. Perfect timing It seemed like the stars had aligned for the creation of TDP. UPOU Chancellor Melinda Bandalaria, then the University Registrar, was actively seeking funding for scholarship programs for teachers when Quezon Power called for a proposal on a sustainable training program for teachers. Both institutions had what each other needed and with the added support of the local government, the Department of Education-Quezon, and UPOU Foundation Inc., the program was born. Bandalaria says it was a great opportunity “to test the private sector-government-academe partnership model” and to design a continuing professional development program that combined formal and non-formal courses to upgrade knowledge on subject areas, strengthen teaching skills, and allow the pursuit of advanced degrees. While things seemed to be in order for TDP’s roll-out, the program faced an enormous challenge outside its purview: its target participants were intimidated by the prospect of studying in UP. A tutorial class in 2007. (Photo from Luisa Gelisan, UPOU) Building confidence Mauban human resources head Conchita Mirabueno reveals that during the first phase of TDP, “There was a lot of apprehension because of the implementing school. They were so afraid they couldn’t meet the standards and requirements of UP.” This was also noted by Luisa Gelisan in a reflection paper she wrote on the TDP, which she has been a part of since its inception. This hurdle was overcome through the TDP’s encouragement, which built the scholars’ confidence and guidance on what a UPOU student’s life entails. As TDP continued, the number of eager applicants increased. They witnessed how it has helped not only in the professional development and promotion of their fellow teachers, but also in enhancing their capabilities to become more effective educators. Quezon Power even reports that the performance of Mauban schools with TDP scholar teachers improved in the national aptitude tests because of the program. Building the confidence of those pioneer scholars has, in turn, empowered those around them to also pursue self-improvement—whether as teachers, administrators, or students. Resources, adaptability, and evolution As with any program, funding is a consistent concern in implementation. For TDP, there have been highs, like national political support that expanded the program to the whole first district of Quezon, and lows, such as the withdrawal of local political support that left the TDP operating on half its needed budget. Through the lows, UPOU placed primary importance on the scholars and their need to be able to continue their studies. And these hurdles were overcome. This kind of institutional support is one of the reasons why TDP is continuing. Apart from finances, technology was also a challenge. It wasn’t possible for Mauban to simply adopt UPOU’s existing mode of education delivery at the onset because of Internet connectivity issues. The project team at UPOU acknowledges that while it couldn’t bring better ICT facilities to Mauban, it could still deliver what the scholars needed. Dialing down on the use of technology, UPOU adapted to the situation by scheduling face-to-face sessions, conducting pen-and-paper enrollment and examinations, and accepting hard copy submission of assignments, among others. But that was then. The ubiquity of ICT and its numerous possibilities for teaching and learning necessitated the inclusion of ICT training in TDP, not only to make the scholars more adept in using these technologies as UPOU students, but as educators who also need to provide a better learning environment for their students. Mirabueno shares the effort of a TDP graduate who “initiated the establishment of a Tablet Room” in his school, despite its having no Internet connectivity because it was located in a remote barangay. “He brings home the tablets to download the learning modules and the students access these materials in the Tablet Room. Learning has become more fun and engaging for the students. Plus, they become exposed to the use of ICT.” Today, an e-Learning Ville stands in Mauban, a center that caters to the ICT needs of the community, whether in the use of facilities or for ICT skills enhancement. UPOU partnered with then Quezon First District Representative Mark Enverga, PLDT, Intel Philippines, and the National Computer Center for its establishment. TDP now also includes a technology grant that provides scholars with netbooks and mobile broadband connection. (Photo from Luisa Gelisan, UPOU) Not just for teachers anymore In August 2017, the sixth phase of TDP was launched at UPOU, where it also presented its latest batch of scholars. It has been renamed TDP/Enhanced Continuing Education Program for Mauban or TDP/eCEP4Mauban because it now includes training programs for people in areas integral to the municipality’s development. Current and potential school administrators will have the opportunity to take part in leadership workshops. Other teachers who are not part of the scholarship program to earn advanced degrees can continue to participate in training programs that incorporate digital literacy as a necessary component of K-12 implementation. Disaster risk reduction and management is now part of its roster of training programs, which also widens the reach of the TDP beyond the education sector. With more than a hundred graduates and with its scholars moving up the professional ladder, the positive impact of TDP on Mauban’s education sector can’t be denied. But more than its direct effect on its participants are the ripples it makes across the greater community. Bandalaria relates she has seen the growth of Mauban into a learning community, and that is the TDP outcome she is most proud of—that it has gone beyond its primary audience. As for Gelisan, she adds that she is “proud that we are able to make UP education available and accessible to those who need it—no matter how far they are.” Mirabueno, who continues to see firsthand the impact of TDP on the municipality she serves, says, “It has transformed the lives of Maubanin—from the teacher-scholars to the students to the schools to the municipality.” |
https://up.edu.ph/upcis-marks-10-years-of-short-visit-program-with-japanese-universities/ | UPCIS marks 10 years of short-visit program with Japanese universities – University of the Philippines | UPCIS marks 10 years of short-visit program with Japanese universities UPCIS marks 10 years of short-visit program with Japanese universities April 16, 2019 | Posted by UP Media and Public Relations Office The University of the Philippines Diliman, through the UP Center for International Studies (UPCIS), marked this February ten years of a student-and-faculty short-visit program with Japanese universities by welcoming some 13 students and faculty from Ferris University and Yokohama National University (YNU), both located in the port city of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, and the Wayo Women’s University, located southeast of Tokyo. Two groups of students in UPCIS — the Asian Emporium (Southeast Asia 30) and the Japanese Culture and Society 1 (Japanese Studies 101) classes — welcomed the Japanese visitors on February 26, 2019 in a combined class session during which students from both countries made oral presentations on a contemporary issue of global importance. The visiting students were: Rika Yamamoto, Momoka Yamamoto and Hina Okubo (Ferris University); Miho Marutake, Ayumi Oguro, Zhong Liuyin, Liu Xiangfu, Cao Songwan, Pierre Kilele, Mika Kimura, Ayaka Iwasaki and Kiyoka Ebina (YNU); and Yukino Osada (Wayo Women’s University). Three of the students were Chinese and one was Congolese. Joint class discussions of SEA 30 and JS 101; together with students from Ferris University, Yokohama National University, and Wayo Women’s University at the U.P. Center for International Studies held on February 26, 2019. Accompanying them were Profs. Chiho Ogaya and Masako Suginohara of Ferris University; Profs. Hiromi Kabashima and Takaaki Kobayashi of YNU, and Prof. Yuji Kanamaru of Wayo Women’s University. The Japanese students talked about environmental awareness issues and student life in Japan, while their Filipino hosts discussed life as a UP student and Solid Waste Management practices in the Philippines. They later conducted small focus group discussions on specific topics earlier prepared in consultation with the two professors-in-charge and initiators of the short-visit program, Profs. Amparo Adelina Umali, III of UPCIS and Ogaya. The Japanese students tour the Diliman campus after discussions with UPCIS’ students. Standing from left to right: Prof. Wystan de la Peña, Rika Yamamoto, Prof. Amparo Adelina Umali, III, Prof. Masako Suginohara, Prof. Hiromi Kabashima, Mika Kimura, Liu Xiangfu, Zhong Liuyin, Miho Marutake, Ayaka Iwasaki, Pierre Kilele, Hina Okubo, and Yukino Osada. In November 19-29, 2018, five students from the Global Studies 197 (GS 197) Special Topics Course on Japanese Traditional Performance Practice (JTPP), a class offered at the UPCIS, visited Yokohama and Tokyo to participate in the 3rd Ferris University Short Stay Visit/Exchange Program. The students were: Timothy Earl Castillon (BS Public Administration), Nikki Rae Rallos (BS Food Technology), Leo Niel Jasper Sese (BA European Languages), Crizel Ruth Ghelmae Ricaro, (BS Food Technology), and Alanis Zeta (B Fine Arts). Accompanying them were UPCIS staff Maria Fe Lafuente and UPCIS lecturer and Noh Theater Ensemble founding member Danielle Naomi Uy. Uy, an MS Human Movement Science student and currently a PE teacher in the university, studied Noh intensively for three months and performed at the Nagoya Noh Theatre for her recital as a recipient of the East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Programme: Invitation Programme for Creators (2007/2008) through the Government of Japan and the Japan Foundation. She also received a one-year grant from the student exchange program (2008/2009) of the UP System, which allowed her to study Nihongo and Japanese culture at Kyushu University while pursuing Noh training with Noh Grand Master Shigeji Omura. The visiting students from UPCIS were recipients of the Japan’s Ministry of Education Culture and Science’s Japan Student Services (JASSO) Short Stay Scholarship for International Students, which allows student-participants to join discussions, attend lectures by professors, and visit remarkable Japanese sites. Ogaya and Umali served as faculty advisers of the program. Umali is a Japanese literature and traditional theater performance scholar who obtained her PhD from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. She is also the UPCIS Coordinator for East and Southeast Asian Studies and the founder and artistic director of two UP-based Japanese theater performance groups, the UPCIS Noh Ensemble and the UPCIS Bunraku Ensemble. Noh is an ancient elite theater tradition in Japan that developed in the 14th century and Bunraku is the traditional puppet theater that began in the 17th century. Ogaya is a Ferris University-based sociologist who does research work on Japanese-Filipino families and Filipino OFWs in Japan. She was a faculty of the YNU when she and Umali started the short-visit program in 2009. The two started the program in 2009, during the terms of Prof. Cynthia Neri Zayas as UPCIS officer-in-charge, Dr. Sergio Cao as UP Diliman Chancellor under whose office the UPCIS is attached, and now professor emerita Emerlinda Roman as UP President. Two years later, UPCIS students received funding from JASSO to travel to Japan and visit YNU. Ferris University faculty and students welcome to Yokohama the UPCIS delegation recipients of 2018 edition of the short-stay program. Standing, from left to right: Prof. Hiroshi Onishi, Moe Arai, Prof. Chiho Ogaya, Kaoru Arai (Ferris University); Maria Fe Lafuente (UP Diliman), Yoichi Imafuku, and staffs of International Center of Ferris University, and Prof. Amparo Adelina Umali, III (UP Diliman); Kneeling, from left to right: Erina Asano (Ferris University), Crizel Ruth Ghelmae Ricaro, Leo Niel Jasper Sese, Timothy Earl Castillon, Alanis Zeta, Nikki Rae Rallos, and Danielle Naomi Uy (UP DIliman). Yokohama National University faculty and students welcome UPCIS students, faculty and staff at the entrance of YNU during the short-stay program in November 2018. Standing, from left to right: Prof. Amparo Adelina Umali, III, Alanis Zeta, Timothy Earl Castillon, Crizel Ruth Ghelmae Ricaro (UP Diliman), and Peng Bo (YNU); Kneeling, from left to right: Nikki Rae Rallos, Maria Fe Lafuente, Leo Niel Jasper Sese, Danielle Naomi Uy (UP Diliman,) and Shi Xiaoyu, Feng Xiaomei, Prof. Takaaki Kobayashi, Keishun Sakamoto, and Kiyoka Ebina (YNU). In AY 2018-2019, the UPCIS welcomed Haruna Sorita and Chihiro Kawasaki, the first exchange students from YNU to study in UP Diliman. The first two Japanese exchange students to get hosted by UPCIS under the short-stay program, Chihiro Kawasaki and Haruna Sorita (second and third from left, respectively), are welcomed to UP by (from left to right): UPCIS Director Prof. Sarah Jane Raymundo, Prof. Amparo Adelina Umali, III, UPCIS administrative aide Melvin Mabini, UPCIS Extension Associate Alyssa Silvano, and (seated) Prof. Raymond Macapagal. The short-visit program has been implemented with assistance from JASSO and, occasionally, of the UP Mobility for Vigor and Excellence (MOVE-UP) Short Stay Scholarship for International Students. The funding has enabled members of the UPCIS Noh Ensemble and the UPCIS Bunraku Ensemble — mostly students from the UPCIS-offered Japanese Traditional Performance Practice class — to come to Japan every November and have hands-on training sessions with grand masters of Noh in Tokyo and women Bunraku culture bearers in Naoshima. The program also allowed discussions in classroom settings with students from YNU and Ferris University on different relevant contemporary issues and showcase their Noh and Bunraku skills to their Japanese counterparts. The training sessions were instrumental in preparing UPCIS Noh Ensemble and the UPCIS Bunraku Ensemble to stage in 2016 the Shinsaku Noh Play (new Noh play) “Cedula sa BGC” directed by Umali. Japanese Noh Grandmasters who trained ensemble members were Naohiko Umewaka (shite), Jiro Fujita and Youji Isso (fue), Shunichiro Hisada (kotsuzumi) and Shigeji Omura (otsuzumi). The short-stay program has had different offshoots through the years. Two students have been invited to train in Noh for a longer period in Japan. Margie Tamayao, a BS Statistics major, the second student to receive Noh training for a longer period, returned in 2018 from a one-year UP student exchange program which allowed her to study Noh, Nihongo, and even take Statistics classes at Tsuda University. Prof. Wystan de la Peña, a UPCIS faculty affiliate and former chair of the Department of European Languages at the College of Arts and Letters, was invited to deliver a lecture in 2017 before faculty and students of YNU and Ferris University on Filipino ilustrados who had come to Yokohama. Prof. Hiroshi Onishi, a historian based at Ferris University, came to Manila in 2018 together with Prof. Ryoju Sakurai of Reitaku University for a research tour. UPCIS faculty accompanied them in their visits to the UP Main Library, the Ateneo de Manila University’s Rizal Library, the Philippine National Library, and the Filipinas Heritage Library of Ayala Museum and other historical sites and institutions such as the Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base, Libingan ng mga Bayani and the Manila American Cemetery. Onishi, a Yokohama historian, researches about the 19th century revolutionary general Artemio Ricarte (1866-1945), who exiled himself to Japan after refusing to swear allegiance to the American colonial government. The academic collaboration resulting from the short-visit program also produced the first joint UP-Ferris University panel presented at the 4th Philippine Studies Conference in Japan, held in Hiroshima in November 2018. The joint UPCIS-Ferris University panel at the 4th Philippine Studies Conference in Japan at Hiroshima University pose at the end of their presentations. From left to right: Prof. Hiroshi Onishi (Ferris University), Profs. Wystan de la Peña and Amparo Adelina Umali, III (UP Diliman). In the conference, Umali, Onishi, and de la Peña presented papers about Ricarte and Mariano Ponce (1863-1918), two Filipino historical figures who lived for a time in Yokohama. A bilingual edition (Filipino-Japanese) of the letters of Ponce to Japanese officials while he was stationed in Yokohama as Emilio Aguinaldo’s diplomatic representative in 1898-1899 has been proposed to be the next collaborative project between the two universities. |
https://up.edu.ph/intl-conference-on-area-studies-and-the-study-of-politics-in-asia-held-in-upd/ | Int’l Conference on Area Studies and the Study of Politics in Asia held in UPD – University of the Philippines | Int’l Conference on Area Studies and the Study of Politics in Asia held in UPD Int’l Conference on Area Studies and the Study of Politics in Asia held in UPD December 7, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The Asian Politics & Policy, University of the Philippines Department of Political Science, UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) Program on Strategic Studies, and UP CIDS Program on Social and Political Change hosted an international conference on November 28-29, 2017 at the GT Toyota Asian Cultural Center in UP Diliman, Quezon City. Photo by El Bacani, UP MPRO The event, “Conference on Area Studies and the Study of Politics and Policy in Asia”, featured paper presentations and discussions on populism, public policy and accountability, international relations, migration, civil rights, and related issues faced by the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and other countries. The keynote address for the conference was delivered by Dr. Vinod Thomas, Special Adviser to the President and Dean of the Asian Institute of Management. He is also a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore. Previously, he worked for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Photo by El Bacani, UP MPRO Participants in the two-day conference were researchers and faculty from: UP Diliman, UP Manila, De La Salle University (Metro Manila), Saint Louis University (Baguio City), University of San Carlos (Cebu City), Ateneo de Davao University (Davao City), University of Washington (Seattle), Thammasat University (Bangkok), Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Bangladesh), Metropolitan University, University of Sydney, and Universitas Indonesia. (Fred Dabu, UP MPRO) Click here for more photos of the event. |
https://up.edu.ph/3rd-katipunan-conference-the-philippine-strategic-outlook-2018-2019-on-27-28-feb/ | 3rd Katipunan Conference: The Philippine Strategic Outlook 2018-2019 on 27-28 Feb – University of the Philippines | 3rd Katipunan Conference: The Philippine Strategic Outlook 2018-2019 on 27-28 Feb 3rd Katipunan Conference: The Philippine Strategic Outlook 2018-2019 on 27-28 Feb February 13, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The Strategic Studies Program (SSP) of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS), in partnership with the Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (IMLOS) is hosting the 3rd Katipunan Conference: The Philippine Strategic Outlook 2018 – 2019 on February 27 – 28, 2018 (Tuesday 8:30 – 5:00 & Wednesday 8:30 – 12:00) at the Law Center, University of the Philippines, Osmena Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101. About the Conference Launched in 2015 as a platform for discussing current and emerging issues that impact Philippine foreign policy and undertake a strategic scan of the international environment from multiple perspectives to produce practical and informed policy opinions and decision-making aids for government agencies and officials. It also is a venue where scholars and practitioners can engage in meaningful dialogue about pressing strategic issues facing the country. This event is open to the public but slots are limited. Please register at https://goo.gl/forms/DuuytDbZxowogRkb2 Registration closes on Friday, February 23, 2018. For more details visit the CIDS website at cids.up.edu.ph For inquiries please email ssp.cids@up.edu.ph Click here for the conference program. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-cids-unesco-offer-most-academy-on-march-21-22/ | UP CIDS, UNESCO offer MOST Academy on March 21-22 – University of the Philippines | UP CIDS, UNESCO offer MOST Academy on March 21-22 UP CIDS, UNESCO offer MOST Academy on March 21-22 March 20, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS), in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Philippine National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM PH), will be holding the UNESCO Management for Social Transformation (MOST) Academy on Inclusive Policy and Valorization of Knowledge on March 21 to 22, 2018 at Brentwood Suites, Quezon City. The UNESCO MOST Academy is a 2-day training-workshop which aims to strengthen the competence for evidence-informed decision making of UNESCO Member States. It serves as the culminating activity of a 6-month research project by the UP CIDS and UNESCO entitled “Valorization of Research and Evidence on Inclusive Social Development to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the Philippines”. This project aims to promote the principle of social inclusion with a particular focus on increasing access to healthcare by addressing the shortage of primary care workforce. It includes a research of programs that address the shortage of health workforce and a training-workshop to enhance valorization of research and evidence for social inclusion. The project likewise serves as a space for NGA-CSO interaction/collaboration. For more information and other related inquiries, please contact Nikka Garriga of the UPCIDS-UNESCO Project on Social Inclusion at upcids.unesco@gmail.com or via mobile at 0966 168 1343. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-cids-holds-public-lecture-on-the-need-for-nuclear-energy/ | UP CIDS holds public lecture on the need for nuclear energy – University of the Philippines | UP CIDS holds public lecture on the need for nuclear energy UP CIDS holds public lecture on the need for nuclear energy January 17, 2019 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office The Program on Social and Political Change and the Strategic Studies Program, together with the UP Department of Political Science, are co-organizing a public forum “Why We need Nuclear Energy” by Michael Shellenberger, President, Environmental Progress on Friday, 25 January 2019 at 1:00 – 3:00 PM at the Institute of Biology Auditorium. In this provocative talk, Michael Shellenberger, a Time Magazine “Hero of the Environment,” award-winning author, and lifelong peace and environmental activist, will make the case for why we need nuclear energy to lift people out of poverty and protect the natural environment. Island nations like the Philippines, which imports 90 percent of its energy, need nuclear energy most of all. Nuclear can create thousands of high-paying jobs and save billions spent importing coal, oil, and natural gas. Renewables like solar and wind are too expensive, unreliable and require too much land. What’s standing in the way? Irrational fears. While it may sound shocking, nuclear energy is the safest way to make electricity. The reason? It produces no deadly smoke. While people were scared of Fukushima and other accidents, the only harm was from panic, not radiation, which proves that our fears of nuclear are more dangerous than the technology. Around the world, from the United States and Europe to South Korea and Taiwan, people are overcoming their fears and voting to re-start their nuclear plants — for economic and environmental reasons. What does this mean for Philippines, which already has a fully-built nuclear plant that it is too afraid to open? Come to the talk to learn more. Shellenberger’s presentation will be followed by commentaries from Dr. Fabian M. Dayrit, Professor of Chemistry from the Ateneo de Manila University and Engr. Roberto Verzola, President of the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology. Michael Shellenberger’s profile can be found here. Joining as discussants are Fabian Dayrit, RCh, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, Ateneo de Manila University and Roberto Verzola, President, Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-holds-107th-general-commencement-exercises/ | IN PHOTOS: UP Diliman holds 107th General Commencement Exercises – University of the Philippines | IN PHOTOS: UP Diliman holds 107th General Commencement Exercises IN PHOTOS: UP Diliman holds 107th General Commencement Exercises June 26, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office UP Diliman candidates for graduation and their families and friends, UP officials and most respected faculty members, and guests from the diplomatic corps attend the University’s 107th commencement exercises on June 24, 2018 morning, at the UP Diliman Amphitheater, Quezon City. Sen. Loren Legarda receives an honorary Doctor of Laws and delivers the commencement speech for UP Diliman’s 4,600 candidates for graduation, 3,576 with baccalaureate degrees and 1,042 with graduate diploma, masteral, and doctoral degrees. China Marie Giuliani Gabriel, candidate for BA Broadcast Communication, summa cum laude, gives the valedictory address. The marches were accompanied by the UP ROTC Band, and intermission numbers provided by the UP Concert Chorus, Triple Fret, and Froilan Canlas. (Jo. Lontoc, UP MPRO) UP Diliman’s Oblation with a Sablay (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The candidates for graduation remain standing after the processional, their friends and families anticipating the start of ceremonies. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP Board of Regents Chair J. Prospero de Vera, Member Ann Hofer, and Co-Chair Danilo Concepcion take turns vesting Sen. Loren Legarda with honorific regalia. (Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO) The UP Concert Chorus accompanied by Triple Fret sings “Awit ng Kabataan.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Candidates for graduation from the College of Law wear uniform sombreros. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) National Artists from the University, professors emeriti, and other senior faculty members take their seats early on in the program. (Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO) The UP ROTC Band on the Quezon Hall Bridge (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The candidates for graduation with their families and friends anticipating the start of ceremonies. (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan welcomes the candidates for graduation, their guests, and the University’s guests. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan welcomes the candidates for graduation, their guests, and the University’s guests. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Sen. Loren Legarda, the UP Board of Regents, and UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan face the candidates for graduation while the citation is read. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Sen. Loren Legarda and the UP Board of Regents face the candidates for graduation while the citation is read. (Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO) Sen. Loren Legarda is conferred a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by the University as led by the Board of Regents. With them are UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan, who nominated her, and Legarda’s father Antonio Cabrera Legarda. (Photos by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO) Sen. Loren Legarda is congratulated by her father after she receives the honorary Doctor of Laws. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) A somber moment during Sen. Loren Legarda’s commencement speech (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) A light moment during Sen. Loren Legarda’s commencement speech (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Candidates for graduation cheer their college’s top academic honorees. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Candidates for graduation from the College of Mass Communication hold up uniform sunflower umbrellas. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The bearers of the University and national colors (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP President Danilo Concepcion takes a look at the candidates for graduation before conferring upon them their degrees. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Candidates for graduation symbolically receive their degrees from President Danilo Concepcion by shifting the Sablay from the right shoulder to the left. (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The rows of UP’s new graduates turn into a sea of umbrellas as the sun rises to late morning. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) China Marie Giuliani Gabriel, summa cum laude, from the College of Mass Communication wraps up her valedictory address. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UP Diliman’s new graduates sing the University Hymn. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Master of ceremonies Prof. Maria Rosel San Pascual and Prof. Oscar Serquiña Jr., with program managers in the background (Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO) The University’s top governing body as they sing “UP Naming Mahal” at the end of the ceremonies. (Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/1086-graduate-from-upv/ | IN PHOTOS: 1,086 graduate from UPV – University of the Philippines | IN PHOTOS: 1,086 graduate from UPV IN PHOTOS: 1,086 graduate from UPV June 28, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office UP Visayas (UPV) conferred degrees upon 1,086 graduates this year in two commencement exercises. The first was in Miagao, Iloilo where 840 graduates from the Miagao and Iloilo City campuses received their degrees on June 22. The second was on June 26 in Tacloban, Leyte, where UPV Tacloban College (UPVTC) graduates numbered 246. Ma. Sheena Escordial led the UPV Class of 2018. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics. In UPVTC, the college valedictorian was Kim Limosnero, who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy, magna cum laude. UP alumnus, former Senate President, and Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. Chairman Manuel Villar addressed the graduates in the Miagao campus ceremonies, while UPVTC’s commencement speaker was UP alumna and San Miguel Brewery Inc. Vice President and National Sales Manager Debbie Namalata. (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo, UP MPRO) The UP Visayas Covered Court in the Miagao campus is all decked out for the commencement exercises. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Soon-to-be grads at the Iloilo City campus prep for the graduation ceremonies. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) People love taking photos with the sunflowers in Miagao, too. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) A rainbow-colored fan keeps this future grad cool under the mid-afternoon sun. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Fixing a fellow Iska’s UP Sablay (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The processional hasn’t started yet but someone’s already waiting to give this bouquet to a graduate. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Kids watch the processional from the sidelines. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) UPV Chancellor Ricardo Babaran introduces the commencement speaker, UP alumnus, former Senate President, Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. Chairman Manuel Villar. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) “Public service is not exclusive to politics and government service,” says Villar, adding that entrepreneurship is also a form of service. One piece of advice from him: “Embrace challenges and erase the idea of giving up.” (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Waiting to be presented as candidates for graduation (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) That moment of relief, happiness, and pride as they shift their UP Sablay from right to left, indicating that they have indeed graduated and earned their degrees. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque, representing UP President Danilo Concepcion, looks at the approaching graduate with her diploma in his hand. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Showing their diploma folders proudly (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The distribution of diplomas continues well into the night. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Clockwise from top: UPV summa cum laude graduate Ma. Sheena Escordial reminisces about her stay in UPV and thanks all who have helped her along the way; seated with her fellow honor graduates, Celine Whayne Dusaban (BS Economics, magna cum laude) and Maynard Vargas (BS Computer Science, magna cum laude); and receiving the President’s Medallion with her parents. (Photos by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The graduates pledge their loyalty to UP. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The University Hymn, “UP Naming Mahal,” serves as the backdrop of lightning rallies during commencement exercises. It is no different in UPV. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The exit of colors by the UP Rayadillo signal the start of the recessional. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) The end of the formal ceremonies allows the graduates to let loose with wacky poses. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) |
https://up.edu.ph/kudos-and-daghang-salamat-up-mindanao-class-of-2018/ | Kudos and daghang salamat, UP Mindanao Class of 2018 – University of the Philippines | Kudos and daghang salamat, UP Mindanao Class of 2018 Kudos and daghang salamat, UP Mindanao Class of 2018 July 5, 2018 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The University of the Philippines in Mindanao saw its biggest batch of graduates so far at its 21st Commencement Exercises, held on June 26, 2018 at the Atrium of the Administration Building in Mintal, Davao City. UP Mindanao Class of 2018 numbered 250, and produced eight magna cum laudes, including valedictory speaker and BS Computer Science graduate Cherrie Me Andrea E. Sun, and 59 cum laude graduates. This brings UP Mindanao’s total number of graduates to date to 3,072, according to Chancellor Sylvia B. Concepcion. In her message, the chancellor reminded this year’s crop of iskolar ng bayan: “It is your turn to pay forward through service to the Filipino people.” She added that the graduates, through their own example and exemplary practice, should “strengthen the belief among fellow Mindanawons that it is in quality education in UP Mindanao that the true path to a state of empowerment can be discerned.” (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP officials and faculty led by President Danilo Concepcion (Photo by Rene Estremera, UP Mindanao) Joining the graduates was Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, who was conferred a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, by UP President Danilo Concepcion at the event. Secretary de la Peña was UP System vice-president for Planning and Development when the original committee was constituted in August 1994 to study the feasibility of establishing a UP campus in Mindanao. Dela Peña was a member of that committee. In his commencement address, he regaled the audience with his recollections of UP Mindanao’s history. He recalled how then UP President Emil Q. Javier and Davao Congressman Elias Lopez pushed for the bill to establish UP Mindanao, leading to the signing of Republic Act 7889, formally creating UP Mindanao on February 20, 1995. Sec. de la Peña also reminisced about having his picture taken with the first student dormers in UP Mindanao, UP Mindanao’s first commencement exercise in 1997 held for its first batch of Master of Management and Master of Urban and Regional Planning graduates, and the Bago Oshiro campus which had been part of the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the present campus in Tugbok, previously occupied by the 52nd Engineering Brigade of the AFP. He gave credit to the UP alumni of Davao who were instrumental in the establishment of UP’s sixth campus and who also established the UP Mindanao Foundation, Inc.; as well as to UP Mindanao’s pioneering faculty, including its first Chancellor Rogelio Cuyno, Prof. Marcy Dans Lee, Dr. Dulce Flores who established UP Mindanao’s Food Technology program, and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Nilo Oponda. Finally, Sec. de la Peña also cited several prominent products of UP Mindanao, including Palanca awardee Errol A. Merquita, Davao City Counselor Antoinette Principe, doctorate degree-holder in Mathematics and UP Mindanao faculty member, Dr. Ritchie May Gamot, DOST Region XI Director Anthony Sales, and DOST Director in Compostela Valley Kenneth Barroga. DOST Sec. Fortunato T. de la Peña is conferred a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, by UP President Danilo Concepcion, with UP Regents Angelo Jimenez (standing, extreme left, with sash) and Francis Laurel (front, 2nd from right), and UP Mindanao Chancellor Sylvia Concepcion assisting. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Aside from recalling UP Mindanao’s history, Sec. de la Peña also shared his own experiences as a fresh UP Chemical Engineering graduate starting out in the world to work. He passed on some lessons he learned from his experiences. First, if you’ve found the job you want to do or need to shift careers, it is best to do it before the age of 30. Second, be clear about your definition of success. And third, if the opportunity to do what you love presents itself—no matter how challenging it may seem at first—always say yes. Finally, Sec. de la Peña also briefly described the current national administration’s thrusts toward promoting science and technology and the DOST’s programs, all of which aim to reduce inequality at every level, and to create new opportunities, whether in technopreneurship, capacity-building, or through DOST scholarships. BS Computer Science, magna cum laude, graduate and recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal for Academic Excellence Cherrie Mae Andrea E. Sun speaks in behalf of Class 2018. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Cherrie Me Andrea E. Sun, who received the Chancellor’s Medal for Academic Excellence, urged her fellow graduates to continue to uphold what it means to be an iskolar ng bayan. “As iskolar ng bayan, we should go the extra mile. No matter where you are in life by that time—be it the manager of a big company, a village doctor, a volunteer or a government officer—remember our calling. Remember our mission. More than collecting memories that will put a smile on your face, use your abilities, serve the people, in order to collect the memories of the smiling faces of your countrymen. And we can do it together.” (Celeste Llaneta, UP MPRO) UP and UP Mindanao officials onstage following the processional, with commencement speaker and DOST Fortunato de la Peña in black toga in the middle, and UP President Danilo Concepcion to his right. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UP Mindanao Chancellor Sylvia B. Concepcion addressing the graduates. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) DOST Fortunato de la Peña delivering his commencement address. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) The UPMin graduates during DOST Fortunato de la Peña’s commencement address. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) After UP President Concepcion officially conferred the degrees of Class 2018, the jubilant graduates shift their sablays from the right shoulder to the left. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) UPMin graduates march onto the stage after Sun’s speech on behalf of Class 2018 to deliver a politically-charged message to their batchmates and the world. (Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO) Graduates, families, and faculty at the end of the 21st Commencement Exercises (Photo by Rene Estremera, UP Mindanao) |
https://up.edu.ph/unboxing-the-rxbox/ | Unboxing the RxBox – University of the Philippines | Unboxing the RxBox Unboxing the RxBox September 5, 2017 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc In the UP Diliman infirmary, an annual physical exam means you go for the required tests from one department to another, falling in line for each test. Then you wait hours or days, going back to the same venues, for the results, before being finally ready for a doctor’s assessment of your general state of health. The process is stressful and drawn out, but you’re more or less assured that all bases are covered. In a rural health facility, the situation is worse. All the equipment it will most likely have will be thermometers, stethoscopes, sphygmomanometers, weighing scales, and for expectant mothers, speculums. The staff can tell you if you have fever, the state of your heartbeat, your blood pressure, your weight. If you’re expecting, they’ll tell you if the baby’s heartbeat is OK, and if you’re close to giving birth. But don’t expect to get exact figures about a whole lot of other important things. They can only estimate the level of oxygen in your blood, which helps detect lung and cardiovascular problems. The staff will have difficulty measuring the fetus’s heart rate at critical times of the pregnancy and delivery, and the strength of a mother’s uterine contractions during labor and delivery, which indicates distress of the mother and the baby. For such exact measurements, you would have to go to a better-equipped polyclinic in town, which is probably half a day’s travel away for most Filipinos. That’s why the RxBox is a game-changer. It’s a life-saving invention of UP, in a box which combines several diagnostic devices for common medical problems, computerizing results, and electronically transmitting data. The writer is fitted with a pulse oximeter and blood pressure monitor, as Dr. Alvin Marcelo, former director of the National Telehealth Center, and Dr. Portia Grace Marcelo, RxBox project leader, explain how the setup works, during the UP Knowledge Festival in April 2016. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO) Doctors, health workers, physicists, computer scientists, and electrical and electronics engineers helped put this box together. This handheld machine has a blood pressure monitor, a pulse oximeter, an electrocardiogram (ECG), a fetal heart monitor and a maternal tocometer with fetal movement marker, and a temperature sensor—all built around a touch-screen tablet. Because it’s modular, it can be integrated with more devices in the future. The RxBox can make many measurements in one sitting and can transmit them as a mobile and Internet device. Where there might be no doctors present, the health worker can make the measurements and send the results via telemedicine to a doctor who can respond immediately on remote. The potentials for faster and cheaper health services are obvious. The tablet stores and transmits not only diagnostic results, but electronic medical records as well. With CHITS or the Community Health Information Tracking System—another homegrown and prizewinning UP Manila technological breakthrough—health workers need not pore over paper files to get to patients’ medical records. You give all public health facilities mobile or Internet access and this device, and public health recording goes automatic. For this purpose, the configuration of the CHITS data sets has been aligned with the datasets of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). Organized mass-based data will improve public health policy and planning. The tablet also has built-in data to help users make sense of measurements, which makes it useful as a medical training device. Telehealth involves the patient being attended to by the health worker, the worker referring his or her case to doctors and institutions, and the encoding of data for public health information and planning, all using networked devices. Through the leadership of UP’s National Telehealth Center (NTHC), telehealth has been a pillar in the modernization of the country’s health care system since 2004. Foremost among its tools is the RxBox. “When you think about telehealth and telemedicine, think about a long-running health program that is likewise research and service by the University. It’s continually being improved with technologies being tested with the people—frontline health workers—so that we can find the best ways to improve access to health care and achieve better equity in health,” says Dr. Portia Marcelo, lead RxBox investigator. The RxBox was originally conceptualized for emergency cases at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). The idea was for the first responders to be able to provide the hospital staff real-time information on the clinical status of the patient before he or she arrived at the hospital—alerting the staff to the personnel and equipment needed. RxBox Program in Cabucgayan, Biliran in the Philippines (Photo from telehealth.ph) The RxBox prototype was conceptualized as early as 2007 by Dr. Alvin Marcelo, then NTHC director, and Dr. Luis Sison of the UP Diliman College of Engineering. It is one of the first “emerging disciplines” projects of UP to have reached national policy levels. Beginning from scratch, the device, CHITS, and telehealth underwent several iterations or versions through the years. Deployment to 169 rural health units refined the RxBox to its current design. The RxBox now enables the National Telehealth Service Program (NTSP) being directed by a National E-Health Steering Committee, which was formed as part of UP’s advocacy for governance of e-health initiatives in the country. Led by the DOH and the Department of Science and Technology, with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Commission on Higher Education, PhilHealth, and UP Manila, the committee is bent on scaling up the deployment of RxBox under the NTSP. “The RxBox 1,000 project has been launched and will deploy these technologies to a thousand of the country’s 3,500 towns. The poorest of the poor municipalities are our priority,” Dr. Portia Marcelo says. With widespread use and confidence, bigger demand is expected. Making an industry out of the RxBox will no longer be far-fetched. The manufacture of a thousand units in one go, for full deployment early next year, will be proof of the viability of commercialization. This could be the country’s gift of innovation for national industrialization, and health care in the world, according to Marcelo. And as a UP product, RxBox emerged out of UP’s mandate to serve the country’s poor and underserved masses, which is perhaps its greatest value added. |
https://up.edu.ph/the-up-forum-roundtable-discussion-public-service-in-higher-education/ | The UP Forum Roundtable Discussion: Public Service in Higher Education – University of the Philippines | The UP Forum Roundtable Discussion: Public Service in Higher Education The UP Forum Roundtable Discussion: Public Service in Higher Education March 29, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Raul G. Bradecina, Ph.D. SUC President III Partido State University Camarines Sur The University of the Philippines is succeeding in making public service an essential part of the higher education program. For Partido State University, the public service arm of UP has enabled a budding and growing University to access UP’s expertise to capacitate its faculty members as well as help enhance PSU students’ competency in highly technical courses where faculty members having advanced degrees are lacking or inadequate. For instance, UP has been consistently sending its experts from the National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS) to conduct lectures for our geology students. UP has assisted PSU in forging research collaborative ties with research institutions here and abroad. True to its mission of shaping the minds that shape the nation, its faculty members, in their personal capacity, have shared opportunities for collaborative research engagements with budding researchers of PSU. The efforts of scientists and professors of UP Visayas and UP Los Banos to motivate, mentor and link PSU faculty researchers to their networks of research institutions and organizations not only boost our faculty members’ confidence but also improve our institutional capacity for research and development. UP helps small and growing higher education institutions (HEIs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs) like PSU to accelerate their development as an institution of higher learning. It sends its curriculum and disciplinary experts to help PSU redesign its curriculums to achieve outcomes-based education (OBE) and develop demonstrable student competencies. HEIs and SUCs like PSU gain many opportunities from UP public service. First, it informs SUCs of UP services and resources that can be accessed. Second, it provides assistance to its clientele in accessing services and resources to the fullest. Third, it provides advice on how clientele SUCs could maximize the benefits in terms of capacitating and developing them for opportunities accessed. HEIs or SUCs can gain both opportunities in research, extension and instruction capacity development and related resources to support and sustain their growth. The networks and linkages that UP has developed and nurtured over the years are being offered to SUCs and HEIs so that they too, like PSU, could be mainstreamed to the global networks of academic institutions, gain insight from the experience and grow. Collaborating with UP through its public service program helps PSU financially through partnering and sharing of resources in implementing academic-related activities. Because it has its own budget for public service, UP shoulders its own expenses in joint engagements, thus greatly reducing the expenditure of partner SUCs in implementing such activities mutually agreed by UP and PSU. We suggest that UP should scale up its public service program in assisting HEIs and SUCs in the provinces. Also, there is a need for increased budget for its public service program for UP to fully implement activities that will further help strengthen higher education programs in the country. Dr. Amihan April M. Alcazar National President Philippine Association of Extension Program Implementers, Inc. (PAEPI) University President, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig The Philippine Association of Extension Program Implementers, Inc. (PAEPI) is a non-stock, non-profit organization whose aim is to make extension on the same level of professional practice as teaching and research in the country’s colleges and universities. Its vision is to elevate the level of the discipline to make it an effective means of social and individual transformation. To that end, PAEPI organizes capability training conventions, where paper presentations are made and is in the process of compiling those inputs into a professional journal. The country is still in the process of making public service an essential part of higher education. With the impact of K-12, professors can now be involved in extension and public service activities during the transition period from 2016-2018. The constraints are institutional in nature, as every higher educational institution has different policies governing the conduct of extension and public service programs. The suggestion made to the Commission on Higher Education during the Extension Conference in 2015, was to institutionalize the framework for the policies governing extension programs. Opportunities are now available because of the Commission on Higher Education K-12 Transition Program which includes funds for innovation. These funds should be applied for and accessed by higher educational institutions so that extension and public service programs can be conducted during the transition period. |
https://up.edu.ph/the-up-forum-roundtable-discussion-health-wellness-and-heritage/ | THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE – University of the Philippines | THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE July 25, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Question: Why are health and wellness important in a university setting? What are the major health and wellness issues being faced by the system or by your constituent university or campus? What steps are being taken at your level to address these concerns? What more do you think can or should be done to improve health and wellness on campus? Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa Executive Vice President UP System Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa Executive Vice President UP System The University is where one increases his or her knowledge on subjects of higher education, whether in the creative arts or in science and innovation technologies. The power of the intellect cannot be separated from the well-functioning bodily systems. For the mind to function efficiently, all body systems must be functioning at their peak and efficiently. The health and wellness of the students, faculty and staff cannot be relegated to a lower priority. Health is a state free from illness and wellness is the level of functioning of the body, mind, and spirit. On our UP Manila campus, we suffer from the physical lack of spaces in which one can walk, jog, or exercise with clean air. The campus has become congested as many units have been crammed into a limited land area. Aside from these physical deficiencies, the area around Taft Avenue is filled with polluted air from the exhaust of jeepneys and buses that traverse the front of UP Manila. Healthy environments need to be created for the students and faculty with proper solid waste management including rodent and vector control, healthy meals, food safety, air quality, and ample open spaces with plenty of trees to create a healthy environment for both body and soul. UP Manila is a no smoking campus. Programs for smoking cessation also need to be implemented. On campuses as big as UP Diliman, road safety also needs to be addressed. Lastly, we want a university that is free from illegal drugs and substances. When I was a visiting professor in Malaysia, their faculty center had a proper gym and across their campus was a huge park and football field. Time was allotted for exercise and it was considered official time. |
https://up.edu.ph/the-up-forum-roundtable-discussion-health-wellness-and-heritage-2/ | THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION : HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE – University of the Philippines | THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION : HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION : HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE July 25, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Question: Why are health and wellness important in a university setting? What are the major health and wellness issues being faced by the system or by your constituent university or campus? What steps are being taken at your level to address these concerns? What more do you think can or should be done to improve health and wellness on campus? Prof. Cecile Leah T. Bayaga Department of Food Science and Nutrition College of Home Economics UP Diliman Prof. Cecile Leah T. Bayaga Department of Food Science and Nutrition College of Home Economics UP Diliman Most people hold health and wellness as an ideal, but in order to truly achieve a state of optimal wellness or well-being, one must first be clear about its meaning. Although there is no universally accepted definition of wellness, below are a few definitions: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization) “We view wellness as much more than just a state of physical health. It also encompasses emotional stability, clear thinking, the ability to love, create, embrace change, exercise intuition and experience a continuing sense of spirituality.” (The Alliance Institute for Integrative Medicine) “Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence.” (National Wellness Institute) “Wellness is an active, lifelong process of becoming aware of choices and making decisions toward a more balanced and fulfilling life. Wellness involves choices about our lives and our priorities that determine our lifestyles.” (Arizona State University) Therefore, optimum health and wellness is more than having a sound body and eating adequately. Wellness encompasses all aspects that enable a human being to have a fulfilled and satisfied existence. Wellness can have a positive impact on work and academic success. By choosing and establishing healthy habits in nutrition, exercise, and other areas of wellness, an individual can set him/herself up to be more successful in academics and work. In addition, many of the activities that keep a person healthy can also improve mental focus, lower stress. levels, and improve the quality of study/work time. For example, regular physical movement increases mental energy and improves mental performance by providing more oxygen to the brain through increased blood flow. The brain burns energy at ten times the rate of other body tissues and uses 20% of the body’s fuel. It is therefore important to consume enough water and nutrients to optimize brain function. This optimization of brain functions will make an individual’s time spent on thinking more focused and effective. College campuses are more akin to small communities composed of students and employees ranging from service workers to senior-level faculty and administrators. Therefore, the issues and/or concerns on health and wellness faced by a university/campus are dependent on the concerned subpopulation. In one of our classroom activities in FN 10 (Food Trip), an MST GE, a significant number of students for the past five years has expressed the need for more stalls around the university that sell more vegetable dishes, fruit varieties, and non-fried and non-processed snack items that are affordable. The students also mentioned the need for nutrition messages or information posted or disseminated throughout the campus. For faculty and staff, there is probably a need for a regular, sustainable, and administration-supported or endorsed nutrition, health and wellness program at the college or university level. Most of the time, wellness programs initiated by different units are short-lived, and the majority of the programs concentrate on exercise and eating right. Emphasis should also be given to stress management, thinking effectively, and working more productively. At the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, nutrition lectures and counselingfor students and staff are conducted as part of class activities in nutrition education and diet therapy. The Department also organizes nutrition lectures, aerobics, or zumba activities for the staff. These are small, low-impact activities. However, these lectures, if attended by the staff, and if nutrition counselingis held regularly, are likely to contribute to the nutrition and health quotient of the university. The University Health service offers dietary/nutrition counseling. However, additional manpower is needed to provide counseling or advise to more than 20,000 students and more than 2,000 faculty members and administrative staff. The current project on the reconceptualization of the UP Health Service is a laudable effort in increasing the health-seeking behavior of university constituents. There is so much still to be done to improve the health and wellness on campus. To my knowledge, there has been no genuine study that has looked into the following aspects: The health and wellness needs/concerns of the various university constituents; How these needs/concerns are identified; The expected health outcomes of these needs and concerns which may include healthcare cost reduction, health behavior change, increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, or reduction in employee turnover; The support needed from the administration for regularity and uniformity across colleges and units and steadiness of health and wellness programs to be offered; and How partnerships with the communities around the University can be formed and maximized for the implementation of the nutrition, health, and wellness programs that will be created. Participation should be incentivized to achieve enrollment and involvement in a wellness program. Incentives can take many forms such as financial incentives, paid time off work, and material rewards. However, most researchers believe that financial incentives are the most effective. Accessibility of facilities, ability to include family members, a supportive work environment, and encouragement from management and co-workers are also considered incentives to participation that remove several of the barriers that typically get in the way of participation. |
https://up.edu.ph/the-up-forum-roundtable-discussion-health-wellness-and-heritage-3/ | THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE – University of the Philippines | THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE THE UP FORUM ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND HERITAGE July 25, 2017 | Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office Question: Why are health and wellness important in a university setting? What are the major health and wellness issues being faced by the system or by your constituent university or campus? What steps are being taken at your level to address these concerns? What more do you think can or should be done to improve health and wellness on campus? Health and wellness are fundamental concerns in a university setting. There is a need to proactively promote good health and optimum wellness among university constituents—students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Health and wellness programs are important in ensuring the productivity of university employees. They should address health concerns and provide healthy options that could reduce health care costs and increase vitality among university constituents to function productively in the university. The university creates an environment that supports a healthy way of life. Dr. Sue Liza C. Saguiguit Department of Human and Family Development Studies College of Human Ecology UP Los Baños Providing a healthy life in campus involves addressing the states of physical, mental and social well-being of university constituents. It is an evolving process, with the aim of providing an enabling environment for its constituents to achieve total human development. The state of human beings results from the interrelations between them and their social and physical environment. In the context of a university as a healthy community, creating and improving the social and physical environments for people to develop their maximum potential and contribute productively to the university is of prime importance. Health is a resource for personal and professional goals to be achieved and for the development of the institution. In an effort to provide an enabling environment to achieve these goals, UPLB supports the health and well-being of its constituents and their families in different stages of life through human development programs and is creating a campus environment conducive to learning and boosting health and well-being. UPLB provides programs for the total development of its constituents—individuals, their families and the community. The programs are anchored on disciplinal thrusts and serve as instructional and research laboratories. UPLB also provides services to the immediate community. In UPLB, most of the health and wellness-related programs are initiated by the College of Human Ecology. As a discipline, Human Ecology promotes the holistic understanding of human development across the life stages in the context of its social, natural and the built environment. The thrusts of the College of Human Ecology are in the areas of human development, human nutrition, social development, and human settlements planning. The College has four units, the Department of Human and Family Development Studies (DHFDS), Institute of Human Nutrition and Food (IHNF), Department of Social Development Services (DSDS), and the Department of Community and Environmental Resource Planning (DCERP). The Department of Human and Family Development (DHFDS) has programs that serve as instructional and research laboratories for students and provide services for families of faculty and staff of the university. The Day Care Laboratory is a program to promote developmental experiences to children, ages 2-3 years old, and provide them alternative or supplementary care while their parents are working in the campus. The Child Development Laboratory is a program for early childhood development for children ages 3-5 years old. It has served as a preschool for children of UPLB employees for the last 52 years. The Elderly Development Program attends to the needs of the elderly members 60 years old and above, of the UPLB community. It caters to the needs of senior faculty members, staff, alumni, and recent retirees of the university. It provides activities for the holistic development of the elderly. The Elderly Development Program provides regular health and wellness seminars, nutrition counseling among others. Moreover, the DHFDS has a Day Care Resource Center, a program that provides capacity building initiatives and technical assistance for child development and day care workers of the community, and neighboring municipalities and provinces. The Institute for Human Nutrition and Food (IHNF) offers a program for the nutritional well-being of UPLB constituents and nearby communities, through its Nutrition and Wellness Clinic. IHNF provides nutrition screening and counseling to UPLB constituents. In addition, a Lactation Station has also been established for nursing/lactating university staff. Some initiatives that need to be done to improve health and wellness on campus include: There is a need to pursue more health and wellness programs that are holistic in nature and would entail multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaboration among academic units. It would also promote integration of disciplines in addressing complex health related issues. Such comprehensive programs could be considered as social laboratories and provide the necessary exposure and learning opportunities for our faculty, staff, and students, towards a healthy university. Further, health-related programs would encourage opportunities for collaboration with the local government and government agencies to be beneficial not only to the University but the immediate community. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-welcomes-soka-university-officials/ | UP welcomes Soka University officials – University of the Philippines | UP welcomes Soka University officials UP welcomes Soka University officials October 3, 2019 | Written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc (From left to right) Soka University Board of Trustees Chair Yasunori Tashiro, International Program Coordinator Emmie Miyagawa, Office of International Affairs Director Hiroki Shimoide, Former UP President Jose Abueva, and Soka Gakkai International Philippines General Director Hisako Alcantara in a quiet conversation on a Balay Kalinaw balcony. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. UP welcomed top officials of Soka University with ceremonies that celebrated the multifaceted connection between the universities and between their people. The visit by Soka University Board of Trustees Chair Yasunori Tashiro, Office of International Affairs Director Hiroki Shimoide, and International Program Coordinator Emmie Miyagawa on September 24, 2019 included: a tour of the Balay Kalinaw and of a donation to the complex of eight photographs taken by their university’s founder; and, the opening of the “Seeds of Hope” exhibit of an international Buddhist network at the Palma Hall Lobby. UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan welcomes Soka University Board of Trustees Chair Yasunori Tashiro, International Program Coordinator Emmie Miyagawa, and Office of International Affairs Director Hiroki Shimoide on the Palma Hall steps. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Tashiro, Shimoide, and Miyagawa were met by: esteemed personalities of the University, led by former UP President Jose Abueva and UP Diliman (UPD) Chancellor Michael Tan; members of the Buddhist network, Soka Gakkai International (SGI), in the Philippines; and, alumni and visiting students of Soka University in the Philippines. A photograph of Dr. Daisaku Ikeda downloaded from his full profile at https://www.daisakuikeda.org Soka University was founded by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, the donor of UP Diliman’s Balay Kalinaw and after whom the hall was alternately named. Ikeda also happens to be the founding president of SGI. The facade of Balay Kalinaw along Dagohoy Street, UP Diliman. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “Balay Kalinaw is a symbol of our friendship of over 30 years with the University of the Philippines,” Tashiro said, after visiting the complex. He relayed Ikeda’s message where he recalled the inauguration of the Balay Kalinaw on May 11, 1993, when Ikeda quoted Jose Rizal’s poem on dying without seeing the dawn. In one essay about that occasion, Ikeda narrated an emotional connection with Abueva, whose family was a casualty of the last world war. Ikeda had spoken of his own family’s sufferings from the war, and that he, like Abueva, became committed to world peace as a result. A souvenir photo on the Palma Hall steps of: Former UP President Jose Abueva with visiting officials, students, and alumni of Soka University; members of the Soka Gakkai International Philippines; and, UP System and UP Diliman officials and staff members, including Prof. Mary Ann Espina who was the lead architect of Balay Kalinaw. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. Ikeda first met Abueva in 1990, after which they corresponded regularly with each other. Ikeda officially visited UP in 1991 to attend the graduation ceremonies. Their discussions, both face-to-face and written, formed the framework of a recently published work. The Balay Kalinaw became a major project of the Abueva presidency. Named with the Visayan word for “peace”, the structure offers spaces for many academic and related events, social gatherings, offices, and housing. Reproduction of photos of flowers and Soka University taken by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda now on display at Balay Kalinaw. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “We are convinced that Dr. Ikeda’s photos will warmly watch over the people who come to visit this place in search of peace,” Tashiro said. The ceremonial turnover of photographs from Soka University officials to UP officials. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “We are gathered here tonight to receive a new set of memories that will further bond us together: Soka [University] and UP Diliman,” Program Development Associate Gilda Uy of the UPD Office of International Linkages added at the donation ceremony for the photographs. Program Development Associate Gilda Uy of the UP Diliman Office of International Linkages introduces speakers and performers in the Palma Hall lobby program. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. “I sincerely wish today’s conferral [of photographs] ceremony will lead to further development and exchange between the two universities,” Ikeda was quoted by Tashiro. Tashiro narrated how Ikeda once again alluded to Jose Rizal in saying:”Educational exchange is the soil in which the seeds of peace will sprout and grow.” UP Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia, UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan, and Soka University Board of Trustees Chair Yasunori Tashiro exchange tokens of appreciation and icons of their universities. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. According to UP Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Gil Jacinto, he would like to see not just more student exchange between the two universities but also more interaction between the two faculties, especially for research. A deed of donation for Dr. Daisaku Ikeda’s photographs is signed by Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia on behalf of UP President Danilo Concepcion, UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan; and Soka University Board of Trustees Chair Yasunori Tashiro and Office of International Affairs Director Hiroki Shimoide. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. On the exhibit, “Seeds of Hope: Visions of Sustainability, Steps Toward Change”, which has gone around the world since 2010, UP Vice President Elena Pernia read the message of UP President Danilo Concepcion: “We in UP welcome its vision of our interconnectedness as human beings in the greater community of life. We welcome its message that we need to widen our circle of compassion and love to encompass more than just our tribes, but the entirety of nature as well.” General Director Hisako Alcantara of Sokka Gakkai International Philippines introduces the “Seeds of Hope” exhibit and the philosophy of her organization that was founded by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. The exhibit is mounted by SGI, a community-based Buddhist network linking 12 million members in 192 countries and territories around the world in promoting peace, culture and education. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Soka University Board of Trustees Chair Yasunori Tashiro, General Director Hisako Alcantara of Soka Gakkai International Philippines, UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan, and UP Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia cut the ribbon to inaugurate the “Seeds of Hope” exhibit in the Palma Hall lobby. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. The ceremonies were accompanied by music and dance performed by the Kontemporaryong Gamelang Pilipino. UP Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Gil Jacinto, who is also the director of the System Office of International Linkages , wrapping up his closing remarks, finds a photography philosophy in common with Dr. Daisaku Ikeda’s. Photo by Jun Madrid, UP MPRO. |
https://up.edu.ph/up-webinar-to-discuss-covid-medications-updates/ | UP webinar to discuss COVID medications, updates – University of the Philippines | UP webinar to discuss COVID medications, updates UP webinar to discuss COVID medications, updates February 10, 2022 | Written by Deina Blancaflor The University of the Philippines (UP), in partnership with UP Manila NIH National Telehealth Center and cooperation with UP Philippine General Hospital (PGH), invites you to join the fight against COVID-19. The Omicron variant is now the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the Philippines. Amid the early 2022 surge, thankfully, more COVID-19 medications have sprung up, such as molnupiravir, Paxlovid, remdesivir, and more. Are these safe and effective treatments against COVID-19? What are the dangers of self-medication and online buying of certain unrecommended drugs? How can we make these accessible and readily available for everyone? This week’s episode of the UP “Stop COVID Deaths” webinar series, titled “COVID-19 Medications: Epektibo Ba?” will discuss the latest updates on the virus, vaccines, and prescribed medicines. Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvaña, Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the UP Manila-National Institutes of Health, and a member of the Department of Health’s Technical Advisory Group, will be the main speaker. Dr. Mary Ann Lansang, esteemed infectious diseases specialist and clinical epidemiologist, and Dr. Maria Ofelia Ocana-Alcantara, mayor of the municipality of Tolosa, Leyte, will also be part of this week’s webinar’s panel. Register here and catch our weekly live tweets and streams via the UP System Twitter Account and TVUP’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, and stay on top of the facts, the evidence, and the science on the treatment of COVID-19. The UP “Stop COVID Deaths” webinar series is the Philippines’ first and only frontline-focused medical webinar series. It pioneered the discussion, dissemination, and adoption of knowledge on COVID-19 treatment and management. Follow our accounts to stay connected with your credible online community. |
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