UP-PGH sets postgraduate course on pediatric neurologyA simplified approach to the diagnosis and management of children with neurologic complaints will be presented and discussed with medical and paramedical practitioners in a pediatric subspecialty course to be conducted on Oct. 8 to 10 at the Manila Midtown Hotel in Ermita, Manila. The three-day course, entitled Shaking Off Pins and Needles in Pediatric Neurology, is the 2002 subspecialty postgraduate course offered by the C.H.I.L.D. Foundation, Inc. of the Department of Pediatrics, UP-PGH Medical Center through its Section of Pediatric Neurology. The organizing committee led by Drs. Salvacion R. Gatchalian, post graduate course committee chair and Aida M. Salonga, program director, has lined up experts in the field of pediatric neurology and other allied specialties to discuss the different common neurologic complaints and disorders encountered in the pediatric age group. The course starts with a review of pediatric neurologic examination and sonoradiology evaluation of the central nervous system. A mini-workshop set on the first day will teach participants how to perform cranial ultrasound and limited to the first 40 registrants. Ultrasound, CT Scan and MRI plates of common neurologic disorders, however, will be available for all participants to view. Topics to be tackled in the succeeding days include congenital abnormalities of the central nervous system, acute paralysis, neuromuscular disorders, seizures and movement disorders, alterations in mental state, inborn errors of metabolism, infections of the central nervous system, headache, cranocerebral trauma and special concerns in the care of the neurologically impaired child. To discuss the management of issues in the care of neurologically-impaired children will be a panel which includes Drs. Lukban, Jossie M. Rogacion, Bernadette C. Benitez and Cynthia D. Ang. Other details will be available through program coordinators Drs. Edward Vincent S. Faustino and James Philip A. Cruz (524-0892 or 521-8450 local 2101 or fax 526-0150). Reprinted from the Manila Bulletin, 10/04/02
Go Back to Archives The UP Manila College of Public Health through the Department of Environmental and Occupational health announced the holding of the 47th postgraduate course in Occupational Health and Safety from Oct. 21 to 29, 2002 (excluding weekend) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to be held at the CPH Auditorium, 625 P. Gil St., Ermita, Manila.
The course is open to physicians and other health professionals interested in the field of occupational health. This course satisfies the Department of Labor and Employment's training requirement for company physicians and nurses.
Course coordinators are Dr. Benjamin Vitasa and Prof. Victorio Molina. For reservation/inquiry, call Chit/Naome/Ruby at tel. nos 526-5966 or 524-7102.
Reprinted from the Philippine Star, 09/30/02
Go Back to Archives The National Academy of Science & Technology (NAST), the government's highest scientific advisory body under the Department of Science & Technology, recently awarded Pioneer Hi-Bred Philippines research Manager Dr. Samiel c. Dalmacio, among other scientist, during the 24th NAST Annual Scientific Meeting at the Manila Hotel.
NAST has recognized outstanding scientists and researchers for individual or group works that have contributed to the advancement of science and technology in the Philippines.
This year, Dr. Dalmacio, together with Dr. Eduardo C. Fernandez, University Research of UP Los Baņos and Dr. Randy A. Jautea, Global Coordinator of the International Institute for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Application (ISAAA), won this year's prestigious Outstanding Scientific Paper Award with their entry "Efficacy of Transgenic Corn Expressing the Vacillyus thuringiensis Cru1Ab Gene Against Asiatic Corn Borer". This paper was published in the Philippine Entomologist, a journal of the Philippine Association of Entomologists.
The paper was awarded for its outstanding contribution to agricultural science as the work marked the first insect-resistant evaluation of a genetically-enhanced crop, other than rice, in the Philippines. It was also recognized for increasing awareness on the potential benefits of biotechnology, specifically positioning plant genetic engineering as a new tool for improving crop productivity in the country.
"We at Pioneer Hi-Bred are very pleased that one of our scientists has been recognized," said Jet Maricial G. Parma, Pioneer Hi-Bred Philippines Business Manager. "This award reinforces Dupont's commitment to scientific achievement and innovation that makes a difference in people's lives, and in this case, for our farmers who rely so much on pesticides for protecting their crops with some considering it as their only means of livelihood.
Reprinted from the Manila Bulletin, 10/06/02
Go Back to Archives I got this e-mail from Dennis Morales, top lawyer of ABS-CBN about our high school alma mater winning the UAAP juniors championship. So sorry I missed that one. Kasi, such a miracle is so unexpected. We have been so used to being in the cellar even when we were still in high school, 30 years or so ago.
But I agree that's an achievement. It isn't a miracle so much as the product of hard work and persistence. It didn't happen overnight, either. I understand, a dedicated coach took all of three years to bring the UP boys to the top. Sort of gives us hope as a nation. If we just did on a wider scale what the UP boys did, we can get out of the region's cellar. Anyway, here's the e-mail of Dennis, who apparently watched the championship match live and actually cheered the UP boys on.
First time in the history of UP that our high school team figured in the championship. PANALO TAYO!! 63-56. We took the first game (2 out of 3 series) last Thursday with a come from behind victory 72-67. Napaos kami sa pag-cheer. Sarap ng feeling nung nanalo. At ng kumanta ng UP Beloved (ngayon UP Naming Mahal na) sa harap ng jampacked Araneta Coliseum (dahil sa susunod na Ateno-La Salle game) sobra ang tuwa at proud namin.
Paminsan-minsan lang mangyari ito--na nag-cha-champion ang UP. Sabi nga ng isang UP High alumnus, "once lang sa lifetime ng isang taga-UP ang makamit ang championship." I disagree. At least sa ating kasalukuyang buhay, nakadalawa na tayo. The last time was in 1986 when we beat UE for the UAAP Seniors crown. PUSH ON UP!!!
Incidentally, General Ramon Farolan, who was editor-in-chief of this paper and a UP High alumnus, called me up also to point out the victory of the UP Preps. Maybe the UP high school alumni should work something out to support the champions for their campaign next year. Maybe, Doy Vea, the most financially successful in our batch, can take the lead.
Reprinted from the Philippine Star, 10/04/02
Go Back to Archives Concerned with "the lack of interest in books and the deterioration of reading skills among young Filipinos," the UP Press launched seven books under the "UP Jubilee Student Edition" last Sept. 20 at the Balay Kalinaw in UP Diliman.
"The Student Edition is a series of inexpensive books designed to make the best of contemporary literature accessible to the general public but especially to students and teachers," said Dr. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, director of the UP Press. She said the editions were a first in the history of UP Press and launched as part of the UP Press's contribution to the University's celebration of its Jubilee Year.
The UP Press is currently involved in a reading campaign--which includes the release of student editions--called "Read-UP". The campaign was launched last Sept. 8 at the Philippine National Bookfair held at Megamall with a show called "Got to Believe...in the Pinoy writer". In the event, television and movie stars read from UP Press's youth titles released as student editions. "We invited celebrities to read to call attention to the fact that reading can be fun like other forms of art like film or music," Hidalgo said.
"In the future, we will be launching more titles as part of the Student Edition and holding more fun events," she added.
Re-launched as student editions were the classic works of Gemino H. Abad, Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., Jun Cruz Reyes and Rio Alma. These were Poems and Parables (National Book Award winner in 1988), Old-Timer and Other Stories (National Book Award for 1984), Utos ng Hari at Iba Pang Kuwento (National Book Award winner in 1981) and (A)lamat at (H)istorya.
The youth titles launched were Carlomar Arcangel Daoana's book of poetry, Marginal Bliss, F.H. Batacan's Smaller and Smaller Circles, a 1999 Carlos Palanca grand prize winner for novel in English; and Mes de Guzman's Barriotic Punk: Mga Kwento sa Barrio at Kanto. Daoana was an editor of the University of Santo Tomas' student newspaper Varsitarian; Batacan studied at the Creative Writing Center (now Institute); and De Guzman is a scriptwriter.
Meanwhile, the UP System expressed its support of the "Read-UP" campaign by initiating a system-wide project to award reviews done by UP student readers on the said titles. Vice President for Academic Affairs Maria Serena I. Diokno said details of the award were being threshed out under the office of Dr. Hidalgo.
There were remarks made by the writers on the re-launching of their work. Abad said if he would be remembered for some of his poems, one would be Let No Words Break which is in the book. Dalisay said if there was one good reason to get his book, it would be that he will never "write like this again". Reyes said his book was the result of the protest spirit and defiance of "an angry young man."
Reprinted from the UP Newsletter, 09/28/02
Go Back to Archives A Ph.D. in Philippine Studies student was recently awarded the Tay Sewo Huah Book Prize for Best Dissertation for academic year 2001-02 at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Noel M. Novicio, who has just completed his MS in Strategic Studies at Nanyang, defended his dissertation (the equivalent in the Philippines of an MA) titled The South China Sea dispute in Philippine Foreign Policy: Problems, Challenges and Prospects. An ASEAN post-graduate scholarship enabled him to study at Nanyang.
Novicio is with the office of the undersecretary for international economic relations at the Department of Foreign Affairs. He was the topnotcher in the Foreign Service Officers examination in 2001, in which only three of more than 2,000 applicants passed.
The prizewinner obtained his MA in Asian Studies at the Asian center and his AB in communication, major in journalism, also in UP Diliman.
Reprinted from the UP Newsletter, 09/25/02
Go Back to Archives She's all of 101 years old. No, she isn't an invalid.
She's still mobile but uses a cane to help her walk around. She regrets she has only one good ear now. She has refused to give talks about the problems of aging. With one good eye, she continues to sew altar linens. She admits she cannot do the red-stitched cross in the center of the linens. These altar linens, according to Bishop Federico Escaler, have reached some churches as far as "Aparri hasta Jolo." She was almost boasting and with a smile, said that being over 100 she can eat "anything"--food which were no-nos, like tapa, tocino, kare-kare and other salty and fatty foods.
This remarkable "old" woman is a long retired dean of the College of Education at the Far Eastern University, Prof. Luz Alonso Zafra. She earned her BSE form the University of the Philippines and MA from the Philippine Women's University. She is the widow of Prof. Nicolas Zafra, of the Department of History in UP. The couple raised their two girls in the old Filipino values. Mother and father were called Nanay and Tatay at the time that most campus children called their parents mama, mommy or mom and papa, daddy or dad. The UPSCAN friends and relatives started to call them Nanay and Tatay, too.
UP Manila, in 1949, moved to Diliman. Among the first to take residence in one of the large sawali houses in Area 1 were the Zafras. Their neighbors were Dean and Mrs. Patrocinio Valenzuela of Pharmacy, Prof. and Mrs. Ignacio Salsedo of chemistry, and Dean and Mrs Crisostomo Ortigas of Engineering. They had built a permanent house, one of the 18 Pioneer Homes, which President Vidal Tan permitted to be built and owned.
Across the Laurel Avenue, at the corner was the "Little Quiapo", a famous for its halo-halo. Behind the refreshment parlor was a low structure of bamboo and sawali. Is used to be the ecumenical chapel for the US Army Unit that occupied the Diliman Camp. The abandoned chapel now served as a stable for carabaos and horses. Father Delaney, who was adviser of UPSCA Manila, continued to be available to the students who were now studying in Diliman. He commuted for a year from Ateneo, Manila to Diliman, helped by Nanay's transportation arrangement. Finally, the Jesuits released him from his Ateneo duties. Father now could reside in Diliman. So when he saw the old structure, then a stable, he decided that when painted and thoroughly cleaned it could serve as the first place of worship in the UP campus.
With Nanay and Tatay and volunteer faculty members and students, the stable was made ready to use, but a modest sacristy was added behind the altar. He then made a "residence" of his own. We never knew if he really intended not to have a kitchen of his own. He had found a way of knowing more about his parishioners who were all to happy to break bread with this dedicated priest now in their midst. A meal schedule was made to be sure Father Delaney had regular meals.
The Protestants and Aglipayans also used the "chapel." Nanay zafra became Father's chief adviser. It was to her that he turned for problem-solving. Some priests and sisters were visiting. Meals and accommodations were needed. Some students needed immediate help, like a coed whose father died. Where to get tuition and dorm and board fees? Nanay would come and help Father solve non-religious problems. Lorenzo Reyes, one of Nanay's many grandsons said, Nanay and Tatay's sawali house in Area 1 became the "tambayan" of the UPSCANs, young faculty, and we suspect some students who needed quick meals. Because Father had no car, Nanay would always arrange transportation for him.
One should not think that to be a lavandera is a lonely and lowly job. It is many years later (50 years or so), that GMA did not resent being called "Gloria Labandera." Nanay did not mind being called "Father Delaney's Lavandera." Such a simple man with simple needs. But when he had to celebrate Mass (every day), he had to wear a freshly ironed and starched sutana. Clean thoughts, clean body and clean clothes. Nanay saw to it that Father Delaney always had a freshly ironed, starched sultana.
Nanay helped reinforce the faith of some students, especially the coeds, so that they could answer the call to religious vocation. They were inspired by the model set by the man of the cloth that Father Delaney exemplified. Some mothers resented especially the influence of Nanay over some coeds. When the cenacle Order, led by Mother Dangel came to Manila, she was convinced that a Cenacle retreat House could be opened in the Philippines, especially in Quezon City. Meeitng Nanay, the bright coeds and the religiosity of teh Filipinos helped convince Mother Dangel decide to open the Cenacle Retreat House in Diliman. The first batch of Cenacle volunteers were some bright coeds of UP. Nanay's steadfast support of the growth of the religious life of Filipinos grew stronger after the news that Tatay gave up their elder daughter of only two siblings to join the Holy Spirit Order. When Father Ben opened the first center for Migrant Youth, it was on one of Nanay's properties in Cordillera Street, Quezon city.
Nanay's many acts of charity are not broadcast. She continued to be Father Delaney's staunch and loyal adviser. When news of Father Delaney's death reached the campus, many of the UPSCANs and their friends ran to Nanay's house to find out if Father was really true. Only Nanay could say it was true and all believed.
The grief was overwhelming. Tears were shed profusely by the UPSCANs, both boys and girls, and by the members of the community. There was much weeping in disbelief that Father was really dead and gone.
To this day, Nanay Zafra continues as our link or reminder of that first happy Catholic community in Diliman that Father Delaney "created to his image."
Narita Manuel-Gonzalez is the widow of the late National Artist NVM Gonzalez.
Reprinted from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 09/25/02
Go Back to Archives At its 1163rd meeting on September 13, 2002, the University of the Philippines Board of Regents (BOR) approved the appointment of Dr. Marita Reyes as the new chancellor of UP Manila, and the reappointment of Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman as chancellor of UP Diliman, Dr. Wilfredo P. David as chancellor of UP Los Baņos, and Dr. Ida M. Siason as chancellor of UP Visayas. Their terms of office will commence on Nov. 1, 2002 and end on Oct. 31, 2005.
Waves of protest
In UP Visayas, however, waves of protest actions from students, faculty and staff met the BOR's decision to retain Siason. Hung on the wall of one UP Tacloban building was a big streamer that read: "We are not happy with the reappointment of Lady Chancellor (Siason)--concerned faculty and staff." Still another streamer read: "Faculty Regent: Did you consult your constituents? Was your vote reflective of the true sentiment of the UPV faculty?"
On Sept. 19, UP Newsletter sources said the UP Visayas administration issued an order for the streamers to be taken off. The following day, Sept. 20, about 250 students and 30 faculty and staff of UP Miag-ao and UP Iloilo City closed ranks to conduct a "protest program" Dr. Aurora Bautista of the Professional Education Program said the protest was meant to seek the truth as to what really transpired during the BOR Sept. 13 meeting. "We all know that based on the report of the search committee, it was Dr. Amado Muriel that UP Visayas wanted as new chancellor," she pointed out. "So what made the BOR members decide to reappoint Siason? Did they not read the committee report? Or if they did, why did they not heed our complaints against Siason?"
Another point that the mass action wanted to clarify, according to Bautista, was Faculty Regent Carlos Baylon's failure to consult them prior to the BOR meeting. "Without the benefit of consultation, we wonder how Regent Baylon could represent us?" asked Bautista. Baylon is from the UP Visayas College of Fisheries.
In UP Tacloban, more than 100 students and faculty members staged a mock funeral march also on Sept. 20. Former Dean Violeta Sioson of UP Tacloban, however, pointed out that Siason's reappointment was only one of the many issues brought forward during the gathering.
The Tacloban rallyists, who wore black shirts, also made known their sentiments over the payment of back cost of living allowance, monetization of leave credits, and the death of democracy, among many other issues. Sioson said the movement attracted only a small number probably because of the many issues that it tried to address. "I, for one, would have joined them had they focused only on Siason's reappointment," she pointed out. "Unfortunately, they [the rallyists] muddled the issue with other concerns."
Bautista said the students, faculty and staff of UP Visayas wanted Siason replaced because under the latter's term, there was a wide gap between the administration and them. She explained that the professional behavior of some of Siason's vice chancellors was too undesirable to promote consultation among the members of the community. She said the officials engendered factionalism instead of collegiality, used intimidation instead of motivation, and showed indifference instead of concern. "To sum it all up, the faculty, students and staff had very low morale under Siason's leadership," Bautista stressed. All these were aired during the Search consultations in the four campuses of UPV: Tacloban, Cebu, Iloilo City and Miag-ao.
The UPV faculty and staff, which included current and former deans and department chairs, also wrote President Nemenzo and the BOR on Sept. 20 to express their dismay over Siason's reappointment. According to them, "Dr. Amador Muriel was overwhelmingly received in the UPV because, to most of us, he stood for the values the University has been striving for: academic excellence, international recognition and high quality productiveness. {Siason] significantly paled and still pales beside Muriel."
Letters of protest
As for David's reappointment, some groups from UP Los Baņos staged a rally in front of Quezon Hall in Diliman when the BOR meeting was being held. Their streamers demanded a new leadership for UPLB. That same afternoon, a few students, faculty and staff gathered in front of the Administration Building to decry the BOR's decision.
UP Newsletter obtained a copy of the manifesto from the UPLB Student council and a letter from the UPLB Alumni Association, Inc., both asking the BOR to reconsider its decision to reappoint David. According tot he student council's manifesto dated Sept. 23, "David had abused discretion over the studentry and did not accord respect to student institutions." The council enumerated David's alleged acts of "disrespect" for student institutions, which ranged from depriving them of their annual February Fair to intervening in the selection of the editor-in-chief of the UPLB Perspective.
The UPLB Alumni Association, for its part, expressed dissatisfaction over the BOR decision. "We are concerned that for the next three years, the [UPLB] will be headed by an individual who has demonstrated his disregard for what we, the alumni, can to do help bring back [the] UPLB to its position of leadership and influence in the Asia-Pacific region," the association pointed out. "We fear that our top rate scientists and professors at UPLB will continue to leave the institution due to dissatisfaction with the current chancellor's performance and management priorities."
Cayetano's written vote
In a related development, Senator Renato Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on education and ex officio member of the BOR, protested the non-inclusion of his vote submitted in written form as he was not able to attend the Sept. 13 meeting. In a letter to the BOR dated Sept. 19, 2002, Cayetano said, "considering the exceptional circumstance...wherein I was ill and could not be physically present, the Board should have accepted my vote, or at the very least, called me up."
When asked about this, President Nemenzo cited an incident during President Emil Q. Javier's time when former Regents Teresa Aquino-Oreta and Dante Liban had to return from abroad to vote for the UP presidency because their written endorsements were not going to be counted. Another incident, he recalled, was when former Faculty Regent Raul de Guzman was not able to attend the BOR meeting and just sent his written vote for the UP Manila chancellorship. Nemenzo said the BOR did not recognize de Guzman's written vote.
Dr. Marita T. Reyes
Dr. Marita T. Reyes, a biochemist, served as faculty regent in 2001. As project director of the Reproductive Health, Rights & Ethics center for Training & Research, she spearheaded the integration of gender and bioethics in the medial curriculum. In 1997 as member of the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges (APC) task force for reformation in medical education in the Philippines, she developed and co-wrote the chapter Managing and Change in Medical Education in the book Towards an Innovative Medical Curriculum: A Guide for Philippine Medical Schools.
In 1984-1986, Reyes was a member of the committee that developed the UP College of Medicine entrance test. In 1985-1986, she initiated the use of the dot blot DNA hybridization technique for the detection of serum HBV DNA in mothers and infants in the Philippines. In 1988, she established the laboratory for biochemical screening of inborn errors of metabolism in the UP College of Medicine.
Reyes said that when she put forth her vision for UP Manila in the next three years, she had in mind the celebration of the UP Centennial in 2008 and the development of UP Manila in the past years. The centennial, according to her, should be an occasion for a re-justification of the existence of UP. "Has UP done its job as the University of the Filipino people?" she asked. "Has it contributed to social transformation for national development?"
UP Manila, Reyes pointed out, has grown as an organization the past years. The campus now has a National Institute of Health that plays host to and gives support to various research groups. The University Council has approved dozens of graduate programs. "UP Manila seems poised and prepared for the next millennium," she noted. "But how have these developments impacted on the Filipino people? On the health care systems? On health policies? On professional health care practices?"
Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman
Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman is a professor of business administration and is now on her third term as chancellor of UP Diliman. She first served as chancellor in 1991-1993, and then in 1999-2002. She obtained her bachelor's degree in agriculture from UP Los Baņos in 1972, her master's degree in agribusiness management from UP Diliman in 1977, and her doctorate in business administration from UP Diliman in 1980.
Roman has held other university positions, namely vice chancellor for administration (1985-1988), secretary of the university and of the BOR (1988-1990) and vice president for administration (1990-1991). She has also served as college secretary, director for undergraduate studies, and officer for student relations at the UP College of Business Administration. She was also business manager of the Philippine collegian from 1976-1980 and faculty regent in 1995.
Under Roman's term, the UP Diliman Technology Business Incubator was revitalized to generate more information technology and communications-related technology ventures through an agreement with the Ayala Foundation, inc. Diliman also established the Java Education Center and the Java Research and Development Center in cooperation with IT firms. Both centers are aimed at providing students and IT professionals the opportunity to convert their ideas into practical marketable solutions that will enable them to earn money for themselves. Roman's administration also implemented the Computerized Registration System, which is currently used by almost 80 percent of students in enlisting.
In the next three years of her term, Roman said UP Diliman will continue to pursue the development of an international-caliber faculty and world-class educational and research programs, the acquisition of modern laboratories for instruction and research, and the creation of a hospitable environment conducive to scholarship. "Together, let us complete the groundwork for UP Diliman's transformation into a university that stands equal to the best universities in the world," she said.
Dr. Wilfredo P. David
Dr. Wilfredo P. David earned his BS in Agriculture from UP Los Baņos in 1965, his post-graduate training in Photo-interpretation and Mathematics in 1967, his MS in Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1969, his Ph.D. in water Resources Engineering and Hydrology from Iowa State University in 1972, and his post-doctoral degree in water management and studies agronomy from the International Rice Research institute in Laguna.
David is now on his second term as chancellor of UP Los Baņos, having served the campus in the same capacity from 1999 to the present. He spearheaded the development of the BS program in civil engineering and the revision of the BS agricultural engineering curriculum when he served as dean of the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology from 1987 to 1992. He also served as coordinator of the RP-UNDP-ESCAP Regional Network for Agricultural Machinery (RNAM) and as representative to the Technical Advisory committee of the RNAM. David also earned distinction when he served as consultant to more than 20 development projects funded by the Asian development Bank, the World Bank, and the UN Food & Agriculture Organization.
Of David's accomplishments as UPLBV chancellor from 1999 to 2002, he is particularly proud of having generated around P250 million to modernize UPLB facilities, which involved the repair, construction and renovation of the Multimedia Center, the Electrical Engineering Building, the College of Veterinary Medicine laboratories, and the Molecular Biology Building. Excess income was also used for the repair of University roads and the purchase of equipment for service and for instruction.
The UPLB, according to David, is expected to play a vital and active role in charting a path toward national transformation. "The transformation that we aspire for is one in which every Filipino has adequate access to food and social amenities, in which absolute poverty is minimized, and in which members of communities and civil society are empowered to shape their future," he said. Thus, under David's leadership, the UPLB is committed to investing more n quality educational programs.
Dr. Ida M. Siason
Dr. Ida M. Siason first served as chancellor of UP Visayas for one year in 1998 to complete the term of her predecessor, and then had her own three-year term from 1999 to the present. She obtained her AB in English from Marynoll College in 1970, her MA in Psychology from Ateneo de Manila University in 1974, and her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University in 1992.
Siason also served as UPV vice chancellor for academic affairs from 1993 to 1998. Before her stint in the academe, she held various positions in different government planning agencies, such as the Population Commission and the National Economic Development Authority.
Among her achievements during her 1999-2002 term, Siason takes pride in having initiated the establishment of the cell Biology Research Laboratory. She also created the Office of the vice chancellor for Research & Extension and implemented the Diwata ng Dagat landmark project while obtaining P3 million from former senator Nikki Coseteng for the construction of the Graduate Studies Building.
For her new term Siason envisions UPV to steadily but dynamically evolve into a prestigious and well-equipped center of excellence in various critical disciplines in the sciences, arts, engineering and management. This vision is corollary to UPV's mandate as the leading institution in the fisheries and aquatic sciences education.
Reprinted from the UP Newsletter, 09/25/02
Go Back to Archives Miag-ao, Iloilo - The University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD) have agreed to implement joint programs in aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic sciences. The programs are firmed up in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between UPV, represented by Chancellor Ida Siason, and governemnt-0hosted SEAFDEC-AQD headed by Dr. Rolando R. Platon, chief.
UPV and SEAFDEC AQD will undertake collaborative instruction, research, training and extension programs; promote exchange of scientists and researchers; and strengthen their capabilities in aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic sciences with emphasis on environmental concerns through the cooperative use of materials and facilities.
UP Visayas, the country's foremost fisheries institution, is a multi-campus autonomous unit of the UP System. AQD is one of the four technical departments of SEAFDEC, a treaty organization founded in 1967 to promote fisheries development in Southeast Asia. AQSD is mandated to undertake research on appropriate fishery technologies, train fisheries and aquaculture technicians and disseminate fisheries and aquaculture information.
Reprinted from the Manila Bulletin, 10/10/02
Go Back to Archives Traffic! A Forum on the Trade of Philippine Cultural Properties was organized to raise awareness on the illegal trade and transport of local artifacts and what can be done to remedy the situation. It was held on Oct. 9 at the fourth floor, Upper Room Level conference Room of the National Museum, P. Burgos St., Manila.
The forum was organized by the Art Studies 281 (Issues and Perspectives in Museum Studies) and Art Studies 282 (Government Framework for Museum and the Arts) classes of the College of Arts & Letters at the University of the Philippines.
The speakers were National Museum assistant director and concurrent head of the Museum's cultural properties division Cecilio Salcedo, Atty. Ronnie Silvestre of the Bureau of Customs, Chief Inspector Faustino Ramos of the Philippine National Police's Philippine Center for Transnational Crime and Sotheby's Manila country manager and representative Kim Camacho. The reactors were former president of the Art Association of the Philippine Ramon Orlina and Accesslaw head researcher Joseph Sedfrey Santiago, Esq.
Reprinted from the Philippine Star, 10/07/02
Go Back to Archives All University of the Philippines Los Baņos (UPLB) alumni are invited to attend the homecoming and 84th Loyalty Day celebration on Oct. 13, 2002. The occasion, hosted by the UPLB Alumni Association, will honor jubilarians or graduates on the years ending with 2 and 7.
The celebration will start off at 8 a.m. with a float and foot parade from the Animal Science-College of Veterinary Medicine complex to the DL Umali Hall. Registration starts at 6:30 a.m. at the Dept. of Military Science & Tactics. A picnic hosted by UPLBAA and the college alumni associations will follow at the Rizal centenary Carillon Tower grounds, to which all alumni are invited. Chancellor Wilfredo P. David will also host a testimonial dinner for distinguished alumni on the evening of Oct. 12.
For more details, contact John Paul Maligalig or UPLBAA President Elpidio Rosario at the UPLBAA Office, MADECOR Building cor. Diamond and Mt. Halcon Sts., Umali Subdivision, Los Baņos, Tel. No. (049) 536-4649, telefax (049) 536-5536, and email: email@madecor.com.
Go Back to Archives Fresh from the "America-Europa" group art exposition, Eghai Roxas presents his solo show Automatism on view until Oct. 15 at Gallery 101, second floor, Kaimo Bldg., 101 Quezon Ave. and Sto. Domingo St., Quezon City.
Automatism presents Roxas' recent abstract paintings that explore both quality and style in art as interlocking elements of an artistic conviction in a serious challenge of line, form and medium.
Roxas is a graduate of the UP College of Fine Arts, a scholar of the late Dean Jose Joya. During the 1970s, he was part of a movement of Philippine social realist painters. He painted his protest in a vigorous proletarian manner, while developing an idiom of general abstraction. After a period of reflection and travel in the United States, he reemerged in the 1990s as a champion of abstract illusionism.
He represented the Philippines in the 22nd International Art Biennial in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and has received numerous citations from various Philippine award giving bodies.
Call 410-0159 for inquiries.
Reprinted from the Philippine Star, 09/30/02
Go Back to Archives New York-based pianist par excellence Raul Sunico returned to Stars of Giorio on Oct. 5 in a show entitled All About Love Part 3. This was Raul's third time to perform at George Sison's posh fine dining restaurant. His repertoire included immortal classics and well-loved Tagalog songs.
Reprinted from the Manila Bulletin, 10/05/02
Go Back to Archives On Dec. 1, 2002, at 10 a.m., the College of Business Administration of the university of the Philippines, Diliman, will hold its 2002 alumni homecoming. The honoree classes are: BSBAA and BSBA Classes 1970 to 1979, Golden Jubilarians (Class 1952), Ruby Jubilarians (Class 1963), Silver Jubilarians *Class 1977) and the 1970-1979 MBA and DBA/Ph.D. alumni. "Distinguished Alumni Awards" will also be given out to outstanding CBA alumni.
Reprinted from the Philippine Star, 10/14/02
Go Back to Archives Bulawan 5 the National Commission for Culture & the Arts Journal of Philippine Culture and the Arts, features the life and times of Lina Flor, creator of the popular radio series Gulong ng Palad. In this incisive piece by Dr. Soledad Reyes (PhD'79), rediscover Flor as a woman short story writer unfairly pushed to the sidelines.
Also in this issue are: A Filipino translation by Mike Coroza of Bienvenido Santos' short story Scent of Apples, an interview with National Artist for Literature Edith Tiempo on her poetry, and an essay on post-colonial literature by UP Institute of Creative Writing director Virgilio Almario (AB'63; MA'75).
For inquiries, call 527-5529 or 527-2192 local 728.
Reprinted from the Philippine Star, 10/14/02
Go Back to Archives Felino A. Palafox Jr.'s early life revolved around the church and the beaches of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.
It was probably because he loved building sand castles along the beaches of Bacarra that Palafox, founder and managing partner of leading architectural firm Palafox & Associates, was unconsciously guided to become an architect.
Palafox, however, says that architecture was just his fourth career option.
"I actually wanted to be a priest because I studied at the Christ the ing seminary and I was a very pious seminarian. But after four years I realized that I had no vocation. I thought I had it, but I didn't have it after all," Palafox tells Inquirer's SundayBiz.
Since the priesthood was no longer an option, he thought about becoming a doctor like his father. His parents, however, had their hands full raising 10 children so medicine was too expensive. The same with engineering.
So he went for architecture studies instead at the University of Sto. To as in 1967, and he applied the same diligence and dedication that he showed then he was in the seminary.
"I was very active in school and I was very much involved in campus politics. But when the trend went toward violence during that time, I decided to concentrate on my architectural thesis," Palafox says.
He showed enough potential in school that his professor Carlos Santos Viola, famous for designing the Iglesia ni Cristo churches, personally asked him to work for him as an apprenctice for P1 an hour from 1970-1972.
At first I was asked to cut the tracing paper and sharpen pencils, then I drew the borders. After that I graduated to putting the architect's name on the architectural plans. By the time I left I was already drawing some of the details," Palafox says.
Palafox would not stay with his professor for long as he applied for and got the scholarship offered by the United Nations Development Program to take up a Master's degree in Environmental Planning from the University of the Philippines from 1973-1974.
"It was a great opportunity and my stipend was P650 a month, which was very big at that time. My classmates, who went on to work, for instance, got only P200 a month," he says.
The scholarship was on eof the many turning points in Palafox's career as it required him to work for the government for at least a year. He ended up working at the Planning & Project Development Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways under former Secretary David Consunji.
"I was lucky because I had the opportunity to work with experts. I was with a group of young people who were mostly scholars like me," he adds.
The young Palafox was appointed to the head of the team that was tasked to map the infrastructure development of Metro Manila. One of the products of the plan was the rail development program.
As team leader, Palafox got the chance to work with the best in the field of urban planning and infrastructure development from the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
As luck would have it, the royal family of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, got hold of a copy of the Metro Manila development plan with Palafox's name appearing as project leader.
"That was my big break because I was hired personally to be one of to a group of consultants from around the world to implement the vision of the royal family to fast-track the development of Dubai and move it from the fourth world to a first world country in 15 years."
Palafox stayed in Dubai from 1977-1981 and he was hired as an architect and senior urban planner.
He brought with him his wife Wilma, and it was there that their first child, Karmi, was born,
It was also there that he got the chance to build a real castle out of the sand.
"I got to travel the world with my family. I was really treated so well by my employers because everything was free and I could have stayed because Dubai even gave us a perpetual visa, but I still decided to go home in 1981," he says
Palafox adds that he was encouraged to go home because top Filipino chief executives such as Enrique Zobel of Ayala Corp. and Henry Sy of the Shoemart group assured him that he would have a good job waiting for him once he decided to go back to the Philippines.
"I went home to see both when I came back and Henry Sy immediately got me as an in-house architecture consultant. One thing I won't forget about him was that after just six weeks of working for him, he immediately doubled my pay. I tried to return the check but he said I should keep it," he says.
Palafox's designs for the shopping malls of Shoemart immediately got noticed by the Zobels of Ayala, thus he was enticed to join the Ayala group also as the in-house urban planner and architect.
"After 14 months I got promoted. My team and I did all the shopping malls of the Ayala group at that time, the master plan for Ayala Alabang, Greenbelt, Ayala Heights, the Cebu Business Park and the Laguna Technopark," he says.
Much as he enjoyed the pay and the relative ease of being an employee, Palafox decided to bolt the Ayala group in 1989 to put up his own company. He was 39 years old at that time and he thought it was now or never. He chose to risk putting up Palafox and Associates with him and three others as the only employees.
"I was lucky because my former employers remained my clients and I was also approached by other groups to do projects for them such as the Fil-Estate and Greenfield groups," he says.
From the three employees in July 1989, Palafox & Associates today has a work force of 105 and over the past 12 years, it has grown to design more than 3 million square meters of building floor area and the master planning of over 100 communities covering more than 500,000 hectares of land area in 12 countries.
Its major foreign projects include the Saigon Gold & Country Club in Vietnam, Pinnacles Development in Monterey County, California., Science Based City 9n Serpong, Indonesia, Master Plan of Jabal Khandama in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a township project in Kelantan, Malaysia.
Local projects, on the other hand, include the redevelopment of the Rockwell center and the Araneta Center.
Palafox & Associates has also gone up the ranks of the world's top architectural firms as named by the London-based World Architecture magazine from 247 in 2000 to 104th in 2002. It was also awarded the ISO 9001 for Quality Management and ISO 14001 for Environmental Management by TUV in Germany.
Palafox says Palafox & Associates grew because it benefited from the experience of working with the best in the world. He adds that he was fortunate to have worked with people who had vision--from Consunji to the royal family of Dubai to Henry Sy and the Zobels.
"Working with award-winning architects gave me new paradigms and the experience encouraged me to go for alternatives whenever there are design challenges," he adds.
Palafox also credits his seminary training for his success. He explains that the values inculcated in him such as honesty and hard work have worked well in his profession, which is prone to temptation.
He adds that he is lucky to have the full support of his wife and children.
"I always tell my people here that the core values are like lighthouses, they cannot be moved. That is why we have core values that we live up to in our company, and honesty and integrity are the top, even exceeding professionalism and excellence because there are always temptations," he says.
Palafox says he sets an example to his employees by living up top these values, which he has actually learned from his parents and from his seminary training. As he celebrates his 3oth anniversary as an architect, he says he has taken it upon himself to share these values and his experience as an architect with students.
Palafox adds that he is contemplating slowing down, probably just stay on as a consultant of his architectural firm but retiring is not an option. He has even enrolled in the Program for Real Estate Entrepreneurs and Senior Managers offered by Harvard University.
"I may retire 20 years after I am dead," Palafox says.
Reprinted from the Philippine daily Inquirer, 10/06/02
Go Back to Archives How many species of cockroaches live on planet Earth? Can you name the four kinds that cause the most trouble? Which of the four is most likely to bite you?
To find the answers to these and other questions about roaches in particular and insects in general, have Dr. Bugs come to your school. He'll present an interesting 30-minute educational program, sponsored by Crocodile odorless insect killer.
Dr. Who? Dr. Bugs. The presenter is an entomologist, a scientist who knows and studies insects. Because grade school children have trouble with that word, perhaps some grown-ups too, let's just all him Dr. Bugs to keep thins simple.
Dr. Bugs is a doctor. He is Dr. Bonifacio Cayabyab (BSE'77; MS'86; PhD'92), Ph.D. in entomology, and the National crop Protection center, College of Agriculture, UP Los Baņos.
As head of the Plant Quarantine Support Laboratory, Dr. Cayabyab explains that there are many beneficial insects--from bees to the praying mantis.
On the other hand, cockroaches create all kinds of problems. Dr. Bugs will tell you how to protect yourself from them. The four major troublemakers can be kept under control by following a simple action plan.
For inquiries, call Gary Satre at Geiser Maclang Communications, at 932-2403, fax 434-2561, and email gmci@www.net.ph.
Reprinted from the Manila Bulletin, 10/13/02
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