WITH the University seemingly divided into different time zones, UST Secretary-General Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P., has again ordered the synchronization of all clocks in the campus based on the Philippine Standard Time (PST), in a memorandum issued last January 29.
The memorandum is a reiteration of a 2002 order made by then secretary general and now director of the Santo Tomas e-Service Providers (STEPS), Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P.
“Primarily there was an unknown University time, which was five minutes ahead of the PST. Eventually, we discovered that the different colleges and departments have different timepieces. Even some dormitories around the University are 30 minutes ahead of the PST. So we decided that the University have an official time, which is not five minutes ahead but synchronized with the PST,” Father Cabading told the Varsitarian when the synchronization was first ordered.
The readjusted clocks, meanwhile, will be based on the PST of the National Institute for Standardization as shown in the website http://times.clari.net.au/location.php3/Asia/Manila. The webpage, which takes note of the time all over the world with an atomic clock, was the same reference used by Father Cabading’s old memo. Officials and students alike viewed the reissued order positively.
“It will be very useful to come up with a common time around the university,” said STEPS network engineer Sebastian Mendoza. Even though the department is not directly affected by the inconsistency of time in the campus, he said the initiative will promote punctuality among Thomasians.
Even students said to be benefiting from the conflicting clocks around the University saw the memorandum on a good note.
“The (beneficiaries) not only include cross-enrollees and irregular students but entire classes who frequently have to wait for tardy and unreasonable professors,” said Faculty of Arts and Letters student Allan Policarpio.
To ensure that University officials consistently follow the accurate time, Father Abaño has required UST offices and departments to assign someone who will regularly check the clocks’ consistency with the PST.
