Tag: No. 5

OUR EMERALD tower of prickly pines,

crystal spheres dangling

from its sturdy wooden arm

our neighbors fuddled with drink

singing carols

with jumbled lyrics

pouring drinks in your name, saying,

“O, kay Kuya Leo naman.”

You used to wipe the dust off the figurine angels

revealing faded smiles

paint chipping off from handheld harps and trumpets

left, right, left, right went the washcloth

and the golden star for the finish

that you wouldn’t let anyone touch nor clean

(Remember when I used metal polish

and you didn’t speak to me for a week?)

HE CAUGHT himself tiptoeing the line

between reality and fiction,

lost in daydreams of sumptuous dishes

and new clothes.

The December breeze blew

and tugged at both the roof and his thoughts as

he was greeted by the cold—

nothing spelled seasons better than

gifts cradled in boxes,

draped with patches of red and green,

aroma of cured meats wafting through the air,

a sea of lights flooding the town by nightfall.

He snapped out of wishful thinking

and embraced raw truth, reality bared

as it truly were—

cheap bulbs,

Mother’s bland spaghetti,

and Father’s hand-me-downs,

everyone cramped in a little hut

far-flung from the heart of the celebration —

images he was willing to forgo

even for a little while

for the love of Yuletide magic.

IGINAGALA ni Mariel ang kaniyang paningin sa labas ng simbahan habang pinagmamasdan ang makukulay na palamuti sa paligid nito gayundin ang mga pailaw na nagpapaligsahan sa kislap. Masarap sa balat ang dampi ng hangin at kakaiba ang taglay nitong bango. Dagsa ang mga pamilya galing sa kahit saang sulok ng barangay. Matagal pa bago sumikat ang araw subalit animo alas dos na ng hapon.

Sa gitna ng mga naghahagikhikang mga kabataan, naroon si Mang Anding na halatang aligaga sa pagdukot ng barya sa kaniyang bulsa. Pilit niyang ibinabalanse ang kaniyang sarili sa kaniyang luma at marupok na saklay. Isinabit muna niya ang bunton ng sampagita malapit sa mga tulusan ng kandila bago marahang binilang ang tigpipisong sukli ng isang aleng may bitbit na sanggol.

HALOS taon-taon nagbubukas kami ng balikbayan box tuwing sasapit ang kapaskuhan.

Naging tradisiyon na ito mula nang maging overseas Filipino workers (OFW) sina Papa at Mama noong 2008.

Laman ng malalaking kahon ang sandamukal na tsokolateng nabibili nila ng bagsak presyo kumpara sa Pilipinas, mga bagong kamiseta na branded at ginto kung tingalain sa Pinas, at mga rekadong panghanda sa noche buena—gatas na delata, spaghetti noodles, ketchup at maraming pa iba.

BAGO pa man maitatag ang taunang parangal pampanitikan ng Varsitarian na Gawad Ustetika, mayroon nang patimpalak-pampanitikan sa Unibersidad.

Taong 1769 nang dumating sa bansa si Fr. Salvador Llosent na naatasang panghawakan ang posisyong professorial chair of humanities ng Unibersidad. Tungkulin niyang payabungin ang mga klase ng humanidades sa UST.

Sa ilalim ng kaniyang panunungkulan, yumabong sa 220 ang mag-aaral sa humanities—ang pinakamalaking klase sa Unibersidad noon.

Anim na taon makaraan nang kaniyang pagdating, itinatag niya ang Certamen Literario (patimpalak pampanitikan) noong ika-7 ng Marso 1775 sa pista ni Santo Tomas de Aquino.

THE UNIVERSITY emerged as the only top-performing school in the first-ever licensure examination for psychometricians, with seven Thomasians landing in the top 10, including first place.

UST also dominated the recent licensure examinations for teachers (LET) and mechanical engineers, but recorded a lower passing rate for certified public accountants (CPA), results from the Professional Regulation Commission showed.

LIKE a true steward of Christ, this Dominican priest instilled discipline in countless individuals enough to leave a legacy of academic excellence in the University.

Frederick Fermin, O.P., the second Filipino rector of the University of Santo Tomas, succumbed to old age last Oct. 27 at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, Baguio City. He was 90 years old.

In his homily during the funeral mass for Fermin last Oct. 29 at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church, UST Rector Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. praised his predecessor for his exemplary service to the University.

Dagohoy said that Fermin was a firm, but gentle man.

"Fermin was a man who had a sense of justice tempered with compassion and generosity,” Dagohoy said.

MORE THAN a year after being declared as Centers of Excellence (COE) and Centers of Development (COD), several programs of the University have not yet received the millions worth of assistance funds from the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

The delay in the release of the funds was due to the pending submission of liquidation reports and receipts of previous CHEd-funded projects by the University’s Office of the Internal Auditor to CHEd, said Journalism coordinator Jeremaiah Opiniano.

THE UST Faculty Union (USTFU) has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its July decision junking the union’s P26-million claim for hospitalization and medical benefits for the years 1997 to 2003.

USTFU filed its motion for reconsideration last Sept. 15, arguing that the high tribunal made an error in holding that the claims of USTFU were barred by prescription or the period set by law within which the claims could be made, and that USTFU was not entitled to the medical benefits.

The dispute between USTFU and UST is over how much the latter would contribute to the former’s hospitalization and medical benefits fund, and whether it should be one-time or cumulative, given the annual increase in tuition.

DESPITE being the country’s biggest music school in terms of student population and a government-designated Center of Excellence (COE) since 1999, the Conservatory of Music is suffering from lack of facilities and equipment.

Music Dean Raul Sunico said he has yet to solve the classroom shortage 12 years after assuming his post. “We don’t have our own building, we’re just begging for classrooms [from the College of Education] year after year. There are no rooms for the students so they practice in hallways and even hold classes there,” Sunico said in an interview.