Tag: November 10, 2012

THE UNIVERSITY has again proven itself as one of the country’s top producers of board topnotchers after two Thomasians shared the top spot in the recent licensure exams for certified public accountants (CPA), and nine of the top 10 spots were dominated by UST graduates in the board exams for interior designers.

Five Thomasians entered the Top 10 of the October CPA licensure exams with two of them taking the top spot, a first in the history of CPA board exams.

Tied for the top spot were Celaica Vibar, the batch valedictorian, and Bren Cruz. They got identical scores of 94.14 percent.

The last Thomasian to top the CPA exams was Jhoanna Go, who graduated magna cum laude in 2003 and took the exam two years later.

THOUSANDS of devotees of La Naval de Manila flocked to Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City for the annual grand procession last Oct. 14, the culmination of a nine-day novena.

Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said in his homily that the procession is a day commemorating the Philippines’ victory in the sea battles of La Naval 366 years ago. This year’s feast had the theme “Maria: Ina ng Pananampalataya” in keeping with the Year of Faith declared by Pope Benedict XVI.

“Sa araw na ito ay ipinagdiriwang natin ang tagumpay ng panalangin, pananampalataya, at pagtulong ng ating Mahal na Ina. Ito ay araw ng pagdulog sa Ina para sa pagsasabuhay ng ating pananampalataya,” he said.

STRAIGHT from canonization rites in Rome last Oct. 21, the image of San Pedro Calungsod visited the University last Oct. 25, drawing thousands of devotees.

The University was the first station assigned for the “Duaw Nasud” (national visitation), described by organizers as a national pilgrimage of thanksgiving for Calungsod, the second Filipino saint.

“Martyrdom is not just about dying. It is as much as living one’s life to the full,” Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. said in his homily. “I believe that this University is blessed because martyrs lived and visited UST. [It] is with fervent joy that I welcome and receive the image of San Pedro Calungsod.”

THE VARSITARIAN received heavy criticism for its Sept. 30 editorial titled “RH Bill, Ateneo, and La Salle: Of Lemons and Cowards,” slamming Ateneo and La Salle professors who openly support the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

The controversial piece, which became a trending topic on Twitter, said professors must respect the stand of the Catholic Church against the RH bill and labelled them as “intellectual pretenders and interlopers,” drawing negative reactions from netizens and the traditional media.

However, there are also industry veterans who lauded the University and the Varsitarian.

TOURISM alumna Cyrish Magalang, who was brutally killed by two drug addicts last Oct. 31 in Cavite, will be remembered by her loved ones as someone who was quiet but courageous enough to stand by her principles.

On the night she was killed, Cyrish was on her way home from the SMX Convention Center in Pasay, where she had been working as a guest services assistant for a month and a half.

She had stopped to buy puto bumbong as pasalubong for her family near the tricycle terminal in Camella Subdivision at Molino in Bacoor, Cavite.

PROFESSORS are at odds over how to use the accumulated P19.1 million in savings of the faculty union.

During the general assembly of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) last September, some members sought the distribution of excess money that the union had collected from professors as membership fees under the “check off” scheme.

Teresita Meer, a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, said the union was duty-bound to give back what is due to the professors.

“[The check off] will continue [for a long time] and therefore the P19.1 million should be distributed this year... many of us will [soon] be retirees,” Meer said.

A FORMER UST student was seriously injured after being stabbed by a group of female teenagers inside Far Eastern University (FEU) campus in Manila last Oct. 2.

Police Officer Aaron Cortez of the Manila Police District Station 4 said investigators were still determining the motive for the attack but were looking at a “lover’s quarrel” angle, which resulted in a conflict between two rival sororities in the university belt area.

However, Joanne Lourdes Reyes, the victim, had denied this in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer last Oct. 6.

A police report obtained by the Varsitarian stated that the 20-year-old victim was invited by a friend to watch an awarding ceremony of a film competition at FEU.

AUTHORITIES enforced stricter security measures as examinees trooped anew to the UST campus for this year’s Bar examinations.

Two-hundred fifty security personnel were tapped during the four Sundays of October, officials said.

The Supreme Court Security Division spearheaded the security operations while the Philippine National Police (PNP) explosives and counter-terrorism divisions patrolled the vicinity of UST. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Court of Appeals, the UST Security Office, and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group took charge inside the campus.

Traffic aides from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau supervised traffic flow around UST.

BUSINESSMEN and government officials must work to boost the weak manufacturing sector to help reduce poverty.

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), a non-profit government research institution, called on top executives, economists, and policy makers to develop the manufacturing sector by empowering the academe to achieve quality education, during the celebration of the 10th Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) at the National Economic Development Authority Building in Makati last Sept. 24 to 26.

“If you have had developed manufacturing sector, there would have been more high-paying jobs for the less-educated people,” PIDS president Josef Yap told the Varsitarian. “And that means that poverty incidence would have been lower.”

THE SANTISIMO Rosario Parish celebrated its 70th founding anniversary last Oct.7, highlighting the “Year of Faith” of the Catholic Church proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI.

“This is really history for the parish for reaching the 70th year of serving people, preaching the word of God and administering sacraments,” said Parish Priest Fr. Franklin Beltran, O.P.

“People must strengthen their confidence, especially about their faith. Faith is a grace from God,” he added.

Aside from the parishioners, the Thomasian community has also considered Santisimo Rosario as a center of physical and spiritual formation through its administration of sacraments to the students, faculty members and administrators.