Tag: Special Reports

VICE PRESIDENTIAL candidate Alan Peter Cayetano last Feb. 5 said a Duterte administration won’t violate human rights under a campaign pledge to wipe out criminality.

“If you see how Mayor Duterte talks, yes, he talks about [it being] bloody, about killing. But he’s never said he’d kill anyone in cold blood,” Cayetano said in a forum at the Seminary Gym, in answer to a question about his running mate, presidential bet Rodrigo Duterte, being involved in summary killings of criminals and drug peddlers in Davao City.

Duterte, who has been mayor of Davao City for seven terms, was unable to attend the UST forum due to a prior commitment in Pampanga, where he was seen kissing some women attending his event.

CHANGE starts with the youth.

The country has taken the first step against political dynasties in the form of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Reform Act or Republic Act 10742, a law that bans second-degree relatives of government officials from running for posts in the barangay youth council.

Section 10 of the SK Reform Act, which lists down the qualifications of an SK official, states that an SK official “either elective or appointee […] must not be related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity” to any incumbent national or local government official which includes parents, grandparents, siblings and relations by law or marriage such as spouses and in-laws.

DESPITE strong opposition from UST officials, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is pushing through with the plan to build a flyover along Lacson Avenue.

Alex Bote, DPWH project manager of the Lacson flyover since 2014, said the start of the construction period was moved to late 2016 due to revisions in the design.

The four-lane flyover, aimed at easing traffic woes in the area, was originally designed to start at Alcantara Street and end near Dapitan Street. The endpoint has been extended three blocks further to Aragon Street.

INCUMBENT and former lawmakers dominated the top senatorial picks of Thomasians for the 2016 national elections, a survey conducted by the Varsitarian showed.

Former senator Richard “Dick” Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, emerged as the top contender, with 61 percent of Thomasians saying they would vote for him if the elections were held on the day they were polled. He was followed by former justice secretary Leila de Lima with 57 percent.

Gordon, a former mayor of Olongapo, served as senator from 2004 to 2010. He ran for president in 2010 and senator in 2013, but lost in both elections.

WHAT do Thomasians look for in a candidate?

A Varsitarian survey has found that most UST students prefer candidates in the May 9 elections who possess moral values and educational qualifications, as well as those who will fight graft and corruption in government.

The survey, conducted in October to December 2015, asked 1,366 respondents randomly selected from the University’s different colleges and faculties to rank six qualities of a candidate based on importance.

ANXIETY is common among Thomasians, according to the UST Counseling and Career Center (CCC).

Results of the “depression scale report” of the CCC for Academic Year 2013-2014, the most recent data, yielded an average score of 57.21, which suggested that Thomasians, mostly sophomores, were feeling lethargic, sad and disinterested but that the score was “not enough to warrant a diagnosis for depression.”

The report added that none of the respondent groups got an average score of 60-69, the significant value indicating if depression was present or not.

The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.”

DESPITE recognition as a premiere Philippine university, UST still needs to improve its curriculum and offer niche programs to attain international standards for quality education.

Office of International Relations and Programs Director Lilian Sison said upgrades and changes in the curriculum as well as additional scholarship programs were needed to maximize opportunities for students.

“There should be something done in the curriculum for global learning so other students get exposed,” Sison said.