Tag: Vol. LXXXV

CONCERNS are growing over the decision of the country’s top universities to shift to a new academic calendar starting this year, in particular over weather conditions during the new schedule of classes.

UST has moved classes to July-May from the traditional June-March schedule, to align with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which is pushing through with economic integration in 2015. Other universities such as the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila, and De La Salle University are also adjusting their academic calendars.

EXPERTS have warned that the steady warming in the Pacific could be a sign to an upcoming El Niño event.

The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said there was a 60-percent chance for an event to develop during the remainder of the year.

Even though the country is yet to experience the effects of a looming El Niño phenomenon, Philippines is already under an “El Niño watch,” said Rusy Abastillas, a weather specialist from the Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

MIXING viruses may result in a treatment for bacterial infections.

Device-related diseases are acquired when a biofilm, a slimy aggregate of bacteria, contaminates medical devices, just like how one can be infected by Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) through unhygienic catheters inserted to the body.

“Instead of making them better, medical devices might even worsen the situation of patients,” said Paola Bianca Buiser, a graduate researcher from the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences.

She warned that these devices might cause several infections, an emerging problem in healthcare facilities.

THE VATICAN has yet to release an official announcement but Church officials are already looking forward to welcoming Pope Francis to the Philippines next year.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Permanent Committee on Public Affairs, said in an interview there were still no preparations for the 2015 papal visit, but the Pope's expression of his intention to visit was enough to spark excitement among the faithful.

Pabillo said the Pope’s arrival would channel more assistance to Leyte and other regions devastated by Typhoon “Yolanda.”

THE POPE who reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on marriage and responsible parenthood may soon be a saint.

Pope Paul VI has moved closer to sainthood as Pope Francis formally approved a miracle attributed to the late pontiff’s intercession last May 9.

The intercession involved the miraculous birth of a baby in California. In 1990, a pregnant mother had a rupture in the fetal bladder, draining the amniotic fluid. Doctors advised the mother to abort her baby.

Instead of terminating the pregnancy, the mother sought the intercession of Pope Paul VI. The baby is now a healthy adolescent, according to a report by Catholic News Service last May 12.

DIFFERENT images and titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary were highlighted at the Grand Marian Exhibit from May 15 to May 22 at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Parañaque.

The shrine displayed 60 images of the Blessed Mother, brought by custodians and collectors of religious artworks from different parts of the country.

Fr. Vitaliano "Chito" Dimaranan, director of Marian Programs and Initiatives at the shrine, said the exhibit sought to generate interest among the faithful on the immense role of the Blessed Mother in the life of the Church.

THIS three-time Benavides awardee is a cut above the rest.

Thomasian architecture graduate Justin Owen Francisco has won the award, which is given to students who excelled in academic and extra-curricular activities both local and international, thrice in five years.

Francisco, who recently graduated from the College of Architecture, said Thomasian architects’ natural appreciation of beauty set themselves apart from the others.

“Thomasians are creative and have an ‘eye’ for distinguishing beauty. Their works revolve around both aesthetics and function. Unlike others who focus on theory and science rather than the art per se of architecture,” he said.

THIS architect always had a way with words, not just with numbers.

Architecture alumnus Ian Jay Bantilan launched the second installment of his art exhibit titled Dark Stained White II last April 24 to May 22. The exhibit showcased both his drawings and poetry at Museo Negrense de La Salle in Bacolod.

“I’m really happy about this exhibit because this was something that I have been dreaming of for a long time now,” said Bantilan, who initially conceptualized the project 10 years ago and made it happen at the first exhibit in SM Bacolod in 2012.

Though more inclined in poetry, Bantilan still made a name in architecture after establishing his own architectural firm, Archian Designs Architect Studios (ADAS), in Dubai in November 2010.

SCULPTOR Ramon Orlina, the artist behind Quattromondial, the monument erected at the Quadricentennial Park in 2011 during the 400th anniversary of UST, has inaugurated Museo Orlina in Tagaytay City, a showcase not only of his sculptures and other art pieces but of Philippine visual arts in general.

Formally opened last April, the modern four-story building houses new and old works of the pioneer in glass sculpture, ranging from his exquisite glass works to his splendid bronze pieces.

All of the museum’s levels are named after Orlina’s children.

The first floor, Naesa, named after Orlina’s eldest daughter, includes the Reflections Gallery, which mounts exhibits by other Filipino artists.

After making a name for himself for his highly detailed pen-and-ink drawings, College of Fine Arts and Design alumnus Janos Delacruz has turned to painting. His exhibit, Kalamay, which ran at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) April 3 to May 11, consisted of 15 oil-on-canvas works governed by his artistic approach of presenting social truths concealed in playful images. Delacruz explained that the variant meanings of “kalamay” inspired the works. The word means sweetness in Visayan. But in Tagalog, “lamay” means to grieve.

In “Happy Meal Nation,” Delacruz critiqued Filipinos' penchant for fast food and likening it to religious devotion, like the novena they make every Wednesday to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.