THE UNIVERSITY has officially cancelled Velada Tomasina as part of the University Week celebration in January to channel the resources for the victims of super typhoon Yolanda.
“This decision was made to allow the University to appropriately channel resources and efforts toward operations that will support the rehabilitation of communities that were devastated by recent calamities, especially in the Visayas region,” Secretary General Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P. said in a memorandum last Nov. 13.
The Velada Tomasina, which was supposed to be celebrated again in the 403rd founding year of the University, was supposed to focus on the Dominicans’ development of tertiary education in the Philippines. Participants were supposed to wear historical costumes of 16th to 19th centuries. There was supposed to be a series of exhibits, talks, Eucharistic celebrations and festivals.
The new Central Student Council (CSC) president Romulo Gabriel Kintanar, who assumed the post following the resignation of Miyuki Morishita, said they had yet to come up with an event that would replace Velada Tomasina. The priority is to extend help to the people affected by the super typhoon in Cebu, Bohol, Aklan and Capiz.
Following efforts to help victims of calamities in the Visayas, the CSC, Student Organizations Coordinating Council and the Simbahayan Community Development Office will also revive Tulong Tomasino, a disaster relief project initiated by the University.
Every student is expected to bring three kilos of rice, five packs of noodles, five cans of sardines, twelve 3-in-1 coffees and two liters of water a week after the super typhoon struck Visayas.
Thomasians can also deposit cash donations through bank accounts for both the victims of earthquake and super typhoon.
Tulong Tomasino has received P10, 200 worth of packed relief goods and P700, 000 cash donations collected from the University.
For the victims of super typhoon Yolanda, Kintanar encouraged Thomasians to solicit cash donations for parishes in Batan and Kalibo in Aklan and in Capiz which will be coursed through the Alumni Priests Association (ALPA) in the area in coordination with the Dominican Province of the Philippines.
“These areas are given less aid and media attention, and the University already has existing projects with them, which is why we chose them as our beneficiaries,” Kintanar said in an email to the Varsitarian.
However, the date of the distribution of the goods has yet to be determined because of the lack of means to transport them.
A month after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Central Visayas, the University will be holding “Tulong Tomasino: Paaralan Para sa mga Kabataan,” a long-term program that will require every student to donate P15 to raise a total of P600,000 that will be enough to rebuild two to three classrooms in Cebu and Bohol, Kintanar said. One-third of the total fund will be used to buy reference books.
“In line with our nature as an academic institution, it would be perfect to exemplify how much we value education as a means of paving the way for a better future,” he said. Jon Christoffer R. Obice
