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IS THIS the face of Christ?

This question has intrigued the millions of poeple who have seen the Shroud of Turin, the venerated “burial clothes of Jesus Christ” believed to have captured Christ’s image after the Crucifixion.

According to Maricar Estrabo, project officer of “The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: The Philippine Exhibition” and a member of the Crusaders of the Holy Face, the Shroud of Turin, despite doubts about its authenticity, is one of the most precious treasures of Christianity.

“Although the Shroud of Turin is not known to many, the value given to it is manifested through its expositions,” Estrabo told the Varsitarian. “The Shroud of Turin is viewed by the public three to four times only in a century. Today, it is safely kept in a special chamber designed to preserve the artifact in Turin, Italy.”

UST INTERIOR Design alumnus Jerome Salaya Ang crashed into fashion design despite his ignorance of the basics such as pattern-making and sewing.

But much has changed since 1999 as Ang’s patience to learn the fundamentals and hone his fashion sense steadily built for him a reputation for tailoring chic wedding and evening gowns dolling up today’s high-class socialites and well-known celebrities.

Indeed, Ang has come a long way from being the clueless fashion designer wanna-be to the promising young style maker he is now. Thanks to eight years of hard work and four years of studying in UST.

From interior to couture

Ang studied at UST because of its proximity to his home in Tondo. He also acknowledges the University’s commitment in tapping and improving the talents of its students.

EXPERIENCE as they say is the best teacher, and in my four years here in the University, I have proven that premise right.

Degrees offered here may be diverse but they share a common ground. More than the lectures and exams, it is on the spot training that holds more foundation for us students.

Majority of the courses require a laboratory subject, where they apply all the principles they have learned during the lectures they previously had. Apart from these burdensome yet educational subjects, some still have what many identify as internship, where they get a slap of the kind of world they would they will soon be facing outside the four corners of the University.

But it is quite sad to note that this is not the intensive kind of curriculum that every Thomasian receives. What about those who solely have lecture subjects in their list?

LAST October 18, my godmother, Dr. Charlotte M. Chiong, was awarded as one of the Top Outstanding Filipino Physicians (TOFP) by the Department of Health (DOH). She told me a few days later about the speech that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III gave during the TOFP awarding ceremonies. Duque said that 85 per cent of the country’s healthcare professionals are now abroad and that a “collapse” of the Philippine healthcare delivery system is not too far behind.

Concerned, I researched on the topic and discovered that, according to Duque, for every 100 healthcare professionals, 88 have left the country in search of more lucrative jobs abroad. Duque added that for every 28,000 Filipinos, only one government doctor is available and that Filipinos in the rural areas are at a disadvantage because the best doctors in the country practice in Metro Manila.

IT USUALLY takes an ordeal of wit, creativity, and incredible timing for comedians to craft and deliver a decent, sellable punch line. But vending humor in exchange for insult makes it unacceptable.

However hilarious, some American comedy shows have bluntly offended Filipinos by remarks mentioned in the lines of some shows. It is as if Filipinos and our attributes are treated as a mere punch line.

ASIDE FROM Dominic, Aquinas, and Martin de Porres, there is one more hound of God that I recently came to admire as my eyes raked through the texts of his life story one leisurely morning on All Saints Day.

Pardon me for getting hooked at Church history these days. The kind of pasttime that I have may appear trivial, if not antiquated, for a handful of intellectual posers roaming the University and declaring the secularism of their thoughts from all evils, imagined or otherwise. I could only mope in boundless consternation.

SA IKALAWANG pagkakataon, hindi nakapagpadala ng volunteers ang Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) ng simbahan ng Santissimo Rosario sa nakaraang halalang pambarangay noong ika-29 ng Oktubre.

Matatandaan na hindi rin nakapagpadala ang sangay ng PPCRV sa UST noong nakaraang Mayo sa pambansang halalan dahil sa kakulangan ng tauhan at pinansyal na supports.

Ayon kay Ricardo Galang, PPCRV Coordinator ng ikaapat na distrito ng Maynila, malaki ang nasasakripisyo kung kulang sa tauhan ang PPCRV katulad na lamang ng nangyari sa nakaraang botohan.

“Bukod sa Santissimo Rosario, hindi rin naki-isa ang mga simbahan ng San Roque, Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, at Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro,” ani Galang sa Varsitarian. “Dahil dito, maraming botante ang hindi natulungan at maraming lumabag sa batas ang nakalusot.”

A professor from the Faculty of Engineering almost lost two laptops and some personal belongings after an outsider shattered the window of his car parked in front of the Miguel de Benavides Library last October 25.

The suspect was caught by UST security guards just as he was about to board a jeepney bound for Quiapo.

A Graduate School student, Sister Anna T. Nguyen Koan, happened to pass by when she saw a man smash the rear right quadrant window of the red Toyota Revo owned by Engr. Cristino Carbonell, and take three bags inside. Sister Koan immediately informed the security guards stationed at the Central Library who, in turn, alerted Edilberto Repizo and Eduard Tiu, guards assigned at the Dapitan gate.

The guards quickly responded and caught the suspect, Angelito Cortez, a resident of Alvarez St., Sampaloc.

The bags contained two laptops, a mobile phone, and an MP3 player.

THOMASIAN doctors based in the United States were among the first to cry foul when the lead actress of the hit TV series “Desperate Housewives” took a swipe on the quality of medical education in the Philippines.

In the season premiere of the primetime series that aired September 30 in the US, Teri Hatcher, who plays Susan Mayer in the sitcom about five housewives in an American suburb, went to her doctor for a check-up and found out that she was going through menopause. Shocked, Hatcher’s character told to the doctor:

“Okay, before we go any further, can I check these diplomas? Just to make sure they aren’t, like, from some med school in the Philippines.”

Filipino doctors in the US immediately branded the line as a “racial slur” against them and against medical schools in the Philippines.

A THOMASIAN who graduated last March could have been one of the casualties of the explosion that rocked Glorietta Mall in Makati last October 19 but he and his friends were lucky enough to escape without scratch. But unfortunately, the sister of one University employees – at the peak of her career as an IT programmer – were among the 11 killed by the blast.

Orville Zaragoza Jr., 21, who works at Smart Communications as business analyst was with his friends on a regular “Friday lunch out” at the mall that day. Little did they know that after their “bonding time” over lunch, disaster would strike.

After lunch, they decided to stroll inside the mall when they heard the loud explosion a few meters away from where they were standing.