Tag: April 13, 2011

THE RAISED eyebrows, the calculating head-to-toe then toe-to-head eye movement, the smirk, and, of course, the condescending facial expression—it’s the kind of look that a self-proclaimed pro would give a newbie, a look that says “You don’t know what you have gotten yourself into and I would revel in seeing you suffer.”

I know that look because I have given it a couple of times. I have also seen my friends do this, sizing up somebody else and judging the person solely based on what they see. But behind the instances when I threw this intimidating glance at someone, I admit that I also cower under this gaze and I will probably feel that way until someone finds that I am good enough to work with them and for them.

IN MOST sports leagues, incentives are given to a team that convincingly performed well in the previous round, fair enough to give it a well-deserved edge coming into the playoffs.

This applies to the UAAP Football rules wherein the team that topped the double-round robin (where each team gets to face their opponents twice) will be awarded a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals and in case of a tournament sweep, the team will be merited an automatic championship title.

This season, the UST Lady Booters and the Far Eastern University (FEU) finished the second round tied at 16 points as both teams had five wins, one draw, and two losses.

AS THE editor of the religious section of the Varsitarian, I have the obligation to get the truth of issues holy or unholy.

It so happened that last March 25, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) along with other religious groups, held an inter-faith pro-life rally at the Quirino Grandstand to protest the Reproductive Health bill.

To be honest, there was nothing unusual with this religious rally: the usual invocation of the will of God, the condemnation of politicians supporting the RH bill, dubbed as “evil minions,” and the celebration of the mass.

SA SUSUNOD na buwan, libu-libong Tomasino ang magpapaalam sa buhay-kolehiyo. Isang panibagong buhay ang sisimulan ng lahat, malayo sa nakasanayang buhay-eskuwela sa loob ng halos 14 na taon—ang pagiging manggagawa.

Ngunit hindi lahat ay papalaring makahanap agad ng trabaho. Habang taun-taon ay parami nang parami ang nangangailangan ng trabaho, pakaunti naman nang pakaunti ang mga oportunidad.

DETERMINED to erase the “stained” reputation of military officials, Thomasian and newly appointed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eduardo San Lorenzo Oban Jr. has vowed to tighten the military’s procurement process and accountability.

“We would like to look at this (corruption) as more of a challenge, a motivation for the entire institution to have an aggressive step towards reforming the armed forces, particularly in the area of financial management and procurement,” Oban said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

On corruption

ARE MANUAL elections better than computerized voting when it comes to voter turnout?

Yes, according to Central Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Louise Malabanan, after seeing that the turnout during the past three automated elections has been lower compared with manual voting.

Malaban said that during the last manual elections in 2008, Comelec recorded a 70 percent university-wide voter turnout, while this year, only 65 percent of the total voting population participated in the elections.

Malabanan, however, could not cite exact figures, saying that files from previous years have been misplaced.

STUDENTS should divert their energies to activities like sports to avoid being tempted to engage in pre-marital sex, a staunch anti-Reproductive Health (RH) bill advocate said in a forum last March 16.

Speaking for the first time since admitting to giving incentives to students who had posted negative comments on the Facebook page of a political party supporting the RH bill, theology professor Aguedo Jalin said the bill would destroy the family as an institution.

“The reason why the RH bill is strong right now is because it is targeting the youth. [The proponents of the bill] are riding on the energy of the youth to get this passed when in fact this bill makes the youth irresponsible, since it can promote promiscuity,” Jalin said.

THE GROWING number of youth engaging in pre-marital sex can be addressed by “transformation of the heart and not the annihilation of sensual desires,” a sought-after international chastity speaker said.

Speaking to thousands of attendees, mostly teenagers, at the SMX Convention Center last February 27, Jason Evert also said curbing corruption, not a controversial bill earmarking billions of pesos for contraceptives, would solve the problem of poverty in the Philippines.

“The solution is transformation of the heart, not the annihilation of sensual desires,” Evert said.

Evert lamented that men have been “lied” to on what is to be a man, while girls have failed to show what real beauty is.

THROUGH a unique visual presentation of the human’s flesh, a travelling exhibit showcases real human specimens preserved under room temperature, made possible by the process of ‘plastination’.

Dr. Gunther Von Hagens, a German anatomist and inventor of the plastination, believed that he can make a human sample without storing them in freezing temperatures.

“Specimens were permanently preserved, retaining the texture of the skin tissues, even its microscopic capillaries, as if they were alive,” said exhibit marketing manager Rosse Gamban.

The exhibition, located in Taguig city, was divided into halls named after Greek deities, which represents each of the human body’s system.

Discovering the human body

THROUGH the years, it has been proven that the body can cure itself—and this Thomasian doctor that this kind of healing can be achieved through energy medicine therapy.

Dr. Willie Lagdameo, a pediatric surgeon and a professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, promotes this type of healing which uses energy in the body, instead of having a patient depend solely on prescribed medicines. His best proof? He says he himself got well owing to energy medicine. The term refers to a “wide and ever-changing field of holistic healing based on working with the human energy system to help heal disease,” according to ‘energy medicine healer’ Marie Manuchehri (energyintuitive.com).