Tag: April 8, 2013

THE DIOCESE of Bacolod and the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan have shown contrasting though not necessarily conflicting approaches to the May 13 elections. While Bacolod has outrightly identified for the Catholic faithful all those who voted for and against the Reproductive Health law last year, urging Catholic voters to reject the former and accept the latter, Lingayen-Dagupan has stopped short of naming names, merely coming up with general prescriptions of what a wise and correct vote could be, with emphasis of course on the Church’s pro-life, natural-law advocacy.

UST is not—and will never be—a “diploma mill.”

The recent “solemn investitures” in the University saw 8,000 UST graduates given the send-off, ready to face the industry, or what is ponderously called the “real world.”

These graduates had labored and toiled just to get to the pinnacle of academic life—graduation.

But UST haters dismiss the chances of UST graduates since to them, UST is a second-rate school.

Diploma mill, they say.

In an online forum on the state of tertiary education in the Philippines, one user said that the dismal showing of graduates in the professional world may be traced to the incompetence of schools where they acquired their education.

GOOD intentions do not always result in better ends.

Earth Hour is one of the most popular, if not the most hyped, environment-related events. The annual occasion, organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been a global habit since 2008. It encourages everyone to turn off their lights for an hour to inspire the world to act against the climate change.

“I GO to seek a Great Perhaps.”

Francois Rabelais’ last words served as an important viewpoint for Miles Halter, the main protagonist in John Green’s bestselling novel Looking for Alaska. I kept asking myself on what the Great Perhaps really is, immersing myself into wishful thinking that I could somehow find a way to relate this mindset to the current state of cultural preservation in our country.

Funnily enough, I did.

ALBERT Einstein said, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.”

My brother Luke* was born healthy and perfect, but as he was growing up, it seemed that something was wrong with him. The first thing my parents noticed was his speech delay. At the age of two he would not speak and wouldn’t communicate even in a non-verbal way; he was even incapable of eye contact. His gestures include a lot of hand flapping and head banging. Whenever Luke sees a man wearing eyeglasses, he would run to him and demand to be carried (this may root from the absence of my father who was then working overseas). In short, he lived in his own little world no one could understand or penetrate.

UST’S OPPOSITION to the planned flyover project on Lacson Avenue has prompted the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to consider building an underpass instead.

Project Engineer Rito Badillo confirmed this, saying DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson is now proposing to build an underpass instead of a flyover on Lacson, following a meeting with Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. last year.

The underpass will run through España Boulevard, with the objective of declogging the busy intersection of España and Lacson. This was the solution used to decongest the intersection of Quezon and Araneta avenues in Quezon City, near Sto. Domingo Church.

A UST historian has backed the Sultanate of Sulu’s claim to the resource-rich Sabah territory, in the aftermath of the Lahad Datu standoff between sultanate and Malaysian forces that killed 68 people from both sides as well as civilians.

Department of History Chairman Augusto De Viana said Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III had every right to press his claim to Sabah, the northern part of Borneo Island that is a federated state of Malaysia.

“He is only fighting for his proprietary rights,” he said. “The fact that Malaysia is paying Kiram every year should be enough proof that his claim is valid.”

IF PUMP systems of the metropolis are fixed, will devastating floods sinking Manila and nearby areas every year finally stop?

To reduce heavy flooding in the metro especially during wet season, 1.6 billion pesos was released by the Department of Budget and Management last March for the repair and upgrade of 12 water-pumping stations.

According to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, the rehabilitation of selected pumps will help ease flooding in Metro Manila and suburbs.

“The recently approved funds will allow us to enhance the capacity of our pumping facilities and upgrade them as needed, well before the rainy season,” Abad said on the department’s website.

INNOVATION bridges pure sciences with the challenges of the changing world.

Aiming to promote practical and innovative applications of scientific research, the UST Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences held the first UST NeoVation: iThomasian Challenge and Expo from March 11 to 15.

With the theme: “Addressing Human Health and Environmental Concerns through Thomasian Innovation,” the “neovators” were challenged to find new solutions to old problems.

One of the teams formulated a treatment for acne, a type of skin disease caused by hormone imbalance, increased stress levels, genetic factors and bacterial growth.

BEHIND the fuel that revs up your engine is a full-throttled Thomasian chemist.

Serving for more than a decade at Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., Donnabel Kuizon-Cruz had always been in love with science.

“Before, I used to write on slum books what I wanted to become. What I always put on mine is to be a computer scientist or just a plain scientist for that matter,” she said.

“I also considered taking up Psychology, because my original plan was to proceed to Medicine right after graduation. However, I wanted something more hands-on and challenging, to solve solutions and create formulas.”

And like every scientist who works independently, Cruz has carried within her a distinct personality she grew up with.