Tag: June 18, 2010

THERE are “twins” visiting the Philippines once in a while.

Just as the long dry spell that hit the country is coming to an end, the weather bureau said there is a 40 percent chance that strong rains would replace it— something meteorologists attribute to a cycle occurring every two to seven years.

Edna Juanillo, chief of the climate monitoring and production section of the Phillippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said the El Niño phenomenon is a recurring cycle.”El Niño is not an effect of global warming because it is a cycle,” Juanillo, said.

THE VOTES are in and in all likelihood, it seems that “yellow” will be the new color of change.

As Filipinos await the proclamation of the next president and vice president, it’s time to reflect on lessons learned from the country’s first-ever nationwide automated balloting, an exercise that attracted some 50 million voters.

“Filipinos are always eager to try something new,” said Zenia Rodriguez, Political Science coordinator of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, explaining the overwhelming influx of voters. According to her, this was due to the Filipinos’ initial acceptance of the new voting procedure, despite it being relatively new and complicated.

SOCIOLOGY student Justin Elizaga was counting election returns that scrolled through his arms day and night.

He encoded some of the 76,475 election returns for validation and catalogued them, not an easy task especially when you had been doing this non-stop all day, up until the wee hours of the night.

Still, Elizaga did not let up knowing he—like many other UST volunteers of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) for the May 10 elections—was doing something noble.

“It wasn’t really just a piece of cake,” Elizaga said. “It was a real job in the real world. It was something for our country.”

‘Getting involved’

When UST was relocated from Intramuros to Sampaloc in 1927, Thomasians had to tread on nameless streets and do away with landmarks and buildings inside the campus for directions. But 32 years later, one student’s initiative christened the 19 roads in the University. That student was Luis Ablaza Jr.

“UST is already like a city within a city,” Ablaza told the Varsitarian on what inspired him to come up with the idea.

And so the former president of the Central Board of Students submitted a resolution for this purpose in 1959, and more. The following year on March 7, campus streets finally got their formal identification after deliberations on a list of 100 names of exemplary alumni.

IT IS IN the nature of a person to give value to inanimate objects. But as far as keepsakes go, what do collectors actually get from their collection, anyway?

Nenunca Canlas, a psychologist from the De La Salle University, explained that collections indirectly represent a person’s emotional and personal needs. The hobby of collecting is the person’s way of expressing himself.

“There are also people who collect because they want to show off - not their collections but themselves,” said Canlas.

This “sense of fulfillment” is probably the main reason why these Thomasian collectors amass seemingly random stuff through different ways—some through buying it after a painstaking hunt, while others do so by makig the items themselves.

A THOMASIAN beauty straps on her heels, paints a sweet smile, and steps into the stage—all for the good cause of helping the environment.

Medical technology student Angela Fernando bested 49 other title aspirants from all over the country, en route to clinching fourth place in the Miss Philippines Earth pageant last April 24.

Fernando, the 5’7” tall beauty from Lubao, Pampanga, also bagged the Best in Cultural Costume award after flaunting an embroidered white gown with wildflower-like designs from native products in Lubao, such as palay, corn hash and sampaguita flowers. She also won special awards like Ms. Photogenic, Ms. Ever Bilena  and Miss Eco-Tourism

WHO WOULD’VE thought that “faith” and “facebook” would go hand in hand in preaching the Good News?

The 44th World Communications Day, with the theme, “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word,” focused on the “new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis” offered by modern technology such as blogs and social networking sites. The event kicked off with worldwide thanksgiving masses last May 16, which also commemorated the Pope’s declaration of 2009 as the Year of the Priests.

AUTOMATION was a historic first for Philippines elections last May 10, but the problems remain the same, such as vote-buying amd personality-oriented politics.

This was the the main observation of poll volunteers from the UST Santisimo Rosario Parish, who took part in the country’s first automated polls.

Fourty-three Thomasians — composed students, faculty members, and University officials — volunteered with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and were assigned in three polling precincts - Ramon Magsaysay High School, Juan Luna High School, and the Mormon chapel on Morayta Street - of District Four in Manila.

WITH ITS vast waters, diverse mountain ranges and wide variety of flora, China’s Yangtze River boasts of the most breathtaking daybreaks in Asia. Reminiscent of dawn breaking quietly along the river, the works displayed at James Onglepho’s 29th solo exhibit were as awe-inspiring as any sunrise.

Presenting the latest batch of his lotus flower and landscape pieces, the artist, together with some of his collectors, opened the show at the Asia Art Gallery last April 24.

Since his first exhibit in 1959, this contemporary Filipino master had always captivated his audience with still-life works that reflected his Chinese heritage. Lotus flowers and landscapes have become his preferred subject in the world of realism, making this his mark in the local art scene.

MORE than an institution of worship, the church is a plethora of many art forms that reflect the magnificence of God, in particular architecture, but which is often taken for granted. Architect Manuel Maximo Lopez del Castillo-Noche, alumnus and assistant professor of the College of Architecture, tries to make up for this neglect through the photo exhibit, Living Shrines of Faith: The Art of Colonial Retablos in the Philippines, at the Greenbelt 3 lobby recently.