Tag: Michael Carlo C. Rodolfo

EARLIER this month, Senator Grace Poe endured long queues and congested train stations when she rode the notoriously inefficient Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 at the height of the rush hour. Poe wanted to experience firsthand the ordinary commuter’s daily woes. Her photo standing in line to purchase a ticket and riding the train while talking to another passenger made the rounds online and drew cheers from netizens. It became viral because netizens found pleasure in seeing a high government official, who is entitled to a luxury vehicle and a personal driver, experience the hardships of taking the MRT to school or work.

CONSTITUTIONALITY issues hound the recently signed Bangsamoro peace pact which the Aquino administration claims will bring an end to decades of conflict in Mindanao.

Under the new Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a new Muslim-ruled political entity named “Bangsamoro” will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). As a result, rebel forces and private armies in the region shall be disbanded.

AFTER a decade-long delay, the Students’ Code will soon be on the Rector's table.

Outgoing Central Student Council (CSC) President Gab Kintanar said in an interview that the code will be submitted to Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. after being signed by the CSC Central Board consisting of the CSC president and the local student council presidents, and Prof. Evelyn Songco, assistant to the rector for student affairs. The code is with Songco at present.

When the Rector approves the code, he will then endorse it to the Council of Regents and the Academic Senate, said Artlets student council president Henry Villamiel. If it passes muster, the code will be submitted to the student body for a plebiscite.

INNOVATION is wealth.

The need to protect the innovative and profitable research output of Thomasian inventors prompted the University to establish its own Intellectual Property (IP) unit.

Michael Jorge Peralta, executive assistant for Intellectual Property and Research, said UST generates numerous IPs because of the level of maturity and productivity the University reached in the field of research.

“Many of us are not aware that these IPs need to be protected to prevent others from copying and imitating the same work and claim it their own,” he said. “Thus, there was a need to create an IP policy to guide University stakeholders.”

To honor his contributions in the field of chemistry, the UST Graduate School presented a festschrift to Fortunato Sevilla III last Feb. 26 at the Faculty of Civil Law Auditorium.

A festschrift is a volume of writings by various authors presented as a tribute to a scholar.

“[It] is for distinguished member of the faculty [whose] scholarly achievements are beyond question and his contributions to the field are monumental,” Graduate School (GS) Dean Marilu Madrunio said in her speech during the presentation of the festschrift. “It is the highest recognition given to a master mentor.”

Madrunio stressed that a festschrift could only be given to an academic with prodigious intellect and indelible legacy.

UST IS set to terminate the services of full-time and tenured faculty members who would fail to earn a master’s degree by the end of the academic year.

School officials set the deadline in compliance with Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Memorandum No. 46, requiring such faculty members to have at least a master’s degree by this year so the university could keep its autonomous status.

Autonomy means independence from regular monitoring and evaluation by CHEd, freedom to set academic calendars, and the privilege to revise its curriculum and to establish branches or satellite campuses, among others.

THE IMPASSE between administrators and the faculty union over employment terms threatens to be a repeat of the labor troubles experienced by the University more than two decades ago.

Disagreements between the University of Santo Tomas Faculty Union (USTFU) and the UST administration over a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) have led to a deadlock, which could be a prelude to a strike.

THE CONVICTION of former Chief Justice Renato Corona by the Senate impeachment court in 2012 may not be illegal, but it was tainted with “vested interests,” according to a law professor.

President Aquino now faces criticism over his alleged interference with the impeachment process of the ousted chief magistrate.

Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada said in his privilege speech last year that the executive branch gave out an additional P50 million to the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) or pork barrel to each senator who voted to convict Corona.

THE UNIVERSITY plans to synchronize its academic calendar with the rest of the world as a step toward “internationalization,” and in preparation for the economic integration of the Southeast Asian region in 2015.

This means that from the conventional June-March cycle, the academic year will run from September-June, coinciding with the typhoon season.

The plan will allow the University to adapt to the planned Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, said Clarita Carillo, vice rector for academic affairs.

“An academic calendar that is synchronized with international universities will allow greater efficiency in implementing student and faculty exchange programs,” Carillo said in an email to the Varsitarian.

CAN UST surive the Big One?

According to engineer Lawrence Pangan of the Facilities Management Office (FMO), the University’s buildings could withstand even a magnitude-8 earthquake.

“There will be cracks on some walls, but that is only superficial. Structurally, buildings in UST will remain intact,” he said, adding that collapsing structures will definitely not happen in the University.

Before structures are built in UST, soil testing is done to identify the dimensions of the foundation to be made and limit the height and capacity of a building to ensure safety.

“In Manila, the soil is not as stable like in Quezon City or other cities, that’s why bored piles are used for the stability of UST buildings,” Pangan said.