Tag: November 15, 2002

INCIDENTS of swindling last month prompted University administrators to warn Thomasians about transacting with strangers.

In a memorandum by the UST Office of the Secretary-General last Oct. 8, two cases of swindling were reported to have taken place in the University.

One incident involved a UST employee, who received a phone call from an unidentified man saying that a package from a relative abroad had arrived and that it needed P2,000 for customs duties before it could be released.

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas Rector Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P. was re-elected vice president of the Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (CEAP) during its 2002 national convention last Sept. 25 to 27 at Xavier Sports and Country Club, Cagayan de Oro City.

According to Fr. Lana, his re-election would mean the cooperation of the association in some of the University’s projects, the sharing of resources of the different Catholic schools, and the collaboration from CEAP concerning advocacy on education issues.

DOMINICAN Bishop Jose Salazar, a former parish priest of the Santissimo Rosario parish is now in stable condition after surviving a plane crash last Nov. 12, his attending physician said.

THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas Hospital (USTH) has not renewed its management contract with Summit Ventures after it expired last month.

According to USTH legal representative Arnold Cacho, the contract was not renewed to prove that that the board of regents still has control over the operations of the University hospital. Summit Ventures used to manage the hospital’s day-to-day activities.

TO AVOID conflicts arising from different time readings in the University, the administration ordered the synchronization of all University clocks with the Philippine Standard Time (PST) last Nov. 4.

In a memorandum issued by the Office of the Secretary-General last Oct. 29, the University had all the timepieces synchronized based on the PST of the National Institute for Standardization (NIS) in the United States through its website http://www.times.clari.net.au/location.php3/Asia/Manila.

PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo has reappointed Faculty of Arts and Letters professor Jose David Lapuz as United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) commissioner to the Committee on Social and Human Sciences for another three-year term.

Guided by a search committee, President Macapagal-Arroyo last Sept. 13 picked Lapuz from a list presented by the overall chair. Lapuz was also nominated by then Senator Blas Ople, now foreign affairs secretary.

A FACULTY of Arts and Letters (Artlets) professor and Varsitarian alumnus was given the Catholic Mass Media Award (CMMA) for Best Business Column last Oct. 22 at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater at the Ateneo de Manila.

Prof. Ramon Osorio’s column, “Commonness,” appears every Wednesday in the Business Life section of the Philippine Star.

CMMA recognizes people’s excellence in mass media and honors their ability to touch lives by emphasizing the love of God, love of humanity, and the fellowship between other people.

A NEW collective bargaining agreement with the non-academic employees remains remote as the Samahang Manggagawa ng UST (SM-UST) elevated the dispute to the Court of Appeals, arguing that Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas might have abused her authority in ruling on a compromise that the Union says is not advantageous to it.

THE UNIVERSITY has three new departments: the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Mathematics and Information in Computer Technology (ICT) and the Department of Environmental Sciences.

Fr. Jose Antonio Aureada, O.P. said a fourth new department is being eyed—the Department of Literature. At present literature is subsumed under the Department of Languages.

The Department of Environmental Science would focus on improving the basic six-unit science subjects with emphasis on the environment.

AFTER his failed confirmation as Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman, UST Civil Law professor Justice Alfredo Benipayo was appointed solicitor general last Oct. 14.

According to Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, Benipayo was chosen by President Macapagal-Arroyo from a short list of candidates recommended by a search committee. Benipayo’s appointment papers were signed by the President last Oct. 11.

Benipayo assumed the post, vacated by now Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, immediately after he took oath last Oct. 14.