Tag: November 21, 2007

IS IT the task of the clergy to orient lay people toward government leadership?

According to Pampanga’s priest-governor, Eddie Panlilio, it is the clergy’s responsibility to heed this “calling.”

“We have family life ministries and youth programs, but endeavors leading to the conscious formation of potential lay public administrators seem to be non-existent,” said Panlilio, who spoke to seminarians of the UST Central Seminary during the Fourth Padre Burgos Memorial Lecture Series last Sept. 18 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex.

“We have to admit that the clergy failed miserably in advocating these types of programs,” Panlilio said.

IS THIS the face of Christ?

This question has intrigued the millions of poeple who have seen the Shroud of Turin, the venerated “burial clothes of Jesus Christ” believed to have captured Christ’s image after the Crucifixion.

According to Maricar Estrabo, project officer of “The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: The Philippine Exhibition” and a member of the Crusaders of the Holy Face, the Shroud of Turin, despite doubts about its authenticity, is one of the most precious treasures of Christianity.

“Although the Shroud of Turin is not known to many, the value given to it is manifested through its expositions,” Estrabo told the Varsitarian. “The Shroud of Turin is viewed by the public three to four times only in a century. Today, it is safely kept in a special chamber designed to preserve the artifact in Turin, Italy.”

UST INTERIOR Design alumnus Jerome Salaya Ang crashed into fashion design despite his ignorance of the basics such as pattern-making and sewing.

But much has changed since 1999 as Ang’s patience to learn the fundamentals and hone his fashion sense steadily built for him a reputation for tailoring chic wedding and evening gowns dolling up today’s high-class socialites and well-known celebrities.

Indeed, Ang has come a long way from being the clueless fashion designer wanna-be to the promising young style maker he is now. Thanks to eight years of hard work and four years of studying in UST.

From interior to couture

Ang studied at UST because of its proximity to his home in Tondo. He also acknowledges the University’s commitment in tapping and improving the talents of its students.

Ikaw, ang gabi at ang musika’y iisa.
Sa kamatayan ng puso’y may naiwang bakas ng nangungulila: Ikaw
Ikaw at ang gabi’y may iisang kulay: Itim
Ikaw at ang musika’y may natatanging himig:Pagluluksa.
Ikaw, ang gabi at ang musika’y mga hiwagang nahihimlay sa
Kandungan ng mapag-ampong kamatayan.
Oo. Kamatayang nagkukubli sa kaibuturan ng puso ng gabi---
Gabing humihiyaw sa bawat kirot ng nagdurugong sugat na
Sanhi ng musikang nilikha ng matinding kabaliwan sa iyong pagkawala.

Sa saliw ng musikang nananangis sa paglilibing ng sawing pagsinta
Nagbangon ang gabi’t humukay ng isang libingan.
Sa mapapait na mga luhang nalaglag sa lupa’y nagkahugis ang
namamanatang kamatayan sa iyong katauhan.
Ikaw ang hiram na pag-ibig sa pagitan ng pangarap at reyalidad.

NANINIWALA ako sa bisa ng panalangin. Noong labing-pitong taon ako, hiniling ko na magkaroon ako ng nobyo. Ipinagdasal ko rin na makapasok ako sa med school at naipasa ko naman ang exam para dito. Dinasal ko rin ang nobena ng ilang ulit para lamang matagpuan ang aking itinuturing na soulmate—si Jun.

Dalawampu’t siyam na taong gulang na ako nang magpakasal kami ni Jun. Pinaghintay ko muna siya ng mahigit apat na taon mula nang alukin niya akong magpakasal matapos siyang pumasa sa bar exam.

Tinanggap ko ito sa kondisyong tatapusin ko muna ang aking pag-aaral. Magkahalong tuwa at kaba naman ang aking nadama ngunit nanaig ang kagustuhan kong makatapos muna ng pag-aaral.

MADALAS mapanood ang mga ito sa kalaliman ng gabi.

Hindi ko tinutukoy rito ang mga programang “for adults only” at sa halip ay ang mga dokyumentaryo tulad ng I-Witness, The Correspondents, at Probe.

Tinatalakay sa mga programang ito ang mga samu’t saring isyu sa bansa na may malaking impluwensiya sa lipunan o hindi kaya’y mga usaping hindi nabibigyang-pansin ng karamihan, bagaman at lubhang mahalaga sa partikular na sitwasyon kaya nangangailangan ng higit na malawak pang pagsusuri. Ilang halimbawa nito ang mga pagtatangka ng pamilyang Marcos na muling mabawi ang kani-kanilang mga ari-ariang nakumpiska ng pamahalaan at ang isyu ng katiwalian sa quarrying sa Pampanga.

MAGKAKAIBA subalit magkakahalintulad. Sa mga salitang ito maaaring mailarawan ang pagpasok ng makatang si Teo Antonio sa mga larangan ng pagpipinta at panulaan. Aniya, dahil magkakahalintulad ang mga nababasa niyang istilo sa sining at panitikan, kapwa niya nabigyang ng pansin ang parehong larangan.

“’Yung pag-aaral ko ng fine arts at pagbabasa ko ng movement ng art, pareho rin sa panitikan, (kaya) parehong kilusan. Ginagamit diyan ang surrealism at mga symbolism kaya nagtugma ang aking pag-aaral ng fine arts at panitikan,” ani Antonio.

Pagbabago ng landas

EXPERIENCE as they say is the best teacher, and in my four years here in the University, I have proven that premise right.

Degrees offered here may be diverse but they share a common ground. More than the lectures and exams, it is on the spot training that holds more foundation for us students.

Majority of the courses require a laboratory subject, where they apply all the principles they have learned during the lectures they previously had. Apart from these burdensome yet educational subjects, some still have what many identify as internship, where they get a slap of the kind of world they would they will soon be facing outside the four corners of the University.

But it is quite sad to note that this is not the intensive kind of curriculum that every Thomasian receives. What about those who solely have lecture subjects in their list?

LAST October 18, my godmother, Dr. Charlotte M. Chiong, was awarded as one of the Top Outstanding Filipino Physicians (TOFP) by the Department of Health (DOH). She told me a few days later about the speech that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III gave during the TOFP awarding ceremonies. Duque said that 85 per cent of the country’s healthcare professionals are now abroad and that a “collapse” of the Philippine healthcare delivery system is not too far behind.

Concerned, I researched on the topic and discovered that, according to Duque, for every 100 healthcare professionals, 88 have left the country in search of more lucrative jobs abroad. Duque added that for every 28,000 Filipinos, only one government doctor is available and that Filipinos in the rural areas are at a disadvantage because the best doctors in the country practice in Metro Manila.

IT USUALLY takes an ordeal of wit, creativity, and incredible timing for comedians to craft and deliver a decent, sellable punch line. But vending humor in exchange for insult makes it unacceptable.

However hilarious, some American comedy shows have bluntly offended Filipinos by remarks mentioned in the lines of some shows. It is as if Filipinos and our attributes are treated as a mere punch line.