Tag: Roberto A. Vergara

May 22, 2015, 5:47 p.m. - THE UNIVERSITY improved its passing rate in the off-season licensure examinations for certified public accountants, with 18 out of 27 Thomasian examinees making the cut.

UST registered a 66.67-percent passing rate, higher than last year’s 39.88 percent wherein only 65 of 163 Thomasians passed the exam.

Sixteen out of 22 second-time takers and two out of five first-time takers passed.

May 8, 2015, 5:00 a.m. - THE UNIVERSITY emerged as the second top-performing school in the April librarian licensure examinations, with an 87.88-percent passing rate.

This year, 29 out of 33 Thomasian examinees made the cut, an improvement from last year wherein only three out of seven examinees passed.

The University of the Philippines-Diliman was named top-performing school, will all its 26 students passing the exams.

April 18, 2015, 1:25 a.m. - INDEPENDENT candidates nearly swept the slate of Lakas ng Diwang Tomasino (Lakasdiwa) in this year’s Central Student Council (CSC) elections, winning five out of six CSC Executive Board positions including the presidency.

March 26, 2015, 11:46 p.m. - THE UNIVERSITY administration has slashed next academic year's tuition hikes to just 2.5-5.3 percent from 5-8 percent, after strong opposition from students.

March 20, 2015, 5:13 p.m. - TWELVE students, including three incumbent Central Student Council (CSC) officers, on Thursday filed their certificates of candidacy ahead of upcoming University-wide student council polls.

Eyeing the presidency are incumbent CSC secretary and fourth-year Clinical Pharmacy student Rosevielentine Rosales, who will run under the party Lakasdiwa, and third-year Management Accounting student Anna Mariz Mangalili, who will run independently.

Feb. 13, 2015, 5:10 p.m. - A TECHNICAL working group has been formed by the Committee on Higher and Technical Education (CHTE) and the Committee on Basic Education and Culture (CBEC) of the House of Representatives to draft a Magna Carta of Students, a bill that has dragged in Congress for almost 15 years.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman will serve as chairman of the technical working group, while Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon and Akbayan party-list Rep. Ibarra Guiterrez III will serve as co-chairpersons.

Four house bills (HB) that tackle students’ rights and welfare, namely HB 102 by Lagman, HB 1098 by Ridon, HB 2870 by representatives Diosdado Arroyo and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and HB 4435 by Guiterrez and Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello, will be consolidated by the technical working group.

In a joint meeting of the CHTE and CBEC on Feb. 11, A Teacher party-list Rep. Mariano Piamonte, Jr. said some of the provisions in the bills were “contentious and controversial,” noting that there should be equal protection for the academic freedom of the administration and students.

"I confirm the issue has been lingering for the last 15 years. [We] are not against the entire [bill]. We are against contentious and controversial [provisions] related to management rights and prerogatives," Piamonte said. "This magna carta is simply a compendium of student [rights] already expressed in the manual of regulations of higher education institutions (HEIs) [and] laws like the anti-hazing and many others."

Marc Lino Abila, president of the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines, said the protection of students’ rights was a “paramount concern."

"The Constitution recognizes the vital role of youth in nation-building and in effect, mandates that all education institutions should inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster our respect for human rights, and teach the rights and duties of citizenship," Abila said. Roberto A. Vergara, Jr. and Jerome P. Villanueva

Feb. 12, 2015, 7:00 p.m. - ANOTHER Thomasian industrial engineer has made it to the roster of engineers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Carlos Ignacio Lugay, a professor from the Faculty of Engineering, received the title of ASEAN engineer during the 32nd Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations in Myanmar last Nov. 10 to 13, 2014.

Five Thomasian industrial engineers had been given the title ASEAN engineers, namely, Quality Management Office Director Nestor Ong in 2012, and Juanito Chan, Nancy Eleria, Marilyn Mabini, and Joehanna Ngo in 2013.

Jan. 23, 2015, 6:03 p.m. - SILENCE can be the most powerful gesture of concern, love and sympathy.

This was the message of former UST Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. during the Holy Mass for the 87th anniversary of the Varsitarian Thursday.

De la Rosa urged the staff of the University’s official student publication to take time in realizing the value of silence in their work as student journalists.

Jan. 17, 2015, 2:29 a.m. - REMAINING in God’s presence is being a “participant” in fulfilling his will and valuing the act of prayer.

On the second day of the Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization (PCNE), Caceres Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona called on participants to sustain their blessedness.

He also urged Filipinos to seek help from the Blessed Mother in strengthening their faith as Christians and “disciples of Jesus.”

Dec. 12, 2014, 11:52 p.m. - AN ESTIMATED 70,000 people flocked to UST on Thursday for this year’s Paskuhan celebration, which focused on the upcoming papal visit and featured the return of the yearly fireworks display.

The University-wide celebration had the theme “Pagdiriwang ng Pagmamalasakit: Tomasino Kaisa ni Papa Francisco at ng Simbahan sa Pasko.”