Tag: September 18, 2013

THOMASIANS joined thousands of angry citizens in the Million People March last Aug. 26, calling for the abolition of “pork barrel” amid revelations of massive theft of public funds involving lawmakers and bogus nongovernment organizations.

UST Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. said Thomasians should support the clamor for accountability and justice in the pork barrel scam, which he described as a “national concern.”

"We are all taxpayers and we should be angry that our taxes are not spent in the proper way. We want accountability [and] transparency in the use of public funds," Dagohoy told the Varsitarian during the protest at Rizal Park.

AFTER the typhoon Maring and Habagat devastated most parts of Metro Manila, the Thomasian spirit made its presence felt through the form of relief goods and camaraderie.

The Central Student Council (CSC), Simbahayan Community Development Office (SCDO) and the Student Organizations’ Coordinating Council (SOCC) extended help to the University’s partner-communities devastated by the recent calamity in a relief effort called “Tulong Tomasino.”

It gathered more than 500 bags of relief goods containing canned food, bottled water, toiletries and clothes. The goods were distributed to communities at Brgy. Kasaganahan in Rodriguez, Rizal and Brgy. Silanganan, Quezon City last Aug. 23.

THE NATIONAL Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has ruled in favor of UST Hospital in an illegal dismissal case filed by a former pharmacist following an apparent attempt to cart away medicines from the drug store.

In a June 28 decision, the commission reversed the ruling of a labor arbiter and granted the appeal of UST Hospital, after finding that the hospital had “just cause” to terminate the employee “for serious misconduct and gross negligence.”

Labor Arbiter Luvina Roque earlier found the hospital liable for illegally dismissing Judith Sobremonte and ordered her reinstatement without loss of seniority and privileges, as well as the payment of backwages and attorney's fees, in a ruling dated Jan. 8.

THE UNIVERSITY has again proven itself to be the country’s top producer of medical doctors.

The Faculty of Medicine and Surgery got a 99.53-percent passing rate in the physician licensure exams last August. A total of 427 passed out of 429 Thomasian examinees this year, results from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) showed. This was an improvement from last year’s 98.71 percent, wherein 382 out of 387 examinees passed.

The top-performing schools got 100-percent passing rates but had fewer examinees: UP Manila (149 examinees), Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health (84 examinees), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (97 examinees), and Cebu Institute of Medicine (79 examinees).

THE UNIVERSITY is set to offer an early retirement program to tenured faculty members with no master’s degrees in a bid to improve UST’s faculty profile.

The voluntary retirement program (VRP) will grant 120 percent of basic monthly salary per year of service to faculty members below 63 years old and who have “rendered 10 years of creditable service period,” according to a document obtained by the Varsitarian.

The VRP will be offered from Nov. 5 to Dec. 18. Any faculty member who wants to retire voluntarily will have to submit an application to the Office of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, which will then endorse it to the Office of the Vice Rector for Finance.

NAIIBANG pagpupugay para sa Ama ng Wikang Pambansa.

Bilang paggunita sa ika-135 anibersaryo ng kapanganakan ng Tomasino at Pangulo ng Philippine Commonwealth na si Manuel L. Quezon, napagpasiyahan ng pamahalaan ng Quezon na gawan ng replika ang kanyang bahay-bakasyunan sa nasabing lungsod.

Ang dating bahay ni Quezon ay orihinal na matatagpuan sa Gilmore Avenue, New Manila sa Quezon City kung saan siya namalagi ng dalawang buwan noong 1930s habang siya ay nagpapagaling sa sakit na tuberculosis.

Kasalukuyang tinatapos ang pagpapatayo ng replika nito sa loob ng Quezon Memorial Circle kung saan din matatagpuan ang mga labi ng dating pangulo at ang museo na itinatag para sa kanyang alaala. Inaasahang bubuksan ito sa Oktubre.

NATIONAL progress should come from “organizational discipline,” not just individual discipline.

This was the message that came out of a meeting called by Vice President Jejomar Binay, which sought to address lack of discipline among Filipinos that is being blamed for problems such as heavy traffic, flooding, and pollution.

Binay met with representatives of religious, educational and youth groups ahead of plans to launch a national movement advocating discipline later this year.

In a roundtable discussion at the vice president’s official residence, the Coconut Palace, last Aug. 29, Binay said discipline must start from Metro Manila.

THE FORMER dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters was awarded an honorary doctorate in letters by an independent biographical publishing organization based in Cambridge, England.

Political Science Professor Belen Lorezca-Tangco, O.P. received the distinction from the International Biographical Centre (IBC) during its 2013 World Forum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has held from June 28 to July 3.

Tangco was conferred the honorary degree for her “significant contribution to higher education worldwide most notably in the Philippines, Asia and the Pacific.”

“This highest accolade conferred upon me by the IBC is truly elating and humbling—elating to the spirit, mind and body and humbling to the heart,” she said in her address.

TO ALIGN academics with the needs of businesses, government standards in business management, information technology, tourism and hotel and restaurant management, and electronics engineering courses will be reviewed.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), a non-government organization, signed a memorandum of cooperation last July 2 to review the policies, standards and guidelines of the four courses, which account for almost half of college enrollees in the country each year.

INAASAHANG mas bibilis na ang internet connection sa loob ng Unibersidad matapos nitong magpalit ng service provider upang maiwasan ang mga antala na karaniwang nararanasan ng mga Tomasino.

Kinuha ng Santo Tomas e-Service Providers (STePs) ang PLDT para mapadali ang pag-access ng UST na nangangailangan ng internet. Pinalitan nito ang TATA Communications, isang Indiyanong kumpanya.

Ayon kay Sebastian Raymond Mendoza, direktor ng STePs, normal lang naman ang paminsan-minsang pagkawala ng internet basta naaaksyunan ito agad.