Tag: September 26, 2015

THE UNIVERSITY aced the recent licensure examinations in electrical engineering and medical technology, with Thomasians making it to the top 10 list of passers.

UST emerged as the top school in the board exams for electrical engineers after getting a 98.61-percent passing rate, with 71 out of 72 Thomasian examinees making the cut, results from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) showed.

This was higher than last year's 95.16 percent, wherein 59 out of 62 Thomasian examinees passed the exams.

POPE Francis’ declaration of the first day of September as the annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creations is arguably the best time for the Pope to reiterate that being stewards of Creation does not only mean people should protect the environment, but that they should also check the human corruption and spiritual “pollution” that have caused the environmental crisis--among several crises--in the first place.

With “Laudato Si’,” his second encyclical, Pope Francis has called for the revitalization of God’s creation and reminded the faithful that along with upholding life, practicing charity, promoting justice, and observing morality, they must also protect the environment.

AUTHOR Dan Brown's infamous statement of Manila as the “gates of hell” may have caused quite an uproar among Filipinos two years ago, but given the current situation of traffic and transportation woes in the city, one may have to treat the line as gospel truth rather than an exaggeration.

Being a regular commuter, I have had my fair share of times uttering curse words out of sheer annoyance that despite an early morning start, a major gridlock is bound to have me late and distressed.

“HINDI naman sa gobyerno napupunta ang ipinapadalang dolyar ng mga overseas Filipino workers (OFW) kaya hindi ito nararamdaman direkta sa ekonomiya ng bansa.”

Ito ang napabalitang pahayag ni presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda bilang tugon sa samu’t saring pambabatikos na inani ng administrasyong Aquino patungkol sa plano ng Bureau of Customs na ipatupad ang pag-iinspeksiyon at pagdadagdag ng buwis sa mga “balikbayan boxes.”

APPARENTLY, not all systems upgrades result in improvement.

For many Thomasians, riding the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) lines is a daily ascent to calvary. The implementation of a “unified ticketing system” for the three existing rapid rail transit lines has exacerbated commuter woes.

The new “contactless” tickets, known as “beep cards,” were introduced by AF Payments Inc. under a public-private partnership or PPP contract. AF Payments is owned by two big conglomerates, Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

DESPITE rapid technological innovation and the growing popularity of e-books, the UST Miguel de Benavides Library is confident that its services remain significant and relevant to its main clientele—students of the University.

Prefect of Libraries Fr. Angel Aparicio, O.P. said the library’s continuous acquisition of both traditional (printed) and modern (electronic) resources keeps it relevant.

“The library is using [a] variety of resources, from the traditional ones to the most modern ones. If the library is not using that, perhaps the library will become irrelevant,” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

The potential medicinal benefits of cannabis or marijuana have given a ray of hope to patients with terminal conditions, prompting some countries to allow its use for strictly medical purposes.

In the Philippines, advocates of medical marijuana want it legalized as well through a recent bill filed last May 2014.

House Bill No. 4477 or the “Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act” calls for the legalization of the medical use of marijuana for patients with serious medical conditions such as cancer.

Rodolfo Albano III, House Deputy Minority Leader, said his bill intends “to provide accessible, affordable, and safe medical cannabis to qualifying patients.”

A CERTAIN narrow yet crowded street on the corner of Dapitan has been a hub for students and adults alike who want to spend their free time with a stick of cigarette.

Yana, a first-year graduate student, spends most of her afternoons on the busy street with a white stick teeming with nicotine. Her friends keep her company.

“I realized that the bonding is really different when I smoke with friends,” she said.

And despite the strong smell of burning leaves and cluttered cigarette butts, the claustrophobic ambiance of Antonio Street is still home.

What is in a stick

POPE FRANCIS has given all priests the authority to absolve the mortal sin of abortion during the coming Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy of the Catholic Church.

In a letter last Sept. 1, Pope Francis said forgiveness must be granted to those who repent with a sincere heart through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, including those who had procured abortion.

“For this reason... I have decided, not withstanding anything to the contrary, to concede to all priests for the Jubilee Year the discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it,” Pope Francis said.

THE CATHOLIC Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has stood firm on the Church’s consistent opposition to same-sex marriage amid growing clamor among homosexuals to be given the “right” to a “holy union.”

In a pastoral letter titled “The Dignity and Vocation of Homosexual Persons,” Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP president, reiterated that same-sex marriage could not happen because, aside from a loving relationship, holy union requires procreation, which is exclusive to male and female couples.