Tag: Vol. LXXXII

THE PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) has issued a license allowing UST to keep explosive substances in campus laboratories.

The permit granted last April 5 was in compliance with the Firearm and Explosives Law which requires schools to obtain permits before they can buy or possess explosive ingredients for research and academic purposes.

“The license attests that UST has complied with all legal and structural requirements of the PNP,” said Ross Vasquez, Laboratory Equipment and Supplies Office (Leso) administrator. “It means Leso is legal, safe and the usage of explosives is controlled.”

UNION BANK has donated P50 million for the digitization and publication of the Lumina Pandit exhibit last April 28, UST’s quadricentennary.

Lumina Pandit II: Unending Light is a project that aims to “preserve and continuously upgrade” Miguel de Benavides Library’s collection of rare books and valuable historical documents which were shown in the exhibit that ended last April 13.

Fr. Rolando De la Rosa, O.P., Rector of UST, said the five-year project aims to “continually spread the light, in order to dispel the darkness of ignorance.”

“Through digitization, the University will be able to reach out, not only to Filipinos, but to all people by making available to them all our archives, manuscripts and other historical documents,” he said.

THE CATHOLIC Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP) has appealed to congressmen to withdraw their support from the resolution calling for a hero’s burial for the late president Ferdinand Marcos, saying the late dictator was a “fake war hero” who “undermined democracy” during his regime.

A statement by CEAP, the largest association of Catholic schools in the country, said the “exaggerated claims” of the resolution were not valid to allow Marcos to be buried in the “hallowed ground meant for true heroes.”

TENS of thousands of Catholics from all over the world flocked at St. Peter’s Square to witness and rejoice in the beatification of Pope John Paul II last May 1, a showcase of the people’s love and appreciation for the Supreme Pontiff who led the Church for 26 years until his death in 2005. Tens of millions more did the witnessing and rejoicing through the electronic media if not vicariously, at least spiritually. And they weren’t all Catholics. They were people from other denominations and other religions who did not hide the affection and high regard they hold for the new beato.

ONE OF our “younger siblings” here in the Varsitarian recently shared how his parents thought that a Latin honor is better than writing for the country’s premier student publication.

He noted this with what seemed to be a mixture of sadness, frustration, and uncertainty, bringing me back to how I felt weeks before my graduation last March.

I was supposed to be relieved then only by the fact that I made it to the final list of candidates for graduation. But a friend of mine started talking about how I was going to be marching with a cum laude medal waiting for me on stage, given how she saw me as one of the best in class. Some of my blockmates picked this up and, after seeing our grades for the last semester, cheered me on.

“FIRST LOVE never dies,” says one of the most famous maxims on love. But sometimes, I wonder how one must feel when that love leaves; worse, if it did not die a natural death, but was taken away from him.

Love, though, must not be limited to the mere idea of special feelings towards a person. Love could also be identified with the thing you want the most—that one thing you dream to achieve. In this case, let us refer to it as an “aspiration” regardless of the true meaning of the word.

But just like the love for a person, it is not far from impossible that you and your aspiration would become victims of hopeless love.

BEHIND the bylines, there are infinite stories to tell.

I was busy tinkering with the Varsitarian office computers when a guard suddenly burst open the doors, exclaiming that a car theft just happened right outside the Tan Yan Kee building. Not only was I a newbie staffer, I was also a naïve freshman, so waves of panic and anxiety washed through my already frazzled brain. Was I supposed to cover this, or should I leave it to my superiors?

THE HERO’S interment for Angelo Reyes, the late military chief, despite being dragged in a corruption scandal, has revived the debate over whether former resident Ferdinand Marcos should be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Rep. Salvador Escudero III has filed House Resolution No. 1135 urging President Benigno Aquino III to consider transferring Marcos’ remains to the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig, where former presidents and military servicemen are laid to rest.

“We simply want him buried to finally give him rest,” Escudero said in a phone interview. “It was signed by 219 congressmen and even so, it merely urges the President. It is still his decision whether to adopt it or not.”

TWO DECADES after his death, debates over where to bury the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos remain unsettled, and it seems the wrangle won’t get any closure anytime soon. We asked some members of the Thomasian community for their take on the matter.

In this age, what makes a person a country’s “hero”?

“When he or she religiously pays his or her taxes.”

-Abigayle Guiritan, Nursing freshman

“One who works to serve the country.”

-Jerome Entico, Industrial Engineering senior

“One who saves lives.”

-Allan Claudio, security guard, Benavides Building

“When a person loves his country. It may be simple, but I think it’s enough to be considered a hero.”

FAR FROM the Vatican, the Philippine archipelago has long clamored for the Supreme Pontiff’s presence.

As Asia’s bastion of Catholicism, the Philippines has been blessed by three papal visits: one from the revered Pope Paul VI in 1970 and by the late Pope John Paul II in 1981 and 1995, respectively.

His most famous visit was during the World Youth Day in 1995, where many flocked to the UST Grandstand to get a glimpse, or perhaps a handshake or a hug, of Blessed Pope John Paul II.

With the beatification of the late Pontiff last May 1, UST officials recalled their experiences with the beloved Pope.

Public Affairs chief Giovanna Fontanilla, who had the chance to see the Pope in his 1995 visit to UST as part of the organizing committee, described the occasion as a “day of God’s blessing unfolding into a miracle.”

She recalled that while the congregation of over thousands of people were chanting “JPII, we love you,” suddenly she heard the Pope whisper back, “JPII loves you, too.”

“Like a song assuming a certain rhythm of a song, the crowd was saying ‘JPII, we love you’ and then suddenly I heard him say ‘JPII loves you, too.’ When I looked at him, he was standing,” she said.