A total of 169 new psychometricians scored an 88.02% passing rate for UST, which was declared the Second Top Performing School. Eleven (11) Thomasians landed places in the Top 10 scores garnered, namely:

Top 5 – Lenard Alain L. Espiritu, RPm (81.40%)

Top 7 – Angelica Mula C. Adia, RPm (81.00%)

Top 7 – Samantha Camille M. Saguin, RPm (81.00%)

Top 8 – Justine Danielle D. Reyes, RPm (80.80%)

Top 8 – Cirila Lecar J. Sahagun, RPm (80.80%)

Top 9 – Renz Gabriel P. Evangelista, RPm (80.60%)

Top 9 – Jon Darrell G. Nogot, RPm (80.60%)

Top 10 – Arielle Nicole C. Agustin, RPm (80.40%)

Top 10 – Louise Isabelle B. Dumaguing, RPm (80.40%)

Top 10 – Rolinda Josine A. Mercado, RPm (80.40%)

Top 10 – Cyrene A. Pangilinan, RPm (80.40%)

#ThomasianExcellence #ThomasianGraduates #ThomasianPsychometricians

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The works of Thomasian architect Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa spell out his fate of becoming a national artist. Think of the EDSA Shrine, the Coconut Palace, and the Davao Pearl Farm: these are among the landmarks, gifted to us by Mañosa, that bring a sense of pride and identity to the Filipino.

To be true, these architectural gems are only testaments to a more important philosophy, which Mañosa has since been advocating. For, long before he became a paragon in the practice of vernacular architecture, he already believed that what we build must blend with indigenous culture. His case has always been aesthetics that is put in practice.

Much of this was presented in an exhibition of his works at the National Museum of the Philippines, which was fittingly titled “Mañosa: Beyond Architecture.” The showcase featured the documentation of the architect’s notable works that span his over 60 years of practice.

In one interview, Prof. Gerard Lico of the University of the Philippines praised the personal principles and the ingenuity of Mañosa, whom he regarded to have revolutionized the use of indigenous materials and the local methods of building houses in Philippine architecture.

Also the exhibit curator, Lico noted that Mañosa concerned himself with complementing the local attributes of a tropical country with the spatial concept of his architecture, which resulted in his reinvention of the bahay kubo.

“For his designs, Mañosa processed sawali, abaca, bamboo, rattan, shells, local textile, and other materials, using new technologies and techniques to find more applications for them rather than merely using them for decorative purposes,” the curator added.

Aside from the use of locally found materials, also characteristic to Mañosa’s designs are high ceilings and large windows, which are architectural provisions for the tropical climate of the country. These were adopted, and have become the trademark of his firm, now known as Mañosa & Co., Inc.

Designs, principles

The Shrine of Mary Queen of Peace, more popularly known as the iconic EDSA Shrine, would have looked differently had Mañosa not designed it.

In a revelation by his wife Denise, she narrated that some decades ago, Jaime Cardinal Sin asked the architect Mañosa to build a church on a site donated by the Ortigas family and John Gokongwei, which was located at the corner of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and Ortigas Avenue.

“Bobby’s vision for the Shrine was a ‘People’s Basilica’ with the structural outline of a bahay kubo but on a grander scale—with seven pitched roofs clustered together, framing a statue of the Blessed Virgin,” Denise wrote before revealing that her spouse, in the middle of the meeting, walked out on the project after his first presentation because the committee had initially “preferred a Spanish design for the church.” Perhaps his reaction was to be expected; Mañosa has been known to say “I design Filipino, nothing else.”—a bold statement that reportedly had cost him dearly, for he turned down lucrative offers because the clients wanted some trendy foreign style for their projects.

Denise remembered her husband, even saying, “I believe I am not your architect. I cannot do that to our country or to our people.” He made his point, and the Cardinal listened. The result was a promenade with the towering image of Mary, sculpted by Virginia Ty-Navarro, and an underground church, which is no bahay kubo yet still something that embraces the milieu of the metropolis and reflects the history of the Filipino people.

Another display of Mañosa’s genius is the “Tahanang Pilipino,” (Filipino ������Ƶ) which was originally for the purpose of housing the visiting artists, who were to perform at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Today, the structure is known as the “Coconut Palace”; its name taken from Mañosa’s innovations on the use of mainly the materials from the coconut tree to erect the grand structure.

Among other notable edifices that mark Mañosa’s artistry are the “nature church” of the Mary Immaculate Parish in Las Piñas and the Amanpulo Resort in Palawan, which earned for him the Asia Pacific Interior Design Award and the Best Beach Resort Worldwide, which are given by the United Kingdom-based Gallivanter’s Awards for Excellence.

UST’s pride

Mañosa was officially declared a National Artist last Oct. 24 in a formal ceremony held in Malacañan Palace. Other newly minted National Artists were filmmaker Eric Oteyza de Guia, more known as “Kidlat Tahimik”; musician-composer Ryan Cayabyab; writer-scholar Resil Mojares; dramatist-puppeteer Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio; Hiligaynon writer Ramon Muzones; and cartoonist Lauro “Larry” Alcala.

Only a Presidential Proclamation can declare a Filipino a National Artist. This award is a national recognition in the fields of Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film and Broadcast Arts, and Architecture or Allied Arts.

Mañosa is a 1953 graduate of the University of Santo Tomas under the BS Architecture program. He is trailblazer in the field of vernacular architecture and, of course, an outstanding Thomasian.

The author, Levine Andro Lao, is a part-time faculty member of the Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy, University of Santo Tomas. He is the Executive Assistant of the Office for Grants, Endowments, and Partnerships in Higher Education, UST. While in college, he was Managing Editor of the Varsitarian from 2008-2009. The Varsitarian is UST’s official student publication.

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UST 2012 NWW writing fellow Paul Alcoseba Castillo, a UST faculty member and Resident Fellow of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS), won First Prize under the Tula category for his very lyrical poetry collection titled “Luna’t Lunas”, three poems of which were performed during the awards night by fellow Thomasian and Makiling High School for the Arts Director Vim Nadera.

UST 2016 NWW writing fellow Francis Paolo M. Quina, a UP Diliman faculty member who serves as UP Institute of Creative Writing Deputy Director, won Second Prize for the Short Story category for his compact but powerful narrative “Pigs.” While 2014 NWW writing fellow Maynard Gonzales Manansala, a freelance scriptwriter who teaches part-time in De La Salle University Manila, won Second Prize for his One-Act Play in Filipino titled “Tao Po.”

The two runners-up in the Essay in English category were writing fellows during the time of Dean Ophelia A. Dimalanta, who was the Founding Director of the UST CCWLS: Ronnie E. Baticulon, a pediatric neurosurgeon by profession, who won second prize for his essay titled “Some Days You Can’t Save Them All”; and Chuck D. Smith, a former UST Faculty of Arts and Letters Journalism student who is now a PR writer for the independent film company TBA Studios, who won third prize for his essay “Origin Story.”

Two Resident Fellows of the UST CCWLS served as members of the panel of judges for this year’s edition of the Palanca: UST CCWLS Assistant Director Ralph Semino Galán for the Short Story category, and UST Department of Literature Chair Joselito D. Delos Reyes for the Tulang Para sa mga Bata category.

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������Ƶ website (http://www.ust.edu.ph) was judged based on four criteria: a.) Design, which considers relevance to its audience and visual experience; b.) Interactivity, which deals with the participatory element of the website’s user experiences; c.) Functionality, which means that the website works well, loads quickly, and contains live links; and d.) Content, which is judged on the engaging, audience-appropriate, concise, and clear information provided on the website.

Receiving the award on behalf of the University was UST Deputy Director for Engr. Nestor R. Ong, ASEAN Engr. Also in attendance were Associate Director , and QS/THE Rankings unit staff member Mr. Vien Vic G. Flores.

Santiago served as country representative in the QS Forum titled “Focus on Higher Education for Fast Growing Economies.” Meanwhile, Ong was the sole Filipino member of the QS-APPLE International Academic Advisory Conference Committee and he co-chaired the parallel sessions under Track 5: Building a Global University Brand during the conference.

This is the second time that UST won the award, with the first time being in 2015. In 2016, UST won the first Silver Award for Most Creative Corporate Institution Video during the 12^th QS APPLE Conference and Exhibition in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

This year, UST was also nominated for the Creative Awards categories, namely, the Best International Print Advertisement, Most Creative Corporate Institution Video, Best International Student Recruitment Brochure, and Best Exhibition Booth Design.

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Tan is the examination’s topnotcher, scoring 86.85%, while Batongbakal ranked fifth, with a score of 84.75%.

#ThomasianExcellence

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Castillo won the award after presenting the research paper entitled “Alkylated Phenolic Natural Products Validate the Claimed Anti-Cancer and Antioxidative Properties of the Philippine Nutraceutical Plant Syzygium lineatum (DC). Merr & L.M. Perry,” which she co-authored with Franklin Ibana, RPh and Prof. Allan Patrick G. Macabeo, Dr. rer. nat. of the Department of Chemistry.

The study investigated the cytotoxic activity of the crude leaf extracts, sub-extracts, derivatives, and isolated compounds of Syzygium lineatum (DC). Merr & L.M. Perry against leukemia (K-562) and cervical cancer (HeLA) cell lines.The research found that Syzygium lineatum leaf extracts and their phenolic derivatives are potential sources of natural products with anti-cancer activity.

#ThomasianExcellence #ThomasianResearchers

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In the PRIME MOU, partner institutions agreed to provide quality and relevant professional development opportunities to in-service K to 3 teachers serving in challenging educational situations. KCFI pledged to take the lead in the planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of PRIME, while the universities vowed to actively participate and contribute to its development and execution.

In UST, the MOU was signed by KCFI President and Executive Director Elvira Lopez-Bautista and UST Rector . Witnesses for this signing were: UST (CCPED) Director Assoc. Prof. Jocelyn F. Agcaoili, MSPT, MHPEd, KCFI Director of Transmedia Mr. Edric Calma, KCFI Education Consultant and Philippine Normal University President Dr. Ester Ogena, KCFI Education Consultant and current UST Education Cluster Head Dr. Fe Hidalgo, and KCFI Teacher Education Program Officer Mr. John Carlo Fernando.

After the MOU signing, PRIME partners hope to launch its call for nominations for the initial group of in-service K to 3 teachers who will meet certain qualifications.

Aside from UST, four other universities, namely, the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), University of the Philippines (UP) and Philippine Normal University (PNU) joined the partnership. AdMU President Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin, S.J., DLSU President Br. Raymundo B. Suplido, FSC, PNU Office of the President Officer-in-Charge Ma. Antoinette C. Montealegre, and UP President Atty. Danilo L. Concepcion represented their institutions in the MoU signing that commenced in their respective universities.

The Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) is a non-stock, non-profit organization established in 1999. Its mission is to be responsible stewards and co-creators of transformative learning experiences through media and technology in the service of the Filipino children.

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De Viana discussed the factors why the adoption of K to 12 was important for the Philippines and why it had to be adopted. He discussed the measures taken by the Philippine government, the opposition and reservations of several sectors of Philippine society against its implementation and the problems that were encountered.

The Asian Conference on Education 2018 or ACE 2018 was attended by more than 600 participants from all over the world. The opening announcement was given by International Academic Forum (IAFOR) in Japan Director of Events and Vice President for Global Partnerships and Affiliations Dr. Kiyoshi Mana, while the welcome addresses were delivered by Dr. Steve Cornwell of the Osaka Jogakuin University and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IAFOR Dr. Joseph Haldane. It was followed by recognition of awardees of IAFOR scholarships.

Keynote presentations were given by Dr. Zachary Walker of the Institute of Education of the University College London, Dr. Liying Cheng of the Queen’s University of Canada, Dr. Andy Curtis of Anaheim University and Dr. Keith Miller of the University of Missouri.

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Selected faculty members of the Department of Literature of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) together with representatives from the Department of English of Ateneo de Manila University attended Lustrum Sastra XIII, an international conference on Communication and Literature hosted by the Universitas Kristen Indonesia (UKI) held on October 7, 2018 at the Gedung Graha William Soerdjaya Hall at UKI Jakarta, Indonesia.

UST Literature Department Chair Asst. Prof. Joselito D. De Los Reyes, Ph.D., UST Research Center for Culture, Arts and the Humanities Director Prof. Joyce L. Arriola, Ph.D., UST Scholar-in-Residence Prof. Luisa Torres-Reyes, Ph.D., delivered keynote lectures on important social communication and literary issues in the ASEAN region. Meanwhile, Asst. Prof. Ma. Eloisa Sevilla-Perez moderated a workshop for an audience composed mainly of UKI senior college students majoring in English.

De los Reyes presented “The Assault that is the Social Media,” while Arriola presented “Introduction to communication and media studies.”

The literary (sastra, in Bahasa Indonesia) conference conducted every five years (lustrum) with the theme “Imagining Asia and the World in Today’s Literature and Media,” was sponsored by the UKI Faculty of Letters, headed by its Dean Prof. Ied Veda Sitepu, Ph.D., and UKI College of Arts and Education, led by its Dean Dr. Susanne Sitohang.

Paper presentation at Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta

In a related development, the same mentors presented their academic papers at the 6th Literary Studies Conference, an international conference held from October 11 to 12, 2018 at the Universitas Sanata Dharma (USD) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Dr. De Los Reyes, Prof. Torres-Reyes, Ph.D., Prof. Arriola, Ph.D., and Asst. Prof. Sevilla-Perez, presented their academic papers in the conference with the theme “Re-Imagining Difference and Extremism: Regional and Global Perspectives.”

De Los Reyes presented “Text and Context: The Cinemafication of the ‘State of the Nation Address’ of the Duterte Presidency,” Arriola presented “The ex-centric characters and their version of Filipino anti-colonial struggle in Eric Gamalinda’s ‘My Sad Republic,’” Perez expounded on “Articulating cultural trauma in reconstructing collective identity: Extremism in South East Asian fiction.”

Both Reyes and Arriola served as moderators in the closing program.

The international conference also paved the way for exploring the possibility of an exchange program between UST, USD, and Universitas Gajah Mada for students and faculty members as part of the Asian Literature diversification program to stay committed in the partnership of the said universities.

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The Memorandum of Agreement, signed on September 21, 2018, stipulates areas of cooperation between the two institutions. Among the services to be rendered by AAP are the: 1) provision of assistance in strengthening Data Science and Analytics (DSA) in UST, through intra-UST events, and resource speakers, creation of marketing materials for DSA; 2) provision of assistance in faculty and educator DSA training, through AAP-certified DSA trainings, recommended minimum requirements for teaching analytics, and introduction to opportunities for research and development; and 3) provision of assistance in developing UST’s analytics curriculum.

By virtue of the partnership, UST will become a member of the AAP and facilitate all AAP-related activities within UST. Likewise, a faculty coordinator will be tasked to handle all AAP-related concerns as the partnership progresses.

The agreement is valid for an initial three years, from August 1, 2018 to July 31, 2021.

#ThomasianPartners

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