A team of aquatic biologists and microbiologists led by Asst. Prof. Reuel Bennett, Dr.rer.nat., Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, and Inst. Elfritzson Peralta, M.Sc., together with DBS academic staff Inst. Allan Gilles, M.Sc. and Inst. Eunice Aaron, M.Sc. (Marine Biology team), Inst. Justine De Leon, M.Sc. and Inst. Kenneth Xavier Sanchez, M.Sc. (Freshwater Biology team) conducted the study from August 11 to 14, 2024. The team covered 26 study sites in the watershed area, including mangrove forests, coastal areas, estuaries, streams, rivers, and a freshwater lake – Lake Danao. 

On September 17, 2024, Peralta, Assoc. Prof. Richard Thomas B. Pavia Jr., PhD, and Inst. Allan Gilles Jr., MSc presented the project’s initial results to Mayor Torres-Gomez. Also present were City Councilors Peter Rodriguez, Caren Torres Rama, Edmund Kierulf, and Bert Pades, together with officials from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, City Agricultural Office, and representatives from the Protected Areas Management Board.

This initiative, which underscores the strong partnership between UST scientists and their government counterparts, is a testament to their shared commitment to bring science to the community.

Academic and research staff of the UST Department of Biological Sciences conducting the water quality monitoring, biological sampling and microbiological analysis of aquatic ecosystems in Ormoc Bay and its tributaries.

The UST Team, Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez, and the City of Ormoc officials after the presentation of the team’s initial findings.

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In his remarks, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation fr. Jannel N. Abogado, O.P. expressed delight at the formalization of the agreement at a time when UST’s research and instruction initiatives complement the efforts for climate change mitigation. Fr. Abogado cited, too, the famous encyclical Laudato Sí of Pope Francis and shared how in UST, spirituality and stewardship guide efforts to ensure that future generations can enjoy a “blissful life” on our planet.

The Rector also stated that as inhabitants, not owners, of the Earth, we are bound by an urgent need to care for the environment. He reaffirmed the University’s commitment to fighting climate change and helping the government by lending the University’s academic and research expertise.

Meanwhile, Sec. Borje underscored the importance of both sustainability and climate justice and equity, which the Climate Change Commission is promoting. He expressed enthusiasm at partnering with UST for its “vibrant research activities” that can open a lot of avenues for further collaboration. Though informally, Thomasians have been engaging with the Climate Change Commission and supporting its activities in the past, and the six-year agreement puts a framework to further collaboration.

The agreement, which aims to leverage UST’s research initiatives at the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences and the DOST-TOMASInno Innovation Center Technology Business Incubator, paves the way for closer collaboration between UST, one of Asia’s top universities, at the national government. The agreement aims to “align efforts for building resiliency at the local level,” opening avenues for the UST Simbahayan Community Development Office and the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education to also join. The projects will find locus not just in the Manila campus’s Thomas Aquinas Research Complex, but also in the UST Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong Innovation Center of the UST Santa Rosa Extension Campus.

The expected outputs of the cooperation are joint research and policy development initiatives that will help advance environmental preservation. Joint academic and research activities aimed at capacity-building will also be undertaken, beginning with the November 2023 Climate Change Week celebration.

Among UST’s initiatives toward environmental preservation are the conduct of basic and applied science studies on biodiversity and aquaculture, as well as advocacy campaigns against environmental degradation in areas like the Sierra Madre Mountain Range and Dumaguete, where reclamation has been threatening coastal life.

Joining Sec. Borje were CCC Deputy Executive Director Atty. Rommel Antonio O. Cuenca, Strategic Partnership Division Chief Alexis D. Lapiz, Legal Services Division Atty. Carlos M. Borja, Jr., and Chief of Staff Rhea Ckristine Sy. Meanwhile, UST officials included the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, fr. Jannel N. Abogado, O.P., DTPS, Asst. to the Rector for UST Sta. Rosa Philipina A. Marcelo, PhD, UST Sta. Rosa Executive Assistant Siegfred V. Prado, College of Science Dean Rey Donne S. Papa, PhD, Research Center for Social Sciences and Education Director Jeremaiah M. Opiniano, PhD, TOMASINNO Center Manager Raymond Marquez and Assistant Manager Celso Noel Aban, and Simbahayan Community Development Office Director Froilan A. Alipao.

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UST REFI was awarded the grant by the Gerry Roxas Foundation (GRF) and the Philippine office of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the project titled “Siquijor Island Conservation and Restoration: Toward a Regenerative Ecotourism Destination”.

This action research project was among 11 recipients of grants from GRF’s program called INSPIRE or Investing in Sustainable Partnerships for Inclusive Growth and Regenerative Ecosystems.

Looking at both seascapes and landscapes, the project aims to ensure that the island’s natural ecosystems “will be conserved and restored, leading to a sustainable and regenerative Siquijor Island”. For 2.5 years, this action research project hopes to aid Siquijor’s collaborative governance efforts on environmental protection, environmental conservation education, and achieving community-based sustainable livelihood.

The project seeks to empower Siquijor’s provincial and municipal governments to regulate the use of trees and medicinal plants, curb illegal and unregulated fishing activities, encourage tourism development, reduce solid and liquid wastes, and control freshwater consumption. These efforts contribute to the vision of making Siquijor a “zero-waste island”.

A team from REFI will spearhead the project, led by Executive Director Fr. Maximo Gatela, O.P. and Technical Team Leader Dr. Moises Norman Garcia of the College of Science. Team members include Dr. Maria Rosario Virginia Cobar-Garcia (Science), Dr. Arlen Ancheta and Dr. Alain Jomarie Santos (both from the Faculty of Arts and Letters), as well as Asst. Prof. Arnold Distor and Asst. Prof. Racquel Layco (Science).

Dr. Ancheta, Dr. Cobar-Garcia, Dr. Garcia, and Asst. Prof. Layco had done studies on the zero-waste island concept, covering solid waste management, energy efficiency, food and water, and sustainable use of natural resources. These previous studies were conducted for a global advocacy group, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), under the auspices of the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (or RCSSED, UST’s social sciences research arm).

According to team leader Dr. Moises Norman Garcia, the previous studies and the current INSPIRE-funded project will capitalize on “environmental advocacy to counter climate change and [take inspiration from] Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Sí.”

This INSPIRE-funded project contributes to climate change action, says this full professor of Biological Sciences, by directly aligning the project to some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

UST REFI formalized its receipt of the INSPIRE grants during a May 22 grants awarding ceremony at the National Museum of Natural History, with the US Ambassador to the Philippines, Her Excellency Mary Kay L. Carlson, gracing the event.

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Gino-gino’s study concentrated on revitalizing the selected Southeast Asia’s UNESCO Marine World
Heritage Sites through Sustainable Tourism. The study evaluated the current state of developmental plans and assessed challenges and opportunities for preservation, emphasizing the importance of integrating sustainability into tourism policies.

Apart from being a venue to disseminate research outputs, the training seminar aimed to assist educational institutions in strengthening and building their capacity, enhancing collaboration with other organizations, and disseminating research papers and journals. This initiative is envisioned to create a more profound culture of research and encourage the production of more academic research that tackles the issues confronting the tourism industry and allows the formulation of strategic business and policy frameworks. Recognizing that tourism is now a major pillar driving economic growth, increasing knowledge on research and consequently developing quality research outputs have become a paramount concern.

In the same event, RTC recognized the University of Santo Tomas’s efforts in conducting the training seminar. The recognition was accepted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evangeline E. Timbang, the Assistant Dean of
the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Inst. Jame Monren T. Mercado, MACHS, CTHM
RIES Coordinator.

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As one of the successful researchers accepted to join the roster of 106 oral presentations, Reyes-Tolosa virtually presented her work on “The Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Contamination on Cellphones of Asymptomatic Healthcare workers from a COVID-19 Testing Facility in the Philippines” in Session 28: Infectious Diseases and Prevention. The paper tackles the impact of environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2.

With the theme “Building Bridges for Future Public Health Preparedness and Response”, the two-day conference had 28 sessions were organized according to topics that included: 1) Women, gender studies and gender-based violence; 2) Women, maternal, infant and child health; 3) Psychological well-being and mental health; 4) Miscellaneous Health and Safety; 5) Nutrition, Food Security; 6) Environmental Health; 7) Occupational Health; 8) Infectious Diseases and Prevention; 9) Other Disciplines; 10) Non-communicable Disease; 11) Social Determinants of Health, Healthcare services and education; (12) Primary Healthcare; and (13) Occupational and Environmental Health.

The annual conference is organized by The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM) partnered with University of Malaya in Malaysia.

TIIKM Managing Director Mr. Isanka P. Gamage welcomed both physical and virtual participants. In his message, he emphasized that the true value of knowledge acquisition will only be realized when this knowledge will reach more people and related his message to this year’s conference theme focusing on the need to build bridges and networks among the participants.

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According to the team this is a holistic approach to current cities and likewise calls upon the introduction of a new urbanity. The team, composed of Aramis Corullo, Gellaine Burgos, Althea Poblete, Angelo Landicho, and Paula Casia, took home Php 250,000, while the rest of the finalists were awarded Php 50,000 per team.

Re-Terra 2021 is a national design competition founded by Ar. Kathleen Encorporado in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the local government of Pasig City. One of its objectives is to work toward realizing the proposals of the young designers. Only four out of the 145 officially registered teams had the chance to defend their proposals in the live public event. The three other finalist teams included Nikko Arbillo, Kelvin Magno, Abram Lavares, Alyssa Tagala, and Erika Florendo also from the University of Santo Tomas; Jan Mark Vargas from Saint Louis University; and Ariel Padua from the University of Lasalette.

The teams presented their proposals to a diverse panel of judges that included Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, Pratt University in New York City Professor Ar. Philippe Baumann, Ambassador for Food Security Mr. James Reid, Chairman of the PH Green Building Council Engr. Edward Sabidong, Architect and Urban Planner Jun Palafox; Head of the Council of Deans and Heads of Architecture Schools in the Philippines Ar. Chona Ponce, President of East West Seeds Philippines Mr. Hank Hermans, and Former Dean of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design Ar. Joey Yupangco. The video recording of the event is available for viewing on the Facebook page of RE-TERRA.  

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Prof. Arlen A. Ancheta, Ph.D., and Asst. Prof. Ronald Castillo of the Faculty of Arts and Letters along with Assoc. Prof. Moises Norman Z. Garcia, Ph.D., and Assoc. Prof. Maria Rosario Virginia Cobar-Garcia, Ph.D. of the College of Science make up the research team. For this study, they received a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and EcoWaste Coalition and presented their findings for better reach of issue awareness and policy recommendation articulation.

In addition to the research project, the team has been engaging stakeholders toward the practical goal of environmental advocacy and care for creation.

The UST RCSSED Sustainability Studies team advocates for local democracy through community stakeholder participation, along with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) through the involvement of business stakeholders in the policy making and implementation process. The team has previously presented to stakeholders, particularly local government units where the sites of the study were located. The next steps will be the presentation of their research to the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives to lobby with them with regard to better legislations for plastic-free Philippine waters.

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Bureau of Customs District Collector John Simon, a batch 1977 graduate of the UST Education High School and a customs official with 31 years of government service, is the lone recipient of EcoWaste Coalition’s first “Environmental Justice Award” coinciding with the national observance of “Zero Waste Month” this January. The award was announced on January 19, 2021.

EcoWaste Coalition (EWC) President Eileen Sison, in a public post on EcoWaste Coalition’s Facebook page, said that Simon was recognized “for his exemplary leadership, unfaltering dedication, and focused action on protecting public health and the environment from hazardous wastes from overseas, particularly about the successful re-exportation in 2019-2020 of some 7,408 metric tons of illegal waste shipments from South Korea.”

Sison emphasized that “Simon’s decisive and unyielding action to uphold our country’s tariff and customs and environmental laws and the provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal led to the completion of the re-exportation procedures last September 15 amid the COVID-19 challenges.”

The Basel Convention Ban Amendment prohibits the export of hazardous wastes from developed to developing countries.

In a press release, EcoWaste Coalition shared Simon’s statement that “Environmental justice demands that we assert our sovereign right not to be treated as dumping ground for wastes from abroad that can put the health of our people and that of our ecosystems in harm’s way.”

Simon, who is District Collector for Region 10, emphasized that “This job is too big for one agency to accomplish, so I reach out to all sectors, especially to the environment department and Congress to take on this challenge and strictly ban waste imports like what other Asian countries have done.”

For context, contaminated waste shipments, falsely declared as “plastic synthetic flakes,” arrived in Misamis Oriental in July and October 2018 without prior import clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.  However, customs and environmental authorities found that it contained unsorted plastic materials, household garbage, used dextrose tubes, discarded electronics in the container shipments. 

According to EWC, authorities confirmed the shipments as “misdeclared, heterogenous and injurious to public health” and in blatant violation of Republic Act 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, and DENR Administrative Order 2013-22, which states that “no importation of heterogenous and unsorted plastic materials shall be allowed.”

 Following bilateral negotiations, the illegal waste shipments totaling 364 containers were returned to Pyeongtaek City in seven batches between January 13, 2019 to September 15, 2020.

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 The group received an international grant to document the flow of single waste plastics in five barangay communities that border Manila Bay as 2019 transitioned to 2020.  The grant was provided by USAID through its local partner EcoWaste Coalition, and the research was conducted through a knowledge-sharing partnership with University of Georgia researcher Jenna Jambeck, NatGeo awardee for plastic pollution research.

The team’s findings were presented and discussed among stakeholders, which were from HEIs that included: De La Salle University Dasmarinas, UP Institute of Civil Engineering, Project IWASTO – UP, and University of Georgia in the U.S.  Think Tanks; Project Integrated Waste Analysis, Survey, and Technological Options,

AMH Philippines Inc. 

Partner NGOs consisted of Mother Earth Foundation, Oceana Philippines, World Wide Fund, Development Innovations Group. 

Representatives from the plastics industry included: Polystyrene Packaging Council of the Philippines.  Representatives of Local Government Units; Paranaque CENRO, Malabon CENRO, Pasay CENRO. 

The national government was represented by DENR Manila Bay Coordinating Office, DENR BMB, DENR – BMB Coastal and Marine Division, MMDA Solid Waste Management Division.  Through stakeholder inputs, the data is now ready for schedule to be presented by EcoWaste and the team to the national legislature for policy recommendations.

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This year, the Community Service Day – Coastal Clean-Up and Nature Walk Activity was held at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) on January 25, 2020. The event commenced with an orientation by DENR-NCR Strategic Communication and Initiatives Service Officer Mr. Dexter Villa. It was followed by a short opening message by UST SIMBAHAYAN Community Development Office Director Prof. Arvin D. Eballo, Ed.D. After the brief program, the coastal clean up took place. It was participated in by 53 administrators, faculty, support staff, and an alumna of UST. With the joint efforts of Thomasian participants, a total of 89 sacks or 592 kilos of garbage were collected on that day. Following the coastal clean-up was the nature walk activity which featured various mangroves and eight other plant species in that 30-hectare land.  

By virtue of R.A. 11038 or the Expanded NIPAS Act of 2018, LPPCHEA is now considered part of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (R.A. 7586) and is currently called the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP).

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