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Six of 10 TOYM awardees from UPSIX OUT OF the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) 2003 awardees are UP graduates. TOYM organizer Philippine Jaycees honored, among others, Dr. Orville Bondoc, John Patrick Gregorio, Prof. Victor Emmanuel Carmelo “Vim” D. Nadera Jr., John Ong, Dr. Ricardo Jose Quintos II, and Dr. Allan B.I. Bernardo last December 2 at the Malacañang Palace. Bondoc, 40, received the award for excellence in agriculture. An expert in animal husbandry and genetics, he is rated highly for his role in the livestock industry’s development. He has served as consultant for various projects of Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology, and private firms. An Outstanding Young Scientist of National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 1997, Bondoc earned his BS and MS in Agriculture from UP Los Baños (UPLB) and his PhD from the University of Guelph, Canada. Bondoc presently teaches and serves as associate dean of the College of Agriculture in UPLB. In the field of tourism management, Gregorio is hailed for establishing the Cebu Visitors and Convention Bureau, which made Cebu one of the country’s top tourist destinations and convention capitals. At 36, he is the youngest president and chief executive officer of the Waterfront Hotels and Casinos, one of the biggest hotel chains in the Philippines. He holds a BS Tourism degree from UP Diliman, a postgraduate diploma from Singapore Hotel Technical Educational Center, and an executive certification from Cornell University, New York. UP Institute of Creative Writing director Nadera, 39, was cited for his achievement in literature. He pioneered poetry therapy in the country when he gave a series of free sessions for cancer patients. An award-winning poet, fictionist, playwright, and essayist, Nadera has been conducting workshops on Filipino language and literature to the less fortunate. Nadera holds a BS and MS in Psychology from the University of Santo Tomas and is finishing his PhD in Philippine Studies in UP Diliman. Ong, 34, received the award for his outstanding work in community service. A technical missionary and resource person of the Mangyan Mission, Ong has also helped tribal communities like the Mangyan, Dumagat, Talaandig, Aeta, and Ibaloy fight ownership over their ancestral lands. With an MS in Geology from UP in 2001, Ong pursued studies on community mapping, groundwater sourcing and environmental impact analysis for the benefit of the indigenous groups. Promoting scientific studies on vascular diseases, Quintos, 39, revolutionized treatment of leg gangrene to prevent amputation. He also initiated an economic self-help program for the watchers of patients confined in government hospitals. Quintos was NAST’s Outstanding Young Scientist awardee in 2000. He finished BS in Psychology and Doctor of Medicine from UP and is currently enrolled in the MS Applied Business Economics program of the University of Asia and the Pacific. A cognitive and educational psychologist, Bernardo, 36, has consistently worked towards the improvement of Philippine education. He was the NAST’s Outstanding Young Scientist in 1995 and also the first and only Filipino to receive the Spencer Fellowship from the US National Academy of Education in 1996. Bernardo, after completing his BA from UP, took his MS and PhD at Yale University. (Charmine R. Gultiano) UP wins big in PCASTRD awards for 2003TALK ABOUT BRINGING home the bacon. Entries from UP dominated all of the categories in the biennial Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD) Awards for Outstanding R&D, Thesis and Dissertation Awards. Plaques and cash prizes were awarded to the winners during the ceremonies held last December 12 at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. The awards, according to PCASTRD executive director Dr. Ida Dalmacio, “complement PCASTRD’s efforts to strengthen the country’s capability to undertake advanced S& T research and improve the level of scientific and technological human resource base in the country.” The nationwide search generated about 50 entries in the outstanding thesis and dissertation category and about 18 entries in the research and development categories. Entries in the Outstanding R&D were projects completed within a period of three years prior to the presentation of the award. The thesis and dissertation entries, on the other hand, were completed as requirements for graduate degrees in reputable higher education institutes in the Philippines from October 2001 to June 2003.
Exemplary research endeavors Excellent
dissertations Awesome
theses UP Diliman Town Center soon to riseTHE BOARD OF Regents, in its 1176th meeting last November 6, approved, in principle, the implemen-tation of the proposal to establish the UP Diliman Town Center. This will allow the University to proceed with the bidding for the town center. The final contract, after successful bidding, will again be reviewed for approval of the BOR. Based on the proposal, the town center will be leased to a private developer for a period of 27 years—two years of construction and 25 years of operations—through public bidding. The winning bidder will develop the property for multipurpose commercial use. The proposed town center will occupy approximately 14,186.80 square meters (1.4 hectares) bounded by Laurel, Apacible, Valenzuela, and Roces streets. The area includes those currently occupied by the UP Consumers Cooperative Inc. and the Philippine National Bank (PNB). The various buildings, facilities, and utilities to be installed in the area will be determined by the developer but will still have to be approved by UP Diliman. The basic design of the town center allows for four storeys, but the developer may construct and finish only the first two storeys. These two floors will be operated by the developer. The two upper storeys will be completed and eventually occupied by the University. The third and fourth floors should yield a minimum area of 2,700 square meters. Under the proposed design, clusters of buildings may be allowed provided there are interconnections among them. The design may also assume the tearing down of the PNB building when its lease contract expires. Moreover, the developer will provide one parking space for every 50 square meters of building space based on the four-storey design. At-grade and above-grade parking will both be allowed. Bidders will be required to submit a financial proposal that includes their proposed financing strategy for the project, forecast income statement and balance sheets for the first 10 years, and the compensation to the University in the form of quarterly lease rental (base rental). The lease rental will escalate at a rate of 4% every year. If the peso deteriorates in relation to the dollar, however, the base rental will be restated accordingly. New PGH director raises hopes for improvementTHE UP PHILIPPINE General Hospital (PGH) greets 2004 with a new director ready to take on the challenge of running and improving the country’s largest hospital. Dr. Carmelo A. Alfiler, former chair of the PGH’s Department of Pediatrics, now bears the responsibility of managing a hospital plagued with problems. Then again, Alfiler remains steadfast, even optimistic, in the face of such daunting odds. Alfiler identified five priority areas of improvement or, as he put it, the 5 M’s: manpower, moneys, materials, machinery, and management systems. Manpower
and morale To prevent the demoralization of PGH employees, Alfiler and his team plan to establish a Training and Continuing Education Unit and a Staff Development Unit. These units aim to foster professional growth through programs that strengthen the skills of medical, nursing, dental, paramedical, and support staff. There are also plans to give recognition and incentives to employees or units that not only excel in their areas of concern but also show improvement in client/patient services through proper demeanor and decorum. A committee will be created exclusively for the review and approval of incentives and awards to be given. Research is also another area where the PGH’s medical professionals can develop. Thus, Alfiler is also working on setting up a Research Development and Dissemination Program “run by a dedicated coordinator and committee for peer-reviewed, nationally-impacting, world-class studies.” Alfiler plans to put up a PGH Research Fund for projects that will enhance the hospital’s research projects. Budget
issues A systematic donor acknowledgment scheme is also being developed to encourage more donations from corporations and individuals. Government officials like senators and representatives, for example, sometimes use the Community Development Fund and Priority Development Assistance Fund to establish grants assisting their constituents in their medical needs. The PGH Medical Foundation, which was launched last year, will function as the hospital’s main support foundation. Alfiler is convinced that this foundation will most likely receive donations from UP Manila (UPM) alumni all over the world as these alumni have generously shared their resources with other UPM units in the past. In this light, “Adopt-a-Ward” or “Adopt-a-Unit” projects will also be put in place. Alfiler’s
game plan From March 31 to April 2, Alfiler and his team will discuss all the plans and programs to be implemented during his term—one of which is the PGH-wide Management Action Plan. The PGH Modernization Project will also part of the agenda of the planning sessions. Alfiler happily reported that this early some of PGH’s problems are slowly but surely being attended to, like the out-patient department, which has always been overcrowded. The situation in that area has eased, Alfiler said. The con-struction of the Jose Rizal Eye Center, which had its groundbreaking rites last 5 March 2003, is going smoothly and according to plan. Alfiler told the UP Newsletter that by August 15 of this year, equipment would already be moved into the building. Soon after that, the Eye Center will be operational. (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo) Undergrad creates program for OARAND AN UNDERGRAD shall solve a gargantuan problem. The Office of Alumni Relations (OAR), the office tasked with maintaining the records of the University’s more than 200,000 alumni all over the world, is set to take a major step toward modernization. All this will be made possible by an innovative program created by student assistant Leo Pabroquez. Pabroquez, a fourth-year UP Diliman Computer Science major whom the OAR hired earlier this year, designed a program that would digitize the OAR’s decades-old database system. The old system, which involved the tedious process of typing or writing down information about each UP graduate on thousands of 3”x5” index cards (MICs), will be replaced by Pabroquez’s user-friendly MICS Version 1. MICS Version 1 is a database program created using open source applications with fields and tables which Pabroquez tailor-made to handle UPOAR alumni data. Moreover, MICS boasts of an easy-search function for faster data retrieval. The program can also perform cross-indexing operations as it can classify and re-classify the roster of UP alumni according to specified categories such as college, year of graduation, geographic location, field of expertise, etc. The upcoming Version 2 of MICS promises added features such as a Library Database for UP-OAR’s Browsing Library, an internal online bulletin board for the office staff, and a database designed specifically to store data on UP alumni chapters and organizations. Other constituent campuses interested in starting or maintaining their own alumni databases can easily adopt Pobrequez’s program. (Charmine R. Gultiano) Alfonso
Ma. H. Carreon, dentist, 94 Carreon, who ranked third in the 1931 Dental Board Examinations, served in the UP Health Service from 1939 to 1974. Carreon also worked at the Philippine General Hospital as associate dentist and at the US Army Dental Corps with the rank of first lieutenant in 1932. He was instructor at the UP School of Dentistry from 1946 to 1947. The De Ocampo Memorial College awarded Carreon the status of Professor Emeritus in 1992 “for his deep sense of loyalty and dedicated service.” Carreon is survived by his children Vic, Flor and Dick, Tessie and Cesar, Mila and Henson, Beth and Jun, and Dona and Kevin. He was married to Corazon. E.
Arsenio Manuel, professor emeritus, 94 Born in Santo Domingo, Nueva Ecija, to a Filipino-American War veteran and town mayor and his wife, Manuel earned his Ll.B. at the University of Manila in 1935, his M.A. at the University of the Philippines in 1954, and his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1969. He worked as a student assistant in the UP Department of Anthropology from 1927 to 1929; and in the period of 1929 to 1945 as library assistant to College of Law librarian. From 1948 until his retirement in 1976, he went from instructor to full professor of Anthropology; after which he was conferred the title of professor emeritus in the second semester of AY 2001-2002. His numerous awards include the 1989 CCP Gawad Para sa Sining, the 1991 National Social Scientist Award, and the 2000 Dangal Alab ng Haraya Award by the National Commission for Culture and Arts for a lifetime achievement in cultural research. His more-than-half-a-century work in anthropology includes research and documentation of the Manuvu community in Mindanao and the discovery and publication of three ethnoepics from three ethnic groups: the Manuvu, the Matigsalug, and the Ilianon. He also studied Bagobo folklore and made a survey of Philippine folk epics. His work greatly enriched Philippine anthropology, history, literature, and linguistics.
Andres Cristobal Cruz, writer, 74 An alumnus of the UP College of Arts and Science, Cruz—together with other literary giants like Virginia Moreno and Alexander Hufana—formed the legendary writers group, The Ravens, in 1951. In 1962, Cruz was Ten Outstanding Young Men awardee for Literature. His books and translations include Ang Tondo Man May Langit Din, Ulilang Pangarap and Ang Lahat ay Magkakapatid. Cruz also wrote columns for Malaya, Philippine Post, Metronews, and Isyu. |