NOVEMBER 25, 2004 |
| BOR elects Roman 19th UP President UP students top 2004 CPA Board Exams 2004 Licensure Exams in Fisheries Technology and Chemistry UP Debate Society tops 6th NDC UPD Grandstand gets a facelift BOR elects Roman 19th UP PresidentBY VIRTUE OF what eventually became a unanimous vote, the Board of Regents elected UP Diliman Chancellor Emerlinda R. Roman as the 19th President of the University of the Philippines. Meeting last November 22 to break a previous 6-6 deadlock between Dr. Roman and Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Edgardo Espiritu, the 12 regents first voted 7-5 in favor of Roman. And then, following tradition, the BOR made the vote unanimous. Ambassador Espiritu later sent Chancellor Roman a congratulatory note. The BOR had first met on November 17 to elect the next UP President, but was unable to resolve a 6-6 tie after four ballotings. Incumbent President Francisco Nemenzo’s term will end on February 9, 2005, when he reaches 70—the statutory age limit prescribed by the University Code. A crowd of more than a hundred faculty members, students, and alumni gathered at Quezon Hall to urge the regents to vote independently and to await the outcome. Pandemonium broke loose when news of Roman’s election was announced. The election had galvanized the UP community, many members of which had expressed fears of a result strongly influenced by outside forces. A number of former UP Presidents, regents, chancellors, and distinguished professors had signed a “Statement of Concern,” published November 21 in the Inquirer, decrying “patronage politics” and upholding the University as “an intellectual meritocracy.” In a resolution passed at an emergency meeting on November 19, the University Council of Diliman also pledged “to resist and reject any effort to undermine its integrity and independence as an academic institution.” At the November 22 meeting, according to excerpts from the minutes officially released by the Office of the Secretary of the University, several regents—President Nemenzo, Faculty Regent Sergio Cao, and Student Regent Marco de los Reyes—presented individual statements explaining their position. The voting was done, as agreed upon, by secret ballot. After the first result, Regent Nelia Gonzalez moved to make the vote unanimous, and her motion was adopted. President Nemenzo expressed satisfaction at the conduct and the outcome of the election, urging the UP community to extend its support to his successor and to unite behind the current campaign for the passage of a new UP Charter. Dr. Roman thanked her supporters and pledged to work for the University’s best interests. This was the second time in the University’s history that the presidential election went past the fourth round. In 1958, a similar deadlock resulted in the appointment of a caretaker for two years. Roman will make history not only as UP’s Centennial president but also as its first woman leader. She will serve a term of six years. Aside from having been UP Diliman Chancellor from 1991-1993 and 1999-2002, and 2002 to the present, Roman’s experience in University administration includes former positions as Vice-President for Administration, University Secretary, Vice-Chancellor for Administration and member of the Board of Regents. A recipient of the Gawad Chancellor as Outstanding Professor in 1995, she obtained her Ph.D. in business administration from the University of the Philippines. Her significant accomplishments as Chancellor include the establishment of the Diliman Interactive Learning Center, the Center for International Studies, the Research Dissemination Grant, the computer loan program for faculty and administrative staff, and the computerized registration system. She established an P89.9 million endowment fund for the University’s artists and writers, as well as a fund for athletes and coaches. During her term, six buildings including the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Gusaling Magsaysay, and the College of Music Annex, were constructed. (Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo & Maria Francezca C. Kwe) Back to Top >>UP students top 2004 CPA Board ExamsTHE UP DILIMAN College of Business Administration (CBA) had the highest passing percentage of examinees among all schools in the 2004 Licensure Examination for Certified Public Accountants. Seventy two of 76 examinees from CBA successfully hurdled the exams, resulting in a passing percentage of 95%. Eleven CBA students landed in the top 20:
UP Visayas, meanwhile, claimed the limelight one more time by having one of its graduates emerge second in the CPA licensure examinations. Nelson Ibutnande Macabales, a BS Accountancy graduate from the UPV College of Management, claimed the No. 2 rank with a passing percentage of 90.29%. Macabales, who graduated in April of this year, took the examination given by the Board of Accountancy early this month. Only 1,454 out of 6,967 examinees from around the country passed the said examination. Macabales is a graduate of the Science Development Regional High School in Aklan. Back to Top >>2004 Licensure ExamsFisheries
Technology Ma. Cecelia Esperanza S. Braceros took the first place with a rating of 85%. Also in the top ten are: Rhea Joy B. Carton (2nd), Christopher U. Ocampo (5th), William F. Arcenas (6th), Victor Ramil Marius T. Tumilba (6th), Francis Albert T. Argente (7th), and Ruby U. Tizon (8th). The other successful examinees are: Shiela Marie Ginete, Nicholas Guiua, Rene Noquera, Sheryll Santander, and Shiela Mae Santander. CFOS registered a passing percentage 4f 80% this year. (Lyncen M. Fernan-dez; with sources from CFOS) Chemistry The successful examinees are: Geoffrey Li (4th place), Christopher Jay Robidillo (5th place), Ivy Elline Afos, Christina Apostol, Anna Arma, Clarence Baquilod, Mari Marivin Bolabola, Bernadette Benedicto, Anna Nina Chua, Lorelie Ann De Leon, Clare Diligencia, Antoinette Evangelista, Ruby Lynn Genelsa, Juan Paolo Gonzales, Marie Isolde Mendiola, Catherine Mendoza, Gyro Mitchelle Mendoza, James Christian Miranda, Hazel Morales, Jona Marie Pineda, Mizpah Villalobos, and Irwine Ian Young. Back to Top >>UP Debate Society tops 6th NDCFOLLOWING UP ON what has been a landmark year of achievements for the organization, a resurgent UP Debate Society dominated the 6th National Debate Championship held in San Beda College last October. In the first stage of the tournament, the contingent from UP Diliman outperformed all other schools in the competition. Out of the top ten teams after the seven preliminary rounds, six came from the UPDS. The team of UPD A, composed of Carl Ng (BS BusEcon) and Sir Martin Cortez (BS Econ), were undefeated in the preliminary rounds and topped the standings with 21 points. This is the first time such a feat has been achieved in the Nationals in four years. After their stunning record in the preliminary rounds, the UP Diliman teams continued to dominate in the elimination rounds. Two teams, UPD A and UPD E, composed of Nicolo Cabrera (BS Psych) and Neil Nucup (BS Bio), made it to the Grand Finals. The number of UPD teams competing in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Nationals was greater than that any other contingent. The Grand Finals was an exciting match between the two UPD teams and one team each from the Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University, debating on the motion “This house regrets the feminization of Overseas Filipino Workers.” After more than three hours of deliberations, the panel of nine adjudicators split was 6 to 3 in favor of the team from Ateneo de Manila. Although the UP Debate Society was once again denied their first championship at the Nationals, UPDS members managed to take home the lion’s share of individual prizes awarded during the competition. UPDS members featured prominently in the Top Ten Best Speakers declared during the tournament. Patricia Evangelista (BA SpeechComm) of UPD F was declared the Tenth Best Speaker in the Philippines. Her partner David Ty (BS Architecture) received honors as the Seventh Best Speaker in the Philippines. UPDS Training and Tryouts Vice President Sir Martin Cortez was declared the Second Best Speaker in the Philippines. UPDS President Carl Ng emerged as the No.1 debater in the Philippines after being declared both the Overall Best Speaker of the Nationals as well as the Best Speaker of the Grand Finals. This is the first time that the Best Speaker award has gone to a UPD member since Diane Desierto (UP Batch 2001) received the honor during the first Nationals held in 1999. Rookie member Katherine Diaz (BA PolSci) also made history when she was declared the Best Adjudicator in the Philippines, the first time that a freshman has won the award in the competition. The sheer number of groundbreaking achievements during the tournament served as a fitting year-ending finale for the UP Debate Society. A UPDS team won the national title after emerging as the champions of the 3rd Inquirer Inter-Collegiate Debating Championships last February. This year was also the first time that a team from UP Diliman made it to the Top 16 of the prestigious Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship held in Sydney last July, a feat previously held by only two other Filipino universities. Fresh from the national stage, the UPD debaters will now move on to the international debating scene. Four teams from the UP Debate Society will represent the university and the country at the 25th Worlds Universities. Back to Top >>UPD Grandstand gets a facelift“IF YOU BUILT it, they will come.” College of Business Administration (BS BA’70) alumnus Vicente “Nonoy” Quimbo likened the renovation of the UP Diliman Grandstand to the movie Field of Dreams. “One of our motivations was to try and revive some lost traditions. This location in the University has a lot of traditions behind it. Some of them have been lost,” he said during the ribbon cutting of the grandstand last November 12. “It’s almost like a Field of Dreams kind of concept—build it and they will come. So we built it and now that [UP has] a facility that’s ultra-modern, very spacious, and architecturally-designed, we are hoping we can attract new activities that will eventually turn into traditions.” Quimbo, the founder of the Bel Mondo Italia Corporation, makers of Novellino Wines, donated the funds for the renovation of the Diliman Grandstand which overlooks the UP Sunken Garden. It had been the site of many of the University’s traditional activities including the Lantern Parade, the presentation of UP ROTC Corps of Sponsors and the annual UP Fair. The new design of the grandstand was inspired by the torii, the gateway of a Shinto temple which can also be found on the Pan Xenia logo. It was designed by Architect Froilan Hong of the Office of the Campus Architect (OCA) and constructed by Mariestad Industries. UP Diliman Chancellor Emerlinda Roman expressed her appreciation for the new grandstand. Though the project was not directly connected to the University’s mission of teaching, research and extension, she hoped that the grandstand would “signify the commitment of our alumni to help the University and…set an example to other groups or fraternities to help us.” Roman also pointed out that Pan Xenia Fraternity is one of the few fraternities in UP with no record of rumbles. Its alumni include UP presidents Carlos P. Romulo, Onofre D. Corpuz, Emmanuel Soriano, and the incumbent President Francisco Nemenzo. (MAE ASTRID TOBIAS) |