The Bosun September 2012

EDItorial 2 SEptember 2012VOL. 2 ISSUE 1

THE BOSUN the official student publication of ua&p

Making history

THE BOSUN

There never are clichés.

Dear readers,

If there’s one important thing that we all should probably learn from our Asia-Pacific Studies or from any of the History and Citizenship courses we take up in the university, it is that the cliché “history repeats itself” is a big fallacy. History does not and can never repeat itself because its elements: people, place, and time, are constantly changing. People learn and grow old. Generations pass. Every single circumstance offers a different experience.

There never are clichés because we are given countless chances and opportunities to make every year, every single day, every fleeting moment as uniquely our own. To use the concept of déjà vu is just a mere excuse for the weak and coward to choose to stay in a recurring cycle of events in the past. They are the complacent ones who refuse to break the reins that are keeping them from owning their lives. They are the wallflowers satisfied by just watching the show played by others, not taking part in it themselves. They are the mediocre content with just going with the flow, not being able to set their own specific direction.

Fear is undoubtedly the worst enemy that may hinder us from making our own history. There would always be that fear of always having to start from scratch – after all, it would be way easier to just carry on an already established tradition. There would always be that fear of having to change the status quo – because of that innately human desire to always be accepted by society, whatever it dictates. There would always be that fear of uncertainty of where we would be heading that makes us reluctant to take that leap. But instead of letting fear take on us, we should always have a sense of anticipation as we move on from one event in our history to the next. We should be driven by a spirit of optimism because every new beginning is an invitation to be greater, to do better, to strive harder.

We have already been given an opportunity to rise above the tide of the times with the successful vigilance that we exhibited during and after the wrath of the 8/7 monsoon rains. The hundreds of volunteers and donors, which included not just our students, staff and alumni but even people from other institutions who were all driven by the spirit of Unitas, contributed to our efforts to provide relief to those who were affected. We were identified as “the small school with the big heart” as we gained popularity by topping the trending topics in a social site. The challenge that it posts on all of us now is to prove that the spirit that we all manifested then was not just a fleeting hype, but something that we inherently possess, a constant call, a consistent identity, an undying Unitas.

As we draw closer to our university’s 50th year, we are all given the challenge to take part by embodying UA&P as the steadfast institution that it already is, despite being small, despite being young. With the rest of school year 2012-2013 waiting to unfold, we assure you that The Bosun would be here to guide you every step of the way. We, too, had fears and qualms over whether to continue on or to just stay in the past and let all the challenges and shortcomings drown us. But realizing that there would always be life-changing events to cover, heartwarming stories to tell, and important issues to debate about reminds us that we have a purpose to serve. We believe that this year would definitely be better than the past, as it leads to greater things in the future. We believe that this year would undoubtedly be different because you would make it whatever you want it to be. We are here to be with you. We are here to break clichés with you. We are here to write your history. Our history. And we are pretty sure this would be a good one.

To all wonderful beginnings, Marcella Karaan Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-ChiefManaging Editors

Associate Editors

News EditorFeatures EditorLiterary Editor

News Writers

Feature Writers

IllustratorLayout Artists

Photographer

Marketing Committee Heads

Members

Logistics and Communication

Committee Head

Members

Moderators

Mercella KaraanElliane SomesAntonito RamosMarietta TrimpeRoald Reck LantoNicollo OrdoñezNikka PesaMiguel Marasigan

Gab AsuncionFrancis GaleonMel GaricaRaquel LunaJasmine QuintosRon DangcalanJa DinBettina TorresRap Canovas

Magraux AntonioShay JuanezaAbigail AlbaCarmel ValienteAra Espina

Summer ManzanoDanielle RanilePearl PerezLeoren ViolanJoel FranciscoRey delos Santos

Dale Garcia

Alisssa MartinezDenise Calaguas

Arielle ChuaJamilla De LeonCielo CalunsagKevin VivesMiguel MagatDenesse RamirezJigo VidanesRobert JavierGabi MendozaCara Katigbak

Sarah ReyesKeren del Rosario

Joane LegaspiKat NerJayson GulpanZenon PestañoHazel TinioTrina Heredia

Jason de VillaPhilip Peckson

3 news

A small community with a big heart. This was what the UNITAS Spirit showcased amidst the cataclysm brought about by the habagat as student volunteers from UA&P and other universities alike, together with employees and faculty members, extended their help to flood victims last August 7-11 throughthrough UA&P Hopes, a student-led volun-teerism project founded three years ago during the Ondoy typhoon.

The “nameless” catastrophe that hit Luzon recently proved to be another evil bringing destruction to various areas. Once again, through UA&P Hopes, the students immedi-ately launched a massive disaster relief op-eration on a Tuesday afternoon as heavy rains already started to ravage Manila and nearby provinces.

Ms. Anna Michelle Allarde, Civic Desk Head of the Center for Student Affairs, who also was one of the primary point persons for the task, said that the relief operation during the habagat was the next big operation after that of Typhoons Ondoy and Sendong.

Where UNITAS started

TheThe relief operation started out with a Face-book event asking for donations and for vol-unteers. It began with a little group of volun-teers that increased to about 40 to 50 with the duty to receive donations and to have these well-documented. Then, the volunteers de-cided to use Twitter, a social microblogging site, in order to call on for more donations and even more valiant volunteers.

The university was granted with overwhelm-ing responses. From a soft start of 58 volun-teers on that first day, the number of volun-teers increased to over 200 the second day. The following days had more than 600 vol-unteers and around 50 alumni volunteers on the last day. Stations such as the “Social Media Team”, the ground floor rooms of the

CAS building for the housing of goods, and the “MPC Kitchen” worked almost non-stop to get the goods and food ready fast. MWith over a thousand UA&P students and other students from different universities and high schools, employees, and alumni, the col-laborated efforts yielded more than 13,000 bundledbundled relief packages which were distrib-uted to the affected employees and alumni of the university.

The amazing power of freedom

Volunteers were not only deployed to the nearby communities in Pasig but also to other inundated areas such as Rizal and Marikina. To everyone’s surprise, even the Philippine Dragon Boat Team came to help in the rescue efforts. Throughout the five-day relief operations for the affected victims, UA&P’s UNITAS proved to be a remark-able sight of people in action – all for a sole purpose: to help out.

Ms. Camille Diola of the Corporate Commu-nications Office believed that the relief op-eration was a great opportunity and venue for students to be part of something. It was the willingness to help that made everyone else follow, a ripple effect. The relief opera-tion was made possible because people made themselves available for others, using their free time and freedom, and ultimately

their “want” to do something. “Nothing would have been possible if no one would have wanted to do it”, Ms. Diola said.

No help too small

Undeniably, the expanse of this initiative ranged not only to the UA&P community but went beyond the borders of the univer-sity;; the information was out there, and what remained were people to act on it. Asked what above all things made all these things possible, Ms. Anna agreed that the feat of havinghaving an online campaign was one factor in

mobilizing the whole relief operations. But one thing also was to keep the genuine UNITAS spirit alive. Rather than complain about the heat or the exhaustion, the stu-dents ‘complained’ about the dire need for more relief goods and volunteers. It was more than just being useful to everybody else.else. More than that, it was to ignite and en-kindle that fire in the Dragons and blaze the trail to others.

Too small to help?

Rather, no help was too small or too little.

by Marietta Trimpe and Mel Garcia

No Help Too Small:

Habagat relief operations

define UNITAS

4News

A team of 5th year MScM students con-ducted a feasibility study on the possible cafeteria expansion last semester. The paper studied the problem of inadequate cafeteria space alongside the growing UA&P com-munity.

To gather support for the cause for expand-ing the cafeteria, the team created a Face-book group which reached more than 1,500 people from the UA&P community on Face-book.

The strong positive response to the petition caught the attention of the management. “Although our study failed to show that the expansion is financially feasible, the man-agement decided to seriously consider our recommendation, a point also raised by uni-versity accreditors,” 5th year students Joseph Akol and Patrick Zeta (School of Management) explained.

Plans are underway to construct a four to eight storey building which will house the new cafeteria in its ground floor.

In an interview with Mr. Paul Lazarte, Fa-cilities Manager of the university, it was bared that the building will be operational by June 2014. It is envisioned to be 800 sqm big. “This will be raised through the gener-osity of sponsors,” Lazarte said.

by Bettina Torres

MScM

Students

Conduct

Research on

Canteen

Expansion

The battle is not yet over and the UA&P Dragons are ready to fight...for life.

AfterAfter a year since the UA&P Student Execu-tive Board’s “Stand Up for Life” campaign against the RH Bill, UA&P students respond-ed to the call of Manila Archbishop Luis An-tonio Tagle for the Catholic faithful to gather and pray last August 4 at the EDSA Shrine for the non-passage of the RH Bill, which was scheduled to be put on a vote for termina-tion of the Congressional debates on August 7.

Responding to the Bishop’s call

The Prayer Rally was generally led by the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life. A student-initiated campaign to respond to this call was launched as an event in the social networking site, Facebook. Created by the UA&P SEB Internal Vice President An-thony Lumicao, Secretary Ina Capulong and SeniorSenior student Martin Verdejo, the event titled “People equals Power: Pray for PH. Slay the RH” invited people, both UA&P and non-UA&P students alike (and Catholics and non-Catholics alike as well), to the Prayer Rally.

The page was flooded with updates, opinions, and arguments on why the bill should not be passed.

People also took the initiative to change their profile pictures to the red poster which said “PEOPLE equals POWER”, to help dissemi-nate information.

Along with ten thousand other people

DuringDuring the rally, UA&P students, alumni, faculty and staff dispersed in a crowd esti-mated by the media to be comprised of ten thousand people. According to Verdejo, there was no memo mandating the students or staff to attend the prayer rally, indicating the high respect of the institution for freedom of

choice.

Along with ten thousand other people, UA&P students braved the rain to join the prayer of the Holy Rosary at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

TheThe rally ended with the celebration of the Holy Mass at around 7 o’clock in the eve-ning, led by the Diocese of Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes, with the Homily given by Bishop Teodoro Bacani.

People wore red shirts, as per requested by the organizers of the Prayer Rally to sig-nify the martyrdom of the unborn chil-dren.

Surprising move

Despite the success of the rally, however, the Congress surprised the whole nation with the change of the schedule of the vote a day earlier from the original schedule set on August 7 (Tuesday). TheThe decision to move the vote was an-nounced right after the lunch meeting with President Benigno Aquino III at the Malacañang Palace. In response, members of the UA&P community, through their own initiative as well, gathered at the Stella Orientis Oratory to pray the Holy Rosary.Rosary.

The result of the vote was to end the de-bates on the House Bill 4244 titled Re-sponsible Parenthood Bill, the formal name of the amended Reproductive Health Bill.

When asked about the future plans or cam-paigns against the bill, Verdejo mentioned that though the debates in the Congress have already been put to an end, UA&P students should let their presence be felt during the discussion of the amendments at the lower house.

by Albertine June Din

UA&P Students Join the

Anti-RH Rally

news5

In an effort to blaze brighter trails leading to the University of Asia and the Pacific’s (UA&P) 50th Founding Anniversary on August 2017, Dr. Jose Maria Mariano, uni-versity president, initiated the #5tothe50th Twitter campaign last June 2012.

The #5tothe50th hashtag was first introduced by Dr. Mariano during his welcome address to the freshmen as a motivation for the “golden anniversary batch” to contribute to the building of the university. DuringDuring the University Opening Rites, #5tothe50th became more than just a hashtag;; Dr. Mariano also introduced it with a ques-tion and a challenge: “What is my contribu-tion, individual or collective, in multiples of five, to the 50th?”

“It would be hype if the ‘5’ there simply means five years. If that’s all that it says, it’s just hype. But if the ‘5’ there means ‘my con-tribution, individual or collective, in mul-tiples of 5’, then we’re no longer talking about hype. Especially because when you say multiples of five, you can number them.”, Dr. Mariano said.

#5tothe50th and ‘Vision 2018’

Dr. Mariano opens up that the #5tothe50th campaign’s main goal is to define the con-crete contributions that will help the univer-sity complete ‘Vision 2018’. ‘Vision 2018’, an 8-year plan started in 2010, aims to achieve three themes: first, to become a uni-versity of choice for students and teachers;; second, to create strong external partner-ships;; and third, to integrate internationaliza-tion.

“#5tothe50th, the goal of it is to identify con-crete contributions that will eventually allow

us to finish, to complete, and to attain our vision for 2018. But you see, from 2010, all the way up to now, the articulation of the vision was abstract (choice, partnerships, internation-alization). Now, we want to have concrete con-tributions, multiples of five.”, Dr. Mariano adds.

#5tothe50th in action

ConcreteConcrete examples on how #5tothe50th is being put into action were stated by Dr. Maria-no. Examples of these goals for 2017 are the publishing of 50 peer-reviewed articles in peer-reviewed journals;; the receiving of at least 500 entries for the Tambuli Awards, 50 of which are foreign;; 5 international testing sites;; 55 professorial chairs;; 54 (625) number of in-coming freshmen plus 100 scholars;; and 55 (725) number of students in the university by that time.

Dr. Mariano said that he has no problem with fleeting or firework-style projects, as it brings out the creativity among students. But he also encourages the people to give contributions that can be sustained even after 50 years.

HeHe opens up on the recent signing of an en-dowed professorial chair that will fund re-search and related activities on social entrepre-neurship as an example. An endowment is an amount of money that is stored in a bank and the interest it produces will be used to fund the academic activity.

“It’s better that we look for projects that can be sustained over time and help build the univer-sity. That’s why just one donation for a re-search project that will last for two months, or maybe even one semester, would be okay. But better an endowment. Because the endowment means that you don’t touch the money, your

by Raquel Monique Luna

capital… Which means that the capital, year after year after year, will keep on pro-ducing the interest and so you can sustain the activity.”, Dr. Mariano explained.

He also mentions the recent success of the relief operations organized by UA&P Hopes, a student-led volunteerism project founded three years ago during the Ondoy typhoon, for the flood victims of the heavy rains brought about by the habagat last August.

“During“During the flood, people were thinking 5,000 packages, 500 goods, or 5 this or 10 this. That’s all very good. But those are fleeting contributions. What is not fleeting is the whole legacy of service. That you (students) organized yourselves… So at least there’s one big legacy from the stu-dents to be sustained. Four more.”dents to be sustained. Four more.”

Dr. Mariano on #5tothe50th: It’s more than just hype

6News

Ann Clarice Fajardo

Katrina Monica Cajucom

Esther Suson

Maria Katrina Baretto

Gilleane Julia Gilleane Julia Altuna

Patrick Lim

Rowella Aguillon

Lyndon Bulahan

Xavier Peredo

Albertine June Din

Choi Eun HyeChoi Eun Hye

Ivy Zuñiga

School of Education

College of Arts and Sciences

Institute of Political Economy

School of School of Communications

School of Economics

School of Management

School of Sciences School of Sciences and Engineering

Student Organizations

Political Party

Scholars

International International Students

Provincial Students

After seven months of waiting for the new set of officers, UA&P will be having its new set of officers under the university-wide stu-dent government. This is under the frame-work of the newly-ratified constitution.

As part of the university’s efforts in having university-wide student government, the Center of Student Affairs (CSA) led by Mr. Rene Ledesma, spearheaded the constitu-tional change by choosing students who can represent their own schools, organizations or political parties in the Constitutional Con-vention (Con Con). The 12 framers of the constitution, mostly composed of fourth year students, were chosen by merit based on their competency as leaders of their re-spective schools, organizations or political parties.

The Con Con started last July 16, 2012 which continued for two weeks until the final constitution had been agreed and signed upon by all of the representatives.

by Raphael Canovas

According to Lyndon Bulahan, Student Orga-nizations representative, COMELEC Chairman Rune Ylade was the one who facilitated the constitutional convention. He led and steered the discussions to its right path. True enough, the new constitution was ratified last August 16, 2012. It garnered about 956 favorable votes outout of the 1,791 registered students which is equivalent to 52.4% percent of the student population. The success of the newly drafted constitution will be the beginning of a series of changes for the new student government.

One of the major and significant changes made in the newly-ratified constitution is switching from a democratic form of government to a mixed democratic and parliamentary one. Ac-cording to Ivy Zuñiga, Provincial Students rep-resentative, this will ensure proper representa-

tion of all the students in the University Student Government (USG). With an un-evenly distributed number of students per course, the framers needed to consider each student’s right to representation in the student government. Only a mixed form of government could accommodate this need. this need.

After the students from each school have voted for their chosen candidates in the student government, the elected represen-tatives will vote for a President who will then appoint for the remaining positions. Many students would argue that a College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) candidate for thethe executive board will surely win as backed by a significant number of CAS students. But with a mixed form of gov-ernment, the population of students per school will not be a hindrance to represen-tation.

The changes a new constitution can bring should never be underestimated be-cause serving as a framework for the university-wide student government, the students will better understand the mean-ing of the UA&P motto, Unitas. It can become a driving force in fostering solidarity among various student organiza-tions and schools within an institution that values the student’s integral formation. United under one student body, the fram-ers hope that the newly-ratified constitu-tion will work effectively for this year’s batch of candidates for the Student Government.

Change ForUNITAS

7 news

Was the 3rd State of the Nation’s Address (SONA) of President Benigno S. Aquino III at the Batasang Pambansa last July 23, 2012 dif-ferent from his two previous ones? Ms. Danica Ang of the Institute of Political Economy said it was not. “He kept on blaming the Arroyo administration. It’s about who’s better – ArroyoArroyo or P-Noy.” Now that the president is going on almost three years into his office, Ms. Ang suggested that the President move on and face the current problems of our country instead of dwelling in the past.The president’s first two SONAs were filled with criticisms against the former administration.

As for others like Sen. Chiz Escudero and Tito Sotto, this year’s SONA was P-Noy’s best so far.

‘Posible’

WhatWhat probably stood out in P-Noy’s SONA was the word posible. The president said that despite the skepticism of many people on the idea of changing the corrupt political culture of the country, his administration has proven that it is indeed possible.

IfIf other countries can attain economic prosper-ity, the Philippines can too. The president said that when Filipinos work together to achieve a common goal, nothing is impossible.

Progress Report

In his third SONA, the president unveiled his administration’s accomplishments and plan-suntil 2016. Looking at each plan, the first ac-complishment that P-Noy presented to the Filipino people was the success of his fight against corruption. The president said that he suspended a number of officials in the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for alleged corruption.

The president was also proud of the success of the impeachment case against former Chief Justice Renato Corona. Mr. Aquino thanked the people who helped win the case and vowed to continue the court battles against former president Gloria Arroyo, who for a time being was freed under bail.

ChiefChief Justice Renato Corona. Mr. Aquino thanked the people who helped win the case and vowed to continue the court battles against former president Gloria Arroyo, who for a time being was freed under bail.

AsAs for education, the president reported that the Department of Education (DepEd) was target-ing that by the end of this year,the backlogs in armchairs, classrooms and textbooks would be solved. The budget for education will also be increased to 292.7 billion pesos in 2013 – that’s more than 68% increase from 177 billion pesos inin 2010. Also, there is good news for students of State Universities and Colleges (SUC’s) be-cause the government has promised to increase the budget for public tertiary education by 43.61 %.

In terms of healthcare, the president reported an increase in the number of PhilHealth benefi-ciaries from 62% of the total population during the Arroyo administration to 85% under his. The president shortly mentioned responsible parenthood which drew both praises and criti-cisms.

Mr. Aquino highlighted his administration’s rigorous spending on infrastructure with the opening of new airports in Bicol and Bohol, the planned SLEX-NLEX connector, and the 2, 275 kilometers of new roads that were built so far.

OnOn business, the president said that the econo-my was also doing well with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) soaring at an all time high of more than 5,000 points, a positive

by Ron Jay Dangcalan

credit rating and the expansion of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4 P’s) from 760,357 beneficiaries in 2010 to 3 million as of February this year. The president also reported the creation of 3 million jobs during his 2 years that the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industryindustry hit $11 billion this year and was expected to grow more than double to $25 billion by 2016. Unemployment rate is also down from 8% in 2010 to 6.9% this year while tourist arrivals are ex-pected to soar to more than 4 million.

The Aquino administration will allocate 28 billion pesos for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization pro-gram apart from the planned 75 billion pesos to be spent in the military in the next five years. The president said that the government will also address the gun shortageshortage in the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The president is confident that the Philip-pine will attain self-sufficiency in rice production by next year citing that the country’s rice imports have declined to 500,000 metric tons last year from 2 mil-lion metric tons in 2010. Moreover, the president hopes that all lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Pro-gram (CARP) will be distributed by the end of his term.

On foreign policy, the president says that the country stands firm in solving the South China Sea dispute diplomatically. He called on China to solve the issue through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Posible: A Look into P-Noy’s 3rd SONA

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Opinion 8 SEptember 2012VOL. 2 ISSUE 1


No Relief without UNITASby Nicollo Ordoñez

Crises, calamities, and conflicts reveal the Filipino’s awesome capability of becoming a man for others.

Recently, we’ve encountered another conflict greater than all of us: the conflict with nature. The nameless habagat or monsoon that struck us hard back in early August was a destructive yet familiar force. We’re the perfect example of a nation out of battle but no less embattled.

As a student of Political Economy, I have always argued that when managing crises and calamities both large and small, nations, organizations, and individuals involved bear the responsibility of working towards developing a genuine relationship built on trust, charity, responsibility, and justice. Effectively managing crises successfully can only be done by treating the parties involved as partner rather than enemy.

Fortunately, for us Filipinos, there is a particular Filipino spirit that has always been there with us and has always been our saving grace.

I’m talking about the spirit of Bayanihan and for us UA&P students, Unitas.

Bayanihan to Filipinos; Unitas to UA&P community

When we’re faced with calamities and natural disasters, the Bayanihan spirit emerges. At the heart of bayanihan is the the virtue of charity and compassion, virtues enabling individuals to give themselves in the service of other men. In fact, the term bayanihan originated from early Filipinos who gathered the whole bayan (townspeople) to help relocate their ka-balanghays’ nipa huts to other settlements. But the bayanihan today is not the same as the bayanihan of yesterday. We don’t carry nipa huts anymore. We carry the spirit bayanihan possesses.

Our combined efforts to serve our fellow Filipinos through the university-wide relief operations last August 7-11 exemplifies our school motto, ‘Unitas’. Unitas has been the same bayanihan spirit which characterizes the much-lauded Filipino character. Bayanihan is to Filipino society as Unitas is to the UA&P community.

The Amazing Power of Social Media

The use of social media to facilitate the spirit of bayanihan into a more coordinated, effective,

and efficient network of communication has made saving lives easier. The power of Facebook and Twitter doesn’t come from the social media platform itself but in the individual’s proper use of social media today. Twitter and Facebook has allowed each one to become a pro-active citizen in the service of others. From netizens, we have become public servants.

Public officials seized such opportunity to use their respective government profiles on the internet as contact for disaster response. President Aquino through his Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) Twitter account knew which areas needed rescue; Senator Dick Gordon had his Red Cross account on Facebook and Twitter ready for coordinating the deployment of volunteers; Atty. Francis Tolentino had his MMDA Twitter and Facebook accounts linked to local government units on standby for mobilizing volunteers.

Simple, Systematic, and Getting Better

I was fascinated by one tweet of MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino regarding the steps by which MMDA was to conduct the rescue operation. When an individual reports the names of families that need rescue, MMDA will first confirm with the LGU of the critical area before coordinating with the Philippine National Red Cross which is in charge of deploying volunteers for the relief operations. Simple, yet effective!

When my friends and I went out to get relief packages to donate to our local parish, we saw a very organized and systematic way of packing and distributing the goods. Only this year did I witness Red Cross volunteers with large trucks who picked up the donations from our local parish on scheduled times. Systematic!

After seeing our society and government’s response to habagat, my observation is this: we are getting better at crisis and disaster management as an entire nation. The reason? There are two. First, because each individual is getting better at solving problems along with others; and second, because each individual is inspired to become more charitable this time around. We’re simply getting better!

We’ve learned our lesson and we’ve applied what we learned well. This year, Red Cross facilitated the rescue operations and distribution of relief goods provided by different parishes, barangays, and corporations. Meanwhile, LGUs were tasked to take

care of the evacuees by providing them with basic necessities. This is Unitas in a larger scale. Bayanihan at its best!

Path to Progress

The path to progress in uplifting the quality of life and re-integrating the families back to their normal livelihood after catastrophes is through empowering the bayanihan spirit of individuals through well-coordinated government support. The welfare of society is best taken care of when both the individual and the state work towards collective action while not impeding upon the individual’s ability to act upon what’s best for him and his family.

A perceptive look into what happened last August during the habagat proves that in any conflict, dispute, and crisis, man-made or not, the strengthened coordination of efforts among groups and the individual’s genuine desire to serve others excellently win the end game.

In reality, before unitas or bayanihan can be formed in a large scale, the individual must first have the ‘unitas’ formed in him – a life dedicated to genuine service to other men, pagiging maka-tao, and a love for the truth (the truth in being a family of human beings endowed with Filipino identity).

No relief operations can be done without the virtue of charity in one. It may seem ironic but the moment one values the life of another person more, one’s life becomes more valuable.

Involving everyone in solving our nation’s greatest conflicts should be the aim of the nation. Unless each and every individual gives himself in the service of others, there can really be no genuine progress. The

process is indeed a c o m p l e x one but it has now b e e n m a d e

easier by the internet and new technology.

I’m extremely proud of the spirit of unitas and bayanihan coming alive last August and I’m expecting to see it again. But for all of us in the university, unitas does not have to take action only during disasters and calamities. It can be done daily by way of service to the people around us. Service to others done with great love are acts that increase man’s virtue. When a person is charitable, that person empowers others to become charitable too thereby strengthening the unitas culture we possess in order to achieve great things. There lies our secret for progress – when we know that great accomplishments are combinations of small acts done with great love.

There is no life-saving without self-giving. No formed nation without a common vision. And certainly no rescue and relief operations without unity.

“It may seem ironic but the moment one values the life of another person more,

one’s life becomes more valuable.”

SEptember 2012VOL. 2 ISSUE 1

9 FEATURES


GUA&P Voice Out

oing online either via Twitter, Facebook or maybe even good old Yahoo! Messenger has already been an indispensible

10

everyday. In fact, we are already living in a modern world which is immensely located and transferred online. The Internet has become a copy, though a lot of times distorted, of reality. It gives us access to everything. It gives us power to know about the events happening around us. In cyberspace, we can create, communicate, and connect. It is a place where an individual, who holds a very tiny part in a world of a billion other people, can reach out and ‘poke’ a whole lot of them.

N o m a t t e r h o w s e e m i n g l y insignificant your place in the world may be, each of us holds a rather important part in UA&P, a smaller but nonetheless significant population. In school, we are closely bound together in a way that someone can just shout out something in the CAS Garden early morning and probably everyone would have heard about it by lunch t i m e . H o w e v e r , what happens after? Af te r c l a s s and w o r k h o u r s , everyone goes their separate ways. It will be very hard to reach all of them even if you holler at the top of your lungs in the CAS Garden because everyone has gone home and no one can hear you. This is the sad truth. But before you slump those shoulders and eat

We are all important in making our school a better place because it is for all of us that it stands. With this simple technological tool, it is easier to fulfill this particular role that we all have to play.

This openly voicing out of ideas started in a Facebook group called UA&P Canteen Expansion, which was made by four fourth year MScM students for a feasibility study. Practically, everyone in school was added and thoughts were expressed about the issue. The study may have already ended, but the group continued to be a venue where members of the UA&P community would post events and comments that they would like to tell everyone. Mr. Rene Ledesma, head of the Center for Student Affairs, suggested changing the name of the group to something that will cater student concerns. Facebook did not allow the changing of the group’s name so another group was created with the name UA&P Voice Out. The initial members added their friends, batch mates and classmates. Soon, most of the UA&P population became part of the group. Any member who wishes to announce something freely did so. Imagine a village at the bottom of a mountain. The students are in that village. What better way to reach out to all of them than by standing o n t h a t m o u n t a i n t o m a k e a n announcement? That stage-like mountain is what UA&P Voice Out is.

“No matter how seemingly

insignificant your place in the

world may be, each of us holds

a rather important part in

UA&P”

a bucket of ice cream in despair, it should delight you to know that the perfect solution has come our way. Have no fear, UA&P Voice Out is

here! Because many people are always online, there would probably be no better place to spread the news and hottest

updates than on Facebook, one of the most popular and m o s t v i s i t e d s o c i a l networking sites where you can freely share, like, comment on, or even report posts and

“We are all important in making our school a better place

because it is for all us that it stands. With this simple

technological tool, it is easier to fulfill this particular role that we

all have to play.”

by Abigail Alba

part of our daily lives. It is just one of the activities we are most fond of doing, even simultaneously with other tasks that we do

photos that catch your attention. No more empty-room discussions, no more unheard complaints, no more neglected events and best of all, no more lonely you.

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As what Patrick Zeta, one of the students who created the group, said, “Basically, that's just it: to bridge the gap between the population and the school.”

Information dissemination is very important in a university. We are fortunate because with the presence of advanced technology today, it has become a piece of cake to transmit a message from one to all. UA&P Voice Out has helped students send across what they need to say. The monsoon that recently caused heavy floods was one of the many situations which showed how important a group like this can be.

Help can be asked for and answered with just a little typing and the click of a button in such a short period of time. There are many events in school and not everyone may know about it. Posting a simple announcement in UA&P Voice Out calls

out to all those who are part of it. You are given the chance to see different posts like invitations to talks, events, programs, and the like. You know it is effective because you see the response of people through

likes, comments, and even direct action. If these messages had not been spread through these means, these messages may not have gotten the attention it can actually get.

UA&P Voice O u t i s a modern and effective way of reaching o u t t o t h e

school’s population. Aside from using costly posters, brochures, and the like to voice out your thoughts, add the group to your list and use it to let your message be heard.

“You know it is effective because you see the response of people through their likes, comments,

and even direct action.”

About a month ago, Habagat, drowned Metro Manila, as well as its neighboring areas in an unlikely deluge. Nobody expected that water levels would rise that fast, until some of our fellow citizens found themselves seeking for help, due to the continuous heavy downpour that allowed the Marikina river to overflow. True enough, that was a day of crisis for us Filipinos, which also reminds us of a similar incident three years ago: typhoon Ondoy.

Mang Eugene, the friendly lab assistant who is usually silent going about with his work clearly has a story to tell w h e n a s k e d a b o u t h i s t y p h o o n experience. In fact, among those who needed the most help was he himself. His two-storey home submerged in rushing, brown floodwater and all of his possessions washed away in the deluge, it was a memory to remember; but not for the reasons that one would think of. “Taon-taon kami binabaha dito,” he said in a rather calm tone. Mang Eugene lives near the Marikina River with his family and high floodwaters were not new to them.

What did make Ondoy memorable for him was the memory of almost losing his youngest child to the flood. “Hindi ko talaga iniisip yung mga gamit.” Mang Eugene was not very attached to his material possessions. “Buhay ng tao di nabibili,” he quipped. That was why when the Habagat drowned his place in similar fashion one could clearly see a calm and reassured man. The most important thing that he learned from years of living in a flood-prone area was that one should always be ready and more than that, to pray. “Kung tumawag ka sa itaas, nariyan naman Siya.” Two weeks ago, Mang Eugene lost pretty much all his belongings, as would happen yearly in a flood in his area. Three years ago was not much of a difference. In fact, if you talk to him, you would be hearing the same things: be ready and pray hard.

Mishaps brought about by torrential floods during typhoons were also not new for Daryll Patco, a UA&P junior student. They live in an elevated bungalow in Sta. Lucia, Pasig City.

According to him, this was not the first time for him and his family to experience such an unlikely incident. During the typhoon Ondoy, he and his family were troubled by the seemingly and endless downpour which was exacerbating the water level in their home. “The water was very shallow inside the house but the rain wasn't stopping and we had no place to go..” Supposedly, Daryll and his family were planning to evacuate from their house so they did not bother stocking up

on groceries . They did not e x p e c t t h a t typhoon would last longer than their supplies.

“Kung tumawag ka sa itaas, nariyan

naman Siya.” Soon, the Patcos found themselves with no food; just an abundance of floodwater in their home.

Indeed , Daryll and his family were in dire need of immediate help. Luckily, his friend Louie De Leon contacted him during their first night at the height of Habagat.

Flooded with Faith and Hopeby Gabriel Asuncion and Francis Galeon

SEptember 2012VOL. 2 ISSUE 1

11 FEATURES

Asked if they wanted to be evacuated, Daryll told his friend that they wanted to, fearing that their previous experience with typhoon Ondoy might occur again. Help was sent immediately to Daryll and his family: “The next day, people started calling and texting me, asking about my situation.” Daryll was blessed to have many friends, particularly his colleagues from UA&P, who were concerned about his situation. So concerned were they that he even trended on the social networking site Twitter, with the hashtag “#Patco”.

At around 8:30 pm, a team riding on a boat knocked at their gate, shouting for Daryll’s name.

“Since he (Louie) was looking for me, I guess it was a team that was contacted by UA&P.” True enough, it was a rescue team coming from Pasig City contacted by UA&P students. Daryll and his family were very much thankful to those who lent their helping hands. Throughout the ordeal, the Patcos were able to cope up with the catastrophic event with a positive spirit. “Three days after being rescued, the flood subsided and we were able to move back home. From then on, everything just went back to normal.” From his experience, Daryll tells us that if there’s one thing which he learned, then that is to be always prepared for the worst, but never (EVER) panic.

As the popular Southborder song puts it, “there’s a rainbow always after the rain”. The tragic stories of Mang Eugene and Daryll Patco show that it does not just pay to be prepared. More than that, it

was their strong inner spirit that kept their hopes up a n d u l t i m a t e l y sus t a ined the i r belief that despite times like Ondoy

and the typhoons of old, life would go on and reward them in a better way.

Volunteerism. Charity. #Unitas.

Noodles, biscuits, bottled water and a bag of clothes were the first goods donated by university students for the UA&P Relief Operations. But more than goods that could be readily bought in supermarkets in bulk and could be packed in plastic bags, these young people offered important things that money simply can’t buy: the volunteers’ t ime, abilities and willingness to act. In spite of being busy with school work and the fear of getting in danger, the request for aid was enough to make many students momentarily forget these worries and offer whatever help they could. The entire relief operations was full of

cooperation, unity, and camaraderie, which lasted for days.

Various teams were organized for the deployment of relief goods to the the evacuated families in specific areas. Among the deployment teams was our

team. We were assigned to deliver relief packages to Nangka Elementary School in Marikina. The willingness to risk our safety to deliver the relief packages personally to the people who need them makes the deployment operation different and exciting at the same time.

Last August 9, 2012, twenty-three volunteers from the school were gathered in ACB 1.5 for briefing about the situation in Marikina. Our team was composed of UA&P students, some of whom volunteered first to be deployed in

IVC, Marikina on Wednesday evening, alumni of the school, v o l u n t e e r s f r o m Adamson University, and a reporter at

Inquirer.net. After the a short meeting, we were instructed to assemble in Study Hall B where the packaged goods were prepared for deployment.

“... these young people offered important things that money simply can’t buy: the volunteers’ time, abilities

and willingness to act.”

“Buhay ng tao di

nabibili.”

by Roald Lanto



While waiting for the truck to bring us to our destination, some of us helped in transferring the goods to a container van. Since most of us already helped in sorting, packing, and packaging goods early in the morning, we decided to take some rest while waiting for the truck. Although we were feeling tired from the activities we did the whole day, seeing our schoolmates selflessly giving their time to pack more goods made us more motivated to do our part. The Unitas spirit made us stronger and more confident to help the affected families and individuals in Marikina. When the truck arrived, we rode the truck bed and a short prayer - not so surprisingly, it provided us peace of mind and assurance to overcome some of our fears and anxieties.

On our way to Nangka Elementary School, we crossed the Tumana Bridge and we saw how high the water in Tumana River was even though the rain has already stopped from pouring. Nevertheless, we were excited and driven to give the things they gravely needed. We also witnessed residents who were busy picking up garbage scattered on the roads, looking for things they can still use, and buying food from nearby stores. We could only imagine how hard it must be for them to get back to their normal lives after this event took away so much from them. And yet, as we

Upon arriving at the area, we were challenged to think of a way to distribute the 400 packs that we were able to bring to

the 1,400 families staying there. But l i k e a p r a y e r i m m e d i a t e l y answered, a group of volunteers from another school also arrived to give the other evacuees food and some of the goods they needed.

Since we wanted to prevent disorder among evacuees and volunteers, we decided to barricade the container van with our bodies. Hand in hand, we made a semi-circle with some of the volunteers inside to unload the packages from the van. To avoid confusion and chaos, we asked the barangay officials of Nangka to help us in our operation. In turn, they called the team leaders of the evacuees to gather. Each team leader was responsible for a number of families, ranging from nine to twenty. Then, each team leader called the heads of each family. With the help of the officers, we learned the number of families each leader had. According to Willy Rosales, the barangay’s secretary, some of the teams add more names on their lists of families

If a team has twelve families, we only gave twelve goods. At first we had a hard time unloading the goods, but thanks to the barangay officers, we were able to give the goods to the affected families. Everyone from the evacuees, to the heads of each family, to the team leaders, to the barangay officials, to all the volunteers who were present then, were very cooperative which made our operations quite smooth and easier to handle.

We felt fulfilled because of the smiles we saw in their faces after the operation.

“We could only imagine how hard it must be for them to get back to their

normal lives after this event took away so much from

them.”

“This exemplified the “bayanihan” spirit of the

residents, which inspired us and reminded us of our goal.”

After all, “the merit is not in whether it is big or small, but in the intention with which you give it.” With the cooperation of the deployment teams, officers, team leaders, and volunteers, the UNITAS spirit branched out to many places. Because of the tremendous joy we gained after giving some goods to the affected families during the height of the Habagat, we wanted to help more people, and we believe that every single day, we face countless chances to do so.

to have more goods than others. To avoid such guiles, we decided to see the original lists of families and only gave the exact number of goods to each team.

passed by the City Health Center of Tumana, we saw strong men carrying gallons of water for their families. This exemplified the “bayanihan” spirit of the residents, which inspired us and reminded us of our goal.

FEATURES 12 SEptember 2012VOL. 2 ISSUE 1

Documents

The Bosun September 2012