UP shifts academic calendar; screens 83K applicants for AY 2015-2016

Note: This photo-essay appeared in the 22-28 August 2014 issue of FilAm Star with the title "UP grind begins with new academic calendar, screening of applicants by the thousands." This author/blogger is the special news/photo correspondent of the said newspaper.

UPCAT day scenes at Melchor Hall.

The weekend of 16-17 August 2014 saw some 83,000 high school seniors taking the UP College Admission Test or the popular UPCAT in various testing centers around the country.  The UPCAT is a five-hour multiple-choice examination in English and Pilipino comprising language proficiency, science, mathematics, and reading comprehension.  Last year, out of around 74,000 examinees, 13,028 qualified for admission, which is roughly the number that can be accommodated by the various academic units in the different campuses of the University of the Philippines System.

We were in the Diliman campus at about noontime of 16^th when the morning batch of examinees had just finished the test and they were getting out of the engineering building.  The afternoon batch was preparing to move inside, and we noted two lines: one of students and the other of parents/chaperons. The UPCAT, as usual, became a family event. The parental duty, of course, could only go as far as the entry door of the building.  We chatted briefly with several of them to learn of their first and second choices of courses and campuses.

It was almost the same time last year when the UP freshmen (freshies) of this Academic Year 2014-2015 took the UPCAT. They could have recognized their own predicaments a year ago when they saw the faces of this year’s UP applicants: those who have taken the test and those who are about to take the bout using Mongol pencil 2.

It was barely two weeks past when classes started in UP Manila (August 6) and UP Diliman (August 7).  UP Los Baños and UP Baguio opened on August 11 and 12, respectively; and Mindanao, on August 18 yet. 

Mural at the College of Fine Arts.

This means that the freshies had a four-month vacation to fortify themselves for the first bout with UP life: the enrolment process, and the surprises and perplexities inside/outside the classrooms during the first week/month. 

It’s all because the UP shifted its academic calendar the first semester from June-October to August-December, and the second semester from November-April to January-May.

The second semester will no longer be interrupted by the long Christmas break. It will start right after the scholars of the people (mga iskolar ng bayan) return from a happy holiday, hopefully, unless the first sem performance is gravely disappointing.  The calendar shift is most welcome to parents of students going home for the holidays because they will save in transportation fares.

UP President Alfredo Pascual emphasized in his press statement that “the decision to shift the academic calendar is part of the continuing efforts of UP to develop into a regional and global university and to maximize the opportunities offered by ASEAN integration and global educational partnerships”.

The UP Charter, Republic Act 9500 of 2008, mandates UP as the national university, and one of its purposes is to “serve as a regional and global university in cooperation with international and scientific unions, networks of universities…in the Asia Pacific Region and around the world”.

The academic calendar shift comes in synch with ASEAN 2015, when the Action Plan of the ASEAN Economic Cooperation is expected to be fully implemented in the member countries. The Plan includes promotion of the free flow of goods and services among said countries.

The historic AS Steps

UP is a member of the ASEAN University Network (AUN).  According to Pascual, synchronization of the academic calendar with those of ASEAN, European and American academic partners “will create more joint programs and partnerships with other universities, allow students to get transfer credits, particularly under ASEAN and ASEAN +3 Credit Transfer System (ACTS), and address the problem with semestral gaps with partner universities.”  Thus, this synchronization will enhance the mobility of students and faculty within the region.  Most universities in Asia, Europe and North America also start their classes in August or September. 

Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University are also members of the AUN. According to reports, they plan to shift their academic calendars next year.  The University of Santo Tomas shifted this year to July, and will adjust to August next year.  Other universities may eventually adopt a new calendar.  As far as we know, the Department of Education has yet to decide if the elementary and high school academic calendars will also shift to harmonize with the universities.

“Padayon mga Iskolar ng Bayan! (Carry on, Scholars of the People!),” Pascual exhorted the freshies of UP Diliman during their welcome assembly on August 11. 

Fine Arts freshies with artsy headgear.

The welcome program of the University Freshie Month was intended to make them feel at home. The student proctors also made sure that the freshies kept a buoyant spirit when their deans introduced them to the university president.  Hence, they did some gimmicks to lighten up the event, and student organizations rendered presentations to cheer them up too. The contingent of Fine Arts freshies came with artful headgear, which led us to ask the proctors if they are already preparing them for their first Lantern Parade in December. 

Probably their first bewilderment was the call for a bonfire at the UP Diliman Sunken Garden on August 9, two days after the opening of classes:  what’s the hullabaloo about the Fighting Maroons clobbering the Soaring Falcons of Adamson University at a UAAP Season 77 basketball game?

The last time the Maroons won was two years ago. They were UAAP champions in 1986 long before the freshies were born. Probably their only popular ‘connect’ to that event was Benjie Paras who was in that champion team, and his son Andre who was a Fighting Maroon until he moved to San Beda earlier this year.

By now, the freshies may have found favorite places to go to for budget meals if they do not have their own ‘baon’:  snack stalls of the ‘Samahan ng Manininda sa UP Campus’, eateries along JP Laurel Street, ‘kainan’ street, and those inside the shopping center, among others. Late afternoons may see them around Mang Larry’s Isawan, which non-UP students also patronize.  Of course, there’s always the quick and cheap comfort food is the iconic banana delicacy: turon!

Ikot! or Toki! around the campus.

He/she must now be thinking of ways to manage the time for attending classes in different locations especially when the schedules are tight.  Classes in buildings around the academic oval are navigable with strong legs. But if these are outside this loop, say in the new engineering complex, the UP Ikot, which runs counter-clockwise around the campus, or the UP Toki, which takes the reverse direction, may be the substitute for legs. These jeepneys ply different routes, one of them going through the messy traffic on CP Garcia.

After the welcome assembly with the UP president, the university has more events for the freshies, and one of them is the University Freshie Student Council elections on August 26. This reminds us that in our time, freshmen were not represented in the university student council, nor were we allowed to vote. 

Outside of these official events, some freshies may opt to have a political baptism by joining the Junk STS [Socialized Tuition System] unity march around the academic oval on August 27, and Boycott the BOR [Board of Regents] rally at the Executive House on Aug 28, being organized by Gabriela Youth.

It is likely that the Gabriela Youth will culminate the march with a program at the A.S. Steps. Historical events took place here such as:   UP President Salvador P. Lopez declaring support of the UP community in 1971for the Diliman Commune; Senators Ninoy Aquino and Gerry Roxas speaking on national issues before the declaration of martial law in 1972; and students launching the protest movement following the Aquino assassination in 1983.

On August 27, other freshies may want instead to go to the Film Center’s Cine Adarna to witness the awarding of the 2014 UP Gawad Plaridel, an annual media award of the university, to Nora Aunor for her "unique artistry and versatility as a singer,: and for "portraying with keen intelligence and uncommon sensitivity an amazing range of cinematic roles."

CMC@50 

The UP Gawad Plaridel was established by the College of Mass Communications (CMC) “to recognize Filipino media practitioners who have excelled in any of the media (print, radio, film, and television) and who have performed with the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service.”  It is named after the propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel), known to history students for the reformist La Solidaridad of the expatriate Filipinos in Spain in the late 1890s.

Freshies may not fail to note the CMC poster announcement that its 50^th anniversary will be next year and the Plaridel image is their embodying logo for the theme “Midyang Malaya at Mapagpalaya”.

By the way, Chancellor Michael Tan wrote that "it's still go for the sunflowers for next year's graduation, for the sake of tradition, and science." The protest against the calendar shift used the sunflowers as an argument. But a shorter variety of sunflowers that were planted in June are now blooming. The tradition lives on, and the freshies today will have sunflowers on their graduation four or five years from now. Padayon, mga iskolar ng bayan! 

Noble warrior of UP Vargas Museum.

Positioning the Philippines as 'Science Nation'

Note:  This photo-essay appeared in the 08-14 August 2014 issue of FilAm Star, a weekly 'newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America' published in San Francisco, CA. This author/blogger is the special news/photo correspondent of the paper in Manila.

It was purely coincidental that on the day President Benigno Aquino III addressed his bosses about the state of the nation, the National Science & Technology Week was on its closing day at the Mall of Asia.  The theme of the week-long event was “Philippines: A Science Nation Meeting Global Challenges.”  

We checked if some inputs from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) went into the making of the Aquino SONA.  Well, he mentioned ‘strengthening the capabilities of [local government units], who are frontliners in times of disasters, through a modern and comprehensive forecasting system’, citing the DREAM-LiDAR project for hazard mapping, a significant element of DOST’s Outcome [or target] 8: disaster preparedness.

We’re wondering what impact the SONA could have created had the president delved a little on the integrated Government Philippines or iGovPhil project, the flagship e-governance project of DOST, which will be fully operational later this year or early next year. It is touted to “make ICT-based governance possible and broaden access to government-services particularly healthcare and education, for those in the countryside.” 

The e-governance is DOST’s Outcome 5 for the Philippines as a Science Nation. Will iGovPhil provide the access point to government databases should the Freedom of Information (FOI) become a law? Will iGovPhil and the FOI operate in tandem?

We were at the National S&T Week venue for four days helping the young alumni of the International Science & Engineering Fair manage their exhibits at the Intel Philippines area. We spent some time to learn about DOST’s eight outcomes or targets from the diverse exhibits, demonstrations, forums and publications of S&T stakeholders.

The outcomes are set to achieve economic development and global competitiveness especially with reference to the ASEAN integration in 2015.

Agriculture is the focal point of Outcome 1. We were drawn to the Crop Genome Projects of the Philippine Council for Agrciulture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) on the abaca, coconut varieties, carabao mango, sugarcane and tomato. Expected results include improvement of crop characteristics and their resistance to pests. In the case of the carabao mango, PCAARRD is looking at eventually having seedlings authenticated as a true-to-type variety before they are dispersed from nurseries.

At this time, PCAARRD is on the fast track with Philippine Coconut Authority, Dept. of Agriculture and UPLB to save the coconut industry from the coconut scale insect, popularly known as 'cocolisap'. This was first detected in 2010, but massive treatments of infested plantations in Quezon, Batangas, Laguna and Cavite started only this year. The integrated pest management approach involves pruning of infected leaves; treatment with systemic insecticide through trunk injection; spraying of organic pesticide following prescribed protocols; releasing biological control agents; and fertilization.

Outcome 2 is largely defined by the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) to assist micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in acquiring “technology interventions in order to increase the volume of their production, improve product and service quality, expand their market, and allow their business to attain world-class standards.”

DOST's strategies also include technical assistance and consultancy services in the areas of food safety, energy audit, and cleaner production, and innovative packaging services for effective marketability of products, among others.

In particular, SETUP focuses on food processing, furniture, metals and engineering, horticulture and agriculture, health products and services, electronics, ICT, gifts, housewares, and décor.   About 60-70 percent of SETUP adopters are from the food industry.  

DOST's thrust for Outcome 3 is to “push local industries to move up the value chain and offer services previously not available in the country and thus make a dent in the global market.”

The showpiece was the RP-S-512, "a locally assembled two-seater light sport airplane that is easily transported and stored in much smaller hangar spaces because of its detachable wings, powered by a 100-HP engine and runs on basic unleaded gasoline." This showcases the cooperative venture of DOST and the AIAP (Aerospace Industries Association of the Philippines) to explore aviation and aerospace manufacturing.

The focus of Outcome 4 is Information Technology - Business Process Management (IT-BMP). The vision is to generate direct employment in the countryside through two programs: e-Commerce and Rural Impact Sourcing,

By 2016, DOST hopes to generate 1.3-Million employment and USD 25-Billion revenues in the IT-BPM industry. Today, the country is tops in voice services (call centers) and is the second choice for non-voice services (healthcare information management, software, game development, animation and engineering services).

We mentioned Outcome 5 (e-governance) earlier. Its backbone is fiber optic technology. This will interconnect 160 government offices in Metro Manila once the cables are fully installed, providing high speed communication among them. A similar network for 12 agencies is scheduled to come online in Cebu later this year.

iGovPhil is a component of the e-Government Master Plan (EGMP). The Medium-Term ICT Harmonization Initiative (MITHI), another component, will "standardize processes, make applications interoperable, facilitate collaboration [on projects] and allow sharing of resources" of all government offices.

Centralized databases like land, vehicles,businesses and citizens’ registries are mentioned in the iGovPhil literature.  We wonder if the coverage will eventually include budgets and procurements of goods and services, which are hot items in today’s debates on the controversial PDAF and DAP.  It would also be good to know if access will be open to the public or not.

Health is everybody's business in Outcome 6: "improvement of healthcare and quality of life for Filipinos via science, technology and innovation.”

FNRI  (Food and Nutrition Research Institute) commitment is through a a teaching tool called “Pinggang Pinoy” that can be useful in planning a healthy-balanced meal in response to the increasing number of diet and lifestyle-related diseases afflicting Filipinos, young and old alike. It’s a quick reference on the whole-day food intake recommendation for Filipinos along the concept of GO, GROW and GLOW.  The ‘pinggan’ (plate) suggests bigger intake of whole grains and vegetables, and the upper part, less red meat, sugar, fats and oils in the Filipino diet.

FNRI is pushing for brown rice or ‘unpolished rice’ whose short shelf-life of one to four months has been extended up to nine months through a process that they have developed. For health buffs, brown rice has more nutritional and healthful benefits than white rice.  Its bran layer is known to be rich in dietary fiber, minerals  and B vitamins.

The issue of rice sufficiency and market price is not in the context of this paper. So do the latest media commentaries that there are no more young people joining the senior citizen rice farmers countrywide, even in the Cordillera rice terraces.

Outcome 7 is focused on education. DOST runs the Philippine Science High School System that has regional campuses, and aims to make PSHS the best science school in the ASEAN.

DOST is also offering S&T scholarships to university undergraduate and graduate students. To “produce highly skilled and globally competitive human resources in S&T in support of the national S&T programs,” it has launched a campaign to have one “science scholar” per municipality.

For Outcome 8 (disaster preparedness), DOST works closely with PAGASA, PHIVOLCS, Project NOAH and UP DREAM.

Netizens know that they can now download from Project NOAH’s website information on typhoons, rainfall probability, historical flood maps, weather monitoring, and data on storm surge and landslides.

The nation-wide UP Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation [DREAM] project taps “cutting-edge technologies in disaster science research  [such as] LiDAR [Light Detection and Ranging] to generate high-resolution, detailed, and up-to-date national elevation maps and data sets for 19 critical river basins in the country – the most flood-prone and high-risk areas.”  These river basins are: Marikina-Pasig, Bicol, Cagayan (Mindanano), Iligan, Pampanga, Agno, Jalaur, Ilog-Hilabangan, Panay, Davao, Mag-asawang Tubig, Agus, Tagum-Libuganon, Tagoloan, Buayan-Malungan, Agusan, Cagayan, Mindanao, Infanta and Lucena, whose catchment areas total 103,515 sq km.

Data acquired from airborne LiDAR will be processed and calibrated, and then validated through ground survey.  Flood models and hazard maps will be generated from these data, which will “allow early warning of at least six hours ... sufficient lead time to prepare people and communities for evacuation and appropriate response.”

PAGASA has embarked on its modernization to eventually allow a 7-day weather forecast, and eventually seasonal forecasts with the addition of new additional Doppler radars.  PHIVOLCS is also beefing up its earthquake monitoring network, and it also maintains a tsunami monitoring network.

In closing, we noted that Outcome timelines are finite bound to 2016, the last year of the Aquino administration. May be these are for specific hardware and services acquisitions with the overall ‘Science Nation’ vision/mission transcending the narrow confines of six-year election periods. S&T developments are continuing, after all, and thus, not time bound. 

Protest colors & sentimental chords in Pres. Aquino’s Fifth SONA

Note: This photo-essay appeared in a slightly different version in the 01-07 August 2014 issue of FilAm Star, the weekly 'newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America', where this author/blogger is the special news/photo correspondent based in Manila.

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III was under a dark cloud most of July formed by adverse public reaction following his explanation on Nora Aunor ‘s exclusion from the list of National Artists and his national address on the Supreme Court ruling regarding the DAP, his rejection of Budget Secretary Butch Abad’s courtesy resignation, and then his poor approval ratings that Pulse Asia released on the 14th and 25th of the month.

The president even made a call for a show of public support by wearing the iconic yellow ribbon but this was immediately downplayed by his Malacañang staff.   This brought out the idea of peach as protest color among the impeach Aquino supporters. Three impeachment cases had since been filed.

On SONA day, 28 July 2014, the Philippine Daily Inquirer bannered that ‘P-Noy [was] graded so-so 6.1’ by the Movement for Good Governance (MGG), a coalition of non-government organizations (NGOs) chaired by UP Professor Solita Collas-Monsod, popularly known as TV talk show host Mareng Winnie.

In the scale of 1 to 10, the mediocre grade suggests that “something has been accomplished” during the current year of the Aquino administration “but [it] is lower than expected.”  It’s below the 7.5 passing mark. 

We were not then surprised that Aquino changed the tone of his fifth State of the Nation Address: an accomplishment report without the usual fireworks of the previous SONAs. Conciliatory was how observers described this latest one.

 There was no blame game on his predecessor, no mention whatsoever about Bong, Jinggoy and Johnny (they’re in jail), no swipes at the Supreme Court (Malacañang has appealed for reconsideration), although there was a gentle poke at his critics, whose “attacks ... are becoming more frequent, more venomous, and more intense.”  He said though that he has “grown used to being greeted by negative commentators for breakfast, personal attacks for lunch, insults for dinner, and intrigue for a midnight snack.”   

The accomplishment report was full of numerical data and was enhanced by testimonials from a TESDA beneficiary, policewomen, an informal settler and a student. On the side, he gave credit to Cabinet or non-Cabinet officials and even civilians who aced their performance targets.

According to reports, jailed senators Bong Revilla and Jnggoy Estrada praised the SONA as “most decent since 2010” although they noted that Aquino failed to touch on important issues. 

An overseas Filipino worker expressed in the social media a similar sentiment.  There was no cameo role of the OFW in the SONA. He was dismayed that their sector did not merit any recognition for contributing to the nation’s economic growth. 

Aquino described a looming energy crisis.  Energy watchers though expected to hear concrete indicatives of a power development plan but there was none. 

The SONA was silent on the proposed Freedom of Information law. There were also no sound bytes on foreign policy issues: the territorial dispute with China and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreemen (EDCA), although Aquino was loud and clear on the modernization of the armed forces.

Emotion was high towards the conclusion of his SONA. Aquino was on the verge of tears when he talked about the legacy left by his parents.  Many among the well-dressed audience with yellow ribbons likely reached for dainty hankies to dab their eyes too and later rose to give him a standing ovation and affirmation that “we will continue proving that “the Filipino is worth dying for,” “the Filipino is worth living fo r,” and ... “The Filipino is worth fighting for.”

There was another congressional session on Commonwealth Avenue.  Several SONAs were delivered by representatives of protest groups from various sectors like labor and agriculture, health, education, government/non-government workers, the religious community and informal settlers. 

Present too were the seven party-list lawmakers before they proceeded to Congress in peach barongs for the men and peach gowns for the women.  Shortly before Aquino started his SONA, they walked out of the session hall: Bayan Muna’s  Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, Gabriela ‘s Luzviminda Ilagan and  Emmi de Jesus, Kabataan’s Terry Ridon,  ACT Teachers’  Antonio Tinio, and Anakpawis’ Fernando Hicap.

Mae Paner, popularly known as Juana Change, wore an elegant brown Filipiniana gown at parliament on Commonwealth Aven ue.  After her own SONA, she also proceeded to Congress where she changed into a peach gown but she did not walk out. She said she was an ardent Aquino supporter.  Since they were together during the election campaign in 2010, she warned him in colorful Tagalog that she would mash his balls if he fails to fulfil his election promises.  She quipped that his ‘daan matuwid’ (straight path) has come to a ‘bangin’ (deep ravine).

The protest rally was as usual colorful with caricatures, effigies and streamers. The theme harped on the DAP and the impeachment move.

It was an orderly assembly, groups stayed on their designated areas hence there was no dense crowd in front of the stage.  The sound system was properly deployed so that the speeches could be heard clearly up to the farthest end of the assembly.

The protest parliament was on the right side of Commonwealth Avenue between Ever department store and the St. Peter’s Church.  While the pedestrian lane was open, the island and the area several meters before the church were sealed with barbed wires, concrete traffic control barriers, container vans, and phalanxes of the police force ready with shields and truncheons.

Probably as Aquino was halfway through his Fifth SONA, his effigy as Pork Barrel King was rolled to the center in front of the stage for the burning.  This was the finale of the protest rally: protesters cheering on and banners flying around as fires consumed the effigy.

This photo from Mon Ramirez.

It didn’t end there right away. Protesters marched toward the barricades and tried to topple the concrete barriers. If there were tears inside the session hall, there was red-tainted water from firemen’s cannon hoses to douse the protesters.  It was a peaceful but wet ending. 

Countdown to the Sixth and last Aquino SONA has began.

The Iglesia Ni Cristo celebration of its centennial at the ‘world’s largest indoor arena’

Note:  This essay appeared in slightly different version in the 25-31 July 2014 issue of FilAm Star, a weekly 'newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America' published in San Francisco, CA. This blogger/author is the paper's special news/photo correspondent based in Manila.

“Central” on Commonwealth Avenue is where students of New Era University and the University of the Philippines get off the bus or FX van when they go to their respective schools.  It actually refers to the nearby Iglesia Ni Cristo [INC] Central Temple, an eye-catching landmark with towering spires in a wide gated compound, the INC Central Office and the New Era University are also found.

When we first saw the billboard announcing the INC Centennial Year in front of the Central Temple, we thought that the July celebrations would be held there.  We imagined a massive gathering of INC members along Commonwealth, bigger than those who attended their charity walks or medical missions that caused traffic to come to a standstill.

Then we heard that the grand celebrations would be held at the colossal structure rising in a wide sprawl along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx).  This is a 140-hectare complex that straddles Bocaue and Sta. Maria of Bulacan province that INC calls Ciudad de Victoria (City of Victory).

For some 30 months since 2011, we saw what would become the Philippine Arena assume its gigantic form: “the world’s largest indoor arena.”  According to the webpage of the architectural designer Populous of Australia, this building “pushe[d] boundaries of arena design ... the vast scale create[d] technical challenges, especially as it is a one-sided bowl.”

Reports say it cost $175 Million or about Php 8.7 billion from contributions of INC members.  Aside from Populous, Burro Happold, a British professional services firm, was contracted for structural engineering, and the Korean firm Hanwha E&C for construction.   That it was designed and built to withstand strong tremors and strong typhoon winds was tested when it escaped unscathed from the strong winds of Typhoon Glenda that hit the area four days before inauguration day

Ticket to the green section of the Arena.

We guessed right that our niece Hilda from Toronto would be coming home for the centennial.  She came home with her young daughter in time for the inauguration of the Ciudad on 21 July, and her husband and son would be arriving for the grand celebration on 27 July.

Hilda briefed us that not all INC members would have the opportunity to attend the programs at the Philippine Arena.  She was lucky, she said, that she got a ticket for the 21 July event. All of them in the family already have their passes for the grand event on the 27^th.

She was able to see the guest of honor, President Benigno Simeon A. Aquino III, from her perch at row 49, lower tier-B at the green sector of the Arena, and listen to his words of appreciation to INC, his invocation of love from John 13:34-35 and Matthew 25:40, and his gentle poke at his critics.

Pres. Aquino and INC Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo unveiled the inaugural marker, which bears the latter’s summary account of what the Ciudad is all about. 

“Built and developed by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) through the New Era University,” Manalo said, “the Ciudad de Victoria Complex is a testament to the Church’s support for the promotion of Philippine culture and arts, sports, and eco-tourism. This multi-purpose complex serves as the venue of the Iglesia Ni Cristo Centennial Celebration and stands as a symbol of its triumphs and achievements through the help of the Almighty God.”

“Its centerpiece, the Philippine Arena, and the adjacent Philippine Sports Stadium, both opened this day. Ciudad de Victoria will also showcase the Philippine Sports Center and other various establishments,” he added. 

Populous said that “[t]he building’s capacity is its challenge. ... the arena has been master planned to enable 50,000 people to gather inside the building and a further 50,000 to gather at a ‘live site’ outside to share in major events.” 

The Philippine Arena colorfully lighted on the eve of the inauguration.

The architectural company further envisioned that “[t]he arena will not only hold major church gatherings, it will also operate as a multi-use sports and concert venue, capable of holding a range of events from boxing and basketball to live music performances. There are clear sightlines from every seat on each tier, even for various arena configurations such as church ceremonies, boxing, tennis, concerts or indoor gymnastics.  The overall vision of the masterplan will eventually see inclusion of shopping centres, a hospital and large scale residential developments.”

The inauguration was “part of the commemoration of the 100^th year of the Iglesia ni Cristo’s establishment on July 27, 1914,” the marker read.

Interior shot showing the 55,000-seat structure of the Arena.

The INC history tells us that their first local congregation was established in Punta, Sta. Ana, and it was officially registered with the government on 27 July 1914 by Felix Y. Manalo, the first Executive Minister.  When he passed away in April 1963, INC had already ecclesiastical districts all over the country. The first overseas mission was established in Hawaii – the Honolulu Congregation, with the first worship service officiated on 27 July 1968 by Bro. Erano F. Manalo, the Executive Minister at that time. That was the start of the worldwide expansion of the church.

In his Proclamation No. 815, Pres. Aquino acknowledged that the INC is “the the largest home-grown Christian church in the Philippines ... [it] has made significant contributions in bringing spiritual maturity, spreading the love of Christ and nurturing the religious life of the nation since 1914 ... [and it] has spread its ministry in at least one hundred two (102) countries, hence its centennial celebration is a worldwide event.”   He declared Year 2014 as Iglesia ni Cristo Centennial Year through this proclamation “in order to enhance awareness of [INC’s] contributions in national development.”

It must be noted that 27 July every year has been a special national working holiday as provided by Republic Act No. 9645, the short title of which is “Commemoration of the Founding Anniversary of Iglesia ni Cristo Act”, after it was signed by then Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009. 

It became a special non-working holiday when President Aquino approved Joint Resolution No. 2 of Congress declaring 27 July this year as such to commemorate the 100^th founding anniversary of the church.

Every Filipino is aware that the INC has become a significant part of Philippine social and political life. Politicians are said to seek INC endorsement during elections because the popular belief is that they choose candidates to support as a bloc during elections.  But there should be more than this.  Executive Minister Manalo said the Arena would also be open for use by Filipinos of other faiths and even by international groups or communities for international gatherings and events.  Thus, hopefully, with Ciudad de Victoria’s Philippine structures – Arena, Stadium, Sports Center – being open also people of other religious faiths, better socio-cultural relationships will be fostered, and prejudices and urban folklore with religious undercurrents deconstructed. 

The Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Temple along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

Postscript:  Carlos Antonio Santos-Viola, classmate of National Artist for Architecture Jose Maria Zaragoza, designed and built the Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Temple and other INC churches all over the country.  He evolved the unique architectural design that uses 20^th Century geometric forms and garnished with Gothic and Baroque lines. He remained a Roman Catholic while working in harmony with the Iglesia Ni Cristo. 

Was there a Negative Nora Aunor Effect on President Aquino’s Approval Rating?

Note: This photo-essay appeared in a slightly different form in the 18-24 July 2014 issue of the FilAm Star, the weekly 'newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America' published in San Francisco, CA.  This author/blogger is the Special News/Photo Correspondent of the paper in the Philippines.

A fan with a framed autographed picture of his idol.

Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun), the strongest storm so far to hit the Philippines, left Metro Manila late morning Wednesday, 16 July, with a power blackout that lasted till the first hour of Thursday.

The Glenda effect as monitored by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and other government agencies may be in the fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno Simeon Cojuanco Aquino III on 28 July 2014.  After all, he met with the Council the day before the storm, and he was reported to have expressed satisfaction on the preparedness of all concerned agencies.

For sure, the SONA will highlight the controversial PDAF (the discretionary Priority Development Fund available to members of Congress), and the DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Program, which the Department of Budget and Management defined as a “stimulus package under the Aquino administration designed to fast-track public spending and push economic growth”).  

On 01 July,  the Supreme Court unanimously declared key portions of the DAP unconstitutional: the creation of savings prior to the end of the fiscal year and their withdrawal for implementing agencies, the “cross-border” transfers of savings from one government branch to another, and the allotment of funds for items not found in the General Appropriations Act.

The impact of the SC decision on public opinion through the media and the social networks had President Aquino deliver a national address on Monday, 14 July, to explain his side to his constituents (mga minamahal ko pong kabababyan, ang aking mga Boss"). He said that they will file a motion for reconsideration before the high tribunal.

The presidential address drew mixed reactions but many believed that they have not felt any of the benefits that are supposed to trickle down from the DAP. The negative reaction added to the public dismay on Aquino's rejection of the resignation letter of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad during the Cabinet meeting on 12 July.

01 July was also the day Aquino explained why he rejected the nomination of Nora Aunor as National Artist for film. There was public uproar for an explanation after her exclusion from the list recommended by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to receive the Order of National Artists award.

Although he expressed admiration for Aunor’s acting ability and her Cinderella story, he admitted that the reason was drugs:  “naconvict po sya sa drugs,” he reportedly emphasized.  Her lawyer in the United States was quick to retort that she was never convicted of a crime involving drugs in Los Angeles.  

In some way, Nora Aunor was a typhoon that hit Malacañang.

National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera & TOWNS awardee
Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan go through the Supreme Court
decision on the National Artists controversy of 2009.

While she is now enjoying the overflow of support from fans and various sectors—two forums have been held in Ateneo de Manila and the University of the Philippines, for example, she appears to have contributed to the drop in the approval rating of President Aquino for the second quarter of 2014.

On the same day that he addressed the nation on the DAP controversy, Pulse Asia Research, Inc. also shared their findings on Presidential Performance and Trust Ratings from the June 2014 Ulat ng Bayan national survey. 

The Pulse Asia summary reads: “ A little over one in 10 Filipinos (14%) expresses disapproval for the work done by the President in the past three months as well as distrust in him. Presidential disapproval scores range from 7% to 18% in the different geographic locations and from 12% to 22% across socio-economic groupings. In terms of distrust figures, they vary from 9% to 17% across geographic areas and from 12% to 24% across socio-economic classes. Residents of Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon as well as those in Class ABC are most critical of President Aquino (17% to 22%) and most inclined to distrust him (17% to 24%). These figures do not differ in any significant way from those posted by President Aquino in March 2014 at the national level as well as across geographic areas and socio-economic classes.”

This is the result of survey fieldwork using face-to-face interviews from 24 June 24 to 02 July 2014. According to Pulse Asia, this was the period when the Filipinos were preoccupied with various issues most of which pertain to the PDAF and the Janet Napoles court cases. 

Pulse Asia listed 13 issues.  Item 4 is “(t)he decision issued by the Supreme Court (SC) declaring several acts under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional for violating the doctrine of separation of powers and the constitutional provision which prohibits the inter-branch transfer of appropriations;” and item 12 is “(t)he controversial decision of President Aquino to reject the nomination of Ms. Nora Aunor as National Artist for Film.”

Poster photo courtesy of the Nora Aunor
for National Artist Movement.

The SC decision could not have been the contributing factor since it came at the end of the survey period.  Surely, the controversial PDAF and Napoles cases were the significant influences in the negative responses of interviewees in the survey.

It is possible that there was a negative Nora Effect on the Aquino’s approval rating.

In fact, the Nora Aunor for National Artist Movement is sustaining support for her through a signature campaign. The target is one million signatures hopefully to be gathered so that she can be proclaimed in a public gathering as the “Pambansang Artista ng Mamamayan” before or after the official proclamation in Malacañang of Alice Reyes, Cirilo Bautista, Francisco Coching, Feliciano Francisco, Ramon Santos and Jose Maria Zaragoza as National Artists. 

Rehabilitation of esteros & other Pasig River tributaries

Note: This photo-essay appeared in slightly different version in the 11-17 Jul 2014 issue of FilAm Star, "the newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America," published weekly in San Francisco CA.  This blogger/author is the Special News/Photo Correspondent of said paper in the Philippines.

Estero de Vakencia: then and now.
Photo from Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission.

The thought that this river should be brought to life again has not left us after enjoying the ferry boat ride on the Pasig from Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City to Plaza Mexico in Intramuros on two fine sunny days in early June (FilAm Star issue 276).

We’ve read about the core program of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) chaired by Ms. Regina Paz. L. Lopez, the main thrust being the restoration of the 47 tributaries of the Pasig comprising esteros, creeks and other waterways. 

These tributaries are distributed in nine (9) clusters in “The Strategic Development Framework for Tributaries (2014-2016)” under the Pasig River Rehabilitation Master Plan:  Cluster I (8 Manila esteros); Cluster II (7 Manila esteros, which includes Aviles, Sampaloc, San Miguel and Valencia); Cluster III (8 Manila esteros including Paco and Santibanez); Cluster IV (5 creeks in Mandaluyong and Makati); Cluster V (5 creeks and in Pateros and Taguig); Cluster VI (4 tributaries in Pasig); Cluster VII (3 creeks in Mandaluyong and San Juan; and Cluster VIII (4 creeks in Quezon City) and Cluster IX (3 creeks in Quezon City). 

The named esteros in the Manila clusters have already been totally or partially completed, and these were what we wanted to see. We’ve had enough of seeing clogged esteros or creeks in going around Santa Cruz, Quiapo or Binondo.

The Estero de San Miguel boardwalk.

Estero de San Miguel. We first did a solo exploration of this estero from the foot of the LRT Station on Legarda to Arlegui Bridge, the gateway to Malacañang.   We walked on the floating boardwalk just like the students going to or coming from their classes at Centro Escolar University or the V. Mapa High School.

This portion of the estero was generally clean and garbage-free, and we noted the floating islands of vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) that spell the slogan “Clean Water Soon.” These grasses are phytoremediators; and when planted close together, they can filter out sediments and decontaminate heavy metals. Viviter is used worldwide for slope protection and soil erosion control.  

At the end of the board walk, a block from Arlegui, is an antique-looking stone pedestrian bridge to the mini-park behind Centro Escolar. The view from here is a row of houses all painted green, which we thought to reflect the spirit of environmental protection.

Jericho Von Miranda, PRRC media and communications head, was our amiable guide during our second journey to another sector of Estero de San Miguel.  This time, our pathway was the easement between the tributary and the residential houses. Easements had been transformed into linear parks bordered by green plants and other ornamentals. Through PRRC’s ecological training activities, homeowners became River Warriors who are responsible for making the estero and the linear park ecologically sound.

The rehabilitated Estero de San Miguel was inaugurated on 04 June 2014. Around Php52-Million was spent for dredging, installation of the floating boardwalk, development of linear parks, river bank improvement, slope protection and phytoremediation.

The 2-km long Estero San Miguel has yet to be completely rehabilitated. We noted, for example, that there are still houses of informal settler families (ISFs) built along or over the waterway.  Miranda informed that their relocation is a major component of the PRRC master plan.

Top photos (left to right): Esteros de Sampaloc & Aviles.
Bottom (l to r): Linear parks along San Miguel & Paco esteros.

Estero de Aviles.  Our walk on the linear park was about half-kilometer, the length of the waterway itself, and almost at the end is the barangay hall.  Where this hall now stands, according to Miranda, were the houses of ISFs who amicably accepted to move to relocation sites outside Manila.

The rehabilitated Estero de Aviles was inaugurated on 07 July 2013.  About Php6.2-Million went into dredging works, linear park development, and the construction of the barangay hall and the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

.

Estero de Paco.   This estero is more than two kilometers long.  During the walk, we chanced upon river warriors cleaning up areas that were flooded the night before because of the heavy rains.

The rehabilitated waterway was inaugurated on 11 January 2012, the first to be completed and thus serves as template in the rehabilitation of other tributaries.  Php20-Million went to the cleaning and rehab of the estero and of the century old Paco Market.

Tarpaulin posters of the old estero heavily clogged with garbage provide a very strong  contrast to what we saw: clean waterway with active island reactors-aerators surrounded by lush green plants and river warriors on their rafts busy in their cleaning tasks.  The three island reactors worth Php5-Million generate oxygen to help restore aquatic life in the waterway.

River Warriors maintaining cleanliness of the esteros of Paco
(top & bottom left photos) and Santibanez (bottom right).

Estero de Sampaloc and Estero de Valencia.  Our sight-seeing was confined to Estero de Sampaloc via the well-kept linear park along the kilometer-long tributary. We skipped the shorter Estero de Valencia for another time.   Both rehabilitated esteros were the latest to be inaugurated on 11 June 2014.

The rehabilitation involved not only riverbed dredging, desilting works, and riverbank development but also relocation of some 400 ISFs in Bulacan.  We noted a serious commitment among the homeowners to keep their linear park “yards” clean by proper management of their household wastes (“Tapat Ko, Linis Ko”).

Estero de Santibanez. This short tributary (about 400 m long) was the last in our guided tour.  It lies close to the Malacañang Park. 

We found this waterway a refreshing sight.  The water seemed fresher than those of other esteros, concrete planters were built to wall the linear park from the estero, and there were three boats that the river warriors use for cleaning operations.  These boats are also used for livelihood:  for a fee, visitors may have some fun boating around the waterway.

The rehabilitated estero was inaugurated in November 2013. Php13.69-Million was used for infrastructure development.  The estero was dredged, the three-meter easement was restored and developed into a linear park, bioremediation was initiated, and community volunteers were trained as river warriors. The easement restoration involved relocating ISFs.

It was a pleasure to note that homeowners there tended “little gardens” on the concrete planters with signage boasting that “this garden is cared for and loved by this family.”  A friendly ambiance pervades among the residents living near this tributary.

The PRRC spearheaded  the rehabilitation of the above six esteros.  It had the ABS-CBN Foundation Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP), Local Inter-Agency Committee (LIAC) and the City of Manila as major partners.  PAGCOR, Metrobank Foundation and DPWH had distinct participation in specific estero projects.  The Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG) was involved in the relocation of informal settler families.

PRRC began with 16 esteros in Manila and Quezon City, and seven new project sites were added these year involving 140 barangays in Manila: the esteros dela Reina, Magdalena, San Lazaro, de Vitas, Kabulusan, Sunog Apog and Maypajo.

There are informal settler families to be relocated, and PRRC intends to start the process by the third quarter of this year. 

Relocations pave the way for recovering the three-meter easements and developing them into linear parks, walkways and greenbelts.  PRRC calls them Environmental Preservation Areas (EPAs), which can serve as “buffer for public safety and river protection.”

It will take some time, but the vision is of Pasig River becoming alive once again with the complete rehabilitation of its 47 tributaries.

Postscript. Throwbacks.

Plano de Manila y sus Arrabales [Plan of Manila & Suburbs] 1898 shows the

esteros & other Pasig River tributaries.  [Source: Perry-Castaneda Library Map
Collection, University of Texas at Austin available from

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/manila_and_suburbs_1898.jpg]

‘There are many canals or esteros emptying into this [Pasig] river,” the American Express Company described in their guide to Manila and the Philippines (1933), and “[t]he strange and brilliantly colored “cascos” and the long and narrow “bancas” move slowly up and down the canals.’

National Artist Nick Joaquin delved farther into the beginning of his “Manila, My Manila” (1999): “...this delta was not a solid hunk of ground ... [but] a jumble of small islands between which ran the rivulets that we call esteros.”

In his “Almanac for Manileños” (1979), Joaquin describes Trozo as “a Little Tondo in the 1870s”, a marshland “traversed by three great waterways: the Estero de San Lazaro, the Estero de la Magdalena, and the Estero de Tutuban or Teneria ... deep running estuaries, navigable, and connecting through the Pasig with the hill country north of Manila. When the mountains there were still densely forested, loggers rolled the timber they felled down the Pasig and into the esteros of Trozo, which became a lumber-yard area.”

It’s the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal who defined the role of the estero, specifically the Estero de Binondo, during his time:  “the Binondo creek ...plays, as do all rivers in Manila, the multiple roles of bathing place, drainage and sewerage, laundering area, fishing ground, means of transport and communication, and even source of potable water, if the Chinese water hauler or peddler finds it convenient (Noli me Tangere, Soledad Lacson-Locsin translation).”

'Wet & Wild' Parada ng mga Lechon in Balayan, Batangas

Note:  This photo-essay appeared in slightly different version in the 27June-03July 2014 issue of the weekly FilAm Star, "the newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America," published in San Francisco. This blogger/author is the special photo/news correspondent of the paper in the Philippines.

Getting ready for the parade? or the feast tables?

I had to wake up very early on 24 June for the two-hour trip to Balayan.  A very Pinoy breakfast of suman sa latik, bibingka and tamales with a choice of Batangas barako coffee or thick tsokolate was waiting for us—a busload of Pinoy and a couple of FilAm tourists--at Casa del Rey, a social venue constructed along the architectural lines of vintage houses of the affluent families of the Spanish colonial times.  Balayan still has several heritage houses, preserved or reconstructed, to show off.

We were joining the Parada ng mga Lechon at 9 o’clock, and we were prepared to get wet so we brought extra clothes to wear after the revelry around the plaza and the Kanluran side of town.  Our tour organizer provided us plastic raincoats but I decided to use it for shielding my camera instead.  Our companions were receiving loud jests from folks armed with water pistols, water hoses, and pails of water because of their covers.  In many instances, I had to ask a water warrior to target some parade participants for a photo-op.  I was not spared though of this ‘baptism by water’ but they had the gracious courtesy of giving me the splash at the back for the sake of my camera.

This wetting day is supposed to echo the baptism of Christ by his cousin San Juan in the river Jordan, but the celebration in modern times no longer carries that religious connotation.  It’s simply a wet holiday in Manila, and towns and cities named after the saint where no one is spared the dousing; walang pikunan, eh, the Batangueno would say.

How the wet revelry of June 24 and the parade of roasted pigs came together is a unique story with strong socio-economic colors.

From the folklore that our Balayan host Ms Annette Martinez-Mejia told us, a social divide between the Kanluran (western poblacion) and Silangan (eastern) areas of the town existed in the olden times.  The working class resided in Kanluran and the affluent families in Silangan.  Hence, the heritage houses that still stand today are in the eastern side.

She said that Balayan has always been celebrating thanksgiving on June 24. Only the rich could afford a lechon, well, until one day when one working class family had a child coming home with a college degree, and the father had a lechon carried around Kanluran as a show of pride and thanksgiving.  That’s how the working class started joining the thanksgiving ritual of a lechon parade, our host narrated.

A Balayan citizen told me that Kanluran is actually the center of the celebration; hence, the parade goes mainly around this part of town.  The official version actually confirms this Kanluran thanksgiving tradition.  “To the poor people of Balayan, the parading of lechon in the plaza ... is the best show of thanksgiving and veneration to their patron saint. ...  As the years passed, as more and more people from the Kanluran district received blessings or became successful, more and more lechons were paraded every June 24. ... Starting in 1959, the the elders of the Kanluran district organized the Hermandad San Juan Bautista (Brotherhood of St. John the Baptist) to oversee the celebration of what has come to be known as the Parada ng Lechon  ...”

We expected to see almost a hundred lechons on parade. We counted less but we saw more still being roasted or being consumed at eating booths of families, neighborhood clubs and barkada groups along the way.  It seemed that beer and lechon were consume-mates everywhere.   There were make-shift stage platforms along the parade route where local live bands displayed their musical prowess to revellers. 

Our lunch was again very Pinoy:  crispy lechon, of course, dipped in the chef’s own sarsa mix, kare-kare, and the unique Batangas culinary fare of sinaing na tulingan.

A revisit of the town’s historical past came after lunch.

 On my own, I took time after the parade to photograph the antique church and the old bells in the convent yard. The convent itself was built along the lines of an affluent house during the Spanish era.

The official story on Balayan church says that the Augustinians put up a chapel in 1572, and the Franciscans constructed a new one 1575. The Jesuits headed by the famous chronicler Fr. Pedro Chirino also rebuilt the church in 1591. The stone church that we see today dates back to 1748. It was blessed and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in 1795.  A bell at the courtyard with the inscription ‘San Nicolas de Tolentino’ shows that the parish belonged to the province of the Recollect Order for some time.

Costumed lechons!

The centerpiece of our historical heritage tour was the Lopez ancestral house, now a museum.  This was preceded by a historical presentation by a Balayan fellow, Emmanuel Martinez. We could have visited the heritage house of the Martinez family but there were still water warriors everywhere and we did not dare getting doused again.  We visited a reconstructed heritage house owned by Ross Sison, a relative of our host, to show a typical arrangement of a Balayan affluent household of the old times, and here the ladies were given opportunity to try the baro at saya of yore.

The Lopez of Balayan, Batangas Foundation calls the family house Casa Grande that includes the gardens, stables and granary.  Their family derived their wealth from rice, sugar and shipping. They were involved in the Philippine Revolution, and “[took] part in the events of 1901-1902, important years of Philippine-American solidarity when American anti-imperialists joined forces with Filipinos working for independence.”  The book ‘The Story of the Lopez Family’]Boston, 1901, republished in 2002], “contains translated letters by Clemencia, Sixto, Mariano, and other [Lopez] siblings that remain some of the most enduring documents of the arguments for and against American colonization.” 

The house was owned by Don Sixto Lopez, a contemporary and close friend of Dr. Jose Rizal. It's said that he secretly distributed Rizal's El Filibusterismo. According to historical accounts, he was the secretary of the Philippine Mission to the United States in 1898 to ask for American recognition of Philippine independence. Although he surrendered to Gen. Arthur McArthur, Sr. during the Philippine-American War, he was deported to the US where he remained in exile for many years because he refused to pledge allegiance.

His sister Clemencia, on the other hand, is said to be the first Filipina to visit the White House where she pleaded with President Theodore Roosevelt for him to end her brother's exile and to send him back to the Philippines.

Still on display at the Casa Grande are historical panels from "War & Dissent: The U.S. in the Philippines, 1898-1915" exhibition that was presented by the foundation at the National Museum four years ago. The exhibition was produced by the Presidio Trust of San Francisco. The texts and accompanying illustrations and pictures provide visitors esp. teachers and students an "eloquent testimony to the dissenting and assenting voices that ushered the Philippines and the United States into the twentieth century."

Before going back to Manila, we were set to go to the aplaya (beach) for a feel of the fresh air from Balayan Bay. Again, the dread of water warriors veered us to the modern mini-park by the bay, the Boardwalk, where we had a view of the emission towers of the Calaca coal-fired power plants in the neighboring town. 

This bay provided the impetus for the development of what became the Batangas province. Balayan was a shipping port, and many families like the Lopezes drew their wealth from shipping and marine trade.  According to history, Balayan was originally designated a town by a royal decree in 1578, and became a province for 151 years until 1732 covering the area that would become the provinces of Batangas, Marinduque, Mindoro, southern parts of Laguna, Quezon and Camarines.

This bay sustains the production of the town’s iconic product that can be found in Pinoy kitchens all over the world: Balayan bagoong (salted fish).  The bagoong makers are said to have a secret ingredient that they mix with the salted dilis that makes their product distinct from those made in other provinces like Pangasinan.

Historical glimpses plus our complementary gifts from our host family—Balayan bagoong, panocha and tsokolate balls—made our fun-filled wetting at the Parada ng mga Lechon very unforgettable.

Balayan's Basaan Na! Pistol Warriors.