Read. But don’t just stop there.

Effective this semester, S.Y. 2008-2009, Assumptionists

welcomed classes with the new In-tegrated System of Faculty, Course and Room Assignment (IS FA-CORA), otherwise known as Cen-tralized Loading implemented by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA).

The need to improve op-erations when it comes to maxi-mum utilization of resources, the old setup was replaced. The ratio-nale behind it, according to the As-sistant to the Vice President for Ac-ademic Affairs Ms Violy Santos, is to systematize the loading of faculty, courses and room assignments. She reiterated that it was made for cost-efficiency of the University and it is envisioned to benefit all concerned. Last semester, the four-

EXECOM implements IS FACORASystematization of faculty, course and room assignment loading leads to a four-day school week for most Assumptionists.

day academic schedule was sug-gested by School of Arts and Sci-ences OIC Mr. Arnel T. Sicat, and was unanimously supported by all the Deans and the Executive Com-mittee, realizing the good benefits of the centralized scheduling. With this, they believe that all University resources will be maximized, and students and faculty members can save money for transportation and allowance, and find more time for their families. In addition, stu-dents’ extra-curricular activities are expected to be held on Fridays, and students are required to concen-trate more on their academics from Monday to Thursday. SOArS (Society of Arts and Sciences Students) President Michael Alfaro said that he will have more time to focus on his studies,

and for other obligations outside UA as well. He added that the new four-day school week will also be a big help to his parents. However, a working stu-dent told the Regina that student assistants (SA) like her will ‘suffer’ because of this new schedule. “The original 4-hour duty schedule was changed to five hours,” she says. “I have classes at 7:30 in the morning to 3:30 PM. How can I accomplish my responsibility as a Student As-sistant with that limited amount of time? My fellow SA’s are now required to work on Fridays and at the Library on Saturdays,” she add-ed. This was, however, an-swered by a member of the faculty, who explained that the advantages of the four-day schedule outweigh

the disadvantages for everyone con-cerned. “We understand the sen-timents of the student assistants,” she says, “but they must also un-derstand that sacrifices such as this are necessary for the University to achieve a set goal.” The faculty member also added that she consid-ers this as a big step in contributing to the conservation of the environ-ment, because the use of energy will be lessened considerably.” A security guard says that it will not be beneficial to all, espe-cially to her son staying at a boarding house. “Anong gagawin ng anak ko pag Biyernes?” she says. “Saan siya pupunta? Hindi siya makakauwi da-hil sayang ang pera na maari na sana niyang gamitin kinabukasan para sa NSTP at PE niya. Bakit hindi na lang tanggalin and Sabado at tuluy-tuluyin na hanggang Biyernes ang klase para hindi na rin kami nagaala-lang mga magulang?” she suggested. Ms Santos explains that on Fridays, UA will not be totally closed because nursing students will have their classes. “For some students, unless you have a valid purpose to stay such as activities, researches or important meetings, you can enter the school premises as long as you wear your descent attire, and you have your ID with you,” she says. She further explains that the best possible arrangement for working students will be designed by the Director for Student Affairs (DSA). The same is true about the NSTP schedule. Ms Santos says that solutions are being discussed, and the best possible options will be implemented soon.q (By Bryan Ocampo)

The official Student Publicationof the University of the Assumption

reginareact@yahoo.com

October 2008

DEVCOM. Quarrying: the issue that can bring Pampanga to its knees. Story on Page 2

DEVCOM. ‘The bridge is falling down.’ The sorry state of the lightweight bridge between Del Pilar and San Jose. Story on page 3

2

Quarry of QuarrelsThe billion-peso industry behind the feud that can push the entire province into the pits

of animosity and desperation. DEVCOM report by Nielsen Ocampo, photos by Kevin Abad.

In June 1991, the second largest terrestrial volcanic

eruption of the 20th centu-ry took place in the island of Luzon. Up to 800 peo-ple were killed and 100,000 became homeless following the Mount Pinatubo erup-tion, which climaxed with a nine-hour eruption on June 15 of that year.

Quarrying or quarry operations in Pam-panga have become one of the most profitable in-dustries in the province. This controversial business originated from the erup-tion of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, as it brought tre-mendous amounts of sand debris along with lahars to the area. The volcanic sand has been estimated to cost billions of pesos, which—properly allocated—can be used for the development of the province it once rav-aged.

Today, quarrying is an ongoing income-gen-erating project of the local

government of Pampanga. It has brought jobs and op-portunities, directly or in-directly, not only to many citizens of Pampanga but also to those in neighbor-ing places.

According to the report of the Philippine Congress Committee on Natural Resources in 2003, “… control over quarry op-erations in Pampanga, Tar-lac and Zambales was trans-ferred to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) pursuant to Executive Order 224 issued by President Gloria Maca-pagal-Arroyo.”

In September 2003, however, the provin-cial government of Pam-panga successfully obtained a court order preventing the Office of the President from implementing EO 224.

Today it is the Provincial Governor and

the Provincial Treasurer of Pampanga who have the sole mandate to oper-ate quarry activities within their jurisdiction and col-lect taxes and other quarry fees.

With the advent of a new administration, under the governance of in-cumbent Governor ‘Among’ Ed Panlilio, rehabilitation of quarry operations to re-cover the good name of the Office of the Governor has become one great agendum of the provincial chief ex-ecutive.

During Governor Panlilio’s first day in office, quarry operations were set to develop and gain in-creased income. The gov-ernor created the Biyaya A Luluguran At Sisiskapan (BALAS) to act as the pro-vincial overseer for quarry operations. This task force has a goal of apprehending illegal quarry operators and implementing proper mon-itoring process.

Quarry operations had been smoothly imple-mented until July 11, 2008, when around 30 quarry checkers and supervisors of the BALAS trooped to the provincial capitol ground wearing black armbands, demanding the resignation of Provincial Administrator Vivian Dabu. The issue on Pampanga quarry opera-tions has become a constant newsmaker in local and na-tional news ever since.

It began after Dabu, who is also the chair of the BALAS committee, demoted eight quarry su-pervisors to quarry check-ers, due to their alleged involvement in certain “anomalies.” The demoted employees did not accept the relegation, an act that soon led to their dismissal. The incident in turn led to protests by the so called “BALAS Boys of Pampan-ga,” a group of 41 ex-quarry supervisors and checkers.

Some BALAS

boys said in an interview with the Regina that upon the assumption of Among Ed Panlilio as Governor of Pampanga, the province’s income on tax from quarry operations increased. This was also, according to them, the time during which the dismissed quarry workers assumed their positions.

They added that the resignation of Dabu will appease the quarry workers and greatly improve the working conditions at the provincial capitol.

Dabu was quoted by a local newspaper as say-ing that she does not know what the protesting Balas Boys meant about alleged irregularities. Although Dabu admitted that there are certain lapses on the checking of quarry trucks by Balas members, she was quick to add that most laps-es have been dealt with.

A local newspaper reported that the BALAS boys—allegedly believing

3

that the Governor has be-come an integral part of many of the issues they are raising against Dabu—claim that their issues and concerns only fell on deaf ears, so they asked for the resignation not only of the Dabu but also of Gover-nor Panlilio.

The Regina in-terviewed a Panlilio sup-porter during a rally held in front of the capitol. He alleged that the BALAS boys “receive salaries from unknown political rivals of the governor.” This al-legedly explains why they have been able to sustain their protest for more than two months now.

However, in a discussion with the Re-gina, the dismissed work-ers denied this allegation, this despite an admission by one of them that a daily transportation al-lowance of 100 pesos is given to them. According to him, the amount comes from their various sources: civil societies, private per-sons, and their families. He added that concerned citizens fund their daily expenses on food, and whatever appliances they have at the protest site (stove, beds, electric fans) have been lent to them by some nearby residents and others who support their cause.

Developments regarding the motion for recall of Governor Panlilio and the dismissal of Dabu from the provincial capitol are still not showing signs of disappearing from na-tional and local headlines. Almost a decade after the infamous volcano threat-ened to bury the province of Pampanga in lahars, ash and sand, its effects have not stopped from making their presence felt. Only this time, the threat is not on life and property, but on the very moral fabric that once brought the Ka-pampangans together to face impending doom.q

A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, body of water, or any other physical obstacle for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle.

The Bridge on the River Kwai, the Bridge of Toko Ri, the Golden Gate in San Francisco, California, and in the Philippines, the famous San Juanico. Soon, the longest bridge in the world will be completed connecting Sicily and Italy, possibly by 2012. These are some of the bridges that made—and will make—history. But for the Assumptionist, it’s all about the bridge connecting Del Pilar and San Jose, near the 5th Gate of the University of the Assumption.

There are two bridges that serve as a crossway in the area: the lightweight bridge and, adjacent to it, the foot-bridge, which was inaugurated September 16, 2001, through the efforts of the UA Grade and High School – Parents-Teachers Council (UAGHS–PTC) then headed by Engineer Amor Silva and the late Mr. Jesus Musngi, in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the local government. The footbridge was later closed due to legal restrictions. The lightweight bridge intended for light vehicles now also serves as the primary foot-bridge.

Says UA Grade school teacher Ms Ofelia Tayag, “In my long stay at the University, I have seen the value of the (lightweight) bridge. It lessened the traffic problem in the vicinity and made access to the UA easier for students taking that route.”

Bearingthe brunt

Why the Assumptionists’ favorite bridge is set for a big fall.DEVCOM report by Joseph Lawrence Manansala, photos by Adon Henrik Dizon.

Indeed the struc-ture has served its pur-pose well. But even good things come to an end. Rampant pilferage of the bridge’s steel supports and railings—known locally as pangangalakal—has weak-ened the structure. This has rendered the bridge dangerously unstable.

According to Engineer Val Sales, Civil Engineering Chairperson of UA, the missing bolted connection and truss mem-bers should be replaced with welded connections to make the structure safe and

stable.Barangay Cap-

tains Bernardo ‘Pandoy’ Policarpio and Loreto ‘Boy’ Tumang of Del Pilar and San Jose, respectively, say that they have been look-ing into the case since their assumption of office, and have been personally in-volved in their barangays’ night-watch to prevent fur-ther looting of the bridge’s steel parts. Both officials have also submitted follow-up reports to the local gov-ernment and the DPWH regarding the structure’s condition.

M e a n w h i l e , the Parents-Teachers As-sociation of Assumption (PTCAA Inc.) never fails to make the necessary follow-up measures to the local government and the DPWH. “We are will-ing to work hand in hand with the DPWH,” says Ms Angie Gonzales, PTCAA Inc. Internal Secretary. She added that the PTCAA Inc. cannot directly take mat-ters in their own hands and supervise the repairs, since the lightweight bridge is a joint venture project with the DPWH and therefore

it requires their approval. The local baran-gay officials, parents, teach-ers and students are one in urging the DPWH to take the matter of the light-weight bridge between Del Pilar and San Jose very se-riously. Although it is true that—to quote Bruce Jack-son—“bridges are perhaps the most invisible form of public architecture,” if this particular bridge collapses and people get hurt, the little structure might get more than its rightful share of attention. Only by then, it would be too late.q

4

Signaling the culmi-nation of this year’s

Catholic Education Con-sciousness Week (CECW), a Family Bible Quiz and Exposition was held at the UA Gymnasium on Octo-ber 3.

The quiz, which was participated in by seven Catholic Archdioc-esan schools in Pampanga, particularly in the City of San Fernando, including the University of the As-sumption—with students and their families as con-testants—is a five-round contest. According to the organizers, the contest aims to a) discover the treasures that the Word of God has to offer the Catholic family, b) inculcate a love for the Word of God by reading, reflecting upon, and using its wisdom, direction, and protection to face the chal-lenges of t h e

What is it with the profligate glossy broad-sheet?! Is the UA student body now having eyesight issues? What is it with the large fonts?! Isn’t a student publication all about the news? All about information dissemination? What is it with the enormous pictures? It may be said that pictures say a lot but in the opinion of the writer, it isn’t economically righteous to fill up almost a whole page with a single one! Indeed, REGINA does have funds but it doesn’t necessarily follow that the right to spend such is absolute. Funds are to be ap-propriated according to the VMG of a certain organization, not to the whimsical desires of those who compose of it. The writer’s reaction: “KAMUTE YA ING REGINA !!! Ot menyayang la rugung pera?!” The UA community is entitled to a better publication. The writer believes that RE-GINA knows well of this fact. Best wishes. Awaiting eagerly for a better next issue, spinderelle (elle gomez, through email)

Thank you for your reaction. The glossy broadsheet you received is one of two hundred com-plimentary copies from the printing press. This means that the student body did not pay for it; the various offices of the university got the copies for FREE. Stu-dent copies are not glossy; they are made with white book paper. No, a student publication is not all about the news or information dissemination. The year is 2008; not even major broadsheets around the world can survive with only that in mind. Papers are also about the art of design. They are not merely about text and typefaces, but of photographs and artists’ sketches; not just writers, but photographers and art-ists. One of the basic tenets of newspaper design is, play the photos big. We like this suggestion because, followed correctly, it makes the paper look better. We value every centavo that funds the UA students’ offi-

cial publication—made by students, primarily for students. This is why we do not waste

resources, monetary or otherwise. You are right; the UA community is entitled

to a better publication. This is why we strive to make the Regina better every time,

and why we invite the UA community to con-tribute. Thank you once again for your concern

and support. We hope that this issue is up to your standards. - the Regina

reactionand specialreportsnews

Catholic Education Consciousness Week culminates with Catholic

Family Bible Quiz & ExpoBy Nielsen Ocampo

Catholic Family in the world today, and c) encour-age and motivate Catho-lic families to seek God through His word with re-newed vigor.

St. Scholastica’s Academy emerged as the grand winner and was awarded P10,000. Seven and five thousand pesos were awarded to the 2nd and 3rd placers, respective-ly. The winners were also given Bibles.

University of the Assumption President Bishop Roberto Mallari said in an ambush interview by the Regina that the cel-ebration of the CECW is a success. He added that the recently concluded celebra-tion is the first of its kind in Pampanga and in the

whole country. “Some-how it also brought

out the best in all the

participating Catholic schools through their pre-sentations,” the Bishop said about the exhibits or-ganized at the UA façade. He also commented on the Family Bible quiz saying, “the Family Bible Quiz is an awakening influence in the study of the Bible as Catholics… This is only the start and we are hoping that next year we will not only be having a Catho-lic Education Conscious-ness Week; instead we will have a Catholic Education Consciousness Month for a longer celebration and more activities where we can challenge the Catholic schools to really bring out their Catholic identities,” the President concluded.

The CECW was celebrated from September 29 to October 3, 2008 un-der the supervision of the Association of Archdioc-esan Schools of Pampanga (AASP) chaired by Bishop

Mallari.q

5

POD calls for consistency in adhering to UA rules

Outreach volunteers join Avon Walk against Breast Cancer

By BGO

By NSO

Prefect of Discipline Ms Lorna Basmayor im-

plores Assumptionists—as one family and communi-ty—to support and adhere to the rules and regulations of the University, regardless of whether they are within school premises or not.

POD stressed the need to execute these regu-lations which are already

stipulated on the student manual, specifically on the wearing of prescribed uni-forms. For women, closed black ladies’ shoes and loose blouse are to be worn with a 3-inches-below-the-knee skirt. However, Nursing, Engineering, Architecture and Interior Design stu-dents are under their respec-tive colleges as far as their

uniforms are concerned. For men, plain white un-dershirt should be tucked in; dark leather shoes with socks are to be worn, and loose black pants.

In addition, Ms Basmayor told the Regina that rules on pinning of ID’s should be followed for security reasons and identi-fication. Aside from that,

behavior inside and outside UA premises is enforced. Students are not allowed to shout and run but to sim-ply talk and walk.

According to her, UA wants to achieve the image of being simple and modest. This set of rules should start from the man-agement, security guards’ firmness, faculty members

and students’ effort. “We can’t do it if the whole com-munity is not with us. We do this because we love the students. Saup-saup tamu para talagang asabi tamu , PAGMARAGUL KU, AS-SUMPTIONISTA KU,” she added.q

Volunteers from the Outreach Ministry

Office of the University of the Assumption par-ticipated in a six-kilometer walkathon dubbed as Avon Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer 2008, held at the SM City Pampanga

Amphitheater on October 5 this year.

The participants, together with some Rotar-ians and Rotaractors of Central Pampanga, women empowerment movements, civic groups, and other students of Pampanga,

gathered early in the morn-ing and marched along Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA) under the heat of the sun to spread awareness about the worsening breast cancer situation.

After almost an hour of walking, a program

was held at the mall am-phitheater with Rotarian Tootsie Herrera and Board Member Edna David, as two of the speakers who shared and discussed mat-ters regarding cancer of the breast.

The event, spon-

sored by the Avon Foun-dation, is an international program held simultane-ously in different parts of the Philippines and the world.q

6

VANDALISM

Feel the need to express?

The recurring problem of

By Jerrlito P. Custodio

Join the Regina’s Literary Folio.reginareact@yahoo.com

The Schools of Arts and Sciences and Tech-

nological Studies initiated the Cheat-Free and Smoke-Free programs, respectively, in the University of the Assumption to promote general welfare and self-discipline to all members of UA Community.

But there is still an undying problem: the willful and malicious act of destroying and defacing the beauty, cleanliness and orderliness of public or pri-vate property, or vandalism. Can we not have a univer-sity free from vandalism? Why does this problem re-main unsolved?

Almost every-where you can find vandal-ism, in tables, chairs, walls in the classrooms and rest rooms and it seems to be natural to see those and vandalize. Also, written and drawn there are words and images that are aw-ful to hear, see and read as a Christian student. In the rest room for instance, malicious words are written to express one’s grievances to someone and to attack one’s personality. That is not only vandalism but also defamation. Visitors come to the university and we cannot avoid that these vis-itors would see these on our

classroom and rest room walls. Most of us Filipinos believe in the saying “kung ano and hitsura ng banyo mo, iyon ka.” Can we afford to be called like what’s written on our walls? Vandalism is limited not only in writing or drawing in the school’s properties but it includes improper use of its facili-ties and other properties. We have the right to use the school’s facilities and properties and the right to express our feelings but let us obligate ourselves to use and handle them with care and the right to express our feelings is not absolute, we must exercise it at the right

place and time. It’s our duty as students and mem-bers of the UA Community to preserve them.

In an interview with Student Affairs Di-rector Mr. Owen Dizon, he said that to eradicate vandalism, students should inculcate in themselves self-discipline, which he, or any-one for that matter, cannot give. The only thing that his office can do is moni-tor the school facilities and property but he cannot control each student not to vandalize. He said, “Even if we are evaluating van-dalism, students who want to vandalize will continue

and even if we don’t moni-tor this, a good Christian student will preserve what the school has right now so it’s not in my hands, it’s in yours. The only thing I can do is to remind students ev-ery now and then through my speeches.”

Being a Catholic Community, the University of the Assumption is more than a school; it is also a home to be considered. Thus, proper stewardship of its facilities, premises and other property should be applied to call it a home of Catholics. Each one of us needs to cooperate.q

7

Students adjust to the Cisco curriculum

Rotary Youth Leadership Awardenvisions hope for the future

UA students who had taken up the newly

implemented Cisco cur-riculum last semester are taking all means to adapt to the contents of the course which, according to some, is complicated.

It must be recalled that the implementation of the Cisco curriculum started last semester as a requirement to all students who are taking up comput-er subjects.

A Communica-tions student, who refused to identify herself, told the Regina that the Cisco pro-gram has created ‘distress’

By Nielsen S. Ocampo

By Bryan Ocampo

in the academic life of stu-dents. “Mahirap, parang pang-board exam ang mga quiz,” she said.

According to a Computer Engineering stu-dent, “Hindi namin natapos ang course module, some chapters were discussed, pero yung iba self-study na lang.” He amplified that the course would take more than a semester to finish.

On the other hand, another Com. Eng. student said that the new Cisco curriculum is far bet-ter than the previously used computer course in the university.

Mr. Ferdie Canlas, Cisco Curriculum Lead, said in an interview with the Re-gina that the university is still undergoing adjust-ments in the program, and small problems are to be expected by the students and the faculty. “Last se-mester we experienced a lot of interruptions, affecting computer classes,” he said, explaining why not all les-sons were tackled in the 1st semester of this school year. He maintained, however, that the Cisco Curriculum is better than the one used before.

Mr. Canlas added

that traditional methods of instruction, such as the ‘chalk and talk,’ should come hand in hand with the modern ‘e-learning’ method, which is offered by Cisco International, for the students to be globally competitive. “Cisco is not only about a curriculum but also about the awarding of certification,” he said.

A CompTIA A+ Cisco industry standard certification signed by Cis-co President John Cham-bers is awarded to students who pass the course.

The University of Sto. Tomas, Mapua Uni-

versity, Meralco Founda-tion, Holy Angel Univer-sity, and the University of the Assumption are some of the Philippine education institutions that are Cisco Academy certified.

The School of Technological Studies (STS), in charge of the Cis-co Curriculum, is planning to seek for Autodesk certifi-cation come 2009 or 2010. Autodesk is an internation-al certification body which offers AutoCAD technol-ogy to aspiring Architects and Engineers.q

With its vision-mission of “Making dreams

real,” the Rotary Clubs of Cluster IV-C of Olongapo and Subic spearheaded RYLA 2008 Rotary Youth Leadership Award on Oc-tober 24-26 at the Legenda Highland Suites, Subic Bay Freeport Zone.It was realized after the ad-ministration of Gov. Jesus “Jess” Nicdao, RYLA Chair Antonio “Tony” C. Bautis-ta, and all the Rotary Clubs of Region I, II and III. The event’s theme was “The World of Rotary Trans-forms Youth Dreams to Re-ality,” and it featured par-ticipants from Baguio, La Union, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Pangasinan. Some of the highlights of the three-day event were activities like Amazing Race, workshops, presentations and different plenary sessions that tested

youth leadership skills and talents.Mr. Nico Mangalonzo and Ms Maribeth de Guzman kicked off the first plena-ry. They both gave ‘Rizal is Alive’ workshops and tested the unity of youth leaders in following direc-tions. According to them the National Heroes’ Blood is present in every Filipino youth and still encouraged them to be the future Rizal

of the Philippines.However, UA VP for Fi-nance Rev. Fr. Deogracias Kerr Silva-Galang centred his talk on the different kinds of professionals. In addition, he inspired the delegates by sharing the water pump story. Accord-ing to him, it’s amazing how little water you put on it but still a lot comes out. He also stressed that it is more important to practice

the gift of sharing than re-ceiving.Dr. Josette Talamera Bio, a multi-awarded science teacher, rocked the seminar when she shared her expe-riences in being a mother and teacher, as well as her winning moments and dif-ferent Science Contests worldwide. She also said that the Filipino youths of today are still the hope of the nation, although she

fears that the youth are hooked on computers and other modern gadgets that may affect their duty per-formance not just as stu-dents but as future leaders.In addition, Pinoy Dream Academy runner-up Ron-nie Liang expressed his stories of defeat, comeback, and success. “Mangarap ngayon, unti-unti na po silang matutupad,” he said. He also performed his hits Ngiti and Nais Ko.In an interview, District Governor Jesus “Jess” Nicdao said that this RYLA is the best that ever happened, with the biggest delega-tion. “Goals of RYLA were achieved. We trained them because we wanted them to become the next Rotarians and get involved in commu-nity projects, join and attend RYLA and its activities every year,” he said.q

8

School Year 2008-2009

Editor-in-ChiefJohn Vincent T. Trinidad

Senior EditorKriselle Jhean Navarro

Art EditorLeo Carlo Aguas

Managing EditorsBryan Ocampo Luz Nathasha Korionoff II

News EditorNielsen Ocampo

Circulation ManagerJoseph Lawrence T. Manansala

Assistant Circulation ManagersPaul Kyrby Balingit, Rae Louis Maglaqui

Senior ArtistOneill Ogoy

PhotographerAdon Henrik Dizon

ArtistsLorelie Bamba, Al-Zen Pauline Hilario

CorrespondentsJerrlito Custodio, Kevin Abad, Kevin Tuazon, Michael Angelo Calupe

Sean Aurelio Garcia III, Samboy Musngi, Jessica Cariaga, Rionel Lazatin

English ConsultantMr. Danilo T. Maglaqui

ModeratorMs Melanie Viloria-Briones

The Regina is the official student publication of the University of the Assumption, with an office at the ground floor of the Puno Annex Bldg., University of the Assumption, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form, without the permission of the University of the Assumption. Comments, suggestions, or contributions may be emailed to reginareact@yahoo.com. The Regina reserves the right to edit submitted material.

Regina | All rights reserved 2008

A laudable action by the University’s administration has been set in motion sans fanfare. The Integrated System of Faculty, Course and

Room Assignment, or IS FACORA was implemented beginning this se-mester. The primary and most obvious result is a four-day school week. Full time students who are affected by the four-days-a-week schedule mostly consider this as a good thing. There’s a long weekend ahead, time enough to do assignments, researches, term papers and theses, etc. They can also use the extra day for family and friends, on creative activities that contribute to personal and communal growth and devel-opment. This also means that the burden for parents to spend on their studying children’s allowances is somehow lightened.

The university, meanwhile, saves on some operational costs. Less electricity and water is used up, lowering bills, and contributing to the negation of the environment’s degradation. In the same manner, less trash accumulates in the school premises. However, not everyone who is affected by this new change con-siders it as something good and welcome. There are such things as com-fort zones. We are humans, creatures of habit, and more often than not, we flourish in environments that offer us a level of safety. These environ-ments become our comfort zones, giving us the feeling—or sometimes the illusion, at least—of security and the freedom to ‘move.’ Our natural re-action, therefore, to things that ‘intrude’ into our comfort zones is—more often than not—negative. Some consider the IS FACORA as such. While no one can rightfully claim that the new schedule is all positive, it is somewhat surprising that a few sectors would find it disad-vantageous. We must remember that comfort zones are not infinite, and not everything that breaks them or threatens to break them is negative. They may also be opportunities, stepping stones to achieving something even better than our zones, something bigger than ourselves. Some working students have a problem, apparently, in making the schedule work for themselves, because some class hours have been extended, and the scholars have less time during the four-day schedule to render their duties, which have been adjusted from four hours a day to five. But this must not present a real problem, because they have Fridays to finish their required hours. In effect, the most obvious benefits of the IS FACORA cannot be expected to fully apply to their case, primarily because of the very fact that they are working students. Let us not forget that their adjusted schedule is a small price to pay for the privilege of studying on scholarship in a reputable university, a privilege that is not readily available to some less fortunate youngsters. While we support our working student scholars and applaud their diligence and sacrifice—and we know that it is not easy for just about anyone to become a scholar—we also must kindly appeal to them to consider the positive outcomes of this new scheme, which, in our humble opinion, far outweigh the negative. There are no hand-outs, no freebies that can be had on a whim in this world, especially not in the academic world, in the university sense. Quid pro quo: something in exchange for something. The four-day sched-ule is what we have in exchange for the positives it brings us: the savings in general. The future of the IS FACORA, as in any new scheme applica-tion, remains to be seen. This is a test run, so to speak, and meetings are being held as we speak, to address everyone’s concerns stemming from the adjustment. Some concerns may not be problems at all but simple ‘birth pains.’ Here’s hoping that everything works out for the benefit of all.

opinionBirth pains

Editorial

913

vince/editor in chief john vincent trinidad

sey/senior editor kriselle jhean navarro

absolutely flat-out

seynopsis II

On writing

Hack-a-doodle do!

It begins with reading. It is reinforced by practice. And then it never ends.

Writing has a number of components that you have to learn along the way. But foremost of these components is mastery of the language or languages you prefer to use. Writing is expression, and expression in writing requires accuracy. Accuracy in expressing ideas through writing can only be achieved if you write clearly, if you know how to use your words, if your grammar is correct, and your style is comprehensible. Do not pretend to know how to write if you don’t read. Reading will teach you how to write the way no other effort can. In mastering language, you also have to note how it is used by the people among whom that language is native. There are idioms and expressions that differ in every culture, and the culture of your language is almost as important as its grammar and spelling. Watching films helps a great deal. If you are writing in English, watch American, British, Irish, and other films that are in English. Do not be confused, though, because English varies depending on culture, and natural spoken grammar is not always

right, especially if the story calls for it not to be. There is such a thing as slang, as well. Filipino authors like F. Sionil Jose and the late great Nick Joaquin write in English with a style that is still distinctly Filipino. This is very good. If you are Filipino, you don’t have to pretend otherwise. Use correct English without losing your culture, your own style. But if you can express yourself well using a culture that is different from your own, then by all means, use that too, albeit sparingly. And be consistent. Do not try to explain away your mistakes in grammar or context as your own style, though. Mistakes are mistakes, period. They show your weakness especially if you commit them often, if not always. They are called mistakes because they are exactly that. If the piece you are writing does not call for intentional lapses in grammar (I mean stuff such as dialogues written in natural street language or slang), then you are committing a crime by using wrong grammar. If an editor calls this to your attention, do not act as if you did it on purpose, unless you did, and with reason.

Many writers do need

editors. I’m told that the historian Ambeth Ocampo is one of them. There is nothing wrong with that; that’s part of the reason why editors exist. It is important, however, to know first your limitations, because if you refuse to acknowledge them, you will not progress in the craft.

Not every writer is as flexible as he or she wants to be. Some are good in narrative, while some do well in factual pieces like hard news. Some like prose, others poetry. Whatever it is that you feel most comfortable writing, be sure not to fall into the pit of believing that you are the best. There will always be someone better than you. But this does not mean that you cannot aspire to be great in your craft. So do your homework. Read. Learn. Practice. If you admire a particular writer so much, then by all means, learn from that writer. Read him or her. Practice everyday or every chance you get. Just don’t copy another writer’s style. It is enough to be inspired and influenced; turning into a copycat is bad news both for you and the writer you are trying to copy.

Widen your vocabulary. When you encounter a word that sounds foreign to you, look it up.

Use it three or more times, in the proper context, and that word is yours forever.

Learning to write is not easy. But it shouldn’t be that hard. Yes, genes may play a role, environment too. But practice and training can also do wonders. In the end, you know it’s all worth it. Man’s quest for immortality, as they say, ended when he discovered committing words to paper. Written works can be as good a legacy as any other.

Good luck. When you become a writer, remember, it’s almost a religion, a fraternity. The good thing about it is, when you’ve learned it—and learned it well—you will never lose it.q

Last October, two of my class-mates and I went to the UA

business office to take hold of the precious thing for our final exams – the clearance card. During that time, the “Hack issue” about the mobile networks is on the racks. I was even surprised when some poor fellow hacked my number and shared (without my know-ing and willingness of course) 2 pesos of my load to somebody else’s number. Poor fellow, I only had three pesos in my load and he/she must have been desper-ate for he even hacked two pesos from my number. Where is the sympathy? Good thing the hack thing is over though I admit I tried doing it too. Anyway, I don’t know how the hacking thing got into the UA assessment system of payments. I’m not saying that it is hacked. It just surprised me that

the trusted computer system for the UA students and employees accounts in the business office had a little troubleshoot. This is what happened. My classmate, R who is holding her assessment form is about to pay her accounts but she found out that her classmate E, (who has the same units and is a regular student like her) has an account assessment that has cred-its or tuition fee that is lower than hers. This puzzled them ofcourse. So they went to the business office and had had their accounts reas-sessed. I, being a campus writer asked one of the UA business of-fice employees how such thing happened. She told me that such occurrences really happen. It’s not actually their fault. Computers, just like humans who made them are not perfect. We all know how computers can have a lot of trou-

bleshoots and problems right? My advice to all my fellow students is this, before you settle your ac-counts and pay at the UA business office, as much as possible, try to compare it to your classmate who has the same units and subjects as yours. Also, don’t pinpoint or blame the UA business office with-out considering first or finding out how it happened. I’ve read one of the alumna of UA’s proposal to the UA registration and accounts system. He, a Comp Sci. student is planning to change or improve it. I don’t have much idea how this can be done but I think that it’s going to be a long process be-cause of the numerous students in our university. Year by year, I can see improvements in the enroll-ment system and everything in our university. Just like the Com-puter labs and other facilitities. I

just hope that some students will learn to appreciate it. Nonethe-less, cynic people will only see the not so bright side of things and all that they will do is complain with-out even taking action. Yes, I’ve experienced being one of them. I even had some of my negative perceptions printed on paper. But then I realized that complaint is nonsense without action. So here I am, taking action and encourag-ing all of you to heed and if you think something is unjust or not right not just in our school but the whole community as well, take ac-tion. And of course, don’t “print” your complaints or whatever in our school’s walls. Vandalism is just a way of showing how lame and uncourageous you are.

Trivia: Do you know that while you may seem innocent and non-

chalant about the hacking thing that is enveloping our country, you might be even one of those hackers incarnate. Don’t want to believe me? Let me refresh your consciousness with the further ex-planation and example from with these terms related to hacking. (Thanks to dictionary.com)

Hack – To gain access to (a com-puter file or network) illegally or without authorization and one who undertakes unpleasant or

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I once heard a mysterious story about an old beggar

who circled the Region. He was craving for water, help-less and starved. He went to restaurants in Baguio and Dagupan and pleaded for cold water but he was ter-minated. He walked to Pan-gasinan and La Union but the same event happened. In Tarlac, he begged for refresh-ments and a noble man un-selfishly shared his home, his properties and food to the old beggar. After eating, the man gave him new clothes to wear and offered to stay for some rest but he refused to. The man felt bad for the beggar and wanted to reach out but with just a blink of

bry/managing editor bryan ocampo

Lucci/managing editor luz nathasha korionoff II

uber of the assumption

lumos

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Melamine and its dangers

an eye, the strange beggar disappeared.

I found out from my uncle that this was the story of the 1990 Baguio tragedy. It was the ma-jor earthquake that hit the City of Baguio with a 7.7 magnitude and resulted to extensive damages. Baguio City was isolated from the rest of the country and all telephone wires were down. According to him, heavy downpour of rain and hale right before noon hammered down Dagupan despite the absence of rain clouds. Also, Pangasinan and La Union experienced that catastrophe no one is expecting. Sirens of ambulances were wailing

continually as victims were transported to nearby hospi-tals. To make matters worst, there was no electricity and very little source of potable water. Why did it happen instantly? Many people died and suffered but it was differ-ent story for Tarlacenos. “It was a miracle,” stressed by my uncle. The huge crucifix at the center of their chapel fell of the floor but nothing happened. There was less damage as compared to their neighbouring cities. The man who helped the strange beggar told everyone about it. When everyone asked the man to describe the beggar, he did actually describe him similar to Jesus Christ. All

ears on him and suddenly, the people cried, prayed and thanked God for saving them. Now, the noble man is well-heeled and blessed with beautiful children. This story may or may not be true but for our grandparents, this is a part of history. This un-expected disaster happened maybe because of DIS-CRIMINATION as they experienced. They always tell us not to judge but to extend our helping hands to them. They are creations of God, although born unfortunate we need to respect them.

Last September, Communication students proved their talents and skills in short film and docu-

mentary making when they successfully launched Mis-en-scene 2008. It has indeed received positive feedbacks from its audience, some faculty members, adminis-trators and student leaders. Truly, a certified blockbuster hit – UACSC. Collaborated efforts from the Mass Com-munication Student Organi-zation (MCSA) officers and the undying support of stu-

Time flies so fast. Imagine, the first semester of S.Y

2008-2009 is over. Congrats! We made it to the other half. We have survived the first part of challenges, more are yet to come. Alongside our academic learning, we must be constant-ly aware of the issues popping around us. Speaking of issues, let us chat about the greatest global concern as of the mo-ment. Have you heard about Melamine? Do you know what it is, and why all of a sudden it caused people to be paranoid with everything that they ingest? Well, I did some research, guys. It will help us understand what melamine is, what it does, why it is such a scare and how it will affect our lives. To make it easier for you to absorb, since the topic is quite scientific in nature, I will relay to you the informa-tion in chunks. Melamine is a white powder used in plastic-making. It was first synthe-sized by a German scientist in

the 1830s. Melamine resin, a mix of melamine and formal-dehyde, is used in the manu-facture of Formica, floor tiles, whiteboards and kitchenware. It created a buzz when it was linked to the deaths of cats and dogs in the United States last year after it was added to wheat gluten and other pet food ingredients exported from China, in an attempt to boost the products’ apparent protein content. It freaked people out when they heard, or per-haps read about four infants who have died in China, and that at the peak of the crisis in late September, up to 22,000 infants were in hospital on any given day. Who would not be crazed upon finding out that this started from exported feeds from China, when one fact (hypocrisy aside) is that Filipinos are patronizing al-most everything that comes from that particular neighbor-ing country. Look at the bot-tom of the little toy car that

your baby brother is playing with, found the phrase that says ‘made in china’? Scan the wrapper of the chocolate bar that you thought was from the US of A; wouldn’t you be dis-appointed to discover that it was also made in China? And how about the iPhone that you bought earlier in a cheaper price, isn’t it made in China? We cannot deny it. Our coun-try’s market is dependent on Chinese export. Why? It is simply because they produce products which are affordable, which is what everyone likes things to be. At present, there is little scientific information that exists about the com-pound’s effects on humans. But health experts claim that Melamine can cause kidney stones and that the chemical can crystallize in small kid-ney tubes resulting in kidney damage or even renal failure. Now that they have discov-ered that the eggs from Hong Kong are contaminated with

Melamine, it has confirmed what experts have long feared; that the chemical is deeply em-bedded in the food chain. The big question is: HOW DID IT FIND ITS WAY INTO CHICKEN EGGS? Well, the answer is that it was added to animal feeds in China and such feed was apparently given to chickens that produced eggs tainted with melamine. Why did they add melamine on the feeds in the first place? The reason is because it is rich in nitrogen, and relatively cheap. Adding it to sub-standard animal feed or watered-down milk makes their protein levels appear higher, since standard quality tests estimate protein levels by measuring nitrogen content. In simpler terms, they did it because they wanted to produce cheap formula milk, supply the great demand and, of course, earn easy money. A lot of prod-ucts were involved in the Melamine scandal and it had actually interrupted the food

industry. Now that we know what Melamine is and how it impinges on our system, we must be more aware and alert in what we take in our bod-ies. What is the use of saving a coin or two, if it brings us det-rimental health? Sometimes, weighing things and analyz-ing which has greater bearing will make us win more. Not everything that is pleasing to our pockets is pleasing for the body. We might be spending less right now for food, but what about the future? How sure are we that we are not go-ing to need expensive medica-tions because of the effects of Melamine in our body? Think about it.q

11

dents and teachers from the school of Arts and Sciences paved the way for the suc-cess of the event. Few weeks after, a cultural presentation of the Filipinos and France was witnessed not just by the Assumptionists but also Central Luzon through the coverage of CLTV 36 and Infomax 8. Again, it was initiated by communica-tion students together with Humanities performers, stu-dents from different depart-ments and artists from other schools. It doesn’t end there. After these, all funds that were raised were used for the benefit of the studentry, SAS and the University. New equipments were sold and will be installed soon.

But for every suc-cess, there will always be pains and struggles. Before these shows, hard work and patience of our so-called “third sex specifically gays” contributed a lot. From the choreography of dances, scouting of talents, produc-tion design up to showcasing their leadership skills. They deserve to be recognized but they were distinguished because of their costumes – their PERSONALITIES. They were controlled and they felt bad. They cried and felt discriminated. They shared their sentiments to us. They felt senseless after all their efforts.

I may sound bias because they are my classmates but these people are productive and greatly help our University. Aside from the laughter and stomach pains created by their jokes is their continuous enter-tainment that really rocks our world along with their artistry and gift. Why not focus on other students that are ineffec-tive. Students that add annoy-ance not just to their teachers but to our University. Students that are very much hooked to online gaming, drinking ses-sions, “yosi” breaks DURING their classes and those who are wasting their parent’s money and hard work on non-sense activities. We focus more on discriminating them rather than performing our own du-ties and liabilities. CHANGE should take place now.q

poetryprose&

As the sun rises over the skyIts light beams unto my eyeIts rays penetrate on all things with lifeNatures’ abundance shall cease to strife.

Flowers in the garden are such a feast One’s heart shall soften even that of a beastI slowly smell each blossom’s scent And try to capture what each one meant

The whole gentle breeze I love to feelAs it blows through me and starts to healMy worries and burdens seem disappear

I climb up serene, verdant hillTo reach the heavens on my own willTo drift away where the clouds abound And see the earth below everything around

I venture into thick lush forestWith rich vegetation I find dearestTeeming with life in all its gloryFor preservation of nature itself is holy.

The message of nature now made clearAs I commune with my creator who’s with me here. To be the steward of all he has doneHis majestic work bestowed on us since life began.

Mystique angel

LOVEforNATURE

neverMORE

Sean Garcia

sleep tight, my little darling;let your worries drift away.i’m here by your sideuntil the break of day.

you’re still my everything:my sky, my breath, my time.you are the very one,inside this heart of mine.

arise, my little angel;this is when we part.my love for you was doomedfrom the very start.

i’m sorry, gone’s the feelingthat i had for you before.forgive me, my sweetest one;i love you – nevermore.

Ky

2

12

She was alone. Again. It has been eight months

of lonesomeness and still, there is no sign of salva-tion. An unending feeling of despair is eating up her apathetic system. She is currently going through the process of acceptance, acceptance of the obvious fact that not everyone is entitled to happiness, when the wireless phone situated at the right side of her bed suddenly rang, abruptly bringing her back to her senses. “I am the most miserable person on the planet!” Carla cried to Mimi. Mimi is her best friend who has always been ready to rescue a lost soul. Just as Carla was about to indulge in another 12-hour of solo-slumber-party, Mimi phoned her in an at-tempt to revive her failing spirit. “Easy now, dear…you’ve been living a wretched life since you found out that Nathan is a gay. How about finally getting done with this melancholy and consider watching a side-splitting movie with your very own best friend? Puh-lease?!” Mimi said the word with enough push to make Carla mull over the months she wasted on nil, zilch, void, in short…NOTHING! “Ok. Let’s meet tomorrow. 4pm sharp.” Carla blurted out before Mimi could even express her shock with the unexpected compliance. She agrees with Mimi. She needs to outmaneuver Na-than’s shadow. She has been wasted for quite some time already, and she was not even sure what the exact reason was. Am I outraged with the fact that what he wanted is a chap or is it re-ally just my ego? Maybe what hurts most is that Nathan can be happy though he is in an unacceptable situation…

Maverick?Luz Nathasha Korionoff II

when I, I don’t even know what brings me joy. I am devastated with the idea that the guy, who I thought was ‘perfect’ for me, did not even consider me attractive. What an embarrassment in my part. But I need to put this foolishness to an end. I need to reassess the simple things that life offers me. And Car-la started off by sleeping soundly for the first time in months. This time, she did it without the heavy heart which keeps her from wak-ing up early in the morning and from getting out of the sheets. She is about to turn her back from depression. It was Carla’s first peaceful night since Nathaniel broke her heart into pieces. “You are a total disappoint-ment. Where is the comic film that you’ve promised me?” Carla questioned Mimi, in a voice louder than neces-sary. They arrived at the shopping mall only to find out that they do not offer any feel good movie at the moment. “I didn’t know that horror movies are all that is showing…” Mimi tried to explain, but Carla inter-rupted, “You know very well that I hate paying for a mov-ie just for them to scare me to death.” “But don’t worry Ca, we can surely find an-other way for us to enjoy. Come with me.” Mimi as-sured her. “And where are you planning to take me?” Carla wanted to know. “Don’t be so nega. Just follow me to the 3rd floor.” Mimi uttered excitedly. “Fine.” Carla said impatiently.Mimi brought her to a place called ‘Worlds of Fun’. It was not ex-actly amusing to be in this place. There are lots of different people, each hav-ing a world of their

own. Mimi led her to some kind of an open videoke. “Come on, pick a song.” Mimi told her while flipping the pages of the songbook for her to find a song. “What?! Are you seri-ous? You want me to sing in front of these strangers? Carla shrieked. A guy with what they call an ‘emo’ look glanced at their direction. Carla gave him an apolo-getic look for causing a lit-tle scandal. “What’s wrong, Ca, you have a wonderful voice, and besides it can relieve your stress. A lot of problematic people go here to sing their hearts out” Mimi told her. “But I’m not prob-lematic! Carla rejected the idea. I’m not saying you’re ‘that’ problematic, it’s just that you need to unwind” her friend explained. Carla is thinking of how Mimi was always right. But even if she intended to, she had not had the chance to ob-ject, because Mimi have already entered the num-bers, 7...2...1...0, the song turned out to be ‘Torn’, her favorite song. Well a song would not hurt, Carla mut-tered to herself. A pleasant looking guy was singing ‘You’. He had a very nice voice which is very hard to ignore. I stared at the screen of the videoke as it flashed the next song, and it is my song. OMG, why did I even think of doing this? What if I don’t get to hit the right notes? Oh my gosh! Carla got up from her seat as the guy concluded his song. She stepped on the built-in stage, got the mic and started singing. Mimi cheered her on the side. The lines of the song were only too familiar. “Thought I saw a man brought to life, he was

warm, he came around like he was dignified…”Carla sang. The guy with the nice voice was watching her. His lips curled in a smile. Carla became conscious but she continued “…there’s noth-ing where he used to lie, my inspiration has run dry. That’s what’s going on, noth-ing’s fine I’m torn…” “At last, the most embar-rassing moment of my life was done. Hope no one that I am acquainted with was here to watch” Carla, who is blushing tremendously, sarcastically uttered to Mimi while they made their way out. “It was fine, Carla. You did great, what are you starting at?” Mimi exclaimed just before they reached the stairs. “You can say that ‘coz you were not the one who went out of tune!” Carla cried out. “…but that was only during the beginning of the song, people would understand that you were nervous” Mimi butted in. “Oh, what’s done is done. Now let’s go, before anybody we know spots us here” Carla muttered. But before they can even take the first step, someone unfamiliar was be-hind them, calling for their attention. The two girls glanced at their back and found the guy who sang before Carla gliding to-wards them. His face seems to be flushed and nervous as he faced Carla, “Hi, miss. I’m Jayson. Can I know your name?” Carla opened her mouth, she was about to re-tort when… “She is Carla” Mimi answered with a grin plastered on her face. “Car-la, can I have your number?” Jayson further tried his luck. “No…” Carla started, but Mimi was swift enough to declare her friend’s cell phone number. Jayson en-tered the digits to his phone rapidly. Too rapid that Car-

la was left to do nothing but frown. “Thank you…” Jayson began. “I’m Mimi, her best friend” Mimi sup-plied for him. “Thank you, Mimi” He finished. “It’s my pleasure, Jayson. Hope you could call her soon” Mimi said while Carla gripped her hand hard enough for her to know that it is a sig-nal that if they remained there for another second, it would be World War III for the two of them. “Goodbye girls. Have a nice day” Jayson said while wav-ing contentedly at them. As soon as they lost sight of him, Carla faced Mimi, eyebrows raised and said, “Are you really my friend?! Why did you do that? Giv-ing my personal information to a complete stranger? How sure are you that he is not a maniac, a thief or even a rapist?” Carla bellowed at her friend. “Relax Carla. There’s nothing wrong with meeting and getting to know other people. Its part of grow-ing up, remember?” Mimi mocked her friend. “…and besides, he seems to be nice and harmless.” she added. “Yeah, sure, harmless…as if I didn’t know that you are planning to get me into a blind date for months. And when you finally realize that I would never give in to your request, this is what you give me…a text mate? You are unbearable!” Carla bawled. Mimi smirked while they passed through the exit, and then tried to win her friend back by offering to pay their jeepney fare.Harmless was how Mimi predicted Jayson would be. Sweet was how he turned out to be. Carla had found herself more than a text mate. She began to enjoy how it feels. Jay-

13

Maverick?son always knew the right words to use for him to make her happy. They have been sharing some bond for a week now. It seemed like Carla has been spending more time texting Jayson than she did with Mimi. “You’re such a pretty girl. Do u hav a bf?” She read the text voicelessly. Carla is think-ing of what to reply when their landline rang, jolt-ing her. She picked up the phone. “Hello, good morn-ing.” She greeted. “Hey, Ca, what’s with you and Jayson? Are you trading me for him? Mimi joked. “Hey Mimi, I miss you. What’s up?” Carla asked. “What’s up with you? I thought you said that he might be a rapist or a thief?” Mimi reminded her. “Ok, I was wrong. Jayson is a very sweet guy. He had ac-tually succeeded in making me completely over Nathan. I like him more each day.” Carla said in a dreamy voice. “What?!...Easy there my dearest friend. You hardly know the guy. You have just conversed with him through text. Don’t trust him too much.” Mimi advised Carla. “But you were the one who insisted in getting to know him!” Carla answered ir-ritably. “Yeah, I know. But Carla, I’m just concerned. I know how you get too serious with things. I just don’t want to see you get hurt once more. Just en-joy, okay? Don’t take him too seriously.” She told her friend. “I know, Mimi. “ It was all that Carla can say to her friend. She was too pre-occupied with what to re-ply to Jayson. Now that she is free from the heartache that Nathan caused her, she felt it a need to double time with whatever that is between her and Jayson. After all, she deserves to be happy, too.Four months of bliss have passed. Jayson and Carla have been exclusively dat-ing. Carla considered this as the most magnificent part of her life ever. No-body, other than Jayson, could make her feel so care-free and at ease. They were committed, but this only makes her feel untroubled. She felt that everything was at its right place. She will

never be hurt again. “She’s got her own thing, that’s why I love her. Miss independent, won’t you come and spend a…” Carla’s phone rang, with Ne-Yo’s ‘Miss Independent’ as her ringtone. “Hello. What’s the matter?” Carla answered Jayson’s call. “Carla, honey, I apologize. We need to cancel our date today. I’m sick. I’m here in the hospital. Sorry, let’s just set a new date next week.” Jayson explained to Carla in the other line. “It’s okay. What happened? What hospital are you in? I’m on my way…” Carla started. “Don’t worry, honey. This is nothing. I can manage it. Just stay at home, relax. I’ll call you when I get dis-charged. No need to worry about me.” He refused. “No, Jayson, I…” Carla insisted, but to no avail since he had already hang up. Oh, fine. He must be all right. Carla thought, she was worried but she trusts in what Jay-son says. There is no one that he trusts more than Jayson. It was an exaggeration. Just last week Carla almost lost faith on her boyfriend. She vis-ited his Friendster account and she saw that Jayson’s profile shouts out: “Want me, Get me.” He stated, too, that he is single and interested in dating and ‘activity’ part-ners. A lot of sexy girls were the contents of her photo album. Everything in that account is disgusting. Jay-son explained, though, that that was part of his past. She is her present and her future. She felt his sincer-ity and she knows that he is her happiness. She accepts everything about Jayson’s personality. She loves him. “Hey, Carla, don’t you want to come with me. Let’s go shopping.” Mimi phoned Carla that afternoon invit-ing her to accompany her to the mall. “Sure, you know what? Jayson and I were sup-posed to go there, but he is in the hospital right now. I think it’ll be nice to go with you. I need to relieve my stress, too. School work has been killing me for days. Carla confided to her friend. “Ok, then let’s meet there at 4 pm.”

Mimi said. It was already 4:30. Mimi was late, as she has always been. Carla received a message from her that she needed to drop a package at LBC, which she forgot to do earlier. She never runs out of excuses. Carla thought as she walked to the stores near the entrance, shopping through the window. She glanced at her wrist watch, it was 4:55. Mimi is in a big trouble. I’ll make sure she treats dinner plus a movie, later when she arrives. Carla schemed silently. While waiting, Carla thought of buying fruits for Jayson, but she realized that she would not be able to give it to him during a hospital visit. Maybe Jayson doesn’t want me to witness him in a weak situation. Sigh. If he only knew that I wanted to take care of him. It’s my fault, I should have insisted more. Carla battled within her brain. She chose and bought a shirt for Jayson, of course a black one because it was his favorite color. When there was still no Mimi in sight, her feet led her to the stair-case. She began climbing the first flight of stairs and was slightly surprised that she is independently mov-ing towards the next flight of stairs and finally she reached the 3rd floor. She just realized that she was there because she wanted to sing and needed to release tension. She approached the entrance. She has been here so many times, though it is her first time alone. The place was somewhat like a haven of their love. Just being here, makes me feel as if I’m with Jayson. Carla thought. She scanned the room for familiar faces…There…she found one. One who is very familiar. Too familiar that she cannot help but be shocked to find that person in this place. Shocked to find that person with compa-ny…Jayson is with another woman. She is holding her close, so close. Their sweet-ness emanates. Carla was about to come near them when Jayson kissed the

girl full on the lips. Carla’s eyes filled with tears. The unexpected scene clouded her mind. It cannot be denied, whatever it is that the two are having, Jayson cannot explain his way out of it. “Jayson! You’re SUP-POSED TO BE in the hospital!!!” Carla screeched. After getting Jayson’s atten-tion, she stormed out of the room, tears now falling freely. Jayson ran after her, which made her run quick-er than ever. She almost tripped in the few last stairs that was left but she did not care, all she thought of is that she needed to hide from Jayson. “That chea…ting bas…tard! What is he thinking? That he could fool me around? Huhuhu…Why is it hap-pening all over again? My body feels heavy and my heart is wounded once more. Why? Of all people, why does it have to be always me? Oh, God, help me.” Carla uttered between her sobs, she di-aled Mimi’s number, seek-ing for her friend’s comfort. “Mimi, it’s Carla. I’m here at French Baker.” Carla cried to her friend. “Why are you crying, Carla? Wait I’m there in a minute. Just hang on.” Mimi became rattled. “Jay-son, that ******* son of a *****! Carla began.” “Relax, Carla. I’ll put the phone down, I’m almost there.” Mimi said hanging up. This is all because of my stupidity. I hate myself for being so naïve, so gullible so trusting. I am about to die. Just as she saw Mimi enter the restaurant, Carla broke down. Maybe Carla passed out because of the pain that she was feel-ing, or because of too much stress, or most probably be-cause of shame. Shame be-cause Mimi is right again. I played stupid. I’m wrong, I’m not about to die. I already died. Again. Carla told herself before finally losing consciousness.q

Find out what will hap-pen to Carla. Watch out for Maverick Part 3 on REGINA’s next issue.

9

Seynopsis II

distasteful tasks for money or re-ward. Hack ‘seynopsised’ : to make “pakialam” to something without the authority, owner or the person concern’s knowing. E.g: You se-cretly gained access to your boss’s Employees’ salary distribution and upgraded your rate; you took a sneak preview of your professor’s class record while he/she excused herself in the comfort room; a hus-band browsing his wife’s email and mobile phone without her consent just to check on her fidelity.

Glitch – A minor malfunction, mishap, or technical problem; a snag: a computer glitch; a naviga-tional glitch; a glitch in the nego-tiations.Glitch ‘seynopsised’: This is what probably happened in our assess-ment system.Well, computers are not perfect! Even bigger corpora-tions and companies had worse glitches in their computer systems. Using computers is no doubt an advantage but we cannot always rely on technology. Sometimes, manual computations are better. Makes me wonder; with the state of our country’s economy and the “magical” millions disappearing in our nation’s fund, maybe we can use the abacus for the computa-tion? Steal – to take (the property of another or others) without per-mission or right, esp. secretly or by force. to take, get, or win in-sidiously, surreptitiously, subtly, or by chance. To take (the property of another) without right or per-missionSteal ‘seynopsised’: When you look at your classmate’s paper with the intention of I-don’t-want-to-fail, that is already stealing.

Corrupt -guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking in-tegrity; crooked. to mar; spoil. to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal, etc., esp. by briberyCorrupt ‘seynopsised’ – Some-times, we think corruption only means stealing the public money or something that’s not due to you. But corruption means more than that. E.g: A vicar brainwash-ing his believers for his own sake, a talented and powerful writer with selfish intention of misaligning the thoughts and actions of people, an employee who cheats his/her time card and logs just to get more sal-ary.

“Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself ”

-John D. Macdonald

Pilgrimage to the Great South LandBy Ron Cristian Pangilinan

Embarking on a pil-grimage is not an easy

task especially for a student like me. It all starts with preparation. Getting ready for this journey entailed a lot of time and effort even months before our depar-ture. But before anything else, a big question of mon-ey rose before us. And our immediate answer and the usual answer of most pil-grims? “God will provide.”

Truly, God pro-vided me with every finan-cial help that I needed. Ev-ery time that I had to pay a great amount of money, I would ask our office to ex-tend the deadline because I don’t have the money yet. And every time that I would pay, I pay like an hour or two before the deadline expires. Just a week before our scheduled departure, I was not really sure that I can join because of financial matters. Well then, just be-fore I packed my things for

the trip, money was not at all a problem forcing me to leave the greater half of it at home.

On the day of our flight, I still don’t have that feeling of weirdness like my previous trips. So I pre-sumed that I was still in the state of shock being part of the biggest youth event on earth. We were wel-comed in Melbourne by a very cold six degrees in the thermometer, with a ten-dency to drop a little more as midnight passes by. That night, we slept in a class-room which I mistakenly called “prid-yi-der”. The next morning, but another freezing day, we were dis-tributed to our host fami-lies. Luckily, a friend-sem-inarian and I were accom-modated by a Filipino fam-ily. (Yes! Rice!) That started my “Days in the Dioceses” (DID) in St. Andrew’s Par-ish, Werribee, Melbourne. Although the temperature

drops all the time, it was compensated by the warm welcome of my host fam-ily plus of the whole parish people themselves. Since it was a pilgrimage, (really!) my friend-seminarian and I decided to tour the city’s pilgrimage site. We ven-tured in as many churches as we could and even joined a Taizé prayer vigil in one of the churches. We grabbed every opportunity to pray in every church we visited, so as to ease the bulk of prayer intentions that we were car-rying from the Phils. I have to admit that our week’s stay in Melbourne was not enough for a very enriching experience.

Now, its time to go to the place where the world will gather for worship, friendship and fun: Sydney. Did I just say fun? Well, maybe the word “youth” always comes with the word “fun”. I will never forget the long walks so long that we’ve made a cheer very famous in our country. It goes like this, I say “balot!” and you say “Pinoy!”. Well, it usually varies because in the morn-ing we say “taho!”.

There was a

Thursday that was tagged “Super Thursday” by the media. It was the day which we welcomed Pope Benedict. He arrived by boat, cruising from the bay and mostly entertained by the Aboriginal people (na-tives of the land). He then disembarked and greeted everyone from his “papal mobile”. When he passed by me, I couldn’t deny that there was this certain aura that transcended in the area. Thus, goose bumps were felt, some even cried because of his presence. I never thought that his ho-liness can be felt. With his charisma, he turned the crowd into a multitude that radiates the true meaning of universal Church, with whom the Spirit burns with them!

Being a pilgrim entails you a lot of walking, one of the longest walks we’ve done is the so-called “pilgrim walk”. It is a walk from a certain place to our final destination where the vigil with his holiness and final mass will take place which is the Randwick Racecourse. We actually encountered groups of Fili-pino delegates compiling

in one corner of the road. They were waiting for co-Filipino delegates to walk in unison signifying that our country is not at all a divided one. We walked in pride representing our country. Upon our arrival in the racecourse, we saw that the food station near to us lacks volunteers. So instead of laying our backs beneath the shadow of a big tree, we volunteered ourselves to pack and distribute food to fellow pilgrims. Is this the proof that we received the power? The vigil started frigid cold. I couldn’t really bear the coldness that came with tiredness. Thanks to two schoolmates, Jech and Norine who provided me warmth for the night, lend-ing me their “cold gear”. So I just recited my prayers inside the gear. I couldn’t imagine my night without the gear. We were greeted by a very nice morning, not raining and the sun did not really want to see us. It was perfect weather for the final mass. The pope arrived and passed by us twice (now I had a better photo). It was a grand mass, imagine a mass celebrated by the pope,

15

Assumptionists, meet the newest member

of our university’s board of trustees. We are indeed lucky to have him as part of our family. He is a multi-tasking individual, and now, in addition to his re-sponsibilities, he is involved with the strategic planning of our school. His exem-plary skills will surely be of great help towards UA’s development.

Dr. Eduardo A. Morato Jr. is the presi-dent of ABS-CBN Bayan Foundation, a social and enterprise development in-stitution. Since he joined ABS-CBN Bayan, the or-ganization has dedicated it-self to building the Filipino nation through bolstering

The newest member of the BoardResearched by Luz Nathasha Korionoff II

social and enterprise de-velopment, democratizing entrepreneurship and edu-cation, and maintaining its microfinance operations as an effective tool for build-ing enterprises.

Dr. Morato has been an educator since 1975. He has constantly introduced new degree and non-degree programs at the Asian Institute of Manage-ment (AIM), where he held various positions. He was Dean of the Institute, Dean of the Graduate School of Business, Associate Dean for the Asian Center for Entrepreneurship, and As-sociate Dean for the Center for Development Manage-ment. He conceptualized and developed the very in-novative and popular Mas-ter in Entrepreneurship and the highly socially relevant Master in Development Management. He intro-duced majors in Finance, Marketing and Entrepre-neurship in the traditional MBA program. He rede-signed the Master in Man-agement into a Business Leadership course for mid-career executives. Among

his educational creations are the certificate courses on Managing the Arts, Educa-tional Leadership and Stra-tegic Management, and the series on Health Care Mar-keting, Service Delivery, Fi-nance, Policy and Strategic Management. He likewise developed many courses in Finance and Entrepreneur-ship. His other involve-ments in the field of edu-cation include board direc-torship and chairmanship of the Assumption College. He has lectured extensively all over the Philippines on Education Management and assisted institutions on their strategic planning. He was contracted by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports to facil-itate and write their Master Plan.

Dr. Morato is a full professor at AIM. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, major in Economics at the AIM. He obtained his Master in Business Management, with High Distinction from AIM and Doctor in Public Administration from the University of the Philip-

pines, where he was a con-sistent University Scholar.

Dr. Morato de-voted nine years to Public Service. He was with the Department of Agriculture as Special Consultant to the Secretary. He served as Managing Director at the Technology Resource Cen-ter and General Manager for the Human Settlements Development Corpora-tion. Concurrently, he be-came president of National Housing Corporation, Bliss Development Corporation, National Agribusiness Cor-poration, and many other subsidiaries. He was a consultant to Task Forces under President Ramos and spearheaded the Con-vergence Plan for DAR, DA and DENR during the Estrada Administration. He became consultant for other government depart-ments such as DTI, DOST, TESDA, DSWD, DOH, DOLE, as well as the afore-mentioned institutions.

The Private Sector engagements of Dr. Morato included the Philippine Air Lines, Investment Services Corp., and two years at the

World Bank/IFC where he was assigned to Latin America, Asia, and Africa. He chairs non-government organizations such as FREED and PRISM. He has been consulting for multinational as well as lo-cal companies in many in-dustries, including pharma-ceuticals, telecom, business processing, manufacturing, food processing and fran-chising, banks and other financial institutions, mass media, hospitals, hotels, electronics, furniture, etc. He has sat on the boards on banks, venture capital cor-porations and became vice-chairman and CEO of the Philippine Postal Bank.

Dr. Morato has written eleven books and numerous articles, mono-graphs and handbooks. The topics include Creativ-ity and Intuition, Social Entrepreneurship, Finance, Development Manage-ment, Art, Leadership and Governance, Strategic Plan-ning and Management and Self Mastery.q

thousands of cardinals, bishops and priests con-celebrated and don’t dis-count the fact that the four hundred thousand young pilgrims attended. In his homily, the pope posted a great challenge to all of us pilgrims and maybe to all of young people around the world. “Dear young peo-ple, let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next genera-tion? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure? Are you liv-ing your lives in a way that

opens up space for the Spir-it in the midst of a world that wants to forget God, or even rejects him in the name of a falsely-conceived freedom? How are you us-ing the gifts you have been given, the “power” which the Holy Spirit is even now prepared to release within you? What legacy will you leave to young people yet to come? What difference will you make?” Being part of this event has a profound mean-ing to my life; it signals me that I am entitled to bigger things, a lot bigger that sit-ting on the couch and con-

suming hours in front of the TV. I proved that the sacrifices of my family and benefactors are worth it four-folds or maybe more. I really felt I was loved by people around me, even for those who attempted to extend their hand for my journey. The event also gave me an idea on how God’s miracles work out their way in the modern times. Like for instance, Australia is experiencing a drought so before the mass ended, a priest prayed in front of the pope for rain. Guess what? Rain poured that evening!

I was humbled by the pope when he person-ally apologised for the cleri-cal abuses in Australia. He even celebrated a private mass with the victims and spent time to talk to them. Even the pope has the right to ask forgiveness, even though the mistake was not his.

‘You will receive power when the Holy Spir-it has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.’ Acts 1:8 Receiving the power of the Holy Spirit confuses me ‘til now. What is really the power? When

will I receive it? What shall I do when eventually receive it? What kind of witness will I be? Will I be able to influence people, especially young people to be wit-nesses? I guess this power will guide me on whether what mission shall I take to help my fellow. It may help my knowing my real purpose of my stay in this temporary world that we are living at. My pilgrim-age will be over when I will be fulfilling the mission that God challenges me to accomplish, until I have re-ally received the power!

The University of the Assumption in coordination with the Sports Office headed by Ms May Flores launched the much-awaited an-

nual University of the Assumption (UNI A GAMES) on September 22 this year. The athletes from different participating colleges showcased their prowess to outdo each other in different ball games like basketball and volleyball (men and women divisions).

Here are the team standings during the past two months of the games.

Basketball (men) Basketball (women)

Team W L Team W LHRM 5 0 SAS 4 0BA 4 1 BSN 2 1BSN 3 2 BA 2 2ENGR 3 1 CS 0 3SAS 3 2 ACC 1 3CS 1 1ARCHI 1 4 ACC 0 4EDUC 0 4

As of Otober 4

Volleyball (men) Volleyball (women)

Team W L Team W LBSN 3 0 BSN 2 0ACC 3 1 ACC 1 0BA 2 1 BA 1 0ENGR 2 2 CS 0 1SAS 1 2CS 0 3

As of October 8

Swimming, badminton, table tennis, taekwondo and billiards and the final games of the two ball events will add color to the celebra-tion of the Foundation day.

Once again, the Blue Pelicans proved that they are not only good in aca-demics but can also excel in the field of sports after their performance

at the University Games at Dumaguete City in Visayas on October 23-30. The sporting event was joined by top universities and colleges in the country.

Through the undying support of their coaches, Sports Coordina-tor Ms May Flores, Director for Student Affairs Mr. Owen Dizon, VP for Academic Affairs Rev. Fr. Winifredo Santos and VP for Administration Rev Fr. Manuel Sta. Maria, taekwondo jins Ericka San Pedro of BS Education (bantamweight), Psychology student Nikki Rose Cantillo (flyweight) and Architecture’s Jessica Julia Jose (featherweight) all bagged bronze medals with their coach Dauphin Punzalan.

In addition, the mens’ badminton team grabbed the 4th place. Bas-ketball and volleyball squad (mens division), table tennis women and the athletes made it to the finals.

“Even If we didn’t qualified in the quarter finals, still we played in the game and we had fun in the trip, we met new athletes and friends and the chance to play with the NCAA and UAAP champions throughout the region,” Assistant Coach Ronnie Pelagrin said. q

sportsUNI A Games

update

Blue Pelicans’ performance

intensifies

By Samboy Musngi

By Samboy Musngi