Engineering SPECTRUM Volume XXIII No. 1 Section A

Volume XXIII No. 1 | March 2016

/PUPspectrum

THE OFFICAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE PUP COLLEGE of ENGINEERING

hygears on the go.

PUP Hygears readies Eve-E before it undergoes another phase of technical inspection -car dimension at Clark, Pampanga last February 4 and 5.

(See story below.)

Victor Calinao Jr.

Admin to start A.Y. ‘17CEans approve ‘18 on August calendar shift n John Teddy Garcia and Christian James Concepcion

FINALLY shedding light to the rumors of academic calendar shift last year, the administration has now decided to execute the plan this coming A.Y. 2017- 2018.

University Registrar Zenaida Sarmiento, in an interview with SPECTRUM last January 24, said that the PUP executive officials already ordered her to craft a schedule for the new academic calendar.

“Gusto kasi nila na sumunod na tayo sa August, galing sa kanila yun, So pinagawa nila ako... and then, na-approve [nila] ‘yun,” stated Sarmiento.

However, Vice President for Academic Affairs Manuel Muhi explained that the final decision is yet to be established until the approval of the Board of Regents on their meeting on March 27.

How will it work As elaborated by the University Registrar, there will be a transition semester which will run for six weeks starting on June to July, after the end of summer semester on May 20.

Designed to lessen expenses, students will be allowed to enroll only a maximum of nine units , open for both major and minor subjects.

Muhi, moreover, stated that students may take subjects traditionally offered during first semesters on the said transition period to lessen their loads for the next academic year.

“Para [na rin] makahabol yung mga irreg students,” he added.

Based on the new academic calendar, the first semester will run from August to December, while the second semester on January to May next year.

June to July will also be the regular summer term.

Meanwhile, mid-year commencement exercises will be shifted on February, while the yearend commencement exercises will be moved to June.

Why calendar shift Aside from calendar shift of other universities and colleges, Sarmiento implied that the main concern of the administration were the conflicts arising from transferees and faculty members.

According to Sarmiento, transferees find important transactions hard to deal with due to the schedule gap between the University and those with a different academic calendar.

Part time faculty members who work in other schools also encounter problems in taking slots in PUP. On the other hand, Muhi advised that it would also be better if the calendar shift was already established before admitting the first graduates of K-12 as freshman

n Mark Christopher Rosario WITH PUP on the verge of shifting its current academic calendar on A.Y. 2017-2018, six out of 10 CEans favored the administration’s decision in a survey conducted by the Engineering SPECTRUM last January 27 to February 4.

University President Emanuel de Guzman, in the January 3 flag raising ceremony, made a p r o n o u n c e m e nt a b o u t t h e academic calendar shift, saying that the University will commence the classes of A.Y. 2017-2018 by August.

CEans approve calendar/p.3

college students on 2018. “[Saka] bakit hindi pa ngayon?

Darating din naman ang lahat ng universities diyan,” Muhi added.

Currently, state universities including Bulacan State University (2016), Mindanao State University (2015), Cavite State University (2016), Pangasinan State University (2016), Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College (2016) and University of Northern Philippines (2016) already shifted their academic calendar.

Origin of the move Three years ago, schools such as University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle University started the big leap of shifting the academic calendar, in relation to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economic community integration.

Although autonomous higher education institutions have the option to move the start of their school year as long as it is within the law, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) did not advise schools to go after it.

In a news report from Rappler, CHED believed that June was still the most feasible month to start classes, considering the situation of farmers and fishermen living in rural areas.

Illustrated by: Jobel Ibasco

Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2017

Lack of fund troubles PUP teams

n Jeshua Ephraim Malimata and Mariel Campomanes DESPITE efforts to raise enough fund, Team PUP Manila and PUP Hygears were still rummaging for financial assistance in order to compete in the 2017 Shell EcoMarathon Asia (SEM) 2017 in Singapore, March 16-19.

“Paano namin dadalhin ‘yung prototypes sa Singapore [if the budget is insufficient]? ‘Yung gastos pa namin sa transpo at hotel,”

bothered Team PUP Manila head Elle Richelle Bilocura (IE IV) in an interview last February 5.

Recently, both teams struggled in searching for funds, from calling for likes and comments in a Facebook post to win a challenge, to selling t-shirts and merchandises.

Last January 31, CIM Technologies Inc. announced that PUP SEM teams/p.4

move not to curtail press freedom

SCIENCE OF ADDICTION

when AI meets VR

death penalty in the Philippines

NEWS PAGE 2

SCITECH PAGE 5

SCITECH PAGE 7 AND 8

ISSUES PAGE 12

News

Spectrum

Christian James Concepcion, Editor

2

March 2017

35-year dynasty torn

PUP Speak overthrows SAMASA n Jonero Dacula and Nehemia Ibarrientos

Sandigan ng Mag-aaral para sa Sambayanan (Samasa) party in the CSC elections, after 35 years of leading the Central Student Council (CSC), was finally dethroned

by PUP Students’ Party for Equality and Advancement of Knowledge (Speak), October 20 last year.

Obtaining majority of the votes, Speak removed the legendary party from their position, proving that no “walls” their three pillars, ‘transparency, accountability and excellence’ could not break.

A long history of reign Historically, from the last three decades, Samasa explained that they managed to win every elections through the student’s mass and collective action, “Sama-samang pagkilos para sa bayan”.

Only last 2014, former parties Bangon and Kilos-PUP both attempted to occupy the seat against Samasa.

However, various issues arise after the two were disqualified, making the latter the only electable slate in the election.

Race to the central seat During the tight race for electoral seat, both party unveiled alarming issues which caused an exquisite sizzle in the community.

Speak raised the “Leadership Training Seminar (LTS)” alleged fund malversation against Samasa

in which they collected Php600 per individual from academic organizations, yet still getting a financial aid from the administration amounting to Php153,000.

The LTS was said to be a requirement for the organizations’ Commission on Student Organization Accreditation (Cosoa) clearance. “’Yung paniningil ng 600 pesos, totoo ‘yun but ‘yung issue na tumanggap ng pera sa admin, malabo yung issue na ‘yun. Actually we want to confront Mr. [Romulo] Hubbard about that, because alam niya ‘yung nangyari.”, said Samasa standard bearer Rejhon Modesto (SED IV).

Samasa also cleared that all of their running candidates were enrolled including Modesto, in response to the accusation that some of their candidates were not official students.

On the other hand, Speak faced issues such as being the so-called administration’s “puppeteer” to the council.

“Dine-deny namin, na ang PUP speak ay patakbo ng admin. Wala

SPEAK NOW SAMASA. PUP Speak and Samasa fearlessly laid their pronouncement towards the pressing issues of the Sintang Paaralan during their Miting de Avance, Septmeber 28, 2016 Victor Calinao, Jr.

kaming kilala sa mga nakaupo, mula rehente hanggang sa mga VPs,” stated by Elijah San Fernando (Econ IV) running vice president of Speak.

“Hamon namin sa kanila (Samasa) maglabas kayo ng kahit isang ebidensya na ang PUP Speak ay patakbo ng admin.”

‘Better’ than last year From 2015 voters’ turnout success, this year the student voting

population decreased counting a total of 6,473 voter turnouts, almost 2,000 deficits from last year.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) claimed this year’s election was much better for no further problems were encountered.

However, different intrigues arose such as death threats towards Speak’s paralegals and mostly Comelec commissioners, the election commision chairman’s

resignation, delayed election which led to schedule adjustment, and the unending multiple motions for senior high schools’ right to vote.

Local Elections Meanwhile, Leading an Effective Government with Excellence and Nobility in Diversity (Legend) party took the lead in the College of Engineering (CE) over an Independent party.

Student pubs now on a closer monitoring

Move not to curtail press freedom -De Guzman n Vincent Bryan Velez and Christian James Concepcion

While the centralized guideline for student publications is still under discussion, University Pres.

Emanuel de Guzman announced that campus pubs will instead fall under strict scrutiny from the administration for the next couple of months.

In an interview with The Engineering SPECTRUM last September 13, Dr. de Guzman assured that since the guideline was still unresolved, campus publications will be closely monitored to avoid issues concerning campus publications.

“Nakita ko kasi ‘yung budget ng The Torch (College of Business Administration student publication) at halos 80% ng budget o pera ay napupunta sa trainings. Iba pa nga, sa abroad,” alleged Pres. de Guzman, which paved the way for the admin to seek reforms.

NEWS ON TV Located at the South Wing ground floor, the Media Wall will now broadcast announcements, footages of different movemevents, and shows produced by PUP CreaTV, as with the deed donation of IBEX Global.

Honey Grace Alfonso

Centralized Guideline In a meeting held last August 9 where several working student publications were convened, the University President announced that the formulation of a centralized guideline would standardize publication practices.

Involved in the said guideline were the collection of publication fee, faculty advisers selection, the process of publication membership, and auditing procedures, among others.

Dialogue Pia Cyrill Ramirez (Journ IV), chairperson of Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag (AKM), an organization of PUP system-wide student publications, classified the situation as a “political tactic” for a greater move of the administration to oppress the campus press freedom.

“Usapin siya ng represyon sa mga estudyante… napipigilan sila na malaman pa ‘yung mga issues dito sa University,” Ramirez further explained.

In the dialogue held last September 8, the University President denied the allegation, insisting the need for the guideline.

“This is not a move to curtail press freedom… kahit kailan hindi ako magiging kalaban ng press freedom,” reminded Dr. de Guzman.

Pub Standing Meanwhile, in response to the alleged misaligned budget said by

the President, Jefferson Sejalvo (BA IV), The Torch’s former editor in chief, reasoned that the trainings were needed to support their staff who don’t have any background in journalism. “‘Di totoo ‘yung rate na 80%.

Nasa 40% nga lang ‘yun eh,” Sejalvo replied through a message last October 6.

“And in the very first place, sila nag-approve ng mga requests namin so alam nila dapat yun. ‘Di nila kami pwedeng i-accuse na misused ‘yung fund,” he added. “At nagliliquidate naman kami.”

Also, in a statement released by the AKM, College of Accountancy and Finance’s The Paradigm and College of Communication’s The Communicator explained that their inactivity was due to the lengthy administrative processes.

Accordingly, delayed fund releases and rigid auditing procedures caused the publication a hard time releasing issues, which was why they seemed inactive.

On hold Another concern was also raised by The Catalyst regarding their Php4 M fund which was accumulated over the past years and was still being held by the administration.

Vice President for Finance Marissa Legaspi explained that unless a list of approved programs for expenditures was submitted by the publication, the said amount will remain untouched.

Student pubs now/p.4

News

Spectrum March 2017

Nallrc goes system level up n Rogelio Legaspi, Jr.

“‘YUNG Koha [library system server] ngayon, mas mabilis, mas maraming features. Pati ‘yung paghiram ng libro… magiging fully automated na rin siya.”

In the general orientation held for freshmen and senior high school students last June 7, 2016 at PUP Gymnasium, Ninoy Aquino Learning and Library Resources Center (Nallrc) Director Divina Pasumbal revealed the big development in the University library.

No more library cards Through internet access, a student can borrow books in the library online, using the Koha server, as well as accessing the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) for online references.

But for accreditation purposes, students still have to register in the logbook in the library entrance, for the Nallrc to monitor the daily number of visitors in the library.

Pasumbal also added that using library cards would be less efficient given the full automation Nallrc is pushing through, and time will

come, the cards will be replaced by the system. However, due to the still ongoing bidding of the computers, the implementation of the paperless transactions will be implemented next year.

Koha version 16.05 “Mas madaling i-manipulate ‘yung interface ng OPAC. So mas friendly sa students ‘yung 16.05, mas madali rin para sa mga librarians at staff,” Nallrc Technical Section Head Joselito Domingo said regarding the use of upgraded library server.

ALL SET. ICTO Network Chief Christian Ordane examines the Koha server; Tulong Aklatan - the service provider of automation - founder Manny Tamayao introduces Koha to the Nallrc staff; some of the library staff and their application of Koha to PCs. (from left, to clockwise) Nallrc Multimedia and E-learning Services Office

2 EcE grads tie at 3rd in ECT n Nehemia Ibarientos and Ysabelle Medoza With a 90% rating, Joan Noah Aguilar and Lorenz Cea (EcE ‘16) ranked third in the October 2016 Electronics Technician board examinations.

The University recorded 84% passing rate over the 74.74% national passing rate.

Also, Marlon Mascare (PUPTaguig) ranked second (89.93%) in the Electronics Engineering (EcE) board examinations. The EcE department obtained 39.27 % passing rate compared to the 40.36% national passing rate.

Other board achievements 105 new civil engineers were produced in the November 2016 Civil Engineering board examinations with an overall passing rate of 67.31% from the 45.90% national passing rate.

PUP attained 91.67% rating versus the 68.08% national passing rate in the September 2016 Registered Master Electrician board examinations. In addition, 93 out of 118 takers from the University passed the September 2016 Registered Electrical Engineer board examinations to tally a 78.71% passing rate from the 68.46% national passing rate.

Meanwhile, the University ranked fifth in the Top 10 Performing Schools of September 2016 Mechanical Engineering board examinations.

ME department obtained a total percentage of 89.89% from the 69.57% national passing rate.

The May 2016 (16.05) Koha version will help the technical team with regards to all vital processes of library system such as OPAC, cataloguing, system references, circulation, and printing of barcodes.

From a proposal that started three years ago, the University finally obtained this year the Php2 M-worth Koha 16.05, the widelyused library information system worldwide.

“Walang bayad ang system, ‘yung binayaran namin’ is yung service ng tao na mag-facilitate, and train people,” Domingo explained.

Meanwhile, the establishment of the Multimedia and E-Learning Services, headed by Prof. Mary Grace Ferrer, is expected to lead the coordination of both library operations and the multimedia services.

Ferrer added that Nallrc aims to fully automate the library operations by the end of the year.

Future plans for the Koha consist of paperless transactions, 24/7 access of the server off-campus, and the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for the students who wish to borrow learning materials.

The start Before using the Koha server, Athena was first introduced by the Nallrc as a computerization system of the resource materials catalog last 2005.

The said improvement marked the start of the automation of the main library and satellite libraries in the Mabini campus.

CEans approve calendar/p.1 CEan pulse Among 374 respondents, from different batches of every department, 63.9 p ercent or 239 students agreed with the decision of the administration to move the academic calendar.

Meanwhile, 100 respondents or 26.7 percent countered the plan, with reasons ranging from inadequate s cho ol facilities, problematic weather conditions, and heavy traffic (considering students from provinces like Rizal and Bulacan area).

35 students or 9.4 percent, on the other hand, remained undecided.

Despite the pronouncement, University Reg ist rar Z enaida

?

Sarmiento explained that a few details on the new academic calendar were still subject for approval by the Board of Regents (BOR).

Opposing reactions Even with no finality, discussions and protests were already held either to support or oppose the plan.

“Bilang mga iskolar ng bayan, higit na kinakailangan ng ating bansa ang mas matibay na pagkakaisa, hindi lamang laban sa academic calendar shift, pati maging sa paglaban sa imperyalismo na siyang ugat ng lahat ng krisis ng ating bansa,” said Office of the Student Regent Karl Paulie Anareta in a Facebook post shared

last January 12.

On the contrary, some students remained positive with regards to the issue. Alyssa De Luna (IE IV), Philippine Institute of Industrial Engineers-PUP Student Chapter president, stated “Siyempre nakakapanibago lalo na sa batch namin kasi last year na namin dito.”

“Pero kung sa tingin nila [admin] heto yung mas makabubuti sa atin, okay naman din sa akin. At saka mabilis naman mag-adjust ang mga PUPian,” she added.

As of this writing, the decision to proceed with the academic calendar shift still hangs until the BOR meeting this March 27.

C ea n pulse : A cade m ic cale n dar s h i f t

“Sa summer mainit, engineering tayo.

Mahirap magfocus pag mainit” RASDAS(IE II)

“Yes! Maganda yang proposal na yan.”

“It’s also good for students who’ll work on their thesis. They will have more time to do research”

HARING FARAON (CE IV)

(CE IV)

“Main objective would really help 100%!”

“Ayos naman to, gagraduate na kami e.

Problema niyo na yan.

ARYA STARK (EE IV)

JOSHUA(ME V)

“Yung mga move ng Academic affairs di naman mapanindigan.”

SANDARA PARK (CE IV)

“Okay lang i-shift yung academic calendar. Mag-aaral at tsaka ga-graduate din naman eh.”

“Kelangan pang pag-aralan ang lahat ng pwedeng mangyari at mga pwedeng maapektuhan”

JOHN (REM IV)

(EE III)

3

TERRITORIAL UPDATES EE studs research earn innovation tilt n Jonero Dacula With their innovation of Cordless Induction Clothes Iron (CICI), EE students bagged second runner-up in the annual Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines (IIEE) national research contest held at the SMX Convention Center last November 23.

The team of Rhovel Flores, James Earl Cruz, Jovie Micah Venus Dolotina (EE IV), and Lord Jerome Dojilo (EE V) presented their innovation of clothes iron using electromagnetic induction, way cheaper and less electricity consumption than household clothes iron which uses resistive heat to operate. CICI also won the Best Poster award in the said contest.

Their innovation also received the Best Research project in the last Grand Innovation Exhibit of the University last September 2930, 2016.

Board game for the blind wins abroad n Victor Calinao, Jr. With over hundreds of products proposed by different university worldwide, Team Kapâ of the Industrial Engineering department secured 2nd place with IDR 7 million cash prize in Industrial Design Seminar and Competition at Semarang, Indonesia, October 21-23.

Specialized for visually impaired children, Kapâ is a board game that helps the blind user to practice Braille, think patterns and construct word, just as like playing the game Word Factory.

Gillian Villanueva, Ajay Ramasola and Christopher Gallcon (IE IV) made the strategically challenging Kapâ product under the Ethnographic and Socially Responsible Design for Children’s Product category that provides both learning and entertainment to children from 6-12 years old.

CpE Quizzers rank 3rd in ICpEP.se n Maria Pamela Patawaran Gerard Oñate, Glen Mark Baguio, and Dale Ivan Merza (CpE IV) notches second runner up, out of 12 participating universities, in the Quiz Bowl 2016 National CpE Student Challenge: ICpEP.se – NCR Chapter held at Adamson University, September 3.

The Institute of Computer Engineers of the Philippines Student Edition (ICpEP.se) is an organization with university and college members all over the country. Furthermore, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila bagged the top spot, while Mapua Institute of Technology secured the third place finish.

News

Spectrum

4

March 2017

New univ research building in May ‘17 n Victor Calinao, Jr.

Primarily designed for experiments and laboratory purposes, Engineering and Science Research Center (ERSC) building was hoped to be completely built by the end of the academic year.

First projected to be fiinished

by December 2016, the target completion date was moved to May 2017 due to the delayed monthly funding, for two months, by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“Dahil dun, na-suspend ng dalawang beses ‘yung pagtapos ng building,“ explained Physical Planning and Development Director Engr. Richmond Pangilinan (CE ‘09).

An initiative Amounting to P75 million, the project was initiated by Arch. Royal Pineda (Arch ‘98) as he offered his expertise to manage the concept paper and building plan last 2014 that made the construction possible.

“Hindi namin pinakialaman ‘yung aesthetic [ng design], ang ginalaw lang namin ay ‘yung loob, tapos ‘yung function ng classrooms,” Pangilinan added.

As per finance, DBM and Special Trust Fund from the University financed the said building with an estimated Php81 million construction cost. Last December 2015, bidding process started and ITP Construction Inc.

On The rise. Expecting to be finished this May, the Php75 M-worth Engineering Research and Science Center will soon cater research-related equipment and facilities for the PUPians.

Victor Calinao, Jr. secured the contract amounting to Php75.8 million.

In addition, Commission on Higher Education instructed the University that the fund should be allotted for science and technology development instead of proposed another gymnasium by Pres. de

Guzman during the 144th Board of Regents meeting, March 26, 2014.

ginagamit. Kulang na kulang talaga sa fund. ” Inadequate funding also led teams to utilize former prototypes’ spare parts, not to mention the adjustments needed now that the two teams opted to shift into different categories from last year–Team PUP Manila (UrbanGasoline) and Hygears (PrototypeBattery Electric).

“Mga 80 percent ng buong sasakyan, lahat bago,” PUP Hygears’ team manager Christopher Angelo Malayan (IE IV) explained. The

change of category, accordingly, was due to their observation that only a few teams compete in their new bracket compared to their previous one, Prototype-Gasoline and Prototype-Diesel.

“Mas mataas kasi ‘yung chance natin manalo kapag kaunti lang kalaban natin,” he added.

Only eight members, including their advisers, have the chance to represent their teams as with the SEM policy is concerned.

“Depende pa rin sa amin [teams] kung sinu-sino ipapadala namin.

What’s inside?

According to the building plan, the ERSC was designed to be an earthquake-resistant, four-storey, 2,600 square meters building with a

modern aesthetic design feature.

The building, supported by a 6.4 meter-long stilt at one end, has study area for the students, one lecture room, four 6m x10m laboratories, and another four with 6m x 12m dimensions that can withstand heavy-duty equipment

Lack of fund troubles/p.1

the company will be providing Php40,000 to the teams as financial aid in spite of their failed attempt to reach the 20 thousand like challenge of the firm in Facebook.

But even with the provision, the fund they had accumulated still lacked which deemed the merchandising of their t-shirts necessary up until the next few months.

While sewing one of the driver’s clothing, patching a newly-printed fabric over the old one, Bilocura said, “Ito nga, ilang taon na naming

WAY TO CLARK. Team PUP Manila, participating under Urban-Gasoline category, leads their prototype Unlagi to the technical inspection before recording a valid run, in the Philippine edtion of Shell Eco-Marathon, February 4-5.

Victor Calinao, Jr.

Siguro ‘yung mga nag-effort talaga,” Malayan explained.

On a positive note, Malayan pronounced the support coming from the PUP community. “Nagpromise kasi ‘yung University sa amin ng Php 130,000 (subject for availability) for each team, na sana makuha na namin before the event.

Para mas tumaas pa ‘yung chance na makapag-compete kami in Asia.”

SEM in PH Before the Singapore race, the two teams already set their wheels at the Clark International Speedway, February 4-5, for the first-ever Shell Eco-Marathon Philippines (SEMPH) along with other national competing teams.

If only with an ample amount of time to prepare and enough fund, the two teams believed that their Eve-E and Unlagi would be able to record a valid run.

“Actually, kulang talaga kami ng halos one month to prepare. March talaga ‘yung tapos ng mga gawain pero ngayon napaaga sabak namin,” stated Bilocura.

“But this will help naman kasi we are aware na [this is] for our attempt, hopefully, na matuloy sa Singapore,” she added.

Up to the last minutes before the cut-off time of SEM-Ph, Team PUP Manila was still struggling with the brakes and broken fuel tank, which the team had to buy for replacement, for them to be cleared in the technical inspection.

PUP Hygears, however, managed to pass three out of nine stages of technical inspection specifically, car dimension, weighing, and steering.

such as vibrating machines.

According to Pangilinan, computers, machines, Wi-Fi, and other laboratory equipment were not supplemented by the fund and shall be shouldered and procured by the College of Engineering and College of Science.

Student pubs now/p.2

“Kasi hindi niyo pera ‘yan, pera ‘yan ng mga nakaraan pang mga estudyante at [ang] gagamit ngayon ay kayo,” Legaspi added.

Responding to the need of proposal since last academic year, The Catalayst former Editor in Chief Abigael de Leon retorted, “Nag-propose po kami ng budgetary outlay, nag-amount po siya ng halos one million kasi yung mga PCs at iba’t iba pang mga gamit.”

To obtain the fund, Pres. de Guzman suggested that the publication must submit again a list of proposed program for expenditures which follows the Procurement Act. History might repeat itself Since the beginning, it has been a struggle for many publications to continue its operation despite its lack of financial assistance.

CEA Spectrum, College of Engineering publication’s former name, experienced a major letdown in 1999, calling it the Dark Ages.

The publication shut down due to shortage of members and its scarcity of fund.

Fortunately, it returned in the second semester of 2000, carrying the name ‘SPECTRUM (The Engineering SPECTRUM)’ which still exists up to this date.

Moreover, The Freehand of College of Architecture and Fine Arts also recently made a comeback, producing their revival issue out of their own pockets, after being lost for a couple of years.

As of this writing, there were only seven working publications out of 30 accredited pubs in PUP.

Spectrum

Victor B. Calinao, Editor

March 2017

Sci-Tech

5

The Science of

ADDICTION

n Victor Calinao, Jr.

ISSUES like addiction or substance abuse seem far odd to CEan community, as if it concerns only the victims — the same way depression, anxiety, and other issues appear to be distant to those who don't experience it.

But the truth is, addiction is an insidious disease that can creep up on anyone, possibly already be hurting someone you know or you love, or maybe even yourself without having a single clue.

Who is addicted?

4 10 in

2

out of

5

teens began using nicotine at the age of 13-15 years old.

individuals who begin drinking at the age of 13 or younger will develop alcoholism.

Both biological and environmental factors can influence the likelihood that a person will develop an addiction.

Liver. For many years of habitually taking any drugs, there is a serious risk of liver failure that might lead to death.

Studies show that,

40% Addiction occurs as the result of many gene links and interactions that trigger the desire for

60%

Nicotine

Alcohol

Drugs

Heart. One of the most common effects of long term drug use is heart disease and heart failure.

Lungs. Smoking drugs such as crystal meth and crack cocaine can have effects on the lungs similar to those of long term nicotine use.

How does addiction work?

to

Teeth. Smoking and meths/ crystals are also known to affect the saliva glands, reducing protection from tooth decay.

is the chance of a person to develop addiction through heredity.

other addictive activities

Kidney. Long term users of drugs such as heroin, and crystal meth, among others, can cause kidney failure.

Spine. Obsessive routine lifting increases the risk of spinal injury and may weaken its supporting muscles, over time. Spine strength is reduced by long-term poor postural habits, such as slouching.

A person may have biological tendencies toward drug or alcohol addiction, but those addictions may lie dormant until activated by an environmental factor:

Family

Social networks

?

Pressure

Curiosity

Bones. Drugs lower user's bone density. Opiate addiction has been linked to osteopenia, or reduced bone density, which can precede full-blown osteoporosis.

Stairway to recovery Addiction is not only defined by chemicals or genetics, it is also defined by your cage. Addiction is something more being than abusive to a certain substance.

Human beings have an innate to connect to the people around you like your family, friends or your significant other, whether you are happy or sad. But if you're traumatized or beaten down to your lowest point and can't connect to the people and network around you,.

For some instances, you'll try to bond with something else that gives you some sense of relief even if it will cause you a lot of pain and hazards, it might be endlessly checking of Sources:

your facebook, pornography, video games, gambling or might be more severe like smoking, alcohol and drugs.

In short, addiction is just one symptom of the crisis of being disconnected to the people and your network that is happening all around us. Unknowingly, we all feel it.

•••

Prevention is a hundred times better than cure. Think twice before you disconnect to the people you care and love. Sometimes, making an effort to connect to the people you know and who truly value you as a person, no matter how good or

bad you are is really worth it.

For quite times, people talked bad about addiction, and that has made everything worse.

Instead of helping the victims and encouraging them not to seal themself through addiction, people have cast them out from society believing that they don't belong and this paradigm has done something wrong within our country.

People should care about social recovery believing that the victims could be reconnected and should not treat them as the cancer of society.

The opposite of addiction is not sobriety; the opposite of addiction is connection.

http://www.alternativesintreatment.com/infographics/infographic-the-science-of-addiction/ https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain http://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/03/16/12/number-youth-smokers-rising-group http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/06/genes-addict.aspx

According to scientists, gene count of addiction cannot influence a new born human being.

For over 30,000 genes in the body, 89 of them are linked to addiction that creating trigger that causes desire for pleasure.

54% Genes also account for 54 percent of the tendency of one's ability to quit in addiction.

Science and

Spectrum 6

Inside look

of Virtual Reality n Nehemia Ibarrientos

Turn your imaginations into reality as you explore virtual reality (VR) technology.

With three dimensional objects projected at different angles, surely this new trend will greatly impact today’s innovative generation.

Virtual reality technology is a device that allows the user to experience the virtual environment as if he is really there. It is composed of complex hardware structures coupled with advanced software – designed to fit with human perception and cognition. It may be considered multifunctional, depending on how the user sees its use – for entertainment, for office use, engineering field works, school works, and etcetera.

From the past years up until now, VR has caught the attention of public in international, since it depicted a lot of possibilities in technological advancement in the next coming years, expecting it to be the next frontier of gadget. Experts pointed out how VR applications have been developed – slowly at first but until ideas were soon integrated from time to time. Virtual reality is becoming part of humanity’s

Virtual Reality is becoming part of humanity's everyday life and redefining the way humans see and enjoy the whole world.

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everyday life as it embraces the new era of techie world.

The Experience

This new genre of entertainment and reality allows the user to see things in various perspectives. When engaging as a commander in a war or when riding a big spacecraft to win an intergalactic space battle, VR technology creates a pseudo reality that permits users to actually experience them.

Unlike smart phones where one only uses his fingers to change the scene or view, VR uses the shift of the body to alter the point of view. In other words, the entire experience is a combination of sensory information.

VR however does not replace traditional ways of entertainment, as some might think; but rather

supplements those to provide an extraordinar y exp erience.

The deception created by these devices to human perception is very amusing and interactive that it creates a convincing artificial world, immersing every user’s understanding to the beauty of virtual reality.

Top of the line companies like Google, Samsung, and Microsoft are really jumping on this new meat of wagon and produce more content in the future. Today’s top companies are battling for the best VR experience.

Brands today have a greater choice in how they choose to deploy VR activity. Some use smartphones, such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard, while others, like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, require a full headset for the full illusion.

High-end or low-end, the deception created by these devices to human perception are ver y amusing and interactive that it creates a convincing artificial world, immersing every user’s understanding to the beauty of virtual reality.

The experience is just snap seconds away to present a new genre of entertainment and reality.

The Circuit

VR headsets are often referred to as HMDs or head mounted displays.

VR mechanism functions using three main components – a console, an output, and input. A console runs the application. An output conveys image displays and audio; and an input serves as head tracking, where the picture in the display shifts as the user looks up, down and side to side or any angle the user desires.

The device also use two feeds sent to either one or two LCD display/s, one per eye, transmitting the images.

Its lenses located between the user’s eyes, while its pixels focus and reshape 2D images. By angling these images without any error, a stereoscopic 3D image is created; thus, the virtual world is formed.

One important way VR headsets can increase immersion or virtual view is to increase the field of view up to 120 degrees. VR headsets offer head tracking using other internal components such as gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer.

The Shift

Though VR technology is known for adding a booming experience

to an already thrilling game and an excellent heavy-graphic show, these devices were not only limited to gaming and movie watching. Soon, the versatility of VR utility will extend from modernizing entertainment up to re-engineering professions.

In the world of engineering and architecture, developers were already planning on using VR tech into their projects, providing realworld simulation and scenarios. For instance, VR will be of assistance in determining the stability of a building through a detailed view of digital framework and design in every angle.

Indeed, virtual reality has really come a long way and is believed to be continually developing over the span of years to come. Now that we become witnesses of technological advancement, it is fitting to say that our future begins today.

Wha

Artificial In

me Virtual

n Victor C

B OTH AI and VR are momentous to to d ay 's technology. For compelling reasons, these two great inventions are both helpful and entertaining in their own different ways.

Artificial Intelligence a.k.a. AI is the process of merging an unprecedented amount of data into an algorithm to perform a desired parameter. Thus, it may imitate intelligent human behavior and sentience, and in some cases, may even surpass it. Take the two popular board games Chess and Go, for example. The best human Chess and Go players in the world; both Gary Kasparov and Lee Sedol respectively have been defeated by an AI. Luckily for humans, there’s a wide spectrum of interest to the human condition than Chess and Go. On the other hand, Virtual Reality has its way to b estow innovation. While most people enjoy

ornate composition VR helped a lot no but to also experien a virtual world.

Countless possibili AI and VR individ if these two great i Chances are it w epic revolution of a where everything t a realistic illusion AI that will create pseudo-reality.

And if these tech possibly availabl future, what else co explore and see?

In every futuristi movies, human describe as species curiosity to explo Earth. But whe meeting of VR an turns into a tangi the reason to go be an expanding vas human beings hav explore more than A powerful virt the nature of arti could allow us to everything; no f death, no irrevers for every individ

Perhaps ever that reach technological mat that expandin to explore is poi expanding inw technology allow to do so muc give humanity th to immerse int never-imagined

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by Victor Calinao, Jr.

Technology

at if

Calinao, Jr.

ns when they see it, ot just to see things nce them, through

ities can make with dually but imagine innovations meet. will come into an a simulated reality the user perceive is n programmed by an almost perfect

hnologies became le in the distant ould human being

ic science fiction beings are often s that have innate ore outwards the n these perfect nd AI technology ible reality, what's eyond outside into st universe when ve the capacity to n that? tual reality with ificial intelligence o do anything and fear of harm or sible consequence dual's actions, no

ry civilization hes a certain turity realizes ng outwards intless when wards, using ws everyone ch more and the capability to countless, d exploration.

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physical limitations, gives everyone an abi l it y to c u s tom i z e an d manipulate the world around us to fit their own personal needs and preferences. And maybe it's possible to manipulate the brain's sense of time. Real world minutes could turn into virtual years. Just think of any story that encompasses the idea of simulated reality like The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, or Sword Art Online.

Perhaps every civilization that reaches a certain technological maturity realizes that expanding outwards to explore is pointless when expanding inwards, using technology allows everyone to do so much more- the capability to immerse into countless, never-imagined explorations.

Even though Earth had been around and probations are started for such a long time, could that be the reason why the Earth in the universe can seem very alone?

7 Mind versus metal

Beyond the human psyche

ntelligence

eets Reality

March 2017

n Zarce Abaracoso

Some says that the plight of technology is the end of humanity. Some philosophers and researchers too, have predicted that the continuous advancement of technology will one day surpass mankind's collective intelligence.

Humans are reaching its ultimate success as they defy the traditional thinking to the revolutionized intelligence with the world that keeps up with all aspect of changes.

Essentially, it seems to be magnifying the bigger picture of the future with all technological creations which perhaps never done nor think of, beyond imaginations using creative human brains.

Singularity

Intel l i ge nc e de fi ne d as a general mental ability of reasoning, a critical process of solving problems, learning, and thinking. Integrating this into one concept would result to the crucial facets of the human intelligence.

Global modernization, te ch nol o g i c a l a dv anc e me nt s , and science breakthroughs have raced forward these past centuries.

Through time, their evolution went farther as humans grew hungrier for knowledge drawing mankind closer to an era of Singularity – the merging

of human and machine intelligence; the cutting edge of evolution.

As t h e p ow e r of hu m a n intelligence grew exponentially, combining all its complexities and integrating these abilities into one chip or device, comes the birth of the Artificial Intelligence (AI). Through

AI and brain have both the ability to process information and accomplish tasks but if there’s one thing that human brains have the edge over AI – it’s the capability to perceive emotions.

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people's creative breakthroughs they're able to create something beyond the average.

Humans over AIs

Relating their definition from the tunnel of technology, it can be said that human intelligence lies more on the behavioral response of the mankind to act naturally and make up a certain thought by adding different cognitive processes. On the other hand, artificial intelligence was based on a made-up model of human which aims to behave almost as the same however it is impossible since nothing can replace a natural thing with an artificial thing.

Since the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence, in due time the possibilities of developing and enhancing it, to some extent, which it can pass almost as a human being is inevitable.

Think of an AI-inspired future, with its Battlestar Galactica theme and a small touch of Westworld universe, to some the thought of it is merely and profoundly depressing, bringing it with the world where the human creativity and uniqueness been replaced by the standardization of robots.

Transhumanists vision or the belief that the human brain is an AI itself, integrated with chips run by algorithms, strongly affects the further AI developments for it links the gap between the two, leading to the vision of Singularity. It's not surprising anymore when this fantasy transpires to reality since these days many have seen 'transhumanists' already uses an obscene amount of money in building these siliconbased machines or the algorithm that

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Source: Shutterstock

run on these AIs. Nevertheless, human intelligence still battles on who's the toughest and better. Some essential characteristics that human intelligence possesses that AI's aren't capable of doing are such as in terms of decision making to achieve goals, information retrieval relevance, ability to find and establish a correlation between concepts and drive these concepts from other concepts. And still, it's down to who's going to win between AIs and HIs. Brink of human extinction?

Soon, people will encounter AIs capable of doing things which exceed the sole purpose of why they were created – to do complex things humans can't execute effortlessly – and surpass the abilities an average person capable of doing.

AIs were made out of humans’ gift of creativity. And as mankind goes on further innovations, they unconsciously lead AIs to the succession of the Transhumanist advocacy. For when these AIs already had a sufficiently advance technology they can already take over and be able to enhance their capability to replicate human’s mind and even to replicate their own. AIs will surpass humanity soon. Will humans be able to escape it?

Cognitive realization

It is surely known that Artificial Intelligence will eventually defeat hu m an i nte l l i ge n c e i n m any aspects because AIs is made up of collective knowledge from humans themselves. However, this grandiose proclamation was spawned from hubris and techno-optimism. It is more rooted to metaphor than reality.

This transhumanists belief ignores the defining essential characteristics of a human being that one can create things beyond their imaginations and one can do so consciously. No computer or any artificial intelligence can purposely create or innovate an artistic breakthrough.

Looking at this perspective, AI and brain have both the ability to process information and accomplish tasks but if there’s one thing that human brains have the edge over AI – it’s the capability to perceive emotions, think creatively, challenge its own limitation, and has only the ability to understand each and every one.

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Sci-Tech 8

Spectrum

It takes a village

March 2017

n Engr. Orland Delfino Tubola

A Primer Towards Truly Realizing a Competent and Dynamic Culture of Research in the College of Engineering One of the most, if not the most, important measure of an academic institution’s competence, nowadays, is its research output: the number of its published research in a peer-reviewed journal, the number of patents, and the number of products that is an output of research and development.

And if our College will be measured out of these criteria, my personal opinion is that we will be found lacking. Yes, we have an application for patent. Yes, we have some researches published in a peer-reviewed journal. But the number of those is not enough to be considered dynamic and competent.

One reason is that the diffusion of the importance of a competent culture of research, of publishing, and patenting just come around us in the past few years. I believe that we are only forced towards this path for it is the most important matrix that academic institutions like us are being measured nowadays.

It is the primary responsibility of us to improve the situation, and further, promote the culture of competent research. And I believe that the research sector and the administration of PUP are doing everything it can to really push forward this particular advocacy: from funding institutional researches and research presentations, organizing activities, inviting experts, to giving incentives to publications and patents.

But having a competent and dynamic culture of research requires a change in culture. It is easy to change oneself but in order to realize an effective change of culture, to borrow the words of Hillary Rodham Clinton – it takes a village.

Niche, and specialization Journal Databases If we wanted to conduct and write a competent research, it is of utmost importance that our sources and references are of international scope and standard. Therefore, it is a must that the kinds of literature that we are reviewing came from international research journal databases, like ScienceDirect and IEEE databases, to name a few, in engineering.

In order to be published in reputable peer-reviewed research journals, there must be something novel in the research that we are doing, and there is a higher probability of finding something new in the said databases than the books and published researches found in libraries or in simple

search in Google.

But, as of the moment, our University cannot afford to subscribe to the said databases yet. One disadvantage of just paying 12 pesos per unit. In fact, other universities who have these databases are paying four times the amount we pay every semester to their library fee alone.

So, one of the things that we can do is to pray that our country will be prosperous soon so that our University will have a bigger budget to afford these databases. The good news is, some international research institutions are giving away the access to their research databases for free. One just needs to be resourceful and diligent.

Publish Research Journal Annually Thesis advisers or faculties handling research subjects must be required to put in their Individual Performance Commitment Report, a commitment to one research paper published in a peer-reviewed journal, annually. If this is the case, thesis advisers will have a great reason to really focus on the quality and publishability of the researches that are proposed and conducted by the students that they are handling; thus, solidifying the realization of a genuine culture of competent and dynamic research.

One noteworthy initiative of the College is to require students who are taking up research subject to present their output in a national or international conference.

This practice allows students to experience presenting their output in a wider audience of experts, and also be exposed to the different researches related or not related to their studies that were conducted by researchers from other institutions.

This knowledge would help them on further improving their research.

It takes a village

The researches in the College of Engineering tends to come from a wide spectrum of specialization, which makes us jack of all trades but master of none. This practice is detrimental to the quality of our research output in the long run.

It is but astute to choose four to five research fields that are relevant and full of potential for development now and in foreseeable future.

The Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology is now pushing for Space

Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Sustainable Mass Transport, Technologies for Industrial Competitiveness, Nanotechnology, and Sustainable Energy; areas wherein we could develop our expertise upon.

We just need to make sure that all researches done in the College are aligned to these fields.

And those researches that are really promising are further developed by different batches of students under the same research adviser. By doing so, we could have the assurance that we would develop a patentable and marketable product out of our researches.

Vertically-alligned studies Faculties and students who wanted to teach in our College must pursue vertically aligned graduate studies from other universities that have a proven track record in research and development.

It is important that those who are teaching in our College must have their graduate studies in other universities to avoid academic inbreeding.

According to Hugo Horta, a researcher at the Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, of the Technical University of Lisbon, in his paper about academic inbreeding, most inbred academics have fewer published international researches than non-inbred ones

Foster According to the great Albert Einstein, “Imagination is better than knowledge.”

But consequently, creativity is way better, because it is the result of combining imagination and knowledge. And in research, competent and dynamic at that, we need a spark of creativity in order to think of novel ideas, of new ways of doing things.

In my experience in handling students in research, most of those who are really doing

due to their excessive focus on the knowledge that is being circulated and reproduced within the confines of their institutions.

The advantage of pursuing graduate studies from other universities is that we will be able to tap into the knowledge that is only available in that university and to experience their culture of doing research, things that we could take advantage upon as we go back and teach in our Sintang Paaralan.

But these should only apply to future applicants who will be teaching in the College.

creativity a good research were those who are imaginative and creative. It is, therefore, important to foster and nurture the creativity of our students through conducting and supporting activities that challenge them in this aspect, such as the different activities in their department week, engineering week, etc.

Creativity is something that is left out in the engineering curriculum but it is the one that we really need and we must give importance to.

The successful realization of a genuinely competent and dynamic culture of research in the College requires the effort and passion of each and every member of the community.

What was discussed are some basic steps in order to institutionalize and catalyze the changes that we all wanted to happen. Because we can. And because we have the potential to.

Lastly, it might be timely to change the vision of the college from the center of excellence in engineering education to the center of excellence in engineering research and education.

Opinion

Spectrum March 2017

9

Wrong Turn

Following the deadly bus accident that killed 14 students in Tanay, Rizal last February 19, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recently made a hasty order by imposing a moratorium on all educational tours in all public and private colleges and universities.

In a statement released last February 21, CHED Commissioner J. Prospero De Vera said that field trips should be suspended in consideration to the safety of students. But dissecting the situation, is the action the right move?

Educational tours have always been a way to give students the opportunity to see and explore new things and to provide hands-on training activities to enhance learning experience. However, the government mindlessly acted as if the field trip is the root cause of the accident even though the occurrence of this event can be considered as an isolated case.

Only last January 19-22, the Department of Civil Engineering conducted its educational tour in four provinces in Luzon namely Bulacan, La Union, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur with over 200 students and faculty members, and zero casualty. The Department of Electrical Engineering, with 123 students, also went back safe after their trip in North Luzon. If these tours ended just right, where could the Bestlink College tour have gone wrong?

One integral practice before the conduct of tours was highlighted in turn of the accident: maintenance and checking of vehicles. According to reports, a brake failure caused the bus to continue accelerating along a downhill slope and eventually hitting the post. Only if these damages were repaired beforehand, this unfortunate event could have been prevented.

Another concern raised was the lack of faculty members present in the activity. The presence of professors or advisors in a field trip contributes largely on the success and safety of the trip. Since the lives of the students were on their shoulders, they tend to be extra cautious and overly conscious.

In an interview with Anthony Melgarejo, one of the survivors, it was also reported that the driver ignored the worry of the students when they called his attention after smelling burning tires. In these cases, the vigilance of drivers in lifethreatening situations must be a priority.

Among all these, field trip or not, bus accidents happen across the country, like in Cagayan last February 3 where one person was killed and 27 others were injured. In fact, in the record of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), there were 28 buses involved in accidents in 2014. And in these 28 accidents, 56 people died while around 483 were injured.

Though these were not all educational tours, these figures only show that something is evidently wrong with the franchises of land transport.

The government, therefore, must consider the optimal solution to possibly cease the occurrence of these ill-fated events; by which, it has to focus on the real reasons behind the accidents: the drivers, the roads, the bus, or even the tour itself. And these contributors should be magnified and provided with respective solutions rather than pointing fingers and making band aid solutions to a rather deeply rooted issue.

In ensuring the public safety on tours, developing a safe and reliable transport system and a well-constructed guideline for tours is necessary. Field trips and outdoor seminars are vital courses in Engineering, one that would require a visit to power plants or dams to really understand them. Whether we admit it or not, engineering students should be in an environment that will allow them to attain the highest form of learning their fields of expertise; and that is through exposure.

Editorial

HULING ARTICLE Ang Silahis Vincent Bryan Velez HINDI ito last will and testament. Hindi ako namamaalam. *** Ika-9 ng Agosto ng nakaraang taon, kasagsagan ng malakas na ulan, nang ipatawag ni PUP President Emmanuel de Guzman ang kalakhan ng mga publikasyon sa unibersidad.

Nagkaroon ng suspensyon ng klase, kasabay ng muntikang suspensyon ng mga publikasyon.

“Nasaan ka? Kailangan ka rito. Komplikado.”

Napatigil ako sa kahabaan ng Congressional Avenue. Walang klarong plano sa susunod na hakbang. May aabutan ba ko pag pumunta ako ngayon?

Ano ba nangyari? Bakit ngayon lang sinabi? Sunud-

sunod kong tugon sa aming Associate Editor.

Nakisilong ako sa tindahan habang ninanamnam ang lahat ng balita. Hindi naman daw kasi lahat ng publikasyon ay naglalabas ng dyaryo.

Hindi naman daw kasi lahat, naglalabas ng dalawa o higit pang isyu. Hindi naman daw kasi lahat ay pare-parehong naniningil sa mga estudyante.

Hindi naman daw kasi lahat, epektibo.

“Hindi naman daw kasi lahat…”

Ito ang mga katagang nag-udyok sa administrasyon para magtulak ng sentralisadong guideline na dapat sundin ng lahat ng mga publikasyon para matugunan ang lahat ng pagkukulang na binanggit ko sa itaas.

Hindi mali ang admin.

Sa loob ng tatlong taon ko sa SPECTRUM, nakita ko na lahat ng iregularidad sa paglalabas ng isyu: yung isang taong isa lang ang lumabas na dyaryo; yung isang taong nakapaglabas ng dalawa at isang literary folio; yung isang taong nakapaglabas kami ng tatlo.

Laging magkakaiba.

At sa napakaraming kadahilanan kung bakit nga ba kasi hindi parepareho lahat, isa lang naman ang tiyak- hindi naman kasi lahat, parepareho. Magkakaiba ang bawat publikasyon, sa kung papaanong magkakaiba ang termino ng aming publikasyon taun-taon.

Ang dami ng mga aktibong miyembro na

mayroon kami ngayon ay hindi kasing dami ng mga nagdaang taon. Hindi lahat, may karanasan sa pagsusulat.

Hindi lahat ng nasa CEA, manunulat. Pero ang totoo niyan, hindi naman ito kwestyon sa kung ilan ang manunulat sa isang kolehiyo, kundi ilan ang handang magsulat para sa isang kolehiyo. At hindi lang ito sa Engineering.

Bukod sa dami ng miyembro, hindi rin parepareho ang sistema ng pera ng bawat publikasyon. May ilang matitikas na nabubuhay sa donasyon at sa sariling bulsa, puhunan ang tiyaga at ang mga puso nila.

At may ilang katulad namin na sa mga mag-aaral humuhugot ng tulong. Bukod Huling article/p.11

ang buhay ay parang life Snapshots Christian James Concepcion

Official Student Publication of PUP College of Engineering Established May 1993

Volume XXIII No. 1 March 2017 Editor in Chief Associate Editors

Vincent Bryan M. Velez Ria Camille R. Rivera Dave Allen B. Motea

Creative Director

Allan Saleh F. De Vera

Moderator Editorial Consultants

Engr. Kaycee B. Victorio Engr. Orland D. Tubola Mr. Justinberg F. Bantigue Mr. Edcel B. Artificio

Staff Zarce Abaracoso, Honey Grace Alfonso, Jude Aedrian Atienza, Mariel Campomanes, Jeanette Corcino, Jonero Dacula, Zacha Dyane Danga, Keihl Rhandal de Castro, Ynamalaya Escoton, John Teddy Garcia, Jobel Ibasco, Nehemia Ibbarientos, Carl Phillip Lucas, Rogelio Legaspi Jr., Jeshua Malimata, Andrei Mananghaya, Mark Lester Manato, Alexandra Masinda, Joyce Ann Mejia, Ysabelle Mendoza, Jivan Napoles, Vincent Narito, Joe Olivare, Maria Pamela Patawaran, Martin Santelices, Richard Clapano, Mark Christopher Rosario Contributions, reactions and opinions are accepted in the publication. It should bear contributor’s name, address, course, year and section, and signature. Name may be witheld upon request. Forward your contributions to Engineering SPECTRUM Editorial Office Rm 423, Engineering and Architecture Building, Anonas cor. Pureza Sts., NDC Compound, Sta. Mesa, Manila.

Member: Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag (AKM-PUP)

HINDI tayo ang sumusulat ng kwento ng buhay natin.

Tayo’y pawang mga aktor at aktres lamang na bumubuhay sa script na isinulat Niya. At habang buhay pa tayo, mananatili tayong mga tauhan sa kwento na matagal nang tapos ngunit hindi pa naisasakatuparan.

Kung magiging mga tauhan tayo sa isang kuwento, sinu-sino ang mga bida? Si Nora Aunor? John Lloyd? Si Valak? Mga batang batak? Si Aling Nena? Mang Jose? Ang tatlong bibe? Ikaw?

Ako? Malay ko. Ewan.

Sa mundong mapanghusga, iilan lamang ang binibigyan ng pagkakataon para patunayan ang kanilang mga sarili. At kadalasan, sila

rin lang ang binibigyan ng atensyon at pagpapahalaga.

Sila ‘yung mga laging nasa spotlight, mga sinisikatan ng liwanag. (Hindi ba sila nasisilaw? Malay ko ulit.)

Pero papaano na lang ang mga nasa behind-thescenes? Ang cameraman, video editors, sound engineers, ang mga ekstra, atbp. Kailan darating ang panahon na sila naman ang kukuhanan ng magandang anggulo sa isang eksena? Na pagkakaguluhan ng maraming-maraming tao? Na bibigkasin ang mga linyang matagal na niyang gustong bitawan?

Wika nga ng isa sa mga tinitinangala kong tao, “Ang unfair ng mundo. Pero hindi ibig sabihin nun, magiging

unfair ka na rin sa sarili mo at sa ibang tao.”

Kung bibigyan man ako ng pagkakataon na bumida sa isang palabas, iisa lang ang request ko- magkaroon ng mind-reading powers at maging kasing-lakas ni Professor X. Biruin mo, magagawa mong kontrolin ang utak ng tao ayon sa gusto at ninanais mo. Mawawala na ang mga hindi pagkakaintindihan, panghuhusga, hinanakit, at iba pang mga nakakasakal na pakiramdam.

Pero kaibigan, walang ganoon. Wala kang kontrol sa sasabihin ng ibang tao tungkol sa iyo. Hindi mo rin kailangan pang ipaintindi sa kanila kung papaanong ikaw ay naging ikaw. Wala kang

magagawa kung kasuklaman ka man ng buong mundo.

Dahil ang mahalaga, naging totoo ka sa sarili mo. Bahala na sila sa mga buhay nila.

Hay. Buhay nga naman.

Ang daling sabihin na ang life ay katumbas ng buhay sa Ingles. Pero ang hirap ipaliwanag kung ano ba talaga ang buhay. Kapag ba humihinga ka, buhay ka? Kapag ba masaya ka sa isang bagay, buhay ba tawag doon?

Bakit ba kasi ang komplikado ng buhay? O ako lang ang gumagawa ng paraan para maging komplikado ang lahat? Hindi ko na alam.

Pagod na ako sa kakaisip. Siguro, magiging Ang buhay ay.../p.11

Opinion

Spectrum

10

March 2017

Do we really need to shift?

moderate thinking Kaycee Victorio

It may not be a hot topic unlike years before but the administration plans to move academic calendar opening from June to August this year caused quite a stir to PUPians. When I asked friends and students about what they think about it, most of them agreed with the move as long as it benefits the students.

Most of my students are worrying that their stay in PUP will be prolonged considering some policies they found inconsistent with what has been done in the past, particularly the approval of petition classes during summer term, overloading of subjects for graduating PUPians, among others. Others let the course of admin actions be, trusting it is for the better of all the University stakeholders.

But why do we need to shift calendars? What is it for faculty and students of PUP? One strong reason to point out is internationalization - to make the character of PUP local in nature yet global in scope. Syncing the

University calendar close to those of ASEAN and higher education institutions outside the country will invite (and open wide) faculty and student exchange in and out the University.

Faculty mobility allows transfer of skills and expertise. Faculty members from PUP, as research mentors, will be able to obtain best practices abroad on hand and can bring it here. Researchers abroad can bring their expertise here and train local experts. However, the culture of research, particularly in engineering, is something that we really have to nurture further, most especially to our faculty members.

The influx of foreign students in PUP will raise the international stature of the University as hub of international learning.

With cross cultural and intellectual exchanges from Filipino and foreign students, opportunities on research and learning will be broaden not just to address local issues but also international challenges related to the

Philippine setting.

Unfortunately, there are very rare chances for these exchanges, since both faculty and students are wary of what will be left for them in the University after month or year (or few of it).

Opportunities and resources (funds and assistance) have to made widely available and readily accessible for qualified and deserving faculty and students, so does merit and gratification for their efforts to uphold the good name of PUP. Moreso, it is an opportunity loss when a student needs to raise enough funds to finance his/her education (transportation, accommodation, and living expenses, whichever will not be provided by his/her host school) abroad after passing the rigorous University requirements of participating an activity outside the University.

We also need to make our teaching packages inviting to (and worth transferring for) foreign instructors. With some of our facilities in dire state

(dormitory, conference rooms, laboratory resources, lecture halls, comfort spaces), we cannot just plaster or replace these with our brand of Filipino hospitality.

And it wouldn’t be nice if the upgrades will only be accessible to foreigners and their University activities.

At the end of the day, we still need to strengthen the competencies of our faculty members and students, whether we want to internationalize or not, shift our calendars or still have it traditionally open in June. As a state university being fully funded by Filipino taxpayers, it’s our duty to make every peso counts for the benefit of humanity, in general, and the Filipino public, in particular, more than the international academic community or any other political ideology.

So do we really need an academic calendar shift? Yes and no. I’m still undecided with my final answer. We can try dying or we can live doing nothing. What I am sure is that the change of calendar is not in collusion with US imperialism.

poserong makabayan Nice Ride Allan Saleh De Vera EVEN the smallest flaw can cause a structural fail.

Gagamitin ang karunungan mula sa’yo para sa bayan. Yan ang pinakatanda ko sa PUP Hymn. Wala pang alas-siete nang dumating kami sa school. Pasilip pa lang ang araw sa isang napakalamig na umaga. Wala pa akong ligo.

Wala pa ring tulog.

Kung sinuman ang kasama ko, basta. Kinikilig ako. Parang nasa chubibo pa ang mga mata ko sa pinagsamang hang-over at puyat. Habang nagsasalita ang isang opisyal ng PUP sa flag raising ceremony, biglang bumigat ang back pack ko. Kumapit pala si Angel.

Inilapit sa aking tenga ang labi sabay ayang kumain.

Gusto raw niya ng mainit na sabaw at mainit na kape.

Pantanggal hang-over.

Pagkatapos kumain ay nagpahinga muna kami sa may linear park. Yakapyakap niya ako. Nakaidlip.

Brag! Brag! Nagising ako sa dalawang malakas na kalabog. Nasaan ako? Isang opisina na maraming papeles at isang sign pen sa ibabaw ng mesa. May pulang pinto sa tapat ko. Tingin ko, doon nagmula ang ingay kaya

pinuntahan ko agad sabay bukas. Napakadilim, may ga-tuldok na liwanag sa bandang kalayuan. Sa takot ko ay agad kong sinara ang pulang pinto. Paglingon ko sa mesa, nabigla ako, may tatlong lalaking nakaupo sa tapat ng mesa. Isang mestizo, isang chinito at isang pinoy na may malaking tiyan-bilog na bilog.

Tinawag nila ako, inabot ang isang papel at ang sign pen. Isang proposal ng mamahaling condominium at mga commercial buildings.

Nais nilang paalisin ang mga nakatira sa proposed site.

Oo, demolition.

Demolition ng halos dalawang libong pamilya, haluan ng mga squatter, middle-class poor at lowerclass rich. Pinipilit nila akong pumirma. Tumanggi ako.

Biglang kinuha ng pinoy na may malaking tiyan-bilog na bilog ang aking kaliwang kamay, sabay labas ng kutsilyong panghiwa ng buto ng baka. Pinutol ang kamay ko. Hindi ako nasaktan, wala ring dugo. Ipipirma na sana nila ako nang biglang may sumulpot na nilalang.

Isang tao na pwede ring alien from the other planet, itim lahat ng suot, naka-hood at

gwantes na itim. Winasiwas ang kamay sa tatlong lalaki. Natunaw ang tatlo na parang butter sa ibabaw ng napakainit na pancake.

Dinampot niya ang kamay ko at ikinabit sa braso na parang wala lang. Nabuo muli.

Magpapasalamat na sana ako sa tao na pwede ring alien from the other planet, nang biglang nagdilim.

Pagkaliwanag, nakita ko na lang ang sarili ko sa isang kalye malapit sa tulay.

Mababaw lang ang tulay.

Walang ibang tao kung hindi ako. Hahanapin ko sana si itim na tao na pwede ring alien from the other planet, nang biglang may napansin akong tumpok ng basura sa may kanang sidewalk.

Napakasangsang ng amoy, Amoy 348 years na taeng nabubulok na sa inidoro.

Diretso ang katas sa ilog. Nang humalo na ang katas sa ilog, ang ilog ay naging kulay dugo. Sh*t!

Kumaripas agad ako ng takbo dahil sa takot. Sa kakatakbo ko nagbanggaan kami ng itim na tao na pwede ding alien from the other planet. Dumuro sa tumpok ng basura. Winasiwas muli ang kamay.

Magic! Nawala ang

basura at ang ilog na kulay dugo ay nanumbalik sa natural na linaw at linis nito.

Nabigla ako, nang biglang nagdilim muli, mga one second ulit.

Tsing! Lumiwanag ulit. Nasa computer shop naman ako. Maraming mga kabataan. May mga naglalaro ng mga on-line games, murahan dito, asaran doon, Facebook, instagram at twitter. Ini-scan ko ang mga tao sa buong computer shop.

Nang biglang napatingin ako sa aking kaliwa. Nakita ko na naman ang itim na tao na pwede ding alien from the other planet. Pero natuwa ako ng makita ko ang ginagawa niya. Nanonood siya ng mga documentaries na may mapupulot na magagandang aral at nagbabasa siya ng mga libro, mga e-file, etc, etc.

Lalapitan ko na siya para kausapin nang biglang nagtanggal siya ng hood.

Nagulat ako sa nakita ko.

Nakita ko ang sarili ko.

Ginising ako ng halik sa lips ni Angel. Oras na daw ng klase namin. Napaisip ako. Bakit ako? Bakit ako yun? Naalala ko na lang ang kanta kanina.“…gagamitin ang karunungan, mula sa’yo para sa bayan.”

Pan de Inhinyerya Conflict

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.” James 4:1-2 Wars don’t start between people, it begins within oneself. These fights among an individual commences when one’s desires and lusts result into selfishness. As a result, a person may feel an urge to do worldly and unpleasant things just to get what they want which can affect other people.

When we yearn, we must think not only for ourselves but also for the benefit of others. We must submit ourselves to God and humbly ask for His guidance and provision of our right desires. Only by this can we end our own battles and have peace among us. By His Grace, we will have.

Best of Both Worlds While I was about to take my last step toward my choice, I’d look on the other road, sigh, and ask, why can’t I have the best of the both worlds?

We all have the desires in our hearts that are tolerantly waiting to come true. There are dreams in our mind that are patiently in-line to unleash. We all have a long list of things that are wanted to be accomplished and endeavor want to succeed at. But sometimes, have you ever wonder why can’t we have the both choices?

If you’re good in academics then why not in athletics? If you are good in music why not in arts? If you are good in language then why not in mathematics? If you have good career then why not have good love life? Questions that continuously tickling your mind ‘til you lost the question itself but will remember then and you will keep asking one of the the most difficult questions, why?

There is this part of Harry Potter film, when Aberfort, brother of Albus Dumbledore, explained to Harry that on Albus’ way toward the pinnacle of power he ever wanted he lost the only sister he had.

New Breed Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard of all time, made the seesaw down as he failed to balance the weight of life and lost the thing he once had over the other he truly wanted. Power over family. A look-a-like stories John Carlos Manansala of rich people having an facebook.com/JanKarlisle unhappy family or happy family having no material things to treasure.

Isn’t it acceptable to say that sometimes when things are repeatedly against your will, it is because it’s simply not destined for you?; that you are just trying to collect stones over the diamonds which is waiting to be picked by you?; that you are trying to reach out an unreachable thing that will never be in your grasp? An absolute pain-in-the-neck truth but a truth that will help you to let go.

However, as most successful people say, the road to the success does not started from the limelight and end to the limelight. They are the individuals who don’t believe that their lives are already written down like a prophecy, they defy the gravity, show their best to the world, and do something impossible with banner in their heart saying, yes, “I can have the best of the both worlds”.

One of my close friends once told me that difference between contentment and fulfillment. Seems like similar but these two words have symmetric difference. You can say that you are contented, when you are happy with whatever outcome you receive. However, fulfillment comes with euphoria and higher level of goals, because you can say that you are fulfilled, when you achieve the benchmark you set.

Be contented with one world and accept that you can’t have the best two or be fulfilled, defy the gravity to have the best of the both worlds? Sometimes, the answer to a complicated question is very simple.

John Carlos Manansala is a third year Electronics Engineering student. Pursuing his passion for writing while exploring the world of Engineering, Carlos is a go-to guy when it comes to traveling new places. He is also a certified fan of Nicholas Sparks, Rick Riordans’ books, and The Flash.

Opinion

Spectrum March 2017

11

Huling article/ p.9 sa dedikasyon, pera ang bumubuhay sa isang institusyon.

Pero hindi swabeng nakukuha ang pera. Maraming pasikot-sikot ang mundo ng pinansya. Dumadaan ito sa mahigpit at mabusising proseso. At kung hindi makasasabay ang publikasyon sa agos nito, unti-unti itong mamatay at maglalaho.

Maraming hirap ang dinaranas ng bawat publikasyon at ng bawat termino.At ang bawat isa noon ay hindi pare-pareho.

Sa kabila nito, hindi sapat ang mga binanggit ko para hindi kami, o sila, makapaglabas ng dyaryo.

Kung may mga bagay mang makatutugon sa problema ng bawat publikasyon, iyon ay ang mga publikasyon mismo.

At habang wala pa sa dulo, ipagpapatuloy ko muna at ng aming institusyon ang aming responsibilidad sa mga tagasubaybay na nagbabayad para rito: ang makapaglabas ng dyaryo.

"

"

*** Muntikang suspensyon. Habang hindi pa naisasagawa ang guidelines, magkakaroon sana ng suspension. Sana. Pero kung mawawala nga ang mga publikasyon, bawas din iyon sa tuition fee. Wala ng babayaran ang mga estudyante kada semestre na Php20 para sa The Catalyst at isa pang Php20 para sa SPECTRUM o iba pang college publication.

Wala na kaming iisiping tungkulin.

Walang presswork. Walang overnight. Walang deadline.

Walang article.

Higit sa lahat, makalipas ang 24 na taon, wala ng The Engineering SPECTRUM. At kasabay nito, ang pagkawala ng mga papel na sumasalamin sa mga buhay at boses sa kolehiyo. *** Sa kasalukuyan, hindi pa rin tapos ang usaping ito. At habang wala pa sa dulo, ipagpapatuloy ko muna at ng aming institusyon ang aming responsibilidad sa mga tagasubaybay na nagbabayad para rito: ang makapaglabas ng dyaryo.

Matuloy man o hindi ang suspensyon, tulad ng sinabi ko sa simula, hindi ito last will and testament. Hindi ako namamaalam. Pero kung ito man ang maging huling artikulong isusulat ko para sa pahayagang ito, hindi ko na iyon alam. Ang alam ko lang, hindi ito ang huling artikulong isusulat ko.

Ang buhay ay.../p.9 tao na lang ako na magiging buhay sa bawat segundo, magiging masaya sa lahat ng oras at iisipin na lang na ang buhay ay parang life. *** Isang buwan pa lang, halos hindi na magkasya sa maliit kong cabinet ang lahat ng librong binasa, binabasa, at babasahin ko pa lang. Nalibot ko na rin ang halos lahat ng branch ng Booksale (sa Metro Manila) sa paghahanap ng mga mura, dekalidad, at abot-kayang mga libro. At nadiskubre ko na sa SM Mall of Asia branch mahahanap lahat ng ito.

Hanggang ngayon, pakiramdam ko panaganip lang ang lahat ng ito. Na nagbabasa na ako ng mga libro (na dati sinusumpa ko). Na isang araw magigising na lang ako bigla at mawawalan na lang ng gana sa pagbabasa tapos hindi na ulit ako bibiili pa ng mga libro.

Pero habang may mga libro pa ako, habang naiisingit ko pa sa komplikado kong oras ang pagbabasa, at habang binabago ng mga ito ang buhay ko, magbabasa ako.

At hahayaan ko ang mga pahina ng mga libro dalhin ako sa panahon at mundo nila, malayo sa kasalukuyan at realidad.

TIWAY.DOC VINCENT Salamat kay God at kay Madam for being there kahit kasumpa-sumpa na ko. | RIA Thank you sa 20. Keep this copy! | CHRISTIAN Tiway sa lahat ng nakibahagi at patutuloy na naniniwala sa Spek. Mabuhay tayong lahat! | ALEC Salamat sa lahat ng bumubuo ng dyaryong ito at sa lahat ng tumatangkilik sa aming webpage. Abangan niyo pa ang #PeopleOfPureza ha? | JESHUA salamt kay Arka, Monde, Jesie, Deny, kay Kuya at kanila Papa at Mama. | PAM I would like to thank the Engineering Spectrum and MJC for providing me home and comfort during those times I was lost and unsheltered. | ZARCE Salamat sa bente pesos mo kaibigan! | HONEY Finally, we made it! Thank you to all our readers and supporters! Pls keep it up. We’re so encouraged! God bless! | JOBEL Sa hirap at ginhawa, tayo’y magkasama laging mayroong umagang kay ganda | AL Maraming salamat sa mga taga Spek at sa lahat ng mga estudyante, propesor at empleyado ng CEA. | TEDDY TY sa dalawang poging tumulong sa akin sa pag eedit ng news article, kay Vincent at Christian. Salamat sa lahat, spekapips! Glory to God | YNA Tiway sa laptop kong minsan na kong iniwan pero bumalik!

the internet and us Written Reverie Joshua cabatuando The advent of the internet upon the life of the common Filipino has been credited to the further evolution of our culture of communication and education.

Around the early 2000s, the internet gave us the power of reconnecting with our old friends and meeting people from around the world without physically being near them.

This convenience attracted the modern Pinoy to seek leisure in the internet. By then, we still relied on professionals for accurate information: trained journalists for news, to our professors for historical and scientific facts, and so on and so forth.

But as the internet, and more specifically, Facebook, becomes more of a staple to our everyday routine, the mean social standard of our source of information seems to also be proportionally decreasing.

Coupled with this is the reckless “bravado” that netizens display as they blindly type away their outrage, insults, fist fight challenges, and death threats casually behind the safety of their digital screens.

T h e s e a re t h e t w o great ironies of our

generation; we have access to so much information, yet misinformation is still seen to be all too much prevalent. The second is that we have found so many ways to connect with each other, but we sadly find ourselves to be all the more disconnected.

It has become a norm online to see unfactual medical advice, “news” from sketchy websites, historical revisionist propaganda, death threats towards people who disagree, celebrations over the death of unconfirmed suspects, and overall opinion that neglects the progress our society has made.

And at the height of the political hype in our country, we start to see an extreme of this. Suddenly, ever yone is an expert in psychology, sociology, law, economics, political science, and journalism.

During the elections, a woman in her late 20s gave her opinion on why she didn’t like a certain candidate.

A n i g ht af t e r s h e publicized her opinion came a tidal wave of death and rape threats as edited photos of her circulated online; simply because she shared a dissenting opinion. A few months ago, an

innocent man was accused by netizens of being the road rage murderer after a page on Facebook publicized the wrong plate number. Hours after the false plate number was publicized, hate memes began to circulate and again, death, torture, and rape threats were thrown at his family.

Shortly after the damage brought by the misinformation was made, the real killer was identified and put to trial.

Now, it is clear that the internet can be used for harm as much as it could be used for good. But, how can we channel this instrument of knowledge, communication, and free expression for the betterment of our society?

I would propose that media literacy and media ethics courses to be a crucial staple to our curriculum.

Teaching the next generation to properly filter this vast well of knowledge that we have through cross referencing, fact checking, and other methods of proper research can greatly increase the immunity of our society towards misinformation.

An increase in foundation building in terms of ethical and moral standards can also make the internet

a safer and friendlier place that could more efficiently disseminate the progress of civilization to the most common man.

Recently Faceb o ok, Twitter, and Google have made initiatives at combatting fake news. A program has been launched lately that relies on 3rd party volunteer factchecking organizations to check and flag whether an online news article is reliable or not.

This is a good step forward but it is not the last. As long as people would choose to ignore the value of authentic journalism for the sake of confirming their biases, as long as people would choose to irresponsibly share unfactual memes instead of taking the time to check the facts, as long as people would choose to dehumanize and reduce people who disagree with them to political stereotypes instead of choosing to empathize one’s view, the internet will still be a toxic place to be in.

O n e d ay, ou r descendants would look back at how we handled this well of power called the internet and I hope that they would find our actions something worth imitating.

Living the life A Not So Sobered Mind Dave Allen Motea Thinking what’s life to offer is terrifying, yet surreal.

What makes it worth it?

This paper consists of all the heart’s work of every staff, editors, and people that comprise this institutionthe Engineering Spectrum.

Time and dedication are what we gave and managed to cram in our tight schedules as we are also engineers in the making.

What you see is the result of everyone’s commitment.

I still remember the days I used to interview probees trying for Spek. Staple question is “What is commitment to you?” Answers are often the same; do everything; beat the deadline; be the yes person.

However, as an overseer for the pub for years, all those ‘commitments’ fade to absence. Many left without notice, despite their audacity to define their commitment.

Sometimes, having commitments doesn’t meet ends with things you need

to accomplish with other aspects of life. Sometimes, you’ll be overwhelmed with ideas, opportunities, and deadlines that at those times, your chosen commitment can be overshadowed by it.

But of all the things you commit yourself to, you should satisfy your longing for righteousness. We all want affirmation, nods, status- even though we don’t usually talk about it. We are all born to lead a life of meaning. And at those dark times, what matters most is what you did in the end and how you cope up with your shortcomings.

If I were to be asked now, I say commitment is not as intimidating as it sounds, let alone be thought as an obligation or responsibility.

It’s just an act of falling in love with the thing you wanted. It is making promises and actions, then building a foundation of behavior and character around it. And when time comes that that

structure you built upon love, falters and shakes, you carry it through and still continue standing braver than ever, with your commitment firmer.

T h e r e w o u l d n ’t b e the Engineering Spectrum without the commitment people poured into it.

Those unbiased news, informative articles, entertaining issues tantamount to sleepless nights, coffeeinduced bodies, endless editing, and a bit of selfpity. It is the very core of the accomplishments of this publication.

Choosing our commitments are one of the many choices we are freely given. It varies though, you can commit to waking up early, doing your homework on time or doing house chores.

Whatever it is that you set your mind in to, you can achieve.

As for each Spekapips, we chose this pub. And I believe that this is one of the best choices we made.

The Engineering Spectrum, with its entirety, shaped every Spekapips to the being we are today.

Its diversity and complexity nurtured and nourished everyone to thrive to be a better person as an engineer, a j o u r n a l i s t , a w a n d e r e r.

I am proud to say that not all can do what Spekapips can do, and I’m sure that we are closer to the wonders of life than we are back then, if not for Spek.

A fitting quote I long have read is a suitable ending for this lengthy story - “Love is what is left over when being in love has burned away, this is both an art and an accident…”

In the end, I would like to emphasis on two things; first, choose your commitments with all your heart’s desire; second, I thank the Engineering Spectrum for making that choice all worth it. It all made a difference and that what matters most.

Deathpenalty IN the

PHILIPPINES

Zarce Abaracoso and Alec Garcia

On the early weeks of March, the Philippine Congress made a move making the Death Penalty a step closer to its return, with 257 votes of approval and only 54 countered. As of this writing though, the Senate has yet to make its decision. But with the significant accounts of death penalty in our history, is death sentence reimposition really an assurance of justice and security?

“Deterrence” has been the official justification for the death penalty imposition. 19 executions took place in the Pre-Martial Law period. 12 during the Martial Law. The last one was done in 1976 by electrocution.

Parallel to the Colonial Periods, death penalty was to repress social unrest and rebellion.

After a bumper year of executions in 1999, the national crime, instead of diminishing, ironically increased by 15.3 percent – or a total of 82,538 (from 71, 527 crimes in the previous year).

Due to protests initiated by the church and in observance with the Jubilee Year, Estrada imposed a de facto suspension of death penalty.

Joseph E. Estrada 1998-2001

2000

ferdinand e. marcos 1965-1986

were only imposed only on locals who challenged the established authority.

In 1840 to 1857, there are 1,703 recorded death sentences with 46 actual executions.

SPANISH PERIOD 1521-1898

The Medieval Europe’s penal system of executions, such as burning, decapitation, flaying, garrote, shooting, and others, was brought by the Spanish colonizers. Similar to GomBurZa and Jose Rizal, these

of force, including death, against all nationalist Filipinos. One of them was Macario Sakay who was hanged to death for leading a resistance group.

To control those who rebel against the American authority, death penalty continued to be a vital instrument of the pacification process.

AMERICAN PERIOD 1898-1934

1950

Graphics by: Honey Grace Alfonso and Jeshua Malimata

With loopholes in our justice system, unheard, misunderstood, and defenseless victims of this punishment will forever be an insignia of death penalty. And our deafening silence and neutrality will only signify that we, the so-called ‘good people’, are okay with it. As long as we let it happen, we are no different from the conquistadores who slaughtered our Katipuneros in a fight they never won.

By all means, our own history itself already provides the stories of death sentences. And through these accounts, we’re certain that it’s not only the criminals who were lead to deathrow, but also the merely entitled ‘criminals’.

As part of the pacification of the country, extrajudicial executions were widely practiced. But there are no documented cases of death penalty execution during this period.

1941-1945

Japanese Occupation

Death penalty is retained. Treason, kidnapping, parricide, murder, rape, and robbery with homicide were considered capital offenses when revised in 1932.

The Bringandage Act (1902); Sedition Law (1901); Reconcentration Act (1903); and Flag Law (1907) were enacted to sanction the use

Gloria M. Arroyo 2001-present

Arroyo publicly stated her stand against executions.

But due to the crime rate rise in illegal drugs and kidnappings, she threatened that she would resume executions “to sow fear into the hearts of criminals.”

Nevertheless, she lifted the de facto Estrada has issued on 2003.

And in 2006, she signed RA No. 9346, An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty in the Philippines.

In 1946 to 1965, 35 people were executed for offenses the Supreme Court labeled as “crimes of senseless depravity or extreme criminal perversity.”

Espionage is added to the capital offenses list. Anti-Subversion Law was called for the death penalty for all communist leaders.

Though, there are no executions documented for any captured communist leader.

Post-World War II

From the archives of Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism, let’s take a look through the story of death sentence in the Philippines.

Post-World War II

1980

Corazon c. Aquino 1986-1992 Death Penalty was “abolished” under the 1987 Constitution. The Philippines became the first Asian country to do so.

Death sentences were reduced to reclusion perpetua. In 1988, the military started lobbying for the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by the CPPNPA.

Fidel v. Ramos 1993-1998 Heinous crimes were on the rise, as series of high profile crimes occurred during his term. In 1993, due to public impression of this problem, Death Penalty was reinstated, which shall be carried out through lethal injection.

Reference: http://pcij.org/blog/2006/04/18/a-timeline-of-death-penalty-in-the-philippines