UP Forum January-February 2011

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

FORUM VOLUME 12 NUMBER 1

JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2011

Excerpts from

The UP President's End of Term Report

By Emerlinda R. Roman

2

FORUM January-February 2011

UP’s Science and Technology Thrust O

ur 10-point agenda, which was approved by the Board of Regents at the start of my term, listed Science and Technology as one of our thrusts for the next six years. Fully aware that a large scientific manpower base is crucial to a country’s progress and development, we set out to do our share in producing the critical mass of scientists and engineers to help improve our country’s global competitiveness.

Student profile Our S&T thrust can be seen in the profile of undergraduate students enrolled in UP: Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

% of Science, Engineering Agriculture and Fisheries Students to Total Number 50.9 51.6 51.0 51.7 53.4

This profile is unlike the national enrollment profile which shows about 40 percent of college students enrolled in business-related and education programs.

More recent data from the College of Science show a 17 percent increase in the number of undergraduate students enrolled in the College for the First Semester 2010-2011.

At the graduate level, the situation is different.

There are more graduate students enrolled in management and education courses as can be seen in the following table: Year

% of Science, Eng’g, Agri., Fish. Students to Total

% of Mgmnt, Educ. Students to Total

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

32.9 32.7 31.6 32.7 35.1

47.2 43.7 46.2 36.5 37.8

We note, however, the gradual rise in the proportion of students enrolled in science, engineering, agriculture, and fisheries programs

and a downward trend in the proportion of students enrolled in management and education courses.

We hope to further improve this profile of graduate students in favor of S&T, especially with our two major programs that are now in place: the National Science Complex and the Engineering Research and Development for Technology. For example: the College of Science has reported a 31.3 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in the masters’ programs and a 25 percent increase in the students enrolled in the doctoral programs of the College in the First Semester 2010-2011.

Our S&T Research Agenda To support our S&T thrust, we formulated our research agenda in consultation with the concerned faculty in all the constituent universities. The agenda focused on the emerging fields in S&T in the following areas: 1. materials (bio-materials, nano materials, bio-fuels, pharmaceuticals, and molecular medicines); 2. biotechnology (nano technology, food s u f f i c i e n c y, b i o - i n f o r m a t i c s , a n d biodiversity); 3. pervasive computing (advanced microelectronics and computational algorithmics, “systems on a chip”, environmental monitoring); and 4. measurement and instrumentation in support of the first three.

The agenda and UP funding for it were approved by the Board of Regents on July 28, 2006. This agenda seeks to support our desire to strengthen UP’s position as the leading research and development university in the country and the region and to strengthen science and technology programs in all UP campuses.

We were fully aware that the funding we set aside for this agenda was insufficient and unless we obtained substantial support from sources other than UP we would not be able to accomplish much.

Thus, the first thing we did was to present this agenda before the officials of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the heads of the various councils of the department. We finalized our research agenda in 2005 and presented it to the DOST in 2006.

This explains the big increases in funding support in

2006, 2007, 2008. (See Table 1.)

These figures are as of August 8, 2010. We were informed that the DOST has approved another P133 Million to support UP’s research agenda after this date. Note, however, that the column “Others” in the table refers to scholarship grants for the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) program. Details on the grants are on file with the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The grants include only those GIA projects funded by the DOST and do not include grants given to UP by the various councils of DOST. For example, this does not include the P56 Million from the Philippine Council for Advanced Science Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD) from 2005 to 2010.

The emerging fields initiatives are meant to improve the quality, productivity, and impact of scientific research for the generation of new knowledge expected of a National University in the 21st century. UP is determined to implement an efficient utilization of limited funds by ensuring more focused research thrusts and directions, and by prioritizing high impact research.

The Emerging Fields in Science and Technology Program is now in full swing. UP has supported 18 emerging fields projects in different campuses.

But most of the other projects are supported by the DOST and these include: Pervasive Healthcare, UP Manila National Telehealth Service Program, and Pharmaseas.

Pervasive Healthcare Led by Dr. Alvin B. Marcelo of UP Manila’s National Telehealth Center (NThC), in cooperation with the Philippine General Hospital, UP Diliman’s Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) and the National Institute of Physics, and the Department of Health, the program aims to develop new systems, services, and products that can extend health care expertise and assistance to underserved communities through the appropriate use of ICT. UP Manila National Telehealth Service Program (NTSP) In relation to the Pervasive Healthcare project, UP Manila endorsed a proposal for funding amounting to P11.5 Million for its telehealth project.

UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 3

FORUM January-February 2011 3 Table 1. 2005 – 2010 Approved DOST- GIA Projects (UP System)

UP Diliman UPLB UP Manila UP Visayas UP Mindanao UP Baguio Others Total:

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 23,631,280.26 65,192,935.21 96,822,515.11 326,735,101.00 199,735,101.00 241,151,654.78 8,098,246.46 12,936,809.42 20,852,214.38 26,925,281.00 35,641,332.45 29,332,441.94 3,450,568.00 2,946,747.40 8,687,830.99 2,021,811.63 16,351,445.00 57,883,794.50 - 1,602,557.60 2,682,415.00 5,179,260.00 15,102,871.00 22,984,534.00 - 17.481,973.00 2,452,510.00 4,202,248.00 1,992,825.00 180,000.00 -

- 198,570,298.00 250,039,787.30 93,666,296.70 35,180,094.72 82,679,049.63 146,526,948.48 561,338,269.83 521,072,784.75 447,011,546.92

UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 2 On October 28, 2010, during its 1261st meeting, the Board of Regents approved, in principle, the grant of P11.5 Million as seed fund to enable the program to assist 2000 rural health units, 570 district hospitals, and 80 provincial hospitals across the country. NTSP facilitates collection and communication of medical data for assisted diagnosis and treatment of patients through the cellphone SMS and MMS or emails sent to a central response facility where the messages and images are assessed by nurses and diagnosed by general practitioners or medical specialists and relayed back to the rural health units or hospitals for administration to the patient.

I have since then been able to source out the funds for this project.

Landslide Risk Management Using Sensors, Networks, and Computing One third of the land area of the Philippines is composed of steep mountains and slopes. This makes our country prone to landslides causing loss of life and property. To address this, UP Diliman’s Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (EEE), the Institute of Civil Engineering (CE), and the National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) collaborated to create a cost effective and accurate early warning device to forecast landslides here in the Philippines.

The project is divided into two separate components, the first being the DYNASLOPE or the development of dynamical models for landslides, slope failures, and debris flows. The second project component is SENSLOPE, or the development of alternative cost-effective instrumentation and sensor networks.

Pharmaseas In the field of biotechnology, DOST, through the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD), supports Pharmaseas, a drug discovery program of UPD’s Marine Science Institute. The program capitalizes on the country’s rich marine resources. Compounds from sponges, tunicates, and their associated marine microorganisms are tested for bioactivity against infection-causing agents relevant to the Filipino population such as: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, dengue, and influenza A. Neuroactive peptides from venomous turrid snails are also tapped for potential anti-pain drugs.

DOST provided an initial P129 million to acquire expensive but necessary equipment such as the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and the Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectometry (LCMS/MS) which allow the team to determine the chemical structures of compounds. The project has been successful in establishing specimen collection sites in Pangasinan, Romblon, Cebu, and Bohol.

Nine priority marine microogranisms isolated from sponges have been characterized and identified. The project also made significant progress in the “DNAbarcoding” of marine sponges. At present, cloning and macroarray experiments are being performed.

Some of the UP-supported programs under the Emerging Fields in Science and Technology Program include: Nanoscience and nanotechnology at CS, Genome Analysis and Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, DNA bar-coding, accurate diagnosis

of amebiasis, using chicken egg against infectious diseases, anti-cancer properties of a weed, hypertension-fighting substances from local food, biotechnology for improving ducks, rumen ecology for indigenous ruminants, and multimedia signal processing for new interfaces.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology at CS Given the multiple advantages of nanotech research, Dean Caesar Saloma of the UP Diliman College of Science (CS) has been at the forefront of developing UP’s and the nation’s capability for undertaking nanotech research through its project “Enhancement of Technical Capability in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the College of Science.”

The University also allocated funds for new equipment. The Institute of Chemistry has a new Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer; the Natural Sciences Research Institute, a new Ultracentrifuge; and the National Institute of Physics, a CCD Fluorescence Imaging System, a Motorized Microscope System, and Atomic Force Microscope.

Genome Analysis and Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory According to Prof. Cynthia Hedreyda, director of the UP Diliman National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB), the laboratory will identify disease-causing bacteria and fungi, genes implicated in human genetic disorders, and molecular markers of industrially important microorganisms and crops. The facility has already acquired P3.7 million worth of equipment. The pieces of equipment are already being used in a temporary Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at Albert Hall.

An initial step is the search, selection, and design of a short stretch of DNA called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) primers that detect known genes from plants, animals, and microorganisms. Moreover, NIMBB conducts research to develop and optimize gene-targeted detection protocols. Examples of PCR primers that have been designed and tested include primers to detect diarrhoegenic bacteria, bacteria that cause shrimp disease, multi-drug-resistant strains of TB bacteria, causative agent of sexually-transmitted diseases (Chlamydia sp and N. gonorrhea), and primers that target genes from genetically modified corn and soybean.

DNA bar-coding

To document and, in turn, aid in protecting our unique biodiversity, a team of four professors from the Institute of Biology (IB) has started a project that will help pave the way to establish the National DNABarcodes Reference Library and Tissue Depository.

The team led by Prof. Perry Ong is working to obtain the DNA barcode of birds and fish that are native and endemic to the Philippines. The grant was used to establish the DNA Barcoding Laboratory at the Institute of Biology (IB) where the project is based.

The grant enabled the team to procure vital equipment for the extraction and amplification of DNA samples including PCR thermocyclers, microcentrifuges, gel electrophoretic units, ultralow freezer, and a spectrophotometer. The team has so far sequenced 17 species of birds and eight (8) species of fish. The DNA-Barcoding project is part of a larger national and international effort to study and document the DNA-barcodes of the country’s biodiversity.

TOTAL 952,542,595.56 133,786,325.65 91,342,197.52 22.984,534.00 26,129,556.00 180,000.00 542,276,382.00 1,793,808,694.33

Accurate diagnosis of amebiasis IB Associate Professor Windell L. Rivera and his project team have designed what could be the world’s first non-invasive, highly accurate, and easy-to-use diagnostic tool for rapidly detecting the presence of Entamoeba histolytica, the parasite behind amebiasis, a common intestinal infection in the developing world. The diagnostic kit is the result of research “Development of Salivary IgA Antibody Detection Kit for Accurate Diagnosis of Amebiasis.” The patent for the diagnostic kit, which is tailored specifically for developing countries, now awaits approval, with the help of the UPD Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (OVCRD). The highly innovative diagnostic kit developed by Rivera and his team utilizes the patient’s saliva instead of a stool or blood sample to check for the presence of the pathogen.

Using chicken egg against infectious diseases Scientists at the NIMBB, led by Dr. Raul Destura of the UP Manila National Institutes of Health (UPM NIH) and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the UP Manila College of Medicine, have thus far successfully shown proof of concepts that antibodies developed by hens against some specified diseases are passed on to their eggs, particularly the yolk, which can then be used to detect and fight the diseases in humans. The project team is focused on major infectious diseases besetting the country’s public health sector. “The Salmonella IgY project is showing great promise among the diagnostic assays. They have already produced antibodies specific for Salmonella typhi which will be used in developing the diagnostic assay,” Destura says. “The TSH assay (for congenital hypothyroidism) is also very promising and holds a ready market of several thousands of newborns a year.” Destura adds that a group of medical students succeeded in producing the initial proof-of-concept experimentation on the anti-Rotavirus IgY, which is intended to come up with treatment intervention of rotavirus diarrhea. Rotavirus diarrhea is one of the number one killer diseases of children under five years old in developing countries.

Anti-cancer properties of a weed Dr. Portia Mahal Sabido of the UPD Institute of Chemistry and her study team are looking at local anti-cancer medicine in the study, “Development of Dianthin Derivatives with Improved Anticancer Activity by Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis.” Sabido points to a dianthus plant which has been found to have compounds with anti-cancer properties.

Dr. Sabido’s team is synthesizing these natural bioactive compounds. In their experiments, Sabido and her team found that two of the three compounds they synthesized have anti-cancer properties These compounds were tested on a colon cancer cell line; they were shown to affect the growth of the cancer cells. These and other derivatives still have to undergo more tests with other cell lines. The testing of the derivatives is done in the laboratory of Dr. Sonia Jacinto of the UP Diliman Institute of Biology.

Jacinto is collaborating with the team.

Hypertension-fighting substances from local food Since 2008, a research group headed by Prof.

Dulce M. Flores of the Department of Food Science and Chemistry, College of Science and Mathematics, UP Mindanao (UP Min), has been zeroing in on UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 8

4

FORUM January-February 2011

Enriching Arts, Culture and Language W

e are pleased to state that UP is home to the largest group of the finest artists in the country– artists who consistently bring honor to the University through their creative works which are recognized both nationally and internationally. We gave priority to Science and Technology not because we did not want to give attention to Arts and Culture but only because we felt Science and Technology needed more attention at this time. After all, we believed Arts and Culture in UP have thrived very well through the years, earning for UP international recognition and honor. Thus as a counterpart to the Scientist Productivity System, the Artist Productivity System (APS) was set up to recognize our outstanding artists.

The Artist Productivity System The APS is an incentive plan for faculty members and research staff in the arts aimed at encouraging productivity in the creative arts or in arts scholarship for national development. It is designed to serve as both an award and incentive system. Deserving artists and arts scholars in the faculty and research staff receive the rank of UP Artist I, II, or III, depending on their qualifications.

The title is conferred on only the most deserving, as determined by a rigid screening system designed by a committee of peers and approved by the UP President. The awardees hold the title for three years, renewable depending on performance. Thus, only those who are productive and continue to be productive are considered.

The UP Artist rank carries monetary awards based on the UP Scientific Productivity System. Annual monetary awards are given to the artists as follows: • P120,000 for Artist I • P144,000 for Artist II • P180,000 for Artist III This program which is funded from a UP Arts Productivity System Endowment Fund was established by the Board of Regents during its 1252nd meeting on December 18, 2008.

On January 29, 2010, during its 1253rd meeting, the Board of Regents approved the appointment of 27 faculty members as UP Artists for the term 2009-2011. The roster is composed of four Artists

III, eleven Artists II, and twelve Artists I. Regional Studies Programs and Centers Throughout its history, UP has also contributed significantly to the overall development of literature, the visual and theater arts, music, and culture. The roster of great Filipino artists, many of whom produced creative works with the University as their haven, showcase another dimension of UP’s public service.

Leading in the codification of the country’s languages and ethnic groups, UP has also paid particular attention to the understanding of the Filipino’s cultural heritage through the establishment of regional studies centers— Ayta Studies in our Extension Program in Pampanga; Manila Studies in UP Manila (UPM); Cordillera Studies in UP Baguio (UPB); Western Visayan Studies, Central Visayan Studies and the Leyte Samar Heritage in UP Visayas (UPV); Southern Tagalog Studies in UP Los Baños (UPLB), and Mindanao Studies in UP Mindanao (UP Min).

The studies centers continue to be involved in research in their respective areas of interest.

For the past 30 years, the Cordillera Studies Center (CSC) has been extending public service among the communities in a myriad ways. Among the key concepts guiding the research activities of the CSC is close linkage with communities to enable the CSC to respond to social issues confronting the region, and a vision of social science practice relevant to the process of social transformation. The research programs it has undertaken—including agro-ecosystems research, research on Issues on Cordillera Autonomy, research on Ibaloy customary law, a program on natural resource management, and other smaller studies conducted on economic, political, and social institutions of local communities, indigenous knowledge and world views, local history, health, women and gender issues—are the CSC’s way of taking the lead in this field, in accordance with the exercise of UP’s academic leadership, thus promoting a continuing dialogue and linkages among academics, the communities, and various sectors within the region.

In fact, UP Baguio has played a key role in the continuing engagement with the arts. The

National Arts Festivals held each summer feature concerts, dances, theater, workshops in various art forms, exhibits, and lectures on Philippine arts and culture. Cordillera songs, dances, and stories are also regularly featured in programs and conference formats; these are performed by the UP PAGTA and the Program for Indigenous Culture.

Writers have found a home in UPB. Nonilon Queano, Lilia Quindoza Santiago, Delfin Tolentino, Jr., Luisa Aguilar Carino (Igloria), Francis and Priscilla Macansantos, and Elizabeth Lolarga are among established poets, fictionists, and critics that have brought honor to the constituent university. In addition, faculty from the UP Institute of Creative Writing at UP Diliman, and other renowned writers and critics, have conducted roundtable discussions and have visited the Baguio campus at various times to lecture on Philippine literature and creative writing.

Over at UPLB, the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (UPLB OICA) was created in 2007 to transform the University into a major cultural center in Southern Tagalog, specifically to systematize art and culture programs, institutionalize domestic and international art and cultural linkages, and serve as policymaking body in art and cultural development management.

To promote culture and the arts, UP Mindanao spearheaded the participation of University constituents in the following activities through the Davao Colleges and Universities Network (DACUN) - Cultural Committee: ASEAN Tourism Forum 2006 from January 13 to 21, Cultural Action for Peace Consultation on March 18, 2006, Workshop on Contemporary Dance Workshop on Choreography and Improvisation for DACUN member schools at the RMC Gym from May 25 to 27, 2006, First DACUN Dance Sports Trainer’s Training Workshop held at UIC Bonifacio from July 28 to 30, 2006, and the First DACUN Folk Dance Trainer’s Training Workshop at the Holy Cross of Davao College from October 7 to 8, 2006.

UP Visayas plays a significant role in the promotion and dissemination of the local cultural heritage. The research, initiatives, and activities of ARTS, CULTURE & LANGUAGE, p. 5

FORUM January-February 2011 5 ARTS, CULTURE & LANGUAGE, p. 4 the cultural centers based in UPV—the Center for West Visayan Studies in Iloilo, the Central Visayas Studies Center in Cebu, and the Leyte-Samar Heritage Center in Tacloban—serve to raise public awareness and generate interest in the local culture by providing a venue for the creative expression of the different art forms, local histories, folklore, literature, and visual arts through training workshops, conferences, performances, exhibitions, and research projects. Even local industries are promoted through the Center for West Visayan Studies’ Interactive Museum, which features demonstrations of bolomaking and hablon-weaving.

In February 2008, Senator Edgardo J. Angara turned over a donation of P7 million for Centennial projects to the deans of the colleges in the Humanities Cluster, plus P1 million each to the UPD College of Human Kinetics and the UPD Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA) as seed funding for performances, traveling shows and exhibits. The UPD College of Music Dance Hall was renovated through Senator Angara’s donation and efforts. The renovated dance hall was inaugurated on July 17, 2010.

Literature Though based in the UP Diliman College of Arts and Letters (UPD CAL), the UP Institute of Creative Writing (ICW), since its founding (as the UP Creative Writing Center) in 1979, has held fast to its mandate of “stimulating writers from all parts of the country to contribute to national cultural development; and to assert the leadership of the University in Creative Writing.” The first—and for decades, the only—such center in the country, it has nurtured practically every contemporary writer in English and Filipino, either through its National Writers’ Workshop, its annual anthologies and other publications, or its many other programs and projects.

It has become a model for creative writing centers subsequently set up by other universities. National Artists have served and continue to serve as its directors, fellows, and associates. The Institute’s fellows and associates are drawn from the different constituent universities, based on accomplishments and continued productivity.

In 2006, it raised the bar for its annual writers’ workshop, making it the only writers’ workshop in the country to address the needs of practitioners, rather than of beginners, thus providing a kind of continuing education for professional writers in mid-career. As such, it ensures that UP will continue to play an important role in the evolution of the nation’s literature. The workshop is held every summer in Baguio and always includes a teachertraining component, done in collaboration with UP Baguio. It is mainly funded by the Office of the UPD Chancellor, but now receives additional funding from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). It is also being considered by the NCCA as a possible model for the national writers’ workshops it funds.

On February 11, 2009, UP held the “Taboan: The First Philippine International Writers Festival” at the UPD Pulungang Claro M. Recto, bringing together writers from all over the country for discussions on various issues related to the writing art and trade such as the effects of new technology on writing,

the legitimization of genre fiction, the acceptability of self-publishing, and everything about writing for a living. Around 106 writers participated in the plenary and panel discussions as guests, discussants, and resource persons. The three-day festival took its name from the Visayan word for “meeting place” and is the flagship project of the NCCA-NCLA for the National Arts Month in cooperation with the UPD CAL, the ICW, and other institutions. The second and third days of the conference were held at the Ateneo de Manila University and Cubao X, formerly the Marikina Shoe Expo in Cubao.

In UP Baguio, the Campus Journalism Workshop brings the faculty to various cities and provinces in the Cordillera and Northern Luzon to conduct workshops on news, feature, sports, editorial writing, writing for the broadcast medium, and others for elementary and high school students and their faculty advisers.

Dance In the area of dance, Professor Steve Villaruz of the University of the College of Music produced a groundbreaking book titled Treading Through 45 Years of Philippine Dance. The book was published in 2006 by the UP Press and the Philippine Folklife Museum Foundation, and was included among the UP Press Centennial Books because of its unique contribution to the study of dance in the country.

In 2007, the UPLB OICA supported the "Isang Indak...Isang Sayaw Dance Concert" by the local group, Sandayaw, and in 2008, it sponsored a ballet concert titled “New Beginnings” by Ballet Philippines.

The UP Mindanao Dance Ensemble which conducts research on, and holds workshops for, indigenous dance holds yearly full-length dance concerts. In 2007, they performed “Dance Portfolio”; in 2008, “Perspectives’; and in 2009, “Ugat”.

In 2010, UP Diliman and UP Mindanao teamed up to present the Kontra-Gapi Music Dance Ensemble in Davao City.

Music In 2007, the College of Music unveiled the UNESCO Memory of the World Register Citation on the College’s Jose Maceda Philippine Music Tape Collection, an invaluable collection which contains recordings, field notes, and photographs of the traditional music of 68 ethnolinguistic groups.

The outstanding talents of UP alumni were showcased in the UPAA’s Centennial event, “100 Years of World Class Music Concert” staged on November 21, 2008. Directed by theater and film veteran Behn Cervantes, the concert featured musical greats such as Evelyn Mandac, Noel Velasco, Frankie Asinero, Camille Lopez-Molina, Nolyn Cabahug, Dondi Ong, Ana Feleo, Aileen Cura, Jeanne VelascoVicar, Emlyn Santos, Joseph Oflindo, Eric Ferrer, violinist Joseph Esmilla, flutist Tony Maigue, and classical guitarist Lester Demetillo.

Architecture A number of structures in UP were recognized as important cultural and artistic landmarks. One of them is the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, which was declared a historical and cultural treasure on January12, 2006 by both the National Historical Commission and the National Museum. In February 2007, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the United Architects of the Philippines unveiled

two historical markers in familiar UP buildings in honor of the National Artists who built them— Leandro Locsin who designed the Church of the Holy Sacrifice and Juan Nakpil who left Quezon Hall as one of his architectural legacies.

The UP Diliman College of Architecture (UPD CA) on the other hand, has been involved in activities such as the documentation of the Batanes houses in an effort to gain world heritage recognition for these architectural wonders; the Pila master planning; the design of the Philippine nationality room at the University of Pittsburgh; the documentation of the UP campus buildings; studies on the housing condition of UP faculty, staff and students; and a study on urban renewal for Metro Manila.

The College is also beefing up its research and development component to produce designs that promote sustainable environment and reduce waste materials. Former Dean Jose Danilo Silvestre began looking into forming a research consortium of Philippine universities to come up with new solutions to address global warming not only from an architectural perspective but from the viewpoint of landscape architecture, urban design, and urban planning.

The College continues to nourish the arts, particularly those that deal with the built environment and landscape design, through symposia, conferences, exhibits, competitions, multimedia productions, and publications. These include events such as the Haraya, an annual exhibit to showcase student theses and projects, and Arki-Week; the National Symposium on Filipino Architecture and Design (NFAD); the Global Prospectus for the Arts in the Philippines: Artists for the Creative Industries, a collaboration with the College of Arts and Letters, College of Fine Arts, and the College of Music, which gathers artists from various disciplines to share experiences, identify key strengths, and assess various determinants to sustain creative industries; the Inter-University Seminar on Asian Megacities, an event organized by nine member universities in Asia; Muhon (Journal of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and the Designed Environment); and Ang Pinakamagandang Bahay sa Balat ng Lupa, a design competition supported by the Lafarge Cement Services (Philippines) Inc. In March 2008, the Museum of Filipino Architecture was opened. The museum showcases old photographs, blueprints, miniature models, books, building materials, and memorabilia that retell the history of architecture, planning, and landscape design in the Philippines. The museum also features several special collections: “Building Modernity: A Century of Philippine Architecture and Allied Arts” and “Philippine Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, 1900-1960.”

Finally, the Main Building of UPV Iloilo was designated a National Historical Structure by the National Historical Institute in 2008. Likewise, the main building of the University of the Philippines Cebu (UPC) was designated a national historical structure by the National Historical Institute on December 2, 2010.

Visual and Plastic Arts No other university has produced such an impressive number of National Artists as UP. They ARTS, CULTURE & LANGUAGE, p. 6

6

FORUM January-February 2011

ARTS, CULTURE & LANGUAGE, p. 5 include the “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art” Fernando Amorsolo (1972), muralist Carlos “Botong” Francisco (1973), sculptor Guillermo Tolentino (1973), sculptor Napoleon Abueva (1976), Vicente Manansala (1981), Cesar Legaspi (1990), Jose Joya (2003), Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera (2006), sculptor Abdulmari Asia Imao (2006), and just recently, Jose (Pitoy) Moreno (in the fashion design category under Architecture, Design and Allied Arts).

Nine of the so-called thirteen modernists who sought to liberate Philippine arts from Amorsolo’s “academism” also studied in UP. They are Galo B. Ocampo, Carlos “Botong” Francisco, Diosdado M. Lorenzo, Vicente S. Manansala, Cesar T. Legaspi, Bonifacio N. Cristobal, Ricarte M. Purugganan, Arsenio Capili, and Anita Magsaysay-Ho. This pioneering group of artists inspired not just followers but the creation of the Thirteen Artists Awards, which was named in their honor. Afterwards, what started as a curatorial project of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Museum, under its first curator Roberto Chabet, evolved into a tribute held every three years in recognition of progressive young artists whose body of works exemplifies artistic integrity, innovativeness, and responsiveness to contemporary realities.

The University has also served as a repository of the arts, through the Vargas Museum in Diliman, which was built to permanently house the art collection Don Jorge B. Vargas bequeathed to his alma mater. The museum continues to hold exhibitions and programs to further nourish the arts in the University.

In 2007, the UP Los Baños Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (UPLB OICA) organized a series of exhibits at the Sining Makiling Gallery at the DL Umali Hall. Featured artists were Hermisanto, Junyee, Bencab, Impy Pilapil, Pablo Baen-Santos, and Fil and Jabos dela Cruz.

As part of the University’s centennial, the UP Diliman College of Fine Arts (UPD CFA) exhibited a special collection of works by the college’s wellknown alumni and award-winning artists called “UP Landmarks Sketchbook” at the Philippine Center in New York City in December 2007, with Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations and retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide in attendance. The works of 14 UP artists named National Artists in the Visual Arts were exhibited in the Vargas Museum in February

held the following exhibitions: “Muling Ptyk” Da Art of Nonoy Marcelo” from June to August 2008; and “Capturing Anxieties: Amorsolo, His Contemporaries and Pictures of the War” in September 2008.

In April 2008, the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Arts and Letters (UPD CAL) unveiled a new sculpture: “Magdangal,” a female counterpart of the Oblation, by National Artist Napoleon V. Abueva, located in front of the CAL Building. It was donated by Professor Abueva to the University as a tribute to the Centennial. Its title is inspired by a poem written by another National Artist, former UPD CAL Dean Virgilio Almario.

In celebration of the University’s Centennial, the UPLB OICA held a series of art exhibits by Cesare AX. Syjuco and Jean-Marie Syjuco, Jose Tence Ruiz, the UP Painters’ Club, Augusto Albor.

It also sponsored an exhibit featuring the works of Fernando Amorsolo.

The UPD CFA also held various activities and exhibitions such as the Art Fair and Homecoming in November 2008, “The Monochromed Memories: UP Landmarks Centennial Exhibition,” curated by Dean Florentina P. Colayco, Prof. Dakila Fernando, and Prof. Ruben David Defeo, at the Salle de Pas Perdus at the UNESCO in Paris in November 2008. Another exhibit “The Tide of Modernism: UP College of Fine Arts (1948-1970),” curated by Professor Santiago Pilar, was held in the Main Library Basement from October 2008 to January 2009.

UP Visayas (UPV) held several exhibits in 2008: The “35 Years On: Nelfa Querubin’s Retrospective Exhibition,” a sculpture exhibit and lecture was held in UPV Iloilo in June; the “100 Stone Fishes” by Prof. Roman Sanares which was held in celebration of Fisheries Week in UP Miag-ao in July; and “100 Oblations,” a solo painting exhibit by Mr. PG Zoluaga, a UP alumnus, presented by the UPV Chancellor’s Committee for Culture and the Arts at the UPV Art Gallery in November.

2009 saw the UPLB OICA sponsoring Amorsolo’s Makiling by visual art students of the Philippine High School for the Arts and UPLB faculty, staff, and students. Then it brought on exhibit to the UPLB campus the works of Emmanuel Garibay, Neil Doloricon, and Nestor Vinluan. The OICA also brought the work of 33 renowned Filipino artists in one exhibit to celebrate the centennial of UPLB. These artists donated some of their works to the

Fernando Amorsolo, Guillermo Tolentino, Napoleon Abueva, Vicente Manansala, Hernando Ocampo, José Joya, Abdulmari Asia-Imao, and Benedicto Cabrera, and other renowned UP artists. The collection was co-curated by Art Studies professor Patrick D. Flores and UPD-OICA director Ruben D.F. Defeo.

UP also supports the arts by offering numerous grants and scholarships, like the Celia Diaz Laurel Scholarship, the Robert and Anita Magsaysay Ho Scholarship, the Jose Joya Scholarship in Painting, the Juvenal Sanso Scholarship, the UPDCFA Alumni Foundation Scholarship, and the Jose Moreno Scholarship.

2008. Another exhibition “Artista. Dibuhista at Manlilikha: Paghubog at Paghiwatig” was held at the Metropolitan Museum in Manila (MMM) in April 2008, and the show was curated by Fine Arts Dean Florentina Colayco and Mr. Jose Alberto Tañedo.

Other exhibitions include “Heroës Anonimos of a Brilliant Struggle: Artmaking and Artmakers of the School of Fine Arts (1908-1948)” curated by Professor Santiago Pilar at the MMM from January to July 2008, and “Transmissions” an exhibit of the Thirteen Artists awardees from UP at the CCP, curated

by Professor Leo Abaya and Mr. Sid Hildawa(+), from July to August 2008. The Vargas Museum also

University. The value of the donated artworks was estimated at P6.0 million.

Another venue for the arts is the newly opened Bulwagan ng Dangal (Hall of Honor) inaugurated on June 18, 2009. The Hall features a 550-squaremeter exhibition hall with a high coffered ceiling and ancillary spaces like lobby and reception, multimedia room, administrative offices, meeting rooms, and a small gallery located at what used to be the basement of the UP Main Library. Pag-Asa ng Bayan was the first of a series of projects designed to present the University Art Collection at the new hall. The exhibit showcased works of National Artists from UP:

Institute in Southern Tagalog, Inc. and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the UP Los Baños Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (UPLB OICA) helped put together “Lusong Gapasan,” a festival and conference for theatrical talents from all over Luzon. The festival was held in 2008.

In UPD, Dulaang UP is the official performing group for theater and is based at the Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts (DSCTA), which runs the sole, formal theater training program in the country. DUP enjoys a reputation for producing highly innovative productions of well-known ARTS, CULTURE & LANGUAGE, p. 15

Theater On December 6, 2006, the Chancellor ’s Committee for Culture and the Arts (CCCA) of UP Mindanao spearheaded the conduct of a musical play on campus. The musical play titled “Antigong Agongîó”—jointly produced by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and the Mindanao Peace Weavers—was in line with the 100th year commemoration of the Bud Dahu massacre in Jolo.

The UPD College of Arts and Letters (CAL) mounted the First National Komedya Festival in February 2008. This is a month-long event which aimed to present, create awareness, and increase the understanding of and appreciation for the komedya.

The festival featured exhibits, performances by various komedya groups in the country, a conference, and workshops. Dulaang UP presented “Orosman at Zafra” as its contribution to this festival.

The National Conference on Sarsuwela held at the Pulungang Claro M. Recto in UPD from February 25 to 27, 2009 was also in line with the thrust to promote local theater. The Dulaang UP performed “Atang: Dulang ay Musika” on the CAL Alumni Night in November 2008 in preparation for this event. The conference was the academic component of the month-long Sarsuwela Festival in UPD, and served as its closing activity. Titled “Amor, Vida, Patria: Re(discovering) the Nation in the Sarsuwela,” the conference was the first to tackle the centuries-old theatrical form in the Philippines.

Attended by academics, researchers, and sarsuwela performers from all over the country, the conference consisted of both panel discussions and “Sarsuwela Conversations” or informal talks by sarsuwela performers about keeping the form alive.

Together with the Arts Research and Training

FORUM January-February 2011 7

Reaching Out to Communities A

ll UP campuses undertake public service and outreach programs. This is part of UP’s mandate as a public service university. During the System-wide conference on UP as a Public Service University, the Chancellors spoke of their respective campuses’ community and outreach activities and programs. This section lists down some of these programs of the constituent universities.

UP Baguio From 2006 to 2008, the Gurong Pahinungod Program sent two teams of two volunteers each to teach high school students in various towns and municipalities in the Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, and Kalinga.

The Cordillera Studies Center, over the past thirty years, has continued to do its share of helping communities through research on a number of issues, e.g. issues on Cordillera autonomy, agrosystems, Ibaloi customary law, natural resource management, indigenous knowledge and world views, local history, health, and women and gender issues.

UP Baguio has also focused its scientific and research expertise in addressing the city’s problems including the garbage crisis and waste management, and the Balili River.

UP Diliman The College of Social Work and Community Development has a community service program called the Field Instruction Program. This program exposes graduate and undergraduate students in the field where they can apply hands-on the knowledge and skills they learned in the classroom.

The UP Extension Program in Pampanga has the Ayta Studies Center which serves the displaced Ayta communities by providing lectures on accounting, and product marketing, livelihood programs, and even personal hygiene.

The College of Law has the Office of Legal Aid which provides free legal services to indigent families.

The College of Mass Communication has revitalized its DZUP radio station which delivers three types of programs: informed discourse on and analysis of national issues and events, educational programs, and on-the-air training and issues

involving the youth.

UP Los Baños UP Los Baños has a town-and-gown program with the local government. Through this partnership, mutual assistance is provided for security, disaster relief, and emergency operations. UPLB is also a member of the Los Baños Science Community Foundation, a federation of 120 science-oriented organizations. The foundation holds regular science festivals. The campus also has a radio station, DZLB, through which it reaches out to the nearby communities.

Students of the College of Development Communication develop advocacy materials on waste management, promotion of obeying traffic rules, promotion of the use of energy-efficient light bulbs, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and reduction of use of plastic materials in the community. The local government, as a result, passed a municipal ordinance penalizing business establishments who use plastic materials indiscriminately.

The Gurong Pahinungod Program fields full-time UPLB alumni volunteers as regular faculty members of public high schools in Oriental Mindoro, Abra, Bohol, Cagayan, Romblon, Negros Occidental, Quezon, and Palawan. The Affirmative Action Program fields faculty and student volunteers as facilitators of summer bridge/college preparatory remedial classes for underserved poor/rural areas.

UP Manila UP Manila has the Philippine General Hospital which serves about 600,000 patients yearly. Ninety percent of these patients are charity patients. In 2007, the “Tatak PGH Plus” or “Expanded Health Services for the Poor” project was launched through a tripartite agreement among UP Manila, the Department of Health (DOH), and the Center for Health Development. This project aims to develop and improve the capacity and skills of the hospital staff of 16 cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region and selected DOH regional medical centers.

The Newborn Screening Referral Center oversees the implementation of newborn screening in all hospitals and birthing homes in the country.

Newborn screening is a process of testing newborn babies for treatable genetic, endocrinologic and metabolic diseases, hematologic diseases, and mental retardation. With the assistance of the referral center, about 2500 health facilities in the country are now offering newborn screening services.

In partnership with UP Diliman and some of its colleges, UP Manila manages the Community Health and Development Program in San Juan Batangas, the aim of which is to assist the community in enhancing their own capacities in health care and development using the Primary Health Approach. This program was approved by the Board of Regents on August 22, 2007 during its 1225th meeting. Students of various colleges in UP Manila and UP Diliman regularly visit the community to practice what they learned in the classroom. Medical interns and residents of the College of Medicine stay in the community over long periods of time to help members of the community.

Occasionally, simple surgeries are performed.

In the same meeting that the community health program in San Juan, Batangas was approved, the Board also gave the go signal for the establishment of Schools of Health Sciences in Aurora and South Cotabato.

The first School of Health Sciences (SHS) was established in Palo, Leyte in 1981. This school was UP’s response to the twin problem of brain drain and maldistribution of health manpower, the latter being disproportionately concentrated in urban areas. It was also UP’s answer to the concern that the fierce competition for admission to the College of Medicine had effectively driven away students from far-flung and depressed areas in the provinces. The School employs a creative step-ladder curriculum that enables students to earn a certificate in midwifery, a degree in nursing, and eventually, a degree in medicine over several years of academic course work combined with community service.

UP Manila felt it was extremely important to replicate the success of the SHS Palo, Leyte in other parts of the country to increase access of prospective students to quality and relevant health professional education.

Thus in 2008, during the Centennial year, the School of Health Sciences in Aurora opened its doors REACHING OUT, p. 15

8

FORUM January-February 2011

UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 3 the hypertension-causing angiotensin-1-converting enzyme (ACE) produced by the human body and on finding local and common food products substances to inhibit this enzyme. Professor Flores and her team have found ACE-inhibiting potentials in milk and fermented seafood prepared in a certain way. Further studies, including market acceptability, are being undertaken. At the same time, the UP Mindanao researchers are testing other food products and local plants and vegetables for their ACE-inhibitory potential. A P3.5 million equipment grant has enabled UP Mindanao to put up a fermentation laboratory and a biotech analytical laboratory, capable of analyzing and quantifying the chemical composition of various substances. Among the equipment they acquired are a high-performance liquid chromatography machine and a rotary evaporator. With this laboratory, UP Mindanao remains true to its mandate of becoming a pioneer research facility in Mindanao.

Biotechnology for improving ducks

A UP Los Baños team headed by Dr. Renato S.A. Vega from the Animal and Dairy Sciences Cluster, College of Agriculture, has conducted several studies under “Applied Animal Biotechnology for the Improvement of the Philippine Mallard Duck.”

The project aims to find ways to create quality and sustainable duck production through genetic characterization and improvement and to find ways to improve farming systems components. The team is the first to successfully develop the protocol for blood vitellogenin in mallard ducks. It is an indicator of the exposure of the animal to estrogenic environmental factors such as pollution. Results of this study show that using the complete confinement system and feeding the ducks pure commercial feed predisposes the ducks to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, unlike those raised in the rice-duck ranging system, and may pose threats to the animal’s reproductive system, and ultimately, to human health. The latest study done by the team checks for the effects of the organochlorine (OCPs) and cadmium (Cd) levels in the feed on the reproductive performance of the mallard ducks.

Rumen ecology for indigenous ruminants Prof. Cesar Sevilla of the UP Los Baños College of Agriculture’s Animal and Dairy Sciences Cluster leads a team studying “Rumen Ecology in Indigenous Ruminants” to help ensure the survival of livestock in the age of El Niño and climate change. Sevilla and his team study the rumen—that part of hoofed animals’ digestive system which is responsible for the fermentation of food—and distinct microbial patterns which help one ruminant get more from the same feed fed to others. Sevilla said that they have been able to discover at least 70 microbes. Some of the unnamed microbes have been found to share common attributes with those found in studies from Thailand and India. The team plans to have all their discoveries placed in a library of microbes found in carabaos to establish a reference for further studies on the endemic beast.

Multimedia signal processing for new interfaces Former UP Diliman College of Engineering Dean Rowena Guevara heads the multidisciplinary research program “Multimedia Signal Processing Under Computational Algorithms for New User Interfaces.”

The program develops algorithms and conducts research on the improvement of transmission, storage, and retrieval of multi-media signals through source coding. Its main application is in teaching tools and

commercially-viable wireless products. It also aims to develop Filipino speech recognition and synthesis for cellular phone applications, TV closed captioning for the deaf, call center applications, and hand-held Filipino speech translators. In its first year, the team developed successful multi-media user interfaces including a karaoke scorer and “Complete Vocal Input Analyzer.” In its second year, the program worked on nine projects including “Classification Algorithms for Real Time Recognition of Human Emotions in Call Center Dialogues”; “Development of Applications for Vowel Migration / Modification in Sung Filipino (Tagalog) Texts and Perceived Intelligibility”; and “Development of Phoneme-Level Filipino Speech Synthesis.”

National Science Complex Established by the UP Board of Regents on October 6, 1983 during the term of Senator Edgardo J. Angara as UP President, the College of Science (CS) of UP Diliman (UPD) is the country’s primary producer of new scientific knowledge and its leading producer of PhD and MS graduates in the basic and applied sciences and mathematics.

The College is composed of eleven (11) constituent units namely; the National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS), National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB), the Marine Science Institute (MSI), National Institute of Physics (NIP), Natural Sciences Research Institute (NSRI), Institute of Biology (IB), Institute of Chemistry (IC), Institute of Environmental Science & Meteorology (IESM), Institute of Mathematics (IM), Materials Science & Engineering Program (MESP), and Science & Society Program (SSP).

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) declared seven units (NIGS, NIMBB, MSI, NIP, IB, IC, IM) centers of excellence in August 2006.

According to CS Dean Caesar A. Saloma, being an academic institution, the college has two main tasks: (1) generate new scientific knowledge that improves the accuracy of our understanding of how Nature works (scientific research); and (2) train the next generations of scientists and researchers of the country (advanced manpower training). It is in this spirit that the National Science Complex (NSC) was established by President Macapagal-Arroyo in December 2006 through Executive Order No. 583. Its establishment was strongly endorsed by the Philippine American Academy of Scientists and Engineers (PAASE). The NSC is located on a 21.9 hectare lot at the southeast portion of the Diliman campus and is managed by the Board of Regents through the CS. The NSC aims to provide a nurturing and enabling environment for Filipino scientists and researchers as well as students in the basic and applied sciences and mathematics. It is designed to bridge the gap between academe-based, high-risk scientific research and development, and the shorter return-on-investment horizon of the private sector and other government agencies. “The complex aims to provide future UP scientists with a nurturing environment that will help them generate new scientific knowledge – knowledge that will help them improve the quality of life of the Filipino,” Dean Saloma said during the groundbreaking ceremonies.

It is expected to “serve as the national hub for the generation and application of new scientific knowledge in the natural and applied sciences and

mathematics,” President Arroyo said, stressing that efforts to boost the country’s scientific and technological capabilities and their application to productive systems require complementary initiatives in new scientific knowledge and technology, technology transfer and diffusion, and technology utilization and management.

The NSC has an allotment from the national government of P1.7Billion and consists of three phases. The program involves the construction of ten buildings and the NSC road network, as well as the acquisition of equipment.

As of October 2010, the NSC Road, the NIP faculty wing, the NSC Amphitheater, and the Institute of Math Annex building have been completed.

Moreover, the architectural and engineering plans for the College Administration Building have been finished. The IMath Annex and the NIP Lecture Pavillion structures are currently undergoing finishing works. The IChem Research Wing is also almost finished. Construction has started on the rest of the institute buildings.

According to Dean Saloma, “The NSC is a strategic investment of our country in a knowledgebased global economy. Investment in education is one of the most important means of increasing intangible capital—the other being a stable rule of law.”

“The completion of the National Science Complex is vital in our difficult efforts to improve our capability to train highly-skilled scientists, researchers, and technologists, and to carry out cutting-edge scientific research and development. Our country must ensure that the NSC is operated and maintained properly and competently in the years to come. In a knowledgebased economy, a society will never lose by investing in higher education. This implies the need for the national government to increase financial support for NSC personnel and maintenance in the coming fiscal years,” said Dean Saloma.

The Engineering Research and Development for Technology Program The effect of globalization has exposed our vulnerability to foreign technology dependence and the lack of technological research in the country. While we continue to produce engineers who have been trained to use foreign-developed technologies, our Asian neighbors have gone beyond this by focusing on producing graduate-level research scientists and engineers (RSEs) who are trained to develop and create these technologies and usher in high-value engineering activity. In a world where economic development is driven by scientific and technological development, the need to produce research engineers capable of translating R&D results into high-impact technologies and viable industries has never been more urgent.

In response to this need, then UP Diliman College of Engineering (UPD COE) Dean Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara conceptualized the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Program in 2007. The ERDT Program is a 10-year development program that seeks to address the lack of engineering manpower with advanced degrees needed to jumpstart high-value economic activities for the country. It aims to produce engineers capable of making S&T work for Filipinos, particularly in disaster mitigation, poverty alleviation, agriculture, and the semiconductor industries, thus ensuring a sustainable environment and affordable energy for the future and producing UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 9

FORUM January-February 2011 9 UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 8 indigenous and affordable technologies.

The ERDT Program was approved by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2007 as one of the most comprehensive S&T programs of her administration, with the full support of the DOST. The presidential approval included funding worth P3 Billion for the ERDT Program until 2010. To say that the ERDT Program single-handedly modernized the College of Engineering is not an exaggeration.

The ERDT Program is a consortium of eight universities with the most developed Engineering and Agro-Engineering programs – Ateneo de Manila University, Central Luzon State University, De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, the University of San Carlos, and UP Los Baños joining the consortium in 2009—led by the UPD COE. The Project Management Team (PMT), or ERDT Steering Committee, is composed of the Engineering deans of the member-universities with the Engineering Dean of the UP Diliman as Program Leader.

Its objectives are to: • deliver high impact research aligned with the country’s National Science and Technology Plan and the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan, • attain a critical mass of MS and PhD graduates, • upgrade the qualifications of practicing engineers, and • develop a culture of Research and Development.

ERDT Human Resource Development Human Resource Development (HRD) is the first pillar of the ERDT Program, and aims to enable the country to get closer to 3.4 RSEs per 10,000 population— the benchmark for developing countries based on the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It was agreed that the number of scholarship slots to be offered by the member-universities would be based on the university’s capacity to absorb master’s and doctoral students, with UP Diliman implementing the scholarship one year ahead of the other member-universities. The following table shows the distribution of scholarship slots in the master’s and doctoral programs of the original seven universities comprising the Consortium. UPLB joined the consortium in 2009 and was thus not part of the original distribution plan.

To date, the UPD COE has produced 36 MS graduates and one PhD graduate. In 2007, the UPD COE was not able to achieve the target number of ERDT scholars due to the lack of scholarship funding.

Nevertheless, despite only one quarter of the needed budget being released, the college attracted 55 Master’s scholars and 19 PhD scholars. The slots allotted for the master’s scholarship were again under-utilized in 2008, although the number of doctoral scholarships awarded far exceeded the allotted quota. In 2009, the target number of scholarships for master’s and doctoral programs was achieved. The financial crisis at the time may have contributed to the increase of scholarship applicants. For 2010, the UPD COE is on track for the master’s program.

At present, 182 scholars are enrolled in the MS program, while 49 scholars are enrolled in the PhD program. Of these, 60 are new MS scholars and eight are new PhD scholars. Considering the total target of the ERDT program, the UPD COE needs to take in 84 MS and 11 PhD scholars for the second semester of Academic Year 2010-2011 to achieve its target.

Since the ERDT’s full implementation in 2008, a total of 577 ERDT scholarships have been awarded, with 85 PhD candidates and 492 enrolled in the master’s program. For the first phase of the ERDT HRD project—a three-year period beginning March 1, 2008 until February 28, 2011—the objective is for the ERDT Consortium universities to produce 596 masters and 112 PhD graduates. To date, the ERDT Consortium universities have accomplished 82.55 percent and 75.89 percent of the target number of MS and PhD scholars, respectively. Accomplishment of

Table 2. Target Number of ERDT Scholarship Slots

UPD ADMU

2007-2008 MS PhD 106 23

CLSU DLSU MIT MSU-IIT USC TOTAL

2008-2009 MS PhD 63 10

2009-2010 MS PhD 15 71

10 6 15

2 2 2 1

13 8

2 1 20

15

106

23

10 14 133

the target is expected by February 2011.

ERDT Research and Development Research and Development (R&D), the second component of the ERDT Program, seeks to advance engineering research in the country, aligning R&D projects with the national research agenda. Closely interwoven with the HRD component, the R&D component provides opportunities for ERDT scholars to participate and work on projects related to their theses and dissertations. These are aligned according to the priority areas identified by the National Science and Technology Plan (NSTP) and the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), to ensure that the research projects being conducted are relevant to the country’s needs and can be translated into results that would benefit the country.

The R&D component of ERDT is a consortiumwide activity which prioritizes multidisciplinary research programs that have immediate impact. Multidisciplinary research encourages collaborative effort, not only among researchers from different disciplines in engineering, the sciences, and the social sciences, but among researchers across the different consortium universities as well.

The ERDT R&D Program is divided into four broad tracks of multidisciplinary research, namely: 1) Energy 2) Environment and Infrastructure, 3) Information and Communications Technology, and 4) Semiconductor and Electronics.

Prior to the submission of proposals, a roundtable discussion with participants from the academe, government, and industry, was conducted in October 2007 to solicit ideas for research projects relevant to the country’s needs. In 2008, forty one (41) of over a hundred proposals submitted for funding were approved, with the total cost of P 175.34 Million. In 2009, two (2) proposals were approved with a budget of P26.86 Million. For 2010, 24 research proposals have so far been submitted of which two (2) have already been approved, with funding totaling P30.6 million.

To ensure the translation of the ERDT’s R&D results into viable technologies that will benefit Filipinos, the ERDT IP Mapping and Commercialization (EIMAC) was established. The EIMAC is as an off-shoot of an intensive two-week IP Patent Analysis Workshop conducted for ERDT IP representatives to the Industrial Technology and Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan. The EIMAC’s objectives include: assisting in reviewing R&D priorities of the ERDT Consortium and the commercialization of their R&D outputs; building IP awareness and an IP portfolio to improve the country’s global competitiveness; seeking substantial industry participation and the creation of technologybased industries; and conducting capability building and resource pooling of technology transfer offices of the ERDT Consortium universities.

A unique feature of the ERDT Program is its strong emphasis on Technology Entrepreneurship, as a result of the realization that for research to be relevant, it must be translated into usable products or processes. To prepare the ERDT scholars for possible technopreneurship, a Technology Entrepreneurship class was conducted by Visiting Professor Matthew Bristow in the summer of 2009.

The class was attended by 91 master’s and doctoral ERDT scholars. Another 157 ERDT scholars enrolled in the same class in the summer of 2010. To date, a

2010-2011 MS PhD 86 20

3

15 10

13

3 3 2 2

15

3 2

18 161

2 30

20 196

3 39

19 19

25 25

4 3 4

TOTAL PhD MS 326

68

38 24 59 59

9

38 52 596

8 9 6 6 6 112

number of ERDT graduates have set up technology start-ups, a testament to the quality and relevance of research conducted under the ERDT Program and its technology entrepreneurship thrust.

The ERDT Conference also serves as a venue for scholars, faculty members, and researchers from academe, industry, and government agencies to present their research output to peers. Through presentations in the Conference, researchers get feedback and ideas from experts and peers which lead to further enrichment of the research work in terms of relevance and application. The exchange of ideas also enhances the potential for research collaboration.

Five (5) very well-attended and highly successful ERDT Conferences have so far been held.

ERDT Infrastructure Development Recognizing the need for adequate infrastructure and equipment for research and development, the ERDT Program has established Infrastructure Development as its third component. The result is the development of the UP Engineering Complex in Diliman, located beside the National Science Complex, envisioned to be both the hub of cuttingedge research in the different fields of engineering and a showcase of what each field has to offer.

The Engineering Complex consists of eight (8) buildings that house the laboratories, classrooms, and offices of the various departments under the UPD COE. Two buildings—the first phase of the UP Electrical & Electronics Engineering Institute (EEEI) Building and the Engineering Library and Computer Science Building—are in place. Construction of the building to house the Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (MMME) Department is ongoing. The other structures intended for the Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE), Chemical Engineering (ChE), and Building 2 of the EEEI and the Energy & Environmental Engineering (Egy/EnE) Programs are currently in different design phases of development. The buildings and their allocated budgets are as follows: Metallurgical, Mining and Materials Engineering ..................P182.50 Million Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute ......................................P 271.00 Million Institute of Civil Engineering .......................... .......................................P298.75 Million Industrial Engineering ........P72.50 Million Mechanical Engineering ...P140.89 Million Energy Engineering and Environmental Engineering .....................P90.90 Million Chemical Engineering ......P173.30 Million Renovation of the ES Department ............... ..........................................P14.50 Million Renovation of Geodetic Engineering Department .......................P19.00 Million 15-Year Proposal for the Continuation of ERDT The initial funding for the ERDT Program was for a period of three years from 2008 to 2010. With the implementation of the ERDT Program, engineering research in the country increased significantly in terms of number, quality, and relevance. Government agencies and industry have taken notice of the programs and activities of ERDT. They have become collaborators in many ERDT research projects. ERDT graduates have been employed as development engineers in technology-based UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 14

10

FORUM January-February 2011

Faculty, Staff, and Student Welfare T

he improvement of the welfare of the faculty, staff, and students was among our major concerns when we came on board in 2005 and thereafter. I recall that during the search process for the UP president in 2004 there was never a forum when this issue of faculty and staff welfare did not come out. Complaints about the low salaries, and inadequate incentives and benefits dominated any discussion on welfare. We agreed that these were valid issues that must be addressed.

This section highlights our efforts to address the welfare of our faculty, staff, and students.

Salaries UP’s coverage by the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) was considered the main block to upgrading faculty and staff salaries. Immediately after SSL was implemented in 1989, UP worked to have itself removed from that coverage. It was a long struggle that paid off when the new UP Charter was passed.

Finally, UP is no longer covered by SSL. We did not think our salaries would immediately increase after getting the exemption. In fact, we encountered problems when DBM started to strictly interpret our exemption to mean that we would no longer be entitled to salary increases from government after the new Charter was passed. The July 2008 10% salary increase which was announced after the passage of the new Charter in April 2008 almost did not cover UP. According to DBM, since Table 1 UP is no longer covered CU by the SSL, its faculty and staff are no longer entitled to the increase. UP Baguio Our lobbying efforts UP Diliman paid off when finally in UP Los Baños October 2008, national government agreed to UP Manila include UP. UP Mindanao We had the same UP Visayas problem when SSL 3 bill was drafted. The bill Total

excluded UP on the ground that UP is a government agency with the authority to draw up its own compensation system. We argued that while it is true that UP can now design its own compensation plan, it was not yet in a position to fund salary increases as this would require a huge endowment which we were just starting to build. Intense lobbying before members of both chambers of Congress was undertaken by University officials as well as other members of the academic community. The lawmakers were very sympathetic—they agreed that UP, the national university, should continue to be covered by salary increases until such time that it is in a position to fund salary increases on its own.

Thus, UP has enjoyed the salary increases mandated by government under SSL 3 in 2009 and 2010. Prior to SSL3, we also enjoyed salary increases given by government in 2007 and 2008. Salary increases under SSL 3 shall continue until 2012.

Merit and performance-based incentives Continuing merit and performance-based incentives Support for doctoral studies One of our primary goals is a faculty complement made up entirely of first, graduate degree holders, and ultimately, of doctoral degree holders. My predecessor, President Nemenzo set up the Doctoral Studies Fund to support our young faculty and

Local Fellowship

Foreign Fellowship

7

0

10 2 1 1 8

26 2 1

29

0 2 31

allocated P100 Million for it. In 2004, the fund had been used up. A month after we took over in 2005, we infused another P108 Million into the Fund.

The Fund provides support from the UP System up to a maximum of three years. It is expected that after three years the doctoral fellows are able to get funding support from other sources including the universities where they are enrolled in. The following table breaks down the nature of support from the Fund that the UP System has extended to the faculty during our term. (See Table 1.)

Promotions Promotions were given in four of the six years of our term—in 2005, in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Funds for the 2005 promotions were taken from our unexpended balances amounting to about P34.5 Million. Promotions in 2008, 2009, and 2010 were funded by the national government. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted our request for a promotion fund of P60 Million or approximately P20 Million every year for three years.

For faculty and staff who have reached the maximum step of their current positions, we gave what we call “Sagad” awards since they have no higher step or position to go to. In 2005, 2008, and 2009 “Sagad” awards entitled the faculty to P5,000 each while the research and administrative staff each received P3,000. In 2010, “Sagad” awards were increased: P10,000 for the faculty and P6000 for the research and administrative staff, effectively increasing Total the award by 100%. And subject to availability of 7 funds, the research and 36 administrative staff may get an additional P2,000 4 for “Sagad.”

2 To t a l “ S a g a d ” 1 awards for the last three years amounted to: 10 FACULTY, STAFF 60 AND STUDENT, p. 11

FORUM January-February 2011 11 FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT, p. 10 2008 P 6,152,000 2009 6,460,000 2010 19,590,000 Total P32,202,000 Professorial chairs and faculty grants As earlier reported we raised 196 professorial chairs and faculty grants during our term. Of this number, fourteen are existing chairs with endowment funds much lower than what is currently required.

Among them are the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) chairs which were established with an endowment fund of P150,000 in the 80s. The BSP has since then upgraded the chairs to no less than P1.5 Million each.

We also increased the minimum honorarium for professorial chairs from P30,000 to P50,000 per year, and the faculty grant from P15,000 to about P30,000.

These are minimum amounts—there are chairs which pay more than P100,000 per year.

Lecturers’ Honoraria Twice during our term, we adjusted the honoraria for our lecturers. In the 1242nd meeting of the Board of Regents on March 26, 2009, our proposal to adjust the rates of lecturers’ fees was approved. The last time the rates were adjusted was in 1997.

The new rates were based on the provisions of the National Budget Circular of June 2008 and used a formula approved by the Board. Across the different categories of lecturers, the rate of increase was about 40%. The new rates took effect in the First Semester of Academic Year 2009-2010.

In its 1254th meeting held on February 25, 2010, the Board approved our proposal to further adjust the rates, this time by 20% across all categories. The new rates took effect in the First Semester Academic Year 2010-2011.

At present, first level lecturers get P422 per hour, up from P252 per hour which they used to get in 1997. The highest level among our lecturers— the professorial lecturers now get P911 per hour,

Seven Thousand Pesos (P7,000) came from the National Government—Department of Budget and Management—and the additional amount of Three Thousand Pesos P3,000 was charged to CU savings.

New merit and performance-based incentives Scientific Productivity Awards On August 25, 2005 during its 1212th meeting, the Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Scientific Productivity Award which aims to encourage scientific productivity for national development. Three categories of UP Scientists were established with corresponding honoraria entitlements for a three-year term. In 2008, the Board approved an increase in annual honoraria rates as follows: Scientist I from P 96,000 to P120,000 Scientist II from P120,000 to P144,000 Scientist III from P144,000 to P180,000 Sixty nine (69) of our colleagues have since then been named UP Scientist.

Artist Productivity Awards On December 18, 2008, in its 1252nd meeting, the board approved the Arts Productivity System to encourage productivity in the creative arts or in arts scholarship for national development. As in the case of the Scientific Productivity Award, there are three categories of UP Artists who are entitled to the same honoraria rates as their scientist counterparts.

Twenty seven (27) of our colleagues were named UP Artists, each one enjoying a three-year term.

Centennial Fellows Award In celebration of our Centennial twelve (12) Centennial Fellows were named by the Board of Regents in consideration of their deep commitment to the University and to scholarship. As Centennial Fellows they were to participate in the Centennial lecture series and deliver lectures on the University and its future. The Fellows were entitled to a P100,000 monetary award.

Centennial Professorial Chairs and Faculty Grants In 2008, UP Diliman and UP Manila established

courses at the UP Diliman College of Business Administration (UPD CBA). Sourced from the UPD CBA’s Graduate Program Trust Fund, the cash awards have two components: P1,700 per year but not to exceed P75,000 for teaching service; and P2,000 per publication point but not to exceed P75,000 for research productivity. Included in the latter were publications related to management during the period from 1998 to 2008. The BOR approved the use of the funds for the Centennial Faculty Award on January 28, 2009 during its 1240th meeting. Seventeen (17) faculty members qualified for the award for a total of P1,905,000. The Graduate Program Trust Fund also provided funding for the UPD CBA Merit Award, approved by the Board of Regents on November 28, 2008 during its 1238th meeting. The Merit Award was established for senior faculty members with a rank of Professor 11 or 12, who met the guidelines for merit promotions in 1997, 2000, 2005, and 2008, and who were still with the UPD CBA until December 31, 2008. Like the Centennial Faculty Award, the Merit Award had two components: teaching service and research output. Each component was worth P5,000 per year of teaching service.

In August 2008, the UPD CBA increased its honoraria rates by 20% for full-time faculty members teaching in the Master’s program. This was followed in January 2009 by a 20% increase in honoraria rates for full-time faculty members teaching in the PhD program. On July 31, 2009, honoraria for full-time faculty members teaching in the Master’s and PhD programs was further increased by 25% in line with the salary adjustment for government employees under SSL III. Again, the funds for the increase were sourced from the Graduate Program Trust Fund.

UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga On November 28, 2008, during its 1238th meeting, the BOR approved the grant of Centennial Faculty Incentive Awards to deserving full-time faculty members teaching graduate courses in the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga. The

up from P543 per hour in 1997.

Productivity Incentive Bonus and Merit Incentives We continued to add P500 to the P2,000 productivity incentive bonus given by national government. We also continued to give deserving faculty and staff merit incentive allowances amounting to P10,000 per employee (twice given per year at P5,000 each time.) Both of these awards require that the employee must have had satisfactory or better performance during the year.

In 2007, when national government gave out an additional performance bonus of P10,000 per qualified employee, UP had to shell out P3000 of that amount as the national government gave only P7,000.

In the next two years, the same performance bonus was mandated by government and again UP had to give its share of P3,000 per employee.

In the 1264th meeting of the Board of Regents held on December 3, 2010, I requested and was granted authority to pay the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) for fiscal year 2010, subject to the availability of funds, no earlier than December 15, 2010. The PEI for 2010 in the amount of P10,000 was given to all qualified employees.

Centennial professorial chairs and centennial faculty grants funded from their own funds. UP Diliman’s Centennial chairs and faculty grants are continuing and give P100,000 and P50,000 respectively to the recipients. In the case of UP Manila, the Centennial professorial chairs and faculty grants were one-shot grants given only during the Centennial year and carried the same amounts as those given by UP Diliman. In 2008, however, UP Manila established the Gawad Sentenaryo whose recipients receive P75,000. Eleven slots were made available in 2008 and an additional two slots were opened in 2009. The Gawad Sentenaryo is a continuing grant.

In 2009, when UP Los Baños celebrated its Centennial, it also established the Centennial professorial chairs and faculty grants from its own funds. The Centennial professorial chair holders of UPLB receive P100,000 while faculty grant holders get P50,000. These awards are also continuing.

Incentives for Mentoring UP Diliman College of Business Administration We endorsed to the Board of Regents (BOR), on February 29, 2008 during its 1230th meeting, the establishment of the Centennial Faculty Award for full-time faculty members teaching graduate

incentive has four components: teaching service in the new graduate program; research productivity; contribution to the development of the program through curriculum development and/or through academic policy formulation, review, and revision; and teaching effectiveness. Funds were sourced from the Graduate Tuition Increment Fund.

UP Diliman Technology Management Center The UP Diliman Technology Management Center (UPD TMC) Centennial Faculty Award was established to recognize deserving full-time faculty members teaching graduate courses. This was approved by the Board of Regents on December 17, 2008 during its 1239th meeting. The cash award has two components: teaching service and research productivity.

Also established by the Board on May 29, 2009 during its 1242nd meeting was the UPD TMC Faculty Merit Award for full-time senior faculty members with a rank of Professor 11 or 12. A maximum cash award of P10,000 per year of teaching service, computed based on the salary difference between Professor 11 or 12 and Professor 10 was given to any faculty member who met the requirements for merit promotion during the promotion rounds in 1997, 2000, 2005, and 2008. The award has two FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT, p. 12

12

FORUM January-February 2011

FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT, p. 11 components: teaching service and research output. Funding sourced from the UPD TMC Tuition Fee Increment Trust Fund.

On February 25, 2010, during the 1254th meeting of the Board of Regents, we endorsed to, and received approval by the Board for, the establishment of three faculty grants/awards for regular full-time faculty members of the UPD TMC. The awards are P96,000 per year for an assistant professor and P120,000 per year for a professor.

UP Diliman College of Science On July 31, 2009, during the 1244th meeting of the Board of Regents, we endorsed to the Board the establishment of the UPD College of Science (UPD CS) Faculty Award for Continued Excellence in Teaching and Research and the UPD CS Graduate Mentoring Award. Both awards are sourced from the UPD CS Graduate Tuition Fee Fund.

The Continued Excellence in Teaching and Research Award is intended to recognize the significant contributions and encourage the continuing service of UPD CS faculty members with a rank of Professor 11 or 12. The award consists of a certificate of merit and a cash award equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the difference of the annual salary of a faculty member whose rank is Professor 12 and one whose rank is Professor 10, for every merit step per year that is computed from the last call for promotion. The CS Merit Promotion System is used to determine the number of steps that is due to a qualified CS faculty member who can only earn the maximum equivalent of two (2) steps or 100% of the salary difference between a faculty member ranked Professor 12 and one ranked Professor 10.

The UPD CS Graduate Mentoring Award consists of a plaque of appreciation and a cash award of P20,000 intended to recognize the crucial contributions of the dissertation adviser of a new PhD graduate. Similarly, a thesis adviser of a new MS graduate is given a plaque of appreciation and a cash award of P5,000. The Award is also intended to increase the number of CS PhD graduates.

UP Diliman College of Engineering On June 24, 2010, during its 1256th meeting, the BOR approved the establishment of the UPD College of Engineering (UPD COE) One-Time Engineering Centennial Graduate Faculty Award in celebration of its Centennial and to acknowledge the contribution of full-time faculty members who have taught graduate courses and/or advised successful thesis and dissertation candidates and current part-time lecturers who taught graduate courses in the six semesters prior to June 24. The teaching enhancement component of the graduation tuition fee increase of the UPD COE funds the award.

UP Diliman College of Mass Communication The Board of Regents approved on August 27, 2010, during its 1258th meeting, the establishment of the UP Diliman College of Mass Communication Graduate Mentoring Award. The Mentoring Award is intended to help increase the number of PhD graduates to about five to ten per school year. Funds are sourced from the CMC Graduate Tuition Fee Fund. In recognition of the contributions of the dissertation adviser of a new are PhD graduate and the thesis adviser of a new MA graduate, the cash awards are P20,000 and P10,000, respectively.

Awardees are also given a plaque of appreciation.

UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy The College of Social Sciences and Philosophy proposed, and the Board of Regents approved, during its 1252nd meeting on December 18, 2009, the establishment of the CSSP Faculty Award for Continued Excellence in Teaching and Research. The

award seeks to recognize the significant achievements of the faculty members with a rank of Professor 11 or 12 who continue to excel in teaching, mentoring, and research. The award follows the same schedule as that approved for the College of Science. Funds are drawn from the CSSP Graduate Tuition Fee Increment Fund.

UP Diliman College of Law Centennial Faculty Research Award This is a research award for academic distinction given to a holder of a professorial chair in any field of law. The award is intended to encourage legal scholarship beyond mere collection of laws and jurisprudence. The amount of the award is P200,000.

This was approved by the Board of Regents during its 1239th meeting on December 17, 2008.

Policy Paper Award In its 1254th meeting on February 25, 2010, the Board approved the establishment of the UP Policy Paper Award which aims to recognize the faculty and research staff who have a proven track record in high level policy research and who are known for their incisive, critical, and objective treatment of national issues and problems. Immediately after its establishment, I created a committee composed of the following: Vice-President Amelia Guevara, Dr. Magdaleno Albarracin, Jr., Professor Emilia Boncodin, Dr. Jaime Montoya, Dr. Federico Macaranas, University Professor Emeritus Ramon Santos, Dr. Celia Adriano, and Mrs. Salvacion Arlante. Eight awardees have been selected. For individuals, the monetary award is P100,000 and for groups the award is P300,000.

UP President Edgardo J. Angara Fellowship Award This fellowship award was established to recognize our colleagues who can engage in high level policy discussions and research on a wide range of topics that address national development goals. An endowment fund during the Centennial celebrations was established supported by the friends of former UP President Edgardo J. Angara. Income from the fund is used to provide the monetary award amounting to P500,000 per fellow.

Cash Award to Staff of the Office of Admissions To recognize the dedication and untiring efforts

of the Office of Admission staff to come out with untainted UPCAT results not later than the second week of January 2011, the Office of Admissions and the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs proposed the granting of cash awards of P10,000 per employee if there are at least 65,000 UPCAT applicants or P8,000 each for less than 65,000 applicants. The proposal was approved by the Board of Regents on June 24, 2010 during its 1256th meeting.

Benefits for Professors Emeriti On December 17, 2010, during the 1265th meeting of the Board of Regents, our proposal to improve the benefits provided to Professors Emeriti was approved. Retired University Professors and Professors who have rendered at least 20 years of faithful service to the University and who have distinguished themselves as productive scholars, artists, or scientists or have been acknowledged as effective and dedicated teachers are conferred the title “University Professor Emeritus” or “Professor Emeritus.” This lifetime honorific does not carry monetary remuneration in the form of salary.

A Professor Emeritus may be given a teaching assignment if there is a need for his/her services or research/creative work, subject to the approval of the Chancellor, upon the recommendation of the Dean. If the Professor Emeritus provides service to the University through teaching or undertakes research/creative work, he/she receives a monthly transportation allowance.

The monthly transportation allowance given to a Professor Emeritus was increased from P8,000 to P10,000 in October 2006. When a Professor Emeritus teaches AND at the same time does research/creative work, he/she is given this transportation allowance plus honorarium for teaching equivalent to the fee of a professorial lecturer.

In recognition of their continued valuable and increased level of service to the University, to help them cope with the high cost of living, and to help them enhance their effectiveness as mentors and researchers the following improvements in benefits were approved by the Board: 1. Increase in the monthly transportation allowance from P10,000 per month to P20,000 per month, and 2. An operating allowance amounting to P50,000 per research project. This amount will be used for the production of teaching materials or in the pursuit of research/creative work (e.g. purchase of laboratory supplies, professional fees for artists/draftsmen, printing, etc.). A project must be completed before the Professor Emeritus submits another proposal.

The research/creative work will be subject to existing University guidelines as follows: • The research/creative work must be within the thrusts of the unit.

• A research/creative work proposal shall be submitted to the head of the unit describing the expected output(s). The approval of the conduct of the research by the head of unit does not mean approval of financial support.

• Annual reports of accomplishment shall be submitted.

• Professors Emeriti, like University Professors, may also apply for research grants up to a maximum of P250,000.

Across-the-Board Incentives and Other Incentives Continuing incentives Provident Fund Contribution UP continued to contribute P1,200 per employee who choose to be a member of the UP Provident Fund FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT, p. 13

FORUM January-February 2011 13 FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT, p. 12 (UPPF). Moreover, in 2008, during the Centennial year, UP considered as a donation to the Provident Fund the excess contribution it gave in the early years of the UPPF in the amount of about P10 Million. This donation was approved by the Board of Regents on January 25, 2008 during its 1229th meeting.

Rice subsidy/allowance As part of the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) with the unions, we continued to give the rice subsidy to the administrative and research staff and the rice allowance to the faculty and staff not covered by the CNA. In 2005, the University gave one sack of rice worth P1,000 per sack. In 2006, we gave an additional sack of rice worth P1,000 per sack. This was continued in 2007. In 2008 and until 2010, the University gave three sacks of rice valued at P1,500 per sack.

Monetization of Leave Credits We continued the practice of monetizing leave credits throughout our term. Total amount released for monetization amounted to almost P360 Million from 2005 to 2009. It should be noted that funds for monetization come from the University.

New incentives Grocery allowance Starting 2006, we gave the Christmas grocery allowance of P1,000 to members of the unions and in the spirit of equity, to all faculty and staff who are not members of the unions. Every year since then, we have been giving this allowance.

Centennial bonus In celebration of the Centennial, we gave all our employees a Centennial bonus of P20,000 in 2008. Prior to this, in 2007 when PGH celebrated its own centennial it gave P3,000 centennial bonus to its employees.

Because the hospital employees got P3,000 each in 2007, in 2008, UP’s Centennial year, PGH employees received another P17,000 to complete the P20,000 that all the UP personnel were entitled to.

CNA incentive With the signing of the CNA in 2009, UP gave the CNA signing incentive of P10,000 to each employee.

Faculty sick leave benefits On October 25, 2007 during its 1227th meeting, the Board of Regents approved our recommendation Table 2

to grant sick leave credits to our faculty in the spirit of equity (as the administrative and research staff have always been entitled to cumulative sick leave credits.) The benefit is for a period of fifteen (initially ten) days per year of full-time service retroactive to the date of their original employment. The period on extended service beyond age 65 shall be counted.

It was agreed, however, that sick leave credits may not be monetized unless the faculty member is gravely ill. Moreover, this cannot be availed of if the faculty member opts to retire early unless the reason for optional retirement is because of illness.

Monetization of accumulated leave credits may only be availed of at the time of retirement.

Financial Assistance Program for Hospitalization Expenses This financial assistance program covers all tenured faculty and staff and UP contractual and casual employees who have rendered at least five years of service to UP and for as long as they are on active service in UP. The maximum amount qualified employees are entitled to is P200,000. Entitlement is limited to those who are confined in hospitals for any kind of illness but does not cover hospitalization for vanity reasons. This was proposed by UP Diliman, endorsed by all the chancellors, and approved by the Board of Regents on May 27, 2010 during its 1255th meeting.

Additional discounts at the PGH All government employees are entitled to a 20% discount for their room, laboratory, and diagnostic evaluation and upon confinement in a government hospital. UP Manila and PGH employees who get confined in the PGH Infirmary are entitled to 100% discount on room and laboratory expenses. For all other UP employees, if they are confined in the PGH Infirmary, they get 50% discount on room and laboratory expenses.

If they get confined in private rooms, however, UP Manila and PGH employees are entitled to 30% discount while all other employees of UP are entitled to 20% discount. From August 2006 to August 2007, during the PGH Centennial year, as an act of generosity, PGH gave an additional 10% discount for all other UP employees (or a total of 30% discount). Beyond August 2007, the additional 10% discount shall remain in force but

the constituent university to which they belong shall shoulder the additional discount.

Loan window for UP Provident Fund members We made arrangements with the UP Provident Fund to open a loan window for members who are interested in enrolling in any medical health insurance company for the payment of their annual insurance premium. Maximum loanable amount at any one time is P10,000 payable in one year.

Grant of medical benefits to past UP Presidents In recognition and appreciation of the leadership and selfless service and the valuable contributions of the past UP presidents to the University, and considering that the University has the PGH, we proposed, and the Board approved, during its 1210th meeting on June 30, 2006, the grant of medical benefits as follows: annual executive check up in PGH in the amount of P10,000, and hospitalization benefits in PGH not to exceed P100,000, over and above Philhealth benefits and the 20% senior citizen discount on room and board, diagnostic tests, and pharmacy.

Student Welfare Scholarship grants For the students, we raised an additional 408 scholarship grants during our term. Details on this are found in the section on Admission, Tuition, Scholarship, and Financial Assistance.

New buildings/structures and repairs and renovation UP Diliman In 2006, P20 Million was allocated by UP Diliman for dormitory rehabilitation. Another P20 Million was allocated in 2007 for the same purpose.

The Kamagong dormitory, the construction of which was funded by Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr., was opened for occupation in 2006.

Through a donation from Phinma, the Centennial dormitory, valued at P40 Million, was constructed.

The dormitory can accommodate 288 students. A condition for the donation was that UP Diliman had to construct a counterpart dormitory in the adjacent area. About P36 Million has been allotted for this from UP Diliman funds.

In addition, UP Diliman is constructing another dormitory charged against tuition incremental income. This will be called Acacia Residence Hall FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT, p. 15

14

FORUM January-February 2011

UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 9 industries, and as faculty members of engineering schools, or have established their own technology start-ups. Engineering schools across the country have taken cognizance of the importance of ERDT. Many have partnered with ERDT in their desire to improve their engineering programs. The ERDT Program has also raised our standing in engineering in the international community.

Despite the realization of the ERDT objectives, there remains much to be accomplished as we want to improve our technological competitiveness to be at par with the rest of the region, if not the world.

To fully achieve our goal, the ERDT Program must continue to consolidate its achievements and ensure that engineering research and manpower development become a way of thinking in academe, government, and industry. A proposal to continue the ERDT Program for another 15 years was submitted to the DOST for approval. The proposal’s thesis lies in the need to beef up the number of research engineers that will enable us to exceed the UNESCO benchmark of the minimum number of RSEs as index for economic development.

The Philippine Genome Center In recent years, genomics—the study of the entire genetic set of organisms—has become an important scientific field which seems to promise a better life for everyone. Genomics has not only changed the way we perceive the natural world, it is also the fundamental science behind biotechnology, a field, the many advancements of which, have resulted in applications in a number of areas including, but not limited to, public health and disease prevention, agriculture and food security, bio-energy utilization and tropical biodiversity conservation, and many more.

During its 1246th meeting on July 31, 2009, the Board approved the proposal to establish the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) in UP. The PGC is envisioned to be a multi-disciplinary institution that will combine basic and applied research for the development of health diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventive products, and improved crop varieties. It will also offer genomics-based analytical services to practitioners in various government agencies and in private industries. The PGC aims to be a worldclass center to lead genome research and promote and facilitate the translation of the knowledge of genes, the proteins they encode and their functions, into applications beneficial to society—for the understanding of disease mechanisms, crop improvement, food quality, and biodiversity for drug discovery and bio-energy.

Towards this end the PGC will: • implement and promote research programdriven agenda on identified priority areas of national need and of competitive advantage in order to achieve a leading position in the country, in the region, and in the world; • establish a core facility to service the analytical needs of genome-based and related innovative researches in the country

Table 3

Scientist I Scientist II Scientist III Total

UPB 1

UPD 24

UPLB 19

UPM 6

6 1 26

3

1

3 3 30

8

(of this number, 9 (3 renewal and 1 promotion (1 renewal and 1 appointments have been to the next step) promotion) renewed after three years and upon completion with requirements for renewal)

and in the region; • train young scientists who will constitute the scientific manpower base to support the life sciences in the country; and • translate innovative breakthroughs into diagnostics, therapeutics and other devices, and improve crops through technology transfer, thus facilitating the development of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in the country.

At present, the PGC exists as a “Virtual Center” where UP researchers continue to conduct the genomics researches in their respective laboratories.

When fully operational, the Center will be based at the National Science Complex of the College of Science in UP Diliman with a core facility for DNA sequencing and bio-informatics. As the center’s research program is multi- and inter-disciplinary in nature, the center pools talents and resources from the University’s numerous institutes, colleges, and constituent units, as well as from other Philippine and international institutions. The center will also reach out to our Balik Scientists whose expertise might align with the center’s projects and research.

Working with an advisory board composed of scientists and experts of both national and international stature, the center has identified research areas to prioritize. These are: • health, particularly the development of treatment and diagnostic methods targeted specifically to Filipinos, particularly diseases which are listed among the top ten causes of mortality and morbidity; • agriculture, especially the genetic characterization and conservation of our genetic resources, and the improvement of crops and livestock yields through improved plant and animal varieties, and the identification and eradication of plant and animal diseases; • biodiversity, in particular the identification of new medicine and even possible fuel alternatives from our unique biodiversity; and • study of our own ethnicity, which will yield valuable information about our people’s genetic history.

The selection of these areas takes into account the positive impact which the research and its resulting technology will have on the Filipino population at large. For example, one of the center’s first proposed

UPMin 1

UPOU 1

1

1

UPV 2

2

projects is the preparation of AH1N1 and dengue fever diagnostic kits.

Likewise, the center will consider the ethical and legal issues raised by this scientific field that is relatively new in the country. The center will also take the lead in studies on how genomics and its eventual applications will impact on privacy, the health care system, intellectual property, and the environment.

Dr. Amelia Guevara has been named Acting Executive Director of the PGC. She is assisted by five directors: • Dr. Carmencita Padilla – Program Director for Health Research • Dr. Rita Laude – Program Director for Agricultural Research • Dr. Gisella Concepcion – Program Director for Biodiversity for Drug Discovery • Dr. Cynthia Saloma – Program Director for Core Facility for DNA Sequencing/ Genotyping • Dr. Arturo Lluisma – Program Director for Core Facility for Bio-Informatics The Scientific Productivity System We realized that we too had to look at the incentive system for our scientists so that they will be motivated to stay in UP and contribute to our efforts to strengthen our S&T programs. One of our first initiatives was to put in place an incentive system for those with outstanding research productivity.

On August 26, 2005 we proposed, and the Board of Regents approved, the UP Scientific Productivity System (SPS), which is aimed at encouraging scientific productivity for national development. It is both an award system and an incentive system that recognizes the sustained productivity of UP’s outstanding scientists, including those from the natural sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences. Scientific productivity is measured by the following general criteria: • scientific publications in refereed reputable journals and books, • peer-reviewed technological output and discoveries, • scientific standing in the international science community, and • professional standing in the international science community.

UP scientists who qualify under the UP SPS are given the rank of “Scientist I,” “Scientist II,” and “Scientist III” and receive P96,000, P120,000, and P144,000 respectively, each year for three years.

UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 15

FORUM January-February 2011 15

UP'S S&T THRUST, p. 14 After this, their awards may be renewed depending on their ability to comply with the criteria and other requirements. In 2008, the Board of Regents approved the upgrade of honoraria as follows: Scientist I from P 96,000 to P120,000 Scientist II from P120,000 to P144,000 Scientist III from P144,000 to P180,000 We are pleased to report that sixty-nine (69) of our colleagues have been recognized as UP Scientists since the time the program was implemented in 2006.

(See Table 3.)

UP North S&T Park The UP North S&T Park is envisioned to promote R&D linkages among academe, industry, and government, and generate new technologies. Not only is it expected to help supplement the University’s finances to support UP’s academic programs, it is also seen as providing a venue for the transformation of innovative ideas into cutting-edge commercial products, giving faculty and students access to worldclass learning laboratories and offering competitive employment opportunities. The research prospects and jobs generated by the Park will help minimize the phenomenon of “brain drain” and give UP graduates a reason to stay in the country.

In October 2006, the University entered into an agreement with Ayala Land, Inc. to develop approximately 38 hectares of UP property along Commonwealth. Today, we now have the UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub. In place is the office component, consisting of 10 low-rise buildings and a Tech Portal, which houses various IT and IT-enabled firms. The TechnoHub also contains a two-story retail plaza as support component. “We hope that UP will ignite a new technological revolution that will upgrade our science and technology capability and bring our country to the threshold of the First World in 20 years,” then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said during the inauguration of the Technohub. She added that the newly-opened facility would serve as the country’s foremost information technology laboratory, training ground, and incubator of new and high value products and services.

Ayala Land Inc. Senior Managing Director Mercelita Nolledo explained that development consists of construction of ten (10) low-rise office buildings primarily intended for lease to corporate office tenants in high-technology fields (i.e. telecommunications, telematics, IT, biotechnology) and high-value business process outsourcing (BPO) industry (i.e. accounting, animation, software development, design and engineering services), as well as start-up companies or incubatees. To make the Park a point of convergence not only for the business and technology sectors but also local communities, a village-type retail strip has been built and features restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, and other service establishments. Public facilities such as business centers, meeting rooms, and fitness and recreation centers will be integrated into the Park.

Hotels and residential facilities will also be integrated into the Park.

Designed to be to the Philippines what the Silicon Valley corridor in California is to the US, the North S&T Park “will also set the standard for all future science and technology and IT parks” in the Philippines, according to Nolledo. “This is one

of our flagship projects,” Nolledo added. “We are bringing all of our company’s business lines to bear on this project.”

The lease of UP property to a leading developer in the country is the best possible use of our idle assets. Prior to this development, the land along Commonwealth Avenue was unused and therefore was constantly in danger of occupation by informal settlers. The University had to hire a private security agency to safeguard the place, thus spending millions of pesos just to protect the property.

ARTS, CULTURE & LANGUAGE, p. 6 masterworks of classical theater as well as original works by Filipino playwrights. It reaches out to diverse audiences not only in Metro Manila but also in nearby provinces.

UPV held the “Ilonggo Sarswela: Padayon ang Istorya,” in July 2009. It featured excerpts from six short Ilonggo plays, by the alumni of the UPV theatre groups, as part of the celebrations of the 61st anniversary of the UP presence in Iloilo.

FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT, p. 13 located at Laurel Street, cor. Apacible Street.

UP Diliman also funded the construction o f Ta m b a y a n s a t t h e C o l l e g e o f M a s s Communication.

UP Los Baños UP Los Baños has undertaken repairs of dormitories and the Student Union building. An initial P8 Million has been allocated for this. Another P17.8 Million has been allocated to continue the renovation work of the Student Union building.

A new dormitory building will be constructed for the students. Bidding has been completed and papers are now being prepared for the award to a contractor.

Finally, the construction of the Gymnasium has been completed. Work is now being undertaken to equip the gymnasium with basketball court equipment and accessories.

UP Manila UP Manila has set aside P35 Million for the construction of a six-storey dormitory building. Funds will be coming from the tuition incremental income.

UP Baguio From its own funds, UP Baguio has allocated almost P13 Million for the construction of the StudentAlumni Center. It also spent almost P900,000 for the renovation of the Baguio Residence Hall.

UP Visayas Tacloban College With funding support of P10 Million from Senator Miguel Zubiri, a new dormitory is now being constructed for students.

UP Mindanao From its own funds, UP Mindanao rehabilitated the Student Community Center. It has also allocated P5.2 Million from the tuition incremental income for the construction of the annex of the dormitory.

Total Benefits to Faculty and Staff For the duration of our term we have given out a total of about P1.5 Billion representing benefits and allowances to our faculty and staff. (See Table 2 on page 13.)

REACHING OUT, p. 7 to the first batch of students from the provinces of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Quirino. A second batch of students was admitted in 2009. In the first semester of AY 2010- 2011, a School of Health Sciences in Koronadal, South Cotabato was opened with 36 students, half of whom belong to indigenous communities.

It should be noted that the success of any SHS depends on the support it can get from the local government, for it is the local government that supports the students of the program. The University provides the instructional program, the faculty, and other curricular requirements. The local government provides the site for the school, allowances for the students, and the classrooms or buildings, including their maintenance. Thus in Aurora, the University is grateful to Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Representative Juan Edgardo Angara, and Governor Bella Flor A. Castillo for their unqualified support for this program.

On September 13, 2010, Senator Edgardo J. Angara donated to UP one hectare of land in Baler, Aurora on which the School for Health Sciences building is now being built. In South Cotabato, Governor Daisy Fuentes was been very instrumental in the establishment of the SHS. On July 30, 2010, the Province of Cotabato donated to UP four hectares of land on which the School of Health Sciences building is now being constructed.

UP Mindanao Faculty members and students regularly host, organize, and hold performances and exhibitions to revive interest in and enrich Mindanao arts and culture.

The Department of Human Kinetics regularly helps in the development of the physical and mental well-being of the surrounding communities through the development of barangay sports programs.

The Department of Humanities has conducted training programs and seminars for English teachers of high schools to enhance their competencies and skills in teaching English.

The School of Management has helped community farmers in accessing seeds and in training them to improve their marketing skills and capabilities and eventually their incomes.

UP Open University UPOU’s outreach programs are done primarily through its own academic programs which reach out not only to far flung communities in the country but throughout the world.

UP Visayas UP Visayas has worked for the creation of an inter-agency multisectoral disaster-management task force to establish disaster-preparedness and quick response to disasters in the communities.

The College of Arts and Sciences has the Barangay Integrated Development Approach for Nutrition Improvement Program (BIDANI) which projects include good governance through empowerment in systematic program planning and management, project formulation and implementation, resource allocation and linkages; poverty alleviation through income generation and livelihood projects; food security by promoting production and proper utilization of food and nutrition improvement.

16

FORUM January-February 2011

Conclusion

W

e have arrived at the end of this six-year journey. When I undertook to stand at the helm of the country’s premier university as it completed its 100th year and entered its second century, I had no illusions that it would be an easy task.

Today I make no attempt to mask the fact that there were times when I was sorely tried. If I persevered, it was because of the reassurances of support that I continued to receive from the majority of the UP community—from its most humble to its most distinguished and respected members—and my confidence in the fact that I had never wavered from what I saw as my mandate.

I am grateful to those who stood by us through both the heady days of our Centennial celebrations, and the sobering periods of conflict.

I am particularly grateful to those who, even when they might have disagreed with particular policies or decisions of our administration, were one with us in our determination not to allow disagreements to descend to the level of the petty, the malicious, the irresponsible, and the irrational, which dishonors us all as academics, as well as the University to which we belong.

The mistakes that we made were never made in bad faith or from selfish interests. And I sincerely hope that even those who judge us most harshly will grant this to be true.

My colleagues and co-workers, students, and friends, before I take my leave, I wish to thank the Board of Regents, particularly those members who assisted us in our struggle to obtain approval of our new Charter; and who agreed to serve as members of the UP Centennial Commission, and put the wisdom of their years of experience, and their extensive networks, at our disposal, and steered us successfully through our Centennial Celebrations.

I am deeply grateful to Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Dr. Magdaleno B. Albarracin, Jr., and all the members of the Centennial Commission who gave much of their time and personal resources to ensure the success of our milestone celebration.

Senator Angara attended all the Commission meetings despite his busy schedule and went out of his way to personally approach potential donors.

Dr. Albarracin considered his membership in the Commission almost like his full-time job. On his own time and resources, he followed through the pledges and donations here in the Philippines and in the United States. The Centennial Commission members became my sources of inspiration—if I worked hard to raise funds, it was because I tried to match their dedication and eagerness to serve their Alma Mater.

I thank most especially, my Executive Staff—the Vice Presidents and the Secretary of the University and the Board of Regents—who shared the dream, and, who, in serving the University, sacrificed not just time and energy, but opportunities to earn recognition, both national and international, for their own scholarly and creative projects.

I thank the members of President’s Advisory Council—the Chancellors of the constituent universities, who, through their cooperation, dedication, and leadership, gave shape to the dream.

I thank the College Deans, whom I have always regarded as the University’s backbone; the directors and other university administrators; the members of the faculty—its gifted scientists and artists, its distinguished scholars and members of the different professions—who are the magnet drawing successive generations of young Filipinos to our campuses; our loyal support staff; our alumni, who continue to provide invaluable

support for their alma mater; and our students, on whom we pin our highest hopes.

I share our success with the staff of my office, the Office of the President; with the staff of the offices of the vice-presidents, the Office of the Secretary of the University and of the Board of Regents; and with my aide and driver. They made life in Quezon Hall better and happier for they were always there to help, never minding if work went beyond office hours.

It has been my unique privilege and responsibility to serve as UP’s first woman president and as its Centennial president. I hope I have proven worthy of the honor and the trust.

EMERLINDA R. ROMAN THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

FORUM Isabelita O. Reyes Editor in Chief Flor Cabangis Managing Editor Conchitina Cruz Associate Editor Marvic M. V. F. Leonen Consulting Editor Camille De La Rosa Rod Fajardo III Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta Jo Florendo Lontoc Francis Paolo Quina Bernice P. Varona Writers Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta Layout Artist Francis Paolo Quina Webmaster: Forum Online Sol Barcebal Researcher Bong Arboleda Misael Bacani Jun Madrid Photographers

The UP FORUM University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 1101 APPROVED PERMIT NUMBER/INDICIA Business Mail Permit No. 2ND-07-010-NCR Entered as Second Class Mail at the U.P.P.O. Valid until June 30, 2011 Subject to Postal Inspection (for printed matter only)

Cristy Salvador Obet Eugenio Alice Abear Tom Maglaya Victor Imbuido Administrative Staff

UP System Information Office Mezzanine Floor Quezon Hall UP Diliman, Quezon City 926-1572,436-7537 e-mail: forum@up.edu.ph