University of the Philippines
Diliman

University of the Philippines
Diliman
Campus

DSCTA hosts book talk for Some People Need Killing

April 19, 2024
Prizewinning journalist, bestselling author, and UP Diliman (UPD) alumna, Patricia C. Evangelista was back in the University to talk about her book Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country (Some People Need Killing), the activity that starts the Philippine tour of the acclaimed book. Event poster. Image from the DSCTA Facebook page Organized by the UPD Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts (DSCTA), the book talk had a good audience turnout as the Aldaba Recital Hall of the UP Theater had a full house. The audience composed of fellow journalists, UPD faculty, students, researchers, and staff filled the venue to hear Evangelista talk about her book on the extrajudicial deaths during the administration of former president Rodrigo R. Duterte. Marielle Justine Ching Sumilong, an instructor at the DSCTA and the book talk host, informed UPDate Online in an email that Some People Need Killing is “Evangelista’s detailed chronicle of the Duterte-backed drug war in the Philippines.” (From left) Araullo and Evangelista. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO She further stated that the book is “considered one of the best books of 2023 by The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Economist.” DSCTA Chair Oscar T. Serquiña said by taking part in the book tour and in sharing “our institutional resources with her , we are in significant ways affirming our alignment with and commitment to the principles that animate, if not propel, her book, namely, to remember the suffering of others and the harrowing conditions of its emergence, to shine the light on the stories of marginalized individuals, and to never forget the casualties and consequences of tyrannical rule.” Evangelista before a full house. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO At the book talk, Evangelista read parts of her book before sitting to participate in an interview by journalist Atom Araullo and answer questions from the audience. Evangelista shared that “If there’s anything I want people to take away from the book, it’s so that people could listen to other people’s stories—to listen outside their bubbles, to listen beyond what is publicly said, and to hear what is happening.” Released in 2023 by Random House, the book was shortlisted for the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. The DSCTA faculty with Evangelista (center) and Araullo (right). Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO
Students

UPD is top-performing in Electronics Engineers Licensure Examination

April 18, 2024
UP Diliman (UPD) was the lone top-performing school in the April 2024 Electronics Engineers Licensure Examination (EELE) with a 90.91% passing rate and five examinees landing in the top 10. Fifty examinees from the UPD Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute passed the rigorous exam. To qualify as a top-performing school, an institution must have 50 or more examinees and an at least 80% passing rate. The EEEI building. Photo by Jerald Caranza, UPDIO The passing batch of UPD examinees was led by Joaquin Mateo Jison who ranked second with a 91.10% rating. He is followed by Rodmar Ramos (7th, 88%), John Ray Marturillas (8th, 87.5%), Cyrille Cervantes (9th, 87.4%), and Emmanuel Paulo Santos (10th, 87.2%). According to data posted on the Professional Regulation Commission website, 1,330 of 3,130 passed the exam administered in the National Capital Region, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Pampanga, Rosales, and Tuguegarao. UPD was also the lone top-performing school in the April and October 2023 EELE.
Academe

UPD economics faculty named among TOYM 2023

April 17, 2024
Jan Carlo B. Punongbayan, PhD is among the recipients of The Outstanding Young Men Awards 2023 (TOYM 2023). Punongbayan. Photo from the SE website TOYM 2023, with the theme Passionate Leaders Embracing Innovations, honored Punongbayan in the field of economics. According to a Facebook post of TOYM Philippines, “These outstanding individuals have demonstrated unparalleled commitment, innovation, and leadership in their respective fields, embodying the spirit of positive change and progress. They have not only excelled in their fields but have also embraced innovation with passion, driving positive change in their communities and beyond.” Punongbayan is an assistant professor at the UP Diliman (UPD) School of Economics (SE), teaching macroeconomics. He is the co-founder of the Usapang Econ, co-host of the Usapang Econ podcast, and a columnist at Rappler. He is the author of the book False Nostalgia: The Marcos ‘Golden Age’ Myths and How to Debunk Them. Punongbayan obtained his bachelor’s (summa cum laude), master’s, and doctoral degrees in economics from UPD in 2009, 2013, and 2021, respectively. The TOYM awards were established in 1953 and organized and given by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines, with the support of the TOYM Foundation. According to the JCI Philippines website the “TOYM award, formerly known as The Outstanding Young Filipinos, is an annual recognition of Filipinos between 18 and 40 years of age who have made significant contributions to their field or community.”
Research

Moving toward a socially sustainable Philippines

March 26, 2024
The Philippines needs to strengthen its existing support programs, such as those for indigenous people (IP), women, and climate change resilience, to step closer to social sustainability, according to Louise Cord, PhD. Cord is the World Bank global director for social sustainability and inclusion in the World Bank’s sustainable development practice. Cord said social sustainability occurs “when communities and societies are able to work together to deal with common challenges such as flooding, droughts, poor quality education, a poorly stocked health center in a way that all people thrive over time and in a way that people consider to be fair and just.” Cord. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO She said some of the Philippines’ economic indicators in the past few years are strong, such as a drop in inequality and strong poverty reduction metrics. To move towards social sustainability in the Philippines, Cord proposed actions in the areas of women empowerment, digital services, and programs for IP. Cord made a case of social sustainability particularly for the country’s IP communities. She said the IP’s remote ancestral lands contain many “important minerals whose value will grow.” She proposed developing a digital portal to centralize data such as the locations of ancestral lands and the services available to IP. Cord also proposed creating integrated packages for remote communities that provide “access to digital resources, access to transport, access to local infrastructure.” She added that access to digital services could improve the role of women and other marginalized groups by enabling and expanding their access to markets. Cord said digital services would also enable women and marginalized groups to “talk with one another across communities and to learn from one another. And to track funds to build accountability at the local level using a cellphone to be able to have an app to track funds.” The World Bank official cited the work of the National Commission on Indigenous People’s (NCIP), which she said could be bolstered by giving them more resources to go out to the IP communities. “ so happy that an institution like the NCIP provides that support. What I would like to see is that they won’t have to come all the way to Manila to make their claim. That there are easier access to systems, to have a voice at the local level and have themselves be heard,” Cord said. While a lot is being done to build climate change resilience in communities, Cord said there needs to be more initiatives, particularly in infrastructure and service delivery. “All of this is absolutely key, but we also need resilient communities, because…
Extension

UPD campaign yields 43% reduction of plastic use

April 08, 2024
The Pilot Project for Plastic-Free Vending in UP Diliman (Plastic-Free Vending in UPD) that encouraged the removal or replacement of plastic containers among food vendors in UPD resulted in “considerable reductions in the use and disposal of single-use plastics among customers, with an overall reduction of 43%.” Compostable cups being used in a food kiosk. Screenshot of YouTube Video Pilot Project for Plastic-Free Vending in UPD The result was part of the report Breaking the Plastic Habit: A Guidance Note and Practical Toolkit (Report) published by the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN (ERIA) and East Asia and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). According to the Report, “the project was designed to conduct a three-week trial run of plastic-free policies in selected food stores and ambulatory vendors and food kiosks on the campus.” The Report stated that Plastic-Free Vending in UPD has four pillars of intervention. These are the “development of a comprehensive communication strategy,” “sustaining the prohibition of selling drinks in plastic bottles and offering discounts to customers who choose to bring their own reusable food containers,” providing “compostable alternatives to plastic food packaging,” and the “implementation of a proper waste segregation system in partner sites.” Information campaign materials on display in a canteen. Screenshot of YouTube Video Pilot Project for Plastic-Free Vending in UP Diliman (UP TFES) Aside from “a significant decrease in the amount of plastic waste produced by the participating vendors,” the Report also stated that there was an increase in the amount of compostable waste collected by the Diliman Environmental Management Office (DEMO) materials recovery facility. In addition, the Report mentioned these results “will have positive knock-on effects on the campus food production system.” The leader of the project Plastic-Free Vending in UPD was Noriza T. Sadie, an assistant professor of environmental and energy engineering at the UPD Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE). It was conducted by the UPD Task Force on Environmental Sustainability (TFES) in partnership with ICE and DEMO. The project was supported by a grant from the ERIA and IGES. The results of Plastic-Free Vending in UPD published in the Report, together with the results of three similar pilot projects in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam were used to produce the toolkit Breaking the Plastic Habit: Toolkit for Designing Behavioural Insight Interventions (Toolkit). Vendor serving food on a compostable plate. Screenshot of YouTube Video Pilot Project for Plastic-Free Vending in UPD The Toolkit can be used by administrators or leaders aiming to move people away from using single-use plastics in a group or community “through behavioral interventions, emphasizing the…
Notices

Notice From the UP Diliman Office of the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development on the Ongoing Drainage Improvement Project at the University Amphitheater

April 12, 2024

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MSI honors Gomez, renames its building

April 16, 2024

The UP Diliman (UPD) Marine Science Institute (MSI) recently honored National Scientist Edgardo D. Gomez, its founder and the institute’s prime driving force, by renaming its building as the Edgardo D. Gomez Hall (Gomez Hall) at the celebration of its 50th founding anniversary. Three UPD chancellors gave messages on the day the MSI paid tribute […]

UP Law is champion of 28th Stetson

April 16, 2024

Fresh from its win as world champion of the 2024 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the UP College of Law (UP Law) once again triumphed as the champion of the 28th Stetson Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition (Stetson IEMCC). According to the Stetson Law website, this year’s theme is Mountain Gorillas […]

More UPD programs AUN-QA certified

April 15, 2024

Four programs of UP Diliman (UPD) have been certified by the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) University Network Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) this April. These are the BA (political science) of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, the BS (hotel, restaurant, and institution management) and MS (food science) of the College of Home Economics […]
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Events

MusiKolokya
Apr 19

MusiKolokya

Join the UP Diliman College of Music (CMu) colloquium “MusiKolokya”...
Apr 20
La Historia Olvidada: Filipinas-Mexico 2024

La Historia Olvidada: Filipinas-Mexico 2024

Everyone is invited to the third episode of the virtual...
Apr 20
KISs ME 2: Key Instructional Strategies in Mathematics Education

KISs ME 2: Key Instructional Strategies in Mathematics Education

The second part of the webinar “KISs ME 2: Key...
Apr 20
20th Certificate Course in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management

20th Certificate Course in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management

The UP Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR)...
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