(Oct. 8) — In the book “The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right,” it is said Fascism has been “used as a pejorative term of abuse directed at people who are conservative, right wing or authoritarian in the traditional sense” since the end of World War II. This is due to its negative connotation of a dictator’s absolute control over the society and economy, where opposition is…

(OCT. 8)—To commemorate the 59th birth anniversary of Prof. Perry Ong, PhD, the Biodiversity Research Laboratory (BRL) of the UP Institute of Biology (UPIB) held a tree-planting activity at the IB-EDC BINHI Threatened Species Arboretum. Ong served as IB director from 2006 to 2012 and College of Science (CS) dean from Oct. 17, 2017 until the time of his death last March 2. He was an expert in biodiversity and a pillar in the wildlife conservation movement.  “We chose planting trees as an activity, specifically native hard wood, as a way…

(OCT. 8)— Professor Emeritus Antonio Ocampo Mabesa passed away on Friday night, Oct. 4. He was 84. Popularly known as Tony Mabesa, he was dubbed as the “Lion of the Theater” by columnist Amadis Ma. Guerrero. He was a notable director, educator and actor having directed over 170 productions staged locally and internationally. He starred in over 130 films (foreign, indie, and mainstream productions) and 60 television shows (Villa Quintana, Vietnam Rose and sitcoms). He was born on Jan. 27, 1935 in Los Banos, Laguna where his remarkable…

(OCT. 4)—Former UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries (ISSI) Director and UP College of Engineering (COE) professor Nestor O. Rañeses passed away today, Oct. 4.  A former Assistant Vice President for Administration of the UP System, Rañeses has been with the University since 1977 as an associate professor of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR).  In 1995, he began to split his time between being a part-time Affiliate Faculty on Total Quality Management at the Technology Management Center and being a part-time professorial lecturer at the IEOR, where…

(OCT. 4) — “If life is beautiful, it should be a rainbow,” said keynote speaker Dr. Leticia Peñano-Ho, former UP College of Education dean and Professional Regulation Commission 2019 Outstanding Psychologist, to more than a hundred participants who attended the “Celebrate Life 2019” forum on Sept. 30 at the School of Economics Auditorium. Celebrate Life is a yearly event organized by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) through the Office of Counseling and Guidance (OCG). The theme for this year’s event was “Embracing the…

(SEPT. 30)   ̶ The UP College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) recently launched the online version of the “Philippine Journal of Social Development (PJSD) Volume 12 2019”. “This issue is special because this is the first journal produced by CSWCD’s Doctor of Social Development (DSD) Program which is also celebrating its 10th anniversary,” said one of the issue editors, DSD director Prof. Ma. Theresa V. Tungpalan, PhD. The 10-article volume is divided into two sections. The first section scrutinizes current social development themes generated from…

What’s UP? is a publication of the UP Diliman Information Office under the Office of the Chancellor, UP Diliman. Its editorial office is located at 2/F University Theater (Villamor Hall), Osmeña Avenue, UP Diliman, Quezon City, with telephone numbers 981-8500 loc. 3982/3983, email address upd.ugnayan@gmail.com. What’s UP? accepts announcements of activities of UPD academic and administrative units and student organizations, as well as call for papers. Text should not exceed 400 words and must contain the event’s title, venue, date and time, contact information of the organizing group and…

(SEPT. 27) ̶ Former UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR) Dean Prof. Jose C. Gatchalian, PhD, passed away on Sept. 20, according to a Sept. 21 post of SOLAIR on its Facebook page. Gatchalian started his teaching career in SOLAIR in 1965 and became a dean in 1982 until 1988. He retired from SOLAIR in 2004. At the time of his passing, he was the Chairman of the Board of Quality Partners Company Ltd., a strategic consulting firm for labor relations and workplace cooperation. Among his expertise were workplace cooperation,…

(SEPT. 23)—A museum and memorial dedicated to honor the memory of the victims of the state violence and oppression during President Ferdinand E. Marcos’s Martial Law will be built inside the UP Diliman campus infront of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) building. Named “Freedom Memorial Museum,” the flagship project of the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC) will house a roll call or list of names of the victims. It will also house relevant memorabilia, artifacts, educational materials and audiovisual content…

(SEPT. 18)—UP Diliman (UPD) ranked first among the top performing schools in the September 2019 Librarian Licensure Examination as the graduates of the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) placed in five of the top 10 spots. All 36 examinees from UPD passed on their first try, making the University the only top-performing school with a 100 percent passing rate. Six made it to the top 10 rankings led by Gerard Paul Sto. Domingo Pascual who came in 5th place with an 88.85 percent rating followed by Samuel Macalanda Pepito…