By Benito V. Sanvictores Jr., images by Leonardo A. Reyes At the donation turn-over were (seated, from left) VSB Dean Ben Paul B. Gutierrez, UPD Chancellor Michael…

(AUG. 25)—UP Diliman is the top-performing school in the August 2015 Mining Engineer Licensure Examinations with a 97.06-percent passing rate and 2015 BS Mining Engineering graduate Mark Joseph Duhaylungsod Abing earning the second highest rate with a percentage score of 89.10 percent, based on results released by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). According to the PRC, 33 out of the 34 examinees from UPD passed, making UPD the top-performing school for the examination period. Abing leads the five UPD graduates who entered the top…

A UP Bike Share unit. (August 18, 2015)—Getting around the 493-hectare UP Diliman (UPD) campus is a daily challenge for many students, who often travel from one building to another as they go through their classes. One student group is attempting to make things better by creating a free bike-sharing system on campus. UP Bike Share, a non-profit advocacy group of undergraduate students, is now providing free use of 30 red-and-white painted bikes for some 50 dormitory students in UPD as part of a…

By Haidee C. Pineda (JUL. 10)—Four UP Diliman (UPD) artists are among the 13 Gawad CCP para sa Sining awardees. Opera singer Fides Cuyugan-Asencio, visual artist Roberto Chabet, director-actor Antonio O. Mabesa and choreographer Basilio Esteban S. Villaruz will be honored for their achievements and contributions to music, visual art, theatre and dance/cultural work, respectively, at ceremonies to be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on Sept. 17. Gawad CCP para sa Sining is the highest award given by the Cultural Center…

By Benito V. Sanvictores Jr., image by Jefferson Villacruz Certified seed. This is the secret behind the sunflowers at UPD’s recent graduation. Tasked to ensure there will be sunflowers despite moving the graduation date to June due to the academic calendar shift, Campus Maintenance Office (CMO) Acting Director Alden Jose U. Aynera discussed the matter with his foremen. “We accepted the challenge of planting sunflowers even during the start of the rainy season,” he said. They consulted with Mr. Emiliano D. Sotalbo, former CMO director and Project Development Associate (PDA) of UPD…

By Albino C. Gamba Jr., images by Leonardo A. Reyes Ten electric tricycles are now providing transportation services around the campus on a 2-month pilot test as part of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between UP Diliman (UPD) and BEMAC Electric Transportation Philippines Incorporated (BEMAC). BEMAC is a subsidiary of Japanese firm Uzoshio Electric Co. Ltd. and a pioneer in the Japanese electric vehicle industry. Dubbed as UP E-kot, the 68VM electric tricycle can accommodate six passengers…

By Albino C. Gamba Jr., image by Leonardo A. Reyes From left: HRDO director Angela D. Escoto, Vice President for Administration Maragtas S.V. Amante, Chancellor Michael L. Tan, retiree and former UP President and UPD Chancellor Emerlinda R. Roman, Vice Chancellor for Academic…

By Anna E. Regidor, images by Leonardo A. Reyes, Jefferson Villacruz UP Diliman (UPD) flaunted its best and brightest in a parade greeted with cheers and fanfare as students, faculty and staff achievers marched around the Academic Oval for the first ever Parada ng Parangal (Parade of Honor) on May 4. Drawing inspiration from the colorful sagala, a pageant held in many towns and cities in the Philippines in May, the Parada featured one or more pairs from the University’s 27 degree-granting units, each representing the significant achievements of their college in the past year.

(JUL. 22) — Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (DUP) elected Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts assistant professor Dexter M. Santos as its new artistic director. Santos is DUP’s youngest artistic director. He has staged notable plays for the company such as Orosman at Zafira (2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012), Ang Kiri (2009), Lulu (2009), Rizal X (2011), Collection (2013) and Ang Nawalang Kapatid (February 2014 and July 2014). He has also directed a number of events inside and outside the university including the UAAP Season…

  By Albino C. Gamba Jr. (JUL. 21)— Science DilimanVolume 27, No. 1 (2015) is now online. Science Diliman is a Philippine Journal of Pure and Applied Science. The current issue features four articles. The first article “National Patterns of Philippine Reef Fish Diversity and Its Implications on the Current Municipal-Level Management” discusses the standardized Underwater Visual Census (UVC) belt transect sampling methods to quantify current levels of reef fish biodiversity. The paper also reiterates the need for a “long term and nationwide efforts to…