GazetteTHE MSU-ILIGAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Vol. 8 No. 29 Official Quarterly Newsletter of MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology October - December 2014

“It’s a grand day for COE!” was the opening statement of engi-neer and lawyer Edgar Alan A. Do-nasco, Dean of the College of Engi-neering (COE) setting the tone for the day marked by a milestone in the College’s existence.

On that day, November 20, 2014, officials and dignitaries led by MSU System Pres. Macapado A. Muslim gathered to witness the inauguration and dedication of the expansion of the COE building. In-stitute constituents were also

present. “It all started as a dream,” shared Dr. Feliciano B. Alagao, Act-ing Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development and former COE dean. In his message during the

program, Alagao narrated that he had asked Prof. Geronides Ancog’s assistance through his students to design an expansion building. “His [referring to Prof. An-cog] first question was, ‘How big,

COE inaugurates and dedicates New Annex Building

by Maria Theresa B. Panzo

To improve support services in MSU-IIT, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance (OVCAF), held a cluster planning on December 12, 2014 in Marco Hotel of Cagayan de Oro City.

According to Dr. David N. Almarez, Sr., the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance, the goal of the planning was to exercise creativity and innovation, to help shape organizational culture by

OVCAF Cluster Planning Workshop: Fulfilling

Laid Out Plansby Fatimah Joy S. Almarez

Opening of Classes Moved to August

Honeylet E Dumoran

The MSU-IIT is the first ed-ucational institution in Mindanao to shift its academic calendar to an August opening, and the third in the country to do so after UP Dili-man and Ateneo de Manila. The MSU Board of Regents (BOR) approved the academic cal-endar shift for MSU-IIT during its fourth and final Meeting for 2014. The Calendar moves the opening of classes for the first se-mester of AY 2015-2016 to August, effectively shifting the entire aca-demic year from June-March to Au-gust-May. With MSU-IIT in the lead, many believe the shift will eventual-ly be implemented system-wide.

The MSU university council had earlier deferred the Institute’s proposal for a calendar shift because of the lack of additional documents. The Institute’s second proposal for a January 2015 opening was also re-jected during the September 3, 2014 meeting between MSUS Adminis-trative officials and academic heads at the MSU Main campus. The calendar shift is envi-sioned to synchronize the Institute’s academic calendar with those of other universities in the ASEAN, thereby maximizing student and faculty mobility between ASEAN countries and in turn, increase collaborative researches between MSU-IIT and other ASEAN univer-

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Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration Heads of Offices and Staff with VCFA å N. Almarez

October - December 20142/Gazette

To keep costs under control, MSU-IIT held a year-end assess-ment of Work and Financial Plans (WFP) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 and a workshop for the preparation of WFPs for FY 2015-2016. Held in Marco Polo Hotel in Cagayan de Oro from October 30-31, the assessment and workshop was the first of its kind for IIT. It was attended by the Institute Chancel-lor; the Vice Chancellors for Plan-ning and Development, Academic Affairs and Ad-ministration and Finance; all Cost Center Heads and financial analysts. Dr. Franco Teves, the Institute Head of Research, represented the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension. The main talking points of the two-day activity were the Annu-al Accomplishment Report, Perfor-mance-Based Bonus (PBB )Targets, consolidation by the Cost Centers of their individual efforts, Civil Service approved teacher and staff evaluation forms, and the raising of graduate passing average in board

exams. Dr. Polaus Bari of the Bud-get Management Office and Dr. Edgar W. Ignacio, the Vice Chan-cellor of Academic Affairs critiqued the presentations on the first day; while Teves, Dr. Jerson Orejudos, the Institute Registrar, and Dr. Alita T. Roxas of the School of Graduate Studies gave their comments. Chancellor Tanggol empha-sized in his opening speech that projects should be based on the ac-tual needs of an office, department or college. He also reminded that activities should be created for spe-cific budgets at the same time, he expressed appreciation of the pres-ent, transparent way in handling the Institute budget and finances. Prof. Elmer Nacua, Head of the Human Resource Management Division, on the other hand, ex-plained the Civil Service approved Strategic Performance and Moni-toring System (SPMS) which would monitor the performances of both faculty and staff. SPMS had been piloted on the staff this year. Roxas

also explained the concept of val-ue-added measures. It was noted after the presen-tations by the offices of their 2014 work plans that elements of time-liness and quantitative and qualita-tive measures were missing. Also, after Bari presented a comparison of budget utilization in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Cost Center Heads were advised to monitor their fund utilization and not just rely on their financial analysts. The assessment and work-

shop was hosted by the Office of the

Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development. Beginning next year, it will be conducted twice a year. According to the Vice Chancellor for Planning and De-velopment, Dr. Feliciano Alagao, the targets to be achieved will cas-cade to all the Cost Center Heads, and Deans who, in turn, will decide what their Colleges and Schools and Offices will contribute in the achievements of these targets.

Year-End Assessment of WFPs; Workshop Heldby Fatimah Joy S. Almarez

Participants druing the assessment and workshop at Marco Polo Hotel

sities. The Administration is also optimistic that the shift will allow the Institute to reap maximum ben-efits from its membership in the international research consortiums like the AUN-SEED Network. Vice Chancellor (VC) of Academic Affairs, Dr. Edgar W. Ig-nacio, acknowledges that there will undoubtedly be unique challenges pertaining to this shift. He is confi-dent, however, that these difficulties will not be insurmountable. “There are more opportuni-ties to be had in shifting the Calen-

dar now, than there will be in de-laying it,” VC Ignacio exemplifies with the most visible opportunity of finally completing the Institute’s revised OBE-compliant curricula from the various academic depart-ments and colleges.

With the opening of classes in Au-gust, the Institute is looking at a two-month period following the Summer Term. This will be an in-valuable opportunity to re-align goals and objectives among the dif-ferent cost centers in the Institute.

Opening of Classes... from page 1

sir?’ I said, ‘really big.’ I could read his reaction then [and I believed] he thought I was dreaming.” Indeed it all started as a dream, but what Alagao did not realize was that Ancog was also a dreamer. The 5-storey building, as described by Alagao, is “a showcase of fine engineering design.” It has green features like passive ventilation and lighting. Its walls are light, sound proof, and insulated. The building is also equipped with a rain water harvest-ing system and a fire fighting sys-tem. It is also PWD friendly and has fine landscaping and parking spaces. It has three elevators and has its own 220kVA GenSet. With its goal of sustaining academic excellence, the building’s roof decks also provide ideal spaces for faculty and student researches to conduct their studies. Alagao also revealed that by 2015, “the other wing shall be

started.” The project was funded by the CHED Disbursement Project (DAP) funds through the efforts of MSU President Muslim. “One of our main justifica-tions to CHED was that with the facility, our application for AUN-SEED Net membership shall be bol-stered - we even became a member even before it [building] was com-pleted. Another justification was our Washington Accord accredi-tation which is currently a work in progress. We also promised to in-crease our research outputs through publications, which COE is current-ly doing right now,” Alagao further explained. Ancog, the Technical Proj-ect Leader, referred to to the build-ing as “a legacy” since the endeavor is a “genuine service for MSU-IIT”. “It’s my honor to wel-come you all to this new building of MSU-IIT,” he gestured to everyone present.

COE inaugurates and... from page 1 MSU President Muslim, for his part, urged everyone to be grateful for all these talented and skilled individuals who have devot-ed much time in the realization of such dream. “We should thank people who show leadership, commitment, and generosity,” he said. He added that “Iligan [refer-ring to the Institute] is the principal jewel when it comes to Science and Technology. This building is your

building. You deserve this.” The laying of a time cap-sule led by the MSU President Mus-lim, Institute Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol, Atty. Donasco, and Prof. Ancog was also done as part of the event. The capsule, which contained messages from the pres-ent Engineering family, is a legacy to future engineering students. It will be opened 37 years from now or during the 75th anniversary of the College.

Inaugauration of College Engineering Extension Building: In photo (left to right) are MSUS President Maca-pado Muslim, Executive Vice President Emmanuel M. Lagare, MSU-IIT Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol, Dr. Feliciano B. Alagao and (partly hidden), Dr. Edgar W. Ignacio. Back: BOR regents Roberto Lim and Eduardito Maruhom.

October - December 2014

In line with its long-standing commitment to the Mindanao peace process, the Dele-gation of theEuropean Union (EU) to the Philippines and its partners launched the 1st EU peace journal-ism awards on October 10 at the Al-Nor Hotel, Cotabato City. Collaborating with EU as one of its partners in organizing this program is MSU-IIT’s Institute for-Peace and Development in Mindan-ao (IPDM). EU’s other partners are the Center for Humanitarian Dia-logue, National Union of Journal-ists of the Philippines, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journal-ism, Ateneo de Manila University, the Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines, and philstar.com. This program is also in collaboration with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). The launching was attended by EU delegation to the Philippines headed by Mr. Edoardo Manfredini, EU Program Manager, represent-ing EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux; Bangsamoro Transition Commis-sion (BTC) Chair Mohagher Iqbal; Dir. Marlon Dedumo of the Presi-dential Adviser on the Peace Pro-cess (OPAPP); veteran journalist Ms. Veronica Pedrosa of Aljazeera; representatives from EU’s partner organizations, and members of the media and civil society organiza-tions. At the launching - EU rep-resentative Edoardo Manfredini (seated rightmost) and resource person Veronica Pedrosa and (seat-ed beside him) with the event staff and representatives from EU’s partners. “Today is a time of great

promise but also a time when the new [Bangsamoro] governance structure is not yet in place. This is a time which should be used to ex-plain to all stakeholders the benefit of this[GPH-MILF] agreement for the people of Mindanao and for the people of the Philippines. This is a time when the role of the media is even more important than at other times.” Ambassador Ledoux said in a statement read for him by Manfre-dini addressing the (media) partici-pants. The program aims to raise awareness about the impact and val-ue of peace and the peace process, in general, and to generate infor-mation and a deeper understanding of the Bangsamoro peace process, in particular. It also intends to help the Philippine journalists appreci-ate their role as agents of peaceful social transformation through bal-anced, responsible, culturally-sensi-tive and conflict-sensitive reporting on peace and conflict stories; and to generate awareness, interest and ap-preciation for EU-supported activ-ities in Mindanao in the context of the peace process. The EU Peace Journalism Awards is a campaign which will run until May 2015. It is open to all Philippine-based journalists with the following categories: writ-ten text published in print media, online and broadcast media, pho-tojournalism, campus journalism, and government advocacy peace projects. Finalists will receive tro-phies, certificates, and special gad-gets, while the grand winner will get the chance to travel to Brussels, Bel-gium to meet with peace advocates and fellow journalists.

The staff of the Institute for Peace and Development in Min-danao (IPDM) headed by its offi-cer-in-charge, Prof. Juvanni Cabal-lero, participate in an initial public consultation on the draft Bangsam-oro Basic Law (BBL) held on Octo-ber at Celadon Pensionne House, Pala-o. Dr. Mark Anthony J. Tor-res, Peace Research Coordinator; Prof. Mark Tristan Quimque, Peace Action Coordinator; Prof. Meriam Gay Bautista, Peace Education Co-ordinator; Prof. Michelle Samantha Rodriguez, Secretary; Mr. Nohman Khalil, Peace Community Coordi-nator; Ms. Agnes Torres, admin-istrative assistant; and Mr. Ryan Tundag, administrative aide also attend the public consultation. In his letter of invitation to IPDM, Representative Vicen-te “Varf ” Belmonte of Iligan City, who called for the public hearing, emphasized on the importance of the consultation, especially since congressional hearings have already started on the draft BBL. Resource persons for the consultation included Hon. Miri-am Coronel Ferrer, chairperson of the GPH peace panel; Hon. Senen Bacani, member of the GPH panel; Atty. Mohammad Al-Amin Julkipli, legal team member of GPH; and the Bangsamoro Transition Commis-sion represented by Commission-er Said Shiek, Commissioner Talib Abdulhamid Benito, and Commis-sioner Maulana Alonto. The IPDM, being the only academic/government organization that is a member of the Lanao Peace Partnership (LPP), is also active in

the conduct of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro Educa-tion (CAB Ed) as part of the orga-nizers and pool of resource persons. These sessions which are aimed to contribute to a more transparent and democratized peace process through education, consultation and engagement with stakeholders, are held from October until the sec-ond week of December 2014. IPDM is one of the focal or-ganizations for the CAB Ed sessions in Lanao del Norte. A legal team from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commis-sion are tapped as resource persons for these sessions. Caballero and Torres were the resource persons in the CAB Ed session conducted for Psychology majors on October 14, 2014 while another CAB Ed session was orga-nized by religious organizations on October 17, 2014. Caballero also served as re-source speaker on CAB Ed sessions in several towns of Lanao del Norte, specifically in Kolambugan and Maigo on October 17 and in Sul-tan Naga Dimaporo on October 21, 2014. IPDM and LPP also orga-nized another CAB Ed session on October 23 for LGU officials from 22 municipalities of Lanao del Norte. Participants to this session included mayors, vice mayors, ABC presidents, and councilors. This ses-sion was funded by the German De-velopment Cooperation-Civil Peace Service (GIZ CPS).

Gazette/3

European Union partners with MSU-IIT IPDM

for the Philippines’ 1st EU Peace Journalism Awards

by Mark Tristan J. Quimque

IPDM Participates in Public Consultation

on the Draft BBL; Conducts CAB

Ed Sessionsby Maria Theresa B. Panzo

At the launching - EU representative Edoardo Manfredini (seated rightmost) and resource person, Aljazeera’s Veronica Pedrosa and (seated beside him) with the event staff and representatives from EU’s partners. (contirubted Photo)

Panelists during the BBL forum at the Minitheatre

4/Gazette

The College of Education (CEd) co-organized the 7th Inter-national Conference on Educational Research on September 13-14, 2014 with the theme: Challenging Educa-tion for Future Change. The Faculty of Education, Khon Kaen Universi-ty, Thailand hosted the conference.The other co-organizing institutions were the Hong Kong Institute of Ed-ucation of China, Thailand Educa-tion Deans Council, State Universi-ty of Surabaya of Indonesia, and the Consortium of Sixteen Education Deans of Thailand (Group 16).The conference gathered almost a thousand of delegates including APEC Specialists from Italy, Japan, USA, South Africa, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia,

China, Thailand, and Philippines. Chancellor Sukarno Tanggol led MSU-IIT delegation which includ-ed eight faculty members, two stu-dents, and one staff from the Human Resource Management Division. Dr. Sukarno D. Tanggol de-livered the keynote address during the conference while the rest of the team presented their collaborative research outputs. After the conference, the Faculty of Education of Khon Kaen University and MSU-IIT delegates had a collaborative meeting to fur-ther strengthen their partnership in the promotion of a research culture between the two universities as part of both their internationalization programs.

The MSU-IIT College of Ed-ucation (CEd), together with De La Salle University-Manila, UP Col-lege of Education, Mariano Marcos State University College of Teacher Education-Laoag , University of the East-Manila and University of Santo Tomas, organized the “ Information Communication Technology (ICT) Conference on Creativity and Inno-vation in Philippine Education” on November 21-22, 2014 at De La Sal-le University-Manila. The UNESCO Bangkok identified the six HEIs as Resource Distribution and Training Centers (RDTC) in the Philippines and sup-ported the said conference.The conference aimed to showcase best practices, trends and innova-tions in teaching that foster cre-ativity and innovation through ICT, enhance participants’ skills in ICT integration, plan collaborative re-search on integrating technology in teaching and learning, foster part-nership with ICT educators from

both local and national educational communities and map out ICT in-tegration competency profile of Fil-ipino Educators. The conference featured two plenary sessions and five work-shops. In the plenary, Dr. C. Scott Rader of West Carolina University talked about how he integrated ICT in his class and shared an Eight-Point Framework for Best Practice. Meanwhile, Dr. Lloyd Espir-itu of DLSU caught the audiences’ at-tention by delivering a well-thought talk on “Cultivating an E-Learning Culture”. The workshops on 21st Century Learning Design, Flipped Learning and Screencasting, ICT Multimedia Integration for Teach-ing and Learning, Design Thinking and Engaging Digital Learners Us-ing Free and Open Digital Technol-ogies were facilitated by Ms. Maria Melizza Tan of UNESCO Bang-kok, Mr. Jasper Vincent Alontaga of DLSU, Mr. Hartfried Schmid of

Iligan’s Google Educa-tor Group (GEG) held a Teachers’ Fair at the CED Amphitheater on October 19, 2014 with the theme, “Fostering Flight: Teaching Our Students How to Fly” as part of the celebration of National Teachers Month and World Teachers Day. The fair featured inspira-tional talks, breakout sessions, song and dance performances from local artists, trivia game, and free food and giveaways from sponsors. Dr. Enerio E. Ebisa of the Dona Juana Actub Lluch Memorial School was the fair’s keynote speak-er. A recipient of the 2014 Metro-bank Outstanding Teacher award, Enerio talked about his experiences of being a teacher and the lessons he learned from life’s challenges. There were four 10-minute lightning talks during the fair. The speakers were Roxanne Fuentes (GEG Cagayan de Oro Community Leader) talked about GEGs across Southeast Asia; Jessie Andallasa

(Google Certified Teacher 2014) shared about the benefits of joining a GEG Chapter; Avril Joy Ramayan (CED ICT Team member) dis-cussed the DigiBayanihan Project; and Mark Plaza (GEG Iligan Com-munity Leader) talked about 10x Thinking and Moonshots. More than 100 teachers from the elementary, high school and college level participated in the event. Although it was intentionally offered to Iligan City-based public and private school teachers, there were also participants from Lanao del Norte, Naawan, and Cagayan de Oro City. The key organizers of the fair were teachers from the Insti-tute’s Integrated Developmental School and the ICT Team of the In-stitute’s College of Education.The fair is also in line with the Insti-tute’s aspirations of reaching out to the teaching community and build linkages for research, training, and collaboration.

October - December 2014

CED co-organizes Philippine ICT Conference

by Jun Caparoso

Iligan’s Google Educators Group holds Teachers’ Fair 2014

by Louis Mark N. Plaza

CED Co-Organizes International Conference in Thailand

by Louis Mark N. Plaza

Economics Faculty attend 52nd PES Annual Meeting

Dr. Anne O. Orejana and Prof. Martha Joy J. Abing of the Department of Economics in the College of Business Administra-tion and Accountancy attended the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Philip-pine Economic Society (PES) with the theme “Foregoing Ahead: The Philippines as Developed Economy by 2050”, which was held in Hotel Intercontinal Manila, Philippines on November 14, 2014. A series of parallel sessions

were conducted, which would sup-port the forecast that the Philip-pines is set to become the 16th larg-est economy in the world by year 2050. The sessions included the discussion of topics such as Labor Market, Jobless growth and Human Capital, Investing in Bangsamoro for the Development of Mindanao, Disaster Management and Electric-ity, Agriculture and Industry, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and Inclusive Growth, Poverty and So-cial Protection, Economic Integra-tion, Innovation and Development. Best research studies of the graduate and undergraduate Eco-nomics students from the different universities in the Philippines were presented in the poster contest. Mr. Rutcher Lacaza, an alumnus of the Department of Economics and cur-rently taking his Masters degree in UP Manila was awarded first place as one of the co-authors of the team of UP- School of Economics with their research study entitled “Pat-terns of Transfer Received by Filipi-no Household”.

Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol

Prof. Martha Joy J. Abing and Dr. Anne O. Orejana

Gazette/5

December 17, 2014 is a rare day for the art scene in MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology. Like a phenomenal gath-ering of stars, every artist of the Institute, setting aside real and imagined differences, converged to celebrate the arts and life of Mind-anao through the showcase dubbed “MSU-IIT Performs” at the CASSal-ida Theatre for the National Com-mission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Sub-Commission on the Arts (SCA) and other guests. Spearheaded by the In-stitute’s Office of Publication and Information (OPI) Director and Head of the National Committee on the Literary Arts, Christine F. Go-dinez-Ortega, all resident arts and cultural and artist groups of this Institute exhibited their works and performed their respective produc-tions as a year-end offering for the visitors. The College of Arts and So-cial Sciences’ (CASS) main building landings were recreated into a visu-al arts exhibit area where the Clique (photography), Tinta (painting), Halongkulay (painting), and Cine-mo (film) showcased their pieces. The guests, headed by NCCA Commissioner Felipe M. de Leon, Jr. led the cutting of the rib-bon. He was assisted by the Head of the National Committee on Visual Arts Jose Albert Tanedo along with stage actress and Sining Kambayoka alumna, Ms. Beverly Faith T. Tang-gol. From the ground floor, the display spiralled to the 4th floor, leading the guests to the CASSali-da where theatre, dance and music performances awaited the guests under the joint direction of Mr. Ar-lem Abanes and AB English Orga-

nization (ABEO) Playhouse Direc-tor Jean Graciela E. Penola. Setting the mood for the performances was the Kalilang Tra-ditional Music Ensemble of the Cul-tural Development Office (CDO). Opening the show was the Sinulog Suite of the Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), an apt introduc-tion to the rituals of the tri-peoples of Iligan. CASS students also rendered a winning speech choir interpre-tation of the poet Merlie Alunan’s “Haiyan Dead”. This was followed by a rendition of Philippine airs by the Deu Caritas Children’s Rondal-la under the baton of Octava (8va) Choral Society Founder and Direc-tor Francisco A. Englis. The ABEO Playhouse showed its acting prowess through its student cast in their chamber the-atre version of Manuel E. Arguilla’s short story “How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife”. The Octava brought the house down in their flawless singing of Maranao and contemporary Filipino songs. The Kalimulan Cultural Dance Troupe also showcased “Pinapaging”, a deer hunting dance from the Bukidnons.

Closing the show was IPAG’s Singk-il-Kalilang, featuring its unforgetta-ble dance signature and celebratory jousts of the Meranaos. In a separate event, the NCCA Sub Commission on the Arts in cooperation with the OPI, the CDO headed by Zayda O. Maca-rambon and the KASAMA head-ed by its President and MSU BOR Student Regent Datu Esma Mikee P. Maruhom conducted a forum to address concerns of local artists. Prof. Dr. Steven Patrick C. Fernandez of the Integrated Per-

forming Arts Guild (IPAG) initiat-ed the forum with his talk entitled “Engaging the NCCA’” where he discussed the importance of a cul-ture and arts program in the coun-try especially in the academe. Later, each Head of the na-tional committees on the arts took turns telling the audience of their programs and answered queries from artists at the same time, pre-sented the NCCA policies and en-couraged everyone to submit proj-ect proposals to the NCCA. During the forum, the SCA’s De Leon was assisted by Ferdinand P. Isleta, Head of the NCCA Arts Section, and coordinators Ethel Monica Guardiano and Alvin Asco-niega. The rest of the heads of the SCA who also fielded questions on the country’s arts and culture pro-grams were: Prof. Jose Danilo A. Silvestre (SCA Vice-Head and Head of the National Committee on Ar-chitecture and Allied Arts, Director, UP Office for Initiatives in Culture & Arts), Godinez-Ortega (SCA Secretary and Head of the Nation-al Committee on Literary Arts),

October - December 2014

MSU-IIT performs for NCCA’s Subcommission on the Arts Members

by Amado C. Guinto, Jr.

The University of the Phil-ippines Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, Guro ng Sining ng Bayan, and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts fete

icons and the most durable of the-atre networks in the country with the conference “Ang Sikat ng Te-atrong Pilipino: Mga Tagumpay at Hamon ng Pambansang Ugnayang Pandula.“ Among the prominent na

tional icons is CASS Professor Dr. Steven P.C. Fernandez, DFA, who will present the story of the Integrat-ed Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), the most sustained of theatre com-panies outside of the professional theatres in Metro Manila.Fernandez, Artistic Director and Founder of the IPAG, was recently awarded the UMPIL Gawad Balag-tas for his lifetime work in Litera-ture and the Theatre. In the last 12 months, he has presented papers and keynote lectures in major fes-tivals in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Shanghai, Bangkok, and in various international conferences in the country, besides addressing the Culture and Arts education in the tertiary level for the new educa-tion landscape. The Institute’s Board of Re-

gents recently approved his propos-al for the pioneering Culture and Arts Studies Program in the MSU-IIT, which is calendared to open in August 2015.IPAG, the resident theatre company of the MSU-Iligan Institute of Tech-nology, has represented the coun-try in over 100 cities worldwide and this year in the Shanghai UN-ESCO-ITI APB and the Singapore Da:ns festivals. The conference gathers leading theatre lights, among them Nicanor Tiongson, Lutgardo Labad, Cecille Guidote-Alvarez, and Karl Gaspar for Mindanao. The conference is set No-vember 26 to 28 at the U.P. Faculty Center in Diliman. – contributed news for OC-OPI.

Fernandez joins “Ang Sikat” ConferenceThe CASS Speech Choir (Photo by: Morel Josh Villas Kintanar)

Steven Fernandez (contributed photo)

6/Gazette

It would seem now that University of the Philippines (UP) Professor Felipe Mendoza de Leon, Jr. is the best choice for a speak-er during this year’s 5th Mid-Year Commencement Exercises which is hosted by the College of Arts & So-cial Sciences (CASS). He delivers the commence-ment address to over 600 graduates at 9:00 AM at the Gymnasium on November 20, 2014. De Leon graduated with an Electronics and Communica-tions engineering degree from Feati University,but he has, since the late 1960s, turned to a lifelong study of the country’s music forms and has led in the promotion of the coun-try’s culture and arts. At present he is the Head of the National Commission for Cul-ture and Arts (NCCA) National Committee on Music and the Head of the Sub Commission on the Arts, at the same time, the Chairman and Commissioner of the NCCA. He is also Chairman of the NCCA’s Committee on Filipino Intangible Heritage. In this capacity, he led the process responsible for having the country’s two major epics, the Ifugao Hudhud and the Maranao Darangen proclaimed as UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intan-gible Heritage for Humanity. He had previously headed many other posts at the NCCA since the 1990s for instance, as Chairman of the NCCA Sub Commission on the Arts from 2004-2007, and the Sub Commission for Cultural Com-munities and Traditional Arts from 1992-1998 during which period the Schools of Living Traditions (SLTs)

were established all over the coun-try. He was Chair of the Hu-manities Division of the National Research Council of the Philip-pines; the Commissioner of UNES-CO Philippines in 1999-2002; and, as Chairman of the Gawad Sa Man-lilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasures Awards) this award was institutionalized in recognition of the masters of traditional arts in the country towards the preservation and transmission of skills to the younger generation. This passion for the coun-try’s culture and arts is shown in his home where material and art objects showcasing Philippine arts and crafts become an integral part. He is the son of the Nation-al Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon, famous for translating the lyr-ics of the Philippine National An-them into Tagalog from the original lyrics in Spanish. De Leon, Jr. who admires his father said that among his father’s famous compositions are “Noche Buena” which was com-posed in seven minutes and “Pasko

na Naman” which was composed in five minutes. He is father to the multi-awarded film music scorer Diwa de Leon and the multi-award-ed triathlon athlete Ani de Leon. De Leon, Jr. has held oth-er administrative positions in UP Diliman -- as Chairman of the De-partment of Humanities where he charted the shift from a Eurocentric to a World Art approach emphasiz-ing Southeast Asian and Philippine arts; as President of the National As-sociation for Philippine Psychology, elected as Vice President of the In-ternational Music Council (IMC) of the UNESCO in California, eventu-ally becoming the only Asian mem-ber of IMC to represent the country in meetings in Malmo, Sweden, in Rome and in Brno, Czech Republic. He was instrumental in bringing Philippine music not only around the country but in the US, Finland, Lithuania, Sweden and in Italy. Among his numerous com-positions are the music for various plays such as Yerma by Federico

Garcia Lorca, Lysistrata by Aristo-phanes and Rizal’s Noli me tangere directed by Tony Mabesa; the official hymn, Diwang Pilipino commis-sioned by the National Centennial Commission which was launched at the Quirino Grandstand by then President Fidel V. Ramos; the Sen-ate Hymn and the NCCA Hymn. De Leon also finished an AB in Humanities, cum laude from UP; a Fine Arts degree in composition and music theory also at the UP; his musicological studies at the Madras Music Academy in India and Phil-ippine Studies at the UP College of Arts & Letters. His published works in-clude Philippine Art and Literature, Volume III of the Filipino Nation Encyclopedia published by Groli-er International in 1982; Art, Man and Nature: Selected Readings in the Humanities and numerous ar-ticles on cultural issues especially on cultural creativity and diversity, worldviews and values, and culture and development. He was the main author of the ASEAN Declaration for Cultural Heritage. His many awards include the Gawad Chancellor Award by the UP Diliman; Achievement Awardee of the National Research Council of the Philippines; Bayani ng Alamat Awardee by the UP Manila; one of ten Outstanding Citizens of Quezon City; Outstanding Achievement Award by the Phi Kappa Phi Inter-national Honor Society; and, a Ga-wad Parangal by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for outstand-ing service to the DFA. --- for OC OPI

October - December 2014

The Engineer-Artist De Leon is this year’s 5th Mid-Year Graduation Speaker

by Christine Godinez Ortega

MSU-IIT holds 5th Midyear Commencement Exercisesby Maria Theresa B. Panzo

Titles and degrees were con-ferred to 605 graduates in the Insti-tute’s 5th Midyear Commencement Exercises held on November 24 at the gymnasium. Of these, 29 fin-ished with academic distinctions. Jessica C. Tatad, a BS HRM graduate, topped the class as mag-na cum laude with a GPA of 1.40. Twenty-eight others finished cum laude. These were Rhea Mae L. Baulete, Chelsea M. Magdadaro, April B. Regis, Reggine S. Ybañez, Cristine Jay M. Afuang, Kirsie Rai-sa D. Ello, Alyson M. Ting, Jennifer Ross L. Talaroc, Divina Karla D. Capalungan, Trea Bianca A. Alom-bro, Keir Marie T. Ramas, Ivy A. Canoza, Milcah Ethiel C. Corona, Honey Grace R. Tabulong, Sar-ah M. Lluisma, Jireh Joy P. Tejano, Hillary T. Toring, Neisa M. Daleon, Ivy Lynette O. Sayson, Ianlester L. Romero, Lindod Boy L. Oculam, Alberto T. Prestoza, Kim Chesed F.

Paller, Angelie Pearl A. Basera, Sar-ah Maritess O. Poblete, Flori Rose U. Manluza, Apple Jane B. Calasang, and Florence B. Kho. Dr. Felipe M. De Leon, Jr., the Chairman and Commissioner for the Arts of the National Com-

mission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), was the commencement speaker. The graduates for each col-lege were 34 for the School of Grad-uate Studies, 98 for the College of Science and Mathematics, 80 for the

College of Engineering, 65 for the College of Business Administration and Accountancy, 27 for the College of Arts and Social Sciences, 86 for the College of Education, 92 for the School of Computer Studies, and 123 for the School of Engineering Technology. The College of Nurs-ing did not have any graduate for the midyear. Co-curricular awards were also given to Redeemtor Sacayan (CSM) for Institute Leadership, Lovely Jane Vallinas (COE) for Col-lege Leadership, Romer James Cul-tura (COE)for Athletics, Danrelle Keth Indoc (CSM) for Music (vo-cals), and Benji Rojero (COE) for Sikap. The commencement exer-cises were attended by members of the MSU System Board of Regents, and officials, Institute officials, and Heads of the academic and non-ac-ademic units.

Professor Felipe M. de Leon, Jr. NCCA Chairman

The 2014 Graduating Class during the 5th Mid-Year Commencement Exercises at the Gymnasium (photo courtesy of the 5th Mid-Year Commencement Exercises Documentation Committee)

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Un Filipino Perspective The moment we began to view our-selves through Western eyes, what we held sa-cred suddenly became worthless, our virtues turned into vices, and our strengths began to be seen as weaknesses. Anything indigenous became a source of embarrassment and un-easiness. We would hide whatever is native sounding or native in origin. Centuries of being regarded as backward and inferior by the white colonizers engendered in us this collective self-contempt, a psychic malady that afflicts all of us but most especially the elites. Filipinos, especially the elite, became afflicted with three social pathologies which are characteristic of colonized psyches. The nega-tive programming of colonial experience result-ed in these social neuroses which Filipinos have yet to come to terms with: Cult of smallness, Celebration of Defeat, and the Dona Victorina Syndrome

The Cult of Smallness Representations of the Filipino seem-ingly encouraged by the American colonial regime were of the smallest kind. The bahay kubo became “very small”. The little rice bird, the maya, became the national bird. The tiny sampaguita was declared the national flower by American Governor General Frank Murphy in 1934. Could this be an important reason why until recently many Filipino school chil-dren were expected to memorize the Latin name of, and even to be proud of having in Bikol, the smallest fish in the world? Most Filipinos then were not aware that we also have the biggest fish in the world in the same province. Could this also be one of the psycho-logical reasons why many Filipinos think small? Rather than become innovators, entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, producers and manufacturers, Filipinos, including graduates of elite schools, are just too happy to find employment, especial-ly overseas. In 1954 our government enacted a re-tail trade nationalization law, which took effect in 1964, preventing the Chinese from doing tin-gi, so the Chinese simply shifted from retail to the much bigger and more lucrative business of wholesale.

The“Dona Victorina” Syndrome: Low Self esteem Bordering On Self­Contempt: Characteristic symptoms of this “syn-drome” are doubt in the Filipino capacity for achievement; perverse delight among Filipinos to constantly belittle themselves; serious lack of respect or contempt for each other; and wallow-ing in a negative selfi mage that is tantamount to a selff ulfilling prophecy. Filipinos are perhaps the worst self ashers in the world. We are blind to our own capacities and idolize those of oth-ers, especially Westerners. If something is poor-ly made it must be Filipino. If it is well made it must be foreign. Even negative qualities that are universal human failings are claimed by Fil-ipinos as distinctly Filipino, e.g. crab mentality, graft and corruption, greed, lack of discipline, etc. The underdevelopment of Philippine society is fundamentally rooted in this chron-ic loss of Filipino self esteem due to centuries of

colonization and miseducation. Yet we do not have a monopoly of human faults. Other na-tions, even those nations Filipinos tend to idol-ize, are equally, if not more stuck with negative traits that we mistakenly think to be ours alone.

American Crab Mentality As an instance, among the poor and middle class suburbs of Boston, like those who live on the narrow streets of Dorchester, hope is a dream, not a goal. The crab mentality pulls back on those who try to climb their way out. Crime is the realm of the Irish, who aremuch like their Italian counterparts in New York but without the qualms. (From Boston, Massachusets, “A Drink Before the War” by Dennis Lehane, published by Harper Torch; Re-issue edition, April 2003)

Celebration of Defeat The second social malady of the Fil-ipinos is the tendency to celebrate defeats, like the Fall of Bataan, Fall of Corregidor, Fall of Tirad Pass, Capture of Aguinaldo, and Death of Rizal. Why not celebrate, instead, triumphs like The Siege of Baler, The Bells of Balanginga, Cin-co de Noviembre in Bago, and other victories by the Filipino revolutionaries?

A People Can Only Be United By the Things They Love, and Divided By the Things They Hate. Generations of contempt for Filipinos by the colonizers have been imbibed by many Filipinos themselves, especially by the ruling elites, who were most exposed to Western rule. Actually, as a research of SWS has indicated, it is this class who have the lowest regard for themselves as Filipinos, having been the most conditioned to idolize Western ways. Their low regard for Filipinos is in reality an expression of self contempt.

Anything Positive About Themselves Al­ways Unites a People If we are to become one nation, we have to begin deconstructing the very negative selfi mages that have been ingrained in us by centuries of colonial misrule and miseducation, especially among the elites who are the power wielders and thus have the greatest responsi-bility to serve and be one with our people. We can never erect a viable nation if we continue to denigrate ourselves, even in the presence of foreigners.

Root cause of Philippine underdevelop­ment We may state that the root cause of Philippine underdevelopment is our failure to tap our greatest asset for sustainable develop-ment our cultural strengths and resources –because of our pernicious tendency towards self ashing stemming from a colonized psyche, esp. among the Westernized elite,

A Filipino Perspective If we are the develop as a nation, we must adopt a Filipino perspective, which entails three important guideposts: building on Filipi-no cultural strengths; working for the good of the nation as a whole(acting locally but think-ing globally), and developing pride in being Filipino. Inevitably, pride in being Filipino will deepen a sense of commitment to the nation and manifest in excellence in many aspects of Filipino life.

Cultural Identity (core culture or ethnici­ty): The human resource for development Cultural identity is a sine qua non for becoming active in the world. It is the fun-damental source of social empowerment and thus the basis of sustainable development. It is the unique totality of the world view and val-ues, core principles and ideas, beliefs systems, knowledge, skills and practices, shared by a people. Rob a people of this identity and they become passive, lost, indolent, uncreative and unproductive, prone to depression and sub-stance abuse, and plagued by a pervasive feeling of malaise and powerlessness. To suppress and weaken this identity and successfully impose an alien culture on a people is to reduce them into a passive, docile mass subservient to the power wielders of the alien culture. The Filipino subservience to anything Western began when the Spaniards, and more so when the Americans, forced their ethnici-ty or cultural values on us. As a result, we lost

faith in our native intelligence and skills, trea-sure troves of knowledge, accumulated wisdom, original ideas and creativity and began to ne-glect or ignore these assets.

The Five Cultures Most people, even in the academe, do not realize that in any society, at least five types of culture exist. Two are fear based or premised upon a deep sense of insecurity generated by the per-ception that every person has a separate being, or is an isolated self (individualism).. These are the Culture of Power, a culture attached to power and privilege, control and domination and the Culture of Wealth, a culture attached to wealth and material goods, possessions, plea-sure and comfort. Another two are trust based cultures, the trust coming from the perception that all being is one (kapwa) or a strong sense of com-munity. One is the Culture of Shared Being (Culture of the Higher Self; Pagpapakatao). This is the culture devoted to the search for wisdom, creativity, strength of character, love and shar-ing the culture of devotion to a higher cause. The other is the Culture of Simple Needs (The Practical Life), where people are mainly con-cerned with satisfying basic needs.

Developing the Higher Self How many perceptions, values and skills of the culture of the higher self (the tru-ly human level) are we able to impart thru the school system? The Filipino saying “Madaling maging tao, mahirap magpakatao” refers to the difficulty of developing a higher, spiritual self. (pagpapakatao). Bringing out the truly human (higher self) in us means developing strength of character, wellness, self control, loving kindness, wisdom, and creative intelligence.

Different value orientations promote dif­ferent indigenous skills Fear based cultures develop manipu-lative, aggressive attitudes and excel in fighting, military, and security skills. Trust based cultures develop harmonious, cooperative attitudes and excel in sharing, collaboration and partnerships, including respect for ecological balance. As long as our education remains lopsided towards narrow technological or vo-cational specialization, psychological insecu-

rity and the cultures of power and wealth will prevail. We will meet very few people capable of devotion to a higher cause or serving others. What everyone needs is a thorough grounding in the humanities to inculcate reverence for human life, harmony with the ecology and a profound social concern. Narrow technocratic or vocational training alone can never promote social and ecological consciousness! We should be wary of the trend in most of our universities and colleges today to turn their institutions into merely on the job training schools. The dire con-sequence of this could be a next generation of self centered, moral morons.

The Fifth Culture: Ethnicity or Culture as Creative Construct The fifth culture is a society’s core culture. This is Culture as a Creative Construct. Through time a society constructs a unifying vision of life, which includes an object of de-votion and a map of reality. From this arise a people’s ethnicity or core values, which in turn promote the cultivation (or culturing) of skills that realize these values. UNESCO has given us the components of ethnicity, which is essentially in the realm of intangible cultural heritage, the wellspring of local genius. Intangible Cultural Heritage(ICH) as the Wellspring of Local Genius According to the UNESCO 2003 convention, ICH is the mainspring of cultural diversity and its maintenance a guarantee for continuing cultural diversity. ICH is manifested in the following domains:

• Oral traditions and expressions including lan-guages as a vehicle of intangible cultural heri-tage• Performing arts (such as traditional music, dance and theatre)• Social Practices, rituals and festive events• Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe• Traditional craftsmanship

Kapwa based Culture It is important to note that the core principles of our ethnicity (which are kapwa-based) are built upon the culture of the spirit

October - December 2014

A Heritage of Well Being: The Connectivity of the FilipinoFelipe M. de Leon, Jr.

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Prof. Felipe M. de Leon, Jr.

Commencement Speaker de Leon with MSUS officials and Board of Regents (photo courtesy of the 5th Mid-Year Commencement Exercises Documentation Committee)

8/Gazette October - December 2014

rather than the culture of power or the culture of wealth. Kapwa is defined as shared identity. “The other person is also yourself ”(Virgilio En-riquez).

Thus, relationships are generally given more importance than economic power by Filipi­nos. The concept of a shared identity, where “the other person is also yourself ” is said to be the core of Filipino psychology. It is hu-maneness at the highest level. For it implies a unique moral obligation to treat one another as equal fellow human beings. Treat the other person as you treat yourself because the other person is also yourself. This a Filipino core idea that could very well be the basis of the Golden Rule in the world’s great religions. Kapwa is an awareness of the rootedness of each one of us in the One Divine Essence within. Among the an-cient Yucatan Mayans of Mexico, there is a strik-ingly similar notion of being, as expressed in the Yucatan Mayan Code of Honor: “I am another yourself ”

“If there is no other there is no war” In Filipino psychology, there is no concept of the “other” in the other person. The “other”(kapwa) is also yourself. This makes Filipinos a highly relational and essentially non confrontational people, as monumentally demonstrated in the peaceful “EDSA Revolu-tion”. A Croatian philosopher, Ivana Milojevic, categorically said that “if there is no ‘other’ there is no war”.

An Affirmation of the Ultimate Oneness of Humanity Unlike pakikisama, pakikipagkapwa has no negative connotation. The more one en-gages in it, the more the goodness in the persons involved is evoked from within. Thus kapwa is an inner principle of shared goodness. Through the revelation of our potential for shared good-ness, the process of kapwa affirms and recogniz-es the ultimate oneness of humankind.

Principle of Integration Pakikipagkapwa, in principle, ex-cludes any action that may be detrimental or harmful to other human beings. It is “definitely inconsistent with exploitative human transac-tions.” It is the capacity to recognize the good in every human being and integrate oneself within the widest social fabric.

Barking at the wrong tree When we blame Filipino ethnicity or core culture for its so called deficiencies and neg-ative qualities like crab mentality, abusive fam-ily dynasties and endemic corruption these are actually manifestations of the deep seated, uni-versal addiction or greed for power and wealth. Indeed, according to Walden Bello, corruption is worse in many other countries. But why is it that we do not blame their (ethnic) culture for this?

Neglect of culture in government policy­making We even go so far as to fault our cul-ture for the seemingly perennial state of Phil-ippine underdevelopment. Yet it is actually the neglect or ignorance of our (ethnic) culture that is the problem. The core principles of Filipino indigenous psychology are built on the highly spiritual concept of pakikipagkapwa, pagpapa-katao, humaneness, delicadeza, and transcend-ing narrow selfi nterest (kagandahang loob).

Philippine social ills rooted in culture of power and culture of wealth We may be guilty of inaccurate ob-servation and analysis if we ostracize Filipino

(ethnic) culture for the ills of Philippine society, which are rooted more in our elites’(upper class-es’) intervention in the development process. These are the elites, who, since the Spanish pe-riod, have been addicted to the culture of power and culture of wealth. Just forty elite families are alleged to be in control of 76 percent of our na-tion’s wealth.

Need for culturally rooted governance Precisely, it is the glaring absence in governance of the noble or even sublime prin-ciples of our core culture (ethnicity) that is at the very root of our nation’s ills. What we sore-ly need is culturally rooted governance, which is practiced only in exceptional cases, as in the much appreciated term of the late Sec. Jesse Ro-bredo as mayor of Naga city.

Culture the “genius of a people” Every culture is unique. No two cul-tures are identical. Every culture, being unique has a strength no other culture has, this is its gift or genius. Having distinctive strengths, cultures cannot be considered superior or inferior, just different. For instance, Japanese culture’s “ge-nius” is skill in precision work down to the mi-cro level; the Chinese have always been good in the practical arts (or skills for practical living); the Germans have been geniuses in fitting parts together in a harmonious order resulting in great strength and durability

The Filipino Genius If the core culture of our people as-sumes that we are all one, that all things are in-terconnected (The concept of kapwa), then our highest values will be connectedness, sharing, spirituality, pakikipagkapwa, kagandahang-loob and pakikiramdam. Realizing these values makes us highly skilled or “geniuses” in genuine connectivity, expressiveness, communicative-ness, balancing opposites, flexibility, creativity and wellness. We can draw upon the outstanding cultural strengths of our ethnicity to formulate a vision for the nation. Essentially, we can tap our kapwa based genius for human connectivity and soulfulness as a people. We are perhaps the most highly relational in the world, with superb skills in healing and balancing polar energies, and passion for creative, participatory processes.Clueless on Filipino cultural giftsBut many of our government officials and media practitioners are almost clueless about Filipino cultural gifts. We find our culture trivialized in such frivolous phrases as “its more fun in the Philippines” and anthropologically empty con-jectures that our culture is a “mixture or hodge-podge of Malay, Chinese, Spanish and Ameri-can influences”.

Philippine ethnicity is a unified, coherent whole On the contrary, our shared cultural heritage is a set of philosophically and ideologi-cal coherent set of premises and corresponding value orientations, resulting in well defined skills and patterns of behaviour that can make us truly proud of ourselves.Indigenous Filipino skills/intelligenceAmong these are our superior linguistic and communication skills, expressiveness, prowess in the performing arts, high degree of gender equality, psychic health, strong sense of humour, ability to rebound after trying times, nurturing qualities, interpersonal intelligence, social net-working skills, excellence in service industries, strong family ties, passion for education, and creative versatility. FILIPINOS LOVE TO CONNECT, ESPE­CIALLY TO PEOPLE Among the most highly relational in the world, Filipinos are hardly alone. They

are happy being together when they eat, sleep, work, travel, pray, create or celebrate. They feel connected to the world, God and nature, but most of all to people. “Walang gustong maiwan-an sa kodakan”

Togetherness is happiness Filipinos hardly eat alone. Invite a person to your party, how many will come? Our hospital wards always have an extra bed because our sick relatives always have a bantay. We smile most of the time, often for no reason at all but just to connect to others. Eagerness for connec-tions makes us number one in social network-ing in the world. For sometime now, we have been the texting, facebook, and selfie capital of the world.

Loners More Prone to Heart Disease Our core culture of human connectiv-ity gives us an edge over other peoples in mat-ters of health and well being. Medical science has observed that people with lots of friends are usually the healthiest in the world. Lack of friends and close social ties are the hidden cause of heart disease. As social ties increase, mortal-ity rates decrease. Married people, members of religious groups and the like often live longer. Social isolation breeds depression, which may lead to lower immunity to disease and even sui-cide.

Love = Survival Also, creative, unselfish love enhanc-es vitality, increases longevity. Thus, the lives of highly spiritual people are much longer than the average. Selfless love is absolutely necessary for the survival of newborn babies and for their healthy growth. For human immune systems function well only when basic emotional needs such as acceptance and love are met.. Commu-nities which preach love and where the mem-bers are united by a genuine feeling of kapatiran yield the lowest quota of delinquents, mentally sick persons and drug addicts.

Alienation from Our Sources of Cultural En­ergy: Thinking in Borrowed Forms and the Economics of Dependency Up to the present time, our educa-tional system remains colonial rather than cul-turally appropriate, causing a great loss of cul-tural energy. As a result, many of our schools do not produce people who are highly resourceful, creative and adaptable to a fast changing and ex-tremely complex contemporary world. They en-courage dependency, a job seeking, employabil-ity mentality rather than originality of thought, entrepreneurial qualities and self reliance on native skills, knowledge and strengths.

The Power of Indigenous Thought Harnessing our own minds, under-standings, definitions, categories and concepts is certainly to have confidence, power and control over our own lives. Economic power naturally follows from this. For instance, if we worship alien ideas of beauty whose art works, music, fashion models and beauty products do we glorify and spend for? If we do not develop our indigenous pharmacology and healing mo-dalities, how much do we spend for imported drugs and medicines?Cultural strengths that we can promote and use as a resource for nation building and sustainable development What are the specific cultural strengths that we can promote and use as a resource for nation building and sustainable development? Being number one in expressive-ness makes us excellent performing artists. Our genius in human connectivity gives us a great advantage in communication. We have superi-or facility for languages. We can be very adept in all forms of social media and ICT skills. Our curiosity about people is the basis of our wan-derlust and passion for travel and mobility – the

driver of tourism. Filipinos, at their best, are a highly nurturing, caring, sharing people, with a strong maternal orientation, and definitely not loners. Because of our prowess in interpersonal com-munication and a nurturing, caring attitude, we excel in the service professions or industryDevotion to the Home and FamilyFilipino popular culture is the culture of devo-tion to the family and sanctity of the home, the family being our source of happiness because connectedness to one another is strongest with-in the family, especially in the mother child con-nection. Perhaps the reason for the Philippines’ having the longest Christmas celebration in the world(from Sept to Jan) is the appropriation of the Mother Mary Baby Jesus bond as mythical symbol of the sacred mother child relationship in Filipino popular culture. In the same vein, we revere ancestors and the ancestral house has become a symbol of family continuity and sta-bility.

Identifying Filipino Strengths If Filipinos love to connect to people, then they will enjoy and excel in activities and making things that bring people together. The more an object, activity, or idea connects people to one another, the more Filipinos delight in it. Filipinos are very creative in things that bring people together, like furniture. Filipino furni-ture design is recognized internationally. The Philippines is the world’s most emotional country. According to an internation-al study, “the heavily Catholic, Southeast Asian nation, a former colony of Spain and the U.S., scores well above second ranked El Salvador, which is not even close.” Singapore is the least emotional country in the world. ”Singaporeans recognize they have a problem,” Bloomberg Businessweek writes of the country’s “emotional deficit,” citing a culture in which schools “dis-courage students from thinking of themselves as individuals.”

Countries where people feel the most loved In another study to find out where the people feel most loved, the three countries with the very highest scores are, in this order, the Philippines (93 percent), Rwanda (92 per-cent) and Puerto Rico (90 percent). The region that appears to experience the most love is Latin America, followed by Southeast Asia and West-ern Europe.

Countries where people feel the least loved Countries where the people feel the least loved, according to the study, are mostly former Soviet republics: Russia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caucuses region all consistently scored poorly. Interestingly, those countries also tend to have very high smoking rates. Other low scoring countries included Bur-ma/Myanmar, Yemen, and three African states: Ethiopia, Chad and Morocco.

FILIPINOS LIKE TO EXPERIENCE THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL WHOLENESS OF LIFE Filipinos do not like a partial, frag-mented view of life. We respond to life syner-gistically, that is, a cooperative action of all the senses, faculties, or levels of being. That is why a Filipino is not happy just knowing another person’s name. He would also inquire about his work, hometown, relatives, marital status, even his salary! We do not like to belong to only one side of a relationship because it is incomplete. Our kinship system is bilateral. For most parents, having two kids is enough as long as they are a boy and a girl. If not, the number of children may multiply indefinitely until the desired balance is attained. In hosting shows, Filipinos tradition-

A Heritage of.. from page 7

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Commencement Speaker Felipe M. de Leon, Jr., Ececutive Vice President Emmanuel M. Lagare and Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol

Commencement Speaker Felipe M. de Leon with Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol

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Atty. Nathaniel C. Tarranza and Engr. Kristine D. Sanchez of the College of Engineering, Depart-ment of Civil Engineering, attend-ed and presented a paper during the International Conference for Chemical, Civil and Environmen-tal Engineering (CCEE’2014) held in Singapore on November 18-19, 2014. The conference provided an international venue for presenta-tion of research papers in the fields of chemical, civil and environmen-tal engineering. Among the con-ference participants were nation-als from Hungary, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines. The

paper entitled, “Reliability of Re-bound Hammer Test in Concrete Compressive Strength Estimation,” co-authored and presented by Atty. Tarranza and Engr. Sanchez in the conference, won a “Session Best Pa-per” award. Engr. Sanchez was an MSCE student of COE under the auspices of the ERDT scholarship program. During her master’s stud-ies, she worked with Atty. Tarran-za as her thesis adviser. The paper they presented in CCEE’2014 was a product of Engr. Sanchez’ master’s thesis. Engr. Sanchez joined the In-stitute as a faculty member of the department earlier in the year.

The College of Education together with the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) and the Department of Education Regional Office-X, trained fifty (50) in-service public elementary school teachers on “Teaching Elementary Math through Problem Solving” on November 4-7, 2014 at the College of Education, MSU-IIT. The DOST-SEI’s Science Teacher Academy for the Regions (STAR) project funded the said teacher training. On the first day, the partic-ipants (from 10 divisions of Region X) explored the K to 12 Elementary Mathematics Curriculum. They also had a vicarious learning experience on problem solving pedagogy as se-lect teachers gave sample teaching demonstrations. On the second day, the teachers learned about Lesson Study as a requisite in developing a research lesson.

Four teachers had the chance to implement their devel-oped research lessons during the sample teaching demonstrations at Tambo Central School on the third day. On the last day of the workshop, the participants prepared action plans for the implementation of their lessons as they return to their own classes. Ms. Joan Salise of DOST-SEI, Dr. Marino O. Dal (representing the DepEd-X Regional Director), Ms.Teresita Baluyos, (representing the DOST-X Regional Director), graced the opening program of the said training-workshop.Vice Chancellor for Academic Af-fairs Dr. Edgar W. Ignacio also laud-ed the three agencies of the gov-ernment – MSU-IIT, DepEd and DOST – for coming up with a rel-evant teacher training in the region. Also present were CEd Dean Prof. Esmar N. Sedurifa and Department of Science and Mathematics Educa-

October - December 2014

Tarranza and Sanchez Win Award at International

Conference

CED, DOST-SEI conduct Regional Training on Teaching Math through Problem Solving

by Jun Caparoso

Mosqueda at Tokyo Institute of Technology for AUN/SEED-Net research Aid

by Helen Paul Burtanog

Atty. Tarranza (right) and Engr. Sanchez (center) receiving their award for Best Session Paper during the International Conference on Chemical, Civil and Environmental Engi-neering held in Singapore on Nov. 18-19, 2014.

Alexander O. Mosqueda, Assistant Professor of the Depart-ment of Chemical Engineering and Technology (DChE&T) was a recip-ient of a month-long, Short Term Research in Japan Program (SRJP) of the ASEAN University Network/ Southeast Asia Engineering Educa-tion Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net) held at the Interdisci-plinary Graduate School for Science and Technology of Tokyo Institute

of Technology (TIT) from October 17 – November 15, 2014. His funded research was conducted at the TIT’s Department of Environmental Science and Tech-nology. The research work entitled, “Hydrothermal Treatment of Mu-nicipal Solid Waste and Biomass” used a reactor for the hydrothermal treatment of municipal wastes.Mosqueda had Professor Kunwo Yoshikawa as his host mentor.

Aside from the laboratory and equipment experience, he was also able to defend his previous study entitled, “Synthesis of Clay-based Ceramic Carbon Composite” during a SRJP seminar.The SRJP Program of the AUN/SEED-Net selects thirty (30) qual-ified individuals from the ASEAN countries that fund their researches of choice at least once a year. Earlier this year, ASEAN Engineer and DChE&T Prof. Eu-lalio Creencia also participated in a SRJP. He conducted a study on Gas-ification under the same host school and professor. Mosqueda, when asked to share his experiences during the SRJP said that the culture and ap-proach of research is commendable for researchers do it by groups, but every researcher has a separate in-dividual focus on product and anal-ysis. Researchers also have regular seminars at least twice a month, for the reports of their studies in prog-ress, he added. He also said that he appre-

ciated the freedom given to grant-ees to do their work and it was clear that the mentors would see to it that the grantees would spend at least eight hours in the laboratory daily. The SEED-Net Project was officially established as an autono-mous sub-network of the ASEAN University Network (AUN) in April 2001. The AUN/SEED-Net aimed at promoting human resources de-velopment in engineering in the ASEAN. As of today, the Network consists of 26 leading Member In-stitutions selected by the Ministries in charge of higher education of re-spective countries from 10 ASEAN countries with the support of 14 leading Japanese Supporting Uni-versities. AUN/SEED-Net is mainly supported by the Japanese Govern-ment through the Japan Interna-tional Cooperation Agency (JICA), and is partially supported by the ASEAN Foundation. MSU-IIT is one of the youngest members of the said network.

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CED Trainer (contributed photo)

Alexander O. Mosqueda (contributed photo)

10/Gazette October - December 2014

Five faculty members and three 5th year Chemical Engineer-ing students of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Tech-nology (DChE&T) of the MSU-Ili-gan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) presented papers during the 7th ASEAN Environmental Engi-neering Conference (AEEC) held at Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines, Nov. 21-22, 2014. This regional conference was an annual venue for network-ing among experts in the ASEAN in solving regional problems. The conference was funded by the AUN/SEED-Net was likewise an opportunity for participants to discuss future collaborations and activities related to various engi-neering disciplines.It aimed to maximize the outreach of the AUN/SEED-Net for stronger impact by involving external par-ticipants, including representatives from government, industry, com-munity, non-member institutions, and other professional organiza-tions. Hosted by the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD) and with the theme “How Can Commu-nities Be Ready for Disasters?: The Role of Environmental Engineering in Community Preparedness, Im-mediate Response and Environ

mental Sustainability,” the two-day conference included a keynote lecture and technical sessions on “Wastewater Treatment and Water Pollution”; “Solid and Hazardous Waste Management”; “Green and Sustainable Infrastructure Sys-tems and Environmental Systems”; “Water Quality and Management”; “GeoEnvironment, Soil Pollution and Remediation”; “Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Cli-mate Change and Engineering Ed-ucation”; and, on “Environmental Systems”. International experts from Japan, the Netherlands and from the Philippines gave messages and shared their knowledge and experi-ences on disaster preparedness and mitigation, including experts from

Japan, the Netherlands and the Philippines. The 7th AEEC was partici-pated in by various Philippine uni-versities and member institutions of the AUN/SEED-Net including MSU-IIT. This year, the DChE&T pre-sented eight (8) research studies. These researches and their authors/presenters were: “Effect of N/P Mo-lar Ratio on Struvite Seeded Map Crystallization in a Fluidized Bed by Engr. Ralf Ruffel M. Abarca; “2k Factorial Design for the Determi-nation of Significant Parameters in Acidolysis of Polyfurfuryl Alco-hol Resin” by Engr. Ronald P. Bual; “Monitoring and Profiling of Ar-tisanal and Small Scale Mining at Rogongon, Iligan City: Effects on

the Physico-Chemical and Biologi-cal Characteristics of Surface Water and Mercury Concentration in Sed-iments of Mandulog River System” by Prof.Dr. Ma. Sheila K. Ramos; “Eco-friendly Method of Prepar-ing Clay-Based Ceramic/Carbon Composite” by Prof. Alexander O. Mosqueda; “Synthesis of Furfural from Coconut Shells and Husk” by Engr. Rodel D. Guerrero; “Optimi-zation of Alkali-catalysed Biodiesel Production from Used Cooking Oil Through Transesterification and Ozone Technology Under Response Surface Methodology” by Mr. Brian B. Pugate; “Optimization of Furfural Synthesis Using Coconut Shells via Acid Hydrolysis” by Ms. Kimber-ly Julve; and, “Phosphate Removal from Synthetic Swine Wastewater by Fluidized Bed Struvite Crystalli-zation: Influence of Upflow Veloci-ty” by Mr. Remegio S. Pusta, Jr. Aside from the paper pre-senters, the MSU-IIT delegation for the AEEC 2014 also included 5th year Chemical Engineering stu-dents: Ms. Juliet Fernandez, Ms. Ellaine Llanos, Ms. Frances Nicole Dumas and Ms. Cherry Mae Bala. AEEC 2014 was in partner-ship with the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) and University of the Phil-ippines-Diliman.

Chemical Engineering faculty and students present papers in 7th ASEAN Environmental Confab

CED, DOST-SEI... from Page 8

MSU-IIT Performs for... from Page 5

tion Chairperson Prof. Diamer B. Capilitan. Prof. Amelia T. Buan, Prof. Joan Rose T. Luib, and Prof. Grace P. Liwanag, spearheaded the train-ing after they were trained at UP NISMED last September. Mean-while, Mathematics Education ex-perts Dr. Myrna E. Lahoylahoy and

Prof. Virginia A. Sombilon, served as facilitators and gave their cri-tiques during the presentation of lessons. The event was the begin-ning of the numerous trainings that MSU-IIT is conducting with its partner, the DOST-SEI in Mindan-ao.

embedding values in their services, processes and procedures and to improve the competence and quali-ty of their services. This was to pre-pare for the competition that would be brought about by the ASEAN In-tegration this year. One of the highlights of the plan-ning workshop was the critiquing of the OVCAF Office Performance Commitment Review (OPCR) to polish each cluster’s 300-word nar-rative of accomplishments in 2014 and to ensure that by 2015, prom-ised improvements have been put in place. The Institute’s Human Re-source Management Division (HRMD), under Elmer Nacua, promised a functional resource management wherein there would be clear guidelines for recruitment, and the promotions and screening committee could match education and skills to the various positions available. It would also try to auto-mate everything so that informa-tion may be easily accessed by em-ployees. HRMD’s Commitment for 2015-2016 includes training man-uals, employees’ handbook and its Civil Service Accreditation. For the General Adminis-trative Support Services (GASS), Akima M. Bangcola proposed a

policy to improve disbursements. She also explained how end users could help hasten disbursement by being ready to accept the items when they are delivered. Also, in an effort to improve the accounting system, the Accounting Depart-ment committed that in 2015 they will email and computerize any flaws in submitted documents. On the Institute’s infrastruc-tures and design, the Physical Plant Division (PPD) committed itself to the fixing of electronic, commu-nication lines; to an effective solid waste management system; and, to an eco-friendly design of buildings. After all the clusters had given their reports and their com-mitments for 2015, the participants went into a Work and Financial Planning workshop guided by the Performance Based Bonus (PBB) success indicators namely; educa-tion, research and extension – the template explained by Arlene B. Gil from the Office of the Vice Chancel-lor for Planning and Development (OVCPD). During the Cluster Plan-ning’s Closing Program, HRMD’s Nacua emphasized that it is the OV-CAF’s and its clusters’ time to assert their respective roles in the Institute.

OVCAF cluster planning... from page 1

Dr. Jazmin Badong Llana (SCA Assistant Secretary and Head of the National Committee on Dramatic Arts, and Graduate Coor-dinator, De La Salle University); Mr. Teddy Co (Vice Head of the Nation-al Committee on Cinema and Presi-dent); Ms. Josefina Guillen (Head of the National Committee on Dance and President, Folk Dance Society of the Philippines); and Prof. Jose

Albert “Joey” Tanedo (Head of the National Committee on Visual Arts, Assistant Dean of the UP College of Fine Arts). The members of the SCA toured the Mindanao State Univer-sity Main Campus in Marawi City and visited Iligan City’s tourist spots and paid a courtesy call on Iligian City Mayor Celso G. Regencia at City Hall.

The Octava Choral Society (Photo by: Morel Josh Villas Kintanar)

Dr. Ma. Sheila K. Ramos with companion

Gazette/11October - December 2014

1. Prof. Jonald Pimentel (CSM) Research Title: An Improvement on the Use of Likert Scaling Event: Philippine Statistics Authority Symposium Venue: Lim Ket Kai Activity Center, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 1, 20142. Prof. Odyssa Natividad M. Molo Research Title: Assessment of the Unit in Chemistry in the Department of Education’s Prescribed K12 Sci ence Learner’s Module and Teacher’s Guide for Grade 8 Event: International Conference in Science and Mathematics Education Venue: UP National Institute for Sci ence and Mathematics Education Development (NISMED), Diliman, Quezon City Date: October 28-30, 20143. Prof. Jamail A. Kamlian, (CASS) Research Title: The MSU Tawi-Tawi Experience in Functional Education: Teaching History with Peace Education Component Event: 36th Annual Conference of the Ugnayang Pang-Aghamtao Venue: St. Louis University, Baguio City Date: October 22-26, 20144. May A. Cañedo (CED) Research Title: Mother Tongue Instructional Video in Teaching Integumentary System in Elementary Science Event: 15th Adventist Internatinal Institute of Advanced Students (AIIAS) Venue: Cavite Date: October 20-21, 20145. Prof. Rizalina G. Gomez (CED) Research Title: Postnatal Practices Among the Bajau Mothers: Basis for a Cultural ly Responsive health Care Program and Career Switching of Non-Education Graduates: Its Connectedness to the K-12 Curriculum Event: 15th Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) Venue: Cavite Date: October 20-21, 20146. Prof. Steven Patrick P. C. Fernandez (CASS) Research Title: Philippine Cultures and the Arts: Strengthening the Foundation of the K-12 Curriculum Event: 2nd National Cultural Education Conference on Culture- based teaching of K to 12 Curriculum and Lecture Demonstration of Culture-based

Lesson Exemplar Venue: NJotre Dame Of Marbel University, Koronadal, City South Cotabato Date: October 4, 20147. Prof. Charity I. Mulig (CED-IDS) Research Title: PLDT-based Enhancement Course for Improving Competence and Teaching Efficacy Event: 16th National Physics Conference Venue: Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 22-25, 20148. Prof. John Paul Ben T. Silang (CON) Research Title: SIGNUS VITALIS: An Innovative Approach to Vital Signs Monitoring and Documentation Using Android Application and Mobile Phones Event: International Conference on Advances in Healthcare and Life Sciences Venue: Singapore Date: November8-9, 20149. Prof. Henry I. Rivero (CSM) Research Title: The Environmental Sphere of Duck Farming in Mindanao: A Window of Hope for a Still Growing Backyard Scale Industry Event: 19th International Forestry and Environmental Symposium (FESYMPO2014) Venue: Aliya Resort and Spa, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka Date October 24-25,201410. Prof. Nimfa L. Bracamonte (CASS) Research Title: Understanding Poverty and Gender: Narratives from the Field Event: 6th Annual Conference (TQR2015) Venue: Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA Date: January 8-10, 201511. Prof. Imelda S. Aniversario (CSM) Research Title: On Sequential Geodetic Number of Graphs under Some Binary Operations Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10,12 &ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grande Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201412. Prof. Julius V. Benitez (CSM) Research Title: Inner Variation and the SL-Functions Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grande Hotel, General Santos City

Date: October 21-23, 201413. Prof. Sergio R. Canoy, Jr. (CSM) Research Title: On 1-Movable Domination in Graphs Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grande Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201414. Prof. Michael B. Frondoza (CSM) Research Title: Weakly Connected Independence Number of Graphs Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue Phela Grand Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201415. Prof. Ferdinand P. Jamil (CSM) Research Title: Inverse Independent Domination of Graphs Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grand Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201416. Prof. Gina A. Malacas (CSM) Research Title: L-Dominating Sets and L-Domination Numbers Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grand Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201417. Prof. Jonald Pimentel (CSM) Research Title: The Effect of Retention Interval on the Mathematics Performance Among High School Students Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grand Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201418. Prof. Daisy Lou L. Polestico (CSM) Research Title: Two Stage Bounded Risk Sequential Estimation of Some Functions of the Exponential Scale Parameter Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grand Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201419. Prof. Helen S. Rara (CSM) Research Title: Some Properties of uSp Function Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grand Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201420. Prof. Michael P. Subido (CSM) Research Title: Weakly

Geodomination of the Cartesian Product of Some Graphs Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Venue: Phela Grand Hotel, General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201421. Prof. Jocelyn P. Vilela (CSM) Research Title: On Anti-Fuzzy Normal Sub KS-semigroups and Anti Fizzy Minimal KS-Idelas Event: 2014 MSP Regions 10, 12 & ARMM Annual Convention Date: October 21-23, 201422. Prof. Meriam Gay Bautista (COE) Research Title: High Efficiency PWM Buck Converter for Battery-Powered Applications Design in 18 um CMOS Technology Event: IEEE 7th International Conference on Humanoid, (HNICEM) Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City,Palawan Date: November 12-16, 201423. Prof. Jefrey C. Pasco (COE) Research Title: Simplified Open-loop Step-up Charge Pump Design in 90 nm CMOS Technology Event: IEEE 7th International Conference on Humanoid, ( HNICEM) Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Date: November 12-16, 201424. Prof. Allenn C. Lowaton (COE) Research Title: A 500 MHz Fast- locking Delay-locked Loop with Linear Delay Element and Variable Frequency DC/AC Converter with EMI Reduction Event: IEEE 7th International Conference on Humanoid, (HNICEM) Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Date: November 12-16, 201425. Prof. Hareez M. Villaruz (SET) Research Title: Design of 18-bit Decimator for Sigma-Delata Analog for Digital Converter with Variable Oversampling Rate for Audio Application Event: IEEE 7th International Conference on Humanoid, (HNICEM) Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Date: November 12-16, 2014

Paper PresentationsHere is the list of papers and presenters for October - December 2014

UNESCO Bangkok, Karol Mark Yee and Clifton Esteban of Habi Educa-tion Lab, and Ms. Anna Cherylle M. Ramos of UST, respectively. Conference participants in-cluded DepEd teachers and admin-istrators and ICT educators from HEIs all over the country. The big-gest delegations were from Maria-no Marcos State University College of Teacher Education-Laoag, the MSU-IIT, and from the University of Santo Tomas.

Ms. Maria Melizza Tan, Programme Officer of UNESCO Bangkok Asia Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (APEID), welcomed the participants while Dr. Raymond Girard R. Tan, Vice Chancellor for Research and Inno-vation of the host university DLSU delivered the opening remarks. The conference was the first of the many activities of the UNE-SCO RDTC Network in the Philip-pines.

CED co-organizes... from Page 4

A Heritage of ... from Page 4ally pair a man and a woman rather than just have one or the other as in Western countries.

The West is beginning to catch on but mixed gender hosting is still a novelty in the U.S. Our desire for wholeness is very much reflected in gender equality in Filipino society,which is the highest in Asia and one of the high-est in the world. In the World Ranking of Wom-en in Managerial Positions, we are always in the top ten. Our holistic logic makes us psycho-logically healthy, relatively stress free and not prone to depression and neurosis. We know how to balance the opposites of animus and an-ima, as strongly embodied in our myth of the first man and woman, Si Ka Lak and Si Ka Bay, emerging from a bamboo tube fully grown and absolutely equal, at least in principle.

FILIPINOS ARE HIGHLY PARTICIPATORY Filipinos demand collective, equal participation in decision making and self-determination. No one must have a monopoly of the decision making process. In Filipino so-ciety, everybody is a participant or performer. Nobody likes to be a mere spectator. Thus, we prefer consensus as a mode of reaching deci-sions or settling conflicts. In this participatory culture, the norm is pantay pantay, walang la-mangan, pagbibigayan or sharing, interdepen-dence, equitable distribution of resources. Vi-olate this norm and pandemonium will ensue. Discipline in Philippine society is premised on fairness and justice. The privilege of one must be the privilege of all. Equal application of the law is a must.

Development as the Proliferation of Options The deepest social aspirations of the Filipino are freedom, justice, and dignity. Mo-nopoly, dictatorship and the curtailment of choices are anathema. Decision making is par-ticipatory.

Arrogance is a No no The Filipino concept of kapwa (shared identity/goodness) and non duality of life make people absolutely equal in principle and nobody has a right to regard himself as above or more important than others. Humility is highly prized, at least outwardly. Even Manny Pacquiao is very modest about his skills.After his world title vic-tory over Briton Rick Hatton, he said, “I’m just lucky ... I hit first. A right hook.”

A Healing Culture: Life As a Celebration• We are highly relational – Social interconnect-edness leads to longevity• Expressiveness, especially through music and dance, releases harmful emotions• Everyday creativity promotes well being• Touching as a way of life increases immunity to disease• Deep belief in God makes Filipinos optimistic and provides meaning to life• Strong sense of humor and joy of life enable us to rebound easily from any tragedy

Promoting the Local But Thinking National or Global: Human Communities, not the State, are the Ultimate Actors in the Devel-opment Process We have to encourage celebration of the unique cultural identities of our cultur-al communities through various activities and

expressive forms to provide for communica-tion and sustainable development. Failure to do this may lead to violence, deviant behavior, depression, and suicide. Positive programs can encourage harmony and engagement in society. Underlying these programs is the attitude of tol-erance and respect for cultural diversity. A nation’s development, then, can be viewed as proceeding along apparently diver-gent directions, one, towards a shared cultural universe at the national level and two, towards the greatest possible intra cultural diversity at the local level. Social Self Images As Self Fulfilling: The Need to Develop a Strong Shared VisionIt is the image a people create of themselves that is the psycho cultural basis of their strengths and weaknesses, triumphs and failures. For a nation’s

selfi mage tends to be selff ulfilling (Kenneth Boulding, The Image). If in our minds we think we will be defeated, we have already lost. If we think we are an inferior people, we will tend to lower our standards and be satisfied with good enough. Negative selfi mages, whether individu-al or collective, can cause untold social and cul-tural damage. Social Self Images As Self Fulfilling: The Need to Develop a Strong Shared VisionWe have nothing to lose by creating and work-ing for the most exalted and inspiring images of ourselves, especially because we are a highly relational, holistic, participatory and creative people with a strong nurturing and caring ori-entation.

W AKAS, Daghang Salamat!

to page 12

12/Gazette

26. Prof. Rodel D. Guerrero (SET) Research Paper: Synthesis of Furfural from Coconut Shells for Furfural- Acetone Resin Production Event: AUN/SEED-Net Regional Conference on Materials Engineering 2014 Venue: Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Date: November 11-12, 2014 27. Prof. Ronald P. Bual (SET) Research Title: Characterization of Degradation Products in the Acidolysis of Polyurethane Foam Event: AUN/SEED-Net Regional Conference on Materials Engineering 2014 Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan28. Prof. Ralf Ruffel M. Abarca (SET) Research Title: Thermogravimetric Study on Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate Hexadrate Degradation Event: AUN/SEED-Net Regional Conference on Materials Engineering 2014 Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Date: November 12-16, 201429. Alexander O. Mosqueda (COE) Research Title: Ecofriendly Method of Preparing Clay-based Ceramic/Carbon Composite Event: 17th ASEAN Environmental Engineering Conference (AEEC) of AUN/SEED- NET Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Date: November 21-22,201430. Prof. Alan L. Vergara (CED-IDS) Research Title: Development of an Arduino-based Automated House hold Utility Power Monitoring System Event: IEEE 7th International Conference on Humanoid, Nano- technology, Information Technology, Communication and Control, Environment and Management (HNICEM 2014) Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Date: November 12-16, 201431. Prof. Mary Ann S. Sandoval (CASS) Research Title: Politikal na Pinoy Meme Bilang Kontagahum Event: International Conference Workshop on Language Venue: University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City Date: November 20-22, 201432. Mr. Arvin Paul B. Sumobay (CSM-SGS) Research Title: Bayesian Analysis of Structural Change in a Distributed Lag Model (Koyck Scheme) Event: 1st International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research and Statistical Data Analysis Venue: EUROTEL North Edsa, Quezon City Date: October 22-24, 201433. Prof. Nathaniel M. Anacleto, (SET) Research Title: Alternative Technology for Processing of Chromite and Laterite Ores: Crude Fe-Ni Cr Alloy Production Event: Mining Forum Venue: University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City Date: October 3, 201434. Prof. Honeylet E. Dumoran (CASS) Research Title: A Shift Analysis Approach to the Study of Translated Audiovisual Texts Event: 6th Asia Translation Traditions Conference Venue: Ateneo de Manila University Date: October 25-16, 201435. Prof. Rodel D. Guerrero (COE) Research Title: Acid-catalysed Hydrolysis of Coconut Shells: Optimization of Furfural Production Event: 2014 Regional Conference on Chemical Engineering Venue: Melia Purosani Hotel, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Date: December 2-3, 201436. Prof. Ronal P. Bual (COE) Research Title: Recovery of Polyol from Polyurethane Foam by Chemical Degradation Using Nitric Acid Event: 2014 Regional Conference on Chemical Engineering Venue: Melia Purosani Hotel,

Yogyakarta, Indonesia Date: December 2-3, 201437. Prof. Ralf Ruffel M. Abarca (COE) Research Title: Optimization of Nutrient Recovery in a Fluidized Bed by Response Surface Methodology Event: 2014 Regional Conference on Chemical Engineering Venue: Melia Purosani Hotel, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Date: December 2-3, 201438. Prof. Ma, Reina Suzette B. Madamba (CSM) Research Title: Tracking Nematode (Acrobeloides nanus) Movement at Different Life Stages Through Video Microscopy Event: 16th SPVM National Conference, 2014 International Scientific Meeting for Complex System Venue: Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 23-25, 201439. Prof. Karyl Marie Fabricante-Dagoc (CSM) Research Title: Behavioral Screen on the Single Particle Tracking of Soil Nematode (Acrobeloides nanus) Event: 16th SPVM National Conference, 2014 International Scientific Meeting for Complex System Venue: Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 23-25, 201440. Prof. Anelyn P. Bendoy (CSM) Research Title: Effect of dopant concentration on degree of oxidation and moisture absorbing ability of pT SA-doped polyaniline Event: 2014 International Conference on Applied Materials Science Venue: Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 23-25, 201441. Nicolle Jane B. Arguelles (CSM Student) Research Title: Behavioral Screen on the Single Particle Tracking of Soil Nematodes (Acrobeloides nanus) Event: 16th SPVM National Conference Venue: Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 23-25, 201442. Rossel Joyce C. Tamparon (CSM Student) Research Title: Experimental Studies on the Mechanotaxis of Acrobeloides nanus Event: 16th SPVM National Conference Venue: Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 23-25, 201443. Kristian Angelo V. Balondo Research Title: Tracking Nematode (Acrobeloides nanus) Movement at Dif ferent Life Stages through Video Microscopy Event: 16th SPVM National Conference Venue: Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City Date: October 23-25, 201444. Remegio S. Pusta, Jr. (COE Student) Research Title: Phosphate Removal from Synthetic Swine Wastewater by Fluidized Bed Struvite Cystallization In fluence of Uplow Velocity Event: 7th ASEAN Environmental Engineering Conference Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Date: November 21-22, 201445. Brian B. Pugate (COE Student) Research Title: Optimization of Alkali-based Biodiesel Production from Used Cooking Oil through Transferfication and Ozone Technology under Response Surface Methodology Event: 7th ASEAN Environmental Engineering Conference Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Date: November 21-22, 201446. Kimberly G. Julve (COE Student) Research Title: Optimization of Furfural Synthesis from Coconut Shells via Hydrolysis Event: 7th ASEAN Environmental Engineering Conference Venue: Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Date: November 21-22, 201447. Prof. Olga M. Nuñeza (CSM) Research Title: Species Diversity of Bats in Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape, Philippines Event: International Journal of Arts and

Sciences (AIJS) Conference Venue: Katholische Akademie der Erzdiozese Feiburg, Wintererstr 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany Date: December 2-5, 201448. Prof. Mylene M. Uy (CSM) Research Title: Screening of Philippine Medicinal Plant Leaf Extracts for Potential Cytoprotective Properties Event: 17th Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific International Molecular Biology Network (A-IMBN) Venue: St. Luke’s Medical Center, Global City, Taguig Date: December 1-2, 201449. Philip Lester P. Benjamin (SGS Student) Research Title: Some Properties of uSp-sets and uSp-functions Event: 9th Mathematical Society of the Philippines Regions 10,12 and ARMM Convention Venue: General Santos City Date: October 21-23, 201450. Prof. Judith A. Magnetico (CED) Research Title: Legally Married & Live-in Couple: A Comparative Study of Family Union Styles Among the Residences in Purok 1 & 8 Barangay Santiago, Iligan City Event: International Conference on Economics, Education and Humanities (ECEEH ’14) Venue: Ibis Hotel, Kuta-Bali, Indonesia Date: December 10-11, 201451. Prof. Joel H. Jorolan (CSM) Research Title: Ruthenium Nitrosyl as Anticancer Agent Event: 17th Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific International Molecular Biology Network (A-IMBN) Venue: St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City, Taguig Date: December 5, 201452. Prof. Anita P. Rivera (CSM) Research Title: Antimicrobial Metabolites of the Marine Sponge Haliclona sp.Collected Off MIsamis Oriental Coast Event: 17th Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific International Molecular Biology Network (A-IMBN) Venue: Manila Date: December 1-6, 201453. Prof. Anita P. Rivera (CSM) Research Title: Antioxidant Activity Profile of Some Medicinal Plants Commonly Used by the Maranaos in Mindanao Event: 19th Convention of the Natural Products Society of the Philippines (NPSP) Venue: Manila Date: December 1-6, 201454. Prof. Minda Carabio-Sexon (CED-IDS) Research Title: Bantayanon: A Lexical Comparison and Sociolinguistic Description Event: 10th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences Venue: Khon Kaen University, Thailand Date: November 20-21, 201455. Michael Joseph F. Boniao/Mary Grace O. Sanchez (CED Student) Research Title: Interactive E-Module in Photorealistic 3D Models Using Vray and Photoshop Event: 10th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences 2014 Venue: Khon Kaen University, Thailand Date: November 20-21, 201456. Fatima Johana A. Limpao (CED Student) Research Title: The Level of Awareness on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of the Students of the College of education, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology Event: 10th international Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences 2014 Venue: Khon Kaen University, Thailand Date: November 20-21, 201457. Catherine L Agawin, Diane Christine Jane M. Carnaje (CED-IDS Student) Research Title: Effects of Social Networking Sites to the Academic Performance of the DTTE Students Event: Event: 10th international

Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences 2014 Venue: Khon Kaen University, Thailand Date: November 20-21, 201458. Mat Ronald P. Abiol/ Jessica D. Dawis (CED-IDS Students) Research Title: Computer Ownership and Its Relation to Skills, Knowledge and Attitude in CAD Subject Event: Event: 10th international Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences 2014 Venue: Khon Kaen University, Thailand Date: November 20-21, 201459. Prof. Lunesa C. Pinzon (CSM) Research Title: Diosmetin: A Venous Phlebotonic Agent that has been isolated from the Leaves of the Native Philippine Tree Premna Odorata Blanco, Locally known as “Alagaw” Event: 17th Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific International Molecular Biology Network (A-IMBN) Venue: Manila Date: November 30, 2014- December 7, 201460. Prof. Lunesa C. Pinzon (CSM) Research Title: Biological Studies on Diosmetin a venous Phlebotonic Flavone Event: 19th Convention of the Natural Products Society of the Philippines (NPSP) Venue: Manila Date: November 30, 2014- December 7, 201461. Kenneth S. Limpahan (COE-SGS) Research Title: Performance Evaluation of Direct-contact Cooling Tower Used on Thermoelectric Module and Parabolic Trough Collector for Power Generation Event 7th International Conference on Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology, Communication and Control, Environment and Management (HNICEM) Venue: Puerto Princesa, Palawan Date: November 12-16, 2014

October - December 2014

GazetteMSU-IIT Official Newsletter

Published by theOffice of Publication

and Information (OPI)

Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those

of the Editors or the InstituteAdministration

Contributions are welcome. Send articles,

photos with captions to: opi@g.msuiit.edu.ph

Editorial Board

CirculationVera Mae F . Cabatana

Production John Daniel O. Enriquez

Mark Jezreel T. Orbe

ContributorsFatimah Joy S. AlmarezHoneylet E. Dumoran Amado C. Guinto, Jr.

Managing EditorMaria Theresa B. Panzo

Associate EditorRex G. Ortega

Editor-in-chiefChristine F. Godinez-Ortega

PAPER PRESENTATIONS

(to be continued)