NEWSLETTER

4 The Official Publication of the University of the Philippines Manila
A commentary on social concerns and
advocacies for Filipino children, families
and communities
IT WAS A HOMECOMING OF SORTS FOR CHANCELLOR RAMON ARCADIO AND A REUNION WITH FORMER TEACHERS,
MENTORS AND CLASSMATES WHEN HE WAS AWARDED THE HONORIS CAUSA (DOCTOR OF HUMANITIES) BY HIS ALMA
MATER, SAN BEDA COLLEGE IN A SPECIAL ACADEMIC CONVOCATION LAST NOVEMBER 21 AT THE ABBEY CHURCH,
OUR LADY OF MONTSERRAT, SAN BEDA COLLEGE, MENDIOLA, MANILA.
A delegation of UP System and UP Manila officials led by UP President Emerlinda Roman, the vice chancellors, deans,
directors, and heads of offices witnessed the conferment of the award. In his response after the conferment, the UP
Manila chancellor thanked profusely the academic community, the Board of Trustees of SBC, and his spiritual mentors,
the Benedictine monks for the recognition. He attributed to them his strong faith and Catholic upbringing. He joked that
this way of spiritual rearing he brought to the UP Manila community, the reason it is now considered the "vatican campus of
UP." Below are excerpts of his response.
I am extremely grateful to receive this
honorary doctorate, one of the
highest, if not the highest, academic
award given by my Alma Mater. This is
my second time in this podium. The
first was in the late 50s, leading the
rosary as President of the High School
Student Council in my uniform. Today,
I wear a blood-red robe. I feel like a
true roaring red lion.
Thank you to the academic
community and the Board of Trustees
of San Beda College. Thank you to the
Benedictine Monks, my spiritual
mentors. Thank you Fr. Abbot and Fr.
Rector. Very special thanks to the
Father Principal of the 1950's, Fr.
Benigno Benabarre. At that time he
was the only one who could make lions
and cubs cry. He was the true Dean of
Discipline. His favorite question during
alumni reunions is, "How many times
did I send you to the disciplinary
room". But I always remind him that
he never even once succeeded in
sending me there.
Thank you our most loving Sto. Niño de
Praga, together with Our Lady of
Montserrat, St. Benedict and St. Bede,
for guiding us during our most crucial
formative years. Our group didn't pray
so much to St. Benedict for fear that he
might inspire us to be monks. We
wanted to be doctors.
We fondly remember joining the Student
Catholic Action and BEDSCA cell
meetings, the Society for the Propagation
of the Faith, the Altar Boys and
UP MANILA NEWSLETTER
The Official Publication of the
University of the Philippines Manila
Editorial Staff
The UP Manila Newsletter is published
monthly by the Information, Publication
and Public Affairs Office, 8/F, PGH
Central Block, Taft Avenue, Manila,
telephone and fax no. 302-2215,
e-mail:ippao@mail.upm.edu.ph
Prof.Teresita C. Mendoza, Editorial
Consultant; Cynthia M. Villamor, Chat M.
Jemena, Christine Joan D. Albrecht, Fred
Dabu, Staffwriters; Joseph A. Bautista,
Photographer; Ver S. Rupella, Artist;
Sigrid G. Cabiling, Circulation Officer
Date/Period
Jan. 14 2007-
June 13, 2007
Prohibited Acts
Transfer of officers and
employees in the civil
service
Left photo: Chancellor Ramon Arcadio celebrates the special moment with his family, from left son Neil, wife Cynthia, and daughter Clarisse
(right; with colleagues in the university, such as Pres. Roman, Dr. Cristina Padolina, and Very Rev. Fr. Rector-President Anscar J. Chupungco.
Almesaben Society, the Sodality of our
Lady of Montserrat and the Confraternity
of the Holy Child Jesus of Prague, the
annual procession of the Sto. Niño, the
Feast of our Lady of Montserrat. Thank
you for training us to be the Model
Filipino Bedan Catholic Gentlemen with
the monthly confessions & communions;
for the annual retreats, the Gregorian
chants in Latin, and the regular
Benedictions of the Blessed Sacrament.
Thank you for this beautiful Abbey church
where we prayed Pater Noster and sang
tantrum Ergo, and other favorite songs in
Latin and Spanish.
Thank you for sharpening our brains with
academic contests in Spelling,
Mathematics, essay and short story
writing, religion contest, English
Elocution, Debating and Extemporaneous
Speaking.
When finally some 14 of us left the
Lion's Den in Mendiola for the novel
maroon and green campus of UP
Diliman, .the monks expressed
apprehension that we may lose our faith
in the secular campus of UP. We told
them not to worry because we will just
stay in the library to read. They
exclaimed that the library was the most
dangerous place in the campus. So
don't be surprised, President Roman,
why the Bedan faculty of UP Manila
don't go to the university library. But
seriously, we told them that if we lose
our faith then it means they did not do a
good job. I am glad to tell you that to
this year, the golden anniversary of our
grade school graduation, your Bedan
graduates in the UP faculty are still
devout followers of the Sto. Niño de
Praga, Our Lady of Montserrat, St.
Benedict and St. Bede. Replicas of
these icons adorn the UP Manila
Chancellor's Conference Room. We have
also expressed our love for liturgy which
we learned from you. We are proud to
tell you that for the past 15 years the
opening of classes at the UP College of
Medicine and now at the UP Manila
start with a concelebrated Mass,
complete with processional, incense and
sacred chants. The practice was initiated
by your Bedan graduates. UP Manila
has earned the title the Vatican UP
campus among the 7 UP campuses.
On the more serious side, let me, as
an academic and as a pediatrician,
comment on a few social concerns
and advocacies for Filipino children,
their families and communities. Let
me first comment on the link between
children and the environment.
Children embody our dreams and hopes
for the future. They also inherit our
legacies including the consequences of
how we treat the environment. At the start
of the 21st century, nearly 11 million
children worldwide still die every year of
readily preventable causes, or 29,000
children dying every single day. Our infant
mortality rate of 36 per thousand live
births (WHO 2005 data report) is almost
10 times more than our progressive
neighbors Hongkong, Singapore and
Japan. We are now behind Thailand,
almost the same as Vietnam and China,
and a little better than Indonesia in this
ELECTION BAN PER COMELEC RES. NO.7707 AS PROMULGATED ON AUG.30 2006
Date/Period
March 30 2007 -
May 14, 2007
Prohibited Acts
Appointment or hiring of new
employees; creation or filling up
of new positions; promotion or
giving of salary increases,
remuneration or privilege.
Date/Period
March 30 2007 -
May 14, 2007
regard. The top causes of infant and
childhood morbidity and mortality still
include pneumonia, diarrhea, measles,
meningitis, tuberculosis and sepsis,
besides prematurity and congenital
abnormalities. Majority of these illnesses
are preventable either by vaccines or
appropriate management with early
recognition and treatment. Unfortunately, a
lot of things that could have made an
impact on our health status remain
unattended to or unfulfilled, or unfunded. .
tuberculosis and sepsis, besides
prematurity and congenital abnormalities.
Majority of these illnesses are preventable
either by vaccines or appropriate
management with early recognition and
treatment. Unfortunately, a lot of things
that could have made an impact on our
health status remain unattended to or
unfulfilled, or unfunded.
Poverty is an underlying cause of both the
ill-health and the undernourishment of
children. Globalization and urbanization
aggravate poverty.
The environmental health risks include
biologically contaminated water; poor
sanitation; indoor smoke, rampant
disease vectors; deficient food; unsafe
waste disposal; air, water and soil
pollution; unsafe use of chemicals;
inadequate and hazardous waste
management; climate change; ozone
layer depletion and acid rain due to the
use of fossil fuels.
Only concerted action can bring
about lasting solutions. Community
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Prohibited Acts
Construction of public works, delivery of materials
for public works and issuance of treasury warrants or
similar devices for a future undertaking chargeable
against public funds.
Releases, disbursements or expenditures of public
funds public works, social services and development