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January - March 2008 1

Official Community Newspaper of UP Los Baños Volume 10, No. 01 January-March 2008

Economics whiz is UPLB

commencement speaker

photo taken from www.albay.gov.ph

Economics expert and Albay
Governor Jose Clemente “Joey” Salceda
is the keynote speaker at UPLB’s 36th
Commencement Program on April 26.
Gov. Salceda served as chief of staff of
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in
2007 and representative of the third
district of Albay from 1998 to 2007.
Following the horrific damage and
loss of lives that typhoon Reming caused
in Albay in 2006, Gov. Salceda initiated
the launching of the Albay in Action on
Climate Change (A2C2) in October 2007.
As one of its first initiatives, A2C2 brought
together multisectoral support for the
Albay Declaration on Climate Change.
Gov. Salceda described the declaration
as “the embodiment of our solemn pledge
to confront the challenges posed by
radical shifts occurring in our planet.”
Representatives of key government
offices signed the Albay declaration.
These are the Department of Agriculture,
Environmental Management Bureau,
Department of Science and Technology,
Department of Energy, National
Economic Development Authority,
Advisory Council on Climate Change
Adaptation, and international
development agencies such as the World
Bank, the United Nations, and the Asian
Development Bank.
Gov. Salceda filed three important
measures in Congress. He was the
principal sponsor and co-author,
respectively, of Republic Act No. 8751 or
the Countervailing Duty Law, Republic Act
No. 8752 or the Anti-Dumping Duty Law,
and Republic Act No. 8800 or the
Safeguard Measures Law. These
measures are critical in allowing the
country to protect the interests of
domestic farmers while realizing the full
benefits of the country’s membership in
the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Gov. Salceda’s expertise in
economics and finance saw him holding
leadership posts in Congress. In the 11th
Congress, he chaired the Committee on
Trade and Industry and served as vice
chair of the ways and means and
economic affairs committees, a rare feat
for a neophyte. He was the first to chair
the newly constituted Committee on
Oversight in the 12th Congress. The
committee published reports on the
performance of President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo in 2001, 2002 and
2003 based on the SONA commitments.
He also served as vice chair of the
committees on approporiations,
agriculture, trade and industry, economic
affairs, energy, public works and
highways, and higher technical
education.
In the 13th Congress, Gov. Salceda
chaired the powerful committees on
appropriations and economic affairs. He
instituted the Joint Economic Committee
of the two congressional houses to
provide a venue to evaluate the
government’s economic reports and
monetary policy, and serve as a feedback
loop mechanism on the state of the
economy.
Before joining the legislature, Gov.
Salceda was the research director of
SBC Warburg, a division of Swiss Bank
Corporation and of Barings Securities
Phils., now the ING Group. During his
term, the Barings research team was
voted number one in 12 international
surveys of fund managers. While with
UBS, he was voted among the top five
Gov. Joey Salceda
analysts in a 1996 survey of Philippine
fund managers. He was voted by foreign
fund managers in Asiamoney’s Annual
Survey as “Best Analyst” in 1995 and
“Best Economist” from 1993 to 1996.
A USAID scholar, Gov. Salceda
finished his Masters in Business
Management at the Asian Institute of
Management where he graduated with
distinction in 1990. He finished BS
Management Engineering, cum laude, at
the Ateneo de Manila University in 1982.
(wikipedia)
View a live coverage of the
commencement program at http://
www.webstream.uplb.edu.ph/

AKECOP-Phils holds
int’l mangrove training
The ASEAN-Korea Environmental
Cooperation Project through the Office of
AKECOP Coordination in the Philippines
(OACP) at the College of Forestry and
Natural Resources (CFNR) conducted an
international training course entitled “Short-
Term Training on Forest Ecosystem
Valuation: Focus on Mangrove Forests” at
The Legend Palawan, Puerto Princesa
City, Palawan on Feb. 12-17
The training course was attended by
12 junior researchers: one each from
(L-R) Chancellor Luis Rey I. Velasco, Presidential Management Staff Head Cerge Remonde and Regent Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam; two
Romulo Davide at a meeting held in line with the nationwide implementation of FSTP. each from Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines; and three from Thailand.
alternatives, and criteria and indicators in
sustainable mangrove forest management.
It also came up with a common framework
for mangrove forest valuation research for
AKECOP.
Speaking at the opening ceremonies,
Dr. Lee said that the training helps
researchers in the ASEAN region to build
their capacities in managing scarce
natural resources and to promote the well-
being of people in forests. He emphasized
the important role that mangroves and other
coastal forest ecosystems play, as
highlighted by the tsunami that hit several
Asian countries in 2004. Dr. Lee said that

PGMA issues EO 710

Participants also included Dr. Don Koo the economic value of mangrove forests
Lee, AKECOP project leader; Dr. Sang has not been sufficiently analyzed and
Won Ahn, ASEAN-Korea Environmental remains unknown to researchers in the

to adopt FSTP nationwide

As part of government’s plan to
develop at least two million hectares of
new agribusiness lands, President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo signed Executive Order
(EO) 710 or the “Nationwide Adoption of
the Corn-Based Farmer-Scientists
Research, Development and Extension
(RDE) Training Program for Sustainable
Agricultural Development to Liberate Poor
Farmers from the Bondage of Poverty and
Hunger” effective Feb. 27, 2008.
The concept behind the Farmer-
Scientists Training Program (FSTP) is the
knowledge transfer of agriculture sciences
to the people for better sustainability. It
can be considered a science of eco-
regions since it is closely linked to soil
properties and climate which are never
exactly the same from one place to
another. It also relies on local weather and
soil characteristics where specific crops
have to be studied locally. FSTP also
seeks to understand production systems
and human interactions with nature.
Through the program, farmers will
learn the scientific methods of managing
Cooperation Unit (AKECU) secretary region. “I believe that the training course
general; and Ms. Min Kyoung Baek, will be useful in preventing the rapid
AKECU project assistant and finance degradation and conversion of mangrove
officer. forests for unsustainable land uses,” he
all locally available resources in order to The training course tackled basic added.
maximize food production. Various principles in economics, economic In his keynote speech, Chancellor Luis
technology options that performed best in evaluation in the sustainable management Rey I. Velasco talked about the bias towards
the area will be made available to them of mangrove forests, valuation methods in cash economic returns over environmental
through FSTP experiments, including the mangrove utilization, cost-benefit analysis (See mangrove.., p. 3)
improvement of services provided by in evaluating mangrove forest restoration
government and non-government
stakeholders.
Headed by Dr. Romulo G. Davide, (L-R) Dr. Don
Koo Lee,
professor emeritus of the Crop Protection AKECOP project
Cluster, College of Agriculture (CA), FSTP leader, Dr.
will cover all upland areas where most Lucrecio L.
farmers who grow corn and other food Rebugio,
crops are still living in poverty and hunger. AKECOP
Farmers living in fourth, fifth and sixth class Philippines
municipalities located in the ten priority coordinator, and
provinces under the Hunger Mitigation Dr. Sang Won
Program will be the EO’s main target. Ahn, AKECU
The nationwide implementation of secretary general
plant mangrove
FSTP will be a coordinative effort of the propagules in
agrarian reform, environment and natural Barangay San
resources, science and technology, and Jose, Puerto
interior and local government departments; Princesa City,
local government units, state universities and Palawan.
colleges; non-government organizations; and
(See PGMA.., p. 3)
2 January - March 2008
Milestones
The CA through the century
When agricultural science was still
little heard of almost a century ago, a
makeshift classroom-tent was pitched in
the wilderness at the foot of Mt. Makiling.
Such were the beginnings of the first
agricultural college in the tropics. Edwin
Bingham Copeland, a botanist, along with
a few devoted men, laid the foundations of
the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA). On
March 6, 1909, the UP Board of Regents
approved the establishment of the UPCA
and on June 14, 1909, the new college
opened with 27 students in attendance.
Over the years, the UPCA grew by
leaps and bounds with the establishment
of units undertaking the study of botany,
agronomy, agricultural chemistry,
agricultural engineering, plant pathology,
rural economics, animal science,
agricultural education, soil science, home
technology, dairy training and research,
agricultural communication, food science,
horticulture, crop protection, and farming
systems.
The UPCA and the School of
Forestry became the core of what is now
UPLB as it was declared UP’s first
autonomous campus on Nov. 20, 1972.
UPLB gained greater autonomy in
CEAT: bearing the mark of
sterling on silver
As the College of Engineering and
Agro-industrial Technology (CEAT)
celebrated its silver anniversary in “serving
the people through excellence in
engineering” on Feb. 26-29, it did so with
confidence that its products and outputs
bear a mark similar to that of sterling on
silver. This is especially manifested by the
excellent performance of its graduates in
the different professional board
examinations in engineering that has
established CEAT as one of the top
performers among engineering schools in
the Philippines.
The celebration started on Feb. 26
with an exhibit highlighting the history,
mission and vision, curricular programs,
facilities, research and extension activities,
and accomplishments of the different
CEAT units. CEAT Dean Victor B. Ella led
the faculty, REPS, and administrative staff
in opening the exhibit.
CEAT has much to celebrate about
as its graduates performed excellently in
the professional board exams in 2007. The
following made it to the top ten in the board
exams: Engr. Rommel P. Sanchez, first;
Engr. Noel C. Gordolan, third; and Engr.
Marvin C. Petingco, fifth (in agricultural
engineering); Engr. Patrick I. Enriquez,
second (in chemical engineering); and
Engr. Ericson B. Poja, first; Engr. Rommel
P. Edillorana, second; and Engr. Ernesto
P. Lozada Jr., fourth (in electrical
engineering).
Aside from its continuing instruction
function, CEAT conducted activities in
research and extension in 2007. It
organized the First Corn Mechanization
Congress on Feb. 27 and organized the
CEAT personnel at their outreach activity at GK Los Baños.
*
(*This features UPLB colleges and research units that celebrated their anniversaries during the period of publication. Articles may be
on instruction, research and extension activities as well as on activities that are held in line with the UP Centennial Celebration.)
academic, administrative and fiscal
matters.
The CA has since then transformed
into what it is today: an academic unit of
the UPLB that has continued to pursue a
strong program of instruction, research and
extension in the tradition of service and
distinctive excellence.
To sustain its competitive edge as a
center of excellence and as a leader in
research, development and extension, the
CA was reorganized with interdisciplinarity
and the need for holistic problem solving
in mind. At its 1167th meeting on January
30, 2003, the UP BOR approved the
structural reorganization of the CA.
Through the years, the CA was led
by exemplary men and women from
practically every field of endeavor in
agriculture: Dr. Edwin B. Copeland (1909-
1917); Prof. Charles F. Baker (1917-1927);
Dr. Bienvenido M. Gonzalez (1927-1939);
Dr. Leopoldo B. Uichanco (1939-1943;
1945-1959); Dr. Francisco O. Santos
(1943-1945); Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali (1959-
1969); Dr. Faustino T. Orillo (1970-1973);
Dr. Fernando A. Bernardo (1973-1974); Dr.
Cledualdo B. Perez (1974-1984); Dr.
Ruben L. Villareal (1985-1993); Dr. Cecilio
Alternative Energy Exhibit and Symposium
on Oct. 10.
It continued to develop and retool its
faculty and staff. Two faculty members
completed their Ph.D. while four
completed their MS degree. Others were
granted fellowships, sent to training
courses, and received professorial chair
awards.
Facilities improvement and
infrastructure development proceeded at
a brisk pace. CEAT completed the
construction of the Hydraulic laboratory
and the Agricultural Machinery Division
building. It upgraded the computer
simulation laboratory of the Industrial
Engineering Department with the
acquisition of 10 computer units capable
of running the recent versions of simulation
software for production design. Meanwhile,
the CEAT continuously acquired books,
references and journals for its library.
The CEAT revised the civil
engineering, industrial engineering and the
electrical engineering curricular programs.
Even as it kept vigilant watch over its
degree programs to ensure their relevance,
it continued to contribute to nation building
with the development of engineering
technologies under the auspices of the
Agricultural Mechanization Development
Program. Moreover, it contributed to the
quest for alternative fuels through research
on jatropha biofuel.
It can be said that at 25 years, CEAT
has truly established itself as one of the
best providers of engineering education in
the country today. (MVLLarona, MRSantiago
and excerpts from the 2007 CEAT Report of
Accomplishments )
UP President Emerlinda R. Roman leads the ribbon cutting ceremony to formally open the Agri Trade Fair
and Technology Demo during the foundation day celebration of the CA on March 6.
R. Arboleda (1993-1999); Dr. Luis Rey I.
Velasco (1999-2002); and Dr. Candida B.
Adalla (2002 to present).
Some of the CA’s notable
accomplishments in research/
development and extension are the
development of stocks of Philamin cattle,
Berkjala pig and Los Baños cantonese
chicken, improved/new varieties of
ornamentals and fruits, high yielding crop
varieties approved for commercial use, and
outreach activities like the Farmer-Scientist
CPAf charts its future
The College of Public Affairs (CPAf)
brought together an august list of experts
in the field of sustainable agriculture and
development to help chart its program
directions as it celebrated its tenth year of
existence on Jan. 28.
CPAf organized in collaboration with
the Southeast Asian Regional Center for
Graduate Study and Research in
Agriculture (SEARCA) a symposium on
“The Changing Role of the Applied Social
Sciences in Agriculture and Community
Development” on Jan. 29-30 at the
SEARCA headquarters.
The symposium featured eight
plenary and 19 session presentations of
well-known academicians, scientists and
practitioners. Two of the plenary session
speakers were Dr. Prabhu L. Pingali, head
of the Agricultural Policy and Statistics
Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation and Dr. Hubert Zandstra, former
director general of the International Potato
Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru.
Dr. Pingali’s talk on “Global Change
and Rural Communities: Is Sustainable
Development Still Possible?” focused on
dramatic global changes that impact on
rural communities such as urbanization,
migration, remittances, globalization and
trade integration, information access/
system, increasing food and energy
prices, growing interest on biofuels, and
climate change.
Dr. Zandstra’s presentation on
“Community-University Research Alliance
in Agriculture: Opportunities and
Challenges for the Social Sciences” traced
the evolution of community-based research
from its early days in the late ’60s and the
Some of the CPAf staff and students who joined the sportsfest held during the College’s 10th foundation day
celebration.
Training Program). Just recently, the CA
launched the AgriPark, a one-stop shop
showcasing CA- generated technologies.
Today, CA offers BS Agriculture and
BS Food Technology. It also jointly offers
BS Agricultural Chemistry with the College
of Arts and Sciences.
As the college nears its centenary,
it strives hard to reassert its role as a
trailblazer in agricultural education,
research and extension. (SC Seminiano and
AL Lantican)
role of social scientists and universities
from the ’70s to the new millenium, and in
the light of the millennium development
goals.
The symposium provided a venue to
discuss the changing role of applied social
sciences in sustainable agriculture and
community development. It will also enable
CPAf to formulate theories and methods
in development and governance studies in
support of national goals in the agriculture
and rural sectors and in communities in
transition.
Distinguished speakers talked on
various topics in the parallel sessions on:
1) institutions, governance and delivery of
services; 2) strategies for community
resource management for sustainable
development; 3) social development and
poverty reduction; and 4) science and
technology policy for development.
The celebration was also marked by
a program recognizing its outstanding
personnel and a sportsfest. During the
recognition rites, Chancellor Luis Rey I.
Velasco and Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip,
CARD-MRI managing director, signed a
memorandum of agreement granting to
UPLB the CARD-MRI Professorial Chair
in Microfinance and Social Development.
CPAf Dean Agnes C. Rola, Dr. Gelia T.
Castillo, a member of the CARD Inc. Board
of Trustees, and Ms. Dolores Torres,
president of CARD Bank, Inc. witnessed
the signing.
For the coming decade, CPAf will
continue to carry out its mission to provide
the academic leadership in instruction,
research, public service and policy
advocacy. (J Cadoc-Reyes)

Sandayaw helps Alaminos City
in culture tourism
The UPLB Sandayaw Cultural
Group has widened its scope as a
bearer of rich Philippine cultural
heritage by assisting Alaminos City in
Pangasinan in promoting cultural
tourism and awareness through dance.
Sandayaw and the Office of
Initiatives in Culture and the Arts,
partnered with the Office of the Mayor
of Alaminos, home of the famed
Hundred Islands, to conduct the
workshop “Palihan Sandaan 2008” on
all weekends of February. The
partnership was instrumental in the
birth of the pioneering Daangpulo
Folkloric Group that will help promote
the city as a premiere tourist
The Sandayaw Cultural Group
Mangrove, from p. 1...
values and ecological benefits. This has
resulted in management priorities that are
production-oriented, but are at the expense
of the environment. “The cutting of mangrove
forests for timber and charcoal and the
conversion of mangrove areas into commercial
fishponds and shrimp farms suggest improper
valuation of resources” Dr. Velasco added.
Guests during the opening ceremony
included Hon. Hong Sungmog, minister and
consul general of the Embassy of the
Republic of Korea and For. Vicente S.
Paragas, DENR-Region IV executive director,
who represented DENR Undersecretary
Demetrio L. Ignacio, Jr.
The trainees and organizers
participated in “Love Affair with Nature,” an
event organized by the Office of the City
Mayor. Led by staunch environment advocate
and Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward S.
Hagedorn, the event is an annual festival held
during Valentines Day. It featured a pre-dawn
planting of 7,000 seedlings and 5,000
mangrove propagules in a 15-hectare ocean
front area in Barangay San Jose by
Palaweños, foreign dignitaries, government
officials, environmentalists, and local and
international tourists.
The participants also visited the Puerto
Princesa Subterranean River National Park,
the world’s longest navigable underground
river and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
They experienced the Mangrove Paddleboat
Tour, an ecotourism activity in a mangrove
forest along Sabang River that allows a
deeper appreciation of the ecological
significance of mangrove ecosystems as well
as the unique features of different mangrove
species found in the island.The training
course resource persons were Dr. Margaret
M. Calderon, Dr. Lucrecio Rebugio and Dr.
Leni D. Camacho of CFNR; Dr. Asa Jose U.
Sajise of the College of Economics and
Management; Dr. Josefina T. Dizon of the
destination.
The workshop aimed to teach
Alaminian dance enthusiasts Philippine
folk dances such as Palok and Manmanok
of the Highland Cordilleras, the Spanish-
influenced Polka sa Plaza and La Jota,
the Muslim dances Malong and Singkil,
and dances from the countryside like
Tinikling and Binasuan, the latter known
to have originated from Pangasinan.
Ms. Jovita Dela Cruz, Sandayaw
group director and professor at the
Department of Human Kinetics, said “We
wanted to share to the members of this
newly formed organization what we know
about dancing. We are going to teach
them the dances, but more than that, we
College of Public Affairs. The organizing team
was composed of Dr. Rebugio, chair; Dr.
Calderon and Dr. Camacho, training
coordinators; Dr. Dizon, training evaluator; and
Mss. Floribel D. Paras, Rosario B. Bantayan
and Ma. Luz P. Cereno, training staff.
The training course was funded by the
AKECU which is based at the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National
University in Seoul, South Korea. (RB
Bantayan)
PGMA, from p. 1...
with the Department of Agriculture as lead
agency.
As stipulated in EO 710, the CA
through the Agricultural Systems Cluster will
act as the FSTP national center for operation
and management. The EO also directed the
College of Forestry and Natural Resources
to facilitate the enhancement of science and
extension curricula of FSTP in upland
development.
Funds needed to carry out EO 710
will be sourced from the regular budget of
the key agencies that are involved in its
implementation. These agencies are
expected to provide not less than two percent
of their annual budget allocated for RDE
Programs for the FSTP operations. UPLB
will also provide annually at least P 1.0 million
funding assistance in kind for the program.
This new scientific agricultural strategy
is expected to improve farmers’ skills and
attitudes towards entrepreneurial farming and
consequently, alleviate poverty and hunger
among the poor and marginalized farmers.
FSTP has covered the provinces of Cebu,
Bohol, Siquijor, Oriental Negros, Leyte,
Compostela Valley, and Mindoro Occidental.
(SC Seminiano)
want to teach them how to preserve these
dances as well. Like Daangpulo,
Sandayaw started from scratch. We are
a very young group but we are thriving. I’m
very proud that we have shared the same
passion to the Alaminos group,” Prof. De
la Cruz added.
Alaminos celebrated its annual fiesta
dubbed as 2008 Hundred Islands Global
Homecoming on March 14-18 with the
theme, “Baley Co, Aroen Co…Gali La” or
Bayan Ko, Mahalin Ko, Halika Na. As part
of the city’s celebration, Sandayaw and
Daangpulo performed on March 16 at the
Alaminos Auditorium in the dance concert,
Isang Pagpupugay, which showcased
Philippine folk and ethnic dances. (MS
Cabrera)
The UPLB Horizon is issued quarterly and
features news, feature articles, research and
extension updates, literary pieces and
information of general interest to UPLB and
its publics. Please send your contributions
to OPR, e-mail: opaa_uplb@yahoo.com or
telefax no. (049) 536-3604.
January - March 2008 3
New
Officials
Dr. Rex Victor O. Cruz as dean
of the College of Forestry and
Natural Resources, effective
February 1, 2008 to January 31,
2011.
Dr. Mario V. Perilla as director
of the newly created Center for
Technology Transfer and
Entrepreneurship, effective
February 15, 2008 to February 14,
2011.
Dr. Marites G. Yee as director of
the newly created Office for
Initiatives in the Culture and the
Arts, effective February 1, 2008 to
January 31, 2011.
Dr. Serlie B. Jamias as chair of
the Department of Science
Communication, College of
Development Communication,
effective January 2, 2008 to
December 31, 2008.
Dr. Diomedes A. Racelis as
associate dean of the College of
Forestry and Natural Resources,
effective February 1, 2008 to
January 31, 2011.
Dr. Benjamin Reuel G. Marte as
college secretary of the College of
Veterinary Medicine, effective May
1, 2008 to April 30, 2011.
Atty. Caesar M. Angeles as
officer-in-charge of the Legal Office
effective January 1, 2008 to March
31, 2008 and April 1, 2008 to June
30, 2008.
Editor-in-Chief : Prof. Ma. Stella C. Tirol • Issue
Editors : Josephine M. Bo, Mervin John C. De
Roma • Writers: Maria Leah J. Baroña-Cruz,
Eisen Bernard V. Bernardo, Josephine M. Bo,
Mervin John C. De Roma, Jo Ann A. Oruga •
Contributors : Rosario B. Bantayan, Mark S.
Cabrera, Apolinario L. Lanitcan, Maria Victoria
L. Larona, Jaine Cadoc-Reyes, Marife R.
Santiago, Simeona C. Seminiano, Joan Pauline
P. Talubo • Layout : Ray Angelo P. Nasino •
Circulation : Mariss D. Borromeo, Abel B.
Palivino • Photos : Eisen BV Bernardo, Pol Q.
Veluz, Nicetas C. Araguas
4 January - March 2008
JC, a naturalist
and a nationalist
A career in medicine and a life in the
US. To an ordinary guy, these are the
ingredients for success. But Juan Carlos
“JC” T. Gonzalez, 2008 Outstanding
Teacher in the Biological Sciences, well-
published wildlife researcher, passionate
conservationist, and bird enthusiast, is not
your typical guy.
Countless times, JC has chucked
opportunities to live and work in the land
of milk and honey in much the same way
that he gave up the chance to become a
medical doctor, high NMAT score, financial
backing, and moral support from his family
notwithstanding.
JC is a dedicated mentor who lays
much premium on his vocation and
advocacy as to say, nary a hint of doubt,
that Makiling is the place to be, despite
the pitiful salary at the state university and
the pull of well-paying teaching jobs such
as one offered to him at a university in
California. One could almost say it is plain
luck that UPLB is at the foothills of the
venerable mountain. Otherwise, JC would
have taken his love for teaching elsewhere
in the country where he would be in
continual communion with the creatures
of his curiousity and fascination.
His dedication to his craft is borne
by his abiding desire to contribute to
conservation initiatives. “The Philippines
has a very rich biodiversity and there are
not enough teachers to teach people about
it. Yes, we hear politicians talk about it all
the time but who will go beyond the
generalities, the motherhood statements?
Education plays a very important role in
enlightening our people on our rich
biodiversity,” says JC. “I think this is the
reason why I am here,” he added.
Commitment and strong motivation
fuel JC’s creativity as a teacher: students
and colleagues say that JC teaches with
aplomb. JC has his favorite mentors to
thank for this: Prof. Andy Dans who
Profoundness in a simple
work ethic
He could be easily dismissed as an
ordinary worker who defines civil service
within the 8-5, 15-30 boundaries. But
underneath his quiet and mild exterior is a
dependable worker, a constructive problem
solver and dedicated public servant who
has contributed much to teaching and
research at the Crop Protection Cluster
(CPC), CA.
Clemente C. Salvador, Laboratory
Aide II, was given the 2008 Outstanding
Blue Collar Personnel Award. The luster
of his award is burnished by a simple work
ethic that views service and accountability
beyond the temporal. This has motivated
him to provide practical solutions to
Salvador
Gonzalez
convinced and inspired him to teach, and
the late Dr. Leo Rimando and Dr. Pete
Alviola who showed him that lectures can
be made riveting and exciting. Indeed, JC
has profoundly touched his students’ lives
by inculcating a deep appreciation for the
courses that he teaches and as his
students said, for stoking the embers of
patriotic fervor in them. One might ask,
how could classes in zoology, wildlife and
ornithology do these? For the teachers out
there in need of improving their craft, it
might be instructive to sit in one of JC’s
classes.
Not one to rest on his laurels, JC is
soon going to the UK for his Ph.D. in
conservation biology. He assures us that
he will be coming back. Trust that he will
for he has defined the parameters of
success on his own terms. It is plain luck
for UPLB that these include being the best
teacher that he could be and being where
he can best teach wildlife and zoology.
(JM Bo)
problems and inexpensive alternatives to
procedures at his work station, and to
always be ready to help.
Clemen provides support to faculty
members and students in conducting field
experiments. He is in charge of collecting
insect and plant specimens for crop
protection and entomology classes. He is
also the building administrator and staff-
in-charge of the Biocon building of the
CPC. Seeing the difficulty that students
go through to fetch water for their plants,
Clemen designed and installed a water
system that has since then been used as
an alternative to the unreliable CES
irrigation system.
When the CPC experienced difficulty
in hiring service technicians to install
termite bait stations around University
buildings, Clemen volunteered to work as
a back up technician, thus facilitating
continuity in implementing the special
project.
He helps optimize the use of CPC
resources by recycling materials that are
used in land preparation such as bamboo
stakes and strings. He selects the good
ears from corn harvested from students’
experiments and dries and stores them
properly so that the CPC would not have
to buy planting materials for the following
semester’s experiment. Clemen goes out
of his way even on weekends to ensure
that the BioCon building is safe and
secure, averting burglary in one case and
being instrumental in the recovery of
valuable items in another.
As simple as his work ethic may be,
it has ensured Clemen a place among the
few who have earned the University’s
recognition. (JM Bo)
Sharpened
pencil
Prof. Ruperta VR. Asuncion is more
than the teacher who bagged two best
actress awards at the Faculty Follies (in
1995 and in 2006). She is also a creative
writer who has kept her pencil sharp
through the years. Proof is the special
award in creative writing that UPLB gave
her on the occasion of its
foundation day celebration on
March 7.
Her love affair with writing Asuncion
started when she wrote
essays and poetry for her
college school paper. Writing
has since brought her self-
actualization and fulfillment.
She gets ideas for her
characters by observing people
and writing her observations on
strips of paper that she carries
around in a plastic portfolio. She then writes ballad.
her literary pieces using her observations. As an educator, Prof. Asuncion is a
She has written short plays, stage plays, stickler for discipline and imparts the value
essays, novels, poetry, ballads, lullabies of hard work to her students. She herself
and hymns, written in any of the three was never late for class. She believes that
languages, English, Filipino and Iluko. if a teacher is late, then he/she is guilty of
Her love of the Iloko culture is evident simple corruption. “Discipline starts with
in her work. Most of her pieces, including being observant of time,” she emphasized.
the novelette “Awanen iti agarubos pay a Teaching these values and having
luak” (I have no more tears to shed), were excellent teaching skills made her UPLB’s
published in Bannawag, an Ilocano Outstanding Teacher for the Social
magazine. Sciences and Humanities in 1990.
To help preserve native culture, Prof. She has a simple tip for aspiring
Asuncion self-financed a research to come writers: “Write anything under the sun. If
up with the Dictionary of Gender and you think there is something unique about
Sexuality. She is also working on the what you have written, have it published.”
Ilokano-Amianan Dictionary in She also believes that being observant and
collaboration with the University of Hawaii having a voracious appetite for reading are
in Manoa where she documents Ilokano key qualities in order to improve writing
words and their variants in various Ilokano- ability. She says, “There are no perfect
speaking provinces. She anticipates both writers. Don’t be ashamed to have your
dictionaries to be published in 2010. As work checked by another person. Talk to
part of her advocacy to preserve people who write well because you will
endangered Iloko traditions, she has also learn from them.” (JAA Oruga)
written and performed a dallot, an Iluko
Transcending expectations
UPLB has recognized another one that frogs and cockroaches that are
of its outstanding administrative staff yet used in instruction are always available.
again. Ms. Martina A. Nepomuceno of Her multitasking skills are put to
the Institute of Biological Sciences (IBS), test when she has to attend to numerous
CAS, is 2008 UPLB Outstanding calls. But what separates her from the
Administrative Personnel. Ms. rest is her ability to keep calm and
Nepomuceno, a mother to three children, cheerful even when Herculean tasks are
namely, Robert, Ronald and Richard, at hand. According to her superiors, her
and a loving wife to Diego Nepomuceno, cheerful and pleasant disposition never
has always been a diligent staff. In fact, wanes. When the UP Open University
she has been given an outstanding held the BIO F lab during the summer
performance rating for several years now. term, the IBS enlisted her support and
Her diligence and dedication to her help.
work is reflected in her unstinting service She is like a mother who knows in
to the Genetics and Molecular Biology her heart that her institute works on a
Division of the IBS. Ms. Nepomuceno tight budget. And so, she imparts all her
devised tools and procedures for knowledge and skills and shares her
researchers and students of genetics time and effort to ensure that the IBS is
and biology such as a cheap and able to save on resources. Indeed, like
effective onion strategy for mitotic a mother whose love and concern for her
chromosome investigation. She family knows no bounds, Ms.
developed a refined and more accurate Nepomuceno has transcended the limits
and cheap Allium root technique for of expected accomplishments as a
producing specimens for mitotic slides. laboratory technician. (JAA Oruga)
Models and mock-ups come in
handy in enabling students to visualize
concepts and abstractions as well as
things that are not visible to the naked
eye. Ms. Nepomuceno has applied her
creativity, artistic bent, and her patience
to handcrafting these instructional Nepomuceno
materials that would have cost the IBS
much. She painstakingly sews buttons
as nucleotides, molds metal wires to
form tRNAs, and labels buttons
to represent amino acids.
Ms. Nepomuceno has
set up and maintained a bio-
garden and arboretum for
immediate availability of plant
specimens used in research
and instruction. She also
mass reared insect
specimens for genetic studies
and researches, and ensured

* * Everyday People features just about anybody in the University who is more than a glance. For this issue, the Horizon featured the outstanding
Dr. Felino P. Lansigan,
outstanding researcher
Excellence may come with time,
or it may be pursued with passion. Dr.
Felino P. Lansigan, professor at the
Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), does not
wait for it; he pursues it with a bow and
arrow. Chances are, there aren’t that many
who seek perfection of their craft to the
degree that Dr. Lansigan, 2008
Outstanding Researcher, does.
In the early 1990s, Dr. Lansigan was
part of an international group that worked
for the recognition of environmental
statistics as a scientific discipline and
through which he promoted the use of
systems modeling and simulation as a tool
in agricultural research, planning and
development. This method marks his body
of work in research, among the most
significant of which is a knowledge-based
crop forecasting system for rice and corn
production in the Philippines.
Dr. Lansigan has conducted on-farm
research, with a pioneering
multidisciplinary UPLB team, on the use
of advanced seasonal climate information.
He also did crop modeling and simulation
to evaluate the performance of major crops
under different environmental conditions,
thereby leading to risk assessment due
to climate variability and other natural
calamities.
His research work is without a doubt
a hand offered to agriculture. His research
results were useful in the development of
adaptation and mitigation measures and
have been used as bases for the
development of crop insurance coverage
options and for the formulation of a
calamity fund by Quedancor.
Through his international research
network, Dr. Lansigan has provided
opportunities for several UPLB staff and
Filipino colleagues to take part
in international scientific
gatherings.
Dr. Lansigan currently
heads the UPLB-DENR
Technical Working Group and
UPLB’s BioChemistry Team
blazes the trail in biotechnology
Finding workable solutions to the
food and nutrition crisis is never an easy
job, but if there’s one team which can stand
up to the challenge, it is none other than
the Crop Science Cluster’s BioChemistry
Research Team, UPLB’s Most
Outstanding Research Team for 2008.
The Biochemistry Research Team,
a formidable unit led by Dr. Evelyn Mae
Tecson-Mendoza, Dr. Antonio C. Laurena,
and Dr. Roberta N. Garcia is responsible
for some of the most pioneering and
innovative ‘knowledge products’ in the
country. Fully complemented by a highly
capable technical and project support
staff, including some graduate students,
The Crop Science Cluster’s Biochemistry Research Team
personnel and the outstanding research team who were recognized on the occasion of UPLB’s 99th Foundation Day celebration on March 6, 2008.
Sharing a love for learning
is co-chair of the UPLB Interdisciplinary
Program on Climate Change. His
involvement in international activities
include serving as vice-chair of the
International Scientific Steering Committee
(SSC) of the Land-Ocean Interactions in
the Coastal Zone Research Network,
member of the SSC of the Global Water
System Project, country collaborator of
the APN-funded Project on Integrated
Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal
Systems in Southeast Asia and East
Asia, reviewer of the Fourth Assessment
Report of the IPCC Technical Working
Group II, and reviewer of the UNEP Global
Programme of Action for the Protection of
Marine Environment from Land-based
Activities.
At UPLB, he heads the Statistical
Modeling Division and concurrently
coordinator for extension of INSTAT. He is
also the current president of the Gamma
Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture-
UPLB Philippines Chapter.
Dr. Lansigan finished BS (1975) and
MS in Statistics (1977) in UPLB and a
Ph.D. in hydrology and water resources
at Colorado State University in 1982. (MLJ
Baroña-Cruz)
Lansigan
the team members have maintained a
dedicated and inspiring work ethic that has
produced positive advances in the field of
agriculture and biotechnology. One day,
their efforts could be instrumental in
alleviating the worsening food and nutrition
situation in the country and the rest of the
world.
Under the baton of Dr. Mendoza,
they were able to develop a transgenic
papaya with delayed ripening traits.
Transgenic means that the genes came
from a different species. This delayed
ripening trait known as “Enhanced Solo”
(See BioChem.., next page)
January - March 2008 5
Although she came from a family Dr. Baconguis handles graduate
of educators, Dr. Rowena Baconguis major courses in extension education and
admits that she never aspired to become core courses like philosophical ideas in
a teacher. As a young girl growing up in a development and administrative theory. Her
university town in Kabacan,Cotabato, she work ethic since her days as a graduate
dreamed of becoming a nurse. However, student still has not changed. It is not
parental guidance intervened and she went uncommon for her to read reference books,
on to graduate with an economics degree, journals and term papers into the wee
cum laude, from the Ateneo de Davao hours of the morning.
University in 1989. Before each semester starts, one
Teaching was still farthest from her will surely find Dr. Baconguis in a seminar-
mind as she went on to work as an workshop for faculty members handling
investments specialist at the Board of sessions on the philosophy and
Investments in Makati and as a medical psychology of education. She looks forward
representative for Metro Pharma in to the sessions because she likes to share
Batangas. It was during her stint at the her knowledge with fellow teachers and
Development Academy of the Philippines learn from their experiences as well.
in Davao City where she developed an Dr. Baconguis’ love for learning and
interest in training and development. In the inspiration she derives from her
1997, her husband, then an executive for students is evident in her belief that if her
a crop protection company, was relocated students will only learn what she as a
from Davao City to Los Baños. The teacher knows, then she will not have been
following year, pregnant and with a one- a successful mentor.(AP Dominguita)
year-old daughter in tow, she joined her
husband in Los Banos and found herself
enrolling for a Ph.D. in extension education
at UPLB.
Learning to be an extension
educator was a tough journey as she
juggled motherhood and her studies.
However, she was fortunate to have
outstanding social scientists as mentors
who challenged and encouraged her.
Through hard work, persistence, patience
and a strong work ethic, she completed
her Ph.D. as the outstanding graduate
student of the College of Public Affairs in
2002. That same year, she was hired by
the UPLB as an assistant professor at
the Institute of Community Education (ICE).
Now, just six years from the time
she started as a faculty member of the
university, she has already earned a
coveted spot in the roll of the university’s
outstanding mentors in the field of social Baconguis
sciences and humanities.
By any moniker, he is service
exemplified
Innovativeness and ingenuity to solve
Because of his being very punctual problems is innate in Tito Aga. In fact, he
(in Filipino, maaga), Romeo C. Estimado designed improvised contraptions for LCD
was given the nickname “Tito Aga” by the projector platform to protect the unit from
faculty, staff and students of the College overheating. He performs tasks that are
of Development Communication (CDC). He beyond his workload, diligently reporting
always arrives at his office ahead of every Saturday to open the CDC building,
everybody. He reports to work long before
the first classes at seven in the morning
prepare the classrooms, and set up
audiovisual equipment for graduate
are held, and goes home late in order to classes. He does this without any
provide the educational technology needs additional compensation and does not
of CDC’s faculty and students. But, his even reflect this in his daily time record.
punctuality is just one of the many traits He also maintains and landscapes the
that make him an exceptional civil servant. indoor garden of the CDC building.
Tito Aga, an administrative assistant Tito Aga is a highly responsible
at the Department of Educational steward and a very dependable worker. He
Communication, is one of the most cheerful is a multi-tasker who has consistently
and amiable staff in the CDC. His congenial shown passion to serve the university
disposition has made him everyone’s beyond the call of duty. These traits make
friend. In fact, students unanimously voted him deserving of the 2008 UPLB
him as “Outstanding Staff” during the Outstanding Office Personal Award. (EBV
CDC’s 9th anniversary celebration in 2007. Bernardo)
Tito Aga is equipped with mastery
in operating various audiovisual and
educational communication
technologies. Having been with the
college for 28 years now, he mastered
installing, maintaining, operating, and
trouble shooting audiovisual equipment
– including cameras, darkroom
equipment and projectors.
He earned the monicker as the
“lens man” because he is regularly
requested to photo and video document
various campus events.
Some of his colleagues call him
the “one-man team” because of his ability
to “run” a workshop even without the pool
of faculty trainers. He can do almost
every task efficiently - preparation of
training materials such as manuals, IDs
and nametags, notepads, and visual
aids, to video and photo coverages, and
provision of technical assistance during
training, and reproduction and delivery
of training reports. Estimado
6 January - March 2008

BPI-DOST Science
Awardees
Every year, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the BPI Foundation, Inc.
and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) celebrate the excellence
displayed by young scientists from the country’s top universities through the BPI-
DOST Science Awards. UPLB toasts its achievers through this simple tribute.

Mahalia, Nonoy at Flor Adrian, mabuhay kayo!

Dedicating her life to science

Her insatiable hunger for knowledge and burning
passion for science may just be her ticket to becoming a
successful scientist someday. Mahalia Adelina Corazon
P. Serrano, one of the 2008 BPI Science awardees, (3rd-5th from L) BPI Science awardees Flor Adrian Simborio, Mahalia AC Serrano and Nonoy Bandillo flanked
by Mr. Florendo D. Maranan, vice president of BPI and chair of the BPI Science Awards Committee; Mr. Raul
embodies academic and research excellence. She had D. Dimayuga, senior vice president of BPI and a UPLB alumnus, Chancellor Luis Rey I. Velasco and Vice
been a university or college scholar every semester since Chancellor for Instruction Rita P. Laude after the BPI-DOST Science Awards on March 7.
she was a freshman.
She has also received various recognitions including
the Gamma Sigma Delta International Honor Society for
Agriculture Outstanding Freshman Award in 2004 and Nonoy sums up what he wants to accomplish with his research: “World rice
Outstanding Sophomore award in 2005, and the College production has increase with the advent of new technologies. This study will be helpful
of Arts and Sciences Most Outstanding student Award in in providing solutions to the problem of rice productivity.” To him, being in the field of
2006. This 4th year BS Agricultural Chemistry student is also a member of the UPLB agriculture, specifically plant breeding, will test his ingenuity and critical thinking.
PACS (Philippine Association of Chemistry Students) which bagged the championship He will not only help put food on our tables, so to speak, he also aims to help
in the PACSiklaban 2005, an annual national chemistry quiz contest. train students in plant breeding who will carry his baton of responsibility by putting
Since high school, Mahalia has participated in various research works. One of food on the tables of the succeeding generations of Filipinos. “It will be a great privilege
the most memorable for her was the internship at the International Rice Research to teach the younger generation and help students appreciate agriculture and plant
Institute where she assisted in the research project “Variety-Specific Hot Water-Soluble breeding” Nonoy said. (AP Dominguita)
Fraction of Rice.” She was given the opportunity to work in a laboratory and handle
sophisticated instruments. The experience has become her inspiration in conducting
her undergraduate research paper, “Physiochemical and Nutritional Properties of
Organically Grown Indigenous Philippine Rice Cultivars,” which was nominated to
The truth seeker
the 2008 BPI Best Science Project Award.
Flor Adrian Cantones Simborio planned on taking up
Having achieved so much at a young age, Mahalia still has a lot of dreams, like
medicine and becoming a doctor but realized that genetics
dedicating herself to science, or being a Chemistry teacher and of course, becoming
is really his passion. It appears that he’s on to the right thing.
a national chemist. She hopes that through this, she would “inspire young minds,
His research project, “Specific Activity and Gene
cultivate their desire for learning, and open them to the wonders of science,” and at
Expression Analyses of Ascorbate Peroxidase in Contrasting
the same time “uplift the standards of science education in the country.” (EBV Bernardo)
Rice Genotypes Affected by Salt-Stress,” garnered for him a
BPI-DOST Science Award for 2008. The project sought to
identify important genes that make certain rice varieties salt-
A future rice breeder rises tolerant.
The genes he discovered in the study could be
Nonoy Bandillo considers the late National Scientist
incorporated, through conventional breeding or biotechnology,
Dr. Pedro B. Escuro his role model. A farmer before
to produce new high-yielding rice varieties that are highly tolerant to salt. This is particularly
studying agriculture at the then UPCA, Dr. Escuro
important because around 200,000 hectares of land in the country are saline.
graduated magna cum laude and embarked on a
Flor Adrian, who hails from Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, is a self-described seeker of
distinguished career in the academe as a teacher and
truth who believes that science provides the answer to all of life’s questions. “By continuously
scientist, capping it with the development of the rice hybrid,
seeking for truth you are able to create a bigger picture of reality,” he says. The young man
C-4, a high-yielding variety. Dr. Escuro was a “farmer-
wants to give something back to the institutions that nurtured his talents by becoming a
scientist” whom Nonoy wants to emulate.
researcher and a teacher. He also intends to pursue higher studies in Molecular Biology and
It is no wonder therefore that Nonoy is also into rice
Biomedical Engineering and to one day establish his own research institution that will be
research through the project “Molecular Profiling of Breeding
devoted mainly to the advancement of health care or agricultural science in the country.
Lines Derived fromthe Cross Oryza sativa L. x O. rufipogon
His plans seem quite grand and ambitious but this young man has the proper tools and
Griff. that won for him the prestigious BPI Science Award. His goal is to produce a
a heart in its right place. And, he could not have chosen a better role model. He looks up to
crop with high food production qualities that is also disease-free.
National Scientist and former dean of the College of Agriculture Dioscoro Umali, whom he
Nonoy’s research could not be more timely now that the country is in the throes
admires for launching many agricultural programs in the country and for making UPLB a
of a rice crisis. It is as if he had his ears to the ground when he conceptualized it a
premier learning institution.
couple of years ago. If our policymakers were as astute as him, they would not be
Flor Adrian acknowledges that the BPI-DOST Science Award is a prestigious award.
caught painfully unprepared for the rice problem that is now threatening to prove once
He hopes his accomplishment would inspire other people, fellow students in particular, to
again that the grain has within its every kernel the future of our country.
pursue academic excellence as well. (MJC De Roma)

BioChem, from p. 5... Members of the

won the Ayala-PESO Grand Prize Award.
This award is a milestone of sorts, as it started
the active promotion of bio-entrepreneurship
among the UPLB technology generators.
Further, the transgenic papaya is the first
Filipino genetically modified crop approved
for field testing by the DA-BPI as certified by
the National Committee on Biosafety of the
Philippines.
The Biochemistry Research Team is
also continuously engaged in pioneering
research on two of the most important crops
in the country, coconut and mungbean. It
seeks to enhance the commercial and
nutritional values of these crops by
understanding the physicochemical and
functional properties of its storage proteins.
The team published the first report on
the physicochemical characterization of
cocosin, the major storage protein in the
coconut endosperms and the discovery of
the 7S coconut globulin. The work on the
physicochemical characterization of coconut
oleosin, the body-associated protein in
coconut, is also a first report in coconuts.
Meanwhile, the team’s gene discovery
work led to the isolation and cloning of
important genes from peanut (resveratrol
synthase), mango (ACC synthase, ethylene
receptor gene), coconut (cocosin, oleosin),
and cassava (storage protein genes)
From 2005 to 2007, the Biochemistry
Research Team published eight scientific
articles in ISI journals, one book and three
chapters in a book. It also won five best poster
awards (2005-2007); and best theses awards
from the Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society
ofAgriculture Science Society in 2006 (Ph.D.)
and in 2007 (MS).
The team was able to complete two
research projects: Control of Ripening in
Papaya and Mango by Genetic Engineering
and Field Testing of Transgenic Papaya with
Delayed Ripening Trait Toward
Commercialization, also in 2005-2007.
It is now working on several projects.
These are: Introgression of PRSV
Resistance into Transgenic Papaya with
Delayed Ripening Trait and Field Testing
Toward Commercialization; Phase II of the
Molecular Strategies to Improve the
Nutritional and Functional Qualities of
Mungbean; Phase II of the Physicochemical
and Molecular Studies of Storage Proteins
in Coconut; Determination of
Physicochemical and Functional
Characteristics of Native and Recombinant
Cocosin; and Genetic Fidelity Testing in
Garlic and Shallots.
Given all its achievements and
accolades, it is hardly surprising that the
BioChemistry Team has become a true trail
blazer since two of its leaders are the best in
their field. Dr. Laurena was given the
Achievement Award in Chemistry Research
and the 20th Amando Clemente Memorial
Foundation Lecturer by the Philippine
Federation of Chemistry Societies during the
22nd Philippine Chemistry Congress on April
2007.
Dr. Tecson-Mendoza, who finished her
MS and Ph.D. in BioChemistry from the
University of Massachusetts has a UP
Scientist II title tucked under her belt. She is
considered as one of the staunchest and
most passionate advocates of biotechnology
one could ever hope to find. (MJC De Roma)
Biochemistry Research
Team
Dr. Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza,
Dr. Antonio C. Laurena, Dr. Roberta N.
Garcia, Ms. Lucita L. Laureles, Mr.
Sotico V. Pagulayan III, Ms. Cleotilde A.
Caldo, Ms. Flordeliza C. Mendoza, Mr.
Rodolfo M. Vergara, Mr. June R. Laude,
Mr. Joel B. Magpantay
Collaborating Scientists
Simeona V. Siar, CSC; Dr. Jose
Ramon Botella, University of
Queensland; Dr. Shigeru Utsumi, Kyoto
University; Dr. Motoyasu Adachi, Kyoto
University; Dr. Nobuyuki Maruyama,
Kyoto University; Dr. Krisna Prak, Kyoto
University
Project Support Staff: Ms. Lydia
del Rosario; Graduate Students: Ms.
Mary Ann O. Torio; Ms. Abigail Joy D.
Rodelas; Mr. Mark Rickard N. Angelia;
Mr. Neil H. Tan Gana

Academic Freedom by Isagani Cruz
(Reprinted with permission from the Philippine Star, Feb 7, 14, 28 and March 6 & 13 2008)
Academic freedom is widely
misunderstood. Many teachers think
that, with academic freedom, they can
pretty much say anything they want to
say. That is not true at all. Academic
freedom is a specifically limited right of
certain persons. To get to the real
meaning of academic freedom, we have
to return to the original reason for it.
The discussion by John Henry
Newman in The Idea of a University,
published in 1854, serves as a good
starting point. “A University, taken in its
bare idea,” he said, “has this object and
this mission: it contemplates neither
moral impression nor mechanical
production; it professes to exercise the
mind neither in art nor in duty; its function
is intellectual culture.” He continued, “It
educates the intellect to reason well in
all matters, to reach out towards truth,
and to grasp it.”
The key word in this passage is
truth. Academic freedom exists in order
for humanity to discover the truth.
Moreover, academic freedom makes
sense only within the larger context of a
university’s search for truth.
Flash forward to the present. In a
modern discussion of it, the University
of Oxford declared in March, 2007, that
“staff (faculty) have freedom within the
law to question and test received wisdom,
and to put forward new ideas and
controversial or unpopular opinions,
without placing themselves in jeopardy
of losing their jobs or privileges.” There
are two key concepts in this modern
formulation: first, faculty members have
to stay within the law, and second, they
cannot be fired for expressing new ideas.
The world cannot progress unless
there is a group of human beings allowed
to question conventional knowledge
without persecution. This freedom to
think and to express what they think is,
however, not an absolute right of these
human beings, but is limited by what the
law says.
What does the law say?
The most universal of all laws about
academic freedom is that of the United
Nations Committee on Economic,
Social, and Cultural Rights. What does
the United Nations say?
Article 13 of the 1976 United
Nations International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
focuses on the right to education. In its
1999 interpretation of that article, the UN
Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights distinguishes between
individual academic freedom and
institutional academic freedom.
The UN Committee’s first provision
goes this way: “Members of the
academic community, individually or
collectively, are free to pursue, develop
and transmit knowledge and ideas,
through research, teaching, study,
discussion, documentation, production,
creation or writing. Academic freedom
includes the liberty of individuals to
express freely opinions about the
institution or system in which they work,
to fulfil their functions without
discrimination or fear of repression by
the State or any other actor, to
participate in professional or
representative academic bodies, and to
enjoy all the internationally recognized
human rights applicable to other
individuals in the same jurisdiction. The
enjoyment of academic freedom carries
with it obligations, such as the duty to
respect the academic freedom of others,
to ensure the fair discussion of contrary
views, and to treat all without
discrimination on any of the prohibited
grounds.”
Since individual academic freedom
is a very complex issue, let me devote
future entries to this first provision. Today
controversial matter which has no relation
to their subject.” Teachers have
academic freedom only within their own
disciplines.
Adds AAUP: “College and
university teachers are citizens,
members of a learned profession, and
let me discuss only the second provision, officers of an educational institution.
which reads: “The enjoyment of When they speak or write as citizens,
academic freedom requires the they should be free from institutional
autonomy of institutions of higher censorship or discipline, but their special
education. Autonomy is that degree of position in the community imposes
self-governance necessary for effective special obligations.” In other words,
decision-making by institutions of higher since they are looked up to, teachers
education in relation to their academic should not make statements that they
work, standards, management and cannot back up with evidence, as the
related activities. Self-governance, word “evidence” is defined in their
however, must be consistent with particular disciplines.
systems of public accountability, Still from AAUP: “As scholars and
especially in respect of funding provided educational officers, they should
by the State. Given the substantial public remember that the public may judge their
investments made in higher education, profession and their institution by their
an appropriate balance has to be struck utterances. Hence they should at all
between institutional autonomy and times be accurate, should exercise
accountability. While there is no single appropriate restraint, should show
model, institutional arrangements should respect for the opinions of others, and
be fair, just and equitable, and as should make every effort to indicate that
transparent and participatory as they are not speaking for the institution.”
possible.” Nearer home, our own Court of
The second provision is about Appeals has restricted individual
institutional academic freedom. academic freedom even more. Teachers
It is institutional academic freedom can claim academic freedom only if they
that is enshrined in our own 1987 follow the regulations of a school. In Far
Constitution. Section 5 of Article 14 on Eastern University vs. National Labor
Education, Science and Technology, Relations Commission and Feliza
Culture and Sports, states clearly and Samaniego (CA-G.R. SP No. 83614), the
simply, that “academic freedom shall be Court of Appeals said, “Teachers are
enjoyed in all institutions of higher given leeway, under the principle of
learning.” academic freedom, to conduct their
It is important to note that our classes according to the manner and
Constitution, following the UN covenant, form they see fit, provided they conform
“The enjoyment of academic freedom carries
with it obligations, such as the duty to respect
the academic freedom of others, to ensure the
fair discussion of contrary views, and to treat
all without discrimation on any of the
prohibited grounds.”
- UN Committee on Economics,
Social and Cultural Rights
grants academic freedom only to to school regulation.”
institutions of higher learning (that is, Illustrative of the many
colleges and universities), rather than to descriptions of academic freedom is the
all schools, such as elementary or high one attributed to former UP president
schools. Since individual academic Vicente G. Sinco, also a delegate to the
freedom is a consequence of 1973 Constitutional Convention. Sinco
institutional academic freedom, we can said that the Constitution “definitely
immediately see that elementary and grants the right of academic freedom to
high school teachers and students do the University as an institution as
not enjoy academic freedom. distinguished from the academic freedom
What is institutional academic of a university professor.” In short,
freedom? Our own Supreme Court has universities can claim absolute
defined it: “We have held time and again academic freedom; individual teachers
that the University has the academic within a university can claim academic
freedom to determine for itself on freedom only if they obey the institution.
academic grounds who may teach, what Certain institutions, such as UP
may be taught, how it shall be taught, itself, grant practically absolute
and who may be admitted to study.” academic freedom to its teachers. Other
(G.R. No. 132860, April 3, 2001, institutions, however, particularly private
University of the Philippines, et al., vs. ones, limit the academic freedom of their
Civil Service Commission) teachers. Teachers in these institutions
That is what institutional academic cannot choose their textbooks, design
freedom is and that is all it is. A university their own syllabi different from
can hire and fire teachers, can formulate departmental syllabi, not wear uniforms,
and restrict curricula and syllabi, can not observe teaching or consultation
specify teaching methods, and can hours, and whatever else the
accept or expel students – all without administrators tell them not to do.
any interference from any outside entity, From a management point of view,
not even government. this view of academic freedom makes
While institutional academic perfect sense. After all, if a particular
freedom is enshrined in the Constitution, teacher does not like to follow the
individual academic freedom is not. regulations of a school, he or she can
Individual teachers have academic always go to another school. This is the
freedom only to the extent that it is given same reasoning that is behind the
to them by their institutions. opinion of the Supreme Court about
This is clear even from the institutional academic freedom. If a
guidelines of the American Association student does not like the way a school
of University Professors (AAUP). Says is run, he or she can always enroll in
AAUP: “Teachers are entitled to freedom another school.
in the classroom in discussing their The right to education is not denied
subject, but they should be careful not any student, nor is freedom of speech
to introduce into their teaching denied any teacher by this limited view
January - March 2008 7
of academic freedom. After all, nobody,
student or teacher, has the right to be in
any particular institution. There is always
some school somewhere (such as UP)
which will allow students or teachers
more academic freedom than is allowed
in other schools. If someone will argue
that he or she is not intelligent enough
to be either a student or a teacher in
UP, then the answer is, tough. In fact,
academic freedom is granted only to very
few, highly intelligent individuals.
Faculty members that cry
“Academic Freedom” when threatened
with dismissal by school authorities for
violating school rules should look at the
Supreme Court decision in the case of
the University of the Philippines and
Alfredo de Torres vs. Civil Service
Commission (G.R. No. 132860, April 3,
2001).
In that decision, the Court said
unequivocally: “We have held time and
again that ‘the University has the
academic freedom to determine for itself
on academic grounds who may teach,
what may be taught, how it shall be
taught, and who may be admitted to
study.’ Clearly, this freedom
encompasses the autonomy to choose
who should teach and, concomitant
therewith, who should be retained in its
rolls of professors and other academic
personnel. This Court declared in Ateneo
de Manila University v. Capulong: ‘As
corporate entities, educational
institutions of higher learning are
inherently endowed with the right to
establish their policies, academic and
otherwise, unhampered by external
controls or pressure.’”
The school’s administration, then,
has the right to hire or fire teachers.
Teachers cannot claim academic
freedom as a defense against being fired.
In the United States, someone can
be fired just by saying, “You’re fired.”
Says Ronald B. Standler in “Academic
Freedom in the USA”: “Untenured
professors are at-will employees. Under
the doctrine of at-will employment, an
employer can dismiss an employee for
any reason, no reason at all, or even a
morally repugnant reason.”
Fortunately, because we are a bit
more protective of the rights of workers,
we need due process to fire a teacher in
the Philippines. Nevertheless, after such
due process, a teacher can still be fired
for not following school regulations, even
if these regulations are not academic
(such as wearing a uniform, not smoking
on campus, or observing office hours).
Our Court of Appeals made this
crystal clear: “Academic freedom does
not mean that a faculty member cannot
be dismissed.” (25 August 2005, CA-
G.R. SP No. 83614, Far Eastern
University vs. National Labor Relations
Commission and Feliza Samaniego.)
If this sounds like a brief for school
administrators faced with disciplining
unruly faculty members, that is because
it is. I am tired of hearing teachers use
the term “academic freedom” every time
they feel harassed by administrators.
There are, however, certain
teachers that can legitimately claim
academic freedom when they defy school
administrators ordering them to teach in
a certain way. Such teachers are not
many, but they still constitute a distinct
class of intellectuals that have to be
exempted from school rules, not just
operational procedures, but even
academic policies (such as adhering to
a prescribed syllabus or textbook, or in
the case of a sectarian school, teaching
according to the tenets of a particular
religion).
These are the intellectuals referred
to in Cardinal Newman’s “The Idea of a
University.” They are the think tank of
the world. They are the reason the idea
of academic freedom was born.
Who are, without any doubt,
entitled to academic freedom?
Only tenured professors in a
university, who have doctorates, who
have published in peer-reviewed
(See Academic.., next page)
8 January - March 2008
A closer look at landslides in Asia:
Who will be the next victim?
Recently, floods and landslides
have occurred more frequently than usual
in the Asian region. As climate change
impacts into our highly vulnerable
environment, the trend is likely to peak.
Are we amply prepared for floods and
landslides in areas that have heretofore
been ruled out as prone to these
occurrences? How do we brace
ourselves against the unknown? Should
we take comfort in the seemingly cavalier
attitude to flood-related landslides: finger
pointing and teeth gnashing with each
incident, and back to business-as-usual
mode soon after the dust has settled?
The University’s environment
experts are certainly not leaving the
understanding of flood-related landslides
to chance, to stop gap and knee-jerk
measures that do not save lives and
neglect understanding of the roots of the
problem. Like fortune tellers, they will try
to divine the future for landslide-prone
countries in Asia, specifically China,
Nepal, Vietnam and the Philippines. But
unlike fortune tellers, they will base their
predictions on hard facts and on science.
The School of Environmental
Science and Management (SESAM),
Institute of Biological Sciences,
Department of Social Sciences, and the
Agricultural Systems Cluster in UPLB
started working in 2007 with the
Department of Geography at the
Université Catholique de Louvain in
Belgium, the Institute of Environment and
Sustainable Development in Agriculture
Academic, from p. 7...
academic journals, and who follow non-
academic school policies.
These are the privileged individual
scholars entitled to teach whatever they
want in whatever way they want. No
school can dictate to them what to teach
or how to teach. In a sense, the
academic freedom of a school ends
where the academic freedom of these
scholars begin.
Unfortunately for the human race,
there are very few of these scholars. Not
everyone teaching even in a prestigious
university has the qualifications needed
to join this elite group.
Why is tenure required? Because
non-tenured professors still have not
earned the total respect of their peers in
the university. That is why they are non-
tenured. The other faculty members or
the administrators of a school do not trust
them enough yet to give them the
assurance that they can stay in the
school permanently. They are still under
probation. They are still being judged by
their peers.
Why are doctorates required?
Because only the doctorate is the final,
at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, the Department of Agricultural
Economics at the Nong Lam University
(formerly University of Agriculture and
Forestry) in Vietnam, and the Department
of Hydrology and Meteorology in Nepal
on the study “Assessing Vulnerability of
Communities and Understanding Policy
Implications of Adaptation Responses to
Flood-Related Landslides in Asia.”
What are the areas in these
countries that are prone to landslides?
What factors make them vulnerable? Is
there a combination of demographic,
socio-economic, climatic, biophysical,
and institutional factors that make these
areas vulnerable? In areas that have been
identified as being vulnerable, are there
adaptation mechanisms to landslides?
How do communities in vulnerable areas
deal with landslides? How can they better
cope with future landslide incidents?
The researchers will answer these
questions by generating indices that will
help determine the vulnerability of a
certain area to the occurrence of
landslides. The vulnerability indices are
represented by numerical values, a result
of the combination of factors that affect
landslide.
These indices can be reflected in a
map that will identify vulnerable areas.
The map will help pinpoint with a degree
of certainty who the next landslide
victims will be.The indices that have
been generated could also be used as a
standard for use in other areas.
A landslide-prone area in Infanta
objective proof that a scholar has
mastered everything that has to be
mastered in a field. A doctoral dissertation
includes what is known as a “review of
the literature.” This is proof that the
scholar has read everything previously
written about his area of specialization.
The dissertation advances knowledge in
the field. By writing a doctoral
dissertation, the scholar proves that she
or he has done something no one else
has done before. She or he has pushed
the frontiers of knowledge.
Why is publishing in a peer-
reviewed journal required? Because such
publication is objective proof that other
scholars in the field, especially those in
other universities and in other countries,
respect the professor. Acceptance by
peers is crucial in determining whether
one should be allowed to challenge
received wisdom. After the dissertation,
only publication in a peer-reviewed journal
serves as a gauge of originality and
validity of thought.
Why is adherence to non-academic
school policies required? I personally do
not believe that academically free
professors should follow school policies,
Agent-based modeling (ABM)
The study uses ABM, one of the
latest techniques in computational
simulation. ABM, as applied in this study,
are the individuals or a group of individuals
and the biophysical environment. The
study will come up with a simulation of
how the agents interact with each other
to cause landslide vulnerability. In the
study, the agents can be “manipulated”
to behave in a way that they would behave
in the real world.
While most people perceive
vulnerability as a function of the
biophysical conditions, it is also
important to look at this concept from
the socio-economic perspective. The
socio-economic conditions of the
community affected by landslide should
be carefully considered in studying the
concept of vulnerability.
The human agents are classified
into those contributing to the occurrence
of landslides and those affecting
vulnerability or adaptation.
The biophysical agents include
rainfall intensity, number of dry days,
types of land use and land cover, geology,
soil characteristics, topography (aspect
and slope), typhoon/rainstorm frequency
and intensity.
The agents are driven by the global
scenarios. The global scenarios are not
considered as agents but as drivers that
will affect decision-making of the human
agents and the processes that the
biophysical agents undergo.
The global scenarios include
climate change (typhoon frequency and
intensity, el Niño episodes), demographic
changes (fertility, mortality, migration),
human development (education, poverty,
health, infant mortality), and policy
changes (adaptation policy, reforestation
programme). These scenarios happen at
the international, national, or regional
levels.
Indices for both the biophysical and
social agents will be generated and these
will be combined to assess the agent’s
local environment, which is directly
influenced by global changes (Acosta-
Michlik 2005). A change in the physical
environment will trigger the agents to
make decisions which include not
making any decision, and when
translated into actions may result into
outcomes.
because such policies are made by
people that, by definition, are the
intellectual inferiors of such professors.
But the law is unfortunately on the side
of administrators.
Our Court of Appeals thinks so. In
Far Eastern University vs. National Labor
Relations Commission and Feliza
Samaniego, the Court said, “Academic
freedom affords a faculty member the
right to pursue his studies in his
particular specialty. Academic freedom
does not mean that a faculty member
cannot be dismissed.” (25 August 2005,
CA-G.R. SP No. 83614)
American law is even clearer. Here
is a typical decision: “Academic
freedom is not a license for activity at
variance with job related procedures and
requirements, nor does it encompass
activities which are internally destructive
to the proper function of the university
or disruptive to the education process.”
[Stastny v. Central Washington
University, 647 P.2d 496, 504
(Wash.Ct.App. 1982), cert. denied, 460
U.S. 1071 (1983)]
In fact, American law is even more
stringent. Here is another decision: “But
By:
Joan Pauline P. Talubo
School of Environmental Science and Management
Linking science and policy making
The study results will change the
way we cope with the inevitable effects
of climate change. It will be useful in
disseminating reliable data and
information that is necessary in coming
up with an effective early warning and
disaster management system. It will also
help in implementing mitigation,
adaptation and rehabilitation measures
in the community.
To ensure the crafting of policies
that are grounded on field conditions, the
research team enlisted the participation
of all stakeholders in the study sites
through the stakeholder dialogues. The
team members will see to it that the
stakeholders are involved in every step
of the analysis and during the entire
duration of the project to ensure the
practicality and sensitivity of the results.
This will also serve as continuous
validation and “ground-truthing” of the
results of each phase of the study.
Moreover, the study will bridge the
gap between science and policy and
enable the crafting of policies and
decisions that are based on scientific
recommendations. While policy provides
measures to help the communities in
their mitigation and adaptation
mechanisms to landslide risks, science
facilitates the identification of these areas
and is tasked with furnishing vulnerable
people and decision-makers with
information about the sustainability of
these mechanisms.
Policy can be considered as the
blood that runs through the veins of
vulnerable communities, but science is
the heart which pumps the blood to make
the whole system work in harmony. This
pioneering project will be able to
harmonize science and policy, and
enable us to cope with landslides and in
the forseeable future, prevent them.
References:
Acosta-Michlik, Lilibeth (2005).
Intervulnerability assessment: Shifting
foci from generic indices to adaptive
agents in assessing vulnerability to
global environmental change – A pilot
project in the Philippines). START
Project Report.
Espaldon, Ma. Victoria (2006). Assessing
vulnerability of communities and
understanding policy implications of
adaptation responses to flood-related
landslides in Asia. Project proposal for
APN.
we do not conceive academic freedom
to be a license for uncontrolled
expression at variance with established
curricular contents and internally
destructive of the proper functioning of
the institution.” [Clark v. Holmes, 474
F.2d 928, 931 (7thCir. 1972), cert.
denied, 411 U.S. 972 (1973)]
My own opinion is that academic
freedom for those individuals satisfying
the criteria cannot be restricted by the
institution, except for non-academic
matters (such as punctuality,
attendance, submission of grades on
time, wearing of uniforms). Inside the
classroom, academically free professors
should be able to do whatever they want,
as long as it is in the area of their
expertise.
Why? Because that is the whole
point of academic freedom. There should
be individuals allowed to think
unthinkable thoughts, teach unteachable
things, publish unpublishable ideas.
These are the individuals that really are
at the cutting edge of knowledge.
Without them, the human race is
doomed. Without them, we will stagnate,
unable to produce ideas that change the
world.