Atheista -

Every year, the Office of the Dean for the College of Medicine awards the best and brightest in the fields of academics, leadership, sports and extra-curricular activities. Debate veterans like Yves Saint James Aquino, Adrian Paul Rabe, Chrysanthus Herrera, Aloysius Domingo and yours truly are no strangers to this distinction having been awarded this honor at least in our careers. The nominations just opened for this academic year and I took the liberty to nominate all the debaters who took an active role in intercollegiate competition this year.

 

They are as follows:

 

Aquino, Yves Saint James

Class of 2009 (LU 6)

President, Philippine Debate Council

Deputy Chief Adjudicator, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

Participant, Worlds Universities Debate Championship (Bangkok, Thailand)

 

Chan, Michael

Class of 2009 (LU 6)

Octofinalist, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

 

Espina, Benjamin Noel

Class of 2010 (LU 5)

Top Speaker, 1st St. Paul Intervarsities (Manila)

Finalist, Public Speaking, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

Semifinalist, UP Intervarsities (Los Banos)

Semifinalist, Worlds Universities Debate Championship Public Speaking Competition (Bangkok, Thailand)

Quarterfinalist, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

Adjudicator, Square Off National Debate Championship

Participant, Worlds Universities Debate Championship (Bangkok, Thailand)

 

Factor, Patricia

Class of 2012 (LU 3)

Prime Minister, UP Manila Debate Circle

Octofinalist, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

Participant, Worlds Universities Debate Championship (Bangkok, Thailand)

 

Rabe, Adrian Paul

1st Year Resident, PGH Department of Internal Medicine

Deputy Chief Adjudicator, UP Intervarsities (Los Banos)

3rd Best Adjudicator, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

Participant, Worlds Universities Debate Championship (Bangkok, Thailand)

Salisi, James 
Class of 2009 (LU 6)

Quarterfinalist, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

 

Totanes, Robert Angelo

Class of 2012 (LU 3)

Octofinalist, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

Participant, Worlds Universities Debate Championship (Bangkok, Thailand)

 

Yarcia, Lee

Class of 2012 (LU 3)

Participant, Square Off Debate Championship

Participant, 9th National Debate Championship (Baguio City)

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My block just started our rotation under the Department of Pediatrics.  To further enhance our learning and better our chances in understanding what a patient goes through, we were instructed to play the part of the bantays (people who accompany the sick patients at the out-patient clinic). For this activity, we gave our white uniforms a break and just wore what a usual PGH patient and their companions would wear. The goal was go undetected and unrecognized as a medical student in disguise and observe how a patient is interviewed, examined and treated in the out patient clinics.

After  taking a very quick lunch, I was randomly assigned to  a 9 month old boy with a three week history of fever of unknown origin. Despite treatment with a powerful antibiotic (cefixime), the fever has been  on-and-off. It was an interesting case in itself, but unfortunately, I wasn’t there to do much medical stuff – I was simply there to play the part as a a concerned relative of the child and be one with the real bantays’ (his grandparents) frustrations and impatience as they eagerly await their turn at the clinics. Continue Reading »

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Faiqah Dialanan of the ABS-CBN News Network forwarded this message to UP Manila a few days ago in behalf of Square Off consultant Patricia Evangelista.

 

To the University of the Philippines-Manila,

 

Greetings!

 

The ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) has always believed in the value of critical thought and free speech, especially emanating from the Filipino youth. In this regard, we would like to invite your university to again participate in the second season of Square Off: The Philippine Debate Championships, that will begin airing every Wednesday at 8:00-9:00 pm beginning January 30, 2008.

 

Last season, sixteen teams from all over the Philippines (selected due to their participation in the recent Philippine Intercollegiate Debate Championships) competed for the championship and an all-expense paid trip to represent their university at the the World Universities Debating Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. The next season will also have 16 schools squaring off, this time for the chance to represent their university in the Asian Universities Debating Championships in Malaysia on May 2008 .

 

To improve the quality of the tournament, and to give opportunities to new universities, challengers have been invited to participate. The qualifying rounds have already begun, with lower-seeded schools defending their slots. The qualifiers end on the 23rd, and will decide who stays in three of the sixteen slots. Because of your performance last season, your university is not required to pass through the qualifiers. We are inviting your three best debaters to participate in Square Off’s Season 2, which will begin its Octofinals on January 30. We begin scheduling match-ups once confirmations are in. We hope to hear from your school within the week.

 

Should you have any concerns at all, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We would be glad for immediate confirmation.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Patricia Evangelista

Consultant

Square Off

During the last tournament, UP Manila was bounced in the octofinals when the lower seeded team of the Ateneo de Zamboanga upset the tandem of Adrian Rabe and Lee Yarcia. The team from Zamboanga was the eventual runner up to champion Ateneo de Manila University.

According to the ABS CBN crew, UP Manila will be facing Ateneo de Manila in the octofinals (!). I guess this is a result of not getting a high placing from the last Square Off Competition.

Given the chance, I’d like to represent UP Manila at Square Off but of course, the org will still have to determine the mechanism of who gets to get that privilege. Wish us luck, people!

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I know a lot has been said about certain food establishments that participated during the much anticipated and much ballyhooed TriNoMa Blogger Food Tour. Though I agree that certain people could’ve been nicer to bloggers, I somehow feel bad about potentially harming the reputation of a restaurant because of one lousy employee. Having been brought up by family built on the financial rewards of providing good food, I feel a little bit of empathy towards establishments that joined the project with good intentions. Of course, I only speak for myself and I respect what ever plan of action other bloggers have chosen to take.

This entry will feature the restaurants who served the best food and gave the most inviting atmosphere for bloggers to enjoy what they have to offer. I must remind you though that due to time constraints and gastric limitations, I was not able to visit all of the participating restaurants.

Aside from tasting the food, I also looked at the menus of most of the participating restaurants to see if the taste was in fact commensurate to the rate it was being sold for. It was also a good gauge on whether or not it was worth returning to any of the participating restaurants – you know, when I actually have to pay for the food.

So here’s the honor roll, in random order: Continue Reading »

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I’ve already posted the video of Implement Project‘s TRP performance so if you haven’t seen it yet, head over to the link to check it out. It was such a rush performing in front of a packed auditorium. I can’t explain the euphoria. It also helped that we totally rocked this one out. We gave justice to ourselves as able musicians and engines of creation. Originality comes rarely in TRP and I’m proud to be among the few who chose to go the original route and really speak to the audience with our own voice and music. It’s both frustrating and laughable that to this day that the show tends to promote kitsch and knock offs instead of rewarding genuine creativity.

Anyway, enough of that. The pictures I’m posting are courtesy of Alric Mondragon of UP Medicine Class of 2009.

Wow. I have really bad scoliosis. Here, I’m asking our bassist Bojit (the current University Student Council Chairperson) if he’s ok to go. Moments after I put up this OK sign, his bass guitar gave out really nasty feedback that irked a lot of the people in attendance. Haha.

To show my support for Bojit, I raised a cornu as a call to arms – and to apologize for what happened. LOL

I have the (bad) habit of really sticking the microphone close to my mouth. It’s really hard to get a shot me singing without the mic covering my face! I like this shot because it shows how prepped up I was for this set. Yeah, that’s a coat! I’m wearing a vest and a black dress shirt under that. To make it more edgy, I wore black jeans and track shoes.

I had my back to the audience A LOT. In this part, I’m screaming the high growls – obviously. Watch the video! I love this part!

Ok, there’s something really mo about this shot. I love it! The pained look says it all.

And that folks is how you start your year right! As I said in the video

Jedi Mata on drums!

Bojit Herrera on bass!

Joel Asi on guitars!

We are IMPLEMENT PROJECT!!! Thank you!

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On the weekend of Jan. 19-20, we remember People Power 2.

Do you remember watching the rallies and the impeachment trial that was like a telenovela? Did you receive and forward jokes and the “Go 2 Edsa” message to all the people in your phonebook? Did you come to Edsa Shrine (or the public plazas nationwide) with your family, friends, schoolmates and officemates? Did you take photos? Did you make your own placards? Did you join the exciting march to Mendiola that signaled the victory for the uprising? Do you remember what you felt, and the big dreams and aspirations we all had for our country?

Mark your calendars:
Bloggers Kapihan 3.0 Event
Jan. 19, 2:00-5:00 pm
Kape Tasyo (Freedom Bar)
Anonas, Quezon City

Seven years — yes, seven years — have passed since the four days that redefined People Power culminated in the ouster of the president with the biggest electoral mandate in Philippine history and we in Bloggers Kapihan invite you to remember. Just answer these questions, post memorabilia like photos and videos. Simply put, we want you to act by picking up a pen or going to the computer to tell your story, your version of what happened on Jan. 16-20 and your dreams for the country.

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