A group photo for posterity of the awardees, University officials and guests of the awarding ceremony at the DL Umali Hall, UP Los Baños. Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO.The University of the Philippines (UP) honored its outstanding UP Scientists in an awarding ceremony titled “Celebrating Odysseys of Scientific Excellence”, which was held on September 29, 2023 at the Dioscoro L. Umali Hall in UP Los Baños (UPLB).
A total of 77 UP faculty members were appointed “UP Scientist” during the 1381st meeting of the UP Board of Regents (BOR) on May 25, 2023, comprising Batch 2022-2024 of the UP Scientific Productivity System (SPS). Of the 77, 22 are from UP Diliman, 33 from UPLB, 18 from UP Manila, and two each from UP Mindanao and UP Visayas.
The UP SPS was established by the UP BOR in August 2005 to support the development of science and technology and to encourage and reward scientific productivity in UP.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Leo Cubillan speaking to awardees and guests at the ceremony. Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO.
According to the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the University has been supporting its scientists through the provision of research funds and by honoring with the “UP Scientist” Award those who have distinguished themselves in their specialized disciplines. The Award bestows not just esteemed recognition but also material incentives and a conducive environment that fosters advanced scientific productivity for national development.
Since the inception of the UP SPS, the University has issued 774 appointments to the UP Scientist ranks—with scientists meeting the requirements of the ranks retaining or improving their ranks.
The event was attended by officials of the UP System, including UP President Angelo A. Jimenez, Vice President for Academic Affairs Leo Cubillan, Vice President for Public Affairs Roland Tolentino, and chancellors of the UP constituent units—UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Vistan, UPLB Chancellor Jose Camacho, National Scientist and UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla, UP Mindanao Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao, and UP Visayas Chancellor Clement Camposano.
President Angelo Jimenez giving his keynote address at the awarding ceremony. Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO.University officials and awardees throwing their clenched fists in the air as they sing the University Hymn UP Naming Mahal. Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO.
Graduates from the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) have again led the successful examinees of the Social Worker Licensure Examination administered by the Board for Social Workers this September 2023.
Patricia Marie Regalado Imperial topped the examination with an 88.60% rating. Other UP CSWCD graduates who join Imperial in the top ten are the following: Quennie Anne Cabalfin Umadhay (Top 2 with 87.20%) and Maria Theresa Dacanay Lucas (Top 4 with 86.60%).
UPD has consistently maintained its 100% passing rate in the Social Worker Licensure Examination.
Congratulations to all who passed the Social Work Licensure Exam! Your CSWCD Family is very proud of you all!
TWO Filipinos have been chosen as finalists at the 2023 Global Australian Awards for their “significant work” in their respective fields, the Ambassador of Australia to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu said.
“I am extremely proud of our Filipino Australia Global Alumni Dr. Armand Mijares and Professor Abelardo David Jr. who were recently recognized as Game Changers,” Yu wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The ambassador on Monday said Mijares is “a renowned Filipino archaeologist who led the team that discovered Homo Luzonensis.”
Abelardo has “dedicated his career to create inclusive education and development opportunities for Filipino youth with disabilities,” Yu added.
According to advance.org, the Global Australian Awards recognize global Australians – including Australians living and working overseas, international alumni of Australian universities, and recent migrants to Australia “who are innovating in their field and shaping the world.”
Mijares, a professor of Archaeology at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, specializes in early human migration from Africa to Southeast Asia, advance.org said.
He took his doctorate degree in Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology at the Australian National University in 2002.
Mijares gained global recognition in 2019 after he and his team discovered the bones of two adults and a child during multiple archaeological digs in Callao Cave, from a previously unknown human-related species now called Homo Luzonensis.
Through uranium-series dating, the bones were found to be 50,000 to 67,000 years old – making them the “earliest human remains to be discovered in the Philippines,” advance.org said.
David is an occupational therapist and educator who has dedicated his career to creating inclusive education and development opportunities for “differently-abled children across the Philippines,” advance.org said.
Widely known as “Teacher Archie,” he has founded organizations aimed at driving accessible and inclusive health, education and livelihood programs for marginalised communities, it added.
He started his career studying Occupational Therapy at UP. During his internships, he discovered his passion for working with children with developmental conditions such as autism, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy.
After graduating, he started teaching at UP, before travelling to Australia to undertake a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Queensland.
Every examinee fielded by the Department of Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering (DMMME) of the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Engineering (COE) for the August 2023 Mining Engineers Licensure Examination passed, making it the eighth straight year that UPD has attained a 100% passing rate in said exam.
The DMMME building. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO
While no one landed in top 10, the University has been posting a 100% passing rate since 2016. The last to occupy first place among the passers was John Martin Cirio in 2022.
UPD also ranked first among the three top-performing schools, the only one of them to have a 100% passing rate. An institution must have fielded five or more examinees and gained at least an 80% passing rate to qualify as a top-performing school.
According to the Professional Regulation Commission, 242 of 351 examinees passed the examination that was held in the National Capital Region, Baguio, Butuan, Cebu, Davao, and Legazpi.
Congratulations to Prof. Gerard Lico, PhD for being the first Filipino to complete the International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, California, held from May to August of 2023.
The course was participated by 26 professionals and scholars, chosen from more than 80 applicants from all over the world. It covers a broad range of contemporary issues that professionals face in the conservation of modern heritage, from theoretical and methodological issues to the technical aspects of materials conservation.
Four graduate students from the Philippines received their doctoral hoods during the Henry M. Rowan College’s Commencement ceremony in May, part of the college’s record-high number of Ph.D. graduates this spring.
Their accomplishments in biomedical, civil, mechanical and chemical engineering can be traced back to a successful student exchange program established in 2015 between the college and the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), a noted leader in engineering education.
Initiated by Isabelita “Lita” Marcelo Abele, CEO and president of U.S. Lumber in Woodbury Heights and a Rowan University trustee from 2012 through 2021, the five-year program provided students and faculty at both schools with an opportunity to study, research and work at the other.
Abele, a native of the Philippines, built connections between Rowan administrators and the Philippine Consulate in New York City. Consul General Mario Lopez DeLeon and Consul Deputy General Zaldy Patron arranged visits for Rowan leaders to the Philippines and for UPD administrators to Rowan.
“They were very interested in what we are accomplishing at Rowan, including work in biomedical engineering, water resources, disaster response and environmental engineering,” said Provost Tony Lowman, who was dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at the time.
Michael Laurio (center) received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 2021 through a partnership with the University of the Philippines Los Baños. He currently is working in the Phillippines.
Each university agreed to send two students a year to the other. Faculty exchanges followed.
The initiative exceeded expectations and created a pipeline of graduate students even outside the original exchange program, Lowman noted.
“It’s truly gratifying to witness the flow of ideas and research between our two universities,” Lowman said. “We’re looking forward to expanding such programming in the future.”
Abele’s personal connections created a warm and welcoming community for Rowan’s Filipino students, whether or not they are part of the exchange program. This spring, Abele was there to witness the newest engineering graduates receive their doctoral hoods.
“I’m doing this as my legacy,” said Abele, a former teacher who left the Philippines to work in domestic service before marrying and becoming a successful business owner. “I am their mother here. They are like my children.”
Paolo Rommel Sanchez, a faculty member at UPD, received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. He focused his research on precision agriculture through robotics, with plans to teach agricultural and biosystems engineering in UPD’s machinery division.
“The program was very open for me to take the courses I needed for my dissertation,” Sanchez noted. “Rowan was very helpful and the policies are open enough that it allowed me to take programs from other disciplines.”
Kirstene Gultian Giddings came to the United States in 2018 to earn her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. A senior scientist at GSK (formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline), she supports a team that creates drugs to treat HIV and renal disease. At Rowan, she found opportunities to volunteer, research and become part of a community led by a woman she fondly calls “Tita Lita” (or “Aunt Lita”).
“Tita Lita helped me transition to the U.S.,” Giddings said. “(She) helped me buy my first calculator and my books … that brought me far.”
Jasmine Vasquez, who teaches classes in the Experiential Engineering Education Department, received her Ph.D. in materials science and engineering after working with Joseph Stanzione, Ph.D., director of the Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Institute.
The University of the Philippines sent Ariel Aragoncillo to Rowan for his Ph.D. in civil engineering. He focused his research on recycled concrete aggregates. Of Abele, Aragoncillo said, “she’s really our ‘Tita.’ I’m very thankful.”
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer is recognized for emphasizing ‘the important role that women play in inclusive peace-building’
MANILA, Philippines – Filipina peace negotiator and professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer was named as one of the recipients of the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Awards on Thursday, August 31.
Coronel-Ferrer is a former senior mediation adviser at the United Nations and a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines. She is a founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators.
During the administration of the late president Benigno Aquino III, she chaired the government peace panel in negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that led to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014.
Coronel-Ferrer was given the award for emphasizing “the important role that women play in inclusive peace-building,” the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is considered as Asia’s premier’s prize and highest honor, the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. The award is named after Ramon Magsaysay, the 7th Philippine president.
Ravi Kannan R., India, hero for holistic healthcare
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said that the four awardees “are redefining inclusivity in these modern yet troubled times….their collective message is very simple yet often forgotten: treat one another with love, care and respect.”
In 2021, Filipino fisherman Robert Ballon won the award for his work in conserving the environment and improving livelihood programs in communities.
In 2022, Filipina children’s rights advocate Bernadette Madrid was named as one of the recipients for “providing medical, legal and psychosocial care in children and women who are victims of abuse.” – Rappler.com
BICUTAN, TAGUIG CITY – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. conferred the Order of National Scientist on Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla, cited for her pioneering work as a world-renowned clinical geneticist, on newborn screening in the Philippines, and for the establishment of the Philippine Genome Center (PCG).
The ceremony was held on August 31, 2023, at the Malacañang Palace.
The Order of National Scientist Award (Orden ng Gawad ng Pambansang Alagad ng Agham) is the highest national recognition given to a man or woman of science in the Philippines administered by the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines, and conferred by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Academy. Executive Order No. 236 dated September 19, 2003, otherwise known as the Honors Code of the Philippines, emphasizes the exceptional prestige of the Order by placing it fourth in the order of precedence and equal in rank with the Order of National Artist. At present, there are only ten living National Scientists (NS).
Photo credits to Presidential Communications Office
Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla is recognized for her significant contribution to the field of clinical genetics in the Philippines. Her notable studies were conducted on the prevalence and cost-benefits analysis of a national program for newborn screening to prevent mental retardation and death from certain congenital disorders detectable at birth. This research provided the basis for the enactment of Republic Act No. 9288 or the Newborn Screening Act of 2004. To date, newborn screening is being implemented in 7,400+ health facilities in the Philippines and has saved babies from mental retardation and death.
To complement the Newborn Screening Act of 2004 (RA 9288), Dr. Padilla has lobbied for another law, the Republic Act No. 10747 or the Rare Disease Act of 2016. She has assisted the Department of Health (DOH) in preparing the Integrated Road Map for Rare Diseases for 2022-2026.
In the field of genomics, her most recent contribution is the setting up of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC). It was established as a multidisciplinary institution that will combine basic and applied research for the development of health diagnostics, therapeutics, DNA forensics, preventive products, and the improvement of crop varieties in the country. As the Executive Director of PGC, from 2011 to 2016, Dr. Padilla led the critical growth phases of the institution where it has played a major role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Padilla led the establishment of various medical and laboratory facilities such as Genetic Laboratories at the National Institute of Health (NIH); Cytogenetics Laboratory originally at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in 1991 and was moved to NIH in 1997; Newborn Screening center (1997); Molecular Genetics Laboratory (2001); Biochemistry Laboratory (2001); MicroArray Laboratory (2010); and the Hemoglobinopathy Laboratory (2014). These laboratories cater to patients of the PGH and from other hospitals in the country.
Dr. Padilla obtained her B.S. Pre-medicine, cum laude, at the University of the Philippines Diliman (1976); her degree for Doctor of Medicine, outstanding graduate, at the University of the Philippines Manila (1981); her Fellowship in Clinical Genetics at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney, Australia (1990); and her M.A. in Health Policy Studies at the College of Public Health, UP Manila (2005).
Dr. Carmencita D. Padilla is the current Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Manila and a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) since 2008 as an Academician under the Health Sciences Division.
The recommendation of Dr. Padilla to be conferred the Order of National Scientist was voted by the Academy during its meeting in May 2022. As an internationally recognized leader in the field of genetics, her achievements have brought honor and recognition not only to the Philippine scientific community but to the whole nation as well.
Overall, Dr. Padilla is the 43rd National Scientist, 10th from UP Manila, and 3rd UP Manila chancellor who became national scientist. She is the first National Scientist with expertise in the field of medical genetics and the only living female National Scientist in the health sciences.
UP President Angelo A. Jimenez (rightmost) leads the toast to the 2023 UP Alumni Association awardees (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO)
“To the best of the best of this University, our alumni, for representing our highest ideals and aspirations, for being true alumni of UP and sons and daughters of the Filipino nation which UP has dedicated to support and promote, cheers!”
This was UP President Angelo A. Jimenez’ toast to the 2023 UP Alumni Association (UPAA) awardees during the dinner he hosted in their honor at Ang Bahay ng Alumni on August 16. The social event is usually held days before the actual awarding ceremony. This year, the ceremony was scheduled on August 19.
Leading the 38 individual awardees were Most Distinguished Alumna, former Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor Gerona Robredo, and Most Distinguished Alumnus, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan. Four were recognized with UPAA Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Awards: National Scientist Lourdes J. Cruz, Dr. Nathaniel A. Einsiedel, Dr. Gisela Padilla Concepcion, and Engr. Rene Santiago. Twenty-nine were given the UPAA Distinguished Alumni Awards in various fields and disciplines, and three were recipients of the UPAA Presidential Awards.
Ten families received the UPAA Multigenerational UP Alumni Family Awards—one with four generations of alumni and three with three generations of alumni. UP Epsilon Chi Fraternity Alumni, Inc. was cited with the UPAA Distinguished Service Award for an Alumni Chapter.
2023 UPAA Most Distinguished Alumna, former Philippine Vice President Maria Leoner Gerona Robredo talks about the “sense of home” that UP alumni feel when they meet other alumni, when they cheer for the UP Fighting Maroons, or when they gather in celebratory events such as the one hosted by the UP President. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO)
“We may have different stories about our college experience and yet we are bound by a shared feeling—that sense of home when we talk about UP. This goes beyond every alumni homecoming or every other chance that we get to come back to our UP campus, wherever that may be in the country,” Robredo said in her message, which she had requested to deliver earlier than scheduled because she had to catch the bus to Naga in time for the commemoration of her husband’s death anniversary. Her husband was former Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, who died in a plane crash on August 18, 2012.
“What I have learned from this esteemed institution has greatly contributed to my professional formation as a public servant. . . I will forever be grateful to the University for molding me.”—2023 UPAA Most Distinguished Alumnus, National Economic Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO)
Balisacan, on the other hand, said that he was “very fortunate” because UP gave him the “space, time, and resources, and privilege to pursue his academic interests freely.” He also encouraged his fellow awardees to “continue striving towards our ultimate vision for the nation, continue striving to attain that excellence with honor, and continue being active participants in our country’s development journey.”
UP President Angelo A. Jimenez delivers a brief address before toasting to the awardees. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO)
“Have we fulfilled our promise as the best and the brightest?” Jimenez posed this question in his speech, saying that UP has lasted more than a hundred years and yet “we find our society still faced with so many challenges.” This prompted him and his team to envision UP as “a national university dedicated to producing good citizens and leaders, and engaged in knowledge co-creation towards a just, equitable, and prosperous society.” His emphasis on the production of good citizens is a dramatic shift from expected visions of UP as a great university or as a regional and global center of excellence.
UPAA President and Alumni Regent Robert Lester F. Aranton starts the short program with his opening remarks. (Photo by Misael Bacani, UP MPRO)
The list of the 2023 UPAA awardees in the dinner program can be found below.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan delivers the keynote speech of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) 51st commencement exercises on August 5, 2023, at the UPLB Copeland Gymnasium. Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UP MPRO
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan received the 2023 Most Distinguished Alumnus award from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA)—an award meant to honor iskos and iskas who have made outstanding contributions to positive change in the country and inspire others (whether UP alumni or not) to follow suit and learn from their example.
In Arsi Balisacan’s example, we see a public servant with a stellar record for having a clear vision over what he wants and wishes to accomplish, and consequently, achieving them.
Twice the country’s NEDA Secretary, Balisacan displays a profound passion for his work, constantly sharpening his mind and inspiring his colleagues to strive for the same level of excellence. It is for this reason that he and his work are renowned among colleagues, academics, and fellow public servants within the various fields of economics, public policy, agriculture, governance, and development.
“You have to love what you do and demonstrate your passion through your work. This way, you will always be one step ahead and won’t need to wait for instructions to start working towards your objective—that is what I always tell the people I work with,” advised Balisacan.
Previously, Balisacan served as the NEDA Secretary during the administration of Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III. Today, he finds himself serving once again in the same role, but this time, under the administration of current President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. NEDA, the government agency mandated to take the lead in steering the overall direction of the country’s short-, medium-, and long-term development goals, finds itself once again under his leadership.
During his first term under the Aquino presidency, Arsi recognized the need to establish and secure sustainable growth across all future administrations, effectively changing the narrative that the Philippines would continue to be the “poor man of Asia” by 2050. Arsi was among the leaders who were adamant in refusing this narrative.
“We decided: ‘Let’s craft a new future for us, but let’s make it science-based. First, we have to know what the ambitions of ordinary Filipinos are from all over the country,” instructed Balisacan.
Thus, NEDA, through its own initiative, consulted Filipinos from various walks of life to determine their desired future and formulate a vision that would serve as the north star of the development plans of future administrations. The visioning exercise led the country to identify both its desired and undesired futures, undertaking a rigorous and empirical exercise and obtaining inputs and sentiments from all groups of all sectors, researchers, experts, and stakeholders. The result of the initiative: the AmBisyon Natin 2040—that by 2040, all Filipinos enjoy a matatag, maginhawaat panatag na buhay..
Now, the AmBisyon serves as the anchor for the country’s current Philippine Development Plan, and is reiterated among government agencies and universities as the country’s collective and long-term desired future for all. Through his guidance, Balisacan was not only able to exemplify the key characteristics of a government leader—forward-looking, moral, and equipped with exceptional knowledge and skills—but also that of a true academic, whose character and mind have been sharpened by his passion for learning.
Now that the two-time Secretary has just finished his first year in his repeated stint at government, people are curious to know where he gets his drive, his persistence, his commitment, and his endurance to “keep running the race” of public service. More than one eyebrow was raised when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. sought out to call Balisacan to his Cabinet, and even more were raised when the latter accepted.
In his commencement address to the UPLB Class of 2023, Balisacan congratulated the graduates and imparted three points of wisdom: cultivate your passions, learn to embrace change, and stay anchored to your principles.
A former economics professor at the University of the Philippines for three decades, Balisacan shared that though he had already sought and found answers to many of the questions he had during his youth—regarding development, social transformation, and poverty alleviation—more questions still came; and more questions have evolved and changed. His passion for the work and his eagerness to learn, however, remained the same.
“When you do what you love, and you do it the best that you can—it spreads,” said Balisacan.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Balisacan now sees the fruits of his labor paying off as he is set to receive the Most Distinguished Alumnus Award from one of the country’s most esteemed and national universities.
Despite all his years in public service, Arsi’s enduring curiosity to learn and eagerness to serve remain his defining traits. As he tirelessly pursues the increased welfare and better futures for the Filipino people, his unwavering diligence has evolved into a refined discipline that proves invaluable. Today, his life stands as a testament to the ideal of a true Iskolar ng Bayan, selflessly dedicated to serving the people.
Balisacan was elected a lifelong member (Academician) of the National Academy of Science and Technology in 2008 for his research and other scholarly work in economics. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Hawaii, an MS in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and a BS in Agriculture (magna cum laude) from the Mariano Marcos State University.
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