In Memoriam

Prof. Florentino C. Sumera (1951-2021)

October 31, 2021


Chemistry professor Florentino C. Sumera, PhD passed away on Oct. 18. He was 70.


Sumera started teaching at UP Diliman (UPD) in 1976 as an instructor and eventually became a professor, a post he held until his retirement in 2016.


He served as director of the UPD Institute of Chemistry from 1993 to 1996. Sumera was also the coordinator of the Materials Science and Engineering Program (MSEP) from 2006 to 2009. MSEP is a partnership between the College of Science and the College of Engineering that offers graduate studies leading to professional careers as materials scientists and engineers in the industry, academia, or the public sector.


Sumera taught organic chemistry and specialized in the design, synthesis, and characterization of polymers and nanomaterials. His numerous studies were published in ISI and local journals. He also presented his research in many international and local chemistry conferences and symposia.


For his outstanding works in chemistry, Sumera received many awards such as the Outstanding Young Scientist by the National Academy of Sciences and Technology in 1991, the Federation of Chemical Societies Award for Chemical Research in 2007, the National Research Council of the Philippines Achievement Award for Chemical Sciences in 2013, and the 2014 Outstanding Professional Award in Chemistry by the Philippine Regulation Commission.


He was a recipient of the UP Centennial Professorial Chair in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013; the UP International Publication Award in 2000, 2006, and 2007; the Antonio de Leon UP Chemistry Award in 2008; and the 2008 Gawad sa Natatanging Publikasyon sa Filipino by the UP Sentro ng Wikang Filipino for hisFilipino book in organic chemistry.


Sumera mentored over 80 undergraduate and graduate students in their theses and dissertations. Many of his former students paid tribute to Sumera in their Facebook posts, expressing their appreciation of Sumera’s selfless guidance. He treated them not as mentees but as friends.


He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1974 and a Master of Science in chemistry in 1980 from UPD. In 1985, he earned his doctoral degree, with highest honors, from the École Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Rennes, Université de Rennes, France. He was invited for fellowships abroad, such as the IDP Fellowship in Australia in 1986, and the UNESCO Fellowship at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 1987.


Source: https://upd.edu.ph/sumera-70/

Evelyn D. Mariano, 58


A dedicated staff member of the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Arts and Letters (CAL) Office of the Dean, Evelyn Dela Cruz Mariano, passed away on Sept. 16. She was 58.


Mariano first worked at UPD on June 1, 1989 as a research assistant under then CAL dean Vivencio R. Jose. Later on, she was promoted as a university research associate (URA), a position she held until she passed.


Ma. Teresa Peralta, Mariano’s colleague, described her as “a cheerful soul always ready to welcome people with a warm smile, a devoted and loving mother and wife, a hardworking employee, a compassionate friend, and someone with profound generosity and sensitivity, always thinking about the needy.”


On Sept. 25, CAL offered a thanksgiving mass for the life of Mariano via Zoom.


Born on July 6, 1963, Mariano is survived by husband David and their three children.


Source: https://upd.edu.ph/mariano-58/

A pillar rests: Baldo, 83


One of the pillars of special education (SPED) in the country, Prof. Trinidad C. Baldo, PhD, passed away on Oct. 3. She was 83.


Known for being kind, loyal, and supportive to both students and colleagues, Baldo was author of several modules in education. She also served as consultant and resource speaker at the Department of Education (DepEd) for SPED from the 1970s to 2003.


Baldo began her career at the UP Diliman College of Education (UPD CEd) on July 1, 1971 as an instructor and later rose in academic ranking as a professor, a post she held until she retired on Sept. 26, 2003.


CEd dean Prof. Jerome T. Buenviaje, PhD, responding to an email UPDate Online sent, said Baldo was a “very good writer of published books in the elementary. She wrote the initial concept of, which some CEd faculty modified later as, ‘The Mobile Training for SPED Teachers and Administrators in the Philippines’ which we implemented for 23 years in all regions of the country, several times.”


Buenviaje continued, “We had 44 mobiles across the country. She was national coordinator from 1994 to 2004. Ratings for the mobile training were always outstanding, and Dr. Baldo was always among those who topped the evaluation. She was a very good teacher, garnering top scores in the student evaluation of teacher (SET).”


According to the CEd Office of the Dean, Baldo received numerous national awards, including the recognition of the DepEd and the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) as one of the Three Pillars of Special Education in the Philippines in 2007.


Trained in module writing in England, two of her articles—“The disadvantage gifted: Issues and concerns” and “Towards a conceptualization of giftedness in the Philippine context” were featured in Education Quarterly.


Born on Sept. 26, 1938, Baldo is survived by her sister and brother, niece, nephews, and grandchildren.


Author: Mariamme D. Jadloc


Source: https://upd.edu.ph/a-pillar-rests-trinidad-baldo-83/

A “home run” for Isidro

October 22, 2021

Isidro. Photo from the Nowhere to Go but UP’s Facebook page and Gabby Yang


Former UP College of Human Kinetics (CHK) dean and baseball coach, Artemio O. Isidro, passed away on Oct. 12.


The CHK dean from May 1, 1993 to April 30, 1996, Isidro began his UP service in the early 1970s as instructor under the then Department of Physical Education. He was the UP Varsity Baseball Team (VBT) coach from 1975 until the mid-’80s.


As baseball coach, Isidro brought pride to UP when VBT made a rare 5-peat championship at the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) from season 40 (AY 1977-1978) to season 44 (AY 1981-1982). He was a constant presence in the practices and games of VBT even until his old age.


Isidro was one of the few faculty members who saw the transition of the UP College of Education Department of Physical Education to the Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (ISPEAR) in 1976, and later to CHK in 1989.


Isidro was chair of the ISPEAR Department of Dance from 1979 to 1982. He also served as ISPEAR officer-in-charge in 1979 when then ISPEAR director Aparicio Mequi was in Indonesia for special detail.


His UP service was extended beyond his retirement when he was appointed associate professor 7 from Oct. 21, 2003 to May 31, 2004. He was later appointed as professorial lecturer 2 from June 1, 2004 to May 31, 2009.


Many of his peers, students, and mentees gave tribute to Isidro in their Facebook posts, reminiscing how he helped them reach their potentials.


Author: Benito V. Sanvictores Jr.


Source: https://upd.edu.ph/a-home-run-for-isidro/

Prof. Ruben F. Balane (1941-2021)

October 12, 2021


How can you add gold to the sunset, said Justice Holmes. Sometimes, words just aren’t enough. But even though the deepest feelings often seem unremarkable when expressed in language, there are still those precious moments when we just have to take a chance and hazard to articulate what is best said unspoken in the hope that the words will echo on long after our voices have been silenced.


Yesterday, 11 October 2021, one of those times came to pass when the sun set on one of our guiding lights, Professor Ruben Figueroa Balane… (read more by following this link: bit.ly/RememberingOurDearProfBalane)


#UPCollegeofLaw #UPLaw #UPLawCommunity #UPLawAlumni


Source: University of the Philippines College of Law FB post

National Scientist Ramon Barba passes away

by Charissa Luci-Atienza


National Scientist Dr. Ramon C. Barba has died at the age of 82.


National Scientist Ramon Barba (NAST PHL website)


This was confirmed by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña to the Manila Bulletin on Monday, Oct. 11.


Barba died on Sunday, Oct. 10.


“I will honor him in behalf of DOST on Oct. 14 at 9 a.m. here in DOST where his cremains will be brought,” de la Peña said in a Viber message to the Manila Bulletin.


Barba was recognized for his achievement in the field of plant physiology, focusing on the induction of flowering of mango and on micropropagation of crop species.


In 2014, late President Benigno S. Aquino III conferred the Order of National Scientist to Barba and fellow academicians Angel Alcala; Gavino Trono; and Edgardo Gomez.


The award is the highest recognition to an individual who earned a doctoral degree in any field of science and has made significant contributions in one of the different fields of science and technology.


Barba’s flower induction treatment is considered as the most significant breakthrough in mango research in the country, based on his profile posted on the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) website.


“His technology of using potassium nitrate to stimulate flowering is a milestone in the study of tropical tree physiology and is the main stimulus to the growth of the local mango industry,” it said.


“His researches on tissue culture of bananas, sugarcane, cassava, and many other horticultural crops have resulted in the development of valuable methodologies in plant physiology and plant breeding,” it added.


Barba was elected a member to the NAST PHL, the country’s highest recognition and advisory body on science and technology.


Barba got a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture at the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA) in 1958.


From 1958 to 1960, he served as assistant instructor at UPCA’s Department of Agronomy, Fruit Crops Section.


He also earned his Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Horticulture at the University of Georgia in 1962 and a doctorate in plant physiology at the University of Hawaii with an East-West Center grant in 1964.


He completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Horticulture in 1967, and a year after, he returned to the Philippines.


In 1969, he was appointed as assistant professor at the UPCA, and after six years, decided to resign from his post. He was re-appointed as professor in 1981.


Barba also served as consultant for the Quimara Farms on Mango Production, and project director of CORE Foundation.


He also worked at Plantek, a biotechnology company in Singapore as its part-time director.


Among the numerous awards received by Barba were the following: The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines for Agriculture by the Philippine Jaycees (1974), Rizal Pro Patria Presidential Award for Tissue Culture (1980), the Most Distinguished Alumni Award, University of the Philippines (2004), and the SEARCA-Dioscoro L. Umali Achievement Award in Agricultural Development (2011).


He was born on Aug. 31, 1939 in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte to Juan Madamba Barba and Lourdes Cabanos.


Source: https://mb.com.ph/2021/10/11/national-scientist-ramon-barba-passes-away/

Dr. Paterno V. Viloria (1923-2021)

Image from the UPD Institute for Small-Scale Industries Facebook page


Former UP Institute for Small-Scale Industries (ISSI) director, Paterno V. Viloria, Ph.D. passed away on Sept. 22. He was 97.


Viloria started working in ISSI in 1968 and became its third director from 1976 to 1979. During his term as ISSI director, Viloria co-founded the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF), a private company recognized as one of the pioneers of small and medium enterprise (SME) growth. IISI forged an alliance with SERDEF to undertake pilot and demonstration programs that led to responsive projects and activities for SME development. SERDEF still holds office at the UP ISSI. Viloria served as its president from 2002 until the time of his death.


After his stint at the ISSI, Viloria joined the World Bank as international consultant on small business development, which took him to consultancy engagements in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal.


“PV,” as he is fondly called by his friends and colleagues, has a track record of more than 45 years in the promotion and development of SMEs, and entrepreneurship in developing countries in various fields such as SME financing, human resources development, project management, enterprise development, project appraisal and evaluation, and countryside development and appropriate technology.


From 1971-79, Viloria taught graduate courses in human behavior in organizations, interpersonal relations, business policy, entrepreneurship, and project management at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), De La Salle University, San Sebastian College, Ateneo Graduate School of Business, and at the UP Tacloban. He was also associate professor from 1965-1979 at the University of the East.


Viloria is credited for organizing the first National Convention on Manpower Training and Development in 1973 and the 1st Asian Regional Training and Development Conference in 1974. He was the first and only Filipino president of the International Federation of Training and Development Organizations (1979). He planned and organized the 8thInternational Training and Development Conference hosted by the Philippines in 1979.


Villoria was a decorated war veteran. He served in the Korean War with the 20th Battalion Combat Team, Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea from 1951 to 1952. He was in the military service from 1950 until 1968, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also served as president of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea Veterans Association, Inc.


In 1989, Viloria received the US Bronze Star Medal from the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), and in 2018, he was one of the 13 Filipino World War II veterans awarded with the US Congressional Gold Medal for his valuable support to the US Rangers in the rescue of American prisoners of war from the Cabanatuan Prison Camp. (https://pvao.gov.ph/u-s-congressional-gold-medal-awarded-to-filipino-wwii-veterans/). The congressional gold medal is the highest civilian award given by the US Congress to a person or unit for an outstanding deed or act of service to US security, prosperity, and national interest.


Viloria earned his Ph.D. in commerce from UST in 1979, his master’s in business administration from UP Diliman in 1962, and his bachelor of science degree in commerce from the Far Eastern University in 1949. He also has a diploma in international course on small-scale industries management from the Research Institute for Management, Delft, The Netherlands (1969) and a certificate in smaller industries management from the Nagoya International Training Center, Nagoya, Japan (1973).


Viloria is survived by his wife Candida, and daughters Sarah Jane and Dinah.


Source: https://upd.edu.ph/viloria-97/