Ninang Menchu

"Actually, I am your Class Adviser.", Mrs Carmen Morales told our class after being introduced as our General Chemistry Laboratory Teacher. To which we responded with a round of applause. Ma'am Menchu or Mamu, as she was fondly called, was a tutor who would put any student at ease. When she saw how badly our class did in our titration experiment, she devoted some time to understand where we were at and gave us a chance to improve our work. Indeed, we did it well the second time!

Regarded by our class as a mother, we surprised her by giving her a cake on her birthday. She was quite absorbed then on her desk in the lab when Bubong Antonio (one of my classmates) approached her, saying "Ma'am, happy birthday!" and handed her the cake. She screamed when she saw the cake! She didn't keep the cake for herself; she shared it with us.

Although she only taught us in first year, I would greet her every time I meet her in the corridor. During my graduation, she was one of the teachers who congratulated me.

In November 1997, a year and a semester after graduating, we met again as colleagues. On my first day, I bumped into her while on my way to the faculty room. She was going to a lesson with Mr Ramil Layco (RIP), another former teacher. She asked Mr Layco to go ahead so she could speak to me. Looking at her eyes, I saw how happy she was to see me. We co-taught Biochemistry Lab that semester.  Like when I started as a student, she put me at ease once more as I started to teach in the University. She shared me her notes in General, Organic, Bio-Organic, and Biochemistry. When I started my graduate studies in Chemistry Education, I wanted her to be my thesis adviser since that was her specialization. However, this did not materialize.

She was fun to be with. During my first Christmas Party in the faculty, we both sang Bituing Marikit, however we were not able to finish the song because of the laughter and giggle from the audience and from both of us. During one of the Faculty Club's get-together, we were dance partners in Todo Todo Cha-cha. We finished the dance this time!

Apart from social events at work, we also served together in some of the Masses in the UST Chapel - as part of the choir or as lectors/commentators.

Because of my high regard for and closeness with her, Nidz and I asked Ma'am Menchu to be one of the principal sponsors in our wedding. She graciously accepted it. Even when I migrated to the UK, I kept in touch with Ninang Menchu. "Don't despair", were her words of encouragement when I told her the difficulties I encountered during my first months abroad looking for a job. I took that to heart and persevered. If I am not mistaken, she was one of the first people I informed when I finally got a job. In our conversations via Messenger, I would tell her my experiences in teaching in the UK and how I admire her time management skills during experiments. She expressed satisfaction that I am still teaching. 

Despite her illness, she told me that she has "put everything in God's hands". 

Our last conversation was on December 23, when she thanked me for the e-card I sent her and wished me a Merry Christmas. I was shocked to learn that she has passed away so suddenly on January 7.

Two of the lessons in life that she taught me on separate occasions are: (1) At the end of our lives, we will make an accounting before God; and, bearing this in mind, we should  (2) Aspire for the reward that only God could give.

Ninang Menchu, thank you for being a loving godmother, friend, colleague, and teacher. Your maternal care, warmth, laughter, generosity, wisdom, and zest for life will be deeply missed. You entrusted everything to God. May you now enjoy the reward of eternal happiness, healing, and peace which only He could give. We love you!

An Elephant in the Room

An award presupposes a criteria which any awarding body should refer to when it decides who will get the prize. Because an award is something given in recognition for someone's achievement (e.g. academic performance or outstanding service in one's field), one would expect the criteria to be rigorous. Otherwise, the award becomes a farce.

On the above premise, it is not surprising that the recent conferment of Thomasian Alumni Award in Government to Mocha Uson, assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, raised a lot of eyebrows (mine included). What has she done to deserve the award? Netizens have been disgusted. Read through comments in social media and you have an idea. The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Central Student Council has denounced the organizer/awarding body UST Alumni Association Inc (UST AAI) for its decision to give the award to Ms Uson whom the Council identified as the “main purveyor of politically-motivated propaganda” and “an avid spreader and citer of fake news”. I couldn't agree any less. 

What was the criteria? Well, according to UST AAI: “The sole criteria are for the recipient/s to be a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas and in government service,”. Unbelievable! Surely there are many Thomasian alumni working in government conscientiously and without enjoying the backing of a political boss who are more deserving than Mocha. Borrowing the words of Ms Giovanna Fontanilla, UST Public Affairs Director, "You (UST AAI) could do better than that!". 

I read a post on Facebook from Prof Clarita Carillo, an esteemed former colleague and former Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, clarifying that the award is not conferred by the University itself.  I am grateful for such an explanation and I hope that UST will distance itself from the alumni association for such a deplorable act and issue a statement to that effect. However, because the alumni association carries with it the name of the University, UST's reputation is tarnished unfortunately.

UST's motto is "Veritas in caritate" (Truth in Charity). A staunch fanatic of the current dispensation full of vile on those who speak against her master,  Mocha has failed to embody this motto. This is an elephant in UST AAI's room. I therefore join my fellow concerned Thomasian alumni in calling on UST AAI to recall the award or resign.

Erudite

It's been quiet in the Staff Room as the academic year has ended and staff have started to take their holidays. There are still a few of us at work who take this time to prepare assignments, schemes of work, etc. for September.  I will be off in two weeks' time, but it's work, work, and work for now.

I suddenly remembered a similar atmosphere in UST, at what used to be called Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD). We were all sat in our own cubicles, focused on our research work when someone at the door greeted us. "Good afternoon, my erudite colleagues." It was Prof. Clarita "Ma'am Claire" Carillo. We all had a (much needed) laugh.  

Erudite. Learned. Scholarly. Knowledgeable. Aren't these what teachers (and other professionals) should be? Tall order, yes?  I had a nephew who, when he was a little boy, asked me some questions which, unfortunately, I don't know the answers. Having given him the negative response, he retorted "Bakit hindi mo alam? Teacher ka di ba?" (Why don't you know the answers, aren't you a teacher?) Looking back, I should have said "I don't know the answers, but I'll find out for you."  This scenario is replicated in the classroom. You're so preoccupied with a topic then someone asks you a question and then you're caught flatfooted. Simply saying "I don't know" may exhibit lack of knowledge, but assuring learners that we'll get back to them next time is a sign of erudition.

There are, I think, four essential elements of being knowledgeable.

First, keep oneself updated. This ranges from gaining further qualifications to attending training, from working with a more senior colleague (discipleship or mentorship) to taking on board the regular faculty evaluation. I remember Ma'am Claire once told us that the aim of (peer and student) evaluation is not to prove, but to improve. 

Second, be as creative as possible. Gone are the days when teachers dish out all the information to their students. Nowadays, we entice our students to think critically, to guide them in discovering knowledge for themselves, and to weed out the fake knowledge that has sadly inundated the internet. By empowering students, the teacher becomes more of a facilitator in a learner-led classroom. 

Third, honor your yes. The demands of teaching are great especially in this Digital Age. Teaching requires commitment. As Ma'am Claire puts it: “You give it your all because you honor your ‘yes.’ When you say ‘yes’ to something, to a job, to a project, to a task, you give it your all.”

Fourth, follow the Teacher. During the orientation program organized by the CERD to new faculty members in 1998, Ma'am Claire mentioned to us that the greatest man on earth was a teacher. That Teacher once said "Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart."

To Ma'am Claire, belated happy birthday and congratulations for 11 fruitful years of serving as UST's Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs. Thank you for being such an erudite, kind, down-to-earth, and supportive colleague. Keep up the good work of inspiring teachers and learners. Best wishes!

Dominic and Thomas

The Order of Preachers (a.k.a. Dominicans) is celebrating its 800^th anniversary this year.  In Santo Domingo Church (Quezon City), the Jubilee celebration was launched in November last year by Cardinal Chito Tagle.  I received almost all of my education from the Dominicans – Nursery (a.k.a. Playhouse) to Grade 3: Angelicum School (now College), Grade 6 to 4th year High School: Letran, Manila, and BSc Chemistry: UST. After obtaining my degree, I worked in UST for almost 6 years.  I am also affiliated with the Rosary Confraternity which is also under the Order’s care. My Lola Piling once encouraged me to become a Dominican priest, but unfortunately I do not have a calling to become a Domini canes (hounds of the Lord).

A few months back, I answered a quiz on “Which Dominican Saint Are You Most Like?” (https://churchpop.com/2015/11/08/quiz-which-dominican-saint-are-you-most-like/) . At the end of the quiz, I was expecting that I would be most like St Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the Church and patron of UST, but my answers revealed me to be like St Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Order.  I am happy with that because without St Dominic, there’ll be no Dominican Order and there’ll be no jubilee to celebrate.

For me, both saints were great men of mercy. When Spain experienced a famine, the young Dominic gave away his possessions to feed the hungry. "Would you have me study off these dead skins, when men are dying of hunger?", he asked his fellow students.  As a priest, he preached against the Albigensian heresy and founded an institute for women. This happened about 10 years before he founded the group of Dominican friars. The Order was instituted out of the need for new type of order which will address the spiritual needs of the growing cities at that time through dedication and systematic education and having a more flexible organization than monastic orders or the secular clergy.

As for Thomas, whose feast day we celebrate as of this writing, he was a brilliant teacher, theologian, philosopher, and priest. Credit goes to him for writing Summa Theologica, an instructional guide for theology students, seminarians, and laity alike. He thought of writing this “because  a doctor of Catholic truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but to him pertains also to instruct beginners. As the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 3: 1–2, as to infants in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat, our proposed intention in this work is to convey those things that pertain to the Christian religion, in a way that is fitting to the instruction of beginners".

Both saints pointed to the Truth – Christ Himself.  No wonder that UST’s motto is Veritas.  I remember Fr Ernesto Arceo, OP (currently Rector of Aquinas University) mentioned in his homily a decade or so ago that if these men were senators in the Philippines during Joseph Estrada's impeachment, they would vote to have the controversial envelope (containing evidence that would allegedly prove Erap's corruption) opened. 

As we pay tribute to these saints and to the men and women comprising the Dominican Order in their Jubilee Year, let’s live AND share the truth. For as St Thomas once said “Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate”.

Maka-matanda

Maka-matanda (able to mature). That's how some contemporaries would use to describe me when I was 10 years old or so.  For when schools are closed and kids would often play under the scorching heat of the sun, I was nowhere in the streets. I was in the kubol (chapel) joining my aunt and other elders chanting the Pasyong Mahal (a poem on the life of Jesus sung during Lent). 

In my early teens (and this was when we moved back in Manila), the church would be the only place I would be after school - attending Mass or any pious activity, attending meetings or choir practice, etc.  When I was contemplating on what church group I would like to join, I had in mind the Cofradia de San Jose, an organization composed of adults, mostly elderly men and women in the parish. 

As I progressed in school then to university and later got a job, I became less immersed in church. It was not because I found the devotion boring, but it was because I lacked the time to do what I used to do.  There were 2 instances that seem to be wake up calls for me.  

I was then teaching in UST. Two of my students approached me and frankly told me, "Sir, bakit ang sungit ninyo? Siguro 'di kayo nagsisimba?" (Sir, why are you so ill-tempered? Perhaps you haven't been to church lately?).  (Now these two students knew me as I taught them in a previous semester. Apart from that, I was one of their advisers in the Pax Romana-College of Science chapter.) I was dumbfounded.  Thinking about it, I do go to church every Sunday, but that was it! Soon, I made it an effort to attend daily Mass at the UST Chapel, UST Hospital Chapel, or the neighboring Espiritu Santo Parish Church. 

Just a few years later, we had a speaker in one of our Christian Life Programs at the Singles for Christ in Gagalangin. He shared with us how he would attend daily Mass. After his talk, I approached and praised him for his devotion. I went further by asking him how does he still find time to do it. "Hinihingi 'yan, brod." (You just need to ask for it, brother). 

True, there may be moments when going to church daily would be a tall order, but if we humble ourselves and ask God for the grace to be there, He will give us that chance. In my young mind then, I've seen how this grace operated in the life of my Lolo Paul. In spite of his hectic schedule, he and Lola Piling, would still find time to attend daily Mass at the St Rita Hospital Chapel.  

On one rare occasion, there was an emergency in the hospital (someone due to give birth perhaps) while Mass was being offered. Lolo was called by the nurse.  He left the chapel straightaway. Later, Lola followed him.  I guess this would be understandable especially if there is a patient in need. To ignore this person would be tantamount to ignoring Jesus present in him (Matthew 25:40).

It's Lolo Paul's 30th death anniversary today. Looking back, I am grateful. Grateful for having that chance to be immersed in those forms of devotion, of being up and about in "the Father's business", of being able to mature in the faith. Grateful for having such a loving grandfather who made this possible. Following his good example, may I strive "to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God" (cf. Micah 6:8).

Rest in God's peace, Lolo Paul! We love you!

Post Assumption Thoughts

My family and I went to church last Friday to celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary, a holyday of obligation in England and Wales. The church wasn't jam packed, but the atmosphere was solemn.

As we sung the final hymn, I was touched with these lines:

All I have I give you,

Every dream and wish are yours,

Mother of Christ,

Mother of mine, present them to my Lord.

We have recently heard the sad news of the demise of the Most Rev. Leonardo Legaspi, OP, Archbishop Emeritus of Caceres, former President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, President of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II), and first Filipino Rector of UST.  Diagnosed to have lung cancer in 2009, Among (as he was fondly called by the Bicolanos) "...spent hours before the miraculous icon [of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Bicolandia’s patroness] praying he survive the disease until after the 300th anniversary celebration of the devotion in September 2010" (http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=39350). Indeed, his prayers were granted. He later retired in 2012.

For me, Archbishop Legaspi is an example of how it is to be a devotee of Mary, of how it is to entrust to her our "every dream and wish". Our tasks, responsibilities, wishes, and dreams may pale in comparison to what this beloved Marian prelate may have done or aspired for, but if we place them wholeheartedly in Mary's hands, she will present them all to the Lord. Why? Here's what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI writes: "precisely because Mary is with God and in God, she is very close to each one of us. While she lived on this earth she could only be close to a few people. Being in God, who is actually 'within' all of us, Mary shares in this closeness of God".

Mary, our Mother assumed into heaven, pray for us!

***

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate my brother Giovanni for his safe arrival in the US last week.  Keep up the good work there, Gio! Pray to Mama Mary as you have always been doing! Take care and see you soon!

Dean Forever

September 5, 2001. At the UST Medicine Cinematorium,  students and alumni showcased their talents in dance, poetry, and music through Retro Ciencia (a variety show to celebrate the UST College of Science's Diamond Jubilee).    When Gari De Guzman introduced the next performer, Beverly Salviejo (his co-emcee) became intrigued with this performer's title. So she asked Gari what does the title Dean Emeritus mean.  Gari repeatedly uttered "Dean Forever".  That performer was no other than Prof. Carmen G. Kanapi, first lady Dean of the College of Science.  She played the accordion to the audience's delight!

The first Filipino geneticist, Prof. Kanapi rose from the ranks served as Chairman of the Biological Sciences Department, Assistant Dean of the College, Dean of the Graduate School, finally Dean of the College of Science. She held this post for 13 years.

When I was a freshmen in UST, part of our orientation was a talk by the Dean.  These words of her stuck to my mind: "This is the College of Science. This is not the College of Hairdressing and Dressmaking". Indeed, under her watch the College has been accredited and re-accredited.  The faculty profile in terms of Masters and Doctorates was also robust.  I recall, when I was already teaching in UST, listening to a conversation between Prof. Fortunato Sevilla (one of Ma'am Kanapi's successors) and other colleagues.  Sir Fortune conceded that had Ma'am Kanapi didn't push faculty members to pursue postgraduate degrees, people would just lose steam. In another conversation, Assoc. Prof. Carmen Morales told me how this dean would touch base with her, checking how she is progressing with her Master's.

Ma'am Kanapi comes across as a strict leader. Someone who calls a spade a spade.  She believes that if you are transparent with your dealings then you would be out of trouble.  A papal awardee, she would be often seen attending daily Mass or just paying a visit before the Blessed Sacrament at the UST Chapel.  When she was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment, I was amazed at how she conducted herself.  She could still smile amidst the trials.  Thank God, she survived and was seen in good spirits during the variety show for Science Week in 1995.

When she retired in 1996, the University accorded her with the title of Dean Emeritus.  In spite stepping down from the deanship, Ma'am Kanapi was seen engaged with teaching, research, and most especially with her project Environmental Education for All.   I once sent her some clippings for her project.  Unexpectedly, she phoned up the Chemistry Faculty Room to speak to me. Unfortunately, I wasn't around so she asked a colleague to relay her thanks to me.

A few months before I left UST, I saw her outside the Main Building and greeted her. She greeted me back.  I then noticed that she was walking on the same direction as mine. As it was drizzling I opened my umbrella and offered a shade for her. She obliged.  I started to have a chat with her, asking how was her trip to the US (I learned she was abroad which was why she was unable to attend the graduation ceremonies a few months previously.). She said that it was rainy and the only place they could visit was a museum. Had the weather been fine, she would have loved to go to the park and marvel at plants, flowers, etc.  From that brief conversation, I saw a different Dean Kanapi, not someone who is on a pedestal, but someone who is an equal. Someone who is truly tao.

I may not have been her student, but I learned a lot from her example and inspiring words.  We call that in Education as the hidden curriculum.

Happy 88th birthday, Ma'am Kanapi!  Your legacy lives on at the College of Science. Indeed, your deanship goes on and on. May God continuously bless you more and more! We love you!

Beauty So Ancient and So New

There have been recent events that have made me realize the Beauty that is God. In his Confessions, St Augustine called God as “Beauty so ancient and so new”.

A week ago, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) concluded its year-long Quadricentennial Celebrations. Looking back from its early beginnings up to the present, I could see how UST has been a reflection and a bearer of God for the past 4 centuries. As Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Soc Villegas would put it in his homily during the Closing Mass in UST: “… our alma mater feeds us Jesus, clothes us with Jesus and teaches us Jesus.”
UST may have been that ancient, yet the beauty it exudes is always new, always fresh – thanks to the abiding presence of Jesus in her.

It may be tempting to rest on one’s laurels, to be complacent, or worse to be falsely proud. A renowned theologian and professor once had a vision of Christ on the Cross and was asked by Our Lord what reward he wanted for all he had done and written. He answered, "Non nisi te, Domine"-only you, Lord. That guy was St Thomas Aquinas, UST’s Patron Saint. If the University remains humble, always seeks the Lord, and always at His service then no amount of calamity or bad publicity can bring it down. It is built on solid ground.

I’m touched that the good archbishop did not only mention UST’s renowned alumni, but also the unsung Thomasians who in their own small way share Jesus with others as well as those “ out there in the dark alleys, inside jails and prisons, in cramped government hospital wards, in unnamed graves in public cemeteries…sons and daughters of UST who did not succeed, dropped out of the way and have faded away in shame and guilt.”

Moving on to the next century, I think UST should reach out to these people since, as the prelate said: “UST will never forget.”

Go USTe!


***

Closer to home, a new member of the Samaniego-Albano Clan was born on Thursday 26 January 2011: Stella Gianna, Gio(my brother) and Marcia’s first daughter.

Every new-born baby is a reminder of how gracious God is (Incidentally, the name Gianna is the feminine equivalent of Giovanni which in turn means “God is gracious”.) and how he entrusts to us mere mortals the precious gift of life. The birth of another human reveals to us the beauty of life, the beauty of its Author. From a parent’s perspective, a baby tells us a new story based on an old one, a sequel to the enduring love of God passed on from one generation to another.

Welcome to the family, Stella! Well done, Gio and Marcia!

Piazza della Immacolata

It was almost lunch time when we arrived in Rome from a 20-30 minute train ride from Ciampino Airport. It was warm and sunny - one of the changes that we would be experiencing in our trip. Right after checking-in, we changed to more comfortable clothes and didn't lose any moment to visit places.


One of those places was Piazza Mignanelli where a huge column topped by an image of Mary, the Immacolata Concezione (Immaculate Conception), is located and which dominates the piazza. Pope Pius IX, who promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, blessed this in 1857.

As soon as we approached this piazza, I suddenly remembered what Fr Pompeyo De Mesa, OP, told us his students in one of our sessions in German language. The priest told us that Italians would congregate in a plaza where this image of the Blessed Mother is situated to offer flowers on her feet and send her their flying kisses! "This is the place!" I told myself.

The Virgin is depicted as crowned with 12 stars. There are still old withered flowers that decorate the statue. On the four corners of the column, which is readily visible to people, are statues of Moses, King David, Isaiah, and Ezekiel - all having a link to the Immaculate Conception. King David, for one, is the ancestor of St Joseph, Mary's husband. The Prophet Isaiah foretold that "A virgin will conceive and bear a son.". There were also some incidents in the life of Mary that placed in between the four statues I mentioned. One of them is the Coronation of Our Lady (see photo).

Like Filipino Catholics, our Roman counterparts observe the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception as one of their great events (a.k.a Festa Romana). As told by Fr de Mesa, this coming 8th December they will congregate in Piazza Mignanelli to pay their homage to the Immacolata Concezione led by no less than the Pope himself.

Personally, the Immaculate Conception has a soft spot in my heart. Nidz and I became steady on that blessed 8th day of December years ago! Also, it was at the Manila Cathedral which is dedicated to the Virgin under that wondrous title where we tied the knot in 2002. And now as we approach Christmas, this mystery where Mary was spared of original sin, comes into fore as a reminder to get ready for the Lord.

I have always said that the Blessed Mother never leaves me. I'm glad that she welcomed and accompanied us in Rome in the numerous shrines dedicated in her honour and in this piazza which,in my book, should have been called Piazza della Immacolata .

***

I wish to express my sincerest condolences to the family of the late Erlinda Abesamis-Mallari, a former colleague in the Department of Chemistry, College of Science, UST, who recently passed away after a lingering illness. Ma'am Linda, as we call her, was also a chemistry teacher in Pres Sergio Osmena High School in Gagalangin. She was such a wonderful person. Credit goes to her for catapulting me into the Philippine Association of Chemistry Teachers Board of Directors that fateful day in July 1999. Having been elected I have filled the void caused by having no representative from the oldest university in the Philippines in that prestigious association.

When we were talking, some people would be intrigued when she would say "Doon sa atin" (In our place)when they know that she lives in Kalookan and I in Tondo. I may be a son of Gagalangin, but this lady (who has served that same locality for years) has deemed to consider the town as her own. No one could rob her of that!

Incidentally, I saw her attending Mass in Gagalangin during the feast of the Immaculate Conception many years ago - I was the commentator in that Eucharistic celebration.

May you now enjoy the unending celebration there in heaven, Ma'am Linda, where no sickness or weariness of any kind exists.

***

Greetings to the community of the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila (a.k.a. Manila Cathedral) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the dedication of its present edifice. It has been an honour to be part of this unique community as lector/commentator for five years (1998-2003). The cathedral has a non-parochial status, but it sure does have the distinction of being The Mother church of Manila and of the whole Philippines!

May the Immaculate Virgin continuously intercede for you all!