U.P. Integrated School alumni are questioning the basic premises for tearing down U.P.I.S. to give way to yet another Ayala mall.

By Chanda Shahani

Alumni of the University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) are planning to petition U.P. President Alfredo E. Pascual for an audience and a possible public hearing to validate how carefully studied the plan to transfer UPIS to the current Narra Residence Hall in U.P. Diliman was; considering that the deal brokered by the past Roman administration and approved by a majority of the Board of Regents in favor of AyalaLand, Inc. had no public hearing which was in violation of U.P.'s own charter (R.A. 9500).
 
According to two Facebook pages made up of UPIS alumni, "Goodbye U.P. High" and "Let's Go to the Mall," many questions remained unanswered and so far there has been no sufficient dialogue yet with the new U.P. administration, headed by U.P. President Alfredo E. Pascual.

Rowena Bernardo, a UPIS alumni and founder of "Let's Go to the Mall," posted in "Goodbye U.P. High,"

"Dear Fellow Alumni -This is a small update on planned petition to Pascual for a public hearing on the UPIS deal. "

"We have a group represented by Conyap Longid who is making a position paper for a dialogue with Pascual."

"The position paper will be ready on April 1st. The petition though independently launched will have to look into the arguments of the position paper as well as all points gathered from different parties including any and all points that you would like to point out here"

"In essence, I believe that the decision on UPIS does not only affect UPIS but UP as a whole and a conscious query on where we are veering our education. I have enclosed here a link of a UK based online petition website as an example of the functionalities that the online petition I aspire to launch shortly after April 1."

Another UPIS alumnus,Eugene Lirio Tecson, said "I am from Batch 1992, a senior researcher (CSI & CPDRI) a rural development worker (CSI), a political scientist/political economist, and an international studies graduate student from UP Diliman and I would like to share my position, despite the very limited factual information that I have on the issue."

"I am against the transfer of the UPIS school building not because I am sentimental about it but because of the wrong reasons for which it is being transferred. From what I've gathered, the main arguments for the transfer of UPIS is: 1. To generate income for the UP System from the lease payment from Ayala Corp. and 2. To address the safety of the high school students from having to cross a much wider Katipunan Avenue. For me, these reasons are not sufficient grounds to transfer UPIS."

"UPIS as part of a national university should never resort to rely on private investments to sustain its operations. Since it is a national university, a status that is even higher than a state university, the national government is duty bound to provide public investments to sustain its operations. If UP is now considering the entry of private investments, as it already had, then it might as well be fully privatized. One should distinguish the implications of private funds from the UPIS alumni and the private funds that come from private corporations. Funds from alumni associations are donations meant to improve UPIS and have no strings attached or conditionalities. On the other hand, funds coming from private corporations would necessarily have conditionalities since they are profit and competition-driven. That is why these corporations need to set up infrastructure where they can do business during the period that they are leasing the UP property."

"The safety of the students is a flimsier reason. While I don't have a background in architecture/engineering/construction. I can only imagine that it would cost more to build new school buildings than build overpasses to address the safety of the students."

"As a concerned alumni member of UPIS, this is where I am coming from. These ideas do not necessarily represent the ideas of my other batchmates in Batch 1992 but I am hoping we can still debate from a scholarly and scientific standpoint on the merits of the proposed transfer of UPIS."

Meantime, here is a brief summary of the details of the proposed takeover by AyalaLand, Inc. of the current UPIS site along Katipunan Avenue according to "Goodbye U.P. High":

• The transfer of UPIS to the unused Narra Residence Hall  was an unsolicited proposal made by AyalaLand, Inc. to former U.P. President. Emerlinda R. Roman. The Board of Regents rejected it at first because it was not subjected to public bidding.
• The concept and transfer was eventually approved during the very last BOR meeting attended by then President Roman. 
• The new UP President Alfredo E. Pascual has ordered a review of the agreement: Just like the Ayala Tecno-hub in Commonwealth Avenue, the arrangement is a 50 year lease with guaranteed first option. U.P. only gets a percentage of the gross profit from the mall-BPO-condo complex operations. The initial payment will be PhP 200 million in orderto start the ball rolling. 
• All the other details are nebulous. Even the new principal does not know of the plans or timetable for this project. 

Former President Roman's last BOR meeting as U.P. President was on January 27, 2011 where the AyalaLand, Inc.  proposal was approved by a majority of the BOR with some regents, such as Student Regent Jacque Eroles dissenting on the grounds that there needed to be public hearings on the matter, in accordance with R.A. 9500. Outgoing President Roman subsequently turned over the authority of her office to incoming U.P. President Alfredo E. Pascual on February 10, 2011.

(Chanda Shahani is the editor of the Diliman Diary)

Ayala Land, Inc. files disclosure report to SEC on redevelopment of 7.4 ha. UPIS property along Katipunan Avenue

Editor's note: We are embedding below the corporate disclosure report submitted by Ayala Land, Inc. to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Ayala Land's winning of the right to redevelop the University of the Philippines Inetgrated School (UPIS) property along Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. Under SEC rules which stress transparency, publicly listed corporations such as Ayala Land must immediately inform the SEC of any major projects or developments which may have an impact on its stock prices, for the benefit of the investing public and institutional investors.

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Book Launch: The Life and Art of Lee Aguinaldo on February 3 at the Ateneo Art Gallery

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Tanghalang Ateneo stages "Confessiones"

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Source: http://tinyurl.com/3y8kz47)

"Tanghalang Ateneo waxes philosophical this November with a daring stage version of St. Augustine’s heart-rending autobiography, "Confessiones", translated from the Latin by Roque Ferriols, S.J., and directed by one of his students, Ronan Capinding."

"National Artist for Theater, Salvador Bernal, designs both set and costumes. Lighting will be by Sueyen Astero. Rhem David will be designing sound and music."

"Featuring eighteen actors, this devised play depicts Augustine’s profound and poignant conversion from sinner to saint. Selected passages from Augustine’s text will highlight this transformation, among them his pronouncements about man’s faith, need, and adoration toward God: man’s lost and confused condition in sin and searching (Dispersio), his heart restless until it rests in God (Conversio). Actors deliver the lines alone or in an ensemble and act as characters in vignettes that render Augustine’s insights accessible to contemporary young audiences. The production makes excellent learning material for students and professionals in theology, philosophy, and literature."

 
Read the rest here: Tanghalang Ateneo stages "Confessiones"

Miriam College Early X'mas Bazaar Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 24-26

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Miriam College (MC) Institute for the Arts cordially invites early shoppers for the Institute For The Arts Early Christmas Bazaar at the College Parking Lot of Miriam College on November 17-19 and November 24-26, 2010, open from 9am to 6pm.

Proceeds from this event will help provide scholarships for the Miriam College Institute for the Arts’ programs in music, dance, theatre and film, and visual arts.

The Roving Gourmand: Pilipinas Food Audit 1.1.1

In our quest to give our readers an overview of food eats within the Metro Manila area and the rest of the country that are reasonable in terms of price but also tasty, we are posting the results of what promise to be a series of periodic food audits.We are also encouraging our readers to send in entries as well (Price, comments on the food, location of the eating establishment and pictures).

What's Hot

Pancit Canton (PhP 81.00) with Black Gulaman (PhP 30.00) at Mushroomburger, Katipunan Avenue (right besides National Bookstore). This is an excellent meal that is tasty, with the right sauce, soft pancit noodles and succulent mushrooms with the black gulaman rounding off the slighly heavy taste of the Pancit Canton. Thumbs up!

 (Beef Red Curry)

 

(Shrimp Pad Thai)

Beef Red Curry (PhP 180.00) and Shrimp Pad Thai (PhP 180.00) at Som's Noodle House. 5921 Alger Street Poblacion, Makati City (Right outside Powerplant Mall, Rockwell and perpendicular to Kalayaan Avenue). These two dishes alone, with rice were enough to amply feed Diliman Diary writers Robby Robiso, Dolly Mose and Chanda Shahani. Authentic Thai cuisine is at stake here with special mention being made for the Spicy Beef Red Curry where one mouthful is so flavorful and can go a long way to satisfy one's palate. The Shrimp Pad Thai was also excellent, but milder tasting but the flat noodles with ground peanut and sauce were also yummy and filling.Thumbs up!

What's Not

(Lamb Gyros)

The Lamb Gyros (PhP 150.00) in Café Mediterranean in Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City was  a sheer disappointment. The lamb was long, stringy and tasteless while the flat bread wrapped around it was damp and uninspiring. For the higher price, this was definitely a thumbs down.

HAPPY MONDAYS Poetry Nights LXXXIV at mag:net café

August 16, 2010 at 7:30pm - August 17 at 1:00am

Location:  mag:net café
Katipunan Avenue (beside Rustan's)

Quezon City, Philippines

It's the 84th installment of the bi-weekly Happy Mondays Poetry Nights TONIGHT, August 16 @ mag:net cafe Katipunan. featured readers are as follows:

1. Daryll Delgado

2. Diego Abad

3. Andrea Duerme

4. The Diliman Diary's Paul Lee

5. Dave Buenviaje

6. Rafael San Diego

7. Mikael Co

8. Andrea Teran

9. Pinoy Estacio

10. Corin Arenas

11. Pancho Villanueva

12. Dax Cutab

13. Sasha Martinez

14. Gian Lao

15. Keith Cortez

16. Petra Magno

17. Wincy Ong

18. Carlomar Daoana

19. Totel De Jesus

20. Krip Yuson

21. Jimmy Abad

Plus other special guests and regular readers.

*Happy Mondays' readings kick off promptly at 8:00pm. an Open Mic session will commence @ 930 up to 10pm.

For those interested in reading during the open mic, we will leave a sign-up sheet with Rogel or Che at the bar of mag:net cafe. please feel free to sign up and read your work. :)

Guest performers JEFF PAGADUAN, WINCY ONG, and JOHNOY DANAO will be performing during and after the readings.

FREE ADMISSION the whole evening. Kitakits po tayo. :)

Diliman Video of the Week: "Sunlight & Stations" (A Short Film)

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Synopsis from the producers:

Video Editing by Royce Opinion and Kia Opinion. This short film/video is a mash-up of two poems discussed (and, I guess, I sort of "fell in love with") in my Literature 14 class: Something About Sunlight by Marnes Kilates and In a Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound -- with an additional twist.

I took most of the shots in Ateneo, along Katipunan Avenue, and in the LRT station. My brother (who did most of the editing) and I started tweaking and stitching all the clips together at 1 o'clock in the morning -- 9 hours before deadline! It took us 8 hours to finish everything because his computer kept crashing (my laptop could contribute quite little, really). I almost had a tiny embolism.

We could have added more transitions yadda yadda. However, all things considered, I wouldn't change a thing. Allow me to be cheeky and say: I'm absolutely proud of it!

Cheers, Manong! (You big fat lifesaver *high five*)

P.S.

Trivia: Nearly all of the tracks in the music "score" is from the soundtrack of the movie (one of my ultimate faves) "Wristcutters: A Love Story."


From the Editors of the Diliman Diary:

Have a video to share? Do you think it's a candidate for the Diliman Diary video of the week? Send us your YouTube or other video link for our evaluation and judgement. The theme must either be about the Dilliman to Katipunan area or so universal that it would appeal to those from that area and beyond. Send all entries to: dilimandiary@yahoo.com Attention: The Editor

Happy Mondays: A Tradition at mag:net café

By Paul Lee

Three years seemed like a pretty short time for a simple biweekly gathering to become a tradition. Nonetheless mag:net café’s Happy Mondays has grown from what is simply a gathering of poets and writers as well as prose and verse enthusiasts to a literary tradition eagerly followed by many from near and far along the Katipunan to Diliman stretch.

Every other Monday as in the first and third Monday of the month; writers and poets both established and first-timers regale listeners from all walks of life to their works amidst the warm ambiance and good food of the mag:net cafe and under the eye of master of ceremonies Palanca-award winning poet and Miriam College Professor Joel Toledo who handles the occasion from seven to ten in the evening. This has continued for the past 71 Mondays since April 2, 2007 and what was to be the Happy Mondays tradition started out with an idea for a poetry venue by mag:net café owner Rock Drilon together with poet Andrea Teran.

However, the Happy Mondays finally took of when Joel Toledo signed in as host. Describing it as an "exhausting labour of love," Toledo has welcomed veteran and first time poets alike as well as authors to enunciate both their original works as well as their own respective interpretation of works from other poets. Of course, Happy Mondays has gone beyond merely poets disseminating their works in verse to a favourite venue for works in prose as well as book and band launches.

March 1st, 2010 marked the third year since Happy Mondays first became a biweekly event at mag: net café. Among the guests gracing the milestone occasion were National Artist Virgilio Almario and University of the Philippines Professor Emeritus in poetry Jimmy Abad as well as poets Pete Lacaba and Vim Nadera and Alfred Yuson to name a few. Other guests gracing the occasion included filmmaker Khavn de la Cruz who was accompanied by Icelandic actor-poet Frosti Runolfsson and Filipino filmmaker John Torres while Happy Mondays regulars the Batutes never failed to bring down the house with their distinct brand of irreverent humour and international writer Tom Sykes capped this milestone.

As always the veteran poets congregated to enjoy each others’ company accompanied by loud laughter fuelled by copious amounts of San Mig Lite and red wine. Both Professor Abad and Alfred Yuson kicked off the occasion with their own unique approach to the proceedings of the night and to the amusement of the audiences; for while Professor Abad remained true to form with his acerbic wit highlighting his verses, Alfred Yuson carried on with his own sublime complement to Abad’s sharp mastery of verse. Ironically and speaking of sharpness, Professor Abad did his rendition of Krip Yuson’s "Dreams of Knives." Another highlight came when another poet laureate; Vim Nadera did his take on "Tulaan sa Tren" as he chanted mantra-like the name of the otherwise reliable mode of public transportation.

As the night carried on; almost thirty other poets delivered and disseminated their respective works to a standing-room crowd much to their entertainment. Being a Monday, some had to take their leave as the rest of the week loomed on. Nevertheless and on its third year, the Happy Mondays tradition continues to bring the beauty of verse to listeners facing an otherwise mundane week and may it continue for a long time to come.

(Paul Lee is a freelance writer based in Loyola Heights, Q.C. An Ateneo graduate, he is currently finishing his master's in creative writing at U.P. Diliman).

mag:net café
Katipunan Avenue:
In front of Miriam College, beside Rustan’s Supermarket
Quezon City , Philippines
For reservations call: 929-3191
Website: http://www.magnet.com.ph//
Contact: Mr. Rock Drilon
Email: rock@drilon.com

The Roving Gourmand: mag:net café: Undiscovered Eats in an Eclectic Atmosphere

By Chanda Shahani

For a weekend evening treat, fellow Diliman Diary writer Paul Lee and I decided to reexplore mag:net café in front of Miriam College on Katipunan Avenue right besides Rustan's Supermarket and check out if they had any cuisine worth remembering. We're glad we did!

We were pleasantly surprised at the welcoming ambiance and attractive décor once one steps off Katipunan Avenue into mag:net café. The second floor, where the restaurant-cum-bar is located, is tidy and tastefully decorated without clutter. There is room for tables to be placed far enough apart that one does not feel as if dining back to back with those at the table behind. One of the tables even had the words emblazoned on it: “I am what you think I think I am.” This was certainly food for the mind to accompany the food for the body.

In the ground floor is an art gallery-cum-bookstore with various titles ranging from best-sellers to Filipiniana as well as an extensive magzine collection. It was also stocked with Original Pilipino Music CDs.

The food was more than ample, nicely prepared, and extremely fresh. For the appetizer, we tried the fish and chips (PhP 135.00) which is a crispy friend fish fillet spiced with logarashi and potato chips and accompanied with mayo dip and we found it to be moist and slightly sweet with a succulent batter coating. But the pièce de résistance was very definitely the mag:net pizza (PhP 140.00) which we both shared. The toppings were amply overlaid with a unique mix of longganisa, sisig and kesong puti and the combination of the spicy longganisa, slightly fatty sisig and salty kesong puti was filling and a great feed for two hungry writers. Barely any room left for dessert – not!

For dessert, we tried the Chocolate Nutella Banana Turon (PhP 95.00) which is Cavendish rolled with lumpia wrapper topped with halo-halo ice cream and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The overall taste was warm, slightly fuzzy to the taste, but not overly sweet. A perfect comfort food dessert to round off the heavier dishes we had tried earlier!

The waiters and staff were helpful and pleasant without being intrusive. Prices were average for the Katipunan area, and we both felt as if we received very good value for our money. Also noteworthy are the heavier campus meals with prices ranging from PhP 125.00 to PhP 250.00 which puts this into the category of a great place for students to bring a date for a night out.

On Monday evenings they have “Happy Mondays,” where bands play and there are live poetry readings. There is also an extensive cocktail selection, and beer and wine are also served.We will definitely be back, and do recommend mag:net café to others.


mag:net café
Katipunan Avenue:
In front of Miriam College, beside Rustan’s Supermarket
Quezon City , Philippines
For reservations call: 929-3191
Website: http://www.magnet.com.ph/
Contact: Mr. Rock Drilon
Email: rock@drilon.com