By Cyrus A. Natividad
Centralians, guests and local farmers attending the launching of the Organic Agrifair for 2018.
The Organic Agrifair for 2018 was formally launched at the newest Robinsons Mall in Pavia, Iloilo on Wednesday evening, November 7, 2018. It was attended by members of the different committees led by the overall chairman, Joel H. Somosierra, and other guests. The program started with Mr. Rudel Obed Dianala’s guitar prelude and the invocation led by Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on, Communications Director. Engr. Levi De Los Santos, Outreach Director, gave the rationale on the week-long agrifair program and exhibits.
Mall goers and shoppers received different sachets of vegetable seedlings—sitao, mongo, eggplant, and squash, among others. They were also entertained by a variety of songs and tunes. The Central Spirit of volunteerism brought talented members of the CPU family to play folk, pop, and contemporary music on stage. 3’s Harmony of CPU, composed of Agrifair chairman, Joel Somosierra, and former CPU employees, Jason ‘Jing’ Pagunsan and Rudel Obed Dianala, rendered an acoustic performance of classical songs. Mr. Dianala and Engr. Barry Jone Matutina, HRD Personnel, rendered guitar solo performances.
3’s Harmony of CPU, composed of Agrifair chairman, Joel Somosierra, and former CPU employees, Jason ‘Jing’ Pagunsan and Rudel Obed Dianala, rendered an acoustic performance of classical songs.
Review and Continuing Educations Center Director, Dr. Leny Rose Mucho, then invited everyone to the week-long event at Central Philippine University on November 26-29.
The launching of the Agrifair was sponsored by the management of Robinsons Place-Pavia, Iloilo.
By Keziah G. Huelar
Dr. Rowena M. Libo-on, Acting Dean of the CPU Graduate Studies, Prof. Althea U. Denuevo, Coordinator, Masters of Business Administration Program and CPU students , Danielle Tay (BS Entrepreneurial Management) and Kerzy Braza (Doctor of Management) with Dr. Shin Dong-Suk, President, Leaders in Industry-University Cooperation (LINC+).
Dr. Rowena M. Libo-on, Acting Dean of the CPU Graduate Studies, and Prof. Althea U. Denuevo, Coordinator, Masters of Business Administration Program, together with CPU students: Anne Danielle Tay (BS Entrepreneurial Management) and Kerzy Braza (Doctor of Management) attended the 4th Student Start-Up International Conference in Tongmyong University, Busan, South Korea on October 31-November 2, 2018.
LINC+ has spearheaded the said start-up international conference and exchange for four years. The purpose of this conference is to share knowledge of start-up trends and entrepreneurship, to establish a student global network, to enhance global start-up capability, to arrange a venue for information sharing regarding global start-up, and to promote international collaborations in establishing a start-up network.
Tay and Braza presented their business idea of “Take Ten: Mobile Wellness,” a modern wellness studio with massage chairs and sauna housed in a mini bus.
Student and faculty participants of the conference.
The said conference was attended by students and faculty from 15 universities including those from Germany, Japan, Philippines, and South Korea.
It can be recalled that in 2017, during the said conference, Dr. Libo-on gave a talk about the “Start-up Education in the Philippines” while the students presented their feasibility project on “All Natural Food Truck” business.
In 2015, Central Philippine University and Tongmyong University signed a Memorandum of Agreement to establish academic and cultural linkages.
Highlighting the faithfulness of God in the lives of our graduates—Central Philippine University is inviting all family, friends, and guests to attend the College Baccalaureate Service at the Rose Memorial Auditorium on November 11, 2018. Rev. Dr. Wayne A. Young, Founder and president of Living NEW Ministries International, will be the Baccalaureate guest speaker.
The 91st Commencement Exercises of the Colleges will be held on the same day at the Rose Memorial Auditorium with Dr. Rumalie Alparaque Corvera, President and CEO of the Ruth Foundation of Palliative and Hospice Care, as guest speaker.
Let us witness this celebration of another milestone in the lives of our soon-to-be Centralian graduates! We also encourage friends and family abroad to join us by watching the live stream at https://www.facebook.com/CentralPhilippineUniversityTV/.
By Keziah G. Huelar
After World War II, CPBC members started a tradition of pilgrimage to the Cathedral in the Glen also known as the Hopevale Memorial.
At some point of our lives we have considered giving up. Our soul seeks rests, our hearts wishes to retreat into solitude. There are things in this world that may be too much for us to bear—the pressures of life consume us all. Yet despite these moments of denouement, we persevere not only as a necessity but as a response to the choices we make.
Such a choice has been testified through the life of the Hopevale martyrs. Up to the end of their lives, they chose to persevere and trust in the Lord—11 men and women of faith—whose lives we now emulate as we reflect upon pursuing a life of faith with fervor.
In one of her poems entitled “I am weary of war”, Jennie C. Adams, one of the martyrs, talks about a longing for rest and ease;
I am weary of war and its worries,
The life in a forest wild
The haunts of a lovely hermit,
A captive too long exiled
Ever ready to flee still further
When the warning cry is heard,
Whether that cry be official
Or proves but a rumored sword
The vigilance ever required
When enemy troops grow bold,
Or when thieves alone molesting,
Or but termites, mildew and mold.
I am weary of war and hatreds,
When a friend may become a foe;
A nation, a neighbor or brother
Into a traitor may grow.
Need presses hard upon people
One grasps from another’s pain
Out of some poor man’s misery
A neighbor grows greedy for gain.
One clamors for share and profit
A place, a position or fame,
One lives or dies a hero,
His brother lives in shame.
I am weary of war and its sufferings,
The nameless dreads and fears,
The needless wounds and heartaches
The women’s bitter tears
The children in rags growing hungry,
Hunger on every hand,
No schools for their idle hours,
With pestilence stalking the land.
I am weary of war and destruction,
A land once so verdant and fair,
Busy and prosperous and peaceful
Is scorned and seared and bare,
What wanton waste of nations
Whose country with beauty was filled,
The gems of civilized nations
That years have required to build.
The treasures of homes and nations,
That ages so dearly have brought
By ruthless war’s destruction,
In a moment is put to naught
How hard it must have been for the Hopevale martyrs to retreat to the mountains, away from the comforts of civilization. They found themselves in the midst of primitive living where they made an altar and a pulpit from rocks and wood at hand.
But oh, how hopeful they were! In the heart of the Japanese-American War, we had missionaries gathering together to worship God in the midst of all the doubt and uncertainty. On Easter Sunday of 1943, it is said that 100 worshipers, both Americans and Filipinos, were in attendance to glorify God. Several missionaries took turns in conducting the worship services.
How beautiful it is to worship God in the midst of trial—like Paul and Silas when they prayed and sang songs of praise in prison, when Stephen exclaimed, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!” right before those who were about to stone him, and when the Hopevale martyrs asked for an hour to pray and to sing hymns before they were led to the mountain top and killed.
Whenever life drags you down, the remedy is to praise God, to trust in His promises. At times, the greatest blessing is not the fulfillment of the promise but the ability to believe and to hope that what God has spoken will come to pass. As what 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
Adams, in her poem “Let me live bravely,” published in the 1946 Centralite, encourages us to learn to trust God before, during, and after life’s troubles.
“Let me serve faithfully;
Content with work to do, Whatsoever life may bring,
I’m serving others well, Thus do I serve my King.
May I not weary grow, When tasks seem burdensome,
Nor turn aside distraught, Before life’s work is done.
As others served, proved true, Let me be faithful too.”
By Cyrus A. Natividad
Mr. Edwin C. Laruan, current Sports Director together with former Sports Director, Atty. Alejandro S. Somo.
When then CPU TV Coordinator, Mr. Edwin C. Laruan, was appointed to a “higher calling,” to be the Director of the CPU Office of Sports and Athletics, the decision was not as difficult except that he had to leave behind such an “enjoyable, professional production crew… at the studio.” Laruan took over the position as director from Atty. Alejandro S. Somo, who retired from University employment earlier this June.
Speaking at CPU TV’s Looking Forward public affairs program on Friday, October 26, Laruan emphasized his devotion to and expertise in sports, particularly, football. He was born in Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo, and was raised in a family who had, and still have, a keen interest in sports. On a side note, Barotac Nuevo is well known as the football capital of the Iloilo province.
The scope of his responsibility, according to Laruan, includes the supervision of all CPU coaches and assessment of their performance. He is also tasked to plan and coordinate every time another batch of new students come to CPU to study through the athletic scholarship program. For events at all levels—local, national and international—he is involved in formulating the budget and developing strategies. Moreover, being the Sports Director carries the task of being the overall team leader of the CPU Golden Lions.
Training and support for the athletes, among others, require some expertise. Laruan’s experience in playing football and coaching has helped him focus on helping the student athletes not only develop their skills and abilities but to also observe discipline especially in maintaining their physical fitness. He also emphasized that students must understand that the University is firm when it comes to enforcing the qualifications for their scholarship.
Laruan is a graduate of Mass Communications from WVSU and had worked with several media outlets in Iloilo City before joining CPUTV Productions. Laruan is married to Anja Kaitlyn, and together, they have a son, Edwin, Jr., and daughter, Marie Claire.
By Cyrus A. Natividad
WSAA officers planning their Grand Alumni Homecoming this coming December. Photo Credit: Ruth Fernandez
The Work Students Alumni Association (WSAA) of Central Philippine University is looking forward to a Grand Alumni Homecoming on December 15, 2018. The plans were laid down by WSAA officers in a meeting led by its vice president, Dr. Alberto Java, last Saturday, October 27, at the CPU campus.
So far, they have planned to have motorcade from CPU to Plaza Libertad and back. The motorcade will start at 7:00 AM and registration will be at 8:00AM, upon the arrival of the participants. A devotional will then be held before the program proper. This year’s Work Student Alumni Homecoming will revolve around the theme “Labor is Honor.”
Many of the work student alumni, who are now business executives, administrators, ministers and even government officials, have attributed their success to having been part of the work-study program at CPU.
All work student alumni are invited to attend this gathering in December. For inquiries and registration please contact Dr. Bert Java at 09153659681 or Ms. Ruth Fernandez at 09166276293.
By Keziah G. Huelar
Engr. Angel Lanuza of PHIVOLCS together with Mr. Mark Clemens J. Ortaliz, Mr. Prim C. Vergara III and Engr. Rhett Allan Baldonado.
Promoting a safer CPU—Three university staff members, namely, Mr. Prim C. Vergara III, Occupational Safety and Health Officer and Coordinator of the Sustainable Campus Committee; Mr. Mark Clemens J. Ortaliz, CPU Webmaster; and Engr. Rhett Allan Baldonado, Supervisor, Shop Department, attended a 6-day training on Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System on October 22-27, 2018 at the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, Molo Campus.
The said seminar was spearheaded by the Iloilo City Government through the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. In the seminar, they learned about the Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (REDAS), which is a hazard risk simulation software that aims to produce hazard and risk maps immediately after the occurrence of a strong and potentially 31damaging earthquake.
According to Mr. Ortaliz, the training-seminar instructed educational and commercial institutions on how to respond in case of an earthquake: “The seminar taught us how to assess earthquake risks. We were also oriented about the hazards and the ways on how we can mitigate or prevent damage in case an earthquake does occur.”
CPU is helping the Iloilo City Government through the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office by gathering structural data on the different buildings and establishments in Iloilo City to be used for statistical purposes.
By Cyrus A. Natividad
On the Red Line: The Rotary Club of Jaro Centraline supports the enduring mission to END POLIO. Rotary Clubs – all over the world simultaneously celebrated this action for humanity.
The Rotary Club of Jaro Centralian joined other Rotary clubs of Iloilo City in an early morning fun-walk-run activity from Injap Tower across SM City, along Diversion Road, Mandurriao at 5:30 AM to the Esplanade Park where everyone enjoyed a short Zumba. The event was in support of Rotary Club International’s “enduring mission” to eradicate polio all over the world, “End Polio Now.”
RCJC president and civic advocate, Evelyn Rose Catilo, encouraged all members to continue being active in engaging in humanitarian activities in pursuit of saving lives and helping eradicate polio in the world: “The Rotary Club of Jaro Centraline embraces the Central Philippine University concept of generosity and service.”
A statement from the Rotary International reads, “Since 1985 Rotary has led the battle against polio, and kept the pressure on as worldwide cases plummeted from 350,000 per year to several hundred. When India went off the list of endemic countries in 2012, we took one more step toward eradicating a human disease from the earth for only the second time in history. Now, Rotary and its partners are This Close to making that dream a reality” (https://www.rotary.org/en/rotarys-fight-end-polio-now).
By Keziah G. Huelar
Participants eagerly listen to the seminar lecture.
The Central Philippine University Review, Continuing Education and Consultancy Center in partnership with the Human Resource Development Office held a seminar on the Data Privacy Act at the 4th Floor, Henry Luce III Library Conference Room.
The opening prayer was led by Rev. Dr. Bernabe C. Pagara, Dean, CPU College of Theology. It was then followed by the singing of the national anthem by Ms. Claire M. Fernandez, RCECC Staff.
For the rationale of the seminar, Prof. Rodel C. Palomar, Director, HRDO emphasized the importance of the Data Privacy Act in securing internal and external information in the university.
During the lecture proper, Atty. Krishna Aira A. Tana, Attorney II, Compliance and Monitoring Division of the National Privacy Commission, talked about the purpose, importance and salient features of the Data Privacy Act.
After the lecture, a workshop on Privacy Impact Assessment was conducted. The participants presented the output afterwards.
By Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
A replica of the Cathedral in the Glen in Greenlake Conference Center in Wisconsin.
Situated in Central Philippine University, between the Henry Luce III Library and the Rose Memorial Auditorium, is the Hopevale Memorial. There stands a creative rendition of the Cathedral in the Glen, an open-air church designed and built by Dr. Francis Howard Rose in Tapaz, Capiz. A similar replica of the Cathedral in the Glen can be found in Green Lake Conference Center of the American Baptists Churches in Greenlake, Wisconsin.
Can you picture the Cathedral in the Glen or the Hopevale Memorial in your mind? What does it look like?
Four months before the 11 American Baptist missionaries were martyred because of their Christian faith in Tapaz, Capiz on August 16, 1943, Jeannie Claire Adams, a missionary nurse assigned in Capiz Emmanuel Hospital, described the Cathedral in the Glen through a poem she dedicated to Dr. Francis Howard Rose entitled “Woodland Cathedral.”
The original poem entitled Woodland Cathedral handrwritten by Jennie Claire Adams in 1943.
Here is the poem:
“Cathedral in the woodland wrapped in quietness
A sheltered haven in refreshing restfulness
Secluded spot within majestic clefted rock
Where hills in ages past have known a rending shock
The rugged rocks rise up to make a sheltering wall
The leafy dome above spreads out to cover all
The trees lift up their boughs toward unfathomed space
The birds in confidence have built a nesting place
The ferns and flowers fair profuse in erannies grow
Soft shadows fall and shift while breezes whisper low
The rugged cross is gently touched by sunshine clear
The heart in meditation feels that God is near
Beside the silent altar waiting there alone
The soul is lifted upward to the heavenly throne
The heart repentant finds a solace waiting there
Deep gratitude and praise pours forth in song and prayer
Cathedral in the woodland, sheltering resting place
Where one may meditate and seek the Father’s face
Cathedral in the woodland shaded calm and still
In quietude we wait to know the Father’s will.”
Louise Reid Spencer also described the Cathedral in the Glen in her book Guerrilla Wife. She and her husband, Cyril L. Spencer, a mining engineer, took refuge with the American Baptist missionaries in Hopevale. Unlike the 11 martyrs, they were able to escape and were subsequently rescued by the Allied Forces.
Here is what Louise Reid Spencer wrote in her book:
“The HOPEVALE CATHEDRAL was a gem of outdoor architecture… Dr. Rose built the cathedral himself every stone of it. It was open to the sky, and, in its contours, formed by nature herself. The gulley where we had first taken refuge was transformed, by the loving labor of Dr. Rose, into a vision of beauty and inspiration. Descending from the caingin down the slope to the level clearing between the two walls of rock. One entered the cathedral back the altar and walked the length of the church to be seated. Here, at the back, was a stone bench where about six people could sit. Straight up the center of the church from that bench ran the aisle, a stone walk wide enough for two persons to go abreast. It led to a small rectangular block of stone, where each Sunday Clifford built a fire. A few feet beyond this firebox there were three stone steps leading up to the stone altar. About three feet before the altar, one on each side, were two oval stone reading desks. Standing straight on the center of the altar was a rugged wooden cross.
At each side of the church was a stone bench where twelve people can sit. There were [sic] a hard-packed dirt terrace bordered with stone which ran in front of all three benches, the small one at the back and the two at the sides. This terrace spread out in a fan shape at the front of the church, and the organ could be placed on either side. The organ lofts were planted with wild forest bloom, so that the organist sat in a living bower of color. At the base of the altar and the reading desks Dr. Rose had also planted shrubs.
The floral decorations for the top of the altar were arranged each Sunday by Mrs. Covell, who had studied the art of flower arrangement when she lived in Japan. It seemed ironic to me that while we hid from our brutal enemy, one of his ancient arts contributed to the decoration of our House of God.
Dr. Rose had spent months on this cathedral, his only tools his hands, a small shovel, and a chisel. He had created something so beautiful that we caught our breath when we came to it. But he was never finished with the work of building it. He added and perfected its details constantly. The maintenance alone was quite care [sic], for there were always fallen leaves to be brushed away, and rocks and stones that crashed down from the precipitous walls on either side to be cleared and their damage repaired.
I went often to cathedral and sat there quietly for a while, watching the trees above wave gently in the breeze, watching the small, agile monkeys, high up, swinging in the vines that twined among the trees. It seemed an entirely different place the gulley we had come to as a hide-out on the 18th of April 1942. The transformation was complete. It truly seemed the house of God, and from it we drew confidence and faith.”
On December 17-20, 2018, the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches will spearhead the Hopevale Diamond Commemoration to be held in Central Philippine University, Filamer Christian University and in Hopevale, Tapaz, Capiz.
If you wish to attend, you will surely see the area where the Cathedral in the Glen was constructed in Hopevale, and also the replica in Central Philippine University.
By Cyrus A. Natividad
CPU Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA), Rev. Joniel Howard H. Gico talks about his years of service in CPU.
CPU Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA), Rev. Joniel Howard H. Gico, was a guest in Looking Forward, a program on CPUTV Facebook Channel, last Friday October19. The 30-minute interview included issues on the functions of the VPSA office, its achievements and programs for the students and the student organizations.
Gico’s position as VP for Administration before his appointment as VP for Student Affairs effectively contributed to his efficient management of the affairs of students inside the campus, which include discipline, strategies, and parameters on student organizations and fraternities (qualifications and restrictions on student groups ) before they are certified as members of a standard student organization by the VPSA Office.
Gico was upbeat on the development and progress of students in the University, and that of the student organizations. He also talked on the achievements of the current CPU student republic (CPUR) to which he gave credit for the many achievements it has done for the students and the campus.
In support of CPUR, the VPSA provides certain policies that enable CPUR officials to make programs for the benefit of the campus and student organizations. The VPSA deems it important to support any and all qualified student organizations in relation to its programs and projects in the University.
Reverend Gico is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Central Philippine University in 1976 and has worked with La Carlota Sugar Central and San Miguel Corporation Packaging Division as shift engineer. He has been the president of the Convention Baptist Bible College – before coming back to serve Central Philippine University.
He is a continuing student taking up Doctor of Management with focus in Development Management at CPU. He is a graduate of Master of Theology from the Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology (SEAGST) and Master of Divinity Major in Pastoral Ministry, College of Theology, Central Philippine University.
He is currently the Chairman of Iloilo Mission Hospital Construction Committee, a member of Iloilo Mission Hospital Corporation and Central Philippine University Corporation, among others.
Central Philippine University congratulates its 14 new accountants who successfully passed the 2018 Certified Public Accountant Board Exam held in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Iloilo, Legaspi, Tuguegarao, Lucena, Tacloban and Davao on October 6, 7, and 13, 2018.
According to the Professional Regulation Commission, 3,616 out of 14,358 passed the said examination.