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UP hosts scientist advocating CBD research

At the book talk and signing event of Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved My Son that the University Hotel and UP Press jointly organized, author Annabelle Manalo-Morgan emphasized that she advocates for research on medicinal cannabis. Manalo-Morgan is a cell and developmental biologist. She is on the board of directors and the lead scientific officer of Flora Growth. She also started the medical company Masaya Medical Inc. in 2019. Manalo-Morgan is of Filipino descent, whose parents Arturo and Luzviminda hail from Batangas and Laguna, respectively. Manalo-Morgan holding a copy of her book. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO Her book is about how she was able to create a cure from CBD (cannabidiol) for her son Macario who, as an infant, had almost 40% of his brain removed because he used to have 200 to 500 seizures every day. Because he has lost a big part of his brain, Macario was expected to be paralyzed on his right hand side. According to Manalo-Morgan, “Macario was not going to have a visual processing center, spatial and depth perception, object and face recognition, memory, comprehension, verbal, and speech.” As she puts it, “This was a child who was going to have quite a rough life.” “When Macario was six months old, he was no different than a newborn baby,” she said. “He never cried; he functionally was very dormant,” she added. Manalo-Morgan shared that her son was on seven neurological medications. Manalo-Morgan with Macario. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO Manalo-Morgan continued, “We think about a lot of these drugs as helping the child to not have seizures. Well my thought was we’re keeping the child from being able to develop. We’re keeping the child from being able to create these connections that a developing brain wants to make. We’re keeping the child from having neuroplasticity… which means the ability of the brain to rewire, the ability of the brain to adapt to change. And in my son’s case, maybe the ability for it to compensate for the area that’s lost.” After some research, mostly through articles published in peer-reviewed journals, she found studies on the ability of the CBD to improve health conditions. When she was able to get hold of the isolated compound she needed, Manalo-Morgan proceeded on creating him a drug. Manalo-Morgan said, at seven months, Macario went “cold turkey on all his medications… I just pushed this new formulation into his tube. In two days, my son was moving his arms around. He was moving his eyes. A few months later, Macario was crawling. He was walking by 14 months old, and today, a perfectly normal eight-year-old boy.” She clarified that she never advocated for only the…

UP System launches 1^st Linggo ng Unibersidad

UP Diliman (UPD) participated in a special flag-raising ceremony that served as the kickoff event of the UP System’s first Linggo ng Unibersidad. While the main program was held at UPD on June 10, every constituent university (CU) / autonomous college in the UP System also simultaneously held their own flag-raising ceremony and joined the UP System’s ceremony via Zoom. Attendees of the flag-raising ceremony. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO The ceremony proper was followed by a special program where the chancellors of UPD, UP Los Baños (UPLB), UP Manila, UP Visayas (UPV), UP Open University, UP Mindanao (UPMin), UP Baguio, and UP Cebu each delivered a message of solidarity. Some of the CUs followed their chancellor’s message with performances from cultural groups from their CU. The cultural groups that performed were the UP Manila Belle, the UPLB Sandayaw Cultural Group, the UPV Babaylan Dance, and the UPMin Dance Ensemble. The ceremony was capped off with an exciting performance by the UP Varsity Pep Squad that had the morning crowd clapping along to the beat of the U-NIBERSIDAD cheer. The UP Varsity Pep Squad. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO Linggo ng Unibersidad is a six-day series of events meant to “recognize and celebrate the efforts of its faculty, students, and workers in continuing the University’s traditions of honor and excellence, as well as its commitment to public service” according to an article published by UP System. With the theme Hayag: Pagpugay sa Lingkod Bayan, the events include programs to honor exemplary agency-hired employees that “live up to UP’s brand of public service” and alumni who performed excellently in their respective licensure examinations. The UP Symphony Orchestra will have a special concert at the University Theater on June 14, and there will be a grand media launch of the UP Strategic Plan 2023-2029 where UP’s flagship programs will be introduced to local and national news media on June 18.

Ferrer, class stage musical at Paco Park

The workshop class of Alegria O. Ferrer, DPA, staged the musical Mayo… Bisperas ng Liwanag in celebration of the National Heritage Month last May 22 at Paco Park. Ferrer, a professor at the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Music Department of Voice, Music Theater, and Dance, directed the musical. Mayo… Bisperas ng Liwanag is an adaptation of the short story May Day Eve by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, and features the libretto of National Artist for Music Fides Cuyugan-Asensio and music by Rey Paguio. Anastacia of Mayo…Bisperas ng Liwanag. Photo from Ferrer In an email the UPD Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts forwarded to UPDate Online, Ferrer said her class “managed to come up with a full production and filled up the venue to an SRO (standing room only) crowd.” She added that Cuyugan-Asensio was present at the event. Below is an article by lawyer Agnes Bailen on her experience watching Mayo… Bisperas ng Liwanag: A Mirage of Love in May By Agnes Bailen May 24, 2024 was a memorable night for me. It was my first time to watch Mayo…Bisperas ng Liwanag. Under the direction of Alegria Ferrer, DPA, a multi-awarded faculty of the UP College of Music (CMu), eight singers, filled the St. Pancratius Chapel in Paco Park with their voices. Though sometimes overwhelmed by the strong sound system, these talented performers impressed the audience as they sang the libretto of Fides Cuyugan-Asensio which was set to music by Reynaldo T. Paguio. From the moment Al Gatmaitan, who portrayed Badong, entered the scene holding a stem of bougainvillea flowers, he mesmerized the crowd with his compelling presence and wonderful voice. The baritone singer was also impressive. Angeli Benipayo, who played Agueda, is fast becoming a known soprano in the musical scene and her beautiful rendition of the songs together with her beautiful face captivated a lot of the audience that night. The best part of the musical for me was when Benipayo (Agueda) sang the “salamin aria” with Tasia, who was portrayed by Margarita Lugue. For a newcomer to the opera scene, Lugue held her own among the more veteran performers for her big and powerful voice, and her diction helped me to understand better what she was happening in the show. I would have appreciated the “salamin aria” better with both sopranos standing in front of a mirror and when Agueda repeated the mirror spell when she was alone before Badong surprised her with his drunk appearance. But the lack of props made me focus on the singing and artistry of the performers. Perhaps, it was intentional on the part of Director Ferrer to do away with the props or with a mirror and introduce the…

Moving toward a socially sustainable Philippines

The Philippines needs to strengthen its existing support programs, such as those for indigenous people (IP), women, and climate change resilience, to step closer to social sustainability, according to Louise Cord, PhD. Cord is the World Bank global director for social sustainability and inclusion in the World Bank’s sustainable development practice. Cord said social sustainability occurs “when communities and societies are able to work together to deal with common challenges such as flooding, droughts, poor quality education, a poorly stocked health center in a way that all people thrive over time and in a way that people consider to be fair and just.” Cord. Photo by Jefferson Villacruz, UPDIO She said some of the Philippines’ economic indicators in the past few years are strong, such as a drop in inequality and strong poverty reduction metrics. To move towards social sustainability in the Philippines, Cord proposed actions in the areas of women empowerment, digital services, and programs for IP. Cord made a case of social sustainability particularly for the country’s IP communities. She said the IP’s remote ancestral lands contain many “important minerals whose value will grow.” She proposed developing a digital portal to centralize data such as the locations of ancestral lands and the services available to IP. Cord also proposed creating integrated packages for remote communities that provide “access to digital resources, access to transport, access to local infrastructure.” She added that access to digital services could improve the role of women and other marginalized groups by enabling and expanding their access to markets. Cord said digital services would also enable women and marginalized groups to “talk with one another across communities and to learn from one another. And to track funds to build accountability at the local level using a cellphone to be able to have an app to track funds.” The World Bank official cited the work of the National Commission on Indigenous People’s (NCIP), which she said could be bolstered by giving them more resources to go out to the IP communities. “ so happy that an institution like the NCIP provides that support. What I would like to see is that they won’t have to come all the way to Manila to make their claim. That there are easier access to systems, to have a voice at the local level and have themselves be heard,” Cord said. While a lot is being done to build climate change resilience in communities, Cord said there needs to be more initiatives, particularly in infrastructure and service delivery. “All of this is absolutely key, but we also need resilient communities, because…

SOLAIR hosts job fair

The UP Diliman (UPD) School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR) recently conducted a job fair titled Soar UP at SOLAIR Job Fair: Elevating Future Talents. Participating companies at the job fair were Alorica Teleservices Inc., Excellent Home Décor, ilaw atbp., InteLogix Philippines, Marstech Unlimited Solutions & Technology Inc., Pru Life UK, Samgyup Salamat, The Sven Group, Toyota Financial Services, and World of Fun (KT Wonderland). Job-seekers at the SOLAIR job fair. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO According to event organizers, the job fair aims to foster “a platform that bridges the gap between talented individuals and prospective employers.” The job fair was organized by the Industrial Relations 202 (Organization and Work) class of Virgel C. Binghay, PhD, and SOLAIR Center for Industry Productivity and Competitiveness. Also featured at the job fair was a talk by three resource persons who discussed employment-related topics. In Skills and Competencies to Succeed at the Workplace, Cyrill Santos enumerated and discussed “the most important skills that we must have to succeed in the workplace.” These are learnability, resiliency, agility, collaboration, communication, empathy, creativity, problem-solving, leadership, negotiation, technological adeptness, and integrity and ethics. Santos is a human resources operations lead for employee and labor relations of Med-Metrix, a service provider company specializing in revenue cycle management. Santos. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO She explained that integrity and ethics are the most important. “Integrity and ethics are the most important. These are what define a person, and employers look for candidates who are honest and have integrity. Employees who are trustworthy and work ethically are known to build better relationships with others in the organization,” Santos said. The two other speakers were Michael Daguinod, who discussed Wages/Benefits and Compensation Trends, and Justin Carpio who talked about Preparing to be an Empowered Worker in the Digital Workplace. Daguinod. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO Daguinod is a lawyer and chairperson of the Department of Legal Management at San Beda University while Carpio is an associate ASEAN engineer and the human resources planning and control head of the Makati Development Corporation. Carpio. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO Santos and Carpio earned their diploma in industrial relations program at SOLAIR, while Daguinod is currently enrolled in the school’s diploma/masters of industrial relations ladderized education program. Conducted in partnership with InteLogix Philippines, a solution provider company, and the Quezon City Public Employment Service Office, the job fair was held on May 10 at the SOLAIR Isabelo de los Reyes Auditorium.

Memorandum Blg. RLJ-24-24: Pagbubukas ng 2024 Linggo ng Parangal sa UP Diliman

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Haraya 2024 opens

Somnambulance, the theme of Haraya 2024 was in full display at the projects, renderings, physical models, and theses exhibited at Building 1 of the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Architecture (CA). The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne website defines somnambulance as sleepwalking “when a child partly wakes from their sleep and walks around, yet they are […]

You will be missed

It is with sadness that the UP Diliman (UPD) community bids farewell to three faculty members and one administrative staff who passed in May 2024. Cecilia Fugoso-Chan, PhD a former professor of the Department of European Languages (DEL) passed away on May 30; Leonardo De Castro, PhD a former professor of the Department of Philosophy […]

60 UPD faculty are UP Artists

Of the 80 faculty members appointed as UP Artists under the UP Arts Productivity System (APS), 60 are from UP Diliman (UPD). According to the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs website, the APS “is aimed at encouraging outstanding productivity in the creative arts or in arts scholarship for national development. Deserving […]

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