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WVSU College of Education Alumnus tops the 2022 Guidance Counselor Licensure Exam

By Elyn Joy B. Estimada and Mary Angel Lou S. Tribiano with PAMCO

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced last August 24 that Dr. Ryan Michael Flores Oducado topped the 2022 Guidance Counselor Licensure Exam with a rating of 89.25%.

Dr. Oducado is a registered nurse and a graduate of the WVSU College of Nursing, Cum Laude, Class of 2007. Incidentally, he is serving his Alma Mater as an assistant professor and director of the Research and Development Center.

The topnotcher studied Professional Teaching Certification at the University of the Philippines Open University, his Master of Arts in Nursing, majoring in Community Healthy Nursing at Central Philippines University, and his Master of Arts in Education, majoring in Educational Management at Northwestern Visayan Colleges. He is also currently studying Doctor of Education – Educational Management at Iloilo Science and Technology University.

Dr. Oducado took his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Education, majoring in Psychology and Guidance at WVSU’s College of Education (With High Distinction, 2020) which made him eligible to take the Licensure Exam for Guidance Counselor this 2022.

The outstanding WVSU Alumnus and two-time Outstanding Researcher of the University, took four licensure examinations within fifteen years. He passed the Nursing Licensure Exam in 2007, the Midwife Licensure Examination in 2014, where he ranked second and garnered a 90.75 percent grade, and in 2015, he passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers.

In an interview with Bombo Radyo, Dr. Oducado said, “Masadya gid kay ang tanan ko nga efforts sa pagtuon sa pila ka tuig, nag-bear fruit sa amo ni nga board exam.”

According to the PRC, 405 out of 661 examinees passed the 2022 Guidance Counselor Licensure Examination.

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WVSU College of Nursing Honors Its Students with a Capping and Candlelighting Ceremony

Millien E. Acanto and Honeylen S. Sarmiento with PAMCO

The West Visayas State University College of Nursing (CON) Class of 2024, Batch Zephyr, conducted their Capping and Candlelighting Ceremony at the University Cultural Center last August 30, 2022,

The ceremony honored second-year students as they started their program’s hospital training. The cap is a badge of distinction representing knowledge, experience, and expertise. The pinning ceremony is a historical practice connoting that “nursing is a vocation or a  “calling,” while the lamp represents the desire for life, health, love, and understanding. Nurses and nursing students are expected to serve like Florence Nightingale, renowned for her heroic service and care for soldiers in field hospitals in the 19th century.

A total of 131 student nurses participated in the capping and candle lighting ceremonial tradition.

WVSU President Joselito Villaruz gave his welcome address and emphasized, “I trust that you will triumph over life’s uncertainties because you are not just trained well but trained for excellence with compassion, commitment, and courage.”

The guest speaker for the ceremony, LTC. Jose Romulo Dilag, PAF (GSC) said, “Pursue your dreams, aim for excellence, stay relevant, and be brave and courageous for the challenges ahead. Soar on to wings like eagles.”    

After the nurse’s pledge and prayer, Batch Zephyr sang their batch song, To The Sky.

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Journal for Law Advocacy – Election related offenses and disinformation

The WVSU Journal for Law Advocacy (JLA) is an academic journal committed to the development of legal scholarship for and from the Visayas Region and Southern Philippines.  The student-run editorial board adheres to a double-blind peer review process as its editorial policy to determine the quality of submission both from law students and legal practitioners.

JLA’s inaugural issue carries the theme “Electoral Laws and the 2022 Philippine Election” and contains seven carefully selected chapters that provide important legal analyses of electoral issues that limit, if not hostage, the conduct of free and fair elections in the Philippines.  In preparation of the journal’s official launch by September 23rd 2022, online versions of the seven stand-alone chapters will be shared to the reading public. For this week, JLA is featuring the co-authored chapter of Prosecutor Victoria Heler and Theda Grace Gumban, faculty and student respectively of WVSU College of Law.

(Click the image to access the full article)

Entitled “Towards a Clean and Honest Election: Jurisprudence on Election-related offenses”, the authors revisit important provisions of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines and provide a discussion on frequent election violations and related jurisprudence. This includes vote-buying and vote-selling, conspiracy to bribe voters, wagering upon the result of the election, and coercion of subordinates among others. The authors provide a thematic discussion of offenses during voter registration, campaign, voting day, and canvassing. 

Heler and Gumban also provide a rundown of special laws that govern the conduct of elections in the country and argue that while these laws are designed to ensure a peaceful and effective method of selecting political leaders, these laws have to face challenges arising from COVID-19 and disinformation networks in social media.

The student editors, as well as contributing authors of this inaugural issue, hope that readers arrive at a more complete picture of the interplay of law, jurisprudence, and electoral reform in the Philippines. The different chapters of this volume earnestly put together provide at the very least, a diagnosis of each of the key areas of reform in the Philippine electoral system. For inquiries, please email the Journal’s Executive Editor – Clyde Gacayan at [email protected]

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WVSU Participates in the First Iloilo Transport Summit

By Abegail G. Lapating and Ciarra Mae G. Imbang

Student Regent Hershey Geline represented West Visayas State University (WVSU) during Iloilo City’s transport summit held at University of the Philippines Visayas Little Theater, Iloilo City Campus, last  August 30, 2022, at 7:30 A.M

Organized by the Office of Iloilo City Councilor and Committee Chairman of Transportation, Atty. Sedfrey L. Cabaluna, the event aims to solicit concrete solutions and recommendations to resolve the issue surrounding the modification of jeepney routes implemented by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The whole-day activity includes a series of presentations on the concept of the Public Vehicle Modernization Program, Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP), amendments and modifications, other sectoral presentations, team workshops, and discussions in line with the Transport System in Iloilo City.

Student Regent Hershey Geline Sumpay and WVSU USC Councilor Arlie Bosque were among the participants, and other representatives from the University of the Philippines (UPV), John B Lacson, Iloilo Science, and Technology University (ISAT U).

At the event, Sumpay raised the issue of the lack of units of public jeepney vehicles and congestion. She also urged strengthening information dissemination to all commuters and implementing a 20% discount for students. 

After the discussion, Bosque presented the collated recommendations of the student sector to the officers of LTFRB Region VI, Public Safety and Transportation Iloilo, Councilor Cabaluna, and all transport group representatives. One of the suggestions is implementing a coding system for private vehicles. 

On Facebook, Arlie Bosque expressed his gratitude towards Atty. Cabaluna. “We would like to extend our gratitude to the office of Atty. Sedfrey Cabaluna for giving the students an avenue to voice our concerns on the effects of the LPTRP implementation in the city.”

In an interview of Bombo Radyo with Councilor Atty. Cabuluna, he shared that there were over 100 attendees at the summit. Among the stakeholders are transport groups, academic institutions, commuters, and barangay officials. 

The port Summit is led by the LPTRP Technical Working Team of Iloilo City and headed by Mr. Jeck Conlu and officials. Also present at the event are partnering agencies, namely PSTMO, Transport Cooperatives/Corporations, LTO, PNP, Provincial LGU, Media Partners, Business Sectors, Academe Sectors, Private Sectors, and participants from Bacolod City. 

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WVSU Shares Best Practices in Quality Management System with MBHTE -BARMM

By Mary Angel Lou S. Tribiano and Elyn Joy B. Estimada

West Visayas State University shared its best practices in Quality Management System (QMS) with the delegation from the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). WVSU hosted the QMS Executive Session last August 11, 2022, at the university campus.

After the opening remarks of University President Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz, the vice presidents, unit heads, directors, and college deans participated as resource speakers. Dr. Villaruz defined quality management and how it impacts the university. He attributed the accomplishments of the institution to sound and effective quality management.

Among the topics discussed by the resource speakers were the University Program Development, Teacher Education Program, Senior High School Implementation, Quality Assurance, Assessment, Customer Feedback Mechanism, Internal Quality Audit, Management Review, and Continuous Improvements. After the open forum moderated by Dr. Noemi B. Silva, a campus tour followed where the guests visited the College of Education, Basic Education School Laboratory, and QMS Room.

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Journal for Law Advocacy – Philippine Party-list System and Representation of Marginalized Population

WVSU Journal for Law Advocacy’s featured article for this week is written by Justin Bionat of the College of Law of the University of San Agustin. As with the first three papers we have released over the last two weeks which discussed about the interplay of electoral laws and jurisprudence, Bionat provides an in-depth analysis of the party-list system which has been increasingly used by political dynasties as a “back door entry” to secure congressional seats after exhausting their term limits.

(Click the image to access the full article)
In the fourth chapter entitled “The Philippine Party-list System and Representation of Marginalized Populations,” Bionat revisits the legislative intent behind the party-list system as illustrated in 2003 and 2009 party-list elections and notes that its true purpose is for sectoral representation, meant to promote social justice and to represent the marginalized and underprivileged sectors remain unfulfilled. Bionat proceeds with a careful examination of party-lists representatives occupying congressional seats in the 18th Congress and have principally sponsored bills in the areas of education, women, and gender, and senior citizens.
Bionat argues for the necessity of revamping the party-list system to accommodate marginalized groups. A key strategy he suggests is to improve the process of accreditation of party-lists by the COMELEC. He a observes in the recently concluded 2022 national elections some interesting party lists groups declared eligible to run such as WOW Pilipinas Partylist, MOCHA Partylist, UMA Ilonggo Partylist, Barkadahan Partylist, and SMILE Partylist. From this, he emphasizes the need to improve the party-list system which is part and parcel of our flourishing democracy of, for, and by the people.

The WVSU Journal for Law Advocacy (JLA) is an academic journal committed to the development of legal scholarship for and from the Visayas Region and Southern Philippines. In preparation of the journal’s official launch by September 23rd 2022, online versions of the seven standalone chapters will be shared to the reading public every week. For inquiries and to submit your original manuscript for publication, please email the Journal’s Executive Editor – Clyde Gacayan at [email protected] . 

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Journal for Law Advocacy – Gains and Losses in Regulating Political Dynasties

(Click the image to access the full article)

WVSU Journal for Law Advocacy is featuring its third chapter written by Clyde Gacayan entitled “No Time Runs Against Families?: Gains and losses in regulating political dynasties in the Philippines”. In this chapter, Gacayan reviews previous bills that have attempted to define political dynasties passed from the 13th to the 18th Congress of the Philippines, and notes that from at least forty-five (45) bills passed in the last seventeen (17) years, not one have passed third reading. Moreso, majority of these bills are left pending in appropriate committees where they were assigned to.

Gacayan argues that while there is sustained interest on the part of the House of Representatives and the Senate to fulfill their constitutional mandate to define and prohibit political dynasties, there is strong indication that both houses are seemingly adamant and tentative in their legislative position to pass the bill into law. Gacayan illustrates that the victory of the Marcos-Duterte tandem in the recent polls is an epitome of the continuing dominance of political dynasties – where dynasties are not only deeply entrenched but also capable of self-perpetuation admist good goverance reforms.

 

He echoes what other political scientists claim that political dynasties themselves are not only electoral concerns but are wicked problems that has undermined the quality of democracy linked to deeper poverry and underdevelopment. Gacayan concludes that while it seems that no time runs against families in the last thiry-five (35) years, there is a silver lining if one is able to look at the progress made in progressive legislation, judicial activism, and by further educating the electorate.

JLA is an academic journal  committed to development of legal scholarship for and from the Visayas Region and Southern Philippines.  The chapter is included in the Journal’s Inaugural Issue which carries the theme “Electoral Laws and the 2022 Philippine Election” containing seven carefully selected chapters that provide important legal analyses of electoral issues that limit, if not hostage, the conduct of free and fair elections in the Philippines.  In preparation of the Journal’s official launch by September 23rd 2022, advanced online copies of stand alone chapters will be shared to the reading public every Monday of the week.

A total of four more papers tackling the party-list system, election-related offenses and rules on substitution will be released online in the next 4 weeks. Thereafter, a print copy of the Journal will be made available for distribution. For inquiries, please email the Journal’s Executive Editor Clyde Gacayan at [email protected] .

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CHED hosts ASEAN’s 55th founding anniversary kickoff

by Gian Kyra A. Morones / ILLO

August 8, 2022 – CHED hosts their first hybrid virtual kick-off ceremony for ASEAN’s 55th founding anniversary. This year, ASEAN carries Cambodia’s chairmanship 2022 theme, ASEAN A.C.T. Addressing Challenges Together.

The Assistant Secretary of ASEAN Affairs, Daniel Ramos Espiritu, opened the ceremony with his welcome remarks. In his speech, Daniel Espiritu highlighted how school closures due to the pandemic interrupted the development of education. With the sudden shift in traditional learning to online education, there had been a growing digital divide among students. By October of 2020, ASEAN leaders and experts created measures to promote digital literacy and development of transferable skills among youths and children. This is to ensure that education in the region is “equitable, inclusive and future ready”. Along with distance learning strategies, maximize e-learning platforms, open educational resources, and virtual peer exchanges in order to further improve the quality of education. He noticed that, “ASEAN remains united and strong even in the face of hardships”.

“ASEAN remains united and strong even in the face of hardships.”

The event’s guest speaker, Senator Loren Legarda, mentioned her first bill in the 19th Congress, the ‘One Tablet, One Student Program’ seek to provide public schools, universities and colleges a tablet for each student for the purpose of helping them cope with the changes in their education. In coordination with CHED, Senator Legarda helped in assisting students’ education through developing laws that provide financial assistance to their education like UniFast, Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and the Enhanced Basic Education Program. She stressed that, “Filipinos, especially from lower income families, should know that they have such opportunities”. She also stated a problem concerning the young population as they face a disproportionate level of unemployment and under employment in which she hopes to address if given the chance. “It is imperative that we build a more resilient educational ecosystem”. She proposed to ramp up the skills development in education, sustainable development, gender equality and inclusivity.

SEAMEO Director, Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua Valenzuela stated that “we must strengthen the implementation of open, flexible and distance learning” and provide more importance to distance learning. The new normal education paved the way to a reimagined new normal and hybrid higher education. This new development in learning and education must be valued and acknowledged in order to adjust and move forward with ease towards new learning modalities.

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WVSU, Florida State University conduct ABC+ project

by Gian Kyra A. Morones and Shanea Mae A. Nalaunan / ILLO

 

West Visayas State University – College of Education (WVSU-COE) held the Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Workshop in preparation for pre-service teachers on August 8, 2022.

The event was facilitated by Florida State University (FSU), as one of the technical assistants that provide one public university in each chosen region. West Visayas State University collaborated with international experts Dr. Ana Marty and Kate Schell, literacy specialists from FSU, on pre-service teacher education to develop syllabus and instructional modules for instructors and students, and train instructors who will deliver literacy courses. Its objective is  to create courses that focus on literacy development and beginning reading to be a part of the College of Education curricula for the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (BECE) and Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEE).

WVSU will receive technical assistance from ABC+ for these courses to be taught. This project is holding another event this August 11 and 12, 2022 aimed to  develop and improve the early literacy training for pre-service teachers.

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International, in collaboration with West Visayas State University College of Education, held the activity as part of their agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement ABC+: Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines—a 5-year project that aims to improve literacy skills, math, and social and emotional learning skills for Kindergarten through Grade 3 in Regions V (Bicol) and VI (West Visayas).

Dr. Joselito P. Villaruz, WVSU President, handing the certificates to Dr. Ana Marty (left) and Kate Schell (right)

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The WVSU – College of Law’s Project E-Hustisya

West Visayas State University – College of Law (WVSU-COL) implemented a project that focuses on legally assisting the marginalized sectors of Iloilo City.

The WVSU – College of Law’s Center for Law Advocacy is a legal clinic that provides legal assistance for marginalized sectors. However, what sets E-Hustisya apart is that it specifically focuses on abused women and children.

In Rule 138 – Law Student Practice Rule by the Supreme Court, students can act as lawyers and handle cases as long as a supervising lawyer is present. Thus, Project E-Hustisya is a student-driven legal clinic with Atty. Ian Thomas M. Besana acting as their supervising lawyer. The cases of victims will be facilitated by the College of Law student lawyers through interviewing clients, preparations of documents to be filed in court, assisting a negotiation, and other legal assistance necessary.

According to Atty. Ian Thomas M. Besana, also the college’s Associate Dean, the project had already begun conducting training for two barangays that are nearest the vicinity of the University campus—Brgy. Magsaysay and Brgy. Montinola. They are trained to carefully handle sensitive and pervasive cases regarding women and children victims. He said, “Sa barangay level pa lang kung ma resolve na siya hindi na mag file case… kay ang courts ta puno na sang cases”. However, it is essential to note that the College of Law’s Center for Law Advocacy also caters to other cases such as disputes, crimes, etc. Atty. Ian Thomas M. Besana mentioned that the College of Law aims to apply for Level 2 Training for the purpose of allowing law student practitioners to appear in courts.

The project is led by the College of Law, in partnership with the Gender and Development Office (GAD) and the Women and Children Protection Unit (WCPU). In addition, the United Nations and European Union granted two (2) million pesos to fund the project thus, an amount of one thousand five hundred (1,500) pesos will be given to consulting victims to be utilized as financial assistance if they decide to file a case.

Currently, the Center for Law Advocacy is open for people around Iloilo City, and even for the people around the University campus, though it is a mission to expand the project. Project E-Hustisya can be accessed through email, social media channels, and available hotlines to be provided along with booklets to be distributed by the Center for Law Advocacy called Pakigbato 101.