WVSU

Tag: 3

ENSURE HEALTHY LIVES AND PROMOTE WELL-BEING FOR ALL AT ALL AGES.

Over the last 15 years, the number of childhood deaths has been cut in half. This proves that it is possible to win the fight against almost every disease. Still, we are spending an astonishing amount of money and resources on treating illnesses that are surprisingly easy to prevent. The new goal for worldwide Good Health promotes healthy lifestyles, preventive measures and modern, efficient healthcare for everyone.

  • 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.

  • WVSU Attends SEAOHUN Strategic Planning Workshop

    by Leo G. Almonte, MDC

    West Visayas State University attended the South East Asia One Health Network (SEAOHUN) strategic planning workshop at the function room of Microtel Hotel in Pasay City last July 4 and 5, 2022. Represented by Dr. Celina C. Gellada, Vice President for Medical and Allied Sciences, and Dr. Maria Kristina Gonzalez-Almonte, College of Medicine Faculty, the university is expected to take an active role in supporting the advocacy of  SEAOHUN.

    WVSU is a Philippine One Health Network member, part of the  Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN). According to their website, PhilOHUN and the entire SEAOHUN aspires for a future with minimal threat from preventable diseases through the One Health approach. They believe that joining hands with their neighboring Southeast Asian countries will allow us to move a step closer to this goal.

    SEAOHUN’s Dr. Vipat Kuruchittham (Executive Director) and Ms. Gabrielle Iglesias (Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer) served as speakers while Professor Benjamin Sandoval facilitated the strategic planning workshop. As the funding organization of SEAOHUN, Chevron Corporation was represented by Ms. Dee Bourbon, Mr. Joel Gaviola and Ms. Analyn Caindoy.

    The workshop’s objective is to produce a five-year strategic plan to strengthen PhilOHUN’s identity as a One Health-centered organization in the Philippines. In attendance to the two-day workshop were representatives from member universities  Central Luzon State University, Partido State University, Pampanga State Agricultural University, University of the Philippines Los Baños, University of the Philippines Manila, Visayas State University, University of Eastern Philippines, Central Mindanao University, West Visayas State University, Chevron and SEAOHUN. 

    *Photo Source: PHILOHUN Website at https://www.philohun.org/   

  • WVSU holds in-person graduation; four summa cum laude grads from COE

    By Mark Lawrence G. Articuna

    After two years of pandemic restrictions, the West Visayas State University (WVSU) held its 2022 Commencement Exercises for Undergraduate Level face-to-face at the WVSU Cultural Center on July 21, 2022.

    The graduating Class of 2022 was the first batch of graduates under the new K-12 Curriculum and the new college curriculum, with 1,177 graduating students, 793 of whom are academic awardees. 324 of the graduates were from the College of Education (COE).

    Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz, SUC President IV, introduced this year’s commencement speaker, Atty. Emilio L. Maranon III, an election lawyer, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science alumnus, magna cum laude, and the university’s “Most Outstanding Graduate” in 2005.

    “When you go out of this university, people will question you. People will doubt you. People will underestimate you, but I am confident that having been trained in West, we are always bigger from these challenges. And when wheat is separated from the chaff, we always emerge victorious because we are from West,” said Atty. Marañon III.

    Atty. Marañon also added, “Whatever I achieved is proof that there is no limit, there is no ceiling of what we can reach, of what we can do, wherever we go.”

    Tedric Dave E. Senosa, a Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) Major in Mathematics Summa Cum Laude, and this year’s Most Outstanding Graduate, led the graduating class in saying the Graduate’s Prayer.

    The COE, known as the Center of Excellence in Teacher Education in the region, has produced four (4) summa cum laude, 124 magna cum laude, and 107 cum laude graduates this academic year.

    Aside from Senosa, three other summa cum laude awardees hail from BSEd Major in Social Studies: Marcus S. Llanera, three-time Education Student Council chairperson from 2019 to 2022; Euthel Jhon A. Finlac, Student of the Year and Journalism awardee; and Hans Luigi B. Sayno.

    “I am proud that despite the changes and challenges brought by the pandemic, we stood our ground, moved forward and emerged victoriously. As the pioneer batch of K to 12 and the first batch of pandemic graduates, our journey was never easy but it is, in all sense, worth taking,” said Jayne Paul I. Sucob, BSEd Major in Science, Magna Cum Laude, and a University Senior Curriculum Council (USCC) Service Awardee.

    As the occasion went on inside the Cultural Center, family members of the graduates attended the ceremonies from outside and viewed the proceedings through two big screens in light of the university’s graduation ceremony guidelines which aim to maintain the observance of minimum health protocols such as social distancing.

  • CHED Recognizes WVSU’s Contribution to Gov’t Vaccination Program

     WVSU launched its COVID-19 vaccination program on November 22, 2021, resulting in the initial inoculation of 400  students and staff, along with 238 healthcare frontliners. The event also marked the university’s commitment to help in the vaccination rollouts of the local government.

    Responding to the need of the times, WVSU accommodated medical teams from the Provincial Health Office and the Department of Health at the Cultural Arts Center, where the vaccination took place. WVSU staff and security personnel helped ensure the orderly process as scores of Iloilo residents trooped to the site for several weeks on specific days.

    Eventually, the vaccination program gained momentum as other public and commercial establishments became venues for mass inoculation, spurred by the Bayanihan We Heal as One Act, spearheaded by the Duterte Administration.

    Last July 22, 2022, the Commission on Higher Education recognized WVSU with the “Outstanding Higher Education Institution for the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Award” during a ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center Complex.

    The Certificate of Recognition reads:

    [Given] for their notable contributions to the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program and Deployment Plan and for exemplifying the Bayanihan spirit by forging unity and cooperation mong key stakeholders to expedite the vaccination against COVID-19 of their students, HEI personnel, and members of the community.

    WVSU President Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz received the award from CHED Chairman Dr. J. Prospero E. De Vera III.

    -By Leo G. Almonte, MDC

  • Vape bill exposes young ‘vulnerable’ consumers to health risks, endangers already weak enforcement

    Two senators – Pia Cayetano and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan – voted against SB 2239 on third reading. Only Cayetano consistently opposed the bill and said she was “beyond disappointed and beyond saddened” by its approval. Three days after the bill hurdled the Senate, the DOH slammed the “retrogressive” measure that “undermines the country’s progress in tobacco and control,” saying that it puts Filipino youth at risk. If passed into law, the bill will “expose our youth to harmful and addictive substances by making vapor products enticing and easily accessible,” the press release read. The bill stripped the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the regulatory authority over e-cigarettes and its components as a consequence of their reclassification as consumer products falling under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). To health experts, the measure involves public health issues and should have stayed with the FDA for regulation, adding that people should not wait for vaping-related deaths to happen when parallel harms with traditional tobacco have already been proven in studies. After the sessions resume on January 17, the Senate and the House will harmonize their respective versions of the bill and ratify the conference committee report, then submit an enrolled copy to Malacañang. The DOH, FDA, several medical professional organizations and health experts, youth groups and tobacco control advocates are counting on the president to stick to his anti-smoking and anti-vaping position and veto the proposed law that defies the policy he laid down in 2019.

     

    Read whole article HERE.

  • WVSU PRESIDENT LEADS GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR NEW COM BUILDING

     West Visayas State University College of Medicine held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the soon-to-be-constructed COM annex buildings last February 9, 2022.  Carrying the theme “Construction of Increase in Carrying Capacity of the College of Medicine,” the groundbreaking ceremony signals another milestone for the university that will increase the carrying capacity of the College of Medicine through the new Clinical Skills Laboratory.

    Held on the land adjacent to the Roxas Building, the groundbreaking ceremony was attended by the members of the WVSU Board of Regent, namely , Regent Vice Chair Joselito F. Villaruz, MD, Ph.D., FPPS (President, West Visayas State University; Vice Chair, WVSU BOR), Regent Meylene C. Rosales (OIC-Regional Director, National Economic and Development Authority Region VI), Regent Peter Ernie D. Paris (President, WVSU Faculty Association), and Regent Hershey Geline D. Sumpay (Chairperson, Federated Student Council).

    The WVSU vice presidents also attended the groundbreaking ceremony: Dr. Porferio J. Barlas, Jr. (Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance), Dr. Ma. Asuncion Christine V. Dequilla (Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs), Dr. Greta G. Gabinete (Office of the Vice President for Research, Innovation and Extension) and Dr. Celina C. Gellada (Office of the Vice President for Medical and Allied Sciences).

    Also in attendance were the WVSU College of Medicine personnel Jose Nemesio A. Granada, MD, FPCS, FPSGS, FPSCRS, FPALES (Dean, College of Medicine), Roumilla B. Mendoza, MD, MMBM, FPPS, DPSPGHAN (Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs), Lynette F. Alcala, MD, FPPS, FPSN, FPNSP (Associate Dean for Academic Affairs), and Victor A. Amantillo, Jr., MD, FPPA (Head, Office of Student Affairs).

     Wearing their white hard hats and with ‘golden spades’ at hand, the Board of Regents buried the symbolical time capsule in a celebratory mood, witnessed by other guests and attendees.

  • Balik Scientist Donates Instruments to WVSU CAS Chemistry Program

    Balik Scientist Annabelle P. Villalobos, Ph.D. donated almost a million worth of instruments to the College of Arts and Sciences. This donation was facilitated by Dr. Anita Estela M. Monroy, Chairman of the Department of Physical Sciences. The instruments are intended for the proposed B.S. in Chemistry Program that the university will soon offer. 

    Dr. Villalobos symbolically turned over the donation to WVSU President Joselito F. Villaruz, during a meeting last December 7, 2021. Other attendees included VPAA Dr. Ma. Christine Asuncion V. Dequilla; CAS Dean, Dr. Ma. Elfleda R. Ecube; Chemistry Faculty Members Dr. Morwena Jane V. Solivio and Prof. Kathleen Mae T. Gaspalinao; and Phy.Sci. Chair, Dr. Anita Estela M. Monroy.

    As one of the panel members who reviewed the proposed curriculum of the B.S. Chemistry Program last November 2021, Dr. Villalobos provided valuable insight to improve the proposed program.

    After completing her Doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Villalobos had a sterling career at Johnson & Johnson. She helped develop drug products for anemia, chronic renal failure, cancer chemotherapy and AIDS. After early retirement, she dedicated her time and knowledge to helping Philippine universities develop research on alternative food sources, medicinal plants, and biopesticides.

  • WVSU Med topnotcher: “Someday, my picture will also be on that wall”

    Out of 1,546 examinees, 1,084 passed the September 2021 Physician Licensure Examination given by the Board of Medicine at venues in Baguio, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Tacloban and Zamboanga.

    Maria Inez Sellado Benedicto, a West Visayas State University (WVSU) -College of Medicine alumna, ranked first with a rating of 87.83%. 

    Dr.  Maria Inez Benedicto remembers vividly when she was a student at WVSU—a friend recorded her looking at the wall of topnotchers in the library at Roxas Hall saying, “Someday, my picture will also be on that wall.” 

    Indeed, from now on, her face and name will be one of those who will be forever etched in the history of WVSU.

    Dr. Benedicto has been an achiever since gradeschool and placed 7th in the 2015 Medical Technology Board Exam in 2015.

    Before the Physicians’ Licensure Examination, she struggled with the academic workload, pandemic adjustments, and uncertainty with schedules.

    “We only had 40 days to review and I was not able to finish all the things that I really wanted to read,” she said, “Saan ko huhugutin ang mga sagot? We just went there with whatever we have studied.”

    She had to undergo a 14-day quarantine when she travelled to Iloilo, so she used that to read notes. The breaks after her duty as an intern at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City (CLMMRH) were also used as study time. 

    Benedicto was anxious and started to ask why there were so many roadblocks as she prepared to take the licensure exam. “So when the result was out, I was not confident that I will top the Board. In the back of my mind, I was hoping, yes but I was not expecting to be in the top 10.”

    Our topnotcher is not only all about the brains. She is also a beauty titlist.

    She was crowned Mutya ng NOPSSCEA (Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports Cultural Educational Association) and  Mutya ng WVPRISAA (Western Visayas Private Schools’ Athletic Association). 

    In 2013, Benedicto represented the Lin-Ay of La Carlota, winning the Muse of the Media and Best in Talent.

    One may think that she has too much on her plate but despite the stresses, she takes time to unwind. Dr. Benedicto is a Mobile Legends (ML) player — an online 5v5 MOBA for handheld devices that offers a variety of playable heroes, game modes, and intense, fast-paced gameplay.

    As to her role models, she tells the Center for International Linkages and Public Information (CILPI) in an interview through Zoom, “I really look up to my parents. They raised us to think for ourselves, to express our opinions, and to follow the path we want for this life.” 

    As for her plans after the Board, she said, “I will give myself a break. I want to regain myself. I really think I deserve that.” 

    Benedicto is planning to teach in review centers, help her brother–a City Councilor in La Carlota–and go into residency middle of 2022. 

    CILPI asked her for a short message to WVSU students. The charming doctor said, “I want you to continue and pursue your passion. It was not served to me on a silver platter. I have to work hard on this. Just be ready to make a lot of sacrifices. Remember to thank the people who and will support you as you achieve your greater heights.” # Jovy Duro/CILPI

  • WVSU Med graduate is September 2021 PLE topnotcher

    Maria Inez Benedicto, a West Visayas State University (WVSU) -College of Medicine alumna, ranked first in the September 2021 Physician Licensure Examination (PLE) with a rating of 87.83%.
    Out of 1,546 examinees, 1,084 passed the September 2021 Physician Licensure Examination given by the Board of Medicine at venues in Baguio, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Tacloban and Zamboanga, according to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
    ‘Speechless!’ Benedicto said in her latest FB post.
    The WVSU graduate is a resident of La Carlota City, Negros Occidental and currently doing her internship at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City. # – Jovy Duro/CILPI

  • Mayor Treñas to support WVSU limited f2f classes, medical-related proposals

    The alarming cases of CoVid-19 only made West Visayas State University more motivated in consistently becoming agents of change and helping out communities in need. Thus, winning the support of the Iloilo City mayor himself.

    Mayor Treñas met online with the WVSU representatives led by President Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz and Vice President for Medical and Allied Sciences, Dr. Celina Gellada,  to discuss matters regarding the University’s limited face-to-face classes of the medical courses and the proposal to utilize another floor at the WVSU Medical Center to help out with the CoVid situation in the city.

    As to the limited face-to-face classes, Dr. Villaruz stressed. “We will be doing the cyclical system when it comes to face-to-face classes. With our classrooms retrofitted, only 50% capacity will be allowed per face-to-face session. We are still going to be faithful to the memorandum circular (of the Commission on Higher Education) that once the city is on General Community Quarantine, we will proceed.” As to the  4th year medical students and those undergoing internships, they will be back to the hospital, no matter the community quarantine status is.

    Treñas suggested that students must be first fully vaccinated before going back to the limited face-to-face classes. Dr. Gellada said that 75% of the 3rd and 4th year Medical students are fully vaccinated.

    The mayor referred WVSU to the Iloilo City Covid-19 focal person Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, who was also present during the virtual meeting,  for coordination regarding vaccination of all medical and nursing students before the implementation of the aforementioned mode of instruction. He also  said that if WVSU can gather 200 students, he would send a team to conduct the vaccination right there at the university.

    Dr. Villaruz brought up the proposal on increasing the absorptive capacity of the University’s Medical Center, opening an additional floor with enough staff and equipment. Also, WVSU has applied for the utilization of university facilities for a human genome laboratory, so not all specimens will take time in Manila. He said, “We have proposed and submitted requirements. We will be helping out the city”. 

    The mayor expressed his support by saying that he will sign the endorsement of the WVSU proposals to fast-track action and implementation. He even added, “Whatever WVSU will need, I will endorse.”

    To note, WVSU is one of the 24 Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) who passed the assessment conducted by CHED, the Department of Health and the local Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). # -CILPI