A webinar will follow the two events. To deliver a lecture on the topic “Owls under the Sun and a Broken Wheel: The Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy through the Years” is fr. Hilario V. Sicat, Jr., O.P., while fr. Jesus M. Miranda, Jr., O.P., PhD will share his insights on the topic “The Impact of Philosophy to a Self-Integrated Education in the Virtual Community.”

All these events will be streamed live on the Facebook Pages of the University and the UST Ecclesiastical Faculties. In the afternoon, a private viewing of the St. Catherine of Alexandria Documentary will be done via Zoom.

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The topic, which was inspired by the nationwide preparations for the new normal, focused on the potentials of online learning and how teachers can capitalize on it to ensure continued successful educational delivery. Emphasizing the constructivists’ call for learner-centeredness, fr. Miranda called on attendees to “find the uniqueness of each learner,” looking into such factors as abilities, talents, learning pace, emotional state of mind, learning styles, and access to technology.

fr. Miranda reminded teachers that in a constructivist learning environment, the teachers becomes a “guide, resource person, and moderator” rolled into one, and these roles are all possible even in an online learning environment. Given the shift to online learning, the classroom shifts, too, to being a “classnet,” which is “the online world created by the community of teachers who provide the wealth and varieties of experiences.” In this classnet, one can find the interaction of prior knowledge and new events, which interact with the home and community contexts where students will be physically located. Despite the absence of physical interaction in a school-based classroom, the classnet, fr. Miranda stressed, provides opportunities for the learner to interact with his/her mentors and peers.

Given that the classnet is also more unstructured and can give rise to different situations not typically found in the classroom, teachers must shift their ways of thinking and doing things to assist learners and their families in delivering education services. If successful, a “landscape of learning” is the output of teachers building and designing the classnet together.

Concretizing everything in preparation for the new academic year, fr. Miranda pointed to educational models such as personalized learning, independent learning, the development of innovative and creative instructional materials, and community teaching. Given these new models, fr. Miranda enumerated the following action points for the education community: 1) train and orient teachers on constructivist online education; 2) reformulate assessment practices; and 3) reformulate curriculum development.

Gathering over 500 attendees, the webinar was conducted via the UST Cloud Campus, powered by BlackBoard Collaborate. It was also streamed live via the Facebook Page of the UST Institute of Religion. In her address at the start of the webinar, Institute of Religion Assistant Director Catalina M. Lituañas, MA, said that the webinar was part of the Institute’s contributions to helping educators and stakeholders cope with the new normal and help them overcome resistance to what the situation now demands.

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This tribute is part of the preparations of the UST FMS for its sesquicentennial (150th) founding anniversary in 2021. One hundred fifty FMS alumni were recognized for their achievements in the fields of education, research, government service, medical societies, industry, and in public and private health sectors.

The UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery is the oldest Catholic medical school in the Philippines and remains one of the leading medical schools in the country. It is a Center of Excellence that contributes more than 400 new physicians annually and consistently produces medical board topnotchers. According to FMS Dean Ma. Lourdes D. Maglinao, M.D., MHPEd, the Faculty “is proud of not only the legacy it has left behind, but the legacy it continues to embed daily in every Thomasian medical learner, whom it taught, teaches, and will teach in the years to come.”

UST FMS has produced alumni who are renowned and respected in the field of Medicine here and abroad, such as Secretary of Health Francisco Duque III, M.D., and Belo Medical Group Director Victoria G. Belo, M.D.

Among those awarded were: former Senator and First Lady of the Philippines Hon. Luisa P. Ejercito M.D., of Class 1954; Ospital ng Makati Director Vergel P. Binay, M.D. (Class 1997); St. Luke’s Medical Center Quasha Memorial College of Medicine Legal Medicine Department Chair Atty. Antonio Alejandro D. Rebosa, M.D., (Class 1985); Chinese General Hospital College of Medicine Dean Normando C. Gonzaga, M.D. (Class 1976); American College of Surgeons – Philippine Chapter President Ray. B. Malilay, M.D. (Class 1980); The Medical City Augusto P. Sarmiento Cancer Institute Director Daniel M. Alonzo, M.D. (Class 1982); St. Luke’s Medical Center Medical Director Benjamin S. A. Campomanes, Jr., M.D., (Class 1985); Makati Medical Center Director Johnny B. Sinon, M.D. (Class 1982); and Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center Director Modesto O. Llamas, M.D. (Class 1965).

UST Secretary-General Rev. Fr. Jesús M. Miranda, Jr., O.P., in his opening remarks commended the awardees for embodying the Thomasian values of competence, commitment, and compassion in their practice as physicians, saying “You are the living witnesses to the University’s mission of serving the Church, the nation, and the global community.”

The Anargyroi: FMS Foundation, Inc. was introduced by Class 1967 alumnus Willie N. Lagdameo, M.D., a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. The Foundation supports the UST FMS by sustaining and aiding in its initiatives through the Regent’s Scholarship, community outreach, simulation center, research, student and faculty development programs.

Two-time Luciano Pavarotti Choir of the World awardee UST Singers performed, too, while at the onset of the program, the UST String Quartet also entertained the guests.

FMS Regent Rev. Fr. Angel A. Aparicio, O.P., in his closing remarks, expressed his joy in the reconnection of the alumni gathered, inviting them to “please show support to [FMS’] endeavors, join us in counting down [to the 150th anniversary celebration], and keep in touch.”

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Leading the paper presenters was Fr. Jesus M. Miranda, Jr., O.P., PhD, Regent of the and Editor of the Philippiniana Sacra. Fr. Miranda presented the paper “Living the Dominican Charism in Education in the Philippines: A Grounded Theory Approach.” He likewise presented the paper “Constructivism in the Nontraditional System of Education.”Representing the faculty members of the Department of Philosophy were Jecko Bello, who talked on “Paul Ricoeur’s Paradigm of Translation: The Role of Philosophy and Education in the Secular Society,” and , who talked about “Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) Involvement and Its Relation to the Spiritual Growth of a Selected Group of Filipino Urban Youth.”

Philosophy alumni likewise presented in the conference:

• Ranier Carlo V. Abengaña – The Commodification of Education: Adorno’s Theorie der Halbbilding and the Dialectic of Freedom and Unfreedom
• Kelly Agra – The world as “Is” and the world as “Ought”: Cogitating Contemporary Knowledge through Alain Badlou
• Guillermo R. Dionisio – Liberal Education and Learning Forgiveness in Secular Society
• Czara Loraine Dy – Understanding Mary Wollstonecraft and Paulo Freire’s Critique of Oppressive Education through the Implications of TOFI in the Philippines
• Tracy Ann Llanera – Redemption in a Secular Age

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