Atty. Roman T. Romulo, Congressman of the Lone District of Pasig and Chairman of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education of the House of Representatives, had a Press Conference in the evening of January 31, 2014 at the Guesthouse of the Visayas State University.  In front of the media practitioners from GMA 7, EV Mail, DYDC-FM, and VSU Information Office, Cong. Romulo explained in detail the three Bills that he passed and signed into Law in December 2014 that would surely benefit the Filipino people.  He appealed for a wider dissemination of the Bills among the media people.

The Visayas State University (VSU), through the Information Office, responded positively to the request of 1Lt. Jonathan R. Mayono (INF) PA, Commanding Officer of the Alpha Company, 78^th Infantry (Warrior) Battalion, 8^th Infantry (Storm Trooper) Division of the Philippine Army based in Sitio Wangag, Barangay Damulaan, Albuera, Leyte, for a seminar on Gender and Development.   The Information Office staff contacted the Gender and Development (GAD) Coordinator of the University and accommodated the request of the said seminar.

The College of Nursing conducted on January 6, 2015 an Ebola Virus Disease Awareness Forum at the VSU Convention Center.  It was attended by VSU faculty, staff and students.  The forum sought to describe the characteristics of Viral Haemorrhagic Fever (VHF), understand the risk in the locality of the current Ebola case, identify preventive measures to avoid spread, and follow protocols to minimize spread of virus.

Mr. Roderick R. Labicane, a clinical instructor and also a registered nurse, explained that countries in the West African Region have been affected by an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease, a disease caused by a Ribonucleic Acid(RNA) virus, characterized by fever and bleeding which took thousands of lives, including hundreds of health workers taking care of infected persons.

He stressed that there is no established cure for Ebola Virus Disease, but patients can be managed with supportive therapy with fluid management, pain reliever, antipyretic, generic antibiotics, anti-malarial, and other treatments based on symptoms of the patient.  Also, he enumerated that the three categories of Ebola Virus Disease are suspected case, confirmed case, and contact case.

Further, Mr. Labicane conveyed that communities affected by Ebola should make efforts to ensure that the population is well-informed about Ebola, report any suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease to the nearest health facility, and isolate suspected cases of Ebola from other people. SMCLemos

The Visayas State University served as the venue for the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) core members of the Visayas Council of Human Resource Management Practitioners (VCHRMPs) on January 21-23, 2015 at the VSU Pavilion.  Facilitated by Dr. Lourdes B. Cano, VSU’s Director for Administration and Human Resource Development who is also the VCHRMP Interim President, the activity sought to pave the way for the revival and operationalization of Visayas Council of HRMPs; come up with the Council’s Constitution and By-Laws, strategic plan, work and financial plan; and iron out plans in preparation for the Visayas Congress of HRMPs which will be held at VSU. 

In his message during the opening program, Dr. Jose L. Bacusmo, VSU President, mentioned that despite the fewer number of participants [maybe because of the recent typhoon “Amang”] who came all the way from Siquijor, Danao, Bohol, and Maasin, he was elated by their presence since it manifests their commitment to the Council.  He wished that the participants would have a worthwhile experience and enjoyable stay at the campus during the next two days of the activity.

Aside from the brainstorming sessions, the participants were acquainted with VSU’s best practices on PRIME-HRM and operationalization of the University Strategic Performance Management System which they can emulate.

With Dr. Cano as the Interim President of the VCHRMP, the other participants included: Ms. Josephine S. Resus, Division Manager of Maasin Water District; Ms. Rinelyn S. Onac, HRMO III of Bilar, Bohol; Ms. Dana Vanissa M. Canson, OIC-HRMO of LGU-Danao City; and Ms. Pilar M. Cabanlas, HRMO IV of the Province of Siquijor.  JFMBaldos

The Department of Biological Sciences (DBS) conducted a workshop on January 15, 2015 at the department’s AACCUP Room to formulate research agenda and eventually make project proposals aligned with the R and D Agenda of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) where DBS belongs.   The activity took place in response to the request of Assoc. Prof. Rosalina D. Poliquit, CAS R&D Coordinator, to come up with the DBS R&D Agenda which will be integrated in the overall R&D Agenda of the College.

With the assistance of Assoc. Prof. Rosa Ophelia D. Velarde, VSU Director for Research, the group followed the SWOT analysis to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as far as research in the department is concerned.  After the brainstorming session, the DBS faculty finally identified their research agenda as follows: resource conservation and management; biotechnology application; pollution and bioremediation; environmental hazards; productivity enhancement, utilization and management; and management information system which includes documentation, monitoring and evaluation.

Assoc. Prof. Velarde emphasized to the participants to closely adhere to the vision and mission of the University and the College, as these will serve as guide to further strengthen the goals and programs of the department.  She also encouraged them to re-visit the agenda every year.

Dr. Analyn M. Mazo, DBS Head, thanked the participants for actively involving themselves in the workshop despite the very short notice.  She was happy to note that with the DBS R&D Agenda, researches by the faculty members are now more focused because they already have the direction.  Marita I. Galinato/DBS

Anica Georgia C. Cari, a Grade VI pupil of the ViSCA Foundation Elementary School (VFES), bagged the gold medal in the Lawn Tennis for Elementary Girls-Singles during the 2015 Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) Meet.  Anchored on the theme “One Race, One Goal, One Victory”, this year’s sports joust was held on February 1-7, 2015 at the Baybay City Sports Complex and in other venues of the city. 

Three faculty members of the Visayas State University System (VSU) participated in the international training course on “Valuing Regulating Ecosystem Services in Southeast Asia” held on January 5-8, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  The VSU participants were: Dr. Moises Neil Seriño and Ms. Zyra May Centino of the Department of Economics of VSU Main Campus, and Mr. Jayson Baldesco of VSU-Alangalang Campus.

The training course was jointly organized by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) and the WorldFish. The 33 participants comprised of environmental economists, researchers, consultants, and professors from the Asia Pacific region were from Australia (1), Cambodia (2), China (4), Indonesia (7), Malaysia (6), Philippines (5), Thailand (2), and Vietnam (6).

The other participants from the Philippines were Dr. Canesio Predo, a VSU alumnus who is now connected with the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and Mr. Julie Carl Ureta from Resources, Environment and Economics Center for Studies, Inc. (REECS).

The four-day training course focused on regulating services supplied by forests, including mangroves, such as water purification, water regulation (flood and drought mitigation); and in the case of mangroves, storm protection and increased productivity of fisheries. The course covered both theories and methods related to valuation of ecosystem services.

According to Dr. Seriño, the training started with discussions on ecological principles that are important for understanding how changes in ecosystems affect the supply of regulating services. “The course also honed the participants’ econometric skills in estimating different functions through a series of hands-on exercises based on real-life datasets using Stata software,” Dr. Seriño said.  He further said that the remaining days focused on learning the relationships among production functions, cost functions, and profit functions as conceptual approaches for valuing regulating services.  The training also involved field trips to relevant areas of interests such as recreational forest, watershed, dam, and water treatment plant.

The participants were also given the chance to present their research ideas with the possibility of funding once a complete proposal will be materialized. The group of Dr. Seriño and Ms. Centino presented a proposal on valuing the protection service provided by mangroves in the typhoon-hit areas in the Philippines.

Along with four other resource persons, the training course was mainly facilitated by Dr. Jeffrey Vincent from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, North Carolina, USA.