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. 

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.

Dr. Prose Ivy Guasa-Yepes, 1990 Cum Laude graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Plant Protection of the then Visayas State College of Agriculture, now VSU, was appointed new president of the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) effective December 19, 2014 without prejudice of being reappointed for another term depending on her performance.  She took the leadership of SLSU vice Dr. Gloria M. Reyes who successfully completed her term of office as president of the said institution.

Dr. Yepes earned her Master of Arts in Education major in Science Education and Doctor in Education major in Science Education from Cebu Normal University in Cebu City.

Prior to her appointment as president, Dr. Yepes served as Vice President for Research Development and Extension of SLSU (2013-2014).  She rose from the rank starting as Instructor I of the then Tomas Oppus Normal College (TONC) in San Isidro, Southern Leyte.  During the time when TONC was merged with other higher education institutions in Southern Leyte and named as the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU), in which the main campus is located in Sogod, Southern Leyte, she was designated as department head of the Natural Science Department (1998-2005), dean of the Undergraduate Studies (2005-2006), and then as campus administrator (2006-2013) of SLSU-Tomas Oppus Campus. 

In a phone interview with Dr. Yepes, she recalled her vision statement of making SLSU as one of the leading universities in the country.  JFMBaldos

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

Forty-seven Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education (BSED) major in Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH) students of the Visayas State University (VSU) Main Campus, together with other dance troupes from various public and private universities and colleges of Cebu City, participated in the Sinulog Launching on January 9, 2015.  The different groups performed during the street dancing parade to the distinctive Sinulog beat from the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño down to Fuente Osmeña and the busy streets of the downtown area of Cebu City and at the Cebu City Sports Complex wherein every group showed their Sinulog dancing prowess attuned to the traditional theme “One Beat…One Dance…One Vision.”

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

Ms. Honey V. Colis, Administrative Officer IV of the Office of the President, attended on November 14-15, 2014 a “Workshop on Academic Recognition and Credit Transfer” at Apsara Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The workshop was organized by the European Universities in the framework of the implementation of nine Erasmus Mundus Action 2 (EMA2) projects on the Asia Regional Lot. It is organized in cooperation with the Directorate General of Higher Education in Cambodia.

The workshop sought to promote a common understanding of the key tools for recognition of foreign qualifications and facilitating better understanding of the basic principles of the recognition of academic exchange and degree mobility periods abroad; discuss the compatibility of the different credit transfer systems and the opportunities and challenges in the field of academic recognition; share the existing best practices related to the recognition process and disseminating the information on the actions pursued at regional level by the different bodies involved; and discuss and measure the impact of the academic mobility on the grantees’ employability in the home countries.

The two-day workshop covered plenary sessions on Mobility Opportunities and Challenges of Recognition of a Study Period Abroad, The Bologna Process and its Impact in Asia, Mobility and Recognition Problems from the Students’ Perspective and Globalization, and Standardization of Student Data Portability. SMCLemos