Preserving culture through appreciation – Ted Francis Saracanlao Rowan honors Whang-Od through his artwork.
Ted Francis Saracanlao Rowan was cited on Facebook as a “Young Aklanon painter who honored Apo Whang-Od, the oldest mambabatok of the Butbut tribe.” A mambabatok is a traditional Kalinga tattooist.
Rowan painted a portrait of Apo Whang-Od and delivered it personally to her. He had said that it was his dream to meet the oldest living tattooist. He said that Whang-Od was someone that he highly admired. He further explained that she is a living history, embodying Kalinga art and culture.
For his part, Rowan has won different awards in painting competitions. Rowan is a realist painter and a graduate of BS Advertising in 2017. Rowan commented that he valued what he had learned from CPU: to be friendly and God fearing; “to make people happy with my art, to leave a simple, happy and productive life, by believing and trusting God, and taking care of the talent that He gave me.”
Passion and creativity – Pastor Val Rianne Billiones aims to share his faith through the platform of social media. Photo Credit: Val Rianne Billiones
It was a scenic moment—the waves crashed to and fro at Malamawi White Beach in Isabela City, Basilan. The sea expressed its shalom, a greeting where the rumors of conflict are drowned between the white sandy beach and the clear blue water. And for the man behind the camera capturing the moment, such wonder can only be witnessed through the lens of faith.
Val Rianne Billiones is a 2016 CPU graduate of Bachelor of Science in Advertising. Pursuing his passion in the digital arts, Rianne became a vlogger whose works showcase the beauty of the country and its resilient people. Rianne’s love and appreciation for aesthetics stemmed not only from his academic training; rather, it is the testimony of his faith that convinced him that God has made all things beautiful in their own time and purpose.
With 1,000+ subscribers on YouTube, Rianne talks not only about culture, places and food. He also uses the power of social media to minister to others.
When asked why he chose CPU for his college education, Rianne shares that it was CPU’s dedication to glorify God in an academic setting that convinced him to study there: “CPU has that primary emphasis of Exemplary Christian Education for Life, which really attracted me as a firm believer that Christ should always be in the center of every aspect of our lives. It has produced a lot of leaders and influential people in society today and has the best training and facility that I need for my chosen career path.”
Val Riannes Billiones together with his family and girlfriend during their 2016 graduation.
According to him, he chose to study advertising to create a positive message and ultimately, to share the Word of God in new media platform, “Advertising is a science which deals with methods of how to present a certain message, a cause, a product, or anything tangible for it to be remembered and stay on “top of mind” of the market you intend it to reach with the goal of having them to respond by buying into it or patronizing it, converting it to sales or change of behavior, lifestyle, values, etc. Having this in mind, I chose advertising because I believe I really need to scientifically learn how to broadcast positive messages and messages of hope for this world to hear. Most importantly, I need to learn creative and technically sound ways to spread the answer to man’s ultimate need, and that is Jesus”.
Talking about his stay in CPU, Rianne shares that the university taught him three things: love for God—the ultimate foundation of any human being and excellence in everything you do as you represent Christ in it and the value of people, accepting them, and loving them just as Christ loves them, and leading them to find their true purpose in life: “CPU served as my training ground or a laboratory for the real world. The values I have learned on campus helped me a lot to face the challenges of the real world while the knowledge and skills I have acquired professionally helped me to excel in my field and become an effective communicator.”
Sharing his testimony, Rianne talked about his calling to be a pastor. At the age 17, he felt that God was leading him to serve the Church as a minister but it was until he turned 19 when he pursued God’s mandate for his life. He served as the youth pastor of the Full Gospel Global Community Church while he was a student. After graduating, Rianne answered the call for missions and moved to Zamboanga to pioneer a church.
Leaving behind the comforts of home was no easy task but his love for the Lord overcame his doubts. According to him, there was no greater joy than to fully commit oneself to the Lord and to trust in His perfect plans. Though not perfect, God’s grace covers all imperfection when one does His will. “The vision that God has given me is to reach lives and to spread the message of hope and purpose,” Rianne adds.
Upon arriving in Zamboanga, Rianne experienced homesickness and found difficulty in adjusting to the language and culture. However, after persistent prayer and learning, he was able to cope: “I conquered my homesickness by reminding myself of the purpose and reason that I am in my place of ministry and denying myself and looking forward to the task that God has given me. I strived a little bit harder to fit in and learn the language and culture, immersing myself in the community and loving the people more.”
As for his message to young people, Rianne encourages them to take heart and pursue their calling in the Lord: “Have a deep understanding and realization that God created you for a purpose. Nobody in this world is created by accident and every one of us has a unique talent, skill, or ability that was bestowed unto us by Him. Discover your purpose by linking to the author of life—God. We can only discover our purpose when we link to the one who designed us. He will reveal our own purpose and guide us where to apply it and use it. I believe for every talent, skill, and ability that we have, there is a specific place/person to which/whom we should apply our talent, etc. Live out your purpose and you will slowly see yourself fulfill your destiny. As we have known where we will apply our purpose, we should bloom where we are planted and use it to the fullest. In this way we can find joy and see our destiny slowly being fulfilled.”
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CPU President, Dr. Teodoro C. Robles shares his plans, goals and message for the university to Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on, Director, CPU Office of Communications.
The Central Philippine University TV aired its first episode of President’s Time on August 20, 2018. The talk show, hosted by CPU Office of Communications Director, Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on, featured University President, Dr. Teodoro C. Robles.
The goal of President’s Time is to give the university president the opportunity to share his plans, goals as well as to report the achievements of the University. The program also relays the challenges being faced by the university so that Centralians may also take part in its growth and development.
During the interview, Dr. Robles expressed his appreciation to CPUTV for initiating the said program, “I’m glad that you have initiated this opportunity for the president to communicate with our viewers.”
As the University prepares to celebrate its 113th founding anniversary, Dr. Robles recalls his experience as a CPU student: “I was here under three missionary presidents—Dr. [Almus Oliver] Larsen, Dr. [Joseph Turner] Howard and Dr. [Linnea Agnes] Nelson. And of course, the first Filipino president, Dr. [Rex D.] Drilon I was here until his death. But the following year, my wife and I left the country. And we’re happy to be back. What is important is serving CPU and making sure that its mission is accomplished.”
According to Dr. Robles, being a student under the leadership of the American missionaries taught him about the importance of offering one’s professional career unto the Lord, “Those were the days when you think about people serving not because it’s a job for them, but because they are here on a mission. So I consider my tenure as a mission instead of a job. We believe that they came here purposely for evangelism and for our education. They have accomplished that so eventually they transferred all responsibilities to us Filipinos.”
Through the unanimous vote of the Central Philippine University Board of Trustees and with the affirmation of the CPU Corporation during the annual corporation meeting held on April 20, 2018, Dr. Robles will be extending his term of service as University president for another five years. He will have served the university for 15 years come November 1, 2023.
Now on his third term as university president, Dr. Robles shares the improvement in the collection rate of tuition fees which eventually helped finance many renovations and constructions in the campus. “The first term was basically knowing what has to be done and we found out its lack of monetary resources. The major problem was our collection rate of tuition fees, we started in 2008 with about 85% collection rate and during the first term then we will able to discover the problem and now we have reach a point where we have more than 98% collection rate. With that we were able to save enough to renovate many of our buildings.”
In the last three years, the university invested more than 40, 000, 000 million pesos to improve its facilities. “[We were also able] to construct a new building for the Senior High School, combining all the requirements not just the building but [also] the new facilities, transformers, generators and it will cost us more than 270, 000, 000 and all from our savings. We did not borrow any money or obtain grants from big donors, unlike the previous structures that we built.”
It was also under Dr. Robles term where the university strengthened its national and international linkages particularly with other Asian universities namely: ZhengZhou University of Industrial Technology, Korea University of Media Arts, Tongmyong University, Korea and many others.
CPU also accomplished accreditation feats: The Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Liberal Arts of the College of Arts and Sciences received a Level IV status with validity from April 2017 to 2022. On the other hand, the Masters in Public Administration program received a Level II status effective December 2016 to 2019 while the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry got a Level III status with validity from April 2017 to 2022. The Masters of Arts in Nursing degree offered by the College of Nursing and Allied Sciences received Level III status effective December 2016 to December 2021. The Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and Masters in Business Administration programs of the College of Business and Accountancy got Level IV status with April 2017 to April 2022 validity.
The university ranked no. 1 in Western Visayas for the most number of academic programs hailed as Centers of Development and Centers of Excellence based on the list of the Commission on Higher Education for Academic Year 2016-2017, as ranked by LocalPulse. CPU is the only university from Western Visayas to make it in the Top 20. The list also showed that Central Philippine University ranked no. 18 all over the Philippines with five points earned from designated four academic programs of Central Philippine University, namely, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering and Teachers Education as Centers of Development and two academic programs, namely, Agriculture and Business Administration of the College of Agriculture Resources and Environmental Sciences and College of Business and Management as Centers of Excellence as announced by CHEDRO VI Memorandum No. 001, Series of 2016.
Dr. Robles also highlighted the importance of ISO Accreditations in maintaining the autonomous status of the University. CPU is the only autonomous university in Iloilo City granted by the Commission in Higher Education.
Emphasizing Christ as the cornerstone of the university, Dr. Robles commended the recently finished Christ Emphasis Week. According to them, the said celebration is a testimony of CPU’s commitment as a missionary school: “It is a very important part of student life in the CPU campus. We need our students to understand more what it means to be a Christian. We profess to be a Christian university, but do we really do that? The life of our faculty and staff are basically a good witness for our students. So if we don’t treat our students properly, then that’s not the Christian way. We need to live a life that can be an example to our students, following the teachings of Christ, so that our students can be role models for other universities to emulate. We should practice what we preach.”
Ending the interview, Dr. Robles expressed his desire to accommodate more international students and construct more facilities and classrooms, and for the university to reach greater heights through cooperation and unity.
The CPU TV Studio now offers fresh innovations to cater to the CPU community.
The CPU TV channel studio has undergone remodelling so that it would complement the new programs being filmed and the others that are being planned. The newly refurbished studio is now hosting live programs, such as The President’s Time, Seeds of Faith, Weekly Centralian Link TV, Looking Forward, and Jamming at Central.
The CPUTV Channel studio and office was outfitted with a new backdrop, furniture and equipment. The endeavour was headed by Mr. Dionisio Coronado, CPUTV Personnel, and the rest of the staff and technicians of the CPUTV Channel. On August 23, 2018, Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on, Director, Office of Communications, led his unit and technical staff in dedicating the new office.
The CPUTV studio has long been a laboratory for the CPU Mass Communication students though it mainly served as the University’s means to communicate news and information from the CPU campus to the world.
With all the technological changes of the 21st century, CPUTV Channel and all its programs can now be viewed with one press of a button, even on smart phones. View CPU programs live (and/or on replay) on the CPUTV Facebook Channel, https://www.facebook.com/CentralPhilippineUniversityTV/.
Engr. Serafin ‘Apin’ Serra Frondoza was a loving husband, a good father and a Centralian who pursued God in all his endeavors.
On August 5, 2018, Engr. Serafin “Apin” Serra Frondoza passed away at the age of 76. Engr. Frondoza who was fondly called “Apin” by friends, died of complications. He is survived by sons Oliver Angelo, Seraphim Chrisus and Cheruim Chrisus, and daughters Paulyn Pearls and Serysolle Mae.
A necrological service was held in honor of Engr. Frondoza on August 8, 9:00 AM, at the Abecia Chapel of the Hills in Balabago, Jaro. His cremation followed at 11:00 AM. The last moments in his wake were attended by his next of kin and other relatives, his fellow members of the Central Philippine University Corporation, CPU alumni, and friends. His town mates from Agsanayan, Buenavista, Guimaras also paid their last respects to the well-remembered founder and owner of the Spring of Joy, a resort that caters to spiritual retreats and Christian fellowships.
Engr. Serafin Serra Frondoza, Jr. was born on December 7, 1942 in San Fernando, Buenavista, Guimaras to Serafin L. Frondoza Sr. and and Mrs. Angela L. Serra-Frondoza. He was married to the former Associate Dean of the CPU College of Medicine, Dr. Alma Millamena Alpas-Frondoza.
He graduated from Central Philippine University in 1967 with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. While studying in CPU, he was a work student (1963-1965).
He worked in different technical and management positions as General Manager, Plant Manager, Manufacturing Services Manager, and Quality Control and Technical Services Consultant in different companies from 1983 to 1993 in Malaysia, Indonesia and Mindanao.
Engr. Serafin Frondoza was a member of the CPU Corporation from 2002 to 2007 and a member of different CPU committees from 2004 to 2006, He was a recipient of the University Service Award, Pre-Centennial Celebrations of CPU on October 1, 2005.
As a Centralian, Engr. Frondoza loved CPU very much. It was rare not to see Mr. Frondoza in the campus, visiting friends, meeting committee members, having a cup of coffee at the Alumni Affairs Office.
The Frondozas are a close-knit family that have influenced even folks in Brgy. Agsanayan, Buenavista, where their residence and resort is located. He had formed relationships—whether they be with members of the provincial and municipal governments in Guimaras, barangay officials or with ordinary folks. Manong Apin also established a church at the Spring of Joy where many have been blessed.
“He was a very loving dad. He had this rule that he should call up his children, one by one, or we should call him up, every day.” Four of his children reside with their families in Manila and only the eldest, Oliver, lived with Engr. Frondoza in Iloilo City.
We shall miss Manong Apin, but his legacy of love and service lives on.
Japanese students await the lecture of Acting Dean of the CPU School of Graduate Studies. This is her 2nd time to visit Fukuoka University.
As part of CPU’s strong link with Fukuoka University in Japan, the Acting Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Dr. Rowena M. Libo-on, was invited as a foreign visiting professor for a series of lectures on Globalization of Markets and Production for the students of the Faculty of Economics on August 5-15, 2018. Japanese students participated well in each session and gave their own perspectives on these issues on globalization.
Dr. Libo-on also visited some enterprises in Unzen; among those is Jagirl Company that specializes in agricultural machineries. Consequently, Mrs Azuka Kawanabe Fujishita, the daughter of the owner of Jagirl Company, will visit CPU in November to discuss some programs in agriculture as well as in mechanical engineering they wish to collaborate with with CPU.
Dr. Libo-on also had a meeting with the Mayor Hidesaburou Kanazawa of Unzen City in Nagazaki. The mayor would like to propose technology transfer programs in agriculture which can be coursed through Central Philippine University. Further discussions will be made regarding these programs.
Dr. Libo-on travelled to Japan on August 2 and came back to the campus on August 15. This visit to Nagazaki was made possible by Dr. Masahiro Abiru of Fukuoka University.
CPU President, Dr. Teodoro C. Robles and Igbaras Municipal Mayor Atty. Vicente E. Escorpion officially sign the Memorandum of Agreement.
A Memorandum of Agreement between Central Philippine University and the Municipality of Igbaras, Iloilo was signed on August 15 at the College of Hospitality Management’s La Azotea Restaurant in CPU.
Igbaras Municipal Mayor, Atty. Vicente E. Escorpion, and members of the Municipal Council of Igbaras attended the MOA signing with the CPU panel led by University President, Dr. Teodoro C. Robles and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Irving Domingo L. Rio. Also present were the proponents of the project, Prof. Ismael A. Almajar Jr., and Engr. Dimpna Castigador, Director for Institutional Advancement. Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on, Director, Office of Communications and Prof. Ma. Medalla P. Baliao, Dean, College of Hospitality Management were also in attendance.
Before the program started, Mayor Escorpion shared how there came to be a MOA on Disaster Management Awareness and Eco-tourism between CPU and the Municipality of Igbaras. Although classified as a third class municipality according to the Mayor, Igbaras has some potential for eco-tourism, owing to its 6,000 hectares of timberland, flowing rivers, caves and mountain ranges. There is a growing number of tourists visiting this year. However, recently, natural disasters, such as landslides, have destroyed homes and large areas of agriculture. There arose a need for environmental conservation and disaster management.
The partnership aims to promote the Eco-Tourism of Igbaras and to expose CPU Tourism students to local tourism industries.
To fulfill this need, Prof. Almajar and Engr. Castigador endeavored to help the Municipality of Igbaras through a partnership with Central Philippine University and foreign funding support from the United Board for Higher Christian Education in Asia. The program will focus on “Service Learning by way of Integrating Environmental Conservation and Disaster Management Awareness at Ecotourism Sites in Igbaras, Iloilo.” This also became the theme of the three-day seminar conducted at the La Azotea after the MOA signing.
The signing program started at 10:00 AM with the opening prayer led by Rev. Jalando-on. Rea Pearl Divinagracia, BS Tourism-4, led the singing of the National Anthem. Prof. Almajar and Engr. Castigador enlightened the participants with regards to the context of the activity before the signing of the MOA.
Dr. Robles and Mayor Escorpion, with their witnesses, signed the Memorandum of Agreement before they delivered their messages. Dr. Robles emphasized the importance of disaster prevention and encouraged tree planting activities which can prevent the disasters. Mayor Escorpion expressed his gratitude for the support and the program, “I am confident and thankful for the program that CPU is extending to our municipality. I know how Central Philippine University undertakes a project and makes the accomplishment.”
Brgy. Igcabugao in Igbaras will be the pilot area for the project.
CPU Sustainable Campus Committee pose at Silliman Hall at the Silliman University, Dumaguete, Negros Oriental.
In the December 6, 2014 meeting of the CPU Board of Trustees, a resolution “to accept an Environmental Sustainability Policy presented by the University President” was approved. CPUBOT Resolution No. 24 provided “for the protection, preservation, conservation and restoration of the environment by making the person a responsible steward – thereby advocating widespread use of clean and renewable energy, and efficient use of resources in its operation, instruction and community engagement in local, national and global arena”.
A group of faculty and staff, considered as “stewards of environment,” were called upon by the University President in 2017 to spearhead programs focused on environmental care and protection. This group was called the Sustainable Campus Committee. The committee decided on one “doable” project from among several ideas that came up from the group. As a result of the Board Resolution for Environmental Sustainability Policy, the Conversion of CPU-owned vacant lot(s) to an Eco-Park was proposed.
In an interview on “Looking Forward,” a CPUTV public affairs program, Mr. Prim Vergara III, Sustainable Campus Committee Chairman, clarified that “the Eco Park project will be a consortium of different units, departments and colleges of the University. The pool of ideas and strategic contributions by the committee members and partner units will result to the betterment of the environment.”
“Among the programs conceived by the committee are Tree Planting and Propagation, Botanical Garden, Vegetable Farm, Park Facility Design and Improvement, Park Energy and Facility Resources, Eco Pond and Park Maintenance,” Vergara added.
It was further decided that the Eco Park would be a laboratory facility for the academic departments with related fields or discipline in botany, agriculture, renewable energy and environment; water management, landscape and soil studies; management and marketing; and others.
Among the partner units are the University Campus Grounds and Upkeep Department; College of Agriculture, Resource and Environmental Sciences; Life Science Department; National Service Training Program; College of Nursing and Allied Services; CPU Republic; University students organizations; CPU Alumni Association, Inc.; College of Agriculture Alumni Association, Inc.; and Community Engagement and Service Learning Center.
Neste G. Taala, host of CPU TV Program Centralian Profiles, interviews Yaneshla Aparicio and her mother Chrysta Aparicio.
In the era of social media, Millennials are keen to share whatever’s going on inside their minds. Most of the time, these posts are not being monitored by their parents. Can you blame these parents? They have their own busy schedules too. However, one mom shares her secret on how to be part of her child’s social media life.
In an interview on “Centralian Profiles” on August 7, Miss Chrysta June Aparicio shared that to be able to monitor her daughter’s posts online, she created a page, the Facebook account Chaela and CJ Moments, where both she and her daughter, Yaneshka Aparicio, are admins.
On the FB page where they upload their videos, Miss Chrysta always has the final say on what gets posted, and, according to her, her daughter is fine with that. It’s not about having lesser freedom than other kids have; rather, it is being more responsible with what you post: “Think before you click.”
“Social media really has a lot of effects on them … It’s really important that we, as parents, are guiding them,” Miss Chrysta June explained.
To recall, Yaneshka is a Grade 5 pupil of CPU who made a VLOG (Video Blog) “Alas Dose Na, Fresh pa ba Kayo?” which went viral with 1 million views, 17 thousand shares and 16 thousand likes.
Yaneshka is also a well-rounded daughter who does painting, karate and modelling on the side.
Yaneshka Aparicio, a grade 5 pupil of CPU Elementary School, is the girl behind the viral video “Alas Dose Na, Fresh pa ba kayo?” where she flaunts out to the whole world her freshness under the prickly heat of the sun.
The video which was uploaded on their Facebook page Chaela and CJ Moments earned 1 million views, 17 thousand shares and 16 thousand likes online. During an interview on “Centralian Profiles” on August 7 with Yaneshka and her mother, Chrysta June Aparicio, they revealed that the result was unexpected. They were both overwhelmed because some people were asking for a photo with Yaneshka, and those who are outside Iloilo were requesting for a shout out.
But she is more than those video blogs. Yaneshka is also a well-rounded daughter who does painting, karate, and modeling on the side. In fact, she passed the audition of World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) modeling category although they were unable to push through due to financial constraints. Instead, Yaneshka focused on her studies in which she excels as well. In 2016, Yaneshka was featured in People’s Choice of Sikat Ka Iloilo for helping her mother make munchkins which allows her mom some extra income. Mom Chrysta June indeed feels blessed to have Yaneshka for a daughter.
Yaneshka, for her part, inspires fellow Centralians to be confident with themselves, “Be confident and don’t be shy to try new things because there is no harm in trying.”
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