Sec. Clinton Addresses SU Student’s Question on Recession
A double major in Economics and Political Science of Silliman University was one of only two students from outside Manila given the chance to engage United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a forum held November 13.
Silliman was the choice university outside Manila to represent the Visayas in the forum coordinated by the US Embassy and handled exclusively by TV network ABC-CBN. The university was connected via satellite to the University of Santo Tomas, the main forum venue where the Secretary of State was located. Ateneo de Zamboanga University represented Mindanao.
Anna Katrina Espino, who is in her junior year and was introduced by ANC anchor Tony Velasquez as a debater, asked Ms Clinton about the global recession.
“Will the effort of your government to reverse the recession affect your adherence to free trade principles?”
Espino received more than a response; the Secretary congratulated her: “Well, Anna, thank you and congratulations on being a champion debater. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
Ms Clinton proceeded to the question and cited how the whole world is starting to recover from the global recession.
“I think that we are reversing the effects of the global recession, not only in the United States, but we are beginning to see some positive signs elsewhere,” she said. “And I really want to commend the Philippines. Until the recession, I think you had 34 or 35 straight quarters of positive growth, which is really the best way to end poverty – to grow out of it.”
The Secretary admitted that there is a slow movement back to economic stability, but affirmed the US’ commitment to free trade alongside efforts to cascade its benefits to the working class.
“In the United States, we are committed to free trade, but we also would like to see trade agreements recognize the rights of workers to benefit from free trade, because if the free trade benefits only go to the top of society, that doesn’t change the economic well-being of the larger society, which we would like to see free trade do,” she explained.
Aware of the typhoons that hit the Philippines over the last months, Ms Clinton emphasized how free trade should not compromise the environment and exacerbate the effects of climate change.
She said abrupt changes in the weather that cause horrible storms and droughts have a tangible effect on how people are living.
“So we don’t want free trade to encourage climate change; we want it to help discourage climate change. So we’re going to continue to promote trade and economic activity, but we would like to see it have a positive impact on workers and the environment,” Ms Clinton said.
The Secretary concluded her talk with Espino by sending her regards to the “gentle people” of Dumaguete.
Espino joined an audience composed of high school and college students on the historic Silliman Hall grounds.
Silliman’s participation in the forum was facilitated by the Thomas Jefferson Information Center (TJIC) of the US Embassy in Manila. TJIC is the coordinating unit of the American Studies Resource Centers (ASRC) located in select universities across the Philippines. These centers serve as information hubs of the US Embassy, promoting American history, life and culture, and social and political processes. The ASRC at Silliman is hosted on the ground floor of the Robert B. and Metta J. Silliman Library, one of the country’s biggest libraries.
Established in 1901 by Presbyterian missionaries, Silliman University is the Philippines’ oldest American university. The venue for the Silliman event features Silliman Hall, the country’s oldest standing American structure representative of stick style architecture.
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Silliman Ranks 2nd Nationwide in CPA
Silliman University’s 82 percent standing in the recent board exams for Certified Public Accountants (CPA), against a passing rate of only 41.67 percent, ranked it second in the country for Category 4 (10-25 passers).
This development is consistent with the distinction of Center of Development in Accountancy it received from the Commission on Higher Education.
The University congratulates its new CPAs: Andaya, Mark Lowell; Aujero, Charelyn; Barote, Arianne; Bontia, Mar John; Daniel, JC Pearl; Delos Santos, Gretel Kelly; Dumat-ol, Cyndi May; Fernandez, Mark Joseph; King, Belton; Nolasco, Therese Claire; Omaguing, Gerswane; Pino, Marvin Carlo; Pis-an, Phillipp Jhune; Serato, Kristine; Ungab, Diogenes; Yu, Joana Jael; Yu, Yuri; and Zosa, Red Lily.
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MassCom Alumna Bags Investigative Report Award
An alumna of the College of Mass Communication (formerly School of Communication) bagged the major and runner up awards of the 5th PopDev Media Awards for her investigative reports about child pornography and childbirth.
MelClaire Sy-Delfin, who graduated cum laude in 1999 from Silliman University, clinched the top prizes for the Print and Online Category for her articles “Child pornography: Evil that preys silently on poor Filipino children” and “Childbirth, still a grim reality for many Filipino mothers and babies.”
Her article about child pornography was chosen as the Best Investigative Report from 474 entries by the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD). Her article on childbirth received the runner up award.
Her winning work, “Child pornography: Evil that preys silently on poor Filipino children” (click to access story), highlights how child pornography in the Philippines involving boys and girls as young as 5 years old, remains a problem. It walks you through the mindset of children who, despite being able to send money to their families in their provinces after performing sexual acts in front of the camera, battle emotions of guilt and shame. The article examines how poverty, culture, digital technologies, monitoring difficulties of credit card companies, and the absence of solid legislation against child pornography exacerbate the problem that victimizes minors and rank the Philippines as among the world’s biggest sources of child pornography.
On the other hand,
“Childbirth, still a grim reality for many Filipino mothers and babies,” (
click to access story) tackles how poverty and the lack of access to proper medical care continue to cause the death of babies before they are born or shortly before birth usually in urban poor communities. It discusses findings from the United Nations Children’s Fund that places the likelihood of maternal, neonatal and child mortality at 14 percent higher in developing countries like the Philippines than in developed nations. The article also presents how even given efforts by the government to provide appropriate healthcare, the Philippines may not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goal target of lowering the maternal mortality ratio and infant mortality rate by 75 percent by 2015.
The entries were blinded for anonymity and screened to determine the top five. The winning articles were reviewed and selected by judges Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara (PLCPD Board Member), Prof. Leonor Briones (Co-Convenor, Social Watch Philippines), Anthony Ian Cruz (Freelance journalist), Dr. Alejandro Herrin (Professor, University of the Philippines School of Economics and fellow, Philippine Institute for Development Studies), and Mr. Abraham Olandres (professional blogger).
Sy-Delfin works as a new reporter of TV network GMA 7 and is a regular contributor of special reports on women, children, education, health, and the environment to the network’s news website GMANews.TV. Two years ago, she was one of the 12 recipients of the 2007 Global Media Awards for Excellence in Population Reporting from the Population Institute based in Washington, DC. She will receive her new award on December 2 at the Mandarin Oriental.
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IEMS Director Receives Grant for Mangrove Rehabilitation Project
Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences Director Dr. Hilconida Calumpong received a grant from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) for her project on mangrove rehabilitation.
The grant of P555,950 was awarded for her proposal entitled, “Mangrove Rehabilitation in Ticao, Island, Masbate, Philippines” and formed part of SEARCA's Seed Fund for Research and Training.
Dr. Calumpong’s proposal targets the study of mangrove in the area and identification of opportunities for mangrove forest rehabilitation. Silliman has a 467-hectare property in Ticao Island, Masbate, which is a combination of working ranch, agricultural plantations, and patches of secondary forests. The property was donated by the How family through Mrs. Elizabeth How, in honor of her late husband, Mr. Paulino How and their son, Francis Xavier, who was a student at Silliman.
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