MANILA, Philippines — For the first time in its over 100-year history, the University of the Philippines will not physically confer degrees on its graduates due to mass gathering restrictions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of the annual tradition held against a backdrop of blooming sunflowers, the university’s flagship campus in Diliman, Quezon City has decided to hold a virtual ceremony to mark the end of the academic journey of thousands of graduates.
Twenty-eight summa cum laude graduates would lead the 3,789 candidates for graduation during the virtual commencement exercises on Sunday.
Former UP Diliman chancellor Michael Tan will deliver the commencement speech.
In compliance with health and safety protocols, the university said only key participants would be present at the university during the ceremony, which would be streamed live online.
This year’s theme is “Maglingkod, Magmalasakit, Manindigan,” which calls on the graduating class “to serve the country with empathy and conviction so that excellence, rights and justice may prevail.”
The university said the theme pays tribute to the frontliners and those who lost their lives to COVID-19, as well as serves as a protest against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the non-renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise.
Steffi Eunice Ramos, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication degree, would deliver the message in behalf of the graduating class.
She obtained a weighted average grade of 1.192, above the minimum 1.20 needed to graduate as summa cum laude, the university’s highest academic distinction for graduates.
Topping the list of graduates is Joshua Raphael Ambrosio (Bachelor of Science Economics/BS Econ, 1.049); followed by Martin Alexander Cruz (BS Business Administration and Accountancy/BSBAA, 1.086); Jose Antonio Buencamino (Bachelor of Music-Composition, 1.098); John Lawrence Mallanao (BSBAA, 1.100); Gabriela Angela Nicole Durian (BA European Languages-Italian, 1.103); Nina Patricia Morales, (Bachelor of Fine Arts-Industrial Design, 1.107); Simon Alec Askin (BSBAA, 1.139); Aaron Jordan Sta. Maria (BA European Languages-Spanish, 1.141); Paolo Miguel Tablante (Bachelor of Music-Piano, 1.141) and James Allen Dy (BSBAA, 1.145).
They are followed by Ryan Kendrick Lim (BS Molecular Biology and Biotechnology/BSMBB, 1.145); Kate Chrisgracen Au (BS Architecture, 1.147); Beatrice Hope Reyes (BS Biology, 1.156); Chloe Borromeo (BSMBB, 1.171); Kouji Tomas (BS Electrical Engineering, 1.172); Jo Adrian del Mundo (BS Industrial Engineering, 1.173); William Lara (Bachelor of Sports Science, 1.178); Nicole Charis Pontanilla (BA Linguistics, 1.178); Michael Castro (BS Chemical Engineering, 1.180) and Seth Kelvin Escobedo (BS Electronics and Communications Engineering/BSECE, 1.183).
Completing the list are Janella Meara Chan (BS Econ, 1.185); Lorenz Nalica (BSBAA, 1.185); Enrique Lorenzo Martinez (BS Psychology, 1.188); Kirsten Rae Hipolito (BSECE, 1.193); Stephaenie Natalie Gan (BS Business Economics/BSBE, 1.197); Corinne Mariel Wong (BSBE, 1.197) and Adrian Patricio (BS Computer Engineering, 1.199).
Meanwhile, a total of 302 graduates would receive the Latin distinction of magna cum laude, while 683 will graduate with cum laude honors.
Of the total candidates for graduation, 2,892 will receive a baccalaureate degree and 897 will be conferred graduate degrees in the diploma, master’s and doctoral levels.
Farmers prefer their kids work in cities
A study conducted by a University of the Philippines-Los Baños researcher found that rice farmers prefer their children to not go into farming but instead get jobs in cities or find greener pastures abroad.
Around 65 percent of the farmers wanted their children to stay away from rice farming, while the rest or 35 percent wanted their children to be rice farmers.
These were findings in the study titled “Aging Filipino Rice Farmers and Their Aspirations for Their Children,” done by Florencia Palis of UPLB.
Farmers believe their children will not have a future if they become rice farmers. Most farmers want their children to obtain a college education so they can work on non-farming jobs in urban areas or abroad.
The findings were taken from a farmer household survey conducted among 923 farmers who were randomly selected from the three provinces representing each of the three big islands: Isabela for Luzon, Iloilo for the Visayas and Agusan del Norte for Mindanao.
The survey was complemented by in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to further understand the lives and situations of Filipino farmers.
The overall average age of farmers was 53 years, a majority of them had elementary education and on average they spent only eight years in school, or an equivalent level of 2nd year high school, before quitting.
The average household size was five and the average number of children was four.
Non-farming jobs are seen to be better as these are placed on a higher level than doing farm labor. Farmers who want their children to follow in their footsteps are more likely the older ones that want someone in the family to manage the farm. ?The research also found that Filipino rice farmers are trapped in a cycle of poverty since most of them have insufficient capital to commence rice cultivation. Farmers branded themselves as borrowers or mangungutang.
Palis’ research has appeared in the Philippine Journal of Science, a publication of Science and Technology Information Institute of the Department of Science and Technology.