CAPSU Burias initiates transition to new normal

By Catherine V. Adaniel

Nurse Precious of CAPSU Burias checks the recipient’s vitals before administering the vaccine.

In anticipation of possible implementation of in-person classes, CAPSU Burias initiates preparations to guarantee the health and safety of the students, faculty members, and the administrative staff in the eventuality of conducting classes under the new normal.

The Campus’ initiatives unfolded as the Commission of Higher Education considers the start of limited in person classes in all degree programs on December 2021, depending on the alert level, and in compliance with the Guidelines in the Conduct of Limited Face-to-Face Classes promulgated by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs through a letter dated December 6, 2021.

“Capiz State University, therefore is also qualified to subscribe with the proposal of CHED. However, specific guidelines has to be crafted to guide the University in the implementation of such,” the letter stated.

The college deans cascaded said guidelines enjoining faculty and staff members in making necessary adjustments in the classrooms and offices.

Dr. Ma. Venus B. Lozada, College of Education Dean, shared that the preparations include intensifying vaccination campaign, retrofitting or restructuring of classroom arrangement, strict compliance to minimum health and safety protocols like social distancing and wearing of face masks, use of foot baths, and the utilization of acrylic barriers or plastic covers in required places.

 

 

 

                      CAPSU Burias campaigns to end violence against women

By Kient Jerwin Tungala and Farah Villeza

With the aim to encourage everyone to put an end to violence against women and to actively participate in a collective effort to achieve a VAW-free community, Capiz State University - Burias Campus joined the 18-day campaign of stopping VAW, from November 25 to December 12, 2021, headed by the GAD Focal Person, Prof. Salve M. Ferrer and GAD Focal Person Assistant, Prof. Joan Rae L. Lantoria.

In align with the theme "A VAW-Free Community Starts with Me," the faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders of CAPSU Burias took part to the said campaign by hanging a VAW tarpaulin in front of the administration building, wearing VAW T-shirts or any clothing with a shade of orange, and through featuring empowering stories made by young filmmakers that urge women to seek help and break free from the cycle of violence.

Moreover, the officers of the SSC and FLP student organizations facilitated the One Billion Rising and Zumba Dance,  an artistic uprising of using body movements as their call to end the violence against women, on December 1, 2021 with the participation of selected students and participants from each college department. With the song, "Isang Bilyong Babae Ang Babangon," they were able to highlight the significance of women and their extraordinary roles in the society.

This year's campaign and support of CAPSU Burias emphasized the importance of individuals, particularly young people in combating violence against women and girls in many institutions as it focused on primary prevention in reducing VAW events, which can be accomplished by enabling individuals to understand and assert their rights, as well as educating them on where to ask assistance in the event of cruelty.

 

CAPSU Burias launches crop and science lab

By Mayrel Joy Arroyo

  The new Crop Science Laboratory located at CAPSU Burias

 

Capiz State University - Burias Campus held the launching ceremony and orientation for the newly blessed crop and science laboratory with Dr. Editha C. Alfon, SUC President III, Dr. Remelyn R. Recoter, the Regional Executive Director of DA-RFO VI, Dr. Salvacion J. Legaspi, CSRDC Center Director Project Leader (DA-ACEF), and Dr. Stephanie S. Pimentel, Campus Administrator, on October 21, 2021.

The main goal of this program is the renovation and improvement of the existing crop and science laboratories for students pursuing Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering (BSABE), BEED, and BSED Major in Science to be equipped with laboratory techniques, wherein they will have the capacity to do their exercise projects, analysis, or even some specific experiments and other matters with the help of modern equipment that have been provided by the laboratory.

The Soil and Science Laboratory is a modern laboratory funded by the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) through the Crop Science Research and Development Center, amounting to 5,000,000 pesos that were utilized for construction an to acquire 23 pieces of new high-tech equipment, such as the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer with PC and gas box – Model: PG990, the Fume Hood – Model: FH1000 (E), and the Spectrophotometer – Model: T92+.

The Soil and Crop Science laboratory can accommodate the students, faculty, and researchers of the whole CAPSU system, other private and public students in Capiz, farmers, and aspiring researchers. Furthermore, the main reason for putting the lab at CAPSU Burias is because the CSRDS Office is located at the campus.

 

SSC, FLP provide access to safe drinking water

By Arnold V. Dela Rosa Jr.

                                           Engr. Monalyn L. Oloroso and Dr. Romulo Lagon, FLP and SSC Advisers

            To supply the campus with potable water, Dr. Stephanie S. Pimentel, CAPSU Burias’ Campus Administrator, approved the Reverse Osmosis project proposed by the Supreme Student Council (SSC) and Future Leaders of the Philippines (FLP) last Academic Year 2020-2021.

SSC President Nicanor De Ocampo Jr. and FLP President Louel Lee Agpalo initiated the said project with the support of their officers and respective advisers, Dr. Romulo Lagon and Engr. Monalyn Oloroso.

Agpalo expressed that, "CAPSU Burias deserves clean and safe drinking water" because as a student of the campus, he observed that, "this is one of the needs of the students and faculty."

Reverse osmosis is a technique of removing the vast majority of pollutants from water by forcing it through a semi-permeable membrane under pressure.

"I believe that this would be beneficial to all, especially to the students. The goal of this project is to provide CAPSU Burias community with clean water to drink, so that they do not have to travel long just to have drinking water at home," De Ocampo said.

            The site that will be opening soon will be located near the school’s canteen, on the right side of the covered gym, and the total amount allotted for the procurement of the reverse osmosis machine with complete accessories has reached 219,000 php.

            "After all, water is critical to our well-being," Agpalo further added.

 

THREE ORGANIZATIONS

SPEARHEAD THE PUBLIC SPEAKING WEBINAR

By Jay Ramon M. Alayon

                To help students build their confidence in public speaking, the office of the Supreme Student Council (SSC), in collaboration with the English Language and Literature Club (TELL), and the CAPSUNIAN Echo, the official school publication, spearheaded a webinar highlighting the essence of public speaking, via Facebook live streaming and Google Meet, November 9, 2021.

Mr. Jobee V. Navia, a Junior High School teacher from Jamindan National High School, was the resource speaker for the said webinar. He discussed the art of public speaking in the virtual world, which encourages students of CAPSU Burias to embrace the present situation and deal with changes in learning brought about by the pandemic.

“Public speaking is not limited to anything, it is open to all. It gives you an opportunity to be heard, deliver information, and relay a message, and anyone can do that and be a good speaker. " Mr. Navia said during his discussion.

            The program also aims to educate students on how to fulfill their current and future productivity demands, allowing them to anticipate and develop abilities that are most important to the institution and build relationships.

 

CAPSU BURIAS JOINS FOI STUDENT AMBASSADORS CAMP

by Arnold V. Dela Rosa Jr.   

Mr. Arnold Dela Rosa together with other representatives during the FOI Student Ambassadors Camp via Zoom

              Two student representatives from Capiz State University-Burias Campus participated in a two-day FOI Student Ambassadors Camp, which aims to develop a committed partnership with State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and build a strong stakeholder relationship with students, last November 9–10, 2021 via Zoom.

            James Villasis, SSC President, and Arnold Dela Rosa Jr., CAPSUNIAN Echo Associate Editor, took part in the said event spearheaded by the Freedom of Information— Project Management Office (FOI-PMO) under the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), as part of its information, education, and communications campaign.

            "People should really exercise their freedom of information to monitor the performance of our government and to seek relevant data from sources that are reliable. We should be participative and investigative to avoid confusion and fake news, "said Villasis.

Highly calibrated resource speakers in the person of Atty. Joseph Llames, Attorney IV, Freedom of Information – ­­Project Management Office, Deniel Angelou G. Echevarria, Freedom of Information – Project Management Office Training Specialist III, and Lex Tanganco, Eskwelabs Data Analytics Programs Lead, took the lead in making the camp insightful.

           "It was honestly my first time participating in such a technical conversation, since it concerned certain legal rules. Nonetheless, the webinar was certainly valuable, and it taught me how to properly use my freedom of information, "Dela Rosa shared.     Villasis and  

         Dela Rosa were two of the participants from various state universities in the Visayas and Mindanao legs who were capacitated and trained by the FOI-PMO to become Student Ambassador and Deputy Student Ambassador, respectively, on effective dissemination and implementation of the program on their campus.

 

 

CAPSU: Finalist in 1st Gawad Edukampyon Awards

by Reynard O. Varnal

Capiz State University was declared as finalist during the first ever Gawad Edukampyon Awards for Higher Education Institution (HEI) last October 25 via Facebook live.

            CapSU was nominated in the Gawad Edukampyon for Responsive Research and Development category for its PAG-ULIKID (Province-wide Assessment, Generation, and Utilization of Livelihood and Immunization Knowledge Initiative and Development) program.

“Pag-ulikid program has drawn hope to our more vulnerable people and brought back their future by building a more resilient and stable life right in their own backyard” said Dr. Efren L. Linan, CapSU Vice-President for Research and Development Extension.

            Gawad Edukampyon was launched by Rex Education and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) last January 2021 to recognise outstanding initiatives and resilience of Philippine HEI’s in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic and to highlight the inspiring works of 55 HEI’s both public and private through their innovative, resilient, and adaptive causes.

            “Champions are also defined by the causes they choose to fight for” said Mr. Reynaldo Antonio Laguda, President of Philippine Business for Social Progress during his opening remarks.

            23 entries from 20 HEI’s were declared as finalists by 12 evaluators and 11 judges.

 

 

CAPSU BURIAS submits three programs for accreditation

by Emily G. Zonio

Capiz State University virtually opened the online accreditation survey visit on October 25 which is stretched until the 29^th of the month as it submitted its three programs for accreditation by the Accrediting agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP).

            The AACCUP team led by Dr. Loreta Vivian R. Galima, Nueva Vizcaya State University evaluated three programs for Level 1 Accreditation. The following programs applied for Level 1, first survey visit includes Bachelor of Public Administration, Master of Science in General Science and Master of Arts in Social Science.

            All three programs were assessed across ten key areas namely: 1) Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives; 2) Faculty;3) Curriculum and Instruction; 4) Support to Students; 5) Research; 6) Extension and Community Involvement; 7) Library; 8) Physical Plant and Facilities; 9) laboratories; and, 10) Administration.

The said survey visit intends to strengthen the academic services provided by the institution through assessing and evaluating the strengths and areas of improvement of the identified programs.

            The university positively takes that the efforts of the local task force together with the assistance of the whole university will produce a fruitful effect to the stakeholders, students, and the institution as a whole.

            The AACCUP accreditation always takes its part as a pillar of the university.

 

 

DOST-PCIEERD funds CapSU Burias R&D project

by Favie Gelyn Bardinas and Emily Zonio

Engr. Monalyn Oloroso virtually signed a contract under the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) Regional Research Institution (RRI) on September 23, 2021 via Zoom after getting the approval of the project “Development of Optimized Pineapple Fiber Scraping Machine”.

The said project was a collaborative work from the faculty members of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

It aims to develop an optimized mechanical pineapple fiber extractor in terms of the extraction capacity.

The authors were inspired to conduct this research as Philippine-made piña fabric remains to be an important product of the country and where a brighter future is seen as the industry is revived with the designer’s desire to produce innovative fashion materials.

Presently, pineapple leaf fiber for hand weaving is extracted by hand scraping with the use of coconut shells, glass, or porcelain, but is considered a very tedious process and which results to low scraping capacity and efficiency. This project is therefore imperative to mechanize the said process considering optimum performance in terms of capacity and efficiency. The project hopes to bring impact by attempting to increase the productivity of pineapple leaf fiber scraping thereby increasing income of the leaf scrappers and the production of pineapple fiber for hand-woven fabrics.

DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico Paringit applauded the project leaders in their aim to uplift the R&D capabilities in these priority sectors in their respective regions in a pursuit to improve S&T research through their projects.

Regional Research Institution Program covers support for R&D to new researchers, scientists and engineers (RSEs) and new institution members of PCIEERD Consortium to assist them in the development of research capabilities and eventually increase the available RSEs in the region.

According to Engr. Oloroso, upon working on this project, they encountered difficulties such as deadline, the submission of proposals to the website of the agency, and time of presentation which is too limited.

However, she still manages to overcome it and was able to pass the evaluation.

            This activity will pave the way for more competitive academic and research facilities within our priority areas. This will drive more opportunities and more inclusive growth in delivering innovations for the people, especially in the regions.

PIA-6 holds PIA Journ Talk Series 2021

by Catherine V. Adaniel

The Philippine Information Agency – Region 6 embarked on this year’s journalism talks, dubbed as “PIA Journ Talk Series 2021” that was attended by student-writers, editors, photojournalists, and advisers of high school publications on October 13-15 and by college publications on October 20-22 via Zoom application.

The virtual training introduced the three-time Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, Ms. Henni Espinosa, the former sports writer of the Philippine Daily Inquirer who is currently the Broadcast and Production Head of the Philippine Football Federation, Mr. Cedelf Tupas, and the multi-disciplinary artist and photojournalist whose works were already featured in abroad, Mr. Aeson Baldevia, who served as resource speakers in sports writing, broadcasting, and photojournalism, respectively.

Other experts that were invited to talk about Development Communication, news and feature writing, editorial/opinion writing and copy reading, as well as writing for science and technology, culture and the arts, and page design and layout were Ms. Elsa Subong, a freelance Communication and Research Consultant, Mr. Eric Loretizo, an experienced Media and Public Relations Specialist, Mr. Francis Allan Angelo, the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Guardian, Ms. Alicia Sol Salazar, the Regional Information Officer of DOST VI, Professor Tito Genova Valiente, a respected film and art critic, Engr. Ray Adrian Macalalag, an Engineer cum Graphic Artist, and Mr. Marco Duenas and Mr. Alfred Lucot who were both digital strategists.

When asked about his significant learnings, Mr. Jay Ramon Alayon, one of the Filipino editors of the CapSUnian Echo who attended the PIA Journ Talk Series 2021, mentioned in an online interview that, “One of the most valuable lessons I've taken away from the Campus Journ Talk Series 2021 is that journalism is not dead. It is constantly evolving, which is why PIA Region VI is continuing its passion and goal to keep journalism as close to the heart of young journalists as possible.”

For students and advisers to assess their acquired learnings and master the knowledge they have obtained, the webinar series conducted writeshops and workshops where they can showcase their writing skills.