Benilde student film vies at CCP’s Gawad Alternatibo after US victory

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A thesis film about a boy who slugs it out in a neighborhood thumb wrestling tournament against another kid, whom he cannot defeat, will compete with other short film finalists at the Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video or Gawad Alternatibo. This after it bagged first place in the 2023 Student World Impact Film Festival.

“Arena,” the capstone project of recent De La Salle-College of Benilde film graduate Nicole Yvonne Lee, topped the SWIFF comedy (18 years old or older) category.

The 20-minute coming-of-age film stars Matthew Stanley, Shawn Niño Gabriel, and Miaka Mon, among an ensemble of other child actors.

SWIFF director Mark Leschinsky shared that the week-long New Jersey-based event, which got more than 13,000 submissions from 120 countries, “focuses on elevating the voices of young storytellers from historically marginalized races, backgrounds, and cultures to give them the opportunity to share their stories with the world.”

Before winning the SWIFF award, “Arena” became the first recipient of the Benilde Best Thesis Film trophy at the Cinematheque Centre Manila last April.

“As a filmmaker, I just really want to make people laugh and be happy using the films I made. Since I was a student, my school projects have been in the comedy genre. Arena was made from my playful imagination,” Lee, who wrote, edited, scored, directed, and co-produced the film, revealed.

Lee got the support of production manager Krissel Bernabe, director of photography Iezer Yap Magallon, production designer Grant Frondozo, assistant director Ivan Balmaceda, script continuity Giulia Saavedra, sound supervisor Paul Van Guzman, wardrobe master Clarisse Llaguno, colorist Tyrone James Luanzon, hair and makeup artist Rose Go, and production assistants Sheina Bensurto and Rodora Bagapuro.

“Arena” will try to continue its winning streak at Gawad Alternatibo, the longest-running independent film competition of its kind in Asia.

Gawad Alternatibo, which was established in 1987, will feature some of the best works of Filipino alternative storytelling and filmmaking from August 5 to 7 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (Cultural Center of the Philippines Blackbox Theatre).

Signing Contracts for US$49.3M, PIS (Pertamina) Now Sails across 26 International Routes

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PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS), through its branch office in Dubai, PIS Middle East (PIS ME), has achieved another success by simultaneously signing four business cooperation agreements with global players.

PIS Pte Ltd (DMCC Branch) - PIS Middle East has signed business cooperation agreements with global players, namely with Gas Walio, Gas Widuri, Gas Arjuna and Gas Ambalat, for 4 vessels owned by PIS.

PIS ME signed the deals for 4 vessels owned by PIS - namely the Gas Walio vessel, Gas Widuri vessel, Gas Arjuna and Gas Ambalat vessels. The Gas Arjuna and Ambalat vessels are chartered by SHV Gas Supply & Risk Management, the Gas Walio vessel is chartered by Geogas Trading S.A, and the Gas Widuri vessel is chartered by Vitol S.A.

"The signing of this cooperation signifies the success of PIS ME's aggressiveness in increasing revenue in the international market, as well as proving the reliability of PIS's fleet which is qualified to sail in global scale waters," said PIS CEO Yoki Firnandi at the signing ceremony on Tuesday, July 25.

The total transaction value for the four ship deal reached US$49.34 million, or the equivalent to Rp740.15 billion (dollar exchange rate of Rp15,000) with different contract durations ranging from 6 months to 3 years. The contracts also provided for new international routes and countries for the PIS fleet, including Chile (South America), Puerto Rico (USA), Dominican Republic (Caribbean), Tanzania, Poland, and Portugal.

Country Manager of PIS ME Andra Pelawi added that in addition to the successful commercialization of the four vessels, PIS ME has broken new business ground which will add to the company's revenue potential. "Pertamina has, through PIS ME, entered Tankers International Pool, and a TC Syndication scheme with Scorpio for a Neptune VLGC vessel in the pool. PIS will have the potential for vessel rental at international market rates," he said.

Through this breakthrough scheme by PIS, carried out initially during the second quarter of 2023 (since the VLGC vessel entered the pool in early May, through to the end of the quarter), PIS ME managed to realize a profit of around US$865 thousand, or the equivalent to Rp12.97 billion (dollar exchange rate of Rp15,000).

About PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) Pte Ltd

PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) as an Integrated Marine Logistics Subholding, has a total of 750 ships. Besides the owned ships, PIS also manages time charter and spot charter that can be rented through e-chartering. PIS ME is the second representative branch office of PIS located abroad, being established December 23, 2022. See https://pertamina-pis.com/.

UP celebrates record number of scientists in almost half a century

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The University of the Philippines - Diliman College of Science (UPD-CS) is poised to make unprecedented contributions to Filipino science and the collective body of human knowledge as it recently posted the most PhD graduates ever in its decades-long history.

The UPD-CS produced 19 PhD graduates in 2023, the most number of doctorates in the college’s 40-year history. (Photo Credit: Shedy Masayon, UPD-CS SciComm)

A total of 454 newly-minted graduates celebrated the fruits of their labor on the rainy Saturday afternoon of July 29. Among them were 19 PhD graduates, 108 MS graduates, seven MA graduates, three Professional Masters, five diploma recipients, and 312 BS graduates. The number of UPD-CS’ PhD graduates for 2023 is also almost double that of the previous year.

The number of PhD enrollees at UPD-CS has been consistently on the rise every year, with last year's count reaching 464. UPD-CS’ nine institutes and programs continue to offer a total of 11 doctorate degrees, including the recently-offered PhD in Data Science.

UPD-CS Dean Dr. Giovanni A. Tapang beamed with pride as he welcomed the graduating students, their parents, and guests during the CS Special Recognition Program 2023 at the UP Theater. “This is the most number of PhD graduates we've had in CS' forty-year history,” he said.

 

The long road taken

Dr. Bernard Alan B. Racoma, this year's Most Outstanding PhD Graduate from the UPD-CS Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM) spoke on behalf of the graduate students, extolling the virtue of taking the long view to one’s goals despite—and even amid—setbacks.

"There shouldn't be shame when we take a long time in our studies, be it in graduate or undergraduate education. When this happens, more often than not, there are reasons behind it,” he said. “Just like there are reasons why clouds form and it rains, there are always valid reasons why students fall behind, give up, get delayed, or drop out."

“Graduates of 2023, let’s make it rain. Mabuhay po tayong lahat, mabuhay ang mga siyentista ng bayan. Patuloy nating pagsilbihan ang isa’t isa, patuloy nating pagsilbihan ang taumbayan,” he concluded.



Science within reach of everyone

These sentiments were echoed by BS Physics graduate summa cum laude Mary June Ricaña in her own remarks on behalf of her undergraduate class:

“As of 2019, the Philippines only has 189 scientists per million people—a far cry from the ideal ratio of 380 per million population,” she said. “The truth is, science should not be so difficult to pursue. It should be an arm’s reach to every child who ever looked at the night sky and dreamed of one day exploring galaxies.”

“After today, we will be taking different paths, but we should always remember whom we owe all of these to, and whom all these are for. The world is a laboratory; it is imperative for us to find scientific solutions to problems faced by society. Graduating batch of 2023, let us make science serve the people,” she added.

UPD-CS graduates came onstage after the recognition ceremony to reiterate their commitment to make science serve the Filipino people. (Photo credit: Dr. Bernard A. Racoma)



Establishing a Filipino scientific tradition

Over two decades ago, former UPD-CS Dean physicist Dr. Caesar Saloma underscored the importance of developing a truly Filipino scientific tradition: “I expect the Filipino scientist to contribute towards establishing a scientific culture in the Philippines. I count on him or her to become part of a rich scientific tradition that all Filipinos can be proud of,” he said in his acceptance speech for the Concepcion D. Dadufalza Award for Distinguished Achievement in 2001.

In this vein of tradition, Dr. Tapang acknowledged and thanked his immediate predecessor, the late Dr. Perry Ong, as well as previous deans Dr. Joey Balmaceda, Dr. Rhodora Azanza, and the entire Filipino scientific community. Now four years into his tenure, he has always been vocal about his goal to produce more PhD graduates during his term—a legacy that he hopes will continue in the decades to come.

“Madami pang tanong na kailangang masagot,” he said. “I reiterate my call for all our PhDs to continue to mentor PhD students. And I call on our MS and BS graduates to explore and answer the pressing science questions with your professors in a PhD program here in the College.”

The faculty of the UP Diliman College of Science came out in force to congratulate and celebrate the college’s 2023 graduates. (Photo credit: Shedy Masayon, UPD-CS SciComm)