UP Visayas Tacloban College marked its 48th founding anniversary with a series of activities culminating in a virtual program held on 26 May 2021 on the anniversary theme of Dungóg ngan Kinaadman, which means honor and excellence.
The virtual program, which was streamed on UP Tacloban’s Facebook page, showcased the awardees of the first ever Harangdón: The UP Tacloban Excellence Awards. Harangdón is a Waray word meaning “worthy of respect and emulation.” The UP Tacloban Harangdon Awards celebrates exemplary members and programs of the College that embody excellence and public service, contribute to institutional growth, and bring honor to the University and the country.
Three individual awardees were honored: Asst. Prof. Pierce Docena of the Division of Social Sciences as Outstanding Faculty; Ms. Karen Reyes, head of the UPVTC Accounting Office, as Outstanding Administrative Staff (Supervisory Level); and Ms. Jaremel Catilogo, administrative aide at the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, as Outstanding Administrative Staff (Non-supervisory Level).
Also awarded were UP Halcyon as Outstanding Student Organization and the International IS Day Celebration spearheaded by the UPVTC Regional Environmental Information Systems Laboratory as Outstanding Public Service Program.
UP Tacloban also recognized 10 institutional partners for extending support to the College’s programs and projects. These 2021 Distinguished Partners included Tingog Party-List; An Waray Party-List; Guiuan Development Foundation, Inc.; Southern Leyte State University; Philippine Red Cross – Leyte Chapter; One UPV Foundation (USA) Incorporated; UP Alumni Association Greater Los Angeles Chapter; Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines; SGV & Co.; and Punongbayan & Araullo.
The virtual program capped the series of anniversary activities that kicked off on 19 May 2021 with An Bagaw: A UP Tacloban Research Forum organized by the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (DNSM). The forum featured UPLB-based bat ecologist Associate Professor Phillip Alviola as plenary speaker. Three studies conducted by DNSM faculty were also presented during the forum, which had more than 200 attendees from around the country.
On 21 May 2021 the Division of Management and the UPVTC Technical Working Group for the Formulation of the UPVTC Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan (LUDIP) organized the online “Dialogue for Development between UP Tacloban and the Tacloban City Government” led by Mayor Alfred Romualdez and Vice Mayor Jerry Sambo Yaokasin.
On 24 May 2021, Pasiday: A Virtual Poetry Performance was held by the Division of Humanities. Five poets from Eastern Visayas — Phil Harold Mercurio and Nemesio Baldesco, Sr. of Catbalogan, Samar; Jessamyne Jade Meliton of Baybay, Leyte; Jen Garcia fo Dulag, Leyte; and Voltaire Oyzon of Tacloban City performed their poems in Waray and Bisaya.
On 27-28 May 2021 the Division of Social Sciences and UPVTC Psych Circle hosted the 4th Eastern Visayas Psychology Conference with the theme “Psychology, Social Justice, and Collective Action in the Time of COVID-19.” The one-and-a-half day conference featured top-notch speakers and was attended by more than 200 participants from all over the Philippines and a few international participants. The keynote speaker was Dr. James Liu from Massey University in New Zealand and the plenary speakers were Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Marvic Mario Victor Leonen, Psychological Association of the Philippines President Marc Eric Reyes, UP Professor Emeritus Violeta Bautista, and Ateneo de Manila Psychology Professor Ma. Reina Hechanova.
UP Tacloban was established on 23 May 1973 to provide quality higher education programs, undertake research in areas critical to regional development, and extend technical assistance to government and other sectors to help improve the quality of life in Eastern Visayas.
