by  Mary Josene Uriel V. Villar

Biñan, Laguna – Fifteen residents from the Southville 5a relocation site in Brgy. Langkiwa attended the ‘Sipag at Tiyaga Caravan: Free Livelihood Skills on Water Lily Weaving’ workshop on September 6.  The activity aimed to teach the residents of Southville 5a how to make slippers, bags, and baskets from water hyacinth, locally known as water lilies, which abound in the area.

The workshop on water lily weaving is part of the efforts to establish livelihood projects in the relocation site. Other activities held include job fairs, accessory making, microfinance, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) vocational courses, skills training, soap making, meat processing, among others.

According to Mr. Arnel Pineda, the head of Southville 5a’s livelihood project, need assessment surveys were conducted to determine what the topics the residents were interested in and what skills they needs to learn. Based on the survey results, they contact various organizations that are willing to take part in helping them orient the residents in terms of livelihood by providing workshops, seminars, etc. Villar Foundation was the partner organization for the September 6 workshop.

The workshops organized, usually held at the Southville 5a Livelihood Building, are free and open to all interested to take part in the activity.

According to one of the residents, a 37 yr. old laundrywoman named Teresita Salvador, she has attended a couple of their community’s seminars on soap making and meat processing back. Now, she’s currently selling water inside the community. She says that she is grateful that various seminars and programs are being held even though she has not been able to attend all of them. She also expressed that these seminars also provide them with the materials necessary to be able to start of their livelihood businesses.

Another laundrywoman named Rosalie Bitonio, 36 yrs. old, said that she has attended a couple of the activities on livelihood as well. She says she began attending about two years ago when they held a seminar on cosmetics. She says that she really did learn something from the seminar and that it was not hard for her to cope since she really is into cosmetics. She also admitted that she hasn’t been able to attend any of the programs or activities lately because she has been busy doing her job as a laundrywoman and taking care of her kids.

After each session, the workshop organizers gather feedback from the participants to better design the succeeding livelihood sessions.

Pineda emphasized the need to prioritize the residents’ opportunities for additional source of income. Biñan’s Head of Housing Jovic Tiongson estimated that the current population of Southville 5a is more than 30,000. The residents were relocated in Southville 5a from disaster prone areas and danger zones in Biñan, Tondo, Marikina, and Manila.

Since their relocation in 2010, the people of Southville 5a have been able to put up various means of living for themselves. These include sari-sari stores, beauty salons, computer shops, grocery stores, and food stalls.

According to Pineda, the livelihood projects conducted such as the workshop on water lily weaving aim to enable Southville 5a residents to earn additional income. He added that the residents can earn as much at least Php 300 from water lily products, enough to pay the housing dues every month. Pineda’s team organizes seminars to help the residents find opportunities for better jobs and help them manage their income well through TESDA vocational courses and through alternative learning system (ALS). They also coordinate with government agencies like the Department of Labor and Employment, which provides livelihood kit and packages such as that for cosmetology.

Pineda also shared that they are building a database of the residents’ skills and capabilities. This way, he explained that it would be easier match jobs with the skills set of Southville 5a residents. Other programs that have been conducted in the area include the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and various feeding programs.

Future Southville 5a projects include the Impok Pabahay Program, which involves distributing “piggy banks” with locks among the residents encouraging residents to save a portion of their income.

by Crispin Mahrion Abacan

Members of the UPLB Genetics Society (GeneSoc) wore blue shirts. Indeed, blue was the color of the day as the team from Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) topped the 4th National Intercollegiate Genetics Quiz Contest (NIGQC) of the UPLB GeneSoc held at Drilon Hall-SEARCA, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Sept. 14.

Hadeza P. Cabaddu, Wrench Chester S. Canicosa and Antoni Andreu M. Martija of ADMU bested 9 other teams. They were the leading team during the group category in the average and difficult rounds.

“We’re really happy! The reviews we had done for three weeks were all worth it,” said Canicosa. ADMU received a cash prize of 15,000, a trophy, certificates of recognition, and team members each received medals.

“The questions were pretty-well balanced and very challenging. Practically, they are the best from each school. And I believe, all of them were challenged appropriately with the sets of question,” said Ronald Cruz, the moderator of the Ateneo Biological Organization who accompanied the students.

Kenji Rowel Q. Lim, Dominic S. Albao, and Liezel U. Tamon of UP-Diliman finished second place. Adrian L. Santos, Federico Cristobal C. de Jesus, and May Nadine Alessandra R. Uy of UP-Manila, the defending champion, were in third place. They received certificates of participation, medals, and a cash prize of 7000 and 5000 respectively.

Furthermore, Santos and de Jesus of UP-Manila, were recognized as top scorers for the individual easy round.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to top the first part. Before the quizcon, we don’t know how we compare to other schools since we have different genetics curriculum. I guess we showed them that the curriculum we have is really competent despite having few genetics majors to teach us,” said Santos.

With the organization’s 30th year anniversary, the GeneSoc, through this event, aims to reach out and encourage the creative appreciation of the genetics field among college students.

“One of the UPLB’s GeneSoc’s objectives is to promote and create awareness about the science of Genetics in the Philippines. This year, since we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary, we thought of extending this awareness to college students in the country , hence , the comeback of the NIGQC,” said Gelina Rose A. Bambalan, NIGQC 2013 committee head.

Other participating schools were: Central Mindanao University, University of the East, University of the Philippines-Visayas-Tacloban, University of Santo Tomas, St. Louis University, St. Scholastica’s College, and West Visayas State University.

On celebrating Genetics discovery

Themed “DNA Goes Diamond: 60 years of Progressive Research and Development,” the quiz contest is in line with the celebration of the discovery of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) structure by James Watson and Francis Crick. This year, 2013 marked the Diamond Jubilee of the elucidation of the structure of life’s blueprint –the DNA.

According to the website of the GeneSoc, sixty years ago, scientists Watson and Crick worked together in the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory which led to the discovery of a certain body of knowledge behind the concept of inheritance and biological information later called Genetics. Since 1953, “the elucidation of the DNA structure has also led to the development of other sciences like molecular biology and biotechnology.”

Meanwhile, Samuel Contosa, UP Manila coach and an alumnus of the Genesoc said that the event is good because it allows schools to have an awareness on genetics, though must go beyond competition purposes.

“We have the linkages already, and the people too. We could use that linkages to get those people who participated the competition to spread the science of genetics, make it more popular,” he added.

Students on the study of Genetics

“It’s interesting because genetics for me plays a major role in unlocking the mysteries of the living world. Its application is almost limitless had not for the ethical issues it raises. The current trends and developments in science are inkling nonetheless to the field of genetics. Thus, in order to be at par with the changing scientific world, students must be more knowledgeable, not just aware, of this subject,” said Uy from UP-Manila.

“Genetics is a trending field today. It’s so dynamic; it’s so changing. There are lots of field we can go after college so it’s very interesting,” said Canicosa from ADMU.

“Genetics is very interesting because it is connected to medicine. It offers lots of explanations for us to understand how things work especially for those who aren’t familiar with such stuff,” said Rose Angelica Amper of Central Mindanao University.

“We have to raise awareness on the field of genetics to students. The technology is really improving. And we need to learn something about genetics since we have modified genes , modified plants and etc. because I think it will help humanity,” said Ralph Labaclado from UP Visayas-Tacloban.

“Genetics is an emerging field of biology and it is now a widely explored avenue as researchers try to look for long term solutions to some of the pressing problems in the world. It is also becoming a fundamental element of other branches of biology. Genetics has always been a remarkable branch of science for research and development. Genetics is the science of the future,” said Jean Reni B. de Guzman, Education Committee head of the GeneSoc.

The National InterCollegiate Genetics Quiz Contest was sponsored by: Department of Science and Technology Region IV-A,Philippine Rice Research Institute ,Monsanto Technologies, and Philippine Society for the Advancement of Genetics (PhilSAGen) in partnership with the Genetics and Molecular Biology Division (GMBD), and the Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños

by Maria Bernice L. Leyeza

[NEWSFEATURE] For nearly four decades, the Los Baños Muslim community has celebrated the end of Ramadan or commonly known as Eidul Fitr on August 9, 2013. There are almost 100 Muslims who attended the Eidul Fitr in the mosque located at the Umali Subdivision in Brgy. Batong Malake.

The meaning of Eidul Fitr is ‘festival of breaking the fast’. It is a time for the Muslims to be happy and ask for forgiveness. During the month long celebration, Muslims refrain from drinking any liquids or eating food from sunrise to sunset. Also one should abstain from, sexual intercourse, violence, and bad habits during the holy month.

Eidul Fitr is celebrated on the the ninth month of the Hijra (Islamic) calendar. During this festival, the Muslims wear their best attire and offer a prayer or namaz in mosques. After offering prayers, they would exchange best wishes with each other and sometimes, they would donate a thing or two to a charity or marginalized sector of the community.

As observed, Ramadan is taking place in a lunar month, and it does not always start on the same day every year. Muslims must see the first full moon of the ninth month, and that is the time when the Ramadan would start.

During this month, it was believed that Allah, Muslim’s God, gave the qur’an to the last prophet, which is Muhammad. This year’s Ramadan took place last July 10 as announced by the Muslim leaders. Since they had not sighted the new moon at dusk on July 9, 2013, Mufti Omar Pasigan, head of the Dharul Ifta (House of Opinion), said that the following day would be the start of Ramadan.

In Los Baños, Muslims have been strictly following the rules during Ramadan. Datu Mokalid, a member of University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) Judo Team and a BS Chemical Engineering student, has been fasting since he was seven years old. Since then, his mom had convinced him to fast at that age to be prepared for the upcoming years. A Muslim must not only be physically fit but also mentally.

Mohammad Atali, the current Imam of the Los Baños mosque, said that he encourages children who are under 14 to start fasting to practice in succeeding years. Although he also said that if the child is still hesitating to fast, s/he can prefer not to practice.

Atalid also added that if an aged person who is not capable to fast, s/he must offer a full meal or same value to at least one marginalized Muslim per day. It is also applicable for the severely sick Muslims if fasting might affect their current condition.

While being pregnant for her third child, Nadia Alegria, one of the caretakers of the Mosque in Umali subdivision, had stopped fasting during Ramadan. It is advisable not to fast if a woman cannot be able to maintain her current state if she has menstruation, or needs to breastfeed.

Alegria also mentioned that her eldest son has been practicing Ramadan for two years already. But she is practicing the rest of her children to fast by skipping their lunch or sometimes dinner, in order for them to get used to after some years or so.

Fasting during Ramadan takes a lot of discipline in order to go through the day. However, what about if a Muslim is an athlete? An athlete needs self-discipline in order to achieve the maximum potential of one’s skills. However for a Muslim athlete, greater self-discipline is needed because they need extra effort in their training as they fast.

Mokalid has not taken any food or fluids for the past nine hours every day in the month of Ramadan, but this did not stop him from attending his trainings. Mokalid started training judo, a combat martial art created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano, in 2008. However, he stopped training and came back in 2011. While training judo, he is still practicing Ramadan.

During the sacred month, Mokalid usually eats between 4:30 to 6:00 a.m. or before sunrise. His training hours is 6:30 p.m., and after training, he eats light meal. He said that even if it is hard, he still pursues to train judo because he is passionate to train and learn skills of the sport.

Although, there are no instances of him having blackouts during training, he is making sure that he is still in the right condition. Also, he clarified the misconception with the Muslims in regards with swallowing their saliva is not allowed. Swallowing their own saliva is allowed, because the saliva, itself, is in the body. He said that even if you swallow saliva, after that the person can still be thirsty.

However, since he has a busy schedule and his dorm is in New Dorm (inside the campus of UPLB), he cannot attend to the prayers in the mosque located at the Umali Subdivision. But he continues to pray and recite qur’an in his dormitory five times a day. Some students also do what Mokalid is doing. As long as they still can pray and do the rituals in their home or dormitory.

He is also encouraging some of his non-practicing Muslim orgmates and non-Muslim friends to pray with him during Taraweeh (comes from an Arabic word which means to rest and relax) or a prayer that would take for an hour. During taraweeh, a Muslim will be standing and reading the Qur’an, the Muslim’s bible, and performing a cycle of movements consisting of: standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting. After each cycle, s/he will sit for a while before continuing the prayer, and the resting period while praying is called taraweeh.

Mokalid also mentioned that observing Taraweeh is one of his most favorite prayers. Since he can focus more and give thanks to Allah. It is also the time that his devotion towards Allah becomes stronger.

On the other hand, most of the people who gathered and worship in the mosque are graduate and undergraduate students in the UPLB, also the families nearby the area. It was built during 1979 and finished the entire mosque in 1980.

One of the caretakers of the mosque is Omar Alegria, who owns a sari-sari store across the mosque. His wife, Nadya, took care of the store and the mosque after he died in 2005.

The first Imam in the Mosque at Umali subdivision was Mohammad Sororo. He served for almost a decade. Currently, Atali has been serving in the mosque for eight years. He lived in Maranao before going to Los Baños. He is now living in the junction area and has a shop at Rhoda’s.

The Imam is chosen by the members of the community who they think is intelligent enough to recite correctly the qur’an. The Imam should be a respected member of the community. Sometimes, an Imam is hired or recruited, and may undergo in special training. An Imam however, should be a male. But in some cases, if the group only consists of women, then one of them who is knowledgeable in qur’an can lead the prayer.