[UPDATED 5 DECEMBER] “Operta” and “Batang Terminal,” Wesleyan University-Philippines' official entries to the 2010 Esihas Digital Film Festival’s independent and documentary film categories collected a total of 22 prizes during the awards night held at the Megacenter the Mall's Cinema 3 last December 4.

WUP’s independent film “Operta” won ten awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Gener Subia, while “Batang Terminal” took home five prizes which include Best Documentary, Best Host and Best Director for Jonathan Constantino.

Von Patrick San Pedro and Famela Marisse Tan, who performed lead roles in “Operta” were the picks for this year's Mr. and Ms. Esihas. San Pedro was also chosen as the Star of the Night and as the Best On-the-Spot Actor, while Tan was announced Best On-the-Spot Actress.

Rein Jeisol Parinas and Cesiah Garcia won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

The indie film also won 3rd place in the Best Float category.

Michael Jacinto's work for both projects won him Best Art Direction for “Operta” and Best Editing for “Operta” and "Batang Terminal," while Anna Aurea Ramos received an award for Best Make-Up Design for her work in the indie film.

Operta also bested other schools' entries to receive the titles of Box Office Hit, Crowd's Favorite, and Best Casting, in addition to the Best Picture award.

Crystal Joy Dauz won the accolade for the Best Feature Story for her work in the documentary.

“Inaalay ko ang award na ito sa lahat ng paslit sa terminal na walang pag-aatubiling tumanggap at nakipagtulungan sa amin. Para sa kanilang lahat ito,” Dauz said in a text message.

"Maraming salamat sa lahat ng sumuporta sa dokumentaryo ng Wesleyan. Ang lahat ng nakamit ng dokyu ay para sa lahat ng mga batang terminal na patuloy na nagpapakabayani sa kanilang sariling paraan," Constantino said.

The awards brought Wesleyan the Best School Award.

“Operta,” which was shot in three days within Cabanatuan City, was produced by WUP-SOWERS while “Batang Terminal” was a production of Wesleyan’s AB-MassCom students.#

All competing staffers of Genre managed to clinch a place in the top ten positions of their respective categories, with four of them reaching the top five to qualify for the Luzonwide Tertiary Press Congress slated in Baguio City next year.

The top five staffers were Ren Gemuel R. Ramirez (3rd place in DevCom, English), Ma. Zeycel Roxanne S. Dasig (3rd place in copyreading, Filipino), Marjorie Collado (5th place in literary graphics),and Abegail Junia (1st place in poetry writing, Filipino and 5th place in opinion writing, English).

PRESIDENT MANUEL G. PALOMO and PNP Provincial Director Ricardo C. Marquez signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on September 14, 2009 establishing the eligibility of all dependents of enlisted PNP officers and regular employees within Nueva Ecija to have a 50% discount at Wesleyan University-Philippines provided that PNP dependents will enrol in the College of Criminal Justice Education (CCJE).

The deal was witnessed by PNP officers including Deputy Provincial Director Eduardo Soriano, CCJE Dean Mario C. Rosete, and Special Assistant to the President Prof. Expectacion Gonzales.

The MOA was designed to provide a parallel support to allied bureaus of the government which will help the college by providing CCJE students with agencies for On-the- Job Trainings (OJT).

PNP Provincial Office through its Provincial Director assured that they shall provide for a venue for CCJE’s On-the-Job Trainees.

WU-P extends and grants fifty percent (50%) tuition fee discounts to all legitimate children of organic/regular employees of PNP who are residents of Nueva Ecjia and are living with their parents and depend on them for support.

To avail this, the PNP dependent must have a certification coming from the Office of the Provincial Director of Nueva Ecija.

The PNP dependent must submit the certified true copy of marriage certificate of the parents and certificate of live birth of dependent, which will be processed at the Office of the Provincial Director or any of its duly-authorized representatives.

The abovementioned documents should also be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs (OSA).

The MOA has a duration of four (4) years (2009-2013).

The students concerned can also avail other scholarships offered by the University provided that they will comply with school policies.

Applicants may refer to the Office of the PNP Provincial Director, Dean of the CCJE, or the OSA.

Meanwhile, similar MOAs were signed between WU-P and the National Buerau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). ###

WUP FACULTY, STAFF AND STU-dents jointly held a two-hour ‘For Life’s Sake’ concert to benefit the victims of Typhoon Ondoy on October 5, 2009 at Wesleyan University – Philippines.

The cause has collected 167 sacks (a total of 1,267 bags), each containing a kilo of rice, 6 pieces of clothing, canned goods, noodles, water, medicines and cookies, along with a random number of mosquito nets, pairs of shoes and slippers, and detergent soaps.

Relief operation was conducted on October 12, 13 and 14 in cooperation with the Asuncion Perez Memorial Center (APMC) — the Social Arm of the Philippines Central Conference — United Methodist Church.

A shower of kindness
Thirty-three sacks of relief goods were distributed to Brgy. Coadillo, Brgy. Sumacab and Brgy. San Josef Norte in Cabanatuan City; another 33 were also distributed to the victims in Ilalim ng Tulay, Dulong Tulay and Brgy. Berang in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija; Brgy. Estrella, Brgy. Gandoz, Cabucbucan and Poblacion Norte in Rizal, Nueva Ecija got 34 sacks, while Del Pilar St., Cabanatuan City with 15 families got two.

Refugees of Rosales, Pangasinan received 65 sacks care of D.S. Artemio and Rev. Jojo Marzan.

Pasig, Marikina, Taguig and other affected areas in the National Capital Region also received donations.

Relief distribution was facilitated by APMC Director Merlinda Sebastian with Bishop Lito Tangonan, District Superintendents Nomer Lasco, Benedicto Dulay and Apolinario Cunanan along with WESCOP Director Susan Bustamante and Dr. Corazon Cleto.

A ‘kamalig’ of blessings
President Palomo spoke at the event, saying that the concert is WU-P’s initial activity towards a bigger plan of a continuing pooling of donations which would be housed in a “kamalig.”

The “Kupkupan ng mga Ambag at Alay, Laang Itulong ng Grupong Wesleyan” or KAMALIG ng Wesleyan as it was going to be called, would aim to provide instant help, assistance and support to the disadvantaged at any moment when the need arises.

The concert was fully supported by the Management and the Council of Deans and administrative heads.

“In our small way we shall provide the avenue for others to share whatever they can and shall be the conduit of blessings to reach out to the recipients,” Prof. Palomo said.

He thanked the donors for their generosity and told them that the donations would reach all affected areas that needed them most.

“Wesleyan shall be in the forefront of service to mankind and since you are a part of it, you shall always be our men and women in the threshold,” he affirmed. ###

“THE GRADERS,” THE OFFICIAL student publication of the WU-P Elementary Department was chosen the Best School Paper of the Year for the third consecutive year while five of its editors and staffers also emerged winners in their respective categories during the 2009 Division Schools Press Conference at the Honorato C. Perez, Sr. Memorial Science High School on October 15-17, 2009.

“The Graders” was judged Best in News Page, Best in Feature Page, Best in Sports Page, Best in Layout and 1st runner-up in the Editorial Page.

It was also declared the Best School Paper for bracket A – English in the Division of Cabanatuan City for the third time.

Among the winning members of the publication were Editor-in-Chief Jeoffrey Mhar Larua who secured second places in Editorial Writing and Feature Writing (both English); Phyllicia Gail Mercado who was third place in feature Writing English; Kryzza Noryn Hidalgo who was also third in Editorial Writing in English; Alexandra Nicole Sugay who landed fourth place in Copyreading and Headline Writing in English; and Vincent Jahleel Santos, also fourth place in photojournalism in Filipino.

Their radio broadcasting team was proclaimed Best in Infomercial Award.

The group was ranked second over-all champion in the individual writing contests.

Mr. Alfredo M. Esteban, Jr. was the coach of the campus journalists and adviser of “The Graders.” ###