The Science Scholar

Pisay Cup 2011: In the next Pisay Cup, you may tee off with an Angel

2011-09-05T12:20:00.004+08:00

The Parable of the Unfinished Gym

2011-08-22T11:40:00.003+08:00

An eleven-year-old girl entered Philippine Science High School in the early `80s. Given the tour by her "big sister", the girl along with her classmates were brought to that corner of the campus where the concrete edifice stood. Said the "big sister" to the freshmen, "This structure will be the PSHS Gymnasium. In it will be an olympic sized swimming pool and all the works for the students to enjoy and prove that we who are of PSHS believe in the saying, "Mens sana in corpore sano...translated from Latin as 'a healthy mind in a healthy body'".

The youngsters were excited.

The "big brother" who also led the touring freshmen was quick to add, "You are lucky that in a few years time, you will enjoy the features of this structure. We who are seniors will soon leave without a taste of what it's like to have a world class high school gymnasium".

Years passed by and the young girl who heard these words when she was a freshman became a senior. She herself became a "big sister" and toured the incoming freshmen telling them how lucky they were to have a gym that will have world class facilities. As for the girl, she would soon be graduating.

Many years later, the girl married, had a daughter. The daughter grew up and was admitted to PSHS! As an incoming freshman, the daughter heard the same story handed down not only by the "big sister" but by her mother many years before. "This structure will be the PSHS Gymnasium! In it will be an olympic sized swimming pool and all the works for us to prove that we who are of PSHS believe in the saying, "Mens sana in corpore sano" .

The daughter went through four years of PSHS and soon as it was her time to graduate. Even after such a long wait and two generations of PSHS students, the gym was still not finished.

One day, both mom and daughter drove by Agham Road. While driving, the daughter says to her mom, "Hindi pa ba tapos `yan?", obviously referring to the weather beaten concrete structure of the gym. Mom in her wisdom says, "It will never be finished my dear".

"And why do you say so, Mom? Surely the National Alumni Association will have enough money to take on the completion of the gym".

"It will never be finished", said the mom. "For all the years that the gym has stood there unfinished, it has served a very important purpose to us Science Scholars. The unfinished gym has always taught each and everyone of us who bears the PSHS name to never stop dreaming."

...And We're Back!

2011-08-16T10:12:00.003+08:00

The blog is finally back! The Science Scholar - Ang Lagab-blog is back with Raffy Saldana of PSHS 1977 joining us. Raffy is the current President of the PSHS National Alumni Association. This comes in at a perfect time with the recent creation of the Facebook Group, "You Know You're From Philippine Science If..." .

Pinoy filmmaker in Cannes Directors' Fortnight - Entertainment - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

2011-04-27T14:51:00.000+08:00

Pinoy filmmaker in Cannes Directors' Fortnight - Entertainment - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

PISAY 87 to Hold 2011 PisayCup Golf Tourney

2011-02-28T03:59:00.002+08:00

The 2011 Pisay Cup Golf Tournament will be on March 2 at the Sta. Elena Golf Club in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The tournament is organized by Pisay ’87 Foundation.

Registration is at 6:30 a.m. and players shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. The tournament will be played under System 36. Fun holes with prizes and trophies for placers in different classes will be awarded during the lunch program at Hacienda Hall (2F Sta. Elena Clubhouse) immediately after the tournament.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Philippine Science High School through programs of Pisay ’87 Foundation.

Tickets are at Php3,800 inclusive of the green fee, cart fee (1/2 sharing), caddie fee, and lunch buffet. Call or text Carl (0919-9104188) and Ryan (0917-3275346). Or email at pisaycup@pisay87.com for more info and to request for the tournament guidelines.

Cielito Habito on the ongoing currency war

2010-10-19T23:03:00.001+08:00

The ongoing currency war

By Cielito Habito
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:09:00 10/05/2010

Filed Under: International (Foreign)Trade, Central Banks, Markets & Exchanges

Most Read

WONDER WHY the peso-dollar exchange rate keeps going down? It has broken into the P43 peso range, and could continue getting lower. If you are happy with that, then you probably buy a lot of imported goods, or travel abroad a lot, or invest a lot overseas. But if you work in an export or tourism-oriented business, maintain a foreign currency account, or depend on a family member’s remittances from abroad, you must be quite unhappy with what’s going on. If you’re working for a firm that doesn’t export but produces goods for domestic consumption, you may not be feeling it directly—yet. But trust me, you are bound to get hit as well, as competing imports get cheaper and price your own product out of the market.

The international economic news is lately dominated by the ongoing international currency war, as first publicly lamented last week by Brazil’s finance minister, Guido Mantega. Before him, nobody seemed to want to use the “W” word publicly. Economists have a more technical term for it, calling it “competitive depreciation,” and have been warning against it since the global economic crisis began two years ago. Simply put, central banks all over the world are taking measures to deliberately make their currencies cheaper. Translation: they are moving to make their domestic-foreign exchange rates go higher. But as they do so, they induce a chain reaction among central banks, putting them on a treadmill that makes it difficult for them to stop.

How exactly do the central banks do it? We don’t have to look far: our own Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has also been forced to do it lately. It has been buying up from the open market large amounts of foreign currency, especially dollars, to try to drive up its price (or what is the same thing, drive the peso value down). This also means that it releases a lot of pesos—i.e., those it uses to buy dollars—into the system. With the law of supply and demand, the price of dollars goes up as the BSP itself has added to the demand for it. Equivalently, the value of the peso goes down, because the BSP has increased the supply of it in the market. At the extreme, a central bank may actually decide to fix the exchange rate at a lower level regardless of market forces. But at this day and age, few would defy the law of supply and demand, and would much rather just influence one or the other.

So if the BSP has been doing this, why has the peso-dollar exchange rate still moved down? This is where the currency war comes in and complicates matters. In economic briefings I had given in past months, I suggested that the exchange rate would not move dramatically from the P45-46 range we were seeing some months back. This was because the pressures that tend to weaken the peso, like oil and commodity price increases and high government deficits, offset the pressures that tend to strengthen the peso, especially the continued weakening of the US dollar. What I did not factor in then was the likelihood of a currency war, as is transpiring now. Closer to home, the central banks of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan recently moved to make their currencies cheaper. Central banks elsewhere are doing the same. But with that, countries will only find themselves exactly in the same place before they began intervening to cheapen their currency. And the pressure to intervene will continue, inducing a continuous race to the bottom.

Key to all of this is China, which for years has been accused by the US of manipulating the yuan to keep its value artificially low. With China exporting so much more to the US (and the rest of the world) than it imports from them over the years, the value of the Chinese currency should be much higher than it has been—as much as 20 percent higher, according to estimates. But China is accused of effectively taxing its imports and subsidizing its exports through this cheap yuan policy. China does this by buying and accumulating large amounts of US dollars in cash and government bonds; it now has more than $2.4 trillion in dollar reserves. What the US wants is for China to unload those dollar holdings, thereby buying back yuan, which will raise the demand for it and thus raise its value.

To put pressure on the Chinese, the US Congress passed legislation last week that would put heavy tariffs on American imports from China. But others fear that this will only push the Chinese to hit back by putting similar stiff restrictions on American goods and investments entering China. And judging from China’s statements and actuations in recent years, any significant move to let their currency rise substantially in value is not in the offing. And so, the Chinese currency continues to be deliberately kept weak, while its major trading partners like the US, Japan and Europe are driven to defensively do the same.

So where do all of the investible funds go to take refuge? To countries like the Philippines and its neighbors whose currencies get stronger when the major economies’ currencies get weaker, of course. And as all the hot money surges in, the peso gets even stronger.

Of course, if you were a government official who didn’t know better, you would be happily and proudly taking credit for our “strong peso,” claiming that it is proof that our economy is being managed well (we saw a lot of those in the past administration). Our Bangko Sentral, of course, knows better.

* * *
Cielito Habito (PSHS Batch 1970): Former Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority; ; Gawad Lagablab Awardee (1991)
E-mail: cielito.habito@gmail.com

Pisay the Movie

2010-10-09T10:48:00.002+08:00

Pisay the Movie; Batch 86 remembers Mike Almazan.

The Younger Batches' Favorite Teacher!

2010-10-01T00:52:00.005+08:00

Monica Xavier of Batch 85 in the house!

Happy Birthday Atty. Boots Ignalaga!

2010-09-30T05:30:00.002+08:00

Happy Birthday Atty. Boots!

Beloved Teachers In The House!

2010-09-27T20:01:00.003+08:00

September 2, 2010. Batch 85 "Batch Night" at Technowave Bar and Resto, T. Morato Ave.

In the house...Portia Fernandez and Mrs. Fernandez, Ms. Santiago, and Mrs. Quibilan

Batch 85 - The Reunions Continue

2010-09-26T06:26:00.003+08:00

Three weeks after the grand homecoming at Pisay, the silver jubilarian batch of 2010, Batch 85, continues its get-togethers. This pic taken at Metrowalk with (L to R) Romig Celis, Mike Gaston, Gerald Layson, Armand Agulan, Roland Delagon, and Boots Ignalaga. Standing behind are Zeno Martinez (Batch 82 but adopted 85), Rommel Cervantes, and Lloyd Tronco.

Remembering PSHS, Remembering Martial Law

2010-09-21T05:29:00.002+08:00

The idea of a science high school in the Philippines came from a Filipino mathematician, Dr. Leopoldo V. Torralballa, who was then a professor of mathematics at New York University. Patterned after the Bronx High School of Science in New York City, the envisioned science high school was created for the purpose of giving an education highly enriched in science and mathematics to exceptionally gifted Filipino children.

The vision was realized in 1963, and now, it has grown into eight campuses in different locations in the Philippines. The PSHS system is committed to the same ideals as those of the original campus, and its goal is to have one unified PSHS - in academic excellence, in leadership, and in spirit.

The Philippine Science High School System is an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

The First Decade: 1964 - 1973 -- Hard Work

Even before mission-visioning became all the rage, the Philippine Science High School started with Dr. Toralballa’s dream: quality science education for gifted young Filipinos. This dream turned into a mandate, and gradually came into being.

The PSHS started with great ambitions, but a small budget. Facilities were few and laboratories were improvised, but the search for excellence was clear to the staff.

National Scientist Dr. Gregorio Velasquez led the PSHS through its first three years of infancy, the fruits of which led to leadership, activism, resourcefulness, firm friendships, and the forging of character in a rented “matchbox” building by the Quezon Memorial Circle. But science needs space, and creativity, room for growth. Students exercised their political will and went to Malacañang in 1966 to ask for land for the PSHS.

“… the scenery was superb: a great blue yonder … It was nature at its best, … That is, if it was not raining. Because when it rained…one did not have to leave his umbrella at the guard post because he could use it in the classroom. But that was how true grit was formed. We knew we hadn’t much but we made full use of it.” - Manolo Condes Class ‘70

The Second Decade: 1974 - 1983 -- Bears Fruit

In 1970, the PSHS started building on a 7.5-hectare lot in Diliman. Many students spent their high school years in the pre-fab buildings: majoring in basketball, minoring in guitar, and regularly winning science /journalism/math etc. contests. Classes '73 to '76, the first “martial law babies” moved into the brand new buildings in 1972.

Gradually, the campus took shape. The laboratories in the Sciences and Humanities Building were (and still are) the envy of other schools. The residence halls and canteen serviced the students. The Administration building was also completed, and the Gym rose beyond the soccer field. Clubs sprouted and the front lobby became a venue for impromptu concerts and meetings - a place to see and be seen.

Parents were also actively involved in supporting the PSHS, and they put up the PSHS Foundation in 1978 “to maintain a private institutional medium to assist the school in its mission of preparing highly gifted students for careers in science and technology”. Thus, the dedicated faculty and staff, headed by Dr. Cleofe M. Bacuñgan, watched the students and the school campus grow and flourish.

The Third Decade: 1984 - 1993 -- Competence and Excellence

One can reap where others have sown. The Directorship passed from Dr. Bacuñgan, to Dr. Adoracion D. Ambrosio, to Dr. Vicenta F. Reyes. Traditions of excellence were passed from Batch to Batch: CAT; school newspapers: The Science Scholar, Ang Lagablab, Dalumat; the Student Alliance; self-governance in Batch Councils and through the Clubs; the Varsity teams and more. We took our directors’ advice to heart: “A first-rate education is something that is actively obtained rather than passively received.”

The average PSHS scholar plowed through academic challenges, but honed their other skills and interests through extra-curricular activities. They were still known for their participation in national and international events, such as the Science Fairs and Olympiads, but to a jury of their peers, the “heroes” were those who could combine academics with band practice and/or community service.

Graduates had started making names for themselves, garnering honors and scholarships in the Philippines and overseas. The faculty already included several PSHS alumni, keen to pass on what they themselves had received.

And finally, the PSHS was ready to grow even more: the end of this decade saw the start-up of the regional campuses.

The Fourth Decade: 1994 - 2004 -- Commitment and Service

In 1998, the four existing PSHS campuses were integrated into one system of governance and management.

Thus, the PSHS continues fulfilling its mandate “to offer, on a free scholarship basis, a secondary course with special emphasis on subjects pertaining to the sciences, with the end view of preparing its students for a science career”. This critical mass of Science and Technology workers can be achieved through the PSHS System.

As of its 40th year, the PSHS System has the Main Campus in Diliman and seven regional campuses. Graduates have gone on to S&T or other professions. Some graduates have chosen to serve their country and their school directly by teaching or working at PSHS. The current Executive Director, Dr. Ramon R. Miranda, is from PSHS Class ’73.

Of those who have finished schooling roughly seventy percent (70%) are in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics. The rest are in the humanities, journalism, law, business administration, accountancy, public administration, the military and religious ministry.

And though the decades change and fashions come and go, some things remain. Good friends - loyal friends, intellectual habits to last a lifetime, and gratitude to the institution, and to the many people who have made this education possible.

Happy Birthday Joal Ascalon!

2010-09-18T19:37:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday Joal Ascalon!

Batch 1987

2010-09-17T21:38:00.002+08:00

Batch 1987

Reunion Pic of the Day 20100916

2010-09-16T09:32:00.001+08:00

The DAWN!

Flashback to Bagets!

2010-09-14T04:38:00.004+08:00

Batch 83's Dr. Greg Anthony Medalla (2nd from right) and Batch 85's Lloyd & Regina Tronco, with Juan Carlos Bonnin in London. October 2007.

Ang Saya-saya

2010-09-13T11:06:00.001+08:00

Ang saya-saya!

Happy Birthday Samuel De la Cruz!

2010-09-12T17:55:00.002+08:00

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam's Angels...L to R... Loudel Dario, Nerissa Chin, Genie Selirio, Haydee Marbas, Judy Lopez

From Pinky Cuaycong's Blog

2010-09-12T17:51:00.004+08:00

I was looking through a box of letters when I came upon these old pictures tucked inside a yellowing envelope. I hadn’t known these were in there, and seeing them brought me back to that not-so-far-away time of my adolescence. I was suddenly awash in memories.

It has been 25 years since my husband and I graduated from the Philippine Science High School. We were from Batch 1985, perhaps the rowdiest, wackiest, and craziest batch to ever have come from that hallowed institution. We were nerds, true, but so many of us were also jocks, artists, musicians, singers, and writers. We came from all over the country and from all walks of life. Some were scions of old rich families, brought to school in spanking new German-made cars; many more were children of common folk, sons and daughters of farmers, fishermen, teachers, and businessmen. Some were the singular pride of their provinces and regions but we were all called “the cream of the cream of the crop.”

We had geniuses who battled with each other for the higher thousandths of their almost perfect grades. We had coño Front Lobby Kids and down-to-earth Back Lobby Kids. We had Pink Ladies in uniform exclusive pink jackets and fashion icons who always dressed up to the nines on Wednesdays, our school’s official wash day. We had Datkilab boys who spoke in a mystifying and tongue-twisting fashion, the Datkilaban, that you’d think this was their first language. We had fledgling fraternity boys who met in their outlawed haunts doing clandestine stuff (not-so-secretly though, haha). We had our share of sweet-as-sugar young lovers, as we also had bitter rivals. We had cliques and groups and barkadas and gangs. And yet, in the end, what we all were, were dreamers.

It’s funny how I associate those four years with so many good memories, even when the whole country was going through a tumultuous phase in its history. Inside the Philippine Science High School, while we learned to invent, do complex math, research, criticize and analyze, reason and debate, we also learned about love and heartbreak, happiness and grief. Inside its walls, we began to see each other more than just comrades in the journey of our youth. We met our first loves and lost them, got second loves and lost them too, and for some lucky ones like me, we met our last love there too.

We were the batch that inspired the Student’s Handbook and Code of Conduct. We were our school’s pride and joy, but we were also its biggest headaches. Even as we won academic recognition right and left, our batch also holds a considerable record on citations for PDAs. We were stringent in responding to the rules of the SCOs, but we also rose up, quite naturally, against authorities. We went on strike on our senior year, sitting out of our classes for two days before we finally got the concessions we demanded. (Guess who the ringleader was.) We truly loved our teachers that many years after, we still remember the sound of their voices, yet we went against their advice, too, many times. And true to our rebellious hides, even in the end, while other batches had formal sounding names for their yearbooks, we went with our insubordinate guts and used a slang — PSci for Pisay, our moniker for the school we loved like our second home.

September 4, Saturday, was our homecoming reunion and though my husband and I sat it out, preferring to celebrate in private (between him and me, it’s always a reunion all day everyday), we were with our classmates and batch mates – the good ones, at least – in spirit. It has been a long 25 years since 1985. Each day has been an adventure that led us farther and farther from our second home. And yet, however far we may go, however old we may become, we will always find our hearts in Agham Road.

Batch 1986

2010-09-12T17:36:00.002+08:00

Dang Balanza-Villanueva, Troy Banez, Stella Marie Jaro-Braganza, Auraeus Solito, Trixie DeGuzman. Pics by Joal Ascalon

Batch 1977

2010-09-12T17:28:00.005+08:00

Batch 1977 pics from http://pshs77photos.blogspot.com/

Hot Property!

2010-09-12T17:03:00.004+08:00

Rudyard, Farley, or Ramil? Girls really can't make up their minds.

We Are The Champions!

2010-09-12T16:50:00.001+08:00

Batch 85 Mixed Volleyball Champions 2010

Reunion Pic of the Day

2010-09-11T05:42:00.005+08:00

Mavic Magallanes and Denver Gomez of Batch 85 belt it out.

Happy Birthday Rolit Asuncion!

2010-09-10T15:19:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Rolit Asuncion!