THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas aims to strengthen its fellowship with the Muslim community through a gift-giving activity ahead of the inauguration of the main building of its General Santos (GenSan) campus.
UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. said the activity would be part of the preliminary rites leading to the inauguration on April 11.
“By the time that (Islamic religious event) Eid al-Fitr nears, alumni and UST admins will be giving gifts to the nearby Muslim community as a sign of goodwill and solidarity,” Coronel told The Flame.
Among the ceremonies that will be carried out are the ribbon cutting, the blessing of UST GenSan’s botanical garden and separate Eucharistic celebrations for workers and newly-hired support staff.
Fr. Roberto Luanzon, Jr., O.P., the España campus’ vice rector for finance, will serve as officer in charge of UST GenSan’s Office of the Associate Vice Rector for Finance, while Fr. Gerard Zabala, O.P will be the associate vice rector for religious affairs.
Former Commerce dean Assoc. Prof. Leonardo Canoy was appointed as the officer in charge of the UST GenSan School of Business and Accountancy, alongside former director of the Office of Alumni Relations Asst. Prof. Fredeswindo Medina, who was named as the campus’ acting director for student admissions and records.
The six-story-high GenSan Main Building, also the first edifice of the Mindanao campus, reached its final stages of construction last month. It will be inaugurated during the founding month of UST.
University officials and members of the Dominican Province of the Philippines along with Thomasian graduates and Mindanao government agency officials will be attending the rites.
Other attendees include presidents of schools within the area and contractors and engineers involved in the building construction.
The groundbreaking rite for UST Dr. Ricardo S. Po Sr. Integrated Innovation Research Laboratories will be on April 25, according to Coronel. It will be attended by members of the College of Science.
Coronel noted that program adjustments are still being made due to higher levels of heat index since the beginning of April.
From April 3 to 7, General Santos city drew heat indices of 35 to 38 degrees Celsius, which fall within the classification “extreme caution,” according to data from the weather bureau.
“We already have a format (of the program) but it keeps being revised depending on the heat index…A lot of considerations are still being done since..it is very difficult to stage an event now since you are (prioritizing) the health of…others,” Coronel said.
UST acquired the GenSan campus site in 1997 but developments were delayed by land classification issues. It was reassigned as institutional land from agricultural in 2013, while full development of facilities took place in April 2018.
The 76.78-hectare campus is expected to accommodate 15,000 students with 77 classrooms, 25 laboratories, a 100-person capacity chapel a library and a clinic. Organization rooms, functional halls and an auditorium are also among the campus’ facilities.
The UST GenSan campus will welcome its first batch of students during the academic year 2024-2025. F – with reports from Carlo Jose Ruga
