UST Sociological Society Archives

Mar292019 by No Comments

Contractual Sumifru workers decry endo in Socio-hosted forum

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By MA. LEANDREA A. TAMARES WORKERS from Sumifru, a Japanese fresh fruits exporting corporation, recounted their struggles with contractualization and unhealthy working conditions in a forum co-hosted by the UST Sociological Society (USTSS) on Monday. Plantation worker Maria Fe Juson said some of her peers have worked for Sumifru for more than 20 years but have not received benefits and only got their daily salaries increased to 365 pesos after staging a strike. "Even na may desisyon na 'yung Korte Suprema na kami na ‘yung kikilalanin na legitimate workers ng kumpanya, nag-file pa sila (management) ng motion for reconsideration," she said. End of contract or “endo” contractualization is an employment practice where workers are temporarily hired for less than six months for t...

Oct62018 by No Comments

AB socs condemn “red-tagging” of UST

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By JOAHNA LEI E. CASILAO SEVERAL SOCIETIES from the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) denounced the inclusion of the University (UST) in the military’s list of 18 schools allegedly involved in a rumored ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte. Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., assistant deputy chief of staff for operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), alleged that students from certain Metro Manila universities have been enjoined by the Communist Party of the Philippines to take part in a destabilization plot dubbed “Red October." In separate statements released Thursday, the Sociological Society (USTSS), Literary Society (LitSoc), and The Political Science Forum (TPSF) decried the AFP’s accusation. “The AFP’s list is not a mere attack on the University...

Nov152017 by No Comments

Human rights being delegitimized by Duterte admin, says PolSci educator

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THE INCUMBENT administration undermines the existence of human rights in the country to continue its war against illegal drugs, the chairperson of the political science program of the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila claimed in a forum held Nov. 8. Cleve Arguelles said President Rodrigo Duterte exposes people to a "war against human rights," apart from his administration’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs. “He is trying to present human rights as an enemy of the people. We have been fed [by] this false notion na kapag sinacrifice natin ‘yung mga ibang tao ay uunlad ‘yung buhay natin,” Arguelles said. “After delegitimizing human rights as an idea, we see na he’s now attacking the institutional basis of human rights. Halimbawa, the Supreme Court will call his atten...

Apr242017 by No Comments

Hontiveros slams ‘war on drugs’, seeks humane policy

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SEN. Risa Hontiveros denounced the current administration’s “war on drugs” that has claimed thousands of lives, saying the government should focus on implementing humane alternatives as means to eradicate illegal drugs in the country. “Let’s not embrace a culture of destruction. If we are to truly build a better nation, we must begin by recognizing the value of each human person and in every human struggle. […] Let us offer a hand of hope not of death for our country,” Hontiveros said in a forum held April 20 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex. Hontiveros said drug-related problems must be seen as a public health issue rather than a criminal case. “Sa palagay ko, ang pinakamagandang programa sana dahil sila ang pamahalaan, ay […] kanselahin na iyang (Oplan) Tokhang na iyan...

Jan272017 by No Comments

Environmentalists call on youth to adopt zero waste living

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STUDENTS SHOULD partake in achieving a zero waste surrounding as early as now to attain a sustainable world in the future, environmentalists from different countries told Thomasians in a forum held Thursday. “What we could do to the environment today will affect not just you, not just your children, not just their children, but eight generations,” said Jorge Emmanuel, a professor from Siliman University in the third Zero Waste Youth Convergence held at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium. Data from Zero Waste United States of America revealed that an average of 1.2 pounds is being wasted in the world every day. Meanwhile, the Philippines generated an average of 1.1 pounds of waste per day in 2011, a study from the United Nations Environment Programme showed. Rahyang...

Mar22016 by No Comments

Sociology, Philosophy book tickets to basketball finals

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THE TEAMS of Sociology and Philosophy will battle it out in the AB Sportsfest Basketball championship after outclassing their opponents in the semifinal round of the series held Tuesday. Sociology barely escaped the relentless Legal Management (LegMa) who threatened to bring the ballgame to overtime, 46-44. LegMa’s Diego Montesa knocked down a trey early in the first quarter, while Airam Rendon also pitched points after shooting a free throw and a lay-up before Sociology turned the tide. Recovering from his dismal performance, Sociology’s Rowi Pascual unleashed two three-pointers that cut LegMa’s deficit to one by the end of the first quarter, 11-12. Lanz Mendoza of Sociology also rained hoops in the second quarter as he dropped five unanswered points through his trey and c...

Feb292016 by No Comments

Gaps, efforts in eradicating poverty tackled in 3rd int’l sociology conference

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UNIVERSITY STUDENTS and members of religious communities gathered in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to discuss the state of poverty in the country and the efforts being done to combat it in an international conference held Feb. 26 to 27. Rev. Fr. Virgilio Ojoy, O.P., Ph.D. cited Pope Francis’ call to the Church in the Philippines “to combat the causes of the deeply-rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of the Filipino society.” “He (Pope Francis) urged us to be present to those who are living in the midst of the society burdened by poverty and corruption, are broken in spirit, [are] tempted to give up, to leave school and to live in the streets,” Ojoy said. Ojoy believes there is a need to look at the global forces that cause poverty and examine the particula...