STI’s Tagisan ng Sining celebrates next wave of Filipino visionaries

Wazzup Pilipinas?!



The spotlight returned to STI College for academic year 2025-2026 as it hosted “Tagisan ng Sining,” an annual search for creative excellence among student filmmakers and photographers.

This year’s short film competition “Director’s Cut” challenged 54 student teams to explore the theme “Memory as Resistance.”

Blending live action and animation, “Tao” by Kym Kaisha Dechoson, Narciso Dugay III, and Daniela Lainez of Girls Night Out Productions (STI Global City), emerged as the National Champion.

“Sa Duyan ng Gunita,” a recollection of a memory from 1978, by Natalie Shane Angulo, Angelica Blanche Salva, and Mark Lawrence Telles of PCL Pictures (STI College Cubao) won first runner-up.

A strong call to preserve culture, “Kalinangan” by Sean Maverick James Inaldo, Angeline Arcilla, and Loyd Denver Palisoc of Re:Take Films (STI College Angeles) was awarded second runner-up.

“Between the Lines” by Niko Liwag, Monica Lucia Aguilar, and Deida Miranda of NMD Productions (STI College Las Piñas) and “Dito at Doon” by Yaz Rohann Barrameda, Sophia Andrelyn Napay, and Matthew Job Estacio of Zenith Productions (STI College Ortigas-Cainta) earned third and fourth runner-up awards, respectively.

The films were judged by Madonna Tarrayo, CEO of Unitel Productions and Straight Shooters Media; Joel Bohol Jr., art director for commercials, film and television; and Seymour Sanchez, film educator and former technical consultant of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

In the photography category, 56 entries transformed ordinary moments into visual masterpieces under the theme “Borrowed Light.”

Cyken Besana Caro, first year BS Business Administration major from STI West Negros University, was declared the National Champion for his photo of a serene playground scene.

Jiether Gonzales Rabor, third year, BMMA student from STI College Tacurong, was named first runner-up for his conceptual journey of learning.

Nick James Bueno Ramos, Grade 12 ITMAWD student from STI College Sta. Mesa, won second runner-up for his study on guiding light through dim phases.

Nash Hernandez Rebutiaco, 4th Year BMMA major from STI College Santa Rosa and Niño Anthony Noya Zamora, Grade 11 ITMAWD student from STI College Davao were awarded third runner-up and fourth runner-up, respectively.

The photographs were evaluated by Aron Garcia, Special Project Coordinator for Nikon Philippines and Imaging Consultant for Canon Marketing Philippines; Jay Jallorina, renowned architectural photographer and Fujifilm Philippines Brand Ambassador; and Jijo De Guzman, leading photography advisor and grand prize winner of the Batanes International Photography Awards.

As “Tagisan ng Sining” continues to evolve, it remains a vital platform for STI students to discover new perspectives and refine their creative vision.

Insurance for Philippine Coral Reefs

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

 

The Philippines is part of the Coral Triangle, a region that hosts over 500 species of coral and 3000 species of fish. Bursting with life and abundance, coral reefs are the sunken ‘treasure chests’ of biodiversity. One in four of all known marine organisms live in or around a coral reef.

Reefs, however, aren’t the toughest of ecosystems. Corals in particular are vulnerable to temperature shifts. Too cool? They get sick. Too warm? They might purge the symbiotic, life-giving algae that give them color. Bleached corals eventually die if temperatures don’t return to normal. 

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest, was hard-hit by warming seas in 2024, with roughly 80% of its constituent reefs affected. Among the top threats to coral reefs are climate change, pollution, destructive fishing practices, storms, earthquakes, ship strikes and volcanic eruptions, especially in countries like the Philippines with many active volcanos (just look at Mount Mayon now). 

“A single typhoon, earthquake or bleaching event can spell the difference between life and death for many reefs,” explains Dr. Hazel Arceo of the University of the Philippines Cebu. “Considering the reported loss of about one-third of our corals in the last decade, Philippine coral reefs are in decline. To continue reaping the benefits of our natural resources, we must find ways to safeguard them from external threats.”

Insurance for Marine Protected Areas

Since 2025, the United Nations Development Programme’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (UNDP-BIOFIN), the UNDP Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (UNDP-IRFF), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and allied agencies have been assessing the viability of nature-based insurance products to help coral reefs and other vital ecosystems recover from natural and manmade calamities. 

“Insurance, as a form of risk transfer, can bolster the resilience of marine protected areas (MPAs) plus our other parks and protected areas, especially when combined with traditional risk reduction and mitigation measures. It’s a management tool that has rarely been tapped for conservation,” says Anabelle Plantilla, national project manager for UNDP-BIOFIN in the Philippines.

Though known to most Pinoys as a financial safety net when accidents or illnesses occur, insurance can take many forms and has been a part of human society since the era of the ancient Babylonians. At its core, insurance is a contractual agreement where entities pay premiums to an insurer that provides financial protection or reimbursements for specific, defined losses.

“The insurance industry would be happy to be a part of this and to continue the conversation. We’re more than just businesses after all,” says Mitch Rellosa, executive director of the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA), the umbrella organization unifying the 54 member companies that cover domestic non-life insurance in the Philippines. 

Using Negros Oriental’s Mantalip Marine Reserve as a hypothetical example, UNDP-BIOFIN and its partners are exploring the feasibility of non-life insurance products for MPAs and other protected areas to support the global 30 x 30 Target, which aims to protect 30% of the planet’s land and ocean areas by 2030. The Philippines hosts over 1800 MPAs, but only around 30% are effectively managed.

Previously targeted by illegal blast fishers, Mantalip Reef became an MPA in 2003. Spurred by good enforcement, fish and corals returned to improve the lives of locals. From a paltry average of two kilogrammes in 2012, Mantalip’s 700 subsistence fishers saw their yields increase to seven kilogrammes per day. The resurgence of biodiversity also attracted droves of tourists, who brought in around PHP300,000 of revenues in 2017 alone. 

But then, Odette happened.

Smashing the Philippines in December 2021, the category-five super typhoon left 36 million homes damaged and over 400 people dead. Coral reefs, forests and other ecosystems were similarly battered. Mantalip Reserve’s hard coral cover plummeted from 60% to just 5% after Odette. Even the park’s longstanding visitor center – a reinforced concrete platform that had weathered the worst storms of the past two decades – was severely damaged.

Exploring insurance systems for such damages might help Mantalip and many other Philippine coral reefs bounce back after typhoons, ship groundings and other natural or manmade calamities. 

“Protecting our marine ecosystems is not just an environmental imperative, but an investment in the well-being, resilience and prosperity of our entire country. Nature-based solutions like MPA insurance provide us with pathways to bridge ecological conservation and that elusive sustainable economic development,” adds Mariglo Laririt, assistant director of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB).

Other types of conservation-centric insurance strategies are also being pilot-tested, from an insurance policy covering jaguar mortalities of pets and livestock in Argentina to a parametric insurance policy to recoup lost fishing days of small-scale fishers in the Philippines. 

With the participation and support of insurance corporations and other forward-thinking private-sector partners, insurance might become a part of protected area management. Tomorrow’s coral reefs might finally have a financial safety net whenever a storm or earthquake barrels through.

“We should realize that, in the end, every single investment we make is dependent on nature,” concludes Abbie Cruz-Trinidad, senior technical advisor for UNDP-BIOFIN. “Since we reap so much from coral reefs and our other ecosystems, shouldn’t it make good business sense to insure and protect them?” 

KWF fetes former director and important 20th century writer and scholar

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 





The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) celebrated the life and works of its former director and important writer-scholar Julian Cruz Balmaseda this 28 January 2026 at the auditorium of the Philippine Information Agency, Quezon City.



Julian Cruz Balmaseda (1885–1947), whose 141st birth anniversary is observed today, is an important writer and scholar whose works in Filipino captured the spirit and essence of a precarious time in Philippine history.



With a writing career spanning the recently-ended Spanish occupation and the aftermath of World War II, Balmaseda wrote about Filipino life in a wide spectrum ranging from the patriotic to the romantic and personal.



According to sources, Balmaseda penned about 820 poems and 44 plays. Some of his books of poetry include Ang Bayan ni Plaridel (1913), Pangarap Lamang (1915), and Naku, ang Maynila! (1923–1924). KWF, under its Aklat Bayan program, reissued Naku, ang Maynila! in 2015.



His plays and stories like Sangkuwaltang Abaka (1922) and Ang Tala ng Bodabil (1936–37) have been restaged and adapted into films.



As a scholar of Philippine literature, his important works include Ang Tatlong Panahon ng Tulang Tagalog (1938) and Ang Dulang Pilipino (1947).



Balmaseda, originally from Orion, Bataan, was a teacher, municipal clerk, and government employee. He served as director of the National Institute of Language (now known as KWF) from 1938–1947.



Since 2015, KWF has been paying tribute to Balmaseda by staging the Gawad Julian Cruz Balmaseda during his birth anniversary. The award recognizes outstanding theses and dissertations written in Filipino as a contribution to the intellectualization of the national language.



Winners for this 2026 are Darwin Plaza (thesis) of Ateneo de Naga University and Ferdinand P. Jarin (dissertation) of De La Salle University.



KWF also launched Dr. Lovella Gamponia-Velasco’s Ubbog Ti Asin: Kuwento at Kuwenta ng mga Babaeng Mannurat ng Nueva Viscaya. Gamponia-Velasco won the Gawad Balmaseda for her dissertation in 2017.










Aktibong dumalo ang Tagapangulo ng Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) na si Atty. Marites A. Barrios-Taran, kasama ang Fultaym Komisyoner Benjamin M. Mendillo sa K-10 Curriculum Implementers’ Summit na isinagawa noóng 15 Enero 2026 sa Rizal Park Hotel, Manila. Layunin ng pagtitipon na pagtibayin, talakayin, at pag-ibayuhin ang pagpapatupad ng K-10 Kurikulum sa buong bansa.



Nagbigay ng mahalagang mensahe si Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara at binigyang-diin nito ang papel ng mga tagapagpatupad ng kurikulum sa paghubog ng makabuluhan, ingklusibo, at makabansang edukasyon. Hinikayat niya ang mga guro, administrador, at katuwang na institusyon na magkaisa, makipagtulungan, at magsulong ng dekalidad na sistema ng pagkatuto.



Nakiisa rin sa summit sina G. Gerson Marvin M. Abesamis, Director IV ng Bureau of Learning Delivery, Atty. Ester A. Funtalan, OIC, Office of the Director III ng BLD, at G. Jerome T. Buenviaje, Assistant Secretary ng Learning System Strand. Aktibo silang nagbahagi ng pananaw, naglatag ng mga polisiya, at nagpaliwanag ng mga estratehiya kaugnay ng epektibong implementasyon ng K-10 Kurikulum.



Ipinakita ng K-10 Curriculum Implementers’ Summit ang sama-samang pagkilos ng mga pinunὸ, eksperto, at institusyon upang paunlarin ang edukasyong Pilipino.