UST-GenSan campus inaugurated
The University of Santo Tomas (UST) inaugurated its new 82-hectare extension campus in General Santos City (GenSan) on April 11, the first outside Luzon.
During the inauguration ceremony, UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang said the opening of the GenSan campus is a significant milestone as the university celebrated its 413th foundation this month.
Ang said he hopes that the campus will be a beacon of hope among Christians and Muslims in Mindanao.
The six-story building of UST GenSan houses 24 classrooms, 23 laboratories, a chapel, library, clinic, auditorium, cafeteria and function halls.
The school will open in the next academic year (2024-2025) offering health sciences, business, accountancy, engineering and information technology.
The UST, with its main campus in Manila, acquired the GenSan property that straddles barangays Ligaya and Katangawan in 1997.
3 Dawlah Islamiyah members killed in Lanao Norte clash
The Philippine Army said three militants belonging to the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group were killed in a gunbattle in Munai town, Lanao del Norte last April 13.
A soldier was wounded after he was hit by a shrapnel from an improvised explosive device detonated by seven militants during a 20-minute encounter with the government troops in Barangay Linondogan.
Brig. General Yegor Rey Barroquillo, commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, identified the slain militants as Nezrin Sandab alias Firdaus, Saipal Abubacar alias Faris and Pabo Zainodin Radia alias Musab.
Barroquillo said the three were members of the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute group headed by Nasser Daud alias Mas’od or Abu Jihad, an ustaz or religious leader who now heads the remnants of the terror group that bombed a Catholic Mass in Mindanao State University last December, which left four people dead..
He said that three M14 rifles, six backpacks and several ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.
State-run university in CDO suspends onsite classes due to hot weather
Another school in Cagayan de Oro has suspended onsite classes after the heat index reached 41 degrees Celsius.
The state-run University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTSP) declared a “yellow alert code” last Friday, Jen Sitoy, USTSP strategic team coordinator, said.
A yellow alert code means online classes can be switched to virtual learning to protect the health of the students. Examinations or tests can also be conducted online.
Last week, the barangay council of Lapasan in Cagayan de Oro also suspended in-person classes after teachers and students complained of the scorching temperature due to the El Niño phenomenon.
