By Joe GarBanzos MPH/MBa

University of the Philippines System President Alfredo Pascual was the guest of honor at the UP Alumni Assn. fund raising dinner in San Diego, Crown Plaza Hotel, on Aug. 10th. At dinner he outlined initiatives he is implementing to reform the UP system with an ambitious goal of making it a center of academic excellence in Asia. The event was attended by members of UP Alumni Association and their friends from San Diego area, Las Vegas, LA, NYC, New Jersey and from the Midwest.

Who is Alfredo Pascual?Alfredo Pascual is an interesting

choice to be UP System President. He is the 20th president of the State University System and took ofce in 2011. He is a UP alum, used to be an adjunct faculty at the Arts and Sciences and Business Administration Colleges. He was a member of the Board of Regents and was also active in UP the Alumni Association. Unlike previous UP presidents, however; he is neither a politician nor a government wag. He is rst to admit he does not consider himself an academic. He

comes from the corporate nance and banking business. He comes across more as an effective manager and less of a political appointee. This may give him the competencies to make much needed reforms in the UP System.

UP losing its luster?

President Pascual recognized serious challenges facing the UP System today. In a world of constant global competition, the UP system has to compete. UP used to be considered the premier university in the country and a center of excellence in the Asian

region. Recent rankings of academic institutions, the University of the Philippines has lost ground. Within the country, private schools like Ateneo and De La Salle have gained ground. In Asia, schools in Singapore and other ASEAN countries have gained

new-found stature in research and academic excellence. The University of the Philippines has slowly lost its luster, even Pres. Pascual may reluctantly admit.

Reforming the UP systemThe UP system consists of eight

universities, seventeen campuses spread across the country with a student population of 57,000 students. President Pascual�s vision is to make the system work as a unied, focused and competitive organization. He has chosen the theme of �One University; One UP� to capture the reformation effort.

He believes that reformation should start by enabling access to UP by a diverse and qualied talent of students. He admits that entrance to UP is competitive and students from metropolitan areas, coming from upper middle class families have built-in advantages. These cohort of students have the socio-economic advantages that help them prepare and succeed in passing the UP entrance examination. Talented students from the provinces, however, are at a disadvantage. Pres. Pascual has plans to address this disparity.

To enable talented but disadvantaged students to apply and pass the UP entrance test, Pres. Pascual is introducing online UP

SAN FRANCISCO, CA � Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) and the Philippine National Bank (PNB) will allow Wells Fargo ExpressSend® customers to send money to family and friends in more than 600 PNB locations in the Philippines. To celebrate the expansion, Wells Fargo will waive all transfer fees for remittances sent from an eligible account by new and existing ExpressSend customers to beneciaries at PNB through September 30, 2014.

�We know that remittances are very important to our customers with family and friends in the Philippines, and we know that convenience is an important part of the service we offer,� said Daniel Ayala, executive vice president and head of Wells Fargo's Global Remittance Services. �By adding PNB, the 4th largest bank in the Philippines, we are able to expand our payout network, making it easier than ever for customers to support their family and friends in the Philippines.�

�The Philippine National Bank is one of the leading providers of remittance and other banking services to Global Filipinos and Wells Fargo is likewise recognized as a strong player in the banking and remittance business. With this new remittance arrangement, PNB can provide convenient remittance transactions between Global Filipinos and their loved ones here in the Philippines,�

By JosH seliGManSAN DIEGO, CA -- At 5 a.m.,

Jacqui Nguyen is usually awake and ready for her morning run, followed by checking her phone for news. Before arriving at work at 8:30 a.m., she rests for ve minutes at the Coffee Bean. Then her work day begins.

�I really enjoy my work if I�m passionate about something, which is everything I do,� Nguyen said.

Nguyen is the Field Representative for the Asian Pacic American Initiative of the California Republican Party. Her job is to motivate Asian-American voters in California�s 52nd Congressional District to participate in the political process. She does this through such means as educating them, informing them of elections, and encouraging them to vote.

�It�s important to inspire and engage the Asian-American population,� Nguyen said. �They ask, �Why isn�t there outreach?� Under the umbrella of the Republican Party, we�re doing the outreach.�

Nguyen aims to speak with any Asian-American voter regardless of political party. At the same time, she answers questions about the Republican Party and expresses the party�s diversity.

Nguyen meets with Asian-American coalitions and community leaders. Early last week, she attended

an event organized by the Vietnamese Federation of San Diego which highlighted the accomplishments of the top 1 percent of Vietnamese-American students in San Diego.

�It was such an inspiring event to see so many Vietnamese-American students receiving recognition for their hard work,� Nguyen said via e-mail.

Although Nguyen began working for the APAI after the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election, when the California Republican Party formed the initiative, she has worked hard throughout her life. In 1990, Nguyen graduated from Mount Carmel High School, where she edited, copyedited, and wrote feature stories for the school newspaper. She then attended San Diego State University, where she majored in journalism and minored in Japanese because she wanted to be an international broadcast journalist in Japan.

She supported herself through college with two jobs, including one as an administrative production assistant for NBC. Nguyen graduated in 1994 and worked behind the scenes in broadcast journalism until 2000, when she became a TV reporter and anchor at KMIR-TV (NBC) in Palm Springs. On the weekends, she drove to San Diego, where she reported for KGTV.

Eventually, Nguyen felt that she needed to move home to San Diego

to be closer to her family. In 2009, she left broadcast journalism and entered politics.

�While I had a successful career as a journalist, I felt that life was too short,� Nguyen said via e-mail. �I didn�t want to just be a journalist for the rest of my life. I saw politics as a way to help people, especially on the grassroots side.�

Before working for the APAI, Nguyen was the press secretary with former Chairman of the California Republican Party Ron Nehring. Now, while working for the APAI, she is pursuing a Masters of Business Administration degree online.

Nguyen works in the Carl DeMaio for Congress Campaign Headquarters. From 2008 to 2012, DeMaio represented District 5 as a member of the San Diego City Council, and is now running as Congressional Representative for California�s 52nd District, which includes coastal and northern communities of San Diego. Democrat Scott Peters is the current representative of the district.

�We�re thankful that Jacqui�s here,� said Dave McCullough, Communications Director for Carl DeMaio for Congress. �She gets to be a voice for inclusiveness.�

Since 1986 July 19, 2014 - July 25, 2014 www.thefilipinopress.com • (619) 434-1720

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Jacqui Nguyen: Motivating, Inspiring, and Engaging Asian-American Voters

L to R: Ms. Kim-Lien Tran/College Recruiter; Field Representative Nguyen ; Mr. Liem Peter Pham/President, Vietnamese Federation of San Diego

See NGUYEN on 8

Prexy Pascual Upbeat in UP System – future Center of Excellence in Asia

Wells Fargo adds Philippine National Bank to ExpressSend remittance network

Expands coverage to more than 5,700 branches and 6,700 ATMs in Philippines; also offers transferfee waiver for all transactions sent from an eligible account to PNB until Sept. 30, 2014

UCSD Kaibigang Pilipino Graduation Class 2014 with Franz Roxas (front center), KP Alumni Liaison. See page 5

UP Alumni Association of America (UPAAA) and UP Alumni San Diego (UPASD) host UP President Pascual during his recent SD visit. Top photo shows: (L-R) Ador Colmenar, Leonarda Santos, Aurora Cudal, Dina B. Ellorin, Carmen M. Pascual, Alfredo Pascual, Consuelo Almonte,Juanita Santos Nacu, Nelsie Parrado, Connie Oliveros and Noel Verzosa (Photo by Zen Ply)

www.thefilipinopress.com Filipino Press July 19, 2014 - July 25, 2014 • 5

College Admission Testing. He also putting in place a system of exible tuition payment plan and liberal tuition discount to assist eligible students faced with nancial burden and needing help.

Academic Excellence“Reformation of the UP System

must address faculty development”, said Pres. Pascual. He shared a number of initiatives to help faculty development and advance academic excellence. He is making more funds available to support faculty fellowship overseas and exchange programs. He is also increasing funding for research. On the question of funding, Pres. Pascual was successful in scaling-up the UP System budget. He got approval from Malacanang for a P5B annual budget, a signi cant increase from previous budgets.

Educational excellence will also come from streamlining programs and reordering of priorities according to Pascual. This means aligning UP’s priorities to emerging innovations and global trends in the areas of massive online course studies (MOCS) and synching UP academic calendar with the rest of the world. Benchmarking performance in

research and outcomes with world standards is another way of raising competitiveness and bar of excellence in the UP system, Pascual added.

New CampusesThe scandalous Priority

Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) is not all bad. Pres. Pascual acknowledged that PDAF monies were utilized to develop a new campus in Cebu. The UP Campus in Cebu will specialize in Information Technology and Business. There is also a new campus planned in the New City area, used to be Camp Bonifacio. This new campus in the greater Metro-Manila area will specialize in Business, Law and Statistics. This will provide campus venue for middle managers in Makati and neighboring areas to pursue continuing education closer to their workplace.

Campuses in other parts of the country will also be specializing in a narrower but relevant eld of study. Campus in Mindanao will be the center for Agriculture, in addition to Los Banos. UP Visayas will continue to be the center for Aquatic Science. The Clark Campus in Pampanga will specialize in Sustainable Environment. The devastated campus in Leyte will be relocated to higher grounds.

UP Alumni AssociationPresident Pascual noted the

important role of Alumni Association chapters all over the world. Each chapter is needed in helping support and nance reformation of the UP System. UP Alumni all over the world have succeeded in their chosen eld and continue to show loyalty to their alma mater.

The UP Alumni Association America is a good example. It’s been a consistent supporter of the UP System in many years. Individual alumni chapters are known to provide nancial support to their chosen colleges. The Friends of UP Association with distinguished alumni members such as Loida Nicolas-Lewis is said to have $1M dollars in the bank and has demonstrated a track record of generosity.

The UP Alumni Association of American and the UP Alumni San Diego chapter also held its board meetings on the same day at the same venue. The leadership of different chapters from Las Vegas, NYC, New Jersey and LA shared projects and activities that is impacting UP alumni and families in their communities. Preliminary plans for the 2015 Alumni Convention was also discussed and mapped-out. Juanita Santos Nacu, current president of UP Alumni Association of America facilitated the meeting.

PASCUALContinued from p age 1

BY EDWARD KENNETH NADURATA

SAN DIEGO, CA -- The annual University of California San Diego (UCSD) Pilipin@ Graduation was organized by Kaibigang Pilipin@ (KP) last June 13 in Price Center Ballroom East. The gathering was held to celebrate the culmination of the journey of many Filipino/a identifying students along with some of their peers who aren’t Filipinos who have been a part of KP, the Pilipino Undergraduate Society of Health (PUSH), Kamalayan Kollective, and Kabayanihan while studying at UCSD during their undergraduate years.

The program, emceed by Elaina Wi and Edward Mangibin, started with the graduates’ processional. In his Welcome Remarks, Franz Roxas, Alumni Liaison for KP Board expressed that this event, “is an evening where we all come together to celebrate the success, accomplishments, and retention of these seniors who have been actively involved in the Pilipin@ community at UCSD and in the greater San Diego community.” UCSD Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, in his brief message, reminded the graduates to “strive for their level best and be proud of UCSD education” they have acquired and congratulated them and their parents and family members. Interim Vice-Chancellor Carol Padden, Of ce of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion also graced the occasion along with Filipino faculty members and staff.

Dr. Atilio V. Alicio, Lecturer in Filipino at UCSD and San Diego State

University, in his Keynote Speech, with wit and humor, shared signi cant insights in the learning and teaching of the Filipino language and culture to Fil-Ams learners, thereby “creating an awareness in you about your identify and culture and appreciate your being Fil-Am.” As they embark on another phase of their lives, he further reminded them to “look for the thing you love to do; go out and start living the life you envision; and be laser-focused in what you choose to accomplish as your goal in life – for in order to excel, one is not expected to perform miracles, but simply to do ordinary things - in an extraordinary way”. The challenge he posed to the undergrads was for them to advocate and work for the offering of Filipino classes at UCSD to non-heritage learners, as well.

The KP Freshmen Batch 2017 showed their appreciation by giving to the graduating seniors a handmade framed collage of their graduation pictures, while the KP choir, Kantahan, conducted by Economics graduate, Trevor Portiz, sang a mash-up of Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” and Yeng Constantino’s “Salamat”.

Juliana ̀ Juju’ Wong, in her response on behalf of Batch 2014, thanked everyone for taking time to come and celebrate the many accomplishments of the KP graduating seniors, and said: “I stand in front of you today not because of the ethnic blood that runs through my body, but because of the bonds I’ve made, lessons I’ve learned and the irreplaceable memories that I have made with a family and

community that I have grown to love with the KP space”. She reminded everyone that “if you want your dreams to come true, stop dreaming and take the initiative to make them happen, for our lives are de ned by opportunities - even the ones we miss”.

The 35 graduating seniors, many of whom have been involved in the various Pilipin@ organizations on campus, walked the stage to receive a stole bearing the Philippine ag. Families from all over California and even Nevada came along with friends to commemorate the graduates’ success, bearing owers, leis and balloons for them. “I did PGrad because KP is where I found my college best friends”, said Patricia Martel, a Psychology graduate from Marshall College, and “we all thought it was a good way to end our college career.” Prachi Prakash Goel, an Economics and Political Science major, said: “What I will miss about UCSD is the constant opportunities for growth and the support through every challenge. How accepted I was by a community I do not identify with, and how open everyone has been to me, for which I am truly thankful”. Every other speech shared, had focused and summed up on their academic and life’s journey, struggles, experiences, the tremendous and amazing support system they have in KP, and most importantly acknowledging the inspiration drawn and unconditional love they received from their parents and family members and for which they are forever appreciative and grateful! MABUHAY!

UCSD KAIBIGANG PILIPINO HOLDS GRADUATION 2014 MANILA -- Malacañang on

Friday expressed the Philippines' deepest sympathies to the families of nearly 300 victims – including three Filipinos – of the crash of Malaysia Airlines MH17 in Ukraine.

Presidential Communications Operations Of ce head Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Department of Foreign Affairs will work with Ukranian and Malaysian authorities to identify the three Filipinos on the ill-fated ight.

"The Philippines joins the entire global community in expressing its deepest sympathies to the families

of the ... passengers of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, that reportedly crashed in Ukraine. Initial reports revealed that there were also three Filipinos on board the ill-fated ight," he said.

He also said the Philippine government joins calls for a "thorough and swift" inquiry into the incident.

"The (Philippine government) is one with the international community in calling for the thorough and swift inquiry on this incident" he said.

Earlier Friday, DFA spokesman Charles Jose con rmed three Filipinos were aboard the ill-fated ight, but did

not immediately identify them.Malaysia Airlines said it is

notifying the next-of-kin of the victims, who included 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers.

DFA spokesman Charles Jose said this was based on information from the Malaysian and Dutch governments, but did not give further details.

He said neither government has released the names of the passengers including the Filipinos.

The Philippine embassies in Malaysia and the Netherlands are ready to help the families of the Filipinos. (MNS)

PHL relays sympathies to kin of MH17 crash victims

Graduating students with friends/Ms Quiogue/Dr. Alicio