VOLUME XCVIII / NO. 7 · JUNE 5, 2026 · THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS · Manila, Philippines
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CHED POSTPONES GEN ED CURRICULUM OVERHAUL By Alexandra S. Demaisip
THE COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHEd) has decided to postpone the “reframed” general education (GE) curriculum following widespread criticism. CHEd Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said the decision to defer implementation, originally set for Academic Year 2026-2027, was reached in an interagency meeting consisting of the Depart-
ment of Education, Teacher Education Council, and the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2). “This is to give us time to analyze and study well the different manifestations because we understand where they are coming from,” Agrupis said in a press conference on May 13. Agrupis said the target date for pilot testing would be moved to 2028. Under the reframed curriculum, the number of GE units will be reduced to a minimum of 18 units with six courses
namely Professional Communication, Global Trends and Emerging Technologies, Data, Evidence, and Ethics in a Knowledge-Driven Society, Rizal and Philippine Studies, Labor Education, and an institutional course. The overhaul was meant to “eliminate redundancies between the senior high school and college GE courses,” and to focus on an “outcomes-based” curriculum, which shifts from a “teacher-centric” to a “student-centric” design. CHEd earlier said in a statement
that all position papers and feedback from stakeholders would be reviewed by the technical panel for GE. ‘Teachers should be consulted’
UST Arts and Letters Faculty Association President Rene Tadle welcomed the CHEd’s move, stressing that teachers should be consulted in policy decisions. “CHEd’s deferment shows that teachers can no longer be treated as an CHED POSTPONES PAGE 2
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UST calls on CHEd to respect inst’l autonomy in gen ed reform
► The University of Santo Tomas holds a wreath-laying ceremony at the Benavides
Monument in the Sampaloc campus on Tuesday, April 28, in celebration of its 415th founding anniversary. — PHOTO BY DANIELLE D. ATIENZA
By Amanda Luella A. Rivera
UST honors founder Miguel de Benavides on 415th founding anniversary By Alexandra S. Demaisip
THE UNIVERSITY honored its founder, Msgr. Miguel De Benavides, O.P., with solemn wreath-laying rites and a Eucharistic celebration at the Benavides Garden for its 415th founding anniversary on April 28. During his homily, Fr. Angel Aparicio, O.P., prefect of the Miguel Benavides Library, said Benavides’ monument serves as a “silent figure” that encourages Thomasians to continue persevering towards a “higher reality.” “As I contemplate the monument…I ponder at a silent figure pointing upwards with his finger as a continuous and invincible reminder of a higher reality, of which what we
see is only a mere announcement or image,” Aparicio said. Benavides’ monument on the UST Sampaloc campus, a bronze statue atop a pedestal flanked by four seated lion figures, is located in Plaza Benavides in front of the Main Building. Aparicio said Benavides was a “poor man,” but was a “real missionary and evangelizer.” “[He] had embraced Jesus’ instruction to his disciples almost literally. And [he] trusted Jesus’ words in the parable of the seed that no matter its apparent insignificance, when properly taken care of, it may grow into a mighty tree,” he stated. The library prefect said the “secret” to sustaining operations for over
four centuries lies not only in financial investment but also in a strong “spiritual” foundation. “Miguel de Benavides and his Dominican brothers, following the footsteps of Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order, were men of faith and had a profound commitment to the work of evangelization through education,” he said. Benavides, the third archbishop of Manila, laid the groundwork for the University’s foundation in 1605 by donating his books and the sum of P1,500. UST Vice Rector Fr. Isaias Tiongco, O.P., presided over the Mass. Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P., Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. and Benavides Cancer Institute Direc-
EDITORIAL ► PAGE 4
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tor Teresa Sy Ortin, along with other University officials, were present at the ceremony. In her speech, Ortin said Benavides’ teachings “carry a very profound meaning” to the Benavides Cancer Institute, which bears his name, as they guide the institute’s “healing mission.” “The Benavides Cancer Institute has been guided by a single vision that is to deliver integrated, compassionate care to every cancer patient who enters its door,” Ortin said. The Benavides Cancer Institute was inaugurated in 2006 and is the country’s first one-stop cancer center. The 2026 anniversary rites bear the theme, “UST@415: Keep Us in Truth.”
SPECIAL REPORTS ► PAGE 6
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THE UNIVERSITY has called on the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to respect institutional autonomy and ensure that reforms to the general education (GE) curriculum “deepen the formative, humanistic, civic, ethical, and intellectual purpose of higher education.” In a statement, UST outlined its suggestions following the CHEd proposal for a “reframed” GE curriculum, which seeks to offer six streamlined courses, of 18 to 36 units. “The University trusts that CHED will reconsider the implemen-
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The University trusts that CHED will reconsider the implementation, ensuring that any revision to the General Education Curriculum genuinely strengthens the quality, depth, and transformative character of Philippine higher education. tation… ensuring that any revision to the General Education Curriculum genuinely strengthens – rather than diminishes – the quality, depth, and transformative character of Philippine higher education,” the statement read. The proposal seeks to revise INST’L AUTONOMY PAGE 3
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