#varsitarianust

Long lunch with college friends from The Varsitarian, hosted by Philippine Ambassador to Kenya Marie Charlotte G. Tang. Charlotte is also the first Philippine ambassador accredited to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Aside from Kenya and the DRC, she is accredited to Burundi, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. She is also the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Program and the UN-Habitat.

A career diplomat, she was the Deputy Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

She was the Philippine Consul General in Guangzhou, the Minister and Consul General at the Philippine Embassy in The Hague, and earlier, a junior officer at the Philippine Embassy in Beijing.

Scenes from The Varsitarian's 39th Ustetika Awards for Literature, where Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, Ramil Gulle, and I served as judges for poetry. Poet Roberto Añonuevo is this year's Parangal Hagbong recipient for Lifetime Achievement. The Faculty of Arts and Letters and The Graduate School dominated this year's winners. The UST Singers performed excerpts from their highly-regarded repertoire.

In AY 1985-1986, future Varsitarian Editor in Chief Vim Nadera (AY 1987-1988) organized the 1st Ustetika Awards, representing a contraction of "UST" and "estetika" (aesthetics). Ustetika winners for poetry, short fiction, one-act play, and essays in English and Filipino receive trophies, cash prizes and certificates.

The Varsitarian revived the Rector's Literary Award in 1991 as part of Ustetika to recognize individuals whose works exemplified the depth and diversity of literature in the university. Director, screenwriter, and playwright Jun Robles Lana is the first post-Martial Law recipient of this award.

In 1997, The Varsitarian introduced the 1st Parangal Hagbong during the 13th Ustetika Awards, honoring the lifetime achievements of National Artist for Theatre and Literature Rolando Tinio and fictionist and former UP Arts and Letters Dean Rogelio Sikat.

Judging this year’s Ustetika Awards for Poetry with Ramil Digal Gulle and Nerisa Del Carmen Guevara.

In a Facebook post dated 22 February 2013 (https://www.facebook.com/share/Si2EmdGVbuB1pDqs/?mibextid=WaXdOe), Playwright and historian Jose Victor Torres wrote that Ustetika’s roots may be traced back to 10 October 1947. The Varsitarian, UST’s official student paper, headlined the announcement of a Varsitarian Literary Contest with a total amount of P1050 cash prizes.

In 1959, The Varsitarian established The Rector's Literary Award to nurture and support young creative writers in the university (https://varsitarian.net/news/20071102/Ustetika).

The Rector's Literary Award was discontinued during Martial Law. In AY 1985-1986, future Varsitarian Editor in Chief Vim Nadera (AY 1987-1988) organized the 1st Ustetika Awards, representing a contraction of "UST" and "estetika" (aesthetics). Ustetika winners for poetry, short fiction, one-act play, and essays in English and Filipino receive cash prizes and certificates.

The Varsitarian revived the Rector's Literary Award in 1991 as part of Ustetika to recognize individuals whose works exemplified the depth and diversity of literature in the university. Director, screenwriter, and playwright Jun Robles Lana is the first post-Martial Law recipient of this award.

In 1997, The Varsitarian introduced the 1st Parangal Hagbong during the 13th Ustetika Awards, honoring the lifetime achievements of National Artist for Theatre and Literature Rolando Tinio and fictionist and former UP Arts and Letters Dean Rogelio Sikat.

Over the years, the Varsitarian and Ustetika produced many writers who have made lasting contributions to Philippine literature and culture. Very grateful to have judged Ustetika’s various categories since 1991.