UA&P achieves 100% passing rate in the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers

UA&P extends its congratulations to the following graduates of the School of Education and Human Development (SED) for passing the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT) conducted last September 29:

Licensed Professional Teachers in Elementary Education:

A press release from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board for Professional Teachers (BPT) announced that 20,025 elementary teachers out of 44,002 examinees (45.51%) and 48,875 secondary teachers out of 85,926 examinees (56.88%) successfully passed the LEPT.

This year's examinees from SED posted a 100% passing rate.

In addition, two completers of SED's Certificate in Professional Teaching Program also passed the licensure exam and are now Licensed Professional Teachers in Secondary Education:

Paolo Bonifacio Abdon III
Jose A. Ballesca III

Congratulations, new teachers!

UA&P recognized at PACUCOA General Assembly

The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) received three awards during the 35th Annual General Assembly of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities – Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) for the following achievements:

• For being awarded Autonomous Status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in September 2024;
• For reaching Level IV accredited status for its Master of Science in Management (MScM) Program, the first MScM program in NCR to achieve this status; and 
• For garnering third place in the Best Research Paper category for the paper entitled “Strengthening Workforce and Increasing Employability through HEI Quality Assurance and International Standards,” submitted by UA&P Associate Professor and University Research Office Executive Director Dr. Veronica E. Ramirez.

UA&P was once again granted autonomous status by CHED, with a validity period of three years that will culminate on September 15, 2027. Its MScM program is the flagship graduate program of the UA&P School of Management (SMN). It is a unique Straight Bachelor’s + Master’s program that equips its students with the knowledge, attributes, skills, and experiences to strategically apply the core competencies of an MScM Leader and a good and innovative researcher who can drive meaningful advancements in their field.

Representing UA&P in the awarding ceremony were Academic Quality Assurance Office (AQA) Managing Director Ms. Ma. Humildad Claro, AQA Officer Ms. Marie Jennelle Altoveros, SMN Dean Dr. Anna Maria Mendoza, MScM Program Director Ms. Lota Kristine San Juan-Nable, and SMN consultant Ms. Elsie Laguador.

AQA Managing Director Ms. Millie (center, holding the plaque) receives the award given by PACUCOA to UA&P for having been granted autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education. With her are (starting from 3rd from left) AQA Officer Ms. Marie Jennelle Altoveros, MScM Program Director Ms. Lota Kristine San Juan-Nable, SMN consultant Ms. Elsie Laguador, and SMN Dean Dr. Anna Maria Mendoza.

SMN Dean Dr. Anna Maria Mendoza (center) receives the award in recognition of the Level IV accredited status granted to the Master of Science in Management Program, the flagship program of SMN.

Ms. Millie Claro received the Third Best Paper Award on behalf of Dr. Veronica E. Ramirez.

With the theme “Enhancing Employability through Quality Assurance and International Standards,” the annual general assembly and 51st Foundation Anniversary celebration of PACUCOA  was held last December 10 at Novotel Manila Araneta City.

PACUCOA is a private, voluntary, non-stock, non-profit organization that gives formal recognition to an educational institution by attesting that its academic program maintains excellent standards in its educational operations.

Seminar on Family Wealth Planning Essentials

The UA&P Southeast Asia Business Studies (SEABS) is pleased to invite UA&P faculty, staff, and alumni to Part 1 of the Family Wealth Planning Seminar Series entitled "Family Wealth Planning Essentials" on January 22, 2025 (Wednesday) from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon in UA&P.

The seminar will cover the following topics:

• Family Wealth Planning Basics (0.5 hr)
• Estate Tax Planning (1 hr)
• Asset Transfer Methods (1 hr)
• Business Leadership Succession (0.5 hr)

Join us as we learn to navigate inheritance, tax strategies, and succession for high-net-worth families and businesses and explore asset transfer methods and legal frameworks in the Philippines. Register now at bit.ly/fwp-reg. 

UA&P faculty, staff, alumni, and groups of three enrollees get a 10% discount.

UA&P sports ed expert leads NAS curriculum validation workshop 

The government-run National Academy of Sports (NAS) tapped UA&P physical and sports education expert Dr. Stella Marie M. Urbiztondo to lead a pool of experienced resource persons in a curriculum validation workshop held last November 25-29 in Pasay City. 

The NAS has engaged experts from the academe to draft, validate, and finalize a coherent curriculum for the sports academy, starting with the junior high school in 2024 and the senior high school in 2025. 

Resource persons from the UP Diliman College of Human Kinetics, UP Manila, University of the East, and Rizal Technological University joined Dr. Urbiztondo and their respective counterparts from the Department of Education in the development of a curriculum anchored on a comprehensive National Sports Program that includes, among others, the country’s programs for grassroots community sports and school sports from basic to tertiary level education.

Created in 2019 by virtue of Republic Act 11470, the National Academy of Sports System is envisioned as an organization of future regionally funded high schools for sports integrated into one system of governance and management. Its mandate is to implement a quality and enhanced secondary education program integrated with a special curriculum on sports for the early recognition and development of highly talented, exceptionally gifted students demonstrating the potential to excel in sports. Its main campus sits at the existing New Clark City Sports Complex in Capas, Tarlac.

Dr. Urbiztondo (center) flanked by (L) NAS Academic Affairs, Curriculum and Instruction Division Chief Dr. Abel D. Soto and (R) Deputy Division Chief Ms. Rea M. Lingat together with the resource persons from UP Diliman College of Human Kinetics, UP Manila, University of the East, and Rizal Technological University.

Validation team from the Department of Education (standing) with their counterparts from the academe (seated) led by Dr. Abel D. Soto, Ms. Rea M. Lingat, and Dr. Urbiztondo.

UA&P prof, MSIE grads enter into int'l publishing with book on banking

University of Asia and the Pacific professor Dr. Jovi C. Dacanay, along with her research associates Ella Mae O. Leonida and Michaela Nicole Meriño, both alumni of the Master of Science in Industrial Economics (MSIE) Program of the UA&P School of Economics (SEC), has achieved a significant milestone in international publishing. Their book, Bank Competition and the Effects on Financial Stability: Insights into the Emerging Banking Markets of the Philippines, was recently published by Palgrave Macmillan as part of its Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions series. This carefully peer-reviewed work stands out as one of the few locally authored books to gain recognition in the global academic community.

The book delves deeply into the stability and industrial organization of Philippine Universal and Commercial Banks, shedding light on their role in maintaining financial stability amidst economic shocks, particularly within the context of a developing economy. It argues that banks with sufficient market power, efficiency, and stability are better equipped to endure economic disruptions.

This publication is the culmination of five years of extensive research into the complexities of the Philippine banking sector by Dr. Dacanay, director of the PhD in Business Economics Program of SEC; Leonida, a senior analyst at RingCentral Inc., a US-based provider of AI-driven cloud business communications; and Meriño, an investment officer of First Metro Asset Management, Inc. and a certified Treasury Professional.

A part of Springer Nature, the British company Palgrave Macmillan is a world-class publisher of books and journals with more than 175 years of experience in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Its Higher Education textbook division, Macmillan International Higher Education, carries a selection of STEM textbooks and distributes several US imprints outside North America.

The book series Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions is indexed under Research Papers in Economics (RePEc). RePEc is a central index of economics research, including working papers, articles, and software code.

Dr. Jovi Dacanay (2nd from right) with her School of Economics colleagues (L-R) SEC OpCom Secretary Mr. Perry Reyes, SEC Dean Dr. Peter U, and Master in Business Economics Program Director Dr. Victor Abola.