Villarin, Ruel de Vera appointed by Noy

NEW ATENEO de Manila president Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin was appointed as an acting member of the board of trustees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), according to statements from Malacañang.

Meanwhile, Ruel de Vera, associate editor of the Sunday Inquirer magazine and faculty member of the Ateneo’s Communication Department, was appointed to the Department of Education’s National Book Development Board as a representative of the private sector. De Vera is also the moderator of The GUIDON.

Ateneans recognized in 61st Palanca Awards

FIVE ATENEANS reaped awards at the prestigious 61st Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. The awarding ceremonies were held last September 1 at The Peninsula Manila in Makati.

Out of the 1,160 entries for the competition’s 22 literary categories, 58 winning works were chosen. Revered literary icon F. Sionil Jose graced the event as the guest of honor and as the Dangal ng Lahi awardee.

Filipino Department instructor Allan Alberto Derain took home the grand prize for the Filipino Novel category with his work, Ang Banal na Aklat ng mga Kumag.

For the short story category, Asterio Enrico Gutierrez (AB Lit Eng ‘06) won first place with “The Big Man,” while English Department instructor Alexis Abola placed second with his short story, “Disappearances.”

In the poetry division, Lourdes Marie La Viña (AB Philo ‘10) won second place with “Stones and Other Poems.”

Meanwhile, freshman Leo Francis Abot (AB-MA Pol Sci) won third prize in the Kabataan Essay category with “Gods of the Internet.”