tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37069603631488284242024-03-04T22:29:14.723-08:00CVIF Dynamic Learning ProgramNotes from Jagna, Bohol, PhilippinesChris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-82445719054973569312020-05-11T01:29:00.001-07:002020-05-11T01:30:14.410-07:00CVIF DLP Smart Animated Video<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmYljCepS-8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmYljCepS-8</a>Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-56642444333627517732020-04-15T01:23:00.006-07:002020-04-28T03:25:15.270-07:00At UP Photo 1992<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30WAM0sSpuSTLzZyLvWDxZCvDF9P2y8tNHzPq9HqinVtV3W6iIS4Q6wSchgOj8HLg8EXvLiLgYGe44Ct8omLccPV3BthEOBZulfs9aT40QlVcOsg2byz_vWoGHs0iPgTn_SUu1ojJUpE/s1600/H106a+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1382" data-original-width="1522" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30WAM0sSpuSTLzZyLvWDxZCvDF9P2y8tNHzPq9HqinVtV3W6iIS4Q6wSchgOj8HLg8EXvLiLgYGe44Ct8omLccPV3BthEOBZulfs9aT40QlVcOsg2byz_vWoGHs0iPgTn_SUu1ojJUpE/s400/H106a+%25282%2529.JPG" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700;">Throwback: 1992 at our studio at the University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman, Quezon City when we were both still teaching at the National Institute of Physics at UP.</span></td></tr>
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Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-11424024502980363432020-04-14T03:32:00.001-07:002020-04-28T03:27:29.291-07:00Throwback: Workshop on Computational Methods in Biology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37PXLOyCcWkCJ8IbKj9bz135oYM71ExGsjRbjkHaoZHzl6bHF_Qaiz1OItJwgzNoGKVPtoSfkdfbF9JHUjHZ6aYA1GYzKjLaiqGAScXLdlP_DpTH-IxFm-tqwpL-MyJckm761hPk6GK0/s1600/Workshop+announcement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37PXLOyCcWkCJ8IbKj9bz135oYM71ExGsjRbjkHaoZHzl6bHF_Qaiz1OItJwgzNoGKVPtoSfkdfbF9JHUjHZ6aYA1GYzKjLaiqGAScXLdlP_DpTH-IxFm-tqwpL-MyJckm761hPk6GK0/s640/Workshop+announcement.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-72356928810724101192019-03-23T04:51:00.000-07:002020-04-14T03:25:57.813-07:009th CVIF DLP Workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE7wMOn70D3QiEHRFeqBOGHu_YauuvgzouYo0Jcb9s_zDYhFCpdmrUqct6q-C1__oaBNBUMq0mcghUkEAWPHfRPsBtEZ1dPpvkgaoGLLZbd8HcbNK0gzj09ZzMBvGoy6_Kp19LOzcT0A/s1600/9th+v03-23+CVIF+DLP+Workshop+Flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1047" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE7wMOn70D3QiEHRFeqBOGHu_YauuvgzouYo0Jcb9s_zDYhFCpdmrUqct6q-C1__oaBNBUMq0mcghUkEAWPHfRPsBtEZ1dPpvkgaoGLLZbd8HcbNK0gzj09ZzMBvGoy6_Kp19LOzcT0A/s640/9th+v03-23+CVIF+DLP+Workshop+Flyer.jpg" width="418" /></a></div>
<br />Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-30226569370805422902018-05-29T01:50:00.001-07:002018-05-29T01:50:07.449-07:002nd Optics Workshop for High School Teachers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmuzX1_2Vf9-aj15eZOe1pesGN4-6R23RTsxM4LMxjXeVALn5csb3lIp3x44-UuV6qn_LuGU15gZ_kEo6i1Rrm0jfRZJ6FLFX36sWlqcQVjXjLnRcUpb44-IWT0OD23reYtjRyJvx4PY/s1600/2nd+Optics+Workshop+Announcement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmuzX1_2Vf9-aj15eZOe1pesGN4-6R23RTsxM4LMxjXeVALn5csb3lIp3x44-UuV6qn_LuGU15gZ_kEo6i1Rrm0jfRZJ6FLFX36sWlqcQVjXjLnRcUpb44-IWT0OD23reYtjRyJvx4PY/s640/2nd+Optics+Workshop+Announcement.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-24235302012932619682018-03-31T05:41:00.000-07:002018-03-31T05:41:12.717-07:002018 CVIF Musical Play and DLP Workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfX68v4Cp-Gl-CY-IsdRa6l1595s-WPVcJexlT_RKOx_PIfeFW8OOUtXTD0ma61JxkLreQEHOwMaS15Ufy3u82QPRc5jy4_LFvwmgr4a4dkdHsiQCCmDRzHFHWyW4q5foDucSXKkQgRY/s1600/ed+CVIF+2018+Play+Workshop+Flyer+w+Jagna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfX68v4Cp-Gl-CY-IsdRa6l1595s-WPVcJexlT_RKOx_PIfeFW8OOUtXTD0ma61JxkLreQEHOwMaS15Ufy3u82QPRc5jy4_LFvwmgr4a4dkdHsiQCCmDRzHFHWyW4q5foDucSXKkQgRY/s640/ed+CVIF+2018+Play+Workshop+Flyer+w+Jagna.jpg" width="309" height="640" data-original-width="365" data-original-height="755" /></a></div>Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-55553694688727834482018-03-31T05:40:00.000-07:002018-03-31T05:40:09.422-07:008th CVIF DLP Workshop Flyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mcukt0WdDDB5_Tlpr-vttUPNMdMtPZXQrADTF8vRMku2ywSQiX-LculJOUxRUQpvuKK255UnPrFdfk95dl0_RCyeMsPhutuSMqmbG-nxIZbGIUm_IGg7nAQzYdrEpgu8KPnfDaiu4oU/s1600/c+8thCVIF+DLP+Workshop+Flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mcukt0WdDDB5_Tlpr-vttUPNMdMtPZXQrADTF8vRMku2ywSQiX-LculJOUxRUQpvuKK255UnPrFdfk95dl0_RCyeMsPhutuSMqmbG-nxIZbGIUm_IGg7nAQzYdrEpgu8KPnfDaiu4oU/s640/c+8thCVIF+DLP+Workshop+Flyer.jpg" width="419" height="640" data-original-width="1047" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-83081761142452715672016-06-02T19:45:00.002-07:002016-06-02T20:01:42.923-07:00Holy Angel University<div style="text-align: justify;">
Acceptance Speech<br />
On conferment of Doctor of Humanities, <i>honoris causa</i></div>
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M. V. Carpio-Bernido</div>
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Holy Angel University, Angeles City</div>
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25 April 2012</div>
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The Most Rev. Paciano B. Aniceto, D.D., Archbishop of San Fernando and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sr. Josefina G. Nepomuceno, distinguished Trustees, University President Dr. Arlyn Sicangco-Villanueva, members of the faculty and staff, parents, graduates, ladies and gentlemen:</div>
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First of all, allow me to express my deepest gratitude for the distinct honor bestowed by the Holy Angel University upon my husband Chris and myself. We are doubly grateful since your President, Dr. Sicangco- Villanueva, in graciousness and humility, personally came to our small high school in Jagna, Bohol, to extend the invitation to this affair. </div>
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For me, being trained in the natural sciences, it is quite overwhelming to be recognized for work in the ‘Humanities’. You see, being blessed with parents, Papa Tony and Mommy Edith Carpio, who engaged me and my 13 siblings in family dinner table conversations about philosophy, law, religion, literature, history, music and the arts, the humanities have always occupied a privileged place in my heart.</div>
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Yet, confessing to feelings of inadequacy for this honorary degree and the privileges that come with it, I determined to manage these feelings by taking this as a source of encouragement to pursue the vision Chris and I have for the education and training of the young people of our motherland.</div>
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In popular contemporary language, Wikipedia tells us that, the humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences. Furthermore, it states that, in the philosophical tradition [critique] is a methodical practice of doubt. The contemporary sense of critique has been largely influenced by the Enlightenment critique of prejudice and authority, which championed emancipation and autonomy from religious and political authorities.</div>
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In a sense, this is what Chris and I have done for the past decades. We have been studying the human condition, in particular, the Filipino condition, using analytical, critical and scientific methods. We have questioned prevailing pedagogical dogmas and fashionable trends. This is so because, having been exposed to the lifestyles and intellectual intensity of academic communities in the advanced countries, it had become increasingly painful for us to see our own nation suffering in backwardness – in both economic and intellectual domains. </div>
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Yes, there may be a proliferation of five-star hotels and condominiums, five-star shopping malls and residential villages. There may be more access to the latest gadgets and links to the World Wide Web. Yet, squatters, now called ‘informal settlers’, and the rural poor, continue to live in subhuman conditions in many parts of our cities and provinces. Our airport services have been downgraded – reputed to be among the lowest in quality in the world. Chris has mentioned our poor performance indicators in internationally recognized measures of intellectual creativity in the STEM disciplines. Indeed, the list is long, and many have wondered what is wrong with us Filipinos.</div>
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The few Filipinos, young and old, who have distinguished themselves in various areas in global competitions, are not enough to balance the tens of millions who make up the Philippine image of mediocrity in an age of global transparency. We have been left far behind even by our nearest neighbors in Southeast Asia.</div>
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Chris and I thus set out to systematically determine what is wrong with us. Then we endeavored to find low-budget yet sustainable remedies that would progressively bring the millions of our young people to globally competitive performance levels. Our vision has always been to have the average Filipino child from any part of the country – in Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao – perform at least as well as the average Singaporean, Chinese, German, or Finnish child. This should be in spite of lack of human and material resources.</div>
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Our small school in Jagna, Bohol, the Central Visayan Institute Foundation, clearly was a microcosm of the larger Philippine society. (Of course, we were helped in our endeavors by the fact that in Jagna, Bohol there is no night life, and we do our groceries 63 kilometers from where we live. The drive along the coast of the Bohol Sea allows many opportunities for deep thinking and contemplation.) </div>
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After a decade, it seems that we can offer a package of solutions contained in the CVIF Dynamic Learning Program. From experience and observation, from studies of recent results of pedagogical and neuroscientific research, from statistical analysis of extensive data we have accumulated so far, we can now say that with the right learning program, in a relatively short period of time, and at small cost to the Filipino people, we can have many of our young people performing at globally competitive levels, even in the proverbially challenging disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.</div>
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This is then the invitation and challenge I extend to you, our fellow graduates who have received academic degrees this afternoon. I invite you to join us in contributing as ordinary citizens to the building up of our beloved motherland. </div>
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For this, you do not have to go out into the streets to shout and raise placards. You do not need to join movements that advocate violent reform. All you need to remember is that, in a larger sense, being graduates of a Catholic university is a special responsibility. It requires ‘sanctification’ of every duty and task, every endeavor and enterprise. </div>
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Thus we cannot let our degrees be just passports to jobs for the highest incomes. Nor can we let the education we have received be simply laurels to boost our entrepreneurial investments for generating millions for ourselves and our immediate families.</div>
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For those who will set up their own businesses, Catholic education requires that products and services be produced or rendered in such a way that they redound to further human development, all for the greater glory of God. It means taking Corporate Social Responsibility to a higher sanctifying level, remembering what was said over two thousand years ago – “What you do unto the least of My brothers, you do to Me.”</div>
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For those who will join the academe, a degree from a Catholic university requires that every effort be exerted towards professional competence in teaching and research. Mentoring must be done in a Christian manner. There should be no place for terror teachers who find professional fulfillment in having many students fail their course. Neither should there be any place for dishonesty in exams and scholarly work.</div>
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For those who will work in the public or private sector, services have to be rendered in a professional and humane manner that maintains the dignity of the person being served – whether rich or poor, pleasing to the senses or not. It means feeling a sense of urgency in serving not only those who are rich and mighty, but most especially, those who do not even know that they have the right to demand service from public servants.</div>
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For those who will eventually become government officials, may you be the new breed of professionally competent Filipino leaders who truly wish to serve through their position. Our nation has long suffered from dishonest and corrupt officials. But it has also long suffered from well-meaning honest but incompetent officials. </div>
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There is much to do for our country to achieve a place of dignity in the community of nations. There are many challenges to overcome. Nevertheless, I believe Filipinos working together can achieve this. After all, we have been shown a shining example of Filipino strength, fortitude and unfading hope by you, the people of Pampanga. You rebuilt what was devastated by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. And this you did in a relatively short period of time, defying dire predictions of many.</div>
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May all Filipinos then be given the grace by Divine Providence to respond to present national challenges for love of God and our nation, the Philippines. </div>
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<i>Laus Deo Semper .</i></div>
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Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-76522758872744922692016-05-28T15:14:00.000-07:002016-06-02T19:26:10.150-07:00UP Manila 2013 Commencement Speech CCB<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2013 Commencement Exercises</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">University of the Philippines Manila </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">19 April 2013, Philippine International Convention Center </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dr. Christopher C. Bernido </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Honorable Members of the Board of Regents, Dr. Manuel B. Agulto, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Manila, faculty members and officials of UP Manila, the 2013 graduates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is indeed an honor to be asked to be a speaker for the 2013 Commencement Exercises of the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila knowing that your campus is the birthplace and cradle of the University of the Philippines System when it was founded in 1908. Allow me, therefore, to congratulate the 2013 graduates who survived the rigors of UP the past four years or more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Graduation from UP Manila for most of you is just the beginning of a rich, exciting, and full life. As graduates of a premier university, you have received among the best quality education possible within our country. You have been given the privilege to interact with the country’s best and brightest. I believe, however, that the feeling of fullness and richness in life would not be complete if, at the end of the day, we are not able to help others. There will always be a point in time when you ask the question: what have I been doing with my life? Whether an “<i>iskolar ng bayan</i>” or not, it would be good and wise to give back to the country which has sustained and nurtured you up to this point. But what is really required of us to be able to effectively give back and offer something to our motherland? Whether we are doing something small and ordinary, or trying to accomplish big tasks, it helps to remember two things: “preparation” and “anticipation”. Prepare yourself to become what you are capable of being. Anticipate the ever-changing landscape by analysing how our global society is evolving. As has been often said, success comes to those who are ready when opportunity knocks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In order to prepare ourselves and anticipate what could lie ahead, allow me to put things into perspective and mention where we stand in the global scenario. Since UP Manila is regarded as the Philippines’ leading health university that seeks to improve the health of Filipinos by providing the highest quality of advanced instruction, professional training, research, and community service, let me give an example that could impact the health sciences in the coming decades. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Philippines is in a region regarded by marine biologists as the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity. The island province of Bohol, especially near Panglao Island, has been referred to as the “center of the center of biodiversity”. There is a lot of first rate research that could be done given this marine biodiversity if only Filipino scientists are capable of doing it. For example, thousands of new pharmaceutical drugs can possibly be synthesized and manufactured from the venom of cone snails inhabiting the Panglao island area. From each species of predatory cone snails, around 100 to 200 different peptide-rich venom (conotoxins) components can be extracted and tested. By 2006, around six different conotoxins have reached human clinical trials. One of these conotoxins has been synthesized and commercialized as a drug which is stronger than morphine, but non-addictive. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are around 700 species of predatory cone snails, each species containing 100 to 200 types of conotoxins. This implies there could be more than 70,000 pharmaceutical drugs waiting to be discovered. One could imagine how these drugs could impact the health sciences in the coming decades. However, although these cone snails can be harvested from our shores, most of the in-depth research all the way to commercialization of synthesized drugs is done abroad. The Philippines has the natural marine resources, but we are not able to maximize this opportunity since our country does not have the critical number of experts and scientists. We have not been able to prepare nor anticipate such types of opportunities. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another instance when we had to rely on foreign scientists and experts to harvest this God-given treasure within our country occurred in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, a team of 30 marine scientists, technicians and fishing masters from France, Singapore, Taiwan, Russia and Philippines gathered 1,200 species of decapod crustacean, and 6,000 species of mollusk specimens, many new to science. In 2005, they collected twenty drums of specimens representing several thousands of mollusk species, 600 species of crustaceans, over a hundred species of echinoderms, etc. This harvest, however, had to be shipped abroad for further analysis and classification since apparently the Philippines does not have the expertise to do it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For our country to be competitive in the 21st century, therefore, a crucial target for the Philippines in the next ten years would be: capacity building in interdisciplinary research. This target appears simple, but somehow, for a country of 95 million people, we are way below international standards. For example, of the total scientific papers published in the world from 1991 to 2010 (ISI indexed), only 0.025% of this comes from the Philippines. In contrast, Australia with a population of 22 million, produces about 3 % of the world’s scientific output. Even Singapore, which has a population of around 5 million, has a scientific output almost 10 times more than the Philippines. Clearly, our universities and our country need to level up in research and innovation at the international level since even worldwide ranking of universities puts a heavy weight on research output. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Allow me to briefly discuss the keywords in our target: capacity building in interdisciplinary research. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(1) <i>Interdisciplinary Research</i>. This means that problems involving the life sciences, food supply, environment, renewable sources of energy, industry and economy, etc. would have to be attacked from different disciplines. Input and expertise from different disciplines are crucial. Today, problems in finance and industry are being investigated, not only by economists, but also by mathematicians, physicists, and even engineers and computer scientists. For research done at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños – an institution tasked to study ways of efficiently feeding the hungry world – investigations are at the genetic level done by Ph.D.’s in microbiology, mathematics, physics, biochemistry, engineering, among others. To understand the human brain and the diseases which afflict it, we need chemists, engineers, mathematicians, physicists, biochemists and biologists. Indeed, research and innovation today is done at a very high and sophisticated level often quite inaccessible to those who did not train and prepare for it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(2) <i>Capacity Building</i>. To innovate and create new knowledge has a price especially in the 21st century. It is important to always remember that you cannot give what you do not have. Looking at the lives of great innovators, one notices that they had actually mastered their profession first before they were able to innovate. Looking at the works of the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso who co-founded cubism, one sees that his earlier paintings exhibited his classical training in the arts. He mastered the craft first before he innovated and introduced a new form of art. It is the same for problems in the 21st century. We cannot improve rice production by leaps and bounds if we cannot understand rice production at the genetic level. If one does not develop oneself, then one can probably innovate only at the tricycle level or jeepney level, but not innovations at the cellphone level. Thus, to have impact in interdisciplinary research, one should master first a particular discipline or profession. This implies that, if possible, you go for a Ph.D. degree. If the aim is to contribute and systematically search for a cure for cancer, one may have to pursue a doctoral degree in Biochemistry, or a combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree, or even perhaps a doctorate in Computer Science. Given the good foundation as graduates of UP Manila, you are therefore encouraged to go further, to go higher as God would permit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aside from the creativity needed to produce new knowledge and new paradigms that impact the lives of others, you – the younger generation – should also possess the discipline, stamina, and passion for our country to be competitive in the 21st century: the discipline to develop yourself as far as you can in your area of interest; the stamina to go the distance and finish what you have started; and the passion to achieve which will allow you to overcome obstacles and challenges along the way. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Moreover, as graduates of a top university in our country you should exhibit leadership instead of just following what is fashionable. Lead the way in creating things never before seen by human eyes, nor heard by human ears. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is good to develop yourself so that you can be what you are capable of being, but always keep in mind that there is always something bigger than yourself. There is always something bigger than all of us. Try to always remember the hierarchy of values: God, country, family. Reversal of this hierarchy has often led to misery, not only at the family level, but also as a nation. If you put family first before country, you could always rationalize robbing the government so that your family can live comfortably. If you put family above country, subtly, it would be easy for you to migrate and close your eyes to our country’s suffering. We recall how, for example, between 2003 and 2004, the shortage of nurses and doctors forced 200 Philippine hospitals to close down. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have high regard and high hopes for UP Manila faculty, students and staff, because the structure to help others already exists here. It is in UP Manila that one can observe the best and brightest students in the country serving the poor and marginalized at the Philippine General Hospital which is the country’s biggest government tertiary hospital. It is also a credit to the UP Manila Health Sciences Center to have responded to the massive brain drain of health professionals. UP Manila is the first higher learning institution in the Philippines to implement a Return Service Agreement for its graduates which takes effect in 2015 for graduates of pharmacy, nursing and dentistry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The framework to serve the nation is there. But it is the structure of the heart of each graduate today that I hope would imbibe the hierarchy: God, country, family, as we pursue capacity building in interdisciplinary research for a strong Philippines in the coming decade. Remember, the future belongs to you, but you should prepare well for it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Thank you.</span><br />
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Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706960363148828424.post-40470754543023659132016-05-15T06:58:00.001-07:002016-06-02T19:08:07.616-07:00UP Manila 2013 Commencement Speech MVCB<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">M.
V. Carpio-Bernido</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">UP
Manila Commencement Speech</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">April
19, 2013</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Honorable members of the Board of Regents, Chancellor
Manuel B. Agulto, Vice-Chancellors, Deans, Members of the Faculty, Staff,
distinguished guests, parents, grandparents, relatives and friends of the
graduates, members of UP Manila Class of 2013:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>First of all, I would like to
congratulate the graduates, their mentors, parents, grandparents, and
relatives. This is a special moment of achievement for you, and it is a great
honor for Chris and myself to be invited by your University officials to be part
of this memorable occasion.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In January, when we received
the invitation from your Chancellor, through Vice-Chancellor Josephine De Luna,
to be the commencement speakers in your graduation rites, the thought occurred
to me – whether Chris and I are good role models for you. After all, when we
returned in 1989 to UP Diliman after doctoral and postdoctoral work in the US
and Germany, my UP salary was far smaller than my graduate assistantship stipend;
the gap between his UP salary and his research fellowship in Germany was even
greater. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then again, ten years later, in
1999, as Principal of a struggling high school in Bohol, my salary was
drastically reduced further. Each of us earned around 2k in our first few
months in Jagna, Bohol. We have earned increases since then, but we now
basically earn just about the equivalent of a newly hired public school
teacher. If the measure of success would then be the steepness in trajectory of
salary increases, Chris and I would be poor role models for this graduating
class. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I would suppose then that our
being here is testament to the different measure of success delineated by your
University officials. Indeed, in the letter of invitation watermarked with the
words, “Honor, Excellence and Heroism”, Chancellor Agulto asked us to share our
experiences and insights in helping uplift the lives of people in Bohol and in
different parts of the country. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In this sense, our mindset
converges with that of the Chancellor. From the time Chris and I met, we have
always put premium on our common desire to contribute to the building up of our
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have both been strongly
influenced by our parents. His father, a guerrilla officer in Bohol, fought for
independence during the second World War. My father, a human rights lawyer and
briefly head of the National Bureau of Investigation, always said, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bayan muna, bago sarili.</i>” As students,
both Chris and I experienced joining rallies during the Martial Law days. Yet,
both of us, after much thought, independently chose to pursue higher studies
and advanced degrees so that we can be better trained and equipped to help our
country as scientists and educators. Later, after having been exposed to the
lifestyles and intellectual intensity of academic communities in the advanced
countries, it became increasingly painful for us to see our own nation
suffering in backwardness – in both economic and intellectual domains. Thus,
for us, we could only find fulfilment if we could contribute to the effort to
work out solutions to present problems faced by our nation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The most serious problems
faced by our country, like many developing nations, are: ignorance, poverty,
disease and injustice. In a simplified model of governance, this is why there
is the Department of Justice to address issues of human rights and justice, the
Department of Health for issues of prevention and treatment of diseases, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development for issues of poverty, and the
Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education to eradicate
ignorance and elevate the people to higher levels of intellectual development.
National and local government units then exist to ensure the proper
implementation of departmental programs in the great national effort to improve
the quality of life of all citizens, regardless of socio-economic and cultural
background.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>However, it is not as simple
as it sounds. Reality is far more complex. Ignorance, poverty, disease and
injustice continue to plague the nation. Nonetheless, there is no reason to
despair. Every batch of graduates like you renews the nation’s hope for
progress and development. The diversity of your chosen fields of expertise,
from the humanities to the natural and social sciences, can address the
diversity of challenges in our society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is possible that there are
a number of you here who agree with me that the more difficult the problem, the
more exciting it is to find a solution. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
all, UP students are proverbially used to dealing with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">extreme</i> challenges – from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">extreme</i>
professors to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">extreme</i> exams,
laboratory and thesis work. However, academic problems that we deal with in the
rarefied atmosphere of a university are of a far smaller scale and impact
compared to the problems we encounter in the real world. Out there, the success,
or failure, of our solutions is not marked in grades but in number of those
imprisoned unjustly, or denied basic human rights and opportunity for a better
life, or number of injuries, or even death. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Poorly crafted solutions to
social and economic problems do not result in just a grade of 4 or 5, or
Incomplete. Bad solutions result in millions of Filipinos suffering in subhuman
conditions in many cities and provinces while the government continues to incur
billion-dollar loans misused or misappropriated, or worse, used to train
manpower now serving donor nations. Squatters and mountains of garbage cannot
be offset by the proliferation of five-star hotels and condominiums, five-star
shopping malls and residential villages. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Poorly crafted educational
solutions result in the Philippine image of mediocrity in the age of the World
Wide Web as shown by poor performance indicators: We score among the bottom
performers in basic education in international assessments, and none of our
universities is in the top 400 in world rankings, unlike our neighbors in
Southeast Asia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is why we agree with the
order prescribed by UP: Honor, Excellence and Heroism. Today, more than ever,
heroism without proper training and discipline can do more damage. So first, we
need to have excellent training for disciplined practice of profession
according to the highest international standards. Then we can talk about
helping our nation. In his speech, Chris talked about the challenge of helping
our nation push the frontiers of knowledge through high level globally competitive
research. Here, I focus on basic education, our other passion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Chris and I were
requested by his 77-year old mother to help her manage the school founded by
her father, we saw it as both a challenge, rather daunting, and an opportunity
to get insights on a shared problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
see, although it seems that we have among the best and the brightest in the
world in terms of ability and aptitude, there is something wrong with us Filipinos
since our country remains poor and underdeveloped. We wanted to know why and
how educational institutions fail in the Philippines. Then, if we are armed
with an objective and comprehensive analysis, we could then systematically
determine low-budget yet sustainable remedies that would progressively bring millions
of our young people to globally competitive performance levels. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our vision has always been to
have the average Filipino child from any part of the country – in Luzon,
Visayas or Mindanao – perform at least as well as the average Singaporean,
Chinese, German, or Finnish child. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This
should be in spite of lack of human and material resources</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and without incurring new loans from
international funding institutions.</i> After all, financial dependence could
lead to intellectual subservience. It could then be difficult to question
prevailing pedagogical dogmas, nor go against fashionable trends, even if these
have failed in delivering quality education to generations of Filipinos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our small school in Jagna,
Bohol, the Central Visayan Institute Foundation, clearly was a microcosm of the
larger Philippine society. (Of course, we were helped in our endeavors by the
fact that in Jagna, Bohol there is no night life, and we do our groceries 63
kilometers from where we live. The drive along the coast of the Bohol Sea
allows many opportunities for deep thinking and contemplation. Moreover, Chris
and I have not had a TV for the past 14 years so we can fully focus on our
work.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: #ffd966;">After over a decade, we offer
a package of solutions contained in the CVIF Dynamic Learning Program (DLP).
From experience and observation, from studies of recent results of pedagogical
and neuroscientific research, from statistical analysis of extensive data we
have accumulated so far, we can now say that we have a learning program that
satisfies the following criteria:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Efficiency:
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">low</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">input</b> in terms of time, manpower and infrastructure yet <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">high output</b> in terms of impact and
scale;</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Cost-effectiveness:
does not need multi-million dollar loans;</span></div>
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</span>
<li style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #ffd966;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(I say this because this is UP Manila.)</span></i><span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Supportive of health and wellness: strategic rest
component (PE day on Wednesdays, and absolutely-no-homework policy).</span></span></div>
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</span><div style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">We have
also designed and implemented the Learning Physics as One Nation Project (LPON).
You see, in the 1990’s, the Department of Science and Technology found in a
survey that only 27% of high school Physics teachers were qualified to teach
Physics. The government embarked on various heavily funded projects – for
scholarships, training and workshops – to address the issue. However, the
results of surveys in 2003 showed that the number of qualified Physics teachers
went down to 8%. This means over a million high school students graduating each
year while possibly terrorized or traumatized by the subject Chris and I both
love. The materials of the LPON, designed to help solve the problem of lack of
qualified teachers, have now been made available to over 600 schools in the
country. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With the
CVIF-DLP and LPON, we realize that it is possible, in a relatively short period
of time, and at small cost to the Filipino people, to have many of our young
people performing at globally competitive levels, even in the proverbially
challenging disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
mentioned heroism earlier. Frankly, Chris and I are embarrassed when we are
referred to as heroes. There are thousands of Filipinos – heroes – out there,
doing their job quietly and unrecognized. Chris and I just happen to get more
attention. (Perhaps it is the price to pay for being UP graduates.) So at this
point, I wish to pay tribute to doctors since this is a gathering of health
professionals. You see, I would not be standing here had it not been for the
care of my doctors. In 2001, I had an accident; I slipped at the airport and
sustained multiple fractures – spiral, comminiuted. Surgery was delayed since
my case was considered complicated – a freak injury. My orthopedic surgeon was
Dr. Antonio Tanchuling, Jr.; I was fascinated by his explanations and drawings.
I asked him whether I would still be able to teach dance to our students. In
fact, I had just bought new ballet shoes at that time. He told me not to worry.
They will go for ‘100% functional recovery.’ So here I am, in high heels. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I cannot
mention the other doctors, anaesthesiologists, my cardiologists, dentists, for
the list is long. What I can say is that in this country, we have a diversity
of interests, a diversity of professions. If we could only work together, if we
could practice the words of the Doxology led by the student at the start of
this program: “Where there is injury, to pardon;…to seek not so much to be
understood as to understand…”, then we could live to see our nation rise to a
place among the great nations.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let me
end by mentioning one of my memories of my mother since here we have families
with the graduates. During our nightly family rosary, with me often struggling to
keep awake, she would add, “Pray for good men and women for our country.” I
hope that the graduates this year, and in the coming years, will be the answers
to my mother’s prayer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "gill sans mt" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thank
you for your attention.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "gill sans mt"; font-size: small;"><em>Note: No Philippine university entered the top 800 in the 2015 THED world rankings.</em></span></div>
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Chris and Marivic Bernidohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11186030964373802924noreply@blogger.com