Dominican community stormed the SDCA grounds last Friday night, November 25, as the Battle of the Bands (BOTB) 2022 returns and made its debut after a 2-year lockdown due to pandemic.

BOTB 2022 was participated by Senior high school (SHS) bands namely: Nagazaki of Grade 12 STEM Copernicus, and Grade 12 STEM Blaise Pascal. The Seniors of Grade 12 TVL John Whitney Sr. performed different Original Pilipino Music (OPM) covers and proved that the heart of Filipino music truly lies within every Filipino.

Each participating band was given 15 minutes to perform a covers and to impress the audience and judges. Nagazaki led the first gig and hyped the crowd with Kamikazee’s classic hit Halik, and Martyr Nyebera . This was followed by the serenade of The Seniors Band with their slow rock-themed track that started off with Zack Tabudlo’s awardwinning song called Nangangamba, succeeded by a touching cover performance of Calein’s Umaasa, and Come Inside of My Hearts of the loved band of this generation, IV of Spades.

Amidst the dazzling lights that circled around the stage, the audience jammed with “all-time favorite’’ pop songs, which was the event’s highlight. NAPI heightened the vibe further by performing the trending song “Jopay” of Mayonnaise a five-piece Filipino alternative rock band,, where the crowd gone wild followed by Ikaw Lang by Nobita, and Hanggang Kailan by Orange and Lemons.

NAPI was declared the overall winner for this year’s Dominican Rockpublic: Battle of the Bands and bagged Best Vocalist (Gian Franco Gonzaga). Meanwhile, Nagazaki was awarded 1st Runner Up, People’s Choice Award, Best Lead Guitarist (Rikk Yanong), and Best Drummer (Jose Mari Mamuri), then The Seniors won 2nd Runner Up and Best Bassist (Adrian Echepari).

The event lasted for three hours from 7 PM to 10 PM with in-between raffle draws, intermission numbers by Reds in Motion, the dance troupe of the basic education department, and the announcement of Quincine Filmmaker Winners.

November 10 2022, St. Dominic College of Asia has participated in the quarter four National Earthquake drill. Included in the exercise are students from the basic education, staff, administrators, and a few higher education students who were loitering around the campus at the time of the drill.

SDCA has coordinated with Bacoor Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (BDRRMO), Wilderness Search and Rescue (WISAR) Cavite Chapter, Barangay Talaba 4 for the routine. The drill was held at the SDCA grounds. The students were organised and kept a safe distance from the danger zones while the teachers and staff followed their protocols accordingly.

After the drill, there was a short meeting held at the GD1 second floor at Luigi’s island. Partaking at the meeting were the evaluators from WISAR, BDRRMO, Barangay Talaba 4, and drill managers from SDCA, One of the BDDRM evaluator noted how the teachers have taken the situation well. He stated, “The panicked kids were pacified effectively by the teachers. Good job on that.” He furthermore spoke of the drill and added that, “Overall a great drill. I can say that there are no 100 percent foolproof drills but this one gets a praise.”

The 4th Quarter National Simultaneous Emergency Evacuation Drill was an overall success. The students were overall cooperative, the school staff had been careful to guide the students to safety.

Written by LAIANN AGUILLON

SDCA formally welcomed freshmen and transfer students at its annual Pasalubong and Pinning Ceremony at the DRA Hall, September 28.

Pasalubong, organized by the faculty members and Eventologist Batch ‘19, is a yearly tradition to welcome new academic members of the community which marks the beginning of their lives as fullfledged Dominicans. The event started with the entrance of freshmen students from the School of Arts, Sciences and Education (SASE), School of International Hospitality and Tourism Management (SIHTM), and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) along with the San Lorenzo Ruiz marching band. This was followed by the interfaith prayer and the singing of the National Anthem. The activity formally opened with the President’s address by Dr. Gregorio Andaman Jr., and a welcome message from Dr. Nilda W. Balsicas, Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The afternoon session was conducted with the students from School of Nursing and Health Science (SNAHS) together with the School of Medical Laboratory Science (SMLS). Dr. Andaman highlighted the event by announcing the plan to build the School of Medicine for the 20th year anniversary of SDCA. Ceremonial pinning commenced with the graduating students handing over the letters to the freshmen students and placing the pins at the left side of the new students’ chests. This symbolizes their commitment and pride in their journeyas Dominicans. The symbolic pin serves each Dominican a gateway to start their journey in achieving their dreams as future professionals.

Before the end of the event, SDCA Vice President Dr. Nilda Balsicas quoted, “One day you will share your story of success at hihintayin namin kayo, hihintayin kayo ng SDCA.” The event concluded with the closing remarks from Professor Mary Grace Demetillo, Director of Student Affairs and Services, and the singing of the SDCA Hymn.