Prof. Clarence M. Batan, PhD of the Department of Sociology along with three Thomasians were recognized as one of the Most Outstanding Rizaleños in 2018. Joining Batan were two Thomasian physicians, Dr. Marilou T. de Jesus (Cardiovascular Medicine) and Dr. Juan F. Torres, Jr. (Nuclear Medicine), and painter Salvador T. Juban. The ceremonies were held last June 19, 2018 (Tuesday), in the seventh Gawad Rizal, held in SM Cherry Antipolo’s Event Center.
Batan, a Binangonan native, earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from UST, magna cum laude, in 1995, during the same year he was one of the Top Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines. Batan pursued further studies, culminating in a doctorate degree in sociology from the Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Batan, the last Director of the old Research Cluster for Culture, Education, and Social Issues (RCCESI), was instrumental in the creation of the present-day Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSEd), where he specializes in Youth Studies. At present, he leads the first-ever catechetical profiling study in the country, under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Dr. de Jesus is the incumbent President of the Philippine College of Physicians – Rizal Chapter; the Cardio Vascular Unit Department of Clinica Antipolo Hospital; and Vascular Medicine Section Chief of St. Luke’s Medical Center, Global City. De Jesus finished her medical degree from the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.
De Jesus is a medical practitioner, researcher, lecturer, and community worker in RIzal and nearby areas. Her researches include those dealing with Hypokalemia, leptospirosis, and unstable and non-Q wave MI.
Dr. Torres is an expert in nuclear medicine, becoming a fellow from the University of Iowa, USA, where he studied after earning his medical degree in UST. He is a diplomate of the American and Philippine boards of nuclear medicine and of the Philippine Board of Internal Medicine. He was once a professor in the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, where he was also Chairman and Chief of Nuclear Medicine.
Torres published more than 80 scientific articles and book chapters published in national and international scientific publications.
The artist, Mr. Juban, took the first three years leading to a degree in painting from the old College of Architecture and Fine Arts. Trained under Botong Francisco, Juban learned his craft and brought it all over Asia, where he also learned art from his Asian counterparts.
Juban has enshrined himself at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’s Encyclopedia of Philippine Arts. He has received recognitions from the Bulacan governor, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, and the Rotary International.
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