Dangerous directions

Opisyal na lingguhang
pahayagan ng mga
mag-aaral ng Unibersidad
ng Pilipinas - Diliman
Tomo 90, Blg. 11-12
Setyembre 5, 2012
BALITA
Miyerkules
27 Hunyo
2012
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KING’S GAMBIT
Punong Patnugot
Kapatnugot
Panauhing Patnugot
Patnugot sa Balita
Victor Gregor Limon
Patnugot sa Lathalain
Patnugot sa Grapix
Mga Kawani
OPINYON
Miyerkules
5 Setyembre
2012
Pinansya
Tagapamahala ng Sirkulasyon
Sirkulasyon
Mga Katuwang na Kawani
IN APPOINTING ASSOCIATE JUSTICE
Maria Lourdes Sereno as the
24th chief justice (CJ) of the
Supreme Court (SC), President
Benigno Aquino III has played
one of the oldest tricks in the
book – entrenching power in all
three branches of government by
installing protégés who have proven
their loyalty to the executive.
Breaking the time-honored
tradition of appointing more
senior justices, Aquino chose
Sereno – his first appointee in
the 15-seat tribunal composed
mostly of Arroyo appointees – as
the high court’s new leader, confirming fears of the chief executive’s apparent plan to establish
influence in the SC.
The new CJ’s shining credentials are unquestionable – a
product of the UP College of Law
where she graduated cum laude
and top of her batch, and the first
female to be appointed in the SC’s
top post. However, her marked
ties with the chief executive cast
doubts on her capacity to resist
intervention from Malacañang.
Sereno’s track record as associate justice is telling – casting
dissenting votes against decisions involving former President
Gloria Arroyo’s cases, including
the former executive’s petition
to leave the country, and reportedly expressing willingness to
actively participate in Aquino’s
campaign to impeach her predecessor Renato Corona.
What is more troubling is her
emerging sympathy for Aquino’s
maternal family, the Cojuangcos,
in the longstanding land dispute
regarding Hacienda Luisita Inc.
(HLI), the vast sugar plantation
owned by Aquino’s relatives.
In a unanimous April 24, 2012
decision, the SC ordered the immediate distribution of HLI to
farmer beneficiaries, provided
that just compensation will be
given to the Cojuangcos based on
1989 prices, the year the Department of Agrarian Reform first approved the coverage of Hacienda
Luisita under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program.
Under such ruling, the whole
land estate would be valued
at just P196 million or around
P40,000 per hectare. The SC
also ordered the Cojuangcos to
reimburse P1.2 billion to farmer
beneficiaries, to compensate for
the 400 hectares of the land estate that the family sold to RCBC
and the Subic-Tarlac Expressway
even if HLI was up for distribution.
While Sereno voted in the affirmative for the said decision,
she favors a different valuation
for the sugar plantation. In her
dissenting opinion on the case,
she explained that the computation for the land’s value should
be pegged at 2006 prices, which
would effectively bloat the
amount that the Cojuangcos are
set to receive to over P12 billion.
As the pieces fall into place, it
is becoming clear that the doubts
various critics have harped about
during the Corona impeachment
trial – that the whole impeachment brouhaha is linked to Hacienda Luisita – stand on solid
ground. The Cojuangco family
has already filed a motion appealing that “just compensation”
be computed based on 2006
prices. With the ball now in the
hands of an Aquino lackey, even
farmer beneficiaries themselves
fear that instead of them receiving at least P1.2 billion from the
Cojuangcos, they would end up
owing the family P11 billion.
Aquino’s attempt to consolidate power by blurring the
separation of power between
the branches of government is
reminiscent of his reviled predecessor’s own dirty tricks. Arroyo
herself maneuvered the appointment of justices to stay in power and make her immune from
criminal charges. With Sereno
in place, there is little doubt that
Aquino would be able to maintain a considerable sway in the
high court’s decision-making.
However, there remains a
chance for Sereno to prove that she
can indeed reform the judiciary.
After all, she will have ample
time to instigate much-needed
reforms. At 52, she can serve as
CJ until 2030, a period spanning
18 years and three more presidencies. Given such expected
long tenure, Sereno must not fall
prey to Aquino’s own plots. Being
able to stay in power longer than
the country’s presidents, Sereno
possesses the rare opportunity
to lead the SC into becoming an
independent body not beholden
to anyone except the Constitution and the Filipino people.
The HLI case stands as a litmus
test for our new CJ. Will she bow
down to Aquino’s influence, or
will she take this opportunity to
regain the SC’s high ground? As
the next moves in the continuing power play unfold, the people
will remain vigilant and prepared
to strike out officials who abuse
their authority.
Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang
Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas
Diliman, Lungsod Quezon
Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522
Email [email protected]
Website philippinecollegian.org
Kasapi Solidaridad: UP Systemwide
Alliance of Student Publications
and Writers’ Organizations,
College Editors Guild
of the Philippines
Ukol sa Pabalat
Dibuho ni Ysa Calinawan
Editor’s
Notes
“The true color of the
judiciary -- that of a
gigantic network of
injustice and deception,
seeking to give the
Filipino people the
illusion of justice,
in reality justifying
the abuses of the
ruling few.”
UNITY AND STRUGGLE
FOR A BASIC RIGHT
Benjamin Pimentel Jr.
11 September 1984
As the Philippine Collegian
celebrates its 90th year, we revisit lines
from prized editorials that helped
define the publication’s tradition of
critical and fearless journalism.
Pagbuhay sa panukalang dagdag
pasahe sa MRT, binatikos
Isabella Patricia Borlaza
KINUNDENA NG IBA’T IBANG SEKTOR
ang
muling
pagpapanukala
ng pagtaas ng pasahe sa mga
pampublikong rail transport para
sa taong 2013.
Sa budget hearing ng Department
of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) sa Kamara
noong Agosto 23, inihayag ni DOTC
Secretary Manuel Roxas III na ipagpapatuloy ang panukalang pagtaas
ng pasahe para sa Metro Rail Transit
3 (MRT-3) sa susunod na taon.
Gumasta na ng mahigit P75
bilyon ang gobyerno sa mahigit
sampung taong operasyon ng
MRT-3. Sa panukalang taas-pasahe,
mababawasan ang gastusin ng
gobyerno at makapaglalaan pa ng
pondo para sa iba pang proyektong
imprastraktura, tulad ng bagong
railway transit na itatayo sa mga
probinsya, paliwanag ni Roxas.
Samantala, ang Light Rail
Transit (LRT) ay maaari namang
sumailalim sa pribatisasyon upang
matustusan ang operasyon nito,
ayon sa Riles Laan sa Sambayanan
(Riles) Network, multi-sektoral na
alyansang tutol sa dagdag pasahe
sa MRT.
Enero 2011 nang aprubahan ng
LRT Board ang panukala ng LRT
Authority (LRTA) na magtaas ng
pasahe sa rail transport, subalit
hindi natuloy ang panukala matapos
itong umani ng batikos sa idinaos
na mga public consultation noong
Pebrero 2011.
Sa naunang panukala, tataas
ng mahigit P25 ang pamasahe sa
MRT-3 mula sa kasalukuyang P15.
Samantala, tataas ng mahigit P30
ang pasahe sa LRT 1 at 2 mula sa
kasalukuyang P20.
Gayunpaman,
wala
pang
bagong listahan ng panukalang
pasahe para sa taong 2013, ayon
sa LRTA. Maaari pang mabago
ang naunang ipinanukala noong
2011 batay sa mga gaganaping
public consultation at iba pang
pag-aaral ng DOTC, paliwanag ng
ahensya.
Dagdag-pasakit
Tinatayang may kalahating
milyong katao ang sumasakay sa
MRT-3 kada araw, at 76 bahagdan
sa mga ito ay may buwanang kita
na mahigit P10,000, ayon sa Mega
Manila Public Transport Study ng
DOTC noong 2007.
Sa hiwalay na pag-aaral ng DOTC
noong 2010, nakasaad naman
na pinagpapalagay ng ahensya na
gagamit na lamang ng bus o dyip
ang nasabing 76 bahagdan kung
tataas ang pasahe sa mga tren.
“It appears to us that the
LRT and MRT fare hike has the
intended result of marginalizing
the minimum wage earners and
students from maximizing the
benefits of a relatively affordable
and efficient mode of mass transportation,” ayon sa Bagong Alyansang
Makabayan (Bayan), alyansa ng
mga progresibong organisasyon.
Kasalukuyang sinasagot ng
gobyerno ang P40 agwat ng P15
na pamasahe ng MRT mula sa
tunay na kabuuang halaga nito na
P55.65 para sa taong 2010, ayon
sa DOTC.
Noong 2010, P1.9 bilyon ang
kinita ang LRTA mula sa pamasahe
at P12 milyon naman mula sa
non-rail revenues tulad ng mga
advertisement. Labis pa ito sa
P647 milyong kabuuang halaga ng
pagpapatakbo ng MRT-3 sa isang
taon, ayon sa LRTA.
Gayunman, hindi sumasapat
ang kita ng LRTA dahil sa mahigit
P7.88 bilyong utang ng gobyerno
sa pagpapagawa ng MRT-3.
“In essence, commuters are being
TRAIN WRECK. Passengers patiently wait at the platform of Shaw Boulevard Station of the MRT3 as a train couch
prepares to stop. Then Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas
said that the P30-fare increase in MRT and LRT will push through next year after being suspended for 9 months due
to public clamor. Militant groups slammed this statement, arguing that the fare increase would heavily burden the
commuters.
UPLB renews anti-tuition hike campaign
Ikot UP
SEVERAL STUDENT FORMATIONS
in UP Los Baños (UPLB) have
revived the alliance which campaigned against the 2006 tuition
increase, as tuition and other fees
in UP continue to hike through
the
university’s
mandatory
Socialized Tuition and Financial
Assistance Program (STFAP)
Bracket B certification.
On August 27, the UPLB-based
student groups League of Filipino
Students, Gabriela Youth, Anakbayan, Sigma Rho Fraternity,
and Writer’s Club, among others,
re-launched
UPLB
Sectors
Opposing Tuition and Other Fees
Increase (STOP TOFI), a mutisectoral alliance first convened
to oppose the 300 percent tuition
increase in 2006.
In protest of the revised STFAP
bracketing scheme, STOP TOFI
will hold a solidarity march on
September 19 and a local mobilization rally during the September
20 meeting of the Board of Regents
(BOR), the highest policy-making
body of the university.
“Dahil ang edukasyon ay
isang karapatan, muling nabuo
ang alyansa [upang tutulan] ang
implementasyon ng Bracket B Certification sa UPLB at iba pang UP
units, [na isang porma] ng tuition
increase,” said Allen Lemence,
coordinator of the alliance.
The UP administration first implemented the revised bracketing
scheme last academic year. The
new policy requires students
admitted to the university starting
2011 to submit proofs of annual
family income not exceeding P1
million including family income
tax returns and vicinity map of
residence.
Students admitted from 2007
to 2010, meanwhile, are only
asked to accomplish a bracket B
certification and submit a vicinity
map of their family residence.
By requiring students to certify
for bracket B in the STFAP, the
“default bracket” is then revised
to bracket A, said Lemence. The
base tuition in the university is
therefore increased by 50 to 67
percent, from P1,000 per unit
under Bracket B to P1,500 under
Bracket A, he explained.
Prior to the revised bracketing
scheme, students who do not declare
more than P1 million of annual
family income under bracket
A or apply for further financial
assistance under brackets C,
D, E1 and E2 of the STFAP are
automatically assigned to bracket B.
The “flaw” of automatically
assigning students to bracket B has
perpetuated the “wrong” notion
of having a “default bracket,” when
tuition in the university should be
determined by the student’s family
income under the STFAP, said UP
President Alfredo Pascual in an interview with the Collegian in June.
However, the Atanacio Report,
which was adopted by the BOR in
2006 as the basis of the STFAP,
specified Bracket B as the default
bracket. In the same report, the
actual cost of UP tuition under
Bracket A was also intended to be
implemented only on the upper
three percentile of the university’s population.
“Hindi naman ito usapin kung
kaya mong magbayad o hindi.
Usapin ito ng karapatan sa
edukasyon at pagiging accessible
ng UP. Itigil ang tuition hike sa
porma ng Bracket B Certification
scheme. Make our university
accessible to the larger number
of Filipino youth and people,” said
Lemence.
made to pay for [the] debts
incurred by previous administrations
due to the wrong policies used
during the construction of the
MRT,” anang Anakbayan, isang progresibong grupo ng mga kabataan.
‘Pantustos sa utang’
Taong 2000 nang makumpleto
ang 13 estasyon ng MRT-3 na
tumatakbo sa 17 kilometro mula
North Avenue sa Quezon City
hanggang Taft Avenue sa Pasay
City. Subalit upang pondohan ang
nasabing proyekto, pumasok sa
isang kasunduang build-leasetransfer (BLT) ang gobyerno sa BALITA
MRT Corporation (MRTC) noong
Miyerkules
1992, ayon sa Riles Network.
Sa kasunduang BLT, may 05 Setyembre
pangakong bahagdang tubo ang 2012
gobyerno sa mga katambal na
kumpanya, liban pa sa bayad sa
utang na ginamit para sa pagpapagawa ng MRT-3. Samakatwid,
lumalabas na pera ng mamayanan ang ibinabayad sa utang
ng gobyerno, paliwanag ni Dianne
Solmayor, tagapagsalita ng Strike
the Hike Movement.
Batay sa kasunduan, P60 ang
nakatakdang pamasahe para sa
MRT-3. Subalit, dahil 10 bahagdan
lamang ng inaasahang 200,000
pasahero ang gumamit ng MRT-3
sa mga unang buwan ng pagsisimula ng operayon nito, binabaan
ang pamasahe at gobyerno na ang
tumustos sa kakulangan, paliwanag
ni Sammy Malunes, isa sa mga
convener ng Riles Network.
Liban pa sa MRTC, nangutang
rin ang gobyerno sa iba pang mga
pribadong kumpanya, pati sa mga
institusyong pampinansya ng
pamahalaan tulad ng Land Bank.
Nang makumpleto ang MRT-3,
lumobo ang utang sa mga kumpanyang ito ng mahigit $678 milyon
at tumataas pa dahil sa interes,
batay sa datos mula sa LRTA.
“Kinakailangang ibasura ang
mga kontrata sa mga pribadong
kumpanya na ginagawa lamang
gatasan ang mamamayanang Pilipino. Dapat gobyerno lamang ang
namamahala sa pampublikong
transportasyon. Sa ganitong paraan,
buong bansa at hindi lamang
Maynila ang makikinabang,” ani
Malunes.
Sa kabila ng dagdag-pasahe,
P5.12 bilyon ang panukalang
badyet ng DOTC sa taong 2013
para sa Mass Transport Subsidy
na mas mataas sa kasalukuyang
P4.29 bilyon. Pinapakita lamang
nito na pantustos sa utang ng
MRT ang paggagamitan ng dagdag
bayarin at hindi para sa mismong
pagpapabuti ng serbisyo sa riles,
ayon sa Bayan.
Ang pagpasok ng gobyerno sa
mga kasunduan sa mga pribadong
kumpanya ay nangangahulugan
lamang ng pagpapabaya nito sa
pagtugon sa mga pangunahing
pangangailangan ng kanyang
mamamayan at nagreresulta sa
patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng
mga bilihin, ani Solmayor.
30 pamilya sa Quezon, lumikas
dahil sa militarisasyon
BALITA
Miyerkules
05 Setyembre
2012
TINATAYANG 30 PAMILYANG MAGbubukid sa Bondoc Peninsula,
Quezon Province ang napilitang
lumikas mula sa kanilang mga
tahanan bunsod ng dumaraming
mga paglabag ng karapatang pantao
sa ilalim ng militar na nakahimpil
sa kanilang mga komunidad.
Nasa 100 katao na ang lumikas
sa Bondoc Peninsula mula nang
ilunsad ang Oplan Bayanihan,
programang kontra-insurhensya
ng gobyerno, noong Enero 2011,
ayon sa tala ng Save Bondoc
Peninsula Movement (SBPM),
alyansa ng mga organisasyong
nananawagan ng hustisya para
sa mga biktima ng karahasan sa
Bondoc Peninsula.
“Napakaraming insidente ng
pagto-torture [sa mga residente]
ng mga sundalo ang nagaganap
sa mga barangay namin. Hindi
naman kami miyembro ng [New
People’s Army (NPA)], pero
iginigiit [ng militar na] mga
rebelde kami,” ani Ramos.
Walong batalyon ng Armed
Forces of the Philippines ang
kasalukuyang nakadestino sa
dalawang distrito ng Quezon
Province upang hulihin umano
ang mga miyembro ng NPA, ayon
sa Kasama-TK, grupong nagsusulong ng karapatang pantao
ng mga magsasaka sa Timog
Katagalugan.
Sa halip na makipagsapalaran
sa panganib na dala ng mga
sunud-sunod na insidente ng karahasan sa kanilang mga barangay,
nagpasya na lamang ang mga residenteng iwan ang kanilang mga
tahanan at kabuhayan, ani Aida
Ramos, isa sa mga lumikas.
Lima sa mga pamilyang lumikas
ang pansamantalang nakatira sa
headquarters ng All-UP Worker’s
Union sa UP Diliman, habang
ang iba naman ay nakituloy sa
tahanan ng kanilang mga kaanak
sa Maynila.
Matatagpuan ang Bondoc Peninsula sa timog-silangang bahagi
ng Quezon, na binubuo ng mga
lupaing sagana sa yamang
agrikultural at mineral.
Mga kaso ng karahasan
Mula Enero hanggang Hunyo
ngayong taon, umabot sa 99 ang
bilang ng mga biktima ng pulitikal
na pamamaslang sa buong bansa
habang 17 sa mga ito ay naitala sa
Timog Katagalugan, ayon sa tala
ng Karapatan - Alliance for the
Advancement of People’s Rights.
Samantala, tatlong nawawalang
mga magsasaka sa Bondoc
Peninsula ang pinaghihinalaang
dinukot ng militar, habang humigit-
kumulang 200 na ang naiulat
na biktima ng karahasan sa iba’t
ibang komunidad sa Quezon
Province ngayong taon, ayon sa
SBPM.
“’Yung anak ko, sapilitang
pinaaamin ng mga militar na isa
[siyang] NPA. Dinala siya sa ibang
barangay at doon tinutukan ng
baril at itak,” ani Ramos.
Matapos ang insidente, dinala
umano ng isang saksi ang anak
ni Ramos sa barangay hall upang
humingi ng tulong, ngunit wala
ring nagawa ang mga opisyal ng
barangay dahil sa takot sa mga
sundalo, saad ni Ramos. Sa takot
na maulit pa ang nangyari, ipinagbigay alam na lamang ng pamilya
ni Ramos sa pulisya ang nangyari
at saka nagpasyang lumikas
kinabukasan.
Kasamang lumikas ng pamilya
ni Ramos ang pamilya ni Roger
Cruz, isang magsasakang residente ng Bondoc Peninsula mula
pagkabata. Pauwi siya ng bahay
noong ika-5 ng Hunyo nang bigla
siyang harangin ng mga sundalo at
pagbintangang nagtatago umano
ng granada at baril, ani Cruz.
Pinasok umano ng mga sundalo
ang bahay ni Cruz at saka dinala
sa talahiban kung saan siya binugbog at iniwan. Bagaman naiulat
ang nasabing insidente sa pulis,
wala pa ring resolusyon ang kaso
hanggang ngayon, ayon sa asawa
ni Cruz.
Samantala, anim na buwan na
ang nakalipas nang huling makita
ni Maria Laston, residente ng
Bondoc Peninsula mula pagkabata,
ang kaniyang asawang si Carlo
Laston, isang magsasaka. Maagang
umalis si Carlo ng kanilang bahay
upang ibenta ang inaning kopra,
isang araw noong Marso at hindi
na muling nakita mula noon,
anang kanyang asawa.
“May mga nagsasabi[ng] nakita
daw nilang kinuha ng mga sundalo
ang asawa ko. Sana ay ibalik na
siya ng [militar]. Kawawa naman
ang anak namin [na] dalawang
taon pa lang,” dagdag ni Laston.
Oplan Bayanihan
Kinundena naman ng grupong
Karapatan ang mga paglabag
sa karapatang pantao sa mga
residente ng Bondoc Peninsula
at pinanawagan ang kagyat na
pagpapaalis sa mga batalyong
nakahimpil sa nasabing lalawigan.
Sa ilalim ng Oplan Bayanihan,
ang mga karahasang pinaiiral ng
militar ay bahagi ng planong paali-
sin ang mga magsasaka sa kanilang
lupa at bigyang daan ang pagpasok ng malalaking kumpanya,
ayon sa Karapatan,
“Bata-batalyong sundalo ang
nasa Bondoc Peninsula ngayon.
Daig pa nito ang mga nakaraang
bagyo sa pananalasa sa buhay at
kaligtasan ng mga mamamayan,”
ani Orly Marcellana, tagapagsalita
ng SBPM.
Titigil lamang ang mga paglabag
sa karapatang pantao kung ititigil
ng gobyerno ang Oplan Bayanihan,
ayon sa Karapatan. Ayon sa grupo,
dapat din umanong magpatupad
ng bagong mga batas na susupil
sa paglabag sa karapatang pantao,
isawalang bisa ang mga batas na
nagbibigay daan sa pang-aabuso
ng kapangyarihan, at makipagtulungan sa mga grupong pangkarapatang pantao.
“Itigil na ng gobyernong ito
ang panlilinlang sa mamamayan.
Kahit anong pilit ni Aquino na
pagmukhaing
pangkapayapaan
ang Oplan Bayanihan, bistado na
ng mga mamamayan na pananalanta ang hatid ng programang
ito,” ani Marcellana.
RED WARRIORS BEAT MAROONS
IN BUZZER-BEATER WIN, 79-76
Lavilyn Hysthea Malte
Sportscene
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE
East (UE) Red Warriors narrowly escaped another defeat
at the hands of the University of
the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons thanks to a surprise 79-76
buzzer-beater win, during the
second round of the 75th season
of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP)
men’s basketball on September
2 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA)
Arena.
The Warriors took the lead during the first three minutes of the
first quarter, 8-0. The UP ballers
quickly recovered, with Maroons
forward Alvin Padilla driving a
solid two-point shot and shooting
guard Jose Anton Teodoso Manuel firing two three-point shots.
The two teams almost tied at
17-17 at the last minute of the
quarter, but Maroons point guard
Anjelo Montecastro scored a
two-point shot at two seconds
remaining, ending the first quarter with a two-point lead by the
State U ballers, 19-17.
The Maroons owned the second quarter as the Warriors fumbled to execute an offensive campaign at the start of the quarter. A
steady offense flow and impressive three-pointers by Maroons
point guard Michael Joseph Gamboa and Maroons rookie Michael
Jeffrey Silungan steered UP towards a close second-quarter finish, 40-37.
Hell-bent on breaking their losing streak in the second half, the
Warriors rallied to overtake UP.
The Maroons responded with a
strong defense, with Cris Ball and
Padilla notching four points each.
However, the Warriors managed to close in on the Maroons,
with UE point guard Roi Sumang,
forward Adrian Santos, and team
captain John Carlo Duran launching a furious offensive strategy,
closing the third quarter at 66-58.
The beginning of the final quarter saw the Maroons buried by a
ten-point advantage by the Warriors, 72-62. Determined not to
succumb to defeat, the UP team
went on an impressive ten-point
scoring spree to latch the Warriors into a 76-76 gridlock during
the last two minutes of the game.
However, with only a single
second left on the clock, Warriors
center Christopher Javier risked
a three-pointer and managed to
beat both the buzzer and the Maroons, ending the game at 79-76.
“We [are] happy but not satisfied. The biggest room in the
world is the room for improvement [and] we should always
improve our skills, [because that]
makes the team better. We have
brought back the fighting in the
Maroons,” said Maroons Head
Coach Frederick Oliver Dandan in
an interview.
Now at eighth place, with one
win and nine loses, the Maroons
will take on the De La Salle Green
Archers on September 6 and
the University of Santo Tomas
Growling Tigers on September 8
at the SM MOA Arena.
BLOCKED OUT. UST Tigress Maruja Banaticla blocked the attack of UP Lady
Maroons Ana Maria del Mundo in the beach volleyball event held at the UE
Caloocan Sand Courts on September 1. Despite the Maroons’ 21-19 victory
in the first set, the UST volleybelles overpowered UP in the remaining sets
21-10, 15-5.
4 na lider-estudyante,
inaresto sa Davao City
NAKATAKDANG MAGSAMPA NG
kaso laban sa Talomo Police ng
Davao City ang apat na lider-estudyanteng inaresto at kinulong
matapos ang marahas na demolisyong isinagawa sa Bariquit
Compound sa Le Jardin subdivision, Davao City, noong Agosto 24.
Binansagang Le Jardin 4, ang
apat na kabataan ay sina Joselito
Lagon, Jr., tagapag-ugnay ng Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na
Kalayaan (KARATULA), Johnny
Urbina at John Michael Lim ng
Anakbayan, at Wyrlo Enero ng
League of Filipino Students (LFS)
– Davao City.
Nakiisa ang Le Jardin 4 sa
barikada ng halos 30 pamilya ng
Bariquit laban sa nakaambang demolisyong isasagawa para magbigay-daan sa bagong subdibisyong
ipatatayo ng mga Villa Abrille,
isang kilalang pamilya sa Davao.
Hindi natuloy ang demolisyon,
ngunit inaresto at kinulong nang
anim na araw sina Lagon, Urbina,
Lim, at Enero, matapos ang marahas na dispersal ng mga pulis.
Bagaman
pansamantala
ngayong nakalaya ang apat na
estudyante matapos magpiyansa
ng P12,500 noong Agosto 29, nahaharap pa rin sila sa mga kasong
direct assault, physical injuries, at
damage to properties.
Magsasampa naman ang mga
abogado ng Le Jardin 4 ng mga
kasong administratibo at kriminal
laban sa Talomo Police. Nakatakdang isagawa ang paglilitis sa apat
na lider-estudyante sa Oktubre 4.
“[Kami] po ang dapat na magsampa ng kaso, [dahil] kami po
‘yung inagrabyado sa pamamagitan ng pag [sampa] … ng mga
kasong … hindi naman namin
ginawa,” ani Urbina.
Pandarahas sa kabataan at
maralita
Kinundena ng mga progresibong grupo ang marahas at ilegal na
dispersal sa mga residente at mga
kabataang nakiisa sa barikada. Tadyak, suntok, at pangunguryente
ang naranasan ng mga lumahok
sa barikada, ayon sa LFS – Davao
City.
“Walang awang binugbog ang
aming [mga] kasamahan, kabilang
na po ako. Marami po ang tinamo
naming sugat at pasa galing sa
[mga pulis],” ani Urbina.
Isang araw bago pa maganap ang marahas na dispersal,
tinangka ng mga tauhan ng mga
Villa Abrille na magsagawa ng demolisyon sa Bariquit, ani Lagon.
Nagtamo ng malubhang sugat sa
paa si Marcela Camumot o “Nanay Silay,” 71, residente ng Bariquit, nang tangkaing harangin ng
ginang ang traktorang gagamitin
para sa demolisyon.
Sa halip na pumanig sa mga
residente, nagsilbi umanong “private army” ng mga Villa Abrille
ang mga pulis, ani Lagon.
Sa isang panayam, pinabulaanan naman ni Talomo Police
Station Deputy Commander
POLICEBRIEFS
Hinihinalang biktima ng salvage,
natagpuan sa Arboretum
Isang bangkay ng lalaking
hinihinalang biktima ng salvage
ang natagpuan sa UP Arboretum
Forest sa kahabaan ng Commonwealth Avenue noong ika-29 ng
Agosto.
Habang rumoronda dakong
6:00 ng umaga, nakita umano
ng guwardiya ng UP Arboretum
ang nasabing bangkay malapit sa
isang nursery.
Sa paunang imbestigasyon ng
UP Diliman Police (UPDP), may
tama ng baril sa kaliwang bahagi
ng noo ang biktima. Pinag-aaralan
ng pulisya ang anggulong salvage
dahil sa kawalan ng mga palatandaang nanlaban ang biktima.
Natagpuan din sa tabi ng bangkay
ang isang papel na may nakasulat
na “holdaper ako, susunod na kayo.”
Walang
anumang
pagkakakilanlan ang natagpuan sa
biktima na nakasuot lamang ng
itim na shorts at itim na T-shirt.
Wala rin umanong residente ng
Arboretum Drive ang nakakikilala
sa biktima.
Itinatayang nasa 20 hanggang
25 taong gulang at may taas na
5’3” ang biktimang maputi ang
balat at may kulay ang buhok.
Sa kasalukuyan, patuloy pa
rin ang imbestigasyon ng mga
pulisya sa kaso. Nasa kustodiya
ngayon ng Criminal Investigation
Unit ang natagpuang bangkay
para sa forensic examination.
QCPD, pinaligiran ang
headquarters ng UPDP
Nabalot ng tensyon ang paligid
ng UP Diliman Police headquarters, malapit sa gusali ng College
BALITA
Miyerkules
05 Setyembre
2012
ZERO RESULTS. A freshman student searches for his name in the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program
(STFAP) results posted in Vinzons Hall, September 3. With only a month before the semester ends, students await the
release of the STFAP results for the second semester, which is not yet available as of the moment.
Chief Inspector Aldrin Juaneza
ang mga paratang sa pulisya.
Aniya, inaresto nila ang Le Jardin
4 dahil tinangka ng mga itong haranging muli ang traktorang gagamitin sa demolisyon.
Subalit patunay lamang umano
ng pagsasawalang-bahala sa karapatang pantao ang paggamit ng
dahas ng awtoridad laban sa mga
of Architecture (Arki), nang pinalibutan ito ng mga armadong pulis
ng Quezon City Police District
Station 9 bandang 5:00 ng hapon,
ika-29 ng Agosto.
Bandang 4:00 ng hapon nang
iulat ng mga guwardiya ng UP
Arboretum Forest sa UPDP na
may nakita silang bahay na iligal
na itinatayo sa Old Capitol Site na
pag-aari umano ng isang Randy Lim.
Binaklas ng mga guwardiya ang
mga nakabakod na fishnet upang
mapuntahan ang nasabing istruktura. Nang paalis na sa lugar, may
nagpaputok umano ng baril sa
direksyon ng mga guwardiya. Ayon
sa mga nakasaksing residente, nagpaputok din ang mga guwardiya
bilang depensa ngunit agad din
silang umalis sa lugar.
Pinuntahan ng mga pulis ng
QCPD Police Station 9 ang UPDP
para hulihin ang mga guwardiyang nagpaputok umano sa Arboretum. Gayunpaman, hindi
pumayag ang UPDP na arestuhin
kabataang lumahok sa barikada,
ani Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino.
“We salute youth activists who
valiantly fight for the rights of the
oppressed, even if it endangers
their own freedom. In the same
vein, we condemn the police’s
sheer lack of restraint and abuse
of authority in this particular
case,” ani Palatino.
ng QCPD ang mga guwardiyang
sina Malipeciado Fiel, Raymundo
Abella, Rolando Enriquez, Saturnino Mamacos at Roberto Parpan.
Iginiit ng UPDP na ang pagpasok
ng QCPD sa UP ay labag sa
Memorandum Of Agreement ng
UP na nagbabawal sa pagpasok ng
mga pulis sa loob ng kampus nang
walang pahintulot ng Chief Security
Officer (CSO). Tumangging umalis
ang mga pulis ng QCPD at sa
halip ay pinalibutan ang UPDP,
dala-dala ang kanilang mataas na
kalibre ng baril.
Dahil sa mga nakapalibot na
armadong pulis sa UPDP, may
mga estudyanteng hindi muna
lumabas ng gusali sa takot na masangkot sa engkwentro, ayon sa
mga saksing manininda malapit
sa Arki.
Nabawasan lamang ang tensyon
matapos mag-usap sina QCPD
Sundan sa pahina 11
Demolisyon at pananakot
Taong 2006 pa planong simulan ang demolisyon sa 20-ektaryang lupain sa Bariquit, ngunit
naging maigting ang usapin nang
ipag-utos na ng mga Villa Abrille
ang demolisyon sa nasabing compound upang masimulan ang
pagpapatayo ng bagong subdibisyon.
Tinabunan din umano ang mga
pananim ng mga residente, habang nagpapaputok naman umano ng baril tuwing gabi ang mga
guwardiya ng mga Villa Abrille
para takutin ang mga residente,
ayon sa LFS-Davao City.
Hindi kinilala ng mga residente
ng Bariquit ang ipinakitang “fencing permit” at “permit to develop
a lot” mula sa City Engineering
Office (CEO), matapos maglabas
ng “status quo order” ang Regional Trial Court (RTC). Ayon sa nasabing status quo order, kabilang sa
hindi maaaring gawin ng magkabilang panig ang pag-aararo, pagpapaayos ng daan, at paglalagay
ng bakod sa mga lupain.
Naninidigan naman ang CEO
sa desisyon nitong gawaran ng
mga permit ang mga Villa Abrille,
dahil nakumpleto naman umano
ng mga Villa Abrille ang mga rekisitong papeles, paliwanag ni Engineer Grace Catubig ng CEO sa
isang panayam.
Magkakaroon lamang umano
ng bisa ang status quo order kung
Sundan sa pahina 11
Kulê strengthens appeal for support
in crucial budget campaign
WITH BARELY A COUPLE OF
months left before the semester
ends in October, the Philippine
Collegian has renewed its urgent
appeal to UP Diliman (UPD)
students for support in the
campaign to adjust the student
publication fee from P40 to P72
next enrolment.
“Hindi [na] sasapat ang pondo
ng Kulê para maitaguyod ang
diyaryo sa susunod na semestre
at sa mga susunod pang termino,”
said Collegian Editor-in-Chief
Ma. Katherine Elona.
Aside from printing expenses,
BALITA the Collegian also incurs other
management costs, such as honoMiyerkules
raria for its staff, phone bills, and
05 Setyembre
office supplies needed for its
2012
weekly operations.
“Sa madaling sabi, mawawalan
ng hanapbuhay ang anim na staff,
mawawalan ng hono ang mga
taga-Kule, at mauubusan ng pera
para sa mga nakatakdang gawain
na pinopondohan ng institusyon,
gaya ng semestral na training
para sa mga miyembro nito, at
taunang editorial examination
para matiyak ang mga susunod na
termino,” Elona explained.
Gathering just over 3,000 signatures in total as of press time,
the official student publication
of UPD has yet to secure at least
9,000 additional signatures to
obtain the majority vote of the
total 24,000 student population
in UPD.
Launched in February this year
during former EIC Marjohara
Tucay’s term, the campaign aims
to resolve the student paper’s
perennial financial crisis.
Since the publication fee
was pegged at P40 in 1986,
the real value of the said
amount has been steadily
depreciated by inflation, or
rising printing and management
costs. As a result, the Collegian
incurs an average annual budget
deficit of P230,000, compelling
the current and previous editorial
terms to offset the deficit by
resorting to cost-cutting initiatives and fundraising events.
Tucay and Elona’s respective
editorial boards, however, decided
that a more permanent solution
is needed to ensure that the
Collegian continues to serve
students in the years to come.
In a letter to the administration
in October 2011, the editorial
board proposed to resolve the
Collegian’s annual budget by
increasing the Collegian fee from
P40 to P72 to diminish the effects
of inflation.
In a random sampling survey
conducted by the Collegian in
February, more than eight out
of ten UPD students upheld the
Collegian’s importance as the
official student publication of
UPD. Out of a total 101 students
who participated in the survey, 87
out of a total 101 UPD students,
or 86.14 percent, said the
Collegian is important to their life
in UP, while 81 out of a total 104
respondents, or 77.88 percent,
said they agree with the proposed
fee increase.
As the Collegian launches a
more extensive room-to-room
signature
campaign
during
the next three weeks, the staff
will also continue its round of
consultations
with
student
councils and organizations. Since
early this year, discussions on
the publication fee increase have
been conducted with 14 local SCs.
The
College
of
Mass
Communication (CMC) SC and the
National College of Public Administration and Governance SC have
both released official statements
supporting the campaign.
“Kaisa kami sa pagsisiguro na
ang mga alternatibong midya
tulad ng Kule ay makakapagpatuloy sa pag-iral ng peryodismong hindi lamang nag-uulat,
ngunit higit lalo ay nag-mumulat
sa tunay na kalagayan ng unibersidad at ng bansa,” the CMC SC
statement read.
“Handang maglunsad ang Kule
ng konsultasyon sa mga kolehiyo,
mga organisasyon, at mga klase
upang higit pang makapagliwanag
ukol sa isyu. Bukas ang opisina,
Facebook, Twitter at email account ng Kule para sa mga katanungan,” Elona said.
Breastfeeding advocates
reject proposed milk code
amendments
BREASTFEEDING
ADVOCATES
have opposed the proposed
breastfeeding and milk regulation
bill amending Executive Order
(EO) 51, the current national milk
code, saying the new bill will only
further risk the health of women
and children.
Touted as the “Breastfeeding
Promotion and Infant Formula
Regulation Bill” or House Bill (HB)
3537, the bill is a consolidation
of four earlier bills by Representatives Josephine Veronique
Lacson-Noel and Rufus Rodriguez
(HB 3527), Lucy Gomez and Lani
Revilla (HB 3537), Anna York
Bondoc (HB 3396), and Atty.
Magtanggol Gunigundo (HB 3525).
The bill aims to supposedly
establish a comprehensive program
for breastfeeding practices in the
Philippines and improve the rate
of exclusive breastfeeding in the
country.
Approved in 1986 during former
President Corazon Aquino’s administration, the current milk
code restricts milk companies
from marketing infant milk
products and from advertising
information which may mislead
consumers into thinking that milk
formulas are better than breast milk.
Breast-bottle controversy
While the proposed HB 3537
proposes necessary amendments,
such as further information
dissemination and the provision
of breastfeeding facilities in
public areas, the new bill will
also allow milk companies
to promote their products as
substitutes for breast milk,
according to Save the Babies
Coalition (SBC), an advocacy
group for children’s health.
HB 3537 seeks to allow milk
companies to market products
intended for children over six
months, conduct promotion on
breastfeeding and child care,
place health and nutritional
claims on their products, and
donate infant formula in times of
disaster and calamities.
Such provisions will be an
economic burden to families with
infant children, considering that
Filipino mothers are likely to be
influenced by advertisements in
choosing the right milk for their
children, according to the World
Health Organization (WHO).
In 2011, a study commissioned
by the WHO found that Filipino
mothers who have been exposed
to infant formula ads are two to
BAGONG BAYARIN?. Binibilang ng isang kolektor ng pamasahe ang mga nakasakay sa isang jeep sa Katipunan.
Naghain ng petisyon sa Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ang ilang transport group
para sa pagtataas ng pamasahe mula P8 hanggang P10 dahil sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis. Tutol
naman ang grupong Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (PISTON) dahil hindi umano
ito napapanahon at makadaragdag lamang sa hirap na dinaranas ng mamamayan.
four times more likely to stop
breastfeeding and feed their
babies infant formula.
Breastfeeding advocates also
criticized the bill’s provision
on allowing milk companies to
donate formula milk products in
emergency situations. Because of
lack of sanitation and poor quality
of water during such times, milk
made from powdered formulas
only exposes children to health
risks like diarrhea, said SBC.
Instead of this amendment,
mothers and their children
should instead be clustered
together in one shelter during
times of calamity and facilitate
the mother-to-mother support by
sharing breast milk and lactation
management for babies on
formula feeding, said SBC.
It may also serve as an excuse
for employers to neglect their
obligation to allow employees to
have lactation breaks and breast
feed their child according to
Makabayan, a coalition of progressive partylists in the country.
HB 3537, not the right solution
“Clearly,
the
consolidated
House Bill will only exacerbate
the problems faced by Filipino
families [and] may cause illnesses
or even deaths of children,”
said breastmilk advocacy group
Lactation, Attachment, Training,
Counseling,
Help
(LATCH)
President Buding Aquino-Dee.
Rather than propose new
amendments to the current milk
code, the Congress should instead
institutionalize policies which
promote exclusive breastfeeding
for infants less than six months
old, continued breastfeeding
with complementary feeding for
children older than six months,
and sustained breastfeeding for
children more than two years old,
said Save the Children Coalition
in a statement.
“The
currently
proposed
amendments on the milk code are
not in the best interest of … Filipino
families, especially [mothers]
and [their children]. Rather [these
amendments] will only advance
the interests of the milk companies.
[We call] for our government
and the Filipino community to
oppose the currently proposed
amendments and to uphold the
rights and protect the Filipino
families,” the group said.
The committee hearing on the
said the bill started last August 16
and will continue on September 4
at the House of Representatives.
Closing credits
Ending the vicious debt cycle
IN THIS LAST PART OF
THE FEATURES SERIES
ON THE DEBT DISCOURSE,
ALTERNATIVES THAT HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO
LIBERATE COUNTRIES
LONG TRAPPED BY DEBT
ARE EXPLORED, LAYING
THE DIFFERENT FRAMEWORKS
THAT CAN SAVE THE
PEOPLE HELD CAPTIVE
BY POVERTY.
Gloiza
Option 1: Do nothing, maintain the current setup
Some experts believe that by continuing to pay loans and with sound fiscal management, the country can eventually break free from the clutches of debt in the future.
“Hindi ka naman pwedeng hindi humiram. [Borrowing] is still an option, but you just
have to properly manage your debt, and use it properly,” says Prof. Jocelyn Cuaresma of
UP National College of Public Administration and Governance.
Government spending amidst shortfall of revenues creates the conditions to borrow
money. “Wala tayong ganoon kalaking pera para sa investments, kaya nga tayo umuutang
sa ibang bansa,” says Cuaresma.
In reality however, such measure currently adopted has allowed staggeringly high allocation for debt servicing at the expense of scrimping the budget for social services like
education and health. For 2013, payment for principal debts including interest amounted
to almost 40 percent of the total budget or P783.7 billion, an amount nominally higher by
12.5 percent compared to P696.6 billion for 2012.
Years of paying loans have shown the grim effects of prioritizing debt servicing over
social welfare. Yet, continuing this stance disregards the people’s clamor for better and
LATHALAIN
more accessible social services.
Plamenco
INCURRING DEBTS HAD ALWAYS
been a convenient recourse whenever there is shortage of government funds. The grand act
of borrowing after all, evolved
from the immediate need of
governments to fund activities or
programs that fall short on finances.
Decades of entanglement with
debts, however, had enslaved governments of both poor and affluent countries, trapping them in the
vicious cycle of debt. In the Philippines, debt servicing has historically taken the largest slice from the
budget pie, amounting to almost a
third of government spending since
the post-Marcos era.
“Sabi [ng gobyerno,] nama-manage na ang debt, pero at what costs?
Kulang tayo sa social services, dahil
nga napupunta sa pagbabayad ng
utang,” says Prof. Leonor Briones,
president of non-government organization Freedom from Debt
Coalition (FDC).
Even the world’s strongest economies appear vulnerable to the
deadly grip of debt. Of the United
States’ (US) $3.8 trillion spending
for 2013, $248 billion or 6.5 percent
is allocated to pay their debt interest alone. The US’ failure to write
off its loans only submits itself to
another cycle of borrowing.
As poverty continues to plague
developing countries like the Philippines, the imperative for governments and peoples to eradicate
public debt intensifies. In these
times of chronic crisis marked by
skyrocketing prices of commodities
and lack of opportunities, finances
liberated from debt servicing can
be tapped for productive endeavors
like social services.
The successful bid of various
countries to cancel large sums of
their loans proves there is no shortage of alternatives to the debt bondage. Indeed, the narrative of debt
has to end, and if governments refuse to act, then it is for the people—
the true bearers of the burden—to
free themselves from its chains.
Option 2: Waive debt liability through the doctrine of odious debt
In 1927, Russian legal expert Alexander Sack formulated the doctrine of odious debt, a legal theory that considers debt as illegitimate when contracted by a despotic regime, not for the
needs or interests of its people, but to perpetuate its power. This entitles the successor government leeway to refuse paying contracted loans.
An estimated $726 billion of debts owed by developing countries are odious or illegitimate,
according to Canada-based organization Social Justice Committee. There have been various instances when such legal framework was used. In 1949, the Indonesian government defaulted on
debts used by the Dutch colonial regime to dismantle the local uprising. Similarly, Ecuador in
2008 did not honor $3.8 billion of its foreign debt, justifying it was not spent by previous despotic
regimes for their people’s welfare.
Sack never outlined the actual process on how loans classified by the doctrine of odious debt
can be cancelled. However, scholars often cite the case of Cuban debt in 1898 that the US—which
owned Cuba then—unilaterally refused to pay Spain.
In the Philippines, several loans used for projects can be considered illegitimate, according to
FDC. These include the $80 million used to finance the Angat Water Supply Optimization Project in 1990 borrowed from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Also, the $2.3 billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant loaned during the Marcos’ administration
and was fully paid on April 2007, could have qualified as odious debt. Pres. Corazon Aquino however, chose to honor all debts upon ascending to power, taking responsibility to pay such liabilities, instead of grabbing the opportunity to cancel it.
Option 3: Increase government income
The most sensible solution to eliminate debt and develop the current state of the economy
is to increase the income of the government, says Briones.
Briones points that the country’s agriculture must be strengthened. A modernized agricultural sector has the capacity to enhance the domestic economy that could increase government revenues. The government however, does not prioritize the development of agriculture
despite the Philippines being an agricultural country. Also, the Agricultural sector has historically contributed the least to economic development, next to the Services and Industry sector.
Another means to increase government income implementing stricter tax collections is.
Uncollected taxes reach to P250 billion annually, according to Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. If effectively collected, such amount is more than enough to close the P241 billion deficit
identified by the Department of Budget and Management for 2013.
Option 4: Reorient debt usage for national industrialization
“Hindi lahat ng utang, masama. Ang klase nga lang ng utang [natin] ngayon ay pinapanatili
tayong backward,” says Sonny Africa, head researcher of IBON Foundation.
In exchange for loans, financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank impose conditionalities that alter the economic structures of developing countries into
one that is vulnerable and heavily reliant to developed countries. These include the selling of
government-owned corporations to private entities as what happened to the National Power
Corporation and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.
Africa notes that the first few stages of industrialization might still require borrowing to generate income. When such capital is spent to strengthen basic industries such as agriculture, we
will eventually have a strong economy that can generate resources to pay our debts and finally
stop depending on it, he adds.
Arduous processes and long period of completion punctuate the road to national industrialization. However, advocates argue that such a paradigm will resolve not only debt reliance
but many of the country’s fundamental problems like dependence on foreign investments and
imports, high unemployment rates, and environmental degradation.
Such a long-term solution requires a complete reversal of all policies and framework employed by the government.
Miyerkules
5 Setyembre
2012
AFTER YEARS OF DECREASING
government funding for state
universities and colleges (SUCs),
the
Aquino
administration
has announced a whopping 44
percent increase in the allocation for SUCs for 2013, to
P37.1 billion next year from the
current P25.8 billion.
The proposed budget increase,
however, comes with a hefty
price. “Paalala lang po: lahat ng
ginagawa natin, may direksyon;
may kaakibat na kondisyon ang
dagdag-budget na ito. Kailangang
ipatupad ang napagkasunduang
SUC Reform Roadmap ng Commission on Higher Education
LATHALAIN
(CHEd),” Aquino quips.
The president was referring to
Miyerkules
the
Roadmap for Public Higher
05 Setyembre
Education
Reform (RPHER), his
2012
administration’s master plan for
public tertiary education. It aims
to provide “relevant and quality
public higher education to all who
seek and deserve it,” and contains several reform programs
that are set to be accomplished
by 2016.
Yet a deeper analysis of the
purported reforms shows how it
seeks to erode the public character
of SUCs, and how it ultimately
transforms the public tertiary
education system into a
source of cheap labor force for
the global market.
Development Plan (LTHEDP),
which sought to increase costefficiency, and global competitiveRoad to perdition
SUCs were established to pro- ness of public higher education.
In 1997, Ramos signed the
vide accessible, quality education
Higher
Education Modernization
to those who cannot afford
private college education. At Act (HEMA), which allowed SUCs
present, there are 110 SUCs to embark on business ventures
in the country catering to over 1.1 with the private sector, privatize
management
of
nonmillion students, a small
academic services, and
portion of the tradiset their own tuition
tionally privateInstead
of
prioritizing
and other charges.
dominated
C o n s e q u e n t l y,
fields
that
the
country
higher educastate funding for
needs to industrialize,
tion sector.
higher education
Over
the
RPHER focuses on
began to plunge,
years, various
strengthening areas that
as
SUCs now
barriers
to
would just feed the global generate higher
access
–
need for cheap labor
internal income.
coupled
with
In 2001, President
policies by past
Gloria
Arroyo revised
administrations – have
the LTHEDP in line with the
impeded SUCs to fulfill their
mandate to provide affordable government’s plot to make SUCs
college education and have self-sustaining, with the eventual
instead constricted the public goal of abandoning state funding
character of state schools, said for higher education. Arroyo’s
National Union of Students of LTHEDP targeted – among others
the Philippines (NUSP) Secretary – to reduce the number
General Isabelle Baguisi.
In 1996, President Fidel Ramos
implemented the Long-term
Higher Education
of SUCs, introduce incomegenerating projects in 50 state
schools, and peg tuition rates
in SUCs to levels comparable
to their private counterparts by
2010.
The fiscal reforms implemented by the Arroyo administration
resulted to the gradual decrease
of the government’s share in the
total operating budget of SUCs,
from 80 percent in 2001 to 70
percent in 2010. With SUCs being
highly encouraged to maximize
profits, many state schools implemented tuition hikes. In 2007,
UP raised tuition and other fees
by 300 percent, increasing the
base tuition to P1,000 per unit
from the former P300.
“The [RPHER] we have today is
the result of the [policies] of past
administrations, which RPHER
follows quite well,” says Kabataan
Party-List Rep. Raymond
This continued until 2012, with
the government not providing
any allocation for capital outlay (CO), the fund for new infrastructure, since 2010. Many state
schools even received massive
cuts in their operating budget.
In direct response to the massive demonstrations and criticism against cuts in the funding
for SUCs in the past years, the
Aquino administration significantly increased the budget for
SUCs next year.
Along with the sharp shift in
the government’s funding policy
for SUCs came RPHER, which
revolves around the key word
“rationalization,” or the setting of
concrete objectives that would
justify increasing government spending for
Same old route
Aquino’s first year in
office made no significant
change in the overall policy
to decrease state funding for
education. In his 2010 budget
message, Aquino explicitly
explained, “We are gradually
reducing the subsidy for SUCs
to push them toward becoming
self-sufficient and financially independent, given their ability to
raise their income and to utilize it
for their programs and projects.”
In 2011, the budget for SUCs was
slashed by over P1 billion.
RPHER is set to group SUCs
into three tiers, based on performance indicators which include
enrolment and passing rates. “The
strategy is to concentrate public
resources in a few institutions
in order to achieve critical mass
and create appreciable impact,”
according to RPHER. By 2016,
RPHER targets to produce “three
i n t e r n a t i o n a l ly - r e c o g n i z e d
SUCs” using this grouping.
CHEd has listed 22 “leading
universities” – which include UP
and Mindanao State
o
r
e
g
n
a
D
Palatino,
explaining
that RPHER
leads
public
higher education
to the same direction followed by its
predecessors.
Potholes
higher education.
According
to
CHEd, RPHER is the
government’s response to
three fundamental weaknesses
of Philippine higher education,
which includes the “lack of overall
vision,” “deteriorating quality,”
and “limited access.”
Following the recommendations of a study released by the
Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) early this
year, CHEd has laid down a concrete roadmap of reforms that it
intends to accomplish by 2016
(see sidebar). The major reforms
that RPHER intends to pursue
include the the merging of SUCs,
rationalization and closure of
“redundant” course offerings, and
maximize income generation.
“These reforms are already in
LTHEDP. Nothing much in RPHER
is new. It is a mere reiteration of
past proposals, some already enacted, which the students have
long rejected,” says Palatino.
from P15 million to P1.4 billion
next year. Tier 1 SUCs will each
receive an average of P7 million
for CO, while Tier 2 SUCs, will
each be allotted around P4 million or less.
RPHER is also set to “phase
out inefficient and duplicative”
courses, which are already offered by private universities,
and close courses which are
“outside the mandate” of
certain SUCs. In
s
u
agri-fisheries,
mining,
electronics, services and Business
Process
Outsourcing
(BPO).
According to CHEd, more funds
will be allotted for the development
of the said fields to encourage
their development.
However, such prioritization only re-
i
D
such way, state
schools can focus on developing their
specializations, according to
RPHER.
Under this reform agenda,
University
courses in SUCs which are already
– that would
offered by a large number of private
receive a lion’s share
colleges, such as nursing, busiof the total SUCs budget.
ness administration, and hotel
Meanwhile, CHEd identified
and restaurant management,
37 “Tier 1 developing SUCs” –
are set to be abolished to avoid
including the Polytechnic Univerduplication.
sity of the Philippines and Rizal
“I question the criteria of an
Technological University – which
‘inefficient’ course. An ‘inefficient’
comes in second priority in terms
course may mean a non-marketof government allocation. The reable program—like courses in the
maining 51 SUCs are classified
arts. Will funding be cut based
under “Tier 2 developing SUCs,”
that standard?” says Palatino,
and are given least priority in
explaining that closing
the allotment of funds.
courses offered by
“In this frameprivate univerwork, high-perWhile RPHER purportedly
sities such as
forming SUCs
aims to democratize
nursing and
would be prioraccess to tertiary education, b u s i n e s s
itized over unit is set to usher in further
administraderperforming
inaccessibility, with the
tion
only
presence of reforms which
SUCs. This is
benefits the
target
to
intensify
SUCs’
unfair,” says Bacapacity to generate income. private sector,
guisi, explaining
as CHEd would
that budget allocabe removing comtion should instead be
petition with private
based on actual needs of SUCs.
universities.
In prioritizing funding for “leadAlso, SUCs are set to be pushed
ing SUCs,” the government is igto improve their specializations,
noring the fact that underfunding
and drop course offerings that
has resulted to low performance
are “out of their mandate.” For
and slow development in many
example, an SUC which largely
SUCs, Baguisi explains.
specializes on agriculture and
The effects of RPHER can alfisheries would be encouraged
ready be seen in the 2013 budget
to drop course offerings that are
for SUCs. According to the 2013
not related to the said fields, says
National Expenditure Program
Palatino.
(NEP), leading SUCs are each set
RPHER intends to focus on
to receive a CO budget ranging
five priority areas, which include
t
c
re
flects
and
intensifies
the
government’s
laborexport policy, says Palatino.
While agri-fisheries should indeed be prioritized, the other priority areas in RPHER, especially
BPOs and services, only serve to
produce more workers for multinational corporations, and supply
cheap labor to the global market,
Palatino adds.
“Instead of prioritizing fields
that the country needs to industrialize, RPHER focuses on
strengthening areas that would
just feed the global need for cheap
labor,” explains Palatino.
Roadblocks
While RPHER purportedly
aims to democratize access to
tertiary education, it is set to usher in further inaccessibility, with
the presence of reforms which
target to intensify SUCs’ capacity
to generate income. Some of the
reforms include the revision of
the Normative Funding Formula
(NFF), adoption of socialized fee
schemes for all SUCs, and additional joint business ventures
with the private sector.
The NFF is a formula used by
CHEd to determine the budget
allocation of SUCs based on
performance indicators, such as
enrolment and passing rates. At
present, the NFF covers only the
maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) component
of the budget, the funds utilized
for basic operating expenses of
state schools, such as purchase of
office supplies and payment for
utility bills.
RPHER aims to revise the current formula to include personal
services (PS), or the funds used to
pay salaries of employees, in the
equation.
The said revision would mean
that the performance of SUCs
will now also affect staffing and
salaries of employees. “May
danger na kapag
s
n
io
iag
lm
hn
Jo
bumaba
ang
enrolment or passing
rates, maaaring maging
dahilan para matanggalan ng
mga empleyado at teachers ang
ilang SUCs,” Baguisi explains.
RPHER also intends to implement “socialized tuition fee
schemes,” similar to UP’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), to all
SUCs by 2016. Such school fee
scheme “would allow cost recovery without limiting access
among the poor, guided by the
principles underlying the tuition
fee scheme where students from
financially capable families pay a
larger share of the cost,” according to CHEd.
However, implementing socialized tuition fee schemes similar
to STFAP ignites fears of tuition
hikes, says Baguisi. UP’s experience with socialized tuition also
reveals that instead of widening
access, it has become instrumental in barring entry to the university, Baguisi explains.
Based on Collegian data, two
decades of STFAP implementation have decreased the percent
of the student population enjoying free tuition, from 20 percent
in 1991, to less than a percent at
present.
“STFAP has served as a smokescreen to tuition increase in UP.
There is reason to worry now that
CHEd plans to implement it in all
SUCs,” says Palatino.
lco
Ma
An
S.
RPHER
also pushes
SUCs to maximize income-generating
schemes, including land leases
and partnerships with the private
sector, with the end goal of having
22 leading SUCs that are capable
of sourcing 50 percent of their
budgetary requirement to internal income by 2016.
Divergent path
LATHALAIN
“Clearly, RPHER offers no new
alternative for SUCs. It’s not a Miyerkules
roadmap that would allow more 05 Setyembre
students to enter college. It’s 2012
a roadmap that would prepare
state schools for the government’s gradual abandonment of
public higher education,” says
Palatino.
With CHEd envisioning a future wherein half of the budgetary
needs of SUCs come from their
own income, it is highly probable
that the nominal increase given
by the government for SUCs will
only last for a couple of years,
Baguisi says. “Pagkatapos ng ilang
taon, balik-budget cut na naman,”
she adds.
Instead of providing a concrete
reform program that would address barriers to entry to tertiary
education such as prohibitive
costs, RPHER will instead pave
the way for further commercialization of higher education,
continued influence of the global
market, and gradual state abandonment. Instituting genuine
reforms in public higher education entails providing ample and
necessary provisions for state
schools that would enable them
to be responsive to the country’s
real needs.
Sidebar: Goals of the Roadmap for Public Higher Education Reform 2011-2016
By 2013
• All SUCs integrated to the tier system of the government
• All 22 leading SUCs have income generating projects (IGPs)
• 30% of inefficient and duplicative programs phased out
• Start of digitization and automation of SUC operations
• Establishment of 10 research & development centers wish SUCs
2014
• Formulation of a new socialized fee scheme and application in 10 SUCs
• Digitization of operations in 20% of SUCs
• Establishment of a Higher Education Academy that would produce
future SUC managers
2016
• 50% budgetary requirements of SUCs sourced from IGPs
• 100% of inefficient and duplicative programs phased out
• Full application of NFF to PS and MOOE
• 10 research & development centers
• 3 SUCs join the ranks of leading universities in the world
AFTER YEARS OF DECREASING
government funding for state
universities and colleges (SUCs),
the
Aquino
administration
has announced a whopping 44
percent increase in the allocation for SUCs for 2013, to
P37.1 billion next year from the
current P25.8 billion.
The proposed budget increase,
however, comes with a hefty
price. “Paalala lang po: lahat ng
ginagawa natin, may direksyon;
may kaakibat na kondisyon ang
dagdag-budget na ito. Kailangang
ipatupad ang napagkasunduang
SUC Reform Roadmap ng Commission on Higher Education
LATHALAIN
(CHEd),” Aquino quips.
The president was referring to
Miyerkules
the
Roadmap for Public Higher
05 Setyembre
Education
Reform (RPHER), his
2012
administration’s master plan for
public tertiary education. It aims
to provide “relevant and quality
public higher education to all who
seek and deserve it,” and contains several reform programs
that are set to be accomplished
by 2016.
Yet a deeper analysis of the
purported reforms shows how it
seeks to erode the public character
of SUCs, and how it ultimately
transforms the public tertiary
education system into a
source of cheap labor force for
the global market.
Development Plan (LTHEDP),
which sought to increase costefficiency, and global competitiveRoad to perdition
SUCs were established to pro- ness of public higher education.
In 1997, Ramos signed the
vide accessible, quality education
Higher
Education Modernization
to those who cannot afford
private college education. At Act (HEMA), which allowed SUCs
present, there are 110 SUCs to embark on business ventures
in the country catering to over 1.1 with the private sector, privatize
management
of
nonmillion students, a small
academic services, and
portion of the tradiset their own tuition
tionally privateInstead
of
prioritizing
and other charges.
dominated
C o n s e q u e n t l y,
fields
that
the
country
higher educastate funding for
needs to industrialize,
tion sector.
higher education
Over
the
RPHER focuses on
began to plunge,
years, various
strengthening areas that
as
SUCs now
barriers
to
would just feed the global generate higher
access
–
need for cheap labor
internal income.
coupled
with
In 2001, President
policies by past
Gloria
Arroyo revised
administrations – have
the LTHEDP in line with the
impeded SUCs to fulfill their
mandate to provide affordable government’s plot to make SUCs
college education and have self-sustaining, with the eventual
instead constricted the public goal of abandoning state funding
character of state schools, said for higher education. Arroyo’s
National Union of Students of LTHEDP targeted – among others
the Philippines (NUSP) Secretary – to reduce the number
General Isabelle Baguisi.
In 1996, President Fidel Ramos
implemented the Long-term
Higher Education
of SUCs, introduce incomegenerating projects in 50 state
schools, and peg tuition rates
in SUCs to levels comparable
to their private counterparts by
2010.
The fiscal reforms implemented by the Arroyo administration
resulted to the gradual decrease
of the government’s share in the
total operating budget of SUCs,
from 80 percent in 2001 to 70
percent in 2010. With SUCs being
highly encouraged to maximize
profits, many state schools implemented tuition hikes. In 2007,
UP raised tuition and other fees
by 300 percent, increasing the
base tuition to P1,000 per unit
from the former P300.
“The [RPHER] we have today is
the result of the [policies] of past
administrations, which RPHER
follows quite well,” says Kabataan
Party-List Rep. Raymond
This continued until 2012, with
the government not providing
any allocation for capital outlay (CO), the fund for new infrastructure, since 2010. Many state
schools even received massive
cuts in their operating budget.
In direct response to the massive demonstrations and criticism against cuts in the funding
for SUCs in the past years, the
Aquino administration significantly increased the budget for
SUCs next year.
Along with the sharp shift in
the government’s funding policy
for SUCs came RPHER, which
revolves around the key word
“rationalization,” or the setting of
concrete objectives that would
justify increasing government spending for
Same old route
Aquino’s first year in
office made no significant
change in the overall policy
to decrease state funding for
education. In his 2010 budget
message, Aquino explicitly
explained, “We are gradually
reducing the subsidy for SUCs
to push them toward becoming
self-sufficient and financially independent, given their ability to
raise their income and to utilize it
for their programs and projects.”
In 2011, the budget for SUCs was
slashed by over P1 billion.
RPHER is set to group SUCs
into three tiers, based on performance indicators which include
enrolment and passing rates. “The
strategy is to concentrate public
resources in a few institutions
in order to achieve critical mass
and create appreciable impact,”
according to RPHER. By 2016,
RPHER targets to produce “three
i n t e r n a t i o n a l ly - r e c o g n i z e d
SUCs” using this grouping.
CHEd has listed 22 “leading
universities” – which include UP
and Mindanao State
o
r
e
g
n
a
D
Palatino,
explaining
that RPHER
leads
public
higher education
to the same direction followed by its
predecessors.
Potholes
higher education.
According
to
CHEd, RPHER is the
government’s response to
three fundamental weaknesses
of Philippine higher education,
which includes the “lack of overall
vision,” “deteriorating quality,”
and “limited access.”
Following the recommendations of a study released by the
Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) early this
year, CHEd has laid down a concrete roadmap of reforms that it
intends to accomplish by 2016
(see sidebar). The major reforms
that RPHER intends to pursue
include the the merging of SUCs,
rationalization and closure of
“redundant” course offerings, and
maximize income generation.
“These reforms are already in
LTHEDP. Nothing much in RPHER
is new. It is a mere reiteration of
past proposals, some already enacted, which the students have
long rejected,” says Palatino.
from P15 million to P1.4 billion
next year. Tier 1 SUCs will each
receive an average of P7 million
for CO, while Tier 2 SUCs, will
each be allotted around P4 million or less.
RPHER is also set to “phase
out inefficient and duplicative”
courses, which are already offered by private universities,
and close courses which are
“outside the mandate” of
certain SUCs. In
s
u
agri-fisheries,
mining,
electronics, services and Business
Process
Outsourcing
(BPO).
According to CHEd, more funds
will be allotted for the development
of the said fields to encourage
their development.
However, such prioritization only re-
i
D
such way, state
schools can focus on developing their
specializations, according to
RPHER.
Under this reform agenda,
University
courses in SUCs which are already
– that would
offered by a large number of private
receive a lion’s share
colleges, such as nursing, busiof the total SUCs budget.
ness administration, and hotel
Meanwhile, CHEd identified
and restaurant management,
37 “Tier 1 developing SUCs” –
are set to be abolished to avoid
including the Polytechnic Univerduplication.
sity of the Philippines and Rizal
“I question the criteria of an
Technological University – which
‘inefficient’ course. An ‘inefficient’
comes in second priority in terms
course may mean a non-marketof government allocation. The reable program—like courses in the
maining 51 SUCs are classified
arts. Will funding be cut based
under “Tier 2 developing SUCs,”
that standard?” says Palatino,
and are given least priority in
explaining that closing
the allotment of funds.
courses offered by
“In this frameprivate univerwork, high-perWhile RPHER purportedly
sities such as
forming SUCs
aims to democratize
nursing and
would be prioraccess to tertiary education, b u s i n e s s
itized over unit is set to usher in further
administraderperforming
inaccessibility, with the
tion
only
presence of reforms which
SUCs. This is
benefits the
target
to
intensify
SUCs’
unfair,” says Bacapacity to generate income. private sector,
guisi, explaining
as CHEd would
that budget allocabe removing comtion should instead be
petition with private
based on actual needs of SUCs.
universities.
In prioritizing funding for “leadAlso, SUCs are set to be pushed
ing SUCs,” the government is igto improve their specializations,
noring the fact that underfunding
and drop course offerings that
has resulted to low performance
are “out of their mandate.” For
and slow development in many
example, an SUC which largely
SUCs, Baguisi explains.
specializes on agriculture and
The effects of RPHER can alfisheries would be encouraged
ready be seen in the 2013 budget
to drop course offerings that are
for SUCs. According to the 2013
not related to the said fields, says
National Expenditure Program
Palatino.
(NEP), leading SUCs are each set
RPHER intends to focus on
to receive a CO budget ranging
five priority areas, which include
t
c
re
flects
and
intensifies
the
government’s
laborexport policy, says Palatino.
While agri-fisheries should indeed be prioritized, the other priority areas in RPHER, especially
BPOs and services, only serve to
produce more workers for multinational corporations, and supply
cheap labor to the global market,
Palatino adds.
“Instead of prioritizing fields
that the country needs to industrialize, RPHER focuses on
strengthening areas that would
just feed the global need for cheap
labor,” explains Palatino.
Roadblocks
While RPHER purportedly
aims to democratize access to
tertiary education, it is set to usher in further inaccessibility, with
the presence of reforms which
target to intensify SUCs’ capacity
to generate income. Some of the
reforms include the revision of
the Normative Funding Formula
(NFF), adoption of socialized fee
schemes for all SUCs, and additional joint business ventures
with the private sector.
The NFF is a formula used by
CHEd to determine the budget
allocation of SUCs based on
performance indicators, such as
enrolment and passing rates. At
present, the NFF covers only the
maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) component
of the budget, the funds utilized
for basic operating expenses of
state schools, such as purchase of
office supplies and payment for
utility bills.
RPHER aims to revise the current formula to include personal
services (PS), or the funds used to
pay salaries of employees, in the
equation.
The said revision would mean
that the performance of SUCs
will now also affect staffing and
salaries of employees. “May
danger na kapag
s
n
io
iag
lm
hn
Jo
bumaba
ang
enrolment or passing
rates, maaaring maging
dahilan para matanggalan ng
mga empleyado at teachers ang
ilang SUCs,” Baguisi explains.
RPHER also intends to implement “socialized tuition fee
schemes,” similar to UP’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), to all
SUCs by 2016. Such school fee
scheme “would allow cost recovery without limiting access
among the poor, guided by the
principles underlying the tuition
fee scheme where students from
financially capable families pay a
larger share of the cost,” according to CHEd.
However, implementing socialized tuition fee schemes similar
to STFAP ignites fears of tuition
hikes, says Baguisi. UP’s experience with socialized tuition also
reveals that instead of widening
access, it has become instrumental in barring entry to the university, Baguisi explains.
Based on Collegian data, two
decades of STFAP implementation have decreased the percent
of the student population enjoying free tuition, from 20 percent
in 1991, to less than a percent at
present.
“STFAP has served as a smokescreen to tuition increase in UP.
There is reason to worry now that
CHEd plans to implement it in all
SUCs,” says Palatino.
lco
Ma
An
S.
RPHER
also pushes
SUCs to maximize income-generating
schemes, including land leases
and partnerships with the private
sector, with the end goal of having
22 leading SUCs that are capable
of sourcing 50 percent of their
budgetary requirement to internal income by 2016.
Divergent path
LATHALAIN
“Clearly, RPHER offers no new
alternative for SUCs. It’s not a Miyerkules
roadmap that would allow more 05 Setyembre
students to enter college. It’s 2012
a roadmap that would prepare
state schools for the government’s gradual abandonment of
public higher education,” says
Palatino.
With CHEd envisioning a future wherein half of the budgetary
needs of SUCs come from their
own income, it is highly probable
that the nominal increase given
by the government for SUCs will
only last for a couple of years,
Baguisi says. “Pagkatapos ng ilang
taon, balik-budget cut na naman,”
she adds.
Instead of providing a concrete
reform program that would address barriers to entry to tertiary
education such as prohibitive
costs, RPHER will instead pave
the way for further commercialization of higher education,
continued influence of the global
market, and gradual state abandonment. Instituting genuine
reforms in public higher education entails providing ample and
necessary provisions for state
schools that would enable them
to be responsive to the country’s
real needs.
Sidebar: Goals of the Roadmap for Public Higher Education Reform 2011-2016
By 2013
• All SUCs integrated to the tier system of the government
• All 22 leading SUCs have income generating projects (IGPs)
• 30% of inefficient and duplicative programs phased out
• Start of digitization and automation of SUC operations
• Establishment of 10 research & development centers wish SUCs
2014
• Formulation of a new socialized fee scheme and application in 10 SUCs
• Digitization of operations in 20% of SUCs
• Establishment of a Higher Education Academy that would produce
future SUC managers
2016
• 50% budgetary requirements of SUCs sourced from IGPs
• 100% of inefficient and duplicative programs phased out
• Full application of NFF to PS and MOOE
• 10 research & development centers
• 3 SUCs join the ranks of leading universities in the world
a
lejo
valdez
DIGS
!
IT
Jo n
na
tha
HUMOR H
AS
KULTURA
Miyerkules
5 Setyembre
2012
S O C I E TA L
TABOOS,
USUALLY
discussed behind closed doors, are
H I N D I
molded through long-established norms. It
ALINTANA NI MANG
has been customary for parents to meaningfully
Boy ang unti-unting pagkahilo
give each other a ‘look’ the first time their children ask
habang naglalango sa bote-boteng
about how babies are created. Some taboos such as incest
beer na pinagsasaluhan nila ng kanyang
are hardly spoken of for fear of a negative reaction.
tropa. Wala rin syang pakialam kung sinlaki na ng bola ng basketbol
However, some taboo topics may feature in casual conversations.
ang kanyang tiyan—ang “tunay na lalake”, walang abs. At bukas, paggising
We can joke on taboo topic of rape-- “Kung balak mong magpa-rape,
niya, makikipag-inuman na naman siya sa tropa. Dahil ang “tunay na lalake,”
sa may hitsura na!”-- and at tragic realities like poverty and prostitution
walang panahon sa kung anu-ano pang shit.
-- “Magja-Japan na lang ako.” We laugh at a guy gripes on losing a girl
Patuloy na nagbabago ang pagtingin ng mga Pilipino hinggil sa pagkalalake.
-- “magmamahal na lang ako ng bakla.”
Mula sa pagiging matipuno, maginoo, at pagiging titulado,umusbong ang mga
In the Philippines, our “motherland,” women issues can be a sensitive
tulad ni Mang Boy na isang “tunay na lalakeng” taliwas sa mga katangiang nabanggit.
topic because of our traditional regard for women. The worst insult one can
Masasabing ang konsepto ng “tunay na lalake” ay nagbunga mula sa nananatiling
throw at a fellow Filipino is to tarnish the image of the woman who birthed
patriyarkal na pagtingin ng lipunan o ang pananaw na ang kalalakihan ang namamayaning
him: “Putang ina mo!” A Filipina is widely believed to have less value when
kasarian sa lipunan, at kailangan itong patunayan ng mga lalake.
devirginized, making the topic of rape and prostitution cultural taboos.
Isa sa mga nagtataguyod ng imahe ng isang uri ng “tunay na lalake” ang blog na
Many Filipinos took issue when American actor Alec Baldwin joked on
Hay! Men! (www.tunaynalalake.blogspot.com) na nagbigay ng bagong depinisyon sa
mail-ordering a Filipina bride on The Late Show with David Letterman
isteryotipikong lalakeng Pinoy, bilang hindi nagsisimba, laging may extra rice, at laging
last 2009.
may tae sa brief.
It is the idea of a conventional dainty Filipina that is valued. We
Kung susuuriin ang mga pamantayan ng pagkakalake ng Hay! Men!, makikitang ang
laugh at numerous online memes ridiculing Charice Pempengco’s
primaryang layunin nito ay hindi ipagdiwang ang kalalakihan, kundi batikusin at gawing
wild new look, far from the sweet girl image she projected on The
katatawanan ang kasalukuyang imahe ng lalake sa anyong lampoon. Isa itong satiriko sa mga
Oprah Winfrey, and the news of usually-poised actress Claudine
machong gawain tulad ng mga pamboboso, pag- inom sa gitna ng sakuna, at paggawa ng kung
Barreto’s public rumble at NAIA. The amused reaction to
anu-anong kalokohan.
these seemingly unusual situations exemplifies society’s ingrained
Taliwas dito, iba ang isteryotipo ng pagkalalake sa popular na kultura noong 80s at 90s.
behavioral expectations of women.
Sinasabi sa sikat na Chuck Norris jokes, halimbawa, na may kakayahan umano ang lipas na
Jokes reaffirming female weaknesses also persist such as memes insisting
Amerikanong artista na si Chuck Norris na lumangoy sa lupa, at mas nauna raw siyang
that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. Similarly, the classic Filipino joke of
na-devirginize kesa sa tatay niya.
a husband being “under d’saya” never fails to tickle our funny bone since it
Magpasahanggang ngayon, nananatili sa eksena ang ganitong pamantayan ng pagkalalake.
highlights the norm of men’s traditional gender superiority.
Ang muling pag-usbong ng Chuck Norris jokes ay maihahalintulad sa pagbabalik ng mga
While these appear to legitimize the unequal status quo, one can argue that
Hollywood action stars sa pelikulang The Expendables kung saan ang kuwento ay umiikot
these jokes manifest backward gender conventions. Through humor, we are
lamang sa mga bidang lalaking sumasabak sa mga imposibleng misyon, barilan, bugbugan,
able to criticize prejudiced social practices and openly address taboos.
at iba pa. Ang mga gawaing tulad nito ay halaw mula sa konsepto ng “alpha male” kung
Aside from women, homosexuals are also marginalized in the status quo. Gay
saan nagpapagalingan ang kalalakihan sa pakikipaglaban at palakasan para mapatunayang
men are viewed as lacking the required macho qualities of a stereotypical male.
nakahihigit sila sa iba.
However, a homosexual humor has become very popular, resulting in the success of
Iba rin ang larawan ng tunay na lalake na ihinahapag ng mga programang tulad ng Boys Night
various TV shows such as Gandang Gabi Vice, Bubble Gang, and Showtime.
Out (Magic 89.9), isang programa sa radyo na nagbibigay ng payo sa mga lalaki upang maging
In one of his comedy shows, gay comedian Vice Ganda donned female clothing to
ala-Mister Suwabe na magaling dumiskarte sa chiks. Tulad ng mga alpha male, tuwiran rin itong
parody former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, joking, “Hanggang nandiyan si
nagpapakita ng higit na kalakasan ng mga lalake kumpara sa ibang kasarian.
Gloria, may kahirapan. Hanggang may kahirapan, may lalaking magpapa-chuva.”
Ang iba’t ibang pagsasalarawan sa kung ano nga ba ang “tunay na lalake” ay nagbibigay daan
Vice Ganda’s jibe criticized both gender and political taboos. His banter here was used as
sa pagtatanong kung mayroon nga bang iisang tiyak na pamantayan ang pagkalalake. Maaaring
a tool to discuss sensitive topics without facing serious public condemnation, because his
sabihin na kasalukuyang may krisis ang pagiging lalake dahil nabibihag siya sa pangangailangan
sentiments were widely understood to be “just jokes.”Furthermore, through the platform of
patunayan ang kanyang pagkalalake samantalang hindi niya alam kung anong batayan ang
humor, gay comedians are afforded the opportunity to verbalize their experiences and
dapat sundin.
aspirations in a way that is otherwise frowned upon by patriarchal culture.
Sa kabila ng pagiging “tunay” ng isang “tunay na lalake”, nananatili silang alipin ng kanilang
No matter how much people laugh at the humorous means of tackling taboos, we ultimately
mapanghusgang manifesto. At kahit pa ikubli nila ito sa katatawanan, maaaring patuloy lamang silang
revert back to the customs we are used to. Through humor, we find alternative ways to
magpapaalipin kung ito lang ang tutubos sa kanilang pagkalalake.
articulate things that are not readily discussed publicly. Humor then becomes a tool
Kaya naman kahit hirap sa buhay si Mang Boy, pipigilin niya ang pagkadismaya at maglalasing na lang that may give way to public discourse, which may hopefully lead to our empathy
ulit. Dahil para sa kanya, ang “tunay na lalake,” hindi marunong umarte, at walang panahon sa kung
and better understanding of certain social realities.
ano-anong shit.
Halakhakan
LA
hua
NG HALAK
G
N
HA
A
GH
G IT OFF a n
N
I
t
H
oN C
G
U
K
AN
ANG IBA’T IBANG MUKHA NG KATATAWANAN
KULTURA
Miyerkules
5 Setyembre
2012
MULA
NOONG
2010,
TAON-TAON
NANG
nasasaksihan ng mga Iskolar
ng Bayan ang pagkilos laban sa
budget cut sa mga state colleges and
universities (SUCs). At tuwing araw ng strike sa UP, hindi mawawala
ang mga pagtatangahal UP Repertory Company, isang teatrikong grupo,
na tumatalakay sa mga napapanahong isyu sa pamamaraang katawa-tawa,
o mas kilala bilang satire.
Kadalasang ginagamit na kasangkapan sa pulitika ang satire, isang
obrang sining na naglalahad ng katotohanan ng lipunan sa pamamagitan
ng mga balintuna, panunuya at panunukso na may kasamang katatawanan.
Mahaba na ang kasaysayan ng satire at malaon nang napatunayan ang
pagiging epektibo nito sa pagpapalaganap ng kaalaman ukol sa iba’t-ibang
isyu sa lipunan. Noong 446 BC hanggang 386 BC halimbawa, makikita sa mga
dula ng kinikilalang Father of Comedy na si Aristophanes, isang Griyegong
manunulat, ang pagsalungat sa mapaniil na sistemang panlipunan ng Athens.
Sa pamamagitan ng satire, mas madali rin ang pagbibigay ng mga maanghang
na opinyon nang walang namamayaning tensyon sa mga nagpapahayag at mga
pinatutungkulan ng biro. Sa Pilipinas, isinalarawan ni Jose Rizal sa nobelang Noli
Me Tangere si Donya Victorina bilang isang nagpapanggap na Espanyol na may
katawa-tawang kilos at pananalita. Maliban sa komedya, pailalim ding naipahatid ni
Rizal sa pamamagitan ng eksaheradong katangian ni Donya Victorina ang pagtuligsa
sa iba pang Pilipino na ikinahihiya ang sariling lahi.
Umaangkop din ang satire sa iba’t-ibang porma at daluyan. May mga satirical na
cartoons, komiks at pagtatanghal, na naipalalaganap sa pamamagitan ng iba’t ibang
media gaya ng telebisyon at internet. Ilang halimbawa ang awitin na Wala ng Kamikazee
na tumatalakay sa mga inutil na pinuno at American Junk ng APO Hiking Society na
tumutuligsa sa presensiya ng Kanluraning kultura sa Pilipinas. Dagdag pa rito ang mga
pagtatanghal ng Amerikanong komedyante na si Mark Russell na kadalasang ginagamit ang
tema ng panunuya sa dalawang politikal na partido sa Amerika.
Dahil mahirap sabayan ang pagiging seryoso ng pulitika, ginagamit ng mga komedyante ang
satire sa pagpapahayag ng saloobin. Para sa ilan, epektibo ang ganitong paraan sa paggising sa
kamalayan ng mamamayan dahil mas simple at magaan ang paglalahad ng mga isyu. Ngunit sa
kabilang banda, mayroon din namang pagkakataong ang biro ay nanatili na lamang biro dahil tila
nakakaligtaan ng ilan na ihiwalay ang katatawanan sa mga tunay na mensaheng napapaloob sa mga ito.
Hindi tipikal na biro ang satire dahil tinatalakay nito ang mga napapanahong paksa. May partikular
na konteksto itong tinutumbok kaya nangangailangan ito ng talas na sasapat upang maiparating ang
nais sabihin ukol sa isang isyu. Dahil din dito kaya karaniwan sa satire ang paggamit ng mga pormang
agad na nauunawaan at malapit sa tagapanood o tagabasa, tulad ng bugtong, mga awiting isinalin sa
Tagalog, at mga impersonasyon ng mga sikat na personalidad.
Bagamat hindi absolutong pwersa ng pagbabago ang satire, hindi naman maipagkakaila ang
kontribusyon nito sa pagpukaw sa kamalayan ng marami. Masasabi ring epektibo ang pagiging pulitikal
na kasangkapang ito para sa masaklaw at magaang tanaw sa mga suliraning kinahaharap ng bansa.
Sa panahon kung kailan iba’t iba ang paraan sa pagkubli ng katotohanan, ang satire ang nagsisilbing
instrumento na nagpapaalala ng realidad ng lipunan sa mga mamamayan.
F O R
MANY PEOPLE,
laughter is the
best medicine for
ailments ranging from
inclement weather to tragedies
and disasters.
Take the recent flooding due to the enhancement of the southwest
monsoon last August 7 to 9. Extensive, destructive rainfall led to the
rise of a humorous group consciousness on social networks that created
such memes as the #SuspendClassesInUPDiliman hashtag, and captioned
pictures of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim in various commanding poses.
When faced with overwhelming odds, it’s far easier to deal with problems
when you can laugh about them.
Humor has been known to be an effective coping mechanism for a
very long time. Studies and theories as old as Freud have shown that a
light-hearted approach to issues can reduce stress and positively influence
health. Sharing in the laughter with others suffering similar fates can also
make otherwise traumatic experiences far easier. Disasters are somehow
communal experiences, and joint laughter reinforces the idea that survivors
and victims are not alone.
It’s not always good to laugh things off, though. Making jokes about calamities
is a minefield of offensive possibilities. Tell a 9/11 joke to someone who lost
family in that tragedy, and you could get into a shouting match. Poke fun at
children getting carried away by floodwaters, and get ready for the social media
backlash. There remains a fine line between who can and who cannot tell a joke
about any issue, and it’s often not immediately visible.
As humor is used to transform problems into something more bearable, it
develops patterns that many people consistently laugh at. Laughter is a social
mechanism that attracts others, whether or not they actually find anything funny.
This autonomous generation of humor creates a self-reinforcing status quo that
exploits a human tendency to laugh when others are laughing. The humorous state
can mold minds, associating a given idea with happiness, encouraging it to be spread.
This doesn’t mean that people want it to flood again because it was so much fun, but
rather that it would be far easier to deal with future calamities. Student volunteer
action, for instance, rose massively and almost immediately in response to the floods –
because people genuinely wanted to help, but also because of the fulfilling experiences of
student volunteers during the recovery efforts after the Ondoy typhoon.
Laughing at and then recycling the status quo most often surfaces in the media. The
recent floods brought a steady stream of humor into the fray, with internet denizens joking
about the inefficiency of the government and how nothing had changed even with the
lessons learned from Ondoy. However, very few of these self-made humorists actively lobbied
for change or improvement. Other times, it is political humor that goes around. “140%” jokes
spread like wildfire after the 2011 voting fraud in Russia, criticizing the arrogant Putin regime
but not necessarily doing anything about it.
Humor is a strong and effective coping mechanism that certainly can reduce stress
and worries during trying times. Once it irresponsibly starts going beyond being the best
medicine, though, it becomes a poison that amplifies stereotypes and damages perception.
True coping humor is a mix of jovial ridicule of the situation, and criticality which aims
to point out what is wrong. No amount of critical laughter, however, is any substitute for
concrete action towards change.
ART EXHIBITS, FILM FESTIVALS, COSPLAY
COMPETITIONS, AND EVEN J-POP
SINGING CONTESTS GRACED THE
ANNUAL CELEBRATION
OF THE PHILIPPINESJAPAN FRIENDSHIP
MONTH. AS
DIPLOMATIC
RELATIONS BETWEEN
THE TWO NATIONS ARE
BEING STRENGTHENED
THROUGH CULTURAL
EXCHANGE, THE FESTIVITIES
SEEMINGLY GLOSS OVER THE
ENDURING REMINDERS
OF OUR NATIONS’
TUMULTUOUS
HISTORIES
KULTURA
Miyerkules
5 Setyembre
2012
A THRONG OF PEOPLE
have gathered at the UP
Film Institute, waiting
in eager anticipation for
the opening of the Eiga Sai
Japanese film festival early
this July. Since 1998,
Eiga Sai has made
contemporary
and
critically-acclaimed
Japanese films more
accessible to the Filipino
audience, enabling them
to partake of Japan’s cinematic
sensibilities.
Eiga Sai is just one of the myriad
festivities meant to celebrate and foster
the long-standing connections
between the Philippines and Japan.
A friendship of cultures
This year marks the Philippines’
56 years of diplomatic friendship
with Japan. On July 23, 1956,
the Peace Treaty and Reparation
Agreement between the Philippines
and Japan was ratified, normalizing
the diplomatic relations between
the two nations. Thus, July 23
has been designated as the
Philippines-Japan Friendship Day, in
commemoration of the two nations’
re-established diplomatic relations
after the second World War.
In 2006, due to the Japanese
government’s enthusiasm to share
their culture with the Philippines
beyond the event’s golden
jubilee, the event grew into the
Philippines-Japan Friendship
Month. The month-long
celebrations feature an
array of festivities
including a J-pop
anime
singing
contest, cosplay
competitions,
art
exhibits, and concerts
sponsored by the Japanese Embassy.
More recently, world-renowned
Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo
delivered a lecture entitled “Before
the Japayuki” as part of the “History
Comes Alive” series. Equipped with
what he calls his trove of “useless
information,” Ocampo weaved a
narrative of early cultural connections
between Japan and the Philippines.
These connections could be drawn
from trivial knowledge like Tansan
being a brand of carbonated
Japanese drinks sold in Manila
in the early 1900s and that the
traditional Filipino dessert halo-halo
had its roots in the Japanese kakigori.
The large number of attendees
of the film festival and the lecture
proves that Filipinos harbor a keen
interest towards traditional and
popular Japanese culture. This
interest is fostered by the Japanese
government’s willingness to open
their culture to the world, offering
programs and classes to teach
people their language, cuisine, religion,
visual arts, and theatre forms.
In contrast to the Japanese
government’s efforts to produce
and propagate culture, the Philippines
seemingly remain passive consumers
of foreign cultural products. The
lack of similar festivities celebrating
Filipino culture in Japan during
this time seems to denote a rather
unequal friendship, with the other
perceived as the cultural superior.
The
Japanese
government
maximizes the potential of their
culture as a means of strengthening
diplomatic relations, making their
traditional and popular cultural
products easily accessible to the
world. Through these cultural
products, Japanese aesthetics and
sensibilities penetrate the global
market, providing a new kind of
power for Japan.
Marketing Japan
Japan is widely recognized as the
Asian capital of ‘cool’, with the rise of
their otaku fan culture and the
mass-commercialization of
anime, manga, and other
various
novelty
products. These
popular
cultural products pave the way
for consumers to explore more
traditional aspects of Japanese culture.
Attraction to Japan’s offbeat
image, as projected through its
popular and traditional cultural
products, could easily translate to an
attraction to Japanese foreign policy,
thereby stabilizing diplomatic
relations. Even with its lack of
military might and dwindling
economic status since the early
90’s, Japan has afforded a “soft
power” empire status due to its
cultural appeal.
“Soft power” according to Joseph
Nye, an American political scientist
from Harvard, is a country’s ability
to attract and co-opt another nation to alter its behaviour in their
favour. In contrast, “hard power”
relies on money and military aggression as a means of persuasion.
A state’s “soft power” relies heavily
on, but is not limited to, its culture,
political values, and foreign policy.
As Nye emphasizes, the potency of a
nation’s “soft power” sources relies on
its “cultural and ideological appeal”.
Unlike Japan, the Philippines
has yet to fully cultivate its “soft
power” sources. As much as Filipino
hospitality and industriousness are
lauded overseas, these same traits
also serve as a testament to passivity,
aiming to please foreign masters
and embrace their cultures. And
with the lack of basic national
industries, the country has yet to
garner economic support to cultivate
its cultural industries.
As such, Japan’s “soft power”
could only do so much to alleviate
its economic status and improve
its reputation in the international
community. However, the shadow
of its past imperial ambitions and
wartime atrocities continue to
create tension with its nearest
neighbours, such as China, South
Korea, and even the Philippines.
A violent history
As cultural institutions continue
with their festivities, certain
universities like UP and the Ateneo
take part in celebrating the 20th
anniversary of the Liga ng mga
Lolang Pilipina (Lila Pilipina) and
their continued struggle against
wars of aggression, militarization,
and gender violence in warfare.
Lila Pilipina is a group
comprised of surviving Filipina
“comfort women” during the
Japanese occupation. “Comfort
women” refer to the thousands of girls
and women taken by the Japanese
Imperial Army during the war,
and were coerced into systematic
rape and enslavement. Most of
these women come from South
Korea, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, and
the Philippines.
These advocates, despite their
old age, deteriorating health, and
diminishing resources, continue
their struggle for rightful reparations
and an apology from the Japanese
government, lest the atrocities of
the war be completely forgotten.
In March 2007, former Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
proclaimed that there was not
enough evidence to support the
claim that there were over 200,000
“comfort women” coerced into sex
slave camps during the war. The
proclamation, while prompting
backlash from the international
community, also intensified the
movements of surviving “comfort
women” in China, South Korea, and
the Philippines.
The Japanese occupation of the
Philippines lasted from 1942 to 1945,
which some argue is a relatively
short period of time compared to
the centuries-old friendship that the
two nations held prior to the war.
However, the seeming benevolence
of Philippines-Japan relations
before and after the war shrouds
other violent personal histories,
such as injustices done to Filipino
workers in Japan and Jap-Pinoy
offspring who remain unrecognized
by their Japanese fathers.
As Ocampo asserts in his lecture,
history is about connections.
Cultural exchange should always
be embraced, for it establishes
connections between nations.
However, cultural fascination and
dominance should not render
our nations’ tumultuous histories
irrelevant. The mutual recognition
that atrocities have been committed
during the war will not necessarily
demonize or victimize a nation, but
will only help in making established
connections deeper and stronger.
LAKAS TAMA
NOTES FROM OVERSEAS
OPINYON
Miyerkules
5 Setyembre
2012
THE TREND BECOMES FAMILIAR
for every trip abroad.
A purpose (well not exactly a
real one), the inherent excitement
that goes with the idea of travelling, a set of must-see destinations, and a company of Filipinos
sharing my enthusiasm and admiration for the visited country’s rate
of development or advanced technology. No day ends without the
snide remarks of how the Philippines seems to be lagging ages behind, or worse, beyond redemption.
Then goes the unsolicited intellectual opinion of what went
wrong with the country with its
current state of affairs. The ones
who had the opportunity to improve their and their family’s lives
by working overseas, even go as
far as remembering the country
in its more glorious days, when
the Philippines led the Southeast
Asian region in economic development, not the other way around
as today.
After that, it will be easier to
point the country’s problems—the
Filipino’s inherent “lack of discipline,” the widespread presence of
informal settlers in urban communities, the rabid greed of corrupt
politicians, and the list goes on.
It is quite easier after all, to attribute the country’s current state
to factors that conveniently fit our
world view, instead of critically
discerning the connections that
spawned such unacceptable conditions to the middle class. Perhaps it
is easier to identify the symptoms
of poverty, then tag these as root
causes, rather than to blame a social system—say capitalism or feudalism—for all the strife the country and its people has to endure.
For some, the right combination of sheer initiative and good
luck alone sets the difference of
outcome in life. “Kung magsisipag
In the grand
scheme of things,
nothing is ever as
it is today without
undergoing the
process of
contradiction
lang ang mga Pilipino eh ‘di…kung
may disiplina lang eh ‘di sana….” All
aspirations will be pegged with the
“ifs,” then they begin to recommend
solutions which they think could
end the country’s dismal situation.
For every conversation, I always
withheld my thoughts, wary that
my opinion would disrupt the free
exchange of ideas.
In my mind however, several
questions compete their way
through to be articulated: how
does land reform fare in the ultimate solutions posited? How
about the fact that decent wages
for workers remain to be elusive?
Or why the government for the
longest time, has deliberately reduced its spending for social services? All these hard-hitting questions never fail to come, or were
successful in being voiced out.
The pattern has been all too
familiar.
It is in such times when the
typical middle class individual’s
utter lack or absence of the ability to systematically think of solutions is manifested. And maybe,
what sets me apart from such
disposition is the awareness of
a sharp perspective that tries to
systematically make sense of the
world’s connections; that in the
grand scheme of things, nothing is
ever as it is today without undergoing the process of contradiction.
Perhaps the middle class
should begin rethinking things
beyond their immediate interests. At least from that point, we
might have a more comprehensive view of the world—and make
the most out of it.
DEACTIVATE. LOG IN.
WELCOME BACK TO FACEBOOK!
PROFILE. HELLO. AKO NGA PALA
si RD Aliposa. *Blank* na taong
gulang. Iskolar na nagdodrowing
at ini-stereotype na weirdo—sama
n’yo a! Hindi ko na sasabihin kung
ilang taon na ako sa kolehiyo; bitter
ako e. Trabaho? Sus, uso lang yun
sa mga ka-batch kong papostpost na lang ng office o freelance
life nila. Galing akong Tacloban,
Leyte—’yung siyudad na mahal ni
Imelda Marcos, ‘yung lungsod kung
saan ang San Juanico Bridge at
McArthur Park na nakikita sa post
cards—anytime you can return.
Gaisano Mall lang meron dati roon,
pero ngayon, may Robinson’s na
at balak pang umepal ni Henry
Sy. Pamilya ko? Well, “HAPPY”
naman kami.
Profile Picture. Nakangiti. Kahit
emo, galit o sabaw ako, ngiti pa
rin! Konting edit sa photoshop ng
eyebags para ‘di haggard tingnan,
konting crop ng brasong mataba
at konting pa-sepia effect para
isipin nilang naka-instagram ako.
O panalo!
Status update. Hello world!
Alam kong marami sa inyo ang
walang pakialam pero share ko na
rin. Ayon sa timeline ko, masaya
pa raw ako mula taong 20xx
hanggang 2010 dahil marami akong
kaibigang kasama araw-araw at
masipag pa ako sa eskwela. Taong
2011, malungkot na ako’t natutong
magmura dahil sa pag-ibig na
one-sided, dahil na-haggard sa
thesis, nabaliw sa ibang subjects at
naloka sa pagsali-sali sa mga orgs.
Taong 2012, naging chameleon na
ang emosyon ko—bipolar bear na
raw ako. Kaloka!
Relationship status. Forbidden
404 ang peg ng love life namin
sa facebook—shy-type kasi kami
e. Saka na raw kung “Married” na.
Masaya naman kami kasi “It’s not
complicated.” Sa totoo lang, pwede
ko ring palitan ang status ko ng
“divorced” from my elementary
friends, “separated” from my high
school, college friends and family
Hello world! Alam kong
marami sa inyo ang
walang pakialam pero
share ko na rin.
o kaya “single” dahil minsan, gusto
ko lang talaga mag-emo sa buhay.
Photos. Mga bakas ito ng ilang
taong nagdaan. Minsan gusto ko
nang sampalin ang sarili ko sa mga
nakakahiyang nakikita ko sa albums
ko. Maswerte ang mga may
kaibigang mayroong DSLR—
gumaganda ang oily na mukha
nilang tadtad ng blackheads.
May photos ako habang lasing,
nakanganga habang tulog, at
tumatawang kita na ang, correction,
uvula hindi tonsils. Kaso matagal
na ‘yung mga ‘yun. Minsan na
lang may nagta-tag sa ’kin ngayon.
Iba na ang mga naka-tag sa
albums ng mga kaibigan ko at higit
sa lahat, nauso na ang instagram
na pagkain o kape ang madalas
kunan. Pero at least may posters,
online stores at photo quotes
pang naka-tag sa ’kin—salamat
random friends and fanpages!
Friends. May halos limang
daan lang ang bilang ng FB
friends ko. Iba-ibang mukha, kung
saan-saan nakilala. Minsan, ‘di ko
na kilala ‘yung mga naka-jejemon
ang pangalan. May mga religious
at wholesome na mga kamaganak din, at mga kaibigang biglang
nanga-unfriend. Pending friend
requests? Zero.
Magdi-deactivate man sa hiya,
magla-log in din ako mamaya
kasi bored at papansin lang talaga
ako. Pakialam niyo naman sa ’kin,
‘di ba? RD just shared a post. RD
tagged you in a post.
Anong problema
ni Tito Sotto?
NOONG 2010, KINUNDENA ni
Tito Sotto ang protesta ng
mga estudyante laban
sa budget cut. “Parang
multo
‘yung
pinagdedemonstrahan
nila,”
anang
senador
na “musician and composer by profession, a
sportsman by affiliation,
and a public servant by
conviction.”
Hindi nagpaaway ang mga
estudyante, siyempre. Sumugod pa rin sila sa Mendiola
at umani ng ilang daang libong karagdagang badyet
mula sa Kongreso.
Kamakailan lang, nasaksihan ng madla ang
madamdaming pagtutol ni Sotto sa RH Bill. Hinala
niya, contraceptives ang nagdulot sa medical
condition ng anak niyang maagang namatay. Dahil
nasa demokratikong bansa, maaari namang irespeto
ang opinyon niyang taliwas sa opinyon ng mga
pro-RH. ‘Yun nga lang, direktang kinopya mula sa
isang blog ang kalakhan ng kanyang talumpati.
Marami ang umalma sa ginawa ng senador—o
ng kanyang administrative staff. Pero sa halip na
humingi ng paumanhin o umaming nagkamali sila,
plea of arrogance ang naisipang tugon ng kanilang
panig. Anila, hindi dapat sinasarili ang blog posts.
Anila, kailangang i-regulate ang mga blog sa bansa
dahil nagagamit ito para sa cyberbullying. Anila,
biktima ng cyberbullying si Sotto.
Pero ang pinakapanalong pahayag na pinakawalan
ng panig ni Sotto, partikular mula sa chief-of-staff
niyang si Hector Villacorta: “Even our image was
copied from God. We are all plagiarists.”
Sayang at hindi artista si Villacorta. Kung oo,
baka nagawa niyang sabihin iyon nang naluluha’t
manginig-nginig pa ang panga. Bukod sa nakakatawa,
mapatutunayan lamang nito kung paanong tila sa
bigote at hindi sa utak humuhugot ng karunungan
ang mga pulitikong tulad ni Sotto.
Kung susundan ang lohika ng kampo ni Sotto,
hindi na kailangang paghirapan ang paglagay ng
citation sa mga paper. Hindi na rin kailangang
i-click ang external link ng mga datos na nakukuha sa
Wikipedia—wala rin palang silbi dahil lahat naman
tayo, likas na mandaraya. Hindi na rin dapat ikatakot
ang suspension o expulsion dahil sigurado,
magpapatuloy lang si Sotto sa pagiging senador
nang walang hinaharap na parusa hanggang sa
humupa ang isyu.
Pero mukhang matagal pa bago tigilan ng intriga
ang komedyante. Ilang araw lang ang nakalipas,
ipinaliwanag ni Sotto kung bakit hindi niya nais maisama
ang LGBT community sa Anti-Discrimination
Bill. Malalim daw ang pinag-ugatan nito, simula pa
noong nagsisimula siyang mag-artista at iminungkahi
ng casting director na gumampan siya sa isang gay
role. Aniya, “Kalalake kong tao at bigotilyo pa, pero
gusto niya ang gagampanan ko ay uri nila?”
Nakakahiya naman sa bigote ni Sotto. Nahiya din
kaya siya kay Dolphy na ilang beses gumanap na
bakla sa pelikula? At sa paanong paraan magiging
dahilan ang ganoong engkwentro para tuluyang
kundenahin ang bakla at lesbyana—sa konteksto pa
ng anti-discrimination?
Iyon siguro ang pinag-iba ni Tito Sotto sa mga
grupo’t sektor na kinukundena niya. Higit pa kasi sa
hugot ng personal na karanasan ang paglaban para
sa mataas na badyet sa edukasyon, para sa malaya at
tapat na pamamahayag, o para sa karapatan ng mga
nasa laylayan.
Pero mabilis ding itinanggi ni Sotto ang nasabing
mga kontra-LGBT na pahayag. Katulad ng pagtanggi
niyang hindi siya nag-plagiarize, katulad ng
pagtanggi niyang may budget cut nga sa mga
pamantasan.
At gaya ng nabanggit, hindi malabong malusutan
ni Sotto ang mga isyung ibinabato sa kanya ngayon.
Pulitikong umiiyak sa harap ng camera, hindi
nakikinig sa mga mamamaya’t nahuling mali sa
akto—hindi na dapat nila tayo naloloko.
4 na lider-estudyante, POLICEBRIEFS
inaresto sa Davao City
Inbox
Mula
pahina 5
Test Paper
Mary Ann Gigante, College of Engineering
TANGHALING TAPAT. Hinahanap ng may 30 estudyante ang kanikanilang mga test paper, nag-aasam na sana, tatambad sa kanila ang
pasadong marka. Isa ako sa mga estudyanteng iyon.
Hindi tulad ng ibang estudyante na kumpiyansa na papasa sila, duda
ako sa sariling kong tyansa. Noong kinuha ko kasi ang pagsusulit, halos
wala akong nasagot. “Mental blocked,” sabi nga nila.
Nang mahanap ko ang test paper ko, unti-unti ko itong binuklat at
nagulat ako sa aking nakita.
Pasado ako. Mataas ang markang nakuha ko. Tinitigan ko ang papel
na hawak ko. Hindi ako nagkamali—pangalan ko nga ang nakalagay.
Inisa-isa ko ang mga tanong at sagot sa test paper. Doon ko nalaman
na isa lang palang pagkakamali ang lahat: hindi dapat ako pasado. Sa
madaling sabi, nagkamali ng bilang ang aking guro.
Namutla ako. Sa puntong iyon, hindi ko talaga alam ang gagawin.
Para akong nasa gitna ng kaligtasan at kamatayan. Kapag hindi ko sinabi ang natuklasan ko, siguradong papasa ako. Kapag sinabi ko naman,
sa purgatoryo ang labas ko. Kwatro o singko ang maari kong maging
marka, at hindi maari iyon sapagkat sa mga marka ko nakasalalay ang
aking scholarship.
Litong-lito ako noon. Kung tutuusin, maaaring hindi ko na sabihin
sa guro ang natuklasan ko sapagkat naka-record na iyon. Wala ni isang
makakaalam sa sikretong maaari kong itago habambuhay. Sabi ko sa
sarili ko, isang beses lang naman—kailangan lang talaga para maisalba
ko ang aking scholarship.
Kinaumagahan, final exam na. Napagdesisyunan kong kapag naging
maayos ang pagsagot ko sa exam, sasabihin ko sa aking guro ang natuklasan ko. Ngunit kapag hindi maayos, pipilitin kong kalimutan ang lahat
at magkukunwaring walang natuklasan.
Tulad ng inaasahan, mahirap ang lahat ng tanong sa exam. Ngunit
nang matapos ito, sinundan ko ang aking guro at hiniling na makausap
siya. Sinabi ko ang katotohan. Sinabi kong, “Ma’am, nagkamali po kayo
ng check.” “Okay, salamat” lang ang sinabi niya.
Lumipas ang mga araw at dumating ang hatol. Nakita ko ang grado ko: tres.
Tres na may asterisk sa gilid at linyang “PLEASE SEE ME IN THE OFFICE.”
Pumunta ako sa kwarto ng aking guro. Ipinakita niya sa akin ang aking marka—0.03 na lang at papasa na ako. Sa standard ng kolehiyo, ang
0.03 below 60 ay hindi maaring i-round up para pumasa. Ipinaliwanag
sa akin ng aking guro kung bakit niya ako binigyan ng tres.
“Na-appreciate ko ang ginawa mong pag-inform sa akin ng correction sa grade mo. Salamat for the courage and honesty that you have
shown. You deserve the 3 that I gave you.” Sa puntong iyon, unti-unti
nang pumatak ang luha ko.
Limang taon buhat nang nangyari iyon, nagpasya akong isulat ang
aking kuwento. Hindi ito para ipagmalaki ang aking naging desisyon,
kundi para ibahagi sa iba ang karunungang tulad nga ng sinabi ng aking
guro, hindi kailanman matatagpuan sa kahit anong aklat at aralin sa
unibersidad.
hindi makapagharap ang mga Villa Abrille ng mga dokumento tulad ng fencing permit. Dahil nauna umano ang fencing permit ng
City Housing office kaysa status
quo order ng RTC, legal umano
ang nasabing “permit to develop.”
Gayunman, iginiit ng mga residente na walang legal na batayan
ang demolisyon, dahil hindi umano nakatala sa Land Registration
Authority ang certificate of title
na hawak ng mga Villa Abrille.
Kaugnay nito, tiniyak ng mga
progresibong grupo at mga liderestudyante ang kanilang patuloy na
suporta sa laban ng mga residente.
Isa lamang ang Bariquit sa
maraming kaso ng demolisyon
sa Pilipinas. Nitong Abril lamang,
halos 28,000 pamilya ang nawalan ng tahanan sa demolisyon sa
Silverio Compound sa Parañaque.
Samantala, habang aabot sa 3.6
milyong pabahay ang kailangang
ipatayo ng gobyerno sa 2013, nasa
1.4 milyong pabahay lamang, o 39
porsyento, ang kasama sa Philippine
Development Plan ng gobyerno.
“Hangga’t ang pagtrato ng gobyerno sa maralitang tagalungsod ay basura, propesyunal na
iskwater, nagpapababa sa halaga
ng lupa, humaharang sa pag-unlad ng pamayanan, at kinakailangang itapon sa mga malalayong
relokasyong walang trabaho at
kabuhayan, lalong titindi ang ligalig at paglaban ng maralitang
tagalungsod,” ani Carlito Badion,
tagapagsalita ng Kalipunan ng
Damayang Mahihirap.
Mula
pahina 5
Station 9 Captain Fuentes, CSO
Edgardo Dagdag, UPDP Officerin-Charge Major Bermie Baltazar,
at Atty. Percival Cortez ng UPD
Legal Office.
Hindi ikinulong ng QCPD Station 9 ang mga nasabing guwardiya, at sa kasalukuyan patuloy pa
rin ang imbestigasyon ukol sa
insidente.
Propesor ng Institute of
Mathematics, inireklamo
Inireklamo ng isang duktor ang
isang miyembro ng faculty ng UP
Institute of Mathematics (UP-IM)
matapos umanong iwang bukas
ng nasabing guro ang sasakyan
ng duktor na nakaparada sa likod
ng Math Building noong ika-29 ng
Agosto.
Ayon sa ulat ng UPDP, ipinarada ni Dr. Virginia Irene Santos ang
kanyang puting Mitsubishi Pajero
sa parking lot ng Math Building
nang dumalo siya sa isang programang idinaos sa UP-IM. Iniwan umano ng duktor ang susi ng
kanyang sasakyan sa kasamang
propesor mula sa Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).
Ayon sa salaysay ni Santos sa
UPDP, nakaharang umano ang
kanyang sasakyan sa sasakyan ng
propesor ng UP-IM kaya hiniram
ng huli ang susi mula sa propesor
ng ADMU.
Nang matapos ang programang
dinaluhan, natagpuan ni Santos
na nakasampa na ang kanyang sasakyan sa gutter at nakabukas ang
dalawang bintana nito.
Kasalukuyang iniimbestigahan
ng UPDP ang reklamong isinampa
ni Santos sa propesor ng UP-IM.
ERMAHGERD!! Nasira ang textback phone ng Kule!!
Patawad sa mga hindi nailathalang sagot at mensahe.
Next week’s questions:
1. Kung psychiatrist ka, anong
diagnosis mo kay Chief Justice Ma.
Lourdes Sereno?
2. Sinong UP student ang gusto mong
rumampa sa Cosmo Bachelor Bash?
Key in KULE <space> MESSAGE <space>
STUDENT NUMBER <required> NAME
AND COURSE (optional) and send to
Non-UP students must indicate any
school, organizational or sectorial
affiliation.
Newscan
Ped Xing: Tatawid Ka Ba Kahit
CLIPTOMANIA 11
UJP-UP Diliman: 24 taon ng
Nakamamatay?
On its 58th year, the UP Mining,
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Association (UP49ers)
brings you Cliptomania 2012: It
All Ends Here. Cliptomania is a
contest for all movie enthusiasts, wherein movie clips will be
shown and the participants will
have to guess the title of the clips.
It is open to all college students.
So what are you waiting for, just
form a team of three, register for
only P150 and get a chance to
win P6000, P3000 or P1500! For
more information you may contact Geof (09177200373), Joyce
(09228368365) or visit our facebook page at http://www.facebook.
com/CliptomaniaXI.
TALAS at ANGAS
Sa ika-40 nitong anibersaryo,
inihahandog ng The UP Repertory Company at ng Office for Initiative in Culture and the Arts ang
isang action-comedy full-length
tula-dulang pinamagatang, “Ped
Xing: Tatawid Ka Ba Kahit Nakamamatay?” Ngayong Sept 8, 17,
22, 24 | 3 and 7pm at Sept 7, 21 |
7pm na sa Aldaba Recital Hall, UP
Diliman. Php180 lang ang ticket
for UP Students, bili na! Ikontak
lang si Serville (0917-600-0161).
Suportahan ang mga dulang Pilipino. Kitakits!
The Union of Journalists of the
Philippines – UP Diliman (UJPUP) invites you to a month-long
celebration of its 24th anniversary. Everyone is invited to various
events to be hosted by UJP-UP on
the following dates:
September 4-7 UJP Month Exhibit
September 14 Hazards of Seeing: Assessing the Witness Protection Program of the Philippines, CMC Auditorium, 1-4 pm |
UJP Website Launch
September 15 Alumni Assembly
September 11-14 Mulat Maninipat Photojournalism Contest Exhibit
of Entries at the Old Film Lobby
September 14 Mulat Maninipat
Announcement of Winners
UP Diliman, magpaTatak na.
The University of the Philippines Diliman University Student
Council (UPD USC), through the
Education & Research Committee, UP National College of Public Administration and Governance Student Government (UP
NCPAGSG) and UP Advertising
Core (UP AdCore), bring you Tatak
Botante – a whole day voters’ registration and education activity
on September 5, 4:30am to 7pm.
Various
voters’ education
discussions and talks will be
held through out the day, while
COMELEC offers an onsite registration and related services for
all qualified residents of District
4 Quezon City. Your vote carries
your dreams and aspiration for
the country. Use it - register now!
Eksenang
Peyups
The laglagan edishun!
Hello there, mga utrez! Kamusta ang linggo ng major major
bawi para sa mga major subjects?
Bonggang number of pounds ang
nawala ko this week para sa paghahabol ng make up classes. Hay,
dami nang naglaglagan this week,
pero di naman mga puso, kundi
mga laglagang eyebags from post
midterms horrors:
Laglag 1. Sa kolehiyo with infinite numbers in space, may isang
koyang na infinite na ang nabibilang na sheep sa klase. Pero one
day, as if by divine intermission,
nagising na lang ang koyang nang OPINYON
magbigay ng seatwork si Ser.
Miyerkules
Habang abala ang mga utawz sa
05 Setyembre
pinapagawang seatwork, lumapit 2012
si koyang kay Ser at pinaexplain
ang tinulugang lecture with his
flawless English and matching
high chinny-chin-chin. Nang naubusan na ng tanong si koyang, humarap si Ser sa klase, tinuro ang
ilong at tinanong: “Dumudugo na
ba?” Nakakahiya naman, di kinaya
ng sanitary napkin ko ang English
mo, koya!
Laglag 2 Sa isang in-betweens
play, hot na hot na ang dalawang
koya sa kanilang laplapan session
nang biglang bumitaw sa halik si
other koya at sinabi: “Pwe, bakit
ganon ang halik mo?” Nasa script
ba yun? Ayiee, all the world’s a
stage ang peg ni becky!
Laglag 3 One chow time, di
napansin ng isang ateng kulot na
nadali niya ang plato ng newlybought, hot and saucy pansit na
nasalo naman sa kamay ni katabing ate as if by matrix reflexes.
Nag-isip pa si katabing ate kung
anong gagawin sa pansit sa kanyang hands bago ito tuluyang
nilaglag sa sahig. Kayo talaga, ang
daming mga batang di nakakakain
dyan sa tabi! Tsk, tsk, tsk!
Hay, daz all for now. And remember: Setyembre na mga teh.
And in case nakalimutan n’yo: ito
ang huling linggo for dropping!
Hohohoho.
Get free publicity! Send us your
press release, invitations, etc.
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easy on the…punctuations?! dOn’t
uSe tXt LanGuage pLs. Provide a
short title. 100 words max. Email us
at [email protected]
CONTACT US! Write to us via snail
mail or submit a soft copy to Rm. 401,
Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon
City. Email us [email protected].
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