Ang pamantasan August issue

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INTRAMUROS, INTRAMUROS, MAYNILA MAYNILA AUGUST AUGUST 2014 2014

THE THE OFFICIAL OFFICIAL STUDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION PUBLICATION OF OF

YEAR YEAR XXXV XXXV VOL. VOL. 02 02

THE THE PAMANTASAN PAMANTASAN NG NG LUNGSOD LUNGSOD NG NG MAYNILA MAYNILA

Ang Pamantasan

Tuquero remains University President; Valdez respects RTC’s decision JULES ANDREW P. GARCIA JULES ANDREW P. GARCIA ANNA LORRAINE D. GALURA ANNA LORRAINE D. GALURA

STRENGTHENING BONDS. United States Ambassador to the Philippines Philip S. Goldberg delivers a speech before hundreds of PLMayers, addressing various issues that surround Philippines-USA relations, during his visit in the university last July 22. STRENGTHENING STRENGTHENING BONDS. BONDS. United United States States Ambassador Ambassador to to the the Philippines Philippines Philip Philip S. S. Goldberg Goldberg delivers delivers a a speech speech before before hundreds hundreds of of PLMayers, PLMayers, addressing addressing various various issues issues that that surround surround Philippines-USA Philippines-USA relations, relations, during during his his

visit visit in in the the university university last last July July 22. 22.

PLM President G. PLM President Artemio Artemio G. PLM President Artemio G. Tuquero, Tuquero, aa retired retired Court Court of of Appeals Appeals justice, justice, won won again again a a key key office after legal legal battle battle to to stay stay in in office office after after the the the Manila Manila Regional Regional Trial Trial Court Court (RTC) (RTC) granted granted his his application application for for the the issuance issuance of of writ writ of of preliminary injunction. preliminary preliminary injunction. injunction. Tuquero Tuquero has has brought brought a a case case before before before the the Manila Manila court court after after the the university’s university’s Board Board of of Regents Regents (BOR) (BOR) passed passed aa resolution resolution in in July July to to to remove remove him him from from his his position position because because because he he lacked lacked qualifications qualifications based based based on on the the Civil Civil Service Service Commission. Commission. He He has has contested contested this, claiming PLM was charter this, this, claiming claiming PLM PLM was was aa a charter charter university university and and was was covered covered by by this requirement. this this requirement. requirement. Presiding Judge Liwliwa Presiding S. Presiding Judge JudgeLiwliwa Liwliwa S. of the Hidalgo-Bucu of the RTC S. Hidalgo-Bucu Hidalgo-Bucu of Manila the Manila Manila RTC 34 issued ruling, branch 34 has issued RTC branch branch 34 has has issueda aaruling, ruling, dated dated July July 30, 30, granted granted Tuquero’s Tuquero’s petition petition petition after after going going over over all all the the evidence evidence submitted submitted by by the the two two sides sides –– Tuquero Tuquero and and the the BOR. BOR. The The court court ruling ruling set set aside aside the the BOR the BOR BOR resolution, resolution, dated dated July July 8, 8, 2014, 2014, nullifying nullifying Tuquero’s Tuquero’s election election as as PLM PLM president president as as well well as implementation of July 9, as the the implementation implementation of ofaa aJuly July9, 9, 2014 Mayor 2014 letter letter of of Manila Manila City City Mayor Mayor Josepg Josepg “Erap” “Erap” Estrada Estrada designating designating Attorney Attorney Amado Amado Valdez, Valdez, BOR BOR chairman, chairman, as as acting acting university university

president. remain chairman, as actingwill university president. Tuquero Tuquero will remain in until such time president. Tuquero remain in his his position position untilwill such time the court hands down its final in position such thehis court handsuntil down its time final decision his the courton down its final decision onhands his petition. petition. “The writ shall decision on his “The said said writpetition. shall take take effect effect upon petitioner’s (Tuquero) filing “The said writ shall take effect upon petitioner’s (Tuquero) filing of in of ONE upon petitioner’s (Tuquero) of a a bond bond in the the amount amount of filing ONE HUNDRED PESOS of a bond in THOUSAND the amount of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (Php conditioned HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (Php 100,000.00) 100,000.00) conditioned for payment damages (Php 100,000.00) for the the payment of of conditioned damages the the adverse party sustain by for the payment of damages adverse party may may sustainthe by reason this if adverse may sustain by reason of ofparty this injunction, injunction, if the the Court finally decide reason of this injunction, the Court shall shall finally decideifthat that petitioner is entitled thereto,” Court shall finally decide that petitioner is not not entitled thereto,” Bucu’s read. petitioner is not entitled thereto,” Bucu’s order order read. Initial Bucu’s order read. Initial reactions reactions In In an an interview, interview, Attorney Attorney Carlos university INITIAL REACTIONS Carlos Carlos, Carlos, university legal legal counsel, said was In an interview, Attorney counsel, said Tuquero Tuquero was already expecting that Carlos university legal alreadyCarlos, expecting that the the court court would his application for counsel, said would grant grant his Tuquero applicationwas for the of injunction. already expecting the court the issuance issuance of the thethat injunction. “Yes, we it would his expecting application for “Yes,grant we were were expecting it 100 100 percent, because believe the issuance of thewe injunction. percent, because we believe in in the rights Justice Tuquero,” weof expecting it the“Yes, rights ofwere Justice Tuquero,” Atty. Carlos said. 100 percent, we believe believe Atty. Carlos because said. “We “We believe in of Justiceunder Tuquero,” in his establishment our in the his rights establishment under our Atty. Carlos said.it believe charter and was charter and since since it“We was violated, violated, in his establishment our definitely we sure definitely we have have the theunder sure force force charter andlaw, since it was violated, under kumbaga walang under the the law, kumbaga walang definitely have the sure force duda wala kaming duda.” duda ron, ron, we wala kaming duda.” under kumbaga walang On the other hand, On the thelaw, other hand, Valdez Valdez duda ron, wala told that as lawyer and told AP AP that as aakaming lawyerduda.” and as as an an On the hand, Valdez educator, he respects the educator, heother respects the decision decision told APcourt that asand a lawyer andwould as an of that of the the court and that he he would abide abide by by it. it. CONTINUE ON PAGE 2

CONTINUE CONTINUE ON ON PAGE PAGE 2 2

SSC President faces faces suspension suspension charges charges Student Handbook amended amended SSC President Student Handbook First hearing gets First hearing gets cancelled. cancelled ANNA LORRAINE LORRAINE D. D. GALURA GALURA ANNA JULES ANDREW ANDREW P. P. GARCIA GARCIA JULES

THE THE first first supposedly supposedly hearing hearing of of the the case case involving involving Office Office of of tribunal committee and has the Student Development theThe Student Development and suspended the firstDean hearing of Services Atty. Services (OSDS) (OSDS) Dean Atty. the disciplinary brought by Alexander G. Erese against Alexander G. case Erese against the of Office of the Council Student the Supreme Student the dean Supreme Student Council Development and John Services (OSDS) (SSC) Rapid D. (SSC) President President John Rapid D. against the is Student Canonizado postponed due Canonizado isSupreme postponed due to to Council president pending a the on guidance the confusions confusions on what what guidance decision on what rules to follow of should be of the the proceedings proceedings should be in the proceedings. followed. followed. John Rapid D. Canonizado, Atty. Donna Agoncillo, Atty. Donna Agoncillo, president of the Supreme Student Canonizado’s lawyer, questioned Canonizado’s lawyer, questioned Council and a senior Mass the of formation of the legality legality of the the formation of Communications student, faced the that not the tribunal tribunal saying saying that it it is is not ain days suspension if found accordance with 2012 in14-25 accordance with the the 2012 guilty ofManual. violating rule 20 and Student Student Manual. 21 of the university’s handbook, Also, Also, Canonizado’s Canonizado’s on his demanded first offence, a severe camp to Prof. Andy camp demanded toand Prof. Andy punishment dismissal on his Nestor Pazon, Chairman Nestor Ryan Ryanof Pazon, Chairman second of Special of the theoffence. Special University University Professor Andy Nestor Ryan Student Discipline Tribunal, Student Discipline Tribunal, Pazon, of the Special to all issues to clear clearchairman all the the legality legality issues University before continue with before they theyStudent continueDiscipline with the the Tribunal, there is no decision trial. hearing, according to trial. The Thesaid hearing, according to yet on when to be resume the Agoncillo, should a Agoncillo, should be a private private hearing for Canonizado’s case after his lawyer had questioned

the proceedings. Pazon said Canonizado was trial considering that is trial considering that the the case case is accused of violating paragraph 20 sensitive. sensitive. andAs 21of ofpress the handbook.: time, As of press time, there there is is no no Paragraph student further action by the committee further action20 by of thethe committee manual read: language handling the case the handling the“Using case after after the and committing acts adjourned meeting last July 30 adjourned meeting lastthat Julyare 30 disorderly disrespectful, oral at room. at the the TOP TOP or room. written or published, which in manner, may cause SSC PREXY’S VIOLATION SSCany PREXY’S VIOLATION molestation of ordisqualification cause dishonor During During the the disqualification to students, employees, faculty issue of President Atty. issue of PLM PLM President Atty. members officials PLM. Artemio G. Tuquero, it reported Artemio G. or Tuquero, it is is of reported Committing acts that may that allegedly that Canonizado Canonizado allegedly embarrass bring dishonor disseminate to disseminateormessages messages to his his within outside the University friends stating “They are friendsor stating “They are using using premises.” the the students students to to retain retain their their Paragraph 21 read: “Submitting power and The power and positions. positions. The issue issue false misleadingand statements about Fashionista Ginoo aboutor Fashionista and Ginoo at at in officialis filed with Binibini not reason Binibini isdocuments not only only the the reason the publishing or why the has whyUniversity, the president president has recently recently disseminating oral or written been ARE TONS been ousted. ousted. THERE THERE ARE TONS false information aboutWHY the OF REASONS OF RATIONAL RATIONAL REASONS WHY University, itsREMOVED officials, faculty HE FROM HE HAS HAS BEEN BEEN REMOVED FROM members, employees HIS us the HIS OFFICE! OFFICE! Let Let us now now stop stopand the students.” of the 2012 political It’s time political greediness! greediness! It’s Student time for for Handbook. new new and and peaceful peaceful PLM! PLM! God God bless bless In the hearingof to It is contrary the to us!”. us!”. It July is in in 10 contrary ofheld the at the TOPtext room, Canonizado’s apparent message sent apparent text message sent by by lawyer, Atty. Erese saying us Atty. EreseAttorney saying “help “helpDonna us out out Agoncillo, the tom 2k at the tom muster musterquestioned 2k students students at legality the city city of the we tribunal’s and hall… will our hall… we will let let composition our voices voices heard heard creation, saying it tuquero was notand in that justice that we we want want justice tuquero and accordance theng 2012 student no Sa mahabang no one one else.. else..with Sa loob loob ng mahabang manual. panahon, panahon, ngayon ngayon lang lang nagkaroon nagkaroon Based on the student manual, Canonizado’s case should be

heard by a committee made up the ng dean of OSDS as the ang mapagkanlungang angofPLM PLM ng mapagkanlungang chairperson, director Student president. natin president. Wag Wag natinofsayangin sayangin Discipline, any SSCnasimulan. officer or ang ang mabubuting mabubuting nasimulan. president of College Student Kalimutan ang kulay.. Kalimutan muna muna ang mga mga kulay.. Council dean of the College sa bihirang pagkakataon sa isang isangand bihirang pagkakataon of Liberal Arts as ang members. pagsamahin natin ASUL pagsamahin natin ang ASUL However, the same BERDE DILAW… see u BERDE at at in DILAW… seehearing, u@ @ city city 10 werenoon. sittingPls the hall grounds hallmembers grounds 12:45 12:45 noon. Plsinpass.” pass.” tribunal committee, selected According to he According to Prof. Prof. Pazon, Pazon, he at random. And since Dean violated paragraphs 20, violated paragraphs 20, “Using “Using Erese was the one committing who filed the language and language and committing complaint, wasdisorderly excluded from acts are or acts that that he are disorderly or the committee. oral disrespectful, disrespectful, oral written written or or Canonizado’s also published, which any published, which in inlawyer any manner, manner, asked Pazon to resolve the may molestation of may cause cause molestation of or orallcause cause legality issues before continuing dishonor to employees, dishonor to students, students, employees, the trial.members Agoncillo also asked that faculty or of faculty members or officials officials of the hearing be concluded an PLM. Committing acts PLM. Committing acts that thatinmay may executive rather than a embarrass or dishonor embarrasssession or bring bring dishonor public because the issues within or the withinhearing or outside outside the University University are very sensitive. premises”, and premises”, and 21 21 . “Submitting “Submitting false false or or misleading misleading statements statements SSC PREXY’S VIOLATIONS in documents filed in official official documents filed with with case against Canonizado the University, publishing or theThe University, publishing or stemmed from oral a text disseminating or written disseminating oral ormessage written sent students and about employees false the falsetoinformation information about the by Erese onits 9 asking to University, officials, faculty University, itsJuly officials, faculty support formeremployees justice Artemio G. members, and members, employees and Tuquero, theof students.” the Student students.” ofuniversity the 2012 2012president, Student who was facing from his Handbook. The said Handbook. The ouster said violations violations position. Canonizado allegedly are to with are subject subject to punishment punishment with sent his days own text messagefor to 14suspension 14- 25 25 days suspension for students to get– the offense and 26 the first first asking offensethem and not 26 days days – involved in politics andoffense. not to dismissal the dismissal for for the second second offense. CONTINUE ON PAGE 6

BATTLE FOR TUQUERO. ExecutivePresident Vice President Oliver Pandile and other university officials togetherassemble with somethe students assemble BATTLE BATTLE FOR FOR TUQUERO. TUQUERO. Executive Executive Vice Vice President Oliver Oliver Pandile Pandile and and other other university university officials officials together together with with some some students students assemble at at the Bulwagang Bulwagang Katipunan Katipunan at the Bulwagang Katipunan in Manila City Hall last July 10 to express their support for Dean President Tuquero. (From leftSolis, to right: COPERS in Susan VPA in Manila Manila City City Hall Hall last last July July 10 10 to to express express their their support support for for President President Tuquero. Tuquero. (From (From left left to to right: right: COPERS COPERS Dean Susan Mercado, Mercado, VPFP VPFP Angelita Angelita Solis, VPA Marita Marita Barrientos, VPAA OIC Cayao, and Oliver Dean Susan Mercado, VPFP Angelita VPA Marita Barrientos, VPAA OIC Erlinda Cayao, and EVP Oliver Pandile) Barrientos, VPAA OIC Erlinda Erlinda Cayao, and EVP EVP Solis, Oliver Pandile). Pandile).

NEWS NEWS

OKAY? OKAY?

Amendments on Waiting for BOR’s Student Manual not approval yet finalized KEITH KEITH NIÑO NIÑO B. B. MEDRANO MEDRANO ELOAH ANAWIM ELOAH ANAWIM B. B. VALENCIANO VALENCIANO

THE Supreme Student Council THE Supreme Council KEITH NIÑO B.Student MEDRANO (SSC), College Student Councils ELOAH ANAWIM B. VALENCIANO (SSC), College Student Councils (CSCs) (CSCs) and and the the Office Office of of Student Student Development Development and and Services Services (OSDS) (OSDS) has has already already amended amended the the The Supremestudent Student Council university’s handbook, university’s student handbook, (SSC), College Councils however, the amendments are however, the Student amendments are (CSCs) and the Office Student not final as of not yet yet final as the theofBoard Board of Development and Services Regents not signed Regents (BOR) (BOR) has has not yet yet signed (OSDS) has already of amended the the approval. the memorandum memorandum of approval. university’s student handbook, “Hindi nila kung “Hindi pa pa rin rin nila sinasabi sinasabi kung however, thehearing amendments are kailan about kailan ‘yong ‘yong hearing about this this not yet final ‘Yong as thepagbabago Board of amendment. amendment. ‘Yong pagbabago Regents (BOR) hindi has not yetsinasabi signed ng nila ng provisions, provisions, hindi nila sinasabi the memorandum of approval. kung kailan yung kung kailan nila nila ibababa ibababa yung “Hindi rin nila sinasabi kung papel. So ‘yong confusion and papel. So pa ‘yong confusion and kailan ‘yong hearing about this pressure galing sa pressure galing sa estudyante, estudyante, amendment. ‘Yong pagbabago nasa said. nasa amin,” amin,” Canonizado Canonizado said. ng provisions, hindi nila sinasabi kung Nevertheless, as Nevertheless, as stated stated kailan ibababa yung papel. So in 2005 University Code, in the thenila 2005 University Code, ‘yong confusion and pressure the of and the formulation formulation of rules rules and galing sa estudyante, nasa amin,” regulations on regulations on disciplinary disciplinary Canonizado said. delegated measures measures is is already already delegated to to as stated in the University through theNevertheless, University Council Council through the 2005 Discipline University Code, the Committee; the Student Student Discipline Committee; the of rules and thus, the can be thus,formulation the amendments amendments can still still be regulations implemented. implemented. on disciplinary measures is already to Feedback from the Feedback fromdelegated the PLM PLM the University Council through community community the One Student Discipline Committee; of amendments that One of the the amendments that thus, thebeing amendments canpractice still be are taken are now now being taken into into practice implemented. is is the the dyeing dyeing of of hair hair which which garnered garnered various various feedbacks feedbacks from from FEEDBACK FROM THE PLM the the PLM PLM community. community. COMMUNITY According According to to the the notice notice posted posted One of amendments that around the campus, only around thethe campus, only female female are now being students with dyed hair are students withtaken dyed into hairpractice are not not is the sanctions, dyeing ofprovided hair which given that given sanctions, provided that garnered feedbacks from their colors toned their hair hairvarious colors are are toned down down the community. and of tinges. andPLM of Asian Asian tinges. According to the notice to posted Canonizado appeals the Canonizado appeals to the around the campus, female administration that the administration that only the legality legality students with dyed hair not of should be applied of hair hair dyeing dyeing should be are applied given sanctions, provided that to students regardless of to all all PLM PLM students regardless of their colorssex. are toned down their biological He their hair biological sex. He believes believes and Asianto that failure do thatof failure totinges. do so so would would make make appeals to one. the the said theCanonizado said law law a a discriminatory discriminatory one. administration legality According him, prohibiting According to tothat him,the prohibiting of hair dyeing should be applied

to all PLM students regardless of their biologicalfrom sex. dyeing He believes male their male students students from dyeing their that to do so would hair was what they have hairfailure was not not what they make have the saidfor lawduring a discriminatory one. settled their settled for during their meeting. meeting. to him, prohibiting He also many students HeAccording also said said that that many students male students from dyeing are satisfied with the said are not not satisfied with thetheir said hair was Thus, not what have provision. being the provision. Thus, beingthey the highest highest settled for during meeting. representative of the representative oftheir the students, students, He saidneed that many students he felt to the he also felt the the need to address address the are not satisfied with the said appeals. appeals. provision. Thus, being the highest However, OSDS explained that However, OSDS explained that representative students, the the generality generality of of the the provision provision he the need to address was not discussed during wasfelt not discussed during the the appeals. deliberation. deliberation. Atty. Atty. Erese Erese stressed stressed However, OSDS explained that they not have any that they did did not have that any the generality the provision agreement as whom shall agreement as to toof whom shall this this was not discussed during the provision be He provision be implemented. implemented. He deliberation. clarified they only agreed clarified that thatAtty. theyErese onlystressed agreed that did not have upon the which will be upon they the colors colors which willany be agreement to whom shall this allowed to gender allowed and andasnot not to which which gender provision implemented. He it applied. This it will will be be be applied. This point, point, clarified that they should only agreed according to have according to him, him, should have upon the colors which will be been by being been raised raised by Canonizado, Canonizado, being allowed not to which gender the President. the SSC SSC and President. it will applied. point, He also said that he He be also saidThis that he according to him, have implemented the said implemented theshould said policy policy been raised by Canonizado, being for students’ sake for the the students’ sake alone alone the President. and that, he andSSC that, he is is willing willing to to He also that he withdraw the implementation withdraw the said implementation implemented said policy if memorandum if he he receives receives a athe memorandum for thethe students’ sake alone and from BOR the from the BOR questioning questioning the that, he is willing withdraw provision. “Para provision. “Para sa satoestudyante estudyante the implementation if he receives to I’m Pero kung to eh, eh, I’m pro-student. pro-student. Pero kung amay memorandum magpipilit akin, na wag may magpipilit sa safrom akin,the naBOR wag questioning “Para sa niyo yan i-approve, wag niyo muna munathe yanprovision. i-approve, wag estudyante to eh, I’m pro-student. mo yan. Edi mo i-implement i-implement yan. Edi sige, sige, Pero kung may magpipilit papa-approve natin, napapa-approve natin, pag pagsadi diakin, nana wag niyo muna i-approve, approve balik tayo sa Gusto approve balik tayoyan sa dati. dati. Gusto wag i-implement yan. Edi sige, niyo ‘yan. This works for niyomo ‘yan. This actually actually works for papa-approve natin, pag di nathe added. the students,” students,” he he added. approve balik tayo sa dati. Gusto On other hand, Bukluran On the the other hand, Bukluran niyo ‘yan. This actually works for Students Alliance—Integrated Students Alliance—Integrated the students,” he added. (BSAStudents Organization Students Organization (BSAOnheaded the otherby Bukluran ISO), Krystel Ann ISO), headed byhand, Krystel Ann Students Alliance—Integrated Castañeda, questioned Castañeda, questioned the the Students legality the policy legality of ofOrganization the hair hair dye dye (BSApolicy ISO), headed by Krystel implemented OSDS last implemented by the the OSDSAnn last Castañeda, questioned the July 15. July 15. legality the hair dye policy In Bukluran In an anofinterview, interview, Bukluran implemented by the stressed said office did stressed that that the the saidOSDS office last did July 15. not the not follow follow the right right process process of of In an interview, Bukluran implementing rules the implementing rules inside inside the stressed that the said lang officekami did university. “Nagtataka university. “Nagtataka lang kami not follow right process of kung bakit walang reference kung bakitthe walang reference implementing rules inside the or ng or walang walang citation citation ng BOR BOR university. “Nagtataka lang kami

FEATURES FEATURES

OPINION OPINION

FILIPINO FILIPINO

kung bakit walang reference or walang na citation ng BOR Resolution nag-a-approve sa Resolution na nag-a-approve sa Resolution na nag-a-approve sa implementation na implementation na ‘yon. ‘yon. Alam Alam implementation na ‘yon. to Alam naman RA naman natin natin na na according according to RA naman‘yong natin PLM na according to RA 4196, or 4196, ‘yong PLM or University University 4196, ‘yong PLM University Charter natin, na ang Board Charter natin, naor ang Board of of Charter natin, napower ang Board of Regents may na Regents ang ang may power na magmagRegents may policies power na magapprove ng dito sa approve ang ng mga mga policies dito sa approve ng mga policies dito sa PLM.” said. PLM.” Castañeda Castañeda said. PLM.” Castañedashe said. clarified However, However, she clarified However, sheis that that Bukluran not that Bukluran isclarified not against against Bukluran is not the the hair dye the prevailing prevailing hairagainst dye policy. policy. prevailing hair dye policy. “Against kami hindi po “Against kami na na hindi po dumaan dumaan “Against kami na hindi‘yong po dumaan sa proseso pag-isa tamang tamang proseso ‘yong pag-isa tamang proseso ‘yong pag-iimplement o ng implement o pag-a-amend pag-a-amend ng implement pag-a-amend ng polisiyang Irregularity, polisiyang oiyon. iyon. Irregularity, polisiyang w m n wh he e tt h he e rr iyon. ma ag ga aIrregularity, nd da a y yu un ng g w h e t h e r is a g airregularity.” nda yung intentions, intentions, ismstill still irregularity.” intentions, still irregularity.” How Started How the theisAmendments Amendments Started Amendments Amendments of of the the student student HOW THEwere AMENDMENTS handbook carried handbook were carried out out during during STARTED the the Pre-Student Pre-Student Ambassadors Ambassadors Amendments of the student Leadership Training (SALT) last Leadership Training (SALT) last handbook were carriedOSDS out during May officers, staff, May 16. 16. SSC SSC officers, OSDS staff, the Ambassadors and CSCs and and Pre-Student CSCs presidents presidents and college college Leadership Training (SALT) last representatives participated representatives participated May 16. SSC officers, OSDS staff, and on informal and embarked embarked on an an informal and CSCs presidents and college parliamentary procedure where parliamentary procedure where representatives they whether they all all debated debated as asparticipated whether to to and embarked on provisions an informal revise each or revise each of of the the provisions or parliamentary procedure where not. not. they all debated as whether to Though it originally Though it is is originally revise each of theGeneral provisions included in Plan of included in SSC’s SSC’s General Plan or of not. (GPOA) Action Action (GPOA) for for this this academic academic Though it the is initiative originally year, OSDS to year, OSDS took took the initiative to included in SSC’s General Plan of accomplish the amendment. accomplish the said said amendment. Action (GPOA) this academic When asked why they decided When askedfor why they decided year, OSDSthe took the initiative to to handbook, OSDS to amend amend the handbook, OSDS accomplish said amendment. Dean Alexander Erese Dean Atty. Atty.the Alexander Erese When asked why a said that has goal said that this this has been been athey goal decided to amend the handbook, he to for he promised promised to fulfill fulfill for all all the the OSDS Dean Alexander students since he office. students sinceAtty. he assumed assumed office. Erese saidproud that this hasthat been a “I’m very to our “I’m very proud to say say that our goal promised to fulfill of forthe all new rules are newhe rules are a a product product of the the since he will of he added. will students of the the students,” students,” heassumed added. office. proud say that On one hand, SSC President On“I’m onevery hand, SSCto President our new rules are a product ofthat the John Rapid Canonizado said John Rapid Canonizado said that will theaa students,” he added. they saw need certain theyof saw need to to change change certain On one and hand, SSCrestrictions President provisions other provisions and other restrictions John Rapidin saiddress that especially the especially inCanonizado the university university dress they code. code.saw a need to change certain provisions other He said that they He also alsoand said thatrestrictions they will will especially in the dress focus on the but focus not not only only onuniversity the content content but code. CONTINUE CONTINUE ON ON PAGE PAGE 3 3 CONTINUE ON PAGE 2

SPORTS SPORTS

how how ‘bout ‘bout no? no?

SSC SSC OATH-TAKING OATH-TAKING

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ISYUNG ISYUNG ISKO ISKO

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KICKSTARTER KICKSTARTER

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LIWANAG LIWANAG NG NG BUHAY BUHAY

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ON ON HIS HIS QUEST QUEST FOR FOR GREATNESS GREATNESS

14 14


02 Ang Pamantasan August 2014

NEWS FROM PAGE 1 “TUQUERO...”

educator, he respects the decision of the court and that he would abide by it. “Well, the only issue in court actually is [that] there was no due process, that there was no hearing that was held which we explained that this was previously discussed in the previous meeting (BOR meeting),” Valdez told AP. “The court gave more weight on the fact that there was no notice when we made the decision, we accept it after all it does not resolve the issues it is just a matter of some defect which the court sustained.”

NEW BREED OF LEADERS. President Artemio Tuquero leads the oath taking ceremony of Supreme Student Council 2013-2014 officers in his office last June 26. (From left to right: President Artemio Tuquero, SSC President John Rapid Canonizado, SSC Vice President Ravienne Jeru Lim, SSC Treasurer Arnold Marasigan, SSC Auditor Crismel Dara Tengson, and SSC PRO Rhancel Sugatan.)

“DUE PROCESS” In the six-page order, Tuquero claimed he was denied due process after the board of regents convened a meeting “which was apparently held without notice to all the members of the board”, which includes the president. One of the Board of Regents, Renato dela Cruz, corroborated

Tuquero’s claim. He said he finds it unfair and unjustifiable to Tuquero, who was not in the board meeting. There was no formal charge or complaint against the president, he added, saying there was even no notice to the board about any complaint against Tuquero. He said there was also no formal investigation on Tuquero. Carlos, who was also not informed about the board meeting, said he was responsible for disseminating notices and agenda whenever there is a board meeting, and since he did not issue any notice, therefore, the July 8 board meeting was considered null and void, improper and irregular. On the other hand, Valdez said there really was no formal written notice sent to all the members of the board, accepting Tuquero’s arguments in the court. However, he said the court did not rule the board meeting was illegal. He said the meeting only

aimed to make a decision regarding Tuquero’s questionable appointment— a resolution, which was based on an earlier discussion in another board meeting. But, when asked why there was no written notices sent to Tuquero and dela Cruz, the regent, Valdez said the board assumed they were against the agenda of the meeting. ON CSC INVALIDATING TUQUERO’S APPOINTMENT Hidalgo-Bucu did not invalidate yet Tuquero’s appointment as university president despite a ruling from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), which was based on Section 4 of the PLM Charter, because he still has a pending petition before the Civil Service Commission. In her ruling, the judge said “due process must be first observed” even if there is already a decision from the CSC and a resolution from the BOR to recall Tuquero’s appointment.

Dismissal case filed SSC officials take Oath; Tuquero promises support against PLM-COMELEC; He also emphasized the Jeru Lim, Vice President; Arnold [enough time] for them to agree Marasigan, Treasurer; Dara on a particular date for this [Oath- initiative to schedule the oathtaking should come from the Tengson, Auditor; and Rhancel taking]”, Aguilar cries foul Tuquero also explained his SSC and that OSDS was actually Sugatan, Public Relations Officer. JULES ANDREW P. GARCIA

JULES ANDREW P. GARCIA

The 13 commissioners Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila-Commission on Election, an appointive body that supervised the Supreme Student Council elections in March, faced dismissal from the university after a complaint was filed against them by a tribunal created to investigate the controversy early this year. But, the chairman of the PLMComelec protested as unfair the dismissal case against them because they have valid reasons when Comelec members snubbed an inquiry set by the OSDS based on a complaint by a student political party. In an interview, OSDS Dean Attorney Alexander G. Erese Jr. said the COMELEC faced grave abuse of discretion allegations from Ang Partidong Tugon on its rulings during the students elections in March, saying it has misinterpreted some provisions in the election code. The case was filed before a tribunal committee, composed of College of Medicine Dean Dr. Anchela Y. Uy-Biag, Graduate School of Management Associate Dean Ms. Noemi C. Gocuyo. If the tribunal finds the 13 Comelec commissioners guilty, they face dismissal from the university. Erese said Comelec commissioners had committed a grave offense when they willfully ignored the hearing set by OSDS. “The acts charged against them are willful disobedience to a lawful order,” he said. “There was actually a notice for the fact-finding committee, there was someone who shed light to some gray areas, but even with notice, they deliberately absented themselves from official summons. That’s a clear violation of our disciplinary guidelines,” he said. Paragraph 39 of the University’s official student

handbook states that: “Interfering with or unjustified absence in any official activity. Instigating other people to be absent from any official activity” are grave offenses; thus, whoever commits it even for the first time gets a dismissal sanction. But the head of the Comelec, Ares Victor Aguilar, said commissioners did not attend the hearing set by the OSDS because the election body did not receive any copy of the complaint from OSDS. “I wrote a letter addressed to OSDS, stating that we could not attend inquiry regarding the same because such complaint has not yet been served on us,” he said “And there are so many irregularities present for an inquiry to be validly conducted.” Moreover, Aguilar said the schedule of the OSDS hearing was also one of the main reasons for the commissioners to skip the inquiry. “Finals week ‘yon” Aguilar said. “So, as officials, they should know not to set meetings and/or activities on the said date. Busy [ang] mga student [na] mag-aral para pumasa since this is the reason why we are in PLM.” Erese, on the other hand, said the tribunal’s investigation for the case was postponed and will most likely resume in the coming weeks. “Medyo marami lang tayong ginagawa ngayon. Perhaps the investigation will again be rolling after our celebration,” he said. Aguilar had expressed his disappointment with regard to the said case. “Hindi kasi siya [the case] makatarungan,” he said. “Kasi we did not serve voluntarily. We were appointed. So to file a case against us, with the penalty of dismissal, wherein hindi naman kami namilit na kami na lang magserve as commissioner, is very very unfair”

FROM PAGE 1 “STUDENT HANDBOOK...”

He also said that they will focus not only on the content but also on the format of the manual. This includes grammatical errors that need to be corrected and all the provisions that have to be changed in a way that all scholars could understand. FUTURE PLANS FOR THE STUDENT HANDBOOK On the other hand, Canonizado will propose changes in the manual. They are planning to conduct a student consultation for future amendments. The

provisions, he said, are just mere suggestions and do not contain specific standards and parameters. Some rules are too general which makes them difficult to understand. “Personally, I’m not satisfied with the student manual. It’s just like a fraud freedom, ang vague ng karapatan namin,” he stressed. “The SSC is always here for the students, for our constituents. There are a lot more to come for the protection and welfare of the students,” he added.

University President Artemio G. Tuquero had sworn into office the new set of Supreme Student Council (SSC), three months after they were elected into office, promising to support student council’s activities and projects for the good of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. Tuquero also asked for the students’ cooperation with the school administration as he faced legal battles to continue serving as president of the university. The Board of Regents had issued a resolution stripping him of his position on a number of grounds, but he won a court order to stop his expulsion. Only five of six Supreme Student Council officers were present during the oath-taking ceremony at the Office of the University President on June 26. They were John Rapid Canonizado, President; Ravienne

University Legal Counsel Attorney Carlos Carlos, OIC-Vice President for Academic Affairs Erlinda Cayao and College of Mass Communication Dean Ludmila Labagnoy attended the event to witness and show support to the newly-elected council officers. C at h re e n J u n e T r i g o , secretary of the SSC, was unable to attend the said activity but she apologized to the student body for having missed such an important activity. She said it was not her intention to be absent and to have neglected her duty as an officer. “DELAYED” OATH TAKING Tuquero said it was not his office’s fault for any delay in the oath taking, saying it was the responsibility of the students to schedule the event. “I did not set their oath-taking,” he said. “I was available at any time before,

absence in the university at a time he was facing some legal problems. His office has said he was “out of the country” most of the time before the oath-taking ceremony. Canonizado, on the other hand, said the student council should not be blamed for the delays because, based on his personal knowledge it was really the Office of the Student Development and Services (OSDS) that should be responsible for scheduling the event. “Supposedly, the OSDS has the responsibility to arrange this oath-taking,” he stressed. But, OSDS Dean Attorney Alexander G. Erese said that the oath taking is more of an act of celebration than of recognition and even without it, the SSC officers can still occupy their positions and do their responsibilities.

waiting for the SSC to come and to arrange the event. “…Hindi sa tina-take for granted natin ‘yong oath taking, but, my point really is, wala naman sa officers, elected officers, wala naman ni isa sa kanilang nagbother pumunta rito para sabihin na ‘sir, ayusin natin ‘yong oath taking.’ That’s for the record,” he clarified. Attorney Carlos explained that there really was never any delay in the said activity because in the first place, there was no specified date given as to when it should really be done. “[The SSC officers can take take their oath] even right after the election, a month or six. It just depends on them. It just so happens na ngayon lang nila na gather ang kanilang complete officers and it is only now that they arrange the oath taking with the President,” he added.

GV demolition still on hold MARTIN A. SADONGDONG

The City Hall has finally decided to demolish the old Gusaling Villegas (GV) to give way to a brand-new school building in the future. But, that would wait until the city government has approved a budget for the demolition of the condemned structure, the head of the Physical Development and Special Projects Office (PDSPO) has said. A separate budget would be needed for a new building as well. Engineer Karen L. Leyson, PDSPO chief said the city government has to approve yet a budget for the demolition of the Gusaling Villegas before finalizing plans for the reconstruction of a new structure. No amount has been allocated for the new building and no

new plans were presented to the mayor and the city council. “Kapag nag-demolish ka, may cost kasi yan eh. Kumbaga, magpapa knock down ka, magpapatrabaho ka, pera ang kailangan. Actually, mayroon naman tayong pwedeng i-allot doon kaya lang kailangan mauna ang galing sa city hall na order na ito ay “Go” na. Inaantay namin ‘yun. The moment na makuha na namin ‘yung order na iyon, magstart na,” Leyson added.

fitting would just prolong the life indeed a classroom shortage. This, span of the building, but still be she said, was the main reason for demolished in the end because the university to request some of safety issues. classrooms from the nearby Retro fitting would only Manila High School, dismissing reinforce its foundation and speculations that the demolition preserve its design. But, the plan on Gusaling Villegas was local government believed this connected to the request. Several will only cost extra money and classrooms in the university were decided it will be cost-effective also converted into facilities to tear down the old building and storage rooms of donated completely and build a new machineries, she added. structure. “Number one is siyempre hindi “Way back 2006, meron enough ang classrooms natin na kasing mga findings dyan ditto,” she told Ang Pamantasan. DEMOLITION INSTEAD OF na for retro-fitting para kahit “Dito palang sa GV apat na RETRO FITTING papaano ay maayos yung pinaka rooms na agad ang nawala. Ang Also, Engineer Marita S.D. foundation,” Barrientos said. Accenture dyan dating classroom. Barrientos, PLM Vice President “Sinabi ng City Engineer’s Office Tapos yung laboratory naman for Administration, said the City na though retro-fitting is pwede, ng engineering din, ‘yung 210Engineer’s Office has already parang masyado ng mahal tapos 211. Kasi yung mga estudyante recommended the demolition gigibain mo rin yung building,”. nag-donate ng mga computer, of Gusaling Villegas left wing, payback time.” instead of merely retro-fitting MANILA HIGH CLASSES the building. She said retroBarrientos also said there is

Tuquero reorganizes PLM Admin MC JAZER R. MALONDA

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) President Artemio G. Tuquero has asked for the courtesy resignation of the university officials, issuing an office order to allow him a free hand in reorganizing his administration, the legal counsel and board of regent secretary said. Tuquero signed on August 1 office order no. 00-14-0801-01

asking all university officials to tender their courtesy resignation, a standard procedure among local governments, to allow the university president to form a new team, removing those who are perceived to be opposed to his administration, Attorney Carlos M. Carlos told Ang Pamantasan in an interview. “Well, it is part of the objective that the President should have a one-team – supporting team for his visions and plans in PLM, so if it is part of the cleaning process, cleaning in the sense that those

who would not want to support it, they are free to go,” Carlos said. “That is the reason why they tender their resignation, they were let go by the President. Now, as to those who were retained, those few, these are the people or the deans who would support the President in regard to his projects in [the university].” Carlos said the president’s order only had a minimal effect in the current organizational structure because most of the incumbent deans and staff were retained as they had expressed

their desire to support the president. Some officials were reinstated to their positions based on their merits and performance. The president has also allowed the reinstated deans to recommend their preferred associate dean and/or college secretary. But, he has the final say on all these recommendations because he has the prerogative to maximize his management team. Under section 6, letter E of CONTINUE ON PAGE 2


Ang Pamantasan August 2014 03

NEWS On Façade Construction ‘PLM façade is safe and stable’ – PDSPO CHIEF

Structural engineers had assured the safety of faculty, students and non-teaching after the new Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) façade was hurriedly inaugurated in June during the university’s 49th foundation day even if the project was only 90 to 95 percent complete. The new façade was unveiled on June 19 in time for the visit of San Francisco, California Mayor Edwin Lee who was the principal guest at the foundation anniversary celebration. The project was started in December last year and nearly completed in February when work was stopped because the contractors were not paid yet. However, Engineer Karen E. Leyson, chief of the Development

and Special Projects Office (PDSPO), gave firm assurances the façade is strong and durable even if it was hastily inaugriated in June. “Hindi namanitataya ng mga structural engineers ‘yong mga license nila without checking first‘yong kailangan nilang i-check [on the structure],” Leyson said. She also explained that the contractors had reinforced the concrete walls to make them stable and used metal I-beams with sizes 36 and diameter 10 to act as foundations and did some footings to provide strength to the structure. The façade was intended for the university’s 50th anniversary next year, not for this year’s celebration, “Nagkataon lang na may bisita tayo, so why not isabay na natin?” she said. “Parang ikaw gusto mo magpa-improve next year, eh magkakaroon tayo ng bisita eh, so why not isama na natin. Pagimprove mo ng isang bahay, hindi lang objective mo para sa isang

MC JAZER R. MALONDA ANNA LORRAINE D. GALURA

purpose, since bago si President [Tuquero], may objective siya. He wanted to embrace PLM with this picture.” STILL UNFINISHED Leyson also said the whole façade is still unfinished. Some 5 to 10 percent works are still to be done but the contractors stopped because they are not yet fully paid. She also mentioned the walkthrough at the sides of the main entrance are still blocked and the posterior rough finishing is left by the unpaid contractors. LIKE A NURTURING MOTHER Leyson said that the design of the façade was based on the idea of College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) Dean Architect Gil C. Evasco and his team. The façade’s concept is like a mother cradling her child because this institution takes cares for its students and nurtures them to

become professionals. ON GV DEMOLITION Meanwhile, Leyson said there are still no definite plans for the construction of a new structure to replace the right wing of the old Gusaling Arsenio Villegas building but she was asked by the University President and Vice President for Administration (VPA) Engineer Marita Barrientos to create a Gantt chart for its demolition. “Pagiba pa lang from the top floor to the ground floor maraming kailangang iposisyon muna na barricade o safety net bago i-lockdown lahat yan kasi as you would know, may building sa likod niyan, ‘yong Gusaling Joselito Atienza” she said “Kailangan muna na gawan namin ng proper methodology, ‘yong temporary na dadaanan nila in case of emergency and during the operation ng graduate school na doon nag-aaral sa Gusaling Atienza.”

SSC Prexy clears PLM’s 49th celebration issues ANNA LORRAINE D. GALURA CARL JEROME OBOSA VELASCO

Supreme Student Council (SSC) President John Rapid D. Canonizado defended the Elite Fashion House, one of the main events last foundation day celebration, Stating that it was not immoral and indecent because the project’s purpose was to showcase the creativity of the PLMayers. The show was used as one of many issues against PLM President Artemio G. Tuquero by the Board of Regents (BOR), which issued a board resolution dated July 8, removing him from his position because he allowed the fashion show to take place in the university where young students wore “skimpy and provocative attires”. In an interview, John Rapid Canonizado, Supreme Student Council president, said that the

event was about promoting the talents of the students through their resourcefulness and originality. “The purpose of Elite Fashion House is to showcase the creativity of PLMayers in terms of creating magnificent artworks through clothing and apparel,” Canonizado said. “Sa point of view ng isang participant: It’s about expressing themselves on how they can carry themselves on stage and how they can feel good about themselves.” ‘IMPROPER WASTE DISPOSAL’ On the another issue, Canonizado also rejected accusations suggesting he was not a responsible leader after the university administration complained about the piles of trash left after the Ginoo at Binibing Pamantasan event, saying he has witnesses to prove the garbage was properly disposed after the event. “After ng event kami-kami lang ‘yong natira ‘doon sa may pride hall so talagang nilinis namin yun, may dalawa pa kaming guard na kasama, USG, na sila ‘yong pinaka-

witness, sila ‘yong witness na talagang naglinis kami,” he said. There were reports that Engineer Marita Barrientos, vice-president for administration (VPA), had summoned SSC officers because of the incident. In an interview with AP, Engineer Barrientos said she herself saw the piles of wastes left by the bazaars and the Saturday night (June 21) event. “After ng activity, parang nasa impyerno ka, ginawa ninyong napa-kalaking basurahan ang compound,” she said. “At tsaka ‘di ako magsasalita nang hindi ko pina-document.” ‘IRRESPONSIBILITY ISSUE’ But, Canonizado also dismissed the issue of being an irresponsible leader after allegedly letting his co-officers work on his behalf which caused a misunderstanding in his council. “Yes may issue kaming hindi pagkakaunawaan,” he said .”it’s either for our political beliefs or personal interests. Lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila na kapag may problema tayo within this council, dapat pag-uusapan lang

nating anim, so dapat hindi siya makakalabas sa social media, sa FB, Twitter, or sa kahit ano pang space online.” There were rumors that one of his co-officers wrote a letter to one of the university’s VicePresidents, stating Canonizado’s irresponsibility and inefficiency as a leader for letting them work alone without his supervision. “Kasi, ang laman ng letter ay paninira sa akin. Ikaw kung totoo kang responsableng lider, hindi mo gagawin ‘yon sa harap ng kanino mang tao,” he said. The letter sender also puts the blame on an “internal problem” within the SSC. Meanwhile, Canonizado commended all the officers and event’s organizers for helping him and his council to give the PLMayers a worthwhile foundation day celebration. “In fairness naman naging professional lahat and nakatulong ‘yong professionality [sic] na ‘yon to come up with such satisfying activities noong foundation day,” he said, “And marami naman talagang positive feedback,” he said.

JULY TO SEPTEMBER

Manila Regional Trial Court granted University President Atty. Artemio G. Tuquero’s application for the issuance of preliminary injunction, enabling him to stay on his position not until such time that the court has finally ruled over his petition.

SEP 05

The Board of Regents (BOR) conducted a meeting, in which University President Artemio G. Tuquero was also present. The board came out with Resolution No. 3692 putting Tuquero under three-month preventive suspension in order to, accordingly, “ensure that the Office of the President will not be used to harass, intimidate, and influence witnesses” on the case filed by College of Nursing former Dean Dr. Gilmore G. Solidum against Tuquero. BOR Chairman Amado D. Valdez

Pamantansan ng Lungsod ng Maynila is just about to end its first academic semester and yet, a leadership dispute has long been plaguing its administration until now. The timeline below traces the series of events that had happened over the past few days.

was likewise designated as the Acting President during the period of suspension.

SEP 06

University/ Board Secretary and Chief University Legal Counsel Atty. Carlos P. Carlos sent various university offices a letter stressing that only “communications, memoranda, directives and other documents signed by the incumbent University President Artemio G. Tuquero shall be honored, followed and adopted in relation to the operation of the university.”

SEP 08 In a letter sent to Atty. Carlos, Atty. Valdez stressed that

he already assumed the position of being the Acting President. He also asked for Atty. Carlos’ explanation as to why he should not be charged with administrative sanctions considering that fact that he “[has] taken positions and actions contrary in the instruction of the board and in the interest of PLM community.” On that day, Valdez also put Carlos and Vice President for External Affairs Mr. Roberto “Obet” G. Rosales under three-month preventive suspension.

SEP 09

A memorandum signed by Atty. Valdez banning Atty. Tuquero, Atty. Carlos and Mr. Rosales from entering the university premises was circulated around PLM. University

Junior Social Work scholar Rednaxela R. Calderon won the top prize in the Rotary Global Essay Competition (ROGEC) 2013 under the Group II category (18-30 years old), besting over a thousand of written entries worldwide. A Nigerian and a Russian joined her as second and third placers, respectively. Calderon was awarded a 5-day all-paid trip to Pune, India where she attended the awarding ceremonies last April 12. Besides receiving her prize which includes trophy and certificate, she also had the chance to interact with fellow global winners, leaders and experts, exchange ideas with them, and visit places of interest. Calderon represents the Rotaract Club-PLM Chapter and is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Intramuros.

PLM Radio Program Bags Awards at Veritas Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila – College of Mass Communication’s (PLM-CMC) “Sabado Bidoo” radio program was proclaimed Best Program Format and Best Promotional Campaign at the VERITAS Campus Hour Awards ceremonies last May 31. It reaped five nominations out of seven major award categories against six other schools, including Audience Choice Award, Best Theme Song and Best Campus Hour School. The radio program was aired over Radyo Veritas all Saturdays of September last year.

PLM alumnus tops Architect Licensure Exam College of Architecture and Urban Planning graduate Rodrick Paul Velasco Jr. clinched the top spot with an 85.60 percent grade in the June 2014 Architecture Licensure Exam (ALE). Meanwhile, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila garnered a 94.59 passing percentage in its overall performance in ALE with 35 passers out of 37 examinees, 16.81 percentage points higher than last year’s results.

Respeto Emerges as the Lone Summa Garnering an official general weighted average of 1.21, John Mark Respeto graduated as the only summa cum laude of batch 2014 last April 22 at the Philippine International Convention Center, CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City. Respeto, an accounting student, has recorded his highest and lowest general weighted averages of 1.07 and 1.44, respectively. Moreover, he was awarded as the Most Outstanding Student for academics of his college and received an excellence award from Isla Lipana & Co., a private auditing and accounting firm that recognizes its student members who excel in academics.

PLM Library Launches Automation System Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila’s Celso Al Karunungan Library has gone with today’s innovative trends as it introduced last June 19 the Library Information System, a scheme that aims to help students access learning materials such as e-books and e-journals online. The induction of the new system along with the series of seminars conducted during the first week of January was in accordance to the celebration of the university’s golden founding anniversary.

TIMELINE JULY 30

PLMayer Wins in Global Essay Competition

Security Group Chief Fe Kawit was relieved to perform the duties and was replaced by Mr. Hanifredo Balquin. Concurrently, Tuquero filed an administrative complaint for dishonesty and falsification of an official document to the Office of the Ombudsman against Atty. Amado D. Valdez, Adelaida Rodriguez-Magsaysay, Corazon C. Rubio and Estrellita Bautista.

SEP 10

A letter signed by Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada was sent to all the BOR members requesting them to submit their courtesy resignations within a period of 72 hours from the receipt of the document. Several uniformed police officers were also spotted roaming around PLM on that day.

PLM alumni dominate PT Board Exam College of Physical Therapy graduate Ernest Paul Calasanz topped the August 2014 Licensure Examination with an 87.90 percent grade. According to Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), there two other PLM alumni who made it to secure spots in the top 10. Edjochris Gutierrez Estrada, sixth place, and Nadine Juliano Mandaya, tenth, garnered 85.50 and 84.85 percent, respectively.

Erap promises a debt-free Manila by 2015 Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada vowed to Manileños that the city of Manila will be debt-free by the end of his second year in office. In his first State of the City Address held at Rizal Memorial Stadium last July 23, Estrada said revenues collected from January to June 2014 were 29.75 percent higher compared to the same period during the administration of former Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim. Estrada added that the improvement in tax collection was due to the revision of the 2013 Omnibus Revenue Code of the City of Manila—a measure done to ease the city’s P3.5 billion budget deficit as stated in the 2012 Commission on Audit report. Under the new tax scheme, charges on business and community taxes were increased by 10 percent. Similarly, charges on services and regulatory fees increased in varying rates.

MARY PAULINE G. DEL ROSARIO, ADLE MEYE R. ENRIQUEZ, KEITH NIÑO B. MEDRANO, GLENDEL D. NAZARIO, ELOAH ANAWIM B. VALENCIANO


04 Ang Pamantasan August 2014

OPINION

HOW TO ‘WORK’ IT OUT

EDITORIAL

AFTER THE QUAKE Anna Lorraine D. Galura

The real recipients of the burden Imagine an organization with unstable structure wherein the members are divided by their own political views and interests. What do you think will happen with the institution? The Pamantasan administration has been facing administrative issues which affect the university. To begin with, the invalidation of the appointment of University President Artemio G. Tuquero gained unnecessary attention from the public, therefore, wrecking the image of the university. Weeks after the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 34 issued a writ of preliminary injunction, which halted the efforts of the Civil Service Commission from ousting Tuquero, Board of Regents Chairman Amado Valdez released a memorandum putting President Tuquero, University Legal Counsel Carlos Carlos, External Vice-President Roberto Rosales and Vice President for Administration Engr. Marita S.D. Barrientos into a preventive suspension. The memorandum intends to avoid the aforementioned names to influence the on-going investigation of the President’s case. As Chairman Valdez’ side claims to act as the University President, they also relieved the function of Ms. Fe Cawit as the chief of the University Security Group and designated Mr. Hanifredo B. Balquin, in order to ensure that the preventive suspension order against the three officials, who are banned from entering PLM, will be imposed. On the other hand, President Tuquero’s side stated that they will not follow the said order because they believe that it is illegal. This clash brought nothing but confusion to the university offices as to what order should be followed. Clearly, the said events affect the university’s organizational function. Also, the security of the stakeholders of this university is suffering. It was reported that there were police officers carrying guns roaming around the university.That incident brought only panic and fear not only to the professors but to the whole PLM community. Until now, the identity of those officers are still not confirmed. It also boils down to the lack of attention given to the more important issues that directly affect the students and the quality of education in the university.Because of the turmoil in the administration, will they ever notice the fact that they should be talking about the effect of K-12 in PLM? What now is the progress of the Gusaling Villegas renovation? How will they settle the classes that are being held in the Manila High School which apparently was caused by the inadequate number of classrooms?What would be the plans for the university canteen’s ill situation? To the President and the BOR, it’s time for the both of you to consider things and work towards the same interest. As the both of you stated that you are working for the improvement of the student body, maybe working hand in hand will not hurt, hence, make your plans for the university more effective. At the end of the day, the ones who will suffer the most if the administration is not united are the students. It may be a cliché but this is the reality – we are the recipients of the burden. Unless the Tuquero administration and the Board of Regents will start working with one political vision and interest, PLM won’t continue to uphold their vision of public service to the scholars of Manila.

Ang Pamantasan THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

ACTING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANNA LORRAINE D. GALURA ACTING ASSOCIATE EDITOR MARTIN A. SADONGDONG ACTING MANAGING EDITOR MARY PAULINE G. DEL ROSARIO ACTING NEWS EDITOR JULES ANDREW P. GARCIA ACTING FEATURES EDITOR CARL JEROME OBOSA VELASCO ACTING FILIPINO EDITOR KEITH NIÑO B. MEDRANO ACTING LITERARY EDITOR ADLE MEYE R. ENRIQUEZ ACTING SPORTS EDITOR MC JAZER R. MALONDA ACTING CIRCULATIONS MANAGER JESSICA B. PAG-IWAYAN ACTING BOARD SECRETARY ELOAH ANAWIM B. VALENCIANO ACTING BUSINESS MANAGER MA. KARISHA MAE C. ORCULLO STAFF WRITERS ALLAINE JOLINA O. MATIC ANNE JANE M. PANDIAN GLENDEL D. NAZARIO CARTOONISTS EHREN LOUISE M. DE DIOS AUSTINE ESPINO LAYOUT ARTISTS PHOEMELA NICOLE V. BALLARAN ANNA LORRAINE D. GALURA CARL JEROME OBOSA VELASCO

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with his/her ‘working ethics’. As scholars of the Pamantasan, we are expected to perform more than what is needed from us. We have to prove to the taxpayers of the City of Manila that we are worth the penny coming from their money. We have to work harder and smarter to be the cream of the crop and to prove that even though the university lacks the proper facilities for the students, we still acquire quality education. But sadly, we tend to forget what we should be doing inside the university as time passes by. We always take for granted the opportunity not only to study, but

ALT F4

I am sincerely hoping that this column could save a life. You are alone in a quiet and dark place, maybe in your own room. Despair is your only companion. Everything is just so wrong and you thought that the only way to escape from this predicament is to end it all by taking your life away. Suddenly, you are snapped back into reality and thought realized that it was a horrible idea. In a recent study called Suicide in the Philippines: time trend analysis and literature review by Maria Redaniel et al., they discovered that a considerable growth in suicide rates has been consistently developing in our country. Meaning It means that cases in males multiplied from 0.23 to 3.59 per 100,000 while rates in females increased from 0.12 to 1.09 per 100,000 between the years 1984 and 2005.T Y e s , t h e n u m b e r s a re considerably low. Maybe this was caused by the strong foundation of Catholicism in our roots. It can also be assumed that the cases

movie which became a hit among just so wrong, at least for me. the mass was Gino Santos’ #Y. From Here in PLM, there were the official poster up to the trailer, reported cases of suicide attempts, it gave the audience a hint that it too. Unfortunately, the University would be about the new generation Guidance Center has no exact BURNING BRIDGES DOWN of youth and how they live but if statistics. If they have no numbers, Martin A. Sadongdong you have watched it, the main I believe that they neither have theme is about suicide. To give prevention strategies nor plans you a background, Miles, played to deal with this topic. I think were not reported to as ‘suicide’ by by Elmo Magalona, is a troubled it starts with the awareness of the families because the Church youth who tried different ways of the student body and the whole strongly opposes the idea of such suicide because he PLM community. for it would mean a violation of just can’t find the Suicide is not the fifth commandment. Whatever meaning of his life. “I am pleading that you usually treated [University Guidance the reason is and however low the So he sought for as a discreet Center] should create cases could get, even one a single help and he met topic to be talked a solid program person who died from suicide is still Abby, a counselor about in a regular a big deal. if we talk about suicide. over the hotline conversation. that would help the Let us try to take a deeper who tried talking But ignorance of students and the faculty dig. Suicide is the act of taking to him to get his ass suicide does not members to better one’s own life on purpose. For out of suicide every exempt any one of understand suicide and those people who thought of and time he freaks out us from it. So what then create prevention attempted suicide, it is the answer and tries another shall we do now? strategies later on. “ to their problems. Mostly, it is the way to end his As for the suicidal behavior that triggers the life. In the end, he University person to commit suicide and in this jumped in a multiple-story building Guidance Center, I am pleading that sense, it can be depression, abuse on his birthday, thinking that it is you should create a solid program of drugs and/or alcohol, bipolar “cool” to see that the date you were that would help the students and disorder, schizophrenia, and other born is the same as the date that the faculty members to better stressful life issues which seem you died. of your death. understand suicide and then impossible to deal with. Frequently, Dear readers, I am not saying create prevention strategies later the persons people who committing that it is a bad movie film, one on. As for the students and faculty suicide are those who are in deep which should not be screened in members, let your self be aware of need to save themselves of relief the mainstream theaters, and all it. Try to research about it, how a from the feeling of rejection, being the judgmental reviews that you person should deal with depression, unwanted, guilt, or even being a can see online. I believe that suicide, how you can help someone you victim. a very sensitive topic, is a good way know who is experiencing it. Who Even in this year’s Cinemalaya to be discussed in a film. But the knows when it would come in Independent Film Festival, one way the resolution was presented is handy?

DEATH OF DELICADEZA

Let me tell you a story. Once there was a government. This government was led by a President. The people elected him, and the 24 senators who composed the upper house of the bicameral legislature of that government. These politicians promised that they would serve their countrymen with all their heart. During their campaigns, they said that they would not steal nor give in to their individual pursuits. Their social contract with the people included transformational change and a shaft of light that would cut through the seeping darkness. They are confident that they could be the change that the people need. One time, these politicians are put into a test. An article was published in one of the national papers. It said that the government has been defrauded of some 10 billion pesos over the past 10 years by a syndicate that uses funds from the pork barrel of the lawmakers and various government agencies

politicians. by arguing that the latter is only Any person in the place of the jealous of his high grade in the accused senators who has sense bar exams. He even labeled her as of honor would probably think “cuckoo, inane and bitter mind”. that it’s best to bow out from the On the other hand, the third INK YOUR QUILL Mary Pauline G. Del Rosario position while there is a question accused happened to be the son of trust. However, none of the of a former president that was accused parties impeached and ever thought of for scores of ghost projects. The convicted for it. Sometimes, I exposé gained massive reactions plunder and is “This country needs wonder why from the people. They demanded now serving as to rekindle the art of they repeatedly the abolition of the pork barrel. city mayor. This delicadeza. We should choose to cling The accused senators were senator defended stop from obsessing to their positions investigated. Three were already himself by blaming over the principle that despite the public arrested. Amid all the plunder and the president for one is innocent until humiliation that graft cases filed against them, one singling them out proven guilty. This they are receiving. of them proudly said that jail won’t over the scam while has been our nation’s They have earned stop his plan to run for president the administration illness since then.” my respect for that. in 2016 elections. He even waved is also guilty of Try to observe to his fans and flashed a “thumbs- misusing funds for other countries, up” while he was taken to Camp bribing the senators Crame by security through the into voting to impeach a former especially Japan. Their politicians would automatically tender sea of flashing lights and rolling chief justice. resignation when accused of crimes, cameras. Does this story sound familiar? a move expected of their public In their privilege speeches, That is because, this is not just servants. Unfortunately, public one of the accused said that the an ordinary story categorized servants in the Philippines firmly Filipino people are pathetic because under the fiction section of the believe that their reputation would their President chose to ignore libraries and bookstores, neither remain intact even if they stay in the more important problems that a story made up for the sake service, despite the multitude cases the country has for the sake of of entertainment. This is the filed against them. investigating honorable senators reality. This is happening. Several This is the story of the like him. years from now, all of these will Philippine government, and the The other 90 year-old accused be written in history books and denied the claim of his fierce rival textbooks of the future generation. death of the Filipino attribute that once mattered. that he is the mastermind behind By then, they would know that this the multi-billion pork barrel scam country was once led by these

JUST SO YOU KNOW,

STILL ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS UNTIL OCTOBER 10

TECHNICAL ADVISER PROF. MANUEL S. MOGATO

ROOM 305, GUSALING VILLEGAS, PLM

What if somebody, from a high position, said something about your friend and a part of you refuse to believe but you know it’s true? It’s because you know that person, though not long enough for you to become the best of friends, but good enough to know how that person works. Your friend becomes the talk of the town for quite a time now. S/he faces a lot of issues, controversies, and problems. Now you don’t know what to believe in. Scratch that. You really know what to believe in. Especially right now that you’ve experienced how to work with him/ her, and you’re quite disappointed

to learn and to grow inside the we are better than anyone else. But academe as a preparation for the the question is, “Did you really big world waiting for us outside – work hard for what you’ve got?” the industry. Maybe, now is the right time We always settle for mediocre to wake our senses. There is only work, telling a little time left ourselves that for us and soon, “We always settle for it is okay to we will face the face the people challenges of the mediocre work, telling unprepared and real world. We ourselves that it is that simple tasks should take every okay to face the people do not matter and opportunity to unprepared and that those are not part be better each simple tasks do not matter of our grades. We day and to grow and those are not part of always let other and learn what our grades.” people work for we have to learn. us, settling with Few years from what they can do and not helping now, we will be leaving the four with the tasks because we are corners of this university, we have too complacent. We always think to cherish every moment and of ourselves as mighty and high take every opportunity it offers without doing anything significant. us. We are lazy and we lack initiative It is not the time to just settle to help others. We are too proud of down and do nothing. We should ourselves and boastful even though not let the chance, for us to grow we know that we are wrong. We and improve, pass with our own are too self-conceited, thinking that consent.

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Ang Pamantasan August 2014 05

OPINION

AN OPEN LETTER NO TURNING BACK Jules Andrew P. Garcia

Dear Atty. Tuquero and Atty. Valdez: Despite of the deplorable plight that PLM administration is currently stuck into, it is delightful to note that both of you do not want the students to get involved. Your notion that the students should not be, in any way, get affected by the foregoing administrative issues is definitely commendable. However, it is saddening that no matter how hard you try to make your problem confidential, still it reeked, spread like a wildfire, and caused massive confusion and inevitable tarnish to PLM’s name. Currently, it is to your knowledge that the stability of PLM administration is being shaken. A multitude of questions of power

legitimacy branched out after the Civil Service Commission (CSC) disclosed its findings invalidating Sir Tuquero’s appointment as the university president due to alleged lack of a doctoral degree. Days after, the Board of Regents (BOR), of which, you sir Valdez serves as the head, came out with a resolution recalling your election to sir Tuquero. You believe that he failed to meet what the Section 4 of the University Charter states for as you said, he has not gotten any appointment from the Mayor yet to become the University President. On the other hand, your party, Sir Tuquero took all the possible steps in order to counter your ouster until you were granted by the Manila Regional Trial Court

THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE HYPER FANG Carl Jerome Obosa Velasco

A Facebook friend late July shared a video of a girl, one minute in length, dumping a bucket of ice over her head, shrieking, and afterwards mumbling through her advocacy for ALS awareness. More than a week or so later, timelines and newsfeeds began to ceasefire its usual cat memes, Let it Go Covers, and annoying piecemeal selfies of post-modern narcissism. Instead we got string after string of people taking on the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” and then dumping a whole bucket of ice over their heads, claiming it was all for the sake of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) awareness. The bandwagon reared its engine, more people got in, and a bevy of these videos were done with a rift of humor, or creativity, such in the case of Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, who even parodied Brain de Palma’s film Carrie (1976). Not soon after everyone knew about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, mainly because of A-list celebrities, i n d u s t r y m o g u l s , m ayo r s , governors, ordinary people, and

even the Muppets, who participated. What seemed on surface level as the primordial attention-seeking fad that’s spending its running time annoying the bulk of netizens, the challenge later on proved how powerful viral advocacy is. Before getting into that, though, let’s talk about ALS. It is no joke. The worst part about ALS apart from the extreme conditions of the neurodegenerative disease itself is that, nobody or at least only a number of people are aware of what ALS is and what does it do to an individual, when diagnosed. To put it as simple as possible, the human body has many kinds of nerves. A motor neuron is a nerve cell. ALS slowly degenerates the motor neurons that provide voluntary movements and muscle power. This means that simple actions such as picking up the phone, climbing the stairs, or carrying items can become hard tasks to perform. If you still remember, the heart and the digestive system are also made up of muscles, but their movements are not under

LEARNING IS RECIPROCAL OBLIVION IS INEVITABLE Adle Meye R. Enriquez

I have always believed that teachers have significant roles when it comes to their students for each student can acquire lectures in various ways because of their diverse teaching process. In my years of studying, I’ve had mentors I could name and categorize as someone who inspired me, who disappointed me, who scared the hell out of me, who insulted the deepest facet of my personality, and made me cry because they are really decent that I’m going to miss them by the time I leave the institution. I never expected that in my college life, there are still professors who will make me feel the same way. Perhaps it’s the professor’s educating dynamics yet it’s not always about the technique of teaching the syllabi’s content but the positive rapport of students with their mentors. Teacher bullying is a new form of bullying that is, obviously,

instigated from teachers who verbally and emotionally abuse their students. Some professors may have done this unconsciously or intentionally. According to a study of GreatSchools, there were people who had hurtful experiences in school because of their teachers, yet none tried to settle the situation for the reason that it is intricate to identify, address, and rectify. They find it difficult to justify if a teacher crosses the line from basic discipline to regularly berating, intimidating, and humiliating students. Whenever we hear the word “bully,” all we picture is a mean girl or boy, tormenting, physically abusing, and excluding a withdrawn person. This case is considered a real threat, so too are educators who abuse their power over the students they are supposed to protect. The notion that only the kids are bullies should be changed. School should be an exciting

with the preliminary injunction that was aimed at maintaining the status quo in the university. The said injunction set aside the resolution of the BOR and prevented the implementation of the letter of Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada assigning Sir Valdez to be the Acting President of PLM not until such time that the court has finally ruled over your petition. Months have passed, but the aftermaths of your conflict still linger. And just as about the PLM community moves on from this terrible nightmare, another occurrence shocked the PLM community. Recently, the BOR issued Resolution No. 3692 banning President Tuquero, Univeristy Legal Counsel Atty.Carlos Carlos and Vice President for External Affairs Roberto Rosales from entering the university premises. The disseminated memorandum states that the preventive suspension charged against the three officials

previous transaction. was intended to ensure that the office of the President will not, In the past months, a lot of in any way, be used to harass, things happened. In just a snap, the intimidate and influence witnesses then peaceful and unified image after a complaint was filed against of PLM was tainted. You’ve been President Tuquero by the former throwing malicious accusations Dean of the College of Nursing Dr. back and forth to the point that Gilmore Solidum. you filed administrative cases In response, your camp Atty. to the court against each other. Tuquero asked Obviously, you for the issuance have drawn a of Temporary thick line that “Months have passed, but Restraining causes palpable the aftermaths of your Order for you division in the conflict still linger. And believe that university. I just as about the PLM you cannot be understand community moves suspended by that both of on from this terrible the BOR simply you only want nightmare, another because they to rectify the occurrence shocked the do not have things which PLM community.” the power to you think are do so, at all. erroneous, but More so, you filed to the court probably the steps you took were a complaint against four of the too hard that you unconsciously Board of Regents, which include overlooked the effects those actions sir Valdez, insisting that the board brought to the PLM community. falsified one document approving Suddenly, PLM became the talk the payment of the amount to one of the town. Various news stories contractor, with which PLM had a about your conflict popped out in

several national papers. You put PLM on top of many online and print headlines, not in a positive light but in a negative one, instead. Honestly, I am impressed with everything that the two of you have achieved in the many years of your existence—both of you have easily earned my respect. After having short yet memorable interviews with you, I have felt your sincerity and your ferocious eagerness to maintain harmony in the university; however, I realized that there is one indispensable thing that you have not done yet— to talk with each other. You let your principles and beliefs dominate you that you seemed to have forgotten what diplomatic conversations could do. Diplomatic conversations which could have prevented the emergence of internal atrocity in the university. Diplomatic conversations which patch gaps, peacefully. For after all, it’s just a matter of coffee and time.

voluntary control. We can’t control our heartbeat and digestive system, but we can certainly hold our breath, meaning ALS may have an impact on a person’s breathing. It may then lead to respiratory failure and pneumonia, the most common causes of death in ALS. Currently, there is no cure for the neurodegenerative disease. There is, however, an FDA-approved drug, riluzole, which slows down the progression of ALS, but it’s just a stopgap, and not a cure. Medical research is frankly, undersupported due to many factors but mainly, it’s financial insufficiency. To an extent, ALS wasn’t even a part of the vocabulary of a huge number of people before the challenge. After the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, major news outlets in America and around the world had caught up with it midway. Everyone had something to say about it. The sought-after nominate-and-donate trend careened into a wildfire of viral distress, and hitherto, people are still at it, adding to the colossal cache of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos that shows no proviso of stopping. In less than a month, the challenge has recorded a total of over $40 million in donations, severely up from the entirety of 2013, which only recorded a total of $19.4 million. The challenge did not shy away from complaints made by several columnists, labeling it as ‘social media exhibitionism’. Telegraph’s Willard Foxton called

it a “ghastly narcissistic freak show, ridicule, and slapstick humor that combining the worst elements the challenge behooves a person to of social media self-love and do. Coming off as fun and quirky. celebrity worship with armchair This era has offspringed a feel-goodclicktivism”. Giving generation of cultists, one that What We Can vice-president would vow servitude in exchange William MacAskill argued that the for the tiniest bit of social media challenge is encouraging ‘moral presence and attention. Look at the licensing’ that is, people taking up local politicians who participated the challenge do so in the challenge. to dismiss actually Are you kidding me? b eing involved Philippine politics with charitable is like a freezer for “This era has acts. Furthermore, dead hearts, and offspringed a he suggested that this just adds a it could potentially permanent sharpie generation of cultists, cannibalize to that nametag. It one that would vow donations for other would be fair that servitude in exchange organizations by some people only for the tiniest bit of giving too much want partially, for social media presence focus on ALS. ALS to get noticed. and attention.” To me, the Ice But what they Bucket Challenge really want is for is a neo-fallacy, but themselves to get a transformative noticed. Abrasive as one at that. Think of it this way: it may seem, it shows how some would ALS raise $41.8 million in people have come to love howling just a month without the added about something important that eye-candy ploy to dump ice buckets would paint them in a better over people’s heads? If charitable light, to propose a characteristic endeavors didn’t condescend of human compassion, a crumb to hash tags, and film-yourself of sympathy in the canvas of conquests, would it have made a sociopathic disarray. To make the similar impact? simple complex and corrupted, and To a certain degree I can still come in a neat little easy-toagree with Foxton’s statements open package. that the actual challenge itself is But who are we to complain? a masqueraded bandwagon, and Raising an exponential increase the donations are just by-products in donations compared last year despite its effectivity, no doubt. It’s which only brought $19.4 million hard not to imagine that instead is the proof in the pudding. of people becoming aware of the The purpose of the challenge disease, they respond to the irony, itself is, I think, bringing upon

an ecosystem of content-aware individuals who only seem to partake in the utilization of the internet as mainly a repository for information and as a medium whose resource value is cheap entertainment, and turn it into something more socially responsible than that stereotype. Whether or not people maintain a surfeit of sincerity for those who are actually diagnosed with ALS or not is a subjective conundrum, unanswerable by a consensus. But here’s the real consensus: Millions of people are now aware about the Ice Bucket challenge, and not too long after they will know what it’s for, how it works, and how to participate. Despite the criticism, it’s good to know that things like these things can happen. People could have the actual namesake for change in a medium (internet) so often utilized without charity in mind. To some of us it’s a gimmick, one that might soon disintegrate away from heightened popularity, shelved with the fads of the previous years, never to see the light of day again. But for the people who have been affected by ALS to an extent unexplainable by didactic articulation, this means the whole world. Now we just have to mean it next time. To make a tired point: a society that supports the immediate outpour of content famine over useless memes and cheapskate viral videos is a grueling place to be in.

and interesting place. Some entitled school as children’s second home and home is where a person feels comfortable and welcome. It is not a home when you feel that everyone you see is a competitor and you must stay on top. Indeed, in the real world, when you get to be successful and your co-workers feel you are above them, they will try to pull you down. Elders say it’s not a beautiful world out there but it shouldn’t be divulged in the way that, that kind of perception would initiate in school. People should be having fun while learning to fully digest every bit of knowledge. Also, test scores are not considered as good gauges of teacher quality. Learning environment performs a vital role to students’ acquisition of lessons. Hence, merging of classes that consist of more than 100 students is never an answer to save time and to make up for the missed activities. There is a fine line between pressure and pleasure. “This is college, not a pressure cooker.” A quotable line from the hit-Bollywood film, 3 idiots saying in a subtle way that learning should not be a weight to students. Inspiration plays an important part to students’ performance. If a class is not enthusiastic enough towards the lesson, there must be something off beam with the other end, and teachers must be rational and open

to that kind of probability. their students on a personal level. In imparting knowledge, some Students feel if their professor may have a stone-cold approach has genuine care for them or just and some may have a kiss-ass a mere walking encyclopedia method. Knowledge distributing controlled by facts. There are the instructor is professors who are “Learning not necessarily to o professional, environment conducive to t o o b o s s y, a n d performs a vital critical thinking too friendly. But role to students’ and promotes how are we going acquisition of passive learning. measure if a certain lessons. Hence, Then again, too professor is going merging of classes much freedom with over his boundaries? that consist of more handling the class Until when should a than 100 students makes the students professor be friendly complacent that with his students and is never an answer they don’t take the until when are we to save time and lessons seriously. going to tolerate his to make up for the T hu s , t wo - way too much superiority missed activities.” c o m m u n i c at i o n , or so-called “power between the teacher tripping?” and students is very important and There was a study conducted by must be deemed. economists Raj Chetty and John Insult is different from N. Friedman of Harvard and constructive criticism. Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia, Phrases uttered by teachers’ are which says, teachers based on not always just plain set of words. their “value-added” ratings have People must be careful of every a long-term impact for students. word they state as well as teachers In line with this, an article from because those words would even CNN concluded the study with a retain to their students’ memories statement, “Second only to parents, for the rest of their lives. The effect teachers are the most important of a teacher on a child’s life is very part of a child’s education. Great monumental. A teacher may say teachers make a great difference; that a student’s output looks awful poor teachers hurt a child’s life but the teacher must reach out and chances. Isn’t that all we need to help his student how to make the know to embark upon a serious output look better. effort to reward good teachers and Teachers should understand encourage poor teachers out of the

profession?” The university lacks of chastely willing professors who would spend most of their time teaching so they hire part-time professors who are working in the field that the course is in lined with. However, is it still efficient if the professor doesn’t go to class or merely treats teaching as an obligation and not a passion of sharing knowledge to children? Respect begets respect. If a teacher wants to gain respect, s/he must also give respect to his/her students. Teachers should also welcome arguments from students and see if they have points that need to be deliberated. Just because someone is the authority doesn’t mean he is always righteous. It’s always a great idea to learn from one another and have a diplomatic discourse. There could be something that the teacher doesn’t know that the students do. Teachers must realize that they’re not just honing future engineers, communicators, advertisers, public relations prac titioners, accountants, scientists, economists, doctors, and nurses but people who will also make the country, or better, the world a fine place. After all, we want a university that is known not just for having intellectual students, but also humble and wellmannered individuals.


06Ang Ang Pamantasan 06 Pamantasan August August 2014

EDITORIAL OPINION

2014

US Ambassador visits PLM, discusses issues between USPH relations

BOARD OF REGENTS

FROM PAGE 2 “TUQUERO REORGANIZES...”

the University Charter, “the appointment (of the professors, employees and other personnel of the university) is subject to the Board of Regents as recommended by the University President.” Attorney Amado Valdez, chairman of the Board of Regents, in a separate interview, said the designations still need an approval from the BOR. But, the officials can already perform their duties, even if the BOR has to MARY PAULINE approve yet their appointments. G. DEL ROSARIO

CRITERIA ON SELECTION Carlos said the president wanted to States reorganize The United will notthe set university’s administration up a new military base in the based on his own sets ofGoldberg, standard, Philippines, Philip including full ambassador support to his Washington’s to programs and projects andabased Manila assured during visit on merits, including to Pamanatasan ngperformance. Lungsod ng Tuquero alsothe sought advice Maynila, saying security pact from the Dr. Erlindabetween Cayao. is mutually beneficial Officer-in-charge of thebecause Office the two long-time allies Vice for Academic it willPresident help in maritime security Affairs (VPAA); Engineer Marita and enhance domain awareness. S. D. Barrientos, Vice President The United States and the for Administration and Dr. Philippines signed (VPA); an Enhanced Oliver A.Cooperation Pandile, theAgreement executive Defense vice president (EVP) because (EDCA) in April during the they visit have in the university of U.S.worked President Barack Obama for a time and they knew the to the Philippines, allowing performance of theforces other deans, American military wider Carlos access said. to Philippine military bases and store logistics for ON THE REPLACEMENT humanitarian assistanceOF and THE EVP AND THE VPAA disaster response (HADR) Carlos and alsomaritime said Tuquero operations security. has created theisposition of “[The EDCA] not about the president, newexecutive bases, it vice doesn’t create through a board resolution, as new bases,” Goldberg told PLM part of his support faculty staff andand has administration, no security of tenure. Based students. “What it presents is on an the board resolution, theofevp opportunity to some more the position will[the be Philippines filled in on and the things that recommendation the president US] have alwaysofdone together, and thatishe/she will work at his/ which to make sure that the her pleasure. missions that now exists in N. Santos, former theVirgina 21st century andthe what the EVP, was wants removed Philippines to dobecause in terms Tuquero perceived her to be of creating a minimal credible working against the president’s defense are achieved.” interest. Oliver Sta. Ana, In a Dr. town hallB.forum in former Vice ng President Pamantasan Lungsod for ng Academic Affairslast (VPAA) in Maynila (PLM) Julyis22, the same boat, Carlos said. Goldberg also discussed current “The and VPAA is directly security economic interests functional withhow the this EVP,will so and issues and as Dr. Santos, at that time, for impact into the bilateral relations several instances, was working between the Philippines and against the president,” Carlos said. “Therefore, the president could assail that Dr. Sta. Ana is still affected with his work, with his function as VPAA, because both

of them, the EVP and VPAA, at that time were working against the plans and programs of the President, so immediately, this has to be remedied”. Carlos said the VPAA is protected by security of tenure because it is a plantilla position. Therefore, Dr. Oliver Sta. Ana still holds the position even though the president has already designated Cayao as the officerUnited States. in-charge. The American ambassador As explained an example,the Carlos cited also Obama the case of an anonymous administration’s new faculty policy member who was designated as to rebalance its foreign policy Professor by Justice Tuqueroto, towards 6Asia, including the but Santos its gave the security faculty Philippines, closest member a position of Associate partner in the region anchored Professor 2. InMutual anotherDefense case, in on the 1951 the College of Medicine, Treaty, the 1998 Visiting Santos Forces and Sta. Anaand did not Agreement the accept 2002 Tuquero’s suggestion resolve Mutual Logistics and to Servicing a conflict involving a faculty who Agreement. is aAside doctor. from EDCA, Goldberg Ana have yet alsoSantos raisedand theSta. climate change to give encouraging their side as ofuniversity press time. issue,

students to take part in efforts PLM CHART REVISED of theORG United States and other Tuquero has changed the Asian regions in also reducing carbon functions his will vice reduce presidents. emissions.ofThis the The EVP has lost its power to Philippines’ vulnerability to the supervise VPA and VP for effects of the global warming, he Finance added. and Planning so it can focus more on academic matters, “[The United States] believes assisted by the These that we have to VPAA. deal with the two offices --causes VPA and VPFP -underlying of climate were placed directly under the change, and much of that comes university from carbonpresident emissions,” Goldberg Tuquero hasPresident also broaden the said. “Through Obama’s powers of decision, the university executive the USlegal has counsel and board secretary. already lowered its emission. So In Resolution 363, we Board want other countriesNo. to make all other officesThis “originally similar decisions. is one of created as we directly responsible the issues are working with to President (i.e., specialized thethe Philippines.” presidential centers) and such University President Atty. other offices appearing in the the Artemio G. as Tuquero led updated chart, universityorganizational officials in welcoming including those previously the US Ambassador. Students placed under thetoExecutive were given a chance participate Vice President, shall herewith in a question and answer after report to delivered and be supervised by Goldberg his brief talk. theThe University & Boardin Secretary U.S. Embassy Manila who concurrently the has initiated the serves `TownasHall University Legal Counsel.” forum, a special program, to allow Officetofor its The ambassador visitStudent selected Development Services (OSDS) universities in the country, was alsoto placed under university talking university students. and board secretary and PLM was among the schools university legal counsel. The Goldberg visited in Manila, Internal Office was also includingControl De La Salle University renamed as Internal Audit and University of the East.Office. Based on the resolution, the re-organization is for the preparation of the “re-creation of the PLM Open University (OU) as a constituent unit.”

CERTAIN HOPE FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE CERTAIN HOPE FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE AFTER THE QUAKE

Karisha Mae Co. Orcullo

“Every end is a new beginning”. It is only when people recognized endings that they learn to acknowledge new beginnings “Every endare is aendowed new beginning”. It those that with new is only when people recognized perspectives, new expectations, and endings learn to new hopes.that Thesethey new convictions acknowledge new beginnings are profoundly grounded withthose one thathad are experienced endowed with new what during perspectives, new expectations, the last administration – either and new hopes. new disappointments or These satisfactions. convictions profoundly Whatever I and are my fellow students grounded got, it is of with humanwhat natureone to had experienced the– search for the nextduring pursuers last administration – either possessing all the characteristics disappointments satisfactions. and qualificationsortranscending Whatever I and my fellow the former, believing that they students got,toitprovide is of human will be able morenature of the to search for theand nextdemands pursuersof– insatiable needs possessing all the the studentry. As acharacteristics scholar, I had and transcending fullyqualifications availed my right of suffrage the former, believing that they last campus-wide election not will be able providefrom moreme, of the because it isto expected but insatiable needs and of primarily because mydemands rights and welfare as a student are the ones severely on stake. I voted according to what my conscience, mind and heart had purely dictated. I elected my student leaders for I firmly FROM PAGE believed that they are1the catalysts of dire change – authenticating the “SSC PRESIDENT following criteria:

FACES 1. MAN OF THE MASSES SUSPENSION Solutions proposed based CHARGES” from what one has observed is far too different from solutions

GENERAL RULE

being obtruded, having of explicit Ma. Karisha Mae C. Orcullo knowledge of its URGENCY. Addressing the problem immediately because they had the studentry. As a scholar, I had already experienced how painful fully availed rightleft of suffrage the case was,my being unaided. last been campus-wide Had deprived ofelection the rightsnot the because must it is expected from me, scholars enjoy, there arises but primarily because rights several risk-takers whomy will take and welfare asaastand, student the lead, make andare let the the ones of severely on be stake. I voted voice the masses heard – they according my conscience, are labeledtoaswhat LEADERS. Leaders mind had purely that areand trueheart to their words and dictated. I elected would never betraymy thestudent masses leadersthey for once I firmly that where andbelieved still continue they are with. the catalysts of keep dire to belong Leaders who change – feet authenticating the their both grounded despite following criteria: the privileges vested upon them in accordance to their positions. 1. MAN OF THE MASSES And leaders, as men of the masses, Solutions based uphold and treatproposed their subordinates’ from what one lifeblood has observed is TRUST as their during far different theirtoo entire term. from solutions

being obtruded, having of explicit

2. MAN OF SACRIFICE What the student body needs are leaders who perceive PLM allow themselves be usedfor; by students as worthtoserving some officials. serviceadministration that is not bounded by the Erese’s text message scope of their own interestsread: and “help us out tombeyond mustertheir 2k advantages. Going students at the city hall… weaswill comfort zone is never treated an let our voices heard that we want encumbrance, instead, a PASSION. justice tuquero and no It may sound valiant, butone no,else.. I am Sa ng mahabang panahon, notloob looking for a hero behind ngayon lang nagkaroon angafter PLMthe ng extraordinary things; I am mapagkanlungang ‘Wag extent of what are president. feasible – rooted

UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT Justice Artemio G. Tuquero

OPRES MANAGEMENT STAFF

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Dr. Oliver A. Pandile

UNIVERSITY & BOARD SECREATARY AND UNIVERSITY LEGAL COUNSEL

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADMINISTRATION Engr. Marita S.D Barrientos

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Dr. Erlinda A. Cayao, OIC

OULC

Atty. Carlos M. Carlos, University and Board Secreatary / OULC Chief

OUR

Ms. Venus R. Martin, OIC

UGC

Margielou B. Peralta, Director

ITC

Engr. Garry Erwin N. de Gracia, Director

ULS

PDSPO

CET

GSASE

Dr. susan C. Mercado, Dean

URC

CHD

GSE

OSDS

Atty. Alexander G. Erese, Dean

DMST

HRDO

CPT

Prof. Prime Rose Teodulice C. Fabul, Dean

IAO

CS

Dr. Ma. Isabel T. Lucas, Dean

PAIO

CTHTIM

Prof. Samuel Q. Capulong, Dean

PCAC

Prof. Jimmy M. Romero, Dean

CLA Prof Joy B. Gamad, Dean

CMC

Ms. Ludmila R. Labagnoy, Dean

CME

Ms. Dolores J. Baluyot, Chief

PSO

Mr. Roosevelt D. Dominguez, Chief

UHS

GSHS

Dra. Maria Ana B. Mariano

Dr. Anchela Uy-Biag, Dean

GSL

Justice Angelina SandovalGuitierrez, Dean

AO

Ms. Luzviminda E. Orozco, Chief

GSM

Dr. Rosalinda D. Evangleista, Dean

CN

EMERITUS COLLEGE

BPO

Ms. Lucresia C. Evangelista, Chief

USG

Ms. Fe T. Cawit, Chief

UFGO

Ms. Elsa M. Martinez, Gymnasim Manager

Prof. Esperanza B. Bautista, Dean

COPERS

Dr. Susan C. Mercado, Chairperson

CO

PO

Mr. albert S. Dela Cruz, Chief

Engr. Melannie B. Mendoza, Dean

Prof. Neil B. Gamus, Dean

Ms. Jennifer P. Reyes, Dean

OT

Mr. Angeles C. Ramos, Chief

CM

Dr. Elvira L. Manalang, Dean

Engr. Cyledelle M. Rondaris, Dean

Dr. Rebecca C. Tolentino, Director

Ms. Cecilia L. Calma, Chief

CAUP

Arch. Gil C. Evasco, Dean

Ms. Fe N. Haico, Chief

PLM LAW CENTER

Ms. Ma. Rolena R. Calinisan, Chief

CL

Atty. Ernesto P. Maceda, Jr., Dean

Engr. Karen L. Leyson, Chief

CUES

Prof. Carmelo Rico S. Bihasa, Director

CAE

Prof. Eloisa M. Macalinao, Dean

VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE & PLANNING Ms. Angelita G. Solis

Prof. Rogelio S. Angco, Dean

PLM ORGANIZATIONAL CHART v.2013 AS OF AUGUST 05, 2014

US Ambassador visits PLM, discusses issues between But, with the VPAA as a organizational chart of the Oliver A. Pandilebecause these after many instances, against his plantilla position, it is subject to university. three, aside from working in interest, in which she should US-PH relations As stated in Board Resolution PLM for so long, they have gone have synchronized her acts with security of tenure and Dr. Oliver FROM PAGE 2 “ON RESIGNATIONS...”

through the performance of the other deans. MARY PAULINE G. DEL ROSARIO

ON THE REPLACEMENT OF The United States will not THE EVP AND THE VPAA setAtty. up a new military base in Carlos stated that the PhilipPresident Goldberg, the Philippines, Executive Vice Washington’s ambassador to was created through a board Manila assured a visit resolution as partduring of the support to Pamanatasan ng Lungsod staff of the President. Thereng is Maynila, sayingof the security also no secure tenure in pact this is mutually beneficial between position. theThe two long-time allies because board resolution also it will help in security statesthat themaritime EVP should be and enhance domain awareness. chosen via recommendation of United and the theThe President andStates that he/she will Philippines signed an Enhanced work at his/her pleasure. Defense Cooperation Agreement However, the former EVP, Dr. (EDCA) in during visit Virginia N.April Santos, was the relieved of Obama byU.S. the President PresidentBarack for,according to the Carlos, Philippines, to Atty. she wasallowing working, American military forces wider access to Philippine military basestheir andpure store logistics and for from willingness humanitarian assistance and desire, offered to their constituents. disaster (HADR) Irrefutably, response sacrifice clearly comes in when student leaders consider the welfare of the studentry despite knowledgeit isofcompletely its URGENCY. sometimes, against Addressing the problem their own interests.

him but instead had opposing operations maritime security. ideas in hisand actions. “[The EDCA] is was not applied about The same stroke new it Sta. doesn’t create to Dr. bases, Oliver B. Ana, former new bases,” Goldberg told PLM Vice President for Academic administration, faculty and Affairs. students. is an “The “What VPAAit presents is directly opportunity to some functional with themore EVP,of sothe as things thatat[the and Dr. Santos, thatPhilippines time for several US] have always done together, instances, were working against which is to make sure that the the President, it also followed Dr. missions that now in Sta. Ana, therefore, theexists President the 21st century andSta. what the could assail that Dr. Ana is Philippines to do in terms still affectedwants with his work, with of minimal hiscreating functionaas VPAA, credible because defense are achieved.” both of them, the EVP and VPAA, In time a town forum in at that werehall working against Pamantasan Lungsod ng the plans and ng programs of the Maynila (PLM) last July this 22, President, so immediately, Goldberg also discussed has to be remedied,” Atty.current Carlos security and economic interests expounded. and issues and how this will impact into the bilateral relations between the Philippines andI supposedly walking their talks, United States. their capacity in have measured The American ensuring their vow toambassador the students.

Several matters emerged that seem contradicting to the criteria I have comfort zone is never treated first established. What saddens me as anisencumbrance, instead, a most that many are rooted from immediately because they had PASSION. It may sound valiant, the never-ending political party already but no, I am for 3. MAN experienced OF VISION how painful issues. How cannot theylooking prove their theHaving case was,abeing left unaided. a herotobehind extraordinary vision of the worth their constituents if they Had been deprived the rights things;sacrifice I am after extent of university’s welfare inofthe long run cannot theirthe own political the must enjoy, there what are Where feasibleare – rooted from is of scholars utmost importance. Projects interests? the so-called arises risk-takers who “men their pure willingness desire, that willseveral persist for years are what of the masses”and who are will take community the lead, make a stand, offered to topassionately their constituents. the PLM badly needs. supposed serve their and the voice Irrefutably, sacrifice clearly Bearlet in mind that of the masses fellow ones based beisheard – they are labeled as comes in whenon student leaders it only through the solemn LEADERS. that are consider the pwelfare a c c o m p l i s Leaders h e d “How r o m i s e oft hthe ey can they prove true to once theirstated words and would studentry despite sometimes, it projects once uttered in their worth to their never the masses where is completely against their How own in theirbetray platforms, their oaths? constituents they they once still continue to if interests. will they and leave can they leave true cannot sacrifice their own belongLEGACIES. with. Leaders who keep TRUE legacies if they political interests? Where their both feet grounded despite 3. MAN OF VISION cannot come up are the so-called “men the privileges vested upon them Having a with vision of that the 4. MAN OF HOPE projects in accordance to their positions. university’s welfare in the long of the masses” who are From the very primarily demand And leaders, as men of the run is of utmost supposed to passionately instance that a man unityimportance. from them? masses, auphold and serve treat their theirfellow Projects persist for yearsI assumed position, And therefore, ones that will subordinates’ TRUST as their are what the PLM he is expected must community say that my based on the solemn lifeblood their entire term. badly needs. Bear in mind h av i n g during g a l o re leaders, at that this promise they once uttered it is only through accomplished of hope. Hope point in time, is in their oaths?” 2. MAN SACRIFICE projects onceanalogous stated in totheir that onceOF tainted the What the student body needs platforms, will common they leave TRUE with ambiguities Filipino are leaders who perceive PLM LEGACIES. frustrates the dreams of each of parlance, tinimbang ngunit kulang. students as worth serving that for; But at the end of the day, what I his subordinates. Remember serviceathat is not bounded by the 4. MAN when foundation collapses, the only haveOF is HOPE FAITH; faith that on scope of their own interests and instance that entire structure will shut down. theFrom rest ofthe the very academic year, they advantages. Going beyond their a man position, he Quenchless hope makes skeptical will stillassumed transformamy ideals into future certain. reality. To my incumbent leaders, be 5. MAN OF GOD mindful of the saying, “with great natin sayangin ang who mabubuting as university after they Finally, leaders believe power, comes president great responsibility”. nasimulan. Kalimutan muna You learned from entered Manila that they won’t be able to execute havedirectly voluntarily ang kulay..sa bihirang Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada any mga of their plans isang without God’s into a contract. A contract that pagkakataon pagsamahin ang that he had not appointed any grace and guidance are natin the ones is according to the general rule, ASUL BERDE at DILAW… see u University President, The who greatly deserved their fellow whenever it possesses its yet. essential @ city hall grounds 12:45humble noon. former of and Appeals justice scholars’ votes and support; elementsCourt is valid enforceable. Pls pass.”to recognize their flaws fought enough D o n oback, t fa i filing l evear ypetition b o dy ’ s day after,asthe Board of before the Manila Regional andAshortcomings merely human expectations. Do not breachTrial the Regents Court to stop the board from beings. issued a memorandum covenant. nullifying Tuquero’s And now, afterappointment months of ousting him.

Sta. Ana would still hold the No. 3638: all other offices also the from carboncreated emissions, as” Goldberg directly name,explained even though, Dr. Obama Erlinda “originally administration’s policy said. “Throughto President Obama’s the President Cayao performs itsnew duties and responsible to rebalance its OIC. foreign policy executive decision,presidential the US has (i.e., specialized functions as the towards Asia, including the centers) already lowered itsother emission. So He cited the case of a faculty and such offices Philippines, its closest we appearing want other countries to make member wherein Justice security Tuquero as in the updated partner in the region decisions. Thisincluding is one of would want Faculty A toanchored be given similar Organizational Chart, on the 1951 Mutual Defense the issues we are working with Professor 6, but Dr. Santos said those previously placed under Treaty, Forces the Philippines.” the Executive Vice President, to give the her1998 onlyVisiting an Associate Agreement and the University President Atty. Professor 2. Another was a2002 case shall herewith report to and be Mutual Logisticsofand Servicing G. by Tuquero led the in the College Medicine in Artemio supervised the University Agreement. university in welcoming Boardofficials Secretary who which even though the President & Aside EDCA, Goldberg the US Ambassador. servesStudents as the took over from the unresolved conflict, concurrently also raised thewere climate change were given aLegal chance to participate his suggestions not accepted University Counsel.” issue, university question and answer by Dr. encouraging Santos and Dr. Sta. Ana in aThe university’s VPA after and students to take partagainst in efforts Goldberg his brief talk. aredelivered conveyed directly and that they were the VPFP of the of United Statesdespite and other Embassy President in Manila to The the U.S. University giving credentials the Asian regions in reducing carbon and has additionally, initiated thethe `Town fact that the person was already OfficeHall for emissions. program,Services to allow a doctor. This will reduce the forum, Studenta special Development Philippines’ vulnerability to the (OSDS) its ambassador to visit selected is now under the effects of CHART global warming, universities in the country, PLM ORG REVISED he University & Board Secretary and added. talking to university students. To focus more on academic University Legal Counsel (ULC). “[The United believes was among schools matters and to States] be assisted by PLM According to thethe resolution, that we President have to deal with the Goldberg visited in isManila, the Vice for Academic the said re-organization for the underlying of climate including DeofLa Salle University Affairs, thecauses Executive Vice preparation the “re-creation of change, and much University of the East. President’s poweroftothat thecomes Vice and the PLM Open University (OU) as President for Administration a constituent unit.” (VPA) and Vice President for The Internal Control Office is expected galore of was theiralso worth to their constituents Finance andhaving Planning(VPFP) renamed as Internal hope. that once tainted if theyOffice. cannot sacrifice their own ceasedHope as declared in the new Audit with ambiguities frustrates political interests? Where are the the dreams of each of his so-called “men of the masses” subordinates. Remember that who are supposed to passionately when a foundation collapses, the serve their fellow ones based on entire structure will shut down. the solemn promise they once Quenchless hope makes skeptical uttered in their oaths? How can future certain. they leave true legacies if they cannot come up with projects that 5. MAN OF GOD primarily demand unity from Finally, leaders who believe them? And therefore, I must say that they won’t be able to execute that my leaders, at this point in any of their plans without God’s time, is analogous to the common grace and guidance are the ones Filipino parlance, tinimbang who greatly deserved their fellow ngunit kulang. But at the end scholars’ votes and support; of the day, what I only have is humble enough to recognize FAITH; faith that on the rest of their flaws and shortcomings as the academic year, they will still merely human beings. transform my ideals into reality. And now, after months To my incumbent leaders, be of supposedly walking their mindful of the saying, “with great talks, I have measured their power, comes great responsibility”. capacity in ensuring their vow You have voluntarily entered to the students. Several matters into a contract. A contract that emerged that seem contradicting is according to the general to the criteria I have first rule, whenever it possesses established. What saddens me its essential elements is valid most is that many are rooted and enforceable. Do not fail from the never-ending political everybody’s expectations. Do party issues. How can they prove not breach the covenant.

On the same day that Tuquero was removed, Canonizado sent his controversial text message, discouraging students from joining a pro-Tuquero rally at the city hall. His text message read: “They are using the students to retain their power and positions. The issue about Fashionista and Ginoo at Binibini is not only the

reason why the president has recently been ousted. THERE ARE TONS OF RATIONAL REASONS WHY HE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM HIS OFFICE! Let us now stop the political greediness! It’s time for new and peaceful PLM! God bless to us!,” Canonizado declined to say if he really sent the text message.


Ang Pamantasan August 2014 07

ISYUNG ISKO

The Fault In Our University

ISYU NO. 1: THE FAULT IN OUR FAÇADE

OKAY? HOW ‘BOUT NO? Halurrrr mga iskalat ng Maynila! Malugod ko kayong binabati dahil matatapos niyo na ang semestre, at binabati ko rin naman ang mga majojonda ninyong ate’t kuyang nagsipag-gradWAIT na. (Taray naman, ‘di na sila waiting!) Ika nga nila, sa hinaba-haba man ng proseso, ga-gradweyt ka pa rin! (HARHARHAR!) Pero, wiz na natin pag-usapan ang gradwaitshon na iyan dahil tapos na nga! Kaloka! At sa wakas din, nai-proklama na ang mga dapat na mai-proklama. Kaya naman, handog ko sa inyo ang aking pinakamalutong na KOWNGGRASHULEYSHUN sa Super Sereyna Club! Ang pagiging reyna ko na lang ang hindi pa naipo-proklama. HAIXT! Pero bago kayo magsipag-iyakan sa The Fault in Our Stars ng daddy kong si John Green (RIP sa mga hindi pa nakakabasa o nakakanood DAHIL NO SHOWING NA), kailangan niyo muna ring ma-knows ang mga The Fault in our University noh! HARHAR! Kaya naman, Ladies and Gents, Lesbis, Gays, Bis, Transgenders, Paminta (4r4y c0H b3H!), narito na ang ISYUNG ISKO VERSION 2.0: THE FAULT IN OUR UNIVERSITY EDITION. ISYU MO, ISYU KO, ISYU NATING LAHAT *bow*

ISYU NO. 4: THE FAULT IN OUR HAIR

Aba, aba, aba ah! KKLK lang ang mga naging ganap dito sa PLeghM Hotel (na nagmukhang extension ng Layse)! At last! Nabuksan na ang pinakaaasam nating fakeyd! Huehuehue. Knows naman ng mami nyo na wiz na kayong makapag-waitsung sa pagbubukas ng fakeyd ala Layse no! At ngayong nabuksan na, WALK LIKE A SUPERSTAR! Oha! *clap clap* Pero kahit maganda ang ating harapan, walang makakalampas sa mata kong kasing chinita ni Kim Chiu! Dahil dyan, may chikarette (Chikarette? Elderette? Torette?) ako sa inyo! Naiyak lang akiz ng 2 seconds matapos kong ma-realize na nakapanlilinlang talaga ang fuh-sad! Aminin man natin at sa hindi, mukha naman talagang pagkaganda-ganda ang PhLegM dahil sa fakeyd noh! PERO HANGGANG LABAS LANG ATA. Haaaay. Kajirits lang! Moreover, nalurkey lang naman ang lola ninyo nang napadaan ako sa mga poste ng fuh-sad natern. Na-sightsung ko ang mga crack sa mga poste. Bongga! Sobrang tibay, right? So anyare pfouhz? Bale ang peg natin dito, giba-giba pag lumindol? Tapos, takbo-takbo hanggat may time? #AbaMatinde Ang isyu natin dito, paano na ang kaligtasan ng mga Iskalat, magkataon mang lumindol. Knows naman natin na ang aksidente ay biglang dumadating. Hindi natin mano-knowsline kung lilindol ba or witit! Sana lang din, naayos muna ang loob ng Pamintasan bago ang pagpapaayos ng labas. Eneng kleshe ‘yen? Parang North Korea lang? Sa labas lang maganda ang mga balay at pagdating sa loob, CHICKEN CHAPS! Arrruuuuuyyy ka-Fredie. Oh ito pa, alam kong hanggang ngayon, nagsisi-iyakan ang mga KELLY-KELLY CLARKSON ninyo sa init ng Gusaling Lagablab noh! Bukod pa riyan, ilang beses na rin akong napupunitan ng palda dahil sa sirang upuan. MAYGAD. Another, knows ko rin na najijirits na rin kayo sa mga aircon na hindi gumagana kaya’t naaantala ang mga klase ninyo. Kumusta rin naman ang Radio Lab ng College of Maiingay ng Churva? Hello hello din sa mga lumang gamit ng College of Echoserang Tanders na nagagamit sana para mahasa ang mga estupidents there? Ilan lang ito sa napakaraming isyu na dapat ay napagtutuunan ng pansin, bukod sa pagpapaganda ng façade. #TulongGus #HustisyaKayManangFakeyd

ISYU NO. 2: THE FAULT IN OUR COUNCIL

Osya, di ko naman kayo bibigyan ng buenas ano ho. Gusto ko lang i-commend (taray inggles ‘yan!) dahil sa successful (nga ba?) na Foundation Week! In all fairness, nairaos nang masaya ang selebrasyon gayong ‘di ganoon karami ang nakisaya kumpara nung nakaraang taon. Hindi man ako bumili ng University Shirt (dahil sa tumataginting na presyo nito) ay natutuwa naman ako sa disenyo nitey! Imperniz, pwiding pwidi pang-lakad! Winnnnuur naman talaga ang design. Yun nga lang, good luck sa ‘yo teh, BASKIL ka pa naman. BWAHAHAHAHA. Pero feel ko lang naman, nagtipid ata ang ating konseho dahil nabawasan ng 1 day ang selebrasyon ng pundasyon (dahil nagsasabugan sa mga mukha ang foundation at lipstick nung mga araw na yun). Pero keri lang naman magtipid noh, kesa magkulang na naman at ipasa sa mga estupidyante ang burden. #EpicSecondCollection #SanaDiNaMaulit Isang Chicken Fillet din yun sa McDo no. Isang Salisbury Steak din yun sa Wendy’s! (Try niyo guys kung tigang na kayo sa fillet!) At eto pa ang nasagap kong chika. Balita ko, meron na raw bakbakan daw na nangyari sa pagitan ng frisidint at busy frisidint ah! Waw. Artistahin naman pala ang mga officers natin ngayon ha! Hindi nakakaganda ‘yan misis ah! In fairness, kayo ay magagaling sa acting. Kakamustahin ko na rin ang ating #SocialMediaKing (ABA, PAKIBIGYAN NG AWARD!). HARHARHAR. Balita ko lang naman eh wa raw sa pag-show itong si mami niyo sa mga gawain bago ang foundation day, dahil sa OJT niya. Hindi raw ito nakakaattend ng meeting, siyang ikinaiinit ng bunbunan ng mga frogs! Sana kasi ginoong mabilis, naglalaan ka ng time para sa meeting no! Masyado ka atang namimiss ng mga bespren mong umeeksena sa Club! Harhar. Give love sa mga supporters mo. HEH! Bet mo bang matuto ng TIME MANAGEMENT? Just text your name <space> course <space> time mgmt and send it to 0922-22nog-2nog. Say cheese! Isa pa, wiz nakakaganda ang pagpatol sa mga isyu sa pamamagitan ng Facebook no! Susmaryosep! Not-so-scholarly manner ‘yan ha! Sa susunod na maiipit ka sa mga isyu at kung anuman, try mo kayang magpa-interview sa Eypi. Ichika mo sa amin ‘yung mga bulong na nagaganap para naman wiz kang parang ansha na bigla nalang magdadrama sa Facebook. Dami mo pa namang stalkers. Ang creepy nuh? Ang wish ko lang naman, sana magkaisa ang mga PLeghMayers at hindi naghahatakan pababa. Sana, may pag-support sa bawat isa dahil lahat naman teyiz ay estupident dibuuh? ‘Wag na sana umabot sa sisihan at hatakan tuwing may problema, bagkus ay magtulungan para sa ikatatagumpay ng anumang gawain. *repeat chorus 2x then fade*

ISYU NO. 3: THE FAULT IN OUR CANTEEN

Aaaaaat siyempre, wiz makakalampas sa mata ng lola niyo ang KANTINA STANDING ANA! So, ito yung Sahara Desert Version ng PLeghM. ‘Yun nga lang, ang mga ahas ay yung mga masusungit na tindera na akala mo eh naipit ang singit. (Kaway-kaway sa stall na katabi ng favorite kong prof!). Hanggang ngayon ba naman eh nagsisipagtayuan pa rin ang mga stupidents! Bonggacious pala ang PLeghM Restow! Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng Kantinuh hindi mo lang papalakpakan, may kasama pang STANDING OVATION. Paki-award-an naman ito please! We deserve an explanation! CHARRR! Crispin, baSILYA, nasaan kayo? Ngawit Cavite na ang mami niyo! Naku, nako hindi rin naman makakalampas sa mapamintas kong ngangabells ang nagsusumigaw na init sa kantina no! Kahit ata gumamit ako ng mamahaling pabango eh walang sense! (Di bale, wala naman din akong pambili) Huehue. SUSMARYOSEP! Papasok akong maganda at mabango, tapos lalabas akong HAGGARDO VERSOZA! PAKI-EXPLAIN! At kung inaakala niyong Kantinuh lang ang may fault, isisingit ko na rin ang The Fault in Our Stupidents dahil nakakalimutan yata ng mga Iskoba ang responsibilidad nila sa Kantinuhh. Biruin mo naman, pagkatapos lumaps, iiwan ang pinagkainan? Huwwwow! Eh kung sabihin ko sa inyong ang lapit-lapit lang ng basurahan! Kung tinatamad kayo, pidi rin naman sa loob ng mga JANSPORT niyong bag. OKAY? ‘Pag iskolar, burara? Tsk tsk tsk. It shows kung ano kayo sa bahay noh! Kaya naman, matuto sana tayong maging malinis! ‘Wag kang mainis! :3 ‘Wag naman sana ganun. Concerned lang ako anak ha? Wait lang, wala munang labyu. And siyempre pa, knows kong nahumaling din kayo sa mga bagong pakulo… este tinda ng kantinuhh! Nadagdagan at nadagdagan ng lugaw, maraming patatas, patatas at patatas. (SUKI ako nyan, pero ang sakit sa bulsarette mga ati!) Yizz, masakit sa bulsa, pero medyo umeelite ang mga Iskalembang dahil sa mga nakaka-yamanerang tinda rito sa PLeghM! (Now playing: It’s the climb by Miley Cyrus) Biruin mo naman, sa kabila ng nakakalokang presyo ng mga tinda, nakaka-buy-sung parin ang mga Iskalat. Bravo. Ito na yata ang mga bagong mukha ng Iskolar ng Maynila. May pambiling mahal na laps, tapos reklamador sa pagbili ng libro? ENE? #ThePriceIsRight #ChickenChopsTheBest #PengeDiscount

ISYU NO. 7: THE FAULT IN OUR PASSIVENESS

ISYU NO. 5: THE FAULT IN OUR YU ES JI

Oh, nagpalabas ang daddy natin ng kautusan! Mga babayi lang daw ang keri magpakulay ng hereret! Okay, boys, pack-up na! ECHOZ! Anyare po sa mga boys ng Pamintasan? Bale ang lagay, left-over sila at wiz pinapansin. Hello equality! Dumalaw ka naman po sa PLeghM para naman may hustisya sa kautusan dibuh? CHOZ. First things first: Nasaan po ang BOR Reso? Mukha atang WAWAWI naman din itey sa estupident manual. Kelan nagkaroon ng amendment? Pahingi naman po ng copy. Baka lang hindi updated ang Eypi. Ang kay watur lang naman, kung magpapatupad ng hair color, sana ay pantay ang pagtingin sa bawat isa. Tunay ngang “I don’t have to dye my hair to be a scholar.” Pero hindi naman pagiging scholar mo ang isyu rito e. Ang isyu rito ay ang academic freedom mo bilang mag-aaral. Tao ka rin, estudyante ka rin. Marapat lang na may pantay na pagtingin sa lalaki at babae pagdating sa mga pinatutupad na ka-churva-han. Pagdating sa kalayaan sa pag-express ng iyong sarili, tulad ng pagkukulay ng hereret, dapat pantay-pantay noh! Anong peg dito sa Pamintasan? Run the World Girls? Siyempre WITITIT! ‘Di ba nga, Article 3, Section 4 states, “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.” #MasOpinyonada #HelloPolGovStudents #LevelUpAngMamiMo

ISYU NO. 6: THE FAULT IN OUR STUDENT REPRESENTATION

Dear Mommy Fe: Tinkyu biri mats sa nakakagandang effort ninyo para sa ikase-safe at ayos ng Pamintasan. Talaga namang nasa-sightsung namin ang inyong sandatahan na kumekendeng para mapabongga ang seduridad here sa PLeghM. Ang kaso, ang imahe niyo sa maraming stupidents ay wiz nakakapretty. Tila baga dimunyu ang eksena niyo dahil sa kung makahuli at makasita ang ilaan sa iyong mga bata ay ganun-ganun na lamang. Eh ang wiz nilang naiintindihan eh ginagawa niyo lang naman ang duty free niyo, para maging safe kami dibuhh. Sana mami, ‘yung iba mong sundalo, hinay-hinay sa pananaway. Naha-haggard na nga kami sa acads, mang-iimbey pa ‘yung ibang YU ES JI. Samantalang ‘pakitapon ng basura’ lang pala ang bet niyang ichika o di kaya naman ‘wag kayong maingay’, eh parang gusto pang paabutin sa Supreme Court. So G-R-R-R ‘yan ha! Other than that, wala na naman akong mai-chi-chika. Salamat Mommy Fe. Labyu! Sana ‘di na maulit ang #SaksakanSaPamintasan.

Oh ayan na, marami na talagang nagaganap dito sa PLeghM at nangangailangan na ng isang LEGIT na ‘student regent’ para naman maprotektahan at marinig ang #TheVoiceOfThePLeghMayersxz! Paano ba naman manong Regencio, waley pa ‘ring representante ang estupident sa kataas-taasan at kagalang-galangang tagagawa ng batas here noh! Waley pa talagang estupident na maghahatid sa kinauukulan ng kung ano nga ba ang kailangan natin dito sa Pamintasan bilang mga Iskalat. Sad nu? Kaya naman sa political orgs diyan, hello hello hello! :D

Marami na rin ako masyadong nahanash. Pero kailangan eh. Nakadudurog lang din ng puso (YES, SERYOSO ANG LOLA NIYO!) na makita ang mga Iskotong na aligagang-aligaga sa pagpapakulay ng kanilang mga DRY na buhok (na akala mo alambre pwede na gawing sampayan!), pag-update ng Instagram, maging opinyonada’t makipag-warla sa Facebook, samantalang nangunguna sa pag-deadma dela ng mga isyu na direktang nakaaapekto sa kanila. Hayyyyy buhay passive nga naman. Nakakalungkot lang na nung may ganap na patalsikin si Daddy Shuquero, may mga Iskalat na literal na nagpakalat-kalat sa tapat ng balay ng dadi niyong si Asiong! Oo, pakalat-kalat! Biruin mo naman nung shonongin kung bakit sila nag-assemble doon, ang sagot e, “a-awardan kasi ang frisidint natin.” Oo, kalayaan niyo rin namang man-dedma sa mga isyu rito sa Pamantasan. Wala naman akong sinasabing maging submissive tayo at all times noh! Pero kapag huli na ang lahat at ramdam niyo na ang mga ganap dito, WALANG SISIHAN ah. Hindi ako nagkulang sa pagpapaliwanag sa inyo ng kung anu-anong ganap rito. Okay lang talaga maging PASSIVE. SWEAR. OKAY LANG. OKAY? OKAY. *insert sarcastic fes there*


08 Ang Pamantasan August 2014

FILIPINO Pagpanglaw ng Liwanag ng Buhay

MA. KARISHA MAE C. ORCULLO

Hindi tao, hindi hayop subalit may kaanyuan. Bagama’t hindi ako nakikita ng iyong mga mata, ang presensya ko’y iyong inaasam. Sa akin nagmumula ang liwanag na taglay ng bawat tahanan.

Ang Wikang Filipino at ang Pagbabago MARY PAULINE G. DEL ROSARIO

Sa pamamagitan ko, hindi naging mahirap ang pagkakaroon mo ng maginhawang buhay sa mundong upang maproseso’t mabago at pangkalusugang maaari ibabaw. Naging kasangkapan ang anyo ng enerhiya – mula umanong ibunga ng radiation ako upang iyong tuluyang sa pagiging chemical energy, na siyang magmumula sa masilayan at mapakinabangan heat energy, mechanical energy, nasabing planta, may posibilidad ang modernong kapaligiran. hanggang sa ito’y maging electrical din umano na magkaroon ng Bukod sa iyong mga magulang, energy. Ang electrical energy ay pagkukulang at pagkakamali isa ako sa mga nagkaloob sa dumadaloy sa ating sambahayan sa pag papatakbo nito na iyo ng halos lahat ng sa akin upang mapagana ang anumang maaaring humantong sa isang matugunan lamang ang marami kasangkapang nakadepende rito nakapanlulumong trahedya sa iyong mga pangangailangan ang kapakinabangan. Ito rin ang – ang nuclear power plant – mula sa iyong transportasyon enerhiyang pinangangambahan explosion. Matatandaang libuhanggang sa pagkakaroon mo ng ng nakararami na maging salat libong tao ang namatay mula komunikasyon sa iyong kapwa. sa nalalapit na hinaharap. Paano nang maganap ang Fukushima Higit sa lahat, isa ako sa mga na lang ang mga susunod na Daiichi Nuclear Disaster sa Japan katuwang ng lahat ng iyong henerasyon na pinaniniwalaang noong ika-11 ng Marso 2011. pagkilos, dahilan upang makamit higit na mangangailangan Pinaniniwalaan na bunga ito ng mo ang iyong kakanyahan s a enerh iya n g ito k u n g tsunami na tumama sa planta – bilang isang indibidwal. Hindi magkagayon? 50 minuto matapos ang Tohoku ako kayang likhain ‘ni wasakin Maiuugnay sa isyung earthquake. Idagdag pa rito ang ninuman. Bugtong bugtong, ano ito ang minsang nahimbing mas maraming naitalang bilang ako? sa pagkakatulog na usapin ng nakararanas ng malubhang S a k a s a l u k u y a n , patungkol sa muling pagbubukas karamdaman, partikular na ang nahaharap ang sambayanang at pagpapatakbo ng Bataan sakit na kanser, matapos ang Pilipino sa malawakang pagtaas Nuclear Power Plant. Ang Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant ng singil sa kuryente ng isa sa plantang ito ay pinaniniwalaan Explosion sa Ukraine, kahit pa 28 mga pangunahing supplier nito ng ilang sektor sa lipunan – taon na ang nakalilipas magmula sa bansa – ang Manila Electric pampubliko man o pampribado nang maganap ito. Company o mas kilala bilang – na makapaghahatid ng sapat Tu n a y ngang MERALCO. Umabot sa P4.15 kada na suplay ng enerhiya sa mapaminsala ang dulot ng kilowatt-hour ang hinihinging bansa upang maiwasan ang labis-labis na radiation. Dahil karagdagang bayad sa nasabing posibilidad ng malawakang black dito, malaki ang posibilidad kumpanya. Sinasabing bunga ito out sa sangkapat na bahagi ng na malagay sa alanganin ang ng pansamantalang pagtigil ng populasyon. Subalit gaya rin ng kaligtasan ng nakararami – operasyon ng Malampaya gas anumang panukala, kaakibat ang katotohanang maaaring field sa Palawan na mayroong nito ang samu’t saring pasaring hindi lingid sa kaalaman humigit-kumulang 40 milyong ng iilan bilang pagpapahayag ni Ginoong Jericho Petilla, bariles ng langis – dahilan ng kanilang mariing pagtutol Kalihim ng Kagawaran ng upang maging isa ito sa mga sa naihaing mungkahi. Ayon Enerhiya (DOE), at maging ng pinakamalalaking depositor ng sa ilang eksper to, bukod ating mahal na pangulo. Sapat petrolyo sa bansa. Ang petrolyo s a maram in g negat ib on g na dahilan upang tumuklas ng ay ang pangunahing kagamitan epektong pangkapaligiran ibang alternatibong paraan na

tutugon sa isa na namang dagok sa pinansyal na pangangailangan ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino. At kamakailan nga lamang ay inilunsad ng gobyerno ang Interruptible Load Program (ILP) upang mapunan ang kakulangan sa suplay ng kur yenteng nagmumula sa MERALCO. Ito ay isang programang maaaring lahukan ng mga establisyementong mayroong large-capacity backup generators na siyang pagkukuhanan ng sapat na suplay ng kuryente. Bilang ganti, makakatanggap ang bawat kasapi ng kaukulang bayad. Maaaring tumagal ang nasabing programa hanggang sa taong 2015 kung saan inaasahan ang pagkakaroon ng bansa ng mga bagong power plants. Hindi tao, hindi hayop ngunit tila may buhay. Sa lahat ng pagkakataon, batid ko ang iyong matinding pangangailangan sa aking kaany uan. Kaya naman ang pag-iral ko’y posible sa anumang paraang iyong naisin. Subalit katulad ng sa iba, ang iyong labis at ‘di makatarungang pakikitungo sa akin ay maaaring maging sanhi ng iyong kapahamakan. Magkagay unpaman, iyong tandaang hindi ako mapapagod at kailanma’y ‘di ka pagkakaitan. Ngunit ipagpaumanhin mo kung dumating man ang araw ng untiunti kong pagpanglaw. Bugtong bugtong, ano ako?

Sabi nila, ang pagbabago ay makabubuti. Magbibigay daan umano ito sa mas mataas na antas ng pagkatuto at paglinang ng kakayahan. Kontra rito ang kabilang panig. Para sa kanila, isa itong pagtataksil sa wika ng bayan, sa wikang kinagisnan ng lahat. Naniniwala silang ang desisyong ito ay walang basehan. Isang suntok sa buwan. Nito lamang nakaraang Hunyo, naghain ng resolusyon ang Kabataan Partylist kontra sa nilabas ng Komisyon sa Mas Mataas na Edukasyon (CHED) na Memorandum Order No. 20 — isang kautusang nilalayong alisin ang mga lumang general education subjects sa higher education curriculum. Kabilang rito ang mga introductory courses tulad ng General Psychology at Basic Economics na di umano’y ituturo na sa senior high school kung kaya’t wala nang dahilan upang muli pa itong ituro sa kolehiyo. Batay sa nasabing memorandum na ipatutupad sa panuruang taong 2018-2019, ang kasalukuyang 63 units (para sa Humanites at Social Science majors) at 51 units (para sa Science, Engineer at Math majors) ay mababawasan at magiging 36 na units na lamang. Lingid sa kaalaman ng mga taong bumabatikos dito, hindi lamang

Filipino subjects ang inalis sa nasabing curriculum. Kabilang din dito ang English, Literature, Math, Natural Sciences, Humanities at Social Science. Kung tutuusin, alinsunod lamang ang hakbang na ito ng CHED sa pagpapatupad ng K-12 program ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon noong 2011. Matatandaang sa ilalim ng programang ito, madaragdagan ng dalawa pang taon, o ang tinatawag na senior high school, ang pag-aaral bilang paghahanda sa mga estudyanteng nais nang magtrabaho kahit walang college degree. Sa kabila ng magandang layunin ng CHED na maiwasan ang pagkakaroon ng “duplicate subjects” sa senior high school at kolehiyo, mainit na usapin pa rin ngayon ang nakasaad sa CHED memorandum na tanggalin ang mandatoryong pag-aaral ng ating pambansang wika. Para sa mga kritiko, nanatili ang pangangailangang higit pang pag-aralan ang wikang Filipino sa mas mataas na antas. Naninindigan silang ang hakbang ng CHED ay isang pagtatraydor sa pambansang wika. Sa paanong paraan nga ba nito tahasang kinokondena ang wikang Filipino? Isa nga ba itong pagtataksil sa lenggwahe ng bayan? O masyado lang nagiging makitid ang ating utak sa isyung wala namang matibay na basehan ang ipinaglalaban? Sa ilalim ng Konstitusyong 1987 ng Pilipinas Artikulo XIV, Seksyon 6, nakasaad na ang Filipino ang dapat maging midyum ng opisyal na

Academic Calendar Shift: Pagtuklas sa Dalawang Mukha ng Pagbabago Ilang buwan matapos mag-umpisa ang ikalawang semestre sa Pamantasan, pumutok ang isyu hinggil sa paglilipat ng simula ng klase sa Pilipinas o ang tinatawag na Academic Calendar Shift. Sinasabing mula sa nakasanayang pagbubukas ng klase tuwing Hunyo, malilipat ito sa buwan ng Agosto o Setyembre. Umani ng samu’t saring reaksyon mula sa mga magulang, dalubguro at mag-aaral ang nasabing usapin. S a k a s a lu k uya n, t at lon g unibersidad na sa bansa ang agarang nagpatupad nito: Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (UP), Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila (AdMU) at Unibersidad ng Sto. Tomas (UST). Ang iba nama’y pinili munang magmasid at manaliksik sa maaaring idulot ng dagliang reporma. Samantala, binigyang-diin ng Komisyon sa Mas Mataas na Edukasyon (CHED) na hindi nila inaabisuhan, hinihikayat o pi n ipi g i la n a n g b awat unibersidad na magpalit ng kani-kanilang kalendaryong pang-akademiko. Alinsunod sa Panukalang Batas Bilang 7722 Seksyon 13, malaya ang bawat unibersidad na gumawa ng sariling kalendaryong pangakademiko at magsimula ng klase sa anumang araw o buwan na nais nito. Marapat din na naaayon sa pamunuan ng pamantasan ang desisyon sa paglilipat ng buwan ng pagsisimula ng klase. Sa katunayan, mapapansing hindi magkakasabay ang mga lokal, pribado at pampublikong unibersidad sa pagsisimula ng klase tuwing Huyo—ang iba’y piniling magsimula sa unang Lunes at ang iba nama’y nagsisimula tuwing ikatlong Lunes ng nasabing buwan. Ngunit, ano nga ba ang

maaaring epekto ng pagbabagong ito sa atin? Dapat nga bang ipatupad ang Academic Calendar Shift? Pinaniniwalaang magdudulot n g i nte r n a s yon a l i s a s yon an g paglilipat n g simula ng klase. Ayon sa isang pananaliksik na pinamagatang The Internationalization of Higher Learning Institution: A Critical Review and Radical Proposal, t umut ukoy ang internasyonalisasyon sa mga pagsisikap ng m ga pangakademikong institusyon na (1) ihatid ang sarili sa pandaigdigang pananaw at paraan ng pagtuturo, pag-aaral at pananaliksik; (2) bumuo ng mga pandaigdigang interkultural na kakayahan ng mga mag-aaral, dalubguro at tauhan; at (3) magtatag ng matibay na pakikipag-ugnayan at pakikipagtulungan sa mga tao at institusyon sa ibang bansa. Ang pagpapatupad nito ay magbibigay-daan upang kilalanin sa buong mundo ang iba’t ibang unibersidad sa Pilipinas. Sa gayong paraan, makikilala ang mga mag-aaral ng Pilipinas at magkakaroon ng mas maraming oportunidad na magkaroon ng trabaho sa loob o labas ng ating bansa. Sakaling maipat upad ang Academic Calendar Shift,

magkakasabay na magbubukas ng panuruang taon malapit sa buwan ng Agosto ang bawat unibersidad sa Asya. Sinasabing magbibigay-daan ito sa Pilipinas upang magkaroon ng mas mataas na bilang ng foreign exchange students. Magiging kapakinabangan ito sa bansa dahil maaaring sumigla ang takbo ng kita at buwis mula sa matrikula at batayang pangangailangan nila tulad ng bahay, pagkain at kagamitan. Pati na rin ang palitan ng pananalapi ay maaaring umunlad dulot ng pagbabagong ito. Inaasahan din na mababawasan ang dami ng naaantalang klase dahil sa bagyo at ilang kalamidad sa bansa. Ayon sa pag-aaral, mula Hulyo hanggang Setyembre ang mga buwan na may pinakamaraming naitatalang bagyo. Sa pamamagitan ng pagsisimula ng klase sa Agosto, inaasahang maiiwasan ang mga nasususpindeng klase na dapat ay iniuukol sa pag-aaral. Gay unpaman, tatambad pa rin ang mga problemang maaaring kaharapin ng bansa sakali mang agarang yakapin ng mga institusyon sa bansa ang nasabing pagbabago. Ang pag-iiba ng kalendaryong pang-akademiko ay sinasabing maghahatid lamang ng gastusin sa pagpapalawak ng mga pamantasan. Ang atensyon ng gobyerno ay mase-sentro sa pagtanggap ng mga banyagang mag-aaral at matatakpan nito ang problemang kinahaharap ng estado ng edukasyon sa bansa tulad na lamang ng pagpapaayos ng mga paaralan,

kagamitan, laboratoryo at ang miyembro ng Anakbayan-UP mismong kalidad ng edukasyon (isang Pambansa-Demokratikong dulot ng mababang pondo mula komprehensibong pangmasang sa pamahalaan. organisasyon ng mga kabataang Ikalawa, lumalabas na hindi Pilipino na naglalayong pukawin, angkop para sa bansa ang organisahin at pakilusin ang mga repormang ito sapagkat ang kabataan para sa Pambansang pagbubukas ng klase sa pagitan Demokrasya na may Sosyalistang ng buwan ng Hulyo hanggang perspektiba), inihayag niya na Agosto ay magtatapos sa pagitan ang pagtuloy ng pagtaas ng ng Mayo at Hunyo. Samakatuwid, matrikula ang magiging dahilan ang mga pasilidad at silid ng mga upang lalong mapalayo ang mga pamantasan ay hindi pa handa mararalita sa kanilang pangarap para sa klase ng nasabing buwan. na makapagtapos ng pag-aaral. Dulot ng mainit at maalinsangang “Ano na lamang ang mangyayari panahon, kakailanganin ng sa mga magsasaka at iba pang bawat unibersidad na maglaan batayang sektor na nagnanais ng pondo para sa pagpapalamig patapusin ang kanilang anak, ng mga silid nito, na maaari sa kagustuhang makaahon sa nilang ipataw o ipasa sa mga mag- kahirapan, gayong ang bansa ang aaaral na siyang magdudulot ng dapat nagbibigay ng edukasyong mas mataas na matrikula para dekalidad at abot-kaya para sa sa mga estudyante. Sa isang lahat,” dagdag ni Abenojar. panayam ng Ang Pamantasan Ang pagbabagong ito ay (AP) kay Karl Bruno Abenojar, magkakaroon din ng epekto sa

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KEITH NIÑO B. MEDRANO

pagdiriwang ng mga selebrasyon. Kakailanganing ipagpaliban ng mga mag-aaral ang pagdalo sa mga tradisyunal na kapistahan tulad ng Mahal na Araw, Flores de Mayo, at iba pang lokal na salu-salo. Dahil sa naturang pagbabago, kakailanganin ding ilipat ang buwan ng pagsusulit para sa propesyunal na kurso tulad n g pa gkalin ga, ab ogas ya, inhinyeriya at edukasyon. Anong mainam na hakbang nga ba ang dapat gawin ng ating pamahalaan patungkol sa usaping ito? Marapat lamang na may nakintal sa ating isipan, sa kung ano ang tamang desisyon ng bansa tungkol sa nasabing pagbabago. Bilang isang magaaral ng Pamantasan, tungkulin nating alamin kung ano nga ba ang mainam na desisyon hinggil sa usaping ito.


Ang Pamantasan August 2014 09

FILIPINO Tunay na Kapatiran Tinatawag na “fraternity” o kapatiran ang isang grupo o samahan ng mga tao na nabuo tungo sa iisang layunin at interes. Sa kasalukuyan, mayroong 497 pangkalahatang bilang ng fraternities sa ating bansa. Bukod pa ito sa 49 na bilang ng law fraternities, 32 engineering fraternities, at 19 medical frater nit ies na may ro on g iba’t ibang layunin para sa kapakinabangan ng kanilang mga kasapi. Ayon sa isang pag-aaral s a w w w.t h e t o p te n s . c o m , nangunguna ang mga grupong Tau Gamma Phi, Alpha Kappa Rho at Alpha Phi Omega sa listahan ng mga kapatiran sa bansa. Subalit, ang mga samahang ito ay karaniwang naiiuugnay sa mga ulat ng karahasan gaya ng hazing na isang uri ng initiation rites sa isang samahan. Matatandaan g niton g

nakaraan lamang ay naiulat ang insidenteng hazing kung saan kabilang si Guillo Servando, isang estudyante ng De La Salle - College of St. Benilde, na namatay habang isinasagawa ang initiation rites sa sinalihan niyang kapatiran. Kasalukuyang iniimbestigahan at hinahanap pa ang mga sangkot sa naturang kaso. Sa kabila ng mga ito, tila marami pa rin ang nahihikayat na sumali sa mga ganitong samahan. Nakaguhit na rin sa kasaysayan ang kabi-kabilang ulat ng insidente kung saan sangkot ang fraternities. Ngunit, ano nga ba ang nakukuhang kapakinabangan sakaling maging miyembro ka ng isang kapatiran? Ayon kay Dante Jordan sa artikulong ‘Not to Pledge: The Pros and Cons of Frat Life, sinasabing marami ang maaaring maging kapakinabangan kapag naging

ANNA LORRAINE D. GALURA

miyembro ng isang pagkakapatid. Isa na rito ay ang paglawak ng koneksyon sa industriya, kung saan magkakaroon ng pagkakataon na makilala at makasalamuha ng iba’t-ibang tao. Sa pamamagitan ng pagkakaroon ng maraming koneksyon, nakakatulong ang samahan na ito sa isang indibidwal na maging aktibo sa iba’t ibang aktibidad. Sa loob ng isang institusyon, isa rin itong paraan upang makadalo sa mga pagtitipon gaya ng mga kompetisyon, panlipunang pagtitipon, retreats at iba pa. Bukod pa rito, napatunayan din na ang mga empleyado na naging kasapi ng mga samahan ay mas aktibo pagdating sa trabaho. Sa isang pag-aaral na nailathala sa online site na Business Insider, 43 porsyento ng mga kasapi ng fraternity at sorority na may kaukulang trabaho ay mas maaasahan sa isang institusyon.

Pangalawa, ang mga ganitong samahan ay nakatutulong sa pagbuo ng pagkatao ng isang indibidwal. Natututuhan ng mga miyembro ang mabisang pakikitungo sa ibang tao at pagbuo ng kakayahan bilang isang pinuno o lider. Bukod pa rito, natututuhan ng isang miyembro ang mas malawak na kakayahan sa pamumuno at ang kakaibang pakikisama sa ibang tao na parte rin sa samahang kinasasapian. Pangatlo ay ang pagkakataon na maranasan ang kakaibang samahan sa iba pang miyembro. Ang mga fraternity at sorority ay nagsisilbing pangalawang pamilya ng mga kasapi nito. Sinasabing sa mga ganitong uri ng samahan nabubuo ang walang katulad na bonding ng mga miyembro. Kalakip ng mga kabutihang ito ay ang pakikibahagi o

commitment na hinihingi ng samahan. Ang isang miyembro ay inaasahan na mag-gugol ng malaking oras sa grupong kanyang kinasasapian. S a m a nt a l a, t a l iw a s s a paniniwala ng iba, legal at hindi ipinagbabawal ang fraternities. Sa katunayan, mayroong mga batas na sumasaklaw sa mga ganitong uri ng samahan. Ayon sa Republic Act No. 8049, isang panukalang batas na kumokontrol sa pagmamalabis sa mga bagong kasapi at iba pang mga paraan ng initiation rites sa mga kapatiran o samahan, at iba pang mga organisasyon at pagbibigay sa mga parusa ukol dito, ang ipinagbabawal lamang ay ang hindi maayos na pagpapaalam sa kinauukulan nang pagkakaraoon ng hazing o anumang initiation rites. Sinasabing may hindi magandang epekto sa pag-iisip at kaangkop

Sa Pag-abot ng Alapaap Bisyo o Gamot? Marijuana. Isang salitang sa iba’y nakakikilabot, sa iba nama’y nakagiginhawa – minsan pa nga’y nakasasabik. Ayon sa Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ang marijuana ay ang tuyong dahon, bulaklak at buto ng Cannabis sativa, isang uri ng halaman. Bagamat tumutubo rin ito sa mga bakuran sa Metro Manila, sinasabing mas lumalago ito sa mga mabubundok na lugar partikular na sa Mountain Province. Ang nasabing droga ay binubuo ng mga compounds na nagbibigay ng nakagiginhawang pakiramdam o ‘yong tinatawag ng iba na cloud nine. Samantala, mainit ang debate hinggil sa pagsasabatas ng medical marijuana bilang isang legal na droga sa Pilipinas. Ilang pag-aaral na rin ang nagpatunay na malaki ang naitutulong nito sa medikal at pangkalusugang aspeto. Subalit ilang tao at grupo ang nagpahayag ng kanilang pagtutol. Matatandaang ipinanukala ni dating Senador Rodolfo Biazon, ang pangunahing manunulat ng Republic Act No. 9165 o Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, ang pagsasabago ng

Republic Act No. 6425 o Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972. Nakapaloob umano dito na pinahihintulutan ang paggamit ng marijuana sa ibang terminal na sakit o ‘yong mga karamdamang labis na malubha at wala nang lunas. Ang nasabing panukalang batas ang naging basehan ng simbahang Katoliko ng Pilipinas sa pagsang-ayon kaugnay ng paggamit ng marijuana. Gayunpaman, nilinaw nila na kung tuluyan itong maisasabatas, ang paggamit nito ay para lamang sa kalusugan at hindi bilang isang panlibangan na gawain. Ayon naman kay Archbishop Socrates Villegas, pinuno ng Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), hindi nila hinihikayat ang paggamit ng marijuana sa lahat ng karamdaman bagkus ito ay para lamang sa mga malubhang sakit tulad ng kanser at HIV. Taliwas naman ito sa pahayag ni Pope Francis. “Ang problema ng droga ay hindi mabibigyangsolusyon ng kapwa droga,” wika niya sa Ingles. Ilang pag-aaral na rin ang nagpatunay na nakakatulong sa pag-iwas ng mga sakit tulad ng kanser, epilepsi, glaucoma at sclerosis ang marijuana. Bukod pa

ELOAH ANAWIM B. VALENCIANO

rito, nagsisilbi itong pain reliever sa mga pasyenteng dumaranas ng chemotheraphy. Sa isang banda, ginagamit din na argumento ng iba ang pagiging legal ng morphine sa ating bansa. Ang morphine ay isang uri ng opium, na tinuturing naman ng iba bilang isa sa mga pinakamataas na uri ng droga. Kung ang morphine nga ay legal na ginagawang preskripsyon, bakit hindi ang marijuana? Gayunpaman sa kabila ng pagsuporta ng mga akademikong institusyon at maging ng Simbahang Katolika sa bansa sa naitutulong nito sa kalusugan, hindi pa rin ito maisabatas bunsod ng samu’t saring pambabatikos dito. Nakikita ng iba ang paggamit ng marijuana bilang isang imoral na gawain. Isang luho na hindi pangunahing pangangailangan ng tao, ngunit patuloy na kinokonsumo sa kabila ng mga posibleng negatibong epekto sa katawan. Sinasabi ng iba na ginawa lamang itong instrumento upang unti-unting maisagawang legal ang pagtangkilik ng iba pang uri ng droga sa bansa. Noong 1972, ibinilang ng US Congress sa kategoryang Schedule I ng

Controlled Substances Act ang marijuana. Sa madaling salita, ito ay labis na addictive at tinuturing na mapanganib na droga. Dagdag pa ng ilang eksperto, ang marijuana ay nagtataglay ng mga nakalalasong kemikal at ang usok na lumalabas dito ay posibleng magdulot ng mas masamang epekto sa kalusugantulad na lamang ng pagkasira ng baga at pag-iisip, potensyal na halusinasyon at posibleng atake sa puso. Ilan lamang ito sa mga argumento na naglabasan kaugnay ng usapin tungkol

sa pag papatupad ng mga batas upang gawing legal ang paggamit ng marijuana. Matagal na rin tayong pamilyar sa mga puntong nabanggit ng iba’t ibang eksperto. Hindi na rin lingid sa kaalaman natin ang mga mabubuti at masasamang epekto ng marijuana. Pero tila ba hindi pa rin natin napagtatanto ang pangunahing suliranin sa usaping ito. Dahil sa huli, hindi naman talaga ito usapin ng kung ano ang masama at hindi. Ito ay usapin ng disiplina. Maraming batas na rin ang hindi maisatupad

FROM PAGE 8 “ANG WIKANG...”

C H E D MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 20 SERIES OF 2013

COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

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C M.O. H NO. E 20D

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GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY M.O. NO. 20

“General Education COMMISSION Curriculum: Holistic ON HIGHER EDUCATION BASICOF ECONOMICS MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 2 SERIES 2013 Understandings, Intellectual and Civic Competencies.” FILIPINO

“GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM: HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDINGS, INTELLECTUAL AND CIVIC COMPETENCIES.”

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komunikasyon at ng sistemang pang-edukasyon ng bansa. Daing ng Kagawaran ng Filipino ng The National Teachers College, hindi sapat ang pagkatuto sa Filipino ng mga mag-aaral na nasa elementarya hanggang senior high school, kaya marapat lamang na maipagpatuloy ang pagkatuto sa Filipino sa antas kolehiyo. Para sa mga kritiko, binura umano ng K-12 at ng nasabing kautusan ang ipinaglaban noong 1970s na magkaroon ng anim hanggang siyam na units ng Filipino subjects sa kolehiyo. Malaki rin umano ang epekto nito para sa mga professor na nagtuturo ng Filipino subjects. Ayon sa datos ng National Statistical Coordination Board, aabot sa 10,000 na full-time at 20,000 part-time Filipino professors ang maaring mawalan ng trabaho o mabawasan ang sweldo sa oras na maipatupad ang nasabing CHED order. Depensa naman ng CHED, nasa kamay pa rin umano ng higher education institutions kung gagamit pa rin sila ng wikang Filipino sa pagtuturo ng kanilang mga kurso. Sa pananaw ng CHED, sapat na dahilan na ito upang mapunan ang pagkukulang na maaring idulot ng inalis na Filipino subjects sa

bagong curriculum. Tulad ng K-12 at Academic Calendar Shift, isa rin umano itong paghahanda para sa ASEAN Integration sa 2015 kung saan magkakaroon ng paglalagom ng ekonomiya ang mga kasaping bansa upang bumuo ng iisang ASEAN Economic Community na kayang makipagtagisan sa kumpetisyon ng mundo. Bukod sa mga negosyo at industriya, dapat ring isaalang-alang ng Pilipinas

ang pisikal sa bagong miyembro ang hazing o pagmamalabis. M aaa r i n g m a k a ra n as n g kahirapan sa pagtulog, hindi naaayon na pagkontrol at kakulangan ng tiwala sa sarili, kaibahan sa pakikisalamuha sa mga kaibigan at kapamilya at kawalan ng tiwala sa mga kapwa kasapi ng samahan. May kaukulang parusa kapag napatunayang nilabag ang mga probisyon ng nasabing batas. Dahil sa mga napabalitang paglaki ng bilang ng mga nasawi sa pagiging kasapi ng mga kapatiran, tila nawawala at nakalilimutan na angtunay na dahilan ng pagkakabuo nito. Sa paglipas ng panahon, napapalitan na ang totoong kahulugan ng salitang kapatiran na isang samahang nagsisilbing ikalawang kanlungan ng mga kasapi nito.

ang sektor edukasyon upang makaagapay sa nasabing charter. Sa kabila ng mga paghahandang ginagawa ng Pilipinas, hindi kaya lamunin lamang tayo ng bagong sistemang ito? Sarado ang isip ng mga kritiko sa mga paliwanag ng CHED. Sa kasalukuyan, mayroong isinasagawa na public consultation kaugnay sa bagong rekomendasyon na magkaroon ng

siyam na units sa general education courses na mandatoryong ituturo sa wikang Filipino. Gumawa na rin ng hakbang ang Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino sa pangunguna ni Virgilio Almario kung saan bumuo sila ng apat na Filipino syllabi na maaring gamitin sa bagong general education curriculum. Isang dagok na maituturing para sa nasyonalismo kung sakaling tuluyan nang aalisin

ang pagtuturo ng Filipino sa tertiary level. Para itong isang karera, kung saan pilit na nakikipag-unahan ang Filipino sa atensyon ng bangong henerasyon. Sa pag-usbong ng iba’t ibang impluwensya mula sa banyagang kultura, tila naisasawalang bahala ang pagtangkilik sa sariling bansa. Tila pinagtataksilan natin ang bayang ating pinagmulan. Isang indikasyon dito ang labis

dahil nagiging pangunahing balakid ang disiplina ng tao. Ang pagkontrol ng tao sa sarili, ang pagiging kuntento sa kung ano ang sapat lang at ang hindi paghangad sa labis. Sa huli, tao pa rin ang pipili kung anong uri ng alapaap ang patutunguhan niya. Ito ba ‘yong alapaap kung saan malaya ka sa sakit o ‘yong alapaap na hindi ka na makapiglas dahil sa pagkaadik? Ika nga nila, lahat ng kulang at labis, nakakasama.

na pagkahilig ng karamihan sa mga banyagang palabas o pelikula na sumasalamin sa kultura ng kanluran. Mayroon ding ilan na tila mas nais pang matutuhan ang banyagang wika kaysa sa wikang pambansa. Marami ring mambabasang mas pinipili ang mga aklat na akda ng mga banyagang manunulat. Bagama’t wala namang masama sa pagtuklas sa kanluraning kultura, hindi ba’t mas mainam kung uunahin muna nating mahalin ang kulturang bumubuhay sa ating pagka-Pilipino? Wala namang ibang magmamahal sa ating kultura kundi tayu-tayo rin. Sa kabila ng mga kilos na ginagawa upang ipaglaban ang espasyo ng pambansang wika sa curriculum ng mga unibersidad, isang malaking katotohanan ang mas dapat nating pagtuuan. Sapagkat kahit na paulit-ulit mang ituro sa atin ang wikang Filipino, kung patuloy pa rin tayo sa bulag na pagtangkilik sa banyaga, ang lahat ng pagsisikap upang protekhanan ito ay mawawalan ng halaga. Sabi nila, ang pagbabago ay makabubuti, huwag daw hayaan na sa nakaraan ay manatili tayong nakatali. Ngunit huwag din nating sanang hayaang patuloy na kumawala ang ating kapit sa wikang naging sandigan na ng ating pambasang diwa.


10Ang Pamantasan August 2014

FEATURES Parental Guidance It was an emotional 27th of June for first-time dads Bjorn Barone and Frankie Nelson in Australia, ha ving met their son Milo via gestational carrier (surrogate). As seen in the picture, tears run from their faces as they welcome their newborn son into the world. The photo went viral on social media and various online news outlets, enlisting both positive and negative feedback from different people. Some say that it proved an expansive definition of the conventional parenting as not about “gender plus gender”, but rather “spouse to spouse”, while others stick to the idea of a mother-father-child family structure, implying that having two dads is a morally incorrect lifestyle, and thus offends the teachings of religious groups, and their beliefs. By definition, a family is the most basic unit of society, having structural variations but fundamentally consisting of a mother, a father, and children. It is a group of people united for the purpose of protection, nurturing, a sense of belonging, and all activities that promote the relationship dynamic that is inherent in the family. But what if this conventional unit of society is challenged? What if the idea of having two mothers or two fathers is introduced into the playing field? What if the ballpark of parenting discourse included segmented propositions to a kind of aberration of the family unit? SAME-SEX PARENTING BY THE NUMBERS Dr. Gary J. Gates of The Williams Institute--dedicated to conduc tin g r igorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy-conducted a study entitled “LGBT Parenting in the United

States”. It showed that more than 111,000 couples are raising an estimated 170,000 biological, step or adopted children. Moreover, an estimated 37% of LGBT-identified adults have had a child at some time in their lives, and an estimated 3 million LGBT Americans have had a child and as many as 6 million American children and adults have an LGBT parent. These numbers visualize the existence and continuity of same-sex parenting. Fur thermore, the “National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study”--the longestrunning and largest prospective investigation of lesbian mothers and their children in the United States--conducted in 1986, has followed 154 lesbian parents over the years to observe data. Recently, they checked with 78 adolescents, and reports indicated that these children had high levels of social, school/academic, and total competence and fewer social problems, rule-breaking, and aggressive and externalizing behavior compared with their age-matched counterparts. The roster of studies about same-sex parenting stretches further. Such as in the case of the largest study ever on same-sex parenting conducted by Australia on 500 children that indicated kids are not only doing well, but in some aspects, are doing better than children of straight parents. Back in 2009, The National Academy of Parenting Practitioners extracted a conclusion from the data they collected that children’s wellbeing is affected much more by their relationships with their parents, their parents’ sense of competence and security, and the presence of social and economic support for the family than by the gender or the sexual orientation of their

KEITH NIÑO B. MEDRANO CARL JEROME OBOSA VELASCO

parents. Ultimately these numbers point to a collective pseudoredefinition of the traditional meaning of the family dynamic, challenging both the essence of mother and father figures, lessening the stress of parenting as the sole duty of a woman and a man, but rather giving the idea that parenting depends highly on the type of caring and nurturing initiated by particular parents, regardless what their gender implies and contributes to the relationship. WORLD VIEW Only 16 countries and some territories in the world allow adoption of children by LGBT parents, and the small number scale attempts to question the validity and adequacy of LGBT couples as having a parental authority. In fact, with gay marriage being put under every microscopical scrutiny, LGBT parenting is undoubtedly of colossal concern as well, and argumentative discourse. Some opponents argue that the absence of male and female role models during a child’s development could cause disorientation and maladjustment. Meanwhile, the American Psychological Association has supported adoption by same-sex couples, citing social prejudice as a harmful ecosystem for the LGBT community, while noting there is no evidence that their kind of parenting causes harm. AS SEEN ON TV AND FILM A few celebrity gay couples have children. Neil Patrick Harris, a Tony awardwinning actor and husband David Burtka have two kids, often featured in the media participating in social norms (pictures of their Halloween costumes, and whatnot), activities which children of

SAME-SEX PARENTS. Bjorn Barone and Frankie Nelson (Portion), Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka (Whole).

straight couples participate in, also. “White Collar” and “The Normal Heart” actor Matt Bomer and partner Simon Halls have three sons. Samesex parenting has been the receiving end of award-winning films such as Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Right” which went on to receive four Oscar nominations, and Jean-Marc Vallée’s “C.R.A.Z.Y.”. Television has also its fair share of gay parenting themes such as The New Normal, Modern Family, Shameless, and Queer as Folk, to name a few. There is an accumulated prominence of same-sex parents in the media, in account of statistics. While the idea might be fairly novel for some people, exposure to the concept of same-sex parenting is a piecemeal phenomenon-slow, steady, and others are beginning to adapt and identify both distinctions and discrepancies of same-sex. These attempt to make clear of notions, and predispositions about the issue. However, there

recurs a number of detractors toward same-sex parenting, stating that a child’s well-being and development is entirely resident to the straight couple dynamic, and when such a dynamic is altered, a child will suffer from psychological and emotional effects. IMPLICATIONS Statistics could only tell so much about the truth. Humans have survived and lived for centuries with varied structures of the familial unit, with varying results of wellbeing, and progress, and the dangerous invasion of this new idea—that two similar sexes could do no more damage than a conventional one could incur—could be a dent or a bleach on the social fabric. A belief exists that a child’s rearing should be governed by equal participation of both sexes. Similarly, some believe that parenting is entirely an independent endeavor from the sexual orientation of people that perform. These are

Discovering the Unfamiliar World of Hobbies

ANTIQUING When some things get worse due to age, immediate disposal comes to mind for most since we see them as garbage. The idea of having old things inside a household paints a negative picture of home so the tendency is to throw them away. But some consider these “old things” as a goldmine for a hobby called Antiquing. People who are into antiquing collect and preserve “vintage” home furnishings

Have a passion for what you are doing… find that unserved niche.

“A hobby can keep the doldrums away.” –Phyllis McGinley. People tend to do some things to kill boredom within. Youth, especially teenagers, keep themselves active during leisure time through hobbies. For instance, everyone loves to surf the net. In fact, our day won’t pass without sitting in front of our computers. Having mainstream hobbies is cool. Indeed, everyone loves to do things that are made by the majority to keep themselves in, popular or trendy. But who would have thought that some hobbies are pretty much cooler—those which are merely unfamiliar?

BRYAN AND DONNA SCOTT Barn Light Electric Co.

such as tables, chairs, cabinets, desks, drawers and whatnot. This type of hobby is mostly for people who have a sense of sentimentality, rarity, beauty, personal or emotional attachmentfor such things. Apart from collecting, other people also utilize antiquing as a lucrative venture, often making deals and bargains with collectors of refurbished items. “Have a passion for what you are doing… find that unserved niche” –Bryan and Donna Scott, Barn Light Electric Co. Barn Light, a company in Titusville, Florida that

specializes in manufacturing and sellingvintage-inspired lighting fixtures, grew from husband-and-wife duo Bryan and Donna Scott’s hobby of collecting antiques. In fact, the company pulled in $10 million in revenue last year, as Scott reported. 3D PAINTING Van Gogh, Da Vinci, and Monet. Three of the most talented painters in history. But all of them have served and ended their era well. This day and age had sprung very creative painters—those who dabble in three-dimensional

paintings, or “3D”. Kurt Wenner, inventor of the 3D painting and pavement art illusion, has introduced innovative methods and techniques in creating their pieces. In a specific viewing angle, his illustrations seem to be“real” or not confined in two dimensions. This type of hobby is computer-aided but majority of the 3D painters utilize the art manually--through the use of different artistic` devices such as chalk pastels, paint, brush, etc. These paintings are used for various purposes be it for advocacy, habit, artistic expression, etc. ANIMAL FANCYING Animal cruelty is a big issue. But on the brighter side, those who love to groom, appreciate, promote and breed their animals have developed a niche of people who love Animal Fancying. “Fancying” requires pet owners to own, show, breed and judge their dogs, cats, and other domestic pets. This hobby welcomes the idea of investing huge amount of money just to make their pets aesthetically

pleasing. In China, some pet lovers go to pet grooming shops, a special type of boutique just for animals, to give their pets a “make-over”. They let the shops cut and color their pets’ fur and make them look like another animal. Just like in the picture shown, a dog looks like a tiger after it had undergone a pet grooming session. Aside from making pets beautiful, pet owners love grooming activities because these help decrease various health problems such as thrush, rashes and other skin problems. It also monitors the dog’s health by checking for cuts, heat, swelling, lameness, or changes in temperament, all of which could be indicative of illness. These are just few of the unfamiliar hobbies we can have to break our routine. These rarely-done hobbies, more than giving us fun, could help us discover our hidden talents and abilities and in a larger sense, could build our character and help us know who we are. Now, it is up for us to decide whether we are going to settle for less, or take the risk of discovering the unfamiliar world of hobbies.

entirely up for interpretation and further study in the long run. Same-sex parenting is a radical development in the socio-economic plateau, one that must be challenged, and one that must be maintained by a healthy argumentative tirade, in order to solidify facts and bolster either the impossibility or possibility of same-sex parenting’s effectiveness At the end of the day, parenting, straight or gay, is no easy task. Children deserve proper care, and treatment, as they will grow up in this world adapting to norms set forth by society, and will put into mind the restrictions that the world imposes. Life is just as fragile, delicate, and intricate, and parenting must be founded on the principles of love and understanding, among others. Whether these are enough reasons to validate the issue, only time will tell. For now, Milo, Bjorne, and Frankie deserve a shot at it, the same as everyone does.

KEITH NIÑO B. MEDRANO

ANTIQUING

3D PAINTING

ANIMAL FANCYING


Ang Pamantasan August 2014 11

FEATURES IN THE OFFING

FILIPINOS DIVING INTO THE WATERS OF BENHAM RISE

“It felt a lot like what Magellan felt,” spoke Dr. Cesar Villanoy, leader of the Benham Rise program, composed of twenty-eight researchers and divers during the said expedition. Believed to be rich in minerals and natural gas, the Benham Rise is an underwater plateau fifty meters under the sea, which had just recently belonged to Philippine territory. Rappler.com has reported that it would take years for the discovery and utilization of Benham Rise’s full potential, with Dr. Villanoy expressing the sheer cost of these expeditions, and the need for specialized equipment and people.

The near or foreseeable future

PRINT-SCREEN

CARL JEROME OBOSA VELASCO

POKEMON OMEGA RUBY AND ALPHA SAPPHIRE

NASA’S ORION SPACECRAFT TEST FLIGHT

A bevy of book-to-film adaptations are expected to hit theaters throughout the course of 2014 up to 2015, and not without directorial flair for most of the titles (David Fincher for “Gone Girl”, Wes Ball for “The Maze Runner”, etc.) An eclectic mix of books about young-adult violence, vampire stories, coming-of-age, and dystopian titles, are being translated into films to watch out for in the offing: “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner, “This is Where I Leave You” by Jonathan Tropper, “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand, “Dracula” by Bram Stroker (film title: Dracula Untold), and “Here Be Monsters!” by Alan Snow (film title: The Boxtrolls).

NASA’s next human spaceflight vehicle “Orion” is scheduled to launch its beyond-Earth voyage later this year. The spacecraft will fly 3,600 miles above Earth, farther than any spacecraft traveled since 1972’s Apollo 17 mission. Orion is NASA’s first “spaceship to carry human crews on long flights to deep space destinations beyond low Earth Orbit, such as asteroids, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.” 2014+

TH MENTIONING WOR 1. DEVELOPMENT OF GOOGLE MAPS STREET VIEW: PHILIPPINES 2. ATARI’S “PRIDEFEST”, AN LGBT CITY-BUILDING GAME

OCULUS RIFT

Duly speculated for quite a stretch now, The Pokemon Company has officially announced that the once-and-always beloved Generation III Pokemon titles Ruby and Sapphire released back in ‘03 are going to get their remakes, to be released in November this year. Early gameplay previews suggest that OR/AS will utilize the same engine used in Pokemon X/Y. The Pokemon Company have released quite a load of new information including new Mega Evolutions, but fans still speculate whether OR/AS would be direct sequels or plain remakes with added features a la HeartGold/SoulSilver. Nevertheless, get ready to swoon over Mudkip again. And the trumpets.

Imagine re-living The Legend of Zelda in 3D, with every tilt of your head accessing a panoramic space of the ingame reality, all timed in near-perfect accuracy and response. Currently being developed by Oculus VR, the “Rift” is a head-mounted display that offers virtual reality. What started out as a Kickstarter campaign had segued into Oculus Rift game versions such as Pokemon, Super Mario, and a roster of first-person shooters. Come June 2014, the company is slated to feature “Crystal Cove” an updated prototype version with an new infrared-based motion tracking system. The consumer version of the Rift is expected to be available late 2014/early 2015.

NOV.

2014+

3. FOURTH SEASON OF HBO’S “GIRLS” 4. CINEMAONE ORIGINALS 2014 5. NORA AUNOR IN “DEMENTIA” AND

2014+

2014+

Love at First Swipe With the advent of new technology, no one is letting themselves get outdated, even the god of desire, Cupid. From the traditional speed dating, location-based mobile dating applications like Tinder and Grindr are on hype nowadays. Introduced in August 2012, Tinder becomes an addictive cross-over between online dating and swiping games. Through the latest mobile platforms, matchmaking b e comes l i kene d to a n atmosphere of “gaming” apart from being sexualized by these applications. After a quick scan of the local area, a speedy wiping user interface of profile photos appears and both users decide whether they would match or not. You have to swipe right if you’re interested in the featured person. However, only users who have matched one another are allowed to exchange messages. M e a n w h i l e , G r i n d r, launched in 2009, functioned similarly with Tinder, though it is a dating app for gay and bisexual men. During the recent FIFA World Cup, downloads and usage of apps like Tinder began to increase up to 50% according to a report by Quartz, a digital business news outlet by Atlantic Media. It shows that this app had 750 million matches and had reached almost 750 million swipes. Grindr users raised to 31%, making Brazil its sixth largest region with 202, 972 people online. This data shows that not only Facebook and Twitter are contributing to the massive changes in the communication world because people are also getting connected through these mobile dating apps. These geo-social networking applications are pairing more couples and, in our techno-

sexual era, individuals are finding these actions more arousing than the actual hookups. The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper, cited that the real pleasure users find in these apps is the process. Psychologists have also seen that even though the prevalence of these mobile apps helps one to find a match, it may not promise a successful happy ever after because romantic individuals are still up for challenges of the real world. In a book entitled “Love in the Time of Algorithms: What Technology Does to Meeting and Mating” by Dan Slater, he expressed that, one element of commitment to a relationship is based on the availability of alternatives. Though with a larger mating pool through online dating, people tend to jump from one relationship to another a lot faster. Today, the real world dating has been changed. The modern world now prioritizes careers over relationships and the human person becomes timedeprived. T h rou g h t hes e ap p s , dating becomes one night stands instead of long term relationships. Some scholars see that Tinder is not really considered as a “dating” app because, for them, “real” dating includes intimate dinners and romantic movies that may lead to real commitments and relationships. However, Tinder does emulate the social dynamics of dating wherein people tend to approach each other by judging

“WHISTLEBLOWER”

MC JAZER R. MALONDA

on their physical appearance first. In a column by Carlina Duan of Michigan Daily, she stated that these apps “grant permission for those in our culture to rate others based on physical appearance, and furthermore, it teaches us how to slash an ‘X’ on those we find unattractive”. But, photos in these apps can be processed with filters with the help of image-manipulating apps like Camera360s and Instagram. These increase the level of attractiveness of a person’s photo compared to their real facial features. Tinder and Grindr affect the human behavior like how other social media sites do. A user usually spends an average of 11 minutes in using these apps wherein they satisfy their need to socialize, also satisfying their intellectual curiosity to find out other people’s interest, in the process. These apps exist for the reason that the human behavior drives technological evolution. As showed in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, humans have the desire to fulfill their interpersonal needs through a sense of belonging and acceptance among their social groups. Like Facebook and Twitter, these dating apps allows people to communicate with one another and to establish a relationship. In a book entitled “Love in the Time of Algorithms: What Technology Does to Meeting and Mating” by Dan Slater, he expressed that, one element of commitment to a relationship is based on the availability of alternatives. Though with a larger mating pool through online dating, people tend to jump from one relationship to another a lot faster.

KICKSTARTER HOW CROWDFUNDING WORKS CARL JEROME OBOSA VELASCO

THE FOUNDERS. From left to right: Charles Adler, Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, the founders of crowdfounding platform Kickstarter.

SOME NOTEWORTHY KICKSTARTER-FUNDED PROJECTS

MIGHTY NO. 9

A side-scrolling platform game by Mega Man Designer Keiji Inafune. GOAL: $900,000 TOTAL PLEDGED: $3,845,170

PEBBLE

A customizable e-paper smartwatch. GOAL: $900,000 TOTAL PLEDGED: $3,845,170

COOLEST COOLER

A modern cooler with built-ins: blender, waterproof bluetooth speaker, and USB charger. GOAL: $50,000 TOTAL PLEDGED: $13,285,226

PONO MUSIC

A music player that is capable of playing music at the maximum quality of sound. GOAL: $800,000 TOTAL PLEDGED: $6,225,354

VERONICA MARS MOVIE

The film adaptation of Veronica Mars, a hit tv series which lasted for three seasons. GOAL: $2,000,000 TOTAL PLEDGED: $5,702,153

“The world isn’t a wish-granting factory,” said Augustus Waters in John Green’s seminal “The Fault in Our Stars”. But Kickstarter seems to think the opposite. Kickstarter is a Crowdfunding platform, an avenue for collecting funds from backers--the crowd--to make something; a cause; an initiative; a project, into reality. Founded by Perry Chen, Yancey

Strickler, and Charles Adler in 2009, Kickstarter is described as “a new way to fund creative projects”, and it has paved the way for people to fund over 69,000 projects, causing them to develop into materialization. Crowdfunding works like this: think solely about an idea for a product, or a widget that you think will prove beneficial and purposeful. The problem? It is uncertain whether you can convince investors--people who are willing to pledge money for your idea--to give you financial support. Crowdfunding acts a platform or an avenue for artists, inventors, scientists, etc. who has limitless notional prospects for a project that they promise to be feasible, but whose execution and deliverance will not be met until it is given its due funding. It begins when project creators create independent pages for every project on Kickstarter, posting details and media of the project to accompany the project’s ideals, a set timeline for completion, and a fund goal, or in simple terms, how much money is needed in this particular duration of time for the project to succeed. The creators will then provide timely updates about project’s status, reprising their attempt to seek funds as the deadline hovers nearer. Aside from these, a requirement for Kickstarter projects is for creators to provide the risks inherent to their projects, so that backers (the people who fund the project) can deliberate whether the project’s is their money’s worth. Every project has a list of rewards, and these reward

tiers get exponentially higher as you decide to pledge a bigger amount of money (reward tier). For example, “Mighty No. 9”, a Kickstarter-funded classic Japanese side-scrolling action by Keiji Inafune (best known as the illustrator and co-designer of the Mega Man series), was successfully funded back in October, 2013. The rewards were different for every amount. For $5, users got exclusive forum access, name in backer credits, and backer-only participation events. For $20, backers are entitled to receive a digital copy of the game. The rewards get bigger for increasing amounts. Backers are only charged when a project they helped fund successfully reaches its goal on or before the deadline. If a project reaches its deadline and fails to acquire the goal, the backers aren’t charged for the money they pledged. Kickstarter has become the horsepower for many creative projects that would have been impossible to manufacture or even accomplish to be brought upon by the public’s attention. It brings together a community of individuals who take risks in investing in a idea, no matter how crazy it might seem from the getgo, and turn it into something tangible, and useful. These ideas are sprung from creative minds with utility and passion in mind, and this truthfulness will help cannibalize the prospects of companies who churn out product after product in order to make profit rather than create something that is driven by creativity.


12 Ang Pamantasan August 2014

LITERARY

The one last pathetic and hopeless story for you ADLE MEYE R. ENRIQUEZ

Whenever I feel weary or lonely, I immediately go to a library and drown myself in the vast ocean of stories.Then, I try to forget the genuineness of life just for a couple of hours or so. Books take me to beautiful places a person could ever imagine — and yes, it even took me towards you. Two years ago, I was enthusiastically looking for a copy of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky so I could start with the final requirement for our literary criticism class when I saw you right at this old library, sitting on a couch placed between the classics and fiction sections, reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Unexpectedly, something bizarre happened to me that I started glancing at you as I scanned the different novels arranged on the shelves. Perhaps it was your endearing aura that caught me off guard. I just actually couldn’t explain why. It took me, maybe, half an hour to gather courage and approach you. I had an intention that I should be friends with someone like you and introduce myself. God, for a girl who reads The Catcher in the Rye, she must be very interesting. You were still hooked with what you were reading when I

Bon Voyage MA. KARISHA MAE C. ORCULLO

“There came a point in my lifewhere I deemed I was Rose Dewitt Bukater of Titanic who met you, my Jack Dawson. It was one of the pinnacles of my existence where everyday seemed to be bright, everything seemed to be red, and every part of you seemed to intensify my fantasies. You were indeed my teenage dream in every sense of the terminology. The day you noticed me was the day I always want to retrace; hoping that the moment we intimately shared didn’t end as fast as that day passed. Breathtakingly, I can

walked at the aisle of the fiction section. You brushed your darkbrown hair with your fingers, and that unexpected movement made me hide at the next book section. It was childish and funny, yes, but I don’t actually understand the idea of having the impulsive sense of coyness when you’re just only few inches away from someone you like. It was involuntary anyway, like I’m a puppet controlled by the will of the universe. “Goddamn phonies,” I said, enough for you to hear the phrase. You looked up and smiled

at me. I decided to initiate the conversation. “Holden is such a stubborn teenager, isn’t he?” I said pointing at the book. “Just like all of us,” You chuckled. Maybe I was a bit too fast but whatever, I introduced myself. “Hi, I’m Andrei.” “Gen,” you offered your hand then we shook hands. Like asilly cliché, the rest was history. We were like two puzzle pieces perfectly matched together and became very close friends. Soon after, we inevitably exchanged cellphone

numbers, Facebook accounts, books, playlists — everything that our souls both liked. At the moment, I’m still at the same old library where we used to stay whenever we have free time, still doing my unavoidable routine of looking for interesting reads.However,the adorably intelligent girl I met heretwo years ago is nowhere to be found. She is not sitting on her favorite orange couch anymore. Shoot me now for being so wretched and trite but with all honestly, I miss everything.

I miss the way we used to exchange thoughts regarding the works of Virginia Woolf, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, and Frank McCourt. The little argument that we had when I said that One Republic sounds like Kodaline, and that Kodaline is way better. When we both agreed to wear the same color of sneakers and see if our friends were going to notice our subtle connivance. I’m a hopeless, broken soul who just wants to go back at those moments shared and stay in that phase forever. I feel empty. I’m not filled. I contain

safely describe it as if I was Hazel Grace Lancaster that had breathing problems after meeting you. You were like Noah of The Notebook who wrote me letters which caught me off guard. Every word you wrote, plucked the strings of my heart and endearingly penetrated my soul. I solemnly professed that I wanted to spend my life with you until the day we can’t barely see each other. Do you still remember the times we discussed our plans and built our dreams together? We even finished more than half of our bucket list. But fate being playful more than everyone knows, the sweet air breeze turned slowly into a bitter smoke that have fogged our cloud nine. All of a sudden, you inexplicably started avoiding me. You never replied to my messages, nor returned my phone calls. In just an instant, you selfishly ended our every beginnings. I know that it is too trifling for me just

to give up and just let all what we had turninto scrap, but to tell you honestly, I tried so hardthat I have unconsciously availed all the means to track you down. At first, I succeeded. Then like a shot, I lost all connections. I almost died and for years, it really felt like I’m dying. Even if it was unimaginably painful, I am still much longing and wondering how I could find my way back to you. It’s been years since you left me leaving no value of my doubts, queries, and fears. Completely clueless that even Sherlock Holmes will never have a slight hunch about. You deprived me of choices as well as chances. What you left behind are all impossibilities. Are these really what you wanted? Are these all part of your magnificent plan? Plan of making me fall in love and just leave me hanging?Well, if it is, you deserve my warm applause for you admirably outwit me, as if you’re the violence, and

I’m your willing victim every now and then. But just like the autumn season when everything of me has fallen, withered and lifeless, I still presume that what we all had was real. In our relationship, this is the only thing I am certain of. I am sure because I felt it genuinely. Just so you know that change is not inevitable for me; for I still admire your totality. I love you, and I always will.”

its voyage and concurrently dances with the waves, I realized that the vastness of the sea is comparable with my hope of having my message travel with the current that would lead to the place where you are. It might took years, decades, and even centuries. But it doesn’t matter. What matter the most are the probabilities that God will let fate favor me this time, like what He had granted Ake Viking, as when Paolina answered his letter addressing, To Someone Beautiful and Far Away; and proving that love is sweeter the second time around for Garrett and Theresa Osborne of Nicholas Sparks’ Message in a Bottle. Despite of being equipped with boundless time, aimless directions, and not even a mouthful of assurance, I still have my last resort – an ample of faith. Faith that even if I will never receive any response, you’ll at least know how much I truly cared for you.

Pen down. After so many years, I finally felt a big relief. I rolled the parcel and tied it with a green string. I placed it gently inside a tiny long-necked bottle and covered its mouth with a cork that suitably sealed it. Later on, I just found myself tracking down the pathway to the beach. It took me a while before I eventually threw the bottle into the sea with the maximum effort I could exert. While I am keeping an eye on the bottle, as it safely embarks

nothing. I cannot move. I’m still at the same library and everything in here, everything inside the four corners of this room reminds me of her. I feel happy when I’m here because it reminds me of the past happiness that occurred yet it also makes me feel hurt because that ephemeral happiness will never, ever happen anymore. I just want to relax, and forget the girl, forget a part of me that is so dependent on her. So, I scanned the different books placed on the shelves and a certain book reminded me of her — again. Curtly, I realized the root of my misery. The problem with getting too attached to a person is that we start to associate every single thing to how we feel towards the individual. Every song we listen to, every word we’ve read from a novel, every scent we smell in a fragrance store, every advertisement we see in newspapers. We always assume that the universe is telling us something when it’s all just mere and sheer randomness. We’d stop suffering when we’d stop overanalyzing things because they aren’t always like a code that needs to be deciphered. Now, I must accept the fact that she’s gone and that there isn’t a single possible way that I might get her back, not even a playlist, not even an untold ending of a story in a mythology book.

Sail

ALLAINE JOLINA O. MATIC

I am lost in my sea of thoughts Drowning from my constant fear of Being the person I’m scared to become My mind’s a storm And the wave of problems Never seemed to calm I wish they’d go away like footprints Washed away from the sand But they can’t, and they never will I dream of becoming the ocean; Vast and peaceful Yet I dread of turning into one; Menacing and unforgiving Although it’s alright, because calm seas Never made strong sailors And only strong sailors can find pearls In the deepest of the seas


Ang Pamantasan August 2014 13

LITERARY

Midnight Swims

Pinky Fingers

ADELE MEYE R. ENRIQUEZ

PHOEMELA NICOLE V. BALLARAN

I. You and I are not the sun and the earth. We are two planets rotating on our own axes. II. Metaphors are projections of one’s unfulfilled desires. Suddenly, the ocean is no longer a body of water but a haven of undisclosed fears; the silence, no longer the state of being still but a countdown for the bomb. III. Sigmund Freud’s theory of projection: a defence mechanism wherein one’s own issues are attributed onto someone or something else. For example: “You are not emotionally present,” she accused.

“You are smothering me,” he complained.

have dictated that I am actually a Jane. Sometimes, a Franny.

IV. “It was said that Jane Asher inspired several songs written by Paul Mccartney for The Beatles, like ‘Yesterday,’‘And I Love Her,’ and ‘Here There and Everywhere.’ However, the relationship ended on July 20, 1968 after Jane allegedly saw Paul in bed with another woman. Her name was later known as Francie Schwartz, whom Paul referred to as “Franny”. Franny denies the accusation of her being in bed with Paul but a fan recalled seeing Paul entering his home with Franny and that Jane arrived moments later, then storming out of the house after a few minutes and drove away.”

But the thing is, a song is just a song and love is just love.

I have always thought of myself as a Linda. But circumstances

V. He rummaged every part of her, searching for a trace of poetry on her skin. Instead, he found a bunch of words that makes no sense. VI. A fact: It will take hundreds of years to recover all of the shipwrecked vessels that remain sitting on the ocean floors.

Gamble on the probabilities and see where your touch gets you. Not that I am giving you permission to violate the boundaries of my skin, nor am I plotting an alienated form of encouragement, for you to think that you are under a rule of attraction towards a tangible contact which I have never considered providing you prior. Let it be known that at which point, you feel me, and let your fingertips slice through the hissing of my flesh, that I am composed of these layers which give me the protection I have never known that I needed most when you have seen me as bold as I could have allowed myself to be. Let it be your first time again, your own chance, and not mine. This time I forgive you. And as a consolation, I am shifting the responsibility of guilt unto myself. Taste me if you’d like, No burden is inflicted out of your pleasure. Let it be my

decision to be vulnerable--to be consumed by error. Let it be own memory that what you will do is not in the pursuit of your frailty, but in my freedom to let you. “But we’re over,” you said. That’s the truth. Things have certainly ended, but not as far as “we”. The concept of our togetherness had aged, faded, and had perspired away from the tangibility of life, but it had never meant for me that what happened went along with it. Our existence is a complex irony. The markers we have made, and the flags we have stitched in the ground at various milestones give meaning to our memory. By those we exist, and by the maintenance of which we linger. We are ideas in the vast stretch that is the past. Everything has happened and along with the actions that triggered their multi-faceted conclusions may or may not haunt us still. But I like what keeps me up at night. I like to sin on behalf of my participation that pushed our static selves into a downfall.

It is time of turning tides on the midnight sea of hope, ideas, and emotion. We are born in the middle of the century where there is no great world war but we are rather faced withmuch more complex conflict of, possibly, an unattainable end, answering the question of who we are. I want to break free. Who are you? Or better yet, who am I? People believe that we live for a reason. Some have it on faith that we are here for a mission given by the Heavens. These purposes must be fulfilled for your life to be worth it and righteous. As your path unfolds, the society builds up its expectations on you. Pressure comes in on what you should accomplish.Some comment that this is the road less traveled. You find it challenging and come to accept it. They brandish you of“who

they think you are.” I want to break free. Now you see what they see. It is true that it is the less traveled but for a reason. You just found out that it is not the place you want to be in. You start to question yourself, what if you want something new? You discover a passion. It is something to live for and something that makes you happy. It gives you a new sense of satisfaction and energy to do it. It completes you. I want to break free from your lies. It started as a hobby. Just something to spend your free time with. However, you begin to find it more interesting than what you are doing right now. It is not a job butyou are giving more attention to it and everyone starts noticing. They begin on commenting how its industry is not a great avenue for success. That giving up what you are in right nowis not worth it and that you must stay focused on where you are.

You belong in here, they say. It would get fun soon, they say. You’re so self-satisfied I don’t need you. You try to take it out of your system. They are right. It won’t be worth it, but the fire in you keeps on burning. You try to kill your new found freedom. You try to find other ways to express yourself but it fails. You know what you want to do. You don’t belong in this world. You want to live, but it always come with a price. I’ve got to break free. The pressure and expectations becomes water r ush i n g to d row n you. Everyone is at hurl to save you. You have the gift of skills and talent but you know that this is not who you are or who you want to become. At this very moment, you begin to ponder. Who are you in the very first place? What is your true role in life? To be free on not to be free. To live or not to live. God knows, God knows I want to break free.

from your evening shift under the veiled truth to abuse your obliviousness, instead of return stuff like I promised, gives me the edge of mastery. I know you know that this wasn’t an invitation, nor a reunion. In fact I know you know that where our wavelengths sync is when you never disappoint my attempts to conceal how I still fantasize another version of us that never existed. So what’s wrong with me trying to dissect those conclusions and give it a surcharge of positivity? Who’s to say that I am selfish, and depressed, and needy, when all I ever wished for me to be mine is your ownership again? But I learned these things the hard way. You can never be mine, and I can never be yours, because who I am is structured to follow how you molded me. How you tendered my metaphysics into your own ecosystem of beliefs and calculations. Who I am is, and have always been, what you thought of how I dressed up for a music festival,

or how my brief experiment with making you dinner tasted. How my aftershave stung your senses, and how you hated when I breathed in between our kissing. How can I declare myself as standalone when I am defined by your story of my motion? This is the most noble mistake I could have ever made whilst alive because even now that I know nothing of myself because you walked away with it, I’m glad I had the chance to spend time with who I was under your name because it was the best form of me. That what happens when you say my name, Oscar. The way you said it just now makes me realize the various degrees of indigestion I have acquired for being the weaker by-product of our sendoff. But once again, I let it sear, simmer, adjust to the heat of my conquest to abuse my hunger. Let it prickle through my fragile decisions and makeshift strength. Let my pain be the best thing in my resume. So make the decision. I won’t

delineate it to be a symbol of regaining. I am willing to be the buffer between your real life and the one you’ve just thrown away. I can be the stopgap that links the vicissitudes that shake you and make you think of uncertainty. I can be a sure thing. I can be the most real choice in the roster of choices you have to live with. Touch the idea, touch the action, and make contact with how you have never wanted it to end. Here I am now, offering you a temporary grip. Accept it and use as much of the fire liquid until it evaporates. Touch it. Be here with me inside the dangerous circle of your comfort zone. Say it again. Out loud. A whisper. No matter how you want to say it, just please make space in your vocabulary for a few more memories with my name. Don’t judge me again. Don’t make me go away. “Go home, Nick.” But I am home, Oscar. In fact, it’s burning down. But arson isn’t a sin when you’re around.

MC JAZER R. MALONDA

Another fact: She’s the hurricane that caused your ship to sink. She hoped someone would dive deep enough to recover your treasures. She also hoped it would be her.

Arson Isn’t A Sin When You’re Around

CARL JEROME OBOSA VELASCO

To Free or Not to Free

like to think about how we ended, how we were so hopeful when we first began, and how we have come to spoil our intimacy in a span of neglected promises, and words only to live by once. We are both sadists in the context we allow ourselves to grow upon. You, with your intrinsic ability to judge every inch of my body, as if I can never just strip down to what I am behind my adjectives and let you notice me, crawling away from my surface of stealth. And I, with my constant fear of never knowing what I can offer to amount to you, and the nouns you still continue to be. “I don’t care. Do what you want with me. I don’t care,” I said. “What are we doing?” “Don’t you want me?” “What are we doing, Nick?” My name had never tasted so poisonous out of your mouth. How you say my name is my barometer, to test the validity of your affection, as well as mine, even more so. Tonight, with the fact that I stole you


14 Ang Pamantasan August 2014

SPORTS Sports Chronicles: The success of those in between In sports, male athletes are often believed to reign victorious. With their impressive strength, winning physical games has never been a problem for them. However, does masculinity really play the biggest role in any male athlete’s capability of clinching triumph? Is it really true that only the manliest and straightest men are capable of sweeping victory easily? How about those who are in between? The following personalities are some of the international male athletes who say that the abovementioned argument is nothing but a mere misconception. Male athletes who created wide and audible buzz after divulging their real sexuality. Homosexual athletes who are not just only champions in their respective sporting endeavors but are also epitomes of unwavering bravery and pride: THOMAS ROBERT DALEY “I am a gay man now.” Bold, confident and proud. This was exactly how the British Olympic medalist and heartthrob, Tom Daley seemed like during his appearance in ITV’s “Celebrity Juice, a British television comedy panel game last April as he gladly opened up about his sexuality before millions of television viewers around the world. Last year, he created huge internet hullaballoo as he revealed through an emotional

video uploaded on YouTube that he was in a same-sex relationship, but never mentioned what his gender preference really was. The guy whom he is dating is the award- winning Hollywood screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black. Currently, they enjoy hanging out with each other in public. No

Kobe Bryant, NBA Commissioner Davis Stern and US President Barack Obama. ROBBIE ROGERS Behind this American soccer player’s palpable masculinity and irresistible handsomeness and appeal hides a secret which he disclosed to public in a post in his personal website last February 2013. After his daring and attentioncatching revelation last year, Rogers is still able to excel in his chosen field. In fact, according

out from his closet. “I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man,” Cruz said in a USA Today article. Just last year, he married his GARETH THOMAS

different recognitions and a c k n o wl e d g e m e nt s f r o m different sectors and devoted himself in supporting charities. ORLANDO CRUZ

boyfriend, José Manuel Colón in New York City Central Park.

TOM DALEY

fear, no pressure, just fun. JASON COLLINS Jason Collins, an American professional basketball center for the Brooklyn Nets, made a history by admitting through his written article published in the May 06, 2013 issue of Sports Unlimited that he is gay. Contrar y to what was expected, Collins received high praise from various sectors and

JASON COLLINS

prominent personalities. Some of whom are fellow NBA player

ROBBIE ROGERS

to Inside World Soccer, he even joined the L.A Galaxy team last May 2013 and competed in Major League Soccer, making him the first openly gay to compete in the said competition ever. ORLANDO CRUZ In a physically demanding and stressing sport like boxing, Orlando“El Fenómeno” Cruz of Puerto Rico proved that gay men can also be world champions. Last October 2012, World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) No. 4-ranked professional featherweight boxer embarked on a crucial decision of coming

GARETH THOMAS In a tough sport like Rugby, who would ever imagine that a gay could actually excel, too? Yes, it is possible and has already been proven. And Gareth Thomas is a living proof that gay men can perform excellently in a sport that is deemed suitable for hard guys only. Thomas was considered as one of the best professional rugby players then. In 2009, his audacious decision of letting the whole world know the real score in his sexuality while still an active rugby player was commended by different Lesbian, Gays, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) advocates. In 2011, he formally decided to keep his rugby suit for good and start a new chapter in his life, eventually. He received

JI WALLACE Seven years after Ji Wallace’s, an Australian gymnast and an Olympic Trampoline medalist, controversial “coming out” which even led him to become the first ever Gay Games Ambassador of his country (Australia), he shocked many people once more as he courageously admitted last 2012 that he is an HIV positive individual. Equipped with indomitable heart and unfaltering positive outlook in life, Wallace continues living his life to the fullest despite of having infected by a virulent illness. He aims to inspire people by letting them realize that having HIV is not equal to death yet. During his early years, Wallace was an enthusiastic gymnast and a successful Olympian who was able to win various international competitions. He clinched the silver medal in the Sydney

On His Quest for Greatness It was never easy for him. It’s not always great to be the king. His pride about his personal legacy, his humility and his sense of purpose have been at stake. LeBron James’ latest decision showed that home is where the king is, and that it is above else. In his letter, he explained why he wanted to go back to the city which nurtured him to be the man he is right now. All he pointed out was that he wanted to get a ring for his hometown but there seems to be underlying reasons for this shocking revelation. Upon leaving Cleveland for Miami and going back to Cleveland, James indeed made a powerful turn of events from the compelling move that truly decided his career as a player, displayed his authority

t h rou ghout t he Nat ional Basketball Association(NBA) and gave him a seemingly goodchance to be amongst the other legends in the game. This time around, he’s just not taking his talents to another place, he’s taking his family, two championship rings, two Most Valuable Player trophies and a greater understanding that winning in some places – there’s no place like home – will be more valuable than others. It must be an easy journey for James – with superstars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on his side. Look at the bench and you will see Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem providing an additional firepower for them. He had too many strong teammates which made it possible for him to surpass the pressures of being in

a new team. Way too easy. Another thing, who wouldn’t want to play in a younger team, with 2011 and 2014 No. 1 draft picks Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins and the possible addition of Kevin Love? These fresh legs are most likely to support him while he can play any of the four spots again like he once did. Cleveland had never fully healed prior to Lebron’s departure, and he has to understand that. The scab formed isn’t ready to be removed just yet. That one bad cramp during the NBA Finals served as a reminder that he will always be a target from mockery from those who could never relive that moment on how an ill-planned television special on a famous sports channel played out. Miami might be entering its dark ages because of LeBron’s

Hype on the Flame Game MC JAZER R. MALONDA

You’re not playing if it’s not burning. Fi re has a lways b e en associated with chaos and destruction. While growing up, we are reminded to never experiment with it. Flammable substances are kept on secured places and out of children’s reach. However, adrenaline enthusiasts still find ways to create burning strange activities for us to have fun despite of the preventive measures and tolerance on flame. FLAMING TAR BARREL RACE Carrying a barrel is hard enough, but what about a burning one? That’s another kind of story. For almost 400 years,

the small Englishtown of Ottery St. Mary, England is practicing the peculiar sport called Flaming Tar Barrel Race every November 5. It is in commemoration of the failed 1605 gunpowder plot to kill King James I to bring down the parliament. The original ritual was to roll down tar barrels on city streets around midnight as part of the torchlight procession. It was then changed to a race where participants have to carry a lighted and tar-soaked whiskey barrel on their back and finish the game as fast as they could. Every age group is encouraged to join the competition. Only 17 barrels are released during the game. Barrel sizes vary from small for boys, medium for women and youth while the

largest are for male participants. The tar-filled barrels, which are selected and prepared for over a 12-month period, are covered with wadded paper and kindling. NOTE: The usual players of this race are Ottery town folks. Some visitors are also allowed to join the competition provided that they are knowledgeable to fire aversion. FIRE DANCING 1. 2. 3. What makes a dance unique? For the Pacific people, it’s giving beat to the heat. Commonly performed at tropical islands and resorts, fire dancing is popular for entertainment. The oldest practice of the sport is known to be Siva Afi of the Samoan Islands in which Samoan warriors impress their rulers through the

Olympics in 2000 for the trampoline category. Aside from his impressive athletic skills, Wallace is best admired with his courage in revealing supposed “private” things about him for the sake of inspiring people. JI WALLACE

To d a y, accepting homosexuality is still considered a struggle. However, it is delightful to know that in such tough endeavors like sports where the manliest and straightest guys are considered leaders, gay men manage to emerge victorious as well. The aforementioned sports personalities are just few of the slowly but continuously increasing number of athletes choosing to defy set norms, conquer social pressure and come out from their respective closets. Though it’s hard, they still did it. Perhaps, they were once afraid but still they took the risk, stepped out, and now they’re free. Coming out in such a judgmental society has never been easy. So as for these brave athletes, it can be said that doing such thing is the biggest battle they have ever won. Kudos!

GLENDEL D. NAZARIO MARTIN A. SADONGDONG

departure while Cleveland is seeing its prime years ahead with his arrival. He most certainly won’t win everyone’s delight, fans that he left in Miami would struggle in living with the loss till’ they remember they’re base is in Miami. Only a slight amount of people would find fault in the King who left, made good, learned and yearns to return. Miami will always be for Wade, regardless of the number LeBron James. of rings they would’ve won together in a team, not one nor – stay in Miami or go to Cleveland. two championships, it would Lebron’s legacy as a player triumph over the glory of won’t necessarily be based by if or winning just one title for the not he catches the six titles of MJ, Cavs. James must have realize nor if he does surpass Kareem that with his slowly deteriorating as all-time leading scorer. He body, it is a wise move to pick a has a chance to do what hasn’t team where he can make up for been done, in this city where the his marred reputation and it will Larry O’Brien trophy has only only leave him with two options been once - when the Spurs did

artistic demonstration of their fighting skills using a flaming war club. Also, Aztecs, the ancient Mexican Empire, have their own version of fire dancing mainly for warding off witches and bad spirits. These customs, which started in 1992, resulted into the annual World Fire knife Competition wherein fire players are gathered to the island of Oahu or Polynesian Culture Center to contend for championship in honour of the Samoan Warrior’s tradition. With its growing popularity, fire dancing has evolved into different routines accompanied by drum beats. Some dancers use lighted hoops, gas-soaked balls and flaming headdresses or costumes. Meanwhile, some performers are also doing fire breathing exercises to reduce the risk of lung infections, severe

JULES ANDREW P. GARCIA

mouth burns and self-ignition. NOTE: Safety precautions must be observed because fire performances have dangerous acts. Players do not wear flammable clothes for this might cause some blisters on their skin. SEATTLE’S FLAMING TETHERBALL If you think you can’t make a sport with a tissue paper, well, think again. Popularized by Wired Magazine as the Great Balls o’ Fire, the flaming tetherball started as a party game project by The HazardFactory and became a fund raising event named the Burning Man in Seattle. Flaming tetherball is similar to lawn tennis but is played outdoors during nighttime. The difference is that, the ball used in tetherball is made up of tissue rolls soaked in three ounces of

PHOTO FROM NOUPSIDE.COM

carry it out on the Quicken Loans Arena last 2007 - and hasn’t won any major championship of any kind since ‘64. It could be a better experience for the fans of Clevelandthat one of the greatest players in NBA chose them, to show us how they do it back in Ohio.

white gas – a chemical used for lanterns and camp stoves. The objective of this game is to prevent the ball from falling with the use of lawn tennis rackets. A player scores one point every time he/she hits the ball. One set consists of 14 tissue rolls because a ball could only last seven minutes from ignition until it burns out. NOTE: It is recommended for players to wear safety goggles, leather gloves, long-sleeve jackets and other protective gear for safety. Around the world, these unusual sports only show humanity’s creativity and spontaneity when it comes to creating activities that engage them to challenges. Some sprouted from traditions and cultures and others are from the craziest ideas. Come to think of it, fire isn’t all about damage after all.


Ang Pamantasan August 2014 15

SPORTS

2014 Intramurals Fiasco Angco explains COPERS’ dubious 3-PEAT

A f te r t h e ‘ w a l k- o u t ’ o f College of Management and Entrepreneurship Jag uars coach Dean Neil B. Gamus, College of Physical Education, Recreation and Sports Dean and Intramurals Commissioner Mr. Rogelio S. Angco said that there is no technical foul on the COPERS varsity team for their supporter’s misbehavior during the men’s basketball finals last September 10.

“Walang tinatawag doon kasi audience ‘yun eh. Walang rules para doon at kung titignan niyo‘yung past games, walang tinechnical na team gawa ng audience or supporter. Ilalabas lang ang audience [sa court]. Pero ‘yung ite-technical mo ‘yung team, very extreme penalty ‘yun,” Angco clarified. Gators’ Mark Valentino Peñaranda scored a breakaway lay-up off a steal to give them the lead, 75-72, with just 2.2 seconds to go in the last quarter. The COPERS crowd then went into frenzy and entered the court to celebrate their pre-empted victory, not realizing that there was still time remaining and the

clock had not yet sounded. CME Coach Dean Gamus said that the walk out is a sign of protest with Angco’s decision to not call for a technical foul. “Doon sa natitirang five seconds, the whole COPERS went inside the court and the rule there is that if any coach or player went inside the court, you will automatically be dealt with technical [foul]. So pina-stop ko sa table committee and then sabi ko ‘Wait, pumasok ang crowd and we can identify na talagang mga taga-COPERS ‘yan. You have to call a technical foul,” coach Neil Gamus explained. According to Fédération

Of Steps and Snags Life is but a dance and we have to follow its beat in order to create a beautiful routine.

Sometimes, we trip and make mistakes. We may get out of rhythm and eventually, get tired. But life has its own way of bringing us up to our feet to take a new step. This is the story of a dancer’s struggle outside the stage. Discovering his passion for dancing at an early age, Dan Mar Luna, 29 years old, enrolled himself in our Pamantasan and took up Bachelor in Physical Education in 2001. By that time, he was only 16 years old but he immediately engaged himself in various sports activities and became one of the head choreographers of the then newly-created PLM Pep Squad. “Masarap ang naging college life ko sa COPERS, pati faculty parang kabarkada lang. Intact kasi ang faculty ng COPERS noon pati ang mga naunang batch of students. Nagpaka-active lang ako since my course is related to sports,” Luna said as he reminisced his four-year stay in his so-called own stage. Luna slowly carved his

name out of the stone after he received several recognitions in the following years. He became a delegate of the Philippines for aerobics in the First Asian Indoor Games held at Thailand in 2005. In the said competition, he won 6th place – his first international recognition. With no intentions of stepping on the back pedal, he was chosen by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Sports Commission to be a national athlete for aero gymnastics. He represented the Philippines in the same category during the 23rd South East Asian Games where he improved to 4th place. Because of his exceptional contributions to the college, he bagged the Dick Fosbury award in 2005. It was then followed by the Nadia Comaneci award for gymnastics the next year. These honors seem to drive Luna further because in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games that was held in Macau last 2007, he landed 5th place in aero gymnastics. Luna didn’t only get trophies, medals and certificates through dancing. He met his better half, Dannah Marbella-Luna, in University of the Philippines Manila when they faced each other in a dance battle way back 2007. “My wife is also a dancer so we became friends for several years. We do dance battle and that’s how

we get closer to each other. Lagi lang kami nagkikita kapag may mga sayaw,” Luna beamingly said as he described how he met his wife. Planning to build their own family, they officially tied the knots on the 13th day of December 2013. It was supposed to be a happy ever after from then on but he was given his greatest battle. “Noong April ko lang siya naramdaman. Mga first week medyo sinisinat na ako noon. First confinement ko sa [emergency room] ng [Manila Doctor’s Hospital] – mga second week na ‘yon. Tapos full confinement na ng April 28.” “Masakit ‘yong likod ko na parang may tumutusok. Tapos ubo, tsaka masakit ‘yong likod and dibdib ko kapag kumakain. ‘Yon lang, pero ang lagnat ko matataas talaga, 39, 38.7, mga ganoon. Hindi na ako nawalan ng lagnat since then.” The findings were enteric fever or commonly called as typhoid/paratyphoid fever. But further tests turned out to be negative and later, he was discharged of the hospital. His wife brought him to St. Luke’s Medical Center because his fever never went down after the first medication. Luna’s world was in total disarray when he was diagnosed of esophageal mediastinal-fistula. It is a condition where the tuberculosis virus eats away the walls of his esophagus therefore,

Finding the PLM Pride Disappointing to know the fact that the neglect to those who are fighting for pride and glory of our country does not only apply on the national level but can also be observed inside the university. Last May 13, we lost a true Filipino pride who is part of the nine greatest Filipino athletes and is included in the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame. Anthony Villanueva, at the age of 69, died in his sleep after facing his last bout – the fight for his life. He was bed-ridden for two years after his third heart attack. At 19 years old, Villanueva dominated the boxing ring when he defeated Stanislav Stephaskin of the Sovient Union during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics finals of the featherweight division after damaging his opponent’s nose in the three-round battle. It is then concluded that he had the gold medal in his hands. Un for t u n ate ly, j u s t ic e was not on his side because a controversial split decision,

Internationale de Basketball (FIBA), there are no written rules regarding the delay of the game caused by the crowd, spectator/s or fan/s. Earlier, Dan Inalves drained a three pointer with over two minutes to play to give CME Jaguars their first taste of the lead in the fourth quarter, 7068. Gabriel Iglopas then scored an under goal stab to stretch their margin to four. After a deliberation between Angco and the referees, the game clock was reset to five seconds. Instead of continuing the game, coach Gamus gathered his team and led their way out of the playing court.

2014

INTRAMS

SNAPSHOTS LOOK TO THE OSESRN A P S H O T S GAMES A CL

MC JAZER R. MALONDA MARTIN A. SADONGDONG

creating a hole between his lungs and his heart. His intakes go directly into the hole produced in his lungs. Luna’s condition is very rare that it was regarded as the first reported case here in the Philippines. After that day, he started to post pictures on his Facebook account about his predicament and asked for help. Through common friends, members of the PLM Pep Alumni learned about this and decided to organize a dance tutorial to help him. It was afternoon of June 28 when different elementary, high school, and college students gathered in the Rajah Sulayman Gymnasium to participate in the dance for a cause organized by the PLM Pep Alumni. Various chore ographers from our very own Iskolars Dance Inc., Universidad de Manila’s E-Stars and other dance groups also helped. Luna never expected that his former colleagues would do such thing. In total, the group collected a total of P 12,452.00 which would be used for his hospital bills and medications. Luna was discharged of the hospital last July 14 and is still in the process of recovery. For some people, they use dancing to express what they feel. Some make it a habit while others, their passion. For Dan Mar Luna, dancing is his life. And for others, it is one way to save a life.

“ STICK THEM WITH THE POINTY END MC JAZER R. MALONDA

COLUMN

We may have heard the name but they have stories we have not cared for to hear.

favoring his opponent, was made by the judges. They announced Stanislav as the winner with Anthony having the silver which made him the first Filipino to win a silver medal in the Olympics. He may not have reached the top but he went home as a hero. However, his s tor y is not different with the other Philippine athletes. After the admiration, glory and fame, Anthony was left to survive the harsh and complicated life. Even though he became a professional boxer at the age of 20, it was not enough to make a living. He

PLM

MARTIN A. SADONGDONG

Facing Life’s Toughest Battle

MARTIN A. SADONGDONG

ventured the movie industry but failed to make a name. Looking for money, he went abroad and worked as a security guard in New York City. He even tried to sell his own Olympic silver medal and the gold medal he received in the Rome Olympics just for money. The Philippine consulate advised him to go back and promised for a stable pension and income. He went hom e to the country in 1997, the year when his health began to deteriorate. Today, he died as poor as a rat with a disappointment because of the insensitivity of

the government to their ‘prized sports heroes’. T here i s a n A nt hony Villanueva in our Pamantasan: the PLM-Association of Local Colleges and Universities Varsity Team. The PLM-ALCU is one of the organizations who bring the name of the university in intercollegiate competitions. They fight for the medals and compete against national universities in the annual ALCUlympics. We may have heard the name but they have stories we have not cared for to hear. Despite of the honor they have gained, the PLM-ALCU players need utmost support. In the past four years, there was never a time that our very own athletes failed to win the game. They have proven that PLMayersare not only academically-competitive but also sports enthusiasts. The year 2011 has been the roughest for them due to lack of funds and the late distributed

allowance for the members. In spite of these, they defended their championship title in badminton, dance sport, table tennis and volleyball. Every year, 36 universities clashed for the crown and out of these competing schools, PLM never failed to take part in the top three spots. We shouted for La Salle, Ateneo, UST, even the PBA and NBA but why can’t we do it to our own team? In the last tournament held in the University of Makati, only a few students went to support our schoolmates. What a shame it is to know that there are games where we had no audience or supporters at all. Cheering for the PLM contenders, it was the other rivalschools that filled the benches and supported ourvery own varsity players. In social media platforms, we kept on posting #An1moLaSalle or #GoUSTe during the UAAP Finals but during the ALCUlympics, we did not even bother to know the

standing of our varsity. It was in the CEP page that we have learned the match. A thoughtful or simple #PLMPridewould really mean a lot. Another year has begun. There are more games to play and contests to join. There are teams that will need support and cheers from their own colleagues. The intramurals has started again. ALCUlympics will be opening its doors soon for athletes who are looking forward to be part of the team. There will be a buzz on who should win and who should lose. Let us not make the same mistake again. Let us not have an Anthony Villanueva who was made out of neglect and disappointment. Instead, an Anthony Villanueva of pride and glory. Let us show the true meaning of PLM Pride – a university of unity, sportsmanship and determination.


16 Ang Pamantasan August 2014

Ang Pamantasan August 2014 16

GREEN PAGE NOW SHOWING

All Things Green and Delicious

When Film Becomes Green ELOAH ANAWIM B. VALENCIANO The allure of film has smitten people for decades. This, perhaps, is one of the reasons why filmmakers have explored the possibility of bringing environmentalism into a different avenue. In an age gone digital, environmentalism is no longer just a focus of green propagandists. It has long become the subject of both feature and documentary films too. With the film industry’s artistic stances, “greener” images pave the way for unconventional environmental propagandas in an attempt to defeat people’s apathy towards environmental issues.

MC JAZER R. MALONDA

ENVIRONMENTAL REVOLUTION IN FAIRYTALES Film is one of the easiest ways of storytelling. Through moving pictures, an individual can easily capture what the film’s messages are. Thus, each film can be a colorful and powerful collaboration of images, scenes and words that exist alongside environmental issues.

AVATAR Complete with romance, glorious battles, and sacrificial deaths, James Cameron’s Avatar explores the beautiful connection humanity has with the natural world. Avatar depicts how man’s greed can threaten the existence of a tribe and their environment. This blockbuster serves as a plea for environmental protection and respect for lands.

HAPPY FEET George Miller’s Happy Feet highlights individual views of the natural world. It seeks to address issues regarding humans’ approaches to ecology. In the film, human activity is depicted as messing with the food chain when penguins starve because humans continue to overfish and pollute the seas.

FERN GULLY Fern Gully: the Last Rainforest narrates an archetypal conflict between man’s hunger for resources and the fragile rain forest movement. With a constant depiction of man’s abhorrent greed, the film depicts the pain that nature feels when man destroys it. Along with an anti-animal testing message, the film also promotes natureconservation movements.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEROES ON SCREEN Because the green movements have become too mainstream and some self-proclaimed environmentalists do not practice what they preach, filmmakers seek to bring fictional environmental heroes into the screen, trying to pitch environmental awareness into people’s fascination.

ERIN BROCKOVICH The film tells the story of a real-life environmental activist Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) and her fight against the contamination of groundwater by a company. Steven Soderbergh’s rendition of the tale is an environmental activism itself, with its narration on Brockovich being “David” against a Goliath-like giant corporation.

JAKE GITTES Roman Polanski’s Chinatown tells the story of Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), a private detective who unwittingly discovers a wicked plan to manipulate the water supply in the community. Recognizing the importance of water as one of the basic building blocks of the natural world, the film appeals for water conservation.

JULIE BAKER Flipped is more than a romantic comedy drama or just a feel good movie -- it encourages environmental preservation. This is evident in the scene where Julie Baker (Liana Liberato) climbed and stayed at her favorite sycamore tree in her efforts to prevent local authorities from cutting it down. Her love for the tree tells us that nature can let us see the world in a much more enlightened way.

MORE THAN JUST A DOCUMENTARY More than an object, entertainment or a commodity, film is a reality. It tells the bare essentials of an experience or event. And so filmmakers make use of documentary films to paint a vivid picture of the present environment in an attempt to address environmental issues into our understanding.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH Focusing on Al Gore and his travels in support of his efforts to educate the public about the severity of the climate change, the film follows a documentation of a keynote presentation that combines Gore’s exploration of data and predictions regarding climate change and its potential for disaster.

WINGED MIGRATION Winged Migration captures the grandeur of nature by following the migrations of more than a dozen bird species, spanning four years, 40 countries, and all seven continents. French filmmaker Jacques Perrin showcased the immense journey routinely taken by birds in a flight for survival.

BLUE VINYL With a light tone, the film follows a woman’s quest for an environmentally sound cladding for her parents’ house in New York. The documentary is an investigation on the many negative health effects of polyvinyl chloride in its production, use and disposal.

Most people view film as a source of entertainment while artists see it as a form of selfexpression. Others may say that the film industry’s efforts in propagating environmental change have a long way to go. Nevertheless, this collaboration of visual, aural and linguistic components has the power to influence people. After all, film has become the new religion of nature – one imbued with its own valuable lessons on environment’s destruction and preservation, Mother Earth-saving rituals, infallible doctrines, and sacred sites of nature.

PHOTO FROM JOSEPH ANDREW MOLINA If I say Malate, you’ll probably imagine a wide array of bars and discos with their loud music attracting more people instead of driving them out. The place has been synonymous with street parties, the infamous Gay Pride March and open nightclubs. If you’re a party lover, it’s what you should look out for. From being an exclusive residential area, the district transformed into commercial areas with boutiques, hotels and condominiums open for business. Various artists and art enthusiasts gather in these specialty restaurants, bars and café to discuss current art trends and perform for the night. If you’re a part of this clique, you’ll fit right in. Among the towering neighborhood in Malate is one Legazpi building. Located near the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Sev’s Café has been famous with its documentary film showing, poetry slams, balagtasan, song writing and an open mic. Everyone is invited to jump on the stage and express themselves through written or memorized outputs. It was established by environmental lawyer Ipat Luna-Severino and award winning broadcast journalist and documentary filmmaker Howie Severino. Aside from their special acts, Sev’s is famous for its green menu. Who would’ve thought that your 200 pesos could go a long way when it comes to healthy dishes? The restaurant replaces the usual white rice

with brown and red rice. Though it contains the similar amount of calories, brown rice is more nutritious and environmentfriendly than the white rice because it is naturally enriched with vitamins B1, vitamin B3 and iron requiring a shorter milling process with no chemicals involved in integrating the nutrients. Sev’s Café also introduces a unique menu of Filipino culinary. Part of it are the Adobong Manok sa mangga o gata, Beef with Pesto, Batangas Bulanglang, Gulay Gratin, Biasilog – a breakfast combo of egg and rice with a dried Biyang or the Okra with Luyang Dilaw. Soft drinks are not an option. Instead they give a wide variety of fresh juices and teas. One of its bestseller is the green smoothie – a mixture of pechay with fresh bananas. Despite of the unusual combination, customers are enjoying the drink because of its rich banana taste and the health value it gives. They are also serving honey calamansi juice and mango smoothie. When it comes to pasta, they are in for Amori Real Vegetable Noodles which are made from squash, moringa, spinach and carrots. And for those who can’t get enough of meat, they have organic burgers with a side dish of camote fries. For desserts, you can have a choice of the mango crepe or the carabao’s milk ice cream. Depends on the mood of the restaurant, they are having kesong puti with yema ice cream.

Inevitable Fallout No one wanted this. You didn’t think that it could go this far. But it’s too late. You were told to evacuate the place as soon as possible. Your father isn’t home yet. Your mother keeps walking around the house waiting for a call or reply from him. Your little sister keeps crying and the air you breathe just keeps getting thinner. You have to leave home. But how could you forsake your own planet? You really have no choice. You grab your mom’s arm and carry your little sister. Together with the thoughts of leaving your father behind, the three of you board the starliner. You always imagined that the Earth was a shining blue disk in the sky, but as you view it from where you are, it looks like something, trying like mad not to shake as foundations fall and half the screws of it come loose beneath of us all. It was so desolated. Every face on your ship is a mixture of both fear and confusion, as to whether what they’re seeing is just some false emergency circumstance, or the planet that housed us for centuries is really falling apart. An alarm sounded and everyone was told to enter deeper inside the ship. You held your mother and your little sister tighter. As you entered the doors, everyone was there in this huge place. Then this guy entered and talked to all of you. Your mom patted your back, she never looked so calm when you were on the ground. It might take a whole lot of time to make the earth life sustaining once again. Both the planet and the people from it are victims of rampant, uncontrolled consumerism. The Waste Allocation Load Lifter - EarthClass trash compactor robots

- are already on its way to Earth. However, they were quite unsure if these were enough to put up for the damage caused. You would all spend the rest of your lives in the ship. They began creating regenerative food supply to accommodate all the people. The captain assured everyone that

“The trees are the first things that you wanted to see. You ran downstairs and went outside, grabbed the soil and rubbed it at your face. You kissed the Earth so many times.” everything’s being taken care of. In the blink of an eye, chairs began moving, seating every person in sight. Everything worked via voice command, obeying your every whim. All you wanted to eat: all served in a cup. You grabbed one cup with a cupcake’s logo on it. To your surprise, you actually liked the goop. Then you saw your little sister being transported somewhere else. You suddenly dropped your food, got up your automatic chair, and ran to were your little sister was being brought to. But robots stopped you and said that she will undergo a different form

Milkshakes are also available with different flavors to choose from. Posted on their Facebook page, they’ll be trying Balingjoy – a cassava and cocosugar terrine topped with Palawan guava. All products were home grown from their acquaintances and Sev’s ensures the safety of their customers as it is well-processed and cleaned. No synthetic chemicals are used in planting and the livestock are raised carefully. In an interview with Kamusta Magazine, an online travel publication, Howie said that Sev’s Café is their way of introducing Filipinos to a delicious yet healthy diet. Unlike the other green restaurants, the café gives a Filipino aura with its interior design – an installation of Philippine Flag on the doorway, wooden chairs and tables, hanging old style lamps and minimal paintings. With a small improvised stage in the far side and sofas on the other, it’s definitely a cozy barkada hangout place to have. Instead of finding them at a branch, they had situated themselves at a basement of a condominium building that conserved some space and creatively redesigned the area. Food and Ideas. Sev’s motto fits in the theme of their restaurant. More than a restaurant, Sev’s Café is not only introducing us to living a healthy Filipino life with their local green cuisine and fresh juices but also to patronize our very own.

GLENDEL D. NAZARIO

of conditioning. Your mother as well was separated from you. Like the garbage that you have filled the planet with, you were all segregated. You never stopped polluting it, until it ceased to be habitable. Now, everyone has to pay the price. You tried running from everyone, from the robots, from the human helpers. But how could you? You have no choice. A man tried to push you into going to your proper chamber but you recognized the voice. You looked back and it was your dad, wearing a uniform and a facial mask. He didn’t recognize you nor your screams at him. You hit him, he falls. Robots swarm at you and knock you out. He just stares at you, like mannequin. You hear the barking sounds again, getting louder and louder, getting closer and closer. That’s when you woke up. You looked out your window. The trees are the first things that you wanted to see. You ran downstairs and went outside, grabbed the soil and rubbed it at your face. You kissed the Earth so many times. And then you sat for a moment. You imagined Earth again as a blue disk in the sky. You may not be on outer space, but you know that it looks like that, and you wish that if time and fate permits, it always stays like that. Your dream gave you discovery of a life changing possibility that the Earth can die any moment. That futuristic world stems directly from an absolute negligence of the world’s dominant species towards the protection and preservation of our host – Earth. It needs us. It needs you.


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