bagwis THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITYGENERAL SANTOS CITY THE CONSEQUENCE MARAWI PAID. Katotohanan, Kuro-kuro, at Kasinungalingan i see dead people On the Marawi Crisis BAGWIS Spotlight: A Closer Look at Excellence
The Philippines has had a rough first year under the new President. Blows to many established concepts and institutions have been made, sometimes for the better, mostly for the worse. We are, as of now, a part of a Schrödinger thought experiment, stored in a box where we assume two polar identities at the same time. We are either at the precipice of the degeneration of our country or on the cusp of revolutionary change that will liberate us from the ills of the society. But until then we are to assume both identities. But even so time does not stop. There are consequences to both action and inaction and these consequences have the power to decide what we will be once the Schrödinger’s box is opened.Inthis issue we navigate through many issues that have come up inside the university and in our country in general and try to make sense of them. With our cover story The Consequences Marawi Paid, a young female moro writer delves into the source and the aftermath of the Marawi siege and the exodus of the Meranaws. In our main editorial, we also tackle the immediate threat of fake news in the social media landscape. And in the midst of all the issues, we struggle to become relevant members of the society and to uphold the challenge for excellence imposed upon us by the university and the community. That is why this issue includes Spotlight, a segment where we feature three of the best students from the school. Finally, we have a literary section where we explored the definition of Fear featuring works from staff writers and student and teacher contributors. Much has already been said but there can never be too much. The identity of a democratic state lies in the ability of its people to speak and discuss relevant and pressing matters in order to arrive to the most just and humane solutions. Read through the pages of this issue as a part of this democratic agenda. The time to speak and move is always now. In the end, we decide what to do as much as we are the ones to deal with the consequences.-DavidJaysonB.Oquendo,Editor-in-Chief
Hindi na lingid sa ating kaalaman ang nakakabahalang paglaganap ng fake news partikular na sa mga social media websites. Nakakapanlumong isipin na walang habas nitong binubulag ang masa sa katotohanan at gumagatong ng mga maling istoryang dumadagdag o bumabawas sa detalye ng balitang dapat malaman ng sambayanan. Sa panahong ito ng modernong teknolohiya kung saan halos lahat ng tao ay may access na sa internet ay mas lalong lumalala ang pagkalat ng mga pekeng balita; isang kanser ng teknolohiya at banta sa tamang pamamahayag. Ang fake news ay isang tipo ng yellow journalism na nagtataglay ng maling impormasyong at pinalalaganap sa pamamagitan ng broadcast news media, online social media or maging sa imprenta. Ito ay nilalathala na may intensyong linlangin o lituhin ang mga mambabasa para sa pinansiyal, personal o politikal na pakinabang ng mga taong ngpapalakad ng mga fake news websites. Ang isang pekeng balita ay kadalasang nagtataglay ng kapansin-pansin at sensitibong headline na pumupukaw sa interes ng masa upang makahatak ng mga mambabasa at ang mas nakakabahala, online sharing ng mga mambabasang hindi man lang nag-aksaya ng oras para mag-isip kung totoo ba ang kanyang nabasa. Ito rin ay similar sa mga online clickbait headlines na kung saan umaasa sa kita mula sa advertisement sa pamamagitan ng pagclick sa mga ito. Marahil ay sa pang-araw-araw na pagscroll natin sa ating Facebook newsfeed ay nakakakita tayo ng mga kakatwang istoryang katha ng mga websites gaya ng pinoytrendingnews. net at napupukaw ang ating interes dahil nakakawindang ang balitang ito patungkol sa isang politikong nagpapakulo ng ating dugo at sa walang pagdadalawang isip ay atin itong nai-share. Hindi lamang isa o sampung tao ang may access sa internet, bilyon at malaking porsyento nito ay ignorante sa responsableng paggamit ng internet. Ngunit sa likod ng libulibong like and share ng mga pekeng balitang ito, ano nga ba ang tunay na epekto ng paglaganap ng fake news? Tila kabuteng nagsulputan ang mga websites na nagpapalaganap ng fake news at maging ang mga lehitimong websites ng mga pamahayagan ay mayroon na ring katumbas na fake news website na lumilito sa mambabasa. Hindi lamang nito nililinlang ang masa, ang pekeng balita ay nagpaparupok din sa seryoso at lehitimong pamamahayag. Ang madaling pag-access sa internet at ang popularidad ng social media ay naging behikulo sa mabilis na pagkalat ng pekeng balita na siyang nagiging kakompitensya ng lehitimong balita. Kasabay ng ating pagkawili sa mga pekeng balita ay ang pagkasira ng isang personalidad, pagkabulag sa tunay na pangyayari at ang pagtatagumpay ng mga tao sa likod ng mga pekeng impormasyong ito sa kung ano man ang kanilang personal o politikal na pakay. Hindi kawili-wili ang fake news at ang mabilis na pagkalat nito at bilang isang kanser na patuloy na nagiging banta sa tamang pamamahayag, nangangailangan ito ng agarang “psychological vaccine” sa pamamagitan ng masusing pagtuklas kung ang ating nabasa ay isang pekeng balitang nagtataglay ng mga maling impormasyon o kathang isip lamang sa Angpangkalahatan.fakenewsay isang banta sa kamalayan ng mga mamamayan na pinatunayan noong eleksyong pangnasyunal sa ating bansa. Samut-saring istorya ang ginawa upang magsiraan ng imahen ang magkabilang kampong kumakandidato. Ebidensya nito ang mga websites na naglalathala ng mga balita patungkol sa mga kandidatong ito. May mga balitang puro haka-haka at personal na inaatake ang isang kandidato, at ang mas nakakatakot ay nagmumukhang lehitimo ang balitang ito dahil sa paraan ng pagsulat ng headline at ang pangalan mismo ng website kung saan ito nakalathala. Mayroon ding lumabas na balitang iniendorso umano ni Pope Francis si Pres. Donald Trump noong kasagsagan pa lamang ng eleksyon. Ayon sa balitang ito, nagbitiw umano ng pahayag si Trump sa People’s magazine, “if were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re the dumbest group of voters in the country” ayon pa sa kanya. Ang lahat ng ito ay naging matunog at kontrobersyal, at maraming tao ang naniwala, subalit ang lahat ng ito’y peke. Pero ang pekeng balitang ito ay patuloy na kumalat na tila baga lehitimo at tunay na balita. Sa pang-araw-araw na pagscroll natin sa ating Facebook newsfeed o pagcheck sa mga online news marahil ay di na natin namamalayang unti-unting nilalason ng fake news ang ating kamalayan at karapatan sa tamang balita at impormasyon. Sila’y naglipana. At layunin nilang lituhin at linlangin ang mga mambabasa para sa kanilang pansariling interes, mapa-politikal, personal o pinansyal na rason. Ang fake news ay tila isang kanser na lumulumpo sa ating kakayanang magpahayag ng tamang opinion sa mga bagaybagay dahil ito’y sumusubo sa atin ng maling impormasyon, hindi lamang ito ang epekto ng paglaganap ng fake news, pati na rin ang pagkasira ng ilang personalidad na apektado nito at ang panghihina ng mga lehitimong news provider dahil kailangan nilang makipagkompitensya at patunayang maigi na ang kanilang balita ay tunay. Ang patuloy na paglaganap ng kanser na ito ay ang pagtatagumpay ng pagmamanipula sa ating kamalayan. Subalit hindi ba’t tayo rin naman ang makakasugpo sa kanser na ito dahil tayo ang mambabasa? Sa pamamagitan ng matalino at responsableng pagbabasa ng mga balitang lumalabas kung saan-saan ay mapangangalagaan natin ang ating sarili mula sa mga pekeng balita. Dapat nating suriing maigi ang nakasulat at huwag agad na maniwala sa sensitibo at makatawag-pansing headline lalo na kung ito’y nanggagaling sa mga kahina-hinalang websites at Facebook pages. Ang pagsugpo sa paglaganap ng fake news ay nasa ating mga kamay, “think before you click” at basahing mabuti ang balita at matapos itong mabasa at ma-fact check “think before you click” na naman; kung ito’y lehitimo at tunay na balita at nais mong i-share o kung ito’y fake news at nais mong i-share upang bantaan at paalalahanan ang ibang social media users na ang balitang iyon ay peke nang malaman nila at maiwasan ang paniniwala at pagshare sa mga ito. Ang news literacy ay isang napakahalagang abilidad na tumutulong sa mambabasa na maging mapagmatyag at wais sa mga impormasyong nababasa at gumawa ng masusi at tamang "judgment" ukol sa mga balitang nababasa. Ang pamamahayag ay may layuning ihatid ang tama at napapanahong balita sa masa subalit kung patuloy tayong tumatangkilik sa fake news ay unti-unting nawawalan ng saysay ang layuning ito at tayo'y nagiging mangmang sa kung ano ang tunay na nangyayari. Ang paglaganap ng pekeng balita ay tunay na isang epidemyang lumalason sa kamalayan ng bawat tao upang gumawa ng mga maling hakahaka tungkol sa mga bagay-bagay at sumisira sa esensya ng responsableng pamamahayag. Ang pagkawala ng kamalayan at ang pagputol ng koneksyon ng sambayanan sa tama at may katuturan na impormasyon ay maaaring magdulot ng panganib sa kinabukasan ng bansa at ng lipunan. Ngunit, higit sa lahat, ang mambabasa na lamang ang may kakayanan na puksain ang paglaganap ng pekeng balita sa pamamagitan ng mapanuri at matalinong pagbabasa at pagkakaroon ng tamang opinyon hinggil dito, opinyong walang pinapanigang kampo. Sa pamamagitan nito'y matitigil ang paglaganap ng mga pekeng balita at fake news websites dahil kapag ang lahat ng mambabasa'y mapanuri, wala nang taong mauuto at maihahain sa sambayanan ang lehitimo at wastong balitang may kredibilidad.
Fake News EDITORIAL []
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editorial• BAGWIS 1
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EDITOR’S NOTE 2827262524232016141312111009080706030201 Fake News: Bagong Kanser ng Lipunan, editorial TheNewsConsequence Marawi Paid, coverstory On The Marawi Crisis Katotohanan, Kuro-kuro, at Kasinungalingan, opinion Rohannieopinionopinionopinionopinion field trip Huwag Mapeke ng Fake News, feature BAGWISMSUlogySpotlight: A Closer Look at Excellence The Girl, GravitationalliteraryPull, literary Who Are You, Stranger? literary Siping, literary I See Dead People, literary I’m Working on It, literary Desperada, literary PoetryPoetry
THE STORY BY ROHANNIE IBRAHIM
In relation to the joint memorandum circular no. 2017-A or Grant of Free Tuition on State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Mindanao State UniversityGeneral Santos City (MSU-GSC) suspends tuition fee collection for first semester academic year 2017-2018. However, the possibility of the tuition fee collection resuming come academic year 2018 arose when ACT Teachers party list Representatives Antonio Tinio and France Castro revealed a budget cut of P6.29B on CHED and the deletion of free tuition in National Expenditure Program submitted by the Office of the President to AccordingCongress.tothe Campus Registrar Tersa R. Castillo, the memorandum no. 003-73C, signed by the Chancellor Atty. Abdurrahman T. Canacan, states that for current semester all undergraduate students which are more or less at 4000 in population will be covered. “The issued memorandum last July 18, under special provisions, was supposed to have determining factors of who will be prioritized for free tuition but due to time constraints all students will be covered that’s why it’s only suspended,” Castillo said. The campus registrar said that there is a possibility that some students will have to pay in the future, should they not pass the qualification stipulated under the special provisions. “Pero if enough na nga macover sa DBM budget we’ll make sure that everyone is covered with free tuition,” added Castillo. She also added that there will still be collection of miscellaneous fees and repeat subjects will be charged with 50 per unit. The suspension of tuition fee collection is considered as a blessing and a tactical victory for students’ fight for free education.
2018
by BENONI E. PABLO, JR. by BENONI E. PABLO, JR.
MARAWICONSEQUENCEPAID COVER
These were what the over 150 Lumad students and teachers with their families were calling for in the 4th Mindanao-wide Save Our Schools Network (SOS) Conference, held last March 15 to 17 at F. Bangoy St., DavaoCommunityCity. leaders and teachers said that they won’t stop lobbying their long battle cry about military attacks on their schools, and seek support from the government in getting the accreditation. They also condemn the government tagging on their school as NPA“Theyowned.are taking away what we’ve put up and never gave us the freedom to wisen up and realize the real situation so we can fight for our ancestral lands against business capitalists.” Said one of the IP teachers.SOSlead convener Mercedez Arlene Alonzo said that many lumad schools tried, and have been trying to get accreditation but were not given, even when they follow all the set of requirements. Though getting the license won’t guarantee that IP schools will no longer be attacked, she said that they still want the recognition to get fund support and the advantage of not having their students take additional exams to get to higher education. Alonzo also mentioned about the existing Department of Education’s order and recommend it to congress for the review of IP framework. Meanwhile, SOS Southern Mindanao spokesperson Rius Valle said that they also gathered the cases of attacks and harrassments on their schools and submitted it to the joint monitoring committee of national democratic front of the Philippines to be considered in the talks with the government. Valle added that under President Duterte’s first months, documented cases of attacks were at 87 during the implementation of ceasefire, while PNOY’s last 8 months recorded 130 cases. Representative Antonio Tinio of ACT party list discussed about house resolutions supporting the peace talks and the investigations of human rights violations, while Sec. Liza Masa promised to support by giving of food supplies and will coordinate with government agencies to stop the harassments on LumadPresentschools.inthe event as keynote speaker was UP Diliman (UPD) Chancellor Michael Tan who pledged his all out support for the indigenous people in Mindanao and their long standing battle in upholding their right to peaceful education. He shared how the isko and iska of the UPD helped Lumad communities by conducting manilakbayan 2015 and lakbayan ng pambansang minorya 2016. “Gagawin ko ang lahat ng makakaya ko para mas maipaabot at maintindihan ng mga isko at iska ang tunay na sitwasyon ng mga lumad sa Mindanao at maipanawagan na matigil na ang pag atake sa mga Lumad schools and communities”, he ended. One of the event’s highlights is a film showing that shows the real situation of the IP’s, caused by militarization. community shoutsfor freedom to education
“Dapat nang itigil ang pag atake ng mga militar sa aming aming paaralan at pagpaslang sa aming mga lider. Nagdudulot ito ng kaguluhan sa aming komunidad. Hindi na kami naakakapag aral.”
BAGWIS • news2 news • BAGWIS 3
Lumad
MSU GSC tuition-free for now,collection might resume in
The government’s response President Rodrigo Duterte declared Martial Law to contain the extremist activities and prevent them from spilling out in surrounding areas in Mindanao and spreading further to Visayas and Luzon. Because of this, the strict security is sure to verify the identities of the people who are traveling from one place to another. The officers on every checkpoint check the ID’s of every passengers in a public transportation and those who do not have their ID’s sign in logbooks. They also display the faces of the members of Maute Group on tarpaulins. This step aims to stop the bombings that are not only hurting the reputation of the whole Mindanao and chasing tourists away but are also jeopardizing the lives of many people. But there are two sides on a coin. While it is true that the Martial Law provides a sense of comfort for some, it can’t be denied that along with it comes the threat of discrimination and curtailment of human rights. The Maranaos for example, are treated differently during checkpoints compared to other evacuees. A Muslim woman wearing a hijab is searched more thoroughly than other women who don’t. It’s an implication that along that there is stratification and classification of residents prior to the checkpoints therefore perpetuating harmful and retrogressive stereotypes. The more concrete evidence of this is the implementation of the ID System for Muslims in Paniqui, Tarlac and the proposal of the Philippine Police to replicate this to the rest of the Muslim communities in the whole region. Apparently, Superintendent Aaron Aquino thinks that there is nothing wrong with it in an interview with SunStar Pampanga. These two points are only among the reasons that divided the opinions of the Filipinos. Some may claim that Martial Law is necessary to stop this act of barbarianism, while others may insist that Philippines can do away with Martial Law. But sill, the bigger question that it poses is whether it is justifiable or not. The President has grounds for declaring Martial Law, and the endless debate centers around these. According to Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, in case of rebellion and invasion, the President may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under Martial Law for a period not exceeding sixty days. And according to Christian Mondo who is one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, the situation in Marawi is an act of lawless violence and not a rebellion. The thing is even if the President believed it to be a rebellion, some political analysts claim that while it is necessary to implement Martial Law in Marawi, there is no enough reason to subject other places in Mindanao under it as well. As of writing, President Duterte announces that there is no need for a nationwide Martial Law and that it is only a temporary measure to quell rebellion in Mindanao, however, it will last until the 31st of December this year.
Now more than sixty days have passed since the President had declared Martial Law. Meanwhile the Armed Forces of the Philippines have long said the situation in Marawi was under control. As a matter of fact, only two barangays are left under siege by the Maute Group. That being the case, one can no longer justify the necessity of Martial Law to address the situation in Marawi and Mindanao as a whole. There is even a possibility that Martial Law might only serve as an agent that will catalyze an authoritarian government in the Philippines. This is because if one would connect the conspiracy theories about Jade Helm 15, people will eventually not question anymore the military forces walking in the streets because they are already used to it, psychologically speaking. Needless to say, the actions taken by the Maute Group and the government forces led to what the Filipinos are seeing today in their televisions: people in evacuation sites, infants getting sick and dying in there, the seemingly unending exchanges of gunfire, bombs falling from the sky, skeletons of the citizens who were once walking the streets of Marawi, and the current 607 death toll that continues to increase. Victims of war In this war, like in any other wars, everyone is a victim. Even Muslims whom many people label as ‘terrorists’ are also subjected to this carnage. They have already lost their homes, friends, properties. And to think, they are also people who laugh with their children and think of them as the most precious things in the world, and they do their best to support them. When you see them in the streets, they would give you the same friendly smile you give to your friends. They are not at all different, because like any other Filipinos, they would welcome you in their home with utter hospitality. And more than anything else, these Muslims who could not be at ease even during the holy month of Ramadan, just wish for this war to end. They want to go back to their homes. They, like the rest of us, get sick of all these fights. It is also hard for them to watch what the war has destroyed and what it continues to destroy. The lives that were shattered by the greed of others are pieces of a glass that cannot be mended. This is the painful reality: they pay the price for a crime committed only by a group of people. The painful reality that Marawi faces the consequences of butchery that these murderers who take pleasure in the pain and loss of others, had committed. It is the scapegoat that is used by people who cannot and do not want to educate themselves properly on the issue of faith, culture and extremism and choose only to see things that they want to see. Marawi suffers from the actions of the government which, by far fails to listen to its people about their misgivings on the situation. It takes the blame for the careless actions and misguided judgement of many people when it should receive sympathy and heartfelt understanding. With all the lives that were lost, and the lives that continue to be deprived of freedom, the promise of a warm and gentle sunshine is so much far from reach. The victims of this unending war can only wait. Even so, may they live to see the world that doesn’t judge a person and oppress him by the faith he has. May they live to see a world free from the fires of hatred and anger, a world so much different from the Marawi that is now torn asunder.
BAGWIS • cover story4
What do you think when you hear the word terrorism? Buildings and houses reduced to a pile of rubble. Mutated bodies of people, young and old, women and men, sprawled on the ground. Painful cries of the multitude, of children who lost their parents, of parents who lost their children. A wide and thick blanket of fresh and dry blood. Terrorism is a tragedy beyond anyone’s imagination but is as real as life and death. It happened a lot in the past and continues to exist even in the present. What is taking place in Marawi right now is a perfect illustration of it. Marawi is the capital of Lanao del Sur and is home to over 200,000 Filipinos- mostly by Muslims. It is a city known for the Lanao Lake from where the term ‘Maranao’ was derived. It was once a peaceful city, like any other places in the country. But a series of kidnapping, of bombing, and of immense bloodshed had shattered its peace. How it started According to Major General Rolando Bautista who ordered the raid on May 23, 2017, they initially received an intel that a local terrorist group was planning to take over Marawi. To confirm the information, they conducted a search for the members of the said militant group. By chance, they spotted Isnilon Hapilon, the man who is said to be the leader of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). After validating the presence of Hapilon in the area, the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) launched a joint operation to capture Hapilon. However, the operation sparked a wild fire of conflict when Hapilon’s group asked for support from the members of the Dawlah Islamiya, commonly referred to as the Maute Group. Following the failed capture of Hapilon, the area of the fierce battle expanded from Barangay Basak Malutlut to the other parts of Marawi. Schools and other buildings were invaded by the Maute Group. Dansalan College was set ablaze, and civilians were abducted. This proves that the unripe plans of the Maute Group to besiege Marawi are still fatal and only heaven knows what could have come to pass lest these wicked plans came to maturity. The horror and fear No matter what offensive the government forces did, the Maute Group didn’t back down. Eventually, Marawi turned into a graveyard, a painting of real horror and dread. In an article in Time Magazine entitled What the siege of a Philippine city revealsaboutISIS’deadlynewfrontinAsia by Joseph Hincks with reporting by Merlin Manos, one escapee compared the scene to the series The Walking Dead. The dead however can’t talk, can’t move; they can only lie on the battleground, silently, till their cadavers decomposed. They cannot shout nor weep. Questions like “why did this happen” are suspended in their throats. They cannot complain if animals feed on them. They cannot protest. They won’t be able to see the sun rising ever again.Even for the people who managed to get away from the warzone, the battle is not over. Some of them had incurred wounds. But the physical injuries are nothing against the mental and emotional damage that they suffered and may continue to endure for the rest of their lives. The eyes of the children might always replay the brutality as if they are watching a movie. Their parents can only hold on to them firmly, hoping that their prayers would reach the God they believe in. The smell of death, and of the sound of bullets piercing their flesh might haunt them still. Perhaps they may even see blood wherever they look and hear explosions from the steady drumming of the raindrops against the roof. They might have untold sleepless nights because of fear that a sword is hanging above their head. And others might be powerless at the sight of men in uniform, or tremble at the sight of a gun. And for the rest of the people who are away and living comfortably on the other side of the country, and of the world, they might not care. Even if they did, they can only offer prayers. They can’t wipe away the tears and the blood from the wounds of all the victims, Muslims and Christians alike, nor whisper soothing words to blow away the pain. None of their lullabies can put the hurting to a sleep. Not the time to be divided As much as it is painful to admit, acts of terrorism are no news. Filipinos have witnessed countless bombings and killing sprees, but it doesn’t desensitize them from the hurting. The pain from losing a fellow countryman doesn’t lessen, in fact, it multiplies—the same as the fear from falling prey to these horrendous crimes. Some of them are getting paranoid even, from all the news, fake or not. Naturally, confusion follows. Whether something could have been done to prevent things from escalating this far, the bottom line is that the Maute Group has instilled immeasurable fear and hatred to the minds of many. It only natural for other people to start pointing fingers. They only need someone to blame because they find It a more convenient way to make sense of the situation. In terrible events such as the Marawi Siege, however, blaming is not everything. People need not vent their frustrations by blaming others and treating them with hostility because what is important right now is to help each other to put an end to this Lookingwar. at it in a more optimistic point of view, this tragedy might be an opportunity to unite the masses for real. It was once said by Friedrich Nietzsche that it is necessary to invent an enemy if an enemy doesn’t exist. As a matter of fact, even Sigmund Freud supported this when he said that having an enemy outside the group makes cohesion inside. In the case of Marawi, the Filipinos have determined who the enemies are, and it gives them the reason to stick together. But the challenge here is that the enemies are also Filipinos, albeit a group of people holding their knives against the throats of their countrymen. They had burned their own land. They have muffled the cries of their own people by the sound coming from the barrage of ammunition they release into the air. What’s worse is that everyone who has their own agenda is trying to use this to their advantage. And that is scarier because not everyone in the Philippines is aware of their schemes. It is not much different from what Nietzsche had proposed. It is not much different from using a scapegoat and manipulating facts to suit their interest. And Martial Law exemplifies this fact that some individuals might use certain events to obtain something in the long run.
While we are busy exchanging each other’s views and opinions to others, we created a hostile environment where argument is normal and understanding is a luxury. Despite being cornered in a few barangays in Marawi, the Maute group has achieved its goal of spreading widespread disunity among us. While we fight amongst ourselves, they laugh at their victory of poisoning our minds. This country has never been so divided, until now. The massive influx of evacuees might have caused towns and cities a certain range of discomfort, but all of this are temporary. We beg your indulgence and understanding. We lost our homes, so please help us find one for the meantime. Just because we are Meranaws does not mean we are terrorists. Do not close your apartments from us. Just like the others, we will be regular tenants who will abide by the policies set forth in the agreement. We are victims, too. You might consider yourselves victims when we have disrupted your daily routine due to our arrival by the thousands, but understand our plight as well. With Marawi being reduced into piles of rubbles, a part of us is dying too. Do not avoid us. It makes everything awkward. When we see each other in the streets, know that we are the same – persons with feelings. We might be Muslim Meranaws, but it does not make us less as a person. Fill our sadness with warmth. We are scared too. We are not terrorists. The acts of the few does not justify generalization. Please see past our religion and pray for peace and the end of conflict in Marawi, just like the outpour of prayers you gave for Manchester and Paris. Let us live in a world where no person or a group of people are regarded as potential threats. We are law-abiding citizens too. Martial law was definitely extended by our Congress. Despite my opposition due to a number of reasons, I believe that we should move past the arguments and take head on the greater challenge that lies ahead: that no right should be trampled and kept unprotected, and that peace shall reign over the country. Let the conflict stay in Marawi and away from our hearts while we heal the wounds of misunderstanding.Empathyisnotthat hard to give. Let us promote understanding and respect while we rebuild our spirit and dignity as a nation. Let not Maute nor any other form of terrorism divide us.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt opinion
Sa dami ng mga isyung kumakalat, maitatanong natin alin nga ba ang totoong nangyari. Dito nagsisimula ang mga spekulasyon hanggang sa kumalat na ang mga usap-usapan na may iba't ibang bersyon. Simula sa may nakitang lalaking pumasok sa cr ng mga babae hanggang sa nanilip raw ito, may kahalikan raw hanggang sa kung anu-ano pa. Ngunit wala man lamang nag-atubiling hanapin ang katotohanan.Sagitnang pinaghabi-habing usap-usapan, may mga tao na palang nasasaktan. Nailalagay sila sa kahihiyan na naging sanhi ng pagkasira ng kanilang pagkatao. Naaapektuhan ang kanilang pamilya at maging sila ay nawawalan na ng tiwala at pag-asa.
Kamakailan kumalat ang balitang may dalawang estudyante ng MSU ang di umanoy nagtalik sa university gym. Nakababahala ang balita dahil wala itong katotohanan at bunga lamang ng malikhaing isip. Sa katunayan, nagsimula lamang ang usap-usapan na may nakitang lalaki na pumasok sa palikuran ng mga babae. Base sa report ng MSU Police, nangyari ang insidente 9:50 ng umaga, noong ika-9 ng Marso, 2017. Ayon sa sinumpaang salaysay ng mga sangkot, inihatid lamang ng lalaki ang sanitary napkin ng kanyang kasintahan sa loob ng palikuran nang wala siyang makitang ibang makakatulong. Malinaw rito na hinusgahan at agad na pinag-usapan ang pangyayari na wala man lamang sapat na impormasyon. Ang ganitong pag-iisip ay walang lugar sa ating unibersidad. Ang pagsalita at panghuhusga ng walang basehan ay hindi isang karakter ng isang tunay na MSUan maging ng kahit sinong isang edukadong mamamayan. Masakit isipan na itinuturing na academic proficient ang mga mag-aaral ng MSU ngunit tila hindi isinasabuhay ang kanilang natutunan. Hindi masamang magsalita at magbigay ng kuro-kuro sa mga bagay-bagay dahil iyan ang nagpapatunay na tayo'y MSUans - nakikibaka, lumalaban para sa tama at para sa mabuting interes ng nakararami. Ngunit ang magpakalat ng balitang puno ng spekulasyon at walang basehan ay isang krimen. Ayon kay Chief Public Atty. Persida Acosta, “Ang anumang malisyosong kilos na kung saan ay may gawi na maging sanhi ng kasiraan ng pangalan at maglagay sa kahihiyan na makakaistorbo sa kapayapaan ng pag-iisip ng isang tao ay batayan ng isang krimen.”
Malinaw na sinasabi rito na karapatan mong magsalita. At madalas inaabuso ang karapatang ito. Nakakaligtaan natin na kasabay ng pribiliheyong ito ay ang malaking responsibilidad at pananagutan.
It is unprecedented in scale, a first in Ranaw history and even for the whole country.Formerly known as Dansalan, the Islamic City of Marawi is the center of trade and culture for the dwellers of the lake. Never in its history that brave Meranaw warriors left the city against foreign conquerors even at the cost of their lives. Now, it is rewritten into a new sorrowful age where Marawi is left at its heels and its children have become homeless in a blink of an eye.
Sa katunayan, kasabay ng Artcile 19 ang Article 29 Section 2 na nagsasabing, “In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. .”
Maaaring wala kang pakialam sa nangyari dahil narinig mo lang, dahil sinabi lang sayo, dahil naguusap lang kayo. Opinyon mo iyon at karapatan mo iyon. Ngunit hanggang saan maaari mong sabihin wala kang pakialam dahil kalayaan mong magsalita.
In an instant, Marawi City became the Aleppo of the Philippines: raped by bombs and abused by bullets. While Meranaws scampered to safety, Marawi City was silent for the first time since Islam arrived in the shores of the lake. The adhan, the Islamic call for prayer, was not heard for the first time in the city. With the intent of reclaiming Marawi from the so-called ISIS authorities trying to establish a wilayat (a caliphate province) and preventing the spread of the conflict, the Government has put the entire island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago under martial law and effectively suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Knowing that the goal was to re-establish effectively the powers of the Government and peace and order in the area, yet Meranaws hold the issue of martial law as sensitive and personal. The horrors of the Marcos Martial Law are still vividly remembered by older Merenaws, and are consistently narrated to the younger generation. The term itself is abhorred and causes shudders among us, bringing back memories of unrestrained state and military powers, curtailment of democratic processes, and cases of abuses and disappearances. While the 1987 Constitution ensures the supremacy of the civilian government, certain incidents made Meranaws voice out against the martial law proclamation. First, the proclamation, being vague, does not effectively shed facts on what extent of state powers can the military act and not. Unrestrained, the unnamed and uncategorized military powers may be prone to abuse at the expense of the innocent civilians and evacuees. Second, for fear of the vast military powers, civilians cannot effectively redress their grievances on possible abuses should it happen under military rule. Meranaws, belonging to the Muslim minority of this country, detests further curtailment of rights. Minorities should be afforded more protection yet martial law promotes the exact opposite.TheMarawi Siege, as the conflict is now called, has brought the best and the worst in our culture. The siege brought the real war to the homes of the Filipinos, a war on bias and prejudice that has been persisting for centuries. This conflict brought more pain for Filipinos – burning words of dissents, cultural insensitivity and baseless acts of discrimination.
Datu Esma Mikee P. Maruhom was a former Student Regent of the Mindanao State University System and a graduate of AB English in MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology. He is currently taking up his post-graduate studies in the University of San Carlos in Cebu City. CRISIS
Great minds discuss IDEAS. .Average minds discuss SmallEVENTS.minds discuss PEOPLE.
Ayon sa United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Artcile 19, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Hindi rin natin kayang sukatin kung gaano kaya nakaapekto ang isyung ito sa emosyonal na aspeto ng kanilang pagkatao. Sa pagkalat ng mga usap-usapan, nasusubok ang ating pangangatwiran. Nanghuhusga tayo batay sa kung ano ang alam natin at kapag hindi ito sapat, bumubuo tayo ng spekulasyon. Sumasalamin ito sa ating pagkatao. Dahil inilalantad natin ang ating sarili sa walang-saligang impormasyon, binabawasan natin ang ating kredibilidad.
Approximately 250,000 Marawi residents fled to safety as the brutality of the ISIS-linked Maute Group ravaged the city – burning Dansalan College, taking over Amai Pakpak Medical Hospital, and even holding innocent civilians left in the conflict zone as hostages.
ON THE MARAWI
opinion • BAGWIS 7
The internally displaced persons from Marawi suffer pain of the widest of magnitude: the pain of losing one’s home, having a reduced dignity and being seriously misunderstood. The spread of conspiracy theories regarding the identities of the Meranaws have caused great discomfort among the displaced families. While people continue to debate on their views, the dignity of the Meranaws are being pushed further down the drain.
Ibigsabihan ang ating kalayaan sa pagpapahayag ng ating saloobin ay may hangganan. Saan nga ba natatapos ang karapatang ito? Palagian ang kalayaang ipahayag ang damdamin ang una pang nakakasakit sa marami. Iniisip natin na protektado tayo ng batas upang magsalita ngunit hindi natin isinasangalangalang na kasabay nito, pinoprotektahan rin ng kaparehong batas ang iba mula sa kawalang-katarungang pananalita. Ang ating karapatan ay nagtatapos sa pagsisimula ng karapatan ngNararapatiba. lamang na sa puntong ito, maunawaan natin ang dahas ng ating mga salita. Tulad ng paggamit ni Rizal ng mga salita na nagbunsod ng isang rebolusyon. Gamitin natin ang ating mga salita upang mag-udyok ng pagbabago, pumukaw sa nakararami at protektahan ang naaapi sa halip na tsismis ang atupagin. Sa pagharap ng iba't ibang kwento mula sa iba't ibang tao, nakakatagpo tayo ng isang hamon-ang pagpili ng nararapat. Sa pagbibigay ng pansin sa mga bagay-bagay, kailangan natin hanapin ang tama. Bilang isang MSUan, inaasahan sa atin na marunong tayong kumilatis sa sa pagkakaiba ng katotohanan, kuro-kuro, at kasinungalingan. Bilang isang mabuting mamamayan nararapat lamang na ating gawing hangarin ang tuklas sa katotohan at ito'y panindigan.
Aivee Ann Didulo Datu Esma Mikee P. Maruhom
KasinungalinganKuro-kuro,Katotohanan,at
It's been 4417 years since the love of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, history's oldest recorded gay couple, thrived in ancient Egypt. Four thousand four hundred seventeen years of love, executions, love, degradation, love, the burnings and discriminationthat sums up the lives of LGBT people throughout history. Seven hundred ninety years had passed since the Abrahamic religions tried to save the rest of the world from having the same fate as the city of Sodom, but the ghosts of the "sinners" are still crying between the pillars of St. Mark's Square in Venice. The ashes from the burned bodies of those killed in the Inquisition still float in the air, being inhaled by those who convinced themselves that they have nothing to do with it. They walk around, unbothered by the fact that thousands have died, yet thank the heavens for the fire and brimstone that never came, then pray to never come.
We are made to believe homosexuality is a perversion that was developed by being exposed to media, or an illness that the fetus got from the chickens his/ her mother ate. It is more comforting to believe that homosexuality is contagious and only started to exist in the 19th century- merely a product of tainted minds seeking for something new and exciting. But our past says otherwise. The homoerotic relationships of the Greek gods Eros, Himeros, and Pothos in classical mythology, as well as the female homosexuality depicted in the poems of Sappho proves that the concept of same-sex eroticism already exists since prehistory. The pre-colonial Philippines even has its own myth of two gods in a pederastic relationship. It tells the story of Sidapa, the god of death who pursued Bulan, the boy moon, to be his bride. Some argue that homosexual behaviors are unnatural and were brought by the colonizers, but many scholars believe it's the other way around. One thousand five hundred animal species are said to engage in samesex activities and some of the males even prefer males over females in a relationship like the black swan. The marriage of two men was even celebrated and normalized during primitive times like the ancient African people and the inhabitants of Siwa Oasis in Egypt. Transsexuals, specifically the worshippers of Goddess Cybele who castrated themselves, didn't create fuss. It is also believed that most of the emperors of the Roman and Han dynasty had male lovers. Even Alexander the Great was recorded to have had a romantic relationship with the nobleman Hephaestion. It was the colonizers who "civilized" and put shame on the harmless relationships of those people. They succeeded in making us believe that the prejudice against the love that swings both ways is the natural, while the harmless sexual preference of individuals is the plague carved out of sins that seeps into our chastity. But it has always been a part of our nature; a raw, burning, bemusing quintessence that will not die because of hate. We don't have the right to send hell to a person just because we're uncertain of whether his/her flames will spark fireworks, or another pit in the fabled underworld. Most of us are familiar with how LGBT people suffered during the Middle Ages and the Holocaust. Thousands were castrated, dismembered, hanged, and burned. But where did the homophobia came from? Contrary to popular belief that homosexuality is a sin because it is against procreation, it actually started based on political grounds. Its history draws back to the Hebrews, specifically the reign of King Josiah. Male homosexuality was a common practice in Assyria. Their priests used to dress like a woman to acquire the magical powers of their goddesses. When the Hebrews and Assyrians got into a feud, King Josiah condemned their rituals and started a campaign homophobia is still an issue and even transformed into different faces. The slurs against homosexual behaviors are still echoing from the churches and from our homes. Upon hearing the word gay, they condemn sodomy when in fact, homosexual couples are just like straight couples who spend most of their time going on dinner or movie dates. Some are fine with gay people but not with gay relationships. It is because of their opinion that homosexual relationships are estranged with heterosexual ones. But the difference is not in what they can do privately, but in the "right" that we think we have over them. comes to their equal rights, there will be silence, then furrowed brows, followed by protests. "Their private parts don't fit", says the "naturalist". "Homosexuality is a sin!". Our culture and laws are heteronormative. The steamy sex and rape scenes, violence, and all kinds of adultery are freely aired in our local television but a gay kiss would cause outrage among Filipinos. It took 17 years before the Senate considered the Antidiscrmination Bill and co-habiting same-sex couples are not even entitled to co-ownership rules. Do we really accept the LGBT community, or are we simply tolerating them? bisexuals, and transgenders are just like them and were not cooked out of a special potion. As long as your repugnance towards them or their harmless actions doesn't turn into a parasite that will nibble their minds throughout their lives or into physical assault, you have the right to think or feel so. The problem comes when we manifest the hate inside of us.
Eleanor Roosevelt, Andy Warhol, Alexander the Great, Angelina Jolie, the Wachowski siblings, and Margaret Mead are just some of the important personalities who engaged in homosexual relationships. LGBT individuals played a role in shaping our civilization, whether in the fields of art, history, literature, or science. Their sexual preference didn't abate their intelligence, creativity, skills, and capabilities as a human. It did not turn them into a degenerate who preys in everything that moves. We can't blame our actions to our sexual identity alone. Our productivity and character depend on how we bring positivity to the people and things we touch, then leave them at peace. Being devoted to our own path while facing every person and challenge with an open mind will save us from unnecessary problems. We may never know the secret of being a perfect person but the rules of the universe are really simple: Live. Sleep. Don't be a bummer! And spread rainbow-colored glitters.
BAGWIS • opinion8 opinion • BAGWIS 9
>>> Seeing the Quintessence
The different faces of homophobia can take the form of a father who beats his son for being feminine; a cleric who declares homosexuality as an abomination; the failed romance you had because they're too ashamed to admit they're homosexual/bisexual; that gay who tries hard to appear straight to gain societal validation; or that guy who thinks he's so hot every gay guy that looks in his way wants to copulate with him. There are many factors that can cause homophobia. Some are obvious, like being raised from a strictly religious family, and some are hard to accept, like having repressed homosexual attraction which turned into disgust or insecurity. Men see it as a way of protecting their masculinity. The war you're having with yourself cannot be ceased by waging another one outside of you. Embracing your feminine/masculine side and the love you have for both genders won't make you less of a human; it makes your heart fuller. It's your choice to feel displeased, but don't expect everyone to fit into your hole. Other people may "sin" differently than you, but that doesn't make you a better human than them. If you don’t like the concept of gay marriage, then don't marry someone with the same gender as you. If you find gay sex disgusting, then don't engage in gay sex. Imagine how peaceful that would be! As for me, I see it as universe's just another magnificent design. Maybe the gods got bored watching the carousel ride of males and females repeatedly. The cosmos expands, so why can't the genders? We, Filipinos, have come too far. It's time to drop the useless and stupid beliefs and notions that weigh down our progress. It's time to stop the anti-gay attitudes (which ascribe more to ignorance rather than clinical phobia) that only bring agony to its victims. I, myself, wore one of its faces in my earlier years. The realization that it was not really a fear but the result of my narrow-mindedness left me to choose which term should apply to myself is less painful: Had been the ignorant, or the homophobe?
Gays are not comedians, hairdressers, sex addicts, or drag queens. They are friends, lovers, parents, humans. Maybe we took them literally as a rainbow. A rainbow which only exists in the sky; which existence Instead of pushing homosexuals and bisexuals to keep up with our heteronormative society, we should fight to kill the prejudice against them which already stole thousands of lives, both from the executions and suicide.>>> The Different Faces
The defense that the state is setting-up is instilling fear in its people with the hope that fear will drive them away from doing something bad. But this is actually an excuse of the government to do its task to fight for its people not with its people.Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) cites a study on death penalty in the Philippines, where Amnesty International found out that: 1) innocent people may be sentenced to death through judicial error; 2) death penalty is the ultimate cruel and inhuman punishment; and 3) it has no unique deterrent effect. With what is currently happening, the rebirth of death penalty might be the biggest regret we are yet to make. A study made on the death penalty in the Philippines from 19461976 showed that of 63 persons on whom the death penalty was imposed only three came from so called middle class family background while the rest were from what are referred to as the disadvantages sector. The law still favors the rich. And the libra remains unbalanced. Death penalty is irremediable. And we are talking about lives of innocent people. These bill only provides for a fang, but does not create a cloak to protect the innocent. Capital punishment should never be compared with surgery where the intention is the preservation of life and not the extinction of life. Capital punishment is a destructive action, atleast for now. People are never afraid to commit crimes not because the punishment was never heavy enough.
Capital punishment in the country is set to be restored. With the conclusion of the debates of the lawmakers in the lower chamber of the legislative arm of the government, the House Bill No. 4727 seeking to reimpose death penalty is set to take its course in the senate. Death penalty is part of the long history of the Philippines. The Spanish colonial government executed rebels and traitors through public firing squad. Our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, is a famous example of this execution. After ousting the Spaniards in our land, the Americans took over. The star spangled nation taught the Filipinos to use the electric chair, making the Philippines the only other country, aside from the Unites States, to use it that time.Itwas with the birth of the 1987 constitution that death penalty was abolished. However, former President Fidel Ramos reinstated the death penalty in 1993, only for it to be abolished again in 2006 after then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a law reducing maximum punishment to life imprisonment. And the rest of the story goes. Prior to winning the presidential elections, then candidate Rodrigo Duterte has expressly given his assent to the restoration of the capital punishment in the Philippines. This move of the congress is perhaps just the fruition of that intent which may also be attributed to the president’s thrust to eradicate drugs and suppress criminality to the minimum. The original bill enumerates the crimes which will be imputable to death as approved by majority of the members of the lower house. These crimes include: drug related crimes such as importation, sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution, transportation, manufacture of dangerous drugs, maintenance of a drug den; treason; plunder; and rape cases such as rape with homicide, rape of a minor, and rape committed by law enforcement officers. However, after second reading and amendments, the bill is narrowed down to crimes related to drug only. Advocates of death penalty in the Philippines believed that is necessary if we really want to make a dent in the alarmingly high rise in crime in recent years. The case of pro death penalty can actually be summed up to various points: deterrence, retribution, and self defense. First point is deterrence. The presence of capital punishment in our judicial system will give criminals a reason to fear. It can be used as a means of preventing the criminal from committing additional crimes, or for someone who can commit a crime for the first time. If crime is not prevented, a doer must be made liable for his deeds. This is basically the logic of retribution. Do good act and you ought to be rewarded with good things, but doing a person who does evil things ought to suffer evil-each in proportion to the good or evil done. This is in congruous to Newton’s third law of motion that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. For most of us, this is the conception of justice implicit in our society. Death penalty is also a means for the state to protect itself especially its people. Toni Katigbak, in his column published in the Philippine Star, argued that the enforcement of capital punishment under proper circumstances places a high value on human life and upholds dignity of man, than making him stop to the level of criminals by lashing out at them with similar brutality in the guise of justice. It is so saying that capital punishment may act as an instrument with which the righteous may be guarded against the offender.Butwith the current set-up of our judicial system, will death penalty really do more good than harm? Will capital punishment, as a means, actually meet itsThereend? are a lot of people who are pessimistic with the concept of death penalty, much more with this bill. And they have plausible reasons to have an opposing view.Rep. Harry Roque of party-list group Kabayan said a death penalty law would be unconstitutional since the Charter prohibits the reimposition of capital punishment “unless for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress provides for it.” The constitution provides guidance for the determination of how compelling reasons are and how it should be tantamount to death. The highest law of the land explains that the reason is compelling in such a way that “. . an alarming upsurge of such crimes which has resulted in the loss of human lives and wanton destruction of property but also affected the nation’s efforts towards sustainable economic development and prosperity while at the same time has undermined the people’s faith in the Government and the latter’s ability to maintain peace and order in the country . . .”. It has also held that heinous crimes are which are “by reason of their inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity . . repugnant and outrageous to the common standards and norms of decency and morality in a just, civilized and ordered society.” Roque argued that the reported proliferation of illegal drugs does not in anyway satisfy this requirement of the law. Additionally, the Philippines is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Second Optional Protocol. Death penalty violates the country’s international commitment in support of the worldwide abolition of capital punishment. And these treaties should not be disregarded when drafting national laws.
One cannot actually argue on morality, since morality is relative and the knowledge of right or wrong cannot be imposed on another. It is just that, death penalty is not the thing that we need right now. The problem and the solution is a mismatch.
The bill per se is also problematic. The Philippine Chemistry Society, represented by the Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies (PFCS) calls the death penalty bill at the House “not scientifically rational.” The group urged these lawmakers to incorporate science in drafting laws, since this bill had the failure in providing for the measure to define what precursor and essential chemicals are. Virtually all precursor chemicals and essential chemicals are multi-use chemicals. Precursor chemicals may also be precursors to other important products, such as pharmaceuticals, fragrances, cosmetics, agro-chemicals and others. The bill will criminalize legitimate users and raise the cost of goods and damage the economy. Topping the concerns of the negative side is the fact that imposing death penalty may violate the right to equal protection of the poor; that it is imposed disproportionately upon those whose victims are rich and influential, and upon offenders who are poor and uneducated. The Free Legal Assistance (FLAG) Group’s “Profile of 165 Death Row Convicts” found that the death penalty militates against the poor, the powerless and the marginalized. The Profile, based on age, language and socio-economic situations, shows that RA 7659 (re-imposing the death penalty in 1993) has worked against the poor and the powerless — those who cannot afford the legal services necessary in capital crimes, where extensive preparation, investigation, research and presentation are required. We also have to face the fact that currently, our judicial system is flawed. No government arm is perfect, but committing more errors than what is expected to be performed flawlessly is alarming. the Supreme Court has acknowledged in GR No. 14767887 (People v. Mateo, July 7, 2004) the judicial error rate of 71.77 percent on death penalty cases and this is seen to have an increasing trend over the years, if capital punishment remains existent. The SC’s review of capital punishment cases up to January 2006, as documented by MTB-MRJ, found out that four out of five death inmates have been wrongfully sentenced by the various lower courts. Of the 1,513 cases reviewed, almost half (645) were modified (from death penalty to reclusion perpetua or indeterminate sentence), close to a third (456) were transferred to the Court of Appeals, 69 were acquitted, and 37 were remanded for further proceedings. Only 270 cases (18 percent) were affirmed by the high court. If death penalty is revived, without regard to the errors it created in the past, we are set to play the same game, and commit the same mistakes. These errors have already refuted the arguments on the death penalty’s promises on deterrence, retribution, and self defense. But to set things clearer, this trio which anchored the claims of the benefits of the bill can be rebutted accordingly. It was in June 2006 that capital punishment was abolished. Then president and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed RA. 9346, also known as An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty in the Philippines because of the belief that death penalty should be abolished because it had not proven to be a deterrent to crime and had become a dead-letter law. RA 9346 downgraded the death penalty to life imprisonment. Statistics from the Dangerous Drug Board indicated that in 1987— the year when the death penalty was abolished—the persons arrested in drugs-related cases were 3,062, and the figure dropped to 2,686 in 1988. But in 1987, when the death penalty was abolished, as far as the drug-related cases are concerned, the figure continued a downward trend, and there was no death penalty during this time, from 1988 to 1991. Also, most of Europe has dropped death as punishment for a crime. Still, there was no alarming upsurge of crime because of the absence of such measure. The retribution of one’s crime is based on the belief that the deed is imputable to the doer. This notion upholds the classical theory and neglects the positivist theory. Classical theory regards crime as the product of human free will, and the purpose of penalty as retribution. Man is held accountable for felonious acts only if such free will remain unimpaired.
thehaveTheytenacity to commit evil acts because they cannot be caught. They have the audacity to commit crimes, because even if they are sent to jail, they can bail their way out, they can pay guards to give them special treatments, they can bribe their way out of an uncomfortable life in prison. While others, those criminals we actually see on TV, can just go abroad to avoid conviction. Needless to say, even if death penalty is imposed now, it will remain ineffective if the former things cannot be addressed. Not saying that death penalty is good. Nor is it bad.
Positivist theory, on the other hand, views human free will as a myth or at least a debatable matter. According to it, man is subdued to occasionally by a strange and morbid phenomenon which contrains him to do wrong contrary to his free will. For this reason, man as a moral being is given primacy over deed, and crime is viewed as a social phenomenon that can’t be checked by retributive transactions, but by measures designed, cure or educate the criminal.
Panglima huwag kalimutan na maaaring isa itong satire. Ito marahil ay nakakawili subalit hindi ito balita. May ibang balita na nanghihikayat sa mambabasa na pagclick at bawat click sa mga kaduda-dudang mga link na ito ay ang kita ng creator ng website sa pamamagitan ng ad revenue. Pang-anim, huwag maging bias. May ilang impormasyong maaaring makahikayat sa atin na paniwalaan ang mga ito dahil sa ating mga personal na paniniwala. Isang magandang halimbawa nito ay ang pagsisilabasan ng mga social media trolls at pekeng balita hinggil sa mga pulitiko noong nagdaang eleksyon na may layuning sirain ang imahen ng mga ito. At panghuli, kumunsulta sa mga fact-checking websites o magsagawa ng sariling fact-check hinggil sa pinagdududahang balita. Ang fake news ay sadyang mapanira hindi lamang ng personalidad pati na rin ang pagpapakalat ng iskandalo at ang mas masaklap, pagkalason ng isip ng mga mambabasa. Ang patuloy na pagtangkilik sa fake news ay sumisira sa ating kakayanang magpahayag ng tamang opinyon at bumubulag sa atin sa wasto at lehitimong balita. Huwag basta-bastang maniwala sa anumang nababasa. Hindi lamang fake rice, fake iphones o fake friends ang nasa paligid mo, pati na rin ang fake news.
Nakita niyo na ba ang kontrobersyal na larawan nina Sen. Francis Pangilinan at Risa Hontiveros na magkaholding hands while walking noong sila’y bumisita kay Sen. Leila De Lima sa kanyang detention cell sa Camp Crame? Naku! Marahil ay nanggagalaiti sa galit si Mega Star Sharon Cuneta! Subalit bago niyo i-search sa Google ang litratong ito, pinabulaanan mismo ni Mega na ito’y walang katotohanan at edited ang larawan upang magsindi ng iskandalo. Fake news. Hindi lamang si mega ang nabiktima ng asungot na fake news na ito, libu-libong personalidad. Paano nga ba natin malalaman kung ang ating nabasa ay pekeng balita? Una, kilalanin ang source ng balitang ito. Ito ba ay lehitimo at mapapagkatiwalaan? Kung hindi, ay huwag agad-agad na maniwala rito. Maging mapanuri rin sa web address dahil may mga fake news websites na gumagaya sa web address ng mga lehitimong news websites.
BAGWIS • opinion12 past. And accidents are called as such because they are inevitable. Perhaps, these among others have been the yardstick of the ban which was implemented by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). As stated by CHED Memorandum No. 17, s. 2012: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) shall inform the CHED-Regional Offices (CHEDROs) on the nature of the educational tours and/or field trips to include purpose, schedule, destinations, cost and submit a report on the matter to the CHED ROs concerned at least one month before the opening of classes for every academic year. It goes without saying that sanctions could be meted from neglect of compliance to the terms laid out by the said memorandum. Despite this directive, we have been faced with issues regarding these kind of trips. Topping the list was the Tanay, Rizal incident where 15 people (who were on their way to their camping site) were killed and 40 injured. The investigations gathered by the police suggested that Best Link College failed to achieve the protocol necessary to conduct the trip. Not only that, Panda Transport Services was also shown to be at fault for offering and using a defective bus that is already decades old thus endangering the lives of the students. Worst, the trip was made mandatory to all the 1st year students. They were, according to their parents, forced to join the trip and were even threatened to receive a failing grade if they refused to go. Another tragic event was the accident where students of Bulacan State University (BSU) were tour guides at least. By the way, tour guides were recommended but the university refused. Now this incident should have served as a reminder that the safety of the students is the utmost priority and safety-measures should be discussed long before the day of the trip. The issuance of moratorium by CHED is set to mitigate these kind of problems. However, the moratorium served as a double-edged sword since it encapsulates all activities outside private and public higher institutions. All outside activities regardless of its intent, purpose, and rationale are held in abeyance.Thedirectives from the commission is quite contrary to the tenor of the notion that education transcends the four corners of the classrooms. What happens now to field trips/outdoor activities that are imperative though, the ones truly essential for learning? In MSU for example, students taking up a course in Biology have to go outside to gain first hand experiences with how different species thrive in their environment. They usually visit seashores and other nearby ecosystems. Education students have also community immersions where they get to observe the actual educational system in the country. The College of Agriculture has its long-practiced tradition of organizing trips for its students. The college is trying to expose young minds to different practices of other schools to benchmark their knowledge to the different institutions in Mindanao. The trip which usually lasts for 5 days or so, is also a fundamental aspect of the learning for these students. Moreover, MSU is a houses various socio-civic organizations. These organizations are conducting different community outreach programs, seminars, and other platforms which require participation on these circumstances is unfair especially to those institutions who are actually meeting the necessary prerequisites for the trip. Instead of banning these trips, the commission should focus their attention on strengthening its protocols before these trips are granted permission to be conducted. This way, we can mitigate failed trips before it could even happen the best way possible. What the institution and the commission are after is for the students to gain the optimum level of quality education as possible. And these cannot be grasped if we imprison their minds in the walls of our institution. It should also be noted that all trips are posed with the dangers brought about by fortuitous events. Fortuitous events are those which cannot be foreseen, and if foreseen it cannot be avoided. We often call these events acts by God because no amount of precaution can actually prevent things from happening. Because of this joining these trips should never be made mandatory. This gives students, as well as their parents, a leeway in making decisions. Also, while it can supplement knowledge on the students’ part, it isn’t enough to make it a basis for grading. And an alternative should be provided lest a student cannot join the trip. The institution can still organize the trip (again, if it follows what needs to be followed) but the choice should be given to the students whether they want to go or not. Through these, all the needs of all parties are satisfied the best way possible. Field trips have been used by our educators to helps us grasp the concepts we have discussed in the classroom. It also allows the minds of young people to venture outside the walls of their own institution for them to realize that the world is so much bigger than what they only perceive when they faced boards and chalk.
Pangatlo, suriin ang byline ng balita, kung mayroon man, at kadalasang gawa-gawa lamang ang author ng nasabing fake news. Kilalanin kung sino ang sumulat ng balita upang malaman kung ang manunulat na ito ay hindi biased at mapapagkatiwalaan. Suriin din ang citation ng binasa dahil may ibang pekeng balita na maaring magtaglay ng kapanipaniwala at lehitimong source para mapaniwala ang mambabasa.
Pang-apat, suriin ang petsa kung kailan nailathala ang balita. May ibang pekeng balita na hindi naman talaga peke, sa halip ay pagbabaluktot lamang sa mga tunay na pangyayari. Ang isang fake news ay maaaring gumamit ng binaluktot na lehitimong balitang nailathala na upang lituhin ang mambabasa at ihatid ang interes nito sa isang pangyayari sa kasalukuyan upang magtagumpay kung ano man ang rason sa likod ng pekeng balitang ito.
FEATURE
Pangalawa, kung ang isang probokatibong headline ay nakatawag ng iyong pansin, basahin nang maigi ang buong article bago maniwala sa kakatwang headline. Maging ang mga lehitimong balita ay maaaring magtaglay ng sensitibo at makatawag-pansing headline at hindi palaging isinasalaysay ang kabuuan ng storya, isa itong teknik sa pagsulat upang makapukaw ng interes sa mambabasa subalit ang fake news ay maaaring magtaglay ng halatang detalye na ito’y peke sa kalagitnaan ng artikulo o maaaring isang satire sa kabuuan.
Kringle: Hindi man yan mawala na i-compareako sa kanya, especially swimmer din siya. Sabawat bracket kasi na sinasalihan niya, siyayung magset ng record na kailangan kongi-break kasi alangan ibang swimmer pa angmagbreak.
Algem: You need to set your schedule.Though arbitrary sya, may changes kay naymga unforeseen na mga problems along theway, pero you need to stick with your schedulekay that’s your only way, for me ha na you canmanage your time.
The Student Leader & the Advocate: ALGEMCRUSISCRIS
The Athlete: KringleMERCADOMarie
BAGWIS: How did becoming a student leader come about? When didyou really start? Algem: When I was in high school, naa mi organization na related saenvironment: YES-O. Like ma-inspire gud ka sa ginabuhat nila for theenvironment. However, mas na-foster sa akoa ang leadership side whenjoining the organization. Naay mga activities that helped the memberspara madevelop ang leadership skills. Mao to, didto gid siguro nagstartpag high school ang leadership. And then pag college mas na heightenpa gid lalo kay tung pag-attend nako pag PYLP, it’s still environmentalleadership, then my project after. PYLP is a program sponsored by U.Sembassy. U.S embassy has a huge network around the Philippines. Soafter sa PYLP I was able to learn how to get fund, interact with people,build my confidence.”
BAGWIS: Algem, did it ever come to a pointwhere you were thinking of dropping yourcourse for your advocacy or vice versa?
BS Mechanical Engineering Student, PYLP advocate/member, GenSan Youth Achiever Awardee
BAGWIS: You are a mechanical engineeringstudent. Everyone knows it’s not an easycourse. What’s more is that your course isn’treally directly in line with your advocacy.How do you manage your time?
BAGWIS: Your sister is also a competitiveswimmer. Have you tried being compared toher?
Algem: Actually naisip nako na in 3rd year,magshift na lang ko og course, either biologyor marine biology. But my friends told me nai-continue na lang ang course kay sayang mangud. DOST gud, allowance sa DOST, sayang.
Excellenceis a concept every academic institution wants their students to embody. To some, it is a goal. It is the tape at the end of the long obstacle course that is college. But to some select few, it is a lifestyle embedded within themselves. Excellence is a gift they say. But can it be a curse? We sat down with three of the best students in Mindanao State University-General Santos City whom the people call excellent (this, of course, substantiated by the tall tower of laurels over their head) to find out what makes the cream of cream tick? Are they even human? What the hell do they put in their drinks? But on a more serious note, what does it take to become excellent? Here we have an athlete who is also anacademicachiever,thebatchPanaghabiClassValedictorian, and a GenSan Youth Achiever Awardee
Kringle: Time management and setting ofpriorities lang siguro. You learn along theway what needs to be set aside and what doyou prioritize. Nakakainggit kasi yung mgaclassmates at barkada mo na sa malls taposako training after school, nakakapagod kasipag uwi mo sa bahay galing training mayassignments ka pa, magstudy for quizzes andexams, reports, pero laban lang kasi pinili ko‘to eh… Kilalanin mo din sarili mo.
BAGWIS: How do you manage your time,Kringle?
Kringle: Challenge siya sa akin but in a goodway because it pushes and motivates me to dobetter but ayun lang, ibigay ko talaga sa kanyaang swimming, magaling talaga dyan si ate.
Carl: No. First choice ko talaga was pilot.Yun talaga ang gusto ko pero masyadongmahal, tapos engineering, at maganda mandin, at kung maghanap ako ng trabaho, maymagtulong kasi Electrical Engineer man dinlolo ko so ayun, practical reason na lang din.
BAGWIS: Engineering course had made aname for themselves as some of the hardestcourses in the campus. How hard is it to bean Electrical Engineering student?
BAGWIS: Achiever ka na ba simula elementary?
Kringle: High School, dumating talaga sapoint na ayaw ko na, pagod na ako. Yungpupunta ako ng pool, iyak ako nyan kay ayokona. Kapoy na masyado, pagod na ako. Yungmagbihis ka swimsuit mo, nagalangoy ka,nagaiyak ka. Kapoy na talaga masyado. Perosabi ni nanay, sige rest ka for ilang months.Tapos school-bahay-school-bahay, ay parangboring. Kaya ayun, balik ako.
BAGWIS: Have you tried other sports?
BAGWIS: Can you tell us about yourfamily?
Carl: Ang papa ko ay isang fireman at angmama ko ay isang nurse. Dalawa lang kaming ate ko na isa ring nurse. Pareho po silangnagtatrabaho ni mama sa Doctors Hospital.Nanonood kami ng movie sa bahay, kain salabas- yan ang bonding namin.
Kringle: May pressure na ginabigay silaNanay at Tatay din lalo na sa studies but I takeit as an encouragement kasi for my own goodand I have to do it for them. And of course, ineverything that I do, they show their supportman din sa akin.
BS Agricultural Business Management, Swimmer, Cum Laude, University Distinction for Sports Awardee
BAGWIS: Pressured ka ba sa ganyan?
BAGWIS: Natutulog pa po ba kayo? [Giventhe fact that a class valedictorian comingfrom College of Engineering is a thing thatbaffles and amazes people.]
BAGWIS: Who puts pressure on you?
BAGWIS: Why enter Philippine Youth Leadership Program (PYLP)? Algem: First, dili gid leadership akong apas atung PYLP. More of likea U.S dream gid. Later na nako narealize ang sa leadership side. Angako lang jud gusto makaadto U.S.A pero the process is very vigorous.We went to Illinois for three weeks. Every Saturday-Sunday gaadto miChicago to have our exposure sa mga communities. Then the last weekwe went to Washington D.C for a tour gihapon pero attached with saleadership na. Nag-adto mi sa U.S department state to meet diplomats,then they had a short talk to us.”
BAGWIS: Maraming achievements na rinang natamasa mo in terms of swimming.Recently, you were awarded Athlete of theYear Female Category, in the KabantuganAwards. Nasagi ba sa isip mo na mag-quit kana sa swimming? [Quit while you’re ahead, asothers would put it.]
Carl: Hindi naman masyadong mahirapkung talagang focus ka lang.
Carl: No. Wala man din. Suporta lang yansila sa akin.
Carl: Siguro sarili ko lang din. Yang akona lang magset ng goal na halimbawahindi dapat magbaba grades ko sa ganito.Yung thought kasi na saying pag hindi koginalingan. Yun lang, saying lang talaga.”
Carl: Oo naman. Kung may pasok, natutulogako mga 12 midnight tapos gising mga 7AM.
BAGWIS: What is your study routine?
BAGWIS: Did you have difficulties in yourstudies or did it just come naturally?
BAGWIS: How did you start working on your advocacy?
BAGWIS: Do you feel the pressure to realize your advocacy? How doyou handle pressure?
BAGWIS: What motivated you to strive fora Latin Award?
BAGWIS: That is amazing. So, who putspressure on you?
Carl: Yes, actually 3rd year talaga angpinakamahirap eh. Actually sa third year, saisang subject ang grado ko is 2.75, malapitnalang mag tres pero nabawi naman sya saibang subject.
Kringle: Well, elementary days, we hadwhat we call cross-training like we joinedgymnastics for flexibility and muscle strength,but swimming was still our priority. In highschool, I trained volleyball and makasali dinsana sa varsity. I was given an ultimatum kungano ang pipiliin ko, volleyball or swimming, Ichose swimming still, kasi marami na akongna-achieve, alangan bitawan ko pa.
BAGWIS: Supreme Student Government (SSG) Officer ka duringelementary years, Youth for Environment in Schools Organization(YES-O) Officer during high school, once a Supreme Student Councilorof the University and an advocate for the environment. What makes youdifferent from other student leaders. Algem: It’s a matter of experience to build your leadership skills. WhenI was a child, my lola, my auntie, mga purok chairman ba, tapos ma-observe gid nako pirmente sa balay na may meeting. As a kid, muragunsa man ni sya, what were they doing? Murag didto nagstart akoanginspiration to lead. Dili ko kapareha sa ubang young leaders na they gettheir ideas sa mga books kay wala koy resource to read books, poor langman gud mi. Mahal gud ang mga John Maxwell na libro.” He laughed.“So siguro ako, experience lang. I get ideas from the talks and seminarsna akong ginaatenan and sa mga tao sa akong palibot.”
BAGWIS: What motivated you to pursueswimming?
Carl: Siguro yung fact na sayang yung ideana hindi ko makuha ang award.
BAGWIS: Do you feel any pressure fromyour parents?
The Academic Achiever: Carl GOKOTANOJay BS Electrical Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, Class Valedictorian
Carl: Nagstart ako magstudy talaga nung2nd year college. Advance ako mag study.Hindi ako nagastudy ng a day before taposlahat stinastudyhan. Nagastudy ako weeksbefore, para days before the exam review nalang.
BAGWIS: When did you start swimming? Kringle: I started my training at the age of 3and I competed at 5. Since then, every afternoonafter our class, silang dalawa, my parents,hatid kami ni ate sa pool, hintayin kami and halos every month. We had a competition,compete sa Cebu, Iloilo, Palawan. Coach ko siNanay, tapos sa bawat competition, nandyansi Tatay, so ayun, naging bonding time natalaga namin ang swimming.
Kringle: Ang nagakeep sa akin na magpursueis yung thought na sayang bitawan yungmga na-achieve mo, honestly. Yang kadamimo nang na-achieve. Kasi syempre, hindiako makapasok ng Wizard kung hindi akonagswim, kasi may scholarship ako. Hindiako makapunta ng mga places kung hindi akoswimmer kasi competitions pinuntahan ko.Hindi ako maging ako pag d ako swimmer.Yang part na gud siya ng identity ko. Nagingpart siya ng life ko literally. Hindi ako siKringle kung hindi ako swimmer.
Algem: Of course kay we need to meet expectation ba sa funding agency. Halimbawa U.S embassy Manila,though relax lang kayo sila sa pag-give uginstructions, of course they assess you bayadiba. So you need to give your all. Naa koymga co-directors. They help me in doing thereports, conducting the events. So, for you tohave an advocacy para easy sya, you need toget people not only passionate but competentenough to do their part.
BAGWIS: What changes occurred in yourlife transitioning from being a campus studentleader into an environmental advocate? Algem: Dako gid ang changes sa akong life.Sa una, ga eskwela lang ko, murag wala lang.dili ko aware na ang course na ginatake nakolisod na diay sa uban.Until tung day na Iwas busy na doing some talks sa mga smallorganization, naa nay mga invitation parasa mga activities na related sa environment,lisud pud diay. Katu na time school-bahayra gid ko ato. Karon lang nako na-realizena daghan nako ginabuhat na lisod na puddiay pag daghan na ka ginabuhat sa outsideactivity. But the important thing I’ve gainedis network across the country and of course,I’ve learned how to handle myself in theprofessional world. BAGWIS: As a leader, what is your greatestfailure?
Algem: I think not to continue other advocacies. For example sa PaWeCan Do It, Ineed to have low profile na ba kay halimbawa,kung active gihapon ko karon, daghan gihaponmakipag-partner na org sa amoa which is notmy plan na to do kay I need to focus na onmy studies. Pero Kung ma-finish nako ni,I’ll get back with my advocacy. For me tamanaman siguro tung akong nabuhat, muragdidto nalang gid sa ko taman ba, tapos youalso need to do something for yourself. Mao nagiingon ni Mark Zuckerberg sa iyahang talkna dapat naa kay sense of purpose for others,pero of course to have that sense, you need tohave that sense of purpose for yourself.
BAGWIS: Is becoming an engineer reallyyour dream?
Carl: I graduated my elementary and highschool year at GSC-SPED. Elementary yearsko, hindi ako achiever. Siguro nung highschool ako, pero tsamba lang yun.
Algem: Nagstart ko sa PYLP katung artificial reef development project,after ana ga-volunteer-voluntrre nako. And here comes PaWeCan Do It.Batang Star Philippines, mga street kids diri sa GenSan. After that nagvolunteer ko sa PaWeCan Do It. I was able to know that there was this abandoned hatchery. That was one day event and I was like luoya pud atouy. Naisip namo na why not we create proposal to continue the project.So, didto jud nagstart ang PaWeCan Do It. I can’t claim PaWeCan DoIt alone kay tulo jud mi ana pero most of the time ako jud ang invitedbecause the project was named before me.”
BAGWIS: What makes you extraordinary?
Kringle: I do not know. I do not know what makes me different perosiguro ako lang talaga siya. Siguro ano rin, yung natutunan kongi-embrace sarili ko. Siguro, it’s being Kringle that is being differentand it is just how it is.
Carl: Gusto ko kasi i-ano yung sarili ko na katulad sa iba. Kasi ayokoring maiba masyado. Di ko alam paano ba ako naiba sa iba.
BAGWIS: What’s your definition of a quality graduate? Do youthink MSU-GSC is globally competitive or that it produces globallycompetitive graduates?
Algem: Amazing and fulfilling. I started with nothing, like the wayI manage projects, wala gyud. But there are really people that arewilling to help you to reach your goals, so I really appreciate thosepeople. When you do something like you have a vision, you have thesepeople around you that help you to reach that. So by that scenario nayou’re reaching your goal and there are people around to help you,it’s very fulfilling sa imohang self.
BAGWIS: Are you in a relationship right now?
Kringle: I believe so, globally competitive in a way na hindi saacademics pero siguro yung values na malearn natin sa university;yung makagraduate ka na you’ve workwd on what you have. Na sauniversity tayo na pangit ang facilities, pangit ang classrooms, peronakagraduate ka amidst through that; parang madala mo din gud syapagtrabaho mo na you’ve learned na to deal with what you have andmake the best of what you have and at the same time. I always look at MSU na para gud siyang maliit na world na sa isangclassroom may Christians, may Catholics, may Blaan, may Muslimspero wala gud tayo nag-aaway-away so we’ve learned to respect oneanother, understand the differences sa culture. So ‘pag graduate moang value na na-instill sa iyo ng university is you have to respecteach other. Pagdating mo sa workplace mo siguro an MSUan mandin gud is kaya niyang makihalobilo sa ibang tao so for me that’swhat make us globally competitive Carl: Oo naman. Siguro yung pagiging successful talaga nila aftergraduation. Sa board exam tatlo yung top eh (Referring to the recentElectrical Engineering Board Exam Results where three students fromMSU-GSC nabbed the 1st, 6th, and 10th place). Ano, yung effort ofthe faculty, feel ko nakatulong sa kanila na tatlo. So, as graduate ngMSU, feel ko may effect talaga sa kanila yung graduate ng MSU.Kung pagbasehan ang facilities, sa tingn ko hindi sya classified asglobally competitive. Pero kung yung sa effort ng estudyante, yungthe way sila na matuto para sa sarili nila, yun, pwede na yung ma-consider na globally competitive.
Though the school is doing an effort na karon sa MSU especiallysa engineering, na beautify na nila diba? Daghan tag accreditationkaron. Accreditation man gud kanang—helps, kang naay funding baannually pag accredited ang isa ka college gud. Mao na gina pushthrough nila. So, happy pud ko karon nga naay ing-ana nga initiativegikan sa mga colleges. Pero murag late na kaayo ta nga na karealize,parang left behind na kaayo ta ba.
Kringle: No. Single ako since birth. Algem: No. I’m not seeing someone now.
feature • BAGWIS 19
Fear is ingrained in every human being. It is an emotion designed to enable us to move and react to, if not run away from, threats or enemies we face. If Darwin is to be believed, this emotion, which can also be observed in other animals, has helped us reach this point of human evolution. One can argue that the human species is at the top of the heap, most sophisticated of all creatures, and are wardens of the nature sent by a god. So what are humans afraid of? What is there left to fear? Almost as if to mirror the human complexity, the human fear comes in many forms and shapes and possesses many facets. Here we explore the different versions of fear: the kind that warns us, the kind that cripples our potential for greatness, the kind that sleeps with us in bed or under it, the kind that we inflict on others, or the kind we inflict on ourselves.
BAGWIS SPOTLIGHT A CLOSER LOOK AT EXCELLENCE
Algem: I have pawikan mentality, ganun na lang.
Carl: Hindi, ano lang, meron na ngayon pero hindi pa kami. We didn’t only interview them for who they are but also for what they think aboutthe school as an institution they are in. In the past, MSU-GSC has claimed to be globally competitive and even when many students, much like these three,made the headlines from their different achievements, a lot of things must be considered before the claim becomes truth. Bagwis wanted to know the opinions of these excellent individuals on this particular topic.
After interviewing them one by one, we sat them down together for somequestions we were dying for the three of them to answer. We started with asimple question but the three of them had a consensus that it was a very hardquestion to answer. Kringle even took a sip of coffee before finally answering.The question we asked was, “How does it feel to be yourself?”
Kringle: Siguro blessed. Siguro ang feeling ko sa sarili ko very veryvery blessed in a lot of ways kahit wala akong lovelife. Na kahit walaakong lovelife, meron akong friends, meron akong family, meronakong mga bagay na mahal ko na alam kong kaya kong ipaglaban nakaya kong iwanan ang ibang bagay para sa ibang bagay. Na parangfavored ka masyado na may times na Lord, Thank you na wala ka ngibang masabi thank you na lang talaga and siguro living every dayin thanksgiving.
Algem : In terms of quality man gud, the university ha, in ourcollege for example, wala man mi facilities pero our professors reallydo their best. Like kung walay practical applications ginabawi nilasa theories. May quality man pud ilahang ginaproduce kay siyemprenaa nay ga-topnotch. There is a student factor, kung willing jud angestudyante, mu-top jud na sya. Naa lang student factor ba.I’ve been to 3 universities, layo ra kaayo ta, somewhere in U.S manpud to. Kay for me ha, kulang man gud ta sa mga facilities. Lookat IIT, though ang ilahang unit kay 100 per unit though dati kay50 man na, nganung gi-100? Akong nabl-an man gud sa IIT , thefaculties, the professors & other member ba na related sa Iligan, theywork beyond their duties. Kanang visionary sila ba na “by this yearwe need to be a center of this.”
Carl: Parang wala lang man. Parang wala mang unusual sa akin.
The exploration of fear is a long and treacherous odyssey. It is a journey so epic that can only be told through chapters, poetry, or short stories, if not lived as a phenomenon through life itself.Bagwis, for the third year, dedicates its pages for the literary arts, this time for the exploration of fear. Read through the pages of this issue’s literary section and see fear through stories and poetry. There is no time to be afraid. Feariscallingyou. Become it and it will no longer have any power.
I tug my friends’ hands and we exit from the door. Shan follows behind. We walk fast, retracing the same path we took earlier. We march passing along the rooms. Other students stare at us, curious. We return to the circle, but I urge them that we go to the sampalok tree. We continue walking towards it. We stop at a little distance from the tree. Shan passes us and stops directly in front of its big trunk. Then, she turns her back, facing us. “Oh, why are we here? Lucy’s the next It, right?”
The woman turns and speaks to the girls. She says they should go back the same way where they saw me. Then, she turns back to me, saying, “Time for you to go home.” She smiles at me. smile back. I follow the girls again. They exit the door, walking fast. keep up. Other kids from the rooms are looking at us as we pass by. The girls return to the circle and stop for a while, talking to themselves. They continue walking towards the direction of our house. follow them closely this time. The boys are gone. I walk faster. hope mother has not noticed my absence. The girls stop a little distance at the side of our house. They give way to me. I step in front of the door and pass through it. Mother? * Although it’s hot, we agreed to play bulan-bulan outside the classroom. Our teacher for the last period this morning did not come. Some boys are playing takyan in front of our room. We find a clear place farther away, fronting another room. Thankfully it’s vacant. I draw a large circle on the ground, enough to contain five of us. To test the distance, step on the line and stretch my hand to reach them. They all move at the opposite curve-line away from me. I couldn’t reach them. “We should have one more member to be the It,” I said. They agree. By then, I see Shan walking alone. She comes from the direction of the canteen. I call her to join us. She smiles and runs towards our circle. She agrees to be It and starts running through the line I drew on the ground. She extends her hands to reach our heads. We shriek as we duck away from her flailing hands. She makes a quick dash towards us, scattering us to her right and left. She runs to the right curve and leaps at me. We shriek louder and laugh when I escape her hand. She encircles us again like a predator stalking us around. In a flash, she dashes again and catches Lucy’s back. Our shouts ring through the Allrooms.out of breath, we stop for a while, panting and sweaty all over. But we love the thrill. We praise Shan for her speed. She responds by saying we’re just slow. We all laugh. I check my wristwatch. It’s almost eleven thirty. “Is our teacher coming?” Lucy says. “She’s been absent for two days now, right?” “They say she’s on a seminar in Davao for a week,” I tell her. “What?!” the four of them say in surprise, all together. “You didn’t know?” I ask. They nod in reply. “Let’s go home,” Myra says, urging us with a mischievous grin on her face. “Hey, our first period is at one o’clock,” I tell her. “Besides, it’s too hot to go home.” I notice Shan walking away from us. She stops in front of a sampalok tree beside one of the rooms to the left. It is the only tree standing between two classrooms in our part of the school. I haven’t seen it with fruits even though it’s fully grown. The two rooms beside it are empty. Shan mutters something like she’s talking to someone there, but she’s alone. Then, she walks back towards us. “It’s Lucy’s turn!” Myra shouts, making us all jump. We run at the edge of the circle as Lucy, stepping on the line, rounds us up. We shriek as she chases us and we duck to avoid her hands. “Can I play with you?” We stop in our tracks and look at Shan standing in front of us. “Hey, Shan, what’s with your voice?” I ask, smiling at her. I think she’s playing a prank on us. “This is my voice.” She looks straight at me. I feel the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck standing. “Can I join you?” she asks again, sounding nervous in a different voice. She sounds like a little girl. “I really want to play and be happy like you.” We look at Shan. I slowly take a step backwards. The other girls huddled closer to me. Lucy murmurs that it’s not Shan. Myra says we should bring her to a teacher. “Le-let’s go back to our classroom for now. We’re already tired,” I said to Shan or the girl. We have to do something. I can’t help but stammer. “Okay, I’ll come with you.” We turn and walk ahead of her. Still huddled together, the five of us walk fast. We have to find a teacher in the area. I peek at the windows as we pass several rooms. We almost run, but Shan is following us. The door of the guidance office is open. I spot Ma’am Anna at her table, writing something. We enter the door as I stammer a greeting. We run to her table and I explain to her our situation, pointing at Shan. After listening to me, she stands and walks in a slow but deliberate pace towards Shan at the door like she’s welcoming a guest that has come unexpectedly for a visit. “Hello. I’m teacher Anna. What is your name?” “I have no name.” “Why are you here?” “I want to play with them. “ Shan points at us. “I want to be happy, too.” “How about your mother? She’ll surely worry if you’re missing.” Shan becomes silent as if thinking what Ma’am Anna said. “Yes, my mother will be worried. I have to go home.” Ma’am Anna turns to us. “You should go back the same way where you saw her. Take the same path you took in coming her up to where you saw her last.” She looks at me in the eye. “Yes Ma’am.” understand what she wants us to do. Then, she turns back to Shan, saying “Time for you to go home.”
GLITCH ART CREDITS: kevineslinger.com
The Girl Rossel M. Audencial
I write down more names before I check my watch. Eleven thirty. I can hear my stomach growling. I’ll finish this report in front of me, and then I’ll head to the canteen to eat. “Go-good morning, Ma’am,” a female student greets me at the door which makes me look up. Without waiting for my reply, she, with four more female students, rushes to my table. They are all sweaty, but their faces register a look of something else. “Ma’am, our classmate,” the one who greeted me speaks in an agitated voice. “Something is wrong with her.” “What is it?” ask, letting her continue. “We were playing outside when I saw her go to the sampalok tree and talk to someone there, but she’s alone. Then, when she came back, she asked us if she can join us playing. Her voice changed,” she gestures towards another student who just came in. I have heard several stories in this school about female students who were possessed by spirits. Most of them would act strange and sound different. I even saw one student who screamed in a male voice when a pastor came to drive the spirit out from her body. That time, three to four classmates were pinning her down but she was so strong. Some said that an engkanto liked her and wanted her to come with him. These spirits are said to reside in trees or in the classrooms. That sampalok tree between the Grade 7 rooms has been there even before came to this school, but this is the first time that the tree was an element to a possession. I have to make sure of it. I stand from my chair and walk towards the student. She remains standing at the “Hello.door.I’m teacher Anna. What is your name?” I ask her when I’m near enough, smiling at her. “I have no name,” she responds, her mouth moving a little too awkward. Her voice is that of a little girl, about six or seven years old. Suddenly, feel cold all “Whyover.are you here?” “I want to play with them. “ She points at the girls. She sounds like she’s going to cry. “I want to be happy, too.” “How about your mother? She’ll surely worry if you’re missing.” She looks at me without saying a word. The question seems to make her think. “Yes, my mother will be worried. I have to go home.” I feel relieved inside. I turn to the girls, especially to the student who talked to me, and give her instructions. Then, I face the little girl again. “Time for you to go Shehome.”smiles back. Or is it a smile? They leave through the door. The five students walk briskly as the little girl follows behind. She is lonely, but she can’t play with them.
BAGWIS • literary folio20 literary folio • BAGWIS 21
Ienvy them, those kids playing outside. I wish I could play with them, but mother said I musn’t. They won’t like me. So, I don’t. just sit in front of our house far from them so that they won’t see me. I’m lonely. Our house is cold. That’s why I love to watch the other kids play. The girls chase each other in a circle drawn on the ground. They shriek and laugh loudly as they run to escape the flailing hands of another girl. Boys play with something that they hit with their feet. They run to hit it as it flies high above their heads before it falls to the ground. They look so happy! Even when I want to sleep, their merry voices echo inside our house. I get up instead and watch them. Watching them makes me happy, too. A girl is coming this way. She sees me. She asks me why I’m here alone and if wanted to join playing with her friends. say, yes! It’s very hot. The sun’s heat seems to burn my skin. But I’m excited to play. take slow steps toward the girls chasing around the circle. A boy almost bumps me as he hits that flying thing. step to the side to avoid him. I’m nervous. Will the girls let me play with them? I should try. have to gather all my courage to speak to them. This is my chance to be happy, too. “Can play with you?” They stop running when they hear me. All eyes turn to me. “Hey, Shan, what’s wrong with your voice?” a girl in front, asks me. She is smiling. “This is my voice,” I answer. “Can I join you?” I’m getting more nervous. I really hope that they’ll let me join in. “I really want to play and be happy like Silence.you.”They stare at me. The girl who talked to me takes a step backwards. The other girls huddle closer to her. I hear murmurs at the back. Someone mentions teacher. “Le-let’s go back to our classroom for now. We’re already tired,” the girl says, sounding nervous. I feel disappointed. I really want to play. won’t go home yet. “Okay, I’ll come with you.” I follow them. They walk ahead of me. They walk fast. walk fast, too, so that I won’t be left behind. As they walk, they turn to look at me from time to time. The sun’s heat becomes hotter. We pass several rooms. They enter a door. I follow them inside. There is a woman sitting behind a table. The girl who talked to me walks to her. She says something while pointing her hand at my direction. The woman stands up and walks towards me. The girls group behind at her back. “Hello. I’m teacher Anna. What is your name?” the woman asks. She looks “Ifriendly.haveno name.” “Why are you here?” “I want to play with them,” I reply, pointing at the girls. “I want to be happy, too.” “How about your mother? She’ll surely worry if you’re missing.” My mother. I remember. Maybe, she’s searching for me now. I’m far from our “Yes,house.my mother will be worried. I have to go home.”
* I’m inside the Guidance Office preparing reports for tomorrow’s deadline. I have to meet the peer counsellors, too. They have to elect new set of officers for this school year. The seventh grade students are playing noisily outside even though it’s hot. Perhaps, they have no teacher again. Some are shouting and chasing each other.
Ms. Carisma says that without gravity, we’ll be weightless. Everything would defi nitely start to float. The atmosphere would drift away into space, and so would the ocean, rivers, and lakes. Then what’s next? We’d all die. However, the absence of gravity is very impossible. The Earth itself has a mass, and it causes to have gravity within it. The more matter an object has, the stronger is its gravitational pull. Therefore, everything succumbs on Earth’s gravitational pull, keeping them to the Earth’s surface. “Does distance affect the gravitational attraction between two things?” Everybody listens. Behind Tado, Jordan and Lina roll their eyes. Ms. Carisma nods. “The closer the distance, the greater the gravity; and the farther, the Tadoweaker.”drags his chair in front of the classroom—one meter apart from his class mates—and sits down on it, cross-legged. “What about the size?” he says. “Does size matter when it comes to compelling an object?” “Of“Whatcourse.”ifavery huge object can’t compel small objects around it—is it possible?” “Of course not,” Ms. Carisma laughs. “Small objects are always gravitationally at tracted to larger ones.” He remembers the chalk that had fallen from Ms. Carisma’s desk, and the book he had dropped from above his head. Heads, he concludes, didn’t move after all. That’s it, he thinks. He then picks his body up, stands on his chair, and looks around. Ev erybody looks up at him. Lina says, “Look how big you are, Tado.” “And how dumb,” adds Biboy. “Get down, Piggy,” says Jordan. “You might break that chair; you’re too heavy for it.”
Gravitational Pull
Michael John Otanes
Ms. Carisma says that gravity is a force that acts between two objects with mass. This force is always attractive: meaning it always pulls things closer together. The sun has stronger gravitational pull than the planets in the solar system—and this explains why planets keep on revolving around it, without flying away. The students listen well. Ms. Carisma turns her head right. “Yes Jordan?” she says. “I saw you raise your hand.” Jordan stands up with his arms crossed. “Do you know that Jupiter” —he looks down at Tado— “is the biggest planet here in this solar system.” Everyone roars into a series of laughs. “Do you, Tado?” “Sure he does,” Ms. Carisma says, walking in the middle of the classroom. “But do you know there’s a recent discovery that Jupiter doesn’t actually orbit the sun?” Everyone gapes their mouths open. “The reason is because it’s so huge. In fact, it’s three-hundred eighteen times the size of the Earth; and it has two-point five times the sum of all the other planets in our solar system. It’s big enough that the center of gravity does not reside in the sun, but outside, just above the sun’s surface. Jupiter’s size causes the sun to revolve around this slightly off-center point.” Jordan claps his hands once. “Wow,” he says as he sits on his desk. “That’s so huge. You mean, like Tado?” “Jordan!” Ms. Carisma snaps. “That’s rude. Sit on your chair. Now!” “I’m just telling the truth.” “That’s still rude. Say—“ “Why would I? Lina, how long does Tado take to revolve around the sun?” Lina says, “Eleven…point…six…years.” “Imagine? Slow as a turtle.” Ms. Carisma narrowed her eyes. “Even though the planet Jupiter revolves around this slightly off-center point once every eleven point eighty-six Earth years,” she resumes, her voice spiky, “it spins on its axis so fast. It completes one rotation on its axis once every nine hours and fifty-five minutes, and it has the fastest rotation of all the planets in the Solar System.” It starts raining outside, and the cold wind blows some of the windows open. A chalk falls from Ms. Carisma’s desk to the floor. She doesn’t notice it herself, and neither does the students. Tado remembers how last night his father and mother were awakened by the rock he accidentally dropped to the floor. But why does the chalk’s impact to the floor left unnoticed by the ears? he wonders. He picks a book out of his bag and drops it to the floor from above his head. No one sees and hears it, but the teacher does. Ms. Carisma shoots him a puzzled look. “Yes, Tado?” she says. “Any question?” “All objects have mass, and it’s the gravity that gives weight to them.” Tado buries his freezing hands in his pocket. “What if there’s no gravity at all?”
Tado lowers his head. He feels his classmates’ words and laughter snaking behind his back. He feels hefty. “Juan Tamad—you’re like him,” Ms. Carisma continues. “You recognize him, do you? Be like Newton, Tado.”
Tado’s head tilt up, his eyes full of wonder. “Wh-what?” he says, wiping the saliva streaming down his left cheek. “Have you heard me?” “Uhm.” He stares at the floor then glances up. “What—what was it again?” “That Newton discovered gravity when he saw the apple fall from the tree.” Tado nodded. “It must be, uhm, painful to be hit by an apple in the head.” “Perhaps you need an apple to hit yours to realize that the apple didn’t fall right straight on Newton’s head.” Ms. Carisma walks back to her desk and sits crosslegged on the top of it. “You’ve been sleeping in my class almost the whole time, Tado,” she says. “The next time you do it, I’ll call your mother right away.”
BAGWIS • literary folio22 literary folio • BAGWIS 23
HE IS WEAK in many ways, as his classmates would often say. He lags behind his peers when playing ball games. He can’t even solve a simple Math prob lem. When asked a question in class, he would often stutter answering one, which makes his classmates burst into laughter. Once, he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said, “I wanted to be the best rock climber in the world.” With this, his classmates laughed at him again. “But you’re fat,” they said in chorus. “Very, very fat.” Which is a fact that he can’t deny. He knows he’s fat, and he realized this when, looking at the mirror once, he saw himself far different from other people. At the age of fifteen, he weighed sixty-two kilograms. When he turned seventeen he gained ten kilograms. Now that he is eighteen, he weighs seventy-nine kilograms. From time to time, he starts liking heavy meals and begins on eating four times or so in a day. He has developed breathing problem, as a result. This interrupts his sleep throughout the night, and causes him to be sleepy during the day. Such as now. As he gazes at the blackboard—beside which is the teacher discussing about the nature of gravity—through narrowed eyelids and half-closed eyes, he im mediately pinches his thigh to fully wake himself up. “Gravity—I know what gravity is,” he says to himself. “Gravity causes things to fall down to the ground, instead of up.” Then his eyes turn outside the window, at the lone tree—perhaps a hundred meters away from their classroom—standing in the middle of the plain, situated before the mountain. He doesn’t know its name but he loves the sight of it. There, sometimes, he would sit under the shade of the tree, facing the stem, away from the sight of the mountain, to recharge his battery, when utterly drained from school ac tivities. Back then, he could climb the tree and perch on one of the branches, unafraid of falling. But now, because of his weight, he could no longer reach even halfway up the first branch. His eyelids start to feel even heftier, so he pinches his thigh again, rolling his eyes upward, like he’s stretching them. Then he stares at his chubby hands for a moment, and then lifts his head up, his eyes wandering around at his classmates. The differ ence, he thinks, is so obvious with just one glance. “Something’s wrong in me,” he says. “Something’s wrong, and I’m nothing.” Three minutes later, gravity yanks his head down onto his desk. ***
LAST NIGHT, he and his friends played Buwan-buwan in front of the covered court, in their barrio. It was nine in the evening, and the full moon was up in the clear night. Tado was the it, but throughout the game he ended up constantly revolving around the circle, like a planet orbiting the sun. The circle, he complained, was too big he could not reach them. “That’s game, Tado,” Lina said. “Be sport.” “The circle, it’s just too big.” “You’re too big, too. Remember?” She snickered. “You’re just actually the equal size of the circle. It’s fair enough.” “That’s “Hyperbole,”hyperbelly.”Jordan corrected. Tado repeated “Hyperbole” under his breath. Then he sat on the ground, drew his knees up, and embraced them with his huge arms. “And may remind you?” continued Lina. “You’re the one who drew the circle this “Didbig.” I?” Lina nodded and looked from side to side, at her friends. “Right,” Tado hesitated. “You’re right then.” “What’s your weight?” Biboy interposed. Tado pondered over this. Fifty-six? Sixty-two? Sixty-five? He wasn’t sure, really. How come he didn’t know his own exact weight? “Ninety-eight kilograms,” he lied. “And your height?” “Five flat, I think.” “See?” said Jordan. “That’s also an issue. Your chance of touching us is dependent on your speed and your stride.” He stared at Tado from head to foot. “Since you’re—“ “—too fat,” Biboy finished. Jordan nodded. “Yes, toooo fat. That means your weight lessens your speed. And since you’re short-legged, you can’t chase us because you can’t stride wide enough like how we do. You see, you’re just Tado.” Then his friends ran off as fast as they could, laughing hysterically this time. Tado remained from where he was, his chin now on his knees, glaring at the spot where his friends had once stood. Moments later, he picked up a rock—nearly the size of his fist—from behind him, hefted it to his chest, and gripped it so hard, while listening to the sound of the moving bamboos being swayed by the breeze. The sky darkened even more, and the moon was obscured by the dark clouds. He feared rain; he always feared rain. “I have to go,” he said to the ground. When he arrived in their bahay kubo at nine, his parents were already sleeping on a handwoven mat, spread across the floor. It was partly dark inside, and the candle was already half consumed. Tado, as soon as he noticed it, immediately laid on the rattan sofa, his fist—with the rock still crumpled in it—resting upon his chest. Silence reigned inside for a long time, broken only when he sneezed out of nowhere and accidentally dropped the rock on the bamboo floor. Both his mother and father’s eyes popped open; then they propped themselves up on their elbows. His father asked him if he was fine. Tado said, “Yes.” Then he was asked to get inside and lie between them. As soon as he did his mother said, “Are you okay?” When his father had gone back to sleep, Tado nodded. “So how’s the night with your friends?” “Terrible!” He turned his head away. “Nay, am I too fat?” “Of course not,” his mother said softly. “You’re just big-boned, you know.” “Euphemism for fat: big-boned. It doesn’t make any difference at all.” “Does it really matter, say, if you are?” “It does. You see, I’m being bullied because of my body. They told me I look like a pig. I’m nothing, Nay. I have nothing special inside me. I’m just..…Tado.” “They tease you because of what they see, not because of your actual weight. Nak,” his mother whispered, running her fingers on his hair, “you must know your weight better than anyone else.” Tado took a deep breath. “I’m huge Nay,” he said, “that’s my weight.” “Yes, of course. You’re huge. See?” “You don’t understand.” “People sort things out into categories and create meanings out of them. Look around: the world is full of definitions. But no one can define your weight. That’s why you have to make your own.” “I did. I lied to Biboy. When he asked me what my weight was, I said I weigh nine ty-eight kilograms.” “But you lied,” his mother sighed. “You don’t understand, do you?” He was speechless; he kept looking at the night sky. At this moment he no longer heard her mother saying something. It was when he turned to her—on the verge of asking, What do you mean?—that he realized she had fallen back asleep. He didn’t want to wake her up. He knew his mother was drained from the work. Maybe tomor row morning, he thought. But he had overslept the next day, and he was already late for school. His unasked question remained a mystery. ***
Tado knows about Isaac Newton and Juan Tamad. Newton was the scientist who discovered gravity when he observed an apple fall from a tree. Juan, on the other hand, was a lazy boy who had spotted a ripe fruit hanging on one of its branches, and beneath the tree, he waited for the fruit to fall into his gaping mouth. Ms. Carisma faces the class. She says, “Any question?” Three of the students raise their hands. “Lina,” says the teacher, and Lina says, “Can you repeat the explanation why planets don’t go away from the sun?”
Tado isn’t listening outside, but inside. For a brief moment he closes his eyes, inhal ing deeply through his O-shaped mouth. He, then, leaps into the air, and lands on the floor with a dull thud, slightly on bended knees. Biboy cups his hands around his mouth. “That’s what we call Big Bang,” he yells. The whole class burst out laughing again, this time uncontrollably. Ms. Carisma’s face turns bloody red. She shushes everyone—nothing happens. She slams the book against her desk—still, nothing “You’rehappens.huge,”
Tado mutters to himself. “You’re huger than you think.” He feels his huge body drowning in a tub, water rising up to his ears as he stands up straight and exhales the wind out of his lungs. When he opens his eyes he screams, “Eureka!” He stares outside the window, at the tree positioned in front of the mountain, then storms through the door, out of the classroom, and runs as fast as he can towards the tree, saying Eureka repeatedly. For once he turns around, raindrops streaming down his face, and sees his classmates from afar peering over the window, like planets stuck in one side. When he arrives in front of the tree, gasping for breath, he faces the mountain without turning his head away from it. He feels lighter. You should know your weight better than anyone else, he remembers his nanay saying. You’re huge. No one can define your weight. “No one!” Tado screams to the mountain. There’s no apple in the tree about to fall on his head, to discover something. There’s no waiting for the guava to fall into his mouth, either. Just within a minute he climbs the tree with all might, and this time gravity is no longer pulling him down.
“RIGHT, TADO?” his teacher says. Tado is sitting near the window, his temple still pinned on the desk. Ms. Carisma slips in front of Tado and thumps the textbook on the edge of his desk. She says, “Tado!” No response. “Tado!”
GLITCH ART CREDITS: reddit.com
Isee the nightmares every day. I see the girl outside the window, tongue hanging out, her feet and long hair swaying with the breeze. I see the beheaded nun walking down the streets like a child looking for a mother. I see the man covered in blood and chains, dragging behind him his shackles and acting like a devout repenting his sins. I see children everywhere: they whizz their way through humanity, dotting the streets here and there like they are still part of our world.
Sheer panic starts to ensue as you see the faceless man stride slowly towards you. You are trapped. You want to run for your life, but you are frozen in fear and bounded by the ropes. Your heart jumps inside your chest as if wanting to escape as well. You begin to gasp for breath in desperation as if you were sucking in air through a thin straw. Restless butterflies fly around in your stomach. Your hands are cold as ice. With your hands shaking, you try yet again to break free from the ropes but they just don’t budge. At some distance away behind, you see a knife and you try to grasp it but you can’t. You can almost reach it, just a few more inches, but you just can’t. You scream for help but there’s just no voice coming out. The tears began to fall. You did not want to but you just can’t help it. There was nobody out there to see you struggle. You feel wobbly. You feel like this is it. Then, somehow, in some unexplainable way, the man was out of sight. You aren’t sure how. Maybe it was just an imagination? A thing you created in your head? Perhaps. Maybe it was real, maybe it was not. And you? You know he is still out there, waiting for that moment to make his unexpected arrival. You feel like at any moment he’ll come back again and take you away for good. Who are you stranger?
Now, picture a slim and insanely tall faceless man standing some meters away from outside the door. Uncertain what it was but sure of the rising tension building up inside you, you try untangling the ropes that bind you but they were just too tight that it cut your wrists and you started to bleed.
This thing I feel, would you understand it? Imagine. Sitting both hands and arms strapped to a chair in the middle of a confined closed-off room. There are no lights and no windows, except for an open door in front which illuminated the room with a little light. You want to leave. You want to go out. But you just can’t because you’re tied.
Bombs feel too impersonal and general a method to kill. There is too little contact with my chosen victims, but sometimes they are a necessary evil. There is no greater pleasure than seeing the light leave from another per son’s eyes as they die, but the cacophony of screams and pleadings come a close second and sometimes it is enough. Ghosts replaced the trees in my yard, growing right above their bodies planted on the cold hard ground.
GLITCH ART CREDITS:
The girl struggled hard before managed to hang her on the tree. The nun was asleep when I slashed her neck and severed it completely. The man tried to run away too many times while was still having fun, so I made him drag those chains before shot him in the head. Too many children had bled in my hands; they were easy prey and very fun indeed.
GLITCH ART CREDITS: 3.bp.blogspot.com I’m Working On It Donna Belle Ajoc Who are Stranger?you, Donna Belle Ajoc
Isat bolt upright in my bed. can still feel her long black hair snake through my skin. It has been like this for several nights now: waking up drenched in cold sweat or screaming my head off. don’t even know where to start with this. But it feels like something is choking me inside, and it grows a little more every day.
Hiningal ako pero sige pa. Ansarap pala ng sumasalubong kay kumpare tuwing gabi. Kasalanan din naman niya kasi puro siya trabaho. Hindi ko naman kayang tanggihan ang biyayang laan at isusubo na lang. Ahhh! Diniinan ko. Ganoon din ang higpit ng yakap niya sa akin. Ang kaniyang mga kuko ay halos bumaon na sa likod ko. “Mare ganito ba talaga ang pananabik mo?” Hingal at pautal-utal niyang ungol ang naisagot. Pinag-igihan ko pa. Ipinulupot niya ang mga binti sa akin na tila ayaw nang kumawala sa langit o kung saan mang lupalop na pareho naming nilalakbay. Subalit sa isang kalabog lang ay nahinto ang lahat. Tila mga yabag ng nag-uunahang paa paakyat sa hagdan ang nagbalik ng aming parehong ulirat. Naudlot ang kanina’y paraisong kinalalapagan ko. Umalis ako sa pagkakapatong. Kani-kaniya kaming hanap ng saplot. “Magtago ka muna” ang tarantang utos niya. Nagtataka ako kasi mamayang hapon pa ang uwi ni kumpare. Tiyak ako ‘dun. Kusang kumilos ang katawan ko tungo sa lumang aparador sa kaliwang sulok ng silid. Ito lang ang maaari kong pagtaguang ikakasya ako sa loob. Nagsimula nang kumatok ang kaninang papausbong na kalabog lang. Kumakalampag! Ang tagal kasing magbihis ni kumare. Panty, daster at wala nang bra. Dagling punas pawis at binuksan na niya ang pinto. Sinisilip ko ang buong pangyayari sa maliit na iwang ng aparador. Kalaunan ay naramdaman ko ang nakasusulasok na amoy na nakisiksik sa akin sa loob. Nakasasakal na baho na nagpaubo sa akin ng ilang ulit. Natiyempo pa naman sa pagbukas ng pinto ang malakas na ubo ko. Ha? Bakit walang tao? Nilingon-lingon ni mare ang labas ng kwarto, sa hagdan at ilalim nito pero wala talaga ang kaninang kumalampag sa pinto. Hindi ko na nilimi pa ang pangyayari at lumabas na lang ako ng aparador para busisiin naman ang pinagmulan ng kanina pang sumaklob na amoy. Lumapit ako sa kinaroroonan ng sangsang at basta na lang akong pinagpawisan nang malagkit. Hinawi ko ang mga nakasabit na damit at ilang mga itinambak sa loob ng aparador na iyon. Bigla akong nanigas. Ang mismong laway ko ay hindi ko magawang lunukin dahil sa tumambad na naagnas na bangkay. Laking gulat ko na si kumpare pala! Laslas ang leeg at lawit ang dila. Nanuyo na ang bumulwak na dugo mula sa leeg nito na kumalat naman sa mga ipinantakip na laman ng aparador. Agad kong hinagilap ang asawa nito na kanina lang ay kasiping ko. Subalit nang nilingon ko na ay bakit hindi ko magawang sumigaw o magsalita man lang? at halos lumuwa ang mata ko nang nakita si kumare. Nakangiti… tinititigan ako… pixabay.com
Doren John Bernasol
Hordes of people flock the barren land left behind by a blast; the echoes of their screams lingering in the smoke and dust like an orchestra reaching from the beyond. Nails scratch the same pattern on my door night after night without reprise, but have learned how to sleep soundly with its music screeching in my ears. The occasional thumping that shake the walls of my room no longer deters me -- they are nothing but constancy in my daily life.
GLITCH ART CREDITS: i.pinimg.com i see dead people
It did not matter. I was dead inside. It felt like I was trash without any use in this world and ready to be thrown away. Nothing seems to work out anymore in my life. All my efforts are in vain, all my hopes have been buried, and all confidence have gone like the wind. I practically saw myself as an embodiment of a disappointment. Crying every night does not help and there was nobody I could talk to because we all have our own internal conflicts and it was something that I had to fix on my own. But I couldn’t. Outside was smiling, inside I was screaming for help. But like a terrible nightmare, you just have to wake up from all this. There will be light after a tunnel, and we just have to move forward and await for that light. Sometimes, I ask myself, “Are you okay?” And then I answer, as if to reassure myself, “No. But I’m working on it.”
Siping
GLITCH ART CREDITS: artpeoplegallery.com
BAGWIS • literary folio24 literary folio • BAGWIS 25
Fear the living, not the dead. The dead may speak but those that are alive can kill. Throughout it all I’ve tried to prove that the monsters aren’t what we expect them to be. We are the feared. We are the monsters.
All the ghosts I see are the remnants of my deeds.
Some nights when I look at the yard behind my home see lingering spirits staring right back at me. Some nights they look angry. Some nights they look burdened and tired. Most nights, I only stare back with a smile. Seeing them had always been easy. They are everywhere and anywhere and nowhere. The hardest part was ig noring them as they appear. Their peculiarity surely draws the eye. But all my life I’ve seen and known they were a part of this world I live in, and because of that I’ve learned to be accustomed to their presence. I barely flinch anymore at the sight of a disembodied head or other body parts. Nor do particularly care for ladies in white loi tering down hallways and streets. They are as constant as the trees in the city, as the stars that appear each night. I’ve learned not to be afraid of them. Not because they can’t harm me, but because I have hurt them first.
Who is this man? What does he want from me? And so you start anticipating, waiting, a little more every day, for his next visit. Do you understand a little now? You can’t exactly state what causes this sensation but it’s just always there. It suddenly shows itself. You don’t necessarily see the reason for it but you know it’s there. Are you crazy? Are you losing your mind? No. It’s anxiety. And it’s eminent. So who is this man? Who are these strangers? It’s just you, yourself.
It was six in the afternoon and I was sitting in front of my work desk when started to doze off. I felt myself walk to my room and slumped onto my bed. My eyes scanned the room for a moment. It was dark but I could see a faint silhouette of someone kneeling on my door. was perplexed. Why was someone kneeling on my doorstep late in the evening? I sat there, petrified, as the figure started crawling towards me. My heart was racing. was losing breath. I started to panic as I forced myself to scream for help but no voice came out. And as I felt its cold hands clench my wrist I screamed at the top of my lungs and sat bolt upright on my bed, a cocktail of sweat and tears flowing on my face. My mom woke up probably from the noise that I made. She asked me what was wrong. I laid back, speechless, and buried myself in the covers praying that the “thing” would not come back. I could barely remember the image but it was hideous. She—or it—had black skin like charcoal and a skinny body naked from top to bottom, and frizzy dreadlocks for hair that was as long as can ever picture out. The sensation of it all felt so real. But it was just another nightmare. A ghost I made inside my brain. A monster created for my own. We all have our own ghosts and monsters inside our minds. They feed on fears, worries, doubts and anxieties; and as far as I know, I think my monsters are pretty overweight now. wanted to delete all those bad things inside my head that slowly kill me, but when everything starts to fall apart and the world seems to come to an end, so did my heart. entertained thoughts of suicide but I did not have the guts to actually do it. So I’ve got to suck it all in. By then, was just letting all things happen. What’s one more problem when I’ve got loads of them?
Jean Faith Roxas
WhatFear. does it take to induce fear on anyone? Is fear enough to call yourself human? Why are humans afraid of getting hurt? But before that, why are humans afraid of hurting others?
MICHAEL JOHN OTANES
Everything turned around As fell to the ground Slowly eaten by numb It didn’t left a crumb Engulfed by the darkness turned into soulless Just hing in madness And acting like reckless Heart like an empty shelf Where did I lose myself? My body move itself don’t think I need help Truly out of control Eyes reflect a dark soul After the great downfall And heard the monster’s call Nightmares have just begun Too late for me to run This is how should be done LET THE DARKNESS HAVE FUN IsThisdarkfulentitythatlivesinsideofmeaworstenemy?Friend?Ormynewfamily?
JUSTINE KANE LABRADOR
AngAyaw‘DiItimItimAngItimkulayangdilimanglagimLagingitimAngkulayNgpatayAngkulayNgbuhayNapinatayNgitimNalagimSadilimItimAngkulayNiya’yitimNgunit‘DisiyaitimsiyasaitimniyasalagimTakotsiyasadilimPeroItim!AyawnilasaitimIto’ydilimIto’ylagimTakotsilasaitimDahil‘DisilaitimItim‘DiniyanamaatimAngtakotAngtinginAngbulongNgmga‘diitimDiniyanamaatimkulayniyangitimKayalumingonAngitimNangtawaginNglagimNgdilimNgtunayNaitimItimTakotangitimSatunayNaitimPerowalanaAngtakotPinatayNgdilimAtlagimAngtakotNgitim
ITIM JULIE YAN
When father died inside our house, mother muttered neatly-folded words to him so they would spark, like fireworks, in his heart. For almost every day in three years, mother had been hoping for his resurrection; and so she decided not to cremate his body. In truth, she enshrouded him with white blankets (toturnhimintoapupa she told me), hang his corpse in the ceiling of her room—and she would sing hymns and dance around it. Then on her knees, and with her head up and closed eyes, she would pray in silence and in devotion while rubbing her hands against the cold thing, so hard that, sometimes, it got warm. He’s alive! she would chant. He’s alive! But father has not gone outside even once. Months later, grandmother paid a visit to us one fine day, and said she saw father being nestled by another arms, in an open field. Mother’s brows met. As soon as she uncovered the pupa very carefully, and saw nothing inside it but ashes, she broke down to tears. Like stars, she noticed, she could not reach the ashes. Then she reached for my hand this time, said sorry, and whispered that, at last, she knew now why father died, just as she untangled the rope tightly looped around my neck.
LIMBO REY MARK TIDALGO
BAGWIS • poetry26 poetry • BAGWIS 27
Bukas makalawa, sasapiting muli ng ulilang silid ang malademonyong galak at dimapigilang tawa ng nagbibihis-bihisang anaki’y santong daigdig... Ang ubaning tali na lumingkis sa’king kulubot na leeg ay ang tanging kagalakan laban sa mundong inari ng sanlibong pagdurusa - mga bunton at pagsasakit. Kaya kung hindi man muling maliligtas ako sa panganib ay sa wakas, matutupad ang matagal kong hinintay: ang makatikim ng buhay, mandi’y langit ang kawangis. Buong galak akong magpapatiwakal nang may pananalig, kesa manatiling buhay sa salimuot ng mundo. Ako’y magiging malaya, doon sa ulilang silid...
that holds so much. So much so that it can paralyze anyone from doing anything. So much so that it can take the human brain to an adrenaline drive. So much so that even greater brains lose their sanity. So much that one cannot fathom and put the full spectrum of fear into words.
EATING THOUGHTS. CLAWING INSIDES
DISSOCIATION IRIKA YOSHINAGA
PERPETUAL FRICTION
ItFear.drives everyone on this planet. Desperate souls go to church for fear of oblivion. People look for partners for fear of ending up alone. Couples have sex for fear of losing their lineage. Babies are fed for fear of their death. Children are sent to school for fear of discrimination. Teens go to college for fear of a jobless future. Adults slave their way to corporate chasms for fear of starving themselves. People stay alive for fear of the unknown.
ItFear.lurks on every corner of our minds. Making us prisoners in our own bodies. Making us question what is real what is not. Was that a ghost or my imagination? Should I kill or run for it? Should I stab his balls or spare his life?
AFear.Ourselves.Death.Love.Friends.Parents.ofofofFear.losing.rejection.humiliation.fourletterword
Desparada
Lakad sa kaliwang bahagi ng hallway. Katok. Walang sagot. Mas malakas na katok. Pihit sa pinto. Buntong hininga. Katok. “Ate?” Walang sagot. Kamot sa noo. Inayos ang buhok sa bandang tenga. Balik ulit sa main door. “Eh, kung gibain ko kaya to!? Tsk.” mura sabay sipa sa pinto. Tingin sa relo. Tingin sa pinto ni ate. Tingin sa main door. Buntong hininga. Palakad lakad na tila nag iisip ng pagka lalim lalim. Gusto ko nang umiyak. Tingin sa labas ng bintana. Mura. Kamot sa batok habang naglalakad patungo sa pinto ni ate. Anim na malalakas na katok. Walang sagot. Nilapat ang tenga sa pinto. Walang bakas ng tao sa loob. Sa sobrang inis ginulo ko ang buhok sabay kamot. Buntong hininga. Balik sa main door. Hinawakan ang padlock. “Bakit ba kasi nilolock ng ganto ang main door?” pinikit ang mata. Buntong hininga. Dahan dahan akong naglakad patungong backdoor. Sarado. Tadyak! Upo sa semento habang nakapikit, at ang dalawang kamay ay nasa magkabilang tenga. Buntong hininga. Tingin sa kisame. Ngiti. Tila may lumiwanag na bombilya sa aking utak kasabay ng tunog na: Ting! “Bakit hindi ko kaagad naisip?” Tayo. Mabilis na naglakad. Balik sa kwarto. Kinuha ang mga kailangang gamit. Hinay-hinay kong isinara ang pinto. Tingin sa relo. Tingin sa main door. Ngiti. Dahan-dahan akong umakyat sa second floor ng dormitory. Lingon sa likod. Walang nakakita. “Tama ba tong gagawin ko?” tingin sa kaliwa. Lingon sa kanan. Wala akong gaanong maaninag. Tinungo ang switch ng ilaw. Buntong hininga. Hindi ko na halos maramdaman ang lamig ng madaling araw dahil sa ginagawa kong to. Himas sa batok. Kamot sa noo. Tingin sa relo. “Tsk. Wala na akong choice.” Isang hakbang. Dalawa. Tatlo. Naglakad ako patungo sa balcony habang kagat ang kanang hinlalaki. Lingon sa likod. Tingin sa ibaba. Kagat labi. Kaba. Wala akong gaanong makita sa dilim ng umaga. Pinikit ang mata. Malalim na hinga. Kabog ng dibdib. Mabilis. Nakakabingi. Kamay sa dibdib. Habang nakapamewang lingon sa likod. Kagat sa kanang hinlalaki. Kamot uli sa ulo. Tingin sa ibaba. Kagat labi. “Ba’t parang ang taas?” malakas na kabog sa dibdib. Huni ng mga kulisap. “’Wag na lang kaya?” tingin sa relo. Mura. Buo na ang desisyon ko. “Kaya ko naman ‘to.”
Editor-In-Chief DAVID
OQUENDO Associate Editor JADE MARK B. CAPIÑANES Managing Editor SHARLENE MAY H. LAPIZ Opinion Editor KEVIN L. AUTOR Features Editor JADE MARK B. CAPIÑANES Feature Writers ROHANNIE IBRAHIM • JENNY ROSS RABIA Sports Editor REMWIL G. MAXILOM Sports Writer REYLAN JAY MAGNO News Editor DIXTER GLENN C. TANDOG Photo Editor JAYSON S. DEODOR Photo Journalists JONALYN MEJELLANO • NICOLE LAURENCE DE VEGA • JOHN CHRISTIAN BURGOS • LORRAINE COSTELO Videographer JOSEPHINE U. TEJADA Layout Artists EDWIN B. SALAZAR, JR. • ANNA MHARIZE R. TANO • MAMERTO HERRERA III Cartoonists FELIX ESIC, JR. • JUPHETER FRANCO • JOSE JERRY TAYACTAC Web Developer GLENVILLE BAUTISTA Trainees CHRISTIAN ELY POOT • MARIA MADEL PALEN • MARRIETTA DEOCARES • HONEY GRACE SARIO • BENONI PABLO JR. • YASMIN THABET • AIVEE ANN DIDULO • RUDY CHRISTIAN ROMUALDO • KYLE RYAN GONZALEZ • NIÑO MEJIAS • LEO COLOT • AVE GALECIAN PLAZA • CYBILL JOYCE LIM • EUNICE PANIZALES Adviser: PROF. ROSSEL AUDENCIAL editorial board s.y. 2016-2017 bagwis If you wish to contribute articles, send them to our official e-mail, bagwis.msu@gmail.com with the subject line: BAGWIS ARTICLE SUBMISSION. STAY UPDATED! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! www.fb.com/msu.bagwis FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @BagwisMSU CONNECT WITH US.
Impit na sigaw. “aray!” panandaliang kirot sa kanang bahagi ng aking paa. Pamamanhid. Maginaw. Pinikit ang mata. Tiniis ang sakit. Sinubukan kong tumayo. Hindi ko maramdaman ang aking kanang paa. Usal ng panalangin. Hikbi. Luha sa pisngi. Mabilis na paghinga. Nakarinig ako ng tunog ng motor. Gapang. Dahan dahan. Gapang. Halos wala na akong maramdaman. Liwang. Nakakasilaw. At biglang nagdilim ang aking paningin. pinterest.com
“Anong oras na, malelate na ako! Bakit ba kasi sarado pa ang pinto?!” Kamot sa batok. Kunot noo. Tingin uli sa relo. Pihit sa door knob ng main door. Mura! Paano ko ba mabubuksan to?! Mura! Mura! Mura! Buntong hininga. Tingin sa relo. Tingin sa kisame. Inikot ang mata. Mas malalim na Buntong hininga.
GLITCH ART CREDITS:
NagulatKalabog.ako
Walang ni isa mang tao sa hallway. Ilang minuto na lang late na ako!
sa ingay na nagmula sa kaliwang bahagi ng hallway. Sa takot, bigla kong inihagis ang mga gamit sa ibaba. Sampa sa balcony. Biglang talon. Huli na ng maalala kong naka high heels ako.
BAGWIS • literary folio28 anna
Benoni Pablo, Jr. JAYSON B.
bagwis THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY - GENERAL SANTOS CITY
