Echoes September 2018 by Echoes

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A U G U S T

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Plansem by Josh Quimbo

Semstarter by Ann Geron

Chronicles of A Tall Kid by Gab Rivera

Streets Like White Elephants by Cel Pacana

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The Filipina by Pita Ochave

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Cover Story: Princess Sarah by Christina Llana

A Rant About Marcos Wealth by Javi Vilchez

Sorry, Sir. Walang Regular. by Louise Faraon

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A Day in the Life: Sab Go by Hans & Anton

Alaala by Anonymous

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ECHOE S 60B PUBLICATION

E DITOR -IN-CHIEF AS S OCIATE EDITOR STAFF A

STAFF B

Echoes is the official publication of the UP Economics Society (UP Ecosoc), a nonstock, non-profit, student organization based in the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics. Echoes is released two to four times a semester and six times in a year on the months of March, April, August, September, October, and November. It draws its funding from a subsidy from UP Ecosoc, subscription revenue, and small fundraisers. For this semester, 35 subscription copies are produced. This publication is printed by Yza Copy Systems and Trading, located at Katipunan, Quezon City. contact us

upecosoc@gmail.com ecosoc.echoes@gmail.com tweet us

@echoesph for more information, visit:

echoes.ph issuu.com/echoes

All errors are corrected when uploaded on issuu.com/echoes. If you spot an error, please email us. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Bianca RaÃ±ola Meira de Luna Andrew Banaag Carlos Barreiro Mari Ferrer Jolo Zagala Alyanna Basbas Joaquin de Guzman Pita Ochave Javi Vilchez

COMMUNICATIONS E DITO RI AL ASSISTANT STAFF

Maxine Capili Jego Agabin Lawrence Chu Gail Gibe Glenn Guy Patrick Santos

EVENTS M ANAGING EDITOR STAFF

Franzze Milag Katie Abrenica Bianca Cacnio Kelsey Mariano

CONTRIBUTORS Jolo Zagala Javi Vilchez Louise Faraon Josh Quimbo Betina Sales Ann Geron Jad Castillo Dave Bass Andrew Banaag Francine Loja Ivana Sanchez MJ Orosco Lance Cheng Bianca Pelejo Christina Llana

Bel Bernardo Miggy Villamor Meira de Luna Franz Cruz Jose Ericta Gab Rivera Benju Evardone Carlos Barreiro Pita Ochave Ian Jorge Celina Pacana Hans Lim Anton Manotok Mia Cruz

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EDI TOR’S LE T T ER E C H O E S

I’ve developed the habit of writing the Editor’s Letter last, and not even because I want to properly convey the message that each issue wishes to. I put it off because it’s hard. How do you package a product of blood, sweat, and tears in gift wrapping and a pretty little bow?

Short answer: you don’t. You can’t. All Echoes issues are conceived with a certain amount of pain (much like an infant, which is how I look at these precious magazines), but this one in particular came with a little more fear factor - uncertainty. The cover for this issue is the first shoot we’ve ever done with film (as far as I know), and so we left the fate of the release date in the hands of our friendly neighborhood photo lab. As of this writing, I still don’t know how the pictures are going to turn out.

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So here I present to you the first issue of the semester, not in gift wrapping and a pretty little bow but in colors I am yet unsure of, in the hope that all the extra steps we took for it are enough to keep you glued to its pages. All in the name of a little bit of OSTENTATION.

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Nevertheless, we persist. Inside, we define OSTENTATION as “having or being extra,” and the way this issue was brought to life - film shoots and expensive articles and all - is a fine example of this. Now, it may not necessarily be in the flashy, Imelda Marcos shoes, Farrah Fawcett hair sense; it could be in something like your height, your brains, or even your kakuriputan. That said, we discover the OSTENTATION of our previous CDC Chairperson Sarah See when our current CDC Chair Christina Llana interviews her. You will find that even though Sasee might seem like the complete opposite of gold and glitter, the source of her OSTENTATION has been right under our noses all along.

EDIT: We made it, with a few hours to spare. This is probably the most beautiful issue I’ve been a part of. My ultimate takeaway from this: dream big and have faith. It’ll all be worth it in the end.

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J E R E M Y G E M Z O N TA N ECOSOC MONTH HELLO ECOSOC!!! Wow we’ve been together a full semester already and WE’VE GOT ANOTHER ONE AHEAD!!!!! This sem is incredibly special and exciting for me too because it’s the one where we get to celebrate Ecosoc’s DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY!!!! 60 YEARS NA TAYO WILDT!!!!!!!! We’ve got a load of great things in store for you guys this Ecosoc Month. More than the wild parties and the huge events though, this EM is all about the memories we’re going to be making with each other and with the organization. This EM is all about reminding each and every single app, member and alumni what they found in Ecosoc in the first place. Be it a family, a home, their passions and everything else in between, this celebration will be all about you, because at the end of the day EM was borne to celebrate what the org is all about. And the reality is, this organization is all about you. You are Ecosoc’s greatest treasure, and you deserve nothing but the best anniversary month celebration EVER. #EM60 #RememberSeptember

ERIN CHENG SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE Nyello Ecosoc mingmingswsws (uso pa ba to amp) n welcome to the September issue where we celebrate the world of extravagance - think Crazy Rich Asians x Imelda Marcos (ew) x .....Sab Go??? hEHE ANYWAY speaking of extravagance aka the “lack of restraint in spending money or use of resources” haha lol, I’m happiest to inform u that we’ll be going beyond our target of having 4 new scholars for the semester to having 12! It’s been 5 long months of hustle n hard work from our very own Scholcom team – Lia, Icon, and Rigo, and I can’t be any prouder of what they’ve accomplished :) We’ve processed almost 900 applications, gouged our eyes out reading 563 essays, but in the process, learned about sheer grit and passion from the most brilliant but underprivileged students out there. Many thanks also to all the people who’ve donated (aka some of ur parents) – I’m really excited for Ecosoc to begin supporting this new batch of bright minds and I only hope we can do more for them in the future uwu :’)

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I S A B E L C U E VA S ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

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Hey whoremies! I’m back! I hope you all had a great start to the semester. It’s Ecosoc month and I’m just so excited for the solid line-up of events. Happy 60 years Ecosoc!! Can’t wait to see you all in what EM has in store for us. We’ll also be having our 2nd ACDC session this month. I hope you’re ready for the energy of the Pook Ricarte kids! I’d like to say thank you to everyone who supported Acad’s initiatives for the past month especially to those who attended our Recognition Day. I really appreciate all the hardwork of my members. Shoutout to my VCs, Joergen and Francine. ILY guys!! Wishing everyone good luck for the rest of the semester. Nothing but love for all of you!

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CHRISTINA LLANA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

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elo there! it’s me! 123 zip! This line became so iconic last sem I’m not really sure why HAHA Anyway, it’s the start of a whole new sem with the kids, and I couldn’t contain my excitement in getting to bond and interact with our Pook Ricarte bbs once again <3 We will be seeing both new and old faces, and I hope you are just as excited as we are in getting to know all of them. Despite some changes in the program, we promise to make the experience as fulfilling as it has always been. (Giffy swears by this!!!) Shoutout to my super solid VCs and committee! You guys are the best. Can’t wait for what the sem has in store for all of us :)

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BIANCA RAÑOLA ECHOES Hello, Ecosoc! The past few months have brought all kinds of buzz over Echoes. We worked hard to make sure your summers would still be colored with culture, whether you were rotting away at your internship or rotting away elsewhere. Now you can expect our Monday releases as you rot away in school. Jk. August gave us the birth of Godofredo’s, Echoes’ online culture club, and it’s been such an unbelievable success. If you aren’t part of the group, you’re a loser. Do join us. We’re working on a whole slew of releases for you so just tune in and hang tight. I know I will. My thanks goes to Echoes for being a force of nature, and to my angels Meira, Max, and Franzze for being the hands that nurture. You inspire me. Let’s finish the year strong, because that’s what Echoes does. ;)

JAD CASTILLO EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Ecosoc!!! We’re back again on a fresh (?) semester with new moments to create together, new freshies and apps to meet! I am so hyped for this semester because of the events lined up. My fave event is happening -- NES! As for Externals, I am so happy as well that I get the chance to spend my last semester as the chair (TANGINA BAKIT AKO?!) together with the people who made me fell in love with this amazing and sabog committee. I would also like to thank everyone for your support for the few releases we had c/o Awareness – International Youth Day, Eid’l Adha, and UP Pride Week in partnership with Echoes! We will still be having a lot more of statement releases for the semester, and a discussion group to cap off our woke-ness, yeeees. I hope that you still continue to support all the initiatives of every committee, especially the hard work of my amazing VCs – Emman (supot), Airah, and David, my Walrus 3+1 buddies, and my sabog externals bbs!

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C A R I N A TA N B I O FINANCE Welcome back, Ecosoc! It’s the beginning of a new semester and it seems like we’re about to go on another crazy adventure. We hope that everyone had as much fun as we did in the previous semester and we hope that somehow, Ecosoc was able to make a mark on your lives and make this place your home. It’ll be another rocky journey, but we’ll be there every step of the way! E C H O E S

Thank you also to all my Fin VCs and Mems! I’m really excited to spend this semester with all of you guys! I hope that everyone will continue to support Fin’s events and initiatives. We have a lot in store for you guys this semester! :)

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ERYEL BENITEZ LIAISON

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HELLLOOOO Ecosoc!!! :) A NEW school year, a NEW start, a NEW Liai. From three divisions before, Liai is now only divided into two: alumni relations and corporate relations. Team Alumni Relations is always busy contacting alumni and members for the monthly Humans of Ecosoc post, while Team Corporate Relations is trying their best to market Ecosoc to every possible partner! With corprel busy, expect a new kind of privilege soon! ;) But wait, Liai has a new function this semester as well… Liai is now helping the scholars! We will be making a database of possible sponsors for the scholarship program and we hope to support more students in the future! It’s going to be a busy semester for the NEW and BETTER Liaison Committee. Although, even with a bit of revamping, Liai still has the same core function we all love- CONNECTIONS. CONNECTIONS. CONNECTIONS. I would to give my biggest thanks to my 2 AMAZING VCs- Jo and Maia! To my officers, I would also like to thank you so much for your hardwork and dedication! Anyways, see you around, Ecosoc <3 LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

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JOSH QUIMBO MEMBERSHIP Hey Ecosoc!!! Who would’ve known I’d be the one giving updates for Memcomm??? Eyyy!! Hahahaha! But anyways, here’s a short update and gist on what memcomm’s been doing so far. We kick started the sem with team building games and made sure that the different members of Ecosoc were able to bond. It was a great semplanning actually. People who weren’t as extroverted were able to interact with everyone else. There were more activities and ganaps that went down during the semplanning, but that’s a different story. More than just semplanning, we had our first genmeet and we had our first sem starter. It’s been a solid start of the year and for sure we’ll be prepared for more gaguhan and fun!!! See you around ecosoc!!

RELLA GLORIA SECRETARIAT HELLO ECOSOC!!!!! UZTAH NAH???? This year is Ecosoc’s 60th year, can you believe it? We’re 60 years strong and I’m sure we have a lot more to go!! I hope you are as excited as we are for this sem!!! Seccom has accomplished a lot already, from rec week dps to the sigsheet and the gallery. Hope you guys liked what we’ve done so far <3 Thank you to my VCs Kara and Hazel, to my Gallery team Jano, Sheena, and Hazel (again), and to the rest of Seccom: Miggy, Mia, Sam, Sheena, Jabby, Khy!!!! I appreciate and love you all so much :’( But we still have so much in store for you, Ecosoc! I hope you continue to support our initiatives hehe <3

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ANN GERON SPECIAL EVENTS Hello.

E C H O E S

Time flies. Here I limp before you – unevenly tanned, chubby, and cranky. I swear I looked cuter before. You are probably different too. There have been moments that paved the way to what we have in the present. We have seen various levels of sobriety from our peers. Some shocked us, the others we saw coming. There were momentous victories and devastating losses. We experienced instances of emotions spilling out from your eyes on to your sleeve for the world to scrutinize and make their own. What people fail to see, what you tuck away discreetly, something you hide too well... is that your mind is in SHAMBLES. Words keep coming, and no one knows. Then it shows... in the wordy papers, draggy texts, and the flowery articles like this. Frankly, it was harder for me to make this obnoxious than it was to say this simply.

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Simply: Speak your mind. Give yourself a break. Take your time. Grab the hands of the friends and strangers who’ve been reaching out in vain. Darling, you have been swimming in the roses not minding the thorns. Pull out the little shits and move on to greener simplicity. I’ll be waiting.

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DINDO RAMOS SPORTS HI ECOSOC!!! Kamusta kayo? AKO, wala my mind is dying because 21 units. Pero first of all, Happy Ecosoc Month!! I can’t believe it has been 3 years for me in this org <3 and now we’re at our 60th year pa awow! Honestly, I am super proud of what this org has achieved and I am still quite amazed by how this organization is able to bring out the potential in people. OK BACK TO COMM NEWS!!! As I am writing this, it has been a solid 2 releases for us with regards to Health Information. I’m the one making the pubs kaya sana nagustohan niyo and I hope you take into heart our tips! ITS MBA SOON and im hoping to see your presence there because ily all!

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Plansem. First Genmeet. Semstarter. Apps’ Orientation. Cultured Af!: An Ode to Godofredo’s. For the Kids. UPGrade 2018: UPCAT Review. Zenith: Recognition Day 60B. News by the Numbers. Sorry, Sir. Walang Regular: Labor Contractualization in the Philippines.

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PLANSEM

by JOSH QUIMBO

Natapos na ang lahat, nandito pa rin ako. Hetong nakatulala sa mundo, sa mundo. Hindi mo maiisip. Hindi mo makikita ang mga pangarap ko para sa ‘yo, para sa ‘yo. Oh... Hindi ko maisip kung wala ka. Oh... Sa buhay ko. Nariyan ka pa ba? Hindi ka na matanaw. Kung merong madadaanang pasulong, pasulong. Oh... Hindi ko maisip kung wala ka. Oh... Sa buhay ko Sundan mo ang paghimig na lulan na aking pinagtatanto. Sundan mo ang paghimig ko. Oh... Hindi ko maisip kung wala ka. Oh... Sa buhay ko

F I RST GE N M E E T by BETINA SA LES

Despite experiencing Genmeets for more than 4 sems now, the first Genmeet never fails to hype me up for the upcoming sem. Plus, given that this year’s extra special with EM60, one can find endless reasons to be excited to celebrate our home. 15

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Of all the reveals that night, the biggest was definitely the GT bidding… and the fact that there was no bidding! In case you missed it, the theme this year is Drag Queens and for the first time in Grand Trad history, the teamed up committees will be in charge of characterizing their own Drag Queens. It’s going to be GT eleganza extravaganza! So stay tuned!

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One would think that after cheering for each committee’s presentations, everyone would be tired but there is always room for more hoots and cheers when it comes to the adhocs. For EM60, the Lineup video is all you need to watch. If you haven’t watched it, you’re missing a piece of your life as an Ecosocer. NYC teases us with its announcement of the theme reveal in the coming week while TF gets ready for the potential scholars (42 out of 856 applicants!!!) to be interviewed by scholcom by opening applications for BOD.

The Genmeet started with the induction of appointees namely Tina Llana for CDC, Josh Quimbo for Memcom and Eryle Benitez for Liai. They were warmly welcomed by the usual cheers from everyone excited to finally be back. The appointments were followed by the theme reveal: Taya. This theme focuses on seizing the day and being open to opportunities that can help both mems and apps reach their full potential. This was only the first of many reveals that night. The next set of presentations was the Committe Updates and each comm came prepared with what they have in store this sem. Acads came out not only with this sem’s batch of Book-ALikes and Acad Resources but also Whoremy’s new look. CDC has a new and improved system for ACDC while Echoes announces its plan to release four issues for this sem. (Godofredo’s, the culture club Facebook group has also been launched online!) In line with online releases, Exte has participated in many statements online and will continue to do so through all social media accounts. Fin reminds everyone to pay for reaff fees and debts and reveals its main fundraiser for the sem: a Technohub Bazaar. With an alumni birthday greeting initiative, Liai hopes to attract alumni and hype them up for the upcoming Grand Alumni Homecoming. Memcom is getting ready for its next set of apps with the Rec Week and the release of GW Fam applications. Seccom and Spev invited everyone to their events namely Google Sheets and Art workshops and the SemStarter respectively. Last but not the least, Sports reveals that its bringing back MBA (Mems vs Apps)!

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After the midyear break away from acads and orgs, one would definitely miss the latter- in this case, Ecosoc. *cue Lia/Icon chanting “ECOSOC! 5x”* Fortunately, 60B’s first genmeet held last August 10 got rid of that sepanx.

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S E M S TA R T E R by ANN GERON

On August 9, I lay on my tummy trying to tie together the last loose ends before the event the following evening. All I could think of was, “Huhuhu punta kayo pls.” A few last-minute moments of panic later, I fall asleep. It is now the next day, and I stuff a bikini in my bag and lug paper cups and trash bags to school. Ah, Friday afternoons could not feel longer than it did then. It is 5:44 pm. Teo was taking his first shot of Empi in a car before ingress. Genmeet was not yet through. Eleven minutes later, I learned, Spevies were still on the hunt for Red Horse. The event was pubbed to begin at 7:30. At 6:51, one car was still at a water station. They had Meira! “Have mercy on my soul,” I muttered as I played with my fingers. I was at McDo boycotting Jollibee and waiting for the other car. Twenty-five minutes later, I saw Spevies and other Ecosocers grinding to get the fire burning and alcohol tasty. [Note: It was a good mix of beer, gin, and other... things. Hehe.] At a little past 8, when people were slowly coming in, the team was good to go. I knew at that point, I had nothing to worry about.

The air smelled of burning coal and my favorite well-marinated pork. The night was set to be a fun evening with barbecue, good company, games, and plenty of booze. What transpired, however, was not what I imagined it to be. People got draaaank. I’m not talking about shake-yo-booty kind of tipsy, but snoring-fast-asleep-and-will-probably-have-aterrible-hangover drunk. That makes for a good story, but what I believe creates the best memories is the sober tale I can tell of what I witnessed. People were moving away from their usual circle of friends and mingling. Ecosocers were dancing, singing, and playing basketball (oops) with hotdogs in their hands. When emotions were high and beats slowed down, smiles filled the house of a tipsy homeowner. The happy screaming, drunken wailing, and at the end, the peaceful silence, reminded me of the love I have for the org. Through all the hits and misses, it is the people that make events what they are. Times may change, but nothing can take away the family and the bonds we have built.

These events are not the easiest to plan. Different elements could go wrong during the event itself, and people could choose not to show up. The strong winds may have swayed people away from Tierra Pura, but I am grateful for the ones who flooded the place with glee. SPEV, you knocked that event out of the park. I only had to watch. Looking back, I can laugh at the moments that made it a night to remember. Ingress was wetter and crankier than expected. There was too much alcohol. The grill caused some heat. Something broke. The floor was hit by a calamity. Someone was doing pushups drunk. The piano and vocal chords were alive. Mrs. De Luna took two shots. As for the sem? Oh, it has just begun.

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A P P S ’ O R I E N TAT I O N by DAVE BASS

Every app process that I’ve joined and managed always started with an Apps Orientation. Every orientation has a different theme, program and of course, app process. I believe that an orientation is important because it’s the event that sets the tone of the whole app process. With that, I honestly feel like Ecosoc’s App Orientation is the best out of all that I’ve experienced!

With the capabilities of Memcomm 60B, we have made an Apps Orientation that is worth remembering! A lot of historical events happened during the Apps Orientation. If you weren’t there, it was something that you should have seen live!

is such a ball of sunshine and his humour really gets the whole society to smile! After that, it was Jad’s funny Q&A portion and I actually haven’t heard him make jokes but that powerpoint was really super funny! Then I think it was Tina with her “pa-cute” CDC powerpoint and I was so happy she focused on the kids because the apps really saw who CDC works for! Then it was Bianca’s super colourful and amazing Echoes powerpoint and that effort really gave it the extra push for the apps to truly appreciate Echoes. Those are just some of the most memorable things that happened during the talk and as the App Head, I truly was so happy because we showed the apps how we are as workers and as a family.

First, Acad Wormy changed her image! From a nerdy bookworm, the new Wormy wore a bikini that would show her body to every single member in Ecosoc! It truly is a transformation for the Academics Committee and they are getting better and better! The next thing was the debut of Icon’s blogging career and I legit laughed for 5 minutes straight! Icon

The best part for me during the app orientation was seeing the faces of most of the apps for the very first time! I saw their enthusiasm to the org and their passion for learning and getting in Ecosoc. I have high hope for this batch and as their head, I promise that every app will experience what Ecosoc is really about and what they can get when they become members.

C U LT U R E D A F ! : A N O D E TO GODOFREDO’S by ANDREW BANAAG

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As someone who consumes music like he consumes food every other hour, I’m always craving for something new. Sure I listen to a specific set of artists with unique sounds and styles more often than others, but I can’t help scrolling endlessly on Spotify to see if I’ll find something “out of the ordinary”. If that doesn’t work, I’m always asking my friends for recommendations. That’s when I stumbled upon the wonderful gift to mankind that is Godofredo’s.

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What is Godofredo’s, you might be wondering? Paying tribute to the founder of Ecosoc, Godofredo’s is a Facebook group full of (you guessed it!) Ecosocers both new and old; only recently established by this year’s Echoes Committee. In it, we share everything from music and books, to movies and memes, all in the name of being cultured as f**k. This isn’t the only group that I’m currently in that does shares the same desire to be ITK (in-the-know), and this definitely isn’t the only group to exist on the internet.

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What sets Godofredo’s apart from all those other groups, however, is the quality of posts that are shared within. For one, there’s always, always, always something new for everyone just about every other hour, as the members there are always actively pursuing their pretentious desire to share things they think “no one knows about”. Secondly, each Ecosocer is equally supportive of each other’s posts, no matter how seemingly “pacool” your post might be, because everyone understands that everyone in Godofredo’s just wants to have fun and spread good vibes. No matter how weird or far fetched your interests might be, there’s always a place for it in Godofredo’s. In here we breathe extraordinary and embrace oddity. Here we are free to be and free to educate each other in the things that you didn’t know yesterday and know today. So what are you waiting for? Jump into the wack and wonderful that is Godofredo’s.

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FOR THE KIDS

by MJ OROSCO and LANCE CHENG

As the new semester starts, ACDC returns again to the community of Pook Ricarte. ACDC, a partnership project of the Academic Affairs and Community Development committees, tutors kids in basic Math and English. This program is composed of 5 tutoring sessions to 40 preselected kids. The selection process prioritized younger kids, and former tutees who constantly attended the tutoring sessions. For the past how many years, Ecosoc has held the tutorial sessions in the Pook Ricarte Basketball Court, bringing with them the members and academic tools needed. In a sense, ACDC brought learning to the kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; homes. And the kids, especially those who werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fortunate enough to go to school, were delighted to be given an opportunity to learn. This is one of the reasons why the ACDC program is successful. More than its ability to provide 20

tutors and help kids in school, it is a bigger opportunity for kids who only get to experience school through the tutoring sessions. This is what inspired the recent changes in ACDC. The team realized that ACDC has a lot more potential than just helping the kids with their lessons in school; that it can be something like a school for those who have none. It was a perfect time for the team to be introspective. The team had one goal in mind: to maximize the potential of ACDC as a center for learning. ACDC first expanded by reaching out to kids of all ages. It now has a dedicated program for toddlers wherein the kids can sing and dance to nursery rhymes as well as play with the different educational toys available. They are also taught basic skills such as reading the alphabet and counting. For the older kids, ACDC has laid out a curriculum that is focused on fundamental topics for Math (number

operations) and English (vocab and reading comprehension). It aims to build a strong foundation for the kids that is both applicable in the real world, and also helpful as the kids go along and face more complex lessons in school. Apart from academics, the team also realized the importance of attitude and character-building. Imparting values and morals to the kids is just as significant as teaching them addition and subtraction. The team realized that it cannot teach morals in the same manner as it teaches math, hence games and storytelling were added to the program. These activities allow students to not only learn, but also practice these values each session. Likewise, it also made learning more interactive and fun for the kids. Aside from the program content, efforts were also made to better the learning environment of the kids. ACDC is now located in an UPSE classroom, which allows the team to teach more effectively and make learning more conducive. So far after the first ACDC, the changes have shown promise and were wellreceived by the kids and tutors. As a socio-civic org, service is a big part of what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve committed to, and ACDC is a program that Ecosoc is proud to have. And part of this commitment is to ensure that we execute this program to the best of our abilities. Each and everyone of our members is vital to the success of the ACDC, whether as organizers or as tutors. And all of us have something to contribute. Our hope is that the changes we are making to the pre-established ACDC system will be continued and will eventually serve as a foundation for even more service initiatives in the future.

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U P G R A D E 2 0 1 8 : U P C AT R E V I E W Cacnio for Science, currently magna cum laude BS Business Economics Student and a graduate from Philippine Science High School, and Enrique Bautista for Reading and Language Proficiency, currently a BS Economics student and a first runner up placer in the Business Today 2018 International Conference Writing Competition.

The tutorial session aimed to prepare high schools students for the upcoming UPCAT, and provide them the necessary skills and tips during the exam. Aside from the tutorial session, UPGRADE offered a mock exam of the UPCAT, and a tour of UP Diliman.

After Day 1 of UPGRADE, the attendees were asked to meet at UP Dilimanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well known Palma Hall to start off their UP Tour on a Sunday morning, headed by Martin Suarez, a BS Geography student who usually offer campus tours. The goal of the tour is to familiarize the attendees with the buildings and rooms in the campus to help them find their way to their testing centers come UPCAT day.

The mock exam included non-verbal and abstract reasoning, reading and language proficiency, science and mathematics. Attendees were able to receive their own UPGRADE kits with modules to supplement their study needs. After, the invited tutors discussed every question of the mock exam and entertained questions from the attendees. The tutors were Carlos Cabaero for Mathematics, a cum laude graduate of BS Economics and the former Education and Research Committee Head of the UP Diliman University Student Council 2017-2018, Bianca

UPGRADE 2018 capped off with a mini culminating activity at the UP Sunken Garden Grandstand with mini games, icebreakers and awarding ceremonies. The following are the top scorers: Mathematics: Rica Mae Sibulo from Muntinlupa Science High School, Science: Szarena Joy Santos from Muntinlupa Science High School, English: Alliah Abiela Anatalio from St. Theresaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College Quezon City, and Overall Top Scorer: Navina Jayadass from De La Salle University. 21

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Last August 25 to 26, 2018, the UP Economics Society held the annual UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) review tutorial sessions for high school students, UPGRADE 2018 at Multiple Intelligence International School, Elizabeth Hall, Katipunan Avenue, spearheaded by the Sales Department and Board of Directors of the National Economics Summit Organizing Body.

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by JAD CASTILLO

N E W S

Z E N I T H : R E C O G N I T I O N D AY 6 0 B by FRANCINE LOJA & IVANA SANCHEZ

Every semester, Ecosocers prove that laude and landi are not mutually exclusive, and that you can actually be active in the org and still be the best in your academics.

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Last August 29, 2018, the Academic Affairs Committee held Zenith: Recognition Day 60B. This is an event to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of Ecosoc members, both in academics, as well as in the other aspects of their lives. Zenith, which means the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body, is a fitting title for this year’s Recognition Day. It may also pertain to a time at which something is most powerful and successful, much like Ecosoc on its 60th year. Looking back at the 60 years of Service, Excellence, and Tradition, I think, it is safe to say that by now, Ecosoc has already reached the “Zenith”. We have reached the peak of “greatness”, and there is no stopping us now.

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The Recognition Day recognizes the members who have extended that “greatness” to their lives as students enabling them to also reach their own “Zeniths” as individuals. The event opened with Ecosoc’s very own, Liaison Committee Chairperson, Eryel Benitez, as she shared the challenges that she went through last semester. She also imparted on the audience a few lessons on how she was able to overcome these trials and went on to become a University Scholar while being an Execomm for her other org, at the same time, a Vice Chairperson for Ecosoc. Her speech was followed by the awarding proper. Members from the different committees who were University and College Scholars were called to the stage and each one was awarded certificates. All awardees and attendees also received Recog Day Cookies as a token. After the awarding of each committee was the announcement of the top 3 members who had the highest GWA for the Second Semester of AY 2017-2018. Joan Batara and Matt Sy both held the second spot, sharing the same GWA. The first spot went to Andi Panaguiton who had the highest GWA among all the Ecosoc members. They all received a medal for being the members with the highest average from last semester.

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Before the event ended, everybody shared a meal and went home with Recog Day Cookies. Truly, Recog Day was not just for the awardees, but for everyone. You can be recognized even if you don’t have a University Scholar or College Scholar linked to your name, because you have your own achievements in your own special way. It was a day to celebrate the achievements of last semester as well as the learnings that came with it that would make us more equipped for this semester’s trials and tribulations. We hope you enjoyed this semester’s Recognition Day and see you in the next one!

N E W S

NEWS BY THE NUMBERS BY: JOLO ZAGALA

580

1000

Number of Ghost Scholars that were granted P15 million worth of scholarships by the Technical and Educational Skills Development Authority [TESDA], per a 2017 COA Audit

Supreme Court justices who ousted former SC Justice CJ Sereno, all of whom are facing impeachment cases. Four of which are vying to be the next chief justice.

Violation fine in pesos to be paid if caught driving alone by the MMDA in EDSA under the full implementation of the driver only car ban

240

Children killed in two Saudi-led coalition air strikes in Yemen. The UN is now calling for an independent investigation of attacks targeting civilians in the three year war

Number of third and fourth graders that will make up the inaugural class at Lebron Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; I Promise school in Akron, Ohio

Number of points Filipino-American NBA Player Jordan Clarkson scored in his debut game for the Gilas against China, which ended in a loss.

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50M

Amount of revenue in US Dollars that the Crazy Rich Asians movie grossed during the first nine days of its release

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150M The net worth in US Dollars of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. com, as of July 2018, tagging him as the richest man in modern history, per Bloomberg

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S O R R Y, S I R . WA L A N G R E G U L A R : L A B O R C O N T R A C T U A L I Z AT I O N I N THE PHILIPPINES by LOUISE FARAON

It has been two years since President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his dissent on labor contractualization, and promised to abolish ENDO (end of contract) in the Philippines. Finally, on May 1, 2018, he finally signed an executive order against contractualization. However, since Duterte signed the EO, there has been several cases of labor contractualization and abuses in the country. Last June, members of the Philippine National Police unlawfully and violently dispersed unarmed protesters at the NutriAsia worker’s strike. More than 20 protesters were arrested while four were confined in Sta. Maria Hospital due to injuries received in the course of the dispersal. NutriAsia Inc. has repeatedly ignored the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s order to comply with regularization requirements, as per a report dated February 23, 2018. The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company was identified as one of the companies that practice illegal contracting by Labor Secretary Bello in May. Despite DOLE’s order to regularize its more than 7,000 contract personnel, PLDT continuously denied to comply, and terminated its service contracts with manpower agencies. This caused the “Kalampagan” protest last July 2 at PLDT Manila which was attended by customer service representatives and technical support workers of the said company. In a statement, PLDT Spokesman Ramon Isberto said, "PLDT has been accused of terminating the service contracts and displacing the affected workers. I am just saying we did not do that." The fast-food giant, Jollibee Foods Corporation, was also idenSOURCE: @jpauasuncion on Twitter

SOURCE: @phkule on Twitter

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tified

DOLE

one

the

companies

who

practice

labor-only

contracting.

In April, the DOLE demanded Jollibee and its subsidiary, Burger King, to regularize their workers, but they dismissed the order, like what other companies have been doing. In the past months, there has been a loud clamor against labor abuses. Labor groups and activists do massive protests, while giant companies are still silent about the issue.

F F E AT U R E S

The Chinese Kuripot Psyche. Princess Sarah. Newfound Love. Chronicles of a Tall Kid. A Rant About Marcos Wealth. Worth It... With Your Parents Because They’re Paying for It. Collectors’ Edition. What 1.00 Might Feel Like. Biggest Government Facepalm Moments. Businesses to Boycott. Show-off.

E C H O E S

S E P T E M B E R

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F E A T U R E S

T H E C H I N E S E KU R I P OT P SYC H E by FRANZ CRUZ

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It really is up to the person on how they want to spend their money. This whole belief that Chinese people are kuripot, for me, is actually pretty smart thinking. Sure, it does not give you the highest marginal utility at the present time, but in the long run, can make you better off. Practicality plays a big

My parents have always told me that we should save money if we can, and this taught me a valuable lesson. It taught me that money does not come easy, and we have to work hard for it. We cannot just throw around money as we please even if we have it because we never know what might hit us. Maybe we think we are doing well, but in reality a big case is coming that will lead to bankruptcy. It pays to be able to save money so that if something unfortunate happens, there is a contingency plan.

There are, however, more families that are “kuripot”. Some classmates of mine in Xavier School, although richer than me (I assume they are because showy and all), do not regularly or have ever travelled abroad. I can say that I’m part of the middle class and despite this, we make it a point to travel once a year because life is short. This begs the question as to why those classmates of mine who belong in richer families do not use the money they have, even if they could afford anything. Maybe they find owning a Mercedes better for them rather than traveling, or maybe even shopping in 168 mall rather than the big brands in most other malls. I kind of understand where they are coming from though, because as a student, I am also stingy in my own way. As a person with limited allowance, I tend to stray away from expensive food if there is the option of eating cheaper food. But, this does not stop me from treating myself when it comes to my hobbies.

role in the stinginess of Chinese people because why spend on useless or redundant things if it can be acquired through other, cheaper means or spend on something bigger. But really, it is not even a Chinese thing that much anymore because the world as we know is a hard place to live in. Being stingy at some point in our life would benefit us in the future. There will come a time where we will be given the chance to spend the money we earn the way we want to. But being stingy is where we all start as we go through our acquisition/building up stages.

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Kuripot, or Practical? Growing up in a Filipino-Chinese family, many have asked me why Chinese people are stingy when it comes to money. My peers look to people like Henry Sy, Ramon Ang, Lucio Tan, and many other rich tycoons and wonder why they just keep getting richer. Are they stingy? Or are they practical? To be transparent, my family can be considered stingy, in a way that we save money and find ways to get the best out of what or how we spend.

Being stingy has been a stereotype for Chinese people, especially because they are the ones who own businesses. But as I have mentioned before, it is really up to us on how we want to spend our money, no matter if we are Chinese or not. For all we know, it isn’t really a bad thing to be kuripot. Maybe that’s the secret of why rich people get richer. Why don’t you give it a try, and who knows, maybe it’s the lifestyle you’ve been looking for all your life.

PRINCESS

SARAH 32

WORDS by CHRISTINA LLANA PHOTOS by CARLOS BARREIRO and BIANCA RAÃ&#x2018;OLA STYLING by MAXINE CAPILI Shot with Minolta X500, Olympus Superzoom 140S & Minolta SRT Super on Kodak Colorplus 200 & Expired Fuji YKL 100

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For this Echoes feature, I was given the chance to interview Sarah See, or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Saseeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as everyone fondly calls her. In no way would anyone who knows Sasee associate her with being ostentatious or extra. Known for her utmost simplicity and humility, Sasee sits perfectly at the opposite end of that spectrum. But I have realized that in this simplicity, passion, kindness, and drive, Sasee actually defines ostentatiousness on a whole new level.

F E A T U R E S

DESCRIBE YOURSELF.

I am the middle child; 2nd out of 4 children. I belong to a traditional Chinese family. Although I am a person with conservative values, I am open to trying new things. I chose to study Economics because I found it relevant and relatable to personal choices, business decisions and implications to the country.

WHAT’S ONE PEOPLE DON’T ABOUT YOU?

THING KNOW

One thing people don’t know about me is I like singing and dancing for fun. I am not a pro in these skills but I like music and having a good time.

IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO SLEEP, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE EXTRA TIME?

I’d spend more time learning music, reading more books and exercising for health benefits.

WHAT’S THE FIRST CAREER YOU DREAMED OF HAVING AS A KID?

I used to dream of becoming a model as a kid. Unfortunately, I am not that tall.

SUPPOSE YOU WERE GIVEN A CHANCE TO LIVE IN A FICTIONAL UNIVERSE, WHICH WOULD IT BE?

I think it would be cool to live in a universe where be unlimited fruits, absence of severe illnesses (cancer), and efficient systems (e.g. transportation, justice, education). It would be nice to live a place where things were customized for one’s

personal development and growth. Moreover, goodness and respect are highly regarded.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WORD?

My favorite word is kaizen. It is a concept I learned from my IE3 (Introduction to Industrial Engineering) class which revolves around continuous improvement. Kaizen is an approach to changing one’s action or an organization’s processes for a better quality of life.

I used to dream of becoming a model as a kid. Unfortunately, I am not that tall. IF YOU COULD SPEND THE DAY IN SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES, WHOSE WOULD THEY BE? WHY?

If I could spend the day in someone else’s shoes, it would be a traveler’s shoe. Belonging to a traditional family, my parents are quite strict when it comes to curfews. I would like to explore different parts of the world. I

want to engage in adventurous activities such as camping, skydiving, going on a cruise, and seeing an aurora to cap the day.

DESCRIBE YOUR ECOSOC JOURNEY. HOW DID IT BEGIN?

My Ecosoc journey began when I passed by the org fair along SE walkway. Entering college, I wanted to feel at home in my own college and meet more people. To be honest, I planned to be stay as a lowkey member because I wanted to focus more on academics.

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU WERE APPOINTED AS CDC CHAIR?

When I was appointed as CDC chair, I felt happy and excited to work with Execomm, to see ideas and plans come to life, and to devote my time and being in worthwhile activities for others. It also gave me a nostalgic feeling of my high school extracurricular activities.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT AS/ FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING CDC CHAIR?

My favorite moments about being CDC chair include exploring several advocacies, seeing the ACDC kids learn, and celebrating after an event. I feel appreciated whenever a member, little child or mother from ACDC approaches me after an event to tell me about their experience. These moments also serve as a reminder to keep on thinking of more ways and activities to help them.

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS ABOUT BEING CDC CHAIR INCLUDE EXPLORING SEVERAL ADVOCACIES, SEEING THE ACDC KIDS LEARN, AND CELEBRATING AFTER AN EVENT. I FEEL APPRECIATED WHENEVER A MEMBER, LITTLE CHILD 37

F E A T U R E S

At first, I thought the word meant negative connotation. Ostentation means to be garish or to show off. I think it is unnecessary to be showy especially if you are aware of the realities like poverty, hunger, and other issues that society faces.

IN WHAT WAYS OSTENTATIOUS?

I guess I am ostentatious when it comes to loving and feeling. In terms of loving others, I am always concerned about the well-being of my family and friends. In terms of self-love, I always want to improve my physical health and the environment I am in. I don’t mind staying up late to do prod work, write letters for friends or make decor to make my space more personal. I believe I tend feel things deeply and sometimes my attitude and outlook about things are affected by it.

IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU WISH TO BE OSTENTATIOUS? (WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU WERE MORE OF?)

| S E P T E M B E R

The most important things I learned during my Execomm term was to be true to myself and to communicate effectively. One must make sure to convey thoughts clearly and honestly. Moreover, value and bond with the people you are with. Aside from meeting a new friend, both of you are working for a cause!

YOU

E C H O E S

WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU LEARNED DURING YOUR EXECOMM TERM?

ARE

I want to be more ostentatious in loving myself. I want to be less shy or as energetic as the ACDC kids when interacting with others.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR ME? :)

2 0 1 8

Yes!! Be warm and firm. Be warm as you interact with people and embark in this journey. Be strong when problems arise; always have a contingency plan. Be firm when you set rules. Take care of the members, the kids, the community, the beneficiaries and especially yourself. Don’t forget to take a break when you need to. <3 We can talk about more about CDC and technical plans in person if you want. :D

ECHOES TELLS ME YOU WERE CHOSEN TO BE ON THE COVER OF THE OSTENTATION ISSUE BECAUSE YOU ARE THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF “OSTENTATIOUS.” WHAT DOES THAT WORD MEAN TO YOU? 39

OH,

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S YOU.

F E A T U R E S

N E W F O U N D LOV E The first time I ever held a tennis racket I was around 6 years old. My dad had my brother and I trained a few times, but the racket proved too heavy for us kids; we eventually developed a dislike for the sport. Around the same time, basketball came into the picture. This time, we loved it. After having a basketball hoop put up beside our house, I can’t remember a single day we didn’t touch a basketball. This isn’t an article about my love for basketball however. This is an article about my newfound (or long lost) love in Tennis. For 14 years, I never paid much attention to other sports, much more tennis; and in all those years, 42

by JOSE ERICTA

the only sport I really breathed, lived and ate was basketball. So come

how into

did the

Tennis picture?

Simple. I wanted a break. I wanted a break from basketball. I loved the sport so much I expected it to love me back the same amount. I really wanted to play in the collegiate level and like most kids, dreamt of turning pro and playing alongside their childhood heroes someday. But things don’t always turn out the way we want them to. Reality is a tough pill to swallow, but in the end, life goes on. And so one day, I

decided to finally drop by at the Engineering Tennis Courts as I’ve been meaning to try tennis once again and give it another chance. I didn’t have anyone to play with nor did I know anyone from there at the time so I tried applying in the tennis organization there. After attending one of the org’s training sessions, I realized that the sport isn’t so bad; in fact, I genuinely enjoyed it. The racket seemed lighter and the sport that used to be so hard and so boring started to show a much brighter side. It was the break I needed from basketball and I was determined to be great at it as quick as I can.

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As a very competitive person, I devoted all my time to the sport. I would play for at least three hours everyday (that’s why I got so chocolaty!). I’d rally with my orgmates during the day then I would shadow swing and practice my form when I got home. I was addicted. Everyday, I would challenge people who were far better than me and often, I lost pretty bad. Despite the losses, I didn’t feel down; in fact I felt even more motivated. After so many matches lost, finally I’d won my first ever singles match. The feeling was crazy; it was like falling in love with basketball all over again. By the time I knew it, I was already playing with some current varsity members and I consider that a huge milestone.

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But tennis is different from basketball but similar in more ways than one. I’d gathered enough experience to distinguish some of its traits with basketball. Basketball is a much more teamwork-oriented sport and you obviously can’t win games 1 v 5, whereas in a singles tennis match; it’s just you and the opponent (Ok fine you can also play doubles). This is a completely different challenge because you don’t have teammates to pick you up when things aren’t working on a particular match day. You have to come up with your own solutions and execute them yourself and I found this very difficult. Furthermore, tennis is more mental than it is physical. It may seem like tennis is just a game where the ball goes back and forth, but little do people know, that each shot has an intended purpose from the players. However, the biggest thing that I like about tennis is that no matter how intense and competitive a match can get, at the end of day, it’s just another sport, and both players come to the net and shake hands. All of the elements combined, the sport just seemed so perfect for me. Sometimes I wonder how much farther I could have gone with tennis had I learned to love it when I was a kid. But again, life goes on and there’s no point looking back (though once in a while it’s necessary). All I know is this newfound love is here to stay and I’m just gonna keep getting better at this sport. I still play basketball from time to time, and I will never forget those 14 years of my life.

F E A T U R E S

I’ve never actually known what my true height was. Whenever I’d get medical exams, my height would range from 5”11 to 6”2. So when people ask me what my height is, I play it safe and just say I’m 6 feet tall. Being as tall as I am (in a place where being tall doesn’t seem normal at all), I would often get asked how I grew up to be this big. I used to answer with the usual, “I slept a lot as a kid” or “My dad’s tall eh.” But now I just tell them I used to jack off a lot (which I don’t think is a scientifically accurate and responsible thing to say, but everyone just accepts it either way). Truth be told, I never found anything much of a challenge being a tall guy. The only real thing I find annoying is how most of relatives would automatically assume that, because I’m such a big kid, I play basketball. “O apo, galing mo siguro magbasketball!” my lola would tell me. But the only balls I’ll be playing with are those I’ve met on Grindr. Speaking of Grindr, I think I also have to note that it’s much easier getting bookings being this tall. People there would ask me, some in disbelief, if I really am a six-footer. Before, I didn’t know how to react to that – should I be offended? Feel complimented? Maybe it was because I didn’t realize that being tall actually gives you an advantage when it came to these kinda things until I installed the app. I used to hypothesize that maybe the reason that height is so fetishized is because a lot of the people on the app have severe daddy issues, but now I’ve realized maybe it’s just a quirk of nature. I’m not complaining though – being tall gets me a whole lotta dick. To add, and for transparency purposes as well, I think being tall also helps me give the illusion that I’m less fat than I actually am. I’ve got to say, because I’m stretched this much vertically, my horizontal expansiveness doesn’t quite show as apparent as it should be. And for that, my vain self is very thankful for my genetics. But if I were to be brutally honest, I’ve never actually thought much about my height until I was asked to write this article. To me, my height was just there. I never thought of it as anything extraordinary. But in retrospect, I guess it’s actually gotten me through a lot of things in my life in the most in the most unexpected ways. It’s a blessing for sure.

CHRONICLES OF

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A TALL KID

by GAB RIVERA

F E A T U R E S

A RANT

MARCOS 46

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ABOUT

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WEALTH

by JAVI VILCHEZ

F E A T U R E S

Ostentation is best magnified by numbers. Wealth can be measured in ungodly figures. Basic accounting tells us that we can record the flow of tangible prosperity in cash, debit, investments, and other items of monetary worth. Society has taught us how to identify other manifestations of material abundance: owned land, flashy clothing, expensive vehicles, gold jewellery, â&#x20AC;&#x153;culturedâ&#x20AC;? preferences and even speech hygiene. As a Filipino, perhaps no single family comes to mind more naturally when it comes to the topic of ostentatious material abundance than the Marcoses. From 1965 to 1986, Ferdinand Marcos and his circle of trusted elites monopolized key industries throughout the country and enriched themselves. These key industries included the

production and trade of sugar, tobacco, coconuts, minerals, coal, and cement. To date, only P170 billion worth of stolen funds have been recovered by the Presidential Commission on Good Governance with the help of local and foreign judiciaries. Statisticians and economists have even projected that Filipino taxpayers will be paying off Marcos debt until the year 2025. Despite their crimes against the Filipino people, the Marcoses have returned as a fixture in domestic politics. Bongbong Marcos, son of the late dictator, nearly won the second highest political office in the land if not for 263,473 votes. Given the alarming rate of forgetfulness the Filipino people are experiencing, perhaps there is no better way to remind the public of the sins of the Marcos family by showcasing the life of disgusting opulence they led.

There is no certain figure that can quantify just how much the Marcos family and their cronies stole. There is no number that can fully encapsulate the irreparable damage they and their cronies have done to this country. As the Marcos regime began to collapse in 1986, the strongman and his family fled to Hickham Air Base in Hawaii with the help of the US government. They brought with them many belongings. The official US Bureau of Customs record is 23 pages long. This included 23 wooden crates, 12 suitcases, 67 boxes, 413 pieces of expensive jewellery (each declared piece being AT LEAST $10,000 in value), 70 pairs of jewel-studded cufflinks, an ivory statue of the infant Jesus with a diamond necklace, a golden head of a Buddha statue, 24 gold bricks (inscribed:

“To my husband on our 24th anniversary”), and PHP 27 million in freshly-printed notes. You know what they say, only pack the essentials! The total value of these is described by US Customs as a conservative estimate: $15 million. It is also estimated that the Marcos family had amassed a total fortune that was 65 times greater— the PCGG puts his net worth by 1986 at well over $10 billion.

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You see, at the time there were many dictators around the world in places like Haiti, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Iran. All of these dictators stole, but none of them stole better than Ferdinand Marcos. He was not merely a brilliant politician who just so happened to be corrupt. He was the model thief.

And a cultured thief, Marcos was. Shortly after the fall of the Philippines’ first family, the US Government quickly turned on them as well. A raid was authorised on the Marcoses’ town house on East 66th Street in New York City, just days after two mysterious 18-wheel trailers pulled up and loaded up most of the house’s secrets. Upon further investigation, these secrets turned out to be paintings worthy of the world’s finest museums: the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo, the Marquesa de Santa Cruz by Goya, two Monets, two Braques, one Boticelli, one Sisley, one Raphael, one Pisarro, and one Manet. To this day, 304 valuable paintings of great worth remain missing— 266 of them last seen in possession of the Marcos family. Of the 304, 38 have been spotted in the home of notorious Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi— a former boyfriend of Imelda Marcos.

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Imelda Marcos herself is the pinnacle of ostentation. There are anecdotes of her dropping $2000 at the San Francisco International Airport on chewing gum, paying a Philippine Airlines flight to do a midair U-turn because she forgot to buy cheese in Rome, ordering the shutdown of Saks Fifth Avenue for one day so she could shop in peace, waking up the Beatles so they could serenade her at midnight, and even her attempted bid to purchase designer brand Tiffany & Co. Some people believe it was Imelda’s blatant extravagance that ran Ferdinand to a near-immediate death upon exile. According to industrialist Enrique

F E A T U R E S

Zobel, Ferdinand Marcos left his family with a fraction of what once they amassed: a cache of gold bars worth at least $35 billion. Former Philippine senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Juan Flavier even flew to Hawaii, where they found evidence that Marcos had amassed as much as $100 billion. Zobel went on record and testified before a senate hearing that anything the PCGG had recovered was only going to be a fraction of what the Marcoses had stolen and stashed throughout anonymous banks around the world. That was in 1999. In 1999, gold was pegged at $290.25 per. As of 2015, the price had skyrocketed to $1060. I could go on and on about the numbers that compose the Marcoses’ stolen treasure. I could digress and talk about how it is rumoured they found and stole the elusive Yamashita treasure. I could elaborate on the spending habits of their four children— two of whom are very active today in the national political scene. I could even go step-bystep and show how Marcos, with the help of the CIA, systematically rigged elections and took over companies without violence in order to amass power, influence, and wealth. But perhaps these numbers and figures pale in comparison to the statistics that hurt more. In 9 years of martial law, around 34,000 people were imprisoned and tortured. Trade unionists, student leaders, farmers, leaders of local and ethnic communities, communists, writers, and opposing politicians were tortured with rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks, heated irons, and waterboarding. Over 9 years, 3,240 men and women were found dead in public places— and over 400 members of the political opposition simply disappeared. It’s figures like that that make you wonder how much human life Imelda Marcos was willing to trade in for another Cartier bracelet. Whenever Bongbong Marcos appears before the media these days with his caravan of vehicles and well-dressed entourage, and announces that it’s high time for the country to “Move on”, I cannot help but sit there— mouth agape— and recall all these numbers we just went through. The national debt hasn’t moved on, that’s for sure. The bodies that lie rotting in a ditch in some godforsaken place haven’t gone anywhere either.

W O R T H I T. . . W I T H Y O U R P A R E N T S B E C A U S E T H E Y ’ R E P AY I N G F O R I T by MEIRA DE LUNA

Days have I searched but my efforts to find worth it restaurants have

and searched, expensive but bore no fruit.

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Lo and behold, from the heavens appeared Sabrina Go herself. She laid her eyes upon my feeble form and asked, “What ails you?” I looked up at her and weeped. “My search for expensively sulit spots has all been for naught.

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CHEAP TIER

And Sabrina Go said unto to me, “Weep no longer, my child, and seek these places of great food and comfort, for here you will get your money’s worth.”

VA BENE PASTA DELI

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Found at BGC, Va Bene Pasta Deli’s truffle pastas are major favorite. The raviolis are an honorable mention. The best part is that the TUAN TUAN CHINESE BRASSERIE There’s lots of branches abound so you meals are cheap! can look to Uptown Center, Greenhills, SM Megamall, Rockwell Center, etc. Their laksa is NHA EM so good you’ll find yourself craving for it once Here at Nha Em found at Podium, they have in a while. The radish cake is also a pretty good great Vietnamese food at reasonable prices. treat to look out for! The menu is group friendly too so you can share dishes with your friends!

GREEN PASTURES

The branch at EDSA Shangri-La Mall uses POLILYA produce from local farms so their super good Great eating + drinking place = Polilya! This food is also sustainable!!! Salads, pastas, and Poblacion joint has the perfect ambience — mains are great. like a real bar but one that’s not too rowdy or wild.

F E A T U R E S

MARY GRACE

You can probably find the beloved Mary Grace anywhere. The desserts are legen…wait for it…dary. In the mood for afternoon tea? Try their pastas and soups. (Pssst. Try the seafood chowder!)

MID TIER A good meal around these places cost at least PEOPLE’S PALACE P1,500 per head. Perhaps the Balance of price Again, if you just happen to be at Greenbelt and satisfaction is level around these parts. but this time you’re craving Thai food, visit People’s Palace.

MINAMI SAKI

Considering that they have the best aburi sushi in Manila, Minami Saki did not come to play. Found at Astoria, their food can be so addicting that it has prompted some to get loyalty cards. The menu is a bit pricey; two pieces of aburi sushi would cost you Php250. Their other dishes are good too but you have to try their aburi at least once in your life.

SALA BISTRO

NIKKEI

Another gem found at Podium, Sab Go herself frequents this place after class several times a week if you’re updated with her Snap/ IG. Nikkei is a Japanese Peruvian restaurant with unique twists to the traditional Japanese dishes and good alcohol. Apparently it’s not that expensive!

SALVATORE CUOMO

If you just happen to be at Greenbelt doing Mamma Mia! If you find yourself at Uptown some shopping and suddenly crave Western Parade and craving Italian food (a lot of food, go to Sala Bistro. Super good food for the cravings huh, you’re probably pregnant lol), price point! then this is the place for you. Salvatore Cuomo has steak that’s good for sharing and just plain good to your stomach. They also have a bar so that’s some plus points.

TANABE

Another Sab Go Japanese fave found at Jupiter Street. Here you’ll find a wide variety of fresh sashimi and super good wagyu sukiyaki.

ARYA

Also located at EDSA Shangri-La Mall, Arya houses the best Persian food had. Watch out for their lamb dishes and kebabs, they might just become your favorite dishes.

SAGANA

The French-Filipino restaurant finds its home at BGC. Sagana was formerly known as

Champetre, which was a French only restaurant at the time. Not only is their cuisine sustainable, their staples from the original french menu are still available and amazing.

EXPENSIVE TIER Be wary…a good meal in these places will cost at least Php3,000 per head. Several of these places are housed in hotels so you know it’ll be Fancy, with a capital F.

CRU STEAKHOUSE

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Marriott’s Cru Steakhouse can brag about having the best steak in Manila. If you have a Marriott hotel membership, you get 30% off in all the restaurants in the hotel. Fun fact: Sab Go and her family visit so often they have a reservation plaque!

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INAGIKU

This place is another amazing Japanese restaurant, this time located in Makati ShangriLa. They’ve got fresh sashimi and chefs from Japan. To be really sulit, go to their weekend buffets at Php4,500 per head. It’s highly recommended that you book a reservation because it gets fully booked fast.

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ANTONIO’S GARDEN

The farthest joint on the list, as it’s found in Tagaytay. It’s far, especially if you’re a North person, but the small lechon and the roast beef make the drive worth it.

CRYSTAL DRAGON

L’AUBERGINE

Behold, the ultimate Sab Go Manila favorite. They temporarily closed down in BGC, but are relocating to somewhere in Makati. The degustation menu was Php5,000 per head, so the price tag is mighty hefty, but very worth it. Everything is incredible, form the food to the staff, Sab’s love for the place is indescribable. CHINA BLUE This is Sab Go’s favorite Chinese restaurant. It’s gone to the point that she used to blow her You get to enjoy amazing Chinese food allowance here, got a loyalty at some point, and while you overlook Manila Bay. Very James got a free helicopter ride, among other lots of other free stuff. Insane. Bondesque, yeah? It’s true that there’s a lot of Chinese restaurants in Manila, but Crystal Dragon at the City of Dreams has unique dishes that are pretty damn good.

COLLECTORS’ EDITION by BEL BERNADO

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Home wouldn’t be the same without all the color. I guess the same goes with Mason jars. My mom saw a sale at True Value and it all went downhill from there. It’s been 3 Christmases so far, and we still have jars left over. I’ve given all my friends mason jars for Secret Santa, my mom has given a box each to her tita friends, and we still have like 4 boxes. (If y’all need some mason jars for events, photoshoots, whatever, I gotchu).

My mom actually started buying mason jars because I needed some for school, and while a bit excessive, it’s become pretty funny how many we have now. Every time I want need new clothes, my mom just whips something out of her closet and voila, a cute new 80s inspired outfit! I guess I can say the same for the paintings. I know that when the time comes, the art on our walls will become investments for me and my siblings in the future. Hopefully one day, I can do the same for my children. My dad always says that life’s too short to waste your time on pining over things you want. If it makes you happy, go get it. If now’s not the time, work hard for it.

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At 7, they all kind of morphed together into a singular blob of many colors, so his explanations never really helped. Now, at 20, I really miss those gallery trips we’d make on the weekends. All we have left to show for those Sundays, are the paintings on our walls. Anyone whose been to my house will ask why we have so many, and honestly I don’t know. They’re everywhere— up the stairs, in the living room, in the bathrooms (and in the cupboards, for those that didn’t fit the aesthetic).

Dinner, then art. Every shop we’d visit was different. There were small ones bursting with color, dark ones that were incredibly uncomfortable to look at, and sometimes there’d be a painting that really made you think. If the paintings were placed too high, my dad would hoist me up on his shoulders so I could see it better, and he’d try his best to explain who made it and what it was.

Writing this article, I’ve realized that my house is littered with things we could get rid of, or could’ve lived without. Closets filled with old clothes, trunks filled to the brim with pictures, every medal I’ve ever won is still at home somewhere; but there’s a reason we’ve kept all of them. In a world where everything is disposable, and where we can buy anything quickly, there are just some things you can’t part with. And each thing my parents have hoarded, has seemed weird to me, but strangely thoughtful.

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Growing up with parents who liked to “hoard” things, was an experience to say the least. Well… I’m still living with them, so I guess it still is. When I was a kid, we used to go to the mall on Sundays like any regular family would. Instead of watching a movie, we’d go to where the galleries were, and look at the art. I remember hours and hours of staring at weird canvasses in the gaudy frames, trying to understand why my parents liked them so much. This became a Sunday ritual of sorts.

So while a tad excessive, I guess hoarding’s pretty cool. It’s important to remember that while material things aren’t everything, some things hold certain memories and meanings for people. If I’ve learned anything from this particular thing my parents do, it’s to let go of what you can live without, and keep what matters. Always keep the things that matter.

F E A T U R E S

In any university, a time will come when a professor asks you to write a paper. It could be a position paper, a reflection paper, or a policy paper. You will therefore need to look up scholarly articles which are usually guarded by a paywall. This sense of financial elitism is just one of a number of reasons why a lot of people distrust experts of any field. The main reason people do not trust experts? They don’t talk like normal humans. Instead of talking about what can and can’t be seen, like the never-ending traffic of EDSA or the current standing of the Philippines in the Asian Games, they go at length to discuss and ramble about an issue so outside the common people’s understanding, they appear to be, and in the following cases are, condescending the common people. You honestly don’t need to look further than the statements of the current administration’s economic team. From “just tighten your belts” to “just work harder”, and who can forget “10,000 is enough for a family of 4”, anyone with a working pair of ears can see the division between the speakers and their audience. I would like to remind you, reader, two of these statements were made by men who not only have PhD at the end of their names but could have been or, in fact, were our professors. While not in any way, shape, or form an accurate reflection of all economists, Duterte’s economic team are clearly locked in their Ivory Tower while they preach to, what they incorrectly assume to be, the ignorant and uneducated masses. The unbelievably condescending statements mentioned before are a mere symptom of a much larger disease. This disease is academic elitism. This is evident when you read a journal article from any field. It is written in jargon by a hand which has probably never had to interact with anyone outside their field of expertise.

W H AT 1 . 0 0 M I G H T FEEL LIKE I personally find this to be similar to shooting yourself in the foot. It helps no one; it hurts you, and you look stupid. By making your findings so outside the everyday conversation you deprive everyone of the chance to better themselves with your information. By depriving people information they could have used to make their lives better, you condemn them to their status quo. For those who aren’t ok with that, academic elites brush them off with little to no explanation. This lack of empathy can, unfortunately, make any expert look cold and distant by stereotyping. The solution of academic elitism is simplification. One example of this would be the Freakonomics book. From a simple book which uses basic economic terms to explain why the KKK exists to why drugs should be legalized, it has been spun off into a blog and even its own podcast. By tying pop culture with economics, the information turns from a complex theorem to a simple cause-effect relationship. Anyone who has heard this podcast can easily understand the complex ideas of our field. People can then use that understanding to make better choices to improve their lives. The title is a reference to a show called “Yes, Minister”. In this show, civil servants block any attempts to make the UK a better place by the minister in charge. They stop the minister by using technical words and complicated jargon to confuse and dishearten the minister. In one scene, the head civil servant takes thirty seconds to say the minister’s idea won’t work because it goes against tradition.

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S E P T E M B E R

by MIGGY VILLAMOR

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biggest government

FACEPALM moments by BIANCA PELEJO We’ve before. believed

all heard of this We’ve all once this before.

As wonderful as it is to hope for our country to be worthy of someone’s life, we can’t just forget the moments when some of our fellow countrymen made us question this statement. Let’s take a walk down memory lane for some of the facepalm moments our government has made. It all started when the Tejeros Convention took place. We all know how shit went down, right? Emilio Aguinaldo calls Andres Bonifacio down to Cavite for a 58

surprise election and obviously wins and takes the position as president. Okay… First of all, why in the world does an election have to happen so urgently when there is an ongoing war? Second, what was Aguinaldo thinking when he decided he needed to be president all of a sudden? And the list of questions goes on. We all know how Aguinaldo stupidly became a slave to America and how he just let the country continue to be a slave like him. Funny how this is still happening – how the Filipinos, the government still selfishly acts to attend to their own interests it seems. Speaking of being a puppet

to the whites, the Philippines during the American and Japanese time was a no-no. I try to understand the fact that we were recovering from postwar against different conquerors but I can’t comprehend how our government officials blindly signed laws that clearly mean we will forever be in debt to the Americans. Bell Trade Act, Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, Tydings-McDuffie Act are some of the laws to name a few that forced the Filipinos at that time and even years later to be puppets to the Americans. Fast forward to Marcos’ regime, we all know or at least we’ve all heard of what a terrible

“The Filipino is worth dying for.” -Ninoy Aquino

experience it was for most of the older generation. How heartbreaking it is to hear the Filipinos were stripped off their own rights by someone who was once considered a great leader only to end up being another puppet by the Americans. I won’t dwell on this as much since there’s too many stories and sides of this horrible time. And finally, the source of our everyday headache – our current president: Rodrigo Duterte. A facepalm is expected very single day and every single time I hear anything about him on the news. How did such a

person end up being the leader of our country? The constant rude commentaries on whatever topic he might choose to dwell on a particular day truly ruins the mood of every single Filipino. The choices and decisions he executes make us question what did us Filipinos do to deserve a leader like this. Duterte may be the true definition of facepalm in the government sector. We may think of our government as a joke and maybe sometimes it is. But does this completely make what Ninoy said false? I don’t think so. The Filipino is still worth dying

for. The Filipino continues to serve and give himself to his country even when the government fails to serve him. So despite the facepalm moments of our government that may have ruined the image of the country for you throughout our history and at present, do not lose your belief that you are worth dying for.

F E A T U R E S

Over the past few months much attention has been brought to the practice of contractualization engaged in by several large corporations in the Philippines such as Jollibee and NutriAsia. Contractualization typically refers to the practice of hiring workers for less than six months, just short of being regularized. It deprives employees of security of tenure along with benefits (such as employee SSS, Philhealth, Pag-ibig fund, unpaid leaves, 13th Month Pay) which are only offered to regularized workers.

While contractualization is itself not necessarily bad, the practice of applying it in industries and employee roles that should be regularized is wrong and acts as a tool for large corporations to cut costs and skirt regulations. Aside from contractualization, issues about working conditions such as in condiments manufacturing company, NutriAsia, have also come to the forefront. These issues expose the systematic ills still present within our business landscape. Systematic ills such as unclear regulations

by LANCE CHENG

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and actionable measures on issues such as contractualization which allow large corporations to achieve great profit margins, but at the cost of proper working conditions and employee pay.

And while measures have been put in place by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to phase out this practice of contractualization and combat unjust labor conditions, there is still much to do to ensure workers get the benefits, pay and security of tenure that they are entitled to.

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One way we can help out is by boycotting the products of these corporations. While it is true that boycotts also hurt the workers of these corporations in the short-term, the long-term improvement in employment conditions that these boycotts aim to achieve would certainly outweigh this. The following is a list of corporations that practice unfair labor policies along with the estimated number of workers affected.

JOLLIBEE (14,960) • Ordered by DoLE to regularize 7000+ workers. Has yet to do so. • Recently in a stockholders’ meeting Tony Tan Caktiong declared that all Jollibee workers are now regular workers. • In actuality Jollibee still gets its workers from service contractors only these workers are regularized by their respective service contractors.

• Jollibee still does not practice direct-hiring unlike Mcdonald’s • Five of Jollibee’s service contractors were found to owe P4,137,158.15 in “unlawful wage deductions, bonds, donations, shares, and other illegal payment collections” to 412 workers • Brands to boycott: Burger King, Mang Inasal, Chow King, Red Ribbon, Greenwhich • Alternative brands: Mcdonald’s

F E A T U R E S

OTHER COMPANIES • Dole Philippines Inc. (10,521) • Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Co. (8,310) • Philsaga Mining Coprporation (6,524) • General Tuna Corporation (5,216) • Sumi Phils. Wiring Systems Corporation (4,305) • Franklin Baker Inc. (3,400) • Pilipinas Kyohritsu, Inc. (3,161) • Furukawa Automative Systems Phil., Inc. (2,863) • Magnolia Inc. (2,248) • KCC Property Holdings, Inc. (1,802) • Sumifru Philippines, Corp. (1,687) • Hinatuan Mining Corporation (1,673) • KCC Mall de Zamboanga (1,598) • Brother Industries (Philippines) Inc. (1,582) • Philippine Airlines and PAL Express (1,483) • Nidec Precision Philippines Corporation (1,400) • Peter Paul Phil. Corporation (1,362) • Dolefil Upper Valley Operations (1,183) • Dole Stanfilco (1,131)

Not on this list is NutriAsia and SM. NutriAsia (900) was ordered by DoLE to place over 900 of its workers in permanent positions back in February. DoLE found that NutriAsia’s contractors (B-Mirk Enterprise) were engaging in labor-only contracting practices. NutriAsia itself was also in violation of labor laws and general labor standards. Among these violations were below minimum wage pay (a daily wage of P380), 12-14 hour shifts, failure to pay overtime and a lack of protective gear or equipment. On June 4, NutriAsia workers protested against the poor working conditions and lack of regularization by holding a picket line across the factory. This prevented entry to plant and forced NutriAsia to suspend operations. On June 14, the workers were violently dispersed by policemen and security personnel after a woman worker tried to record the dispersal. Jornell Quiza, who worked for NutriAsia for 7 years said police beat them despite workers laying down on the ground in peaceful protest. NutriAsia management on the other hand claims that the workers started the violence when one fired a shot in the air and started throwing rocks. In any case, several of the workers were injured, including an elderly grandmother. SM Malls is not on DoLE’s list as they voluntarily submitted a regularization program where at least 10,000 employees would be regularized this year. Hopefully with enough people supporting the boycott along with government action, these large corporations will be forced to change their labor policies. ‘Til then, happy boycotting!

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F E A T U R E S

SHIT ANDREW SAYS 64

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SHOW-OFF by ANDREW BANAAG

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Of the things I cannot stand, yet Somehow I fall pray to The “subtle” art of flaunting Ecstatic as they be, without a care in the world Neither towards others, nor their reputations

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The repercussions of their actions As they spew their colorful words and behold their shiny trinkets To which, of course, no one asked for Insensitive is a name I give such people Oblivious to everything but their valuables Usurpers of the spotlight in a circle of friends Soon they’ll realize it’s not all about them

C C U LT U R E

Fashion and My Nonconformist Philosophy. The Filipina: From Veritable Slave to Modern Woman. Streets Like White Elephants. A Month Away from Home. A Day in the Life: Sab Go. Staff Picks. Artist in Focus: Mia Cruz. Tweetable Tweets. Alaala.

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FA S H I O N A N D M Y NONCONFORMIST PHILOSOPHY by BENJU EVARDONE

“Nobody ever looks like what they are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t.” — Lettie Hempstock in The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

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I have often been asked why I dress the way I dress, and I must admit that there remains no answer. I don’t make fashion choices for the sake of keeping a certain appearance. Rather, I make choices to keep everyone—including myself—guessing. Perhaps, I avoid the routine, in fear of losing myself in the motions of daily life. Perhaps, I fear the banalities of contemporary teenage culture. There are many more possible reasons I could write down, but the common theme I notice is that the lust for differentiation is always present for one reason or another.

Actively seeking to be different has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. I’ve somewhat scorned the idea of conformity because it seems primal in my eyes. Cue, “monkey see monkey do.” After all, seeking change is what spurs evolution on. One cannot expect to outgrow oneself in comfort of one’s own skin. It’s a reach, you might think, that nonconformity in fashion is a manifestation of evolution, but the mindset is a step in that direction.

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I have also grown to despise judgment based on clothing. For two consecutive LIVs, for instance, I sought to fend off judging eyes by wearing a crop top both times. The first time, it surprised a lot of people, but their reactions were positive instead of judgmental. I was glad to be able to combat close-mindedness through such a menial action. I’ve also bought sneakers that were only released for women, but up til today, no one has noticed that they are so; reinforcing how I see no reason to differentiate in the first place. Admittedly, I have been less and less invested in this because it takes so much time, resources, and effort to execute. Despite that however, I take every opportunity to share this vision and passion through my aesthetic. Ultimately, fashion has been my constant reminder of remaining open minded under strong socially-constructed pressures. It has also been a tool of influence that I utilise in order to exact positive change in the social groups that I am part of. Needless to say, you are more than welcome to have a completely contrasting opinion. Isn’t that the point anyway?

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T H E F I L I P I N A : F R O M V E R I TA B L E S L AV E T O M O D E R N W O M A N by PITA OCHAVE

“Society seems to have placed [women] so high and she is condemned unmercifully when she falls. Society has placed so much personal responsibility upon her, but provided her with very little justice,” wrote young pensionada, Olivia Salamanca, in the early 20th century. Salamanca was one of the first pensionadas or women granted scholarships by the Philippine government to pursue educations abroad. Salamanca was a bright young woman, determined to live a life of the mind despite her crippling illness, which eventually took her life at the young age of twenty-four. For much of Philippine history, women have bore the brunt of injustice. To find this injustice, we need not look any further than our own history books. In pre-colonial Philippine society, women were priests and healers, regarded highly by their communities due to their perceived special connection with the spiritual world. The establishment of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines marked a turning point in the history of Filipino women. Filipino women, who were formerly revered as religious leaders, were stripped of their roles in precolonial Philippine society in favor of more conservative European ideals of femininity, which dictated that a woman’s sole role was in the home. Women were taught to internalize the teachings of Christianity, denied the opportunity to study, and were instructed to be religious, obedient, and pious—characteristics believed to be possessed by “good women” and “good wives.” The belief that “good women” were, by nature, obedient was ingrained into Filipinos’ psyches by such popular works as the Visayan Lagda and the Tagalog Urbana at Feliza, which instructed women to avoid being

curious, avoid smiling, and to never threaten a man’s intelligence by arguing or debating with him. French traveler and medical doctor, Jean Mallat, described the “Indio woman” in the nineteenth century as “veritable slaves,” who were entrusted with the affairs of the home and trade with very little respite due to their inferior social position. Filipino women have come a long way from being “veritable slaves.” In the span of a century, numerous advancements have been made in the social, political, and economic lives of women. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, women were allowed to obtain elementary educations under the 1863 educational decree. During the Commonwealth, women were given the opportunity to vote, and were given scholarships by the government to obtain higher educations abroad. In fact, the first woman admitted into Harvard Medical School was a formidable Filipino woman named Fe del Mundo. Over time, Filipino

women slowly shed the idea that a “good woman” must be a Maria Clara: modest, subservient, and quiet. Filipino women have become Supreme Court justices, presidents, soldiers, and CEO’s— occupying positions of power that were formerly only occupied by men. Filipino women today are accomplishing things that only a century ago, would have been unimaginable. But to say that Filipino women today have achieved equal status as men is to ignore the injustices that our society continues to inflict upon women, especially poor women.

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In the Philippines, women are told we can be whoever we want to be. We are factory workers, soldiers, scientists, lawyers, teachers, senators and mothers; we are the backbone of Philippine society. Not only do we contribute meaningfully to the country’s economy, but we also bear and raise future generations of Filipinos. Despite the enormous responsibilities women have today in both the workforce and at home, women—in the words of Olivia Salamanca—are still denied justice by our society. Throughout Philippine history—excluding, perhaps, pre-colonial Philippines—women have been denied autonomy over our bodies and our lives. The Philippines is only one of two countries (the other being the Vatican) that continues to deny women the ability to file for divorce and the ability to make our own reproductive decisions. The crucial difference between Filipino women before and Filipino women now is that we are no longer veritable slaves. Our education and our newfound power have now afforded us the ability to challenge the status quo and fight for ourselves. We have enlarged our role in society with words, blood, and sweat, transforming the Filipino woman in our own images: the modern Filipina woman is whoever we want her to be. She can be intelligent, sexual, reserved, thin, fat, bitchy, and unapologetic. Though we still have a long way to go in the fight against injustice, there is so much hope in the future of the Filipina.

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STREETS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS by CELINA PACANA

When my Filipino-American cousin Sofia first visited the Philippines at seven years old, she already had a lot to say about Metro Manilaʼs undeniable ills. You would think that a child would be naïve to the perils a society like ours has to face, but Manilaʼs struggles are far too evident. I remember driving past some of the metropolitan areaʼs wealthiest communities: the high rises of Bonifacio Global City, to the grandiose neighborhoods close by like Forbes Park and Mckinley Hill.

Sofia gushed over those, saying it somewhat reminded her of her hometown. It wasnʼt too long, however, until we made a few turns to some of the most underserved settlements in nearby Taguig. “Why does it look like that?” she asked, with no malign but rather, a very concerned tone. “It was just so nice earlier!” The reality is, areas just like the ones Sofia saw are all over Metro Manila. Itʼs almost a guarantee that behind every affluent neighborhood is a suffering one. This is very unlike

more developed nations, where there is a tendency for affluent cities as a whole to emerge. In Manila, there is no Manhattan nor Beverly Hills — there are no affluent cities at all. If anything, there are just affluent pockets of cities that are futile attempts at masking the destitution most Filipinos have to face. For a third culture child like her, this might have just meant confusion towards a land she has yet to call home. But for the rest of us citizens of Metro Manila, this points to a harsher truth that can no longer be the elephant in

in tiny spaces, “maids quarters,” in the heat. The same can be said about our university, arguably the most representative of the countryʼs socio-economic demographics. The conyo kids flock together, taking their cars from one class to another, while students from less privileged backgrounds are not too far away, worrying about their unforgiving commutes.

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The close proximity of advancement to poverty is a stark reminder that success leaves many behind. In fact, in a country where the rich and poor are at extremes and there is an almost nonexistent middle class, this begs the question of whether or not the wealth of some comes at the expense of many. This could even allude to greater injustices that plague our country: the systemic exploitation and corruption that contribute to the big picture.

So even if you reason that your family rose to affluence with integrity, let this be a reminder that one may never be too comfortable nor complacent. Being calloused towards injustices means failing to see what lies beyond the fences of your subdivision, or even within your own homes. Consequently, it renders you part of the problem, because youʼre denying yourself of the obvious truth. And Manila streets, they donʼt lie.

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the room. Income inequality and economic disparity are more present than ever.

For many of us born into privilege, we carry the belief that our comfortable lives are born out of our familiesʼ sheer hard work. And for many cases, this could be true. However, in a region like ours, it is impossible to view our familiesʼ successes in isolation from the difficulties our other countrymen experience. Does having luxuries mean others have to suffer?

It is thus imperative for those with privilege to not take these realities lightly, especially with a government that does not favor the underserved. Frankly, these truths direct to a perpetuating system that will prevail if those with the upperhand, and effectively the power to make an impact, turn a blind eye towards the issue.

The even harsher reality is that such disparity isnʼt only demonstrated in our juxtaposed cities. Oftentimes, itʼs so much closer to home— literally. In many privileged households, families sleep in airconditioned bedrooms amongst smooth duvets, while helpers bunk up

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A M O N T H AWAY F R O M H O M E by IAN JORGE

A couple of months ago, me and two of my friends, Glenn and Nevin, went to Canada to attend a summer school program at the University of British Columbia. To say that the trip was planned is a bit of a stretch, given the fact that we applied on the very last day (since we found out about the program 3 days before the application deadline). None of us expected to actually go through with the program, since it was on such short notice. But I’m extremely grateful that we did. Once we arrived on campus, it almost didn’t feel real. We would be on our own for an entire month. While I was excited, a part of me was incredibly nervous since the most independence I’ve had thus far was being left home alone for a few days. We unpacked our things into our dorms, and ended up meeting a couple of our roommates along the

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The first week was mainly spent getting settled in since we were still getting used to the dorm, the weather, and the university in general. We’d wake up for class at around 8:00AM, eat whatever we had in the pantry for breakfast – which usually consisted of instant noodles, cereal, and whatever leftovers we had from the previous night – then head out for the day. We’d be in class from 10:00AM up until 4:00PM, then we were free to do whatever we wanted afterwards. After class, we tried walking around the campus to get our bearings, since UBC was a

pretty big place. If you were to compare it to UPD in terms of land area, they’d be similar in size. One of the first buildings we saw on our walk was The Nest. It was huge, and it served as a recreational facility (with dance studios, rock climbing walls, and performing theatres) as well as a cafeteria and grocery for students. We spent over an hour inside just trying to figure out how to navigate the building, since it had over 5 floors. From The Nest alone, I realized we probably wouldn’t be able to cover the entire campus in our month’s stay. We kind of gave up on figuring the rest of the campus out, and just stuck to using google maps to get by instead. Aside from adjusting to the campus, it felt weird

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While our dorm mates were a pretty diverse group of people from different countries, they all shared the same collective look of confusion and disbelief when me and Glenn mentioned that we were only 18 but already incoming juniors. They all looked so confused since they

were all older than us, yet they were still only incoming freshmen/sophomores.

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way. We had a total of 4 other roommates in our dorm. (if you add me and Glenn, that’s 6 in total) Two of them were from Hong Kong, Ethan was from Mainland China, and Zac was Singaporean. In all honesty, we didn’t know the names of the two Hong Kong people in our dorm since they hardly ever left their rooms. On the other hand, Zac and Ethan were familiar faces we’d see on a daily basis.

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adjusting to a lot of things that were simply the norm for most Canadians. An example would be having right of way when crossing the street. It seems like such a trivial thing, but coming from someone whose lived in the Philippines, it was a huge privilege to have right of way for once. As a Filipino, when you see a car rushing towards you, you’d automatically stop to let it pass before you’d continue crossing. Over there, the cars would stop for you, allow you to cross, then continue forward after you’d safely made it through the road. Another thing was small talk.

It felt downright strange when someone asked me how my day was going. Aside from baristas at Starbucks, Filipinos typically avoid small talk when over the cashier or when waiting in line. In Canada, it happened almost every time. I’d always have to process what I’d been doing on that day before I’d be able to reply. The next three weeks flew by faster than I’d expected. Once we got accustomed to the university and started befriending our classmates, the days started going by without us even noticing. As

cliché as it may sound, it really did feel like every day was a new adventure. After we were dismissed at 4:00PM, we’d take a bus going into the city and after an hour-long bus ride we’d be in Downtown Vancouver. Each day was either spent trying out new restaurants and visiting new shops and sights around the city, or just goofing off at the dorm or beach (since the campus was right beside the coastline). Aside from going around the city, we also really got to know the rest of our classmates throughout the

their accents at this point HAHAHA

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As our month in Canada drew to a close, I couldn’t help but get sentimental over the fact that it was over. Looking back, my favorite moments probably weren’t any of the ones where we were on top of mountains or sightseeing or anything of the sort. Instead, what I enjoyed most about the trip was just doing random day-to-day crap with my friends. Simple things like getting McDo for breakfast in the morning, doing laundry, hanging out in the dorm, walking to a convenience store at midnight, or playing bridge. While they may seem like mundane things to most people, the fact that I was faaaar away from home, doing them with my friends, was what really made them memorable for me.

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month. Everyone in our class was from Asia, but it was still pretty diverse. We had students coming from Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, and Malaysia. I found it super interesting how practically all of us naturally just formed barkadas with people from the same country, except for the Indians. All of them seemed super divided and it looked like none of them wanted to talk to one another, even during groupworks. We were asking why, and apparently, the Caste System’s so embedded into their society that even though it’s technically abolished, people still hold on to its classist views to this very day. Even though the Indians were separated, the rest of us got along pretty well. We ended up learning a lot of Singaporean and Hong Kong slang, how to curse, and can sort of copy

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A DAY IN

THE LIFE:

SAB GO by HANS LIM & ANTON MANOTOK

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We believe a day can’t go by without her buying at least one thing, either online or in a store. Her room is filled with so many things because she is a very impulsive buyer. When she sees something she likes, she just buys it. Still don’t get the picture? She has more than 200 bottles of nail polish, more than 100 lipsticks, literally more than 1000 books, around 50 pairs of shoes, 30 bottles of different kinds of shampoo for some weird reason, and so much clothes that they don’t fit in her closet and her maids just throw the extra

ones in a huge basket that’s almost her height. Funnily, 98% of her clothes are just from one place: Zara. Everytime we go to a mall with Zara, she has to go in and she ends up buying stuff. When she asks us to choose between two things, there’s no point in giving her our opinion because she just buys both. She hasn’t even worn so many of her clothes but she still keeps buying. She is the scariest when the store goes on sale because she makes us line up for her in the dressing room while she grabs everything she likes. She usu79

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The rest of her day basically revolves around 5 things: her extremely spoiled dog (which she named Cocaine because “she’s as white as Cocaine”), eating, going out, watching Netflix, and shopping. During the day, she is for sure doing one of those things, or several of them at the same time. She has so much make up but she only puts them on sometimes. Sab loves to eat. She eats out everyday because for some reason, she can’t just stay at home. She loves food so much she would travel all the way to Alabang just to eat ramen in Yushoken, or to Marriott in Pasay for her favorite steak in Cru. She always takes photos of the food and no one is allowed to even touch the food before she takes a pic. Surprisingly, she is very picky with food; she only likes eating in places that are guaranteed to have food that reaches her expectations. She watches a movie in the cinema at least once a week too. If she’s not out, she’s at home watching Netflix. She has watched so many things that she rewatches a lot of things to pass the time.

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Sab is actually a very simple person. Her actions can be quite predictable if you get close to her and know her well enough. She starts her day with coffee, just like most people in this world. She’ll then refill her dog’s water and food bowls, and play with her dog while waiting for breakfast. She doesn’t really like eating breakfast but she’ll eat a bit anyway, mostly so she can give her dog some of her food as well.

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STAFF PICKS compiled by CARLOS BARREIRO

AWA K E N M Y L O V E D E L U X E VINYL SET While Childish isn’t the world’s best rapper, there’s no denying his exceptional creativity. Leave it to an artist like him to release an album on “virtual reality vinyl”. The album packs some of Donald Glover’s best work and is worth picking up if you ever get the chance. - Carlos Barreiro

The inner workings of the upper 1%, where money runs thicker than blood. Follow the lives of the Carringtons—whose children are torn between doing what’s right for society and what’s right for their family. Though filled with crazy, extravagant drama, it’s a series you should follow if you want to see just how far rich families will go to save face and business.  - Kelsey Mariano

DY N A S T Y

T H E W O L F O F WA L L S T R E E T Perhaps no single movie screams vulgar and prodigal ostentation like Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Powered by audacious performances from Academy Award nominees Leonardo diCaprio and Jonah Hill, the Wolf of Wall Street follows the biography of a small-time Wall Street stockbroker named Jordan Belfort who literally charmed his way into an impressive fortune and a lifestyle of prostitution and substance abuse. Belfort’s obscene amount of money, however, turns out to be the most dangerous drug of them all.  - Javi Vilchez EE CC H HO O EE SS

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

A look in to the glamorous and extravagant lives of Asia’s rich and famous, set in the region’s most expensive country. Need I say more? - Maxine Capili

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An insane and fun electro pop song. Who cares if you’re blond, skinny, rich, and a little bit of a bitch. You’re Donatella! - Meira De Luna

D O N AT E L L A

by Lady Gaga

HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS Sally Field in colorful outfits crushing on someone less than half her age. One of the many quirks of her character Doris is her hoarding - empty shampoo bottles, one ( just one!) wooden ski, soy sauce packets from the 70s... It’s horrible but it’s human. And that’s what this movie will make you feel. - Bianca Rañola

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ARTIST IN FOCUS

MIA CRUZ

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When the hustle and bustle of the world fades away and I’m left alone to my own thoughts, I think about you. It was never anything real, but in some strange universe it could have been. I replay stupid conversations in my head, overanalyze every move, every gesture, and always come to the same conclusion each time—I should have been braver. If I’d smiled at you more, or I’d treated you better, or if I’d let you known how much I liked you (because fuck, I really fucking liked you but I could never admit it to myself until you were gone) things could have been different. I know I have to stop beating myself up for things I can no longer change, but it hurts when you smile at her. I wish you’d smile at me that way again.

Submitted by hopeless :/ to Dear Echoes

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T W E E TA B L E T W E E T S compiled by CARLOS BARREIRO

@langitsthelimit: When people ask me how much I love Uniqlo, I’m just gonna go ahead and show them this

@david_balmes: My warning to everyone who passed me up

@_solball: Why do tomorrow what u can do today bro “Duterte: “Sagad na ako. After my term, I will retire and maybe die slowly.” (8.3.18) ABS-CBN” @Miguel_Balao: “Just one shot” they said

@_dianeyabut: Hindi pa ba suspended?? PLS SUSPEND NAGING SIOKOY NA CLASSMATE KO @qcgovt

@ejbautistaaa: Yo, does anyone give lessons on how to landi? I sure would be interested in learning how to HAHA @jermracela: THE FILIPINO SPIRIT: A man submerged in floodwater in Marikina City manages to flash a smile despite his difficult situation. Filipinos are known for their resiliency especially since the country is hit by more than 20 typhoons every year.

@_heatherlian: decode_paramore.mp3

@_dianeyabut: [ROAD TO THESIS] PASINTABI SA MGA KUMAKAIN Thesis topic planning progress so far mga kaibigan GUD AFTERNUN!!! #DiLliekado lol Here’s to the sem ahead charot #SheDiWow

@catzedong: People call out that I seem more “mature” lately (the way I dress, I’m quiet, I don’t drink much, I don’t like hanging out just cause). Anyway the point of this tweet is, I am spending my Friday evening playing mahjong with some aunties on my floor. I am an old woman indeed

@mveee13: “Ate ate pengeng barya.” Hinihingian niya ako ng barya kaso ayaw ko naman magbigay kaya pinakain ko na lang sya. Ito si Rodrigo, madalas mo siya makikita sa may mainlib area. Masipag siya mag aral. Pangarap nya daw maging abugado.

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@dindoramoose: Pa adjust sa inflation yung baon huhu “Php 500 is the new benteeee!” @itsaimeestery: I’m tigang

@booyanca: uwi na kayo walang tatalo sa record ko

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@nicsform: *crushie breaks up with gf* guy to crushie: its ok dude there are so many fish in the sea me:

@RigoMonzon: “Kuya kuya wala akong barya”

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Nanakawan ko dapat siya ng wallet at cellphone, pero pinakain niya na lang ako ng combo 5. Kinwentuhan niya na lang ako ng kaniyang love story. Kunwari na lang akong nakikinig kasi kumakain pa ako ng combo 5. Pero pagkatapos ko kumain umalis ako kaagad

@spevecosoc: Do I smell... Dencio’s?!

@julliaq_: Am in a GE that is ~90% a freshie block and someone who recited after me just started with “Just like what ate said...” ATE : <

@JustVillas: *Very first class of semester* Prof: “okay, so for today, we will be having an exam”

by ANONYMOUS 90

A L A A L A

Wala nang lalabas sa bibig ko upang maiwasan ang iyong galit. Wala na akong maigagalaw para ako’y iyong pagkatiwalaan. Ngayon din maaari na iyong ibali ang mga pangakong nangapagtali. Nais ko man hilingin na ang iyong “palagi” ay manatili, ‘di ito puwedeng mangyari. Ang mga pangakong ito, ngayo’y pangarap na lang. Subalit maski ito ay hindi na rin maaari. Hindi pangako, kundi alaala. Alaala Mga alaalang alang alang sa iyo, sa naging atin, mula sa sumasaiyo, lagi lagi, magpakailanman.

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