Rebel Kule Tomo 4 Isyu 7-8

TOMO IV / BLG VII-VIII / Miyerkules, 13 Pebrero 2019 email: phkule@gmail.com

E D I T O R YA L

Langit-lupa Sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte, walang langit para sa mga bata dahil impyerno sa lupa ang bawat patakarang inihahain nito.

Upang mawalan umano ng mga gagamiting bata ang mga sindikatong sangkot sa droga, nais ibaba ng mababang kapulungan mula 15 patungong siyam ang minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR). Sa ikalawang pagbasa ng Kongreso, ginawang 12 ang MACR alinsunod sa minumungkahi ng ilang senador; at ngayon, pasado na ito sa ikatlo at huling pagbasa.

Wala nang bahid ng pagpapanggap pa sa Kongresong pinamumunuan ni Gloria Arroyo— niratsada nito ang pagpapababa ng MACR dahil ito umano ang gusto ng pangulo, indikasyon ng ganap na pagkatuta nito sa palasyo.

Subalit walang anumang siyentipiko at moral na batayan para ibaba ang MACR.

Ayon sa Psychological Association of the Philippines, hindi sapat ang unlad ng pag-iisip ng bata para magkaroon ng intensyon sa paggawa ng krimen—isa sa pangunahing elemento ng paglabag sa batas. Wala ring pag-aaral ang nagpapatunay na bababa ang krimen kung ibababa ang MACR lalo na’t wala pa sa dalawang porsyento ang bilang ng krimeng sangkot ang mga bata ayon mismo sa tala ng Philippine National Police noong 2017.

Gayundin, ang mga krimeng kinasasangkutan ng mga children in conflict with the law (CICL) ay may kaugnayan sa pag-aari gaya ng pagnanakaw, ayon sa Plan International Philippines. Kahirapan ang sanhi lalo na’t isa sa tatlong bata ay mahirap ayon naman sa datos ng Philippine Statistics Authority noong 2015.

Ang pagbaling ng sisi sa mga bata sa halip na sa mga sindikato ay hindi kaiba sa pagpihit ng estado ng naratibong mismong mahihirap ang sanhi ng kahirapan at hindi ang mga magnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan.

Nakasaad sa umiiral na Juvenile Justice Welfare Act (JJWA) ang pagtatayo ng 114 na Bahay Pagasa o rehabilitation centers, ngunit 35 lamang ang napakikinabangan noong 2017. Ayon sa pagtatasa noong 2015 ng United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund o UNICEF, ang mga probisyon ng JJWA ay husto na sa pagtugon sa mga kaso ng paglabag ng kabataan.

Kung gayon, ang paglalaan ng sapat na pondo at pagpapatibay sa implementasyon ng JJWA, gayundin ng mga batas laban sa childtrafficking, ang nararapat gawin ng pamahalaan, at hindi pagbibilanggo sa mga bata. Sa halip na bigyan ng parusang hahadlang sa pag-unlad ng mga kabataang itinuturing na pagasa ng bayan, dapat na linangin ang kanilang mga kakayahan at itama sa wastong paraan ang mga kamalian.

Subalit imposible itong mangyari sa ilalim ng isang estadong walang pagkilala sa kinabukasan ng mga bata at kabataan.

Sa nakalipas na tatlong taon ng

@phkule

NEWS /

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FEATS /

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KULT /

Apoy sa Dagat

Ang pagbaling ng sisi sa mga bata sa halip na sa mga sindikato giyera kontra droga, hindi bababa ay hindi kaiba sa sa 54 na mga menor-de-edad ang pagpihit ng estado namatay, ayon sa Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center, ng naratibong kabilang si Kian Delos Santos. Noong gitnang bahagi ng 2017, sinimulan mismong mahihirap din ang mandatory drug testing sa ang sanhi ng mga pampublikong hayskul.

Malinaw na sa pagpapababa kahirapan at di ang ng MACR, hindi lamang pinsalang kolateral kundi mismong target ang mga magnanakaw mga kabataan ng ‘di makataong mga sa kaban ng bayan. polisiya ng administrasyong Duterte.

Bagaman pasado na ang panukala, hanggang kaliwa’t kanan ang protesta, handa ang mamamayang ipanalo ang masahol na laro ng pamahalaan laban sa bawat anak ng ating bayan at kinabukasan.

Gayong walang langit sa lupang mala-impyernong pinamumunuan ng berdugong pangulo, iisa ang panawagan ng sambayanan: Umalis ka na riyan sa pwesto mo!

DIBUHO NI JOHN KENNETH ZAPATA

I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A ! I PA S A PA G K A BA S A !

REBELKULÊ

ANG PAHAYAGAN NG MGA MAG-AARAL NG UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS DILIMAN

REBEL KULÊ

2

13 FEBRUARY 2019 WEDNESDAY

NEWS

Around 1,000 UPD undergrads pay tuition fees / JOSE MARTIN SINGH

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SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, JANUARY 17, 2019

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Kaya nga nagsa-stop ‘yung mga estudyante…kasi hindi nila kayang i-sustain ‘yung tuition fees – ‘yung pag-aaral nila,” Bacani said, adding that more students should be covered by the law.

John Cardama, a seventh year Electronics and Communication Engineering student, strikes up the same concern as he is among the 119 College of Engineering students not qualified for free tuition (see sidebar 4).

“Hindi ako galing sa mayaman na pamilya kaya minsan kailangan ko paikutin ang baon ko para lang mabili ‘yung mga kailangan ko at abonohan muna yung mga extra na kailangan ko bayaran,” he said.

He also had to work part-time to compensate for his daily expenses.

Despite currently receiving 60 percent partial discount under SFA, Cardama lamented the continued implementation of such a scheme because of its inaccurate bracket assignments.

“Mahirap [ang ganitong patakaran] kasi nacocompromise din yung pag-prerog namin [na mga nag-aapply for SFA] kasi sobrang dami pang kailangang lakarin [na requirement]. Nagiging unequal ang chances namin with other students na makakuha ng subjects dahil dito,” he said.

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Although the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act or RA 10931 provides for free tuition in state universities and colleges, the law’s coverage is limited to undergraduate students without a prior degree and have not exceeded the prescribed number of years in the university. Ineligible students, on the other hand, may apply for tuition discount under the Student Financial Assistance (SFA) program, and/or avail loans instead (see sidebar 2).

Meanwhile, the option to pay tuition also remains available to students. Out of the total enrollees this semester, eight opted out of the free tuition policy while 15 voluntarily paid in the previous semester.

While the number of paying students may have dipped from the previous semester, Students’ Rights and Welfare Committee Head Tierone Santos still sees this as an alarming phenomenon. “The [high] number of students who need to pay is a clear manifestation that the administration still doesn’t recognize that our education is a right,” Santos said, adding that the current system wherein many students still pay fees contradicts the essence of free education.

SIDEBAR 1. NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE AND INELIGIBLE STUDENTS FOR THE FTP 1ST SEMESTER 2ND SEMESTER 12,527 11,264 WITH FREE TUITION 1,641 912 WITHOUT FREE TUITION 14,168 12,176 TOTAL

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Despite the implementation of a law that provides for free tuition, around 1,000 UP Diliman (UPD) students still pay tuition and other school fees this semester.

A total of 912 out of 12,176 or 7.49 percent of enrolled UPD undergraduate students pay tuition and other school fees this semester, according to the Office of the University Registrar. This is slightly lower than the 11.58 percent tallied in the first semester (see sidebar 1).

OOOOOO

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SIDEBAR 3. TOP COLLEGES WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF PAYING STUDENTS IN AY2018-2019 1ST SEMESTER 2ND SEMESTER 89 = 55.97 O 41 = 36.28 O O O SLIS 159 113 131 = 36.19 O 108 = 34.18 O O O EDUK 362 316 104 = 30.59 O 55 = 20.91 O O O CMU 340 263 44 = 28.95 O 21 = 20.79 O O O CSWCD 152 101 128 = 19.66 O 79 = 14.91 O O O CFA 651 530 163 = 18.65 O 92 = 12.92 O O O CAL 874 712

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SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, JANUARY 17, 2019

SIDEBAR 4. COLLEGES WITH THE MOST INELIGIBLE STUDENTS FOR FREE TUITION IN THE SECOND SEMESTER AY2018-2019 - 119 1 College of Engineering - 108 2 College of Education - 92 3 College of Arts and Letters College of Fine Arts

- 79 4 - 68 5 College of Home Economics - 55 6 College of Music - 52 7 College of Mass Communication SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR, 17 JANUARY 2019

/ INFOGRAPH AND PAGE DESIGN BY ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

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SOURCE: REPUBLIC ACT 10931

O

Education as a right / The present system of fee collections, Santos said, is a manifestation of how education is often commodified by authorities to gain profit from students.

“Recognizing education as one of our basic rights, no one should be hindered to access to education. Having free tuition now is one step forward in decreasing the financial liability of students,” Santos said. “As long as there’s a collection of fees, we would not achieve our genuine right for free education,” he said.

The fight for genuine free education is not over, Santos said. “We should unite and stand together to make education free and accessible to all,” he said.

* Bachelor’s degree holders can no longer avail of the free tuition * The student is no longer covered by the policy if s/he is unable to finish the program up until one year after the prescribed time-frame that the degree has to be completed * Failing to comply with retention policies

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Paying the price of education / A total of 41 out of 113 students from the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) were tagged ineligible for free tuition this semester. The rate may have decreased by about 20 percent from the 55.97 percent tallied in the previous semester, but SLIS remains as the college with the highest percentage of paying undergraduate students. (see sidebar 3).

Abigail Bacani, a third year SLIS student, is one oft the many students unqualified for free tuition. She entered UP in 2008 but was forced to go on absence without leave for several years to earn money.

“Syempre medyo mabigat [ang di mabigyan ng free tuition]…

SIDEBAR 2. LIMITATIONS OF THE FREE TUITION POLICY

#UPTHEREV

NEWS

@phkule

3

REBEL KULÊ

GASC strengthens call against red-tagging of progressive groups / BEATRICE PUENTE

As repression, killings and red-tagging continue to imperil the lives of government dissenters, the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) registered their strong opposition to all forms of state-sponsored violence through a resolution unanimously passed in their 47th convention from January 7 to 8 in UP Cebu.

The 54 student councils across the UP System convene the GASC twice a year to forge unities by creating resolutions on various national and university issues. A total of 37 student councils were present at the recent assembly where all 15 resolutions were approved by consensus.

Citing the persistent crackdown on members of legal progressive organizations, the UP Baguio University Student Council (UPB USC) filed a resolution to enjoin the GASC to resist red-tagging, which only aims to silence dissent.

Recently, the Philippine National Police made a list of teachers who are affiliated with the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), a group actively forwarding the rights of teachers (see related article on pages 8-9).

“Lantad na lantad ang kapabayaan ng gobyerno sa sektor ng edukasyon at ang paglabag sa karapatan ng mga guro at kawani ng pamahalaan sa nakabubuhay na sahod. Sa halip na pakinggan ang ACT at ang mamamayan, tinatangka ng administrasyong ito na patahimikin ang mga lider-guro,” Representative France Castro of ACT said in a privilege speech in Congress on January 14.

While government critics remain the most vulnerable to the crackdown launched by the government, Student Regent Ivy Taroma noted that even other citizens could be victims of harassment as well.

“Ang crackdown ni Duterte ay hindi lamang [nakatuon] sa progressive organizations and individuals. Ang crackdown ay makikita rin sa mukha ng mga giyerang nilulunsad hindi lang sa mga kritiko, bagkus ay sa mamamayang Pilipino,” Taroma said.

On top of the call to end all forms of harassment against progressive groups, the GASC vowed to lead the fight against fascism in the country as indicated in the approved joint resolution drafted by the UP Mindanao (UP Min) USC, UP Min College of Science and Mathematics SC, and UP Visayas Tacloban College

SC. Student councils across the UP system will also remain firm in opposing charter change, following the adopted resolution from the UP Los Baños USC. Aside from discussing issues of national concern, the body also passed resolutions on problems within the university, including fraternity-related violence, police and military presence in UP campuses, as well as the continued implementation of the P750 million-eUP project.

Meanwhile, all five proposed amendments to the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS) from the UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy SC were rejected by the body after a six-hour deliberation.

The CRSRS governs the selection of the student regent (SR), the only representative of the student body to the Board of Regents, the highest policy-making body in UP. One of the amendments that the UPD CSSP SC tried to put forward was a change in the voting power of councils, giving each university student council from autonomous units a single vote. For colleges with large populations — those exceeding 1,000, their council would have one vote for every 1,000 additional students. This was subsequently opposed as various student leaders reasoned that allotting more votes for colleges with larger constituencies would leave smaller colleges and units behind in the selection process.

The existing CRSRS, in use for two decades now, will thus remain in effect, with each autonomous unit still given two votes in choosing the SR while each regional unit will have one.

While disagreements may have ensued, the student leaders remained positive toward the end of the assembly. “Ang hamon sa atin ay huwag makulong sa konseho ....

Mahalaga na kilalanin natin ang kakayahan ng mga Iskolar ng Bayan [upang lumaban] kasama ang batayang masa,” Taroma emphasized.

DEFEND ANCESTRAL LANDS / LAURA ISABELLE C. DELA TORRE Students and faculty members welcomed the delegates of the fourth annual Lakbayan 2019 in UP Diliman during Salubungan at the Quezon Hall, January 27. The Salubong concides with the commemoration of the First Quarter Storm, a period of civil unrest in which students rose against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Martial Law through a series of protests. The Lakbayani troop to Manila every year to register their calls for self-determination and an end to harrassment in their communities.

Pook Malinis demolition to displace 60 residents

/ CATHRYNE ENRIQUEZ

Around 60 individuals face threats of being displaced from Pook Malinis in Barangay UP Campus, based on the estimated number provided by community leaders, after guards in blue uniform attempted to demolish at least nine houses in the area.

Four houses have already been demolished by “blue guards” from a security firm agency hired to watch over the community to prevent the residents from building any more structures or houses. “Hinihiram lang [namin] pansamantala [ang lupa], para man lang pambawas sa gastusin,” said Ben*, a 10-year resident who decided to build their own house in Pook Malinis instead of renting a house.

In response to this, the residents, together with UP Diliman (UPD) students and organizations, held a protest on January 24 condemning the demolition. A dialogue between the community leaders and Chief Security Officer John Baroña took place on the same day. Baroña told the residents that the destroyed houses were demolished because these were only built within the past five months.

No notice of demolition, however, had been issued to the residents before the series of

demolition took place on January 21 to 24. Lea*, one of the affected residents, criticized this move, saying that the lack of official document justifying the demolition could prove that there was no legal basis for the demolition to proceed.

Since this incident took place, the affected residents have tried to rebuild their houses, but the blue guards also kept coming back to reprimand them and to break the structures again.

Meanwhile, the UP administration has not divulged any official information regarding their plans on what the land will be converted to once the nine houses have been demolished. Rebel Kulê also tried to interview the Office of Community Relations to get their side on the matter but they have not responded to our request as of press time.

Baroña, however, assured the residents that the demolition will be halted temporarily. But

in order for the demolition plans to be officially terminated, the directive must come from UP President Danilo Concepcion, UPD Chancellor Michael Tan, and Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Jose Ernie Lopez.

Although the community leaders have already talked to Baroña, the residents, along with various student groups in UPD, continue to condemn the imminent displacement that the residents would need to face by the time the demolition begins again. “As long as development is not geared towards the interest of the people, it is nothing but another scheme to be faced by the unwavering spirit of resistance,” Anakbayan Maskom said in a statement. *not their real names. Ben’s and Lea’s identities have been concealed in order to protect them from any form of threat or harassment for speaking about the matter.

REBEL KULÊ

4

13 FEBRUARY 2019 WEDNESDAY

S U M AT O TA L

Bridging the Gender Gap

SIDEBAR 1. COMPARATIVE DATA ON MEN AND WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES

/ INFOGRAPH AND PAGE DESIGN BY ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

/ RICHARD CALAYEG CORNELIO Before 2018 ended, the Philippines had hogged headlines in the international scene for all the wrong reasons: the most corrupt country in the world, and the deadliest for peasants in the Asia Pacific region, among others. It was welcome news, then, when the country topped the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s list of most gender-equal nations in Asia.

Of the 149 counties surveyed, the Philippines ranked 8th and was reported to have closed 80 percent of its total gender gap in 2018. Yet, though the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report evaluates how equally opportunities and resources get distributed between male and female populations, it discounts the overall levels of these resources to begin with.

In a country that is just as much deeply wedged by socio-economic class as by gender, realities on the ground tell there remains a long way to go to achieve an inclusive, farreaching progress on various fronts.

The gender gap particularly leaps out in the employment sector, where men continue to register higher labor participation rate than women, based on data from the PSA in 2017 (see sidebar 1) and even the latest from the WEF. Not only are unemployment rates in the last couple of years lower among men than women; the latter also receive worse pay even in industries like retail and service where they fare more usually, as per the latest Labor Force Survey. Access to economic resources also skews in favor of men, which translates into opportunity losses for women. A stark example is in agriculture where

WOMEN

EDUCATION

more men are afforded land rights or benefits than women (see sidebar 1).

While the more recent WEF statistics point to a closer gender gap with respect to wage parity over the years, what remains absent from most surveys that benchmark economic participation is the fact of unpaid domestic labor by wives or mothers.

Although the consistently higher literacy rates among women may lead one to think this could level the playing field for both sexes, still other factors pull them away from the workplace.

Economic gains, after all, cannot be divorced from the toll of cultural attitudes in a country where reproductive labor remains the women’s preserve. Uncompensated, stay-home spouses worry over childcare, ease the family’s stress in times of financial woes, and are doubly burdened by the inadequacy of services like day-care centers that could facilitate their tasks.

Women from lower-income households have also been more prone to spousal violence, based on data from the PSA (see sidebar 2). More than half of the victims of domestic abuse never sought help about their ordeal and prefer (see sidebar 3), with some suffering from anxiety and depression or having even attempted suicide.

Violence of this kind comprises but a portion in the spectrum of hostility towards women, who may have achieved milestones over the decades but, in many respects, still find themselves on an unequal footing with men. Half of the population will remain so unless the very structures of power that lay the groundwork for gender bias and other such inequities are dismantled.

MEN

Functional Literacy Rate a

92.0%

88.7%

Basic Literacy Rate b

97.0%

96.1%

a. For 10-64 years old b. For 10 years old and over SOURCE: PSA 2013 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey

WOMEN

WORK Labor Participation Rate c

MEN

46.2%

76.2%

5.2%

6.0%

Unemployment Rate c 6,790 USD

Estimated Earned Income d

Women earn only 69 percent of what men earn in a year

Major industry division where most are employed c Estimated number of overseas workers e

9,874 USD

Wholesale and retail; motorcycle repair; personal goods

Agriculture; hunting and forestry

1.250 MILLION

1.197 MILLION

SOURCES: (c) From the PSA 2017 Labor Force Survey (d) In terms of purchasing power parity; data from World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2018 (e) As of 2015, from the PSA Handbook

PUBLIC LIFE

WOMEN

MEN

Number of elected persons by position

3,693

13,458

3 in 14 elected persons are women SOURCE: Commission on Elections as of September 2016

WOMEN

AGRICULTURE No. of Holders of Certificate of Land Ownership Agreement (CLOA)

653,945 1 in 3 CLOA holders is a woman

57,424

No. of Holders of Emancipation Patent

2 in 15 EP holders are women

MEN 1,342,509

358,281

SOURCE: Department of Agrarian Reform as of 2015

SIDEBAR 2. PERCENTAGE OF EVER-MARRIED WOMEN AGED 15-49 WHO HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED VIOLENCE AT THE HANDS OF THEIR PARTNER PER INCOME QUINTILE Wealth Quintile

Emotional Violence

Physical Violence

Sexual Violence

Physical and Sexual Violence

Physical, Sexual and Emotional Violence

Lowest

23.8%

18.1%

6.7%

5.2%

4.0%

Second

25.6%

15.9%

7.3%

5.3%

3.9%

Middle

21.9%

12.6%

5.9%

4.3%

2.9%

Fourth

15.9%

12.8%

3.2%

2.2%

1.9%

Highest

14.6%

7.7%

2.6%

1.8%

1.5%

SIDEBAR 3. PERCENT DISTRIBUTION OF WOMEN’S HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOR Never sought help but told someone

27.3%

Never sought help, never told anyone

38.3%

Sought help to stop violence

30.0%

SOURCES: (2) PSA 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey (3) Philippine Commission on Women, 2013

Gone missing

4.40%

Sumifru workers’ camp face demolition threats Around 200 Sumifru workers staying at a campsite in Liwasang Bonifacio might be displaced soon, as the Manila City government has ordered the demolition of their makeshift shelter following the expiration of their permit to stay in the area, January 30.

Despite the workers’ plea to extend their stay, the city local council told them they could no longer grant such a request, as rehabilitation projects in the area are set to commence immediately.

“It is completely reprehensible that the city [local government unit] has chosen to treat us as mere nuisance and instead favored the politicians who will be using the area for their political interests,” said Paul John Dizon, president of Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farms (NAMASUFA), in a statement.

While Colegio de San Juan de Letran officials had offered their place as a temporary area where the workers could stay if the demolition pushes through, Dizon told Rebel Kulê that the workers should assert for an extended stay at Liwasang Bonifacio so that they could express their sentiments more publicly.

The Sumifru workers from Compostela Valley arrived in Manila last November 27 to amplify their calls for regularization, and to protest against the unjust working conditions and harassment they face from the military, police, and goons hired by the corporation’s management in Mindanao.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) already issued an order for Sumifru to regularize 1,687 workers in its banana plantation last June. Eight months later, the Sumifru management still failed to abide by the DOLE order.

NAMASUFA leaders talked to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello on January 4 to demand strict implementation of the ruling. Meanwhile, Sumifru officials, who refused to face the union leaders during the “shuttle conference,” said that they are only open to regularize the 140 original members of the union, which currently has 931 members.

As long as their calls remain unheeded, Dizon said that the workers will continue their protest. Moreover, they vowed to defend their kampuhan amid the looming demolition, for it will be much safer for the workers to stay in Manila. “Doon kasi sa Mindanao dinadahas kami. Kaya nga kami nagpunta sa Manila para mas mapakinggan kami at mag-seek ng sanctuary… Compared doon [sa Mindanao], mas nakakakilos kami dito sa Manila,” Dizon said. / CATHRYNE ENRIQUEZ

EMBARRASSMENT OF

RICHES

This figure seems conservative, however, because the PSA’s poverty threshold is too low and thus views as poor practically only those at subsistence level, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation. More than half of the population, or about 12.2 million families, meanwhile saw themselves as poor as per self-rated poverty survey by Social Weather Stations as of September 2018.

The PSA estimates nonetheless reflect the measly and massive incomes at both ends of the spectrum.

For example, the total annual income of the country’s top 10 percent (tenth decile) still counts much more than the sum of those at the bottom half (first to fifth deciles) of the 22.7 million families in the Philippines (see sidebar 2A).

Compared to more well-heeled households, those in the bottom 30-percent income group spend one and a half times more on food, but less so on house rent given that 4.5 million Filipinos remain homeless. And while the poorest bring home so little that they tend to spend slightly beyond their means, the highest-income group can afford to set aside for savings as much as P21,000 or about a third of their monthly pay (see sidebar 2B).

Disparity exists even within the richest, at the top of which are the likes of Sy. Membership in their ranks is highly exclusive, with only 21 families included in the Forbes’ tallies of Filipino billionaires (in US dollars) since 2007. Their business empires stand not as testament to these men’s

sheer hard work, however, but were built on the backs of workers who have for far too long been denied just compensation.

Sy’s SM stores are a case in point. With thousands of underpaid employees hired on short-term contracts, the business giant is one of the 216,995 establishments that IBON has determined to be gaining more than enough profits to support a minimum wage hike to as high as P750 in the National Capital Region.

Other billionaires like Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee Foods are just as notorious for getting away with similar exploitative labor practices, which the existing Labor Code fails to address.

The abolition of policies like laboronly contracting is one initiative to help thousands of Filipinos live a life of dignity. Increasing the minimum wage is another, which cannot address income inequality overnight but seems the more doable response while material conditions for broadbased growth such as national industrialization and agricultural development remain elusive.

Clearly, a decent income will be a stride forward in outpacing price inflation, the effects of market-oriented reforms, and the accelerating rate at which profits pour into the pockets of the elite who do more than hoard an embarrassment of riches. Besides, in a supposedly democratic nation where the rest must slog and scrimp and save to scrape by, the existence of these billionaires is just an embarrassment.

1

HENRY SY

SM INVESTMENTS, BANCO DE ORO, CHINA BANK

2

MANUEL VILLAR

STARMALLS, VISTA LAND & LIFESCAPES C&P HOMES, VITACARE HEALTH GROUP, COFFEE PROJECT

3

JOHN GOKONGWEI, JR

UNIVERSAL ROBINA, CEBU PACIFIC, ROBINSONS BANK, SUMMIT MEDIA, PLDT, MERALCO

4

JAIME ZOBEL DE AYALA

AYALA LAND, GLOBE TELECOM, AC INDUSTRIAL, ZALORA

5

ENRIQUE RAZON, JR

INT’L CONTAINER TERMINAL SERVICES, BLOOMBERRY RESORTS, SOLAIRE RESORTS AND CASINO, SURESTE REALTY

6

TONY TAN CAKTIONG

JOLLIBEE FOODS, DOUBLEDRAGON PROPERTIES

7

LUCIO TAN

ASIA BREWERY, TANDUAY DISTILLERS, PHILIPPINE AIRLINES, FORTUNE TOBACCO, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK

8

RAMON ANG

SAN MIGUEL, EAGLE CEMENT, TOP FRONTIER INVESTMENT HOLDINGS

9

GEORGE TY

METROBANK, TOYOTA MOTORS, PHILIPPINE SAVINGS BANK, MANILA MEDICAL

10

ANDREW TAN

MEGAWORLD, EMPERADOR DISTILLERS, MCDONALD’S FRANCISHES

29.5%

15.6%

10TH DECILE

3.2%

SIDEBAR 2B. MEAN MONTHLY INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

BY PER CAPITA INCOME DECILE IN 2015 IN PHP 70,000

1ST DECILE

9TH DECILE

4.3% 2ND DECILE 5.0% 3RD DECILE 5.9% 4TH DECILE

INCOME EXPENDITURE

SIDEBAR 1B. NET WORTH OF THE TOP 10 RICHEST FILIPINOS IN 2018* 1T

60,000

800B

50,000

600B

6.8%

5TH DECILE

40,000

8.2%

6TH DECILE

30,000

9.7% 7TH DECILE 12.0% 8TH DECILE

20,000

400B 200B

10,000 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th DECILE

44.5% of total family income The total net worth of the ten richest men in the Philippines in 2018 is...

of around 22.7M families in 2015 is able to feed 22.7M Filipino families for the next 3 years

SY M.V. J.G. Z.D.A. E.R. T.T.C. L.T. ANG TY A.T. BILLIONARE NAME, ABBREVIATED *based on net worth, the value of total assets minus debts

1/6 of nominal GDP

of the Philippines (USD 313.6 B)

EQUAL to the nominal GDP of Lebanon (USD 51.8 B)

10x larger than nominal GDP SOURCE: PSA

of Fiji (USD 5.06 B) & Mauritania (USD 5.03 B) in 2017

SOURCE: World Bank

/ INFOGRAPHICS AND PAGE DESIGN BY KARLA FAITH SANTAMARIA

SOURCE: Forbes

SIDEBAR 2A. PER CAPITA INCOME DECILE DISTRIBUTION

REBEL KULE

SIDEBAR 1A. TOP 10 RICHEST FILIPINOS IN 2018 AND THEIR BUSINESSES

Part I of a features series on poverty and inequality in the Philippines

/ RICHARD CALAYEG CORNELIO No sooner had billionaire baron Henry Sy, Sr. died than news of his rags-toriches story circulated by way of a eulogy. The penniless boy from China who rose to own the largest chain of malls in the country and become the richest Filipino could not have been a better poster boy for those who believe perseverance alone can lift one out of poverty.

This narrative, however, ignores how huge masses of wealth get lumped in the hands of a few at the expense of the toiling majority hamstrung by business-oriented policies, a backward economy, and inadequate social protection. This premium on narrow interests explains the nation’s wealth inequality.

In 2018 alone, Sy boasted of a net worth of P960.3 billion, which even the combined annual incomes of over four million Filipino families in the country’s five poorest regions—ARMM, CARAGA, Northern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, and SOCCSKSARGEN—could not equal, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2015. His net worth plus those of the nine other richest Filipinos named by business magazine Forbes last year could feed the entire country three times over (see sidebar 1).

The gulf between the country’s richest and poorest has, in fact, widened ninefold since 2012. The PSA reports over 3.8 million Filipino households as officially poor, based on its household-based benchmark Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) in 2015.

5

F E AT U R E S

REBEL KULÊ

6

13 PEBRERO 2019 MIYERKULES

L ATH A L A I N

ALIMPUYO NGALABOK

/ MARVIN ANG

Nakalaot na si Tatay Elpidio bago pa man ang bukang-liwayway. Ilaladlad niyang banayad ang lambat na humahalina sa mga isda’t iba pang mga lamang-dagat na malapit sa kaniyang bangka. Matatapos siya ng alas dyis ng umaga, saka didiretso sa palengke upang ipagbili ang kaniyang mga nahuli.

Kung tutuusin, payak ang kanilang buhay sa Brgy. Lamao sa Limay, Bataan—sumasapat naman ang kaniyang kita upang tustusan ang pangangailangan ng kaniyang mga anak at mga apo. Gayunman, tila pinagdamutan na sila ng kalikasan sa dalang ng mga isda nang magsulputan ang mga plantang coal-fired na nakatirik mismo sa may dalampasigan.

Sagana man sa likas na yaman ang bayan ng Limay, kakaibang kalbaryo naman ang dinaranas ng mamamayang naninirahan dito.

Idinadambanang pag-unlad ang pagkakaroon ng mga plantang hindi lamang sumisira sa kalikasan, kundi maging sa buhay at kabuhayan ng mamamayan para lamang sa interes ng iilang korporasyon.

Ningas / Ramdam na ramdam na ng mga residente ng Sitio Pexsite sa Brgy.

Lamao ang negatibong dala ng mga plantang coal-fired, wala pang isang dekada ang operasyon ng mga planta.

Kalagitnaan ng taong 2012 nang maitayo ang planta ng Petron na may kapasidad na 140 megawatts.

Binili ito mula sa San Miguel Corporation (SMC) PowerGen Inc. upang tustusan ang pangangailangan ng Petron Bataan Refinery na may kapasidad na 180,000 bariles mula sa dating 90,000 bariles, ayon sa nakasaad sa master plan ng planta.

Nang sumunod na taon, wala pa mang

environmental compliance certificate (ECC) mula sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), binubuo na ang plano para sa isa pang 600-megawatt na plantang coal-fired na pag-aari naman ng SMC Consolidated Power Corporation. Ang kumpanyang ito ang nagsusuplay ng kuryente sa 19 na porsiyento ng buong bansa.

At dahil pag-aari ng pribadong kumpanya, hindi kataka-taka na nakapagtala ang kumpanyang Petron ng higit P5.8 bilyon na pagtaas ng kita sa unang tatlong buwan ng 2018 habang patuloy na tumataas ang presyo ng kuryente sa bansa.

“Noong wala pang planta, kumita ka na ng P500, sagana ka na. Hindi pa maghapon ‘yun. Ngayong andiyan na ‘yan... umuuwi ako ng alas dyis ng umaga, tatatlong isda [ang nahuhuli ko], maliliit pa,” reklamo ni tatay Elpidio sa tumal ng isdang nagagawi ngayon sa kanilang lugar.

Noong 2016, lumabas sa pagaaral ng Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources na kontaminado ng mataas na lebel ng heavy metals tulad ng chromium, cadmium, at mercury ang mga isdang malapit sa planta. Problema din ang mga abo na pumapasok hanggang sa loob ng kanilang tahanan. Nakapagtala ang Provincial Office ng Bataan ng 649 na kaso ng pagkakasakit sa Sitio Pexsite sa taong 2017.

“Doon mo makikita ang kapabayaan ng gobyerno natin sa kanilang mga obligasyon sa mamamayang tulad namin,” ani Nestor Castro, residente ng Sitio Pexsite at pangalawang pangulo ng Limay Concerned Citizen Inc. (LICCI), isang grupong nalunsad noong 2015 at aktibong tinututulan ang mga

negatibong implikasyon ng planta sa kalusugan ng mga residente.

“Kasi tulad noon, naglabas na ang BFAR [ng pag-aaral, pero] wala man silang aksyon para gawan ng paraan na kwestyunin o alamin kung bakit ganyan [ang nangyayari sa’min],” dagdag ni Castro.

Liyab / Sa kasalukuyan, mayroong 17 operational na plantang coal-fired sa buong bansa, at may 29 pang inaprubahan ang Department of Energy na inaasahang matatapos sa 2020.

Higit sangkatlo ng bansa ang patuloy na umaasa sa coal para sa kuryente, kaya hindi kataka-takang noong 2016, naitala ng Center for Global Development Studies ang Pilipinas bilang pang-32 sa buong mundo na may pinakamataas na bilang ng binubugang carbon dioxide na nagpapainit sa mundo.

Bagaman mayroon nang iba pang posibleng pagkuhanan ng kuryente, kalahati pa rin ng daigdig ang nakaasa sa coal. Sa katunayan, isa’t kalahating beses ang itinaas ng pagkonsumo ng coal sa buong mundo mula 2000 hanggang 2014, ayon sa ulat ng World Energy Council. Sa mga ibang pagaaral, coal pa rin ang nananatiling pinakamurang pinagkukunan ng kuryente kumpara, halimbawa, sa solar power.

Ngunit para kay Derek Cabe, lead convenor ng Coal-Free Bataan Movement, hindi totoong mas mura ang paggamit ng coal sa pagprodyus ng kuryente. “Hindi nila isinasama sa cost ‘yung health, ‘yung socioeconomic, ‘yung pollution; iniexternalize nila ‘yung impact na ‘yan kaya sabi nila mura,” ani Cabe.

Ito ang kapalarang sinapit ng kabiyak ni Nanay Anita. Matagal na

/ MGA KUHA NI SHERNIELYN DELA CRUZ / DISENYO NG PAHINA NI ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

nagtrabaho sa planta ang kaniyang asawa ngunit noong 2016, nakitaan ito ng bukol sa baga na ayon sa mga doktor na tumingin dito sa clinic ng kumpanya, ay makukuha sa gamutan.

“Noong una, magagamot daw. Sabi nila noon, hangga’t maaga, gagamutin.

Eh di siyempre, kami naman po, tiwala sa mga doktor. Sa kagustuhan pong gumaling, lalo [lang lumala] ... kaya hindi na kami naniwala sa sinabi nila.

Magagamot tapos bandang huli, wala,” kuwento ni Nanay Anita.

Lumabas sa pag-aaral na isinagawa ng Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group ng Harvard University na labis na nakakasama sa kalusugan ng tao ang makalanghap ng “fly ash,” ang abong galing sa sinusunog na coal. Mas pino pa ito sa hibla ng buhok na sa oras na malanghap ito ng tao, nagreresulta sa komplikasyon sa katawan ng tao.

Apula / Sa kabila ng matataas na bilang ng insidente ng pagkakasakit sa lugar, patuloy na itinatanggi ng mga kumpanya na responsibilidad nila ang insidente. Sinabihan pa silang may “galis aso” lamang at hindi dahil sa nililipad na abo, ayon kay Alex Pura, kasapi ng LICCI. Pero giit ng LICCI, kapabayaan ng Petron at SMC ang nangyari sa kanilang lugar. Dahil environmentally critical project ang mga planta, isa sa sa mga rekisito ayon sa DENR sa pagkuha ng kanilang ECC ay ang environmental and social impact assessment, kung saan nakalagay ang kanilang detalyadong hakbangin kung sakaling magka-aberya sa planta.

Ngunit umpisa pa lamang, tila wala nang pakialam sa kanila ang mga kumpanya. Walang tamang konsultasyon sa mga residente bago maipatayo ang planta, at hindi rin dinidinig ang kanilang hinaing ng lokal na pamahalaan sa mga public hearing na iilan lamang din ang pinadadalo. “Kung marunong ka sa environmental law, lahat ‘yan nilalabag nila rito. Pero pagdating mo sa regional at central office, ayos lang ‘yan,” ani Pura.

Mahalaga ang kuryente sa buhay at kabuhayan ng tao.

Ngunit kung isinasadlak ng iilang nagmomonopolyo nito ang mga mangingisdang katulad ni Tatay Elpidio para sa sariling ganansya, makatarungan ang igiit ang kanilang karapatang mamuhay nang payapa.

#UPTHEREV

F E AT U R E S

@phkule

BoxedWorkers:

7

REBEL KULÊ

/ REX MENARD CERVALES

The abandoned struggles of Prime box workers

Erwin could not believe that while he exhausts all possibilities to lay aside and save discarded piles of imperfectly crimped and cut corrugated boxes, he and his fellow box workers can easily be shrugged off and dumped by their employers without hesitation.

Prime Worldwide Paper Packaging guarantees glitch-free carton boxes, but cannot promise the same level of service to its own workers. At 42, Erwin in fact already has a lung problem after working himself to exhaustion, trying to exceed the required quota of boxes inside a factory where fumes of hazardous chemicals waft.

“Kulang na kulang talaga, ‘yung one week naming sinasahod kinukulang pa nga eh, napupunta lang sa utang,” said Erwin, who should have received almost P600,000 to compensate for his underpaid work for over 15 years now.

It was, then, long overdue when 63 box workers decided to strike. On January 10, they set up a protest camp along Tullahan Road in Caloocan City where they placed placards of their calls for higher wages and just compensation.

Even after several attempts at dialogue, however, they will remain unheard once the factory has been transferred to Sta. Rosa, Laguna as planned. More troublingly, the workers, who are easily evaded by a company that owes them a bargain of labor costs, are not protected by policies and orders and that are supposed to advance their welfare.

Fraying around edges / The workers like Erwin, though already in dire financial straits, are even further troubled when Prime began to respond to their protests with threats and brute force.

Danmer John De Guzman, spokesperson of Liga ng Manggagawa sa Caloocan City (LMCC), a labor group that helped organize SMPWPP, recounted the day he considers to be the peak of the workers’ defiance.

It was a Thursday. Danmer, along with the workers, staged a protest at Prime. When it was near sundown, ten policemen armed with highpowered rifles marched up to them and invaded the 50-meter minimum distance from their picket line. The next moment, there came another five cops. Then suddenly, there were 32. Danmer saw intelligence units around them, harassing and intimidating the workers.

Afraid yet undaunted, the workers assembled barricades, though some were left helpless inside the factory where the police locked them up. At eight in the evening, personnel from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) arrived and

assumed control over the dispute by scuttling the strike.

The next morning, Prime promised a separation pay for every employee terminated on a whim. Along with the promise was a threat from the DOLE to issue an Assumption of Jurisdiction (AJ) order if the protest camp was not disassembled yet. Though Erwin feared their fate if they were to dismantle the picket, he drew strength from their defiance the day before against efforts to stifle their voices.

Outside the box / Little did Erwin expect that the government that is mandated to safeguard and advance their welfare would be the one to assist the very corporation they are railing against in boxing up their rights.

Erwin despaired of when the DOLE backed Prime up with an order to break up the strike. Legal instruments such as an AJ order permit state forces like the police to pressure workers into returning to work immediately following a deadlock in negotiations.

The DOLE’s failure to oversee workplaces do not just speak of its

incompetence but also of its biases.

Not only is the law skewed in their favor; even the prescripts of marketdriven economics are on the side of businesses like Prime.

To rake in bigger profit, along with the company’s abandonment of its years-long responsibilities to its hundreds of exploited workers, is its imminent transfer of operations to Laguna where there is a lower minimum wage.

“Maaaring ‘pag lumipat ng Laguna, magkakahiwa-hiwalay na kami dito kasi halos lahat naman sa’min di sasama eh. [Hinihintay] na lang talaga namin ay yung underpayment,” Erwin said.

Though Erwin cannot do anything

to prevent the facility relocation, he will not allow Prime to easily discard them. Before they finally bid goodbye, the box workers will clamor for a bargaining agreement until the legitimate rewards for their labor are added and divvied up among them to at least make up for the company’s years of unfair labor practices.

They hope, too, that in their next jobs, they will be valued more than the perfectly crimped and cut corrugated boxes they used to slave over for hours on end.

/ PAGE DESIGN BY ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

/ ILLUSTRATION BY FERNANDO MONTEJO

Cutting corners / In exchange for a shot at job security, Prime box workers toil nonstop with only two 30-minute break for meals and 15 minutes for merienda each day. Despite everyday sales which the workers estimate to be about a million pesos, they only receive P475 per day instead of the P537-minimum wage in Caloocan.

One of the 13 regular employees among the corporation’s 108 workers, Erwin admits that, despite having no children, his meager earnings are not enough to feed him and his parents, much more now that the company has implemented a scheme to allow each worker to clock in only three days in a week.

As thousands of cardboard box packages and corrugated boxes are manufactured daily to cater to clients in electronics, garments, and food sectors, Prime takes pride in its highly experienced team, which, Erwin said, is imperiled in the workplace.

He recalls when an employee lost a finger in his first month in the factory, the company did not spend even a single centavo for his injury.

Cuts and lacerations are nothing new to them. The management would treat them with an antiseptic and a band-aid and send the worker back to the production line like nothing had happened. Once, when a pregnant woman tried to request maternity leave, an order for forced resignation was served.

Fed up with the company’s hollow promises, the illegally dismissed workers and those who remain underpaid decided to form a union in November last year, now called Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Prime Worldwide Paper Packaging Corp.

(SMPWPP). Rather than deal with the union’s demands, however, Prime resorted to running away from its obligations — out to shut the facility down and transfer to a new location with a new set of employees.

N E WSF E AT U R E S

3 1

4

9 7

0 * 27 *

EXPOSING THE PH HUMAN RIG

EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

23

0 19 19/1 14

0 21/1

51/1

24/4

C

CRACKE

SIDEBAR 1. NUMBER OF EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE PER REGION FROM JULY 2016 TO DECEMBER 2018

Most people think that the unfolding of a new year creates a renewed sense of hope, as changes are expected to be introduced to the system. But when it comes to the issue of human rights in the country, this is not the case.

It was the same gruesome picture that welcomed the Filipinos in the first month of the year: extrajudicial killings (EJK), intimidation, and cases of forced evacuation in the provinces still happen, targeting civilians and activists. And the numbers continue to rise each day.

The last week of January, in particular, has been tainted with blood, starting off with the bombing in Jolo, followed by the killing of peace consultant Randy Malayao, and the killing of two farmers in Caraga.

“Nagwo-worsen ‘yung killings ngayon dahil sa character ng Duterte administration na mapaniil—talagang pinapakita na niya ang kanyang fascist character, pati na rin sa mga declaration niya ng martial law sa Mindanao,” said Atty. Ephraim Cortez, secretary-

general of National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL).

A total of 222 cases of EJKs were recorded from July 2016 to December 2018 by human rights group Karapatan (see sidebar 1). The sectors of farmers and indigenous peoples (IP) are two of the most vulnerable to these attacks (see sidebar 2).

Over 50 victims of EJK are from the Southern Mindanao Region, where martial law is still implemented despite the persistent denouncement of various civil society groups against the declaration (sidebar 3). Western Visayas, meanwhile, follows with 27 cases – included in this number are the nine sugar farm workers who were massacred in Sagay City, Negros Occidental on October 20.

About four months after the Sagay 9 massacre, justice still remains elusive. Human rights workers have been barred several times from gathering facts surrounding the case. “Part ito ng fascist character [ni Duterte] at nagbi-breed ng impunity…

Alam ng violators na ‘di sila maa-

identify, ‘di sila mai-investigate.

Bahagi ‘yan ng pagwa-whitewash upang pangalagaan ‘yung mga tao na gumagawa ng ganitong violations,” Cortez said.

Impunity amid crisis / The investigation on the death of six farmers and farm workers in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental on December 27 has not made much progress, same with the case of Sagay 9 massacre. Members of the fact-finding team find it difficult to proceed with the probe, as they are also threatened and red-tagged, explained Clarizza Singson, national board member of Karapatan Negros Oriental.

Reneboy and Demetrio Fat, Jaime Revilla, Jesus Isugan, Jun Cubul, and Constancio Languita were killed in a police and military operation after allegedly resisting the arrest. Singson denied the allegations, noting that it is impossible to fight back against about 20 military and police forces.

“Ang iba tulala na lang kasi sobra ‘yung takot nila sa grabeng

October 6

October 13

November 6

December 27

Chairman Jaime Delos Santos of fisherfolk group Pagkakaisa ng mga Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) — Guihulngan was shot dead by unknown assailants. He is the 11th recorded activist to have died in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental under the Duterte administration.

Victor Villafranca, member of PAMALAKAYA chapter Haligi ng Batangueñong Anakdagat (HABAGAT), was riding a motorcycle driven by his co-worker Rolan C. Jonson at around 5 p.m. when two unidentified men fired several gunshots at them. This led to the death of Villafranca, while Johnson remained alive.

Atty. Benjamin Ramos, secretary-general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers-Negros Island and the one handling the case of Mabinay 6, was shot dead in Barangay 5, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental. Two unidentified men shot him past 10 p.m. Ramos was still rushed to the hospital but died for sustaining four gunshot wounds.

Six peasant workers and habalhabal drivers were killed amid intensified police crackdown against lawless violence in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.

Meanwhile, 31 others were also arrested.

OCT2018

NOV2018

DEC 2018

October 8

October 20

December 6

December 31

January 8

Ozamiz City Executive Judge Edmundo Pintac was driving alone when unidentified assailants gunned him down in Purok 2-B, Brgy. Banadero in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental.

Pintac used to handle the case against Nova Princess and Reynaldo Parojinog, Jr. who are involved in drugs.

In Sagay City, Negros Occidental, a group of sugarcane farmers and their families asked permission to plant monggo beans and bananas on a parcel of land in Hacienda Nene to prepare for the arrival of Tiempo Muerto or dead season. At around 8 p.m., the farmers heard gunshots that lasted for almost twenty minutes, costing the life of nine sugar farm workers. This was later known as the Sagay Massacre.

National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Rey Casambre and wife Patricia were illegally arrested and brought to the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

The 401st Brigade bombed the Lumad communities of Decoy and Panukmoan in Brgy.

Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur, forcing hundreds of individuals to evacuate.

Farmer Albert Espenas, 39, was gunned down in Brgy.

Mabunga, San Francisco, Quezon by military elements present in their area. Meanwhile, Lumad communities of Decoy and Panukmoan, Brgy. Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur experienced bombing again.

/ INFOGRAPHICS AND TIMELINE DESIGN BY KARLA FAITH SANTAMARIA

EDDOWN

8-9

opresyon mula sa militar. Ang mga lider pinaghahanap. Isa rin akong lider, nakaramdam ako ng pagkatakot sa grabeng opresyon ng militar sa Guihulngan,” Elizabeth Gayan, vice chairperson of peasant group KAUGMAON - Guihulngan Chapter, said in Bisaya.

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in Negros Island also decried the crackdown on communist insurgency, denying the victims’ link to the New People’s Army (NPA). “Ang mga magsasaka, magsasaka lang talaga, naghahanap ng ipapakain sa kanilang pamilya hanggang sa ating mga kapatid sa siyudad,” Carlos Solano from KMP Negros Island said in Hiligaynon.

Intensified harassment / On top of the killings, 85,236 individuals have also been subject to various forms of threat, harassment, and intimidation nationwide. Aside from human rights workers, even teachers who have been vocal in their campaign for higher wages and decent working conditions

were also not spared from these forms of attacks.

Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) have been subject to illegal monitoring by police officers since early January, according to recent reports. Heads from schools in Muntinlupa, Manila, and Zambales were purportedly asked by police officers to submit lists of teachers that are affiliated with the alliance, said ACT National Capital Region Union President Joselyn Ramirez in a press conference held last January 11.

The police officers were supposedly following a leaked directive that came from Manila Police District 3, dated December 20, she added.

“We vehemently condemn these acts which are meant to silence us and render our organization immobile. They will be disappointed because we will not stop in organizing teachers’ unions and advancing teachers’ rights and welfare, as these are within our legal and constitutionally-guaranteed rights,” said ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio in an online statement.

SIDEBAR 1B. CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS FROM JULY 2016 TO DECEMBER 2018

/ CATHRYNE ENRIQUEZ / and BEATRICE PUENTE

GHTS SITUATION IN NUMBERS Following the illegal monitoring, two of the group’s leaders received death threats from unknown callers last January 11. “These terroristic moves to harass and threaten our leaders show the intensifying operations against our organization,” Basilio said.

Unified resistance / In spite of all these attacks, NUPL’s Cortez noted that forming stronger unities, along with taking legal measures to address the killings, harassment, and other forms of attacks, is key to resisting the Duterte administration’s crackdown.

Cortez, in addition, highlighted the importance of international solidarity in forwarding the campaigns on human rights. “[Kailangan] ‘yung international solidarity upang ilantad sa labas ng bansa ‘yung nangyayari sa Pilipinas,” said Cortez, emphasizing that taking the campaign to the international scene could push the government to resolve these human rights issues. with reports from Rex Cervales and Tof Jipos

January 4

January 14

PNP ordered a national inventory of all public and private school teachers who are members or aligned with the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT). The memorandum had been earlier signed on December 26 before it was released to the schools.

Kalinga farmers Espido Tamang, Jojo Tamang, Rodel Infiel, Arjay Zipagan, Tuting Ampa, and Porong Ampa in San Mariano, Isabela were illegally arrested by elements of the 17th IBPA. Meanwhile, Rejhon Modesto, National Union of the Students of the Philippines (NUSP) deputy secretary general and a student of Polytechnic University of the Philippines, was red-tagged by the PNP. Military elements were also looking for Modesto. Meanwhile, Mardelle Kalaw, member of Anakbayan PUP, received text messages of harassment and intimidation.

REBEL KULÊ

EJK

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

PEASANT

180

5

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

50

3

MORO

31

1

SOURCE: KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

SIDEBAR 2. NUMBER OF CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS FROM JULY 2016 TO DECEMBER 2018 EJK

222

FRUSTRATED EJK

381

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

8

TORTURE

111

ILLEGAL ARREST W/O DETENTION

2,171

ILLEGAL ARREST W/ DETENTION

513

PHYSICAL ASSAULT AND INJURY

246

FORCED EVACUATION

447,963

THREAT / HARASSMENT / INTIMIDATION

85,236

INDISCRIMINATE FIRING

8,340

BOMBING

368,391

FORCED / FAKE SURRENDER

1,711

USE OF SCHOOLS, MEDICAL, RELIGIOUS AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES FOR MILITARY PURPOSE

42,270

January 29

January 28

Sergio Atay, a member of KMP-affiliated organization Magbabaul, was gunned down with five bullets hitting his head. He was last seen alive being interrogated by members of the Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB) while he was on his way home in Rizal, Zamboanga del Norte the night before his body was found.

Lumad leader Datu Jomorito Guaynon and peasant activist Ireneo Udarbe were illegally arrested for allegedly being NPA rebels.

JAN2019 January 11

January 16

January 23

January 27

January 30

Habal-habal driver Remeglo Arquillos was shot four times by unknown assailants in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental. On the other hand, Nicasio Ebio, 37, an active member of Anakpawis, was shot dead by four motorcycleriding gunmen in Brgy. Bato, Bacon, Sorsogon.

42-year-old Racquel Quintano, spokesperson of Kalumonan, an organization of relatives of political prisoners in Southern Mindanao Region, was abducted by unidentified men around 8:30 in the morning.

Jennifer David, a youth sector organizer, was illegally arrested from her home in Brgy. San Matias, Sto.Tomas, Pampanga.

The mother of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines National President Jose Mari Callueng received a call from an officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Region 4 and falsely accused that her son, along with Raoul Manuel, National Union of Students of the Philippines Secretary-General and University of the Philippines Student Regent Ivy Taroma, are recruiters for the New People’s Army.

Two bombs exploded at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, killing at least 27 while leaving 80 others injured.

National Democratic Front peace consultant and human rights advocate Felix Randy Malayao was shot dead in a bus in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya while Malayao was asleep. Meanwhile, Lumad farmers Randel Gallego and Emel Tejero from San Agustin, Surigao del Sur were killed by elements of the 36th IBPA. The two were reported missing on January 24. Three days after the Jolo cathedral bombing, another bombing attack was also recorded, this time targeting a mosque in Zamboanga, killing at least two and injuring at least four others.

REBEL KULÊ

10

K U LT U R A

WHEN MARIE KONDO

/ RICHARD CALAYEG CORNELIO

GOESTOTONDO trade that boost profit and rob you of any real significant choice.

Big-box stores like SM, for instance, churn out all manner of products designed for everything but endurance and made to clog Filipino homes. Meanwhile, stalls in Divisoria peddle cheap mass-produced goods from China’s sweatshops while ukay-ukay stores recycle the detritus of Western markets: fur-lined coats, giant corduroy pants, polka-dot ties, even animal costumes.

Kondo’s wisdom seems to fall apart in the Global South. After all, the economy in countries like the Philippines is at the hands of an elite that decides what to produce, at what cost in wages, and at what profit margin the products can be sold back to the very laborers that made them.

Herein lies one of the travesties of the free market: the myth of choice and the irony in how the poor who have to be the most enterprising to make ends meet are deprived of resources to manage their homes, let alone their lives.

Point of purchase / Where Kondo’s clients come from, cupboards overflow with knickknacks, and boxes of holiday decor crowd half of a three-car garage. This image resonates with an American middle class compelled to amass stuff to keep up with the market’s ever-growing volume of products.

This is what neoliberalism tells you: the more stuff you buy, the happier and more successful you will be. This global order wagers on the consumers’ activity and class-based insecurities, to paraphrase Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman.

Its premium is private gain, the penchant of businesses for tricks of the

Waste and want / Kondo’s tips are undermined not just by a supply chain that cashes in on dwarf economies like the Philippines’, but more so by a global culture steeped in centuries of colonial subservience and imperial interests.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in Filipino families held hostage by beliefs and traditions meant to keep them as docile laborers—sticking it out while awaiting rewards, if not now then in the afterlife.

T a k e a Filipino household that devotes a corner of their home to an

/ ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN KENNETH ZAPATA

altar. The family regards religious relics not as clutter but as tokens on which to pin its hopes of pulling round spells of economic distress. Pin-up calendars culled from men’s magazines speak of weeks spent on a shoestring budget till the next payday. Woodlaminated diplomas bear proof of achievements the poor had to come by to show for years of perseverance.

Kondo would need no translator to know this is what survival looks like: an assortment of stuff kept like the many risks people down on their luck take on a wing and a prayer. Indeed, despite appearances, Filipinos actually make do with far less than what is needed for a life with dignity.

Clothes, shoes, bags, and phones are either shared or handed down. Ice-cream tubs after birthday parties turn into food containers.

Wedding souvenirs double as decors. Ferrari toy cars from Shell, broken toys, and collectibles from McDonald’s adorn otherwise empty racks and shelves.

Unlike Kondo’s suburban clients, Filipinos are adept housekeepers and troubleshooters as it is. But they are too busy eking out measly wages to harbor any delusion that something as basic as shedding junk would solve their woes borne of social injustices, catastrophe, and violence.

Ballast and baggage / The lifestyle changes Kondo promotes make more sense to the middle class who are given to market pressures and who would do well to spurn a culture of waste and excess.

But for the poor, Kondo’s method falters unless brought to its logical conclusion: a systemic purge which is just as much about throwing away stuff that fail to spark joy as overthrowing those larger structures of power that stand in the way of a decent life.

A government, for instance, that lays waste to communities on the fringes no longer serves its purpose.

Officials that kick off the streets or haul off to jails those they view as society’s scum deserve replacement. Corporations that smother the planet and shove needless stuff down people’s

throats belong to nowhere but the scrapheap of history.

This is the sort of cleanup of public life the poor stand to gain the most from in the long haul. They have been suffering the inhumanities of being denied purchasing power for so long that they have no more to lose if they opt to let go of an inutile state beholden to a corporate elite.

Such is the radical potential of decluttering that Kondo unwittingly stands for: to be ruthless in curating what comprises your world beyond the messes of personal affairs and the refuse of material possession—to assess collective choices, retaining not just what gratifies but also what incites growth and allows for a shot at what else life has to offer.

It might hit you, for instance, that you live in a place where people cling so tightly to traditions they keep dried palm leaves hanging from their front doors, or have been so knocked down in life they would rather hold on to religious amulets and old romance pocketbooks than chuck these sources of what little comfort they could get.

That all this is just a spark of joy short of clutter, however, is an indictment in a world where entire communities may be targets for disposal.

When the slums of Tondo get razed by fire, or when hovels are ripped down and homes demolished, Kondo would have to ask herself if a spark of joy is all that could spare lives from ending up in a dumpsite.

/ PAGE DESIGN BY ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

Marie Kondo would find herself at a loss in a home in Tondo.

For all her signature cheer and zen determination, Kondo might blush at the sight of underwear and shirts hanging on window railings for all the world to see. She might be amused by the Christmas lights still strung on eaves months after the holidays, and wonder in what world some dried palm leaves dangling from the door could “spark joy.”

Kondo might ask whether the Avon lotion, Maxi-Peel toner, and Baby Bench cologne could be stashed away from the foot of Baby Jesus near the TV. She would marvel at the plastic bags that burst from one of the drawers under the sink, and puzzle over what to do with a shelf full of Precious Hearts Romance pocketbooks or a wall ridden with crumbly posters of James Reid.

Here, where homes are cobbled together out of plywood, tarpaulin, and corrugated tin, amid what the rest of the world might call junk, Kondo might be surprised to discover the radical potential of her own tips on tidying up.

K U LT U R A

M

anila Bay ang pangunahing pinagkukunan ng kabuhayan ng limang probinsyang nakapaligid dito.

Dito rin malayang dumadaloy ang tubig mula sa ilog Pasig at Laguna de Bay papuntang karagatan. ekonomiya. Dahil bakit hindi? Ang lahat ay kaisa sa kampanyang pangkalikasan; ang lahat ay ikinukubli at ibinabangga sa ibang mga panawagan.

Pagbaybay / Kamakailan lamang, inaprubahan ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Pasay at Maynila ang memorandum of agreement para sa P100 bilyong proyektong reklamasyon sa Manila Bay, na may lawak na 3,140 hektarya.

Nakasaad din dito ang pagpapatayo ng 419 hektaryang commercial district katulad ng Manila Bay International Community, Solar City Urban Center, at Manila Harbour Center sa Tondo.

Ayon kay Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, matutulungan ng mga proyektong itong buhaying muli ang ekonomiya at turismo ng lungsod. Manapa, ito raw ang pagbabalik ng lungsod bilang isa sa pinakamaunlad na lungsod sa buong Pilipinas.

Ngunit sa proseso, kikitilin nito ang buhay ng mga komunidad na nakatira sa paligid ng baybayin at maaapektuhan ng proyektong ito.

Sa mahigit 220,000 pamilya na naninirahan malapit sa Manila Bay, ayon sa tala ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources, tinatayang nasa 7,000 mangingisda ang mawawalan

Pagkalunod / Dahil sa interes ng naghaharinguring kumita nang kumita, kinakailangan niya ng lugar na magiging sentro ng produksyong ito—ang siyudad.

Ayon sa sosyolohistang si David Harvey, lunan ang lungsod ng mga labis na produktong nakatuon sa pagkamal ng kita. Sa pamamagitan ng proseso ng “urbanisasyon,” kontrolado lamang ng iilang mayayaman ang produksyon habang patuloy lamang ang paglikha ng produkto.

At dahil hindi pantay ang relasyon sa pagitan ng rural at urban, nagreresulta ito sa

tinatawag na “surplus population” ng kritiko at iskolar na si Neferti X. M. Tadiar, sa kaniyang librong “Fantasy Production.”

Aniya, lakas-paggawa ang ambag ng karaniwang mamamayan sa produksyon ng labis na produktong matatagpuan sa siyudad. At dahil walang hanggan ang proseso ng urbanisasyon, kakailanganin ng ekonomiya ng mas maraming manggagawa upang lumikha ng mga labis na produkto at mapanatili ang ganitong uri ng moda ng produksyon.

Hanggang sa dumating ang panahong sa sobrang dami ng produktong nalikha, kakailanganing mas lawakan pa ang merkadong kokonsumo sa mga ito. Dahil dito, ginagawa na ring urban ang dating rural, katulad ng nangyari sa New Clark City sa Pampanga, kung saan daan-daang katutubong Aeta ang napalayas sa kanilang lupain upang bigyang-daan ang proyektong ito.

Kaya sa lipunang umiiral para sa salapi, naisasantabi ang tunay na ambag ng mamamayan sa ekonomiya. Madalas, sila pa ang sinisisi sa kawalan ng disiplina at gulo sa siyudad – kung bakit mabilis ang pagtaas ng baha, labis-labis ang basura, at marumi ang kapaligiran.

Sinasabi pang wala silang ambag sa pangkalahatang gana ng paggawa, kung kaya’t tinitingnang “eyesore” ang kanilang pananatili sa siyudad.

Ngunit ayon sa datos ng IBON Foundation, tumaas ng 35 porsiyento ang labor productivity lalo na sa NCR, mula P456,059 hanggang P614,297 kada manggagawa. Pinatutunayan lamang nito na mahigpit na nakaangkla ang ekonomiya sa mga manggagawa, at kung wala sila’y hindi rin gagana ang produksyon.

kalsada na madalas ipakita sa mga telebisyon, kalunos-lunos ang buhaylungsod, lalo sa mga maralitang kung ituring ay tagalabas. Kung gayon, mahalaga na aktibong nakikisangkot ang mamamayan sa mga usaping panlipunan. Sa ganitong paraan, kaniyang nailalaban ang kaniyang karapatan upang mabuhay at nakabubuhay na pasahod.

Ito ang tinatawag na “right to city” ni Harvey, kung saan, sa proseso ng urbanisasyon, nakakapagbunsod ng radikal na pagbabago ang mamamayan.

Ang kalayaang baguhin ang ating mga sarili at ating siyudad, para kay Harvey, ang isa sa pinakamahalaga ngunit madalas na naisasantabi. Kung kaya’t kagyat na matanto ng karaniwang mamamayan ang kaniyang kapangyarihang makapag-epekto ng pagbabago.

Ayon kay Tadiar, sa siyudad pinakamatingkad ang tunggaliang panlipunan at kultural na penomena.

Ginagamit ng estado at ng pribadong institusyon ang urbanisasyon upang lumikha ng “social order” na papabor sa kanilang mga interes, habang ang karaniwang mamamayan ay ginagawa ang lahat upang may maipakain sa kaniyang pamilya.

At kung hindi maaasahan ang iilang naghahari na pangalagaan at protektahan ang siyudad, nararapat lamang na tanganan ng mamamayan ang laban upang ipagtanggol ang kalikasan. At ang aktibo nitong pakikisangkot ang siyang maghahawan tungo sa tunay na panunumbalik ng kabuhayan at komersyo sa Manila Bay.

Pagsuong / Malayo sa maaliwalas at dimatrapikong mga daan, sariwang hangin at mapupunong mga

a s y o p a dagat

VIN AN / MAR

G

/ DIBUHO NI JOHN KENNETH ZAPATA

REBEL KULÊ

/ DISENYO NG PAHINA NI ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

Ito rin ang daungang esensyal sa ugnayan ng bansa sa mga taga-ibayong dagat. Bago pa man dumating ang mga mananakop, dito na dumadaong ang mga barko ng mga nais makipagkalakal sa bansa.

Mayaman man kung tutuusin ang kasaysayan nito, napabayaan na ang Manila Bay ngayon. Tanging natira na lamang ay ang mga naglalakihang barkong dumaraan dito, CCP Complex, Mall of Asia, at ang larawan ng tone-toneladang basura tuwing humahagupit ang bagyo o habagat.

Matapos pabayaan sa mahabang panahon, pinulot ang usapin tungkol sa Manila Bay sa kabila ng kaliwa’t kanang anomalya sa pulitika at pagsidhi ng krisis pang-

ng hanapbuhay kung sakaling matuloy ang reklamasyong ito, ayon sa pahayag ni Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao.

Batay pa sa pag-aaral na isinagawa nina Narod Eco ng UP Marine Science Institute, seryosong banta sa buhay at kabuhayan ng mga residenteng nakatira malapit sa look ang pinaplanong reklamasyon, lalo’t mataas ang tsansa ng “liquefaction” o paglambot ng lupa. Hindi rin ito umano sagot sa pagpapaluwag sa siyudad, lalo’t gusali ng mga malalaking kumpanya’t casino ang ipapatayo rito.

Kaya kung pagsasalba ng kalikasan ang layon sa Manila Bay, isang hakbang paurong ang planong ito ng pamahalaan. Sa kagustuhan nitong kumita, handa niyang isaalangalang ang buhay at kabuhayan ng mamamayang nasasakupan niya.

Tinatapalan nang maigi ang katotohanan tungkol sa buhay sa lungsod: sa likod ng matataas at magagarang gusali’y mga mamamayang naninirahan sa barung-barong at mga bangketa. Sa kagustuhang gawing urbanisado ang look, naisasantabi ng estado ang karapatan ng karaniwang mamamayan na mabuhay nang matiwasay.

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13 PEBRERO 2019 MIYERKULES

K U LT U R A

/ DISENYO NG PAHINA NI RICHARD CORNELIO

/ POLYNNE DIRA Nakaupo na ang diktador. Ginagawa niyang biro ang panggagahasa sa mga kababaihan, iniidolo ang mga malulupit na lider, walang pagaalinlangang babantaan ang buhay ng sinumang sasalungat. Nakaupo na ang pangulo, hindi ng Pilipinas kundi ng Brazil—si Jair Bolsonaro.

Ilang beses nagpahayag ng kalupitan ang dalawa laban sa mga komunidad ng LGBT, mga minorya, kriminal, at maka-kaliwang grupo.

Mahigpit ang pagkontrol nila sa pinamumunuan at nagpaparusa sa mga itinuring nilang kalaban ng estado dahil ito umano ang solusyon nila sa bawat krisis.

Ang mga polisiya na ipinatupad ng mga kombensyunal na kandidato, bagaman pang-ekonomiya, ay lagi’t laging nagluluwal ng krisis; dahil ang pinagsisilbihang interes nito ay malinaw na hindi para sa mga mahihirap.

Ang mga panukat ng pag-unlad gaya ng Gross Domestic Product at iba pa ay hindi nakakaraan sa mga mahihirap na komunidad, nakakalubog sa mga informal settlers.

Dagdag pa, ang bawat pamantayan ay may global na saklaw sa dahilang ang ekonomikong usapin ng bansa ay laging nakakiling sa dayuhan. Hindi makapagsarili ang bansa sa kawalan ng pambansang industriya.

Mukha ng panlilinlang / Bago ang eleksyon, patuloy ang paglobo ng bilang ng mahihirap sa Brazil. Mula sa 5.2 milyon noong 2014, umabot ito sa 11.9 milyon noong 2017.

Samantala, mayroong 2.6 milyong Pilipino ang walang trabaho at halos 22 milyon ang hindi makabili ng kanilang pangunahing pangangailangan.

Sa tagal ng pamumuno ng mga kombensyunal na mga politiko, hindi nasosolusyunan kung kaya lumalala ang problema ng bansa lalo na sa ekonomiya. Ang pananatiling mahirap ng maraming mamamayan ang nagtulak sa kanilang maghanap ng ibang klaseng kandidato.

Nakasaad sa isang pag-aaral ng sosyolohistang si Nicole Curato, na ang suportang nakuha ni Duterte ay nagugat sa linyang bitbit sa kampanya— sugpuin ang droga, korapsyon, at kahirapan; parusahan ang mga kriminal at kalaban ng estado.

Ang agarang “solusyon” ni Duterte sa droga at kahirapan ay naiba kumpara sa mga kandidatong pare-parehas na nangako ng pangekonomikong pag-unlad. Higit pa, ang kampanyang ito ay hindi lamang naging matunog sa mahihirap, kundi pati na rin sa mga may-kayang mamamayan dahil ang problema sa droga ay tumatawid sa lahat ng uri.

Pangangaliskis ng Krisis / Bagaman pinepresenta ang globalisasyon na pamamaraan upang mapalawig ang kultural na ugnayan ng mga bansa, nagagamit din ito upang manaig ang iilan. Ang pagpapautang ng Tsina, halimbawa, ng malaking halaga sa Pilipinas ay nagbibigay ng kapangyarihan sa dayuhan na magkaroon ng direktang kontrol sa ekonomiya ng bansa.

Sa ilalim ng niraratsadang Charter Change ni Duterte, mas mapapadali ang pagpasok at pagbili ng mga dayuhang korporasyon sa mga negosyo sa Pilipinas. Ito ay nagdudulot ng pagkawala ng mga lokal na industriya ng bansa na mas lalong makakapagpahirap sa mga Pilipino. Sa huli, lalong yumayaman ang mayayaman at mas nalulugmok ang mahihirap.

Hindi ito ang ipinangako ni Duterte sa kaniyang kampanya sa pagkapangulo. Matatandaan ang pahayag ni Duterte na sumakay ng jetski sa West Philippine Sea (WPS) at itayo ang watawat ng Pilipinas dito. Ipinakita niya ang pagnanais niyang maging bayani ng WPS laban sa Tsina na tahasang umokupa nito.

/ DIBUHO NI MARCY LIAONAG

Talamak sa administrasyon ni Duterte ang paghahati sa halip na pagkaisahin ang iba’t ibang kultura sa bansa. Patuloy ang militarisasyon sa mga komunidad ng Lumad kung kaya mayroon pa ring inilulunsad na mga Lakbayan kung saan nananawagan ang mga minorya sa kalunsuran. Wala itong ipinagkaiba sa pagkamuhi ni Bolsonaro sa mga Afro-Brazillians na ngayo’y naglulunsad ng mga pangkultural na paggiit ng kanilang karapatan.

Gayunman, lahat ng ito ay tinatapalan ng ilusyon ng pagunlad. Ang rason ng mga tulad ni Duterte at Bolsonaro sa pagsupil sa karapatan ng mga minorya at marhinalisado sa kani-kaniyang bansa ay upang sumulong ito.

Sumulong kapalit ng pagpatay sa taal na kultura ng bansa, sumulong upang manaig ang global na kulturang minomonopolisa ng makakapangyarihang bansa.

Salmong Tugon / May partikular na imahe ang eleksyon bilang pagkakataon ng pagbabago sa kapalaran ng bansa at ng mga tao dito. Sa panahong ito, dahil sa kabiguan ng mga trapo at ng kanilang mga polisiya, sa mas lumalalang krisis pang-ekonomiya, at lalong pagdikit nila sa mga naghaharing-uri, napipilitan ang mga mamamayang maniwala sa bawat ipinapangakong huwad na pagbabago.

Ito ang ideyal na ninanais ipalaganap ng mga tulad ni Duterte ngunit ang paglala ng krisis ay nagluluwal ng mga protesta sa hanay ng mga mahihirap na residente sa urban, welga sa hanay ng mga manggagawa.

Sa huli, taliwas sa ipinalabas na karakter ni Duterte noong kampanya ang mga panukala niya ngayon. Mas tumatag ang kasalukuyang ayos ng bansa. Mas lalong naging bihag ang Pilipinas dahil sa mga hindi patas na kasunduan kasama ang ibang bansa. Ang pagkontrol nina Duterte at Bolsonaro sa pinamumunuan ay kontrol rin ng mga dayuhan upang

mas madaling magamit ang mga Pilipino para sa sarili nilang ganansya.

Napatunayan na ang paghalal sa mga tulad ni Duterte at Bolsonaro ay hindi solusyon sa mga krisis ng bansa. Nagkaroon lang ng ibang mukha ang pangulo ngunit hindi tunay na nabago ang gobyerno dahil nakaupo pa rin ang isang porsyentong kumokontrol dito.

Habang papalakas ang mga panawagan na patalsikin ang mga kumokontrol sa buhay ng marami, maaasahan ang mas lalong pagbigat ng kamay ng mga diktador. Sa kabila nito, ang pagiging mas marahas nila sa mga disidente ang siya ring magpapalakas at magpapalawak ng mga kolektibong pagkilos para sa tunay na pagbabago.

Nabubuksan ng krisis at protesta at ang pag-igting nito, ang mga mamamayan sa katotohanang mayroong digma sa loob ng bansa.

Sa panahong pilit nililihis ng estado ang atensyon ng mga Pilipino sa tunay na kalagayan ng bayan, nararapat na lalo pang pag-alabin ng mga nag-aalsa ang pakikibaka.

#UPTHEREV

PROMETHEUS Unbound* @phkule

/ SAM DEL CASTILLO “This is not the world I wanted,” Prometheus told himself.

He who crafted humans out of clay envisioned a better world for his crude creations. When he saw how they paced through the darkness after Zeus withheld fire from Earth, he promptly scaled the Mt. Olympus to steal fire from the workshop of Hephaestus and Athena. With a hollow fennel stalk, he carried the flame back to the mortals and with it, they saw unprecedented development in their everyday lives that carried through the progression of civilizations.

However, Zeus witnessed from his lofty throne how Prometheus challenged his authority. Fuming, he subjected Prometheus to eternal suffering: chained to the summit of Mt. Caucasus, Prometheus had his liver devoured by a vulture during the day and regenerated in the morning, only to be attacked yet again.

In his world, Prometheus imagined that with fire, the mortals could maximize resources for their own benefit. But left with nothing but darkness, there would emerge another Prometheus and finally seize the fire from the gods of Mt. Olympus who would go to lengths to punish whoever dares to steal it.

Catching fire / In cramped quarters somewhere in Russia, there lies the server that hosts the pirate site Sci-hub, which holds millions of free scholarly papers available for anyone around the world in its 13 hard drives.

Kazakhstani neuroscientist Alexandra Elbakyan — Scihub’s Prometheus used to share the same space with her creation until one day, charges filed by corporate publishers against her invention prompted her to go into hiding.

/ ILLUSTRATION BY MARCY LIOANAG

A graduate student in a university, Elbakyan herself has experienced being barred from accessing a scholarly paper shut behind a paywall.

With research resources costing a lot, students and researchers around the world are left to their own devices to find their way around rising prices. In the Philippines, for instance, students heavily rely on secondhand books and photocopied references.

Exasperated by the existing system, Elbakyan created Sci-hub to provide free access to almost two-thirds of all published research. Equipped with computer science skills, she was able to circumvent paywalls through leaked author credentials.

Elbakyan’s homegrown operation has helped millions of researchers and students around the world. Based on its user’s statistics, massive onsite downloads are attributed to poor countries while a quarter comes from rich countries.

This usership profile demonstrates that more people resort to the alternative provided by Elbakyan, which would naturally pose a threat to the existence of corporate publishers. Losing their grasp over scientific publishing, the gods of Mt. Olympus are hellbent on controlling the fire yet again.

Playing god / Atop Mt. Olympus, the gods of capitalist publishing scheme the further privatization of knowledge—through which they also secure their lofty thrones.

They built their empires on a perverse business model that guarantees the concentration of profit.

Created by British lawmaker and media proprietor Robert Maxwell in 1948, this business model was designed to be a perpetual financing machine powered by labor exploitation. Maxwell’s first venture into publishing was with Pergamon Press, which published governmentfunded studies written, reviewed, and edited by scientists for free.

K U LT U R A Though having barely engaged in the research process, Maxwell through his creation ensured immense profit for himself. Soon enough, more publishing companies emerged from and thrived on this scheme.

Esteemed corporate publishers charge a single article from 20 to 30 dollars. At this hefty price, much of the profit from these articles goes to the publishers instead of to the researchers, who even had to pay to have their work published. Elsevier, a giant in the academic publishing industry, manages to earn over 10 billion dollars annually for putting out 16 percent of all scientific literature with 36 percent profit margins.

In this industry, researchers are turned into sources of cheap labor while publishers, who wish to amass larger profit, strive to lower production costs. Yet. despite unjust compensation, academics are left with no other choice because getting published means getting promotion, grants, and tenure.

Elbakyan recognizes her work as a violation of copyright laws, but such theft is disproportionately meager compared to the unabashed “robbery” by corporate publishers.

Sci-hub continues to face lawsuits from big publishers like Elsevier and Springer Nature, which virtually own half of the world’s scientific literature hidden behind paywalls.

Despite numerous attempts by powerful publishers to shut it down, Sci- hub continues to exist by cycling through different domains. Elbakyan believes that “science, as a part of culture, is in conflict with private property.” With the growing number of students and

13

REBEL KULÊ

researchers supporting Elbakyan’s campaign, Sci-hub has no end in sight.

Rekindling the fire / As Sci-hub leads the opening of the gates of knowledge to everyone, more people have begun to participate in Open Access endeavors that aim to provide free access to scientific literature online.

Just this year, the editorial board of Journal of Informetrics, owned

by Elsevier, left their posts and started a rival, open access journal, ‘Quantitative Science Studies.’ Before them, the editorial board of Lingua, a linguistic journal also owned by Elsevier, had also left to launch an open access publication.

Emancipating knowledge is inextricable with power relations, according to German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas. In the hands of publishing enterprises, scientific knowledge is rendered as private property—a commodity produced by researchers but held hostage by publishers—from which they accrue capital and power.

With corporate publishers still largely in control of scientific publishing, the clamor for public research only grows through time.

This demand for public research can only be sated by better funding and realigning research to the interest of the people. This cannot happen so long as research is subjected to commercial interests.

Sci-hub is one important step towards democratizing knowledge.

The Mt. Olympus still stands tall before us and there the gods sit, still unshaken in their thrones. It is only when we bring them down that we can finally seize the fire, which will set aflame the full advancement of humankind. *Due respect to Percy Bysshe Shelley and Pete Lacaba

PAGE DESIGN BY C RICHARD CORNELIO /

SHERNIELYN DELA CRUZ

Personality fever

14 O P I N Y O N UKAY-UKAY

ni Alana Dineros

Ilusyon perpetua / Bumagsak ang balikat ko nang banggitin na niyang ginusto naman niyang mapasok sa ganitong trabaho. Lumilikha ngang talaga ng ilusyon ang masahol na sistema ng paggawa na napipili natin ang ating kinalalagyan.

Para bang binubura ang katotohanang galit sa mahihirap ang edukasyon sa bansa kaya di na siya nakagradweyt. Para bang di nangyaring inugatan na ang kaniyang ina sa pagpapalit-palit ng trabaho sanhi ng kontratang nae-expire.

Ang kawalan ng pag-asa nitong katrabaho kong sa sarili sinisisi ang kaniyang kahirapan ay isa lamang sa layong gawin ng napakaraming uri ng panloloko ng estado sa mamamayan.

Kung kaya ang bawat ipinapangako, reporma man o pagbabago, ay nakakalikha ng ilusyong magiging maayos na ang lahat.

Isinusubo ng pamahalaan sa mga kapatid nating Moro ang Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) na may layong gumawa ng Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, awtonomiya umano, at iba pa. Ngunit walang tugon ang BOL sa militarisasyon sa Maguindanao, sa mga pangangamkam sa lupa ng Moro at higit, sa iginigiit nitong pagsasabansa.

Kung seryoso ang pamahalaan sa pagtugon sa hinaing ng masa, dapat magsimula sa pagdinig kung ano ang ipinaglalaban, kaysa lumikha ng mga batas at panukala na salungat naman sa interes ng mamamayan.

Kung pinakikinggan lamang ang mga unyonistang manggagawang nagwewelga laban sa di makatarungang pasahod, ang mga magsasakang nagmamartsa paMaynila upang igiit ang karapatan sa pagmamay-ari ng lupa, tunay ang pagbabagong ipinapangako.

Lalapitan ko bukas ang aking katrabaho at sisikaping ipaliwanag na hindi ibig sabihin na ang bagong batas ay resolusyon sa deka-dekadang pakikibaka ng mga Moro. Gayundin, hindi nila kasalanang mahirap sila at mamamatay silang mahirap. Simulan ko na lang muna sa pagkompyut ng pananamantala sa aming trabaho.

Tutal sabi niya mahilig siya sa Math.

My grandfather, a seasoned politician, sighed with resignation over lunch.

“Those running for office evade and jump around the law, because they are the same ones who influence the making of it,” he said.

I thought of the streets filled with leaflets and posters, and the highways with billboards of aspirants for the coming midterm elections in May. The president’s right hand, Bong Go, continues grinning like a jester sent by his king everywhere, making unneeded interventions and appearances in events and places.

He has been on a full-blown effort backed by President Duterte to make it into the senate. Duterte has been a superb campaign artist himself. He endorses senatorial candidates that he favors, despite their questionable track record.

On the local scene, you have a Quezon City councilor distributing panties with his name printed on the backside that would have been amusing if it weren’t disturbing.

Congressmen rove around streets, shake people’s hands, pat their backs,

and talk to them, showing rather great concern. The spotlight shines on them as their routine begins. But when the curtains are down and the lights are out, they mull over their aspirations and dream of the day they get elected.

Ah, personality politics.

Nuisance candidates and early campaigns are only a prelude. The

We see different grins and names posted on walls, but the outcome has never changed: a government that seeks its own ends, stubborn against the stirrings of true change

JOSE MARTIN SINGH show begins when the policies and promises, the desires of a candidate blare from speakers, radios, and televisions. While there are those who forward genuine causes, their voices are subdued by the goings-on in the circus of personality campaigning.

Our democracy, after all, is still patterned after the American system where individual competition matters more than discourse and policies.

During the establishment of Philippine democracy in 1946 that came with the “independence” promised by the American colonial system, elections were made to serve the interests of the elite, especially those of the American imperialists. Alas, a rigged system of this nature remains today.

Like my grandfather said, those in power drive the government to their favor and the same can be seen during elections.

Personalities change over time.

We see different grins and names posted on walls, but the outcome has never changed: a government that seeks its own ends, stubborn against the stirrings of true change.

Personality politics has been a scheme that ignores well-founded programs and policies beneficial to the people. When elected, many of these personalities just walk on hollow grounds. They forward trifling policies wrought out of aimlessness to give one an illusion of progress.

A heap of expenses is inevitable, but surely worth the shot, or so the aspirants want to believe. In a country where democracy is believed to reign because of the presence of elections, one can reconsider whether it has truly been practiced by and for the people.

My grandfather has been on all ends of the political game, and what I heard that noon wasn’t a simple trope based on his present fancy. He ended his soliloquy, saying we need lasting change in our government and voting practices in a way that would cater to the interests of the many and not only certain personalities and parties.

Indeed, we ought to be a democracy that goes beyond faces, truly grasping the realities we face as a nation.

Sa hindi pag-alala* Freshie ako nang unang beses magpunta sa Mendiola. Kasagsagan ‘yon ng P2.2 bilyong budget cut sa UP, kaya maya’t maya ang RTR sa mga klase. Tanda ko pa noon, hindi nauubusan ng tao sa Galleria 2 sa Faculty Center sa dalas ng mga teachin discussions. Dahil wala kaming propesor noong araw na ‘yun, marami ang napa-walk out sa amin.

Sa teach-in discussions ko nalaman ang isyung kinahaharap ng aming unibersidad. Manapa, natutunan ko rin dito ang kahalagahan ng sama-samang pagkilos, na ang laban ng mga magaaral sa pamantasan ay hindi labas sa mga kinahaharap ng iba pang sektor sa lipunan.

Mula sa tapat ng UST, binagtas namin ang kahabaan ng Morayta.

Hanggang marating namin ang Peace Arch, wala kaming ibang isinisigaw kundi: “Iskolar ng bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban!” “Edukasyon, edukasyon, karapatan ng mamamayan!”

Sa unang beses, natutuhan kong itaas ang aking kamao.

PUNONG PATNUGOT Sheila Ann Abarra KAPATNUGOT Richard Cornelio

TAGAPAMAHALANG PATNUGOT Marvin Joseph Ang MGA PATNUGOT SA BALITA Juan Gregorio Lina Beatrice Puente

Nakalulunos ang kuwento ng karaniwang mamamayan mula sa iba’t ibang sektor, ngunit pinag-iisa tayo ng kagustuhang baguhin ang kinabukasan. Saka ko natutunan ang kahalagahan ng paggigiit sa ating mga karapatan. Dumalas pa ang pagdalaw ko sa Mendiola sa mga sumunod na taon.

Lansangan ang bukas na tainga ng gobyernong nagbibingi-bingihan sa hinaing ng mamamayan. Pinagiisa nito ang tinig ng bawat sektor sa lipunan. Dito rin ipinaglalaban ang karapatan sa buhay at kabuhayan ng mga inaapi sa lipunan. Kung nakakapagsalita lang ang mga gusaling nakapaligid sa Mendiola, tiyak, saksi ang mga ito sa mga labang napagtagumpayan ng mamamayan.

Ito rin ang tahanan ng mga magsasakang pinalayas sa kanilang sinasakahang lupa o ng kontraktwal na manggagawang nagwewelga sa kanilang pinagtatrabahuhan.

Maringal man kung ituring ang mga labang napagtagumpayan dito, hindi maitatangging minsan ding

PATNUGOT SA GRAPIX John Kenneth Zapata MGA PANAUHING PATNUGOT Sanny Boy Afable Arra Francia

MARVIN JOSEPH ANG dumaloy ang dugo sa lugar na ito.

Kaya’t hindi lamang sa simpleng pag-alala nagiging mahalaga ang memorya kundi sa pagpapatuloy sa bawat nasimulang laban.

Ang panahon ay 1987, isang taon matapos mapatalsik ang diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos. Bitbit ang panawagang tunay na reporma sa

Hindi lamang sa simpleng pagalala nagiging mahalaga ang memorya kundi sa pagpapatuloy sa bawat nasimulang laban

Adrian Kenneth Gutlay Chester Higuit Victor Gregor Limon Karen Ann Macalalad Jiru Nikko Rada Larissa Mae Suarez Aldrin Villegas

lupa, marahas na dinisperse ang mga magsasakang tumutulak papuntang Malacañang. Pinaputukan at walang awang dinahas ng mga pulis at militar ang mga walang kalabanlabang magsasaka.

Makalipas ang 32 taon, wala pa ring hustisya para sa 13 napaslang. At hanggang ngayon, kalakhan ng mga magsasaka sa Hacienda Luisita ay wala pa ring mapagtamnan.

Ngunit ang alab ng mamamayang patuloy na nagpapanawagan ng pagbabago’y hindi pa rin nawawala.

Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, patuloy na nag-aanak ang Mendiola ng matatapang at magigiting na bayaning handang ialay ang buhay sa bayan.

“Wala tayong karapatang tinatamasa ngayon na hindi ipinaglaban sa Mendiola,” kuwento ni Ma’am sa amin noong hayskul. At tiyak akong sa lugar na ito, marami pang pagkamulat na itatanim, tagumpay na aanihin, dugong dadanak ngunit may tagumpay na iaanak. *pasintabi sa Munimuni

MGA KAWANI Shernielyn Dela Cruz Fernando Montejo Karla Faith Santamaria Jose Martin Singh

KASAPI UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (Solidaridad), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)

#UPTHEREV

GRAPIX

@phkule

HERE TO PROTECT / JOHN KENNETH ZAPATA

15

KOMIX

PAGTANGHAL AT PAGTANGIS. UP Diliman Cine Adarna, 26 October 2016 / ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

S I PAT

REBEL KULÊ

O PIN Y O N /

REBEL KULÊ / 13 PEBRERO 2019 / MIYERKULES

Recuerdo / SHEILA ABARRA

Ang inaalala ko lang, sa sandaling makalimot ako, baka pwedeng ipaalala mo kumbakit ako narito.

Kumbakit nagsasabay-sabay ang lahat ng kailangan nating intindihin, kailangan nating intindihin at suriin ang ugat ng tindi ng sitwasyon. Ang sitwasyon ng bansang gumuguho sa ating harapan ay kasabay ng pagguho ng mga bahay sa Pook Malinis. Batid ko’ng inis at muhi mo nang lumuha ang mga manininda sa pagpapaliwanag kung paano sila sapilitang pinapaalis.

Marahil inaalis na ng panahon sa atin ang pagkakataong maupo saglit sa harap ng pamantasan. Sa pamantasan, sa harap ng gusaling Quezon mismo nagbarikada noon ang mga drayber, estudyante. Estudyante ang nararapat makipagdaop ng palad sa ibang sektor ng lipunan dahil ito ang aral ng nakaraan, ang gunita ng unang sigwa.

Palaging lumilikha ng kasaysayan ang bawat demonstrasyon at sa pagkakataong iyon, sangkot ang unibersidad sa serye ng pagkilos. Ang mga puno’y ginawang pambarikada, maging ang mga silya ay kasabay nilang lumabas ng silid-aralan.

Una kitang nakilala sa may Batasan. Wala pa man tayo sa mundo, higit sampung libo ang nagtipun-tipon dito noon matapos ang talumpati ng diktador. Sa tuwing nagtatalumpati tayo sa harap ng mga kapwa nating mag-aaral, ang nararamdaman mo’y lumulundo, umaabot sa malayo. Kay layo man ng Mindanao, narito sa pamantasan ang mga Lumad.

Luma ang dapithapon kung maalala ko ang aking unang Lakbayan.

Manilakbayan pa ito kung tawagin noong 2015.

Tinawag na masaker sa Lianga ang pagpaslang ng militar kina Dionel Campos at iba pang lider Lumad at guro. Dahilan ng pagtungo nila sa pamantasan na may mandatong maglingkod sa sambayanan.

Sila ang esensyal na bahagi ng bayang lagi’t lagi nating ipinaglalaban.

Taun-taon kung sila’y pumarito; at sa kabila ng init ng kanilang pasasalamat sa pakikibahagi natin sa kanilang laban ay ang lungkot at muhi ng di matapus-tapos na militarisasyon sa kanilang komunidad.

Sa kasalukuyang pagsailalim sa batas militar ng

Mindanao, ang alab ng pakikibaka ay kumakalat, tumatawid sa bawat panahon. Ang mga batang Lumad noong unang Lakbayan ay mas matangkad na sa akin, biro mo sa nagbibinatang si Pipoy. Ang panahong kay bilis dumaplis sa aking palad, hinahabol ng aking pagkabata sa bawat batang nais ikulong ng panukalang batas.

Higit pa sa pagpapababa ng edad ay ang katotohanang hindi sinsero ang gobyerno sa pagsalba sa bawat naliligaw na landas. Ang landas ng administrasyon ay patungong diktadura, ngunit ang kabataan ng kalunsuran ay pa-lansangan o di kaya’y kanayunan.

Maluwalhati ang bitbit na panawagan ng mga aba. Niyakap ito ng bawat pader na ating nadaanan-bawat letra, bawat kulay. Mahusay.

Walang panahon para managinip dahil tulog si Ka Randy nang nagsilabasan ang punglo. Ang droga ng pangulo—pumaslang ng aktibista, makamasa, api at ordinaryo.

Kaya pula ang pintura natin noong isang araw, sa harap ng mga gusali at kagawaran ng impyerno.

Ang batas ng alaala ay hindi natatapos sa paggunita bagkus, nagsisimula sa pag-alpas sa tanikala ng Huwad ang libreng edukasyong nakaraan at ipinipilit ng estado sa atin—insulto sa komprehensibong layon ng mga pagsulong kabataan. Hayaan mong gawing lona sa laban. ng masa ang lahat ng pader at kalsada.

Ang batas ng alaala ay hindi natatapos sa paggunita bagkus, nagsisimula sa pag-alpas sa tanikala ng nakaraan at pagsulong sa laban.

Ang labang hindi nagagapi ng kahit na anong unos ay sa tuwing ipinapaalala natin sa isa’t isa kumbakit tayo naririto.

Kumbakit natin naiintindihan na ang sabay-sabay at tumitinding banta ng diktadura ng pangulo ay dahil sa tatag ng kampuhan ng mga manggagawa, ito’y dahil sa bawat ikaw na kasa-kasama ng bawat ako sa pakikibaka.

Ang inaalala ko lang, huwag kang makakalimot na pagpugayan ang lahat ng maliliit na tagumpay ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan. At kapag tumambad na sa ating harapan ang pagguho ng mga komunidad ng UP dahil sa

komersyalisadong “pagbabago” hawakan mo ang palad ng bawat ako, sa bawat kapatid nating minorya.

Ang kahapong binagtas natin ang kahabaan ng maghapon sa pakikipag-usap sa mga residente, pakikipagdiskurso sa kapwa kabataan ay nagluluwal ng mga tanong sa atin sa mga gabing wala ang buwan.

Ang buwan ng Enero ay ang buwan ng paglubog ng kabataan sa mga batayang sektor. Ang lahat ng buwan ng At kung dalhin na tayo ng panahon sa harap ng unibersidad, tanganin mo ang bisig ng lahat ng kasama. Salubungin natin ang mga kapatid na Lumad, at sa sandali ng pagdadaop, maaari ring maggunita, o di kaya’y magbarikada.