OPISYAL NA LINGGUHANG PAHAYAGAN NG MGA MAG-AARAL NG UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS DILIMAN BIYERNES HUNYO 8,2018 TOMO 95 ESPESYAL NA ISYU
PHILIPPINE
COLLEGIAN
SUMA TOTAL
VITAL ORGANS
BACK-TO-BACK ATTACKS
ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY
BEATRICE PUENTE THE MONTH OF JUINE HAS traditionally bore witness to school openings over the past years. This year is a bit different, however, because back-to-school events are not the main highlight of this month – back-to-back cases of direct attacks on human rights of marginalized sectors such as farmers and workers are continuously being recorded as these events happen to date. Given the intensity of the attacks launched against farmers and workers, it is clear that there was never a point when they do not experience what real hell week feels like. Over the past few weeks, cases of rights violations since the past month continue to take its toll on farmers tilling Lupang Ramos in Dasmariñas, Cavite. Workers from Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Phils, Inc. in Subic, Zambales and laborers from NutriAsia, Inc. in Marilao, Bulacan are not exempted from exploitation. Sources: Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Kabataan Partylist, Kilusang Mayo Uno
JUNE 2
Workers from NutriAsia Inc., a prominent company producing condiments, started a picket protest to demand for regularization of employees and for them to be given due benefits, as well as to call for the recognition of unions in the company. Only 100 out of the 1,000 employees are considered regular. They are only receiving P380 daily wage. It was also found that the company implemented labor-only contracting. Moreover, the laborers are forced to work for 12 hours in four days. There is also a “zero accident policy” existing, which means that the company is not liable to anybody who gets injured.
Workers from the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) call for their regularization in their positions at a protest during a Board of Regents meeting at the Quezon Hall, May 25. The protest came in light of the recent refusal of the UP Manila administration to pay the Professional Development Grant amounting to P15,000 to some of their contractual workers, albeit having done so in the past years. Moreover, contractual workers by the end of the year may only enter into employment with the PGH through agency hiring, the protesters said. Echoing the words of the Department of Labor and Employment, the protesters asserted that contractual workers like them whose jobs are "vital and essential" to the day-to-day operations of the PGH must be regularized.
JUNE 3 Policemen and military personnel were deployed by the management of NutriAsia as an attempt to end the protest being conducted by the workers. Meanwhile, workers of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Phils, Inc., together with youth groups and other progressive organizations, held a picket protest in front of the company’s shipyard in Subic, Zambales. The protesters sought justice for the death of two workers who fell off a scaffolding, which also left two more severely injured on May 12. Since 2006, a total of 60 workers have already died, according to Institute for Occupational Health, Safety & Development, proving that the working space of the shipyard is unsafe. The workers only receive P380 daily wage and are also subject to contractualization. Aside from that, a voluntary retrenchment program is also implemented, allowing for mass layoff.
JUNE 7 A dialogue between the members of Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng NutriAsia and the company's management was held. However, based on intial reports, the management still rejected the calls of the workers to regularize a total of 914 laborers, as well as to hire back the 55 workers previously fired.
Engr. Angelito Tolentino, one of the landgrabbers of Lupang Ramos, told the local police chief that the ongoing protest should end so that no more trouble would get in the way – a direct threat against the farmers. Students and youth groups also went to Lupang Ramos to integrate with the farmers and to join them in their bungkalan campaign, as they assert for their land rights.
JUNE 4
Around 11 PM, seven gunshots were fired at the site where farmers camp out for their bungkalan campaign. Led by Katipunan ng Lehitimong Magsasaka at Mamamayan ng Lupang Ramos (KASAMA-LR), the farmers tried to occupy the 150-hectare land out of the 372-hectare total, which they still do not own despite having cultivated the land for decades. Prior to the firing incident, cases of harassment have also been recorded. A 62-year-old peasant Rosalinda Tapawan Atienza was left injured after being directly assaulted by a group sent by the landgrabbers. Another 45-year-old farmer was also beaten with a crowbar.
JUNE 6
Dasmariñas City Police began their investigation on the attacks against the farmers in Lupang Ramos, where empty M16 rifle and 9mm caliber pistol bullets were found.
JUNE 5
PAGE DESIGN BY MARK VERNDICK CABADING
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FLASH NEWS
Anti-mining activist shot dead in Agusan del Sur PAMELA ADRIANO AN ANTI-MINING ACTIVIST WAS SHOT dead by two unidentified gunmen in Agusan del Sur last May 26, 2018. Beverly Geronimo, 27, was an active member of the Tabing Guangan Farmers Association (TAGUAFA) and the former president of the Parent-Teachers Community Association (PTCA) of the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc. (MISFI) Academy in Agusan del Sur. Geronimo died after sustaining seven shots from unidentified men in civilian clothing, alleged to be agents of the 25th Infantry Battalion--Philippine Army (IBPA). Geronimo had been receiving threats and had been subject to harassment by military battalions--including the 75th, 25th, 67th, and 66th infantry battalions,
in their community since 2009. She had opposed the operations of large scale mining companies in the area, including those of OZ Metals and Agusan Petroleum. Gunmen shot Geronimo as she was on her way home with her 8-year old daughter and two relatives after having bought school supplies from Trento Poblacion. She was declared dead immediately after incurring a shot in the head and six other gunshot wounds in other parts of her body, according to initial reports from the Save Our Schools (SOS) Network. Her daughter, a grade three student from MISFI academy, was able to survive the attack but received a shot in the arm.
#DEFENDCOLLEGIAN The current editorial term will end in July, and yet the UP administration has yet to respond to the Collegian's petition to hold a second, fair editorial examinations. Defend student institutions! Uphold press freedom!
FLASH NEWS
FIRST DAY RAGE Kinundena ng mga lider-estudyante ang pamamaril sa 40 miyembro ng Tunay na Bukluran ng Magsasaka ng EM Ramos (TBM) sa mga magsasaka ng Lupang Romas, Dasmariñas City, Cavite sa First Day Protest sa Bulwagang Palma, Hunyo 6. Humigitkumulang 400 katao mula sa nasabing grupo ang umaligid sa kampuhan noong Hunyo 4. Kontrolado diumano ng TDM ang pagpasok ng pagkain sa kampo pati ang mga tsekpoynt sa paligid ng Lupang Ramos.
MILF members massacred in South Cotabato PAMELA ADRIANO NINE MEMBERS OF THE Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were massacred in a police and military drug operation in North Cotabato last May 25, 2018. The said BIAF members already surrendered to the authorities during the search and were completely disarmed by the police, according to reports. However, the state operatives immediately shot the BIAF members after the operation which caused their death. Even before the May 15 massacre, there was already a killing incident of the same context recorded at Brgy. Olonoling, Tupi, South Cotabato. Mindatu Aminola, also an MILF member, was killed by the police and military during a drug raid. Aside from these cases, several massacre and extra-judicial killings were already documented including the killing incident that happened on December 8, 2017. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) killed three
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members in an anti-drug operations in South Cotabato also. Mass organization Suara Bangsamoro strongly condemns the massive killings and massacres under the Duterte regime as they believe that these anti-drug operations under the Oplan Kapayapaan program of the administration were just conducted to justify the killings especially among Moro people. “Clearly, the Duterte administration, through its US-influenced military lapdogs, are using the ‘anti-drug’ campaign to pursue and cloak its counter-insurgency program – the ‘Oplan Kapayapaan,’” said the group in a statement. “The Duterte administration is jeopardizing the hard-earned gains of the Moro people towards just and lasting peace. While the Congress is discussing the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the military and the police are also busy killing the primary stakeholders of its approval,” the group also said.
#TAASKAMAO
Eventful offseason inches UP men’s basketball closer to title hopes JUAN GREGORIO LINA
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AFTER ONE DISAPPOINTING campaign after another, the tides are starting to turn for UP men’s basketball after a productive offseason that has primed the long beleaguered Fighting Maroons for a fruitful Season 81 in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Headlining the Maroons’ fortuitous offseason is the inking of a sponsorship deal with the American multinational conglomerate corporation 3M last May 29–a deal that comes amid plans for the construction of a new gym and a trip abroad for a team training camp. “The new gym won’t be hot like an oven. It’s air conditioned so you won’t feel cold when you play at MOA and Araneta Coliseum,” said UP President Danilo Concepcion in earlier reports. Concepcion, however, noted that the plans for the structure has yet to be finalized. On the other hand, the Maroons will most likely travel to Serbia for training at sometime in the latter half of July 2018, said the team’s three-year head coach Bo Perasol in previous reports. The team had initially intended to visit the United States,
but canceled after UP’s Nigerian-born center Bright Akhuetie was denied a visa application, Perasol added. Meanwhile, with the deal, Perasol also promised further improvement from a team that has long languished as among the UAAP’s perennial losers, pointing to the inf lux of new and promising talent into the fold as a pivotal step towards upending UP’s thus far hapless fortunes on the court. “I think I have the talent to stand up to that expectation and we will make sure that we are going to deliver this coming season and the seasons to come,” Perasol said in earlier reports. UP’s off season saw the addition of former De La Salle Green Archer Ricci Rivero. The incoming junior Rivero, who made last season’s Mythical Five with all-around averages of 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 steals, played a prominent role in leading the Archers to their second straight f inals. Rivero’s play also earned him the season’s Most Improved Player honors. The former Archer, however, will be ineligible to play come Season 81,
pending his fulf illment of a one-year residency requirement in the university. Despite Rivero’s absence, the Maroons can nonetheless still expect a strong showing on the hardwood with returning players in Paul Desiderio, June Manzo, and the Gomez de Liaño brothers. The next season, moreover, will also witness the debut of former National Collegiate Athletics Association Juniors MVP Will Gozum and former University of Perpetual Help star Akhuetie. The two big men, both juggernauts offensively and defensively, will shore up a frontcourt that lost then starting center Ibrahim Ouattara to graduation. UP tallied a 6-8 win-lose mark for last year’s season, which ultimately fell short of a berth in the postseason. The record, on the other hand, is the Maroons’ best since Season 68 which ran from 2005 to 2006. The university has not been home to a championship since 1986, after the team including now legendary players Benjie Paras and Eric Altamirano edged out the University of the East Red Warriors in a dominating series for the Fighting Maroons that ended in two games.
BIYERNES 8 HUNYO 2018
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ANING PAGLAYA SANNY BOY AFABLE "DARI NA TA," SAMBIT NI TANG Tonio nang makita niya akong walang maliw na naglalakad, waring may hinahanap. Matayog ang bahay sa pagkakaalala ko: nipa ang bubong, lawanit ang pader, at kawayan ang sahig. Itinayo ito ng lolo at lola ko sa gitna ng liblib na gubat at naging saksi ang mga haligi nito sa paglaki ng labing-isang magkakapatid, kabilang ang nanay ko na siyang laging nagdadala sa amin dito noon tuwing anihan. Matapos ang maraming taon, sabik akong makita ang bahay na minsang naglulan sa kamusmusan ko. “Diin ang balay?” usisa ko. “Wala na ang balay. Ginguba na,” malamlam na tugon ni Tang Tonio. Palibhasa’y wala na ring bumibisita at kumukumpuni, unti-unti itong nabulok sa paglipas ng panahon. Makapal na talahiban na lamang ang bumabalot ngayon sa Ilaya—ang mala-bulubunduking lupaing naging tahanan hindi lamang ng balay, kundi ng isang mayamang pamayanang nilimot na ng panahon. Naipinta ko na sa isipan ang Ilaya batay sa mga kuwento ng nanay ko. Doon sa hukay sa ibaba ng punong santol nagtago ang buong angkan ng lolo ko nang mag-Kamikazee ang mga Hapones sa Capiz. Sa kasalungat na bahay (na wala na rin ngayon), doon unang nagkaroon ng kuryente sa Ilaya. Noong dekada 60, nagmumula ang irigasyon ng mga lupaing sakahan sa malapit na dam na pinabayaan na rin ng pamahalaan. Dumadaloy sa kasaysayan, kondisyon, at kamalayan ng mga Pilipino ang pagsasaka, kaya ganoon na lang kasigla ang pagtatanim ng palay at pagtotroso noon sa Ilaya at sa iba pang lupain ng Capiz. Walang sinumang pumapanginoon sa Ilaya, at dahil tago ito, malamang ay hindi na ito ginalugad ng mga Espanyol sa takot sa mga katutubong Ati o rebelde. Subalit iba na ngayon ang Ilaya. Isa o dalawang bahay na lang ang nakatayo rito. Iilan na lamang din ang mga kalabaw. Mahal daw ang magsaka, lalo’t mababa ang suporta ng estado rito. Katulad ng pamilya namin, karamihan sa mga dating nagmamay-ari ng ilang ektaryang lupain ay pinili na ring ibenta ito para magtungo sa banwa o Maynila, magtrabaho, at pag-aralin ang mga anak. Kung kaya hindi nakakagulat kung bakit malakas ang ugnayang rehiyunal dito sa Maynila. Isang “conversation starter” ang probinsyang pinanggalingan. Sumikat na rin dito ang tawagang “bay” ng mga lalaking bisaya. Matinding kahirapan, kawalan ng oportunidad, at bigong reporma sa lupa ang pangunahing puwersang nagtutulak sa maraming probinsyano—marami sa kanila’y uringmagsasaka—na makipagsapalaran sa Maynila, maging bahagi ng “iskwater” o “informal economy,” at tuluyang kalimutan ang pagsasaka. Gayong kahirapan ang kumitil sa alaala ng Ilaya, pagkakait naman ng tunay na
KUL TU RA
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reporma sa lupa at modernisadong agrikultura ang patuloy na nagpapasadlak sa kalagayan ng mga magsasaka. Pagmamay-ari pa rin ng ilang panginoong maylupa ang malawak na mga kapatagan ng bansa dahil sa umiiral na Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, at dahas ang tugon sa mga magsasaka tulad sa 372-ektaryang Lupang Ramos sa Cavite, na nais umanong bilhin ng mga Ayala. Bagaman magkaibang sitwasyon ang pinakikita ng Ilaya at Lupang Ramos, parehong mukha ng estado ang itinatanghal—walang interes sa pagpapaunlad ng agrikultura ng bansa, at bingi sa hinaing ng mga magsasaka. Patuloy na mababa ang pagtingin sa pagsasaka dahil patuloy din itong
isinasantabi: ang aspalto’t matatayog na gusali ng lungsod ang naging tanging sukatan ng pag-unlad, kung kaya naririto tayo’t nagsisiksikan. Matagal na panahon pa marahil ang gugugulin bago ko muling matikman ang ani ng Ilaya. Subalit may pag-asa sa mga magsasaka at kabataang walang humpay na naggigiit para sa libreng pamamahagi ng lupa at modernisasyon ng pagsasaka; silang lumalaban para sa lupang malaya.
BUNGKAL-BANGKAY SHEILA ABARRA ANG BAWAT SANGGOL AY IPINAPANGANAK kasabay ng bawat pagdadalantao, at pagpapalit ng panahon. Ganito ikinuwento ng Mamay ang pagsibol— ‘pagkat ang bawat pananim ay aking pinsang-buo. Anupa’t nang anihin ko’y tirik ang araw at ang istorya’y mapanglaw; dugo na ng Mamay ang bumabasa aming taniman at nang subukan kong pigilan, dugo ko naman ang dumanak. Ito ang kaarawan ng aking anak, ng panahon, ng aming walang hanggang pagyuko. Ang mga ganitong kwento ay ang realidad sa mga magsasakang tulad ng sa Lupang Ramos, sa Dasmariñas, Cavite na hindi na tinilaan ng bagyo ng pandarahas mula sa mga
nangangamkam ng kanilang lupang dekadekada nang binubungkal. Ang paggigiit ng mga taga-Lupang Ramos sa kanilang karapatan sa sariling lupa ay isang paulit-ulit na naratibo ng depektibong repormang agraryo. Bahagi ng listahan ng ipapamahaging asyenda ang Lupang Ramos sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program ng administrasyong Aquino. Ngunit taong 2011 ay inalis dahil sa pagpapataw ng temporary restraining order ni Emerito Ramos.
Higit pa sa hirap ng pagsasaka, araw-araw ring lumalaban ang mga taga-Lupang Ramos—bagay na walang awang tinatapatan ng baril ng mga mayayaman para sa sariling interes. Mayroong umiikot na balitang nais itong kunin sa mga magsasaka para sa mga pagpapaunlad ng Ayala Land Inc. Kung kaninong interes ang isinusulong ng mga magsasaka, maaari itong mabungkal sa kasaysayan ng pagsasaka. Ang partikularidad ng bigas bilang produkto ng bansa upang hirangin itong agrikultural ay mainam na tuntungan. Prestihiyosong pagkain ang bigas at pinoprodyus ito nang limitado noong panahon ng prekolonyal. Nagsilbi itong tributo sa mga datu at matataas na uri noon at ginagamit din sa kalakalan bilang salapi. Sa tulong ng kakayahan sa pagtatanim ng palay ng mga nasa matataas na lugar, umunlad ang pagsasaka na pinaginteresan ng mga Espanyol—bagay na nagbigay ng problema sa produksyon ng bigas. Kabalintunaan itong maituturing sa Pilipinas na isang bansang agrikultural. Pwersang kolonyal ang nagpahina sa produksyon ng lokal na bigas. Ang ganitong interes ay kaugnay ng interes ng naglalakihang kumpanya at korporasyon tulad ng Ayala Land Inc. na isa sa mga nangungunang tagapagtayo ng komersyal at residensyal na establisyamento. Ang kaunlarang tinutungo ng mga mayayamang ito ay hindi para sa agrikultura, lalo’t higit sa mga magsasaka. Bagaman iba’t iba ang mukha, pare-pareho ang tinatahak na landas ng bawat administrasyon— walang tuwid dahil palaging baluktot. Buktot ang pagbuwag sa hanay ng mga magsasaka sa pamamagitan ng paglikha ng huwad na grupong gaya ng BUKLOD na nakasandig sa mga Ramos. Limampung ektarya na ng lupain ang tinaniman ng lehitimong grupo ng mga magsasaka na Katipunan Samahang Magbubukid ng Lupang Ramos mula sa kanilang bungkalan na isang akto ng paggigiit sa kanilang sariling lupa. Sa ginta ng walang humpay na tensyon, mas lalong kailangan ng mga magsasaka ang suporta para pagpapalaganap ng kanilang panawagan. Sa haba ng panahon ng pagabandona ng batas sa mga magsasaka ng bansa, ang mga kwentong ito ay dapat maging realidad mo rin. Dahil hangga’t ika’y kumakain, ang kanilang palad ay palad mo rin, ang kanilang dusa ay dusa mo rin.
DIBUHO NI PATRICIA POBRE DISENYO NG PAHINA NI MARK VERNDICK CABADING
LAND GRABBERS' LIST Probing the history of land ownership in the Philippines RICHARD CALAYEG CORNELIO
THIRTY YEARS OF THE Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and its extension with bogus reforms, CARPER, have proven futile for at least 70 percent of Filipino farmers who remain landless even now. Though their decades-old calls for genuine land reform continue to fall on deaf ears, their fight is far from over. While the peasants remain on the receiving end of poverty-exacerbated
vulnerability, harassment, and rights violations, huge parcels of lands are owned by only a few for so many years. Some of them are individuals, families, and corporations that have amassed enormous amounts of wealth from controlling vast areas of lands, which continue to hamper the country’s development.
Often included in Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people, the Zobel de Ayalas own the Ayala Corporation, the country’s oldest and largest conglomerate which engages in telecommunications, insurance services, real estate, banking, utilities, and logistics, among others. Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), formerly the real estate division of Ayala Corporation, ventures in large-scale land development and leasing of commercial and residential spaces. The family also owns Hacienda Dolores in Pampanga and Hacienda Zobel in Batangas, which in sum cover at least 14,000 hectares. Various issues hound the family’s landholdings, however. Whereas 100 families including 350 farmers were displaced from Hacienda Dolores, more than a dozen out of the 24 barangays in Calatagan, Batangas were affected by the construction of livestock ponds and fishpond ventures in Hacienda Zobel.
Among the giant businesses in the country, the Ayala Corporation has been aggressive in many public-private partnerships, especially now that the Duterte administration is gearing up for more mega-infrastructure projects.
Jose Yulo is the patriarch of the Yulo family, whose corporation has ventured into partnerships with businesses like Chrysler, Unimart, and Mitsubishi Corporation that have led to the distribution of parcels of land to Yulo family members. The Hacienda Yulo in Canlubang, Laguna covers about 7,100 hectares. In 1977, without consultation with farmers and residents of Canlubang, a golf course was built following the demolition of the community Sitio Pasong Anos. Don Jose Yulo’s early promises of housing and retirement benefits to several residents affected did not pan out. The Yulo family denies the rights of their tenants to own portions of lands as the petition to include Hacienda Yulo in the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program was denied. While plantation workers were tagged as “squatters,” a mansion inside Hacienda Yulo was given to the Marcos family.
The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (APECO) languishes in Casiguran, Aurora Island, established as a site for public-private partnerships and for the economic growth of the yet-untapped town. Yet, the construction of the ecozone only led to the displacement of locals and the denial of their access to the natural resources they depended on for livelihood. Farmers were dispossessed of their irrigated lands, while several hundred fisher families were evicted as the construction of the coastal airport was underway. Large parts of APECO are also situated in the ancestral lands of the indigenous group Agat Dumagats, but their prior informed consent had not been sought before granting the concession, thus violating the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997. Edgardo Angara and his son Sonny Angara co-sponsored the law that created APECO. The construction of APECO pushed through without a complete feasibility study, land conversion study, environmental impact study, and prior consultation with the people of Casiguran. Instead, according to Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas, the APECO management simply resorted to intimidation, threats, and false promises to obtain the consent of the affected communities for the project.
Antonio Floirendo, Sr. heads a group of companies involved in product packaging, real estate development, and financing. His son, Antonio Floirendo, Jr. serves as Davao del Norte 2nd District representative. The Floirendo family is known to have at least 7,100 hectares of landholdings under the Lapanday Foods Corporation (LFC) alone, which focuses on agribusiness ventures like banana production. The family is in questionable land deals with the Bureau of Corrections, despite Article IV Section 14 of the Constitution which prohibits lawmakers like Floirendo, Jr. from entering into financial contracts with the government. In December 2016, harassment against protesting LFC farm workers led to a shootout that wounded at least nine civilians. Besides LFC, the Floirendos own the Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (TADECO), one of the highest producing banana plantations in Asia, and the Davao Agricultural Ventures Corporation, which grows pineapples for Del Monte Corporation. They have also been selling and distributing Ford vehicles through the Davao Motor Sales since 1948, and currently manage the Pearl Beach Farm Resort in Davao.
Danding Cojuangco owns 11 haciendas in three cities and five municipalities in Negros Occidental, with a total land area of 5,030.5 hectares. His landholdings are exempted from land distribution through a lopsided agreement with agrarian reform beneficiaries. To this day, farm workers in Cojuangco’s lands remain unemployed, landless, or working in other haciendas for a below-minimum wage compensation. Cojuangco also had a hand in the Coco Levy Fund Scam during his stint as chairperson of the Philippine Coconut Authority from 1971 to 1983. According to the Presidential Commission on Good Government, the taxes collected have now amounted to P93-billion assets, with some still under litigation. A crony of Ferdinand Marcos, Cojuangco used the levies to purchase the majority stake in San Miguel Corporation, one of the largest business conglomerates in Asia. Forty-five years since the scam, coconut farmers have yet to receive the benefits robbed of them.
Dole Philippines is a subsidiary of Dole Food Company, an agricultural multinational corporation based in the US and the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. Dole Philippines maintains the Dole Skyland Banana Plantation in Bukidnon, which spans across seven municipalities of around 3,000 hectares, and the Dole Pineapple Plantation in South Cotabato which covers 17,000 hectares of land. With 6,000 farm workers in total, Dole employs only three to four persons working per hectare in the banana plantations during peak season. The lack of benefits and the security of tenure worsen the living conditions for the employees who, for a day, are paid only Php 163 and an additional Php 12 cost of living allowance. In some parts of Bukidnon, cases of land grabbing have also been reported as the plantations are eyed for further expansion. Moreover, the company’s division in Stanfilco has been assessed for penalty taxes amounting to more than Php 3.3 million owing to violations of environmental laws in the city.
Located in Northern Bukidnon, the Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) plantation consists of over 23,000 hectares of pineapple fields, spanning across five municipalities. The corporation is set to expand its plantation by adding 5,000 hectares more in Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon. It is owned by the Campos family, the same clan that runs the pharmaceutical company United Laboratories. In 2010, DMPI was found to have been paying their contractual laborers as low as Php 60 per day without benefits such as Social Security System, PhilHealth, Pagibig, and a 13th-month pay. The fact that the piece rate scheme employed by DMPI allows around 20 to 30 farmers to till a plot of land fit only for ten workers makes it even harder for them to eke out the daily minimum wage. DMPI also faces issues of tax evasion, in particular the Php 29-billion liability from 2011 to 2013. Inquiries by the committees on ways and means and on good government and accountability in the House of Representatives report that the Bureau of Internal Revenue allowed DMPI to settle only Php 65.4 million. Sources: Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes, Department of Agrarian Reform, Congress of the Philippines, University of California in Los Angeles, Forbes, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, Philippine Star, Business World, Sunstar, Mindanews, GMA Network, ABS-CBN, Rappler, Inquirer
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH BY DANIEL BOONE, MARTIN SINGH, AND MARK CABADING PAGE DESIGN BY ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY
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LAT HA LAIN
M ATA P O S A N G PA G PA PA K I L A L A MARK VERNDICK CABADING
Hindi natatapos ang laban sa paglaya sa sarili. Lalong hindi tayo dapat magpakulong sa pansariling laban.
MAG-IISANG TAON NA MULA NOONG UNA kong tanggapin ang aking sarili. Alas dose ng hatinggabi, nakaupo ako sa hapag-kainan kaharap si Mama. Pinakiusapan ko siyang samahan ako dahil hindi ako makatulog. Hindi naman nagtaka si Mama dahil madalas namin iyong gawin sa tuwing umuuwi ako ng probinsya. Hinihintay naming makatulog ang mga bata tapos magtitimpla ako ng kape para mayroon kaming maiinom habang nagkukuwentuhan. Ang hindi alam ni Mama, kalakip ng bawat kwentong naibahagi ko na ay ang mga katotohanang pilit kong itinatago dahil sa takot na matagal ko nang dinadala. Takot akong hindi ako tanggapin ng sarili kong pamilya. Takot akong mabahiran ng poot at pagpupuyos ang bawat ala-alang pinagsamahan naming pamilya. Takot akong mag-isa. Noong gabing iyon, hindi ako nagsimula sa pangungumusta. Nagsimula ako sa pagpapakilala. “Ma, hindi ako gaya ng iniisip niyo. Hindi po ako straight.” Nagpabilisan sa paglabas ang mga luha at salita sa pagkakataong iyon. Sa huli, namayani ang mga luhang matagal ko nang pinipigilan. Ganun pala ang pakiramdam na lumaya mula sa sarili. Takot akong tumingin kay Mama na hindi agad nagsalita noong pagkakataong iyon. Gayunpaman, agarang naglaho ang namumuong takot nang yakapin niya ako. Sabay kaming lumuha at noon ko napatunayan na wala naman pala akong dapat ikatakot. Malaking tagumpay para sa akin ang gabing iyon. Tila nakalipon ako ng lakas na harapin ang takot na pumaralisa sa buong buhay ko. Noong gabing iyon, naging handa na akong magpakilala—sa mga nag-aakalang kilala na nila ako buong buhay at sa mga taong makikilala ko pa. Malaki ang naging takot kong mahusgahan ng ibang tao dahil lang sa aking sekswalidad. Hindi na bago sa maraming indibidwal na kabilang sa LGBTQA+ community ang mamuhay nang may takot at pagkukunwari. Gayunpaman, mayroong ilan na pinipiling maghayag at magpatunay na hindi takot ang dapat na tugon sa mga suliraning kinahaharap
ng LGBTQA+ community ngunit patuloy na pamamayagpag at pagpapatunay na hindi tayo iba sa ibang bahagi ng lipunan. Sinabi sa akin ni Mama na iisa lang naman ang ikinatatakot niya. Hindi lahat ay kagaya niya o ng mga kaibigan kong nakakakilala sa akin, na hindi lahat ay tanggap ang mga kagaya ko. Noon ko napagtanto ang kahalagahan ng pagtanggap sa sarili, na dito nagsisimula ang tuluyang paglaya. Ang pagtanggap sa sarili ay paghanda sa anumang ibabato sa’yo. Malayo na rin ang narating ko mula sa puntong iyon. Hindi naging madali sa akin ang pagtanggap at pagkilala. Dalawang taon ko ring iniwasan ang bawat pag-imbita ng high school best friend ko na magpunta sa mga pride march at mga pride month celebration. Noon, sa blogs at mga tulang isinusulat ko lang naibubuhos at naipapamalas noon kung sino nga ba ako. Ngayon, bitbit ko na sa bawat salitang sinasambit at sinusulat kung sino nga ba ako. Ito na ang ikalawang pride month matapos kong tuluyang matanggap ang sarili ko. Gayunpaman, hindi ko pa rin limot ang unang pagkakataong naramdaman ko ang suporta ng mga taong aking pinahahalagahan. Mula noon, hindi na ako mag-isa. Kasama ko ang mga mahal ko sa buhay at ang mga kagaya kong LGBTQA+ na tumitindig para sa aming karapatan. Sa loob ng isang taon, marami pa akong napagtanto matapos kong iwanan ang lahat ng takot na matagal kong pinanghawakan. Hindi natatapos ang laban sa paglaya sa sarili. Lalong hindi tayo dapat magpakulong sa pansariling laban. Sa isang komunidad na nakakaramdam ng opresyon gaya ng LGBTQA+, tanging ang pagtindig ang makakapagpabago ng kasalukuyan nitong kalagayan. Para sa kagaya kong lumaya na sa sarili, nagsisimula pa lang ang laban. Mas malaki ang laban na naghihintay sa atin—sa kanayunan, sa lansangan, at kung saan pang may kagaya nating nakakaramdam ng opresyon sa kasalukuyang lipunan.
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PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN
SANNY BOY AFABLE
PUNONG PATNUGOT
ALDRIN VILLEGAS
KAPATNUGOT
SHEILA ANN ABARRA
TAGAPAMAHALANG PATNUGOT
JOHN DANIEL BOONE
PATNUGOT SA BALITA
ROSETTE ABOGADO ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY
PATNUGOT SA GRAPIX
JOHN KENNETH ZAPATA
KAWANI
AMELYN DAGA
PINANSIYA
GARY GABALES
TAGAPAMAHALA SA SIRKULASYON
SINCE LAST WEEK, I HAVE TURNED TO my shelves and stacks of unread books but still found myself fragmenting into thoughts of you. Before our email exchange, I had had no inkling of the goings-on in your life and our friends’ as I have taken some time off Facebook to which I generally outsource the sad thing I call social life. In your email, you said you were sorry you did not get to ask me how I was during presswork the last time I stayed in Vinzons 401. I was supposed to write a Kultura article but could not turn any draft in. At half-past eleven the next morning, I left the Kule office and wept through the train ride home and wept in the shower and wept into my journal and made a heap of blankets on the floor in a corner of my room where I stayed till the wee hours of the morning, weeping. I told myself I was only going through the motions of grief. The tears, for the most part, were for all my bestlaid plans that had gone awry, for future itineraries that now need rerouting, and for all the sunflowers along the University Avenue that will not make for a profile picture backdrop anytime soon. One morning I managed to pull myself together enough to make peace with life’s irreverence for linear arcs and predictable plots. The difficulty of feeling persists, but I feel a little less leaden, less loveless, less lost. I am hopeful if not excited about the long days ahead, no matter how tedious they seem to unfold over years. If the past weeks have also taught me anything, it is that pain need not be tucked away. “I think I’ve lost much of my worth, self-esteem, and courage in the past few weeks,” you said in your email, and I marvel at how brave and frank this declaration of frailty is. You said you were so weak you depended too much on the one person you thought you could share your anxieties and aspirations with. You likened this experience to addiction, the withdrawal from which was no such
O PIN YON
10
BIYERNES 8 HUNYO 2018
easy feat that you also had to pull away from the world awhile by way of rehabilitation. I cannot presume to know what you are going through. But I have at times also wondered how good it would be to soldier through life knowing I could trust the person I love with my vulnerability, without the failure of intimacy and the tragedy of unreciprocated love. For it would be nice to cry in the presence of someone with whom you can talk about the matters that make your voice break and your breath catch, to fling your cares to the wind, to quell the fear of being hurt by the one whose affections you most yearn to keep. After all, it is damn scary to bare your emotional glitches and hope he would not find your scars revolting as much as you would not think his wounds beyond healing. Yet, only in loving can we be freed from the silences of an insular life. The fact, then, that you have loved him with openness, patience, empathy, and earnest grace is not so much his for the taking as it is yours. What matters now is to learn the kind of love that is freer, gentler, and more liberating, the kind that I am only beginning to understand, too. It starts with befriending ourselves and recognizing that many of the sorrows that afflict us arise from the stigma which insists we should not wear our hearts and hurts on our sleeves when, really, there is no shame in withering and wanting. I believe you when you said you would strive to be okay soon. But if, one of these days, you find yourself braving tempestuous skies to mend the walls you have torn down to let other people in, please remember that beyond those walls must be fairer weathers. * Apologies to Conchitina Cruz and Mookie KatigbakLacuesta
AMELITO JAENA OMAR OMAMALIN
SIRKULASYON
W H AT I A M A B O U T TO T E L L YO U M AY O R M AY N O T M AT T E R I N T H E LONG RUN* RICHARD CALAYEG CORNELIO
TRINIDAD GABALES GINA VILLAS
KATUWANG NA KAWANI
KASAPI UP SYSTEMWIDE ALLIANCE OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS AND WRITERS’ ORGANIZATIONS (SOLIDARIDAD)
COLLEGE EDITORS GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES (CEGP) PAMUHATAN SILID 401 BULWAGANG VINZONS, UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS, DILIMAN, LUNGSOD QUEZON TELEFAX 981-8500 LOKAL 4522
It would be nice to cry in the presence of someone with whom you can talk about the matters that make your voice break and your breath catch, to fling your cares to the wind, to quell the fear of being hurt by the one whose affections you most yearn to keep.
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UKOL SA PABALAT
DIBUHO NI CHESTER HIGUIT
COMMUNITY NEWS
BAHAY-BAHAYAN
SHERNIELYN DELA CRUZ
‘Stop justifying low wages and poverty’ – workers to NEDA KILUSANG MAYO UNO NATIONAL LABOR CENTER KILUSANG MAYO UNO condemns the claims of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) that P10,000 is enough for a family of five to survive. We also condemn NEDA undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon’s clarification that she only meant to explain how P10,000 could best be allocated, not that it was sufficient for a decent living. The clarification only adds insult to injury. Workers don’t need Edillon and NEDA’s instructions on budgeting. Given the chronic poverty in the country, Filipinos are already well-versed on the grim necessities of subsistence living. NEDA’s ridiculous claims would be funny if they weren’t so dangerous as an indicator of government logic and the direction of public policy. NEDA’s actual function is to set and recommend economic policies. It is alarming that they are essentially attempting to justify low wages, joblessness, high taxes and other policies detrimental to workers and the poor. It tells workers and the poor that hunger and poverty are an acceptable state of affairs. NEDA’s ‘proposed budget’ for poor Filipino families underscores the arrogance and blindness of the Duterte administration. Ordinary Filipinos who know the daily cost of food, commuting, rent, education, electricity, and water, among others, can easily see that NEDA is wrong. This claim shows that NEDA is out of touch with the reality of the country’s workers and poor and does not truly aspire for economic development. Instead of setting the standards for decent living in the country, NEDA has chosen to fall in line with the Duterte government’s insensitivity towards workers and the poor. The inflation rate under Duterte is at record levels, yet this government refuses to take action to ease the burden of rising costs on the Filipino people. Moreover, the burdensome and onerous TRAIN law has further raised the prices of basic goods under the Duterte regime. Independent thinktank IBON Foundation’s computation of a Family Living Wage of P1,168 is infinitely more credible than NEDA’s claims. The ever-growing gap between the minimum wage and the actual living wage should be addressed by abolishing the irrational regional wage boards, returning to the national minimum wage system, and implementing an immediate wage hike of P750. Towards this end, we demand that the Duterte administration classify the pending National Minimum Wage hike bill in Congress as urgent and call on all Filipinos to condemn and reject the posturing of NEDA.
THE PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN is looking for
Umakyat na sa Room 401 ng Vinzons Hall at magdala ng portfolio.
sly
@sylvxster Thank you to alternative media outlets for keeping us updated on #NutriasiaWorkersStrike & #LupangRamos while the mainstream media instead puts the whole #KrisVSMocha issue in the limelight. 4:24 AM - 6 JUN 2018
PANDI, BULACAN
MAY 16, 2017
DOLE-OUTS CANNOT SHIELD THE POOR FROM RISING PRICES — ANTI-POVERTY CHIEF NATIONAL ANTI-POVERTY COMMISSION CASH DOLE-OUTS MAY HAVE AT BEST given the poor some temporary relief in the past, but even that kind of limited financial support is now becoming more and more insignificant and unsustainable amidst rising prices and tax hikes, said National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Liza Maza. The secretary earlier called for the repeal or suspension of the provisions on excise taxes on petroleum products under the TRAIN Law which rolled out its first tax reform package early this year. Maza noted that oil prices are subject to the new excise taxes and then are levied a 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on top of the excise taxes, constituting what she called a “double taxation” scheme that further drives up the final price of not only fuel but also of other basic commodities. Under the first package of reforms under TRAIN, excise taxes on petroleum products are now P7 per liter for gasoline, P2.50 per liter for diesel and LPG, and P3 per liter for kerosene. With a 12-percent VAT, these new excise taxes further drive the final price upwards: a total
of P7.84 per liter for gasoline, P2.80 per liter for diesel and LPG, and P3.36 for kerosene. This means a full 50-liter tank of gasoline will cost P392 more under this double taxation scheme on top of the most recent oil price increase, the secretary explained. “These taxes and price hikes burden the poor more than anyone else, and a P200 monthly cash dole-out simply cannot cushion the rapid fall of real wages due to inflation,” Maza explained. As of last month, inflation has shot to a five-year high of 4.5 percent, already far beyond the two to four percent range targeted by the central bank. Earlier this week, Department of Agriculture Emmanuel Piñol called on Malacañang to convert the P70-billion Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) into a livelihood program to increase agricultural productivity, promote food security, and halt a growing dependency on cash transfers among the poor. For Maza, agricultural productivity has been further compromised not only by the 4Ps, but also by the recent consecutive price hikes and the new excise taxes on petroleum
Your Lawyer Says @YourLawyerSays
It is wrong to say that it is “kadiri” just because of Duterte’s looks. That is miserably missing the point aside from being an ad hominem. The kissing was disgusting because of the culture of sexual harassment, of men in unequal power, of women objectification that it promotes. 12:06 AM - 4 JUN 2018
PRWC
@prwc_info The National ID system will practically be reviving the detested cedula system which the Spanish colonial power used to control the movement of people and suppress their democratic rights. 9:04 PM - 25 MAY 2017
under the TRAIN law. “Farmers and fishermen, the poorest among the poor, use oil products to earn a living and feed the rest of the country. Higher oil prices naturally drive up production cost and consequently stunt agricultural production, which already manifests in the sluggish 1.5-percent growth rate recorded in the first quarter of this year,” said the economist and women’s rights advocate. To truly lift farmers and fisherfolk from poverty, the state must pursue an aggressive rural development strategy similar to what the agriculture secretary has advocated, Maza said. “Free and unconditional land distribution is central to agrarian reform and rural development, and it should be bolstered by financial support and incentives for collective farming,” the secretary added.
STATUS QUOTES
BIYERNES 8 HUNYO 2018
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COM MUN ITY
HINAING NG SIKMURA
,,
... ang ekonomiya ay hindi lamang nakabase sa mga estadistika kundi sa kumakalam na sikmura ng maraming mamamayan.
SISTEMATIKONG DINARAHAS NG estado ang naghihirap nitong mamamayan. Mula sa giyera kontra-droga na nagtala ng humigit-kumulang 14,000 pagpatay hanggang sa patuloy na pag-iral ng batas militar sa Mindanao, planadongplanado ng administrasyong Duterte kung papaano lilipulin at pagsasamantalahan ang mamamayan – sa pagkakataong ito, sa pamamagitan ng mga mapaniil at represibong palisiyang pang-ekonomiko. Higit P10 na ang itinaas ng mga pangunahing bilihin kasama na ang gasolina, diesel, at kerosene na ngayo’y pumapalo sa P41.70 hanggang P56.47 kada litro bunsod ng Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion o TRAIN law. Dagdag ding pasakit ang nakaambang pagtaas ng singil sa pasahe mula sa kasalukuyang minimum fare na walong piso patungong P10. Nakakabahala rin ang kawalang-aksyon ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) hinggil sa isyu ng mga manggagawang pangunahing apektado ng iskemang ito. Walang nakaambang umento sa sahod ng mga manggagawa kahit hindi na sapat ang kanilang minimum na sweldo para tugunan ang P1,168 na Family Living Wage (FLW). Ito ang dahilan kung bakit isinumite ng Makabayan bloc sa Kamara ang House Bill 7787 o National Minimum Wage Law of 2018. Layon ng panukalang batas na gawing P750 ang minimum wage sa buong bansa. Aamyendahan nito ang kasalukuyang Labor Code at bubuwagin ang Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board na siyang nagtatakda
PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN
EDITORIAL ng minimum wage sa bawat rehiyon. Pananagutin din ng HB 7787 ang mga kumpanya at korporasyong magtatanggal ng mga manggagawa bunsod ng pagtaas ng minimum wage. Bagaman makatarungan ang panawagan ng mamamayan, malinaw ang tindig ng Malacañang: imposible ang pagpasa nitong umento sa sahod. Higit pa, ipinapakita nito na walang interes ang kasalukuyang administrasyon sa pagkamit ng nakabubuhay na sahod para sa mga manggagawa. Kataka-takang may naniniwala pa ring nakabubuhay ang kasalukuyang minimum na pasahod sa kabila ng sunud-sunod na pagtaas ng mga bilihin. Ayon kay National Economic Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, hindi ka na maituturing na mahirap kung mayroon kang P10,000 kada buwan. Ngunit sa katunayan, hindi na sapat ang P10,000 para sa mga manggagawa, lalo pa’t bukod sa karaniwang bayarin, kailangan ding tugunan ang mga gastusin ng kanilang mga anak sa paaralan, pati na rin ang kanilang arawang pasahe papasok sa trabaho. Bagaman sinasabi ni Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno na nagreresulta sa kawalan ng trabaho ang pagtaas ng minimum na pasahod, tungkulin ng pamahalaan na regulahin ang mga negosyante’t korporasyon sa pagtanggal sa mga manggagawa. Kung mabawasan man ang kita ng mga negosyante, diskarte na nila kung papaano babawiin ang nawalang kita.
Ayon sa datos ng IBON foundation, tinatayang nasa P473.2 bilyon o 28.3 porsiyento lamang ang makakaltas sa kabuuang kita ng mga negosyante. Kaya’t kung tutuusin, hindi sila lugi; manapa, isa itong nararapat na tugon sa matagal nang ipinagkait sa mga manggagawa na mas nakakabuhay na sahod. Kaya’t nananatiling hamon para sa mga ekonomistang katulad ni Sec. Diokno ang paglubog sa tunay na kalagayan ng karaniwang manggagawa upang maging tugma ang kanilang pagsusuri. Kailangan nilang maintindihan na ang ekonomiya ay hindi lamang nakabase sa mga estadistika kundi sa kumakalam ng sikmura ng maraming mamamayan. Sa mahabang panahon, malinaw ang pagkiling ng pamahalaan. Pabor ito sa interes ng mga negosyante’t korporasyon, hindi sa mamamayang kaniyang dapat pagsilbihan. Hungkag na pagbabago ang ibinabalandra ng kasalukuyang rehimen: pagbabagong para lamang sa iilan, bahala nang magutom ang karamihan. Sa huli, susi ang sama-samang pagkilos ng mamamayan sa paglaban para sa mas nakakabuhay na sahod at sa pagbabasura ng mga palisiyang sagka sa kaniyang interes. Malinaw na wala siyang maaasahang tulong sa pamahalaan; bagkus, ang tangi niyang puhunan ay ang kalampag ng kaniyang sikmura. Dahil sa kasalukuyang lagay ng mga bagay, walang maihahapag na pagkain sa mesa kung hindi mag-aalsa ang masa.