Philippine Collegian Tomo 100 July Issue by Philippine Collegian

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES DILIMAN

JULY 2022 VOLUME 100 ISSUE 03 40 PAGES

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EDITORS' NOTE

JULY 2022

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

editor-in-chief polynne dira associate editor sam del castillo news editor daniel sebastianne daiz graphics editor kim yutuc layout editors keian florino venus samonte guest editor richard calayeg cornelio staff gretle mago contributing members arthur san juan ysabel vidor probationary members news kenli diaz micah formoso features yuji santos adam torres kultura levei bigcas jericho igdanes illustration maria laya kaxandra salonga layout dustin francisco andrea medina gie rodenas auxiliary staff gina bakukanag amy daga ma. trinidad gabales circulation manager gary gabales circulation staff pablito jaena address Sampaguita Residence Hall Quirino Avenue UP Diliman Quezon City Philippines website www.phkule.org email phkule.upd@up.edu.ph member College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (UP Solidaridad)

Sa ika-sandaang taon ng kritikal na pamamahayag, makikipagtuos ang Kulê sa mga isinuka na ng taumbayan ngunit muling nanunumbalik, sa mga pinunong dahas ang tugon sa ating mga hinaing, at sa mga maykapangyarihang nandudusta sa taumbayan para sa sariling ganansya. Ang taong ito ay magmamarka ng pagbabago sa midyum ng pahayagan, upang masigurong lapat ang bawat isyu sa pangangailangan ng mambabasang malaman at maunawaan ang mga pangyayari, at ang pangmatagalan nitong implikasyon sa mas malawak na iskema ng mga bagay.

Illustration by Maria Laya

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KULÊ@100

02 04

Sino at ano ang Kulê EDITORYAL

Legasiya ng Ligalig NEWS

Ysabel Vidor

Farmers’ Groups Wary of Marcos’s Promise to Lower Rice Price, Enforce Agri Reforms BALITA

14 17 20 24

Keian Florino

Ang Hatol ng mga Drayber sa mga Prayoridad at Palisiya ni Duterte sa Sektor ng Transportasyon KULTURA

Levei Bigcas

KULTURA

Ana De Jesus

FEATURES

Adam Torres

OPINYON

Gretle C. Mago

Hindi Biro Lang

Judge, Jury, Executioner Rectifying the Damages of Duterte’s Drug War Sino’ng Walang Kredibilidad OPINION

Daniel Sebastianne Daiz

The Global South Must Reckon With its Role in Calls for Climate Justice ABSTRACT

NEWS

33 36

Regina Gail B. Navata

How Nurses Viewed Duterte’s ‘Hero Rhetoric’ During the Pandemic Ysabel Vidor

UPD PsycServ Grapples with Long Waitlists as Some Clients Express Dismay FEATURES

Adam Torres

Outside the Halls of Congress EDITORYAL

Panata sa Pagmartsa

MGA NILALAMAN

Matapos ang pamumuno ni Duterte, panahon naman upang harapin ang lahat ng iniwan niya. Bukod sa pagpapanagot at paniningil, tiyakin nating magpapatuloy ang laban kontra sa legasiya niyang ipagpapatuloy ni Marcos Jr.

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

EDITORYAL Legasiya ng Ligalig Nakontrol ng estado ang diskurso sa kumbakit umuusbong ang mga pagkilos na naglalayong baguhin ang lipunan. Pinalabnaw ang sa katunaya’y mahabang kasaysayan at malalim na ugat ng pakikibaka.

Tapos na ang anim na taong pamamalakad at pagpapahamak ni Rodrigo Duterte sa bansa. Ngunit dito naman magsisimula ang masalimuot nating pakikipagtuos sa latak na iniwan ng kanyang administrasyon: ang kupot ng espasyo ng pamumuna, pagsalungat, at pakikipagtunggali. Ang proyekto ni Duterte mula nang maupo siya sa pwesto: basagin ang pinagkakaisahang realidad at katotohanan ng lipunan. Pagkat sa pagtanim niya ng duda sa mga institusyon at batayang kasaysayan, sa pagtanggal niya ng kredibilidad sa midya at sa iba pang organisasyong nagsusulong ng karapatan, malaya niyang nakontrol ang anumang diskurso’t nakapagdikta ng sariling naratibo. Dito umuugat ang lahat ng mga partikular na katangian ng kanyang rehimen—mula sa pagpapakalat ng maling impormasyon, pagmomobilisa ng mga online troll, hanggang sa pagkalabo mismo ng kanyang mga talumpati. At ang kanyang pinaka-masahol na legasiya:

Duterte, panagutin!

Ang pagpapalabnaw ng katotohanan, pagpapalipana ng kasinungalingan ukol sa kasaysayan ng mga Marcos. Lumantad ang balintunang pagtanggi ng marami sa karahasan noong panahon ng diktadura. Kontrolado kung ano ang totoo, primaryang pinuntirya ng administrasyong Duterte ang kilusan ng taumbayan sa lahat ng porma nito. Taliwas sa nakalipas na mga administrasyon na pilit na kinimkim ang mga planong kontrainsurhensiya, hayag ang pagkamuhi ni Duterte sa mga humahamon sa kanyang kapangyarihan gaya ng mga aktibista’t kritikal. Kaharap ang publiko, walang pagdadalawang-isip niyang iniutos, taong 2017 pa lamang, ang pagpapasabog sa mga paaralan ng Lumad na inakusahan niyang nagaaral paano tumiwalag sa pamahalaan. Matapos ang deklarasyong ito, higit 500 kaso ng atake ang naranasan ng mga Lumad. Nang manduhan ni Duterte

ang militar noong 2018 na barilin nila sa ari ang mga babaeng miyembro ng New People’s Army (NPA), ilang kaso ng di makatarungang pagpatay sa mga ito ang naitala. Wala ring pakundangan ang mga isinagawang airstrike sa maraming komunidad sa kanayunan. May kapangyarihan ang mga salita ni Duterte, at nagkaroon ito ng sariling buhay, partikular sa online na plataporma. Sa paulit-ulit na deklarasyon ni Duterte laban sa mga rebelde at, sa ekstensyon nito, mga aktibista, tumagos ang usapin ng pakikibaka sa pampublikong kamalayan. Kung di nito tinatanggal ang kredibilidad ng mga pang-masang organisasyon, ginagawa itong biro o di kaya meme, nasasama sa kaswal na mga usapan. Kaya sa halip na mausisa ang ugat nito, ang diskurso ay umayon sa hulmang pinakalat ng rehimen—terorista, kaaway ang mga komunista, dahil ang iginagaod na rebolusyunaryong digma sa kanayunan ay nagmumula lang sa naagnas nang ideolohiya.

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Ang pagtagos ng ganoong ideya tungkol sa pakikibaka ay kumporme sa tinatawag na whole-of-nation approach ng administrasyon upang sugpuin ang insurhensiya sa bansa. Ngunit ang whole-of-nation approach ay di lang ang pagmomobilisa sa lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno upang tugisin ang kinikilala nilang kaaway ng estado. Higit dito ay ang pagsasapopular ng antagonistikong pagtingin sa pagkilos ng taumbayan.

Nakontrol ng estado ang diskurso sa kung bakit umuusbong ang mga

Dibuho ni Kaxandra Salonga

pagkilos na naglalayong baguhin ang lipunan. Pinalabnaw ang sa katunaya’y mahabang kasaysayan at malalim na ugat ng pakikibaka. Pinagmukhang nais lang ng iilan na pabagsakin ang pamahalaan upang sila ang maghari-harian, o di kaya’y dahil nais lang nilang makakuha ng buwis sa nilalapagang komunidad ng mga hukbo. Di maikakailang sa dami at laki ng makinarya ni Duterte, nagawa niya ngang pakiputin ang diskusyon ng armadong pakikibaka. Gayunman, pagkat, ang kahirapan at kawalang-hustisyang pinapairal mismo ng administrasyon ang nagtutulak sa mga taong mag-aklas, uusbong at mananaig pa rin ang katwiran nilang pinili ang landas ng pakikibaka. Ginamit pa ng estado ang mga departamento, gaya ng Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Economic and Development Authority, at Department of Education upang lahat ng organo at aspeto ng lipunan ay magamit para

sa kontrainsurhensiya. Sinasabing tutugunan ng mga ahensyang ito ang rason ng pagtangan ng armas, ngunit lumilihis naman ang gobyerno gayong ang kanilang pagtugon sa mga isyu ay lokalisado, sa halip na sistematiko. Bilyon-bilyong pondo ang inilalaan para sa Barangay Development Fund ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), ngunit pumapalya naman itong tunay na palaguin ang buhay ng mga nasa kanayunan. Anupa’t sa 2,318 na takdang proyekto ng NTF-ELCAC noong 2021, nasa 26 lamang dito ang natapos. Gustong magpatayo ng ahensya ng mga daan, imprastraktura, sistema ng patubig at kuryente, at magbigay ng livelihood at vocational na mga proyekto,

EDITORY AL

Idinidiin, halimbawa, sa National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, manwal ng National Security Council, ang konsepto ng early warning and early response sa “radikalisasyon,” partikular ng mga kabataan. Dito pumapasok ang walang habas na pangre-redtag sa mga ligal na organisasyong tunay namang nangangampanya sa karapatan ng mga sektor. Kinikilala ang kontribusyon di lang ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan kundi pati sibilyan at mga civil society organization sa pagsugpo sa radikalisasyon ng mga estudyante. Malaki ang pagdiin nito sa pagiging instrumento ng mga magulang, guro, administrador ng mga eskwela, at mga organisasyon para pigilan ang mga mag-aaral na sumali sa mga grupong binansagang komunista ng pamahalaan.

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PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

EDITORY AL

ngunit wala ritong makakalutas sa pagaarmas ng marami. Si Duterte na nga mismo ang umamin na palyado ang kanyang kontrainsurhensiya matapos ang makailang pangako niyang susugpuin ang mga rebelde, matapos gumasta ng bilyon-bilyon para atakihin ang mga inosenteng komunidad. Ang suliranin ng mga maralita sa kanayunan ay ang pagnanakaw ng mga dambuhalang korporasyon sa kanilang mga sakahan at lupang ninuno at ang resulta nitong di mabilang na pandarahas sa kanila. Ang ganitong mga problema ay di masosolusyunan sa antas ng barangay o munisipyo. Kung ano man, ang mga lokalisadong peace talk na tinutulak ng estado ay ginagawa upang hatiin ang mga nagkakaisang komunidad gamit ang alok na amnestiya o pangako ng pag-unlad sa iilan. Ang mga proyekto ng NTF-ELCAC ay di para sa benepisyo ng mga residente, bagkus para sa ikagiginhawa ng mga dayuhang plantasyon, minahan, at iba pang negosyong di naman nagsisilbi sa interes ng bansa. Pagkat sistematikong problema ang kahirapan, ang kawalan ng hustisya, at ang pang-aabuso sa kalakhang mamamayan, bilang ang lahat ng ito ay kagagawan at pinaiiral mismo ng mga kasalukuyang nasa pwesto, sa pagpapaalis lamang sa mga nakapangyayaring istruktura at kondisyon magkakaroon ng pagkakataong lumaya ang lahat. Kaya ganoon na lamang ang muhi ng kahit sinong rehimen sa pambansang usapang pangkapayapaan. Itinutulak dito ang pangmatagalang kapayapaan at susi rito ang pagsiguro sa pagsasarili ng ekonomiya ng bansa. Sa ilalim nito, inaalis ang malalaking korporasyon sa mga sakahan at pagawaan, at sa halip, hinahayaan

JULY 2022

ang mga magsasakang linangin ang kanilang sariling lupa, ang mga manggagawang lumikha ng mga produktong primaryang para sa pagkonsumo ng mga Pilipino. Nangangahulugan din ito ng pagbuwag sa asyenda at monopolyo ng mga lokal na panginoong maylupa, na kalakhan ay patron ng mga pulitiko ngayon. Dito nag-uugat ang kawalan ng interes ng bagong administrasyon ni Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa pangmatagalang kapayapaan at pagtangkilik niya sa lokalisadong peace talk—lalo’t hinahamon nito ang mismong kapit nila sa kapangyarihan. Paparating ang ibayong hakbangin ng estado na sirain ang nagkakaisang pagkilos ng taumbayan, sa lahat ng porma nito. Ngayon, malaki ang nakaatang na responsibilidad sa mga organisador na sabayan at higitan ang anumang propaganda at pang-aatakeng ibabato ng estado sa atin. Tumitindi ang mga krisis, ngunit lalo lamang mapatitingkad ang pangangailangan sa panibagong paraan ng pagpapatakbo sa lipunan. Asahan ni Marcos na kung paanong ang mga palisiya ng kanyang ama ang mismong nag-udyok sa maraming sumapi sa armadong pakikibaka, hindi rin iyon malayong mangyari sa kanyang termino. Binasag ni Duterte ang pinagkakaisahang realidad ng marami, ngunit patuloy na lumilikha ang taumbayan ng kasaysayan. Ngayong nararanasan nila mismo ang pagpapahirap sa ilalim ng mapaniil na mga administrasyon, ito ang magiging sandigan nila ng pagkakaisa upang maghawan ng landas sa lipunan kung saan di na kailangang mag-armas pa ng ordinaryong mamamayan para lang matamasa ang kanyang karapatan.

Ang whole-of-nation approach ay di lang ang pagmomobilisa ng lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno upang tugisin ang kinikilala nilang kaaway ng estado. Higit dito ay ang pagsasapopular ng antagonistikong pagtingin sa pagkilos ng taumbayan.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Keian Florino

@phkule

KULÊ@100

Ysabel Vidor

Lack of Clear Plans

Farmers’ Groups Wary of Marcos’s Promise to Lower Rice Price, Enforce Agri Reforms »

One of the many promises of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his campaign was to slash the price of rice down to P20 per kilo. The policy, Marcos said, entails the government imposing price caps and liberalizing the agriculture sector. While consumers could stand to benefit from lower prices, farmers’ groups denounced the policy as it will only aggravate the already declining economy of the Philippines. “Marcos Jr.’s pronouncement is a fat lie,” Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) Chairperson Danilo Ramos said. He explained that the proposal had already been implemented before by the late dictator Marcos Sr. but failed, costing the government P18 million in just two years. Now that Marcos won the presidency, his administration pitched various

Genuine Land Reform Now!

O UT LOO K

As the policies implemented by the Duterte administration jeopardized the agricultural sector of the Philippines, farmers become even more apprehensive now that another Marcos is in power.

reforms targeted at the agricultural sector, including the reinstatement of the Kadiwa system, which originated from the Marcos Sr. administration. The system enabled the establishment of stores in every barangay selling various agri-fishery products for a lower price.

trading and forced farmers to lower their prices to compete with foreign products. But to create long-term solutions, Ramos believes that the only sustainable way to make rice cheaper is to invest in local industries in order to increase its production.

Under the system, farmers were only receiving P16 pesos a day while the price of rice was at P5.35 per kilo. The government was unable to sustain the project as stores would often have no stocks left during the latter years of Kadiwa’s implementation.

“Para bumaba ang presyo ng bigas, nararapat na paunlarin ang lokal na produksyon ng pagkain gaya ng palay, mais, gulay, isda, baboy at manok. Hindi dapat importasyon ang sagot,” Ramos said in an interview with the Collegian.

Former National Economic and Development Authority chief Karl Chua said that lowering the price of rice to the level claimed by Marcos Jr. is possible by increasing rice importation, further legitimizing the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) that already liberalized grains

Refuting the Promise In his State of the Nation Address, Marcos laid, in broad strokes, his plan to liberalize the agriculture sector. For Cathy Estavillo of Bantay Bigas, trade liberalization will only worsen the situation of farmers.

Page design by Andrea Medina

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

“Nakita natin three years after the implementation [of RTL], talagang bumaba ang presyo ng bigas at naging P7 per kilo ang benta ng mga magsasaka,” she said. “Pero, hindi naman bumaba ang presyo [ng bigas] sa palangke. Yang importasyon ay nagresulta lamang sa napakalaking trade deficit sa agriculture at nagpahirap sa mga magsasaka.”

O UT LOO K

A study by economic think-tank IBON Foundation revealed that the net income of farmers per hectare decreased by 38 percent compared to their income after RTL was implemented, showing how farmers’ livelihoods were put to detriment during the Duterte administration. Groups like KMP and Bantay Bigas have long called for the national government to help farmers increase their production by stepping up production subsidies and implementing genuine land

Genuine Land Reform Now!

JULY 2022

reform policies. These, for them, would resolve the longstanding systemic ills of the agricultural sector that past administrations have skirted around.

of agrarian reform repayment for one year, but leaves it up to Congress to eliminate the policy altogether. The legislation for such a plan has yet to be released.

Unlike genuine agrarian reform, the current Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program still proved to be burdensome for farmers. Most agrarian reform beneficiaries must still pay for amortization, which only leads to them being buried in debt. What the farmers need is for the lands to be distributed free of charge.

“Ang pinaka-ugat na food crisis ay dekadekadang kapabayaan sa industriya ng agrikultura. Napakaliit din ng budget na nilalaan at kasama pa rito ang kawalan ng lupa ng mga magsasaka,” Estavillo said. “Despite sa reforms ni Aquino na CARP, hindi talaga napamahagi ang karamihan sa mga lupa.”

“Issuing an executive order prohibiting land-use conversion for at least two years will effectively protect more than 4.84 hectares of agricultural lands awarded to farmer-beneficiaries,” former Agriculture Secretary Rafael Mariano said in a previous statement. In his speech to Congress, Marcos said he will only suspend the collection

Land Reform Remains a Work in Progress Controlling the price of rice among other things is only a precursor to improving the agricultural sector. While price control may be part of the solution, the implementation of genuine agrarian reform is still vital in solving the systemic ills farmers are facing.

Photo by Keian Florino

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Farmers have been clamoring for genuine land reform for decades already, yet the Duterte administration slapped them with an even more burdensome circumstance when RTL was implemented. Under Duterte, a total of 142,806 hectares of land were given to farmers, the lowest distribution since 2005, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. The Arroyo and Aquino administrations distributed 313,778 and 320,916 hectares, respectively. Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III, who is the grandson of Marcos Sr.’s agrarian reform minister, vowed that land distribution, amortization, and support services for the farmers will be prioritized during the Marcos administration. Estrella, however, has yet to lay out his concrete plans for the department. “Ang

pinakadahilan

kung

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palaging kapos ang nililikha ng ating magsasaka ay sa kakulangan ng lupa. Ang inaasahan ng mga magsasaka sa administrasyong Marcos ay dapat masiguro na may genuine agrarian reform—buwagin ang malalawak na lupain at ipamahagi ng libre,” Estavillo said. In the legislative arena, Bantay Bigas and KMP are pushing for the passage of a Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) and the Rice Industry Development Act (RIDA). Makabayan bloc lawmakers refiled GARB to distribute land to the farmers, as well as provide financial support. This allows agricultural lands exceeding five hectares to be distributed to the farmers free of charge. Meanwhile, peasant groups such as the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women petitioned for the enactment of RIDA. The groups emphasized the role of RIDA in addressing the

issues

agricultural

production.

Although the bills have been refiled, they still have a long way to go. The progressive bloc files GARB and RIDA every Congress yet their enactment remains elusive. While Marcos made no mention of land reform as one of his 19-point legislative agenda, GARB and RIDA remain in Makabayan bloc’s pet bills this 19th Congress. With another Marcos in power, Estavillo said groups like Bantay Bigas and KMP will remain as watchdogs to ensure that the agricultural policies will benefit the farmers. “Talagang magbabantay kami kung ano man ang polisiya na ipatupad ni Marcos. Patuloy naming igigiit ang batayang kahilingan gaya ng kasiguraduhan sa ating pagkain at ang pagpapalakas ng lokal na produksyon. Dahil ang isyu ng pagkain ay isyu rin ng mamamayang Pilipino,” she said.

« O UT LOO K

Various groups mobilized along University Avenue to amplify their calls, in time for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address, July 25. Marcos pledged during his campaign to reduce the price of a kilo of rice to P20, but such a promise was not mentioned in his speech before Congress.

Page design by Andrea Medina

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

Keian Florino

OUTLOOK

Sa Dulo ng Daan

Ang Hatol ng mga Drayber sa mga Prayoridad at Palisiya ni Duterte sa Sektor ng Transportasyon »

Palpak ang dating pangulo sa pamamalakad sa sektor ng transportasyon at tanging sa pagpapakulong lamang mapapanagot si Duterte mula rito, ani Modeflor Floranda ng PISTON.

Inilaan ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa pagpapatayo ng imprastraktura ang pinakamalaking bahagi ng taunang badyet ng kanyang gobyerno. Nasa P686 bilyon ang pondo ng Department of Public Works and Highways sa 2022 habang mayroon namang P151 bilyon ang Department of Transportation. Tinatayang 5 hanggang 6 na porsyento ng gross domestic product (GDP) ng Pilipinas ang nakalaan taon-taon sa ilalim ng programang Build, Build, Build (BBB). Ito ang may pinakamalaking hati sa paggastos ng GDP ng bansa kumpara sa sektor ng edukasyon na may 3.9 porsyento o P750 bilyon lamang. Subalit sa 119 na proyekto ng administrasyong Duterte sa ilalim ng BBB, 12 lamang dito ang natapos; mas

No to jeepney phaseout!

mababa kumpara sa 19 na orihinal na target na imprastrukturang matapos bago bumaba sa pwesto si Duterte. Karamihan sa mga proyekto sa BBB ay malalaking proyekto gaya ng Metro Manila Skyway (P65 bilyon), New Clark City Phase 1 (P18 bilyon), at Clark International Airport expansion project (P15 bilyon). Ito ang itinuturing na legasiya ng dating pangulo sa kabila ng panawagan ng mamamayan, partikular ng mga drayber, para sa pinansyal na ayuda sa gitna ng sunod-sunod na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis sa huling bahagi ng termino ni Duterte. Noong Hulyo, sumirit ang presyo ng langis at tumaas sa 6.4 porsyento ang inflation sa bansa, pinakamataas mula noong Oktubre 2018. “Sino ba’ng makikinabang nitong mga programa sa Build, Build, Build? Yung

mga drayber o yung mga malalaking kumpanya?” ani Modeflor Floranda, pangulo ng Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON). “Yung kalsada, tayo ang nagpondo at nagpapagawa niyan, dapat tayong mga normal na mamamayan, ang nakikinabang sa mga ‘yan.” Sa kabila ng kahirapan ng mga drayber, ang kakarampot na ayudang kanilang inaasahan ay pahirapan pang makuha. At ang mga rekisitong hinihingi sa kanila ng gobyerno para sa subsidiya ay tila pagsuko na rin nila sa kanilang hanapbuhay. Sagasa sa Mamamayan Malaking tulong na sana para sa mga drayber ang ipinapangakong P6,500 cash fuel subsidy mula sa gobyerno lalo para sa mga drayber sa mga

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probinsya at rehiyon sa labas ng Kalakhang Maynila na doble umano ang hirap na nararanasan, ayon kay Elmer Portea, 53, tagapagsalita ng Southern Tagalog Regional Transport Sector.

mamahagi ng ayuda sa mga miyembro nitong tsuper. Ayon sa PISTON, sa 80 yunit ng jeep na umiikot sa Divisoria, 12 lamang dito ang binigyan ng ayuda dahil umano sa hindi pagsunod ng iba sa pagsali sa kooperatiba.

Pagsapit ng pandemya, kumikita na lamang si Portea ng P300 kada araw mula sa dating higit P1,000. Mas maliit pa ang naiuuwi ng kanyang mga kakilalang hindi pag-aari ang jeep na pinapasada at kinakailangang magboundary kung kaya marami na rin ang napilitang tumigil sa pagpasada.

Para kay Portea, pananamantala umano ito ng LTFRB sa desperasyong kinahaharap ng katulad niyang tsuper.

Sa Kalakhang Maynila, nasa P75 hanggang P90 kada litro ang gasolina. Lumampas P100 naman ang kada litro nito sa ilang mga probinsya sa Timog Katagalugan noong kasagsagan ng pinakamataas na pagsirit sa presyo ng langis. Idinadahilan ng mga lokal na tagapagsuplay ng langis sa mga probinsya ang kahirapan sa pagdadala ng langis sa mga liblib na lugar kung kaya tinataasan nila ang presyo nito. Marami pa rin hanggang ngayon ang hindi nakatatanggap ng ayuda magmula nang simulan itong ipamahagi noong Abril, ayon sa mga reklamong natanggap ng PISTON mula sa mga drayber. “Bagaman bumababa na itong presyo ng langis matapos ang dalawang magkasunod na rollback, hindi pa rin [ito] ramdam ng mga drayber ng Timog Katagalugan dahil di naman bumaba yung presyo ng mga bilihin na apektado rin ng pagtaas [ng] presyo ng langis,” ani Portea. Naging balakid umano sa mabilis na pamamahagi ng ayuda ang masalimuot na mga rekisitong ipinasusumite ng Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) sa mga drayber. Bago mabigyan ng pinansyal na tulong mula sa LTFRB, kinakailangan munang kabilang sa isang kooperatiba ang yunit na pinapasada ng drayber. Ang mga kooperatiba ang naatasang

Hindi na bago ang ganitong iskema ng LTFRB. Noong kasagsagan din ng pandemya, may pondong inilaan bilang ayuda sa mga drayber sa ilalim ng Bayanihan 1 at 2. Subalit iginigiit pa rin ng LTFRB ang pagsali ng mga tsuper sa mga kooperatiba dahil ito umano ang maaatasang mamahagi ng subsidiyang magmumula sa gobyerno. Sadsad sa Kahirapan Sa katunayan, ayon sa mga drayber, ang pagsali o pagbuo ng kooperatiba ay isa sa mga hakbang na itinakda ng LTFRB para sa Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP). Bagaman pinag-aaralan pa ng LTFRB ang implementasyon ng PUVMP, patuloy ang konsolidasyon sa mga lumang jeep para gawing modernisado. Tinututulan ito ng mga drayber dahil ang mga bagong jeep na ipinagbibili ay karaniwang nasa P1.6 hanggang P2 milyon, halos doble kumpara sa ordinaryong modelo ng jeep na nagkakahalaga ng P500,000 hanggang P800,000. Para kay Portea, imposible ito para sa kanilang halos sapat lamang ang iniuuwing kita araw-araw para sa hapunan ng kanilang pamilya. Madalas ding kulang pa ito para sa pangangailangan ng kanilang mga anak at sa panahon ng kagipitan. “Nalalansi ang aming mga operator kasi halata namang gusto ng LTFRB na i-consolidate yung mga yunit na pinapasada ng mga drayber para mapadali yung modernization program ng gobyerno,” ani Portea. “Ang tanong namin, ano bang makukuha namin

Disenyo ng pahina ni Andrea Medina

OUTLOOK

KULÊ@100

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

sa pagsali sa mga kooperatibang ‘yan? Masisiguro ba n’yan na may kikitain kami araw-araw at di kami malulugmok sa krisis sa langis at pangunahin bilihin?”

OUTLOOK

Kung sakaling matuloy ang pagsasailalim sa kooperatiba at ang modernisasyon ng jeep, inaasahan na ng mga drayber na lalong hihirap ang kanilang pamumuhay. At sa halip na mamasada sila ayon sa kanilang pangangailangan, magtitiis ang mga drayber at konduktor sa maliit na sahod kada kinsenas. Noong Abril, sinibak ng LTFRB sa trabaho ang ilang mga tsuper na nagprotesta dahil sa mabagal na pamimigay ng kanilang sahod. Sila ang mga drayber sa ilalim ng service contracting ng gobyerno na nag-aalok ng libreng sakay sa pinapasadang modernized jeep sa EDSA Carousel. Inirereklamo nila ang kakarampot na porsyento ng kita na kanilang nakukuha—70 porsyento para sa mga kooperatiba “pampaayos” ng mga sasakyan, habang pinaghahatian naman ng mga drayber at konduktor ang 30 porsyentong nalalabi. Sa kabuuan, aabot sa P20 milyon ang sahod na hindi pa naipapamahagi noong Abril, ayon sa mga nagprotestang drayber. “Sanay sila (mga drayber) na handto-mouth ang basis ng kinikita. Kung ano yung nakukuha sa pagpasada sa araw, ayun din yung ipinangkakain sa pamilya. Kung ganitong kinsenas ay talagang mababaon sa utang yung mga drayber kaya di natin masisisi kung sila mismo ay umaaray na at nagpoprotesta kasi matagal na nga yung sahod, delayed pa sa mismong bigayan,” ani Floranda. Bagaman itinanggi ng LTFRB ang hinaing ng mga drayber, ang problema sa mabagal na pagbibigay ng sahod ay matagal nang nararanasan ng mga tsuper, dahil sa mababang badyet na inilalaan ng gobyerno sa mga proyektong tulad ng service

No to jeepney phaseout!

contracting kung saan kinukuha ang pondo para sa pasahod. Sagabal sa Pag-usad Noong 2020, tanging P8.8 milyon lamang ang naipamahaging bayad sa mga drayber ng EDSA Carousel, malayo sa P5.58 bilyong badyet nito mula sa Bayanihan 2. Napaso na lamang ang pondo para sa Bayanihan 2 noong Hunyo 2021, subalit P4.7 bilyon lamang ang nagastos ng LTFRB mula rito, ayon sa kanilang ulat noong Oktubre 2021. Malaking kasayangan para sa mga drayber ang kakaunting nagagastos ng LTFRB para sa ayuda gayong tumanggi si Duterte na suspendihin ang excise tax

sa langis upang bahagyang maalwanan ang mga drayber sa pagtaas ng presyo ng langis. Sa halip ay inaprubahan ang isang taong ekstensyon sa P200 buwanang ayuda para sa mahihirap na pamilya. Bukod dito ay wala nang aasahan ang mga drayber gayong kung hindi mabagal ay kakaunti lamang din ang alokasyon ng gobyerno para sa cash fuel subsidy na kanilang direktang pinakikinabangan. Nasa P2 bilyon lamang ang badyet sa 2022 na paghahatian ng milyon-milyong drayber bilang pinansyal na ayuda. Magmula noong 2021, kung kailan paunti-unti nang lumalabas ang mga

Larawan ni Nikki Teng (2020)

@phkule

KULÊ@100

OUTLOOK

Dama na ng mga drayber at komyuter ang krisis sa transportasyon bago pa man ang pandemya. Lalo lamang lumala ang kanilang kalagayan ngayong naging walang humpay naman ang pagtaas sa presyo ng langis at pangunahing bilihin sa ilalim ni Duterte.

tao sa mga lansangan, sa halip na maglaan ang gobyerno ng pondo upang mapabuti ang pampublikong transportasyon, lalo lamang pinaigting ng pamahalaan ang prayoritisasyon sa mga malakihang imprastrakturang pantransportasyon. Sa kabuuan, mayroon lamang P17.2 bilyong pondo sa 2021 hanggang 2022 na inilaan para sa mga proyektong tulad ng cash fuel subsidy, service contracting, pagpapatayo at pagsasaayos ng bike lanes, at PUVMP. Apat na beses itong mas mababa sa P76.4 bilyong pondo ng gobyerno para sa pagpapatayo ng malalaking proyekto gaya ng subway at mga panibagong international airport sa probinsya.

Bagaman makatutulong sa mamamayan ang mga bagong proyekto, hindi ito ang kinakailangan ng sektor ng transportasyon sa kasalukuyan dahil aabot ng taon hanggang dekada ang hihintayin para magamit ito ng mga drayber at pasahero, ayon sa PISTON. Bagkus, ang pagbibigay ng ayuda, pagsasaayos ng mga daanan at pampublikong transportasyon gaya ng ginawa sa MRT 2, at ang paglilipat ng pondo mula sa mga proyektong tulad ng subway station patungo sa pamimigay ng subsidiya sa mga drayber para sa pagmodernisa ng kanilang mga sasakyan ang kagyat na panawagan ng mga tsuper at komyuter.

Ang hatol nina Portea at ng mga drayber mula sa PISTON sa pamamalakad ni Duterte sa sektor ng transportasyon: Palpak ang dating pangulo at tanging sa pagpapakulong lamang mapapanagot si Duterte mula rito. “Para kay BBM, kung ayaw mo sumunod sa hatol ni Duterte, patunayan mo na tapat ka sa pangako mo noong eleksyon. Ibasura mo yung huwad na jeepney modernization program, kumilos ka para pababain yung presyo ng langis, at tuparin mo kahit yung pangako mo sa presyo ng bigas dahil nakakaapekto lahat ng ‘yan sa kalagayan ng mga drayber,” pagdiriin ni Floranda.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Andrea Medina

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

SOCI ET Y

Levei Bigcas

Hindi Biro Lang »

Maging matalas sa pagpili ng paksang gagamitin sa pagpapatawa sapagkat may mga paksang maaaring magkaroon ng negatibong implikasyon sa mga tunay na biktima ng inhustisya at karahasan.

Para sa inyong katanungan, mag-email sa phkule.upd@up.edu.ph.

Dibuho ni Kim Yutuc

@phkule

Sa lahat ng nangyayaring masalimuot sa mundo, ordinaryong reaksyon ang gawing katatawanan ang maraming bagay. Mula sa pinakasimpleng pagkakamali hanggang sa mga politkal na ganap, halos lahat na ng pangyayari sa social media ay madaling gawing biro. Sa sobrang talamak na ng paggawa at pagpapakalat ng memes, hindi na bale kung may masasaktang tao sa pagpapatawa. Ang mahalaga, may mga taong napasaya at nais din magpasaya ng iba.

Sa pag-upo ni Rodrigo Duterte bilang pangulo, naging normal gawing katatawanan ang pag-insulto sa iba’t ibang grupo ng tao at biktima ng karahasan. Pinasimulan niya mismo ito, siyang hindi sineseryoso at nararanasan ang hirap na dala ng pamumuno niya. Madalas mang ikatwiran ng mga opisyal na nagbibiro lamang ang presidente, nananatili ang totoo–walang nakakatawa sa ganitong pagpapatawa. Masamang Biro Memes ang naging takbuhan ng mamamayan sa tuwing magbubukas ng social media, sapagkat mas madali itong intindihin at mas magaang iproseso ang mga impormasyong nilalaman nito. Ang memes ay itinuturing na pinakamadaling daluyan ng mensahe dahil madali lamang itong gawin. Mula sa pagkuha ng

mga retrato o bidyo ng mga sikat na personalidad at pangyayaring nagkalat sa Internet, umunlad na ang memes para makapagkabit ng komentaryo ang kung sinomang tao ayon sa anomang konteksto. Kaya habang tumatagal ang pag-ikot ng meme sa social media, lalo itong lumalayo sa orihinal nitong teksto, hanggang sa maaari na itong gamitin para saan, at lamanin kahit anoman. Para kay Richard Dawkins, kaunaunahang gumamit ng salitang memes noong 1976 sa kanyang librong The Selfish Gene, ang memes ay likhang-sining dahil may layon itong baguhin ang mga retrato at bidyong sumasangguni sa popular na kulturang umiiral sa isang lipunan. Sa bernakular ng sining, ang meme ay porma ng appropriation. Ngunit bilang humahango ito sa popular na pangyayari sa lipunan–maaliwalas man o marahas–may laya ang sinomang magbigay ng iba’t ibang pagpapakahulugan dito. Buhat ng kaluwagan ng memes para maglaman ng kahit anong retorika, nagiging kasangkapan ito para magpaikot ng mapanganib na paniniwala at ideolohiya bukod pa sa pagpapatawa. Sa pinakamalawak na pagtingin, umiikot ang porma ng memes sa katuwaan, kaya kadalasang hindi ito sineseryoso ng mga kumokonsumo nito. Sa hindi katagalan, ginamit na rin ng mamamayan ang memes bilang porma ng pakikipagpalitan ng pulitikal na ideya sa social media. Hindi kalauna’y naging parte na rin ang memes ng istratehiya sa pangangampanya ng mga politiko. Dahil nga ang memes ay natural na pinagsasaluhan ng madlang mayroong iisang paniniwala, nagiging tagahulma na ito ng politikal na opinyon at kamalayan ng isang indibidwal.

SOCI ET Y

Marahil ngang mas nakakatawa ang dark humor o black comedy kesa sa normal na mga biro. Napapagaan kasi nito ang karaniwang bigat na dala ng mga paksang karaniwang tinitingnan bilang taboo. Mas madali ring mapagusapan ang malalagim na bagay sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatawa. Pero tulad ng maraming masayang bagay, may hangganan din ang pagpapatawa–lalo na kung may pinapahamak itong iba.

KULÊ@100

Ang memes ay literal na alterasyon dapat ng popular na imahe lamang, hindi ng impormasyon. Hindi rin nito dapat pinalalabnaw ang mga mabibigat na pangyayari sa lipunan at gawing paksa ng katuwaan.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Venus Samonte

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

Hindi na Mabiro

SOCIETY

Noong panahon ng eleksyon–mula sa simula ng pangangampanya hanggang sa pagtapos ng botohan–naglipana sa social media ang dark humor. Halimbawa na lang ang puspusang pagpapalitaw ng mga lumang retrato at bidyong naglalaman ng mga pangyayari noong Batas Militar. Mayroon din ang pagpapakalat ng mga linyahan tulad “Share now, missing later,” “Share now, torture later,” “Share now, kulong later” na bitbit ang sabay na pananakot at pangungutya sa mga biktima ng sapilitang pagkawala at tortyur. Ang walang-ingat na pagbitaw ng mga ganitong biro ay hindi malayo sa mga salitang maririnig sa mga talumpati ni Duterte noong termino niya. Bara-bara siyang nag-uutos ng pagpatay, paghuli, o kahit pagtugis sa mga kritiko niya. Wala rin siyang takot mambastos ng mga kababaihan, propesyon, o kahit awtoridad na mas mataas sa kanya. Paano niya nga naman ito seseryosohin gayong biro lang sa kanya ang buhay at dignidad ng mamamayan. Ngunit kahit anong pagpapawalangbisa ng mga bantang ito, totoong may materyal na epekto ang mga pabirong pananakot na ito. Kitang kita ito sa daan-daang namatay, nawala, at naarestong magsasaka, organisador, estudyante at kahit sibilyan sa ilalim ng anim na taong paninilbihan niya. Tunay na walang nakakatawa sa masasamang biro ni Duterte at kahit sinomang gumagamit ng dark humor bilang pagpapatawa. Ano pa mang pangangatwiran na para lamang sa katatawanan ang mga panunuksong ito, sinasalamin pa rin nito ang mapanghamak na perspektibang mayroon ang nagpapatawa sa mga kinukutya nitong grupo ng tao. Ayon

JULY 2022

kay Thomas Ford, na sumasaliksik sa ganitong tipo ng pagpapatawa, madalas gamitin ng mga tao ang dark humor para ilabas ang mga kinikimkim nilang panghuhusga na hindi nila mailalahad sa normal na sitwasyon. Kaya rin madaling tanggapin ang dark humor, sa kabila ng malalim nitong implikasyon, dahil naitatago nila ang mapaminsalang pagtingin sa likod ng intensyong magpatawa. Ngunit sa lagay ng mundo ngayon, paano pa natin nagagawang tumawa kung mas nakakasakit ang biro kaysa sa nagpapasaya? Huling Halakhak Hindi nakatutulong ang mga ganitong klase ng biro sa mga kaanak ng mga desaparecido, bilanggong pulitikal, at mga biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng mga Marcos noong Batas Militar. Kaysa gawing katatawanan ang danas ng mga biktima, dapat tayong tumitindig kasama nila lalo pa’t ipinagkakait sa kanila ang hustisyang dapat nilang makamit. Lalo ngayong muli na namang nakabalik ang pamilyang Marcos sa Malacañang, na pangunahing salarin ng paghihirap at pangungulila ng marami. Mabilis na lamang magbitaw ng matatalas na biro at mga insensitibong punchline na ikinukubli sa depinisyon ng dark memes dahil mayroon ding laya ang mamamayan na magtago ng kanilang identidad at mawalan ng pananagutan sa kapwa. Ayon sa behaviorial scientist na si Peter McGraw ng University of Colorado, ang katatawanan, sa kalakhan, ay tiyak na nagmumula sa mga negatibong sitwasyon. Tinangka ng kampo ni McGraw na manaliksik upang gagapin kung bakit patok na patok ang karahasan

bilang paksa ng biruan at tuksuhan. Sa kanilang pananaliksik, nabuo ang benign-violation theory. Inilitaw ng teoryang ito na mas kinahihiligan ng mamamayan ang mga paksang may banta sa kanilang normal na perspektiba sa kung ano ang tama at mali, kaya mas pinagkakatuwaan ang mga pangyayaring may kinalaman sa pagtapak sa moral ng isang indibidwal. Kung hindi magiging matagumpay sa paglalatag at paggamit ng mga dark humor na ito, dalawa lamang ang maaaring kahinatnan ng biro: maging walang saysay ang mga ito sa madla, o maging opensibo sa mga nabiktima mismo ng karahasang ginagamit sa paksa ng katatawanan. Sa kaso ng memes na umusbong mula nang manungkulan si Duterte, nanormalisa na ang paggamit sa karahasan bilang paksa ng mga ito. Hanggang nitong nakaraang halalan lamang, muling naglipana ang memes na walang pakundangang nilalangkapan ng lehitimong danas ng mga biktima ng mapang-abusong pamamahala ng yumaong diktador. Ito ay upang gawing katatawanan at tungkol sa sarili ang mga posibleng pangyayari tulad ng pagkawala’t panonortyur sa isang indibidwal na sumasalungat sa pagkapangulo at pagkabise-presidente nina Marcos Jr. at Sara Duterte. Ang memes ay literal na alterasyon dapat ng popular na imahe hindi ng impormasyon. Hindi rin nito dapat pinalalabnaw ang mga mabibigat na pangyayari sa lipunan at gawing paksa ng katuwaan. Magandang isipin kung ang huling halakhak ay nasa biktima, ngunit hanggang nananatiling insensitibo ang ilan sa realidad na may hangganan ang pagpapatawa, mananatiling katatawanan ang materyal na karahasan at kahirapan na nararanasan ng karamihan.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Venus Samonte

@phkule

KULÊ@100

SOCIETY

Ana De Jesus

Judge, Jury, Executioner »

Six years under Rodrigo Duterte’s violent campaigns may have just turned several of us into the punisher we profess to condemn.

Illustration by Maria Laya

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

At its most basic form, justice is exacted through retribution: no crime must go unpunished, and the punishment must fit the crime. But as violence and impunity abound Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, the punishment for every transgression was demanded, even at the slightest ones.

SOCIETY

Across Duterte’s six-year rule, he managed to turn every Filipino against one another. There was no shortage of online threats hurled at each other, from promising death to intimidating legal action, as in the case of a Grab driver losing their job over their homophobic remark. With a former president who cannot solve every problem he faced without violence, it has become routine for some to resort to the nuclear option when offended. But exacting punishment at every offense could only do more damage than right a wrong. Crime and Punishment For Duterte, there is no problem that cannot be solved without shooting at it, no crisis cannot be addressed without waging a war against it. These violent campaigns certainly amounted to nothing but carnage. But after years of being subject to Duterte’s brutal rhetoric and tactics, some Filipinos have seemed to have internalized his lawless impulses. With his fiery speeches almost always containing shoot-to-kill orders, Duterte encouraged hate speech and made a spectacle of violence, which ordinary Filipinos now seem to easily reenact on one another on social media. Several civilians carelessly commented to have scores of urban

Duterte, panagutin!

JULY 2022

poor be arrested and shot down when the San Roque residents justifiably took to streets to call for food and aid in 2020. Many Filipinos, activists or otherwise, were also on the receiving end of death threats during Duterte’s tenure. Even officials were not exempted from such intimidations. Former Vice President Leni Robredo was also vulnerable to this form of terror from her detractors as she and her family fell victim to countless fake news and death threats. Uttered online, these words may not hold much weight, except when they do in the real world. Numerous activists, who had received texts about getting killed or arrested, were shot and jailed. Slum-dwellers lost their homes to demolitions. Or in instances of slight trespassing, some, as in the case of the Grab driver, suffered the loss of income.

After years of being subject to Duterte’s brutal rhetoric and tactics, some Filipinos have seemed to have internalized his lawless impulses.

Apparent in here is how these groups of people were met with punishment despite the lack or triviality of their lapses. But the most appalling facet of this was how the public was led to believe that they deserved it. That the poor should suffer more for the state of penury they did not choose, that anyone who offended anyone, intended or otherwise, should be damned. Duterte certainly awakened the vengeful side of some of us for he himself always sought misguided retribution against his critics. But he also left the top government position with punitive culture as his legacy with impunity for six years. Nothing empowers crime more than having the criminal go unscathed. Discipline and Punish Ordering smallest

punishment over the misdemeanor, however,

Page design by Keian Florino

KULÊ@100

@phkule

already existed even before Duterte ascended to power. Behaviors and manners such as idleness, homelessness, and aggressiveness, for example, are often morally condemned. Before discourses about gender equality had emerged, homosexuality was also considered a deviant behavior, and worse, a crime.

Compounding this was the deepseated prejudice that poverty is the failure of the individual and not of the existing system. A poor person is one because of their irrational decision and poor lifestyle; hence the derogatory term pasaway was used against the marginalized several times during the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. True to the punitive culture Duterte had fostered, many urban poor families were outcast as pasaway, which turned them into subjects of disciplining and policing, such as caging and publicly shaming curfew offenders. But amid all the violence, what the Duterte regime also made glaring was how consequential punishments are. Most of the time, they are but poor and unwarranted exercise of power. But at the same time, with how criminality

Order Out of Chaos More than being a consequence of one’s wrongdoing, punishment reinforces societal order. There is a justified need for punishment, despite its failure to rehabilitate a person, because there is a certain status quo to be sustained. As Duterte calamitously polarized the nation, the desire to punish any lapses grew as the aspiration for order also deepened. Penalizing someone, however, does not mean disciplining them to turn over a new leaf. In Henrique Carvalho’s words, a lawyer working on criminalization and justice, punishment displaces the fault in the system to the individual. That the conditions that forced the offender to commit the transgressions were absent and it all comes down to the person’s predisposition to commit the wrongdoing. So long as there is an inequitable order needed to be maintained, punishment will be justified, and, by extension, a punisher’s rise to power is inevitable. In talks about abolishing prisons, several alternatives to punishments surfaced. This ranges from taking rehabilitative measures to strengthening communal ties to sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice systems. But some of these courses of action still acknowledge the existence of crimes and punishment are forms of control. As long as unjust conditions can drive someone to infringe laws, one is susceptible to commit misdeeds, which makes another one inclined to punish them.

Refashioning a country that no longer benefits from punishment is as tall as an order of dismantling the current system and giving birth to an equitable one. But perhaps we can inch closer to realizing this when we begin to act more often out of compassion and solidarity. Building a better society out of mutual aid and support may just be poetic justice we deserve.

SOCIETY

It was Michel Foucault who had a groundbreaking rethinking of what crime and punishment meant. In his historicization of prisons, he wrote about how societies’ detection and punishment of crimes rest on the ruling class’s desire to control people of lower status. As the economy grew and social inequality widened, the latter often fell victim to depredation as they were the ones relegated to producing and handling the former’s wealth.

is framed as rampant and serious, punishment appears to be necessary to restore order.

As Duterte calamitously polarized the nation, the desire to punish any lapses grew as the aspiration for order also deepened.

Page design by Keian Florino

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

NARRATIVES

Adam Torres

Remembering the Departed

Rectifying the Damages of Duterte’s Drug War »

In looking back at Duterte’s brutal drug war, a mother struggles to put back the missing pieces of her family as she reminisces the death of her two sons.

Stop the Killings

Page design by Venus Samonte

@phkule

KULÊ@100

Nanay Llore speaks out about the injustices committed against her family in this year’s People’s SONA as she calls on the current administration to hold Rodrigo Duterte accountable for his crimes.

Hardly any notice from the police was given to Nanay Llore about her sons until she, herself, saw their corpses shown on her television screen. She lost not only one, but two of her children that day. A year into the drug war, Nanay Llore had already been apprehensive of her children’s safety as news on the administration’s violent war on drugs had pervaded the airwaves. That time, Aaron Aquino, chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, had proudly declared the monthly quota he imposed

on regional drug operations. An average of 34 drug-related casualties each day back then was reported by human rights organizations. In those days in Barangay Batasan Hills, mothers like Nanay Llore slept with one eye open, wary of the trouble stirring in their congested streets at night. Individuals from impoverished families like them were often the ones targeted in questionable police raids. Five years since her sons’ killings, Nanay Llore wills to pick up the pieces of their deaths by supporting the families her children have left in their passing. And now a volunteer and core leader for Rise Up for Life and Rights, she struggles to seek the truth along with the families of other victims affected by the onslaught of Oplan Tokhang. Rodrigo Duterte’s term has ended, yet little to no decisive action has been made to pursue accountability for the victims

caught in his drug war’s crossfires. Duterte’s legacy of blood and terror seems far from over with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. determined to carry on his predecessor’s unfinished deadly project. Stolen Lives, Shattered Families On May 12, 2017, news outlets had reported that Nanay Llore’s sons, Crisanto Antonio and Juan Carlos, were accused of a robbery, chased to UP Arboretum, and shot to death by the police on claims of self-defense. The headlines wrote, “Suspects found dead behind UP Arboretum.” But for Nanay Llore, there was much more to this than the police would reveal to the public. Originally stationed in Batangas, Crisanto, the elder of the two sons, had come to Manila to renew his security license at Camp Crame. But Crisanto never returned home on the night of May 11. Already anxious about his whereabouts, Nanay Llore scrambled

Photo by Keian Florino

NARRATIVES

For every other household, the newscast of May 12, 2017, might not have been out of the ordinary— the president’s assets doubled, a celebrity’s drug den was raided, police office rs we re accuse d of planting evidence of drug use, and the United Nations clamored to stop the killings. But for Llore Pasco and her family, the newscast that day delivered their worst tragedy.

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

to file a missing person’s case. Six police stations turned her away, saying it had not been 24 hours since Crisanto was last seen. It was only at this point that she realized that another one of the siblings, Juan Carlos, also cannot be contacted and reached.

NARRATIVES

“Puno ako ng kaba at takot kaya hindi ako makatulog noong kinagabihan ng May 11. Dasal ako ng dasal na sana makita sila. Pero ayun, sa balita na lang namin nakita na wala na sila,” said Nanay Llore. The first eight days after finding out were the hardest, said Nanay Llore. Still grappling with the fact that her two children were indeed gone, the police would also continuously deny them her request to retrieve the bodies and perform their own autopsy. Nanay Llore’s brother, who was then chief of Crisanto’s security unit, had to slip into the morgue just to peak under the body bags. Under the grey plastic sheets, her brother found the remains of her children, bloody and sullied by multiple gunshot wounds. Nanay Llore does not deny the fact that her sons used illegal narcotics in the past, but she is proud that they had turned over a new leaf for the future of their families. Crisanto had regularly been tested for drugs to continue his job as a security guard, while Juan Carlos had promised to turn away from bad crowds. When Oplan Tokhang, Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign, came in full swing, she even urged her sons to enlist before the barangay to verify their sobriety. After all, they had nothing to be guilty of, said Nanay Llore. However, the barangay officials gave them an unfair dilemma for their past inhibitions: choose between expensive rehabilitation or return to the province. Both choices were impractical for the family who could not afford any of the options. Reflecting on the incident, Nanay Llore believes that the process just seemed like a facade to identify and track drug users.

Stop the Killings

Emily Soriano speaks during the 2020 Human Rights Day mobilization in Mendiola, Manila about her 15-year-old son, Angelito, who was killed along with two other teenagers six years ago.

After her sons were robbed of their lives due to a policy that targeted the poor, even the process to retrieve their bodies and grieve properly also seemed to work against them. The funeral home charged their family with a bill of P112,000, an amount they did not have. Her voice would crack while recalling Rise Up’s help in compromising for the funeral

expenses, “Kinailangan naming maglagak ng P50,000 para sa puneraryang iyon pero ang mahalaga ay nabigyan naman namin sila ng maayos na libing.” Accountability for the Aggrieved Despite the blatant human rights violations during drug war operations,

File photo (2020)

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many affected families remain silent about these injustices. Before calling for international investigations with Rise Up and the National Union of People’s Lawyers, Nanay Llore was also reluctant to share her sons’ stories. “Wala naman akong testigo at ang lumabas pa sa balita ay ligal na operasyon daw ng pulisya ang naganap kaya sila napaslang at tila walang saysay kung kakasuhan ko pa sila,” she said. The fear of taking a stand against the police has not left Nanay Llore. But by uniting her case with that of other victims’ families, she has found hope to pursue accountability from those who took the lives of her children.

who is also an assistant counsel before the drug war petition in the ICC. The chain of culpability will directly point towards those who have enabled the murderous Tokhang policy—including Duterte himself. Given an expansive reach, the ICC investigation offers a better perspective into the policy behind the drug war while pursuing the due process that victims’s families had sought for. The investigation’s foremost objective is to uncover the violence and state-led impunity brought by the brutal anti-narcotics campaign. Despite the apparent target it puts on her back, Nanay Llore continues to assert her right to know the truth from the police operations in question. “Mayroon talagang takot sa dibdib mo dahil pati ang mga tumetestigo at naghahanap ng hustisya ay nanganganib sa kanilang puwersa. Pero sa kabila nito, igigiit natin iyan upang mabigyang linaw ang katotohanan,” she said.

While pushing for the ICC’s investigations, Nanay Llore struggles Probes conducted by the Philippine to make ends meet for the four children National Police and DOJ would that Crisanto had left with her. Like only affirm the misplace d pre mise her situation, the killings have brought of accountability within internal irreversible damages to the families proceedings. Current administrative of drug war victims who are further efforts led by the Internal Affairs plunged into poverty. This is why the Service, an advisory body auditing last premise of justice comes in the the police, focuses on rogue police form of reparations which would work rather than the bigger picture of the toward rebuilding the affected family’s Oplan Tokhang. socioeconomic vulnerabilities. “Kulang na kulang yung investigation ng DOJ and I think it’s coming from the wrong perspective. Nobody is looking into the policy, nobody is looking into if the Tokhang killings were murders,” said Kristina Conti, legal counsel from NUPL. Without much hope for local institutions, victims’ families and human rights groups turn to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) interventions to serve justice and further probe on the issue at hand. “With the ICC investigation, their goal is to find out who is the ‘most responsible’ [for the killings],” said Conti,

Their Stories Remain Marcos inherited the dehumanizing drug war spurred by the Duterte administration. It is difficult to believe that a change in leadership would truly improve the project’s implementation given that he is adamant on pursuing a bloody legacy that mirrors both his father and his predecessor’s. Absent any plans for human rights and accountability, his first State of the Nation Address made it clear that ceasing the death toll is not his priority. Nonetheless, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. recently affirmed

Marcos’s intentions for a drug war campaign that is as “intensive” and “unrelenting” as Duterte. When asked about her outlook on the government’s violent undertakings, Nanay Llore tells me, “Hindi lang ito usapin ng droga, usapin ito ng kahirapan.” Likewise, the problem of drug use would not be deterred by the death of petty drug dealers and users. “Ang mga mahihirap talaga ang siyang dayuhan ng mga nangyayaring ito dahil sila ang mabilis na maengganyo dahil isang abutan lang may pera na,” said Leah Valencia, community coordinator of Rise Up. Poor communities become more vulnerable to drug abuse because of the inaccessibility of education, healthcare, and decent work—policy areas which were least prioritized by the past administration. As for pursuing accountability through the ICC, the Marcos administration will not rejoin the court and will rely on pending domestic investigations. Conti said that even if there is not much to hope for from the state, civil society organizations are more than willing to supplement the information that the ICC requires. The opposition that has galvanized against the Marcos-Duterte alliance is also capable of setting these democratic actions into motion.

NARRATIVES

However, initial domestic efforts to investigate the extrajudicial killings have not been enough. Out of over 6,252 drug war casualties acknowledged by the government, only 52 of these cases have been reviewed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). As of January 25, only four cases have reached trial courts, while only a small number of police officers have been found guilty.

KULÊ@100

For Valencia, calls for accountability must not solely depend on the ICC, but the streets where the masses continue to fight for their rights. “Mapapanagot lang natin sila kung maihahain ang due process sa lahat ng sangkot sa krimen. Hindi lang ang mismong nagpisil ng gatilyo, pero ang mismong sistema na nagpapanatili nito ang mapapanagot natin kung mas maraming pamilya at biktima ang tumindig para sa hustisya,” she said. In entering another grim administration, the stories of drug war victims like Crisanto and Juan Carlos will live on as a reminder of the injustice that will prevail so long as oppressive policies remain unaddressed.

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PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

Gretle C. Mago

KO L U M

Sino’ng Walang Kredibilidad Ang mahirap sa panahon ngayon, sapat na ang simpleng pagtanggi at pagsisinungaling ng awtoridad upang paniwalaan ng mga tao na ang mga biktima ang siyang kaaway. Kaya hindi agad naniwala ang Papa ko na inosente ang 93 magsasaka, aktibista, at mamamahayag nang arestuhin sila sa gitna ng bungkalan sa Hacienda Tinang sa Tarlac noong Hunyo. Sa katunayan, sabi ko sa kanya, mayroon namang titulo o certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) ang mga pesante—may kalayaan silang gawin ang gusto nila sa lupang pagmamay-ari nila. Kung meron mang nanggugulo sa bungkalan, iyon ang mga pulis at nagbabantang mayor na si Noel Villanueva, na mula sa angkan ng may pinakamalaking parte sa kooperatiba ng Tinang. Taong 1995 pa ng igawad ang titulo sa 230 nagbubungkal ng lupa bilang bahagi ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) na isinabatas noong 1988. Ngunit hindi nakumbinsi si papa. Aniya, “Hindi pa rin sa kanila ang tubuhan, ayun yung sabi ng mga pulis.” Walang respeto sa ligal na dokumentong ang estado mismo ang lumikha, ang naratibong ipinakalat ng Concepcion Municipal Police Station ay iligal na nagtitipon ang mga magsasaka upang manira ng lupa.

Defend Tinang Farmers!

Para sa lupong nanumpang magsisilbi sa estado, kapulisan ang nangunguna sa paglabag sa mga batas na ang pamahalaan din ang nagpanukala. Pahirapan at minsan pang humahantong sa patayan bago makuha ng mga magsasaka ang kanilang titulo, pero walang pakundangan na lang itinapon sa hangin ng kapulisan ang kredibilidad ng mga titulong ito ng pinaghuhuli nila ang mga magsasaka. Ngunit ang ganitong karanasan ng mga pesante sa Tinang ay di lang partikular sa kanila. Nangyayari rin ito sa maraming sakahan sa bansa, sa mga magsasakang di pa rin nabibigyan ng sariling lupa, o di kaya’y di makontrol ang lupang pinagkaloob na sa kanila ng batas. Ang tuluyang pagkakaroon ng sariling lupang sakahan ang pinoposturang pangako ng CARP para sa mga magsasaka, ngunit napatunayan nang di napaunlad ng batas ang buhay ng mga mambubukid. Paano’y bago maipamahagi sa isang magsasaka ang kanyang lupa, kinakailangan muna silang mabigyan ng CLOA at magbayad ng mataas na amortisasyon sa lupa sa loob ng 30 taon.

Sumibol ang bungkalan sa Tinang bilang produkto ng mas humihinang bisa ng CARP sa paggiit na ang lupa ay dapat sa mga magsasakang benepisyaryo nito.

Makumpleto man ang dalawang rekisito, marami pa ring mapanghamak na probisyon ang CARP. Dahil patuloy pa rin ang exemption at land

Disenyo ng pahina ni Andrea Medina

@phkule

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Dumaluyong sa kahabaan ng Welcome Rotonda hanggang Espanya ang lupon ng mga magsasaka mula sa iba’t ibang rehiyon ng Luzon upang ipanawagan ang kani-kanilang hinaing hinggil sa mga agrikultural na palisiya ng administrasyon, Oktubre 21, 2019.

Isa sa mga paraan ng mga asyendero upang di maipamahagi sa mga pesante ang lupain ay gawin itong kooperatiba. At dahil walang probisyon upang matigil ang ganitong iskema, nananatiling kolateral ang mga CLOA ng mga pesante sa oras na mabaon sila sa utang. Sa patuloy nilang pagkasadlak sa hirap dahil sa ipinagkakait na subsidiya at suporta ng pamahalaan, napapasakamay muli ng iilang prominenteng pamilya ang kalakhan ng lupain. Angkan ng mga Villanueva ang may pinakamalaking stocks sa kooperatiba ng Tinang—isa rin sila sa kumite nito. Kaya klaro kung saan nakapanalig ang interes at posisyong hawak ni

Noel Villanueva nang siya mismo ang nagtungo sa Brgy. Tinang at nagbanta na ipapaaresto ang mga lider-magsasaka na naglunsad ng bungkalan. Kinilala na ng hukom na ang mga magsasaka ang may-ari ng lupa sa asyenda, at ibinasura ang ikinasong malicious mischief at illegal assembly sa Tinang 83. Ngunit nakabinbin pa rin ang mga reklamo ng pulisya ng Concepcion na usurpation of real property rights, disobedience to person of authority, at bagong mga kaso ng obstruction of justice, human trafficking, at child exploitation. Habang patuloy na ipinapanawagan ang pagbabasura sa mga kaso ng Tinang 83, naghanda na rin ang kanilang kampo upang magsampa ng reklamo laban sa hepe at mga tauhan ng Concepcion PNP. Sumibol ang bungkalan sa Tinang bilang produkto ng mas humihinang bisa ng CARP sa paggiit na ang lupa ay dapat sa mga magsasakang benepisyaryo nito. Di na ito nakakagulat, gayong ang lumikha ng batas ay hasyendera rin. Sa kasalukuyan, muling ipinasa

ng Makabayan Bloc sa Kongreso ang House Bill 1161 o Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, upang libreng maipamahagi ang lupa sa lahat ng magsasaka sa bansa. Inaasahang mas magiging epektibo ito sa pagsisigurong makakamtan ng mga pesante ang kanilang karapatan, at nang di nakalulusot ang interes ng panginoong maylupa. Sa patuloy na pagpapalaganap ng mga bungkalan, walang maliw na pagsuporta at pag-oorganisa kasama ang mga magsasaka, naniniwala akong mananaig din ang katotohanang ang lupang pinaglaanan nila ng buhay upang palaguin ay marapat na mapasakanila. Alam kong inosente lang din ang aking ama sa patuloy na pagbabaluktot ng mga kasinungalingang pumapaligid sa kanya. Kaya ang iniisip ko ngayon, at pinagsisikapang pagbutihin, ay kung papaano pa makikibahagi sa pagsulong sa kamalayang kinikilala ang kapasidad ng mga pesanteng paunlarin ang ating mga buhay—gamit ang sariling ahensya at solusyong sila mismo ang magbabalangkas at magpapanukala.

Larawan ni Keian Florino

KOLUM

conversion, maraming lupa ang di na nasasaklaw ng CARP. Nagreresulta ito sa di pagkilala sa maraming magsasaka bilang benepisyaryo ng batas. Nauuwi rin ang maraming magsasaka sa pagbebenta ng mga hawak na CLOA dulot ng pagkalugi sa sakahan— dahil sa mahal na mga bayarin sa pagsasaka at pandarahas sa kamay ng mayayamang asyendero.

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

COLUMN

Youth members,, environmental organizations and advocates mobilized at Plaza Miranda, November 29, 2019. The protest action act was held days before world leaders convened for COP25 in Madrid.

The Global South Must Reckon With its Role in Calls for Climate Justice Daniel Sebastianne Daiz

Climate Justice Now!

It is deplorable that poorer nations are forced to implement carbon-cutting measures, while top polluters remain business as usual.

File photo (2019)

@phkule

The US Supreme Court has burned its last semblance of legitimacy. Just last month, the court went from striking down gun control laws–weeks after a school mass shooting–to eliminating the long-standing right to abortion. And a week later, the court sided with the pleas of large fossil fuel companies which will have a wide-ranging impact that will inevitably affect more than their country. In its last decision of the 2021 term, the court ruled to strike down the order of the US Environmental Protection Agency for power plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the US reduction targets. It was a 6-3 ruling, with the court’s right-wing justices in the majority and the liberals in dissent.

The US government, however, can do something. But the fact that Biden–who even ran on a platform of holding the oil and gas industry accountable for their pollution–and his administration have, so far, done nothing to counter the court’s ruling only reveals his administration and his party’s hypocrisy and cozy relationship with big polluters. With a body politic bankrolled by fossil fuel lobbyists, the US has lost its ascendancy in advocating for an effective and binding climate pact. Such an abdication of responsibility in dealing with the threat of climate change is unacceptable and now requires bolder action from the wider international community to hold top polluting countries accountable.

The geopolitical contradiction could not be clearer: It is deplorable that the Global South is forced to implement carbon-cutting measures, often to the detriment of its vulnerable sectors, while top polluters remain business as usual. In fact, the richest 10 percent of the world’s population is responsible for 52 percent of carbon emissions from 1995 to 2015 while the poorest 50 percent only contributed 7 percent, according to Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute. Simply put, climate change is tied to wealth inequality. The onus of making the case and making visceral the oft-tragic consequence of climate change, specifically, falls on countries like the Philippines. In such a scenario, those at the reticle of a climate disaster become the advocates for a more rightful stewardship of the environment and a more equitable dispersal of climate responsibilities and contributions. Economic anthropologist Jason Hickel opined that, collectively, the Global South can implement protectionist policies to “cut off [the] flow of wealth” to developed nations. With higher tariffs and better labor policies in often exploited nations, he argued, global pollutants would be forced to reduce production and, consequently, emissions. But trade wars would be a disaster in countries like the Philippines whose economies are strongly tied to larger foreign economies like the US and China. Still, resource-rich nations could assert more control over their wealth by implementing domestic policies aimed at eliminating inequalities within their borders. Here, for instance, the government could restrict the privileges of foreign mining corporations. After all, mining remains to be one of the most destructive industries in the Philippines–ravaging the country’s

natural resources and displacing communities despite delivering disproportionate contributions to the economy. And in that way, the Global South would be less dependent on richer nations, giving the former a larger sway at the international negotiating table. And indeed we need that higher bargaining power, both in the short and long term. Under the scheme called climate financing, industrialized nations would give money to the Global South in exchange for implementing climate resiliency and shifting to greener energy. However, it appears that such agreements are closer to loans rather than grants. In fact, in June, the previous administration signed a loan with the Asian Development Bank to fund infrastructure development and implement domestic climate policies. In exchange for some unsure climate action, the government, once again, placed the future generations at a fiscally precarious position. The current administration, meanwhile, appears to understand the problem but remains tight-lipped about its future actions.

COLUMN

For most climate risk countries like the Philippines, it is a perilous plight. Because the US is the second largest carbon contributor, any international effort to combat global warming without US involvement is immaterial. Without the US even carrying its weight, the world will miserably fail in its collective and urgent task of averting a climate catastrophe.

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There is not much time left for tinkering around at tentative resolutions. Problems that threaten humanity’s existence require the boldest and most radical solutions. If anything, we are still eons away from reaching concrete and permanent steps for climate action, both domestically and globally. Nothing could be more appalling and revulsive than the fact that six right-wing unelected politicians could sink the world’s slightest hope of real climate action from the US. Yet it presents a critical opportunity for those at the receiving end of climate wrath to unite against these big polluters and demand that bold action is needed, and it is needed swiftly.

Page design by Dustin Francisco

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

ABSTRACT

Regina Gail B. Navata

How Nurses Viewed Duterte’s ‘Hero Rhetoric’ During the Pandemic On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, putting government leaders and health care workers key bearers of an urgent and effective pandemic response. With the ongoing crisis, a global discourse emerged where different leaders all over the world regarded their health care workers as heroes in a rhetorical war against COVID-19 including former President Rodrigo Duterte. This study aimed to understand how the public messages of Duterte created a hero rhetoric toward Filipino health care workers and consequently, how this rhetoric impacted their communicated identities. Guided by Kenneth Burke’s Dramatism (1969), the researcher conducted a rhetorical analysis on 15 selected messages delivered by Duterte, focused on the act-agent ratio. Seeing Duterte’s public speeches as a drama, the scene being the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines called for crisis responders as agents who primarily are the Filipino health care workers. For their acts, the most emergent were their service at the frontlines and expressions of dissent against the distressing working conditions they were made to endure. To fulfill these acts, Filipino health care workers have an agency in their bodies which subsequently carry out their purpose of saving the Filipino nation from a failing pandemic response of the Duterte administration.

The rhetorical analysis, focused on the act-agent ratio, revealed that the performance of Filipino health care workers’ saving and dissenting acts shape and influence who they are. Duterte has ascribed the roles of primary bearers to end the pandemic and trained fighters of the COVID-19 war to the Filipino health care workers. By doing so, he has largely considered them as heroes worthy of praise. However, Filipino health care workers, in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, have shown vulnerability and some have died in battle. Furthermore, contrary to the protagonistic image of heroes, they have also shown capability in opposing the hostile treatments toward them in the forms of call-outs and their migration. Through the pentadic ratio analysis, Duterte’s motives of silencing dissent from critics and absolving himself of accountability for a failing COVID-19 pandemic response emerged. Through Michael Hecht’s (2004) Communication Theory of Identity analysis of the identities of three Filipino nurses, their personal layer reflected their self-concepts of being nurses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have always been associated with positive feelings such as happiness, pride, and self-fulfillment. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, feelings of fear, doubt and hesitation emerged especially as they were called to serve the frontlines. For their enacted frame, the participants asserted that there is no difference in the quality of their

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@phkule

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Groups of health practitioners, scientists, and migrant workers expressed their dismay over the poor handling of the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a press conference led by the Coalition for People’s Right to Health, March 12, 2020.

Furthermore, the results showed that the pandemic challenged their relationship with acquaintances due to the stigma and discrimination brought by the stereotype of being carriers of COVID-19. For their communal identity, their struggles as healthcare workers in the Philippines, such as having no time for loved ones, low compensation and inhumane working conditions, have only been amplified by the public health crisis. For these reasons, they reject the notion of heroism ascribed to them, especially the one that comes from the Philippine government. The participants do not see any impact of the hero rhetoric on them because it is unrepresentative of who they are and how they are being treated, especially in terms of financial compensation. One of them also expressed that even before the pandemic, the nursing profession has long been honorable, thus the current crisis does not really change

ABSTRACT

performance of the duty to care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. When they are outside the wards, they believe that they still enact the same identity when they are at work. However, the COVID-19 pandemic gave them a new space—social media—to be an extension of who they are. At the relational frame, the participants consider their relationships with family, partners, colleagues, and patients as sources of comfort and inspiration both pre-pandemic and pandemic times.

how they perceive themselves and their profession. Most importantly, for the participants, their heroization is an act devoid of genuine transformative power. It only appears to be a clear deflection of policy changes and true support which leaders must provide them. The implications of this study both highlight how a president’s rhetoric impacts the consciousness of healthcare workers during a crisis and how it is important to prioritize the welfare of healthcare workers so that they would not have to choose between fulfilling their physiological needs and being of service to the nation.

Regina Gail B. Navata is a recent graduate of BA Speech Communication. From 2020 to 2021, she served as the chairperson of the sole organization for speech majors and enthusiasts in the university, the UP Speech Communication Association. She currently teaches English and reading to young learners. Her research interest centers on crisis communication especially in local contexts. She likes spending her free time on reading, watching productions, and biking. This study, entitled “A Rhetorical Analysis of President Duterte’s Hero Rhetoric and its Impact on the Communicated Identities of Filipino Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” was Navata’s undergraduate thesis. Her adviser was Charles Erize Ladia.

File photo (2020)

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

ACADEME

Overwhelmed and Understaffed

UPD PsycServ Grapples with Long Waitlists as Some Clients Express Dismay »

Students struggle with the deterioration of their mental health, especially during the virtual setup. Now more than ever, the call for PsycServ’s institutionalization is amplified.

Ysabel Vidor

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article focuses on mental health problems and contains details about those who have experienced such medical conditions. The Department of Health’s crisis hotline can be reached at 1553 (landline); 0966-351-4518 and 0917-899-USAP (8727) (Globe/TM); and 0908-639-2672 (Smart/Sun/TNT).

Illustration by Miggie Bacungan

Before the pandemic, Miguel*, a secondyear political science student, was always eager to attend his classes. For him, it was his coping mechanism for his problems at home. But since the pandemic necessitated remote learning, he no longer had enough social interaction. There were days, he said, that the longing and solitude would reach the point that they severely affect not only his mental health but also his physical well-being. “Usually, I fall down to the floor kasi hindi ko talaga magalaw paa at kamay ko. Minsan kailangan ko rin umiyak pero hindi ko pwedeng lakasan kasi maririnig ng pamilya ko. Hindi na rin ako nakakaattend ng classes dahil sa stress tungkol sa acads,” Miguel said. These occurrences have urged him to seek professional help by opting

@phkule

KULÊ@100

PsycServ admits that it takes a long time for clients to start their consultation, as indicated in their sign-up sheet which shows that waiting time could last from two to four weeks, depending on demand. Should there be an emergency, PsycServ advises the students to seek help through the National Center for Mental Health or the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation hotline instead. “Na-disincentivize ako noong una [dahil sa waiting time], pero noong second time, kailangan ko na talaga mag-sign up so nag-antay ako,” Belle said. A psychiatrist outside UP diagnosed her with major depressive disorder and her symptoms include isolating herself from others and having rapid changes in her appetite.

to avail of the free mental health services provided by PsycServ, a special project under the UP Diliman (UPD) Office of the Chancellor that offers free psychosocial services for the university.

to remote learning, but still, students have had difficulty coping with the new setup. As such, many have experienced mental health problems, triggered by their academic requirements and the pandemic.

He signed up for consultations in June 2021 but was only able to start the therapy sessions two months later. Owing to a limited number of consultants, PyscServ told its clients that the time from signup to the first therapy session could take weeks, if not months.

Diagnosis

“Paano kung pressing ang issue o may emergency? At least more than one person I know ay nadi-discourage to seek help dahil dito. Noong na-receive ko ang email kung ready na nga for the consultation, nakalimutan ko na nagsign up nga pala ako,” Miguel lamented. It has been two years since the shift

PsycServ, by default, only offers eight therapy sessions. Miguel explained that his was extended by a few more. However, the sessions ended even before he could feel better, so he was advised to sign up again. He does feel the need to continue, he said, but it would again take months to get a slot. His experience is not an isolated case. Belle*, a student from the same program, recalled that on her first signup, she also waited for two months to get a slot. After their session lapsed, she tried applying in May.

“At that point in time, may epekto naman, pero after the session, ganoon pa rin siya ka-intense. It made me want to seek more help pero siguro outside the institution na kasi matagal talaga ang waiting time,” Miguel said. The Mental Health Act mandates universities to uphold the rights of their students by providing psychosocial mental health services. And while PsycServ is just one of UPD’s units that cater to the UP community’s mental health (the others being the Office of Counseling and Guidance, University Health Service, and Ugnayan ng Pahinungod), it has yet to fully attain that role. “Iskolar ng bayan pero hindi inaalagaan? It’s part of student welfare. Lahat kailangan ng therapy and mental health services kahit

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ACADEME

In 2020, PsycServ shifted to a telepsychotherapy approach to cater to UP Diliman constituents during the pandemic.

In 2020, PsycServ shifted to a telepsychotherapy approach to cater to UPD constituents during the pandemic. In that setup, clients are given the option to hold their therapy sessions via video call, phone call, and the like. However, the remote therapy sessions have proven to be futile for some students, like Miguel.

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

walang [diagnosed] condition talaga,” Miguel added. Prognosis PsycServ clinic manager Claudine Tecson said that since they shifted to telepsychosocial therapy, they have been receiving sign-ups around the clock. There was even a time when they had to hold off accepting new clients.

ACADEME

“Before the pandemic, the slots were limited because of the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. office hours. Since March 2020, 24/7 open na ang sign-ups. We had to stop accepting new sign-ups except for emergencies,” Tecson said. But telepsychotherapy has pitfalls. “Usually habang magkausap kami madi-disconnect on both ends. Although okay naman ulitin, nawawalan na [kami] ng momentum,” Miguel said, recalling how connectivity problems often hampered his therapy sessions. Tecson said PsycServ therapists use their mobile data or internet connection for the telepsychosocial sessions as it is not funded by the university. “We tried to propose a budget for it, but the reimbursement takes so much time. More than a year na pero hindi pa rin nare-reimburse,” Tecson said. The lack of private space also became a hindrance for those who still live with their families. “Napakanipis ng pader ng room ko and katabi ko yung living room. Minsan, ang topic namin sa session ay about sa pamilya so I need to lower my voice,” Miguel noted. Tecson understands that some of their clients do not have private space at home. Hence, they had to adjust and hold sessions through messaging. But, she said, it does not maximize the benefits that clients can get from the therapy sessions. “Masyado kaming maraming ginawa kasi mabilis yung paggawa ng guidelines and procedures with doing

Mental Health is a Human Right

JULY 2022

telepsychotherapy work,” she recalled of PsycServ’s shift to a remote setup. “It was really hard for us.” A usual session lasts for an hour. Both Miguel and Belle feel that the duration is insufficient for them to fully open up about their thoughts and emotions. In the case of Miguel, after his therapy sessions ended, his anxiety and despair were just as severe prior to signing up. “Although I signed up for it knowing na may limit, di naman ako nabigla na natapos na. Pero noong nawala siya, bumabalik pa rin sa akin yung mga nangyayaring bagay. I realized na hindi ko na masasabi kasi tapos na yung session,” Miguel said. Prescription So long as PsycServ remains as a mere “special project” under the chancellor’s office, it will continue to experience setbacks. For UPD constituents, its institutionalization is a way to guarantee that the university puts its constituents’ mental health with great importance. For one, its therapists are non-UP contractual workers whose contracts are reviewed and renewed annually. Some came from other universities and some worked part-time. They are on a “no-work, no-pay” basis and do not receive benefits, like paid leaves, unlike permanent UP employees do. “We want PsycServ to be a permanent program in UP. For us, it’s security and stability for our work. It is a tedious process to renew every year if you’re a non-UP contractual. Sometimes, the pay even gets delayed,” Tecson said. The lack of institutionalization does not only hamper their operation but also PsycServ’s ability to hire more therapists. Tecson shared that some applicants for therapists withdraw their application upon knowing the measly salary. While PsycServ has been regularly submitting proposals to institutionalize their office, it has yet to be approved. This, despite Chancellor Fidel

Nemenzo’s pledge to institutionalize PsycServ during the 2020 chancellor selection. Without the security of institutionalization, PsycServ can also be easily abolished by a future UPD chancellor. “Institutionalizing PsycServ would mean mas mabibigyan ng importance ang trabaho ng therapists. One way of improving the services is compensating them better and that’s through institutionalization,” Belle said. A 2022 study by the World Health Organization showed that the prevalence of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression increased by 25 percent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic— further justifying the need for improving psychosocial services. But for the meantime, Miguel expressed the need for the return of in-person mental health services. “Ang daming nalulugmok dahil sa pandemic. If pwede na, it’s time for face-to-face services to be held pero kasama dito ang pagaddress ng pangmalawakang ligtas na balik eskwela,” he said. And even if in-person sessions resume, Tecson said that telepsychotherapy services will continue for those who cannot come to campus. Belle emphasized the need to prioritize mental health and improve the services. “I think, especially sa pag-reopen ng schools, kailangan na ng face-to-face sessions. Mental health is a huge aspect of our lives. We cannot just disregard it. Iba pa rin ‘pag na-institutionalize [ang PsycServ] as it would improve the mental health services kasi you are giving them more budget,” she said.

*Not their real names.

About the illustrator: Miggie Bacungan is a visual communication student at the UP Diliman College of Fine Arts. They are a freelance illustrator that tackles facets of identity.

@phkule

KULÊ@100

Adam Torres

Outside the Halls of Congress »

Parliamentary struggle must not be the end of the conversation. As Zarate sets off from Congress, he endeavors to take on different avenues for change and resistance.

For nine years, Zarate’s work would start the moment he woke up, checking the news and reviewing policy briefs. At Batasang Pambansa, he would convene his staff, attend committee meetings, and plenary sessions—during which he, at times, got the ire of his fellow lawmakers, or heard whatever new accusation the regime threw at him. Then, instead of clocking out from work at 5 p.m., he spent late nights meeting constituents. Bracing for his life after his stint in the House of Representatives, the former solon spoke to me with a firm tone of humility and competence, distant from the so-called “hypocrisy” and “chauvinism” that the Duterte administration antagonized him for. If the passionate lilt to Zarate’s voice was any giveaway, it was that his call for public service was far from over. To him, it was never contingent on his position as a lawmaker, but rather a firm continuation of his commitment to activism.

Tungo sa Makabayang Pagbabago

In the actuality of a Marcos administration, the space for progressive politicians in the halls of Batasang Pambansa continues to shrink. Nevertheless, the seasoned lawmaker refuses to despair—the fight is not just within the halls of Congress.

PRO F I L E S

Being a legislator is no easy job— especially so if you are known for having critical positions on the sitting administration’s policies. Former Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate knew this, yet he still took up the role.

Fated Coincidences Zarate’s activism started with an encounter brought by his inquisitiveness as a student journalist. He was in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya joining a student press competition, when he overheard a conversation between two clergymen about the killing of Zacarias Agatep, a priest who spoke out against local monopolies. It was at this moment that he was faced with the reality of Martial Law. Fueled with curiosity, he started to piece together the string of killings and arrests, and followed the stories of Ninoy Aquino, Dante Buscayno, and other activists of the time. Amid the intimidating state policy, he persisted as a student journalist and pushed to revive campus publications in Notre Dame of Dadiangas College. It is not difficult to see that his hardhitting stances in Congress would hail from these early endeavors for truth and justice.

His call for public service was far from over. To him, it was never contingent on his position as party-list representative, but rather a firm continuation of his commitment to activism.

Page design by Andrea Medina

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

Zarate consistently excelled in school, but he did not want to limit his education to the four corners of a classroom. “Major ko ang activism, minor in accountancy,” he laughed while telling me how this had molded his critical nature and views on public service.

JULY 2022

In an effort to express their dismay over the administration’s failures, around 10,000 individuals from sectoral groups united for a mobilization at UP Diliman.

PRO F I L E S

The former lawmaker had planned to enter the seminary at first, but his encounter with Vicente Mirabueno brought him to a new direction. Mirabueno was the lawyer who defended him from expulsion for his activism which, ultimately, allowed him to graduate college. In 1988, the lawyer, who was then a coordinator of the Free Legal Assistance Group, was assassinated in General Santos City. “Na-inspire ako sa mga public interest lawyers at human rights lawyers during the time of Marcos dahil sinakripisyo nila yung career nila, yung buhay nila para sa iba,” said Zarate. He spoke with no tinge of regret as public service indeed became his alternate vocation. Ceaseless Strides for Change Zarate went above and beyond the conventional confines of a lawmaker. His typical day of committee meetings was accompanied with on-theground community consultations and participation in people’s protests. For him, legislation is only one of the many arenas where the people can actively call for change. “There are really moments that money cannot buy, [at yun] yung nasa piling ka ng masa dahil appreciated nila yung ginagawa mo—na dinadala mo yung boses at issues nila sa loob at labas ng Kongreso kahit na minsan sabihin ng iba na napaka-suntok sa buwan nito,” he said with a wide smile. Zarate was able to serve his people with a critical mind and an earnest heart, but this made him a fine target of the administration’s witch hunts. Among his career highlights was the abolition of the pork barrel system

Tungo sa Makabayang Pagbabago

Photo by Nikki Teng (2020)

@phkule

where he, along with then Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares, successfully filed a petition against the disbursement acceleration program. Their action was met with hostility from fellow politicians. He recalled one instance when a senior legislator tempted him into trying pork rather than dismissing it early on. Zarate apologized and told him, “Sorry sir, ayaw ko sa pork kasi vegetarian ako eh.” And on the day the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was struck down, the session hall was noticeably despondent. “Makikita mo talaga na marami sa kanila doon, if not all of them, nandito lang para sa PDAF. Yun ang main concern nila.”

For almost a decade in legislative work, Zarate constantly contended with traditional politicians whose interests are threatened by the pro-people bills that his coalition forwards. Often singled out by Duterte, Zarate was no stranger to disparaging propaganda and false accusations linking him with the communist rebels. Up until the day of the elections, fake information on the disqualification of several opposition candidates and parties circulated across the country. Now with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set on continuing his father’s legacy, the former lawmaker told me, “Talagang we have to brace ourselves na mayroong malawakan at all-out assault doon sa karapatang pantao

at even social justice, kaya on all fronts iyan.” Moving Forward Zarate’s spirited character is a stark contrast to the atrocities he had seen during Marcos Sr.’s regime. Today, he is witnessing the political comeback of a family that showed no remorse for the lives it had ruined more than 36 years ago. But this is no reason for hopelessness. Zarate expects the intensification of human rights violations given the president’s intention to continue Duterte’s unfinished pursuits, especially in counterinsurgency and war on drugs. And without Bayan Muna in Congress for the first time in 20 years, there will be more legroom for repressive and anti-people policies carried by traditional politicians of the House supermajority. “In all the administrations after Marcos [Sr.], tuloy-tuloy lang yung pagiimplement nila ng neoliberal policies which, ultimately, failed to address yung problem of massive poverty,” he said. Much of this is attributed to the fact that the majority of elected representatives come from wealthy and dynastic political families. According to him, for as long as Congress remains a conservative institution, it will remain to be an obstacle for genuine representation and progressive policies. Zarate emphasized the importance of remaining vigilant and active during these turbulent times; that while our system is riddled with institutional inequalities, pure reformism will not solve the root of the problem. It is through the vibrant mobilization of advocacy groups and mass initiatives that we can truly propel the government to act with accountability for the next six years and beyond. “Ang mahalaga ngayon ay ang pagtatasa at pag-iipon muli ng lakas, ang paghandaan ang mga susunod na laban sa administrasyong ito, at we take pride na mayroon pa rin tayong

Bayan Muna’s loss in the elections is not an end to fighting for the people’s agenda but rather, a wake-up call to those who still believe that an electoral victory is all that it takes to advance democracy.

PRO F I L E S

In the nine years that he spent in Congress, the former legislator had 286 principally authored bills, each championing a different facet of the people’s agenda. These laws include the Mental Health Act and the Masustansyang Mag-Nanay Act, both interventions for their titular areas in healthcare. The solon believes that many of the bills passed by Congress are supplementary to the major calls for irrigation, mining, and agrarian reform which are watershed bills consistently supported by the Makabayan Coalition.

KULÊ@100

tatlong kinatawan sa Makabayan.” He added that the coalition will continue to be a fighting force for new politics, regardless of heightened attacks. Bayan Muna’s loss in the elections is not an end to fighting for the people’s agenda but rather, a wake-up call to those who still believe that an electoral victory is all that it takes to advance democracy. Nearing the end of our talk, I asked Zarate what he intends to do now that he won’t be going to Congress anytime soon. “Unemployed ulit,” he laughed, “but employed by the people.” He will still go back to communities, lobby for bills, and maybe advise the Makabayan Bloc when needed. But instead of sitting in plenary sessions and committee meetings, he will return to defending the marginalized in courts.

Page design by Andrea Medina

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

EDITORYAL

EDITORY AL

Panata sa Pagmartsa Sa panahong ang paraan ng pamumuno ng maykapangyarihan ay paninindak, kung saan ang pundasyon ng rehimen ay kasinungalingan, subersibo ang pagiging maalam, kaaway ang mga iskolar ng bayan.

Sa lipunang nilulunod sa kasinungalingan at maling kasaysayan, may talab ang talino sa paghawan ng landas upang lumaya mula sa mga nanlalansi sa bayan. At ang pagtatapos ng mga iskolar ng bayan ay panimula lamang ng mahabang pakikipagbuno sa baluktot na lipunan. Lunan ang pamantasan ng malayang daluyan, tagisan, at tunggalian ng mga ideya. Marapat, dahil ito ang mga kundisyong nagpapasibol sa mga iskolar ng bayan na, lisanin man ang unibersidad, magiging panghabang-buhay na gampanin ang pangunguwestiyon sa umiiral na kalagayan ng mga bagay. At naunawaan natin—sa klase, sa mga nakakasalamuha’t napapakinggang kwento—ang umiiral na di pagkakapantay-pantay ng kapangyarihan at ang resulta nitong pagpapahirap sa kalakhan ng taumbayan. Di nagbigay ng preskripsyon ang mga guro sa kung ano ang mga wastong ideya, bagkus,

Paglingkuran ang Sambayanan!

itinuro paano isyu’t palagay.

kilatisin

ang

mga

Ito ang ibinigay ng unibersidad sa ilang taong pamamalagi natin dito: ang kakayahan nating bumuo ng sariling pagtatasa ayon sa kasalakuyang kondisyon, at kumilos nang lapat sa ating pangangailangan. Ito nga ang nagpahintulot sa marami sa ating magsilbi sa mamamayan sa iba’t ibang larangan—mula sa paglikha ng lunas sa sakit, pagdisenyo ng mga makinaryang magpapadali sa paggawa, pagtuturo sa mga walang akses sa pag-aaral at paglahok sa pagkilos ng taumbayan. Kaya naman sa panahong ang paraan ng mga maykapangyarihan ay paninindak, kung saan ang pundasyon ng rehimen ay kasinungalingan, subersibo ang pagiging maalam, kaaway ang mga iskolar ng bayan. Takot na mauga ang kasalukuyang sistemang iniingatan at maalisan ng kapangyarihan, nire-red-tag

Ang pananatili sa toreng garing habang lantarang pinaniniwala ang mga tao ng maling impormasyon at kasinungalingan ay magbubunsod lamang ng lalong pagkitil sa katotohanan at sa kung anong wasto.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Keian Florino

@phkule

ng pamahalaan ang akademya, pinaparatangang kuta ng mga rebelde. Hindi natapos ang pagpipinta nilang kaaway ang mga iskolar nang bumaba sa pwesto si Rodrigo Duterte. Bagkus, lalo lang tumindi ang panunuligsa sa pagkakataong maupo si Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Anupa’t kumalat ang panawagang ipasara ang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, o di kaya’y palitan ang pangalan nito sa Bagong Lipunan University. Pinagmumukha ng nakaraan at kasalukuyang rehimen na ang pagwawalang-bisa nila sa mga institusyon ay paraan ng pagbabalik sa ordinaryong mamamayan ng kapangyarihan; na ang kaalaman ay nililikha at nakokontrol di na lang ng mga elitistang pantas, kundi pati nilang

KULÊ@100

ordinaryong mamamayan. Bunsod na rin ito ng populistang pamumuno ni Duterte—sinamantala ang kawalangtiwala ng mamamayan sa mga institusyon sa gitna ng tumitinding krisis pang-ekonomiya at panlipunan. Ang pag-upo ng mga kunong dehado, mga pinalayas sa Malacañang ay tila pagbawi ng kapangyarihan ng mga mahihina, paghihiganti sa akademyang sa matagal na panahon ay siniraan sila. At upang sementuhan ang naratibo, naglabas ng alternatibong kwento ang mga Marcos na ngayon naman ay ibinabandera ng kanilang mga taga-suporta, panabla sa mga libro at lekturang inihahapag ng mga pamantasan.

sa mga institusyon gaya ng mga pamantasan, lalo pagdating sa kakayahan ng mga itong tunay na maglingkod upang pagaanin ang buhay ng taumbayan. Mahabang panahong pinatakbo ang mga ahensya ng pamahalaan ng mga edukado, ang iba pa’y produkto mismo ng UP. Ngunit habang pinamumunuan nila ang mga departamento, ang mga palisiyang pinatutupad nila ay lalo lang ding nagpapahirap—malayo sa tunay na kailangan at kahingian ng masa. Ilan sa mga ito ang TRAIN Law, ang pagpaparami ng imported na produkto sa lokal na merkado, ang lalong pribatisasyon ng mga pampublikong serbisyo.

Ngunit di nakakagulat ang kawalan ng tiwala ng ordinaryong mamamayan

Di nakakagulat kung ang mga estudyanteng minsang bumigkas ng

EDITORY AL

Nagkasa ng iglapang protesta ang mga nagsipatapos bitbit ang panawagan na sundan ng mga nagsipagtapos ang yapak ng mga magigiting na Iskolar ng Bayan na sina Chad Booc, Kevin Castro, Renz Lee at Kerima Tariman na walang maliw na nagsilbi sa sambayanan hanggang sa kanilang kamatayan.

Larawan ni Keian Florino

EDITORY AL

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

JULY 2022

May 3,475 mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman ang nagsipagtapos sa naganap na ika-111 Pangkalahatang Pagtatapos sa UP Diliman Ampitheater, Hulyo 31.

“mula sa masa, tungo sa masa” ay sila ring nagiging pahirap sa mamamayan. Paano’y nananatili ang oryentasyon ng edukasyon sa pagsisilbi sa kasalukuyang lagay ng mga bagay, sa sistemang walang ginawa kundi kumuha sa mga maralita. Pook ang pamantasan ng malayang tagisan ng mga ideya, iyon ang humuhubog sa kritikalidad ng mga estudyante rito. Ngunit kung ang primarya pa ring rason ng pagkakaroon ng kaalaman ay para pagsilbihan ang interes ng iilan, tuluyan na ngang nawawalan ng bisa ang ating edukasyon. Ngayong lumalala ang panlipunang krisis, kasabay ng pagpipintang subersibo ang pagkakaroon ng kaalaman, ang pagiging kritikal, lalong nagiging wasto para sa ating makiisa sa laban kontra panggigipit ng estado. Ang pananatili sa toreng garing, ang pananahimik at pagkikimkim habang lantarang pinaniniwala ang mga tao ng maling impormasyon at kasinungalingan ay magbubunsod lamang ng lalong pagkitil sa katotohanan at sa kung anong wasto.

Paglingkuran ang sambayanan!

Higit sa pangunguwestiyon sa lagay ng mga bagay, higit sa pagtasa sa mga kondisyon, higit sa pagiging kritiko ng lipunan, ang pinakamahalagang hakbang para sa iskolar ng bayan ay kumilos. Sa ganoong paraan nakuha ng mga tinitingala natin ngayong martir ang kalayaan mula sa madilim na panahon ng diktadura. Hindi natin inilalapat ang sarili bilang tanging awtoridad ng katotohanan at kawastuhan, tanging solusyon ng problema sa bayan, anupa’t ang mapagmataas na pagtinging ito ang nagtulak sa atin palayo sa taumbayan. Ngayong pinipilit na pagtunggaliin ng pamahalaan ang ordinaryong tao at silang nagmula sa matataas na mga pamantasan, ang pinakamabisa nating opensiba ay ang pilit nating pagbalik, pakikiisa sa kanilang marapat nating paglingkuran. Lumulubog at nakikisalamuha tayo sa kanila upang maintindihan ang kanilang mga hinaing, at makapagisip ng paraan paano makakatulong na solusyunan ito gamit ang anomang nakuha natin sa klase. Ibinabalik natin sa kanila ang lahat ng ating natanggap

sa pamantasan—ibinabahagi ang proseso ng pag-alam, edukasyong panabla sa maling impormasyon, at kalayaang subukin ang nambabaluktot sa kasaysayan upang depensahan ang sarili sa sinomang yumuyurak sa kanilang karapatan. Kung tutuusin, hindi lang dapat nakukulong sa pamantasan ang espasyo ng malayang daluyan at tagisan ng ideya. Hindi lang dapat sa mga silid-aralan natututunan ang kritikalidad. Sa isang lipunang hindi tinutugis ng maykapangyarihan ang mga iskolar ng bayan, ang bawat kanto ng bansa ay lunsaran ng pag-aaral. Ngunit hanggang di pa natin nakakamit ito, instrumental ang bawat estudyanteng magsisipagtapos ngayon sa paghawan ng landas patungo sa lipunang iyon. Sa pagkuha natin ng diploma, nagmamatyag ang sambayanan—paano natin ookupahin ang espasyo sa mas malawak na mundo, anong panig ang kikilingan, sinong pagsisilbihan, at kung makakaya ba nating isangkalan ang buhay para makiisa sa kanila.

Larawan ni Keian Florino

@phkule

KULÊ@100

Sa pagkuha natin ng diploma, nagmamatyag ang sambayanan— paano natin ookupahin ang espasyo sa mas malawak na mundo, anong panig ang kikilingan, sino ang pagsisilbihan, at kung makakaya ba nating isangkalan ang buhay para makiisa sa kanila.

I LLUST R AT I O N

Dibuho ni Joey Santos

Disenyo ng pahina ni Dustin Francisco

PHIL IPPINE C OL L E GIAN

CARNIVAL OF HORRORS Brace yourselves for another round of the most agonizing and seemingly never-ending ride of your life.

Cover illustration by Kaxandra Salonga

JULY 2022

Philippine Collegian Tomo 100 July Issue

Articles inside

FEATURES Adam Torres

OPINYON Gretle C. Mago

KULTURA Ana De Jesus