Philippine Collegian Tomo 93 Issue 6

KULĂŠ

Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman Martes 8 Disyembre 2015 Tomo 93 Blg 6

CLASH OF CLANS LATHALAIN 7

2 EDITORYAL

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

DALUYONG NG KARAHASAN MATAPOS

ANG

LIMANG

TAON,

malinaw na ang administrasyon ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III ang pinakamalaking sakuna na tumama sa sambayanan. Matatapos na lang ang kanyang termino ay hindi pa rin nareresolba ang karahasang dinanas ng mga Pilipino sa panahon ng kanyang panunungkulan.

Sa Eastern Visayas, patuloy na nagtitiis ang mahigit 2,000 pamilya sa mga evacuation center na walang tubig at kuryente. Sa tala ng National Housing Authority, 542 kabahayan lamang ang naipatayo sa kabuuang 21,012 na ipinangakong permanenteng pabahay sa mga biktima. Tila tinanggalan naman ng seguridad at pribadong pamumuhay ang mamamayan na pinatayuan ng bunk houses na may mababang kalidad na mga materyales.

Maging sa usapin ng badyet at donasyon, patuloy ang pagpapabaya ng gobyerno. Simula 2014, tanging P84 bilyon ang nailalabas mula sa P167.86 bilyon na pondo para sa pagpapatayo ng nasirang imprastraktura at pagsasagawa ng relief operations. Kapos sa koordinasyon ang programa para sa mga nasalanta at makupad ang pagkilos ng mga kinauukulan.

Mula sa pananalasa ng bagyong Yolanda sa Eastern Visayas hanggang sa pagsapit ng ika-anim na taon mula nang dinahas ang 32 na mamamahayag sa nangyaring masaker sa Maguindanao, hanggang ngayon ay mailap ang hustisya sa mga biktima.

Hindi man naganap sa panahon ng kanyang panunungkulan, ang kawalang aksyon ng administrasyong Aquino ukol dito ay patunay lamang na hindi prayoridad ng pamahalaan ang panawagan ng mga mamamayan.

Mabagal ang takbo ng kaso, at ilang saksi na ang pinaslang.

Nariyan din ang tahasang paglalagak ng gobyerno ng P763.25 bilyong pondo sa debt servicing ngayong 2015, mas malaki kung ikukumpara sa nakalaang pondo para sa mga biktima ng Yolanda. Taliwas sa pangako, patuloy din ang katiwalian at tradisyunal na patronage politics

P L AY B A C K Ano sa tingin mo ang magiging epekto ng nagdaang APEC Summit sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas?

sa anyo ng Priority Development Assistance Fund at Disbursement Accelaration Program.

Lantaran naman ang militarisasyon sa mga komunidad ng mga Lumad epekto ng pinaigting na Oplan Bayanihan, ang counterinsurgency program ng pangulo. Sa halip na isulong ang kapayapaan, patuloy ang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga Lumad na pinapaslang samantalang libulibo ang inaakusahang bahagi ng rebeldeng grupo at kinailangang lumikas. Gayundin ang pagkakataya ng buhay ng mga katutubong lumad dahil sa interes ng mga naglalakihang kompanya na kumakamkam sa kanilang ninunong lupain.

Nasa panganib din ang edukasyon ng mga kabataang Lumad dahil sa mga sinunog o ipinasarang paaralan. At nito lamang Nobyembre 29, may 128 na mga Lumad at magsasaka ang umalis sa kanilang bayan dahil sa patuloy na pandarahas ng mga militar.

Kasalukuyan silang nanunuluyan sa Compostela Poblacion Gym. Wala ring matingkad na nangyari sa repormang agraryo na laging nauuwi sa dagdag-palugit sa distribusyon ng lupa sa mga magsasaka.

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN 2015-2016

Kasabay ng patuloy na paghihirap ng malaking populasyon ng Pilipino walang habas ang pribatisasyon sa usapin ng mga serbisyong panlipunan

Kasabay ng patuloy na paghihirap ng malaking populasyon ng Pilipino, walang habas ang pribatisasyon sa usapin ng mga serbisyong panlipunan—pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin, langis, edukasyon, kalusugan, at transportasyon.

Sa halip na bigyang solusyon ang suliranin sa sistema ng transporasyon sa bansa, ipinapasa ito sa pribadong sektor na naging dahilan lamang ng lalong paglala ng serbisyo ng MRT sa Metro Manila, habang nakaamba ang pagtaas sa pamasahe.

Samakatuwid, kasabay ng panawagan para sa pangmatagalang solusyon sa mga sakunang nararanasan ng bansa, ang pagwawaksi sa mapanupil na mga palisiya ng administrasyon at pagpapanagot sa kapalpakan ng mga ahensya nito.

Hindi dapat ipagsawalangbahala ng bayan ang lahat ng krimen ng administrasyong Aquino, lalo na sa nalalapit nitong pagtatapos. Ito na ang panahon ng paniningil upang matuldukan at hindi na lumaganap ang pagdaluyong ng sakunang nandarahas sa mamamayan. 

Sinasabi nila (APEC) na ‘Building inclusive economies’ ay actually pagbui-build ng mga ekonomiya na makikinabang ang mga malalaking kompanya sa lakaspaggawa, sa hilaw na materyales, at maging sa mga merkado ng mga maliliit at mahihinang bansa katulad ng Pilipinas.

Sonny Africa

IBON Executive Director

Aquino’s hosting of APEC only proves its criminal design and implementation of a monolithic agenda—a monolithic agenda that rejects a program for a genuine national industrialization, and therefore frustrates any plan to bolster local manufacturing or a self-reliant economy.

Sarah Raymundo

UP Center for International Studies

Kahit na non-binding ang APEC, makakapapasok pa rin ang ilang mga free trade agreement; pagpasok ng mga pagsulong at pag-duplicate ng US sa pagpapatupad ng mga neoliberal policies sa lahat ng bansa na napapabilang dito sa APEC. Bryan Ezra Gonzales Pangulo ng Alay Sining

UKOL SA PABALAT Dibuho ni Rosette Abogado

Punong Patnugot Mary Joy Capistrano Kapatnugot Victor Gregor Limon Tagapamahalang Patnugot Jiru Rada Patnugot sa Balita Arra Francia Patnugot sa Grapiks Rosette Abogado / Emmanuel Jerome Tagaro Tagapamahala ng Pinansiya Karen Ann Macalalad Kawani Chester Higuit / Patricia Ramos Pinansiya Amelyn Daga Sirkulasyon Gary Gabales / Amelito Jaena / Glenario Ommamalin Mga Katuwang na Kawani Trinidad Gabales / Gina Villas Kasapi UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (Solidaridad) / College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman, Lungsod Quezon Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522 Online kule1516@gmail.com / www.philippinecollegian.org / fb.com/philippinecollegian / twitter.com/phkule / instagram.com/phkule

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Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

Military, police ops apprehended in UPD Lumad camp-out KAREN ANN MACALALAD AS THE UP DILIMAN (UPD) COMMUNITY welcomed around 700 Lumad people for a weeklong camp-out condemning militarization in their areas last month, military and police units supposedly barred from school premises were caught stationed inside the campus.

UPD Police (UPDP) and Special Services Brigade (SSB) tightened security after they caught six military surveillance agents in front of Vinzons Hall on October 21, two days before the arrival of the Lumad people. Two subsequent cases of police intervention involved officers from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 9 on October 27 and 28 inspecting the campsite.

In an earlier report of the Collegian, the station took custody of the six military agents, with QCPD Senior Police Officer Pedro Walawala confirming the authorized security operation of the agents in the campus.

Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Nestor Castro clarified that he declined the QCPD’s offer to provide security within campus as there are enough personnel from the UPDP and SSB. The city police, however, insisted that they will be on the look-out in case a quick response is needed.

UPD served as host to this year’s Kampuhan, a weeklong camp-out under the protest caravan Manilakbayan calling for the pull-out of military and paramilitary units allegedly responsible for the killing of Lumad, including Lumad-based School Director Emerito Samarca, and leaders Dionel Campos, and Bello Sinzo on September 1.

“Ang pagpunta namin dito sa [Maynila] ay upang ipakita namin sa inyo ang ipinaglalaban natin. Ang karapatan sa lupa ay karapatan sa sariling pagpasya nating mga Pilipino,” Lumad leader Datu Jomorito Goaynon said.

The Campus Maintenance Office, along with student volunteers, built temporary tents at the College of Human Kinetics (CHK) grounds where the Lumad stayed for a week. The SSB were also

KAMPUHAN Kenneth Gutlay

Student groups and various sectors joined more than 700 Lumad in a weeklong act of solidarity at the Kampuhan sa Diliman held at the UP College of Human Kinetics grounds, October 26-31. Different activities, including athletic events, cultural nights and workshops with the Lumad, aimed to call for an end to militarization of their ancestral lands, land-grabbing and environmental degradation by mining companies, and the murder of their leaders.

in full alert to ensure the security of the Lumad people while they were in UPD, Chancellor Michael Tan said.

Military officers were undertaking surveillance work in the campus after the Armed Forces of the Philippines members claimed that the Lumad people are members and are being recruited into the New People’s Army (NPA) to fight against the government.

However, military surveillance is banned in the campus as it violates the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense and 1992 UP-Department of the Interior and Local Government accords prohibiting the presence of military and police in UP. Tan also said the administration was not informed by the police or the military who covertly conducted the surveillance operation on campus. The military presence in the campus tramples upon the academic freedom and autonomy, and is a threat to the safety of the UP community that are now targets of the state’s operations, said youth group Anakbayan Chairperson Vencer Crisostomo in a press release. 

UPLB council members raise contention vs SAIS KAREN ANN MACALALAD

NO CONSULTATION John Reczon Calay

UP Assistant Vice President for Development Jaime Caro admits that students weren’t included in their consultations for the implementation of the Student Academic Information System (SAIS) in a forum held at the UP College of Mass Communication Auditorium on November 27. Students, faculty members and workers raised concerns over the procurement of the USmade database management computer software Oracle, transparency of financial reports, and security of the new system.

STUDENT LEADERS FROM UP LOS Baños (UPLB) raised their concerns over the eUP project and the Student Academic Information System (SAIS) during their meeting with Student Regent Mico Pangalangan on December 4 in UP Diliman (UPD).

SAIS is the online database component of the eUP project where faculty and students can perform various academic and financial transactions. With a budget of P750 million, eUP seeks to integrate all Information and Communications Technology systems among UP constituent units.

More students, administrative personnel, and faculty members oppose the project because of the delays and the additional workload SAIS may bring during the enrolment process in UPLB, according to the UPLB student council members.

Earlier this year, the Collegian reported glitches in the SAIS which resulted to students in UP Manila settling debts that they had already settled and receiving paper stubs instead of the usual Form 5 where the total amount of their assessed fees were indicated.

Pangalangan said the UP administration did not foresee the inconsistencies across the UP system concerning enrolment, dropping, and grading procedures. “[eUP is a] Public-Private Partnership: outsourced, when we could have invested on our own Computerized Registration System (CRS) and System One,” he added.

CRS is the online database system used in UPD and UP Baguio, while System One is used in UPLB. The dialogue with the student regent was done after members of the

UPLB university and college student councils attended a rescheduled meeting called by UP President Alfredo Pascual. The assembly was attended by eUP project head Jaime Caro, two eUP team members, and UPLB Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Portia Lapitan.

“Una nagpatawag si [Pascual] ng meeting on the day of walkout mismo, hindi namin pinuntahan kasi hinahati [nito ang] students. Sobrang dubious and questionable dahil walang agenda at kami lang [ang ipinatawag],” UPLB USC Councilor Gabriel Jeremiah Guevarra said.

Last November 13, around 700 students in UPLB walked out of their classes to protest the failure of SAIS implementation after the administration announced that the campus would conduct a manual registration.

Continue on p. 11

4 BALITA

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

New UP campus to be used for business, not students - SR DANIEL BOONE

BARRICADE Chester Higuit

Police forces block thousands of protesters after reaching the Philippine International Convention Center where heads of world economies are staying during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting on November 19.

The nationwide multi-sectoral protest denounced the economic policies of APEC, saying that they cause the increase in the price level of goods and poverty.

Ilang mag-aaral, umalma sa “kulang” na bayad para sa UAAP opening props CHESTER HIGUIT UMALMA ANG ILANG MAG-AARAL NG College of Fine Arts (FA) ng UP Diliman sa anila’y hindi sapat na bayad para sa ginawang props para sa panimulang seremonya ng University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 78 noong ika-5 ng Setyembre sa Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Kinumisyon ng komiteng namamahala ng UAAP ang 108 magaaral ng CFA upang gawin ang mahigit 40 na pigura ng halaman at hayop, kasama ang isang hugis-butanding na umaabot ang haba sa 30 talampakan at mga bangkang may taas na 11 talampakan, upang ipakita ang temang “Arkipelago” na inihanda ng UPD. Nagkakahalagang P1.05 milyon ang inilaan para sa pambayad sa materyales at serbisyo ng mga magaaral, sang-ayon sa planong inilatag ni Dekano Leonardo Rosete ng CFA kay Propesor Sir Anril Tiatco, ang namahala ng panimulang seremonya sa UAAP. Napilitang ibaba ang presyo ng 40 bahagdan dahil sa kakulangan sa pondo, ayon sa mungkahi ni Bise Tsanselor para sa Administrasyon Virginia Yap. Mula sa kabuuang presyo, P413,860 ang nakalaang pondo para sa bayad sa mga estudyanteng gagawa ng proyekto, habang ang P372,520 naman ay pambili ng mga kagamitan. Ibabahagi ang pera sa 28 katao na maaaring bumuo ng grupong katuwang sa paggawa ng props.

Unang ibinigay sa mga magaaral ang pondo pambili ng mga kagamitan, sa kasunduang ibibigay ang natitirang bayad kapag natapos na ang proyekto.

Subalit ayon kay Joren Lansang, mag-aaral ng Fine Arts na kabilang sa gumawa ng props, hindi nalinaw sa mga estudyante na pinagsamang presyo na ng materyales at serbisyo ang nakalahad sa kanilang kontrata.

“Nakatanggap kami ng paunang bayad na P10,400 [para sa aming grupo] pero sa pagkakaalam namin para sa materyales lang iyon. Wala namang nakalagay sa kontrata namin na sa kabuuang P19,760 na nakatakda naming makuha ay ikakaltas ang [bayad para sa gamit],” ani Lansang.

Ayon pa kay Michael Joselo na nasa ikatlong taon na sa kursong Fine Arts, maliit ang nakalaang bayad para sa serbisyo ng mga mag-aaral.

Nilinaw naman ni Chancellor Michael Tan sa isang opisyal na pahayag na inilabas noong Nobyembre 6 na nabayaran nang buo ang mga mag-aaral ayon sa napagkasunduan ng komiteng namamahala ng UAAP. Bukod sa maliit na bayad, noong ika-18 ng Agosto lamang ibinigay sa mga estudyante ang proyekto, o dalawang linggo bago nakatakdang gamitin ang props.

“Yung trabahong pang isang buwan ay [isiniksik] lang nila sa

dalawang linggo kaya napilitang magpuyat ang ibang estudyante,” ani Kean Baromeda, isa pang mag-aaral ng CFA. “Hindi dapat i-tolerate ang ganitong pagtapak sa kabataan.

Maling pagtrato sa artist ang pagpapasahod nang maliit o cheap labor. Kaya kumukuha ng project ang mga mag-aaral ay para sa perang pambayad sa tuition o pambaon,” dagdag ni Joselo. 

THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW UP campus in what is pegged to be Central Luzon’s biggest business hub may be used by the administration to advance its business plans instead of opening the university to more students, according to Student Regent Miguel Enrico Pangalangan.

The UP administration has recently partnered up with the governmentowned Bases Conversion and Development Authority for the establishment of a 70-hectare campus in Clark Green City (CGC) through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on August 11.

CGC covers a land area of 9,450 hectares in Capas, Tarlac and is under the Clark Special Economic Zone, a P200 billion project consisting of industrial, institutional, and commercial areas.

“The expansion is not purely academic … It is dependent on business, oriented to serve businesses, and planned and invested by businessmen,” Pangalangan said.

Under the MOU, the new UP campus will constitute a research facility managed by the university within 50 years, which may be renewed for another 50 years. Should the agreement be materialized, the university will be lined along buildings by BCDO’s other partners: Filinvest, Ayalaland, and Megaworld, among others.

The campus in CGC will be the second to be set up within a business hub, with the UP Professional Schools in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig nearing its completion by the end of the year.

The school is in partnership with the SM Investment Corporation and will offer post-graduate courses in Law, Business Administration, and Statistics, among others.

The construction of these business schools comes despite the lack of basic services in old UP campuses, citing units in Koronadal, Tacloban, and Pampanga.

“In Koronadal, they produce nursing graduates [who may] want to go to medicine, pero walang classes na magtuturo,” Pangalangan added.

Meanwhile, it took the administration 18 years before allotting a new campus for the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga (UPDEPP), which previously held classes in the old Clark Development Corporation warehouse. With a budget of around P60 million, facilities for the new campus remain unfinished as the fund was barely enough to cover the needs of over 600 students.

“We are just waiting for a donated service and materials for the fire safety feature [of the dormitories]. We are also undergoing the procurement process for the furniture such as beds, cabinets and chairs [which are] not part of the construction budget,” said UPDEPP Director Charito Imperial.

Some UPDEPP students also slammed the administration for planning to construct another campus in Clark when their dormitories and other facilities have yet to be completed.

“No gym, no functioning laboratory, no clinic, no dormitory, [at] sobrang hirap pumasok dahil bakubako ang daan,” said Rajohn Alvar, vice chairperson of the UPDEPP Student Council.

Instead of putting up schools for business, the administration should prioritize the sustainability and quality of education while upholding the public character of the university, Pangalangan added. 

SIX YEARS TOO LATE Tony Reyes The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, along with the relatives of the murdered journalists of the Ampatuan Massacre, holds a torch march and candle lighting event at the Mendiola Peace Arch on November 23. It has been six years since 58 people, 32 of which were journalists, were found in a mass grave in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao. The Committee to Protect Journalists, an American independent non-profit organization, has called the Ampatuan Massacre the single deadliest event for journalists in history.

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Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

Senate OKs P400 M addt’l budget for UP ARRA B. FRANCIA THE COUNTRY’S SOLE NATIONAL university will still be heading towards a budget cut of more than P1.8 billion in 2016, despite the P400 million additional funds granted by the Senate.

Voting 14-1, the Senate approved on the third and final reading their version of the 2016 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), increasing UP’s budget to P11.353 billion from P10.897 billion as proposed in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

The increase can be traced to the budget for capital outlay (CO), or allocations for the construction of new infrastructure. After marathon deliberations by the upper house last week, the revised 2016 national budget included an increase for UP’s CO of P1.8 billion from P1.44 billion.

Final amendments However, the budget still falls short of the P13.143 billion allotted to the university’s eight constituent units and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in 2015.

The UP administration has explained that the budget cut was due to the completion of the modernization project of the PGH. With the project now finished, the university no longer included CO budget for the hospital next year, officials said.

The completion of a project should not mean a university should receive a budget cut for CO, since the university may still need funds to accomplish other essential projects,

said Senator Pia Cayetano, who also sits in the Board of Regents, UP’s highest policy-making body.

Before sponsorship by the Senate, the House of Representatives also augmented the budget of 42 SUCs

by P162.64 million. A total of 59 out of 114 SUCs originally had budget cuts amounting to P477.8 million.

The additional funds would bring the budget for state universities and colleges (SUCs) to P44.586 billion from the initial P43.77 billion.

The budget amendment was approved amid the filing of a resolution signed by 28 legislators calling to restore the MOOE budget of the 59 SUCs, citing its severe effects on the institutions and its students.

“Ibinalik namin ang [pondo] para sa MOOE ng SUCs dahil covered nito ang gastos sa water, electricity, pati na ang bayad sa contractual job workers na importante sa pagtakbo ng [mga unibersidad],” said appropriations committee Chair Isidro Ungab.

Meanwhile, no amendments were made for the remaining 17 SUCs with MOOE cuts since the decrease stems from funds for the Tulong Dunong Program. Tulong Dunong is a scholarship grant given to qualified graduating high school students worth P12, 000 per student, the budget for which has been transferred to the Commission on Higher Education.

Same budget in 2015 MOOE covers the repair, maintenance, transportation, electricity, and water expenses of an institution.

Mindanao State University ranks first among the SUCs with the biggest MOOE cut worth P143.78 million, a 34 percent decline from this year’s budget of P418.04 million (see sidebar).

This is due to lower allocations for the repair and rehabilitation of old buildings, dormitories, and cottages for students and faculty.

The decrease in support for research services aimed to improve the Philippine Normal University’s curricular program brought a P22.75 milliondecline in PNU’s budget. The Aklan State University in Western Visayas will suffer budget cuts for research services, and technical advisory services amounting to P19.35 million.

“Sa kabila ng developments na ito, patuloy tayong nangangalampag sa administrasyon na taasan pa ang pondo para sa edukasyon at itigil ang komersyalisasyon nito,” said Kabataan Party-list First Nominee Sarah Jane Elago.

A bicameral conference committee composed of members from both houses of Congress will now convene to reconcile differences between the two versions of the bill. The consolidated national budget will then be transmitted to the president for signing into law. 

10 SUCs WITH THE HIGHEST MOOE CUT 1

MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

2

PHILIPPINE NORMAL UNIVERSITY

3

LAGUNA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

4

AKLAN STATE UNIVERSITY

5

BUKIDNON STATE UNIVERSITY

6

CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY

7

MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY - TAWI-TAWI COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND OCEANOLOGY

8

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

9

WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

10

SOUTHERN LEYTE STATE UNIVERSITY

2015 MOOE P418.04 M

2015 MOOE P180.38 M

2015 MOOE P114.27 M

2015 MOOE P70.61 M

2015 MOOE P83.41 M

2015 MOOE P99.4 M

2015 MOOE P32.44 M

2015 MOOE P148.81 M

2015 MOOE P198.86 M

2015 MOOE P57.8 M

2016 MOOE P274.26 M

MOOE cut P143.78 M

2016 MOOE P157.63 M

MOOE cut P22.75 M

2016 MOOE P94.22 M

MOOE cut P20.05 M

2016 MOOE P51.26 M

MOOE cut P19.35 M

2016 MOOE P66.18 M

MOOE cut P17.23 M

2016 MOOE P82.84 M

MOOE cut P16.56 M

2016 MOOE P16.62 M

MOOE cut P15.82 M

2016 MOOE P134.96 M

2016 MOOE P186.88 M

2016 MOOE P45.94 M

MOOE cut P13.85 M

MOOE cut P11.98 M

MOOE cut P11.86 M

Infographic by John Reczon Calay Research by Arra B. Francia

Workers’ group demands year-end bonus for non-UP contractuals KAREN ANN MACALALAD

NEARING COMPLETION Tony Reyes

The Ayala-owned UP Town Center, previously occupied by the UP Integrated School (UPIS) since 1952, is now on its third and final stage of development. Republic Act No. 9500, also known as the University of the Philippines Charter of 2008, prohibits the sale of any existing real property of the university, only allowing leases on the grounds that agreements made are not in conflict with its academic mission. The UP Town Center is building more retail stores, restaurants, cinemas and offices, and is expected to be completed next year. UPIS now resides within the university grounds, where the Narra Residence Hall was previously located.

A GROUP OF UP WORKERS HAS intensified efforts to call on the UP administration to increase the year-end incentive granted to around 400 non-UP contractual workers, equivalent to the 13th month pay given to regular and UP contractual workers in Diliman.

The Alliance of Contractual Employees in UP (ACE-UP) staged a picket protest dubbed Friday the 13thmonth-pay in front of Quezon Hall on November 13 to continue the campaign they launched in October.

Non-UP contractuals include employees from the Special Services Brigade unit of the UP Diliman (UPD) Police, employees of the Campus Maintenance Office in charge of repairs and cleaning operations, and assistant researchers to different colleges. These workers are hired by the university through service agencies, removing the employee-employer relationship between the employees and UPD. Non-UP contractuals receive a meager P2,500 year-end incentive, which is only 24 percent of their monthly wage.

Regular and UP contractual workers meanwhile receive the full percentage of their salary as annual bonuses.

In line with the incentive increase, ACE-UP also called for the creation of a technical working group (TWG) composed of representatives of the union and the

administration. The group will determine the benefits non-UP contractuals may receive in accordance with the provisions under the collective negotiations agreement (CNA) effective since April 27.

While the Labor Code of the Philippines states that only workers with an employer-employee relationship are entitled to benefits, the CNA stipulates that the administration agreed to distribute benefits even to non-UP contractuals.

The CNA signed by the university and All UP Workers’ Union (AUPWU) allows for the release of additional benefits and compensation including the 13th month pay enjoyed by regular employees to non-UP contractuals, ACE-UP cited on their letter addressed to UP President Alfredo Pascual.

Other benefits that may be granted to UP non-contractuals include free accommodation to the University Health Service and the Philippine General Hospital, sick leave with pay, rice subsidy, clothing allowance, holiday pay, and faster processing of wages.

In addition to the large gap of incentives received by non-UP contractuals compared to regular employees, only Diliman and Baguio render year-end incentives to non-UP contractuals.

Continue on p. 11

6 LATHALAIN

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

BARATILYO Mga suliraning kinakaharap ng UPIS

H A N S E L K AY E F L O R E S

WALA NANG BAHID NG UNIBERSIDAD ang dating tahanan ng UP Integrated School (UPIS) sa Katipunan Avenue.

Matagal nang ginuho ang mga lumang silid-aralan upang magbigay daan sa UP Town Center, isang Ayala mall na ngayo’y puno ng mamahaling kainan at tindahan ng damit at sapatos.

Kapalit ng pagpapaupa ng UP sa Ayala ang bagong gusali ng UPIS sa tabi ng College of Home Economics: mas masikip ngunit mas maraming palapag. Sa likod ng mga pulang ladrilyo’t puting largamasa ng bagong UPIS, tila nakatago ang katotohanang, sa muli, tila UP na naman ang lugi sa ganitong mga klase ng areglo.

Unibersidad ng Upa Nagsisilbing laboratory school ng Kolehiyo ng Edukasyon ng UP Diliman (UPD) ang UPIS. Itinatag noong 1916 bilang UP High School, ang UPIS ngayon ay may mga estudyante mula Kinder hanggang hayskul. Apat na araw lang mula Martes hanggang Biyernes ang klase, at mura lang ang matrikula sa halagang P1,000 hanggang P2,000 kada semestre.

Ilan sa mga tanyag na alumni ng UPIS sina dating Pangulong Fidel Ramos, bise presidente Jejomar Binay, Senador Francis Escudero, Ryan Cayabyab, at Ramon Bautista.

Ilang dekada nang nakabinbin ang planong ipaayos ang UPIS dahil sa hindi sapat na badyet mula sa gobyerno tauntaon. Sa pamamagitan ng kasunduan sa pagitan ng Ayala at UP noong 2011, nagpasya ang UP na ipaupa ang dating lupa ng UPIS at ilipat ang eskwelahan sa dating kinatatayuan ng nasunog na Narra Residence Hall. Kapalit nito, popondohan ng Ayala ang pagpapatayo ng bagong tahanan ng UPIS. “Sinubukan naming pigilan pero nagulat kami na may contract signing na pala sa pagitan ng Ayala at ni President [Alfredo] Pascual,” ani Dr. Ronaldo Sanjose, punungguro ng UPIS. Ngunit bagaman P220 milyon ang inilaan na budget para makapagpatayo ng apat na palapag na gusali para sa UPIS, P180 milyon lang umano ang ginamit

para sa highschool building, ani Sanjose.

Ang natitirang P35 milyon ay ginamit sa pagpapaayos ng gusali ng elementarya at ang natitirang P5 million ay para sa pagpapaayos ng gusali ng K2.

Minadaling konstruksyon Magdadalawang taon pa lamang mula nang “matapos” ang bagong gusali ng UPIS, ngunit kulang pa rin ang mga kagamitan at sira na ang ilang mga pasilidad nito. Nariyan ang mga tiles na nakaumbok at basag, ang mga door knob na isang pihit lang ay tanggal na at bakbak na pintura sa mga pader, ayon kay Sanjose.

“Mabilisang pinalipat at minadaling ginawa ang building. Kailangan na kasi ang MDC sa UP Town Center.”

Bukod pa rito, wala pa ring kagamitan ang speech laboratory ng UPIS at styrofoam sa halip na semento ang nasa loob ng mga pader—para umano hindi madaling masira ng lindol. Mayroon ding mga palikuran na walang pintuan, habang ang mga fluorescent na ilaw ay walang takip, na delikado sakaling pumutok ang bumbilya. Ang ibinibigay na dahilan ng ganitong “disenyo”: mall type umano ang arkitekturang ginamit sa bagong UPIS, ani Sanjose.

Nabanggit din ng punungguro ng UPIS na mayroong mga pasilidad na kasama sa listahan ng ipagagawa sana ng Ayala ang hindi natapos ipagawa, katulad na lamang ng auditorium, gym, canteen, elevator, at maging mga lababo para sa mga laboratory, na pawang hindi na naipagawa dahil sa kulang na badyet.

Bagaman may ginagamit na ngayong auditorium ang UPIS para sa mga programa o pagtatanghal, ang mga upuan na nakalagay dito ay mga lumang silya mula sa mga sinehan ng Greenbelt na pagmamayari ng Ayala. “Pinasubukan namin [ang mga] upuan. Noong may umupo, nalaglag siya sa kinauupuan niya dahil natanggal ‘yong upuan,” kuwento ni Sanjose.

Ang canteen naman na ginagamit ng mga estudyante ay unang nilagay sa basement, na dating barracks ng mga manggagagawa.

Inilipat na ito ngayon sa unang palapag at tinambakan na ang basement dahil binabaha ito tuwing umuulan.

Naging problema ng UPIS ang kuryenteng kanilang ginagamit nang lumipat ang eskwelahan sa bago nitong gusali, ayon kay Hannah Manalo, public relations officer ng Kamag-Aral, ang konseho ng mga mag-aaral ng UPIS. Aniya, wala silang sariling kuryente noong mga unang buwan at nakakabit lamang sila sa linya ng Vinzon’s Hall na siyang delikado dahil maaaring magdulot ito ng sunog. Ngayong taon lamang ng Agosto, naging sarili at permanente ang kanilang linya ng kuryente.

Wala ring natanggap ang administrasyon ng UPIS na katibayan na maaari na nilang gamitin ang nasabing gusali. Sa katunayan, laking gulat umano ng administrasyon ng UPIS nang ipagamit na ng UP ang bagong gusali ng UPIS, sa kabila ng maraming natukoy na problema sa isinagawang punchlisting o pagsusuri sa bagong tayong gusali.

Sa kasalukuyan, naipahatid na sa Board of Regents ang problemang kinahaharap ng UPIS, ayon kay Student Regent Miguel Enrico Pangalanan. Nagdaos na rin umano siya ng dayalogo kasama ang mga estudyante, faculty, at mga kawani, kaugnay ng mga konsultasyong gaganapin rin ng rehente sa iba pang mga high school units ng UP, gaya ng UP Rural High School sa Los Baños.

Walang aksyon Paulit-ulit na kinakalampag ng administrasyon ng UPIS ang Makati Development Corporation (MDC) at administrasyon ng UP upang bigyan ng aksyon ang kanilang mga hinaing, ngunit hanggang ngayon ay wala pa ring sagot ang mga ito. Sa dayalogo ng MDC at ni Sanjuan, sinabi ng MDC na dalawang taon na ang nakalilipas nang ipatayo ng MDC ang gusali, kaya ang UPIS na umano ang bahalang magayos at mag-mentena ng gusali.

Ayon naman kay UPD Vice President for Development ng Elvira Zamora, hindi naman umano minadali ang pagpapagawa sa UPIS. Hindi rin kasama sa proyekto ang pagpapa-ayos nila ng mga pasilidad, maging ang pagbibigay nila ng mga kagamitan.

Kuha nina Kat Artiaga at Tony Reyes Disenyo ng pahina ni Jiru Rada Mula sa pagrerenta sa mga pasilidad ng UPIS katulad ng auditorium kumukuha ang administrasyon ng UPIS ng pangdagdag sa pondo upang ipaayos ang mga sira sa nasabing gusali. Dinadagdag nila ito sa P20,000 per quarter na pondo na nakukuha nila at pumapatak na P80,000 ang naiipon nilang pondo sa loob ng isang taon.

Ngunit kulang na kulang ang badyet na ito sa pagpapaayos dahil sa taas ng presyo ng mga kagamitan na kinakailangan.

Hinihiling ng administrasyon ng UPIS na bigyan sila ng limang porsyento mula sa renta ng Ayala upang magkaroon ng pondo para sa pagpapaayos ng mga pasilidad at paglalagay ng mga kagamitan.

Ngunit ayon kay Zamora, 60 porsyento ng upa ng UP Town Center ay napupunta sa UPD at ang hiling ng administrasyon ng UPIS ay nakadepende na sa resulta ng pakikipagnegosasyon sa opisina ni UPD Chancellor Michael Tan.

Samantala, tila hindi mapigilan ang paglago ng negosyo sa UP Town Center na ngayon ay nagtatayo na ng mga dagdag pang mga istruktura upang ipaupa sa iba pang mga establisiyamento. Sa kagustuhan ng UP na kumita ng sarili nitong pera upang tapalan ang kakulangan ng subsidyo ng gobyerno, tila hindi pa rin naman ang pamantasan ang tunay na nakikinabang sa ganitong mga incomegenerating project.

Sa patuloy na pagkakaltas sa budget ng mga capital outlay ng mga state universities at colleges sa bansa, kasama na ang UP, at sa pagyakap ng mga pampublikong unibersidad sa komersyalisasyon para itaguyod ang kanilang mga pangangailangan, panganib ang kinakaharap hindi lang ng kasulukuyang mga mag-aaral kundi ng mga guro at kawaning ang kagustuhan lamang ay dekalidad at abot-kayang edukasyon.

LATHALAIN 7

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

H

Total number of Filipino families

270

21.5 M Families dominated in the last 2010 national elections

In the country’s 80 provinces, at least

ALDRIN VILLEGAS THEY SAY FAMILIES ARE THE foundation of society, but where land and wealth are the rules of the game, the most powerful clans are those who are destined to always prevail.

A few months before the national elections in May, the country’s top political dynasties have begun preparing for battle.

In the race for national posts, many of the competing names are familiar. They are old, moneyed, landed, and powerful: Roxas, Binay, Poe, Marcos, Escudero, Duterte. In towns and cities, elite clans also clash: the Bersamin and Valera rivalry in Abra, the Garcias and Osmeñas of Cebu, the Mangudadatus and Ampatuans of Maguindanao.

The clash of clans has begun once more, but whichever dynasties emerge victorious this time, it is the fate of millions of poor families that is at stake.

Power Play Dubbed as the world capital of political dynasties, more than 250 political clans have dominated Philippine politics for the past 30 years. According to the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPeg), a public policy research institution.

This is a striking irony as the 1987 Constitution explicitly prohibits political dynasties under Article II, Section 26. An enabling law, however, must be passed to make the provision binding. In 2013, several legislators consolidated various bills into House Bill 3587, An Act Prohibiting the Establishment of Political Dynasties.

According to the bill, a political dynasty exists when two or more individuals who are related within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity hold or run for national or local office in overlapping, successive, or simultaneous terms.

“The Filipino family has become the most enduring political unit and the one into which, failing some wider principle of participation, all other units dissolve,” writes anthropologist and historian Brian Fegan. This phenomenon traces back to the family-based community structure that characterized pre-colonial Philippines, which was adopted and perverted by colonizers to keep the country under their hegemony.

Economic inequality began widening rapidly as Spanish and American colonizers favored a few families who are willing to allow the plunder of the country's natural resources and the exploitation of laborers and farmers. In the early 20th century, voting was limited to these landed families who eventually monopolized public office.

The wealth and power of these clans multiplied but they remained few in number, hoarding land and capital to dominate the country's politics and economy. To protect their interests, it was imperative for them

to maintain complicity with imperialist governments and local and foreign big businesses, even long after the Philippines gained independence.

As political dynasties distribute petty patronage gifts to their constituents, feudalism (through patron-client relations) is legitimized. Very few elite clans faced serious competition, but when threatened by emerging alternative candidates, they resort to vote buying and election fraud.

No wonder the provinces with the largest dynasties also rank as some of the poorest, said economist and antipolitical dynasty bill advocate Ronald Mendoza. Dynasties implement band-aid solutions instead of basic social services, further reinforcing economic inequality.

“Poverty and inequality breed greater dependence and sustain patron-client relationships. Without true accountability, these leaders are unlikely to support deep reforms,” Mendoza added.

53

Governors

and

26

Vice Governors

come from these political families

Dynasties in the country’s major political parties Lakas Kampi

Liberal Party

76%

57%

Nationalist People’s Coalition

Nacionalista Party

74% 81% Sources: Philippine Statistical Authority, Center for People Empowerment in Governance

Dynasties by Geographic region

Leaderboard In a game where the stakes are high, political dynasties will do anything to win, often including thievery, fraud, and violence.

Under Republic Act No. 7166, the president and vice-president may only spend P10 for every voter registered in the constituency where they filed their certificates of candidacy, but CenPeg estimates that at least P2 billion is usually spent by a national candidate.

Meanwhile, a 30-second commercial costs around P250,000 to several millions; and a 30-second primetime slot on television and radio costs around P100,00 and P8,000 respectively.

Mendoza adds that this huge spending for a position that pays less than their expenses leaves a large amount of public resources prone to graft and corruption. While in power, dynasties may recoup their expenses and repay favors using public funds.

Moreover, it limits the playing field to the wealthy and deters the entry of new players in a supposed democracy.

Local dynasties could also guarantee the victory of those running for national office in their provinces. These provincial clans in turn are assured that their interests would prevail through the mandate of their patron national officials—a system of political warlordism, brought about by a backward, preindustrial, and feudal society.

Former President Gloria Arroyo, for example, won by just over a million votes against rival Fernando Poe Jr. in 2004.

She won a landslide victory in the province of Maguindanao, which generates more than 650,000 votes, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board. The

province is lorded by the powerful Ampatuan clan, an Arroyo ally and the suspects behind the massacre of 58 people who accompanied their rival Mangudadatus on their way to file their candidacies.

The failure of ensuring checksand-balances in the system is another inevitablity in dynasty politics. Blood is thicker than water, and politicians tend to shield each other from criticisms until opponents are silenced or eliminated.

The obsession with power and the greed for wealth naturally breed violence. Abra, for example, is notoriously known as the “murder capital of the north” with more than 30 politicians killed since 2001 because of rivalries among political clans, according to records of the Abra Provincial Police Office.

Attack Strategy While political dynasties are manifestations of economic inequality, the thrones they covet vest them powers to maintain and exploit this very inequality.

Dynasties have shaped a political system that implements globalization policies that are pro-foreign investment, anti-nationalist, and anti-development, said think tank Ibon Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa.

Such structure promotes contractualization that imposes low wages, and a system that inhibits publicly-provided education, health and housing. Economic policy then remains biased in favor of the elites, and the majority of Filipinos remain exploited and poor.

A viable counterattack would be the enactment of an anti-dynasty law. However, such a law of course cannot entirely eliminate dynasties in the country nor fully level the political playing field, but it can regulate self-serving and opportunistic behavior to promote effective and accountable governance.

Another measure that can be taken is strengthening a genuine political party system. “This means political parties with clear ideologies and programs, competing on an even political playing field, and with clear and distinct voting constituencies,” said Africa. Currently pending is Senate Bill No. 3214, Political Party Development Act, seeking to institutionalize reforms in the financing of electoral campaigns, transparency and accountability.

It is only in genuine democratic elections that voters can win. Empowering the electorate is not only limited to

educating them, but also expanding the viable options and candidates who will forward the interests of the marginalized and the oppressed, Africa explains.

Progressive allies in executive and legislative seats, when elected, can expose from the inside the system of the country. This can initiate dismantling the undemocratic, pro-capitalist and prolandlord character of the political system that Africa believes is the root of the dominance of dynasties.

Only then will elections be truly democratic and empowering. Only then can the people hope to play by their own rules of the game. 

Illustration by Chester Higuit Page design by Jerome Tagaro

8 KULTURA

ARMED ONLY with bolos and amulets, the thirtytwo members of a peasant religious sect gathered their ranks and marched toward their goal: Malacañang Palace. They were a vision in their blue shirts draped in red and yellow capes, a stark contrast to the uniforms of the Pasay City police, who stood firm against their passage.

Propelled by their faith in God and their leader, the crusaders charged toward the police phalanx, only to be massacred by the superiorly armed guardians of the state.

They are the Lapiang Malaya, a religious-political group of mostly poor peasants who were protesting the oppressive ways of the Marcos administration. It was 1967, five years before he would impose Martial Law, and the episode offered a preview of the regime’s capacity for violence.

But from the outside, the Lapiang Malaya had all the characteristics of a cult. It was led by a revered and charismatic leader in the person of Valentin "Tatang" de los Santos. It also conformed to a well-charted spiritual belief, this one was rooted in distinctly Filipino customs, like the use of amulets, or anting-anting.

The case of the Lapiang Malaya calls to mind another religious group, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). With the group’s recent show of solidarity as a response to controversies surrounding its leaders, it raises the question on the many ways a faith-based group can lead a flock that is at its beck and call.

Baptism by fire

Both religious groups are similar in their inception—they both emerged as a reaction to the dismal conditions

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

Leading the flock M.M

that their leaders found around them.

The Lapiang Malaya was formed by de los Santos as a way to seek justice and liberty, beginning with his home in Bicol. De los Santos was against the American occupation, aware of the invader’s imperial motives.

The INC was formed in the same way. Its founder, Felix Manalo, was Roman Catholic until the church’s teachings disappointed him. He began to search for the “one true religion,” going through one sect after another. Traveling to Punta, Sta. Maria with his wife, he claimed to have received God's Word in a room after spending three days in seclusion, accompanied only by religious documents and empty notebooks. He emerged from the room an enlightened man, and the INC was born.

Manalo was succeeded by his kin in the administration of the INC. His grandson, Eduardo Manalo, is the current Executive Minister. However, the leadership of the church has recently been tainted with allegations and accusations of corruption and illegally detaining a former minister, Isias Samson Jr. In response, the Department of Justice moved to investigate the case, only to be met with protests from INC members who wanted to protect their church from what they perceived as meddling, a breach of the separation between church and state. The case was resolved following intense pressure from the INC. The decision was not disclosed to the public.

"[But] we should always uphold INC beliefs and support our administration in whatever activities they hold," said Micaela Reina Andres, a student, born and raised an INC member. Following the bidding of INC leadership seemed to have become second nature to its followers, not unlike the Lapiang Malaya’s venturing out into the streets armed only with their bolos.

Constrictive commandments

As a religious group, the INC has been known for its strict rules regarding food, clothing, and mode of worship. Members go to church twice a

Given the size of INC membership and the extent of their influence on society, the dynamics within the INC affects even the people who are not part of the group

week and observe rigorous codes of conduct during service: to come in formal attire, to leave their cell phones behind, and to give an offering, usually an amount equivalent to 10 percent of their income.

INC members are also barred from marrying non-members, Andres added. This would result in mandatory excommunication.

According to the doctrines of the INC, excommunicated members cannot enjoy the presence of God and salvation in heaven.

These impositions seem to have a salutary effect on the organization, from its longevity as a church—the INC has been in existence for more than a hundred years—to many other achievements. INC funds have gone to building the world's largest indoor arena, the Philippine Arena, which can seat 55,000 people. The film “Felix Manalo” also recently broke the Guinness World Records for largest audience attendance for a film screening and premiere, attracting a staggering 43,624-strong crowd.

"I wouldn't say [the administration] meddles, but they strongly influence the actions of the INC members."

Andres explained. However, this influence could swing from one end of the spectrum to the other: from bringing solace to the INC flock to leading them to fanaticism and blind belief.

Playing God

Given the size of INC membership and the extent of their influence on society, the dynamics within the INC

affects even the people who are not part of the group.

For instance, INC is known to consolidate its political power via bloc voting. It is estimated that it has about 1.37 million votingage members, managing a 75 percent average voter turn-out.

This influence is a huge factor in the electoral process—the INC has become an entity to woo for the substantial support it could give any candidate.

Among those that the INC had supported is former president Joseph Estrada. When he was ousted and arrested in 2001, it sparked anger among the ranks of INC leaders and members, who joined protests to overthrow his successor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Although prohibited from joining rallies, INC members gathered with Estrada loyalists to express support for him.

The failed protest, which was dubbed Edsa Tres, did not succeed. Its recent demonstrations somehow succeeded, but it earned disdain from many Filipinos not only because of the traffic that they caused but for allegedly circumventing judicial procedures.

INC’s actions thus echo how the Lapiang Malaya attempted to use faith to bring about social change in the country under Marcos. But while the Lapiang Malaya’s motives were geared toward inciting inclusive and widespread reform, the INC’s actions are an act of self-preservation. The group’s collective rigor plays a huge role in keeping it alive, but its display of faith isolates it from the rest of society. 

Illustration by Joshua Rioja Page design by Jerome Tagaro

KULTURA 9

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

LEAF IN BLISS CY MANONGDO

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES SEVEN o’clock in the evening, somewhere along the streets of Maginhawa a leaf, in between the lips of a 64-year old street musician, comes to life.

An old man in baggy clothes and hipster snapback plays songs, loud and clear amid the constant street bustle and the hodgepodge of food aromas in Grill Queen, Maginhawa. Behind the jovial smiles peeking behind a leaf, is Patricio de Guzman popularly known as “kuya dahon.”

De Guzman usually plays his last songs for the night in Grill Queen, where a lot of students spend dinner.

His beautiful music topped with his bubbly personality are what kept the barbecue haven livelier. He accentuates his performances with lively stomps of feet and throws of hips to the beat of the latest pop songs he’s asked to play—Jessie J’s Flashlight, Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud, Yeng Constantino’s Ikaw.

He was ten years old when he discovered his talent which he considered as a mere hobby—playing leaves.

He was taking up Mass Communication in the

University of Pangasinan, Dagupan City when he decided to move to Manila to look for job opportunities. But in a society where opportunity is game of roulette for the lower class, de Guzman found himself working in construction sites and laboriously carrying bags of cements in buildings.

During desperate days he was forced to sell his own blood to blood banks to buy food and be able to survive the day.

He could no longer remember how long or how terrifying those days had been— for they were eclipsed by the night he found his first love once again. He was in a slumber when he claimed to hear someone say ‘Gamitin mo ang talino mo.’ - an advice he didn’t get at first, but later on assumed it was talento instead.

It was in Luneta when a group of youths crowded him as they watched him practice. People handed him money, P50 to P100 bills, took videos and clapped for him. De Guzman refused to accept them at first, but later on decided to make it as a livelihood.

Later on he found himself in local gigs and television appearances.

De Guzman dated a couple of times but never had a family of his own; and he currently lives with his relatives in Brgy.

Pansol, Katipunan. He didn’t want to be a burden to his family so he decided to maximize his talent. The following years, leaves were what kept him alive.

In the morning, he travels to different universities—UST, FEU Morayta, San Beda, or UP Diliman—to perform along the streets.

He plays regularly in the nearest campuses and places, making him a familiar figure in UP Diliman. The distinct tootle that emancipates from the corners of the leaf transcends the people of the UP community—guards, sellers, students, professors, villagers.

In an institution where similar social struggles are evident, de Guzman’s leaf becomes a paragon of kindled hope.

The wish to fight for a better access in education and life in general comes with sweat and blood. However there’s this one thing that keeps everything moving forward—the little steps they land in achieving these goals.

Surviving such annihilating struggles and crises he faced in his life, the music de Guzman creates is the music of sweat, blood, and heart. Above all else, it is for others. He said, “Ang musika ay para sa tao, nakakapagpasaya ito mula kabataan hanggang sa pagtanda.”

BALA ANG SALITA Rebyu | Album | Gatilyo | Music Collection | Allen Jordan aka BLKD MARY JOY CAPISTRANO “PAANO NAGKAGANYAN? SA YAMAN ng Pinas, hirap ang sambayanan?”

Malamlam man ang ilaw sa Treskul Records & Café, isang mini bar na nagsisilbing base ng mga hip hop at rapper sa Bonifacio Avenue, Mandaluyong, hindi maikakaila ang sabik at tuwa ng mga nakikinig sa bagong album ni Allen Jordan, o mas kilala sa tawag na BLKD. Sa angas at lupit ng bawat liriko ng mga kanta, hindi maiiwasang sumabay sa pagbagsak ng bawat ritmo at nota ang ulo, paa, at kamay ng mga tagapakinig.

“Listening Party” kung tawagin ang isang pasadang pagpapatugtog ng siyam na kanta ng album ni BLKD na pinamagatang “Gatilyo.”

Simple lang naman ang nais iparating ng album—ang kasaysayan at diwang rebolusyunaryo ni Andres Bonifacio. Sa katunayan parangal umano ito ni BLKD kay Bonifacio noong kanyang kaarawan ngunit hindi umabot sa okasyon dahil sa kakulangan ng badyet—perenyal na suliranin ng mga taong nagsusulong ng alternatibong sining.

Ngunit huli man ang paglabas ng kanyang album, matagumpay naman itong tinanggap ng masa. Nagawa

nitong ilahad ang iba’t ibang isyung kinasasadlakan ng mamamayan— mula sa usapin ng likas na yaman ng bansa hanggang sa pananamantalang nararanasan ng mga Pilipino sa kamay ng mga nasa kapangyarihan.

Inilatag sa ikalawang kanta ng album ang kahalagahan ng alagad ng sining bilang kawal ng kultura at instrumentong magmumulat sa mga mamamayan sa kanilang kalagayan.

Isang mapanghamong pahayag ang nagsilbing introduksyon ng album gamit ang mga katagang “pagmulat ay pagkasa, tayo ang gatilyo.” Ginamit ni BLKD ang malaya at mapagpalayang pamamahayag sa porma ng awit o rap upang imulat ang masang Pilipino na patuloy na nalulugmok sa kahirapan dahil sa kanilang kalagayan at patuloy na pagpapaalipin sa mga dayuhan.

Pinatampok sa mga kanta ni BLKD ang lawak ng likas na yaman ng bansa na sapat upang magkaroon ng maayos na pamumuhay ang mga Pilipino ngunit ang mga may pera at kapangyarihan lamang ang nakikinabang.

Samu’t saring pagbanga sa kanser ng lipunan ang inihahandog ng album ni BLKD. Gamit ang mapangahas na mga

salita, inilalantad ng mga awitin ang mga isyu sa lipunan at kung paano gagapiin ang kamalayang bulok at pang-aalipin ng iilan sa makapangyarihan.

Tunay na nakapangingilabot ang seryosong tema ng mga kanta, ngunit sadyang kailangan ito upang dalhin ang mga tagapakinig sa iba’t ibang eksena na pangkaraniwang makikita sa arawaraw na buhay ng mga Pilipino.

Tiniyak ni BLKD na may aral na makukuha sa bawat kanta kung saan tinalakay ang danas ng iba’t ibang sektor sa lipunan. Aniya pa, hindi dapat ipagpatuloy ang kultura ng pagkakanyakanya at masiyahan sa pag-unlad na kakarampot o barya-barya lamang.

Kahit iisa ang boses, hinihikayat ni BLKD na magtulungan ang mga Pilipino upang pagtibayin ang kanilang hanay ng paninindigan at panawagan— isang makatuwirang solusyon sa mga pandarahas na binaybay ng kanyang mga tugma.

TRACKLIST - Gatilyo | Kawal | May Yaman | Bente | Gastador | Para san ang tapang mo? | Sugod | Taksil | May Pag-asa

Kuha nina Adrian Gutlay at Jiru Rada Disenyo ng pahina ni Jiru Rada

10 OPINYON

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

Days of terror

Larger than Life

MARY JOY CAPISTRANO MAY MGA LARONG HINDINGHINDI mo makakalimutan nung kabataan mo—luksong tinik, Chinese garter, langit-lupa, agawang base at, siyempre, ang tagu-taguan.

Kaiba sa mga larong nakasanayan ko nung kabataan ko ang samu’t saring laro gamit ang makabagong teknolohiya.

Mula sa pagtatanim sa Farmville, pagaalaga ng pet na si Tom, pagbibigay proteksyon sa mga halaman laban sa zombies, hanggang sa mga giyera.

Kinaaaliwan ko ngayon ang Clash of Clans. Dalawang bagay ang itinuro nito sa akin—maghanda sa pag-atake ng kalaban at gumawa ng bagong estratehiyang tatalo sa kalaban upang makakuha ng ginto at elixir na siyang bubuhay at magpapatatag sa sarili mong base. Nakakaaliw man ang ganitong mga laro na kadalasang pamatay-oras, ni sa hinagap hindi ko naisip na maaari itong mangyari sa tunay na buhay.

Kaakibat ng pagkatuto sa mekanismo ng laro ang mga bagong salita tulad ng “attack” para sa pag-atake, at “luto” kung magsasanay kung troops na ipanlalaban sa giyera. Sa larong ito nakilala ko ang iba’t ibang uri ng kawal—may giant, barbarian, archer, goblin, wall breaker, wizard, at marami pang iba. May kanyakanyang kakayahan ang mga troops na sasanayin mo katumbas ng elixir o ginto.

Terorismo ang pang-imbabaw na konseptong ginagamit upang bigyan ng lehitimong rason ang pag-atake sa mga bansang pangunahing kanlungan ng ISIS

Pamatay-oras lang para sa akin ang ganitong laro. Pero iba pala ang pakiramdam kapag personal mong mababalitaan na tila ganito ang nangyayari sa kabilang bahagi ng mundo.

Parang giyera sa pagitan ng mga bansa tulad ng US, France, at UK laban sa mga itinuturing na terorista o ISIS. Sunod-sunod na pag-atake ang isinagawa ng malalaking bansa sa Syria at Iraq, mga bansang pinaniniwalaang pangunahing lungga ng ISIS. Ito ay matapos maganap ang 30 minutong pag-atake sa mga sibilyan sa Paris ng mga nasabing terorista.

Patuloy na tinutugis ang ISIS dahil sa pagsalungat nito sa ginagawang pakikinabang ng mga naglalakihang bansa sa maliliit na bansa tulad ng Syria at Iraq.

Sa katunayan ang mga bansa tulad ng US ang mismong nagsanay at nagbigay ng armas sa mga mamamayan maliliit na bansa tulad ng Iraq at Syria upang mapalawak at mapanatili ang kanilang kapangyarihan at yaman.

Ngunit dumadating sa punto na matutunan mong lumaban lalo na kung sinasagad ang iyong karapatan. Ito ang nangyari sa sa mga sinanay na troops ng US. Kasabay ng pagkatuto ng taktika sa pakikipaglaban at pananakot upang mapanatili ang kapangyarihan ng pinagsisilbihan nilang bansa nabuhay

ang diwa ng pagkatuto sa kanilang kalagayan. Bumaklas sila pagiging sunod-sunuran at lumaban upang kumawala sa kamay na bakal ng US. Terorismo ang pang-imbabaw na konseptong ginagamit upang bigyan ng lehitimong rason ang pag-atake sa mga bansang pangunahing kanlungan ng ISIS. Layunin ng US na pabagsakin ang grupong hadlang sa kanilang mga plano.

Patuloy na gagamitin ng mga naghaharing mga bansa ang ganitong mga insidente upang paigtingin ang giyera sa mga bansang nagpapakita ng oposisyon sa layunin nilang magpalawak ng kapangyarihan at yaman. Binibigyangdiin din nito ang kanilang kapangyarihan na tapakan ang demokratikong karapatan ng mga mamamayan sa loob at labas ng kanilang bansa.

Kung sa COC lubos ang hawak na kapangyarihan ng tagapagsanay sa kanyang troop, salungat ang nagaganap na giyera sa kanluran. Kusang bumabaklas sa hanay ang mga kawal na tinatanggalan ng karapatang mamuhay ng naaayon sa kanilang kagustuhan.

Isang malaking dagok ito para sa mga bansang namumuhunan. Nawalan ng saysay ang pagsasanay sa mga kawal na sila sanang magpapalawak ng kanilang kapangyarihan. 

Rush job PAT R I C I A R A M O S Let me paint you a picture: You are given three weeks to plan, purchase materials for, and produce several enormous and intricate props, but only have one and a half of those weeks because your client releases the budget for the materials late.

You and your team will be rushed by your client to finish those props in time for a dress rehearsal, be made to carry the props back to your studio, and have to pay for transportation and food by yourselves. Imagine juggling schoolwork and other extracurricular responsibilities while working from one morning to the next, staying long nights in your studio, and be expected to battle exhaustion to attend classes and meet deadlines the next day.

Despite all this, your client will request a huge 40 percent discount from the compensation initially agreed upon. You will receive your check four weeks after the event to find out that the final fee specified in an unclear contract was even less than what had been promised.

This was the dilemma we faced behind the glamor of the 78th Season UAAP Opening Ceremonies held last September 5. People were awestruck by the colorful archipelago-themed introductory presentation but had no idea how much work had to go into it, not just by the CFA but also of the dance and musical organizations

tapped to perform. It was so much a shared experience among the student members of the UP Artists Circle (AC), Association of Visual Communicators (AVCom), Block U-ID, Block Y-VC, and several other volunteers from Studio Arts, Visual Communication, and Industrial Design, that when they found out only how much they were going to be paid, their initial outcry was for justice for their hard work.

After helping out on several props under one of the participating orgs, it became clear to me that there was very little time for the few volunteers to complete all of the tasks by the deadline. It was a far cry from the Lantern Parade to which they had often compared the project to because unlike the Lantern Parade, we still had to attend class and submit plates for our majors.

This was a hard lesson many of us art students going into professional careers had to learn. There are recurring cautionary tales to be heard, such as clients who ask for so much in return for a very small fee, clients who promise to pay in “exposure” for one’s services, and shameless art thieves who don’t even ask for permission before using original artwork for their own gain. It is errors like these that contribute to the myth that there is no money in practicing art professionally; but for UP, it was a

But for UP, it was a grave lack of misunderstanding and appreciation of the effort we had put into maintaining our school pride and quality

grave lack of misunderstanding and appreciation of the effort we had put into maintaining our school pride and quality. To discover that the UAAP and UP itself are capable of being such clients is just sad, disappointing, and infuriating, especially since the victims are students who took on the job to pay for their own tuition and other school expenses.

They had not even addressed the concerns beyond a one-hour meeting with some of the affected students, an attitude that was disrespectful in itself.

This high expectation with regards to the students’ financial state is reflected also in the issue of tuition, when students are assumed able to pay the full tuition fee until proven otherwise.

We CFA students have been identified as “slaves for art” by the same institution who had put us in this position – we are expected to go into visual art because of passion rather than for monetary compensation, and exerting our best efforts for the sake of art. This is only partly true, but all kinds of work, cultural or otherwise, must be justly waged. But if it means that our rights as students and cultural workers will only be subjected to blatant neglect by an otherwise respectable institution, why would we wish to be slaves when we can be free to fight for what we deserve? 

Polo F. Imperial

YES, WITH NO RESERVATIONS A FEW MONTHS FROM NOW, I WILL BE voting for the first time—as do others who have turned 18 since the last elections in 2010. For the first time as well, I find myself questioning but ultimately defending my choice to participate in a political activity that many of us may find so frustrating because of the very limitations of a “democratic” exercise within a flawed system.

My parents say they might not vote for president and vice president. The twins insist on a bolder statement by boycotting the elections altogether. Even my friend Hermione, who was usually the most conservative among my friends, surprised me when she said voting is counter-productive at this time and she that will reserve her vote for the time when there are better candidates to choose from.

I understand where they are all coming from, but I guess I defend my choice to vote, to give elections a chance, so that I can take this as a logical step to reaffirm what I have learned so far in the university, at the Collegian‘s office, and out in the streets with other student activists whom I have come to admire and emulate: that we must seek to occupy all available spaces for dissent, precisely because there are already so few of them left and to abandon these spaces would be to presume defeat at the hands of those who seek to take these spaces away from us.

So few choices, and far fewer alternatives to traditional politics—yet I feel the urge to choose, not only because I must but also because I can.

The right to suffrage was a victory that older generations have painstakingly fought for, and I realize that it is now our generation’s task to celebrate this victory by maximizing the space it has afforded us today. I believe it is the same reason why freedom of expression must be exercised and defended at all costs—even at the expense of leaving our comfort zones and despite a suspicion that exercising our rights and freedoms will always meet other forces that seem more powerful than our own.

For I also harbor no illusions that voting alone will already guarantee a new government that will champion the interests of the majority of the Filipino who are poor, landless, jobless, exploited, and marginalized.

I think that’s something that depends on what we do before and after the elections, how we make the most out of other and more militant forms of collective action.

When I cast my ballot in May, it will be a response to the question of whether I want something better for myself and for our country.

My answer is yes, with no reservations. 

OPINYON 11

Martes 8 Disyembre 2015

UPLB council members raise...

EKSENANG PEYUPS THE PATAY MALISYA EDISHUN! HELLER MGA BESHY! DITEY NA naman tayo sa uber favorite part niyo sa ating minamahal na newspaper! First and foremost, let me welcome you to our newest Patay Malisya Edition! Fasten your seat belts, conveyer belts, or kahit anong belts ang meron kayo because it’s time for me to drop the beat.

Kung anu-anong mga nakakalowkang eksena

ang natagpuan ng inyong paboritong Kuletera sa unibersidad this week!

Ilong Ranger. Grabechiwa iteng na kuya na nakasakay ko sa Katipunan jeep! Wind in the hair pa ang peg ni koyang habang naka half close ang Eye of Mordor niya! Before I could blink, anek?? Biglang na bahing si kuya at tumalsik ang sipon niya kay ateng na natutulog sa tabi niya. Unti unting tumingin si Kuya Snotter kay ate gurl kung napansin niya, at nung hindi ito kumibo, aba! Teh, gorabelles na ulit si kuya sa pag momoment niya outside the jeepney window. Kaloka!

Smoke Belcher. Habang nag wawalking dead akech sa may Area 2, na-sight ko si Ate Chinita na nakatambay sa tabi ng super shiny car niya. Nakita ata ni ateng na nagyoyosi ako while walking at naglabas ng sarili niyang pack ng cigarettesung. Amid the smoke of my personal yosi, napansin ko na ang sinisindihan ni ateng na side ng yosi niya ay yung filter! Without a doubt, nagtaka si ate kung bakit biglang lumiyab yung other end ng yosi niya! Ateyyyy, check mo muna yung tinatapat mo sa apoy mo char not char.

So Dark the Crack of Men. I was rolling in the deep sa kakatawa when I saw this mga besh! While waiting for a jeepney sa may AS, may na eye akong grupo ng mga isko at iska na nag-aayos ng tripod nila para sa land surveying.

While the ate iska was peeking into the hole sa other end, si kuyang isko was on his knees adjusting something in his tripod. Pagtalikod niya, nakalabas pala ang kanyang butt crack!

Kasing itim ng Marianas Trench mga besh! It’s like seeing oblivion for the first time! NKKLK So of course intercourse dyan natatapos ang mga kwentong makakalaglag ng panga niyo sa sobrang tawa. Hopesung ko na naenjoy niyo ang mga kwento natin for this week.

Always remember mga besh, knowledge is power, but laughter is powest. Ano daw? See you all sa next issue mga Beshy! Mwah! 

SIPAT

From p. 3

NEWSCAN YOUTH CONVENTION Good news to all student-leaders in the country!

The Action for Economic Reforms (AER) and World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Youth For Sin Tax Movement (YFST) and Asian Medical Students Association (AMSA) Philippines, are holding a convention on health this coming December 19 (venue: to be announced).

If you are a leader of a student organization that advocates for the protection and advancement of the youth’s health, apply for a slot now!

[Maximum of 3 representatives per NCR-based organizations and one representative per organization outside NCR will be allowed] Regional participants’ roundtrip costs, accommodations, and meals will be covered. During the convention proper, meals will be served and kits will be provided to the participants.

For any queries, you may contact action.ph@gmail.com. #TurnYourRightsOn Experience taught us that recognition of student rights and welfare is not a given, that it is a battle that every student faces but seldom wins. The passage of the UP Diliman Students’ Magna Carta which will not only define, defend, promote, but most importantly, enforce our student rights gives us a fighting chance.

Let us say YES to the Magna Carta and say YES to enforceable student rights! #TurnYourRightsOn this coming January 12, 13 & 14, 2016!

Full text: bit.ly/UPDMagnaCarta

TANGLAW The UP Filipiniana Dance Group through the Office of the Chancellor presents “TANGLAW”, the 80th Anniversary Homecoming Dance Concert, as part of the UP Diliman Christmas Program 2015.

December 11, 2015 3:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. University Theater, UP Diliman P250 For tickets, please contact Chesca Opoc (09275171721) (c) James Lastra THE GREAT OBLATION RUN The Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity presents to you this year’s The Great Oblation Run: Ritual Dance of the Brave.

More than the University’s trademark, the Oblation Run is a long-time tradition of the fraternity to showcase the struggle of the Iskolar ng Bayan for liberation and emancipation of society.

THE GREAT OBLATION RUN Monday, December 14, 2015 12 noon, AS Steps PARADA NG MGA PAROL 2015 Ngayong taon, isa na namang makabuluhang Parada ng mga Parol ang idaraos sa UP Diliman na pinamagatang Dingas 2015 at may temang “Dingas: Adhikaing Diliman, Adhikaing Bayan.“ Ipaparada ang mga parol paikot sa Academic Oval, magkakaroon ng palatuntunan sa Amphitheater, at tatampukan ng fireworks display.

DINGAS 2015: Parada ng mga Parol Lunes, 14 Disyembre 2015 Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman

Because of the students’ call to protest, System One was reinstated the day before the walkout.

Concerns over the Socialized Tuition System and eUP were discussed over the meeting, Guevarra said. “Na-clarify naman doon na failure talaga [ito] for the eUP team and UPLB administration dahil umatras ang eUP team.”

As the implementation of SAIS looms in UPLB in the midyear term of 2016, Pangalangan and the council members drafted their next action steps to oppose eUP. Student leaders said there is a need to raise awareness and provide an in-depth critique of the eUP. Meanwhile, Pangalangan said the students should also seek legal counsel. “Kailangan mapalakas pa natin ang campaign against eUP, especially [the councils and faculties facing the implementation] at the forefront.” 

Workers’ group demands...

From p. 4

Some offices hire contractual employees every six months because of the importance of their jobs. Labor groups have long been pushing for the regularization of contractual workers in UP to ensure the workers’ benefits, citing that the university hires non-UP workers to keep its operational costs at a minimum.

“Importante ang [non-UP contractuals] sa buong operation ng UP … Gumagawa rin sila ng trabaho ng mga regular,” ACE-UP President Nelin Dulpina said.

The union now waits for the Board of Regents to accept their proposal during their meeting on December 11, providing a TWG for an incentive system and the adoption of bonuses in other UP units. 

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MUSMOS Chester Higuit Sitio Tarukan, Capas, Tarlac March 2015

NEXT WEEK’S QUESTIONS:

1

Anong regalo ang gusto mong makuha sa darating na Pasko?

2

Kung tatakbo ka sa pagkapangulo, sinong artista ang kukunin mong endorser?

Bakit?

Ipadala ang inyong mga sagot, opinyon at komento sa Kulê! I-type ang KULE <space> STUDENT NUMBER <space> PANGALAN at KURSO at ipadala sa:

09155531483 CONTACT US! E-mail us at kule1516@ gmail.com. Save Word attachment in Rich Text Format, with INBOX, NEWSCAN, or CONTRIB in the subject. Always include your full name, address and contact details.

IGPUDUYON

Ang pagpapatuloy ng tugtuging Lumad lulan ang kahilingang pinaaabot sa bayan MAHIGIT 700 LUMAD MULA SA MINDANAO ANG dumayo pa sa Maynila upang iparating ang kanilang kahilingan: manumbalik ang kapayapaan sa kanilang lupang binulabog ng mga baril at martsa ng Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas.

Sumasalamin sa kapaligiran at karanasan ng mga Lumad ang musikang kanilang tinutugtog. Ang dating mapayapang tugtugin ng pasasalamat sa Diyos ng kalikasan ay naghimig militante upang ipagtanggol ang lupang binusabos ng mga pribadong negosyo at minahan.

“Kahit kami’y bata, nakararanas kami ng paghihirap araw-araw.” Ito’y lirikong inaawit ng mga kabataang Lumad sa awiting ‘Bisan Kami Bata’ na likha ng Tunog Bubongan.

Humahadlang ang militarisasyon sa edukasyon ng mga Lumad. Madalas may putukan sa kani-kanilang nayon at may ilan pang napipilitang iwanan ang paaralan upang makatagpo ng kapanatagan at kaligtasan.

Mahigit sa 18 tribo mula sa limang rehiyon ang nakibahagi sa Manilakbayan 2015. Bagamat may magkakaibang tugtugin at instrumento, nagkaisa ang kanilang musika sa iisang panawagan.

Tanaw ang inaasam na kapayapaan, patuloy ang pag-awit ng mga Lumad ng liriko ng mga pangarap. “Inaalala ko ang aming kabataan sa aking pag-awit. Paano ang kanilang pagaaral kung parati kaming magbabakwit o matatakot tuwing may militar?” ani Nay Lena, na umaawit para sa kapakanan ng kaniyang mga anak at mga kabataang Lumad.

Sapagkat tugtugin ma’y nakapaglalakbay rin. Ginamit nila ang musika upang alalahanin ang kanilang mga naiwan kasabay ng patuloy nilang paglaban. Hindi magtatapos ang ulyaw ng panawagang maibalik ang tinatamasang mapayapang bayan. 

Kuwento ni Chester Higuit kasama ang ilang larawan ni Kenneth Gutlay