Philippine Collegian Tomo 95 Issue 19

OPI SY ALNALI NGGUHANGPAHAY AGAN NGMGAMAGAARALNG UNI BERSI DADNGPI LI PI NASDI LI MAN

2018 MARTESMAYO29, SYU19 TOMO95I

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AYEAROFMARTI AL LAW I NMI NDANAO

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SOBRESALENTE

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KUL TURA

A year of Martial Law in Mindanao JOSE MARTIN V. SINGH

IT HAS BEEN A YEAR SINCE President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation 216, placing the entire Mindanao under Martial Law. The government cited as reason the battle between the Islamic State-inspired Maute group and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Marawi City. However, the declaration of Martial Law in the entire Mindanao has raised much doubt because the focal point of conflict resides in Marawi City alone. Two weeks into the declaration, a number of human rights violations were already recorded.

Whether within Marawi or in far-flung areas all over Mindanao, they range from extra-judicial killings, illegal detentions, abuses, and undue displacements.

The Congress extended the Martial Law until the end of 2018, and the Supreme Court upheld the latter’s constitutionality despite the military declaration of victory in October 2017. This course of action has only aggravated the already deep plight of the indigenous peoples and residents of rural communities in Mindanao. The most affected indigenous peoples, such as the Lumad, Moro, and Maranao, continue to call for the lifting of Martial Law because of intensified harassment and killings brought about by military and paramilitary operations, which in several areas coincide with land-grabbing and mining efforts.

Lumad Killings It has always been a story hidden from plainsight: Lumad leaders, teachers, students, and people continue to be slain. With the declaration of Martial Law, the killings and its effects have worsened.

Human Rights Violations Human rights violations have increased over the past year and there has been a 121 percent rise in cases of extra-judicial killings since the Martial Law declaration, according to human rights group Barug Katungod Mindanao. Human rights group Karapatan recently submitted a report on human rights violations under Martial Law in Mindanao to the United Nations independent experts.

4

mostly IPs and local peasant organization members

33 Males

Females

404

Indigenous Peoples, Farmers, Sectoral Leaders, Human Rights Workers, Environmental Defenders, and Activists

384 cases

22

affected 24,134 Individuals

116

47

Frustrated extra-judicial killings

Teachers

under Duterte regime

89 Illegal arrest and detention

Obello Bay-ao 18 years old 47th killed September 5, 2017

404,654

Displacement due to bombings

Source: Barug Katungod Mindanao, Tudla Productions, Karapatan - Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (May 23, 2017 to May 18, 2018)

Source: Barug Katungod Mindanao, Manila Today, Karapatan-Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights, Philippine Star (May 23, 2017 to May 22, 2018)

557,161

Individuals affected by the military ops

Timeline of Events

2017

Intensified military operation yielded to rising cases of killing, harassment, intimidation, and other forms of rights violations, leaving a worsened human rights situation in Mindanao. Individuals from the indigenous peoples’ and peasants’ sector continue to be the primary victims of these attacks.

JULY 23

Armed members of the Maute rebel group took over the city of Marawi in Lanao del Sur, sparking the beginning of the Marawi siege. Thousands of families were then forced to evacuate.

Voting 261-18 in a joint session, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the president’s proposal to extend martial law in Mindanao up to the end of 2017, citing the need to further protect the people as the siege continues.

As a response to the ongoing siege, President Duterte, who was in Russia to meet Vladimir Putin, declared Martial Law in Mindanao through Proclamation 216. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus was likewise suspended. These declarations were made to supposedly protect the people amid the possible existence of rebellion, according to Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano.

MAY 23 BA LI TA

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MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

Obello Bay-ao, 18, was shot dead by members of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit.

Bay-ao is a Grade 6 pupil at Salugpongan Ta Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center, a Lumad school in Davao del Norte. Despite a relatively young age, he was known to protect their community against the harassment done by paramilitary groups and state forces against them.

SEPTEMBER 5

South Cotabato, bombed by 27th Infantry Battalion – 139 Lumad families or more than 657 individuals were forced to evacuate

Source: Davao Today, Manila Today, Bayan Sox, Anakbayan Soccsksargen, Center for Lumad Advocacy and Services, Inc.

Attack on Schools Schools, especially the selfsufficient Lumad schools, have been attacked, bombed, harassed, closed, or used as an encampment by military and paramilitary groups.

DECEMBER 3

BEATRICE P. PUENTE

MAY 22

Recent Attacks

May 8, 2018 Source: Barug Katungod Mindanao, Tudla Productions (May 23, 2017 to May 16, 2018)

Military Operations More waves of military operations were reported to have happened during the course of Martial Law in Mindanao, increasing the almost endless disturbances in indigenous communities, especially that of the Lumad and Moro.

336,124

Indiscriminate gunfire and aerial bombings

11,500+

Lumad individuals evacuated due to aerial bombardment

April 26, 2018

22,508 1,626

7,000+

South Cotabato, bombed - 517 Lumad individuals were forced to evacuate

Students

Tortures

Displacements due to Military Operations Thousands of Lumad have been forced to move out due to military attacks and harassments.

Lumad families affected

extrajudicial killings, military encampment, forcible school closures, threat, harassment, intimidation, aerial bombing, vilification and red-tagging, illegal arrests and trumped-up charges, and other forms of attacks on schools

37 Total

49 Extra-judicial killings in Mindanao,

Trumped-up Charges on Indigenous Peoples

OCTOBER 23 The government formally announced that the Marawi siege ended.

Eight Lumad belonging to the T’boli-Dulangan Manobo community in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato were killed in an encounter with the 27th and 33rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA). Three more were injured and two individuals were arrested, while six were reportedly missing. A total of 50 individuals were forced to evacuate. The civilian victims were accused as members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

A total of 1,173 Lumad evacuees from Lianga and San Agustin, Surigao del Sur suffered from food blockade. Elements of the 75th IBPA prevented humanitarian groups and representatives from the local government of Lianga from entering the site. More than a thousand individuals needed to evacuate due to the military presence in 12 communities of Lianga and San Agustin.

Meanwhile, nine Lumad schools were also forced to close due to the military presence.

DECEMBER 1

Datu Victor Danyan, one of the slain victims, was a leader of TAMASCO, an indigenous group that helps the people in their community to assert the ownership of their ancestral land being seized by David M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI).

The ancestral land of the community is also targeted

by San Miguel Energy Corporation for coal mining operations.

A total of 139 individuals from 21 families from several towns in Agusan del Sur were forced to evacuate due to the military operations launched by the 26th IBPA. The same battalion blocked the volunteers from Rural Missionaries of the Philippines from bringing goods to the evacuees.

DECEMBER 4 The attack on the community members was not new, as they were already experiencing harassment and other forms of threat from the military beforehand. According to the local community organization Tagdumahan, this was due to their opposition to the entry of large-scale mining corporations in their community.

44

Lumad schools across the whole Mindanao have now been shut down

135 Total school closures due to

Marawi War damages Office of Civil Defense and Department of National Defense:

P5 billion

military attacks

May 23, 2017 to May 17, 2018

Government spendings for the war, to retake Marawi

19

LEGENDS

Number of Lumads killed Cases filed against IPs Individuals affected by Military Ops Batallion Distribution Schools Closed

6 43 1,284 5 14

56

P100-150 billion

schools forcibly closed

30

200

Lumad students who were not able to graduate in March (due to school closures)

2209

Lumad students forcibly dropped out (as of May 21)

Lumad students threatened harassed and intimidated by the AFP, paramilitary and local government units (as of May 21)

78,466 families people 359,680

Volunteer teachers threatened, harassed and intimidated by the AFP, paramilitary and local government units (as of May 21) affected by indiscriminate firing by AFP, CAFGU, and paramilitary

2 6 130 9

12 57 42,580 16 57

Killed

847 Maute members Government troops

451

WESTERN MINDANAO

Displaced

7766

47 Civilians

163

SOUTHERN MINDANAO

Terrorists 822 163 Soldiers and Policemen

SOCCSKSARGEN 11 30 6,185 9 47

Source: GMA News Online, Philippine Daily Inquirer

APRIL 2

FEBRUARY 6

DECEMBER 5

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of martial law’s second extension until the end of 2018. Ten justices voted in favor of this while the other five dissented.

2018

The Supreme Court upheld the extension of martial law, with 10 justices affirming the decision, three dissenting, and one abstaining.

Although the siege has already ended on October 23, Duterte once again sought the approval of the Congress to extend the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao, as there were still imminent threats from other rebel groups. In another joint session, the legislators once again agreed to extend the declaration of Martial Law until the end of 2018, voting 240-27.

5 268 3,247 9 17

Estimated cost to rebuild Marawi

schools turned into military encampment

4,050

CARAGA

NORTHERN MINDANAO

schools destroyed

A total of 10 delegates from an international solidarity mission were not allowed by the 75th IBPA to enter Lumad communities in Surigao del Sur. The volunteers were supposed to investigate the food blockades, reported harassment, and other forms of human rights violations in 26 Lumad communities.

FEBRUARY 19

FEBRUARY 23 Elements of the 23rd IBPA conducted military operations and encampment in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, prompting 187 Lumad residents to evacuate.

Ten members of Kilusan ng Manggagawa Laban sa Coca-Cola (KIMACO) were illegally arrested and charged with grave coercion and disobedience after they were violently dispersed in Davao City. A total of 72 union members were dismissed the previous month, and the workers went on a strike to push for the reinstatement of these individuals.

APRIL 24 Ten armed soldiers from the 71st Infantry Battalion went to a lumad school in Maco Compostela Valley to interrogate Lito Presno, 42, who is a driver in Community Technical College of Southeastern Mindanao (CTCSM). Despite having no warrant to justify their presence, one of the soldiers entered his hut to search for something. The military men also illegally entered the hut of a former school staff they previously tortured, Rey Gulmatico, where they took some things before leaving.

Eight teachers, 12 students, and four children from Salugpongan Ta Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center were harassed and interrogated by members of paramilitary group Alamara, while they were in Talaingod, Davao del Norte. They were released several hours later.

Several progressive groups including Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and International League of People’s Struggles launched an international factfinding and solidarity mission to probe the attacks on Lumad and peasant communities amid the continued militarization of the region.

MARCH 19

APRIL 6-9

DECEMBER 13 DISENYO NG PAHINA NI KARLA FAITH SANTAMARIA

MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

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GABRIELA FILES PETITION TO REINSTALL ‘COMFORT WOMAN’ STATUE MARVIN RAEL TENECIO AFTER THE UNPRECEDENTED removal of the “comfort woman” statue erected along Roxas Boulevard, women’s rights group Gabriela filed House Resolution 1859 on May 10 to seek a congressional inquiry on the removal of the statue and question the state’s blatant disregard for the struggle of the Filipino women for historical inclusion.

The 2-meter-high bronze statue depicted a blindfolded woman, symbolizing the sexual abuses done by the Japanese Imperial forces to hundreds of Filipino captives during the height of World War II. The monument however was taken down on April 27 to give way to a drainage project.

Gabriela appeals to the Government to reinstall the memorial in a protected public place, and erect similar memorials in other parts of the country. They also urged to resist Japanese government’s “revision of world history” and recognize the experiences of the former comfort women in official Philippine History.

“We deplore the sudden removal of the ‘comfort woman’ statue because it is a brazen attempt to hide the history of Japanese atrocities against Filipino Women during World War II,” said Sharon Cabusao-Silva, acting director of the Lila Pilipina, an organization of survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery during World War II. Silva also denounced recent reports about how Japanese embassy officials pressed the Philippine government to remove the statue. Among Asian countries, the Philippines is the only one that kowtowed to Japan's demands for the removal of these markers.

Historical values Duterte strongly supported the removal of the statue, saying that leaving it erected may harm the “harmonious” diplomatic ties with Japan by antagonizing them. He also claimed that it would eventually lead to a busted economic relation between Japan and the Philippines.

But erecting a “comfort woman” statue does not antagonize other nations, as it was merely a memorial of a history that must be remembered by the next generations, said diplomatic historian Dr. Ricardo Jose.

“Hindi ito usapin ng political and economic issues, so it is right to put the statue up,” added Jose.

The Filipino comfort women remain unrecognized in the official historical accounts of our country and it is also a manifestation of the culture of silence perpetuated in our feudal-patriarchal society, said cultural committee head Nicole Reasonda of Gabriela Youth - UP Diliman Chapter.

Furthermore, the removal of the historical monument is emblematic to utter indifferences to the pervasive issue of violence against women to seek struggle for gender justice, said Nathalie Verceles, Director of the UP Center for Women's and Gender Studies.

Award-winning journalist and author of “Silenced No More: The Voices of the Comfort Women” Sylvia Yu-Friedman also expressed dismay over the move of the government to remove the statue.

“It’s really sad that the comfort women statue was removed. This seems to be an effort to appease Japan rather than memorialize the girls and women in the Philippines who suffered from military sex slavery by the Japanese army before and during World War II,” Yu-Friedman said.

Addressing the problem Meanwhile, there are many ways to set a compromise if Japan really pressed the government to remove the statue.

In relation to the international affairs, the trade and diplomatic relations may be negotiated in different arenas to equate with Japan’s call to remove the statue, according to the National College of Public Administration and Governance Dean Maria Fe Mendoza.

Gabriela and Lila Pilipina meanwhile decried the lack of plans to reinstall the statue at least in another place, reiterating

the importance of the monument and its historical implications.

The fact that no alternative site was set and government remains non-committal to its relocation is an indication that the reasons were far beyond drainage improvement, said Silva. [It was] really "a sneaky attempt to rewrite Philippine

history by obscuring the atrocities" committed by the Japanese forces, she added.

“We call on the Philippine government to honor and uphold the struggle for justice of Filipino ‘Comfort women’ by reinstating the statue,” said Silva, emphasizing that it must uphold the historical truths by

PROTESTA DE MAYO

teaching to our young and also support independent foreign policy by delinking, in this case, Japanese foreign aid from the struggle for justice for Filipino comfort women.

SHERNIELYN DELA CRUZ

Rumampa sa Academic Oval si Miranda Dacillo sa isang kilos-protesta bitbit ang mga panawagan para sa hustisya, Mayo 26. Ang pagkilos na tinaguriang Protesta de Mayo Laban sa Tiraniya ay isang alternatibong Santacruzan ng mga grupong Karapatan at Hustisya laban sa mga pang-aabuso sa karapatang pantao ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. Suot ni Dacillo ang pinagtagpi-tagping mga diyaryo habang nakabusal ang bibig sa pagganap niya bilang "La Reina de la Verdad" na nananawagan ng pagdepensa sa kalayaan sa pamamahayag ng mga peryodista sa bansa. Sa tala ng ilang mga grupong pang-midya na inilabas noong World Press Freedom Day, mayroon nang 85 na kaso ng pang-aatake sa midya sa ilalim ng pamumuno ni Duterte.

PROTESTING WORKERS IN MIDDLEBY THREATENED

BY POLICE PAMELA ADRIANO

PROTESTING CONTRACTUAL laborers from a food service equipment company in Biñan, Laguna have been receiving threats of harm and violence from the Biñan police as an attempt to force the workers to leave the company’s plantation.

A total of 131 contractual workers from (Middleby) Philippines, Inc. in Biñan, Laguna have been holding a sit-down protest and picketing for two weeks now to call for the regularization of contractual workers in the company.

Led by Samahan ng mga Manggagawang Kontraktwal sa Middleby-LIGA, the laborers went to the factory on May 10 not to work but to begin their protest, denouncing the refusal of

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MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

Middleby to comply with Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) order and the corporation’s threat to terminate 30 workers.

“Ang nakasaad sa desisyon ng DOLE noong April 4 ay gawing regular ang 184 na mga manggagawa,” SMK-Middleby Chairman Rodel Maruta said, adding that Middleby should acknowledge and implement the said decision.

As of press time, the corporation has taken no action on the order. The workers even experienced hostility from the company’s management while the protest is ongoing, as the electricity inside the plant was cut. The management also tried to take several equipment out of the factory on May 23 but the workers were able to block them.

The corporation has always assured the workers that they will be regularized but until now, it remains a promise, according

to Maruta. Moreover, the workers have also been subject to inhumane treatment, as they are forced to work overnight and are not allowed to go home unless all equipment are delivered.

DOLE Order DOLE Laguna provincial office refused to give a statement when asked about the exact order released by DOLE, insisting that the order can only be between them and the corporation.

However, Center for Trade Union and Human Rights Philippines (CTUHR) and other labor unions said that DOLE IV-A ordered Middleby to regularize 131 contractual employees.

Middleby workers also stated that DOLE Region IV-A regional director Zenaida Campita signed the order to regularize the contractual workers from the two manpower agencies of

Middleby which are Mother Ignacia and Gawad Kalinga.

Continuing Contractualization Under Duterte

As contractual workers and various labor groups continue to call for the end of contractualization in the country, President Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) 51 last May 1, aiming to put an end in contractualization. "To all noncompliant and abusive employers who are engaged in labor contracting, your days are numbered," Duterte said in a statement.

Section two of the EO prohibits contracting or subcontracting “when undertaken to circumvent the worker’s rights to security of tenure, selforganization, and collective bargaining and peaceful concerted activities pursuant to the 1987 Philippine Constitution.”

However, workers and unions are not

contented with the signed EO. Labor union Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said that a deceptive, grossly anti-worker EO 51 only further legalizes contractualization instead of ending it.

This EO only worsens the existing loopholes in labor law such as Department Order No. 174 (DO 174) as it further establishes labor contracting through agencies as the standard of employment in the country, according to KMU. Meanwhile, labor unions including CTUHR remain to be one with workers as they continue to stop contractualization and to start implementing regularization among laborers. “Now is the time to redeem ourselves on what’s going on the working people,” CTUHR Documentation Head Roben Casalda said.

Following armed clash in South Cotabato,

TRAIN WRECK

PATRICIA LOUISE POBRE

8 bombs dropped on Lumad community JOSE MARTIN SINGH

OVER A HUNDRED LUMAD FAMILIES were forced to evacuate after the 27th Infantry Batallion of the Philppine Army (27th IBP) dropped eight bombs on May 8 down on Barangay Kematu, T’boli in South Cotabato, following a clash between government troops and New People’s Army (NPA) earlier that day.

A total of 139 families and 657 individuals from three sitios in the barangay evacuated to Barangay Kematu’s school immediately after the bombings. The residents stayed there until May 11, said Center for Lumad Advocacy and Services, Inc. (CLANS) Executive Director Geming Andrea Alonzo and KarapatanSoccsksargen staffer Mariam Magancong.

The victims have already been allowed to return but are still afraid to go out of the area and talk about the incident because of a number of checkpoints and blockades around Barangay Kematu, said Alonzo. CLANS could not enter and gather information for the same reasons, she said.

The military agents of the 27th IBP were the ones who initiated the return of the evacuees, said Magancong. KarapatanSoccsksargen was also not able to meet the evacuees because of the supposed early return, she said.

The said bombings are not the first to happen this year, as a similar incident occurred in South Cotabato on April 26 and was reported to have also been employed by the 27th IBP. A total of 517 Lumad were forced to evacuate following the said incident.

Members of the 27th IBP are in the Lumad communities to make way for land grabbing and mining efforts of large-scale companies, according to youth group Anakbayan-Soccsksargen.

Meanwhile, most affected by the attacks, bombings, and operations are the children and women, said Alonzo. “Malaki talaga and epekto ng mga ganitong pangyayari sa communities. Hindi makapag-farm at nakaka-

function nang maayos ang mga tao,” she said.

The entire Mindanao has been under martial law for over a year now, after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No. 216 on May 23, 2017 in response to the clash happening between Islamic State-inspired Maute group and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Marawi City.

The war already ended on October 2017, but the implementation of martial law was extended until the end of 2018. The proclamation has been deemed by human rights and progressive groups as an added detriment to the experiences of indigenous and rural communities in Mindanao bound by military and paramilitary groups.

A number of human rights violations, abuses, and displacements were recorded since martial law was declared in Mindanao last year.

To date, a total of 37 Lumad were recorded killed by military and paramilitary agents, while 11,500 Lumad were forced to evacuate due to aerial bombardments. A total of 404 indigenous and rural residents meanwhile were charged or falsely accused of committing crimes (see related infographic in pages 2 to 3).

The war in Marawi resulted in financial strains as well. The government spent an estimated P5 billion for the war, and the rehabilitation is estimated to cost a whopping P100-150 billion, according to the Office of Civil Defense and Department of National Defense (see related infographic in pages 2 to 3).

Groups in Mindanao calls for the end of all armed conflict as well as the lifting of Martial Law in the island, said Alonzo.

“Makakatulong po for the betterment of the communities [affected] kung ma-lift na ang Martial Law agad,” she said, citing the recent aerial bombing incidents in South Cotabato.

MALAYO PA ANG HUSTISYA

Progressive groups and advocates hold a noise barrage in front of the National Housing Authority to denounce the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, May 25. The country’s inflation rate climbed since the implementation of the TRAIN Law in 2017 with last April’s figures revealing a quarterly average increase of 3.8 percent in the price of consumer goods. This is mainly due to the domino effect of rising global prices of petroleum products to basic commodities and services. With the Philippines being one of the world’s most oil-intensive economies, the weekly price adjustment of P5.10 per liter of gasoline has even raised the prices of basic household goods such as a 150-gram powdered milk bag by Php 9.00. The protesters asserted that this severe imbalance between the price of consumer goods and the average Filipino worker’s wage is reason enough for the government to reconsider the TRAIN Law.

Poll workers dismayed over honoraria delay PAMELA ADRIANO

DESPITE ASSURANCE FROM THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) that 2018 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (2018) poll workers will be compensated immediately, some teachers who served as poll watchers expressed dismay after some cash cards containing their service honoraria and travel allowance were still not distributed until May 24, 10 days after the elections.

The recently implemented Election Service Reform Act (ESRA) of 2016 states that SHERNIELYN C. DELA CRUZ

Nilalahad ni Nanette Castillo ng Rise Up for Life and for Rights ang pagkadismaya niya sa mga bigong pangako ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa isang kilos-protesta sa Katipunan Avenue, Mayo 18. Isa sa mga nabanggit ni Castillo ang pangakong wakasan ang paggamit ng ipinagbabawal droga sa loob ng anim na buwan sa pamamagitan ng madugong Oplan Tokhang, ang operasyong kontra-droga ng administrasyon. Kabilang ang kaniyang anak na si Daniel Castillo sa humigit-kumulang 4,000 na ang pinatay sa Oplan Tokhang mula Enero 2018, ayon sa tala ng Philippine National Police. Kaiba naman ito sa bilang ng non-government organization na Human Rights Watch, na pumapalo sa 12,000.

Bagaman wala pa ring usad ang isinampang kaso nina Castillo laban sa mga pulis na pumatay sa kanyang anak, hindi siya titigil sa paglaban hanggang makamit niya ang hustisya.

those who will serve in the elections shall be granted compensation including the service honorarium and travel allowance.

The law also specifies that “any person who makes or causes the delay in the payment of the honoraria and allowances...beyond the prescribed period of 15 days from the date of election shall be liable for an election offense.”

However, ACT said on May 18 that majority of the around 3,000 teachers who rendered service in the elections have yet to receive their cash cards.

Flawed compensation “In few areas which has received the cash cards, teachers said that the accounts are empty when they checked them through automated machines,” ACT Chairperson Benjamin Valbuena said.

“In general, mas malala ang election ngayon. Before, we [were able to get] our honorarium right after the election, but now it took us two days. ‘Yung teachers from other schools, this week palang makukuha ang cash cards nila,” Manuel Roxas High School Teacher Eden May Calata said.

Teachers who also served as members of the Board of Canvassers (BBOC) at Barangay 828, Paco, Manila finished counting votes at 7PM on May 14, according to Calata. She added that they started canvassing at 9AM and only finished at 11PM and it was just by then when they sent the results to Comelec Arroceros.

“Natapos ako ng pagpapasa ng 3:00AM. Worst, ipinangako lang nila na kinabukasan daw balikan sa kanila ang cash card dahil aayusin pa raw nila. The other day pa namin nakuha ang cash card,” Calata added.

“ACT will file a complaint against Comelec if they will not release it on time. ACT is ready to troop in Comelec central office to act regarding this matter,” Valbuena said.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) implemented the five percent withholding tax which will be imposed on the election service honoraria and travel allowance of the poll workers.

However, it is stated in Resolution No. 10332 by the Comelec that poll workers whose annual taxable income do not exceed P250,000 are exempted from the five percent withholding tax.

“Election service compensation was never taxed before, regardless of income, and that should also be the approach this time,” Valbuena said. “DepEd acted on this matter very late. We have been campaigning to scrap the five percent withholding tax since March but they remained silent until May 11,” he added.

Comelec disregards an ESRA provision Aside from reports that Comelec fell short in compensating the teachers on the promised date, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) revealed that the commission even ignored an ESRA provision.

ESRA states that their service to the elections is non-compulsory, as one of their provisions. However, Benjamin Valbuena, Chairperson of ACT Philippines, revealed that Comelec did not enforce this rule in the first place.

“As early as November 2017, the Comelec operated in the pre-ESRA framework wherein school principals were asked for lists of teachers who shall render election service in the 2018 barangay and SK elections,” Valbuena said. “The process did not involve soliciting the consent of teachers included in the list. Not a few teachers have complained about this as they either do not wish or will not be capable to perform election duties due to various reasons,” he added.

As of writing, the Comelec has not yet provided any response on the matter.

MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

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1ST PLACE

Urban and rural toilets in the Filipino consciousness

JAYSON EDWARD SAN JUAN 2nd Year, Juris Doctor The

problem stinks.

It, however, does not stink enough to move the public and its government into decisive action.

The issue of urban and rural sanitation is one of the most overlooked and under-invested areas in infrastructure development, exemplified by the government’s apathy in building more public toilets. Such indifference mirrors the majority consensus that we just take these things for granted: the idea of building more toilets is far from the Filipino consciousness.

Out of sight. Out of mind.

Apart from plainly not caring enough, we have the tendency to dismiss the need for working toilets as another one of those silly demands by a self-entitled public. We see toilets with a working flush as privileges.

We cannot be more wrong.

Working toilets have been the subject of much debate in the global forum.

Building more working toilets has been the concern of much discussion among development banks and international financial institutions, even coining a term for it: WASH (water, health, and sanitation) Program. For quite some time now, the United Nations Human Rights Council has been one of the leading voices in the global movement for governments to build more toilets with running water.

Yes, a working toilet is a human right.

The issue of toilets is not merely the availability of a stall or a booth to relieve ourselves. A working toilet, one with running water, is a tool for people to expel toxic substances from inside their bodies in a healthful manner.

2ND PLACE

A working toilet is an adjunct of the people’s right to health. It is an inherent part of the people’s right to a healthful and clean environment. It is one of the aspects of the WASH Program under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A working toilet is a subset of a more intricate health and sanitation program that includes the construction of Level 1 water systems (direct water connection to individual homes), and the shift from individualized septic tanks to sanitary public sewerage systems, among others.

It is a program worth billions of dollars, prompting the world’s major financing institutions and development organizations to open several lending windows and small grants for its accomplishment.

If the world takes the matter of working toilets as a serious matter, why shouldn’t we?

At the very least, we urban dwellers comfort ourselves with the fact that toilets are readily available, if not in our homes, in malls and other similar establishments.

Oftentimes, these facilities may not be working, but at least they are there.

But our brethren from the rural areas are not so fortunate. They have to contend relieving themselves in makeshift toilets without running water, or worse, in ditches and latrines dug behind their houses.

It is no wonder then that diarrhea, typhoid fever, and septicemia – leading causes of mortality due to unavailability of sanitation and health facilities – are more prevalent in rural areas than in urban centers. The lack of sanitary facilities, a working toilet included, in far-flung rural areas, has contributed

much to the death of infants, pregnant women, and the infirmed.

These are lives down the drain, flushed down to oblivion due to the indifference of a public and its government that has taken such right for granted.

It does not help that the government’s main infrastructure program – Build.

Build. Build. – severely lacks focus on this seemingly mundane matter.

Government has unveiled its grand plan to upgrade the country’s ports, widen existing roads, and construct new ones.

It boasts of its decision to infuse public monies worth billions of pesos to construct new infrastructure projects, correctly looking at infrastructure development as the linchpin for economic growth.

However, we see no plan, whether grand or simple, for a working toilet. We are not even asking for one with a bidet, just a simple toilet with a working flush will do.

As correctly pointed out by international development organizations, the lack of sanitation and health facilities, a working toilet included, has contributed to the deaths of millions, deaths we could have easily avoided.

But it is often the easy ones that fall into the crevices of grand plans, consigned to the public’s dismissive attitude towards matters as banal as a toilet.

This problem stinks.

How much longer should we wait for the stench to worsen before acting on the need for more toilets?

3RD PLACE

The rub in the toilet seat

4TH PLACE

MARIA SOPIA GOZUM 3rd Year, BA Comparative Literature

It seems a simple, trivial matter.

But when a large chunk of the population around the globe have a hard time accessing clean toilets, then there is a disconnect between what we deem a given, to what the rest of the world can access.

Toilets are only a trivial matter, of course, for those who have grown up with a small, tidy bathroom in the house. Otherwise, we are the rest of the population who dig the soil to excrete, or share ill-maintained public utilities with the community.

This is an issue outside the conscious mind of an average Filipino. It is not a concrete issue progressive groups build campaigns around, at least not in the Philippines. Toilets, and the natural activities that concern these, are already deeply ingrained in the daily grind. The everyday and the hand-to-mouth living conditions in the P h i l ippi ne s h a d m a d e Filipinos

consciously think about more pressing matters of survival. There is also a lack of mindfulness on where our wastes go.

But there seems to be a problem when we claim to think about more important basic necessities, and remain ignorant of the simplest issue surrounding hygiene, public health and community welfare.

The urban and more-developed areas in the country have less problems with toilets and have more proactive initiatives regarding hygiene and public health. Even then there is a multitude of households with seats that have dysfunctional flushes.

Tying soft drink straws to make the flush work, tinkering inside the devices of the toilet, or making use of the neighbor’s better seat—we work with what we have, t h e cheap Filipino way.

On the other hand,

poverty-stricken areas, most especially secluded rural places, suffer brutal, unhealthy conditions.

Some communities do not have access to bathrooms, and opt to do the traditional way of burying waste in the soil. While this have worked in the past, overpopulation and degeneration of soil had made this an unhealthy practice. An Indian nongovernment organization worker said, in a feature for National Geographic, that with such malpractices, among others, our waste may end up on the food we eat.

It is not just any simple matter.

Toilets, especially in the context of a country in the Global South, tie to the issue of the cleanliness of the community and accessibility of water which the government needs to address. The humble thinking seat encompasses social, cultural, economic and political

spheres—such that it is largely bypassed and dismissed from any conscious effort for improvement.

Some countries have recognized the urgency. In India, for example, politicians have wrapped their slogans and electoral promises on the problem of toilets. Various non-profit, non-government organizations have already taken steps to alleviate the problem through lobbying for bigger subsidies and by educating the people on the importance of toilets. In the Philippines, h o w e v e r , we remain unconscious of the glaring issue.

Partnering with these organizations is a start. Bringing concrete solutions to what seems like the minimum can create ripples of change. Pressuring the government in prioritizing the installation of clean, appropriate utilities in far-f lung areas will establish healthier practices in the community.

This is the role of the youth, to bring into light problems dismissed in the Filipino consciousness. To initiate the steps forward, from educating the people, working with concerned entities, and tying back the issue to larger causes.

With our overarching calls for a better and more accessible health system must also be the critical voice for the smallest matters that can make the biggest impacts.

MARK VERNDICK CABADING 4th Year, BS Metallurgical Engineering

May dalawang uri ang isang karaniwang pampublikong palikuran: isang para sa kababaihan at isang para sa kalalakihan.

Lulan ng mayamang kultura ng mga Pilipino ang pagkakaroon ng hiwalay na pampublikong palikuran para sa mga kababaihan at kalalakihan. Mapa-urban man o rural na pamayanan, makikita sa pagkakaroon ng hiwalay na palikuran ang konsepto ng paghahati ng lipunan sa dalawang uri batay sa pisikal na kaanyuan—ang lalaki at ang babae.

Gayunpaman, walang pinagkaiba ang palikurang pambabae at panglalaki.

Pareho itong saksi ng libo-libong kwento ng mga taong nagmumula sa iba’t-ibang sektor ng lipunan, sa lungsod man o sa mga rural na komunidad.

Saang dako ka man magtungo sa lungsod, kaliwa’t kanan ang mga palikurang hindi nauubusan ng mga taong may kanya-kanyang tunguhin. Panglalaki man o pambabae, isa lang ang karaniwang suliranin sa pampublikong palikuran—ang umaalingasaw na amoy gawa ng daandaang taong gumagamit ng pampublikong banyo araw-araw.

Marami mang palikuran sa mga urban na komunidad, makikitang hindi pa rin ito sapat upang matugunan ang pangangailangan ng publiko. Minsan, nangangailangan pang magbayad ng mga tao upang makagamit ng

palikuran sa lungsod. Sa halip na magamit para sa pamasahe, ipambabayad mo pa sa banyo ang baryang laman ng iyong bulsa.

Hindi rin sapat ang nailalaan na atensyon upang mapanatili ang kaayusan ang mga pampublikong palikuran.

Hindi naman nalalayo ang naratibo ng mga palikuran sa kontekstong rural. Salamin ito ng kalagayan ng mga mamamayang taga-nayon na nagkukumahog upang matugunan ang pangangailangan ng kanikanilang pamilya.

Maswerte ang isang rural na pamayanang may maayos na pampublikong palikuran.

Lalong maswerte ang rural na pamayanang may dalawang palikurang magkahiwalay na tutugon sa pangangailangan ng mga lalaki at babae. Sa katotohanan, ilang rural na komunidad ang wala man lang sapat na patubig sa kani-kanilang tahanan.

Mahihinuhang mas lalong walang sapat na patubig ang mga pampublikong lugar gaya ng mga pampublikong palikuran.

May ilan pang pamayanan ang hindi man lang mapalad na magkaroon ng pampublikong banyo. Sa tuwing tutungo ka sa sentro upang mamalengke o maglakad ng mga papeles sa munisipyo at inabot ng pangangailangang gumamit ng palikuran, mapipilitan kang magpigil at antayin na lamang na makauwi sa iyong tahanan.

ILLUSTRATION BY ISAAC RAMOS PAGE DESIGN BY MARK VERNDICK CABADING

Walang pinagkaiba ang mga palikuran saan mo man ito matagpuan—urban man o rural. Maging sino mang Pilipino, lalaki man o babae, ay nangangailangan nito.

Hindi usapin ng panglalaki o pambabae ang usapin ng pampublikong palikuran. Lalong hindi ito usapin kung matatagpuan man ito sa urban o rural na komunidad. Ang usapin ng pampublikong palikuran—pambabae man o panglalaki, sa urban man o rural na konteksto—ay usapin ng serbisyong pampubliko.

Ang kakulangan sa maayos na pampublikong palikuran ay salamin ng kakulangan sa pampublikong serbisyo na kailangang pagtuunan ng pansin ng mga lokal na pamahalaan. Matatandaang mahigit walong taon na ang nakalipas noong huling nagkaroon ng eleksyon para sa Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) habang halos limang taon naman noong huling eleksyon para sa mga Konseho ng Barangay.

Ngayong Mayo, muling magtitipon at magdedesisyon ang mga Pilipino para sa kinabukasan ng halos 42,000 na barangay gawa ng SK at Barangay elections. Ang muling pagsilang ng oportunidad na ito upang maihatid ang maayos na pampublikong serbisyo sa mga Pilipino ay nangangahulugan ng posibilidad na makamit ang mga nararapat na panlipunang pagbabago.

Maituturing na maliit ang suliraning gaya ng kawalan ng maayos na pampublikong palikuran. Gayunpaman, malaki ang implikasyon nito sa magiging kalagayan ng lipunang Pilipino sa mga susunod pang henerasyon.

Marapat na gamitin ang mga pampublikong institusyon gaya ng mga konseho upang mailapit sa kani-kanilang pamayanan ang serbisyong nararapat nilang matanggap. Kailangang masigurong tunay na mailalapit sa publiko ang kanilang karapatan sa maayos na serbisyo.

Dalawa man ang uri ng karaniwang pampublikong palikuran, hindi ito nangangahulugan na tunay na mayroong hati sa ating lipunan.

Magkaibang pinto man ang pasukin, ang lalaki at babae ay bahagi ng iisang lipunang Pilipino. Paglabas ng pinto, iisang destinasyon lamang ang kanilang dapat na tahakin— isang kinabukasan kung saan patuloy ang pag-unlad ng bansa.

TOPIC:

URBAN AND RURAL TOILETS INTHE FILIPINO CONSCIOUSNESS

Tatlong linggo makalipas ang maanomalyang Editorial Examination, wala pa ring tugon ang administrasyon ng UP Diliman sa petisyon ng kasalukuyang patnugutan para sa bago at patas na pagpili ng susunod na punong patnugot ng pahayagan.

Iisang naratibo ng paniniil at paglaban, kung kaya malawak na kaisahan din ngayon ang ipinakikita ng mga mag-aaral ng UP upang depensehan ang integridad ng pahayagan.

BEATRICE PUENTE 3rd Year, BA Philosophy

Upang marating ang landas tungo sa pagbabago, mahalaga ang pagsulong at pagbalik-tanaw.

Nasa isang magandang posisyon ang mga Pilipino upang makamit ang pagbabagong ito – mayroon tayong mga kaugalian na magagamit natin para marating ang pagbabago. Dalawa sa mga ito ay ang pagpapahalaga sa kalinisan at kaayusan – parehong makikita sa pinakamaliit na yunit ng lipunan kagaya ng tahanan at maging sa mga palikuran.

Iba ang uri ng palikuran na makikita sa lungsod kung ikukumpara sa mga palikuran sa nayon. Maituturing na mas moderno ang mga palikuran dito sa lungsod dahil sa mga tiles at ceramics na ginagamit sa pagbuo nito.

Samantala, ang ibang mga palikuran naman sa mga rural na lugar sa bansa ay hindi kasingsopistikado gaya ng mga makikita sa lungsod. Mayroong pa ring ilang mga tahanan kung saan isang parte ng hinukay na lupa ang kanilang itinuturing na palikuran.

Magkaiba man ang mukha ng mga palikuran na mayroon sa urban at rural na mga lugar sa bansa, sinasalamin pa rin nito ang kultura ng mga Pilipino na dala pa rin natin sa gitna ng nagbabagong panahon.

Makikita natin ang magandang kaugalian ng mga Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng paggamit nila ng mga palikuran. Saan man tayo magpunta, ang simpleng gawain gaya ng pagbubuhos ng tubig matapos gumamit ng palikuran ay repleksyon ng pagpapahalaga natin sa kalinisan at kaayusan.

5TH PLACE

Sa Likod ng Dalawang uri

Gabay sa landas Simpleng katangian man kung tutuusin ang kalinisan at kaayusan, mahalaga ang gampanin ng mga ito sa pagtugon sa mas malalaking bagay na ating kinahaharap sa lipunan.

Habang binabagtas natin ang daan upang makamit ang pagbabago, hindi na mawawala ang mga balakid na sasalubong sa ating landas, at mahalaga ang pagbaliktanaw sa mga kaugalian at kultura ng mga Pilipino upang malagpasan ang mga ito nang sa gayon ay patuloy tayong makasulong.

Sa kasalukuyan, matindi ang problema sa kalikasan na hinaharap hindi lamang ng bansa kundi maging ng buong mundo. Ang mas manipis na ozone layer na dulot ng usok na ibinubuga ng mga sasakyan sa kalsada at mga pabrika ay nagbubunga ng pag-init ng mundo.

Malaking suliranin din ang polusyon sa mga karagatan at ilog na dulot naman ng mga basurang itinatapon na lamang ng iba’t ibang mga indibidwal na wala masyadong pagpapahalaga sa kalikasan.

Ang nagbabagong klima ay maaaring hindi na natin matakasan, ngunit mayroon tayong magagawa upang maisalba pa rin ang kalikasan mula sa tuluyan nitong pagkasira.

Mahalagang susi ang mga katangian ng Pilipino gaya ng kalinisan upang magawa ito.

Kung sa loob pa lamang ng palikuran ay kaya na ng mga Pilipino na manatiling malinis, sigurado rin na kaya ng bawat isa na gumawa ng ambag sa pagsasalba sa kalikasan. Maliit mang hakbang ito kung tutuusin, kung ang bawat isa ay gagawin ito,

lahat ng mga bagay na ito ay malaki rin ang maitutulong, anumang suliranin ang ating kinahaharap.

Bawat malaking bagay ay nagsisimula sa maliliit na pundasyon. Kung sa mismong paggamit pa lamang ng palikuran ay wala nang pagpapahalaga na makikita, mahihirapan tayo na lumikha ng pagbabago sa mas malalaking isyu na sinasalubong natin sa lipunan.

Napatunayan na ng mahabang kasaysayan ng bansa na ang mga Pilipino ay hindi nakalilimot sa mga kaugalian na itinuturo ng kultura nito. Higit pa rito, hindi rin natin dapat tinatandaan lamang ang mga aral na ito; bagkus ay dapat isinasabuhay rin natin ang mga ito.

Hindi madaling tukuyin ang landas na dapat tahakin upang makamit ang pagbabago at hindi rin ito magagawa nang biglaan. Isa itong mahabang proseso kung saan ang bawat maliit na kontribusyon ay mahalaga. Sa kasalukuyang kinatatayuan ng bansa, mahaba pa ang daan pa ang kailangan nating bagtasin. Ngunit kung lahat tayo ay magkakaisa at gagawa ng konkretong ambag upang makamit ang pagbabagong ating inaasam, maaari natin itong makamit.

Tinatawag tayo ngayon ng panahon upang gamitin ang ating mga kaugalian upang lumikha ng pagbabago. Mahaba man ang daan na dapat nating tahakin, tutulungan tayo ng ating mga bitbit na kaugalian bilang gabay tungo sa hinaharap.

Pagmulat sa Katotohanan HANS CHRISTIAN MARIN 5th Year, BA Public Administration

Taglay ng peryodismo ang magkabilang talim ng kapangyarihan na patuloy na humuhubog sa ating kasaysayan.

Sa panahon kung kalian laganap ang talim ng panlilinlang sa bisa ng mga pekeng balita at mga maling impormasyon, hamon sa Philippine Collegian na pandayin ang talim ng katotohanan upang imulat ang sambayanan.

Sa pagbubukas ng iba’t ibang mga espasyo upang maging lunsaran ng mga tunggalian, patuloy na nasasalamin ng mga ukit, litrato, at mga artikulo ang marahas na realidad ng malaking pagkakaiba ng istado ng pamumuhay ng mga mayayaman at mahihirap sa lungsod at kanayunan. Sa umaalingasaw na amoy at nakapanririmaring na dumi sa mga pasilidad ng mga kubeta, nagmimistulang repleksyon ang mga ito ng kapabayaan sa mga nakatira sa laylayan pati na rin ng ibang mga nasa lungsod. Tila ba diring-diri ang mga nasa kapangyarihan na bigyan sila ng nararapat na suporta.

Dahil sa realidad na ito, malaon nang ikinintal sa kasaysayan ng Collegian ang walang takot nilang pamamahayag at kritikal na pagtingin sa mga isyung bumabagabag sa ating lipunan. Hindi kailanman nagpadala sa dikta ng pamahalaan ang pahayagan kahit na pilit na sinisikil ng gobyerno ang kalayaan ng mga media. Naging parte ito ng “mosquito press,” na kahit maliliit lamang ay kagilagilalas ang naging pagtatangka upang isiwalat ang korupsyon at katiwalian ng estado sa sambayanan.

Ilang mga patnugot din ang iniluwal ng Collegian na binayo ang ilang mga paniniil sa pamamahayag at sa mga kapwa Pilipino, tulad na lamang ni Miriam Santiago na walang humpay na ipinaglaban ang kapakanan ng ating bansa laban sa mga mapagsamantalang mga dayuhan at si Ditto Sarmiento na inialay ang kaniyang buhay upang busalin ang pagkanakam sa kapangyarihan ng diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos. Sila ang mga nagsisilbing inspirasyon upang ipagpatuloy ng institusyon ang progresibong pamamahayag na pabor sa kalagayan ng mga maralita, estudyante, at media, laluna ng mga nasa kanayunan.

Nakamit man natin ang demokrasya matapos ang Martial Law, hungkag naman ang kalayaan na nalasap noon magpahanggang ngayon. Maliban sa mga direktang paraan ng estado upang atakihin ang kalayaan ng media tulad na lamang ng pagpapatay at pagpapakulong sa mga mamamahayag, nariyan din ang mga tangka na palabnawin kundi man tuluyang kitilin ang kapangyarihan nila upang imulat ang sambayanan. Ngunit sa kabila nito, patuloy ang Collegian sa pagpapaunawa ng lumalalang kaibahan sa istado ng pamumuhay ng mga mayayaman at mahihirap sa lungsod at kanayunan bunga ng pagkasakim ng iilan sa kapangyarihan.

Sa kasalukuyan, hindi na lamang sa pahayagan at lansangan ang mga espasyo upang ilathala ang magkabilang talim ng media.

Iba’t ibang espasyo na ang inilunsad upang maging lubos ang kalayaan ng sambayanan.

Maliban sa mga dyaryo, nariyan ang social media tulad ng Facebook at Twitter kung saan malayang nakakapagbigay ng kuro-kuro at mga pagtingin sa isyu ang mga “netizens.”

Malaya na rin tayong makipagtalastasan sa mga virtual na espasyo na ito kung saan maaaring ilagay agad ang iba’t ibang elemento ng mga pahayagan na ang iba ay sumasalamin sa malagim na katotohanan ng tunggalian at kalagayan ng sambayanan.

Kahit magbago man ang panahon, hinding-hindi magbabago ang kritikal na tindig ng Collegian upang mag-ulat at magmulat. Ngunit hindi lamang nakakulong sa paglalathala ng mga kwento ang pahayagan, nariyan din ang pagbibigay nila ng mga panawagan upang magbigay ng mga solusyon sa mga problemang kumukulong sa lipunan. Katulad ng pagsasaayos ng mga pasilidad ng mga kubeta sa lungsod at kanayunan, posible rin na iangat ang antas ng pamumuhay ng mga mahihirap sa mga lugar na ito kung bibigyan lamang ng pansin ang kanilang mga hinaing, sa tulong ng pagbibigay na lapat na suri ng media.

Sa kabila ng paglipana ng mga “fake news,” hindi papayag ang Collegian na makubli ang talim ng katotohan, gaano man ito kalagim. Ipagpapatuloy ng pahayagan ang pagbayo sa mga unos na bumabalot sa ating lipunan, dahil hindi ito titigil na makapagbigay ng liwanag sa tunay na istado ng mga naghihirap, sa lungsod man o sa kanayunan.

MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

7

EDTL EXAM

IYA GOZUM

THE CROWD HAD GATHERED in Padre Faura St. starting early morning, May 9. Under the sweltering heat, activists, dissenters, and supporters staged rallies to protest the unprecedented move of the Supreme Court (SC)—a dangerous one that may have surrendered its independence.

Through a quo warranto filed by Solicitor General (SolGen) Jose Calida against Maria Lourdes Sereno, the highest court in the land took it upon itself to impeach the Chief Justice. Citing Sereno’s inability to report her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and her lack of integrity in holding office, the SolGen and the eight Justices voted for her removal— subsequently committing great blunder in practicing the Law. In legal procedures, a quo warranto can be ordered by the President to be filed by the SolGen. With a vote of 8-6, the SC removed one of the country’s highest leader through a process tantamount to a constitutional crisis.

Institutions in Peril The SC, and the current state of our democracy, had exposed itself vulnerable to the political interests of various players.

Along with its controversial decisions, such as its consent to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the SC had proved counter to the democracy and justice it seeks to promote.

The case of the vice-presidential election recount, and the prospective declaration of martial law by President Duterte, are some pending cases that will be decided upon by the SC. If the SC had demonstrated its vulnerability to antipeople politics, the Filipino people may be anticipating darker days ahead.

But while Sereno claimed that her antiDuterte stance had gained her the ire of the President, and c o n s e q u e n t l y, the efforts to impeach h e r from the

SC, Justice Leonen was quick to argue otherwise. He

clarified this by baring Sereno’s voting record and reminded of her non-dissent over the extension of Martial Law, over the trampling of constitutional rights of minors because of the curfew.

Justice Leonen impressed the importance of undergoing the appropriate and democratic process of impeaching an officer. He did not mince words on Sereno’s irresponsibility by not filing her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth (SALN), as expected from public officials.

In the Face of Disarray The constitutional crisis is a foreshadowing of many more violations of democratic principles. It becomes imperative to act in response to the intensifying crisis, the looming dictatorship—through all means necessary and doable from the growing opposition.

Concrete steps must be taken.

Sereno still has the option to file a motion for reconsideration. Moreover, accountability must be demanded from the Justices who voted yes and from the SolGen who endangered the judicial integrity and independence of the SC. But at its core, the disarray and loss of independence can be traced back to the current administration. Sereno herself noted that the Duterte administration cannot wash its hands from this issue, stating that a quo warranto is filed under the order of the chief executive.

In the past two People Powers, the opposition had failed to lead the people towards an alternative society and win them the democracy that is unlike what the country has now.

Currently, civil society groups, brackets of the Left, and broad alliances, are riding the bandwagon of Sereno's popular political capital. But to overturn an incumbent administration, there is an urgent need for an independent grassroots movement.

L a w y e ra c t i v i s t Attorney R o b e r t Guevarra, himself a political player during EDSA II, suggested that it was “really back to the drawing boards.”

The lawyer was pertaining tore-adjusting political strategies to further politicize and organize sectors.

“Otherwise,” he says, “any attempt to artificially induce people power, or support a soft or hard coup against the government will result in a backlash from the majority pro-Duterte populace.”

In a statement, labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino said of the matter, “Ang masa ay hindi dapat magpagamit bilang pambala ng kanyon sa alitan ng mga elitista. Ang tunay na demok rasya ay makakamit ng taumbayan sa independyenteng kilusan ng mamamayan.”

There is urgent need to bring back the ideals of a people in reconstructing the nation’s democratic institutions.

A c c o u nt a b i l it y from these

ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICIA LOUISE POBRE PAGE DESIGN BY MARK VERNDICK CABADING

The Court in Chaos The ouster of a CJ must undergo a proper impeachment trial, much like former Chief Justice Corona’s situation before, as a way of accountability to the general public. With the use of quo warranto, the SC takes into itself to oust a high official without due process, accountability measures, and without the aid of the other branches of the government.

One of the dissenters of the quo warranto, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen wrote in his dissenting opinion, “Even if the Chief Justice has failed our expectations, quo warranto, as a process to oust an impeachable officer and a sitting member of the Supreme Court, is a legal abomination.”

The 1987 Constitution was crafted to avoid the concentration of power in one branch. The three branches, while working together, must be independent of each other—especially from mixing with politics and partisan interests.

The ouster resulted to the outrage of various groups. It is close to violating the constitution, and the democracy that helped shaped the doctrine.

Attorney Jesus Falcis, Political Science lecturer at the Far Eastern University, said, “With the ouster of CJ, the power to remove Justices is given to the President, acting through the Solicitor General, and the Justices themselves. No logic can rationalize how a branch of government can check itself, [that is], the SC checking itself.”

Justice Leonen warned of the Solicitor General’s “awesome powers.”

The threat of expelling dissenting Justices is apparent. Claiming a similar possibility, Atty. Falcis said, “The SolGen, and the President by extension, is now more powerful than the SC. It can

threaten uncooperative judges or justices with a quo warranto case.”

The President’s interference, through the SolGen, his alleged instrument inside the SC, is jeopardizing the independence of the judiciary, and making it vulnerable to abuse and monopoly of power.

IN CRISIS

DEMOCRACY

Justices, from the SolGen, and from this administration will not come if the people continue to depend on the existing institutions, and on how they are currently run.

MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

8

FE A TS

SOBRE SA LENTE Uuwi si tatay galing trabaho at dadatnan niyang nagluluto si nanay ng hapunan habang gumagawa ng assignment ang mga anak. Masaya silang magsasalu-salo sa hapunan habang magkukwentuhan tungkol sa nagdaang araw. Ngunit para sa mga batang iniwan ng magulang sa ampunan, o mga maagang naulila, isang matamis na panaginip ang magkaroon ng pamilyang makakasalo sa hapunan.

Ito ang katotohanang ipinapakita ng pelikula ni Aya Clavecilla na ‘Breast milk is Best for Babies,’ tesis para sa ikalawang semestre ngayong taon. Iwinawaksi ng pelikula ang nakasanayang pagtingin na ang kumbensyunal na pamilya’y yaong may nanay, tatay at anak.

Ayon kay Clavecilla, layon niyang maimulat ang kamalayan ng mga bata sa kaniyang pelikula, kung kaya’t ginawa niya itong animated. Makikita sa pelikula ang natural na katangian ng batang malimit na nagpapahiwatig at naglalabas ng saloobin sa pamamagitan ng pagdo-drawing.

Masining na ipinakita ng pelikula ang impluwensiya ng mga napapanood o nakikita ng bata sa paligid sa paghubog ng kaniyang kamalayan. Mula sa isang patalastas tungkol sa breastfeeding, bigla-biglang magtatanong si Jasi kung bakit wala siyang larawan noong bata pa siya, at kung katulad ng sanggol sa palabas, sumuso din ba siya sa isang ina.

Pareho kami ni Jasi na hindi lumaki sa isang kumbensyunal na tahanan. Lola ko ang nagpalaki sa akin habang ang aking ina ang nagsilbing breadwinner ng aming tahanan.

Noon pa man, malimit nang maglaro sa isipan ko ang mga tanong tungkol sa tatay ko.

Ngunit sa tuwing nagkakalakas ako ng loob magtanong, dalawang uri lang ng sagot ang nakukuha ko mula kay lola: naglakwatsa’t nakalimutan ang daan pauwi, o di kaya’y hinuli ng pulis at hindi na ibinalik.

Hindi nga naman madaling ipaliwanag ang ganitong mga bagay sa mga paslit. At sa abot ng kanilang makakaya, pasisimplehin nila ang sagot, katulad ng naging tugon ng lolo ni Jasi nang kaniyang tanungin kung nasaan nga ba ang kaniyang mga magulang: kesyo hilig ng kaniyang ina ang makipag-taguan kaya’t hanggang ngayo’y ayaw magpahuli, samantalang ang tatay naman niya’y aksidenteng na-flush sa inidoro.

Kaya’t gamit ang mga litratong matagal na itinago mula sa kaniya, susubukan niyang hanapin ang kaniyang mga magulang. At sa kaniyang paghahanap, mapagtatanto niyang kahit lolo’t lola niya lamang ang kasama niya sa buhay, buo ang kaniyang pamilya.

Ayon kay Clavecilla, ang pelikulang ito ang kaniyang “love letter” sa pamangking inspirasyon sa paglikha ng pelikula. Dahil patuloy na hinahamon ng modernong panahon ang konsepto ng isang pamilya, hindi na lamang iniaasa sa mga magulang ang pagpapalaki sa bata, kundi pati na rin sa pamayanang kaniyang ginagalawan. Malinaw ang mensahe nitong ang sustansya ng breast milk ay hindi lamang galing sa tunay na magulang, kundi pati na rin sa mga patuloy na nag-aaruga rito.

Sa huli, mahalagang pulot sa pelikula na ang mga katulad namin ni Jasi ay hindi kaiba sa mga batang hindi nakagisnan ang kanilang mga magulang. Kung kaya’t ang pagpapalaki at paghubog sa kamalayan ng isang bata ay hindi lamang nakukulong sa tahanang kaniyang tinitirhan at pamilya, kundi sa mas malawak na lipunang kaniyang kinabibilangan. Pinapakita ng pelikula na hindi na mahalaga kung ano ang ayos ng isang tahanan; basta’t matibay ang pundasyong pinaglalagakan dito, tiyak na lalaking matibay din ang mga bata. *Pasintabi kay Lualhati Bautista

Bata, Bata, Paano ka Ginawa?* MARVIN JOSEPH E. ANG

DIBUHO NI JOHN KENNETH ZAPATA

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Sa panahong tumatambad sa’yong harapan ang bangkay ng iyong ama, napanis nang gatas sa labi, at iba pang pang-aapi, tumingin ka. Makapangyarihan ang bawat naratibo. Narito ang ilang maiikling pelikulang tesis ng mga mag-aaral ng UP Film Institute na ipinalabas sa UPFI Cine Adarna noong Mayo 17-18.

Araw-gabi, dugua'ng panty SHEILA ABARRA

Hahanap ka ng perdibleng ituturok sa iyong damit para maitagong mabuti ang iyong dibdib. Dadaan ka kasi sa kantong puro tambay—kaakbay ang baklang kapitbahay. Batid mong siya’y pilit habang habulhabol mo ang iyong hininga sa takot, at sa blusang ang pagkakasara’y lalong naninikip.

Ang kitid ng pag-iisip at espasyo para sa’yo ng lipunang balahura sa bakla at salbahe sa babae – iyan ang sumambulat sa pelikulang ‘Kontrolado ni Girly ang Buhay Niya,’ tesis ni Gilb Baldoza para sa ikalawang semestre ngayong akademikong taon. Ang danas ng pangkaraniwang bakla at domestikadong maybahay na sadlak sa kahirapan ay isang paulit-ulit na naratibo ng opresyon. Gayunman, lalapastanganin ka pa rin at patuloy kang mamumuhi, tulad ng baklang si Girly.

Bitbit ni Girly ang bag ng kaniyang ina, laman ang patuloy na pag-asang makaahon sa pangaalipusta, at makahanap ng disenteng trabaho.

Tinangan ng pelikula ni Baldoza ang tungkuling ipakita kung paanong magkakaugnay ang iba’t ibang suliraning panlipunan.

Nanlilimahid ang bansa, mula sa mahalay na mambabatas at bastos na pangulo. Hanggang paurong ang pagtingin ng mga makakapangyarihan sa iyo at sa lahat ng marginalisado, tatagos pa rin sa’yo ang naratibo ni Girly. Ang ugat ng kahirapan na nagsasanga mula sa depektibong nosyon ng kasarian at naghuhumindik na machismo ay buhay at dumadaloy sa iyong dugo.

Hindi buwanan ang dalaw dahil walang pinipiling araw ang pagdanak ng dugo. Ayon kay Baldoza, ang regla ay sumisimbolo sa patuloy na paglaganap ng pang-aabuso sa mga bakla at kababaihan sa iba’t ibang espasyo, sa bahay man o sa lansangan.

Ang husay ng pelikula ay lumitaw rin sa mga katangiang teknikal nito tulad ng cinematography

na masikip—depiksyon kung paanong ikinukulong ang danas ng mga bakla at kababaihan. Gayundin, walang itinatago ang pelikula, walang pagaatubiling ipinakita ang ari ng nanggahasa na kapansin-pansing maliit—kasinliit ng kaniyang pagkatao, pang-unawa, at malasakit sa kapwa.

Bagaman mistulang nakakulong si Girly at hindi binibigyan ng opsyong mabuhay nang malaya, ang nosyon ng tapang ay nasa pagpapatuloy niya. Ito ang nagpapakita kung paanong hawak-hawak ni Girly ang kaniyang mga desisyon, kung saan at kung tutuloy pa ba sa pag-aaplay, at determinasyong patunayang siya’y aplikanteng normal at karapat-dapat.

Ang pagtangis ng bakla ay may kakambal na halakhak mula sa mga lapastangan, ngunit noong gabing iyon, nag-iisa lamang si Girly na nakakapit sa kaniyang bag. Mistulang ikaw na manonood na nakakapit sa’yong upuan, mistulang kaibigan mong nagahasa’t kipit-kipit ang kaniyang buhok at luha.

Hanggang sa huling sandali, pinagsamantalahan si Girly, gaya ng bawat manggagawang walang sapat na sahod, at maybahay na pinipilit makantot.

Araw-gabi, walang pinipili ang pambubusabos, walang nabubura sa bakas ng opresyon, at ang sinumang babae, kasama si Girly, ay titindig nang gaya sa pelikula, nangungusap ang mata, magbigkis ang paanyaya.

Gaano man ka-karaniwan ang danas na tinatalakay ng pelikula, yayanigin ka pa rin ng kwento ni Girly. Hanggang mayroon kang ina, hanggang mayroon kang regla, hanggang binubugbog ka ng iyong ama. Dahil mararamdaman mo siya sa sarili mong balat, hihikbi ka sa kaniyang pagtangis, iindak ka sa saliw ng kaniyang himig.

MARTES MAYO 29 2018

9

KUL TU RA

S A TA L Á N G M G A KAKILALA SHEILA ANN ABARRA

Ang ID na ipinipilit isabit sa’yong leeg ay ang karatula ng mga pinaslang ng giyera ng pangulo, tiket sa palabas tungkol sa walanghumpay na pagpatay ng batas-militar, panggagahasa sa kababaihan, panunupil sa kabataan.

HINDING-HINDI KO MAKAKALIMUTAN ang huling sinabi mo sa’kin bago tayo maghiwalay ng gabing iyon – pagod na pagod na ako.

Nakaapat ka nang Pale Pilsen noong gabing iyon, at wala kang tigil sa mga litanya mong sana’y mas ginalingan mo ngayong sem. Maingay sa Sarah’s noong gabing iyon, punung-puno ng mga estudyanteng katatapos lang din ng hellweek at tumoma para magdiwang. Pero kitang-kita sa mukha mo na hindi mo planong magdiwang sa pag-inom mo, kaya’t niyaya kita sa mas tahimik na lugar – sa Sunken Garden.

Saka mo sinabi sa’kin lahat - sabi mo, mukhang hindi naging sapat ang halos apat na araw sa isang linggong pagpupuyat at pagtambay buong weekend sa library para isalba ang acads mo. Nakakatawa, kasi kinailangan mo pang malasing para mapagtantong pagod na pagod ka na.

Isang buong sem ka ring hindi umuwi sa inyo, dahil nahihiya ka sa mga magulang mong ipakita ang mga LE at papers mong punungpuno ng pulang marka at hindi man lang umaabot sa kalahati ang iskor. Natatakot kang pagtawanan ng mga tiyahin mo’t sabihing, “Honor nang magtapos ng hayskul, naging bagsakin pagdating ng kolehiyo, anyare?”

Ilang beses mo mang subukang bumawi, tila hindi sapat ang 24 oras kada araw para pagsabay-sabayin ang lahat ng gawain at manatiling ayos lang. Kaya’t minsan, bigla-bigla ka na lang maiiyak, o tatakbo, gaya ng mabilis na pagragasa ng luha mo noong gabing iyon.

Gustung-gusto kitang yakapin noon.

Gusto kong sabihing magiging ayos lang ang lahat, kahit ang totoo’y apat sa anim mong subjects ngayong sem ang alanganin, at hindi mo na alam kung paano ipapaliwanag sa mga magulang mo kung bakit tatlong beses mo nang kinukuha ang subject na ‘yon e hindi mo pa rin maipasa. Kaya’t mas minabuti kong samahan ka na lang. Hindi ko alam kung

O PIN YON

10

MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

SABI NILA WALA KA NAMAN TALAGANG makikilala. Kaya sabi ko, hahayaan ko na lang malaglag ang aking pangalan, edad, kasarian, at iba pang kinakapkap mula sa pagsakay ko ng bus hanggang sa pag-aaplay ng trabaho. Ano pa’t pupulutin nila itong lahat, ilalagay sa isang maliit na papel, gagawing tiket sa’king maliwanag na kinabukasan, o sa maruming kulungan.

Ang sinasabi mo, baka gusto lang makilala ng gobyerno ang mga mamamayan nito. Ngunit tila sila ang magtatakda kung saan ka pinanganak, at ng pangalan ng iyong ama. Ang sinasabi ko, ibinabatay ng estado sa laman ng iyong bio-data at mga IDs ang iyong pagkatao. Sino ka nga ulit?

Paulit-ulit. Binuhay ngayon ng administrasyong Duterte ang National ID System na pinangalanan noong administrasyong Arroyo ng Executive Order 420. Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) na ngayon kung ito’y tawagin.

Sa pagkakatanda ko, cedula ang tawag dito noong kolonyalismong Espanyol. Kailangan mong patunayan ang pagkakakilanlan mo sa sarili mong bansa. Sa halip na salapi mula sa maghapong pagtatrabaho ang magpapakapal sa iyong pitaka, GSIS, lisensya, Postal, Voter’s PRC at kung anuanong ID ang laman.

Taglay nito ang personal mong impormasyon, sanga-sanga sa bawat opisina at ahensya. Kapag wala ka ng kahit isa sa mga ito, hindi ka na responbsableng mamamayan. Isa kang pasaway na indio, may mananakop ba ulit ngayon?

Terorista raw ang iniiwasan. Noong isang araw, isang ina na aktibong miyembro ng Tabing Guangan Farmers Association (TAGUAFA) sa Agusan del Sur ang pinatay umano ng militar. Sino ang tunay na terorista?

Walang humpay ang pamamaslang ng giyera kontradroga ng pangulo, patuloy ang batas militar sa Mindanao at iba pang uri ng panunupil hindi lamang sa kontrainsurhensiya kundi maging sa'yo, ordinaryong mamamayan.

mas nakagaan sa loob mo ang presensya ko; sana, kahit papaano, naibsan ang bigat ng nararamdaman mo.

Naiintindihan kita. Katulad mo, ito rin ang naratibo ko, at ng marami pang katulad natin sa loob ng pamantasang ito. Lahat tayo, gustong manatili, gustong patunayang karapat-dapat tayo sa lugar na kinalalagyan natin. Hindi ba’t kaya nga natin natutunang pahalagahan ang maliliit na bagay – pumasa nang one take, naihabol ang mga additional points, saktong tres ang grade, o di kaya’y naipasa ang removals exam.

Kaya’t huwag kang maniniwala sa mga nagsasabing “mediocre” ang mga estudyanteng pumapasa lang sa klase. Kung mayroon mang itinuro sa atin ang edukasyon sa UP, yaon ay hindi lamang tayo simpleng magaaral, kundi mag-aaral na may kamalayang hindi lamang nakakulong ang aral sa apat na sulok ng klasrum, at hindi lamang grado ang pamantayan sa pagkatuto.

At hindi kailanman senyales ng kabiguan ang pagbagsak. Maraming beses man tayong madapa, magdalawang-isip, at panghinaan ng loob, lagi’t lagi nating babalik-balikan ang mga naging dahilan kung bakit natin piniling pumasok sa pamantasang ito - upang pagsilbihan ang bayan.

Kaya’t kahit pinupuspos tayo ng kontradiksyon, patuloy tayong lalaban.

Hanggang sa dulo ng pisi, hangga’t may nahahawakang sinulid, kakapit at kakapit tayo: para sa’ting sarili, sa mga kasama, kaibigan, pamilya, at sa sambayanang pinagkakautangan natin ng edukasyon.

Kaya’t sa’yong pag-uwi ngayong bakasyon, yakapin mo nang mahigpit ang mga magulang mo. Bumawi ng tulog at kain, mag-catch up sa TV series. Pagkatapos, sabak ulit. Marami pa tayong alak na patutumbahin.

Ang ID na ipinipilit isabit sa’yong leeg ay ang karatula ng mga pinaslang ng giyera ng pangulo, tiket sa palabas tungkol sa walang-humpay na pagpatay ng batas-militar, panggagahasa sa kababaihan, panunupil sa kabataan.

Sabi nila, wala ka naman talagang makikilala. Pero kailanman, ang lahat ng personal mong datos ay hindi dapat gamitin laban sa iyo. At higit, hindi ka dapat ganito kilalanin ng sarili mong bayan. Lahat ng datos tungkol sayo, mapupunta sa dayuhang kumpanya dahil ayon kay Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, ang pagpapagana ng UMID ay pangangasiwaan ng Unisys na isang Amerikanong korporasyon.

Sa panahong laganap ang krisis sa mga bansa dahil sa interes ng mga dayuhang bansa na pilit na nanghihimasok, ang iyong seguridad ay hindi dapat ipagkatiwala sa tagalabas. Ito ang panahong dapat mo nang kwestiyunin kung para kanino ang seguridad na sinisiguro ng pangulo.

Dahil hindi mo nanaising ang listahan ng iyong kakilala ay maging listahan ng naaayon sa paglabag ng estado sa iba’t ibang karapatan ng mamamayan.

Hindi mo gugustuhing ang listahan ng iyong kakilala ay tatapatan ng paratang na terorista, at kung hindi’y pusher, o di kaya’y aktibista.

SANNY BOY AFABLE

PUNONG PATNUGOT

ALDRIN VILLEGAS

KAPATNUGOT

SHEILA ANN ABARRA

TAGAPAMAHALANG PATNUGOT

JOHN DANIEL BOONE

PATNUGOT SA BALITA

ROSETTE ABOGADO ADRIAN KENNETH GUTLAY

PATNUGOT SA GRAPIX

JOHN KENNETH ZAPATA

KAWANI

AMELYN DAGA

PINANSIYA

GARY GABALES

TAGAPAMAHALA SA SIRKULASYON

PA R A K A N I N O K A LUMALABAN? MARVIN JOSEPH ANG

AMELITO JAENA OMAR OMAMALIN

SIRKULASYON

TRINIDAD GABALES GINA VILLAS

KATUWANG NA KAWANI

KASAPI UP SYSTEMWIDE ALLIANCE OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS AND WRITERS’ ORGANIZATIONS (SOLIDARIDAD)

COLLEGE EDITORS GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES (CEGP) PAMUHATAN SILID 401 BULWAGANG VINZONS, UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS, DILIMAN, LUNGSOD QUEZON TELEFAX 981-8500 LOKAL 4522 ONLINE phkule@gmail.com www.philippinecollegian.org fb.com/phkule twitter.com/phkule instagram.com/phkule issuu.com/philippinecollegian pinterest.com/phkule

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Maraming beses man tayong madapa, magdalawang-isip, at panghinaan ng loob, lagi’t lagi nating babalik-balikan ang mga naging dahilan kung bakit natin piniling pumasok sa pamantasang ito - upang pagsilbihan ang bayan.

UKOL SA PABALAT

DIBUHO NI ISAAC RAMOS

TAKIPSILIM

LUCKY DELA ROSA

THE PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN is looking for

OPOL, MISAMIS ORIENTAL

MAY 19, 2018

Workplace safety NGO calls on President Duterte to sign OSH Bill into a full pledged law INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY DEVELOPMENT (IOHSAD) NEWS RELEASE 24 MAY 2018

Umakyat na sa Room 401 ng Vinzons Hall at magdala ng portfolio.

STATUS QUOTES  Chad Booc @specialchad

Hell week ngayon sa mga university.

Pero sa mga countryside communities sa Mindanao, linggo linggo hell week dahil sa mga pagbabanta ng mga sundalo mula ideklara ang martial law.

11:31 AM - 23 MAY 2018

Workplace safety NGO, Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) welcomed on Monday (May 21) the bicameral panel approval of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) bill.

“We started our campaign for a tougher and pro-worker occupational safety and health law in 2012. We held consultations among workers, OSH advocates and lawyers to identify the most urgent provisions we should include in our proposed OSH Bill. We are happy to see some of the provisions passed the bicameral conference,” IOHSAD advocacy officer Nadia de Leon said.

De Leon noted, however, that the pro-workers’ version of the OSH Bill has been shelved since it was filed on February 2017. The stiffer penalties (P250,000 – 500,000 for every death) and longer periods of imprisonment (up to 12 years maximum for every death), were deleted in the final Senate version of the OSH bill that was approved.

“The [bicameral] version did not include the criminalization of safety violations that we have campaigned for. We are very happy to learn that Rep. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela Women’s Party has pledged to file a new bill supplementing the OSH bill once it is signed into law. We also challenge Sen. Joel Villanueva and Rep. Randolph Ting, heads of the Committee on Labor of both Congresses to co-author the bill criminalizing safety violations,” De Leon said.

IOHSAD now calls on President Duterte to immediately sign the approved OSH Bill into a full pledged law.

“The OSH Bill’s historic approval was still a significant gain of the workers and victims’ families struggle for justice. It can also be considered as a positive step in our campaign to uphold the workers’ basic right to health and safety. The President should immediately act upon this and sign the law to fruition,” De Leon added.

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 Orange A. Clockwork @jeshmakeszines

Aanhin mo ang (hashtag) lovelocal (hashtag)kultura kung ang mga katutubong nagpapanatili nito ay pinapalayas o pinapatay? #DefendTheLand #StopNewClarkCity 5:02 PM - 23 MAY 2018

Mikay

@mikaythedog everyday doggos in ze masses fear presence of troops in ze communities cuz fascist pigs threat and harass ze hoomans. some doggos die defending their hoomans and their homes. #endmartiallaw #MartialLawYear1 3:36 PM - 23 MAY 2018

 EUREKA PERALEJO @Punongbayan_

So a misogynist, a plagiarist, and a complete idiot walked into a bar.

The bartender said, "The usual order, Senate President Sotto?"

4:46 PM - 21 MAY 2018

MARTES 29 MAYO 2018

11

COM MUN ITY

LUNDUYAN NG DAHAS

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Malinaw na ginagamit lamang na mekanismo ng estado ang deklarasyong ito upang mas paigtingin pa ang karahasan na matagal nang umiiral sa Mindanao.

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

EDITORYAL LANTAD NA ANG TUNAY NA MUKHA ng hinahabing diktadura ni Duterte – tahasang pagpapatahimik, walang habas na pamamaslang, at patuloy na paghahasik ng lagim sa bansa.

Mula nang ideklara ang batas militar sa Mindanao isang taon na ang nakalilipas, isang bagay lamang ang nagawa nitong patunayan – hindi nito kayang maghatid ng kapayapaan sa bansa. Bagkus, higit na takot at pangamba lamang ang dala nito sa bawat isa.

Matatandaang idineklara ang batas militar upang mas madali umanong magapi ang pwersa ng teroristang grupo ng Maute sa Marawi. Limitado lamang sa 60 araw ang inisyal na deklarasyon ngunit dalawang beses pa rin itong pinalawig, kahit natapos na ang labanan paglipas ng limang buwan. Magtatagal pa ang batas militar hanggang sa pagtatapos ng taon.

Nakaambang terorismo ang ginamit na dahilan sa pagpapalawig ng batas militar ngunit hindi maituturing na makatwiran ang nasabing batayan. Hindi mga teroristang grupo ang matatagpuan sa Mindanao kundi mga rebolusyonaryong pwersa na tumutuligsa sa mga kontramamamayan na patakaran ng pamahalaan.

Alam ito ng estado at malinaw na ang lehitimong paglaban ng mamamayan ang nais supilin ng batas militar – hindi terorismo.

Sa patuloy na pag-iral ng batas militar, tahasang niyuyurakan ng estado ang karapatan ng bawat isa sa malayang pamamahayag at pag-oorganisa. Madali na lamang para sa mga militar na patahimikin ang sinumang mangahas na tumuligsa sa mga polisiya ng pamahalaan, kagaya na

lamang ng nangyari sa isang miyembro ng pesanteng grupo sa Agusan del Sur. Naiwang patay si Beverly Geronimo nang pagbabarilin ng mga hinihinalang miyembro ng militar noong Mayo 27 habang naiwan namang sugatan ang walong taong gulang niyang anak. Kilala si Geronimo bilang aktibong kasapi ng Tabing Guangan Farmers Association (TAGUAFA). Isa lamang ito sa napakarami pang ibang kaso ng pagpatay sa ilalim ng batas militar.

Sa kasalukuyan, umabot na sa 49 ang kaso ng extrajudicial killings sa Mindanao, samantalang 404 naman ang nahaharap sa mga gawa-gawang kaso mula nang ideklara ang batas militar noong Mayo 23, 2017, ayon sa Barug Katungod, samahang nagsusulong sa karapatang pantao. Higit 300,000 kaso ng pagbobomba naman ang naitala at higit 400,000 naman ang napilitang magbakwit dahil dito, ayon sa datos ng Karapatan.

Kalakhan sa mga naitalang pagpatay at karahasan ay nakadirekta sa mga progresibong grupo at indibidwal, at wala itong pinipili – bata man o matanda.

Malinaw na ginagamit lamang na mekanismo ng estado ang deklarasyong ito upang mas paigtingin pa ang karahasan na matagal nang umiiral sa Mindanao.

Bago pa man ideklara ang batas militar, lulan na ang Mindanao ng iba’t ibang porma ng pandarahas mula sa mga malalaki at dayuhang korporasyon na nagnanais kamkamin ang yamang-likas ng rehiyon. Pilit na pinaaalis mula sa kanilang lupang ninuno ang mga Lumad, Moro, at Muslim upang paboran ang interes ng mga dayuhan. Gayundin, dahil ipinagkakait

pa rin ng pamahalaan ang kahilingan ng mamamayan para sa sariling pagpapasya, tumitindi pa lalo ang tunggalian at karahasan.

Hindi matatapos ang tunggaliang ito kung dahas ang patuloy na itutugon ng pamahalaan sa panawagan ng sambayanan.

Kaya naman ang pagpapatuloy ng usapang pangkapayapaan ang isinusulong na sagot sa tunggalian na matagal nang bumabalot sa Mindanao. Isang malaking hakbang ang naabot ng usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng pamahalaan ng Pilipinas at National Democratic Front of the Philippines, subalit pinili itong tapusin ng estado para bigyang-daan ang batas militar.

Hungkag ang anumang deklarasyon ng pangulo tungkol sa pagpapatuloy ng usapan kung patuloy pa rin ang pag-iral ng batas militar at ang direktang pag-atake sa mga legal at progresibong organisasyon.

Kung patuloy na maglulunsad ng karahasan ang mga militar at ang estado sa kabuuan, walang anumang porma ng kapayapaan ang posibleng makamit.

Ngayon na mas nagiging klaro ang mukha ng diktadura, dapat nating mas pagtibayin ang ating tindig at mas palakasin ang ating panawagan laban dito. Kinakailangan nating makiisa sa mga pagkilos para sa higit na pagsisiwalat sa madilim na katotohanan tungkol sa umiiral na batas militar.

Ngayong lantad na ang mukha ng diktadura, ang hamon ay ang sigasig ng ating paglaban sa bigwas ng karahasan, tungo sa makatarungan at pangmatagalang kapayapaan.