Philippine Collegian Tomo 93 Issue 5

KULĂŠ

Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015 Tomo 93 Blg 5

YUTANG KABILIN LATHALAIN 8

2 EDITORYAL

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

ANIM NA TAONG PAGKUKULANG NAGSIMULANG KAPOS, magtatapos na kulang.

Sa loob ng mag-aanim na taong pamamahala ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III, lantaran ang pagpapabaya ng kanyang administrasyon sa sektor ng edukasyon na mababakas sa kakarampot na pondong inilalagak sa ating state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Nagsimula ang kanyang termino sa lantarang pagpapahayag ng palisiya ng pagbabawas ng pondo para sa edukasyong tersyaryo. Aniya noong 2011, unti-unting babawasan ang subsidiya ng SUCs dahil may kapasidad ang mga ito na kumita upang pondohan ang kanilang mga programa at proyekto.

At sa huling panukalang badyet na kinatha ng kanyang administrasyon, nagpapatuloy ang pagpapabaya.

Bagaman P3 trilyon ang pambansang badyet sa 2016, tanging P43 bilyon lamang ang laan para sa SUCs, na halos kalahati lamang ng P82 bilyong orihinal na hiniling ng 114 pampublikong pamantasan sa susunod na taon.

Kung kikilatising mabuti, tatambad din ang P477.8 milyong kabuuang kaltas sa pondo ng 59 na SUCs para sa operasyon, samantalang may kabuuang P4.1 bilyon namang ibabawas sa pondo para sa imprastraktura ng 40 SUCs, kabilang ang UP. Ang patuloy na kaltas pondo ay repleksyon lamang ng isinusulong ni Aquino na Roadmap to Higher Education Reform (RPHER), kung saan nakabatay sa operasyon ng isang unibersidad ang ibibigay na badyet ng gobyerno.

Bagaman umaabot sa P59 bilyon ang taunang gastusin ng SUCs, tanging P43 bilyon lamang ang naibibigay ng gobyerno simula 2014. Dahil sa kakulangan ng pondo, natutulak ang SUCs na maningil ng matrikula at iba pang bayarin, at makipag-ugnayan sa pribadong sektor upang kumita.

Sa tala ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM), kumikita ang SUCs ng humigit-kumulang P36 bilyon kada taon simula 2010, kung

P L AY B A C K Anong katangian ang dapat taglay ng susunod na pangulo ng Pilipinas?

[May tapang na ialay ang [kanyang] buhay para sa ganap na pagbabago.

Felix PariĂąas Pangulo, All-UP Workers Union UP Diliman

John Kenneth Zapata

saan nagbabayad ng P11 bilyon ang mga estudyante. Inaasahan ng DBM na P16.7 bilyon ang kikitain ng SUCs sa 2016, bilang pantustos sa P62.7 bilyong gastusin nito.

Nagreresulta rin sa patuloy na dagdag-singil sa matrikula at iba pang bayarin sa mga pamantasan ang RPHER. Kasalukuyang P611.23 ang national average tuition per unit para sa pribado at pampublikong kolehiyo, at kung titingnan ang halaga ng edukasyon sa UP, papalo sa P1,500 per unit ang bayarin.

Habang labis-labis ang pagpapahirap ng gobyerno sa mga pampublikong pamantasan, naglalaan ang administrasyong Aquino ng limpak-limpak na pondo para sa kalamidad, contingency fund, personal na benepisyo, at pensyon hindi umano sa ilalim ng P650 bilyon na lump sum funds sa 2016 badyet.

Dagdag pa rito ay ang inaasahang P740.5 bilyong gagastusin ng pamahalaan para sa pagbabayad ng utang sa susunod na taon. Samantala, P65.9 bilyon ang mapupunta sa

Labis na pagwawaldas sa kaban ng bayan ang ipinagmamalaki ng pangulo na tuwid na daan

Public-Private Partnership na mga proyekto, at may bukod na P30 bilyong pondo sa risk management program upang siguraduhin ang kita ng mga pribadong kompanya.

Higit pa sa mga nabanggit ang isyu ng Disbursement Acceleration Program at Priority Development Assistance Fund, kung saan bilyunbilyong pondo ang napupunta sa bulsa ng iilan at mga huwad na nongovernment organizations.

Patunay ito na hindi kailanman naging prayoridad ng administrasyong Aquino ang edukasyon, sa halip markado ng korupsyon at labis na pagwawaldas sa kaban ng bayan ang ipinagmamalaki ng pangulo na tuwid na daan.

Sa huling taon ng kanyang pagkapangulo, muli tayong hinahamon upang ilantad at labanan ang umiiral na kabalintunaan. Ngayong papalapit na eleksyon, paigtingin natin ang panawagan para sa mataas na subsidiyo sa mga batayang serbisyo, at piliin ang mga kandidatong tunay na paglilingkuran ang masa. ď š

Ang kailangan natin ay [isang] makabayan [na] uunahin ang interes ng bayan bago ang sarili, [at ang] Pilipino bago ang dayuhan.

Renato Reyes Jr. Pangkalahatang Kalihim, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)

[May] kakayahang tumindig para sa ating pambansang soberanya... na [hindi] sumusunod lang sa dikta ng mga dayuhan at lokal na naghaharing-uri. Kayang pumanig sa interes ng mga Pilipino at handang makiisa sa laban para sa tunay na pambansang kalayaan at demokrasya.

Ben Galil Te Tagapangulo, League of Filipino Students - Diliman

UKOL SA PABALAT Dibuho ni Chester Higuit

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN 2015-2016

Punong Patnugot Mary Joy Capistrano Kapatnugot Victor Gregor Limon Tagapamahalang Patnugot Emmanuel Jerome Tagaro Patnugot sa Grapiks Ysa Calinawan / Jiru Rada Tagapamahala ng Pinansiya Karen Ann Macalalad Kawani Arra Francia / 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

BALITA 3

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY Chester Higuit In a forum held at the Engineering Theater on October 6, UP President Alfredo Pascual admitted that there was no student consultation held in the selection of the software used for his “Electronic UP” Project.

Under eUP, a new integrated database management system will replace the Computerized Registration System (CRS) of UP Diliman and other homegrown online databases in other constituent units.

1 in 3 Diliman passers not enrolled KAREN ANN MACALALAD

FRESHMEN ENROLMENT STATUS IN UP DILIMAN Enrolled

FRESHMEN ENROLMENT IN UP DILIMAN

BY INCOME GROUP

Not enrolled

PAYING BRACKETS (A-D)

5589

85.53%

NON-PAYING BRACKETS (E1, E2) 83.7%

82.1%

Actual number of UPCAT qualifiers*

3913

3876

Actual number of UPCAT qualifiers*

Actual number of UPCAT qualifiers*

1933 3582

1345 2508

1184

3853

2717

13.65%

11.6%

5515

8.99%

TOTAL

2013

3901

2014

2015

TOTAL

TOTAL

FRESHMEN ENROLMENT IN UP DILIMAN

BY HIGH SCHOOL TYPE 11.76% 35.37%

48.48%

2013

2013

2014

2015

* The difference between the number of qualifiers from the Office of Admissions and the Office of the University Registrar is the pending registration cases and the non-confirmation of enrolment status of students.

Infographic by John Reczon Calay Research by Karen Ann Macalalad

MORE THAN ONE IN THREE UP COLLEGE Admission Test (UPCAT) qualifiers for UP Diliman (UPD) for this academic year opted not to enrol in the campus, according to data from the Office of the University Registrar (OUR).

Only 3,582 students from a total of 5,589 Diliman passers are enrolled this semester, with a majority or 82.1 percent non-enrollees coming from paying brackets under the university’s Socialized Tuition System (STS). Based on socioeconomic factors such as family income, the STS groups UP students into five brackets corresponding to varying tuition discounts. Students in the default bracket A pay P1,500 per unit.

In Diliman, eight out of ten campus qualifiers, or 1,619 out of the total 1,933 who deferred enrolment, come from paying brackets. From 2013 to 2015, an average of 11.41 percent of qualifiers who waived their slots are also from the paying brackets of A to D. On the other hand, barely one out of 10 enrolled freshmen or 322 students were assigned to free-tuition brackets E1 and E2, where E2 receives additional P3,500 for freshmen and P2,400 for upperclassmen.

The ST System is one of the factors that affect the decision of an UPCAT passer to enter UP, University Student Councilor Bryle Leaño said.

9.42% 35.37%

2014

13.04%

31.07%

51.53%

47.49%

2015

Public

Science

Private

Data obtained from CRSRS - Office of the University Registrar

Aside from paying tuition and other school fees, students are confronted with issues of high costs of student housing in the campus, he said.

“Defense palagi na hindi naman reason ang ST System dahil hindi naman alam [ng freshmen ang kanilang magiging bracket] bago sila makapasok.

Pero kapag sinabi [ang tungkol sa ST System] sa incoming students, meron [itong] psychological effect: na mahal ang tuition,” the councilor said.

On the other hand, a large part of the decision-making of some qualifiers who do not enrol in UP is influenced by their parents, UPD Office of Admissions Director Aurora Mendoza

said. “Three from a group of six told me: if they pursue their education in UP, [their parents] will not be paying their tuition,” she explained.

According to the 2014 report of the Study Group on Admissions convened by UP President Alfredo Pascual, a uniform and affordable tuition rate for all should be implemented in UP if the “Iskolar ng Bayan” is to remain true to his identity.

“The Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) and now ST System became anti-poor despite the earlier claims that it was to make UP education affordable for students admitted into

UP, particularly those coming from poor families,” the study group said.

In terms of the high school background of freshmen enrollees, the OUR data revealed that half came from private schools, 31.07 percent came from science high schools, and 13.04 percent came from public high school.

For Leaño, the government’s policy of decreasing the subsidy for public secondary education degrades the quality of the schools’ instruction and performance. “Dapat ibigay ng government ang nararapat na budget upang makapagprovide ng student services.“ 

4 BALITA

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

1 in 2 UPCAT passers come from private HS KAREN ANN MACALALAD

86477

PASSING RATE BY SCHOOL TYPE, SYSTEM-WIDE qualifiers examinees

74827

47.37 44.99

NUMBER OF UPCAT EXAMINEES AND PASSERS FROM 2013-2015

44.19

16.09 13.67

13.54

14988

12732 3876

5589 2013

EXAMINEES

2013

2015 QUALIFIERS

SCIENCE

qualifiers examinees

12.68

LUZON

VISAYAS

0.82

18.99

15.91

2013

17.39

20.24

17.06 9.66

FOREIGN

PRIVATE

PASSING RATE BY INCOME CATEGORY, SYSTEM-WIDE

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF UPCAT PASSERS PER REGION FROM 2013-2015*

67.95

14.32

2015

2014 PUBLIC

DILIMAN QUALIFIERS

15.3 12.9

14.78

2014

17.63 20.56

15.71 10.92

MINDANAO

11.85

* passers per region total number of UPCAT qualifiers

100 THOUSAND AND BELOW

other fees, and the high cost of living are the factors why there is a similar number of poorer students taking the UPCAT. “We opened application centers in different regions. Dati [through email] nagpapasa ang applicants or pumupunta sila [sa Diliman]. Ngayon lahat ng constituent units at institutions can accept applications,” OAdms Director Aurora Mendoza said.

While the administration has been making efforts to democratize access in UP, private school students have still dominated the UP population in recent years.

‘Edging out the poor’ If grouped by their income, the percentage of UPCAT passers in the upper income ranks is twice higher than the students with lower income. Data from the OAdms reveal that almost half of UPCAT passers have families earning an annual income of at least P500,000.

Given the financial background of the students, they will most likely be assigned to brackets A and B of the

18.23 17.33

101 THOUSAND TO 200 THOUSAND

201 THOUSAND TO 500 THOUSAND

501 THOUSAND TO 1 MILLION

20.7

1 MILLION AND ABOVE

Infographic by John Reczon Calay Research by Karen Ann Macalalad

Data obtained from the UP Office of Admissions

ALMOST HALF OR 7,189 OF THE 14,988 UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) passers came from private schools for the academic year 2015 to 2016, according to data obtained from the Office of Admissions (OAdms).

Public schools produced only half the percentage of private school qualifiers with 4,047 passers, due to the large gap betwen the 26,453 examinees from public schools and 50,216 UPCAT takers from private institutions.

Data from 2013 to 2015 reflect the same trend for the past three years, with around 50 percent of qualifiers coming from private schools. Only one out of four qualifiers is a graduate of public high schools in the same span time span.

In UP Diliman (UPD), 55.63 percent of qualifiers also come from private schools for this academic year, with only 13.53 percent of the qualifiers graduating from public schools.

According to a 2014 report of a study group on admissions organized by UP President Alfredo Pascual, the difficulty of the exam, the high cost of tuition and

15.1

2015

Socialized Tuition (ST) System, the two year-old socialized tuition scheme that assigns UP students to four paying and two non-paying brackets.

On the other hand, one-fifth of the UPCAT passers are from families who earn P200,000 and below annually.

They will likely be assigned to brackets E1 and E2 that receive free tuition and additional stipend respectively.

Citing the research of University Consultant on Admission Policies Romeo Manlapaz, students coming from the upper middle or rich families are “literally edging out the poor” as these students fill up the slots to be occupied by poorer students, the study group said.

“Usapin pa rin ito ng basic education at accessibility to UPCAT...Kulang ang resources na dulot ng mga budget cut sa edukasyon [ng public schools at sa mga] resources at facilities [nito],” said Councilor Bryle Leaño of the University Student Council.

1 in 3 students come from NCR With most students come from

private schools, data also revealed that most of the UPCAT qualifiers reside in the National Capital Region with 30.45 percent, or 4,565 students this year.

Overall, students from Luzon comprised 69.01 percent of the total number of passers in 2015, while only 18.07 percent were from Visayas, and 12 percent were from Mindanao.

The findings of the study group revealed that UP Mindanao has only less than 2 percent of the UP population, even if the region has 25 percent of the entire Filipino population.

In 1997, UP implemented the Excellence-Equity Admissions System (EEAS) which uses a regression equation called the University Predicted Grade as the basis for admission. However, UPD adopted the Revised EEAS in 2011 which applies the UP Admission Index instead due to the misinterpretation of the old procedure.

Although the EEAS allots 30 percent of the lower range of UPCAT slots to students from the Visayas and Mindanao regions, these slots are not filled out

because there are no examinees. Other UPCAT passers will then fill up the remaining slots, the group said.

The UPCAT may provide one standard for UP to have academic excellence, but it intersects with the issues on the accessibility of education, Student Regent Miguel Enrico Pangalangan said.

“There are other factors such as geographic constraints...The social realities each student undergoes can affect the UPCAT results,” he added.

“The OAdms is reviewing the whole procedure and aspects of the UPCAT to see if they should also include interviews for better assessment of students qualified,” said Mendoza.

For Pangalangan, providing accessibility does not end with the UPCAT. “We will participate in the budget deliberations, continue lobbying with [government officials], collaborate with the national alliances and work with local councils to empower the courses in our system.” 

BALITA 5

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

House OKs only half of SUCs budget request ARRA B. FRANCIA

TALKING POINTS Chester Higuit

UP Student Regent Mico Pangalangan delivers his report on the situation of the University of the Philippines System during the Diliman Student Summit held at the Malcolm Theater on October 15. The dialogue served as a venue for the student regent to consult with the students regarding the different issues of the university.

PMA cadets to study in UP Baguio ALDRIN VILLEGAS UP BAGUIO MAY SOON BE OPEN FOR Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadets under a proposed tie-up between UP and PMA officials, said Student Regent (SR) Miguel Enrico Pangalangan.

The program may involve UP Baguio (UPB) professors teaching General Education (GE) courses in PMA and cadets cross-registering in UPB, according to UP President Alfredo Pascual’s report on the 1,309th Board of Regents (BOR) meeting in July 2015.

The BOR is yet to deliberate on the proposal since no Memorandum of Agreement has yet been filed, said Pangalangan.

The UPB administration is set to conduct a dialogue with Pascual on October 14, said UPB Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Corazon Abansi.

“Exchange” program Under the proposal, cadets would spend their first two years in UPB for general education courses and the last two at PMA for military subjects.

The final rules governing the proposed exchange of teachers and students between UP and PMA have yet to be specified, pending approval from the BOR. However, the program must be subject to the two institutions’ separate sets

of admission requirements for students and teachers, said former SR Ma. Kristina Conti.

“UP teachers in PMA must possess qualifications for civilian professors in the military academy. PMA students [can be accommodated] in UP upon showing of excellent academic performance,” Conti explained.

Conti also warned against the possibility that the set-up would be used as a “backdoor entry” into UP. “The national university cannot sacrifice its standards for extraneous objectives,” she said.

In a dialogue between members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Multi-sector Governance Council (MSGC) and PMA officials, both parties agreed to foster closer cooperation between UP and PMA through UPB for the education of military officers.

Pascual is a member of the MSGC, a governance watchdog of the AFP composed of representatives from sectors such as business, law, education, diplomacy, and commerce.

Pangalangan opposed the tieup, expressing concerns regarding campus militarization, student harassment, and abuse. Under the Soto-Enrile accord, an agreement between UP and the Department of National Defense, military and

police forces are prohibited to enter university premises.

Campus Militarization In UP Mindanao (UPMin) for example, Professors Myfel Paluga and Andrea Ragragio were followed by suspected military men after conducting research in General Santos City in 2014. Paluga and Ragragio are vocal critics of militarization in the region.

Meanwhile, former UPMin University Student Council (USC) Chairperson Rendell Cagula was killed in Sarangani in an encounter between the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion and the New People’s Army. Cagula was the Southern Mindanao coordinator of Kabataan Partylist and was tagged as an NPA member along with three others who were killed.

A military camp has been built right at the side of UPMin which students have since called to be transferred outside the campus, said UPMin USC Chairperson Leah Aying. “[T]he presence of military men and apparent military activities intimidate students...especially in expressing ideas and actions on social issues,” said Aying. 

THE COUNTRY’S 114 STATE universities and colleges (SUCs) will receive only half of their original budget request for 2016, with the House of Representatives (HOR) approving on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 6132 or the 2016 General Appropriations Bill on October 9.

Voting 230-20, the lower chamber approved HB 6132, which appropriates only P43.8 billion to the country’s SUCs, a mere 53 percent of the original P82.6 billion the state schools requested. The meager allocation for SUCs represents only 1.45 percent of the total P3.002 trillion national budget for 2016.

While SUCs requested a total of P37.4 billion for personnel services (PS), or the budget for compensation of faculty and employees, the lower house appropriated only P26.9 billion.

State schools will also receive P11.1 billion for maintenance and other operating expenditures (MOOE), which is P4.6 billion lower than their original P15.7 billion request. From a proposal of P29.5 billion for capital outlay (CO), or the fund for the construction of new infrastructure, roughly one-fifth or P5.8 billion was approved.

While the budget for 2016 is slightly higher than the P42.3 billion SUCs budget this year, critics point out that the said amount is “far from sufficient.”

“When we talk about government funding for SUCs, we need to consider their actual funding requirement. This data reveals how grossly insufficient the budget for SUCs remains to be, despite annual nominal increases,” Kabataan Party-list Representative Terry Ridon said in a statement.

Budget cuts A closer look at the 2016 SUCs budget shows that a total of 59 SUCs will suffer budget cuts in MOOE totaling to P477.8 million, while 40 state schools are bound to end up with a net decrease of P4.1 billion in CO. The Western Visayas region has the highest number of SUCs affected by the new spate of budget cuts, with eight out of 11 incurring cuts in MOOE. “The new spate of spending cuts, especially the P477.8 million decrease in the budget for school operations, will have a severe effect on state schools.

In fact, several school presidents have already written legislators to express their deep concern,” according to a statement by a group of 28 legislators who filed House Resolution No. 2377, a

resolution calling to restore the budget slashed for MOOE. On the other hand, at least three SUCs are left without CO funds, including Marikina Polytechnic College, Cagayan State University, and Bulacan State University.

“Ang mga facilities ng schools ay hindi talaga conducive for learning, tulad na lamang sa Polytechnic University of the Philippines na ikaw pa ang maghahanap ng sariling upuan, minsan nagkakarinigan pa kayo mula sa kabilang kwarto dahil walang dingding,” said Sarah Jane Elago, national president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines.

SUCs to plug budget deficit Data from the 2016 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing show that SUCs spend an average of P59 billion annually. With Congress approving only P43.8 billion for 2016, SUCs will have to raise the remaining P15 billion on their own to meet their actual needs.

The budget allocation for SUCs is in line with the Aquino administration’s Roadmap for Public Higher Education Reform (RPHER), which includes income generation as one of its major policies, said Elago. RPHER pushes SUCs to use and maximize incomegenerating projects (IGPs) and income collected from students to augment the government’s measly subsidy, she explained.

For instance, the UP-Ayala Land Technohub earns an estimate of P200 million annually for UP Diliman. Other school fees, like the development fee which ranges from P75 to P700 collected for the construction of new buildings, also add to the state school’s income.

“Sinasalamin ng RPHER ang pagabandona sa responsibilidad ng gobyerno na pondohan ang mga pampublikong pamantasan at pagtulak nito tungong komersalisasyon,“ said Elago.

HB 6132 will now be transmitted to the Senate to undergo further deliberation. Once the Senate passes its version of the appropriations bill, a bicameral conference committee composed of representatives from both houses of Congress will then convene to reconcile differences between the two versions. The resulting version will be transmitted to the president to be signed into law. 

6-7 KULTURA

#Lunatics

ALDUB FOR LIFE! #ALDubEBforLOVE #ALDubFOREVER #ALDubAgainstAllOdds Add Media Add Location 72 Tweet

C Y R I L K AT H E R I N E M A N O N G D O

LUNA ORGANIZED AN ARMY OF 4,000 IN the blockbuster film, but in social media, the mention of his name summons thousands of likes and shares.

The fallen hero invades newsfeeds with every meme inspired by the film, which ranges from mundane personal posts to political commentaries that attack colonial mentality, the standstill traffic at EDSA, or traditional politicians looting the country’s riches.

While we are used to memorializing national heroes with magnificent monuments, shrines, bills and coins, social media users paid tribute through the use of memes. A meme is anything that transfers a concept or an idea quickly, and in the Internet, memes are viral posts shared and spread via social media. The #HugotHeneral memes spread like wildfire, amplifying the reach of concepts of patriotism, history, and culture imparted by the film to the viewers.

What some find hard to express with words in a tweet or post, a #HugotHeneral meme can articulate in an instant. Political groups consciously infuse Heneral Luna images in memes, capitalizing on the fame of the film and the substance of the film’s thesis on Philippine history.

After all, if Heneral Luna can be credited for anything, it is for sparking discussions and debates on Philippine history and how the mistakes of the past resonate with the present. The bias of history-writing, a reality often obscured by the pedagogical nature of education, was a major theme that captured the interest of the online community. Suddenly, every bit of historical detail demanded a second look, and from critical eyes that learned that history is not the mere statement of facts; rather, it is a presentation of events.

Views and questions on Philippine history poured onto social media pages straight out of the cinemas.

In this sense, social media became a venue for a broad and varied audience to engage in intellectual discourses on Philippine history. In Facebook and Twitter, there is no higher authority that can monopolize the discourse; the assigned roles of historian and layman, teacher, and student, temporarily dissipate.

The extent of the reach of these memes and insights on history, however, is limited only to the people who can access social media. In 2015, a study by WeAreSocial stated that there are 40 million social media accounts in the Philippines, with Facebook, Twitter and Google as the top three social media platforms of choice. This number comprises less than half of the Philippine

population, which means that many are still left out of these discussions that attempt to articulate the roots of the country’s current crises.

Though scattered and unorganized, the generation of ideas online showed that history is not a static story. It is constantly written and revised to fit the agenda of whoever holds power over information.

With the emergence of social media, this power has begun to trickle down to ordinary people, allowing individuals to link up and collectively seek a history that reflects their identity and aspirations. 

#PrimeTimeBida O R LY P U T O N G

UMAAPAW ANG NEWSFEED NG FACEBOOK at Twitter —nagka-aminan na si Leah at Clark sa isa’t-isa. Nagkalat sa Facebook ang mga hashtags— #OTWOLMostKiligEpisode, #MostApprovedKiss, #JaDine.

Tulad ng maraming Pilipino ang bidang si Leah (Nadine Lustre) ng primetime teleserye na On The Wings of Love—nakipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa para sa pamilya kahit pa maging migranteng TNT o ‘Tago Ng Tago.’

Samantala, bagong ‘naturalized’ American citizen si Clark (James Reid)—kumakayod nang husto sa Amerika para may maipadala sa pamilyang nasa Pilipinas. Nagpakasal ang dalawa para magkaroon si Leah ng Green Card— ang Holy Grail na magdadala ng seguridad sa trabaho, benepisyo at ligal na katayuan sa bansang Amerika.

Tampok sa OTWOL ang konsepto ng ‘American Dream.’ Una itong ginamit ng historyador na si James Truslow Adams noong 1931 sa kaniyang nobelang “The Epic of America” para itanghal ang Amerika bilang bansa ng maraming oportunidad at posibilidad. Maraming mamamayan, lalo na ang mga nanggaling sa mahihirap na bansa, ang nais makarating sa bagong ‘promised land.’

‘American Dream,’ tadhana at romansa—kung tutuusin simple at pangkaraniwan ang banghay ng OTWOL. May pahaging din ang OTWOL sa mga isyu tulad ng pagbubukas ng Bureau of Customs

sa mga Balikbayan boxes at pang-aabuso sa mga migranteng manggagawa sa pagtatangkang gawing makatotohanan ang mga eksena sa palabas.

Patok at subok na ang pormula, ngunit sa tangkang iangat pa ang fandom, ginamit ng istasyon ang social media. Taktikal ang ganitong marketing ng OTWOL sapagkat pinupuntirya nito ang mga migrante at kanilang pamilya na aktibo sa social media.

Mahalaga ang social media sa panahon ng laganap na migrasyon at pamamayagpag ng isang borderless world. Ginagamit ang social media ng mga pamilyang pinaghiwalay ng pangangailangan dahil libre at madali itong gamitin—ang tanging kailangan lamang ay access sa Internet.

Sa isang banda, nakalilikha ng mga kolektibong entidad sa Internet sa tulong ng hashtags gaya ng #OTWOlistas, #JaDinatics, at iba pa. Nagagamit ito ng mga migrante para sumali at makibahagi sa pagkonsumo sa kilig ng OTWOL ng mga Pilipino, nasaan man silang panig ng mundo. Sa social media, kaya nilang makipagsabayan sa mga mahal sa buhay na iniwan nila sa bansa.

Sa panahon ngayon ng Twitter, Facebook, at Youtube, mabilis na daluyan ang memes, vine videos, at hashtags ng mga balita, produkto, palabas, o ideya. Hinihimok ng ABS-CBN ang mga fans na lumikha ng videos, ‘fansigns,’ at mayroon ding mga hashtag kada episode upang lalo pang pasikatin ang palabas. Dahil fan-made at may isang antas ng interaksyon, may pag-aangkin at koneksyon na nabubuo ang fans sa teleserye.

#AlieNation

Kwarto: 11:45 am Josh @aldub4lyf - now ONTI NA LANG! #ALDubForever #KiligPaMore Pagpatak ng alas-dose ng tanghali diretso na kami sa harap ng TV. Remote sa kaliwang kamay, at cellphone sa kanan—‘yan ang set-up ko habang nanonood ng kalyeserye.

Sala, TV Set: 12:01 Josh @aldub4lyf - now MAGSISIMULA NAAA! READY NA BA ANG ALDUB NATION? <3 #EBDabarkadsPaMore #ALDubEBforLOVE

Tagasubaybay ako ng ALDub mula pa noong una nila itong ipinalabas. Nakasanayan ko nang magtweet at magbahagi sa social media ng aking mga nararamdaman at naiisip habang nanonood. Sandamakmak na tweets na ang naipost ko sa twitter. Sa 10K na tweet ko sa buong kasaysayan ko sa twitter, nasa 2K doon ang tungkol sa ALDub. Kasali ako sa record-breaking 25.6 million tweets na #ALDubEBforLOVE noong Setyembre 26. Tinambakan namin noon ang tweets para sa Showtime at hinigitan ang 3.3M tweets noong bumisita ang Santo Papa.

Hinikayat ko lahat ng kakilala ko sa twitter

na mag-tweet ng kahit ano basta huwag lang nila kalimutan lagyan ng hashtag.

Sala, TV Set: 1:32 pm Joey De Leon @AngPoetNyo - Oct 6 Hindi ako magsasawang sumaludo, pumalakpak at magbigay-pugay sa mga tauhan ng kalyeserye arawaraw. Bravo! #ALDUBTogetherAgain @EatBulaga

Isa ako sa napakaraming taong nagti-tweet at nagpopost sa social media gamit ang #AlDub. Inaabangan ko ang mga tweets upang malaman kung ano na ang latest sa fans ng AlDub at kung may nag-favorite o RT (retweet) na sa tweet ko.

Nadodoble ang kilig na nararamdaman ko tuwing nakakukuha ng favorite o RT. Madalas, gumagawa pa ako ng meme at fan art para bumenta sa mga Twitterverse ang mga post ko.

Kung kinikilig na ako, paano pa kaya ang AlDubNation o Eat Bulaga, na humahakot ng milyun-milyong tweets?

Panay ang engganyo ng Eat Bulaga sa amin na magtweet pa at lalo pang pasikatin ang AlDub sa social media. Para kaming mga sundalo, kapag sumenyas na ang Eat Bulaga at inilabas na ang hashtag, mag-uunahan na kaming ipakalat sa Twitterverse ang aming mga opinyon at nararamdaman kalakip ang hashtag.

Mayroon ding mga taong basta-basta na lang idinidikit at isinasabit ang #AlDub sa kanilang mga tweets, kahit na wala ‘yung kinalaman sa kalyeserye. Sabi nga ng mga pabebe girls, wala kaming pakialam, nagpaparami lang kami ng mga tweet.

Maraming bashers, maraming natutuwa, maraming walang pakialam pero sige pa rin kami kahit tawagin pa kaming ‘mababaw.’ Noong isang araw, ang nabasa ko: “#aldub is a really suck and stupid tv show i've ever

MABILIS PA SA APOY KUNG KUMALAT ANG BALITA SA MUNDO NG SOCIAL MEDIA—FACEBOOK, TWITTER, TUMBLR, AT INSTAGRAM. ITO ANG PANAHON KUNG SAAN HIGIT NA MAPAGPASYA ANG DAMI NG LIKES, COMMENT O TWEET NG ISANG STATUS O LARAWAN SA PAGKUHA NG ATENSYON NG MGA NETIZENS. NGUNIT LABAS SA KAPASIDAD NG IILAN NA MAGKAROON NG MGA MAKABAGONG TEKNOLOHIYA AT INTERNET, KAILANGANG BIGYANG PRAYORIDAD ANG MATALINONG PAGGAMIT SA SOCIAL MEDIA KUMALAT SA SOCIAL MEDIA ANG BILANG PANGUNAHING LUNSARAN UPANG MAABOT AT mga larawan at video ng pamosong regalo ni MAKUHA ANG PULSO NG MAS MALAWAK NA MASA. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair

Ngunit kahit gaano pa magbuo ng mistulang koneksyon sa audience ang OTWOL, artipisyal ito dahil hindi naman ito sinserong sumasalamin sa katotohanan ng migrasyon sa bansa, at ang hashtags, fansigns, at fandom ay mga instrumento para magpataas ng ratings. Pagtakas pa rin sa realidad ang pangunahing silbi ng palabas, na patuloy sa paghabi ng mga pantasya ng pag-ibig at pag-unlad kung saan sentro pa rin ang American Dream. Kung gayon, artipisyal ang pagbubuklod-buklod sa mga taong pinaglayo ng pagaasam sa kaginhawaan ng buhay.

Gayunpaman, may kapangyarihan ang social media na bumuo ng mga makabuluhang pagkakaisa kapag sumasalamin ito at nagtatangkang baguhin ang realidad, at hindi para sa interes ng kita o ratings. Ipinamalas ito ng mga Pilipino nang sama-samang manawagan para sa pagsasalba ng buhay ni Mary Jane Veloso—isang kampanya sa social media na karugtong ng mga pagkilos at mobilisasyon sa tunay na mundo. 

Dibuho ni Patricia Ramos Disenyo ng pahina ni Jerome Tagaro

MIGUEL MADRIAGA

heard.... only b*t*h* would dare to watched it..... sucks...”

Gustuhin ko mang magalit at gumanti, alam ko namang wala yung patutunguhan. Sa Twitter, malaya kaming kiligin at malaya rin silang magalit. Magtuos na lang kaming lahat sa dami ng tweet. Ano bang magagawa nila sa isang laksang tweeters na tinatawag na ngang AllDubNation?

Pero minsan, napapaisip rin ako kung hanggang saan at hanggan kailan ko kayang gawin ito. Nauubusan din ako ng sasabihin, o di kaya’y tinatamaan ng mga parinig sa Twitter at kahit sa tunay na buhay. Ano ba raw ang napapala ko? Tanong ng nanay ko. Sino ba raw ang tunay na nakikinabang? Tanong ng iba.

Tumatak sa akin ang post ng isang kaklase. May nahanap siyang blog tungkol sa AlDub, na isinulat ng isang Teo Marasigan. Aniya, marami naman daw positibo sa AlDub, pero kung titimbangin, “May mga “kaligayahan” o “insentiba” na ibinibigay sa manonood para sa pananahimik.” Kung panay ang pag-iingay ko sa social media para sa AlDub, naisip ko: saang mga bagay kaya ako nanahimik? 

#NetTwerking

Francis Tolentino kay Laguna Rep. Benjamin Agarao Jr sa kanyang kaarawan at anibersaryo sa serbisyo. Ang kanyang regalo: tatlong babae na binayaran upang aliwin ang mga pulitiko.

Hindi nangiming magkomento ang mga tinaguriang “netizens” sa malaswang libangan ng mga pulitikong kasapi ng Liberal Party (LP), na siya ring partido ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino Jr. Mabilis ang pag-uugnay ng mga suki ng social media sa LP at sa malaswang palabas. Tinaguriang LP girls ang mga video na kumalat sa facebook, at nauso ang hashtag na #DaangMatuwad, #LiberalPanty, #BayangMagiling, #LibrengPerformance.

Nagsulputan rin ang mga memes kung saan mababasa ang “daang matuwad” katabi ang larawan ng babae na nakatuwad o nakapatong sa nakahigang lalaki.

Hindi nagtagal, lumabas na rin sa balita, pahayagan at iba pang midya ang mga bidyo at larawan. Naglabasan ang mga headline na ‘Playgirls ng Liberal Party maraming nadismaya at nalaswaan,’ ‘LP puts ‘Liberal’ in ‘Party.’

Sumagot pa ang mga opisyal ng LP, kasama na

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

MARY JOY CAPISTRANO

si Leni Robredo na itinangging nambastos ng kababaihan ang kanyang mga kapartido. Ilang araw pa, umatras na sa pagtakbo bilang senador si Tolentino.

Maaaring sabihin na ang pagsikat sa social media ng video ng LP girls ang mitsa ng kontrobersiya. Nagluwal ang pag-iingay sa social media ng mga panawagan para sa kongkretong aksyon kaugnay ng malaswang palabas.

Kinutya ng mga netizens ang slogan na “daang matuwid” at ginawa ang mga hashtag na #BayangMagiling, #LiberalKungPumarty. Napwersa rin ang Philippine Commission on Women na imbestigahan ang insidente at nanawagan sa lahat ng tumatakbong partido na huwag gamitin ang katawan ng mga kababaihan sa pangangampanya.

Binibigyang-diin ng insidente ang kahalagahan ng midya. Dalawang uri ng midya ang umiiral sa ngayon: ang tradisyunal at Internet. Itinuturing ang tradisyunal na midya bilang Fourth Estate, o isang kinakailangang aparato para lubusin ang pagpapagana ng demokrasya sa lipunan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapakalat at pangangalap ng impormasyon.

Sa pag-usbong ng makabagong teknolohiya, dumarami ang daluyan at lunsaran ng impormasyon. Ayon sa Internet expert na si William Dutton, isang Fifth Estate ang network ng mga indibidwal sa Internet dahil may kapasidad itong direktang ipahayag at impluwensyahan ang opinyon ng mamamayan ukol sa mga isyung panlipunan batay sa impormasyong mahahanap sa Internet at social media.

Malaya ang mga tweets, blog, at komento sa mga website mula sa kontrol ng mga institusyon at pwersang sumasala sa impormasyong pampubliko.

Iniigpawan ng Fifth Estate ang ilang limitasyon ng tradisyunal na midya at pinadadali ang paglahok ng mamamayan sa mga mahahalagang usaping panlipunan.

Labas sa indibidwal na status o post, nagiging kolektibo ang pakikilahok ng mamamayan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapalitan ng kuro-kuro, pag-uusap at pag-dedebate ukol sa mga isyu, hanggang sa hayagang pagsuporta sa pamamagitan ng paglala-like o share.

Nagagamit din ang social media sa pagkapa sa pulso ng mamamayan. Nasusukat sa dami ng tweets, likes, share o di kaya’y pagiging “trending” ng mga hashtag ang pagka-aliw, pagkasuya, o pagtangkilik ng mga netizens.

Sa bilis ng daloy ng impormasyon, malaki ang gampanin ng social media, lalo na sa darating na eleksyon. Ngayon pa lamang naglabasan na ang mga facebook page tungkol sa eleksyon: Duterte for President Movement, Grace Poe for President, Miriam Santiago for President, at mga kontrang Say No To Chiz for VP. Gayunman, kailangang kilalanin ang pangunahing limitasyon ng social media, lalo na rito sa Pilipinas. Hindi lahat ay may internet at computer o smartphone. Sa ngayon, ang mahusay at matalinong paggamit ang hinihingi sa mga social media users upang bigyan ng katuturan ang kapangyarihang magpahayag, mag-like, at mag-share. 

8 LATHALAIN

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

YUTANG KABILIN ISAAC JEOFFREY SERRANO

MAKAPAGTAPOS NG PAG-AARAL ang pinanghahawakang pangarap ni Amalyn Ugking na nasa ikaapat na taon sa sekundarya sa Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development Inc. (ALCADEV), paaralang itinayo para sa mga Lumad sa Mindanao.

Isa ang Maluhutayong Pakigbisog Alang Sumusunod (MAPASU) sa mga pribadong organisasyon na nagmamay-ari ng ALCADEV na itinatag noong 2004. Bukod sa mga pangunahing asignatura tulad ng Ingles, Matematika at Agham, bahagi ng kanilang kurikulum ang mga kursong may kinalaman sa agrikultura, tradisyon at kaugalian bilang alternatibong klase.

Ngunit kamakailan lamang nang mabahiran ng karahasan ang paaralang sana’y lulan ng karunungan at kalinangan.

Nag-iwan ng malalim na marka sa alaala ni Ugking ang masalimuot na nangyari noong ika-1 ng Setyembre. Aniya, alaskuwatro ng madaling araw nang salakayin ng grupong paramilitar na MagahatBagani ang ALCADEV at ang kalapit na Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur Schools (TRIFPSS) na sinubukang sunugin ng armadong grupo.

Matapos umano silang sapilitan na palabasin sa kanilang mga dormitoryo, walang pakundangang ipinakita sa kanila ang walang-awang pagpatay kina Dionel Campos at Datu Bello Sinzo. Samantala, ginilitan naman ang direktor ng ALCADEV na si Emerito Samarca.

Sa hudyat ng alingawngaw ng putok ng baril, nagsisigaw at tumakbo sina Ugking papalayo sa kanilang eskwelahan.

Kinalaunan, napilitan na rin silang lumikas dahil sa bantang kamatayan ng mga paramilitar sakaling hindi lisanin ang lugar.

Sa tala ng Katribu, mahigit limang libong mga Lumad ang lumikas tungong iba’t ibang evacuation centers tulad ng Tandag City Sports Complex kung saan kasalukuyang naninirahan sina Ugking.

Nakaugnay ang mga pagpatay sa pagtugis ng militar sa mga pinaghihinalaang kasapi ng Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples’ Army (CPP-NPA) sa pagpapaigting ng Oplan Bayanihan ng administrasyong Aquino. Ayon sa pamahalaan, sanayan daw ng mga rebelde ang ALCADEV kung saan NPA ang nagtuturo sa mga estudyante.

Ngunit pinasusubalian ng mga karanasan ng mga Lumad ang ganitong paratang ng pamahalaan. Marahas mang naantala ang kanilang pamumuhay, sinisikap nilang patuloy na mamuhay nang normal kasabay ng paggiit sa kanilang mga batayang karapatan.

Buhay na pamana Tumutukoy ang salitang “Lumad” sa mga katutubong hindi Muslim sa Mindanao na binubuo ng 18 na grupong kinabibilangan ng mga B’laan, Mandaya, Manobo, Subanon at T’boli.

Matatagpuan sila sa mga rehiyon ng Zamboanga, Hilagang Mindanao, Davao, SOCCSKSARGEN at Caraga kung saan karaniwang bulubundukin at agrikultural ang mga pamayanan.

Lubos na nakatali sa kanilang ninunong lupa ang mga Lumad kung kaya’t gayon na lamang nila ito pahalagahan.

“Mula kapanganakan hanggang kamatayan, lupang pagmamay-ari ang

pinakamahalaga naming yaman,” salin sa Filipino ng isang matandang kasabihang Lumad sa kwento ni Ugking.

Buhay na pamana kung ituring ng mga Lumad ang lupang ninuno na ipinagkaloob sa kanila ng mga naunang salinlahi kaya naman mahigpit nila itong pinangangalagaan. Bahagi ng kanilang kaugalian ang pamamahagi ng pananim tulad ng mais at palay tuwing anihan.

Hindi lamang pinagkukunan ng pagkain ng mga Lumad ang kanilang lupain.

Naipagbibili din nila ang kanilang mga ani at alagang hayop sa lokal na pamilihan.

Masagana sa yaman ang lupang ninuno ng mga Lumad. Ayon sa tala ng Mines and Geosciences Bureau, masagana sa ginto, copper, chromite at nickel ang mga bundok sa CARAGA kung saan kabilang ang Surigao.

Sa yamang taglay ng ninunong lupain, marami itong naaakit na mga negosyanteng nais mamuhunan. “Ang ninunong lupa ng mga Lumad ay labis na inaasam ng mga naglalakihang korporasyon sa pagaangkat ng mga mineral na mahigpit na

Natatanging pamana at yamang maituturing ng mga Lumad ang kanilang lupain kaya handa silang ipaglaban ito pinag-aagawan sa merkado,” ani Kaerlan Fanagel, Tagapangulo ng Pasakkaday Salugpongan Kalimuddan (PASAKA) o Confederation of Lumad Organizations.

Natatanging pamana at yamang maituturing ng mga Lumad ang kanilang lupain kaya handa silang ipaglaban ito.

“May mga ritwal kami tulad ng bangko at oyagdo kung saan nag-aalay ng dasal at pasasalamat para sa mga pananim, at ang kahimunan na isang uri na sayaw ng pag-aalay ng baboy-ramo dulot ng biyayang natanggap,” ani Ugking.

Pilit na kinokontrol ng mga dayuhan at lokal na kumpanya gaya ng Shenzhou Mining Corporation, Marc Ventures and Mining and Development Corporation at VTP Construction and Mining Corporation ang lupa ng mga Lumad.

Kaugnay nito, talamak ang pamemeke ng pirma sa Free, Informed and Prior Consent (FPIC) upang makapasok at kumita nang malaki kapalit ang panganib para sa mga Lumad.

Pangarap at pag-asa “Lumalakad ng tig-16 kilometro papunta at pabalik mula sa tirahan ang mga magulang namin noong wala pa ang ALCADEV para lang makapasok sa pinakamalapit na paaralan,” ani Ugking.

Tatlong beses nga lang umano sa isang linggo ang kanilang pasok dahil malayo sa sentro ang kanilang tirahan.

Kabilang ang ALCADEV at TRIFPSS sa mga paaralang nasa ilalim ng Alternative

Learning System (ALS) ng Department of Education (DepEd), programang pangedukasyon ng pamahalaan para sa mga hindi nakapag-aral. Sa programang ALS, malayang pumili ang mga estudyante kung saang larangan nilang nais magpakadalubhasa gaya sa pagtatanim at paghahabi.

Bagaman kinikilala ng DepEd ang ALCADEV, pilit pa rin itong ipinasasara ng mga militar dahil sa hinalang lunsaran ng mga rebelde.

Bahagi ng pinaigting na programang Oplan Bayanihan ng administrasyong Aquino ang pagpaparatang na hinuhubog ng ALCADEV ang mga kabataan sa kanilang murang edad na mag-aklas sa estado. Hindi pansin ang malaking oportunidad na ibinibigay nito sa kabataan.

Sa laki ng kakulangan ng pamahalaan na magbigay ng batayang serbisyo para sa mga Lumad, nagagawa pa nilang tanggalan ng karapatan na magkaroon ng sapat na edukasyon ang mga katutubo.

Nagsisilbing tuntungan ng mga Lumad ang ALCADEV upang isakatuparan ang kanilang pangarap na makatuntong sa kolehiyo at hindi maranasan ang hirap na dinanas ng kanilang mga magulang, pahayag ni Ugking.

Samantala, para naman sa mga guro o volunteers ng ALCADEV na sina Aivy Hora at Rico Pareja, pagtulong sa mga Lumad ang motibasyon nila sa pagtuturo. Hindi katulad ng mga ordinaryong guro, wala silang buwanang sweldo na tinatanggap.

Sa gitna ng kaguluhan, patuloy ang pag-aaral ng mga Lumad. Nagtayo sila ng mga pinagtagpi-tagping kahoy at sako sa covered court ng evacuation center sa Tandag, Surigao del Sur. Ani Pareja, ang pagtuturo sa mga bata ay isang uri ng pagbabayad ng utang na loob bilang produkto ng ALCADEV.

Paglaban at paglaya Sa lumalalang sitwasyon ng mga Lumad sa Mindanao, patuloy ang panawagan hinggil sa kawalang-aksyon ng pamahalaan. Ngayong darating na ika-26 ng Oktubre gaganapin ang malawakang protesta ng mga Lumad sa Maynila sa kanilang programang “Manilakbayan.”

Gayunman, hindi na bago ang ganitong uri ng panunupil sa mga katutubo. Noong 2012, minasaker ang pamilya ni Daguil Capion na isang Lumad mula sa pangkatetnikong B’laan sa Davao del Sur. Pinatay nang walang awa ang kanyang asawa at dalawang anak dahil pinaghihinalaan siyang miyembro ng NPA. Tulad ni Ugking, may mga pangarap din ang mga Lumad na kasalukuyang naiipit sa kaguluhan sa Mindanao. Sa kanilang pagdayo rito sa Maynila, ipinanawagan nila sa gobyerno na wakasan ang Oplan Bayanihan upang makapamuhay nang payapa sa kanilang lupang ninuno.

Pilit mang supilin ng karahasan, mababakas sa kanilang mga karanasan ang masidhing kagustuhang mamuhay nang maayos at mapayapa. Taliwas sa inaasahan, ang mga katutubong tulad ni Ugking ay hindi lamang mukha ng pagmamakaawa at pagkakawanggawa.

Sa halip, ang kanilang mga kwento ay naratibo ng mga pangarap at pag-asa ng paglaban at paglaya. 

Dibuho ni Chester Higuit Disenyo ng pahina ni Jiru Rada

LATHALAIN 9

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

CROSSROADS DANIEL BOONE

MY DAILY COMMUTE — ONE-WAY — should take 55 minutes. Instead, it consumes over two hours.

Every day, I traverse the 42.1 km distance from my home in Malolos to UP. It is a trip plagued by endless lanes of traffic, smog hanging over the road, and horns blaring. I sit (or more often, stand) inside an overcrowded vehicle, clutching my bag close as the driver swerves from lane to lane, trying to get ahead. This is the life of a Filipino commuter.

Congested roads Waze, the world’s largest communitybased navigation app, concluded this September that Metro Manila has “the worst traffic situation on earth” in terms of traffic jam frequency and severity, road quality, driver safety and services, and socioeconomic aspects.

Traffic costs us more than time.

According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), our country is losing at least P2.4 billion per day.

This economic loss is in addition to environmental damage arising from continuous greenhouse gas emissions.

The World Population Review pegs the population of Metro Manila at around 12 million, which swells to 15 million during weekdays, making Metro Manila one of the densest cities in the world. Data from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) show that registered vehicles in the capital have reached 2.5 million, while an estimated 14 million vehicles pass through every day.

This volume is disproportionate to the size of the Metro Manila road system, which comprises a total of 1,032 km, or one kilometer for every 424 vehicles, based on JICA’s figures. Of these vehicles, 78 percent are privately owned, according to the National Development and Economic Authority (NEDA).

Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) Chief Supt.

Arnold Gunnacao argued in a forum that traffic is greatly aggravated by the failure of drivers — of private vehicles, even more than public ones — to abide by traffic regulations. “Karamihan po sa mga drivers natin ay… mahilig sa unahan, mahilig [sumingit].”

Even the Land

Transportation Office regularly reminds drivers not to give bribes to street cops who bust them for traffic violations.

I commute to Quezon City for school.

My route necessitates squeezing every morning with around 80 other people into dilapidated buses with a 60-person seating capacity. Ideally, public transport like buses should be a great way to ease traffic, said UP National Center for Transportation Studies Research Fellow Dr. Regin Regidor. He noted that “more than expressways or roads… [Metro Manila requires mass transit systems] in the form of railways or bus systems.”

Yet Metro Manila only has 51 km of railway, meaning that trains are even more crowded than buses. The Light Rail Transit (LRT) can only accommodate 560,000 passengers, but 2014 data from the LRT Authority (LRTA) show that passengers can reach up to 658,000 in a day. The Metro-Rail Transit (MRT) is even more overloaded, with an average daily passenger load of around 560,000 for its 350,000 capacity. Moreover, our mass transit systems are also hounded by issues of inefficiency and severe malfunctions.

The condition of our public mass transport systems means that they cannot relieve the burden of highvolume vehicle congestion on our roads.

Pseudo-treatments Like other commuters, what I find most aggravating is not just the fact of at-least-twice-a-day traffic jams, but the persistence of the problem in the face of government “solutions” that exacerbate instead of alleviate traffic woes.

For instance, in 2011, the MMDA implemented a number coding scheme, which prohibits certain vehicles from passing through Manila on certain days and time slots, depending on their plate numbers. This scheme is part of the MMDA’s current Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP).

A study by Regidor shows that people responded to UVVRP in three ways: by taking public transportation, by adjusting their travel time, and by buying more cars. The latter two only

worsen traffic, causing congestion even outside rush hours.

In September, the government deployed the PNP-HPG to ease the traffic. They removed all sidewalk vendors along the Balintawak area within a few weeks. But in practice, vendors end up either returning to their spots, or transferring to different sidewalks. Moreover, since the deeper conditions for traffic problems remain,

The common government solution, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), are often rife with opportunities for corruption congestion is not significantly lessened by road clearing efforts. Various human rights groups also assert that kicking out vendors from the streets, in the absence of other options for the vendors, is a violation of their right to livelihood.

Aside from clearing sidewalks, the Aquino administration also announced plans to open several super-highways in partnership with private firms. The most recent project is the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX), a P2.01 billion tie-up with the Ayala Corporation. There are also several other expressways under construction in Bulacan, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija, among others. However, super-highways only cater to those who can pay the high tolls.

The common government solution, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), are often rife with opportunities for

corruption. The PPP deal involving the MRT rehabilitation, for example, has been called "anomalous and onerous"

by IBON Foundation. “Unfortunately, the Aquino administration is still heading to the same direction with its planned P60-billion LRT 1 privatization project,” said IBON in a statement.

Concrete remedies Engineer Michael Aljibe of Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM) said that building infrastructures alone will not alleviate the traffic. “The problem of traffic [has] to be integrated with related concerns such as urban planning,” he said.

Urban planning must be concerned not just with constructing roads, but with building a system than can handle the transport needs of Metro Manila through options other than private vehicles, explained Regidor. He added that “an efficient and extensive public mass transport system” would mean “less vehicles on the roads, less congestion and thus, smoother traffic flow and shorter travel times.”

But the primary root cause of traffic congestion in Metro Manila is the lack of sustainable livelihoods outside the capital. “Nationalization of our industries presents a historically sound strategy for easing the transportation woes of the Philippines: it will decongest the urban populace, encourage the development of public mass transport, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Aljibe said.

I keep that in mind during the hours I spend on the road, hours that could have been spent working or studying or resting.

Traffic is not the enemy — it is the result of decades of inadequate planning and shortsighted policies. The solution lies not in mechanical attempts to fight traffic, but in situating traffic within the context of the broader need for public mass transport and genuine national development. ■

Photo by Kenneth Gutlay Page design by Jiru Rada

10 OPINYON

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

Paano ba tatakbuhan ang utang?

CHESTER HIGUIT NANINIWALA KA NA BA SA FOREVER? Pabiro ko itong naitanong sa kaibigan kong naghihintay at umaasang magbabayad pa ako ng utang ko sa kanya. Sana nga natatakbuhan ang utang, napagtataguan ang mga naniningil at nakalilimot ang mga pinagkakautangan. Pero hindi.

Kapag nakikita kong online sa Facebook ang pinagkakautangan ko, kinakabahan na agad akong ipapaalala na naman niyang magbayad ako. Kung sana isa akong ahente ng militar na nagtatago sa palda ng gobyerno: invisible, kahit krimen maitatago. Pero hindi. Kaya “turn off chat to all friends na lang.”

Nang napapansin na niyang wala akong balak magbayad, pinuntahan niya ako sa opisina ng Kule para maningil. Pinlano kong hindi siya pansinin sa umpisa. Kunyari ako ‘yung poging nakaupo sa Malacanang tapos isnab lang sa nagpoprotestang Lumad laban sa militarisasyon at Mining Act of 1995 sa Mendiola.

Sobrang dali palang gayahin.

Lumipas ang isang buwan at nakahinga ako nang maluwag dahil hindi na siya nagpaparamdam.

Tagumpay! Hanggang sa nakalimutan

ko na rin ang utang ko sa kaniya, dahil sa dami ng plates sa Fine Arts at mga trabaho para sa Kulê.

Ganoon lang pala kadaling lumimot ng bagay na hindi na binabanggit, kahit wala pang closure.

Kamakailan lang, habang sinusukat ko ang bago kong T-shirt sa Kulê, na mula sa bago kong inutang na pera, bigla akong kinalabit ng kaibigan ko at muli niyang pinaalala ang napakalaki kong utang. Hindi ko na magawa ang invisible at isnab na technique.

Nahiya na lang ako at inaming hindi pa rin ako makakapagbayad. Ang laki nga naman kasi ng isang libong piso para ibaon na lang sa limot.

Napaisip tuloy ako noon kung ano ang pakiramdam ng naniningil sa isang bagay na walang katiyakan.

Tulad ng paniningil ng hustisya sa mga krimeng patuloy na tinatakbuhan at pinagtataguan na umaabot ng ilang buwan, taon, dekada. Tulad ng kaso ng Hacienda Luisita Massacre, Ampatuan Massacre, ang mga pagpatay sa mga Lumad, at iba pang mga pinaslang at sapilitang dinukot na hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay hindi pa rin nabibigyan ng hustisya.

Napaisip tuloy ako noon kung ano ang pakiramdam ng naniningil sa isang bagay na walang katiyakan

Kinilabutan ako nang malamang sa termino ni Noynoy sa pagtatapos ng taong 2014, 229 na ang kaso ng extrajudicial killings, liban pa sa pagpaslang kina Emerito Samarca, Dionel Campos at Aurelio Sinzo.

Hindi ko lubos maisip na nagagawa pang ngumiti sa harapan ng kamera ng pangulo at manindigan na mayroon talagang “Tuwid na Daan” na kailangang magpatuloy.

Nakakatakot pala ang ideya ng magpakailanman, lalo na para sa mga nakikipaglaban na mabibigyan pa ng hustisya ang mga biktima ng pamamaslang at karahasan.

Magtatapos na ang termino niya, pero parang lumalala pa ang kawalan ng hustisya sa bansa.

Kasabay ng pag-asa, patuloy akong makikibahagi sa paglaban, sa paniningil. Patuloy akong makikibahagi sa pag-alala sa mga biktimang tinatakbuhan at kinakalimutan ng administrasyon. Gaya ng kahit na anong utang, hindi na ito kailangang humantong pa sa forever. 

How the Lumad reached Manila An Alternate Universe VICTOR GREGOR LIMON ENTIRE COMMUNITIES OF THE Lumad have fled their ancestral lands to escape the scourge of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and their paramilitary cohorts. This week, more than 700 of them are in UP Diliman’s solidarity campout.

The following is an alternative retelling of their epic journey in five phases, from the comforts of their cozy mountain homes to the urban jungles of Metro Manila.

1. The Lumad live a happy, peaceful, idyllic coexistence with the military, the paramilitary, and the large-scale mining and logging companies— like one big happy family. The Lumad harbor no complaints. At all.

When mining companies encroach upon their ancestral domain, when armed men rape their women and kill their leaders and teachers, they simply forgive and forget, out of the kindness of their pure hearts.

2. Unfortunately, the Lumad are also very gullible folk and they are soon swayed by the persuasive but totally empty rhetoric of the Left. The Lumad have no measure of wisdom

Every time Noynoy whispers a heartfelt prayer before he goes to bed, an angel descends upon the abandoned farms of the Lumad and tills them until sunrise

whatsoever and they lack the agency to choose their allies and recognize their enemies. Despite the paradise they share with the military, they are therefore led to believe a number of lies: that the AFP is evil, that the Magahat-Bagani is its monster, and that they are in grave danger.

3. Thousands of Lumad flee their lands for no reason other than a refreshing change of scenery. They reach the evacuation centers, where a diwata visits them, in the form of a benevolent congresswoman. She persuades them to make a difficult choice: to take a bath or return to the mountains. When the Lumad refuse to make a decision, the diwata promptly turns into a witch and brings in the police.

4. Known for his soft spot for the marginalized and the poor, Noynoy Aquino visits the Lumad in their sleep, at night, secretly, when nobody is looking, like Santa Claus— that is, when the good president is not occupied with his duties as the official campaign mascot of the Liberal Party. Every time Noynoy

whispers a heartfelt prayer before he goes to bed, an angel descends upon the abandoned farms of the Lumad and tills them until sunrise.

5. The leftists purchase prime airline tickets for select Lumad leaders for a Manila tour. They are booked for accommodations at the Manila Peninsula. They visit universities such as UP, hold multisectoral dialogues where they share memories of happier times in the mountains. In future months, the Lumad will launch their official clothing and tribal jewelry brand to promote tourism in Mindanao and to raise funds for the construction of a five-star resort hotel in Surigao.

All’s well that ends well. 

Larger than Life

Polo F. Imperial

TURNING TABLES TODAY I FOUND OUT THAT I LOST FIVE kilograms in two months. This is a huge achievement for someone like me, so I decided to host a small dinner and invited my friends over. Thankfully, my parents promised not to be home until very late so we could have the house to ourselves, on the condition that smoking is allowed only on the patio and the veranda. Maliit na bagay.

There was one tiny problem, though. Elladan and Elrohir insisted they want to meet my friends.

The twins of course half-suspected that I was lying that I have friends, so they were doubly surprised when Anna, Groot, and Hermione arrived at the house. Maybe they were expecting freaks like me.

“To our fat little brother who has finally arrived. May the gods continue to be merficul and bless further his journey towards becoming a functional social animal,” the scumbag Ellladan raised a glass of beer after the meal. Groot laughed heartily and I made a mental note not to lend him my review notes for Math 53.

Elrohir meanwhile was too busy inspecting Hermione, who was in turn too busy making sure nobody left food on their plates. “Think of the children of Africa,” she said, jokingly—but the humor was lost on the twins. SHIT, I thought.

As expected, Elladan promptly refused to eat the remainder of the fish that lay helplessly on his plate.

“If I finish this, will this feed the Rohingya, the Kurds, and the rest of the hungry peoples of the earth?”

“Then you should have studied in UP instead of Ateneo, since there isn’t any guarantee your slots will go to those who need them more,” Hermione retorted. “Sino naman nagsabi sa ‘yo niyan, miss?”

Elrohir fired back, secretly proud that she knew of their genuine, though misplaced, idea of magnanimity.

“Polo told us. He told us he has two evil brothers whose prized possessions are their stash of porn under their beds, their stupid debate trophies, and their twisted sense of what’s funny,” Hermion blurted in one breath before I could kick her under the table.

“Did this infant whale also tell you we dig chicks who talk back?” The twins smirked together.

“Hindi na kailangan. We can smell machismo even from miles away,” Anna declared with a smile, and the twins’ smirk melted from their faces.

“We like your friends, Piggy. They should visit everyday,” Elladan told me while my friends were getting ready to leave. “But you have to drive the girls home yourself, because they have so many complaints about so many things. We don’t like complaints while we’re driving. Groot is fine though. We’ll take him.”

“Just one piece of advice, though,” Elrohir whispered to me, and I braced myself for what I knew was coming, sooner or later. “Be careful about that girl, Anna. She has your heartbreak written all over her pretty face.”

Suddenly, for some reason, I was possessed by a strange spirit of courage and said, “Thanks, but I’m not like you two. I can have friends without having to hit on them, you know.” Then I made sure I was first to drive out the gate so they would have to close them on their way out. 

OPINYON 11

Lunes 26 Oktubre 2015

EKSENANG PEYUPS THE JUICY BITS EDISHUN! GOOD DAY TO OUR AVID READERS! It is time once again for the spinetingling, nerve-rattling, pussy-popping gossip you all come to know and love.

Get yourselves ready for…me! Thong ina nag-intro ng sarili. Pack! Eh sa mama G ako, wapakels! Ano daw mama G, eh di mamaganda! Uncultured swine. Char!

Remember mej no-no I guess yung too bastos or hard-hitting, may mga matang nagmamasid today. Baka makulong ang yours truly a la Martial Law. Why ba sila anjan, making tago? Don’t they know voyeurism turns me on? Lahvet! And as promised, here na po ang super juicy bits *wink* from the iskolars ng bayag.

Unf [finger finger finger].

Juicy Bit #1. First stop is the College of Calibugan. Sinetch itong ateng na mej nag-overshare sa class nang benggs. Mejo na, bongga pa. Pack! As in. Like watir watir ang lola mo. Eh say ba naman, nagvideo sya while making dukit dukit, an excavation of a kweba of the wet variant. Loka! Ang malaley, no one asked her. Gusto lang ni madame.

Pati prof, lumuwa ang eyes. Infer, open si ate, kasing open ng pukersha nya. E di queri! Nothing wrong naman with that. It’s natural naman. I do it thrice a day, parang

NEXT WEEK’S QUESTIONS:

1

Ano ang mga natutunan mo sa nagdaang Manilakbayan?

2

Para kanino ka magtitirik ng kandila sa darating na Undas?

NEWSCAN MANILAKBAYAN 2015: KAMPUHAN SA DILIMAN

pagtoothbrush lang. But may nagtanong ba sayo teng? Tugudugs-ah!

Juicy Bit #2. Second stop natin is the College of Human KinEtits. Anong moda kaya ni madame Iska na nagwawarla outside ng isang classroom. And the issue ni ate? The case of the nawawalang panty. As in full detail ang description ni mumsie. Mahal daw. May lace. Black. Branded. Kulang na lang bumukaka si ate at ipakita ang amoy at hulma ng pukersha nya. Bongga!

Sa taas naman ng prices today, sinong hindi magagalit? Keri go fight!

Juicy Bit #3. Last stop ay the College of Bitchness Ad with two torn lovers feeling like a fool. Torn as in torn si koyang kung straight sya or not. Si ateng naman, eh di keri fight daw. Mapagparaya ang moda. Gusto maging martir, susunod na Mother Teresa. Wuw. Ganun. And then a few days later, nahuli ni ateng si koya in the act. To be fair, mejo hard maging confused sa sexuality mo kung may etits ka sa bibig. Loka! Tiktakbum!

At because may intro ako, may closing din. Loka! And that concludes this segment. We hope that the experience has been enlightening as it was entertaining. Until next time! 

OCT. 26, Monday Salubungan sa UP Diliman 5 PM, University Avenue Program and Salu-salo 5:30 PM, Quezon Hall

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

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09173759821

OCT. 27, Tuesday UP Diliman Community Formal Welcome and Press Forum 11:30 AM - 1 PM, AS Steps OCT. 28, Wednesday Relay Run with the Lumads 6 AM - 6 PM, Academic Oval Rally at the CHR 9 AM Launching of REAP 12 PM. REAP is a network resisting expansion of agricultural plantations in Mindanao.

Unity March (UP, Miriam, Ateneo, and ACT-QCPSTA) 4 PM, UP Academic Oval to Katipunan 5 PM, Program and concert at Miriam Kaloob (College of Music Benefit Concert for the Lumads) 6 PM, GT Toyota Auditorium, Asian Center

OCT. 29, Thursday Cultural Festival at the Kampuhan 8 AM - 5 PM. (Beads making, weaving, food preparation, Lumad market) Kampuhan to serve as a market of Lumad and other Mindanaoan products.

Solidarity Night at the Kampuhan OCT. 30, Friday Workshops with the Lumads Paralegal training, visual arts workshop Solidarity Night at the Kampuhan OCT. 31, Saturday Commemoration of Lumad Martyrs 10 AM, Sunken Garden Basketball with the UP Fighting Maroons Baklasan sa Kampuhan NOV. 1, Sunday Protest March March to Plaza Miranda for a protest activity commemorating the Lumad martyrs

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SIPAT CATCH OF THE DAY Kenneth Gutlay Brgy. Sahud Ulan, Tanza, Cavite (August 2, 2015).