PARA SA NAKARARAMING PILIPINO, inihuhudyat ng buwan ng Setyembre ang papalapit na panahon ng Kapaskuhan. Ngunit para sa mga nabuhay noong dekada ‘70, ipinaaalala ng Setyembre ang isa sa pinakamadilim na yugto sa kasaysayan ng lipunang Pilipino—ang pagpataw ng Batas Militar o Martial Law (ML). Laganap na kahirapan, kabi-kabilaang sa paglabag malawakang korupsyon, karapatang pantao at tahasang pagsikil sa demokratikong karapatan ng mamamayan Opisyal na lingguhang ang iniwang bakas ng ML sa naratibo ng bansa. pahayagan ng mga Gayunman, ang mismong lagim na inihasik mag-aaral ng Unibersidad nagpaalab at nagpasidhi ng ML ang lalong ng Pilipinas - Diliman sa mga ningas ng pagbabago. Subalit apat na dekada matapos ang “kalayaan” at “pagbawi Tomo 90, Blg. 14 sa demokrasya,” ano na nga ba ang kalagayan ng Setyembre 19, 2012 nakararaming Pilipino? Sa kanayunan, nananatiling walang pagmamay-aring lupa ang mga magsasaka. Sa kalunsuran, hindi pa rin dinidinig ang matagal nang hinaing ng mga manggagawa para sa makatarungan at nakabubuhay na sahod. Sa mga pamantasan, nariyan pa rin ang mga panawagan para sa sapat na badyet sa edukasyon at mas maayos na serbisyong pangkalusugan. Sa mga lansangan, patuloy ang panawagan para sa makabuluhang panlipunang pagbabago. At sa pagdiriwang ng ika-40 taong anibersaryo ng ML, marapat lamang balikan ang mga aral na nabuo at iniluwal sa panahon ng ligalig —at gamitin ang mga ito bilang mabisang gabay at tanglaw upang tuluyang maiwaksi ang dilim at lagim.
Lathalain
LUPONG TAGAPAGPASYA MULING NAKABITIN SA KAMAY ng iisang lupon ang kinabukasan ng mga iskolar ng bayan. Sa darating na pulong ng UP Board of Regents (BOR) sa Setyembre 20, muling igigiit ng mga mag-aaral ang pagbasura sa bagong panuntunan ng Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance Program (STFAP) — ang paghingi ng Bracket B certification sa mga bagong estudyante ng UP. Ang Bracket B ceritification ang nagsisilbing patunay na hindi kabilang ang mga estudyante sa Bracket A — ang klasipikasyon OPINYON OPINYON para sa mga pamilyang may Miyerkules Miyerkules taunang kita na higit sa P1 milyon. Isang tuso’t mapanlinlang Hunyo 1927 Setyembre 2012 2012 na pagtataas ng matrikula ang paghihigpit na ito sa pagpapatupad ng STFAP. Bunsod nito, mapapako sa P1,500 kada yunit ang babayaran ng mga estudyanteng hindi magpapasailalim sa STFAP, o hindi makapagbibigay ng nasabing sertipikasyon. Sa madaling sabi, P1,500 kada yunit na ang default bracket ng mga estudyante ng UP. Sa ganitong lagay, lalong lumiliit ang siwang ng oportunidad upang makatuntong sa pamantasan. Hindi na lamang UP College Admission Test ang kailangan lusutan ng mga nagnanais maging iskolar ng bayan – obligado na rin silang patunayang hindi sila “mayaman.” Patuloy namang sinasalag at pinasisinungalingan ng administrasyon ang nasabing paratang. Ang mas mahigpit na STFAP umanoangsolusyonupangmasukat ang katapatan ng mga mag-aaral. Pinuna rin ni Pascual ang mga estudyanteng nagpoprotesta laban sa bagong panuntunan ng STFAP, dahil karamihan sa kanila ay hindi naman umano apektado ng bagong palisiya. Sinasalamin ng ganitong pananaw ang pailalim at tusong taktika ng administrasyon na kawangis nang naganap sa Tuition and other Fee Increases (TFI) noong 2006. Hindi pa man pumapasok sa UP, hinubaran na sila ng karapatang makonsulta at magsalita para sa kanilang edukasyon. Ngunit habang umiiral ang palitan ng mga argumento, mahalagang mapatampok at matukoy ang tunay na suliranin, at mula rito’y mahalaw ang mas pangmatagalang mga solusyon. Taktikal at lehitimo ang panawagang pagbasura sa paghingi ng Bracket B certification. Kung maipatutupad ito, mababalik sa P1,000 kada yunit ang base tuition ng mga mag-aaral. Gayunman, marapat kilalanin ng mga mag-aaral na hindi nito mapupunan ang mga butas ng STFAP bilang palisiya. Isang aspekto lamang ng STFAP ang Bracket B certification, at hindi
Punong Patnugot Kapatnugot Panauhing Patnugot
Patnugot sa Balita Patnugot sa Lathalain Patnugot sa Grapix
Mga Kawani
Pinansya Tagapamahala ng Sirkulasyon Sirkulasyon
Mga Katuwang na Kawani
Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman, Lungsod Quezon Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522 Email kule1213@gmail.com Website philippinecollegian.org Kasapi Solidaridad: UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations, College Editors Guild of the Philippines Ukol sa Pabalat Dibuho ni Marianne Rios
limitado sa mapanlinlang na pagtaas ng matrikula ang usapin hinggil sa sistemang ito. Sa simpleng pagtunton sa kasaysayan ng STFAP, mababatid na ang malalagim na implikasyon ng nasabing iskema. Isa na rito ang malaon nang pahayag na ang STFAP ay panakip-butas lamang para sa pagtaas ng matrikula sa unibersidad. Patunay dito ang dumaraming bilang ng mga estudyante na nangangailang magtungo sa Student Loan Office (SLO) upang ipangutang ang kanilang matrikula. Noong nakaraang semestre, dalawa sa bawat tatlong estudyante na nag-aplay sa STFAP ang nangutang din sa SLO. Kung susuriin din ang mga tala ng STFAP at SLO matapos ang dalawang beses na pagtaas ng matrikula sa nakaraang dalawang dekada, mababatid ang magkahawig na takbo ng datos — sa una’y biglang darami ang mga nag-aaplay sa STFAP at student loan, ngunit bigla rin itong babagsak kalaunan. Ipinapakita ng ganitong datos na sa una’y nabibigyang pag-asa ng STFAP ang
mga estudyante upang makapasok sa UP, ngunit sa kalauna’y nagiging sagka at unti-unti nitong nililimitahan ang pagpasok sa UP ng mga posibleng iskolar ng bayan na salat sa pinansyal na kapasidad. Sa kabila ng lahat, hindi umano magagawa ng administrasyong Pascual na ibasura hindi lamang ang Bracket B certification kundi maging ang buong iskema ng STFAP. “If we scrap the STFAP, students who presently enjoy free tuition will then have to pay. We don’t want to deny our students education,” aniya. Marupok ang ganitong argumento, lalo pa kung manggagaling tayo sa lunsarang hindi hiwalay ang STFAP sa usapin ng pagtaas ng matrikula, at sa mas malaki pang isyu ng inilalaang badyet ng edukasyon sa pamantasan. Ang paghimok sa administrasyon na ibasura ang STFAP ay kaakibat ng panawagang ibalik sa mas abot-kayang halaga ang matrikula ng UP. Malalaki’t mabibigat na panawagan ang mga ito, ngunit kung tunay na tatanganan ng UP ang kanyang
pampublikong katangian, hindi kailangang magdalawang-isip ng administrasyon upang tanggapin ang hamon. Marapat ding kilalanin ng administrasyon ng UP na ang pambansang unibersidad ang huwaran ng iba pang state universities and colleges sa Pilipinas, maging sa paglikha ng mga palisiya at paraan ng pamumuno. Kung patuloy na magiging konserbatibo ang UP, kung patuloy nitong tutugunan ang kakulangan ng badyet sa pamamagitan ng pagsingil ng halaga ng kakulangan sa mga mag-aaral, hindi malabong mangyaring susunod na rin ang iba pang pamantasan sa landas na tinatahak ng UP. Sa darating na pulong ng BOR, nakasalalay sa magiging desisyon ng lupon ang kapakanan hindi lamang ng mga mag-aaral ng UP, kundi pati ng mahigit isang milyong mag-aaral sa iba pang pampublikong pamantasan. Sa araw na iyon, walang puwang upang maging kimi — sama-sama nating irehistro ang pinakamataas na panawagang tunay na magpapanatili sa pampublikong katangian ng edukasyon sa bansa.
Editor’s Note The battle for independence is far from over. As long as there reeks the stench of foreign influence, we would never be free. And as long as we are not truly free, we would never stop fighting for it. CHANGING OF THE GUARDS On the mere “changing of the guards” from Japanese conquerors to American colonizers
Mariano Ampil September 4 1946 As the Philippine Collegian celebrates its 90th year, we revisit lines from prized editorials that defined the publication’s tradition of critical and fearless journalism.
Manual processing results to 2-month delay in release of STFAP results Isabella Patricia Borlaza
ALREADY DELAYED BY ALMOST two months, the bracket assignments of 2,358 Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) applicants in the UP system were finally released on September 15, barely a month left before the end of the first semester. Though UP President Alfredo Pascual declined to divulge details on the cause of the delay, he explained that the release of the STFAP results are usually delayed due to lengthy procedures in data-processing. The delay, however, resulted to a number of cases of students who were “purged” out of their classes or eventually took a leave-of-absence due to non-payment of matriculation fees this semester, according to reports received by the UP Diliman (UPD) University Student Council (USC). The STFAP is a bracketing system that categorizes students’ capacity to pay matriculation based on socio-economic indicators. Students’ STFAP brackets are renewable every year. Results are released in batches, usually a month after the deadline for submitting requirements to the Office of Scholarships and Student Services (OSSS). The STFAP, however, only covers tuition of undergraduate, law, and medicine students. Graduate and doctoral enrollees have different matriculation fees per subject as determined by their colleges, while second degree enrollees are automatically placed in Bracket A, where
students pay P1,500 per unit, according to OSSS. The current five alphabetic bracketing scheme was implemented in 2007, a year after base tuition increased by 300 percent, from P300 to P1,000. In 2010, the STFAP was again revised to separate the students who enjoy free matriculation into E1 and E2, where an additional semestral stipend of P12,000 is provided for the latter. In UP Diliman (UPD), less than 20 percent, or an average of only 3,000 of the 17,000 undergraduate students apply for STFAP, based on data from the OSSS and the University Registrar. The rest are in bracket A or are under scholarships, said OSSS officerin-charge Richard Gonzalo. Following the June 5 memorandum from the OSSS this year, students with student numbers 2011 and 2012 were initially placed in bracket A during enrolment, unless documents for bracket B certification, the default bracket with P1,000 per unit, are submitted. The current practice during enrolment is that students apply for loans while they wait for their bracket assignments. The over-assessed tuition is then deducted from the loans, Gonzalo explained. Meanwhile, the OSSS extended the deadline for the submission of appeals for re-bracketing until October. Around 170 appeals for re-bracketing are currently pending deliberation since the initial deadline for submission of appeals on September 15, according
BALITA Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
COLLOQUY. Representatives of different student and political organizations hold a dialogue with UP President Pascual at Quezon Hall on September 18. The students raised various concerns to Pascual, such as the abrogation of STFAP Bracket B Certification, comprehensive review of the STFAP Bracketing system, and the deferment of the imposition of the PE Fees.
to OSSS data. Even with the delay in the release of results, Gonzalo assured that the final bracket assignments for all STFAP applicants will still apply for the first semester and UP will reimburse any over-assessed tuition payments until the second semester.
Procedural reforms Though the aim of STFAP is to make UP education accessible, it does not accurately measure the actual financial capability of the student, because the implementation is flawed and even the socio-economic indicators are questionable, said UPD USC Chair
Tuition (B)racket Sumatotal
LAST SEMESTER, THE UP administration implemented the new Bracket B certification process in the university’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), a system which assigns tuition brackets to UP students based on family income and other socioeconomic indicators. Under the new Bracket B certification policy, students are automatically assigned to the STFAP’s Bracket A, which sets tuition at P1,500 per unit. To “certify” for Bracket B, STFAP applicants admitted to UP starting in 2011 are required to submit family Income Tax Returns and a vicinity map of their residence, among others, to prove that their annual family in-
come does not exceed P1 million. Meanwhile, students admitted from 2007 to 2010 are only required to submit a certification and a vicinity map of their family residence to confirm their Bracket B status. Though touted as the administration’s bid to “improve the implementation of the STFAP,” the Office of the Student Regent (OSR), the UP Diliman University Student Council, and several student groups in UP, have condemned the new policy as merely a scheme to effectively hike tuition in UP. The figures below show how this might just be the case: Tuition rate for students that have undergone the Bracket B certification process: P1,000 per unit Default tuition of UP Diliman (UPD) students who did not apply for STFAP after the implementation of Bracket B certification process: P1,500 per unit Estimated tuition per semester for a Bracket B student enrolled with 15 units, excluding other fees: P15,000
Gabriel ‘Heart’ Diño. In the September 7 meeting, the University Committee on Scholarships and Financial Assistance (UCSFA), which is composed of university officials, administrative staff and student leaders, decided to “overhaul the current STFAP system”, said Gonzalo. The committee is planning to hold a conference to review the reforms needed on the STFAP this October with past and present UP officials, administrators, and student leaders. One of the expected changes would be the use of the UP administration’s pet project “Electronic UP” o eUP,
Lavilyn Hysthea Malte Estimated tuition per semester for a Bracket A student enrolled with 15 units, excluding other fees: P22,500 National average total tuition per semester in private universities in 2012, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd): P9, 112.95
cording to an STFAP policy review by the OSR in July: 1,627 Number of STFAP beneficiaries who appealed for lower bracketing in 2011, according to the Office of Student Scholarships and Services (OSSS): 287, or 1 in every 10
Difference of estimated tuition per semester between Brackets A and B: P7,500 Number of months this amount can cover a freshman’s dormitory fees at Kalayaan Residence Hall: at least 3
Number of Bracket E1 and E2 students, according to OSSS data for the second semester of 2011: 390 Number of Bracket E1 and E2 students who did not enroll last semester, according to the Office of University Registrar (OUR): 52, or 13.3 percent
Number of Bracket A students in 2010: 29 Average class size of Kasaysayan 1 this semester: 25 Number of Bracket A students after the Bracket B certification policy was implemented in 2011: 900 Total student population of the College of Arts and Letters in 2011: 915 Number of applicants assigned to brackets which were higher than what they applied for, ac-
Average number of students who applied for tuition loans each semester, from 1991 to 2011, according to the OSSS: 1, 300 students per semester Number of students who applied for loans last semester: 2,300, or 1 in every 10 Number of students who applied for loans in 2010, before the Sundan sa pahina 4
which may reduce the requirements for STFAP application and hasten the processing time, said Pascual. Meanwhile, Student Regent Cleve Arguelles maintains that the STFAP must be scrapped as it is a “disguise for tuition hike” which “pushes students into the higher brackets.” In the Board of Regents’ (BOR) meeting on September 20, Arguelles will propose the abolition of the Bracket B certification as it was “undemocratically implemented because of lack of student consultation.” Following the government’s Roadmap for Public Higher Education Reform, a socialized tuition fee scheme is also set to be implemented in 10 state universities and colleges (SUCs) by 2014. “It would be an error to further institutionalize the STFAP with its present flaws in the policy and procedural levels and a disservice to the Philippine Educational System in general if the same flaws are replicated in other SUCs,” Arguelles said. Other than the STFAP, Arguelles will also lobby to postpone the implementation of PE laboratory fees in UPD next semester as “all fees must undergo a comprehensive and systematic student consultation”. The BOR first approved “in principle” the charging of laboratory fees reaching P500 for selected PE courses in May 2010, separate from the current P200 athletics fee, but its implementation was postponed for further study. Being the highest policy-making body, the BOR should implement policies that will ensure the people’s right to accessible and quality education, said Arguelles.
Groups slam military red-tagging in Cordillera schools Isabella Patricia Borlaza
VARIOUS GROUPS CONDEMNED recent school campaigns by the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP), which reportedly tagged national progressive groups as “communist fronts.” From July to August this year, members of the AFP held onehour symposiums in 64 public schools in Baguio City, which supposedly sought to “enhance the student’s consciousness about the lies, deception, and clandestine operations of the Commu-
nist Terrorist Movement,” according to a memorandum issued by the Baguio City Schools Division Superintendent on June 26. Reports and interviews with the grade six and high school students who participated in the said symposia reveal that the AFP said that progressive organizations are covert rebel organizations, according to Katribu Partylist President Beverly Longid. Katribu also reported similar counterinsurgency campaigns in
schools in Mindanao and Cebu. According to Katribu, the said activities are part of Oplan Bayanihan, the Aquino administration’s counterinsurgency program, which is directed towards quelling the longstanding communist and Muslim separatist rebellions in the country. “This is what the military does not understand – legal progressive organizations and rebel groups are very much different, both in leadership and style of
BALITA Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
NAG-AALAB, Bilang pagtutol sa Two-Tiered Wage System na maaaring magbigay ng mas mababa pang sahod sa minimum wage, nagsunog ang ilang sektor ng manggagawa ng tarpaulin na naglalaman ng mukha ng DOLE Secretary na si Rosalinda Baldoz sa harap ng South Wing Gate sa Batasang Pambansa sa Quezon City noong Setyembre 18. Pinanawagan ng grupo sa administrasyong Aquino na kanselahin ang nasabing iskema at isulong ang P125 across-the-board na dagdag-sahod sa buong bansa.
BULLDOGS DOOM MAROONS TO SINGLE WIN THIS SEASON, 65-60 Lavilyn Hysthea Malte
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (NU) Bulldogs sunk UP Fighting Maroons’ hopes of bagging a second and final win in the second round of Men’s Basketball games during the 75th season of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) on September 16 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena, 65-60. Three minutes into the first quarter, Maroons forward Mike Silungan kicked off the game with double consecutive two-point shots, giving the State U ballers an early lead. Bulldogs point guard Joshua Angelo Alolino, however, swiftly buried Silungan’s fourpoint deed, while Bulldogs center Spencer John Rosario went on a six-point shooting spree. Maroons captain Mark Lopez sunk a three-pointer at the last minute of the quarter but fell short of recovering the lead from NU, concluding the quarter with a single-point lead by the Bulldogs, 12-11.
The second quarter of the game saw UP surrendering to the Bulldogs’ aggressive 16-point power play. The Maroons’ first successful two-pointer in the quarter came from center Cris Ball two minutes into the game. The Maroons did not score until the last two minutes in the quarter, with Maroons center Alinko Mbah nailing a two-point shot, followed by three-pointers from Silungan and forward Alvin Padilla, ending the second half with NU still on the lead, 30-21. The second half began with Mbah delivering two consecutive baskets during the first minute of the third quarter. Resolved to keep the Maroons at the losing end, the Bulldogs then launched a strong campaign to end the quarter at 51-41, with point guard Bobby Ray Parks however led NU in a strong campaign to keep the Maroons at the losing end. NU kept on rebuffing every UP run in the fourth and final quar-
ter, with Bulldogs center Emmanuel Mbe and Parks delivering the shots, but the Maroons almost caught up within just three, 6063, with a minute left. With 51 seconds left in the game, Bulldogs point guard Joeffrey Javillonar and Alolino split their free throws to end the game, 65-60. The Maroons pushed a lot of teams to the edge this year but still finished last for the fifth time in the last six seasons with a tame 1-13 card. UP stands to lose eight star players out of their 15-man roster, namely Silungan, Lopez, Padilla, point guards Mike Gamboa and Jelo Montecastro, as well as reserves Diony Hipolito, Robby Wierzba and Julius Wong. “[We] fought hard. The records show how much we improved and, hopefully, next year, the juniors will finish the season with UP on the top four. UP is not a push-over school at all,” said Silungan.
work. Organizations including progressive partylists are legal by all means and should not be portrayed to students as communist fronts,” said Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino.
‘Child abuse’ Presenting legal progressive groups as “enemies of the state” instigate fear among the children and qualify as a form of harassment, according to the Children’s Rehabilitation Center, a non-government institution for family and child victims of state violence in the Philippines. On September 10, progressive groups and community leaders held a dialogue with the Department of Education (DepEd) to present cases which violated children and indigenous people’s rights, as stipulated in Republic Act 7610 or Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination. “Through these activities, the government involves teachers and children in its counterinsurgency operations. [We] remind AFP of its obligations under local and international laws to respect the people’s rights to life, safety, education, and self-organization, to name a few,” said Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Partylist Representative Antonio Tinio. DepEd has pledged stricter observation of RA 7610 and promised to ban the military from performing similar acts which may endanger the children’s safety and right to education, Tinio said.
Military surveillance in communities Meanwhile, during the September 10 dialogue, community leaders also aired out concerns on the effects of military pres-
ence in communities. Due to the scarcity of accessible schools, indigenous people and several non-government groups have set up their own literacy and numeracy schools, some of which are DepEd-accredited, in accordance to the government’s Alternative Learning System. According to Section 18, Article IX of RA 7610, DepEd can “accredit and support non-formal but functional indigenous educational programs conducted by non-government organizations in said communities.” The AFP, however, tagged the informal setup of the schools as “New People’s Army schools” and “anti-government.” In some instances, military harassment led to the disruption and eventual closure of some community schools, according to Katribu, “Our experience and the documentation of cases clearly show that there are no advantages for Oplan Bayanihan. It does not address the reasons for armed resistance [nor] provide solutions to massive discontent. In fact, it even brews further resistance and dissent among the people,” said Longid. As agreed upon in the September 10 dialogue, DepEd will recognize these schools as partners in non-formal education through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement, according to ACT. “We appeal this in hopes that education will be upheld, an education that helps in our liberation and in shaping the future of our communities based on our right to selfdetermination,” according to Save Our Schools, a coalition of concerned indigenous peoples’ groups.
Tuition (B)racket Mula pahina 3 implementation of the Bracket B certification process: 2,044 Number of students who applied for loans in 2011 after the implementation of the Bracket B certification process: 2, 300 Number of STFAP applicants last semester who also applied for student tuition loans, according to OSSS: 2, 325, or 2 in every 3 Total amount loaned by UPD students in 2010, according to OSSS: P23.9 million Total amount loaned by UPD students in 2011: P28.5 million Total estimated amount of tuition assessed for Bracket A students who appealed for lower bracketing: P20.25 million Amount of loans unpaid from 2007 to February this year: P29 million Number of Bracket A students
who applied for student loans: 73 or 2 percent Number of Bracket B students who applied for student loans: 1,082 or 31.63 percent Number of E1 and E2 students who were granted free tuition but who still applied for student loans: six or 1.5 percent Average annual increase in the number of students applying for tuition loan tuition hike since the tuition hike in 2007, according to OSSS data: 22 percent Total budget needed by the entire UP system for 2013: P18.4 billion UP budget for 2013, as approved by the Department of Budget and Management: P10.78 billion
Sources: OSSS, Office of Student Housing, CHEd, DBM, UP System Budget Office
Pinal na bersyon ng Student Manual nakatakdang matapos sa Oktubre INAASAHANG MAGLALABAS na ng pinal na bersyon ng Student Manual (SM) sa Oktubre ang Student Manual Committee (SMC), grupong binuo noong Hunyo upang pangasiwaan ang pagsasaayos ng mga rebisyon sa kasalukuyang umiiral na Code of Student Conduct (CSC). Kailangan umanong matapos ang pinal na burador ng SM sa huling linggo ng Oktubre upang makapagsagawa ng konsultasyon sa mga estudyante at maaprubahan ng Board of Regents ang SM bago matapos ang taon, ani UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) Chair Gabriel “Heart” Diño. Binubuo ang SMC nina Dr. Mila Laurel, pangulo at kinatawan ng University Council Committee on Student Organizations Activities and Welfare (UCSSSOAW), dating Student Regent (SR) Ma. Kristina Conti, kasalukuyang SR Cleve Robert Arguelles, Diño, at USC Councilor Aryanna Canacan. Bahagi rin sa nasabing komite
sina Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA) Ma. Corazon Tan at dating VCSA Elizabeth Enriquez at Prof. Rowena Morales, mga kinatawan ng Student Review Committee noong nakaraang taon.
Pag-amyenda sa CSC Unang ipinanukalang amyendahan ang CSC noong 2009, dahil may ilang karapatang pangmag-aaral ang hindi nabanggit sa nasabing CSC, ani Conti. Aniya, tinanggihan ng administrasyon ang nasabing panukala at muling bumuo ng bagong CSC sa pangunguna ni Enriquez noong 2010. Sapagkat wala pa rin umanong pagbabagong naiambag ang 2010 CSC, binuo ng OSR ang Student Review Committee sa parehong taon upang buuin ang Student Handbook on Rights and Responsibilities. Sa pangunguna ng UPD University Student Council at ng 21 lokal na konseho sa UPD, natapos ang SHRR noong Mayo 2011. Nakapaloob sa SHRR ang Declaration of Student Rights at ang
sariling bersyon ng mga estudyante ng CSC. Sa isang pulong noong Oktubre 2011, napagkasunduan ng SRC at administrasyon na buuin ang SM, na halaw sa 2010 CSC at SHRR. Matapos buuin ang pinal na bersyon ng SM, magsasagawa ng serye ng konsultasyon ang SMC upang hingin ang panig ng mga estudyante. “[Lahat] ng results ng consultations ay i-integrate natin sa bawat provision. [‘Yung] goal [namin] is to come up with a comprehensive student manual,” ani Diño.
hinggil sa pagsapi sa mga organisasyon, sorority at fraternity. “All organizations, sorority, fraternity, pwedeng magrecruit anytime, pero after a semester lang [pwedeng] mag-accept,” ani Arguelles. Layunin din ng SM ang pagpapataw ng mas mababang antas ng parusa sa mga kasong maaaring kaharapin ng mga estudyante, ani Arguelles. Halimbawa, ibinaba sa isang semestre ang suspensyon sa mga estudyanteng nahaharap
PANIMULA. Bilang protesta BALITA sa patuloy na Miyerkules pagtaas ng 19 Setyembre tuition at iba pang bayarin sa 2012 UP, nagsagawa ng candlelighting ceremony ang ilang grupo ng estudyante sa harapan ng Vinzons Hall noong Setyembre 18. Nagsilbing paunang protesta ang nasabing programa para sa isang mas malaking protesta sa Setyembre 20 kasabayan ng miting ng Board of Regents sa Quezon Hall.
Mga amyenda sa CSC Ilan sa mga natapos nang seksyon ng CSC ang panuntunan sa pagtanggap ng mga bagong miyembro ng mga organisasyon, sorority at fraternity. Lilinawin din sa SM ang mga panuntunan ukol sa mga kaso ng pandaraya at pagnanakaw, maging ang iba pang itinuturing na maling gawi ng mga estudyante. Nakapaloob din sa binubuong SM ang bagong mga panuntunan
UPD admin not keen on extending tenure of retiring profs AMID THE DECLINING NUMBER of faculty in the university, the UP Diliman (UPD) administration will only grant extension of appointment to faculty members who are obliged to retire at the age of 65 under “exceptional circumstances.” In two separate memoranda on January 25 and September 4, the UPD Office of the Chancellor (OC) reminded college administrations to observe the compulsory retirement for government employees who reach the age of 65. “The services of officials and employees who attain the compulsory retirement age are not extended unless absolutely necessary in the interest of public service,” read the January 25 memorandum. As of June, 30 faculty members of UP Diliman are expected to reach the compulsory retirement age by the end of 2012, while around 45 faculty members are also estimated to retire in the next two years, according to estimates from the university administration. Meanwhile, 39 faculty members are currently granted extension of their appointment beyond the retirement age.
“The extension of a regular faculty appointment beyond 65 is not encouraged by the university. All government employees are expected to retire from service when they reach the age of 65,” said UPD Chancellor Caesar Saloma.
‘Extension is a privilege’ As the university’s highest policy-making body, the Board of Regents (BOR) has the sole power to extend the tenure of faculty members upon the recommendation of academic units and endorsement of the UP President, as provided in Section 13 (l) of the 2008 UP Charter. However, the appointment of retiring faculty members beyond the compulsory retirement age is a “privilege” and therefore “granted only under exceptional circumstances,” according to the September 4 memorandum issued by the OC. The OC memorandum specified that requests to extend the appointment of a retiring faculty shall be endorsed to the UP President, only if the concerned faculty turns 65 years old in the middle of a semester and is currently assigned as the thesis adviser of a graduate student.
Retirement costs “UP is currently losing its faculty, some to retirement [and] others to greener pastures in private universities or abroad,” according to the UP Expanded Modernization Program (EMP), the universitys faculty development program. As of June last year, only 37 percent or 565 of the total 1,539 regular full-time faculty in UPD have doctoral degrees (PhD), according to the OC. Of the 565 doctoral degree holders, more than a third is aged over 55. For the first semester, however, only 15 percent of full-time faculty is enrolled in doctoral programs and 23 percent in master’s programs. On the other hand, only 73 students graduate in doctoral programs of the university on average every year. The “failure of [academic units] to develop qualified PhD faculty to carry out graduate programs” may restrict the university from offering programs that require “in-house faculty expertise,” according to the 2004 decision of the BOR on the guidelines of extending appointment. “The Chancellor’s memoranda are reminders to our academic
sa kaso ng paglalabas ng maling pahayag ukol sa pagkakatanggap sa unibersidad, pagiging rehistradong estudyante at pananatili sa UP. “Mas rehabilitative na lang ‘yung mga parusa sa mga students. [Halimbawa,] from expulsion to at least one week suspension... [Pangunahing] goal ng SM Committee na protektahan ang student rights at gawing rehabilitative ang lahat ng penalties,” ani Arguelles.
units and faculty to plan the development of younger faculty members to eventually replace retiring ones. This will ensure that our faculty roster remains dynamic,” said Prof. Judy Taguiwalo, former UP faculty regent and member of the All-UP Academic Employees Union. In the 2012 world ranking of universities by education research firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), UP slipped to the 348th place from 332nd last year. Indicators used in the QS survey include the number of citations per faculty and faculty-to-student (FS) ratio, which weigh 20 percent each. UP received a 2.3 percent rating in the CPF and 37.3 percent in the FS ratio. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which topped the QS world ranking, had a CPF rating of 99.3 and FS ratio of 99.9
Faculty development To address the decline in the number of the university’s faculty, several faculty development programs were instituted
under the EMP including the expansion of the Doctoral Studies Fund (DSF) and the recruitment of Filipino PhD faculty educated abroad. First established under UP President Francisco Nemenzo, the DSF provides qualified faculty members with free tuition, a monthly stipend, and book allowance, among others, for doctoral and postdoctoral studies in top Asian universities. Meanwhile, recruited Filipino doctoral fellows from abroad are given incentives including a P2.5 million research grant and a high academic rank, among others. “Retention of UP faculty is a function of both economic and non-economic factors. Faculty loss, I believe, will be reduced if UP expands the benefits extended to faculty and other personnel. Another very important element would be ensuring that the principles of democratic governance and transparency, as well as appointments based on merit, are observed,” said Taguiwalo.
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mga magsasaka. Pagdating ng 1978, sapat na ang produksyon ng palay para sa pangangailangan ng bansa. Mula 1973 hanggang 1979, pumalo sa 6 porsyento ang taunang GNP growth rate ng Pilipinas. Tumaas ng 5 porsyento taun-taon ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong may trabaho mula 1972 hanggang 1977. Upang maipagpatuloy ang paglakas ng ekonomiya, nangutang ang Pilipinas sa iba’t ibang lending institution. Unti-unting rumupok ang ekonomiyang Marcos na nakasandig sa pautang ng dayuhan, batbat ng korupsyon, at pinaiinog ng mga kaibigan o mga “crony” ng pangulo. Noong 1984, umabot sa 46.7 porsyento ang antas ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin—ang pinakamataas na naitalang inflation rate mula 1980 hanggang 2010, ayon sa International Monetary Fund. Mahigit 2.5 milyong Pilipino rin ang nawalan ng trabaho noong 1985, ayon sa IBON Foundation. Bilang solusyon sa malawakang kahirapan, itinulak ni Marcos ang mga Pilipino na mangibang-bayan.
Tumaas ang bilang ng OFW mula sa 36,029 noong 1975 tungong 372,784 noong 1985. Nagbigay din si Marcos ng mga insentibo sa mga dayuhang mamumuhunan, gaya ng pagbaba ng taripa para sa banyagang kalakalan. Sa halip na makabuti, naging dahilan pa ito upang lalong humina ang mga lokal na industriya sa bansa. Bagaman kilala sa kanilang pagiging matiisin, nakita ng mga Pilipino ang pangangailangang magbalikwas sa pamumuno ni Marcos. May “protest ban” man, matagumpay pa ring nailunsad ang welga ng mga manggagawa sa La Tondeña noong 1975. Libo-libong Pilipino rin ang dumagsa sa kahabaan ng EDSA noong People Power 1 noong Pebrero 1986 kung kailan tuluyang napatalsik sa pwesto si Marcos. “Nang nakita ko sa TV na nagtatawag sila na magrally sa EDSA, naglakad [na] kami papunta roon,” ani Mang Allan, isang security guard. Labing-anim na taon na ang lumipas, limang pangulo na ang nagdaan, ngunit hindi maikakailang
nananatili pa rin ang marami sa mga kondisyong nagpahirap sa mga Pilipino. Patuloy pa rin ang pangingibang bansa ng maraming Pilipino — umabot na sa 2.2 milyon ang OFW noong Setyembre 2011, ayon sa tala ng National Statistics Office. Walang pambansang industriya ang Pilipinas, at malaki pa rin ang utang panlabas ng bansa. Dulot nito, inaangkop pa rin ng pamahalaan ang mga kondisyon ng mga lending institution, tulad ng pagbaba ng badyet sa mga serbisyong panlipunan, ayon sa IBON Foundation. “Wala namang pagbabago kay Noynoy ngayon. Lahat [ng presyo ng mga bilihin], nagmamahal,” ani Aling Celia, 62, manininda ng banana cue. Higit tatlong dekada matapos mapatalsik ang rehimeng Marcos, laganap pa rin ang kahirapan sa bansa. Nananatili pa rin ang mga batayang suliranin ng lipunang malulunasan lamang sa patuloy na paglaban ng mamamayan.
WHEN FORMER FIR ST LADY ing in the violent eviction of urban Imelda Marcos famous flow of foreign capital ly foretold squatters and exces- inefficien in large numbers. In one that her name would cy of cash dole-outs in someday be instance, sive government spendi she ng. Wages resolving even had large paintlisted in the dictionar poverty in many couny to denote ed walls were frozen and labor un erected around commu ions were tries like Me “ostentatious extravaga ni- clamped down to xico. nce,” what ties in dep make the domesressed areas to concea she probably had in mi Even in its budget for l tic business environm nd was her poverty educaent attractive tion, the from the gaze of foreig vast and famed collectio government’s penchant n to foreign investors n of shoes, dignitaries . vis iting the country. jewelry, and couture gow for misguided spending Almost half a centur ns. Hers is nothStyling herself as pat y hence, ing less tha was the oft-quoted ma roness of though the n evident. While the xim which the arts, Ste el Bu tte rfly Ime ’s lda physi- administratio proclaims that the onl also went on to cal n does not hesitate y things facades of “beauty” and commission multimillio “order” to pour funds worthy of our aspira n- no longer domina into the implementions te the dol lan lar dare “the true, the good, complexes, such as sca tation of the K-12 policy and pe, the present govern , the Cultural Center of the beautiful.” more urgent priorities, ment’s own political and the Philippines and the Yet her idea of how such as the shortage economic agenda are Manila Film Center, at these must be realized of teachers and faneither less deceptive nor is a time when poverty apparent, not only in cilities, are banished her less extravagant. was widespread. From opulent displays of we to the margins of the alth, While gov ern me nt a pov but also, and perhaps erty level of 24 pergovernment’s bluefunding for basic soc more cent in 1974, the propor ial notably so, in the many - services fall below print of “progress.” vanity protio the n of lev peo els ple living below the jects she and her husban Yet history has demneeded for the operation d so enthu- poverty line s of pubin the cities alone had siastically pursued thr onstrated that the potenc oughout her risen to lic institutions, the y of government manufac 40 percent by 1986. family’s 21 years in pow tured realities, howeve simultaneously wastes er. These glitzy initiatives r mi llio ns Appointed as both Go of “tru e,” “good,” and “beautifu under- pesos on pro vernor of scored her l” gra the ms y wh ich see hus Metropolitan Manila and m to may appear, can band’s dire need foll never truly isoow Imelda’s skewed ide Minister to enforce a of what late the peo a semblance of order, of Human Settlement ple from their own constitutes public servic during the stability, and e. pro Martial Law years, Ime gress. While the harsh material condit lda spear- country reg In the proposed nation ions. And al budget as the nar istered positive nomiheaded the construction ratives of Martial Law for 2013 alone, the of several nal econom gov ern ic me “beautification campai growth rates durnt have shown, fals gns,” which ing Martia plans to further increa e facades and se funding oppressiv l Law, the boom did not translated into makeshift e structures can never for its Conditional Cas and sub- translate to h Transfer avail aga real, grassroots terms standard housing projec inst the people’s strugg program, despite both loc ts, result- and was le due mostly to an ove al and in- for truth and r- ternational studie social justice. s which prove the
MADALAS IPAGMALAKI NG MGA tagasuporta ni dating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos ang pag-unlad na kanya umanong naidulot sa kabuhayan ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino. Kung hindi raw napatalsik ang dating pangulo, ani Senador Bongbong Marcos, malamang kahanay na ang Pilipinas ng mauunlad na bansang gaya ng Singapore. Ngunit kung susuriing mabuti ang yugtong iyon ng kasaysayan, hindi maitatangging isa iyon sa mga panahong sukdulang naisadlak sa kahirapan ang mga mamamayan. Nang ipatupad ni Marcos ang Batas Militar noong Setyembre 21, 1972, hindi agarang naramdaman ni Juan dela Cruz ang pagkalugmok. “Mas mabenta noon, tsaka mas mura ang bilihin,” ani Aling Flora, isang tindera ng mani. Bilang bahagi ng pagtataguyod ni Marcos ng “Bagong Lipunan,” sinimulan niya ang mga proyektong pang-ekonomiya na nagdulot sa pagtaas ng Gross National Product (GNP) ng bansa. Kabilang sa mga proyektong ito ang Masagana 99, na naglayong maparami ang ani ng
Forty years after the declaration of martial law, the conditions that prompted journalists to break from the norm and establish the alternative press still prevails. Akin to the Martial Law era, journalism in the Philippines nowadays is still a deadly profession. “People who exercise their free speech are not only suppressed but also killed,” says Ilagan. Under President Benigno Aquino III’s term alone, six journalists and media practitioners have been killed. Also, major media companies are still owned by the individuals, including the Lopezes of ABS-CBN, who regained control of the media company under Corazon Aquino’s presidency. “The powerful still own the major media companies. Of course, they would further their own selfinterest. Even if it meant downplaying or exaggerating facts,” says Ocampo. As the mainstream media continue to present a lopsided view of society, there remains a need for the press to provide space for the marginalized sectors of society and be a primary driving force in instigating societal change.
are very significant. [They] express the demands of the students as well as those of the entire people for national independence, democracy, development, social justice and world peace,” paliwanag ni Sison. “Sinasabi ng mga kritiko na passé na daw ang aktibismo ngunit hindi nila nakikita na kailangang bumalik sa historikal na ugat nito – ang [tunggalian sa lipunan],” ani Ocampo. Para sa mga beteranong aktibista ng Batas Militar, kinakailangang magpatuloy ng kabataan sa paggiit ng kanilang karapatan, lalo na sa harap ng tumitinding krisis sa sektor ng edukasyon. “Ang maipapayo ko [sa mga iskolar ng bayan] ay to always persist in the struggle,” ani Taguiwalo. Hindi maikakailang malaki ang papel ng kabataan sa paghubog ng kasaysayan, lalo na sa paglaban at pagpapatalsik sa rehimeng Marcos. Baon ang mga aral ng aktibismo mula sa panahon ng Batas Militar, nararapat magpatuloy sa pagkilos ang kabataan at maging mapanuri sa mga umiiral na tunggalian sa lipunan.
ing priorities; that torture and other forms of state violence proliferated to gag critics. Some of the renowned dissidents of the period include the Mr. and Ms. Magazine, which published political news mixed along articles in their society page; the Philippine Collegian, which continued to publish guerilla-style after being shut down by the regime; and the We Forum, whose columnists included human rights lawyer Jose Diokno. However, the government was quick to pounce upon these pockets of dissent. Hordes of journalists were arrested and tortured without warrant, just for publishing materials critical of the regime. In 1982, We Forum’s typewriters and printing press were confiscated by authorities and its writers were detained for writing “subversive materials.” “I was a victim. During the suspension of We Forum, all of us went into hiding. I was caught and detained for more than two months and lived long afterwards,” recounts Ocampo. “Some, however, are not so lucky. Collegian Editorin-Chief Ditto Sarmiento died of asthma which was aggravated by his incarceration,” Ocampo adds.
Sa deklarasyon ng Batas Militar, nanahimik ang buong lansangan. Ngunit pinagdadampot ng militar ang maraming aktibista. “Dalawang beses akong nahuli… pinaupo ako sa yelo, at binuhusan ng tubig sa ilong bilang water cure,” ani Prof. Judy Taguiwalo, detenidong pulitikal noong Batas Militar. Hindi bababa sa halos 70,000 ang nabilanggo, 34,000 ang tinortyur at 3,240 ang pinatay noong Batas Militar, ayon sa grupong Amnesty International. Sa pagbagsak ng rehimeng Marcos, nakalaya ang ilan sa mga nakulong, samantalang marami ang hindi na kailanman natagpuan. Ang ilan ay nanumbalik sa normal na buhay, samantalang may ilan ding piniling ipagpatuloy ang pakikibaka sa kanayunan. Ayon kina Sison, Ocampo at Taguiwalo, kahit apat na dekada na ang nakalipas matapos ipataw ang Batas Militar, nananatili pa rin ang mga kondisyong nagpakilos sa sektor ng kabataan. “[Student movements]
image even if it meant conjuring illusions of progress. “In those days, the mainstream media were filled with either government propaganda or entertainment [to calm the masses],” says activist playwright Bonifacio Ilagan. While the crony press continued to weave government propaganda, a small portion of the press, composed of campus publications and newspapers with relatively smaller circulation, banded together and formed what will go down in history as the “mosquito press” – relatively smaller in reach, yet able to publish stinging articles against the regime. “We didn’t like this monopoly of information. Knowing that there was another unreported side to every story, we decided to tell our side of the story,” says then-columnist of anti-dictatorship newspaper Pahayagang Malaya Satur Ocampo. Despite the looming danger of imprisonment and torture, the mosquito press presented the grimes of the Martial Law period, reporting news that was absent in the mainstream media – that majority of Filipinos lived below the poverty line; that people were not happy of the curfews, agrarian policies, and the government’s spend-
ma ang 80 mga estudyante at guro ng UP, ang demokratikong organisasyong Kabataang Makabayan (KM) na nanawagan para sa malawakang pagbabagong panlipunan. Sa loob ng isang taon, halos 25,000 ang napakilos ng KM sa mga protesta laban sa mga kasunduang Laurel-Langley Agreement at US Military Bases Agreement. Muling nasubok ang lakas ng kilusang kabataan noong dekada ‘70s. Nang tumaas ng tatlong sentimos ang presyo ng langis, halos 50,000 estudyante ang nagprotesta sa unang tatlong buwan ng 1970, na kinilala bilang First Quarter Storm (FQS). Bunsod ng FQS, higit pang lumakas ang kilusang kabataan. “Naging frequent ang mga discussion groups [sa UP] tungkol sa problema ng Philippine society,” ani Satur Ocampo, isa sa mga lider-estudyante ng panahong iyon. Naging isa sa mga pangunahing dahilan ni Marcos ang papalakas na kilusang kabataan, kasama ang iba pang sektor ng lipunan, sa pagpapatupad ng Batas Militar.
NO OTHER PERIOD IN PHILIPPINE history reveals the polarized nature of media outfits more clearly than the Martial Law era. During this period, Filipinos witnessed the stark contrast between state-controlled media – which portrayed massive development and progress brought about by the Marcos dictatorship, and the grim picture painted by the underground alternative press. Immediately after declaring Martial Law, President Ferdinand Marcos swiftly moved to silence the opposition. His first letter of instruction under martial rule ordered for the sequestration of all radio, television and newspaper outlets. A month later, Marcos released Presidential Decree No. 33 which led to the imprisonment of people the regime tagged as “subversives,” including known media critics. Most media institutions fell into the hands of known Marcos cronies, including Gilberto Duavit and Roberto Benedicto, who together owned most local TV channels and the Philippine Daily Express, the only nationally-distributed newspaper during that time. The state-controlled media sought to build the dictatorship’s
BAGO PA MAN TUMUNTONG SA UP ang marami sa mga iskolar ng bayan, mahigpit na ang tagubilin ng kanilang mga magulang na huwag maging aktibista. Ngunit kung matamang babalikan ang kasaysayan ng aktibismo sa pamantasan, hindi maikakaila ang malaking papel na ginampanan nito sa paghubog ng UP at ng lipunan. Ilang taon pa lamang ang nakararaan matapos itatag ang UP, sumibol na ang progresibong kamalayan sa pamantasan. Mula 1917 hanggang dekada ‘50s, naging matalas na kritiko ang mga mag-aaral ng UP ng mga patakarang sumusupil sa soberanya ng bansa. Sa pagpasok ng dekada ‘60s, binuo ng dating propesor sa literatura na si Jose Maria Sison ang progresibong organisasyon na Student Cultural Association of the UP (SCAUP). Sinimulan ng SCAUP ang mga diskusyon sa mga cafeteria at silidaklatan ng UP hinggil sa kalagayan ng lipunang Pilipino. Kinalaunan, binuo ni Sison, kasa-
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Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
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Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
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mga magsasaka. Pagdating ng 1978, sapat na ang produksyon ng palay para sa pangangailangan ng bansa. Mula 1973 hanggang 1979, pumalo sa 6 porsyento ang taunang GNP growth rate ng Pilipinas. Tumaas ng 5 porsyento taun-taon ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong may trabaho mula 1972 hanggang 1977. Upang maipagpatuloy ang paglakas ng ekonomiya, nangutang ang Pilipinas sa iba’t ibang lending institution. Unti-unting rumupok ang ekonomiyang Marcos na nakasandig sa pautang ng dayuhan, batbat ng korupsyon, at pinaiinog ng mga kaibigan o mga “crony” ng pangulo. Noong 1984, umabot sa 46.7 porsyento ang antas ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin—ang pinakamataas na naitalang inflation rate mula 1980 hanggang 2010, ayon sa International Monetary Fund. Mahigit 2.5 milyong Pilipino rin ang nawalan ng trabaho noong 1985, ayon sa IBON Foundation. Bilang solusyon sa malawakang kahirapan, itinulak ni Marcos ang mga Pilipino na mangibang-bayan.
Tumaas ang bilang ng OFW mula sa 36,029 noong 1975 tungong 372,784 noong 1985. Nagbigay din si Marcos ng mga insentibo sa mga dayuhang mamumuhunan, gaya ng pagbaba ng taripa para sa banyagang kalakalan. Sa halip na makabuti, naging dahilan pa ito upang lalong humina ang mga lokal na industriya sa bansa. Bagaman kilala sa kanilang pagiging matiisin, nakita ng mga Pilipino ang pangangailangang magbalikwas sa pamumuno ni Marcos. May “protest ban” man, matagumpay pa ring nailunsad ang welga ng mga manggagawa sa La Tondeña noong 1975. Libo-libong Pilipino rin ang dumagsa sa kahabaan ng EDSA noong People Power 1 noong Pebrero 1986 kung kailan tuluyang napatalsik sa pwesto si Marcos. “Nang nakita ko sa TV na nagtatawag sila na magrally sa EDSA, naglakad [na] kami papunta roon,” ani Mang Allan, isang security guard. Labing-anim na taon na ang lumipas, limang pangulo na ang nagdaan, ngunit hindi maikakailang
nananatili pa rin ang marami sa mga kondisyong nagpahirap sa mga Pilipino. Patuloy pa rin ang pangingibang bansa ng maraming Pilipino — umabot na sa 2.2 milyon ang OFW noong Setyembre 2011, ayon sa tala ng National Statistics Office. Walang pambansang industriya ang Pilipinas, at malaki pa rin ang utang panlabas ng bansa. Dulot nito, inaangkop pa rin ng pamahalaan ang mga kondisyon ng mga lending institution, tulad ng pagbaba ng badyet sa mga serbisyong panlipunan, ayon sa IBON Foundation. “Wala namang pagbabago kay Noynoy ngayon. Lahat [ng presyo ng mga bilihin], nagmamahal,” ani Aling Celia, 62, manininda ng banana cue. Higit tatlong dekada matapos mapatalsik ang rehimeng Marcos, laganap pa rin ang kahirapan sa bansa. Nananatili pa rin ang mga batayang suliranin ng lipunang malulunasan lamang sa patuloy na paglaban ng mamamayan.
WHEN FORMER FIR ST LADY ing in the violent eviction of urban Imelda Marcos famous flow of foreign capital ly foretold squatters and exces- inefficien in large numbers. In one that her name would cy of cash dole-outs in someday be instance, sive government spendi she ng. Wages resolving even had large paintlisted in the dictionar poverty in many couny to denote ed walls were frozen and labor un erected around commu ions were tries like Me “ostentatious extravaga ni- clamped down to xico. nce,” what ties in dep make the domesressed areas to concea she probably had in mi Even in its budget for l tic business environm nd was her poverty educaent attractive tion, the from the gaze of foreig vast and famed collectio government’s penchant n to foreign investors n of shoes, dignitaries . vis iting the country. jewelry, and couture gow for misguided spending Almost half a centur ns. Hers is nothStyling herself as pat y hence, ing less tha was the oft-quoted ma roness of though the n evident. While the xim which the arts, Ste el Bu tte rfly Ime ’s lda physi- administratio proclaims that the onl also went on to cal n does not hesitate y things facades of “beauty” and commission multimillio “order” to pour funds worthy of our aspira n- no longer domina into the implementions te the dol lan lar dare “the true, the good, complexes, such as sca tation of the K-12 policy and pe, the present govern , the Cultural Center of the beautiful.” more urgent priorities, ment’s own political and the Philippines and the Yet her idea of how such as the shortage economic agenda are Manila Film Center, at these must be realized of teachers and faneither less deceptive nor is a time when poverty apparent, not only in cilities, are banished her less extravagant. was widespread. From opulent displays of we to the margins of the alth, While gov ern me nt a pov but also, and perhaps erty level of 24 pergovernment’s bluefunding for basic soc more cent in 1974, the propor ial notably so, in the many - services fall below print of “progress.” vanity protio the n of lev peo els ple living below the jects she and her husban Yet history has demneeded for the operation d so enthu- poverty line s of pubin the cities alone had siastically pursued thr onstrated that the potenc oughout her risen to lic institutions, the y of government manufac 40 percent by 1986. family’s 21 years in pow tured realities, howeve simultaneously wastes er. These glitzy initiatives r mi llio ns Appointed as both Go of “tru e,” “good,” and “beautifu under- pesos on pro vernor of scored her l” gra the ms y wh ich see hus Metropolitan Manila and m to may appear, can band’s dire need foll never truly isoow Imelda’s skewed ide Minister to enforce a of what late the peo a semblance of order, of Human Settlement ple from their own constitutes public servic during the stability, and e. pro Martial Law years, Ime gress. While the harsh material condit lda spear- country reg In the proposed nation ions. And al budget as the nar istered positive nomiheaded the construction ratives of Martial Law for 2013 alone, the of several nal econom gov ern ic me “beautification campai growth rates durnt have shown, fals gns,” which ing Martia plans to further increa e facades and se funding oppressiv l Law, the boom did not translated into makeshift e structures can never for its Conditional Cas and sub- translate to h Transfer avail aga real, grassroots terms standard housing projec inst the people’s strugg program, despite both loc ts, result- and was le due mostly to an ove al and in- for truth and r- ternational studie social justice. s which prove the
MADALAS IPAGMALAKI NG MGA tagasuporta ni dating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos ang pag-unlad na kanya umanong naidulot sa kabuhayan ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino. Kung hindi raw napatalsik ang dating pangulo, ani Senador Bongbong Marcos, malamang kahanay na ang Pilipinas ng mauunlad na bansang gaya ng Singapore. Ngunit kung susuriing mabuti ang yugtong iyon ng kasaysayan, hindi maitatangging isa iyon sa mga panahong sukdulang naisadlak sa kahirapan ang mga mamamayan. Nang ipatupad ni Marcos ang Batas Militar noong Setyembre 21, 1972, hindi agarang naramdaman ni Juan dela Cruz ang pagkalugmok. “Mas mabenta noon, tsaka mas mura ang bilihin,” ani Aling Flora, isang tindera ng mani. Bilang bahagi ng pagtataguyod ni Marcos ng “Bagong Lipunan,” sinimulan niya ang mga proyektong pang-ekonomiya na nagdulot sa pagtaas ng Gross National Product (GNP) ng bansa. Kabilang sa mga proyektong ito ang Masagana 99, na naglayong maparami ang ani ng
Forty years after the declaration of martial law, the conditions that prompted journalists to break from the norm and establish the alternative press still prevails. Akin to the Martial Law era, journalism in the Philippines nowadays is still a deadly profession. “People who exercise their free speech are not only suppressed but also killed,” says Ilagan. Under President Benigno Aquino III’s term alone, six journalists and media practitioners have been killed. Also, major media companies are still owned by the individuals, including the Lopezes of ABS-CBN, who regained control of the media company under Corazon Aquino’s presidency. “The powerful still own the major media companies. Of course, they would further their own selfinterest. Even if it meant downplaying or exaggerating facts,” says Ocampo. As the mainstream media continue to present a lopsided view of society, there remains a need for the press to provide space for the marginalized sectors of society and be a primary driving force in instigating societal change.
are very significant. [They] express the demands of the students as well as those of the entire people for national independence, democracy, development, social justice and world peace,” paliwanag ni Sison. “Sinasabi ng mga kritiko na passé na daw ang aktibismo ngunit hindi nila nakikita na kailangang bumalik sa historikal na ugat nito – ang [tunggalian sa lipunan],” ani Ocampo. Para sa mga beteranong aktibista ng Batas Militar, kinakailangang magpatuloy ng kabataan sa paggiit ng kanilang karapatan, lalo na sa harap ng tumitinding krisis sa sektor ng edukasyon. “Ang maipapayo ko [sa mga iskolar ng bayan] ay to always persist in the struggle,” ani Taguiwalo. Hindi maikakailang malaki ang papel ng kabataan sa paghubog ng kasaysayan, lalo na sa paglaban at pagpapatalsik sa rehimeng Marcos. Baon ang mga aral ng aktibismo mula sa panahon ng Batas Militar, nararapat magpatuloy sa pagkilos ang kabataan at maging mapanuri sa mga umiiral na tunggalian sa lipunan.
ing priorities; that torture and other forms of state violence proliferated to gag critics. Some of the renowned dissidents of the period include the Mr. and Ms. Magazine, which published political news mixed along articles in their society page; the Philippine Collegian, which continued to publish guerilla-style after being shut down by the regime; and the We Forum, whose columnists included human rights lawyer Jose Diokno. However, the government was quick to pounce upon these pockets of dissent. Hordes of journalists were arrested and tortured without warrant, just for publishing materials critical of the regime. In 1982, We Forum’s typewriters and printing press were confiscated by authorities and its writers were detained for writing “subversive materials.” “I was a victim. During the suspension of We Forum, all of us went into hiding. I was caught and detained for more than two months and lived long afterwards,” recounts Ocampo. “Some, however, are not so lucky. Collegian Editorin-Chief Ditto Sarmiento died of asthma which was aggravated by his incarceration,” Ocampo adds.
Sa deklarasyon ng Batas Militar, nanahimik ang buong lansangan. Ngunit pinagdadampot ng militar ang maraming aktibista. “Dalawang beses akong nahuli… pinaupo ako sa yelo, at binuhusan ng tubig sa ilong bilang water cure,” ani Prof. Judy Taguiwalo, detenidong pulitikal noong Batas Militar. Hindi bababa sa halos 70,000 ang nabilanggo, 34,000 ang tinortyur at 3,240 ang pinatay noong Batas Militar, ayon sa grupong Amnesty International. Sa pagbagsak ng rehimeng Marcos, nakalaya ang ilan sa mga nakulong, samantalang marami ang hindi na kailanman natagpuan. Ang ilan ay nanumbalik sa normal na buhay, samantalang may ilan ding piniling ipagpatuloy ang pakikibaka sa kanayunan. Ayon kina Sison, Ocampo at Taguiwalo, kahit apat na dekada na ang nakalipas matapos ipataw ang Batas Militar, nananatili pa rin ang mga kondisyong nagpakilos sa sektor ng kabataan. “[Student movements]
image even if it meant conjuring illusions of progress. “In those days, the mainstream media were filled with either government propaganda or entertainment [to calm the masses],” says activist playwright Bonifacio Ilagan. While the crony press continued to weave government propaganda, a small portion of the press, composed of campus publications and newspapers with relatively smaller circulation, banded together and formed what will go down in history as the “mosquito press” – relatively smaller in reach, yet able to publish stinging articles against the regime. “We didn’t like this monopoly of information. Knowing that there was another unreported side to every story, we decided to tell our side of the story,” says then-columnist of anti-dictatorship newspaper Pahayagang Malaya Satur Ocampo. Despite the looming danger of imprisonment and torture, the mosquito press presented the grimes of the Martial Law period, reporting news that was absent in the mainstream media – that majority of Filipinos lived below the poverty line; that people were not happy of the curfews, agrarian policies, and the government’s spend-
ma ang 80 mga estudyante at guro ng UP, ang demokratikong organisasyong Kabataang Makabayan (KM) na nanawagan para sa malawakang pagbabagong panlipunan. Sa loob ng isang taon, halos 25,000 ang napakilos ng KM sa mga protesta laban sa mga kasunduang Laurel-Langley Agreement at US Military Bases Agreement. Muling nasubok ang lakas ng kilusang kabataan noong dekada ‘70s. Nang tumaas ng tatlong sentimos ang presyo ng langis, halos 50,000 estudyante ang nagprotesta sa unang tatlong buwan ng 1970, na kinilala bilang First Quarter Storm (FQS). Bunsod ng FQS, higit pang lumakas ang kilusang kabataan. “Naging frequent ang mga discussion groups [sa UP] tungkol sa problema ng Philippine society,” ani Satur Ocampo, isa sa mga lider-estudyante ng panahong iyon. Naging isa sa mga pangunahing dahilan ni Marcos ang papalakas na kilusang kabataan, kasama ang iba pang sektor ng lipunan, sa pagpapatupad ng Batas Militar.
NO OTHER PERIOD IN PHILIPPINE history reveals the polarized nature of media outfits more clearly than the Martial Law era. During this period, Filipinos witnessed the stark contrast between state-controlled media – which portrayed massive development and progress brought about by the Marcos dictatorship, and the grim picture painted by the underground alternative press. Immediately after declaring Martial Law, President Ferdinand Marcos swiftly moved to silence the opposition. His first letter of instruction under martial rule ordered for the sequestration of all radio, television and newspaper outlets. A month later, Marcos released Presidential Decree No. 33 which led to the imprisonment of people the regime tagged as “subversives,” including known media critics. Most media institutions fell into the hands of known Marcos cronies, including Gilberto Duavit and Roberto Benedicto, who together owned most local TV channels and the Philippine Daily Express, the only nationally-distributed newspaper during that time. The state-controlled media sought to build the dictatorship’s
BAGO PA MAN TUMUNTONG SA UP ang marami sa mga iskolar ng bayan, mahigpit na ang tagubilin ng kanilang mga magulang na huwag maging aktibista. Ngunit kung matamang babalikan ang kasaysayan ng aktibismo sa pamantasan, hindi maikakaila ang malaking papel na ginampanan nito sa paghubog ng UP at ng lipunan. Ilang taon pa lamang ang nakararaan matapos itatag ang UP, sumibol na ang progresibong kamalayan sa pamantasan. Mula 1917 hanggang dekada ‘50s, naging matalas na kritiko ang mga mag-aaral ng UP ng mga patakarang sumusupil sa soberanya ng bansa. Sa pagpasok ng dekada ‘60s, binuo ng dating propesor sa literatura na si Jose Maria Sison ang progresibong organisasyon na Student Cultural Association of the UP (SCAUP). Sinimulan ng SCAUP ang mga diskusyon sa mga cafeteria at silidaklatan ng UP hinggil sa kalagayan ng lipunang Pilipino. Kinalaunan, binuo ni Sison, kasa-
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Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
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Re-imagining departures and arrivals Niles Jordan Breis
KULTURA Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
CONSIDER THIS AS A SPOILER but so be it: Luna Sicat’s Mga Prodigal (Anvil, 2010) is not your usual piece on the plight of OFWs. It is partly a fallacy also to delimit it is as a mere addition to Philippine Literature’s long tradition of social realism. Well, she has been known for works both passionate and profound even prior to the novel at hand. There is no room for mediocrity for her as opposed to, say, some contemporaries who seem to have no choice but to accept this maxim: one cannot give what one does not have. Sicat, on the contrary, has a lot to offer—as a writer who is in control of her own modes of seeing. Which brings us exactly to what the Mga Prodigal seeks to achieve, primarily in terms of craftsmanship. Here, she is at her element, wielding her power to the hilt. And, unwittingly, redefining her sense of territoriality: the
book itself can separate the chaff from the grain; the less talented fictionists might end up as plain campus writers. Adults but, still, campus writers. Such big words, one might think yet the novel can speak for itself through some of its intrinsic merits, notably, the para-omnipresent point-of-view, ever-shifting narrative, flexible diction, and the seemingly dry tonalities—all within the deliberate technique to reveal the neartragic motif, with much ease. Sicat’s use of history as the pervading continuity tool is a given—the most obvious thing in her book. What makes it a cut above the rest is this: history being treated as the confluence of public events and private lives, and all things in between such as the idioms of violence, the dialects of tenderness. Significantly, it explores the notion of prodigus in full circle as she re-imagines
departures and arrivals. Or arrivals and departures and at the core of OFWs-related domestic dilemmas and within the temporal bounds of a nation and its history, politics, and culture. Sicat’s understanding of the prodigus is beyond the domain of time as wasted entity. In chapter 29 of the novel, a sublimely written scene provides the link between real struggles: the guerilla movement and the national democratic stance. Here, the prodigus assumes the infinity of fire as time eternal. The author appears to admit that one of her tasks as a writer is “to remember” though some readers may not agree with the book’s political undertones. Simply put, Mga Prodigal is a highly nuanced work, replete with dazzling details and folk/urban symbolisms or correlatives. And it is unapologetic for being so. Pardon the comparison but Sicat’s recent work is arguably on
What makes it a cut above the rest is this: history being treated as the confluence of public events and private lives, and all things in between such as the idioms of violence, the dialects of tenderness.
a par with Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss, 2006 Man Booker Prize winner. Both novels streak through a reader’s ken by way of almost similar thematic configurations. The glaring fact: the political may be viewed as personal and vice-versa. One downside perhaps of Mga Prodigal is the author’s self-conscious effort for layered meanings. This is too pronounced but negligible, if only because such scheme works for the novel. It even heightens, relatively, the subtler disclosures of her places, characters, and yes, interior voices: from Dubai and back and the circle that follows suit, through leave-takings and homecoming(s) and all the “deserts” that are central to the story. It is hard, indeed, to ignore Mga Prodigal, a strikingly brave and brilliant novel by, simply, one of the best writers working in Filipino today.
ASPIRING WRITERS FLOCK YEARLY FOR THE CARLOS PALANCA MEMORIAL AWARDS FOR LITERATURE WITH THE MINDSET THAT THE PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WOULD SKYROCKET THEM TO HEIGHTS OF BEING A “FILIPINO WRITER.”
ARCELLANA. JOAQUIN. BRILLANTES. ALFON. HERNANDEZ. Sometimes, a catalogue of proper names can speak volumes. These names were of a handful of celebrated writers whose literary careers were baptized by the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. Having been known to consecutively discover new literary voices in generations of Filipino writers, the Palanca has become a rite of passage—an initiation—for every aspiring writer who struggle for his own seat in the “legitimate” literary circle. Last September 1, another roster of fresh writers has been initiated into this exclusive crowd.
First draft The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature began in 1950 as commemoration for businessman-philanthropist Don Carlos Palanca Sr.’s contribution to education. Since then, the Palanca awards have discovered literary giants such as Francisco Arcellana, Edith L. Tiempo, N.V.M. Gonzales, Nick Joaquin, Gilda Cordero Fernando, Gregorio Brillantes, Amado V. Hernandez, and Jose Dalisay, Jr. At the end of World War II, the competition opened and accepted manuscripts in the Short Story Category in both English and Filipino. Although the Philippines was already independent by decree, it was still culturally dependent to its previous colonizer as seen through the use of English in educational and governmental functions. The Palanca Awards during this period played a big role in the development of Philippine literature in English. For global competence, university students were made proficient in English which at that time was considered the language of the educated. Despite this, the Palanca opened a Filipino category alongside the English category in an attempt to preserve Philippine literature in Filipino. As time passed, new categories such as novel, poetry, and screenplay were opened. Today, the Palanca accepts manuscripts written in
Filipino, English, and regional languages. Every year, the constant number of people participating in the competition is proof of the competition’s success in developing Philippine literature. “The Palancas were the only game in town. In other words, there was nothing to publish for. The only thing that kept us writing was the Palanca. Nung panahon ng Batas Militar, ‘yan ang bumuhay sa panitikan natin,” Jose Dalisay, Jr. says. The Palanca awards have served as the Spartan training ground for famous Filipino writers. As such, many aspiring writers believe that winning a Palanca automatically lends them a literary pedigree and legitimizes their stand as writers. After all, the Palanca awards have invariably become a tool to canonize both literary works and its authors.
Revisions The existence of the Palanca Awards has heightened the ongoing clash between two predominant kinds of Philippine literature: the canonical versus the popular. While the Palanca has unveiled its latest batch of winners this month, popular authors such as Bob Ong or comic artist Manix Abrera have little chances of getting into this esteemed literary circle. Despite outselling many canon writers, these popular authors do not fulfill the requirements of the Palanca Awards with a rigorously defined standard in literary technicalities. “All art is elitist,” explains Dalisay. “Yes, even if it’s meant for popular audiences, a work is still produced by a specialist in that art.” Upon winning a Palanca, it hardly matters whether one receives the first, second, or third prize. Whatever place a writer wins, he is still considered a Palanca awardee. The competition serves as a brand, a seal of approval. The Palanca stamp on a book cover acts as a guarantee of the content’s quality. Any other literary work that has yet to win a Palanca is assumed to be substandard. If the reader feels unimpressed by the book, he not only questions the quality of its contents but casts doubt on the Palanca awards’ established literary history. “I think contests are always significant, if only because these force people to write, to aim for a complete product,” says writer Katrina Stuart Santiago. “Is the
Palanca in particular significant to a career in writing? I don’t think so. Take it at face value, as a task before you, and you should be okay. Imagine it to be a feather in your cap, or proof positive of your capability, then you’re in for a real heartbreak when you lose.” Moreover, most of Palanca’s winning pieces focus on social and historical contexts that reflect the landscape of Philippine history and culture. Some works have been adapted to film such as Jerry Gracio’s treatment of Lualhati Bautista’s Palanca-wining novels Dekada ’70 and Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa, both of which tackle gender and social roles during the Martial Law. Other Palanca-winning novels contextualizing Philippine history that have been published include Miguel Syjuco’s Ilustrado, and Vince Groyon’s Sky Over Dimas. Still, not all the winning entries of the Palancas are read, staged, or studied. Since Palanca is an institution that develops a specialized form of Philippine literature, having its literary pieces read only by a certain few is a sign that this kind of literature is limited only among the literati and university classrooms. The Palanca only gives writers the recognition. Massive publication and production requires a separate funding outside Palanca.
For publication Most of the winning authors and judges in the Palanca are Manilabased and university-educated, sharing the same sensibilities. Even with the existence of the regional languages category, Manila-centric ideas in the Palanca still prevail on the selection of winners. Although canon-formation is inevitable in a society with existing institutions of education, media, and power, the people must not succumb to the assumption that the Palanca is the only premier rite of passage for a literary work to be considered substantial. If society does surrender to this idea, it severely limits the scope of Philippine literature to the Palancas alone, disregarding good works published in independent literary zines and underground publications without the Palanca brand. “What I would like the young writers to understand is that the Palancas are not the end-all and be-all of writing,” says Dalisay. “What we have to think of is what to do after. Are you going to continue writing even if there are no prizes?” Limiting Philippine literature by the faulty mindset of canonizing it through the Palanca alone is unsound. Philippine literature must reflect the social-cultural milieu of the country as a whole—flaws and perfections, secrets hushed by its cruel realities, and the history of its people.
KULTURA Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
a r r e y t i L ironies
LAKAS TAMA
ONLINE LIBEL MAY MGA KUMAKALAT NA BALITA na ang misis ni kuwan ay madaling makuha, na ang kaligtasa’y madaling makuha, pagsasaad ng sikat na bandang Eraserheads sa isa nilang kanta. Kung sasabihin kong totoo ang mga nababalita tungkol sa asawa ni kuwan, tiyak na sa korte ang kahahantungan ko—sasampahan ng kasong libel at kalauna’y hahatulan ng pagkakakulong sa loob ng hindi bababa sa anim na buwan at isang araw hanggang sa apat na taon at dalawang buwan. Sa ilalim ng Article 353 ng Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, maituturing na libel ang anumang paratang, totoo man o hindi, na maarring makasira sa reputasyon ng taong pinapatungOPINYON Miyerkules 19 Setyembre 2012
Libel ang mga naghuhumiyaw na mga mamamayan sa Internet bunsod ng hindi ramdam na pag-unlad ng bansa
kulan nito. Kung gayon, maituring lamang na libellous ang isang paratang sa oras na maisapubliko ito sa pamamagitan ng pagkakalathala sa pahayagan at iba pang pamamaraan.
Samantala, sa bagong-lagdang batas na Republic Act No. 10175 o ang Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, maaari na ring tukuying libellous ang mga nakikiusong status sa Facebook o tweet sa Twitter, at ang mga nakakainsulto ngunit nakakatawang komento sa picture ng misis ni kuwan. Dahil hindi lamang sa pahina ng Kule nailimbag ang artikulong ito kundi maging sa opisyal na website rin ng pahayagan, kakailanganin ko muling managot sa ilalim ng Cybercrime Law para sa parehong kaso ng libel. Kalabisan ang sabihing mahaharap ako sa dalawang kaso ng libel para sa iisang artikulo, na nailathala lamang sa magkaibang midyum. Gayunpaman, sapat lamang ang kalabisang ito upang maisalarawan kung paanong tinatapaktapakan ng pamahalaan ang karapatan ng kanyang nasasakupan. Sa isang bansang binansagang demokratiko, nananatiling criminal offense ang libel at nagagamit na panakot sa mga kritiko ng pamahalaan. Sa ilalim ng nakaraang administrasyon, halimbawa na lamang, higit sa isang daang kaso ng libel ang naisampa ng mga Arroyo sa mga mamamahayag. Wala mang nahatulan sa mga mamamahayag, hindi maikakailang may takot na nabuo ang mga isinampang kaso ng libel sa
mga mamamahayag. Sa bagong batas na nilagdaan ng Pangulong Benigno Aquino III noong Setyembre 11, lalo pang ipinakita ng pamahalaan ang kawalang pagpapahalaga nito sa boses ng mga mamamayan. Libel nang maituturing ang mga naghuhumiyaw na mga ordinaryong mamamayan sa Internet bunsod ng hindi ramdam na pag-unlad sa kalagayang pangekonomiko ng bansa. Malinaw rin sa iba pang probisyon ng batas sa cybercrime —ang kapangyarihan ng pamahalaan na ipasara ang mga websites sa ilang dahilan at subaybayan ang galaw ng mga mamamayan sa mundo ng Internet—ang kagustuhan ng kasalukuyang administrasyong limitahan ang kalayaan at karapatan ng taumbayang isulong ang kanilang pag-unlad. Priniprisenta ng pamahalaan ang batas sa cybercrime bilang tugon sa mga abusong nararanasan ng mga mamamayan sa birtwal na mundo. Ngunit bago maniwala, mag-iisip isip ka muna, marming namamatay sa maling akala, ayon nga sa Eraserheads.
ON DOCUMENTARIES AND SWEET MISERY THERE IS A SCENE IN JEAN PIERRE Jenuet’s Amelie in which Audrey Tautou is sitting on her red bed, in front of her green television, watching what appears to be an imaginary documentary about her own sad, untimely death. She weeps copiously as the “documentary” showed footages of crowds attending the funeral procession—a poignant tribute to the noble causes she has supported in life: feeding the poor, tending the sick, etc. We know of course that Amelie is merely depressed, and this is her way of “letting it all out.” A few frames earlier in the film, she is grating cheese for her dinner pasta when she stops suddenly, looks out the window, sees her recluse neighbour having the same exact meal she’s preparing, and decides her fate is sealed. Why is drowning in misery so cathartic, so strangely liberating —that momentary tightening of the chest as you imagine a quiet but successful suicide, that splitsecond when your head is clear and you realize and accept that you are merely a single speck in the space-time continuum? It’s a situation which I’m not entirely unfamiliar with. Just the other night, I lay in bed admiring my bedroom ceiling, dead tired
after having a rough day of making myself busy with tedious chores just so I could avoid checking my phone every few minutes for a missed call or an unread text message. I wanted so much then to see right away if there were any more furniture undersides left for me to dust, dim light bulbs to replace, or dining table stains to scrub. But the pull of the alternative is simply irresistible. I logged in to this database in my head and browsed through my collection of documentaries ingeniously labelled as “self-pity.”
Why is drowning in misery so cathartic, so strangely liberating?
While my own “documentaries” are nothing like Amelie and thus do not involve funeral parades or soup kitchens, I have a respectable assortment of miserable self-images, which I have diligently edited throughout
the years. Of course, they inevitably became simply a set of disparate “short films”—of the kind which appears so dumb that it ultimately becomes terribly profound. To match the advanced level of despair I had at the time, I picked two of these “short films” and “played” them in my head. The first one is set in a rather expensive restaurant—the waiters are dressed in tailored suits and the crystal and silverware looked real. Nothing really happens, except I am closely watching two people seated at the other table. The other is set in a hospital room and features a version of me lying on the bed, afflicted with a rare skin disease caused by some unknown strain of virus. And then my phone beeped and I scrambled for the wretched thing in the dark. When I finally discovered it beneath one of the pillows, I found out that it was just an automated alert, reminding me I have enough reward points to subscribe to some unlimited texting promos. I threw the phone away and went to sleep. In the morning, as I woke up, I decided to become a good person with nice thoughts—at least until today when I remembered that I had to write a column. Misery and Amelie—why not indeed?
When you see my face, hope it gives you hell* MAY TATLONG KUTONGLUPA sa buhay ko ngayon. At dahil “kahit ano” naman daw ang pwede kong isulat sa kolum na ito, isusuka ko na lang dito ang lahat ng sama ng loob ko. Ikaw, L*. Noong una, pinag-iisipan ko pa kung saan nag-U turn ang samahan natin, kung anong road bump ang pumigil sa ‘yo para manatili tayong magkaibigan. Dahil ba hindi na tayo madalas magkita? Dahil ba hindi ko pa binabalik ang Cambio CD mo? Hindi e. Isang dahilan lang ang naiisip ko, at kahit iyon, ayaw kong paniwalaan na magiging ugat ng samaan ng loob natin. Ikaw na mismo ang nagsabi dati na masyado akong “expectera.” Sabi mo, masyadong mataas ang inaasahan ko sa lahat ng bagay. Kaya ako nagrarali dahil demanding ako sa gobyerno. Kaya kaunti lang ang kaibigan ko dahil masyadong mataas ang pamantayan ko sa mga tao. At sa lagay natin ngayon, mukhang totoo ngang “expectera” ako. Hindi ko inasahang magiging masyado kang mababaw, hindi ko mauuwi ka sa pagtataray at hindi mo ako kakayaning harapin nang diretsahan. Kaya ngayon, hindi na ako nakikinig sa Cambio— sayang lang sa brainspace kung pagninilayan ko ang naupos na samahan natin. Pero kapag nagkita ulit tayo, hindi kita iiwasan. Mamatay ka sa inis, bahala ka, wala na akong pakialam. Pero sa ‘yo, T*, may pakialam ako. May pakaialam ako kasi kung legal lang ang pumatay, hindi ako magdadalawang-isip na sugurin ka ng sundang. Minsan nga, hinihiling ko na sana totoo ang Hunger Games. Sa oras na matawag ang pangalan mo, anak ng kurikong, magvo-volunteer agad ako. Noon pa man, hindi mo na maunawaan ang ibig sabihin ng salitang “ex.” Ekis ang simbolo ng mga bawal kasi off-limits ang mga iyon. Kaya “ex” ang sinesenyas ng braso ni April Boy, kasi hindi niya kayang tanggapin ang ewan ko, hindi ko alam. Kung may common sense ka lang, alam mong ang “ex,” nilalayuan at hindi nilalapitan. Iniisip ko, kung utak at hindi bayag ang gumagana sa ‘yo dati, ididildil mo ba ang sarili mo sa “ex” mo kahit nasa tabi mo lang ako? Mas pipiliin mo pa rin ba ang busangot na bruhang iyon? Pero napagtanto ko, ang tunay na tanong pala dapat ay, “Anak ng alipunga, ba’t nga ba kita pinatulan?” Kaya tatantanan mo na ako dahil wala akong panahon sa ‘yo. Sa susunod na lumapit ka sa ‘kin, ipakukulong na talaga kita at hindi ako nagbibiro. At bilang panghuli, gusto ko lang magbigay ng mensahe para sa nagnakaw ng iPod ko. Klepto ka pala, hindi ko alam. Alam kong hindi ka naghihirap. Kung pinansya ang dahilan, sana binenta mo na ang iPod Classic ko at hindi mo pinangangalandakan bilang bago. Akala mo siguro hindi ko makilala iyan kapag binalutan mo ng pink na case. Kung hindi ka naman isa’t kalahating tanga, tatlong taon ko rin ‘yang inaalagaan at inaruga kaya kahit nakapikit, kaya ko ‘yang kilalanin. ‘Wag kang mag-alala, hindi ko na sasabihin sa mundo kung sino ka. Sana lang manlumo ang kalamnan mo sa tuwing makikita mo ako, kasi para mo na ring ninakaw ang bahagi ng katawan ko nang napagdiskitahan mo ang iPod ko. Hindi na ako hihingi ng paumanhin kung nasayang ko ang oras ninyo sa pagbabasa ng kolum na ito. Walang basagan ng trip—may dahilan kung bakit “Lakas Tama” ang pangalan ng kolum ko. *pasintabi sa All-American Rejects
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Kung ikaw si Noynoy, anong bagong posisyon sa gobyerno ang ibibigay mo kay Rico Puno?
Kung ako si Noynoy, aking ibibigay na bagong posisyon kay Rico Puno ay ang bonggang bonggang Investigator General. Hahaha. BS Computer Science i think noynoy may put rico puno in the denr if he wants to be corny. but apparently, i think he mustn’t put puno in any position at the time being. besides, more filipinos could fit a slot in the cabinet. 2012-21271 Al-Rap BA Hist bakit pa bibigyan ni Noynoy is Puno ng bagong posisyon kung napalitan na sya sa dating pwedto nya at walang bagong posisyon na malalagyan. Puno na ang gobyerno. 201224585
Ano ang theme song ng acads mo ngayong sem?
Ang theme song ng acads ko? ROLLING IN THE DEEP! WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAAAAAAALL. ROLLING IN THE DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIP. YOU HAD MY HEART INSIIIIIIIIDE OF YOUR *cough cough 2012-32845 baabaablacksheep “Sige Lang” by Quest 09-08xxx Ja BS FT One Thing by One Direction. Masaya mangulekta ng uno, 1st time mag-US if ever! Gora sa pagachieve ng ‘one’ thing! Makaranas lang before magbabye bilang UP student. Chos! [>;~ 08-30718 Bagsakan! 1210828 BS Geollibee If Tomorrow Never Comes. Haha. Grabe lang, first year ko pa lang yata makaka-3.00 na agad ako?! Huwaaaggg. 2012-22489 Ang theme song ng acads ko ay ‘bakit ngayon ka lang’,alam mo yung 4th year ka na tapos marerealize mong sana yung minor mo ay yun na lang ang major mo dahil mas fit pala yun sa’yo. Astig backpage,dahil kay delfin mercado,maraming pipirma!galing! -093.6.5 Go for Gold by Kyle Patrick!!! Swak na swak para sa mga down sa course at magshi-shift! Yeah :) 2012-***** Hmm. Part ng Sparks Fly by
Taylor Swift. Yung “Drop everything now!” Hahaha. 2011-12877 “Don’t give up on us Beybe. Ü” Congrats, Engr. Gerome Hipolito. Top 5 2012 GE Board exam. Ü 200903382 Shobe BS GE “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. 46151 gegege UPM-BASS Hindi kita malilimutan.lahat ng subject ko nanganganib e.di ko malilimutan yun.ampu.201078910 Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day ~ 2010-10445 Mart BS Underwater Potato Planting I won’t give up on us! :))))) 11596** Keep Holding on ung kay avril. i’m still holding on to my faith na sana mataas ang mga grades! 201278067 smpf Dlawa lng yan. HIGHWAY TO HELL o SHOOT TO THRILL ng ACDC. Tpos ssyawan ko ung mgulang ko ng lintik n gangnam style n yan. 2012-30386 AKO pa! Theme song ng acads ko ay Iris cause I bleed just to know Im alive, lol 201054277 Gangnam Style by Psy featuring Kim Hyun-A 2012-21271 AL-Rap BA Hist I Won’t Give Up. Di ako maggigive-up sa aking laude dream! Kaya yan mga iskolar ng bayan! Puso at tiwala lang :) 2000-11268 Annie Mae yung theme song ng acads ko ay We Found Love! Ang hopeless pero there’s still love love love! Hahaha 20104**** The Lazy Song ni Bruno Mars kasi pag walang pasok (weekends, class suspensions, holidays, etc.), halos wala talaga akong ginagawa. Tinatamad akong mag-aral at magbasa ng readings. 2011-60196 JACP B SE (Physics) I won’t give up on us ang themesong ng acads ko this sem. Haha! 12-29865 Lursh BS Chem Dito Ba/Dito ba, dito ba, dito ba, o dito ba/Ang dapat kong kalagyan/ Na isang sulok kong hiram/Sa ilalim ng araw. Ohhhh. Para sa akin ba talaga ang course (ba commres) ko? DITO BA ANG DAPAT KONG KALAGYAN?
Op, op, oppa gangnam style xDD hayy.. V.V -12**1** Chasing Pavements! Nyahahahaha. Delinquency galore ang trip! **-35822 Mykel Carrot Cruz rolling in the deep~ pero hindi naman lahat :) 12780**
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Hey mejo off the belt ang hrit nyo dun sa tan0ng kai seren0.yes bip0lar xa.and she functi0ns well. ako bip0lar dn and hav a gud lyf. . .nxt tym pumren0 naman kayo. . .okai parang stgma ang dating ng questi0n. Excuse me, may pagkakamali po yata sa kule textback.. Yung SN 201109152 po ay hindi po si Grace na BS Chem.. Itatanong ko lang po kung typo lang or pagpapanggap kasi mag kakilala naman si Dan sa message at yung totoong may may hawak ng SN na iyon.. Please reply.. For confirmation lang po.. @eksenang peyups last line, LIBRENG KISS KAHIT SAAN AH! SABI NYO YAN AH! HAHAHAHAHA game! :)) 09-23492 kachichas sa BS MatE Abot tenga ang ngiti ko habang binabasa ang artikulo ni Ninalyn Uy. Akong ako eh. Hay, pag-ibig. :”> 200978441
Pabati
HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, TEOFEE TAGAL!! :)) ayan binati na kita sa kule. hihi. 1120502 Hi sa G-17! Mula BS CoE :> Hihi. Patapos na first sem, mami-miss ko kayo. =)) :’( Matutuloy ‘yung EK trip sa sembreak ha! ;D 201266069
Next week’s questions: 1. Nakapirma ka na ba sa petition form ng Kulê? Kailan, kanino, saan, at bakit? 2. Anong kanta ang iaalay mo sa men’s basketball team ng UP? Key in KULE <space> MESSAGE <space> STUDENT NUMBER <required> NAME AND COURSE (optional) and send to
Non-UP students must indicate any school, organizational or sectorial affiliation.
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Eksenang Peyups
“Project of Nationhood Reloaded: Focus on Democratizations”
MUSTA, MGA TOL? *EHERM* Este, hello there students of the Universal Filifins! Grabe, its the third week na ng Septembah at malapit nang matapos ang sem! Am sure mga nagnonoseblood ang mga noselyn ninyo dahil sa dami ng papers at requirements epek na kailangan niyong mai-final edishun! Anyways, subways, eto na muna ang inyong weekly eklat para maging maligaya kayo sa gitna ng sakuna. Chos! :* Dahil patapos na ang sem, am sure umuusad na rin ang mga lablayp ng mga freshies na nanliligaw ng mga kaklase. Pero OPINYON paalala lang sa mga freshies, hindi lahat ng kaklase ninyo ay ka- Miyerkules age gap niyo! Take for example si 19 Setyembre isang 16-year-old freshie na na 2012 nagda-damoves kay 26-year-old na ateng! Dahil sa tulis nitong si boy freshie, hinihimas-himas niya ang kamay ni ateng habang tinatanong kung anung ano ang definition ng Mr. pogi. At dahil sinabi ni ateng na ang pogi para sa kanya ay yung naka-aviator glasses, guess what? Nag-aviator glasses nga si boy freshie sa klase! Well, para kay boy freshie na naniniwala sa “age doesn’t matter,” goodluck na lang sa’yo. Pero wika nga ng isang makata, “Magpatuli ka muna!” Chos! ;) :* Once upon a time, may isang pa-intellectual person na nagpapaimpress kay isang Korean ateng na kaya niyang magfluent English. So all the while he is making conversation ba while trying hard na mag-ano, speak English like this one while making kamusta si ateng on how is the kimchi, gucchi, and tamagochi, tango lang nang tango ang ateng na parang ang soul ay nagliliwaliw sa infinity ng outer space. Then when the intellectual person asked na “Are you okay?”, the ateng biglang said in a soft voice, “Marunong po akong magtagalog.” WASAK! So yun na muna sa ngayon, ambon. Galingan natin sa mga nalalapit nating finals!
All students & non-students are invited to attend an educational forum entitled “Project of Nationhood Reloaded: Focus on Democratizations” on the 24th of September, 2012 (Monday) at Palma Hall Room 400 (4th Flr) from 10:00am to 12:00nn. This event, prepared by the Sociology Department, is a series of talks for past, present, and prospective students of sociology in the Philippines. This year’s invited speakers include Sociology Professor Dr. Teresa Melgar, BAYAN Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr, and Akbayan Partylist Congressman and Former UP Sociology & NCPAG Professor Walden Bello.
UP REP & OICA presents “Ped Xing: Tatawid Ka Ba Kahit Nakamamatay?”
As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, The UP Repertory Company and the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts proudly present an action-comedy play entitled “Ped Xing: Tatawid Ka Ba Kahit Nakamamatay?” A full-length tula-dula that depicts the current issues in our society: political, economic and sociocultural. It will portray the strengths and vulnerabilities of man, and finally will make the audience think once more of the undying question--what is most essential in life? Playdates are on Sept 17, 22, 24 | 3 and 7pm & Sept 21 | 7pm at Aldaba Recital Hall, UP Diliman. For tickets, contact Serville at 0917-6000161 or visit our FB page www.facebook.com/PedXingUPREP40.
#NewWatchdogs, New Tricks: Citizen journalism in the era of new media
Citizen Journalism gives everyone a chance to be heard. The forum “#NewWatchdogs, New Tricks” explores how new media platforms such as Facebook and blogs enable everyone to tell stories, share information, and report critical incidents. With a single click, you can make your posts count! Everyone is invited to attend the said event on Wednesday, September 26, 1-4:30 pm in the College of Mass Communication Auditorium. For more info, contact Reden Godoy at 09173634635, rcdgodoy@ yahoo.com.
PEKSMAN MAMATAY MAN: Isang 90s Kultnight
Teks. Pogs. Hiraya Manawari. Jolina. Song hits. Haw Flakes. Studio pics. Pangako ng pers lab. Kilig sa pers kis. Miss mo na ba ang 90s? Halina’t balikan ang himig at pangako ng medyo nakaraan. UP ASTERISK in cooperation with Tanghalang Bayan ng Kulturang Kalye (TABAKK) present PEKSMAN MAMATAY MAN: Isang 90s Kultnight. Sa September 22, punta lang sa Skartlet Jazz Kitchen, 6pm at panoorin ang Stick Figgas (with Loonie, Ron Henley & Kat Agarrado), Nanay Mo, TABAKK (with BLKD & K-Jah), Plagpul, The Jeffrey Zulueta Experience at marami pang iba! Meron ding live art ng GERILYA at libreng shirt printing ng TANGINA THIS! P50 lang ang tiket. Pa-reserve ka na sa 09051144998 o 09275581305.
Get free publicity! Send us your press release, invitations, etc. DON’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS. And go easy on the…punctuations?! dOn’t uSe tXt LanGuage pLs. Provide a short title. 100 words max. Email us at kule1213@gmail.com CONTACT US! Write to us via snail mail or submit a soft copy to Rm. 401, Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City. Email us kule1213@gmail.com. Save Word attachments in Rich Text Format, with INBOX, NEWSCAN or CONTRIB in the subject. Always include your full name, address and contact details.
BALITA Miyerkules 27 Hunyo 2012