Philippine Collegian Tomo 93 Issue 10

KULĂŠ

Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman Martes 9 Pebrero 2016 Tomo 93 Blg 10

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM LATHALAIN 8

2 EDITORYAL

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

FALSE ALARM

P L AY B A C K What can you say about the alleged role of the United States of America in the botched Mamasapano Operation?

President Aquino, by allowing the US-directed operation, treated like a dispensable floormat the sovereignty provision of our Constitution if only to please his US bosses, even at the expense of 67 Filipino lives and the fragile peace process in Mindanao.

Carlos Zarate

Incumbent Representative of Bayan Muna Partylist

THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has been nothing but a six-year term marred by human rights violation cases, illusions of progress, and corruption figures. He continues to flaunt this incompetency, when he vetoed the proposed P2,000 across-the-board pension hike for Social Security System (SSS) beneficiaries.

Aquino with his cohorts claimed that the monthly pension increase would steer the state-run insurance agency towards bankruptcy in 2027, and will need an additional P56 billion fund per year if the hike happens.

But the SSS has P420 billion reserve funds more than capable to cover the supposed additional funds demanded, as independent think-tank IBON Foundation reported.

Aquino’s move to deny the 2.15 million SSS pensioners of the increase only fueled public rage. The said increase could have been welcome help for retired workers dealing with the expensive cost of medicine and health services in the country. The current P1,200 minimum worth of monthly pension is also far beyond the poverty threshold for a family of five, estimated at P8,022 per month by the National Statistical Coordinating Board.

To begin with, the mismanagement of funds in the agency and not the pension hike jeopardizes the system

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN 2015-2016

To begin with, the mismanagement of funds in the agency and not the pension hike jeopardizes the system. The SSS actually had P17.96 billion worth of idle assets in 2014, which could have funded the P198.19 million amount needed to secure the P2,000 increase of almost 100,000 pensioners, as the Commission on Audit (COA) reported.

Had the collection system for the SSS been efficient, the proposed increase would have been possible.

Only 12 million out of the 33 million SSS members were reported to be actively paying their contributions, while an average contribution deficit of P7.5 billion was recorded from 2000 to 2011, equivalent to the average pension of around 2.3 million beneficiaries.

Lastly, lack of funds is a lame excuse for the SSS when seven of its board members enjoy P1 million each as bonuses since 2013, and another P276 million distributed to its employees as confirmed by SSS president Emilio de Quiros, Jr. Meanwhile, an average SSS beneficiary receives only P3,169 per month.

It is time for the government to allocate funds in the SSS operations, as rightfully mandated by the SSS Act

of 1997. If Aquino can allot P600 billion as lump sum funds in the 2016 budget, and P65.9 billion to Public-Private Partnership projects, why not do the same in the SSS? Aside from hiring efficient SSS employees who would prioritize the interests of the agency’s members, the Aquino administratiotn ought to enforce a stronger tax collection from large companies and rich families who monopolized economic power. The Bureau of Internal Revenue has yet to collect P409 billion—a potential source of funds—from corporate companies, according to IBON. Nonetheless, the demands of the people should never stop in the increase of the SSS pension alone, but should extend towards calls to increase subsidies in all the basic social services of the country.

Only through collective action will Aquino be held accountable for his incompetence and invalid claims of growth that continue to deceive the Filipino people. 

Kung ano ang ginawa ng administrasyong Aquino noon na nagtuturuan at ang iba ay naghuhugas-kamay, ganun para sa tingin ko. Walang aksyon.

Nganga pa rin ang gobyerno natin. Pakitang gilas lang sila, kaya hanggang ngayon wala pa ring hustisya. Hindi naman natin alam ang totoong kuwento kasi nga patay na ang mga taong magsasabi sana ng totoo.

Bernadette Viernes

Sister of the late SAF member PO1 Oliebeth Ligutan Viernes

The Mamasapano, with the participation of the US intelligence group, is something that really needs an in-depth investigation because we are not discounting the possibility of a sabotage with the peace process and at the end of the day who will suffer? [It's] The Bangsamoro people.

Dean Macrina Morados Institute of Islamic Studies

UKOL SA PABALAT Dibuho nina Jiru Rada at Kenneth Gutlay

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

BALITA 3

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

Shopping Center rent up by more than 400% K AT R I N A C R I S TA M . A R T I A G A THE BUSINESS CONCESSIONS OFFICE (BCO) has quadrupled the price of rent for UP Shopping Center (SC) stalls as part of the administration’s plan to renovate the building, raising concerns of possible price hikes in goods and services offered in the SC. From the original rental fee of P80 per square meter, stallholders now pay a rental fee of P450 per square meter, bringing an average stall owner’s total rental fee from P1,900 to P12,000 every month. The increase will be used to fund the SC’s rehabilitation, including the removal of the mezzanine floors, roof and road repairs, installation of water meters, repainting, and refurbishment of the façade and toilet rooms.

“UP Diliman will renovate and improve the area so as to comply with all government requirements, specifically compliance with the National Building Code and the Fire Code of the Philippines. Public safety and welfare are utmost priorities,” BCO Director Raquel Florendo said. She added that the new rate is “very reasonable” since there has been no increase since 1990.

Stallholders, however, expressed alarm over the BCO’s failure to present a project plan or timetable for the SC’s renovation to justify the needed increase.

“Sana i-consider nila ‘yung magiging epekto nito doon sa market na sineserve. Saan naming idadagdag? ‘Di kaya sa cost of services namin kukunin?

Kawawa ang mga estudyante,” said Eliseo Cruz, shoe repair shop owner and former president of UP Shopping Center Stallholders’ Association, Inc. (SCSAI).

Increase in service cost The SC was built in 1975 upon the request of students for an accessible and alternative commerical establishment.

With the 463 percent increase, several stallholders wonder how they could keep prices low for students they are servicing.

“Kakayanin, but it will be hard. It will take extra effort on my part because I don’t intend to raise the prices of anything in my shop,” said Nella Sarabia of Sarabia Optical. Amid the increase in rental, Sarabia looked to the SC’s renovation to increase her customers.

Meanwhile, Holy Book owner Myrna Gumban has already placed a P1 increase on all of Holy Book’s products, while a P60 haircut in Edwin Eugenio’s barber shop now costs P85.

‘Railroaded’ lease of contract Prior to the increase, stallholders received a draft for the new lease of contract on January 20 with BCO specifying that contract signing will be held on January 25. While provisions on the increase had been laid out in the contract, several stallholders said they were not given enough time to further scrutinize the document.

“Binigla kasi kami tapos hindi namin napag usapan masyado sa lawyer

namin gawa ng kaunting-kaunti na oras lang ‘yung binigay. Natakot kami—takot na takot kami—sa sabi nila na kailangan ngayon na magpirmahan,”said Roma Enriquez, owner of the fruits and fruit shakes stall.

The raise was a take-it-or-leave-it option for stallholders because the BCO insisted on the P450 per square meter rate, but SCSAI president Lino Ong maintained he trusts the administration will stick to its word that renovations will start “as soon as possible.”

Talks on the SC’s renovation started during Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma’s term in 2012, when the BCO proposed an increase pegged at P400 per square meter, or around P10,600 monthly. The SCSAI rejected the offer and posed an alternative raise of P150 to P250, but the plans did not push through.

“Itong Shopping Center tinayo para sa estudyante. Sila ho ang sineservice namin. Kawawa naman sila [kung magtataas kami],” said Remedios Sibal, owner of a beauty parlor at the SC. 

HIGH HOPES Chester Higuit

A 46-year-old farmer listens to the agrarian reform plans of political candidates present in the Peasants’ Challenge 2016 and Beyond at the Balay Kalinaw in UP Diliman on February 3. Jessie Rodriguez is being forced to leave his farm in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan for the proposed Manila Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT 7), one of the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership projects. He hopes that the upcoming national elections will bring about government leaders that would push for change and genuine land reform.

5 extrajudicial killings start Aquino's last year as president KAREN ANN MACALALAD WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH OF President Benigno Aquino III’s last year in power, another five victims have been added to cases of extrajudicial killings recorded under his administration, according to reports from human rights organization Karapatan.

The latest victims include 60-year-old Teresita Navacilla, a small-scale miner who actively participated in protests against large-scale mining in Compostela Valley (CV), and 43-year-old peasant leader Christopher Matibay, who was one of the 700 Lumad who travelled to UP Diliman in 2015 as part of the protestcaravan Manilakbayan.

Navacilla died three days after sustaining gunshots in the head on January 27 in Pantukan, CV, while an alleged intelligence officer fired three gunshots at Matibay in Baganga, Davao Oriental on January 18, according to Karapatan-Southern Mindanao Region (SMR).

The killing spree started on January 9, when peasant-rights advocate Benjie Sustento was found dead a day after being abducted from his home in Murcia, Negros Occidental.

Two days later, unidentified men on motorcycles shot peasant leader Ricky Peñaranda on January 11 in Mati City, Davao Oriental. Six days after, alleged members of paramilitary group Alamara gunned down 15-yearold Lumad student Alibando Tingkas in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.

“With three deaths in a week, this shows that the Aquino regime is hell-bent [on] attack[ing] leaders of progressive groups with legitimate cries against his government’s ineptness,” said Karapatan-SMR Secretary-General Hanimay Suazo.

Progressive leaders targeted Matibay, Peñaranda, Sustento, and Navacilla were all members of progressive groups campaigning against the government’s publicprivate partnerships in their respective hometowns.

Karapatan SMR earlier condemned the killings of the peasant activists and said these were part of Aquino’s counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan, which already perpetrated 294 extrajudicial killings from July 2010 to September 2015.

Oplan Bayanihan is an extension of former President Gloria Arroyo’s

Oplan Bantay Laya program, responsible for a total of 1,205 extrajudicial killings and 206 enforced disappearances, including UPD students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006.

Navacilla’s killers could be agents or members of the military’s 46th Infantry Battalion (IB) which has been arresting innocent civilians and tagging them as members of rebel group New People’s Army, Suazo said in a statement. The 46th IB was originally operating in Northern Samar and Maguindanao before being deployed in Pantukan, CV in 2014.

“The presence of the 46th IB in Pantukan is yet another manifestation of economic plunder, resulting to militarization of otherwise peaceful civilian communities,” Suazo said.

The military have been targeting the small-scale miners and farmers opposing the full-operation and businesses of large-scale and foreign mining companies in the area, she added.

Continuing threats Meanwhile, four Lumad schools in Talaingod have already suspended classes following the

death of Tingkas, a Grade 3 student of Salugpongan Ta ‘Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center.

The class suspensions have affected around 243 students, according to children’s rights advocate Save Our Schools Network (SOS).

“Sa lagay nila, inaatake pa ‘yung schools na kalakhan ay alternative schools [na] nagbibigay sa kanila ng basic literacy program para magadvance sa mas mataas na lebel na pag-aaral,” said Sarah Jane Elago, president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines. Elago also cited that nine out of 10 Lumad children do not have access to formal schooling.

Amid relentless threats to tribal schoolteachers and Lumad community members, the SOS is set to file a case against the paramilitary member who killed Tingkas, said SOS Spokesperson Rius Valle.

“Kung maraming tao ang nakakaintindi at sasali sa kampanya para palakasin ang boses ng mga batang Lumad, it will cripple the [continuing military attacks] against people’s resistance,” Valle added. 

4 BALITA

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016 WAITING GAME Kenneth Gutlay

Ronaldo Molera, 57, fixes his fishing nets after hauling the day’s catch at the Laguna Lake in Muntinlupa City on January 31.

Molera is one of the hundreds of fishermen along the banks of the lake which supplies 40 percent of Metro Manila's yearly fish demands.

Their livelihood and communities have been threatened by the planned multibillion Laguna Lake Expressway-Dike Project that would reclaim 700 hectares of the lake. However, a series of protests last year and the sustained collective action of the fisherfolks have delayed the project’s bidding process twice and pushed it to March 2016.

on board Reports on the 1314th BOR meeting JONA CLAIRE TURALDE UP MANILA (UPM) MEDICINE STUDENTS are now compelled to pay back the full cost of their subsidized tuition fees should they fail to comply with three years of mandatory service in the country, following the Board of Regent’s approval of amendments to the Return Service Obligation Program (RSOP) in their 1314th meeting on January 29.

The university’s highest policymaking body also discussed the student body’s resolution to junk the Socialized Tuition System (STS) in UP. No student consultation Upon enrolment, students of the UPM College of Medicine (CM) are made to sign the RSOP, requiring them to practice medicine in the country for at least three years within five years of graduation. Students coming from provinces accepted through UPM’s Regionalization Program are also obliged to render health services in their respective regions upon graduation.

Section 1, Rule V of the current RSOP’s Implementing Rules and Regulations allows students to waive their contract should they be unable to fulfil the agreement due to permanent physical and mental incapacity. With the approved amendment, however, failure to comply will prompt a full payment for the student’s medical degree.

“Questionable ang revision, simplifying payback scheme does nothing to prevent our doctors from leaving. Student friendly raw, pero ang 'bayad agad' scheme na ito ay 'di man lang ikinonsulta sa mga estudyante,” said Leonard Javier, Medicine representative to the UPM University Student Council.

Prior to the RSOP’s revision, the UPM Medicine Student Council (SC) requested for a dialogue with CM Dean Agnes Mejia as there has yet to be proper consultations with the students regarding the proposed amendments.

Mejia refused to hold student consultations, saying that members of the faculty have already finished discussions on the revisions.

Junk STS and OSFs Meanwhile, Student Regent Miguel Enrico Pangalangan also presented the resolutions of the 41st General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) to the board, including a call to junk STS and other student fees. continued on p. 5 

Farmers decry plunder of P13 B agri fund DANIEL BOONE AGRICULTURAL GROUPS CALLED ON Congress to terminate the validity of the P13-billion Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) for farmers and agricultural workers, citing how the fund has been misused and abused by corrupt officials.

Created through the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, the ACEF was established as an assistance program for farmers to help them compete with rising prices brought about by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration. The ACEF was supposed to expire in 2007 but was extended until 2015.

With the fund’s expiry last year, both houses of Congress have already filed bills to further extend the ACEF. On January 18, the Senate approved Senate Bill No. 2951, extending ACEF until December 2020, while the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture aims to prolong ACEF until 2022 through House Bill 6162.

Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), however, says that this will not help farmers because these funds are being corrupted by local officials.

In a house resolution filed in 2014, Anakpawis Representative Fernando Hicap questioned the disbursement of ACEF funds, saying 99 out of the 216 projects or P2.5 billion out of P4.5 billion remain unpaid.

A 2011 report from the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed that the Department of Agriculture lent around P8.3 billion to 264 companies from 2000 to 2009 which COA cannot identify.

Moreover, a total of P66.4 million were borrowed by companies that are now closed, according to the commission.

“Sinasabing layunin ng ACEF ay i-enhance ang competitiveness ng agricultural sector [pero] hindi nangyari [dahil] kalakhan naman ng nakinabang [ay mga] pribadong sektor at malalaking korporasyon,” said Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Chairperson Rafael Mariano.

The initial implementation of ACEF was problematic since it promoted the import of cheaper products from other countries, depriving local formers of more revenue, according to UMA. “Lalo lang dadagsa ang mas murang [agricultural] products sa bansa

na gagawing bangkarote ang mga magsasaka [and] threaten [our] food sovereignty,” said Estrada.

Amid the Congress’ move to lengthen ACEF’s validity, agricultural groups have maintained that what farmers need is genuine agrarian reform. They also strengthened their call to junk the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which has left 1.2 million farmers landless for 28 years, according to independent think tank IBON Foundation.

In 2013, Anakpawis proposed HB 252 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB), which aims to break the monopoly of land by distributing them to agricultural workers for free,

contrary to CARP provisions that farmers must pay for the land in a span of 30 years with a six percent annual interest.

Three years after its filing, however, GARB remains stuck at the lower house’s committee level.

“Unang-una, ang [pangunahing layunin ng] GARB ay ang libreng pamamahagi ng lupa [at] kung nasa mga magsasaka na ang lupa, lalaki ang net income nila dahil mawawala ang pananamantala ng mga land owner at mga usurero… [Ito] ang maggagarantiya na ang mga magsasaka ay magkakaroon ng kakayahan na pinansiyahan ang mga gamit niya sa produksyon,” said Mariano. 

Missing UP student comes home after 21 days VICTOR GREGOR LIMON UP DILIMAN ENGINEERING FRESHMAN Ian Jasper Calalang has finally come home to his family, after he went missing for 21 days. In a phone interview with the Collegian , Ian’s mother confirmed that her son has returned at around 11PM, February 1, at their family’s residence in Cainta, Rizal.

As of press time, the Calalang family has declined to disclose details of why Ian disappeared to protect the 18-year old's privacy. The family, however, would like to assure everyone that Ian is safe and has contacted the police to inform them of Ian’s safe return.

Ian’s parents reported that Ian was missing after he failed to come home on January 12, the first day of registration in UP Diliman. His mother, Nenette Calalang, said she last received a text message from her son at 8:22 AM, informing them that he has arrived in campus. Ian also contacted a friend to ask him where he was.

At around 11:45 AM, Nenette asked Ian regarding his enrolment but received no reply. Nenette repeatedly tried to contact her son throughout the day but his number could no longer be reached.

“Napaka-systematic na tao niyan ni Ian, nagtetext siya kung

anong oras siya uuwi, kung pasakay na ba ng jeep, kung kakain muna ng lunch. Kaya very unusual na hindi siya sumagot sa mga text ko,” said Nenette.

Separate blotter reports have already been filed at the UPD Police and Station 9 of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) on January 13, at Cainta Police on January 14, and at Camp Karingal, the QCPD’s main headquarters on January 15.

Ian’s family said they would like to extend their sincerest gratitude for all those who offered help and prayers during the search.  With reports from Arra B. Francia

BALITA 5

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

Crime rate in UPD dips, theft still prevalent JIRU RADA WHILE THEFT REMAINS THE TOP criminal offense in UP Diliman (UPD) for 2015, the number of incidents relating to crime decreased by 10 percent from 237 recorded cases in 2014 to 213 this year, according to the annual crime statistics review of the UPD Police (UPDP).

Figures on robbery, threat, and physical injury reported to the UPDP contributed to one-third of all crime incidents on campus. Overall, the month of September saw the most number of crimes with 27 cases. Meanwhile, September and August registered the most number of theft reports with both 14 cases each month.

UPDP Officer-in-charge P/Capt.

Ruben Villaluna identified Magsaysay Avenue, University Avenue, C.P. Garcia Avenue and Ylanan Street as consistent hotspot areas for robbery inside the campus for the past three years.

Given the previous year’s lower number of reported crimes, the university’s stakeholders have become confident with a false sense of laxity as they tend to forget that criminal elements can actively operate inside the campus, said Chief Security Officer (CSO) John Baroña.

Despite being ‘generally peaceful,’ the previous year had an ‘alarming’ surge in the number of vehicular accidents, Villaluna added. Official figures have indicated 129 in-campus road mishaps with 17 cases in March.

Tighter security measures Baroña attributed the decline in crime incidents to the improved communication system within the three components of UPD’s security force - UPDP, Special Services

Brigade (SSB), and the private security group.

Last August, the CSO office established an Investigation and Followup Section consisting of five officers from UPDP. The investigative group conducted in-depth investigations of reported crime incidents and was able to solve 60 of the 104 active cases last year.

The UPDP also conducted information campaigns in various dormitories to educate the students about peace and order and the different modi operandi of criminals in the campus.

At present, there are 31 uniformed officers out of the 40 members of the UPDP and 63 members of the Special Services Brigade who patrol the campus and its six adjacent barangays. The private security force, on the other hand, has 368 regular guards hired plus an additional 20 supplemental guards to ensure the security of UPD’s new academic buildings.

To alleviate the crime-related incidents in the university, the UP administration plans to install additional closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the campus’ open spaces such as the Sunken Garden, the National Science Complex, and the Academic Oval next academic year, according to Baroña.

Security risks Last year, there were four recorded incidents of structural fires inside the campus. In June alone, the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Association (CASAA) Food Center and the UPAA Bowling and Recreation Center were razed by fire and three individuals were injured.

In that same month, four students were hurt in a fraternity-related incident involving the Upsilon Sigma Phi and the Alpha Sigma fraternities.

In spite of these incidents, no additional security officers were hired by the UP administration as the frat-related incident, for example, was considered an “isolated case.”

“The general security deployment plan is to hire more security personnel for the new buildings in the campus,” said Baroña.

The university also hosted one of the biggest solidarity campouts for indigenous peoples in 2015. Around 700 Lumad from militarized communities in Mindanao, and thousands of students, faculty and members of sectoral groups attended the weeklong Kampuhan sa Diliman at the College of Human Kinetics grounds in late October.

However, less than a week before the campout, the UPDP and SSB

caught six military agents who were conducting surveillance opeations on campus grounds. In an official statement released by the UPD administration, Chancellor Michael Tan said there was no notification received by his office regarding the surveillance operation conducted on campus.

The Quezon City Police District took custody of the agents and verified that they were on an authorized operation to locate a target who was allegedly in UPD. Under the Soto-Enrile Accord, however, an agreement between UP and the Department of National Defense, military forces are prohibited from entering university premises.

“If they need to operate within the campus because their subject is in UP, they have to coordinate it with UPDP and [ask] the consent of the chancellor,” added Baroña. 

ON BOARD: Reports from BOR... zcontinued from page 4

STS is the tuition scheme used across the UP system that grants tuition discounts of 33 to 100 percent through a questionnaire about the family’s income and socio-economic standing.

Upon presentation of the report, Pascual noted that junking STS would lead to a high tuition flat rate for all, said Pangalangan.

“We eagerly explained that the university has a high capacity to provide free education for all so we

moved on to junk all other school fees (OSFs) where we are able to get a general support and sympathy from the regents”, Pangalangan added.

Pangalangan also reported that SCs are members of the Rise for Education (R4E) Alliance, an alliance of student organizations calling for free quality education. Through R4E, 3,500 students have participated in mobilizations against budget cut and unreasonable tuition schemes. 

UNITE TO FIGHT Jiru Rada

Muslim women from the UP Diliman community take part in the celebration of the World Hijab Day in the university for the first time on February 1.

The World Hijab Day is an international event that encourages Muslim and non-Muslim women to wear the hijab to experience the everyday life of a Hijabi woman.

According to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, it fosters religious tolerance and understanding and promotes harmony among Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

#upfight Lady Maroons subdue Lady Warriors in UAAP volleyball opener J O H N R E C Z O N C A L AY THE UP LADY MAROONS OPENED THE new University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) volleyball season with a clean slay as they subdued the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors in straight sets, 25-20, 25-13, 25-21, at the San Juan Arena, January 31.

It was an easy snatch for the Lady Maroons from the start, as veteran Nicole Tiamzon lifted the scoreboard from an 11-13 spread to 17-13 in the opening set with two blocks and a kill.

The Lady Maroons limited the Lady Warriors to only 13 markers in the second set though Warriors team captain Shaya Adorador attempted to break UP’s strong defense to regain UE lead.

It was the rookies of the UP squad who shined in the final set. Outside hitter Justine Dorog destroyed UE’s momentum after expanding the spread from 17-16 to 21-17 ending with a service ace.

Rookies led the scoring for the squad as Dorog tallied nine points, four of which came from aces, while opposite hitter Diana Carlos chipped in nine attacks. Tiamzon added seven attacks and two blocks. Despite the win, UP committed 22 team errors.

On the other hand, outside hitter Adorador and opposite hitter Juliet Catindig topscored the UE squad with combined 12 attacks. UE made three team service aces.

The Lady Maroons finished a 5-9 card last season, while the Lady Warriors were on the cellar with a 0-14 record.

This year’s roster of the Lady Maroons is a team of veteran volleybelles and aspiring neophytes. Returning in the league after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, captain ball Kathy Bersola said that aside from physical trainings, the team also underwent mental training to set their minds to win each game they will play.

“Mas kampante sa sarili yung mga players namin dahil alam namin na sobrang pinaghirapan namin ito,” Bersola said.

Their third place finish in the 2015 Shakey’s V-League Reinforced Conference was their starting post for improvements among the team.

“From the previous conferences ng V-League, doon nakikita yung mga rookie mistakes, yung mga kaba, mga takot—pero pagbigyan kasi first time,” said middle-hitter Bersola as she commends the performance of the team’s rookies in this game.

However, the UP Fighting Maroons was unable to cop a victory as they were nipped by the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in small spread and straight sets, 23-25, 24-26, 23-25. 

6 KULTURA

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

HUDYAT NA NG NALALAPIT NA eleksyon ang nagkalat na mga flyers, tarpaulin, billboard at ang pagdagsa ng mga kandidato sa sari-saring mga forum, panayam, pista, at iba pang mga pagtitipon.

Bago pa man ang opisyal na simula ng pangangampanya, pagandahan na ng patalastas sa telebisyon, paramihan ng sikat na artistang mag-eendorso, palakihan ng mga anunsyo sa diyaryo— tila hindi alintana ng mga kandidato ang presyo, ang mahalaga ay mabaha ng pangako ang mga botante.

Ngunit kasabay ng monopolyo ng mga pulitiko sa mga tradisyunal na moda ng komunikasyon, tinutunggali rin ito ng mga botante sa mga malikhain at kritikal na pamamaraan, hindi lamang sa pamamagitan ng pagdagsa sa mga lansangan upang magprotesta, kung hindi maging sa Internet. Dito, mas malaki ang pagkakataong maging bida ang nakakaaliw ngunit matalas na komentaryo sa tunay na panawagan ng bayan ngayong eleksyon.

TUNGGALIAN NG ESPASYO

Lawak Kamakailan lamang nang umusbong ang panibagong lunsaran ng impormasyon at diskusyon—ang social media. Pangunahin itong ginagamit upang umugnay sa mga kaklase, kaibigan, kamag-anak o pamilya, ngunit dahil iilan lamang ang may kakayahang magkaroon ng kompyuter at Internet, iilan din lamang ang gumagamit nito.

Isang ideological state apparatus (ISA) na itinuturing ang social media at kahanay nito ang print, telebisyon, eskwelahan, simbahan at opisina.

Layunin nitong mapaniwala ang mga manonood ng mga balitang ipinapakalat ng estado.

Ngunit sa lahat ng nabanggit, social media ang pinaka-epektibong instrumento ng komunikasyon sa kasalukuyan—lalo na para sa pangangampanya.

Kaya naman ginagamit ito ng mga mayayaman at makapangyarihan upang palawakin ang sakop ng kanilang kapangyarihan.

Madali nila itong nagagawa dahil sila ang pangunahing nagmamay-ari ng mga naglalakihang istasyon ng media.

Bilang kumikita ng malaki ang mga nasabing istasyon, kumikita rin ng malaki ang gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng pagpapataw nito ng mataas ng buwis. Ngunit katumbas nito ang pagpapasailalim sa kapangyarihan ng mga may-ari ng istasyon. Sa madaling sabi, nabibigyan ng lehitimong pribilehiyo ang mga lumalabas na komersyal sa telebisyon na may basbas ng estado radyo o print man ito.

Isang magandang halimbawa ang pagtampok ng tapang at lakas ni Mayor Rodrigo Duterte sa kanyang campaign ad bago pa man magsimula ang kampanya. Hindi naman nagpatalo si Mar Roxas sa tema niyang Fast Forward kung saan tampok ang mga artista mula sa iisang istasyon. Walang pagpapanggap na kaalyado niya ang istasyong sumuporta kay Pangulong Benigno Aquino III nang tumakbo ito sa pagkapangulo noong 2010. Dahil binigyang pahintulot ng estado, walang humuli o binigyan ng karampatang parusa ang mga nangangampanya ng wala pa sa panahon.

MARY JOY CAPISTRANO

Sa mga patalastas, ad sa dyaryo at sa mga programa, kapansin-pansin ang pagkiling ng mga pamunuan ng istasyon o pahayagan sa mga kandidato.

Lantaran nilang ine-endorso ang partikular na kandidato. Ngunit bilang ISA, dapat ginagamit ang mga lunsaran ng impormasyon katulad ng telebisyon, radyo o mga pahayagan upang bigyang ideya ang mga mamamayan ng mga kandidatong dapat nilang iboto.

Halaga Pangunahing lumalabas sa telebisyon, o pahayagan ang mga balita ukol sa personalidad ng mga kandidato, proyekto, naipasang batas at kung anoano pang makapanghihikayat sa mga botante sa pagboto.

Sa halip na kalagayan ng mga Pilipino ang ibinabandera at hamon sa mga pulitikong tumatakbo, umiikot ang oras sa telebisyon sa mga mabubulaklak na salita at pangako ng mga kandidato.

Ayon kay Louis Althusser, tinitiyak ng mga ruling class ang kanilang dominasyon sa mga working class kaya naman ang estado ay itinuturing na makina ng represyon. Bukod sa telebisyon at pahayagan, higit na pinaguusapan ang mga kandidato sa social media. Pinapalawak ng social media ang espasyo para sa diskusyon at pagpapalitan ng kuro-kuro, mapa-Twitter, Instagram, o Facebook man ‘yan. Higit na mabilis ang pagpapalitan ng mga opinyon nasaang lugar man ang mga nag-uusap.

Sa paggamit ng social media nagkakaroon ng espasyo, bagaman limitado, ang mga ordinaryong mamamayan para tunggaliin ang mga ideyang ipinapakalat ng ISA. Ang hamon para sa mga mamamayan ay magamit ang lahat ng espasyo upang ilantad ang

tunay na kalagayan ng bansa at ang kasinungalingan ng mga kandidato.

Hindi lamang mga kandidato ang may kompetisyon sa panahon ng halalan, maging ang naglalakihang media outlet at mga alternatibong media. Hindi maitatanggi ang lawak ng kapangyarihan ng dominanteng media kaya malaking tulong ang nagagawa ng limitadong espasyo sa social media sa paggawa ng “ripple effect.”

Sa isang pagpupulong na pinamagatang Social Media Elections, binigyang diin ni James Jimenez, opisyal na tagapagsalita ng COMELEC, na ang edukasyon ay hindi lamang trabaho ng isang grupo o institusyon. Trabaho umano ito ng lahat. Kaya responsibilidad ng 30 porsyento ng mga Pilipino na may kakayahang makipagsabayan sa social media na magbahagi ng kaalaman.

Limitasyon Sa lawak ng maaaring marating ng social media, limitado ito para sa 60 porsyento ng mga PIlipinong walang kompyuter at koneksyon sa Internet batay sa tala ng National Statistics Office.

Taong 2007, iilang Pilipino lamang ang gumagamit ng social media kaya naman malaking papel ang ginampanan ng National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) at Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), mga organisasyong nagsisilbing tagapagbantay ng halalan sa bansa.

Hindi na nakapagtataka kung bakit namamayagpag sa panahon ng eleksyon ang mayayamang kandidato.

Sa papalapit na eleksyon, asahan ang paglobo ng gastos ng mga kandidato.

Higit silang magiging aktibo upang maabot ang target na demographic.

Maaari din namang gamitin ng mga kandidato ang social media upang makakuha ng pondo.

Sa katunayan, maraming magagawa ang social media. Ngunit ang paggamit nito upang mapukaw lamang ang damdamin ng masa at makakuha ng boto ay hindi matuwid na paggamit. Bukod sa panlilinlang sa masa, hinihikayat pa nito ang pamamahagi ng maling kaalaman sa mamamayan.

Sa halip na pag-usapan ang plataporma at tindig ng mga kandidato sa mga isyu sa lipunan naging tampulan ng katuwaan ang mga komersiyal ng mga kandidato katulad ng Fast Forward video ni Mar Roxas na pinalitan ang mga linyang ginamit dito. Nagkalat din ang meme katulad ng nognog ni Jejomar Binay at ang mga nakakatawang larawan ni Mar Roxas habang kumakain sa mug, umiinom sa pinggan, nagmamando ng trapik at nagbubuhat ng isang sako ng sibuyas.

Bilang ISA, hamon sa mga mamamayan na gamitin ang kakarampot na espasyo sa social media upang bigyan ng tamang direksyon ang mga botante—mas matalas na tunggalian sa pamamagitan ng pagtugon sa mga pangunahing suliranin ng mga Pilipino.

Sa mga susunod na debate na isasagawa sa pagitan ng mga kandidato, asahan na hindi isang Twitter lamang ang nakatutok sa sasabihin ng bawat kandidato, gamit ang isang hashtag dudumugin ng mga tao ang mga kandidato ng samu’t saring tanong.

Malaki na ang naabot ng social media sa pagtataas ng kamalayan ng mga botante sa mga isyung panlipunan at higit pa ang maaaring makuhang pakinabang sa espasyo ng social media. Para sa mga kabataan, na siyang pinakagagap ang teknolohiyang ito, isa itong makapangyarihang instrumento sa pagbabago ng lipunan. 

Dibuho ni Joshua Rioja Disenyo ng Pahina ni Jiru Rada

KULTURA 7

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

K G I I S M I G H atHIMA SHEILA ABARRA

Dibuho ni John Kenneth Zapata Disenyo ng Pahina ni Jiru Rada

TILA NAGING MAAGA ANG UP FAIR. Oktubre, sa halip na Pebrero. May buhay ang bawat gabi at nagmumula ang kapangyarihan hindi lamang sa musika at sayaw, kundi lalo sa mga mag-aaral at propesor na napahanga at naantig sa giting ng mga bisitang Lumad na naglakbay mula pa sa Mindanao.

Ito ang Kampuhan sa Diliman, isang solidarity camp na ginanap mula ika-26 ng Oktubre hanggang ika-2 ng Nobyembre noong nakaraang taon sa College of Human Kinetics grounds.

Binuhay nito sa ating kamalayan ang tunay na diwa ng UP Fair: masaya, makabuluhan, at rebolusyonaryo. Natapos man ang Kampuhan, malaki ang naging tagumpay nito—mula sa ambag sa panawagang wakasan ang karahasan ng militar sa mga komunidad ng Lumad hanggang sa pagtataas ng kamulatan ng mga estudyante at guro ng pamantasan.

Matagal-tagal na rin mula nang huling makapaglunsad ang UP ng ganitong klase ng selebrasyon ng sining at pagkakaisa.

Ipinaalala ng Kampuhan ang kasaysayan at potensyal ng malikhain at subersibong musika at himagsik ng UP Fair.

Interlude Unang idinaos ang UP Fair noong dekada ’80 bilang isa sa maraming porma ng protesta ng mga estudyante ng UP laban sa pasismo ng Martial Law sa ilalim ng diktaduryang Marcos. Isa itong tipikal na serye ng kultural na pagtatanghal—bukas sa lahat ng nais makiisa sa subersibo nitong mensahe at mag-ambag sa pagpapalaganap nito sa malikhaing paraan.

Taong 1984 ang isa sa pinakaunang UP Fair na ginawa para makalikom ng pondo para sa mga biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa ilalim ni Marcos.

Nagpatuloy ang ganitong tema taun-taon hanggang sa maging institusyon ito, isang taunang tradisyon na tinangkilik ng mga kabataan sa loob at labas ng pamantasan.

Sa katunayan, marami sa mga sikat na banda ngayon sa bansa ay bahagi ng UP Fair bago pa man ang kanilang katanyagan: Eraserheads, Asin, The Jerks, The Dawn, Juan de la Cruz Band, The Wuds, Buklod, Sinaglahi, at marami pang mga makabayang musikero at bandang hindi lamang mahusay sa kanilang sining ngunit palaban din sa kanilang suri sa lipunan. Patunay itong hindi lamang lunsaran ng subersibong musika ang UP Fair. Ang UP Fair ay subersibong musika— malikhain dahil taliwas sa nakasanayan, mapanghimagsik dahil kritikal.

Isang halimbawa ang UP Fair noong 2007 na may temang ‘Rakestra’ na layuning kundenahin ang pagtataas ng matrikula mula P300 patungong P1500 per yunit at ang pagrerepaso ng patakaran ng unibersidad sa socialized tuition.

Sinundan ito noong 2009 ng “Meant FAIR each other,” isang paraan ng panawagan upang makialam sa mga isyu ng lipunan ang bawat iskolar ng bayan. Nagkaroon pa rito ng pagputol sa isang gabi ng fair dahil nagpumilit pumasok ang isang grupo ng lalaki na hindi taga-UP. Bagaman tagalabas, hindi pa rin ito naging dahilan para gawing eksklusibo lamang para sa mga taga-UP ang UP Fair.

Isa pang halimbawa ang UP Fair noong 2011 na may temang “Education in desFAIR” na nanawagang wakasan ang patuloy na pagkaltas ng badyet para sa mga pampubikong kolehiyo at

pamantasan. “Rebokultura: Breaking the Silence, Revolutionizing Music” naman ang tema noong 2012 upang gisingin ang mga mag-aaral at umaksyon sa iba’t ibang isyu sa pamantasan tulad ng pagpapatayo sa UP Town Center, na ngayon ay isa ng multi-bilyong komersyal na establisyamento ng Ayala.

Masasabing kilala ang mga Iskolar ng Bayan na gumagamit ng sining at musika sa pagsusuri ng iba’t ibang isyu ng lipunan at nananawagang aksyunan ito. Ito ang orihinal na UP Fair–nagsusulong ng mataas na kamalayan at ideya gamit ang sining.

Chorus Ayon sa sanaysay na “Art as Technique” ni Viktor Shklovsky, isang Rusong manunulat at kritiko, na nailimbag noong 1917, may pamamaraan ang sining na gawing hindi pamilyar ang anyo ng isang bagay o tingnan ito sa pamamagitan ng bagong lente.

Samakatuwid, may kakayahan ang sining na wasakin ang mga tradisyunal na porma ng sining. Sa ganitong proseso maaaring maging subersibo ang musika, kapag tumataliwas ito sa nakasanayan, kapag pinipili nitong suriin at ilantad ang mga krisis sa lipunan, at kapag nagsisilbi itong boses ng api at pinagsasamantalahan.

Sa paglipas ng panahon, lumalabnaw na ang ganitong karakter ng UP Fair at ng musikang ipinatatangkilik dito. Dahil sa naging popular na ang UP Fair naging tunguhin nito ang lumikom ng pondo. Sa katunayan, ang kinikita ng mga nakaraang UP Fair ay ipinagpapalagay namapupunta sa mga “cause-oriented” na proyekto, gaya noong 2013 kung saan mga dormitoryo at varsity teams ng UP ang naging benepisyaryo ng UP Fair.

Kung kaya naman ang dating UP Fair na libre, ngayo’y kinukulapulan ng mga pinakasikat na banda at artistang inaasahang maghihikayat ng mas marami pang tao para bumili ng tiket. Mas mataas at mas matibay na ang mga pader ng UP Fair ngayon, guwardyado ang bawat pasukan at labasan— hindi makakapasok ang sinumang walang tiket.

Dahil sa kinakailangang pagtugon sa mga talent fees ng mga sikat na banda, nagkaroon na rin ng mga commercial sponsors kapalit ng advertisements na naglalako ng sari-saring produkto at serbisyo.

Naging pangunahing dahilan na samakatuwid ang pagkalap ng pondo sa pagdaos ng UP Fair kahit limitado lamang ang ambag nito sa paglutas ng mga problema ng unibersidad at lipunan. Ngayong taon, tila lalong lumalayo ang UP Fair sa subersibo at makabuluhan nitong potensyal. Nagkalat sa social media ang tema ngayong taon: “Kasama ka sa Trip.” Mapanghikayat ang paanyaya ng tema, ngunit hindi malinaw kung ano ang kabuluhan ng “paglalakbay,” o kung saan ito patungo.

Muli, maaaring humugot ng aral mula sa tagumpay ng Kampuhan. Hindi iilan ang nagpahayag sa social media ng kanilang karanasan sa isang linggong pakikisalamuha at paglubog sa mga Lumad. Pinukaw ng mga rebolusyonaryong mga pagtatanghal sa Kampuhan ang imahinasyon ng mga dumalo at naging tuntungan ito upang lalong lumakas ang kampanya laban sa militarisasyon ng mga komunidad ng mga katutubong tulad ng mga Lumad.

Coda Pambansang Buwan ng Sining ang Pebrero at mainam na pagkakataon ito upang patampukin sana ng darating na

UP Fair ang makabuluhan at subersibong potensyal ng sining—lalo sa panahong hinahamon ang unibersidad ng bagong pagkaltas sa pondo nito at sa lumalalang komersyalisasyon ng edukasyon sa pamamagitan ng socialized tuition.

Mahalaga ang gampanin ng propaganda sa pagpapaigting ng tunggalian sa lipunan at sa paggiya ng kamalayan na maaabot nito tungo sa wastong pagtugon sa mga atake sa ating mga batayang karapatan. Isa itong hamon at panawagan sa kasalukuyang konseho at tagapagdaos ng UP Fair na tiyaking buhay ang ganitong diwa ng sining na malaya at mapagpalaya. 

8 LATHALAIN

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

A NAKED STATUE OF A YOUNG MAN with outstretched arms and open hands welcomes everyone upon entering UP Diliman. He is anonymous yet he is known to virtually everyone as “Oblê.”

Commissioned to interpret the second stanza of Dr. Jose Rizal’s “Mi Ultimo Adios,” National Artist Guillermo Tolentino said the Oblation symbolizes all unknown heroes: “In barricades embattled; fighting with delirium / others donate you their lives without doubts, without gloom.”

The Oblation has since become a symbol of academic freedom in the national university, historically a bastion of activism, a rallying point for dissent and social criticism. Even in the country’s darkest pages of history, students of the university sought to uphold the essence of the Oblation, the selfless offering of oneself to “Serve the People.”

One of the most poignant and most celebrated examples of this tradition is the UP community’s staunch resistance against the fascism of the Marcos dictatorship, when it once barricaded campus grounds against state forces, forming what is called the Diliman Commune.

The establishment of the Commune follows a tempest of protests, where students and professors broke out of the narrow confines of the academe to

struggle with the marginalized and anniversary of the Diliman Commune. disposed. These series of events will The barricades were placed along go down in history as the First Quarter Katipunan and the University Avenue on Storm (FQS) of 1970.

February 2, 1970 in support of drivers on strike protesting increase in oil prices.

“It was a glorious time, a time of terror Taguiwalo recounts that the and of wrath, but also a time for hope. demonstrations were sparked by violent The signs of change were on the incidents in the campus, where Math horizon.”

Professor Inocentes Campos fired gunshots that killed Zoology major The ferment of the FQS leading Pastor Mesina. In the afternoon, soldiers to the declaration of Martial Law saw attacked Vinzons Hall and another an upsurge in the youth and student student, Reynaldo Bello, was shot in the movement. Participating firsthand in the right arm. series of widespread protests, former “The solidarity, militancy and Faculty Regent and retired UP professor determination which characterized the Judy Taguiwalo recalls how, as a student, 1971 Diliman Commune is a continuation she joined thousands of others in one of of the patriotic and militant student the momentous events in the history of activism in UP,” she said. However, the the youth movement. immediate precursor of the Commune After graduating from Negros were the February 1969 UP General Occidental High School in Bacolod City, Strike and FQS of 1970.

Taguiwalo entered UP at the age of 15.

In 1969 she became a member of the “A powerful storm was sweeping Nationalist Corps, a committee of the the land, a storm whose inexorable student council where she and other advance no earthly force could stop, students would integrate with workers and the name of the storm was and farmers and learn from their struggles. history.”

She was a Sampaguita dormer during the dawn of Martial Law, where she In its February 4, 1969 issue, the recounts the entry of soldiers into their Collegian reported that the failure of dorm and rooms where some of them lost Marcos to release the P9 million budget their belongings after the inspections. “I of UP triggered widespread opposition remember (wo)manning the barricades in the university, leading to a five-day in front of the Faculty Center with other strike from January 31 to February 4. students and faculty members,” she Taking to the streets the strong recounts in an article published defiance against the government, the by the Collegian on FQS stirs up a year later beginning on the 40th January 25 and continuing up to March 1970. Veteran journalist Jose Lacaba’s account “Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage” vividly

recorded the massive protest actions that ensued, the slogan “Makibaka!

Huwag matakot!” reverberating in the streets of the campus and elsewhere in the metropolis.

January 26 marked the onset of FQS, as then reelected president Ferdinand Marcos delivered the State of the Nation entitled “National Discipline: The Key to Our Future” at the old legislative building, now the National Museum.As he came out of the building, cardboard coffins representing the death of democracy were hurled in his direction, and a crocodile effigy of Marcos was set ablaze. Lacaba describes Burgos Drive becoming a raging battlefield with the unprecedented display of the sadism of cops who attacked the defiant public.

FQS ended violently with the clash of police who used tear gas and arms against students who tried to counter using Molotov cocktails and pillbox bombs.

The storm has passed and the fascist dictator has been toppled, but the calamities and casualties are still the headlines of the day. No weatherman can accurately predict the coming of a storm, but the continuing state repressions render it inevitable.

“Every soul who had ever experienced poverty and oppression found himself linked to his neighbor in those hours of turmoil, welded tightly by a shared fate and a common exhilaration.”

Nearly five decades after the FQS, succeeding generations are faced with intensified coercion. “Kung tutuusin, hindi nalalayo ang kasalukuyang kalagayan ng kabataan at mamamayang Pilipino sa sitwasyong nag-anak sa FQS,” said National Union of Students of

the Philippines (NUSP) National President Sarah Jane Elago.

Under President Benigno Aquino III’s term, the government remains a puppet of the United States with the lopsided Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that reopened US military bases in the Philippines, Elago explained.

The country is also facing the most unemployed and underemployed Filipinos in history, ballooning to 4.5 million and 7.3 million, respectively, according to think tank IBON foundation.

This is a stark contrast with the economic growth boasted by the Aquino administration.

With cases of human rights violation recording 294 extrajudicial killings and 28 victims of enforced disappearance by human rights watchdog Karapatan, the context of the country under a fascist rule remains the same 46 years hence.

“Sa gayon, hindi rin imposibleng mapasigabo ang kilusang kabataan sa unang kwarto ng taon, lalo na kung patuloy nating masasapol ang mga pinakamatitining na isyung panlipunan” Elago said.

History seems to repeat itself and it is only a matter of time until another storm will descend upon the country. As the nation is still characterized by dialectical contradictions, the youth must uphold its critical and active task in resolving these in favor of the marginalized. To remain passive is a grave transgression.

Upon entering the campus of UP Diliman, the Oblation reminds the youth of their duty to serve the people and the nation. In the front of the statue, inscribed are the lines of Padre Florentino in El Filibusterismo: “Nasaan ang kabataang mag-aalay / ng kanilang kasibulang buhay / ng kanilang adhikain at sigasig / sa kabutihan ng bansa?” 

IN TH E EYE O THE F STOR M ALD

RIN

VILL

EGA

S

Dibuho ni Kenneth Gutlay at Jiru Rada Disenyo ng pahina ni Jiru Rada

LATHALAIN 9

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

BOUND AND DETERMINED A N D R E A J O YC E LU C A S FRAMED BY CLOSE-CROPPED GRAY hair, his careworn face brightens as he smiles. Tatay Boy wore a plain blue shirt, jeans, and slippers— carefully chosen because jail visitors are restricted to wear shorts, or the colors yellow and orange. He had brought fish crackers for his son and everyone else, and he offers us some. He brought a lot with him, because his son loves them.

Throughout the four-hour drive from Quezon City to Nueva Ecija, he tells us stories of his son separated from him for almost two years now. Tatay Boy Cadano is one of the parents of the country's 136 youth political detainees, to Guiller Cadano who was arrested in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, with another youth organizer Gerald Salonga.

Justice remains elusive for them, and their detention stands testament to the Aquino regime's six years of violence against the youth whom it brands as enemies of the state.

Passion for community organizing Kuya Guiller has always had the heart for organizing peasant and farming communities. Sitting down to talk with him inside the detention facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in San Jose City, I could see he finds it easy to talk to people. I have only seen him in photographs before, and I could recognize at once his easy smile and the boyish look that his eyeglasses gave him.

Tatay Boy teases him with having gained weight even in prison. Facing other student journalists who visited him that day, he opens the conversation with confidence. We have a hard time hearing each other talk amid the noise of videoke and reunions in the visiting area, but he manages to tell us of his experiences inside and outside the jail.

He started out as a member of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) during his undergraduate years in the UP Diliman Extension

Program in Pampanga (UPDEPP).

Since then he became a member of other progressive organizations, including the Pi Sigma Fraternity and the labor group Anakpawis.

"Isa sa ipinagmamalaki ko bilang aktibista, tama 'yung pinili kong landas," he relates. He could easily have stayed in his comfort zone, but he chose to involve himself in trying to find answers to big questions.

He graduated cum laude from his degree in psychology. That may have marked the end of his studies, but not his activism. He became the regional coordinator of Kabataan Partylist, the only representation of the youth in Congress, from 2012 to 2013. He often spoke in forums about youth issues like budget cuts in education and tuition hikes, and helped in organizing visits to Hacienda Luisita for the youth.

"Wala mang perang lumalabas sa trabaho ko, nagagamit ko 'yung [napag-aralan ko] para makatulong," he says.

This has all been cut short, however, when he and Kuya Gerald were arrested in Carranglan for "illegal possession of firearms and explosives," two of the most common charges filed against political detainees. The latter is a non-bailable case.

The police had immediately branded them as members of the New People's Army, an accusation vehemently denied by Kuya Gerald, Kuya Guiller, and Tatay Boy. Yet even if his passion for organizing peasants and farmers has cost him his freedom, Kuya Guiller regrets nothing.

"Wala naman akong pinagsisisihan sa pagkakakulong [namin], dahil wala kaming kasalanan."

Languishing hopes The attacks on their civil rights continued after they were detained.

Kuya Gerald picks up the story at this point and I also recognize him from the photographs of him that I saw—only he now looks different. He had shaved his hair, and he looks worried. Tatay Boy had told us earlier that Kuya Gerald is suffering from trauma.

As Kuya Gerald sits down beside us, he immediately expresses his anxiety over being branded a convict if he ever gains his freedom again. "'Yung [institution ng] kulungan, hindi siya nakakatulong ngayon, dahil kulang sa suportang moral at pisikal para sa mga nakakulong."

He and Kuya Guiller confess that they have been through all manners of abuse while in jail. While the facilities seem to be in working order, food supplies however always ran low for the inmates. "Ayon sa tantiya namin, pinagkakasya 'yung P25 na allowance kada araw para sa bawat inmate, imbis na P60," he relates. They used to receive rations of cooked rice, but not they get it raw. They struggle to prepare their own meals due to limited gas and charcoal supplies, and there were days when they could not cook.

Even in the jobs they have in jail, they were treated more harshly than the other prisoners. The inmates weave baskets that they could sell for as much as P20 each. "Hindi kami pwedeng mag-overtime [sa paglalala ng basket]," says Kuya Gerald. It was as if they were so afraid that allowing them to do so would provide them a chance to escape, he explains.

Restrictions were imposed even on what visitors are allowed to bring them. Kuya Gerald loved to read—it was one of the things he missed being in jail—but he cannot do so because the jail wardens always took away his books. "Dinalhan ako minsan ng

nanay ko ng kopya ng Huckleberry Finn. Dahil kakaiba siya [sa paningin nila], sinabi nila na komunista raw, tapos kinumpiska nila."

Kuya Gerald says he misses his organizing activities in Carranglan, "Gusto lang naming tumulong."

The police would sometimes mock them, "Tulong kayo nang tulong sa iba, 'di [n'yo naman] matulungan ang sarili n'yo." He laughs, as if to ask what else could they have done in a society that needs people who are willing to sacrifice personal comfort in the name of the public good. Until now, people from the community in Carranglan visit them, asking them for advice in their struggle against land grabbing and the encroachment of big businesses on their lands. Like Kuya Guiller, Kuya Gerald said he misses his family, the communities he used to go to, and the calm of the countryside. He would have liked to talk more, but the visiting hours are almost up. Kuya Guiller and Kuya Gerald shakes hands with all of us in turn, and then Kuya Guiller hugs Tatay Boy. "Sana makadalaw ulit kayo," says Kuya Guiller. We promise them that we would visit—but it is a promise that I hope I would not have to keep. The next time Tatay Boy visits Kuya Guiller, I hope they would together walk out of prison, never to be parted again. 

Illustration by Guia Abogado Page Design by John Reczon Calay

10 OPINYON

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

The World According to Bernie Sanders VICTOR GREGOR LIMON IT IS NOT DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND why Bernie Sanders inspires awe.

For a one-term American politician who was practically unknown outside Vermont only a year ago, his virtual tie with Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses is a remarkable feat that demonstrates the potency of his campaign rhetoric.

Even here in the Philippines, on the other side of the world, his advocacies are familiar, because we have been demanding the very same things from our own inept and heartless government: tax cuts and wage hikes for the working class, universal healthcare, and greater funding for other social services such as education.

In fact, these demands for genuine change are the same throughout the rest of the world and they underscore an undeniable fact: capitalism is a cruel and hopeless place. From the electoral victories of anti-austerity parties in Greece and Spain, to the protests against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in Japan, Malaysia, and New Zealand, there is a growing anger against a world order that only enriched the top one percent at the expense of billions of people in the working class.

Bernie's “socialism,” after all, does not forward any radical alternative to America's neoliberal economy and is thus still consistent with America's imperialist agenda

Such a system has produced extremes—both scandalous wealth and abject poverty, surplus goods on one hand and hunger on the other, violence, and environmental destruction. This system thrives in a world dominated by the United States, and it is precisely against this context that Bernie's so-called “democratic socialism” must be carefully scrutinized by nations like ours, where US imperialism is an omnipotent and malevolent force.

The Philippines and other neocolonies of the US must expect nothing but the worst, even from someone as empathic in the plight of ordinary people, someone so sincere in his desire to improve the lives of his countrymen. For if Bernie snatches the US Democratic Party's nomination from Hillary and goes on to become the general of the world's most powerful empire, he will be forced to become another Barrack Obama.

If Bernie sits in the Oval Office, he will do so as the commanderin-chief of the largest military in the world and he will be prepared to defend America's interests at all costs—just as Obama has promised to end Bush's “war on terror” but went on to maintain America's global

hegemony. This means maintaining control and influence over resourcerich areas like the Middle East and the Asia Pacific, including the Philippines.

There is no convincing proof that Bernie will decide otherwise.

While he has condemned the moral and economic cost of wars, the Vermont senator has not expressly recognized that US imperialism is at the crux of the very economic system that has blocked progress both in his nation and in many other nations like ours who struggle against the military-industrial complex of the US. Bernie's “socialism,” after all, does not forward any radical alternative to America's neoliberal economy and is thus still consistent with America's imperialist agenda. While the world according to Bernie Sanders may be a bleak one, the future he envisions for it, unfortunately, seems none the brighter. 

The same psychology class taught me that there are three dimensions to being a Filipino: labas, loob, and lalim. The last dimension speaks about how deep your Filipino values go, how sincerely you practice them, and how proud you are to be part of this culture. In almost every interview, Poe reiterates that she has always remained a Filipino at heart.

That people are calling out her citizenship issue under the heat of the election season is something her detractors are doing for the same reason: convenience. When Poe ran for senator in the 2013 elections, nobody seemed to mind that she used to have a US passport, or that she gave up her citizenship to find greener pastures abroad.

Coincidentally, Poe was part of the administrative slate in the past election. Today, she goes head to head with the president’s personal bet. Looking at the roster of presidential candidates makes me ask, what sense is there in being a natural-born citizen when it limits us to a pool of bickering children who can only hurl insults at each other on national television?

It feels so useless to let the debate revolve around technicalities in citizenship, when in the end only the corrupt and human rights violators are listed in our presidential ballots.

I may not be voting for Poe in the coming elections, but I will not deprive her of the Filipino citizenship just because she once left. Sometimes I don't think it matters if one leaves, so long as they come back. 

The Filipino issue ARRA FRANCIA

A FILIPINO BY CONVENIENCE--this was how one of my classmates in our Psychology class called Grace Poe when asked to gauge the “Filipino-ness” of some local personalities. With all the fuss about her nationality surfacing on mainstream media, my other classmates and I could only nod in agreement on why he called her so.

Poe renounced her Filipino citizenship in the ‘90s to build a life with her new family in the United States. She became a US citizen after a few years, came back to the Philippines every now and then, but ultimately stayed in 2005 to see her ailing father. By that time, her allegiance in official documents was still sworn to the US. Today, these little details are being put under so much scrutiny to determine her validity to bid for the country’s highest position. No less than the Supreme Court has been conducting oral arguments to decide on whether Poe is a naturalborn citizen or not. The issue has been blown up to such sizeable proportions that I would want nothing more than for it to stop.

What sense is there in being a natural-born citizen when it limits us to a pool of bickering children who can only hurl insults at each other on national television?

Larger than Life

Polo F. Imperial

THE STORY OF CHEN AND THE CAKES SOMETIMES I WISH I HAD NOT TAKEN ON this column. It's slowly becoming a mental torture device and one that is more tormenting because I signed up for it myself. There is no escape. Every time I sit on the desk to write, it's like I'm putting on a Charles Xavierish contraption on my head and my life flashes by in vivid color right before my very eyes.

Of course, I have not been completely miserable in recent history, but I wish the machine would focus on more positive things, namely: 1. In a span of four months, I have lost much weight, from that of an infant African elephant to close to that of a healthy 18-year-old Filipino male.

When I am in a crowded jeepney, people no longer made tsk-tsk sounds towards my direction and I am learning to quell feelings of guilt or remorse for occupying space.

2. I have joined the Collegian team and learned several life hacks for UP students from the senior editors, such as putting some fishball gravy sauce on your instant pancit canton, or how to free-ride on group projects and get away with it.

3. I have made so many tibak friends, who taught me the error of my bourgeois ways and reintroduced me to so many new ideas and experiences. The solidarity camp with the Lumad in November changed me.

But the machine would not skip the worst parts of the last few days, especially the images of me lying down in bed the whole day. I have been missing classes and I have already used up almost half of the allowed number of absences in almost all my classes. I have been staying up too late at night, playing computer games because it prevents me from thinking too much about how I have become someone I never thought I would become: a heartbroken, lovesick person.

Last Sunday night, I was playing on the office computer when a wild harpy suddenly appeared behind me, in the form of my good friend Hermione.

The harpy used batok on me, and it was very effective. Apparently it was the Chinese New Year's eve and she practically dragged me out of the office so I could go “get some high-definition action” by going to the celebrations with her in Chinatown.

Descended from a Binondo family of coolies who made a fortune out of cheap-ass zippers and buttons, Hermione knew her way around and instead spent most of her energy complaining about how I could not keep up with her. “Nobody likes a man who moves like a glacier. Walk faster.”

We ate at a restaurant where there are only two choices on the menu: noodles and siopao. Both were extraordinary. When I was done with my bowl of mami, she asked me if I knew the story of Chen and the cakes. I groaned and told her this is why I call her Hermione.

It's supposed to be some sort of Chinese story, and one that's supposed to be funny.

“Write about it and see if somebody who reads your pathetic column knows what it means,” she said and then ordered another bowl of heavenly noodles for me. 

OPINYON 11

Martes 9 Pebrero 2016

EKSENANG PEYUPS THE CONYO EDISHUN! HI. IT IS TIME NA TALAGA NA THERE’S conyo representation in Kule. Right, bro?

It’s nice naman so what’s wrong ‘di ba?

Sometimes I wish I was in a green or blue school just so I wouldn’t find it so hard to fit in! I had to ‘adjust’ pa! HAGGARD! At least it’s much easier to park my dad’s FJ Cruiser in UP than in Taft.

LOL. And it’s cool naman in Katipunan, affordable naman lahat especially sa UP Town Center. Last week kasya P2000 allowance ko sa 4 meals dun. 10/10 Sulit bro! So let’s get on with all the chika, uhm I mean, gossip alright? Alright.

DUTERTE came! Holrayt! He went to an event in UP last week and it’s good to know no one was hurt, especially if someone in the perimeter tried to make bangga that OG once. Ooops. He scary, man. Kule has been to Davao and everyone worships him there like a king.

Sh*k*ng*na. He the real OG. Good thing too there wasn’t much chix because dat n***a was thirsty. Even Doris B. from a TV network became a subject of the Duterte moves. Literally. There was matching punas-punas of pawis pa and pisil ng arms. That guy is something. Hoho.

STRIKES are getting popular man. In ’71 it was the Diliman Commune fighting against rising oil prices and state tyranny.

In ’16 it is Bulacan State University fighting against their school’s new haircut policy.

Sikat na their strike sa FB, sabi daw: “WALANG KINALAMAN ANG HAIRCUT SA PAG-AARAL NAMIN.” HAHAHA. We know our priorities bro. I spent 350 on this ‘do at Bruno’s and now you want me to get a cheapo barber’s cut? I totally understand your situation, bro.

UP FAIR na this week bros. I heard super cool ng lineups. However, a classmate of mine from my Polsc class told me na it’s much cooler daw before.

Like waaaaaaay cooler nung mayroong Gary V. I’m not sure why but he also told me na almost every five minutes daw, Mr. Pure Energy was asking them to lift their hands like it was a rave. Ewan ko lang bros ha, parang interesting din makiparty in the tune of Shout for Joy. Bam! I apologize for the lack of juicy bits in this week’s column bros, it’s my first time after all. And one thing we know about first times, we can never be fully prepared for everything. So that’s it. GTG bro, til next issue! 

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

inbox GOV'T WARNED AGAINST JOINING CONTROVERSIAL TPP IBON Foundation* Media Release 5 February 2016 Research group IBON said that the Philippine government should reconsider joining the contentious Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) because it will undermine people's rights and prevent national development.

Led by the United States, the TPP was signed yesterday in New Zealand by twelve countries amid protests across the region like in Auckland and Kuala Lumpur. Critics are alarmed over the immense bias of the TPP for corporate interests and the vast coverage of economic areas the TPP wants to control. These include allowing foreign corporations to invest in public utilities and social services.

Despite the wide opposition, the Philippine government has been aggressively seeking to be a TPP member. In fact, in an apparent move to qualify for TPP membership, Congress rushed the approval of HB6395 this week. The bill allows lending companies, financing companies and investment houses in the country to be owned 100% by foreign nationals.

According to IBON, the recentlysigned bill is a result of vigorous lobbying by the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce and the US Embassy. But while US Ambassador Philip Goldberg lauded the passage of HB6395, he said that there are still obstacles to the country's membership to the TPP such as restrictions to foreign participation in land ownership enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

The country's experience with unbridled liberalization makes the government's bid to join the TPP extremely irrational, the group said.

The TPP is based on the obsolete and failed model of free trade agreements that seriously challenge the country's autonomy in pursuing real development.

Government should thus resist the self-interested lobbying of foreign governments and transnational corporations, said the group.

* IBON Foundation, Inc is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.

MALAYO MAN, MALAPIT DIN. Sa lahat ng mga umiibig, iniiibig, at iibig pang muli—bilang pagdiriwang ng Araw ng mga Puso, binubuksan ng Kulê ang mga pahina nito para sa paglalathala ng mga maikling tula at dagli (flash fiction) ukol sa pag-ibig.

Maaaring ipadala ang kontribusyon sa kule1516@gmail.com hanggang bukas, ika-10 ng Pebrero.

Create a ripple, make a wave, and row the vote in MEDIA REPORT 2016: ROW THE VOTE, A Pre-election Media Coverage Assessment.

Presented by the Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP (UJP-UP), Row the Vote will focus on the state of the coverage of Philippine media on the events preceding the nationwide elections on May 9.

See you this Friday, February 12, 1-4 PM at the CMC Auditorium!

PANAHON NA MULI NG PAGMULAT. The Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP (UJP-UP) is now accepting entries for its annual nationwide photojournalism contest MULAT MANINIPAT (MUMA) with the theme "Halalan sa Larawan."

For more details, visit the MUMA's official Facebook page, www.fb.com/ MulatManinipatMUMA ONE BILLION RISING 2016 Sa 14 Pebrero, gaganapin ang ika-apat na taong pagdiriwang ng One Billion Rising (OBR), isang pandaigdigang kampanya upang wakasan ang karahasang nakabatay sa kasarian. Ang pagdiriwang na ito ay magpapatuloy hanggang sa Marso bilang paggunita sa Buwan ng Kababaihan.

Ang tema ng OBR, Tarp Festival, at Gender and Development Summit para sa taong ito ay "Malay-saKasariang Edukasyon sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas."

Mga gawain: Pebrero 12 - One Billion Rising UPD 3 n.h. Asembliya sa College of Music 4 n.h. Programa sa Quezon Hall Marso 1 - Tarp Festival Opening Program 8-10 n.u. UP Sunken Garden Grandstand (tentatibo) Marso 1-15 - Tarp Festival sa UP Academic Oval Marso 8 - Pandaigdigang Araw ng Kababaihan Marso 30 - Gender and Development Summit

SIPAT SIKLAB Chester Higuit Chinese Lunar New Year's Day Binondo, Manila February 2016

STS Sorting Hat

Paano kung imbes na forms at appeals, ginamit ng UP ang power of magic upang mapagpasiyahan kung magkano kada unit ang kailangan mong bayaran?

Worry no more, Kule is here to satiate your curiosity! sagutin lang kung alin dito ang applicable sa iyo and just like that, you'll find your tuition at the drop of a hat! Teehee.

Robes _

Brand new robes custom-made from Madam Malkin's (5 points) Same as last year--tiwala lang na kasya pa sa'yo at sana 'di halatang lumaki ka na (3 points) Hand-me-downs from Second-Hand robes (2 points)

Tingnan dito ang resulta:

Hogwarts Housing _

One of the highest towers in the area, heavily secured (5 points) From a gated community within a bare stone wall (4 points) A bedspacer or a room in a comfortable boarding house that reminds you of home (3 points) A building that requires a riddle to enter (2 points)

Mode of Transportation _

Your very own Nimbus 2000 (5 points) Ang "antique" Ford Angalia ng papa mo (3 points) Hogwarts Express Rail Transit System/It H.E.R.T.S (2 points)

Blood Status _

No Discount 30% Discount 25-12 points

11-6 points

Pureblood (5 points) - fully prepared for and aware of wizarding life, its benefits , consequences and financial implications Halfblood (3 points) - somewhat prepared for and aware of wizarding life Muggle (1 point) - not prepared for wizarding life

Pet _

Owl - Ay, sosyaaal! Imported? (5 points) Cat - low-maintenance. Nandyan lang 'pag kailangan niya ng pagkain or snuggles (4 points) Rat - Basta sana hindi mapapadpad sa baso ng Starbucks (3 points) Toad - Yung tipong nahanap mo lang sa labas habang nagyoyosi (2 points) Walang pet - Can hardly feed self, why find a second mouth to feed? (1 point)

60% Discount Full Discount 5-3 points

Konsepto at Dibuho ni Patricia Ramos

0-2 points Disenyo ng Pahina ni John Reczon Calay