KULĂŠ
Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman Martes 16 Pebrero 2016 Tomo 93 Blg 11
Divide and conquer LATHALAIN 8
2 EDITORYAL
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
ROADBLOCK THE ROAD TO NATIONAL development entails the provision of basic social services, removal of poverty, and strengthening of local industries. President Benigno Aquino III’s administration claims to target these, but detours instead to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a huge market of lopsided agreements where the Philippines is at the losing end. Seen as a step towards progress, the TPP is at par with Aquino’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program which undermines the government’s responsibility to ensure economic opportunities for weak sectors. PPP is packed with favorable terms for investors like guaranteed return on investment, which burdened consumers and taxpayers with soaring MRT and LRT fares, water, electricity, and health service rates. Now comes TPP, allowing foreign investors to exploit the resources of our country. Spearheaded by the United States (US) to counter China’s rising influence in East Asia, TPP writes the rules for global trade, slashing tariffs and trade barriers between 12 nations representing 40 percent of the global economy. In an apparent move to qualify for TPP membership, the Congress swiftly approved House Bill 6395, allowing lending companies, financing companies and investment houses to be 100 percent owned by foreign nationals. During a bilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama on November 18, Aquino sought US support to join the TPP “because it offers to a far larger market.” However, it compels the removal of trade barriers that supposedly protect local industries especially in developing countries like the Philippines. This free trade setup is a battlefield manipulated by economic superpowers where foreign investors rule in the guise of competition.
P L AY B A C K What can UP students learn from the Diliman Commune? The Diliman Commune, where students, faculty, staff, community members and even UP administrators united to oppose police incursion into the university and to assert academic freedom is a shining period in UP's history. It is also a landmark event in standing for the marginalized in our society.
Dr. Judy Taguiwalo
Retired Professor Women and Development Studies UP Diliman
Majority of the population who are farmers and workers bear the biggest brunt as TPP jeopardizes the country’s economic independence
Granting full foreign ownership of our companies and lands from the current 40 percent cap, it turns over large chunks of the economy to foreign profit-seeking corporations. In effect, locals are disenfranchised in their own land where jobs are scarce and wages are low, forcing them to work abroad under dismal conditions. Furthermore, the TPP exacerbates the perennial problem of land reform foiled by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program extended by Aquino. Thousands of hectares of land remain undistributed to farmers like the 6,000-hectare Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, 7,183-hectare Hacienda Roxas in Batangas, and the 16,000-hectare Hacienda Reyes in Quezon. Majority of the population who are farmers and workers bear the biggest brunt as TPP jeopardizes the country’s economic independence. With the lack of a strong economic base, developing countries suffer job losses, undercutting of worker rights, and dismantling of labor, environmental, health and financial laws. Our non-inclusion in the TPP has given Congress an impetus to push through Charter Change (Cha-Cha), but not one from among the basic
sectors in the Philippines would dance to Cha-Cha. Clearly, politicians railroading amendments in the Constitution have different interests to forward other than their constituents’. After traversing the road to free trade under the World Trade Organization (WTO), the country is yet to recover from its ill effects 20 years hence, where from being a net exporter of rice, we became a net importer as production fell and land grabbing became rampant. The WTO only concentrated capital into the hands of the rich few at the expense of workers. This is the same road the TPP is headed to. Instead of meeting the demands set by TPP, the Aquino administration should meet the needs of the people aggravated by its neoliberal policies. It must shift its gears towards strengthening national industry and upholding the country’s autonomy, boosted by the pressure from citizens in its demands for pro-people policies. More than ever, the glaring inequality between foreign and local interest demands the government to strike the imbalance and surpass the roadblocks to national development.
[T]he university is not an ivory tower where one is educated by reading books and discussing theories and their application in classrooms with one’s teachers and fellow students. A united academic community can raise the banner of protest and resonate the call for true freedom and democracy for that time and go down in history when UP was a beacon for the rest of the country struggling against foreign domination and elite rule.
Carol Araullo
Chairperson Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)
The students and the youth in general become a potent and significant social force, as dramatically exemplified in the 1971 Diliman Commune that help forge the unity of the exploited and oppressed classes and sectors by arousing, organizing and mobilizing them to defend and uphold people’s rights against the powers that be.
Rey Claro Casambre Executive Director Philippine Peace Center
UKOL SA PABALAT
Dibuho ni Joshua Rioja
PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN 2015-2016
Punong Patnugot Mary Joy Capistrano Kapatnugot Victor Gregor Limon Tagapamahalang Patnugot Jiru Rada Patnugot sa Balita Arra Francia Patnugot sa Grapiks Guia Abogado Tagapamahala ng Pinansiya Karen Ann Macalalad Kawani Kenneth Gutlay / Chester Higuit / Patricia Ramos Pinansiya Amelyn Daga Tagapamahala sa Sirkulasyon Gary Gabales Sirkulasyon 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/philippinecollegian
BALITA 3
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
Over 400 HEIs propose to hike tuition z J O H N R E C Z O N C A L AY TOP FIVE HIGHEST PRIVATE HEIs NET PROFITS (2010 and 2015) l 2010 l 2015 P1.3 B P1.08 B P941 M P734 M
P713 M
P657.6 M P463.5 M
P381.9 M
P352.3 M
P272.6 M
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS*
FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY
DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY*
LYCEUM OF THE PHILIPPINES UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST
* - non-stock, non-profit university Sources: Kabataan Partylist and Securities and Exchange Commission
TUITION AND OTHER SCHOOL FEES COLLECTION ON SUCs (2010-2015) l Tuition Collection
l Other School Fees Collection
9
P7.9 B
8
P6.97 B
in billion pesos
7 6
P5.28 B
P5.62 B
P6.06 B
5
P4.71 B
P4.7 B*
2014
2015
P4.01 B
4 3
P8.19 B*
P2.57 B
P2.64 B
2010
2011
P2.78 B
2 1 2012
2013
* - estimated value Source: Department of Budget and Management Budget Expenditures and Sources of Financing
Research and Infographic by John Reczon Calay
AROUND 400 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE higher educational institutions (HEIs) proposed to hike tuition rates for the academic year 2016 to 2017, despite the steady rise of income collected from tuition and other school fees (OSFs) in the past five years. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) confirmed that these HEIs have requested an average increase of five to 15 percent tuition rate in a forum steered by the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education on February 3. HEIs are allowed to introduce tuition hikes as long as they undergo student consultations within the February preceding the intended fees increase, based on CHED Memorandum no. 3, series of 2012, or the “Enhanced Guidelines and Procedures Governing Increases in Tuition and OSFs and for Other Purposes.” This academic year 2015 to 2016, CHED allowed 313 private HEIs to increase tuition and OSFs. Of these 313 schools, 283 increased tuitions by 6.17 percent or P29.86 per unit, while 212 increased OSFs by 6.55 percent or P135.60. The validity of student consultations on TOFI has long been criticized by different student groups because of their supposed lack of transparency and questionable proceedings. “CHED doesn’t know what’s really happening inside schools during the consultation period—it doesn’t even have its own oversight committee to
supervise this process,” said Sarah Elago, national president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines. Rapid increase With the rise of tuition collection, some of the country’s top private HEIs posted a steady increase of income in a span of five years, according to a report presented by the Kabataan Partylist (see sidebar 1). Revenue collected by the University of Santo Tomas surged to over P1.3 billion in 2015 from P941 million in 2010. Far Eastern University posted an 81 percent increase in net profits to P1.08 billion from P713 billion, while the De La Salle University saw an increase to P734 million from P381.9 million in five years, according to data obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “College education has become a very lucrative business with many private universities posting billions upon billions of profit,” Elago said. On the other hand, total tuition collection from SUCs has increased by 55 percent to P8.19 billion in 2015 from P5.3 billion in 2010, according to data from the Department of Budget and Management. Meanwhile, collection from OSFs grew from P2.6 billion in 2010 to P4.7 billion in 2015 (see sidebar 2). “The incessant increase in the rates of tuition and other school fees is the result of the government’s extant policy of deregulation and commercialization of education,” said Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon in a statement.
“#AyokongMagmahal” Under President Benigno Aquino III’s administration, the national average tuition for all HEIs is currently pegged at P603.32 per unit, up by 55.48 percent from when Aquino assumed office in 2010. With the highest number of college students concentrated in the National Capital Region, average tuition also doubled to P1,143 per unit in 2015 from P614.54 in 2010. The same trend can be seen in UP, with tuition and OSFs collection reaching P502 million in 2014 from P377 million in 2010, based on earlier reports of the Collegian. “The current state of college education in the country—which is highly unaffordable and inaccessible for the common Filipino—is the result of the Aquino administration’s continued push to turn education into a business venture, a luxury commodity, rather than a right,” Elago added. To protest on the impending hikes, various youth and student groups are staging nationwide walkouts on February 27 and March 11. The groups have also taken their protests to social media using the hashtag, “#AyokongMagmahal,” to denounce any form of matriculation increase. “We enjoin all students: let’s call on CHED and the president to stop tuition hikes. Sabay-sabay po nating sabihin na ayaw na nating magmahal— ang matrikula,” Elago said.
House OKs bill privatizing social services z DANIEL BOONE DESPITE FAILING TO ADDRESS BILLS dubbed as priorities by the administration, the House of Representatives passed on February 1 the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) Act, a bill supporting the privatization of basic social services initially subsidized by the government. Voting 126-8, the lower house approved on the third and final reading the PPP Act that seeks to amend the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, giving an easier environment for government partnerships with private firms in building infrastructures and providing social services such as health and transportation. The approved bill recognizes the role of the private sector in national development as they provide the services that should be done by the government, according to independent think tank Ibon Foundation. The Senate is still on the second reading of their version of the PPP act, or Senate Bill 2665. The bill needs to undergo another reading before the president signs the consolidated bill to law. “[Privatization] will result in expensive rates in toll ways … even hospitals which are subject to the government’s privatepartnership program. [Dapat] government
ang humawak ng public utilities para hindi tumataas ang rate,” said Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Neri Colmenares. Higher cost of services PPPs began in response to power shortage in 1989, when the National Power Corporation partnered with Hopewell Energy Management to build and maintain a power station in Navotas. While the electricity service in the region improved, additional power costs were delegated to consumers in the form of power hikes, according to the Asian Development Bank. Such government partnerships increased under the current administration, with the Metro-Pacific Lightrail Corporation for the Light Railway Transit (LRT) extension project in 2015, and Megawide World Citi Consortium Inc. for the modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center in 2013. Train fares have almost doubled with the privatization of the rail system in the country. For instance, fare in the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) increased to P28 to P30 from P15 to P20. Continued on page 5
HAUL OVER THE COALS Katrina Artiaga
Adelfa Perez stares out a window to look at the coal factory that has been spewing large deposits of ash and affecting her community at Brgy. Happyland in Tondo, Manila. Her husband had to return to the province and leave her with their four children as the ash deposits from the large coal factories worsen his heart condition. Perez recalled the factory owner immediately lessened the piles of coal lying near its walls and had nets installed after residents marched at the factory’s gates late January and called for the termination of its operations. Earlier this month, a six-year-old died due to asthma complications that stemmed from too much inhalation of ash.
4 BALITA
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
Court stamps denial of Palparan bail plea z JONA CLAIRE TURALDE
ALMOST A DECADE SINCE THEIR fight for justice began, families of disappeared UP Diliman students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan are one step closer to seeing Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. behind bars, after his plea for bail was denied with finality on January 22. Malolos Regional Trial Court Judge Alexander Tamayo said that there was enough evidence shown by the prosecution to dismiss Palparan’s motion for bail for the kidnap and illegal detention case on Karen and She. “Wala na siyang kawala. Mabubulok na siya sa kulung[an]. Kung makulong man siya, sana doon siya sa ordinaryong kulungan, iyong makakasama niya yung mga ordinaryong kriminal [at] huwag bigyan ng special treatment,” said Concepcion Empeño, Karen’s mother. Karen and She went missing on June 26, 2006, while they were doing fieldwork for Karen’s thesis in a peasant community in Hagonoy, Bulacan. The two UPD students were reportedly harassed, detained and tortured by the 24th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army headed by Palparan at that time. In a separate motion for reconsideration, Palparan claimed that his prosecution for the disappearance of Karen and She was “contrary to law and the
evidence on record [violated] his right to due process.” Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales disputed the claims in a joint order on November 6 last year, stating that Palparan’s claims were false and purely baseless. In addition to the denial of bail petition, Palparan will also be charged for the kidnap and illegal detention of Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, the key eyewitnesses for Karen and She’s case. Raymond and Reynaldo were allegedly abducted, tortured and imprisoned in different camp sites in 2006, and eventually stayed in the same detention house as Karen and She, witnessing Palparan’s alleged torture of the students in Camp Tecson, San Miguel, Bulacan. “Sa Pilipinas, mabagal ang ating hustisya, sobrang bagal lalo na kapag involved ang person in authority umaabot ng [sampu hanggang 20 taon],” Empeño said. The Office of the Ombudsman will soon file kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges against Palparan for the Manalo brothers, according to the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL). “And now, nearly 10 long agonizing years of waiting since his own abduction and horrendous torture on February 14, 2006, Manalo
Grave threats z KAREN ANN MACALALAD
will, hopefully, finally be given justice that has eluded him and many other countless victims to this late day,” a statement released by the NUPL. Amid the additional charges currently filed against him, Palparan remains resolute in his decision to run for senator in the upcoming 2016 elections.
Article XI of the Omnibus Election Code or the Eligibility of Candidates and Certificate of Candidacy of the Commission on Elections includes no restrictions preventing an accused from running for or holding office. It is a constitutional right of an accused to run for any electoral position for he is still not proven guilty, according
On-campus assault prompts protocol revamp z M I G U E L V I L L A L U N A C A A C B AY THE UP DILIMAN POLICE (UPDP) HAS adopted a stricter protocol towards vagrants inside the university after a supposed mentally unstable woman attacked two people on campus on February 7. The victims were waiting for a jeep at around 8 AM in the waiting shed near the Molave Residence Hall when the suspect suddenly attacked them from behind with a bread knife measuring six inches. The suspect first stabbed a 20-year old UPD alumna in her lower back and then attempted to stab Jazer Jose Togonon who was able to deflect the attack but was lacerated on his left hand. Togonon, 23, was sent to the UP Health Service (UPHS) and was immediately released after treatment. The UPD alumna, who requested anonymity, rode a taxi with two of her friends to the Capitol Medical Center and was discharged two days later on February 9.
“[I want] UP to take action in tightening their security to better protect people inside the University,” said the alumna through text. The suspect identified herself as Chrystel Mae Sarmiento, but was not able to say anything coherent other than that she was jobless, said UPDP Investigator SP Ruperto Q. Balanon. Sarmiento was apprehended by UPDP Officer Randy dela Cruz and has been sent to the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) for a psychiatric evaluation. The results of the test will determine whether she will be sent to prison or a mental health institution. A similar case happened in December 2015t when an allegedly mentally unstable woman attacked an Asian Institute of Tourism (AIT) student while crossing the AIT-College of Human Kinetics footbridge. The weapon used was a machete covered by a plastic bag but the victim only sustained minor injuries.
SUMMARY OF ATTACK ON SCHOOLS (July 2010-December 20, 2015) CARAGA REGION
TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS AFFECTED
SOUTHERN MINDANAO (SMR) l
1780
violation cases
violation cases
NORTHERN MINDANAO (NMR) l
72
NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS AGAINST DEPED SCHOOLS 62
SOUTHERN MINDANAO REGION
Military encampment (NMR) l 1 (SMR) l 29 Threat/harassment/intimidation (NMR) l 1 (SMR) l 31
violation cases
184
SOCCSKSARGEN REGION violation cases
48
110*
110 - Forcible closure, encampment, forcible displacement * - no record on the number of students affected for two schools in the region that were forcibly closed
Data obtained from Save Our Schools Network
368
64
CARAGA l
782
TOTAL NUMBER OF VIOLATION CASES
NORTHERN MINDANAO REGION
911 - Threat of closure, non-renewal of permit by the DepEd, demolition, forcible displacement 847 - Encampment, classes suspended due to attacks, forcible displacement 22 - Forcible closure
782 - Classes suspended due to attacks, forcible displacement
It is “highly probable” that the woman in the AIT incident is Sarmiento, said Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Nestor Castro. In March 2015, the UPDP enacted a protocol to prevent mentally unstable persons from entering the campus after a report of a frequent campus wanderer, known to students as Zorro, harassing a jogger. However, the UPDP lifted their protocol after online clamor ensued, letting Zorro back into the campus. Castro said the UPDP now has a better protocol which is to strictly monitor vagrants suspected to be mentally unstable and possibly have them checked up in the UPHS or sent to the NCMH. He also asked students to report to the UPDP any suspicious individual in need of help. While the safety of the public is the top priority, those with mental problems should be helped to adjust with the community, Castro added.
Various forms of attacks continue to hound Lumad schools in Mindanao, threatening the accessibility of education for Lumad children. Intensified military and paramilitary presence in the region have resulted to thousands of victims of human rights violations and schools forcibly suspending classes since 2010. According to children’s rights’ advocate Save Our Schools Network, President Benigno Aquino III’s counterinsurgency program Oplan Bayanihan continues to lead the attack on the Lumad.
VICTIMS OF CLOSURE-RELATED THREATS AND ATTACKS IN LUMAD SCHOOLS (April 2012-January 2016)
2672
to Palparan’s lawyer Narzal Mallares during a hearing on September 30, 2015. “He should stop denying reality already. His bail petition has been thumbed down again and he should get the picture by now even [if] as he still has the gall to run for senator,” according to NUPL.
HIGHLIGHTED CASES SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 - Military group Magahat killed Emerito Samarca, executive director of the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development in Surigao del Sur. JANUARY 17, 2016 - Paramilitary group Alamara killed Alibando Tingkas, Grade 3 student of Salugpongan Ta ‘Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS AGAINST LUMAD SCHOOLS 258 Military encampment (SMR) l 30 (CARAGA) l 5 (NMR) l 6 Threat/harassment/intimidation (CARAGA) l 37 (SMR) l 51 (NMR) l 18 Red-tagging (CARAGA) l 27 (SMR) l 38 (NMR) l 27 Destruction of property (CARAGA) l 3 (SMR) l 4 (NMR) l 3 Forcible closure (CARAGA) l 0 (SMR) l 1 (NMR) l 8
Research by Karen Ann Macalalad
Infographic by John Reczon Calay
BALITA 5
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
Bicol student takes life after losing 4Ps scholarship z ARRA B. FRANCIA A FOURTH YEAR BS AGRICULTURE student of the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA) was found dead on the morning of February 11 after he hanged himself in the previous night, allegedly due to the withdrawal of his scholarship grant. The 25-year-old student was a recipient of the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA), a scholarship grant under the Aquino administration’s flagship program Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Students under the ESGP-PA are given P30,000 worth of stipend every semester to cover tuition fees, living allowance, and other expenses. During the registration period for the current semester, the CBSUA Office of Student Affairs and Services no longer accepted his requirements for the ESGP-PA after he received failing marks for some of his subjects, said Arvin Reola, Kabataan Partylist (KPL) regional coordinator in Bicol. Tuition fees in CBSUA range from P7,000 to P8,000 every semester. While the student was able to pay for tuition after his scholarship was revoked, he still found it hard to provide for his own allowance, Reola added. The student’s family also bemoaned the often delayed processing of his ESGP-PA grant, according to a report by the KPL. As a result, he was also forced to work as a school utilities helper on weekends to cover his daily expenses. The student’s mother noticed that he started to lose weight by October because of the additional load from his job and studies, according to the group’s report. His parents’ combined income as a farmer and seller of local goods cannot provide enough for a family of nine and still send him a regular allowance, based on the report.
“Despite the supposed public character of his school, he still experienced difficulty paying for his education. It is revolting to see that even the state universities in our country do not provide the youth access to higher education,” according to the League of Filipino Students (LFS) in a statement. The student’s death marks the fifth incident of a student taking his own life after failing to pay tuition fees. In 2013, a first year Behavioral Sciences student in UP Manila took her own life after she was forced to take a leave of absence due to her failure to settle her tuition loan. Three students from the Cagayan State University, Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, and from Zamboanga Sibugay also reportedly took their own lives due to matriculation problems in 2015. Amid the number of deaths related to payments in matriculation, the current administration has allowed tuition fee increases in various higher educational institutions this year. National average tuition is now twice the price in 2010, from P334.89 to P603.32 per unit. In UP alone, the average number of students paying full tuition surged by 43 percent from 2013 to 2014, after the introduction of the Socialized Tuition System which grants tuition discounts based on one’s socioeconomic status. Various student groups will be staging nationwide walk-out protests for the CBSUA student’s death and against the impending hikes in tuition and other fees collection on February 27 and March 11. “The Aquino regime has refused to provide quality education to most Filipino families abandoning its responsibility to the youth and people. ... We cannot allow our education system to continue killing our youth with impunity,” according to LFS.
House OKs bill...
z Continued from page 3
The privatized transaction and fare hike are unjust because “the people will bear an increasing share of the debtservicing burden even as the system generates private profit,” a research by IBON revealed. Engagement in PPPs is essentially privatization of public utilities, said Colmenares. “The [bill] will institutionalize sovereign guarantee through the viability gap fund, and billions of public funds will be given to private companies to ensure their ‘super profits,’” he said. Pending bills Meanwhile, several other bills including the Freedom of Information bill in the Senate was approved on the third and final reading on March 10, 2014, but is stuck at second reading in the lower house. If approved, the FOI bill would have opened all official government documents to wider public scrutiny. On the other hand, the Bangsamoro Basic Law is still on the second reading in both houses due to questionable
provisions including the possibility of a “state within a state” as described by Sen. Miriam Santiago. The bill was designed to replace the current Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and ensure peace in the region. At the start of his term in 2010, President Benigno Aquino III announced that both the FOI and BBL were top priorities in his administration. Separately, on January 13, Aquino rejected the P2000 Social Security System pension hike passed in Congress. Colmenares called to override the president’s veto on February 3 but failed to make a motion after the house announced the adjournment of its session until after the May elections. “[The government’s] refusal to increase support for ordinary pensioners while institutionalizing the allocation of public funds to guarantee corporate profits bares the Aquino government’s bias for business on top of people’s welfare,” Ibon said in a statement.
WASTED OPPORTUNITIES Chester Higuit
The Philippines ranks 3rd among the world’s leading rice importers this year, according to a recent study by the US Department of Agriculture. Despite being an agricultural country with almost 41 percent arable land of its total land area, only 1.6 percent or P48.4 billion of the P3 trillion 2016 National Budget has been allotted to the Department of Agriculture. Under the Aquino administration, 9 out of 10 farmers remain landless according to independent think tank IBON foundation.
Pagpapasara sa Balintawak Market, tinutulan ng mga manininda z KAREN ANN MACALALAD MAHIGIT 7,000 MANININDA NG Cloverleaf Market sa Balintawak, Quezon City (QC) ang nanganganib na mawalan ng trabaho dahil sa nakaambang demolisyon na magbibigay-daan sa itatayong business complex, ayon sa Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), isang samahan ng mga maralitang taga-lungsod. Naglabas ng closure order ang lokal na pamahalaan noong ika-19 ng Enero sa may-ari ng Cloverleaf Market dahil sa safety at sanitary violations nito. Wala ring locational clearance ang palengke na kailangan para sa business permit, paliwanag ni Marlon Mariano, QC project development officer III. Pinabulaanan ng Kadamay ang kakulangan ng sanitasyon sa palengke. Inamin naman ng lokal na pamahalaan noong ika-3 ng Pebrero na hindi umano sila nagsagawa ng inspeksyon bago ipataw ang closure order. Sa kasalukuyan, patuloy ang operasyon ng Cloverleaf matapos katigan ng korte ang hininging temporary restraining order ng grupo sa loob ng 20 araw. Kasabay nito ang pagsasagawa ng QC Regional Trial Branch 98 ng sariling inspeksyon upang makita kung may nalabag na safety standards ang palengke. Dagdag ng Kadamay, hindi sapat ang problema sa sanitasyon sa pagpapasara ng palengke. Sa halip, tinitingnan nila ang P25 bilyong Cloverleaf Project ng Ayala Land Incorporated (ALI) na posibleng nasa likod ng nakaambang demolisyon.
Kawalan ng trabaho Ipinahayag ng ALI noong ika-16 ng Marso ang mixed-use development project nito sa humigit-kumulang 11 ektarya sa Balintawak, na maglalaman ng 15 gusali kabilang ang isang residential building, pamilihan, at ospital. Anim na buwan matapos ang naging anunsyo, walong palengke sa Balintawak ang binalak ipasara ng lokal na pamahalaan. Bukod sa Cloverleaf, pormal ding inanunsyo ang pagpapasara ng mga palengkeng MC at Riverview II noong ika-19 ng Enero. Sa ngayo’y sarado ang MC para sa renobasyon at susundan ito ng Riverview, ngunit walang konsultasyon o memorandum of agreement na nagsasabing makababalik ang mga manininda, ani Rizaldy Marasigan, punong kalihim ng Kadamay- Balintawak. Isa si Tomasa Malabanan Lumbres, 62, sa mga maninindang tinututulan ang pagpapasara ng Cloverleaf. Mahigit 27 taon na siyang nagtitinda ng mga gulay na inaangkat pa mula sa Tanauan, Batangas upang suportahan ang kanyang mga apo. Kumikita si Lumbres ng humigit kumulang P2,000 kada araw para sa mga gastusin kabilang na ang P400 na renta sa pwesto. “Malaking bagay sa amin ang Balintawak. … noong nabalo ako, ang bata ko pa. Dito ko [binuhay] ang [anim na] anak ko. [T]ulungan na lang kung anong dapat gawin, dapat ayusin para hindi na masara” ani Lumbres. Sa kabilang banda, ang loteng nasa likod lamang ng Cloverleaf ang binili ng ALI at hindi mismo ang palengke, paliwanag ni Mariano.
Pansariling interes Kabilang sa city development plan ni QC Mayor Herbert Bautista ang proyekto ng ALI, na lilikha ng limang growth centers na naglalayong makapanghikayat ng mga pribadong negosyo sa lugar, paliwanag ng Kadamay. Tinukoy bilang growth centers ng QC Comprehensive Land Use Plan para sa taong 2011 hanggang 2030 ang BalintawakMuñoz, Novaliches-Lagro, Batasan-National Government Center, Cubao, at Central Business District (CBD)-Knowledge Community kung saan matatagpuan ang UP Diliman. Balak gamitin ng lokal na pamahalaan ang kalakhan ng Balintawak bilang industrial at residential areas, batay sa dokumento mula sa QC City Planning and Development unit. Noong 2013, sunud-sunod ang naging demolisyon sa North Triangle dahil sa planong pagpapagawa ng QC CBD bilang central park sa lungsod. Tinatayang aabot sa 24,500 pamilya o 122,500 residente ang maapektuhan ng proyekto, ayon sa Kadamay. Suportado umano ng administrasyon ni Bautista ang naglalakihang mga negosyo tulad ng ALI, habang inaaway nito ang mga maralitang taga-lungsod, ani Estrelieta Bagasbas, pambansang bise-presidente ng Kadamay. “[S]a patuloy na panggigipit ng LGU sa manininda at pagwasak ng kanilang kabuhayan, lilikha ito ng malaki at tuluytuloy na kilos-protesta ng mga manininda sa Balintawak,” ani Marasigan.
6-7 KULTURA
“Inanod”
Ganito Tayo Kung Umibig
z JULIE ANNE BAIZA Paano nga ba ako nahulog? Gayong akala ko, damdamin ko’y natutulog. Mundo ko’y iyong binulabog, Sa isang iglap nagising akong ika’y iniirog.
z P S Y C H E S A LVA D O R
May bagay na nabubuo sa pagitan ng panandaliang pagsagwan palayo at muling pagtatagpo. Ang hula ko: latay sa puso. May bagay na gumuguho sa tuwing mamanggasan ng halik ang natuyong pampang. Ang hula ko: bitak sa puso. May bagay na nabubuo at naglalaho sa pagitan ng mga alon. Ang hula ko: Ikaw at ako. Ganito tayo kung umibig, parang bangkang walang katig mabuway sa ibabaw ng suwail na tubig.
Toki
‘Di ko akalaing magugustuhan ko ang tunog ng katahimikan, Kapag kasama ka bakit parang perpekto ang buong kalawakan. Ang ating mga mata parang may sariling buhay kung magtinginan, Habang tayo’y magkayakap sa’ting paboritong tambayan. Bago lang sa akin ang lahat ng ito, Gusto ko lang maging masaya sa kung anong mayroon tayo. Kung tadhana man ito, o laro ni kupido, Bahala na, basta masaya ako sa piling mo.
#Forever
o y a l a M malap
yarihang dala ang May kakaibang kapang sang damdamin magsisiwalat ng sanlak al, nangungulil nagmamah
z GERARD CONCEPCION
kaligayahan an Wala raw katumbas na ang paminsan a ngunit katumbas ng tuwkatulad ng mga s mo nang kumawala z ARNELL ALLARDE ng mga P Sa pagtatapos ng Araw With too many questions left unanswered ng pagsuyo para sa mg I just want to ask— Is it too much to ask? For some moments Of warmth Of bliss Of being lost in emotion with you While cherishing what we have found, What you shall find, z G E N O S A D AYA That all we needed all this time z ROSA MIRAN Is someone Isang tingin To share a wonderful feeling with Isang tapik Mahulog man ang mg Without caring about what we are Isang ngiti Sa nakabibighani mon Or what we could become. Isang salita Langit ma’y kayang Isang saglit Hinding-hindi ko sas Katumbas katinuan Hanggang sa paghiga’t p Dala’y matatamis mon Pilitin man itanggi pag Hinding-hindi ko kayang Himig man ng aking da “Iniibig kita, sana’y ma Ibubulong na lang sa At hinding-hindi ko a z GIL CRUZ Mawari mo man at ta Kung ako sa iyo’y may p Pero hindi ko alam kung paano bumuo ng isang salita Asahan ang aking pa Kung walang ugat na pinaghuhugutan. Pagka’t hinding-hindi ko Kung walang kahulugan na patutuunan.
Uuwi siyang pagal at hapo ang katawan. Hindi na ipapahinga ang makalyo at pasmadong mga kamay, Upang pagsilbihan ang asawa– na kanina pa naghihintay sa igigisang hotdog na may ketchup, na combo ng kaniyang Ginebra.
z S H A N E L L E R E C H E TA Gaano man kahaba ang pila, maghihintay ako Tinig ni Manong Barker ay musika sa pandinig na ‘to ‘Pagkat alinmang ruta Ang tahakin, puso ko’y sayo patungo Hindi ako bibitaw Makailan man na hinto Ilan pa man ang pumara, maging ilan pa man Ang sumakay Makatabi ka Lang at mahagkan ang yong kamay Kahit Paulit-ulit pang makisuyo, hinding-hindi ako mangangalay Kahit Alam kong sayo’y wala akong pag-asa Ipaglalaban ko itong pag-ibig dahil ganito umibig Ang isang iska Kahit mahirap ay hahanapin Ang “kaliwanagan” Marahil yun ang dahilan ng biyaheng ito sa “Diliman” Hindi ako liliko, o Mag-u-uturn sa daan Ibibigay ko aking buo kahit hindi mo suklian Kahit ang buhay ay nakakapagod, nakakapagal Hindi ako susuko, walang hanggang iikot sa academic oval Kung yun na Lang Ang paraan para makarating sayo sinta Sasakay ako sa Toki para lang ikaw ay makasama
Fleeting
Hanga(l)
Hinding-h
Kung paano ko gusto bumuo ng salitang tayo Gusto kong bumuo ng konsepto ng tayo. Yung ikaw at ako. Na kahit hindi pa tayo nagkakasalubong Sa hindi perpektong mundo, Na kahit hindi pa nagtatagpo Ang perehas na wasak nating puso Umaasa – Tayo. Naniniwala – Tayo. Nagmamahal – Tayo.
Gaya ng mga oras na sabay nating pinagmamasdan ang paglubog ng araw, Sa magkabilang dulo ng mundo.
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
Dahil Ika’y Mahal Ko
(Walang pamagat)
z NADROJ ODACREM
z JP
o man, n i d t i p in an iJ oh nR ec zo nC ala y
sa bawat kataga na g mga letrang bumubuo im ng mga taong mk iki ng matagal nang kin aktan. la, nalulungkot at nasas ing nagmamahal, ng dala ng isang damdam mihasa, kailangan ma g lin nang pagluha. Saka sa pahina ng Kulê. salitang nagsusumigaw a piling tula Puso, tunghayan ang mg i. ga taong umiibig at saw
la nil nta e V sa o ni Y Dibuh
hindi
NDA
ga bituin, ng tingin, abutin, sabihin. paghimbing, ng ngiti, ggising, g linlangin. amdamin, apansin,” hangin, aawitin. anungin, pagtingin, ag-iling, aaminin.
ng yo n e Dis
h Pa
Sa isang gabing madilim Sa bituin nakatitig! At sa karagata’y malapit Minamasdan mukha mong marikit.
alas-singko ng umaga: ikaw ang payapa at tahimik ng bukang liwayway ikaw ang marahang pagpintig ng puso kasabay ng pagliwanag ikaw ang bawat hinga, ang bawat tibok, ang bawat ‘sana, sana bukas, mas mabait ang mundo’
Oh! Anong ligaya, aking nadarama Sa tuwing ika’y aking nakikita, At sa bawat araw na hindi kita kasama Naaalala, ngiti mong kayganda!
alas-singko ng hapon: ikaw ang pagdilim, ang mahinhing paglubog ng araw ang takipsilim na puno ng pangakong sasamahan kita hahawakan ang kamay at sasabihing, ‘tara, lumaban tayo’ hanggang maging atin ang umaga
Kahit ako’y malayo sa iyo, Nandirito lamang ako Patuloy na umiibig sayo Dahil ika’y mahal ko!
Tandang Pananong
Conversations
z SELINA ANN MARTIN
ang dami nang senyales hindi ko alam kung tuluyan na ba akong aalis pagdating sa iyo ay hindi na ako sigurado kung tama pa ba ang nararamdaman ko ayaw ko na; tama na ngunit narito ako’t nagsusulat ng isa na namang tula pagdating sa iyo ay hindi na ako sigurado kung ano nga ba ang nararamdaman ko
Eklipse
z R A M O N M A N A R E TA I I I sabay tayong dumungaw sa pedestal ng mga planetang ‘di nahahapo sa pag-inog sa kanilang mga orbit piksado sa sarili nilang aksis. hanggang sa magtapat ang ating mga mata nagtalik sa kanya-kanyang replika sa walang hanggang tunggalian sa sansinukuban pinagtagpo tayo...
z MIKKO RINGIA
I wish I could still talk to you like we used to. The afternoons, where the sunset listens to our stories, The nights, where our hearts treasure our secrets, And the mornings where we’re so thrilled to see each other again. Or only did I? If we could just talk like we used to, We’d talk about how our families sucked, We’d still talk about how our tests flunked I’d still listen to how broken you were From that guy who fooled around, making you think no love was truer. If I have just another chance, Now you’ll laugh harder, You’ll have more to wonder, We’ll become so much happier Because just talking to you turns my ardor stronger. But still I won’t tell you I love you. I won’t even act like I really do too. Because that was the mistake I did before Where you walked away, And we did not talk anymore.
ang tadhana ang ating buwan na nagdala ng digmaan sa ating kamalayan ako, ang iyong araw. at ikaw ang aking mundo. sa kalawakan ng ating tampisan, patuloy tayo sa rebolusyon.
[BlankIspeys] z E J B O L ATA
Masyadotayongmagkalapit,dikorinalamkungbakit,kungkayanagpasyaakongmaglagayngpatlang upang umusbong ang pagkakaunawaan sa bawat linya ng paghangang aking binibitawan pero hindi ko napagtanto na sa pag–amin kong ito lalongl u ma wig ang mga espasyo h a n g g a n g s ah i n d in am a g k a i n t i n d i h a n h i n d i m o n a a k o m a p a k i n g g a n d a h i l s a l a y o n g p a g i t a n .
8 LATHALAIN
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
DIVIDE
& CONQUER MEGAN AGLAUA
IF I WERE TO RECEIVE A HUNDRED pesos for every prejudice against my “stinginess” based solely on the fact that I hail from the North, I would raise enough funds to pay my own tuition until I graduate. It's the same prejudice that is at work against the Kapampangan for their supposed extravagance and the Bisaya for their supposed unmistakable regional accents when speaking in English. Yet, the country is divided by more than just stereotypes. On one hand, a handful of wealthy landed families hold dominion over every aspect of society, while the vast majority of Filipinos are landless peasants and laborers whose wages are barely enough for daily survival. In my hometown in Tuguegarao, people are still struggling to contest not only the dominance of the powerful Filipino-Chinese Ting family, but also the primacy of Imperial Manila and its central role in government. These sentiments are rife especially throughout the country's vastly underdeveloped regions, and as elections near, these sentiments find a place in the revival of a proposal to shift the country's form of government towards federalism. The idea is not a new one, but it has found a charismatic voice in presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte. This renewed interest in federalism has indeed reopened the debate and only a closer analysis will reveal if it is consistent with our collective aspirations as a nation and as a people. Colonial roots The country's current centralized, unitary form of government can be traced back to our colonial history. Under the yoke of Spain and, later on, the United States, a centralized government meant consolidation of colonial rule and facilitated the concentration of
industry in urban centers and the exploitation of the country's natural resources found in the rural regions. More than seven decades after independence was "granted" to the Philippines, the US has successfully maintained its control over our economy and politics. The strength of its influence in the industrial sector has ensured preferential treatment for US-based companies, effectively stunting any emerging infant Filipino-owned industries. Matters are worse for ordinary Filipino workers. Regional wages ensured profits for foreign firms while contractualization has denied the right to benefits and security of tenure. Foreigners and the local elite thrive, while farmers remain landless and laborers remain underpaid and overworked. According to peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), globalization has worsened the landlessness of the Filipino peasantry. With government policies favoring local landlords and foreign corporation, 9 out of 10 Filipino farmers still do not own the land they till in 2015. The lack of genuine propeople agricultural policies has resulted to land-grabbing, crop and land use conversions, greater food insecurity and deeper agricultural backwardness. As long as government policies remain in favor of foreign business and local elite interests, federalism will thus merely recalibrate the country's vulnerability to the world market's neoliberal hunger for profit, rearranging the arena but maintaining the rules of the game. Not the right solution The promise of Federalism seems a welcome solution to many politicians, an unsurprising fact as it would delegate more power to local politicians who would later seek national posts. To a very limited extent, such a system might decentralize power away from Manila, but it would
also strengthen the entrenchment of patronage politics that has transformed cities and towns into strongholds of political dynasties. According to the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, a public policy research institution, 250 political families have dominated government positions over the past 30 years. These political dynasties monopolize power among their families and deter progress in the areas they rule. Provinces with the largest dynasties also rank the poorest, with Maguindanao at the bottom of the list. Immediate reforms More than just a change in the form of government, the people's agenda must include a demand for immediate reforms that will provide much needed relief from structural inequality and injustice. These reforms include genuine agrarian reform, a wage hike, and the passage of laws that will serve as safeguards against the abuse of power, such as an anti-political dynasty bill and a freedomof-information bill. Finally, voters must be wary of federalism's promises and view any attempts to change the form of government through charter change as suspicious at the very least. History is proof that proposals to amend the Constitution have been floated to further the political ambitions of ruling elite blocs and the economic interests of foreign businesses. As the nation comes closer towards the elections in May, and as federalism becomes a more hotly debated topic, there is an opportunity for voters to scrutinize platforms and assess how they analyze the roots of the nation’s problems. Our vote will depend on whether they will push for genuine reforms that will pave way for meaningful change for the ordinary Filipino, or if they will merely serve the interests of those who seek only to divide and conquer.
Dibuho ni Joshua Rioja Disenyo ng Pahina ni Kenneth Gutlay
LATHALAIN 9
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
THE
ANTI- COMPETITIVE UNIVERSITY CJ CHANCO
ON JANUARY 25, THE UP DILIMAN (UPD) University Council (UC) has deferred voting on a proposed revision of the university's General Education (GE) Program. The proposal sought to reduce the number of GE units from 45 to as low as 21, a reform that is in consonance with K to 12 and a supposed push towards global competitiveness. The multi-sectoral alliance UP Sagip GE welcomed the UC deferral, underscoring instead the need for the proposed reform to be subjected to a more rigorous public debate, especially since untenured professors and administative staff have raised fears of losing their jobs should the GE revision push through. But the proposed GE reform is unfortunate in several other respects and reflects more broadly on the state of our education system, which in turn reveals the heart of our priorities as a society. On social mobility One of higher education’s vital functions is to improve equality of opportunity, by providing a public good that seeks to bring everybody to more or less the same level of skills in different areas of expertise. It must be capable of inspiring a confident generation of workers that are not only better trained but have more bargaining power in negotiating for their rights, so wages and living standards rise across the board over the long term. By further limiting our curricula to a fixed set of subjects, the proposed GE reform sends a signal that it is committed less to inspiring real innovation than locking our youth to certain career trajectories demanded by industry. It reduces the possibility that an engineering student might find herself in a subject that allows her to explore an alternative career option, or for a savvy future entrepreneur to find inspiration for a social enterprise in the fine arts. The UP administration instead prioritizes its complicity with the national government in maintaining a policy of commercialized and colonial education: state subsidy cuts, selfsufficiency through income generation, and the speedy production of graduates to meet the market's demand for labor. Already, college students from lower socioeconomic brackets are disadvantaged by the high cost of socialized tuition, and the GE reform will likely worsen their prospects—further limiting their potential, not only as the country's future labor
force, but more importantly as critical and militant movers and shapers of present society. On innovation The new policy crushes the freedom that university departments have to fashion new courses and subjects beyond the limits now set by CHED. In a world that is moving rapidly toward a transdisciplinary ethos, bringing together the “hard” sciences with the humanities, a downsized GE Program seems a serious step backwards. While a selection of new interdisciplinary courses might make up for that, these would still lack the kind of depth required by an array of more focused courses in different subjects. Providing our youth with a liberal curriculum pushes students and professors alike to think beyond disciplinary silos, providing space for real innovation, in everything from the search for new medicines to creative approaches to public policy. A purely utilitarian perspective on the role of the university in society neglects the fact that it is much more than a factory of future workers. Indeed the spaces of a university are fertile ground for ideas and research that can be shared across disciplines. It is in the university that our youth are trained to reflect upon and connect their individual circumstances to the state of the world. And it is by transforming universities into truly creative spaces that encourage thinking out of the box that young people develop not just entrepreneurial sensibility, but the ethical and critical wherewithal that is so necessary for a strong and vibrant democracy. On competitiveness In recent years our universities have supported reforms in the education system in the name of a bizarre fixation on competitiveness: to produce competitive graduates for a competitive job market, to engage the private sector for competitive research financing schemes, and finally, to promote supposed international competitiveness in the context of ASEAN integration. What is left unsaid is that with our public universities
underfunded and forced to turn to the private sector for funding, college faculties that are underpaid and understaffed, bureaucracies that stifle innovative and principled research, and now the reduction of GE course units, our graduates are rendered unable to compete with those from universities in Thailand, Malaysia, or Singapore. Moreover regional integration works best for the majority in a system among equals, as the European Union crisis has demonstrated so well. In the education sector, this means that without safeguards to bring all universities, human capital, and wages up to par with those of neighbouring countries, and without public support for institutions and industries that address domestic needs first before those of the world market, it reinforces inequalities between and within countries, favouring some countries and condemning others to the lower rungs of a hierarchical economic disunion. In a similar way, the Filipino youth could be herded toward a lower tier on what is to become a regional labour market where the Philippines is to figure into a specialist niche of existing industries. Far from stimulating technological transfer or diversifying job-generating investments, students risk being told to limit their aspirations to low-skill, low-income jobs that are already available in tourism and semi-electronics manufacturing to meet the demands of a narrow selection of transnational private firms. Rather than creating jobs and supporting genuine entrepreneurial ventures that meet the needs of our nation, our people are called to meet the needs of big business.
align graduates with global industry needs. But while ensuring that our graduates can take advantage of jobs in the private sector, so too is the need to fill our own public schools with better teachers, our public hospitals with better doctors and nurses, and our public institutions with better civil servants. And yet that separation ensures that science, and our democracy in general, is not compromised. It preserves the value of independent scholarship, which ensures our graduates, artists, and scientists are beholden less to the profit margins of big business than to the spirit of their own creativity and innovation. While the UP administration likes to commit itself to the project of creating a competitive and innovative university, the GE reform will achieve precisely the opposite. If UP truly wants to be competitive, it can start not by slashing the curriculum, but by giving professors the respect and salaries they deserve, by making it easier to conduct decent research through reforms in the bureaucracy and generous public funding, by investing in books, academic journal subscriptions, and inter-university faculty exchanges, and by granting students not only the liberty to decide freely from an expanded range of subjects, but also the responsibility to think creatively, and take seriously, their required GE courses. CJ Chanco is a master’s student and researcher based at the Department of Geography, UPDiliman.
On the right priorities CHED argues that the K to 12 program, supported by the technicalvocational courses provided by TESDA, allows for a period of apprenticeship and training to better
Illustration by John Kenneth Zapata Page design by Kenneth Gutlay
10 OPINYON
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
Should BPO workers thank Mar Roxas? VICTOR GREGOR LIMON WHEN I ONCE QUIT COLLEGE to work in one of the call centers in Makati, I was aware that I was hired primarily because of only three criteria: my legal age, my willingness to work graveyard shifts, and my accent-neutral American English. Last year, I returned to UP with a small amount of savings for my tuition, and now I find out that I should consider crediting Manuel Roxas III for landing a job in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry — a development that he supposedly “brought” to the Philippines as the former trade secretary of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In July last year, the Roxas camp began circulating a video that features testimonials from supposed call center agents who thank the Liberal Party standard bearer for giving them jobs and improving the lives of their families. “Anak ako ni Mar,” they all proudly confess. I can only guess what these agents were thinking when they signed up for the said video, but I know my mother would disown me if I would ever make the slightest insinuation that I am descended
Mar Roxas's credit-grabbing reveals both the arrogance of his haciendero class and his own cluelessness about the realities on the ground
from Mar Roxas. She has forgiven me for many things throughout my teenage years, but this offense against her taste in men might just be the final straw. And I don't see why she wouldn't be offended. The promotional video employs the same load of nonsense that justifies exploitative working conditions that many BPO workers have to face in exchange for wage premiums and standard benefits. This time, the spin is being used by a traditional politician whose presidential ambition matches neither his accomplishments nor his charisma. The message is clear, though: the industry saved millions of jobless Filipinos from hunger and the need to leave their families to work overseas. Just ignore the fact that foreign-owned BPO companies took advantage of our country's surplus of cheap labor so that they could keep their profit margins, or the fact that the entry of these companies into the Philippine economy precede even the start of Roxas's career in national government.
Mar Roxas's credit-grabbing reveals both the arrogance of his haciendero class and his own cluelessness about the realities on the ground, manifesting in many other instances, such as an inept and corrupt leadership of the DOTC and his pathetic efforts to mitigate the tragedy of super typhoon Yolanda. If Mar Roxas truly believes he is the “father of call centers,” he should have his promotional video looped in TVs across all BPO office pantries in the country or his campaign posters tacked on the walls of work stations. Maybe then, if call center agents are bombarded with reminders of his demand for gratitude, he would finally receive the respect he was so eager to exact from his own “children.”
alone in this struggle intensified by the cost of UP education. I have heard narratives of a student who cannot enroll because of an unsettled tuition loan in the previous semester, and one who had to prove herself poor first before availing the discount she deserved. On the extremes, however, are suicide cases. Just a few days ago, I have learned the news about a fourth year BS Agriculture student in Bicol who hanged himself due to lost scholarship grant that supposedly funds his expenses in school. I was immediately reminded of the article I wrote last year, where two more students committed suicide allegedly because of unpaid tuition fees. These cases only left me questioning. Why do we actually need to pay for tertiary education, if eventually it will produce graduates that can potentially lead the country to its new direction? Why should there be tuition fee increases, when wages remain stagnant? Why do tuition and other school fees exist in UP, when it is a
state university to begin with? I cannot fathom how the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) can remain apathetic despite cases of suicides related to the high cost of tertiary education. When I had the chance before to interview a CHED official, he only justified the tuition fee increases and said that the students can apply for scholarship programs instead if they cannot afford to pay for their education. But what if scholarship grants cannot suffice what the students really need? The case of the student from Bicol unfolded a disappointing reality of our tertiary education. I cringe every time I encounter reports like this, as I see an exacerbated form of my own struggle in theirs.
Deadly cost KAREN ANN MACALALAD
FOR SOME, THE NEXT THING TO passing the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) is the struggle of getting through the massive workload demanded by the university. But for most, what really follows is the struggle of being assigned to lower brackets under the Socialized Tuition System (STS). Starting from my second year in UP, I have always ensured that my STS application form would qualify me for lower brackets, hence higher tuition discounts. I have carefully selected my answers and consulted my mother from time to time, because I may have done a single mistake that defeated the purpose of my application. When I was in first year, I instantly had a taste of the expensive UP education after the so-called Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program initially assigned me to Bracket B. I was compelled to pay P18,000 at first for my tuition fee, even if my mother is a public teacher and my father, a small-scale vendor. Now that I am writing for the Collegian, I realized that I am not
Now that I am writing for the Collegian, I realized that I am not alone in this struggle intensified by the cost of UP education
Larger than Life
Polo F. Imperial
BIGOTRY AND BIOLOGY THE SECOND MANNY PACQUIAO announced that homosexuals are worse than animals who knew how to stick with God-mandated gender roles, I knew that science was in for a shitty day. As a Biology major whose passion for science is tempered only by an awareness of the limits of my own intellect, I was so completely disappointed at how easily science could be transfigured magically into a piñata and then beaten savagely into pieces with so much reckless abandon. We see this in many other instances, such as in the debates on climate change, where science is domesticated like some form of wild predator that could be useful but otherwise dispensable. Yet, as much as scientific facts are indeed stacked high against the celebrity boxer-solon, I believe the matter is more than just Pacquiao's intelligence or a list of animal species that practice homosexuality. Pacquiao, after all, was a politician who has also previously articulated views more progressive than his stand on same-sex marriage. In the height of the call for justice for Mary Jane Veloso, Pacquiao flew to Indonesia to visit and comfort the Filipina migrant worker who was duped into carrying a suitcase containing heroin after she lost a job in Malaysia. Pacquiao also advocates for a P125 across-the-board wage hike for workers. Recently, he has thrown his support for overriding President Aquino's veto of the SSS pension hike. These contradictions of course can never justify or water down the fact that Pacquiao has one of the poorest performance among all members of the House of Representatives, reporting for work for only a total of four days in 2014—or the fact that his opposition to legal same-sex unions means he think LGBT couples are not entitled to the same civil rights as heterosexual couples. But these contradictions do reveal that Pacquiao—who was poor before he became rich and powerful—is not exempt from the influence of the bigotry promoted by conservative religious institutions, tolerated by an economic elite that benefits from the treatment of the LGBT community as secondclass citizens, and institutionalized by a corrupt government. For whatever it is worth, I think Pacquiao's qualified non-apology proves something very significant, not only for sectors such as the LGBT, but for the vast majority of all of us who will cast our vote in May. It isn't science that will win us concessions; it's the noise we can make and the numbers we can summon that will force them to listen to our demands.
OPINYON 11
Martes 16 Pebrero 2016
EKSENANG PEYUPS THE UP FAIR EDISHUN! HEY YA! KAKATAPOS LANG ULIT NG UP Fair and I heard ang daming controversies! Aside from the, you know, usual nakawan ng gamit where the magnanakaws will grab your bag while you’re making usap to your friends, I heard nakakatuliro daw ang mga ganap backstage! Well, at least sa ibang nights daw ay smooth ang flow at sitting pretty lang sa bean bags ang mga organizers. Buti na lang there were no JJs or those jumping jologs who make sira the fence and cause disorder in the event. KUNDIMAN. Anyway, ginalit daw ang fans ng two bands who waited until 3 ng umaga just to hear them play pero pinaasa lang. Really difficult when people make paasa, it’s like, they put your hopes up tapos ilalaglag ka rin lang sa huli. Tho I also heard there was a miscomm between the organizers and the other band involved kaya naichapuwera tong two bands na to. Nag-apologize na raw ang mga dapat magsorry pero mukhang die-hard fans will never make limot. Sabi nga ng isa, she should have made gamit the time to make her case digests nalang. GG na nga sa law class, she wasn’t able to see papa R pa. TULIRO. Ito pa, the ones who take care of those na nasusugatan or nagiging dizzy pa, ‘yung mga naka red, made kwento about how one of the booths daw had no safety measures lalo na’t it involved making bato madaming plato with feelings and a matching “HAYOP KAAA!” hirit. The tiratiras daw of the fallen platos were in places that it shouldn’t be, at ‘di raw pinansin ang suggestions nitong grupong ito. Hey, they were concerned and empathetic, bakit nga ba they weren’t heard when safety dapat ng concertgoers ang priority diba? Sana raw the IGP was worth the risk sabi ni red dude. Omg, solid ‘yung linyang ‘yun cray cray! TADHANA. I’m making sayang na naman your time, kaya I will finish this na with a personal experience nung Fair! Alam niyo ba, even Kulê was restricted to enter ‘yung area kung saan bibingihin ka ng mga rakenrol bands. Dude, can you believe it, kahit ‘yung pass ay para makakuha ng photos for you guys at even if the pass was from the head of the UP Fair himself, sabi nitong certain bro to me na I am not authorized na pumasok doon kasi I am not a part of this photography org daw. Wow! I was like, in total disbelief! Suppression of the press! Charot lang. But ayun, sorry if you’re like waiting for us to release photos ng bands kasi wala kami nun. Hope you enjoyed the (exclusive) UP Fair! The ticket prices are really high na talaga kaya high five naman dyan!
SIPAT WATER DUALITY Tony Reyes
Binangonan, Rizal August 2011
police briefs
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en 2ND DITTO SARMIENTO d ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION UP Diliman Month 2016 in This February, the UP Alpha Phi Pagdiriwang ng UP Diliman sa g Beta Fraternity, in partnership with Ikalawang Siglo ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining the Philippine Collegian, brings you Manuel Conde (Pelikula) | Lamberto Avellana (Pelikula) Severino Montano (Teatro) | N.V.M. Gonzalez (Panitikan) #NeverAgain: The Role of Campus Journalism in Shaping the Legends of Tomorrow, the 2nd Ditto Sarmiento Essay Writing Competition. PEBRERO 10-28 PEBRERO 22 - Lunes This competition is open to Tisoy Brown: Hari ng Wala Pagpapasinaya ng Selyo ni all currently enrolled secondary Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater N.V.M. Gonzalez (high school) or tertiary (college/ 2/F Palma Hall University Theater Lobby, 2 PM. undergraduate) level students of any Weekday shows at 7 PM, school/university/college in NCR. Weekend shows at 10 AM and 3 PM. PEBRERO 23 - Martes This event is held to Usapang Pambansang Alagad ng commemorate the eventful years PEBRERO 16-19 Sining: Ukol kay N.V.M. Gonzalez of former Collegian Editor-in-chief, Carovana 2016 Pulungang Claro M. Recto, Alphan, martyr, Abraham “Ditto” UP Arki Buildings 1 and 2 and 2:30 PM. TEXT Sarmiento Jr., who was imprisoned Amphitheater. back during the tyrannical rule of the PEBRERO 22 - Lunes Martial Law. PEBRERO 17 - Miyerkules Wanderer in the Night of the For complete list of mechanics Montano sa UP Theater Stage: World: A Dance Concert featuring and other details, visit the official The Ladies and the Senator the UP Dance Company Facebook page (2nd Ditto Sarmiento University Theater Stage, University Theater Stage, Essay Writing Competition) or contact 3 and 7 PM. 4 and 7:30 PM. letter Mr. Val Yutan (0916 524 2012). to the PEBRERO 19 - Biyernes PEBRERO 24 - Miyerkules editor YOUTH GROUPS TO CHED: Bawat Bata, Artista: Konsyerto ng N.V.M. Gonzalez’s “AYAW NAMING MAGMAHAL” UP Cherubim at Seraphim The Bread of Salt Various youth and student groups University Theater Stage, Bulwagan ng Dangal, 3 and 7 PM. have been holding protest actions 3 and 7 PM. on the proposed tuition rate increase PEBRERO 24 - Miyerkules leading to massive nationwide walkouts PEBRERO 20 - Biyernes Paladino at Paladina: A Resilience on February 24 and March 11. Speech Cup 2016 PAMANA: and Thrive™ Inter-UPD College Join the walkout! Boses ng Pinalaya, Boses na Tournament #AyokongMagmahal Mapagpalaya Media Center Lobby, UP Film Institute, 1-5 PM. College of Mass Communication 1 PM. CONTACT US! Email us at PEBRERO 20 - Sabado kule1516@gmail.com. Save Word Haranafest PEBRERO 26 - Biyernes attachment in Rich Text Format, with Abelardo Hall Auditorium, Seremonya ng Pagwawakas: INBOX, NEWSCAN or CONTRIB in College of Music, 3 PM. Panahon ng Luwalhati the subject. Always include your full University Theater, 7 PM. name, address and contact details.
PANAHON NG LUWALHATI
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P U k c Pyi our cards
Naubusan ka ba ng pera pambili ng panregalo? Gusto mo ba ng kakaibang pahabol para sa Valentine's day? O kaya sadyang trip mo lang? Eto na ang para sa iyo. Gupitin lamang ang card na napili at ialay sa bebe mo ngayong taon.
Dibuho ni Guia Abogado Disenyo ng pahina ni Kenneth Gutlay