Philippine Collegian Tomo 100 Aug-Sept Issue

editor-in-chief polynne dira associate editor samantha del castillo news editor daniel sebastianne daiz graphics editor kim yutuc layout editors keian florino venus samonte guest editor richard calayeg cornelio staff gretle mago contributing members andrea medina arthur san juan adam torres ysabel vidor probationary members news kenli rey diaz micah formoso kultura levei bigcas jericho igdanes illustration maria laya kaxandra salonga layout dustin francisco auxiliary staff gina bakukanag amy daga ma. trinidad gabales circulation manager gary gabales circulation staff pablito jaena address Student Union Building, UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines website www.phkule.org email phkule.upd@up.edu.ph member College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (UP Solidaridad)

» Sa ika-sandaang taon ng kritikal na pamamahayag, makikipagtuos ang Kulê sa mga isinuka na ng taumbayan ngunit muling nanunumbalik, sa mga pinunong dahas ang tugon sa ating mga hinaing, at sa mga maykapangyarihang nandudusta sa taumbayan para sa sariling ganansya. Ang taong ito ay magmamarka ng pagbabago sa midyum ng pahayagan, upang masigurong lapat ang bawat isyu sa pangangailangan ng mambabasang malaman at maunawaan ang mga pangyayari, at ang pangmatagalan nitong implikasyon sa mas malawak na iskema ng mga bagay.

Illustration by Maria Laya

Hindi tayo nakakalimot dahil ang latak ng Batas Militar na idineklara 50 na ang nakakalipas ay nananatiling nagpapahirap sa marami. Sumusulong tayo di lang dahil sa nakaraan, kundi ‘pagkat maraming rasong kumilos at makibaka sa kasalukuyan.

Sino at ano ang Kulê

Hangganan ng Alaala

FEATURES Adam Torres The Pathology of Patrimonial Plunder and Philippine Cronyism

Kultura Staff Panata sa Bingit ng Umaga

Fides Lim Fides Lim Braces For Another Wave of Political Persecution Under Marcos Jr.

EDITORIAL Recalibrating Foreign Relations

ABSTRACT Samantha Del Castillo How Kumustahan Art Projects and WALA Collective Navigate Collaborative Art

FEATURES Adam Torres Distanced and Disrupted

NEWS Micah Formoso Apayao’s Isnag Brace for Eviction, Destruction of Sacred Lands Due to Mega Dam Project

Kenli Rey Diaz Advocates Wary of the Marcos Admin Policy for Indigenous People

Kat Dalon Sa Paggunita ay Paniningil

EDITORYAL

Hangganan ng Alaala

Namumuhay tayo sa kasalukuyan, hindi batay sa nakaraan, kundi ayon sa pulitikal na hangganang gusto nating kahantungan sa hinaharap.

Dumagundong ang boses ng taumbayan sa tarangkahan ng Palasyo. Dali-dali ang pag-iimpake sa mga karton ng mga nakaw na yaman—alahas, diyamante’t mamahaling hiyas, limpaklimpak na pera. Nag-alsa-balutan ang pamilyang Marcos. Higit tatlumpu’t anim na taon makalipas, bumalik sila sa Malacañang sa hiyawan ng mga taga-suporta.

Marami nang nasabing rason at paraan ng panunumbalik ng pamilya ng diktador sa kapangyarihan. Ang kawalangpangil ng mga sumunod na rehimen sa pagpapanagot sa mga nagkasala sa taumbayan, ang matagal, malawakan, at orkestradong pagpapakalat ng maling impormasyon sa madla, ang pagpapabansot sa edukasyong nagbunga sa mamamayang madaling kumonsumo ng kasinungalingan.

Ngunit marapat nang higitan ang pagpapaliwanag, pagbubutbot sa kung paano tayo humantong sa posisyong ito. Nagtagumpay na si Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na makuha ang pinakamataas na posisyon sa bansa. Nasa antas na tayo ng aktibong pakikibaka sa panibagong administrasyong Marcos.

Naging primaryang armas natin laban sa pag-uulit ng malagim na kasaysayan ng Batas Militar ang paggunita. Ang di pagkalimot sa libo-libong nabiktima, silang mga dinahas, kinulong, at nilugmok sa kahirapan, ay susi upang di muling sumailalim sa diktadura ang bansa. Di nagbago ang ating panawagan hanggang tuluyan nang bumalik sa Malacañang ang mga Marcos.

Umusbong ang maraming proyekto ng pagbabalik-tanaw—mula sa paggawa ng digital na arkibo ng mga nailathalang sulatin, paglulunsad ng mga lakbayaral na bumibisita sa mga lunan ng paglaban, pakikipanayam sa mismong mga kinulong at tinortyur ng rehimeng Marcos Sr., hanggang sa pag-oorganisa ng mga inisyatibong fact-checking. Tinugunan ng mga progresibo ang bawat kasinungalingan sa pagturo sa nakaraan.

Bagaman mas pinasidhi ang bawat pagpupunyaging panatilihin sa memorya ng bawat Pilipino ang lagim ng Batas Militar, mahirap higitan ang higanteng makinarya ng mga Marcos, lalo ngayong abot-kamay na niya ang bawat institusyon sa bansa.

Nag-iiba ang kondisyon at, sa gayon, ang kahingian ng bawat henerasyon— ang nananatiling totoo ay ang kakayahan ng taumbayang lumikha ng sarili nitong memorya, lapat sa kanilang sariling karanasan ngayon.

Disenyo

Malinaw ang layunin ni Marcos Jr. bago pa maupo bilang pangulo: Gumuhit ng kinabukasang normalisado ang presensya at kapangyarihan ng kanilang angkan sa bansa. Para gawin ito, kinakailangan linisin ang latak ng kanyang pamilya sa kasaysayan.

Sinimulan niya ang termino sa pagpapalabas ng propaganda nilang Maid in Malacañang, pelikulang naglalayong ilahad ang naratibong biktima lamang ang pamilyang nagutos ng pagdukot at pagtortyur sa mga nagtangkang manguwestiyon sa kapangyarihan ni Marcos Sr. Matapos nito, ipinanukalang holiday ang kaarawan ng diktador sa Ilocos Norte.

Idineklara ni Marcos Jr. na ito ang pagkakataon ng “muling pagkasilang” ng bansa, kung saan magbabalik ang kanilang angkan di lang sa pamahalaan, kundi tumimo pa sa ating kamalayan at lipunan. Esensyal sa tunguhing ito ang pagbubura sa marahas nilang imahe. Sa ganang ito, tahasang binaligtad ni Marcos Jr. ang kasaysayan: Tinanggi niyang diktador ang kanyang ama, na ang mga abusong nangyari sa ilalim

ng Batas Militar ay tipikal, gaya lang ng nagaganap sa kahit anong digma.

Pandudusta sa alaala ng mga nagsakripisyo noong panahon ng Batas Militar ang ginagawang pagbaluktot ng mga Marcos sa katotohanan. Walang paniniil ang di inaalmahan; ang bawat kasinungalingang ibinubuga ng mga nasa poder ay pilit tinatapatan ng mga nakaligtas sa diktadura at mga progresibo. Patuloy ang pakikipagtunggali sa pamamagitan ng memorya.

Hindi maikakaila ang kahalagahan ng pag-alala. Anupa’t pinag-aaralan natin ang kasaysayan upang maintindihan ang ating kasalukuyang kondisyon. Ngunit hindi ito ang tanging maaasahang magtutulak sa atin sa gusto nating tunguhin. Namumuhay tayo sa kasalukuyan, hindi batay sa nakaraan, kundi ayon sa pulitikal na hangganang gusto nating kahantungan sa hinaharap.

Instrumento ang pag-alala o nostalgia, nagiging positibo o negatibo batay sa pinaggagamitan. Kung paanong pinakinabangan ito ng kampo ni

Marcos para manalo sa eleksyon sa pamamagitan ng pantasya ng Golden Age, ginagamit din ito ng mga progresibo upang ilahad ang paghihirap at karahasan sa ilalim ng Batas Militar.

Ipinakita ng nagdaang halalan kung kaninong bersyon ng pag-alala ang mas pumukaw sa marami. Sa pagtatanim sa memorya ng bulaang Golden Age—habang tinatabunan ang mga karahasan—noong dekada ‘70, tila nagaalok ng karangyaan ang mga Marcos para sa milyon-milyong naghihikahos.

Ang pag-alala ng kampo ni Marcos ay nagsilbing paraan upang makuha nila ang tunay nilang layunin—manormalisa ang kontrol nila sa kapangyarihan. Ngunit para sa ating hanay, nananatili tayo sa antas ng pagbabalik-tanaw, na lalong nagiging mahirap ibahagi sa ordinaryong mamamayan ngayong kontrolado ng rehimeng MarcosDuterte ang pamahalaan.

Ang paggamit sa nostalgia pareho ng mga Marcos at mga progresibo ay replektibo sa pananabik natin sa nakaraan. Para sa mga Marcos at kanilang taga-suporta, iyon ang pantasya ng Golden Age. Para sa ating mga progresibo, iyon ang masikhay at nagkakaisang pagkilos ng marami laban sa diktadura. Ngunit nag-iiba ang kondisyon at, sa gayon, ang kahingian ng bawat henerasyon—ang nananatiling totoo ay ang kakayahan ng taumbayang lumikha ng sarili nitong memorya, lapat sa kanilang sariling karanasan ngayon.

Mahalaga, kung gayon, na ang ating kampanya laban sa ikalawang administrasyong Marcos ay di na lamang nakukulong sa pagpapaalala, bagkus nakabatay sa kasalukuyan nating hinaharap.

Hindi nagkukulang ang rehimeng Marcos sa mga rason kung bakit dapat itong lansagin. Sa bawat araw na patuloy ang kanyang pamumuno, lalong nagiging malinaw ang kawalan niya ng kakayahang gawin ang mandatong magsilbi sa taumbayan.

Magarbo ang mga inilatag niyang mithiin para sa bansa sa kanyang unang State of the Nation Address, gayundin ang inilabas niyang 8-point economic agenda. Ngunit mahirap paniwalaan ang abilidad niyang tagpuin ang mga ito gayong wala siyang sinasabing plano kung paano maisasakatuparan ang mga agenda.

Kung ano pa man, bumabalikwas sa mga layunin niya ang kanyang mismong ikinikilos. Hindi niya maaabot ang planong masawata ang COVID-19 gayong hanggang ngayon ay wala siyang kalihim para sa Kagawaran ng Kalusugan. Imposible ring masiguro niya ang kakayahang bumili ng ordinaryong Pilipino ng mga batayang pangangailangan gayong wala siyang ginagawang malaking hakbang para tugunan ang sumisirit na presyo ng bilihin, langis at pamasahe.

Nasa kasalukuyan ang pakikibaka, lalo’t umiigting ang mga krisis. Ang bawat araw na walang ginagawa si Marcos Jr. para tugunan ang mga nagpapahirap sa atin ay sapat nang dahilan upang pumiglas, kilalaning di hawak ng sinumang nakaupo ang solusyon sa ating mga problema. Kung may ginto mang aral mula sa pag-alala sa mga kaganapan noong panahon ng diktadura, ito ay may kapangyarihan ang taumbayang lagutin mismo ang kanilang paghihirap. Nananatili itong totoo hanggang ngayon, at esensyal sa pagtamasa ng gusto nating hinaharap.

Ngayong ika-50 taon ng paggunita sa Batas Militar, minamarkahan natin ang ating pagsulong. Ang pananatili ni Marcos Jr. sa pwesto ay lalong pagpapaigting ng dahilan nating patalsikin ang rehimeng Marcos sa ikalawang pagkakataon.

Dadagundong ang boses ng taumbayang sawa na sa paghihirap at pagpapahirap. Sa pagkakataong ito, hindi tayo makukuntentong magpalayas lamang ng mga Marcos. Itatakwil din natin ang kanilang mga kasapakat, at lahat ng nag-aanak ng mga kagaya nila.

Mahalaga, kung gayon, na ang ating kampanya laban sa ikalawang administrasyong Marcos ay di na lamang nakukulong sa pagpapaalala, bagkus nakabatay sa kasalukuyan nating hinaharap.

Adam Torres

The Cyclical Cogs of Cronyism

The Pathology of Patrimonial Plunder and Philippine Cronyism

» Six administrations have come since EDSA revolt yet the country is still spiraling into a reminiscent pattern of crony capitalism, do we have no chance at changing this cyclic profit-oriented system?

From Marcos regime’s Danding Cojuangco, Arroyo’s Enrique Razon, to Duterte’s Ramon Ang and Dennis Uy-the Philippine government is being run according to the interests of the politicians’ biggest backers.

If it is true that history repeats itself, it happens not through any drive of destiny, but through the handiwork of those wealthy enough to play god and promise redemption in return. Three decades after the fall of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s regime, the Philippines is set back in time as the children of tyrants now stand as the government’s highest-ranking officials.

Correspondingly, the same breed of self-serving politicians thrives in the cyclical arrangement of Philippine politics. Collusion among elite families has become a learned practice as economic policies favored the hegemony of oligarchs, even before the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. As a result, The Economist ranked the country as fourth in the world’s crony capitalism index for the deep entrenchment of patrimonial plunder.

The persistence of an economic system inherently open to cronyism made the post-EDSA politicaleconomic landscape fertile ground for the dominance of traditional elites, culminating in the return of the Marcoses themselves.

Aggressive Consolidation

As the country was thrust from one colonial project to the next, the conditions for economic reconfiguration fostered the ascent of oligarchs in trade and agriculture. The oligarchs’ agricultural empires expanded toward other business sectors such as manufacturing and retail to suit the reforms warranted by shifting markets. While few got wealthy, many with nothing but their labor were driven to participate in a system that rendered them constantly disadvantaged.

Poverty and income inequality then festered due to the feudal rule of landowning elites during the postwar years. Political scientist Benedict Anderson dubbed this period the heyday of Cacique democracy where former haciendero masters were given full access to the state’s financial instrumentalities. Dynasties diversified

into several spheres following the promotion of “economic independence” with free reign to plunder state and private resources.

Populist rhetoric gained momentum in this palpable dominance of dynasties. Marcos Sr. blamed these dynastic families for the country’s backward development, and so he proposed technocratic reforms to replace them. Disproportionate growth visibly fattened these dynasties while the underprivileged wrestled to survive, thus drumming up support for Marcos who seemingly contested this injustice.

But by the 1970s, Marcos Sr. had ironically turned his administration into a family affair by dismantling the country’s traditional oligarchy and replacing it with his cronies. He was known as the Supreme Cacique who dislocated the old order and systematically rigged the state’s economic policies for the benefit of his favored few. Key industries and cabinet positions were allocated to close relatives and allies, which made it nearly impossible for outsiders to penetrate the market.

Crony capitalism then centralized patrimonial networks into the hands of the first family. Fervent loyalty was rewarded with government contracts and industrial projects which commissioned monopolies within the nation’s economic sectors. Behind ambitious infrastructure projects lay the debt-ridden reality of Marcosian economics and its counterproductive endeavors at state-led development.

A great deal of this concentration was attributed to the “Octopus Gang,” composed of the dictator and his wife’s closest associates such as Roberto Benedicto, Rodolfo Cuenca, Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Lucio Tan, and Ricardo Silverio. Assigned to manage cash-crop, manufacturing, financial services, and construction sectors, most of them continue to dominate their respective industries and have yet to be held accountable for the country’s dismal economy.

Post-EDSA administrations marked the return of caciques which stalled the prospects of the 1986 uprising.

The damage brought by this concentration is particularly evident in the crisis of the early 1980s as cronies bled national industries dry such that the country’s debt rose from USD360 million to USD28.3 billion. Marcos Sr.’s rule had deepened inequality with three out of five Filipinos deemed poor as the wealthy enjoyed unimaginable privileges. It fueled a facade of progress despite the atrocities and irreversible damage the Marcoses and their cronies inflicted on the Filipino people.

Dissonance

Post-EDSA administrations marked the return of caciques which stalled the prospects of the 1986 uprising. Far from a system overhaul, a pseudodemocracy run by elites had replaced Marcosian autocracy. The comeback of oligarchic figures further undermined progressive reforms while enhancing the strength of local elite groups.

The Marcos plunder has been notoriously difficult to recover. While the Presidential Commission on Good Government was established for this task immediately after the EDSA revolution, 36 years after, only a fraction of the loot has been retrieved. The ouster of Marcos Sr. did not altogether extinguish the risks of cronyism but “left behind a governance infrastructure that needed (and still needs) to recover from a deep culture of corruption and rent-seeking,” according to researchers from Ateneo de Manila University in their paper on cronyism and oligarchy in the country.

Domestic oligarchs and business magnates would opportunistically turn coats now and to maximize state support, political clans in the government would lobby for legislation benefiting themselves and their allies. The tenacity of these elites to amass fortune would shape the contours of policy in the years to come. In a country with prolific land and institutions that are strangled by local and foreign profiteers for personal gain, this means working with the state to lord over land and labor while paying lip service to democracy.

The presidency of Corazon Aquino, first aiming to root out remnants of the Marcos regime, eventually fell short of its promises. Its attempt at land reform was a loophole-laden program that benefitted landlords more than it did farmers. The Cojuangco clan, from which Aquino hailed, continues to maintain control over Hacienda Luisita by distributing “stocks” rather than actual lands to farmers.

Under Aquino’s administration, prominent families who were targeted by the dictatorship resurfaced, such as the Ayalas who backed her presidential campaign in 1986. The Ayala clan would also secure several public-private partnerships under Cory’s son’s regime from 2010 to 2016.

With Marcos cronies and allies evading punishment, Danding Cojuangco was able to return from exile just three years after the revolt. And in the 1992 elections, he ran for president under the Nationalist People’s Coalition, a party he founded himself. However, he lost to Fidel Ramos, one of the chief architects of Martial Law, who withdrew support for Marcos Sr. when the dictatorship was nearing its end.

The 1992 elections were like a reunion of sorts, for among the presidential candidates was Imelda Marcos, and in Ilocos Norte, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was running for Congress. But while the matriarch lost, the son won a seat— marking the first step of the Marcoses’ return to the corridors of power.

Some of the Marcos cronies themselves were even able to return to top business positions in the administrations that followed. After financing Joseph Estrada’s rise to the presidency, Lucio Tan and Cojuangco became the central business allies of his administration. Estrada then helped Cojuangco regain control of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) by allowing him to retrieve the shares that were confiscated during the Marcos regime. In 2012, Cojuangco passed the management of SMC to his protégé Ramon Ang, who would

It is likely for Marcos-style cronyism to intensify in the coming six years along with its immediate economic repercussions.

then propel Duterte and Marcos Jr.’s candidacy into victories.

Duterte and Gloria Arroyo seemed to steer away from the traditional Marcosera oligarchs, as they introduced relatively new tycoons in their cliques, with the former even threatening to destroy Ongpin, the Lopezes and Ayalas.

Arroyo paved the way for Enrique Razon by selectively delegating to him infrastructure projects—like the Subic Port Modernization program—using foreign loans and subsidiaries. Razon would go on to be Duterte’s ally, and salvage debt-ridden Dennis Uy—another friend of the former president—by investing in Uy’s casino and acquiring shares in his Malampaya gas project.

Meanwhile, known Duterte-backer Ramon Ang would rise to number 12 on Forbes’ list of richest Filipinos after SMC experienced its highest share price under the former president’s term, and after clinching several public infrastructure projects, such as the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.

Altogether, domineering conglomerates enjoy longevity due to their tactical alliances with the state. Visible support for state-led initiatives granted their empires notable influence towards expansion plans and big-ticket investments, equally benefiting their business and the ruling clique.

Rather than positions for service, public offices are run like family businesses as poverty continues to swell amid dynastic leadership. As a result, the fat dynasties in 2004 grew from 57 percent to a staggering 80 percent after the 2019 midterm elections. This includes Duterte and Marcos Jr.-backers Villars and Cayetanos, whose families each control two seats in the Senate.

Despite the collapse of a dictator and his cronies, political patronage and monopoly control have nevertheless persisted. Past and present cronies continue to dictate the power struggles over the country’s economic sectors with little recourse for the public’s concerns. Their surnames may vary, but their ends have stayed the same: to control industries and preserve the privileges that come with crony capitalism.

Democracy For Whom

What awaits the country is difficult to be gleaned from the present administration’s vague economic agenda. However, it is likely for Marcosstyle cronyism to intensify in the coming six years along with its immediate economic repercussions. And without a doubt, Marcos Jr. will exert efforts to protect their ill-gotten wealth, hinder justice for past transgressions, and shrink the arena for critical voices.

The Marcoses were indeed successful in their quest for “unity,” having manipulated the solidarity between fragmented parties and dynasties who altogether benefit from societal stasis. Their family’s revival has also set the stage for profit-oriented business tycoons like Ang and Razon who lingered comfortably amid the transition of power from Duterte to Marcos Jr.

It can be said that a new generation of cronies has emerged in recent years. The threads of politics and business heavily intertwine with each other due to the alliances formed by politicians who wish to advance their self-interests. They connive with each other and form networks supporting the electoral campaign of the people they believe would protect their interest.

Correspondingly, Marcos’s abstract promises in the campaign season were masterfully spun in his nebulous statements for economic transformation. His inaugural address merely glossed over the current fiscal deficit, and longstanding issues were oversimplified with ambitions for foreign investment. Marcos Jr. banks on private funding to finance his big plans for road infrastructure and transportation, similar to Duterte and Aquino III.

His camp’s enthusiasm for big-ticket development in continuation of Build, Build, Build reveals much about the true agenda of the so-called “unity” they wish to forward: cooperation amongst a circus of cronies. Most recent of these appointments include Manny Bonoan, SMC Tollways CEO, who is now the public works and highways secretary. Bonoan hails from the president’s home province, Ilocos Norte, and has benefitted from several positions in the Arroyo, Estrada, and Ramos administrations.

Once again, our country is left to face the gruesome economic impact of crony capitalism, despite the small strides it had taken after the EDSA uprising. However, the root of the problem lies not in these political networks, but rather, in addressing the inability of current institutions to contest these inherent pathologies.

Impartial interventions are impossible to attain when said institutions are composed of political appointees who willfully enable the cyclical democratic deficit. Hence, only by initiating the transformation of politics outside these institutions will we be able to weave the flow of our country’s history rather than fear its recurrence.

Panata sa Bingit ng

talaga

Madam. Nakakamiss.

dadalo

Walaaa.

Ano ba, Pau! Akala ko ba

tayo?

Oh,

inyo,

mga kasama.

naman,

mga biktima

Pauline, ito na naman?

Aya,

Bakit, mali ba’ng magorganisa, Migz? Tell me, ngayong hugas-kamay ang estado’t balikpwesto ang isang Marcos, mali ba’ng magorganisa?

Dapat pala bumili ako ng istik kung dito tayo dadako.

Tumanda tayo.

na nating ituloy ang nasimulan ng Madam.

Paulit-ulit na kasi, Pauline.

cover,

anong bago?

Libing ng Madam.

Ikaw na ang may sabi: patay na si Ma’am pero wala pa ring hustisya para sa kanyang tatay na winala ng administrasyon!

Kaya titigil

Ganu’n din ba ang nararamdaman mo, Aya?

Ewan ko, Pau.

Back then, masaya na ako kapagka tinatawag tayong “boys at the back” ni Ma’am Concepcion.

who thought I could change the world with my art.

Noon pa lang, alam mo nang walang kapupuntahan ito.

Despite knowing better, titigil tayo, Miguel?

Hindi ko alam! Hindi ko na alam, Pauline…

Kaya pa rin naman nating hulmahin ang estado. Iyon naman anG laging turo ni Ma’am Concepcion, di ba?

Gusto ko rin sana, Pau… Gustong-gusto! Pero di ko na nga mapakain pamilya ko, sasalungutin ko pa ang gobyerno?

Aya…

Natatakot ako, Pau. I know for a fact na ‘pag nagsarili ako, I have better chances securing my family’s safety, as well as mine. I want to stay, but I’m doubtful. I just… don’t know.

Ano ba,

Samantalang ‘tong si Migz, nangangasim Amoy-anghit

Naalala n’yo ba yung first time na isinama tayo ng Madam sa mob?

Hirap na hirap nu’n si Aya mag-interview. Tameme, parang unang beses makakita ng tao.

Sira! Syempre, hangal ako sa

Tigilan mo ‘ko, IKAW nga ‘tong mukhang yagit na naliligaw sa bulto.

Kaya kami ang

…at ang lahat ay iisa. Hindi pwedeng may mawawala sa kolektibo. Kahit batang yagit.

After graduation, inabangan ng Madam ang inyong pagbisita kahit alam niyang busY na kayo sa sari-sarili n’yong buhay.

Hanggang huli, ibinilin niyang kontakin kayo, dahil higit ang pangangailangang magkapit-bisig, lalo sa panahon ng ligalig.Alam kong hindi na nito maibabalik ang oras, pero kunsakaling may katiting pang pag-asa pa sa loob n’yo… buksan n’yo ‘yang sobre.

Maghihintay ako. Hihintayin ko kayo.

It was during Fides Lim’s

the Collegian when they printed

on the

I was the managing editor of the Philippine Collegian when soldiers went to our house to arrest me after the stroke of midnight on January 22, 1976. I was part of the mass arrest of UP student leaders together with other leaders from labor, urban poor and other sectors to preempt the growing protest movement against the Marcos dictatorship, which was catalyzed by the La Tondeña strike in November 1975.

Wala pang Kapatid noon. But families of political prisoners and pillars of support like the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines laid the wellspring of action. By 1978, Kapatid formally came into being as the numbers of political prisoners mounted but resistance likewise swelled in counterpoint.

The first Kapatid chair was Armando Malay, the UP dean of student affairs and father-in-law of Satur Ocampo, who was one of those arrested in 1976.

Kapatid served its purpose well throughout those dark years of Martial Law as a mutual support group of families of political prisoners and the friends who joined forces with them to provide assistance in every way.

In July 1990, when my husband Vicente Ladlad and I were arrested and I was released ahead of him, I joined Kapatid. Because of problems within the mass movement during that time, Kapatid went into hiatus from around 1995 until I pushed its reactivation on June 15, 2019, together with other human rights advocates, to serve as a fulcrum for families and friends of political prisoners to assert the just release of all political prisoners and the protection of their rights and welfare.

Hindi tsismis itong kwento ko at may resibo ako para sa dinaanan naming kasaysayan. Kasama na

dito sa pruweba ang human rights compensation na natanggap naman ni Vic nung May 2017, bilang isang political prisoner noong Martial Law.

Today, Kapatid is again very much alive and kicking because the conditions which breed political prisoners persist and worsen. Political prisoners now reach 802, the biggest number since the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship in February 1986. The ascendancy of his son to the seat of power was paved by the fascist upsurge under Rodrigo Duterte.

This is the condition we are now in as the forces of repression and deception seek to reverse the verdict of history. On behalf of Kapatid, I embrace Project Gunita and find strength and affirmation in its pursuit of truth, justice, accountability.

I also wish to take this opportunity to ask for your continued support for the conscience of society, the political prisoners. Food, toiletries, even puzzle mats for bedding materials. Nothing is too small to help. Join us as we join you in the struggle against forgetting.

Gaya nga nung ibinandera namin nung December 1975 sa Collegian bago kami ikinulong: Kung di tayo kikibo, sino ang kikibo? Kung di tayo kikilos, sino ang kikilos?

Fides Lim is the spokesperson of Kapatid, a group formed by the families of political prisoners. An earlier version of this article was first delivered as Lim’s message to Project Gunita during its History Fair on August 21, 2022.

In-kind donations may be dropped off at Kapatid National Office, 1 Erythrina Bldg., 1 Maaralin St., Diliman, Quezon City.

Monetary donations for Kapatid may be sent via GCash at 09454427266 (Lorraine).

Page design by Venus Samonte

EDITORIAL

De-Escalating Tensions Means Abrogating Uneven Relations

An independent foreign policy is inherently a strong and progressive domestic policy.

Those who play with fire will perish by it.

Thus said China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs shortly after United States (US) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan. Pelosi, who is the highestranking US official to visit Taiwan in more than a generation, touted her visit as a “defense of democracy against autocracy.”

Beijing, undaunted and outraged, stayed true to its warning by holding live military drills and flying fighter jets over Taiwan airspace, much to intimidate the self-governing island. At least 21 warships and 27 jets were reported to have entered Taiwan territory in the days leading to Pelosi’s tour.

A few days after Pelosi’s visit, the US top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, embarked on a tour to coincide with a meeting of the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cambodia, and an official visit to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. days later. While Blinken’s tour had been planned ahead, so was Pelosi’s—it was not a coincidence that two top US officials visited the region in a matter of days.

The instability in the north of the country is not an isolated one nor will it be the last one, as Washington seeks to strengthen its hold over its so-called “friends, partners, and allies” in Asia to stave off Beijing’s growing influence.

Taiwan is just a proxy in the ChinaUS race for economic and global supremacy. The US, on one hand, seeks to rebuild its relations with Southeast Asian nations amid China’s military and economic dominance in the region. In that way, Washington will have a stronger influence over

Asian nations as it negotiates various agreements, the most significant of which is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. This trade pact seeks to liberalize the exchange of goods among the US and Pacific Rim nations, including most of Southeast Asia.

China, on the other hand, wants to cozy up to its neighbors in an effort to build its hegemony. Beijing wants to secure its interests in the region through the Belt and Road Initiative, whose projects are funded through the Export-Import Bank of China and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank—institutions that seek to rival the West’s World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Expectedly, the world’s two largest economies seek to put the Philippines under their sphere of influence. China aims to do this by footing the bill for

Atin ang Pinas, US-China layas.

the government’s programs–mostly infrastructure development–while the US coaxes Manila through arms sales and various defense cooperation agreements. For the Philippine government, keeping those ties means maintaining a code of silence and strict neutrality in dealing with the US and China.

The Marcos administration, for instance, has been ambiguous in its response to the Taiwan crisis. In usual diplomatic posturing, the Department of Foreign Affairs simply called for dialogue and diplomacy to prevail. But the administration is downright wrong in sustaining the country’s prevailing foreign policy of being passive in incidents that involve the US and China, just so the country can maintain being a “friend to all and an enemy to none,” in the words of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Marcos’s notion of an independent foreign policy is not just warped but is also fictitious. An independent foreign policy is not having a hands-off approach to international events. Rather, it entails taking on a proactive and multilateral stance on regional cooperation and cutting dependence on large economies like the US and China.

The calls for de-escalation of tensions in the region should start from the region itself. After all, any conflict—be it a trade war, blockade, or embargo—could easily spill over to ASEAN countries. For the Philippines, in particular, there are some 200,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan who could get in harm’s way should the situation escalate.

A test of such a commitment to diplomacy could start with the ASEAN, which must express its support for the Taiwanese people’s right

Photo by Joe Biden’s

Marcos’s notion of an independent foreign policy is not just warped but is also fictitious An independent foreign policy is not having a hands-off approach to international events.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks with US President Joseph Biden during their meeting in New York City on September 22. The two met during the sideline event of the United Nations General Assembly.

In these fraught times, our foreign policy must be reoriented toward achieving economic selfsufficiency, by building robust industries, and the capability for self-defense.

to self-determination and autonomy. While largely symbolic, a tough rebuke could signal that any unwarranted intervention in regional affairs will be strongly dealt with. In that way, the bloc and its member countries are being proactive in conveying their interest in preserving regional stability.

A strong statement of condemnation of the actions of both the US and China could work in the short term, but long-term workarounds require bolder actions, especially in our domestic policies. This means slowly pivoting away from and ending onerous agreements with these two countries.

The Kaliwa Dam, for example, is a major item of China-funded infrastructure. Aside from the harm it poses to the nearby community, the mega dam is also disastrously disadvantageous to the government. The P10.2 billion funding will be paid in 20 years, with two percent interest annually–significantly higher than the loans offered by Japan and Korea, which peg an interest rate of less than a quarter of a percent. If the country fails to pay up, China could easily take over the facility and its resources.

Beijing’s false promises were willfully entered by the Philippine government at the expense of Filipino fisherfolk in the West Philippine Sea who had to contend with the illegal incursions of the Chinese Coast Guard; local merchants who were put on the brink of collapse due to the influx of smuggled goods from China; and the future generation of Filipinos who will pay and bear the brunt of China loans.

Complicit, too, is the US government, which has, for so long, bankrolled the government’s murderous policies. It is hypocritical of the US to preach a gospel of liberty and democracy when it has colluded with the current and previous administrations’ counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and anti-narcotics programs. Large US conglomerates have flocked the country, too, to take advantage of our cheap labor and predominantly anti-worker policies.

Ultimately, it is the Filipino people who perish from the government’s attempt at playing with fire by serving two imperial powers at the same time.

We do not advocate for a protectionist and isolationist outlook. We can—and should—maintain amicable, equal, and mutually beneficial relationships with our neighbors. But in these fraught times, our foreign policy must be reoriented toward achieving economic self-sufficiency, by building robust industries, and the capability for selfdefense. An independent foreign policy is inherently a strong and progressive domestic policy.

Whether or not the country will be implicated in the cross-strait tension might very well depend on how dialogue and diplomacy will prevail. But what matters, in the long run, is not our assertions on the diplomatic stage. It will be our assertion of independence and sovereignty by abrogating all skewed relations–decisions that we will clamor for and determine on the home front.

Samantha Del Castillo

How Kamustahan Art Projects and WALA Collective Navigate Collaborative Art

To view art from the materialist lens is to frame it in close relation to the contexts of its creation. It is to embed it in a constellation of social, economic, and ideological forces all the while acknowledging the existing dialectic tension between art and society. But scrutinizing a piece of work does not end with seeing the various factors at play in its production. Artistic creation itself does not stop at the materialization of the work. The production of an artwork also immediately creates the consumption of it, or as Karl Marx put it in Grundrisse, the “production not only creates an object for the subject, but also the subject of the object.”

As much as this claim is easy to grasp since a work of art demands to be seen and understood by an audience, a public must be understood more than being a group of people. A public, according to Michael Warner, is a self-organized social space created through discourse. To say that art creates its own public is to then say that art generates social relations.

Yet, at present, this condition of art production no longer exists as a direct consequence of a finished work. As artists have turned their attention towards fostering participation and collaboration, initiating exchanges and constructing social networks have become the artwork itself. In 1998, Nicholas Bourriaud called this tendency relational aesthetics, an art form privileging social relations over material visual objects.

Rather than creators, Bourriaud considered artists as facilitators of engagements and encounters surrounding

the work. Relational art, therefore, is primarily concerned with the creation of circumstances and experiences.

In the process of catalyzing interactions, relational art produces conditions for a community or a public to exist— it is a form of social practice. Yet, Claire Bishop, a vocal critic of relational aesthetics, forwarded that Bourriaud’s theory must be subjected to greater scrutiny. Bishop disproved how relational aesthetics was lionized for its immediate political implication, which then shielded it from much more rigorous analysis.

As much as Bourriaud introduced a new concept to understand trends in contemporary art, his theory also spurred various critiques, not only from Bishop but from Grant Kester, Miwon Kwon, and Suzanne Lacy as well to name a few.

This research took after this line of criticism, problematizing the oft-idealized notion of communities as harmonic and affiliative. Bourriaud’s idea of community—which relational art attempts to create—is constituted out of sameness and, therefore, harmonious. This position then could only go as far as constructing and idealizing relationships that make up and strengthen a community. Contrary to this, Bishop asserted that antagonism exposes the aspects that are suppressed and excluded just to maintain social harmony. In this manner, relational art can serve as ground from which to confront deep-seated issues encumbering our relationship to one another and to the world.

The study focused on how antagonism manifests in collaborative art. To investigate this subject, the research had Kamustahan Art Projects and Windang Aesthetics Labor Army’s (WALA) project for the Off Site/Out of Sight exhibit in 2015 as case studies. These two projects were chosen on the grounds of being consciously collaborative. Both works count on dialogues and art-making workshops to enjoin their respective communities—migrants for Kamustahan Art Projects, and urban poor for WALA—to participate in dialogues about their experiences and day-today plight as disenfranchised members of the society.

Kamustahan Art Projects adopts the format of workshops and forums to connect with Filipina migrant workers, with an artistfacilitator overseeing these events. WALA, on the other hand, turned an abandoned stud farm in UP Diliman into an open gallery-like space where children and nearby neighborhoods were welcomed to make art and enjoy music.

As much as the two initiatives had similarities and differences in their intent, methodology, and execution, the two projects conducted their program in two vastly different spaces. The former maximized online platforms, while the latter repurposed an abandoned stable into an art gallery. Their chosen spaces determined the parameters of interactions that occurred among the participants.

In Kamustahan Art Projects, while the migrant workers were able to build rapport with one another to the point of being comfortable to express their intimate thoughts, this relationship was fleeting. Contrary to WALA, where the residents’ relationships lingered on for a short time after the artist collective left the site. Antagonism barely materialized due to, first, the lack of physical communication in Kamustahan Art Projects, and second, children being the chosen collaborators of WALA.

Despite very faint signs of antagonism, both Kamustahan Art Projects and WALA succeeded in assisting their respective communities to wield agency over how they want to represent themselves and refashion the spaces they lived in.

Samantha Del Castillo joined the Philippine Collegian in 2018 and has since wrote and edited articles covering culture and politics. A BA Art Studies graduate, her interest lies in Asian art history, contemporary art production, and art theory. She tackled these three fields in her thesis as she compared two community art initiatives.

Currently working with an organization advocating for digital rights and privacy, Del Castillo intends to apply her journalism training and art education in understanding how the Internet terraformed the way we produce and consume media.

Now with more free time on her hands, she enjoys devoting several hours of her day to cooking and baking.

Photos

Kamustahan

Children putting up their works on the walls of WALA’s makeshift gallery.

Heartfelt artworks female migrant workers produced during the art workshops conducted by Kamustahan Art Projects.

Adam Torres

Distanced and Disrupted

Peering Through the Faculty’s Perspective on Post-Pandemic Education

» After two years of remote learning, the faculty provides an assessment of the challenges and opportunities under the online setup as the university tries to navigate new ways of delivering education.

Faculty adjustments have been nothing short of abrupt since the pandemic began. Teaching methods have rapidly shifted from in-person learning to a hybrid of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. With a new academic year, UP welcomes some of its students back to campus while trudging the experimental terrain of new learning models.

As the pandemic’s repercussions on our academic lives further take effect, education in the new normal is an uncharted territory for all universities. Faculty members carry the brunt of the struggles, who, despite their heavier workloads and unexpected course obstacles, attempt to innovate their teaching strategies every semester.

Rene Principe, a physics instructor at the National Institute of Physics (NIP) shares his first-hand experience. “Talagang ang hirap niya (online learning) kasi nawawala yung essence na two-way yung learning between students and teachers.” In a prepandemic setup, the teacher would prompt questions for the students, and the class could discuss their views on

the topic. With this, the burden to share knowledge does not only fall on the professor, but also on the students.

Principe understands the mental burden the current setup imposes on their students, but as much as he wants to lessen his course’s workload, he has to consider the competencies his class should have after they finish his syllabus. “We always find ourselves at a crossroads on how to balance empathy while preserving the quality of education,” he said.

Under the recent memorandum on UP’s course delivery, the university offers four learning delivery modes for academic year 2022 to 2023: face-to-face (F2F) instruction, distance education, blended learning, and HyFlex learning. This was a result of the surveys conducted by UP last December 10, 2021, which showed that most respondents were willing to participate in onsite classes with certain apprehensions regarding transportation, safety, health, and the adequacy of campus protocols.

Despite the apparent clamor for the prepandemic style of conducting

classes, it is unlikely for teaching to simply revert to its traditional models which had its own set of issues. It becomes important for the UP administration, then, to build from the nuances of various faculty experiences and move onward with pedagogical innovations that will address the crucial problems of remote learning.

Pedagogy in the Pandemic

The faculty’s initial apprehensions about remote learning centered on the aspect of student engagement. For the last two years, instructors found difficulties in maximizing the participation, assessment, and quality of online classes. Each UP college went through a series of consistent trials and errors every semester in order to optimize their program’s teaching methods in remote learning.

For Principe, the lack of interaction with his students posed the biggest challenge. “We can’t force them to recite, so that alone feels like I’m having a monologue every single time. It’s not the student’s fault, it’s not my fault either. It’s really just the situation.”

Until today, the university is yet to recover from the pandemic’s setbacks in education. Despite reopening UP campuses, students and teachers alike continue to be vulnerable to the struggles that surround the new normal.

Illustration by Kim Yutuc

What makes online learning draining for both faculty and students is that they have to spend most of their time in front of their screens, lacking personal connection to others. Early in the first semester of 2020, Principe recollects spending an entire week working on his computer just to check an entire semester’s worth of course assessments. Provided the soft deadlines back then, some students relented from passing their work until the near end of the semester which caused severe burnout and hurried efforts on the part of the educators. “The worst part is this setup forces us to choose between well-being and education,” he said.

Distanced from their students, faculty members also found it difficult to verify their students’ performances. Given the lack of supervision, there were numerous cheating incidents in the university where students were found to be sharing course materials in exchange for solutions to their course requirements. At some point, some problem sets and exams, and their answer keys were even uploaded online.

Principe struggles in dealing with such incidents. There were suggestions of creating new questionnaires every time, or coming up with more creative exam problems. This, however, would double the faculty’s load.

“With the amount of workload na tinatry na namin i-juggle on top of our teaching load, not to mention na we try to be more creative every sem, there’s really not much time to innovate,” says Principe. “How do we balance academic integrity with empathy? How do we make the cheaters accountable without compromising the 99 percent who did their exams honestly?”

Ensuring the academic integrity of their exams, dealing with low class participation, and guaranteeing that their students get the education they need require the faculty to think outside the box on how to conduct their classes. But coming up with new ways of teaching and learning proved to be challenging. This is especially true for STEM courses

which have the most difficult skills to translate when it comes to remote learning since their traditional setup relied on hands-on practical exercises, according to a study in the Journal of Baltic Science Education.

In NIP, Principe said that they have attempted to use several technological adaptations such as annotated lecture slides and lecture videos to cater to their students’ needs. But, many still lacked the skills to adapt easily given the limited technological skill, especially older faculty members.

Attempting to solve problems caused by remote learning, the UP administration decided to allow the limited return of students to campus, testing the waters of blended learning.

Improving New Normal Pedagogy

There’s no going back to the prepandemic style of learning—this is basically what the UP administration is saying when it released the memorandum on learning delivery modes for the current academic year. Living in a time of a pandemic, disasters, and other crises, the university is gearing up to provide an education that would “develop 21stcentury competencies and prepare our students for a disruptive future.”

For the UP administration, its utmost priority is integrating technology into its current modalities, while ensuring support for its constituents. They recognized the urgent academic problems of the past two years as they reviewed and refined the learning delivery for the academic year 2022 to 2023, said Evangeline Amor, the assistant vice president for academic affairs.

Within the constituent units, teaching and learning resource centers (TLRCs) are at the core of supporting faculty members and students. Several programs, training, and workshops have been conducted alongside the digital learning resources made available by the university. One such training program is the Teaching Effectiveness Course

offered before every semester to equip the faculty, especially the new ones, with skills for holistic and learner-focused instruction.

For Dina Ocampo, a professor and a former dean of the College of Education, and a member of the university task force assigned to draft the blueprint for future teaching and learning in UP, the options of learning modalities were able to mediate particular challenges in terms of faculty instruction.

“It provides everybody the choice with how best to teach their classes in relation to constraints in their lives and the diversity of students,” she said. In looking to the future, she believes that education will be personalized and the locations of learning will diversify, but it would not be possible without a contextual response to the faculty’s shared concerns. In attaining this kind of education, it’s important that courses offer more flexibility, purposive, and adaptability moving forward.

Areas of Concern

This semester, the UP community’s biggest issue underscores the effective implementation of post-pandemic instruction. Likewise, its multiple prospects would not be translated into a reality without decisive actions coming from the administration and the formation of enabling conditions for learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly prompted the reevaluation of education and its delivery. Indeed, while the system of remote learning has its own set of problems, it also opened opportunities—that perhaps we can learn beyond the confines of the traditional four corners of the room. But whether the vision UP has translated into actual practice is another story.

For one, the faculty has had differing opinions regarding the contextualization of memorandums released by the UP administration. Principe laments that the challenge to come up with sudden solutions is often pinned on

the faculty. He stated, for instance, the implementation of “maximum leniency” during typhoons and sudden outbreaks.

“There is no definite directive to totally excuse students [affected by] storms, or kung totally matamaan ng COVID-19 siya or yung family member. It is always up to the faculty, so walang systemic assurance for the students,” Principe said.

Short of “systemic assurance” for the faculty as well, the vagueness of these memorandums leaves the faculty with little confidence to interpret the fine print. The faculty and students then clash on settling these interpretations, even though they are both victims of the pandemic’s unfortunate circumstances.

“We’re not just talking about education here, we’re talking about the rights of these students. Parang bahala na ba ang lahat sa pag-push natin ng quality of education?” Said Principe.

In a petition released by the Congress of Teachers or Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND UP), demands for “clear, concrete, and decisive” policies from the UP administration are of the essence. It stated that while adhering to pandemic protocols, fulfilling the university’s mandate toward higher education necessitates greater efforts in capacitating its colleges to facilitate a safe return to campus. These requisites would include the retrofitting of UP facilities and restoring the vital services that invigorate the full physical return to campus.

Notably, the university’s best efforts have not thoroughly translated its preliminary vision into reality. For its disgruntled stakeholders, much of the administration’s abrupt policies still lack clarity, substantial support, and strategic foresight to tackle the problems they are facing firsthand.

Collective Aspirations

As an instructor who started teaching when the pandemic struck, Principe’s genuine hope would be to teach in a classroom before he ends his master’s degree. He recalls that the once bustling streets of UP Diliman were nothing more

than an empty shell of its former spirit without the students and faculty who have kept the campus alive.

As the university moves forward, CONTEND UP calls on the administration to examine and propose policies that enable effective pandemic adaptations— in terms of health, transportation, and other facilities—that instigate the conduciveness of hybrid and onsite education. This would include hastening the development of UP’s retrofitted facilities, the accessibility of COVIDrelated health services, and the resumed operation of jeepneys and UP vendors within the campus.

Similarly, the UP community collectively aspires to return to campus, despite the initial disempowerment brought by the pandemic’s restrictions. Their problems, however, will not merely dissolve once face-to-face classes start anew. For UP education to live up to its holistic prestige, the administration must look further inward.

Ocampo finds that “perspective taking” is an essential tool to better understand how to go about the issues in question. As the space of learning diversifies, the challenge to review and refine these processes will only become greater but as one UP community, it is a shared responsibility between its constituents and administration. In Principe’s words, “Mas magkakampi tayo sa halip na magkakalaban.” This means that policies concerning the welfare of stakeholders are not created from top to bottom. Instead, the administration must place greater consideration on proposals forwarded by the faculty and students themselves. We also need to be able to openly assess our experiences and air out our grievances so policymakers could improve their programs.

Efforts to better UP’s learning pedagogy cannot stop at the introduction of hybrid learning. Post-pandemic problems in education can only be addressed once it learns from the experiences of the UP community, its current consultative measures are but steps toward quality education that is more equitable and inclusive in the new normal.

There’s no going back to the prepandemic style of learning— this is basically what the UP administration is saying when it released the memorandum on learning delivery modes for the current academic year.

Micah Formoso

Apayao’s Isnag Brace for Eviction, Destruction of Sacred Lands Due to Mega Dam Project

» Energy projects, such as mega dams have been known to destroy the livelihood and culture of indigenous peoples. As such, alternative projects which respect IPs and their rights must be explored.

Located in the mountains of Kabugao, Apayao, is the 196-kilometer ApayaoAbulug River. Along its banks, the Isnag people have made their homes, enriched their culture, and sustained their livelihood. The river plays a vital role throughout their lives—they fish in the river and use the water to irrigate their farms. When they die, their families setup a lapat near the river, a burial spot that no one can disturb for a year.

But since 2016, two construction projects have threatened to destroy the river where their livelihood and culture revolve. The proposed hydropower plants Gened 1 and 2 are feared to submerge the villages and ancestral lands near the river.

“Ang problema sa mga energy projects ay tinatayo ito sa loob ng ancestral lands. We are not debunking the need to shift to renewable energy sources. Pero bakit laging indigenous people ang nagsasakripisyo for the sake of sustainability?” said Jillie Karl Basan,

one of the conveners of the Kabugao Youth, a group that aims to bring awareness to the plights of the Isnag people. The group has also been organizing the Isnag in opposing the mega dam projects.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address emphasized the adoption of renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, geothermal, and solar and wind. But oftentimes, energy exploration projects come at the expense of the indigenous peoples (IPs)—the exact situation in Kabugao.

Sham FPIC Process

For six years now, Kabugao Youth, along with the Isnag, has been opposing the plan to build two hydropower plants in Apayao—the 150-megawatt Gened 1 and the 335-megawatt Gened 2, which will be constructed by the Pan Pacific Renewable Power Philippines Corporation (PPRPPC) along the Apayao-Abulug River.

While there is a need to boost local energy production, alternatives that do not cost communities and towns their livelihood and culture, however, are possible.

“There were anomalies and flaws in securing clearance from the affected Isnag, thus violating their right to free, prior, and informed consent,” said Basan. The free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) is a legal requirement under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 before any project could affect IP lands.

Elders and members of the community initially filed their first resolution of nonconsent on February 4, 2019. In September 2019, the community passed their second resolution of nonconsent. During the consensusbuilding in December 2021, where they were supposed to cast their votes for the construction of the dams, as part of the FPIC process, members of the community were reportedly barred from entering.

The 2012 FPIC guidelines state that sacred areas, such as burial grounds,

in the ancestral lands must be excluded in any development project. The lack of FPIC is the first of five main issues surrounding construction of dams, according to the Philippine Taskforce for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in their statement on dams. Other issues include the privatization of dam projects, the displacement of IPs from their ancestral domains, the destruction of IP culture and livelihood, and the destruction of biodiversity.

And finally, in August 2021, handpicked members of the community passed a resolution which overturned the previous resolutions of nonconsent, paving the way for the dams’ construction. Signatures on the so-called endorsement of the construction projects were falsified and forged, said Basan.

If constructed, Gened 1 and 2 could submerge villages along the river, as

well as the burial grounds of the Isnag people. Worse, the PPRPPC’s proposed memorandum of agreement does not propose a relocation site for the Isnag. PPRPPC is controlled by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), which is notorious for its mega-dam projects. In 2009, SMC tried to construct the Kaliwa Dam in Quezon Province which threatened to submerge more than 28,000 hectares of forestland in the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous group’s ancestral domains.

The 2019 revised plans of the Kaliwa Dam called for the construction of nine smaller dams which will transport 600 million liters of water to Metro Manila and nearby areas. Groups fear that the dam project could affect 93 hectares of forestland, including 12 sacred sites.

“Matagal itong proseso,” said Basan, referring to the fight against the dams’ construction. “Pero, kahit

gaano katagal, we are looking at this positively. It’s a win for us, dahil hindi nila ineexpect yung ganitong klase ng resistance. They underestimated the Isnag of Apayao.”

Search for Local Energy Sources

The country’s aggressive search for domestic energy sources is rooted in the government’s attempts to increase energy supply across the archipelago. Marcos said that the Philippines must build new power plants and take advantage of all the best technology that is now available, including renewable energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal power, solar, and wind.

In June, the Department of Energy revealed that renewable energy makes up for 29.4 percent of the country’s energy production. From that share, 7.2 percent is from

geothermal energy sources, 14 percent from hydropower energy sources, 1.8 percent from biomass energy sources, 4.9 percent from solar energy sources, and 1.6 percent from wind energy sources.

The exploration of renewable energy sources could solve the energy insecurity in the country and stabilize the inflation of the country’s energy rate. The ownership of these energy sources, however, still falls on the private sector due to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).

EPIRA allows private corporations to operate power facilities and to recover their capital while enjoying high profits by charging their consumers.

AGHAM, a group of science and technology advocates, said the country’s privatized and liberalized energy policy allowed the privatization of the

Along the banks of the Apayao-Abulug River, the Isnag people have made their homes, enriched their culture, and sustained their livelihood.

Photo

If constructed, Gened 1 and 2 could submerge villages along the river, as well as the burial grounds of the Isnag people.

country’s energy resources and has led to the increase of electricity costs while reducing reliability.

“Dahil privatized na ang power resources natin, supposedly magtatranslate siya sa mas mababang singil sa kuryente. Pero base sa research ng AGHAM in 2016, ang rate ng kuryente natin ay mas mataas pa ng isa’t kalahating beses,” said Jona Yang, AGHAM secretary-general.

Amid an unreliable and costly power supply, one of the country’s top energy sources, the Malampaya gas fields, is also expected to be depleted by 2024. Malampaya currently supplies around a third of the energy demand in Luzon.

As a stopgap measure, the country currently imports around half of its energy needs, according to the World Bank. This, however, has adversely affected the country’s energy independence.

By solely relying on energy imports, the country is easily affected by global affairs. One prominent example is the effect of the Ukraine war which caused oil prices in the Philippines to soar. In January 2022, the price of gasoline was pegged at around P60 per liter, while now, it is around P85 per liter.

“Ang pwedeng alternative sa current problem natin sa energy, ay i-rehabilitate natin yung mga current power plants na meron tayo, lalo na yung mga naka-focus sa renewable energy,” Yang said. “Yung energy service natin ay dapat people-oriented at hindi sa para sa benepisyo ng mga private corporation.”

Alternative Energy Sources

While there is a need to boost local energy production, alternatives that do not cost communities and towns their livelihood and culture, however, are possible.

Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT), an organization focused on community based renewable energy projects, has established micro-hydro projects in Kalinga, Abra, and Apayao provinces.

Using the abundant water resources in the area, the group has helped set up 24 micro-hydro projects in 34 communities in various parts of Cordillera and are eyeing to set up 19 more.

“These projects are providing household lighting, and at the same time they are also providing energization to barangays, schools, and other facilities in off-grid areas,” said Estrella Catarata, executive director of SIBAT. “The beauty of community-based renewable energy projects is that they are autonomous, sustainable, small-scale, and dependent on resources available in the community.”

During construction, SIBAT trains community members on how to repair and maintain these projects. After the turnover, community members then have the responsibility to maintain and sustain these projects. Costs for constructing these projects are shouldered by both SIBAT and the community’s local government units.

“Communities where there are community-based renewable energy projects are very appreciative to have a source of energy that is cheap and resilient. Even in the recent strong

earthquake that struck Abra, these projects were not affected, and even so, it is easier and faster for the community to repair them,” said Catarata.

Grassroots and community-based initiatives like in Cordillera prove that it is possible for communities to develop sustainable energy projects and make the transition to renewable energy.

“Moving forward, we are planning to put up a windmill, but of course we still have to study this,” said Catarata. “We are also planning to put up a solar renewable energy plant in Bohol to provide power for potable water systems in pilot communities.”

Such initiatives in the north are alongside Kabugao Youth’s campaign for energy democracy. Energy democracy focuses on transitioning away from large-scale power plants to more distributed, locally based energy systems, without compromising local communities.

But besides their larger calls for a more sustainable and equitable energy resource development, the Isnag and Kabugao remain steadfast in opposing Gened 1 and 2. They are also encouraging the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to force the PPRPPC to undergo a genuine FPIC process to get the real position of the entire community on the dams’ construction.

“We are just claiming what is rightfully ours,” Basan said. “Sustainability should be a holistic approach. Energy projects must not be destructive and must put the people and the environment first. If gusto [ng gobyerno] i-address ang climate crisis, work with the Earth’s defenders—the indigenous peoples.”

Kenli Rey Diaz

The Relentless Fight

Advocates Wary of Marcos Admin’s Policy for Indigenous People

» Indigenous peoples’ rights advocates face uncertainty as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. fails to acknowledge IP rights by retaining the violent status quo towards indigenous people.

Then presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised to prioritize the issues of the indigenous peoples (IPs). He went as far to claim that he is a “champion” of IPs and vowed to place issues affecting them as one of his administration’s top priorities.

But mere weeks after he took office, during Marcos’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Davao City Police arrested two Lumad brothers, Ismael Pangadas, 22, and Mawing Pangadas, 19, while attending a protest action at the Davao City Freedom Park. Ismael and Mawing were arrested due to human trafficking.

The police based the trumpedup cases on the two brothers’ involvement in the Bakwit Lumad School in Cebu, according to Christian Olado of Kabataan Partylist Southern Mindanao. The police report, however, did not detail who were the supposed victims, or where the claimed incident happened.

“Hindi ko inaasahan na ganun ang mangyari sa kanila. Sa nakuha kong impormasyon, may warrant sila galing sa police. Pero ang tanong ko: Ano yung kaso? Tapos, nalaman kong kidnapping daw, kasi kinidnap daw nila yung mga bata,” Olado said.

The two Lumad were arrested by virtue of a warrant dated June 7, 2022, issued by Judge Jimmy Bustillo Boco of the Regional Trial Court Branch 2 in Tagum City, Davao del Norte for violation of the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act of 2003. Olado said that such arrests were made under the dubious pretext that Ismael and Mawing kidnapped Lumad children in Cebu.

“Ako ang makakapagpatunay na hindi totoo ang bintang nila na kinidnap nila ang mga bata. Paano nila makikidnap ang mga bata eh magkakasama kami doon sa Maynila nag-aaral? Gumagawa talaga sila (pulis) ng paraan para ikulong sina Ismael at Mawing,” Olado said.

The New Administration

The arrest of two Lumad activists on the day of the president’s first major speech worries advocates like Olado. With the country now under Marcos, their arrests show the apparent continuation of several attacks against indigenous peoples, ranging from questionable arrests, land-grabbing, red-tagging, killings, mass surrender, and intimidation.

Worse, without a concrete policy to protect IP rights set out in his SONA, former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Eufemia Cullamat said that Marcos might simply follow his father’s policies toward IPs.

Cullamat’s statement stems from Marcos’s campaign banner that he will continue his father’s legacy of “helping” IPs. During the time of Marcos Sr., she said, there were government agencies that were supposedly tasked to help IPs, but

those agencies instead negatively affected IP communities.

“Yung pumayag na gustong sirain ang mga lupain, yun yung mga katutubo na kanilang binigyan ng benepisyo, at hindi ang mga katutubo na tumitindig na protektahan ang lupang ninuno. Ito ang makikita natin na ipagpapatuloy ni Bongbong Marcos,” Cullamat said.

Chairperson Geraldine Cacho of Tongtongan ti Umili, the urban chapter of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, said that the Marcoses—with their decades of rule in the North—never helped IPs, adding that Marcos should stop “parroting” the said false narrative that his family helped IPs during his father’s term.

“He cannot say that they’ve been helping IPs since his father’s time, because history and facts will tell that the elder Marcos only brought

destruction upon our ancestral lands,” Cacho said. Marcos Sr.’s administration played a critical role in the murder of Butbut elder Macli-ing Dulag who opposed the Chico River Dam Project.

Cullamat expressed her fears that the steps being taken by the current administration indicate that Marcos might head toward his father’s direction in dealing with IPs as a guideline for his own IP policies.

Worse, Marcos’s own Vice President Sara Duterte red-tagged Cullamat after the latter criticized Duterte’s Lumad garb attire during Marcos’s SONA. Duterte, as the mayor of Davao City, has been recorded to have red-tagged Lumad schools by linking them to communist rebels, resulting in the continuation of the government’s violent attacks towards IPs.

“Ang aming mga kasuotan ay sumasalamin sa aming kultura at tradisyon na pinanday ng aming karanasan at pakikibaka para proteksyunan ang aming komunidad at lahi,” Cullamat said. “Bukas kami sa mga gustong humiram ng aming kasuotan, pero dapat ay kinikilala din nila ang aming mga karapatan at mga laban.”

The Struggle of Uncertainty

Human rights group Karapatan stated that they hoped the new president would uphold the civil rights and liberties of many Filipinos, especially IPs, considering the state-backed repression that IPs have been receiving.

Under the Duterte administration, the government resorted to violent attacks such as red-tagging, “tokhang-style” raids, extrajudicial

Several Lumad and progressive organizations held a candle lighting protest in front of Quezon Hall, UP Diliman for the five individuals killed in New Bataan, Davao de Oro, March 6.

killings, and criminalization against organizations opposing their policies.

The recent arrest of the two Lumad after Marcos’s SONA indicates the possibility of the continuation of such attacks against IPs.

“The killing machine perfected in the war on poor people is now being turned on human rights defenders and political opponents of government policy … The justice system participates in suppressing dissent both by weaponizing the law to facilitate human rights abuses, and by failing to enforce legal protections,” Karapatan’s 2021 year-end report read.

This style of political repression was seen even before Ismael and Mawing’s arrest. The law has long been weaponized against IPs to close their schools and order their arrests, Olado said.

“Pinalayas kami sa community namin, kaya pumunta kaming siyudad para ipagpatuloy ang aming pag-aaral. Naging malapit kaming magkakaibigan dahil hindi sila masasamang tao. Hanggang sa pag-uwi namin sa Mindanao, at ang nangyari sa Freedom Park, magkakasama kami,” Olado said.

With this growing state of repression against IPs, Cullamat expressed uncertainty not only with the future of IP rights, but also those who merely criticize the government, due to the indication that the current administration would continue the prevailing trend of intense human rights violations against IPs.

In 2020 alone, there were 92 incidents of red-tagging members of indigenous communities. That figure does not include the more than 200 undocumented and unnamed

individuals who were also reported to have been red-tagged, according to the 2021 report of the Indigenous Peoples Rights International.

The same report also recorded a total of 178 Lumad school facilities that were shut down, while red-tagging has led to 33 arrests and 14 killings.

For Olado, the failure of the government to acknowledge the current situation of the indigenous people of the country would continue the violent repression of IPs.

“May dalawang Lumad na dinakip nung nagpapahayag sila ng kanilang karapatan at ng gustong marinig mula sa pangulo,” he said. “Kaso, hindi na namin narinig ang mga solusyon niya (Marcos), lumala pa ang problema, dahil sa pagsampa ng gawa-gawa na kaso sa mga kasamahan namin,” Olado said. «

Kat Dalon Sa Paggunita ay Paniningil

Mas maganda sanang ipinagdiwang ang Buwan ng Katutubo kung totoong kinikilala ang karapatan at pakikibaka namin sa aming lupang ninuno. Noon pa man, mula sa henerasyon ng aming mga ninuno papunta sa mga bagong sibol, nananalaytay na ang pagdepensa sa lupang ninuno.

Kung para sa iba, pagdiriwang lamang ang Pandaigdigang Buwan ng mga Katutubo, para sa amin, paggunita at paniningil ito ng hustisya para sa lahat ng mga katutubong pinaslang ng estado. Sa pagkakataong ito, nais naming bigyan ng pinakamataas na pagpupugay ang lahat ng bayaning katutubo. Nais kong magpasalamat sa pag-alay nila ng kanilang buhay para sa pagdepensa sa lupang ninuno. Utang namin sa inyo ang lahat ng meron kami sa kasalukuyan.

Ang Buwan ng Katutubo ay mas pagpapatingkad ng aming pakikibaka sa pagdepensa sa lupang ninuno at ng aming mga panawagan, dahil sa mga ganitong pagkakataon lamang kami narerekognisa. Inaalala ang mayaman naming kultura, sinusuot at ibinabalandra ang makukulay na mga disenyo, tela at damit, ngunit hindi ang aming marahas na kalagayan. Hindi ang pandarambong sa aming lupa. Hindi ang

pagpapasara sa aming mga paaralan. Hindi ang militarisasyon sa aming mga komunidad. Ginagawa lamang kaming palamuti.

Kaakibat ng makukulay naming mga damit, mayaman na sining, kultura at tradisyon ay ang pamamasista mula sa estado. Kung gaano kakulay ang kultura ng mga katutubo, ganoon kasalimuot ang pang-araw-araw naming buhay. Kung ang mga tao ay nasisiyahan sa ganda at yaman ng lupang ninuno, kami ay nangangamba. Nakakatakot isipin na ipinagdiriwang ng ilan ang Buwan ng mga Katutubo nang di nakikiisa sa pagdepensa sa lupang pangako.

Marahil ay isang sumpa ang maging isang katutubo sa lipunang walang pagpapahalaga sa kalikasan, lupa, at buhay. Sa lipunang mas matimbang ang pagpatay kaysa pagkilala at pagpapahalaga. Sa lipunang naghahari ang ganid. Ika nga ni Kim Falyao, deputy secretary-general ng Katribu Youth, katambal ng aming pagiging katutubo ang habangbuhay na danas ng pandarahas. Pagkalunod ang mamuhay sa lipunang ito.

Lumaki ako sa komunidad na matindi ang militarisasyon. Sa aming komunidad, ang paaralan namin sa

Kung gaano kakulay ang kultura ng mga katutubo, ganoon kasalimuot ang pang-araw-araw naming buhay.

kinder ay Manobo ang guro, Manobo ang wikang panturo at ang lahat ng mga halimbawa ng alpabeto ay nakasulat sa aming dayalekto. Tuwing magtatapos ay nakasuot lahat ng Minonuvo o Kinaraan. Buhay na buhay ang kultura. Tuwing may aktibidad ang komunidad ay nagtatanghal ng mga pangkultural na sayaw at awitin.

Noong nag-aaral na ako sa sekondarya sa paaralang Lumad, doon mas napaunlad ang aking kaalaman at praktika ng aming kultura. Nakita kung gaano kayaman ang aming kultura, tradisyon at sining. Sa Lumad na paaralan, araw-araw pinatutunayan na kayang-kaya naming mamuhay sa aming lupa nang walang nanghihimasok na mga kumpanya ng mina, logging concession, dam at plantasyon. Habang umuunlad sila sa pandarambong sa aming lupang

ninuno, siya ring unti-unting nalalagot ang aming mga hininga.

Habang palala nang palala ang militarisasyon ay unti-unti ring namamatay ang aming kultura. Nakatayo pa rin hanggang ngayon ang paaralan ko noong kinder, kahit matindi ang red-tagging na dinaranas. Ngunit ang mga awitin na tungkol sa pagdepensa sa lupang ninuno ay bawal nang awitin, dahil ito raw ay awit ng New People’s Army (NPA). Ang mga sayaw na may taas-kamao, bawal. Kapag may suot kang bracelet na beads, rebelde. Pinapatay ng estadong ito ang aming kultura. Ipinagbabawal ang maging Lumad sa sariling lupa.

Matingkad pa rin ngayon sa marami na ang aming paaralan ay “breeding ground” ng mga NPA o di kaya’y nauto kami ng mga NPA.

Lagi kong ipagmamalaki na sa anim na taon ng aking buhay ay naging mag-aaral ako sa paaralang Lumad. Hindi kailanman matutumbasan ng kahit anong bagay ang mga natutuhan at naranasan ko sa aming paaralan. Itinuturing kong mahalagang yugto ng kasaysayan ng aking buhay ang maging mag-aaral sa paaralang makamasa, makabayan at may siyentipikong edukasyon. Noong Grade 8 nga ako, paborito ko ang asignaturang math, values, araling panlipunan at agrikultura (Bagaman kalaunan, inawayawan ko rin ang math).

Noong nag-aaral pa ako sa paaralang Lumad, alas-kwatro ng madaling araw maingay na ang kusina, gising na ang mga bata, nakaligo at handa nang gawin ang mga nakalatag na gawain. Magwawalis na sa paligid ng dorm, admin, sa mga silid-aralan at sa AP park.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Keian Florino

Nagtanghal ang mga kabataang Lumad bilang pakikiisa sa laban ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas kontra pagbasura ng UP-DND Accord.

Maraming dahon kasi maraming puno. Magpapakain ng mga alagang hayop na kalabaw, baboy, isda, pato at manok. Yung ibang grupo, mangunguha ng panggatong na kahoy, at nasa sakahan, magdidilig ng mga pananim na gulay at lagutmon (kamote, kamoteng kahoy), pati na rin mga bulaklak. Minsan naman, naglilinis din ng mga damo at nagtatanim. Pero sa hapon, pagkatapos ng klase, nasa sakahan ang lahat pati ang mga guro.

Dahil walang ospital na malapit sa aming komunidad, lumalabas kami para magpa-checkup, magpabunot ng ngipin, magpatuli at minsan magpaopera ng cyst. Ginagawa rin namin ang mga kailangang gamot mula sa mga halaman. Itong serbisyong medikal ang pangunahing pangangailangan sa aming mga komunidad na kahit kailan ay hindi natugunan ng estado.

Ito ang ginagawa namin sa loob ng paaralang Lumad. Laging inilalapat ang teorya sa praktika sa lahat ng gawain. Sa klase namin sa asignaturang agrikultura, may isang oras para sa teorya at isang oras sa praktika. Kaya maunlad ang aming paaralan at ang mga estudyante dahil isinasapraktika lahat ng mga natutuhan, maging sa asignaturang english, math, at science.

Hindi kailanman matatakpan ng pakitang-taong pagsusuot ni Sara Duterte sa aming kasuotan ang maraming buhay na ninakaw at minasaker ng kanyang ama sa anim na taon nitong paghahari. Si Sara at Rodrigo Duterte ay parehas na nagpasara ng mahigit 100 paaralan sa Southern Mindanao Region at sa iba pang rehiyon sa Mindanao. Kung kaya wala siyang karapatan magsuot ng aming damit sa rasong mahilig siya sa “tribal stuff.”

Pinatay kami ng administrasyon. Ang kanilang pangre-red-tag sa aming mga Lumad at sa aming guro ay kumikitil sa amin. Matagal na ipinagkait ang karapatan namin sa edukasyon, at nang gumawa kami ng sariling paaralan,

pinasara ito—ninakawan ulit kami ng edukasyon.

Kaya anong karapatan ni Sara Duterte na magsuot ng aming kasuotan? Ang bawat hibla ng kinaraan na suot nila ay may mantsa ng dugo; binabastos ang aming kultura.

Ang lupa ay buhay.

Mula sa kultura, pamumuhay, wika at ang aming buhay mismo ay nakaangkla sa lupa. Nakakawing lagi sa lupa ang araw-araw naming buhay, ang aming kinabukasan, at buhay ng susunod na salinlahi.

Tuwing lumalala ang karahasan na natatamasa namin mula sa estado ay binabalikan namin ang pakiramdam na mamuhay sa loob ng lupang ninuno. Minsan sa buhay namin, naranasan namin ang kolektibong pamumuhay. Nasaksihan namin kung gaano kaganda, at tulad ng bahaghari, makulay ang aming sining at kultura. Minsan sa buhay namin, naranasan naming tumakbo sa damuhan, umakyat ng puno at pumitas ng mga prutas, lumangoy sa ilog at magkaroon ng magandang paaralan.

Pangarap namin na maranasan ulit ito at patuloy na matamasa ng susunod na salinlahi. Hindi kami papayag na mananatiling pangarap lamang ito. Matutupad ito. Titindig ang mga nadapa, kaya’t hihilom din ang mga sugat na tinamaan ng malakas na kidlat. Makakaapak din ang mga paa sa naiwang lupang pamana. Ngunit kung hindi tayo kikilos para baguhin ang lipunan, kailan ma’y di na hihilom ang mga sugat na tinamaan ng malakas na kidlat. ‘Di na rin makakaapak ang mga paa sa naiwang lupang pamana.

Si Kat Dalon ay kasalukuyang kumukuha ng Associate in Arts in Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino.

Bilang unang Lumad na nahalal sa UP Diliman University Student Council, pinangungunahan niya ang People’s Struggles Committee.

Katambal ng aming pagiging katutubo ang habambuhay na danas nang pandarahas. Pagkalunod ang mamuhay sa lipunang ito.

The University this semester lifted the suspension of delinquency and maximum residence rules, raised the minimum load to 15 units, and removed the no-fail policy. This, despite the ongoing transition from online to blended learning, and the persistence of faculty and course slot shortages.

Again, the students and faculty are left to fend for themselves.

Venus Samonte

Maria Laya

PAGYURAK