Philippine Collegian Tomo 100 October Issue

EDITORS' NOTE

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

editor-in-chief daniel sebastianne daiz associate editor keian florino managing editor gretle c. mago business manager samantha del castillo features editor polynne dira layout editor venus samonte guest editors sheila abarra marvin ang kim yutuc contributing members andrea medina arthur david adam torres ysabel vidor

probationary members news gian angnged frenzel julianne cleofe kenli rey diaz rizhel kyla dionisio micah formoso elan samuel lunas john florentino perez johnson santos features patrick kyle adeva jassie bagatela dan basquiñas guillana david sean ingalla luis lagman ryan maltezo mary june ricaña kultura jericho igdanes illustration justin lawrenz delas armas maya caitlin erfe star laguio maria laya elisha montemayor rona pizarro layout angelyn castillo dustin francisco angeli marie rodenas isaiah verdejo blanca versoza jay villanueva photography luisa elago kathleen isaac ar jay revilla administrative aide gina bakukanag amelyn 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 telephone +(632) 8981-8500 loc. 4522 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 nandurusta 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 Justin Lawrenz Delas Armas

Ngayong humaharap sa krisis ang bayan, hindi na dapat natin inaasahan pa ang mga dating sistema na parehong naglugmok sa sektor ng agrikultura.

02 Sino at Ano ang Kulê 04 EDITORYAL Higit pa sa Nililikha ay may Tinutuklas 07

BALITA Johnson Santos Mahal na Langis, Bagong Ruta, Dagdag-Pasanin sa mga Tsuper ng UP Ikot 10

FEATURES M ary June Ricaña The Heroes of Sagay Might Have Passed, but the Spirit of Their Bungkalan Lives On 13 KULTURA Gretle C. Mago Walang Halong Kemikal 16

NEWS Frenzel Julianne P. Cleofe & Elan Samuel E. Lunas Campus Security Put Into Question as UPD Police Has 19 Officers Left 20

FEATURES Patrick Kyle Adeva Political Prisoner Parenting 21

FEATURES Josemari Luis Lagman One Against a 500-Troop Military Op 22 LATHALAIN Ryan Maltezo Pamanang Pakikibaka 23

LATHALAIN Sean Marcus Ingalla Pakikihamok sa Kulungan ng Mindoro 24 FEATURES Adam Torres Requisite for Freedom 27

PHOTOGRAPHY Luisa Elago, Kathleen Isaac & Ar Jay Revilla Mga Tagpo ng Pagkilos Ngayong Buwan ng Pesante 29

OPINYON Arthur David San Juan Bihag ng Pagmamatyag 31

OPINION Ysabel Vidor I’m Back on Campus. But Classes are Still Largely Online. 33

COLLEGIAN EDITORIAL EXAM The Collegian’s 100th Year and the Marcos Presidency 37 EDITORIAL Redefining the Collegian’s Relevance

EDITORYAL

Higit pa sa Nililikha ay may Tinutuklas

Nakagagawa ang mga magsasaka ng sustenableng sistema sa pagsasakang sila mismo ang humubog. Athindi maaarok ang potensyal ng paglikhang ito kung patuloy na magdadamot ng suporta ang gobyerno.

Taliwas sa sinasabi ng mga nasa posisyon, hindi mangmang ang mga magsasaka. Kalakhan man sa kanila ay hindi nakatanggap ng pormal na edukasyon, higit pa ang sinasabi ng kanilang paglikha sa kasalukuyan: Sa harap ng mapangabusong pamumuno at mga krisis, naipagpapatuloy nilang buhayin ang bayan sa pamamagitan ng mga bago at sustenableng paraan ng paglikha ng pagkain.

Kung ano man, ang mga katulad ni Sen. Cynthia Villar ang tunay na ignorante sa danas ng sektor ng agrikultura. Sinabi ni Villar sa budget hearing ng Kagawaran ng Agrikultura (DA) noong Oktubre na walang alam ang mga magsasaka sa usapin ng climate change.

Nang banggitin ang paraan ng mga magsasaka para ibsan ang epekto ng climate change, kinastigo ni Villar ang DA dahil sa ahensya umano dapat manggaling ang mga solusyon dito imbes na sa mga magsasakang

di gagap ang usapin ng climate change.

“Anong gagawin mo (DA) sa lugar na tinatamaan ng bagyo? Dapat gagawa ka ng project to stop that, huwag mong aasahan ang farmers and fishermen, because they don’t know anything,” ani Villar. “Katulad ko sa Las Piñas, yung mga fishermen and farmers, will they protect themselves? Ako gagawa nu’n kasi ako nakakaintindi ng problema. Kaya dapat DA ang gagawa nu’n. They don’t know.”

Sa katunayan, matagal nang nililinang ng mga magbubukid ang sistemang pang-agrikultura na akma sa kondisyon ng lupain at kapaligiran ng Pilipinas.

Lingid sa kaalaman ng gobyerno, siyentipiko ang mga kaparaanan ng mga magsasaka sa pagresolba sa krisis sa pagtatanim. Mula nang mabuo noong 1982, nakalikha na ang Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG),

isang organisasyon ng 500,000 maliliit na magsasaka at siyentista, ng aabot sa 2,000 barayti ng palay, higit 100 sa mais, at marami pang iba, para makaiwas sa mga peste at makatagal sa sakuna na tipikal sa mga monocrop na taniman ng mga malalaking korporasyon.

Ito ang uri ng dunong na taglay ng mga magsasaka: ang panatilihing maunlad ang pagsasaka at gawing mas sustentable ang produksyon ng pagkain. Nakagagawa ang mga magsasaka ng sustenableng sistema sa pagsasakang sila mismo ang humubog. At hindi maaarok ang maraming potensyal ng paglikhang ito kung patuloy na magdadamot ng suporta ang gobyerno.

Matagal nang isinusulong ng mga magsasaka ang mga kaparaanan sa sustenableng paglikha subalit makailang beses itong tinalikuran at di kinikilala ng pamahalaan. Sapagkat ang pagtanggap sa mga pag-unlad na ito ay pag-amin sa

lahat ng kapalpakan ng gobyerno sa pamamahala sa sektor ng agrikultura. Kung kaya, patuloy nilang ipinipilit ang mga palisiyang napatunayan nang palpak at nagpapahirap sa mamamayan.

Muling binabalikan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang Masagana 99 ng kanyang ama. Sa kanyang bersyong Masagana 150, lilikha ang mga magsasaka ng 150 kabang bigas kada ektarya ng lupain, lagpas sa 90 kabang average sa bansa. Magpapautang ang gobyerno sa mga

magsasaka ng pambili ng mga hybrid na binhi at mga artipisyal at mas mahal na pataba para lamang masunod ang kota sa ani.

Nag-aabang na delubyo ang programa sapagkat imbes na subsidiya, utang mula sa gobyerno ang kanilang puhunan para lamang maisakatuparan ang proyekto. Gayong mas mahal ang hybrid at artipisyal na pataba, kung makautang man ay hindi sapat ang kikitain ng mga magsasaka para maibalik sa gobyerno ang kanilang inutang.

Dumagdag din ang sunod-sunod na pananalanta ng mga bagyo sa bansa sa lalong pagkakabaon ng mga magsasaka sa utang. Imbes na alalayan sila ng gobyerno para mabawi ang kita sa mga pananim na nawasak, pag-aangkat ang naging solusyon upang mapakain ang taumbayan.

Sa kasalukuyan, umabot na sa tatlong milyong metriko tonelada ng bigas ang inaangkat ng Pilipinas, pinakamataas na bolyum ng inangkat na bigas mula 2019. May ilusyon mang bumababa ang presyo sa mga lokal na pamilihan,

Disenyo ng pahina ni Isaiah Verdejo

Naglunsad ng isang agroecology fair ang mga magsasaka at peasant advocate sa University Theater, UP Diliman kasabay ng paggunita sa World Hunger Day, Oktubre 16. (Kathleen Isaac / Philippine Collegian)

hindi naman naibebenta ang produkto ng mga magsasaka; napipilitan na lamang ang mga pesanteng baratin ang presyo ng kanilang palay para makakuha kahit barya-baryang kita.

Kung tutuusin, kung may pag-agapay mula sa gobyerno, kayang punan ng mga magsasaka ang mga pananim na nawala dahil sa kalamidad. Higit, kaya nilang lumikha para sa bawat gutom na mamamayan. Subalit natatali ang gobyerno sa mga suhestyong lutang, kung di man nagbubulag-bulagan, sa tunay na kahingian ng mga magsasaka dahil mas nakahihigit ang kanilang interes sa kita kaysa alalayang makatindig muli ang mga magsasaka.

Hindi kailangan ng pamahalaang humagilap ng kung ano-anong programa mula sa mga nagdaang administrasyon upang harapin ang mga isyu ng bansa. Sa halip, dapat nilang igiya ang kanilang perspektiba na kung ano lamang ang ating nililikha ay yun lamang din ang ating makokonsumo. Kung di tunay na sinusuportahan ang mga magsasaka, walang maaasahang paglago sa ani. Bagkus, lugi ang mga tagapaglikha at gutom ang mamamayan.

Hindi mangmang ang mga magsasaka sa simpleng dahilan na sila ang lumilikha at walang ibang gumagawa nito liban sa kanila. Gayong sila ang bihasa at nangunguna sa pagbuo ng mga sustenableng paraan sa pananim, marapat lamang na sa kanila rin manggaling ang mga suhestyon para mapaunlad ang mga gawing ito.

pa ang mga dating sistema na parehong naglugmok sa sektor ng agrikultura. Nasa harap na ng gobyerno ang pagsasapraktika ng sustenableng paglikha. Ang trabaho, kung gayon, ng gobyerno bilang mga mambabatas at tagapamahala ay suportahan ang mga panukalang nagsusulong nito.

Isa rito ang Rice Industrialization and Development Act na layong palalimin at paramihin ang mga pag-aaral sa industriya ng bigas, at makapagpatayo ng mga imprastrakturang angkop sa kondisyon ng lupain at tunay na tutugon sa kahilingan ng mga magsasaka. Deka-dekada na itong ipinapanukala ng mga pesante mula sa Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

Higit, ang pundasyon ng mga mekanismong magpapaunlad sa agrikultura ay ang walang kondisyong pagkilala ng gobyerno sa karapatan sa lupa, at magagampanan lamang ito sa pamamagitan ng pamamahagi nito sa mga magsasaka. Dahil ang batayan lagi ng dami at sustansya ng produkto ay nakabatay sa kapasidad na likhain ito.

Kung tunay ang pagnanais ng gobyernong solusyunan ang mga hamon sa agrikultura–peste, sakuna, lahat-lahat na–hindi ito mag-aatubiling buhusan ng suporta ang mga magsasaka sa porma ng pagbibigay-pondo, paggawa ng proyektong direktang pakikinabangan ng mga magsasaka.

Ngunit kung pagmamataas ang patuloy na mangingibabaw, tiyak na di magdadalawang-isip ang mga pesante na bumaklas sa sistemang isinasawalang-bahala sila. At lagi, wala silang pasubaling gawin ito.

Ngayong humaharap sa krisis ang bayan, hindi na dapat natin inaasahan «

Natatali ang gobyerno sa mga suhestyong lutang, kung di man nagbubulagbulagan, sa tunay na kahingian ng mga magsasaka dahil mas nakahihigit ang kanilang interes sa kita kaysa ang alalayang makatindig muli ang mga magsasaka.

Mahal na Langis, Bagong Ruta, Dagdag-Pasanin sa mga Tsuper ng UP Ikot

» Kasabay ng krisis sa COVID, lumalala ang pasakit ng mga drayber ng UP Ikot sa Diliman sa tuloytuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin at krudo.

Hindi alintana ang init at usok, kasama ni Rosendo Borromeo sa jeep ang kanyang asawa at dalawa sa tatlong anak habang pumapasada sa rutang UP Ikot. Aniya, patuloy ang pagkayod niya para sa kanyang pamilya. Ngunit sa walang tigil na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis at iba pang bilihin, pahirapan para kay Borromeo na kumita nang nakasasapat para sa araw-araw na pangangailangan.

“Sana babaan ang presyo ng diesel tsaka yung pagkain kasi ang hirap talaga,” ani Borromeo.

Dalawang buwan matapos maoperahan dahil sa hernia, agarang pumasada si Borromero upang makapagbayad ng utang, mapaaral ang tatlong anak, at makabawi sa panahong natengga ang kanyang inuupahang jeep nang ipatupad ang lockdown dulot ng COVID-19 noong 2020.

“Kumikirot pa rin pero hindi ko na iniinom ng gamot kasi dagdag-gastos lang eh. Papatong pa sa gastusin sa bahay at diesel,” aniya. Bagaman libre ang kanyang naging operasyon, kinakailangan pa rin niyang uminom ng gamot. Ngunit dahil sa kakulangan sa pera, napilitan si Borromeo na indahin na lamang ang sakit.

Daing ng mga Tsuper

Isa si Borromeo sa 14 na tsuper na pumapasada sa UP Ikot. Sa bilang na ito, kailangan nilang magbigayan ng araw ng pamamasada para kumita ang lahat ng tsuper dahil sa kakaunting bilang ng mga komyuter sa kampus gayong limitado pa rin ang pisikal na klase na ipinatutupad sa UP Diliman (UPD).

Halos P600 na lang ang kinikita ni Borromeo kada araw mula sa dating P1,500. Mula sa kakarampot na kita,

kailangan pa niyang bayaran ang boundary at gasolinang pumapalo ng halos P300 sa bawat biyahe. Sa huli, barya lang naiuuwi niya para sa kanyang pamilya, aniya.

Isa lamang si Borromeo sa mga tsuper na nananawagan sa pamahalaang pababain ang presyo ng langis at mga bilihin.

Tumaas ng P28.95 kada litro ang presyo ng diesel habang P67.2 naman ang kada litro ng gasolina, ayon sa tala ng Department of Energy sa huling linggo ng Oktubre.

Ani Borromeo, kung patuloy pang tataas ang presyo ng langis, titigil na siya sa pamamasada sa UP at maghahanap ng ibang rutang mas mapagkakakitaan niya.

“Nakakapagod rin ang pumasada tapos wala namang kita. Siguro kung

Disenyo ng pahina ni Jay Villanueva

Johnson Santos

Karapatan ng mga tsuper at komyuter, isulong!

OUTLOOK

pwede, lilipat na lang ako ng ruta tulad ng iba kasi marami pa kaming bayarin eh,” saad niya.

Sa tala ng IBON Foundation noong Setyembre, kailangan ng isang pamilya sa National Capital Region ng arawang kita na P1,119 o P24,333 kada buwan para makasabay sa pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin at serbisyo. Hindi hamak na mas mababa ang kita ng mga katulad ni Borromeo kumpara sa pang-arawaraw na gastusin ng isang pamilyang nakatira sa Metro Manila.

Ngunit isa lang ang presyo ng langis sa mga dinaraing ng mga tsuper sa UPD. Sa pagbabalik-pasada nila sa unibersidad noong Setyembre, ipinatupad ang bagong traffic scheme ng mga jeepney sa loob ng kampus na, ani Borromeo, naging dahilan upang lalong bumaba ang kita nilang mga drayber.

Pagbabagong Ruta

Wala pang kagyat na plano ang Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA) na baguhin ang ruta ng mga jeep, ayon sa UP National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS), isang institusyong nananaliksik sa mga suliraning trapiko sa bansa.

“Pinupulong at nagkakaroon ng usapan ang OVCCA at ang mga associations ng UP PUJ kapag nagkakaroon ng pagbabago sa ruta. Sa aming pagkakaalam, walang plano na baguhin ang ruta ng Ikot sa susunod na semestre,” tugon ng NCTS sa isang liham.

Gayunman, bukas umano ang OVCCA na makipag-diyalogo sa mga tsuper ng UP Ikot at iba pang jeep na bumabagtas sa kampus.

Sa bagong traffic scheme, tatahakin ng UP Ikot ang Magsaysay Avenue palabas ng Katipunan Avenue bago ito muling pumasok ng Shuster Street patungong National Science Complex.

Isang UP Ikot ang tinatahak ang Magsaysay Avenue rerouting scheme na ipinatupad ng TMO at UPD

Malayo ito sa dating sistema kung saan nakadaraan ang mga UP Ikot sa harap ng Vinzons Hall at sa likod ng Palma Hall kung saan maraming mga estudyanteng pasahero.

Simula noong Pebrero ng 2021, binigyang-diin ng administrasyon ng UPD ang kanilang planong gawing “car-less” ang Academic Oval upang

Karapatan ng mga tsuper at komyuter, isulong!

magbigay-daan sa mga non-motorized transport users tulad ng mga pedestrian at biker.

Simula noong 2008, sa ilalim ni dating Bise Tsanselor Cynthia Grace Gregorio, plano nang bawasan ang polusyon sa kampus kasabay ng pagdagdag ng mga bike lane upang gawing pedestrian area ang Academic Oval. Ngunit umani

Avenue palabas ng Katipunan Avenue, bahagi ng UPD Police. (Kathleen Isaac / Philippine Collegian)

ng kritisismo ang planong ito mula sa mga grupo ng tsuper at estudyante dahil sa kahahantungang bawas-kita ng mga drayber.

Bagaman may planong gawing “carless” ang Academic Oval, patuloy pa ring nakakaraan ang mga pribadong sasakyan sa mas maraming kalsada sa kampus, kabilang sa ilang bahagi

ng Academic Oval. Tanging mga jeep patungong SM North EDSA at Pantranco lamang ang nakadaraan sa Academic Oval.

“Napakahalagang usapin ang mobility ng mga commuter sa UP campus. Sa side ng NCTS bilang research institution, ito ay magsasagawa ng online survey upang maintindihan ang

mga trips ng estudyante at kawani sa papasok at sa loob ng campus,” anang NCTS. Hinihikayat din ng NCTS ang mga mananakay na maglakad o magbisikleta.

Kasalukuyang Tahak ng Ikot at Iba pang PUV

Parehong mga tsuper at pasahero ang nahihirapan sa kasalukuyang rutang ipinatutupad ng unibersidad, lalo pa’t idineklara na ng UP ang pagkakaroon ng full face-to-face na mga klase sa susunod na semestre. Batay sa naging sensing ng UPD University Student Council, isa ang traportasyon sa pangunahing alalahanin ng mga estudyanteng magbabalik-eskwela.

“Transportation services and learning facilities are common concerns among respondents. Suggestions include the implementation of bike-sharing services and shuttle services in the campus,” saad ng position paper ng konseho.

Gayundin, wala pang maayos na hakbangin ang pamahalaan sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis bagaman tuloy-tuloy ang panawagan ng mga grupong tulad ng PISTON, isang organisasyon ng mga tsuper at operator ng jeep. Matagal nang ipinapanawagan ng PISTON ang pagtanggal ng excise tax sa langis upang agarang mapababa ang presyo nito.

Hiling naman ni Borromeo na pakinggan ang kanilang mga hinaing at unawain ang kanilang kalagayan sa sektor ng trasportasyon sa gitna ng tuloy-tuloy na krisis na kanilang kinakaharap. Aniya, bahagi na sila ng UP at kung hindi masosolusyunan ang kanilang mga problema, maaaring tuluyan nang mawala ang mga jeep na UP Ikot.

“Ang tagal nang nandito ang Ikot, sana kaming mga tsuper din ay makapamasada pa. Sana pakinggan kami, yun lang naman hinihingi namin sa gobyerno at sa UP,” saad niya.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Jay Villanueva

Mary June Ricaña

The Heroes of Sagay Might Have Passed, but the Spirit of Their Bungkalan Lives On

» When peasants resist the unjust systems of the hacienda, they are terrorized not only by the landlords but by the state as well—this was what happened four years ago in Sagay City.

When exploitation seems endless and justice only sides with the oppressors, the peasants fight back in the best way they know how: They till, they plant, they struggle.

The farm workers of Hacienda Nene in Sagay City, Negros Occidental were all too familiar with this routine. Their decades-long battle for land ownership has taken them nowhere and their pay remained a measly P120 to P150 per day, which they do not even receive for all seven days of the week. And so, on October 20, 2018, the farmers did what they needed to survive. Along with the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), they organized a bungkalan.

The peasants took over the lands they were barred from having. They took their tools to the farmlands, and cultivated and planted crops that would sustain them, contrary to the usual cash crops the landlords would make them sow. The bungkalan is both a plea and a protest.

But instead of finally getting heard, the Sagay farmers were met with terror and death as they were silenced in their own tents on the evening of the first day of bungkalan. Nine sugar farmers, dubbed Sagay 9, including four women and two minors, were killed in that massacre, and to this

day, they still have not received justice—not for their murder, and certainly not for their plight.

Backed into a Corner

John Milton Lozande, secretary general of NFSW, was in Manila for a conference when the massacre happened. He had only heard of the brutal murder of his colleagues via phone call early the next day. “Nakapanlulumo na nakakagalit,” he recalled how he felt during the call. “Ganun-ganon na lang ang ginawa sa kabila ng valid reasons at legitimate demands ng mga manggagawa sa hacienda.”

Justice for Sagay 9!

Illustration and page design by: Blanca Versoza

The workers in Sagay have long been fighting for the redistribution of the hacienda to its rightful owners. The birth of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) sowed hope for the workers in Hacienda Nene as the previous agrarian laws under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. did not cover sugar land areas in the repartition.

Since 1988, the sugar workers have been relentless in applying to be land reform beneficiaries, but to no avail. They have had a total of three applications and three notices of coverage before 2018, all of which were denied by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) because there had been a deed of donation to 25 beneficiaries already.

However, according to NFSW, these donations were fabricated by the Tolentino family, the owners of the hacienda. The beneficiaries were their own family members, relatives, and close allies when the property should have been given to those who tilled the land.

Since having their 2014 application denied, the farm workers have organized dialogues with the provincial agrarian reform officer and held mobilizations in Sagay City. They have exhausted all means prescribed to them by the law. But the truth is, for the state, when it comes down to it, the peasant lands are just for grabs depending on who the highest bidder is.

With no other choice left, the farmers decided to occupy the land

in resistance to the exploitative nature of the hacienda. The bungkalan also served to sustain them during the off-milling season in August, when there is no work in the hacienda, by providing them with sweet potatoes and bananas.

Out of the 77 hectares of the hacienda, they were only able to cultivate two hectares through the bungkalan—then the massacre happened. Forty unidentified gunmen showed up and killed the Sagay 9: Eglicerio Villegas, 36; Angelife Dumaguit Arsenal, 47; Paterno Baron, 48; Rene Laurencio Sr., 53; Morena Mendoza, 48; Marcelina Dumaguit, 60; Rommel Bantigue, 41; Jomarie Ughayon, 17; and Marchstil Sumicad, 17.

“Parang mga manok lang ang mga lumalaban para sa kanilang karapatan,” said Lozande, referring to how easy it is for the government to kill those who speak up. The nine farm workers murdered were only a few of the 344 victims of extrajudicial killings and of the 26 fatalities from massacres related to the peasantry since former President Rodrigo Duterte’s term in 2016, as recorded by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

“Isa sila sa mga naging casualty o biktima ng tinatawag [na operasyon] sa ngalan daw ng kapayapaan. Sinabi noong PNP chief, si Debold Sinas, para raw sa kapayapaan,” Lozande said. “Ito yung kapayapaan na sinasabi niya, may grabeng nangyaring patayan.”

Cycle of Life and Slavery

Four years since the massacre, the path to justice for Sagay 9 and all the land dispute killings remains bleak, but the peasants do not waver in making their calls heard.

“Sa totoo lang, wala namang option ang mga hacienda workers,” Lozande lamented. “Dalawang bagay lang naman ang nangyayari sa kanila: Tumindig sila sa kanilang karapatan sa lupa o yung cycle ng pagiging alipin sa lupa, bilang mga trabahador sa hacienda, yun na yung cycle ng kanilang pamumuhay.”

The hacienda system has had its chokehold on the peasantry since the Spanish colonization in the Philippines. To this day, even with all the past land reform programs, the landlord-tenant system of our agricultural lands has our farm workers remain oppressed by the rich and unprotected by the law.

The CARP has done nothing to help alleviate the status of the workers, not only in Hacienda Nene but in other farmlands all over the country. One could not forget the massacre in Hacienda Luisita that killed seven people, and injured hundreds of protesters who fought back when the Cojuangco-Aquino family refused to redistribute the farmlands despite the CARP.

After the massacre in Hacienda Nene, the corpses of the slain were kept at the city proper and the hacienda was cordoned and militarized to protect the

Page design by Blanca Versoza

Four years since the massacre, the path to justice for Sagay 9 and all the land dispute killings remains bleak, but the peasants do not waver in making their calls heard.

undeserved properties of the Tolentino family. The workers’ union in the hacienda has also disbanded and the exploited families were silenced, either by money or by fear. “Syempre, di mo naman masisisi sila kasi yun nga eh, yung buhay nila ang nakataya eh,” said Lozande.

For its part, the state has done nothing but weave its longstanding web of lies of peasant groups killing their own. The police filed murder charges against two NFSW officers, Rene Manlangit and Rogelio Arquillo, who were survivors of the massacre themselves. They were charged for allegedly putting the farmers in danger by bringing them to the bungkalan. To this day, they remain in hiding, not because of the fear of the charges but because they did not know who was still out to get them.

Since then, there were no more hearings and subpoenas on the case to the knowledge of Lozande. But for as long as the landlords are not made to answer for their actions, the true perpetrators remain at large.

The Bungkalan Lives On

After the gruesome experience of the peasantry under Duterte and the administrations before him, things are not looking up as the new leaders are nothing but old surnames in the government. Under the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., NFSW does not expect much as there are still no talks of implementing a genuine agrarian reform program.

This program has been the subject of the peasant’s calls for years now. “Ito yung pinakasentro ng [mga kahingian] ng mga manggagawa sa agrikultura: yung land reform program, yung [sapat na] sahod, at yung pagrespeto sa karapatan sa kanilang pag-organisa,” said Lozande. “Itigil ang walang habas na pamamaslang na ginagawa hindi lamang ng mga malalaking panginoong may lupa, pati na rin ng estado.”

Along with these calls to the government, the peasant community also mobilizes itself to ensure that their needs are met. In 2018, there were bungkalan activities in 145 areas in Negros. Hacienda workers and farmers, along with progressive groups, have won over 4,000 hectares of land from that. Peasant activists also continue to walk the streets and cultivate lands to fight for their rights.

Because of this, Lozande remains strong in his resolve to keep on fighting even with the seemingly far-fetched justice for peasants. “May katapusan naman itong mga karahasan na nangyayari. Hindi naman sa lahat ng panahon [ay] mangingibabaw yung mga kasamaan na ginagawa ng mga naghaharing-uri, at mismo ng estado na nagrerepresenta sa malalaking tao na ito,” he said.

Hacienda Nene is not a lost cause. So long as the peasantry is not free from the chains of the hacienda system, the bungkalan continues to live on—in the soils of our farmlands, and in the hearts of the masses.

design by Blanca Versoza

Gretle C. Mago

Walang Halong Kemikal

» Mahalagang kilalanin ang pagtanggap ng mga pesante sa siyensya. Kung may itinatakwil man sila, ito ang lalong pagpapahirap gamit ang “siyensya” ng mga mapanlinlang na korporasyon.

Laging may katapat na presyo ang kahit anong higit sa ordinaryo. “Di man ito totoo sa lahat ng pagkakataon, pero ganito na isinapakete ang mga produkto sa mga mamimiling gusto ng dagdagbentahe. Kaya maging bigas, na isa sa mga esensyal na pagkain nating mga Pilipino, ay may gintong bersyon na rin.

Puspusang itinutulak ng mga dayuhang kumpanya na palawakin ang pagtatanim ng Golden Rice sa bansa, isang uri ng genetically modified na palay. Gamit ang teknolohiya at siyensya, nasosolusyunan ng bigas na ito ang kagutuman at kaunlaran ng agrikultura sa bansa.

Matagal nang may Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) sa bansa, isang manipestasyon ng umiiral na kagutuman sa Pilipinas kung saan mga bata ang primaryang apektado. Sagot umano ang Golden Rice at taglay nitong beta-carotene, isang source ng Vitamin A, para masugpo ang VAD. Ngunit matagal nang tinututulan ng mga pesante ang malawakang pagtatanim at pagkonsumo ng Golden Rice at iba pang binhing genetically modified.

Taong 2013 nang magmartsa sa tanggapan ng Department of Agriculture sa Pili, Camarines Sur ang

humigit 400 magsasaka upang pigilan ang field testing ng Golden Rice sa sakahan. Magmula noon, nagpatuloy ang di pagtanggap ng mga magsasaka sa Golden Rice, na hudyat sa pagsali ng mga grupong pesante sa Stop Golden Rice Network, isang grupo ng mga magsasaka mula sa iba’t i bang bansa.

Kung grasyang maituturing ang mga genetically modified organisms (GMOs) tulad ng Golden Rice, nakakapagtaka ang masidhing pagtanggi ng mga magsasaka rito. Pero tulad ng panlilinlang sa atin sa mga komersyal, tatambad ang nakakadismayang katotohanan— katotohanang mga pesante ang patuloy na nagsisiwalat.

Pekeng Ginto

Nabuo ang seed network, o samahan ng mga magsasakang ibinabahagi sa kapwa magsasaka ang sariling organikong binhi at kaalaman sa organic farming, bilang paglaban sa mga GMOs at agrokemikal na produktong ipinakilala sa bansa.

Unang ipinakilala ng Green Revolution, isang proyekto sa ilalim ng Masagana 99 na ipinatupad ni dating diktador Marcos Sr., ang genetically modified at

pulitikal ang pakikipagtunggali sa usaping agrikultura at kalikasan dahil ang pulitikal na kalagayan ng bansa rin ang ugat kung bakit patuloy na inilalagay sa tuluyang paghihirap ang mga magsasaka at pagkasira ang kalikasan.

Byline

Disenyo ng pahina ni Gie Rodenas

Nananatiling

SOCIETY

high-yielding varieties (HYV) crops sa bansa. Sa pangako ng modernisado at mas “produktibong” agrikultura, nagpautang ang gobyerno sa mga magsasaka sa kondisyong bibilli sila ng chemical pesticide at abono sa mga kumpanya, at na binhing HYV lang ang kanilang itatanim.

Dahil bugbog sa kemikal at monoculture na pagtatanim, hindi kataka-taka ang pagkasira ng lupa. Ganito ang kinahinatnan ng lupang ninuno ng mga katutubong Guarani sa Sao Paulo, Brazil, kung saan pagkatapos gawing taniman ng eucalyptus ng kumpanya ang kanilang lupa ay iniwan itong nakatiwangwang nang hindi na mataniman ulit.

Ayon sa ulat ng Stockholm Environment Institute noong 2020, nananatiling responsable sa mataas na global emissions sa mundo ang

mga korporasyong multinasyunal. Magpapatuloy ang pagkasira ng kalikasan na magreresulta sa pagtindi ng climate change kung walang pananagutan ang mga pangunahing sumisira rito, giit ni Judi Bari, isang Amerikanong environmentalist, sa akdang “Revolutionary Ecology,” bilang kritisismo sa Green Capitalism.

Ano mang tangka pagpapaketeng environment-friendly ang produkto ng mga kumpanya, ani Bari, ay pawang akto lamang ng mga bilyonaryong negosyante upang lalong kumita at ilihis ang kanilang imahe mula sa pamumuna at pananagutan.

Kung anong mapanganib sa mismong lupa’y asahan nating mapanganib din sa mga nabubuhay rito. Hindi lang din ang magastos na produksyon ang dahilan ng mga magsasaka upang tutulan ang agrokemikal na pagtatanim

dahil mayroon din itong peligrosong epekto sa kalusugan ng tao.

Sa isinagawang pag-aaral ng MASIPAG, grupo ng mga magsasaka at siyentista sa iba’t ibang rehiyon sa bansa, noong 2020, nadiskubre ang pagdami ng magsasakang may malulubhang sakit sa komunidad ng Guinbialan, Capiz. Nahanap din sa komunidad ang mataas na lebel ng kontaminasyon ng glyphosate, isang pesticide sa pagtatanim ng GMOs, na nakakalason sa mga tao, ayon sa World Health Organization.

Gayunman, nagpatuloy pa rin ang monoculture na pagtatanim, at ngayon, patuloy na pagtulak para sa malawakang pagtatanim ng GM rice sa bansa. Sa pakikipagsabwatan ng International Rice Research Institute at Philippine Rice Research Institute sa Syngenta at ChemChina, mga dayuhang

kumpanyang nagmamay-ari ng Golden Rice, maaaring lalong malubog sa utang at pagkalugi ang mga magsasaka dahil nasa dikta ng mga kumpanya ang magiging presyo ng binhi.

Hatol ng Karit

Gamit ang siyensya at katutubong kaalaman ng pagtatanim, naipamalas ng mga magsasaka ang permaculture na paraan ng pagtatanim. Kasingsimple ng pagkanta ng Bahay Kubo ang konsepto ng permaculture: sa munting sakahan, ang tanim at pagkaing napapakinabangan ng buong komunidad ay sari-sari.

Nang muling maibalik sa mga katutubong Guarani sa Brazil ang kanilang lupang ninuno, muli nilang binuhay ang tiwangwang na lupa ng kanilang komunidad. Sa pamamagitan ng pagkolekta ng iba’t ibang binhi mula sa iba pang magsasaka sa loob at labas ng kanilang bansa, matagumpay na naisagawa ng mga Guarani ang pagko-cross-breed ng mga binhi upang makapag-develop ng mas masustansya at ligtas na tanim para sa komunidad, at maging sa kalikasan.

Kumpara sa siyensya ng mga korporasyon na layunin ay kumita nang malaki, demokratiko ang direksyon ng paggamit ng mga pesante sa siyensya. Ibig sabihin, aktibo ang partisipasyon ng mga pesante sa pag-aaral, pagpapaunlad, at pagpapamahagi ng mga tuklas sa komunidad.

Ganito ang siyensyang patuloy na ginagawa ng mga magsasaka sa Filipino Farmers’ Seed Network, progresibong grupo ng mga pesante na nais isulong ang agroecology sa bansa. Mula 1997, higit 200 sarisaring klase ng organikong palay na ang napaunlad at ipinamahagi ng mga Pilipinong magsasaka ng Filipino Farmers’ Seed Network sa iba’t ibang panig ng bansa, maging mga bansa sa Asya-Pasipiko.

Karaniwang gawain sa seed network ng mga magsasaka ang pagpapalitan

ng mga binhing tanim sa mga sariling bukirin. Mahalaga rin ang pagpapaaral at pagpapamulat sa kapwa magsasaka at komunidad. Sa mga idinaraos na forum, ipinamahaging aklat at polyeto, at maging radyo programa, tinatalakay ng mga magsasakang siyentista ang papel ng mga magsasaka sa produksyon ng pagkain sa bansa at paggigiit sa libreng pagpapamahagi ng lupa para sa mga magsasaka.

Madalas ipinipintang walang sariling kapasidad ang batayang sektor para daigin ang nararanasan nilang krisis, isang paniniwalang ipinahayag ni Sen. Cynthia Villar noong Oktubre. Ngunit sa angking abilidad at talino ng mga pesante, napagtagumpayan nilang lumikha ng sariling solusyon sa mga suliranin ng pagsasakang matagal nang pinipiling di tugunan ng pamahalaan.

Katulad ng lumabas sa pagsusuri ni Zophia Edwards, propesor ng sociology at Black studies sa Estados Unidos, sa kanyang pag-aaral na “Resistance and Reforms: The Role of Subaltern Agency in Colonial State Development,” may potensyal para sa malaking panlipunang pagbabago ang tangang ahensya ng mga subaltern, o ang mga nasa laylayan. Sa pagkilala nila sa sariling kakayahan, ani Edwards, nasa pesante ang lakas at pwersa upang isulong at makuha ang kaunlarang ipinagkakait sa kanila ng mga institusyon.

Ginintuang Ani

Ipinapakita ng mga magsasaka sa seed network ang kanilang di makasariling layunin sa paggamit ng siyensya para sa agrikultura—hindi lamang pag-unlad ng pagsasaka ang nais nilang kamtan, maging food sustainability at climate change ay kanila ring binibigyang-solusyon sa kanilang pananaliksik.

Mahalagang kilalanin ang patuloy na pagyakap ng mga pesante sa modernisasyon at scientific advancement, mga katangiang taglay ng agroecology na kanilang

isinusulong. Hindi nakukulong sa organic farming ang agroecology, ang nais palitawin sa ganitong paraan ng pagsasaka ay pagbibigay importansya sa relasyon ng kalikasan, pagkain, at komunidad—sa bawat interaksyon nitong tatlo nagiging kapaki-pakinabang ang agrikultura para sa lahat.

Sa teorya ni Zhaochang Peng sa kanyang papel na “Upscaling Agroecology,” ang pagkakaroon ng pagbabago sa ginagalawang takbo ng lipunan ang pinakamahalagang tunguhin ng ecosocialism at hindi ang pag-iwas sa positibong benepisyo ng scientific advancement at pagsasaindustriya ng agrikultura.

Ecosocialism ang pulitikal na paniniwalang magkaugnay dapat ang ecology, pag-aaral sa biological organism at kalikasan, at sosyalistang oryentasyon ng panlipunan at pangekonomikong kalagayan ng buhay kung saan iwinawaksi ang inhustisya at kahirapang dulot ng labis-labis na pagmamay-ari ng iilang tao sa mundo.

Kaya kung may itinatakwil ang mga pesante, ito ay ang lalong pagpapahirap sa kanila habang kasangkapan ang “siyensya” ng mga mapanlinlang na korporasyon at polisiya. Nananatiling pulitikal ang pakikipagtunggali sa usaping agrikultura at kalikasan dahil ang pulitikal na kalagayan ng bansa rin ang ugat kung bakit patuloy na inilalagay sa tuluyang paghihirap ang mga magsasaka at pagkasira ng kalikasan.

Nananatili pa ring isang tanaw na layunin ang ganap na reporma sa lupa, at kalayaang paunlarin ang sariling pagsasaka na inaasam ng mga pesante. Pero isang hakbang pasulong na marahil ang seed network at organic farming na patuloy pinapangunahan ng mga pesante. Kaya tulad ng aktibong partisipasyon ng mga pesante sa pagpapaunlad ng buhay at agrikultura ng bansa, gayundin ang kahingian para sa atin upang aktibong matuto at magsilbi kasama sila.

Campus Security Put Into Question as UPD Police Has 19 Officers Left

» The 19 remaining members of UP Diliman Police are forced to bear the brunt of delayed salary and low compensation.

Frenzel Julianne Cleofe & Elan Samuel Lunas

A member of the UP Diliman police patrols the surrounding area along E. Delos Santos Street. (Kathleen Isaac / Philippine Collegian)

Only 19 members of the UP Diliman Police (UPDP) protect and oversee UP Diliman’s (UPD) 493 hectare-campus, putting into question the university’s capability of securing its constituents amid threats affecting the academe. And on top of it all, the university’s own law enforcement agents also have to endure delays in their already measly salary.

The UPD administration said it has already requested additional items with higher wages for UPDP, but such a request remains in limbo, considering that the national government has proposed a P2.5-billion budget cut for UP in 2023.

While the UPDP is not the sole office responsible for safety and security on campus, the Special Services Brigade (SSB) and security guards likewise face similar woes—contractualization, and low and delayed compensation.

Labor Issues

A member of the UPDP receives a daily salary of P867, with no additional benefits, for an eight-hour shift. Meanwhile, a captain of the UPDP collects at least P29,798 per month. In comparison, an entry-level police officer in the Philippine National Police (PNP) receives P29,668 per month, just slightly lower than what a captain in the UPDP gets.

“Halos isa’t kalahating buwan bago kami sumasahod. Napakahirap sa amin kasi dati, every 15 days nakakasuweldo na kami o kaya kung ma-delay man, five days lang. Pero itong UP, medyo bumagal po yung proseso ng aming pangkabuhayan,” said a member of the university police who requested anonymity.

He said his wife takes care of their two children, making him the sole working member of the family. The eldest child

is in first grade while the youngest is still an infant.

“May bayarin kami bawat araw, kailangan ng pamasahe’t pagkain ng pamilya namin. So, yung isa’t kalahating buwan, napakabigat kung sasahod kami nang ganun lang kababa. Napakabagal pa ng sistema ng pagpapasuweldo,” he added.

He has been an employee of the university for 19 years and is already accustomed to working long shifts. However, what sets him back, along with his coworkers, is the snail-paced system of salary processing. He said he has been paid only once over the course of working for two months due to delays.

“Dapat napapabilis naman sana kasi yung [daily time record] namin noong isang kinsenas pa nasa kanila. So anong mangyayari, bago pa dumating ang accounting, yung proseso, two weeks mahigit din. So napakabagal ng sistema ng pagpapasuweldo,” he lamented.

It is not just the UPDP as SSB members also face a similar predicament. In 2019, 83 members of the SSB took turns for three shifts in a day. However, when the university closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, a large number of employees were cut back as per the new terms of reference of their employment contracts.

The exact situation was faced by security guards. In June, hundreds of guards were laid off as the Femjeg Security Agency took over, after the contract with Grand Meritus Security Agency expired.

Collectively, the UPDP, SSB, and security guards form part of the university’s security forces. The UPDP was mandated when the UP-DND Accord was signed in 1989. Under the pact, UP was required to “strengthen [its] own security, police and fire-fighting capabilities … to leave no vacuum that can be exploited by malefactors or criminal elements.”

“Security is not only about fighting the bad people, but it’s also taking care of the community, and the community includes the security teams,” Uyanguren said.

Communal Effort

For Edgie Francis Uyanguren, director of the Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO), safety and security on campus is everyone’s responsibility, and is not merely exclusive to the university’s security officers. The PSSO is the office responsible for campus security, and supervises the UPDP, SSB, and security guards.

To fill the lack of security force, the PSSO is sending out requests to the university to hire personnel who would become the next UPDP officers. However, with UPD’s status as a government entity, it is, ultimately, the national government’s decision to allocate plantilla items and budget for the hiring of employees.

Since in-person classes are expected in the coming semester, adapting a communal approach to campus security is the PSSO’s temporary fix. The “old ways” of the security personnel as the sole bearers for safety, Uyanguren said, will not be feasible to accommodate the influx of people entering university grounds.

And so, Uyanguren is advocating for “empowering everyone to do their part and informing people that they can actually report any dubious behavior.”

Under such a security framework, the UPDP is asking the university community to immediately report concerns or suspicious activities to their official Facebook page, hotlines, or proceed directly to their office. Details of the platforms where they can be contacted are posted on their page, UP Diliman Police.

Despite having only 19 officers in the UPDP, Uyanguren said that his team is working efficiently with all they have, even if it means that “the work that 100 people should be doing is being done by one to two persons.” Skills training is also being conducted to update the police’s abilities in terms of security and safety to “cultivate

a culture of safety in the campus,” notwithstanding the small number of personnel.

Uyanguren does not deny that there have been reports of crimes on campus, and so the team maps the risk areas in UPD and sees to it that there are security personnel present and deployed in those areas, in addition to having roving teams coordinating surprise visits and regular vicinity checks.

UP’s supposed failure to prevent crimes on campus has been one of the government’s reasons in unilaterally abrogating the UP-DND Accord, an agreement that required the military and police to seek prior notification before entering UP campuses. Immediately after the termination, the PNP called UP a “hotspot for crime” and even claimed that a socalled shabu laboratory was located

inside the campus. UP refuted the baseless accusations.

Among the crimes recorded in the Brgy. UP Campus, only 1 percent was related to drugs and none of those incidents involved members of the academic community. There was even a 63-percent decrease in the crime rate, from 247 in 2019 to 91 in 2020, according to UP’s statement.

Despite the relatively low crime occurrence, the university still needs to open more slots to hire more security personnel as new infrastructure are being built, such as the College of Arts and Letters building and the new portal near the College of Fine Arts, said Uyanguren.

The UP Diliman Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) is responsible for reviewing the duties and responsibilities of the personnel. Uyanguren is hoping that HRDO takes the welfare of the police force into account in reforming the position and compensation of the UPDP to alleviate concerns on salary and personnel shortage.

Reforms Remain a Work in Progress

Uyanguren said that a holistic approach must be employed in responding to the lack of police. “Security is not only about fighting the bad people, but it’s also taking care of the community, and the community includes the security teams. Dumadami yung threats sa Marcos regime, so we need to really strengthen our own,” he added.

The university is not new to being branded as subversive and antigovernment. This form of intimidation calls for tighter security and to maintain the peace of the academic and residential communities in UP, added Uyanguren.

In response to this, UPD has protocols in place to address red-tagging situations involving students by having

Kontraktwal, gawing regular!

Amid the calls for paradigm shifts and communal efforts, the UPDP continues to face setbacks like delayed salary and inadequate compensation. For members of the UPDP, their primary concern is their wages which they are hoping to receive on time.

them coordinate with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA), which serves as the crisis manager for an incident, overseeing each action to guide and ensure a student’s safety.

“Security has something to do with the collective practices, dapat may say ang bawat isa sa community. Kapag maganda yung partnership ng UPDP sa community, information and communication can be facilitated from it, reports would come in, di na parang natatago lang kasi natatakot sila,” said Uyanguren.

Aside from maintaining peace and order, the UPDP has also been investing effort in improving training to handle special cases, like allotting an additional women and children’s desk. Accordingly, the police force

is practicing proper management of cases to build a good rapport with the UP community.

However, the UPDP’s efforts to connect with the community will remain futile if equipment and personnel shortage persist and calls to bridge the gap continue to be unheard. “’Wag sana i-replace, kundi i-complement yung mga tao gamit ang mga makabagong gamit. Better facilities mean better service,” said Uyanguren.

Uyanguren is calling for the cooperation of the university administration in looking into directly hiring personnel rather than coordinating with different security agencies every year. He said the UP administration may consider revisiting the policies on contractualization

to create better opportunities for the university’s security sector. The scheme of directly hiring security personnel is currently being studied by the UPD administration.

Amid the calls for paradigm shifts and communal efforts, the UPDP continues to face setbacks like delayed salary and inadequate compensation. For members of the UPDP, their primary concern is their wages which they are hoping to receive on time.

“Dalawang buwan na [na ang nakalipas], pero isang beses pa lang kami sumesuweldo. Hinihintay na namin yung suweldo. Karamihan sa aming matatagal na, may pamilya rin na umaasa lang din naman dito, naghihirap sa ngayon.” said the member of UPDP. “Nahihirapan na kami.”

Security personnel from the UPD Public Safety and Security Office (left) and Special Services Brigade (right) patrol along Kalaw Street near the UP Office of Admissions. (Kathleen Isaac / Philippine Collegian)

PROFILES

Political Prisoner Parenting

Oppress the people, suppress the protests, arrest the dissidents— these have become the longestablished tactic under the authoritarian playbook of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Under this strategy of quelling any opposition, over a thousand activists have been jailed, 82 of whom were women, including peasant organizer Amanda Echanis.

Ranmill, Amanda’s half-brother, laments the persecution his sister and 2-yearold nephew are braving—a situation he is all too familiar with. “Kaya nga ako’y napapaiyak, ganito rin ako noong bata ako. Nakikita ko nanay ko gano’n din na nasa kulungan,” he said.

Amanda and Ranmill were barely a year old before being imprisoned on two separate occasions with their parents—Erlinda and Randall, who were members of peasant organizations Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Anakpawis. It was within the confines of concrete walls and iron bars that the two children learned how to walk, talk, and say their ABCs.

Ranmill attributes much of his and his sister’s militancy to their parents, particularly their father, and their drive for change to their experience of poverty while maturing. “Madaling maunawaan ang pangangailan ng pagkilos para sa pagbabago, lalo na’t damang-dama mo yung kahirapan,” he shared.

Randall’s role as peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the

Philippines was as good as a signed death warrant. In August 2020, he was murdered inside his own home. Despite her father’s fate, Amanda fearlessly continued following his footsteps and shouldering his advocacies through her efforts as an organizer in Amihan, a group forwarding genuine agrarian reform and peasant women empowerment.

Much like her father, Amanda’s political work made her a prime target of the state. While conducting relief operations in Cagayan in December 2020, Amanda was arrested by the police who claimed she possessed firearms and explosives, the same nonbailable trumped-up charges used against countless activists.

Amihan National Chairperson Zenaida Soriano dismissed those cases as completely fabricated. The absurd narrative that a woman, having just given birth, had stashed weapons and explosives in her house to “defend herself” reflected the desperate measures the state is willing to carry out to silence its critics, she said.

The government’s warped perception has worryingly reached the point where they deem a pregnant woman of poor origins a threat to their power, and so they stop at nothing to harass mothers and their children. Human rights activist

Reina Mae Nasino, who was arrested with the same charges as Amanda, had her baby taken away after birth. Three months later in October 2020, her child, Baby River, died of pneumonia. Nona Espinosa was also under similar circumstances— her infant passed away just three days after their separation.

The state has long promoted the practice of subjecting women activists to inhumane conditions that infringe on their liberty, motherhood, and due process of law. The nonbailable charges serve to detain them, the slow court hearings prolong their stay, and the lack of hygiene kits as well as the absence of childcare facilities, ensure their needs are largely unmet.

Amid these intensified attacks, Amihan continues to campaign against the human rights violations peasant women suffer. Besides providing financial and material aid to women political prisoners, they also call on the enforcement of the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act, a law requiring the state to recognize gender-sensitive needs by providing mother prisoners with adequate prenatal and postpartum care. But better yet, according to Soriano, women political prisoners should be released to noncustodial measures to properly tend to their innocent newborns.

Amanda’s child, Baby Randy, celebrated his second birthday last October 25, but what should be a joyous occasion has been shadowed by two years of injustice. The plight of the Echanis family reflects one account out of many Duterte left in his wake, one among many that remain unanswered to this day.

The government’s brutal tendency to imprison the poor rather than address their concerns has long victimized the people and should be put to an end, lest we see the next generation of activists jailed with their children and witness another newborn’s death in prison. «

Free all political prisoners

Patrick Kyle Adeva

Illustration by Maya Caitlin Erfe

One Against a 500-Troop Military Op

Negros is a peering hole into the ironies of the world. There, farmers produce more than a million metric tonnes of raw sugar per year yet wrestle with hunger daily. In Negros, you will see a city receive P280 million to fund a counterinsurgency program while sugar workers scrape by with only P250 per day.

In Negros, you will see 500 troops deployed to put a single peasant youth activist under lock and key.

On February 19, Harlyn Balora, thenregional chairperson of AnakbayanNegros, was the primary target of a 500-personnel military op in Sitio Montara, Isabela. These men would arrest her without a warrant based on the same raps that placed Negros peasant organizers Romulo Bitoon, Cheryl Catalogo and Karina dela Cerna in jail.

At present, Harlyn is being held in the Negros Occidental District Jail (NODJ) for supposedly possessing illegal firearms and explosives and violating the election gun ban. But Julie Ann Balora can hardly believe the accusations thrown against her sister.

“Yung parating sinasabi talaga ng mga nakakilala sa kanya ay madaldal siya. Hindi siya nahihirapang makihalubilo sa ibang tao dahil nga sa ganyang katangian niya. Creative

din siya, sumusulat siya ng tula,” said Julie Ann.

Harlyn frequently wrote about the hand of the state in exacerbating peasant woes—something that was never separate from her family’s own experiences. At an early age, she and Julie Ann would be taken by their parents, who were members of peasant mass organizations, to areas where land conflicts abounded. This gave the children a looking glass into what was happening in the farmlands.

At 18, Harlyn became a volunteer teacher at a research and labororiented non-government organization. Every day, for two years, she would go to the rural areas of Negros to teach the children of farmers. Then, in 2016, she joined AnakbayanNegros and eventually became its regional chairperson.

Julie Ann noted that beyond their parents’ influence, it was Harlyn’s time as a volunteer teacher that opened her eyes to the economic conditions that pushed Negrense farmers to fight for their rights. With 42 percent of Negros’s cultivated land relegated to sugarcane, Negros is home to chronic monocropping, which places farmers at the losing end by demanding intensive use of costly

agrichemicals. Over 100,000 hectares of Negros land also remain unapportioned, and farmers who were granted land usually end up selling their properties due to the lack of start-up capital and capacity-building.

But when the oppressed started seeking relief from their hardships, the state would always respond with violence. Owing to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Memorandum Order 32 and Executive Order 70 in 2018, both of which saturated the island with military presence, Negros has become emblematic of Duterte’s unsparing witchhunt of progressive groups and individuals.

Yet, Harlyn entered the peasant movement with full knowledge of its consequences. “Magtaka tayo kung hinahayaan tayo ng mga pasista dahil ibig sabihin nun ay hindi natin nagagawa ang ating mahalagang papel sa lipunan,” she said in a letter she composed while in jail.

Harlyn has been imprisoned for over eight months and still has not been granted a preliminary hearing. She was slated to have one last June, but this did not push through due to the difficulties in finding a lawyer. Julie Ann said that when Benjamin Ramos, a human rights lawyer in the province, was killed in 2018, other lawyers became apprehensive in representing political prisoners.

But even in prison, Harlyn continues to renew the vow she made to the peasant struggle. Harlyn’s goal lies in making one realize that the conditions that beset Negrosanon peasants are, in fact, much less ironies than consequences—consequences that accompany a government that pays no heed to the hands that feed its people. These are everyday realities in the province–realities on which the fight of Negros’s militant organizations are anchored, realities that let the call to free Harlyn Balora ring louder than the

Design by Angelyn Castillo

Luis Lagman

PROFILES

Pamanang Pakikibaka

Kung tatanungin si Carlo Reduta noong bata pa siya kung ano ang pangarap niya, isasagot niya ang kanyang hangaring umahon mula sa hirap ng buhay. Ngayong 18 taong gulang, malayo sa pangarap na ginhawa, humaharap sa 15 gawa-gawang kaso si Carlo dahil sa pagsubok niyang umalpas mula sa deka-dekada at minana nang pagpapahirap sa kanilang mga magsasaka sa Quezon.

Taong 2020, sa edad na 16 na taong gulang, sinampahan si Carlo ng patongpatong na mga kaso, kabilang rito ang umano’y terorismo at pagpatay. Nitong Marso, tuluyan na siyang inaresto ng militar at kasalukuyang nakapiit sa Pagbaliao District Jail sa Quezon. Ngunit malayo sa masamang imaheng pinipinta sa kanya ang tunay na karakter ni Carlo, ayon sa inang si Nanay Ofel.

Sa murang edad na 10 taong gulang, nagpasyang tumigil si Carlo sa pagaaral para magtrabaho sa sakahan at magbenta ng uling upang makatulong sa kanyang pamilya. “Mula 3 taong gulang, talagang masipag na bata siya tapos nakita ko na talagang ramdam niya kung papaano ako nahihirapan sa mga trabaho. Maliit lang siyang bata talaga pero talagang may likas na sipag siya,” kwento ni Nanay Ofel.

Ang maagang pagkamulat ni Carlo sa hirap ng buhay ang nag-udyok sa kanyang sumali at maging aktibo sa pag-oorganisa ng mga magniniyog sa Quezon sa ilalim ng grupong Coco Levy Funds Ibalik Sa Amin (CLAIM-Quezon).

Bata pa lang si Carlo, saksi na siya sa paghihirap ng kanyang mga magulang sa pagtatrabaho sa sakahan—mula sa

na mula Batas Militar ay hindi pa rin naibabalik sa mga magniniyog.

Nangolekta ang gobyerno ni Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ng buwis sa mga magniniyog sa pangakong gagamitin ito upang palaguin ang industriya ng kopra, at makakakuha ng parte sa kita ang mga magsasaka. Ngunit taliwas dito, napunta ang lahat ng kita sa mga crony ng diktador. Nang magprotesta ang mga magsasaka noong 1981, sa Guinayangan, Quezon laban sa pagnanakaw, pinaulanan sila ng bala. Dalawang magsasaka ang pinatay ng mga sundalo, at marami ang sugatan.

Hindi nagtapos sa panahon ni Marcos Sr. ang pagnanakaw mula sa mga magniniyog, at pandarahas sa kanila. Kita ito sa sumisidhing militarisasyon sa probinsya, sa pagtugis sa mga aktibista at sa kanilang mga organisasyon upang subukang pigilan ang kolektibo nilang paglaban para sa karapatan.

Mahigit sa 3,000 miyembro ng CLAIMQuezon ang sapilitang pinapasuko at pinagbibintangang rebelde, ayon kay Nanay Ofel.

Sa katunayan, tatlo na sa pamilya Reduta ang nakaranas ng pandarahas

mula sa estado dahil sa kanilang mga paninindigan. Minsan ding nakulong ang kapatid ni Carlo na si Christopher, bagaman naibasura na ang gawagawang kaso laban sa kanya. Ngunit ang ama nilang si Maximo, na matagal nang nakakulong, ay namatay sa sakit nang hindi nakalalaya.

Sa pagdalaw ng kapatid ni Carlo sa kulungan, inilarawan ni Carlo ang naging karanasan niya sa mga militar noong siya ay hulihin. Aniya, pilit siyang pinapaamin na ituro kung sino ang mga kasamahan niya, at noong wala siyang naturo ay pinukpok siya ng kawayan sa ulo nang dalawang beses at pinagbantaang sasaksakin ng itak.

Kasalukuyang tinutulungan ng Kasama-Timog Katagalugan si Carlo upang makalaya. Ngunit isang malaking hamon sa kanila ang patuloy na pagdami ng mga gawa-gawang kaso laban sa kanya at ang mabagal na proseso nito sa korte. Sa kabila nito at ng ilang ulit na danas ng pagaresto at pandarahas sa kanyang pamilya, naniniwala pa rin si Nanay Ofel sa kahalagahan ng pagpapatuloy sa paglaban, di lang para sa kanyang anak, kundi para na rin sa marami pang magniniyog na nakararanas ng paghihirap.

“Talagang dapat lang ay di ako tumigil doon sa pagtulong sa community at mga miyembro ng [CLAIM] dahil wala naman akong nakitang labag sa batas... Gusto kong mabigyan ng lunas yung mga nararanasan ng mga magsasaka sa Quezon, yung pagbagsak ng kanilang kabuhayan, lalo na yung paglabag sa karapatang pantao,” ani Nanay Ofel.

Batid na ang pag-ahon sa hirap ng buhay ay hindi nagagawa nang nakapag-iisa, patuloy ang paninindigan ng pamilyang Reduta kasama ang mga magniniyog sa Quezon. Ito ay hanggang hindi naibabalik ang ninakaw sa mga pesante, hanggang nananatili ang mga kondisyong nagpapahirap sa mga magkokopra, ilang henerasyon man ang magdaan.

Palayain ang mga bilanggong pulitikal!

Ryan Maltezo

«

Dibuho ni Maya Caitlin Erfe

Marcus Ingalla Pakikihamok

sa Kulungan ng Mindoro

Sa mga lupain ng Timog Katagalugan na batbat ng tunggalian, madalas na masasaksihan si Genalyn Avelino, o mas kilala sa komunidad bilang Ka Neneng, na umaagapay sa mga magsasakang inaapakan ang mga karapatan. Ngunit noong ika-24 ng Pebrero 2021, siya mismo ang nakaranas ng panunupil ng estado nang arestuhin siya sa kasong rebelyon.

Bilang ina sa anim na anak, naging malaking dagok sa pamilya ni Genalyn ang kanyang pagkakabilanggo. Anang kanyang asawa na si Jaime, nagdulot ng trauma ang pangyayari sa mga bata, lalo na sa kanilang 5 taong gulang na anak.

“Laging niyang hinahanap ang mama niya sa akin. Sinabi ko sa kanya na nakakulong ang mama mo dahil sa mga gawa-gawang kaso ng mga pulis,” ani Jaime.

Tumatagos sa kanilang komunidad ang ganitong panaghoy dahil sa papel na ginampanan ni Genalyn sa pagsusulong ng kanilang mga kampanya.

Maalalahaning tao si Genalyn, kwento ni Jaime. Bilang tagapangulo ng Samahan ng Magsasaka ng Rizal, dumadayo si Genalyn sa malalayong lugar upang makatulong sa mga pesante, bitbitin ang kampanya para sa tunay na repormang agraryo. Isa rin si Genalyn sa lumalahok sa mga dayalogo ng mga magsasaka at awtoridad gaya ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Bukod sa pakikisangkot niya

sa pakikibaka ng mga pesante, mangingisda, at katutubo sa ibang bayan, pangunahing nakatutok si Genalyn sa kampanya nilang magsasaka sa kanilang tirahan sa Saulog Estate, Occidental Mindoro. Bagaman ginawaran na ang ilan sa kanila ng Certificate of Land Ownership Award ng DAR noong 2001, hindi pa rin naipapamahagi ang lupa dahil sa mga isyu ng teknikalidad na ginagamit ng mga Saulog upang bigyang katwiran ang patuloy na pagkakait sa mga magsasaka.

Kung tutuusin, hindi bago ang ganitong mga girian sa Timog Katagalugan. Sa dami ng mga lupaing hindi pa ibinibigay sa mga magsasaka, ganoon din ang pag-usbong ng maraming organisasyong binuo ng mga pesante upang kolektibong ipaglaban ang kanilang karapatan sa lupa. Ilan sa mga ito, naging kasapi’t lider si Genalyn, gaya ng Samahang Kababaihang Magsasaka sa Mindoro.

Bilang tugon ng estado sa paglaban ng mamamayan sa Timog Kataglugan, naging sentro ng pampulitikang atake ang rehiyon. Lumawak ang paglabag sa karapatang pantao, na lumubha noong termino ni Rodrigo Duterte. Batay sa tala ng Karapatan, mayroong 30 aktibistang pinatay at 98 ang inaresto sa rehiyon sa ilalim ng rehimeng Duterte mula Hulyo 1, 2016 hanggang Marso 10, 2021.

Kaya nang ipadala ng mga militar sa Barangay Adela upang tanungin ang

mamamayan hinggil sa katauhan ni Genalyn, puro kabutihan lamang ang nasabi ng mga residente tungkol sa kanya. Sa kabila nito, sinikap pa rin ng mga puwersa ng estado na ilihis ang naratibo upang maipakulong si Genalyn.

Ani Orly Marcellana, regional coordinator ng Tanggol Magsasaka Timog Katagalugan, ang pagpapakulong sa mga pesante ay isang porma ng panunupil sa tulad nilang lumalaban para sa lupa. Upang pigilan ang kanilang pagkilos, iniuugnay silang mga aktibista sa mga rebelde, saka inaaresto nang walang batayan, kung hindi tuluyang pinapatay. Sa katunayan, inaresto ang anak ni Orly na si Dana ilang buwan matapos huliin si Genalyn sa parehong kaso ng rebelyon.

Patuloy naman ang kampanya para sa pagpapalaya ni Genalyn, maging ng iba pang bilanggong pulitikal. Anang Kapatid Southern Tagalog, grupo ng mga kaibigan at pamilya ng mga bilanggong pulitikal, walang ebidensyang naipakita ang militar sa mga nagdaang pagdinig sa kaso ni Genalyn. Sa kabilang banda, mayroong mga testigo at pirmadong dokumento ang depensa ni Genalyn upang patunayan ang kawalang-ugnay niya sa rebeldeng idinarawit sa kanya. Patunay ito na inosente si Genalyn, at ang patuloy niyang pagkakakulong ay para lamang patahimikin ang mga gaya niyang ipinaglalaban ang kanilang mga karapatan.

“Ang nangyayari ay justice delayed, justice denied. Ang gusto lang talaga nila ay iyong mga bilanggong pulitikal ay bulukin sa mga kulungan,” ani Marcellana.

Nananatiling tadtad sa tunggalian ang mga lupain sa Timog Katagalugan, at ang pagsisilid kay Genalyn sa piitan ay nagtutulak lamang sa mas marami na tanganan din ang mga paninindigang kanyang pinanghahawakan. Higit na mapangahas na nakikihamok sina Jaime at ang iba pang nakasama’t natulungan ni Genalyn, di lang para sa kanyang paglaya mula sa bilangguan, kundi pati sa paglaya ng mga pesante mula sa karahasan at pagpapahirap.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Angelyn Castillo

Sean

Requisite for Freedom

How Peasant Women Fight for Equality

» Without ownership of the country’s productive resources, peasant women like Cathy Estavilla toil against landlessness in hopes of advancing their struggle for gender equality and food sovereignty.

When government policies are unable to resolve longstanding economic and agricultural issues, rural women are hit the hardest. Women, who already earn less relative to their male counterparts, are the ones to confront the doubled, or even tripled, cost of living.

Cathy Estavillo, a peasant woman from Cagayan, said the main role of women in rural areas is to ensure that there is food on the table, that their children and spouses have eaten their breakfast and have packed lunch when they go to school or out in the fields. So, when the cost of food—along with other necessities–rises, peasant women are the first to adjust and make sacrifices.

“Dahil sa napakababang presyo ng kanilang palay, kagutuman ang inaabot ng pamilyang magsasaka at patuloy pa rin yung kultura na palaging kapag kulang yung pagkain sa mesa nahuhuli ang nanay na kumain,” said Nay Cathy, who is also the secretary general of Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women and spokesperson for the Bantay Bigas alliance.

When female farmers like Nay Cathy rally for women’s rights, they do so in recognition that their subjugation stems from their state of landlessness. Provided the political and economic attitudes that surround the peasant woman, it is not enough to merely forward gender equality in the rural areas but to also push for their struggle over productive resources.

More Than the Domestic Born to a peasant family, Nay Cathy has had her share of struggles as a peasant woman. “Hindi ako nakatapos ng pag-aaral, kinailangan kong huminto dahil hindi sapat yung kapasidad ng mga magulang ko na patuluyin ako sa kolehiyo,” she recalled. Like most farmers, her father was merely a tenant, which required him to give half of his harvests to his landlord. To make up for lost income, children and women had to find ways to help with the family’s finances.

Female peasants typically help in the fields, but while they are still waiting for the harvest season, Nay Cathy recalled taking on several jobs to earn a little

extra money. Often menial, these tasks included laundering their neighbor’s clothes, taking care of farm animals, and partaking in other household labor to make ends meet.

But work outside the farm is not any better as women suffer maltreatment and are paid lower wages. Currently, the minimum monthly pay domestic workers receive in the regions range from P3,500 to P5,500, according to the Department of Labor and Employment. Still, rural women go to great lengths for their family’s survival. “Maraming mga nanay ang pumapasok sa iba’t ibang trabaho na labag sa kanilang kalooban ... iiwan mo yung pamilya mo para mag-katulong o para mamasukan. Mahirap sa kanila iyon dahil wala sila sa tabi ng mga anak nila,” said Nay Cathy.

Indeed, women do double the work in rural areas—taking care of the household means also working in the fields, or even bearing maltreatment and wage inequality in the cities.

“Sa pagkalugi ng ating mga magsasaka, ang mga kababaihan

Adam Torres

ang talagang naghahanap ng mga paraan para mayroong alternatibong mapagkakakitaan,” said Nay Cathy. Left without any other choices to earn, peasant women, in their desperation to provide for their families, are further subjected to vulnerabilities.

Land and Liberation

Amid the perennial poverty experienced by peasant farmers, government inaction remains to be apparent. According to Kilusang Mambubukid ng Pilipinas, a national farmers’ organization for land reform, the government has failed to concretize promises to ensure food security and boost the production of local farmers.

Without government support, farmers turn to loans to fund the costs of farming. On average, palay production cost P47,000 per hectare in 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. But since lending institutions and rural banks turn their backs on those who cannot provide collateral, most of the farmers are forced to borrow money from usurers or landlords. Nay Cathy shared that since women are perceived to have a sense of duty to repay debts regardless of circumstances, they are primarily in charge of taking out loans.

“Madalas ang mga kababaihan nga ang nangungutang dahil sa palabra de honor na babayaran namin at gagawan namin ng paraan so [mayroon] talagang tiwala,” she said.

But farmers are usually unable to pay their debt. A season’s harvests and income from other side jobs are hardly enough to cover the needs of the family, much less pay for the principal and interest of their loans, because farmers are forced to lower the farmgate prices of their produce to compete with imported agricultural goods. Owing to the passage of the Rice Liberalization Law, which allowed for unabated palay imports, the average farmgate price in 2019 plummeted to P15.63 per kilogram from 2018’s P20.14. Some provinces even reported selling palay at P7 to P10 per kilogram.

Page design by Andrea Medina

Cathy Estavillo, a peasant woman from Cagayan, speaks during the International Rural Women’s Day last October 15. (Luisa Elago / Philippine Collegian)

When this happens, farmers are forced to pay their debt in the form of harvests or worse, give up ownership of their land to landlords. This is how farmers lose control of their lands and suffer further under the current feudal system.

Without control of their land and, consequently, production, farmers are forced to bear measly wages imposed by their landlords. Since 2019, a peasant’s net income remained at P236.93 with a prejudiced wage difference of P30 for women.

The suffering and inequality peasant women experience are primarily founded on their economic status. Becoming liberated women, therefore, requires that they first break free from the chains of landlessness. “Hanggang ang ating productive resources ay hawak ng mga panginoong maylupa, iilan, at mga dayuhan, di kailanman lalaya ang kababaihang magsasaka,” Nay Cathy lamented.

Shared Struggle

Nay Cathy firmly believes that so long as land is not held by the farmers, the subordination of women will continue to engender their exploitation in rural communities. Genuine agrarian reform and rural development will provide for the necessary social protections that women are unable to secure for themselves under the current system, where land is controlled by local elite and corporate business interests.

As Nay Cathy said, the primary barrier to women’s liberation in the countryside is effectively eliminated once productive resources are controlled by farmers. “Unti-unting papawi ang pananamantala sa kababaihan dahil talagang kalahok na sila sa produksyon. Mapapaunlad na nila ang kanilang sarili at matutulungan pa nilang mamulat ang mga kasama nila.”

Dismantling land monopoly is the foremost struggle that both genders

must wage—the fight for women’s rights is also forwarded by male farmers in rallying for genuine agrarian reform. When peasants can control their production, they receive full compensation for their labor, they are freed from the exploitation and violence of landlords.

Without the need to work extra hours outside their communities, mothers can spend time with their families, have more time for personal development, and raise their political consciousness. When women earn in proportion to their work, mothers need not worry about how to buy their family’s next meal, nor will they be troubled about taking risky deals to borrow money.

Ultimately, land redistribution and food security are the prerequisites in addressing the suffering of being a woman in farmlands, while effectively putting an end to the chronic cycle of poverty, debt, and displacement experienced by peasant families. «

Peasant groups and advocates protest along Visayas Avenue with their painted banners and winnowing baskets to call out government inaction and the administration’s continued enthusiasm for neoliberal economic policies.

(Luisa Elago / Philippine Collegian)

design by Andrea Medina

Mga Tagpo ng Pagkilos Ngayong Buwan ng Pesante

» Sinundan ng Kulê ang mga pagkilos ngayong buwan ng mga pesante. Tampok sa mga larawan ngayong isyu ang naratibo ng patuloy na pakikipaglaban para sa karapatan sa lupa at pagsasaka.

Isa si Eufemia Doringo, secretary general ng KADAMAY, sa maralitang lungsod na tumungo sa Mendiola upang suportahan ang mga magsasaka nitong buwan ng mga pesante, Oktubre 21.

PHOTOGS

Sinira ng mga kinatawan ng iba’t ibang sektor ang effigy ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. upang ipahayag ang kanilang pagkondena sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin, at kawalan ng sariling lupa, seguridad sa pagkain at kabuhayan ng mga magsasaka.

Binebenta ng isang magsasakang tagaBulacan na gumagamit ng organic farming ang kanyang ani sa ginaganap na Agroecology Fair. Bitbit ang kanilang mga panawagan, samut-saring gulay at prutas ang binibenta ng mga magsasaka mula sa Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Bulacan.

Lupa sa magsasaka!

Lumagda ang mga nakibahaging mamimili sa petisyon ng mga grupong pesante laban sa Rice Liberalization Law sa ginanap na Agroecology Fair sa UP Diliman, Oktubre 16. Itinampok sa fair ang iba’t ibang produkto tulad ng organikong pagkain, likhang sining, at palamuti.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Blanca Versoza

Luisa Elago, Kathleen Isaac, & Ar Jay Revilla

Inilista ng mga pesanteng kababaihan ang kanilang arawang gastos sa bukid at bahay sa tarangkahan ng Department of Agriculture bilang bahagi ng International Rural Women’s Day, Oktubre 15.

Sinuportahan ng mga tao sa lungsod ang taunang Bagsakan, open market ng mga magsasaka, sa Quezon Memorial Circle bilang aktibidad nitong buwan ng mga pesante, Oktubre 9.

Disenyo

ng pahina ni Blanca Versoza

Inilahad ni Zen Soriano, national chairperson ng Amihan Federation of Peasant Women, ang pagkadismaya ng kababaihang pesante sa kawalang-aksyon ng administrasyong Marcos upang resolbahin ang kasalukuyang krisis sa agrikultura sa naganap na pagkilos nitong International Rural Women’s Day.

Arthur David San Juan

Bihag ng Pagmamatyag

» Salungat sa seguridad ng personal na datos, landas ng kompromiso sa daloy ng pribadong impormasyon ang implementasyon ng SIM Card Registration Act sa bansa.

Muling kikililing ang selpon. Dadapo sa noo ang pagkayamot. Kaiba sa inaasahang mensahe, walang pakundangan ang pagpasok ng kaliwa’t kanang abiso mula sa mga hindi kilalang numero. Sunod-sunod ang notipikasyon: marahil pagbati sa pagkapanalo sa raffle na lingid sa iyong kaalaman, o paanyaya sa trabahong pantay-langit ang kita sa maghapon. Lahat galing sa tanyag na personalidad na himalang nagkainteres sa iyo.

May ibang direkta pang tatawag; araw-gabi ang pangungulit. Minsan nananawagan ng saklolo sa ngalan ng malalapit na kaanak. Samut-sari ang hinihingi sa kabilang linya nang may halong pagmamadali. Subalit liban sa kanilang sinabi, wala kang makabuluhang maitatanong pabalik, dahil tiyak na sandata ng pandaraya ang kamangmangan ng tao.

Kaya naman sa umano’y pagtatangkang kuputin ang scam messages at spam calls, pinirmahan ni Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang Republic Act 11934 o SIM Card Registration Act—ang kauna-unahan niyang

nilagdaang batas—noong ika-10 ng Oktubre. Minsan na itong ibinasura ni Rodrigo Duterte, subalit muli itong itinulak ng Kongreso upang anila’y lupigin ang mga krimeng ginagawa sa pamamagitan ng mobile phone.

Subalit salungat sa pagsawata sa mga panloloko’t pagsiguro sa personal na datos, landas ng kompromiso sa daloy ng pribadong impormasyon ang implementasyon ng nasabing batas—lalo’t maaari itong magsilbing galamay ng estado sa pandarahas nito sa mamamayan.

Layon ng SIM Card Registration Act na imandato ang pagpaparehistro ng bawat SIM card sa loob ng 180 araw mula nang ipatupad ang batas. Kalakip nito ang pagpapatala ng kada SIM card user ng kanilang pagkakakilanlan gaya ng kumpletong pangalan, kasarian, petsa ng kapanganakan, at tirahan upang umano’y iwasan ang paggawa ng pekeng identidad.

Gayunpaman, malaon nang palyado ang disenyo ng ganitong uri ng panukala upang sugpuin ang

Malaon nang palyado ang disenyo ng ganitong uri ng panukala upang sugpuin ang lumalalang kriminalidad.

Disenyo ng pahina ni Angelyn Castillo

lumalalang kriminalidad. Patotoo rito ang pagpapawalang-bisa ng Mexico sa kahalintulad na batas noong 2012, matapos mabigong bawasan ang kabuuang bilang ng krimen sa kanilang lipunan. Kaparehong isyu ang lumitaw sa Saudi Arabia nang umiral ang black market, kung saan inilalako ang mga rehistradrong SIM card sa mga anonimong mamimili.

Samantala, naging kwestyon naman sa Indonesia ang regulasyon ng batas, lalo’t tumitinding suliranin ang proteksyon ukol sa personal na datos ng kada indibidwal. Sang-ayon dito, mariing usapin ang seguridad ng pribadong impormasyon sa kasalukuyang lagay ng bansa.

Matatandaang pumutok ang eskandalo ng data breach sa Commission on Elections (COMELEC) noong 2016. Kasabay nito ang iniulat na pagpapaskil ng mga mirror link upang ma-download ng sinumang may internet ang tinaguriang database ng COMELEC.

Pagtagal, humingi ng paumanhin ang COMELEC sa insidente, saka tahasang naglabas ng tagubilin na baguhin na lamang ng mga botante ang password sa kani-kanilang account. Ngunit sa kabila ng inilabas na pahayag ng pamahalaan, hindi nawawaksi ang kagimbal-gimbal na posibilidad ng pagkalat ng mga sensitibong impormasyon.

Higit na umigting ang gayong bulnerabilidad sa kasagsagan ng pandemya. Taong 2021, iniulat ng National Privacy Commission (NPC) ang pagdagsa ng sandamakmak na reklamo ukol sa smishing, isang tipo ng panlilinlang sa text na pumopostura bilang kilalang institusyon. At bagaman nagbigay-direktiba na ang NPC sa mga telecommunications company (telecom) upang sugpuin ang problema, ang tanging nakumpirma sa isinagawang imbestigasyon ay ang pagtukoy na dumaan sa ilang service network ang mga naipadalang mensahe.

Hindi ngayon tiyak kung ang pagkalat ng ating demograpikong detalye ay buhat ng pagbebenta ng mga sinagutang contact tracing form, health declaration form, o mga ginagamit nating online application. At dito pumapasok ang pangamba sa kahihinatnan ng SIM Card Registration Act sa bansa. Dahil kahit inisyal nang nakasaad sa batas na anomang dokumentong irehistro ay kumpidensyal, posible pa rin itong matunton sa pamamagitan ng utos ng hukuman o direktiba mula sa ahensyang nagpapatupad nito. Dagdag pa na labis na kakaunti, kundi man wala, ang limitasyon sa mga telecom bilang repositoryo ng ating personal na datos.

Dulot ng gayong luwag sa saklaw at probisyon ng batas, maaaring sumidhi ang lihim na pagnanakaw ng pribadong impormasyon upang gawing komersyal. Kung papaanong sa surveillance capitalism, isang pangekonomikong mekanismo, tinitiktikan ng Big Tech ang bawat kilos natin sa internet upang kumuha ng datos; kinokontrol ang algoritmo ng ating news feed upang impluwensyahan ang ating pagpapasya’t pagkilos. Gayundin, pinipilit ng estadong ariin ang ating pribadong impormasyon upang bantayan at limitahan ang ating bawat galaw.

Nakakabahala ngayong isipin ang ganitong pagsasalegal sa paniniktik, lalo kung ipapares sa sistematikong pangingikil ng AntiTerror Law. Sa samut-saring kaso ng biglaang pagdampot, pag-aresto, at pagpaslang sa mga kritikal na boses, hindi malayong sundan ng SIM Card Registration Act ang deka-dekada nang kultura ng pananamantala. Sapagkat taliwas sa inisyal nitong gampanin, di malayong umalalay ang nasabing batas sa pagmamanman ng sinomang taguriang subersibo ng pamahalaan. Isa itong mabigat na yapak tungo sa lalo pang pagkitil sa laya’t awtonomiya ng mamamayan.

Nakakabahala ngayong isipin ang ganitong pagsasalegal sa paniniktik, lalo kung ipapares sa sistematikong pangingikil ng Terror Law.

Ysabel Vidor

I’m Back on Campus. But Classes are Still Largely Online.

» They said greatness prevails in the halls of the university. But if we were to measure best in other ways, such as being responsive to students’ needs, UP is far from excellent.

Maybe UP really isn’t the best university in the Philippines. It only seems futile that it prides itself as the bastion of academic excellence and public service when its students are deprived of a learning system suitable to their needs.

They said greatness prevails in the halls of the university. But if we were to measure best in other ways, such as being responsive to students’ concerns, UP is far from excellent.

Two years since schools were forced to conduct remote learning due to COVID-19, the university has still failed to implement full in-person classes across all courses. This, despite other universities’ ability to do so. This, despite the government’s easing of quarantine and health protocols. UP, instead, adopted blended learning for most of its courses. The setup allows most courses to have full remote classes, while some may proceed

with on-the-ground sessions. Others, meanwhile, have a combination of remote learning and in-person exams.

I first thought that the implementation of blended learning would, at the very least, satisfy my hopes for a complete return to campus. However, it has only magnified the flaws in UP’s learning system. Already burdened with a heavier load, with UP reinstating the 15-unit minimum load, the way classes are set up is also arduous.

In my case, the blended learning arrangement necessitates me to attend classes online and then rush to the campus to make it in time for my face-to-face classes. My classes do not have breaks in between, so I must leave several minutes before my online class even ends. Oftentimes, I would have to attend my classes while riding Angkas. Even though taxing, I had to settle with this kind of schedule since I did not have any leeway to choose

during registration due to the scarce class slots in CRS.

Some of my peers tried renting a place in Quezon City to juggle both their online and physical classes better. But they found out that a professor wouldn’t be holding in-person classes anymore. I’ve also heard stories of students who only have to come on campus for their in-person exams but settle for online lectures. This kind of setup is supposedly made to avoid cheating incidents, but this is a problem-solution mismatch. If cheating is the problem, the solution is to, first, hold cheaters accountable and, secondly, make learning methods and examinations better.

In a better system, students would have more confidence to stay near Diliman knowing that they have in-person classes the entire semester–that they would not have to pay for rent just to attend a single class on campus.

An in-person class was held at the Institute of Mathematics last September 6. While some academic units have already implemented physical classes, most students are still forced to grapple with a purely remote or blended mode of learning. (UP Diliman College of Science Student Council / Facebook)

In an inclusive UP, students from the province wouldn’t have to come to UP for a single exam and go home afterwards to avoid staying the night in the city.

But the disappointment does not stop there. In my other subjects, some students may attend in-person and others via Zoom—a setup called “HyFlex,” a portmanteau of “hybrid” and “flexible” learning. It may be UP’s attempt to be more inclusive, but it still falls short especially when classrooms are not equipped for this kind of setup.

For one, on the first meeting of my English class, my professor was already setting up their laptop to

accommodate the students who will attend through Zoom. However, that did not push through due to the poor internet connection in Palma Hall. My professor was already ready to use their own mobile internet data just to ensure that the students could still participate online—but there was poor cell reception.

I understand that a system so perfect would not materialize immediately. In fact, we could say that even the setup before the pandemic had its own fair share of deficiencies, too. However, this is not an excuse for UP to be absolved from forwarding a learning system that is suitable to the and faculty’s needs. The university administration, with the aid of the

government, should strive to put forth a better learning system.

There needs to be recognition that UP has a long way to go for a new learning setup that caters to our needs and personal conditions. Unless the entire UP constituents’ concerns are considered in the crafting of the university’s post-pandemic education setup, inclusivity will never be attained.

The university needs to remember that for each day that they fall short of improving the system, thousands of students are robbed of their right to quality education. Until UP education becomes responsive to its constituents, no world ranking could ever validate its greatness.

The 2022 Philippine Collegian Editorial Examination

The Collegian’s 100th Year and the Marcos Presidency

» The Marcoses are back in power. And coinciding with their political comeback this year is the Collegian’s centenary. During the Collegian editorial examination last September 17, the Board of Judges asked the four examinees to write about the topic “The Collegian’s 100th year and the Marcos presidency.”

1st Place

Beyond Remembering

Daniel Sebastianne B. Daiz BS Physics

The Philippine Collegian never forgets.

It will never forget especially now that the Marcoses—the very family who stunted this country’s development, looted the Philippines’s coffers, and trashed the Filipino people’s fundamental liberties—are back in the corridors of power.

It will never forget the thousands of horrendous human rights violations perpetrated by the Marcos Sr. dictatorship that the Collegian exposed and printed, notwithstanding the prevailing state of repression and censorship of the time.

Through its 100-year-long history, the Collegian never became a mere chronicler of history or a passive observer in the state of national and university affairs. From organizing mobilizations in the ‘50s to condemn threats to the university’s academic freedom to even the martyrdom of its three former editors-in-chief, the Collegian has and will remain as an active and involved character in the writing of our national narrative.

As the publication commemorates its centenary this year, it is all the more important to reaffirm such an orientation. Pomp and jubilations must not cloud the publication’s urgent task ahead because the Marcosian political resurrection deserves an equally strong response from no less than the official student publication of UP Diliman.

After all, the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and its cohorts have already launched, in full force, their historical distortion project and anti-people policies.Seeking to cement in permanence their comeback, a Washington Post report earlier this year exposed the Marcoses’ massive internet maneuvers to whitewash lies and crimes. The administration has likewise failed to address pressing issues to the detriment of the Filipino people—from soaring prices to the education crisis, for instance.

Yet a tit-for-tat comment and response in everything the Marcos administration hurls are murmurs, at best. Which is why for its 100th year, the Collegian will maintain the most radical change in its format— to become a regular, monthly print magazine. In an information ecosystem rife with propaganda, “alternative truths,” and outright falsehood, the Collegian’s 100th

year will deliver longer, explanatory, and analysis-rich articles and commentaries, both in print and digital formats. It is by slowing down can we remember; it is by slowing down can we never forget.

A change in format, however, will not dilute the militant and activist orientation that the present Collegian is known. As the publication tries to make sense of the noise that the Marcos presidency makes, it will remain true in its mandate of not only becoming a student publication for the UP community, but also for the Filipino people. Amid—and despite— its centenary, the publication will continue to echo the calls of the marginalized and oppressed; give space to the critical voices that the almighty state tries to silence.

It is on those grounds that the publication will critique and struggle under the Marcos administration. It is under those circumstances that the publication will continue to mobilize with the university community to act. In its 100th year, the Collegian’s brand of journalism slows down to make better sense of the larger picture and sort the essential from the noise, while maintaining its advocacy for a legitimate democratic renewal, meaningful justice, and a more equal society.

Page design by Isaiah Verdejo

COLLEGIAN EDITORIAL EXAM

But it is not enough to just remember. Fundamentally important, too, is to act. Lasting freedoms and authentic change, after all, do not spring out of website posts or magazines.

Beyond the Collegian’s pages, it is imperative to call out lies perpetrated by the Marcosian clan; to protest even the slightest unwarranted incursion of our democratic space; and involve itself in collective acts to ensure that dictators, once toppled, can never reclaim power. The publication cannot simply shelter inside its air-conditioned office, as a previous Collegian editorial read.

The Philippine Collegian can never forget because it was there during the darkest of times under the Marcos Sr. regime. The publication was there when the people’s direct action overthrew the Marcoses from Malacañang. And, most importantly, the publication was there when the people’s will was failed by succeeding administrations which, ultimately, gave rise to the Marcoses’ return.

Because in remembering stems action, and action gives rise to change.

Gaya ng UP na may mandato sa bayan bilang pambansang pamantasan, lunan ng Collegian bilang publikasyon ng UP ang hamon ng panahon para lalo pang paigtingin ang pagbabalita nito. At, hindi na kinakailangan pang lumayo Collegian sa mga lunsaran ng kaganapan dahil sa bansang puspos ng krisis, maging sa sariling bakuran ng pamantasan ay may nagbabadyang kahirapan at paglaban.

Nakatakdang bawasan ang badyet ng UP ng P2.5 bilyon para sa taong 2023. Inaasahan na pinakamalalang tatamaan nito ay ang pondo para sa imprastraktura, kung saan nabibilang ang Philippine General Hospital (PGH), ang pambansang pagamutan ng bansa.

Aapektuhan nito ang kapasidad ng PGH na maging mabisang pook-pagamutan, lalo pa’t ginawa itong COVID-19 referral center. Sa kasalukuyan, may higit tatlong milyon na ang nagka-COVID-19 sa Pilipinas habang dalawang libo ang kasalukuyang dumagdag sa kaso ng sakit.

Tataas din sa isang bilyon ang pondo ni bise presidente Sara Duterte, P850 milyon sa ilalim ng Office of the Vice President habang P150 bilyon naman para sa Department of Education bilang kalihim nito.

Kung ano man, pagpapakita ito ng kawalang-prayoridad ng gobyerno sa edukasyon at kalusugan lalo pa’t ang dalawang sektor na ito ang ilan sa pinakahinamon ng pandemya.

Ritwal nang maituturing ang paglalabas ng Collegian ng mga ulat upang ipakita itong tagibang prayoridad ng gobyerno sa badyet. Pagkalabas pa lamang ng mga dokumento, pinupulot na kaagad ito ng mga manunulat, sinusuri, at sinusulatan ng pyesang tatagos maging sa hanay ng gobyerno.

Kung kaya, hindi na rin kataka-taka na mainit sa mata nila ang publikasyon. Malimit na maging biktima ng red-tagging ang Collegian ng mga grupong nakatatanggap ng pondo sa ilalim ng confidential at intelligence fund.

Sa Manila Times, iniugnay

ay nakikiisa sila sa pagdodokumento ng mga naratibo, at paglikha ng kanilang sariling kwento ng paglaban.

Mahigit dalawang taon ding nakulong sa tahanan ang mga manunulat ng Collegian dahil sa pandemya. Subalit, pinasok nito maging ang mga di-kumbensyonal na lunsaran ng diskurso upang punan ang mandato nito sa gitna ng mapanghamong panahon.

Binuo ng Collegian ang buwanang magazine na may 40 pahina kung saan komprehensibo at walang takot nitong tinatalakay ang mga problemang sinimulan ng mga pahirap at sinuka na ng taumbayan.

Higit, may mga miyembro ang Collegian mula sa iba’t ibang henerasyon nito na iniangat ang kanilang adbokasiya sa taumbayan mula sa pahayagan ng pamantasan, patungo sa kasuluk-sulukan ng bayan, at sa kanayunan.

Nariyan na tinungo ng isang editor ng publikasyon ang probinsya kung saan siya ay patnugot sa community newspaper. Nag-oorganisa rin sa mga komunidad si Judy Taguiwalo mula sa Collegian noong Batas Militar habang si Wendell Gumban naman ng Collegian sa gitna ng pandaigdigang krisis pang-ekonomiya ay tumungo sa kanayunan para pagsilbihan ang mahihirap.

Ang ika-100 ng

Collegian kung gayon, bagaman nasa bulwagan ng mga akademiko, ay mananatiling mapangahas para lisanin ito. Tumutungo ang Collegian sa mga silid-aralan, sakahan, at pagawaan kung saan napatutunayan ng Collegian na ang publikasyon, gaya ng tinuran ni Gumban, ay tereno ng digma.

3rd Place

Saan Magmumula ang

Pagpapasya

Gretle C. Mago BA Filipino

Ngayong ika-100 na taon ng Collegian, muling hamon sa publikasyon kung ano ang pipiliin nitong landas ng pamamahayag sa ilalim ng pamumuno ni Ferdinand Marcos Jr., anak ng dating diktador na minsang tinunggali ng mga pahina ng Collegian

May malalim na balon ng kasaysayan ng Collegian upang paghalawan

sa pagpapasara sa publikasyon, kaparusahan sa sinumang magpapahayag ng kritisismo, maging banta sa kaligtasan, pinili ng Collegian tumaliwas sa huwad na kaayusan at dikta ng pananakot.

Ngunit gaano man katalas at kritikal ang paglalathala ng Collegian para sa sinusulatan nitong magaaral at bayan, hindi malaya ang publikasyon sa kakulangan at minsang pagpapaloob sa kontrol at pagkakimi.

Liban sa pagtungo sa lansangan upang sundan ang kuwento at panawagang isinisigaw ng taongbayan, kahingian rin sa tatangan ng susunod na Collegian ang pagmartsa sa labas ng opisina sa oras na hindi na nakalinya ang publikasyon sa layuning pagsilbihan ang masa’t mag-aaral ng UP. Ito ang naging hudyat ng pag-iral ng Rebel Collegian

Noong batas militar sa ilalim ni Marcos Sr., nagkaroon ng dalawang Collegian. Ang isa ay kinilalang kakampi ng estado, at ang isa naman bilang kaaway: ang Rebel Collegian

Page Design and illustration by Isaiah Verdejo

COLLEGIAN EDITORIAL EXAM

Marcos Sr. na nagsanhi sa kaniyang ouster noong 1986. At hindi kagulat-gulat na karamihan sa mga nanguna at nagsilbi para sa bayan ay mga liderestudyante mula sa pambansang pamantasan ng UP.

Komunidad ng UP at mag-aaral nito ang pangunahing pinagsusulatan ng Collegian. At hindi iba sa panata ng Iskolar ng Bayan, inaasahang kasama ang Collegian sa mangangahas maglingkod at magsilbi para sa bayan. Asahan nating mas lalong haharap sa hamon ang bansa sa ilaim ng kasalukuyang pamunuan. Ipinapakita na ng mga nakaraang buwan ang maaari nating kaharapin sa susunod na anim na taon.

Pagkakataon para sa bagong Collegian kung papaano nito pananatilihin at hahasain ang isinasapraktika nitong talas at talab. Kagyat na kahingian sa Collegian ang patuloy na paglalabas nito ng lathang tutulong sa paghimok ng mga mag-aaral upang mamulat at magpamulat, pagsama sa laban ng mga mamamayan, at pagsiwalat sa mga kamaliang kailangan ng pagtatama. Hindi naging banayad ang pagtahak ng landas ng Philippine Collegian sa kung sino ito ngayon. Ngunit para sa susunod na Collegian, isang hakbang pasulong ang pagtangan sa hamon at patuloy na pagpapaalala kung para kanino at para saan ang pagtindig ng publikasyon.

4th Place

History Does Not Repeat Itself

Alain Lorenzo C. Aycardo Juris Doctor

A phrase often repeated and believed to be true is that history repeats itself.

Under this idea, people are viewed as mere victims of the vicious cycle of the times–passive receivers of whatever may come. In the aftermath, the mind rationalizes and seeks to explain the unexplainable–the reoccurrence of a dark and unfortunate memory buried in the deep recesses of our collective consciousness.

The rise of the Marcoses back to the highest post in the land is an occurrence that can easily be chalked up to history repeating itself. Some would say that these are mere playful twists of fate and that we are powerless puppets playing inconsequential roles in a grander scheme already written by whatever higher form of being one might believe in.

On the centennial of the Philippine Collegian, the institution is faced with the biggest challenge in the history of its existence. The Collegian, with its proud and storied tradition, has failed in its mission as the people have forgotten the lessons of history. Every now and then, it is important that institutions as grand as The Collegian cast a critical eye on itself to ensure that it continues to live out its mission and serve the people. All hope, however bleak the outlook might be, is not lost. The Collegian must rise to meet the challenges of the times and remain as a bastion of free speech and critical reporting or else face its demise along with the death of democracy in the country.

A Marcos back in Malacañang is the product of the Duterte legacy of retribution and impunity and the oblivion of millions of Filipinos to the atrocities of the former dictator. The Marcos administration continues to reap the benefits Duterte set into motion when the latter unrelentingly inflicted death by a thousand cuts to the free press. Being critical of the government, in spite of the

merits of the criticism, is viewed as being un-Filipino.

The people, who have been victims of misinformation and miseducation, are unwilling soldiers the government has enlisted in its goal of keeping the status quo firmly in place. Ironically, many of those that blindly support Marcos Jr. are those which are often the most affected by the incompetence and corruption yet are completely ignorant because of all the lies they have been fed.

UP, which has long been the vanguard of democracy and freedom of expression, is often the target of attacks by sectors and groups which purport to be nationalist. The recent round of cuts in the university’s budget which Marcos Jr. and his cohorts at Congress have all too gladly approved is a step yet again towards eliminating any form of dissent which has and always will be a Marcos signature. Students in the university which engage in activism are red-tagged and threatened, both online and in the streets. There are even calls for the government to be its own agent of infringement of the constitutional rights to education and to free speech which it is mandated to uphold and protect. In a noisy environment of lies and misinformation, the clamor only appears to get louder and louder.

Now is a difficult time to be critical of the government, but perhaps this has always been the case for those that have held the fort at the Collegian. It is in these moments that the Collegian’s sworn duty to always be vigilant and on guard for any abuses of those in power becomes even more real and relevant. Those who take on the responsibility of wielding the pen to inform and inspire are always in the line of fire. The Collegian’s centennial is an auspicious time as it is given a fresh mandate–to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

EDITORIAL

Redefining the Collegian’s Relevance

No longer hindered by the pandemic’s restrictions, the Collegian will venture anew where its readers are, where crises—and resistance—brew.

The metric for relevant media lies not on its longevity or readership, but rather on its ability to draw the sharpest line amid a time of turning points. As the publication grapples with the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, it finds itself surrounded by compounding crises: from the return of the Marcoses–the clan it has resisted decades ago–to a university trying to steer its way through the post-pandemic future.

Barely months into his term, the failures of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are already evident—the economic malady, allegations of corruption, and his maintenance of anti-people policies that trample upon our civil rights and liberties. This critical point demands the publication not to simply look back or report on the pressing issues of the day, but calls upon the Collegian to remain as critical as ever and unflinchingly take

decisive and defiant action in resisting the Marcos regime.

Indeed, there is no shortage of crises in our present times that could not stir the people’s rage. This publication will be a space where the people’s resistance will thrive. This is where the Collegian’s 100th year begins.

The same ambience of catastrophe looms over the national university. Vigilance is called upon the UP community now that the selection of the university’s next leader is in full swing. Six candidates have presented themselves to be UP’s 22nd president, vowing to redefine the university’s role in the nation under their term. Some have called for less reliance on government subsidy, in favor of privatizing some aspects of the university. A candidate has even proposed receiving foreign funding—a move that will dilute UP’s character as the national university.

Page

EDITORIAL

The next set of UP leaders faces a troubled academe—from the impending budget cut to navigating the postpandemic education setup and campus security sans the 1989 UP-DND Accord. UP’s decline in the world rankings, a yardstick faulty on its own, has also perturbed the UP administration who, for so long, was fixated on rankings.

The next UP administration shall confront this set of problems, and addressing them starts with drawing solutions from the voices of UP’s stakeholders, especially students. The Collegian will not simply report, but it will also be the first to ask the presidential nominees difficult questions, and closely scrutinize their six-year vision for UP. In that process, the publication engages the UP community to take part in the consultation and selection process to ensure UP gets the leaders it needs during these times.

It is in this light that this year’s Collegian will strive to reach more communities and readers—both online and offline. In the coming months, the publication will increase its number of pages and monthly printed copies. We will print more articles and commentaries to provide readers with a better grasp and sense of the world’s goingson. As a result, issues that often go unreported and viewpoints frequently sidelined by the mainstream will reach a wider audience—from colleges to the communities in the countryside, picket lines and mobilizations.

Issues that have frequented the Collegian’s releases will not disappear from print this term. We will continue our coverage of our Iskolar-Atleta ng Bayan, the university’s budget and fiscal management, and the plight of the country’s basic sectors, within and outside UP, which are often sidelined by large media. Issues that hound

our country’s basic sectors—workers, farmers, indigenous peoples, among others—will continue to be a staple in the Collegian’s pages, not just because they are underreported but rather, these are issues that affect the Iskolar ng Bayan.

It remains a challenge, however, for the Collegian to expand its reach even more across various media. This year, in addition to our traditional platforms, the publication will also seek to broaden its presence in the digital sphere, especially now that some form of remote learning will be institutionalized in the university. It serves two purposes: to reestablish and expand readership and to deliver the Collegian’s brand of reportage to those outside the campus.

The Collegian’s centenary presents an opportunity for the publication to restamp its relevance, both in the university and its role as critical media. No longer hindered by the pandemic’s restrictions, the Collegian will venture anew where its readers are, where crises—and resistance—brew. The lessons we learned from working in the digital space for two years will be wielded alongside our on-the-ground presence to amplify, join, and lead campaigns for the students and sectors within and outside UP.

In the same way that the Collegian cannot be separated from the world outside its office, the Iskolar, too, cannot be decoupled from the larger scheme outside UP. The people, after all, are the writers of the nation’s history—lasting change will not magically spring out of the Collegian’s pages.

It is imperative that the publication takes part and acts on the issues that matter–or it risks its relevance fading. In its 100th year, it is no longer enough for the Collegian to be critical, it must also take action beyond its pages. «

In the same way that the Collegian cannot be separated from the world outside its office, the Iskolar, too, cannot be decoupled from the larger scheme outside UP.

PAYING THE PRICE

It is the Filipino farmers who suffer the most amid the Marcos administration’s indifference and inaction over the worsening economic crisis.

Cover illustration by Elisha Montemayor