Philippine Collegian Tomo 97 Issue 02-03

PHILIPPINE

COLLEGIAN

The Official Weekly Student Publication of the University of the Philippines Diliman

Volume 97 • Issue 02-03 • 16 pages Tuesday, 27 August 2019

FEATURES

NEWS UP to suffer P1.6 B budget cut 3 KULTURA Tanggal Wika Kapag may pangangailangan ng pagtatanggol sa tagasalba ng naturang kultura, pambansang soberanya, higit pa sa pagsusuri ay pakikisangkot.

12

Beyond Borders

Page 8-9

Deconstructing projections of progress in Sitio San Roque

www,philippinecollegian.org

@phkule

phkule@gmail.com

EDITORYAL

DIBUHO • JAMES ATILLO

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN The Official Weekly Student Publication of the University of the Philippines Diliman

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Beatrice P. Puente ASSOCIATE EDITOR Marvin Joseph E. Ang MANAGING EDITORS John Irving D. Gandia Kimberly Anne P. Yutuc BUSINESS MANAGERS Rex Menard L. Cervales Cathryne Rona L. Enriquez FEATURES EDITOR Richard C. Cornelio

LUNDUYAN NG PAGLABAN Muling sinusubok ang hangganan ng mga pamantasan ng bayan.

Nitong mga nakaraang linggo, naging plataporma ang senado ng mga banta at atake sa mga kabataan.

Ang pangunahing tagausig: ang dating hepe ng Philippine National Police (PNP) at ngayo’y senador Ronaldo “Bato” Dela Rosa at kasalukuyang hepe ng PNP na si Oscar Albayalde.

Anila, dapat nang repasuhin ang mga kasunduan sa pagitan ng gobyerno at mga unibersidad na nagbabawal sa presensya ng pulis at militar sa loob ng mga pamantasan, at hayaan ang kanilang ahensya na rebyuhin ang kurikulum ng mga kolehiyo.

Sa tabing ng counterinsurgency program ng gobyerno, inaakusahan ng PNP at Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ang mga pamantasan tulad ng UP bilang “recruitment ground” ng New People’s Army—isang gasgas na retorika upang muling balutin sa takot ang mga pamantasan.

Subalit kasaysayan ang saksi sa dalang panganib ng presensya ng

02

Hinahamon ang mga kabataan na panatilihin ang unibersidad bilang kanlungan ng mga kaisipang malaya at mapagpalaya.

mga armadong tropa ng estado sa loob ng mga unibersidad. Noong panahon ng batas militar, laganap ang pagmamatyag sa kilos ng mga mag-aaral, pagbabantay sa mga itinuturo ng mga guro, at pagbabanta sa mga aktibista.

Daan-daan ang nakulong, natorture, at bigla na lang nawala bunsod nito.

Sa ganitong konteksto ipinaglaban ng mga kabataan ang pagbabawal sa panghihimasok ng

mga militar at kapulisan sa loob ng pamantasan. Sa ilalim ng SotoEnrile Accord at ang bersiyon nito sa pagitan ng UP at Department of National Defense noong 1989, dapat na igalang ang karapatan ng mga kabataang magpahayag at mag-organisa. Nakapaloob din sa mga kasunduang itong hindi dapat makialam ang mga pulis at militar sa mga protestang ginaganap sa loob ng mga pamantasan.

Ang mga kalayaang din ito ang layong sikilin ng mga pulis at militar kung sakaling sila’y muling malayang makapasok sa mga pamantasan.

Pilit pinalalabas ng AFP at PNP na subersyon at terorismo ang taun-taong pagbubukas ng espasyo para sa mga pambansang minoryang biktima ng militarisasyon sa kanayunan, ang pagpanig sa salaysay ng pinagsasamantalahang sektor.

Ngunit hindi ang aktibismo ang tunay na banta sa kinabukasan ng mga kabataan. Ang totoong terorista ay ang mga puwersa ng estado: silang dumukot sa magaaral ng UP na sina Karen Empeño at Sherlyn Cadapan, gumahasa at pumatay kay Eileen Sarmenta, at kumitil sa buhay nina Kian Delos Santos at Carl Arnaiz sa ilalim ng giyera kontra droga.

Hindi titigil ang pwersa ng militar na pasukin ang mga unibersidad dahil ito ang pook ng malaya at kritikal na pag-iisip.

Taliwas ito sa nais ng estado na

maging bulag na taga-sunod ang mga kabataan sa kanilang kumpas.

Kung gayon, hinahamon ang mga kabataan na panatilihin ang unibersidad bilang kanlungan ng mga kaisipang malaya at mapagpalaya.

Napatunayan ng malawakan at matagumpay na walkout sa iba’t ibang pamantasan noong Agosto 20 na lagi’t laging nagluluwal ng pagbalikwas ang paniniil.

Hamon din para sa administrasyon ng mga pampublikong pamantasan sa bansa na panghawakan ang awtonomiya ng institusyong ito at ipagtanggol mula sa mga pwersa ng militar. Ang katapatan ng administrasyong pampamantasan ay dapat nakasandig sa interes ng kabataan, hindi sa mga nasa kapangyarihan.

Dapat ding bantayan at mariing tutulan ang anumang hakbangin sa Kongreso na sagka sa interes ng mga kabataan at iba pang sektor; igiit ang mga pamantasan bilang tahanan ng kalayaan, kapayapaan at paglaban; at ipagpatuloy ang tradisyon ng aktibong pakikilahok at puspusang pakikisangkot sa mga isyung kinahaharap ng bayan.

Pagkat ang hangganan ng isang pamantasan ng bayan ay hindi nakakupot sa mga gusali; bagkus, tumatagos ito hanggang lansangan kung saan naroroon ang sambayanang pinagkakautangan niya ng edukasyon. •

PAGE COVER • LUCKY DELA ROSA

KULTURA EDITOR Sheila Ann T. Abarra GRAPHICS EDITOR Rosette Guia G. Abogado GUEST EDITORS Sanny Boy D. Afable Adrian Kenneth Z. Gutlay Andrea Joyce A. Lucas Jiru Nikko M. Rada STAFF Samantha M. Del Castillo Lucky E. Dela Rosa Polynne E. Dira Karla Faith C. Santamaria Jose Martin V. Singh AUXILIARY STAFF Amelyn J. Daga Ma. Trinidad B. Gabales Gina B. Villas CIRCULATION STAFF Gary J. Gabales Pablito Jaena Glenario Omamalin ••• UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (Solidaridad) College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) www.philippinecollegian.org ••• Sampaguita Residence Hall University of the Philippines Quirino Avenue, Diliman Quezon City

NEWS

@phkule

DBM slashes two-third of proposal

UP to suffer P1.6 B budget cut JOSE MARTIN SINGH The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved for the third straight year only a third of UP’s proposed budget, leaving the university shortchanged for its infrastructure projects lined up for the upcoming fiscal year.

The UP administration raised its budgetary stakes to an all-time high P47.17 billion to sustain its projects and services. But the university may end up with a budget of only P15.4 billion next year based on the 2020 National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress last August 20. This amount falls way below the university’s P17 billion fund this year, rendering a P1.6 billion cut (see sidebars 1A & 1B). “[This year’s] increase in budget [proposal] was requested to cover the increase in maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) due to newly constructed buildings; [we need] provision for security, janitorial [services], utilities and repairs, and maintenance expenses,” said Vice President (VP) for Planning and Finance Joselito Florendo.

Under the NEP, the DBM allocated a total of P3.35 billion for MOOE – 52 percent higher than UP’s P2.2 billion request. The budget agency likewise approved higher funding for personal services worth P11.39 billion.

Meanwhile, the largest chunk of the budget proposal amounting to P19.83 billion was intended for capital outlays (CO) or expenses for the construction of buildings and structures. A separate P3.34 billion was allotted to cover outlays for equipment and land improvement.

The DBM, however, granted only a total of P673.5 million for the outlays, or two percent of what UP requested (see sidebar 2).

To address the budget deficits in the past years, UP usually generates added income from

alumni fundraisers and business sponsorships, investments, and contracts. Budget realignment is likewise a possibility. Still, specific courses of action for added income would have to be ascertained with the Board of Regents, said UP Student Regent Isaac Punzalan.

“This impending deficit only shows that the DBM does not [ensure] enough budget is given to UP [and] that we still lack enough support and attention from the state,” Punzalan said. “This can lead to drastic consequences like the lack or scarcity of facilities and services that can enhance our programs in the university geared toward serving the nation.”

Channeling services Among 107 CO projects, the construction of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Diliman was listed at top priority under UP’s budget proposal.

Around 50 families living in a now fenced area at the Central Avenue side of the UP Arboretum will be affected by the looming construction, said coordinator and 26-year resident Dina Lacerna. Construction has been stalled because the UP Office of Community Relations and Quezon City authorities are still streamlining relocation plans with residents.

“Nababahala na kami kasi nakikita na namin na may nagaganap nang tanggalan,” said Karina*, a long-time resident of Block 2, the Arboretum area being cleared for the PGH Diliman.

“Ang napagsang-ayunan namin sa asosasyon namin dito ay dapat may [siguradong] lilipatan kami [kung matuloy ang tanggalan].”

Aside from displacement, authorities also had to consider effects on the man-made forest in the area, which “shall not be subject to any invasive development or other activities that will undermine its environmental integrity,” as per the 2003 UP Diliman Land Use Plan. The UP administration considered all these aspects, said

Sidebar 4 • BUDGET FOR EDUCATION SECTOR IN 2020 TOTAL BUDGET: 630.3 B

INFOGRAPHIC • REIA GORDOVEZ

VP for Public Affairs Elena Pernia.

The PGH, for its part, draws the need to enhance services by building a Diliman extension from a surge of patients in Manila.

Since 2016, patients from all over the country started pouring in 25,000 times more than the 10-year average of 580,000, making for an average of 605,000 patients per year, according to the PGH website.

Latching on a P2 billion project allocation, the PGH Diliman is incomparable with its older Manila counterpart that was allotted P507 million under the proposal. The DBM, however, provided a much higher P2.78 billion allocation under the 2020 NEP to sustain the hospital operations (see sidebar 3).

Nevertheless, the PGH Diliman’s construction is underway to enhance specialization in different medical fields and improve health service accommodations, according to the PGH. Budget priorities The education sector receives one of the largest shares of the P4.1 trillion budget proposal with a more than P600 billion allocation (see sidebar 4). This amount, however, is far from the P972.5 billion allotment for the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) program.

While nearly P1 trillion is provided for the BBB, 53 state universities and colleges (SUCs) are left to face budget cuts just like UP, according to Kabataan Partylist. Southern Luzon State University, for one, will incur a P185.7 million cut, as DBM approved only P286.13 million for the university’s year-long expenses.

“This is only another proof of how the education sector is not prioritized by the state,” Punzalan said. “The students will be ready to protest, to hinder any attempt to have huge budget cuts yet again for our university and the education sector.” •

*Not her real name. Karina was granted anonymity for security purposes.

SUCs: 64.9 B DepEd: 518.9 B

TESDA: 7 B CHED: 39.7 B

Sidebar 1A • BACKTRACK: UP BUDGET OVER THE YEARS NEP GAA

12.16 B

2015

13.14 B 10.90 B

2016

11.40 B 13.84 B

2017

13.51 B 14.40 B

2018

16.16 B 15.46 B

2019

13.84 B

*2020

17.00 B

15.41 B *prospective budget cut for UP in 2020

Sidebar 1B • 2020 DBM-APPROVED BUDGET Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses P3.4 B Capital Outlay P673.5 M

Personal Services P11.4 B

Sidebar 2 • UP-PROPOSED VS DBM-APPROVED BUDGET Capital Outlays Buildings and structures, equipment, land and land improvement 23.1 B

637 M

Personnel Services 6.7 B

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses 11.4 B

UP-Proposed 2020 Budget

2.2 B

3.4 B

DBM-Approved Budget

Sidebar 3 • BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR THE PHILIPPINE GENERAL HOSPITAL 2019 VS 2020 UP-PROPOSED BUDGET PS P1.07 B

EO P88.4 M CO P2 B

EO P505 M MOOE P725.8 M

Source: 2015-2020 NEP, 2015-2019 GAA, UP’S BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR 2019 AND 2020

PS P82.4 M MOOE P337.5 M

03

NEWS

Over 2,000 apply for STS

1 in 10 students get full tuition discount in UPD JOSE MARTIN SINGH

Sidebar 1B • BRACKET A STUDENTS SINCE 2015

Less than one in 10 students who applied under the Socialized Tuition System (STS) in UP Diliman this academic year are set to receive full discount, latest data from the Office of Scholarships and Grants (OSG) show.

Of the 2,349 applicants, 141 were granted full discount, while 169 others were unable to receive any tuition subsidy at all. On the average, only 17 percent of applicants get full discount since the implementation of Free Tuition Law in 2017. Nearly 10 percent of applicants, meanwhile, are usually assigned to the highestpaying bracket of P1,500 since 2014 (see sidebar 1).

As in previous years, the largest bulk of applicants was assigned to the third highest bracket, where students need to pay P10,800 for an 18-unit load excluding other fees. A total of 928 students fall under the said bracket this year (see sidebar 2).

“This only proves that under [STS], free education is not prioritized,” said UP Student Regent Isaac Punzalan. “It is very evident in recent cases that the UP administration is citing

88%

84%

87%

9%

8% 2014

16%

2015

2016

Paying Students

04

24.4% 5%

FDS 1.1% FD

2015

2016

2017

the free tuition law as reason to collect more other school fees in various situations.”

Graduating Malikhaing Pagsulat student Fragile Ybañez said that receiving discount from the STS, though helpful, had never eased her daily expenses.

Although she is among the 538 students who were granted an 80 percent discount this academic year, her measly P50 allowance suffices only for half of her daily spending, prompting her to bolster earnings by selling food products. “Mahirap na yung perang kinikita mo sa raket ay pinambabayad lang din sa utang,” Ibañez said. “Kaya kung makaipon man ng konti, mas malaki pa rin ang babayarang utang.”

Deliberations on the appeals have already been held, and final

68%

13%

2017

39.5% PD33/40

7%

94%

32% 12%

PD60

10%

Sidebar 1A • SOCIALIZED TUITION SYSTEM RESULTS FROM 2014-2019 (UPD & UPDEPP) 92%

Sidebar 2 • BREAKDOWN OF STS RESULTS FOR 2019-2020

6% 2018

2019

Full Discount Students

2018

4.9%

results will be released this week, according to the OSG. Even if fewer students have applied for tuition discount since the Free Tuition Policy took effect, the OSG still encounters difficulties in processing appeals due to various student needs.

“With fewer appeals, it means [there will be] more efficient resolutions,” said OSG officerin-charge Niel Kenneth Jamandre.

“But again, titingnan natin siya from a larger context which is the implementation of free tuition,” he said. “[There is no] satisfactory answer in terms of how it augments, complements, or contradicts free tuition because we haven’t done any in-depth analysis about it.”

Some students no longer eligible for free tuition are forced

Sidebar 3 • FD & FDS BREAKDOWN 2014

53%

47%

2015

50%

50%

2016

48%

52%

2017

36%

64%

2018

34%

66%

2019

82% Full Discount Full Discount with Stipend

GRAPHICS • KIMBERLY ANNE YUTUC

18%

ND

PD80

7.2%

22.9%

No Discount Partial Discount 33/40 Partial Discount 60 Partial Discount 80 Full Discount Full Discount with Stipend

169 573 928 538 116 25

TOTAL 2,349 students

Source: OFFICE OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS to apply under STS to receive tuition discount (see sidebar 3).

Jesmar Lozada, a 5th year Civil Engineering student, is among many unqualified for free tuition, thus had to pay P300 per unit last academic year. “Minsan nanghihiram ako [ng pera] sa mga kaibigan ko kahit nakakahiya na,” he said. “Minsan naman tiis na lang talaga sa kain. Either one day, one eat or wala talaga.”

He also had to deal with the possibility of leaving off enrolment for this academic year. Efforts to get assistance, he said, were already for naught by the time he pushed through with his enrolment since the deadline of filing an application for STS through the Student Financial Assistance portal had already lapsed.

Being unable to apply for tuition discount this semester thus landed a big blow on his finances. “Hirap talaga kung walang financial assistance, given our needs,” he

said. “Yung numbers na nagrereflect sa application, they don’t necessarily represent yung real na kalagayan ng tao, kung ano yung kailangan danasin ng aplikante.”

Lozada may have wanted to fall under the nonpaying bracket, but there is only a slight chance for it to happen. Out of the meager number of full discount recipients, only 25 students have been guaranteed full discount with stipend this academic year—only one percent of the total number of applicants (see sidebar 4).

The university, meanwhile, would have to increase the current P3,500 stipend to fulfill students’ daily needs, Jamandre said. “[While the current stipend] addresses some needs, it is not enough for some students,” he said. “That’s something that we’ve kept on fighting for hanggang sa level ng UP System and napagusapan na siya sa Board of Regents,” Jamandre added. •

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH • LUCKY DELA ROSA

INFOGRAPHIC • JOSHUA MAXIMO

phkule@gmail.com

NEWS PANATA NG KABATAAN • Nag-walkout ang mahigit 5,000 estudyante at kawani mula sa UP Diliman upang tutulan ang posibleng pagpasok ng mga pulis at sundalo sa unibersidad, Agosto 20. Dumulog sa senado ang mga magulang ng limang nawawalang estudyante na sinasabing nirecruit ng makakaliwang grupo. Matapos ang imbestigasyon, iginiit ni Sen. Ronaldo Dela Rosa ang pagpapasagawa sa mga pulis at militar ng indoctrination sa mga state universities and colleges sa bansa upang sugpuin ang komunismo.

LUCKY DELA ROSA

Looming campus militarization sparks systemwide protest

Foreign partnership feared to harm PH

Bill seeking to establish Benham Rise Institute filed CATHRYNE ENRIQUEZ

Hundreds of students across the UP System walked out of their classes on August 20 to slam the state’s intent to deploy military and police forces in the university. This proposal, according to various formations and officials, will compromise both the students’ safety and the university’s academic freedom.

CATHRYNE ENRIQUEZ Such intention clearly manifests the government’s attempt to launch creeping militarization in the university, said UP Diliman (UPD) Chancellor Michael Tan. Over the previous weeks, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde has repeatedly expressed his aim to review existing agreements disallowing uniformed and armed personnel from entering UP in order to push through with his plan, which supposedly seeks to prevent alleged recruitment to rebel groups.

Implemented in 1989, the accord signed between UP and the Department of National Defense (DND) bars police and military forces from freely entering any UP campus without prior permission from the university administration.

“Clear na agad ‘yung intentions [ng PNP], at ‘yun ay ang magkaroon ng monitoring and surveillance sa ating students and even faculty members and officials na nasa forefront ng paglaban para sa ating mga karapatan,” Student Regent Isaac Punzalan said.

Tan, on his end, said that students’ welfare will take precedence over anything else.

“If they come and talk to us [for the review of the accord], mauuna ang kapakanan ng mga estudyante … There is a reason why we had that accord [signed] many years ago – because we want to preserve academic freedom; we want to be sure that students do not feel that they are at risk,” Tan said.

Professors expressed a similar stance at a press conference held August 21 at Quezon Hall. Educators from Ateneo de Manila, University of Santo Tomas, and Far Eastern University joined UP professors in opposing the PNP’s plan, saying that universities shall not allow campus militarization to take place.

“Kung gusto niya [Albayalde] na palawigin ang pagtutok sa seguridad ng bansa, he’s barking up the wrong tree by perversely trying to expound the power of the PNP over [the] students of the university,” UPD Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jerwin Agpaoa said in an interview with the Collegian.

But even if the accord has been in place for three decades now, state forces have always been able to subject students to harassment. Former SR Ivy Taroma and former Engineering Student Council chairperson Ralph Baguinon, for instance, were not spared from receiving

27 August 2019 • www.philippinecollegian.org

threats and intimidation last academic year.

Kabataan Partylist representative Sarah Elago, meanwhile, noted that the entry of state forces inside universities will contradict the roles of educational institutions as zones of peace and safe spaces for the free exchange of ideas, opinions, and insights into issues.

“Panawagan ng mga kabataan, edukasyon, hindi militarisasyon. Ang kailangan sa mga eskwelahan ay dagdag na pasilidad, pondo, sahod sa mga guro, at suporta sa mga magaaral,” Elago said. “Kaya sila ay dapat pinakikinggan at hindi pinapatahimik kapag nag-eexercise ng kanilang pulitikal at sibil na karapatan,” she added.

To register the university’s collective stance against campus militarization, the Office of the Student Regent (OSR) is coordinating with chancellors across the UP System to issue a unified declaration saying that the university will firmly stand by the UP-DND accord. “[UP] shall remain a zone of peace and its spaces shall cater to the free expression of ideas and dissent. We will never allow martial law to be implemented in our campuses,” the OSR said in a statement, adding that the students are ready to defend the university from state intrusion. •

In order to promote maritime research in Benham Rise, a solon re-filed a bill that aims to establish a government agency tasked to spearhead the exploration and development of the 13-millionhectare region. The bill, however, allows such an agency to freely embark on foreign partnerships, which might be detrimental to the country’s sovereign rights over the area, an academic said.

Initially filed in 2017, House Bill (HB) 35 or the Benham Rise Research and Development Institute Act aims to develop the underwater plateau through scientific projects. Given the high cost of maritime research, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon noted in the bill that this proposed agency under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) may partner with foreign entities to pursue their projects. HB 35 has been pending with the Government Reorganization Committee for a month now.

Benham Rise, officially named Philippine Rise, is located east of the Luzon coastline. Based on the 2012 United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Benham Rise is part of the country’s extended continental shelf, over which the Philippines can exercise sovereign rights. This gives the country the right to explore offshore and undersea resources.

Given its promise of abundant natural gas and minerals, the region drew much attention and sparked the interest of the Department of Energy as a possible source of energy.

But the geologic composition of Benham Rise does not prove these

resources are actually present, according to National Institute for Geological Sciences director Mario Aurelio, noting that researchers will more likely find gas hydrates and other minerals in the area.

While the underwater plateau may not be disputed territory, the country still needs to be wary of the possible dangers that foreign partnerships might entail, said UP Diliman Political Science professor Dennis Blanco. Given the hostile relationship the country has with China, for example, entering into partnerships with Chinese entities might disadvantage the country, Blanco added.

Obtaining funds for the institute would, after all, be a matter of prioritizing and augmenting budget for science and technology, he said. DOST will only receive P5.14 billion in the next fiscal year, lower than this year’s P5.4 billion budget allotment, should the 2020 National Expenditures Program be approved as it is.

“Meron tayong capability [to undertake research and development] when it comes to skills and knowledge; [ang] problema, wala tayong research vessel na kayang gampanan ‘yon,” said Aurelio, stressing how local scientists continue to struggle due to the lack of necessary research equipment and facilities in the Philippines.

But besides inadequate funding and equipment, the country also lacks enough researchers, according to previous reports.

“Support lang [ng government] yan. Kailangan lang ma-convince ‘yung tamang authorities,” Aurelio added, noting that a huge payoff awaits the country if the government will invest in research and development. •

05

BALITA

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

Bilang ng biktima ng karahasan sa Negros, patuloy ang pagtaas Umabot na sa 87 ang bilang ng mga biktima ng pamamaslang sa Negros – doble ng bilang na naitala bago ang implementasyon ng Memorandum Order (MO) 32, ayon sa grupong Defend Negros.

KENT IVAN FLORINO Itinuturong dahilan ng mga progresibong grupo ang presensya ng mas maraming pulis at militar sa rehiyon bilang pangunahing dahilan kung bakit naging mas madalas ang karahasan sa lugar. Bukod sa mga insidente ng pagpatay, mayroon ding ibang porma ng human rights violations (HRV) sa rehiyon, gaya ng naitalang 80 kaso ng ilegal na pag-aresto, at hindi bababa sa 400 pamilya o 2,000 indibidwal ang sapilitang pinaalis sa lugar (tingnan ang sidebar).

Tinatayang dalawa sa limang pinaslang ay mga magsasaka.

Limang buwan na ang nakaraan mula nang kitilin ng mga pulis at militar ang buhay ng 14 na magsasaka sa Negros Oriental, ngunit wala pa ring katarungan para sa mga biktima. Upang kundenahin ang namamayaning kultura ng karahasan at kawalan ng hustisya, nagkaisa ang daandaang indibidwal para sa Day of Mourning nitong Agosto 20.

“Walang pinipiling tao ang pagpatay sa Negros; mapamagsasaka man, abogado, punongguro, kawani ng gobyerno,

sibilyan o maging isang taong gulang na bata. Sa bansa natin, ninonormalisa ang patayan dulot na rin ng kagustuhan ng pangulo at ng kanyang mga alipores,” ani Van Sulitas, Defend Negros Convenor.

Isang fact-finding mission ang isinasagawa ng iba’t ibang grupo upang kumalap ng karagdagang datos at impormasyon hinggil sa umiiral na karahasan sa Negros. Humihiling din ang mga progresibong grupong magkaroon ng Senate inquiry upang mas madaling umusad ang imbestigasyon, ayon kay Nadja De Vera ng Defend Negros.

“We will make sure to [hold] those responsible for these killings accountable… There’s no other person to blame in this chaos – in the crisis in Negros – but the president himself who signed the memorandum that put the people of Negros in great danger now,” ani Jose Mari Callueng ng Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights.

Bagaman walang deklarasyon ng batas militar sa probinsya, tila umiiral na rin ang de facto martial law sa lugar dahil sa sitwasyong kinasasadlakan ng Negros sa kasalukuyan, ani Callueng.

“Ini-intimidate sila, niraransack ang kanilang mga bahay,

at pilit na pinapaaming sila ay members ng New People’s Army – this was the same ground used to [declare] martial law in [the] entire Mindanao, not just in Marawi,” ani Callueng. Ito rin umano ang ginagamit na dahilan ng pamahalaan upang magdeklara ng batas militar sa Negros, dagdag pa niya.

Ngunit kung sakaling tuluyang ibaba ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang batas militar sa rehiyon, inaasahang dadami pa ang magiging biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao, ayon kay Sulitas. Nitong Hulyo pa lang, sunud-sunod na ang bilang ng pagpaslang at iba pang porma ng karahasan (tingnan ang timeline).

Sa gitna ng karahasan, nangangako ang mga progresibong grupo na mananatiling matibay ang kanilang paninindigan at paglaban upang matigil na ang ganitong sitwasyon hindi lamang sa Negros kundi sa iba pang lugar sa bansa.

“History has taught us na hindi talaga kamay na bakal ang solusyon sa kahirapan ng mamamayan. Instead of killing the people, we call on the president to address the root causes of the conflicts na siya namang kahirapan ng mamamayan,” ani Callueng. •

LUCKY DELA ROSA

Sidebar • BILANG NG MGA NAITALANG PAGLABAG SA KARAPATANG PANTAO (AS OF AUGUST 27, 2019)

Source: DEFEND NEGROS

87

PAGPATAY

80

PAG-ARESTO

2000

DISPLACEMENT

TIMELINE HULYO 21 Inaresto ang magsasakang si Epifanio Romano para sa nangyaring ambush sa apat na pulis sa Ayungon, Negros Oriental noong Hulyo 18.

Sa loob ng higit isang linggo, magkakasunod ang naitalang kaso ng pagpatay at ilegal na pag-aresto sa Negros. Karamihan sa mga biktima ay mga pesanteng biktima ng kawalan ng sariling lupang sakahan.

HULYO 23 Patay naman sa pamamaril si Atty. Anthony Trinidad, isa sa mga progresibong abogadong biktima ng redtagging noong isang taon. Sugatan naman ang kanyang asawang si Novie Marie na kasama niya sa sasakyan nang mangyari ang insidente sa Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.

HULYO 24 Makalipas ang tatlong araw, pinatay ang dalawang magsasakang sina Felimino Janayan at Weny Alegre sa Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental.

HULYO 29 Inaresto sina Rico Oracoy at Lito Cadusale, parehong magsasaka, dahil sa umano’y kaso ng illegal possession of firearms.

HULYO 28 Panibagong pesanteng biktima ng pagpatay si Ananciacino Rosalita sa Canlaon City, Negros Oriental.

HULYO 27 HULYO 25 Maging ang principal na si Arthur Bayawa at ang kanyang kapatid na si Aldane na empleyado ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon ay patay sa pamamaril sa loob mismo ng kanilang tahanan. Sa araw na ito rin pinagbabaril ang chairman ng Barangay Buenavista, Guihulngan City na si Romeo Alipan.

Ilang oras makalipas ang mga insidenteng ito, brutal na pinagbabaril din ang pesanteng si Marlon Ocampo at ang kanyang isang taong gulang na anak. Sa parehong araw rin patay sa pamamaril ang mga pesanteng sina Rakilin Astorias at Reden Eleuterio sa magkahiwalay na lugar sa Negros Oriental.

Pagpatak pa lamang ng 12 m.n., ibinalita ang pagpatay sa barangay chairman na si Ernesto Posadas at konsehal na si Bobby Jalandoni. Samantala, pinatay naman sa Barangay Tampocon 1 sina Edcel Enardecido, dating mayor ng Ayungon, at ang kanyang pinsang si Leo Enardecido.

HULYO 26 Makalipas ang isang araw, panibagong kaso ng pagpatay sa isang pesante ang muling naitala. Binaril sa Barangay 3, Siaton, Negros Oriental si Federico Sabejon, gabi noong araw na ito. Inaresto rin sa araw na ito ang dalawang suspek sa ambush noong Hulyo 18 na sina Onie at Nelie Joy Bangala.

SERYE NG KARAHASAN • Hustisya ang sigaw ng iba’t ibang sektor para sa mga biktima ng pamamaslang sa isla ng Negros sa isinagawang National Day of Mourning sa Liwasang Bonifacio, Agosto 20. Dahil sa nilagdaang Memorandum Order (MO) 32 ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na naglalayong magpadala ng karagdagang puwersa ng militar sa mga probinsya ng Negros, Samar, at Bicol, tumaas sa halos 87 ang kaso ng pagpatay mula Enero 2017, ayon sa datos ng grupong Karapatan at #StopTheAttacks Network.

INFOGRAPHIC • REX MENARD CERVALES

NEWS

@phkule

After UP admin’s snub to non-teaching staff for promotions

UP contractuals blast new order to nix holiday pay JOHN IRVING GANDIA

UP Vice President for Administration Nestor Yunque had to appease the clamor of contractual workers in UP, promising during an open forum held last Thursday the repeal of a recently approved policy which could entail slashes to workers’ wages.

The Board of Regents (BOR) had approved this scheme under Memorandum No. NGY 19-58, which would exclude holidays from the employees’ total days of compensation. This would, in turn, decrease the monthly rates UP workers under contracts of service (COS) previously received.

Workers of the UP community responded quickly against the memo. “Pataas nang pataas ngayon ang ranking ng UP sa global na level pero ganito pa rin ang nangyayari sa loob ng unibersidad,” Staff Regent Mylah Pedrano said during the forum.

“Kaya kailangan talagang bigyan ng pagkilala ang mga kontraktwal na may malaking ambag sa UP at sa pagsaliksik nito

kahit wala silang natatanggap na benepisyo,” Pedrano added.

UP officials valued the workers’ contributions, said Yunque, and all he needs to do is further discuss the concerns he learned during the forum with BOR members during their next meeting on August 28.

However, Alliance of Contractual Employees in UP (ACE UP) Secretary-General Stephanie Andaya remained cautious of this promise. Without any written document cancelling the memorandum’s implementation, Yunque’s words can become null and void, she added.

“Mas hamon ito sa UP admin, sa BOR, na magbaba talaga ng amendment or kahit anong policy na magre-reverse sa memo na ‘yan.

Sana magawa nila agad kasi pahirap ‘yan sa amin, lalo na ngayong August na puro holiday,” said Andaya. “Kapag hindi kapakanan ng kontraktwal ang pinag-uusapan, mabilis naman sila umaksyon.”

Grave implications ACE UP also said that the memo should be junked as soon as possible so that contractual workers could claim the wage increase promised by Joint Circular (JC) No. 1. Together with the Commission

on Audit and the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) implemented said circular last November to grant COS and job order (JO) workers a premium of up to 20 percent of their current salary.

Yet the university administration’s moratorium on JC No. 1 in 2017 prevents the realization of this additional pay.

This postponement resulted from concerns about the order’s possible legitimization of agencyhiring schemes in UP offices, which would effectively remove the university’s accountability to such agency-hired workers.

“Ang JC No. 1 ay kontraktwalisasyon pa rin sa ibang porma. Regularization pa rin dapat ang tugon [sa mga manggagawa], hindi ang mga ganitong policy,” said Andaya.

ACE UP decried the administration’s inefficient action on the matter, since officials said they are still studying the necessary steps in dealing with the circular. This has forced some offices to adopt the job order (JO) scheme in hiring workers.

Despite these unresolved issues, UP officials still opted to prioritize the implementation of new

guidelines for merit promotions of regular and research faculty. Unlike the rules in previous years, this year’s guidelines failed to indicate any plans to promote non-teaching staff, including administrative personnel; research, extension, and professional staff (REPS); and contractual employees on campus.

“Hindi dapat pagbanggain ang mga pangangailangan ng iba’t ibang sektor sa loob ng unibersidad.

Tayo ay isang komunidad. Kung hindi natin papahalagahan ang kapakanan ng kahit isa, maglalaho ang buong komunidad,” Faculty Regent Ramon Guillermo said.

The administration’s lack of initiative in promoting nonteaching personnel belies the BOR’s duty to determine the salaries and benefits of UP faculty and staff through a comprehensive compensation plan, as stated by the UP Charter of 2008.

Officials have also failed to uphold the charter’s clause regarding possible pay hikes to all its workers, including contractuals.

This manifested in their implementation of Memorandum No. NGY 19-58, which follows last year’s amendment to JC No. 1 that allows COS and JO workers to be paid amounts based on the fourth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law. UP President Danilo Concepcion apologized for these oversights during the forum last Thursday. He explained what he just wanted was to quickly promote the faculty since the government has already allotted the necessary budget.

“Ayoko namang sabihin ng UP na ako’y president na walang nagawa para sa aking constituents.

Huwag ninyo naman akong ituring

na kalaban,” said Concepcion.

“Pangarap ko ay maging modelo ang unibersidad natin ng tamang employee-employer relationship sa buong Pilipinas.”

Misplaced priorities Still, union leaders criticized the UP officers for not prioritizing contractual workers’ welfare. All UP Academic Employees Union Board Member Melania Flores emphasized that the officials should always consider whose economic needs will not be met when planning what policies to implement.

She added that if the university truly wants to improve the lives of all its employees, it should focus foremost on regularizing its contractual workers. “Mayroon ngang gap sa sahod sa pagitan ng faculty at administrative staff, may mas malaking gap naman kung saan naiiwan ang mga kontraktuwal,” said Flores.

ACE UP Public Relations Officer Theresa Reamon believes these issues resulted from President Rodrigo Duterte not fulfilling his promise to end contractualization in the country.

Having dedicated almost 13 years of her life to serving the university as a contractual worker, she knows it is imperative to unite with colleagues in fighting for job security and stable income.

“Kakausapin pa namin ang mga kontraktwal sa bawat college para malaman ang mga concerns nila. Palagi naman kaming mangangalampag at mananawagan sa Quezon Hall kada may BOR meeting, dahil syempre, ang goal ay maging regular ang lahat,” Reamon said. •

BUMPER-TO-BUMPER • Namamasada ng bus si Leopoldo Salungga, Jr. mula Sapang Palay, Bulacan patungong Maynila, Agosto 15. Dahil sa yellow lane policy ng MMDA na naglilimita sa maaaring daanan ng mga bus sa EDSA, higit na bumaba ang kinikita ng mga drayber gaya niya. Sa loob ng 20 taong pamamasada, ngayon lang sumadsad sa humigit-kumulang P1,500 ang kanyang kita bawat araw. Maaari pa itong bumaba, depende sa dami ng pasaherong kanyang maisasakay.

Bukod sa nasabing palisiya, lalo ring humirap ang pamamasada dahil sa bigat ng daloy ng trapiko na pangunahing dahilan kung bakit nakakadalawang biyahe na lamang siya sa loob ng isang araw.

LUCKY DELA ROSA

27 August 2019 • www.philippinecollegian.org

07

BEYOND BORDERS Deconstructing projections of progress in Sitio San Roque REX MENARD CERVALES

In the shadows of the city’s highrises, a community scrambles to survive amid the fraught intersection of development and corporate expansionism.

A stone’s throw away from steel and glass skyscrapers, Tatay Pedro Matucan, 82, roves around streets littered with rubble from demolished houses still gaping with buckled concrete pillars and bent rust-eaten steel. He whiles his morning away like this, to move his feeble knees. Since 11 hospitals, including those in Rizal where they had once relocated to, failed to treat his wife’s asthma five years ago, Tatay Pedro has spent most of his days alone, searching and longing.

“Naramdaman ko parang kasubo katama [masyadong malungkot] na ako na lang isa.

Wala akong kausap,” Tatay Pedro said. “Sa isip ko, ako na lang isa.

Magkakape ako mag-isa.”

He had sold their housing unit for what measly amount he could get in exchange for a decent funeral for his wife. He then settled in a hole-in-the-wall shack made of wooden planks and patchedup tarpaulins in Sitio San Roque in North Triangle, Quezon City. He had no one to run to in his family back in Negros Oriental, because five of his seven children had already passed away.

For Tatay Pedro, San Roque is more than just someplace he

PHOTOS • LUCKY DELA ROSA

could toil away at a construction site or sell 50 to 80 pieces of balut at night. It has instead served as a repository of his family’s memories. His home and those of nearly 17,000 other families, however, came under siege when the 256-hectare Quezon City Central Business District (QCCBD) project was undertaken at their expense.

Before long, it became clear this sort of supposed development of San Roque constitutes a deliberate attack on the urban poor’s right to the city. It creates cartographies of exclusion rather than inclusive urban spaces as it continues to sideline the underserved residents’ scramble for public goods and utilities, while attending to the cosmopolitan pleasures of a select affluent few.

to leave what has become home. “Ayaw [ko umuwi] kasi namatay ang mga anak ko at ‘y asawa ko,” Tatay Pedro said.

Residents like Tatay Pe though ensnared in a vic cycle of poverty, persisted a the rapid urban transforma of a landscape once envisio to be a refuge for those fleein hardscrabble life.

The USD 2.6 billion-l from the World Bank du the Marcos era set this ma plan to unprecedented heig The late dictator’s me infrastructure endeavor focu on building highways, theat and convention centers on la acquired by displacing sett en masse. The National Hou Authority (NHA), then, ejec

Gray area Tatay Pedro has witnessed how any room for climbing up the economic ladder has shrunk as the development sprawled over the 37-hectare land. He migrated here 30 years ago in hopes of looking for a space where his family could prosper. Still, despite the ever bleaker prospects, he refuses

PAGE DESIGN • REX MENARD CERVALES

his dito yung

edro, cious amid ation oned ng a

loan uring aster ghts. egaused tres, ands tlers sing cted

FEATURES so-called squatters’ colonies and at the same time promoted private participation in housing ventures.

Such public-private partnerships continued well into the 1990s when the government began to authorize private firms to develop public assets through contractual agreements, purportedly to address the country’s infrastructure gap.

Businesses, in turn, thrived on profits via concessions and surveys that hike up land values.

The same process of spatial isolation has edged the San Roque residents out of the picture. The construction of Vertis North, a mixed-use development project which covers San Roque, has so far ejected over 10,000 families.

Like the recreational and activity centers Trinoma and Eton Centris, the project under the P65-billion QCCBD master plan fulfills the 2009 joint venture agreement between Ayala Land, Inc., the NHA, and the local government of Quezon City.

Besides propelling competition for scarce resources, this development drive has exacerbated the erasure of slum-dwelling households that stand in the way of giant real estate developers’ more ambitious bid for revenue raking.

The construction of Vertis North, a mixeduse development project which covers San Roque, has so far ejected over 10,000 families.

inilagay kami sa isang hawla na binabantayan. Ang pinakamasakit doon, mas masahol pa sa hayop ang pagtrato sa amin ng ganitong sistema,”said Ka Ricky Inidicio, another leader of Kadamay-SR.

Tight corners Afternoons in San Roque find children frolicking above piles of debris and concrete fragments.

They would rush to and swim in the brackish esteros while their mothers are bent over their washboards outside shanties braced by corrugated tin and wooden stilts. Men play basketball on a dusty court and teenagers mill about the vacant lot behind the community’s public stage.

Such familiarity with the detritus of near collapse conceals the resident’s alienation from their own home.

In areas where expansion is imminent, guards knock at doors to give residents the option to voluntarily demolish their own house or stay on, at a larger cost. Those who refuse will have their houses torn down, while residents who opt to relocate will receive a 100,000-peso offer and a housing unit elsewhere in Quezon City, Bulacan or Rizal. There, they must still pay monthly amortization and endure intermittent access to electricity, water, and other services.

Tatay Pedro knew this all too well when hardships in the relocation site prompted his family to return to San Roque just within a month of their evacuation. Unlike in Montalban, Tatay Pedro said he gets to have at least a sip of coffee while sitting on his rickety bench in San Roque.

“Sa Montalban, wala ka naman makain. Talagang gutom na gutom ka,” he said. “Kung magkasakit ka doon, saan mo dadalhin kasi wala namang ospital doon?”

Yet returning to San Roque never proved an easy choice, either. In 2010, nearly a thousand residents moved out due to illegal arrests and imposed restrictions on home repairs, among other forms of harassment. Too often, armed men roamed around intimidating locals and fencing off some areas.

Community leaders have also been bribed to persuade others to accept paltry compensation.

Amid attempts to forestall further evictions, Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap in San Roque (Kadamay-SR), an urban poor organization, denounces such offers by the NHA. “Hindi ‘yan palaging naiintindihan ng NHA,” said Kadamay-SR chairperson Estrelieta Bagasbas or Ka Inday, as she is more familiarly known. “Masakit sa loob namin na ganun [ang] kategorya sa tao — lalo lang silang pinapahirapan.”

The community’s resistance seemed to have been met with more woes. Suspicious fires, for one, damaged portions of San Roque earlier this year and in 2004 and 2005. One resident even suffered miscarriage during a confrontation with a private guard about to destroy their home.

“Nasa komunidad kami pero parang ikinulong kami,

Common ground The residents have long strove to build a fortress against attempts to intrude on their community.

In 2010, San Roque residents marched to the NHA to oppose a then impending massive demolition. When the local government facilitated even widerscale demolitions in 2014, the residents of San Roque forged ahead in a clash against around 600 personnel of the Quezon City police and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) division. For six hours, they braved tear gas, water cannons, and truncheons.

The confrontation injured at least 18 residents.

Recently, the residents propped up barricades to guard the homes of another 271 families who face the threat of demolition.

The NHA also saw them at the forefront of protests against the office’s inaction in the face of their calls for decent housing, minimum wage, and a say in decisionmaking processes concerning infrastructure projects in the area.

In a July 29 dialogue, however, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte vowed to implement a moratorium on clearing operations while she reviews QCCBD negotiations.

She claimed a certificate of compliance must first be renewed by the Local Housing Board which she heads, prior to demolition. While the residents see a glimmer of hope in the benevolence so far shown by the new administration, they remain guarded in their optimism.

Ka Ricky believes that while there still awaits an uphill battle, there should be no room for docility. They derive their motivation from the resilience of not just the families affected but also the alliances formed in solidarity with the former.

“Ang pikatinatatanganan talaga namin ay ang lakas ng mamamayan,” he said. “Ang pinakaimportante talaga ay ang mabuo ang pagkakaisa ng mamamayan ng Sito San Roque.”

As a case in point, the volunteer group Save San Roque Alliance includes students, architects, engineers, and artists. The alliance has teamed up with Kadamay-SR to initiate a counterproposal that factors into account the residents’ own vision of San Roque.

“Naniniwala kami sa karapatan sa siyudad ng maralitang lungsod — na dapat kasama sila sa pagunlad ng siyudad na pinapagana at tinatayo nila. Kasama dapat sila sa paghulma at pagdisenyo ng siyudad,” Arvin Dimalanta, convenor of Save San Roque Alliance, said.

Capacities in mapping and city planning are thus built alongside engagement in educational discussions and activities like cultural nights and the protest art of Sining San Roque. These efforts underscore how the right to the city entails the residents’ right to intervene in the transformation of their urban space. Besides, any plot of land only becomes habitable for, and can be reclaimed by, a community where solidarity, trust, and interdependency are cultivated.

For Tatay Pedro, whatever the case is to be made for hope lies in the relentlessness of struggle — not in isolation but as a collective.

“Sinasabi nila na ‘wag na ako sumama sa rally. Pero sabi ko naman, mas mabuti ‘yung sumama ako sa rally kaysa sa dito lang ako [nakaupo],” he said. At the end of the day, the residents’ stake in San Roque is no less than a demonstration of their mutual reliance on the very people whose humanity has been swept out to the margins. •

09

FEATURES

Burning

Rage

HONG KONG’S DEFINING BATTLE ABBY BOISER

How hard the protesters will rev up the tension shall determine whether it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches fire.

Hong Kong is burning, and every attempt by the government to blow it down merely fanned its flames.

From the ashes of their past demonstrations, millions of Hong Kongers are now enkindling a creative and agile style of resistance.

Protesters clad in charcoal-black shirts besieged the Hong Kong International Airport, yelling “Ga yau!” which is Cantonese for “add fuel.” Students at the Space Museum’s planetarium pretended to set the dome on fire with laser pens, which the police called an

“offensive weapon.” On the outer wall of the Legislative Council (Legco), Hong Kong’s parliament center, hung a red flag that read, “If we burn, you burn with us”.

Protest tools took a creative turn, with placards, traffic cones, suitcases, and umbrellas used to evade police arrest and high-tech surveillance. Present, too, were colonial emblems of their Britishruled day–carried by some groups harbouring nostalgia induced by an increasingly repressive political climate.

What sparked off these protests was the proposal of a bill that would have allowed suspects in Hong Kong to be detained and prosecuted in China.

The locals deemed this consistent with China’s efforts to deface their autonomy, along with the barring of pro - de moc r acy politicians from parliamentary elections and the arrests of journalists and protest leaders.

Still, Hong Kongers know that theirs is not a mere local struggle.

The world watches with a sheer understanding

that their defeat to authoritarianism would set a worrisome precedent for freedom.

Now, they are exhausting all opportunities to light up the city—with the extradition bill as their final kindling to set a conflagration before dusk once again sets in.

From embers to wildfire Hong Kong has seen protest after protest flare up and simmer down.

The 79-day Umbrella Movement made massive headlines in 2014 for its sustained protest culture.

Though the people’s demand for a democratic selection of their chief executive fell on deaf ears, it nonetheless proved to many that sit-in protests alone were insufficient. As the movement dragged on its final days, Hong Kongers stuck post-it notes on the walls along Harcourt Road, saying “We’ll be back.”

The million turnout in the ongoing anti-extradition bill mobilizations is the very fulfillment of that promise, with pro-democracy legislators crying out in front of the Legco: “We are back.” This time, demonstrations are carried out in sporadic flash-mob fashion.

A phalanx of protesters filled downtown parks and inched past business districts. Bus and train drivers blocked main roads. Airline workers barricaded the arrival hall.

Healthcare staff staged sit-ins during lunch breaks. Youngsters stood on the front lines, taking no orders from centralized leaderships. With no key figures, the police cannot incarcerate anyone to impede the protests.

The protesters’ efforts to “play with fire will only backfire,” warned the Chinese government.

Yang Guang, the state council spokesperson, declared the unrest as showing “first signs of terrorism.” Police in full riot gear fired at point-blank range canisters of tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters. Triads hit train stations, leaving hundreds of civilians bloody and beaten.

But the Hong Kongers’ message was stark, written in red ink, raised high above the sea of slogans: “Give us liberty or give us death.”

Burning bridges These choices leave no room for any more concessions.

Because, for centuries, Hong Kong has tired of being caught in the middle of the geopolitical

GRAPHICS • MARCY LIOANAG

PAGE DESIGN • KIMBERLY ANNE YUTUC

crossfire between two imperial powers, Britain and China.

The 156-year British rule benefited Hong Kong through measures ranging from erecting infrastructure to the latter’s entrenchment as the Asian financial citadel in the 1990s. With these rewards, however, came a track record of violence employed to stifle dissent, like the 1967 leftist riots, and a wealth gap that kept locals at the economic bottom.

To appease the trade war between the two, Britain ceded Hong Kong to China in 1997 on the condition that the former colony would be guaranteed 50 years of effective self-rule. With 28 years still left before the deadline, Beijing is tightening dominion over the region’s autonomy, all the more obscuring the legitimacy of the “one country, two systems” policy.

Yet China has now evolved into an economic behemoth, with its Belt and Road Initiative seeking to expand infrastructure development and transnational investments in 152 countries, and a gross domestic product (GDP) more than 30 times greater than Hong Kong’s in 2018. Its hold over Hong Kong has grown less of an economic incentive and more of a political statement in its pursuit of global dominance.

Meanwhile, the West, which scholars banner as the bastion of democracy, has showed no intent to ease Hong Kong’s distress save a few idle statements and vague legislation. International coverage of the protests highlight the struggle against Chinese intervention, without acknowledging Hong Kong’s role as a combat zone between the neoliberal globalization of the West and the authoritarian capitalism of China.

Despite its ripple effect across the globe, Hong Kongers are indeed waging this battle in isolation. As the popular saying “Only Hong Kongers can save Hong Kong” goes, the 7 million locals sense the exigency to be at the forefront of saving their own.

Forged in fire It is no longer an issue of how the Hong Kongers will win, but what strides they will take to confront

the upcoming provocations.

For while the majority of the population remains united in their condemnation of China’s rule, even now contradictions among the heterogeneous pool of protesters have yet to be reconciled with their fragmented vision of self-determination.

Their century-long colonial experience might have rid them of any coherent alternative to the prevailing freemarket framework, yet the overdue realization of democracy hinges not on retrenchment of servitude but on radical imaginations of liberty.

This means daring to assert for all sectors the rights they have long been deprived of: universal suffrage, equitable land, wage equality, and affordable housing, among others. These demands remain stark and resonate with not just Hong Kong but also other countries embroiled in socioeconomic inequities.

A more pivotal stand against such a global order can only be staked in the long term once the protest movement begins to probe its prospects and principles and consolidate an anti-hegemonic front alongside similarly exploited peoples overseas.

If the fire continues to catch, Hong Kong may either burst into a wildfire or subdue into smolders.

Even so, it will take more than just a headwind of any imperial power to extinguish its embers. In all this blaze, Hong Kong might just come out forged anew. •

CARTOGRAPHY Arguments and reflections on international news

LATHALAIN

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

Sakahan sa Laylayan ANG LUPANG KAPDULA SA BINGIT NG KOMERSYALISASYON

Sa Kapdula na nagkamalay at namulat si Ronnie*. Mula pagkabata, tumutulong na siya sa kanyang ama sa pagsasaka. Kaya naman nang kailangang may humalili sa trabaho, siya na ang umako nito.

Limang taon na ang lumipas nang magsimula siya. Limang taon ito ng 12 oras na pagbibilad sa araw para kumita ng P1,000 kada ani, kung saan ibabawas pa rito ang pinampuhunan niya.

Pagkakasyahin niya ito para buhayin ang kanyang tatlong anak na nag-aaral pa. Sa limang taong ‘yon, di lang ang init ng araw, mga pesteng sumisira sa pananim, at mga karag-karag na kasangkapan ang naging problema niya.

Hinarap din ni Ronnie ang pandarahas—nabuwal ang mga pananim at nasira ang mga kubol nilang mga magsasaka sa taniman—sa kamay ng mga guwardya ng JAKA Investment Corporation (Jaka), grupong bumubuo sa 22 iba’t ibang kumpanya na pagmamay-ari ng pamilya Enrile.

Isa si Ronnie sa 62 residente ng Lupang Kapdula sa Dasmariñas, Cavite na nanganganib na tuluyang mawalan ng tahanan at kabuhayan.

Dahil ito sa pangangamkam ng Sta. Lucia Realty Development Inc. na sinisimulan nang itayo ang Nueva Vida, isang 155-ektaryang proyekto ng South Cavite Land Company Inc. (SCLCI). Mahigit 30 ektarya na nga ang ginawang konkretong kalsada sa naturang espasyo.

LARAWAN • LUCKY DELA ROSA

Sa misyon ng mga malalaking negosyo na magtayo ng mga komersyalisadong tirahan upang bumuo ng isang “komunidad,” kasabay nito ang pagkawala ng isa ring komunidad ng mga magbubukid na nagnanais lang ding mamuhay nang may dignidad at sapat na rekurso.

Pagpupunla ng binhi Mula 1976 hanggang ngayon ay kalabaw at araro pa rin ang kasangga ng mga magsasaka ng Kapdula. Hirap din sila sa patubig dahil sa kawalan ng irigasyon, kaya napipilitan silang mag-ipon ng tubig-ulan para sa tag-init kung saan tigang ang sakahan.

Buhat nito, tanging mga gulay gaya ng talong, mais, at sitaw lang ang kanilang pwedeng itanim. Taliwas ang ganitong karanasan sa mga pangakong pauunlarin daw ng gobyerno ang mga pasilidad at kagamitan ng mga magsasaka sa Kapdula.

Isa rin sa mga ipinangako sa kanila ang pamamahagi ng lupa batay sa napagkasunduan ng Samahan ng Magbubukid ng Kapdula (SAMAKA) at ng mga kumpanyang Sta. Lucia, Jaka, at SCLCI sa ilalim ng isang joint venture agreement.

Pumasok sa nasabing kasunduan ang mga residente limang taon matapos igawad ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) sa SAMAKA ang dalawang

Sa lakas ng hangin sa taniman, mapapakapit ka sa patik ng mga magsasaka—ito ang armas panlinang sa kanilang lupa, kalasag laban sa pananamantala.

JT TRINIDAD

Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) noong Marso 1991.

Nakasaad dito na pagmamayari ng mga residente ang 155.7 ektaryang lupa sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Lingid sa kaalaman ng SAMAKA, naging daan pala ang mga “attendance sheet” na pinirmahan nila sa mga pulong kasama ang SCLCI upang mailipat nang tuluyan sa kumpanya ang pagmamay-ari ng lupa.

Simula noon, naghain na ng kabi-kabilang petisyon ang mga residente. Nitong Abril lang, nagkaroon ng resolusyon na nagkakansela sa naunang land conversion order. Binanggit din dito na dapat nang ipamahagi sa ilang mga magsasaka ang mga bahagi ng lupang di pa nililinang.

Subalit, sa kabila ng desisyon ng DAR, patuloy pa rin ang banta sa mga magsasaka. Bukod pa sa mga tensyon dahil sa agawan ng lupa, nakararanas din sila ng diskriminasyon sa labas ng Kapdula.

Paghihintay sa pagsibol Napipilitan ang maraming magsasaka sa Kapdula na makipagsapalaran at maglatag ng mga paninda sa palengke, kung saan itinataboy din sila.

Manipis na swelas ng tsinelas na lang ang naiuuwi ni Aling Lita*, 55, sa tuwing babalik siya mula sa palengke. Ipinagmalaki niyang napagtapos niya ang kanyang mga anak sa pagsisitaw at matinding pagsasakripisyo.

“Magtinda ako sa palengke, palayasin man [nila] ako,” aniya.

Pinapalayas sila ng mga katiwala ni Mayor dahil hindi sila nagbabayad ng upa sa pwesto. Kasabay ring kinukumpiska at kinukuha ang kanilang mga pananim.

Hindi inaprubahan ng lokal na munisipyo maging ang kanilang kahilingang masustentuhan ng dagdag kagamitan tulad ng traktura. Hindi nakararating sa mga magsasaka pati ang mga spray, binhi, at itak na ibinibigay ng gobyerno. “Kani-kanila lang, ’yong iba ata binebenta,” ani Aling Lita.

Di rin sila ligtas sa abuso mismo sa kanilang komunidad.

Madalas silang pinagmamatyagan ng mga pribadong gwardya ng Jaka na naka-istayon sa magkabilang dulo ng kabahayan nila. Kung kaya’t di rin nila maiwan ang mga kubo nang walang bantay sa pangambang pagbalik nila ay giniba na ang mga ito. Matagal na silang pinagbawalang magtayo ng iba pang mga permanenteng istruktura roon.

Sa kabila ng panggigipit, ginawa itong motibasyon ng mga residente upang manatili sa Kapdula at ipagpatuloy ang kanilang pagsasaka bilang pagtindig sa kanilang karapatan.

kanila: Higit 10 taon na silang pinagbawalan ng SCLCI na magtanim dahil sa nakaplanong proyekto sa erya.

Hindi ito naging balakid para patuloy silang maghain ng mga petisyon. Bagaman pabor sa kanila ang kasalukuyang resolusyon makalipas ang tatlong taong paghihintay, batid ng marami na hindi lang sa mga dokumento at desisyon ng gobyerno nagtatapos ang mithiin ng mga magsasaka.

Para sa kanila, ang tunay na resolusyon ay ang pagbibigay hustisya sa lahat ng pagsasamantalang natanggap nila mula sa mga kumpanya. Ito ay makakamtan di lang sa mga ligal na instrumentong pumapanig sa kanila, kundi higit, sa pamamagitan ng patuloy na pagkilos upang igiit ang kolektibong karapatan sa lupa at wakasan nang lubos ang panghihimasok ng pribadong interes.

Kung tutuusin, ang lupa nila’y pagmamay-ari pa ng kanilang mga ninuno, ani Ronnie — patunay na noon pa man, silang mga magsasaka na ang bumubuo sa Kapdula.

Sa Kapdula na rin namulat at nagkamalay ang mga anak ni Ronnie. Bata pa ang mga ito, tinuruan na niya sila sa gawaing bukid. Hindi man pagsasaka ang pangarap ng kanyang mga anak, buong pamilya pa rin nila at marahil ang mga susunod pang henerasyon ang makikinabang sa lupa kapag napagtagumpayan na itong bawiin ni Ronnie at ng kanyang mga kasama sa Kapdula. •

*hindi tunay na pangalan

Pag-aani ng tagumpay Nagprotesta ang SAMAKA sa pamamagitan ng balik-saka o bungkalan simula noong Oktubre 2016, kung saan nagtanim sila ng iba’t ibang uri ng mga halaman sa daan-daang ektaryang tiwangwang na lupa. Di nila alintana ang takot na lalo silang harasin ng mga ahente’t gwardya, dahil wala na ring mawawala sa

11

KULTURA Umusbong ang wika sa pangangailangan ng mga komunidad na magkaintindihan.

Mula sa mga arbitraryong simbolo, naging saksi ang kasaysayan sa paglago nito at pagkakaroon ng malaking kapangyarihang magbabago sa lipunan.

Lumapit ang mga prayle sa mga katutubo gamit ang wika ng huli at itinuro ang pananampalatayang Katoliko bago tuluyang sakupin ang mga ito—ipinagkait sa Pilipino ang tunay na edukasyong nararapat nilang matamasa. Sa kabilang banda, sa pananakop ng mga Amerikano ay ipinalaganap ang Ingles upang itanim ang kanilang kultura at pahinain ang makabayang diwa ng mga Pilipino.

Wika ang nagbuklod sa mga Katipunero mula sa iba’t ibang rehiyon upang magrebolusyon laban sa Kastila. Gayundin, iginiit ang pagkakaroon ng pambansang wika sa gitna ng okupasyon ng Amerikano — patunay na ang wika ay instrumento sa paglaban.

Pag-alala Bukod sa barya-baryang pag-alala sa pambansang wika isang buwan kada taon, sa ilalim ng CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) 20, tatanggalin na ang Filipino sa kurikulum ng kolehiyo.

Ginawa na rin nitong opsyonal ang paggamit sa wika bilang midyum ng pagtuturo.

Maraming paaralan na ang gumagawa ng hakbangin upang pahinain ang wikang Filipino— mula sa pagmumulta sa mga estudyanteng gumagamit nito hanggang sa pagsulong sa Ingles bilang wika ng pag-unlad.

Pinatibay pa ito ng midya: ang seryosong balita mula sa mga dyaryo ay nakalathala sa Ingles, habang ang Filipino ay iniuugnay sa tabloid. Ang midyang siyang nagkukumpas sa pampublikong opinyon at inaasahang

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PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN tagapagtaguyod ng sariling wika ay nag-iisip at sumusulat sa Ingles.

Mas binibigyang halaga sa mga espasyo ang dayuhang wika kaya naman puspusan ang pamimilipit ng dila ng mga estudyanteng magsalita sa wikang hindi nila lubos na maintindihan, at hindi magpapaunlad ng sariling interes ng bansa.

Malaki ang gampanin ng edukasyon sa pagpapanatili ng lagay ng lipunan o sa pagbabago nito, kaya ang mga pamantasan ang unang pinatatamaan ng mga palisiyang mapanupil. Sa loob ng mga unibersidad gaya ng UP, binubuksan ang malaya at malalimang talakayan ng mga radikal na ideya, at kasabay nito ang pagiging sensitibo sa mga pangyayari sa labas ng silidaralan. Sa kamalayang ito naguugat ang matapang na pagkilos ng mga kabataan para sa malawakang pagbabago.

Sa pagpasa ng CMO 20, pinipigilan ng CHED ang pagbuo sa kamalayan na ang paglinang sa wikang Filipino ay hakbang tungo sa ganap na liberasyon ng bansa. Pinanatiling atrasado ang sariling wika upang mangimi sa nananatiling dominanteng kultura ng Ingles, ng kanluran.

Paglimot Madalas na katwiran sa pagtanggal ng Filipino sa kolehiyo ang duplikasyon ng pag-aaral nito mula elementarya

at hayskul. Mas bigyan daw ng pansin ang Ingles dahil ito ang magbibigay ng mas maraming oportunidad sa pag-unlad.

Sumagot ang Tanggol Wika, alyansa ng mga propesor at mga organisasyong pangwika at pangkultura: Hindi pag-uulit, kundi pagpapalalim sa Filipino ang ginagawa sa kolehiyo. Higit ito sa pagiging asignatura o sa pagkakaroon nito ng lantay na gramatika, kundi tumutungo ito sa praktikal na paggamit ng wika sa iba’t ibang pag-aaral na tumutugon sa pangangailangan ng mamamayan.

“Ang kabuluhan ng Filipino bilang disiplina ay hindi matatawaran sapagkat ito’y daluyan ng kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, salamin ng identidad ng Filipino, at susi ng kaalamang bayan,” ayon kay Prop. David Michael San Juan, tagapanguna ng Tanggol Wika, sa kanyang papel tungkol sa mahabang laban ng paglinang ng Filipino sa edukasyon. Ang pagkawala ng pag-aaral sa pambansang wika ay pagpapalabo sa hubog ng identidad bilang Pilipino—iyong pamumuhay na inuuna ang interes ng sariling bansa.

Sa patuloy na paglinang lubos na nagagamit ang wika bilang instrumento sa pagkakaroon ng malayang bansa. At sa pamantasan nangyayari ang proseso ng pagpapayaman nito; mula sa kalsada o pamilihan, tungo sa pagpapalalim at pag-angkop nito

sa panahon. Nagagawa ito sa pamamagitan ng produksyon ng mga orihinal na akdang Filipino— mula sa malikhaing pagsulat hanggang sa mga akademikong papel. Hindi lang nito tinatampok ang wika, nagiging daluyan din ito upang maisakonteksto ang mga pag-aaral base sa lipunang Pilipino.

Habang ang Filipino ay nagpapayaman ng diskurso ng ordinaryong mamamayan at ng “pagbabagong panlipunan,” ginagamit ang dominanteng Ingles sa diskurso ng “pagpapanatili sa sistemang pinakikinabangan at pinangingibabawan lamang ng iilang dinastiya at korporasyon,” ani San Juan.

Hindi maitatanggi na ang paggamit ng Ingles ay nagbubunga ng panga-outcast, na madalas humahantong sa eksploytasyon sa mamamayang walang sapat na kaalaman sa wika. Halimbawa nito ang patuloy na panlilinlang sa mga manggagawa o magsasaka dahil sa mga kontratang hindi nila lubos na maintindihan.

Napipilitan silang iwan sa iilan ang diskurso at pagdedesisyon ukol sa mga bagay na makakaapekto sa araw-araw nilang pamumuhay.

Ngunit magagawa nilang lumaban sa pagkakataong naintindihan na nila ang isyu gamit ang sariling wika.

Paglaban Kung ang edukasyon ay gagamitin upang makapagsilbi sa mamamayan, inilalapit ng mga

Tanggal Wika

POLYNNE DIRA

Kapag may pangangailangan ng pagtatanggol sa tagasalba ng naturang kultura, pambansang soberanya, higit pa sa pagsusuri ay pakikisangkot.

GRAPHICS • ROSETTE GUIA ABOGADO

pag-aaral sa sariling wika ang kaalaman sa masa. Nagkakaroon ng kabuluhan ang mga suri dahil nakalapat ito sa kasalukuyang lagay ng lipunang Pilipino.

Hindi nananatili sa mga edukadong iilan ang kaalaman at nakakulong sa silid ng pamantasan.

Kung paanong binibigay ng masa ang materyal na realidad sa bawat pag-aaral, gayundin nalilinang ng bawat pag-aaral ang buhay ng masa.

Isang halimbawa ng ugnayang ito ang mga welga at demonstrasyong nilalahukan hindi lamang ng mga manggagawa o magsasaka, kundi pati na rin ng mga estudyante at propesyunal.

Mula noon, wikang Filipino na ang midyum na gamit dito—mula sa mga slogan, talumpati, hanggang sa mga educational discussion.

Sa mga pangyayaring ito, nagsisimulang magamit ang wika bilang behikulo sa pagbabago.

Kaya hindi na nakakagulat ang tahasang pagkitil sa Filipino— dahil may mga hindi makakapayag na mabuwag ang status quo o ang patuloy na pagkakaalipin ng maraming Pilipino sa kamay ng makapangyarihang iilan.

Ang pangangailangan pang igiit ang sariling wika upang magamit o mapag-aralan sa mga pamantasan ay naglalantad ng kalunos-lunos na kalagayan ng bansa. Hindi nito sinasalamin ang kalidad na edukasyong ipinapangako ng K-12 o ng iba pang palisiya, higit lalo pa ang pagsasarili ng bansa.

Ngunit ito ang mismong dahilan ng pagpapatuloy ng matagalang laban. Kaakibat ng pagsulong ng sariling wika ay ang pagsulong ng malayang ekonomiya at politika mula sa dayuhan. Kaya patuloy ang paggiit sa Filipino, ang paghasa ng sandata, kasabay ng pagpanday ng pagbabago mula sa masa. •

PAGE DESIGN • REX MENARD CERVALES

KULTURA

@phkule

Sa Ngalan ng Pag-ibig MARVIN JOSEPH ANG

Matamis na ngiti kung salubungin ni Lea* ang bawat umaga ngayon.

Magtatatlong buwan na mula nang sagutin niya si Joel*, at ilang tulog na lang, magkikita na sila.

Sa wakas, sa loob-loob niya, masaya na siya. Hindi na lang kape ang magpapainit ng kaniyang kalamnan sa umaga, at hindi na lang ihi ang magpapakilig sa kaniya. Sa wakas, makikilala na rin niya ang lalaking magpapalaglag sa kaniyang panty. Tapos na ang gabi-gabi niyang pagsubaybay kina Papa Jack at DJ Chacha.

Maibabaon niya rin sa pagpasok sa trabaho ang mga flying kiss at “I love you” ng kaniyang bagong kasintahan. Mukha nito ang makakaharap niya tuwing lunch break, meryenda, hanggang bago umalis sa trabaho. Maiibsan din nito ang pagod niya sa maghapong pagri-repack ng produkto.

Halos sampung taon din niyang hinintay ang pagkakataong ito. Sa hinaba-haba ng prusisyon, hindi niya akalaing sa pag-ibig din pala ang tuloy niya.

PM is the key Kuntento naman na sa buhay si Lea noon. Hindi na siya naghahanap ng lalaking haharana sa harap ng kanilang bintana, at wala na siyang ibang planong gawin kundi buhayin ang tatlo niyang anak.

Subalit nang kalabitin siya ng kasamahan niya sa pabrika na mayroong Facebook group kung saan posibleng makahanap ng bagong makakasama sa buhay, may parang kumalabit sa kaniya upang udyukin siyang subukan ito.

At dahil hilig niya ang panonood ng mga palabas sa primetime bida, hindi rin nagtagal ay sinubok niyang muling makahanap ng “sir chief” ng buhay niya.

At hindi nag-iisa si Lea rito. Lahat naman tayo’y nais makahanap ng kani-kaniyang

GRAPHICS • JAMES ATILLO

bersyon ng pinapangarap nating makasama sa buhay. Gagawin natin ang lahat, at itataya ang lahat ng mayroon tayo, mapunan lang ang pangangailangan natin sa pag-ibig.

Kung paghahanap ng paninda sa isang palengke ang turing sa paghahanap ng kasintahan, sinasabing sa grupong “samahan,” tila ika’y namimili sa isang ukay-ukay. Hindi mo na alintana kung nasuot na dati ng iba, o kupas na ang kulay basta’t kakasya pa rin sa iyo at makukuha mo lang sa “presyong divisoria,” ayos na.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit, bagaman mas pinadali ng internet ang paghahanap ng bagong makakaibigan, hindi pa rin makakahanap ng kaniyang “sir chief” si Lea—nananatiling eksklusibo sa isang uri ang mga dating applications. Paano nga ba mapapasok ng mga katulad niya ang isang komunidad na may espesyal na pagtangi sa mga may skincare routine, o di kaya’y halos g aw i n g simbahan ang gym.

Ngunit hindi katulad ng Tinder at Bumble, walang kahingiang umayon sa pamantayan ng lipunang maging maputi’t brusko, balingkinitan, pantay ang ngipin, at walang tigyawat sa mukha. Hindi na bale kung napapanot ka na, o panay uban na ang buhok mo.

Ang mahalaga, napupunan ninyo ang pangangailangan ng isa’t isa, sekswal man o emosyonal.

At ito ang pangangailangang kinakapitalisa ng mga social networking sites, lalo na ng mga online dating applications.

Sakto ito sa tinatawag na “liquid modernity” ng sosyolohistang si Zygmunt Bauman. Aniya, sa isang mundong hinuhubog para sa pagkamal ng mas malaking kita, lumalabnaw na ang mga relasyong nalilikha ng tao sa isa’t isa. Dahil dito, lumiliit ang espasyo para sa mamamayan upang makipagkaibigan, at natutulak silang humanap ng mga alternatibong paraan upang mapunan ang pangangailangang ito.

At ito naman ang rason kung bakit nabuo ang grupong ito—upang punan ang kawalan ng sapat na espasyo

Ngiting tagumpay Bagaman nakuha na nila ang kanilang happily ever after pagdating sa pag-ibig, hindi naman dito nagtatapos ang kanilang kuwento.

Labas pa sa mala-fairy tale nilang pagtatagpo sa hindi inaasahang lugar, hindi pa rin nito nababago ang kahingian kina Lea at Joel na magtrabaho para sa pamilya, at sa binubuo nilang pangarap para sa isa’t isa, kung mayroon man.

Ito ang kaisipang nais itanim sa atin ng mga nasa likod ng iskemang ito—hindi na baleng hirap ka sa’yong trabaho, o hindi sapat ang sweldo, o kontraktwal; naririyan naman ang ginhawang hatid ng

teknolohiya, partikular ng social media, upang pawiin ang pagod ng nagdaang araw.

Dahil dito, tila nagiging kasangkapan na lamang ang pag-ibig upang pagtakpan ang katotohanang pinagkakakitaan lamang tayo ng mga malalaking korporasyong ito. At dahil wala pang alternatiba rito, patuloy tayong malulunoy sa ganitong uri ng sistema.

Kung kaya’t para kay Bauman, ang panawagan ay hindi sa pagbuwag ng mga espasyong ito, kundi sa pagpapanagot sa mga nasa likod ng patuloy na pagkamal ng kita mula sa pagkalugmok ng mamamayan, at kalauna’y sa paglikha ng lipunang walang naisasantabi, at malaya ang espasyo para sa lahat.

Pagkat ang tunay na esensya ng pagmamahal ay higit pa sa pagkalas sa limitadong espasyong inihahain sa kaniya, kundi tungo sa pagiibigang babasag sa mala-palengkeng oryentasyon ng pag-iibigan. •

*Hindi nila tunay na pangalan

Where do broken hearts go?

Kagaya ng mga sumasali sa mga online dating applications, malinaw ang layon ng mga miyembro ng grupong “samahan”—ang mapagbigyan ng ikalawang pagkakataon sa pag-ibig. Kaya’t kaniya-kaniya ang mga miyembro nito ng gimik upang mapansin–Facebook live, pagpo-post ng mga selfie, hanggang sa may magpahayag ng kaniyang interes sa’yo.

para sa mga katulad nilang naghahanap ng ikalawang pagkakataon sa pag-ibig. At dahil limitado rin ang espasyong ito, limitado rin ang maaari nilang pagpilian mula rito.

PAGE DESIGN • REX MENARD CERVALES

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KONTRA-AGOS ATHENA SOBERANO ILLUSTRATION • KIMBERLY ANNE YUTUC

SOLO FLIGHT Masaya rin palang sumubok na gawin ang mga bagay nang mag-isa — pero nakakapagod.

First time kong mag-commute mag-isa.

Bilang unica hija, bihira akong mabigyan ng pagkakataong gaya nito kaya ‘pag pinayagan akong umalis ng bahay na walang kasama, sinusulit ko talaga.

Pasikat pa lang ang araw, nakaalis na ako. Pero pagdating ko sa sakayan ng bus sa Magallanes, nagulat ako sa nadatnan ko: halos hindi mahulugang karayom ang dami ng taong nag-aabang ng masasakyan. Wala pa mang araw, tila amoy araw na’ng lahat.

Hindi ako sanay, pero pinili ko pa ring maghintay. Alas dyes pa naman ang pasok ko kaya hindi ko kailangang magmadali.

Nakasakay din naman ako. Maswerte akong naupo sa tabi ng bintana; naawa yata sa’kin ‘yung isang nanay kaya ako na lang ang pinauna niya. Akala ko magiging okay na ang byahe ko, hindi pa rin pala. Halos magkapalit na ng mukha ang mga pasaherong pilit nagsisiksikan habang nilalasap ang halo-halong amoy ng pawis at polusyon para sa agahan.

Mag-iisang oras na pero nasa Ayala pa lang kami. Gustuhin ko mang kumalma, hindi ko pa rin mapigilang mainis, gaya ng mga kasama

NO SILVER BULLET KIMBERLY ANNE YUTUC

While it is undeniable that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric continues to embolden racism in both individuals and institutions, it still stands that this problem has long predated him – and that he himself is a product of it.

14

kong mahuhuli na yata sa trabaho. Kaliwa’t kanan ang pagbusina ng mga mga sasakyang kasabay namin kahit wala namang magagawa ‘yun. Maging ang driver ng sinasakyan kong bus ay napapamura na lang sa lagay ng mga bagay.

Mag-a-alas otso y media na ng umaga. Pagod na akong magreklamo kaya pumirmi na lang ako sa kinauupuan ko at pinanood ang kahabaan ng daan. Sa paglipas ng minuto, lalong kumakapal ang bulto ng mga pasaherong naghihintay sa bawat bus stop, habang umaabot na ng ilang kilometro ang pila ng mga tao sa MRT. Bago ang lahat ng ito sa akin, at ayaw ko nang umulit. Maswerte ako dahil may choice ako, pero hindi lahat ng mga kasama ko ay gaya ko.

Higit isang oras pa ang lumipas bago kami nakarating sa Cubao. Malapit na ako sa UP pero sa dami ng kasabay ko sa daan, wala na akong pag-asang umabot sa klase. Hindi ko inaakalang ganito pala kahirap. Ibang-iba ito sa komportableng sasakyan na naghahatid at sumusundo sa akin araw-araw.

Lumipas ang higit isang oras, nakarating din ako sa UP. Late na ako, kaya tumambay na lang ako sa AS Lobby. Nakakapagod pala talaga.

Umaga pa lang, wala na akong lakas. Pero ano nga bang magagawa ko kundi lumaban pa rin, ‘di ba? Lilipas din naman ‘to. •

On the morning of August 3 in El Paso, Texas, Latino shoppers found themselves kneeling on the floor of a Walmart store, begging for mercy and praying as a gunman opened fire on them.

The massacre left 22 people dead.

Minutes before, the shooter had posted a manifesto online, speaking of a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.” The act of terror, as it turns out, had been raciallyfuelled: yet another addition to the growing list of mass shootings in the US that are driven by extreme hatred against people of color.

American politicians and media institutions responded quickly, declaring that it is high time to wage war against the country’s growing surge of white nationalism. This “war,” as they called it, would be carried out by expanding the police state through militarization and intensified surveillance. Conservatives and

liberals alike emphasized that law enforcement should target these domestic terrorists with the same vigor that they target radical Islamic terrorists.

What is amiss here, however, is the reality that these very social and political institutions share a history of espousing racial violence.

While it is undeniable that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric continues to embolden racism in both individuals and institutions, it still stands that this problem has long predated him – and that he himself is a product of it. In colonial America, patrollers tortured Black slaves into submission, and this specter of the country’s past remains very much alive today: a gruesome legacy that endures within the political establishments of present day America.

Numerous studies on racial profiling have shown that across the US today, African Americans

and Hispanics are more likely to be searched in traffic and pedestrian stops. Even entire neighborhoods face greater odds of fatal encounters with the police when their demographics primarily comprise people of color.

Even at the border between Mexico and the U.S., migrants become subjected to human rights abuses that have only worsened with Trump’s efforts to deter immigration. In camps horrifyingly reminiscent of those during the Holocaust, immigrant families are being detained in fenced-off areas without access to adequate food and healthcare.

To make matters worse, law enforcement itself has had a track record of supporting white supremacist ideology. At a Neo-Nazi rally in Georgia last year, heavily armed policemen aggressively patrolled and arrested counterprotesters.

Elsewhere in the country, numerous cops have been

revealed to have sympathized and collaborated with far-right groups.

Justice, then, is but a fantasy when the same beliefs held by extremists who wield guns underpin the very institutions tasked to keep the country’s peace.

While gun control laws are indisputably part of preventing mass shootings, the massacre in El Paso proves an imperative to address the longstanding history of structural racism. Without interrogating the racial violence in social and political institutions, solutions risk being blind to the bigger picture: that this form of domestic terrorism, shocking as it may be, is a mere symptom of a greater malady that the US has long been suffering from.

As long as white supremacy remains entrenched in the very foundations of American society, racial violence will persist – through the barrel of a gun or otherwise. •

phkule@gmail.com

OPED-GRPX

BARE NECESSITIES JOHN IRVING GANDIA

One thing has become clear to me: these housing units do not serve as places where they can rebuild their lives.

Nothing seemed wrong on the surface.

Everything surprisingly looked well in Tacloban City six years after Typhoon Yolanda struck the province. From the busy city streets to a bustling downtown area where most business establishments are located, one may be inclined to believe that the province and its people have indeed fully recovered from the calamity, as what the government claims.

But I wasn’t right. The moment we arrived at Ridge View Park, a relocation site on the outskirts of Tacloban, I realized that Yolanda victims are still struggling to get back on their feet. They may have welcomed us with wide smiles on their faces, but these can hardly conceal the burden they feel given the difficult situation they are caught in. Ridge View is a neighborhood in a state of despair situated far from the residents’ source of livelihood.

27 August 2019 • www.philippinecollegian.org

Jobelyn is one of the many unfortunate victims still left devastated years after the typhoon.

For one, the state-provided housing unit where her family stays is in itself a death trap and can hardly be considered a home. Its hollow walls crack when thunderstorms and weak earthquakes come. Even the ceiling cannot withstand the rainy season, while the loosely-placed roof can easily be taken away by strong winds.

Thousands of other units bear the same sorry state, with families of five members or more finding ways to maximize the limited space they have. It is disappointing that despite the huge amount of money poured for the construction of this housing project, it still fell short of the basic qualities it is expected to have – safe and decent.

There is not a time when parents in Ridge View worry for the safety of their children, for they are sure that their shelter cannot protect them when another

typhoon arrives. It seems as if Jobelyn and all the other victims survived only to experience a far worse situation now.

What’s worse is that decent housing is not the only thing the government has failed to provide.

Even a fully operational water system is unavailable in the area, leaving the residents with no other choice than to put up with contaminated water from tanks. Not only do they have to deal with limited supply, but they also worry about the diseases they might get from this supposedly basic resource.

None of the residents can even prioritize renovating these “completed” houses or build a proper waterline since basic needs like food and drinking water are not affordable to begin with. In order to survive the high cost of living, residents are pushed to work in downtown Tacloban, which is about an hour away from Ridge View.

One thing has become clear to me: these housing units do

not serve as places where they can rebuild their lives. If there’s anything these dilapidated structures prove, it is the fact that the government has greatly failed the Taclobanons.

Instead of providing the residents’ needs, the government banks on the idea of the people’s resilience to deny the state’s irresponsibility. But as long as they continue to suffer from the lack of basic social services, their plight is strong enough to counter the state’s narrative and expose the administration’s sheer incompetence.

Jobelyn and the rest of Ridge View residents know that in order to break away from their current condition, they should remain steadfast in fighting for what every Filipino rightfully deserves: a structure that shelters them from harmful weather, a space where they can sleep soundly at night, and a place where their families can build strong bonds – a home. •

15

ma ra lit a

W ika ng

n l a p u k r p i l a ka ka p ma ug sas mu an ka ito mai pag kan may a ha n im na ng n D Pu i n ta u’ e n ya ady y m ong ak la g niya Ma y n t n g s ir a ng a d la ng t d n g y s na ba ak ga ng yan s ba ng y i b a he lu tre a al ng al n g R an a w ka u l o k u a r i a a a ka g i g , n g ar u h m n n n a m i e r al m t h hi n nd ha lu na a ap g ka ni an T gin an pa aw sap ha ha t iin a ra g ra g i ga h ga n a a a n t b i n r n n u w l g a g s l g ir i bu a a pa l a m gl na -us ng ru ara no is a g gl p r ind na su p, kla yo os a di ata a a t n s t r h l a a a m g a l s n g a i l o a i r y i n a g t g w k u a a l g g y y n e e g a o . ni i l a y h . N s a u l m an t n in u m tu n n a g n ga ng s a ak an p a n t — a n ip g g ng ng p lim lid ng usu w n ad ito: n. N g c o g lun e a s a a - h ay mu a r gpa ng ag ba tura aay a s a s o a a Pa an k w . o t T a a m g a k ns m so rp ak a p ba ng aon ka ugo p, a ay rap aro at B n ng ga d, ho s e un p g k g u n g d n l b u am p a y n n g g u n s a t i t k r p p s g a l N , o a u u l E. ns m g na at on giy g m o, gp gi mg it d i n s t m ng — m o n n k u lt u ha a na ng an c ti ur a n g la ne s pon h ng a g g s n a a t d a a e b y o 9 u o a a a o a i m i a g r nd g r n r s a ng s a t n r a a a n o i, h g n ba ng t F s a d e r 0 s . ko am rap yab iba ral m kan ak Ro a k wa Ko klol a a g en Af ha um an ili an wo yb an a ng i sa r ye ind i t n a ip , n ak ta ap dr o t r o w y m ’ m e a n m a n l t r o k r a . n Ti ic na u ito g r rke r n A n t u nt a i p n g a e ng a u n an na ng Ka asa at ani nci ga ng ang na an y s b n a r sa aba n alo igo tra Pili tera r a m ti n ng na sy a s “ g i k s d l s p l p s o b l w - A n g o ag a , l it g a an ri- ya g ng i b s a m an ul g ad i b a y o a b D - dr i no l p k n a m a k a M p a a a h s p t g n k a u l m lu ut og at ng ro na n n pat i p ag ng ar g ib m g a mu hip arg u ay ng ; . r a s ya d a ng ng c k g n e n n p e s a a in g l a a be a p a ng da m P ina h s i r b p it a a d g art ’t a rte op m r e ka c o a n g i c a a m n g l a . T - h o a d o r b a i s t l u ya n s a l e m a n o p n g an a ga ina r a . d a an i s n y m g b n i k s n u a g t g s p p 1 a b r n y p A g a W , a a a t a a a . e N a l r a e 2 m a o Ba on i h s a la s a n n a a an a lyo su u m ng ng nr n sa a n a a ka g u r h a t ka n a s m a a m ra ng lan ip-h aluk p g awi king dre sa sa wan sa ng an g t n s a n g k a h l a n n. b e n it y u s i k N g ag e n g 6 u r i t h a s a p a n t w s k l i k g i s gu g r o a g t u l a a l i s i t n g g i wa o n g p a n g p a rs ” a e a a 0 s ge a ap M gg A n d ka ala g p p, uya mp an in gan s l y s n i b o w w a a l m k a l b i k a a bu i k t a u — nr a t a g a ay g i k r n i g a ag o na g an to ng ge ikh ng ku ito ng ian lag g- ku ilan e ga na ng s a o s a on ito sa sa ka y n m la h k Y i a a l i b i k t g s m m k l o n n a t s h t i ag o r n a a a ur n luk ind pa g a pin ala ku her at an b re n g l i p u tu r a a a m n a i g u r a g b uo an g k. sa r d e a ka m a l at i n a g n ka n g i m b u i o t l g a g ag n e — a p i n i t g i o y i n a n g k a l u g a p a ay . ng s g n a s r n la m y e i a ng ka t a . ka at ura . w s ba ga o, a it ba’ an ang ib k u u m n a g a a n s c l ya n g n To i m s n yo n a p g l ir a a u d d a n l n o t . o n a s g h w n k kt ika t pa ah g ip a m ng an d a k u e n an a pl g ng Ba a g u ka ay ib Ka ek ma sur iblib g an a pa kh m n o a a y n a r a g a r i t y g . o b g i i g m a u t u u m t o k l d t n e g n ra an p go a m kar o nal at n lang pa ng a ku no ent n. an b m i n p l a ao i s t a g A tm h o a l a we g a ka o n i k i b h it la ilan rin g k i l i k g a n ba n m a s a s a fl i p ns a i a a s a ay are ng o a p a ng k u b t a c r s m m s n g ; u y m S nu go an es n a an ba to g i an a g i sa un on - p r t b y p a s a y a u n a a h l a b k a ng mu yern su iha g han isyu ng ma r ya an kal al a l a n p n sy k di g p m a e n a d a n g g a s a re gg l u u ah k ba t . u. ina g g s s a n g an b i s a a ng b tug o. ri n Ko g ng ga ka syo g ka n ng ng s an n a l e h a a i n s t m g a s a n a i n l i te o a g s kl sa m ata on Ito a a at u ni lu lik n gi ub s a ila t uri ng Hi kah sa pa t t l d i s p o r n g e, . s a - h i p k a m r a p . m a h e g l a s g o o m a l t ag i s s a tn a u o ka d ya o is r ba n raa ga tu gk ele m ito , ito a n g a w i t r a l , i ka l a m a r i a hi ga aha kha sa ba it p ara ng la in er n t a ti p ap r n d M n n r o n . a i a a m a w b r y m ng n na in k g a Ha di pw d ng b a a p ng o , a an ni no na i k g er i b l arg s a g a g ng as a m o p i ni nar w n gp g s ate isyo ito a — a t ri n e w m o b a s i ng t m y a g g g yo n ’t a ay an S n ag ak rap rsa ang sa wat k to, ap a g o n. m a ak a lt ng ra ma a’y a sya Glo iya m D s u ind p a a i , g n a ag ka a n ba ng ic b ie a e k p a s ka a s m g r y P i p n aar na p i y l e s c - n kH c S r ir p r n gi l a on pa sin ng tina ng pe N ang nta ng w g 9 lip a in g e ay rim a pita agk a a a, a a inig ag ati h n l n g a e s e K a B s g eb ultu ay b g t t a r i a n la o no mu ib a g p a lte ng u s pa ba m t m m ar y o l ng ma ati lan aha kwe alak sta spe o-M ulo d i re or g a ng late it n an .

— la lum iga ng s a a ng d g. ng n a do k s i ag ak an ge i g sa rna teo ap ra coo b d g to y h a n st pa on g ma y r i b , tib an ng ti b re i n d l al t p kh y ak i na dm ab al g po a’t giye e m n s la s ku g y ng ng ba a ila p a a b i e a d a t r a i n g o al G a at um yo s d a r l l t n t i i g yo is s sa ru nr t u o n ka n kt ra a r i is K To ng te a n ili e t im ka ka am ng o n n g p o i ya i b a n o g a o l a c ra m a l g rn yu g nt an s a k h un hin ng r as na p pon , b i a n n t at nm pa n ng ng ult ng ina hin na k a a e a a d a g a g D a g hi ta m y ib rin taa ng ut an r a l ni r an d o s t h m ma ure p syo di ka l a n n g h i n g i — a a m o n g p a g t u b p - h a a an n l i p g ng t . e a i a i s m a a g g o n g n u o i m t , u m n r n w na ye i i n t n a ka s a , s c A g sa B a k s a y ng b g am D am o n mu p l a i ni m an an i na ng t , k ti - m e ks u n n s o hi m ag , la nga ang ikt is ay ute as k u ka h i ha i g g n a a p kl k . alu at h ltu g k a a s i h p ah g m a n, m m a an rte lan a in t thi ka P ten ng hir m nd ug nd u s un k u i n re ag n n g u i l i g a a ib g Pa asla os a g an t, n n ga a ya d i sa . D s g p i p a m a i a n ay i ku pin n sa g n o a M ag tu g ig m ng l a ng pa ng a i g a la l ar sa m p an o; ku t i n. yan ng ka m m m g in na an ay i ra- be ma O mg hil ir m aa a g d lt n Ito g n i m an an n t g b r l g t t pi a a g sa b g an ap e am pl a o b an o i ni g an ab k i k s u ah u r a i l al a ng g g n a n n , ta o is a m b s . i g ek at m ik lb i as g w sa ta b n yo sa l a t an r i p l t a at g ilis ay se ay ga at um n ta a al a m ha n g sa a g n n a p s g k n k e g b g p g ba N yu tu na a . W a n o r a l ay SH a ng g p stu a yon inap ha ang n. ti n t ta ilik sy lad ng art a s sta ami am s na EI dy m , n a y a l a a o l i i h y i a m s n LA g g g p a ak ba tu y ng a sa a n n na gi ta s k k an n o m n g p a a h b a d g a AB ng bu ng g k ng an an c ant un sa aila an er pa te. ba ag tog ng a AR ha K an m g- g a on an g lb l a g - m n o u n S ya i n p u g a t a b a o c n y y n RA ka nli kat o as ng lad p g g tu mg m ng lat ang la- an ak ert l ni pu u n an an r a ag k p l w i a m eral Di iha sa ng ka A ya s nan aya g b g k p k hind pa aba ayl ng ga h st m na pe ran ng a a n n aw ul un i pa ta ist bi ind ans na a t d l t a kt i y n g rsp iwa ku raw a n ng t is ura i m am ulo n im lan a. k , e n a y a a g a p l m tiw am ktib g tura ara aka mg ng hin agin ng ng d m g k m a ali bu a a ng w. aa a Pili i n g pe i s pin a w ayr ma an bu ng ma al oo p at sa pa m na k t yu o an n ag s b g a g o ng g g s un os lay ya m a sa n u m ai iisa ma dan ay a s a la iw n n a t g an g tal p ka ta m sa , w ti a. an las nik ay al nig Sa lab ag ala an g at lipu an sa ko n s la tin ang a te di ra g, l. •

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

KULTURA 27 August 2019 Volume 97 • Issue 02-03 www.philippinecollegian.org

g to: an l di n a ga er ng lat i ik o ak na K p a *M lbum a

DIBUHO AT DISENYO NG PAHINA • KIMBERLY ANNE YUTUC