Philippine Collegian Tomo 97 Issue 17

PHILIPPINE

COLLEGIAN

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

Volume 97 • Issue 17 • 12 pages Tuesday, 10 March 2020

NEWS Junking of fisheries code sought as fisherfolk cry foul over commercialized seas

3 FEATURES Wrong Turn What used to be 14 Toki jeepney units have now been whittled down to only three. A rerouting scheme in 2018 might have put their livelihoods at risk.

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EDITORYAL

DIBUHO • LOUISE SEGUI

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 FEATURES EDITOR Richard C. Cornelio KULTURA EDITOR Sheila Ann T. Abarra GRAPHICS EDITOR Karla Faith C. Santamaria

PAURONG, KAD! Muling humahakbang pasulong ang matagal nang atrasadong kultura.

Binigyan ng bagong bihis ng Kamara ang ilang taong pagdidiin ng pamahalaan na ibalik ang mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) sa panukalang Citizen Service Training Course (CSTC). Sa ilalim nito, obligado ang mga estudyante mula senior high school hanggang kolehiyo na lumahok sa pag-eensayong militar.

Para sa mga tagapagsulong ng mandatory ROTC tulad ni Senador Bato Dela Rosa, hangarin ng panukalang ito na ikintal umano ang diwa ng nasyonalismo at disiplina sa mga kabataan. Subalit sa aktwal, ang ituturo nito ay huwad na mukha ng nasyonalismong idinidikta ng baril—nakaugat sa karahasan, korapsyon, at kultura ng kawalang-pananagutan.

May bahid ng dugo ang kasaysayan ng ROTC. Matatandaang namatay sa kamay ng mas nakatataas na kadete si Mark Welson Chua, 19 na taong gulang, matapos niyang isiwalat ang korapsyong nangyayari sa kinabibilangang

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Inaalingawngaw ng ROTC ang karakter ng gobyernong nagtutulak dito: sinusuportahan ang patayan, binabantaang babarilin sa ari ang mga babaeng rebelde, at sunud-sunuran sa interes ng US at Tsina.

ROTC Unit sa Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas noong 2001.

Maraming estudyante na rin ang naging biktima ng hazing, na kadalasang humahantong sa kamatayan. Nitong nakaraang taon lang ay pinaslang ang 23 taong gulang na si Willie Amihoy ng kasamahan niya sa ROTC sa Iloilo State College of Fisheries bunsod ng simpleng pag-aaway.

Higit pa rito ay laganap din ang mental at berbal na abuso sa ngalan ng pagtuturo ng disiplina.

Patuloy na nadaragdagan ang tala ng karahasan kakabit

ng pagpapatupad ng ROTC sa paaralan dahil dito mismo nabubuhay ang ROTC: sa militaristang kultura ng pangaabuso.

Buhat ng marahas na kasaysayang ito, nilikha noong 2001 ang mga alternatibong kurso na Civil Welfare Training Service at Literacy Training Service na parehong nakatuon sa pagseserbisyo sa komunidad.

Simula noong napakilala ang mga programang ito sa kolehiyo, bumagsak ang bilang ng mga kabataang nais lumahok sa ROTC—mula 800,000 kada taon, bumaba ito sa 112,000 noong hindi na ito sapilitan—bagay na kinakatwiran ni Senador Dela Rosa na sapat na rason para buhayin ang mandatory ROTC. Subalit sinasalamin ng datos na ito ang pagtutol ng mga kabataan sa kulturang tinataguyod ng ROTC. Sapagkat sa harap ng pagaresto, intimidasyon, at pagakusa sa mga progresibong kabataan bilang kaaway ng estado, wala nang batayan ang pagpapanumbalik ng mandatory ROTC bukod sa maging kasangkapan ng estado para manghimasok at magmanman sa malaya at pulitikal na pagkilos ng mga kabataan.

Lantad ito sa balak na unang ilunsad ang mandatory ROTC sa UP gayong tinuturing ng militar ang pamantasan bilang “breeding ground” ng mga

diumano’y komunista, at aktibong isinusulong ng pamahalaan ang kontra-insurhensyang kampanya nito. Sa pamamagitan ng CSTC mapagtitibay ng militar ang presensya nito sa mga unibersidad salungat sa pagiging “zones of peace” ng mga paaralan.

Taliwas din ang kulturang militar sa progresibo at kritikal na pag-iisip na pundasyon ng kalayaang pang-akademiko sapagkat taal sa ROTC ang machismo, seksismo, at bulag na pagsunod sa nakatataas.

Inaalingawngaw ng ROTC ang karakter ng gobyernong nagtutulak dito: sinusuportahan ang patayan, binabantaang babarilin sa ari ang mga babaeng rebelde, at sunud-sunuran sa interes ng US at Tsina.

Habang hungkag ang patriyotismong pinamamalas ng pamahalaan, masikhay namang inilalaban ng kabataan ang libreng edukasyon para sa lahat, tinututulan ang militarisasyon sa kanayunan, at tumitindig kasama ng mga biktima ng iba’t ibang digmang inilulunsad ng gobyerno laban sa mamamayan.

Sapagkat wala sa bulag na pagmartsa at pagtutok ng baril ang tunay na diwa ng nasyonalismo, kundi nasa paglansag ng atrasadong sistemang puspos sa karahasan, nasa makabuluhang pakikisangkot sa pagsulong ng interes ng sambayanan. •

PABALAT • RANIELLA GRAZELL MARTINEZ

GUEST EDITORS Sanny Boy D. Afable Chester D. Higuit Elizabeth D. Magpantay Dylan P. Reyes STAFF Samantha M. Del Castillo Polynne E. Dira Isaac Joshua C. Ramos Jose Martin V. Singh Kimberly Anne P. Yutuc

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.phkule.org ••• Sampaguita Residence Hall University of the Philippines Quirino Avenue, Diliman Quezon City

NEWS

Junking of fisheries code sought as fisherfolk cry foul over commercialized seas PATRICIA POBRE

DANIEL SEBASTIANNE DAIZ For over two decades, the country’s small fisherfolk have lived to witness the gradual commercialization of their fishing grounds, as Republic Act (RA) 8550 or the Fisheries Code has failed to protect their welfare.

This, according to peasant organizations, is an adequate reason to repeal the existing act and push for a new law that would serve their interests.

At a protest action in Mendiola on February 24 dubbed “Ahon Mangingisda,” fisherfolk from Metro Manila and nearby provinces slammed the provisions of the Fisheries Code that allow commercial fishing vessels and private aquaculture industries to ravage local fishing grounds.

Since 2008, the total fish production of municipal fisherfolk has decreased by 17 percent, equivalent to more than 200,000 metric tons, as the commercial and aquaculture sectors’ share grew, per the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Contrary to the law’s supposed aim of prioritizing the welfare of the local fisherfolk, it has instead brought harm by imposing cumbersome fines and penalties on small fishers who violate provisions of the law.

Exorbitant fines Myrna Candinato, owner of a small fishing boat in Bacoor City, Cavite, recalled her experience from weeks ago when she was ordered to pay P1,500 when her boat reached the waters of Parañaque City. On top of this, her catch for that day, amounting to P1,900, was also confiscated.

Candinato’s violation is only one of the many transgressions

a fishing operator can commit, with exorbitant fines ranging from P500 to P60,000 (see sidebar).

“Nagbayad na nga kami ng multa … kinumpiska pa yung mga huli na katumbas na ng isang araw naming kita,” she said, adding that the authorities did not give them official receipts for their payment for violations. “Kaya tinitingnan namin ito bilang isang tipo ng pangongotong sa dagat.”

In August 2019, four commercial fishing boats were nabbed in Araceli, Palawan for the same violation Candinato has committed. Although they violated the Fisheries Code, the authorities only used a municipal ordinance as a basis for the fine, which only cost the fishing company about P80,000. Under the code, the fine for such a violation could reach as much as P5 million, depending on the frequency of offense.

Local fisherfolk lament such unfair treatment, especially now that commercial fishing companies dominate the seas.

Commercial vessels account for 80 percent of Metro Manila’s fish production, in contrast to small vessels’ meager share of eight percent, per 2018 data of BFAR. “Yung mga mangingisdang maliliit ang nagiging palabigasan ng [local government] dahil nga sa paglampas nila sa mga teritoryong [pwedeng mapangisdaan],” Salvador France of fisherfolk group Pamalakaya said. “Di naman talaga alam ng mangingisda kung saan ang boundary, [dahil] wala namang nakalagay na muhon sa dagat.”

Off the hook While small fishing boats are immediately held accountable for their violations, authorities have been lenient to big vessels. In fact, it was only in January 2020 that the BFAR, for the first time, decided to permanently cancel a permit to operate of a commercial

10 March 2020 • www.phkule.org

vessel. Although FV Raizza has repeatedly committed the violation of entering areas beyond what its permit allows, it still took months before a decision for their case was meted out.

This only shows that the law is only harshly applied to small fisherfolk, while big-ticket fishing operations are left off the hook for their violations, according to France.

An amendment to the Fisheries Code exacerbated the situation for the likes of Candinato.

While the amendment in 2015 banned the entry of commercial vessels into local waters, they failed to amend Section 18(a) of the code which still allows big vessels on municipal waters, as long as they do not cover areas that are 13 meters deep or less.

This amendment was passed as part of the government’s effort to avert the European Union’s blacklisting of the country’s fish exports, which were projected to cost the economy about P9.4 billion, the government announced, then.

that would enact well-meaning reforms for the fisheries sector.

The resolution was, however, never taken up for deliberation.

Groups are still hopeful about the proposed measure to elevate BFAR as a department, which would compel the government to protect the rights of small-scale fisherfolk in their traditional fishing ground. All 12 bills to that effect, however, remain on the committee level.

But so long as the interests of commercial fishing companies supersede that of the local fishermen, the fishing sector

Genuine reforms With small fisherfolk suffering from the unfair provisions of the law, France said that Pamalakaya, along with other peasant groups, urge the Congress to review the present law, and craft a new measure that would finally pave the way for genuine reform in their sector.

The fisheries sector not only makes the Philippines one of the top producers of fish worldwide, along with China, Indonesia, and the United States, but it also provides the livelihood of two million Filipinos, per BFAR data.

During the 17th Congress, the Makabayan bloc filed a resolution to review the shortcomings of the Fisheries Code prior to creating a new bill

INFOGRAPHIC • LEIJH HANNE ALIANZA

would remain unevenly skewed against small fisherfolk like Candinato whose only wish is to earn for their families.

“Dapat matagal nang ibinasura ang Fisheries Code, pero ang nangyayari ay mas lalo pa nito [kaming] ginigipit sa mga multang ito,” she said during the February 24 mobilization.

“Itong mga batas na ito ay may pinapaboran. Commercial fishing naman ang lumilimas ng isda,” France said. “[Kaya ang nangyayari], dumarami ang magingisda, pero [parang] lumiliit ang dagat.” •

Sidebar • SOME VIOLATIONS OF THE FISHERIES CODE AND ITS CORRESPONDING PENALTIES NATURE OF VIOLATION

PENALTY

SECTION 86

Unauthorized fishing

For commercial vessels: Fine of P50,000-P5,000,000

SECTION 92

Dynamite fishing, use of Sodium Cyanide, or electrocution of fishes

Imprisonment of six months to two years, and fine of P10,000-P3,000,000

SECTION 93

Use of fine mesh net

Imprisonment of six months to two years, and fine of P20,000-200,000

SECTION 97

Ban on muro ami and other destructive fishing methods

Operator, boat captain: Imprisonment of two to 10 years and/or fine of P2,000,000

SECTION 100

Fishing during closed seasons

Imprisonment of six months to six years, and fine of P20,000-500,000

SECTION 101

Fishing in sanctuaries

Imprisonment of two to six years, and/or fine of P20,000-P1,000,000

SECTION 102

Fishing or taking of rare or endangered species

Imprisonment of 12 to 20 years, and fine of P500,000-5,000,000

SECTION 106

Violation of catch ceilings

Imprisonment of six months to six years, and fine of P20,000-5,000,000

SECTION 107

Aquatic Pollution

Imprisonment of six years to 12 years, and fine of P300,000-500,000

SECTION 113

Commercial fishing vessels with unlicensed crew or fisherfolk

A fine of P4,000 for each unlicensed crew or fisherfolk

SOURCE: Chapter VI of RA 8550, as amended by RA 10654

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NEWS

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN MALAYA • Nagkaisa ang iba’t ibang grupo upang tutulan ang karahasan at pagbali sa katotohanan, Marso 7 sa UP Film Center. Nagbabadya ang panganib sa demokrasya dahil sa pagpapakulong sa mga progresibo, pagpapasara ng ABS - CBN, at pagsusulong ng Anti-Terrorism Bill. “Ang sining ang kaluluwa ng ating bayan. Ang kalayaan sa pamamahayag ang kaluluwa ng demokrasya. ‘Pag dumating ang panahong wala na ang mga iyan, wala na ang bayan,” ani direk Joel Lamangan.

JOEL ANDREI RAMIREZ

Publications press for bill seeking to enhance campus journalism JOEY ABESAMIS Campus press freedom violations have become prevalent over the years despite a law that supposedly protects student journalists from such attacks. For nearly three decades, the Campus Journalism Act (CJA) or Republic Act (RA) 7079 has been practically futile, rendering the need for a new law that would truly serve the interest of the student press.

Filed in July 2019, Kabataan Party-list authored the Campus Press Freedom (CPF) bill or House Bill (HB) 319 to repeal the CJA. A technical working group under the House Committee on Higher Technical Education was created on February 17 to look into the matter.

“The CJA, however crafted with noble intentions, has been found to contain serious flaws that resulted [to] even more violations ... instead of truly protecting the rights and welfare of student journalists,” said Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago in a statement. Since 2010, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) has tallied 1,000 campus press freedom violations.

Defunding Publications in state universities are no stranger to these difficulties, especially when it comes to the issue of defunding. Tinig ng Plaridel, the official student publication of the UP Diliman College of Mass Communication, knows this all too well. But what makes their situation even more dreadful is the administration’s refusal to recognize the publication as an institution in the college.

“Since we’re not recognized, we can’t really have sufficient machinery that we need for our day to day operations,” said editor-inchief Jefferson Losito. “We cover news every now and then, which really requires equipment and allowance for transportation [but] we can’t cover much … because of the lack of recognition and lack of funding.”

Although the CJA specifies where student publications can source their fund, the law does not oblige the school administration to collect publication fee from students. The vague provisions of the Free Tuition Policy exacerbated the problem, derailing the operations of many student publications for not having

sufficient fund to operate.

“Student publications should be run, managed, and financially supported by their primary audience,” said Ryan Martinez, CEGP deputy secretary-general. “At the same time, the administration should promote and recognize campus journalism while respecting their editorial independence and fiscal autonomy.”

Censorship and harassment Aside from defunding issues, student publications at any level remain highly susceptible to censorship and harassment. In 2018, the administration of San Beda University halted the distribution of The Bedan Roar because of the senior high school publication’s critical and negative contents, based on previous reports.

Meanwhile, state forces in Samar interrogated and intimidated the editor of The Pillar, University of Eastern Philippines’ official student publication, after a mobilization which the publication had organized in August 2019.

The CEGP filed a complaint before the Commission on Higher Education last July to have these attacks investigated. Eight months

hence, the agency has yet to respond to their complaint.

“What we’re seeing in the attacks on campus press freedom is a manifestation of a targeted attack on any form of dissent in the country,” Martinez noted. “What we’re trying to defend [here] is the sense of academic freedom in our schools.”

Defending the campus press For the longest time, perpetrators of campus press freedom violations remain free from any repercussions because the law does not have a penalty clause. This is exactly what the CPF bill would like to change, as the bill seeks to penalize those who would commit violations so as not to let them get off the hook.

The bill also provides for the mandatory collection of publication fee from students to ensure the continued operations of student publications.

Moreover, HB 319 mandates the establishment of student publications in all universities.

“Campus journalism is essential. To say that they’re not important is also to discredit the hard work and initiative of the students to make themselves

informed about the issues in the country,” said Losito.

More than being a platform for students to voice their concerns, student publications are among the institutions that embody the democratic rights and freedom of students which continue to be under attack, according to Martinez.

Given the critical nature of their work, some student editors and writers have been sanctioned in the past for their works deemed libelous. Should the CPF bill be signed into law, student journalists would be provided with stronger legal security, to protect them from expulsion or other similar penalties for such supposed infringements as libel.

This, in turn, would allow them to freely perform their function as campus journalists.

“The relevance of the campus press is that it also serves as a platform for community journalism,” Martinez said, highlighting the role of student publications to report the issues of the marginalized. “The niche occupied by campus journalism emphasizes the role, the struggle, the voices of freedom for those who are not covered by the mainstream industry.” •

Village C residents stand ground amid hasty clearing operations JOSE MARTIN SINGH Martiniano Cinco had always thought of leaving Village C to watch over his provincial home. He later left the thought behind because of tensions wrought by the hasty clearing operations in his current settlement. Rather than nudge him away, the UP administration’s move to displace them only pushed him to fight for the community he has lived in for over 40 years.

Since 2018, the UP administration has been asking Village C residents to leave and make way for the construction of housing units for faculty and research, extension, and

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professional staff. As long as residents are still around, there can be no set deadline for the completion of the project, said Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia in an interview with the Collegian. Today, residents’ homes are enclosed in high iron fencing beside a wide plot of unoccupied land in UP Diliman.

“Iniilagan nila yung bakante [na lupa sa tabi], kinukulong yung may bahay,” Cinco said. “Gusto lang namin yung court order. Hinihintay namin yung approval ni [Quezon City] mayor Joy Belmonte [kasi] sa kalsada kami titira kung pinilit ng UP tibagin [bahay namin].”

Some 40 residents have already transferred to Pook Malinis after the Office of Community Relations (OCR) handed them

waivers guaranteeing P5,000 as an exchange for their consent since December 15, according to the waiver shown by members of Waray Urban Poor Association, a recently formed organization in Village C. “Hindi naman kami nakikipaglaban na angkinin ang lupa, e. Nagaantay lang kami ng tamang proseso para mabigyan kami ng sapat na pabahay. Hindi yung dahas ang ginagamit sa amin,” said Cinco, the group’s president.

Pernia, however, said the residents are being aided by the Quezon City local government with their needs. “The Quezon City local government is providing financial assistance to informal settler families who have self-built housing, so that they can voluntarily dismantle them and then transfer to

Pook Malinis,” said Pernia.

Self-built units are structures within UP Diliman without permits, whether occupied by UP or nonUP personnel, according to the UP Housing Rules of 2018.

The Quezon City Mayor’s Office is eyeing a 1,800-hectare land along the Batasan Road for their relocation while negotiations over land title transfers are being finalized, said Rey Beaquin, an adviser of Waray Urban Poor.

Though the residents have expressed approval of the said option, they continue to raise concerns about the hostile treatment they get at the hands of OCR officials. The local government, however, advised the residents to stay put until relocation plans are finalized, said Cinco,

adding that the Pook Malinis area is only a temporary settlement.

The supposed relocation site has seen demolitions and fires in the past year, giving residents enough reason to be vigilant.

“Yung gusto namin ay yung pangmatagalang tirahan,” said Beaquin. “Ang hinahangad namin ay sana ang UP makinig naman sa Quezon City.” Right now, the residents still await a dialogue with the UP administration and the local government to address their concerns.

Cinco’s experiences in Village C reinforced his belief in fighting for a just and peaceful process for the residents. “Kahit anong pagsisikap ng tao, kapag hindi nasuportahan ng pagkakaisa, lalong gigipitin ng malalaking tao.” •

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NEWS

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But even if the first phase of the project gets finished this year, students would still be unable to use these facilities, for the scope of the contract only includes the structure, not the furnishings necessary for the building.

‘Change order’ delays SU opening indefinitely DANIEL SEBASTIANNE DAIZ Student formations might find themselves still stuck in cramped spaces for the months to come, as the completion of the Student Union (SU) building scheduled in December 2019 has been delayed indefinitely, according to the implementing agency of the project, Quezon City 2nd District Engineering Office (QCSDEO) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Additional demolition works and minor structural changes still have to be implemented before the project could be completed, said Adlay Tolentino, an engineer from the Planning Section of QCSDEO, in a phone interview with the Collegian.

“Additional changes sa work in walling, excavation, and partition [ang kailangan pang gawin],” Adlay said. “Hindi pa namin masasagot [kung kailan] yung project completion date dahil nasa process of approval pa lang yung change order,” he added. These last-minute changes are done due to unforeseen works and conditions that might not have been expected during the project’s planning stage, said Adlay.

Variation orders (VOs) are processed at least 75 working days before the changes could be implemented. This document, like the contract, includes planning, formulation of cost estimates, and approval by the district engineer, per DPWH rules.

Cramped space Broken ground on October 20, 2018, the SU building is envisioned to be the new student center of UP Diliman.

The nearly P200 million project is a seven-story building designed to house the offices of the University Student Council (USC), the Collegian, and other student formations, along with facilities for student activities previously located in Vinzons Hall. Offices attached to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, on the other hand, would occupy Vinzons.

The Phase I of the SU building was expected to finish last December 15. But that target has now come and gone due to the VO requested by the contracting party QCSDEO that specifies the modifications on the contract. The cost of these changes, however, shall not exceed 10 percent of the original amount, according to DPWH department order (DO) 204 in 2004.

These delays, according to

10 March 2020 • www.phkule.org

USC Chairperson Sean Thakur, would only contribute to the risks and inconveniences that students experience in the cramped Vinzons Hall Tambayan Complex. “[M]agtutuloy-tuloy ang pagtitiis ng mga nasa tambayan complex sa ipit na ipit na espasyo dahil sa mga barikada sa paligid ng mga tambayan,” said Thakur, adding how cumbersome it has been for student organizations to transact with student service offices relocated to different buildings upon the renovation of Vinzons Hall.

As the designated student spaces in the university remain idle due to construction works, Thakur said that student formations are forced to look for other venues in order to hold their activities. For the part of the USC, there were instances when they had to conduct their meetings in the Diliman Learning Resource Center, adjacent to their office in Sampaguita Residence Hall.

Further delays With the project’s completion date still up in the air, Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia nonetheless assured that the buildings would be utilized as soon as the contractor turns it over to the university. This process,

however, spells another bout of delays and bureaucratic processes.

Per DPWH guidelines, projects are turned over to the end-user—in this case, UP—to mark the project’s completion.

The end-user then inspects the building’s compliance with the agreed specifications in the contract. This inspection process, however, has no time limit. Until UP signs the certificate of completion, the projects remain under the custody of the DPWH. But even if the first phase of the project gets finished this year, students would still be unable to use these facilities, for the scope of the contract only includes the structure, not the furnishings necessary for the building. That, again, would need to go through the government procurement process which may last from 26 to 126 days.

The construction of the SU building is just one of the infrastructure projects in UP that have been delayed due to these VOs. The ongoing construction of the new student dormitory along Balagtas Street, for instance, has been stalled for at least four times because of these orders made by the Project Management Office.

The proliferation of VOs is an issue that the DPWH

GRAPHICS • MIKHAELA CALDERON

sought to address in DO 28 in 2015, placing emphasis on the importance of an accurate project planning to avoid creating these changes so late into a project’s construction and, ultimately, to prevent delays in turnover.

Yet the university allows these delays as long as the contractors give valid justifications, said Pernia.

“Kung reasonable yung reason for extension, e ano ba namang ibigay yon ...

[Kapag] hindi [na] reasonable, magbabayad ng penalty yung contactor,” she said.

But for Thakur, the administration should also consider the welfare of the students who suffer the most because of these delays.

“Sa malalim na usapin, ito ay bumabangga sa karapatan sa maayos at libreng espasyo ng mga pormasyon sa unibersidad,” he said, citing how some organizations resort to renting costlier venues for their events since the cheaper alternative in Vinzons is unavailable.

“Hindi dapat maging daan ang pagbubukas ng SU building sa komersyalisasyon.

Hinahamon natin ang administrasyon na [gawing] libre at aksesible sa lahat ng pormasyon ang mga pasilidad na ito, recognized man o hindi,” Thakur added. •

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Suffer the Little Children The overdue struggle to criminalize child marriage RICHARD CALAYEG CORNELIO

The Philippines stands as a global hub for perpetrators of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). Any efforts at stifling this epidemic must be holistic, directed to benefit children who are yet to have a bright future.

Adults are just obsolete children, in the words of American children’s book author Dr. Seuss, and indeed they are—except when the opposite is true.

One Filipino child is likely to be born every 14 seconds, per United Nations (UN) population estimates in 2019, into one of the millions of households squeaking by below the poverty line and forced to grow up ahead of her years. Not only should most of them take on adulthood, by virtue of their parents’ circumstances; some do so, fairly early on, by sheer lack of agency over the mishaps and miseries they are married into.

That the child becomes a mother is true for every one in six Filipino girls, according to a survey

among women aged 20 to 24 by the National Demographic and Health Survey in 2017. They are those who grew up in the 1990s, around the same time the country aligned its commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by setting, in the Family Code, the lowest age of marriage at 18. They, too, have lived to see the law bear no weight on the drivers churning out teen brides and mothers in the next generation.

Whether legislation could slacken this trend is yet to be seen, but the question, at present, is if such a bill prohibiting and declaring child marriage illegal would first gain traction at all in Congress.

Filed early this month, Senate Bill No. 1373 seeks to impose stringent penalties to those who facilitate or arrange early and forced marriages. Fixers could suffer a

P40,000 fine at the minimum or, should they be an ascendant or a guardian of the minor, a fine of not less than P50,000 and a prison sentence of up to 12 years. Additional sanctions may be meted out in view of Republic Act No. 7610 that aims to arrest “circumstances which gravely threaten or endanger the survival and normal development of children.”

Precise figures of the situation are deficient. A 2017 study by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ranks the country as having the 12th highest number of child brides worldwide at 726,000. Their loss of innocence too soon marks a realization of their incapacity to negotiate sexual activity (see sidebar 1).

Worse off than in the city, those in the countryside are no more spared from such cruelty than if they can afford basic education, so long as they remain fettered to the bottom rung of the income ladder (see sidebar 2).

Still, the tragic sense of this

crime neve many depr these nonis dete struc these T disp of op vuln girls fixed and trans of fa secu fami A of vi right that youn but. irony likely less grac as c adul othe

internet use list in 2019—and this combination, amid an economy servile to foreign demands, does well to incubate OSEC.

Allian She forei from mino P are “Par tingin yung kasa when woul R depr victim well strain and navig

No Longer Child’s Play ISAAC RAMOS

For some children, a normal school day follows routine: breakfast, bath, dress-up, a 15-minute check of stuff before setting out for school.

Some, however, see 15 minutes altogether a different thing: undressing for white men someplace far away. Only after the deed is done would they check if everything is in order for school: books, pens, notebooks, and of course, allowance—a measly amount earned from the show.

The surge of cases of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) in the Philippines has led the United Nations Children’s Fund to identify the country as the “global epicenter of the livestream sexual abuse trade”—a fact still relatively unknown to most Filipinos.

This crime operates fluidly in a country where many are poor amid an economy unable to empower them and tied to foreign demands. With laws for child protection either lacking or yet to be implemented, poor

children are left even more vulnerable. Countering such a heinous trend must not only involve strengthening legal means but also translate to communities developed and mobilized for support.

Stuck in the night It is appalling that, while the Philippines swore by the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), it is now a hotbed of this global menace.

OSEC encompasses “all acts of a sexually exploitative nature carried out against a child that have, at some stage, a connection to the online environment,” per the Luxembourg Guidelines, a document defining terms related to sexual exploitation and abuse of children.

In 2018 alone, the Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime reported child sexual abuse materials—photos, videos, and livestreams—shared and sold, amounting to around 600,000.

Even this number comes mostly from tip-offs from the US-based National Center for Missing and

Exploited Children, telling of an inaccurate picture reliant much on data from international NGOs and advocacy groups.

The government’s ineptitude proves more troubling because as something whose full extent is yet to be brought to light, OSEC can only be deterred if the government is willing to assist.

“OSEC lang talaga yung title pero actually ... online-offline sexual abuse and exploitation of children yan,” explained Nenita Dalde of the Child Rights Network (CRN), an alliance of organizations pushing for children’s rights legislation. She noted that, although contacts may begin online, they may extend to offline transactions, making tracking a tall order.

But, complicating the matter, OSEC exists at the nexus of problems generated in the quagmire of poverty.

Interestingly, too, the internet remains easily accessible—the Philippines topped the global

ILLUSTRATION • KIMBERLY ANNE YUTUC

Scarred for life Multiple vectors of exploitation meet wherever OSEC occurs. Children already caught in poverty are again exploited in front of webcams for foreigners’ gratification. They are given a bit of the payment, while the larger chunk goes to facilitators who are often their own parents, relatives, or neighbors.

“Halimbawa, i-offer kita sa isang pedophile, sa isang client ng P2,000, makukuha mo lang P200,” Dalde said.

Some cases prove to be traumatically sickening. “Yung iba, dalawang magpinsan sila, 13 and 12 years old, pinagsesex sila sa harap ng tito nila.

So, yung iba, ginagamitan pa ng karahasan, tinatali,” said Fionna Pelayo, program staff from the progressive network Salinlahi

Forg It rise strat urge perp of re were

PAGE DESIGN & INFOGRAPHICS

e’s toll on the victims may er be fully accounted for—with y more unreported in the most ressed fringes and where e practices are culturally a ssue—or offset by legislative errents that hardly rock the ctural inequalities scaffolding e human rights violations.

The viciousness of gender parity is real, but the scarcity pportunities sharpens such erability. Bred in poverty, s circle the edges of a trap d by mercantile notions social norms. Consent is sactional, a feudal auditing actors ranging from financial urity and safety nets to ily honor.

A denial of these patterns iolence is an assumption of teousness, of the fantasy the society cares for the ng when it does anything It calls for no sense of y to imagine that youth is y to fade out as always, of a jump-cut than a ceful transition—except, children turned premature lts exemplify, when it proves erwise. •

nce for Children’s Concerns. recalled the case of a igner who often livestreamed m his apartment the abuse of ors using ropes and sex toys.

Perhaps the worst impacts on the victims’ disposition. rang ang nangyayari pa, n pa nung mga bata, siya g may mali, siya yung may alanan,” lamented Pelayo n she described how victims ld react upon rescue.

Rendered vulnerable to ression and social isolation, ms could carry these effects into adulthood. This could n their future relationships impair their capacity to gate adult life.

ging the future t sets off alarm that the in such cases outpaces tegic response and ent intervention. Only 27 petrators of the thousands eports in the country in 2018 e brought to law, according

S • DYLAN REYES

FEATURES place of residence

urban 5.4%

highest level of educational attainment

income group

rural 12.5%

Sidebar 2 GIRLS AGED 15 TO 19 CURRENTLY IN UNION IN PH

higher ed.

4.1%

secondary ed.

6.7%

primary ed.

18.9%

SOURCE: “Early Marriage: A Statistical Exploration,” UNICEF, 2005

Sidebar 1 METHODS OF SEXUAL COERCION USED BY PERPETRATORS DURING INCIDENTS OF FORCED CONSUMMATED SEX IN PH SOURCE: “National Baseline Study on Violence against Children: Philippines,” UNICEF, 2016

Verbal insistence Sweet talk

33.9% 30.4%

30.4%------

Verbal deception

23.2%-----------------

Bribery w/ favors and gifts

17.9%--------------------------

Threats of shaming

17.9%--------------------------

Drugs and/or alcohol

14.3%-------------------------------

Physical harm

10.7%----------------------------------- .

Threats w/ weapon

5.4%..

........

Fixed marriage

3.6%----------------------------------- -----------

Verbal bribery

1.8%------------------------------- ------------------

to the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State.

While legal measures against child abuse, exploitation, and pornography are in place, they prove insufficient in prosecuting OSEC perpetrators and delivering justice to victims.

According to the CRN, existing laws fail to define OSEC and outline corresponding penalties, thus posing a challenge to the campaign against this epidemic.

As bills like House Bill 1373, seeking stiffer penalties on perpetrators, find their way into Congress, groups like the CRN ensure to engage experts from different fields such as information technology, so that these bills

would be comprehensive.

For all the breadth and scope of OSEC, legislative efforts must be offered vis-a-vis efforts to curb poverty and deliver basic social services. For both Dalde and Pelayo, providing more employment opportunities, for example, may help veer people away from profiting from OSEC. Ultimately, the decisiveness of these strides may only be realized through the communal and intersectoral cooperation to build a network of care and support. It might take a village to strip children of their dreams, yet it would also take a village, a strong and united one, to raise children who would be free to dream for their future. •

no ed.

30.9%

richest fourth middle 20% quintile quintile 1.9% 5.1% 7.6%

second quintile 15.5%

poorest 20% 21.7%

FEATURES What used to be 14 Toki jeepney units have been whittled down to only three.

A rerouting scheme in 2018 might have put their livelihoods at risk.

JIM BAGANO

Wrong Turn Noel Salvador, 60, drove his jeepney for the last time last year. It was a pursuit of luck. While he hoped he would still be earning a decent income, his old age could not bear the exhaustion of driving the whole day just to obtain the minimum that would suffice for food for his family of six.

“Sabi ng anak ko, ‘Huwag ka na Papa bumiyahe kasi nagkakasakit ka na,’” says Salvador. He had no choice but to augment the number of trips he originally made. Still with no luck, he keeps his jeepney stuck in a garage, barely used.

In a memorandum by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA) last February 14, the university yet again plans for another rerouting that will hold only for Sundays and Holidays. A dry run was conducted on March 8, and all jeepney lines entered the university following a clockwise direction. “[Kung sa mga plano,] implementation na kaagad,” Salvador says. “Ang transport sector ay [kinokonsiderang] nonentity … ibig sabihin, hindi na dapat kinokonsulta.”

The disjunct in planning makes Salvador unprepared for what is to come—with his livelihood, most especially, at stake.

Toki drivers, in fact, are yet

08

to recover from the rerouting implemented in 2018. The scheme back then affected the lines of UP Pantranco, SM North Edsa, Philcoa, and Toki, making them traverse a similar route inside the university.

Since Toki jeeps are relatively fewer than the other lines, they were outnumbered and outcompeted. The route that had once given Toki drivers income for their families soon became no longer so promising.

Forced detour “Ngayon, [nagpapasalamat] ako [na] tapos na ang tatlo kong anak nang humina ang biyahe,” Salvador expresses. “Sila naman ang nagpapaaral sa isa nilang kapatid.”

Salvador had been a driver plying the Toki route for almost 28 years. He recalled being able to support the college education of his three children, even when their family’s only source of income, then, was Salvador’s trips.

The rerouting back in 2018, however, created a route redundancy as all other jeepney lines ply the route that had once been taken only by Toki. Their significantly fewer numbers have put them at a disadvantage, and their income dropped as a consequence.

Many Toki drivers were forced

to look for jobs elsewhere. Some became Grab drivers. Some went home to their provinces and ended up farming. Some even went as far as selling their jeepney units to earn money.

Salvador, on the other hand, went to construction, to his children’s dismay. He recalls being told by one of his children, “Kami na ang bahalang magpakain sa’yo.

Diyan ka na lang muna sa bahay.”

The call to support Toki drivers is more than just an emotional plea.

Besides their families, students, too, depend on Toki drivers who could pick them up at the College of Science and Engineering Complex and drop them off at other colleges. Especially during the rainy season, and given that not all have cars of their own, many students would find it all the harder to commute when all but three Toki jeepneys fall off the face of UP. Road closed Central to the policies that involve the restructuring of vehicle routes inside the campus is the land use plan of the university, which declares particularly the Academic Oval the “academic core” of UP. This is part of the long-term objective for a sustainable transport system inside the campus that involves pedestrianizing the oval by promoting walking and cycling.

Back in the rerouting that happened around the Academic Oval in 2008, for example, then Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Cynthia Grace Gregorio noted that, besides adding a bike lane, the program aimed to curb local air pollution.

The memo of the OVCCA in

July 2018 that instituted the recent rerouting scheme also promoted the same objective. “We hope that this scheme will lessen the concentration of vehicle emissions in the campus,” it says.

However, solving the complex problem of air pollution does not entail simple solutions.

“There are other ways [to reduce emission] apart from totally eliminating the sources,” explains Dr. Gerry Bagtasa, an air quality expert from the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM).

He enumerated other pollution mitigation techniques that would not necessarily entail the ban of public utility vehicles (PUVs) such as proper maintenance and use of cleaner fuels, smooth driving, and better traffic flow, which, for jeepney drivers in UP, could be achieved using a well-thought out rerouting plan.

For, often, actions from the administration that pursue supposed environmental goals paint a picture antithetical to the interests of PUV drivers. They disprove this false dichotomy and even voluntarily abide by the requirements set by the administration.

“Para sa usok? Lahat naman tayo dumadaan sa inspection,” Salvador says, noting the annual emission test jeepney drivers themselves undergo before they can get their permit renewed.

“Taun-taon namang may nagiinspect. Taga-Engineering pa nga ngayon at saka DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) ang nag-iinspect ng mga jeep.”

What drivers say affected them the most was the seemingly abrupt and ill-studied route that delivered a huge blow on their earnings. The decrease in their

PHOTOS • EULAN MALLARI

income also diminishes their economic viability to even further maintain their jeeps.

“Kung kayang paghiwahiwalayin para hindi masyadong naagaw ng ibang ruta ang pasahero ng Toki, gawin sana,” Salvador explains. “Sana pagaralan ulit.”

Crossroads ahead The ongoing construction around most parts of the university makes road networks subject to change from time to time. Jeepney drivers are, however, left uncertain, more so when the implementation of route schemes is not properly consulted with them.

“Kasi hindi pa naman tapos [ang] mga [transport] network natin sa campus ngayon,” expresses Daniel Mabazza, a member of the National Council for Transportation Studies (NCTS), a research center based in UP Diliman that also conducts studies geared towards a wellintegrated transportation system.

“Kapag nakalatag na nang matino ang network, I think [that’s the time] na tama na nating gawing pag-aralan talaga yung ruta na efficient,” adds Mabazza.

However, Salvador and his group can ill afford to look too far ahead when their livelihoods are currently on the line. Although they have had initial dialogues with the OVCCA, the issue of rerouting proves to be way more than the concern of only one jeepney line.

“Pero isipin din natin, may mga requests na baka hindi ma-grant,” says Paul Mabaquiao, acting director of the Transport Management Office under the OVCCA. “Kasi syempre ang kailangang sagot ay para sa pangkalahatan.”

This only means the UP administration needs to work even more closely with all stakeholders involved in the transport sector, especially the operators and drivers of PUVs. It still has a lot to go in terms of formulating and implementing rerouting schemes inside the campus.

Despite the dire condition the Toki line is now under, Salvador still holds out hope for his group.

He expects that better planning would revive the Toki route and may even bring back the drivers that had been displaced. •

PAGE DESIGN • MA. SOPHIA SIBAL

KULTURA

PAGE DESIGN • MA. SOPHIA SIBAL

WAR AND REMEMBRANCE* HARRY DE TAZA

It has been 75 years since all hell broke loose as the liberation forces pushed through to Manila. Within a whole month the city was to become a meat grinder, as thousands died from fire, starvation, or sickness. Man, woman, and child, mutilated, decapitated and forever wounded—such was the massacre of Manila in 1945, ending with no less than a hundred thousand dead–one in 10 of its inhabitants. The Japanese occupation of four years proved to be one of the most brutal in the country’s almost four-century history as a colony.

But while the empire of the rising sun has long set, the middle kingdom of China is on the rise, with its gross occupation of Philippine territorial waters and its economic designs for its neighbors’ servitude to it. This new empire linked by the Belt and Road, equally supported by a military force, is well on its way to threaten American hegemony.

The memories of World War II haunt the present, as powers continue their exploitation of weaker countries and seem to be on the march towards another conflict.

threat. Fear of these cowed the enemy to subjugation.

Today, American adventurism in the Middle East and China’s militarization of the West Philippine Sea are performances of such displays.

Economic servitude of the Philippines to both powers takes root in its powerlessness against these machinations and its willingness to be exploited.

Military-wise, the country is reliant on foreign protection, while its leaders are more than happy to stick with whichever imperialist is more convenient.

Already the Chinese dragon is digging into the Kaliwa Dam project, at the Sangley Point Airport Project, and is entrenching itself in other industries, with its state-owned corporations holding a 40-percent stake in the National Grid Corporation, its offshore g a m i n g operations in the

Guns on the March Near the end of World War II, it became apparent that Japanese materiel could not match that of American industry, which had left the Japanese employing do-or-die tactics.

With the imminent capture of Manila, the Japanese put up a last-ditch attempt to inflict as many casualties on the enemy as possible. Wanting no further delay, the Americans allowed for the artillery and aerial bombing of the city, causing civilian casualties just as much as did the Japanese.

From Hitler’s blitzkrieg in Poland to Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, fascist regimes relied on decisive firepower to subdue its enemies. The Allies, too, took note of these lessons, culminating in an atomic bomb as the ultimate weapon and mutually assured destruction as the ultimate

ILLUSTRATION • MARCY LIOANAG

Philippines booming, and its bid to become the third telecommunications service provider.

Bombs Away The Philippines has always been a prized colonial possession. Imperial Spain held Manila as its gateway to the orient, and in its decline, America seized the islands. Japan, too, though late into the colonization game, dreamt of a global empire.

Beginning with its occupation of Taiwan, Korea, and Manchuria, Japan took the economic crisis of the 1930s to mean it needed more land and resources to feed its aspirations.

The militaristic rise of Japan set it on the path to war with the American interests in the Pacific, which ignited with an attack on Pearl Harbor. Military theorist Carl von Clausewitz defined war not as a series of battles or military engagements, but as a political instrument

by which opponents are made to submit to a power’s will. In their struggle against the US, the Japanese intended to rebalance the world order towards their favor by making western powers concede the Pacific to their own Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Seventy-five years hence, imperial powers continue to reshape their spheres of influence, often colliding with one another.

Whereas empires of before occupied countries outright, they are today more interested in using proxies, installing regimes, debt financing, and stifling economic growth through trade wars. Already they are maneuvering to keep the Philippines in their line, from infrastructure projects to military agreements disguised as proof of goodwill and friendship.

With limited resources, empires are in an unending competition for power. They sought to destroy threats to hegemony with overwhelming force. As Clausewitz contended, arising from hostile intentions, the end goal of war is the disablement of the enemy to mount a threat. The US displayed

this in 1945 in Manila, and just six months later the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved decisive enough to bend the Japanese to surrender.

Smoke and Rubble Much was paid for by the Filipinos in World War II, with nothing to gain but for the claim to power of its imperial masters.

The decimation of Manila virtually wiped out all fledgling industries, while agriculture throughout the country took a hit, exacerbating food shortages. All this left survivors homeless and jobless, their needs competing with that of the expended military. The destruction of cultural heritage and the horrendous loss of life, meanwhile, tore the moral fiber of an infant nation.

Imperialists have long been willing to bring down upon civilians the same machines of military and economic warfare they employ against their competitors.

In 2018, the United Nations recorded as many as 90 unlawful airstrikes led by the US-backed coalition in Yemen, hitting civilian centers and even a bus filled with children that left 26 dead. Simultaneously, in Syria, at least five million Syrians were displaced as a civilian war continually destroyed communities, sparking what has been the largest refugee crisis since World War II. The carnage of 75 years ago is a grim reminder of the consequences of placing upon a foreign power the fate and protection of the country. As many other countries remain caught in the crossfire, disasters and collateral damage on the scale of the battle of Manila stem from the real intentions of the military and economic powerhouses to wage war for selfinterest. As the faces of empires change, war and its very idea persist as an effective tool by which imperialists strengthen their hold to power. •

* apologies to Herman Wouk

09

KONTRA-AGOS ATHENA SOBERANO

BATO-BATO SA LANGIT Tinamaan ng lintik. Abalang-abala ang Maynila at palaging nang-aabala ang sikip, trapik, init, at patungpatong na komentaryo sa sari-saring balitang showbiz. Kaya nang mapabalita ang pagtambang sa van ng artistang kapamilya na si Kim Chiu, pansamantalang natigil ang tila karaniwang siklo ng araw-araw na buhay ng tao.

Madadaanan ko ang bawat sabi-sabi ng mga host, journalist kuno, at lahat ng nasasagasaan ng kwento sa telebisyon at social media. Sa lahat ng komento, di raw talaga sweet ang chinita princess at mayroon itong kaaway, ginawa lang ito para sumikat ang aktres. Ngunit sa lahat ng ito, isa ang nakapukaw ng aking pansin—gawagawa lang ang ambush kaugnay ng atake sa malayang pamamahayag ng ABS-CBN. Ang tugon ng journalist kuno ay may kagustuhang maging kritikal ngunit may isinamang detalyeng di kasama sa imbestigasyon ng awtoridad.

Ganun din magresolba ng krimen ang karamihan sa social media. Halimbawa na lang ang mga pinararatangang komunista. Basta taga-UP ka, komunista ka, ayon sa mga die-hard na tagasuporta ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.

Kahit simpleng pagpapanagot sa gobyerno, huhusgahan ka kaagad na hadlang sa pag-unlad ng bayan.

Sa social media, lahat ay huwes at tagapanagot—ang kamakailang pag-crash ng

ON GROUND ZERO ISAAC RAMOS

Much like its predecessors, this administration qualifies its country as a mere mendicant, unable to survive without assistance from more “benevolent,” richer countries.

10

sinasakyang helicopter ng hepe ng Philippine National Police, ang magkabilang tingin sa security guard na nang-hostage—lahat ay may kani-kaniyang imbestigasyon, suri, kuro-kuro.

Gayunman, tila nagkukulang ang kritikalidad ng kalakhan sa mga hayag na krimen ng pamahalaan sa mamamayan. Ang panakaw na kriminalidad na isinasagawa ng mga pwersa ng estado sa ngalan ng whole-of-nation approach na pagkastigo sa lahat ng miyembro ng Kaliwa at lahat ng nadadamay.

Ang pag-akusa sa mga midya na kagaya ng ABS-CBN sa paggawa ng mga krimen para lang makontrol ang diskursong panlipunan ay gawain ng mga nakaupong opisyales sa pamahalaan. Ang tanging ginagawa ng tunay na midyang malaya na inaatake ng estado ay ang pagsiwalat sa katotohanan sa likod ng mga fake news na nililikha ng administrasyon tulad ng sa kasalukuyang pangulo.

Ang isyu ng pag-ambush sa van ni Kim Chiu ay tulad ng araw-araw na naratibo ng pagpaslang.

Ang pagpili sa gagawing primarya ang dapat manalaytay sa mamamayan. Ngunit tulad ng showbiz, minanhid na ang Pilipino sa arawang balita ng karahasan kung kaya sa pagkakataong pinagsama ito, manhid pa rin ang tugon.

Bibigyan lang muli ng palyadong komento ang mga susunod sa nagbabagang balita, dadaan-daanan sa mga kalye ng Katipunan at C.P. Garcia. •

As our vehicle approached one of Subic’s stop-and-go intersections, I couldn’t help but think of what I had always been told about this place—that its orderliness and the overall suburban calm speaks of American efficiency and development.

Once the epicenter of US overseas naval operations, Subic maintains a colonial imprint not only in dollar duty-free shops and ships docked at its bay. In its alleyways are red-light districts meant for visitors’ rest and recuperation. In recent memory, far more sinister crimes by foreign troops occured here, namely the 2005 rape case of a Filipina then known as “Nicole” and the 2014 murder of Jennifer Laude.

The culprits were training under the two-decade old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a military deal governing US troops in the country. But while President Rodrigo Duterte’s abrogation of the pact seems to fulfill his ostensibly anti-colonial rhetoric, it nonetheless rings hollow coming from a government that in the same breath rehashes a long-held narrative of dependence on yet another foreign power.

So uninterested is the government to assert its own

country’s independence that, time and again, it seems to have had more business coddling foreign dalliances than addressing national concerns. For one, the post-WWII years saw skewed Philippine-US relations strengthen amid the US losing direct control over its erstwhile colony.

Most evident is this lopsidedness in the persistent American military influence over the archipelago. Although, since 1947, the US had gradually lost hold of its military bases here until their 1992 closure, by the Philippine Senate’s order, the domineering presence of America’s troops on Philippine soil did not wane.

Despite its exodus, America continued flexing its military muscle through agreements like the VFA and, later on, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which allows the US military to use Philippine bases to supposedly ensure regional security. As if it had not been ordered to leave two decades earlier, the US had its troops roaming our islands again with imperious steps, often assisting the operations of multinationals in resource-rich areas.

This history of constant renewal of military deals under

Jun Camacho, 50, is a barber at the previous Shopping Center site. His customers would regularly come for haircuts and other grooming services back then.

Having transferred to the tennis court, Camacho estimates that only about a fifth of his previous customers go to his shop—those who have kept his number and those who have close ties with him.

Though they need not pay a monthly rate for their stalls, Camacho and his staff are still recovering from the expenses they have incurred to build their stall in the area, amounting to over P100,000. “Ayun, tignan mo yung itsura. Wala kaming aircon, mainit.

Maganda roon [sa lumang pwesto namin], kasi lahat kami naka-aircon.”

“Hanggang ngayon nandito pa rin kami. Wala pang bagong development sa kung saan talaga kami ilalagay. Wala halos [kaming] nakukuhang tulong sa admin. Kanya-kanyang patayo yan. Dahil sa pagbukas [ng 7-Eleven] syempre hihina na rin kami.

Ang dami-dami nang naghahati sa constumer; meron diyan, meron doon, meron dito,” Camacho said.

PATRICIA POBRE

different names renders Duterte’s move dubious, inadequate. Aside from having a grip on the Philippine military, the US also sustains economic dominance, being the Philippine’s third largest trading partner.

One need not look farther than Subic, where the naval base is now a special economic and freeport zone with more than 135,000 Filipinos working in the service, manufacturing, and shipbuilding industries, among others. As a basin of labor, Subic caters well to multinationals that make it a prime commercial hub in the Asia Pacific.

Lacking industries to serve local needs, the Philippine economy is left vulnerable, reliant on the bullish force wielded by a superpower like the US. What makes this move even less convincing is that Duterte’s pivot to China portrays the same refusal to acknowledge the Philippines’ capacity for self-autonomy.

Much like its predecessors, this administration qualifies its country as a mere mendicant, unable to survive without assistance from more “benevolent,” richer countries.

Duterte invests in doublespeak.

He invokes nationalism to supposedly pull the country out of US control while deeming a soft

stance before China necessary for the security of an archipelago whose frailty partly stems from its own government’s incompetence, in the first place.

The termination appears less a stride towards independence than Duterte’s stunt to portray himself as a militant nationalist. On its heels is a claim by Sen. Panfilo Lacson that Chinese troops are in the country on an undercover mission. But while the Philippine army is yet to confirm this, it does not escape imagination that it might be true, or if not, closeddoor meetings to realize it are underway.

I leave Subic thinking of how this place of red-light districts, shipyards, and manicured attractions already tells much of our history of subjugation. The possibility of the Chinese flag rising here leaves me feeling uneasy, for the shifting grounds on which we stand now demand us to be vigilant and wary.

But if there is anything I can be sure of, it is that much has been proven in history—that no matter how arduous the path to freedom may be, the determining steps are always taken by the people who have learned, decided to stand and overcome. •

phkule@gmail.com

OPED-GRPX

LABIS NA NAGMAMAHAL GRACE RAYA

Hirap ang maraming makakuha ng aksesibleng edukasyong tersyaryo dahil hindi ito binibigyang prayoridad ng gobyerno.

Malay ako sa halaga ng aking bawat hakbang sa loob ng unibersidad na iyon, dahil kapalit ng isang semestreng pag-aaral doon ay isang buwang sahod na ng aking mga magulang. At dahil taunan kung magmahal ang matrikula roon, hindi ko dama ang habag sa pinanghahawakan nilang “compassion, commitment, competence” sa taas ng kailangan kong bayaran, at sa higpit ng palisiya ukol dito.

Sa totoo lang, napilitan lang naman ang mga magulang kong ipasok ako sa pribadong unibersidad dahil sa K-12; alam nilang hindi pa handa ang pamahalaan sa programang ito kaya nagbaka-sakaling maayos ang gana nito sa mga pampribadong paaralan. Bagaman may voucher na ipinamahagi ang Kagawaran ng Edukasyon, di ito sumapat nang umabot sa 11 porsyento ang itinaas ng kinailangan kong bayaran noong 2017. Ngayong taon, nakaambang tumaas na naman sa apat hanggang anim na porsyento ang bayad sa matrikula.

Nakasaad sa memorandum ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED) ukol sa tuition

10 Marso 2020 • www.phkule.org

na hindi maaaring magtaas ng matrikula ang mga pamantasan hangga’t hindi ito ikinukonsulta sa mga estudyante. Ngunit sa dalawang taong pamamalagi ko sa unibersidad na iyon, wala akong naaalalang pagkakataong nag-imbita ang administrasyon para sa isang diskusyon. Sa ibang paaralan naman, maimbita man ay wala ring kapangyarihan ang mga estudyanteng tumanggi sa taaspresyo dahil ang simpleng pagdalo nila ay pasok na sa rekisito ng CHED. Para sa mga gaya kong nakakaraos lang, kinailangan ng pamilya kong mamili ng uunahing pagkagastusan.

Sa panahon ng pagsusulit, inilalaan muna sa matrikula ang pambili ng bigas dahil kung di makababayad, di ako papayagang kumuha ng pagsusulit.

Malaon nang ginamit ang implasyon, o pagtaas ng mga batayang produkto, ng mga unibersidad upang magtaas ng bayarin, ayon sa CHED. Nananatiling pareho ang sahod ng mga tao, ngunit sabay-sabay nagtataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin sa araw-araw at pagaaral. Dahil dito, nahihirapang tustusan nang sabay ng isang

ordinaryong mamamayan ang mga pangangailangan—darating sa puntong tulad namin, kailangan na rin niyang mamili ng uunahing pagkagastusan.

Sa ganitong mekanismo, malinaw ang pagtingin na ang edukasyon, sa halip na karapatan, ay isang produkto na makukuha lamang ng may kakayahang magbayad.

Palagi ako noong may pangamba kung kaya ba naming makapagbayad sa itinakdang panahon o magsusumite na naman ba ako ng promissory note. Ngayon, pinanghihinayangan ko ang malaking halagang ibinayad ko dahil hindi naman ito naisalin sa kalidad ng edukasyong nakuha ko sa K-12.

Kaya naman malaking ginhawa ang pagpasa ko sa UP dahil wala nang kailangang bayaran dahil sa free tuition law sa mga pampublikong unibersidad.

Gayunpaman, alam kong di pa rin ito sapat para makapagkolehiyo ang marami; hindi naman lahat ay tinatanggap sa UP o iba pa dahil limitado ang kapasidad. Marami pa ring nagbabayad ng tuition fee dahil lumampas na sila sa inirekomendang bilang ng taon

para tapusin ang kanilang kurso.

Kaya lalong nahihirapang bumalik sa pag-aaral ang halos tatlong milyong kabataang kinailangan munang magtrabaho.

Hirap ang maraming makakuha ng aksesibleng edukasyong tersyaryo dahil hindi ito binibigyang prayoridad ng gobyerno; talamak ang mga budget cut sa iba’t ibang institusyon at ahensya ng edukasyon kaya hindi mapaunlad ang pasilidad ng mga paaralan.

Mismong pamahalaan din ang umeengganyo sa mga paaralang kumita, lumikha ng sariling pondo para sustentuhan ang sarili, kaya walang habas ang pagtaas ng matrikula ng marami.

Kung nais talaga ng mga namumuno na paunlarin ang sistema ng edukasyon, dapat muna nilang matutunan na karapatan ang makapag-aral— sa gayon, kinakailangang libre.

Hindi ito komoditi na pagkukunan ng kita, o tuntungan ng mga estudyante upang yumaman sa hinaharap. Mahalagang ang sistema ng edukasyon ay umiikot sa pagsisilbi sa mamamayan, at nagbubunga ng mga kabataang maglilingkod sa bayan. •

11

PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

10 March 2020 Volume 97 • Issue 17 www.phkule.org orihinal na kwento ng Avatar.

May partikular na mga bagay na biglang magpapaalala sa iyong pagkabata—amoy ng pinaghalong baby cologne at pawis, ingay ng radyo na gigising sa’yo ng alas singko ng umaga, o mga palabas na matagal nang nawaglit sa isipan mo, pero heto at biglang lumalabas.

Isa ang pelikulang Lion King doon. Bumalik ito sa mga sinehan noong nakaraang taon dala ang bagong estilo ng animation, at mataas na kalidad sa kabuuan.

Tinangkilik ito, partikular ng mga una nitong manonood noong 1994 na ngayon ay nagsitandaan na; mas sabik pa nga kaysa mga bata ngayon.

Kung tutuusin, alam na ng karamihan ang mangyayari sa pelikula, kahit hindi na

2017 lamang ay nagkaroon ng 43 pelikulang sumailalim sa nasabing kategorya, kabilang ang panlimang sequel ng Pirates of the Carribean na nagsimula noong 2003, Jumanji na unang lumabas noong 1995, at Rings mula sa orihinal na The Ring ng Japan na pinalabas noong 2002.

Makikita rin sa Pilipinas ang parehong pag-iral ng mga sinehan. Nagkaroon ng 14 na sequel ang Shake, Rattle & Roll; umabot sa 10 pelikula ang Enteng Kabisote; samantala, may apat na pelikula at isang mahabang teledrama ang Tanging Ina ni AiAi delas Alas.

Kumpara sa Hollywood, mas kinahihiligan ng mga Pilipino na gawing telenobela ang isang pelikula, tulad ng Ang Probinsyano. Orihinal na ginampanan ni Ferdinand Poe Jr. ang karakter ni Cardo Dalisay sa pelikula noong 1997, at paglipas ng ilang taon, si Coco Martin naman ang bumibida sa palabas na maglilimang taon nang tumatakbo.

Gamit ang elemento

SIRANG PLAKA

May tendensiya ang industriya ng pelikula na dugtungan nang dugtungan ang pumapatok na kwento ng sine, o gumawa ng iba’t ibang bersyon hanggang kumikita pa ang mga ito sa takilya—malinaw ito sa usapin ng mga palabas sa loob ng bansa, at mga serye ng pelikula sa labas.

Sa isang pag-aaral sa komersyo ng mga kotse na isinagawa ni Prop. William J. Abernathy mula sa Harvard Business School, natuklasan niyang humina ang industriya nito sa Estados Unidos dahil pinili ng mga negosyanteng labis na gatasan ng kita ang kanilang mga produkto. Mas binigyan nilang halaga ang paglalagay ng maliliit na mga pagbabago sa kasalukuyang mga kotse at ibenta ito, sa halip na mamuhunan upang gumawa ng bago.

Sa kasalukuyan, ganito ang tinatahak na landas ng industriya ng sine—sinasagad ang kita mula sa mga orihinal na likha, sa halip na paunlarin ang paglikha ng sining.

Mauugat ang kawalan ng inobasyon sa mga palabas, o sa ubod ay maging sa kultura, sa teorya ng pilosopo at gurong si Mark Fisher: nawawalan ng abilidad na lumikha ng bagong sining—iyong partikular sa

POLYNNE DIRA

panooring muli. Sa kabila nito, dinadagsa pa rin ng mga manonood ang ganitong klase ng palabas marahil, bukod sa pagnanais makita ang pagunlad ng sinehan, ay may parte sa ating hinahabol ang gunita ng kamusmusan.

One More Try Maoobserbahan sa mga nagdaang taon ang pagdami ng mga pelikulang binibigyan ng remake, live-action, o kasunod na yugto. Sa Japan, kaugalian nang hindi lang magiging anime ang isang manga, magkakaroon pa ito ng live-action na movie o teledrama, maging ng isang stageplay.

Sa Hollywood naman, noong

KULTURA

ng nostalgia, ipinipilit ng mga prodyuser sa manonood ang mga remake kahit hindi naman ito ang kahingian ng huli.

Madali ring patampukin ang ganitong klase ng sine dahil ang muling pagpapalabas nito sa mga teatro ay publisidad na.

Seklusyon Patok ang paggamit sa nostalgia para tangkilikin ang isang palabas. Malinaw ito dahil karamihan sa mga pelikulang may pinakamataas na kita ay mga remake o sequel gaya ng Lion King na kumita ng P48 trilyon, habang nangunguna naman sa listahan ang ika-22 pelikula sa serye ng Marvel Cinematic Universe na Avengers: Endgame na kumita ng P137 trilyon, tinalo ang

konteksto ng kasalukuyan, at di basta umaayon sa hulma ng mga nauna—ang mamamayan dahil sa lumalalang kalagayan pang-ekonomiya.

Pilit na itinutulak ang mga taong maging produktibo; sa lagay na dapat lahat ng oras, lahat ng kilos ay nagbibigay ng pang-ekonomikong halaga. Sinasadyang tabunan ng ganitong sistema ang potensyal ng mga taong gumawa ng inobasyon, at gumawa nang naaayon sa karanasan niya ngayon—sa gayon ibinabaon din ang mga ideyang pumalag sa istrukturang pumapatay sa kanyang sariling imahinasyon.

Kung malaya lamang ang mga manlilikha, maaaring mapaunlad ang mga remake, itama ang mga paurong na representasyon at politika

DIBUHO AT DISENYO NG PAHINA • KIMBERLY ANNE YUTUC

sa mga klasiko, at magbigay ng mas matalas na suring angkop sa modernong panahon.

Baka bukas Hindi man intensyon ng artista, bagkus ng pangangailangan, nauuwi sa pagkamal ng kita ang paglikha ng obra bagaman ito ang dahilan ng pagkamatay nito. Ngunit sa gitna nito, mahalagang malaman ng mga manlilikha na may mas mataas pang antas ang kanilang sining, mabuksan ang mas malalim na balon ng inspirasyon.

Nariyan ang mahabang kasaysayan ng paglaban ng maralita na nangangating maipalabas sa mas malawak na madla, at ang bitbit nilang mayamang karanasan upang paghalawan ng mga kwento.

Sa halip na bigyang prayoridad ang ekonomikal na halaga ng sining, mas pagtuunan dapat ng pansin ang halaga

nito sa buhay ng mamamayan.

Ipinapakita ng pelikulang Respeto ang lagim ng extrajudicial killings ngayon; patunay rin ang porma ng Saving Sally, kung saan pinaghalo ang live-action at animation, sa potensyal ng sine sa bansa.

Bagaman replektibo ang paulit-ulit na palabas sa lunos na kalagayan ng mga manggagawang artista, may kakayahan ang mga remake na ipakita ang pag-unlad ng lipunan lalo sa aspeto ng teknolohiya, o ipakita ang kawalan ng progreso ng lipunan. Sa huli, maaari pa rin namang paghalawan ng aral ang nakalipas.

Hindi masamang magkaroon ng ika-15 na sequel ang Shake, Rattle & Roll, kailangan lang masigurong may ihinahain itong bago, higit sa pagpapaunlad ng porma ay suri, at angkop sa buhay na karanasan ng mga manonood. •