Philippine Collegian Issue 13

Tuition payment extended ‘til end of sem — Page 3 Philippine Collegian Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas - Diliman 15 Setyembre 2011 Taon 89, Blg. 13

GRIM BILL OF HEALTH The deteriorating state of public hospitals Features

8

Dibuho ni Ysa Calinawan

Sa iyo na kinatatakutan ng pangulo Kolum Page 10

Walang pasok Editoryal Page 2

Put on your best smile and say cheese Kultura Page 6-7

The point, however Terminal Cases Delfin Mercado Sometimes, I feel that my struggle to write this column is pointless.

Each week, I bust my brains trying to fill this column with around 500 words. I wrack my head in my efforts to meet the demands of my editors: a coherent story please, an interesting anecdote, a piece that will generate some buzz. Not a tall order, some of you might say.

Well, there is context in column-writing, you know.

And by context, I mean the things that happen as I sew together sentences to tell my angst-ridden, existential stories. This month was certified hell—a prolonged version of the proverbial hell week that gets us lowly creatures down on our knees.

I haven’t been sleeping well, with voices buzzing in my head and reminding me of each task that I had to accomplish by the end of some god-forsaken deadline. One of the voices lulling me to an unsatisfactory sleep would be that of my editor, begging me for that draft that she asked for the last x times.

The process of writing is exhausting.

And the output? A column people will barely read. A column you may not even notice, despite all my efforts to make sure my first sentence catches your eye (my editor’s prescription, not mine).

Yet I struggle. And one night, I was reminded why.

A couple of nights ago, when I found myself trapped in the office, I insisted on catching a bite at Katipunan Avenue. It was late, there were no jeeps, we had no cars.

There was only one way to get where we wanted to be: taxi.

We rode a taxi at the Magsaysay Gate and grabbed a quick snack at a nearby 24/7 café. The food lightened up my mood a bit, and soon I was talking animatedly. We hailed a cab back to the office.

“UP po,” I said. He was one of those congenial taxi drivers who would talk to you while driving.

“Totoo ba ‘yung nasa balita na magiging private na daw ang UP?” the cab driver asked nonchalantly.

Me and my fellow writer were taken aback. Somehow, I answered. Private corporations were already renting our land, my companion said.

“Natin. Lupa natin,” the taxi driver corrected him.

As we navigated through C.P. Garcia Avenue, the driver went on to tell his life story – he was a graduate of Agriculture in Bicol University and had served for over two decades as assistant manager in a commercial farm in Bulacan. While working in the said farm, he struggled for just compensation for all employees and farmers, regardless of position. Though he held a relatively high position in the farm, he opted to resign when it was not granted.

Manong’s story blew all my angst away.

There I was, looking for context, thirsting for validation, harboring resentment for all the things I had to give up—so that I could write this column. So that I could write for you.

The things we write about, the things we lose sleep for, will eventually mean something. Everywhere, the people are fighting for something. The struggle to write this column is therefore not pointless. ●

2 • Kulê Opinyon

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

Walang pasok Sa darating na linggo, mawawalan ng pasok sa pamantasan. Muli tayong tinatawagang manindigan at hamunin ang nasa kapangyarihan.

Matapos harapin ng UP ang mahigit isang bilyong pisong kaltas sa badyet noong nakaraang taon – ang pinakamalaking pagkaltas sa kasaysayan ng pamantasan – walang patumanggang inulit ng pamahalaan ang pagbawas. Sa susunod na taon, aabot ng P800 milyon ang kabuuang kaltas sa pondo ng pamantasan.

Sa susunod na taon, tatapyasan rin ng mahigit P146 milyon ang pondo ng halos kalahati ng 112 pampublikong pamantasan sa bansa. Mahigit P250 milyon naman ang panukalang kaltas sa maintenance and other operating expenses ng 45 pampublikong pamantasan, samantalang P403 milyon naman ang ibabawas sa pondong laan para sa sahod ng mga kawani.

Hindi naman nanahimik ang kabataan sa banta ng kapahamakan.

Kung gaano kaaga ipinasa ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) ang panukalang badyet ng bansa para sa susunod na taon, gayon rin kaagap na binatikos at tinutulan ng kabataan ang mga balak na pagbawas.

Ngunit walang ibang isinalubong ang pamahalaan kung hindi panlilinlang. Sa pahayag ni DBM Secretary Florencio Abad sa Collegian, ipinaliwanag niyang kathang-isip lamang umano ang sinasabing mga pagbawas. Sa halip, nadagdagan pa umano ang panukalang badyet para sa mga pampublikong pamantasan ng humigit-kumulang 10 porsyento tungong P26.1 bilyon sa susunod na taon mula P23.7 bilyon sa kasalukuyan. Sa pagtaya ng kabuuang badyet para sa mga pampublikong pamantasan, isinama

QUOTED Any racist needs to seek help. It’s not normal in the 21st century to think in that way. —Miss Universe

2011 Leila Lopes, Philippine

Daily Inquirer, September 14

5.5 x 3.5 in

RD Aliposa

ng DBM ang mga pondong laan naman para sa ibang mga institusyon gaya ng Commission on Higher Education at mga pondong walang katiyakang matatanggap ng mga pamantasan, tulad na lamang ng salaping ipinasailalim sa Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund.

Ngunit pagbali-baliktarin man ang mga datos, hindi maikukubli ang malaon nang patakaran ng pamahalaang talikdan ang tungkulin nitong pondohan ang mga pampublikong pamantasan.

Hindi na kayang pagtakpan ng pamahalaan ang katotohanang wala pang kalahati ng pangangailangan ng mga pampublikong pamantasan ang kanilang pinupunan. Sa UP, sangkatlo lamang ng P17 bilyong kinakailangang pondo ng unibersidad ang balak ipagkaloob ng pamahalaan sa pamantasan sa 2012. Sa panahong namamayani ang panlililang, muli

Editoryal

tayong tinatawag upang saglit na iwanan ang ating mga pang-arawaraw na gawain at magdaos ng isang malawakang kilos-protestang muling yayanig sa mga kinauukulan.

May sapat na dahilan upang suwayin ang kasalukuyang kaayusan.

May bigat ang pagtalikod natin sa ating nakasanayan—ang pagpasok sa klase—upang patunayang handa tayong lumaban para sa ating karapatan.

May kakayahan tayong tumugon sa pangangailangan ng ating panahon. Napatunayan na ng ating pagdaos ng strike noong nakaraang taon kung gaano nakapangyayari ang sama-samang paninindigan ng libu-libong mag-aaral na nananawagan para sa mas mataas na subsidyo para sa mga pampublikong pamantasan. Noong nakaraang taon, una nating hinalaw mula sa praktika ng mga manggagawa ang pagwewelga o strike—ang tigil-paggawa na idinaraos ng mga manggagawa tuwing sinisikil ang kanilang batayang karapatan.

Muli tayong tinatawagan upang

kumatha ng panibagong pahina ng kasaysayan. Muli tayong lalabas ng mga silid-aralan, bubuhos sa mga lansangan, at magpapayanig ng mga bulwagan ng mga nasa kapangyarihan. Walang puwang ang hindi pakikisangkot. Walang oras para sa pagkikibit-balikat.

Sa mga susunod na araw, ito ang pangunahing hamon sa bawat iskolar ng bayan: tangan ang dunong ng nakaraan, muli nating hawiin ang tabing ng panlilinlang at buong pagpupunyaging lumaban.

Mawawalan ng pasok sapagkat pahihintuin natin ang mga klase— hanggang hindi tayo pinakikinggan, hanggang hindi sapat ang pondo para sa atin ng pamahalaan.

Mayroong pangangailangan.

Walang lugar ang pag-aalinlangan.

Sa darating na linggo, walang pasok sa pamantasan. ●

Philippine Collegian www.philippinecollegian.org Punong Patnugot Marjohara S. Tucay Kapatnugot Pauline Gidget R. Estella Tagapamahalang Patnugot Dianne Marah E. Sayaman Panauhing Patnugot Jayson D. Fajarda, Larissa Mae A. Suarez Patnugot sa Lathalain Mila Ana Estrella S. Polinar Patnugot sa Grapiks Nicolo Renzo T. Villarete, Chris Martin T. Imperial, Ruth Danielle R. Aliposa Tagapamahala ng Pinansya Richard Jacob N. Dy Pinansiya Amelyn J. Daga Tagapamahala sa Sirkulasyon Paul John Alix Sirkulasyon Gary Gabales, Ricky Kawat, Amelito Jaena, Glenario Ommalin Mga Katuwang na Kawani Trinidad Gabales, Gina Villas Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Plipinas Diliman, Lungsod Quezon Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522 Email kule1112@gmail.com Website philippinecollegian.org Kasapi Solidaridad: UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers Organizations, College Editors Guild of the Philippines

Nothing dramatic has changed in the status quo in the long-running saga of the CPPNPA despite the Philippine government’s announced goal of defeating the NPA within two years and its allocation of additional resources —Former US

Ambassador Kristie Kenney

in an unclassified July 17, 2006 memo, Wikileaks Manila cable, Inquirer.net, September 15

There is no mayor anywhere in the Philippines who would allow the release of crocodiles in his municipality.

—Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, on the efforts to save the endangered Philippine crocodile, inquirer. net, September 14

I am a laureate of the Magsaysay award for gov’t service. Ramos is not a laureate of the Magsaysay award. End of debate. —Sen. Miriam

Defensor-Santiago, philstar. com, September 7

3 • Kulê Balita

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

Tuition payment extended ‘til end of sem Keith Richard D. Mariano The UP Diliman Executive Committee (ExeComm) deferred the deadline of payment for tuition to the last day of classes on October 10, saving 366 students who have not yet paid their tuition from being purged from their respective classes.

The ExeComm met on September 12, the original deadline for tuition payment, and decided to extend the deadline of payment up to the last day of classes this semester. The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) will not update class lists yet but unpaid students remain to be unofficially enrolled, said University Registrar Evangeline Amor.

Students who still owe the university matriculation fees after the deadline for tuition payment will be removed from the official class lists, based onArticle 330 of the 1975

University Code stipulating that “no person who has not duly matriculated may be admitted to classes.” “[There] are students who still aspire to finish their college programs even with their financial limitations… to deprive them of their aspiration on the basis of financial incapacity and not even on the grounds of academic delinquency is simply unjustifiable, not to mention unacceptable for a public university like UP,” according to the UP Diliman University Student Council (UPD USC).

The deadline of payment is determined by the University Registrar who is tasked under Article 64 of the 1975 University Code to take charge of admissions, registration, assessment of fees, directories and announcements among others, said Amor.

The deadline of tuition payment must coincide with the last day of

registration because the UP Diliman General Catalogue 2004-2010 states that “a student must be officially registered [by going] through all the processes involved in registration up to payment of fees in order to receive credit for course work,” explains Amor.

Students who will not be able to meet the new deadline will be considered on absence without leave (AWOL) because they are not officially enrolled, said Amor.

If a student shall be declared on AWOL, he will not be permitted to enrol for the next semester unless he fulfils the requirements for readmission, explained Amor.

“Students who cannot pay must be given the benefit of the doubt.

Some of them might be waiting for approval to be in the E bracket [of the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP)]; or they are unable to secure a loan for their

tuition; or they are working through the semester to pay for the tuition.

These reasons are valid,” said UP Student Regent Conti.

Conti added that purging of classes has become “common but then again, Diliman has one of the most skewed STFAP bracket variance.”

The policy evaluation of the STFAP conducted by the Office of the Student Regent last July revealed that most STFAP applicants end up in brackets higher than what they applied for.

In UP Diliman, 32 percent of the 1,808 respondents said they applied for Bracket C (P600 per unit), 29 percent for Bracket D (P300 per unit), 21 percent for Bracket E1 (free tuition), 14 percent for E2 (free tuition and P12,000-stipend per semester) and only 0.25 and 9.7 percent apply to brackets A and B respectively.

An overwhelming 90 percent of the applicants were classified to higher

brackets.

“The STFAP uses indicators that are not truly reflective of the student’s socio-economic status. Ownership or possession of property does not really amount to wealth nor does living in a house full of appliances reflect a student’s ability to pay for tuition,” said UPD USC Chairperson Jemimah Grace Garcia.

“Low budget for UP and education in general espouses this kind of scholarship system wherein even public school students need to undergo intense background check before they could truly be called ‘scholars’. If only UP is to receive its rightful budget, along with the other schools, we should not be forced into this system,” added Garcia. ●

PGH cancels higher rates for charity patients Isabella Patricia Borlaza Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Director Jose Gonzales issued a memorandum “indefinitely” suspending the new fee scheme for Class D patients on September 8, to conduct “further study and consultation with university authorities and all stakeholders.”

The controversial fee scheme was implemented following Gonzales’ June 9 and 10 memoranda, which imposed new and higher rates for its clinical and diagnostic X-ray examinations.

Health groups have criticized the PGH administration for the fee adjustment, contesting the institution of higher fees for class D patients who used to pay little or none at all for some of the hospital’s medical services. The rates for class D patients under the new fee scheme ranged from P15 to P390 for clinical examinations and P20 to P340 for diagnostic X-rays.

The September 8 memorandum canceled the new fee scheme for Class D patients but retained the adjusted rates for Classes A, B and C. PGH has reverted to using the original fee scheme for Class D patients, which was formulated in March 2001.

PGH implements a fee scheme that classifies patients according to their family’s monthly income. Under the so called ‘charity case,’ class D patients are those whose family income is less than P7,500 and are entitled to an 80

to 100 percent discount on laboratory fees and are exempted from paying X-ray fees.

Meanwhile, class A patients or ‘pay patients’ who have a family income of above P20,000 per month pay full expenses. Class B and class C patients, who are also under the charity cases, have monthly family incomes ranging from P10,000 to P20,000 and P7,500 to P10,000, respectively.

Gonzales earlier explained that the intention of the fee scheme adjustment was to ‘quantify the cost of social services rendered by PGH’ in a memorandum issued on August 8.

The memorandum also clarified that the expenses for the no-charge cases need to be accounted for to justify the budget requests of PGH in the future.

‘Merely for documentation’

PGH Coordinator for Public Affairs Felixberto Lukban said the PGH administration is not against providing accessible social services to its Class D patients. “Ang hinahabol lang namin ay malaman kung magkano ang ginagastos ng PGH,” he added.

All UP Workers Union (AUPWU)Manila, however, was able to gather receipts showing that some Class D patients did pay the higher rates indicated in the June memoranda.

“Hindi klaro ang sinasabing walang bayad ang Class D patients gawa ng mga isinatupad na memorandum.

Kahit sinong tumingin nito, ang

UNANG BUGSO. Bilang pagkundena sa panukalang pagkaltas sa badyet ng UP, nagsagawa ng unity walk ang iba’t ibang sektor ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas-Diliman sa kahabaan ng Academic Oval noong Setyembre 14. Simula ito ng serye ng mga pagkilos bago ang napipintong UP system-wide strike sa susunod na linggo. Airnel T. Abarra maiintindihan lamang ay ang mga nakatalang pagtaas ng singilin sa mga Class D patients,” said Alliance of Health Workers National President Jossel Ebesate.

“Up until the very end, PGH denied that they were charging fees from Class D patients and were merely accounting costs,” Ebesate added.

Greater state subsidy

“They [public hospitals] should keep in mind that the services they give to poor patients are endangered

by these policies of the government of budget cuts, commercialization and privatization,” said Health Alliance for Democracy secretary-general Geneve Rivera-Reyes.

The Coalition for Health Budget Increase, which is made up of 15 health and labor groups, called for greater state subsidy for the health sector at a rally held in PGH last September 7, a day before Gonzales issued the suspension of the new fee scheme.

AUPWU-Manila National President

Benjamin Santos said that during the weekly flag ceremony in PGH on September 12, Gonzales announced that P100 million was added to the PGH budget plus a P62 million CT scanner.

“Patuloy po nating palawakin pa ang pagkilos natin para tuluyang makuha ang atensyon ng pamahalaan sa karapatan natin sa serbisyong pangkalusugan,” Ebesate stated. ●

4 • Kulê Balita

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

Arroyo’s OBL worsened HRVs - WikiLeaks Richard Damian In an effort to combat the “longest running communist insurgency in Asia,” the Arroyo administration railroaded its internal security program to combat not only members of armed group New People’s Army (NPA) and Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), but also their “sympathizers and financiers,” according to unclassified 2006 cables from the US Embassy in Manila.

In a cable released by the online whistle-blower WikiLeaks, then US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney is quoted informing the US State Department and Pentagon on June 30, 2006 of the new internal security program of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: Oplan

Bantay Laya (OBL).

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo reportedly rejected the10-year counterinsurgency program proposed by the Department of National Defense during a cabinet meeting in Isabela on June 16. Kenney reported that Arroyo ordered the DND to fast track the “too long” program to just two years instead.

The “sympathizers and financiers” of the CPP-NPA will also be subjected to counterinsurgency operations under the Arroyo administration’s OBL. “Leftists have already expressed concern that the AFP or PNP could go after local farmers already ‘squeezed’ by the NPA’s revolutionary taxes, possibly leading to an increase in extrajudicial killings allegedly

involving security forces,” said Kenney in the report.

Under Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya, 1,206 cases of political killings, 206 abduction and more than 2,000 illegal detention were recorded, according to human rights group Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights.

Among the prominent cases attributed to Oplan Bantay Laya are the abduction of UP students Karen Empeño at Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006, and detention of health workers collectively known as Morong 43 in 2009.

Upon the creation of OBL, Arroyo ordered a special budget allocation of P1 billion to the program “effective immediately,” said Kenney.

Of the special budget, P400 million

was reportedly allocated for the military primarily for the “purchase [of] attack helicopters but also to fund overall anti-NPA military operations”; P300 million for the police “to beef up protection of and capabilities of police outposts in remote areas, but also to resume the counterinsurgency role in Metro Manila of its elite Special Action Force.”

Another P300 million will also be allocated as part of a military-led “hearts and minds” campaign, “to wean away remote and underserved parts of the Philippines from the CPP and NPA control or influence.”

“President Arroyo has also announced a plan to commit an additional P75 billion over the next three years to generate investment and development in northern Luzon in

particular,” added Kenney.

The 3rd, 4th and 9th Infantry Battalions composed of1,500 soldiers was also redeployed from Mindanao to conduct military operations against the NPA in Northern and Central Luzon, Rizal province and the Bicol region, according to the report.

She quoted the military as saying that 3,000 more troops primarily serving as security details of VIPs and other civilians would be reassigned to help in the new campaigns.

Arroyo also released an executive order “mandating that even local government units devote resources to fight against the NPA,” according to Kenney. ●

Police briefs Isabella Patricia Borlaza Guard nabs thief at Vinzons Hall

A man suspected of committing multiple theft in UP offices was caught after attempting to steal a cellphone worth P5,000 from a UP employee on September 5 at Vinzons Hall.

The victim, UP employee Benjamin Tobias, told the Collegian that he was alone in the Student Disciplinary Tribunal Office when the suspect, a man wearing a red shirt, entered the room at around 11:45 in the morning.

The suspect went to the table counter and quickly left, said Tobias.

Tobias then walked to the counter and noticed his cellphone missing on the table. He went downstairs to alert the security guard (SG).

SG Samuel Salvacion said that he did not see the suspect walk out of Vinzons Hall. Tobias went outside and saw the suspect coming out from the parking lot between Vinzons and the College of Business Administration Building and heading towards the Sunken Garden.

Tobias confronted the suspect, Geraldo Eugenio, 28 and Salvacion brought Eugenio to Vinzons for further

questioning. At Vinzons, Tobias was able to recover his cellphone from Eugenio, who simply put the stolen gadget inside his pocket.

Apart from the cellphone that he stole unsuccessfully, Eugenio may also be the culprit behind successive thefts in Vinzons Hall offices in the past months, Salvacion said.

Eugenio was turned over to the UP Diliman Police (UPDP) for further investigation. ●

‘Bukas-kotse gang’ strikes cars in UPD

The cars of four participants in the Run for Greater State Subsidy were forcibly opened at the Palma Hall parking lot by suspected members of the “bukas-kotse” gang on September 11.

The four participants reported that the gang was able to steal their cellphones, digital cameras and other personal belongings that they left in their cars at around 8:30 in the morning, according to the UPDP. Meanwhile, a UP Engineering faculty was also victimized by the same modus operandi in the parking lot near Film Center on September 2.

After a leisure game in the UP tennis court from five in the afternoon until seven in the evening, Assistant Professor Hilario Sean Obano Palmiano found his black bag which contained a laptop worth P20,000, an IPAD 2 worth P23,000, P40,000 in cash and other documents missing in his car.

Palmiano refused to be interviewed but in the report he filed with the UPDP, he said he wasn’t sure if the door was locked. There were no signs of forced entry on the vehicle, according to the police. ●

Educ faculty robbed

A College of Education faculty was robbed of her cellphone and P2,000 in cash as she made her way home to Viola Street, Area 2 last September 1.

Professor Rosanelia Tablico told the Collegian that she was about three houses near her home when she suddenly found herself wrestling for her bag with the robber at around 7:30 in the evening. Yangco still held on to her bag until the man threatened to hurt her. The suspect ran off to Roces Street, said Yangco.

Yangco’s neighbors went outside because of the noise and saw her kneeling on the floor. As they helped her, a motorcycle with two men skid past them to the direction of Balagtas street.

One of her neighbors attempted to follow the suspects on the motorcycle but lost them. Her neighbors also went to the nearest security outpost in the Sports Complex but did not find a security guard on duty.

“Saglit lang sila [security guard] tumalikod, hindi mo talaga masasabi kung anong mangyayari,” said Yangco.

Yangco sustained minor injuries from the incident. She has sent a detailed letter about the incident to the UP Chief of Security Elvin Ebreo. ●

GAME OVER. University of the East’s Shej Sumang blocks UP guard Anjelo Montecastro’s attempt to score during the UAAP Season 74 men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum on September 10. The UP Fighting Maroons were crushed by the gritty UE Warriors, ending the season in another last-place finish, 54-68. Richard Jacob Dy Kami rin. Kaya naman inaanyayahan ang lahat ng interesadong manunulat na magalay ng dugo para sa Kule, at pasiglahin ang anemic naming mga pahina. Malay mo, compatible pala sa amin ang blood type mo.

EXAM NA! Umakyat lamang sa room 401 Vinzons Hall, magdala ng 2 bluebook at ballpen.

Mag-exam na para maging bahagi ng Kultura, Feats o News section.

5 • Kulê Balita

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

Kin of missing UP students reaffirm involvement of Palparan’s security aide in abduction Axl Ross Tumanut The mothers of missing UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan defended the credibility of eyewitness accounts that linked Retired Major General Jovito Palparan’s security aide to the abduction of their daughters in 2006.

Concepcion Empeño and Erlinda Cadapan filed a reply affidavit during the Department of Justice (DOJ) preliminary hearing on September 7 to answer Army Sergeant Staff Edgardo Osorio’s counter-affidavit in which he denied involvement in the alleged abduction.

Osorio and his counsel, however, failed to appear in the said hearing.

In the reply affidavit, the mothers of the missing UP students explained that there was a compelling reason for witnesses Wilfredo Ramos and Alfredo Ramirez to single out Osorio and include him in the list of accused

members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“In his counter affidavit, respondent [Osorio] made a general denial of our accusations, which cannot prevail over our and our witness’ positive and categorical statements,” the reply affidavit read.

Ramos was the son of the owner of the house in Hagonoy, Bulacan where Karen, Sherlyn and farmer Manuel Meriño were abducted on June 26, 2006. Ramos recognized and positively identified Osorio when the army sergeant served as Palparan’s security detail during the DOJ hearing on July 19.

Based on Ramos’ account, Osorio was one of the armed men who took Karen, She and Meriño from their house more than five years ago.

Osorio, Palparan and several other military officials including lieutenant colonels Rogelio Boac and Felipe Anotado; second lieutenants Fracis

Mirabelle Samson and Arnel Enriquez; and master sergeant Rizal Hilario were charged with rape, serious physical injuries, arbitrary detention, maltreatment of prisoners and other criminal cases in connection to the abduction of the two UP students.

‘Weak alibi’

In his counter affidavit filed last August 31, Osorio denied working under Palparan in the 7th Infantry Division of the AFP, adding that he first met the retired general only when he was assigned as his security aide.

Osorio’s records indicated he was on training at Cebu at the time of the abduction.

However, the complainants argued that military assignment will “of course not contain information of his participation because it was a covert military operation.” They pointed out that an “official” assignment at one place does not exclude the possibility

of being given a “special mission order” in another place.

The complainants added that even if his records are considered at face value it will shows that, from May 5, 2006 to July 6, 2006, he was already back and assigned at Fort Andres Bonifacio, making it possible for him to be at the scene of the abduction.

“The defense of alibi cannot prevail over the credible, straightforward and positive identification by [an eyewitness and survivor to the abduction] and is not worthy of belief,” the reply affidavit further read.

DOJ hearing nears end

Osorio failed to appear on the September 7 hearing, prompting the legal counsel of the complainants to file a motion to waive his right to file rejoinder affidavit and cite him for contempt.

“But the investigating panel impliedly denied the motion when it

scheduled another hearing of the case for the reason that the panel has no authority to penalize or cite a party in contempt,” said Julian Oliva Jr. of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL).

“The [investigating panel] scheduled another hearing of the case to give [Osorio] the opportunity to [file a rejoinder affidavit], pursuant to due process,” Oliva added.

Whether Osorio would file a rejoinder affidavit or not, the DOJ panel will submit the case for resolution on September 14, the last scheduled hearing regarding the criminal complaints against Palparan and other military officials, Oliva explained.

“Umaasa kami na maipasa na sa kinauukulan kung saan didinggin ang kaso. Malaki ang paniniwala naming makamtan ang hustisya at panagutin ang may sala,” said Empeño, mother of Karen. ●

Aprubadong pagtaas ng pasahe sa LRT, MRT, muling tinutulan

ABOT-KAYA? Bilang pagkundena sa pagtaas ng presyo ng pangunahing mga bilihin, nagdaos ng isang kilos-protesta ang mga dating empleyado ng Light Rail Transit (LRT) sa House of Represenatives noong Setyembre 14. Ipinanawagan din ng grupo ang kagyat na pagbibigay ng kanilang separation pay na 11 taon na nilang hindi natatanggap. Airnel T. Abarra

WWW.PHILIPPINE CO L L EGIA N.ORG

Ma. Katherine H. Elona

Makabayan (Bayan), alyansa ng mga progresibong organisasyon.

Matapos aprubahan ang pagtaas ng pamasahe sa Light Rail Transit (LRT) at Metro Rail Transit (MRT), umani ng batikos si Pangulong Benigno Aquino III at ang kanyang gabinete mula sa mga grupong nagsasabing sapat na ang kasalukuyang singil sa mga tren upang maitaguyod ang operasyon nito.

Sinasagot ng gobyerno ang may P45 agwat sa P15 na pamasahe mula sa P65 na tunay na halaga ng pagsakay sa MRT at LRT ng bawat pasahero, ani Aquino sa kanyang pahayag sa media noong Setyembre 7 sa Negros Occidental.

Ngunit ang karagdagang singil na sinasalo ng gobyerno ay pantustos lamang sa kita ng mga pribadong kumpanyang katuwang sa pagpapatakbo ng mga tren, ani Sammy Malunes, tagapagsalita ng Riles Network.

Aabot sa P30 ang mungkahing bagong pamasahe ng pamahalaan, ayon sa pinakahuling pahayag ni Department of Trade and Commerce (DOTC) Secretary Manuel Roxas II sa media.

Ang subsidyong binabayaran ng pamahalaan ay maituturing na porma ng “debt servicing” dahil ipinambabayad lamang ito sa utang ng gobyerno sa mga korporasyon, ayon sa position paper ng Bagong Alyansang

Dagdag pasanin

“Napakahirap para sa minimum wage earner na abutin ang gusto nilang [singil sa pamasahe],” ani Malunes.

Kung susuriin ang kalahating milyong populasyon ng mga pasahero sa LRT at MRT, 81 bahagdan nito ang manggagawa, samantalang 15 bahagdan naman ang mga estudyante, ayon sa datos ng Riles Network. Ang natitirang apat na bahagdan ay mga walang trabaho na ginagamit ang LRT at MRT sa pamimili at iba pang gawain.

Ayon sa isang pag-aaral na isinagawa ng Japan Bank for International Corporation, halos 68 bahagdan din sa mga pasahero ang mababa pa sa P10,000 ang kinikita kada buwan.

Lalong titindi ang problema sa trapiko sa EDSA sakaling mapatupad ang pagtataas ng pamasahe, ani Malunes. Mababawasan ang mga pasahero sa MRT at LRT at lilipat na lamang sila sa iba pang sasakyang pampubliko gaya ng jeep at bus, ani Malunes.

Walang tiyak na plano

Hindi pa tiyak ang DOTC at LRT Authority (LRTA) kung kailan ipatutupad ang planong pagtaas ng pamasahe, ani LRTA Public Relations Division Manager Evelyn Paragas.

“Sinabi lang ni [Roxas] na necessary [ang pagtaas] pero ‘di pa namin alam kung itutuloy pa ‘yung original plan,” ani Paragas.

Sa mungkahing fare scheme ng LRTA, gagawing P11 ang base fare at magdadagdag ng pisong singil sa bawat susunod na kilometro mula sa kasalukuyang pasahe na nagkakahalagang P10-P15 kada biyahe.

Nakatakdang magpulong ang pamunuan ng LRTA kasama si Roxas sa Setyembre 27. Bagaman wala pa sa opisyal na listahan ng agenda ang pagtatakda ng petsa sa taaspamasahe, maaaring pag-usapan sa pulong na iyon ang lahat ng mga detalye ukol dito, ani Paragas.

Nakatakda sanang itaas ang pamasahe sa MRT at LRT noong nakaraang Marso ngunit ipinagpaliban ito dahil sa mga nilunsad na protesta ng iba’t ibang grupo gaya ng Riles Network at Bayan.

Kailangang makilahok ang mga mamamayan sa mga kampanya gaya ng signature campaign at mga rally upang mabago ang desisyon ng pamahalaan hinggil sa pagtataas ng pamasahe, ani Student Regent Krissy Conti. “Kailangang makumbinsi si Aquino by sheer number na marami ang tutol dito,” dagdag niya. ●

8-9 • Kulê Lathalain

Marjohara Tucay Mila Polinar “Patila na ang ulan,” Ruby Maja, 34, mumbles to her husband Edgar, as she stares at the dripping windows of the pediatric ward of Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRMMC). The couple just came out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where their 10-year old daughter Audrey, is critically ill with dengue fever.

“Sabi ng doktor, nagsubside na ang fever niya, from stage 4 to stage 3, pero critical pa rin,” Maja explains, as she sat in a bench outside the pediatric ward, her feet propped up on another chair.

“Sa ngayon, hintay-hintayin na lang namin kung anong mangyayari.”

It has been five days since Audrey was admitted in JRMMC for dengue, further complicated by a pre-existing congenital heart condition. As Audrey’s stay in the hospital lengthens, her hospital bills pile up way beyond what her parents could afford.

As some essential medicines are not available in the hospital pharmacy, Maja had to buy them at a more expensive price in commercial drugstores. In the span of five days, the couple already shelled out over P20,000 – more than double the P9,000 monthly salary of her husband, who works as a family driver. “Kapit sa patalim talaga, umutang kami sa lahat ng pwedeng utangan,” Maja says.

“Hindi pa nakakapagtrabaho ang asawa ko ngayon kasi nandito kami pareho sa ospital at nagbabantay.”

In the Philippines, where almost three out of ten Filipinos survive with less than P50 a day, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), medical attention and hospitalization is often beyond reach of the

ordinary citizen. On the average, once hospitalized, Filipino patients pay 59 percent of the total expenses out of their own pockets, while the government subsidizes 23 percent of the cost, according to the NSCB. The remaining 18 percent of the hospital bills are paid for by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

“Catastrophic ang bawat pagpapaospital sa bawat ordinaryong Pilipino. ‘Pag naospital ka, diretso lubog ka sa utang dahil wala kang pambadyet diyan,” says Dr. Gene Nisperos, vice chairperson of Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD).

Heavy burden

Hospitals are at the heart of health care delivery in the Philippines. Based on a 2010 study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, while there are first level facilities such as barangay health centers throughout the country, the majority of Filipinos still go directly to hospitals for treatment of illnesses.

There are 1,578 hospitals registered in the country as of 2007, according to Department of Health (DOH) However, only 617 or 39 percent are public.

Moreover, only 85 of public hospitals are “tertiary level,” or composed of medical centers, regional hospitals, and specialty care hospitals.

“Kaunti lang talaga ang public tertiary level hospital sa bansa, kaya hindi nakapagtataka na dagsa ang mga pasyente,” says Dr. Antoinette Pacapac, media relations officer of Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital (Fabella), the center for maternal and newborn cases in Metro Manila.

Indeed, visitors entering Fabella are greeted with a grim spectacle: pregnant mothers crowded in the corridors, waiting for available beds; and mothers who have recently delivered babies banished from their rooms to clear spaces, forced to cluster together in staircases, trying to rest but barely able to sit upright.

“Sikat na sikat nga ‘yung aming two patients per bed dito sa Fabella,” Pacapac says. Two mothers lie sideways on each of the 700 beds in the hospital, with their newborn babies occupying the center of the bed.

“When mothers deliver their babies, they usually stay in the hospital for only one day” Pacapac says. On the average, Fabella admits 155 patients per day while around 90 babies are delivered in the hospital daily.

“We can never turn away anyone.

So we have to make do with what we have,” Pacapac says.

Other hospitals are not so accommodating. Maja recalls that when she rushed Audrey to the JRMMC, she was told to come back another day since the emergency room was full. Audrey was already suffering from stage 3 dengue then.

Critical condition

With the government’s continued neglect of public hospitals, however, it would seem that the current situation is about to grow worse.

For 2012, the government proposes a P49.9 billion budget for the health sector, increasing nominally by almost 30 percent from P38.4 billion this year. However, the said budget is still a measly 0.4 percent of the current gross domestic product of the Philippines, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

The said budget allocation translates to only about P1.40 a day spending for health per Filipino.

“Kulang pa ‘yang pambili ng kahit band aid man lang,” Nisperos notes.

Next year, the government will not allot even a single peso for capital outlay, or funds for infrastructure and equipment development of government hospitals.

Meanwhile, out of 12 specialty hospitals in Metro Manila, five hospitals – including Fabella – will suffer a P80.6 million cut in personal

services (PS), or the funds for salaries and benefits of employees, next year.

Such cuts would take a toll on the services that public hospitals offer, says Dr. Felixberto Lukban, public relations coordinator of Philippine General Hospital. “As any doctor knows, there are some hospital services that you really need for diagnosis, like chest X-ray. Kadalasan sa PGH, sira ‘yung equipment o kaya nauubusan kami ng plaka,” he explains.

In such instances, doctors are forced to tell their patients to have diagnostic examinations performed outside PGH. “Sometimes doctors even have to shell out money, especially if your patient really has nothing, which is the case most of the time,” Lukban adds.

While P16 million has been allotted this year for the subsidy for the confinement and use of specialized equipment for indigent patients, this item has been totally removed from the 2012 proposed budget. “Parang sinasabi ng gobyerno na sa susunod na taon, bawal nang magpaospital ang pinakamahihirap nating kababayan,” Nisperos says.

“Kung wala nang subsidy sa indigents, paano na? E kung naghihingalo na ‘yung tao tapos walang pera? Pa’no, matsugi na lang?”

Maja exclaims.

Palliative care

While the budget for daily operations and facilities of state hospitals will be drastically diminished, the funds for the National Health Insurance Policy (NHIP) – which will be utilized to expand the coverage of PhilHealth – was increased by over P8.5 billion, from the current P3.5 billion to P12 billion in 2012.

With the Aquino administration allotting a higher budget for the distribution of PhilHealth cards, it is again mimicking the long-standing policy of past administrations:

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

Grim bill of health The deteriorating state of public hospitals

PhilHealth as the ultimate answer to all the country’s health problems.

“The cornerstone of universal health care is ensuring that all Filipinos are protected from the financial burden illnesses bring through a reformed PhilHealth,” says DOH Secretary Enrique Ona. However, poor information dissemination regarding the cards has compromised this purpose. “Hindi naiintindihan ng mga indigent ang mga cards na yan,” says Pacapac. To avail of PhilHealth services, one would first need to secure a Member’s Data record, a requirement which most members are not familiar with.

In Fabella, she shares, only 14 percent of patients availed of their PhilHealth insurance which is considered very low.

Moreover, the services offered by PhilHealth may continue to be limited for as long as hospital facilities remain decrepit due to lack of funding, says Dr. Geneve Rivera, secretary-general of HEAD. For instance, a patient cannot truly avail of certain PhilHealth services such as reduced rates for surgery if a hospital does not have the proper equipment to do the procedure.

Indeed, instead of pouring government funds into PhilHealth cards, increasing the actual budget for facilities and equipment makes more sense, argues Lukban. “Pag sa MOOE [maintenance and other operating expenditures] ipinasok ang pera, diretso agad sa ospital. ‘Pag sa PhilHealth, mag-aantay pa kami ng at least four months.”

Side effects

Strengthening the PhilHealth system is part of Aquino’s overall scheme to enhance public private partnerships (PPPs). “Operating under

the concept of PPP, the PhilHealth tapped corporate partners from the private sector to give the new ID card more value,” according to PhilHealth.

The Aquino administration adopted PPPs as a scheme to reduce the budget for social services by coordinating with private companies. With PPPs, “inaallow nila ang mga negosyante na tumulong sa development at enhancement ng hospitals,” says Rivera. “Pero alam natin na ang private sector, pag pumasok sila, ang uunahin nila ay tubo,” she adds.

As private companies prioritize profit-making over the provision of health services, health services may become more costly and in turn, less accessible.

For instance, due to the P11 million budget cut in the MOOE of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, rates for diagnostic tests increased by over 100 percent. A chest PA X-ray test which initially cost only P120 was increased to P250 last March.

Budget cuts only led to the entry of private entities in the health sector and the rise of health costs, according to the UP Health Organization for the People (UP HOPE), a health organization based in UP Manila.

UP HOPE cites the

construction of the Faculty Medical Arts Building (FMAB) within PGH and the memoranda issued by Gonzales which “curtailed free access of Class D patients to laboratory services.” The funds used by PGH come from the UP budget and is in turn also a victim of the budget cuts experienced by UP. As such, PGH, supposedly established to cater to indigent patients, is at the brink of compromising its original mandate which was further disregarded with the construction of FMAB which operates like a private hospital within PGH. “Isa yan sa pinakamalaking insulto…na magkaroon ng isang pribadong ospital sa loob mismo ng PGH na nag-ooffer ng halos kapareho, if not faster diagnostic procedures than PGH,” says Nisperos.

Alternative treatment

Given the current framework of the administration, the whole health sector is in critical condition for the next five years.

In the face of such prospects, the solution then becomes obvious: increase the budget for health services, says Rivera. A P90 billion budget should be given to the DOH to institute proper reforms that will effectively provide enough subsidies to state hospitals.

To do so would

entail a reversal of the policies that lead to insufficient funding of health services such as the automatic debt servicing policy which mandates that a higher budget is allocated to pay debt. For the 2012 proposed budget, the allocation for debt servicing was 15 times higher than that of health services, according to IBON. Spending for health must be prioritized, states Staff Regent Jossel Ebesate. Health services should not be privatized and should instead be made accessible among the “poorest and most vulnerable,” he adds.

While government coffers are emptied to buy bullets and appease investors, meanwhile, more patients will rush to state hospitals, waiting in line to receive the health services they could not afford had they gone to a private hospital. The queue becomes longer as the delivery of services remains slow. Even the most basic health services, it seems, has become a privilege provided only to those who can pay. ●

Photographs by Chris Imperial, John Keithley Difuntorum and Airnel Abarra Artwork by Ysa Calinawan Page design by Kel Almazan

10 • Kulê Opinyon

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

MARIE BARCELONA

NEWSCAN

Lines to a President* Last week — in an act of remarkable arrogance and idiocy, even for you — you singled out a youth organization three decades old, the League of Filipino Students, and compared it to the Marcos dictatorship.

This sentiment was wrong, on every level, from form to content to context to history.

I am a student. I believe the youth have the right to organize, to protest, to mobilize. I believe these rights become even more crucial in the darkest moments of our history, such as Martial Law, when oppressive conditions forced the youth to form solid, disciplined organizations with rules and hierarchies.

You condemned the LFS for having an executive committee that issued orders to its members. What serious organization doesn’t engage in the same practice? Is it your suggestion that during those dangerous times, casual barkada gatherings and intellectual oncampus discussions would have been enough to combat the tyrannical Marcos regime?

You seem to believe that students should confine themselves to their books and classrooms, watching but not participating in events beyond their schools, interested only in their own dreams of high grades and high-paying

jobs. You contend that even during Martial Law, it would have been a mistake to join “dictatorial” organizations that call on the youth to take concrete action to further their aims.

You may even charge us with hypocrisy — certainly, we have our own opinions on your leadership style. Inutil, papet, pahirap sa masa.

However, the criticisms against you are valid public input on your governance and programs. Farmers attack you for your inaction on the longstanding issue of land reform, workers slam you for your refusal to heed their calls for a higher minimum wage, students rally against your decision to decrease the budget for state universities and colleges.

In fact, those who dissent, including LFS, are the torchbearers of change and development, the best examples of a public holding the government accountable for its actions.

Thirty years ago, members of the LFS fought and died in the struggle against Marcos, while you were comfortably ensconced within the safety of Ateneo University. Today, you have targeted and denounced LFS in particular, and because you are President, that is tantamount to bullying.

Yet the nature of LFS is such that repression will never make it back down.

You were by accident born to icons in the ouster of a dictator, but by choice you declined to play an active role in the struggle

Indeed, for an organization to be singled out by no less than the President is as much a recognition of that group’s strength as a disparagement of its particular policies.

But please, stop pretending that you didn’t join the youth movement against Marcos out of principle. Of course you had “qualms;” you never would have been a member of LFS, if your policies now are any indication. Your entire persona as President — your belief that the welfare of Filipino workers is secondary to attracting foreign investors, your refusal to redistribute over 6,000 hectares of land to the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, your stance on everything from oil deregulation to charter change — is a living manifestation of everything the LFS and other youth groups are struggling against.

The battle lines are drawn. Some three decades ago, you were by accident born to parents who were icons in the ouster of a dictator, but by choice you declined to play an active role in the struggle. Now you are on the other side of the fence. As you hand down harsh policies on education, be prepared to meet the full force of militant youth, fighting for a legitimate cause, unleashed. ● *For LFS

GABRIELA Youth will launch a Fun Run entitled “Young Women Run Against Aquino’s Budget Cuts!” on September 18, Sunday, at the UP Acad Oval. It aims to inform and engage a broader number of young women and students towards a more pro-women and pro-people society geared toward a more meaningful budget for basic social services such as education, health, and housing. For inquiries, text Abi (09152272102) or Joan (09261494262).

(W)IN THE KNOW: A Current Events Quiz Show

Because it pays to be in the know, get a chance to win P3000 in (W)IN THE KNOW: A Current Events Quiz Show on September 20 (Tuesday), 5-7 pm, PH 400. Just form a team of 2-3 and pay P50 team registration fee. Prizes are P3000, P2000 and P1000 cash!

For more information, contact Brad 0915.520.3140. Brought to you by the UP Journalism Club and the College of Mass Communication Student Council in celebration of Mass Media Awareness Month 2011.

UP Concert Chorus Grand Audition Day

JAKE KWENTA

Sa iyo na kinatatakutan ng Pangulo Maraming mga kaganapang pinalalampas mo na lamang sa iyong gunita, mga pangyayaring pakiwari mo’y wala namang tiyak na ugnayan sa ‘yong mundo. Tadtad na ang iyong timetable ng takdang aralin at mga gimik upang malamang noong isang linggo, may bago na namang planetang natuklasan, at na, sa isang walang kinalamang kaganapan, inihalintulad ni Noynoy sa diktador ang mga aktibista.

Naganap ang huli sa investiture ng bagong pangulo ng Ateneo kung saan sinabi ni Noynoy na tinanggihan niyang maging miyembro ng League of Filipino Students noong nasa kolehiyo pa lamang siya tulad mo. Pamilyar sa iyo marahil ang LFS, silang mahilig mag-ingay at manawagan na ibagsak ang/si ganito ganire.

Ani Noynoy, tumanggi siyang maging kabahagi ng LFS dahil sa umiiral umanong diktadurya sa loob ng organisasyon.

Para sa isang anak ng prominenteng political figures na nakaranas ng pandarahas mula sa militar at estado, nakapagtatakang hindi naging kaakitakit para sa kanya ang radikal na pulitika at sa halip ay nahirati sa konserbatibong pakikisangkot at nagawa pang umanib sa ROTC. Marahil, pinili mo ring huwag sumali sa mga organisasyon tulad ng LFS, hindi dahil pareho kayo ng rason ni Noynoy,

Gabriela Youth-UP Diliman Fun Run

kundi dahil payak at simpleng ayaw mong maging aktibista. Para sa iyo at sa maraming kabataan, isang malaking turn-off ang makialam sa pultika at mga pambansang isyu.

Maaaring maihalintulad mo ang iyong sarili kay Noynoy bunsod nito, ngunit magkaiba kayo ng pinanggagalingan.

Kung isasaalang-alang ang iniinugang sirkumstansiya ng mga pahayag ng Pangulo, ang mga ito ay pagtatangkang iligtas ang kanyang sarili mula sa posibleng pagdaluyong ng kabataang inaasulto ng kanyang mga tagibang na patakaran. Sa pagbanggit niya ng kanyang karanasan noong kolehiyo, ipinamumukha niya sa iyong kawangis ng iyong kinasasadlakan ang kanyang mga pinagdaanan. Tulad din ng kanyang ginawa, ang pagpili mong manahan sa lilim ng kaalwan ay pinagmimistulang katanggap-tanggap.

Ang nasabing talumpati ni Noynoy sa Ateneo ay perpektong oportunidad upang yurakan ang kredibilidad ng isa sa mga masugid nitong kritiko.

Matatandaang ang kanyang pahayag ay ginawa ilang linggo matapos marahas na idisperse ang iyong mga kamag-aral na nagprotesta laban sa pagtapyas sa budget ng UP at isang araw matapos maipakita sa telebisyon ang mga aktibista na nagtatali ng puting ribbon sa braso ang mga kongresista na nakiisa

Alam ni Noynoy na likas sa tulad mo ang umasam ng radikal na pagbabago

sa kanilang kampanya para sa mataas na subsidyo sa edukasyon. Karuwagang maituturing ang paninira niya sa mga kabataang aktibistang hindi naman niya pinakikinggan ang mga panawagan.

Iniuugnay ni Noynoy ang mga salitang tulad ng diktadurya sa mga organisasyong tulad ng LFS upang ihiwalay ang mga tulad mong kabataan sa mga pagkilos na naglalayong baguhin ang lipunan. Kinailangan niyang gumamit ng bagong maantang na pang-uri dahil sa kabila ng matinding paninira ng mga nakapangyayari laban sa mga grupong tulad ng LFS ay marami pa ring kabataan ang naaakit sa militante nilang tradisyon.

Alam ni Noynoy na likas sa tulad mo ang umasam ng radikal na pagbabago, kaya’t gagawa at gagawa siya ng pamamaraan, tulad ng pag-imbento ng isang buktot na naratibo, upang maging kuntento ka sa kasalukuyan.

Para sa gobyerno, sapat nang maipakita mo ang iyong pagkamamamayan sa pamamagitan ng pagtatanim ng puno, pag-ambag sa charity at paglulunsad ng mga online campaign. Subalit higit ka pa sa mga ito tulad ng sinasabi ng ating kasaysayan. Sa bawat bitaw ng paninira at insulto ni Noynoy, tumitindi lamang ang sangsang ng kanyang pangamba at pagkabahala sa iyong potensyal bilang kabataan, ikaw na kanyang kinatatakutan. ●

Your ticket to infinite possibilities is here! The University of the Philippines Concert Chorus is holding a GRAND AUDITION DAY on September 24, Saturday, from 8 am to 3 pm at the Mini Hall, College of Music. The audition is open to ALL UP STUDENTS. Be part of UPCC’s 50 years of glorious choral tradition: join the Korus! Simply register online at http://www.facebook.com/ UPConcertChorus or in person at the audition venue. Prepare to sing one English and one Filipino song without accompaniment.

For more details, contact 0917-628-3739, or visit http:// www.facebook.com/UPConcertChorus.

AKLE: Alternative Korea Learning Experience

Learn more about Korea beyond Kpop!

Join UP Arirang and the UP Center for International Studies for the second installment of the 7-part Alternative Korea Learning Experience lecture series. The second lecture will be held on Monday, September 19, 1PM at the CIS classroom. Come early to join us celebrate Chuseok through exciting traditional Korean games and yummy rice cakes!

OVERLOAD

Iniimbitahan namin kayo sa OVERLOAD, oportunidad upang makapagsimula ng prepaid loading business. Alamin kung paano mapapadali ang takbo ng iyong loading business. Magkita-kita tayo sa Setyembre 17, 2011, 10AM, sa College of Mass Communication Auditorium. Para sa karagdagang katanungan, kontakin si Vanessa sa 09274526512.

11 • Kulê Opinyon

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

TEXTBACK

1. Anong masasabi mo sa pagbaba ng ranking ng UP sa QS world university survey?

Paanong hindi bababa ranking e wala nan gang budget, babawasan pa. Aba, maawa naman ang nanunungkulan.haha. 0950703 E panu kulang na nga ang budget ng peyup tpos bnabwasan pa kea pti kalidad bwas din pati sweldo ng mga prof kundi kulang sila mismo ang kulang-kulang.haha onse-79112 physics!woot Y0h Kuleee! Ang masasabi ko lang sa pagbaba ng ranking ng UP sa Survey ek-ek.. hindi ko sisisihin ang UP, ang students, o ang budget cut,. Kaya bumaba ang ranking ng UP eh dahil malapit na ang 2012, it means, malapit ng magunaw ang mundo at isa-isa nang nagugunaw ang mga bagay-bagay. At isa sa mga unang nagunaw ay ang edukasyon sa UP. Yun lang. n_n.

Hi kay BRYAN PAUL AGUSTIN  samgurl01, bschem, 1149466 Pangunahing dahilan ang budget kung bakit bumaba ang ranking natin. Pero di rin natin maikakaila na may epekto ang ibang polisiya ng unibersidad gaya ng RGEP na para sa akin ay nagpababa sa kalidad ng edukasyon sa UP. 0823974 Hindi kaya bumaba pa ulit ranking ng UP next year pag nag-cut na naman ng budget si PNoy?! Isang malaking TSK para sa panggulo ng Pilipinas. Este pangulo pala. :D 11-29861 Sana maging wake up call ito para sa gobyerno-na ang UP, bilang primyadong unibersidad sa Pilipinas, ay unti-unting nahihirapan dahil sa kakulangan sa budget na nilalaan nila sa atin. 2009-11929 Math Ang masasabi ko lang, proud pa din. Kulang na nga ang suporta sa atin ng gobyerno, still konti lang ang binaba nitong ranggo. In the first place, Malabo din naman na pakinggan tayo ng mga nasa pwesto. Kaya patunayan nalang natin na kakayanin natin. GO mga Isko at Iska!!! Hi pala kay Chi. :D 2011-06127, BSEE 2. Sinong gusto mong makasama sa linggo ng strike laban sa budget cut?

Yoh kule. Haha. Gusto kong makasama sa strike? Si BRYAN PAUL AGUTIN. Sya yung may super PUTI na JANSPORT bag. Hahaha.

Tapos WEIRDONG maglakad. HAHAHAHA. Kahit wag na magstrike, basta kasama ko sya.

Hahahahaha. At dahil nga weirdo siya maglakad, magiging mabagal ang paglalakad naming at mas matagal ko syang makakasama  wala lang.

1149466 samgurl01 n_n Gusto ko makasama sa Linggo ng Strike laban sa budget cut si Pacquiao. Panigurado kasing di nila magagalaw ang mga aktibista kung makita nilang kasama naming sya! Hahaha!

Takot lang nila dun! K.O. na!  201178972 Gusto ko makasama c donal ong  4443 BSBE Ang gusto kong makasama sa strike this Sept. ay si MICHELLE ROSE LIM ng CMC.Ang CUTE-CUTE NIYA TALAGA!She’s so pizzaz!Siya ang magiging alas ng mga tagaPeyups sa darating na strike!Go UP! 1178406 SS Gusto ko isama yung pinakakonyo kong kakilala!Yung tipong di siya magiinarte at buong pusong makikibaka kasama ang mga tibak.

Labanan ang budget cut! 10-40233 Ohm! Gusto kong makasama sa linggo ng

EKSENANG PEYUPS

strike laban sa budget cut si Ninoy at sasabhn ko sa kanya na multuhin nya ang anak nyang lalaki kc mali ang ginagawa nitong pagtapyas sa budget lalo na sa edukasyon. 2009-35047 Comments Sobrang amazing ka talaga Gidget Estella <3 956396 Gusto ko lang pong sabihin na as a freshie isa sa inaabangan ko po ay ang Kule! Way ‘to para makilala ko lalo ang school ko at maging aware sa iba-ibang balita. Ang Cool po ng mga articles and stories! And illustrations. Excited for more  11-441117 May budget cut na nga oh.sinasayang pa ng eksenang peyups ung espasyo..ibalik na c ateng last year,halata naman kcng hnd na c ate un eh, tsk.tsk 1014021 Gusto ko lang linawin para sa lahat na hindi mo matatawag na budget cut kung hindi pa ganap na batas. Siguro pwedeng tawaging proposed budget cut. 97-78038 Maganda ung balikbayan article since relate ako pero daming typo tapos umuulit mga paragraph. D na cguro masolusyonan ng layout artist kaya copy paste na lng paragraphs para mafill ang empty space. 200369710 Delfin Mercado, mahal na kita! Mas nainspire akong hindi matulog ngayong gabi for a plate due tomorrow. Ramdam ka naming lahat mula sa Arki. Keep up the good work!  09-50589 BLArch Bkit b halos may mali sa kule? Kung hindi sa figures, may typo and worse, tatlong buong paragraph plus a phrase na mali! What happened to d proof readers!? Nag.loa ba?

Hehe.  2011-38438 The government is not listening to us; we must take action now. We can start by studying hard. 0104145 To Wais na Commuter, ang presyo ng langis sa pandaigdigang merkado ay tumataas dahil mas malakas gumamit nito kasya sa maganap ng bagong pagkukunan. In short, mataas ang demand, paliit ang suplay. Dahil marami ang nagaagawan sa konting langis, handang magbayad ng mahal ang mga kumpanya ng langis para magkaroon ito. Dahil dyan, maghanap na lang tayo ng ibang energy source  03-45729 Dun sa picture na kuha ni chris imperial na muling pagkalampag, august 25 po siya naganap, hindi 26. Salamat!  10-49979 Kulang po ng ‘Vice’ yung <US---- Pres. Al Gore> 1st paragraph – TEMPEST IN UPLB, Inbox, p. 15  11-60924 MatE Next week’s questions: 1. Sino ang gusto mong magkaroon ng expose sa Wikileaks at tungkol saan ang expose?

2. Kung ikaw si Shamcey Supsup, anong isasagot mo sa tanong sa kanya sa Miss Universe pageant?

09175312630

Deh Shamceeey Edishun

OHEMGEE mga teh! As in Oh my GAGA! Umuulan sa madaming scoops at pasabog ang linggong itey!

Spurt nang spurt! Sobrang sarap ng mga bittersweetness na tumalsik this week. Sa sobrang pait, natunaw pati balls ko!

Supsup #1: Sino ditey na dalawang koyang na nagsigawan in front of your Mother Varga! As in uber sa bitterness and hatred filled with cheesy love ang binitawang lines ni koyang: “Para akong damit na hinubad dahil kupas na ang kulay sa sobrang gamit.” Daig pa ang SOAP OPERA. Sabon kasi nang sabon! ;( Lesson sa mga paasa: magmahal ng walang kahati, keri?

Supsup #2: Infair! Sino naman ditey na looking straight koyang na umupo in front along ASKAL? Tinabihan siya ng isang cute na frat boy para magjinvite. Fratboy: “May hinihintay ka ba?” Looking straight koyang: “Umm... hinihintay ko ang boyfriend ko eh.” NEGATE to the max si fratboy! Hahahahar! Bengga naman kasi itong si bi-koyang at ‘di nahalata ang natural straight moves!!

Supsup #3: Depression to the max naman ang sang kaburgesyahan ng UP sa third runner UP placement ng Pilipenis sa Miss U! Hindi talaga warla ang beauty ng Pinas dahil nakaabot siya ng top 5. Infernez sa kanyang sagot puno ng GIRL POWER: “And if that person loves me, he should love my God” Well, malay mo in the future may magduwal ng Shamcey-like baby and she becomes the next Miss U! Char!

At dyan na muna akez mga teh and friends! Manghuhuli pa ako ng boys and their flying birds! Char!

Gagamitan ko na lang silang lahat ng super SUPSUP “TSUNAMI” WALK at baka maakit ko sila! Baka makasupsup pa ako ng YUMMY! Hmmm...!

Next week na lang! Mwah mwah!

Kulê The Back Page

Huwebes 15 Setyembre 2011

Bilog ang buwan, mahalumigmig ang simoy ng hangin – tamang-tama para sa inuman ng magkakapitbahay. Handa na sa mesa sa tapat ng tindahan ang malamig na serbesa at ang pulutang adobong manok na dala ni Kapitan.

“Natagpuan ko na lang ‘yan sa bakuran ko kanina,” ani Kapitan sabay nguso sa pulutan habang nagmumuwestrang ginigilitan ang sarili sa leeg. “Dedo.”

Napa-iling ang mga kasama niya, hindi makapaniwalang napasok ng magnanakaw pati ang bahay ng kapitan na may limang mababangis na pitbull at sementadong pader.

“Alam n’yo Kap, nangyari na rin ‘tong nakanawan ng mga hayop sa isa pang baryo,” anang isang lalaki sa umpukan.

Namumuhay raw kasama ng isang halimaw ang mga tao sa karatig na baryo. Sa matagal na panahon, nasanay na silang makatagpo ng nilapang kalabaw o baboy sa gubat, warak ang kalahati ng mukha at nilililok ng mga uod at langgam ang tiyan. Lagi ring nawawala ang mga manok at iba pa nilang alaga. “‘Yung halimaw ang kumukuha?” anang isa sa mga mama. “Anong halimaw ‘yan, kapre? Tikbalang?”

“Ano namang gagawin ng tikbalang sa mga manok?” hirit ng isa, pero itinuloy pa rin ang kuwento.

Walang nangangahas maghanap o pumatay sa halimaw – tanggap na ng mga mamamayan doon na bahagi na ng kanilang buhay ang takot at pangamba. Maingat sila at mapagmasid – baka dumating ang panahong sila mismo’y sasagpangan ng halimaw habang naglalakad sa gubat o naglalaba sa ilog.

Higit na tumindi ang pag-aalala ng mga mamamayan nang dumating ang panahon ng tagtuyot. Ilang buwang hindi umulan at hindi nadiligan ang mga sumisibol na binhi. Namatay ang mga puno’t nagka-bitak-bitak ang lupa at hindi na rin kinaya ng ilang mga alagang hayop ang init.

Nag-alay sila ng kalabaw, nanalangin sa mga engkanto’t humingi ng tawad sa mga duwendeng maaaring nagawan ng kasalanan ngunit hindi pa rin dumating ang hinihintay nilang ulan at patuloy pa rin ang pananalakay ng halimaw.

Nang maluklok sa puwesto ang isang kapitan, ipinangako niyang gagawa siya ng paraan upang manumbalik ang dati nilang kabuhayan. Naisip ng kapitan: kailangang tugisin ang halimaw!

“Bakit hindi na lang gumawa ng paraan para magkaroon ng patubig?” nagtaka ang isang mama. Tumango ang lahat at humingi ng sagot sa kaibigang nagkukuwento.

“Patapusin n’yo muna!”

Sinimulan ang paghahanap sa halimaw. Nagtayo ang mga lalaki ng mga bitag sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng baryo.

Nagtali sila ng mga lubid sa mga talasok na ipinasak sa lupa, at naglagay ng mga pain na karne.

Tuwing umaga, makikita nilang nasira ang mga bitag – napigtas ang tali’t tila ba dinaanan lang ng isang dambuhalang hayop na hindi kayang gapusin ng patibong.

Ibinenta ng mga tao ang natitirang pananim nila upang makabili ng mas matibay na pisi at ginamit nilang pain ang mga natitirang alagang hayop. Ilang linggo ang lumipas at, sa wakas, nagtagumpay din sila nang mahuli ang isang higanteng buwaya.

“Mga singhaba ng bahay ni Kap ngayon, gano’n ba?” pagtataka ng isa. “Oo,” sagot ng nagkukuwento, “higit sa limang dipa ng tao.”

“Kung ganoon kalaki e bakit walang nakakakita?” may isa pang nagtanong.

Naghihintay ng sagot ang lahat, habang nakangisi lang si Kap sa kanyang puwesto’t nginunguya ang inihandang pulutan.

“Tingin n’yo Kap?” tanong ng isang lalaki.

“Teka, ano’ng nangyari pagkatapos?”

Sa una’y kinilabutan ang mga tao. Hindi nila akalaing isang higanteng buwaya pala ang halimaw na matagal nang nanalanta sa kanilang baryo. At dahil nahuli na ito, umasa silang makapamuhay nang walang pag-aalala at mapapanumbalik ang sigla ng kanilang kabuhayan matapos ang tagtuyot.

Kinuha nila ang pinakamatutulis na sundang para sa seremonya ng pasasalamat at walang habas na pinagsasaksak ang nahuling halimaw. Naghihiyawan ang mga tao habang nalunod sa ingay ang napinid na palahaw ng buwayang binusalan. Idinilig nila ang dugo nito sa lupang uhaw.

Lalong nagdiwang ang mga tao nang maya-maya’y may pumatak na ambon na naging malakas na ulan.

Marami pang tanong ang mga lalaki sa pagtatapos ng kuwento, pero panay hindi-ko-alam at malay-ko-ba ang sagot ng tagapagsalaysay.

“Malay n’yo may buwayang nagmamasid d’yan sa likod ng mga puno habang nagkukuwentuhan tayo,” biro ni Kap. Tumawa ang lahat at nagpalitan sila ng haka-haka kung sino talaga ang magnanakaw ng manok sa baryo. “Magtayo na lang tayo ng bitag para matigil ang sumpa!” hirit ng isang lalaki.

Matapos ang biruan at kuwentuhan, nagpasya nang umuwi at maghiwa-hiwalay ang magkakapitbahay.

Naglakad si Kap pauwi sa kanila, at bago tumuloy sa bahay, dumaan muna siya sa bakurang napalilibutan ng mataas na sementadong pader.

Naalala niyang sa susunod na linggo na ang kaarawan ng kanyang misis. Napangiti siya sa sarili habang pinagmamasdan ang pinakamatataba’t malulusog sa mga alagang manok . Tiyak, mabubusog na naman ang buong bayan. Walang magtataka, walang makahahalata kung saang bakuran nga ba nanggaling ang kanyang ihahain.

Mamaya, katulad ng mga nagdaang bukang-liwayway, sa bakuran niya pa rin manggagaling ang ● pinakamalakas na koro ng tilaok ng manok sa buong bayan.

Dibuho ni Nico Villarete