Philippine Collegian Issue 3-4

1 in 3 Diliman UPCAT passers does not enrol in UP — Page 3 Dreamscape

Philippine Collegian Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas - Diliman 5 Hulyo 2011 Taon 89, Blg. 3 - 4

No right turn

Terminal Cases Delfin Mercado

T

Aquino’s detour from the ‘tuwid na daan’

he incessant rain eradicated all chances for an evening run around the Academic Oval.

With an oversized umbrella in hand, I trudged along the muddy path to the jeepney stop. I intentionally slowed down my pace, glancing back with each step, half-wishing to see you walking behind me.

Coming home, I found the front door of the apartment ajar. I was surprised when you came out, but pleased when you pressed your lips into mine. I inhaled your Marlboro menthol-breath. Moments later, I was tracing every crevice in your body with relish.

The skies rumbled and woke me from my ecstasy. It was a dream. I turned over in bed, willing myself back to sleep and back to you.

The sweet alto of your voice startled me. “Hello,” you said, from your side of the bed. You lay there, with only the sheets on. I looked into your eyes and recognized that familiar gaze, the one you always gave me when you wanted me to run after you, back in the beaches of our childhood.

A clap of thunder echoed through the room. I blinked.

When I opened my eyes, you were gone. A dream within a dream.

Nowadays, we only meet in dreams. We meet in my dreams, where I am most powerful. I can imagine you in any way I want, and draw up scenarios that will never be possible when I am awake.

Yet, no matter how perfect the dreams are, I dread dreaming of you. Asleep, my own creations can betray me: my dreams of you are too vivid to forget, too beautiful to be forgotten for me to want to wake from them. And worse, they keep me from wanting the real thing.

It has been a week now since I last saw you walking around the Academic Oval. You were with friends you met in college—friends of yours who are no longer friends of mine. You smiled and waved when you saw me, then I ran towards you, thinking of how soft your— A dream within a dream. I don’t even have to sleep to dream. ●

Mila Polinar Tuwid na daan.

This was the path, one year ago, that Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III vowed to tread as the 15th President of the Philippines. In his inauguration speech, he said he would part ways with his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose crooked governance served as the framework for numerous cases of corruption, incompetence, and human rights violations. Aquino announced that his administration would lay its own foundations, sweeping away the vestiges of the previous term.

as wa k g wa a m g ng ito dain o–d t a i g a m wn ised sa rom hid a a ra p n s , a e n m H yo n ow ino. nong “Nga Aq u the umu d f m g e o a n i p to laim ang e vo k mot n,” c , a e n y h o t a ti b rrup been taum s: had l co l t e tion a u q elec e th n to i e l h g ng ta g t wa l a urin ous d , t y fa m p u idac corr cand ng his a l a w g “ Ku n

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Disappearing justice Editoryal Pahina 2

Pagpapatuloy ng karahasan sa ilalim ni Aquino Lathalain Pahina 7

2 • Kulê Opinyon

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

Disappearing justice On June 2006, two UP students disappeared in Hagonoy, Bulacan.

Over the next five years —arduous ones for all who knew the missing young women — a slow trickle of witnesses would emerge, telling the story of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño’s abduction, and their subsequent rape and torture by suspected members of the military.

Five years. In the first few weeks after the abduction, Karen and She became the faces of the hundreds of desaparecidos under the regime of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a time when state-perpetrated violence escalated with the implementation of the counterinsurgency program Oplan Bantay-Laya (OBL).

Outrage erupted over the fate of Manuel Merino, the farmer from Bulacan who heard Karen and She screaming, tried to help, and ended up being burned alive, according to accounts pieced together from several witnesses.

Now, there is a grim resignation in the continuing protest actions and calls for justice for the victims. Now, there are only three possible outcomes. Karen and She could be found dead; they could be surfaced, victims of a five-year ordeal for which there is no possible restitution; or no one (but their abductors) might ever know for sure what happened to them.

When the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed this May the 2008 decision of the appellate court granting the writ of amparo to Karen, She and Merino, it confirmed what has long been an established fact: the military is behind Karen and She’s abduction. The two, together with thousands of others, are victims of a counterinsurgency program which did not differentiate between armed rebels and members of legal progressive

Quoted

Marianne Rios

organizations. For years, the AFP has justified their horrendous deeds by insinuating that activists and rebels are one and the same, subjecting both to torture, rape and other forms of human rights violations.

In ordering the AFP to “fully ensure the release” of Karen, She and Merino, the high court not only ruled that military figures such as retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan are personally liable for the disappearance and torture, the high court also reminded the military that they are not above the law.

It is disappointing however that while the high court castigates AFP officials, the court exempts high-ranking officials including former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, and Avelino Razon from responsibility over the disappearances. They have command responsibility over the implicated soldiers, and as these acts of violence would not have

Editoryal

been committed without their prior knowledge, these people are culpable in the abductions.

While Karen and She remain missing, these officials who condoned the reign of impunity through the OBL remain free from any charge.

Moreover, while the affirmation of the writ of amparo – which allows the kin of the disappeared to access information from the AFP and search several military camps – is a symbolic victory for human rights advocates, it is essentially useless for the longdisappeared victims. The ruling may seem to compel the AFP to surface the missing students, but without the cooperation of the military, any information provided will be meaningless, and any search will prove futile. Indeed, despite being implicated by no less than the SC in the abduction, the AFP simply continues to deny involvement in the disappearance of Karen and She. Despite the Aquino administration’s promise to break away from the

culture of impunity bred by the previous regime, the human rights situation in the country remains a cause for alarm. Even as the AFP projects a new façade of nonviolence through the Oplan Bayanihan, political killings and various abuses continue.

The protracted judicial process has in more ways made it more difficult to search for Karen, She and hundreds of other desaparecidos.

Every day that justice is delayed, the possibility of their eventual surfacing diminishes.

With the law of the land found lacking in protecting its citizens from abuses of the state, it is incumbent upon our leaders to enact and enforce laws that would uphold the rights of every citizen. We will continue searching for the disappeared, and we will not rest until the Aquino administration holds accountable the perpetrators of these abuses.

●

Philippine Collegian www.philippinecollegian.org Punong Patnugot Marjohara S. Tucay Kapatnugot Pauline Gidget R. Estella Tagapamahalang Patnugot Dianne Marah E. Sayaman Mga Panauhing Patnugot Jayson D. Fajarada, Larissa Mae R. Suarez Patnugot Sa Lathalain Mila Anna Estrella S. Polinar Patnugot Sa Grapiks Nicolo Renzo T. Villarete, Chris Martin T. Imperial Tagapamahala Ng Pinansiya Richard Jacob N. Dy Kawani Ruth Danielle R. Aliposa 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 Pilipinas 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

[L]et me correct [John Gabriel Pelias’] claim that lack of money is never a hindrance once someone gets the chance to become an Iskolar ng Bayan. As my case proves, it is. —Lyndon John S. de

Leon, Young Blood column, Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 22

Wala namang nakakadiri sa pagmamahal.

Ang nakakadiri ay ‘yung panghuhusga ng mga obispo sa mga taong nagmamahalan.

—Rev. Ceejay Agbayani of

the Metropolitan Community Church, in response to Bishop Teodoro Bacani’s ‘pandidiri’ to same sex marriage, abs-cbnnews.com, June 29

I think divorce should be available to people who become homicidal at the sight of each other.

—Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago,

when asked about love, marriage and divorce during her 40th wedding anniversary, abs-cbnnews.com, June 20

3 • Kulê Balita

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

1 in 3 Diliman UPCAT passers does not enrol in UP Richard Damian More than a third or around 1,300 of the 3,826 UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) qualifiers in UP Diliman (UPD) did not enrol this academic year, citing reasons such as proximity issues, and scholarship grants and lower fees in other universities, among others.

Only 65 percent or 2,502 of the UPCAT passers have enrolled as of June 30, according to the UPD Office of the University Registrar, barely a percent higher than the 2,482 who enrolled out of the 3,826 UPCAT qualifiers last year.

However, the freshman enrolment in UP Diliman has not increased “significantly” and even tends to decrease, said UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma.

Since the 300 percent tuition and other fees increase (TFI) in 2007, the number of UPCAT qualifiers who actually enter UP has been decreasing at an average of three percent. In 2010 and 2011, however, the number of UPCAT passers who enrolled increased by eight and one percent, respectively. (See sidebar 1) The high “no show” rate shows how UP education is becoming less accessible to students, said UP Student Regent Ma. Kristina Conti.

Inaccessible education

A survey conducted by the Office of the University Registrar revealed that an average of five percent of UPCAT qualifiers who did not enrol in UP the past four academic years were offered scholarships in other universities.

“It is really a matter of having options, hindi naman natin mapipigilan kung gusto nila pumunta sa [ibang university]...at least they continue to college pero sana nga kasing ganda ng UP education ‘yung makukuha nila,” said Saloma.

However, these UPCAT qualifiers did not enrol in UP because of the “unaffordable tuition and poor range of scholarships” in the university, said Conti.

Rochelle, an UPCAT passer, availed of an entrance scholarship offered by the University of Santo Tomas.

“Mataas na din kasi ang tuition sa UP [at] mahirap pa naman daw makakuha ng [financial assistance]. Kung tulad sana noon na P300 lang [per unit], baka tumuloy ako,” she said.

In 2007, the UP administration implemented increased the then base tuition of P300 per unit to P1,000 to “cope with the rapidly increasing maintenance and other operating expenses” of the University according

to the 2006 TFI primer issued by the UP administration.

Budget constraints

The university’s budget constraints lead to “unaffordable education, poor range of scholarships and even declining competitiveness of education,” said Conti.

“Every year, UP asks the national government for a higher budget... but what we do receive is proportionally lower than the previous year’s budget,” according to the ToFI primer.

In 2006, the university spent about P4.6 billion, 85 percent of which was subsidized by the government. In 2010, the government’s share declined to 80 percent, subsidizing only P4.6 billion of UP’s P5.5 billion total budget. The remaining 20 percent was sourced from the university’s internallygenerated income, mostly coming from tuition fees (see sidebar 2).

For next year, the UP administration proposed a P17-billion budget (see related article on page 5). “It is what we need to run the University [so] sana makakalahati man lang tayo,” said Conti. However, in recent years, the Department of Budget and Management has only approved 30 to 40 percent of the budget proposed by the university.

BAGSAK. Tumulak patungong Mendiola ang iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan sa ika-isang taong panunungkulan ni Aquino noong Hunyo 30. “Bagsak” na marka ang binigay ng grupo sa kasalukuyang administrasyon dahil sa patuloy na paglala ng kahirapan, paglabag sa karapatang pantao at patuloy na pag-iral ng mga maka-dayuhang palisya ng kanyang rehimen. Photo by Airnel T. Abarra Sidebar 2: UP’s sources of financing

90

Government founding

80 70 60

Internallygenerated Income

50 40 30 20 10 0

Source: Department of Budget and Management

Meanwhile, the administration should consider lowering the tuition rates and increasing scholarships for students to make UP education accessible, said Conti.

But lowering the tuition rates in UP is not an option for the administration, said Saloma, explaining that the UPD administration would rather concentrate in strengthening the university’s Socialized Tuition Fee and Assistance Program (STFAP) to accommodate more students.

Flawed STFAP

The STFAP works as a mechanism of determining tuition rates where “students who can afford [shall] pay the full cost of their education and students who cannot [shall] be granted subsidies,” according to the STFAP primer issued by the administration.

The administration created the STFAP when the base tuition was adjusted from P40 to P300 in 1989.

The first STFAP was the Numeric Bracketing Scheme, classifying students into nine brackets. With the 300 percent TFI in 2007, the UP administration restructured the program to the five alphabetic brackets.

Source: Office of the University Registrar

The STFAP “act[ed] as a strain to ensure that fewer students will receive tuition discounts, stipends and other benefits,” according to a statement released by the systemwide alliance of student councils Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP. Since the implementation of the STFAP in 1989, the number of students granted free tuition has been decreasing. In 1991, one in every five undergraduate students in Diliman was granted free tuition but by 2010, the figures decreased to only one in every 100 students.

Progressive student groups have called for the scrapping of the STFAP as it only serves as a mechanism for generating more income from tuition.

From 2007 to summer 2009, the administration had collected P500 million from tuition fees but only spent P25 million for STFAP beneficiaries, according to KASAMA sa UP. As the government gradually decrease subsidy to UP, the University is compelled to find ways to raise income like the STFAP and TFI, said Conti. “Clearly, we need higher budget from the government. We oppose any form of generating income from students,” she added. ●

4 • Kulê Balita

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

Ilang Morong napagkamalang Abu Sayyaf, 10 taon nang nakakulong

Ma. Katherine Elona Sampung taon na ang nagdaan ngunit nanatiling nakakulong ang may 43 sibilyang Moro na pinagbintangang kasapi ng teroristang grupong Abu Sayyaf (AS), sa kabila ng kawalan ng sapat na ebidensiyang magpapatunay sa mga paratang.

Ayon sa Moro Christian People’s Alliance (MCPA), alyansa ng mga Kristiyano at Moro sa bansa, may 63 sibilyang Moro ang kasalukuyang nakapiit sa Camp Bagong Diwa at iba pang kulungan sa Mindanao matapos mapagkamalang mga miyembro ng AS at sampahan ng kasong “kidnapping and serious illegal detention.”

Nagsimulang hulihin ang mga sibilyang Moro noong Hulyo 2001 matapos magdeklara ang dating Pangulong Gloria Arroyo ng “state of lawlessness” sa Basilan bunsod ng limang insidente ng kidnapping.

Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, epektibo pa rin ang deklarasyong ito na nagbibigay-pahintulot sa Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) na humuli ng sinumang pinaghihinalaan nilang miyembro ng AS. Sa may higit 500 hinuli, ilan ang napawalang-sala na, may ilang naghain ng apela at may ilan ding namatay na sa piitan, ayon sa tala ng MCPA. Subalit hindi umuusad ang mga kasong isinasampa laban sa karamihan ng mga nakakulong, ani Tony Liongson, pambansang tagapangasiwa ng MCPA. “Kapag tiningnan mo ‘yung warrant of arrest, puro alyas at walang malinaw na description na mapagkikilanlan ng mga pangalan,” ani Liongson. Ilang ulit na ring binago ang kasong isinampa sa korte dahil marami sa mga hinuli ang wala naman ang pangalan sa orihinal na warrant of arrest, dagdag niya.

Batay sa Rule 110, Section 7 ng Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, kinakailangang isaad ang buong pangalan ng akusado sa mga kasong isinasampa, at sakaling hindi sigurado sa tunay na pangalan, “he must be described under a fictitious name with a statement that his true name is unknown.”

“Kahit sino magdududa kung [lahat ng] mga nakakulong nga ay Abu Sayyaf,” ani Liongson. Sapilitan ding pinaamin ang mga sibilyan at ilan sa kanila ay nakaranas ng torture.

Isa si Abdulmoner Saliddin sa mga sibilyang Moro na hinuli ng military matapos mapagkamalang kasapi ng AS. “[I was] nailed on the left ear and left temple [and the soldiers] pressed my mouth and tongue with a pliers,” saad niya sa kanyang sinumpaang salaysay.

Nilalabag ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III ang karapatan ng mga

inosenteng Moro habang patuloy niyang hinahayaang manatili sila sa kulungan sa kabila ng mga panawagan ng iba’t ibang grupo tulad ng MCPA, ayon kay Liongson.

“Hindi mo matatahak ang tuwid na landas kung nakahambalang sa daan ang mga biktima ng [paglabag sa] karapatang-pantao noong nakaraang rehimen at dinadagdagan mo pa sa kasalukuyan,” dagdag ni Liongson.

Patuloy na pagdakip

Simula nang maupo si Aquino sa puwesto, tatlong sibilyang Moro na ang hinuli sa Metro Manila, ayon sa MCPA. Isa si Patta Hoyoh sa mga sibilyang Moro na nahuli noong Nobyembre 2010. Sa pagsasaliksik na isinagawa ng MCPA, napag-alaman nilang 21 taong gulang lamang ang tricycle driver na si Hoyoh. “Ang sinasabi ng mga humuli sa kanya, kasama siya noong mga Abu Sayyaf, may dalang M-16 nang 10 years old,” ani Liongson.

Sa halip na Patta Hoyoh, ang pangalang Abu Naher ang nakasulat sa warrant of arrest na ginamit ng AFP at wala rin itong kasamang pagsasalarawan sa taong tinutukoy.

Upang maiwasan ang mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao gaya ng sa kasong ito, balak ng MCPA na makapagpanukala ng batas na magbabawal sa mga depektibong warrant of arrest sa tulong ng mga partylist sa Kamara, ayon kay Liongson.

JUMPSTART. Members of the UP Pep Squad encourage bystanders to cheer with them as they march around the academic oval in the annual send-off for UP athletes on July 1. The 74th season of University Athletic Association of the Philippines, which will be hosted by Ateneo de Manila University, will hold its opening ceremonies at the Marikina Sports Center on July 9. Kuha ni Richard Jacob Dy Bagaman kasong kriminal ang isinasampa sa mga pinaghihinalaang mga miyembro ng AS, maituturing pa ring pulitikal na panunupil ang paghuli sa mga inosenteng Moro dahil bahagi ito ng pulitikal na usapin gaya ng WoT, ayon kay Liongson.

Plano ng MCPA na isulong ang amnestiya para sa lahat ng political detainee, kabilang ang mga sibilyang Moro. “Gusto nating hamunin ang gobyerno ni Aquino na ibigay ang katarungan doon sa mga naging biktima ng human rights violations noong mga nakaraang gobyerno at isa na diyan ang usapin ng pagpapalaya ng mga political prisoners,” ani Liongson.●

Impluwensiyang panlabas

Lalong tumindi ang pag-aaresto sa mga inosenteng Moro mula noong ipahayag ng Pilipinas ang suporta nito sa kampanyang War on Terror (WoT) ng Estados Unidos, kapalit ang ilang pabor at pabuya, ani Liongson. “[Dahil dito] naging negosyo ng militar ang paghuli sa mga Moro,” dagdag niya.

Mga kategorya ng miscellaneous fees ayon sa draft CHEd Memorandum Order hinggil sa pagtataas at paglikha ng karagdagang bayarin Basic/ Core fees

Incidental fees

Prohibited fees

Athletics/Sports

Affiliation fee

Energy fee

Guidance and counseling

Community extension

Development fee

ID

Cultural fee

Laboratory

Drug test

Library

Transcript and diploma fees

Medical/dental

Insurance fee

Registration

Internet fee

Student Handbook Student organizations Student publication Sanggunian: Commission on Higher Education

Konsultasyon ukol sa dagdag bayarin, iginiit ng mga mag-aaral Jeremy Pancho Nararapat magsagawa ng konsultasyon sa mga estudyante ang pamunuan ng mga pamantasan sa bansa bago magpataw ng mga bayaring hindi kabilang sa “basic o core fees,” o batayang miscellaneous fees na kinakailangan sa mga serbisyong pang-estudyante, ayon sa ilang organisasyon ng kabataan.

Sa ilalim ng Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Memorandum No. 13 (CMO 13), kung saan nakapaloob ang mga lumang alituntunin hinggil sa pagpapataw ng mga bayarin, tanging base tuition lamang ang obligadong dumaan sa konsultasyon sa mga mag-aaral. “Kailangan lamang magpasa ng mga paaralan ng abiso sa CHEd na kailangan maningil ng iba’t ibang bayarin,” paliwanag ni Einstein Recedes, pangulo ng National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP).

Sa isang pagdinig sa Kamara noong Hunyo 8, nauna nang ipinahayag ni CHEd Executive Director Julito Vitriolo na kakatha ang nasabing ahensya ng mga bagong panuntunan hinggil sa

pagpapataw ng miscellaneous fees na nakatakda nitong ipatupad sa susunod na semestre.

Sa nasabing pagdinig, naglabas ang CHEd ng pahayag na magpapatupad ito ng “cap” o hangganan sa halaga ng miscellaneous fees.

Batay sa unang balangkas o draft CHEd memorandum order (CMO) ng mga bagong alituntunin na ipinasa ng CHEd sa Kamara noong Hunyo 28, pagpapangkat-pangkatin sa iba’t ibang katergorya ang mga dagdag na bayarin. Gayunman, nasa pagpapasya pa rin ng administrasyon ng paaralan kung idadaan ang miscellaneous fees sa konsultasyon.

“Ang gusto sana natin ay maging requirement ang consultation sa mga [miscellaneous fees] maliban sa basic o core fees,” ani Recedes.

Pagpapangkat ng miscellaneous fees

Hinati sa tatlong kategorya ang miscellaneous fees sa ilalim ng draft CMO: basic o core fees, “incidental fees” at “prohibited fees” Continued on page 6 »

5 • Kulê Balita

UP proposes P17-B budget for ‘12 Mary Joy T. Capistrano For 2012, the UP administration has submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) a P17billion budget proposal, a P1.5-billion decrease from last year’s P18.5-billion proposal.

UP will need an additional P10.3 billion subsidy on top of the P6.8 billion budget appropriated for the university this year. Of the P17-billion budget proposal, over 72 percent was allotted to the constituent units, while P 4.7 billion or 28 percent of the proposal was set aside for the operations of the Philippine General Hospital.

The allotment for capital outlay (CO), the fund for equipment and construction of infrastructures, takes the biggest share in the proposed budget, with P7.2 billion or 42 percent of the total budget proposal. Manila will receive the highest CO amounting to 1.5 billion, followed by UP Mindanao with 1.2 billion and UP Diliman with P944.7 million.

Meanwhile, 40 percent or P6.9 billion of the proposed budget was

allotted for Personal Services (PS), which covers the salary of faculty and other employees. For maintenance and other operating expenses, (MOOE), the administration allotted 18 percent or P3 billion of the proposed budget.

According to the Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, the DBM is preparing the national budget for submission on the day after President Benigno Aquino III’s second State of the Nation Address on July 25.

Lower budget proposal

The administration reduced the proposal for 2012 by decreasing the allocation for CO of UP Manila to P1.5 billion from P2.9 billion last year.

“The reduction is due to the revised schedule of CO for the National Institute of Health (NIH) of UP Manila. The 2011 budget proposal included the full amount of CO for NIH, while the 2012 budget included only the CO for the first phase due to the fact that the 2011 budget was not granted in full,” UP President Alfredo Pascual told the Collegian.

“The P1.5 billion decrease in the

budget proposal for 2012 clearly shows that even the administration has less expectation in the coming budget deliberations. With the lower budget proposal, students could expect more tuition fee increases and privatization of lands in the university,” said Conti.

Although Pascual said that the reduction of CO in UP Manila is the reason for the decrease in the budget proposal, data also showed that even the budget proposal for MOOE decreased by two percent from P3.7 billion last year to P3 billion.

The proposed budget for PS, on the other hand, increased by 10 percent from P5.9 billion last year to P6.9 billion due to the additional P1.1 billion allotment for Retirement and Life Insurance Premiums of UP personnel who will be given the third tranche of the Salary Standardization Law III. The PS component included a P222 million fund for additional faculty items in all constituent units, while P66.7 million was allotted for the regularization of existing contractual employees.

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011 A total of P 980 million was allotted for the Engineering Research Development for Technology, while P310 million was allotted for the continued construction of National Science Complex.

NEWSBRIEFS

‘Dim expectations’

“Based on the university’s experience with DBM in the past, the P17-billion budget proposed by the university will most likely not be approved in full,” Pascual said.

Since 2007, UP has been receiving only about 30 to 40 percent of its proposed budget. Last year, for instance, the government approved a budget of onlyP5.53 billion for UP, less than a third of the university’s proposed budget.

If the government does not approve the proposal, the university will have to defer all infrastructure projects planned for next year, Pascual explained. “Existing activities could continue to be funded, but new initiatives would have to be shelved,” he added, saying that the administration will continue seeking donations from alumni and other charitable institutions to augment the government’s subsidy.

But Conti said the university should not depend on donations at the face of decreasing state subsidy, rather it should continue lobbying for a sufficient budget for education, she added.

“UP should get the adequate and sufficient budget that it deserves.”

Conti said. ●

Pauline Gidget Estella Kin of slain journalist seeks reversal of DOJ ruling

Relatives of slain journalist Dr. Gerry Ortega filed a motion for reconsideration before the Department of Justice (DOJ) last July 1, seeking for a reversal of its decision dismissing the charges against former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes and five other suspects.

Last June 14, the DOJ released a decision absolving Reyes and other suspects in the murder of Ortega, an environmentalist who was vocal against mining operations in his radio program. According to the ruling, the suspects were cleared of any liability due to insufficient evidence.

Ortega was shot dead in a market in Puerto Princesa last January 24.

“The two law enforcement agencies of the government, co-complainants Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation have submitted abundant evidence” against the suspects, according to the motion.

The dismissal of the charges led to an outrage among journalist groups including the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, which claimed that the death of Reyes was only part of the crackdown on antimining advocates in Palawan.

“The murder of Dr. Gerry Ortega was only one of the latest cases of extrajudicial killings. [This kind] of human rights violations thrive in a culture of impunity that continues under Aquino’s regime,” said Trina Federis, national president of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines.

‘SC decision bolsters criminal case against Palparan et al’ - NUPL

PAHIWATIG. Nagdaos ng unity march ang mga mag-aaral ng UP Diliman bilang pangwakas sa Diliman Student Summit na ginanap sa School of Economics Auditorium noong Hunyo 28. Nagsilbing paunang pagtitipon ang summit upang talakayin ang mga isyu sa loob at labas ng pamantasan gaya ng lumalalang paglabag sa karapatang pantao at ang alternatibong Code of Student Conduct na ipinanunukala ng iba’t ibang konsehong pangmag-aaral. Kuha ni Richard Jacob Dy

BADTRIP. NAUBUSAN AKO NG KOPYA NG KULE BUTI NA LANG MAY

WWW.PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN.ORG

The recent Supreme Court (SC) decision affirming the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling which granted the writ of amparo for missing UP students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan would strengthen the criminal case filed against retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and five other suspects, said lawyer group National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) in a statement.

In 2008, the CA issued a writ of amparo as a measure to safeguard the right to life, liberty and security of the missing UP students who were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan in 2006.

In affirming the CA decision, the SC ordered the military to “immediately release” Empeño and Cadapan.

“By pointing to [Palparan and the other suspects] as the persons liable for the disappearance of the two students, the Court itself gave credence to the charge of arbitrary detention of the two students against Continued on page 6 »

6 • Kulê Balita

Aquino’s 1st year a failure – youth groups

Isabella Patricia Borlaza & Pauline Gidget Estella In anticipation of President Benigno Aquino III’s second State of the Nation Address, various youth groups called his first year a “failure,” condemning his “flawed policies in education” and indecision in other areas of governance.

During his first year in office, Aquino continued implementing policies that “did not [address] the problems of the education sector,” said groups Kabataan Partylist (KPL), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), League of Filipino Students and Student Christian Movement of the Philippines in a press conference on July 2 at UP Diliman.

Despite the government’s claim that a year is not enough to assess Aquino, “the first year already set the tone [of his regime],” said KPL Secretary General Athena Gardon. Youth groups called for a nationwide walkout on July 19 to protest Aquino’s negligence of the education sector.

of school due to fee increases. In the 2009 survey by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, only 14 of 100 students who enter grade one eventually finish college.

‘Misguided solutions’

“It is clear that the solution to this problem is an increase in government subsidy. However, the Aquino administration continues to overlook this fact, and instead implements the K+12 program,” said Christopher Pasion, national deputy secretary general of CEGP. Under the K+12 program, or universal kindergarten plus 12 years of basic education, the students will have “more time to consolidate acquired academic skills and competencies,” according to the DepEd briefer on the K+12 plan.

But adding two years to basic education will not improve the

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

Newsbriefs worsening quality of education, said Recedes. The length of education cycle has no strict correlation to the quality of education, as students in other countries garnered excellent scores in aptitude exams even though the cycle is shorter than the Philippines, he explained.

Adding two more years to the K+12 program requires an estimated P150 billion for new classrooms, teachers, books, and seats. However, it is not certain if the government has enough resources to effectively implement the K+12 program, said Gardon.

According to DepEd Order No. 37, schools without kindergarten classrooms “shall utilize available classrooms, library, science laboratory, home economics building, resource center, and other available spaces.” DepEd Order No. 37 details the implementation of the K+12 program, which will start by offering universal kindergarten for all children aged five years old.

“Ganito ba ang patakaran ng isang matinong gobyerno?

Hihikayating mag-enrol ang lahat ng limang taong gulang kahit wala palang classroom na paglalagyan, kaya pagkakasyahin na lamang sa kung saan, sa ‘any available spaces?’” said ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio. ●

Palparan et al. The SC thus submitted ‘probable cause’ in the criminal case against the accused,” said Atty. Ephraim Cortez, NUPL assistant secretary general for legal services.

In its June 21 statement, the NUPL explained that probable cause is “the standard by which a person may be arrested” because evidence point to a particular person who committed the crime.

Palparan had repeatedly denied that the students were under his custody.

“Palparan’s denial of any of the allegations should be treated as simple yet puerile defenses, not exemption from criminal charges. His arrest is imminent,” said Cortez.

Concepcion Empeno and Erlinda Cadapan, mothers of the two students, are waiting for the notice of preliminary investigation, under which prosecutors will try to determine probable cause and issue a warrant of arrest. ●

Witness tags Ampatuan Sr. as mastermind in Maguindanao massacre

AwitnessintheMaguindanaomassacre case identified former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. as one of the “masterminds” in the manslaughter of 57 people, including 31 journalists, in 2009.

Lakmudin Saliao, a former house help of the Ampatuan family, testified in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221

Kunsultasyon bago magpataw ... « from page 4

Education crisis

The Aquino administration allotted only 11.35 percent of the national budget for education, the lowest portion given to education since the Estrada administration.

With many public schools in decrepit condition, it is very likely that fees might be charged to meet the need for facilities, said Gardon.

At present, public schools still lack 152,000 classrooms, 95.5 million textbooks, 103,500 teachers, 13.5 million chairs, and 424,600 water and sanitation facilities, said NUSP Chair Einstein Recedes, citing data from the Department of Education (DepEd).

Due to insufficient funds, schools have been generating income from students by increasing tuition and miscellaneous fees, said Recedes. For this year, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) approved tuition increases in 340 private colleges and universities nationwide. In the National Capital Region, 69 colleges increased tuition by an average of seven percent.

As of 2009, approximately 7.93 million children aged 7-16 years old have been forced to drop out

« from page 5

FASHION STATEMENT. Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community attach a giant pride flag to the Oblation on June 28. Earlier, the group marched around the academic oval to condemn gender inequality and discrimination among the LGBT. Kuha ni Chris Martin Imperial

(sumangguni sa sidebar).

Kabilang sa basic fees ang mga bayaring makatutulong sa pagtuturo at sa pagpapanatili ng maayos na serbisyong pang-estudyante gaya ng student organizations fee, samantalang kabilang naman sa incidental fees ang karagdagang bayarin ipinapataw batay sa kurso ng estudyante.

Itinuturing naman na prohibited fees ang mga bayaring kahina-hinala, hindi makatuwiran at walang kinalaman sa pag- aaral ng estudyante, kabilang ang “development fee” at “energy fee.”

Nagkaroon din ng pagbabago hinggil sa kahulugan ng miscellaneous fees sa bagong panuntunan. “[Miscellaneous fees] are charges in addition to tuition that are collected for a specific purpose or service, as may be identified by the school authorities and certified by the recognized student council and faculty association,” ayon sa draft CMO. Sa ilalim ng CMO 13, maipapataw ang bagong miscellaneous fees kahit walang pagsang-ayon ng konseho ng mga mag-aaral at kalipunan ng mga guro.

Sasailalim sa serye ng deliberasyon ang mga iminungkahing alituntunin bago ito maipatupad sa susunod na semestre. Sa huling pulong na dinaluhan ng school administrators at youth organizations

last June 30, claiming that he was present during a meeting of several members of the Ampatuan clan in November 2009. In the meeting, Ampatuan Sr., his son Sajid and other family members allegedly discussed the plan for the massacre.

Salio said Ampatuan Sr. allegedly ordered the ambush and murder of the wife and relatives of political rival Esmael Mangudadatu, who was then about to file his candidacy for the 2010 elections.●

10 activists injured in Fil-Am Friendship Day rally

Ten members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), an umbrella organization of progressive groups, were injured when the police and protesters clashed in a rally held in front of the United States Embassy for the Filipino-American (Fil-Am) Friendship Day yesterday.

The protesters, which also include youth groups and other sectoral organizations, massed up at different points surrounding the US embassy at around 11 AM. As the protesters approached the embassy, antiriot police began using clubs to disperse the mob. The protesters retaliated by hurling stones at the policemen.

In a statement, Bayan said there is no reason to celebrate Fil-Am Day because the relationship between the Philippines and US has always been lopsided.

“As we extend our friendship and solidarity with the American people, we continue to oppose the unequal and exploitative relations being imposed on the Filipino people by the US government,” Bayan said. ●

noong Hunyo 24, iginiit ng NUSP at iba pang organisasyon na sa proseso ng konsultasyon, kailangang magkasundo ang mga estudyante at ang administrasyon sa pagpataw ng bayarin.

Komersyalisadong edukasyon

“Dahil sa deregulated status ng miscellaneous fees, ang mga schools ay nagiging creative sa pag- craft ng napakaraming bayarin. Dahil walang malinaw na provisions ang miscellaneous fees tulad ng tuition fee, didiretso ang mga binabayad ng estudyante sa bulsa ng mga school owners,” saad ni Recedes.

Isa sa mga resulta nito ang pagkakaroon ng “redundant, exorbitant at dubious fees,” aniya.

Ilang halimbawa ng redundant fees ang sports at athletic fee na dapat ay saklaw na ng tuition, ani Recedes. Dagdag niya, may ilan ding pamantasang mas malaki pa sa base tuition ang sinisingil na miscellaneous fees.

May mga bayarin pang hindi malinaw kung saan gagamitin tulad ng “mandatory donation fee” at “spiritual fee,” ayon kay Vanessa Faye Bolibol, secretary general ng NUSP. “Dapat aminin ng bawat isa na may malaki tayong problema sa miscellaneous fees. CHEd, as a governing body, bilang ahensya na nageensure ng access to higher and quality education, ay dapat may ginagawang aksyon. Sinisikap natin na maipabasura na lahat ng bayarin na wala naman kinalaman sa pag- aaral,” ani Recedes. ●

7 • Kulê Lathalain

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

z

Pulitikal na pamamaslang Hanggang sa ngayon, nagpapatuloy ang ganitong kalakaran na dulot ng programang kontra-insurhensiya ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Layon ng programang ito na lupilin ang mga kasapi ng mga lehitimong pampulitikal na organisasyong tumutuligsa sa gobyerno. Kabilang sa mga biktima nito si Fernando Baldomero ng Bayan Muna Partylist-Aklan, na binaril nitong Hunyo sa harap ng kanyang 12 -taong gulang na anak.

BAKAS NG

DUGO SA TUWID NA DAAN

Pagpaslang sa mga alagad ng midya

Noong 2009, naging laman ng mga pahayagan ang higit 32 mamamahayag na pinaslang umano ng private army ni Andal Ampatuan Jr. sa Maguindanao.

Sa kabila ng pangakong hustisya ni Aquino, wala pa ring nahahatulan sa mga itinurong maysala.

Sa mga lalawigan naman ng Iriga at Palawan, pinaslang kamakailan ang mga radio broadcaster na sina Romeo Olea, kritiko ng lokal na pamahalaan; at George Ortega na masidhing tinutulan ang malawakang pagmimina sa Palawan.

Joan C. Cordero

Dibuho ni: Ruth Danielle Aliposa Disenyo ng pahina ni: Roanne Descallar

Kabilang ang Pilipinas sa 47 bansang kasapi ng 2011 United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Ito ang pangatlong pagkakataong nahalal ang bansa sa UNHRC na binuo noong 2006 upang protektahan at isulong ang karapatang pantao sa daigdig.

Maraming tagumpay na inani ang kampanya para sa karapatang pantao sa bansa, ani Alberto Del Rosario, kalihim ng Department of Foreign Affairs.

Taliwas ang pahayag na ito sa mga aktwal na kaganapan sa bansa.

Sa kabila ng pangako ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III na bibigyang hustisya ang mga biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa ilalim ng mga nagdaang administrasyon, wala ni isang maysala ang naparusahan o nasampahan man lang ng kaso.

Nagpapatuloy ang kultura ng pagwawalang-bahala sa karapatang pantao habang hindi nabibigyan ng hustisya ang mga biktima at patuloy na nadadagdagan ang tala ng karahasan.

Samakatuwid, nananatiling may bahid ng dugo ang daang matuwid ni Aquino.

Sidebar: Tala ng karahasan

Paglabag

Pulitikal na pamamaslang

Bilang ng biktima 45

Sapilitang pagkawala

5

Tortyur Nabigong pulitikal na pamamaslang

26 9

Ilegal na pag-aresto at detensyon

103

Ilegal na paghalughog

37

Pambubulabog ng pulisya/militar sa mga tahanan

48

Panga-agaw sa ari-arian

49

Sapilitang paglikas

2, 251

Pagbabanta/ Panghaharas/ Pananakot

4, 610

Sapilitan o pekeng pagsuko

7

Paggamit ng sibilyan bilang gabay o panangga sa mga operasyon ng pulisya/militar

13

Paggamit ng eskwelahan, ospital, bahay-sambahan at iba pang pampublikong gusali para sa operasyon ng militar

1, 756

Sanggunian: Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

Pagdukot/Sapilitang pagkawala

Desaparecidos ang tawag sa mga biktima ng sapilitang pagkawala.

Dinudukot at kalimitang dinadala sa mga safehouse kung saan tinotortyur at pinagbibintangan nang kung anu-ano ang mga desaparecido. Walang kasiguruhang mahahanap ang mga nawawala tulad nina Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño at Jonas Burgos na halos limang taon nang hindi nakikita ng kanilang mga pamilya.

Hindi rin umuusad ang pagpaparusa sa mga militar at pulitikong nasa likod ng mga pagdukot, tulad sa kaso ni Melissa Roxas, isang aktibistang FilipinoAmerican na dinukot sa Tarlac noong 2009. Pinagbintangan siyang miyembro ng New People’s Army (NPA) kaya dinukot, tinortyur at tinago nang halos isang linggo. Nang mapalaya, tumestigo si Roxas na miyembro ng AFP ang mga dumukot sa kanya. Subalit ani Commission on Human Rights Chair Loretta Ann Rosales, hindi umano sapat ang testimonya ni Roxas upang parusahan ang militar.

Ilegal na pag-aresto at detensyon

Maituturing na ilegal ang pag-aresto at detensyon kung ito'y biglaan, walang utos mula sa korte at sumasagka sa karapatan ng inaresto na ipagtanggol ang kanyang sarili.

Ganito ang nangyari kay Maricon Montajes, estudyante ng UP, na dinakip, ikinulong at sinampahan ng mga kasong pagpatay, illegal possession of firearms at violation of gun ban ng Philippine Air Force noong 2009. Isang community worker si Montajes sa Batangas, at hanggang sa kasalukuyan, nakapiit siya sa Batangas City Jail.

Halos dalawang araw namang ikinulong ang pitong kabataan sa Calamba Police Station dahil lamang sa pagdaraos ng kilos protesta habang nagtatalumpati si Aquino sa pagdiriwang ng ika-150 kaarawan ni Jose Rizal. Lima sa mga ito ay estudyante ng UP Los Baños.

Pananakot at pagbabanta sa human rights workers

Nahaharap din sa mga banta ng karahasan ang mga human rights worker.

Sinusubaybayan ngayon ang mga organisasyon tulad ng Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (Chestcore) na nagbibigay serbisyo sa mga komunidad sa Cordillera. Simula 2007, pinagbabantaan at pilit na pinaaamin ang mga miyembro nito kung kasapi sila ng NPA. Nakatatanggap ng mga kahina-hinalang text messages ang desk coordinator nito na si Milagros Ao-wat.

Militarisasyon at panghaharas sa kabataan

Sa umiiral na kultura ng karahasan, pinakalantad sa panganib ang kabataan.

Noong nakaraang taon, binugbog ng mga militar ang 17-taong gulang na lalaki na taga-Batangas matapos tumangging sumali sa paramilitary group na Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit.

Kamakailan, napatunayang nananatili ang banta sa karapatan ng mga bata nang isang 15-taong gulang na babae ang gahasain ng tatlong miyembro ng Presidential Security Group sa kanilang barracks nitong Hunyo 21. Malinaw itong halimbawa ng paglapastangan at pagsasawalang bahala sa karapatan lalo pa't sa bakuran na mismo ng palasyo naganap ang panggagahasa, ani Arlene Brosas ng Akap Bata Partylist.

8• Kulê Lathalain

Martes Hulyo 5 2011 July 30, 2010: Citing unconstitutionality, the Supreme Court — still dominated by Arroyo appointees — ruled to abolish Aquino’s Truth Commission, which would have investigated Arroyo’s corruption cases.

August 6:Instead of distributing the 6,453-hectare land, Hacienda Luisita Inc. crafted a compromise deal asking 10,000 farmers to choose between dividing 1,400 hectares of land among themselves or becoming “stockholders.” As shareholders, HLI farmers received shares as low as P0.17 per stock unit.

August 23: A fired policeman held hostage a bus carrying Chinese tourists, was killing 14 nationals. Aquino was missing throughout the whole ordeal and incident. the g regardin interview an in smiling for later heavily criticized

October 8: Aquino and Shalani Soledad break up. As the first bachelor who became president, Aquino’s lovelife has often been the subject of media coverage.

December 17: After ten months in detention, the Morong 43, a group of health workers who were captured and tortured by the military, were released due to pressure from international and local organizations.

January 13: Aquino purchases a P4.5-million Porsche amid looming oil price and transport fare hikes.

December 27: For the first time in 11 years, the budget is approved before its actual year of implementation. Aquino’s “reform budget” however, recycles Arroyo’s fiscal policies.

February 15 to 21: Aquino resumes peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) which has been waging armed resistance against the Philippine Republic for more than 40 years.

Peace talks closed in 2005 after NDFP consultants received assassination threats.

February:Less than 10% of Overseas Filipino Workers in wartorn Middle East and North Africa are brought safely back home.

April 17: UP bestows Aquino with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his anticorruption campaign. Aquino does not deserve the degree, asserts then-Student Regent Jaqueline Eroles.

April 29:Former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez resigns a month after Congress voted for her impeachment. Until now, Aquino has not chosen Gutierrez’ replacement.

Artwork by

Jano Gonzales

Nico Villarete Page design by

Roane Descallar

May 30:After 11 months in office, Aquino releases the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 which focuses on policies of privatization and deregulation.

No right turn Aquino’s detour

from the ‘tuwid na daan’

9 • Kulê Lathalain Aquino won by a landslide during the May 2010 elections. By November 2010 he had an approval rating of +64, which declined to +46 by June 2011, according to the Social Weather Stations.

“I am not really that concerned with the popularity, it will go up and down," Aquino announced. And, as Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda argues, “while nationwide satisfaction rating have slightly dipped, the figure remains… historically very high.”

Yet the current situation of the country (see sidebar), one year into his term, now requires him to take such vacillating figures seriously. More so, since critics have begun branding his administration as an extension of Arroyo’s term.

Copycat

One recurring criticism of the Aquino administration is that, for all its talk of change and reform, many of Arroyo’s programs and policies have simply been continued under the new regime, such as public-private partnerships (PPPs) and conditional cash transfers (CCTs).

Meanwhile, Aquino merely shrugs off “necessary steps for strategic economic development, such as real agrarian reform and building a national industry,” according to IBON, an independent economic research institution.

This is evident in the Aquino administration’s PPPs, wherein the government ties up with the private sector to split the costs of projects like health services and public transportation — and thus allowing companies to profit from supposed public services. “Sa madali pong sabi, makukuha natin ang kailangan natin.

Hindi tayo gagastos, kikita pa tayo,” claims Aquino.

Yet, as an old adage goes, you

June 22:Aquino visits floodstricken Cotabato City without bringing relief goods from the national government, disappoi

Martes Hulyo 5 2011 can’t get something for nothing. This maxim has been proven by the effects of the Aquino administration’s PPP thrust, especially in the education sector, where the budget for state universities and colleges has been reduced to push them to become commercialized or “self-sufficient.”

In response, SUCs have resorted to income-generating schemes, while continued deregulation of the education system allowed 282 private universities to increase their tuition rates.

“Private sector participation means operating for profit and user fees for what should be mainly or even solely publicly-provided social services and utilities,” explains IBON. The downside of allowing the private sector to control basic services has manifested in the oil industry as Aquino continues to implement the oil deregulation law (ODL), which leaves private oil companies free to raise oil prices without government regulation.

This has resulted in 13 price hikes from January to March alone.

The oil price hikes stimulated the overwhelming increase in the prices of basic commodities such as vegetables, electricity and water, among others.

Yet, amid the vprice hikes, Aquino proposed measures such as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Pantawid Trabaho and Pantawid Pasada. These programs offer temporary relief from the current economic crises through immediate and short-term palliative measures, such as dole-outs and contractual low-paying jobs.

“The scale of joblessness, hunger, and poverty is too great for pantawid measures to matter even when properly and fully implemented,” says Arnold Padilla, public relations officer of Bagong Alyansa Makabayan (Bayan), an umbrella organization for basic sectors.

Yet while Aquino sees fit to disburse billions in cash handouts and gas subsidies — whose value is more easily measured in “pogi points” than concrete and sustainable benefits — he has chosen not to implement longterm solutions which give the people what they really need: fair wages and land.

For instance, the P22 added to the cost of living allowance of minimum wage workers amounted only to P426, or 42 percent of the P1,010 needed by a family of six living in the National Capital Region. Meanwhile, just as workers are deprived of fair wages, so are farmers denied of their right to land.

The inability of Aquino to implement the court decision to distribute Hacienda Luisita to the farmers is a manifestation of Aquino’s insincerity in instituting genuine agrarian reform, says Romulo Tuazon, research fellow at the Center for People Empowerment in Governance.

Insincere measures

Despite a series of mishaps over the course of his first year as president — most of which, analysts note, were preventable crises resulting from incompetence or inaction, such as the August 23 hostage crisis— Aquino tells the public in his first-year anniversary speech that what he has done is “puwede na rin.”

However, one year later, many Filipinos are still poor. Many government officials are still corrupt (see sidebar).

Months after the resignation of Merceditas Gutierrez , Aquino has not yet appointed the next Ombudsman.

Gutierrez received impeachment complaints from civil society leaders and not from Aquino.

“What kind of sincerity can you get out of this when he cannot even

do something about one of the major pillars of anti-corruption which is the Ombudsman?” asserts Tuazon.

Also, Aquino’s formation of the Truth Commission which “practically had neither teeth nor power to do its work” further highlights Aquino’s lack of seriousness in fighting corruption,” adds Tuazon.

“The sincerity of the current administration can be measured by its seriousness in chasing after the previous administration,” says Roneo Clamor, acting secretary-general of Karapatan, an alliance for the protection of human rights.

Indeed, Aquino’s “battle” against corruption is matched by his inaction on the issue of human rights: equally lacking in concrete results.

Aquino continued to implement Arroyo’s widely discredited Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) during the first six months of his term. He later launched Oplan Bayanihan which merely imitated OBL’s “manner, execution and implementation,” says Clamor.

As of June 2011, there are now 49 recorded victims of extrajudicial killings under Aquino — a rate of roughly one victim per week.

And it’s not only Arroyo’s economic and counter-insurgency policies which Aquino recycled. Arroyo made US support a fundamental bulwark of her regime, one of the ways by which she kept her iron grip on power.

Likewise, Aquino has actively sought the backing and support of the United States in his presidency.

In August 2010, the Aquino administration received a grant to build infrastructures and implement development programs from the Millenium Challenge Corporation, a US agency, amounting to $434 million (P18.6 billion).

This aid signifies the unspoken acquiescence of the Aquino

administration in the continued implementation of pro-US policies such as the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows the presence of US troops on Philippine soil, says Padilla in a forum.

Indeed, by securing US support, Aquino has created for himself a mantle of protection amid looming public disapproval. Aquino utilizes the principle of patronage politics as the people who make up key leadership positions in his administration are either his “kaibigan,” “kaklase” or “kabarilan,” according to Bayan.

Divergent paths In response to many of the criticisms against it, the Aquino administration reasons that it has only been one year; not enough to institute all the changes it promised. Much remains to be done over the next five years, says Lacierda.

Tuazon counters, “Even if you cannot deliver right away the basic social services, you must show that you are in control as a president by coming up with a clear vision on where you’re going to lead the country to what direction according to your ‘daang matuwid.’”

Indeed, effecting genuine change in this country entails administrative competence and immense political will — and Aquino met neither requirement.

“He has to betray his own class, betray his own political dynasty… if he really wants to live up to the expectation of the people,” explains Tuazon.

The path to genuine change begins with shifting the favour from the elite at the expense of the poor to benefitting the majority of Filipinos.

The past year, however, shows whom Aquino has chosen to betray—the very people who once placed their hopes in his administration.

Summing up Aquino’s first year* GDP growth, 2nd quarter of 2010: 8.9 1st quarter of 2011: 4.9 11.3 million workers are unemployed 15 million Filipinos left the country to work abroad in Aquino’s first year 14,000 OFWs stranded in Libya during the Middle East and North African crisis 4.1 million families suffer from hunger 10.4 million families consider themselves poor 49 victims of extrajudicial killings 6,000 families-partial number of urban poor families who lost homes due to demolitions

*Data as of the 1st quarter of 2011 Sources: Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Migrante-International, IBON, Social Weather Stations, Karapatan, National Statistical Coordination Board

10 • Kulê Kultura Mary Joy T. Capistrano Tila may time machine sa loob ng Trinoma. Pagtapak ng mga tao sa ikaapat na palapag ng mall, tila humigit-kumulang na isang siglo ang kanilang nilakbay pabalik.

Kapansin-pansin ang biglang pagbabago ng paligid, higit lalo sa mga kasuotan ng mga taong gumagala sa palapag na iyon. Mula sa mga nag-iikliang moda ng mga damit ng mga kababaihan lumabas ang kanilang mga naghahabaang mga saya, samantalang mga barong naman sa mga lalaki.

Makikita rin sa bawat sulok ang mga gwardiya sibil na tila nagpapatrolya. Sa isang sulok ng ikaapat na palapag ng Trinoma magaganap ang pagpapakilala ng palabas na Amigo.

Tinangkang balikan ng pelikulang Amigo ang naganap na makasaysayang digmaan sa pagitan ng mga Amerikano at mga Pilipino nang sakupin ng Amerika ang bansa sa unang bahagi ng ika-20 siglo.

Isinulat at idinirehe ng Oscarnominated na filmmaker na si John Sayles ang Amigo na unang ipinalabas sa US noong nakaraang taon. Pinagbibidahan ito ng mga beteranong aktor tulad nina Joel Torre, Bembol Roco, Ronnie lazaro at Rio Locsin at ng premyadong Hollywood actor na si Chris Cooper.

Nakilala si Sayles sa mga independent films na Lone Star at Passion Fish na kapwa nagkamit ng

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011 nominasyon sa Academy Awards noong dekada 90. Ang Amigo ang isa sa dalawang pelikula ni Sayles na tumalakay sa mga digmaang kinasangkutan ng Amerika. Isa si Sayles sa mga personalidad na aktibong tumuligsa sa giyerang agresyon ng US sa Iraq noong 2003.

Naganap ang kuwento ng Amigo sa fictionalized na baryo ng San Isidro sa Luzon noong kasagsagan ng Filipino-American War ng 1899-1902.

Sa panahong ito, maagap na inagaw ng mga kolonisador na Amerikano ang nagbabadyang tagumpay ng mga rebolusyonaryong Pilipino laban sa mga Kastila.

Cabeza del Barrio si Rafael Dacanay (Torre) ng San Isidro nang magkampo ang pwersang Amerikano sa pamumuno ni Lt. Compton (Garrett Dillahunt) sa kanilang baryo habang tinutugis si Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo na siyang pangulo noon ng rebolusyonaryong gobyerno.

Upang hindi sumiklab ang gulo at matiyak ang kaligtasan ng kanyang mga nasasakupan,

nakipagkasundo sa mga Amerikano si Rafael. Sa kabilang banda, tinangka rin niyang protektahan ang kapatid na si Simon (Ronnie Lazaro), isa sa mga pinuno ng mga rebelde sa kanilang lugar.

Ipinakita sa pelikula kung paano nagtangkang mamuhay ang mga Pilipino kasama ang puwersang Amerikano sa isang maliit na komunidad sa kalagitnaan ng isang digmaan. Upang makuha ang loob at tiwala ng mga taga-baryo, tinangkang makibagay ng mga sundalong Amerikano sa kultura, tradisyon at gawi ng mga Pilipino. Hindi ito nalalayo sa kung paano sinakop ng mga Kastila a n g

D Di ibu se ho ny ni o N ng ic pa o V hi illa na re ni te Ke lA lm

az an

* a r r e u g a l n e s o ig m A es

o ig n S m h : A r: Jo u by to Re irek D

l ay

Pilipinas at kung p a a n o nila pinaamo ang mamamayansa pamamagitan ng Katolisismo.

Dahil sa balatkayong pananakopngAmerikasaPilipinas, tinawag ang istratehiyang ito na ‘benevolent assimilation.’

Ang mabuting ugnayan sa pagitan nina Rafael at Lt. Compton ang ‘ideyal’ na sitwasyon na nais mangyari ng pwersang Amerikano kung saan malugod na tinatanggap ng mga sinasakop ang kanilang mananakop.

Gayunpaman, hindi natinag ang mga rebolusyonaryong Pilipino sa paglaban sa pananakop ng pwersang Amerikano.

Makikita pa rin ang ganitong istratehiya ng Amerika

sa kanilang mga counterinsurgency campaigns sa mga bansang kanilang ginigiyera ngayon tulad ng Iraq at Afghanistan.

Mahihinuha na ang pagsasapelikula ni Sayles sa Filipino-American War ay hindi lamang upang balikan ang kasaysayan. Sa halip, tinatangka rin ni Sayles na humalaw ng mga aral mula rito at ipakita kung paanong hanggang sa ngayon ay nagpapatuloy ang mga giyerang agresyon ng US sa mga bansang nais nitong sakupin.

Gayunpaman, may ilang kahinaan na masisipat sa pagsasadula ni Sayles ng giyera sa Pilipinas. Mas nagbigay siya ng pokus sa relasyon ng mga indibidwal na mga Amerikanong sundalo sa mga Pilipinong pilit nitong inaamo. Sentro ng giyera ang maliit na baryo ng San Isidro kaya naman hindi napakita ang mas malaking larawan ng giyera na naganap noon sa iba pang komunidad sa bansa.

Sa ilang pagkakataon, lumalabas sa pelikula na nagkaroon lamang ng mga personal na alitan ang mga Pilipino at Amerikano.

Sinasabing ang tatak daw ni Sayles sa kanyang mga pelikula ay ang pagtatampok ng humanismo at relasyon ng mga karakter. Dahil dito, ang mga kasawian at trahedyang ibinunsod ng giyera sa pagitan ng

Amerika at Pilipinas ay s i r ku m s t a n y a l lamang at hindi dahil sa mabangis na katangian ng mga giyerang agresyon ng Amerika.

Sa tila pagpapakita ng simpatya ni Lt. Compton kay Rafael, tila ipinapahiwatig ni Sayles na kapayapaan ang tunay na hangad ng mga Amerikano at makukuha lamang iyon kung boluntaryong isusuko ng mga Pilipino ang kanilang sarili sa mga Amerikano.

Sa isang banda, maaaring ang paggawa ni Sayles ng pelikulang Amigo ay isang sinserong pagtatangka na makipag-kaibigan sa mga PIlipino sa kabila ng madilim na kasaysayan sa pagitan ng dalawang bansa. Ngunit hindi buo ang ‘act of contrition’ na ito ni Sayles dahil mas pinili niyang isalarawan ang giyera sa pagitan lamang ng mga sundalong Amerikano at Pilipino. Naisasantabi nito ang pangkabuuang katangian ng sistematikong panggigiyera ng Amerika sa mga bansang nais nitong sakupin.

Malayo sa pagiging magkaibigan ang tunay na relasyon ng Amerika at Pilipinas kung pagbabatayan ang naganap sa Balangiga sa Samar kung saan daang libong Pilipino ang minasaker ng mga sundalong Amerikano sa panahon ng kanilang pananakop. Magpasahanggang ngayon, nagpapatuloy ang pagbabalatkayo ng relasyong ito bilang magkaibigan sa mga palyadong tratado at kasunduang nagtatali sa Pilipinas sa laylayan ng Amerika. ● *Magkaibigan sa digmaan

11 • Kulê Kultura

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

Dibuho ni Archie Oclos Disenyo ng pahina ni Kel Almazan

And they call it puppy love Wala namang deadline ang pag-ibig.

Pero sa kapapanood ko ng mga batang nagmamahalan sa TV, parang napag-iiwanan na ako at kailangang humabol.

Ninalyn Uy Ngayon lang ako aamin: gusto ko na ng boyfriend.

Hindi naman ako naghahangad ng varsity player galing CHK o ng prodigy mula sa College of Music. Gaya ng bida sa teleserye, sapat na sa akin ang taong tatanggap sa akin bilang ako.

Pero sa kasamaang palad, hindi naman ako bida sa sarili kong palabas.

Minsan nga, iniisip kong sampalin ang pogi na nakikita kong nakatambay sa AS—baka sakaling isipan niyang aba, iba ito sa mga babaeng nakilala ko.

Hihintayin kong magtama ang aming mga mata, hanggang sa bumigat ang mga titig na hahantong sa palitan ng nagkakahiyaang mga ngiti—isang eksenang tila hango sa paborito kong palabas sa TV.

Who is your first love?

Dahil salat sa pag-ibig, mga palabas sa TV ang nagpapakilig sa akin.

Tanda ko pa kung ilang singaw ang inabot ko sa pagkagat ng labi at pagpigil sa sariling ngumiti habang nanonood ng seryeng G-mik. Kasama ko rin ang pinsan kong manood ng Tabing Ilog, na kwento ng isang barkadang sama-samang tumanda, nasaktan at umibig. Ipinamamalas sa mga palabas na ito ang pagiging kolektibo ng karanasang umibig, na sama-sama itong nararanasan ng maraming kabataan—isang mensahe na lalong nang-aakit sa mga kabataang sumugal sa pag-ibig.

Tumagal nang apat na taon ang samahan ng Tabing Ilog barkada.

Ganito ang sinasapit ng mga teen-oriented show: kapag husto na ang gulang ng isang grupo, kailangan na itong palitan ng isang mas batang pangkat.

Noong nakaraang taon lamang, pinalabas ng GMA7 ang Tween Hearts na pinagbibidahan nina Joshua Dionisio at Barbie Forteza. Plano ng ABS-CBN na tapatan ito ng Growing Up na pagbibidahan nina Kathryn Bernardo at Albie Casiño. Higit na mas bata na ang mga tauhan dito kaysa sa akin. Hindi ko maiwasang mainggit: buti pa ang mga batang ito, marunong lumandi at umibig.

Sa loob ng apat na taon, sinubaybayan ko ang pag-iibigan nina Eds at Rovic. Pakiramdam ko kasi, lumalaki ako kasabay nila at natututo rin sa bawat aral ng kanilang pagsasama. Sa murang gulang pa lamang, naikikintal na sa isip ng mga manonood ang ideyal na romansang pinalalaganap ng mga palabas.

Describe your loved one

Nagdadalaga ako nang mahilig sa ganitong mga palabas. Sakto ito sa sinabi ni Katherine Hamley, isang propesor sa University College Plymouth, “[Young] people will actively make use of imagery available to them when they are constructing their identities.” Walang duda na pinakamalaking impluwensiya sa akin ang pinakamalapit at pinakapopular na lagusan ng mga kuwento at imahe—ang TV. Higit na target ng ganitong mga palabas ay ang mga kababaihan. Pinilit ko pa ang nanay ko noon na bilhan ako

ng mga notebook na si Jolina Magdangal ang nasa pabalat.

Tunguhin ng mga pang-kabataang kulturang popular na ipakita ang “commodified femininity to romance and heterosexual desirability while highlighting the role of female competition for male attention,” ani women studies expert na si N.R. Johnson.

Kung may tinutulan ako sa ganitong mga palabas, ito marahil ang pagpapaganda ng mga kababaihan para lang mapansin ng gusto nilang lalaki. Sa halip, tinularan ko ang mga tulad ni Shan Cai na maangas at pinasisinungalingan ang karaniwang pagtingin sa kababaihan. Subalit ayon kay Johnson, humahantong rin ang alternatibong paglalarawan sa babae sa pagtupad sa mga “traditional feminine roles.” Lahat raw ng bagay, dumadapa sa ngalan ng pag-ibig.

Kaya kahit matapang at maabilidad ako, tiyak na kikiligin ako kung makatatanggap ng bulaklak mula sa aking crush.

Sa ganitong uri ng mga palabas, hindi uubra ang lalaking malamya; kailangang handa siyang pagsilbihan sa lahat ng paraan ang babaeng minamahal. Samantala, wala namang pangunahing tauhan na bakla o lesbyana, na para bang hindi posibleng magkagusto sa kaparehong kasarian.

Hindi ko maiwasang isipin na mistulang pagpapatuloy ng pagtatakda ng gender roles ang mga teen-oriented shows; sanggol pa lamang,

itinatalaga na ng mga magulang natin na para sa lalaki ang kulay na blue at pink naman ang sa babae. Kritikal ang ganitong panghihimasok sa usapin ng kasarian ng mga kabataan, lalo na sa panahong kinikilala nila ang kanilang mga sarili.

Define love

Bukod sa akmang porma at pagkilos, ang mga palabas na ito rin ang humulma sa mga aspirasyon at pangarap ko bilang bata.

Ipinakita sa akin ng palabas kung ano ang ideyal na lifestyle ng mga kabataan.

Sa mundong ito, hindi maaaring umibig ang mga walang pambili ng rosas, load na pang-text, o regular na koneksyon sa Facebook.

Ngunit sa katotohanan, kalakhan ng mga manonood ng mga palabas na ito ay walang kakayahang iangkop ang kanilang reyalidad sa buhay ng mga paborito nilang tauhan. Dahil hindi kaya ng allowance ko ang mga damit na BNY o Bench, sapat na sa akin ang mga pekeng bersyon nito na mabibili sa tiangge.

Sa paghahangad na maranasan ang romansang pang-TV, madaling naaakit ang mga manonood na lumubog sa isang konsumeristang kultura, kahit sa usapin ng pag-ibig.

Bunsod ng panonood ng TV, naging pamantayan ko ng masayang relasyon at buhay ang pagtanggap ng mga mamahaling regalo at pagbabakasyon sa malalayong lugar.

Hindi malabong bunga ng panonood ng TV ang pagnanasa ko ngayong magkaroon ng boyfriend.

Gayunpaman, patuloy pa rin akong umaasang darating ang inaasahan kong mangingibig. Sana bago matapos ang semestre, makilala ko na siya’t masimulan na naming isabuhay ang mga eksena sa TV na sa pangarap ko lamang maaaring magkatotoo. ●

pOP MACHINE

Ihulog ang barya/hilahin ang batuta/ sa pop machine/hukayin ang bulsa/ laglagan ng pera ang pop machine!

Alamin kung gaano kalagkit ang langis na nagpapatakbo sa makinaryang nagluluwal ng lahat ng jologs at sikat, at kung bakit nakakaadik sumabay sa uso, kahit na pagtawanan ka pa ng mga kaibigan mo.

12 • Kulê Kultura

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

Pagtatasa sa pag-alala Hindi raw nagtapos sa kamatayan ang kabayanihan ni Jose Rizal. Nangaral ang mga pelikulang nagkwento ng kanyang buhay. Naisalba na rin tayo sa pagkagutom ng baryang nilagyan ng mukha niya. Sa paggunita sa ika-150 araw ng kapanganakan ni Jose Rizal, patuloy lamang ang pagdalumat sa kabayanihan ni Rizal.

Toni Anne Paula A. Antiporda Dianne Marah Sayaman Mabilis raw makalimot ang mga Pilipino. Ang isang trahedya na naganap ngayong buwan, wala nang makatatanda sa susunod na buwan.

Mainipin, maiksi ang pasensya, at madaling mabaling ang atensyon sa ibang mga bagay—ito umano ang ating mga katangian na dahilan kaya naluluklok pa rin sa pwesto ang mga pulitikong minsan na tayong niloko.

Kung madali tayong makalimot, tiyak na mahirap tandaan ang mga taong namatay isang siglo mahigit na ang nakalipas. Ito ang hamong kinaharap ng iba-ibang institusyon ng bansa sa pagdiriwang ng ika-150 anibersaryo ng kapanganakan ni Jose Rizal. Sa tagal ng panahong lumipas mula nang barilin si Rizal sa Bagumbayan, madaling isipin na nasa bingit na ng pagkalimot ang ating pambansang bayani.

Gaya ng paglimot sa mga kasalanan laban sa taumbayan, mapanganib rin na makaligtaan ang buhay at pamana ng isa sa mga taong sumalungat sa mga kolonisador. Upang siguruhing hindi malilimutan ng mga tao si Rizal at ang kanyang pamana, binubuhay sa telebisyon at sining ang kanyang buhay at alaala.

Nakangiting pagbalik-tanaw

Visitors browse the art collection during the Over Rizal: Monuments to a Hero exhibit at the Vargas Museum on June 17. The event showcased various forms and styles of the monuments of the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal found throughout the Philippines. Photo by Airnel T. Abarra

Talamak na sa telebisyon ang mga dokumentaryo tungkol sa buhay at mga akda ng ating pambansang bayani. Wala naman silang pinagkaiba sa mga natutunan na natin sa hayskul at elementarya, isang listahan ng, kung hindi man ng mga petsa, lugar at akda, mga naging babae sa buhay ni Rizal. Nitong Hunyo, inilabas ni Howie Severino ng I-Witness ang kanyang dokumentaryong “Ang Mahiwagang Ngiti ni Rizal”. Kaiba sa mga kasabayan niya, uminog lamang sa isang partikular na larawan ang nasabing dokyu, isang kuha ni Rizal sa Paris na naka-turban habang may isang pilyong ngiti. Inihambing pa nga ito sa ngiti ni Mona Lisa, misteryoso at nakakahumaling.

Hindi nakakapagtaka na mga larawan ang pinagbatayan ng dokyu.

Sa lahat ng mga naging bayani ng ating bansa, si Rizal ang may pinakanaingatang mga dokumento at litrato. Ayon sa dokumentaryo, mapalad si Rizal na may kakayahan ang kanyang mga kaibigan sa Paris na magpakuha ng litrato. Noong mga panahong iyon, itinuturing na karangyaan ang magpakuha ng litrato sapagkat mahal ang teknolohiya na ginagamit para rito.

Sa panahong nahuhumaling ang lahat sa mga imahe, lalong yumabong ang

pagpapakahulugan sa mga larawan.

Minsa’y napangingibabawan na nito ang bagay na nakapaloob rito, tulad ng nangyari sa mala-showbiz na pag-usisa ng dokumentaryo sa ngiti ni Rizal. Sa halip na gamitin ang mga larawan sa Paris upang palalimin ang pang-unawa ng manonood sa sosyo-ekonomikong pagbabago at tunggaliang ideo-politikalnanaranasan ni Rizal sa Paris, naging tampulan ito ng kontrobersya.

Ang isang larawan ay hindi lamang kopya ng isang kaganapan, tao o bagay, ito ay isang “homage to the subject,” ani Susan Sontag, kritiko ng potograpiya. Kung gayon, higit pa sa literal na imahe ang dapat na tingnan, lalo na sa pagsuri ng larawan ng isang pambansang simbolo gaya ni Rizal.

Inukit na pag-alaala

Sa estado ni Rizal bilang tinitingalang bayani, natural na madalas siyang bigyan ng parangal o pag-alala.

Nagkalat, hindi lamang sa Pilipinas, kundi maging sa buong mundo, ang mga replika o estatwa ng pambansang bayani. Ang mga estatwang ito ang naging paksa ng Over Rizal: Monuments to a Hero, isang eksibit sa Vargas Museum. Nakadispley sa eksibit ang mga litrato ng mga estatwa ni Rizal sa iba’t ibang lugar, at ilang estatwang ginawa ng mga kontemporaryong artista.

Batay sa mga litrato ng estatwa, mahihinuha ang imahe ni Rizal na iniwan sa atin: naka-overcoat, may dalang libro, at mababanaag sa mukha ang malalim na pag-iisip. Madalas na makikita ang mga estatwa ni Rizal katabi ang mga institusyon ng lipunan, gaya ng simbahan, mga munisipyo at paaralan. Patunay ito sa mataas na pagtingin para kay Rizal na ikinintal sa isip ng mga mamamayan—mula pa nang ilagay ang kanyang mukha sa piso hanggang sa patuloy na pag-aaral sa kanyang buhay sa kolehiyo.

Ayon sa eksibit, “with ubiquity comes idiosyncrasy.” Bunsod ng dami ng mga estatwa ni Rizal, naipamana sa atin ang isang partikular na pag-alala sa bayani. Hindi magkakalayo ang itsura ng mga estawa, patunay na mayroong pangkalahatang paniniwala tungkol kay Rizal: isang intelektwal na nangahas tumutol sa kalupitan ng mga mananakop, isang taong dapat tularan ng kabataan.

Makikita sa dokumentaryo at eksibit kung paano natin hinahabi ang mga alaala ukol kay Rizal upang buuin ang ating kolektibong memorya sa tinanghal na pambansang bayani. Pinaiigting ng mga institusyon ng midya, sining, paaralan at gobyerno ang ating pagtingala sa bayani, sa paniniwalaang makatutulong sa bansa kung aasamin ng lahat na tularan si Rizal.

Subalit panay representasyon lamang ni Rizal ang pinagbatayan ng ating mga binubuong alaala. Maaari pa ngang sabihin na representasyon na lamang ng mga representasyon ang mamamalas—mga kinuhang larawan ng mga estatwa, na kung tutuusi’y kopya lamang ni Rizal. Sa proseso ng ating pag-alala, hindi maiiwasan ang pagkatha ng mga paniniwalang susuporta sa ating layunin sa pagbabalik sa nakaraan at pagbuo ng memorya. Bagkus, kailangang siyasatin ang pagpapaalalang pinangungunahan ng mga institusyon ng lipunan, lalo na’t ito ang mismong mga institusyon na tinunggali ni Rizal noong nabubuhay pa siya. Minsan, ang pag-alaala ay pagtatangkang limutin ang mga mararahas na kontradiksyon. ●

13 • Kulê Kultura

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

Caught in the middle Dianne Marah Sayaman The ilustrado class is no longer here but the spectre of its existence lingers in our consciousness. This haunting of the present by the past is largely due to Jose Rizal’s stature in the country as a famed ilustrado—a national hero, a celebrated writer whose novels are required reading in high schools.

Rizal, simply put, seems to be the ilustrados’ greatest legacy.

More than a century of Philippine independence from European domination and the ilustrado is grandly resurrected in the literary scene. Miguel Syjuco’s debut novel, aptly titled Ilustrado, explores the self-contradictions and hesitations, the ambivalence and ambiguity of the middle position. In form and plot, the novel conforms to the character of the ilustrado class—intellectual, enlightened and plagued with doubts. Readers are treated to a pastiche of blog entries, flashbacks, soliloquys, etc. while they try hard to piece together plots interspersed with each other.

Ilustrado chronicles a young writer’s efforts to unravel the life of his mentor, a writer in exile who died under suspicious circumstances.

Named after the author, the young protagonist goes back to his dead mentor’s homeland, which is his own as well, to uncover the truth behind his passing, his tumultuous writing career and personal life. The parallelisms between Syjuco’s lead characters and Rizal’s own—Crisostomo Ibarra and Simoun—are undeniable. All characters return from living abroad, and each character is an extension of the other; one is either a disguise, or a literary projection of oneself.

In lieu of reiterating themes that Rizal explored, the novel problematizes literature, and its potency as a tool for social change.

This idea of literature as a catalyst of change has been inculcated in our minds, for we have forever credited Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo for igniting the revolution against the Spanish occupation. In textbooks, Rizal is often referred to as the man who stirred the people’s hearts to revolt despite his vehement objection to violent uprisings.

Syjuco, a fan of Rizal himself, recalls the national hero in a passage pertaining to literature giving rise to concrete action, “[Mutya] said she’d been thinking about the dedication Jose Rizal wrote for the Noli Me Tangere…That part about sacrificing to the truth everything. Death was nothing if her country was dying.”

Yet, in between lines, readers cannot help but doubt literature, and consequently, the ilustrado class advocating the use of the written word

Review: Ilustrado | Author: Miguel Syjuco | Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (New York)

Kapitan Art

Buo ang paniniwala ni Kapitan Artemio Ricarte, gaano man kagasgas, na ang sining ay para sa masa. Palibhasa’y isang superhero si Kapitan Art sa gabi.

Pagsikat ng araw, nagsa-sideline siya bilang kritiko ng sining at patnugot.

Tinutugunan muna ni Kapitan Art ang panawagan ng mga gutom at inaapi bago siya dumalo sa mga eksibit at palabas. Bagaman walang pahinga, masayang-masaya si Kapitan Art sa kanyang dalawang buhay.

[Revolution], which really synthesized our nationalist aspirations,” he was acting out of his compromised position as part of the elite. The same pattern can be observed in Syjuco’s novel. It can only deride the shortcomings of the elite; it cannot echo a bolder call for a reboot of the social system, an event that will divest the elite of its power.

The novel actually shows us what happened to the ilustrado class after the grant of independence: they came to comprise the new bourgeois class which dominated the country’s commerce and politics. Hence, Miguel’s grandfather owned a zipper factory and a seat in government, while Crispin’s clan ruled local politics.

History teaches us an invaluable lesson about the ilustrado class— despite enlightenment, this social class is prone to co-optation by the emerging ruling class. The ambivalence of this social class, however, precludes absolute judgment on the fate of the ilustrado. There may be hope just yet, if only the enlightened will dare to resolve their contradictions and surrender their already slipping grip on the cruel rungs of social hierarchy.

●

Artwork by Ysa Calinawan | Page design by Kel Almazan in overhauling a rotten social system.

In strange opposition to his own metafiction, the author Syjuco disobeys Crispin’s advice to Miguel to search for ways to become “whole” and instead indulges in fragmentation.­­­ Meanwhile, the indecisive nature of the two protagonists propelled the novel forward and seemingly nowhere.

All of their personal conflicts remain unresolved. Any advocacy that the two writers attempted to pursue is eventually reduced to existential

ruminations. Miguel could not fully commit to environmentalism while Crispin abandoned the struggle for social justice and fled to New York.

Like the modern ilustrados, Rizal’s Ibarra and Simoun likewise failed to fulfill their goal: vengeance for father and loved one.

In both novels, heroism and heroic actions are clearly shown to be informed by class. In the case of Rizal, his status as national hero grew from his sentiments as an ilustrado.

He had already partaken of colonial education and enjoyed a privileged status: conditions that may be ruined by the drastic changes to be brought by a bloody revolution. He was chosen by the American government as a national symbol because he “never advocated for independence, nor did he advocate armed resistance to the government,” according to Cameron Forbes, one of America’s appointed governor-generals in the Philippines.

Hence, when Rizal “repudiated the

References: Constantino, R. (1970). Dissent and Counter-consciousness. Quezon City: Malaya Books Inc. Garcellano, E. (2010, July 28). The Ilustrado Revolution.

Retrieved June 25, 2011, from http://theworksofedelgarcellano. wordpress.com/2010/07/28/theilustrado-revolution/

14 • Kulê Opinyon

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

JAYSON FAJARDA

NEWSCAN

Kabilang sa mga nawawala* Dear Karen, Gusto ko sanang simulan ang sulat na ito para sa iyo sa pangungumusta.

Pero paano nga ba sabihin ang salitang “kumusta” kung walang kasiguraduhang masasagot mo ito? Paano ko masasabing “sana nasa mabuti kang kalagayan” kahit na ilang beses nang nabalita sa dyaryo’t telebisyon ang malagim na sinapit ninyo?

Tag-ulan din noon nang makarating sa akin ang balita. Nanlamig ang buong katawan ko. Kung anu-anong mga senaryo ang naglaro sa isip ko noon na pilit kong winaksi. Maya’t maya ang pagtetext ko sa mga kaibigan at kasama natin, umaasa sa isang magandang balita. Limang taon na rin pala ang nakalipas. Hindi ko masabing kay bilis na dumaan ng panahon dahil lagi’t laging kay tagal ang mga paghihintay. Maraming nangyari sa amin dito, at marami rin ang gusto kong ikwento sa iyo: na pansamantalang tumigil ako sa pag-aaral at ngayon ay bumalik na ako sa Diliman, na kay daming mga bagay nang nawaglit, mga pagkakaibigang nabuo’t nasira, mga pangarap na naisantabi. Sa kabila ng lahat, may mga nanatiling hinihintay na masaradong kabanata.

Paumanhin kung naihalintulad ko ang paghihintay namin sa inyo sa mga personal kong isyu. Ngunit alam kong higit pa rito ang sakit at kahulugan nito sa mga matalik mong kaibigan at sa pamilya mo. Naaalala kita nung minsang nagdiskusyon kami ng nanay ko noong napagdesisyunan ko munang iwan ang pag-aaral at magtrabaho.

Tinanong niya ako kung kailan ko babalikan ang pag-aaral. “’Pag buo na po ako uli,” pagdadrama ko. “Baket, nawalan ka ba ng braso?” balik sa akin ng nanay ko. Para ngang bahagi ng katawan ang nawala sa akin kasabay ng pagkawala mo: tiwala sa mga tao, pag-asa sa batas at hustisya, at isang kaibigan.

Ibinubukas ko itong liham na para sa iyo sa maraming hindi ka na kilala.

Gayunpaman, naikintal na sa mga memorya nilang mga walang alaala mo ang larawan ninyo ni Sherlyn na ipininta sa AS, iyong larawan na daladala lagi ni Nanay Coni sa mga rali.

Sa kanila, ikaw ay larawan, bilang sa stadistika ng mga biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao. Sa akin ika’y kakilala, kamag-aral, kaibigan, kasama. Kina Nanay Coni at sa marami pang katulad niyang naghahanap, kayo’y mga anak, magulang, asawa,

Bahagi ng katawan ang nawala sa akin kasabay ng pagkawala mo

kamag-anak, kapatid, minamahal. At naghihintay kaming lahat sa inyong pagbabalik.

Pero pasibo raw ang paghihintay.

Higit dito ang walang patid na paghahanap sa inyo ng inyong pamilya at ng mga kaibigan at kasama natin. Hinahanap nila kayo sa mga presinto, sa mga kampo, sa ospital, sa sementeryo, sa mga piket, sa mga rali. Lagi’t laging umaasa at nagbabakasakali. Dahil ang paghahanap sa inyo ni Sherlyn ay paghahanap din ng katarungan.

Sa katagalan ng panahon, untiunting umaandap ang pag-asang makita kayong muli. Ngunit ilang araw bago ang ika-limang taon ng inyong pagkawala, muli kaming nabuhayan ng loob nang ipag-utos ng Korte Suprema sa militar na kayo’y ilitaw. At ang pagasang ito ang nagtutulak sa amin para magpatuloy.

Gusto kong ilakip sa pagtatapos ng maikling sulat na ito, ang pag-asang ito, na balang araw malaya mo na rin itong mababasa.

Nagmamahal at nangungulila, Jayson *pasintabi kay Ricardo Lee

RICHARD JACOB DY

a bloody riot that injured individuals.

Certain people were quick to discount Duterte, for a mistake can never be solved by another mistake, according to God knows who.

But how can one be diplomatic enough not to punch a man responsible for more than ten injuries, when it could have been clearly avoided?

After helping families whose houses and lives were affected by devastating flash floods in Davao, how can one be calm when you hear news about men ruthlessly destroying the shanties that hundreds of families, for years, call their home?

For some people, there is only one kind of violence. When residents challenge demolition teams with stones and sling shots, it seems normal for people to call them “illegal” and that they don’t have the right to protest. Hence, for them, it seems normal to call them violent.

People don’t usually call demolitions violent, because they all seem necessary and just, even if it means forcing individuals to leave their homes and forcing people to move to unlivable places. In the name of “development projects,” people

When choosing whom to call violent, some people take sides without looking beyond the obvious

Alay-Sining, a cultural-mass organization, invites everyone to submit artworks featuring their perceived face of Noynoy.

Submissions may be in the form of paintings, illustrations, comic strips, songs, stories, poetry, photographs, short plays, or any other visual or performed art form, for inclusion in the exhibit. The deadline is July 15. For questions, contact Amae @ 09178137145.

Placard show

The University of the Philippines (UP) Vargas Museum, in collaboration with the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) and the Ugatlahi Artists Collective, presents Placard: Signs of the Times from July 6 to 25, 2011 at the Vargas Museum basement and grounds. Placard: Signs of the Times collects more than a hundred placards produced by visual artists and people’s organizations: signs and slogans historically used to convey messages and calls for social change.

Exhibit opens this Wednesday at 4 pm.

ASSIST Nationwide Photo Competition

Why I’d punch the sheriff too In the age of social networks, we are used to seeing hashtags such as “savages”, “barbaric”, and “uncivilized”, which often pertain to “violent” individuals whose “lack of education” deprive them of moral virtues like decency, self-control and diplomacy.

When Davao City’s Sara Duterte punched the “powerless” sheriff, who commanded over a demolition team, many condemned the act as “savagery,” saying it was wrong for a government official to lose temper and publicly embarrass an officer. Many pundits agree that the both frowned upon and celebrated incident may cost Duterte her office, and it could also be a valid ground for her disbarment.

Thanks to this growing exercise of posting commentary in social media, people went as far as carelessly quoting Niccolo Machiavelli’s “the end justifies the means” to render the idea of destroying homes acceptable.

For these people, in exchange of a bloodbath, a justified end can be reduced into a beautiful site of 2,000-square meter land.

People seemed to care less about the fact that Duterte punched the sheriff because his impatience led to

100 Faces of Noynoy

don’t call laws that force individuals to vacate contested terrain violent.

When choosing whom to call violent, some people take sides without looking beyond the obvious.

For some, the Mayor used her fist; she abused her power.

In the spate of demolitions in Quezon City, particularly in Sitio San Roque where the office of the city mayor stands nearby, the residents fought for their homes, but they received no help from the city government. Rarely does it happen that a government official takes the side of the people in demolitions.

Duterte was an exception. She punched the sheriff, and she joined the violent ones.

I would punch the sheriff too, and that makes me a pompous bastard.

But I don’t care, especially when all I can think about are the individuals who quickly dismiss Duterte’s punch as violent, and yet see nothing wrong with displacing families from their homes. ●

The Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) has launched a nationwide photo competition on the environment set to run until September 30. Cash prizes and special gifts await 10 winners behind 10 photographs that show any of the following themes: wonders of nature, environmental destruction, and efforts at environmental protection.

Please visit the Ten Photos to Shake the World fanpage on Facebook or visit www.assistasia.org for more details.

Calling all (non-varsity) UP Badminton Enthusiasts!

UP Chemical Engineering Society, Inc. (UP KEM) presents SMASH! 2011, a university – wide badminton tournament! Registration is now open! Forms are available at the UP KEM tambayan (3rd floor Melchor Hall) and for download at facebook. com/smash2k11. Registration fee is at P350, inclusive of a slot in the tournament and a free shirt. 1st, 2nd, 3rd place prizes are at P5000, P3000, P1000, respectively. Payment upon registration! Hurry, limited slots only! For inquiries, please contact Justine (09156444650) or Marvi (09352617344). Like us on facebook: facbook.com/smash2k11t

15 • Kulê Opinyon

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

INBOX

TEXTBACK

Karen and Sherlyn, the Challenge of Building

Ano sa tingin mo ang meron sa Spratly’s at pinag-aagawan ito ng mga bansa?

Endless deposits of Unobtanium!! 1029617 zee bsgeog. xempre, ano pa nga ba meron sa spratlys kundi teritoryo? teritoryo = kayamanang pambansa, di ba? 2011-13810 bukod sa strategic location ang spratlys at iba pang isla s w.phil.sea para s military bases, potential dn kc itong tourist spot dhil sa biodiversity.bukod pa,naniniwala clang may oil deposits ung mga isla s spratly, kabilang yung reed bank aka recto bank. Napanood ko dati na kapg naextract ng pinas ang lahat ng oil dun,posibleng mbayran ng bansa ang utang n2 at 2maas ang sahod ng mga manggagawa,etc.

08-12780 bs civil engg sagot ko sa #1. Kung tama ang pagkakaalala ko, dahil yun sa resources (esp. oil) na natagpuan sa Spratlys kaya pinagaagawan ito ng mga bansa. 2011-44548 Beneath Spratlys are billions worth of oil and gas reserves. Greed is govt’s best motivation to strut its WWII-era arsenal. 0521830 Spratly islands are, somehow, portions of the vast hill of gold, poor Juan dela Cruz is sitting onto. Sino po b naman ang ayaw ng golds diba? Neighbors are too observant about the *bling* and Juan can’t do anything but declare the golds as his own 11-35396 Its obvious that the Spratlys are oil-rich islands. It’s also strategically located in the heart of the ASEAN water borders. The claim of the Philippines is the most justifiable of all. Tayo ang may pinakamalapit in terms of Nautical miles. I don’t see the logic kung bakit pati ang China nakikisawsaw sa claim. Shiz lang. 09-35540 ChemEng’g.

Hindi na dapat pang isipin kung ano ang meron sa Spratlys, manapa ang tingnan natin ay ang kalagayan ng dangal ng ating pagkabansa. Kung mangyayaring matatalo tayo sa laban magiging kahiyahiya tayo sa harapan ng ating Pambansang Watawat. Ang atin ay atin gaano man ito kalaki o kaliit! H’wag padarag sa mga Intsik-Beho! 00111 BS BAA

a Church of the People When Jesus Christ was crucified, the people of Israel mourned for the crucifixion was the same moment the struggle for social change was nailed on the cross, punished and repressed by the corrupt system of the Jews. And with the current situation of the case of Karen Empeño, Sherlyn Cadapan, along with Manuel Meriño, Prudencio Calubid, Celina Palma, Gloria Soco and Ariel Beloy who have been missing since June 26, 2006, do not these activists experience the same persecution Christ had when He fought for sovereignty and human rights?

The current Supreme Court decision is calling for Gen. Jovito Palparan to release the two UP student activists—namely Karen and Sherlyn—on the fifth anniversary of their disappearance is not only an expression of the state’s limits in the administration of justice. These two UP student activists were abducted in the middle of their field work and integration with the peasants of Hagonoy, Bulacan along with Manuel Meriño. All of them were believed to be imprisoned in the darkness of the military camps.

Recently, another activist named Maricon Montajes, a former film major at the College of Mass Communication in University of the Philippines – Diliman, was arrested in Taysan, Batangas allegedly for being part of the armed movement. Maricon went to the depressed areas of Batangas for she knew that her passion for film-making would be irrelevant unless her skills will be developed while serving the toiling masses.

The victims of human rights violations are people who have grand dreams for our society. Apparently, dreaming big for your men is answered by a feudal state with inhumanity.

What brought the crucifixion of Christ was His courage to build an alternative church that would cater the demands and struggles of the common man. The only way for us to achieve justice is by also building an alternative system where abduction, enforced disappearances and human rights violations are not options in the process of understanding the world.

Reference: Tin Valerio, Chairperson, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines 879 National Council of Churches in the Philippines Building, EDSA, Quezon City scmpinas@gmail.com/www.scmp.webs.com 09289526973/09068350745/09323523062

CONTACT US! Write to us via snail mail or submit a soft copy to Rm. 401 , Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City. Email us: kule1112@gmail.com. Save Word attachments in Rich Text Format, with INBOX, NEWSCAN or CONTRIB in the subject. Always include your full name, address and contact details.

INBOX We welcome questions, constructive criticism, opinions, stands on relevant issues and other reactions. Letters may be edited for brevity or clarity. Due to space constraints, letters must have only 400 words or less.

Send the letters to kule1112@gmail.com

Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood -Friedrich Nietzsche Kami rin. Kaya naman inaanyayahan ang lahat ng interesadong manunulat na mag-alay ng dugo para sa Kule, at pasiglahin ang anemic naming mga pahina.

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.

Maghanap lamang ng sinumang taga-Kule para makakuha ng exam. :) Kailangan na ng Kule ng bagong dugo. Malay mo, compatible pala sa amin ang blood type mo. EXAM NA!!

Paano mo pinainit ang malamig na gabing dala ni Bagyong Egay?

Nagiinit ako through eating rocky road and double dutch ice cream! Kasi nbabadtrip ako sa sobrang lamig na panahon kaya tinatapatan ko ito ng mas malamig pa! Kanya knyang trip lang yan.! Try nyo,effective sya.. promise! 10-51566, JEMZ ABEL BS ECON ang sarap magbasa ng kule habang pinapalamig ng bagyong falcon. for Q2: pinaiinit ko ang sarili with my fave nesquik strawberry..and more. :) 2009-53308, mark b, ba j. sa pamamagitan ng pakikipagututanglaway kay Oble. t0pic namin? 2nd issue ng Kule! Sino ba namang hindi mag-iinit sa mga nakakaKULEling isyu ng PEYUPINAS nating mahal?! 11-42102 Pinapainit ko ang gabi sa pamamagitan ng pag-inom ng mainit na gatas, para sakto.

Kasi nga kapag malamig nakakaantok edi mas madaling makatulog kasinga may gatas.:D 2011 47386 Kapnayan(chem) Comments concern lang ako sa math ng backpage nyo, may maling value: either yung 5298 or 59.00, kasi kung ididivide mo sa 30 days yung 5298, ang lalabas ay 176.6 which when divided to 5 persons is around 35 pesos and not 11.77.

06-46928 (There was an error in the caption

EKSENANG PEYUPS

accompanying the photo. It should have been “…Papatak lamang ito ng P59.00 kada kain (P59/meal)…” and not “P59 kada araw.” We apologize for the error. – Eds) ang galing ng Pinoy combo meal s back page; simple pero direkta ang atake. Maganda rin ang layout ngayon kumpara last yr. 04 45720 Sa article na Paano pinasarap ang mapapait na alaala, 3rd paragraph, 2nd sentence, hindi ba switzerland un s halip na sweden? Please verify. 0678752 (We checked. The multinational food corporation came from the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk company. Swiss refers to Switzerland. –Eds) Haha! Ngayon lang ulit ako nakabasa ng Kulê. Funny talaga ng eksenang peyups, glog glog. Pero bakit wala atang komiks? P.S. Bakit andaming typo?! Haha, ayusin nio para mas masaya. Na-oc-oc ako e. 0651454, bergie:* Syang ung spaces s kule. Masyadong malaki ung sakop graphics right after the centerfold. Use the spaces wisely. Maraming isyu n pwedeng gwan ng article. Mas gusto ko parin ung old style ng kule, mas striking ung mapula. 0911232 Hanga ako sa pagkakasulat ng Paano Pinasasarap ang Mapapait na Alaala sa 2nd issue at ito’y lalong nagpalawig sa tunay na layunin ng antolohiya ng Nestle na hindi maikakaila sa mga tema nito. Postmodern nostalgia, ika nga ngunit ang mensaheng nakapaloob dito ay tiyak naman na aantig sa mga damdamin ng mga Pilipino. Nice job kule!

Arvin Villanueva PUP Sta. Mesa Bachelor in Political Science.

Article on Nestlé was a good read.

However I didn’t like the tone used when the focus turned to criticism of the way Nestlé used their films to advertise themselves.

Remembering the call of leftist groups to boycott the film anthology, I just want to make the point that criticism in itself is all pretty well (which is why I myself am criticizing) but don’t activists use films and other media to promote themselves as well? For me boycotting film screenings, whatever the message, is akin to film censorship. Art, like human rights, should never be suppressed.

2009-11722 Sagutan To 200851157: malinaw ang article na hindi nito sinisisi ang mayayamang nakakapasok sa UP, sa halip lalo pa nga nitong ipinagpupugay ang kanilang kagalingan, at ipinapaalala na hindi sa acads natatapos ang ating mga responsibilities. I can’t see how anyone can find it offensive. 2008-10039 Panawagan mananawagan lang po ako,nawa’y marapatin niyo:) to 2010-00092, alam kong lagi kang ngbabasa ng kule.hopefully mapublish ‘to at mabasa mo. Walalang. Uso pa namang mgtext? Joke. Namiss lang kta, bigtime! swear:) di na rn ngkkrus ang ating mga landas dto sa UP e.Ingat ha?:) ~2010-21204, pip:)

Next week’s questions: 1.Kung sasakay ka sa regalong pajero ni GMA sa mga pari, saan mo gusto pumunta at bakit?

2.Sinong mas magaling sa boxing, si Mayor Sara Duterte o si Cong. Manny Pacquiao?

The High-Falluting Judgment Day edition

CAUTION: This week’s Esena was not written with that mirth and whimsy you are used to.

I don’t know if it is accurate to say, after having written this issue’s Eksena, that I still am the same immortal trapped in an unworthy man’s body who facetiousy communicated with you the previous weeks.

Well, I woke up this morning from a nightmare, if you may—it was as if the movie 2012 or Transformers 3 has come true. With that, I was made to think what if there would really be an end of the world or an invasion of extraterrestrials? Then this Eksena should be under the control of a very contemptuous me first to give THE Judgment to what the peoples of this world have done.

Bleeding Hearts. Flirting with people you barely know is a dangerous game. What seems like an easy hook up at first could bite you in the ass. Take it from this sophomore who learned this lesson when a girl barricaded herself in front of his boarding house, refusing to let him pass until he gave her attention. And when a girl threatens to cut herself and perform pseudo-ritualistic bloodlettings in front of your friends and neighbors, you pretty much do what she says until the day she dumps you and moves on to the next poor soul foolish enough to try and compensate for her daddy issues.

Against the Flow. Taxis, private Vehicles who drive on the bike lane against the Acad Oval traffic are assholes. If we can’t follow simple rules, how then can we develop the discipline our already flawed society needs? Don’t be a god damned hypocrite. Your integrity is worth more than the gas you pay for.

Lust, caution. No man can resist a violent call for needless fornication especially when a girl like those primetime starlets nibbles on your earlobe, tugs on your libido.

But if you want cheap thrills that badly, rather see porn cause like all things that come easily, expect consequences waiting for you the morning after especially if this girl only slept with you to get back at her fratman boyfriend. Dodging vengeful fratsmen in between your classes would make for an interesting semester.

Bottomline is, you may enjoy but not all the time... so as this Eksena edition shows you.

ILPS Mural International Festival for Peoples’ Rights and Struggles UgatLahi Artist Collective Diliman, Quezon City July 4, 2011

Martes 5 Hulyo 2011

Komix ni Al Alarilla

Kulê The Back Page