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Rappler sympathizes with HAU’s twitter trend #HAUyokoNa
BY Jay-Ar M. Turla
BY Erica Clare B. Garcia Thousands of local women, children and men alike participated in the One Billion Rising movement all over the country. Expressed through flash mobs or dance sequences performed in public, it seeks to call out the total end of gender-based violence, especially to women and girls. Since its first debut in 2012, OBR is in fact the biggest international campaign with such a mission that happens in more than 180 countries and everyone is welcomed to engage in this yearly phenomenon. According to onebillionrising. org, statistics show that 1 in 3 women worldwide may have or will possibly experience physical and/or sexual abuse during her lifetime. That staggering number equates to more than 1 billion of girls and women out of the 7 billion world population.
PHOTO FROM Rappler
After Holy Angel University (HAU) released the recent enrollment and opening timeline, Rappler, one of the widely known online news websites in the Philippines sympathized with the HAU’s twitter trend #HAUyokoNa as it issues an article amplifying the call of the Angelites to heed the 7-point demands, a petition filed to the administration. The trended hashtag, #HAUyokoNa has been escalated rapidly online as the university is much in a rush of the enrollment period and opening of classes amidst Coronavirus (COVID-19), compromising the essential needs of the
Locals engage in a choreographed global movement
students – to be financially stable and ensure the health and safety in this time of pandemic. With a total of 12.3k tweets, making it trending at number 2 nationwide, and “Holy Angel University” to be on the trending slot in the latter, memes, personal sentiments, and call to actions have been circulating in the media from the various ‘tweeters’, even those outside from the university showed condemnation to the inconsiderate and anti-poor policies of the university. Initiated by The Angelite, University Student Council, Anakbayan HAU, and HAU Speak Now in alliance with
college student councils and student publications, the 7-point demands include (1) moving the opening of classes in accordance to the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), (2) no to online classes, (3) Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI) freeze, (4) present a clear and definite breakdown of the fees, (5) deduct the payment from the unused services, (6) ensure the income of all the employees, and (7) retract the payment from the summer classes; provide student discounts not loans. This online protest asks for an accessible quality education as this is the university’s long-life mission in navigat-
PHOTO FROM Kadamay Metro Clark
ing the Angelites towards their greater future. It also seeks for leniency and sensible consideration to the students as the virus has colossal plight to deal with, either in mental state of perplexity or in social dilemma. Punto Central Luzon, iOrbit News Online, and Kodao Productions have also published news articles online, highlighting the tweets of the Angelites in a call for attention to heed the students’ demands with the administration. To date 9,372 people have signed in one with the Angelite 7-point demands along with comments of support and sentiments both from parents and students.
Mga manggagawa.., from page 2 Libong mga unyon ng mga empleyado (Alliance of Yokohama Employees) naman ang nagsagawa ng welga sa Yokohama Tires Clark Pampanga kamakailan lang. Ayon sa kanilang bitbit na panawagan “Ibigay ang karapatang pasahod at tamang trato ng mga manggagawa.” Workers situation in the PH context Sa buong bansa, nagrerehistro ng mga panawagan ang mga manggagawa hinggil sa kasiguraduhan sa trabaho at pagkilala sa kanilang karapatan. Kasabay ng hostage taking ng 30 na indibidwal na naganap sa Greenhills ng isang nasisanteng security guard na si Alchie Paray, natalakay ang diskuro ukol sa sitwasyon ng mga manggagawa sa ating bansa. Ayon sa Inquirer, nagawa ni Paray ang mag hostage nang matanggal siya sa kanyang trabaho dahil the ‘korapsyon’ ng kanyang nakatataas. Base naman sa International Labor Organization, 7 hanggang 10 milyong mga manggagawang Filipino ay kontraktwal. Noong 2019, matatandaan na hindi pinirmahan ni Duterte ang Security of Tenure Bill o siyang magpawawakas ng kontraktwalisasyon sa bansa.
The intended influence The global dance of resistance is a call to action to primarily fight against all forms of violence against women, including transgender women and those who identify themselves with other gender expressions. The Global Campaign Director of OBR Monique Wilson also emphasized that art can be utilized as a powerful and creative form of resistance to address the roots of patriarchy and misogyny that are still being normalized in today’s society all across the globe. The mass action of dancing in public draws more attention that may be intriguing for other people to know more about the cause. Rise, resist, unite Over time, One Billion Rising has developed its campaign to condemn a variety of social issues that do not merely just inflict over women’s welfare, but for every marginalized sector in society. Their vision of intersectionality has paved its way to fight tyranny and human rights abuses that are often overlooked in spite of their blatant persecution to the people. Other issues this movement fights for include homophobia, transphobia, corporate greed, racial justice, climate destruction, and more. GABRIELA, Kadamay, Amihan, and several other organizations led the local OBR campaign throughout the country. Just at the Bayanihan Park in Angeles City, different groups also gathered to participate in the OBR, dancing and chanting to rise, resist and unite to address violence against women, plunder and corruption, human rights violations, unemployment, improper land distribution, and other social issues. “We rise - in countries across the world - to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face. We rise through dance to express joy and community and celebrate the fact that we have not been defeated by this violence. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness - one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable,” stated from a Facebook post of One Billion Rising Philippines.