ThePILLARS June 2018-May 2019

ThePILLARS

ThePILLARS Publication JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

The Official Student Publication of Ateneo de Naga University / VOL. LVII, ISSUE NO. 1 | June 2018 - May 2019 Member: College Editors Guild of the Philippines

EDITORIAL

Ateneo atop the hill

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ocial inequalities and atrocities beleaguer the Ateneo—from community demolitions to political killings.

Amidst a national context of economic crises and perverted democracy, Ateneo sits secluded atop its hill.

Student apathy is hardly to blame, Ateneo’s history points to an active involvement in the nation’s struggles against tyranny.

From Marcos’ dictatorship to Arroyo’s crackdown on progressive groups, Ateneans have been at the vanguard of Bicol’s student movement.

Yet recently, there has been slack in Ateneo’s thrust for social justice despite what’s been brewing outside its gates.

In San Rafael, Cararayan last 17 January 2019, 15 families have had their homes destroyed after almost 30 years of fighting against demolition attempts.

The demolition’s success can be credited to the 50 policemen and several SWAT officers escorting the demolition team who snuck into the community while everyone was asleep.

Meanwhile, with the execution of Memorandum Order No. 32 in full swing, military and police forces in select regions including Bicol, have been vastly increased.

Directing the AFP, PNP, and DOJ to coordinate tactics, intelligence, and resources against those suspected of lawless violence has precipitated heightened political repression and human rights violations. Last June’s killings in Sorsogon of human rights workers Nelly Bagasala and Ryan Hubilla—a senior high school student, are merely the highlights of hundreds more of state-sponsored atrocities.

The spate of political killings and intensified militarization of rural communities such as in Sorsogon and Masbate as a result of a

presidential memorandum are glaring indications of de facto martial law.

During EDSA II, cocurricular orgs and even university offices marched in protest for the ouster of Joseph Estrada.

Ateneo’s values ensconced in the Four Cs guides the Atenean to “advocate social changes that assist victims of injustice in gaining their rights.” But magis is rendered pointless when students are entrapped and socially dulled in the four corners of a classroom.

That’s not to say that the spirit of activism has been extinguished, but the decline in extra-curricular activity after the K-12’s implementation— besides the education system itself—encourages apathy through the atomization of students, leaving many centered only on curricular affairs. What greeted the first batch of K-12 graduates was a weak extra-curricular environment.

The empty booths during the previous Orgs’ Fests can attest to this.

And with the isolating effects of a weak extra-curricular environment comes the lack of avenues for social discourse and thus an indifference to school and national politics.

Organizations play a key role in collectivizing the student body and providing avenues of exposure to the realities beyond the theories of the classroom. But the two-year period from 2016 to 2017 without freshmen enrollees due to K-12 made significant blows to student organizations’ membership and budget.

Consequently, orgs’ performance suffered, as well as

participation in interorganizational endeavors such as Pintakasi and the Ateneo Directorate of Student Organizations.

Only now does there seem to be signs of natural but slow recovery of extra-curricular vigor. Of course, the university could have taken greater steps to aid student organizations instead of leaving them to adjust on their own. This would include promoting extra-curricular participation beyond the Orgs’ Fest such as in classes aided by the faculty and perhaps joint co-curricular activities. Another would be maximizing the activity period, which has been irregular in the previous semester.

Certainly, student organizations—both cocurricular and extra-curricular, have the larger part to play in the restoration of a rich student ecosystem; one that not only cultivates scholastic and non-scholastic pursuits but also, as a collective body, actively partakes in the struggles of society and the oppressed through initiatives

that go well beyond the stakes within the university.

Ateneo undeniably sits upon a hill of academic excellence and privilege, but this shouldn’t entail having students engrossed in an apathy-inducing environment and unschooled in social awareness. If Ateneo is to breed men and women for and with others, it should have an extra-curricular environment conducive to

Magis is rendered pointless when students are entrapped and socially dulled in the four corners of a classroom.

student solidarity and exposure to social realities. Militant involvement in the nation’s struggles is the prerequisite for a student movement with the fervor to challenge the current face of tyranny.

ThePILLARS Publication

2 NEWS

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

SSG elections concluded in July despite March F.O.E

By Amir Gabriel Ordas

President took office because of the immediate actions taken by the current SSG administration.

The July elections The COMELEC held an election of officers for the SSG Student Central Board and Student Congress last 22 July 2019. Rudy Clariño, the current COMELEC Chairperson, said that he was able to look for volunteers from participants in the ORSEM 2019 to solve the lack of manpower of the COMELEC. For the elections, there was only one group standing up for their respective positions in the Student Central Board and Student Congress. The group was an alliance of AKLAS-Estudyante and SIGWA called SIGWA-AKLAS Magkaisa Coalition.

AKLAS and SIGWA were previously opposing parties prevalent in previous candidacies.

After the Miting de Avance, there were voting stalls for students to vote for their chosen candidates. “For the past five years, ito yung pinakamataas na turnout of election, which is 31.87 ata,” Clariño said Coalesce. Speaking at the Miting de Avance, Abby Mendoza, now incumbent president, represents a new era of SSG regarding the success of the elections. From politics with the historic alliance of SIGWA and AKLAS-Estudyante.

Photo by Princess Dessarey Cacho the turnout ballots, 1118 students participated in the elections, out of 3512 total students resulting to 31.86%. He also added that resided by the Commision on Elections the lack of volunteers, she also added that of enrollees for college because of the K-12 previous turnouts were only 10-16% votes of (COMELEC), the Supreme Student “it was too late for COMELEC to conduct an Program adding Senior High School to the the student population.

Government (SSG) elections was election.” The COMELEC still had to set a curriculum, and many of the students were successfully concluded last 22 July 2019. campaign period and Miting de Avance even already graduating. This transition meant Prospects for the SSG For the past years, AKLAS and SIGWA Having only one party vying for candidacy: if there were volunteers, and the given time that there were not many students available stood as two rival parties with differing a coalition of SIGWA and AKLAS-Estudyante, period was not sufficient. to volunteer for the COMELEC. principles. Starting a coalition is perceived the elections had a voter turnout of 31.86% In the previous school year, all of the to cause inconvenience to some members. despite the hurdles that caused the failure of COMELEC commissioners had already Consequences of F.O.E elections (FOE) last March. graduated, and only one member was The effects of the FOE had a direct Abby Mendoza, current SSG President said left: Former COMELEC Chairperson Diane impact on the SSG as a governing body in that they set expectations for each other as Causes of F.O.E Guevara. According to Guevara, COMELEC the university. It incapacitated the SSG last a preparation for the coalition. “We made Last March 2019’s FOE was caused members tapped different organizations summer. “Na-disable ang SSG as a student sure that after the elections, the political by different issues from the SSG and the to look for possible commissioners and government during the summer na walang parties would be set aside and work as one.”

COMELEC. Karla Baduria, Former SSG volunteers. She requested for help from bagong officers na pumalit.” Baduria said Mendoza said that even though they came President, said that she had a difficult time her affiliated organization in looking for that the officers at that time also had other from different parties, they should remember in looking for a political party to run for possible applicants for COMELEC but was responsibilities as students while some that they serve the students not their parties to avoid disputes. candidacy and that many students were unsuccessful. already graduated.

Before the alliance was formed, Baduria disinterested in running for office.

“Walang masyadong nag-show interest Meanwhile, she also added that it sends Baduria added that she had to ask help sa position…and hindi ganoon ka-rigorous a message to the students that the SSG is said that there were many students who from other people. “If you notice nung yung actual looking for commissioners,” fragmented and is not capable of running wanted to join. “When they joined the elections, nagkaroon ng alliance because it Guevara said regarding the reason for itself amid the FOE. The FOE also effected alliance, they didn’t care about the political stemmed from the difficulty to mobilize your the unsuccessful search. However, she, a sense of apathy in the student body, giving differences between the parties.” She own organization,” says Baduria, identifying alongside Baduria, were able to find a the impression that the SSG was inept, and compared the situation of the current SSG the reason for the SIGWA-AKLAS alliance. commissioner to replace Guevara. many students were already doubting the with previous administrations. Officers from previous administrations had different The COMELEC was not able to conduct Despite the inconveniences, Baduria said student government, according to Baduria. an election as well because of a lack of that the COMELEC shouldn’t take the full But Baduria assured that the impression principles because of their political parties. manpower, according to Baduria. Aside from blame. At that time, there was a shortage diminished the moment the new SSG Baduria said that the interests of the present SSG have no contradictions. The current SSG officers have similar interests in pushing for the programs of their administration.

Mendoza also stated that the SSG has many programs in store for the academic year, two of which had already transpired: the Intramurals 2019 and Alternative Class Program. “We have the ED Fest, a festival of different national situationers.” Mendoza added that this event will dedicate a whole week to allow students to be informed on current issues in the Philippines. This event will occur alongside Pride Week, a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community in the university. The SSG will also conduct the Idolo Atenista, a monthly award for the staff of AdNU.

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Artwork Cover by Daniella Alexandra Tribiana & Maria Karina Angeles

ThePILLARS Publication

NEWS 3

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

Student Power. Sasah Sta. Rosa, Anakbayan-Naga City Chairperson, declaims about the role of the youth under fascism against a backdrop of hundreds of protesting youth and students.

Photo by Mar Xavier Ampongan

Bicol youth proclaims outcry against midterm election results

By Amir Gabriel Ordas

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irregularities such as the 7-hour delay of results transmission.

According to Mar Ampongan, Kabataan Partylist-Bicol Regional Coordinator, besides the irregularities during the voting process, the results were questionable considering the polls and popular support received by Makabayan bloc candidates. He adds, “habang yung mga nakikita natin na walang sumusuporta... at the same time marami ang kumukundina sa kanilang mga kampanya, ay sila pa yung mga nakapasok at nakakuha ng matataas na boto noong eleksyon.”

o express grievance towards the results of the May 2019 midterm elections, youth mass groups, joined by students and student organizations, gathered in protest at Plaza Rizal of Naga City, Camarines Sur last 15 May 2019.

Organized by AnakbayanNaga City and Kabataan PartylistBicol, the protest was mounted to decry what the youth groups and students saw as rigged election results. Interspersed with cultural performances, the protest action was attended by a crowd of around 500 people, with representatives from the AdNU-SSG and Ateneo College Call for mobilization of Law among the protesters.

While the election results were being posted online, dismay and Rigged results disapproval were already being In the senatorial election’s expressed by Makabayan bloc and outcome, nine of the 12 elected opposition supporters on social senatorial candidates are Duterte media. “Yung time na ni-release na administration bets, while three of yung result, actually hindi pa nga them are not; these being actor Lito final yung result, two percent or Lapid, re-elected Grace Poe, and ten percent ng votes palang yung re-elected Nancy Binay. Meanwhile, nire-release pero marami na yung mass organizations and supporters nagagalit, marami nang nagtatawag of the Makabayan bloc and ng pagkilos,” stated Ampongan. opposition candidates questioned With the public outcry as an the integrity of the results, citing impetus, Anakbayan-Naga City and

Kabataan Partylist-Bicol facilitated the calls for a demonstration.

Ampongan explained that the protest was a spontaneous reaction of the people towards the apparent fraudulence and the direction that the election results were going.

“Talagang kusa na nga na bumuo ng pagkilos at lahat ay nagkaroon ng effort na pumunta sa Plaza, magdala ng kanya-kanyang panawagan, at makiisa sa ating pagkilos, ” added Ampongan.

Former Anakbayan-Bicol ViceChairperson Khryss Arañas, lauds the students’ initiatives to protest and partake in seeking for government accountability. “Mabuti nga at ang mga kabataan sa panahon ngayon ay aktibo nang nakikilahok sa mga usaping politikal. Kaya rin hindi na nakakabigla na maraming kabataan ang nakiisa sa panawagan ng mamamayan para sa isang tunay na eleksyon,” Arañas affirmed.

Remonstrance The protest began at 5:00 PM, with groups and individuals joining the mobilization as the program unfolded. Comprising the program were speeches and impromptu cultural performances.

EDSA bus ban receives backlash from commuters

By Christine Joy Rosales

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he Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) eyes Provincial Bus Ban as a solution for EDSA traffic despite public outcries and protests.

MMDA proposed last 16 June 2019 the idea of banning northbound provincial buses.

These buses would end their route in a terminal at Sta. Rosa Laguna while southbound buses will only be allowed at a terminal at Valenzuela City. Commuters will have to take double-rides to get to their destination as the content of the policy states that buses will be prohibited from passing along EDSA road.

Bus ban as potential resolution Besides provincial buses, jeepneys used to be the main public vehicles to tow along EDSA. Nonetheless, they were eventually banned by the government due to

claims that they were the primary cause of the majority of the traffic.

Thus, they were replaced by minibuses. However, the current policy that MMDA proposes fixates the blame on these provincial buses, justifying the ‘need’ to ban them.

The agency firmly believes that the implementation of the EDSA Bus Ban can be a potential resolution to the incessant traffic. To further this, MMDA also proposed several dry runs of said policy where provincial bus participation is only said to be ‘voluntary.’ During the dry run, the buses will be prohibited from traversing along the road of EDSA from 4 am until 10 pm. Those coming from the north may use the Valenzuela Gateway Complex terminal to load and unload passengers. Buses from the south may use the Sta. Rosa Terminal in Laguna while those with existing terminals in Pasay may use the

Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange. The agency is certain that the amendment of routes can possibly ease traffic congestion along the busiest road in the Metro.

Short-sighted policy The dry run commenced on 7 August 2019, following shortly after the announcement of the Bus Ban proposal. Even so, the dry run still received a lot of negative feedback.

According to MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago, the agency was not able to fully implement the dry run because of a halt order from the Supreme Court.

“We want our commuters to feel that we also want to improve the policy because the dry run will answer all our questions if it’s just considered,” Pialago stated.

On the other hand, former MMDA chairperson Bayani Fernando shunned the said proposal, saying >> page 4

Among the speakers was Sasah Sta. Rosa, a 2-BSE Math student and Anakbayan-Naga City Chairperson.

“Kung ang mayorya ng pagpipilian ay mga abusado, mga kurap, mga kriminal, at pare-parehong apelyido, hindi ito ang magtatapos ng kairapan,” Sta. Rosa proclaims during the protest.

Meanwhile, Karla Baduria, Gabriela Youth member and former SSG President, deplored the dire implications of the election results on women. Baduria declaimed how women, especially those from the working class and peasantry, are the

most vulnerable victims of a corrupt government.

Atty.

Ricky Tomotorgo, a professor at the Ateneo College of Law, also among the speakers, likened the 2019 elections to the days of Marcos’ dictatorship.

“Kaito, pigparadaya ni Marcos ang eleksyon, gabos na nanggagana saiya man sanang kandidato,” Tomotorgo recounted.

Closing the protest was a Filipino rendition of “Do You Hear the People Sing?” which the crowd sang along to.

AdNU shifts academic calendar to July

By Allen Joseph Pintang

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new academic calendar has been set for academic year 2019-2020, after being approved by the AdNU Board of Trustees last 16 February 2019. This has moved the start of the school year from June to July.

The motion to shift the academic calendar was in anticipation of the unilateral decision of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges Region 5 (PASUC V) to move the start of their school year to August this year to become “on-par with international universities”. It will also increase the international partnerships and mobility of the faculty and students in State University and Colleges (SUCs) in the Philippines.

Short notice In a memo addressed to the university community, University President Roberto E. N. Rivera, SJ, stated that “To shift the academic [year] for our higher education units at such short notice is obviously far from ideal.” This statement stems from the fact that this academic shift will be implemented on July 2019, after the PASUC memo being only mandated last January 31, 2019.

This statement was supported

by AdNU Vice President for Higher Education Alfredo Fabay.

According to him, private schools

only have 6 months to prepare for the implementation of the said memo.

However, Fabay also elaborated that while the calendar shift was implemented quickly, there will be no significant effects on the rhythm of the school year as the calendar shift starts subsequently just 1 month after the traditional start.

Fabay clarified that there will be no changes to how the semesters flow.

The calendar shift will also serve as an opportunity for the students to finish ahead their course since there will be an additional summer class upon the application of the memo. This allows the students to take up another 6-unit subjects. It will also help irregular students in catching up for next semester.

Student enrollment Private schools adapted to the motion of the public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to start the school year in August due to the difference in the start of the school year. According to Fabay, it is a major factor to the enrolment pace of both institutions.

Fabay also elaborated that the students prioritized SUCs because of the development of the free tuition program in these institutions. Students opt to wait for the results of the admission exams >> page 4

ThePILLARS Publication

4 NEWS

Rice Tariffication Law, dagdag na pahirap sa mga magsasaka

By Lee Fei Hong Sianoya

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a pangunguna ni Senador Cynthia Villar, itinatag ang (RA) No. 11203 o Rice Tariffication Law na pinirmahan ni Pangulong Duterte noong Ika-15 ng Pebrero 2019 kung saan tuluyang tatanggalin ng nasabing batas ang limitasyon ng bilang ng mga inaangkat na bigas mula sa ibang bansa na siya na lamang papalitan ng taripa.

Mga layunin ng Rice Tariffication Law Ayon sa Food Agricultural Organization (FAO), ang Pilipinas ay isa sa mga mahalagang tagaluwas ng palay sa loob ng apat na taon mula 1979 hanggang 1981 at 1987. Sinuportahan naman ito ng impormasyon mula sa Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) na nagsasabing ang Pilipinas ay mayroong kakayahang mag-prodyus at magluwas ng sariling bigas sa karatig bansa tulad ng Indonesia, China, at Myanmar noong 1970s.

Sa mga panahong iyon, may sistema ng Quantitative Restrictions (QR) pa rin na umiiral sa bansa na nagsasabing may limitasyon ang bilang ng puwedeng iangkat na bigas mula sa ibang bansa upang maprotektahan ang mga Pilipinong magsasaka.

Nito lamang Pebrero 2019, isinabatas ang Rice Tariffication Law sa pangunahing saligan na masiguro ang suplay ng bigas sa bansa sa paparating na tagtuyot na maaaring magdulot ng kakulangan sa bigas.

Dagdag pa riyan, naglalayon din umano itong ‘mapababa’ ang presyo ng bigas dahil magkakaroon na ng ‘saganang’ suplay. Papabagalin din ng nasabing batas ang implasyon sa bigas.

Bukod pa riyan, matutulungan din umano ng batas ang mga magsasaka dahil sa taripa mula sa inaangkat na bigas kung saan papatawan ng 35% na taripa ang mga bigas na inaangkat mula sa mga bansang kabilang sa Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at 50% taripa naman sa mga bansang hindi kasama rito.

Sa kasalukuyan, 52% sa suplay ng bigas ng bansa ay nagmumula sa Vietnam, 29% naman sa Thailand. Ito ang naging dahilan kaya pumangalawa ang bansa sa pinakamalaking nag-aangkat ng bigas sa buong mundo, sunod lamang sa China.

Sa ganitong paraan, tuluyan nang aasa ang Pilipinas sa mga inaangkat na bigas mula sa ibang bansa at hindi na mabibigyan ng pansinin ang mga bigas mula mismo sa mga magsasakang Pilipino na maaaring magdulot ng mababang kita, pagkalugi, at pagkalusaw ng kanilang trabaho.

Mababang kita ng mga magsasaka Ayon sa isang pagsusuri mula sa Family Income and Expenditure Survey ng The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) noong 2015, napagalaman na ang mga magsasaka ay kumikita lamang ng Php100,000 kada taon o Php8,300 kada buwan na mas mababa pa sa poverty line na Php108,800.

Dagdag pa riyan, bago pa ipatupad ang Rice Tariffication Law, sinabi na ng Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) na magdudulot ito ng 29% na kabawasan sa kita ng mga magsasaka dahil sa pagbaba ng Php4 sa presyo ng palay.

Kamakailan naman, naitala ang pagbagsak ng presyo kada kilo ng bigas sa Nueva Ecija noong Ika-2 ng Setyembre kung saan umabot ito sa Php7 hanggang Php11 kumpara sa Php17 hanggang Php20 noong nakaraang taon.

Sa pag-aaeal ng Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS), mababawasan ng 29% ang kita ng mga magsasaka kaakibat ng pagbaba ng presyo ng bigas.

Sabi ni Marites Cello, isang magsasaka mula sa AMIHAN, isang organisasyon ng mga kababaihang magsasaka, umabot na ng Php10 hanggang Php12 ang presyo kada kilo ng bigas sa Naga City, Camarines Sur. Inaasahan din nila na aabot pa sa Php7 ang presyo ng kada kilo ng bigas sa pagpatak ng buwan ng Oktubre hanggang Disyembre kung magpapatuloy ang nasabing batas.

Dagdag pa ni Cello, dahil umano sa Rice Tariffication Law, ang presyo ng palay na nagkakahalagang Php8Php12, ay mabibili sa National Food Authority (NFA) sa halagang Php36 kung saan hindi umano ito patas sa presyo ng bigas sa merkado na naglalaro sa Php40-50 kada kilo.

Sinuportahan naman ito ng IBON Foundation na nagsasabing ang presyo umano ng bigas na binebenta sa merkado ay mas mahal sa halagang Php40 kada kilo kumpara sa presyo ng bigas na napatungan na ng taripa na nagkakahalagang Php33 lamang.

Nangangahulugan lamang kay Cello na kung mababa ang kanilang kita, mas liliit na lamang ang kanilang kakayahan upang matustusan ang pangangailangan ng kanilang pamilya. Bukod pa riyan, mawawalan na rin sila ng kakayahang mabayaran ang hiram lamang na kapital na maaaring magdulot ng mas lalong pagkabaon sa utang.

Posibilidad ng kawalan ng trabaho Bukod sa mababa na ang presyo ng bigas kada kilo, maraming magsasaka na ang nawalan at mawawalan pa ng trabaho

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

dahil sa pag-usbong ng bagong pinagkukunan ng bigas.

Sinuportahan naman ito ni Cello sa isang pahayag na tinatayang nasa 90% sa Naga ay magsasaka, at sa 27 barangay ng Naga, may siyam na lamang na barangay ang ‘mayroong agrikultura’—may kakayahan ngunit hindi nagagamit dahil sa batas.

Maliban pa riyan, ayon pa sa PIO ng Bayan Muna na si Vince Casilihan sa Defend Bicol-Stop the Attacks Network launching na ginanap noong ika-7 ng Setyembre, tinatayang 600 millers na ang ipinasara dahil sa Rice Tariffication Law na magdudulot ng kawalan ng trabaho sa marami.

Dagdag niya, patunay ito na ang isyu ng mga magsasaka ay konektado sa mas lalong pagkahirap ng mga mamamayan.

Ipinahayag ni Cello na pahirapan din ang pagbenta ng mga maliliit na magsasaka ng kanilang palay sa National Food Authority o NFA dahil may mga rekisitos na kailangang masunod upang makabenta ang isang magsasaka—una, kailangang maging miyembro muna ng NFA

>> page 4

EDSA Bus Ban... it is ‘inappropriate’ and ‘too early’ to implement the ban. Fernando said that the MMDA should not just assume that buses congest the road. He added that buses actually ‘ferry more passengers than private vehicles’ and would only occupy road space equal to that of two cars.

However, MMDA argues that the failure of the dry run was due to the ‘lack of cooperativeness’ of the provincial buses. The agency stated that the effectivenes s of the Bus Ban has still not been proven for there still is not a ‘perfect opportunity’ to actualize the policy.

Anti-poor PISTON (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide) expressed their strong opinion with regards to the

ang magsasaka; at pangalawa, may limitasyon lamang ang pagbenta ng palay kung saan 50 na sako ang minimum.

Suporta mula sa pahalaan Nasa P5 bilyon naman ang ibinigay sa Kagawaran ng Agrikultura o DAR noong nakaraang Disyembre ngunit isang bilyon lamang daw ang inilaan ng Land Bank para ipautang sa magsasaka ayon kay Cynthia Villar.

Noong Ika-13 ng Setyembre, naaprubahan naman ng DAR ang karagdagang pondo para sa Survival and Recovery Assitance Program o SURE AID Program na makatutulong umano sa halos 170,000 mula sa 600,000 na magsasaka.

May pautang ding ginagawa ang DAR para sa magsasaka kung saan nagbibigay sila ng Php15,000 kada ektarya ng lupa o ang tinatawag na soft loan na puwedeng mabayaran nang walang interes sa loob ng walong taon.

Subalit, ayon kay Cello, bago payagan sa nasabing pautang, may mga ilang rekisitos muna ang

kailangang sundin upang sila ay mapayagan. Poproblemahin pa ng mga magsasaka kung saan kukuha ng pambayad sa Php15,000 na pautang kung ang presyo ng palay ay mababa.

Iginigiit pa ng mga magsasaka na hindi pautang ang kanilang kailangan, kundi tulong na subsidyo mula sa gobyerno na maaaring makatulong ng higit sa mga magsasakang baon sa utang.

“Kung sinusuportahan ng gobyerno ang industriya ng agrikultura dito sa ating bansa, kayang-kayang pakainin ng mga magsasaka rito sa Pilipinas ang buong sambayanang Pilipino.” tugon ni Cello.

Sources: h t t p s : / / w w w. i b o n .o r g / w p - c o n t e n t / uploads/2015/11/IBON_August2018_HinggilSa-Rice-Tariffication.pdf https://www.rappler.com/nation/237691pangilinan-release-cash-aid-farmersaffected-rice-tariffication-law https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/15/19/ duterte-signs-into-law-rice-tariffication-bill http://ap.fftc.agnet.org/ap_ db.php?id=960&print=1

inconvenience the policy would bring to the less privileged, most especially to the commuters and drivers.

“Magiging pahirap lamang siya sa mga mananakay natin lalo na ‘yung mga galling sa mga probinsiya,” said Joel Pillogo, head of PISTON, about the implementation of the Provincial Bus Ban. Pillogo stated that the Bus Ban does not really target the main cause of traffic congestion in EDSA road. “Nasa 2 percent lang nga ‘yung pampublikong sasakyan sa Maynila kumpara sa pampribadong mga sasakyan […] maaapektuhan sa Bus Ban na ‘yan ang mga maliliit na mamamayan, dahil kailangang magdobleng-sakay,” he added.

As a member of the LTFRB, Pillogo also shed light on the issue of the recent debacle about jeepney phase-out. He emphasized

the urgent need to fix the public transport system instead of resorting to ‘band-aid solutions’ with shortsighted aims.

He recounted that the reason why majority of the people are opting to use private vehicles is because of the weak mass transport system in the Philippines. Pillogo explained that if the government would only support provincial buses, we could be able to fix the transport system by banning private vehicles that occupy twice the lanes as provincial buses are allowed.

anticipates that ADNU adjusting to the calendar shift will help students to be more flexible in choosing among the public and private HEIs options as they will be beginning their school year at the same time.

A 1st year Civil Engineering student stated that this calendar shift in ADNU has helped her in choosing a school as this calendar

shift synchronizes with other schools of her choice and also gave her a larger window of time in choosing a school.

The calendar shift will be expected to help the teachers in scheduling their classes since the late enrollees will be lessened after the adjustment of the academic calendar.

Sources: https://www.ibon.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ IBON_August2018_Hinggil-Sa-Rice-Tariffication.pdf https://www.rappler.com/nation/237691-pangilinanrelease-cash-aid-farmers-affected-rice-tarifficationlaw https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/15/19/dutertesigns-into-law-rice-tariffication-bill http://ap.fftc.agnet.org/ap_db.php?id=960&print=1

>> page 4

AdNU shifts... to these SUCs rather than already enrolling to the private HEIs. “If they do not get in to SUC, that’s the time they consider going to a private school.” Fabay stated that it affects the private institutions since a significant number of students choose not to enrol in private schools.

Meanwhile, the administration

ThePILLARS Publication

FEATURE 5

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

L

angit, lupa, impyerno, im-im-impyerno

This is hell and you cannot say otherwise. We are not playing Pitik-Bulag— stop playing blind. This is the fruit of your papaya; hold on sinta, dahil nabali na ang sanga. We have come to this from the years of their agawang-base.

Sila ang nasa langit at tayo ang nasa lupa.

We are closer to hell than they are. This is our home. Do not believe them when they say that sa paligid-ligid ay puno ng tanga. We are not fools, we are just victims.

Now, let us look at the recent 2019 Midterm Elections. Let us see where our decisions have brought us. We cannot decide on things like how we decide on what gesture to use at Jack ‘n’ Poy, hale-hale-hoy—gising na!

those reports.

Silencing critics, campaign tactics, and trapo dynamics (tumbang preso) Both mainstream and social media seemed to have become effective tools in normalcy in propagating political agenda before and during the midterm elections. They are used by politicians to increase their exposure, to have their names retained in the voters’ minds, and at the same time, distribute fake and misleading n e w s about their rivals.

A game of buy and sell (tinda-tindahan) Vote buying is largely defined as an economic exchange wherein voters sell their votes to the highest-bidding politician. For Benjamin, a first year BS Nursing student, elections in the Philippines are often used by “rich politicians” as an arena where they can take advantage of “poor voters” by buying their votes. For him, unfortunate Filipinos who lack education on elections are an easy target of false promises by politicians as they intend to lean more on what is at hand and less on the implications of selling their votes.

In Section 261 of Batas Pambansa

and websites of the administration-affiliated candidates.

“Walang Oposisyon! Talagang hinawakan nila lahat!” cried Bayan Muna-Camarines Sur Coordinator Nelsy Rodriguez when asked about the lack—or absence thereof of opposition candidates that made it into the senate. She also said that such dirty tactics of ‘some’ candidates even went as far as going into streets, when she witnessed how their campaign materials were being stripped down, sabotaged, and/or were replaced by administration candidates’ campaign materials, day by day. “Matinding black propaganda ang ginawa nila,” Rodriguez said with clenched fists, “Walang duda na may dayaan.”

In an interview with ABS-CBN, UP journalism professor Diosa Labiste said that the proliferation of disinformation, fake news, and the likes, were not enough pieces of evidence to conclude that these are responsible for the win or loss of election candidates.

This wide spread of disinformation is apparently a tool of the ‘powerful’ to stop the critics from exposing the former’s true colors, or at least divert the attention of the people from what is really happening—a common antic of a

daughter and mayor of Davao City, urged voters to not vote for the Makabayan bloc. The results however showed a good amount of 28,000 people in Davao who voted for Bayan Muna representatives.

Elections and politics: patintero Nowadays, elections seem a theatrical execution of arrogance and greed or a mere sustenance tool of the ruling class in power.

Filipinos would not understand the power and use of elections unless they dig deeper on the historical principles of the country—from the socio-economic classes to the political ideas and the surrounding material conditions in the existing complex structure of society.

One’s political power will always be hinged upon his and his country’s economic power.

As long as class exploitation exists, Filipinos would just be puppets with no choice but to choose from different candidates of the same background in the same unending political system. Filipinos love patintero, after all—to watch the same people in a boxed system of vertical and horizontal lines, watching out for those who are coming in and out of the system, eyeing those who will be allowed and who will be blocked from the game, or waiting to see who cheats and who prefers to stay by the rules of the game. Finally, players may change or may be replaced, but the playground will stay the same. Well, if Filipinos look for a new untarnished playground to play in, then the game may change after all.

But if the players are wise enough to avoid being tagged, or that if they think and play out

Laro ng Lahi: Philippine Politics Edition

Philippine Politics Edition The Unending Game We Always Lose At

By Excel Roi Aladeza 881, the 1985 Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines expressly prohibits the buying and selling of votes. This section, however, appears contrary to what President Rodrigo Duterte believes in. After casting his vote in Davao on 13 May, Duterte said in a press conference that vote-buying was “integral” to elections. “There is no politician who doesn’t buy votes,” said the president who also happens to have served more than two decades as a mayor in Davao.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Oscar Albayalde also ‘joked’ that it was okay for voters to accept money from politicians, but they should vote wisely.

Albayalde also admitted that though there were “massive” 225 reports of votebuying during midterm elections, those allegations were still hard to prove. He then thanked the police units, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for having effectively addressed

Artwork and Page Layout

by Maria Karina Angeles

Campaign ads, for example, is very costly that it can break a candidate’s bank. Take administration bet Bong Go as an exemplar of a candidate who invests in ads. He was first on the list of top spenders this May 2019 midterm elections. He spent Php422 million for his campaign which gave him at least 1,016 ad spots and 29,940 seconds of airtime exposure. His declared net worth was only Php12.85 million.

I n a recent analysis done by University of the Philippines (UP) professors, o p p o s i t i o n candidates, specifically, Otso Diretso’s Mar Roxas and Bam Aquino, were the most targeted personalities by disinformation in the May 2019 midterm elections. Such disinformation mainly came from administration bets and were made on social media and televised debates, and also through the campaign ads, speeches,

traditional politician.

of the box, then at least a little change as to the result will be evident. Or they themselves can create other rules of the game: not to mention that they can change the game or find a new game, say a game that suppresses unfair tricks in which the players are wearing a device that challenges or threatens the life of the ruling, unjust opponents—say a toy gun, or a toy grenade.

Ballots and bullets (patay-patayan) Saksak puso, tulo ang dugo A Philippine election without violence, harassment, and a malfunctioning system is not Filipino at all. It may sound harsh but then, it is a reality.

The PNP has recorded 43 incidents of election-related violence this 2019, and some of them were from Bicol. AKO Patay, buhay, Bicol Congressman Rodel Umalis ka na sa pwesto mong mabaho!

Batocabe of Daraga, Sources: Albay and former https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1985/12/03/batasCamarines Sur Police pambansa-blg-881-s-1985/ https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/13/19/duterteChief Ramiro Bausa says-vote-buying-integral-part-of-elections of Legazpi City were https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/04/29/albayalde-onboth gunned down in vote-buying-accept-the-money-but-vote-wisely/ https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1069944 s e p a r a t e https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/amp.rappler. incidents and com/nation/politics/elections/2019/223413political-ads-senatorial-candidates-top-spenderswere among the more-than-declared-wealth-pcij-report 73 victims of electionhttps://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/09/13/19/ related violence. otso-diretso-abs-cbn-news-most-targeted-bydisinformation-in-2019-elections-up-journNationwide occurrences analysis of election-related violence was https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/ newsinfo.inquirer.net/1117050/20also viewed as an instrument to further killed-in-43-election-relatedintimidate and terrorize those who dare violence/amp oppose personalities and politicians who have h t t p s : / / w w w. g o o g l e . c o m . p h / a m p / s / a m p . r a p p l e r. the monopoly of power and resources in the com/nation/politics/ country. elections/2019/230430killed-election-relatedRodriguez of Bayan Muna-Cam Sur also violence-comelec shared how Sara Duterte, the president’s

ThePILLARS Publication

6 INQUIRY

Deception & Democracy:

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

The 2019 midterm election in the age of automation and fake news

By Excel Roi Aladeza

ranks first on the list of the most questionable elections in Philippine n politics, nothing happens by history, and here are some of the accident. If it happens, you can reasons why. bet it was planned that way.”

VCM—vote-corrupting machines?

For Eila, a second year AB Political An old, yet surprisingly still relevant statement of then-US President Science student, technical glitches that Franklin Roosevelt. In the Philippines, took place during the elections were there was never an election result enough reasons to raise doubts on the that was without a shadow of doubt. integrity of the results. “Nagtutubod Election has been a theatrical exercise ako na may dayaan kang election. May marred by posturing and deceit since technical glitch na nangyare, pwedeng the beginning of Philippine politics. dakulon ang nangyare sa glitch na ito.”

But the normalization of election fraud For some, the term ‘technical glitch’ is should never be tolerated on the almost synonymous to niluto, dinaya, basis of natural occurrence in political minaniobra. Eila also expressed her disappointment with Comelec’s lack of practice.

Filipinos seem to not trust action despite the bulk of reports on immediately. Perhaps this is because the machines, ballots, and receipts.

A glitch is a small error in a system they have grown wearily accustomed to the whims of Philippine politics and caused by unexpected irregularities. politicians. The shift to an automated It can be remembered that during the election system was implemented to election day, the transmission of voting raise the confidence in election results. data to Comelec transparency and But when technical errors happen, media servers suffered a 7-hour delay— the questions and doubts on the which was later explained by Election integrity of results are doubled. And Commissioner Marlon Casquejo to be this was the scenario that befell the caused by the overwhelming flood of recent May 2019 elections. It seemed transmitted results. Surely, they could that there was a mockery of the have prepared for the digital traffic of process; with the public backlash and a national election.

While for a first year AB Political hullabaloo on social media platforms being a testament to the apparent Science student, Errol, aside from the outrageousness of the election results. glitches, what was even more alarming Last May’s midterm elections was that there were also reports of may already be the country’s fourth ballots that were pre-shaded and postautomated election, but it arguably shaded as well. He also believes that there were standard protocols that were not strictly followed, such as the handling of ballots, whether used or unused.

Both Errol and Eila brought up questions on the accuracy of the results due to Comelec’s failure to deliver transparent reports and

“I

updates on the process of elections.

Errol, meanwhile, hinted that no matter how big these reports are, if there are no concrete evidences, then these would just remain mere allegations. “[They are all] just sorts of allegations, hearsay pa rin kasi ‘to,” he stated.

“Kailangan nating iakyat ‘yung mga kasong ‘yan sa proper institutions like courts in order to prove such claims,” Errol added.

“Nagbungog-bungogan man sana ang Comelec sa reklamo kang tao tapos hanggang ngunyan malipot na ang issue kaya mayo na naman lang nangyare,” Eila stated while pointing out the Comelec’s passivity in handling the issues surrounding the authenticity of election results.

According to Comelec, 961 votecounting machines (VCMs) and 1,665 SD cards suffered glitches during the May 2019 elections. While a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) found that 66% of the voter registration verification machines (VRVMs) were “not used at all.” Some 18% of the Comelec’s total expenditure or Php987,146,922 worth of taxpayers’ money was allotted for the contract price of the rather dysfunctional machines.

Change comes in minutes There were several last-minute changes done, just days away from the elections, a PCIJ report found.

Among these changes were some of the general instructions given to teachers who were trained as poll workers. Casquejo said in an interview that he objected to the proposed changes in general instructions that the en banc approved. “[W]ith the last-minute changes, the training, materials, and manuals would be rendered nugatory—all because we want to adjust to the mistake of the service provider,” he stated.

“A technical blunder occurred by reason of the service provider’s fault which resulted in the impossibility of the service provider to deliver the service it promised. If the latter cannot comply, the solution is to

terminate the contract at the expense of the service provider, not accommodate it,” Casquejo added.

These last-minute changes were also pointed out to be some of the reasons why there were massive malfunctioning of VRVMs, leading to the squander of millions of pesos.

Change has come indeed—only it was not the change that Filipinos needed.

Towards more credible results The election results doubtless caused a national stir. It served as a hot topic, and led to heated arguments online and in real life hours and days after the elections. Many progressive groups protested in the streets to show the government their distaste and anger on the election results, which for them was clearly fraudulent and has thwarted the country’s democracy.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, however, lashed at the “vociferous and partisan” minority, suggesting that they should stop questioning the integrity of the elections and put to halt their “condescending and elitist” remarks on the preference of the Filipino “majority,” following the survey report of Social Weather Stations (SWS) that showed 4 out of 5 Filipinos were satisfied with the results of the midterm elections.

Ironically, Duterte and the Malacañang, according to Panelo, were “pleased” with the “credible” results. The former, however, on his meeting with the Filipino community in Japan, called for a fraud-free election in 2022, and told the Comelec to “dispose” of Smartmatic—the election’s VCM provider.

Before the elections, Duterte believed that the results of the midterm elections will serve as a referendum on his leadership. His confidence seemed to root from his +72 net satisfaction rating on the first quarter of the year. Political analyst Richard Heydarian also said that the outcome will either show affirmation or rejection on Duterte’s authoritarianstyle of leadership.

The Filipino electorates In May 2019, the number of registered voters reached 63.6 million and only 43.7 million of them actually voted. 10 seats in the senate were won by administration bets from Hugpong ng Pagbabago and two seats by independent candidates—none came from the opposition. The winning candidates were: Villar, Poe, Go, Cayetano, Dela Rosa, Angara, Lapid, Marcos, Tolentino, Pimentel, Revilla, and Binay, arranged from the highest to the least votes. While there were 51 partylists who won the 61 seats and were able to send their representatives

in the lower chamber. Act-CIS of the Tulfos got the top spot and three seats, followed by Bayan Muna, earning also three seats.

The lack of opposition would mean a threat not only to the rule of checks and balances in the government, but also to the country’s democracy. Nelsy Rodriguez of Bayan Muna-Cam Sur remains positive even after the turnout of events. “Huwag tayong maniwala [na] kakayanin ni President Duterte ang mamamayang Pilipino. Hindi niya kayang padapain ang sambayanang lumalaban,” she stated.

She also has a message for the millennials and the Generation Z that constitute more than half of the 53.2% current registered voters. “Kailangang idugtong natin ang kasaysayan sa kasalukuyan… kailangan mamulat sila. Kailangan ugatin nila, aralin nila ang kasaysayan,” she stated. She also said that we can compare the current administration to the dictatorial Marcos era—and this time could be worse than what happened in the past.

When asked about the youth’s role in shaping the future, Rodriguez answered “Hinog na hinog na ang mga kabataan para lumaban… para maging totoong boses.”

Transparency, Accountability This election’s conduct is a messy manifestation of the problem that recurs when people decide who should lead among the limited choices of personalities. Some of them are merely representing a tradition of ‘self-perceived’ good governance from their clans who have been ruling for decades. With this comes the prevalence of perpetrators who keep on running despite corruption cases, unexplained wealth, and questionable competence. While the youth have become informed citizens, still there are the politicians who think, talk, and do the same tricks, the same mediocrity, the usual maneuvering just to stay in power—and for upcoming powerful politicians from other industries and sectors—the chance to penetrate into the spotlight.

The government and the persons involved should be held accountable over the lack of transparency during the elections. They cannot just say that such glitches, technical and human errors or failure, are normal in big operations. The fact that they occur is a clear manifestation of a flawed, incompetent system. The people are blameless for lacking faith in the integrity of election results, considering that the government is already blatant in its disregard for building public trust and confidence.

In the age of automation and fake news, the theater of Philippine politics (very much lacking in meaning or entertainment), is digitized and broadcasted down our throats. The same actors and scripts continue to play. If we wish to escape this cycle, transparency and accountability need to be redefined—this time, it’s not something to be requested, but something the people must take for themselves.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1118605/961-vcms-1665sd-cards-suffer-glitches-in-2019-polls https://pcij.org/article/2018/may-2019-electionssystems-flawsbr-wasteful-spending-on-badmachines-3 https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/newsinfo.inquirer. net/1151209/duterte-wants-fraud-free-systemsprovider-for-2022-polls-palace/amp h t t p s : / / a p n e w s . c o m / d63682a96299434ea9d8c0153af35597 https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/amp.rappler.com/ newsbreak/iq/226121-number-registered-voterselections-2019

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INQUIRY 7

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

Mandatory ROTC:

Redefining Nationalism and Patriotism

By Abegail Kyla Bilan

W

hat is the academe for? Think.

students. And when there has been, it was invalidated by the lawmakers.

In August 2019, former police chief and Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa shunned National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP) President Raoul Manuel while being questioned during the senate hearing on mandatory ROTC. The exchange became meme-worthy instead when Dela Rosa accused the latter of being “disrespectful”. OK. The senators are deliberately making laws involving the youth with lack of necessary referendum. They are taking over a discussion that must have been ours to partake.

NUSP released a unity statement with the signatories of 11 SHS student council presidents including ADNU’s Ateneo Student Council Organization (ASCO) President Jancent Bagasbas.

It pointed out that submitting to mandatory military training is a farfetched option: there are more effective ways to achieve patriotism and nationalism like the re-implementation of Filipino as a core subject in college, and defending the Philippine’s sovereignty on waters and islands in West Philippine Sea; the financial misalignment; further experimentation on SHS students; and the imposition of militaristic doctrines.

The Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) may soon be back. House Bill 8961 was passed in Congress in its third and final reading on May 2019. This bill mandates ROTC for grades 11 and 12 or the senior high school (SHS) for both public and private schools.

President Rodrigo Duterte had already certified a letter addressed to Senate President Vicente Sotto III advising him to classify the bill as urgent.

This paves the immediate passage of Senate Bill 2232 (known as the Senior High School ROTC Act) and, in just less than a year, its implementation may be carried on.

The ROTC is a component of the National Service Training Program (NSTP), the civic education and defense preparedness program for Filipino students. It “aims to provide a strong base of trained citizen-soldiers that could be called upon in times of war, calamities, national emergencies, and other crises.”

Although the program commenced in 1912, it was first made mandatory to all colleges in the Marcos regime in 1967. It lasted until 2002 (RA 9163) when it became optional after the program was engulfed in controversies on the death of Mark Welson Chua, a Penetrating the barracks University of Santo Tomas ROTC cadet.

Cadets and cadettes are bound by military secrecy: “what you see, what A far-fetched option you hear, what you feel, when you With the culture of corruption leave, leave it here.” The submission to and abuses apparent in the system, the power play of the officers silences mandating the ROTC is definitely not a them to the apparent corruption, move that the government is ought to harassment, and physical and sexual take. The education curriculum has not abuses in the program. This malevolent even fully transitioned yet since the K-12 culture in the military practice was took effect in 2016. Also, there are calls passed on since time immemorial that it from various lawmakers and institutions has now become an open secret. to review the curriculum because of the The Anti-Hazing Act of 1995 government’s unfulfilled promises to (Republic Act No. 8049) is a law K-12 graduates. “prohibiting hazing, initiation rites, In its pursuit to instill “love of country or any form of physical violence in [and] good citizenship”, the government fraternities, sororities, and other misaligns the ideals of academic organizations”, inclusive of ROTC. freedom and imposes blind obedience However, with the assurance of oaths instead. on military secrecy, the officers or Several progressive youth groups upperclassmen still practice violent are calling out to the government to acts against the trainees. halt the passage of mandatory ROTC On September 2019, another cadet in the Senate. According to Rep. Sarah met the same fate as Chua. Fourth Elago of Kabataan Party-list, “There was Class Cadet Darwin Dormitorio suffered lack of debate for discussing its merits a slow, agonizing death after he was and necessity. Its provisions were physically abused in the celebrated inserted without further consultation to Philippine Military Academy. The its beneficiaries – our SHS students.” detailed account of his maltreatment The group also believes that its up to his passing can only be described implementation may therefore lead to as inhumane. “anti-people and anti-youth policies.”

If ever ROTC would be made “The endless accounts of mandatory once again, the possibility hazing harassments, physical, of these abuses to reoccur, or actually sexual, and emotional abuses have continue is very likely. In the culture of been documented by the youth military practice, it has been normalized representation, yet the government as it is also illegal. together with the armed state forces fail Dela Rosa, with Duterte and other to bat an eye on these crimes against lawmakers evidently tolerates hazing the youth,” Elago added. stating how he also experienced it back The government does not provide then. He—a former top cop and now a much platform for genuine youth legislator—tolerates an illegal activity. A representation on issues concerning clear violation of the law. the youth. The HB 8961 was approved It is ironic how ROTC is supposed sans the consultation with SHS to “discipline” the cadets and cadettes Artwork by Ennis Rommel Del Rosario Page Layout by Maria Karina Angeles

when they are the actual perpetrators of the abuses and corruption.

They are trained to become soldiers.

That’s why they must be tough, but as they go along with the program, they become the very monsters that they swore to fight against. The trainees then end up dead within the “barracks” of the academe before they could even “serve the country.”

“Baka gyerahin tayo ng China” This administration has been investing so much on our country’s defense forces which then compromises the welfare of other relevant sectors. While there have been budget cuts in the education and health sectors, the Department of National Defense is proposing a budget of P258 billion for 2020.

According to Justice Doroteo Valenciano, a faculty member of the Humanities and Social Sciences Department in ADNU-SHS, “It (Mandatory ROTC) is actually based on the [1987] Constitution [of the Republic of the Philippines] Article 2, Section 4 [which] states that ‘The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people. The government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal military or civil service.’”

The government actually has the grounds to make the mandatory ROTC constitutional. In a bilateral meeting on June 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed that there would be “trouble” if our country persists on claiming territorial rights. There were also several encounters near the disputed area that threatened Filipino fishermen.

In addition, our government loaned from China with an amount and conditions that we Filipinos (and the succeeding generations) have to pay for. It’s like they are playing a dangerous game, and either way, Philippines loses to China’s “debt trap”.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, said in the same senate hearing that the government would have to allot at least P38 billion for the expenses of all the facilities, maintenance,

and other necessary equipment and services. That amount could have put hundreds of thousands of students in universities because the expense for the free college education program is more or less P40 billion.

Both education and health sectors are now at risk because of the budget cuts: government subsidies or voucher programs for students might be suspended; and nurses, health workers, and public school teachers might lose their jobs.

Integrity versus nationalism and patriotism Mandating ROTC means enforcing the youth sector to become military reservists. It is ironic and hypocritical enough for this administration to say that it is “instilling the values of nationalism and patriotism” to the students when they themselves are compromising our territorial sovereignty and also removing Filipino as a core subject in college.

“I am more for the NSTP than the ROTC so that the students will have a choice. ‘Pag mandated kasi, ang feeling nila, nagigi silang mga bilanggo ng sistema. So nawawala ang essence ng volunteerism [and] willingness to learn from it,” Valenciano concluded.

According to the administrators of Ateneo de Naga University Senior High School, the presidents of the Ateneo Universities are still convening on their would-be stance with regards to mandating the ROTC in senior high schools.

Since 2003, ADNU halted on carrying on the ROTC as it was made optional. It then focused on its College Freshmen Formation Program (CFFP) instead, now College Ignatian Formation Program.

As the ASCO President, Bagasbas expresses that ADNU-SHS strongly stands in opposition of mandating ROTC. “It really hurts the value of patriotism and nationalism because […] we believe that serving the country should come from the hearts of the students. It seems like… we’re going to be like puppets of the administration and we will just be used for tyrannical purposes of the president. That’s how we perceive ROTC being mandated,” h e said.

“Napakahalaga na mamulat [tayo] sa kung ano ang tama at hindi maging sunud-sunuran sa anumang administrasyon. Kahit pa nasasakop tayo sa pamamahala ng ating gobyerno, dapat may sarili tayong paninindigan. Dapat may sarili tayong mga paniniwala,” Bagasbas added.

Having a different mandate The SHS curriculum has just been implemented for four years now. In spite of Education Secretary Leonor Briones’ approval, is the department really going to be ready for this? With all the allotments financially, morally, and legally?

We need military reserves, yes, but with the culture of violence and other abuses still rampant, we cannot let the government make the ROTC mandatory to all public and private senior high schools.

As an Ateneo school, we have an identity that singles out our values, formation, and particular roles in society.

The essence of senior high school is to have certain fields or strands that the students could excel in.

It must be taken into account that we are in schools, not military camps. The mandatory ROTC strips the students off of their right to academic freedom.

Blind obedience contradicts the ideals of a university. How can we become critical thinkers when we are taught to strictly abide by the rules of a flawed curriculum? As students and “mga pag-asa ng bayan,” being critical of the system is our mandate.

It is hypocrisy and a moronic act to let everything that is wrong to happen and let it pass. If we do, what are we educated for then?

Sources: https://www.rappler.com/nation/231111-house-3rdreading-mandatory-rotc-senior-high-school-students https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/05/22/depedsupports-implementation-of-rotc-in-senior-highschool/ h t t p s : / / w w w . p h i l s t a r . c o m / headlines/2019/05/21/1919673/houseoks-mandatory-rotc-high-school/ amp/#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google. com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1124556/mandatoryrotc-for-shs-students-violates-intl-law-hontiveros https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1071248 https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/03/19/dutertepresses-senate-to-pass-mandatory-rotc-bill https://www.rappler.com/nation/218628-mandatoryrotc-expose-senior-high-school-students-corruption h t t p s : / / w w w . p h i l s t a r . c o m / headlines/2019/05/21/1919708/bill-mandating-rotchigh-school-approved-sans-youth-consultationkabataan https://www.rappler.com/nation/238310-gatchalianestimated-cost-rotc-bill-government h t t p s : / / w w w . r a p p l e r. c o m / n a t i o n / 2 3 8 3 1 3 netizens-reaction-mandatory-rotc?utm_ medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_ source=Facebook#Echobox=1566701543

8

COMMUNITY

“M

ayo kitang hustisya digdi?!” exclaims a resident at the commotion. The demolition team continued to hammer down houses despite the residents’ outcries. It was all the residents could do as the operation was carried out with around 50 police officers and a SWAT team looming in the background—an army threatening force should the residents intervene.

It was a bright mid-afternoon of 17 January 2019. The demolition team was half-way through the operation when I arrived. The atmosphere was a thick mix of emotions: cries of despair could be heard from some of the children and elders, fueling the overwhelming indignation and anger of the rest of the residents. What kept this anger at bay were the armaments displayed by the police who stood gathered at one side with amused indifference.

ThePILLARS Publication

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

What had been home to 15 families for generations was destroyed in a single afternoon. Their previous communal efforts have thwarted 13 demolition attempts. For 30 years, the residents of Zone 7, San Rafael in Barangay Cararayan have been fighting to gain legal legitimacy over the land occupied by their community.

Hereditary struggle Nanay Bek Tingson, 46, is one of the residents living in Zone 7 of the 14.8 hectare farmland in San Rafael. Working part-time as a seamstress, she, together with the other residents, sustains her living through farming and domesticating animals. Despite the livelihood from the land, some of the residents still work part-time jobs such as driving to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, four generations of their families have lived in San Rafael. “Digdi na ako namundag, si magurang mi digdi na nagkagaradan...si mga lolo mi pa,” Nanay Bek recalls.

As early as childhood, Nanay Bek was already aware of the disputes over their land. The residents of Zone 7 were tenants of the Abella family who originally owned an estimated 800 hectares of land in Cararayan.

On 12 September 1996, five Transfer Certificates of Title (TCT) were released to the name of Nonito A. Diaz, who then sold the five TCTs to the person of Wilson Luz. This transaction was then nullified by the Supreme Court as it violated the stipulations of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Upon the CARP’s effectivity on 15 June 1988, any transactions concerning private land such as sale or transfer would be null and void. Those done before the CARP’s effectivity could only be valid if they were registered to the Registry of Deeds within three months after the CARP’s effectivity.

Besides, the 14.8 hectare agricultural land was covered by the CARP for distribution.

Yet despite the apparent illegality of Luz’s claim, his attempts to drive away the tenants from their rightful homes persisted for decades. Luz went as far as tagging the residents as members of the New People’s Army for not leaving their community.

Apparently, standing your ground in defense of your home makes you a communist.

“Tigpadarahan kaming mga militar digdi, kadakol-dakol,” recounts Nanay Bek about

the previous the previous even brough

To serve and After de attempts, Na vigilant of th would set u demolition o would be diff a secluded asleep, the p into the com “Pulis k ngani kami,” how the state able to ente A video pos shows the (SWAT) team pointing hig residents. Th officers of th carrying shie Accordin sheriff Vince area at 5:00 display of fo to carry out t afternoon.

ThePILLARS Publication

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JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

Urban Warfare:

State-sponsored displacement of a peasant community

By Alexander Matthew Dy

from the residents were palpable. But the men holding the sledgehammers did not have much say in what their salaries demanded from them.

Amid all this, all I could do was glare at the police for safeguarding cruelty and injustice.

Some of the residents voluntarily demolished their own houses to minimize the damage and salvage its foundations. I saw one boy vainly striking the wall of their house with a small hammer.

Despite the devastation to their homes, Nanay Bek and the rest of the residents stood firm in staying in Zone 7, “[Kung] mahali kami, sain kami maduman? Sa simbahan?

Sa sementeryo?” A relocation site in Sitio Salunguigui was offered to them, but they still had to pay a monthly fee besides the expenses of building a new house. Further, the lack of sustainable livelihood in the relocation site

s demolition attempts. In one of s attempts, she shared, the police ht a machine gun.

d protect the ruling class ecades of resisting demolition anay Bek’s community has become he schemes to displace them. They up barricades in anticipation of orders. The morning of January 17 fferent, however. Entering through area while the residents were police and demolition team snuck mmunity in the early hours of dawn. kaya ang naginot...pigturutukan ” Nanay Bek indignantly explained e forces and demolition team were er Zone 7 despite the barricade. sted on Facebook by a resident Special Weapons and Tactics m charging into the community gh-caliber guns at the frightened he charge was followed swiftly by he Philippine National Police (PNP) elds and batons. ng to the demolition’s implementing ent Belleza, they assembled in the 0 AM. Aided by the PNP’s excessive orce, the demolition team was able the operation at around 1:30 in the

The scene that greeted me was dystopian.

I could feel my throat tightening as I took it all in: the sight of wailing children and despondent elders contrasted to the cold and threatening demeanor of the police. The mechanical hammering of the demolition team was a relentless drumbeat. Recognizing that the men who were tearing down their houses came from the same socio-economic background, the feelings of betrayal and hurt

meant not only dire poverty, but also a high crime rate. “Kung tano na kadakol an krimen, sala ang pasistema!” remarks one resident.

Damayang mahihirap Nanay Bek muses about the impact of the all the demolition attempts the community has faced, “Si trauma, trauma kang mga aki.”

Yet the generations-long struggle for their land has also taught them militancy, “Ang aki

ko tatao na makipaglaban, si Mark,” Nanay Bek reflected about her 7 year-old son.

Another thing that their struggle has taught them is solidarity; being able to pool what little resources they have to secure the good of the community.

Assistance from the Local Government Unit of Naga rarely comes, if at all. Nanay Bek denounces how even the barangay officials come to visit only during election season.

Zone 7’s residents rely primarily on their collective efforts and solidarity with other marginalized groups in the fight for their land. Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY), an organization of the urban poor, is among the groups sharing in their struggle. “Nakakapag bukas isip samo...sa mga karapatan mi,” says Nanay Bek on how solidarity with other oppressed sectors has given them broader social consciousness.

In the media, the poor’s resistance is often portrayed as rash and violent. But they were never the initiators of violence to begin with.

How could they be? When they are thrust into a system that pits them against the law and faces them with homelessness and starvation? “Bako man kami kriminal, ang pinaglalaban mi man lang digdi ang pagbuhay mi,” declares Nanay Bek. Under the yoke of oppression, militancy and collective action become the poor’s only recourse as their calls for inclusion fall on the deaf ears of the bureaucracy. In the case of Zone 7’s demolition, the state has guaranteed through sheer force the destruction of their homes and livelihood.

For now, the issue of Zone 7’s land is yet to be settled in court, and the prospects of more displacement attempts lie on the horizon. But Nanay Bek and the rest of her community are adamant in their resolve.

Police and machine guns may come, but they will continue to fight. They have a home to win.

Photos by Mar Xavier Ampongan Page Layout by Maria Karina Angeles

10

ThePILLARS Publication

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

VOX ATENEO Collated by Amir Gabriel Ordas

W

ith the implementation of the K-12 program in 2016 came a two-year period in which there was a lack of college freshmen enrollees. This lasted from 2016 to 2017 and had serious and lasting effects on college student organizations. According to an article published by ThePILLARS in 2016, student organizations had expressed their concern over what the university deemed as “natural consequences” of the K-12’s implementation. Ultimately, student organizations were largely left to their own devices in dealing with the problems that arose in this two-year period, ranging from membership, budget, and activities. ThePILLARS collated responses from five extra-curricular organizations regarding the difficulties they experienced during the said two-year period.

RESPONDENTS: Days With The Lord-Men (DWTL-Men) Breaux Lumame, President

Alpha Phi Omega-Beta Kappa Chapter (APO-BK), Divino San Juan, President

Peer Coaches, Student and Kaabay Volunteers (PCSKV) Krishteen Ortega, Former President

Elihidos Alisa Gabriela Ordas, Former Skills Development Officer

Uswag Junior Eagles (USJE) Frances Kiana Vasquez, President

On Membership DWTL-M “Garo nag-decline si members mi and si aplikante mi. And kung baga, si urge mi sa org, nawara—nawaran kaming gana ta syempre anong ganap? Although may mga applicants kami.

Pero ang ginigibo ming mga aplikante si mga barkada mi na garo ‘uy magjoin ka sa arog kani.’ So garo mayo nang thrill for us, garo mayo na kaming mabibistadong iba… I mean mayo na kaming mabibistadong bago, mayo kaming mashsharean… iba kaya ang impact nin mga freshman eh.”

APO-BK “Before pa mag K-12, marami ulit dito, at least hindi bumababa ng 15-20. [Tapos] nung pumasok ang K-12, kadalasan narerecruit namin, 3rd year, 4th year, so pag pumasok sila sa amin, after [a few] years gagraduate din sila. Pero nung may 1st year pa, parang [ang] spend nila dito sa Ateneo, four years.

So marami pa silang taon, matitipon pa sila. Pero yung… may K-12 na, nagrerecruit kami 2nd year, 3rd year, or 4th year. So, paubos na—pakonti.”

Elihidos “Nawaran ako ng motiviation kasi ang hirap na mag finish ng mga projects lalo na’t busy ang mga members. Kakaunti nalang ang members ta bawal mag recruit ng 3rd year or 4th year students [tapos] karamihan pa sa members namin ay graduating. Mahirap mag hanap ng available schedule.”

PCSKV “Sa membership, of course, bumawas since most of the students are already [upperclassmen], so kami na yung pinakabata; and yung mga [upperclassmen], sa acads na sila nagfo-focus. So super unti na lang siguro nung mga kasama namin nung pumasok kami. Since may mga 1st year pa rin nung time na yun. Talagang bumawas siya compared dun sa members or yung mga nag-a-apply before. Pero nung time namin, marami-rami pang volunteers since may 2nd year, 3rd, and 4th year pa. Pero yung year after dun na talaga [nagdecline].”

USJE “Given the fact na most of them are graduating, nahirapan talaga sila, as I can see. Sobrang nahirapan sila sa part ng pagbalance ng both acads and org since yun nga, matrabaho rin kasi na… hindi lang alam ng ibang tao, pero sobrang trabaho ng pag pumasok ng isang organization na nagfa-function talaga. Then, yun nga [na] parang sa part nila nahirapan din sila… actually, mahirap magdivide ng task kasi parang mauulit-ulit. Like sa officers, halimbawa, may isa kang hinahawakan [tapos may] another ka pang position, so ‘yun, bilib din ako sa kanila kasi nakaya nila after that. Before pa kaming makapasok, parang stable pa rin naman yung organization though may certain problems din na dumadating like internal conflicts.”

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On Budget DWTL-M “Nagkautang sa Campus ministry. Ngunyan dae kami makaproceed sa seminar ta dae mi pa nababayadan.

Although yan, dae mi nabayadan, nagkaplano naman. NagIGP kami… nag IGP pa kaming t-shirts para sa mga Dazers para madagdagan man si pambayad mi sa utang mi duman. Tapos .ang pinagpa-planuhan mi is kung paano ulit magkaka-seminar ning dae na magkakautang ulit sa Campus Ministry. So yun, dapat talaga magbrainstorm kami since dapa .si efficiency, sa time sa work, pati sa tao, talagang dapat magamay mi. Yan man lang problema mi, ta graduating naman ang iba, so dae mi aram kung may taong mabakal or may taong matabang samo. Pero ang mga Dazers man pag may project ang Days, support man.”

APO-BK “May mga fundraisings kami, atsaka may mga support din kami ng mga alumni. Nagbibigay din sila. Para kasi sa’kin, kung humihingi kasi kami sa mga alumni, yung palagi nalang, parang umaasa lang kami, dependent kami sa kanila. Nagfufundraising kami, for example sa Orgs’ Fest, gumagawa kami ng fundraising or nagpapa-raffle kami. Depende sa mga event.”

PCSKV “Ay sa budget, oo, since unti nalang yung members. Medyo nagde-depend nga kami doon since may contributions din and others so… ‘yun nga, nag-bbase din kami doon.”

USJE “Budget… isa yan sa parang main problem ng organization kasi we cannot have events or activities na hindi kami lalabas ng sarili naming pera kasi hindi kami binibigyan ng school—wala kaming fund na galing sa school. Lahat ng activities namin, lahat ng events galing yan sa sarili naming pera. So imagine kung konti lang kami sa org and maraming events, sobrang sakit talaga sa bulsa. Pero, ang main point lang naman kasi namin is that as long as na makakaserve kami, basta ang pera darating na lang yan. Pero yun nga, parang ang hirap magwork na walang support galing sa school mismo though yun nga, dala naman namin yung name ng school pero yun ang hirap magwork na walang— parang hindi sinu-support ng school.”

Elihidos “Ayos man lang sa budget pero minsan mahirap makaallocate at makahanap kasi halos wala nang contributions dahil kakaunti ang members.”

On Activities DWTL-M “In terms [of] school activities, garo sinda ano—‘oh, ako madecorate’, mga freshmen pa lang mayo pang gibo. Pero kami, si 2 years na ‘to, nagkakaconflict man giraray ta yaraon na si iba sa 4th year, tapos ang iba sa 5th year tapos kami 2nd year pa lang kato or 3rd year. Syempre paabot na mga majors kayan. So garo nagtuturuklingan lugod kami, garo—‘uy ika na ngani sa booth, ta ika may talent.’ So, duman pa lang, si pamamaraan kung paano, si process kong mag asikaso sa org is dae tultol and nagdecline talaga si members mi kato ta si last batch before 2016 is kami. Ano pa kami eh, 19. Tapos nagnext batch, mga ano na lang to, 8, mga 9 na ganun. So duman, nagdecline talaga.”

APO-BK “Nothing kasi kailangan kasi namin yun i-maintain kasi 2015, na-fully recognize kami dito sa Ateneo. So, kailangan namin i-maintain yung image namin dito kasi papagalitan kami ng mga alumni namin, ‘yun, nag-asikaso ng pag pa-accredit dito sa Ateneo kasi ‘di ba sa Ateneo, ‘pag mababa yung activities mo, may chances na mawalan ka ng office, mawalan ka ng privilege dito sa Ateneo or worstly, yung recognition. Kasi kami lang dito yung fraternity sa Ateneo. Hindi sila—hindi naga-allow ‘yung OSA na may ibang fraternity na nag-e-exist dito sa Ateneo.”

Elihidos “Kumonti ang activities at parang nawalan ng motivation ang ibang members. Yung iba naging inactive dahil sobrang busy na. May mga proposed projects na hindi natutuloy dahil kulang sa manpower. Ang madalas lang na activities [na] nagagawa namin ay stage design.”

PCSKV “So, sa activities, since, yun nga, sa batch namin, majority ng core group members or yung officers, graduating and education pa ‘yun, so 2nd sem, may practicum kami. So whole day, halos wala kami sa school nung 2nd sem. So sa activities, siyempre, kailangan mo ng mga mag-aattend ng mga activities eh so nagka-problem kami doon. Pwede man mag time management if hindi sana masasagasaan ang iba, pero since yun nga, majority kami wala dito lagi sa Ateneo so may mga activities kami na hindi napu-push through kasi walang nag-attend.”

USJE “Ang activities naman namin, ‘di naman siya— hindi naman naging hindrance yung two-year drop kasi ang nasa loob— ang members naman at that time pursigido pa rin kasi given na ang puso talaga ng Uswag members nasa partner communities. Parang nahihirapan na sila both acads and org nga, kinakaya nila kasi alam nilang kailangan nilang tumulong and gusto nilang makatulong talaga so hindi naman siya naging problem.”

ThePILLARS Publication

12 OPINION Anti-Pettifogger Alexander Matthew Dy

Of Professors and Seamstresses

“Y

ou can’t expect janitors and laundrywomen to wage revolution,” said a professor with a long list of credentials to intimidate his class.

“They have been conditioned to be submissive and uncritical.”

Days after this insightful lecture, a demolition took place in a small community in Cararayan.

“The law does not exist for the poor!” declared one resident, Nanay Bek, a seamstress with only a high school education.

And so it is, that a high school degree is more than enough for Nanay Bek to perceive—in

Birds of Prey Jastine Escuro-Gamora

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

the sharpest terms—her own oppression. Yet the professor, among the ranks of the bourgeois intellectuals, disagrees with, or rather, is blind to this crucial ability of the marginalized. Sequestered in academia, these intellectuals tend to view themselves above the “uneducated” masses. The professor, with his remark of condescension, fails to grasp, despite his curriculum vitae, the objective social conditions that actually catalyze people into revolution.

Intellectuals undoubtedly specialize in the production and propagation of ideas. It is in their praxis where ideologies take systematic shape. Intellectuals’ knowledge of the humanities and the sciences make them highly self-conscious—but this selfawareness rarely escapes the confines of class interests and identity. The university professor knows oppression, having read and written papers about the matter. But he knows it only in theory, with his lived experience of unfreedom being that of a peti-bourgeois with limited social mobility. He earns a salary just enough to remain in the middle class stratum. He might want a new car, but his family’s needs

with a bad smell. They’re always going to remind us of other places where we’d rather stay or where we believe we’re staying. These can be places where we forget the beauty of life or the knowledge of living. So finally, certain quantities of intellectual thought that we no longer know how to occupy will be lost, boarded up, closed down.

What do we mean, for instance, by the term “peace” Were we thinking about an absence of conflict? Could we say forgetfulness? Are we talking about forgiveness? Or do we mean great tiredness, fatigue, an “If you would but open the door of emptying out of rancor? It seems to me, what most people mean by your mind, and let its contents spill out onto “peace” is a triumph. The triumph of the hand between them. That’s paper, what “freedom” signifies to them, piece by piece, while peace means a loss to then and only then, would truth abound unmercifully, others, peace becomes a space where people no longer know and passion so unmasked.

It is then that a simple piece of how to live. paper It’s not what the writer says turns into an elaborate mirror, really, it’s what the writer is. reflecting the true image of your soul.”

Wr i t e r s — m e a n i n g - Laura Kae representatives of the literature ords mean. Words point. community—are emblems of the They’re bows. Bows strength (and necessity) of human trapped in reality’s gritty perception.

Conscious and Conscience

W

mask, and the more interesting, Belief in celebrating the more common the term, “individuality” and “democracy the more rooms or tunnels they imitate. They might extend, or cave “—which may signify little more in. They could come to be loaded than the right to a permanent

and economic conditions require his exercise of prudence; all this hardly qualifies as the brunt of oppression. Does the professor have unattainable wants and unpursued interests? Certainly.

Is he materially desperate to abandon his work and family to wage revolution? Obviously not.

More so than the professor can practically understand. Is Nanay Bek desperate enough for her family and community to wage revolution?

With her concise expression of indignation, Nanay Bek demonstrated the ability of seamstresses, janitors, and laundrywomen: the working class—to grasp with clarity the extent of their deprivation. They have no need for references to esoteric theories and statistics; they live the reality of disenfranchisement and unfreedom everyday. Who better to understand bondage than the contractual janitor with meager pay and uncertain tenure? Who better to understand desperation than the landless farmer earning just P9.50 a day? Oppressive conditions are dehumanizing and dulling, but they are no less apprehensible to the oppressed.

And when they fully realize that inequality is political and not existential, transforming their circumstances becomes an objective possibility.

By contrast, a seamstress like Nanay Bek lacks the sophisticated lenses of history, politics, or philosophy. But she still possesses reason, and a lifetime of poverty compels her to theorize on her plight and the forces at play that limit her choices. She and her community have spent years lobbying for the rights to their land. By now, they are well acquainted with the law and how the state deals with their kind. Yet they can see the fair treatment and immediate justice afforded by wealth and education. Recently, 50 policemen charged into their community with high caliber guns to oversee a demolition operation—this, despite all the tedious but fruitless legal battles. They are impoverished and homeless with no social The illiterate mass of “indios” structures in place to save comprising the Katipunan can them. Does Nanay Bek suffer attest to this historical law. It from an oppressive society? was their blood and arms that

enlargement of self, and the ability multitude of literary achievements) to browse, to purchase, to use, to to help us understand that, eat, to become redundant. whatever occurs, something else is still going on.

I don’t agree that there is any inherent value of self-cultivation.

There is something And I don’t believe there is a disrespectful about the popular community (using the phrase exchange of opinions on normatively) without the quality matters of which one does not of altruism, of consideration for have comprehensive first-hand others. I strongly believe that there knowledge. If I’m talking about is an inherent value in expanding what I don’t know, or know hastily, our understanding of what human it’s just an opinion-writer. life can be. When literature has engaged me as a mission, first as a The trouble with beliefs is that reader and then as a writer, it is an they are trapped with one another. expansion of my interest to others, And every time writers act as to other worlds, to other desires, writers, they always see...more. in other words, to other areas of concern.

If literature itself, this immense endeavor that has been carrying As it goes, “writers ought not to out (within our purview) for almost be an opinion-machine…” The first three centuries, represents task of the writer is not to have wisdom—and I believe it does and views but to tell the truth, lest he/ is at the root of the significance she becomes complacent with we add to literature—it is by lies and misinformation. Literature showing the various existence of is a building of complexity in our private and social destinies. comparison to the words of It will warn us that there may be simplification. The writer’s job inconsistencies, even irreducible is to make it harder to believe in disagreements, among the ideals emotional surprises. The writer’s that we love the most. job is to make us see the universe as it is, full of many different The experience in literature claims and different parts and is quite antithetical to having perceptions. opinions; furnishing views, though right opinions—when asked— The writer must depict the does cheapen what novelists facts: the foul truths, the realities and writers do best, which is to of rapture. It is the core of encourage contemplation, to the experience of literature (a explore ambiguity.

“likeIntellectuals to delude themselves that they are the mainspring of social progress, that their ideas are theirs and that these turn the gears of history.

“ taskTheoffirst the writer is not to have views but to tell the truth.

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comprehension and consequent dispositions of something like oppression. A concept like revolution can inspire in the bourgeois intellectual (divorced from material struggle), at best, propagandistic fervor. In a downtrodden worker or peasant, it can inspire militancy.

A close look at contemporary mass movements in the Philippines would break the supplicant stereotype of the poor.

Kilusang Mayo Uno, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap, and Amihan Women are headed by leaders from the working class and peasantry.

Their militancy disturbs the comfortable and the illusion of a just society. And inspection of their calls and manifestos reveals a sound and keen grasp of political economy, despite their lack of degrees and doctorates.

But more importantly, these mass movements are direct initiatives of the people from below: consolidating power outside the state bureaucracy and an organic social reaction against systems of hegemony.

Intellectuals contemplate social ills and unrest from a distance. Even academic fieldwork, with its transient immersions, entails a certain detachment from the “object” of study.

The sociologist researching poverty in the slums inevitably returns to the comforts of his bedroom. And so a decade of studying Marx’s Das Kapital will not induce solidarity with workers, while reading Lenin’s The State and Revolution in the quiet of a library, will not drive you to take up arms against the state. Direct In the case of academia, experience determines the full its role in monopolizing and

Knowledge will never override enlightenment: let the others, celebrities, and politicians, speak to us; lie. While being both a writer and a public voice should speak for anything more, it would be a daunting task for authors to accept the expression of views and decisions.

Another concern with the views. We are self-mobilizing companies. How authors are expected to do should set us free, shake us up. Free avenues to conscience and new interests.

Note that we could, maybe, strive to become different, and stronger than we are. Remember that we can make a change.

But history shows that such systems and cultures do not withstand the collective power of the masses’ upheavals. The pulpit—once the symbol of feudal intellectual authority, has been relegated to weary Sunday rituals. And so, while the professor brandishes his intellect in a small university classroom, history marches in the streets led by janitors, laundrywomen, and seamstresses.

ThePILLARS

Since 1961 Raul Rodriguez, AB ‘63 First Editor EDITORIAL BOARD AY 2019-2020 EXECUTIVE BOARD Alexander Matthew Dy Editor in Chief Michaela Bitabara Managing Editor PUBLICATION STAFF Writers Excel Roi Aladeza James Ernan Anagao Niña Paulin Berunio Abegail Kyla Bilan Zaq Reiner Laureta Ella Mae Lopez Bea Bianca Obiedo Amir Gabriel Ordas Christine Joy Rosales Lee Fei Hong Sianoya Krizia Sto. Domingo Graphic Artists Maria Karina Angeles Paulo Arnante

Cartoonists Ennis Rommel Del Rosario Daniella Alexandra Tribiana Photojournalists Princess Dessarey Cacho Krishamae Cea Edgardo Angelo Noel Tipay Cedric John Torres Videojournalists Allen Joseph Pintang Copyreader Jan Chelsy Angela Dapla

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commodifying knowledge is evident. “Pure research” is when academics deal with the most abstract topics presented to only a handful of fellow academics—intellectual masturbation par excellence.

The socially inutile outputs of these projects are stored behind paywalls accessible only to other “serious” researchers. Intellectual enlightenment is a hypocrisy when market logic dictates knowledge production instead of the most urgent social problems.

The professor’s attitude of condescension towards the masses is actually a bourgeois defense mechanism to protect academic hegemony.

ThePILLARS IS ONLINE. Follow us on: @ThePILLARSpub facebook.com/thepillarspub thepillars1961@gmail.com

Dr. Marshal Murillo Moderator

FROM THE DESK

confronted Spanish colonial power, just as the storming of the Bastille that heralded the French Revolution was carried out by peasants. Revolutions begin with the common people, not with the dissertations of intellectuals.

Subversive ideas could never take root if they did not reflect the conditions and aspirations of the people. Rizal wrote the Noli and El Fili from the fire of Filipino discontent. But intellectuals like to delude themselves that they are the mainspring of social progress, that their ideas are theirs and that these turn the gears of history—the height of bourgeois idealism.

It has been a difficult two years since the last printed release of ThePILLARS Publication. In the intervening years after the K-12’s implementation, our membership suffered due to the dwindling number of recruits. With the graduation of the last of our senior members in 2018, the publication was left without staff and with an incomplete editorial board unprepared for the challenge of publishing while reviving an institution.

In spite of this, our commitment to the students and the marginalized pushed us forward. With the skill and manpower we had, we persevered in our duty to be a mouthpiece of the student body and deliver to them the social realities of the nation’s political situation: we covered events inside and outside the university, and managed to publish articles online. Still, membership and manpower remained a problem last school year.

We apologize for the late release of our June 2018-May 2019 issue. This issue took time as it was endeavored by a new generation of student journalists. Despite being a novice batch, we have learned and are learning from the difficulties of the last two years. ThePILLARS reaffirms its commitment to fearless, issue-centered journalism, to the students, and to the oppressed. Serve the people!

This issue is also dedicated to the rest of the student organizations who have suffered the effects of the K-12’s implementation.

ThePILLARS Publication

14 FEATURE

JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

M

agis, they would tell me, “do more than what is expected.” The voices of my teachers echo in my head, a cacophony of insistence and pressure. This appeals to me, an average Atenean, as a call to do more, to become more, even when I can’t. But this is Ateneo, and I chose to be part of this institution, I chose to be molded by this institution, a woman for others, when I can’t be a woman for myself.

Before I even step out of the house, I’m already dreading my day at school.

When I was a kid, I was up even before my parents, because I was too excited to go to school. Now, I can’t find it in my heart to have the same excitement as I once did.

It’s like waking up every day only wanting the day to end. It takes up too much of my willpower to welcome the day and function as a normal human being. But my mother’s shrill voice reaches my ears, a never-ending reminder of my laziness.

Everything seemed so easy and happy before. I didn’t have negative thoughts clouding my head even at times when I could be happy. It’s part of the way I’m wired. As I’ve gotten older, my time in the dark got more and more.

Maybe this started when I was in Senior High School. I only lived it for two years and yet it felt like decades of burden.

I had to perform a seemingly endless series of tasks that I didn’t even know the purpose of. They said it’s a preparation for me for a better life. But they didn’t know the life laid before me took away the life in me and left me a shell of what I was before.

I wonder how many other people feel the same way. More than this, I wonder how many of them feel the same way as I do but aren’t able to get a treatment for it. Are there still many left to deal with this by themselves, without any guidance, without any helping hand?

problems as I do -- unaware that they are surrounded by helping hands. The Center offers services to counsel burdened students and further extends to diagnose students in the Institutional Testing Center (ITC). From there, a referral to seek for professional help whether to a psychologist or psychiatrist, whichever is necessary, will be made. Further, the school’s Center for Psychological Services or the CPS also offers a discounted rate for psychological services.

Mental health issues are

An unpleasant thing Depression is very different. It is that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad. Sad hurts but it’s a healthy feeling. It’s a necessary thing to feel.

Nobody has ever described it better.

It’s the absence of feeling. It’s the end of hope. It’s feeling like nothing

be avoided and stigmatized. This applies especially to boys, who by the standards of this macho-feudal culture, should be men who are unallowed to feel emotions. In turn, these students’ mouths are sewn shut, unable to admit what they’re feeling inside towards themselves or others.

Nowadays, social media has also become a significant source of negativity in the minds of students. Social media has become plagued with companies exploiting those with mental health disorders. People are tricked into believing their image of a perfect person with a perfect body, a perfect face, and a perfect life – when in reality, none of it is true. Young boys and girls look at their body, face, and life, hating all of it and wanting to become someone they’re not. Other users worsen the situation through cyberbullying, essentially affirming that they should really become someone they’re not.

ak

t i ude a l o s e h nd t g st n i i

Building better mental health Let me just say this: it is not your fault. No matter how much they tell you “it’s just you being too lazy to do work” or “just you being pessimistic”, it’s not your fault that you’re going through depression.

Unlike those common notions, depression is actually the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, which affects your mood, perception, and general outlook in life. It is also common to have depression after a stressful event in life, such as cases of death of a loved one.

For those that say others should just pull themselves together, I believe that empathy is key to all this. Any person amongst us could be subjected to something traumatizing at any point and not know where to turn. Stigmatizing those who are struggling is detrimental to all of us. Individuals who cannot see that this could happen to anyone, at any point are a hideous reflection of an individualistic and mechanical society.

To you who’s reading this, take a breath.

It is not our fault. It’s the system’s fault. If you feel the same way as I do, believe that there are people who are willing to help.

And if you know someone else who feels the same way, talk to them or refer them to a professional. Treat mental health disorders as you would physical disabilities.

We have the power to help those in need, including ourselves. Let us fight the stigma, together.

a

Stop fake self-help When I found out about the Ateneo College Guidance Center (CGC) and its services, it seemed that a hand reached out to me. A group of licensed guidance counsellors came to my aid when I finally admitted to myself that I needed help.

Though I was hesitant at first, I knew I wanted to change. I knew that I wanted to see myself again, without the clouds of negativity surrounding my mind. I knew that there were people who wanted to see me better as much as I did.

Many Ateneans walk with the same

gm

B re

going through.

will e v e r be good or

by Bea Bianca Obiedo nothing to bright or wonderful be ashamed of, anyone can ever again. It’s feeling like you’ll be affected by them at any time so I can’t never have anything but failure, you’re not comprehend why it’s deemed unworthy good enough for what you want in life and of support, sympathy, and compassion. you’ll never get it no matter what you do.

Again, our biggest rival is unawareness.

Some students are caged in their People with mental health conditions are conservative and traditional Filipino perceived negatively by society because of households, unable to escape the stigma a lack of knowledge. Students with mental set by society. Mental health is a taboo, health conditions are unable to get help as if depression is the name of a Filipino because they are not aware of the various mythological monster that you don’t want psychological services that the school offers. to invoke. It is nothing to be ashamed of, Some are even left untreated because they anyone can be affected by them at any time themselves are not aware of what they are so I cannot comprehend why it seems to

Artwork by Paulo Arnante Page Layout by Maria Karina Angeles

ThePILLARS Publication JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

a silent bicol

LI TERARY 15

By Niña Paulin Berunio

I dream of a silent Bicol.

Of its rolling hills and lovely mountains, of quiet mornings and lively fiestas, of its happy places and smiling people.

At least that’s how I saw them from my point of view; but as someone once pointed, there are things you fail to see from a certain vantage; from the pedestal of privilege and advantage.

So I took a stroll out in Bicol, way past my safety bubble, to see the state of the people, and what greeted me shook me to my core.

Why is no one flinching?

Is there a magical number we have to reach first before we start moving?

In Negros, there were 84.

Is that a number we have to double for the media to start looking at the trouble?

Negros has always seemed further even when the killings started but now I begin to shudder when I realize that the killings have been under our noses while we’re distracted with the dramas celebrity started.

It’s strange to think that outside the heart of Bicol, just a jeepney ride away from Naga, there lies a military rule unbeknownst to the rest of the country.

Where soldiers are crawling, in little farm towns; breathing down the neck of people bent over in fear it made me wonder for a moment of why they are here.

It was a joint operation called “Oplan Sauron,” of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, against suspected communist rebels, criminals, and those involved in illegal drugs; a response of the state forces to President Duterte’s Memorandum Order No. 32, which he signed on November 22, 2018, aiming to “suppress lawless violence” in the provinces in Negros, Samar, and Bicol “in order to prevent further loss of innocent lives.”

But why is it that this campaign has brought nothing to the people but pain?

Is it really a necessary venture when the poor are the only subject of this torture?

Did you know that torture takes many forms?

Like unwilling interviews after barging in homes.

Like fear mongering among people with words about how they’ll be hunted and killed if they don’t point hideouts that the people know nothing about also did you know it’s human rights suppression when you start tracking their actions; if you start planting Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units in roads leading to their homes?

Did you know that mass arrests, killings and forced surrender of civilians presented as NPA guerrillas should be considered unlawful aggression?

But I’m sure the 6 Infantry Brigades in our region will beg to differ in this case for is it not keeping peace, that made them ‘accidentally’

kill two abaca farmers in their haste?

Bicol smells like corpses to me now, like bodies thrown into shallow graves as they rot from within.

I have learned their names by now, Roberto Narios Ronil Nariz and Antonio Bonagua Famers who disappeared one evening after an encounter between The New People’s Army and the 9th Infantry Brigade.

The people told me with conviction, that the army took these three.

28, 25, 19 “Too young”, the people whisper.

Taken too soon, I agree.

After one month of their disappearance, they’re only recognizable by their clothes.

No one has the stomach to see past the rot after they were dug out of holes no deeper than the morals of those who killed these men.

Speak out! I wanted to tell them but their families can only whimper for what are words compared to guns when the people who held them are heartless as they shot down their sons.

After all the three are not the first ones to disappear from this spot.

It seems almost absurd that we can’t take our media for their word for example, they’ll tell you “Ryan Hubilla, a senior high school student, and Nelly Bagasala, 69, both human rights workers for the group Karapatan,

were gunned down by unidentified men.

A couple of days later, former Bayan Muna Bicol regional coordinator Nephtali Morada was killed in Naga City, Camarines Sur” But they’ll never go into detail of how Ryan and Nelly just came from a mission to free two people from prison after they’ve been held with trumped up charges for months.

Or how in the van that they used to escort the abused, they already saw that they were being followed by suspicious men.

Or how Ryan left his phone that day in the van and the next morning after he arranged to retrieve it, masked men riding in tandem, shot down the two of them.

They’ll never get into detail of endless calls and harassment in his home and office that Nephtali endured from state forces that wanted to ask questions that he constantly refused.

Or that after ignoring their texts, the day after, Nephtali was shot on the road.

Bicol feels like a hundred pinpricks against my skin.

We don’t notice the wounds, but we’re bleeding still.

There have been 61 documented killings that are political in nature since this strongman sat his throne

Bullets raining from the sky, like pretty lights in summer nights, while the people of caramoan looked, wondering when the fire from helicopters will reach Their homes.

Children screaming witless While their parents are scared shitless of phantom encounters where only the army sees the gunshot from rebels that nobody else heard.

Is claiming an encounter in Lidong, barely a kilometer from homes, saying that they fought 80 rebels, when nary a gunshot from below was heard, justify the trauma and hysterics of the people looking on?

Mayhaps it’s a fear tactic or just another justification of the necessity of more brigades and Divisions, while stating the troubles they encountered in our region.

If the Military is really for peaceful intervention then maybe it’s time to tell our nation of their phantom operations that aims to serve as justification of just another martial law implementation in the region of the opposition.

Perhaps Shakespeare has the right of it a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet just as martial law by any variation is just another suppression; that abuse, in its countless forms is just as putrid as the dictator who has condoned it.

I dreamt of a silent Bicol. in my nightmare, the people were gagged.

Activists, Human Rights workers, organizations, Student leaders, and common people were all wearing red tags.

I refuse to dream of a silent Bicol.

Sources: KARAPATAN-Bicol Fact Finding Mission Reports http://www.bicolstandard.com/2018/06/3ng-lalaki-nakuang-gadan-sa-ragay.html https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/06/17/1927261/chr-investigates-killing-activists-bicol https://journal.com.ph/news/provincial/200-fleehomes-amid-clash-camsur-town https://www.karapatan.org/pambobomba+sa+bikol+mariing+kinukundena+ng+karapatan https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1153652/ph-army-5-rebels-wounded-in-camarines-sur-clash

Artwork by Paulo Arnante Page Layout by Maria Karina Angeles

ThePILLARS Publication JUNE 2018 - MAY 2019 ISSUE

16

Layout by Allen Joseph Pintang Maria Karina Angeles