Today's CAROLINIAN - March 2014 Issue by Today's CAROLINIAN

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Marlouize E. Villanueva Associate Editor (Internal Affairs) Reyna Angeli L. Pesquira Associate Editor (External Affairs) Patrisse Bea D. Prospero News Bureau Editors TALAMBAN CAMPUS Kathleen Alexandra Belleza DOWNTOWN CAMPUS, SOUTH CAMPUS Lesley Cara Delos Santos Feature Editor - EnglishGabriel Ramon S. Arcenas Feature Editor - Filipino Alem Garcia Literary Editor Raynielle Beatrix Lacson Art Director Karl Adrian Aguro

The Progressive Student Publication of the University of San Carlos

UNIVERSITY OF SAN CARLOS Cebu City, Cebu Philippines 6000 VOLUME XXIV No. 5 FEBRUARY 2014

OPERATIONS Managing Editor for Administration Ki-Jeong “Jenny” Shim Finance Officer Keziah Cyra B. Papas Staff Secretary Andelene Mae Atillo

EDITORIAL STAFF News Bureau SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Emmanuel Mendoza Hernandez

THE COVER

RESEARCHER Smith Dwight Cabe

“It’s our actions that define us. What we choose. What we resist. What we’re willing to die for.” ― Karen Marie Moning

NEWS WRITERS Paolo Louise Manghihilot, Katrina Roa, Karl Sayson, Miko Paolo Mangubat, Karen Lepon, Blanche Blanch, Brendon Chua (Contributor)

A fingerprint builds character and identity. It is unique as no two humans can have the same prints. It is also true with the identities of organizations and communities, like our very own University.

Art Department LAYOUT SUPERVISOR Bernadette Jalocon

LAYOUT ARTISTS Giofranco Ocampo, Alvin Dave Bensig, Darryll Rapacon (Contributor)

PHOTOGRAPHY HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER John Matthew Flores PHOTOGRAPHERS Phoebe Kate Espejo, Noel Benjamin Fernandez, Gellie Abella, Jana Camille Tiu Baduel, Hafid Lising Caballes, Alessandra Isabel Caballo, Marben Lawas, Stephen Suico VIDEOGRAPHY HEAD VIDEOGRAPHER Neil Angelo Briones VIDEOGRAPHER Alexander Louis Mendoza ILLUSTRATION HEAD ILLUSTRATOR Van Kevin Opura ILLUSTRATORS Josephus “Koi” Travero, Zachary Borromeo

It is through what we say and do that our character is defined. In this coming Supreme Student Council election and other student elections, we say and define who we are as Carolinians and help build the future of our collective identity. The old saying “actions speak louder than words” rings louder, stronger and asks as for a position, now more than ever. Design by Karl Adrian Aguro

HOW TO REACH US LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, with the writer’s name, e-mail address and contact number, should be e-mailed to todayscarolinianusc@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for reasons of space and clarity. © 2014. TODAY’S CAROLINIAN All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited. Today’s Carolinian publishes one to two issues per academic year. Today’s Carolinian may also publish occasional extra issues. An electronic version (PDF Format) of every publication is available in the Today’s Carolinian website

Vote.

March 6, 2014.

CONTENTS

E C I EDITORIAL

2 EDITOR’S NOTE 12 KAPOYA BITAW

FROM THE DESK OF THE EIC

FEATURE 4

TOFI, COMMERCIALIZED EDUCATION IN THE

MISCELLANEOUS FEE

PROSTITUTION (REPRINTED ARTICLE)

GAYDAR ALERT!

HARD HAT AREA

FACULTY UNION OF USC

SSC YEAR END REPORT

OPINION 6

THE SOCIAL MEDIA OBSESSION

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK, I’M STILL ME

GUGMA IS BIDLI

IS UNIONISM A THING OF THE PAST?

NEWS FEATURE 25

NUSP

NATIONALIST YOUTH WEEK

PORK BARREL AND THE YOUTH SECTOR

WHAT LAND REFORM?

SURVEY 32

CAROLINIANS’ TODAY

VOX POPULI 10

ARE YOU AGAINST THE TOFI?

SSC’S PERFORMANCE

ELECTION 38

INTERVIEW WITH SPP

INTERVIEW WITH STAND

INTERVIEW WITH TINGOG

EDITOR’S NOTE

Illustration by Karl Adrian Aguro

2 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

Dear Carolinians, Forty years ago, the youth of 1970 called for a mass mobilization to address the rampant issues in the political and economic system of the Philippine government – the First Quarter Storm (FQS). Today, our educational system is still demarcated by commercialization, repressive school policies and globalized standards. In order for us to call ourselves a Witness to the Word, we have to pay a 2000 peso down payment. After a year without a seeming tuition increase, we will be subjected to a 7.39% increase in tuition and other fees in the coming semester. While our educational system is swamped by gross commercialization, the leaders of our nation who speak about service only work to serve their personal interest with corrupt schemes like the pork barrel system. These bureaucrat capitalists fill their pockets with our nation’s fund while our youth and countrymen are unable to receive their right to education and their right to basic needs. We have learned that the working class is the backbone of our nation. The Filipino farmers provide our food sources by imparting their

blood, sweat and tears on a land that they cannot call their own. With false land reform programs like the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, there is no progress from our nation’s poverty. Forty years later, we are here today faced with identical problems of social injustice, landlessness, foreign domination, graft and corruption, economic deterioration and crisis in education. However, the youth have always been in the forefront of change and history shows us that this is true. It is the duty of the youth to give birth to a new system. Aggravating conditions will give birth to the best of the youth. The youth have always been in the vanguard of change and still today to continue to fight for development. So we are here today, aiming to answer the call of our nation – by addressing the issues of both the university as the microcosm of society and our nation, the Philippines. In service of the youth and nation, Today’s CAROLINIAN

3 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

TOFI Tuition and Other Fee Increase

COMMERCIALIZED EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN CARLOS Patrisse Bea Prospero and Reyna Angeli Pesquira

The debate on commercialized education is an enduring issue. Is the term “commercialized education” simply misunderstood or does it truly speak of the ills of self-profit for private sectors instead of the wholesome development of students? According to the New York Times (Tao et.al, n.d.), commercialization of education can happen at two different levels: administrative and instructional. The administrative level would require running the institute like an enterprise, focusing on budgetary cost-effect, seeking resources, product evaluation and corresponding adjustment, new hiring policy, and new relationship between teachers and students. On the other hand, the instructional level of commercialization would treat the whole process of teaching and learning as cost-effect driven, focusing on learning or teaching as a necessary step for producing a product, readjusting the purposes of learning and teaching, depersonalization in the whole process of learning or teaching, and utility-oriented curricular objectives. In other words, the administrative level of commercialized education can be seen for self-profit, with the school possibly functioning as a market for business while the instructional level of commercialized education can be seen as a potential stepping stone for outcomes-

4 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

based education and furthering opportunities for students not just for knowledge but for future lives in the working sector. Many would find it agreeable that education should be considered a right and not just a privilege. The 1987 Philippine Constitution enshrines the right to education through Article III Section 14 which states that “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.”In the global sphere, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) deems that “Education is a fundamental human right and that it is essential for the exercise of all other human rights. It promotes individual freedom and empowerment and yields important development benefits.” For UNESCO, education is a powerful tool by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty.

FEATURE

Furthermore, according to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), everyone has the right to education. Paragraph 2 of the said article states that “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Despite all these policies that advocate education as a right, Philippine reality illustrate otherwise. The current Philippine education system of public schooling is often frowned upon, while private schools are commonly perceived to offer a better quality of education. With this perception, parents are burdened with wanting to provide their children with a secured future, but this has to deal with the demands of high tuition fees. In a letter dated December 5, 2013 from the University President, Fr. Dionisio Miranda, SVD addressed to Director Amelia A. Biglete, the Regional Director for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), it reads: “We would like to inform you that for Academic Year 2014-2015, the University of San Carlos will be raising tuition and other fees for all levels. The details are still being worked out, but we do intend to increase tuition fees to be able to adjust the salaries of our personnel and meet the other rising costs of education. We shall inform our students about this intent.” The University definitely intends to increase our tuition fees, but this will not be immediately implemented unless duly approved by CHED. But the question remains: why then is the University increasing our tuition? Is this an administrative level of commercializing education to respond to the needs of the school’s employees to serve as an incentive to encourage them to increase productivity? Or is it an instructional level of commercializing education to “meet the other rising costs of education”? If it is the latter, let us understand it from an economical perspective: in economics, once a producer intends to increase the quality of a product, the cost of creating the product will increase due to the higher

quality of resources required. Thus, in economics, the price of a product is relative to its quality. Relating it to commercialized education, since the University intends to increase the quality of education (which is in this analogy is the product), it is then understood in an economical context that high quality education comes at a high cost because the resources required to increase the quality come at a higher cost. Ideally, increasing the tuition means that there are problems in the school that currently cannot be addressed with the current tuition fees. So, if the tuition is increased, it is only logical that these new funds be immediately allocated to the identified problems.

of the University, it will be beneficial for them. As mentioned, if their salaries are increased, this may serve as incentives for them to encourage maximum productivity; and increasing productivity can easily be accounted for increasing quality (but not all the time).

However, the problem that we now face with is the failure to identify the problems that the Administration would currently like to address, or rather, probably the lack of proper information dissemination to the students of the specifics of these problems. Note that this letter has only just recently reached our ears in January 2014 when it was written in early December last year. The problems that we as students identify with might be different from what the Administration identifies.

Regardless of the possible justifications for a tuition fee increase for long-term gain, it is undeniable that in turn it has its shortterm deficiencies. Last year, University of the Philippines student Kristel Tejada was a victim of the vicious paradox of the Philippine educational system. Tejada came from a working class family of seven whose father is a cab driver and her mother is unemployed. With her family on the brink of poverty, it reached a point where Tejada could not pay for her tuition fee anymore. This situation resorted for her to stop going to school and appallingly led to her committing suicide. Tejada’s suicide is just one of the negative effects of the commercialization of the country’s cost-driven educational system. It has led to a lot of outbursts of education debates and protests from different sectors in the country. Currently, the Department of Education records a 73% dropout rate. Undoubtedly, the negative short-term effects of tuition fee increase affects thousands of families, and alters our views towards knowledge in a traditional sense.

In the instance that it is the former, administrative commercialized education focuses on profit; which is ironic because USC is administered by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), a Catholic institution, which normally should be non-stock and non-profit. It is likely that the Administration is merely setting aside funds for the longterm development of the University and is working towards achieving of its visions for USC in the coming future. It is also expected that this move is in preparation for the K+12 vacuum in 2016, where there will be two years of no freshmen college students. However, whose responsibility is this? Is it ours to pay? How can we benefit from long-term developments when most of us will probably graduate before the University’s future plans can be fully materialized? In practical terms as students, we may see the increase of our tuition fee as unfair for us, and as an additional financial burden for our parents. But if this is indeed a type of administrative commercializing education, addressing the needs of teachers and employees

What about for our patrimony? In a nationalistic sense, is it possible that instead of asking if it is our responsibility to pay for the long-term goals of the University, should we not be in favour or even willing to be responsible for the costs of improving the quality of education for the generations that follow us?

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education” says Albert Einstein. Has the Philippines identified how we see education? Indeed it is a priority but how so is it a priority? Has the University identified how it sees education? Is it a priority in a traditional sense where we see and indulge ourselves in the joys of knowledge and discovery? Or is it a priority to create opportunities and to improve our standards of living? Or is it both? It can perhaps even be none. TC

5 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

OPINION

Bane & Blessing Emmanuel Hernandez

6 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

OPINION

Back in the early days of the internet, it was mostly webpages and texts but things changed when interactive communication became the main feature. Web 2.0 is the phenomenon that describes how the internet ceased to be a one-way flow of information from the computer to the person to an interactive one. Users could now communicate with other people with the internet as the medium. Humans, always interactive and social, would definitely use this new tool and led to the genesis of the social media. Think about it: for the most of us, social media has been an irreplaceable aspect of our lives. When you open your web browser, you might log in to your Facebook account to check if you got tagged into some post or picture or check on your Twitter for new interactions. Admit it. For a lot of you out there, when you get to your favorite restaurant or hang out, your first priority is to find out if they have Wi-Fi so you can check in on FourSquare. Don’t get me started when the food gets to your table. You whip out your camera phone and take pictures to post on Instagram. And let’s not forget about that seemingly obligatory phenomena called the “Selfie,” which is by the way named 2013’s word of the year by Oxford Dictionary. Guilty right? Yes. A lot of us are. But it’s not necessarily a bad thing. We are human and it is in our nature to interact and be social. Yes, even the most anti-social being on the face of this earth needs something from someone. We live in an unprecedented era of technology and information. Interaction with others has become easier and widespread. You’ve heard what’s said about knowledge being power. This has never been so true than it is today. We keep in touch with our friends near and far thanks to social media. It is a very flexible and available medium. All you need is a device and internet connection. But there is more to social media than friends and worshipping cats and writing on walls. It is so much more than that. Social media allows for information to be accessible to so many people in a local area and throughout the world. Put a hashtag on something and whoever looks up that phrase or word will see what you posted. A fan page makes a popular figure or idea accessible to everyone who subscribes to it, literally and figuratively. The positive power of social media can be felt and seen. It even helped save lives and facilitate in rescue missions after Typhoon Yolanda.

Such power. Very important. Wow. It was instrumental in the Million People March as it drew this Republic’s netizens to not just be informed but actively participate in the movement against the misuse of public funds in the Pork Barrel Scandal. It just goes to show that people cannot just stand idly. You cannot just ‘not care’ about the world around you. Unfortunately, in this blessing comes also a bane. The realm of the social media is in itself a reality. It is supposed to be an extension and aid to the interactions and lives lived in daily life. People start wrapping themselves up in the image and likeness of their Facebook profiles that they become lost and captive to it. There is always a natural need for recognition and appreciation but it becomes warped as evident when people start begging for you to start liking their statuses and commenting praises to your name. Being caught up in this “other life” makes one give no love or care for the real world— even the definition of ‘real’ morphs into the online life. Even the real life becomes dependent on your online version as your pause to take your selfies and transmute your locations as check-ins. Apathy to the real world happens because one is removed partly or in most part to this world. Admit it. We tend to twitch and squirm when we don’t get to log in for a while or check on your mobile phone. Humans, always interactive and communal, are in danger of being a captive to social media. Think about it. As the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. The internet is such a great power so peculiar to our day and age. It caused a rupture and change in politics, education, entertainment, and so much more. In this age of the social media, what are we to do? Are we to shut ourselves and hide under rocks or join in, head first? I say a balance would be great. Live the real world life. Use the social media as a tool to enhance the real life. We can stir up political and social awakening among others and ourselves. Pour out those hashtags, Instagram left and right but keep in mind that immense power could both poison you to a life condemned to the online world or use the online to enhance to offline. Such power. Very great. Many information. Wow. TC

7 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

MISCELLANEOUS

FEES Gab Arcenas and Kathleen Belleza

The miscellaneous fees are one of the biggest mysteries in the University.

Year after year, students look at their assessment and wonder what these fees are for. In light of the recent tuition fee increase issue, more and more students are demanding to know what the many miscellaneous fees are about. One of the first fees that were addressed was the Red Cross membership fee. The

8 TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

Red Cross membership fee is paid by the students for basic, general services specified by the Red Cross organization. The Red Cross membership fee is also considered as basic student insurance. The full details of the Red Cross membership fee are stated in the official website of the Philippine Red Cross.

FEATURE

On the recent inquiry on the Red Cross membership fee, the Philippine Red Cross - Cebu Chapter has confirmed that USC has been remitting the membership fee to the office. Also, the office stated that the current system of collecting the Red Cross Membership fee needs to be changed in order for Carolinians to fully enjoy the benefits of membership (i.e. insurance). Moreover, the office also said that membership IDs of the students were not released because the USC Administration has not given them the roster of students. The management of the Philippine Red Cross – Cebu Chapter has been advising the USC administration in making the necessary changes but of no avail. The issue of not having a Red Cross Youth council in USC is considered as a separate issue to the collection of the Red Cross Membership fee. The Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) fee is used by the athletics department in order to send representatives from the university to tournaments held around the Philippines. The athletics department still sends athletes to the PRISAA tournaments. Where the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) is the inter school sports tournament held around Cebu, the PRISAA is the national equivalent. Another of the fees that was addressed was the guidance fee. The guidance fee is used when a student wishes to visit the guidance office for counselling in their college. Also, the guidance fee covers special exams the student wishes to take such as a personality test, an IQ exam, etc. Some departments also require

students to visit the guidance department in order to proceed to the next year or in order to process their graduation. The matriculation fee is somewhat of a registration fee. It is used as an “initiation process” for the student for such things like online enrolment. For example, if a student withdraws from enrolment without enrolling in any subject and just paying the initial down payment to the teller, the matriculation fee is refundable. If the student has undergone the full enrolment process including the advising of subjects and the encoding of the class schedule, then the matriculation fee is nonrefundable. The Special Development Fee or Student Development Fee (SDF) varies from college to college. It is used for the activities initiated by the college or the specific department. The finance office is the one in charge of disbursement but the college is the one in charge of where the fee goes. Depending on the event such as workshops, seminars, talks, events, etc., the department is the one who requests for the amount and each college and department has different, specific guidelines for the SDF. In case the fee is not enough, then that is where the extra amount from the student is required. Aside from the talks, seminars, and other activities initiated by the college or department, the fee also goes to the specific college or department in order to improve the internal requirements such as improving facilities or buying materials that is given out to students in order to enhance their learning. TC

9 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

VOX POPULI

ARE YOU AGAINST THE

TOFI? Lesley Cara Delos Santos

Yet, again, the USC Administration has called for a 7.39% tuition and other fees hike for the coming semester. This was manifested in a letter addressed to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) dated 5th of December 2013 which was later on approved by CHEd on the 15th of January 2014. According to the letter, “details are still being worked out” and that the increase has been proposed to “adjust the salaries of the personnel” and “meet other rising costs of education.” Regardless of what transpired in the the February 20 TOFI Consultation, it is still inexcusable given the fact that there are miscellaneous fee that are questionable, redundant, and even exorbitant. Only the SSC and the faculty have been given an explanation while most students are still unaware of what they are paying for. Education is not for sale. Our welfare and rights as students have to be protected. A raise in tuition and other fees (TOFI) involves incurring additional expenses for us students, our parents, or benefactors at a day and age where money cannot be brought out in convenience. The cost of a highly expensive tuition fee delves far deeper than monetary terms. It involves a future.

10 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

VOX POPULI

We go around and ask students about their opinion on the tuition fee increase and here is what they have got to say. “The tuition increase is unreasonable. It’s huge enough and if you increase the tuition, one would have to question where is the money going. The University keeps on constructing and destructing areas that aren’t really necessary.” Adrianne Janice Alfafara, BFA-AA 2 “It’s unreasonable, especially when it comes to financial matters. Parents have a hard time paying for the tuition just to let their students go to school. We’re talking about education, not business.” Francis Duane Branzuela, BFA-AA 2 “Education should not be expensive. The University should understand the situations of the students academically and financially, especially because many students are having a hard time paying, yet they increased it.” Michelle Dawn Suan, BFA-FD 2 “In my opinion, I agree on the planned tuition increase but in return, I expect more quality on education, facilities and services.” Mary Nikka Richae C. Abangan BSEDENGLISH 1 “It’s going to be a burden for my parents, and the number of enrollees will be depleted.” Yeda Danica Park, BSED-ENGLISH I “It’s alarming how every year or every other year tuition increase happens because I’m still in my first year and I don’t know how much the tuition would cost on the upcoming years.” Rhesty Mae Montecillo, BED-MONTESSORI EDUCATION “Di sya kailangan magincrease kay unfair sya sa students kay any uban sa teachers dinhi na always absent, di musud, nya ang facilities guba or old na. Nganu kailanga ipataas ang library fee na di man mi permi maguse sa library.” Christine Marie B Dominic, Pharmacy 3

“Mahal na kaayu! Di sya reasonable enough. Tungod nagbuild sila ug mga coliseum naay sila’y right magincrease? Murag in our case, 2nd year pa gud mi. Di nami kagamit ana. Ang LRC mura ra s’yag tulganan. Di man mi permi mugamit ana. Once or twice a month ra. Karun na year wa pa mi kaadto. PE ra jud nya wa juy electric fan.” Jennica G Ninalga, Pharmacy 2 & Althea Exra G Ortega, Pharmacy 2 “My answer is yes. I’m against to the said increase because I think there’s no need for increasing. Not all students in University of San Carlos are rich. There are some people having a hard time paying tuition fees. In fact we all need money but let’s be fair. Why do they have to do such thing? We all need money and we, students, need to be educated too. If the increase will be too high, I may stop or transfer to other schools.” Laurena Louise Yara, BSEE 1 “Yes, walay ganahan ug dako nga tuition. Para nako kinahangan ug increase kay daghan sila’g (school) project labi na sa stadium ug preparation sa K+12 program. Pero mas modako ang tuition, mas mahasol ang parents ug maapektahan pud kog apil.” Zeus Garcia, BSEE 1 “Yes. It’s very clear to everyone that money is a big issue for everyone. The students are having a hard time adjusting to the increase of prices all around us. Increase in taxes, in fares, in food and drinks inside and outside the university. Moreover, I don’t see how it could help the student if they increase the tuition. The University of San Carlos is already financially rich as it is. I don’t see any reason to look for more places to generate money from. They’ve got tuition fees from students, fare from the shuttle, canteen & food booth rents and many more. San Carlos can already stand on its own without the increase of tuition fees.” Neil Paolo Palabrica, BSCompE 3

“As of now kay im against it pa. Wala pa man ko nakadungog gud ko sa side sa admin kung asa nila gamitan ang increase.” Valentin B. Gabutan, BSIE2 “Aww against ko sa fee kay di man makita ang improvement.” Joachim Giacobbe Go, BS Entrep 2 “Speaking as a student of USC, I’m against the tuition increase. I can’t find a single improvement to any facilities of the school. And increasing the tuition fee only means adding financial burden to our parents.” Iana Umpad, BSAcT 3 “Of course I’m against it. It wil only discourage people to get a higher education. The current tuition fee alone is torturing the students enough. Education is not a status symbol nor it is a reflection of money. It is a genuine aspiration and vocational goal paired with people’s effort, commitment and hardwork. Education shouldn’t come with a price tag.” Seane Aljas, AB PoSc-IRFS 2 “I am firmly against USC’S tuition increase since they continue to keep our questions unanswered. We basically desire accurate answers of why they have been consistently increasing our tuition fees for facilities which most of the students cannot use due to some petty reasons of theirs. Education is a right for everyone but sad to say, it is slowly becoming a privilege in USC.” Cristine Villablanca, AB PoSc-IRFS 2 “I find it a bit too much and borderline abusive. It is in no way justified, besides the expense of electricity and water, I see the money being spent on useless renovations of the portal gate and usc downtown campus tiles. I am against it.” Niño Paul Steve R. Tuñacao, AB POSC-IRFS 2

11 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

EDITORIAL

Kapoya Bitaw: Dear Senyor/Senyora, Una sa tanan, gusto ko magpaila. Usa ako ka ordinaryong Carolinian: mubayad ug tuition nga naas oras, kanunayng nagtuman sa mga balaod sa tunghaan, igo ra ang allowance para kaon ug plite padong amo, makigstorya sa mga isib estudyante, mutunga ug mga aktibidades nga ipasiugda ninyo (SSC) kung makadungog ko nga naa, ug obkors mubutar sa panahon sa eleksyon. Bitaw, biliba gyud bitaw nako ninyo mga senyor ug senyora. Taas jud akong tan-aw sa inyo sauna. Dili lang mga maayo mamulong ug mga intelihente, mga ambungan pa gyud! Sus! Naa poy uban sa inyo nga talentado kaayo: maayo musayaw, mukanta ug mudebate. Kanindot ba ninyo muabi-abi sa amo kung ingani na gyud na mga buwana. Panagsa makaingon ko nga maytag tanan nakong mga amigo ug amiga kay sama ninyo. Pero sama sa tanang butang sa kalibutan, aduna pod moy apan. Pero ang sa inyoha, aduna gyud moy dakong apan. TBH lang, gikapoy na bitaw ko ninyo slight. Nawad-an na ko ug salig sa SSC slight pod. DMDNJ. Kahibaw mo ngano? Kasuway ba mo anang saaran mo sa inyong sinaligan nga higala unya dili niya tumanon iyang saad? Murag ingana akong gibati. Di gyud diay murag. Ingana gyud diay akong gibati. Ang nakasakit pa gyud ana, sa tibuok nakong kasinatian sa kolehiyo, ikatulo na ninyo gihimo kining pagbudhi sa ako. Mas grabi pa hinuon na siguro sa kadtong ga masters na sa ilang mga minors ug majors! Bitaw, kada eleksyon mubutar ako ninyo tungod ra gyud sa usa ka butang: kay kamo ang magtugyan sa among mga interes ug manalipod sa among mga katungod. Ambot lang ha kung nakamatikod mo, pero kahibaw baya mi nga ang mga proyekto sa SSC kay kanunay nalang makoloran sa inyong mga partido. Klaro man maski muingon pa mog “united” mo. Ang ubang aktibidades kay mapuno sa kolor na sama sa karne sa baboy. Naa poy uban nga mas yellow pas hepatitis. Naa poy gamay nga sama kapuwa sa bag-ong tuli nga gikamatis. Nakabantay ba mo nga mura na mog nagcannibalize sa sulod sa SSC? Imbes nga magkahiusa mo sa usa ka isyu mahitungod sa mga katungod sa estudyante, nagkabuwag-buwag naman hinuon mo. Sama ra gud aning isyu sa pagtaas sa tuition. Wala gyud koy nahibaw-an nga hingpit nga posisyon sa SSC niining isyu, pero aktibo kaayo mo sa pag-umol ug mga aktibidades nga giulohan sa inyong tagsa-tagsa nga partido. Bitaw lang, TBH, gigamit lang ba ninyo ang SSC aron iabante inyong mga interes? Arogante man kaayo ni paminawon no, pero sakit lang gyud kaayo nga mura mig mga peyon (pawns) sa inyong duwang pulitikanhon. Sus baya, naa pa gyuy uban sa inyo nga apil anang outstanding-outstanding diri sa atong tunghaan. OUTstanding gyud kaayo mo, apil na pod mi: pirmi nalang gyud mi OUT basta inyong interes na ang mutimbabaw. Sakita bitaw, ug TBH kapoy kaayo nang sige tag laom anang pagsalig nga wala diay dira. Maayo gani dili perpekto ang kalibutan. Ug kasabot man pod ko nga kita isib tawo makahimo pod ug mga kasaypanan. Apan, isib nga mga “lider” nga nihurar nga panalipdan ang among mga katungod ug mubayaw sa among mga interes, mas dako man gyud inyong responsibilidad ug mas gamay ang lugar aron kamo masayop. Lisod man gyud na inyong posisyon ba, pero inyo man pod na gisudlan. Mao nay giingon “Nganong ni-enter!”. Bitaw, timan-i lang gyud nga ang rason nga naa kamo karon sa bantawan kay ang paghatag sa among pagsalig ug kompyansa ninyo.

12 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

EDITORIAL

Ang Sulat sa Usa ka Hilabtanon Syor man gyud ko nga muingon na pod mo kung unsa man ang akong nabuhat para muambag sa kalaboan sa SSC. Makaingon kog sa tulo ka pamaagi na ako nagtabang sa SSC. Una sa tanan, nibayad ko ug P12.25 nga SSC fee para makalihok mo. Ikaduha, musalmot man ako sa inyong mga proyekto igong pagtamod sa inyong hangyo na dapat gyud mi mutunga. Pero intawn, ang kanang party-party di gyud na kasulbad sa pagtaas sa akong tuition. Di pud na makapaayo sa akong slacks nga nagisi tungod sa nisiwil nga lansang sa lingkuranan. Di pod na makatabang ug pangita sa libro nga kailangan nako sa akong thesis. Sa laktod na pagkasulti, ang inyong mga inisyatibo dili makatabang sa akong pagka-estudyante – usa ka “Witness to the Word” (chos). Pero salamat gihapon kay maski unsa pa na ka way pulos ang party-party ug contest-contest dira, at least malingaw ko kadyot. Ang ikatulo nakong pamaagi aron makatabang ko ninyo kay ang paghatag ani nga suhestyon. Akong isugyot sa inyo nga dapat na gyud ilisdan ang sistema dira sa SSC. Di na bitaw representative ang kanang sistema karon. TBH napod, kapoya bitaw anang makakita ug konsehal nga maayo lang managad ug eleksyon pero isnabero/a kaayo nig human sa eleksyon. Kasuway jud ko ana kausa nga sus lami pa kaayog la mano tong usa ka kandidato, hamis baya tog kamot murag dili mukupot ug pala o bara. Pagkadaog niya, asa gud tawn mutagad, agian ra ta nga murag hangin o gilabayng putsanan sa Snowbear. Pagka nalang gyud. Mas malipay ko nga aduna koy personal nga koneksyon sa mga representante nako sa SSC kaysa magsalig atong mga taw nga nihatag lang ug talagsaong kalipay pag kampanya (di kanang green nga inyong gihuna-huna). Ang akong suhestyon kay ilisan ang mga konsehal nga “elected at large” (char, naa pod koy nakatonan sa akong POSC 13) ug mga representante gikan sa mga nagkalain-lain nga departamento sa skwelahan. Mas nakaila man siguro ang mga estudyante sa ilang mga presidente sa department kay sa mga konsehal nga panagsa lang magpakita. Mas maayo pod nga ibalik tong sistema nga ang collegiate presidents parte pod sa pag-umol sa desisyon sa SSC. Mas maayo pod nga ang presidente ug bise presidente gikan sa usa ka partido aron walay pinasahay ug sala. Ingana pod bitaw na ang sistema sa Amerika. Angay lang gyud gihapon nga elected at large ang presidente kay obkors siya baya ang pinakaunang frontline (front sa tanang frontline, chos) sa mga estudyante, so dapat maklaro gyud kung kinsa ang gisuportahan sa mga estudyante. Mao na nga TBH lang, panahon na gyud nga mag-ilis na tag sistema. Kapoy bitaw nang char-char nalang ta tanan; kay nig human sa adlaw labaw pa mis mantikang nag mikâ nga gatan-aw ninyo nga galalis sa mga proyektong walay absolute nga hinungdan nig miting de avance. Bitaw, kapoy na baya ug laom pero sige lang gihapon kog handom nga adunay kausaban nga mahitabo – kausaban nga maayo para sa tanan. Di man pod pasabot nga gikapoy na ta kay mangundang na ta. Sige lang, kung unsa man gani ang resulta karong umaabot nga eleksyon, wa gihapon koy mabuhat... kutob ra pod tingali kos laom ani. I am just another voice in the kalasangan of TC. With hugs and kisses, Caloy

13 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

Prostitution Reprinted from Today’s Carolinian February 1992 Vol. 1 No. 1 Jojo Osorio, Jr. & Haidi Flores Illustration by Van Kevin Opura

Her MWF classes end at 5:30 p.m. and on TTh, 4:30 p.m. She wears slightly conservative clothes on Wednesdays, and a one-inch-below-the-knee skirt as uniform during ordinary schooldays. But from 7 in the evening to 3 in the morning, seven days a week, she wears clothes that leave nothing much to the imagination. Myleene is a bar dancer at a local club just a stone’s throw away from the university she attends. When asked if she goes out with customers for a night of paid sex, she shrugged her shoulders, lowered her eyes and traced the glass lip of her ladies’ drink.

14 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

Myleene is a prostitute. And she hates it. The night was still young (8 p.m.) and most of the tables were empty. Blinding color lights drifted to and fro while the three of us engaged in casual conversation. After some time, a young but voluptuous girl (19 years old, we learned later) approached our table. She had just finished some routines on-stage and had changed into a large loose shirt. Myleene introduced her to us: Candy. After telling her that we’re from USC, we thought we saw her eyes widen for a second. Her wild enthusiasm then dipped suddenly. Her answers to our questions from then on became clipped and wary. Myleene confirmed our suspicion, they both go to the same school. The school is supposed to teach their students the necessary values so, as individuals, they can fend and secure for themselves a bright future. But the means to attend school is basically a personal matter. In a sense, you cannot blame the school. But the way they are jacking up tuition fee rates annually may be one of the reasons why college females (and males) resort to prostitution. It is true that they can avail of decent parttime jobs at odd hours in restaurants and fastfood chains. But when your financial concern goes beyond tuition fee and daily allowance, it is a different story. Myleene is a product of a broken family. Her parents separated in 1988 and left all five of them in their Mandaue shanty. Supporting herself and her young brothers and sisters through school from a dismal salary as a salesgirl, soon became a calvary. She had to earn more for her family to live decently. A friend introduced her to a nightclub in Sanciangko Street. She became an instant hit. She now earns more than P300 a night (or P9000 monthly) excluding take-outs of a thousand pesos per night and customers’ table tips. More than enough, yes. But she realizes that her body will not be curvaceous forever. She is presently saving a lot from her earnings and plans to leave “the trade” when she has saved enough. She plans to put up a carenderia near their place or some other negosyo. She does not mind the ridicule of society for her “conscience is clear”. She believes that prostitution is just her crossover to the more in life. In the meantime, she sells her body for a degree in college, hoping that the diploma

will give her a better chance in the decent but highly competitive world.

education that is not worth paying loads of moolah. Or one’s honor or dignity.

Candy is an intelligent girl. She converses well in English, and unlike Myleene, never goes out with customers. She gets P200 a night dancing from 7:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. straight. She says she normally gets P500/night (on the average) from customers “na gustong makipag-table at makipagkwentuhan sa akin”. From her two years experience in the bar, she was “touched” only once. And it was a traumatic experience on her part. She was dragged to a motel somewhere at the Reclamation Area and was raped by a son of a prominent politician from North of Cebu. She showed us a big scar on her arm from “a smashed bottle combat,” she says.

Genevieve, herself a high school drop-out, has this to say for the likes of Myleene and Candy: “Bilib ko nilang duha. Banat gihapon sa eskwela. Pero, sa tinuod lang, mas dghan sila’g nakat-unan diri kun ikumpara sa classroom. Kay diri, kinabuhi ang imung unang protektahan. Dili puro libro ug teorya. Daghang gradweyt nga ‘walay trabaho!”

“Konting tiis na lang, ga-gradweyt na ako. Hahanap ako ng trabaho. Iiwanan ko na ang lugal na ‘to. It’s sad that society sees you all sooted in dirt black, when in fact, hindi naman lahat ng dancers p_t_. ako, hindi ako nagpapagamit. Sayaw lang, para makakuha ng konting salapi. Pambayad sa bahay,sa kuryente, sa libro at sa tuition. I can easily graduate cum laude, were it not for this night jobs. Pero okey lang. Basta ako, nagpupursigi. Hindi gaya ng iba, mayaman nga, nag da-drugs naman o do kaya’y superbobo…” But of course, there are those who resort to prostitution because they want the easy way out in life, or simply because, according to Genevieve (prostitute but not a student), they like men and enjoy doing it. [Genevieve enrolled before for a semester simply to ‘see’ handsome college hunks.] Myleene and Candy revealed that the school has a number of high-class call girls who do not flaunt their wares like them. They operate with certain level of discretion, and “they are the classy ones”. Candy even intimated the alleged involvement of some guards in the “negotiation” between prospective clients and CGs. Myleene stated the she knows fully well the system ran by campus call girls. But like politics and politicians, there are cliques so no one dares offend another. Rocking the boat may lead to an unpleasant incident in the campus. How many students prostitute just to send themselves to school? We can never tell. They may be many or few. But our encounter with two of our coed in a sleazy bar only confirms that life nowadays has become so difficult. Made even more difficult by an

Candy replies: “Unsaon man, ang Pilipino basta wala’y diploma wala ka’y dungog. But in my case, I placed my honor and my name at stake to get a diploma that schools produce by the thousands – mostly halfbaked. Pero kon wala na’y mo-laom sa atong educational system, asa nalang ‘ta padulong?” By 8:30 p.m. , Candy and Myleene left our table. A few minutes later, with the blaring music of Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer”, they both appeared in scanty bath-wears, gyrating and seducing the masculine crowd. They then took off their upper garments. But that was all. The glass-walled room was now filled with men of different statures and walks of life. And while Candy and Myleene lip-synched the song , the far corners of their eyes mirror sadness and frustration. They told us, with sincerity, a small part of their life story. Hoping that, one day, people will not just see the cavorting sexy moves but also the motions of their desperate souls. Just think of how lucky you are as a student. You don’t have to compromise yourself. For Candy and Myleene, their dance signifies that the night has just begun. It’s going to be a very long night. So is this cruel life. TC

Myleene, Candy and Genevieve have requested that their real names, course, and year, be treated confidentially. The authors of the article asked for the school ID cards and admission slips of the above-mentioned to verify their claims as students of the university.

15 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

GAYDAR ALERT! “A sexual revolution begins with the emancipation of women, who are the chief victims of patriarchy, and also with the ending of homosexual oppression.” Kate Millett From the past and until now, men were seen to be able to do jobs that require more work than women. Of course, with the intensity of work comes with the increase in relative productivity that will benefit the owner of the land, making men more productive than women. From here, the modification of gender prototypes began. The norm was and is that men should be stiff, strong, sturdy and not effeminate, while women should stay at home, do household chores and be good in childbearing. Should one defy the said standards, he/she is deemed alienated – classified

16 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

as what we know now as LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender). Bisdak Pride Incorporated, an LGBT organization, explains what a sexual orientation is and why there are different sexual orientations. This is in order to understand the existence of homosexuality. According to Bisdak Pride, “A sexual orientation means an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual or affectionate attraction to individuals of a particular gender. This orientation may or may not be expressed in behavior and refers to an individual’s feelings and self-concept. Different sexual orientation exists because difference is a defining characteristic of life.” As time progressed, the system has exhibited the great competition of gender and sexuality in all

FEATURE

REASONS WHY SOME LGBTS CHOOSE NOT TO COME OUT OF THEIR SHELLS Alem Garcia

aspects of life, causing them to create friction and gaps. Due to society’s feudal concept of men and women, there is a struggle between genders. This creates an idea that homosexuals and women don’t have a place in society. Over time, this developed a great fear for LGBTs to come out and reveal their true sexuality. The contradictions forced them to repress and hide their true self in the shadows of a patriarchal society. In the LGBT community, these people who refuse to come out because of fear or shame are termed as a “closet queen/king.”

prefer not to come out so that they could protect themselves and others around them and to avoid prejudice and hurt that other members of society may impose against them. In order to keep their appearance hidden from public light, closet LGBT individuals lie not only to those around them, but also to their selves. This indicates the LGBT member’s self-inflicted repression of the self. The traditional concept of religion states that God only created man and woman. Biblical doctrines indicate nothing more than what God has given. We hear this in our religion classes and this creates the prejudice we have against other sexual orientations – filthy, unacceptable, weak and worthless.

According to Bisdak Pride, some LGBT members

17 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

The Philippines is mainly labeled as a conservative country. This Filipino culture ismore often felt in most families.. It is not uncommon to hear a statement along this line, Anak, ayaw pagbinayot/ pagpinatomboy. Duha ray gimugna sa Ginoo, Babay ug laki ra. Wa nay lain! [Child, don’t be gay/ lesbian. God only created man and woman and nothing else!] This type of thinking will be rooted in the minds of the children and carry the same belief as the parents. Another point to ponder on is that the LGBT community is usually associated together with sin. The common people would say “Immoral nang mga bayot ug tomboy! Nisukwahi sila sa gihimo sa Ginoo.” [Gays and Lesbians are immoral! They went against what God has made.] As a result, closeted homosexuals tend to hide who they truly are because of their religious convictions. What they are is socially unacceptable. They’d rather hurt themselves due to the secrecy of their identity than be rejected by society.

such a mindset is the patriarchal Filipino thinking. “Anak, nindot jud kayo kung laki ka! Daghan kag makab-ot kay daghang mag atang nimo nga trabaho. Pwede ka mabisag unsa kay laki ka” [Child, it is truly amazing to be a man! You’ll get a lot of job opportunities. You can be whoever you want because you’re a man!] This kind of statement is common for Filipinos due to the fact that most of politics, commerce and industries ruled by men. Due to the Filipinos’ high regard for the male gender, they tend to condemn the idea of an LGBT being put atop the job ladder. Regardless of what achievements one may have made, one’s sexuality is always a large basis of his or her position in society. With this kind of close-minded society would you, would LGBT still want to go out and leave the safety of their home?

The chauvinistic and patriarchal society deems men as the strongest and the most productive, rational animal. In context, everything else is secondary to the male gender. No one can rival the contributions of men to the community.

Legalization of LGBT organizations and formations in some schools is prohibited. Sociology stresses out that a person is not living alone but rather, living in the bigger picture of society. This concept also translates in the situation of confused individuals. If a homosexual would find a sense belonging in society or through another individual that could possibly help him/her in expressing his/ her self-concept. He/she could find someone who went through his/her problem.

This kind of thinking is cultural. A true example of

An LGBT might be able to relate to others. Some

18 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

schools, through their repressive school policies shun and discourage the existence of LGBTs by not legalizing LGBT organizations and formations. Schools and universities do this because the possible legalization of an LGBT group within campus would contradict the institutions’ conservative doctrines. Ifeducational institutions were truly concerned with the growth and welfare of their students, should they not allow the LGBT society that exists within their institutional walls to organize and be recognized? The University of San Carlos is a good example of an educational institution that refuses to recognize the LGBT society and its supposed formations. Here are several organizations that were proposed to the administration but were rejected all together: Girly Girly Goes to Congress (1998), Coalition for the Liberation of the Rising Sexes (COLORS) (2006), Queer Union for the Empowerment and Equality of Neglected Studentry (QUEENS) (2010). Peer pressure is yet another factor as to why some LGBTs remain closeted. The people surrounding the LGBT individual are mostly products of the aforementioned system. One cannot blame the products that have resulted from the system. Closeted individuals remain so because they fear rejection. They crave belongingness so badly that they are willing to conceal their true sexuality.

The suppression and the threats hinder the LGBT society from being truly accepting and being proud of who they truly are. Due to the unbearable contradictions and the rapidly changing pattern we have in the contemporary time, the population of homosexual citizens is difficult to define. LGBTs should learn to know where they stand. They should know that they are in charge of switching the system 360 degrees to be able to live the life they deserve. They should know that being honest with their sexuality will widen their horizons; new skills will be acquired, expression of one’s self will be more vibrant and visible, contribution to nationalism and democracy will be more prolific, and most importantly, they will be able to love themselves. They can’t let their fears produced by a feudal society tatter the fabric of progress. Objectively speaking, the skills, talents and capacities of an individual are honed even more if he/she is free and not bounded by the society he/ she belongs to. This problem may be very small to some individuals but we should learn to accept and be educated regarding the rights the LGBTs possess. We should see the positive effects of accepting all sexualities towards nation-building. TC

19 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

HARD HAT

AREA Miko Paolo Mangubat

Complaints are exuberant to the visible on-going constructions around the Talamban Campus. Some students find these progressive while others find these as a waste of money, time and resources. Loads and loads of soil have been transported in and out the school premises at various times during the past months and trees were mowed down for operational purposes.

20 TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

Arch’t Ellis Puerto, General Services & Infrastructure Development Office, explains that the visible constructions as infrastructure and maintenance projects in which are all utilitarian items. “These are necessary capacities that any institution aspires to lay-out as much as possible in advance but as always the resource allocation can only absorb as much and that is why the implementation has to be done in phases,” said Arch’t Puerto. Projects that are partially done and ongoing are as follows: 1. Preparatory Road Works Improvement (substantially completed) a. Looped access road, horse-shoe type formation linking gates 3 to 1 (assuming a counter-clockwise flow from POV of private vehicle using G3 as entry & G1 as exit) b. Construction of Gravity walls at 4 areas; Soccer Field, Across Arnoldus Science Bldg., across & below J Baumgartner-LRC up to opposite of CAFA Bldg. & extension of gravity wall below Sts. Arnold Janssen & Joseph Freinademetz Church in consideration or provision of a continuous pedestrian sidewalk at both sides of a 7-meter road right of way including the backfilling and compaction of limestone sourced inside the campus (currently in Phase 1) c. Drainage & Sidewalk Construction (Phase 2) d. Road Paving (Phase 3) 2. Reservoir Tanks Installations (partially delivered & fixed in-position - termination March 2014). Water supply storage tanks at the 3-existing deep-well pumps in the following locations: a. Back of Bunzel Bldg., b. Front of New Dormitory 1 Bldg. at lower road &

c. Robert Hoeppener Bldg. below the lowest floor level garden area d. rainwater collection tanks at the Arnoldus Science Bldg. for laboratory wash sink supply e. Potable & rainwater tanks at J. Baumgartner Bldg.-LRC f. Potable water tanks at General Services Area in preparation for the Stadium 3. Stadium - Natural Grassed Football Pitch, Compacted Cinder Oval & 4-storey Support Facility (75% completedsubstantial completion by March 2014) 4. Standby Power Supply Upgrading/Re-allocation/Reuse of Gen-Sets and upgrading of transformers(substantially completed) a. Phase 1-Bunzel Power house expansion, upgrading of Gen-set-old unit, relocation of old unit to new dormitory for the required standby power supply of the automatic fire suppression system b. Phase 2-Relocation of Power House Arnoldus Science, Gen-set and transformer upgrade, relocation of old unit to MRC for Standby power supply of conference hall Projects that are completed are as follows: 1. Re-painting of Bunzel Bldg. (exterior & interior-corridors and hallways only) 2. Renovation & rehabilitation of Bunzel Bldg. comfort rooms drainage & sanitary lines - replacement of degraded & clogged Cast-Iron pipes and installation of exposed PPR water pipes disconnecting the embedded & corroded GI pipes 3. Repair of Earthquake & Typhoon Damage

21 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

a. Structural Components - Bunzel Bldg. Columns & Arnoldus Science Bldg., Floor Slab b. Non-structural Items(Ceiling Works)-Various buildings: CAFA, SMED, JBB-LRC, Bunzel & MRC Complaints from the students specifically the by the dormers about the noise and abog(smog/dust) that the trucks are causing, especially at night, were the consequent by products of the completed and on-going projects inside the campus for the past months. In addition, students have been grumbling about the destroyed asphalt road along the Arnoldus Science Bldg all the way to Robert Hoeppner Building because of some troubles and traffic it causes them. Arch’t Puerto addresses such as valid. The unfortunate consequences are only remedied for the mean time through: • Adjustments of schedule of most hauling operations after school hours • Intermittent water spraying of affected segments of the interior road • Back-filling of potholes with limestone • Construction operations involving heavy equipment for earthmoving works ends on or before March (semestral break)

22 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

Minor earthmoving along or on both sides of the widened Right-of-Way of the existing campus access road are still expected when Phase 2 is implemented in the drainage systems and sidewalk constructions (on both sides). “The paving of the roads will commence only when this phase is accomplished that is why the patching of potholes are temporary,” explained by Arch’t Puerto. Arch’t Puerto explained further the reasons behind the enterprise through history and perspective of the University 70 years ago. Several properties were consolidated and acquired by the SVD order for the growth of the University, how it started with a single Engineering building (Bunzel) and how it is now occupied by at least 13 other major buildings which accommodates several facilities and functions within it and its open areas as a summary. The idea of coupling with components of the development will enable it to sustain its operation as well as allow further growth. He pointed out that the infrastructure items that has been in-place other than buildings and those that could be easily seen are mostly out-of sight or “noteasily appreciated things” shouldn’t be ignored because each have essential purpose that cannot be discounted

nor procrastinated in development and in rehabilitation. The aforementioned projects fall-under the general description referred as HARD infrastructure wherein it requires tremendous resource allocation and cannot be done consequently in single time spans. “The long term benefits will eventually far outweigh the concerns and disturbances that occur for 4-5 months in comparison to the time span of 4-5 years one spend in the University is but a fraction,” he justified. He indicated that the hazards and disturbances are temporary. “One must bear and remember that infrastructure and utilities is the framework supporting the function and day to day operations of the University,” as Puerto replied to the prior concerns and complaints. “The appreciation must be taken not in the context of an isolated environment but relative to the city or region it caters to. These will go back as an advantage on the Carolinian student body or clientele of USC as functional components are not laid for institutional identity mechanisms rather operational capabilities with incentives that will rebound in time because it has supported the setting of educational and non-curricular experience of the Carolinian”, Puerto concluded. TC

FEATURE

USC CFIU:

THE UNRECOGNIZED

FACULTY UNION

OF USC Bea Lacson and Miko Mangubat

Everyone has the right to organize and speak out for what they want. We have non-government organizations fighting for various causes, all of them passionate towards fulfilling their purpose. We have the Supreme Student Council (SSC) voicing out the opinions of the students. Even the University practices this via the Administration and the Society of the Divine Word. It begs the question: who speaks out for the teachers? The USC College Faculty Independent Union (CFIU) is an independent teachers’ union and a legallyregistered organization under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). It was established last February 12, 2011, which was spearheaded still by Levy Lanaria as Union Chairman/President. The union consists of members that are part of the permanent faculty in the college level of the University of San Carlos wherein they are entitled to the rights and privileges of a regular member of the Union. However not the entire faculty members of the university is affiliated to it. The union, though, is not funded by the students’ school fees but by sinking funds that are contributed promptly and willingly by each member (depending on the total number of the union members) in quorums that are held in parliamentary procedures every month. The union also has an Executive board that is represented by officers that are duly voted by the majority of the registered members.

The union’s goals are: 1) to promote moral, social, economic and religious well-being of the teachers in USC;2) to establish harmonious relations with the Administration of the University of San Carlos in the promotion of mutual welfare and in the pursuit of the sound objectives of the University and linkages with existing college faculty associations/organizations in the province and in the region towards forging a broader base of critically enlightened teachers that will advocate teachers’ well-being and 3) to achieve unity of purpose and action and collective bargaining. Despite how the union sought for a peaceful relation, the Administration of the USC does not recognize the union as the certified over-all representative of the academic personnel of San Carlos. “They have the right to organize but in essence to what purpose they serve, they have none”, said by Fr. Salas, VP for Academic Affairs. “We’ve been addressing the concerns and interests of most of the teachers’ body as much as we can,” he added.

23 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

This palpable tension between the Administration and the College Faculty Union started back in 2011. The Union claims the Admin has shown various signs of displeasure towards the Union. When the Union managed to gain its legal status a few years ago, they immediately wrote a letter to Father Miranda, the purpose of their letter was to reassure the Administration that the Union meant well for the well-being of the University. Apart from the College Faculty Association (CFA) Board of Trustees, Father Miranda was one of the few to receive a copy of the booklet Primer on Unionism since he requested to have it. The Union emphasizes that through this, they wanted to work together with the Administration. The Department of Labor and Employment advised the Union to go about the Administration using the Partnership Model. The Union admits to the failure of this concept. They were eager at the beginning, hoping for a dialogical relationship with the Administration since such a thing is valued in the Society of the Divine Word’s documents. In the end, the Union only had one “dialogue” with several administrators in 2013 in compliance to an NLRC mandate. It was held in one sitting since the administrators, contrary to the wishes of the Union, chose not to continue with it. There was an “exchange of ideas” between the Union and the management’s legal counsel in September of 2013 when the CFIU wrote an open letter regarding their concerns towards the list of voters as an essential requirement for the occurrence of the Certification Elections to Sun.star. The Administration had managed to include the names of plenty of Administrators, directors and deans namely, to the list of eligible voters. They were de-loaded of a certain number of units to initiate the discharge of their original functions. This way, they were able and eligible to be included in the voters’ list. This appalled the Union since this situation tipped favors towards the Administration’s favor. In action, they argued in the presence of the Department of Labor and Employment’s hearing officer to exclude them in advance and they requested to have the Administration Counsel to have the names removed, all to no avail. The consistent response of the management legal was that they were just “following standard procedure”. Still, the Union questioned the appearance of the names of other administrators in the roster so that the Department of Labor and Employment delegated them to the challenged votes category. The persistence of the Union moved the Certification Elections from the original month June to September. The Department of Labor and Employment’s mediator-arbitrator opted

24 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

not to make a ruling over the issue before the September 12th Certification Elections. This was the event that instigated the CFIU’s need to express their distress and disgust over the mediator-arbitrator’s unwillingness and refusal to decide. The Executive Board decided to write an open letter to Sun.star. The Union was then fed with a rebuttal from the Admin’s legal counsel in the same local daily. Prior to the Certification Elections, the Admin’s legal counsel, Atty. Neri Colmunares, had managed to publish the same letter published in the USC website in a section that was usually reserved for news updates. In the event of the Certification Elections, the Union commented that the electoral exercise seemed like an administration affair with the number of administrators present. “A management that delights not in unionism tends to be on its toes by immediately responding to the teachers’ concerns as a subtle way of discouraging teachers to support the union,” says Levy Lanaria, Union President. The union would like to emphasize that its accomplishments ought to be measured more in ad extia terms, since its true purpose of creation was to serve. The condition in which the union is operating prevents it from fully optimizing its efforts and resources towards the betterment of the faculty and the academic community. The CFIU is not able yet to enter into a collective bargaining agreement due to the fact that it needs the mandate of the majority of the rank and file faculty with regular statuses. The union is still waiting for the final ruling of DOLE whether to credit the opened challenged votes or not. On the 15th of February, the CFIU held a forum for all the available Union members from Universities all over the Philippines. This forum was in celebration of its third anniversary as a duly-registered union with the DOLE. The forum’s goal was to create awareness for the laborers and teachers affected by the K+12 program. Though the number of those who attended was few, the impact was more than great. Atty. Armando Alforque started the forum proper with a review of the Revised Labor Code among the tertiary teachers of private institutions like University of San Carlos. Alforque was able to thoroughly discuss the rights and policies among the College Faculty Independent Union of USC so as the Union representatives of Siliman University, Cebu Doctors’ University and Velez College. The right to a decent pay and the right to organize are a few of the policies which were comprehensively deliberated. An exchange of ideas in form of open forum occurred right after Atty. Alforque’s discourse in which the teachers were able to

discern the laws behind each right discussed in lieu to the K+12 implementation and the upcoming “freshmen-less” years that starts on 2016. The concerns about the most probable displacement of the majority of the tertiary teachers in USC were utmost critical in the forum. Professor Rene Tadle, a teacher from the University of Sto. Tomas made a point that due to K+12, tenured teachers who are too young to retire but too old to get a new job will have questionable futures. These tenured teachers will not only lose out on a job and a salary, but they will also lose their Health and Insurance Benefits. Also, in cases where a teacher has children studying under a scholarship that a University has granted due to the said teacher’s employment, it is possible that his children’s education might stop as well. As for the states of employment of the University of San Carlos’ faculty, it is still precarious as the University is not giving out straight answers. Faculty members, due to the lack of freshmen in the coming school years will be in danger of possible displacement in the form of retrenchment and retirement. “Papayag ka nalang kase there is a gun pointed at you” says Tadle, referring to the current situation that the faculty members are in. The K+12 program and its contexts are in favor of the private institutions and not the laborers. This is a situation most feared by those who work for various Universities and Government Colleges. Perhaps the rigorous cries for salary increase and justice on the certification elections, the union tries to remain neutral to the proposed TOFI by the university for the Academic Year 2014-2015. “In any case, another round of tuition and other school fee increase in private schools is always another bad news for countless poor families in the country.” said by Lanaria Lanaria, though, proposed the particular compulsory consultative mechanism instituted by CHED to make way for the various ideas and perspectives of the stakeholders (students) in the university. This is held to preempt the absolute exercise of management prerogative to unilaterally raise tuition fees. In accordance to their Constitution and ByLaws, the union has shown strong ideas on preservation of rights and well being of the majority. Their constitution’s provisions are mostly observed in a democratic manner which gives us the idea on how essential “voicing-out” each ones unheard concerns and intentions. Also, the importance of unionism is highlighted in order to avoid oppression in any significant forms that violates one’s rights. TC

NEWS FEATURE

NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS OF THE PHILIPPINES: PATRIOTIC, DEMOCRATIC, & PROGRESSIVE Alem Garcia

The schemes of the Philippine reactionary government terrorize the Educational system, colonize the essential fabrics of school, commercialize the right to learning, and suppress the needs of the students. We the youth are liable to take stand and to take lead towards the revolutionizing of a system.

In response to the call of the times, the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) held the 39th National Student Leaders Congress, with this year’s theme, PADAYON 2013: “Upholding Genuine Student Leadership and Forwarding the Youth and Peoples’ Agenda for Truth and Accountability” last December 7 – 11, 2014 at Lahug, Cebu City. Student leaders from all over the country gathered to arouse, organize and mobilize in order to address and uplift the digressing condition of leadership in the Philippines. The five-day convention aimed for genuine student leadership, youth and people’s agenda, and truth and accountability. The student councils from around the Philippines learned about the principles of leadership to help progress the Filipino students and people — mass oriented, nationalist and scientific.

25 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS FEATURE

Philippine Education: Fascist, Commercialized and Colonial NUSP presented their analysis of the educational situation of the Philippines in order to hone the minds of the participants. According to NUSP, the Philippine education system is characterized as fascist, commercialized and colonial. Schools in the Philippines are fascist because of the release and implementation of repressive school policies that do not serve the rights of the students. An example of a repressive policy is the double standard on established progressive organizations. Although it is very clear that students must be entitled to the right to formation, schools override what is due to the student body. In some universities and learning institutions, the LGBT community’s existence is not recognized by the administration. Especially in Catholic universities for example, although the stance of the administration is that its rightful for a person to claim he/she is not straight as an individual, but forming legal LGBT organizations is said to be “unnecessary”. In this regard, LGBT students are deprived of the right to organize themselves. This sad phenomenon generates a system of individualism and liberalism. These tendencies hinder students to connect their perspectives to the larger picture of society— that uniting is essential to nation building. As time progresses, rights are converted into commodities. Education is turned into something that we ought to pay for. This is a very big deal because the right to learn is now commercialized. Now, every Filipino citizen mandatorily avails education with much cost. With this, NUSP embodied to the participants that education, as stated in the constitution, is a right. If education is a right, then why do we need to pay for it? NUSP said that this is a clear indication of exploitation of students. Students are deprived by the state to achieve their fullest potentials. Another issue discussed was the implementation of the K + 12 PROGRAM that aims for a globalized style of education. If a student graduated in the K+12 system, his/ her baccalaureate degree will be valid to other industrialized countries. Also in the K+12 system, a student can choose not to proceed to college but still be able to go outside the country to work at semi-skilled or odd jobs. However, the K+12 system is currently not applicable to the current state of the Philippines, as discussed during the convention. Firstly, the economic status of the Philippines can’t suffice to the demands of globalized education. The state must first concentrate to address the lack of books,

26 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

classrooms, and teachers in public schools. Secondly, parents with no jobs or with less pay can’t support their children anymore due to the high tuition fee in the prolonged years of study. Thirdly, this will just contribute to the brain drain of manpower to the country, leaving the Philippines helpless. Fourthly, the educational system that is presented to the student body is not based ono the context of the Philippines but on what other countries want from us. As what history projected and is projecting, the youth is a remarkable and essential role in transforming the system of the country. Education is a very vital key to the youth; we should not put a price tag on it. One of the rampant problems in our education is the colonial way of learning because we

base our systems in the concept of the West. Most of the courses offered or promoted are not the professional education that is in context to the Philippines. Since we are a country rich in agriculture, programs promoted should be in relation to agricultural demands. However, the government is letting the US imperialist and other foreign countries dictate the trend of education in our country. That is because it is what they need in their respective lands. This indicates that Philippines is just a cheap one stop shop for manpower. The shifting of the academic calendar belongs to the colonial system of education. Following the standards of other nation will only attract foreign market for smooth flowing way of student exchange.

NEWS FEATURE

NUSP Activities In line with the devastating but factual happenings, the convention handled workshops to hone the minds of the student leaders to eradicate and revolutionize the system of learning; table battles and negotiations, basic parliamentary procedures, marketing and finance management, basic technical writing, student council management, and administering student campaigns. NUSP in aim for better propaganda, made it possible also to hold arts and culture workshops for additional inputs on creativity, Cebu culture and arts lecture, social media new media and blogging, theater arts workshop, literary arts workshop and short

course on film making. These things are truly essential for leadership because these will give them basic skills or even hone what they can do to promote the principled leadership and service. To let the student leaders know and feel that they are part of the bigger society, a Basic Mass Integration (BMI) was conducted. This activity aimed to instill in the mindset of the participants that student leadership doesn’t revolve around in the school only but to the bigger picture of society as well. This activity also enabled them to know how badly affected the marginalized sectors are in

the kind of education we have. At the end of the day, students were able to arrive at the synthesis of every activity. Indeed, the given situations were true. Families who belong in the said sector are not able to send their children to school because of the high fees; more so in the state universities. They don’t have jobs that can generate a big amount of income and sustain their daily living expenses. The people living in the areas visited are even called “squatters” in their own land not knowing that the real informal settlers are the foreigners who make use of the land to make profit and exploit Filipinos!

27 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS FEATURE

The participants elected a new set of officers to secure the service and leadership of NUSP to maintain and secure the principled leadership. National President: Sarah Elago (UP Diliman) Executive Vice President: Sheryl Alapad (Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Sta. Mesa) Secretary General: Lovely Carbon (Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Sta. Mesa) VP for Luzon: JC Sibayan (Philippine Normal University) DepSec for Luzon: Mar Joseph Fernandez (University of Pangasinan-PHINMA) VP for Visayas: DyanGumanao (UP Cebu) DepSec for Visayas: Floyd Abrico (University of Negros Oriental) VP for Mindanao: Malaya Genotiva (UP Mindanao) DepSec for Mindanao: Reymon Reyes (University of Southern Mindanao) The standards of leadership are not based on how one ventures into the limelight of charisma, speech rhetoric and face value because leadership is not about showbiz. It costs the word “standard” through beyond for the real measure of leadership is when you can set the example for others; a doer and a follower. Simple in words, but a lifetime struggle. TC

28 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS FEATURE

NATIONALIST YOUTH WEEK: Karen Lepon

Photographs by John Matthew Flores

There is no doubt about it. We, especially the youth, are the harbingers of the change we wish to see. When the Philippines crumbled under the weight of the tragedies last year (e.g. Bohol earthquake and the Yolanda Typhoon), the youth took action. In the University of San Carlos (USC), student councils, recognized and unrecognized organizations and student publications joined in response to the calamities.

Thus, Hoy, a university-wide campaign, was found. Its aim was to organize the youth, encourage them to participate in these trying times and to be knowledgeable of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s present state. What better way to awaken them than a week long exposure of the power of the youth and their privilege to question their rights as students and citizens of this nation? The Nationalist Youth Week (NYW) was the brainchild of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) in order for students to freely question and debate school problems (i.e. rising tuition fees), be reminded of their responsibilities as the future of the country, and reminisce the history of youth-driven revolutions.

29 TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS FEATURE

It was in commemoration of the First Quarter Storm (FQS) of 1970 as an epochal event in Philippine history. It was in January 26 of that year when the youth gathered around the old House of Representatives in time with the then President Ferdinand Marcos’ second State of the Nation Address.

coming together for a cause. They all fought for the ideals of equality, justice and freedom from oppressive views and statutes so ingrained in our society that it became the norm. Both films were countercultural. It showcased the strength of people who dared to be different and who became catalysts for transformation.

NYW opened with Pagtùkî sa PolSci 2.0 on January 27. It was held at Gansenwinkle Hall as part of Political Science Days and was planned by the Carolinian Political Science Society (CPSS). Its theme was “Transforming the Face of Politics: Breathing the Filipino Spirit Amidst Crisis.” The Speakers included SSC councilor Ken Ecarma, Law and Policy Studies major Kathleen Abugan, CPSS councilor Bon Luzon, International Relations and Foreign Service major Melissa de la Cruz.

A photo exhibit also took place at the CAFA lounge from January 28 to January 30. The photos consisted of dramatic and aggressive pictures of uprisings, rallies against the Pork Barrel, a candle vigil, strikes against injustice, repressive and outdated ideals and the other atrocities that all of us are aware of and are fighting against. The exhibit was a success and the photographers. The exhibit consisted of photographs that were taken by photographers of Today’s CAROLINIAN. The exhibit was also featured photographs by CJ Chanco, a student of De La Salle University. The exhibited photographs captured the uncontained zeal of the youth and their subsequent quests for equality and peace.

It was an educational and eye-opening affair with discussions on student rights, the role of the SSC and the controversial “ASEAN integration to the Students” wherein the school calendar of the ASEAN nations will be uniform and fixed among other things. Those attending did not merely listen as the speakers discussed their topics but it encouraged them to ask or debate during the 15 minute open forum after each topic was tackled. It was an interactive learning experience. In the Talamban Campus, there were film-showing activities held by Collegiate Engineering Council (CEC) and CAFA Council. The films screened were OraProNobis (dir. Lino Brocka) and Battle in Seattle (dir. Stuart Townsend). Both films were about different monumental incidents (real or fictional) that centered around different people

30 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

Another key event was the TOFI (Tuition and Other Fees Increase) Monitor Launch. It started with an opening remark from Earl Endab of CARSAS capitalizing on the statement “Education Not for Sale.” The whole event was an informative stand against the commercialization of education. The speaker of the event was none other than the Chairperson of both the UP Cebu Student Council and NUSP Cebu President Junn Mar Denila. He was well-prepared to defend his cause and cited Article XIV, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states that “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall

NEWS FEATURE

take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.” Education, he says, must be a priority. State-run universities and schools should be given their due subsidies and allowances to continue to perform at top-level. Denila showed that during the Ramos period, the state subsidy for state education was as high as 90 percent and it decreased to 67 percent when Benigno Aquino came into office. It becomes controversial as to what happened to the 23 percent that was supposedly for the National Education. Denila also talked about how the cost of an average college unit in Cebu is 656.08 pesos which double the amount of the minimum wage which is 327.00 pesos. Obviously, it is apparent that it will be difficult for some families to sustain children who are studying college especially since most Filipino workers are underpaid. To clear the matter further some fees which are dubbed “miscellaneous,” Denila said, are either redundant (fees that are part of the school tuition fee but are paid again for exploitation, i.e. computer fees), exorbitant (overpriced fees, i.e. internet fees) or dubious (fees that are generally suspicious in nature i.e. infrastructure fee, maintenance fee). As the event went on, more truths were revealed that were shocking and maddening. The event ended with a speech by Gianne Sanchez, STAND Chairperson, who spoke for all of those against the proposed tuition increase. The attendees then wrote on the Freedom Wall with the title #EducationNotForSale. The last event for the NYW was the cultural night, “Atak!” It was an avenue to create unity

among students and the youth through cultural performances. It was held at the Parking Lot of The Fair Trade Shop in Jones Avenue on February 1 2013. It started at 7:00 in the evening. The youths from different universities were there to support the cause. There was poetry reading and other presentations.

44 years ago, the youth decided to go against a dictatorship, to speak loud against the silence of oppression. It was the youth (along with countless people) of that generation that gave us the freedom that we know today. As the NYW came to a close, it seemed like a cliffhanger to merely celebrate and not continue the legacy our ancestors left us. It seemed sinful to let their blood run dry with our apathy. The world is changing as it should. The question is what are we, the youth – the forerunners of a repressive Republic, harbingers of hope for a stagnant nation, catalysts for the blind and apathetic society – going to do about all these information? Shall we turn a blind eye to the calamities and wait for another Gary Olivar to speak for us against the injustices or be willing to watch another Edgar Jopson die as a martyr for a cause he knows will reverberate until the next generations? As a youth of this Nation, as a student of San Carlos, what can we do to pave the way for a better society? TC

31 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

SURVEY

CAROLINIANS’ TODAY

349

364 273

6 270

SAMPLE SIZE 251

5% Big enterprise owner (CEO, corporate businessperson, etc) 53% Rank and ﬁle salary worker

College of Education

Do you think that USC’s tuition fees and its regular increases are reasonable? 31% YES 69% NO

Did you ever stop attending school for a period of time because you were unable to pay for tuition? 6% YES 94% NO

96% YES 4% NO Did you have any problems with enrollment this semester?

3% Big enterprise owner (CEO, corporate businessperson, etc) 43% Rank and ﬁle salary worker

1% Agricultural laborer (Farmer, ﬁsherfolk, etc) 23% Unemployed

62% YES 38% NO Do you feel that there are things USC could improve on?

What is the profession of your mother?

(Carpenter, plumber, construction worker, etc)

School of Business and Economics

Do you think that the services and education you are getting in USC is worth the fees you are paying?

Agricultural laborer (Farmer, ﬁsherfolk, etc) Unemployed

(Doctor, manager, nurse, educator government employee, etc)

School of Law and Governance

TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

What is the profession of your father?

26% Micro-entrepreneur (Family business) 2% Peddler/Vendor 1% Sweatshop laborer

College of Arts and Sciences

69% PARENT’S SUPPORT 3% Self support (Working student) 9% SCHOLARSHIP 3% Working scholar in USC 1% Spouse/Life partner 7% Relatives (Grandparents, aunts, uncles) 8% Siblings

(Carpenter, plumber, construction worker, etc)

College of Architecture and Fine Arts

48% YES 52% NO

How do you pay for your tuition?

4% 9%

School of Health Care Professions

LATE ENROLLMENT UNABLE TO PAY SLOW SYSTEM GET BLOCKED

(Doctor, manager, nurse, educator government employee, etc)

327

College of Engineering

14% 6% 66% 11%

22% Micro-entrepreneur (Family business) 2% Peddler/Vendor 5% Sweatshop laborer

341

If yes, what was the cause of the problem?

Do you think that USC teachers are competent enough in what they’re doing? 53% YES 47% NO

SURVEY

*If no, why do you think so? 39% 12% 31% 30%

Teachers receive minimum wage Classrooms less conducive towards learning Curriculum problems Insufﬁcient experience of current faculty

Do you think that there is a free exchange of ideas among students in USC without the threat of suspension, expulsion or disciplinary actions from the administration? 49% YES 51% NO Do you think that USC creates a proper environment for education and promotes free and critical thinking?

14% YES 86% NO

20% 29% 8% 52% 27%

Incompetent teachers Old facilities Poor security Repressive school policies High tuition fees

(Dyed hair, facial hair and long hair for males)

19% Anti-LGBT/Homophobic policies (Cross dressing, nonexistence of LGBT orgs)

12% Anti free speech policies 18% Website blocking 31% High and unexplained school fees (Misc fees, tuition fees, textbook fees, etc)

If no, why did you take a course that you didn’t/don’t want? 27% 31% 47% 8% 31%

33% Uniform policies (Uniform, wash day attire, shoes) 27% Haircut/Bongot policies

24% All of the above

Are you taking the course that you want, for the path in life that you chose for yourself? 81% YES 19% NO

Do you think that the school policies of USC respect student rights?

If no, what do you think represses and ignores student’s rights?

Do you think that the youth sector has an active participation in nation building? 85% YES 15% NO

60% YES 40% NO

If no, then do you think that the existence of an SSC is useless? 21% YES 79% NO

Do you think that the school policies of USC benefit the students? 72% YES 28% NO

Do you think that the SSCs have made positive efforts to address these issues within USC? 39% YES 61% NO

65% YES 35% NO *If no, what do you think is the most pressing reason why?

Have you ever been reprimanded by an authority figure in your department (teacher, chairperson, etc) for practicing your right to expression (speech, writing, Facebook post, action, etc)?

To secure a high paying job Parents’ instructions Choice of course deemed “impractical” Course is in demand Others

What is your plan after graduating? 43% Proceed to masters/2nd course 43% Apply for a job that is in line with my degree 4% Apply at a call center/semi-skilled job that only requires a bachelor degree 4% Work for family business 6% Others Are you happy with the choices that you have made for your future?

How frequent do you find yourself apprehended by the gate guards because of your haircut/uniform/cross dressing?

88% YES 12% NO

40% NEVER 40% ONCE 20% MORE THAN THREE TIMES

* - Items whose percentages that sum up more than 100% because of surveyees’ liberty of choosing multiple answers.

33 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

SSC YEAR END REPORT It is this time of the year where the Supreme Student Council, the university’s supposed highest student governing body, apprises the entire student body with the activities/ events it has organized, policies/resolutions it has implemented, and challenges that remain to be, well, challenges. The thrust of this year’s administration was to increase student participation in the dealings and/or activities of the Supreme Student Council and to see the revival of the student council partnerships with the different collegiate councils and student organizations. There is some semblance of success, but it cannot be totally said that the problems to which the solutions introduced by the Council have been surpassed. There is, quite often than not, a denial of the existence of numerous problems that plague the University and its students. It can be claimed, however, that the Supreme Student Council has never faltered in its mission to promote, protect, and advance student rights and welfare. The Supreme Student Council, through a dialogue with the Administration, attended by the Vice-Presidents for Administration, Academic Affairs, and Finance, brought to their attention questions related to questionable school policies, the inconsistent implementation of such policies, repressive school policies, discrimination directed to students, issues concerning the performance of teachers and non-teaching staff, school facilities, and pushed for the justification of school fees that up until the present, remain to be dubious.

WHAT ELSE HAS THE SUPREME STUDENT COUNCIL DELIVERED THIS YEAR? Your Council has given you the Week of Welcome where the freshmen students were given a forum to be acquainted with college life and the returning students a fresh welcome to another semester in college. Freshmen students were also given a Freshmen Starter Kit to help them adjust to the new environment. Your Council has also given you IDiscount where, using the USC ID, faculty members and students may avail of discounts or special offers from partner establishments. In partnership with the USC Administration, the Supreme Student Council has organized the 3rd Warrior’s Run and the annual Students’ Night in the Talamban Campus.

UNITE was also organized at the onset of the second semester to bring the students together.

34 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

FEATURE

STEM was an event organized by the council to increase awareness regarding the environment, the issues that concern it and the possible solutions, among Carolinian students.

To feel the spirit of Christmas and invoke the spirit of charity during that season, the Carolinian Christmas was organized.

The Supreme Student Council was persistent in the protection of student rights against repressive school policies such as the non-existent leather shoes policy and the struggles against tuition and other fees increase for Academic Year 2014-2015. The Council also worked for the passage of the resolution: “Center for Gender Welfare Advocacy and Promotion of Sensitivity (C-GWAPS)” to help protect the rights of the LGBT and other marginalized sectors of the university. Through the Carolinian Campus Development Authority (CCDA), the Supreme Student Council evaluated the current state of the university’s facilities and directly informed the Administration regarding such.

The Supreme Student Council also functioned for the installation of several vending machines in the comfort rooms in the Talamban Campus where and when there was much need for them. There were also several efforts to work together with the different collegiate councils and student organizations in the many activities, which the council has initiated.

The SSC Financial and Liquidation Report was timely released even before the end of the Academic Year.

Lastly, respecting the call for transparency and accountability, the SSC Sessions were made open to the public by inviting the independent student publication in every session of the council.

While regret may be expressed for the reason that the problem of has not altogether been resolved, it is with pride and happiness to declare that the Supreme Student Council of Academic Year 2013-2014 has satisfactorily performed its duties and responsibilities as the highest governing student body. In support of every Carolinians’ meaningful pursuit, I remain. Zach Selma

35 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

VOX POPULI

How was the performance of last term’s

Supreme Student Council? Katrina Roa

Photograph by Stephen Suico

The Supreme Student Council is the highest governing Student Body in the University of San Carlos. The Supreme Student Council has been doing a lot of activities for the University for almost a year already, now the question is: are the students were satisfied with the Supreme Student Council‘s performance? Some students said that they were appalled with their performance. Some were okay with it. Some students don’t know who is in charge of all these University activities happening around campus.

36 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

VOX POPULI

“I guess they weren’t so bad. I think a lot of people went to and enjoyed their activities, so I don’t have any negative words to say.” Melanie Cuenco, AB AppLing1 “The Supreme Student Council seems like a pretty hard working student organization in the University and they seem very affectionate about the student body in terms of programs and activities. They have been giving lots of nice activities and programs so far.” Irus Majam, BSIT3 “What I feel about this SSC is that it had ample enough events for the school year. The problem was student participation and the lack of presence of the other councilors. I do not know how the SSC works internally. Basing on the tension of other political parties, it seems that there might be problems working as one in the council. I feel that even if it may seem too idealistic, the SSC would function more efficiently and effectively if they could set their parties aside and focus on serving the student body. I believe that when this happens, the problem of student apathy would be a thing of the past.” Jose Escano, BFA-AA2 “Honestly, I haven’t been really familiar with the council and haven’t felt their efforts to be known or noticed. So far as compared to the previous years, the events are lesser this year so they didn’t really make a good impression.” Jeneviev Jadraque, BS ECE-5 “Honestly, I didn’t feel much of their presence nor do I know them. The only time I saw them was during the elections. For me, they really haven’t made their presence apparent to the students.” Ma. Paula Quinto, BS-HRM AQF 1 “I think they are doing a great job because they did not rub their achievements on our faces since the start of their term. As far as I’m concerned, that is if they even had any significant achievements. If they had then I wouldn’t be aware of anything because I’m just not seeing or hearing anything from them.” Jose Ivan Etchuban, BS-ARCH2 “They’re okay. I love the way they make activities for the school. Their activities are so nice. I enjoy them. One example would be U-nite. They’re active and I love this SSC better compared to last year’s and I hope it’ll be like that for the next term.” Ma. Kay Busgano, BFA-AA4

“The Student Supreme Council has been more “visible” lately, meaning they’re putting greater effort in attending to concerns of the students. They’re also facilitating more enjoyable activities this year, which is highly appreciated. At least our 12 pesos is worth something.” MJ Romualdez, ABLL2

benefits and the events they have organized this year have really made the life of a student more tolerable, especially for CAFA students. These students need a break once in a while and maybe a discount for the expensive things we need (referring to the iDiscount program).” J.j Joyce Villareal, BFA-AA2

“Based from my observation, I think it was fine. They did a great job. We know it is not an easy job to be part of the Supreme Student Council but we can see much of what they have done. We can see they did their best.” Belle Peñalosa, BS PSYCH1

“The SSC is responsible for handling school events held in the University. Though I may have not heard much about them, they seem well organized. I think it would be better if they make themselves known to everyone because most of the students haven’t seen them.” Kim Oblianda, BFA-AA1

“Frankly speaking, I think the SSC should make themselves known because as far as the student population is concerned, only a small percentage of the whole (students) really knows or have seen the SSC. Some may know a bit of the members and the officers, but not all really know all the things they did and how much help they have given to the student body.” Zoe Gonzaga, BS PSYCH1 “I think that the supreme student council members are doing an okay job. They organize programs, events, and other things that are happening here in the university. These activities are really lovely stress relievers and lessen up the student’s stress.” Bill Osmeña, BS ARCH2 “From my personal observation, the only times I have ever heard about the SSC is when they sponsor events. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but it would be nice to hear them organize more student-oriented programs than just sponsoring events.” Mary Catherine Codilla, BFA-AA2 “I know that while we are in our class during the semesters. The presence of the Supreme Student Council cannot be felt. Even if this is the case, I think they are there doing their jobs silently. The term of this year’s SSC is going well because I believe that the student organization itself has a combination of different students who hold different philosophies to tackle issues and concerns of the student body in the university. In my opinion, they are capable of doing their jobs and functions especially during events, so they’re doing a great job.” Arnold Evardo, BS-ECE3

“The SSC did their job pretty well in their last term and because of the SSC, I can see improvements in the school; they improved the school facilities, and their activities are really good and these activities help the students.” Kevin Andrew Lontoc, BSHRM-AQF2 “Supreme Student Council’s last term did an excellent job. They learn to empathize the welfare of the students. They include the student body with their activities; they also include them in deciding a certain decisions to make in their org. So that is a good sense of LEADERSHIP I believe the students is their priority, so they did it well.” Victor Andre Reyes, BSHRM-AQF2 “I know SSC the most because of their activities and programs. These activities benefited the students and they were really fun, word on the street is the students had a blast with these activities. I haven’t heard any negative reaction from any of the students regarding SSC’s activities and programs so far.” Hezra Andersen Uy, BSHRM-AQF1 “The events they organized were satisfactory and I’m sure they all helped the students in one way or another.” Benjamin Joseph Aguliar, BSBA-FINC-2 “So far their term was really good & very informative because they served as an eye opener to us students about what is really happening to the community.” Monica Moscoso, BSBA-Marketing Management-2

“I believe that the people in SSC are really holding a heavy responsibility. I know that they exist for the student body, and so far the

37 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

ELECTION

INTERVIEW WITH

SPP

Brief History of SPP

Showcase Proposed Projects

The Student Power Party was officially founded on February 14, 1998 through a group of empowered Carolinians brought together by Mrs. Ma. Luisa Cane, then a faculty member of the Religious Education Department and bound together by the commitment to fight for students’ rights regardless of the changing of the times. Our guiding principles – Empowerment of the students, Transparency and accountability, and Community extension (ETC) - rest on the fundamental truth that man is rational thus he is capable of knowing the truth about himself and the community he lives in: the University in particular and the community-at-large in general.

We keep true to our name as the party that empowers students by creating pathways wherein the student body can become and feel empowered by a sense of responsibility to and membership in the Carolinian community. We plan to realize this goal this year by the following programs: iLead, Need Help from your SSC?, Filipino-Foreign Partnership Program (FFPP), Tara SO!, Facilities Assessment and Checking (FAC), Empowerment of Unrecognized Student Organizations (EURO), FoodWatch, EXTA-C and YouSpeak.

Party’s Platform Zealously committed to the empowerment of the students and the advancement student rights, the REDvolution (Radical Empowerment and Development) is centered on empowerment and development that changes status quo. It aims to bring together and empower students to take part not only in university activities but in local and national awareness as well. The Student Power Party (SPP) firmly believes that the REDvolution will lead to an aware, involved and unified student body.

38 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

We advocate for transparency of all pertinent University and SSC records and we strongly emphasize the accountability of the University’s administration as well as the SSC officers to the student body. Thus we have Transparency at its Finest, Carolinians on Air (COA), Forum for Better Information (FBI) and Aksyon Komunikasyon. We believe that the university is our immediate milieu, however the community-at-large is the entirety of our environment, thus we will lead in the extension of whatever good we have learned in the University to the community. We encourage Carolinians to join us in Making WAVES, CAUSEPlay, Students Making Impacts on the Lives of the Elderly (SMILE), Christmas Streets, Christmas Treats, Green Drive and Pasko sa USC.

ELECTION

What is the basis for your party to choose its political slate for the upcoming elections? We in the Student Power Party were very critical in the selection of empowered Carolinians who now compose the running slate for the upcoming elections. SPP has always looked at the potential of each candidate to deliver the party’s platform when he wins a seat in the council. Furthermore, their passion to serve and lead the student body as well as their experiences are scrutinized. This is to make sure that the best representatives are put forward to execute their platforms to the best interest of the student body.

How do you involve your members in the creation of the slate? As active participants of student organizations and activities for the whole year, the members of SPP have recognized fellow empowered student-leaders who are capable of serving and leading the student body in the spirit of radical empowerment and development. The opinions and recommendations of our members are heard and considered in our selection deliberations thus the student body can rest assured that the leaders put forward by SPP are grounded and hands-on leaders that have been visibly active in several other activities.

Aside from organizing events and seminars, what else can your party do for the student body? Even more important than plans and activities, we offer our commitment to the protection and advancement of student rights. SPP has put premium attention to giving the student body a choice in the policies and activities of the university. We shall spearhead sustainable, meaningful and practicable activities as is evident in our candidates’ programs of action aiming to make them committed and empowered servant leaders, not just participants.

Christine Reyna Perez, President

What do you think is the most important issue to be addressed by the SSC in the university? The SSC is the vanguard of student rights and interests in the university thus it must at all times protect student rights and advance their interests. This duty to the student body has been put forward in every SSC administration yet students feel the inadequacy of the programs as response to their concerns and interests. Thus participation of the students in SSC-organized activities has waned even up to now. Some call this apathy, others deny apathy and claim only a shortcoming in information dissemination. We in SPP believe that this is just a manifestation of the problem of ineffective response to student issues and interests brought about by a shortage of creative and practical ideas. Thus the SSC must hold consultations and dialogues in regular intervals to know the sentiments of the student body to whom SSC officers must answer to directly.

How will your party enforce accountability to its councilors (if ever they win)? A potential candidate is asked by SPP to run if and only if the party is sure that he is committed to the party’s principles on the advancement of student rights and accountability to the student body. Each member knows that as we maintain that SPP is not just a political party but a family, we also hold regular meetings to assess and help our members who won seats in the council. This way, accountability is not only enforced but maintained all throughout their terms.

How will your party work together with other parties after the election?

David Benjamin Ybañez, Vice President

The Student Power Party has engaged in a dynamic relationship with the other parties because it is our belief that no party has the upper hand in providing the best service to the Carolinian student body. The best service will only be attained in a collective and synergistic effort of the three political parties and all stakeholders. Thus we will always keep our lines of communication with the other parties open and we will work with them in activities that are SSC-organized or not, as long as these activities are in accordance to SPP’s principles.

39 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

ELECTION

Charles Augustine Albaño

Earl Ray Aniñon

Hanz Ludwig Bayot

Adrian Bolanio

Karl Louise Butaslac

Aurora Marie Cayasan

Sherida Cereño

Andrea Nicole Chy

Charmaine de Leon

John Kevin Hernandez

Mayumi Kanie

Raymund Kapalac

Brad Samuel Kristian Lim

Jessa Mae Mangubat

Crisger Obordo

Andre Paulo Paraguya

Agielou Frances Peig

Arnick Neil Quijada

Alexa Rae Ruiz

Joyce Lorraine Sermorlan

Ma. Lisa Zarate

Your message to your fellow students In our sixteenth year of fighting for student rights, the Student Power Party calls on the the entire student body to vote for who they think are the best people to be in the council. Rest assured that SPP has put forward a sterling slate of leaders willing and more than able to serve and lead you. Vote wisely! Vote straight the SPP slate! STUDENTS UNITE! FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS!

40 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

ELECTION

INTERVIEW WITH

S TA N D Brief History of STAND

Showcase Proposed Projects

When the students are deprived of their basic rights and freedom, a student movement shall emerge to question the old and decadent order of things with the desire to change the world according to their own terms in line with an advance and progressive idea. The product of which is the Student Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy which was an offshoot of what was once called as the Student Coalition. This was their collective response to the campus and human rights repression in the dark days of the Marcos regime, concretely manifested in the forms of tuition fee increase, closing of the student council, publication and organizations. The history of STAND is embedded in the struggles of the students for 32 long years since the 10th of December 1982. For 32 years, STAND has always been at the forefront of every struggle. It has become the repository of student resistance and activism in USC along with its allied organizations. Up to this day, it has remained steadfast to its historical role of advancing, not only the rights of the students, but also the national democratic aspirations of the Filipino people.

This year STAND showcases new projects but still it goes with the essence of protecting and promoting student rights and welfare. STAND boasts to put forward an activism, based on advocacies and not on personalities. We hold pride in appreciating diversity, especially among the Carolinian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, Carolinians of various creed, language, place of origin and political orientations.

Party’s Platform For years, STAND is always advancing a scientific approach in the determination of the basic problems of the student body. Therefore, every platform of STAND is a product of a social investigation with the essential aim of engaging students at the grassroots level. All of our specific programs of action are based on general themes: advancement of student rights and promotion of student welfare, strengthening the student involvement and solidarity among other sectors. These platforms are not only designed for the student council but it continues to be the calls of action of STAND all throughout the year. This is due to the duality of STAND as a political party and a mass organization.

We also feature new projects such as CHISMIS or Carolinian Help for ISMIS, designed to aid students in the processing of their concerns regarding the online enrollment procedure. Another novel project is the Scholarship Fair which shall be done in coordination with the University’s Office of Scholarship, Alumni and Job Placements. It aims to gather all the other scholarship granting institutions to provide prospective students with a scholarship package or provide any related information. DAYUNiversity Fair is a modification of the annual Dayon which is a week-long welcome activity for all Carolinians. STAND is known for its assertive diplomacy. With this as its nature it is fitting to continue to advance its various forms of struggle. For one, a justification of school fees is one of our primary demand, consistent with our present engagement with the campaign against Tuition and other Fees Increase. We will continue to fight for the recognition of unrecognized student organizations in line with the basic constitutional freedom to form organizations. Apart from continuing advocacies, STAND is resurrecting an alternative curriculum for students who wish to engage themselves with the burning issues of the time. The aim of this platform is to facilitate the revival of the Resource Center for Nationalist Studies that was once the reservoir of literature tackling social issues at a critical level of analysis. These and many more, STAND continues to fight for.

41 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

ELECTION

What is the basis for your party to choose its political slate for the upcoming elections? Political socialization is a year-long process. We encourage present members to engage themselves with the rest of the student body discussing issues that surround student life from school fees, school policies to various issues outside the hallowed walls and sublime corridors of the academia such as land reform, pork barrel issue and many more. The candidates were products of educational discussions and invitations for candidacy are accorded to those who show progressive stand on issues. Most importantly, their belief in nationalism and democracy should be the primary basis of their membership and candidacy. Student leaders with their aim of arousing, organizing and mobilizing the greatest number of students should be able to comprehensively uproot their bases not only in their comfort zones but as comprehensive as possible. Therefore, apart from their political orientation, equal and distributed representation among the seven colleges and three campuses should be considered as well.

How do you involve your members in the creation of the slate?

Maria Gigante, President

At the frontlines of political recruitment, members of STAND are considered its foot soldiers. They operate at the grassroots level understanding their contexts and its problems. After a nomination process carried through referral of names, STAND members convene and choose which among the recruits should be offered the candidacy. This is democracy at its finest; everyone is allowed to choose among the list of prospective students their candidates. Practices of feudal relations common among other organizations are shunned in STAND, the Executive Committee does not hold the monopoly of decision rather, it only functions to regulate the process to ensure coherence and understanding.

Aside from organizing events and seminars, what else can your party do for the student body? STAND believes that in order for the students to contribute to social change, they have to integrate with the basic masses. Their experiences of repression inside the campus should be linked and raised to the level of the society. Educational discussions are offered with our allied organizations within and outside the University. This aims to impart to the Carolinians the reality outside, which is not projected in the screens of the academe.

What do you think is the most important issue to be addressed by the SSC in the university? The most important issue that needs to be addressed is an environment that forces students to be apathetic. By environment, we refer to the educational system that is colonial in orientation, commercialized in operation and repressive in implementation. When a student is asked regarding his/her opinion on tuition increase, students no longer ask “Why?” but “How much this time?” This is alarming because it seems that the commercialization of education has become normalized when in fact there is a great disparity between an expensive education and the ideal which is “education is a right”.

How will your party enforce accountability to its councilors (if ever they win)?

Ken Ecarma, Vice President

42 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

STAND frequently conducts assessment among its members in their various involvements related to the organization such as recruitment and education of Carolinians. More attention is accorded to elected candidates. They will be reporting not only to the party chair or to the executive committee but to all of the members of the organization. It is believed that only through the ascertainment of the problem, the admission of which on the part of the elected member and the resolved to change is the course of development. We learn from our mistakes and through learning we undergo constant remolding.

ELECTION

Natalie Marie Lumagbas

Patrick Dy

Patty Valeña

Arien Monterona

Heidi Cajes

Jessa Basiga

Joya Gumilao

Sofia Ygot

Jesus Gerobiese

Jonie Sumarago

Steve Padogdog

Chucky Belonguel

Mel Ebo

Caloy Salazar

Bon Luzon

Tim Gigante

Gab Reyes

Christine Cornelio

Justin Gular

Malou Boncales

Henny Lim

How will your party work together with other parties after the election? Unity is relative, struggle is absolute. Our struggle is not against other student political parties but to the decadent educational system. We may all stand at opposite poles but in the final analysis we are all students who are victims of this oppressive and unequal set-up. To shun the possibility of forging unity and alliance with them runs counter to the essence of our movement – in the liberation of the students and in contributing to social change.

Your message to your fellow students Atubangan sa nagkagrabeng problema sa katilingban: korupsyon, human rights violations, panawagan sa tinuod nga reporma sa yuta inubanan sa mga gi-atubang sa estudyante sama sa tuition fee increase ug uban pa, dili na panahon karon sa pagpabiling naka lingkod, paghilum-hilom, panahon na para kita mo-barog. It is time for us to make a STAND. We urge you to ground your choice on advocacies and not on personalities.

43 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

ELECTION

INTERVIEW WITH

TINGOG Brief History of TINGOG

Party’s Platform

Currently celebrating its 26th year, TINGOG was formed in 1988 when student leaders from various student organizations and ACCESS (regarded by many as TINGOG’s predecessor) came together to provide an alternative to the left-leaning campus politics of the time. Clearly, a paradigm shift was in order.

TINGOG Carolinian envisions a STUDENT GOVERNMENT that is participatory and democratic, a LEADERSHIP that is unifying and firm, a STUDENT AGENDA that is total and holistic, and a STUDENT COUNCIL that is genuine and supreme.

After the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, there were strong sentiments against the pervading extreme leftist-oriented student politics of the early ‘80s. Such method and ideology were deemed no longer relevant and responsive to the burning issues of the latter part of the decade, both within the university and throughout society at large, where students deserved a more positive, proactive, constructive and participatory approach to campus politics. They collectively embraced the following party principles to guide TINGOG member-leaders for decades to come: Active Non-Violence, Authentic Christian Humanism, Liberating Christianity, Pro-People Democracy, and Filipino Nationalism. Servant Leadership and Environmental Stewardship were added three years ago to replace Liberating Christianity, the party believing that the two are crucial for TINGOG both as a campus party and as a premier leadership training organization in a rapidly changing world beset with multifarious issues like climate change, sustainable development, and moral/ethical leadership. The party color PINK represents Active Non- Violence (ANV), one of TINGOG’s core principles.

44 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

WE COMMIT... to provide STUDENT ASSISTANCE, to promote STUDENT DEVELOPMENT, to ensure STUDENT EMPOWERMENT… to always put the STUDENTS FIRST!

Showcase Proposed Projects We bring you 11 different platforms for the forthcoming academic year that specially caters to the Carolinians, all in line with our party’s thrusts: Student Assistance, Student Development, and Student Empowerment. (For a more detailed discussion of our specific programs of action, please refer to our party’s bulletin boards and/or brochures.) 1) CAROLINIAN SUMMIT Carolinian Summit is a 2-day comprehensive leadership training program that empowers students to be effective leaders. 2) U-NITE U-Nite is a two year old concert-for-a-cause that has succeeded in bringing Carolinians together in the spirit of entertainment whilst raising funds for community projects.

ELECTION

3) WARRIORS IN ACTION Warriors In Action is an advocacy-driven platform that seeks to bring out the warrior in the Carolinian identity. This year, it has two component programs. 4) STRAW Movement (Students’ Rights and Welfare Movement) USC Magna Carta for Students’ Rights and Welfare aims to enshrine each student’s basic and inalienable rights as a member of the Carolinian community. 5) STATUS UPDATE Status Update is TINGOG’s initiative to prepare the Carolinians for the major changes that come with globalization and ASEAN integration. 6) GLOBAL VILLAGE Global Village aims to bring local and foreign Carolinians together in the spirit of mutual cooperation and lasting friendship. 7) CCDA (CAROLINIAN CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY) Carolinian Campus Development Authority aims to help evaluate the school’s facilities. 8) WOW (Week of Welcome) Now on its third year, WOW assists freshmen and eases them into college life through an S.O. 9) FOI (FOR OUR INFORMATION) TINGOG brings you a new and innovative solution to the issue of problems in information dissemination through the FOI. 10) STEM (STUDENTS ECOLOGICAL MOVEMENT) STEM is an environmental advocacy program that promotes awareness and concern for pressing issues. 11) IDiscount IDiscount automatically makes your school ID into a discount card for selected establishments.

What is the basis for your party to choose its political slate for the upcoming elections?

Nicole Ann Ponce, President

We scout for prospective candidates who’ve shown skills required in leadership: scholastic aptitude, notable community and/or in-school involvement, outstanding or promising leadership track- record, good moral character, creativity and innovation, among others. They then go through a stringent interview, screening, selection, and training process that involves other bona fide members of the party, with the guidance and mentorship of our party elders and distinguished alumni.

How do you involve your members in the creation of the slate? The process is very democratic; everyone can speak up during deliberations. The core group of TINGOG Carolinian, elected the school year before by members (students and alumni alike), is responsible for the final selection of the candidates for the yearly slate.

Aside from organizing events and seminars, what else can your party do for the student body? TINGOG enjoys a track record of always going that extra mile; we always initiate projects even outside the student council. Also, students can be assured of excellent representation, of having leaders they can trust and count on to ably promote and defend their interests and fight for them when need be.

What do you think is the most important issue to be addressed by the SSC in the university? Issues evolve. An election of an SSC officer and the party he/she represents is proof of the Carolinians’ support of his/her party’s platform, of their specific programs of action. It is therefore incumbent upon each and every SSC officer and the student council as a whole to realize the platforms promised during the campaign. However, this presupposed that a TINGOG –led council is ready with creative solutions, innovations, and the zeal to arrive at the most effective, efficient, and/or equitable resolution for the unique challenges (or divisive issues, as the case may be) that lay ahead (i.e. the issue of info dissemination which we are to address with our F.O.I. program included in our bannered platforms).

Arianne Paralisan, Vice President

How will your party enforce accountability to its councilors (if ever they win)? Through proper task delegation and transparency. Assigning tasks and knowing who is responsible for its fulfillment is the first step to accountability.

45 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

ELECTION

Khen Aquino

Danica Bellalor

Eugene Labella

John Carlo Alio

Lex Cutamora

Judy Ortega

Cassandra Rodriguez

Jolu Escaño

Andre Lyn Bacus

James Rosales

Melissa de la Cruz

Laurence Diao

Neil Rubia

Jay Dungog

Niveno Ocdinaria

Mikkel Yang

Shedwin Escobido

Darla Maluya

Marianne Natu-el

Keicylhyn Bondoc

Anton Aldeguer

Transparency also plays a key role because it is vital in making one responsible for his actions; being elected as an officer entails being in a position of trust and confidence and an SSC officer should therefore be transparent with his dealings and actions in the spirit of good governance. TINGOG is a human organization and we admit that despite the stringent process we employ in selecting the best of the best, some extraneous variables, exigent circumstances, may get in the way of an officer fulfilling their function to the best of their ability. This does not go unnoticed as TINGOG is always the first to police our own ranks.

How will your party work together with other parties after the election? TINGOG believes in the Students First Policy; the moment a student leader is elected to be a part of the SSC, his/her responsibility should be primarily to serve the students. “My loyalty to my party ends when my service and loyalty to the students begin.” In order to work together we need to remember that despite our differences, in the end, we are all Carolinians.

46 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

Your message to your fellow students TINGOG worked to deliver all the programs we bannered last elections through the trust you, the students, gave us, and this despite not having a TINGOG president. This speaks volumes about TINGOG’s commitment to give the Carolinians what is due them—to always live up to the promises we’ve made. Rest assured, more is in store in the coming year. Ikaw ang TINGOG sa Carolinians, kitang tanan ang TINGOG sa Carolinians. On March 6, election day: Make TINGOG your VOICE, Make TINGOG your CHOICE!

EDITORIAL

FROM THE DESK OF THE EIC

ON THE ISSUE OF THE TC INCREASE Last year, TC received both ends of criticisms and praises on its move to increase the collection of Today’s Carolinian Fee from Php 12.50 to Php 25.00, and finally settled to Php 22.75. Unlike the alleged arbitrary increase of the tuition and other fees in the university, TC’s increase is deemed imperative and responsive to the needs of times. In this note, allow us to explain the increase with the hope of setting laying this issue into rest. Let us be frank about it, TC continuously receives complaints from Carolinians because much of the population are not able to receive a copy of the publication’s release since its rebirth. With each copy of the magazine costing Php 40-80 per magazine on the average, this has curtailed the TC’s ability to expand its scope of readership. This pushed us to produce at the maximum of 7,000 copies for the entire USC population. Admittedly, this is way below the majority of an estimated 18,000 strong Carolinian community. More than that, TC has been surveying other student publications across different universities in the Philippines only to find out that TC has been collecting a much lower student publication fee. To make the picture clearer, University of the Philippines – Diliman collects a publication fee of Php 72.00 and our nearby university, University of San Jose-Recolletos pegged the student publication fee at Php 45.00. In the light of increasing costs of publishing due to inflation and to increase the readership of the publication through hardcopy releases, TC sent a letter to the Vice-President for

Finance Fr. Generoso Rebayla requesting for an increase in the collection of the Today’s Carolinian Fee from Php 12.50 to Php 25.00 last 04 November 2013. This is not just an initiative of TC. Fr. Eleno Bucia, Vice-President for Administration has also expressed to the Editorial Board through the Associate Editor the need to increase our budget. With the apparent backing of the Administration, TC opted to ask for an increase. However, we did a terrible faux pas: the absence of student consultation. Realizing this mistake, the Editorial Board has exerted all efforts to retract the request and rectify its request for increase. The Managing Editor of TC, Ms. Jenny Shim immediately made this move of issuing a public statement through our online platform in Facebook. Notwithstanding the battery of criticism, the issue stands: the concern on increasing costs of publication and lack in the scope of readership. We have found recourse to the 2001 Supreme Student Council Constitution and By-Laws in order to justify our increase. Article XII, Section 6 of the SSC Constitution states: There shall be extracted from every student an amount of which sixtyfive percent (65%) shall be allocated to the Student Publication, Today’s Carolinian, and the remaining thirtyfive percent (35%) shall be allocated to the USC SSC. The amount to be extracted from the students shall be thirty five pesos (P35). It is then we realized that TC has been collecting publication fees way below what has been specified in the SSC

Constitution. As a duly-ratified charter, the SSC Constitution allocates Php 22.75 as the student publication fee. If we are keen about this, Php 22.75 (TC fee) and Php 12.25 (SSC fee) is equal to Php 35.00, the exact amount as stipulated in the Constitution. The SSC Constitution, as a duly-ratified charter, has undergone the rigors of student consultation and the issue on the publication fee is a component of such document who undergone such consultation. It is in this reason that the issue on the student consultation on this recent increase is answered. As a note, and let this be known, that in the case that TC wishes to increase its publication fee, there needs to be an amendment in the Constitution of the SSC. This means that the increase in the publication fee goes together with the increase in the SSC fee, if the 65-35 provision on the division of the extracted fee is not changed. We in TC continue to commit to be the harbinger of the voice of the students through the power of the pen. As the university remains the melting pot of issues that reflect the realities outside its hallowed halls, we remain faithful to our mandate: to inform, influence, entertain, and serve the public – you dear reader. The protection of the welfare of the Carolinian community remains to be our utmost duty and we reiterate our commitment to quality and timely public service. In conclusion, the publication strives to represent the spirit of the Carolinians; the spirit of excellence and love for the motherland. TC

47 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

OPINION

It’s not what you think,

I’m still me. Kathleen Belleza

You love your country, yes? You strongly believe in exhibiting pride and nationalism for the rest of the world to see. The Philippines is truly worth dying for, you’d say. You’d fight for it when it’s in trouble but then you get hungry, you’d order a Big Mac, get on your phone, take a selfie and caption it with something like “Love ko ‘to.” But do you really? Here’s the hard fact: They got good advertising and nice try, but your decisions contradict you. Generally, our social consciousness and maturity are shaped by the major influences of our time. Our generation stinks of Western influences. You, dear reader could even smell the stench upon reading these words. These influences are eating up our culture with us actually consuming more of them than less of our own. Honestly, today we’d prefer books, movies and television shows that aren’t locally produced. Why is that? We get so accustomed to what happens there that we alienate ourselves with what truly is Filipino. There also isn’t much support for all locally produced products, art and culture. What does this say about us? Where is the Filipino identity then? Way back in the early developmental stages of the country, the Spanish, American and the Japanese had already colonized the Philippines. We were too young to make a name for ourselves. The Filipino identity was never put in stone. Which is why, we are the lost and confused people. In one simple analogy, you’d have taken an individual and strip him off of all his Western influences, and he’d know not of his culture — that is us. Even in the advent of vast globalization and technological advancements, the world has become smaller, smaller in the case of unity in diversity. This phenomenon is in line with

48 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

the divide-and-conquer strategy but with a relatively modern twist, still exploiting and wreaking havoc to us more than we’ll ever know. It’s like being under this umbrella of modern imperialism, cultural imperialism. It is said to be the highest form of capitalism. Do you realize how sick that is? The theory of imperialism applies itself to other fields such as international relations, education, sciences, history, lifestyle, food, literature, sports and all our daily decisions. The innovations in technology have linked us to people around the world. It is one of the main reasons why we, the Filipino Millennials, the self-absorbed Westernized kids, are frowned upon by our parents. Time has made us the generation constantly connected and plugged in through the internet and less active in the Filipino community. Do we still bless the hands of our elders? I’ll leave that to you. Okay, so we’re almost always online. What good can the social media offer to us? We’re more prone to be fed with information as soon as it breaks all throughout the web. This is why we were heavily immersed during last year’s most heated events – such as the pork barrel scam and the typhoon Yolanda. We have now grown old enough to recognize the government’s faults and in fact very well entitled to air out our opinions. We are more capable of acting and serving the country. Our more independent attributes give us a say in worldly events. These events were like a defibrillator straight to the chest; a wakeup call to all Filipinos. The effects of globalization should be horrifying us more as a people in a third world country. Being in a government dependent of the US, the current crisis of imperialism is further deepened and aggravated. Even our educational core is revised and now tailored to

the ideals of the Western educational system. What then have we left that is authentically Filipino? We’re suffering even in our study conditions, the rising cost of education and the content of education. Have we a bright future ahead of us after we finish the courses we have chosen? Those who control the educational system, the mass media and other institutions seek to alienate these issues and feed us with showbiz that even then suppresses and deteriorates our Filipino values. These influences no matter how pleasing they may be to our personal and comfortable lives are without a doubt not helping the situation of the country. It affects our mentality, the economy and billions of people who aren’t enjoying the luxury we have. Throughout human history, people have been exchanging cultural experiences, ideas, values, and goods through art, trade and migrations. But today, the influences have stuck and have caused the majority of us to forget one’s roots in the expense of becoming a depressing imitation. So tell me, who are you and what have you done with yourself? I’m not proposing the idea of totally eradicating ties with foreign countries; I’m simply putting out the idea that excessively glorifying their culture and forcing ourselves into it is wrong. Save yourself the dignity and think about what you can do, what we can all do because we need to put an end to this. So dear reader, we are the Millennials. We are the youth and we are the most capable in creating a shift in our time than anybody else. Make good decisions. You can love your country and who you are, exhibit pride and nationalism but do it right. With all that being said, Big Mac, anyone? TC

OPINION

GUGMA isBIDLI Gab Arcenas

Illustration by Van Kevin Opura

It’s everywhere you go. Couples holding hands. Some cuddling in public areas. Others laughing at jokes only they can understand. Sometimes they ask us, their single friends, to go along with them because “We don’t want you to be alone and we like your company” which totally just translates to “we feel sorry for you being alone.”

49 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

OPINION

Everyday we see a good number of these people who enjoy parading around and showing people that they are holding hands, making out, or doing the almost-kissing-but-notkissing thing - oblivious to all the looks of disgust and disapproval around them. As the friend of some of these couples, all we do is smile and look away, biting our tongues in order to not hurt their feelings. At times when we do speak up on how offputting they look, we’d be told “You’re still single, you don’t understand yet”. Really? How dense do you think we are? Just because we don’t have another person around our arm does not mean we can’t feel or can’t have felt love. While you both are inside the illusion of being in love, we see past that. Yeah, we may become one of you when we do fall in love and there will definitely be those people, who will remind us of how disgusting we will get also. So please, do listen to us when we say you’re embarrassing yourselves by going overboard with the whole idea of “being in love” It is one of those phrases that is heard anywhere, at any time of the day, any day of the week. It is the words majority of us single-by-choice people dread hearing when we’re with our couple friends, or hope to hear someday when we’ve found that someone who’ll bring us into the world of annoying, sugary words that our friends will also hate hearing us say. “I am in love,” “I love you” or, at its most simple “Love”. With the passing of Valentine’s Day, many of us suffered the sorrows – the areas be covered in red and pink hues, cut-out paper hearts, and those little fat babies shooting arrows. We saw couples rushing here and there just to do something unique for their

50 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

special someone and we wonder to ourselves “why go through all that trouble just for one person who, at this age, may not even be your, what they say, eternity?” Is it because there are some things our heart goes through that our brain has difficulty understanding? Like how when we see our crush, we suddenly have a spring in our step, or how when that good looking someone from across the hall suddenly catches our eye and we suddenly start smiling like it’s no one’s business, or how when that person who might be interested in us because they give us more attention than the rest suddenly sends us a message simply asking “what’s up?” and our day is suddenly much brighter despite the dark clouds and heavy rains. Let us hope we will find the answer before we all become slaves to what is supposed to be “the greatest feeling on earth.” All we do know is that we experience these feelings and just wonder why our heads can’t understand. Many people say love is a gift. Then why, oh why do we hear the same people who say love is a gift complain about finding love, on how it takes forever, or that they will never find love? The answer to that is simple. It is because we keep complaining that we will never find love. Of course we will never find it. It finds us. You said it yourselves: “Love is a gift”. Gifts aren’t looked for, neither are they worth getting depressed over. We patiently wait for it to come to us, or as gifts are given, we wait for it to be given to us. What do we do while waiting for something? We must be patient and look for something else to distract our attention from the time it will take until it is our turn. So instead of

searching the ends of the Earth for something that is given at the right time, why don’t we distract ourselves with something that also makes us happy— like a favourite food, or a movie, or a game with our friends. Or if we’re so desperate to find love, why don’t we simply look at our family and friends? It may not be that kind of love but it still is love. Our parents: the people who brought us into this world, the people who raised us and worked hard to provide for us, the people who were our first friends. Our friends: the people who we see every day, the people we go out with to have fun, also, the people who are there to cheer us up by simply reminding us that we are not alone. The definition of Love may have been tweaked and given such a strict meaning over the years we may tend to forget that Love does not only apply to who we think we will spend the rest of our lives with. Love is found in all people who make us smile, laugh, and cry. It may not be the love many of us are so desperately searching for but it is the kind of love that will keep pushing us forward and giving us comfort. It can be our distraction. While waiting for whatever we wish to happen to us, we can distract ourselves with the people who force their way into our lives and take up residence there, making sure we have travel buddies as we journey through time and through life. Some may not stay forever – they may leave once their purpose in our lives is done. But hey, it definitely is something worth celebrating. It is something that can keep us happy. And most importantly, we must remember that it is something that can make us feel loved. TC

OPINION

Is Unionism a thing of the past? Brendon Chua

Most Carolinians know that the College Faculty Independent Union (CFIU) sought to create a union independent from the College Faculty Association (CFA). For some years, the members of the CFIU struggled to gain support from their fellow faculty members of the university. It lost however by a slim margin to those who believe that Carolinian academics should not become members of a union. As a student, I felt sad with the defeat of the proposal to unionize the faculty. The idea of creating such a juridical person that could defend the rights of laborers is “essentially” noble and not without basis whether in civil (human-positive) law or Catholic Social Teachings. The Bill of Rights of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the “formation of a union” is an inviolable right. Catholic Social Teaching has reiterated time and again the need to defend the rights of laborers; from Quadragesimo Anno to Laborem Exercens. The Church

through the Popes has been very clear in its emphasis of “labor unions” as a necessary mechanism to protect and advance the dignity of the workers. No less than the US Bishops in its Pastoral Letter, Economic Justice for All (no. 104) said that “it fully supports the right of workers to form unions and associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions.” Any Catholic institution who claims to be a true witness to God’s word revealed in scripture should be the very first one to understand the meaning of solidarity and justice, as well as the dehumanizing effects of uneven power relations. More so this institution must be the very agent of promoting justice first and foremost within its system. I further propose that we explore the philosophical value of unionism. Unlike those who argue based on issues of “necessity, beneficiality and practicability”

51 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

OPINION

- - I would like us to begin with some realities that may provide the litmus of any argument’s soundness. Thus we need to bear in mind that: There is a power deficit between the institution and its workers. By itself the institution is strong; by himself the worker is weak and limited in resources. There is a margin of vulnerability on the part of the worker. Institutions don’t have feelings. To this date nothing has been changed with the above realities. Workers are workers no matter what. When they get fired they may go depressed. On the other hand when a school loses in a labor suit, it may be financially hurt – but no personhood is damaged. Between the worker and the institution, the latter can pool all its strings. It has a legal counsel of its own and it has connections to ask for help. An average teacher still has to ask for help or even go on loan just so that his case would survive the tests of the law. While I am not denying the facts that employers do take care of their employees, but the care which has been given cannot be used as a license, by any employer, to deprive the workers’ of their basic rights. When we debate over the need or appropriateness of something, we begin with principles and not with cases. We do not test principles with cases, rather we test cases and settle them based on principles. Even ordinary or general logic would tell us that the particular cannot be the standard to determine the validity of the universal. As a matter of principle therefore, a labor union is needed as a protection for small laborers who cannot stand on their own. It is the agency that can facilitate and channel the concerns of workers who may not have the chance to speak directly to their boss. The union-busters counter-claim by saying that there have been so much of pro-faculty incentives in the university. They even go as far as accusing those who favor the CFIU as “ungrateful” and “short-sighted.” Without hesitation they would love to repeat how much damage unionism has inflicted on a defunct university they once owned. What these busters do not admit however is the very truth that not all faculty members in the university have received equitable incentives, sufficient enough to address problems of faculty-bickering unhealthy competition. They

52 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

prefer to be blind to the fact that there is so much of “undignified labor” when professors who finished Master’s Degrees are made to beg for a 3-unit load during summer. The anti-union propagandists also equate the woes of unionism to the people behind its creation. When mud-slinging of sorts enter the debate arena, seriousness in dialogue is lost and there is no point talking about principles with administrators who lack earnestness. The greater scandal however is when “lay administrators” and “lay faculty members” themselves attack their fellow workers in exchange for received favors or benefits that are expected to come in the future. These people are not aware that the best way to defeat a “cause” is to divide and “rule.” When workers allow themselves to be divided by personal interests in the name of “true witnessing” and “genuine loyalty” – these “antiunion workers” blindly close their eyes to the fact that one day they too may become victims of their own politicking. One day, they too will appreciate the union when they’d suffer due to unjust practices and undue influencing within the system. “Workers should unite” says one revolutionary philosopher because they have nothing to lose except their chains. Of course, supporting the union does not necessarily men supporting the destruction of the university. I am not suggesting that “They bite the hands that feeds them” as one die-hard anti-union once accused the advocates of unions. What CFIU is fighting for is a leveled playing field: a leveled playing field between the administration and the lay employees and an equally leveled playing field between rank-and-file lay employees and lay administrators. No genuine dialogue is possible if the rules of the discussion are, before any dialogue could happen, favorable to the ruling camp. Closer to our final note, it is so sad to see “lay administrators” who out of lust for promotion and “insecure careerism” deliberately climb up the ladder in order of promotion at the expense of the tenure and even reputation of their fellow workers. A few of us must have heard of a teacher who now occupies one of the university’s top posts – who actually “was” a union supporter. She was there all the way when the union started but when offered that “shining and promising post” – all strings of rationalizations were pulled in order

to justify the sudden twist or “turncoatism” in her decision. “The idealist of yesterday is the conformist of today” - - this young faculty and mid-level administrator has now become the high-priestess of the university’s union-busting scheme. She appears to be progressive but deep in her dermis are fluids of opportunism and self-preservation. And of course we cannot miss out a certain “iron-lady” in one of the “departments on the hills.” She can quote scripture as intelligently as the tempter of the Lord. Like an inquisitor she wiped out her opponents in the name of quality education. The problem that I see with some Catholic schools is that they are afraid to, at the very least, to admit that there are injustices within its own system. Unless administrators admit that there are subtle forms of oppression within the hallowed halls of the university then there will never come a time that the union would be appreciated. These injustices should be combated by arming employees with rights; it is unionism that summarizes these rights. No less than the great Pope John Paul II said of this in Laborem Exercens (no. 20): All these rights, together with the need for the workers themselves to secure them, give rise to yet another right: the right of association, that is to form associations for the purpose of defending the vital interests of those employed in the various professions. These associations are called labour or trade unions. The vital interests of the workers are to a certain extent common for all of them; at the same time however each type of work, each profession, has its own specific character which should find a particular reflection in these organizations. I am convinced that the need for a solid organization like a “labor union” can only be appreciated if the people are truly sensitive and sensitized to the fact that some people are suffering in silence. The problem with people in the academe is that because many of them are intelligent they tend to rationalize even their sufferings. I wish and hope to see that one day my teachers would teach me not just how to solve for the country’s GNP and GDP but also fight for a more just and equitable system that promotes an ideal where people work from each according to their ability and to each according to their needs. TC

NEWS FEATURE

PORK BARREL YOUTH SECTOR Blanche Blanch

The Janet-Lim Napoles Pork Barrel Scandal evoked fury from the public and “awakened” us from our apparently ignorant slumber about this decades old extensive empire of fraud and thievery which we call Pork Barrel. Flashy headlines generated by the series of disclosures from whistle-blower Benhur Luy, a former employee of Napoles’ ghost company, and the six-part exposé of Philippine Daily Inquirer about the scam shed unprecedented light on the Pork Barrel system.

53 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS FEATURE

The term Pork barrel dates its origins back to the Pre-Civil War America. Slaves were literally given a barrel of pork meat which they scramble for amongst themselves. When the Americans came to colonize the country, they brought the pork barrel system along with them as a “divide and conquer” strategy to make domination easier. Put in the context of our present political system, it still functions as intended – to let politicians, who are slaves to their greed, compete amongst each other for money that is “up for grabs”. Fast forward to the present where the pork barrel has evolved into what is legally known as “discretionary funds’ which is stated so in Article VI Section 25 of the Philippine Constitution. The discretionary fund is a lump-sum allocation in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) which the President and the Executive department he leads can virtually allot for any project or agency which does not undergo strict oversight and public scrutiny and does not need not be included in the fiscal budget. Its flexibility and discreetness make it vulnerable to corruption and political maneuvering. There are many types of discretionary funds aside from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) which has generated much controversy lately. The President has

54 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

his Presidential Pork which, according to Kabataan Partylist, ranges from around 1.3 to 1.5 trillion. The Presidential Pork is more than half of the entire national budget of around 2 trillion for the next fiscal year. It is much bigger than the 10 billion that was swindled to bogus NGOs in the PDAF Scam. The Presidential Pork is mainly composed of the Special Purpose Fund (SPF) worth 310 billion, Unprogrammed Funds worth 139 billion, Automatic Appropriations worth 796 billion, questionable in-budget line funds for intelligence and confidential expenses worth P1.4 billion, Conditional Cash Transfer Funds worth P62.6 billion and funding for Bottom-Up Budgeting worth P20 billion. Special Purpose Funds (SPF) is “appropriations provided to cover specific expenditures for specific purposes for which recipient agencies or departments have not yet been identified during budget preparation.” In other words, SPFs are intended for almost anything that was not originally included in the yearly national budget. The Calamity Fund, Pension and Gratuity Fund and Feasibility Studies Fund are examples of SPFs. Unprogrammed Funds are funds collected from extra revenues within the fiscal year which can be given to legislators to fund their respective “urgent” priority

projects and programs. It is a somewhat like a combination of the PDAF and realigned savings. The Disbursement Acceleration Fund (DAP) is an example of Unprogrammed Funds. Some of its purposes include budgetary support to Government Owned and/or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs like the Social Security System or SSS), support to Foreign-Assisted Projects and Debt Management Program. It is approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), saying that it is necessary because it takes quite a long time to prepare the national budget. However, The Supreme Court has ordered the Palace and the Senate to explain the legality of the DAP but they did not suspend the release of the funds. Questionable in-budget funds are items included in the yearly budget but are not subject to public scrutiny. These include the Intelligence Fund and Confidential Fund. These funds are used for government surveillance and intelligence gathering activities, in which the approval for release of funds and details of utilization are solely and directly supervised by the President himself. Conditional Cash Transfer Funds, popularly known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, is intended for short-term poverty alleviation and is overseen by the Department of Social Welfare

NEWS FEATURE

and Development (DSWD)CCTF are cash grants given directly to poor beneficiaries from rural areas. The cash allotted for the CCTF is around PHP 15000 per family. Cash is directly handed out to beneficiaries if they meet the conditions specified in the program. The families, though, who were given money, are required to pay back what they received within a given span of time. It is susceptible to being used as a means for the president to deceive since the targeting for beneficiaries is determined mainly by the DSWD along with inputs from other presidential commissions like the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor. A new approach in budget planning initiated this 2013 is called the Bottom-Up Budgeting. Itaims to increase grassroots participation. Instead of the traditional top-bottom style of budget planning where those in the higher ranks in the government determine which items should be included in the budget, those at the grassroots level, such as the municipalities and rural cooperatives, will help determine which items should be funded. Civil society organizations (CSOs) are given more chances to be involved in the national budget planning through sessions and forums through which they can present their stand on why their sector should be given more funds and the like. Mary Jane Homena,

project coordinator of the Western Visayas Network of Social Development NGOs (WevNET) noted that there are constraints in this new approach. For example, probable chaos amongst the CSOs, with the more organized CSOs getting the most likelihood of full participation. In addition to all these shadowy funds, there is also an Off Budget Accounts (OBA). The United States Agency (USAID) defines OBAs as “accounts and funds that are not subject to annual appropriations that are accounted for separately under a different set of books.” (2009). Although the OBAs only represent less than 5% of the national budget, these accounts are “highly vulnerable to improper, if not illegal, acts on account of the generally non-transparent nature of their operations “as USAID remarked. Furthermore, the procedures in releasing OBA funds are very inconspicuous as it takes, at most, only 2 officials to sign it for disbursement. Although there have been efforts to merge funds to maintain the integrity of OBAs, they continue to proliferate. There have been about 367 OBAs identified as of December 2007. Despite of the enormous amounts of money which revolve and ‘stay’ at the high echelons of the government, the disclosures,

exposes and protests against bureaucratic capitalism, the government just keeps on telling people that “there are no sufficient funds”. Although the education sector has the highest budget allocation, it is still detestable to know that the money, which could have been spent to fund schools in the country which badly need 10,549 new classrooms, 1.22 million desks, 67.03 million textbooks, and 12,131 additional teachers, only goes straight to the pockets of rich officials. It is the tax money which millions of ordinary Filipinos work hard for. It should have been spent on services that benefit us – it IS our money. It is not surprising to know why a lot of students drop out of school because of the ever-increasing tuition fees in schools and universities whose educational system is getting more and more commercialized. Most young people have no choice but to take vocational courses which only benefit corporations as more people are conditioned to become workers. Even worse, the increasing figure of dropouts and college students who can’t immediately find work after graduation add to the 2.6 million unemployed Filipinos. More unemployed people equate to more problems which would lead to an infinite chain of problems linked with one another. TC

55 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS FEATURE

What Land Reform? Bea Lacson

Illustration by Zachary Borromeo

When the words “Haceinda Luisita” are uttered, thoughts of controversy flood our minds. Almost all Filipinos know that as pretty-sounding Hacienda Luisita is, the story behind it is nothing but gruesome. Plenty of lives have been lost trying to bring forth what is right for the people whom Hacienda Luisita was meant for. Yet here we are today, 47 years later and a genuine land distribution project still has not occurred.

56 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS FEATURE

In 1882, when Philippine land was claimed by the Spaniards, the Spanish government awarded a large span of land to a company called Tabacalera. This company built a sugar mill within the Hacienda in 1927. By 1958, Tabacalera sold its land and the Sugar Mill to the Cojuangco Family. To earn the money needed for acquiring the Hacienda, Jose Cojuanco Sr. applied for a loan from GSIS and the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas. His loan was approved on the condition that by 1967, the land would be distributed back to its tenants and farmers. 1967 rolled in and none of the land was distributed. The Cojuangco’s main excuse at the time was that there were no tenants within Hacienda Luisita. The Marcos government managed to file a case against the Cojuangcos regarding this lapse. Five years later, the Manila Regional Trial Court ordered the Cojuangcos to sell Hacienda Luisita to the Ministry of Agrarian Reform so that the land could be given back to the farmers, but the Cojuangcos appealed against the court’s decision. Cory Aquino managed to become president in 1986 with the promise of just land distribution, but a year after her governance, there was still no action regarding the allocation of Hacienda Luisita. This infuriated the farmers. By January 1987, the frustrated students, professionals, workers, farmers, and rural poor dwellers went to Malacañang to demand their land, thus, ending in the tragic event that we all know today as the Mendiola Massacre. The police were armed with guns, water cannons, fire trucks, and tear gas. Thirteen farmers were killed and 51 were injured when the police free-fired at the protesters because they got too close to the picket fence. This, appallingly, was not the end of the carnage. The Cojuangco-Aquinos had the “Yellow Army,” their own private band of goons whose main mission was to scare the farmers into staying quiet and if it comes to worst, kill them when they fight against the system. In 1988, Cory Aquino outlined HR 4077 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER),

a movement where land distribution was prioritized. Aquino managed to find a loophole where the farmers were given stocks or shares as instead of the actual land of Hacienda Luisita. Farmers were coerced by the Yellow Army to agree to these conditions. The stockholding option was said to be fairer since if 4,916 hectares of agricultural land was divided among 6,296 farmers, each farmer would receive a measly .78 hectares. In 1989 when Luisita farmers were asked to vote between land and shares, more than 90 percent voted for the latter.

compromised and their lives endangered.

Also, CARPER states that private agricultural lands will only be distributed if the original CARP bill managed to distribute 90 percent of its mark. After more or less of the two decades of the existence of CARP, it has distributed 43 percent of its target goal. Under Carper, the farmers are given papers in place of titles. In these papers, it is declared that farmers must pay their landlords in order to be able to own their land in the future. If they are unable to come up with the funds asked of them, their papers are taken away.

In this day and age, farmers are being continually harassed by the Yellow Army. They are being taken out, one by one to prevent making a change for themselves. Several farmlands have been bulldozed by police and security, destroying new crops. Supposed land beneficiaries are treated like criminals and scum with the police surrounding them 24/7.

While the farmers labor their days away, they come up with a meager 9.50 Pesos of savings per week. This is how much the farmers have left after providing their families with their necessities, funding their crops and paying off their debts. The Cojuangcos made a cleverly twisted way of distributing land called the Tambiolo Land Reform. The Tambiolo system was a form of land distribution based on a raffle. There were no considerations whatsoever regarding the location of the residences of the farmers during the random allocation of land. A farmer would have to travel a distance of 20 kilometers just to reach the farmlands they have to till. He would have to use up to 1400 pesos a week provided he travelled daily to his farm. During the “land raffle,” police and SWAT teams are positioned all over in case any of the farmers object or react violently. Those who object to the Tambiolo System have their houses ransacked, their livelihoods

One too many times has the Luisita farmers been intimidated into situations pleasing to the Cojuangcos with not much left to show. The Cojuangcos have been avoiding just land reform by using the spurious Agrarian Reform Law, reducing the size of land distribution, refusing to respect collective ownership since Hacienda Luisita covers ten villages, filing cases against farm workers and supporters and assembling police and military forces to keep the farmers at bay.

Now, we have an actual Cojuangco governing the country. The President himself has shown his interests and has sided with the landowners from the very beginning of his term. Being a son of a landlord himself, he is unable to sympathize with the farmers and is only looking to preserve his best interests. Current laws support the landlords and unless there is change, our fellow countrymen who are at the bottom of the pyramid will forever stay there. Unless the power of change is given to the farmers, regardless of who is seated to govern the Philippines or what Land Reform Law has been passed, there will only be one end result to this: the farmers are not getting their land back. With true land reform, powers can be overturned. The farmers will get what is due to them and giving land back to the landowners or having the land bought off will be prohibited. The land will be passed on to the collective to be used for the greater good of the economy and local industries and businesses will be pushed forth. TC

57 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

PARTING PARTING SHOT SHOT

There is no construction without destruction. Destruction means criticism and repudiation; it means revolution. It involves reasoning things out, which is construction. Put destruction first, and in the process you have construction. Mao Zedong

Photograph by John Matthew Flores

TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

LIQUIDATION

Today’s CAROLINIAN Statement of Cash Flows For the Academic Year 2013-2014

Cash Balance, Beginning

P 14, 525. 90

Cash Receipts

Cash Received for USC, 1st Semester

P 231, 309.50

Other Cash Received Collections

P 3, 000.00

Total Cash Available for Use

P 248, 835.40

Cash Disbursements Advertising and Screening Fees

IDs, Lanyards and Press Shirts

P 2, 140.00 14, 710.00

Journalism Workshop 1, 350.00 Materials 1, 237.00

Publishing Fee

201, 250.00

Meeting Expenditures 2, 513.25 Transportation 320.00 Total Expenses P 223, 520.25 Cash Balance, September 2013

P 25, 315.15

PREPARED BY KEZIAH CYRA B. PAPAS Finance Officer Today’s Carolinian

59 TODAY’S CAROLINIAN | FEBRUARY 2014

The Progressive Student Publication of the University of San Carlos

OUR COMMITMENT. YOUR PAPER.