The Work Newsletter (Vol. 70 Issue No. 3)

theWORK THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY

MEMBER: COLLEGE EDITORS GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES

VOL. 70 ISSUE NO. 3 | FEB-MAY 2019 THEWORKTSU

DEVCOM: Development Aggression

Culture shock Duterte gets pleasure from the thrills of his toys, reeling in his own blood-spattered playground.

He skillfully maneuvers all the controls and buttons in every area of his trembling palms.

When all wacked and dog-tired, he begins to rinse with cleanser which neither purifies nor filters his hands but only flaunts his greatest filth—bogus development and progression.

SEE STORY /P.36

Graphics by Graphics byPauline PaulineGrace GraceManzano Manzano

CONCERNS OVER ADMISSION ISSUE

LIES, LIES, LIES NEWS /P.3

RIGHTEOUS REBELLION EDITORIAL /P.12

FEATURES /P.26

2 NEWS VPAA to faculty: Refrain collecting fees from students

By Lorddan U. Faller NO COLLECTION shall be done from any undertakings of the students inside the university, said Tarlac State University Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA).

Dr. Michaela Marvie Sagun prompted the faculty members to reproduce the midterm and final examination papers at the business center and to stop acquiring any amount of money from the students.

This policy is in line with one of the provisions of Republic Act No. 10931 known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. According to its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), it is unlawful for any person, state and local universities and colleges (SUCs

ZERO COLLECTION. The faculty members of the university were ordered by Dr. Michaela Sagun, VPAA, to refrain collecting any form of payment from the students. (Photo by Helen De Guzman)

and LUCs) to collect tuition and other fees from students who are qualified for the free higher education.

“Just in case na malaman

namin [na nangongolekta pa rin sila], we will not stop from taking actions against their violations.

It should be a warning for the faculty members. They should

Student journos pressed to promote accurate, balanced journalism

By Jerico T. Manalo THE FORMER director of the Office of Public Affairs and Information (OPAI) pushed the student journalists and communication students of Tarlac State University to promote accurate and balanced journalism.

During the Media Law and Ethics seminar on April 12, resource speaker Winifredo Luis said that being part of the media industry makes one’s life already at stake.

He also said that once they entered the media world, they will be exposed to the system, denoting it as a “giant monster.”

“We live dangerous lives, especially now that the cases of media killings in the Philippines

are continuously increasing. But as young journalist, you should be strong. Give me the strength to avoid the temptations, the pitfalls of the media practice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Luis, who also had background in law, discussed about libel, theft, harassment, and the Article 19 of the Civil Code of the Philippines in which, for him, is the basic rule for a media practitioner.

As he reiterated, the said article states that every person who is in the performance of his duty, function or vocation must always give his due, act in good faith, and respect one another.

“Makalimutan niyo na lahat, huwag lang ito (forget everything except this article),” he said.

A staffer from The Bureaucrat of the College of Public Administration and Governance,

Joseph Benedict Cinco, said that he realized that a journalist like him should do the right thing and should not be afraid of doing the right thing.

“It could also mean that journalist should stand firmly in accordance to his/her beliefs and should never succumb to those who will use him/her for their specific interests,” Cinco said.

“Let’s be honest, the topic is quite cliché yet we should not take it for granted just because it had been discussed to us all over and over,” he added.

The said seminar was held at Tarlac State University Alumni Center, Lucinda Extension Campus, and spearheaded by Dr. Gladie Natherine Cabanizas, head of the Student Publications Unit.

refrain collecting fees from the students,” Sagun said.

She also said that if they were to collect for the parent-council fee (PCF), it is the parents who should do the collection. However, the administration does not have any knowledge with regards to the collection of organization fees.

“Definitely, no collection talaga ‘yan. But for an org to survive, they should collect but at their own free will because as a member, you should be ready to pay dues. But we don’t encourage them to do so. Probably, they do that with a resolution,” she said.

Sagun added that it all depends on the organization, but she stressed that she will not sign any of their resolution for it is a violation to the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UNIFAST) law.

Following the said regulation, the Office of the President has released Memorandum Order No. 131 series of 2014, disallowing any form of collection of fees from the students, specifically during enrollment period, without the consent of the proper authorities of the university particularly the Offices of the Vice Presidents and the Office of the President.

This memo has already been reiterated through TSU memorandum circular No. 07, s. of 2018.

Sagun also clarified the issue why there were still collections for the photocopy of test papers last midterm exam.

“Nagkaroon kasi ng shortage do’n sa supply ng paper natin [sa business center] kaya sinabi namin na bahala na muna ‘yong mga teachers na mag-xerox.

However, as much as possible, let the students collect. Kung ano lang ‘yong actual cost of copy, ‘yon lang ang sisingilin, no more, no less,” Sagun said.

She emphasized, meanwhile, | to p.8 that violators of the

VOLUME 70 ISSUE NO. 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019 THEWORKTSU

Student concerns over admission issue still in limbo Management and Information System Office (MISO), the university can provide service to 15,997 students.

“Ngayon po, ang matatanggal po doon ay ‘yong mga ga-graduate lang po natin. Kaya po ‘yon lang ang kayang tanggapin po ng TSU, na more or less ay 4,500 something po,” Macaraeg added.

PUBLIC PLEA. The Tarlac Students’ Alliance for Education Rights and Welfare staged a protest action in front of the TSU Main Campus to call for the reconsideration of TSU-CAT applicants. (Photo by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig)

By Isaih Kyle C. Umipig and Andrea Nicole B. Sapnu AFTER THE demand for a dialogue was granted, the clamor of affected students urging the Tarlac State University (TSU) administration to reconsider applicants and to disclose individual raw test scores seems to just come in full circle. To this date, not qualified students remain unsure if they will be receiving the response that they desire as officials laid regulations and ethical considerations they follow.

It can be recalled that out of an approximate number of 12,000 applicants, only around 5,000 did qualify to enter TSU this upcoming academic year – following stricter policies on admission which has drawn outcries from those concerned.

Tarlac Students’ Alliance for Education Rights and Welfare (TSAERW) held a picket protest last May 23 at the university gates

while a petition paper was being filed to oblige the administration to answer the calls and complaints of the students. A dialogue between the two parties were held on May 24.

In the dialogue, various concerns from students and parents were raised such as special tests and the date of announcement of results. A parent asked clarifications about the second test.

Dr. Glenard Madriaga, Vice President for Administration and Finance, explained that the special test will only be given to those who have not yet taken the admission test.

“Yong anak ko po, ina-apply ko ng scholarship sa city hall.

Kung hindi kaagad lalabas ‘yong resulta ng pangalawang test, paano po ‘yong pag-aapply namin ng scholarship sa city hall? Baka mapasubo na kaming mag-enroll sa mga private [schools],” the parent asked.

Madriaga confirmed that the results will be released on the

second week of June. He further apologized that they cannot assure accommodation because of the law’s provisions.

“Pero ‘yon nga po, hindi po namin maipapangako ngayon ‘yong mga ganoong situation. Kung 7 lang ang nakuha sa test ng anak niyo, hindi na po ulit magte-test ‘yon,” he added.

“Meron po akong narinig sa inyo na bibigyan ninyo ng pagkakataon ang mga matataas ang grades tapos mababa ‘yong income ng mga magulang. Do’n po kami umaasa kung sakali, Sir,” the parent said.

Dr. Agnes Macaraeg, dean of the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS), furthered that the university is following the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Republic Act No. 10931, also known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017, which covers the quality standards on enrollment capacity. She stated that based from the data provided by the

On budget allocation The budget allocation from the Department of Budget and Management allows TSU to accept only around 5,000 new students this academic year.

However, Clifford Agcaoili of TSAERW asked why TSU did not receive a higher budget compared to others knowing that it has produced top-notch students in different licensure examinations.

“Hindi po ba dapat lahat ng students ay may karapatang magaral? Paano po naging accessible ang free education if lahat po or karamihan sa‘ming lahat, hindi makakapag-aral?” he added.

Macaraeg affirmed Agcaoili’s statement but she restated that students will be eligible to receive these benefits, provided they qualify under the admission and retention requirements of the SUCs and LUCs. “Kaya lahat ay may mga admission test to qualify students who will be admitted to the university,” she said.

Meanwhile, Jaypee Cabral, a representative from Rise for Education Alliance, raised other issues such as budget cuts for the upcoming academic year and the state’s initiatives to accommodate students who cannot afford to study in target schools or other higher education institutions. He further proposed a resolution to the university officials to address the concerns of the students and to do any means to accommodate them.

“Currently, nakatali tayo sa batas na hindi mo pwedeng i-accommodate lahat ‘yan kasi nga, hindi siya kaya ng resources ng university. Kaya gustuhin man nating tanggapin sa TSU, | to p.10

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NEWS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

800 families in Luisita threatened to face expulsion

By Andrea Nicole B. Sapnu THIRTEEN YEARS after the Hacienda Luisita Massacre, residents of Brgy. Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) still face yet another land dispute upon receiving a notice to vacate their premises within 60 days on February 20.

The notice claims that CAT corporation has full entitlement over the land encompassing subvillages of Obero, Zit, Lote and Camarin, including CAT High School and that the company can recover the ‘loaned property’ from the residents at any given time it requires.

Further, it was stated that the failure of the 800 families to evacuate the premises within the given timeframe allows the CAT company to demand monetary charges from the residents such as payment of moral damages, attorney’s fees and costs of suit.

Benjamin Francisco, 69, a Brgy. CAT resident of 45 years expressed his dismay upon learning the intent of the company to retrieve the said land.

“Masakit sa akin kasi bigla kaming pinapaalis, e ang tagal na naming nakatira rito. Lalo na’t kasama rin sa maaapektuhan ay ‘yong eskuwelahan. Ang Central ang masasabing mother barangay at ang pinakapuso ng Hacienda, at ito ang pinakamalapit na high school para sa lahat ng tagaHacienda,” Francisco expressed.

Chieftain Jake Torres explained that Brgy. CAT is supposedly distributed to the mill workers as per the 1957 Cojuangco-Tabacalera agreement.

The said agreement allows the Cojuangcos to take administration over CAT in the condition that land shall be distributed to the workers and tillers after 10 years.

While barangays

RETRIEVAL. Central Azucarera de Tarlac Corporation raised bars over the land of 800 families in Hacienda Luisita. (Photo from Inquirer.net)

Mapalacsiao, Asturias, Lourdes and Don Pepe Cojuangco Homes (DPJC) uphold documentation of the distribution of land, Torres cites that the agreement to distribute Brgy. CAT was only verbal, thus lacking insufficient proof to their claim.

Validity of notice Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Officer Pia Montalban asserted in a

barangay assembly on February 23 that the company does not uphold the right to evict the residents as the notice is only released by Gatchalian and Castro Law Office, the respective firm of CAT. “Ang notice ay ni-release lamang ng isang opisina ng mga abogado. Hindi po ito court order.

Ibig-sabihin, ang mga nakasaad dito ay hindi final. Hindi po | to p.8 ito dapat katakutan at

Marcos not a hero –DLSU historian

By Lander Victor G. Tejada PROFESSOR XIAO Chua, a historian from De La Salle University, asserted that the Marcos regime was not the golden age of the Philippines and Marcos should not have been buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani during his discourse with social studies students of the College of Education on May 3 at the Alumni Center.

Chua explained that discussing martial law weeks before the senatorial elections might be seen as inappropriate, but there is no better time to look back on history than before elections.

Chua, along with his friend and a fellow historian Professor Alvin Campomanes, reviewed significant events and factors that led to the proclamation of martial law. Both asserted that Ferdinand Marcos did not proclaim martial law to restore order and quell communist

Prof. Chua

groups in the country.

“Kung ‘yon ang rason, bakit naghintay pa siya ng maraming taon? Ang totoo, hinihintay niyang lumala ang sitwasyon para mas justified ang pagproklama niya ng martial law. Pero ‘yong gulong hinihintay niya, hindi dumating,” Chua said.

According to the records showed by Chua, the members of the New People’s Army (NPA)

bloated to thousands only after martial law was declared, implying that NPA was no real threat to the country.

He strengthened his position by revealing the diary of Marcos which shows that he had already constructed his plans to seize power before civil demonstrations and unrest.

Meanwhile, Campomanes reviewed various human rights violations during Martial Law and shared accounts of victims.

Chua and Campomanes disclaimed that they are campaigning for Otso Diretso, although Chua is clearly a ‘dilawan.’ They clarified that their intentions are to inform and to stop disinformation regarding the Marcos regime.

“May mga kakilala ako na matataas na tao at mga teacher na nagshe-share ng fake news sa Facebook, nakakahiya. Nagsheshare ng tungkol sa mga Tallano at Maharlika, na ipinagkatiwala raw ang Pilipinas sa mga Marcos. Ang tanong, nasaan ang

ebidensya?” Chua said.

Chua and Campomanes debunked claims that Philippine economy was at its best during Marcos regime. Moreover, Campomanes discussed Ninoy Aquino’s rise and the People Power.

“Ako na mismo ang magsasabi, ginusto talaga ni Ninoy maging presidente. Pero ‘yong mga hirap na dinanas niya, ‘yong pag-uwi niya kahit alam niyang papatayin siya, hindi ‘yon gagawin ng taong gusto lang maging president,” Campomanes said.

Chua said that we have to always remind the youth of our history. “’No’ng nabalitaan kong nailibing si Marcos sa Libingan ng mga Bayani, ang sabi ko sa sarili ko, ‘nabigo ako, nabigo tayong mga guro.’ Pero nang makita ko ‘yong mga nagpoprotesta sa pagkalibing ni Marcos, mga kabataan, hindi naman pala tayo nabigo,” he said.

NEWS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

POLL

TSUians oppose lowering age of criminal liability

CASS student wins first transgender pageant

“This is for the LGBT community; this is for everyone,” Doroteo said recalling the victory. “My message to my fellow TSUians is thank you so much, I’m so happy. Laban lang and keep the faith.”

The pageant, spearheaded by Supreme Student Council (SSC) and Gender and Development Office (GAD), intensified the support of TSUians to gender empowerment and promoted the acceptance of diverse gender identities in celebration of “Gender Equality and a start of a

Green Revolution.”

Dr. Galman of GAD noted how the event uplifted the plight and identities of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the university and made everyone converge in support for a common cause.

One of the event’s highlights was the question and answer portion where contestants who made it to the top seven were given the chance to voice out their advocacies with unique wit and ingenuity.

The Warriors, as the candidates were referred to, who also emerged as winners were College of Business and Accountancy’s (CBA) Edward Figueroa (Mx. Warrior Water), CASS’ John “Paris” Tanedo (Mx. Warrior Air), College of Architecture and Fine Arts’ (CAFA) Antonio “Toni” Gamboa III (Mx. Warrior Fire), College of Engineering and Technology’s (CET) Bernard Balgos (first runnerup); and College of Business and Accountancy’s (CBA) Karl Denver Saludez (second runner-up).

The conquering heroines are said to head and establish the first LGBT organization in the university.

children must be responsible of their own deeds, sharing a unanimous argument that crime rate will reduce should these juvenile delinquents are penalized with criminal responsibility.

Ranniel Boniol, a communication arts sophomore, cited that the measure was deterrent against adult criminals in syndicates to strategically make use of minors to do the crimes for them.

"Naglitawan na ‘yong mga tinatawag nilang ‘batang hamog.’

Kasi madali na mautusan mga bata e, lalo na kung bibigyan mong reward. Madalas din sila gamitin as a drug mule o runner," he expressed.

"Tsaka sa news [na

ipinapalabas] may mga 11 years old pa lang marunong na mangrape," he furthered.

Meanwhile, according to police reports, 11,321 crime incidents involving minors were recorded in 2018, which accounts for the 2.3 percent from the total crime rate of 473,068 nationwide.

UNICEF, an international organization which advocates for children and their rights, also issued their statement condemning the measure.

“Lowering the age of criminal responsibility is an act of violence against children.

Children who are exploited and driven by adults to commit crimes need to be protected, not further penalized.”

By Jejomar B. Contawe IN A conducted survey of The Work, the lowering of Minimum Age for Criminal Responsibility (MACR) was met with strong disapproval among students of Tarlac State University.

From a sum total of 100 respondents, 85 students expressed denunciation of the measure amending the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which lowered the minimum age for criminal accountability from 15 to 12 years old.

The measure originally proposed lowering the age limit to as low as nine (9) years old, but after law experts and advocates of children’s rights expressed their vehement opposition, the measure was immediately ratified to 12.

An AB English student, who refused to be identified, said the measure was anti-poor, and that the government must direct its focus on eliminating syndicates instead of the children they coerced to do crimes.

"The children who are prone to committing crimes are those who live in impoverished areas of the country where crimes are prevalent. In so saying, children from these places are more exposed to illegal activities," he said.

"Also, children are children.

They tend to make decisions that are not thought thoroughly because of their innocence, and we cannot make them accountable to that – it would only affect their mindset that they truly are criminals," the student added.

Alecx Canlas, a psychology major, also aired her thumbsdown perception of the proposed MACR. “Since we do study personality development, stating facts with regards to the age they are proposing is false, kasi ‘di pa fully developed ‘yong brain ng bata no’n and being labeled as criminals would not help sa further development ng brain.”

On the other hand, 15 students seconded the government’s insistence that

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VIBRANT COLORS. Mx. Warriors 2019 stand with pride after being crowned winners in the first university-wide pageant for transgender students. (Photo by Crystal Gayle O. Rosete)

By Crystal Gayle Rosete STRUTTING ACROSS the stage, Ivern Deil Doroteo of the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) stood out among 13 other environmental heroines from other colleges and became the first title-holder of the first ever gay-themed pageant dubbed as Mx. Warrior 2019 in Tarlac State University (TSU) held at the University Gymnasium, February 13.

85% of TSUians

expressed disapproval against lowering the min. age of criminal responsibility to

12

years old

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NEWS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

SI Campus opens first gender-neutral CR

By Andrea Nicole Sapnu and Caitlin Joyce Galanza IN LINE with the objective to provide gender sensitive spaces in the university, San Isidro Campus launched an all-gender comfort room in March.

This initiative of the College of Computer Studies (CCS) dean Dr. Marlon Gamido made Tarlac State University as the first educational institution

in the region to open a genderneutral public toilet.

According to Gamido, the all-gender CR was implemented to reduce the number of complaints regarding bullying and sexual harassment towards students, regardless of gender orientation and expression.

“There are two reasons that urged the implementation of this all-gender CR; first, students who classify as gay or transwomen are bullied in the

INCLUSION FOR ALL. Genderneutral comfort room located at the College of Computer Studies building is now offering comfort for all genders.

(Photo from TSU-OPAI)

comfort room for males. Second, a group of female students reported that they are being watched [by male students] while changing clothes. Our aim is to guarantee the safety of students of all genders,” the CCS dean explicated.

Gamido also disclosed that the CR was originally intended for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Since the college is not currently catering PWD students, the verdict was to convert the CR into a gender-neutral space to alleviate aforementioned concerns.

The announcement of the launching on the College of Computer Studies Student Council page has sparked positive reactions among the students.

“As part of what we call the LGBTQI community, I feel happy about this development and I hope others who are

like me feel the same sense of equality too. I believe lahat may karapatan na maranansan kahit ‘yong konting privacy man lang na nabibigay nung CR na ‘yun,” Vian Lanao said, a first-year student of CCS. However, a few students expressed that the comfort room was inaccessible due to the requirements one must comply before borrowing the CR keys, such as the presentation of student IDs. The office of the dean responded to this and explained that these are necessary measures to assure the safety of students as well as the safeguarding of the comfort room.

Moreover, Gender and Development Office director Dr. Rita Pulmano lauded the project and revealed that in the forthcoming buildings within the university, spaces for the marginalized and the vulnerable (women, LGBTQI students and PWDs) shall be allotted to uphold their goal in providing a non-toxic learning environment for every TSU student.

CEGP urges youth to be critical in current polsit

By Isaih Kyle C. Umipig IN PARTNERSHIP with The Work and the Supreme Student Council, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Central Luzon (CEGP-CL) pressed the youth to be critical in the present political situation through a forum on free education and their role in the elections, March 25.

The event includes a comprehensive talk on Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act, a voters’ education, and what the youth can do to attain social change. After the discussions, the delegates were given the chance to ask questions.

“Sa tulong ng voters’ education, naimulat ang aking

kaisipan na ang pagpili ng mga susunod na maglilingkod sa ating bayan [Through the help of this voters’ education, I was enlightened on choosing the right candidate who will serve the nation],” Adrian Tabag, attached official from the College of Education student council, said.

He further stated that the Filipinos play an important role in choosing the right person who will truly serve the best interest of the people.

“Gagamitin natin ang ating nagkakaisang lakas upang ipaabot ang kamalayan at upang magmulat tungkol sa tunay na ugat ng mga suliranin sa ating bansa [We will maximize our collective force to educate and arouse others about the true roots of problems in the country],” Tabag added.

After which, Daniel Kenji Muramatsu, a representation from Kabataan partylist, delivered

a speech to the attendees, urging them to respond to the challenges brought about by the current political situation and to prove that the youth is the hope of the nation.

Charls Miguel Mallari, a student leader from Striving Towards Empowerment and Progress (STEP), expressed that he came up with a realization that it is everyone’s duty to enhance their civic engagement.

“We must demonstrate the capacity of the youth to organize, communicate, exercise, influence, and to act as a positive force for

transformational change in the elections and for our country,” he added.

The event was held at the Tarlac State University amphitheater where around hundreds of students from different colleges attended.

CRITICAL POINT. Adrian Eliorico, Supreme Student Council president, discusses the Free Tertiary Education Act. (Photo by Isaih Kyle C.Umipig

NEWS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

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The Work newsletter prevails best in Luzon

By Jehiel R. Asio THE NEWSLETTER issue of The Work, the official student publication of Tarlac State University, has prevailed on top of over 90 student publications’ entries during the 18th Luzonwide Higher Education Press Conference (LHEPC), March 6-8.

The said issue bagged the first place in sports, feature and literary pages, second place in page design, news and development communication pages, and placed eighth in editorial and opinion pages.

Editor in Chief Pauline Grace Manzano said that the issue’s feat was praiseworthy because their entry last year was disqualified.

Manzano also said that it was already expected that the issue will receive numerous awards because it gets as well major rewards in the regional press competition and has also topped the 14 competing entries.

“Napaka-memorable nito dahil sobra namin siyang pinaghirapan, actually lahat ng entries namin, kahit na halos hindi na kami magpractice for individual categories, pinag-

pray ko na lang na sana after ng contest, maging fruitful ang buong The Work,” she added.

She also said that since it is already her last term, this year’s achievements of the publication are more than enough.

Meanwhile, Joseph Carlo Pineda, the layout editor of The Work, said that the effort the entire editorial board and staff have exerted to complete their issues resulted to a favorable outcome with the honor and awards they have received and the goals they have achieved this year—his third and last LHEPC participation.

“Grateful ako na ‘yong last year ng pagiging student journo ko ay sobrang successful, hindi lang dahil sa pagkapanalo namin sa mga press conferences, kundi dahil nakapaglingkod kami nang maayos sa mga kapwa estudyante namin,” he added.

The Work garnered a total of 22 group and eight individual category awards.

Moreover, the host region Central Luzon has regained its title as the overall champion in the event, securing it from the last year’s champion, Region 4A. The winners for the group and individual categories are as follows:

AWARDS IN GROUP CATEGORIES BEST NEWSLETTER

2ND BEST TABLOID

1st place, Features and Literary Pages 1st place, Sports Page 2nd place, Development Comm. Page 2nd place, News Page 2nd place, Page Design 8th place, Editorial and Opinion Pages

1st place, Features and Literary Pages 1st place, Page Design 2nd place, Development Comm. Page 2nd place, News Page 9th place, Sports Page 13th place, Editorial and Opinion Pages

6TH BEST MAGAZINE

10TH BEST LITERARY FOLIO

1st place, Development Comm. Page 5th place, Sports Page 6th place, Cover Design 8th place, Page Design 11th place, Features and Literary Pages

6th place, Visual Arts 7th place, Cover Design 10th place, Literary Content 10th place, Page Design 15th place, Literary Concept

AWARDS IN INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES Joseph Carlo M. Pineda 1st place, Page Designing and Layout 7th place, Copy Editing and Headline Writing - Filipino 4th Individual Highest Pointer Pauline Grace B. Manzano 1st place, Comic Strip Drawing - Filipino Nica Joy A. Calma 1st place, Photojournalism - Filipino

Isaih Kyle C. Umipig 3rd place, Development Communication Writing - English Kenneth Leo V. Pamlas 4th place, Editorial Cartooning - Filipino 9th place, Literary Graphics - Filipino Gabriel Jann S. Inocencio 8th place, Editorial Cartooning - English

TOP OF THE LINE. The Work’s delegates during the awarding ceremony of the 18th Luzonwide Higher Education Press Conference in San Fernando, Pampanga (Photo from The Work archive)

Delay on PE uniforms furthered up to 2nd sem

By Eugene Quiazon MORE THAN 2,000 students of the university still have no practicum uniform for Physical Education three months before the academic year ends, Business Center reported.

According to Business Affairs and Auxiliary Services Office (BAASO), production issues by the supplier blocked the on-time delivery of uniforms that furthered up to the early months of the second semester.

In a contract between supplier Zashen Fashions and of the university, a total of 8,000 set of uniforms shall be delivered not later than August 9, 2018.

However, due to challenges in importation the supplier cited in its explanation letter filled in response to its failure to follow the contract, the supposedly full delivery was then extended until November 14, 2018. This date was extended again, which now reached the second semester.

According to Dr. Regelyn R. Valencia, Unit Head of BAASO, the supplier said

they encountered difficulties passing the fabric from China through Philippine customs that pushed them to give another allowance in the granted extension.

She also said that they text and call the supplier almost every day for faster and higher number of deliveries per week.

The last delivery in the records was on April 4, 2019 with 234 sets.

Out of the 8,000 sets, there were only more than 5,000 deliveries as of the last transaction.

When contacted through a phone call during the interview between The Work and BAASO in midApril, the supplier said they will provide the remaining uniforms by the end of April.

BAASO also assured they background checked the supplier which is now facing due penalty for the delay of the deadline stipulated in the contract.

Valencia said it was the first time the university experienced a long delay in uniforms.

She also said that the supplier has no bad records but it will be blacklisted in the next bidding.

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NEWS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Campus pubs condemn attacks on Rappler

By Isaih Kyle C. Umipig THE WORK and other campus journalists of the university denounce the attacks on press freedom with Rappler CEO Maria Ressa being arrested for an indictment of digital cyber libel filed by the Department of Justice, February 14.

A 2012 article published months prior to the enactment of the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act was cited. Moreover, Rappler has already faced numerous

cases of media intimidation since its critical reporting of the current administration’s war on drugs including unjust, manipulated charges and heinous attacks against its editors and correspondents.

In a statement released

by The Work, this retroactive application of the law is a manifestation of Duterte’s contempt against critical journalism. The publication asserted that its malicious efforts to silence the press clearly reflect its fear of truthful and open UNDER THREAT. Rappler CEO Maria Ressa talks to the members of the media following her arrest over cyber libel charges in February.

(Photo from Rappler)

inquiry in exposing the atrocities of the administration.

“It was DaShanne Stokes who said that fascism thrives in obscurity. A government that intimidates the press is a government that jeopardizes the people’s right to the truth,” The Work correspondent Andrea Nicole Sapnu said.

Sapnu also urged the campus publications and alternative media to continue to uphold the freedom of the press and to continue to resist against the country’s looming tyrannical rule.

Meanwhile, in an interview, The Bureaucrat editor-in-chief Jerich Ralph Lobo said that journalists have the ability to become watchdogs of the country.

“The freedom of speech is a strong virtue journalists uphold. Therefore, an alleged due process-less attack to the press might be considered as a warning that authoritarianism still roams the social and political system,” he said.

800 families in Luisita threatened... from p.4 | wala dapat magselfdemolish,” Montalban affirmed.

According to the CHR representative, a court order is the only valid document that gives the final ruling regarding the dispute.

Montalban also informed the residents that land disputes fall under civil cases, which take 15 years of scrutiny before arriving to a jurisdiction, giving the local government and the residents ample time to prepare documents in support of asserting claims on their land.

Alleged self-demolitions Prior to the assembly, it has been rumored that residents already began self-demolishing in fear of the sanctions stated in the notice.

Torres denied this claim, as well as allegations of him giving settlers 20,000 pesos in cash to self-demolish.

He referred to these rumors as strategies propagated by the corporation to dwindle the morale of the residents.

“Hindi po totoo ‘yong mga sabi-sabi na namimigay daw ako

ng karampatang halaga kapalit ng pagde-demolish ng mga tao sa kanilang mga tirahan. Kinakalat lang ng kumpanya ‘to para subukin ang tatag namin bilang isang barangay,” the chieftain averred.

In addition, Montalban advised the residents to not selfdemolish and assert their rights to their land.

“Hindi dapat magself-demolish para mas malakas ang pwersa pagdating sa negosasyon. Mas pakikinggan kapag mas marami.

Mas kaunti, mas mahina at mas madali para sa kanila na kunin ang lupa,” Montalban reminded.

On proposed relocation sites Moreover, Torres mentioned that the company offered 60 sq. m. households for the residents to relocate in, situated within the boundary of Cut-Cut and DPCH. “Kawawa naman ang mga tao kasi masyadong maliit ang binigay na space,” the barangay captain remarked.

Torres added that the local government tried to voice this issue to CAT lawyer Atty. Addison

Castro, yet the Brgy. CAT officials and the administration are yet to come to a consensus.

The residents expressed different reactions toward the said relocation.

“Sobrang liit ng relocation site na inoffer sa amin. Kung sakaling bibigyan kami ng mas malaking paglilipatan, papayag ako,” Francisco said.

The 69 year-old resident admitted that other citizens are adamant to evacuate from their homes regardless of proposals to extend the space of relocation sites.

“Hindi ko rin masisisi ang mga tao. Pamilya nga namin 75 na taon nang naninirahan sa Central, paano pa kaya ang ibang mga residente na mas matagal pa na naninirahan dito?” Torres asserted.

Legal measures Montalban, along with the Commission on Human Rights assured that they will extend their utmost support to the residents of Brgy. Central in this dispute.

“Kahit may kakayahang

VPAA to faculty... policy will undergo investigation and the fine to be given will depend upon the gravity of the offense that may result to warning, reprimand and suspension.

“Hindi naman basta na lang [sila] parusahan, meron naman kasi tayong sinusundan na civil service ruling in terms of application of penalty for violation,” Sagun said.

She furthered that she would appreciate it if students would have the guts to report teachers and personnel who have violated the instruction.

“Kung natatakot kang magsumbong, you’re not helping the university, rather, hinahayaan mo ang faculty na ‘yan na ituloy ang ginagawa niya,” she said.

The vice president directed students to give a black and white written report of violators first to their respective college dean.

If no action is taken, the report shall be elevated to the academic affairs office.

from p.2 |

magmay-ari ng lupa ang mga mayayaman, hindi pwedeng basta- bastang tanggalan ng karapatan ang mga naninirahan sa isang buong pamayanan,” Montalban stated.

The CHR official also assured that the state shall not allow an eviction of a community without the intervention of the housing commissions that will provide residents safe and well-sanitized living premises.

On her end-note, Montalban urged the residents to remain insistent when the case is brought forth to court.

“Walang karapatan na ibinibigay nang kusa. Ang karapatang pantao ay iginigiit at tinitindigan,” Montalban carried out.

NEWS

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CSO reiterates concern over student violations

By Andrea S. Espinosa and Albritch Adam A. Labiano THE TARLAC State University Civil Security Office (CSO) reiterated its mandate on strict security measures concerning student violations, citing the procedures that

are implemented by involved authorities.

The latest memorandum on the Reiteration of Security Measures of the University, under the approval of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, Dr. Glenard T. Madriaga, was released in October 2018.

The memorandum seeks to strengthen the implementation of appropriate security measures covering all violations such as improper wearing of school uniforms, fraudulent use of IDs, and bringing of non-environmental friendly products like plastic products and styrofoams inside

RECOGNIZED. Jonas Zeth Abalos (left) and Isaih Kyle Umipig (center) brought pride to the university after winning in the 16th AUAP forum as representatives of the Philippines. (Photo from Ms. Jazzel Manalo)

COEd, CASS studes win in int'l learning forum

By Jejomar B. Contawe TWO STUDENTS of Tarlac State University from the College of Education (COEd) and College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) went home triumphant after representing the country in an international competition as part of the 16th Association of Universities in the Asia Pacific (AUAP) International Learning and Sharing Forum, February 5-8.

Anchored with the theme “Sustainability in Higher Education for AsiaPacific Region: Collaboration in a Complex Adaptive Environment,” the three-day conference was conducted in

coordination with Jose Rizal Memorial State University at Tai Hall, Dakak Park and Beach Resort, Taguilon, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.

Isaih Kyle Umipig, a graduating student from COEd and current associate editor of The Work, placed first in the Essay Writing Category whereas Jonas Zeth Abalos from CASS finished second in Extemporaneous Speaking.

When asked about the experience, Umipig could not contain his happiness.

“Sobrang fulfilling manalo but more than that, mas nakakatuwa na nairepresenta natin ang university at bansa at nagawa rin nating bitbitin ang panawagan natin tungo

sa pagpapaunlad pa lalo ng edukasyon, kultura, at ng lipunan.”

Umipig also confided that the forum provided keynote speeches from experts in the field of education, technology and artificial intelligence and had exemplified outstanding academic research outputs from academic professionals.

In a Facebook post, the facilitators of AUAP said how “this intellectual conference is packaged with cultural presentations, fellowship activities and linguistic exchanges among countries to establish rapport, networks and linkages all for sustainable development.”

the campus, among others.

It also emphasizes the need to implement the checking of bags as a preemptive security measure.

Anthony O. Mendoza, Administrative Aide to the CSO, highlights the mandate of their office to address violations in accordance to university policies, citing that these security measures are important in maintaining peace and order.

In line with the memorandum, the CSO, together with the Student Development Unit (SDU) and the Office of the Student Affairs (OSA) conducted a meeting last January, whereas the parties agreed to tighten the adherence with the said security measures and employ a chain of procedure to address student violations.

Upon recording the violations of students, the CSO endorses their report to respective colleges of the students involved in the violations, wherein the guidance offices are responsible in handling the narrative reports and recommendation of corrective action. The corresponding sanctions will then be decided upon by the colleges’ guidance offices and SDU. However, despite the efforts of the CSO to push for systematic peace and order inside the university, some incidents involving student complaints are still being observed.

Marcelino C. Gamis, operation chief of the CSO, explains the importance of the proper handling of complaints.

“Marami talagang mga estudyante ang nagchachallenge sa mga security guards at pupunuin ang pasensya nila. Pero ang lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila ay ang kahalagahan ng respeto. Dahil kapag nirespeto mo ang mga estudyante, makikita nila kung paano ka dapat nila igalang,” Gamis said.

He also encourages both security personnel and students to report their complaints to the CSO to immediately reconcile their problems regarding the implementation of the security measures.

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NEWS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Concerns over admission... from p.3 | mayroon tayong limitasyon doon sa resources na available na binibigay din ng gobyerno. Kung sama-sama tayo doon, (sa) palagay ko, lalakas ang boses ng paglaban sa Kongreso,” Macaraeg responded.

Madriaga also added that the pressing problem in having free education is the absence of significant increase especially in capital outlay and personal service.

“Much as we want to do something about it but there are those people up there who are in control of the system,” he said.

On test administration Agcaoili questioned the officials about the dissimilarity between the duration of the test administration of the previous batches and theirs. “Bakit hindi

niyo po kami binigyan ng sapat na oras para makapag-exam, para maayos at maganda ‘yong kalalabasan ng entrance exam namin?” he added.

Andie Quiballo, unit head of the Testing Evaluation and Monitoring Service, explained that during the previous years, a differential aptitude test was used which requires four hours to be completely answered.

Now, with the products of the K-12 curriculum, a 72-item standardized exam was used

by TSU to assess its applicants’ abilities which has a standard time of completion of 45 minutes.

“With regards naman doon sa score ninyo, kung ano ‘yong score na ipinakita namin, ‘yon ang standard na pagpepresent ng score.

Hindi siya actually ‘yong raw score na hinahanap ninyo,” Quiballo

stated. “Because those scores are transmuted, derived scores sila.

With regards sa pagde-derive ng scores niyo, from your raw score to the percentile rank, meron kaming system doon.”

Quiballo said that he is aware about the sentiments of those who were honor students in high school who were not qualified.

He explained that the admission test given was not an achievement test.

“Hindi siya ‘yong pinag-aralan ninyo sa senior high school. So ‘yong performance ninyo ay doon sa perfomance niyo sa exam, hindi siya based sa mga napag-aralan ninyo,” he said.

Despite Agcaoili’s demand to disclose how their final scores were computed, Quiballo affirmed that it is the students’ right to know the results of their exam but with regards to the system used to compute their percentile ranks, it cannot be disclosed for

5 TSU artists among PLDT nat’l arts competition finalists

LEGACY. Five fine arts students from Tarlac State University painted legacy after qualifying as finalists in the 33rd DPC-PLDT Visual Arts Competition. (Photo from Kenneth Leo Pamlas)

By Pamela Rose G. Reyes AMONG 30 participating entries from different state universities and colleges, five fine arts students from the College of Architecture and Fine Arts of Tarlac State University (TSU) qualified as finalists for this year’s 33rd DPC-PLDT Visual Arts Competition (VAC 33).

The partaking students were Kenneth Leo Pamlas

with his entry, “Kabahagi sa mga Pangarap na Minimithi”; Arvin Lazado’s “Pag-usbong ng Kalikasan Hatid ay Saya at Kasaganahan”; Aaron Cortez with his piece, “Tagumpay ko’y Tagumpay niyo rin”; “Pagbabalik Tanaw (Biliwin mo lumaba na Panaun)” by Mark Lander Garcia; and Mike Ashlee Abueme with “Pananatili.”

Despite not bagging the grand prizes, TSU representatives individually received P10,000 in cheque,

certificates and shirts.

“Dahil sa aming guro na si Judeo Herrera na napakasipag at walang sawang gumagabay sa amin, nung natapos ko ang aking piyesa, sobrang saya at nawala lahat ng aking pagod at ilang araw na walang gaanong tulog,” said first year finalist Cortez.

“Ito ang kauna-unahang napanalunan ko at dahil dito, mas pagbubutihan ko pa sa susunod na pagsali,” he added.

DPC together with PLDT have been launching their annual visual arts competition in collaboration with fine arts colleges in order to celebrate the talents and creativity of young artists across the borders of the country.

Head of VAC Secretariat Emily Abrera said that this year’s theme “Creating Legacy, Creating Future” dares the young Fine Arts students to envision the acquired legacy in this fast-paced world determined in a timeless generation.

The top winning students were announced on April 11 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Pasay City.

ethical consideration and security purposes.

Meanwhile, Dr. Grace Hasegawa said that they are aware that it is the students’ rights to know but what they can only provide are the raw scores in the paper and pencil test.

“We cannot give the paper and pencil test but we could give at least kung ilang check ‘yong nakuha mo kung nasa 15 percentile rank ka.

Siguro pwede naming ipangako ‘yon,” she added.

Call for reconsideration Towards the end of the dialogue, Daphne Salas, Kabataan Partylist coordinator, explained that they have heard the policies being implemented by TSU and that they are aware of the problems being faced due to the implementation of free education law.

“Totoong bagay po na hindi lang po ang TSU ang kumakaharap sa ganitong sitwasyon. Pero based po do’n po sa mga concern ng mga estudyante natin na not qualified, ang isa po sa mga gusto lang po naming i-address sana ay magkaroon po ng magandang resolusyon kung papaano po bibigyang konsiderasyon ‘yong 7,000 na not qualified na mga estudyante,” Salas added.

On one hand, Prof. Gherold Benitez, Student Development Service unit head, said that he was pleased that there are students who still find ways to attain education. He told the students that they are full of idealism.

“As I grow old, I learned to balance idealism and realism.

Education is a right but it also becomes a privilege as well. Bakit siya nagiging pribilehiyo na kung minsan? Kasi merong kaukulang responsibilidad na manggagaling sa binibigyan ng karapatan,” he stated.

Benitez finished his statement with his sentiments that everyone is a victim because no matter how determined they are to establish buildings and hire more teachers, they are being crushed by the government’s missteps.

After the dialogue, a protest rally was held to further press the TSU administration to immediately respond to the students’ plea and to denounce the statement that education is a privilege rather than a right as they perceive it as a blatant insult for the youth who should be benefitting from their rights to free education. [With reports from Joseph Carlo Pineda]

OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

| 11

STRAIGHT FROM THE

FOURTH ESTATE The Work strongly stands for impeding charter change drafted by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which is nothing but fake federalism with ‘selfserving provisions.’

In its third reading, the house approves draft federal charter with 224 voting for the bill, 22 objections, and three abstentions. This ChaCha is undeniably anti-Filipino, serving only the local and foreign ruling class composed of the feudal landlords, bourgeoisie compradors, and US-China imperialists. Simply, the approval of RBH 15 only shows the true intent of this regime to legalize and prolong its reign of terror in the country.

The lifting of term limits and the elimination of the political dynasty ban were again out for approval. This ChaCha will only allow dynasties to go on and abuse their power for their own advantage with their looming greed as their only limitation. It will also legalize the pork barrel scam, fulfilling politicians’ hunger to commit graft and corruption without any penalties by stealing from the people they vowed to serve.

Martial Law is still on-going in Mindanao while the de facto martial law in the entirety of the country is still evident. Killings, attacks, and abuses by the state will be more rampant as ever. This would be made possible by the careless removal of the hundred percent human rights protection

with the attacks on labor rights and privatization of basic needs and services such as health care and whatnot.

In the present day, the Filipinos are imprisoned in its most horrifying nightmare because we are becoming targets of grave attack to our moribund democracy as the people. When we say we want to block the draft charter change, this does not only apply to ChaCha, but also to all types of greediness and attacks under it which are committed in the name of the regime’s self-serving interests. Any actions committed or promoted by a particular class for the benefit only of its pursuits do not deserve the name of the country nor its people.

Duterte, together with his accomplices, is weaving his outline to further oppress, abuse, and tyrannize the Filipino people. Because of this, we need to go out of our comfort zones and amplify our voices to stop the oppressive actions of the ruling regime.

Now more than ever, let us prove that the youth sector has the power to be the catalysts of change.

The Work stands with the Filipino people in our demand to junk the draft federal charter change. All the regime’s partners in crime shall be held accountable for all these ‘twisted acts’ committed against the people. If greed still dwells within the people in power, justice and democracy will assuredly remain elusive and twisted.

STRAIGHT FROM THE FOURTH ESTATE is The Work’s free space for official statements and standpoints regarding the pressing issues ranging from the borders of the university to the community at large. For further discussions, send us an email at tsu.thework@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of Philippine Collegian

12 EDITORIAL NATION

S

Lies, lies, lies

a pagkakaalam ko, nag-graduate ako.”

This was how the former First Daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Imee, vaguely answered the question as to whether she did graduate as “one of the first female graduates from an Ivy League School Princeton University, graduating with honors,” as proclaimed in her biography on her social media account.

But Princeton’s deputy university spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss disavowed her claim that she, ‘as far as she knows,’ graduated there. Not even with honors.

But to give Imee the benefit, she attended classes at the said prestigious university with a major in Independent Concentration in Religion and Politics, but she did not graduate nor was she awarded an academic distinction there, Hotchkiss confirmed.

Also nonexistent was her being a ‘class valedictorian’ from Santa Catalina School in California, and that she only attended her classes in a short period of time during the fall of 1972, as the school’s assistant head John Aimé asserted.

There’s more: a yet another bogus diploma claimed by the senator-elect was that of the University of the Philippines under the College of Law. Once again, claims from the side of Marcos proclaim her to have graduated there with Latin honors.

According to a report published by Rappler, Asian Institute of Management also confirmed that the master’s degree in management and business administration that Marcos said she earned “was never offered” at the school.

Spokespersons from the aforementioned schools uniformly declare Imee Marcos’ claims as inauthentic and plainly untrue.

But instead of admonition and revocation of her Senate bid for being a liar, it is lamentable that she is backed up by the current administration, particularly of President Duterte’s daughter and Hugpong ng Pagbabago campaign manager Sara Duterte and her deplorable declaration that lying is not so big an issue when it comes to choosing candidates vying for as high a position as the ascendancy towards the acquisition of a Senate seat.

But this was no miniscule nor negligible an issue. One couldn’t just condition the general public to hold dishonesty in utter disregard and bastardize the use of reason in a non-sense assertion that everyone lies anyway, so why can’t Imee?

Why can’t Imee? Because her lying is far from ordinary.

She did not simply lie about the precise number of hours of sleep she normally gets daily. She lied, and insisted on it, about her academic qualifications as someone who ran (and disappointingly won) for a position that should possess the exemplary qualities of a respectable and honest public servant.

Moreover, the issue here is not her not having a college degree, but her lying about having it.

Disturbing even more was the very fact that Imee was deliberate and insistent on her false claims. Did she think so lowly of us Filipino citizens, that a great many, if not all, would believe and dismiss her lie, that little to no one would dare question the validity of her claims? If that is then the case, she was plainly wrong. She deserved the spotlight of criticisms that she received and continue to receive directly from the public’s ire.

In a recent disconcerting lie, Imee disproved her involvement in the death of then-21-year-old Archimedes Trajano who had the tenacity to question her as to whether “the Kabataang Barangay [must] be headed by the President’s daughter.” Dogged Trajano also raised questions regarding her father’s human rights abuses.

“You know, these are really mysterious accusations, I’m so puzzled by these charges dahil mga bata kami eh, we were what, 15-16 years old, I wasn’t even in the Philippines, I was going to school overseas… We weren’t even around, we were minors, we were kids, so mahirap namang akusahan kami.”

But according to well-documented reports, she was again lying: Imee certainly was in the Philippines at that time, and she was no minor but a 22-year-old grownup.

To a great extent, this only proved that lying seems to run in the Marcos DNA. Her father, Guinness Book of World Record-notorious for being one of the greatest plunderers in the world, for one, faked his numerous World War medals as proven in a study conducted by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines; the dictator’s son and namesake, Bongbong, was only awarded a special diploma in social studies and not a diploma in political science; and the former First Lady Imelda, perhaps the biggest lie ever engendered: That there were no human rights abuses during her husband’s authoritarian regime. Lies, lies, lies.

Unfortunately, despite their lies and contribution to the country’s darkest chapter in its history, Imee and the Marcos family at large enjoy the renovation of their name due to prevailing historical revisionism. Even prior to her senatorial victory, Imee basked in high preference in surveys and mock election polls, where she stood tall as one of the most preferred senatorial candidate, which is only revelatory of the public’s perilous lack of knowledge about who to vote for if taken into supreme consideration the country’s perennial problems, such as the government being rampantly plagued with corrupt, dishonest, and incompetent public officials. The people crave for credible, honest and competent leaders to govern and unshackle them from the restraints of poverty because the leaders that are always elected are simply not what they sought. To put it simply, the people are always hoodwinked by the lies perpetuated by politicians who mastered the nefarious art of lying.

The people crave for credible, honest, and competent leaders to govern and unshackle us from the restraints of poverty.

VOLUME 70 ISSUE NO. 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019 THEWORKTSU

Cartoon by Gabriel Jann S. Inocencio

Unless we want to maintain our Senate’s notoriety as a cesspool of crooked, unscrupulous politicians, the burden of pressure now lies in us, the electorate: do we want an honest government with equally honest public officials to govern us and hopefully help us uproot from the economic hardships which both the country and us the people currently suffer from?

Aren’t we all enraged and exhausted of politicians who run counter to our preference for clean and exemplary leadership?

It is high time to walk our talk, and reroute our path from patronizing liars to voting for those whose credentials run proportionate with our wants and needs as a people of a lagging country due to the incompetence and corruption of those whom

THE

we ironically elect for government seats.

Dishonesty is a form of corruption, and the magnitude of Imee’s et al. lying must have shaken the country with indignation that could have further resulted to the latter’s dropout from her senate victory. Sigh.

This, then, shall serve in part as a call to the voting public to make use of our democratic right to suffrage and vote for exemplary candidates who legitimately are in possession of a college degree, or even to those who might not have one but genuinely passionate to be of service to the masses, and entirely not those who lie about having one just to perfume his or her academic credentials.

WORK EDITORIAL BOARD AND STAFF A.Y. 2018-2019

Editor in Chief PAULINE GRACE B. MANZANO | Associate Editor / DevCom Editor ISAIH KYLE C. UMIPIG | Managing Editor JESSA A. SOMBRITO | Associate Managing Editors CREISHA MAE S. DIMABAYAO, ANDREA S. ESPINOSA | News Editors LORDDAN U. FALLER, LANDER VICTOR G. TEJADA | Features Editor JEJOMAR B. CONTAWE | Literary Editor JANELLE PAMELA R. DAVID | Sports Editor ARSENIO S. SANTIAGO JR. | Layout Editor JOSEPH CARLO M. PINEDA | Graphics Editor KENNETH LEO V. PAMLAS | Senior Photojournalist NICA JOY A. CALMA | Senior Cartoonist GABRIEL JANN S. INOCENCIO Correspondents ANDREA NICOLE B. SAPNU, ALBRITCH ADAM A. LABIANO, PAMELA ROSE G. REYES, MARY KLAUDINE L. PAZ, JERICO T. MANALO, EUGENE QUIAZON, CRYSTAL GAYLE O. ROSETE, JEHIEL R. ASIO, CAITLIN JOYCE C. GALANZA, JAN GUSFEL C. DUNGCA, GIANNE MERIELLE P. GONZALES, | Cartoonists NIKKIE JOY T. PACIFICO, EDILBERT O. ALICANTE II | Layout Artist HELEN GRACE C. DE GUZMAN | Photojournalist JOHN DAVE BENEDICT C. ISIDRO | Adviser DR. GLADIE NATHERINE G. CABANIZAS Address 4th Floor Business Center Building, TSU Main Campus, Romulo Boulevard, San Vicente, Tarlac City | Email tsu.thework@gmail.com

14 |

OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

IRIDESCENT WORDS

Puppet Show Pauline Grace B. Manzano Editor in Chief | BS Civil Engineering

MARKETING SYSTEM: Our nation has a market which does not sell goods, but a market that influences and dictates what the people must buy and do—one who does puppetry and also produces its new puppets.

I

n our generation today, the influence of social media to people has gone wild and quite powerful.

Even though social media helps in connecting people in different ways, it can be the other way around. While others think that social media is a blessing to humanity, still it can bring disadvantages in different aspects, just like in informing the people.

Social media has been a platform in informing people in the latest news, advertising, and social promotion. It has been a great help but although sometimes, it misleads people.

There are many ways wherein we can use the power of social media. The most common of all is the social media marketing where it uses different social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service.

Nowadays, social media marketing is not only used in purely business transactions but also involves marketing campaigns.

Seemingly, the political landscape has changed quite a bit in the last couple of decades. Obviously, with the help of social media, it has changed and played a large role in transforming the minds of its viewers/users.

In February 2018, the Philippines topped among other countries in terms of social media usage as the number of internet users in our country hit 67 million

people, according to a report

by London-based consultancy We Are Social. Most of these users are the youth.

To this day, many politicians use the power of social media to market themselves, especially to the youth. Young enough, not all the youth can fully determine which is true and they only stick to the ambitious promises made by the running candidate.

The year 2016 is when Filipinos craved for change as they hail the former Davao City Mayor, Rodrigo Duterte as the new president of our country. Duterte’s appeal gone viral on social media sites. He is, as they believe, the sort of bombastic fireband who can clean up a crime-riddled nation and eliminate an endemic corruption.

Also, President Duterte has been involved in different issues of being an incredible maniac who will do whatever he wants even if it is not usual and ruining his image to the public crowd. All of his issues are leaked and gave abuzz in the social media sites reaching its viewers, primarily the youth.

Besides all of these bad images and impressions, our current president won via landslides.

True enough that the power of the social media does not only influence the mind of its viewers but rather, it also makes us believe in every

fake story made by the hunger and thirst of our running candidates.

His popularity devoured his wrong actions marketing himself to the people.

Apparently, the nation had chosen a leader not considering his personal attitude and actions but rather, by only trusting his fame and putting deep trust to his ambitious plans.

The internet has taken part in everything we do. Friend or foe, there is something certain about social media that no one of us could longer deny. It has been a puppeteer and we have been its puppets. We are just part of the play where the power of the puppeteer grows as we, the puppets, lose our minds but rapidly duplicates.

In addition to this, it is not only the social media influences us in making our

“

It has been a puppeteer and we have been its puppets.”

decision. It is also our young minds who easily trust what we see and not looking and thinking deeply to the possible consequences that can arouse.

The year 1948 when the Philippines underwent through a puppet government ran by President Jose P. Laurel.

After freeing our country during the Japanese colony, the year 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos commenced the Martial Law in our country. Those were years which Filipinos considered the darkest.

If we, the Filipinos, continue to believe and just let ourselves go with the surging waves of stupidity, it is sure that progress would be out of our reach. In making a choice, we must not settle in what our community decides to take; we must have our own perspective of what we have to choose for the betterment of the system.

We live for democracy not for puppetry.

In this upcoming 2019 elections, we have the power not only of choosing our leader but choosing of what future our country could have. Social media do have a wide scope and to this time, it can reach many people. Because of its diversity, no one can predict and hereby say what social media can bring to our future.

However, we must not act as a puppet; rather, we must be the puppeteer that can put up a legit show for the progress of the system.

OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

| 15

PRIMARY COLORS

Ink Turned Blood Isaih Kyle C. Umipig

Associate Editor/DevCom Editor | BSEd English

PRESS FREEDOM: These are dangerous times journalists live in. It’s a call for our solidified actions not to present ourselves as submissive media men, but those who are eager to become militant and progressive journalists who resist against the country’s seeping tyrannical rule.

W

ords are bullets. Shoot enough bullets and it can kill people.

As a junior writer of the publication in high school, the Eastern Chronicle, I have come to encounter these exact words. During that time, I believed that it was but superficial because it only denotes counterattacking people who say things at you. Until such a phase that I learned and developed as a writer, I never imagined that these exact words would mean significantly to these times where state fascism is the one which solely poses direct threats and intimidation to us, the fourth estate.

Recently, ‘red-tagging’ has become a normal concept because of the recent propaganda being proliferated to repress legal dissent and to silence critical voices.

Those who are resisting the Duterte regime’s anti-people policies and fascist terror are more likely to face attacks and threats. The made-up maligning of progressive youth groups, even of campus publications and alternative media, is an attempt of the ruling regime to whitewash its attacks against the people.

However, the journalists or any youth groups are not the government’s enemies. Serving the masses shall never be perceived as an act of revenge.

It is only our sole responsibility

to tell stories mostly ranging from the underprivileged, to those who are oppressed, to the implications of the policies being implemented to the society, until we reach a desired conclusion—that is, the success of the struggling masses.

In the present day, the Philippine press is trapped in its most horrible nightmare with Rappler being a seamless example of a target of grave attack to our moribund democracy as the public press.

This, nonetheless, only calls for our collective and solidified actions to uphold our virtues that we should not present ourselves as submissive media men, but those who are eager to become militant and progressive journalists who resist against the country’s seeping tyrannical rule.

Being a journalist in the country became a cheap thing because many have been harassed, abducted, and assassinated as we look into the timeline of killings. To this date, Maguindanao Massacre of 2009 under the regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remains the most distasteful incident in the history books of media men where 32 journalists were murdered out of the 58 victims of a political war between the families of Ampatuan and Mangudadatu.

Despite this worsening record, many are still not held liable for their atrocious crimes; justice and truth

remain elusive for those who have long been yearning for what is only fitting and upright.

Under my term as the associate editor-in-chief of The Work, it became a challenge to develop a student publication which is critical and progressive but this challenge is one which is worth pressing to colleagues and younger journalists. The present political situation we are mired into requires us greater actions—that is, taking part in the initiatives to arouse, organize, and mobilize people. Now more than ever, this publication should always be necessitated to uphold militancy in every write-up, photograph, and artwork we let our audience grasp and

“

Words are bullets.

Shoot enough bullets and it can kill people.”

understand.

Every day, we are tempted to quit this profession because of threats and dangers roaming around even in our safe spaces but we cannot just let lies prosper, and so we continue to grip our pens. We still fight even we are facing the wall of a bourgeoning culture of impunity because this is what we believe is right. Our voices may tremble during actual interviews and our knees may shake at live coverages, but our principles cannot just let us be shackled from silence and further timidity.

Press freedom corresponds to people’s rights to know, to be informed; thus, if the media is being attacked, and so does the people.

We are raising our fists as we continue to defend press freedom. Firm as we are, our pens will continue to convey tales and threads, our cameras will never halt to develop frames which serve the best interest of the people, our choice will always take the side of the broad masses, and our advocacies will be determined as ever to promote justice, freedom, empowerment, and truth.

Revolution is violent, but silence is way bloodier than the initial. With this, I will always choose to shoot ‘bullets’. We have to speak because we believe that our words are better than our silence.

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OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

PERSONAL RECORDS

Cracks are Where the Lights Get In Andrea S. Espinosa

Associate Managing Editor | BSBA Marketing Management

GRIEF: The most difficult part that comes after a heartbreak is trying to rationalize your emotions or when you require yourself to handle things with intellectual maturity; because then, you confuse ego as a precedent of emotional resilience to break away from the pain of your weakness.

I

n her memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking, American journalist Joan Didion wrote, “Grief turns out to be a place none of us know until we reach it. […]

We might expect if the death is sudden to feel shocked. We do not expect this shock to be obliterative, dislocating to both body and mind.”

Even as a child, I have always kept my inner selfhidden beneath thick layers of my reclusive identity. I have always been a private person—one who never talked about her innermost feelings and thoughts; one who never associated herself with other people unless necessary; and one who never made an effort to speak up and bring herself out into the world. My mindset has always been like this: I am the least important person in a room full of people, therefore I have no right to push my personal narrative into the spotlight.

This is also the reason why, as I write this column, I feel a wrench of embarrassment and mortification over the fact that I am writing something personal. Ever since I joined the student publication, I always tried to shy away from personal topics that would expose me as a human being.

I always chose to write about social issues because frankly, I found it hard to write about myself, and so I expended all of my emotions into writing for a greater cause like fighting against social

injustice. Lately, I’ve begun to realize that although writing with an outward purpose is good, it also contributed to the fact that I’ve spent my life as a writer using only my head, and not my heart.

I realized this when my grandfather passed away this September when my emotions were at large yet I had no space to pour them into. Death was something I regarded not as a loss, but as a part of life. But my grief during those times bordered into physical pain because the feelings I had were repressed inside me by my inability to open up and become vulnerable. My comfort zone usually consisted of keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself and ultimately detaching myself from other people who try to infiltrate their way into the recesses of my mind. But at that point in time, I found myself feeling lost inside this very comfort zone, with no idea where to go. In short, my natural inclination to sidestepping these kinds of situations failed; I was miserable and alone with my grief, and I didn’t have the emotional capacity to process it healthily.

I used to think that this compulsion to hide my emotions was a sign of my strength and resilience as a woman. I was wrong. There can only be so much coping mechanisms in the world to use up before humans start to break. The most difficult part

that comes after a heartbreak is trying to rationalize your emotions or when you require yourself to handle things with intellectual maturity; because then, you confuse ego as a precedent of emotional resilience to break away from the pain of your weakness.

And so as I struggled to keep more in touch with my vulnerability, I have learned to accept the power of speaking up for myself. As I gradually moved on from my grief, I started to let go of my hesitation to open up. Feelings turn out to be effectively rationalized when they are disbursed externally.

I have learned that it’s okay to expose myself to the world, to

“

There can only be so much coping mechanisms in the world to use up before humans start to break.”

pick myself up back from the background where I used to fade into. This transition was twofold: all my experiences for the past few months helped me cope with my emotions easier, and now I feel better and more accepting about forgiving myself. It helped me get over the weight of feeling as if I deserved to hide myself because it spoiled the popular perception everyone had of me for so long.

Talking about your emotions and putting yourself into the spotlight are not selfish, nor self-serving. A human’s individuality is a fundamental part of oneself.

As I traverse this seemingly dark tunnel towards my very own emotional liberty, I learned to just let my emotions run through me without giving in to the urge of suppressing and hiding them. Giving myself an allowance for the vulnerability was one of the best life choices I made so far. It means that I am strong enough to face my pain and heartbreak. I don’t just feel things; I feel them and I let them find their exit to free myself of emotional baggage.

I think of myself not as something that is wholly open, but rather something that is cracked and on the verge of a liberating breaking point. The path to re-emerging as a new person might be dark as of now, but as one of my favorite artists, Leonard Cohen, said: “There is a crack in everything, that is how the light gets in.”

OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

| 17

MORPHING METAPHORS

Truth Flashed Through Fiction Mary Klaudine L. Paz

Correspondent | AB Communication

SOCIAL MEDIA: This is the part where we break from the chains and see that the digital screens have become oversaturated with cheap content and, without a filter, it will continue to seep through our veins and push us to develop a disagreeable appetite for poor media consumption.

L

ike the everlasting rose in the Disney movie, “Beauty and the Beast”, we see ourselves to be unwittingly beautiful.

However, if we, digital natives, are to be described as an everlasting rose, I would say it with the acclaims that it is for a different reason – and that is because with social media looming over us. We are all similarly trapped in a thin glass, caged and suffocated, without exerting any effort into trying to create any movement just to get out or shatter it.

Unnoticeably so, as we are too tempted to reach that ladder where everyone perceives us to attain the desired beauty, we never really notice that as we crave for that validation and attention, we are also slowly losing a petal, a piece of ourselves. Once we’re judged upon, we wither, we burn out, and cave in from the eyes of the society as they play the role of a judge and a jury.

In the Philippines, social media became the tool that allowed the citizens to further establish a sense of democracy through freedom of expression and a wide variety of information just within their reach. The number of information being shared online these days is settled on the ridiculous mind-set of the Filipinos that encourages the thought, “viral is vital.”

Our opinions are only deemed valuable if it accumulated a number of likes, shares, and comments, and this behavior is also influencing the way we see

ourselves and the way we want others to see us. Such as posting political views one barely has a background about the issue, yet, is just going along with the mainstream.

Social media, apparently, became the world’s digital rat race, the platform that has trapped us into comparing our own life to others’, and make us continuously be blinded by its glare with its seemingly undeclared popularity contest that lures us into showcasing everything – from opinions that are cynically useful, to the ones that are stupidly senseless,

“

We never really notice that as we crave for that validation and attention, we are also slowly losing a petal, a piece of ourselves.”

thrown into the shade of an illusionary lens.

Why do we doubt our own capacities to rise above from the absurdity and see through the warning signs the road has laid out for us? We are worth more than just a click of a button and we are smarter than thinking that casually typing out shallow opinions will boost our level in a game called life, instead just actually engage in building the nation through the help of our own words for these are our swords. The tool is actually looking beyond the blinking screen and seek where the truth lies, instead of cowering away from it, as we perceive that it might break us like what happened with Humpty Dumpty.

Consequently, when posting information, remember that there is a horror that looms once our privacy is invaded. Be aware that there will always be a price that comes along with it because if you’re not careful, once we clicked the wrong button, there will be no Felix to Fix It for you. The same way goes for information consumption – like Snow White, we do not think twice on what we would eat, for instance, evaluating if it is beneficial or not, leading us to look past the warning signs and consume the disguised poisoned apple.

This is the part where we break from the chains and see that the digital screens have become oversaturated with cheap content and, without a filter, it will continue to seep through our veins and push us to develop a disagreeable appetite

for poor media consumption.

Only then will we realize that unlike Aurora from the “Sleeping Beauty”, we will refuse to be kissed by reality for us to be awakened by such addiction.

Are we going to let the toxicity of fake news and false information trap us in isolation inside a tower like the evil god mother of Rapunzel? Or do we make a break for it and untie the ropes wrapped around our necks? We need to realize that the world of social media is not a stage, that we don’t perform a role or a character to provide fun or entertainment. It is, however, the target where we could point our bow and sharpened arrows like those of Merida’s from the animated Disney movie, “Brave”.

With the right goal in mind, we have no idea how inspiring social media can be if we keep shooting fires by posting beneficial content and then, just then, will we be able set the world ablaze, and light up the world of information.

Indeed, the everlasting rose is beautiful. But it is bold as crimson, and that is what we should be. We shall not be the type of rose that is defined by looks alone, but the one that continues to grow, through the people that we surround ourselves and cautiously interact with online, and bloom through the information that we pursue to consume. At the end of the day, do not forget to sharpen the thorns across your skin, for the ones who deem to steal your bloom, will bleed your color, and then the power will always be in your hands.

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OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

BETWEEN THE BATTLING ODSS

Plastic Dilemma Albritch Adam A. Labiano

Correspondent | BS Mechanical Engineering

ENVIRONMENT: Our minimal actions can create negative impacts to our environment. Even the small candy wrapper you threw away somewhere has contributed to the huge problems we are struggling to resolve today. However, our little but collective actions can also make great impacts.

I

n the start of the 20th century, man has discovered a way to crack the molecules of petroleum to utilize it into other products, bringing forth the invention of the plastics.

With the invention of this wonder material, we have paved our way into development—an advancement of humanity. The use of plastics has saved many resources due to its easy use and production. The low cost of production and manufacturing, versatility and its water-proof quality have become the unique quality of plastics as it enter the fields of human technology.

Commercial products’ victims Recently, the Philippines has been named as the third largest contributor of ocean plastics, according to a research conducted by the United Nations based on the data gathered in 2015. The data of the study show that the Philippines wastes 6,875.84 tons of plastic per day, 81 percent of which are mismanaged. Among the top contributors of ocean plastics are China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Single-use plastics or disposable plastics include plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottle, and most of the food packaging.

This is not quite new to us as everybody have been utilizing its easy use. According to United Nations, around 300 million tons of plastics are produced each year; around half of it is disposable plastics. Even though recycling projects have been pushed through, only 9 percent of the plastics ever produced are recycled. Though there is

an existing law, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, strong implementations are still on out of sight on other areas.

Cities like Makati, Pasig, Quezon City, Pasay, Muntinlupa and Las Pinas, on the other hand, have initiated to ban the use of plastics on their areas.

Businesses, primarily, enjoy the use of plastics, as it is cheap and easy to manufacture.

According to the environmental group, Greenpeace, consumer giants namely Nestle, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble are the worst offenders to the ocean plastic wastes. Their products mainly packaged in cheap and disposable plastics lure Filipinos into buying them. The limited income of Filipinos pushes them to buy cheap goods in small quantities which is, in fact, a normal scenario in the areas where poverty is widely seen, “tingi-tingi” or sachet products can be bought even on a low budget.

Bonding plastic into the food chain Though plastics floating into the ocean will not be decomposed easily, it will be eventually broken down into several pieces after many years until it become “Micro-plastics.”

According to United Nations, an estimated one million marine birds and 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic ingestion. Though it may seem to be an isolated case that animals are only concerned, it is becoming our worldwide problem. In addition, around 90 percent of marine animals in the world are believed to have ingested plastics in their stomachs, which are eventually

consumed by their predatory animals. As concerning with the food chain, smaller fishes eat up the floating plastics mistaking it to be micro-planktons floating in the ocean. While the bigger fishes could have die from ingesting large amount of plastics floating on the ocean surfaces.

In return, to this growing dilemma, humans—unalarmed and unknowingly—have been consuming 70,000 micro-plastics each year, according to a study published in Environmental Pollution. Thus, every plastic that we are disregarding is coming back to us unsuspectingly, without us noticing.

Beyond humanity’s wonder invention Beyond the piling problem to plastic pollution, many countries have been taking a step to reduce or ban the use of plastic into their system. Recently, the European Union has approved

“

Progress is a collective effort of its citizens taking onestep at a time with one goal.”

the banning on a range of single-use plastics into their participating nations, targeting some of the most common oceanpolluting plastics. On the other hand, some of the items with no existing alternatives will have to be reduced by 25 percent in each country by 2025. This step of the EU instills impact to the outlook of the other countries, eventually, to start a move.

Though this problem seems to be an unending battle of choices, some of the commercial brands have been playing their role to reduce their contribution to the ocean plastic pollution.

We undeniably benefit from the ease of using single-use plastics, its convenience has been an advantage to us consumers.

However, choosing the utilization of these products comes with a great responsibility. It is the sustainability to recycle. We have to make a move, while throwing it into the proper containers are good than littering it everywhere, it is better if we keep it for recycling. As for recycling, it keeps the plastic from becoming waste and saving energy and virgin materials in producing another plastic product.

Our responsibility comes not only during the consumption of the product; it is our part to be on the lookout on where it will go after the consumption.

Small actions like bringing your reusable tumblers, refusing the use of plastic straws on your drink, or bringing your own cutlery will be a big help in conserving the use of plastics. If we continue on doing it, little by little, and with a larger number of people participating in its cause, we will eventually deal a great impact to the world.

OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

| 19

OF POETS AND COMETS

Expecting at 19 Jejomar B. Contawe

Features Editor | AB Communication

ADULTING: We all are in a vast, congested airport reluctantly waiting for our departure flight from youth to the more daunting life as adults. And as we hop aboard the plane for the first time, it is only normal to prop ourselves unprepared and frightened of the possible inflight inconveniences that we are to inescapably face. But this is not indicative that we are in a peril-ridden ride, but in an adventure much larger than life.

I

was sitting idly on a monobloc chair outside the house with my father when my partner had given me the news that she was pregnant.

Not long after I was informed (or more accurately, shocked) by the enormity of the news, I was awash with a roller-coaster of emotions.

Funny, but I initially thought this was just some prank she had learned to crack from watching too much YouTube and other internet click baits. I didn’t know where my mind was heading, and I questioned the reality of reality.

But one thing then was so clear: me as a father, an ambitious, reserved college student at the unripe age of 19, is beyond belief, beyond the expectations which I willingly set for myself.

But if truth be told, I was initially overcome by the weighty feeling of anxiety and fear. In retrospect, I have deliberately projected a conceited image of myself, mentally basking in the tall expectations that my parents manifest every time I rake home recognitions from school. I wanted to make them extremely proud, this was a given; expecting a child at 19 was never part of the plan.

The first person with whom I told the news was my mother.

It was nerve-wracking standing there in front of her about to tell the news I never imagined I would be sorry enough to tell. Prior to my disclosure, I aimlessly walked around our house trying to find the right words to say and how to say them. And when I finally have mustered up guts to speak, the first thing that came out of my mouth was an apology. At a time when my chief focus must have been channeled towards building a name for myself in the industry

of my choice and pay back more than what I owe my parents, an enormous responsibility was on its way and about to break my neck with its heavy load that I was to singlehandedly carry as the father. Her response, though, was opposite the way I thought she would take it: I thought you’re going to tell me you’re dying (or something to that very effect).

After telling my mother the news comes the gnawing sense of urgent necessity that we should disclose this to every family member, who will certainly not be as lenient as my mother. My partner, meanwhile, was one step away from talking to her mom to confess what happened, but she backpedalled in shame and just wrote and left her mother a letter summarizing all things she was extremely apologetic for.

“

Life has to sustain its fundamental function, which is for humans to continually struggle as another synonym for ‘live’.”

After that, we had stayed for a week at home until the inevitable happened: nervous, we were asked to gather at the living room where my parents, eldest sister, brother in law, and grandma were sitting, the unbecoming air of tension indiscreetly present. By the time we were summoned to speak to explain our side, grandma immediately heightened the degree of tension by taking notice of our restrained and mortified voices. My brother in law, on the other hand, said how my ate abroad was so dismayed that she asked him to punch me in the stomach until I generously bleed.

And then, the series of questioning began. It was an overwhelming wave of torturous interrogation that I admittedly deserved but feared to encounter in the flesh. What were our plans now? Who will finance all the expenses needed, from the monthly checkups, the ultrasounds and lab tests, and eventually the time when our baby is finally on the outside world? Do we have any plans of marrying? (The answer is a mutual not anytime soon) Was I to work and give up my studies? What line of work would I be applying to? Would the salary suffice? If I were to juggle my studies and a job, can I manage it? And what the hell happened to my pompous promise to graduate with Latin honors and give my family a more comfortable life?

Most of which I was only able to answer without much a speck of detectable conviction.

Out of the blue, grandma broke in tears, saying how she took pride at having a smart apo like me, and how her hopes for me were easily crushed by disappointment. When it’s time for

them all to leave, the only thing that I could do was cry, failing this time to hold back the tears that’s been raring to be liberated from that time I was shouted at indignantly by the very people whom I promised I would make proud. I was so full of ambition, and suddenly all of it are gone and crumbling inside the trash bin where my regrets overflowed.

Here’s a punch of truth thrown to my gut: I was a big disappointment to my family.

But little by little, those days of sorrow began to dwindle until conflicts were solved, my grandma gladdened at the sight of her apo, and I felt, finally, relieved. It was transitory, but it was real—a one-second pause out of the sixty seconds that I was engrossed in a battle orchestrated by Life.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the biggest takeaway that I could impart here is that life does not constitute the things that a person has long planned for himself.

My becoming a father at 19 was not planned, and that speaks as to how life truly works—it is not tailored in accordance with how we wanted it to be, or how rapturous we might have been if it falls accordingly in the receptacle of our well-rendered checklist of acquiring things. As I see it, one can only become so conscious of his choices but not so much of the consequences, and there emerges the difficult but necessary role in order for life to sustain its fundamental function, which is for humans to continually struggle as another synonym for ‘live’.

A related article written by the same author (‘Fatherhood at 20’, Opinion, 06/16/19) is published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Father’s Day celebration.

20 |

OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

GUTS AND ROSES

The Paper Problem Andrea Nicole B. Sapnu Correspondent | AB English

PERSONALITY: “The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

I

have understood fully well at the age of five what paper is and what paper is intended for. Paper could be folded in a myriad of ways that make believe boats, airplanes, and ultimately anything that comes to mind emerged from it. In addition to the architectural purpose it served to the child that I was, paper was and has always been my idea of a “tabula rasa” or a clean slate – the enticing blank space, longing to contact Crayola tips held by clumsy, kindergarten hands and yearning to sink in the secret messages of the intertwining of colorful lines and shapes.

“Paper” has been reintroduced to me as a newfangled idea when Margo Roth Spiegelman utilized the word as an adjective, rather than its original use as a noun.

Specifically, she referred to her homeland Orlando as a “paper town,” as in the word “paper” is modifying the noun “town”. It was explicated in the book that a “paper town” is a nonexistent place that cartographers put on maps to prevent copyright infringement.

When Margo depicted her city as a “paper town,” she meant it as a place that is abundant of “paper” life forms such as “paper” houses and “paper” people – a realm only exquisite from afar, since the rust and the cracks are not as visible from a distant standpoint. In this context, “paper” is determined to define all things ersatz and surreal.

At the latter part of the book, it was disclosed that Margo herself is admittedly “paper” like the city which she despised for swarming with individuals that pretend to be more than the individuals they are; for she has also fostered this too-good-to-be-true image of her for people to feast their eyes upon – this version of Margo Roth

Spiegelman that is a larger-than-life heterogeneous mixture of mystery and adventure. From what I could remember, the book ends with a thought that Margo is neither both – a mystery nor an adventure. She is just a girl.

In my lifetime, I have read Paper Towns twice – first was when I was fifteen as a junior in high school and the second was August of this year. With three years in between, it’s safe to say that I have learned quite a bit about people and their obsession with refurbishing themselves for the sake of being accepted. I remember being disappointed at fifteen with the book’s ending, where Margo faltered to live up to the eccentric character that she has established.

However, there is this one quote that I heard of once. I cannot recall the exact words to it, but the main idea of it is that the way you understand literature is reflective of your temperament; and as I longed for Margo Roth Spiegelman to not be anything less than extraordinary, I came to the realization that I was subconsciously projecting my own desires unto this persona.

It makes perfect sense to me that “paper” is the term Margo chose as an allegory for inauthenticity, given that the nature of paper is docile and flexible.

To be “paper” is to submit to the idea of continual reinvention. One is “paper” when he or she finds satisfaction in being constantly imagined differently, or in some cases, erroneously in order to conceal the fact that he or she leads a less interest-piquing life.

Fourteen years past and I still stand firm to my claim that at a young age, I truly understood what it takes to be “paper” – for I am a paper person myself. You see, there’s a difference between

folding paper for the very first time and pleating it for multitudes of times. Initially, it would take a few levelling and parting here and there, but eventually it will get used to being made and remade – the creases make it easier for the paper to take as many forms as it wants.

Then again, there is this existent rule in earthly chemistry that any matter that has undergone physical change cannot be reversed to its true, original state.

Reinvention is a gamble. You can opt to be whatever you want as long as you have the resilience to live with the creases. I like to think that sometimes that I have this resilience within me – that I could individually craft these images, without one façade that is an exact replica of the other, and still remain unshaken by the fear of inauthenticity. At first, getting in character could be a struggle, but as time progresses, it becomes as natural as if it is real – that the line between who I am and who I projected myself to be distorts into a huge mess of a blur. But the truth is, none of these representations of me are real –from the face

“

To be ‘paper’ is to submit to the idea of continual reinvention.”

that instantly lights up upon the most trivial of jokes, to the hand that is always first to be raised in classroom discussions, and even, God forbid, to the fingers that are straining to weave the exact words to express my exasperation and self disgust in this piece. Disgust, in the sense that none of the facades that I have established – the writer, the shelter, the warrior, and most frequently, the savior – has anything to do with my authentic self. These are just illusions waiting to surface or subdue upon my command whenever I deem necessary. Perhaps I reveled upon the idea that my body is as fluid as much as it could fit any place that I overlooked the fact that I have created, not just a paper person, but an entire paper town out of this vessel that I call flesh.

What amplifies my disgust towards myself even more is that the intent behind my constant reinvention is merely for the purpose of being accepted. As much as I want to deny it, that is solely the bottomline of it all – to belong and to be loved.

I am exposing all of these in hopes of eliminating the stigma towards paper people like me who, similarly, fell into a pit of the fear of isolation, that they would utilize every twig and every branch – basically all the possible means in order to get out, regardless if they lose themselves in the process of doing so.

If there would be one important takeaway from this, that would be to never meddle with reinvention. Sure, it may be tempting to put colors in a blank slate but trust me, once paper has been bent, pursed, crumpled, imprinted, and etched with a plethora of shapes and lines, it can never go back to its true form.

OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

| 21

SOCIAL PARADOX

Fallout Visions Eugene Quiazon

Correspondent | AB English

DEVELOPMENT: When political and economic situations toughen, we blame one another for not attaining what’s almost a comfort for us because we cannot accept that building progress is a contract between every individual and the nation—and we fail in doing so.

W

hen we recognize the guilt over an action that should have been better, that’s when the habit of blame game zooms the dents of our mindset.

Philippines gained its freedom from bloody revolutions a hundred years ago and it was only decades ago when millions of raging Filipinos filled EDSA just so to re-claim democracy. Yet, we seemed to have forgotten that these histories have granted us the will to stand as a nation with a mission to gratify our cravings to a satisfactory leadership and governance.

Faithfulness, honesty, and truthful services are always the theme, but never did it happen in the modern setting.

As we move from these histories, we ought to create our own hashtags of revolution.

It is the era where people are practically thirsty for a better Philippines, boldly bombarding in social media their personal views on politics, frustrations for politicians, lectures for their fellow citizens, and culturally stereotyping systems.

These are the repercussions of what the politicians have supplied the country—fake intentions that destroyed every errand, proposals that hoped them nothing, and promises that have just wounded the country even more.

Let it be said, indeed: Philippines is not to deprive of its political aspirations, but to spoil with nationalism, peace, and harmony.

Currently, the effects of Duterte’s peak policies are hardly painted in our society: the development aggressions, the anti-poor agendas, and the mental-invasion he does that makes many believe that his ways of ending problems, like in crime (and their lives), are always for the common good and the interest of the masses.

We label our actions not as civic attack but as justice for the falsities we involuntary shoved into ourselves for having no better option at all.

When the political and economic situations toughen, we come to rant online and push Facebook tagline of ‘connecting people’ to anchor and start discussions as its chain reaction.

“

We label our actions not as civil attack but as justice for the falsities we involuntary shoved into ourselves for having no better option at all.”

Communally, the government blames back saying they did launch a program, or signed a law, or allotted budget and moreso. If not this excuse, politicians themselves would dart on each other to call themselves responsible.

We blame one another for not attaining what’s almost a comfort for us because we cannot accept that building progress is a contract between every individual and the nation—and we fail in doing so.

We’re now halfway through the year but the highlights were not yet trailed, except from Duterte yesing to China’s loan offer with unjust interest, the continuation of peasant killings, red-tagging, and the recently conducted local and national elections where Filipinos were once again divided in deciding for our nation’s future.

If we are to blame the government in case with failed to comply their responsibilities and if they made decisions that do not cater all our concerns, it also becomes reasonable to also blame ourselves for being such hypocrite perfectionists who demand wise leaders but keeps on electing the otherwise.

Going down on all these issues needs the point of doing so. There is no wrong to magnify the stains of our society as long as it causes progressive changes that let us realize the roots of the problem.

If only had our society have auto-correct, we are surely far from saying words like “trapos,” “pulpolitika,” and “palamunin ng gobyerno.”

We are tired of broken

promises and foolishness that people link blaming and promoting as two synonymous behaviors. As we analyze, these fractures the power we have in creating a sustainable growth.

Playing the blame game does not help in attaining our goals because if it does, we must be absolutely progressive by now.

Even the heroes we admire for freeing us from the chains of foreign colonies valued the role of reconciliation in making a 7, 100 drifted lands a republic of united offshoots.

While it may be a practice of democracy to see every Filipino participating in politics, and an example of unity to see them collectively oppose to any unjust action, dropping nonsensical words to shame, degrade and disempower the people elected by the nation, and mentalcrabbing the citizens who aspire successive leadership, do not really live the ideology of what a true-blooded Filipino must fulfill.

This is a call to the democracy we are right to uphold but not to excuse us from the harm of our words.

It is to remember the natural responsibilities of a Filipino: to respect our fellows, become productive, not oppressive.

Remember that when we admire other countries for being rapidly progressive, we do not pertain to their riches and infrastructures alone, but on the process itself. We must learn how they made it that way, a mindset entirely different from ours, and adopt it because this is what we need more than just a blame game.

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OPINION

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

SHE SAYS

Men Fatal Pamela Rose G. Reyes Correspondent | AB Psychology

EQUALITY: We are one and the same. Whatever the gender preference and direction of the walks of our lives we take, we deserve the same amount of respect and freedom to voice out our sentiments.

Society’s standard should not be a hindrance for us to resist and speak out. Equality has no exceptions; it does not choose who receives reverence. Feminism does not require men deprivation.

W

e talk about women empowerment so much, equality mostly women are receptors.

We are obsessed with fighting for women’s rights; we tend to forget about men’s role on feminism. We disremember that men can be a help to this fastpaced changes.

We have always seen men as part of the problem, stereotyping them as promoter of the patriarchal system. Simply because they are men, the typical bad guys. They wanted to be in-charge of everything— may it be family matter, political position, employment, or even the debate that men cannot be feminists for a reason that they might stay in control.

I have lost count of the complaints I have heard and seen about women being ran down and victimized for they are weak, underprivileged, and well-off, “Babae lang.” These remarks have embarked a movement against sexists and misogynists, which is an upright undertaking because women are no longer fearful to voice out their teething troubles.

But the question is, How many times have you seen an article or text that involved men as the prey and not the predator?

How many men admitted that they are being attacked as well? Close enough to none. It has a pretty wide range when associated with women being ill-treated.

According to 1in6

organization, at least one out of six men has been sexually abused or assaulted. The saddening thing about this is that, it is happening directly in front of us yet they are far from being recognized.

Men are often quiet about their own complaints because they are ashamed of getting ridiculed and humiliated.

Society habitually leads to object, “Lalaki naman sila eh, gusto rin nila ‘yon.” But they actually do not. It is paralleled to women being responsible for their choice of clothing that’s why they get raped. That’s an unconventional deal.

Blaming men for being men was the principle we grew up with. When a woman gets assaulted, one posts on social media and everything follows – the support, action, and sympathy. It has a huge gap on the preferential treatment of feminine over masculine. Reality check: abuse, in any form and route, is not associated to one’s sexual orientation. Anyone can be the perpetrator, just as anyone can be the victim.

Another thing: chivalry.

Year 2015, in the Philippines, a Facebook post went viral because a woman has not been offered a seat in a public transportation. The post received a backlash both from the man and the one who posted it. The man was condemned for not giving up his seat reasoning out that that’s not a thing a gentleman would do. On the other hand, he received fellow feeling from netizens and gained

understanding. It was a public transportation during a ‘rush hour’ so what do you expect?

You all paid the same amount of money to ride the same transport. As far as the record goes, senior citizens, diferently abled persons (DAPs) and pregnant women should be the ones having a reserved seat due to their conditions. I, too, am a woman and I have never nitpicked and criticized a man just because he could not offer me a seat. Let me tell you this: When equality arises, chivalry dies.

It is ironic how we wanted equal opportunity to prevail yet we demand for special treatment. We wanted to deserve a fair chance for all but these chances are only limited to women as if having a woman’s genital is an honor and opportunity to disregard men.

Men should not be

“

The empowerment of one group should not disempower another.”

oppressed of their privileges.

They should also cultivate and flourish out of their man box just as women took a leap of fate and stepped forward to fight for their rights.

As anyone can tell, this is the result of the misconception of feminism. Some people often think that just because the word “feminine” is included, it is for women and women alone when, in veracity, both gender roles would benefit when this movement has slap-up and reached the over-all gamut of human perceptions.

Misinformation, time and again, leads to mixed-up errors.

Feminist movement has been introduced and acknowledged long ago and yet others are still stagnantly thinking that it is a personal attack on men. This adds up to numerous wherefores on why men envision that they cannot be feminists.

Social change should not be a battle of who has more power and supremacy. It should have a harmonious relationship on the whole equilibrium. If one would accept and open their minds to this societal metamorphosis, and not just by definition, I believe that no one would be left out.

The empowerment of one group should not disempower another. Both genders should not skirmish on trying to find their places in this changed society. Everyone deserves to be heard. Equality has no exceptions; it does not choose who receives reverence.

Feminism does not require men deprivation.

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ALBUM REVIEW

Grandma

PLAY

By Janelle Pamela R. David After his shocking departure from his former band IV OF SPADES, Unique Salonga has released a 43-minute full length album which consists of 12 divergent tracks. The debut album, on why it is entitled Grandma, was briefly discussed by the young prodigy that when he listened to it, he immediately thought of his grandmother telling stories. Grandma tackles various themes and provides a funky, psychedelic sound.

Embodying his name, Unique delivered a distinct and individualistic sound that gave off an old, wistful resonance.

Artist: Unique

+ M

+ JULES

+ MIDNIGHT SKY

Unique unlatched the doors of Grandma with an overture consisting of sounds of dropping coins on a wooden stool, with monotonous lyric: money in the bag. With an exciting and uprising tune of M, Unique sets the mood of the album perfectly.

After a contentious track, Unique shifts the mood from a cryptic to a romantic tone. Jules seems to be a track that pleads to a lover to somehow be able to touch and hold her. Unique shows his hopelessly romantic side with this old-school track— and we’re in love.

Midnight Sky was the carrier single of Grandma, which was first released shortly after Unique’s departure from his former band, which also, coincidentally, released a single at almost the same time. Deviating from the previous tracks, Midnight Sky is a clean and sincere track about a person who wanted to show his affection to his lover, and shy declaratives of holding hands.

Proceeding M quickly, Cha-Ching!, a word for the sound of money, relatively seems to talk about the people who use other people for personal gain. With this heavily-synth track, Unique formally starts the album with a catchy and jazzy sound. + OZONE (ITULAK ANG PINTO) This track is probably the most controversial track of Unique’s debut album. Based on a true story, this track talks about a certain unfortunate incident that happened in 1996—the Ozone disco fire incident, which took the lives of 162 people and left 93 others injured, mostly college students. A petrifying narration through the song, Unique ironically told the story through a funky and groovy vibe on this track, which is atypical for such an incident. If you listen to it closely, you can hear faint sounds of people shouting and door being opened. The 18-year-old, who is not even yet born in the year of the incident, perfectly but horrifyingly encapsulated the incident into one, funky but cryptic song, (which you cannot singalong to without feeling odd.) Fun fact: “Itulak ang Pinto’’ adds more meaning to this song—people were trying to push the door from the inside and were trapped into the dancefloor because the door can only be opened inwards.

+ I’LL BREAK YOUR LITTLE HEART After a sappy love song, Unique diverted into a different mood again—I’ll Break Your Little Heart is a stubborn and playful song about, well, obviously, breaking someone’s heart. In my opinion, Unique purposively put this track after a loveydovey love song to remind us how diverse and eccentric this album can be. + SINO In Sino, Unique went back to his inquisitive self—now asking who can he love, or rather, what is love even? This track is about someone who is interrogating his audience about who and what? This track, which is centered about falling in love, also shows how people can be frightened of finding it, thus staying alone until they finally know the answer to who and what. + PAALALA/GOODNIGHT PRAYER An overture into the next track, Unique hauntingly sings acapella ranging from money talks to incidents and to love, Unique, in Paalala, talks about something religiously, about a savior, who is a higher being to telling someone to cling onto a Goodnight Prayer, which was purposively put into a smooth transition. Goodnight Prayer monotonously asks for something: sumalangit nawa aking kaluluwa.

+ APOY NG KANDILA Apoy ng Kandila is a straight-up indie film soundtrack. This track was also primarily posted on Unique’s soundcloud page. This is a slate, minimal storytelling of a person who is growing older and facing the more cruel and real world, which is a little personal for someone postpubescent like Unique. + WE KNOW Second to the last off this 43-minute masterpiece, We Know opens with lyrics that seems like complains about someone who is washing his hands away from his sins and protests about something: I can treat you / but where’s my money? And a fishy admission of knowing something is up. + MY OLD FRIEND Unique closes his debut album with a sentimental cradle with My Old Friend, which is a nostalgic track of friendship.

Fans theorized that this is a lullaby for his friends, and former bandmates—Blaster, Zild and Badj. My Old Friend is a perfect closing soundtrack for the album that travels through time; a track that cherishes memories, bids a bittersweet goodbye, and a reminder that even circumstances happen— love them, be the light and save the night.

Photos lifted from wire

+ CHA-CHING!

24 FEATURES LIVELIHOOD

MAN-MADE SHOES

A synthetic chaussures masterpiece

D

Text by Jehiel R. Asio Photos by John Dave Benedict Isidro

ays and weeks lapsed into months and years but the abiding passion of a man to a shoe would never get to an end.

Filling in the shoe rack It is a human nature to go and seek what’s righteous in his eyes, rendering a lot of effort and time wondering what can best satiate the enormous feeling of having something according to his wants and desires. Eyeing that smooth and perfect soles paired with a lavish look and style of a shoe placed on a rack can be one.

In today’s fashion-drenched world, shoes become more versatile as ever. People come and go to their favorite shoestore to find a shoe that best fits their taste. Shoes that can also be perceived in magazines and advertisements worn by their favorite personalities. It is a fact that, currently, shoe stores are

almost everywhere offering different styles, colors, and prices. But then again, among these stores that are mostly visited by different people in all genders and ages, there is also one that can be gratifying when it comes to beauty and uniqueness of their works.

Sole-seeking proprietor Formerly known as “Remshoes” that soon turned into “Faye’s ManMade Shoes” is one of the perfect places to find a pair of shoes that will surely fit our taste. It is a shoe store located at Brgy. Ligtasan Tarlac City near the City Hall which offers different styles of shoes for both men and women in all ages. It was built by a shoemaker himself, Mr. Remegio Tabane, who started at the age of 25. Tabane or known as Rems also started in shoemaking where he manages to travel to different places like Baguio, Olongapo, Cabanatuan and Angeles to work. At his young age, he already started living a life that demands his hard work and strength that soon leads all the labour and perseverance to run the store and provide what people need for their shoes since August 2010, the opening phase for Remshoes. It’s been a rough road for the industry from the very beginning. The competitors, the people’s tastes

and demands as well as the financial provision for the store to be able to survive. But Rems as the owner and general manager of the store made sure to fulfill their customer’s needs as well as the employees.

Tied laces of kin Then again, although the mind is willing, time will still come for a person to focus on other things as he gets older. It is when Rems passed the legacy and management to her sister-in-law, Marife Macalia, when Remshoes became Faye’s Man-Made Shoes. For almost eight years in the industry, the store has already mastered the art of managing a business and producing the best quality of shoes for their customers and made sure that everything was properly made by their 55-year-old master cutter, Ramon Estrada, and two shoemakers, Arnel Macalia, 53; and Romeo Medina 56 years old, both a family relative of Rems. Having the family within a workplace has been one great factor to run their business.

Grinder and machine of shoe making Just like before, Faye’s operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and still offers the same shoes with same materials used. Leather for all types of shoes for both men and women.

They assured the customers that all the products are all

VOLUME 70 ISSUE NO. 3 JANUARY- MAY 2019 fb.com/thework

made of leathers that are verified as a strong and tough material that makes the shoe long lasting for use. These materials are exclusively bought from the shoe capital of the Philippines, Marikina. Along with the materials used are the tools for the shoemaking process; the hammers, pliers, nails, and scratch awl. It is not an easy work, and that is why it takes a week to be able to create a pair of shoes or a range of five to eight pairs within a month. Aside from the designs that are originally made, Faye’s Man-Made Shoes is also customizing and repairing according to what the customers want. In addition to their products, they are also offering belts, wallets, coin purses, cellphone cases and leather laces for watch that are also made up of leathers. As of now, the black leather shoes for men are the bestselling especially to the students and workers in their different fields. It is indeed a great and ideal shoe store for everyone. As what Ms. Faye says, “Gusto nga namin sana masubukan ng mga taga-rito sa bayan natin yong hand-made shoes.”

Beyond repair Despite their purpose in continuing the run of the store, they were also aware that in our current time there are larger stores out there offering the same products with different materials being used.

Thus, Faye’s Man-Made Shoes is planning to upgrade their store into “Wanies enterprises.” A store which still offers their previous products, especially their trademark or the man-made shoes together with the newest products they will be adding in their enterprise. A different name, yes, but rest assured that the quality and uniqueness of their works would still remain along with other items offered that can still be customized.

Reminding what Mr. Hill said: You won’t always have what people ask for. But you’ll always have something in that vast inventory.

Indeed, “shoes are the first adult machines we are given to master.” That is why in each passing day, we became more engrossed in owning pair of different shoes according to our types, styles, and moods because to a certain extent, we see shoes as one of our greatest possessions.

Things we need to look for that will best fit our interests as well as looking for the right store to locate those shoes that are really meant for us. Therefore, in finding a store that offers good quality and unique designs of shoes, we must visit these kind of stores that will surely won’t disappoint us but will make us realize that it is an extensive place that gives us what we need and what we desire because “it did fit” isn’t enough.

Faye’s ManMade Shoes is one of the perfect places to find a pair of shoes that will surely fit our taste.

@theworktsu

@thework.pub

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VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

HISTORY

By Jejomar B. Contawe Page design by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig

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VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

then, the pressing need to retell non-fictitious narratives and historical accounts about the Marcos atrocities could not be more emphasized, for the transmission of memory from generation to generation is of utmost importance.

Forgetting an important historical event like the revolutionary mass movement that ended the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, or at the very least remembering it with reluctance or of miniscule regard, the people to whom the monumental event is obliged to reminisce are taking a dangerous side in support of, and not against, the purveyors of alternative history. But as a preventive mechanism against the perils of such historical revisionism, the continual retelling of truths about the martial law nightmares has to resurface into the public consciousness in order that the people who were not yet born during those horrific times would not be miseducated as to what life really was in the Philippines during martial rule.

Rebellion through people’s initiative can only become righteous if exercised to topple a repressive regime.

Together, let us cast our mind backwards to remember the terror-laden chapter where the strongman's rule engulfed the country with blood extracted from the people under the iron hands of one authoritarian man, and how the historic and bloodless mass action in EDSA became the stupendous sequel that inspired other nations to create their own peaceful revolutions, proven effective to legitimately overthrow a repressive government via people's initiative.

The era of injustice in retrospect It was September 23, 1972 when the unmistakable visage of Ferdinand Marcos flashed through the ominous blackand-white television formally proclaiming Martial Law in the Philippines. The country had allegedly reached a crucial stage where acts of lawless violence began to propagate, citing a series of insurgencies under the guise of bombing attacks which significantly include the bombing at the Plaza Miranda on August 21, 1971 that seriously injured more than a hundred

Photos lifted from wire

W

hen injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty!"

It is with great lamentation to admit that the EDSA People Power Revolution, the Filipino people's victorious exercise of democratic freedom for the ouster of a kleptocratic dictator, is but gone hugely unremembered. This is in part due to the multitude of Marcos defenders that fanatically lionize the martial law era as the country's Golden years of economic prosperity.

Never mind the thousands of extrajudicial executions; the unspeakable terror that enveloped the entire nation; the Imeldific corruption that has buried the country six feet under billions of dollars in external debt, among others.

The hell with human rights abuses: Ferdinand Marcos was heroic and fundamentally the best president this country has ever had. Of this gigantic claim even the country's current head of state is affirmative.

In such a state of amnesia,

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individuals. The bombings were said to have been the major, if not the central, basis as to why Ferdinand Marcos constitutionalized his authoritarian regime, effectively militarizing the entire nation with the voluntary subservience of the armed forces to whom he can conveniently tap to enforce detentions and warrantless arrests among those who wish to admonish him and his way of governance, as made ‘legal’ by his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.

Under Proclamation No. 1081, the country was perforated with fear and alarm.

Activists, radicals and other progressive groups who are and always were critical of any administration that falls short in prioritizing the needs of the underprivileged masses, are subjected under arrest for audaciously airing their views and grievances. For Marcos perceives them as a colossal threat that could expose his highly controversial state of affairs. In consequence, activists are slammed as rebels and the Pahayagang Malaya the Mosquito Press – pests that are meant to suffer behind bars should they continue their operations in exposing with ferocity the anomalies transpiring un-ironically within the government.

This had been said over and over and it will be said again: life during martial law was not in adherence to freedom lovers. Curfew protocols were strictly implemented that would render the nights bereft of human noise. But this was no commendable enforcement of peace – it was silence induced through instilling fear and threat among the public.

Opposing the policy, no matter how deemed oppressive, would mean the infamous Philippine Constabulary would punish the disobedient under various morbid torture methods. It's no work of fiction when ML stories entail victims being gang raped; their private parts electrocuted or a body part mutilated; a great many treated like animals; while others were either found rotting dead and abandoned like garbage in the roadside or their remains never to be found again. What kind of government does that to its own people?

Having brought all this in mind, the following are the

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

That to say that there are no human rights abuses recorded during martial law was false, misleading and offensive. This was the injudicious claim of the former First Lady Imelda Marcos and her eldest daughter Imee.

The inhumanity of martial law in factual numbers, as backed by historians: 70,000 of incarcerated individuals; about 35,000 of them tortured under various barbaric methods; and 3,257 of them extrajudicially killed. Enforced disappearances, known to be the desaparecidos, were 737.

Not needless to say, these are not just numbers illustrated for statistical purposes. These were fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, breadwinners, individuals, humans – all had risked their lives to oppose and subjugate the oppression of the Marcos regime.

author’s summation of what he had read, researched, and watched from documentaries spearheaded by historians, with hopes of enlightening readers his age that the Marcos years were no praiseworthy nor golden an era to justify the latter as the country’s top exemplar of good leadership.

First, that Marcos is not a hero. Even just the thought of considering him one is reprehensible. The rehabilitated image of the Marcos family

to the public mindset began (as well as fortified) when President Duterte in 2016 ordered and later approved by the Supreme Court the late dictator's remains to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, where most, if not all, of our genuine public servants who perished in patriotic martyrdom lie in rest. Now in close proximity to them was a dictator globally notorious for his thievery and human rights violations. Welcome to the Philippines.

That it was the inception of his dastardly dictatorship that marked the death of the country as a democratic society, and not the insurgencies which have reportedly infiltrated here. Reports have it that his initial presidential term was a ‘dry run’ to Philippines under the rules of authoritarianism – that the country’s fate under the Marcos machinery was long planned. A day before its formal proclamation, an assassination against then-Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile was staged, as the latter himself would later admit to have been the order of Marcos to all the more amplify the false necessity of the country towards an authoritarian government. The purpose of Enrile’s false assassination was served the next day: Martial law was declared. Democracy was dead.

That it is true that infrastructure spendings were remarkable during the first years of Marcos in power, but what people most deliberately dismiss was how it was made plausible: staggering amount of loan borrowed from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund which, up to this day, leaves our country rich with external debt than what our paying capacity could ever allow. Adding more insult to

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injury, the ridiculous amount of wealth of the Marcoses which courts in the Philippines, U.S. and Switzerland have confirmed illegally acquired was only partially recovered, a huge blow against those that claim the corruption charges to the Marcos family were but mere political accusations.

That the EDSA People Power does not favor any particular political partisanship. This is in response as to how the revolutionary movement was being labeled as a ‘yellow’ undertaking, when in truth, the resurrection of democracy in the country, and its remarkable significance thereof, was not to credit the Yellows or any other political colors, for the credit goes entirely towards the bravery, courage and resilience of the Filipino people in risking their lives in upholding Philippine democracy.

That rebellion as a criminal offense can be redefined as a much bolder but legitimate activity to decimate the prevailing walls of injustice formed through martial law. The EDSA People Power movement taught us how rebellion via people’s initiative, minus the prospect of resorting to violence

to combat violence, can only become righteous if exercised to topple a repressive regime.

Permissible (and even highly encouraged) were the public’s wrath as vehemently expressed through protest actions against the enablers of oppression and fascism. Solon, a great Athenian legislator, have haunting words to say to those who denigrate activism as an illegitimate act of civil disobedience, as an undertaking unworthy of emulation: “Wrongdoing can only be avoided if those who are not wronged feel the same indignation at it as those who are.” *** Notwithstanding the unrelentingly heated debates between Marcos defenders and his detractors, the inhumane acts fomented by the Marcos administration should remain undebatable. To completely shrug off the significance of the revolution that put an end to the martial law era is dismayingly revelatory of a generation endemically plagued by amnesia, revisionists being the focal bacteria which debilitate the people's capacity to distinguish not who is right or wrong, but what is.

But we refuse to get dissuaded with this hubris, and instead our principal focus is channeled towards the

education and enlightenment of the succeeding generations who were yet to get baptized with teachings in Philippine History – and one of these shall integrally involve the perpetual retelling of the brutality of the Marcos dictatorship in order to integrate them with truths which revisionists are only too intent to bend for their benefit.

In the final analysis, the permissibility of the people to speak against the government when the situation demands it is what marks the substantial degree of democratic freedom a nation has as an integral right for its people. What would happen to a nation without bold and critical individuals who have the tenacity in raising public awareness about the anomalies transpiring within the government? Until such time that the general public will see activists not as State nuisances but as protectors of the masses and their basic human rights, the country would remain in the doldrums of political indifference as it is today: possessed and plagued by the perils of neutrality in the face of grave injustice, and this if maintained and unchanged, the devil can only be expected to dance in revelry, pleased by the wanton disregard of people during times when injustice was legislated into law, and the

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION DURING MARTIAL LAW Source: Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (1972-1986)

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Until such time that the general public will see activists not as State nuisances but as protectors of the masses and their basic human rights, the country would remain in the doldrums of political indifference.

latter's duty to petition against it is unfulfilled.

These revolutionary lessons taught to us by the pioneers of the EDSA People Power movement must not go unremembered. What is Philippines today if the said popular mass movement didn't happen? What is Philippines today if Marcos was not ousted from his dictatorial regime?

We might as well have ended up devoid of the privileges of democratic freedom that we enjoy from the time it was restored up to now.

But thanks to our courageous country men who pioneered a mass action that ended the Marcos dictatorship.

And we owe it to them, our martial law martyrs, to not be forgetful of the past, and instead direct our love for our country through democratic rage against those that try to bastardize and undermine it.

For the love of freedom and constitutional democracy, the 1986 EDSA People Power we must remember by heart, and the atrocities of the Marcos administration we must never, ever forget. #NeverAgain

Photos lifted from wire

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WILL THE REAL

O

n July 23, 1947, Narda saw a shooting star collapse into the woods while playing hideand-seek in the still of night.

Curiously, she approached the site and found the loveliest, immaculate white stone she had ever laid eyes upon. She noticed that there was an inscription on its surface. Long before she could decipher what the writing meant, she quickly swallowed the stone in fear of having it swiped away by her brother and friends. When she reached home, she thought hard to remember the symbols etched on the stone.

Memory

PLEASE STAND UP? Text by Andrea Nicole B. Sapnu Graphics by Kenneth Leo V. Pamlas jolted as swift as lightning, and Narda mouthed the name that changed her life forever: “Darna!”

The year was 1947. The Second World War has reached its end, at last. After nations have been ravaged into ruins by big, imperious ambitions and bigger war machines, leaving a whole archipelago physically and culturally devastated, it is clear that what is vital at times like this is a superhero.

Mars Ravelo had a vision. This renowned Filipino comic artist believes in the immense power that a stronghold character could yield – that it could uplift the spirits of his countrymen from their individual hollows of void left lingering within after the war.

He visualizes an embodiment of Filipino resilience – someone who will become the kryptonite to the male American champion that is Superman. Ravelo decided that the country is in dire need of a heroine.

Along with illustrator Nelson Redondo, whose works have been recognized by the likes of DC and Marvel Comics, Ravelo concocted a heroine

and had her debut under Ace Publishing (formerly Pilipino Komiks) despite backlashes he received – how it is impossible for a female superhero to create a lasting impact to the Filipino audience.

It is important to note that the late 40s does not constitute for the best era in terms of asserting gender equality, for the women do not relish egalitarian privileges, let alone a limelight in the comics industry. Yet it was, indeed, the best time to prove the critics wrong, as this female post-war superhero acquired herself a reputation in both print and broadcast media, withstanding the test of time as the franchise was adapted in film and television throughout the decades.

The early 2000s could be considered as the golden age of superhero fantasies in Philippine television, and the Darna adaptation was among the highly anticipated and widely patronized by baby boomers, post-millennials, and generations encompassed within the spectrum of both.

To have this esteemed narrative remade today, in the present time and age – when information circulates in superspeed and sentiments regarding worldly dilemmas, except for issues that are socially relevant, travel faster than light – is both a blessing (in the form of free PR) and a curse, since a tumult

of debates regarding who will be the next face of this classic phenomenon has already shaken the masses.

Naturally, the best fit successor, if we are to adhere to the stereotype of Filipina beauty, is a natural-born woman with toned muscles, an even complexion, straight, jet-black hair and an unbelievably slender set of legs. After the perfect physique comes the extent of the fan base. This is to guarantee maximum viewership. An ‘influencer’, as one who does not have an inkling of what this word actually conveys might suggest.

Unfortunately, these things are taken into account in satisfying the public demand– that if she does not come close to the likes of Sharon Cuneta, Vilma Santos, Marian Rivera, and Angel Locsin who were considered the epitome of female beauty of their respective generations, what makes her think that she could become Darna? The audacity!

The myriad of propositions – the familiar names like Julia Baretto or Pia Wurtzbach – do no good but submerge the very essence of the narrative: the orthodox qualification, where it was stipulated that the white mystic stone only requires a pure heart with the purest intentions from a human being to harness Darna. Specifically, she must be dedicated in protecting innocent lives and obliterating all forms of evil. This, and nothing more.

If it is as simple as this, I would like to pitch in a few suggestions as well:

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Darna of the tribes Every weekday, Narda sets foot to school – a small building with three rooms situated atop a mountain seven miles from her home sitio – with only the thinning soles of her sandals separating her calloused feet from the rough patch of a long, winding dirt road. Except for when it rains heavily. Nay, except for when it rains at all.

The ground can only handle little rainwater – it disintegrates in the rush of the gushing flood, leaving behind craters and trails, and making transportation difficult. This becomes a travesty to her tribe because they need to transport their crops and livestock in order to earn a living, which is in fact, not sufficient enough to cover even their basic needs.

Indigenous Narda might not have attended half of her required classes, but she knows that the only way to get people outside her tribe to pay

attention is when their village becomes a business interest.

This, she has learned from the many stories passed in between their meals of boiled camote roots; about how their cousins from Pampanga have been displaced out of their homes for good. Since their land serve no benefit for the rich and the powerful, Narda would have to wait for a miracle before their roads get fixed.

If Darna was a tribeswoman, she could have been an ethnic champion.

With her super strength, she could’ve lifted their cranes and their trucks with her bare hands, and get them working where they need to be – paving roads in remote areas and creating schools that could hone her people into thinkers and dreamers, instead of treating people of ethnic origins as mere figures in the grand scheme of their superiors’ self-serving interests.

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Darna of the uncompensated workforce In a small apartment unit in the city slums, Narda breastfeeds an infant while watching her favorite teleserye with her compact, antenna phone held by her open hand. This is the only way she knows how to pass time during her idle hour.

Unfortunately, an hour is all she gets throughout the day. Any moment now, she must remember to take out the vegetables she was boiling in time before her husband arrives from work.

Narda knows the consequences when she fails to provide for her tired, hungry husband. The bruises on her wrists and neck are as alive as freshly picked grapes, and the excruciating pain in between her thighs still keeps her from walking a proper straight line from the kitchen to the sala. The pitch of her husband’s voice when he called her vile names like ‘puta’ and ‘hampaslupa’

resonates on repeat in the back of her head.

To her excuse, it was the season finale of her cherished series. A droplet of tear trickled on her cheek as the female lead bid her hearty “I do” while the groom looked at her lovingly, with glittering eyes as she mouths the comeliest two words he has ever heard in a while. Just as she was about to wipe the wet from her cheeks, Narda was disturbed by the smell of burning in the kitchen and a bang on the door. For the second time, she was not able to prepare her husband dinner in time.

If Darna was a housewife, she could have dodged the heated pot hauled to her face. She could have flown off the roof with her young, leaving her abusive husband’s stomach growl in hunger. But she was no superhuman. In this economy, she will not receive financial, let alone emotional recuperation she deserves in return for her labor. She only had a vile fate to confront: a rough palm hurled towards her cheek.

Darna of the closet Since the announcement of the school play being a theatrical remake of Mars Ravelo’s famed work, there was one in particular who wanted the lead role more than any other. For months, she had grown her hair at shoulder’s length and practiced modulating her voice by reading the lines as softly as she could. At nights when her father and brothers are soundly asleep, she locks her bedroom door to quietly rehearse in front of her full-body mirror, her poise and projection ‘on fleek’ as she would put it.

On the day of the audition, she wanted to make a grand impression. Go big or go home. For the first time in her life, she wanted to be recognized as a force to be reckoned with – channeling the heroine in her favorite comic series.

In full attire consisting of a red brassiere with a gold star sewn into each cup, matching skin-tight shorts and boots, and an avant garde headdress to complete her look, she marched towards the stage, head held high.

“Darna!” her voice cracked as she shouted. A cornucopia of laughter and ridiculing looks filled the auditorium for what seems to be an eternity. The Literature teacher

silenced the blaring crowd.

When all the noise subsided, the teacher reprimanded the cold and embarrassed hopeful, reminding her that the announcement specifically and clearly sought

for a ‘Narda’ and not a ‘Nardo.’

Turning the knob of their front door, Leonardo was too depressed to change clothes and to remember that his father and brothers do not know of this internal metamorphosis that he kept in secret ever since he was 9. He did not know what came after the very instant he set one foot inside their house.

Everything only became clear when he gazed at his battered

face and body one more time at his full-length mirror.

If only Darna was not biologically woman, she could be the hero of the butterflies constrained in every closet of every home, budging for the gleaming, bright light of liberation. It is then and only then will gay or transwomen artists get the lead role instead of being depreciated as supporting characters or mere comedic stunts.

Darna of the resistance Narda always wanted to make the world a better place.

She wanted it to be as equally habitable to people regardless of social status, nature of work, gender, or indigenous background.

In order for her to attain this, she knew that she had to struggle to subvert the current status quo where there is hierarchy and inequality.

Her superhuman | to p.44

FEATURES

ARTS & CRAFTS

32 |

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

CLAY LAND Crafting its Course to the Crest

By Mary Klaudine L. Paz

P

lenty of artists can reproduce a human structure – for a painter, the stroke of their brushes and the sniff of fumes of a canister of paint is what sends them in a state of euphoria. In the case of a writer, stringing words together is undoubtedly what allows them to depict an image in a person’s mind. In a way, words, as their form of art, is also what enables them to breathe. However, only a few artists in Tarlac can breathe life into a body of clay.

Given the opportunity to do what she loves doing, Michelle Landingin started a business called “Clay Land” – an online handmade clay arts shop that allowed her to manifest her artistry in the form of a polymer clay a type of clay made in plastic that is durable and waterresistant.

In search of a hobby, Michelle started translating her emotions into tangible works of art through polymer clay back in 2010. Her sister-in-law, Iris, was the one who influenced her to do clay work, starting off with molding different shapes to create her very own masterpiece.

Photos from Clay Land’s Facebook page

Later on, Landingin realized that she can captivate her hobby into a full-time business while working from home to monitor her son, who named the clay arts shop according to his love for Candy Land.

In the competitive realm of online business, if you want to thrive, you will be the voice of your own product; therefore, your scream should be earth

shatteringly loud. In which, in the case of Landingin, a year after her business was launched, she received a call and was asked to participate in a Singapore-based contest, and was later on featured making miniature foods on the infamous Philippine television news magazine show, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, also known as KMJS, on GMA Network.

Her booming success sparked her flame to further illuminate and become more challenged from doing relatively unembellished designs to spicing them up with more intricate ones. Landingin crafted dishes including beef broccoli, Batangas beef bulalo, sizzling sisig, and steamed fish, which positively intrigued the viewers of the show. She shared that in order to improve, you must continually engage in your craft, and giving up must be out of the equation.

Starting a business that invests itself on arts requires more than a bucket load of patience and consistency. Landingin shared that she began her journey with improvising her own materials using toothpicks, rulers, and oven toasters in order to add details to the clay, and produce unique and personalized gifts, such as key chains, coffee mugs, and phone cases, as well as souvenirs and giveaways that include ref magnets, cake-toppers, and pen holders.

In a span of 10 minutes, Landingin imparted the process of creating clay caricatures that involved the conditioning of the clay, the mixture of oil pastel colors, shaping it, and placing the

Michelle Landingin’s drive to establish a name for Clay Land online brought her to places she never imagined. finished product inside the oven to bake. The length of time it would take depends upon the thickness of the clay used, along with the complexity of the molded clay.

Her artistry, she claimed, was sparked not only by her needs to make a living, but also by her crave to be known by her masterpieces.

Polymer clay, when left idle, dries up easily. Which should not be the case for the hands of an artist, for the act of shaping clay every day, or simply engaging in whatever form of art, will not only produce necessary stimulus for the brain but also open doors for you to discover what you can do with your hands, to forge something that will be the bridge to connect with others in a real and authentic way.

Michelle Landingin’s drive to establish a name for Clay Land online brought her to places she never imagined. Yearly, she joins contests that involve exploring the world of special-effects make-up or prosthetics. Unsurprisingly, she was able to craft her way to the top, like what she does with her clay, and always gets into the top three awardees.

In doing what she loves and loving what she does, people manifest admiration for her art. Just recently, Clay Land | to p.44 won 2nd place in the

FEATURES

VOL 70 NO 2 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018

W

ine is typically associated with wealth. That is, wine is the sumptuous, almost exclusive alcoholic beverage of the privileged – therefore the purchase of such is impossible (and inadvisable) among the underprivileged.

On the other hand, the kamote (sweet potato) is typically associated with the people living in and or below the poverty line. When the presence of a kamote in the wooden, nearly dilapidating table of the typical Filipino family is almost perennial, he is doubtless poor.

But notwithstanding the distinction between the two as symbolic of one’s socioeconomic status, should they merge to come off with a new produce – Moncada’s kamote wine is born – a native product that the growing municipality is honored to assert proprietorship.

The tricky making of ‘kamote wine’ Over a decade and a half

ago, the Local Government Unit of Moncada ventured into sweet potato food processing.

The indigenous root crop, after all, was ubiquitous on various strategic parts of the municipality especially in barangay Sapang, making Moncada a prime producer of the agricultural plantation of sweet potatoes in the Philippines.

According to Mrs. Vida Bagamaspad, Business Unit Head of the El Vino de Benito Moncada Wine Manufacturing Plant, prior to the manufacture and efficacious inception of kamote wine, they first had a sour taste of failure through a series of trial and error, even with extensive research and persistent experimentations.

But with the generous assistance of Tarlac Agricultural University trainers, 37 participants from 37 barangays had the chance to try for themselves how to incorporate sweet potatoes into wine making.

“Kinarir naming ‘yong paggawa. Experiment, research, karamihan may palpak,” Bagamaspad humbly narrated, and was soon enough elated with pride as to how, despite the debacles they encountered along the failure-laden process, they now relish their prestigious harvest that was Don Benito wine, all thanks to their collective dedication and commitment.

INDUSTRY

OF RARITY AND REFINEMENT

DON BENITO WINE Text and photos by Jejomar B. Contawe

The launching of Don Benito wine The name ‘Don Benito’ was so branded after the husband of the outgoing municipal mayor, Hon. Estelita M. Aquino. Himself a wine connoisseur, it was said and advertised to exemplify his name and bring prestige and honor to the budding town of Moncada.

It was officially launched in 2010 and was approved and even endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as well as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for public display and consumption. Having seen the enormous potential of the locally made wine, DOST and DTI funded the facilities needed that are currently utilized in the making of Don Benito wine.

The wine’s seasonal sales Introducing Don Benito wine to the public was relatively easy. The people’s curiosity are provoked in thinking that indigenous vegetables like sweet potatoes can actually be fermented into a wine that the consumers at large would patronize.

Its sales seasonally boom during the months of November up to February. During the election period, political candidates are likely to purchase boxes of Don Benito wine and lend them to sponsors as well as to the voting public as presents. Don Benito wine is also being bought as a gift among newlyweds, as well as during the festive month of February where Moncada paints its gazebos jubilantly red with its town fiesta, and the

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mayor is likely to give away cartons of wine to visitors, one of his way not just to demonstrate hospitality but also as a marketing stratagem to promote the wine among its neighboring towns and provinces.

Trade fairs The eye for national market was demonstrated by trade fairs in which the municipality of Moncada is much willing to partake in, most especially to make known all the more the town’s uniquely concocted wine.

Free tastes are then offered during such events with consumers expressing their affirmation of the sweet potato product.

In one of its travel to Cebu in Ayala mall, six bottles of wine were exhibited to the shoppers for free taste in order to baptize the Cebuano palate of the Don Benito wine’s rare and refined taste and aroma.

The plan to introduce the wine through free taste were then put off when locals insist that they buy it. There are bountiful of sweet potatoes in Cebu, why didn’t they come up with the idea to make it as a wine, the way Moncada victoriously did? Bagamaspad wondered.

Plot twist: The ones who approached Bagamaspad are actually from Tarlac, an anecdote to which she herself could not help but burst on laughing.

Just recently as of this writing, Moncada’s wine participated in a three-day event aptly titled “Likha ng Central Luzon.”

Neighboring provinces displayed their own versions of | to p.35

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FEATURES

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

PERSONA

Tales of passion, invention, and advocacy

PROFESSOR

BOTIO

IN THE FLESH

By Jejomar B. Contawe

W

e will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.”

In the late 1870s, an ingenious inventor named Thomas Alba Edison made light coming off a small bulb plausible, giving the world a sufficient lighting that the darkest of nights aren’t anymore aided with lamps and dwindling candles but with the effortless convenience of a wide-ranging incandescent light created by a man whose mind is inarguably one in a million.

Born on the 26th day of September, year 1974, Professor Rodel T. Botio idolized this very genius so much so that his fixed fascination with the notion of light conquering the void of darkness had brought forth an advocacy that he was to spearhead: a solar-powered generator through clean technology.

But before that, let’s take a good and closer look at Professor Botio as he bared himself fully naked with marvelous tales of his precocious memory, astounding inventions, passionate salad

days, and environmental philanthropy.

His exceptional imagination Professor Botio’s earliest memory can be dated back at the tender age of three when his lower arm was permanently bruised by a burnt plastic.

It was purely a memory, an exceptional imagination that he could recall almost entirely in a graphic detail. Two years later, he had found himself captivated when a boy less than a decade older than him has demonstrated how a flashlight works. The device, once attached with running batteries, astonishingly radiates light that partly blinded him once he focused his gaze towards it. This triggered the curiosity out of his fledgling mind, thus bringing

Professor Botio’s perpetual advocacy sprang chiefly from his passion of initiating technology that generally aids environmental issues.

refrigeration technology for two years and acquired the necessary knowledge that made him fairly above average when dealing with technological and technical aspects.

But it wasn’t all that easy for our 44-year-old local inventor.

His adversities include a series of trial and error that ended up unsuccessful even with a manual and a reference in hand.

But lo and behold, it was when he was asleep and in a state of dream that ideas graphically come to him. Once awake, as if by some force entirely unknown yet to him, his formulas become right, and voila! An invention is born.

about a never-before-unveiled human superpower of his: the ingenious art of inventing.

But in retrospect, Professor Botio could only recall his adolescent self as nothing short of an average student who does not fail but also does not excel in his classes. He does not take his studies as diligently as would-be valedictorians would do. But once he got out of high school, his passion for technology and the sciences has resurrected.

He studied

‘Chemist of the Year’ Shortly thereafter, he finally decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Tarlac State University.

Professor Botio was, according to him, surprised of his own capabilities, particularly as to how fairly easily he could grasp complex concepts and intricate prototypes that average people may find a little too esoteric.

After all, he was never the top student in his classes. He was this adequate man with an adequate mind that adequately functions in perfect adequacy.

Or so he had just humbly thought, because he actually | to p.35 graduated with a

SOLAR-POWERED GENERATOR. In 2017, Prof. Rodel Botio led the team from the College of Science who developed the country’s first user-friendly, solar powered generator.

FEATURES

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Professor Botio coveted accolade: he was hailed as the Chemist of the Year.

This was validated through contests he won in the Philippine Chemistry Congress, both in the regional and national platforms. He takes pride at realizing he had contributed awards with the flag of TSU he staunchly waves with genuine joy. Those were the moments that Professor Botio treasure and remember with absolute clarity.

Immediately after graduation, he decided to apply and be able to join the roster of faculty members of TSU’s College of Science. He nostalgically remembered being questioned by the then-TSU President: “What can you do for the university?” Much to the former’s perplexity, sir Botio left the office, and went straight back with his invention as a way of practically saying that his inventiveness is the biggest thing that he could offer. His

invention, a magnetic stirrer, would later win him an award, making TSU’s name in the field of science, at the time, a growing force to reckon with.

His indomitable passion After 19 long years in the pedagogy, Professor Botio now fully regards teaching his indomitable passion. He confided his joy and inexplicable excitement every time he was to enter the classroom with a flock of hopefuls inside it. He wanted to educate these young men and women with the indispensable importance of preserving and conserving the remnants of the environment for both the present generation and the posterity.

As one of Professor Botio’s former student in Earth Science, I have seen firsthand how he was into the relentless quest of our earth’s preservation. He had shown us various documentaries that heartwrenchingly illustrate how the environment was gradually in decline, and how we can all make a difference

Don Benito Wine wines, but none of them offered the rarity and refinement of a wine made of sweet potatoes, which only attracted and amazed the public from different towns and cities in Central Luzon.

Struggles Whilst Don Benito wine is gradually on its way towards domestic prominence, there are struggles currently faced by the initiators of the local product.

One of these is the downright lack of manpower, wherein utility personnel are not permanent, leaving 68-yearold Bagamaspad occasionally singlehanded in the manufacturing plant.

“Pero ito na ‘yong trabahong hindi ko maiwanan,” she stated with nostalgia, further recalling her initial plan to retire and resign, but she

from p.34

from p.33

was then encouraged by Don Benito himself, saying she was the rightful person who could maintain and shore up the market sales of the wine to the public.

What is more, with DOST and DTI’s forewarning regarding the sales of the wine, wherein the facilities granted will be pulled out should the sales or production dramatically decrease, she was unfazed.

The sales are on no account declining, but in fact steadily rising.

‘Hindi basta basta’ As its broad name of place implies, El Vino de Benito Moncada Wine Manufacturing Plant can be misleading. This was especially justified among visitors of the site, whereupon the latter would brazenly dismiss the manufacturing plant

in our own unique ways. In all fairness, Professor Botio have victoriously delivered the message.

His advocacy Professor Botio’s perpetual advocacy sprang chiefly from his passion of initiating technology that generally aids environmental issues. The multi-voltage system solarpowered generator that he led along with the res earch team of TSU, was acknowledged and funded by the DOST Region III, and has succesfully powered a television set, electric fans, a refrigerator, airconditioners and electric lights simultaneously during its pilot testing. The invention stands as a proof that innovative measures can be safely utilized and help assuage, if not fully obliterate, environmental problems. It even helps residents in electricitydeprived barrios, a huge help to which Professor Botio was beyond ecstatic to be a part.

A perennial question for reflection: What can you do for the environment? We sure have plenty. If we are as passionately compassionate for the environment as Professor Botio, there can be absolutely

as restricted and cramped to be even named a manufacturing site. The office also encountered being told that they do nothing but idle inside, but when toured within the fermentation and packaging room, the visitors are astonished with the massive equipment, intricate facilities and the load of work before their naked eyes.

“Hindi basta basta ang paggawa. Akala nila wala kaming ginagawa rito sa loob ng planta, pero mahirap. Kapag pumasok na sila nagugulat sila.”

The process The initiators of the local wine rest assure the public that its making is spanking clean and free from health hazards when it comes to its processing.

Sweet potatoes, so to say, were the primary ingredients in formulating the wine. To assure only the most microscopic of dirt, if at all, the vegetables undergo through a rigid cleaning and sterilization

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no hesitations with regards to pocketing our candy wrappers instead of throwing them away with reckless abandon, no matter how miniscule the gesture may seem. *** In person, Professor Botio was affable, genuine, compassionate, driven, a loving father of three girls, and a devoted husband to his only wife. Needless to say, he did not give me a flat uno to write this piece of extolment of him. For starters, I suck at maths and sciences. There is something else entirely that he have imparted to me though: a renewed sense of empathy towards the environment. Because just like his invention of providing electricity through clean technology, he hopes to enlighten us that industrialization is entirely permissible, so long as they do not interfere and contribute deteriorating factors against our only livable planet.

That’s Professor Botio in the flesh.

before it can be chopped into cubes down into a purified water. Once it was through, the ingredients will be boiled until it softens. Complementing the kamote ingredients is its 13.6 percent alcohol content. The finished product would cost 300 pesos for every 500ml and 200 pesos for every 375ml.

Distinctions and future goals While Don Benito wine had yet to hold national distinction a hostage, it seized and still seizes enough commendation that would eventually metamorphose itself from a “one town one product” campaign of Moncada into a nationwide wine phenomenon.

With DOST, DTI and the LGU’s unremitting support, Moncadenians are hopeful that with the recognition of its very own Don Benito wine to the public, it would give the municipality of Moncada an established and notable legacy.

36 DEVCOM DEVELOPMENT AGGRESSION

BULABOG SA BALOG-BALOG Sa panulat nina Albritch Adam A. Labiano at Jehiel R. Asio

A

ng tubig ay buhay.

Mauunawang ang pag-usbong ng mga sibilisasyon ay nakabatay din sa kung gaano kaunlad ang anyong tubig nito. Bilang isang agrikultural na bansa, umaasa ang malaking bahagdan ng mga magsasakang Pilipino sa irigasyon, ilog at mga sapa, at upang matugunan ang ganitong pangangailangan. ang mga kabundukan ang natitirang kanlungan—mga dambuhalang dam. Mga dam na istrukturang kukulong sa tubig tuwing tag-araw para sa irigasyon sa mga sakahan at mag-iimbak naman ng tubig ulan tuwing tag-ulan.

Isa na nga rito ang Balog-Balog Multi-Purpose Project (BBMP) na sagot ng pamahalaan sa suliranin sa irigasyon. Ngunit sa pag-agos ng pondo para sa pagbuo nito, ilan kaya ang makikinabang? Ilan kaya ang malulunod sa dambuhala nitong istruktura?

Mga larawan ni John Dave Benedict Isidro

VOLUME 70 ISSUE NO. 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019 THEWORKTSU

SA LIKOD NG KABUNDUKAN Alas dose na nang umalis ang dyip na aming sinakyan sa Tarlac City Common Terminal, ang una’t huling biyahe nito patungong Brgy. Maamot, San Jose, Tarlac.

Wala kaming kamalay-malay sa aming pupuntahan bukod sa mga nakausap namin na lokal na Abelling na si Nanay Gloria at ang drayber ng aming sinasakyan na si Manong Ruben Ellasus na pawang kagawad din ng barangay. Lingid sa aming kaalaman, dalawang oras ang biyaheng aming tatahakin— sementadong paakyat at pababang kurbadang daanan.

Makikita na rin ang pagbuhos ng pondo sa daanan para matunton ang mga malalayong komunidad sa San Jose. Sa biyahe, tumambad sa amin ang mga ilog at matatayog na mga kabundukan na namumutiktik sa mga punongkahoy – mga tanawin na naikukubli sa dulong bahagi ng Tarlac. Ngunit sa likod nito may mga hinaing ring hindi maiparating: ito ay ang pambubulabog ng mga imprastrakturang nagbabadyang lumubog sa komunidad.

SA MATAYOG NA PADER Ang Balog-Balog Multi-Purpose Project (BBMP) ay isang proyektong pang-irigasyon na inaasahang magbibigay ng patubig sa mga munisipalidad ng Pura, Paniqui, Ramos, Victoria, Gerona, San Jose, La Paz, Capas, Concepcion, at sa lungsod ng Tarlak. Ang kabuuang pondo ng proyekto ay nagkakahalaga ng 13.37 bilyong piso samantalang ang konstruksyon ng main dam nito ay nagkakahalaga ng 5.86 bilyong piso sa ilalim ng joint venture ng kumpanyang ITP Construction Inc. at Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Co. Lmtd.

Ito ay unang napasinayaan noong 1988 sa panahon ng dating Pangulong Corazon Aquino ngunit ang paglindol noong 1990 at ang pagputok ng Mt. Pinatubo noong 1991 ang nagpahinto sa proyektong ito. Ilang administrasyon din ang

Kap. Laurzano

Ang progreso ng malalaking pangkat ay hindi progresong pangkalahatan, bagkus ay progresong mapang-api. lumipas ngunit ang kawalan ng pondo ang pumipigil sa pagsulong nito.

Samantala, ang proyekto ay muling binigyan ng pansin sa ilalim ng administrasyon ng dating Pangulong Benigno Simeon Aquino III. Sa ngayo’y ipinagpapatuloy ng Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang proyektong ito sa ilalim ng programang Build, Build, Build nito.

Ayon sa National Irrigation Authority (NIA), ang Tarlac ay ang may pinakamababang antas ng irigasyon sa Gitnang Luzon.

Tinatayang 29 porsyente lamang sa 114,530 na lupaing sakahan ang nabibigyan ng patubig. Samantalang pangalawa naman ang probinsya sa Nueva Ecija kung ang pagbabatayan naman ay ang ani ng palay sa rehiyon. Sa ngayon, ang BBMPPhase 1 ay nagsusuplay ng tubig sa 12,475 ektaryang lupaing sakahan sa probinsya ng Tarlak. Ayon sa ahensya, ang konstruksyon ng Phase 2 ng proyekto ay magbibigay ng patubig sa karagdagang 21,935 na lupain at patuloy na suplay sa Phase 1 ng proyekto.

Tinatayang makagagawa ng 43.5 megawatts ng kuryente ang hydro-electric power plant ng dam na ito habang ibinibida ang pagiging tourism area at flood control mitigation nito.

PAGKALUNOD NG NAYON Sa Brgy. Maamot makikita ang payak na pamumuhay ng mga katutubo at lokal na mamamayan nito. Pawang mga matamis na ngiti ang naisasagot nila sa aming pagbati. Sa likod nito, nagsisimula na ang konstruksyon ng dam sa ilog na nagpapahirap sa kanilang posisyon bilang mga mamamayan sa kanilang lupain.

Ang Brgy. Maamot ay isa lamang sa mga barangay na masasakop ng 28,076 ektaryang watershed ng Balog-Balog Dam. Mailulubog nito ang mga ancestral domain claim ng mga katutubong Abelling at Aeta sa San Jose at Capas.

Mga kabundukang tahanan ng mga katutubong matagal nang nananahan sa mga liblib na mga sitio.

Ang mga mabuburang barangay ng Maamot ay maire-relocate sa Maambog Resettlement Area na sakop na ng barangay Sula na walong kilometro ang layo sa Maamot at 15 kilometro naman ang layo mula sa Sitio Dirita.

“Talagang apektado naman kami diyan sa proyekto. Kasi unang-una, ang inaalala ko riyan ay madidiscriminate ‘yong kultura ng mga katutubo. Ang naobserbahan ko diyan, hindi naman | to p.40

38 |

DEVCOM

from p.39 | kami inilipat sa aming sariling teritoryo. Inilabas kami sa aming barangay,” sagot ni Reynaldo Laurzano, 53, na kapitan ng Brgy. Maamot.

Sa lugar ng relokasyon, maisisilid ang mga maaapektuhan sa loob ng 300 metro-kuwadradong espasyo ng lupain na mayroon ng nakatayong mga kabahayan.

Ngunit ayon sa kapitan, malayo ito sa napagkasunduang lugar na mapupuntahan ng kanilang barangay. Pinangangambahan naman ng mga residente ang nakaambang landslide sa lugar na lilipatan kung sakaling magkaroon ng mga sakuna.

“Dun pa lang, naobserbahan na namin na hindi maganda ‘yong magiging sitwasyon namin.

‘Yong dati naming kalayaan, hindi na namin magagawa kasi nandoon na kami. Sa isang portion lang ng barangay Sula.

‘Di kami makapamuhay nang malaya doon,” dagdag pa nito.

Isa pa sa ikinababahala ng kapitan ay ang pagpapasakop sa ibang barangay sapagkat sakop ng barangay Sula ang relocation site ng kanilang barangay.

Hindi umano mabibigyan ng sapat na boses ang kanilang mamamayan sapagkat may ibang pagkakakilanlan at pangangailangan ito.

“Iyon nga mahihirapan [dahil] hindi naman lahat may pera. ‘Yong may pera, maganda doon. Paano naman ‘yong walang pera?” ani ng kapitan.

Kung susumahin, makukulong lamang sa komunidad ang mga lokal na malilipat sa kanilang relokasyon sapagkat walang kabuhayan doon at malayo ito sa kanilang nakasanayang lugar. Makukulob ang bawat katutubo sa kanilang mga lugar malayo sa kanilang natural na tahanan at kalikasan. Ang walang direktang pagsuporta ng gobyerno ang unti-unting gugutom sa kanila, bagama’t may tahanan ay hindi naman ito sapat upang maging permanenteng tirahan.

SIGAW NG KATUTUBO Nakasaad sa Chapter 3, Section 7 ng Republic Act 8371, o mas kilala bilang Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997, ang karapatan ng mga katutubo sa lupang ninuno. Samantala, ito ang batas na pumoprotekta sa mga katutubo sa mga umaangkin sa kanilang lupain sa ngayon.

Ang National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) naman ang sangay ng gobyerno na responsable sa pagprotekta sa mga karapatan ng katutubo.

“Kasi nakapaloob doon sa Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) na NCIP ‘yong bubuo ng monitoring team para doon sa pagtupad sa MOA between NIA at barangay. Kaso nga lang hanggang ngayon gumagawa kami ng request na dapat may monitoring team na sumubaybay sa MOA kasi ‘yong NCIP, siya ‘yong third party para mabuo ‘yong MOA naming,” ani Laurzano.

Ayon kay Mang Dominador Capiendo, 75, na dating chieftain ng tribong Abelling sa Maamot, Agosto taong 2017 nang umpisahan ang proyekto. Ipinangako sa kanila na magkakaroon ng resettlement area ang mga maaapektuhan ng proyekto kalakip pa nito ang kabayaran sa bahay, pananim na nakapaligid sa bahay, at iba pang istruktura na maaapektuhan. Kalakip din dito ang danyos sa pagkakaabala sa kanila ng proyekto o “bulabog” kung kanila’y tawagin.

Bagaman protektado ng IPRA, ang mga lupain ay maaaring gamitin kung ito ay may consent ng mga katutubo.

Ang patuloy na pagpapapirma ng iba’t-ibang dokumento ang isa sa mga nagiging problema ng mga katutubo dulot ng pagkakaroon ng salat na kaalaman.

“Hindi ko naman ipinipilit pero ang pinaglalaban ko lang naman ay babayaran

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sila ng sapat na bayad. Ngem madi da pay nakagudwa ay bayad, ay imabag da idi last na meeting namin. Pati ‘yong bundok na pinagkukuhanan namin ng kabuhayan, pati ‘yong tubig namin na mainit, ayaw sana namin na maitaboy ‘yan,” dagdag ni Mang Dominador.

Bagama’t mayroong trabahong konstruksyon sa itinatayong dam sa kanilang barangay, ang katandaan ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit hindi siya makakukuha ng trabaho doon. Samantala, sa palayan ni Mang Dominador siya ay nakapagtatanim ng tatlong beses sa isang taon. Mula sa palayan ay nakakapag-ani siya ng 150 kaban ng palay kada

“Hindi ko naman ipinipilit pero ang pinaglalaban ko lang naman ay babayaran sila ng sapat na bayad.”

Mang Dominador

anihan. Hindi man malaki ang kita dulot ng sa utang lang rin galing ang kanilang kapital, sumasapat naman ito sa pangaraw-araw.

Ayon sa probisiyon sa Memorandum of Agreement sa barangay Maamot, magkakaroon ng 150 ektarya ng fish cages ang mga mamamayan ng barangay kapag tuluyan nang natapos ang dam, 35 ektarya rito ang sa Sta. Juliana samantalang 115 ang sa Maamot. Ngunit sasapat nga ba ito sa dumaraming mamamayan na magugutom habang hindi pa naisasaayos ang dam?

Sa kasalukuyan, pinapatag na ang bundok ng Puwangi sa San Jose na pumipinsala sa natural na kapaligiran ng komunidad na ito. Mga backhoe at dump truck ang makikitang pabalik-balik sa nakalbo nang bundok upang pasinayahan ang dam na may taas na 105 metro.

Tinatayang ang pagtatapos ng proyekto ay masisilayan sa 2021—isang dambuhalang dam. *** Sa Tarlac kung saan patuloy na naghihikahos ang mga katutubo sa pagtira sa bundok dahil sa kakapusan at pagkakapantay-pantay sa oportunidad, itatayo ang dambuhalang dam na papatid sa uhaw ng naghihikahos ring mga magsasaka. Lulubog ang mga lupaing ninuno ng mga katutubong Abelling at Aeta kasabay ng pag-ahon ng iilan.

Hindi ito ang progresong gustong makamtan ng mga maliliit at napag-iiwanan kundi pagkilala sa karapatan at sa kanilang dibersidad.

Ang progreso ng malalaking pangkat ay hindi progresong pangkalahatan, bagkus ay progresong mapangapi. Walang progresong iniiwan sa lusak ang mga mamamayan nito; panunupil lamang ito sa kanyang sariling bayan.

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COMMUNITY

By Crystal Gayle O. Rosete and Isaih Kyle C. Umipig

S

he opens her mouth with wisdom—a lesson of kindness is on her tongue,” an excerpt from the bible which was like perfectly written for the 53-yearold nun living with our Aetas in O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac.

She is Sister Mary Paul, an Indonesian nun under the congregation of Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters - SSpS Bokasyon Philippines and director of the Holy Spirit Aeta Mission. For two decades, she spent her everyday life serving Filipino folks in different parts of the country—from urban to rural places to mountain ranges and even in remote areas.

Photos by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig

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“After you say ‘yes’ to God forever, you will learn the art of loving,” she said. Unlike other missionaries, her mission is not only to spread the words of God and help the people in development of their lives through education but also to cater them with love that is wholeheartedly baked and served.

LOVE BEYOND RACES It takes a lot of courage and strength to stand up for people who do not even have a single drop of blood that resembles yours. However, a famous poet once said that souls do not have calendars or clocks nor do they understand the notion of time or distance; they only know it feels right to be with one another.

“Me and other sisters were sent to the Philippines and we learned how to love,” Sister Mary Paul said when asked about her stay here in Philippines, “Kasi kami bilang madre, hindi ka pwede pumili ng lugar na gusto mo (Because we as nuns, we can't choose whether what country we like),” she furthered.

Her Tagalog is just as good as her English since she has been with the Filipinos for 20 years.

At first, she did not want to be sent somewhere else other than her own country. “When I first came here, it feels like I was forced to be here,” she said. Despite that, she did her best to adjust to the culture and as well as in communicating with the Filipinos. As time passed by, she found solace in this country.

“Parang binigyan ako ng Diyos ng misyon kung paano ako maging at home, na kahit hindi natin gusto, iyon pala ‘yong destined para sa'tin (God gave me a mission on how will I feel 'at home'—that even though it's not what we want, it is what's destined for us),” she explained.

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It takes a lot of courage and strength to stand up for people who do not even have a single drop of blood that resembles yours.

Sometimes most people do not understand why some of the things they prayed for are not what comes after them. But Sister Mary Paul revealed that everything destined to happen will eventually go well. “I am thankful because God gave me the opportunity to see the highest value of His will,” she said.

EDUCATION VS. CULTURE Sister Mary Paul said that their congregation is mainly focused on education though they also have programs for livelihood and upholding the rights of indigenous peoples.

After the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991, many Aetas were displaced and scattered to different places. The disaster drove them to lowlands and since then, their hardships went on until education became a luxurious thing for them.

Sister emphasized that education is the only way to break the poverty, but this way to get out of that pit is even harder to attain due to a lot of obstacles. It is an understatement how impoverished families are not capable of sending their children to school; nonetheless, for the Aetas, it is not the only obstacle they are facing – the clash between culture and education is also evident.

For them, 13 is already an eligible age for marriage. In their culture, marriage weighs more than education. “Kaya mahirap sila makatapos ng pag-aaral dahil sa asawa asawa na ‘yan (That's why it's hard for them to finish their studies because of their ideology of marriage),” Sister Mary Paul said.

“Ngayon ang focus namin [ay] education para sa mga katutubo.

Kasi ‘yong sa kabundukan, we cannot change them anymore. If that’s their way of life, ‘yan na.

Wala na kaming magagawa (Now our focus is education for indigenous people. We cannot change those who live in the highlands anymore.

If that's their way of life, then so be it. We can't do anything about it anymore),” she shared.

INSIDE THE DORMITORIES It started in 2002 when the Holy Spirit Aeta Mission runs two dormitories or “paidyanans” for the students who came all the way from the mountains just to go to school. One is located at Sitio Bilad for high school students and the other is at Maruglod for elementary pupils.

These dormitories offer free board and lodging for Aeta students. Moreover, they also do not need to worry about their food and expenses for educational materials since the missionary caters it all.

The paidyanan has sleeping

quarters with enough doubledecker beds to accommodate each Aeta student, a washroom, a dirty kitchen, and a receiving area which also serves as their classroom.

Back when there were no dormitories, it takes huge determination and perseverance to pursue their studies. They need to withstand the everyday hardships just to go to a nearby school which takes up to two-four hours of walking.

“Iyong mga maliliit, Day Care, three-four hours mula sa bundok, bababa rito. Can you imagine? Edi pagdating nila, hindi na pumasok sa klase dahil pagod, walang pagkain. Makakapasok sila [pero] tanghali na, recess time aalis na naman dahil mahirap ‘pag gabi na (Can you imagine daycare pupils traversing mountains by foot for 3-4 hours? By the time they arrived at school, they can't attend their classes because of tiredness and starvation.

They'll attend their afternoon class and when it's recess time, it's time for them to start walking so they can go back to their houses before it gets dark),” the nun stated.

The everyday struggles of these kids are what paved a way for the missionary to build dormitories that are free of charge.

With Sister Mary Paul around, these paidyanans will go beyond its purpose because with overflowing love and care, it turns as a second home for the Aeta students who are miles apart from their families.

A PEASANT'S PLEA The Aetas of Tarlac have been peacefully living in the land of their forefathers even before and after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

Their rights for their ancestral lands, culture, and way of life are all protected under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 (RA 8371). But recently, some Aeta communities were disrupted by the development of New Clark City because they fear to be displayed.

New Clark City is under the Build, Build, Build program managed by the Philippine Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA). The said “first smart, green, and resilient metropolis in the country” covers the Sacobia Ancestral Land in Tarlac which is home to 16 Aeta tribes.

The Aetas are against this project and is currently working on their petitions for their rights.

“If I were them, who wouldn't?”

Sister Mary Paul said when asked whether she is against the development of metropolis, “Pero sino ba naman ang makakarinig sa boses ng mga maliliit na tao?

(But who would even hear the voices of the people who are considered small and powerless?)” she added.

“I am not against to something that would develop the country,” she strongly stated, “Dapat lang kung maaari ay may respect sa kanilang rights at dumaan sa tamang proseso kasi kahit sabihin nating “against” o gumawa ng sandamakmak na petition, pagdating ng oras tuloy parin (If possible, everything must go under a due process which includes respect to their rights. Because even if we say we are "against" it, or even if we make tons of petitions, when time comes the project will still go on),” she explained.

What the Aeta communities of Tarlac want is to respect their culture, their way of life, and their rights. After all, they are still like us, they are also Filipinos.

There should be equality since we're all in the cradle of the same country.

As for Sister Mary Paul,

she hopes to see the Aetas someday to become successful and be looked up to. “I don't want them to remain inferior to others forever,” she said, that’s why she is encouraging the Aeta students to prioritize their studies.

She wanted them to know the value of education and the hidden luxury there is that needs to be unraveled. *** If Sister Mary Paul can love the country and defend its ancestral lands and the indigenous peoples, we, Filipinos, can also do it. She became a living model which pushes us to be more humane, to be more Filipino. As she opens her mouth again with wisdom and tender care, it only becomes a solidified testament for us to always value the sense of kindness, responsibility, and most importantly, humanity.

Photos by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig

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LIPUNAN

Sa panulat nina Isaih Kyle C. Umipig at Eugene Quiazon

Photo lifted from wire

S

a pagpapatuloy ng globalisasyon, ang ating lipunan ay patuloy na nahaharap sa mga suliranin na kabataan ang mas naaapektuhan. Habang tila natutuwa ang mga milenyal sa dagliang pamamaraan ng buhay dito sa ika-21 siglo, nakakaligtaan naman na ang bawat maling desisyon ay kaakibat ang panghabambuhay na pasanin.

Hindi natin namamalayan na ang pagsakop ng teknolohiya sa ating mentalidad at sistema ay may higit pang nakapapahamak na epekto lalo na sa kalusugan. Mula sa pagiging pultahan sa mas madali’t malawakang komunikasyon, unti-unti na rin nagiging isang malaking espasyo para sa paghahanap ng atensyon, kalinga, at pag-ibig ang social media o iba pang digital platforms na nagsisilbing kanlungan ng marami para sa kanilang mga pansariling krisis.

Kung naibabalita man ang palagiang pagkakasangkot ng maraming kabataan sa kasong panggagahasa, hindi rin naiiba ang paglaganap pa ng tinatawag na pre-marital sex, chat-to-sex na gawain at iba pang motibo na sa kalaunan ay nag-iiwan ng mitsa sa lipunan tulad ng mabilis na pagtaas ng bilang ng mga maagang nagbubuntis at pagiging sensitibo sa Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

SI ARTHUR* AT ANG KANYANG HILIG “Noong matutunan ko kung paano ‘yon gawin, parang hindi ko na alam kung paano ‘to tapusin.

Parang nakulong ako at nalulong sa sarili kong kagagawan.”

Walang pagsidlan ang emosyon ni Arthur*, masidhi at nag-uumapaw. Sa edad 18 ay humahagibis ang pagkahilig niya sa pakikipagtalik. Siya ay nasa yugto ng buhay kung saan ang sex ay tugon sa tawag ng naghihikahos niyang emosyon at mga pansariling krisis; isang tagpo na pumupuno sa kanyang kasiyahan at kapusukan—nag-

Marahil hindi talaga ang HIV ang mabigat na problema kundi ang istigma at kakulangan sa ayuda na mas nagpapahina sa mga lumalabang pasiyente.

aalab, dalahira, at marisko.

Ang unti-unting pagtanggap ng ating lipunan sa ganitong pananaw ay siya ring pagtuklas natin sa panibagong konsepto.

Lumawak man ang ating pangunawa, nagiging malapit naman tayo sa panibagong pagsubok: isang panghabambuhay na kondisyong patuloy na iindain ng bansa kung hindi pagtutuunan ng pansin.

Sa kabila ng pagkahilig at pagkatuto ng mga kabataan sa ganitong gawain, iilan lamang ang nakakaalam na ang hindi protektadong pakikipagtalik lalo na sa kaparehong kasarian na hindi lubusang kilala kung may nakahahawang sakit ay maaaring maglapit sa kanila sa iba’t-ibang impeksiyon at risko ng HIV. Ayon sa UNAIDS, ang programa ng United Nations para tuldukan ang matagal nang istigma sa HIV, ang Pilipinas ang mayroong pinakamabilis na pagtaas ng bilang ng mga nagkakaroon ng HIV sa rehiyong Asya-Pasipiko. Noong 2016, nakapagtaya ng 10, 500 bagong kaso ng HIV mula sa 4, 300 noong 2010. Sa loob ng anim na taon ay tumaas ng 140-porsiyento ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong nagkakasakit nito at maaari pang madagdagan.

Samantala, nagtaya naman ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan ng Pilipinas ng 57, 134 suma-total na kaso ng HIV sa buong bansa mula 1984 hanggang 2018.

HUBAD NA KATOTOHANAN Si Arthur ay isa lang sa mga kabataan na itinuturing ang pakikipagtalik bilang panandaliang takbuhan upang layuan ang katakot-takot na imahe ng obligasyon at mga suliranin.

“Iba kasi ang pakiramdam.

Masarap kasi [ang makipagsex].

Hindi naman natin maide-deny ‘yon. Kapag sex kasi ang usapan, nakaka-excite siya, kaya hahanaphanapin mo talaga,” mga walang pag-aalinlangan niyang pahayag.

Diretsahan at walang habas kung puntuhin ni Arthur ang usaping sex.

Pangunahing rason, ayon sa PsychologyToday website, kung bakit nalalapit sa ganitong tukso ang mga kabataan ay ang kanilang kuryosidad. Madaling pasukin ang iba’t-ibang websites na naglalaman ng pornograpiya at malalaswang panoorin kung kaya’t madali ring mapukaw ang kanilang atensyon ukol sa bagay na ito. Kalaunan, maaari itong mag-udyok sa kanila upang subukan ang mga bagay na dapat sana ay responsableng ginagawa.

Inihayag noong Disyembre 2018 ng Pornhub, pornograpikong puntahan sa Internet, na Pilipinas ang may pinakamatagal na nailalaan na oras sa araw-araw na pagbisita rito. Hindi bababa sa 13 minutos ang itinatagal ng isang Pilipinong taga-tangkilik sa kanilang mga pornograpiko.

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Bukod dito, inilabas din ng YouGov survey noong 2017 na tumaas ng 56 porsiyento ang mga Pilipinong nahihilig sa mga dating sites.

Hindi naman itinanggi ni Arthur ang paggamit ng Tinder at Grindr, mga halimbawa ng social media at dating applications na mga nasa wastong gulang lang ang dapat gumamit, upang makahanap ng kapareha.

Paliwanag niya, mas madali at mabilis humanap ng kapares gamit ang internet.

“Hindi ka rin masyadong mahihiyang magstart ng usapan tungkol sa sex dahil hindi mo naman kaharap ‘yong tao. Mas madali kasing magyaya ng strangers na pareho lang ang hanap,” dagdag niya.

Ang sumunod na pahayag ni Arthur ay isang nakakagulat na pagsisiwalat: bukod sa pakikipagtalik sa salungat na kasarian ay natutunan din niyang makisalo ng katahimikan ng silid, salat ng kobre-kama, at kahabaan ng gabi sa kanya mismong mga kabaro.

Sa kabila nito, unti-unti namang nabalot ng pangamba ang natural at walang pagaalinlangan niyang mukha dahil sa mga maaaring idulot ng kanyang gawain. Batid niya na kung makakaroon siya ng HIV ay magiging ilag, iiwas, o mandidiri ang ibang tao sa kanya. Gayunpaman, matatag ang kanyang paninindigan na kapalaran na lang ang magtatakda sa mga ganitong hindi kagustuhang pangyayari.

SA LUMOLOBONG NUMERO Nakapagtaya ang HIVAIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines ng 8,533 kaso ng mga Pilipino na nagkaroon ng HIV noong Enero hanggang Setyembre lang ng 2018—8,066 sa mga ito ay lalaki, samantalang ang natitirang 467 naman ay mga babae.

Dagdag pa, nakakababahala na mas malaking porsiyento sa naitayang bilang ang nagmumula sa mga nakababatang henerasyon: 4,344 sa mga ito ay edad na 25-34, samantalang 2,505 naman ay mga nasa 15-24.

Ayon din sa ulat na inilabas nila noong Agosto ng 2018, pumapang-apat ang Rehiyon III

sa pinakaraming kaso ng HIV sa Pilipinas. Mayroon itong 119 bagong kaso noong Agosto lang ng 2018. Pinakamataas ang National Capital Region (NCR) na mayroong 328.

Nakapagtaya ng 223 kaso ng HIV sa Tarlac noon pang 2016.

Pinakamataas dito ang siyudad ng Tarlac na mayroong 88 kaso, sumunod ang Capas na may 24, at Concepcion na may 21.

Bagama’t masasabing mayroong takbuhan sa oras na maramdaman ang mga sintomas ng HIV, ang problema mismo ay nagsisimula naman sa bawat indibidwal na kulang ang edukasyon sa ganitong usapin at mga pasilidad na hindi pa lubusang naaayudahan ng sapat na pondo, teknolohiya, pananaliksik, mga bitamina, supplements o pampuna sa kakulangan sa resistensya’t kalusugan, at mga Anti-Retro Viral loads.

Hindi mapipigilan ang pagdami kung ipagpapatuloy ang hindi protektadong pakikipagtalik. Mas lalong hindi matatapos ang problema kung mas uunahing ibsan ang “tawag ng laman” kaysa sa mga kaisipan na dapat imulat sa tunay na dulot ng pakikipagtalik.

Sa isang pag-aaral ni Alma M. Corpuz, RMT, ED.D sa kaso ng HIV sa Tarlac, lumalabas na inaakala ng iilan sa iba’t-ibang pangkat ng lipunan na hindi lang sa pakikipagtalik naihahawa ang HIV kundi pati sa kagat ng lamok, gamit na pangkain, at personal na kagamitan.

Ang totoo, ito ay naihahawa lamang sa pamamagitan ng katas ng ari ng babae o lalaki na direktang naisalin sa katawan ng kapareha; pag-uulit sa nagamit nang karayom sa pagtuturok ng gamut, droga, o pagsasalin ng dugo; pagpapasa ng ina sa sanggol (panganganak na mayroon ng sakit kaya nahawaan ang anak, o pagpapasuso).

Isa ring inaalalang anggulo sa pagpapatuloy ng impeksyon at hawaan ay ang hindi pagtuklas ng bawat indibidwal sa totoong estado ng kanilang kalusugan.

Dahil iilan lang ang pasilidad na libre ang pagpapa-labolatoryo, hindi nabibigyan ng sapat na atensiyon ang mga posibleng mayroong HIV.

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HIV CASES IN PH

Source: DOH’S HIV/AIDS & ART REGISTRY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Habang patuloy ang salat nating lipunan sa pagkahilig sa pakikipagtalik, patuloy ring nailalapit ang ating mga sarili sa peligro ng HIV. Ang dapat sana ay sexually transmitted diseases (STD) at impeksyon (STI) lang ay nauuwi sa HIV at Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Kasabay ng pagsusulong ng panghalatang kaalaman sa isyung HIV, ini-aangat din ang moral na suporta para sa mga may ganitong sakit.

Marahil, hindi talaga ang kondisyon ng HIV ang pinakamabigat na suliranin kundi ang istigma na lalong nagpapahina sa mga pasiyenteng lumalaban.

Tunay nga na laging nauuna ang pag-iwas bago pa man humantong sa paghahanap ng lunas. Maraming dahilan ang naghahatid sa atin sa mga posibilidad ng buhay— pwedeng pagmamahal, kahirapan, personal na interes, impluwensiya ng teknolohiya, o iba pa. Ngunit tayo at tanging mga sarili lang natin ang kutsero na nagpapasiya kung anong daan ang ating tatahakin; ang mga desisyon ay nagmumula mismo sa atin.

Sa likod ng naghuhumihiyaw

na kasiyahan ay mayroong impit na tinig ng pighati at panaghoy ng isang kabataan. Si Arthur, bagama’t walang tinatayang kaso ng HIV, ay mayroong binubuong pangarap—ang makapagtapos ng pag-aaral at makahanap ng trabahong angkop sa kanyang napiling karera. Kaya bago pa masira na parang kastilyong buhangin ang kanyang mga hangarin sa buhay, napagtanto niyang hindi ligtas ang agarang pagdedesisyon kahit pag-ibig pa ang pangunahing dahilan.

“Mag-ingat na lang. Kung hindi mo naman kilala ‘yong tao, huwag mo na lang ituloy,” sagot niya nang siya’y tanungin kung ano ang maipapayo niya sa ibang kabataan.

Ayon sa kanya, malaki ang magiging epekto ng pagkakaroon ng HIV sa kabuuan ng buhay ng isang tao. Kagaya ng isang malalim na sugat sa katawan ng sinuman, siguradong ito ay magiiwan ng isang lantad na bakas ang pilat ng nakaraan. * Binago ang pangalan para sa proteksyon ng nakapanayam ** Cases of HIV/ AIDS in Tarlac Province, Central Luzon, Philippines from 1984 to 2016 and the Knowledge and Risky Behaviors of Various Gender Groups | Tarlac State University

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VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Overheard Life Experience

by Pauline Grace B. Manzano

WINNING ENTRY, 18TH LUZONWIDE HIGHER EDUCATION PRESS CONFERENCE

My Own Kind of Superhero

by Gabriel Jann S. Inocencio

WINNING ENTRY, 18TH REGIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION PRESS CONFERENCE

Clay Land Halloween Freaky Face Challenge last October 27. And yet, she just proved that money does not legitimize a person’s art.

Landingin willingly allowed herself to become more expressive by creating a mindset that your art is your dream. The panic and pressure rolls in if you settle at the thought that your livelihood depends on it.

She shared that her journey was not a walk on the park.

“Minsan, mababa ang presyong

Real Darna weaponry is a red flag wafting in midair or a quill that records every shard of truth she has witnessed. She storms the street boldly; no longer worrying if the scorching heat made her pits

from p.32 / FEATURES

gusto kong ibigay kasi gusto ko lang talagang makilala,” Landingin stated. Before I go, she told me to choose two pieces from her collection of uniquely designed handmade clay earrings. Her smile was wide, her intentions warm, as well as my heart, knowing that at the end of the day, she did not only impart an accessory that was birthed through her steady hands, but also the art of consuming art itself.

from p.31 / FEATURES

sweat nor her face grimy. She no longer fears if she was ever too much for a man to handle, for her thick thighs are made for stomping on repressive norms and her high-pitch cries are made to

Having an online business as an only job that is dependent on art will always spring up comments that burn like the heat of an oven, or most likely dull one’s spark. Yet, along the way, one needs to learn that people will always attempt to stomp on your creativity, and lure you to devoting your time onto something more practical.

However, always be reminded that making money from the art you engage in is not the biggest factor that leaves you on a high.

Instead, the euphoria knocks on your door when your art, whether writing, drawing, acting, or

singing, is also your new sense of fresh air – when you have expressed yourself in the freest and most honest way possible, without any walls or constraints, and when the rush of your worth sets into place along with your artistic value.

You have the luxury to discover more than one passion, and you have yet more creativity to unleash through your visions, so keep creating – follow that creative path and find the bread to your butter. Align your heartbeat with the desire to be heard, seen, and felt. And then, just then, you breathe it all in.

mute the voices that try to silence her. She no longer bothered if she was fit enough for marriage, fit enough for a bodycon dress, or for this miniscule mold in which society forces girls to mutilate themselves to ‘fit’ in.

She has a bigger fish to fry – as big as a country in the brink of losing to ferocious loan sharks

due to its tremendous debt, and as big as the number of innocent lives entangled in wars fought in service of greed and ambition.

Every night, when she strips off her tough, superhero façade, these numbers haunt her like no other. But this only fuels her desire to change the world even more.

SPORTS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Tigers barely maintain dominance, seize 5 golds in chess tournament

By Lander Victor Tejada THE DEFENDING champions, College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Tigers shattered most of the impending threats but lost grip of three boards to take home five golds and become the overall champions in chess.

Men’s Division CBA’s Jacob Sta. Ana, having an unblemished record after round 6, did not even show up in round 7 to secure his gold in Board 1, giving away a whole point by default. Meanwhile, Joydie Cajuguiran of CET Sharks claimed the silver, and Kent Alcantara of COEd Eagles claimed the bronze.

Noel De Leon of COEd drew his final game against Dizon to secure his gold in Board 2 and

deny CBA total dominance of men’s division. Dizon ranked second while Angelo Macasaya of CPAG ranked third.

Ceejay Bautista of CET nipped the gold in Board 3 with a perfect score. Francis Manuel of CCS earned the college’s only medal in chess. Dexter Salon of CBA, who lost a game to Manuel, ranked third.

Alfredo Manuel dismantled all the opposition in Board 4 and finished off with a perfect record. Antonio Pidloaoan of CET lost his game against Manuel and fell a whole point short, 5-1, serving as Manuel in second place.

Women’s Division Goldamier Balbas reigned supreme in Board 1 and earned a perfect score and claimed a gold.

COEd’s rookie, Beverly Sosa fell a whole point behind, serving as

Board 1’s second while CPAG’s Sarah Sagun placed third.

Leslie Bognot of CBA finished as Board 2’s first place. Joan Vinluan of CET lost a game to Bognot and placed second. Meraluna Baldomas of CCJE won her tie-breaker blitz game against Allondra Joseph of COEd and placed third.

Melizah Ruth Carreon of CBA dominated Board 3 and finished with a perfect score. Jenna Perciano of CASS ranked second while Angela Macabanti of COEd ranked third.

COEd’s super rookie, Danica Jae Rodelas stole the gold after blundering CBA’s Abigail Baluyot in their tiebreaker blitz game in Board 4.

Baluyot placed second while Ma. Cheska Fernandez of CET placed third.

Red Hawks, Lady Sharks snatch futsal championship

By Albritch Adam Labiano Women’s division Lady Maroon Sharks struck back to claim their post as the women’s futsal champions from the defending champions, the Golden Eagles.

After a head-to-head 2-2 draw in the regular time, shots from the penalty mark concluded the game with the Sharks scoring 3-2 against the Eagles.

Lady Sharks took no turn as they faced their last year’s championship contender, the Golden Eagles. The match cheered the crowd with series of offense and defense strategies, with the Sharks scoring only after Daniella Estronio of the Eagles struck at their own goal on the ninth minute.

On the second half, Jamaica Antonio drilled a goal with the assist of Rhena Mae Santos on the first minute, breaking off the defensive and offensive strategy of the Eagles. The

DOUBLE TEAM. Lady Sharks thwart a Lady Eagle’s attempt to establish offense as they send them in a one-point deficit dismay.

(Photo by Pauline Grace Manzano)

successful goals of Catherane Palada together with Ruzzelle Manalang tied the match on the last five minutes of the game.

The goaled penalty kicks of Sharks’ Kamille Manalac, Antonio, and Santos concluded the game with the Eagles’ striking in goal from Manalang, Estronio, and one missed shot

from Yza Kathleen Santiago, notching 3-2 in favor of the Sharks.

Meanwhile, the Tigers secured the bronze against the Black Stallions in a widemargin, scoring 5-0.

Men’s Division The Red Hawks ripped

| 45

Sharks clutch 7 medals in table tennis finals

By Jejomar B. Contawe AFTER REIGNING supreme in the semis, the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) Maroon Sharks emerged as the topperforming athletes in the table tennis championship games and bagged seven medals to further their college’s rank for the 2019 University Intramurals: Optimus.

While CET was only able to clinch a gold, the Sharks still victoriously dove for dominance with five silvers and a bronze medal acquisitions, completing their hard-earned medal haul to boost their overall standing.

CET’s one and only gold was hugely thanks to the unrelenting prowess of Carlo Jay Capil over CBA’s Mark Angelo Delfonso, 1210, 11-8, 11-7.

Meanwhile, in the women’s division, | to p.49

off Blue Dolphins’ aim to take home the men’s futsal championship title, triumphing with a wide margin of 5-0 while Green Tigers took the bronze home against the Golden Eagles at 4-3.

The championship match sparked fire on the court as the Hawks soared high with the goals from Jeff Bernardo and Charles Gatdula on the first three minutes of the game.

Bernardo, on the 11th minute, kicked in another goal on the first half, ending it at 3-0.

At the start of the second half, Bernardo again slipped into the Dolphins’ defenses scoring two additional goals for their team leading to 5-0.

On the other hand, the tight rivalry of the two teams ended after Jorrel Garcia and Alyson Madriaga of Dolphins received yellow cards, ending the game at 5-0 in favor of the Hawks.

For the battle for Bronze, the Green Tigers stood triumphant over the Golden Eagles in a tight match of 4-3.

SPORTS 46 SPorts Enculturated Policies

W

hen players are clear to their goal to conquer and win their games but hunt for it in a desperate measure, the substance of sports, therefore, loses its essence. Character, important as much as the training of the players, is also the foundation of true sporting.

The way a student athlete from the Blue Dolphins reacted to a red-card call of the referee during the second day of the University Intramurals football tournament suggests that no player can be a complete package of kinesics, intellect, and moral excellence to meet the ideal quality of a player people look for. Not EDITORIAL everyone can handle himself in all tricky moment especially when people expect him to contribute enough to their team’s victory.

Even well-known players do impulsive actions in and outside the field. Mostly, viewers thumb this down and say sporting is a training of skills and discipline but also discard this fact as soon as the player had justified his flowing confidence by reaping medals and owning a recognition—something that never improved us because we behold it as the offshoot of “he deserves it” sort of excuses.

The sports culture we established focuses on the attitude of the players—we support skillful at the same time polite player; and players beget respect from not becoming monkey-boastful performer during the games.

It is also too much and over idealistic to expect these student athletes to be good at all things. Sports may have become an extension of entertainment to the Filipinos, but it cannot always cater all the expectations of the people.

Committing stupid actions in the field is communal to a competitive team crawling through the semis as they probably do not want to lose the chance. Yet, it does not give them ticket to not observe discipline all throughout the games.

The mechanics simply imply to never harm someone, through words or actions, just so to leap to the top. The purpose why rules and regulations, as well as the themes of character development, are hardly entwined in sports is to remind people on the higher value of clean plays, discipline, and

Cartoon by Edilbert O. Alicante II

humbleness than the skills alone.

It is the job of the referees to observe the protocols of the games and protests to whatever imposed penalty to a violation should be done in due process— not shouting in the field, not darting below the belt, and not disrespecting the game authority either.

Truly, sports is a challenge of balancing the heft. The greatness we strive to attain as a player is always the admirable, impressive entities we build by submitting ourselves to sports and/or related activities. This may also

VISION | Tarlac State

University is envisioned to be a premier University in the Asia Pacific Region.

be the reason why skills and attitude share 5050 in the criteria.

As soon as we desire the crowning reward of each game, we begin to show the unfamiliar character of our competitive self— and it always include the pressure.

Intramurals creates a tradition of having serious competitions between the colleges of our university especially among spectators.

The call for recognition presses everyone to the very need to push measures that sometimes become offensive.

MISSION | Tarlac State University commits to promote and sustain

the offering of quality and relevant programs in higher and advanced education ensuring equitable access to education for people empowerment, professional development, and global competitiveness.

VOLUME 70 ISSUE NO. 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019 THEWORKTSU

GRAY MATTER

Differently the Same Jerico T. Manalo

Correspondent | BS Accountancy

EQUALITY: Sports should always be perceived as sports notwithstanding all labels and considerations such as gender, physical attributes, and capabilities in winning a gold medal for the team the player is in.

O

ne move is equivalent to thousands of comments. Sorely yet truthfully speaking, they are oftentimes negative and scarified. It is because people are born with judgmental minds which make them good critics. The fact that we are even seeking something tacky on those good things happened, like “uy, lumaban na naman daw si Pacquiao” and then, we add it, “ang tanda na nga niya at ang dami na nga niyang pera, nagpapayaman pa.”

Can you see my point?

One more thing: we have this notion inside our heads that there is always stronger to us — that “dominant and submissive” idea — that’s why sometimes, we just let it waft because we are already tired protecting ourselves. “Ay, malakas ‘yan, wala akong laban” and then, ended up producing fake laugh and automatically opening ourselves for false statements. Hashtag, judge me na lang.

But let’s go specifically on what they called the patriarchy.

Yes, it’s already cliché. However, it’s true and still happening until now. There are still people who are stuck on that belief that men are superior to women, whenever it is, whether inside the house, in a working environment or even in sports.

In human physiology, men are said to be stronger than women because of their body built. But folks, we are now in the modern time where we must highlight the word “equality” without considering the appearance or the status and all.

Last year, the Asian Games,

which generally happens after every four years, concluded and I was very shocked after I heard the results. I immediately went to a nearby area where wi-fi is accessible and searched about the winnings of the Philippines in a chronological manner from the year the country started to join the competition until this year, and I found a good story behind it related to this.

Bringing back the sports history, Bong Coo—as herself in the individual category and as a member of the women’s bowling team in the group category— and Lydia De Vega were the last female bowler and sprinter, respectively, who grabbed gold medals in the Asian Games on 1986. Together with one male golfer and 12 other runner-ups, they made our country ranked 6th in overall that time.

And now, after more than three decades of rebattling against other countries, the Philippines finally obtained again the record of having female gold medalist in the Asian Games.

But this time, it is exultant to mention that not only one, not only two, and not only three but four gold medals were achieved by our Motherland and all were coming from female athletes including one team category.

Yes, you have seen it right.

One hundred percent of gold winnings were produced by our female athletes. Hidilyn Diaz in the field of weightlifting, Yuka Saso in golf, both individual and team category, and Margielyn Didal in the street skateboarding.

Moreover, females also delivered a record of 13 out of 21 or approximately 61% achieved

medals in the same event, contrary to the 50-50 malefemale ratio of players sent by our country in the first place. Did you expect that?

This really proved that the “men over women” conception had been slashed out with just one event — one sporty event.

But let me tell you this: it’s not only about the opposing of the patriarchal system or promoting the women empowerment. I just want to be clearly understood by everyone because for sure, you are already deriding or making fun of me since I am talking about the women, the female athletes in particular, yet I am a man on the other side. But I am not actually lifting them across-the-board

“

Please, no criticisms, no comparisons, and no gender issue.

After all, we are all players, just different games.”

(or exagerately) and at the same time, I am not degrading the male athletes. The one I am impelling here is about the fair look between men and women.

I just used the records of these female athletes as great examples to address my opinion.

They excelled again in the Asian Games after 32 years. I repeat, after 32 years, enough to consider it as a huge number.

But whether it become 50 years or 100 years, the most important here is that, they didn’t give up until they achieve success. They didn’t stop in the middle of their journey and then, go back crying.

They didn’t hide themselves but rather they still have the courage and determination to fight.

It’s true. And I realized that, it’s not about the amount of time you consumed before you win.

What matters is that, you win.

Likewise, it is normal to salivate for achievements and praises and became sad whenever we lose. However, we always forget what really our main goals are, and that’s to win whoever and wherever we are, not considering how long it will takes as long as we enjoy every moment and accept whatever happens.

Again, I am giving stress to this line: we can win in any battle whether we are men or women and we deserve equal support to everyone. Not doesn’t mean that you are man that’s why you are only giving support and happy for the victory of the male athletes and vice versa.

In this world, we are different but still the same. So please, no criticisms, no comparisons, and no gender issue. After all, we are all players, just different games.

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SPORTS

VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Eagle smashers dominate singles; Lady Eagles Tigers growl in badminton doubles defend softball

By Janelle Pamela R. David THE BADMINTON court was filled with hits of yellow and green as the College of Education (COEd) and College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) shuttlers bagged the championship titles in badminton singles and doubles divisions, respectively, in the third leg of the Intramurals held at the Sunrise Badminton Court in Maliwalo, Tarlac City, April 3.

In the men’s singles, Eagles’ Jojo Dela Cruz soared high against Tigers’ Ivan Tolentino in the championship game and won in three nail-biting sets, 21-17, 12-21, 22-24. Succeeding the gold and silver medalists are Chris Marzan from the College of Computer Studies (CCS) and

John Patrick Tutop (CBA) landing on third places.

Lady smashers from different colleges were no match against Lady Eagle Patricia Mae David when she clearly ruled the floor in women’s singles with successive kills and easily secured the championship against the tigresses from CBA’s Kelly Agustin in two sets, 21-1, 21-4. Following the gold and silver medalists are bronze medalists Alona Danting from CBA and Micah Bianca Gabriel of College of Architecture and Fine Arts (CAFA).

Meanwhile, the silvers of the Tigers in the singles division were optimized into golds as they roared for comeback and were hailed champions in both men and women doubles division of the tourney.

Tigers’ Arvee Mangune and John Paulo Santos smashed their way into championship against Eagles’ Carl Medrano and Justine Ivan Santos in two sets, 21-5, 21-19, while College of Engineering and Technology (CET) Maroon Sharks John Carlo Obcena and Earle Angelo Sytu finished with the bronze.

In the women doubles division, Tigresses Erica Ferrer and Josalene Hipolito clutched the championship against lady smashers from the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) Richelle Viado and Alexis Calma in two sets, 21-13, 21-8, while CET Lady Sharks Camille Joy De Ocampo and Jeverly Ann Castro ended with the bronze.

Shark, Tiger bets seize ‘optimus crowns’

By Isaih Kyle C. Umipig THE COVETED Mr. and Miss Intramurals 2019 crowns were successfully claimed by the candidates both from the Main campus.

College of Engineering and Technology (CET)’s Joshua Jay Jetomo and College of Business and Accountancy (CBA)’s Jasmine Omay are the king and queen of this year’s university intramurals. Since both of them are not graduating students yet, they are positioned to represent the university in the next SUC-III Olympics.

Omay said that everything is worth it despite the stressful weeks she has encountered in preparing for the pageant. “During the screening that we had, I am really dedicated kasi I wanted to leave a legacy here in CBA and, of course, to bring pride and honor to TSU if ever I win,” she added.

As Omay is set to compete for a national pageant in April, she said that she will just continue to maintain his strict diet in preparation for SUC-III Olympics. She also highlighted

CLAIMED CROWNS. Sharks’ Joshua Jay Jetomo and Tigers’ Jasmine Omay were named king and queen of this year’s Mr. and Miss Intramurals Optimus. (Photo by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig)

the importance of training her mind so she keeps on being active on relevant questions and issues that may arise Meanwhile, Jetomo shared his preparations which he considered have paid off. “I trained every night kahit pagod na after practices. I went to workouts kahit medyo pagod na [from school],” he recounted.

In preparation for the SUC-III Olympics, he said that he will work more not only on his

physical form but also with his ability to answer questions.

Following the king and queen are: Renz Dela Cruz (COS) and Stephanie Boffa (CASS) as first runners-up; Lexter Espeleta (CAFA) and Nicole Tongol (COS) as second runners-up; Derek Humphrey (CBA) and Joan Nicole Sibal (CAFA) as third runners-up; and Kevin Cedrick Escaño and Marielle Maristela (both from COED) as fourth runners-up.

championship

By Andrea S. Espinosa THE COLLEGE of Education (COEd) Golden Eagles gloriously defended this year’s championship title after a twoday round robin tournament against four other colleges: CCJE Gray Bulldogs, CET Maroon Sharks, CBA Green Tigers, and CPAG Blue Jaguars.

A three-inning series of ten matches started off with the Grey Bulldogs set to fight against the Green Tigers, with the former pitching their way to victory with a score of 16-8.

Meanwhile, the Maroon Sharks and Golden Eagles respectively won two matches by default against the Blue Jaguars.

The second day of the games started off with the Golden Eagles seeing a 9-1 victory against the Maroon Sharks.

The Sharks also succumbed to defeat under the Gray Bulldogs who managed to score 13 runs against the former’s score of 3.

On the other hand, the Green Tigers triumphed over the Golden Eagles with a close score of 4-3.

The ninth game quickly soared to an aggressive match as the Golden Eagles aggressively outslugged the Gray Bulldogs with a score of 11-2; while the last game of the tournament ended with the Green Tigers crushing the Maroon Sharks.

Seeing a triple tie between the Golden Eagles, Gray Bulldogs, and Green Tigers in terms of the number of wins, the tournament ultimately decided the fate of the teams through the quotient system, which was met with questions from the crowd. After a thorough deliberation, the Green Tigers acquired a total of 0.63 score, while the Gray Bulldogs scored 0.95. The Golden Eagles flew high over the diamond as the system showed a 2.33 score, paving the way for them to emerge as the champions.

Meanwhile, the Maroon Sharks prevailed as the fourth while the Blue Jaguars came next in the fifth place.

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VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Sharks clutch 7 medals in...

CPAG Jaguars’ small-but-athletic Michelle Shane Aquino took the gold as she thwarted CET’s Mia Gamitan in a no-easy fourset match, 11-2, 11-6, 9-11, 11-3.

For the doubles category in the men’s division, CAFA’s Stallions and synergistic duo Marvin Pagaduan and Carl Nool went triumphant against CET’s tandem Yvonne Yalung and Floyd Isais in a heated five-set contention, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.

The day culminated with the unpredictable and adrenaline-inducing match between CBA Tigers’ Diolina Macabali and Carine Arellano and CET Sharks’ bets, Kirsten Lintag and Jholina Cawigan. The tables favored the former in a neckand-neck match, eliciting roars of ecstatic elation from the Tiger crowds, 14-12, 1214, 4-11, 15-13, 11-7.

The games and awarding ceremony for the victors took place at the Engineering Student Center, April 3. from p.45 |

| 49

Tiger squad roars for 5-year cheerleading domination

By Isaih Kyle C. Umipig THE COLLEGE of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Pep Squad has finally completed a fiveyear streak in cheerleading competition after coloring the mats with colors black, white, and green at the university gymnasium, April 1.

According to Louis Alfred Visaya, head coach of the squad, they used to have their training for three months; however, this year, they were only able to complete the team’s routine within a couple of weeks.

Aside from the struggles on time constraints and finding a venue for their rehearsals and mats to be used, they have also encountered problems in asking for permission for the members of the pep squad to be excused from their respective classes.

“Iyong last week nga namin, doon pa kami nahirapan talaga kasi excused na nga ‘yong mga bata pero meron pa rin kasing mga professors na ayaw tanggapin ‘yong excuse kasi nga meron

OPTIMUM DIFFICULTY. CBA Green Tigers showed world-class stunts as they got their noses ahead early after bagging their fifth title in the cheerleading competition this year. (Photo by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig)

silang mga exams,” Christopher De Guzman, CBA student council governor, said. They had a deal with the professors to excuse the team members to fully consume the remaining weeks for their rigid training as to which the both parties have agreed on.

“Madami man kaming pagsubok na pinagdaanan, syempre itutuloy pa rin namin.

Hindi namin susukuan— at ‘yon (five-peat championship in

cheerleading) nga ‘yong sukli sa lahat ng paghihirap namin,” he said.

Meanwhile, with regards to their preparation for next year’s battle, the head coach of the pep squad raised his concerns such as immediately bringing up the team’s needs to the administration and to the student council officials and conducting the tryouts earlier to maximize the time for preparation.

Sharks, Dolphins rule dancesport tilt

By Mary Klaudine L. Paz FLECKED WITH an immense amount of exceptional talent, CET Maroon Sharks and CASS Blue Dolphins shone brighter on the dance floor as they graced their way to the top, snatching gold medals for the Standard and Latin

categories, respectively, during the Dancesport Competition held at TSU Gymnasium, April.

The crowd cheered on as the competition began with the Standard category where participants were tasked to perform a variety of dances involving slow waltz, tango, and quickstep, and intimately showcase their rhythmicity through the

dances encapsulated in the Latin category which are cha-cha, rumba, and jive.

Out of all the pairs, Maroon Sharks’ Hedda Andre Sanchez and Mark Celvin Garcia emerged as the overall champions in the Standard Category after bagging all the top-notch ranks on waltz, tango, and quickstep, followed by the Golden Eagles’ Lourd Sicat and Louie Sembrano, soaring their way as silver medallists, with Green Tigers’ Sherlyn Tingzon and Jhon Abello ranking third.

“Partners kami last year pa.

Kami kasi, mas nag-focus kami sa technicalities. Kumbaga, hindi namin focus 'yong magpa-impress.

Para sa amin, ang importante is 'yong discipline,” Garcia said.

On the other hand, plastered with a smile etched with triumph, CASS Blue Dolphins’ Pamela Rose Dabe and Lowell Quisquino floored other colleges through their alluring dance routine in the Latin category, bagging the top ranks in Cha-cha and Jive, followed by the COED’s Gia Danielle Yalung and Kirk Tulbanos grazing the title of Best in Rumba, and ranking third comes CET’s Myke Castro and Shane Garcia.

“Actually, hindi ko ine-expect na mag-first, as in. Kasi ang palaging sinasabi ko sa partner ko, i-enjoy lang namin ang sayaw pero kasama doon, ‘yong ibibigay namin ‘yong best namin kasi pareho kaming graduating, last na ‘to,” Dabe said.

SPLENDID STEPS. Maroon Sharks’ Mark Celvin Garcia and Hedda Andre Sanchez gracefully flitted to their back-to-back championship in the Dancesports Standard Category. (Photo by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig)

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VOL 70 NO 3 FEBRUARY - MAY 2019

Football supremacy still on Tigers’ reign

By Eugene Quiazon THE HISTORY of the football tournament during University Intramurals continues as the Green Tigers of the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) held the field domination once again, now claiming their fourth championship title.

With a 3-2 score in the penalty kick, Green Tigers shoved the contending Red Hawks of the College of Computer Studies (CCS) in the championship match at Tarlac Recreational Park, April 2.

The Green Tigers fueled

the first half of the game with an early goal, plugging 1-0 in the initial score. Though it took the Red Hawks extra effort to counterpart the standing of the defending champion, they still managed to turn it to 1-1 in the second half of the game, trailing the match into a penalty kick round where they slipped as silver medalists.

Marco Villa Agustin, captain ball of the Green Tigers, admitted that they lacked execution in the finishing but their team work and coordination still prevailed.

“Sa kabila ‘non, ayos naman ang mga play. Konting pukpok pa nga lang,” he said.

He also cited the hindrances they had like injuries, which he said is inevitable, and practice schedules. “Lahat kami maraming sinakripisyo. Araw-araw nasa TRP kami. Two weeks ‘yon at lahat kami nag-sakripisyo, pati sa mga magulang namin,” he added.

Villa Agustin has been playing for the Green Tigers for five years now and he hopes their college can make it to its fifthyear domination. “Maraming mga bago kaya madedepensahan pa rin naman nila next year,” he said.

Meanwhile, the bronze medal match between the College of Education (CoEd) Golden Eagles and the Maroon Sharks of College of Engineering and Technology (CET) exhibited loose face off that 2-0 standing of the Eagles merely predicted their victory.

From being the second placer last intramurals, the Maroon Sharks landed fourth this year.

LEG BREAKING. The CBA Green Tigers’ football club secures their championship title as the CCS Red Hawks outrun to end their long years of dominance in the field. (Photo by Eugene Quiazon)

Eagles reclaim Intramurals supremacy Other Triumphs Maroon Sharks and College of Arts and Social Sciences Blue Dolphins outperformed the Golden Eagles and the Green Tigers, which were anticipated as the best dancers and the winners, in the Dance Sport Competition.

The tandem of Hedda Andre Sanches and Mark Celvin Garcia of the Sharks emerged as the best pair in the Standard Category while the tandem of Pamela Rose Dabe and Lowell Quisquino of Dolphins prevailed in the Latin Category.

Meanwhile, Lady Sharks snatched the golds in Women’s Futsal by outwitting the defending champions, Golden Eagles, 3-2. Meanwhile, Red Hawks from p.52 |

dismantled the Blue Dolphins with a 5-0 win.

Lady Eagles defended their championship in Softball while the Tigers barely maintain dominance in Chess, only securing 5 golds out of 8.

Moreover, the Green Tigers reigned supreme and claimed their fourth championship title in football.

Mr. & Ms. Intramurals controversy CET’s Joshua Jay Jetomo and CBA’s Jasmine Omay were crowned as the king and queen of TSU Intramurals 2019 – Optimus.

However, controversy loomed when CASS’s bets Drenreab Llouyd Lising and Stephanie Joy

Boffa were placed out of the top five.

The CASS Student Council immediately protested regarding the computation of the scores.

They complained about the exclusion of the score deduction due to absences in rehearsals of the pageant. They argued that if the deduction were considered, CASS’s candidates will be included in the top five.

Although the Supreme Student Council admitted that they were not able to monitor the attendance and tardiness of the candidates during rehearsals, they argued that there was no formal protest and the decision during the pageant was final and irrevocable.

Sharks continue win streak in sepak tourney

By Jehiel R. Asio and Pamela Rose Reyes COLLEGE OF Engineering and Technology (CET) Maroon Sharks once again proved its imperium after securing the back-to-back championships in Sepak Takraw, April 5.

The vicious takraw team quaffed the loud roar of the Green Tigers as they closed out the tournament with their potent moves, delivering a requisite finale for the Tigers.

Sharks went off to a good start as they served an extensive point gap of 21-9 on the first set and strengthened their defense on the second set, scoring 21-18.

The second regu was in favor of the thriving Tigers determined to dishonor their opponent. Although Sharks substituted Casimiro with Fernandez in hope of turning the tables, Tigers prevailed in a 21-18, 21-14 victory.

In the final period, the game intensified as Sharks injected their ace player and team captain Marwin Christian Pagarigan, demolishing the challengers with consecutive attacks and solid blocks. As Tigers coped to tighten their strategy, adding a tally of 13 and 7 points, it was not sufficient to crush the Sharks from clinching the gold medal as the competition ended.

“Actually, gahol na gahol kami sa oras ng pagte-train namin, ni hindi man kami nakumpleto kahit isang beses sa training. Kahit sa game, ‘di kami kumpleto. Pero pinagtuunan talaga namin ng pansin ang ball control ng bawat isa, kahit wala na kaming offense basta defense, okay na,” Pagarigan added.

Meanwhile, College of Criminal Justice Education (CCJE) Gray Bulldong bagged the bronze medal via default win against College of Computer Studies (CCS) Red Hawks.

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| 51

Hawks dethrone defending champs, 48-47

By Mary Klaudine L. Paz and Arsenio S. Santiago Jr. COLLEGE OF Computer Studies’ Jeff Pamintuan sent a crucial perimeter shot in the last 30 seconds to tame the defending champions College of Business and Accountancy Green Tigers, 48-47, during the men’s basketball championship match at the University Gymnasium, April 6.

Red Hawks’ defense remained unsilenced as they staged a commanding first quarter, triggering the Tigers with early six baskets and three successful free throws before Pamintuan’s two consecutive three pointers to leave the Tigers trailing behind, 18-11.

Tigers paled as Hawks became more vicious during the second quarter, turning the game into a slaughter with Hawks’ Zablan five points including one three-pointer, advancing their lead into 23-11 that called for an early timeout for the CBA. "Our game plan was to implement 2-3 defense to avoid the opponent to attack inside the paint. Then, if there is an opportunity to score a fast break, attack," Red Hawks coach Paulo Flores said in a post-game interview.

CCS continued to soar against the Green Tigers in a 40-17 dump, however, Tigers began their assault with their ace Renz Capulong who staged tenacity to inch closer with a counter-offense as he exhibited

Tigers, Stallions, Eagles prevail... championship.

Meanwhile, in the Singles B category, Cabubos outshone the College of Criminal Justice Education (CCJE) Gray Bulldogs challenger Marjorie Ocampo with a final score of 8-1, not having to utilize the twice-to-beat advantage which the Lady Tiger also earned in her previous games.

College of Engineering and Technology (CET) Maroon Sharks’ Kristiana Joy Pagaduan filled in for the third spot for the Singles A and COED Golden Eagles’ Daisy Leen Manalo for the Singles B. from p.52 |

BIG SHOT. A Green Tigers’ cager skillfully delivered a shot to advance to the final men’s basketball match against the Red Hawks.

(Photo by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig)

a stellar performance through his fearless simultaneous shots, deflating the deficit down to 36 on Hawks’ 43.

Momentum shifted in favor of Tigers as the end draws near and were able to get their noses ahead against the thirsty Red Hawks, 46-47 but CCS’s Pamintuan spoiled CBA’s championship hope after gunning a clean shot to send his

team ahead one point 48-47.

“Una sa lahat ‘di ko in-expect na maglalamang kami sa CBA dahil malakas ang team nila compare sa amin, at sanay na sila championship. Kaya sabi ko lang sa sarili ko at sa mga teammates ko na hangga’t ‘di pa naririnig ang buzzer, laban lang” momentous Pamintuan exhaled after edging the defending champions.

Men’s Division Eagle rookie Allen Laquindanum hovered the highest among the hopefuls as he bagged the Singles A championship in a close match against Bulldog contender Crisologo Ebron with a finishing score of 8-6.

The Green Tigers also sprouted a victor in the Singles B men, as their entrant Erick John Sibal outplayed Mark Francis Fabros of the Gray Bulldogs through his consecutive smash hits, winning the final game with a score of 8-4.

The third place spots were filled in by Spencer Libatique of the Maroon Sharks and Jemuel Tadena of the Black Stallions.

CBA swimmers cop 19 golds, complete historic 5-peat

By Crystal Gayle O. Rosete THE COLLEGE of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Green Tigers were once again hailed as the overall champions in the swimming tournament of the University Intramurals held at Tarlac Recreational Park, April 2.

Tigers made waves as they dominated the pool with 19 gold, 17 silver, and 12 bronze medals for both men’s and women’s division, making them the overall champion once again.

Men’s Division CBA swimmer Mark Kevin Padilla led the pack with two gold medals from 200m backstroke (04:19.40) and 4x50 medley relay (02:53.65), and three silvers from 100m backstroke (01:44.84), 50m backstroke (00:43.97) and 4x50 freestyle relay (02:23.66), and a bronze from 400m freestyle clocking in a time of 8:54.57.

John Angelo Salonga, also from Tigers, bagged two golds and clocked 00:38:44 to clinch the mint in the 50m butterfly.

The team finished with a total of six golds, 10 silvers, and nine bronzes despite losing their four-peat victory.

Women’s Division Completing a historic five-peat victory in women’s division, the CBA swimming team grabbed a total of 13 gold medals steered by Princess Joy Licyayo and Louella Cabalu.

Licyayo snagged awards in the individual events with two gold medals from 100m backstroke (02:05.42) and 200m backstroke (05:26.33),

and a silver medal from 50m backstroke (00:56.03).

On the other hand, four more gold medals were bagged by Cabalu from 200m and 100m butterfly clocking 05:20.06 and 02:25.94, in which two were from 4x50 medley relay (03:50.18) and 4x50 freestyle relay (03:22.34).

Meanwhile, behind Tigers’ triumph were College of Computer Studies Red Hawks and College of Arts and Social Sciences Blue Dolphins, respectively.

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SPORTS VOL. 70 NO. 3 | FEB-MAY 2019

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TSU OPTIMUS WRAP-UP

Eagles reclaim Intramurals supremacy after 20 years FORESEEN VICTORY. Students from the College of Education show their support to the Golden Eagles with an early anticipation of their long-yearned-for triumph during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Intramurals.

(Photo by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig)

By Lander Victor Tejada AFTER DETHRONING the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Green Tigers, the College of Education (COEd) Golden Eagles stood on the pedestal once again after two decades of championship

drought, becoming the overall champions of the TSU Intramurals 2019 - Optimus, held on April 1 to 6.

The Eagles, behind in the gold medal tally in the first phase of the Intramurals, bolted after winning in the group events and established an eight-gold medal lead, 78-70, against the closest

contenders and the defending champions, the Green Tigers.

Meanwhile, College of Engineering and Technology (CET) Maroon Sharks lagged behind with 32 golds, with College of Computer Studies tailing behind with 27 golds, both placing as second and third runners-up, respectively.

Crucial Golds The CBA Pep Squad completed their five-year dominance in cheerleading competition to garner the first four golds to jumpstart their race against COEd Golden Eagles, who placed second.

The gap widened when the Green Tigers completed another five-year championship streak in the swimming tournament in the second day of the intramurals wherein they garnered 19 golds, leaving the Golden Eagles behind, 23-19.

The Maroon Sharks clutched seven golds in table tennis to cripple Green Tigers’ advance towards total dominance, which allowed the Golden Eagles to close the lead by demolishing all opposition in Taekwondo, Karatedo and Beach Volleyball.

To completely turn the balance, the Golden Eagles’ athletics team swept a total of 36 golds, pulling the Green Tigers back at second spot, 78-70, in the fifth day of the intramurals. With only basketball events left for the sixth day, the Tigers had no way of fighting back. | to p.50

Tigers, Stallions, Eagles prevail in lawn tennis singles

By Andrea Nicole B. Sapnu THE COLLEGE of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Green Tigers, College of Architecture and Fine Arts (CAFA) Black Stallions, and College of Education (COED) Golden Eagles were hailed as the court’s victors in the lawn tennis singles championship match of the 2019 University Intramurals.

Women’s Division Black and green rackets

swung towards triumph as Black Stallion Angela Malonzo and Green Tiger Roselle Cabubos clinched gold medals in the Singles A and B category, respectively.

Malonzo earned a twice-tobeat advantage over opponent Pamela Millado of the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) Blue Dolphins. Despite CASS contender’s 8-4 win in the first game, the Lady Stallion dominated with the score of 8-2 in the final | to p.51 tilt of the Singles A

VICTORIOUS HIT. Tigers’ Sibal outplayed his foe from the Bulldogs through his consecutive smash hits in the lawn tennis. (Photo

by Isaih Kyle C. Umipig)