TAMBULI 27 | Isyu Blg. 4 30 September 2015

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First Semester, A.Y. 2015-2016 | Issue No. 4 | Wednesday, 30 September 2015

ALPAS: Likha ng Tinta, Ugong ng Paglaya

b a r x ujpupdiliman

The Official Newsletter of the Union of Journalists of the Philippines—UP

UP students rise against P2.2 B budget cut

RAINBOW OUTRAGE

Various groups hold a candlelighting ceremony at University of the Philippines Diliman October 24 as part of the National Day of Outrage Mikhaela Dimpas to seek justice for Jennifer Laude’s death and to condemn all sexual orientation-based violence.

UNITED AMIDST CUT University of the Philipines (UP) Diliman students gathered in front of the Quezon Hall to protest the looming P2.2 billion cut in the university’s budget on Sept. 23. They staged different forms of John Reczon Calay protest for two consecutive days such as this Community Walk to show their collective objection to the cut.

by Charlotte Furigay

WITH BANNERS AND FISTS RAISED, STUDENTS OF THE University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman staged different forms of protest opposing the P2.2 billion budget cut as proposed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

If enacted, this decrease in the university’s budget will be the fourth and the biggest under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III. To start the two-day protest, some UP students walked out from their classes on Wednesday, Sept.

23, and assembled at the Quezon Hall lobby. A solidarity program was held during the meeting of the Board of Regents.

Student organizations from the Colleges of Fine Arts and Mass Communication offered free T-shirt printing and hair cutting and dyeing to give students an avenue to express their objection to the budget cut.

Students together with the members of the UP community marched around the Academic Oval and concluded the first day of protest as they occupied one lane in front of the Oblation Plaza and sang UP Naming Mahal.

They flooded the hallways of Palma Hall on Thursday, Sept. 24, as they knocked on classroom doors to

convince fellow UP students to join the walk-out. Representatives from various colleges and student organizations voiced out their stance on this issue afterwards at the Palma Hall lobby.

“Lagi’t lagi ang pinaka-epektibong pamamaraan ng pag-a-assert ng karapatan ay ang sama-samang pagkilos,” Rise For Education (R4E) media officer Orly Putong said.

“Ang paglabas sa klase ay isa sa mga pinakamataas na porma ng solidarity kaya ito yung nakita nating pinakamahalaga at pinakaepektibong porma para ipakita ang ating panawagan.”

A meager amount “Of course as a state university, tayo ay pinapagana at pinapatakbo ng gobyerno, and objectively, the government has the means to provide UP with adequate budget,” Putong added. “The P2.2 billion budget cut is actually a meager amount compared to...funds na hindi naman talaga pangunahin para sa mga mamamayan sa kasalukuyan.”

Putong stressed for the proposed P3.002-trillion 2016 national budget, P142.9 billion will be allotted to the Department of National Defense.

While a hefty P740.5 billion will be portioned for debt servicing. At least P648 billion can be considered pork barrel funds according to Kabataan Partylist Representative Terry Ridon.

Bryle Leaño, UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) councilor and convenor of the R4E-UP Diliman, recalled the housing problem UP students faced as the academic year 2015-2016 began. More than 300 students were either displaced or not given dormitory slots for the first two weeks of classes.

“Ito na sana ang isa sa mga magiging sagot sa kakulangan natin sa dormitories,” Leaño said. “Yung P2.2 billion ay kaya nang makapagpagawa ng more than five na dormitories katulad ng Kalayaan (Residence Hall).”

Leaño added that the reconstruction of classrooms desttroyed by Typhoon Yolanda in UP Pampanga and UP Tacloban two years ago might be affected by the cut. For this year, the funds allocated for the construction of new infrastructure (capital outlay) is amounting only to P1.14 billion as proposed by DBM. The uni-

versity asked P11.29 billion for CO for the year 2016.

Well-supported Ruby Esteban, regional director of DBM-National Capital Region, explained that outsourcing to other government agencies is the reason for UP’s lowered P11.5 billion budget.

“UP is really well-supported naman po,” Esteban added as he cited the P12 billion income the university earned from tuition, student fees and various income generating projects such as the land leases to the Ayala Corporation.

According to Student Regent Mico Pangalangan, the Aquino administration aims to decrease the number of state universities and colleges into one every region and make them 50 percent subsidized and 50 percent self-sufficient by 2016.

This is based on Aquino administration’s Roadmap to Public Higher Education Reform, which aims to “rationalize, upgrade quality, strengthen public Higher Educational Institution management, and enhance access to quality higher education.”

Pangalanan added that there is an ongoing campaign, Kilos Laban sa Budget Cut, gathering support from faculty members, deans, and chancellors.

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OPINION

Wednesday 30 September 2015

An Expensive Right

by Shernielyn Dela Cruz STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) are called Iskolar ng Bayan for a reason: We come from the masses, we are supported by the masses and taught to serve the masses. But how can we claim to be pro-masses if students are believed to be rich until proven otherwise? If the university is only open to those who can afford to pay?

The Socialized Tuition System (ST System), a mechanism where UP students pay their tuition based on the family’s annual income and other socioeconomic factors, is often considered as the best example of the government’s commitment to free tertiary education. After all, in theory it sounds promising, but the thought that it would ease access to UP education is yet to be proven true.

Over the years, student groups have raised different issues regarding the socialized tuition scheme, ranging from recurring cases of misbracketing to delayed releases of appeal

results. An ongoing debate between scrapping and reforming it continues to plague the university, and today, we are once again presented with the promise of a “progressive rollback” in an attempt to lower the tuition fee.

The recently formed Progressive Alliance for the Rollback of Tuition and Accessibility of Education (PARTAKE) are calling to reform the ST System by lowering the tuition rates of each bracket, with the n0-discount bracket dropping from P1,500 to P1,000 per unit.

But if one were to take a closer look at the history of the university, reforms have never been truly successful in addressing the main problem of the socialized tuition scheme. They have, in actuality, resulted in the gradual increase of tuition and other fees. Since 1989, the tuition per unit had increased from P40 to P200 (1989) to P300 (1990s) to P1,000 (2006) to today’s P1,500 (2013).

When those in power think that education is not a right but a privilege, how can we expect otherwise?

Cartoon by Luigi Naval

Admittedly, PARTAKE’s call for lower tuition rates does sound like a positive development in making UP education more affordable, but does it really address the ST System’s main flaws?

According to a document submitted by the UP administration to the Department of Budget and Management, the ST System had successfully generated more than P1.94 billion from 2010 to 2014. Only P150 million of this was used as Bracket E subsidy, and P145 million was used to construct the semi-private Acacia residence hall, leaving over P1.6 billion idle in various revolving funds.

These funds cannot be used to pay for the salaries of UP employees or the maintenance and upgrade of facilities. These, as required by law, should be provided by the government. The ST System exists to

OPLAN “BAYANIHAN”

by Monique Samson

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YEAR 27 ISSUE NO. 4 SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 WEDNESDAY

subsidize the tuition of the lower bracket students, but only a fraction of it is used for this purpose, and if the rest of the money isn’t needed for the university to continue operating, why is it necessary for the ST System to exist in the first place?

Today, UP faces its biggest budget cut yet, with a P2.2 billion drop in its 2016 budget. President Benigno Aquino III himself said the government is gradually decreasing UP’s subsidy to make it self-sufficient, arguing that the university is capable of generating its own income anyway, citing the ST System and the public-private partnerships that gave rise to the UP-Ayala Technohub and UP-Ayala Town Center.

And this could be true. With all the funds the university collects from rental and miscellaneous fees, grants and donations, along with the P1.6 billion left idle from the tuition and matriculation fees paid by the students, UP should have enough money to provide financial assistance for almost 28 years.

Yet the ST System still remains, and it’s set to remain for however long the administration deems it necessary to generate more income.

The call for a progressive rollback may seem promising, but it fails to address the ST System’s main flaw, and as the government subsidy continues to decrease, we can only expect the UP administration to find more excuses to invest in projects prioritizing profit over education.

After all, when those in power think that education is not a right but a privilege, how can we expect otherwise?

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editors John Reczon Calay | Patricia Anne Monique Samson | Kevyn Kirsten Tapnio Staff Writers Charlotte Furigay | Shernielyn Dela Cruz Cartoonist Luigi Renzo Naval Photojournalist John Reczon Calay Layout Artist Gabrielle Anne Endona Circulation Beatriz Zamora | Raphael Rayco

Address Dimasilaw (Sentro ng Mag-aaral), University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, Ylanan Street, Quezon City 1101 E-Mail ujpupdiliman@gmail.com b a r x /ujpupdiliman Affiliate College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) | UP Systemwide Alliance of Campus Publications and Writers’ Organization (UP Solidaridad) | Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP) Student Research Arm of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)