Outcrop Special COVID-19 Issue

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE • APRIL-AUGUST 2020

MAPAGPALAYANG KAISIPAN SA MALAYANG PAHAYAGAN NEWS

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NO MORE MALLS BAGUIO LOCALS OPPOSE IMPENDING PUBLIC MARKET PRIVATIZATION

KULTURA

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DIWA NG DALAWANG URI

LATHALAIN

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AANHIN PA ANG SINGKONG DULING

GRAPHICS ARMEL JAKE FLORES JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA @upboutcrop

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PAGE DESIGN ISAGANI CASPE

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

PAGE DESIGN EDWARD THOMAS VICENTE

GRAPHICS ADRIANNE PAUL ANIBAN

Editorial

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What they deserve is a plan that is just, humane, and most especially, anchored on scienctific and medical solutions.

The New (Ab)normal in Education Ten days before the supposed opening of classes, the Department of Education (DepEd) moved the opening of school year 2020-2021 from August 24 to October 5 for the second time this year due to the lack of preparation for the new modes of learning imposed by the department.

This only manifests that even the education department itself is far from ready in pushing through remote learning.

Even the modules and handouts needed for modular learning faced problems from printing up to the distribution to the communities.

DepEd’s move to postpone the reopening of classes will only be as useless if they will just continue with the same old plan without demanding for actual medical solutions such as mass testing and efficient contact tracing. It will only put the education sector in a loop of unpreparedness.

As the Philippines embarks the “new normal,” the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) envision a digital mode of learning for the upcoming academic year 2020-2021. New modalities for education will be done remotely that is either through online or modular learning. Truly, these are innovative ways to continue and make up for the usual face-to-face classes and will surely leave no wasted time behind. But this is not the case for low-income families who have to hustle even more in order to procure the equipment needed for online learning like smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

It is one thing to execute new strategies for the education sector, especially if it

is what the situation calls for. However, it is a far more different case to ensure that no student will be left behind in implementing these advanced modes of learning which mostly cling to technological advancements.

Truth be told, Philippine education has never been flawless. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the education sector had already been suffering from lack of modules and insufficient classrooms to accommodate the millions of students enrolling in public schools. Thus, pushing through such an alternative only worsens the situation as remote learning expenses overwhelm the students, parents, and teachers alike.

Along with this, DepEd pushes to increase the number of hours for online classes from 4 hours to 8 hours per day to make up for the adjustments in the school calendar.

Aside from the mental distress caused by the long hours of virtual classes, the high cost of internet expenses also adds up. Not all Filipino households have the luxury for a monthly internet subscription. Many still rely on mobile data that now costs almost as expensive. An hour of group video call consumes about 800MB of mobile data so assuming that an 8-hour call would take more than 6GB of data it would cost about a hundred peso everyday per individual and it could cost more for a household with more than one student at home.

Many have resorted in different ways of earning money, be it finding online jobs, selling food or art crafts online, and even trading their farm chickens for a laptop and

to pay for internet expenses needed for online learning. From the usual problems of finding money to buy notebooks and pens for their children, parents would now have to adjust their budgets to afford tablets or laptops. Because of this, donation drives from different organizations arise in order to help the students and teachers to keep up with distance learning.

Moreover, online classes have already spared the mental health and even the very lives of the students. In a span of five months, three students have already died in the Philippines due to the inaccessibility of online classes. One died of an accident after looking for a signal to submit her requirement online. While the other two committed suicide because of being unable to cope up with the high cost of pursuing education through online classes causing them to stop attending school.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said in defense that students who cannot afford online learning can opt for the other mode of learning that uses only printed materials or the modular learning.

“Online learning is not the primary consideration of the Education Department.

To those who cannot afford gadgets and computers, we have another mode of learning that uses printed materials,” Briones said in a statement.

However, modular learning is no better as the burden of teaching the students lies to their parents, guardians, or even the student himself. Thus, the quality of education is also compromised. These alternatives only leave the Filipino youth with nothing but a more

OPISYAL NA PAHAYAGAN NG MGA MAG-AARAL NG UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS BAGUIO MAPAGPALAYANG KAISIPAN SA MALAYANG PAHAYAGAN

PATNUGUTAN

OUTCROP

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

PUNONG PATNUGOT Adrianne Paul Aniban KAWAKSING PATNUGOT Joemariequeen del Rosario, Christel Janela Baptista PATNUGOT NG BALITA Mecy Siteg, Kate Paulyne Tayco PATNUGOT NG LATHALAIN Kricel Marianne Grace Garcillan PATNUGOT NG KULTURA Reginald Patrick Flores PATNUGOT NG DISENYO Isagani Caspe PATNUGOT NG DIBUHO Joshua Gallardo KAWANI Maria Funa-ay Claver, Jethro Bryan Andrada, Xyle Gabriel Magdamit, Jobelle Ruth Mila, Kesshammine Krimzei Carreon, Hannah Andrea Valiente, Emmanuel Ganancias, Armel Jake Flores, Edward Thomas Vicente, Joshua Buyogan, Nique Jade Tarubal, Sheri Malicdem, Leo Fordan, Gwen Marie de Leon, Karl Ramboyong, Justine Rhys Martirez, Myra Krisselle Garing, Jomar Derije, Ria Javate, Jovelyn Cullado, Dianni Adrei Estrada, Imari Jazmin Tamayo, Joseph Alcones, Lenard Braga, Pearl Julia Sibug, Mary Catherine Espejo

inaccessible education, worse learning environment, and poor quality of education.

This has left us with an impending four million out-of-school children and youth for the next school year which the government reduces as mere statistics.

As students are left questioning how to continue their studies in the middle of both health and economic crises, a massive call for an academic freeze was born. However, academic freeze also comes with the consequence that an additional year will be added to the already delayed years caused by the K to 12 curriculum.

An academic freeze will also prompt the closure of several private schools and universities which will result in the mass layoff of its teachers, staff, and utility workers. It also leaves room for complacency and irresponsibility for the government in responding urgently and effectively to the pandemic as going back to school will not be deemed urgent.

In the end, both students and teachers are left to suffer the inutile and militaristic response of the government to the current health crisis. The administration’s blatant disregard to the students and teachers’ outcry reflects how detached they are from reality. Considering that the Philippines have been in the longest duration of quarantine in the world, the country must have flattened the curve by now.

But as long as the task force addressing the health crisis is composed of military generals and the government continues to insist on a militaristic approach without appointing science and medical professionals in responding to the health crisis, the Philippines will remain as one of the leading hot spots of COVID-19. Waiting for a vaccine is not the comprehensive plan that the Filipinos are expecting. What they deserve is a plan that is just, humane, and most especially, anchored to science and medical solutions.

With this, the Filipino youth must assert their right to quality and accessible education and demand the government to conduct mass testing, effective contact tracing in order to fully contain the virus.

Only then that the schools can be opened and the youth can already go back to the regular face-to-face classes and no longer have to keep up with the standards of distance learning. ▼

COLLEGE EDITORS GUILD OF THE PHILIPPINES (CEGP) UP SYSTEMWIDE ALLIANCE OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS AND WRITERS’ ORGANIZATION (SOLIDARIDAD)

@upboutcrop

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UNANG PALAPAG, ALUMNI CENTER BUILDING, UP BAGUIO, GOV. PACK ROAD, BAGUIO CITY

@upboutcrop

DISENYO NG PAHINA XYLE GABRIEL MAGDAMIT

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Balita

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Crackdown sa Kordilyera, umigting sa panahon ng pandemya SULAT NI JOBELLE RUTH MILA

TIMELINE LABAN KONTRA PASISMO MAYO 13 Nagsampa ng blotter ang Kabataan Partylist Cordillera Coordinator na si Christian Dave Ruz ukol sa lumalalang red-tagging sa Kordilyera at sa pag-aakusa sa kanya na siya ay may kaugnayan sa CPP-NPA-NDF.

MAYO 28

Sa gitna ng lumalalang pandemya, patuloy ang pagkalat ng mga black propaganda laban sa mga progresibong indibidwal at grupo sa Kordilyera.

Kabi-kabilang Facebook post mula sa mga troll accounts at official Facebook page ng Philippine National Police (PNP) sa iba’t ibang dako ng Cordillera ang naglalaman ng mga redtagging post sa mga lehitimong organisasyon kung saan iniuugnay ang mga ito bilang mga rekruter at miyembro ng Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) at New People’s Army (NPA).

Gayundin, kasabay ng pag-arangkada ng noon ay Anti-Terrorism Bill na ngayon ay isa nang ganap na batas, tumindi rin ang mga panunupil sa malayang pagpapahayag at pamamahayag sa

rehiyon.

Nagsilabasan ang mga death threats na layong magtanim ng takot sa mga kritikal na indibidwal at mga aktibista.

“These accounts are greatly influenced by the current administration, which did nothing more but follow what repressive leaders did before: create an enemy among its people,” wika ni Nico Ponce, Chairperson ng UP Baguio University Student Council (USC) sa isang panayam ng UP Baguio Outcrop.

Pag-atake sa mga miyembro ng Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), isang non-government organization, bilang mga komunistang grupo ayon sa mga pahayag nina Sadangga Mayor Gabino Ganggangan, Charlie Wildcats ng AFP, at Youth Leadership Summit ng Philippine National Police (PNP) Mountain Province.

ABRIL 17 Gamit ang dalawang military helicopters, naghulog ng mga anti-komunistang propaganda ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sa Sagada, Mountain Province taliwas sa inaasahan na relief operation ng mga residente.

MAYO 29 Pinadalhan ng death threat si Jeoff Laura, Secretary-General ng Tontongan ti UmiliCordillera Peoples Alliance (TTU-CPA) at pinaparatangan itong rekruter ng NPA. “Ayus sna itsura mo kung di k lng sumasama sa knila... Amo ng muka mo JEOFF... ngaun, mas aayus itsura mo kpg napasabog n ulo mo... gnyan dpt sa inyo mga NPA [sic],” pagbabanta sa kanya.

HUNYO 05 Inakusahan din si Khim Abalos, reporter ng Northern Dispatch, ng PNP La Trinidad bilang isang NPA rekruter sa isang facebook post.

Kalauna’y binura din ng PNP La Trinidad at naglabas ng pahayag ng kanilang hindi pagamin sa intensyong paratangan ang reporter.

HUNYO 15 Natagpuan ang mga banner at tarpaulin na nagkalat sa Baguio City na naglalaman ng mga mukha ng mga lider-estudyante ng UP Baguio at Saint Louis University na iniuugnay bilang mga nangunguna sa pambe-brainwash at panrerekrut ng mga kabataan sa CPP-NPA.

HULYO 10 Nakapaskil ang parehong mga tarpaulin sa Itogon, Benguet at Baguio CIty Post Office, walong araw bago ang implementasyon ng Anti-Terror Law.

Sa kabila ng mga pagpapatahimik ng mga puwersa ng estado sa mga aktibista sa Baguio City, hindi nagpatinag ang mga progresibong grupo at mga indibidwal upang panagutin ang mga nasa likod ng mga paglabag na ito sa karapatang pantao.

Itinaas din ng iba’t ibang organisasyon ang kanilang panawagan sa local government unit

HUNYO 02 Nagpahayag ng pagtutol ang ilang lider-estudyante at aktibista mula sa UP Baguio sa pagsasabatas ng Anti-Terror Bill sa bansa at ng patuloy na lumalalang redtagging sa lungsod.

HUNYO 03 Sa pangunguna ng Youth Act Now Against TyrannyBaguio Benguet, itinaguyod nito ang panawagan ng pagkakaisa upang ibasura ang Anti-Terrorism Bill.

TIMELINE TALAMAK NA PANRE-RED-TAG AT PANUNUPIL NG ESTADO ABRIL

Mariing kinundena ng Executive Staff ng UP Baguio ang talamak na red-tagging ng mga puwersa ng estado sa mga estudyante, organisasyon at dating mga mag-aaral ng unibersidad. Ayon sa kanilang pahayag, tinutulan ng mga kawani ang nasabing panunupil sa malayang pagpapahayag at ang kanilang pagtindig laban sa opresyon.

ABRIL 29 Isang Facebook page na nagngangalang “Paraiso Kaigorotan” ang nagparatang sa mga legal na organisasyon at insititusyon kasama ang UP Baguio Outcrop bilang mga rekruter ng New People’s Army (NPA).

ABRIL 30 Nagsampa ng kaso ng paglabag sa Article 154 ng Revised Penal Code o Unlawful Use of Means of Publication si Police Brigadier General R’win S. Pagkalinawan laban kina Northern Dispatch Editor-in-Chief Kimberly Quitasol at reporter na si Khim Abalos na inihain sa Provincial Prosecutor ng Benguet na agad namang na-dismiss noong July 28.

HUNYO 07 Kumalat ang iba’t ibang dummy accounts ng mga estudyante mula sa iba’t ibang unibersidad na ikinabahala ng marami lalo pa’t maaaring gamitin ang mga ito bilang tagapagpakalat ng fake news.

HUNYO 11 Sumama si Anne Tauli, isang indigenous activist at lider ng Batil-ang Peypeyen Clan sa Mountain Province, sa Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) upang linisin ang kanyang pangalan laban sa mga paratang na miyembro at opisyal siya ng NPA.

HULYO 13 Nakatanggap ng death threat sa pamamagitan ng isang text message si Deign Soriano, isang UP Baguio Junior Faculty, pagkatapos nitong makipagpulong sa City Session sa Baguio ukol sa masamang epekto ng pagputol sa mga puno sa lungsod. “Kung hndi nmin matumba mga puno, ikaw itu2xmba naming [sic],” nakasaad sa mensahe.

HULYO 14 Binantaan at pinaratangang mga rekruter ng CPP-NPA ng isang Facebook account na nagngangalang “Shikarukuto Nikumi Rok” ang mga lider-estudyante sa UP Baguio kabilang si Nico Ponce, UPB University Student Council (USC) Chairperson.

ng Baguio City na pagtuonan ng mariing pansin ang lumalalang kaso ng harassment sa mga progresibong grupo at indibidwal sa lungsod.

Nagpahayag din ang mga ito ng kanilang panawagan upang ibasura ang nasabing AntiTerror Law na siyang maglelegalisa ng redtagging sa mga aktibista.

Nakapaloob dito ang suporta ng iba’t ibang indibidwal at organisasyon sa Baguio City. Naglunsad din ito ng tinatawag na Resist As One movement Facebook tanda ng pagpapahayag ng pagtutol sa nasabing panukalang batas.

HUNYO 15 Ipinaabot ng TTU-CPA ang kanilang pagsalungat sa pagsang-ayon ni Baguio City Major Benjamin Magalong sa pagsasabatas ng Anti-Terror Bill. Sa isang pahayag ng TTU-CPA, sinabi nila na sumasalungat ang pagsuporta ni Magalong sa kanyang pahayag na ligtas ang mga aktibista sa lungsod. Kasabay nito, ang kanilang hamon kay Magalong na suportahan ang Anti-Political Vilification Ordinance gayundin ang Human Rights Defenders Ordinance.

HULYO 09 Naghain ng imbitasyon ang mga progresibong grupo at mga indibidwal para sa isang pormal na diyalogo kasama si Magalong ukol sa lumalalang red-tagging sa lungsod.

HULYO 09 Naghain ang UP Rises Against Tyranny and Dictatorship ng reklamo sa Office of the City Mayor upang paimbestigahan ang mga nasa likod ng panre-red-tag sa mga aktibista at lider-estudyante upang mapanagot ang mga ito. ▼

Jeep drivers, operators to LGU: set aside PUV modernization WORDS BY NIQUE JADE TARUBAL Baguio-Benguet Movement Against Jeepney Phase-out and Joint Administrative Order (BBMAJPJAO) urged the local government unit (LGU) of Baguio to set aside the initial implementation of Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) and instead support drivers and operators by crafting livelihood programs, canceling the implementation of cashless transaction system and returning the old terminal.

Jeepney drivers, operators and commuters under BBMAJPJAO submitted to the Baguio City Hall on July 29 their position paper which enumerated the problems and demands of transportation sector of Baguio-Benguet, Organisasyon dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili iti Siyudad (ORNUS) posted on its Facebook page.

BBMAJPJAO appealed to the LGU to put aside the initial implementation of the requirements of PUVMP which also manifested in Executive Order (EO) 114 and cashless transaction system which were imposed without any consultation.

In connection, they demanded to junk EO 114 series of 2020 which set new loading and staging areas for public utility jeepneys trunklines plying the plaza route as part of the city’s “traffic decongestion and depollution strategies.”

“Ang nabinbinbing pagsasanib ng mga ruta sa mga trunklines at pagririgodon sa mga loading at unloading areas ay magdudulot lamang ng dagdag dagok sa aming mga drayber, opereytor at mga mananakay,” they said.

“Masyadong malalayo ang mga itinakdang loading at unloading areas para sa mga mananakay.

Batay din sa aming pagsusuri sa mga serye ng konsultasyon, ito ay manipestasyon lamang ng untiunting pagpapatupad sa PUV Modernization Program na magsisilbi lamang sa mga malalaking korporasyon at hindi sa aming mga maliliit na asosasyon,” BBMAJPJAO added.

BBMAJPJAO also requested to cancel the enforcement of cashless transaction system because associations cannot afford the price of the swipe card reader needed for this system which costs P7,000.00 so as with the commuters who needed to pay magnetic card which costs P100.00 but only contains P45.00 load.

They suggested instead to call for meeting consultation with the drivers, operators, and commuters to form an alternative way of collecting fares while avoiding the spread of the virus.

Other demands of BBMAJPJAO included the LGU to devise programs that can aid in the livelihood of transportation sector during this pandemic, return previous terminals or seek compromise in setting terminals for the welfare of commuters and to allow jitneys from La Trinidad to load passengers on their terminal at Sinkhole Area for easier trip of people from La Trinidad to Baguio and vice versa.

On the other hand, ORNUS recently posted on Facebook an appeal to commuters to understand drivers’ plea in requesting for fare increase following

complaints about fare hike in Irisan, San Carlos route, Pinget, Kias and others.

They explained that drivers and commuters had an agreement to double the price of fare as loading capacity is reduced to 50 percent on the onset of the pandemic and quarantine however since then, other commuters sought for legal basis of doubling fare price.

“On this pandemic, we should be the one understanding each other. Let us support the request of drivers to have minimum fare increase so they can continue to transport. As they said, commuters should add to the fare so drivers would have something left for their families and would not just all be spent for gasoline,” they explained.

Meanwhile, Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide Baguio-Benguet (PISTON-BB) President Lito Wayas in an interview with Outcrop shared the effects of jeepney phase-out to driver, operators, and citizens when transportation is handed to big and wealthy corporations.

“This means the struggle of drivers, operators and the Filipinos will be continuous as the transportation system will change because as we look at it this time, the system of our transportation is public service, but if this will be handed to some monopolycapitalist, it will become a business wherein when you invest, profit is needed. Monopoly-capitalist will continuously ask for fare hike,” Wayas said in Ilocano.

“This is one of the effects of modernization. It will head to that because small operators and drivers cannot afford the price of a modernized jeep which costs Php 2.6-2.8 million in other places if ever we will have a modernized jeep here at Cordillera,” Wayas added.

PISTON-BB head also talked about the present situation of jeepney drivers and operators as he recalled the promises of Duterte before the lockdown.

“Before the lockdown in the entire city, President Duterte said to just abide by the protocols and do not worry because assistance and relief will come, but until now the promises of Duterte are missing,” Wayas said.

Drivers, operators and commuters said that they understand some protocols as part of health and safety measure however they asked that the welfare and livelihood of the people of the city should not be set aside. They hoped that the officials will notice their requests to fulfill their goal to “Heal As One” without any aggrieved sector while everyone receive welfare even amidst the pandemic. ▼

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

PAGE DESIGN XYLE GABRIEL MAGDAMIT

PHOTOS CORDILLERA YOUTH CENTER

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Tauli disowns fabricated info made by AFP, NSA WORDS BY JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

Annie Margaret Tauli, president of the Batil-ang Peypeyen Clan in Besao, Mountain Province, withdrew her signature in an affidavit containing fabricated information from the interrogation she made with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), July 16.

For more than two weeks in detention in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, the 70-year-old Tauli was in constant interrogation with the AFP and NSA from June 12 to June 30, which she claims to have added to the anxiety she was feeling because of the threats in her life and security.

According to Tauli, on June 29, the NSA, together with a lawyer, presented an affidavit stating that it was a summary of the interrogation she had with the AFP and NSA. In hopes that she could go home by June 30, Tauli agreed to sign the affidavit before Senior Assistant City Prosecutor of Makati City Joel Vedan last June 29.

“My mind could not comprehend anything, as I was feeling light headed and unfocused, and could not even concentrate to suggest any revisions and deletions. So trusting that the affidavit indeed summarized the information I shared during the interrogation, I affixed my signature,” Tauli said in the affidavit withdrawing her signature.

On July 16, Tauli executed her own affidavit to “attest to the truth of the foregoing facts, to withdraw or retract my signature from the Affidavit that I was made to sign on June 19, 2020 before Senior Assistant City Prosecutor of Makati City Joel Vedan, to set the record straight, and for all legal intents and purposes.”

Black Propaganda On July 1, Tauli was brought to a press conference in Baguio City Hall thinking that

she was only being turned-over by the NSA to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

However, it turned out that it was a ceremony under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) to award her financial and housing assistance for being a “surrenderee.”

Press releases made by the governmentowned Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Cordillera as well as the AFP, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and police departments from the Cordillera identified Tauli as a ranking member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

State elements such as the AFP, NTFELCAC and Philippine National Police Cordillera also tagged Tauli as a rebel surrenderee on their social media posts.

Tauli negated these however and denied stating that she was not the “Executive Committee member and former secretary of the Regional White Area Committee of the Ilocos-Cordillera Regional Committee (ICRC) under the CPP” which the affidavit circulated by AFP and NSA and the PIA Cordillera claimed her to be.

Moreover, a copy of the affidavit circulated in social media long before Tauli and her lawyer had a copy.

“I was not given any copy of this Affidavit but when it was circulated in social media and my lawyer got hold of a copy, I realized after I read the copy that the contents of the Affidavit do not truthfully represent the information that I shared with different interrogators from the AFP and NSA,” Tauli

said.

Included in the affidavit were false claims about progressive organizations from the Cordillera such as the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), Community Health Education Services and Training in Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE), Cordillera Women’s Education and Action Research (CWEAR), and many others.

Paragraph 7 of the said affidavit claimed that these organizations were run and influenced by the CPP and were funded by foreign organizations, in which the funds were divided into 80 and 20 percent, where 20 percent goes to the NPA. “I never said any of the statements in paragraph 7 of the affidavit. In fact, I know the organizations mentioned in this paragraph as legal organizations working within the laws and rules of the Philippine government,” Tauli said.

The organizations mentioned have long been victims of aggressive terroristtagging and accusations of being fronts of the CPP-NPA by state elements even before this incident.

Fabricated lies Tauli disowned other statements written in the affidavit that she was made to sign by the AFP and NSA. “More specifically, I have not said that: (i) CPA is led by CPP (ii) These organizations are influenced by the CPP – CHESTCORE, Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera, Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples (TFIP), Katinnulog Dagiti Umili iti Amianan Inc., and Tebtebba (iii) Ilocos Center for Research Empowerment and Development and CWEAR as among the NGOs of the CPP (iv) Montañosa Research and Development Center was put up by the CPP (v) Jill Cariño is a member of the CPP (vi) CPP is getting services from Tongtongan Ti Umili (vii) Serve the People Brigade as program of different NGOs and POs,

some of which are part of the CPP,” Tauli enumerated the fabricated information included in the affidavit.

Tauli also debunked the claims that she has taken part in the establishment of the Cordillera Peoples Democratic Front (CPDF), that she participated in the second congress of the CPP in 2019 and that she mentioned the alleged connection of Joanna Cariño to the CPP. She also denied that she mentioned that the CPP-NPA were organizing students from public and private schools in Baguio City.

Furthermore, the affidavit also twisted the narratives made by Tauli on claims that the CPP-NPA were allegedly using the issues on dams, ancestral domain, mining, forestry and agriculture.

“What I mentioned was that these are the issues being addressed by the peoples’ organizations working in various provinces,” Tauli clarified.

A Look Back On June 10, Tauli was picked up by a military helicopter in Kin-iway, Besao for the purpose of clearing her name from the alleged accusations that she is a highranking communist leader and in order to seek the withdrawal of the shoot-to-kill order imposed upon her.

In contrast to the claims made by the AFP to the media that Tauli “voluntarily surrendered” as a member of the CPP-NPA, relatives of Tauli clarified that she agreed to go with the military from Besao to Baguio in order to clear herself of the allegations against her.

According to her family, she has long been experiencing death threats which intensified last March after Tauli was “falsely linked to an incident that happened on March 13, wherein three alleged New People’s Army (NPA) members were killed in a police operation in Baguio City.” ▼

UPB admin denounces red-tagging of students, orgs, alumni WORDS BY JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB) Executive Staff condemned the recent attacks on students, organizations, and alumni who were blatantly accused of being members and legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

In a statement, UPB administration decried the political vilification against progressive individuals and organizations as it abridged the right to freedom of expression.

“UP Baguio rejects all acts curtailing freedom of expression and the public discussion of pressing social issues. We denounce the red-tagging of UP Baguio students, organizations, and alumni, committed by some sectors of the government and its instrumentalities. We stand to uphold and defend the right to freedom of expression,” the statement read.

UPB also reissued the University Council’s statement on the militarization of campuses released last October 2019 which

denounced all forms of repressive attacks against progressives.

“We, the members of the University Council of UP Baguio, reaffirm our commitment not to be silent in the face of injustice, corruption, and oppression in our society,” the University Council said in their statement.

Ever since the implementation of the community quarantine due to the 2019 coronavirus disease, red-tagging of progressive organizations and individuals in social media continue to intensify.

Recognized organizations and institution inside the university including: UP Baguio Outcrop, Campus Alliance for Dedicated and Unified Action, Alliance of Concerned

ACTIVISTS NOT TERRORISTS Various sectoral groups from Baguio City led by Youth Act Now Against Tyranny Baguio-Benguet submitted copies of accounted cases of human rights violations and red-tagging in the city to the Local Government Unit of Baguio, July 9.

Students and its member organizations: Anakbayan UP Baguio, League of Filipino Students Metro Baguio, Innabuyog Gabriela Youth UP Baguio, Bahaghari Metro Baguio were among the red-tagged organizations included in the recent post by a Facebook profile named “Paraiso Kaigorotan”.

Student leaders and members of the stated organizations were also named and tagged as members and recruiters of the CPP-NPA. Among them are incumbent University

Student Council Chairperson Nico Ponce, Francheska Kapunan, Shannen Dela Cruz, Khim Russel Abalos, Louise Montenegro, and UPB alumnus Christian Dave Ruz. With this, the UPB administration vowed to defend the right to freedom of expression and to continue to promote critical thinking among its constituents.

“We will continue to nurture critical and independent thinking and will defend and exercise our role as social critic and agent of change,” UPB Executive Staff stated. ▼

@upboutcrop

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Progressive orgs decry Magalong’s support for Anti-Terror Bill WORDS BY NIQUE JADE TARUBAL

“We strongly denounce Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s backing of the unconstitutional Anti-Terror Bill.”

UP RESISTS UP Rises Against Tyranny and Dictatorship-UP Baguio filed a complaint at the Baguio City Hall in light of the red-tagging and harassment cases of UP Baguio students and alumni, July 20.

Baguio folks, lawmakers combine efforts to battle tree-cutting operations WORDS BY MARIA FUNA-AY CLAVER

Despite Baguio City’s ongoing Re-Greening Master Plan, Villar-owned Vista Residences Inc. cut a total of 54 trees last June, with 75 more trees set to be cut by another residential giant, Moldex Realty.

Both with permit and authorization from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the giant real estate developers continue to push through the conversion of land to make way for condominiums.

Tongtongan ti Umili-Cordillera Peoples Alliance (TTU-CPA) condemned the “massacre” of 54 Benguet pine trees and called for the people to oppose the “corporate takeover” in Baguio City which they claim to pose a threat to the environment.

“The company’s wily circumvention of local government policies on treecutting shows the blatant disregard of corporate giants such as Vista Land for the environment in order to push through their greedy agenda,” TTU-CPA said in a statement.

Vista, Moldex, DENR Under Fire Last June, citizens and various groups in Baguio City condemned the cutting of 53 pine trees and one Norfolk fir tree by Vista Residences Inc. behind the Presidential Mansion at Outlook Drive on June 20 and 21.

Vista Residences justified that their treecutting operation was legal and stated that the property owner applied for a special private land timber permit in 2018 and was issued an Environmental Clearance Certificate by the DENR in 2017.

However, although these tree-cutting permits and clearances were secured as early as 2017, the private land timber permit No. CAR-58-2020 was only issued last June

18 when Baguio City’s proposed one-year moratorium on new commercial buildings and on cutting of trees was already accepted “in principle” by the Malacañang and was only awaiting formal communication.

Likewise, with a tree cutting permit issued by the DENR, Moldex Residences is set to cut an additional 75 trees as part of the last phase of its Moldex Realty project in Marcos Highway.

Last May 2019, the Baguio City Council summoned Moldex Realty and DENR to further investigate the death of 49 pine trees that alarmed the city as it was done in the middle of the midterm elections.

Citizens In Action Residents from Baguio shared their testimonies online on the importance of preserving the few trees left in Baguio, saying that the city’s ecology is greatly affected by the continuous rise of development projects.

They voiced their disapproval at the DENR’s decision to issue permits despite the ongoing health crisis and the city’s ongoing Re-Greening Master Plan.

University of the Philippines Baguio professor and environmental activist Deign Frolley Soriano presented a research on the city’s declining forest cover at the Baguio City Council.

Soriano afterwards received an anonymous death threat, four days before the Anti-Terror Law became effective.

Alongside with this, several progressive organizations released statements against

This was the statement of Tongtongan ti Umili-Cordillera Peoples Alliance (TTUCPA) on its Facebook post last June 15 after Magalong expressed his support for the said bill.

TTU-CPA pointed out that Magalong’s support for Anti-Terrorism Bill is contradictory to his statement last December 2019 where he said that activists are “safe and secure” in the city.

“Mayor Magalong’s support for the Anti-Terrorism Bill contradicts his former pronouncement that activists are safe in Baguio and that the City is a haven for “free-thinkers.” There can be no safety or assurance to security for any “free-thinker” once the Anti-Terror Bill passes into law,” TTU-CPA said.

They also shared the attacks that caused them to fear for their safety and security amid various political vilification and threats, and told that this fear heightens even more due to the looming passage of

the bill.

“We have received death threats; we continue to face vile social media campaigns that slander our leaders and youth activists, some being instigated by our own police force; and just recently, our youth leaders even became the subject of malicious public materials hanged over conspicuous places in the City,” they enumerated.

Moreover, they suggested Magalong to reverse his position on the bill and called him to support ordinances for activists which are both pending for deliberations.

“If the Mayor truly respects the constitution and values democracy, then he should backtrack from his support of the Anti-Terror Bill. We also call for the Mayor to support instead legislative measures such as the Anti-Political Vilification Ordinance and the Human Rights Defenders Ordinance, both of which are currently lodged in the Sangguniang Panglungsod for their deliberations,” TTU-CPA said. ▼

the commercialization of Baguio spaces.

“While we are trying to recover and survive the pandemic, Vista Residences Inc. with the go-signal from DENR has decided to push-through its greed program,” Progressive Igorots for Social Action said in their statement.

TTU-CPA also stood firm in their fight against the commercialization of Baguio spaces that inflicts threat to the environment.

“The continuous corporate takeover in the city poses a threat to our environment.

However, the umili of Baguio is resolved for its defense. From the Save 182 movement against SM’s greed, to the opposition on allowing Burnham Park to be a space for cars, we will not falter in our fight to save our city,” TTU-CPA said.

Bishop Victor Bendico of the Diocese of Baguio also condemned Vista Residences, saying that the developer’s move “gravely rejects the moral principle of the social doctrine of the Church on safeguarding the environment.”

Furthermore, individuals and environmental activists also started an online signature campaign to demand the halt of the tree-cutting operations and to gain attention from Mayor Benjamin Magalong and urge him to perform an investigation on the project.

“The trees supply oxygen needs of at least two hundred sixteen persons, sequester more than 10 tons of carbon dioxide, help reduce global warming, recharge brooks and springs, help prevent water run-off and act a buffer zone against strong typhoons and winds,” Michael Bengwayan said in the petition.

However, Magalong claimed that he knew nothing about the operation and said that the operation was a “big blow” to the city’s Re-Greening Master Plan, as the Office of the President already approved “in principle” Baguio City’s proposed one-year

moratorium on new commercial building and on cutting of trees.

“While the proposed moratorium has been taken over by this health crisis, we need to follow this up to ensure that our remaining trees will be preserved,” Magalong said.

Council Succeeds Measures Baguio City Representative Mark Go and the Baguio City Council filed House Bill No. 7090 that seeks for a 10-year moratorium on tree-cutting, July 13.

“No tree shall be cut, removed or excavated except for dead and infested trees that are beyond reviving or those that might infect other trees,” Go said in his proposed bill.

The bill also states that any construction in the city should consider the preservation of existing trees in the design.

According to Go, the city has only 2.5 million trees left, with only 500,000 of them Benguet pine trees.

Youth Council representative Levy Orcales followed-up Go’s statement, saying that Baguio is no longer deserving to be called “Pine City.”

On the same day, the Baguio City Council passed on first reading an ordinance, introduced by Councilors Levy Orcales, Joel Alangsab and Art Allad-iw that imposes a five-year tree-cutting moratorium in residential, business and public areas in the city.

These proposed laws will allow regulators to review and amend the city’s environmental laws as measures to prevent more trees from being cut.

Vista Residences is a condominium developer under the realty group Vista Lands which is owned and led by the Villars.

Moreover, Senator Cynthia Villar is the current chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. ▼

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No more malls

Baguio locals oppose impending public market privatization WORDS BY DIANNI ADREI ESTRADA

Vendors and locals resisted as the Baguio City local government plans to redevelop the public market through a public-private partnership (PPP) deal with prospect developer Robinsons Land Corporation.

The City Public-Private Partnership for the People Initiative (P4) selection committee favored Robinsons to redevelop the market over SM Prime Holdings. The decision now awaits the city mayor’s approval.

Through the city council’s majority votes, the PPP deal was considered as the best option in reconstructing the market instead of shouldering the whole cost ranging from P5 billion to P6 billion.

People-centered Market Redevelopment The P4 selection committee disqualified the Baguio Markets Vendors Association (Bamarva), the sole local bidder against Robinsons and SM due to lack of legal papers.

The committee also added that the proposal of the association lacks commercial value, unlike the two mall chains.

Bamarva President Atty.

Zosimo Abratique said that they are not giving up their bid to be the developer of the public market and that they are set to submit a new set of complete papers to comply with the city’s documentary requirements.

“We also want it modernized and we believe we have the capacity. The integrity of Baguio City is in that market. That is our identity. We are not Makati nor BGC. If we were, then we should have malls left and right,” Abratique said.

He also noted that Bamarva’s proposal included aspects that would make the market truly for the city and its local businesses while generating income for the city and providing a livelihood for the market stakeholders.

In a press statement, Tongtongan ti Umili-Cordillera Peoples Alliance (TTUCPA) expressed its opposition against the takeover of SM or Robinsons in the development of the public market and called to pursue a people-centered market redevelopment.

“The City Council’s move to pursue a PPP deal will only leave thousands of our fellow iBaguios who make business at the market be displaced, a remarkable landmark in the city be lost, and the future generations deprived of a market community that is driven by the people, for the people,” TTUCPA said.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong assured the citizens for a people-centered market rehabilitation deal with private companies and that he would ensure the welfare of about 4,000 legitimate market vendors affected by the deal.

Looming Market Modernization City Councilors Philian Weygan-Allan and Betty Lourdes Tabanda expressed their grave concern on the involvement of private corporations on the rehabilitation of the public market.

Allan emphasized that both Robinsons

‘‘

The City Council’s move to pursue a PPP deal will only leave thousands of our fellow iBaguios who make business at the market be displaced, a remarkable landmark in the city be lost, and the future generations deprived of a market community that is driven by the people, for the people.

TONGTONGAN TI UMILICORDILLERA PEOPLES ALLIANCE and SM proposed mixed-use structures consisting of spaces for the local market stakeholder and the rest as the mall component to be used by the developer.

“It means that the footprint of the market will shrink as it will be sharing portions of it for the business venture of SM or Robinson or whoever will develop the market,” she said.

The councilor also pointed out that the structure will only be turned over to the city only after 50 years, stressing that the time gap is too long.

“This must be negotiated. The financial package should also be reviewed as it exempts the developer from taxes due to the city. That the lease is not a cash lease but is equivalent to the construction of the public market facility,” Allan added.

The two mall chains proposed to redevelop the market in exchange for a 50year lease so that the city can pay for the multibillion pesos cost of the Baguio market redevelopment.

Tabanda, in a letter addressed to the P4 committee, likewise, opposed the construction of more malls as part of the development plan in the public market, citing that existing local businesses would be affected.

Uniwide Sales and Realty Corporation entered a contract deal with the city government decades ago to develop the public market but failed to do so.

The P4 selection committee is headed

by City Administrator Boni Dela Peña, City Budget Officer Leticia Clemente, a technical working group on market development and the city council. ▼

UNITY AMID PANDEMIC Individuals and sectoral groups gathered at the Baguio Cathedral grounds on July 17 to take part in the “#SONAgkaisa sa Kordilyera,” they also called on the Duterte administration for immediate COVID-19 response.

CPA: AFP airdropping leaflets instead of relief; waste of peoples’ money WORDS BY MARIA FUNA-AY CLAVER

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) condemned the actions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in their tactic to spread anticommunist propaganda over Sagada, Mountain Province amid the threat of COVID-19.

Two military helicopters of the 54th Infantry Battalion hovered over residential houses on the morning of Easter Sunday to drop flyers that slandered the Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples’ ArmyNational Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

Residents were underwhelmed by the flyers as they were instead expecting to receive government aid like food or personal protective equipment (PPEs).

CPA Chairperson Windel Bolinget said that such act by the AFP would have been useful and not an unnecessary expense if it were a needed relief operation.

“In this time of crisis and problems on budget against COVID-19 and people’s basic needs, this waste of people’s money must not be allowed,” Bolinget stated.

The news sparked online discussion about how much was spent for aviation fuel, and it was estimated to be roughly half a million per two hours of flight.

The flyers’ contents said that residents

should not accept aid like food and donations from groups they allege to be members of the CPP-NPA. It also accuses the CPP-NPA of taking advantage of the crisis to recruit members.

Additionally, it endorsed the Enhanced Comprehensive Integration Program, a government program that aims to help the surrendered rebels restore their allegiance to the Philippine government.

The 54th Infantry Battalion is the same military unit responsible for the political vilification of Brandon Lee, an American human rights volunteer, who was almost killed by suspected military agents in August 2019.

The CPA demanded the admonition of military officers involved in the incident.

They said that the officers should be held accountable and that there should be a rechanneling of funds from the military to health services and government subsidies to the people. ▼

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Health workers call for help, condemn government negligence WORDS BY RIA JAVATE

As the country faced a surge of COVID-19 infections, more than 80 national and local medical societies called on President Rodrigo Duterte and the Department of Health (DOH) to revert Metro Manila back to Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) for two weeks as a “time-out” to refine the country’s pandemic control strategies, August 1.

Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) published an open letter urging the government to impose stricter community quarantine as the healthcare system gets close to being overwhelmed.

“The health sector cannot hold the line for much longer. Our healthcare workers should not bear the burden of deciding who lives and who dies,” the group said in the letter.

On July 28, the DOH reported that both medical facilities and large-scale temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) are already in the “warning zone” in terms of bed capacity.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), 70 percent of hospitals’ COVID-19 facilities are being used, placing its critical care capacity in the “danger level.”

The group recommended that during the two-week time-out, the government should use the opportunity to draw up a better strategy in addressing urgent conditions or problems in the COVID-19 response such as hospital workforce deficiency, failure of case finding and isolation, failure of contact tracing and quarantine, transportation safety, workplace safety, public compliance with self-protection and social amelioration.

“In the end, winning the war against COVID-19 relies heavily on being able to keep our health system capacitated to address the needs of all Filipinos,” PCP stated.

Distress calls, not threats to revolt Following the public airing of grievances made by the medical community, Duterte accused the frontliners of staging a revolution against the government, on his late-night public address, August 2.

“Do not try to demean government. You are not actually criticizing. You demean

my government, your own government,” he added.

In Duterte’s defense, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained on the following day that the president’s outrage against medical frontliners came from their public call to refine the government’s response to COVID-19.

He said that the president would have preferred to be the first one to receive the letter before creating a publicity.

On the other hand, PCP President Dr. Mario Panaligan, in a letter of clarification addressed to Duterte, denied accusations of calling for a revolution.

Panaligan clarified that they only urged the government to collaborate with health experts to improve the pandemic response.

Moreover, he stressed that back in April, the PCP already wrote the DOH regarding the health workers’ concerns but neither the DOH nor the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) replied.

“We bear no ill will and have acted without malice towards the implementers of the law and the bayanihan as one goal, but our empty cries had to be made known somehow,” Panaligan stated.

Despite the initial rejection of Duterte in reverting Metro Manila back to ECQ, he then followed the recommendations of the medical societies and approved DOH and IATF proposal on August 2 to place Metro Manila and four neighboring provinces under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from August 4-18.

Duterte explained that he decided on a more relaxed MECQ rather than imposing the stricter ECQ due to the country’s financial situation.

“The problem is wala na tayong pera. I

cannot give any more food and money to the people,” he said.

DOH anti-health worker policies While Duterte complained about the health workers’ demands for asking a timeout and a more comprehensive COVID-19 response from the government, the number of medical frontliners who tested positive for the coronavirus continued to rise.

On August 2, a group of health workers from Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) staged a protest outside the hospital to condemn the anti-health workers protocols of DOH which led to the death of their colleague, Judyn Bonn Suarte, a health worker who died from COVID-19 on July 31.

According to Cristy Donguines, a nurse and president of Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) union in JRRMMC, Suarte might have survived if not for the negligence of the hospital management and the DOH for its protocol requiring health workers with severe COVID-19 cases be transferred to an exclusive COVID-19 hospital rather than immediately treating them.

“Hindi kami prayoridad ng gobyerno. Kaya nakakalungkot, kasi kada pasok namin sa trabaho, isang paa namin nasa hukay na.

Pagod na pagod na kami,” Donguines stated.

Meanwhile, Maria Theresa Cruz, a nurse in Cainta Municipal Hospital died from COVID-19 on July 22. She was first tested with a rapid test that came out negative, even though DOH already warned about its inaccuracy.

Due to the late administering of swab

tests, she was only tested on July 19 even after inquiring about it on July 11.

Aside from the lack of prioritization for swab testing of health workers, both the hospital management and DOH failed to provide the amount of P500.00 as a COVID-19 daily hazard pay.

Cruz’s daughter, Joie, only received an amount of P60.93 for her mother’s COVID-19 daily hazard pay on top of her usual P239.00 hazard pay, amounting to a total of P300.00.

“This issue is not about monetary value.

This issue is about how some government agencies lie and how we take for granted and exploit our frontliners in the face of this pandemic,” Joie said on her Facebook post.

Unjust benefits for health workers In March, Duterte signed Administrative Order (AO) No. 26 which provides hazard pay for government personnel, including public hospital health workers, who physically report to work amid the pandemic.

Section 1 of AO 26 states that the COVID-19 hazard pay should be P500.00 multiplied by the number of days a worker reports for work.

However, Section 3 states that should an agency have insufficient funds, “a lower but uniform rate may be granted for all qualified personnel.”

In an interview with Rappler, AHW National President Robert Mendoza said that hospitals might be taking advantage of AO 26 to give hazard pay lower than P500.00.

At the same time, Duterte’s AO also gave a problem for hospital managements due to lack of budget allocation from the government.

As of August 15, the DOH recorded a total of 157,918 COVID-19 cases in the country with the death toll reaching 2,600.

Simultaneously, 5,245 Filipino health workers tested positive for the virus while 39 of them died.

“The delayed, haphazard and militaristic measures of the DOH and IATF have utterly failed to stem the COVID-19 outbreak.

Indeed, unless an effective and consolidated plan is laid out, we will continue to lose the battle against the pandemic,” said Citizens Urgent Response to End COVID-19 (CURE COVID) on a Facebook statement. ▼

Various dummy accounts circulate Facebook WORDS BY JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

Amid the calls to junk Anti-Terrorism Bill on social media, multiple fake Facebook accounts bearing names of various individuals across different universities in the Philippines are circulating on Facebook.

According to Youth Act Now Against Tyranny - Baguio-Benguet (YANAT-BB), the surge of fake accounts first circulated among University of the Philippines (UP) students and alumni followed by reports from various universities in the country.

“It has initially circulated among UP students and alumni but reports came in that even students from other schools such as Saint Louis University have been

experiencing the same,” YANAT BB stated in their advisory.

YANAT BB reminded the public to check their names on Facebook, which may be altered a bit, take a screenshot of the account, get the account link and send it to YANAT BB for documentation then report and block the account immediately.

They also noted the real account owners to ensure to log out their account

FREE THE PRESS Various media groups and organizations held a candle-lighting ceremony at the Melvin Jones Grandstand to call for genuine press freedom and to demand the renewal of ABSCBN’s franchise, July 18.

to all devices, change their passwords, and check their security settings.

UP Office of the Student Regent (UP OSR) also expressed alarm over these fake accounts which are speculated to circulate fake news.

“We express our utmost alarm since these accounts are suspected to cause harm or spread false information. It would be best if we all stay informed and

vigilant. We are encouraging students not to panic and instead help each other in reporting suspicious accounts and to stand together against possible tactics seeking to silence our voice,” UP OSR said.

SR Isaac Punzalan also informed the public of the blank accounts bearing his name and confirmed that he only has one official Facebook account. ▼

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BOR’s decision receives backlash from UP students WORDS NIQUE JADE TARUBAL

Students from the University of the Philippines (UP) clamored in various social media platforms after the Board of Regents (BOR) approved the Presidential Advisory Council’s (PAC) proposal on semester adjustments.

Students expressed dismay upon BOR’s decision, arguing that it is “anti-student” as it will only pile up the burden of students in academics for the succeeding academic year, adding up to the present challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Napaka-anti-student po. It’s frustrating kasi what this means is dagdag workload for us students, and it could have adverse effects on our mental health. On a regular semester pa lang, marami nang mga estudyante na hirap mag-balance ng acads—that policy in essence ay pinapahirapan lang ang mga estudyante when pwede naman ang #EndTheSemester at #MassPromotionNow,” Cheska Kapunan commented on a Facebook post when asked about her thoughts on BOR’s decision.

Moreover, students pointed out BOR’s failure to hear the sectoral regents: the student, faculty, and staff regents, who are UP’s major constituents and who will mostly be affected by the decision.

They said that BOR did not uphold UP’s mandate—“Honor and Excellence.”

On the other hand, the Sectoral Regents said in an initial joint statement that they maintained their position to end the semester and implement mass promotion.

They also expressed disappointment at the decision.

“Purely academic output and

performance metrics which supposedly determine excellence have been prioritized above the very real financial, physical, psychological and emotional anxieties of students, faculty, and staff,” the statement read.

Student Regent (SR) Isaac Punzalan stressed that he voted no to the approval of PAC’s recommendation and mentioned how both honor and excellence could be found in siding with the people.

“I voted no. It is imperative for UP to remember that in a time like this, we need to do whatever it takes to protect each other.

The well-being of our constituency should be our priority. We can find honor in doing what’s right, we can find excellence in siding with the people,” Punzalan said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, former SR Ivy Taroma raised fear that UP’s decision might be the basis of other state universities and colleges in crafting their policy for the semester.

“My fear is that UP’s decision will be a precedent for other state universities and colleges. Pwedeng gawing basis na hindi rin nila tapusin ang sem, at napakahirap no’n para sa constituents nila na maaaring nasa mas mahirap na kalagayan kaysa sa atin,” she tweeted.

Despite this, UP Office of the Student Regent earlier said that they are seeking ways ‘on what can further be done’ as they

‘‘

“Naniniwala naman ako sa UPB dahil some of my professors ay nagsabi na they won’t give additional requirements, marami na ring professors na nag-announce na that they will pass their students so I believe na most profs will follow,” Anshirley Soriano, a UPB student, said in an interview.

This is in relation to some UP professors who expressed their solidarity with students’ sentiments and already opted to pass the students without further requirements.

“I will do #MassPromotion in my Math 197 and Math 299. I am passing all of my students in those classes. For Math 54 (prerequisite to several courses), only those whose class standing before the ECQ are failing will be given a completion requirement—the only requirement is to complete a Bridging Course in Math 54—everyone else will PASS,” Paul Samuel Ignacio, a professor from UP Baguio College of Science said in a statement from Rise for Education AllianceUP Diliman. ▼

My fear is that UP’s decision will be a precedent for other state universities and colleges.

IVY TAROMA FORMER UP STUDENT REGENT continue to fight.

They also appealed to local administrators, faculty, and all the members of the UP community to continue to fight and stand firm while upholding the spirit of solidarity and compassion.

Meanwhile, some students at UP Baguio continued to trust their administration and professors in the measures they will implement this semester.

NUMBERS PREFERRED GRADING SCHEME OF THE UP BAGUIO FACULTY MEMBERS FOR THE 2ND SEMESTER, AY 2020-2021 COLLEGE OF ARTS AND COMMUNICATION COLLEGE OF SCIENCE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 0

5

10 PASS

15

20

25

NUMERICAL GRADES

30

35

40

PASS* *with adjectival equivalent

SOURCE ALL UP ACADEMIC EMPLOYEES UNION-BAGUIO CHAPTER

UPB students air possible problems in remote learning WORDS BY HANNAH ANDREA VALIENTE

University of the Philippines Baguio University Student Council (UPB USC) collated student demands and concerns for the incoming academic year 2020-2021 during the College Consultations held via Zoom, July 2-5.

UPB USC held two meetings for each colleges to provide a platform for students to raise their concerns and to submit a summative report of the College Consultation to be forwarded to the University Committee for Student Affairs.

Last July 1, UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Cynthia Bautista relayed the UP System’s plans for the academic year during the UP Baguio Town Hall Discussion.

Bautista stated that the first semester will be conducted through “remote learning,” which will cover the spectrum of synchronous and asynchronous learning.

Synchronous learning refers to real-time classes held in online platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom while asynchronous learning refers to the course packs or study guides independent of internet connection.

With this, students raised their concerns on the quality and inclusiveness of remote learning, especially for students in far-flung areas.

Jules Vaughn*, a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences (BASS)–Anthropology student stated her sentiments on the conduct of remote learning.

“I am currently living in our province

where we don’t have access to high-speed internet at home. It’s only around midnight or early in the morning where our internet signals go from E to H+,” she said.

Gadgets needed for remote learning also remained to be a problem for Jules as she experienced technical difficulties on her current phone.

“I tried downloading Zoom to my smartphone pero hindi siya compatible and right now, I’m just hoping na maayos lahat ito before September 10,” she said.

“Since smartphone na yung gagamitin ko, I desperately need prepaid load every week or even every day dahil madaling maubos ang data,” Jules added.

Majority of students pointed out the slow and unstable internet connection in the country, which is one of the biggest hurdles in remote learning.

They also raised their concerns in accordance with their respective courses.

College of Science students asked about the conduct of self-paced learning especially in highly theoretical courses.

Moreover, the transition from prerequisite courses to their major subjects were difficult, making the students ill-

equipped for the upcoming classes.

Some of the programming languages needed by Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science students were also not easily accessible as some of it are not available online.

Virtual laboratory classes for BS Physics students were also deemed complicated and not suitable for self-paced learning.

BS Math students said that higher courses need the guidance of professors and cannot be thoroughly learned through videos alone.

The system of laboratory subjects and fieldworks for BS Biology students were also brought into question.

Similarly, students planning to shift to BS Biology are also concerned about the system of self-paced learning.

Students of Bachelor of Arts in Communication from College of Arts and Communication found it difficult to conduct practical learning and productions needed for their course.

Students of College of Social Sciences also faced similar problems, as students found it impossible to conduct the fieldwork and archival works required for BASS– Anthropology and BASS–History students.

Meanwhile, to aid students who cannot afford remote learning, UP launched the “Kaagapay UP” donation drive to provide laptops and internet connection for financially challenged students.

Several UPB organizations also launched “Project SAVE: Student Assistance for Virtual Education” to help fellow UPB students in need of remote learning resources like gadgets and prepaid load.

Course packs, which shall be available by September 1 and will contain downloaded modules and readings, are also being prepared by professors for students with internet connectivity issues.

However, VPAA Bautista stated last July 1 that the university is still planning how course packs will reach students in remote areas who do not have access to the internet and stated that it is a logistical issue.

As for Jules, she could only rely on these course packs for her classes. She said that her only option is to borrow laptops from her friends to push through this academic year.

“My second plan as of this moment is to go back in Baguio to take online classes…

It’s merely impossible to study online back in our place,” she said.

A summative report of the College Consultation was forwarded to the University Committee for Student Affairs and was tackled at the Board of Regents’ meeting on July 30, where it was decided that UP will proceed for remote learning for the academic year 2020-2021 and classes will start on September 10. ▼ *Not her real name

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NEWS FEATURES

Highlands, low sales Cordillera farmers struggle amid lockdown WORDS BY NIQUE JADE TARUBAL

Farmers from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) suffer from low income due to restriction of mobility and trade while Luzon is under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).

The restriction of movement either stopped or slowed down the transportation of agricultural products and the limited mobility of consumers going to La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post (TVTP), BenguetAgri Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC), and Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal also decreased the demand for vegetables.

Lost Livelihood Three months earlier, the cancellation of Panagbenga Festival and other crowddrawing events had already brought a

NUMBERS 2017 CAR CROPS* PRODUCTION

*brocolli, cabbage, carrots, habitchuelas, chinese pechay, and white potato

81.7%

of the national output were registered from CAR, accounting to a 305,597.8 metric tons of produce.

SOURCE PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY-CAR

drastic drop on the price of vegetables and reduced its local sales. The implementation of the lockdown last March 17 crippled the farmers even more.

Some farmers had no choice but to throw away tons of their produce which wilted after waiting to be delivered or to be accommodated in trading posts, while some sold their harvest at a very low price.

In Kilusang Magsasaka ng Pilipinas’ (KMP) update last April 3, Fernando Bagyan of Alyansa Dagiti Mannalon Iti Tiang Kordilyera (APIT-TAKO) asked for compensation for vegetable farmers and explained their situation.

“We ask the government to compensate farmers for the unsold and damaged crops. Farmers are already experiencing bankruptcy due to the steep drop of veggie farm gate prices. Cabbage and wombok prices are sold from P5 to P7 per kilo while carrots went as low as P1 per kilo. Most farmers took out loans to deliver their produce to trading posts but the declaration of lockdown tightened vegetable trading,” Bagyan said.

On the other hand, despite the crisis and deficit experienced, some farmers still used the opportunity to help. In Benguet, unsold harvests were being left in a place where people can get it for free while another from

Cordillerans celebrate 36th Cordi Day online

‘‘

If not properly addressed, the situation of farmers in the Cordillera poses a serious threat to food security not only within the region but throughout the country.

ALYANSA DAGITI MANNALON ITI TIANG KORDILYERA (APIT-TAKO) Cordillera gave fruits and vegetables to street children sleeping in Malabon City.

Back Frontliners On April 2, APIT-TAKO appealed to the national government for economic relief measures to help and support the farmers affected by the crisis.

The demands of APIT-TAKO include (1) local government units’ adherence to national policy to hasten the delivery of farm produce and supplies, (2) adequate financial support to farmers, (3) adequate relief assistance and (4) free and massive COVID-19 test for farming sectors and their families.

Moreover, they asked to include farming communities in prioritization of food and health assistance, to place protective

measures in prices of farm inputs and fertilizers, and to give ample space and time to sell products.

In their statement, APIT-TAKO also stressed the importance of supporting the Cordillera farmers as their current condition does not only affect CAR but the entire country’s production of vegetables.

“If not properly addressed, the situation of farmers in the Cordillera poses a serious threat to food security not only within the region but throughout the country. The region supplies 75% of the Philippines’ temperate vegetables. The Cordillera also accounts for 4% of country’s corn and 2% of its rice supply,” APIT-TAKO said.

Government Aid The Department of Agriculture (DA) on March 17 issued food resiliency protocols to ensure unhampered distribution and transportation of food products, however farmers still complained that the protocols were not properly observed.

In connection to this, Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas issued a Memorandum Circular which set a clustering scheme of towns in Benguet and two towns in nearby province for delivery of vegetables at TVTP and BAPTC. The goal of the scheme is to ensure social distancing in the trading posts, and also to balance the supply and demand of vegetables and to regulate prices.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar also announced distribution of P5,000 cash assistance but only to rice farmers provided they meet the criteria set by the agency.

Furthermore, DA launched “Ahon Lahat, Pagkain Sapat Kontra sa COVID-19” (ALPAS COVID) and alloted P31 billion supplemental fund to ensure food security during the Enhanced Community Quarantine, of which KMP demanded full transparency.

Meanwhile, local government units bought truckloads of vegetable produce from farmers in the region used for feeding programs and relief operations. ▼

WORDS BY NIQUE JADE TARUBAL

Despite ban on mass gatherings due to COVID-19, Cordillerans pushed through with the 36th Cordillera Day via online celebration, starting April 23 until April 25, 2020.

With the theme “Strengthen our Unity and Courageously Defend our Ancestral Land and Life,” the celebration was led by the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA).

“From April 23-25, we will be posting a series of live episodes of messages and cultural performances, video documentaries, statements and other information materials at our Facebook page and Twitter,” CPA announced on their Facebook post.

CPA explained the significance and the definition of the celebration to the people of the Cordillera.

“More than just a gathering, Cordillera Day is a political statement on present realities by the militant Cordillera peoples’ movement. It carries with it the historical advances of the mass movement for self-determination and national democracy. It is the affirmation of principles and struggles for defense of the ancestral domain and for self-determination and pursues what the Cordillera martyrs and heroes have fought for,” they said.

On the same post, they also narrated the beginning of the tradition that started on April 24, 1980 when Macliing Dulag was shot to death by soldiers due to his opposition to the Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam Project of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“Macliing Dulag and all our other martyrs did not die in vain. Cordillera Day and our continuing campaigns and struggles shall be raised to a higher ground until our aspirations become a reality,” they ended.

To participate, CPA invited people to (1) watch or read, like and share their posts at Facebook and Twitter, (2) post statement or solidarity message, (3) share past Cordillera Day stories, (4) organize webinars, and (5) use the hashtags #CordiDay2020, #SolidarityAmidCOVIDCrisis, and if appropriate, #MassTestingNow, #NasaanAngAyuda, #SolusyongMedikalHindiMilitar and #AyudaHindiDahas.

In line with this, groups such as

RESIST AS ONE In commemoration of the 122nd Philippine Independence Day and in opposition of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, progressive individuals in Baguio City protested in front of the University of the Philippines Baguio for the “Grand Baguio Manañita,” June 12.

Anakbayan Cordillera, Progressive Igorots for Social Action (PIGSA) Cordillera, Innabuyog Gabriela, and Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera will also hold film viewings, performances, and online discussions

separately on the said dates.

Last March 14, CPA canceled the 36th Cordillera Day which was supposed to be hosted by Kalinga on April 23-24 due to the threat posed by COVID-19 pandemic. ▼

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

PAGE DESIGN EDWARD THOMAS VICENTE

GRAPHICS ADRIANNE PAUL ANIBAN AND JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

Opinion

10

Playing the blame game REALITY CHECK JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

For those who have the luxury of watching Netflix all day and having food delivered to their doorstep without so much as moving their fingers, poverty can seem so much like a choice. The classic recipe for a life of wealth, after all, is always hard work. Or so we’ve been told.

So far, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown not only the incompetence of our public officials, but the insensitivity of some Filipinos towards their fellow countrymen who struggle against poverty. Twitter has practically exploded in recent days with the reactions of many users to a post blaming the poor for being impoverished.

The post, even going so far as to say “you have the will to change the situation. Don’t blame the government for you being poor,” is solid proof of the ignorance of the upper class at the suffering of those below them.

We know from a concrete analysis of society that the richest Filipinos consist only 1% of the country’s labor force. Farmers and workers, on the other hand, form a staggering 90% of it. If hard work truly were the secret ingredient to a comfortable life, manual labor workers, fishermen, and farmers should be billionaires.

We see, however, that this is not the case.

Wealth and luxury are not only unfairly distributed, but hoarded by the 1% who sit pretty atop the social triangle. This may not affect the middle class so severely, but it essentially dooms those at the bottom of society to remain in their place. Even worse, they are denied almost any opportunity to

claw their way out of poverty.

Most Filipinos see education as the golden ticket to a comfortable life. For us, that college diploma is a bridge to success and a good, satisfying future. Even in poor families, saying “mag-aral ka nang mabuti” is commonplace; but the problem lies in actually affording an education.

Every year, tuition fees in universities climb new highs. Education has been commercialized and capitalized on so much that some schools have been branded as educational institutions only for the elite.

True, tuition in some state universities and colleges (SUCs) is free, but the slots are always limited. This prompts them to use entrance exams that pit students against one another for the right to study in a university; and even after that, there is still the issue of dorm rent, food, and daily allowance to worry about.

How are the poorest among us supposed to use education as a means to liberate themselves from their sorry state when their meager income is not even enough for them to eat three times a day, much less pay for tuition at a prestigious university? And even if by some miracle, a poor person manages to finish college, he is still not spared from having to face other challenges in the corporate world such as contractualization and below minimum-wage income.

Despite this, we hear of many ragsto-riches stories. Philippine television has practically thrived on showing poor characters rise from being beggars to CEOs, but this is a dangerous notion that romanticizes the struggle of the poor.

Situations like those may happen, but they are no more than rare glitches in the system, not regular phenomena.

Often in reality, the poor never get to finish their education, are forced to work low-paying jobs in huge capitalist establishments, and like we see now, are glorified by being tagged as ‘frontliners’ or ‘heroes’ but are denied extra pay.

The point is, although education and work are important, we cannot hold it against the poor if they cannot manage to study and find decent-paying jobs since the odds are stacked against them from the get-go. They did not choose poverty. They were not given a choice in the first place; they were simply born poor, already stripped of the chance at a good life before they were even born.

The people’s ignorance about this issue is what has allowed a problematic system to exist in our country. It has bred the myth that hard work will yield wealth, and that every man can just opt out of poverty whenever he wants to. Even worse, it plays the blame game by saying that the government should not be accountable for its citizens since the citizens themselves chose to be poor.

It is the role of our public officials to ensure that all citizens are given the opportunity to liberate themselves towards a better life, yet we see that there is little understanding of this in the Duterte administration. The drug war, TRAIN law, and now the lack of relief good deliveries in poor communities—all a testament to the fact that society is slanted, and that the poor will always be the ones dangling off its edge.

Victim-blaming them only widens the social divide between them and the

privileged. Instead of fighting amongst ourselves, our attention should be toward the government and the 1% who create narratives such as ‘poverty is a choice’ that cause the middle and lower classes to clash with one another while those in power reap all the benefits from under our noses.

Now more than ever, we must understand that poverty is not a choice, and it never will be unless we have an adequate system of ruling that ensures the equal distribution of wealth and opportunities to all Filipinos.

Insisting that poverty is a choice is not just ignoring the fact that many Filipinos are poor, but strengthening the system that has hardwired unfairness into Philippine society.

You know what is a choice, though? Ending the blame game by demanding more from our public leaders, and empathizing with our countrymen rather than condemning them for something they never opted for in the first place. ▼

Speaking out, not a crime SURGE SHERI MALICDEM

With the strict measures brought by the Enhance Community Quarantine (ECQ), most Filipinos bound in their homes were left with limited movements and the only means to forward their calls and to challenge the government’s inactions in response to the 2019 coronavirus disease or COVID-19 pandemic is through online protest in social media. Almost a month has passed since Duterte put the entire Luzon under ECQ yet this administration’s priority seems to be silencing dissent and critical voices more than addressing the current public health crisis.

Recently, the government’s unpreparedness and lack of a comprehensive plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were bombarded with lots of criticism.

From a series of failures, the insufficient efforts of the government in dealing with the crisis was unveiled. All of these reflected through downplaying the health crisis by not

imposing the travel ban immediately, flexing the militaristic approach as a solution, slowpaced processing for free and systematic mass testing, lack of concrete plans and actions for the granted 275 billion fund, scarcity of medical protection equipment and laboratories, support for frontliners, and aid for vulnerable sectors.

While all of these are happening, the least that an ordinary Filipino can do is to exercise the only available resources they have and that is to speak out their opinions online to demand for the government’s accountability and concrete actions, as well as to serve what is due for the Filipino people. But what can we do now if even writing personal sentiments feel like a crime? Every move we take feel as if they rob us of our right to freedom of speech.

Unfortunately, in the case of UE Dawn Editor-in-Chief Joshua B. Molo, he was stripped off of his right to free speech.

He was harassed and forced to do a video recorded apology promising not to criticize the government anymore or else he will be sued with a cyber-libel case and will be arrested by the police. What’s worse is that he was ordered by his former mentors in campus journalism who should be the same people who mold students into critical thinkers and writers, and by the Cabiao Philippine National Police Cyber Crime Division.

This was after his teachers filed a

blotter-complaint over his critical posts in social media specifically the Duterte’s administration response to COVID-19 through the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” program and his sentiments and disappointment from people’s apathy to the poor.

What Molo did is no different from the millions of Filipinos who are locked out of their own houses and whose only option is to voice out their criticisms and opinions on their social media accounts.

Instead of owning their negligence and valuing people’s dissent as valid criticisms, the administration chose to surveil and attack its citizens. Through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), they summon netizens who were simply expressing their concerns on social media regarding the government’s response to the COVID-19, which is clearly an attack to their right to freedom of expression.

Out of the netizens who had been ridiculously summoned by the NBI, human rights lawyer Jose Manuel ‘Chel’ Diokno took one of the cases. His client was called to explain a post concerning “misused of government’s funds,” for supposedly spreading fake news about the health crisis. It has cited the alleged violation of Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code which punishes the publication of “any false news which may endanger the public order, or cause damage to the interest or credit of the State.”

Although, it is still unclear which law about “fake news” peddlers covers NBI’s investigations.

Whether if it is anchored to the amended and hastily passed Republic Act No. 11469 or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” which took effect on March 26. According to Section 6 (f) of RA 11469, it punishes acts such as “creating, perpetuating, or spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 crisis on social media and other platforms, such information having no valid or beneficial effect on the population, and are clearly geared to promote chaos, panic, anarchy, fear, or confusion.” The said violation is punishable with two months of imprisonment or a fine of not less than ten thousand to one million pesos or both, upon the discretion of the court.

Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act program, anything can be regarded as false information as it failed to provide an ample definition for what can be considered

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

@upboutcrop

GRAPHICS ADRIANNE PAUL ANIBAN

upboutcrop@gmail.com

PAGE DESIGN EDWARD THOMAS VICENTE

Opinyon

11

Tawag ng pangangailangan PASUBALI JOBELLE RUTH MILA Nakadadagdag lamang sa pangamba ng mga estudyante, guro at kawani ng UP ang naging desisyon ng Board of Regents na aprubahan ang polisiyang isinumite ng Presidential Advisory Council na bigyan ng “deferred grade” ang mga estudyante hangga’t hindi pa kumpleto ang mga rekisito sa kurso na ipapasa sa susunod na taon.

Bagaman nakasaad sa polisiya ang pagtatapos ng semestre sa April 30, hindi pa rin dito tunay na nagtatapos ang kalbaryo ng mga estudyante, dahil magiging patongpatong ang mga kinakailangang ipasang gawain ng mga ito sa susunod na pangakademikong taon. Magiging mahirap din ito para sa mga kaguruan at kawani ng unibersidad sapagkat hindi simpleng maibabalik ang nakasanayang normal na pagkakasaayos ng unibersidad pagkatapos harapin ang isang pandemya.

Mahaba ring tinalakay sa proposed policy ang pagpapahalaga ng unibersidad sa mental health ng sangkaestudyantehan ngunit binawi ito ng mismong desisyon dahil napagsawalang bahala nito na mayroong mga katulad ko na hindi maikalma ang isip dahil malayo sa pamilya at nagiisang hinaharap ang pang-araw-araw na pamumuhay.

Mahirap ang maiwang stranded sa hindi mo itinuturing na tahanan. Kaya’t hindi ko itinuturing na pagpapabaya sa pag-aaral

ang mass promotion dahil mas itinutulak ako ng panahong ito na maging ligtas habang nag-iisa kong binubuhay ang aking sarili isama pa ang pag-aalala sa kung paano ko pagkakasyahin ang pera ko sa renta at sa aking pagkain sa loob ng isang linggo at kung ligtas ba ang pamilya ko sa probinsya lalo na’t walang testing kits na umaabot sa kanila. Hindi rin naalis ang aking bagabag sa tuwing naiisip ko ang mga output na nararapat ipasa mula sa 2nd semester kasabay ng panibagong pang-akademikong taon.

Sa kabila ng lahat, malinaw ang tindig ng Sectoral Regents na kumakatawan sa libo-libong estudyante, guro at mga kawani na nag-uudyok na magkaroon ng mass promotion at bigyan ng non-numerical “pass” ang bawat estudyante ng UP sapagkat walang sinumang estudyante ang dapat na bumagsak sa panahong ito ng pandemya lalo’t hindi sapat na batayan ng grado ang naunang parte ng semestre.

Ayon sa mga petisyon, sarbey at pahayag ng mga estudyante, kaguruan at kawani ng buong unibersidad, mas mainam na tapusin ang semestre at bigyan ang mga estudyante ng mga supplemental na aralin nang hindi iisipin ang pagkumpleto ng mga rekisito. Nakasaad din sa mga pahayag ang kahalagahan na magkaroon ng pokus sa mental na kalusugan ng mga bumubuo sa unibersidad sapagkat hindi maitatanggi ang kahirapan ng lahat na labanan na hindi kainin ng pangamba—akademiko man, pinansyal o pangkalusugan.

Nakalulungkot lamang isipin na

Malawakang panloloko PULANG TINTA EMMANUEL GANANCIAS

Matapos ang tagumpay na nakamit ng mga kabataan sa pagpapatampok ng panawagang ibasura ang Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB), agad bumuwelta online ang administrasyon sa pamamagitan ng sistematiko at organisadong pananakot sa mga kritiko nito. Ngunit hindi lamang mga kritiko ang tinarget nito kundi maging ang kanilang mga pamilya pati na rin ang mga netizens na nananahimik sa usaping politika.

Ilang araw matapos ang walangsawang paggamit ng #JunkTerrorBilll at #ResistAsOne sa mga post sa Facebook at Twitter – na pawang napabilang sa unahan ng listahan ng trending topics online, binulabog ang online world ng mga report tungkol sa naglipanang pekeng Facebook accounts. Sa obserbasyon, karamihan sa mga account na ito ay walang display picture, kagagawa lamang, at kung hindi wala, ay kakaunti lamang ang bilang ng Facebook friends. Ang ilan namang pekeng account ay mayroong maliit na pagkakaiba sa tunay na pangalan o palayaw ng mismong may-ari.

Takot ang aking unang naramdaman dahil karamihan sa nalaman kong biktima nito ay mga aktibistang inaresto matapos magprotesta sa University of the Philippines Cebu upang ipabasura ang ATB at ilang kakilala na hayagang tumutuligsa sa gobyerno. Nakapanlulumo rin na nangyari ito kasabay ng lumalawak at lumalakas na oposisyon laban sa pagpasa ng ATB sa Kongreso.

Ngunit higit sa takot at panlulumo, nakagagalit din na hindi lamang mga

kritiko ang target nito kundi maging mga ordinaryong Pilipino. Halos lahat ay hindi nakaligtas sa malawakang panloloko na nagdulot ng matinding takot sa publiko lalo na ngayong mainit ang usapin sa malawak na saklaw at mababaw na pagpapakahulugan ng gobyerno sa terorismo at pagsugpo rito.

Kaliwa’t kanang report ng pagkakaroon ng higit pa sa isang pekeng account at banta sa kanilang buhay matapos ang paglahok sa mga online protest at petition ang aking nabalitaan. Malinaw na hindi lamang ito simpleng “data breach” sistematiko, organisado, at malaking pondo ang inilaan para sa desperadong hakbangin na ito. Bumuhos ang mga mensaheng aking natatanggap sa mga group chat na naglalaman ng pakiusap na i-report ang mga pekeng account pati na rin ang iba’t ibang teorya kung saan ito nagmula.

Sino ang mayroong kapasidad at magaaksaya ng panahon at pondo upang magpalaganap ng takot at banta sa mga biktima nito? Sa aking palagay, hindi nakagugulat kung ang kasalukuyang administrasyon man ang nasa likod ng insidenteng ito.

Matatandaang sa inilabas na pagaaral ng University of Oxford noong 2017, tinatayang nasa 10 milyong piso ang nilustay ng administrasyong Duterte para sa pagpopondo sa mga “troll farms” upang magpalaganap ng propaganda sa social media na nagpapakita ng suporta sa gobyerno at iba’t ibang porma ng atake sa oposisyon gaya ng berbal na pang-aabuso. Sa artikulo namang inilabas ng The Washington Post nitong nakaraang taon, isiniwalat ng isang malaking hired troll operator kung paanong napakikinabangan ni Pangulong Duterte ang “positive trolling” o ang pagkukunwari

nasapawan ng anim na miyembro ng BOR mula sa pampubliko sektor na itinalaga ng pamahalaan ang boses ng tunay na mayorya—ang mga estudyante at manggagawa ng unibersidad na siyang pinaka-apektado sa isinagawang polisiya.

Isang ironiyang maituturing na kung sino pa ang hindi kailangang bitbitin nang sabay ang pangamba’t takot na dulot ng krisis at ang sandamakmak na akademikong rekisito hanggang sa susunod na semestre, ang siyang nagdikta ng pamamaraang kailangang gampanan ng buong unibersidad.

Isa marahil sa mga pumipigil na rason ng mass promotion ang pangamba na makompromiso ang karunungan ngunit kung ganito lamang ang magiging pagtingin natin sa edukasyon, nakukulong tayo sa pag-iisip na ang pagkatuto ay nakabase sa kumpleto nating pagpasa ng mga rekisito at sa pagkuha ng matataas na grado. Bigong maisalba ng desisyon ng BOR ang kalidad ng ating edukasyon kung ibabase lamang ang pagkatuto sa mga output-based na rekisito.

Pinatutunayan nito na nakaugat pa rin tayo sa isang neoliberal na edukasyon na hinuhulma ang layunin nating matuto batay sa pagkayod na makakuha ng matataas na marka dahil sa paniniwalang ito ang magaangat sa atin sa buhay. Sa kadahilanang ito, naibababa ang esensiya ng edukasyon sa isang nakukuwentang grado.

Kaya’t gayundin ang tawag ng pangangailangang isulong ang isang makabayan, siyentipiko at makamasang edukasyon dito sa ating bansa na hindi kinukulong ang karunungan sa sarili bagkus ay nagpapalaya sa kalagayan ng bayan at ang layunin nitong sugpuin ang mga batayang problema na sumasagka sa ating pag-unlad.

Sa kasalukuyang pandemya, importanteng maisaisip na habang isinasalba natin ang paghihikahos ng dangal at husay na panawagan ng unibersidad, huwag sana nating kaligtaan na itinanim din sa atin nito ang pagiging makatao. Nangangailan ang kalakhang bahagi ng pamantasan ang isang maka-estudyanteng pagtugon sa pangangailangan ng mayorya na layong isulong ang isang edukasyong nakaugat sa mapagpalayang diwa ng pagkatuto. Sa panahong ito ang dangal at husay ay hindi nakasalalay sa pagtapos ng mga rekisito para sa grado, kung hindi ito ay nasa paraan ng pagharap natin sa pagsubok na dulot ng krisis.

Sa huli, malinaw na naipapahayag ng mga iskolar ng bayan ang kanilang mga hinaing sa panahon ng pandemya at malinaw din ang pangangailangan ng isang pagtugong parehas na naisusulong ang karunungan kasabay ng ating mga kapakanan. ▼

‘‘

Kaya naman hindi nakapagtataka kung ginamit man ng administrasyon ang nangyaring malawakang panloloko sa Facebook upang ngayon naman ay takutin ang publiko. ng pagkakaroon ng malawak na suportang nakukuha ng gobyerno mula sa publiko.

Kaya naman hindi nakapagtataka kung ginamit man ng administrasyon ang nangyaring malawakang panloloko sa Facebook upang ngayon naman ay takutin ang publiko. Matagal na itong ginagawa ng kasalukuyang administrasyon sa likod ng mga pekeng account at malalawak na troll farm. Gumagamit ito ng mga pekeng profile upang siraan ang mga kritiko ng pamahalaan at paulit-ulit na pasisinungalingan ang kanilang mga pahayag at paninindigan.

Malinaw na tumuturol ang mga insidenteng ito sa kapasidad ng administrasyon upang magsagawa ng malawakang panloloko.

Nakadidismayang isipin na milyonmilyong pondo ang inilalaan ng administrasyon para sa ganitong gawain na nagpapakita sa pagiging desperado nito sa pagpapatahimik sa mga kritiko nito. Ngunit iba ang sitwasyon ngayon, dahil talaga namang nagdulot ng “atmosphere of terror” ang naglipanang mga pekeng Facebook account at mga banta na natatanggap nila mula sa mga ito na nagpapatunay na ang mga tunay na terorista ay ang mga mismong may posisyon sa gobyerno. Napilitan ang karamihan ng mga biktima ng pekeng Facebook account na magprivate ng kanilang tunay na account at huminto sa paggamit ng mga online hashtags na naglalaman ng mga panawagan.

Ipinakikita lamang nito na sinasamantala

ng gobyerno ang pandemya upang paigtingin ang pasismo at ilihis ang taumbayan sa kapalpakan nitong tumugon sa kasalukuyang krisis. Sa halip na maglaan ng pondo upang magsagawa ng mass testing at unibersal na pamamahagi ng ayuda mula sa bagong serye ng bilyun-bilyong pisong pautang, naglulustay ito ng pera upang takutin at patahimikin ang publiko.

Ngunit sa kabila ng pangamba na ipinaulan ng sistematikong pananakot, mas nananaig ang pangangailangang lumaban sa panahon ng malawakang panloloko ng gobyerno.

Sa huli, gamitin man ng gobyerno ang ganitong hakbangin, walang anumang pekeng social media account ang makapipigil sa paniningil ng taumbayan sa kapabayaan ng administrasyon sa pagresponde sa pandemya. Hinding-hindi matatapalan ng anumang pekeng post ang katunayang mas inuna pa nitong iratsada ang mga antimamamayang polisiya kaysa pagtuunan ng pansin ang kalusugan, kabuhayan, at karapatan ng mga Pilipinong apektado ng krisis pangkalusugan. Mass testing, mabilis at unibersal na pamamahagi ng ayuda, at paggalang sa karapatang pantao ang sigaw ng publiko, ngunit malawakang panloloko sa social media man o sa aktuwal ang tugon ng gobyerno.

Kaya kinakailangan nating manatiling mapagmatyag at patuloy na patampukin ang ating mga panawagan dahil tunay at makatarungan ang ating ipinaglalaban. ▼

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE ABRIL-AGOSTO 2020

DISENYO NG PAHINA EDWARD THOMAS VICENTE

DIBUHO EDWARD THOMAS VICENTE AT JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

Opinyon

12

Tourism reopening, free pass para sa virus HIRAYA JOMAR DERIJE

Matibay na sandalan ng ekonomiya ng Baguio ang turismo, isang manipestasyon nito ang 1 milyong turistang umaakyat taon-taon. Ito ang pangunahing salik na nagpapagalaw at nag-aangat sa ekonomiya ng siyudad ngunit ang pagsulpot ng krisis pangkalusugan ang nagpahinto sa daloy ng turismo na nagresulta ng pagkaltas sa ekonomiya ng lugar na umaabot ng P1.4 billion, ayon sa mga eksperto.

Kaugnay nito, upang maibalik ang dating sigla ng turismo inilatag ng City Tourism Officer, Alec Mapalo ang planong muling pagbubukas ng Baguio sa darating na Setyembre.

Ngunit limitado at kontrolado man ang magiging pagpasok o ang paggalaw ng mga bisita, dapat nga bang ikonsidera ang pagbubukas ng turismo para sa ekonomya at isaalang alang ang kalusugan ng mga mismong mamamayan ng Baguio kapalit ng pagtanggap ng mga turista sa iba’t ibang parte ng bansa?

Matatandaang hinirang na Model City ang Baguio sa pagtugon sa pandemyang COVID-19, sa pamamagitan ng isang sistematikong pamamaraan, lockdown sa mga barangay, at komprehensibong contact tracing na inisyatibo ng Mayor ng siyudad, Benjamin Magalong napagtagumpayan ang ilang buwan na walang bagong kaso. Sa kabila nito, hindi pa rin maitatanggi matapos magkaroon ng pagluluwag sa mga entry point ng siyudad nagkaroon ng mga pagtatala ng bagong kaso na sa kasalukuyan ay umakyat na sa bilang na 60 aktibo, 82 recoveries at 3 deaths na sumatotal 145 kumpirmadong kaso. Samantala, mayroon pa tayong 59,970 aktibong kaso sa buong bansa na maaring makaapekto sa sitwasyon ng Baguio sa mga susunod na panahon.

Sa planong pagbubukas muli ng turismo ng Baguio tila katumbas nito ang pagpapawalang bisa sa 5 buwang kooperasyon at pagtitiis ng mga lokal na manatili sa loob ng bahay upang mapababa ang kaso, sapagkat hindi ito nagpapakita ng 100% kapasyaan para sa mga residente sa takot ng pagkaroon ng community transmission ng virus.

Meron man maayos na teknolohiyang ilulunsad kaugnay nito, wala pa rin ang katiyakan sa seguridad ng kapwa mga lokal at turista.

Ang pagbubukas ng pinto ng turismo ang nagbibigay ng free pass sa mga turista na makapagliwaliw, isang hindi patas na polisiya sapagkat mismong mga mamamayan ng Baguio nga ay nangangailangan pa ng quarantine pass para lang makalabas ng mga bahay nila.

Bilang estudyante, gustuhin ko man makabalik na ng Baguio pipiliin ko na lamang maghintay ng tamang panahon

kaysa maging insensitibo sa seguridad ng mga kalusugan ng mga lokal na residente.

Hindi rin angkop na buksan na ang turismo sa buwan ng Setyembre sapagkat hanggang sa mga oras na ito ay may naidagdag pa ring bagong kaso ng COVID-19. Isang malaking kakulangan sa pagbuo ng ideyang muling pagtutuloy ng turismo ang pagsasawalang bahala sa ibibigay nitong banta sa kalagayan ng mga residente.

Walang wastong panahon upang muli nang buksan ang turismo para sa ekonomiya kung hindi sa panahon na tuluyan nang nasugpo ang mga kaso ng COVID-19 sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa at sa panahong mayroon nang bakuna. Malaya na siguro tayong makapagbubukas ng ekonomiya kung wasto lamang ang naging hakbang ng administrasyon sa krisis na ito.

Samantala kahit walang bakuna ang mga karatig bansa natin sa Southeast Asia tulad ng Vietnam at Thailand ay unti-unti nang naibalik ang mukha ng kanilang ekonomiya, malaya ng nakapagliliwaliw ang mga tao, tuloy na ulit ang pag-aaral dahil sa wastong pagtugon at pagresolba sa pandemya sa kanilang mga bansa. At heto tayo, nangunguna pa rin sa bilang ng may COVID-19 na tila naglolokahan pa ang mga nasa sangay ng gobyerno at ipinagsasawalang bahala ang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga kaso. Higit pa rito, tila napasabak nanaman tayo sa SEA games at nakikipagkumpetensya sa mga karatig bansa. Nagawa pa nilang pabulaanan ang mga ginagawang mass testing ng ibang bansa na parang ginagawang isang malaking kompetisyon ang lahat.

Sa pagkakataong ito, hindi pagbubukas ng turismo ang sagot sa bumabagsak nating ekonomiya dahil maaari pa itong mag-dulot ng masama kaysa sa mabuti. Mas mainam na ipanawagan muna sa pamahalaan na iayon nila ang kanilang pagtugon sa sistematikong pamamaraan na bukas sa mass testing at obsessive contact tracing at hindi sa isang militaristang anyo ng pagtugon nang sagayon magkaroon tayo ng kapasyaan at kapanatagan na kaya na nating muling maibalik ang dating daloy ng ekonomiya.

Kaugnay nito, tinaas ni Governor Melchor Diclas ang punto na mahalaga rin na matiyak na mayroong koordinasyon sa mga kalapit na bayan, o ang BLISTT (Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba at Tublay) dahil inaasahang maapektuhan at dadagsain rin sila ng pagdating ng mga turista. Dagdag pa na ilan sa mga residente ng mga bayang ito ay nakadepende ang trabaho at negosyo sa lungsod ng Baguio at marami rin ang umaasa sa Baguio General Hospital para sa kanilang mga pangangailangan sa kalusugan, kaya’t mahirap iwasan na hindi ma-transmit ang virus sa kanikanilang mga lugar. Maaring properly equipped ang siyudad ng Baguio, ngunit

‘‘

Ang pangarap na muling pagbubukas ng Baguio sa mga turista ay isang malawakang layuning bumuo ng isang konkretong plano na mailalapat sa kabuuan na tutulay sa maayos at wastong seguridad ng buong bansa at ng mga mamamayan. paano naman ang mga bayang ito na hindi naman kayang pantayan ang sistematikong pamamaraan ng Baguio?

Kaya hinihikayat ng mga pinuno ng mga bayang ito na magkaroon ng masusing paghahanda at deliberasyon kaugnay nito.

Parehong mahalaga ang kalusugan ng tao at ang ekonomiya ngunit sa panahong hindi pa wasto ang mga pangyayari dapat na ilagay sa prayoridad ang buhay ng tao. Ang pangarap na muling pagbubukas ng Baguio sa mga

turista ay isang malawakang layuning bumuo ng isang konkretong plano na mailalapat sa kabuuan na tutulay sa maayos at wastong seguridad ng buong bansa at ng mga mamamayan.

Dapat lamang na mag-ugat muna sa panawagang pagkakaroon ng nararapat na pagtugon ng gobyerno laban sa virus.

Anuman ang maging kahihinatnan ng plano ng City Administration ng Baguio, nararapat lamang na kinikilala nito ang kapakanan ng mismong mga residente nito bago ang lahat. ▼

Speaking out, not a crime CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

as “fake news.” The provision is clearly a breach to our constitutional right to freedom of expression.

Moreover, distinguishing the people who are enablers of fake news from mere victims of misinformation brings more confusion with standards on the validity of certain information remaining in blur.

Thus, anyone of us can be recklessly tagged as peddler of fake news just by sharing one’s ideas and opinions on any platform, especially if it is an opposing sentiment towards the government.

This act seeks to punish and criminalize anyone in exercising the right to freedom of expression. Nonsensical charges such as this is a desperate attempt to oppress dissenters of the current administration.

Criticisms and expressing dissent is a right and should never be wrong as it is given to us as a constitutional right. As stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article 3 Bill of Rights Section 4, “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress

of grievances.” With the clamor of the public, it gives a huge toll to the national government to take immediate action.

Anyone of us could be like Molo or the netizens issued with subpoena by NBI just because we continue to freely express our opinion as well as our grievances and dismay on how poorly this administration is handling the pandemic.

In this time of crisis, even the democratic right of every Filipino to free speech is also left vulnerable. While the government should concentrate on proper medical and scientific solutions to combat the virus, they use the pandemic to silence their critics and justify the intimidation they impose upon their people.

Instead of wasting their time and resources to monitor and arrest those dissenters in social media, it is better to focus on how to establish a reliable source of public information for public consumption. And most of all, put the current public health crisis as a topmost priority to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than ever, we must continuously uphold and defend our freedom of speech and of expression as well as the freedom of the press against this systematic repression and tyrannical rule. ▼

@upboutcrop

upboutcrop@gmail.com

DIBUHO ADRIANNE PAUL ANIBAN

DISENYO NG PAHINA EDWARD THOMAS VICENTE

Opinyon

13

Hindi Patas KOMIKS KESSHAMMINE KRIMZEI CARREON

Dangal, Husay, at Malasakit HIRAYA JOMAR DERIJE Lubhang naapektuhan ang sosyoekonomikong aspeto ng ating buhay nang dumating ang pandemyang COVID-19.

Isabay mo pa ang mabagal na aksyon ng kasalukuyang administrasyon upang maisakatuparan ang Mass Testing at ang kawalan ng konkretong plano tungo sa pagsugpo ng pandemya, na lalo lamang nagpapabigat sa pasakit na dinadala ng mamamayan.

Bilang isang iskolar ng bayan na ang pamilya ay nabibilang sa pangkaraniwang uri ng pamumuhay, naniniwala ako na higit na maapektuhan ako kung itutuloy pa ang klase sa anumang imumungkahing plataporma sapagkat sa sitwasyong kinalalagyan ko, kung saan pahirapan ang pagkakaroon ng malakas na internet connection at maayos na kapaligiran ay magiging isang matinding pagsubok upang makamit ang kwalidad na edukasyon.

Hindi rin ito natatapos sa kawalan sa access sa gadget at maayos na internet connection. Malaking salik din bilang ang nanay ko ay isa lamang OFW na nalockdown din sa ibang bansa at ang tatay ko na isang magsasaka na hindi naman buwanan ang kinikita upang magkaroon ng kapasidad na maiayos ang pang-ekonomiko at pampinansyal na estabilidad ng aming pamilya matapos ang krisis na ito at kung sakaling matuloy man kaagad ang klase.

Hirap na kaming tugunan ang mga pangunahing pangangailangan tulad ng paghahanap ng pangkain, pagbabadyet ng pera at ang pagpapanitili ng malusog na pangangatawan kaya sa aking pananaw ang pagpapatuloy ng panibagong akademikong taon ay dadagdag lamang sa pagaalinlangan at pangamba na aking nararamdaman sa gitna ng pandemyang ito.

Ang mga panawagang tutulan ang online classes at tugunan ang kasalakuyang pandemya bago tuluyang pabalikin sa klase ang bawat estudyante ay angkop sa

pangangailangan ng bawat guro at magaaral. Ito ay nakaugat sa pangkalahatang hangarin na magkaroon ng patas, makaestudyante at makataong polisiya at upang bigyang prayoridad ang kaligtasan at malusog na pangangatawan ng lahat habang sinusugpo ang pandemyang ito.

NO TO ONLINE CLASSES Ang tangkang paglipat sa virtual learning ay pagsasawalang-bahala sa realidad na may mga pribilehiyong hindi lahat ng estudyante ay mayroon – angkop na gadget, mabilis na internet connection at maging maayos na kalagayan.

Hindi wastong solusyon ang paghahanda sa e-learning o online classes bilang alternatibong setting ng mga klase sapagkat lumilikha lamang ito ng polisiyang ekslusibo sa iilang sektor ng lipunan. Hindi lahat mayroong gadget at kompyuter para mapunan ang pangangailangan sa kaniyang pagaaral at tulad ko, mayroon man akong mga kagamitan tulad ng kompyuter wala naman akong sapat na lakas ng internet connection upang makasabay sa mga klase.

Marapat lamang na ugatin pa rin natin ang ating hangaring “edukasyon para sa lahat” at “edukasyong walang pinapaburan.”

Sa isang simpleng diskusyon sa loob ng mga karaniwang klasrum ay pahirapan nang intindihin ang mga asignatura’t aralin paano pa kaya sa mga tahanang hindi kaayaaya ang kapaligiran at kung saan likas na mayroong ingay at mga gawaing bahay na makasasagabal sa aktuwal na pagaaral. Tiyak na mababawasan lamang nito ang kalidad ng edukasyon. Sa panahong ito mas mainam na tugunan muna natin ang pangunahin nating pangangailangan tulad ng pagpapanatili ng kaayusang pisikal at mental gayundin ang kabutihan ng bawat isa.

Dapat na makabubuo ng naaayong programa ang institusyon na magsasaayos ng curriculum, syllabus at academic calendar para sa mga susunod pang semestre.

Bigyang tuon ang pagbibigay ng konkretong plano kaugnay ng mga isyu sa mga prerequisite subjects, topic at skills na hindi

basta-basta natutunan at masiguro na lahat ng estudyante ay may kapasidad na makatanggap ng nararapat na kalidad na edukasyong makanasyonalista, siyentipiko at may oryentasyong pangmasa.

NO ISKOLAR LEFT BEHIND Isang malawakang panawagan ang pansamantalang pagtigil sa mga fee collection tulad ng Tuition fee para sa mga hindi sakop ng Free Tuition Law at iba pang fee tulad ng Dormitory fee at student loan. Patuloy din dapat na nakakatanggap ng beneficial at financial aid ang mga estudyante batay sa programa na kanilang kinabibilangan.

Malaking tulong ito ngayong humaharap tayo sa krisis kung saan hindi lamang kalusugan ang lubos na pinapahirapan, matindi ding naapektuhan ang ating pinansiya bunsod ng quarantine na nagpatigil sa trabaho’t negosyo. Ang UP system ay dapat rin gumawa ng mga

programa na nakalinya sa pagtugon sa mga pangunahing pangangailangan ng mga estudyante.

Mahalaga na hindi natin isakripisyo ang husay at dangal sa kabila ng malaking problema na kinahaharap natin sa kasalukuyan ngunit dapat rin nating isaalang-alang ang kapakanan ng bawat isa. Higit pa sa suliranin natin sa arawaraw na paghahanap ng pera at pagkain, at pagpapanatili sa kaayusan ng ating kalusugan ay ang katiyakang sa mga oras na ito ay wala tayo sa maayos na kalagayan, pisikal man o mental, upang ituloy ang semestre.

Hamon sa administrasyon ng UP na bumuo ng solusyong nakabatay sa makaestudyante at makataong polisiya na magiging patas para sa lahat ng mag-aaral.

Isang plano na ikinokonsidera ang lahat ng salik na nakasasagabal sa pagkatuto ng mag-aaral. ▼

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE ABRIL-AGOSTO 2020

DISENYO NG PAHINA ISAGANI CASPE

DIBUHO JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

Kultura

14

‘‘

Sa ganitong mga pagkakataon marapat lamang na ituon ng administrasyon ang pansin sa mass testing, mga pangangailangan ng sektor ng pangkalusugan, at ang siguruhing ligtas at nakakakain ang masang dapat nilang pinagsisilbihan.

SULAT NI MYRA KRISELLE GARING Itim ang bungad ng telebisyon sa ilang mga tahanan at bakas ang pagtataka sa mga pamilyang nakatira rito. Bakit wala na silang mapanood? Sira ba ‘yung TV? Babalot ang pagkabahala sa kanilang dibdib, mag-iisip kung paano na sila ngayong wala na silang mapanood na balita. Siguro malalaman na lang ng iba sa radyo, isang de-bateryang de-pukpok na umuubo, o sa kamaganak o kapitbahay, na ipinasara na pala ang kaisa-isang network na kanilang napapanood.

Isang pangangailangan ang pagkakaroon ng mapagkukunan ng impormasyon, lalo na sa panahon na may kinahaharap tayong pandemya. Sa ganitong paraan nila nalalaman ang mga payo ng eksperto kung ano ang mainam gawin upang maging ligtas, kung saang lugar ang may pinakamaraming apektado, at kung anong mga bagong panukala ang ipinapatupad.

Alerto ang mga tao sa kahit anong balita sa pagbabago ng panahon. Ngunit paano na ngayon kung ultimo ang kaisa-isang channel na nasasagap sa kanilang lugar ay mawawala pa?

Ang pagpapasara sa isang broadcasting network ay sumasalamin sa pagtapak sa karapatan sa malayang pamamahayag at sa karapatan ng mamamayan na pagkakaitan ng balitang kinakailangang malaman.

Mahalaga ang gampanin ng ABS-CBN sa paghahatid ng balita para mapanatiling maalam ang mga tao sa kanilang paligid lalo na ngayong dumaranas ang buong bansa ng krisis.

Sa ganitong mga pagkakataon marapat lamang na ituon ng administrasyon ang pansin sa mass testing, mga pangangailangan ng sektor pangkalusugan, at ang siguruhing ligtas at nakakakain ang masang dapat nilang pinagsisilbihan. Ngunit nakakalungkot na inuna pa nilang atakihin ang malayang pamamahayag ng isang malaking TV network na katuwang rin naman nila sa pagsisilbi sa masa sa pamamagitan ng kanilang binibigay na tulong at balitang kailangan sa panahon ngayon. Kitang mas itinutuon ng administrasyon ang kanilang pansin sa ibang isyu kaysa sa kinahaharap na problema, at pansin ito sa pag-atake ng administrasyong Duterte sa ABS-CBN na kung babalikan ay mula pa noong 2017 hanggang ngayong may pandemyang hinaharap. Isang implikasyon nito na sa gitna ng krisis mas pinili pa na pag-aksayahan ng panahon ang pamumulitika at kanilang pansariling interes.

Matagal nang may pagpapasaring ang Pangulong Duterte na ipasara ang ABS-CBN, sa kaniyang personal na dahilan na hindi nila ipinalabas ang isang paid advertisement ng pangangampanya niya noong 2016.

Ipinaliwanag naman ng ABS-CBN na lagpas na sa panahon ang nasabing political ad at naibalik na rin nila ang kaniyang ibinayad.

Ang pagpapasaring ng pangulo ay naging mga akusasyon laban sa ABS-CBN: sila raw ay foreign-owned, may pay-per-view channel na hindi pa na-aprubahan, at nago-operate sa franchise na nakabinbin pa rin sa kongreso. Binigyang pahayag naman ito ng ABSCBN at inilabang wala silang nilalabag na batas at ang kanilang mga ipinapalabas na channel ay dumaan sa tamang proseso. Napatunayan naman ng mga kinauukulan sa isang senate hearing noong Pebrero 24 na walang ginawang iligal ang ABSCBN. Sa katunayan, nagkaroon ng kasunduan ang National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) at kongreso na marapat bigyan ng provisional authority ang ABS-CBN kung saan hahayaang makapag-

operate ang ABS-CBN habang pending ang application ng kanilang franchise renewal.

Dagdag pa rito, nakapagpasa na ng higit sampung bill para sa franchise ang ABS-CBN mula pa noong 2016 ngunit nananatili itong nakabinbin sa kongreso. Ayon kay Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, hindi raw ito ‘urgent’.

Hanggang sa inabot na ng expiration ang kasalukuyang franchise ng ABS-CBN, ay wala pa ring usad sa kongreso ang franchise renewal nito.

Hindi na bago ang ganitong panggigipit ng administrasyon sa mga mamamahayag. Dati na ring ipinasara ang ABS-CBN noong kasagsagan ng Martial Law, ang panahon kung kailan kontrolado ng diktador ang balitang naisasahimpapawid–isang implikasyon nito ang pagkitil sa karapatan sa malayang pamamahayag. Senyales na ang mamamayan ay pilit na pinipiringan at binubusalan ng mga taong gustong ilayo ang masa sa mga reyalidad na dinaranas ng ating bansa sa kamay ng isang pasista.

Sa kabilang banda, hindi lamang ang mga manonood ang lubos na naapektuhan dahil kasabay ng pagpapasara sa ABS-CBN ay ang pagkawala ng trabaho ng ilang libong mannggagawa nito.

Halos labing-isang libong manggagawa ang nasa likod ng ating napapanood, na siyang kumikilos upang makapaghatid ng balitang marapat na makarating sa masa—sila, na siyang mawawalan ng trabaho sa pagtigil ng operasyon ng ABS-CBN. Labing-isang libong manggagawa ang maghihikahos sa paghahanap ng paraan kung paano na ang kanilang mga pamilya na dadagdag sa bilang ng mga magugutom ngayong panahon ng COVID-19.

Kaya, hindi—hindi sira ang telebisyon. Sira ang sistema natin ng hustisya, ang batas na may pinapanigan, ang mga isip ng taong nais patahimikin ang mga nagsisilbing daluyan ng impormasyon at katotohanan, lalo na ngayong panahon ng krisis.

Ninakawan tayo ng karapatan at ng kalayaan.

Sa araw na iyon, binalot man ng katahimikan ang telebisyon, hindi na nila tayo kayang piringan. Ang hiyaw para sa karapatan sa malayang pamamahayag ay lalo pang umiigting at lumalakas, at sa pagkakataong ito, hindi kaya ng isang pasistang administrasyon na busalan ang hiyaw ng masa. ▼

@upboutcrop

DIBUHO KESSHAMMINE KRIMZEI CARREON

upboutcrop@gmail.com

DISENYO NG PAHINA ISAGANI CASPE

Kultura

15

SA GITNA NG

DALAWANG PANDEMYA

‘‘

Bagama’t nagpatupad na ang ibang mga probinsya at siyudad ng anti-discriminatory ordinances, kinakailangan ng maigting na regulasyon upang masiguro na ang mga tulad ni Aling Ising ay hindi na kailanman makararanas ng diskriminasyon.

“Layuan na lang natin, wala namang mawawala. Para rin naman sa kaligtasan natin.”

Tunay na kaawa-awa si Aling Ising. Namatayan na nga ng asawa, pinandidirihan pa ng mga kapitbahay.

Dahil dito, wala siyang makausap at hindi pa niya sigurado kung kailan niya maaaring ilibing ang labi na agad ipina-cremate at hindi manlang naotopsiya.

Dagdag pa rito, pinagbabawalan sila ng mga kapitbahay na lumabas sa kanilang tahanan para bumili ng pagkain sa takot na maaaring maging sila ay carriers ng virus.

Sa mga ganitong panahon, hindi maiwasang maging health-conscious ng mga tao. Magmula nang pumutok ang balitang tumataas na ang bilang ng mga kaso ng may COVID-19 sa bansa, nakita natin ang biglaang pagbabago sa gawi at pakikitungo ng bawat isa. Kagyat na napuno ang mga supermarket ng mga natatarantang tao na nais makapamili ng mga essential supplies tulad ng alcohol, sabon, de lata, bigas at iba pang mga pangangailangan. Sa loob ng mga pamilihan at mga matataong lugar ay makikita ang mga mamimiling nakasuot ng face mask at sinusubukang isagawa ang inirerekomendang social distancing na napakahirap dahil sa kumpol ng tao roon. Dahil na rin sa curfew na dulot ng enhanced community quarantine, bakante na ang mga kalsada at kantong madalas ay puno ng mga residenteng nakatambay at nagkwekwentuhan.

Bagama’t ang mga nabanggit ay mga nararapat na hakbangin upang mapigilan ang pagdami ng kaso, mayroon ring pagkakataong minsan ay nagiging labis ang pag-iingat. Tulad ni Aling Ising, nariyan ang mga kaso ng healthcare workers at frontliners tulad ng security guards na pinalalayas sa mga tinutuluyan dahil sa pangambang magdadala sila ng sakit. Biktima sila ng isang pandemyang singbilis ng COVID-19 sa pagkalat at tila wala ring lunas hanggang ngayon – diskriminasyon.

Naiintindihan ko ang takot para sa kaligtasan ng kalusugan natin at ng mga taong mahal natin, sino bang hindi? Ngunit hindi ito matibay na katwiran na magbibigay sa atin ng pahintulot na diskriminahin ang ating kapwa. Ang kasalukuyang kalagayan ni Aling Ising at mga pamilyang may kaanak na COVID-19 positive ay katotohanang binabaka maging ng mga bayaning

SULAT NI JOSHUA BUYOGAN frontliners natin ngayong oras ng pandemya.

Anong kolektibo o indibidwal na pagkilos ang kaya nating gawin upang maiwasan at mabawasan ang ganitong uri ng diskriminasyon sa mga indibidwal na tinamaan ng COVID-19 at sa pamilya nila? Unanguna riyan ang hindi pagpapakalat ng fake news sa mga social media platforms. Mababasa sa iba’t ibang websites ang ilang mga accounts na nagsasalaysay ng maling impormasyon tungkol sa modes of transmission, sintomas, o di kaya’y lunas sa virus.

Bilang responsableng netizens, gampanin natin na ireport ang ganitong mga accounts at tulungan na imulat ang nakararami sa tamang impormasyon nang sa gayon ay maprotektahan nila ng tama ang kanilang mga sarili at pamilya. Ika nga nila, ligtas ang may alam.

Bagama’t nagpatupad na ang ibang mga probinsya at siyudad ng anti-discriminatory ordinances, kinakailangan ng maigting na regulasyon upang masiguro na ang mga tulad ni Aling Ising ay hindi na kailanman makararanas ng diskriminasyon. Ireport sa mga kinauukulan kung mayroong nakikitang diskriminasyon upang masigurong mananagot ang mga taong nasa likod ng pagpapahirap ito.

Sa kabilang dako, mayroong mga mambabatas at politiko na nagsasabing kinakailangan daw ilantad ang pagkatao ng mga indibidwal na ito upang mas mapabilis ang contact tracing o pagkilala sa mga taong nakasalamuha nila. Bagamat tama rin naman ito, kailangang respetuhin ang privacy ng mga pasyente at pamilya nila dahil sa oras na mabunyag ang kanilang pagkakakilanlan, malaki ang pagkakataong madagdagan ang kalbaryong kanila na ngang kinahaharap. Bilang halimbawa, sa aming

lugar dito sa Tuguegarao, nagkaroon ng pagkakataong nadisclose and identidad ng isang COVID-19 patient at naipabalita pang siya ay pumanaw na gayong patuloy pa naman siyang lumalaban sa sakit at sa kasalukuyan ay magaling na. Nagbunga ito ng pagkagitla ng mga taong malapit sa kanila at kinailangan pang magpost ng Facebook status ng anak ng nasabing pasyente upang linawin ang mga alegasyon at ipaalam na ang kanyang ama ay buhay pa.

Sa katunayan, indirekta nating sinasanhi ang mabagal na tagumpay laban sa pandemyang ito. Bakit?

Ang mga taong dapat ay humihingi ng atensyong medikal ay napipilitang hindi lumapit sa mga ospital at ipagsawalang-bahala na lamang ang kanilang kalagayan sa takot na kapag lumabas na positive ang test results ay pandirihan at katakutan sila ng mga tao. Kung nais nating tunay na makatulong, kailangan nating talikuran ang makasariling kaisipan na nagsasabing lingapin lamang ang ating sarili at simulang isipin ang ikabubuti ng nakararami.

Bilang panghuli, pakatatandaan na ang tunay nating kalaban ay ang virus, hindi ang isa’t isa. Hindi lamang mga healthcare workers at frontliners ang may magagawa sa laban na ito, tayo rin. Ipakita natin ang nagkakaisang diwa ng ating komunidad at huwag hayaang mayroong maiwan sa laban kontra COVID-19.

Huwag nating hayaang na ang krisis na ito ang tuluyang kumitil sa katiting na pagkamakatao na natitira sa bawat isa sa atin dahil kung ipagpapatuloy natin ang ganitong pandudusta sa kapwa, matagal na tayong talo sa laban na dapat sana’y kapit-bisig nating pinagsusumikapang puksain. ▼

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

PAGE DESIGN AND GRAPHICS JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

Features

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WORDS BY MARIA FUNA-AY CLAVER On July 3, 2020, a wave of anger and condemnation surged among the Filipinos when President Duterte signed the Anti-Terror Bill into law.

The newly-signed law first proved itself to be a dangerous weapon of the state as President Rodrigo Duterte marked the bill as “urgent” even when the Philippines is currently facing a health crisis. Many denounced the bill’s implications of permitting government abuse against individuals tagged as “terrorists.”

Now that it is passed into law, state-sanctioned human rights violations by the military and the police is predestined for everyone. The law has expanded the definition of terrorism, reaching new heights of vagueness that allow the Anti-Terror Council (ATC), to determine whether an action is an act of terrorism on their own accord. The power this law gives to those whose job is to ensure “peace and order” is alarming, seeing as how fascist policemen and military personnel can give their own interpretations to the provisions.

Looking back into the Philippine’s violent history for the past years, would it really be conducive and safe to let policemen decide for themselves?

Critics and activists were enraged at the approval of the law despite such imprecise and poorly worded provisions that allows the ATC and Philippine National Police (PNP) to escape accountability. Although security forces have long been brazenly dodging any sort of punishment for their unconstitutional actions, the AntiTerror Law secures their blamelessness even if they wrongfully arrest people and commit rights violations.

It is an insult to democracy that such a law was approved despite the call of the masses. The objections were numerous, the criticism to its unfavorable and counter-effective provisions many, and yet the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the President—those who were elected to supposedly be the voice of the people—turned deaf to our heeds.

Authors said the law will “secure the state and protect our people from terrorism.” The Department of National

Defense also tried to justify the creation of the law by saying that the Human Security Act of 2007 is “no longer responsive to the evolving nature of the threats we face, hence the need for a new law.” However, despite their justifications for violating our rights, it is clear that the real threats they claim to be among the masses actually lie in our own government.

The imprisonment of six jeepney drivers who held a protest in request for government aid a month ago is just one of the many times that the government and military exposed their intolerance for criticism, using violence and sowing fear instead to get their way. The arrestees are members of Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON), a transport group

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The state has long made clear to us what their priorities are: money over justice, power over peace, and self-preservation over the lives of the masses. that has been a victim of red-tagging by the state.

Despite observing quarantine guidelines and protesting without violence, the police still arrested the drivers with charges of ‘disobedience to social distancing’ and ‘resistance to authority’.

It is evident through the state and military’s eagerness to resort to force that they are the true terrorists. Not only that, their acts of encouraging militarization, enforcing extrajudicial killings, and approving this unconstitutional law for the sake of their own sustainment in authority are more than enough to prove who the real terrorists are.

No one is spared from this law, even if one claims not be an activist. The Anti-Terror Law renders the masses incapable of speaking out criticisms against the government without having to fear for their own safety.

The law impedes our right to express our opinions, even if just through informal means like tweeting and sharing posts. It would not be surprising anymore to find yourself in jail as penalty for a joke you made on social media.

Activities that are within the bounds of law like joining mass organizations can be tagged as terrorist activities under the law’s implications. Despite the law excluding activities like rallies and protests as terrorist acts, the vague wording in the provisions can still allow security forces to arrest protesters for other reasons, such as inciting to destroy property. Journalism and writing news articles are at risk of being tagged as well if they go beyond the likes of the state.

How baffling it is for the Filipino people to expect solutions from our government for this long and ongoing health crisis, and to instead have a life-threatening Terror Law thrown at their faces. The government purposely turned a blind eye to the real problems that need urgent attention: mass testing and financial help for those who are unemployed and living in poverty. The state has long made clear to us what their priorities are: money over justice, power over peace, and self-preservation over the lives of the masses.

This approval of the Terror Bill, however, does set our oppression in stone. Our broken democracy can still be fixed. The decision of the traitors seated in the Senate and House of Representatives, and of President Duterte only makes history for the Filipino people when we decide that it is now the moment to unitedly refuse to fall under de facto martial law. This time of strife will only further strengthen the calls of the people, and many come to see the true face of our fascist government.

The loud social media noise and protests that continue even after almost two months of the Terror Law being signed proves that solidarity is spreading like fire among everyone. Those who never spoke before are finally voicing out their criticisms, exposing the graveness of the situation. The movements happening in other countries and in our own leave no more room for apolitical value; the time for resisting as one against oppression is dawning. No matter how long it will take, for sure, the people will come out of these times of terror with valor. ▼

PHOTO CREDITS PAT ROQUE/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

@upboutcrop

DISENYO NG PAHINA AT GRAPIKS JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

upboutcrop@gmail.com

Kultura

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Sa iyong payapang pamumuhay, may mga taong namayapang hindi man lang natamasa ang mga pangunahing karapatang pantao, dahil di tulad mo, hindi sila nabigyan ng oportunidad para maiangat ang kanilang pamumuhay.

Ano bang pakiramdam na nasa loob ng isang bula?

Maaaring ramdam mo ang paglutang habang tinatangay ng hangin o di kaya’y ang pakiramdam na makaangat habang ang iba’y napag-iiwanan. Sa simpleng pagtitig sa isang bula, makikita mo sa pagtama nito sa liwanag ang halong tamis at pait. Tamis sa porma ng mga pinaghalong mga kulay na tila bumubuo ng bahaghari at pait dahil sa kabila ng mga kulay ay ang baluktot na repleksyon ng reyalidad sa paligid nito.

Sa panahon na may kinakaharap ang bansa na krisis pangkalusugan, maraming mga Pilipino ang naiwang nakatitig lamang at walang magawa sa mga bulang malayang lumilipad sa hangin.

Sa paglaganap ng 2019 coronavirus disease o COVID-19, isang bagong virus na nagsimula sa Wuhan, China, nag-alab ang takot sa bawat bansa sa mundo. Sa kadahilanang bagong strain ito ng virus, walang may alam kung anong maaaring lunas, at lahat ay pinapaalalahanan ng preventive measures upang makaiwas.

Bilang “aksyon” sa paglaganap nito sa Pilipinas, nagsimula ang lockdown sa ibang mga probinsya at lalawigan sa bansa. Nilimitahan ang paggalaw ng mga tao sa paglabas ng kani-kanilang bahay, ultimo sa pagbili ng pagkain o pagpasok sa trabaho. Kinalaunan ay ipinatupad ang Enhanced Community Quarantine sa Luzon— halos wala naman itong pinagkaiba sa naunang iniutos, ngunit rito’y sinuspende na ang mga mode of transportation, nagkaroon ng curfew hours, at istriktong pinapanatili ang mga tao sa loob ng kanilang tahanan.

Sinuspende rin ang lahat ng mga social activities sa loob ng isang buwan, at nag-deploy ang Pangulo ng military forces sa bawat boundary.

Sa loob ng isang buwan, marami ka namang pwedeng gawin nang hindi lumalabas ng bahay. Pwedeng gamitin ang oras upang makapag-bonding kasama ang pamilya, magkaroon ng bagong hobby, o magsulat ng mga notes. O kaya, sa suhestiyon ng Pangulo, pwede namang maghanap ng lugar sa bahay na hindi mo pa napupuntahan.

Ngunit, iba ang ibig sabihin ng isang buwang ito para sa mga nasa laylayan ng lipunan. Isang buwang walang sweldo at pagkain. Ano ang “work from home” kung ang trabaho ng iba’y nasa lansangan at doon na rin ang tirahan? Sa araw-araw sa loob ng isang buwan, hindi nila maiiwasang mangamba kung anong proteksyon ang kaya nilang mabili para sa pamilya tulad ng face mask, alcohol at imbak na de lata sa kakarampot nilang kita

o kung may kikitain pa ba sila gayong ang hanapbuhay na tanging alam nila ay ipinagbabawal na ng gobyerno.

Sa bula ng pribilehiyo, tila ito ay ibang mundo—ang nakakahumaling na bahaghari ay ang pinatamis na kasinungalingan na bumibilog sa mga tao. At sa nabilog na pag-iisip, magiging distorted ang pananaw. Ni hindi mo na mapapansin na sa labas ng iyong bula, napakarami mong hinahayaang mangyari. Sa iyong pananahimik, may mga taong hindi mo na naririnig. Sa iyong payapang pamumuhay, may mga taong namayapang hindi man lang natamasa ang mga pangunahing karapatang pantao, dahil di tulad mo, hindi sila nabigyan ng oportunidad para maiangat ang kanilang pamumuhay.

Ingay lang para sa mga nasa loob ng bula ang tinig ng mga taong hinihingi ang dapat nilang makuha. Ang ingay ay ang paghiyaw para sa hustisya, karapatan, pantay na oportunidad—at sa ngayon, hiyaw para sa tamang aksyon ng gobyerno na ituon ang atensyon sa pagpapapalakas sa ating sektor pangkalusugan. Serbisyong nakapokus sa medikal na pangangailangan ng mamamayan at hindi sa serbisyong militar.

Sa isang panayam sa isang jeepney driver tungkol sa kaniyang opinyon sa mga patakarang ito, naluha na lamang siya nang banggitin ang tungkol sa pagbabawal sa kanilang pamamasada. Ito ang kanilang pangunahing hanapbuhay, at ngayo’y hindi niya alam kung paano pa sila makakakain sa loob ng isang buwang quarantine.

“Mahirap maging mahirap,” ang kanya na lamang nasambit.

Napakadaling sabihin na sumunod na lang sa mga protocol na ipinapatupad ng gobyerno.

Napakadaling sabihin na manahimik na lang sa sarisarili nating mga bahay sa loob ng isang buwan.

Ngunit hindi lahat tayo ay may kapasidad na gawin ang lahat ng ito. Hindi lahat tayo ay natatamasa ang kung anong pribilehiyong natatamasa ng iba.

Hindi lahat tayo ay pare-parehas ng antas ng pamumuhay.

At kung kaya mong sabihin na manahimik nalang ang mga tao, na manatili lang sa loob ng bahay at sumunod na lang sa gusto ng gobyerno, iyon ay dahil nasa loob ka ng isang bula.

Sa paglakas ng mga panawagan, ang ingay na kumakalampag sa bawat diwa ng tao, nawa’y maging daan sa pagputok ng mga bula at marinig na ang ‘ingay’ na nanggagaling sa tunggalian ng mga uri: na kung si John ay may kapasidad mamuhay nang hindi lumalabas sa kanyang bahay upang magtrabaho sa loob ng isang buwan, si Juan na may arawang kita ay maiiwang dilat ang mata kasama ng kanyang mag-iina.

Siguro nga na ang tunay na ‘social distancing’ ay maaaring hindi literal kundi ito’y nangangahulugang pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng mga uri sa lipunan.

Ang hinihingi lang naman ng sambayanan ay ang mahusay na pamamalakad ng gobyerno upang tugunan ang pangangailangang pagkalusugan, lalo na sa panahon ngayon ng COVID-19, ngunit kahit palala na nang palala ang sitwasyon ay hindi pa rin iyon nangyayari. Tila ang mga may kakayahang magbayad lang tulad ng mga makapangyarihan at mga pulitiko ang siyang nabibigyan ng pansin sa krisis na ito. Sila pa ang nangunguna samantalang nananatiling ang sagot sa mga mahihirap ay “kulang ang testing kits” kahit nakikitaan na sila ng sintomas.

Ito ang ebidensiya ng pagpapataas sa mga maykaya, at ang mahihirap ay pinapanatiling mahirap. Sa panahon ng krisis, ultimo sa araw-araw, laging dehado ang walang ganitong kapasidad at pribilehiyo.

Pero sa huli’t huli hindi maiiwasan ang pagwasak ng bula. Kayo rin mismong nasa loob ang kayang magwasak nito sa pagbukas ng inyong mga mata sa katotohanan. At sa labas ng bula, dito maiintindihan ang pinanggagalingan ng mga panawagan: ang kawalan ng katarungan, ang mga maralitang tanging dasal na lamang ang nagagawa sa kawalan ng tirahan at makakain, at ang hirap sa pagtatrabaho sa lansangan araw-araw na ngayo’y napunta sa wala. Rito mo makikita ang sagot sa tanong na: Anong pakiramdam ng namumuhay sa labas ng bula? ▼

SULAT NI MYRA KRISSELLE GARING

DIWA NG

DALAWANG URI PHOTO CREDITS PAT ROQUE/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK JAAP ARRIENS/NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES RUBEN PH/GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./MANILA BULLETIN ALEJANDRO ERNESTO/THE GUARDIAN

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE ABRIL-AGOSTO 2020

DISENYO NG PAHINA JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

Kultura

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Isang inhustisyang maituturing kung ang batas ay naititikom lamang sa kamay ng mga mapagsamantala. Tanda ito na nakaugat pa rin ang mga batas at ang pagpapatupad nito upang mapanatili ang mapaniil na sistema.

DIBUHO KESSHAMMINE KRIMZEI CARREON

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Sandigan ng Batas

SULAT NI JOBELLE RUTH MILA Mula pagkabata, isinisiksik na sa kokote natin ang panakot na huwag gumawa ng masama dahil mayroong ngipin ang batas at nanlalapa ito ng kriminal. Tinatapos ang usapan sa paliwanag na “ang batas ay batas, at walang sinuman ang nakahihigit dito.” Ngunit, isang mito kung maituturing ang katagang ito kung ang binabansagang pangil ng batas ay nangangain lamang ng mga maralita’t kritiko ngunit nagiging maamo naman sa mga berdugo.

Labis ang higpit ng mala-kamay na bakal na pagpapatupad ng batas laban sa mga maralita sa ating bansa. Sa panahong ito ng pandemya, dalidaling hinuhuli ang mga lumalabas ng bahay upang maghanapbuhay, mga walang face mask na bumibili lamang ng makakain at mga nagrereklamo dahil ilang araw nang nakapila upang makakuha ng ayuda.

Kitang-kita ang nararanasan ng masa sa karahasan ng mga awtoridad sa kung paano itinuturing ng kapulisan ang mga mahihirap bilang mga pasaway at pabigat sa lipunan. Kabi-kabila ang pananakit at pagpapahiya sa mga ito dahil lamang sa kagustuhang mapuno ang kalam ng sikmura. Isa na lamang halimbawa nito ang nangyaring karahasan at paghuli sa mga residente ng San Roque dahil nanawagan silang mabigyan ng pagkain at ayuda dulot ng kagutuman dahil sa pandemya.

Ngunit ang angas ng batas ay tila nagiging awa sa tuwing ang malalaking tao ang lumalabag nito. Makikita ito sa pagtatanggol ni Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa sa hepe ng National Capital Region Police Office (NCPRO) na si Major Gen. Debold Sinas nang nagsagawa ito ng mass gathering upang ipagdiwang ang kanyang kaarawan kahit labag ito sa protocol ng Enhanced Community Quarantine.

“Aarestuhin yung mga hindi susunod sa guidelines.

Ano bang gagawin namin, mag-dialogue? If the guidelines are already passed and disseminated, those who will violate will be arrested and kakasuhan namin,” matatandaang wika ni Sinas sa sinumang lalabag sa batas ng isasagawang Metro Manila lockdown noong Marso.

Ngunit sa kanyang pahayag matapos siyang kundenahin sa social media patungkol sa kanyang isinagawang mass gathering, sinabi niyang hindi niya intensiyon ang lumabag sa protocol. Kabaliktaran sa nabanggit niyang pagaresto noon sa pagpapatupad ng lockdown, walang kagyat na paghuli ang nangyari bagkus ay magkakaroon ng imbestigasyon bagay na hindi naipagkakaloob sa mga nahuhuling mahihirap.

Malayongmalayo ang mga danas ng mga maralita kumpara sa naging trato kay Sinas at sa mga dumalo sa pagtitipon-tipon

nila sa kanyang kaarawan. Bukod sa walang pagaresto, nabigyan ang mga ito ng tiyansang magpaliwanag kahit malinaw naman na walang physical distancing sa idinaos na mass gathering. Ito rin ang naging pagtrato kay Koko Pimentel na binigyan ng umano’y compassion kaugnay sa naging paglabag nito sa protocol at kalauna’y naging absuwelto.

Kumpara sa pagkakataong ibinibigay ng gobyerno sa mga katulad ni Sinas, agresibo naman ang pagturing sa mga aktibista at kritiko ng gobyerno, nang hulihin ang mga relief volunteers noong ika-1 ng Mayo dahil sa pagtulong sa mga manggagawa. Kamakailan lamang, hinuli nang walang warrant ang isang guro mula sa Zambales dahil sa isang “hyperbole” post laban sa pangulo at pinahiya ito sa social media. Mula dito sumunod na ang pag-aresto sa iba pang mga nag-post laban sa gobyerno.

Sa kasong ito naging tikom naman ang batas sa bawat pagbabanta ni Duterte sa lahat ng kritiko nito-aktibista, kababaihan, simbahan at maging sa mga paaralan ng mga Lumad. Isang representasyon ito na mayroong magkabilang mukha ang pagpapatupad ng batas sa Pilipinas. Ang isa’y nangangain at ang isa nama’y tikom. Sa isang banda’y galit sa mga kritiko’t mahihirap at sa kabila’y tuta ng mga nasa kapangyarihan.

Patunay na ang gobyernong ito na hangga’t kontrolado nila ang batas, patuloy nilang pararatangan ang taumbayang lumalaban bilang mga kaaway at kriminal. Sapagkat nagkakaroon lamang ng pangil ang batas sa administrasyong ito pagdating sa pagpapanagot ng mga mahihirap. Hindi na nagkakaroon ang mga ito ng pagkakataong magpaliwanag dahil bago nila mabuksan ang kanilang bibig ay pinapatahimik na sila ng dahas.

Habang dahas ang hinaharap ng masa, sa kabilang banda malayang nakapagdiriwang ang mga nasa katungkulan. Nagiging kampante ang mga ito na maitatakas nila ang kanilang sarili mula sa paglabag sapagkat nagkakaroon sila ng kapangyarihang maikumpas ang hustisya patungo sa kanilang pansariling interes. Meron ding aksesibilidad ang mga ito sa due process hindi tulad ng mga taong sangkot sa mga nangyayaring mass arrest. Pinatutunayan lamang nito na hindi nasasakop ng paliwanag ng administrasyon ang katagang “law is law” pagdating sa mga kauri nito.

Isang inhustisyang maituturing kung ang batas ay naititikom lamang sa kamay ng mga mapagsamantala.

Tanda ito na nakaugat pa rin ang mga batas at ang pagpapatupad nito upang mapanatili ang mapaniil na sistema. Hindi nagiging makatarungan ang “law is law” kung sa simula pa lamang ay nakasandig na ito sa interes ng mga naghaharing uri.

Hindi nangangailangang magkaroon ng karahasan sa pagpapatupad ng batas. Ang kailangan nito ay ang tunay na paghatol malayo sa impunidad at malayo sa tanikala ng opresiyon. Sapagkat magkakaroon lamang ng hustisya kung ang pundasyon ng batas ay hindi na sumasandigan sa mga nasa tuktok ng tatsulok kung hindi sa ngalan ng katarungan at sa ikabubuti ng mamamayan. ▼

@upboutcrop

PAGE DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

upboutcrop@gmail.com

Features

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Today, the Philippines is caught in the midst of two pandemics: one right in front of our eyes, the other crawling just under our noses; but as savage as COVID-19 is, prioritizing it should not mean sweeping mental well-being under the rug.

TWO PANDEMICS

IN THE MIDST OF

WORDS BY JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has taken the world by storm. Despite all efforts, early or late, the virus seems to have crawled its way into every corner of the globe. The infection rate is astounding, and the fatalities just as terrifying.

In no more than a matter of months, everyone seems to have been pulled out of their normal lives and forcibly locked inside their homes. I imagine being cooped up in the four corners of our houses has grown boring by now, maybe even tiresome; yet ironically, we are actually helping stop COVID-19 just by staying in.

Home quarantine has created its own problems, though, as being cut off from the outside world has started to affect the mental state of many.

Just beneath the surface, mental health issues are starting to spread almost as fast as the coronavirus, and if we do not act soon, this is one health crisis that will stick around long after COVID-19 is over.

A GROWING OUTBREAK Even when the world wasn’t on lockdown, the World Health Organization has reported that about 450 million people were afflicted with some type of mental health illness. Of this number, 19 million are Filipinos according to the Department of Health (DOH); we can only imagine how these 19 million are faring today where access to proper healthcare services is either a scarcity or a complete impossibility.

Experts all around the world are also reporting that apart from making it twice as hard for those who already have mental illnesses, the extreme stress, anxiety, and sadness that COVID-19 has caused puts a lot of people at risk of contracting mental health problems.

From those far away from their loved ones, to the frontliners who have to put up with blatant discrimination just because they’re doing their jobs, no one is spared from feelings of loneliness and isolation—both of which are directly tied to depression and in extreme cases, suicide.

In the United States, a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation has revealed that the current pandemic has had a negative effect on the emotional well-being of 56% of Americans. The Philippines has yet to reveal just how much damage COVID-19 has done to its citizens in terms of mental and emotional well-being, but between the insufficient response of the government and the way many Filipinos still think of mental illnesses as no big deal, we know that we are definitely still far from flattening the mental health curve.

NO AVAILABLE CURE Much like COVID-19, mental disorders are incurable.

However, many of them can be treated and managed with therapy and proper medication. The problem is availability.

All efforts of the scientific and medical community are focused on COVID-19, and we cannot blame them.

The coronavirus has proved to be the most formidable disease mankind has faced in decades. Unfortunately, the entire health sector forming tunnel vision on COVID-19 has caused them to overlook other matters which are just as important, including mental health.

Some hospitals such as Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) and Baguio General Hsopital (BGH) have been brimming with so many COVID patients that they have decided not to admit any more people.

In Metro Manila, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire has announced that many health facilities are nearing full capacity.

Forced to stay home, most of us will probably never have the chance to get ourselves checked up anytime soon. Consequently, this means that mental health patients will be left to their own devices until COVID-19 blows over—a time span that may last months.

FLATTENING THE CURVE Late in March, UP Baguio has created a Facebook page specifically designed to help students cope with the immense amount of stress and anxiety that comes with home quarantine. Named ‘UP Baguio Psychological Support Group for COVID-19,’ they share content that can help students and staff ease their minds and preserve their mental well-being even as the current health crisis rages on.

The group also offers online counseling and has provided a hotline (09984444023(OCG)), which students can contact if they are in dire need of someone to talk to.

On a national scale, Senator Sonny Angara has filed a bill last May 9 that seeks to amend the existing Mental Health Act. This bill includes a provision that requires the Department of Health to provide insurance packages to mental health patients and ensure that they have access to their needed medicine.

Given that this bill is filed in the same Congress that would rather go after government critics than draft a legislation aimed at addressing COVID-19 effectively, Angara’s amendment may have to wait; but it is at least a step forward in controlling the growing problem of mental disorders.

We may have made some leaps and bounds in how we treat psychological problems, but we are no closer to making the importance of mental health known and crushing the problematic stigma that still surrounds it.

Today, the Philippines is caught in the midst of two pandemics: one right in front of our eyes, the other crawling just under our noses; but as savage as COVID-19 is, prioritizing it should not mean sweeping mental well-being under the rug.

It is imperative that our public officials make an effort to address both health issues. Only with a solid medical response and properly executed plan that takes into account all factors at play will our nation have a fighting chance not just at ending COVID, but stopping the mental health crisis before it turns into a threat even greater than any virus. ▼

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

PAGE DESIGN ISAGANI CASPE

GRAPHICS KESSHAMMINE KRIMZEI CARREON

Features How lucky are those who are able to choose otherwise.

These past months have been extremely difficult. The country is on lockdown as we try to contain the virus and flatten the curve.

Duterte, who seems to have disappeared after being granted emergency powers and without concrete plans for recovery, is prolonging our agony. Private organizations, on the other hand, seem to be performing more than the government itself with daily updates of relief and donations. Hospitals are overwhelmed with sick patients and are left with the dreadful decision of who to give medical attention first. But for our workers, this predicament is something that is not really a matter of choice but of necessity.

“Hindi bale nang

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WORK OR STARVE SULAT NI JOSHUA BUYOGAN

mamatay sa virus, huwag lang sa gutom.”

One of the most affected sectors by this pandemic are minimum wage workers and those who live by the ‘no work, no pay’ policy. Even with the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in effect, the cash assistance they receive is still insufficient to feed their families. Not to mention that the program itself is full of loopholes like gaps on who gets to receive financial assistance as well as the never-ending issue of delayed cash assistance which results in protest rallies and people flying kites bearing cries for aid. With this, workers tend to pit themselves with each other on who deserves the cash assistance and who does not. Adding to that is the insult and mockery these beneficiaries have to endure from people who so selfishly brand them as “pabigat at palamunin ng gobyerno.”

Agricultural and fisheries workers should also be heavily supported as they continue to secure food production. Although there is no sufficient evidence that the virus is transmitted through food and food packaging, times like this necessitate our government to support farmers as they are the backbone of our nation.

Reports of famers discarding their produce because of lack of market demands should be addressed immediately. In times like this, the government should be quick to rescue our local farmers in buying their goods so relief packages contain fresh fruits and vegetables and not just canned goods. And although it is heartening to know that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is part of the plans of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) through projects like Plant, Plant, Plant Program and Rice Resiliency Project which aims to ensure adequate food for the country, it is still funny how these high and mighty officials aid these humble

workers during this crisis after legalizing burdensome laws like RA 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law. The administration’s lack of sense of urgency in providing PPEs and sanitation supplies for health workers has resulted in 26 deaths. To date, our country has tallied 1,062 cases of infected health workers among which 422 are doctors, 386 nurses, 30 medical technologists, 21, radiological technologists, 51 nursing assistants and 152 other medical personnel. If these numbers continue to rise, there is a high chance that hospitals and other medical institutions will collapse and fail to provide quality healthcare to our citizens as they themselves are infected with the virus. Moreover, the recent call of the government for volunteers with 500-peso daily salary is an insult to their profession. Even though the proposed salary was increased after gaining backlash, it is still ridiculous that they would even think of imposing such given the more challenging tasks our workers have to face. No wonder our doctors and nurses leave the country; it is because our government fails to justly compensate their efforts.

What angers me more is the recent statement made by Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion in which he claims that the poor have better immunity against the coronavirus due to them being more exposed in extreme environments and that they should be allowed to go to work. Distasteful remarks like this bring to light the crooked mentality of our officials and highly respected experts; that they care more for the economy’s downfall rather than the welfare of their constituents.

Additionally, it highlights the mindset of profit above everything else that these already wealthy businessmen have.

These officials should know that every single day of reporting to work is a risk to the worker and their families’ health. It is disgusting how they worry so much about flowcharts and graphs when the very same people making them rich are at risk.

This pandemic gave members of the working class the upper hand to courageously assert the demands they have without fear of being tossed away like a rag doll. Even though they have been demanding recognition for years,

‘‘

They are nothing but glorified hostages of an exploitative system that has narrowed their choices into two: work or starve. it is hopeful that their collective voice is further amplified now more than ever. They are the true fundamental units of the society, not the people who sit in huge, high-backed swivel chairs inside airconditioned rooms.

The disproportionate socio-political strategies we have been employing for decades such as RTL are starting to show, and the results are not that flattering.

Behind ambitious tales of economic growth lie the truth that only the few elites are benefitting from the supposed “growth” of the country. They have ingeniously crafted a system infested with neoliberal policies that looks good in paper but in truth is draining other important sectors like agriculture and domestic production which account for majority of livelihood opportunities for our citizens. This ends today as we continue to voice out the growing inequality that this system continues to perpetuate because the struggle of the working class is an issue all of us should pay close attention to.

Lastly, our workers are not heroes.

Heroes as portrayed in films have complete agency over their decisions.

They are nothing but glorified hostages of an exploitative system that has narrowed down their choices into two: work or starve. They do not need our pretentious praises and exaggerated salutes, time and time again they have proven themselves to fare extremely well without those. If we really do care for these “heroes” we so proudly call, we need to abolish the abusive system that has eternally emphasized their resiliency in guise of the horrors they put them through. ▼

@upboutcrop

upboutcrop@gmail.com

DIBUHO JOEMARIEQUEEN DEL ROSARIO

Kultura

21

‘‘

Wala nang mas epektibong aksiyon kundi tugunan ng solusyong medikal ang kasalukuyang pandemya upang masiguro ang kaligtasan ng bawat isa at mapasiglang muli ang ekonomiya.

SULAT NI EMMANUEL GANANCIAS Pinasingaw ng pandemya ang nabubulok at atrasadong sistemang pangkalusugan na sinabayan pa ng pagbagsak ng ekonomiya ng bansa. Sa gitna nito, malinaw na dapat unahing tugunan ng gobyerno ang isyung pangkalusugan bago muling mapasigla ang ekonomiya ng bansa. Sa pagtaas ng bilang ng nagpopositibo sa COVID-19 bunsod ng krisis pangkalusugan, dumarami rin ang mga taong nagugutom at naghihirap na indikasyon ng sosyoekonomikong krisis. Hindi na lamang virus ang kinatatakutan ng karamihan kundi maging ang mawalan ng pantustos maski singkong duling. Ngunit aanhin pa ang singkong duling kung patuloy na dumarami ang nananamlay at namamatay dahil sa pandemya?

Dalawang krisis Sa ilalim ng pinakamahabang militarisadong community quarantine at teritoryal na lockdown sa buong daigdig, hindi pa rin bumubuti ang kalagayan ng bansa sa usaping pangkalusugan. Nitong Agosto 26, umabot na sa higit 197,000 ang naitalang nagpositibo at 2,965 dito ang namatay. Lumagpas na rin sa kapasidad ng mga ospital ang mga pasyenteng dinadala upang gamutin. Sa datos ng Department of Health (DOH) noong Hulyo 28, nasa “warning zone” na ang bed occupancy rate sa buong bansa na 52.3% o 8,577 na okupado mula sa 16,388 beds na nakalaan para sa nasabing sakit. Sa kabilang banda, apektado rin ng pandemya ang kabuhayan ng milyunmilyong Pilipino. Paralisado ang 75% ng mga gawaing pang-ekonomiya ng bansa dahil sa dalawang buwang total lockdown sa Luzon. Ayon sa Philippine Statistics Authority, tinatayang nasa 7.3 milyong manggagawa ang nawalan ng trabaho noong buwan ng Abril. Higit sa 3,000 na negosyo ang pansamantalang nagsara at milyon-milyon ang nakaranas ng kagutuman at kahirapan. Dahil sa mabilis na pagkalat ng virus, bumagsak ang ekonomiya sa dalawang magkasunod na quarter ngayong taon na nagbunsod sa isang technical recession. Indikasyon ng pagbagsak ng ekonomiya ang pagbaba ng Gross Domestic Product (GDP), kabuuang gastos o kita ng mga tao sa bansa, sa -0.2% sa first quarter ng taon na nasundan pa ng pagbagsak nito sa -16.5% sa second quarter. Gayunpaman,

DISENYO NG PAHINA ISAGANI CASPE

tila ikinagalak pa ng Palasyo ang bilang ng nawalan ng trabaho.

“Ako po ay nagagalak na hindi tayo 100 percent nawalan ng trabaho kasi sa tagal po na naka-lockdown tayo, talagang I’m still surprised at our resilience,” sambit ni Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque sa isang press briefing.

Debate sa kalusugan at ekonomya Naging malaking debate kung ano ang dapat mas pagtuunan ng pansin sa pagitan ng isyung pangkalusugan at muling pagpapasigla ng ekonomiya.

Agad kasing tinutulan ng ilang opisyales ng gobyerno ang panawagang “timeout” ng mga health care workers (HCWs) upang mas pinuhin ang estratehiya sa paglaban sa virus at tugunan ang kagyat na mga pangangailangan. Sa isang Zoom press conference na pinangunahan ng Philippine College of Physicians, nagkaisa ang mga HCWs na ipanawagan sa gobyerno ang muling pagdeklara ng enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) sa Mega Manila mula Agosto 1 hanggang 15. Ayon kay Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra at Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, hindi maaaring isara ang ekonomiya sa pagbalik sa ECQ dahil sa magiging epekto nito sa unemployment, kagutuman, at kahirapan. Tumutol maging si Senator Cynthia Villar na nagsabing pagbutihin na lamang ng mga HCWs ang kanilang trabaho. Para sa senadora, hindi maaring isara ang ekonomiya dahil mamamatay sa gutom ang mga tao.

Prayoridad ng gobyerno Hindi pa man napapatag ang kurbada ng naitatalang kaso ng COVID-19 sa bansa, nakapanguna na agad sa prayoridad ng gobyerno ang pagpapasigla ng ekonomiya. Nariyan ang pagpapaluwag sa mga quarantine restrictions sa iba’t ibang siyudad sa bansa, partikular na sa Metro Manila na siyang nananatiling COVID-19 hotspot ng Pilipinas, upang unti-unting buksan ang ekonomiya.

Tuloy pa rin ang pagtaas ng kaso ng COVID-19 at mga nagugutom dahil sa palyadong pamimigay ng ayuda sa gitna ng militarisadong community quarantine.

Nakaligtaan ng gobyerno na dapat muna nitong

solusyunan ang krisis sa kalusugan upang makabalik sa trabaho ang milyunmilyong Pilipino at magbukas ang mga negosyong nauna nang nagsara dahil sa banta sa kalusugan at kaligtasan. Para sa mga ekonomistang sina JC punongbayan, Jeff Arapog, at Cherry Madriaga ng Usapang Econ, hindi mapakikinabangan ang masiglang ekonomiya kung lugmok ang kalusugan ng mamamayan. Idiniin dapat unahin munang maglatag ng komprehensibong solusyong medikal upang mapasigla ang produksiyon at magbigay-luwag sa restriksyong bunsod ng pandemya. Sa ganitong paraan, mas mabilis na makababangon ang mga negosyo at masisiguro ang kaligtasan ng mga manggagawa na magpapabuti sa lagay ng ekonomiya.

Kongkretong solusyon Maiibsan lamang ang krisis na pinasingaw ng pandemya kung uunahin ng gobyernong patagin ang kurbada ng COVID-19 cases bago ang pagsasaayos ng anumang kurbadang pang-ekonomiko.

Subalit nabigo pa rin itong magsagawa ng komprehensibong hakbangin matapos ang dalawang linggong muling pagsasailalim sa modified ECQ sa Metro Manila at ilang kalapit na probinsya kasunod ng hinaing ng mga HCWs. Nalantad ang pangangailangan sa libreng mass testing kaakibat ng masinsinang contact tracing upang makita ang galaw ng virus at makontrol ang hawaan sa mga komunidad. Ayon din sa grupong Second Opinion na binubuo ng mga health workers at professionals, nararapat na pagtuunan ng pansin ang pagdaragdag ng testing facilities, hospital beds, at personal protective equipment sa mga

frontliner upang patuloy na matugunan ng atensiyong medikal ang mamamayan.

Bilang suporta, dapat gamitin ng administrasyong Duterte ang inutang na pera upang tugunan ang krisis sa kalusugan at ekonomiya. Ayon sa Bureau of Treasury, umabot na sa Php9.05 trillion ang utang ng bansa sa kalagitnaan ng taong 2020 matapos madagdagan ng aabot sa Php1.3 trillion na utang para sa pagresponde sa pandemya. Gaano man ito kalaki, pinakamababa pa rin sa rehiyon ang paglalaan ng administrasyon ng gastos para sa pagbangon sa krisis.

Gayunpaman, mahalagang makapaglabas ang gobyerno ng tala ng alokasyon ng pondo at gastos nito sa pagresponde sa pandemya upang malaman ng taumbayan kung saan napupunta ang trilyong utang ng bansa. Mainam na paglaanan ng pondo ang patuloy na pamamahagi ng ayuda at pagsasagawa ng stimulus projects na hindi lamang makatutulong sa kabuhayan ng milyun-milyong pamilya kundi magpapasigla rin sa takbo ng ekonomiya dahil sa sirkulasyon ng gastos at kita ng mamamayan sa pamilihan.

Makatutulong din ang pagkakaloob ng tulong sa maliliit na negosyong nalugi upang muling makabangon at makaambag sa sirkulasyon ng pera. Kung bibigyang prayoridad ang pagtugon sa krisis pangkalusugan, tiyak na masisiguro ang mabilis na pagbangon ng mga Pilipino. Wala nang mas epektibong aksiyon kundi tugunan ng solusyong medikal ang kasalukuyang pandemya upang masiguro ang kaligtasan ng bawat isa at mapasiglang muli ang ekonomiya.

Sa huli, aanhin pa ng mga Pilipino ang pagsisigurong mayroon sila maski singkong duling kung pinababayaan silang mamatay ng gobyernong tila bulag sa suliraning dapat bigyang-pansin? ▼

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

PAGE DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

Features

22

THE REAL

*

terrorists

It is one thing to pass a law that will effectively protect Filipinos against terrorists, but another thing entirely to forward a bill that gives the state power to subdue all its critics and vilify dissent under the guise of preventing terrorism.

With the purpose of repealing the Human Security Act of 2007, Senate Bill 1083, also known as the AntiTerrorism Bill of 2020, was passed on September 30 on its third and final reading. Today, as it is deliberated upon by the House Essentially, the bill broadens the definition of terrorism to include acts that endanger a person’s life, to acts that may cause extensive damage to public property. It also imposes punishments on those found to be guilty of assisting, joining, and recruiting people into terrorist organizations, including imprisonment that may last for as long as 6 years or a lifetime.

The role of determining which individuals or groups are terrorists, unsurprisingly, is given to government authorities: the Anti-Terror Council, and the Department of Justice.

Given the rampant red-tagging attempts of state forces, it is likely that countless progressive organizations and activists could fall within the crushing grip of Senate Bill 1083.

Apart from putting targets on the backs of government critics, the bill also equips state forces with additional powers, one of which is the extension of detainment time.

Normally, for extremely serious crimes, detainments can only last up to 36 hours. Senate Bill 1083 extends that period for 14 days, extendible for up to ten days—more than ten times that of the allowable detainment time—

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all without the need for a warrant of arrest.

But even if they are not detained, the bill states that suspected terrorists can be restricted from traveling and put under house arrest, under which they are banned from using any form of communication with people outside their residences.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council is also encouraged to freeze the assets of any individual or group who is suspected to be involved in terrorist acts in a period which could last for 20 days to six months.

In simpler terms, the Anti-Terror Bill can strip a person of his most basic social and economic capabilities based on allegation alone.

As if this weren’t enough, there also exists a provision that allows suspected individuals to be subjected to intense surveillance. This entails the use of wiretapping or other means of collecting information about a person’s private communication activities—all valid even without the consent of the person to be monitored.

Rife with unconstitutional provisions and blatant human rights violations, Senate Bill 1083 is bound to usher in a new age of horror upon the country. In this day and age where trumped-up charges and fake information are so easily made and spread to favor the current administration, it would not be a stretch to say that the Anti-Terror Bill can cripple not just activists, but mere

Rife with unconstitutional provisions and blatant human rights violations, Senate Bill 1083 is bound to usher in a new age of horror upon the country.

*Originally published as an editorial in UP Baguio Outcrop’s COVID-19 Watch.

citizens who dare to call out the government’s wrongdoings.

Everyone is all for a legislation that is in the interest of public safety, but Senate Bill 1083 is a flawed proposal that does not only change the definition of terrorism, but paves the way for the government to lash out on anyone or anything it deems a ‘terrorist.’

Time and time again, the state has proven its disregard for the welfare of its people; and its ferocity for those who are continuously critical of it. President Duterte has even stated in an assembly that it is part of his job to “scare people, intimidate... kill people.”

This said, we cannot help but wonder who the real terrorists are: those labeled as such by an abusive Senate Bill, or those who would push forward a legislation which could so clearly be an instrument to silence the critical and violate their rights.

Before preparing for threats against the nation, there must first be an accountable and responsible system of ruling; for we can spend all our time defending our country against enemies from the outside, but the threat of terrorism will never cease as long as the real terrorists sit in our government. ▼

@upboutcrop

ILLUSTRATION LEO FORDAN

upboutcrop@gmail.com

PAGE DESIGN JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

Features

23

Not the WORDS BY GWEN MARIE DE LEON

“I did not hear so much clapping, so I assume they are not interested,” President Rodrigo Duterte said right after he expressed his plan to reinstate death penalty.

And just like that, the previously unenthusiastic response of the politicians turned to compulsory applause.

For the third time, on his fifth State of the Nation Address last July 27, the president manifested his desire to impose death penalty through lethal injection. “This law will not only help us deter criminality but will also save our children from the dangers posed by the illegal and dangerous drugs.” Claimed Duterte.

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, as usual, was quick to agree: “Dapat talagang bitayin ‘yang mga drug lord na ‘yan.”

The House Justice Committee also responded immediately, resuming its hearings on the 11 pending House bills about capital punishment last August.

Filipinos then were counting on the President to discuss concrete plans for combatting COVID-19, but Duterte’s SONA revolved around just another one of his fascist policies.

With the Anti-terror Law now in effect and press freedom at an all-time low, it is obvious that finding a medical solution for the pandemic is not on the administration’s list of priorities. Duterte’s aim is clear—to eliminate, not the virus, but the Filipino people, especially his critics.

INJECTION we expected

Faulty System, Irreversible Consequences In 1993, President Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act 7659 which legalized death penalty. Years later, despite the loud opposition from religious institutions and human rights advocates, RA 9165, known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 was also passed. It allowed for the execution of illegal drug traffickers and was implemented for thirteen brutal years. That all ended in 2006 thanks to RA 9346, the act that abolished all laws and executive orders related to capital punishment.

Now that it’s back on the table, death penalty has sparked numerous debates about its effectiveness.

Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) Chairperson and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno refuted death penalty’s supposed peacekeeping ability with data from the Philippine National Police (PNP), showing that it does not lower crime rates.

Muntinlupa City Representative and Death Penalty Bill Author Ruffy Biazon argued back, saying that it does not guarantee the determent of crimes but that it would scare people to go against the law.

The problem, however, lies in implementation. Death penalty cannot be fairly executed in a country with a judiciary that shields thieves and frauds like Imelda Marcos, Gloria Arroyo, and Bong Revilla, to name a few.

Those who cannot afford to rig the system to their advantage would end up as victims of a law that is not only fair, but downright inhumane.

Bayan Muna Party-list Representative Carlos Zarate believes that death penalty “is a part of the weaponization of laws” of the Duterte administration, and that it will be used to curtail human rights.

The President’s hands have already been stained by the blood of thousands of suspected drug users who were deprived of their rights and ruthlessly killed under Oplan

Tokhang. Returning death penalty would only worsen the situation of the country and add thousands to the everrising kill count of the state.

Anti-Poor Policy According to Diokno, majority of death row convicts in the past were poor and could not afford dependable legal defense. FLAG’s survey on 165 convicts for execution indicated that most of them were elementary and high school graduates with low-paying jobs. Meanwhile, Director Jose Enrique of IBON Foundation said that death penalty favored the rich and powerful in dodging penalty.

Supreme Court data showed that of the death row cases from 1994-2004, 71.7 percent were retracted, implying a high-risk of faulty convictions.

This inequality resulted in many deaths of the innocent and poor. Reviving capital punishment would only give more power to selective justice that harasses the underprivileged.

Surigao del Norte Representative and death penalty supporter Robert Ace Barber disputed this, citing that the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) is fully capable of providing free legal assistance to the poor. This, however, directly contrasts Rappler’s analysis on PAO’s reports last 2018. The results showed that the office only has about 2,000 lawyers handling almost a million cases a year, compromising the efficiency of their service.

Duterte may as well be pointing his gun at the heads of the already struggling Filipinos, all the while ignoring the driving force behind crime in the country—poverty itself.

There is no guarantee that death penalty will work when numerous anti-drug campaigns have already perpetuated thousands of extra-judicial killings but have yet to terminate the lords of large drug syndicates.

If our leaders continue to fool us with hollow promises of change but fail to protect the real monsters hiding among them, the people will remain victims to an oppressive state and the drug problem will remain far from over. ▼

e h t in T H G CAU

FEATURES

E R I F S S O R C

t n e s is d n o r a w ’s erte t u D id m a ia d e m The

WORDS BY JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA Journalism is a nasty thing to be associated with in the Philippines these days. With a tyrant calling the shots, the nation is torn apart not only by a pandemic, but by the utter decay of press freedom.

In the past, every administration has tried to suppress the media. Time and again, the country’s free press has resisted these attacks, managing to stay alive despite the wrath of the powers that be. Duterte’s term, however, has changed the situation completely.

Today, with journalists being actively hunted and news agencies getting shut down, the media finds itself thrust in the middle of a war—one the state is doing everything in its power to win.

Smokescreen The president has always been an expert at using the people’s sympathies to forward his own twisted will upon the nation; so it comes as no surprise that many sided with him when he first expressed his distaste for the media.

With the Filipino people’s support, the state launched its first war tactic: a heavy smokescreen of fake news and propaganda.

Pro-Duterte blogger Mocha Uson was at the center of it all. She enjoyed two years in power back in 2017, all the while posting inaccurate and misleading posts in her social media accounts.

Uson resigned in 2018, but the smoke clouds of the state’s deception were still thick as ever. Duterte’s troll army quickly picked up where she left off, turning various social media outlets, especially Facebook, into cesspools of disinformation.

Their most recent and perhaps fiercest attack was in July when they came after hundreds of progressive individuals. Countless dummy accounts surfaced on Facebook, bearing the same names as those who were then calling for the junking of the anti-terror law, serving as clear proof that the state was keeping an eye on its critics.

The war was heating up, slowly building towards its dramatic climax as the government prepared to target not just individuals, but large news companies—including the biggest of them all. It had not been done in 48 years, but the Duterte administration fired their guns and a media giant fell.

Siege The state carried out its plans with military precision. A siege plan to break through the free press’s defenses had been laid out, and with the law as their artillery, Duterte and his cronies wreaked havoc on one news outlet after the other.

Rappler, a staunch government critic, was first on Duterte’s list. In 2017, he claimed the media company was fully owned by Americans. Notably, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked its license to operate six months after, alleging that Rappler violated foreign ownership policy.

A chain of attacks began, leaving the media outfit with at least seven pending court cases in 2020. Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was also convicted of cyber-libel last April for an article she wrote before the republic act she allegedly broke even existed.

PAGE DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION JETHRO BRYAN ANDRADA

The most chilling weaponization of the law, however, is undoubtedly the shutdown of ABS-CBN. Despite motions for its franchise renewal being filed as early as 2014, its franchise to operate had expired after Congress held off the decision to discuss it.

Malacañang hastily claimed Duterte was neutral about the issue, yet a quick glance at his past addresses would reveal anything but impartiality. Just in December last year, the president told the Lopezes to sell ABS-CBN as he will personally “see to it” that it is out of commission by 2020.

Coincidence or not, Duterte’s words rung true on May 5th when the network officially stopped airing. In a desperate attempt to justify its closure, all chinks in the news network’s armor were exploited, from Gabby Lopez’s citizenship, to the validity of the land title it operated on.

Just like that, the biggest broadcaster in the country was no more, along with the livelihood of some 11,000 workers and the news source of virtually every Filipino.

Slaughter Only now as the dust settles do we see how many corpses were born out of Duterte’s war on press freedom, and it seems everyone is a casualty.

Millions rely on ABS-CBN for news, especially far-flung areas such as those in Cebu and outside Manila where people have nearly no access to other channels.

The network’s shutdown has also empowered state forces everywhere to follow in Duterte’s footsteps; and

OUTCROP

SPECIAL COVID-19 ISSUE APRIL-AUGUST 2020

nowhere is this more evident than in the case of Pinoy Weekly, an investigative publication that forms part of the Altermidya network.

In their storage house in Bulacan, state forces reportedly confiscated copies of their broadsheets.

Marilou Iligan, who was present when the police came, said she was forced by the cops to unlock the doors of the house where the newspapers were kept.

From journalists to ordinary citizens, no one is spared from the administration’s ruthlessness. As the slaughter of the free media ensues, our right to criticize the government is also taken, and the very power balance between the rulers and the ruled is disrupted.

Our ability to speak out and our very freedom as a nation is riding on the victory of the free press in the state’s war, making today the most critical time for the people to stand for and with the truth.

As Duterte and his allies prepare to fully wipe out all its critics, so too must all media practitioners unite and resist the state’s attacks. The free media, along with everyone who rallies behind it, must hold the line as one against the administration’s oppression.

Banners waving and weapons ready, now is its final stand—our final stand. May 2020 be remembered, not as the year Duterte crushed press freedom, but the year a strongman tried to subdue the fourth estate and was ousted from power once and for all. ▼