UPLB Perspective Vol. 48, Issue 1 (February 18, 2022)

FEB R UA R Y 1 8 , 202 2

UPLB PERSPECTIVE

M A G S U L AT. M A G L I N G KO D . M A G PA L AYA .

◆ TA O N 4 8 , B LG . 1

UPLB PERSPECTIVE.ORG

DOUBLE ISSUE 24 PAGES

NEWS

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2-7

ANG MARAHAS NA DEMOLISYON SA BRGY. PATUNGAN

F E AT U R E S

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8-12

FIRST DAY RAGE: FIGHT FOR A PROSTUDENT EDUCATION

C U LT U R E

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13-16

OPINION

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17-2 3

NEVER ENOUGH: AMBIGUITIES AND SILENCES IN MARTIAL LAW EDUCATION

JUNK THE MILLION PESO JUNK

EDITORIAL | 24

SMALL VICTORIES AND UNENDING STRUGGLES

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UPLB NEWS

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G/ E L B I

UPLB ‘eases’ into second sem as constituents call for recovery break The decision came after university constituents called for a two-week “recovery and wellness break” amid the COVID-19 surge, recovery from Typhoon Odette, and various registration concerns.

BY YANI REDOBLADO & FJ MASANGKAY

UPLB “eases” into the second semester of A.Y. 2021-2022, guidelines of which were detailed in an Office of the Chancellor (OC) memorandum released last January 31.

During the easing period from February 8 to February 18, “no synchronous and asynchronous sessions and submission of requirements in all courses” were imposed. Students were also enjoined not to email any teaching staff member during the two-week period.

“In the spirit of UPLB being a caring university, imbued with the values of honor, excellence, and compassion, we recognize the critical balance between performing our tri-function (instruction, research, and public service) and ensuring the safety and wellness of our human resources and the University’s constituents,” the memo read.

The OC memo is pursuant to the UP system’s Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) Memorandum No. 2022-16 released last January 28.

The decision came after university constituents called for a two-week “recovery and wellness break” amid the COVID-19 surge, recovery from Typhoon Odette, and various registration concerns.

Meawhile, a revised UPLB academic calendar was released last February 9. It details the adjustments in the schedule for the final examinations, grade submission deadlines, and other academic matters.

In an exclusive interview with the Perspective, UPLB University Student Council (USC) Chairperson Siegfred Severino said that the USC welcomes the UPLB administration’s decision to grant a two-week recovery break for the constituents.

“Tayo sa USC ay winewelcome itong pag-release ng memorandum na nagbibigay na 2-weeks recovery break o pahinga para sa mga estudyante, guro, at kawani ng Unibersidad. ‘Di maikakaila na ang desisyong ito ay bunga ng walang pagod na pag-assert ng mga estudyante at faculty para mabigyan ng sapat na panahon para makapag-pahinga at makapag-handa sa susunod na semestre.”

System bureaucracy

The semester opening last February 7

[P] PHOTO BY MARCUS GARCIA ISABEL PANGILINAN LAYOUT BY DAYNIELE LOREN

proceeded for all UP campuses except for UPLB, UP Open University (UPOU), UP Cebu (UPC), and UP Baguio (UPB).

Because of the damage brought by Typhoon Odette in Cebu, the opening of classes in UPC will start on February 21. Meanwhile, UPB Chancellor Corazon Abansi moved the start of their second semester to February 14, citing the series of Student Academic Information System (SAIS) downtime and health status of students, faculty, and staff.

Severino said that all participants in the system-wide dialogue held last January 25 agreed “in principle” that a break is needed.

As a response, the UP admin included general guidelines for the academic easing policy in the OVPAA Memorandum No. 2022-16. The constituent universities were given autonomy to adjust the guidelines depending on their situation.

The OVPAA memo also mentioned “adjusting work allocations under Work-from-Home (WFH) arrangements for Research, Extension, and Professional Staff (REPS), administrative staff, Contract of Service (COS) workers, and Job Orders (JOs) performing regular office functions”.

Severino said that the UP admin, in its decision to push through with the semester as scheduled, cited legal reasons, financial constraints from the Commission on Audit (COA), and salary of contractual employees and JOs. “The [UP system] admin said that they cannot justify giving a two-week salary to JOs and contractual employees if bibigyan sila ng recovery break,” Severino said.

He further commented that the UP system admin wants its constituent universities to adjust their guidelines, yet they fail to do the same, saying that they are legally bound not to adjust their policies.

“Umiiral ang pagiging bureaucratic ng ating university na they put first the logistical constraints of their offices instead of adjusting, being flexible as they ask their constituents to be flexible also,” Severino added.

A few days before the start of general registration period, the UPLB Department of Social Sciences (DSS) and Department of Humanities (DHum) released separate statements supporting the call for a genuine health break, and for the adjustment of the semester opening to February 21.

According to All UP Academic Employees Union - Los Baños (AUPAEU - LB), the system-wide petition to have a genuine two-week recovery or wellness break for the UP system has garnered over 1000 signatories from various sectors in the UP community.

Clamor for a genuine break

Even before the dialogue with the UP admin, AUPAEU cited widespread health crises and sluggish recovery of constituents affected

by Typhoon Odette as primary bases for the call for a break. According to Severino, 16% of the UPLB population was affected by the typhoon.

AUPAEU also criticized the statements and policies of the UP admin for its lack of compassion after the first semester ended, saying that there are no system-level policies that would ensure a compassionate extension of grades submission.

“Naroroon ang kanilang pahayag ng pag-unawa sa mga mag-aaral, ngunit ini-extend lamang ang pasahan ng grado [nang] iilang araw,” AUPAEU’s post read.

In UPLB, the deadline for submission of grades for the first semester was extended until January 23 at the request of the USC. However, the pre-registration period for the second semester that was scheduled from January 24 to January 27 initially still pushed through, but was later extended until January 31 due to technical difficulties in SAIS. Meanwhile, the general registration period for UPLB ran from February 2 to 4.

“Noong nakita ng acad union na magkakadikit ang dates, nag-start na ‘yong panawagan na kailangan ng breathing space ng students and faculty,” Severino said.

In an exclusive interview with the Perspective, Development communication freshman Dyan Chomawat said that he is not yet prepared for the second semester, given their current physical and mental state.

“The current semester [first semester of AY 2021-2022] has been mentally and physically exhausting; we also need enough time to rest and take care of ourselves,” he expressed.

Dyan Chomawat said that he is not yet prepared for the second semester, given their current physical and mental state.

“The current semester [first semester of AY 2021-2022] has been mentally and physically exhausting; we also need enough time to rest and take care of ourselves,” he expressed.

Persisting students’ struggles

With already a new semester to face, most UPLB students and professors still continue to confront the same challenges that piled up over the past two years of remote learning, which was even recently worsened by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette and high COVID-19 cases.

In exclusive interviews with the Perspective, students and faculty recounted their struggles amid the online setup.

Joy [not her real name], a first-year industrial engineering student from Mindoro, shared her struggle over the instability of Internet connection in rural areas.

“Since we have a weak signal here in our province, it was really hard for me to catch up with our lessons,” she explained.

She added that she would need to deal with poor Internet connectivity again for the upcoming semester, considering that the approved plan for limited opening of face-to-face classes is yet to happen for non-graduating students.

Meanwhile, veterinary medicine students resort to learning through watching synchronous lecture videos and submitting laboratory reports.

UPLB NEWS

U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G/ E L B I | F E B R UA RY 18, 2 02 2

Third-year veterinary medicine student “Lin” [not her real name] stressed that although these materials are helpful, they are only used to comply with academic requirements, and not for learning itself.

“Helpful naman ‘yong video recordings and lecture slides, kaso parang nag-aaral ka na lang para sa exams, para pumasa,” she expressed.

Life goes on for the typhoon- and COVID-stricken Lin, who was among the students severely affected by Typhoon Odette, said that she took exams without electricity for about two weeks before the finals period.

Last December 17, the UPLB USC reported that the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) denied the request to allow students to comply with course requirements until the end of the first semester.

While the request was denied at the system-level, UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr. requested faculty members to reschedule assessments for students affected by Typhoon Odette.

Still, Lin shared her frustrations as someone who is directly affected by the typhoon.

“May isang course na hindi nag-extend; wala siyang [professor] communication sa students tapos sinabihan kami na, ‘Kapag hindi niyo magagawa before December 31, sinayang niyo lang ang oras niyo,” she shared.

Meanwhile, with the rising COVID-19 cases, the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) keeps watch of UPLB students’ health through the student registry form. VCSA Janette Silva said that college secretaries’ offices have access to the registry because they are in charge of informing the units and professors of the students’ condition and academic needs.

Students and professors alike also mentioned the difficulty of setting boundaries under the remote setup especially when they are directly affected.

“Noong beginning ng sem, nagka-COVID parents ko. Every time na may free time, instead na ilalaan ko sa sarili ko – magno-notes o maghahabol sa ibang course – nagbabantay ako ng kapatid ko,” said Lin. In an earlier interview with the Perspective, AUPAEU - LB member Bernabeth Tendero stated that adjusting to the WFH setting took a toll on staff’s mental health because of the blurred lines between doing chores at home and their work.

A ‘dysfunctional’ enrollment system

A week before the start of the pre-registration period, third-year chemical engineering student “Rachel” [not her real name] explained that she is not yet ready for the upcoming semester given that there were students still complying with requirements.

“Since may nagpapasa pa ngayon, meron pa ring walang grades. Kailan malalaman ng students na delikado sila bumagsak para maayos ‘yong ie-enlist nila?” she expressed during an exclusive interview with the Perspective last January 18, at the time when some professors have yet to release their grades.

During the pre-registration period, UPLB USC noted various student concerns regarding SAIS’ errors and inaccessibility. They were informed that the servers cannot handle the volume of Internet traffic from students trying to enroll.

“I’ve been a student since 2018 and I can say that this is one of the worst SAIS registrations na naranasan ko,” Severino said.

It can be recalled that issues with SAIS have been reported over the years since its implementation in 2016.

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have started going to the campus.

Meanwhile, the count of approved students will be updated once a new list of graduating students are submitted. Dr. Codilan informed the Perspective that as of press time, they already received applications from about 600 students for the upcoming semester. These applications are still subject for approval.

Critical completion of requirements and documents

[P] PHOTO BY ISABEL PANGILINAN; LAYOUT BY MICH MONTERON

Na-realize ko na hindi nagegets ng lahat ‘yong hirap [ng pandemya], literal na nag-eexam ako habang nagbubuhat ako ng oxygen tank.

CHLOE [NOT HER REAL NAME] Third-year veterinary medicine student, who contracted COVID-19 at the end of midyear in 2021

Severino expressed frustration that after six years since its launch, SAIS still crashes. He said that it is disappointing that despite the online academic setup, the enrollment system remains “dysfunctional”.

As a result, students have raised concerns in relation to being underloaded or even delayed due to issues with SAIS. Rachel revealed that she could not advance to higher chemical engineering courses because she failed to enroll in prerequisite courses due to SAIS problems.

“Since ang Batch 2019 ay scheduled na sa third day sa SAIS this semester [first semester of AY 2021-2022], mabilis na ako nakakuha [ng course], pero ang dami pa ring hindi [nakakuha] dahil ten sections lang at kulang sila [faculty] sa staff,” Rachel said.

UPLB DHum associate professor and AUPAEU - LB member Prof. Jethro Pugal once addressed this issue in a press conference saying, “Ang problema ng kakulangan ng slots sa isang subject ay actually problema ng kakulangan ng guro at pasilidad para sa mismong subject na ‘yon.”

In line with this, he raised the call for more plantilla (or permanent) positions or a larger faculty to handle classes.

Moreover, AUPAEU - LB President Prof.

Cris Lanzaderas pointed out that the call for a break also stemmed from issues with SAIS. “Nag-resulta kasi ito [call for a break] noong nagloko ‘yong SAIS sa panahon na nag-i-input

ng grades ang teachers at sa pre-registration ng mga estudyante. Dahilan ito talaga para magkaroon ng adjustments sa calendar at gawing genuine ‘yong health break sa dalawang linggo.”

Prof. Lanzaderas reiterated that staff, faculty, and students needed enough time to prepare for another semester opening.

“Kailangan talaga ng lehitimong pahinga hindi lang para sa mga admin staff at kawani ng university, pati na rin sa ating mga estudyante,” he expressed.

Preference for F2F activities

Meanwhile, students also expressed their preference of having face-to-face (F2F) classes instead of the current remote learning setup, citing stark differences.

“The online learning setup is basically not a conducive learning environment, while the F2F setup offers comfortable physical spaces that would help students learn effectively,” expressed Chomawat.

According to Dr. Analyn Codilan, Ad Hoc Committee Chair for the Gradual Reopening and Conduct of Limited F2F Class Activities, at least 81 students are included for limited F2F activities in UPLB for the second semester of A.Y. 2021-2022.

The number of students carried over from those approved for F2F activities in the previous semester. The final count came from the initial list of 98 UPLB students that was greenlit for limited F2F classes by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Dr. Codilan said that an estimated 600 students were originally included for F2F activities, before it was finalized to 81 undergraduate and graduate students from four colleges in the university.

28 of them came from the College of Agriculture and Food Science (CAFS), 26 from the College of Engineering and Agro-industrial Technology (CEAT), 21 from the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), and six from the College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR).

Dr. Codilan said that deans of the four colleges reported that not all of the 81 students

According to Dr. Codilan, the only criteria that were considered were that the list should be composed of graduating students who need to conduct thesis activities and experiments, and access campus facilities.

However, she mentioned that one challenge that students faced is the compliance with the documentary requirements as stated in the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2021001 of CHED and the Department of Health (DOH).

OC Memorandum No. 014 Series of 2022 listed some of the required documents, which include a request letter, a medical certificate, a local government unit (LGU) clearance, a notarized consent of parent or guardian, and a proof of medical insurance with COVID-19 coverage, among others.

“Critical ‘yong pag-complete ng documents; talagang napakahirap kaya ‘yong iba [estudyante] nag-back out na lang. Not necessarily pinili, basta graduating okay na ‘yon but at the same time, they have to comply with the requirements kasi ‘yon ang hinihingi ng CHED,” said Dr. Codilan.

Aside from the numerous documents needed from students before CHED’s approval, the preparation for the limited F2F activities included retrofitting UPLB’s laboratories and facilities, which were all inspected on a site visit last December 3.

Because of the new guidelines in the CHEDDOH JMC No. 2021-004, higher education institutions (HEIs) no longer need to apply for the reopening, but they still need to submit the documents required for information and further monitoring.

“Almost same set of documents pero hindi na natin hihintayin ‘yong approval ng CHED. Once na-submit na ‘yon, anytime after January 31, pwede nang mag-start ng limited F2F ‘yong mga pinasang pangalan ng mga bata,” Dr. Codilan said.

With the increase of students, she emphasized that it is a challenge for the committee to assure that they are being careful, given that UPLB’s facilities are also assessed based on the ability to handle probable outbreaks.

“Not only identifying kung pwedeng mag-offer ng courses [ang university] for limited F2F, but at the same time dapat nakatama ang physical resources, kung kaya ba to absorb ‘yong re-entry ng students.”

Previously reported to be used by the faculty, REPS, and administrative staff, an online health monitoring system (OHMs) will also require students to be registered. The system will generate a building pass that allows individuals access to the laboratories and other permitted areas in the university, once no COVID-19 symptoms are detected.

As per Dr. Codilan, the ad hoc committee is still finalizing the guidelines that will ask students to log into the OHMs 14 days before they start going back to the campus to assess them for possible COVID-19 symptoms. [P] ONLINE

uplbperspective.org Read the full story and additional context on our website https://bit.ly/UPLBSecondSem

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UPLB NEWS

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G/ E L B I

PGH suffers budget cut amid rising COVID-19 cases The UP budget increased by P2.89 billion in the 2022 national budget. Despite this, the Hospital Services Program budget, which includes the allocation for PGH, suffered a cut of above P566 million.

BY ARON JAN MITCHELL SIERVA

The University of the Philippines received P24.4 billion appropriation from the 2022 national budget, which is P2.89 billion higher than the budget it received in 2021. But despite the budget hike for UP, there was a P566 million cut on the Hospital Services Program budget, which includes the allocation for the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

This is despite the worsening health situation caused by the pandemic, with the Philippines tallying close to 4 million total COVID-19 cases.

Budget for the provision of medical services suffered a cut by about P198 million, whereas the budget for locally-funded projects was cut

by P368 million because of a lower infrastructure budget.

In total, the 2022 budget for the Hospital Services Program amounted to P6.3 billion.

All UP Workers Union (AUPWU) - Manila President Karen Mae Faurillo expressed last October that the government should allocate a P10 billion budget for PGH, emphasizing that the said hospital is “one of the biggest COVID-19 referral centers [in] the country”.

The union’s Vice President Benjamin Santos, Jr. added then that budget cut would make it difficult for PGH to implement its infrastructure plans. The group said that the cut would affect the quality of healthcare services that the PGH delivers.

In August 2021, AUPWU - Manila called on the PGH administration to “resolve the sad plight of PGH health workers.” They pushed for mass hiring of health workers; implementation of P16,000 national minimum wage; and regularization of contractual health workers.

Since the onset of the pandemic, healthcare workers have been calling for justifiable compensation and benefits, including the COVID-19 Special Risk Allowance (SRA) and Actual Hazard Duty Pay (AHDP).

In the 2022 national budget, P50 billion would be allocated for the SRA of medical frontliners.

While this decision is welcomed by the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), it can be recalled that in 2021, healthcare workers who were expecting to receive benefits as mandated by the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) were surprised to have received only a small fraction of the P15,000 compensation that they were promised.

The Department of Health (DOH) recognized at the time that many health workers have yet to receive their grants, and the department has since said that they would ensure the prompt distribution of benefits.

PHOTO FROM ALL UP WORKERS UNION - MANILA

Meanwhile, the 2022 national budget signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last December 30 promises to ensure more funds for managing the COVID-19 pandemic, with P188.3 billion allocated for the Department of Health (DOH).

However, it is notable that both the military and police both acquire bigger budgets than the DOH, with P213.78 billion allocated for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and P190.69 billion set for the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Progressive groups have repeatedly pointed out that even amid a health crisis, the government’s approach to dealing with the pandemic has been primarily militaristic.

In fact, despite threats to defund the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), the task force still received P17 billion in the national budget. NTF-ELCAC is controversial for its red-tagging and harassment on progressive groups.

2022 UPLB projects in focus

Meanwhile, the bulk of the total operations budget for the UP system is allocated to the Higher Education Program, which includes

infrastructure projects.

In UPLB, the programs funded include the third phase of the completion of dormitory for graduate students (P40 million); rehabilitation of the Sawmill Compound (P35 million); rehabilitation of the Meat Science Building (P25 million); and the Pahinungod Building (P27 million).

Also included in the budget is the construction of the National Zoonoses Center (P100 million).

According to UPLB, the National Zoonoses Center will have its laboratories and facilities dedicated to zoonoses studies, which aims to detect, prevent, and respond to zoonotic diseases, or infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. With the creation of the program for zoonotic diseases, UPLB says that the university is now “one step ahead in helping avoid another pandemic”.

More UPLB projects are focused on the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), which serves as the “national research and development organization specializing in agricultural, environmental, food and feeds, and health biotechnology”.

Projects under the said institute include the restoration and enhancement of research,

development, and public service program (P20 million); construction of Microbial Bank (P30 million); pilot plant and screenhouses for biofertilizers, biostimulants, and biopesticides (P20 million); and the procurement of laboratory equipment (P20 million).

Moreover, part of the projects for the Research Program in UPLB include the construction of the Food Processing Research and Development Center Building (P316 million) and the Futures Thinking Research and Innovations for Food Systems and Food Security (P5 million).

Under the Technical Advisory Extension Program, P145 million is allocated for the rehabilitation of the Dairy Production Building of the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI), an independent unit of the College of Agriculture and Food Science (CAFS).

For the UP system, about P31.7 million has been allocated to the “operationalization of face-to-face classes”, while P500,000 is set for the Student Assistance Program. [P] ONLINE

uplbperspective.org Read the full story and additional context on our website https://bit.ly/2022PGHBudgetCut

UPLB NEWS

U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G/ E L B I | F E B R UA RY 18, 2 02 2

UP BUDGET

BUDGET

UNDER “HOSPITAL SERVICES PROGRAM”

COMPARISON

2021

21,503,170,000

2022

24,392,029,000

485,512,000

559,497,000

S U P P O R T T O O P E R AT I O N S

1,805,264,000

5,493,759,000 2 02 1

5,296,013,000 2 02 2

S U P P O R T T O O P E R AT I O N S

2,010,239,000

G E N E R A L A D M I N I S T R AT I O N AND SUPPORT

PROVISION OF MEDICAL SERVICES

LOCALLY-FUNDED PROJECTS

G E N E R A L A D M I N I S T R AT I O N AND SUPPORT

1,378,400,000 2 02 1

21,822,293,000

19,212,394,000 O P E R AT I O N S

2 02 2

O P E R AT I O N S

2 02 1

B R E A K D OW N O F O P E R AT I O N S

2 02 2

9,902,257,000

HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

12,467,877,000

1,287,404,000

ADVANCED EDUCATION PROGRAM

1,284,178,000

753,903,000

RESEARCH PROGRAM

1,232,820,000

396,671,000

TECHNICAL ADVISORY EXTENSION

531,680,000

6,872,159,000

HOSPITAL SERVICES PROGRAM

6,305,738,000

40,000,000 Completion of the Dormitory for Graduate Students, Phase 3

2022 UPLB PROJECTS

1,009,725,000

35,000,000 Rehabilitation of Sawmill Compound to Forest Product & Processing Center

25,000,000 Rehabilitation of the Meat Science Building (Slaughter House)

27,000,000 Pahinungod Building

100,000,000 Construction of National Zoonoses Center

20,000,000 Restoration/Enhancement of Research, Development, and Public Service Program, Institute of Molecular Biology

30,000,000 Construction of Microbial Bank, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH)

20,000,000 Pilot Plant and Screenhouses for Biofertilizers, Biostimulants, and Biopesticides BIOTECH

FOR THE UP SYSTEM (2022) OPERATIONALIZATION OF FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES

31,661,000 STUDENT ASSISTANCE

500,000 20,000,000 Procurement of Laboratory Equipment UP Los Baños Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH)

316,000,000 Construction of Food Processing Research and Development Center Building

5,000,000 Futures Thinking Research and Innovations for Food Systems and Food Security

145,000,000 Rehabilitation of the Dairy Production Building of the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI)

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S O U T H E R N TA GA LO G

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 |

U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G/S T N E WS

Humigit-kumulang 1200 residente, apektado ng demolisyon sa Brgy. Patungan sa Cavite Sugatan ang ilang residente matapos magpaputok ng baril ang pwersa ng pulisya at pribadong security guards sa gitna ng demolisyon. ng nasabing korporasyon ang komunidad sa Manila Southcoast Development Corporation (MSDC), na pagmamay-ari naman ng pamilya Sy. Nais umanong magtayo ng MSDC ng isang “exclusive beach resort” sa Brgy. Patungan.

Sa kasalukuyan, hindi pa nakapagbibigay ng tugon ang MSDC sa Perspective kaugnay ng nasabing isyu.

NINA YANI REDOBLADO, JECO GONZALEZ, MARILOU LORZANO, AT ARON SIERVA

Ilang residente ng Brgy. Patungan, Maragondon, Cavite ang sugatan matapos ang demolisyong ikinasa ng mga pwersa ng Philippine National Police (PNP) at mga pribadong security guard noong ika-13 ng Enero.

12 beses umanong nagpaputok ng baril ang pwersa ng pulisya at mga pribadong security guard sa gitna ng demolisyon, dahilan upang masugatan ang ilan sa mga residente, ayon sa Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Cavite.

Sa halip na bigyan ng tulong-medikal ang mga sugatan, hinarang pa umano ng pulisya ang pagpapagamot sa mga nasaktan.

“Ayon sa mga saksi ay agad dinala ang sugatan at sinikap itawid sa dagat para agarang mapagamot, ngunit, hinarang ito ng mga kapulisan at dinala sa kanilang detatsment kung saan pinagtulungang bugbugin ng demolition team,” dagdag ng BAYAN - Cavite.

Gayunpaman, iginiit ni Pmaj Mary Ann Crester Torres, regional spokesperson ng Police Regional Office-4A, na mga miyembro pa umano ng demolition team ang nasugatan.

“Wala pong katotohanan [‘yung tatlong] residente [na] sugatan [...] Kanina po [tatlo] from demolition team ang sugatan at recently po e 20 [na] pulis natin ang sugatan dahil sa pambabato ng mga residente,” ani Torres sa isang panayam sa pahayagang Philstar.

Sa kabila ng pahayag na ito, inilathala sa Facebook page ng Save Patungan Now Movement ang mga larawan ng mga sugatang residente. Ilan sa mga sugatan ay ang mga mangingisdang sina Erick Dominado at “Tatay Danilo”, at isang menor-de-edad na estudyante na si John Rafael Sadiasa.

Sugatan din ang isang paralegal mula sa Anakpawis Timog Katagalugan na si Athan Mercado, at isang nagngangalang “Tatay Dolly” na nagseserbisyo para sa karapatan ng mga residente ng Patungan.

Karamihan sa kanila ay tinamaan ng mga ligaw na bala. Hindi rin agad na naisugod sa ospital ang ilan sa mga biktima dahil bantay-sarado umano ng mga pulis at pribadong security guards ang mga daan.

Samantala, patuloy ang panawagan ng mga progresibong organisasyon para sa proteksyon ng mga karapatan ng mga apektadong residente.

“Nananawagan ang BAYAN - Cavite sa Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines at mga concerned na mga organisasyon at indibidwal para sa kagyat ng pagtulong sa mga sugatan at residente,” ani ng BAYAN - Cavite.

Samantala, umalma rin ang mga residente ng Brgy. Patungan dahil sa pagpapahintulot ng alkalde ng Maragondon na si Rey Rillo sa demolisyon, habang ang buong Cavite ay nasa ilalim noon ng Alert Level 3, na kasabay pa ng pagtaas ng kaso ng COVID-19.

Nanawagan din ang Save Patungan Now Movement sa lokal na pamahalaan na tumindig para sa kapakanan ng kanilang mga mamamayan.

Mahabang kasaysayan ng panghaharas

Sugatang residente sa gitna ng demolisyon. LARAWAN MULA SA BAGONG ALYANSANG MAKABAYAN -CAVITE

Anong pagpapabaya ba naman ang ginawa ni Mayor Rillo na maranasan ng mga residente ang dagdag na pasakit sa gitna ng pandemya?

“Nasa panahon tayo ng pandemya. Nasa panahon ng tumitinding krisis. Ngayon namin kayo kailangan. Isa itong hamon sa inyong pamamahala at gubyerno: titindig ba kayo para sa kapakanan ng tulad naming mahihirap o titindig kayo para sa iilang makapangyarihan at mayaman tulad ni Sy at Virata?” pahayag ng Save Patungan Now Movement.

Ang laban ng mga mamamayan ng Patungan

Ang Brgy. Patungan ay sumasaklaw sa 602-ektaryang lupain ng mga mangingisda at magsasaka. Ayon sa BAYAN - Cavite, nasa humigit-kumulang 1200 residente ang maaapektuhan ng nasabing demolisyon.

“Kung ang pinoproblema ng ibang mga kababayan natin ay ang pangangailangan sa arawaraw, ang mga mamamayan ng Patungan ay

ipinaglalaban ang kanilang mga bahay at tirahan. Saan pupulutin ang mga taga-Patungan kung karahasan ang ibinibigay nyo sa mga mamamayan sa gitna pa ng pandemya?” ani ng grupong Save Patungan Now Movement.

Dagdag pa ng BAYAN - Cavite, matagal nang pinalalayas ang mga residente ng Brgy. Patungan.

“Alam ng mamamayan na mainit sa mata ng mga kapitalista ang lugar ng Patungan dahil sa napakaganda nitong tanawin,” pahayag ng alyansa Ang lugar ay sinubukang angkinin ng isang nagngangalang Maria Theresa Virata, na mayari ng M.T.V. Properties and Holdings Corporation.

Ayon sa Pamalakaya, pederasyon ng mga organisasyon ng mga mangingisda sa Pilipinas, ang karahasan ay nagsimula nang ibenta

Sa lathalaing inilabas ng media network na Altermidya noong 2016, napag-alamang taong 2012 pa nagsimula ang mga demolisyon at pagpapalayas sa mga residente sa Brgy. Patungan. Ang tinatayang 600 na kabahayan sa barangay noong 2012 ay bumaba na lang sa bilang na 300 noong 2016, matapos ang mga isinagawang demolisyon.

Sa katunayan, dekada ng 1990 nang makatanggap ang ilang mga benepisyaryong magsasaka sa Brgy. Patungan ng collective Certificate of Land Ownership sa Hacienda Looc sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Subalit noong 1994, ibinenta ng Asset Privatization Trust (APT) ang Hacienda Looc sa pamilya Sy na may-ari ng MSDC at sa pamilya Sobrepañas na may-ari naman ng Fil-Estate Corporation, at kabilang dito ang lupang iginawad na sa mga magsasaka.

Iginiit ng Save Patungan Now Movement na hindi kabilang ang komunidad ng mga residente ng Brgy. Patungan sa lupaing pagmamay-ari umano noon ng pamilya ng mga Virata. Gayunpaman, pinabulaanan ito ng nasabing pamilya at iginiit na ang komunidad ay bahagi ng kanilang 602-ektaryang titulo sa lupa. Samantala, noong 2013, sa pagsisikap umano ng M.T.V. Properties and Holdings Corporation na maitaboy ang mga residente sa Brgy. Patungan, kinasuhan ng kompanya ang maraming mangingisda ng “trespassing with malicious mischief”, kabilang ang iba pang mga kaso.

Noong 2014, pinasok ng tatlong batalyon ng pinagsamang pwersa ng PNP at Special Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) teams ang Patungan. Inaresto ang mga lider ng komunidad na sina William Castillano at Lorenzo Obrado, at sinampahan ng kasong illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Ibinahagi ni Susan Agner, kasamahan nina Castillano at Obrado, na matagal nang naninirahan ang mga mangingisda sa lugar bago pa man dumating ang mga Sy at ang MTV Corporation. Aniya, humigit-kumulang 150 taong nanirahan ang kanilang mga ninuno sa Brgy. Patungan.

“Daang taon na kaming naninirahan sa baybayin at kalupaang ito. Dito na binuhay ng aming mga ninuno ang aming mga magulang at aming mga anak,” ani ng Save Patungan Now Movement.

Ayon sa grupo, sila ay binabalot ng takot at pangamba, ngunit patuloy nilang ipaglalaban ang kanilang mga karapatan.

“Napakahirap ng aming hinaharap. Takot at pangamba ang bumabalot sa amin, pero para sa aming mga anak at apo, sa aming hanapbuhay at panirahan, para sa kalikasan, handa kaming proektahan ito hangga’t kaya ng aming pagkakaisa!” [P]

S O U T H E R N TA GA LO G

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Government agencies rush negotiations on Kaliwa Dam construction In a text interview with the Perspective, a Dumagat leader said that the government bribed some MOA signatories favoring the dam construction.

BY CHARLESTON JR. CHANG

The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) summoned over 100 Dumagats for the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the IPs and the Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS), concerning the construction of Kaliwa Dam. According to MWSS Administrator Leonor Cleofas, the MOA was eventually signed last January 28 after discussions began last January 24.

“Inimbitahan ang mahigit 100 na katutubong Dumagat mula sa mga pamayanan ng Gen. Nakar, Quezon sa isang linggong MOA validation at Community Royalty Development Program (CRDP), kahit na ang Quezon ay kasalukuyang nasa Alert Level 3 ayon sa IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force],” Sectors and Peoples Totally Opposed to Kaliwa Dam (STOP Kaliwa Dam) wrote in a Facebook post last January 25.

All attendees were required to undergo antigen tests, but the Dumagats were resistant because it is against their sacred culture. Because of this, some IPs were not able to go inside the venue of the MOA signing.

“Pinakuha sila ng antigen test dahil ito raw ay protocol ng LGU. Ngunit, ang pilit na pagkuha ng antigen test ay labag sa kanilang sagradong kultura,” wrote Project Dumagat, a group that extends assistance to Dumagat-Aetas.

The group added that Dumagats who were refused to be let inside the venue were not even given food and resting areas. As such, the Dumagats had no choice but to sleep in a nearby parish.

Meanwhile, the affected communities expressed that the contents of the MOA must be comprehensively explained to them, because most IPs still do not fully understand the agreement. They also expressed that the signing should not be rushed, and that they must not be forced into signing.

“Huwag kaming pilitin pirmahan ang MOA, at huwag kaming pangunahan sa pagdedesisyon bilang mga direktang apektadong komunidad,” quoted STOP Kaliwa Dam, a network of organizations opposing the Kaliwa Dam construction.

Back in 2019, Dumagat leader Conchita Calzado already made complaints that the documents handed to them were written in English, which they were not able to understand.

Calzado added that the documents were also “inaccurate”.

Until now, Dumagats are still longing for the agencies’ transparency and commitment in helping the affected communities to understand the discussions regarding the dam construction, which will greatly affect their lives.

“Dapat ang lahat ng pag-uusap tungkol sa Kaliwa Dam ay malinaw sa lahat ng miyembro ng Dumagat-Remontado sa bawat komunidad. Kung kaya’t hiniling ng aming grupo na ibaba muna ang draft ng MOA at CRDP formulation sa komunidad sa halip na ituloy ang MOA signing. Subalit hindi ito sinunod ng NCIP free, prior and informed consent team,” Calzado said.

IP groups added that the NCIP only invited certain leaders that are in favor of the project.

Members of the directly affected communities, which included Yokyok, Baykuran, and Makidata, were not even allowed to enter the venue to express their sentiments.

“Hindi pinapasok ang mga apiktadong [sic] lugar, ang community ng Yok yok, Baykuran, Makid- ata para walang kumuntra [sic] sa MOA signing. Tumawag ng pulis para hindi makapasok ang 3- apiktado [sic] na pamayana [sic],para hindi makakontra sa MOA signing,” wrote Marcelino Tena, former president of Samahan ng mga Katutubong Agta-Dumagat-Remontado na Binabaka at Ipinagtatanggol ang Lupaing Ninuno (SAGIBIN-LN), in a text interview with the Perspective.

The same situation also occurred in the government’s discussions with IPs in Rizal province. The agreement with Rizal IPs was eventually signed last December 10, according to the MWSS. “Ang mga dumalo doon ay pili. Kung sino ‘yung pabor sa project, ‘yun ang nakadalo sa MOA signing na hindi dapat ‘yun ginawa sa amin ng NCIP. Alam naman nila na ‘di lang ‘yung kanilang inimbatahan ang IP dahil ‘di naman totoo na bitbit ng dumalo ang kagustuhan ng community,” Rizal Dumagat representative Claire Dullas remarked.

The said communities continued to protest against the signing as they claimed that it was railroaded, non-consensus, and non-compliant. The Dumagat-Remontado tribes of Quezon and Rizal raised such issues in an online press conference held by STOP Kaliwa Dam last February 3.

Tena explained that in the assembly of FPIC, five out of six clusters in Nakar said no to the dam construction, leaving only one cluster that agreed to proceed with the project. He added that all the decisions and steps made and taken by NCIP for the project have no systematic process at all.

Bribed for consent

Dumagats requested that the sentiments of all IPs be confirmed before the MOA is signed, saying that some signatories were bribed into giving their consent.

“All they ask is that the corrupt and fake leaders of Dumagat-Remontados be not recognized, for NCIP and MWSS to be held accountable for their safety against COVID, and for the MOA signing to not be rushed,” Project Dumagat wrote.

During the press conference held by STOP Kaliwa Dam, residents reiterated that several IP leaders would not help the community to protect their own land. The Dumagats even revealed that there were leaders who just came out and appeared when talks of bribery were starting to develop.

“Hindi tutulong ang mga lider, ang karamihan, at lumitaw lamang ang mga yan nong may usapin na ng suhol mula sa MWSS,” Tena disclosed.

Meanwhile, the MOA between the MWSS and the IP communities also indicates that P80 million will be given to the affected communities to serve as reparation and compensation for the disruption and disturbance

PHOTOS FROM DPWH REGIONAL OFFICE NO. IV-A (FACEBOOK - PROJECT DUMAGAT, [P] PHOTO BY CYRIL CHAN; LAYOUT BY ARIANNE PASS

caused by the dam construction on the communities’ livelihoods, environment, and ancestral lands.

But according to environmental scientist Ruben Guieb, the P80 million compensation is way too low compared to the “true cost” of what the IP communities will lose once the construction of Kaliwa Dam carries on. Considering all the ecosystem services at stake, climate and disaster risks, as well as mitigation costs, the financial reparation is said to be not enough.

“If this proposed Kaliwa Dam is now 10 billion pesos, reasonably, the mitigation cost should be 1 to 2 billion pesos for the indigenous tribes. This does not take into account the property and lives that would be lost should the dam break,” Guieb said.

A massive threat

Progressive and environmental groups have long opposed the Kaliwa Dam construction, because of its threats both to the environment and the rights of IPs. Kaliwa Dam will submerge about 12,000 hectares of forest ecosystems in Sierra Madre, threatening plant and animal species facing endangerment or extinction.

“Ang pagkasira ng kalikasan ay hindi lamang ang katutubo ang maaapektuhan, bagkus ang malawak na mamamayan,” said an IP in a video from Project Dumagat.

While Kaliwa Dam is said to answer the increasing water demands of residents, scientists have pointed out that the Philippines is an archipelagic country, and that the government can “utilize desalination plants” and “rain harvesting technology”, among other projects that are not as

environmentally-destructive as a massive dam.

The Dumagats vowed that they will continue to stand strong against the Kaliwa Dam construction, which would violate the supposed sacredness of Sierra Madre.

“Kami po ay hindi titigil, hindi susuko na ipaglaban ang katotohanan at karapatan ng malawak na mamamayan. Ito po ay hindi amin lamang ang pakinabang, kundi’y ito po ay sa maraming mamamayan,” a Dumagat leader added.

The Dumagats continue to hope that the government would heed their calls for a fair treatment and a rightful investigation regarding the MOA that they were forced to sign.

“Wag kunsintihin ang NCIP at MWSS sa maling ginagawa nila, imbestigahang mabuti, at dapat wag kampihan ang mga mapangdahas sa’ming mga pagdedesisyon,” Tena wrote.

Tena also strengthened the calls to his fellow IPs to protect and value their ancestral lands above anything else.

“Panawagan sa kapwa ko katutubo na wag kayong masilaw sa mga suhol at pangako, at wag sirain ang lupaing ninuno. Dahil ang lupaing ninuno ay panghabang buhay na benipisyo [sic] ang ibibigay hanggang sa saling lahi,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, STOP Kaliwa Dam asks the public to stand with the Dumagats. The group emphasized that the fight against the dam construction is far from over.

“Mariing kinukondena ng STOP Kaliwa Dam Network ang pagmamadali sa prosesong free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) at ang ang di pagkilala sa karapatan, kalusugan at kaligtasan ng mga Dumagat/Remontado ng Quezon,” STOP Kaliwa Dam wrote. [P]

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Iskolar ng Bayan, Ngayon ay Lumalaban.

S

uch a boisterous phrase is no stranger to the UPLB community. It is omnipresent in rallies, mobilizations, convocations, university events, and even the graduation ceremony.

It is, however, not a mere phrase carelessly thrown in the open air. What encompasses this boisterous phrase are the devotion for student welfare, the cries for genuine change, and the longing hope of the UP student sector amidst the unjust system that continues to impede their rights for quality, inclusive, and compassionate education. For every semester that rolls in, the student sector reiterates their calls by means of the First Day Rage. Unifying on the first day of classes as a tradition to uphold and heed the needs of the students.

To name a few, First Day Rage was organized by the UPLB University Student Council on August 3, 2016, calling to junk SAIS, end commercialization of education, and hold the PAEP administration accountable. Another first day rage was organized again by the UPLB University Student Council on August 02, 2017, asserting their calls for free education and no tuition collection.

Although the community was forced to disperse and return to their hometowns due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first day rage tradition lives on. Last March 1, 2021, UPLB Kilos Na live-streamed a First Day Rage Online Mob on platforms Zoom and Facebook. The online mob focused on the call for a #LigtasNaBalikEskwela as remote learning became the primary mode of education. It goes to show that the community continues to share the same values despite the distance.

Much like the phrase from earlier, the first day rage is far from being a performative stunt to make the headlines. The first day rage is an alleyway for desired change for the betterment of the studentry. It serves to highlight the problems which the community faces and to amplify the demands of the student community.

While unification and tradition are worthy of celebrating, the mere existence of the Firstday Rage insinuates that the student sector is still plagued with academic concerns that are yet to be addressed by the administration.

With the country still in a state of emergency due to COVID-19 threats, concerns have stretched beyond the familiar academic issues.

There was Hope In 2021, the pressure was high.

The Philippines was one of the remaining countries in the world that was yet to resume face-to-face classes. It was shortly after this news that the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) finally approved the implementation of limited classes for all levels in Alert Level 2 areas. Before the end of the year, pilot tests were being conducted in areas at low risk for COVID-19 transmissions, such as Pampanga, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the like. There were even classes held in the National Capital Region.

Alongside this, UPLB colleges and departments started conducting surveys that contained questions on the capabilities of the students to go back to campus. The buzz of possibly returning to campus life, albeit

[P] FILE PHOTO - FIRST PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 4, 2016

First Day Rage, First Day Fight: Student concerns on #LigtasNaBalikEskwela

BY FIONA UYYANGCO AND KYELA JOSE

limited, was loud.

There were mixed emotions on the resumption of classes. Sky, a BS Agricultural and Applied Economics student, felt relieved. They even said they felt that “we were finally moving forward after almost 2 years of having to deal with remote learning.”

However, there were students like Eman, from the BS Biology program, that felt excited but afraid along with other students who felt doubtful due to the once again rising positive cases. They even expressed concerns about the number of Filipinos still unvaccinated.

On a deeper note, other students also expressed their anxiety and fear for the resumption of classes. A BS Chemistry student said that she felt anxious upon hearing the news of having face-to-face classes. Also, she thought that she wasn’t even ready enough to answer the survey that they conducted, what more if it is the classes? A student from BS Nutrition added, “I honestly felt scared because there are still a lot of uncertainties regarding the pandemic. The government still has no clear guidelines on how to conduct F2F classes safely, so I am still hesitant on the matter.”

On top of worrying for their safety, students who live hours or cities away, have to think about the dorms they’re going to reside in. Some students also mentioned that they

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money to spend. They also wondered if financial help would be given to the professors, students, and staff that cannot afford to go back to the campus.

The Office of Student Financial Assistance offers the Student Learning Assistance System (SLAS) as an extension of the Student Financial Assistance Online. SLAS began on September 7, 2020, catering to students who are struggling in the remote learning setup in terms of financial capacity, connectivity situation and connectivity options, and learning assistance. Even then, accounts of students who fail to receive financial aid despite qualifying for SLAS are rampant.

At the same time, Eman hoped that UPLB would give an option for students to continue to conduct online classes for students that live far from the campus.

Sky even shared a similar sentiment, “I think it would still be great if there is a remote learning option especially because there are other students who may not yet be able to immediately shift to face-to-face classes.”

Despite the dilemma among the student population, the university was gearing up to make limited face-to-face classes possible.

With the positive cases logging record low numbers, it seemed like the normalcy which the community has been craving is within arm’s reach.

A series of unfortunate events

The first piece in the domino effect was Typhoon Odette hitting various parts of the country, particularly the Visayas and Mindanao island groups, last December 2021. Considered a Category 5 supertyphoon, Odette damaged homes and infrastructures affecting a number of students within the UPLB community as well as from other constituent universities, especially in the affected island groups.

Alongside the wrath of Odette was the nearing last day of classes, final assessments, projects, and exams. It came during the most important timeframe of the semester when academic requirements were at their peak.

On December 16, 2021, the UPLB University Student Council (UPLB USC) appealed to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs to allow students to complete their academic requirements until the end of the semester, or until finals week that was on January 7-15, 2022, and to suspend exams and academic activities (synchronously and asynchronously) until December 21, 2021.

The appeal was forwarded after the Presidential Advisory Council rejected the same request made days earlier by the united front of the University of the Philippines University Student Council, Rise for Education Alliance, and the Office of the Student Reagent.

On December 18, 2021, Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr. through Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jean Loyola requested the faculty members to reschedule the exams and online assessments for students affected by supertyphoon Odette as a response to the appeal made by the UPLB USC. Since some faculty members had to extend their course deadlines for students affected by supertyphoon Odette, Acad Union LB requested to extend the deadline for submission of grades. On January 17, 2022, the initial deadline, UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr. released Memorandum No. 12, Series of 2022 extending the deadline for submission of grades to January 23, 2022.

As these exchanges of propositions occurred, the country was once again pulled back into the grim state that it was when the

9

yearly maintenance fee, the system repeatedly fails to give the best service to its users as the students are always left to fend for themselves every registration period.

Weighing heavier than SAIS’ website unreliability is the general shortage of offered sections per subject, which proves to be the greater issue. Due to the unreasonable and untimely budget cuts, the scarce teaching staff can only accommodate a limited population of the student body. Despite this being a circumstance that cannot be helped by professors and students, it has still become an occurrence in which students have to compete with one another to be included in the limited slots offered by the classes they need to take.

This goes to show that the six years that have passed have amounted to eighteen semesters of poorly allocated priorities.

Every semester, students have experienced these challenges with it only seeming to get worse as each enrollment period comes around.

Every semester, students have called to #JunkSAIS, yet time and time again, this call has been ignored.

[P] FILE PHOTO - FIRST PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 3, 2016

Delta variant caused a surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide. Even with the threat of a new variant that is more transmissible than Delta, restrictions were eased during the holidays at the minimum level which may have sparked the ongoing surge.

Positive cases reached record-high numbers affecting the UPLB community. Students and faculty members test positive for the Omicron variant yet are forced to grapple with sickness to meet their respective deadlines.

While extensions of deadlines are valued, it is a band-aid solution to the bigger problem that the community needs a genuine break and recovery period. The institution should make peace with the fact that not everyone in the community can perform normally because the pandemic is not normal in itself. Coupled with supertyphoon Odette’s aftermath, the community is barely hanging on a thread, struggling to stay afloat.

With the surge of positive cases in the country, the hope of having even limited face-toface classes dissipated to thin air. A once foreseeable future is once again an abstract dream.

How many more remote semesters should the community exhaust themselves for until the government implements tangible measures to address the root problems tormenting the country?

While unification and tradition are worthy of celebrating, the mere existence of the First-Day Rage insinuates that the student sector is still plagued with academic concerns that are yet to be addressed by the administration SAIS’ sixth oppressive anniversary

Even with the challenges posed by supertyphoon Odette, the Omicron variant, and the moved deadlines, the enlistment period was still set on January 17 to 21, while

pre-registration was set on the week after on January 24 to 27. Adding the final piece to the cake, the deadline of grades still pushed through on the 23rd, leaving little to no room for rest.

Professors and students have expressed that there was no leniency when the deadline for grades was set on a Sunday, which also happened to be the day before the start of the students’ pre-registration week on the Student Academic Information System (SAIS). However, the administration refused to listen.

For the whole of the registration period, SAIS was down. The system would load incompletely, fail to load, or show the 2019 interface of the system. System maintenance is done by the UP Information Technology Development Center (ITDC) in UP Diliman, which further slowed down the enrollment process of UPLB students, and even if they were able to enter, it was still slow. It would take hours before they would be able to enroll. Even then, some were left with zero units at the end of their pre-registration date.

Challenges only continued to present themselves.

For Batch 2020, their enrollment coincided with the access of UP Mindanao to the system.

It caused greater traffic to the site and fewer students with their needed units.

As for Batch 2021, a one-hour system maintenance occurred in the middle of their pre-registration date. However, there were cases reported that the system was still down after the sixty minutes was up. To make matters worse, access was again cut short a few hours later, thereby capping the pre-registration of Batch ‘21 at four hours.

This left more students with zero or underloaded units.

These issues then prompted another deadline to get extended. Pre-registration would thus last until January 31, and general registration would be moved to February 2 to 4.

Unfortunately, even if the extension was granted, it could do little as most of the class sections were already closed. Try as the students did, the open registration did even less when SAIS prohibited them from enrolling, indicating that it was not their appointment date.

Despite the whopping 751.9 million peso budget allocated for SAIS six years ago with its

#MoveTheSemUP

The multiple events that transpired within the UPLB community and other constituent universities gave rise to the call to #MoveTheSemUP. Students and faculty members tirelessly complied with their requirements in the shortened and compressed first semester. To subject them immediately to another semester with hardly any time to rest and recover indicates the very little compassion the institution has.

The UPLB USC along with more than ninety multi-sectoral alliances campaigned for a twoweek recovery and wellness break starting from January 29 to February 12, 2022. Also included in the campaign are the following suggestions: February 14 to February 18 for resumption of administrative work and February 21 for resumption of classes.

These efforts were shunned by the institution opting for a disingenuous response to the calls of its constituents. The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs released Memorandum No. 2022-16 advising all constituent universities to give their students and faculty time to recover by avoiding synchronous and asynchronous sessions during the first week of the semester and refraining from requiring submission of outputs during the week of the semester.

It is rather disheartening to be under an institution that cannot genuinely heed the calls of its constituents. What would it take for the institution to extend compassion and do their duties with intent? They see their community as a demographic; a number with one-dimensional personality. But this is not in line with the reality that the people within the UP system community are barely coping with all the pandemic situation, supertyphoon Odette aftermath, and faulty systems.

Students should not have to beg for a quality, inclusive, and compassionate education. In a time such as now, the health and wellbeing of the various UP constituents must be put first and foremost. Professors, students, and staff are entitled to a much-deserved break after the tough semester. Compassion must be extended towards not only those affected by sickness or typhoons but for all. With the pandemic still ongoing with no signs of stopping soon, students and professors could only voice out their rage on the first day of this semester, hoping once again that the administration will heed their calls. [P]

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All those years of struggle against Marcos, and most especially during those four historic days in February, everyone found out that in the Philippines, the line of fire is the place of honor.

These were the words of Lean Alejandro, a student activist back in 1986 in an interview about the People Power Revolution. The fight against the Marcoses and Martial Law had finally come to a head as many coalitions and organizations banded together to topple the Marcos

The Music of our Protests At sa kanyang yumi at ganda Dayuhan ay nahalina Bayan ko, binihag ka Nasadlak sa dusa (Bayan Ko)

S

ongs and chants have been a part of our protests and movements since the Philippine Revolution. “Alerta Katipunan” was a famous marching song of the Katipuneros. Its origins as an adaptation of a Spanish marching song did not prevent it from being popular among the Katipuneros, nor did it stop the song from being an important legacy of the Philippine revolution. This trend of lifting songs and chants is common in protest music.

The fight for our rights didn’t stop after we gained our independence. The “Katipunang Pambansa ng Mga Magbubukid ng Pilipinas” or KPMP would be the most active communist mass organization in the 1920s. They sought to fight for an equal share of the land they till with their landlords and fought to stop debt slavery. Other mass organizations would soon be created that sought to improve the peasants’ quality of life. One of the other larger ones was the “Aguman ding Maldang Talapag-obra” or AMT. These groups sought change through non-violent means, and the many ways they taught more peasants

[P] PHOTO BY DY SANCHEZ AND JOSH ATAYDE; LAYOUT BY ARIANNE PAAS

An Instrument of Change The soundtrack to a dictator’s downfall

BY GIANCARLO MORRONDOZ about the labor struggle were through song and dance and other activities. The advent of World War II and the Japanese Occupation led to the merging of these two mass organizations, leading to the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon or Hukbalahap.

The Hukbalahap movement made up of peasants and laborers in Luzon had its marching songs, the most popular one being Tindig! Aking Inang Bayan. Similar to Alerta Katipunan, this song was made by adapting a song commissioned by the Japanese occupying the Philippines during World War 2.

The Hukbalahap changed lyrics in the song to

reflect their war against the Japanese, and the Americans who continued to meddle in the Philippines. Tindig! Aking Inang Bayan and Alerta! Katipunan both appropriated the songs made by their colonial masters, changing the songs to fit their fight for their independence.

After the end of the Japanese Occupation and the establishment of the Third Republic, most of the peasant movements and workers unions from before the Japanese Occupation came back as the Pambansang Kaisahan ng mga Magbubukid or PKM, to contest the continued rule of the hacienderos. Their demands were the same as the first workers’ unions

from four decades prior; Fairer wages and a fairer share of their work. The PKM had their own set of beliefs, they were National Democrats, taking inspiration from Maoist thought.

The songs of the revolution were in full swing during this time. Revolutionary songs from other countries were being translated and adapted to fit the struggle and reflect the changing times in the Philippines. One of these songs was the Bandiera Rossa, or the Red Flag, an Italian communist classic. The translated version of it was sung in many mobilizations and demonstrations. There is another translation of Bandiera Rossa however.

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Bandilang Pula Tamad na Burgis Na ayaw gumawa Sa pawis ng iba Nagpapasasa Pinapalamon Ng manggagawa Hindi marunong mahiya Walanghiya!

Bandilang pula iwagayway (3x) Ang anakpawis ay mabuhay

Bandilang Pula Tamad na bourgeoisie Na ayaw mag-work Sa sweat ng others Nag-eenjoy-enjoy Pinapa-eat, eat ang mga workers Hindi marunong, ma-ashame No ashame!!

Bandilang red ... i-wave, wave, wave (3x) Ang sons of sweat ay long, long live!

Years before the People Power Revolution, back when student activism was still in its infancy, there were a handful of students and organizers during the early years of the Marcos

Administration. During this turbulent period, the first demonstration began with students all over the country and masses of people from all walks of life. The demonstration stood to condemn the Marcoses State of the Nation Address and everything it stood for, US Imperialism and a continuation of the same landlords and bureaucrats growing fat off the Filipino people. The militancy in this demonstration was borne out of the aggression of state forces responding to the protest. Policemen were using tear gas, water cannons, and even guns were shot during the demonstration, these were the actions that lead to the increasing militancy of many students. Moderates and radicals were treated equally by Marcos, pushing many students to radicalize despite their former beliefs.

The demonstration on January 26 was the beginning of even bigger protests, and an increasingly militant student movement.

Enemies in the government condemned the January 26.

Demonstration, drowning out legitimate concerns about the coming constitutional convention. The police are commended for their action, while students are warned of “communist infiltrators” and are coddled by their elders. Even now this strategy is still used with the NTF-ELCAC “helping” students, but they only seek to divide them. The red scare is an age old tactic that we still haven’t outgrown.

Red-tagging was a widespread tactic then and until now to harass and intimidate the population, even now workers, peasants, students and their families are victims to red-tagging, while their accusers are left unpunished.

(READ: 15-year old peasant files multiple charges of kidnapping, torture, rape against state forces – UPLB Perspective).

These would lead to the events on February 1, starting with a protest march in Diliman.

Sonny Mesina was a Chem student enrolled in UP Diliman when he decided to join a multisectoral rally with the ‘Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan’ or SDK. This rally was to be held in Commonwealth Avenue. There along with other students he encountered Inocente Campos, a Mathematics Professor, who shot at students with his rifle and shotgun, hitting Sonny Mesina in the forehead, gravely injuring and killing him.

On February 2 UP President Salvador P. Lopez protested the entry of the police into the campus, but was unable to stop the police.

When the police entered the campus, students began to install barricades to prevent the entry of the police, this was the start of the Diliman Commune. Barricades stayed up until February 9 when students began to take them down voluntarily.

The SDK also had a chapter in UPLB. Aloysius Baes was a UPLB student leader who helped found the SDK chapter in UPLB. He was arrested at the start of Martial Law. While incarcerated in Camp Crame, Aloysius would compose prison songs, tackling issues like the political prisoners of Martial Law and his love for his country. His brother, Jonas Baes, who was taking Music in UP Diliman, would also follow in his footsteps by joining the Tulisanes in UPLB.

UPLB Tulisanes: Tulisan at Bayani Sa piling ng mutya kong suyo.

Diwa’y nais kitlin at mata’y bulagin Sa paghihirap ng bayang siniphayo.

Ngunit yaring diwa’y walang takot

(Diwang Walang Takot) Tulisanes was born in 1974 from a group of six students; Wenceslao “Wency” Olaguer, Dr. Bayani “Bai” Espiritu, Ferdinand “Siokoy” Rojas, Lynn Mulimbayan, Pedro”Bornix” Abad, and Dennis “Tengo” Alegre who were committed to serving the masses, at a time when it was dangerous to be an activist or a student.

Four years after the First Quarter Storm and two years before the declaration of Martial Law. Injustice, censorship, and a failed democracy, many things needed to change, and the founding members of UPLB Tulisanes sought those changes through a medium that everybody knows; music.

The origin and history of their name show the goals and beliefs of those six founding members. Tulisan had meant brigand, thief, a villain of some sort, popularly used by the Spanish More importantly, Macario Sakay, a katipunero, and Philippine hero was also described as one by the American government.

He was dissatisfied with the 1898 Treaty of Paris that only served to replace their Spanish colonial masters with the Americans. Macario Sakay vowed to never cut his hair until the Philippines gained its independence from the Americans. Macario Sakay kept on fighting for Philippine independence until his execution in 1907, with his long hair still uncut. (READ: Macario Sakay: Ang tulisan bilang bayani).

Bakit di tayo Magnilay Bakit di tayo Gumalaw Bakit kay saklap ng buhay ng karamihan

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Tulisanes were one of the pioneers of the burgeoning underground protest music movement and their music would play a part in the coming years of the People Power Movement.

The start of the eighties broke new ground for the UPLB Tulisanes, before the start of the decade they performed their first full-length musical covering the wars of the Katipunan, and their namesake, Macario Sakay, and his fight against the American Occupation. This was the first iteration of their musical, Rekonsentrado. A year later they would independently produce the very first independent protest cassette recording and songbook in the Philippines called Harana. (LISTEN: Tulisanes UPLB,Inc. | Listen to Harana 1) The Tulisanes would continue to perform in campus-based concerts and take part in Isko’t Iska, the yearly stage plays of Umalohokan Inc. and performed by UPLB freshmen. It wouldn’t be until 1985 that they would do a second performance of Rekonsentrado. It was to be performed in the D.L. Umali Hall and expanded on the coverage of the first play, going through Philippine history until the assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino. Rekonsentrado 2 was performed back in March 1985, a year later Tulisanes would halt their performances as they focused on serving the various sectors involved during the turbulent year of 1986.

The boycott of the 1986 snap elections and the subsequent People Power Movement occupied many of their members. After the Marcoses ran with their tails between their legs, Tulisanes would finally perform again, leading the Pasasalamat Concert of March 10, 1986, held in Freedom Park. This was the

(from Bakit di Tayo Magnilay by Tulisanes)

The UPLB Tulisanes was formed during a time of turmoil. The media was already under the control of the administration, information had been censored and manipulated to fit the narrative of the ruling class.

The people had been deprived of their right to assembly, speech, and many other basic freedoms they previously enjoyed before Martial Law. The Tulisanes began their protests through informal jammings and performances in Los Baños. Along with these mini-concerts were “Huntahans” or small talks, a creative presentation of ideas, of political and academic discourse. These discussions covered the injustices and atrocities perpetrated by the Marcoses. They covered the Desaparecidos of UPLB and the beliefs of the numerous mass movements that its founding members were part of.

Tanong ko sa inyo ay isa lamang mga kaibigan ko Tanong ko ay pakinggan niyo Kailan tayo matutungo sa kalayaan mula rito (From Awit ng Manggagawa by UPLB Tulisanes)

Their beliefs were central to their music, they wrote in Tagalog and their style would have poetic licenses, prioritizing the need to send a message through song. Through their songs and their beliefs, the Tulisanes sought to achieve the main objective of their organization “Musika Mula sa Tao, Para sa Tao”. The Tulisanes and their contemporaries helped instill the culture of protest in the places where they performed.

Protest movements slowly gained steam as tensions grew between the people and the Marcos dictatorship. These would eventually push the Tulisanes and their brand of music into the forefront of the industry. The

Songs have a way to bring about change.

We have seen the versatility of verse in shaping our history. first major Concert after the departure of the Marcoses. This event had both cultural and political significance, and it was the crowning contribution of the Tulisanes to the revolution.

Music is a way to express and shape the complexities of the human condition, its universal. Our national anthem expresses our love for our country, the religious songs we sing shapes our beliefs, and the songs we listen to shapes our social consciousness.

Every song has a story to tell. What is important is that we realize which songs are in need of singing. Whose words do we choose to put on our lips when we belt it out in front of our family and friends. Between all the obnoxious jingles of politicians, and the songs of clueless celebrities, we need to discern which songs we choose to give a platform to. [P]

Ngayon ikaw ay manindigan ng paos Lakbayin mong may ngiti ang dilim at pighati May wakas sa bawat hapi (From Sa Kamatayan May Buhay Ay Tagumpay

by UPLB Tulisanes) ONLINE

uplbperspective.org Read additional stories about the Martial Law https://bit.ly/PerspectiveMartialLaw

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FEATURES

Seeking assurance and other players

When we play hide and seek, of course, we need to find friends to play with us. It will be more challenging for kids to find playmates in these trying times.

According to studies made by Harvard Health Publishing, being outside their home allows children to practice and develop essential life skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and social stimulation, the most significant skill a kid will learn outside.

With a global pandemic, kids only have their family members at home to be playmates. However, there are instances that a child may not have any playmates at home at all. Children must discover how to work and play with other kids, preferably around their age. They need to know how to make friends, share, cooperate, and interact with other people.

With the limited interaction or even isolation from peers for a long time, upon adapting to a “stay-at-home” setting, they will not learn everything they need to know at their age. This scenario falls under Kostelnik’s (2015) claims that children’s social development affects their overall development and learning in this public health crisis.

In the case of children, coping amidst the pandemic can be overwhelming as it is a drastic change in their lifestyle. Various studies have warned that the lockdown imposed in response to COVID-19 could generate feelings of fear, worry, sadness, or stress. That is why parents’ understanding of children’s reactions and emotions is highly recommended, as it is essential to adequately address their emotional needs.

We must provide the young ones assurance that they have someone to rely on and spend time with, while they are forbidden to go outside and seek other playmates.

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HIDE AND SEEK: HOW PANDEMIC RESPONSE AFFECTS YOUNG LEARNERS

Countdown is over

Blindly learning in the remote setup

Before starting a game, it is vital to know the basic rules and mechanics to play effectively. In a parallel aspect, it is crucial to have a good foundation of basic education.

Another academic year started in the Philippines last September hence, the second year of the remote learning scheme. With reports announcing Venezuela’s reopening of schools last October 25, the Philippines has become the only country yet to reopen schools on site.

On social media, the struggles of high school and college students are very much in the limelight as they have the power to voice out. At the same time, the learning situation of children is still trapped in the shadows, constantly neglected, when in fact, it is the younger elementary kids in dire need of “Ligtas na Balik Eskwela.”

Despite the remote learning’s second run, teachers, parents, and students are still in the process of adjusting. Consequently, it is still a challenge to attain the best quality of learning, especially to younger students who require more comprehensive attention from educators and parents.

An anonymous interviewee, who preferred to be called Lana, is a parent of a grade 1 learner whom she decided to drop out from S.Y. 2020-2021 because of the following challenges their family faced this pandemic.

“Wala akong choice kung hindi i-drop muna ang anak ko sa school year na ito dahil hindi ko natutukan ang kanyang pag-aaral sa modular distance learning set-up. Nagkaroon ng major operation ang lola niya na mas nangangailangan ng aking atensyon, habang ang asawa ko ay nagtatrabaho buong maghapon upang mapunan ang perang panggastos sa

Meanwhile, my husband works the whole day to provide the money for the operation and daily necessities. It was hard for me to neglect my daughter’s education. However, I had no choice. That is why this next school year, I will make sure to give proper attention to my daughter’s education, especially that she is in Grade 1.]

Lana also agrees to the safe resumption of face-to-face classes in the future.

Movement for Safe, Equitable, Quality and Relevant Education (SEQuRE) is a union of teachers, parents, students, and education organizations that advocates for the fulfillment of people’s basic education rights amid the pandemic. One of their studies ascertained that more than 50% of students from different learning modalities stated that they “learned less” under alternative learning modes compared with the traditional face-to-face setup.

Therefore, there is no assurance of the current setup’s efficacy among learners of the current academic year, implying the lack of substance in terms of the rushed preparation under the new normal educational setup.

Moreover, instead of a detailed matrix and fully equipped plans, there was more oversight upon the execution process of remote learning in our country. The blended learning setup made the class privileges more prevalent. Thus, the quality of education received by students vary with the opportunities, environment, and equipment they possess.

With these, enrolment rates depleted with 14.7 million enrolled students in primary education for School Year 2021-2022, representing 56.4 percent of last year’s total number of enrollees, according to DepEd data.

[P] GRAPHICS BY JASE MICHAEL MANATAD

Traditionally, the Hide and Seek game we played when we were kids has simple mechanics: One player closes their eyes for a brief period while the others hide. After the countdown, the player who shut their eyes will seek each one of the hiders.

Children are supposed to play this game with their friends and create childhood memories such as coming back home with dirt and sweat o after a long play day. They deserve to attain education at school without worrying about their safety. Unfortunately, these privileges are temporarily forbidden to kids due to the risk of COVID-19. For society’s youngest members, the effects of the pandemic go beyond the virus itself.

BY SHANE CAMERON P. AGARAO operasyon at sa araw-araw na pangkain. Mabigat sa aking pakiramdam na napabayaan ko ang pag-aaral ng aking anak ngunit wala akong magawa. Kaya sa susunod na pasukan, ngayon na maayos na ang condition ng nanay ko, mas matutuunan ko na nang pansin ang pag-aaral ng aking anak, lalo na at nasa Grade

1 pa lamang siya.”

[I had no choice but to drop out of my daughter this current school year because I could not provide her the attention she needed for learning under modular distance learning. Her grandmother underwent a major operation who needs adequate attention.

The second year of remote learning with underlying lapses urged Filipino students, teachers, and education advocates to continuously aim for Ligtas na Balik Eskwela, which requires coordinated measures from the national government, LGUs, school administrators, parents, teachers, and the students.

For Ligtas na Balik Eskwela to be effectively materialized, the Kabataan Partylist proposed a plan to which the national government shall support and provide an adequate allocation of funds for the collaboration of LGUs and schools to conduct careful, thorough, and scientific risk assessments. After exhibiting such reviews, school administrators must ensure that the proposed roadmap shall be feasible on upholding both students’ and teachers’ safety while attaining quality education upon the physical resumption of classes. Meanwhile, the national government must constantly strengthen people-oriented health programs amid this public health crisis, especially the mass vaccination programs for students, parents, teachers, and ordinary Filipinos to reach the country’s ideal herd immunity.

In this hide and seek game, Filipinos play as the seeker: In great thirst to seek accurate responses from the administration who seems to hide and further delay the response to this pandemic. When COVID-19 struck the Philippines, the current administration seemed to play the game of hiding from the Filipino nation by responding to this public health crisis in a militaristic approach rather than the more accurate and appropriate measures.

In this prolonged chaotic game of hide and seek with the government, the countdown is finally over: with two years of counting and waiting for an accurate response. It is now time to chase those who hide from their responsibility and delay the development of millions of Filipino youth. [P]

C U LT U R E

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W

hen w e look back on our colonial history, there’s a sense of trauma and loss. We mourn our slain ancestors, lament the corrupted indigenous heritage and curse the repeated pitfalls and defeats.

Decades after the last foreign fleet has sailed, traces of colonial imprints are still weaved into Filipino culture. Many of us regard this with shame and guilt. There’s guilt in writing in English than Filipino, shame in craving for pizza than adobo, embarrassment in using whitening cosmetics. With this fury and remorse in mind, there’s a pursuit to vilify the West and reject their ideals in order to favor what is purely Filipino.

But what happens to our identity when we peel off the Spanish and American layers? Is what’s left then, the true Filipino? Take for example our cuisine, decolonizing that means rejecting the use of the fridge and microwave since these technologies were brought by the White Man. It also means junking dishes like the adobo and kaldereta because the practice of guisa is a culinary technique brought by Spain. Decolonizing Filipino arts would result in wiping out film, photography, and painting as these were brought by the West. Before that was introduced, we primarily practiced oral tradition and pottery. We wouldn’t have books, cinemas, universities, and noche buenas.

Colonial imprints are part of our identity whether we like it or not. But this does not mean that the West is responsible for the creation of our identity. What they provided were only tools. The ref, the camera, the crucifix are all considered tools. What we made out of it is the Filipino identity—the adobo, the Sharon Cuneta, the Black Nazarene. That is no longer theirs, it is ours. Invasion has changed the course of history, but we authored the Filipino identity. To bury our colonial past would risk a fractured identity - if we remove those layers then what’s left is no longer Filipino.

Gift or weapon

There’s no reason for us to be in gratitude to invaders for the tools they’ve shared with us. Tools exist for better or for worse, as gifts or weapons. They could help one but harm the other. For instance, English opened our doors to a global field, but it also exists as a status symbol, a barrier that separates the ‘intellectual’ from the ‘ignorant’. A glance at your phone or textbook would tell you that English is overhauling our local language.

As for Catholicism, it deepened our sense of reverence and service. It created fiestas, a unique fusion of faith and frenzy. On the other hand, it introduced hierarchical values that legitimized the abuse of power. Friars maintained control by portraying an almighty God that cowered over natives and demanded their resignation and obedience.

Another gifted and weaponized tool is the camera. Photography has been a truth-telling instrument, capturing our lived experience and recording history. But when American scholars pointed the lens towards our ethnic

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Ghost of a colonial past The grips of Spain and America affect us generations later. Independence did not release us from such conditions, it only transformed it. You don’t need to rummage through history books to know that land is still being robbed from farmers and indigenous tribes, the economy is still in favor of the elite, and education is positioned to export our labor. We strive for international recognition before applauding our own work. We desire to entertain the foreigner and mimic their aesthetics. Then there’s Catholic conservatism keeping us from legalizing divorce and abortion even after the outsider that banned these have long moved on from those ideals.

The struggle for a better life has always been part of our historical memory. It’s alive in the consciousness of activists, unionists, and indigenous people just as much as it was

groups, it was used to categorize, define and dominate them.

As photography expanded, it painted the image of beauty under the Western eye.

TV and Hollywood told us that beauty is a slim figure with fair skin, round eyes, and a straight nose.

This is where the work of decoloniza-

[P] GRAPHICS BY JASE MICHAEL MANATAD

vehicles to pacify, and transfer colonial ideals. It eventually enabled friars to steal land, impose tributes and command forced labor. A hacienda system prospered the few and exploited the many. Agriculture was positioned for export, binding us to be

SHOULD WE DECOLONIZE THE

FILIPINO

IDENTITY?

BY DANA SANDOVAL

tion begins. It asks us to confront our colonial past rather than bury it. It’s not an outright rejection of Western ideas. But, a reexamination of history with a critical eye, a responsibility of dismantling invader-imposed systems that continue to oppress us today.

Colonialism isn’t only about what was brought to our shores but also how it was enforced and for what purpose. Conquerors used Catholicism and public education systems as

a resource base for high-powered industrial countries. Education was limited to the elite.

But once it expanded, it was supervised by a false teacher conditioning its students to believe they were a lesser folk that depended on the shared tools of a much superior nation. It cultivated a consciousness of inferiority and resignation. Any movement to oppose these schemes was branded an act of subversion and terrorism.

If ghosts of a dark colonial past haunt us today, so does the spirit of resistance.

alive in Bonifacio, Burgos, and Lapu-Lapu.

We can never reverse the ugly history but, we can break free from the social inequities that remain to impede our development; disarm the cursed weapons and benefit from the gifts.

Such movement can never be done in isolation. Decolonial thinking has to be accompanied by decolonial action. It is not only an individual pursuit but a collective effort. An act of dialogue and activism that aims to build a self-reliant community free from the clutches of the paralyzing colonial hand.

This would mean reckoning with history but also uncovering the gaps in popular narratives. It is valuing Christianity but also amplifying ethnic belief systems. It is embracing our culture instead of chasing after the Western model. It is having no shame in craving for pizza but choosing to buy from the local businesses over the towering multinational corporation. It is using English to explore the world beyond our shores but also using Filipino to discover the knowledge seated in our 7,000 islands. It is challenging colonial systems and organizing towards a people-centered paradigm of our own.

The work of decolonization requires everyone’s participation, no matter what field or sector. If we’ve authored our identity, so should we dictate its destiny. It cannot be done by one voice but the united chorus of sectors that have forged alliances under the same objectives of resistance and restorative justice. Resistance in Western superiority and restoration of true sovereignty that colonizers still owe us. It’s not only in the hands of scholars to question Western perspectives, workers to claim the fruits of their labor, or Lumads to reconcile their silenced history. It is a conscious and collective effort of relearning and rebuilding welcomed to you. [P]

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C U LT U R E

T

he common argument from Marcos loyalists and sympathizers is there is no way for us to ascertain the events that transpired during Marcos’ Martial Law especially when we, the Filipino youth, were not even born nor alive during the 70’s and 80’s.

I grew up in a political family – my lolo was a student activist during Martial Law, while my lola was engaged in political matters, she was present during EDSA People Power, and even EDSA Dos. Both of them shared their memories of survival during the dark regime of Marcos. I was fortunate enough to experience a glimpse of what happened during Marcos’ Martial Law through the first-hand narratives of my grandparents. Lolo recalls the times as a student activist from Philippine College of Commerce (now Polytechnic University of the Philippines), actively condemning Marcos’ imposition of Martial Law. While my lola, having difficulty recalling the dark times, subsumed the Marcos regime in a statement: “sobrang gulo [it was chaotic]”.

However, many of us encounter the narratives of the Marcos regime during our classes in Araling Panlipunan, mostly during 6th and 7th grade.

During my years in elementary and junior high school, I remember how my teachers taught me about the “positive” aspects surrounding Marcos’ Martial Law. But they also taught us about torture, oppression, and the suppression of civil liberties. I remember how they pictured Martial Law as the darkest era in the fabric of Philippine history. Simultaneously, they told us of the “Marcos Legacy’, the infrastructure, and the supposed economic growth.

To further examine the pedagogy of Martial Law, I interviewed my cousins, Kurt, Kylo, Lucas and Noah, currently in Junior and Senior High School, to ask them about their learning experiences on Martial Law. I asked them how the lessons inside their classrooms taught them about the darkest era of Philippine history – the Marcos regime and his martial rule.

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G

Never enough: ambiguities and silences in Martial Law education

By Glen Christian Tacasa

The dictator with “a lot of killings” and “some good things”

We started with the basic questions - who is Ferdinand Marcos? To which they gave me a straightforward answer: Marcos was a dictator.

Kylo, now in his 8th Grade in Junior High school said, “For me Ferdinand Marcos was a very unique president because of his unique style,” and that Marcos was a “very strict” president. Noah, who is also in 8th grade, says Marcos was an “infamous” national leader because of his dictatorial ruling.

Though it was clear the term “dictator” was used to describe the ex-president, its meaning was left vague and inconsistent. I tried asking them what a dictatorship meant for them, but all of them were uncertain about the concept of a despotic leadership. When I asked them about the concept of Martial Law, my cousins spoke of ambiguities, both giving equally different points-of-view on the decade of 3,000 deaths.

Kylo said Martial Law was imposed “for the Filipinos [to] be more disciplined”. For Kurt, “naglagay s’ya ng Martial Law para magkaroon ng kaunting kapayapaan (Marcos imposed Martial Law to implement peace and order)” further justifying the imposition of Martial Law because of turmoil allegedly brewing in Mindanao at that time. On the other hand, the concept of Martial Law is clear for Noah, he said “Nangyari doon ay nagbigay s’ya ng kapangyarihan, mga over na kapangyarihan sa

[P] PHOTO BY POLA RUBIO AND DY SANCHEZ; LAYOUT BY ARIANNE PAAS

mga militar na sila ‘yung umaksyon, magbigay ng kanilang justice or kanilang pananaw sa hatol sa mga tao (What happened then was [Marcos] gave power, exceeding powers to

the military, to put justice with their own means or give their own judgement over the people)”. What is missing from their narratives inclassroom learning are the

machinations that Marcos utilized in installing himself as dictator of the country.

These students were not explicitly taught that Marcos had concentrated political and

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economic power into their own family, together with their allies and cronies that made up the executive department. To say the least, the absence of concrete explanations regarding the terms of martial law and dictatorship are worrisome.

From their classroom encounters, I wanted to know their knowledge about what transpired during Marcos’ Martial Law. Kurt said “Parang dalawang side s’ya e. Sinasabi nung isa, parang mapayapa raw dati ganun, may curfew, sinusunod ‘yung curfew. Sa kabilang side naman, parang may nagaganap raw na torture parang ganon (It seems that there are two sides. It was said that on one side, [Martial law] was seemingly peaceful; there was a curfew, and people obeyed the curfew. On the other side, they said there were tortures, kind of like that)”.

Similar to Kurt’s statement, Kylo said there were “a lot of killings” but also “some good things.” Noah also told me they were taught about the two sides of Martial Law, he said “noong Martial Law nga po, ‘yung kapangyarihan na binigay sa pulis at sa militar parang nawalan po ng freedom ‘yung mga tao sa kanilang [sariling] bansa. Tapos, umunlad ng kaunti po siguro sa imprastraktura ng bansa (During Martial Law, the power that was given to the police and military caused the loss of freedom of the people in their own country. Also, the country maybe improved a little bit from the infrastructures.)”

It is evident that until today, the pedagogy of Basic Education in terms of the history of Marcos’ Martial rule is still framed in between the dichotomy of the “good” (if there are even any good things the Marcos regime produced) and bad sides of the story. Oftentimes, human rights violations, among other atrocities of the Marcos regime are juxtaposed with the distorted nuances of “economic growth” and ambitious infrastructure projects.

Based on the interviews, some of them were not even taught about the corruption that lies behind the brutal facades of the Marcos regime.

After the imposition of Martial Law in 1972 until Marcos’ ouster in 1986, Amnesty International recorded over 100,000 victims of Human Right violations: 70,000 were arrested, 34,000 were tortured, 3,240 extrajudicial killings in the hands of the military and the police, and 783 enforced disapperances or “desaparasidos”.

These young students may not even have heard of the name Macli-ing Dulag, a tribal leader in Kalinga who fought for their right to ancestral land, opposed Marcos’ Chico River Dam project and asserted “Ti daga ket biag [Land is life]”. On April 24, 1980, state forces surrounded his house and sprayed it with bullets. Macli-ing Dulag is among the 65 names honored and enshrined in the Bantayog ng mga Bayani because of their martyrdom during the Marcos regime.

Aside from it, the pedagogy has given no space on debunking economic myths on the Marcos regime. The so-called “economic growth” under Marcos was only brought about by debt-driven growth, leaving an outstanding debt of $28.3 Billion by 1986. According to the data of Martial Law Museum, 6 out of 10 Filipino families were poor by the end of Marcos regime, agriculture productivity receded, daily wage of skilled and unskilled workers dipped down, and at the last decade of Martial Law inflation had tripled. Not to mention, the Marcos regime experienced the worst economic recession in our country’s history. These economic indicators ultimately disprove Marcos years as “golden age”.

[P] PHOTO BY DY SANCHEZ

These young students were not taught about Marcos’ crony-capitalist system. In “Some Are Smarter than Others”, Ricardo Manapat argued that crony capitalism is the central characteristic of the Marcos regime.

Marcos appointed his cronies and allies in key private and public sectors, not to provide public services but because it was an opportunity for kick-backs that came from looting huge amounts of money from the Filipino people.

The ambiguities of the pedagogy resonate in their narratives. My cousins told me that they were not even taught about the rationale behind the imposition of Martial Law in the first place. Primitivo Mijares, Marcos’ right-hand aide, revealed that Marcos’ grand scheme behind the imposition of Martial Law was to extend his second presidential term that should have expired in December 1973.

Marcos also hijacked the 1971 session of a constitutional convention called to revise the 1935 Philippine Constitution. Eduardo Quintero, one of the constitutional convention delegates, exposed that Marcos bribed and intimidated delegates in order to concur to his political will. In 1973, Marcos bended the rule of law and ratified a constitution that would legitimize his authoritarian rule, historians called it “constitutional authoritarianism”.

On pedagogy & ambiguities

This pedagogy of ambiguities, leave the lessons from Marcos’ Martial Law inconclusive and even ambivalent to some extent. In 2016, a study conducted by Corpuz-Uminga on their critical analysis on Philippine History modules produced by the Department of Education (DepEd) under Project Effective and Alternative Secondary Education (Project EASE) for Secondary Education learners, it was found that the third chapter from the module “describes the changes wrought by martial law on social, political and economic landscape.”

This chapter includes Marcos’ ‘New Society’ program. Moreover, the module has an activity where students are asked to “identify economic, political and community changes” under the period of Martial Law, and then tag those changes as either maganda (beneficial) or di mabuti (disadvantageous). The most concerning is the silence of the said module on human rights violations during Marcos’ Martial Law. The history of Martial Law is ambiguously taught to these young students, leaving them with confusion and gaps that they need to fill to make informed decisions. I asked my cousins whether they believed in the lectures that were taught to them about Martial Law. Kylo told me his reservations, “It’s fifty-fifty, because some of them are a little bit biased on what they believed, some of my teachers don’t

like Marcos and some of my other teachers also like Marcos”.

Similar to Kylo’s indecisiveness, Noah said “Para sa akin po yes and no (For me, my answers are both yes and no)”, he further explained that sometimes the instructions are sugarcoated, while sometimes his teacher adds their personal insights regarding Marcos’ Martial Law. Lucas even stated that “parang mabuti pa rin s’ya [si Marcos] kahit sabi ng iba na masama (It seems that Marcos was still a good [leader] despite the fact that people say he is evil).” While Kurt said “marami naman s’yang nagawang maganda, marami s’yang napatayong building ([Marcos] had done many things, he established many buildings)”.

This poses a danger in the learning of young students, especially now that historical negation is prevalent in social media, where a lot of misinformation and disinformation about Marcos’ Martial Law and the Marcos family are perpetuated to distort history. The ambiguity in the pedagogy of Philippine History, particularly in the accounts of Martial Law, make students vulnerable to misinformation, and may lead them to engage in the ecosystem of historical distortion.

“I think what my teachers taught [us] were not enough”

Back in 2012, then-DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro stated that “DepEd would be veering away from the current textbook-based approach where the students ‘imbibe the biases’ of the historian that authored the book” [italic added]. DepEd then started its “New Approach” on teaching Philippine History, Luistro justified such measures by stating “History has a positive and negative aspect, and depending on where you stand, it will look positive or negative”.

Luistro added “if we want to ask ‘was Marcos a great president?’, we will let the child arrive at that conclusion.” In years to come, the education secretary’s statement had manifested in the ambiguity of Philippine History curriculum in basic education. The aforementioned Philippine History modules under Project EASE implied that it “will guide you as you decide whether or not it was appropriate to declare martial law”. The Department of Education had left students to “decide”, but lacked in the provision of facts and rationality that would allow them critical discernment about Marcos’ Martial Law. Dictatorship should have been an indisputable discussion.

It is then no longer surprising that when I asked whether the lessons from their modules and in their classrooms were sufficient in learning the history of Marcos’ Martial rule, all

15

of them gave a straightforward answer: “no”.

Kylo told me that “I think what my teachers taught [us] were not enough, I think there are some missing facts on what they taught us about Martial Law”.

Based on the most recent codification of DepEd, with its Department Order no. 20 series of 2014, Philippine History is no longer included in secondary education, it was retracted to primary education, particularly in Grade 5 and Grade 6. Resulting in a 7-year gap between primary school and higher educational institutions for young students to have discussions on Philippine History. Rather than strengthening its Philippine History curriculum, DepEd with its new curriculum K-12, caters to an “outward appreciation of history”.

According to Luis Domingo, a Lecturer of History in UP Baguio, the removal of Philippine History in secondary education that teaches essential topics like Martial Law may cause young Filipino students to be vulnerable to disinformation, misinformation, propaganda and fake news that are prevalent on social media. They argued that this removal may cause the domination of disinformation and “denigration of critical thinking”.

The conversations I had with my cousins showed us that the pedagogy of Martial Law history is instructed in a way of a two-sided scenario, which eventually led these young students to have a divided, ambiguous and inconsistent standpoint on what had really transpired during the Martial Law years.

It is axiomatic that the history of the Marcos regime and his martial rule is being taught inconclusively and incompletely in basic education. It fails to place late-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and the Filipino people in their proper places in Philippine History. This kind of pedagogy leaves no room for critical thinking, reflection, and crucial analysis. These young students were not given an avenue to ask the right questions. This pedagogy will only teach young students to passively accept what is prescribed without questioning its rationale and purpose.

Moreover, in the case of my cousins’ answers, it can also imply the lack of Human Rights education in our basic education curriculum. In the same analysis as cited above, Corpuz-Uminga pointed out that Human Right education does not merely create awareness of the rights and liberties of Filipinos, but it can hone the students’ sense of respect to human rights and human dignity. Human Rights Education can serve as an avenue to hone the critical thinking of students and adopt social values.

Teaching Filipino students the atrocities, tortures, oppression, human displacements, enforced disappearances, and killings that happened during Marcos’ Martial law should lead students to realize the important commitment of “Never Again” and “Never Forget”.

An effective pedagogy on Martial Law History, and Human Right Education would teach the students not to let those atrocities of the past happen again. Encouraging students to play safely in between yes-and-no about Marcos and his Martial Law as good or bad is not a decision, it is silence – and students should never stay silent. *The names of the interviewees were changed Author’s Note: This case study was originally submitted to Prof. Laurence Marvin Castillo in PS 21 - Wika, Panitikan, at Kultura sa Ilalim ng Batas Militar sa Pilipinas, a course dedicated to analyze the narratives and social context of Marcos’ Martial Law. Revisions were made for this publication.

=

16

C U LT U R E

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G

I

t was in 2011 when student Alexandra Elbakyan decided to create Sci-hub, a shadow library website that provides access to scientific research papers locked away by paywalls. Elbakyan, a Kazakhstani programmer and neuroscientist, was a frustrated student who needed to complete a research project. Outraged by paying USD 30 per article (only a couple dollars short of Kazakhstan’s 38 dollar monthly minimum wage at the time), she found a way to pirate the papers to complete her studies.

A decade later, 40,000 daily users have now used Sci-hub to obtain access to paywalled articles and are considered by the research community as an indispensable tool. In the span of six months, the site received 28 million download requests from both poor and rich countries. Because of its widespread use among researchers, multiple publishers decided to sue the site and its founder for copyright infringement. Elsevier and the American Chemical Society (ACS), two of the biggest publishers in the world, filed lawsuits against Sci-hub in 2015 and 2017, resulting in a USD 20 million fine that she has yet to pay. Ignoring the courts’ judgments, she proceeds to spread knowledge from a new overseas domain.

Since 2019, Sci-hub is yet again being sued in India for the same issue. Amidst the court case, Sci-hub’s Twitter account was suspended by Twitter for violating its policy against promoting “counterfeit contents.” The said account contains numerous testimonies from Indian scientists, researchers and professors who support the site, claiming the site empowered their careers as researchers, doctors and scientists. Before the suspension, Elbakyan intended to use these tweets as part of the defense to the court.

The possibility of the site winning the case increases due to the country’s Copyright Act of 1957 stating that fair dealings such as teaching and research are exempt from copyright. If the site wins, there is a chance that the increasing cost of journal subscriptions will decline. Everyone, at least in India, will be free to download research papers on Sci-hub. On the other hand, losing the case will mean the end for the website in India, keeping academic papers with limited access for their researchers. Whatever the case is, it is guaranteed that the whole academic community will be affected.

The great wall of subscription

The creation of the scientific publishing industry was all not-so-thanks to the infamous fraudster Robert Maxwell. He was a media baron who came up with a way to make a huge profit out of other people’s labor at almost no expense to him. A well-known owner of multiple publishers, Maxwell realized that he can make scientists work for him without spending a penny. He plastered this capitalist business model with the name “a perpetual financing machine.” After his death, it was revealed that he stole $600 million worth of employee’s pension funds from his companies.

Maxwell sneakingly managed to keep the ball of the industry rolling by selling his company to Elsevier before his death. As if passing the baton of capitalism, Elsevier has since implemented the same business model. In 2019, Elsevier revenues reached $9.8 billion.

Academics send their research articles, which are mostly taxpayer-funded, to publishers such as Elsevier, Wiley, and Sage to publish. One may think that researchers get to earn by sharing their knowledge to these companies, but as a matter of fact,

Open access: returning science to its true essence

BY KYLE RAMIEL DALANGIN

[P] GRAPHICS BY LEO ANTHONY INCON

researchers who contribute to these journals don’t get paid at all. Instead, they often have to pay fees to get published in a journal. Additionally, peer reviewers, or the people who check for errors and edit articles don’t get paid either.

The people who work without pay for publishers are often volunteers with the intent of obtaining experience in their careers. One of the main reasons why they spend their time and contribute without compensation is job security. Aside from developing their skills, being able to work under a big publisher is a chance for more citations. Many believe that generating citations is one way to build reputation in the scientific community. Listing these kinds of journals in a scientist’s curriculum vitae is one step higher in the academic ladder of recognition. In other words, working under these commercial publishers can secure their job, growth, and development.

After a quality check, academic works will then be distributed through the publishers by selling them to other researchers, libraries, and universities - oftentimes the same institutions that researchers and peer reviewers hail from. Publishers are making insane profit from distributing academic articles, and then sell them back to the same institutions that fund their authors. Ironically, these institutions have to spend vast amounts of money to access the work authored by their own academics.

One cause as to why big publishers like them can put an exorbitant price tag on scientific articles is because of a monopoly. The plaintiffs of the Sci-hub case — Elsevier, Wiley, and American Chemical Society— own around 40 percent of all the existing journals in the world. A chunk of a university’s budget

is dedicated to journal subscriptions and the cost is increasing by 5% each year. For instance, the cost of a one-year subscription to the Journal of Computational Physics is USD 8320 (approximately PHP 425,000). This is just one journal, and a university must subscribe to multiple ones from different fields of studies to support their researchers and students. UPLB, for example, subscribes to at least 31 journals, including ScienceDirect and Scopus both owned by Elsevier.

The private publishing industry is keeping scientific knowledge secret which can only be unlocked for a $350 yearly subscription fee. For Elbakyan and many other advocates of open-access science, the privatization of science conflicts with the nature of scientific discovery. While major publishers consider Sci-hub as a “threat to science”, what Scihub is actually threatening is the publishing industry. Instead of spending thousands of pesos for a single journal, most of the members of the academe acknowledge and use alternatives, like Sci-hub and other similar-working shadow libraries. As Elbakyan put it, “open science is returning science to its true essence.”

The ideological battle behind

Elbakyan agrees to being called the “Robin Hood of Science” only if the main idea is social justice and not robbery. Inspired by the communist ideology from a young age, she believes that knowledge should not be an intellectual property, but a common one. Unfortunately, the scientific publishing industry operates opposite this – the whole system is parallel to a bully forcing you to give him your notebook full of notes, expecting you to buy it back from him so you can study and

pass your exam. Elbakyan’s battle for communism in science led her to create Sci-hub.

For her, the site is a communist project and eventually became one of the most fundamental tools in contemporary research, while also being a revolt against private property and capitalist fraud.

The twisted legacy left by conman Robert Maxwell had led to years and years of profit for publishers and suffering for researchers.

The model was specifically made to amass sums of money and it has accomplished this to date. Publishers operate through capital which is mostly the intellectual input of the public. Money is what makes the cycle of knowledge going for the industry, not the pursuit of science.

The lawsuits against Sci-hub may have troubled the academic community, but the struggle for open science goes beyond civil matters. The war for open access is not only a fight for free knowledge, but also a battle between ideologies. Elbakyan considered Scihub as a revolt against capitalism, by way of communal scientific knowledge. Losing the lawsuit means putting the great wall back between the academic community and the knowledge that they wish to produce. With the hindrance of paywalls, the development of scientific information may slow down and remain in the hands of private institutions and corporate funders. On one hand, losing the case also means continuation of capitalists making profit off of other people’s work.

Knowledge is power, and power does not equate itself with exclusivity and privatization. For Elbakyan, open science returns science to its true essence. That is, to unravel the secrets of nature notwithstanding private property and copyright. [P]

OPINION

U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G | F E B R UA RY 18, 2 02 2

17

Paglalaho sa birtwal na mundo ng kolehiyo KUWENTONG FRESHIE

BY AIRA ANGELA J. DOMINGO

K

agaya ng isang fairy tale; once upon a time ay nangarap akong pumasok sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Parang magic at nakapasa nga ako sa dating pinapangarap ko lang na pamantasan. Hindi ko na mabilang kung ilang beses kong pinantasya ang sarili na nagbabasa sa library, sumasakay sa kaliwa’t kanan na dyip paikot at paakyat ng campus, at kung anu-ano pa.

Subalit nanatili itong pantasya kahit nakatapos na ako ng isang semestre. Sa online set-up ng edukasyon ay waring pinalaho ng birtwal na mundo ang mga imperatibong karanasan ng isang estudyante. Ang unang taon ko sa kolehiyo ay binubuo ng maraming kawalan.

Naglaho na parang bula ang mga aralin. Patuloy na naging sagabal para sa mga estudyante ang mabagal at hindi maaasahan na internet connection. Mas namamayani ang putol-putol na mga tunog kaysa sa talakayan. Ginigiba nito ang mga araling dapat sana’y matututuhan.

Ayon sa sarbey na isinagawa ng Social Weather Stations (SWS), 31% ng pamilyang Pilipino na mayroong distance learner ang nagsasabing mahina ang kanilang internet connection. Bukod pa sa isyu ng internet ay nagiging sagabal din ang kakulangan sa maayos at tahimik na espasyo na kaaya-aya at angkop para sa remote learning. Noong minsan, kailangan pang kausapin ng aking nanay ang aming kapitbahay para hinaan ang kanilang karaoke dahil kailangan kong mag-report sa klase. Sa mga ganitong pagkakataon lalong lumilitaw na eksklusibo ang online learning sa

mga may kakayanang magkaroon ng conducive learning environment, maraming estudyanteng napag-iiwanan dahil sa kakulangan sa pribilehiyo at kakayanang makapaglaan ng conducive learning environment.

Higit pa sa materyal na bagay, pinaglalaho rin ng birtwal na mundo ang koneksyon ng mga mag-aaral sa kapwa niya estudyante. Kahit pa may ilang nakakabuo ng ‘ika nga’y circle of friends sa gitna ng online setup, marami pa ring mga naiiwan na mag-isa. Isa sa mga kinatatakutan ko ngayong kolehiyo ang mawalan ng kaibigang tutulong sa akin. Hindi katulad ng iba na maraming koneksyon sa unibersidad, halos tatlong tao lang yata ang kilala ko sa UPLB noong una. Swerte na lang siguro ako sa mga kaklase at organisasyon na sinalihan ko, dagdag din ito sa kinagigiliwan ko ngayong kolehiyo. Subalit minsan, nararamdaman ko pa ring mag-isa kong ginagaod ang lahat. Sapilitan kaming piagwawatak-watak ng birtwal na mundo, ikinakahon sa indibidwalismo. Para bang sinadyang ikulong tayo ng sistema upang humiwalay sa kolektibong mundo.

Hindi man natin namamalayan ngunit mismong mga estudyante ang naglalaho at nalulubog sa birtwal na mundo. Halos anim na milyong mag-aaral sa elementarya hanggang hayskul ang bigong makapag-enroll sa school year 2020-2021. Samantala, sa UPLB naman ay maraming mag-aaral ang nag-file at kinukonsiderang mag-file ng Leave of Absence (LOA) sa pangalawang semestre ng Academic Year 2020-2021, dahil sa bigat ng mga gawain at kompromisadong pagkatuto.

Bukod pa rito, maraming mag-aaral din ang hindi nakaligtas sa COVID-19. Isa ako sa mga nagkaroon ng mga sintomas ng COVID-19

noong nakaraang Enero 2022. Buong pamilya namin ang nakaranas ng sintomas ngunit dahil sa takot na magpositibo sa virus at gumastos ng malaki sa gamutan ay pinili na lang naming mag self-quarantine kagaya ng iba. Dagdag pa sa nararamdaman kong anxiety laban sa hindi siguradong sakit ay ang mga groupworks na hindi pa tapos dahil naantala sa biglang taas ng mga kaso ng COVID-19.

Sa kasawiang-palad, isa sa mga kagrupo ko sa isang proyekto, ang nag positibo rin sa virus.

Kahit gan’on pa man ay pinilit kami ng sistema na magpasa ng mga requirements habang siya ay naka-quarantine. Mismong mga estudyante na ang umaalis sa birtwal na mundong ito, o baka naman sadyang pinapalayas talaga tayo nito.

Pinalaho rin ng birtwal na mundo ang napakaraming bagay at tao. Subalit, kailangan din natin ng matalas na pagtingin kung sino ba ang may pananagutan sa lahat ng mga nawala sa atin. Sino ba ang may kontrol ng mga polisiya at ang may responsibilidad sa malawak na nasasakupan ng lipunan? Bandang huli, ang tunay na lumusaw sa mga karanasang inaasam ko sa kolehiyo ay ang gobyernong pilit akong kinukulong sa birtwal na mundo.

Hindi tayo pinapagalaw sapagkat gusto nilang angkinin ang daigdig habang ang daming naglalaho. Kagaya ng mga naglahong pondo para sana sa COVID-19 reponse. Ipinakita ng 2020 annual audit report ng Commission on Audit (COA) ang mga deficiencies sa paggamit ng pondo ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan.

Subalit hindi lang pondo ang naglaho kundi mga buhay rin. Ngayong pandemya ay patuloy pa rin ang programa ng administrasyon laban sa droga. Dumoble ang pagtaas ng extrajudicial

killings (EJK) noong Abril hanggang Hulyo 2020 habang nasa lockdown ang bansa.

Patuloy rin ang mga banta at atake sa mga aktibista, mamamahayag, abogado at marami pang iba. Imbes na lumikha ng mga programa at polisiya upang tuluyan tayong maging ligtas at makabalik sa eskwelahan, inuna pa ng pamahalaan ang mga bagay na walang katuturan. Kinukulong tayo sa birtwal na mundo, at ginawang abala sa pagsulat ng mga sanaysay, pagsagot ng mga virtual exam, pag-eedit ng mga vlog, upang malayo tayo sa realidad–mas lumala ang korapsyon, impyunidad at pasismo ngayong pandemya. Habang tayo ay tutok sa birtwal na mundo, marami na silang binulsa, pinaslang, at mga karapatang sinupil.

Iba’t ibang uri ng paglalaho ang naranasan ko sa unang taon ko sa kolehiyo. Hindi lang edukasyon at tunay na pagkatuto ang naglaho kundi pati ang kamalayan natin sa mga pangyayari sa lipunan. Kahit maraming nawala sa atin, anguong mabuting balita ay hindi pa huli ang lahat para kumilos at tumanaw sa labas ng birtwal na mundo upang tumindig para sa edukasyon, tunay na pagkatuto, at iba pang karapatan para mabuhay.

Bagamat maraming pagkakataon upang kumilos, kagyat ang pangangailangan ng ating mundo, kaya ang tamang panahon para mamulat sa nangyayari at magpas’yang kumilos ay ngayon na.

The UPLB Perspective is accepting opinion articles that touch on relevant issues concerning news, politics, culture, and personal experiences. Send your articles or queries to opinion.uplbperspective@ gmail.com

Learnings from remote learning UNDER SCRUTINY

BY EDWARD JOSEPH MAGUINDAYAO

This year marks my eighth year of stay at the University of the Philippines. For quite a time, I had been a full-time student from undergraduate to graduate studies (the latter on full scholarship). But this semester, I am taking on a new role as a new college instructor in my home department, mainly teaching laboratory classes.

By mere mention of teaching laboratory classes under the remote learning setup, one would be greatly bothered. How does one teach classes that are supposed to be ideal or practical applications of the theories and concepts learned in the lecture? How can teachers impart learning when there is no face-to-face meeting and no materials and tools that students can use to implement the diagrams in their lectures?

In the first week of my teaching, I reminded students that the workarounds have been in place, with no small thanks to teachers who are ahead of me (and many of whom were my former mentors). Luckily, both the students and teachers are guided by the course packs.

When the University transitioned to the remote learning set-up, the faculty was tasked to make course packs that are adaptable and applicable to the current learning setup, considering the limitations on the side of the students. Depending on the learning pace agreed upon, students can either do it on

[P] MANATADINCON AND PJ ATAYDE [P] GRAPHICS GRAPHICS BY

BY JASE LEO ANTHONY

their own or pace themselves as if face-toface classes are held. There is no one strict way of learning, as students have their own strategies for allotting time, which should include a well-deserved rest.

Also, it is helpful that free (and sometimes with paid license) downloadable programs are available for teachers to explore and for students to learn from. Simulation programs, though they are used in classes before the pandemic, are of great help in visualizing and mimicking actual experiments done in the laboratory. Building systems from simple diagrams learned from the lecture, and extending them to real-life applications, helps the students imagine what would happen should

they physically construct one.

For example, in my field, there are available simulation programs that allow a user to draw electrical circuits, with each component’s specifications modifiable to suit the needs of an exercise. But again, while this can be viewed as more convenient as compared to the building circuits in the laboratory, I would still choose to teach students in the laboratory as they not only learn from what the experiment dictates them to do but also from their mistakes from making a circuit to obtaining the necessary measurements for their laboratory report. These experiences may seem trivial and funny at first, one that we could laugh over and over, but may impart lifelong

lessons as they leave school and prepare for a bigger learning environment.

Sure, there will be room for improvements in the current setup. This also includes the evaluation of the new curriculum set up for the graduates of the K-to-12 program. But a greater call for a safe reopening of classes should not be lost on the horizon. I not only fear the lost years of learning, but also the loss of institutional and cultural memories of campuses. Some myths and old practices have to go. But the community in schools, wherein students feel they belong, is not so much that felt as when there were still face-to-face classes. There is a gap between the batches that experienced learning before the pandemic and those who began during the pandemic.

I refuse to accept this transition as one that is inevitable. Sure, there is a demand to move towards greater technological acceptance that became necessary during the pandemic.

But we must never forget for whom and why learning should exist: that it is about students learning the foundations to make the world better not for individualized egos or in support of excessive and unsustainable practices, but for the entire humanity for whom knowledge is for and from whom knowledge emanates.

Edward Joseph H. Maguindayao teaches at the University of the Philippines Los Baños; he is currently finishing his graduate studies at UP Diliman.

18

OPINION

Palms are sweaty. Legs trembling. Cold sweat trickling down the side of my head.

Rapid heartbeat. A jittery feeling in my stomach. There is something ringing in my ears. I feel dizzy. My breaths are shallow. The clock hits five. My fingers shake as I press the “Join Meeting” button, succumbing to the pressure of this virtual world.

Discovering that I have this hidden fear of cameras before the pandemic was the least of my daily worries. There was no urgent need for me to present myself in front of a camera every day. I always have a choice not to be seen when there is a group project that requires a video output. Truly, I enjoyed being the camera. Working behind the scenes is my forte. Not as much as being the subject of the camera.

In fact, I would really rather not be seen at all. I especially avoid being photographed candidly. I had my fair share of photos that made their way to the internet. They were embarrassingly ugly. I hated the way that I looked so different. It’s as if the camera highlights the insecurities that I badly conceal.

The camera is mocking my efforts of presenting myself in a perfect manner wherein nobody can nitpick the way I look. The camera is making me vulnerable to such remarks that would crush my fragile self-esteem.

When the pandemic hit, remote and distanced learning became the norm. Online classes were implicitly advocated as the “better” mode of learning with the teacher still virtually present. Unlike in modular learning, the students learn without proper supervision and guidance.

The pressure of enrolling in an online class loomed over.

Likewise, the pressure of being seen on camera troubled my already troubled mind.

“A consistent honor student has to be resilient.” A notion instilled in my mind growing up in an academically competitive environment. There was a need to exert the best efforts regardless of any situation.

But there I was, completely defying the expectations of enrolling in online classes and instead chose the mode of learning that I was least expected to choose, modular learning. A tough decision for someone who had always been striving for high grades. When the upbringing you grew up in made you equate your worthiness to the grades you get in school, it is always a hard pill to swallow whenever your grades do not match your effort.

The lapses of modular learning in my previous high school put a lot of us at a

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G

disadvantage. Ceiling grades and prejudice hindered our chances of achieving high grades despite hard work. The only consolation that I kept telling myself was that there was a literal pandemic outside and grades should be the least of my worries.

I did try to be an online learner though.

When we had a dry run, there was a persistent uncomfortable feeling in my stomach that made me want to puke. The camera was not even turned on but I felt as if thousands of eyes were judging me. With the camera just in front of me, my brain simply thinks that the whole world is watching my every move. The pounding of my heart was suffocating and traumatizing.

I never experienced a panic attack before, but at that moment I felt like I was having one.

I felt extremely cold even if it was scorching hot outside. I was bouncing my leg up and down because I was extremely nervous. I was clenching my jaw too hard in hopes that I would not be called to speak.

To some, it may appear as an overreaction; an irrational fear about something so shallow.

But I was fighting for my life in those moments.

After that, I knew to myself that I could never bear to have that happen to me every single day that I have to attend class. It would be detrimental in the long run. I was already in a terrible headspace because of the pandemic and the lack of an urgent government response, literally killing thousands of Filipinos. I need not another factor to further deteriorate my declining mental stability. So I took refuge in my comfort zone where I have control. Where there exists no camera that will render my insecurities bare for the world to talk about.

It did, however, make me feel like a coward. I felt as though that decision of avoidance defined my entirety as a person. The looming feeling of inadequacy haunted me for the rest of last school year. I pondered every day if I made the right decision. Did I pick the right struggle? Did my camera anxiety take over my better judgment in exchange for comfort?

After a series of self-doubt and self-loathing, I had this consensus between the parts of me that it was okay.

What I felt was valid. Feeling anxiety was okay. Feeling anxiety was valid. It was valid because I was hurting.

The uncertainties that the pandemic forced upon us could be too much to handle at times.

Most of us were never ready to transition to remote learning. Most of us lost the motivation to keep doing well in the things we used to be passionate about. Most of us now are just feeling empty.

Remote learning is hard. It has been almost two years since the Department of Education started implementing this rather ineffective setup. Remote learning, to me, proved to be more physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. Whether it be online learning or modular learning, the intense workload took a toll on my overall health.

The intense workload is one thing. With the implementation of remote learning, personal challenges that were almost non-existent before, emerged, and became cornerstones of suffering to us students. To some, it is the lack of financial capability to purchase gadgets and pay for internet connection for online learning. Thus, only affording modular learning.

To others, it is the lack of interpersonal communication with their peers from which they gather their strengths to survive the education system. To some, it is the lack of a conducive environment for studying. Some students do not find their home conditions

[P] GRAPHICS BY PB YAPJOCO

The camera as my villain KUWENTONG FRESHIE

BY FIONA CANDICE G. UYYANGCO

appropriate for their studies.

To me, however, it was the fact that I hated the way I looked through the lens of a camera.

Accepting the fact that I am not invincible took some time. Admitting to myself that I have limitations and that I’m in need of help was not easy. I always took pride in solving my own problems by myself. But this pandemic brought about foreign challenges. I try to be kinder to myself in times that academics and my personal insecurities become heavy. I do

succumb to the pressures of this setup still, but I encourage myself to try again tomorrow and do better if my time and energy permits me to do so.

Doing enough is okay, so long as I survive another day.

Now as a university student, I finally became an online learner. Some days I still feel anxiety jolts within me every time I press the “Join Meeting” button. On better days I let my imperfections show just because. We are all

OPINION

U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G | F E B R UA RY 18, 2 02 2

But I didn’t. I chose the mode of learning that I was least expected to choose. I would say it was a tough decision for someone who was extremely conscious of having high grades.

I knew that I would be at a disadvantage if I chose modular learning. The only consolation that I could provide myself was that there is a literal pandemic outside and grades should be the least of my worries.

I tried to be an online learner. And I almost died trying, or at least that’s how it felt to me.

When we had a dry run, I wanted to puke during the online meeting. I never experienced a panic attack before, but at that moment I felt like I was having one.

To an outsider, it is an irrational fear of something so shallow. But an outsider is an outsider, and will never absolutely understand the inner workings of another person.

There was so much anxiety during that short online meeting. The camera was not even turned on but I felt like it was. The camera was in front of me and my brain simply thinks that the whole world is watching my every move. I still felt as if thousands of eyes were judging me even if they can’t even see me. The pounding of my heart was suffocating and traumatizing.

After that dry run, I figured I might actually die from extreme anxiety. I was already in a terrible headspace because of the pandemic that is literally killing millions. I need not another factor to further deteriorate my declining mental stability. So I gladly compromised.

I ran. I took refuge in my comfort zone where I have control. Because in my comfort zone, there exists no camera that will render my insecurities bare for the world to talk about.

It did make me feel like a coward. I felt as though that decision of avoidance defined my entirety as a person. The looming feeling of inadequacy haunted me for the rest of last school year. I pondered every day if I made the right decision. Did I pick the right struggle?

Did my camera anxiety take over my better judgment in exchange for comfort?

After a series of self-doubt and self-loathing, I had this consensus between the parts of me and assured myself that it is okay.

What I feel is valid. Feeling anxiety is okay.

Feeling anxiety is valid. It is valid because I

Slowly, I am learning that the camera is just a camera. The camera is not the judge of my own character. I am more than what my camera depicts me. but victims of an education system that is detached from reality and is tone-deaf to the calls of its constituents.

Even so, with the personal battles that we face in this setup, may we all emerge triumphantly.

Palms are sweaty. Leg trembling. Cold sweat. Rapid heartbeat. Butterflies in my stomach and for all the wrong reasons.

There is something ringing in my ears. I feel dizzy. My breaths are shallow. The clock hits five. My fingers shake as I press the “Join Meeting” button, succumbing to the pressure of this virtual world.

Discovering that I have this hidden fear of cameras before the pandemic was the least of my daily worries. There was no urgent need for me to present myself in front of a camera every day. Truly, I enjoyed being the camera.

Working behind the scenes is my forte. Not as much as being the subject of the camera.

In fact, I would really rather not be seen at all. I especially avoid being photographed candidly.

When the pandemic hit, remote and distanced learning became the norm. Online classes were advocated as a more effective choice than modular learning. And I had no choice, I had to be there; I had to be an online learner. Being one should be a no-brainer. I was an honor student therefore I had to be on top of my game regardless of the situation. I was expected to push through.

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am hurting.

It should not matter what others may think.

It should not matter if people will be disappointed by my decision to choose me. I should rather be concerned about disappointing myself by pushing through when I simply am not ready. It shouldn’t be selfish to choose what’s best for me.

Comfort is not eternal. I knew I had to face my fears eventually. Especially as a new chapter of my life begins.

I understood that I had to face the cameras. I can simply keep choosing to avoid the camera, but this time I don’t want to. I wanted change and change starts within me. Despite the recurring anxiety butterflies that I feel in my stomach, I went with the gut feeling telling me that I am ready somehow.

I enrolled myself in online classes. I became an iska doing online classes. My past self would not have thought of such a thing.

But I knew she would be proud of how far I have come.

I took the liberty of breaking the chains that hold me back from achieving more and being more.

Before formal classes started, a chance was given to me to practice the online setup. A perfect time to test out how I would react in front of the camera. I still felt nervous and conscious about appearing way too imperfect in the face of the camera.

Too afraid to say the thoughts in my head, thinking that they have no place out in the open. The road was rather bumpy and there were countless times that I wished things were different. Yet, I kept doing it blindly. I wiped the tears in my eyes and immersed myself in the uncomfortable feeling of the foreign situation. I did it again and again. I emerged triumphantly.

I still feel some anxiety jolts within me every time I press the “Join Meeting” button, but now I can breathe normally. I still think that I look weird from some angles but every day

In the end, I saw the camera not as a villain She would be proud to know but as a mere that despite the tool in this remote learning uncertainties set-up and anxieties that lurk in my mind, I deliberately chose to fight head-on.

I say to myself that other people are probably too busy with their own lives to notice.

Growth is not linear after all.

It’s not impossible for me to regress to my old thinking and not want to be seen on camera again.However, it’s also not impossible for me to bounce back from negative thoughts and to exude confidence.

After all, the camera is just a camera. The camera is not the judge of my character and I am more than what my camera depicts me.

Because I view myself in my own lens. [P]

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OPINION

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G

Junk the Million Peso Junk KWENTONG FRESHIE

BY KHAYIL SORIMA

For those outside the University of the Philippines, the Student Academic Information System (SAIS) seems like a marvel that allows the students to choose their courses and schedule freely. Upon entering the university, I have come to acknowledge that none of this is true, as it is nothing but a system chock-full of issues that hinders efficient enrollment.

In my first months at UPLB, I have observed that SAIS is a running joke, often turned into meme content in social media. Most students, including myself, find this entertaining, mainly because it relieves the mood and stress caused by the enrollment system. However, a piece of advice from an upper-year friend made me realize that jokes aside, SAIS poses a serious threat to student’s well-being, she warned me, “Mag-ingat ka sa pagbibiro tungkol sa SAIS, lalo na sa mga underloaded. Pwede maging sensitibong usapan ‘yan para sa kanila”. [“Be careful of joking about SAIS, especially to underloaded students. They might be sensitive about it.”]

SAIS was a huge turn-off right off the bat.

Orientations and tutorials about the system usually recommend using a Mac OS, which immediately reveals its non-inclusive nature.

Despite a P751.9 million budget to improve the student record system, it only further reinforced the perception that UP is only for the privileged.

My first enrollment experience on SAIS was a rollercoaster ride. That it was all luck was not a joke; even logging in to the main page took me 40 minutes. When I finally accessed the enrollment page, I had to reload it for 3 hours straight as it continued to spam me with page

[P] GRAPHICS BY JASE MICHAEL MANATAD - FIRST PUBLISHED ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

errors. It even got to the point where I had to bring my laptop with me to the sari-sari store, just to ensure that the page did not timeout during my absence. At 11:40 a.m., I was finally enrolled but only in 6 out of the 17 units that I initially planned to take. I was still lucky, considering that it only took me almost 4 hours, while some students still could not access the page past 10 p.m.

Despite being fortunate enough to have some units, I remained anxious with thoughts of being underloaded and delayed. As I scrolled around social media, I saw students bragging

about their complete units. I know that they are within their rights to take pride in their achievement, but due to my lack of success with SAIS, it only added to the pressure that I was under. It wasn’t until then that I fully understood my senior’s advice not to make insensitive jokes or statements about SAIS. As I pondered on the deficiencies during the enrollment, I realized that UPLB’s use of SAIS reflects our neoliberal society and its Kafkaesque bureaucracies. It has become an institution where students struggle and practically beg for units. The class struggle makes it even

worse; only those privileged to have better gadgets and internet connectivity have the upper hand. Our education is free, but at the expense of our intellectual development, which is determined by the survival of the fittest.

Later that evening, our batch agreed that those who have acquired units should avoid accessing SAIS to give way to those who still cannot open the page. To be honest, I was tempted not to comply. I tried to convince myself that giving way was only a suggestion and that I desperately needed more units than I needed to prioritize others. However, my principles did not allow me to act so selfishly. To be fair, I do not blame my fellow students who chose to push for more units despite having a relatively adequate load than mine. I know for a fact that their actions and academic anxieties are valid and that the system’s inefficiency is to blame.

In the first place, we should not be guilty of prioritizing ourselves. The burden of securing the needs of our fellow students should not be ours to bear—this responsibility belongs to the UPLB administrators.

Despite all of these issues, I have seen that SAIS could not easily shake the resolve of the studentry to stand for the better. I have witnessed them develop a level of trust that allows them to exchange their UP accounts to help one another enroll. Some even gave their extra units to underloaded students generously. However, this should not serve as a basis to romanticize student unity.

Hundreds of millions have been spent since SAIS was implemented 6 years ago, yet there is little to no improvement. It only ascertained that it is nothing but an academic accessory that drains the time, energy, and resources of UPLB’s constituents. Just like how we declutter objects that are no longer useful, UP should also junk a system that fails to serve the academe and its scholars.

On Academic Commission Services UNDER SCRUTINY

BY FELIPA CHENG

Before online classes even started, I had already offered my services for academic submissions—I answered exams, wrote essays, edited a thesis, and so on. I contacted my high school classmates who got into expensive, private universities and asked them if they knew anybody who needed “help” with schoolwork in the hopes of making some extra cash for daily expenses. In just one evening, I had five customers who readily gave me the rubrics, instructions, and their initial ideas for an assignment I was now being paid to finish. Word spread quickly about this underground operative, “may taga-UP na nagpapa-commission ng assignment…mura lang at quality pa!” These testimonials turned into regular clients, and our network of cheaters grew. When one of my “regulars” asked me to write their thesis from scratch, I declined and quit full-stop.

I wasn’t the only one offering these services though, and it wouldn’t have been hard for the student to find someone else to help them.

There are Facebook groups that serve as a trade market for those looking for and offering

Unsurprisingly, these academic commissions grew exponentially two years into distance learning, where the quantity of submissions are high and avenues for engaged learning are low. academic commissions, as well as pages categorized as a “small business” or a “Tutor/

Teacher” where students offer their services for a fixed price—guaranteed output in 24 hours, one of these pages would say. They would also occasionally put together a neat collage of customer testimonials.

Only recently, these services reached national attention after a teacher discovered this trade. Although met with mixed opinions, there seems to be a consensus as to why students on both ends do this: for paying students, the workload is too much or too difficult to accomplish; for sellers, the pandemic has caused severe financial strain. There was too much work to be done, and not enough resources to complete it, not enough people who would listen and help.

Since the start of the pandemic, DepEd has so far declined all requests for a genuine academic ease. Instead, they were quick to push for a distance learning set up. They were quick to give how-to-guidelines to “adjust tasks” for blended learning. They were also quick to accuse teachers of incompetence when course guides and revised curricula weren’t submitted on time. They were quick to blame students for laziness and dishonesty for incomplete submissions and cheating. We were urged to continue business-as-usual, to produce graduates ready for the workforce.

DepEd played the blameless victim while refusing to listen to student and teacher demands.

A corrupt system corrupts its individuals. If the education system wants only to produce paper-churning machines that can be sold quickly and in pre-wrapped packages to the labor market, then students will adapt as robots for sale rather than as humans with integrity, intellect, and a passion for what they’re learning. The primary goal becomes a word count, an uno grade, or a university ranking. Our holistic and intellectual well-being pushed to the sidelines, as a non-priority.

OPINION

U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G | F E B R UA RY 18, 2 02 2

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If Only KWENTONG FRESHIE

BY KYLE RAMIEL DALANGIN

I was born and raised in a family of UPLB alumni. I grew up hearing stories about how amazing and homey it was. In fact, I went to senior high school already thinking about my future experiences in UPLB. My household made me want to study in the university– or, looking back, maybe I just didn’t have that much of a choice. The pressure of having three sablays in the family and everyone expecting me to bring home the fourth, weighed on me like a ghost sitting on my shoulders.

The ghost, eventually, became my own soul.

My heart broke when I did not pass the UPCAT. I was ashamed of myself, but I still gave it a second try. I applied for reconsideration

If only I passed, I would be on cloud nine which I am very confident that I’ve passed.

Again, I failed.

I felt my whole world crash. I was so disappointed with myself. I was so angry for disappointing my family and everyone who expected more from me. For months, I couldn’t eat. I went to the University I enrolled in with the course I’m not in love with. I forced myself to get through every day.

If only I passed, I would be studying what I love.

I was not happy until I tried for the third

[P] GRAPHICS BY KYLE HENDRICK SIGAYA

time. Finally, I successfully transferred to my dream school with my dream course.

I remembered how happy I was that time and how happy I was once I started my classes. I remember telling myself that I would no longer cry at night. I remember feeling relieved that I could now smile genuinely. I’ve met their expectations, and now, I can finally breathe and be free. I also remember being thankful that we were on an online setup which, I thought, made everything easy for me.

This thought proved me wrong.

The school year started in an online setup.

Everything was done virtually; discussions, assignments, and quizzes. I was satisfied and doing well in the first week. But then, the second week passed, and then the third, and the fourth…

Strangely, I’m starting to cry myself to sleep again. The expectation that I thought I overcame was coming back. The only different thing is that it is heavier this time. The pandemic made it a hundred times worse. Instead of focusing on my goal, I now have to think about

everyone’s health. Amidst this threat, I have to satisfy the requirements to avoid the disappointment I dread the most.

My mind is a mess. I couldn’t focus on my studies whenever one of my relatives or friends was sick. My mental health became unstable which affected everything and everyone around me.

At that point, I was just confused. Why am I forced to focus on my studies when thousands of people are dying? How am I going to think about what to write in my essay when a relative tested positive for COVID-19? Why are we still in this situation after months of being in lockdown?

These questions kept on spiraling in my head, but something else hit me.

I am lucky to be thinking about my mental health right now. Someone out there doesn’t have the same privilege as mine. Some are forced to work outside with the threat of the virus just to afford the resources needed for their classes. Some have no choice but to stop studying because their family lost their jobs.

It is heartbreaking and angering to think that this pandemic took many lives and ruined so many dreams.

If only it was handled the way it was supposed to. If only officials would think about the masses instead of their own interests. If only we had better leaders who listened to the calls of the students and minorities. If only the blood and sweat of the people who are tirelessly calling for accountability, and the tears of the people who have lost their loved ones were given the attention they deserve, we could have saved more lives.

However, these “if onlys” does not strip away our right to organize; it is now expected of us to continue the struggle to make these “if onlys,” the reality of the Filipino people.

Mga Makina ng Neoliberal na Edukasyon N O F U RY SO LO U D NINA AIRA ANGELA DOMINGO AT JOHN MICHAEL MONTERON

Sa mga pagawaan, nasusukat ang presyo ng gawa batay sa taas ng gastos na ginugol sa isang produkto. Ganito itinuring ng pamahalaan ang edukasyon – isang produkto. Habang itinuring naman na mga makina ang mga magaaral na walang boses sa kanyang amo at umaandar lang batay sa sistemang nakatakda sa kanya. Dahil dito, patuloy na dumadami ang bilang ng mga batang hindi nakakatamasa ng pormal na edukasyon, lalo na sa ilalim ng online learning. Manipestasyon ito ng neoliberal na edukasyon sa Pilipinas.

Ang makina ay pinapatakbo kung kailan gustuhin ng amo. “Education cannot wait,” sabi ni DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones. Ngunit ipagpapatuloy at mamadaliin ba natin ang edukasyon hanggang sa madiskaril at tuluyang mawalan ng gana ang mga bata sa pag-aaral?

Aminin na natin mababa ang kalidad edukasyon natin at maliwanag na hindi gaanong pinagtutuunan ng pansin ng ating gobyerno.

Gaya na lamang ng pag-implementa ng K-12

program sa bansa kung saan tila minadali at wala man lang konkretong plano bago ito isagawa. Naging lab rats lamang ang mga estudyante na lalo pang naging pasakit para sa mga Pilipinong mahirap dahil dagdag gastos lamang ito. Isa ito sa bunga ng neoliberal na edukasyon.

Ang tanging importante para sa neoliberal na edukasyon ay ang interes ng mga naghaharing-uri habang ginagawang makina ang mga estudyante na nagpapasa na lang bilang compliance at sumusunod sa gusto ng nagpapatakbo ng sistema. Sa ilalim ng ganitong sistema, mas prayoridad ng kapitalista na makapag-prodyus ng maraming manggagawa na nakakapagbigay sa kanya ng kita imbes na kalidad ng edukasyon ang binibigyang pansin.

Kaya’t nakapanghihinayang ang mga mahuhusay na batang na hindi nabibigyan ng pagkakataon upang makapag-aral at mas hasain pa ang kanilang talento.

Miski ang makina ay napapagod, nasisira at nagkukulang. Paano na lamang ang mga batang walang kakayahan upang makapag-online class? Hindi ba nila naisip na maraming pamilya at batang Pilipino ang walang kakayahan na bumili ng mga gadget at materyales na kinakailangan para sa online class?

Ngayong pandemya, lalong nabaon sa hirap

ang maraming dahil sa kawalan ng trabaho, pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin at ang kakarampot na kinikita ng ilan. Batay sa datos ng Picodi.com na inilabas noong Agosto 2020, nasa Php 15,200 ang average salary sa Pilipinas. Higit itong mas mababa sa mga karatig bansa nito sa timog-silangang Asya. Kulang na kulang itong pambili ng mga dekalidad na gadyet para sa online setup na tinatayang aabot ng Php 18,000, ayon sa Rappler. Bwelta naman ng DepEd, may mas murang alternatibo naman daw na maayos ding magagamit. Subalit kahit hindi ay hindi kakayaning bilhin ng mga nasa laylayan ng lipunan.

Oo, sabihin na nating naglunsad ang iba’t ibang sektor ng pamahalaan ng mga programa para makapamahagi ng mga kagamitang ito, ngunit sapat ba ito? Nakapanlulumong isiping ginawa na ngang makina ang mga mag-aaral para sa ganansya ng naghaharing-uri, sinasagad pa sa trabaho kahit kulang sa kakayahan kaya lalong humihina at nasisira.

Kung ang makina ay gawa sa materyal na bagay, pwes ang tao ay binubuo ng mga dugo at laman! Mayroong kumakalam na tiyan, ang mga estudyanteng tinitipid ang sarili para makapagpa-load o ‘di kaya’y bumili ng gadget.

Kung iisipin, ang PHP 30 o PHP 50 na pera ay pambili na ng bigas o ng pagkain na pampawi

sa kumakalam nilang sikmura. Ang masakit pa, nagiging dilemma ng mga bata ang pagpili sa trabaho o edukasyon kahit nararapat na pagaaral ang kanilang prayoridad.. Pantay-pantay dapat nating natatamasa ang edukasyon.

Ngunit, ano nga naman ang aasahan natin sa isang sistemang tinuring na pagkakakitaan ang dapat ay karapatan?

Bilang mga estudyante, matindi naming tinututulan maging kabahagi ng neoliberal na sistema ng edukasyon. Ang makina ay tumutunog din kapag may mali na sa sistema. Kaming mga mag-aaral din ay umaaray. Ngunit hindi kagaya ng makina, patuloy ang aming pagsigaw sa panawagang “no student should be left behind”.

Hindi kami makina kundi mga buhay, may emosyon, at higit sa lahat mayroong karapatang pantao. Ang aming karapatang mag-aral ay hindi dapat inaabuso upang gawing minahan ng pera. Ang edukasyon namin ay hindi dapat magastos at nakakagutom. Higit sa lahat, hindi na ito dapat nakakulong sa online setup. At kung sakali mang bumalik na kami nang tuluyan sa pisikal na paaralan, patuloy ang panawagan para sa makabayan, siyentipiko at makamasang edukasyon sapagkat ito ang tunay na lunsaran ng progresibong kinabukasan. Kami ay tao, hindi makina!

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OPINION

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G

Ang Baka ng Pakikibaka KWENTONG FRESHIE NI MIKKO BARTOLOME

“Mag-UP ka? Baka puro rally lang ang gawin mo ‘ron ha.” Bilang mga baguhang estudyante sa unibersidad, tiyak akong nasabi rin ito sa inyo at napabilang sa ganitong stereotype. Marahil din bilang mga isang freshie, pumasok na rin sa ating isipan kung tayo nga ba ay makikilahok sa mga ganitong gawain.

Mayroong desididong hindi sasali sa ganitong mga pagkilos dahil sa personal na kadahilanan gaya ng ayaw ng magulang o kaya ay hindi ligtas. Ang iba nama’y nais maranasang sumali sa isang pagkilos dahil hindi kumpleto ang karanasan ng pagiging iskolar kung hindi makikibaka. Subalit, mayroon ding pinilit makihanay sa gitna ng panganib, para sa pag-asang matuldukan na ang labis na kalapastanganan na nangyayari sa bansa. Katulad ko, nakihanay na may bitbit na panawagan at pag-asa.

Ang paggunita sa ika-158 annibersaryo ng kapanganakan ng Ama ng Rebolusyon, Gat. Andres Bonifacio, ang aking unang mobilization o mob na napuntahan. Ako ay isang staff ng UPLB Perspective at bahagi ng aming tungkulin ang magsagawa ng on-ground coverage sa mga kaganapan lalo na sa Timog Katagalugan. Bilang tawag ng tungkulin, kinunsidera ko ang pagtugon dagdag na rin sa kagustuhan kong makaranas ng bagong bagay bago matapos ang taong 2021 at bago ako makapag-sablay.

Dalawang araw bago ang ika-30 ng Nobyembre, binalot ako ng parehas na pangamba at pagkasabik. Nakakatakot dahil bukod sa banta ng COVID-19, hindi laging tiyak ang kaligtasan ng mga nagproprotesta sapagkat maaaring sumulpot ang tensyon sa pagitan ng mga pwersa ng estado at kolektibo ng mga progresibo Hindi ko rin alam kung paano ako magpapaalam sa aking mga magulang na makikiisa ako sa ganitong pagkilos. Sinabi ko na lamang na makikipagkita ako sa aking mga ka orgmate, na technically ay totoo naman.

Nagdalawang isip din ako kung tutuloy ba ko dahil isinasaalang-alang ko rin ang talamak na kaso ng red-tagging sa panahon ngayon sa pangunguna ng NTF-ELCAC. Tunay nga, isang mahirap na desisyon ang pagsama sa mga protesta dahil kaligtasan at buhay mo ang nakataya. Gayunpaman, isa rin itong mabigat na desisyon sapagkat ito ay isang uri ng paglaban, pagtutol, at pagusad ng kabutihang panlahat mula sa masuklam na reyalidad.

Ang pagtayo at pakikibaka ang simulain ng pagbabago at kalayaan mula sa kalupitan at karahasan ng mga naghaharing-lupa at pamahalaan; kaya naman, sumama ako.

“Makibaka! H’wag Matakot!”

Sumilay ang araw, suot ang pulang t-shirt, at dala ang ID ng UPLB Perspective, bumiyahe na ko pa-Maynila. Ang sanang programa sa Limawasang Bonifacio ay naharang ng mga kapulisan sa kahabaan ng Espanya. Pinauna na ko ng aming OIC papuntang Welcome Rotonda at habang ako ay nakasakay sa jeep, nakasabay ko ang isang malaking truck ng kapulisan na nilalaman ang sandamakmak na dagdag pwersa. Kumpleto ang kanilang uniporme, protective gear, at sandata, tila sasabak sila gyera. Bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko at nangatog ang aking katawan nag sink in na sa aking isipan na talagang pupunta ako sa isang kilos-protesta.

Sa Kilos-Protesta

Habang nakatingin sa bintana ng jeep, bumungad sa akin ang mistulang nagkakagulong ingay. Nais pang makaabante ng mga nagproprotesta dahil ang tunguhin nila ay dapat sa Limawasang Bonifacio ngunit ayaw silang paraanin ng mga naka barikadang kapulisan. Tumawid ako gamit ang overpass upang makalapit at makasama na, tanaw sa itaas ang hindi mahulugang karayom na kahabaan ng mga tao, taas-taas ang mala dagat na banderang kumakalampay sa hangin na sari-sari ang kulay ngunit pula ang nangingibabaw. Bumaba na ako galing sa overpass ngunit nasa likod ako ng mga barikada ng militar. Wala pa rin ang aking mga kasama at hindi ko alam kung ano ang dapat kong gawin. Dapat na ba kong tumawid at makiisa sa hanay upang masimulan na ang Live-tweeting? Dapat ko ba muna sila hintayin? Baka kasi kapag ako ay tumawid ng hanay, hindi na ko pabalikin pa. Pasalamat na lamang ako dahil mayroon akong Media Press ID na kahit papaano ay nagkaloob sakin ng pagkakakilanlan para sa kakaunting pribelehiyong magpaikot-ikot habang tinitiyak ang aking kaligtasan mula sa “tila kaaway” na mga pulis. Takot na takot ako sa mga pulis noon dahil ang presensya nila, para sa akin, ay para iintimidate kaming mga kalaban sa kanilang paningin. Nakaantabay para umatake sa kahit anumang sandali. To serve and protect pero bakit mistulang selektibo ang kanilang prinsipyo. Nakita ko rin ang ilang mainstream media at kapwa pampaaralan publikasyon na nakasubaybay sa ginaganap na programa.

Hangga’t maaari ay iniiwasan kong mahagip ng camera dahil baka mapanood ako ng aking magulang o hindi kaya ay matandaan ako ng gobyerno at maging biktima pa ng redtagging.

Nakita ko rin ang mga kilalang personalidad gaya ni Patricia Non, Atty. Neri Colminares, Atty. Elmer “Ka Bong” Labong, at Atty. Sonny Matula na nangunguna sa pagtaguyod sa mga karapatan ng mga magsasaka at manggagawa.

Tila ako ay na starstruck dahil nakita ko sila ng personal at hindi lamang sa mga pahayagan at social media.

Nabunutan ako ng tinik sa lalamunan nang makita ko na ang aking isang kasama. Napabuntong hininga ako dahil mayroon na akong tunay at kilala kong kakampi na may karanasan sa mga ganitong bagay. Hindi na ako nag–iisang tumindig para sa katotohanan sa nakakapanibagong labanan na ito. Nagsimula na akong mag-livetweet upang iulat ang mga kasalukuyang pangyayari sa mobilization program habang ang isa naman ay kumukuha ng larawan. Napatunayan ko na totoo nga ang sinasabi ng maraming manunulat at mamahayag, mahirap magsagawa ng on-ground coverage. Bukod sa hindi sigurado ang iyong kaligtasan, mas maraming balakid ang iyong kakaharapin gaya na lamang ng limitadong kagamitan, magulong kapaligiran, at higit sa lahat, ang nangingibabaw na takot at kaba.

Imbes na nasa opisina, gamit ay laptop, may malamig na hangin, at nakaupong komportable, ang mga mamamahayag ay nasa mistulang ‘gyera’, nakikipaglaban gamit ang sandatang panulat alang-alang sa katotohanan anuman ang kaharapin at balakid. Dahil dito, lalong tumaas ang aking pagtingin sa mga progresibong manunulat at mamamahayag sapagkat bilang bago pa lamang sa pamamahayag, naranasan ko ang kanilang paghihirap upang ipaabot sa atin ang mga balita. May mga pagkakataon na ako ay namemental

LITRATO NI GLEN CHRISTIAN TACASA

block, nauubusan ng salita, at nahuhuli sa pag-uulat ng kaganapan na nakakabawas sa kalidad ng balita. Mayroong pagkakataon na nais ko ng ipasa ang pagla-livetwet sa iba dahil parang hindi ko nagagampanang lubos ang aking trabaho. Sa bawat tweet na aking inuupload ay padagdag nang padagdag ang pagkadismaya ko sa aking sarili dahil maaari ko pa sana itong mapagbuti kung hindi lamang ako napangunahan ng takot at kaba.

Buti na lamang ay dumating na ang iba pa naming kasamahan at ang papalit sa akin sa pagla-livetweet. Nakahinga na ko nang maluwag hindi lamang dahil tapos na ang aking tungkulin kundi mararanasan ko nang tuluyan ang makiisa sa rally. Bukod sa mga tagapagsalita na binoboses ang laban para sa karapatan ng mga magsasaka at manggagawa, pagtaas ng Minimum Wage, pagbibigay ng Ayuda, pagbaba ng presyo ng gasolina, at gayundin ang mariin na pagkondena sa mga kapalpakan at karahasan ng administrasyong Duterte, mayroon ding mga kultural na pagtatanghal upang higit na maipahayag ang mga kasing tulad ng mensahe. Ang himig at sining na malaya ay at mapagpalaya.

Bilang first-timer sa ganitong uri ng pagkilos, may mga bagay na hindi ko pa gaano nalalaman tulad na lamang ng mga chants.

Bukod sa mga kilalang linya gaya na lamang ng, “Iskolar ng Bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban” at “H’’wag matakot! Makibaka”, marami pa palang chants ang binibigkas sa mga ganitong programa. Partikular sa okasyong ito ang, “Bayan, bayan, bayan ko. ‘Di pa tapos ang laban mo. Rebolusyon ni Bonifacio…” [dagdag pa ng ibang chants] Ang bawat sigaw ay ekspresyon ng samu’t saring emosyon, galit, poot, pagkamuhi, dismaya, at higit sa lahat, paglaban para sa katarungan at pag-asa ng mainam na kinabukasan. Ang patuloy na pagsigaw para sa kalayaan at kaunlaran hanggang sa magpasakalukuyan ay pagpapatuloy ng simulain ni Bonifacio sa Sigaw sa Pugad Lawin at manipestasyon na tunay ngang hindi pa rin tapos ang kaniyang rebolusyon bunsod ng talamak na problema na kinakaharap ng sangkaPilipinuhan.

Marahil ang aking pinakapaboritong bahagi sa karasanan kong ito ay ang pagsira sa effigy ni Pangulong Duterte. Nakakatindig balahibo ang masaksihan ang pagbagsak ng tuta ng Tsina, pasista, at misogonistang ulo ng isang Pilipinas. Sa saliw ng mapanglaw na himig, ang mga galit na sigaw ng mga nagproprotesta ay tila isang tikim ng tagumpay o hindi kaya ay pekeng tagumpay dahil matapos ang paghahain ng mga pinaglalaban, sa wakas ay napabagsak nila ang effigy na simbolo ng tagumpay ng kanilang protesta at sagisag ng pag-asa sa mga susunod pang kilos protesta

upang magpatuloy sa pag usad at pag abante.

Gayunpaman, ramdam ko ang panandaliang kolektibong kasiyahan ng mga taong naroon, ang magtagumpay sa mapulang labanan.

Taas noo at kamao, hawak ang ilaw mula sa flashlight ng cellphone, wagayway ang mga bandera, at kasangga ang mga tarpaulin, natapos ang programa nang payapa, organisado, at malinis. Sa kabila ng maraming camera na nakatutok sa amin at firetruck na nakaantambay upang kami ay bombahin, payapang kumalas ang mga nagprotesta. Hindi lamang ito pag-uwi kundi isang martsa, sa saliw ng kolektibong pagsigaw ng chant, matapos ang isang matagumpay na pakikipaglaban. Nakita ko rito ang tunay na bayanihan ng mga Pilipino, mga katipunero ni Bonifacio, sapagkat tila kami ay pinagbubuklod buklod ng iisang sentimyento, hangarin, at pinaglalaban, ang ipagtanggol ang Inang Bayan; parang naka hawak kamay, kapit bisig na bumubuo ng isang barikada. Makabayan at MakaPilipino, ito ang aking naramdaman at impresyon sa protestang aking nadaluhan. Kasama ang Pilipino, ipaglalaban ang Bayan ng mga Pilpino, para sa mga Pilipino.

Kung susumahin, valid ang mga pagaalinlangan tungkol sa pagsama sa mga pagkilos, mga nagproprotesta, at ang mismong mobilisasyon. Maaaring sa paningin ng iba ay hindi ito ligtas, nakakaperwisyo lamang sa trapiko, o hindi kaya ay walang saysay. Ngunit, subalit, datapwa’t, ang aking unang karanasan sa kilos protesta ay taliwas sa mga stereotype at misconception na ito. Hindi ko man naranasan ang EDSA People Power Revolution o ang 1896 Philippine Revolution, ang protestang ito ay singtulad din ng iba pang mga nagdaang protesta. Ang karanasan at dahilan ng pagkilos ay magkapareho, gayundin ang resulta. Ang layunin ng ganitong pagkilos ay hindi lamang protesta kundi mobilisasyon ng mga hinaing na dapat solusyunan. Hindi man direktang matugunan, ang mahalaga ay naipapahayag ang ating saloobin ng sambayanan at pangangailangan mula sa pamahalaan.

Ang baka sa pakikibaka ay alinlangan, gaya na lamang ng aking naranasan, nagduda muna ako bago makiisa. Ngunit, matapos ang aking pagdalo, aking natuklasan na wala palang dapat ikabahala sa pakikibaka. Huwag magalinlangan sa pagsama dahil mayroon kang kasangga, kahanay, at karamay sa paglaban na aalay at gagabay sa’yo.Huwag kang magduda sa kabuluhan ng pagkilos protesta dahil ito ay mayroong mahalagang saysay sa pagpapairal ng tama at katotohanan. Virtual man o personal, anumang uri ng pakikiisa, huwag mong indahin ang mga baka sa pakikibaka dahil tiyak ang pagprotesta, pagkilos, at pagtindig laban sa mga nang aapi.

OPINION

U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G | F E B R UA RY 18, 2 02 2

Paano na ang aming mga pangarap at kinabukasan?

Ang artikulong ito ay mga sipi mula sa panayam ng UPLB Perspective kay Jovelyn Salinas.

HODGE PODGE NI JOVELYN SALINAS

Malaki ang pagkakaiba ng pisikal na klase sa mga klase sa ilalim ng pandemya dahil matagal na panahong nasanay tayo sa pisikal na klase; naipapaliwanag sa atin ng ating mga guro kung ano ‘yung mga topics, kung may mga tanong tayo, direkta natin itong matatanong sa ating guro. Hindi po tulad sa ngayon na kung nagtatanong ka, lalo na sa group chat, bihira ka ng masasagot o hindi pa talaga ito masasagot ng ating mga guro kasi nga naiintindihan naman natin na sobrang busy nila. Para sa akin po, ang pinakamalaking pinagkaiba iyong kung noon madali kong maintindihan ‘yung mga topics, sa ngayon mahirap po maintindihan kasi nga dapat ‘yung mga topics ay maayos na nadi-discuss ng mga guro doon mismo sa ating paaralan.

Para sa akin ang pag-aaral habang may pandemya’y may malaking epekto sa ating kalusugan. Unang-una ang mga estudyante, hindi na normal ‘yung mga ginagawa, nafo-focus na sa mga cellphone, laptop gano’n, so unang-una nakakaapekto ‘yon sa kalusugan ‘yung radiation. Isa pa nakaka-pressure kasi nga, halimbawa, sa akin kailangan ko ‘tong tapusin na activities ko tapos minsan nape-pressure ako kasi kailangan kong intindihin ito, pinipilit kong intindihin para maipasa ko ito sa aming guro dahil ito ay kailangan ipasa, so malaking epekto ito sa mental at sa buong katawan natin.

Malaki ang epekto ng pandemya lalo na sa pag-aaral kasi sa ngayon kapag nag-aaral ka, kailangan talaga ng financial [resources] kasi may mga klase, may mga topics si sir, si ma’am na ibibigay sa mga estudyante online. Ise-send ang files sa [group chat], sa Google. Marami silang pinapasa doon para doon kami matuto.

Dahil sa pamamaraan ng internet, ang pinakamahirap ngayon para sa mga estudyante ay kung wala kang [connection], hindi ka makakapagpasa ng activities. Hindi mo magawa ‘yung mga activities kasi wala kang load, so ‘yun malaki itong epekto sa mga mag-aaral lalo na kapag, halimbawa, may [COVID-19] positive na isang guro o kahit primary contact man lang na positive, halos lahat din ng estudyante ay apektado kasi magde-declare na naman na wala munang pupunta dito sa school para kumuha ng module, magla-lockdown muna, so maraming mga estudyante ang naaapektuhan dito.

Sa pandemya ngayon, marami talagang hirap ang nararanasan natin; sa pamilya man, sa komunidad, lalong lalo na sa pag-aaral kasi nga nalilimitahan tayo sa mga gawain natin. May mga iba diyan na nawalan ng trabaho, nawalan ng lahat. Malaking epekto ‘to hindi lamang para sa aming mga kabataan kundi sa lahat ng mga tao, sa lahat ng mga mamamayan.

Ngayon, kami bilang mga kabataang Lumad, patuloy na inaatake ‘yung mga paaralan namin, patuloy na hinaharas; kaya sa ngayon, hindi muna kami doon sa community namin, lumipat muna kami sa ibang lugar para ipagpatuloy ‘yung mga pag-aaral namin. Sobrang nakakapanibago doon pa man dahil nga sanay kami sa kabundukan na tahimik at madali mong maintindihan ‘yung mga klase. Nakakapanibago rin bilang mga lumipat na mga mag-aaral

dito sa siyudad para makapagpatuloy sa pagaaral kasi nga inaatake ‘yung paaralan namin, pinepwersa na ipasara ang mga ito; may malaking epekto ito dahil kahit nasa siyudad kami, kahit nasa kalunsuran kami, patuloy na inaatake kaming mga kabataang Lumad, patuloy na tinatakot, hina-harass.

Imbes na mag-aral ka, mag-focus ka sa klase, hindi mo ‘yun magawa kasi natatakot ka baka haharasin, baka tatakutin ka.

Parang may pinaghahandaan akong mga pagbabanta na baka ‘di ko makamtan ‘yung pangarap ko dahil dito. Kung doon sana kami sa aming community nag-aaral, nakaka-focus kami.

Tapos kung wala sanang mga threat, wala sanang mga pananakot sa amin, makaka-focus kami sa aming pag-aaral dahil doon sa amin hindi na masyado maabot ng COVID-19 kasi nga sobrang masagana, marami kang makukuha do’n. Nando’n na lahat ng ospital, nando’n na lahat ‘yung mga pangangailangan mo doon sa kagubatan pero dahil nga itong mga ahensiya ng gobyerno, halimbawa, itong mga militar nagpunta doon, sila mismo ‘yung nagdala ng virus sa aming mga Lumad kasi sila ang galing dito sa siyudad.

Para sa akin, ang kampanyang Ligtas na Balik Eskwela, mahalaga ito. Siguro nga hindi lang ako, halos lahat ng mga estudyante ito ang nais; na makabalik sa eskwela nang normal at ligtas. Bilang estudyante, suporta ako dito, sang-ayon ako sa Ligtas na Balik Eskwela para makabalik sa community, sa eskwelahan. Kasi ngayon, marami talagang estudyante, hindi lang galing sa Lumad school, galing sa iba’t ibang eskwelahan, ang napilitan tumigil sa pag-aaral.

Suporta ako sa kampanyang Ligtas na Balik Eskwela at dapat gawin ito ng pamahalaan natin para mapabalik na ang mga estudyante sa eskwelahan nang normal at ligtas dahil ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan.

Maraming kabataan ang natigil sa kanilang pag-aaral.

Paano namin makakamit ‘yung mga pangarap namin kung patuloy ang ganitong sitwasyon?

Si Jovelyn Salinas ay isang estudyanteng Bakwit at kasalukuyang nag-aaral ng sekondarya sa ilalim ng Alternative Learning System (ALS) kurikulum.

LITRATO MULA SA SAVE OUR SCHOOLS NETWORK

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EDITORYAL

S I N C E 1 9 7 3 • TA O N 4 8, B I L A N G 1

Ang opisyal na pahayagan ng mga magaaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños Silid 11, 2nd Floor Student Union Building, Mariano M. Mondonedo Avenue, UPLB 4031 perspective.uplb@up.edu.ph opinion.uplbperspective@gmail.com O R GWA TC H orgwatch.uplbperspective@gmail.com E D I TO R I A L OPINION

Miyembro, UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (UP Solidaridad) at ng College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)

F E B R UA RY 1 8, 2 02 2 | U P L B P E R S P EC T I V E .O R G

SONYA MARIELLA CASTILLO Punong Patnugot

KYLE HENDRICK SIGAYA Patnugot ng Produksyon

MARILOU LORZANO Tagapamahala ng Sirkulasyon

CLAIRE DENISE SIBUCAO Kapatnugot

AUBREY BEATRICE CARNAJE Kapatnugot sa Grapiks

MGA KAWANI

JUAN SEBASTIAN EVANGELISTA GIANCARLO KHALIL MORRONDOZ Mga Tagapamahalang Patnugot ROBERT ROY GALLARDO Recruitment and Training Officer ARON JAN MITCHELL SIERVA Patnugot ng Balita GABRIEL JOV DOLOT Patnugot ng Lathalain

JASE MICHAEL MANATAD Kapatnugot sa Grapiks, OIC JONEL REI MENDOZA Kapatnugot sa Litrato ARIANNE MER PAAS Kapatnugot sa Paglalapat KRYSTELLE LOUISE LACHICA Patnugot sa Online

FELIPA CHENG Patnugot ng Kultura

BEYONCÉ ANNE MARIE NAVA Patnugot ng Orgwatch

GLEN CHRISTIAN TACASA Patnugot ng Opinyon

MARK ERNEST FAMATIGAN Tagapamahala ng Pinansya

Johanne Gonzalez, Shane Agarao, Edan Aguillon, Michael Bartido, Mikko Bartolome, Axcel Beltran, Federick Biendima, Caleb, Buenaluz, Josiah Bumahit, Allaisa Calserada, Ralph Caneos, Angelyn Castillo, Charleston Jr. Chang, Princess Curioso, Kyle Dalangin, Daniel Del Mundo, Toni Dimaano, Vince Dizon, Aira Domingo, Emerson Espejo, Mark Fabreag, Reignne Francisco, Justine Fuentes, Aynrand Galicia, Laeh Garcia, Marcus Garcia, Pierre Hubo, Leojave Incon, Kyla Jimenez, Kyela Jose, Jemielyn Lacap, Taj Lagulao, EJ Lasanaa, Philip Li, Ian Lopez, Reuben Martinez, Franklin Masangkay, James Masangya, Zahir Meditar, Frances Mendoza, Michael Monteron, Ethan Pahm, Jed Palo, Lindsay Peñaranda, Bianca Rabe, Vianne Redoblado, Jean Reyes, Reysielle Reyes, Dana Sandoval, Rosemarie Sollorano, Fiona Uyyangco, Dean Valmeo, Mac Arboleda, James Bajar, Paula Bautista, Paul Carson, Cyril Chan, Jandelle Cruz, Gerardo Jr. Laydia, Dayniele Loren, Kennlee Orola, Isabel Pangilinan, Aesha Sarrol, Jermaine Valerio, Jonas Atienza, Shane Del Rosario, Marl Ollave, Leda Samin, Joaquin Gonzalez IV, Honey Dela Paz, Khayil Sorima, Ron Babaran, Abel Genovaña, Rainie Dampitan, Reinne Espinosa, Josh Atayde

DIBUHO NG PABALAT Patrice Bianca Yapjoco

Small victories and unending struggle E

very semester we’ve experienced under different variations of community quarantine was riddled with uncertainties and burdens that accumulated over the years. All stages of a regular semester leave an exceptionally poor impression: continuously worsening enrollment experience, unregulated and saturated requirements throughout the cramped conduct of classes, and the rushed preparation of the following semester overlapping with deadlines that leave constituents no room to breathe. (READ: UPLB students face 2nd online acad year with ‘unresolved’ set-up challenges) Beyond academic burdens, the UPLB community has also been struck by nationwide environmental, economic, and political crises that were major hindrances to regular operations. Constituents residing in the Visayas and Mindanao region were devastated by Typhoon Odette in the recent months and in the year prior, constituents in the Luzon region by Typhoon Ulysses. Not to mention, the recent surge of COVID-19 cases after the holidays took its toll on students and faculty alike right when finals were scheduled to take place. Relief efforts from different organizations were quick to mobilize but calendar-wise, the end of the semester was left as a moral exercise for professors.

During the registration for the upcoming semester, calls to #JunkSAIS have resurfaced yet again. Many students failed to access the platform despite being priority students and claimed that ‘it was their slowest SAIS experience’ during their stay in the university. The underlying issue during the enrollment battle

royale could be traced back to the lack of available classes and instructors.

The SAIS setb a c ks ex p e r ienced by the students and faculty further fueled the calls for a genuine wellness break, citing the delay in registration and posting of grades. The UPLB administration responded to the calls of the students, faculty, and staff, by implementing the 2-week health break at the beginning of the semester. It was through the genuine and organic unity of the different sectors we were able to declare a common time to recover and process how the semester took place.

The call for a health and wellness break, however, does not stand on its own. This particular demand as well as previous calls for academic ease are strongly tied with the Ligtas Na Balik Eskwela (LNBE) campaign. It is important to recognize the deeper need to urgently address the ongoing health crisis keeping in mind the students’ need to effectively learn as well as the need of faculty and staff to make a living.

Businesses cannot proceed as usual with subpar contact tracing, the absence of mass testing, the lack of sufficient aid when the unemployment rate is at an alarming high, among other actionable problems.

Conversations surrounding LNBE are in

no way n e w .

T h e shared sentiments that students, facu l t y, a n d staff share r e surface every semester. Even though the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) greenlit the conduct of F2F classes in areas until Alert Level 3, the entire education community remains in the dark regarding their safety and health with how ambiguous the declaration is.

[P] GRAPHICS BY JASE MICHAEL MANATAD

The publication stands firm with the studentry and the entire UPLB community in light of the small victories and unending struggle campaigning for Ligtas Na Balik Eskwela, and at a larger scale, genuinely accessible education.

Ligtas na balik-eskwela, ngayon na! [P]