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HERE [ARE] LIES Ferdinand Ma cos
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balita MARCOS BURY AT LBNB
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opinyon “KARPYU NA SER“
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UPLB PERSPECTIVE
EDITORYAL
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
IVORY TOWER “Martial Law” is a word that carries a lot of meaning. For some Filipinos, it was the “Golden Age” of the Philippines. During this time Filipinos were “disciplined” and observed strict curfew. This was also the time when a lot of infrastructures were built that still stand today. It was in Marcos’s time when pioneering hospitals were built: the Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute. The Makiling Center for the Arts which houses the Philippine High School for the Arts was built in 1976 by Imelda Marcos. But when most of us hear “Martial Law,” what comes to mind is a time that occurred more than 44 years ago – a dark, dark day in Philippine history. Under Martial Law, 70,000 were incarcerated, 35,000 were tortured, and 3,257 were killed. Some of the dead were activists and church personalities. Others were journalists and media workers. Others, bystanders who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Prior to the declaration of Martial Law, Ferdinand Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus, the writ that serves as a safeguard against warrantless arrests and illegal detentions. The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus gave the government power to arrest anyone who dared challenge the Marcoses. They were never to be seen again. Recent events in the country shows that the Philippines is a slave to contradictions. Former President Ferdinand Marcos was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, while the bodies of Martial Law Victims are yet to be found. Filipino
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people speak of forgiveness and nation healing, yet the Marcos’ deny any knowledge of Martial Law. Even the University of the Philippines Los Baños is not spared. University officials chose to be silent after the late dictator was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. With the start of this academic year, the University was vocal in defending the implementation of a new registration system, SAIS (Student Academic Information System) instead of developing SystemOne, a locally created registration system. On November 18, people took to the streets to protest the burial of the former president at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Social media was also met with comments regarding the burial of the dictator.
What seems to be the trend with social media is the intellectualism that happens with the discourse on Marcos’ burial. It becomes a battle of the “educated” versus “uneducated”. The mentality that supporters of Marcos are “cancers” of society. UP being a state university should be the ones elevating the discourse on this issue. The challenge for the Iskolar ng Bayan is to translate what they have
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Kasapi UP Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (Solidaridad) Pamuhatan Silid 11, Pangalawang Palapag, Student Union Building, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Los Baños, College, Los Baños, Laguna , 4031
learned from the four corners of the classroom to the streets. UP education should be able to transcend all classes and this is the challenge we are currently facing. What the burial of Ferdinand Marcos shows is the quality of Philippine education we have. State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) have been facing budget cuts in the past years. On October 2016, the Lower House slashed P2 billion from the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd’s) 2017 budget of P13.37 billion. With not enough funding and meager facilities, SUCs are left to compensate for the scare subsidy. The quality of education is compromised and unless we solve this problem, historical revisionism would be done by those in power. And as if the burial of the dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is not enough, impunity continues to rule the country. Extrajudicial killings are on the rise, human rights violations are intensifying, and the Duterte government is becoming deaf. With Marcos finally at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the other meaning of the word “Martial Law” does not lose its weight – or baggage. Martial Law will always be remembered as a dark day when a president believed he was too powerful and too invincible as to have terminated the lives of dozens and embezzling the money of the people without having to pay for what he has done. Martial Law is not yet over. It is a dark specter, alive and menacing, hovering just above our heads. Martial Law will always be remembered. Ferdinand Marcos may be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani but he will not stay there forever. [P]
Punong Patnugot Jose Lorenzo Lim Kapatnugot Czarina Joy Arevalo Tagapamahalang Patnugot Albert John Enrico Dominguez Patnugot ng Balita Caren Malaluan Patnugot ng Lathalain Mary Anne Gudito Patnugot ng Kultura Diana Jane Plofino Patnugot ng Paglalapat at Grapiks Vicente Morano III Tagapamahala ng Pinansiya Charity Faith Rulloda Mga Kawani Ysabel Dawn Abad ⋅ Julianne Afable ⋅ Mac Andre Arboleda ⋅ Ranielle Averion ⋅ John Joshua Azucena ⋅ Paul Christian Carson ⋅ Jandelle Cruz ⋅ Monica Laboy ⋅ Michelle Andrea Laurio ⋅ Miguel Carlos Lazarte ⋅ Deniel Sean Macapal ⋅ Jovanni Onsat ⋅ Ana Dominique Pablo ⋅ Lianne Rose Parajeno ⋅ Angelica Marie Paz ⋅ Francis Joseph Rafael ⋅ Jey Filan Reyes ⋅ Anna Maye Sagao ⋅ Jessa Angela Suganob ⋅ Juvelle Villanueva Administrative Aide Raquel Malaborbor
tungkol sa pabalot HERE [ARE] LIES
Dibuho ni Jandelle Cruz
UPLB PERSPECTIVE
BALITA
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
STUDENTS’ RAGE MICHELLE ANDREA LAURIO
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UPLB students set late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ photo ablaze, a sign of protest in the sneak burial of the late dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani which took place earlier on Nov. 18. The Unity Walk is part of the week-long celebration of the International Students’ Day, spearheaded by the University Student Council.
FM lies at LNMB, outrages Filipino nation It was the thief’s sneak burial in a broad daylight. The remains of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos was buried last November 18, Friday, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) after the November 8 Supreme Court ruling, 9-5-1 in favor of the hero’s burial. Confirmations regarding the burial were only made public at 10 AM which had sparked outrage since appeals were still being filed against the decision. In UPLB, an indignation rally was held to express the students’ outrage on the unannounced interment of the late dictator. Students from different organizations burned a photograph of Marcos to symbolize condemnation for all the atrocities that had happened under the dictator’s rule. The protest coincides with the Flashback Friday Rage Unity Walk, a part of the week-long celebration of the International Student’s Day, spearheaded by the University Student Council. Nationwide protest Various protest actions were organized all over the country by Martial law victims, private individuals, and organizations upon hearing the burial. Protesters gathered at various locations upon the dissemination of the news. Protesters have gathered along the People’s Power monument along EDSA to express their dissent regarding the matter, raising
WORDS l ANNA MAYE SAGAO & JESSA ANGELA SUGANOB
signages such as “Marcos No Hero”, “Dictator”, “Thief”. On the other hand, students from UP, Ateneo and Miriam College united along Katipunan Avenue at Quezon City to express their indignation. They chanted “Marcos is no hero” and that the burial was “a great injustice to the nation.” Protests have also sparked at Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Bacolod City. Although there are 15 days allotted for the issuance of the decision of the SC for a motion for consideration to be filed, SC Spokesperson Theodore Te claimed that the Marcoses were not prohibited from pushing through with the burial since the Status Quo Ante Order (SQAO), an order which prohibits the burial of the late president for the next 20 days, has already been lifted.
9 out of 14 SC voted in favor of the burial All legal holds against the burial of the late president Ferdinand Marcos had been barred last November 8, 2016, as the majority of the Supreme Court (SC) Justices voted in favor of the late dictator’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). A total of nine SC Justices voted in favor of the dictator’s burial, namely Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Mariano del Castillo, Teresita de Castro, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Jose Mendoza, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin and
Jose Perez. On the other hand, 5 SC Justices dissented to the decision: Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa. A total of 15 Justices were supposed to come to an agreement regarding the issue, but the number had been reduced to 14 after Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes had abstain himself from taking part in the case. ‘No law prohibits a hero’s burial’ On August 7, President Rodrigo Duterte declared that former president Marcos must be buried at LNMB on the grounds that he was a “former president and a soldier.” Preparations for the burial were supposed to push through last September 18, when six petitions coming from Martial Law victims and other stakeholders had impeded its actualization. Although the petitioners contended that the act of burying Marcos at the LNMB violates the foundation of Republic Act 289 due to the atrocities that transpired during his regime, Duterte argued that emotional discretions must be reserved in assessing this matter. Two rounds of oral arguments regarding the petitions against Marcos burial were held last August 31 and
September 8, 2016. A status quo ante order was initially issued by the High court on August 23, 2016. It was later extended to October 18 before it was lifted on November 8, 2016. SC spokesperson Theodore Te, in a press conference, reiterated the grounds cited by the justices for allowing the burial of Marcos at LNMB: •There was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of President Rodrigo Duterte in ordering the burial of Marcos at LNMB because it was done in the exercise of his mandate. There is also no law that prohibits the burial of Marcos’ remains at the LNMB. •President Duterte has the power to reserve for public use and for specific public purposes, any of the lands under public domain. •Marcos’ remains, under regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, can be interred at LNMB because he was a former president, commander-inchief, soldier, medal of valor awardee, and legislator. •The Supreme Court disagreed Marcos was “dishonorably discharged,” saying the disqualification only pertains to the military •Marcos cannot be disqualified from burial at LNMB because he was not convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
Divisive decision While Marcos loyalists were jubilant about the SC’s ruling on Marcos’ burial at LNMB, Martial law victims and various stakeholders criticized the decision. The Department of National Defense (DND) through DND Public Affairs Service Director Arsenio Andolong expressed their approval of the burial, asserting that Marcos was a former war veteran, an ex-defense secretary and a former president, thus making him qualified to be buried at the LNMB. Moreover, President Duterte had made a promise to the Marcoses and the Ilocanos to bury him there during his campaign, to which he immediately asserted the motion upon taking his seat in the presidency. Meanwhile, the National Historic Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) questioned the SC’s decision and appealed for President Duterte to reconsider the hero’s burial for Marcos, citing that Marcos’ war record was built on questionable foundations. “The justice of History, anchored on historical truth, is far greater than that which any court, including the highest court of the land, can render (or in this case, fail to render),” NHCP Chairman Maria Serena Diokno argued in a letter addressed to the President. [P]
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UPLB PERSPECTIVE
BALITA
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
End to ROTC pushed as abuses occur in Benguet State University WORDS l PAUL CHRISTIAN CARSON Violence related to the implementation of the Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) emerged yet again, this time at the Benguet State University (BSU). In a report from alternative publication Northern Dispatch Weekly, another case of abuse in the ROTC program was recorded “around August of this year”, through a correspondence between a BSU student and a concerned student. According to the former, an ROTC cadet, they were physically abused and were even forced to masturbate in front of their ROTC officers. In another report, some were also beaten with rifles and extorted. Some of the female cadets
were also forced to sleep in the officers’ quarters. As of press time, there has been no action from the university administration. After two open letters from concerned students and from Dap-ay, an organization of BSU students, and a statement from Anakbayan-Cordillera, student leaders from BSU went to Benguet Governor Cresencio Pacalso to discuss the matter and prompt further action. BSU students, together with Dapay, have also launched a signature campaign to call the BSU administration for an investigation for these abuses and the abolition of the reservists’ training course.
ROTC program “irreparable” In a statement, King Cris Pulmano of Anakbayan-Metro Baguio said that cases of abuse and violations in the program are recorded annually – a reason why the ROTC is irreparable. He also compared the program’s culture of violence to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Violence related to the implementation of the Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) emerged yet again, this time at the Benguet State University (BSU). ROTC abolition sought for legislation, House action Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist Representative Sarah Elago expressed
deep concern over the matter, saying that the program is “inextricably linked to repeated cases of appalling students’ rights violations”. She said that this was not the only case reported this year. Last June, a viral video surfaced showing cadets being hit repeatedly on the chest and stomach, this time from the University of MindanaoTagum. “ROTC has long been proven irrelevant in fostering discipline, social responsibility, and patriotism in the youth. It has descended into being a hotbed for abuses including corruption, bribery, extortion, collection of unauthorized and excessive fees, and physical and verbal violence. It has become nothing but a
burden to students. It is time that we abolish this vestige of militarism in our schools,” Elago stressed. She then stressed that the BSU case is another compelling reason for the Congress to speed up the legislation of House Bill 2399, or the “ROTC Abolition Act of 2016”, which she also authored. Elago is slated to conduct an investigation on the matter, and asked the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education (CHTE) to summon concerned BSU officials to a motu propio hearing upon the resumption of session on November 7. The youth representative is a member for the majority of the House CHTE. [P]
Fight against discrimination continues in 6th Pride March WORDS | JESSA ANGELA SUGANOB & ANNA MAYE SAGAO The University of the Philippines Los Baños community continues to assert for gender equality and social justice as various student organizations celebrated the 6th annual Southern Tagalog Pride March last October 20, 2016. With this year’s theme of “Pride march natin ‘to, laban natin ‘to”, the march persisted despite the class suspension due to a uper typhoon forecasted on the said day. Aside from raising gender discrimination issues, the participants also raised the issues about national minority killings, US military bases in the country, and implementation of eUP. The event, which was spearheaded by UPLB Babaylan, was succeeded by a program proper upon the arrival of the participants at the Carabao Park where they delivered their solidarity messages and retold some of their experiences in support of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer (LGBTQ) community.
PRIDE! MICHELLE ANDREA LAURIO
Around 300 UPLB students united for gender equality through social equity during the 6th Southern Tagalog Pride March on October 20.
Struggle for gender equality “Every day, we have to keep fighting,” said Sherlyn Aclan, the punong babaylan of UPLB Babaylan. Aclan also said that “We need to have equal rights. We don’t have to
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categorize everything by gender.” She called for the implementation of the Anti-Discrimination Bill, approval of same-sex marriage, and the abolishment of homophobia, gender discrimination, biphobia, transphobia and all forms of hate crimes. Aclan said that they envision a campus that is LGBTQ-friendly and discrimination-free. “[With the pride march], we’ve made UPLB a safer place for people who are part of the LGBTQ community and the people who are questioning themselves. Minumulat natin yung mga tao na hindi part ng community na may ganitong nangyayari, that these LGBTQ people could be anyone. They could be your brother, your sister, your friend, or even your teacher,” she added. “You’re safe with us. No judgments and no bigotry,” Aclan reiterated. Discrimination in other facets of the society “Personally, naniniwala ako na ang laban ng mga mamamayan ay hindi rin hiwalay sa laban ng mga LGBT.” said Rennard Marquez, the CAS Councilor and a participant of the Pride March. “The fight against discrimination is also related to the
fight against contractualization, assertion for genuine land reform and discrimination against indigenous people,” he added. Marquez also explained that the struggle against gender discrimination and equal rights is one and the same with all the struggles for other sectors. Cases of discrimination and hate crimes includes the death of Filipino transgender, Jennifer Laude and the mass shooting in Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando wherein 49 people were killed and dozens were left injured. “Hindi lang ito laban nila. Ang laban natin laban sa diskriminasyon ay paglaban din natin para sa mga karapatan ng mga bawat indibidwal sa bawat sektor, mapa-indigenous people, estudyante o kababaihan.” The UPLB Babaylan led the first Southern Tagalog Pride March last 2010. The Stonewall Riot incident pushed the fight for the LGBT community. On June 28,1969, impulsive and powerful protests countered a police raid which happened in the Stonewall Inn which became the key to startup LGBT liberation not only in the United States, but also the whole world. [P]
YAN ! A B G N O R E Y MGA ENHIN G R AT E N I S S A P % 6 .1 5 9
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UPLB PERSPECTIVE
BALITA
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
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Danilo Concepcion is 21st UP Prexy WORDS l JOSE LORENZO LIM
TAAS KAMAAO JOSE LORENZO LIM
Isko’t Iska 2016: Daluyong ng Pagbabago is the 39th installment of the annual play by Umalohokan, Inc., which reflects the pressing issues in the university, communities, and in the national scale.
USC Vice-Chairperson Cledera, Councilor Villena files resignation WORDS l DIANNE JANE PLOFINO UPLB University Student Council (USC) Vice-Chairperson Shaira Cledera and Councilor Stephen Villena filed their resignation last October 28, 2016 after the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) confirmed their DISMISSED status. Last October 6, 2016, the OUR released a certification verifying that all members of the USC are registered this 1st Semester A.Y. 2016-2017. However on October 21, 2016, the OUR released a corrected version of the certification of registration stating that both Cledera and Villena are not registered for this semester. Unaware of their Registration Status USC Chairperson Merwin Jacob Alinea said that he was unaware of the registration status of Cledera and Villena until the two submitted their resignation letter. “Actually di ko alam ang current status nila during that time, July uma-attend pa siya [Stephen] nun eh tumutulong pa rin siya sa student council. So di rin talaga kami nagkaroon ng tanungan in council level kung kumusta yung standing or yung status,” Alinea explained. “Yung kay Shaira, nalaman ko lang yung result nung standing noong nagsend rin siya ng resignation letter, kasi di ba active na active siya sa student council. Tapos yung October 24 na GA [general assembly] nandun pa siya and meron din siyang Form 5 and slips na kiniclaim. As in nakapagregister talaga siya,” he added. In an interview with Perspective, Villena said that he found out that he was dismissed last July, and he
immediately tried to accomplish the readmission process. However, he explained that due to the death threats he is still receiving it was hard for him to visit the campus. “Nalaman ko lang na dismissed ako noong July… so nung nalaman kung dimissed ako inasikaso ko na siya agad… Tapos yun, pumunta na ako sa adviser ko ganyan ganyan, palaging siyang wala. Ang problema ko rin kasi hindi na ako makabalik dito sa Los Banos [UPLB]… andaming nagsesend pa rin ng messages sakin, death threats ganun,” said Villena. “Fault of the system” Alinea further explained that Cledera claimed that she was registered for this semester stating that she even presented her forms 5 and 26 to him. “For Shaira’s case, sa registration ngayon, kapag sa Landbank ka nagbayad medyo mahirap itrace, eh nabigyan siya nung form 26. I’m not sure kung ano ba yung cases na nangyari sa registration status niya pero may form 5 siya and all,” he clarified. On the other hand, Villena blamed the University readmission process. He said that he talked to Dr. Portia G. Lapitan, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, to accept his late submission of readmission requirements. “Nakausap ko siya personally ang sabi niya di daw talaga sila tumatanggap ng late na readmission… Sabi pa nga ni Ma’am Portia sakin. ‘Iho, marami pang may malalang sitwasyon sayo, pero di namin inapprove, di naming tinanggap, kaya ikaw di ka rin naming tatanggapin ganun. Kung gusto mo next sem na lang’,” he stated.
Both Alinea and Villena extended their apologies to the students for the dismissal of two council members and promised for this case not to happen again. However, they emphasized that as UP students, the situation should be viewed objectively and critically. “Nandun rin yung pagtingin na something [is] still wrong regarding the readmission process, regarding sa registration process na pinagdadaaanan ng mga estudyante tapos bukod dun, I think based din sa personal status nila. Di naman mawawala sa kanila ang pagseserve within or outside man ng student council. Saka at the end of the day kung iuuphold natin yung pagiging Iskolar ng Bayan, I know na we’ll go beyond academic status, we’ll go beyond academic achievement kasi ang mas magdedefine sa ’tin ay yung mga contributions natin sa paglilingkod sa sambayanan,” he stated. New Vice Chairperson and Councilors Based on the deliberations held last November 4, 2016 by USC members, Alinea announced that Janssen Calvelo of the USC is appointed as the new Vice Chairperson. The other nominees for the Vice Chairpersonship were Sai Saipudin, Karl Francisco and JJ Ilagan. Jordan Cabarles and Jason Labrador, who placed 11th and 13th on the previous USC elections, took the vacant seats for USC Councilor. As of presstime, UPLB Perspective has been contacting Cledera through text messages and phone calls, but she remained unresponsive. [P]
After being voted by the Board of Regents, the University’s highest policy making body, UP College of Law Dean Danilo Concepcion will be the 21st president of the University of the Philippines. In his Vision Statement, Concepcion points how UP should have an “honor and excellence with compassion” culture. He states that the University’s academic trust should reflect its concern for the welfare of its primary constituent – the nation. He also believes that UP’s admission and financial aid system should respond to the needs of all deserving students. Furthermore, UP should endeavor to deliver efficient and effective services to its constituency within the campus and extend meaningful support to all its personnel. Concepcion also asserts that UP should conceive of creative ways to boost its income without abandoning the campaign for increased government subsidy. Lasty, he says that UP should contribute to national development. Danilo Concepcion was previously University President of De la Salle Araneta from 2000 to 2002, he also served as the UP College of Law associate dean until 2006. Concepcion is also the executive director of the UP Bonifacio Global City campus. The 11 members of the Board of Regents who deliberated on the next UP President were Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, Student Regent Raoul Manuel, Faculty Regent Philip Padilla, Staff Regent Alexis Mejia, Alumni Regent Ramon Maronilla, Senate Committee on Education Chair Bam Aquino, House Committee on Higher Education Chair Ann Hofer, and Malacanang appointees Frederick Mikhail Farolan, Angelo Jimenez, and
Gizela Gonzales Montinola, and 20th UP President Alfredo Pascual. Student Regent Raul Manuel in his statement said, “Through further assessment and deliberation we have opted to vote for UP Law Dean Danilo Concepcion as our next UP President, on the grounds that he, among all the other nominees, gave the most positive commitments toward our Student Agenda. He committed to aid in our campaign against tuition and other school fees increase and to ensure transparency with regard to the fees collected by our university. Particularly, he plans to issue a moratorium on tuition and other fees increases. He is also willing to engage with the students in order to study the possibility of free UP education. “ Other UP President nominees were UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Gisela Concepcion, former UPD College of Engineering Dean and Department of Science and Technology Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara, former UP Vice President for Public Affairs and current CHED Commissioner Prospero de Vera, former UPD Chancellor Caesar Saloma, and UP Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Benito Pacheco. On October 1, four out of ten candidates for the 21st University of the Philippines President were disqualified for not meeting the minimum requirement that a candidate “should be able to serve the full term before reaching the age of 70”. Namely, Consolacion Alaras, Orlando Mercado, Roger Posadas, and Michael Tan were disqualified. The law dean will serve for a term of six years. On February 9, 2017, outgoing UP President Alfredo Pascual would formally vacate his office. [P]
Gatchalian pushes for Free Higher Education Act WORDS l MONICA LABOY
The University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) Buklod held The Forum IV: Assessing Duterte’s First 100 Days, last October 27, with guest speaker Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and other guest speakers. During Gatchalian’s presentation, he stated that a 15-billion Peso budget is needed in order to ba able to support the education of approximately 1.5 million students in state universities and colleges. The 15-billion Peso budget is just 0.45% of the 3.3 Billion budget of the government until 2017. As of October 26, many are still against the Free Higher Education(FHE) Act.
The Commisssion on Higher Education (CHED) is against the FHE Act for three reasons, (1) there will be a mass exodus from private Higher Education Institutes to public schools, (2) it will benefit the rich, and (3) there will be a problematic financial sustainability. Gatchalian stated that he asked CHED for statistics but none were produced. “Bakit natin hinahadlangan ang program na 80% ang makikinabang? Kung makikinabang ang 20%, edi makikinabang din ang 80%” Gatchalian explained that less than 20% of the country’s population are from the higher and middle classes. [P]
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KULTURA
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
MULA SEMENTO TUNGONG KONKRETO: PAGSASABUHAY SA DIWA NG AKTIBISMO SALITA l PAUL CHRISTIAN CARSON Makikita mo sila sa pamantasan: hindi bilang mga taong araw-araw mong nakakasalamuha sa inyong mga klase. Hindi sila naglalakad sa paligid ng campus, tulad mo: at malamang sa malamang, hinding-hindi mo sila makikita na naghahabol ng requirements ngayong papatapos na ang semestre. Sila ay mga palatandaan – hindi lamang ng direksyon o lunan, kundi pati na rin ng isang malawak at mayamang kasaysayan ng aktibismo sa kampus. Papaano kamo? Nariyan si Tao at ang kanyang mga kalabaw sa CPark, si Pegaraw sa Main Library, at ang kapita-pitagang Oblation bilang mga saksi sa ilang taong paglaban ng mga mag-aaral. Matanong natin: ano na ang kanilang mga nasaksihan sa ilang taong pagtayo (at pagsubok sa paglipad)? Sa piling ng mga kalabaw Malimit ang mga rally na isinasagawa sa Carabao Park, tahanan ng walong ulo ng kalabaw at ang istatwa ng isang magsasakang may dalang kalabaw pang-araro. Sa ating pagtanaw sa kanilang kasaysayan, malalaman natin na ang dating mga haligi ng tarangkahan ng pamantasan ay ang mga ulo ng kalabaw na ito. Itinayo noong administrasyon ng dating UPLB Chancellor BM Gonzalez, nagmula ang mga ito sa donasyon ng University Student Council na nagkakahalagang dalawang libong piso noon; at inukit ng National Artist na si Guillermo Tolentino. Ito ang nagsilbing palatandaan ng dating UP College of Agriculture, hanggang sa mapalitan na ito noong dekada ’60. Ngunit, kasabay ng paglipat ng tarangkahan, siyang usbong din ng paglaban. Naging lunan ang pamantasan sa pag-usbong ng aktibismo sa kampus at sa rehiyon – pinangunahan ng Kabataang Makabayan (KM), mga estudyante at guro ang daluyong ng mga protestang humarap sa rehimeng Marcos at sa kanyang paparating na diktadura. Nagsimula rito ang mga diskusyon hinggil sa kasaysayan ng
bansa at damdaming makabayang mula sa mga pahayag ng iba’t ibang personahe, katulad ng dating senador Claro M. Recto at Jose Ma. Sison. Tinutulan ng mga progresibong estudyante ang digmaang US-Vietnam at ang pagpapadala ng gobyernong Marcos ng mga tropang Pilipino doon. Sa loob ng kampus, nilabanan nila ang kumakalat na ideyang konserbatibo at relihiyoso, kahit sa mga klase; at nanindigan para sa kalayaang pang-akademiko. Tumungo rin ang mga Iskolar ng Bayan sa iba’t ibang mga komunidad ng magsasaka sa San Pablo, Laguna, at mga probinsya ng Batangas at Quezon upang malaman ang tunay na kalagayan ng agrikultura sa rehiyon – hindi lamang upang magbaba ng panibagong kaalaman sa agrikultura, kundi upang makinig at tumulong sa kanilang mga problema bilang magsasaka. Nakikita natin ang nagpapatuloy na tradisyon ng paglubog sa mga magsasaka at manggagawa sa bawat pagdalaw ng mga estudyante at mga organisasyon sa mga piketlayn na pinagdarausan ng welga, sa mga kampuhan na sentro ng protesta, at iba pa. Hindi man mapagpasya, ngunit mahalaga ang naging kontribusyon ng mga mag-aaral sa pag-unlad hindi lamang ng ekonomikong kalagayan ng mga magsasaka, kundi pati na rin upang baguhin ang kanilang kalagayan sa lipunan. Sa ganitong paraan, lumapit ang mga Iskolar ng Bayan sa istatwang nasa gitna ng walong ulo ng kalabaw. Biyaheng pagbabago Kapag dumaan ka sa Main Library, hindi mo na ba napagtanto kung saan nga ba patungo si Pegaraw? Oo, pataas, pero, saan? Sa langit? Sa kabilang planeta? Sa susunod na kanto? Naku, kung pwede nga lang, sinakyan na si Pegaraw papuntang third floor ng Main Library, para naman pakinggan at bigyangaksyon ang mga panawagang #JunkeUP at #JunkSTS sa ilang panahong pagdalaw sa mga opisina. Balik tayo sa mga kamag-aral natin – saan nga ba tutungo ang
kanilang mga panawagan? Ano ang kahihinatnan ng mga mensahe sa plakard at malalaking istrimer? Mahirap ang maging isang aktibista. Maraming kokontra, kahit ang mga magulang mo – dahil sumusuong ka sa isang daang hindi mo kinasanayang puntahan noong musmos ka pa. Maraming nasa paligid na nais kang pahirapan, tulad ng nangyari kina Karen Empeño at Sheryl Cadapan, dinakip ni Hen. Jovito Palparan. Maaring nasa kabilang kanto lang din ang mga bantang maaring lumundo sa iyong buhay. Ngunit, mas mabigat at hindi mapagpapalit ang mga produkto ng paghihirap. Masalimuot man ang daan, ang dulo pa rin ay mas magandang kinabukasan, hindi lamang para sa kanilang sarili, kundi para sa kanilang mga anak, apo, at kababayan. Paglilingkod na walang pagiimbot Sa huli, babalik at babalik ang diwa ng aktibismo sa diwa ng Oblation: ang walang-humpay na paglilingkod sa sambayanan. Marami nang dumating at umalis sa pamantasang ito: maraming bayani, ilang mandarambong. Ngunit lahat tayo ay tinatawag upang maglingkod – labas sa rekisitos o mga salitang dumadaloy lang sa hangin, aksyon at pagkakaisa ang hinihingi sa atin ng mas nakararami. Matatanaw natin ang kasaysayan ng aktibismo sa pamantasan sa pagbabalik sa diwa ng paglilingkod sa mamamayan. Hindi maipagkakaila: ang paglaban ay pinakamabisang paraan upang makipagkaisa sa mamamayan. Walang romantikong salita, walang mababaw na dahilan ang dadalhin, sapagkat sa kabila ng mga pagkukulang nila bilang tao, kolektibo silang nagsisikap upang baguhin ang kinagisnang kaayusan. Kaya, kung nanaisin mong sumuporta sa kanila, hindi lang dapat mag-atubili; mas nararapat na makipagdiskusyon, sumali, at makiisa; sapagkat ang tunay na diwa ng mga istatwa ay natatanaw sa konkretong aksyon ng mga nagmamasid at nakikiisa. [P]
UPLB PERSPECTIVE
KULTURA
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
7
Silencing Mocha Uson WORDS| MAC ANDRE ARBOLEDA
“There is always a thin line between rights and responsibilities,” said Paul Quilet on his Change.org petition to suspend Mocha Uson’s Facebook page. More than 30, 000 people had already signed for this cause before, shockingly, the creator of the petition, Paul Quilet’s personal Facebook account got suspended. Quilet, in his petition, had claimed that Mocha Uson used her Facebook page to “spread fictitious and false information” and “manipulate and condition the public.” He explained, “This is more than Mocha Uson, more than me. This is our war against ignorance and against our twisted and malevolent view of human rights.” At a time and age where there is a wealth in information and misinformation, it could be tempting to fight so-called ignorance by silencing those who proliferate it. After all, the facts they present are fake and their opinions usually dissent with ours. However, is censorship truly the answer to this problem? Is freedom of speech exclusive to the intellectuals? Address it, don’t suppress it Freedom of speech applies to everyone, including Mocha Uson. Taking away her right to speak would be accepting a society where not everyone is treated equal, criminal libel is enforced, and media or journalist killings are the norm. Although Mocha Uson is entitled to her own opinions, she is not entitled to her own facts. So how do we respond to Facebook pages and accounts that spread untruths? The answer is to address them. The readers of Mocha Uson, including Mocha Uson herself are real people and we should have learned already from the 2016 elections that censoring them and throwing insults does not and would never work. We have to call them out and educate them in a language that is empathetic and easily understood; bridging the gap between the informed and misinformed, the critical and uncritical is key to fighting ignorance. The Golden Age of Fake News With rounds of dishonest and untruthful material being distributed on the Internet every day, media groups are finally starting to take notice and devising countermeasures. Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc have joined First Draft Coalition, a network of news companies to reduce
distribution of fake news on the social network. Facebook vows to fight fake news and yet, months after their declaration to prevent this, they continue to proliferate on the platform. Information scientists argue that this is because of Facebook’s algorithm that prioritizes posts that have higher user engagements. bIn the recently concluded US elections, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg denied fake news on Facebook had impact on the US election. This is a harmful statement, as it dismisses the social media platform’s role in regulating information that could be simply untrue, information that possibly reinforces prejudice, and information that could cause fear and panic among unsuspecting readers. The Internet: #NoPlaceForHate? Recently, Rappler announced that they will launch #NoPlaceForHate, a campaign that seeks to create a space where “[people are free to express themselves] without fear of being attacked and swarmed by an army of anonymous commenters who seek to silence and tame.” Interestingly enough, they plan to do this by “aggressively deleting crude and disrespectful posts and comments that violate standards of civility.” While this might sound rational to the average Rappler user, it’s ironic to claim that such actions, quote, “aggressively deleting posts and comments” could possibly be upholding everyone’s right to freedom of speech. As a site that describes itself as a “social news network”, it’s contradicting to see their refusal in engaging fruitful dialogue with their subscribers. How do we create a community of critical thinkers if our immediate response to different opinions is complete dismissal and erasure? In the war of ignorance, being educated should come with a little more sympathy and keeping in mind that oppression, even in its most violent form, sometimes presents itself under the guise of “civility.” [P]
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UPLB PERSPECTIVE
LATHALAIN
Laban Mapapalad ang karamihan sapagkat malawak ang himpapawid na binabaybay ng kanilang mga pakpak. Matayog ang alapaap na kanilang nililipad. Dama nila ang hangin ng paglaya. Gayunman, paano ang mga taong kabilang sa minorya? Kapwa Pilipinong tila mayroong rehas; hindi man lang nila maiunat ang kanilang mga bagwis dahil sa tanikalang nakagapos sa kanila. Hindi nila dama ang hangin ng paglaya. Nakalulungkot isipin na demokratiko man ang bansang Pilipinas ngunit napakaraming panig ang hindi man lang pinapansin. Maraming hinaing ang hindi man lang ginugustong pakinggan kahit sandali. Kanino ba talaga naglilingkod ang pamahalaan? Katutubong Pilipino Ang National Minority ay tinuturing na tahanan ang kanilang kapaligiran mula sa lupang minana pa nila sa kanilang mga ninuno. Karamihan sa kanila ay naninirahan sa kabundukan at karagatan. Dahil dito, masasabing malapit sila sa kalikasan. Tradisyunal ang kanilang sistemang pampulitika. Malaki ang pagpapahalaga nila sa kanilang mga paniniwala at ritwal tulad ng ambahan, pagdidiwata, sistemang-pangao, pagpapasa ng mga kwento ng kanilang pinagmulan sa pamamagitan ng pakikipagtalastasan. Simple at payak ang kanilang pamumuhay. Sa kasamaang palad, biktima sila ng kasakiman ng pamahalaan at ng ibang mga naglalakihang korporasyon (lokal man o dayuhan). Ang mga katutubo ay pinapalayas sa kanilang lupang kinagisnan at minana. Sila rin ay saksi sa pangangamkam ng iba. Dagdag pa rito, pilit silang inaalisan ng kanilang karapatang pantao. Liban pa riyan, masasabing mapaniil ang ilang mga batas tulad ng Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA). Nakapaloob sa IPRA ang pagbibigay ng Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) at Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (CALT). Nasa probisyon din nito ang pagtatakda at pagkilala sa lupaing ninuno at lupang ninuno, ngunit hindi ito ang nangyayari. Malawakan pa rin ang pagpapalayas sa mga katutubo at hindi pagkilala sa kanilang karapatan. Patuloy rin ang pagsasagawa ng illigal na pagtotroso at pagmimina na nakaaapekto sa kanila. Idagdag pa rito ang mga mapaminsalang proyekto ng gobyerno at naglalakihang kumpanya tulad ng pagpapatayo ng Laiban Dam, Pentaport City, at Pacific Coast City. Nakalulungkot pang isipin na ang ilan sa mga batas dito sa bansa ay pinapanigan ang mga dayuhan. Isang halimbawa ay ang Mining Act of 1995 kung saan nagkaloob ito ng 100 porsyento sa mga dayuhan upang makuha
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
sa
Lagaslas
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Hangin
SALITA l MICHELLE ANDREA LAURIO & FRANCIS JOSEPH RAFAEL DIBUHO l JUVELLE VILLANUEVA
ang yamang mineral sa bansa at mayroon pang 10 taon tax holiday na ipinatupad ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo nung senador pa siya. Hindi rin ligtas ang mga katutubo sa militarisasyon, na siyang nagsilbing instrumento ng mga komprador at panginoong may lupa kasama ng mga dayuhang korporasyon upang sila ay maproteksyonan mula sa pandarahas na kanilang isinasagawa sa pambansang minorya.
Si Valeria Catubigan “Padayon lang me,” wika ni Valeria Catubigan. Kung saan ang laban ay hindi rito nagtatapos. Si Valeria Catubigan, isang Lumad na mula pa sa Surigao del Norte, ay isa sa mga inararo ng sasakyan ng pulisya sa kasagsagan ng kanilang kilos protesta sa harap ng Embahada ng Estados Unidos noong ikalabing-siyam ng Oktubre. Siya ay kabilang sa pangkatetniko ng Mamanwa, kung saan sila ay umaasa lamang sa biyayang ipinagkakaloob ng kabundukan at ilog sa kanilang sariling lupain. Ang yutang kabilin o ang minanang lupa nila ay sagisag ng kanilang kasaysayan ng kanyang pamilya. Ngunit sa nagdaang panahon, sila ay nakikibaka katuwang ang iba pang Mamanwa laban sa mga dayuhang kumpanya ng pagmimina at pagtotroso. Ang mga ito ay nagdulot upang maabuso ang kanilang mga yamang likas na naging sanhi upang maging limitado ang kanilang pagkain at tubig. Ang kasalukuyang sitwasyon ang siyang nag-udyok sa kanya upang makiisa sa pag-aaklas mula sa unang hanay noong ikalabingsiyam ng Oktubre sa Maynila kasama ang humigit-kumulang isang libo pang pangkat etniko. Noong una, inakala nila na ito ay isang mapayapang kilos protesta; hindi sila nangangamba sa kabila ng pagkakaroon ng pulis. Ngunit nung dumagsa na ang mga tao, nagkaroon na ng mga gitgitan at tulakan. Ang hangarin lamang ni Valeria ay ipabatid sa ating pamahalaan ang kanilang sitwasyon at manindigan laban sa pang-aabuso ng kumpanyang dayuhan sa pagmimina. Masasabing isa siya sa mga langay-langayang nagtangkang sugurin ang malakas na hangin patungo sa himpapawid ng paglaya. Bagamat, sa una mang tangka, siya ay napahamak, patuloy pa rin sila sa pakikibaka hanggang madama ang hangin ng paglaya. Patuloy pa rin ang paglipad tungo sa kalayang pinapangarap. Ang Hacienda Luisita Masasabing hindi kaiba ang nangyari sa Hacienda Luisita kung saang matinding karahasan mula sa mga pulis at militar ang tinamo ng mga magsasaka noong ika-16 ng Nobyembre taong 2004. Umabot pa ito sa pagkamatay ng pitong magsasaka at pagkakasugat ng halos 200 iba pa. Humigit kumulang 6000 magsasaka ng tubo mula sa mga plantasyon at mill ang nag-strike.
Ito ay bunga ng pagkakatanggal sa trabaho ng 327 magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita, Inc. Nagsimula ang strike noong ika-6 ng Nobyembre at makailang marahas na dispersal ang natamo ng mga nagpo-protesta. Gumamit ng tear gas at water cannons ang mga pinagsamang military at pulis laban sa mga miyembro ng protesta. Kabilang sa mga naging biktima ng ginawang karahasan ang mga matatanda’t bata. Sa kinalaunan ay naging matindi ang trato ng mga pulis at militar at ito ay humantong sa paggamit ng baril at tangke. Walang awang pinagpuputukan ang mga magsasakang nagpoprotesta na nagresulta sa pagkamatay ng ilang mga magsasaka. Tanging boses at tapang ang kanilang dala upang sila’y mapakinggan na tila’y pinipilit patahimikin. Nag-ugat din itong lahat sa kawalan ng lupa ng mga magsasaka na sa katunayan ay pinagbuhusan nila ng dugo’t pawis. Napatunayang walang dulot ang programang Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) na hindi naman sumasagot sa mga suliranin ng mga magsasaka. Magpasahanggang ngayon, nakasandal pa rin sa pader ang mga taga-Hacienda Luisita. Umaabot sa 9.50 pesos ang kanilang nakukuhang sahod kada araw na sadyang hindi sapat. Labin-dalawang taon na ang nakalilipas at hindi pa rin nabibigyang hustisya ang naging biktima ng Hacienda Luisita Massacre. Taong 2012 nang idineklara ng Korte Suprema na ipatupad na ang desisyong ibahagi ang 4,195 ektarya ng lupain sa mga magsasaka. Nanatiling desisyon lamang ito. Ang kaso ng Hacienda Luisita ay repleksyon sa kabuuang sitwasyon ng mga magsasaka sa buong bansa. Kawalan ng tunay na agraryong reporma sa lupa at panlipunang hustisya ang nararanasan ng mga magsasaka. Hamon sa Kahulugan ng Demokrasya Ang dating mapayapang paglipad na kanilang natamasa ay tila pangarap na lamang ngayon. Nasa kulungan sila ng mga higante kung saan sariling kapakanan lamang ang iniisip. Marahil tinatanaw na lamang nila ang himpapawid na nais nilang liparin sa likod ng mga rehas habang inaalala ang banayag na dampi ng hangin. Hindi iba ang naranasan ng ating mga pambansang minorya sa Embahada ng Estados Unidos at mga magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita. Sila ay nagdaos ng protesta para pakinggan ang kanilang mga hinaing ngunit kapalit nito ang at pandarahas at pambubusal sa kanila. Pagpapalayas sa mga lupang ninino, pagpasok ng mga dayuhang minahan, militarisasyon, kawalan ng lupa, mababang pasahod— ito ang ilan lamang sa mga problemang kinakaharap ng mga sektor. Demokrasya nga bang maituturing kung patuloy lang binubusalan ang mga bibig na nagpapanawagan ng mga hinaing? Ang tunay na esensya ng demokrasya ay ang paglilingkod at pagsagot sa obhektibong interes ng karamihan, hindi ng iilan. [P]
UPLB PERSPECTIVE
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
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LATHALAIN
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REYES EY FILAN SALITA l J
Isang dula. Limang buwan ng paghahanda. Tatlong gabi ng pagtatanghal. Nang magbukas ang tabing para sa ika-39 na yugto ng dulang Isko’t Iska na ngayong taong 2016 ay pinamagatang “Daluyong ng Pagbabago” ay nasaksihan sa bulwagang DL Umali ang mga nagaganap sa loob at labas ng unibersidad. Ang taunang dulang Isko’t Iska sa UPLB ay primaryang ginaganapan ng mga new freshmen, ngunit bunga ng K to 12 Program ay wala masyadong freshmen sa taong 2016 at 2017 kaya naman ngayong taon ay naging bukas para sa lahat na gumanap sa Isko’t Iska. Tampok sa dula ang mga pangunahing tauhang sina Isko at Iska na representasyon ng mga Iskolar ng Bayan, kasama na rin ang mga kilalang pigura sa loob ng UPLB tulad nina Mariang Banga, Oble, Pegaraw, at Tao. Bawat tauhan ay tumatalakay sa mga suliranin sa loob ng unibersidad tulad na lang ng SAIS, ST System, at ang usapin ng mandatory ROTC, at sa labas naman ng unibersidad ay ang mga kaso ng sapiliting pagdukot at pagkawala, kontraktuwalisasyon, at pangangamkam ng mga lupa. “Nagiging negosyo na ang edukasyon” “Kung iisipin nga dapat walang pila dito dahil karapatan ang edukasyon. Nagbabayad lang tayo ng napakalaki dahil ginagawang negosyo ang edukasyon”, paliwanag ni Iska sa kapwa kamag-aral. Sa dula ay may nagdadasal na isang estudyante na makuha ang bracket na gusto niya kahit na sabihing nandaya siya sa ST System habang ang iba namang mga estudyante ay pinoproblema kung paano babayaran ang kanilang matrikula na kung tutuusin ay hindi nila kayang bayaran dahil sa ibang bracket sila nabibilang.
Socialized Tuition System (ST System). Ito ang bracketing system sa UP na nagtatakda kung magkano ang babayaran ng mga estudyante at ito ay nakadepende sa mga sinagot ng mga estudyante sa isang online questionnaire na sumusuri sa kanilang pang-ekonomiyang kalagayan. Liban sa pagpupunyagi kapag nakuha ang tamang bracket at pandaraya para mas mababa ang bayaran ay nandiyan din ang mga apela para makuha ang tamang bracket at mga protesta para mawala na ang ST System at iba pang katulad ng sistemang ito upang ang edukasyon ay matigil na sa pagiging pribilehiyo at maging isa nang karapatan alinsunod na rin sa konstitusyon ng Pilipinas. Bukod sa ST System ay nandiyan din ang SAIS. Sa dula, marinig palang ang salitang “SAIS” ay nagwawala ang mga estudyante sa entablado at maging si Pegaraw na isang propesor na bahagi ng registration committee sa dula ay napapaiyak. Ang SAIS na bagong online enlistment system na nilaanan ng P37.7 milyon mula sa kabuuang P752 milyon ng programang eUP ni UP President Alfredo Pascual ay inilunsad kasama ang pangakong mapagagaan nito ang proseso ng pagpaparehistro ng mga magaaral sa UP, ngunit ang mga hinatid nitong resulta sa UPLB ay nakapagtangay sa karamihan sa desperasyon. Bunga ng iskedyul ng pagpaparehistro na nagsisimula ng hatinggabi at mahigpit na kumpetisyon para sa mga slots sa mga klase ay dalawang gabing nagkampo sa loob ng unibersidad ang mga mag-aaral. At sa kabila ng sakripisyong ito ay kinailangan pa rin ng mga mag-aaral na dumaan sa manwal na pagrerehistro at magpetisyon ng mga dagdag na klase.
“Gawing regular ang mga manggagawang kontrakwal” Piket. Hanay ng mga taong nagkakapit-bisig upang ipaglaban ang kanilang mga karapatan. Ang mga ito ay hindi bago sa paningin. Maingay, ngunit organisado. At magulo kapag lumusob na ang mga guwardiya at mga kapulisan. Kahit matagal na sa serbisyo ang mga manggagawa ay hindi pa rin sila maging regular sa trabaho. Nandiyan pa rin ang banta sa kanilang kabuhayan at pagkakait sa mga benipisyong dapat nilang matanggap kapalit ng kanilang serbisyo. “Kitang-kita natin na panahon na upang gawing regular ang mga manggagawang kontrakwal, at bigyan sila ng mga benepisyong nakasaad sa batas.”, pahayag ni Tao, isang manggagawang kontraktuwal sa dula. Ang mga kontraktuwal na manggagawa ng Manila Cordage Company, Manco Synthesis Incorporated, Tanduay, at ng iba pang mga kompanya at mga korporasyon na matapos magserbisyo nang matagal ay hindi pa rin ginawang regular at ang mga kasama ay pinatalsik na lang sa trabaho. Sa pagbuo nila ng piket ay nakaranas sila ng pagbomba ng tubig, pambabato at panghahampas mula sa mga guwardiya at mga kapulisang dapat sana ay nagtatanggol sa mga mamamayan. “Lupa ay kinamkam, lupa ay ipaglalaban” Sa ngalan ng pera ang mga mayayaman ay nangangamkam ng mga lupa, sapiliting pinagigiba ang mga kabahayan ng mga matagal nang naninirahan sa mga komunidad. Ang “Daluyong ng Pagbabago” ay hinango partikular sa Barangay Patungan ng Maragondon, Cavite. Ang 602 hektarya rito na pinangingisda at pinansasaka ay inaangkin ng Maria Theresa
Virata (MTV) Realty Corporation upang gawing lugar pang-ekoturismo. Nagsimula ang banta ng pagpapaalis sa mga tao noong 2013 nang ang MTV Realty Corporation ay mag-estasyon ng mga guwardiya malapit sa lugar. Hindi rin pinahihintulutan ang pagdadala ng mga materyales upang maayos ang mga imprastrakturang nasira ng mga nagdaang bagyo. Inaalok ang mga residente ng P5,000 para lisanin ang lugar at lumipat sa isang relocation site, ngunit itong nasabing relocation site ay malayo sa kabuhayan ng mga tao at malapit sa tabing-ilog at higit sa lahat ay hindi sasapat sa kanilang paninirahan sa lugar. Sina William Castillano, isang lider-magsasaka, at Lorenzo Obrado, isang lider-mangingisda, ng Barangay Patungan ay inaresto noong ika-21 ng Pebrero taong 2014. Kinasuhan sila ng iligal na pagdadala ng mga armas at mga pampasabog. Ayon sa mga nakasaksi sa pag-aresto sa dalawa ay wala man lang search warrant ang mga nagtungong puwersang militar. Kasama ng mga kaso ng iligal na pag-aresto ay ang sapilitang pagdukot at pagkawala ng mga lider at miyembro ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan. Sa dula ay naging biktima nito si Obley na isang lider-estudyante na nanilbihan sa komunidad na nahaharap sa banta ng demolisyon. “At mananatili nalang ba ako dito habang sila ay nahihirapan, sinasagasaan ang karapatan at dinadahas sa sariling komunidad?”, tanong ni Obley hindi lang kay Iska, kundi sa lahat ng Iskolar ng Bayan. At tulad nga ng pamagat ng Isko’t Iska 2016 na “Daluyong ng Pagbabago” ay tunay na dumadaluyong ang mga pagbabago sa lipunang Pilipino. May hamong ipaglaban ang bayang Pilipinas, ang “lupa ay kinamkam, lupa ay ipaglalaban.” [P]
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UPLB PERSPECTIVE
OPINYON
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
Beautiful minds, forgotten ones KWENTONG FRESHIE “They would not listen, they’re not listening still. Perhaps they never will.” These are lines from Don McLean’s “Vincent,” a biographical ballad about the tragedy of the celebrated postimpressionist Vincent van Gogh. I would listen to the song, listen to it again, and listen to it once more, especially with Josh Groban’s cover. The figurative rendition of the lines speaks to me more than I would write about it here. If you take a profound look at van Gogh’s paintings such as “Starry Night,” they’re an articulate picture of the deep mental and emotional instability that the artist had to endure throughout life. Van Gogh, despite this, chose to paint about beauty. I am wary not to exaggerate here with van Gogh’s case but the reality remains that many of us, as students and youth, in this particular context, silently suffer within ourselves mentally and emotionally at varying levels. As a stranger to the campus during those first freshman days, it was quite dreadful to hear about several cases of mental and emotional breakdowns and two cases (or more, I am not certain) of suicide attempts among UPLB students. I heard these from a guidance counselor and a professor but of course, they had no apparent intention of frightening a neophyte. College is very conducive to stress and depression especially to freshmen who are yet starting a university experience. For instance, if you have six subjects or 18 units, three units more than that of the minimum for regular students, you would expect
a rough estimate of four to five academic papers every week, two to three quizzes every other day, two to three homework every day, a-half-ofa-ream amount of readings every day, two to three forums or symposiums every week, one film screening or stage play every week, and it goes further if teachers spare no leniency. But such pressure is only one of many factors that can greatly affect our mental and emotional health. For a personal experience, I would rather reserve that. With all the stigma on mentally challenged individuals or on those who have a recurring or had a onetime experience, who is frank and dauntless enough to share about it? But somehow someone needs to speak out. There are recent particular incidents that resonate close to us as students and youths. Fifteen-year-old actress Julia Louise Buencamino last 2015 was found in their house hanging dead. Former child actor Jiro Manio last 2015 was hospitalized for a mental health problem, fleeing their home over an argument with his father. A day before the World Mental Health Day on October 10, the
SALITA l JOVANIE ONSAT GRAPHICS l JUVELLE VILLANUEVA Senate issued a press release on the mental health bill authored by Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV. Aquino’s proposal, the Adolescents and Youth Mental Health Program Act (Senate Bill No. 657), plans to establish a mental health law specially catering to the young population.
Dating back seven years ago, one of the earlier mental heath bills was the National Mental Health Act of 2009 authored by then Sen. Pres. Juan Ponce Enrile. This means that within
a period of seven years, Congress failed to pass into law any single bill filed. But more than seven years, there was apparently a 15-year delay for a legislative enactment. The filed bills include the National Mental Health Act of 2013 and of 2014; Philippine Mental Health Acts of 2014 (Sotto and Legarda separate proposals), of 2015, and of 2016. There is an ongoing online petition for Sen. Loren Legarda’s 2014 mental health act at Change. org. There remains an imperative to enact a mental health law that specially caters to the young population even if any of the aforementioned bills will be passed into law. The assertion that the young generation today are more mentally and emotionally unstable than their predecessors may be questionable. However, it is safer to agree that the present social structure exposes the young population to greater vulnerabilities. Social pressures, different forms of conflicts, and diametrical aspects of modern society involving role dynamics, social institutions, and social relations confront today’s youths
and adolescents to a degree never to be underestimated. Young people are not only estranged from society but also estranged from themselves. Across countries, data gathered also offer a compelling reason for the enactment of a mental health law catering to the young population. In its 2014 report Health for the World’s Adolescents, WHO identified depression as among the chief causes of illness and disability among those aged 10 to 19, with an estimated 1.3 million associated death cases in 2012. Half of all age groups who develop mental illness was also found out to show symptoms beginning at 14. According to a study by a group of researchers from De La Salle University entitled “Filipino Youths’ Views on Mental Health,” Filipino youths have positive coping mechanisms but they also engage in negative ones. They turn to alcohol, drugs, acting out or behaving anti-socially as a self-defeat mechanism to suppress emotions, and ignoring the problem. A legislative enactment on mental health, Aquino’s mental health act, for example, can better ensure a more systematic, more collaborative, better sustained and better funded, and more efficient crafting and implementation of programs and projects on mental health. It should have been realized much earlier. And we waited too long but still we wait. “They would not listen, they did not know how. Perhaps they’ll listen now.” [P]
MUMBLINGS The Dangers of Egotistical Spending WORDS l MAC ANDRE ARBOLEDA
When there’s big money on the line with your name on it, you don’t want to mess it up. Last year, I saw the launch of the longawaited Animation Studies Program during the 43rd CAS Foundation Day Celebration. Students from all courses went to see what was in store for aspiring animators in UP. Exhibits were set up from different organizations, and you could see enthusiasts dressed up as their favourite characters from animated movies and video games. It was a historical event, after all. This was the first time Animation was going to be offered in a UP campus. It seemed promising at first. I had seen a panel board in the exhibit that detailed the timeline for the Animation program. 2016, they would’ve had opened the UPLB Animation Studio and UPLB have had joined the Animation Council of the Philippines. By 2017, UPLB will have hosted Imahenasyon, the Philippine
Animation Festival held every year. By 2020, Bachelor of Arts in Animation will have launched as a new course offering in UPLB; and by 2025, the first batch of students of BA Animation will have graduated. Let’s take a look at where we are now. 2016, 1st semester: The main proponent of the Animation program, Prof. Rudyard Pesimo’s contract, had not been renewed. The former DHUM instructor had fronted the development and promotion of this Animation program up until the end of academic year 2015-2016’s 2nd semester, where COMA192: Introduction to Animation had just been offered to two sections comprising of both Communication Arts and non-Com Arts students alike. Now, we’re in 2016, 1st semester of academic year 2016-2017 and COMA 192 is no longer offered. Students, including myself, had begun to wonder what has happened to the Animation Program that was promised
in its grand launch just last year. I asked the students who took COMA 192 last semester, and they told me that they had no idea what had happened to the program. When I went to the Department of Humanities, their head, Ms. Leonora Fajutagana, declined for an interview. That’s when weeks later, I met Dr. Lansigan, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He explained that Mr. Pesimo had decided not to renew his contract due to the reason that he could not commit full time. While this seemed odd, keeping in mind that Mr. Pesimo seemed to be very passionate then about continually building an institution for Animation Studies, I was all ears for what he had to say. When I’d asked the Dean if the Animation Program will still continue, he said yes. In fact, he said that the construction of the Animation Studio will begin on December of 2016. He said that the college just needed
people to teach Animation, and then they will begin training other teachers in order for the program to be more sustainable. He had consulted professors from both UP Los Banos and UP Diliman, and he told me that a Visual Arts program was in the works and a cinema was set to replace the ICOPED Library that would be moved to the new library under CEM. He told me that he wants to be able to accomplish these projects before his term ends: the studio, a Visual Arts program, a cinema, and the Animation Program. This seemed a lot on his plate, and I still wonder whether these all concern the students’ interests. In the first place, questions of why there’s even an Animation course that was placed under the Communication Arts program arose before the launch. Not to mention that some students of COMA192 had complained of the directionless teaching and heavy workload.
In schools I know that offer Animation, the 4-year course is often placed along with Computer Sciences. He had also told me that the Animation would be money-generating, and it could create projects if it partnered with different institutions including Development Communication and Statistics. He offered that perhaps the program doesn’t even have to be under CAS! It could be a separated! It could be under the Chancellor’s Office! The statement that he wants to be able to accomplish these projects before his term ends keeps ringing in my ears. Does he really know what he’s doing? With at least 14.4 million budget already on the line, I want to know whether this would benefit the students of UPLB or if it’s yet another self-serving project like SAIS that we can’t truly afford. [P]
UPLB PERSPECTIVE
OPINYON
NOBYEMBRE 24, 2016
11
“Karpyu na ser” NO FURY SO LOUD SALITA l MICHELLE ANDREA LAURIO
Nakagawian na nating mga Iskolar ng Bayan na pag pumatak na ng alas-10 ng gabi ay siguradong may darating na mga CSB at sasabihan ka ng, “Mam, Ser, curfew na po.” Mapabody meeting man ng organisasyon, practice para sa isang subject, review para sa exam, o HOHOL (Hangout hangout lang) lang kasama ng mga kaibigan mo, tiyak na walang patawad hanggang sa maiinis ka na lang. Para nang naka-embed sa sistema nating mga estudyante ang oras ng curfew. Madalas, magaatubili na lang ang iba na umalis na. O kung katulad ka man ng iba pang estudyante, mawawalan ka na lang ng pakialam, abutin ka man ng alas-10 ng gabi. Kung minsan, may makikita tayo na mga organisasyon na humihingi ng extension. Hindi pa tapos ang kanilang agenda, may naninita na sa kanila. May mga pagkakataon din na pag may group meeting sa loob ng campus para sa acads, hinahabol nila ang natitirang oras o di kaya lilipat na lang sa labas ng campus. Ang mga ganitong mga salik gawa ng naitakdang curfew ay nagiiwan ng tanong sa ating mga estudyante kung ito ay ba nakatutulong sa atin o
nagiging sagabal sa mga gawain natin, pang-academics man o extra-curricular. Noong 2013, ginanap ang kaunaunahang Campus Security Summit na dinaluhan ng mga miyembro ng University Police Force (UPF), Community Support Brigade (CSB), at Los Baños Philippine National Police (PNP). Ito ay matapos mangyari ang sunod-sunod mga insidente kung saan pinatay sina Given Grace Cebanico, Ray Peñaranda, at Rochel Geronda. Dito lumitaw ang problema ng UPF kung saan kulang ang kanilang pondo kung kaya limitado ang kanilang mga kagamitan at lakas-tauhan. Dito rin nagkaroon ng rekomendasyon na magkaroon ng mas maraming street lights, mas palakasin ang police visibility, at mga polisiya tungkol sa oras at iskedyul ng mga aktibidad sa loob ng unibersidad. Nananatili pa rin na rekomendasyon na mas paigtingin ang curfew. Tatlong taon na ang nakalilipas, naging epektibio ng ba ang mga hakbang patungkol sa curfew ang kabuuang seguridad sa loob at labas ng campus? Nitong mga nagdaang linggo,
maraming mga balita ang naglipana sa Facebook at Twitter tungkol sa mga kasong holdapan o snatching sa Raymundo, F.O. Santos. May misteryosong tweet din na may lalaki raw na may dala-dalang matulis na bagay malapit sa U.P. Gate. Magkakaiba man ng lugar, pareparehan naman ng oras ng kaganapan. Gabi. Nariyan din ang kaso ng Student Union building. Noong nakaraang semestre, alas-9 pa lang ng gabi ay pinapatay na ng guard ang ilaw kahit pa
Ang curfew ay nangangahulugan na ang mga awtoridad ay hindi tumutupad sa responsibilidad nila para protektahan ang pampublikong seguridad kasama na rito ang malayang pagkilos at paggalaw. man may mga estudyante na nagaaral, nagpupulong, at tumatambay. Ang dahilan – nagsasara na raw ang Molawin Hall depende kung kailan nagsasara
ang mga concessionares sa loob. Mapapakamot ka nga naman ng ulo kasi anong oras ba talaga ang curfew at bakit hindi inuuna ang mga estudyante sa loob ng gusali na pinangalanan sa kanila. Kung hindi pa talaga maglulunsad ang mga estudyante ng Occupy SU, hindi pa makikilalanin ng admin na pwede tayong manatili sa loob lagpas man ng curfew. Sabi nila ang curfew naman daw ay para sa safety ng mga estudyante at para mabawasana ng krimen sa loob ng campus. Pero bakit nga ba ang daming tumututol dito? Ang curfew ay nangangahulugan na ang mga awtoridad ay hindi tumutupad sa responsibilidad nila para protektahan ang pampublikong seguridad kasama na rito ang malayang pagkilos at paggalaw. Hindi lang ito usapin ng seguridad sa balangkas ng kabikabilang kriminilidad. Tumututol ito sa Section 6 ng Bill of Rights kung saan pinoproteksyunan nito ang karapatan ng indibidwal para sa malayang pagkilos at paggalaw. Noong nakaraang paguusap ng administrasyon at ng Konseho ng Magaaral, sinabi ni UPLB Assistant to
the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Roberto Visco na, “mahirap (na) tayo ay open. There is no wall. We know na maraming criminality sa ating nearby communities.” Tama – hindi sa loob ng campus nagkakaroon ng krimen, ngunit sa mga kalapit na lugar nito. Hindi ba mas ligtas kung sa loob ng unibersidad na lang tayo manatili habang tinatapos ang mga importanteng gawain? Ito ang tanong na patuloy na naghahanap ng wastong kasagutan. Ang isasagot naman nila na kung tatanggalin ang curfew sa loob, paano naman nila poproteksyunan ang halos 12,800 na mga estudyante gayong kulang kulang ang lakas-tauhan at kagamitan nila? Babalik ulit tayo sa kakulangan ng pondong inilalaan sa UPF at ang komprehensibong plano na kinokonsulta ang mga estudyante. Dahil dito, nananatili pa rin ang pangangailangan na paigtingin ang usapin ng seguridad: isang konsepto na hindi naglilimita sa karapatan at kalayaan ng mga estudyante sa malayang paggalaw kasama na ang hindi pagsagabal sa mga estudyante para ituloy ang kanilang mga aktibidad. [P]
KWADRADO APOY MICHELLE ANDREA LAURIO
Nalalagay sa litrato ang pinagsamang lungkot at galit ng mamamayan sa rehimeng Marcos. Ngunit, kulang ito para magbigay hustisya sa lahat ng mga biktima niya. Kumakalat pa rin ang kasinungalingan ng mga Marcos at pagpapabaya ng mga nakaraang rehimen para pogilan ang pagbabaluktot ng kasaysayan. Ang kailangan ay hindi makalimutan ang madilim na kabanata nito sa kasaysayan at panagutin ang dapat managot. Hindi bayani si Marcos.
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