opinion
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To be a scientist is political
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Navigating a more polarized world: One year of online classes
Your parents are wrong: Youth Activism the path to progress
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Red is not the soul of terror
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Isko, Iska kumusta ka na?
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Women behind Scientia
community
feature & literary
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I am nameless, but never powerless
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Why are the vaccines taking so long?
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Misplaced priorities: What we could have done with military funds?
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The adventures of Miss Rona: Philippine edition
t h e c ove r We have been in a pandemic under the Duterte administration for more than a year and we find ourselves in a worse situation than before. Duterte’s fascist and militaristic approach has aggravated our health, education, and economic systems and this would persist if we do not hold the oppressive administration accountable. Hence it is imperative for the youth to join the other sectors to advocate and forward progressive policies in our pursuit of the better normal. The youth must persist to amplify the voices of the masses and serve to their best interests.
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To b Scien Polit “H
opinion
indi lamang talaan.” For five years since its revival in 2016, Scientia has continuously upheld its calling beyond being the truth-tellers: advocating for genuine and mass-oriented science and technology and holding the line as student journalists who seek and shed light to the truth. As the official student publication of the UP College of Science, we have been in the frontlines as watchdogs against unjust government policies as well as another channel to amplify the voices of the oppressed. Now, we resound this call for every scientist for the people—with science being inevitably political, especially during these turbulent times, we must step beyond our lectures and laboratories and join the struggle to dismantle the systems that oppress us all. To be a Filipino scientist As aspiring scientists, most of us must be inspired by how our pioneering predecessors are depicted as helming the forefront of progress and development for the next generation. However, to be a scientist in the Philippines at present means to live in constant struggle and continuous plight—a life far from the glamor and promise that we often associate with the profession.
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To put it simply, being a Filipino scientist is no easy feat. The backwards and stunted state of Philippine science and technology (S&T), as seen in the state of STEM education, the state of research and development, opportunities, and even treatment of S&T workers do not make very welcoming ground for aspiring scientiststo-be. The lack of genuine industrialization in the country makes it even harder, with no local industries available to absorb S&T professionals and readily provide us with the necessary instruments needed for research in the Philippines. This drives more and more scientists to look for better opportunities abroad, and less and less hopefuls who look towards science as a feasible career path in the future. Excessive bureaucracy or red tape, underfunding, and a general lack of support for local S&T have further hindered scientists from pursuing progressive and mass-oriented projects, with the administration inclined towards scientific endeavors for personal interests. As a result, most of our contextualized scientific research has been put aside, leaving no room for the development of local technology and innovation and thus the development of local industries. Without any local industries to provide for our needs,
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be a ntist is tical we are left with no choice but to continue feeding into the cycle of exporting raw materials to other countries and importing the resources and technology that we need. The Duterte administration has made no move to rectify the issues that our S&T sector faces, and has even exacerbated them by paying no heed to the calls of our scientists in pursuit of their own vested interests. A glaringly raw example is the administration’s mishandling of the national pandemic response, which has directly and indirectly harmed the S&T sector and the Filipino people as a whole. Decades of underfunding the science sector left us with no room for vaccine research and development, compelling us to depend on vaccine procurement from other countries. Aside from their gross negligence and implementation of anti-people policies, the administration has further tainted the public confidence towards our scientists and contributed to the rising wave of vaccine hesitancy through disinformation and mishandling during the pandemic. Their dubious reporting of statistics and data to make it appear as if they have been performing well has severely affected our decision-making and hampered progress
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that could have been helpful had they been transparent. With this, our S&T sector bears the brunt of burnout which may eventually lead to its collapse—and the people would suffer the consequences. Beyond our laboratories Given all the growing pains we experience while pursuing science in the Philippines, to do research for the sake of S&T is to go through the struggles that every Filipino scientist faces. It is because of this that we realize the inevitable crosshatch between science and society and, in that sense, how we, as scientists, are inescapably intertwined with the politics that govern us as well. As Filipino scientists, we have to continuously ask ourselves why we keep doing this and for whom we do science for. And to answer this, we must extend our inquiry beyond the bubble of our scientific theories and concepts. While it is through scientific research that we can gather facts, investigate the truth, and report our observations, it is still through politics—the people in power, the policies they craft, and the ones affected by these decisions— that we can actualize and, in this sense, dictate how science is used. In this way,
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science becomes political: the food we eat, the way we live, and even the quality of the air we breathe are all products of science governed by our current political system. Throughout history, however, science has been used time and time again as a tool to maintain the prevailing status quo: the oppressor over the oppressed. We have seen this in the way that discourse is conducted within the field of S&T, which often excludes or minimizes input from exploited and marginalized sectors of society. We have seen this in the orientation of our S&T at present - in who benefits the most from the results of our research, and in who actually has access to these resources. Hence, it is crucial for us scientists to speak up against the unjust systems in place that affect not only the scientific community, but the people that we serve as well. In these times, especially, apathy towards the growing health-related and socioeconomic ills that beleaguer the masses during a public health crisis is a disservice to those whom we do science for. Moreover, claiming the neutrality of science makes us enablers of the government and those people in power who weaponize S&T for their own interests. Frontliners against injustice Taking a stand is not something new to the scientific community, fortunately. As scientists have a place in society, it follows that we also have an important role to play in changing it as well. For
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instance, as scientists intimate with the facts that we handle and work on, we are aware of the possible implications of what we know. This has pushed scientists to stand at the forefront of the burgeoning climate movement to call for immediate climate action, joining mass organizations to advocate for progressive environmental and climate policies. Scientists have also listened to and joined the calls of the workforce. Workers from the Peerless Products Manufacturing Corporation (PEPMACO) stood on strike to demand for their rights as workers and as people last June 2019 after being subjected to criminally horrible working conditions in the factory lines. The role that scientists play in politics has also been more apparent in light of the ongoing pandemic. As the Duterte administration continues to ignore the calls of underpaid and overworked healthcare frontliners and S&T workers, the national response to this public health issue continues to worsen by the day. This has obvious implications in legislation. As long as the administration continues to be bullheaded and refuses to listen to our scientists, appropriate policies and decisions will fail to materialize today and in the future. We recall the Dengvaxia debacle from a few years back, which resulted in several deaths and an uptick in vaccine hesitancy in the country. We recall the blatant disregard for the opinions of our local scientists when the government decided to dump dolomite
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along the shores of Manila Bay, harmful environmental implications and multiple warnings notwithstanding. Overall, the issues that we face within our sector today have exposed and brought to light the overarching neglect for Philippine S&T in general. Because of these, we begin to recognize that the problems that the scientific community faces right now are symptomatic of much larger, systemic issues that plague Philippine society as a whole. The dwindling amount of scientists and scientists-to-be, for instance, is brought about by widespread inequality and poor quality of S&T education, the government’s non-prioritization of research and development, and the lack of opportunities for scientists, researchers, and engineers, which all feed into the dismal situation of S&T in the country. This, in turn, is a persistent problem brought about by decades of policies that were crafted under colonial rule and have only continued to benefit the elite few.
took to hold the line for our fellow campus journalists and the oppressed. And with this, we challenge every siyentista ng bayan to rekindle our hope and purpose of serving the people with science. Heed the call of the masses and bring science closer to our communities by making our research and studies accessible to the people. And most importantly, assert our stand—science’s stand—fighting for the masses we seek to serve by toppling down fascist and oppressive systems.
Beyond the labs, scientists belong to the streets rallying for the causes of the masses. Beyond the lecture halls, scientists belong to the community to serve and forward policies that would promote mass-oriented S&T.
Of course, this is not meant to drive the scientific community into despair and hopelessness - there is still hope, as long as we continue to fight. From past experiences, we know that we are able to unite in solidarity with other sectors to firmly take a stand on different issues. And beyond this, we recognize that it is our responsibility to take a stand to ensure that things will get better in the future, not just for us, but for the people we serve as well. This is why for its fifth year since its revival, Scientia relives every challenge it
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written by Jerrieme Maderazo
graphics by MC Perez
I
am a youth activist. You should be one, too.
I grew up in a middle-class family living a moderately privileged life, sheltered by my protective mother. When I decided to leave my hometown in Cebu to study 575 kilometers away, in the lush communist wilderness that is UP Diliman, my protective mother lectured me on the do’s and don’ts of living on my own. “No drinking, call me every day, go to church on Sundays, and for the love of God, do not join rallies - wala naman silang ambag sa lipunan.” I’m certain that I’m not the only one who has been on the receiving end of that tired cliché, and I’m even more sure that I wasn’t the only one who ignored it entirely. Now, just to clarify, I’m not the sort of raging, hot-blooded full-time activist who spends every day disrupting vehicle traffic that the media paints us all as. I have no plans of leaving for a life of armed struggle in the countryside, mainly because I don’t think they have WiFi up there. I don’t think that you need to do that to be an activist.
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No, I’m just a student and a writer who happens to go to rallies when I have the time (which is rare). I retweet and share woke social media posts if they come across my feed. I try to have civil discussions with people I disagree with, hoping that even just a little, I can forward the causes I care about - LGBTQIA+ rights, alleviating poverty, investing in STEM, and ending the climate emergency. But I don’t believe you have to do what I do either, necessarily. No, if you want to be an activist, you only need to care enough about a social issue to take action - whether it’s animal rights, universal healthcare, or legalizing the murder of really annoying roommates (nobody ever said that activism could only be harnessed for justice). Now, for many people, the issue with activism isn’t the difficulty. They believe that activism, and youth activism in particular, is ineffective. But historical evidence and plain reasoning will show otherwise; in fact, there are two levels by which youth activism changes society.
“The choice is ours; do we choose to fight back, be patient, and drag society forward kicking and screaming just like the activists of the past did to give us the liberty we enjoy today? Or do we wait for others to do it for us?”
yesterday become the voters and political leaders of today that the social progress they dreamed of as youths is implemented in full force.
In 1989, in a nation which had been under a repressive, totalitarian Communist regime since WWII, thousands of students began a protest that eventually attracted 500,000 supporters that stormed the streets of Prague without violence, even when the police began beating them. They eventually toppled the ruling party and became known throughout the world as Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution. Student activists are often at the epicenter of social protests like the Velvet Revolution, but they don’t need to achieve things as grandiose as toppling oppressive regimes for their activism to have tangible effects. The academic ease which has made studying in quarantine more viable in the University of the Philippines was only implemented because of organized and cohesive demands from the student body. Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai both used the circumstances of their life and the adversity they were faced with to enact positive change in the world. This is the power of youth activists - we have our voices, although we may have little else. We can use those voices to raise awareness of issues that others ignore, and to demand the change that those in power are unwilling to concede. These voices have saved lives and ended tyrants; we can continue using them to build a better world. But the second, and arguably more significant way that youth activism is important - yes, more significant than how it changes the world - is how it changes the youth. By encouraging young people to participate actively in the political process, activism teaches them to be more engaged citizens well into adulthood.
Ultimately, I don’t believe that it really is fear of ineffectiveness or a lack of awareness that holds people back from activism. Nowadays, in the age of the Internet, the evidence of activism’s power is easy to find online, and so are blueprints for an effective protest. Perhaps it’s fear, in which case that would be valid given how the powers that be are willing to quash any threat to the status quo they profit from, but people are courageous beyond belief when it comes to things they care about. I don’t believe fear is the key factor, either. Activism is rooted in caring, and caring is exhausting. When you care so much about society, watching the same old injustices enduring for years is traumatizing. As a generation, we’ve watched political figures denounce scientists and academics to score cheap political wins. We’ve seen the erosion of trust that such underhanded tactics result in pandemics and the rise of authoritarianism. We’ve watched big companies continue to profit off of poisoning the rest of mankind without consequences. If we choose not to care as all of these things happen, it’s easier to pretend that we aren’t affected. Apathy is a defense mechanism against an unjust society. Maybe those who warn us against activism are just trying to protect us, too. But the fact is, all these injustices do affect us deeply whether we live in denial or not. And history has already shown that activism can cause positive change, although it is undeniably unjust how slow that change takes place. The choice is ours; do we choose to fight back, be patient, and drag society forward kicking and screaming just like the activists of the past did to give us the liberty we enjoy today? Or do we wait for others to do it for us?
Youth activism also exposes them to new ideas, ideas which will serve them well when their turn comes to hold political. Our own history shows this - the student protesters in the First Quarter Storm were the ones who toppled Marcos in the EDSA revolution 16 years later. It is when the activists of
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Navigating a more polarized world: One year of online classes written by Ma. Alliah Antig graphics by Deitro Dazo
W
ith the ongoing surge of the coronavirus, the Higher Education Institution officials of the Philippines have proposed the use of online platforms for the school year 2020-2021. Schools throughout the country were closed as president Rodrigo Duterte implemented community quarantines and lockdowns to fight the ongoing increase of COVID cases. Filipino students are now taking virtual classes at home through voice call or video call via applications such as Messenger, Zoom, Discord, and Google Meet. Distance learning requires gadgets and a stable internet connection to utilize the said online applications. Exposure of a broken educational system This was not how an incoming university student envisioned college life; at home, in isolation. But this scenario was not difficult to comprehend, given the already broken educational system we currently have. When the country transitioned to online learning, the demand of the students and teachers for further prioritization of funds for the education sector has been more prominent than ever. Lack of decent classrooms and laboratories, underfunded research, grades as a measurement of intelligence, hard working yet underpaid professors; this is
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the storyline in the education system of the Philippines. The government and private schools provide our teachers and professors with low salaries which translates to slow faculty development and infectivity inside the classroom. In UP Diliman, students are fighting tooth and nail just to get their desired subject; we are also the ones suffering from this kind of neglect. Filipinos also tend to value education for the reason of high return and rarely because of interest. We often hear dilemmas like “practicality or passion”. Our education is being commercialized which puts its students in a place where they can not afford first world idealism of going for what they want or dream of. “The pandemic fully exposed the weaknesses of our education system, as well as of other social institutions, caused largely by year after year of insufficient funding. We demand our duly-elected officials to ensure the judicious use of our funds by prioritizing social and economic services,” secretary general of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Raymond Basilio stated.
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plans for our country. It reflects how the government sees our education and the people it deems to serve. Imagine the students who were once doing their best to study under shades of trees which they consider as classrooms. How can we say that we are all on the same boat right now if the majority of the learners are struggling to stay afloat on wooden logs? What do you think is the digital state of such remote classrooms in these places? Basilio also added that with DepEd’s poorly funded remote learning plans, at least four million learners are at risk of being left behind while the rest are set to endure diminished learning quality. This digitally-driven educational system has left no choice for students living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas but to fend for themselves. Given the persisting struggles in learning, there arose an ensemble of donation drives from various organizations to help fight for an inclusive education which the administration cannot do.
The pandemic did not cause the decline of our education, it only exposed the broken, underfunded, and politicized system the students have been enduring for years. The Philippines is clearly far too unprepared for the sudden proposal of online learning. Students are forced to find other methods to compensate for the lack of gadgets needed for online classes. Most of us are being left behind; this is far from the education that we deserve. Digital and social divide Imagine a remote public elementary school with its students and teachers having their classes in rooms with no ventilation. Try to picture an image of hard working individuals trying to cross rivers just to learn. Now, look at the huge budget cut in the 2020 national budget for the Department of Education (DepEd), which was given out to members of the bicameral committee, co chaired by Sen. Sonny Angara and ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Go Yap. The committee slashed the budget for DepEd by 11.4 billion pesos and transferred it to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction, reconstruction, upgrading, and improvement of roads and bridges. This is the clearest expression of the government’s values, priorities, and its
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The problem of the digital and social divide does not only exist in remote areas. It is also present in urban cities and big universities such as UP Diliman. UP Diliman, one of the top universities in the Philippines, does not even have the confidence of holding online classes because many of its students are not in a financial position to buy laptops and most don’t have a stable internet connection. As students ventured through a year of online classes, there is indeed a clear unprecedented division and polarization. The Philippines is being governed by a
f a s c i s t regime who, instead of prioritizing the needs of its people, resorts to repressive measures that targets the democratic rights of its citizens. The
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students’ call for #LigtasNaBalikEskwela are deliberately neglected with the government’s prioritization on militarized responses rather than pro-student actions. Rise of progressivism and activism A year of remote learning has pushed a growth in activist movements whose goals range from vast social reform to representation of underrepresented minorities. These online classes have spurred the conscientious youth to bring forward concerns about political representation and democracy to the limelight.
The pandemic also caused the unemployment rate to spike to 17.70% in April 2020, which is considered as the highest unemployment rate since the earliest comparable data in 2005, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). How can we expect students to focus on their studies when their parents are at a loss on how to grapple with their everyday needs? Around 4.6 million Filipinos remain jobless, and here we are, being demanded to stare at our computers, hoping to pass the semester by submitting a ton of requirements or else we’ll get left behind. "This all comes from the incompetence of our government and their lack of response to both the pandemic and the typhoon. This is not just an issue of the education sector, but an issue of society as a whole. There are people who lost their jobs,” said Bern De Belen of One Big Strike, ADMU. Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson Dr. Prospero de Vera said that the passage of Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act should be considered as a major reform in the higher education sector and will go down in history as the biggest social justice legacy of the Duterte administration. No, this is not a legacy nor a historical achievement. Free education is a right of every student. It should be given and provided by the government and yet, this administration has just been giving us the bare minimum.
"We lack investment in the education sector. That's why when the pandemic came, we were struggling. You can't deal with the problems of decades of underfunding in one day and now we're experiencing the deficiency of underfunding. It's been decades of problems catching up now,” national spokesperson of Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (Spark) John Lazaro said. A group of students from the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) held an academic strike to protest the government’s inadequate handling of the pandemic. In line with this, the students of the University of the Philippines demanded for a “no fail” policy from the UP administration to help them recover from the effects of the typhoons. Youth groups have taken their voices to the streets to demand accountability from the government and to bring forward the worsening situation of our education system.
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Given this great divide in remote learning, we must all unite and stand for our right to a nationalistic, scientific, and mass-oriented education that is safe, accessible, and of quality. The students need an administration that is firm in its mandate in truly serving the Filipino community as stated in Article XIV, Section 1: “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.” The Filipinos deserve competent leaders. The youth will not stand idle on the Duterte administration’s attack on students’ democracy. This is criminal negligence from the government. #LigtasNaBalikEskwela is not just a campaign but also a call for change.
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Grap Ramo hics by Sam J ne Tumon ong ulian
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Red is Not the Soul of Terror written by Jericho James Natividad graphics by MC Perez
“M
agbigay ayon sa kakayahan. Kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.” This catchphrase is from the pioneer community pantry organized by Ana Patricia Non; an initiative born out of the government’s criminal negligence and failure to provide economic safety nets during the pandemic. It is emblematic of the masses themselves taking action, with these pantries sustained by and for the citizenry; a resort of the grassroots to mitigate the growing hunger amid scarce sources of income.
Interestingly, the tagline channels the essence of the Marxist maxim “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” which disavows tightfisted access to, and distribution of, goods and services. It is perhaps for this reason that even the most humane initiative can be vilified as a hideous ploy of the demonic communists. Hearsays aside, the government holds no sensible grounds to red-tag community pantries. Suffice it to say that red-tagging must be stopped in all its forms, for it only puts prestige on accusations without merit and tolerates harassment that ensues after it. Why, then, is the government itching to paint the town red? These community pantries champion left-leaning economic thinking. Apparently, this does not sit well with the powers that be. Instead of motioning their ranks to provide aid, they vehemently reacted as their ego was trampled upon by these pantries. They cannot swallow the pill that tells them how useless they are, and how their positions serve no one but themselves. Hence, to save their faces, they have to twist the narrative. Fortunately for them, modern society treats left-leaning tendencies as essentially communist. What more, communism is so tarnished that any connections thereof pits you against the public. The cherry on top is conflating it with terrorism. Voila! Red-tagging is served. This is not an epistemological wonder; this has been practiced generations ago (i.e., the McCarthyite Red Scare). Bringing this death knell closer to home, progressives at universities have always been at the receiving end of red-tagging. May it be from a government official or their overfunded agency, or a presidential address. Its recent strike was the unilateral abrogation of the UP-DND accord, which crafted the campus as a nest of hostility; thus crippling academic freedom.
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Given that the right-leaning and conservative politicians of our country do not welcome criticism, academic freedom for them is an end to their career and a cork to their wine. Examining academic freedom with that of community pantries would tell that the state cowers before a thinking society. It abhors an active constituency. To which one would now think, is communism really interchangeable with terrorism? Well, the answer is no. They are entirely different. The implications of communism are crucial that it goes against the capitalist status quo, that it seeks the abolishment of private ownership in terms of the means of production. Basically, it endeavors on establishing social equality, dismantling bureaucratic and capitalist lines of transaction and starting it on the workforce. (i.e., a farmer tilling their own land and profiting from their produce, or a factory worker who is insured and paid accordingly). Considering the aim of communism, when did fighting for equal rights become a terrorist’s agenda? When did ensuring equal access to housing, healthcare, and social services become terrorism? When did terrorists have a knack for starting community kitchens and pantries? Ultimately, is critical thinking a sufficient condition for a terrorist to be recognized? Sure, the point of contention will rise on how the communists attempt to achieve this, which is through a socialist revolution. But then, in a locality where everything is manipulated to be scarce or when your voices are muted by the higher-ups, what other mode is left to be utilized? In this kind of context where the state eradicates any living trace of dissent, can you blame those who choose to fight for their lives against the state, which does not live up to its sworn duty? Armed struggle in the countryside is then justified.
I hope not. I hope that we condemn red-tagging because it imperils the lives of anyone who has the capability to be critical. Red-tagging does not, in any way, have a place in a democracy. It antagonizes the very essence of a society. I also hope that we do not stop in seeking redress, in holding the government accountable for their baseless accusations and fatal sentences, thereby jeopardizing citizens’ lives. This must stop, and we should start encouraging a healthy dialogue about political ideology differences. We must embolden free and critical thinking, for these are not acts of terror. At the end of the day, communism is not terrorism because the latter has no soul at all.
Hence, it is an outright betrayal of intelligence to pit terrorism and communism as one and the same. With this, red-tagging is abetting and justifying state violence. It is equivalent to gloating over massacres and the kill quota of the state. It is also an outright invalidation of the root causes of social conflict, a problem that the Duterte administration is not willing to solve. At this juncture, take a pause and contemplate what this piece puts forward. Will you still fall to the komunista, terorista framing of the government? Do we disagree with the arbitrary conjoining of communism and terrorism only for our own sake?
opinion
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written by Isaiah Suguitan
graphics by Sam Julian
E community
ver since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the UP System has transitioned into remote learning effective second semester of AY 2019-2020. UP Constituents—students, faculty, staff—were immediately prohibited to enter the campus premises. On July 30, 2020, the UP System released a memo announcing that remote learning shall continue for AY 2020-20 21 despite the calls for an academic freeze back then. A year has passed since the transition and many students from the Science and Technology (S&T) cluster have expressed their concerns and experiences with the setup. Theories over practice Carla Andrea Dimasuay, a BS Community Nutrition junior from UP Diliman, expressed difficulties coping with the remote learning setup— particularly for her laboratory classes. “Sa tingin ko, mas naemphasize ang theories, pero hindi masyado sa lab,” Dimasuay expressed. Last semester, Dimasuay took FN 125 (Medical Nutrition Therapy) which was the terminal subject prior to their Hospital Dietetics practicum in the first semester of their senior year. “Mahirap siya lalo na kasi clinical yun eh. Sabi sa amin, ‘yon ‘yong pinaka-preparation namin para sa practicum na mismong sa ospital talaga. Pero yung ginawa namin parang nasa computer lang,” Dimasuay shared.
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The remote delivery of the terminal clinical course also led Dimasuay to doubts on whether she would be able to deliver during their Hospital Dietetics practicum. “Pagdating sa clinical, buhay ng tao ang at stake doon eh. Nag-self study kami ng mga books and videos, pero hindi pa rin kami sure kung tama ba ginagawa namin.” Dimasuay shared in a Zoom interview. As a junior, Dimasuay felt lucky as she was able to take the fundamental clinical courses face-to-face (F2F). And this has led to her having a grasp of the basics such as doing anthropometric evaluations, doing nutritional calculations and the like. However, she cannot say the same for the freshmen who have not experienced the same. “Swerte na ‘din namin na ‘yong first 2 years namin, nagawa sa face-to-face. Kasi parang alam na ‘din namin paano nagwo-work sa lab, unlike yung mga first year na hindi talaga alam yung lab.” Dimasuay mentioned. Weak foundations Being a f reshie in the remote learning setup was especially difficult for John Cruz*, a BS Mechanical Engineering (BS ME) f reshman from UP Diliman since everything was new to him. In a Zoom interview, he shared how challenging it was to take laboratory classes online. “Ang hirap ng first sem kasi, for example, sa Physics lab namin, [ang] nangyayari sa amin sa experiments namin is nagbibigay lang sila ng data set, gagawin na namin yung experi-
ment, sinosolve na namin yung values. Wala kami nung physical experiences,” the BS ME freshie shared. And while he was able to make it through his first sem in UP, Cruz shared his immense concern going into his higher ME courses. “Kung mahina ang foundation ng freshies, paano pa kami hahabol sa second year?”, he exclaimed. Along with the weak foundations he acquired as a f reshman, he is also overtly concerned with the limited practical experience he would have gained in foundational courses which are equally crucial in the board exams. “Na-imagine ko sa boards ng ME, may mga machine problems, situational siya lahat so applications ng mga nangyari. Pero ang problema is, paano namin siya ma-a-apply since hindi naman namin sya nagawa?” The limited experiential learning of freshies in the remote setup is not an isolated case, however. It also applies to higher years—particularly those going into their thesis and internship years. Thesis limitations In an interview, Shaina Samoza, a BS Biology major in Microbiology junior f rom UP Baguio, expressed that it was personally difficult for her to do remote learning given the nature of her degree program. Samoza, going into her thesis proposal, shared that she remains clueless on how to do her thesis. The uncertainty of the situation has limited her to correlation studies that can be done both virtually and in person.
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Gonzales elaborated that barring the hospital internship was of big dismay as she believes that she is not yet fully equipped to work in the frontlines after graduation, being an aspiring clinical dietitian.
“Kung ikaw yung estudyante, doon ka sa sure ka. Pipiliin mo na ang proposal na possible ang F2F at online. Edi talagang mag-o-online database ka.”, she shared. Samoza also shared how the remote learning setup limited her experiential learning in the laboratory, which was a huge concern for her being a Microbiology major. “Kasi syempre pag nagl-lab ka, ikaw mismo makaka-experience kung paano ginagamit, ikaw mismo maga-adjust kung paano gamitin ang isang machine. Pero ngayon, paano kapag after mo grumaduate, yung makuha mong trabaho nasa lab ka, ‘di ka marunong mag-operate kasi hanggang picture ka lang. Mahirap.”, Samoza shared. Absence of industry experiences Anne Nicole Gonzales, a graduating BS Community Nutrition senior from UP Diliman, shared that she was not able to acquire much practical experience whilst taking her Food Service internship online. “Actually ang practicum naman talaga is parang mag-a-apply kami sa isang food service establishment na gusto/malapit sa amin, na accredited ng Department. Pero since remote learning, hindi natuloy yon. […] So instead of an ideal practicum na pupunta talaga kami doon, na gagawin namin yung ginagawa nila—more on lecture din sya.”, Gonzales mentioned.
Furthermore, Gonzales shared that it may be significantly harder for her to take the Licensure Exam given the lack of practical skills she acquired. This is in comparison with the BS CN Batch 2020 who was able to finish their practicums face-to-face prior to the lockdown in March 2020. Looking forward to what is to come While the situation remains to be unprecedented, students f rom the Science & Technology cluster remain hopeful for better days ahead. “Dahil nga nawalan kami ng chance this year, mas na-excite akong maging maayos ‘yong sitwasyon natin. Syempre iba ‘yong level ng facilities ng UP kaysa sa dati kong school. Nae-excite akong makakita ng mga bagong apparatus na wala doon.”, a BS Mechanical Engineering freshman shared. Similarly, Gonzales remains firm that while the University is trying to equate remote learning with the pre-pandemic setting, learning in laboratories, immersing in communities, and experiencing life in the university is still different. Campaigns for safe and gradual resumption of F2F classes have been made by UP Student councils via the #LigtasNaBalikEskwela. Included here is the call for safe return to laboratories f rom the S&T clusters. * - not his real name
The Department of Food Science and Nutrition (DFSN) surveyed students if they were willing to do an actual hospital internship. However, they were not able to push through when the UP System barred all F2F activities among their constituents.
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scientia vol 28 no 1
Women
behind Scientia written by Angela Masongsong
community
graphics by Hanz Salvacion
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A
lthough attitudes have definitely changed, there is still an undeniable gender gap present within the STEM workforce. This male-dominated field makes it hard for young women and girls to pursue and finish STEM-related fields. Biases towards science being a “masculine” job are still pervasive and role models for women are still lacking. Despite this, our female siyentista ng bayan are not fazed to take on the challenge of pursuing science and serving the people as about 57% of Scientia staffers are women. Amplifying the voices of women both in science and marginalized communities, these staffers are constantly challenging the norm. Women journalists have served as pillars of the publication throughout its lifetime. For more than 30 years, Scientia has covered S&T innovations, social commentaries, and current affairs. Behind the sharp editorials and striking illustrations, let us get to know the young women who help make Scientia happen.
kyla javier
“As journalists, we need to amplify the voices of women in STEM. It is our duty to bring light [to] their experiences so that more people would become aware of their plight.” Kyla is a BS Biology student who joined Scientia back when she was a sophomore in 2019. Currently, she is a literary editor in the Features and Literary Committee. She also served as the magazine editor in Scientia’s Pursuit Issue last 2020. When she was a newbie staffer, Kyla recalled her worries when tasked to cover the 2019 Climate Strike. She wasn’t confident about covering the event at first— finding it hard to form cohesive sentences for live-tweeting. However, the support of her fellow newbie staffers got her through. “I got rained on for five hours, but the experience was very fulfilling as a newbie staffer!” she shared. Kyla agrees with the sentiment that women are still underrepresented in science. Recalling how students would usually answer Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein when asked to name a scientist. “There are still some preconceived notions about how certain fields are for certain genders,” she said. Using her role as a journalist, Kyla wishes to bring more stories of women in STEM to light.
tiffany uy
Scientia was Tiffany’s first family in UP. Currently, Tiffany is a BS Geology student who joined Scientia last 2018. After just a year, she became a design editor for the publication. “I learned so much in just a short span of time,” Tiffany shared when asked about her experience working for Scientia. Aside from the newfound friendship with her fellow staffers, Tiffany shared how Scientia exposed her to the conditions of the marginalized. As Tiffany told us, “having the ability to bring this fight to the people makes me believe that I, too, can somehow make a difference.”
“Though times have changed,” she said, “there is still a mountain of unrecognized discoveries made by women.” By slowly breaking this shell, we will be able to give voices to those who need them. Tiffany also believes that the fight of women in science is not separated from the fight from tyranny and oppression.
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alab ayroso After joining Scientia when she was a freshie in 2018, Alab found great joy watching Scientia grow in terms of published works and readership. She shares, “all the stress of speedily writing a caption for a photo that took lengths to be taken and edited has a sense of excitement and satisfaction when you see the story being shared around.” Serving as an online editor at first, Alab became a managing editor where she holds the same position currently. For her, it has been a heartwarming experience to see how her fellow staffers grew as journalists for the people. “Interestingly enough, statistically the gap of women and men in STEM in the Philippines is close,” Alab shared. She attributes this underrepresentation of women in our country to the backward state of S&T that we currently have. Unless representation of scientists in all sectors is achieved, this gap will prevail.
janina alviar Janina recollected the days where there were only a handful of Scientia staffers. Back in 2018, Scientia was revived after a short hiatus. Initially, Janina was a layout/graphic designer. But being short on staff, she shared her experience of becoming a writer, photojournalist, and editor all at once – basically taking on every role in the publication. “It was difficult but at the same time, those days were kind of memorable because all four of us were in the same boat, that we wanted to keep Scientia going”. Being loud about fellow women’s achievements and promoting their discoveries can encourage more girls to enter STEM, Janina expresses. She agrees that compared to back then, women are gaining more rightful recognition. However, jobs and opportunities for these women where they can grow and show their potential are still scarce.
Representation and recognition of women in science has progressed in recent years. Even so, we still have a long way to go. Through student publications such as Scientia, women journalists can serve as the hand by which stories of fellow females can be written. Beyond the classroom and laboratory, the women of Scientia recognize the true calling of journalism. “Be fierce! Be confident! Be critical!” Alab said when asked about her message to fellow women in journalism. “Women hold half of the world and our truths are unstoppable so we should continue to empower the stories that will change the world.” “There is strength in numbers.” Tiffany expressed that as long as there is the spirit to fight, we will be able to conquer issues women and the masses are facing. Janina also says that by working together, we can inspire more young girls to pursue science and journalism. Kyla also added that as women journalists, “we can continue being critical and vocal about the mistakes that we see because the voices that we represent are essential to the eventual rectification of the wrongs in our society.”
community
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feature & lit
I Am Nameless, But Never Powerless written by Nicole Aclan
T
graphics by Ramone Tumonong
he grandfather clock is ticking. The leaves outside are rustling. If it weren’t for these things, I would be deafened by the silence. I feel trapped by the safest place I could be in. Nobody knows where this is headed, or what’s about to happen. The uncertainty is unsettling. The unknown is terrifying. As I look out the window day after day, I realize that the only connection I have with the world is the internet. Can
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this solve the world’s problems? Can this privilege that we now consider a necessity bring us change? I stared blankly at my computer screen until I stumbled upon the thought of how technology has given us unimaginable ways to do things with our fingertips. But, have we ever asked ourselves what good can it bring into the world other than satisfying our own selfish intentions? Given the loads of time placed onto my hands, I started to go deeper. Every time I scroll down the screens of our mobile phones, I’ve come to the conclusion that everything on the internet is a decision. Whether to like or dislike a post, share a picture of something, or create a reel of highlights of the only moments we want to remember. Everything about the internet, specifically social media, has led us to expose parts of who we are and what we stand for. With the amount of information accessible online, I know that it is possible for all of us to make a change and empower our generation into instigating this change. The internet is our storefront into creating community of with a shared empathy, integrity, justice, and the truth. As our generation juggle from trend to trend, we should realize that these trends
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are not just about the hashtags, not if it doesn’t lead to action. In terms of politics, for instance, the internet has made it possible to curate an environment of unity. An environment where opinions are conveyed and heard. The internet has revolutionized activism. Ironically, I once thought that our mobile phones separated us from people. You enter a room, everybody is on their phones, and no one really gets to talk to anyone except those who already knew each other. Then, the pandemic happened. I was lost. We were all lost in the wild, with no compass to give us bearings. Movement suddenly became something we have no freedom to do. And now, here we are reaching out to each other through our mobile phones. It opened doors to meeting people with their feet on the ground for what they stand for, listening to the stories of those who had it rough this year, and trying our best to use our privilege to give back to the community. Who would have thought that our mobile phones, the internet, would bring us all together? Who would have thought that instigating change can still happen by voicing out and using the platforms accessible to us? Who would have thought that a nameless, faceless user of the internet like I am,
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would contribute to the formation of a better social and political society for the next generations to come? I’ve witnessed trends come and go this year. From what I’ve seen, grit holds an important part to be able to get to people. Our grit about something truly important must not depend solely on trends. It must be led by example. As I said, everything about this online community is a decision. Hence, it depends on us who are the best people to follow, to look up to, to help us realize that the issues we’re standing for need a solid battlefield to turn the hashtags into action, and the comments into real activism. Our generation has strength. We overcame the irony that we once thought will lead us far from unity. And now, as I open my laptop and shift pages by pages, I know that every single decision we make online matters and speaks true of what we stand for. Just like what I’ve heard from Sophie Egar, “History was not formed by hashtags but by masses of nameless people that had nothing more than a cause to believe in and a willingness to fight for it.” In this age of technology, we can be those people. We can be nameless, but never powerless.
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written by Jazryl Galarosa
graphics by Sam Julian
I
t has been more than a year since the coronavirus pandemic plagued the globe and a recent spike of infections has continuously crippled our already decapitated systems. We have witnessed throughout the pandemic how our health systems were burned out, our education more stunted than it ever was, and our economy dipping as we succumb ourselves into trillions of pesos worth of debt. With the money and power to intervene and create policies to curb its spread, how come our situation is getting worse? With all the donations, loans, and funding, we could have had all the means to stop the pandemic and its impact in the Philippines. However, it was once again misplaced priorities that led us into where we are right now: militarized lockdowns, crackdowns against progressives, and rampant red-tagging by state forces. And part of this struggle is the funding of the Duterte administration for military intelligence amid a public health crisis. Too much funds, too little intelligence How much exactly is the government allocating for military intelligence? The 2021 budget under the National Expenditure Program of the government allocated a total of 4.5 billion pesos for the Office of the President—2.25 billion each for intelligence and confidential funds. This already comprises 55% of the total allocation for the Office of the President, which is at 8.19 billion pesos. While these huge figures are not new to president Duterte’s office, we must take note how only in his term did intelligence and confidential funds reach the billion-peso mark. To make matters more questionable, Duterte vetoed the provision of the 2021 budget that requires him to report how intelligence funds were spent. Despite the big budget supposedly empowering our military intelligence, the Armed Forces unit has been continuously under fire for spreading false and misleading information, red-tagging activists and civilians alike, lawlessly apprehending Filipinos under a militarized lockdown, and even causing a fiasco among themselves over a failed drug operation.
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Now that status quo is getting worse—new COVID-19 variants, record-high cases every day, another cycle of our healthcare workers getting burned out, private sectors and individuals exhausting everything to make ends meet—one question remains for our military intelligence: what for? With countless mishaps and human rights violations the state forces have done against us, why would they need a budget too big for a performance too poor? More than four billion pesos worth of intelligence and confidential funds and there has not been a single day we felt safe around them. So what could 4.5 billion pesos do for us especially amid the coronavirus pandemic? The answers are obvious, and below we list all the things that the Duterte administration must allot funds for instead of funding state fascism. Heeding the call of our health sector Instead of spending taxpayers’ money for military intelligence, it is definitely a no-brainer to allocate them for our health sector. Now that we are dipping below our square one with the recent surge bringing our numbers beyond what we were last year, it is crucial to funnel our funds to sustain our health sector. Our medical frontliners are becoming overburdened just like last year now that the Greater Manila Area is once again under enhanced community quarantine. Dedicated COVID-19 hospitals are now at critical capacity while hospital beds and other equipment are dwindling due to increasing infections. Aside from the continuous struggle of our healthcare workers, another issue lies on our vaccination program. The Philippine government has loaned a total of 58.4 billion pesos (1.2 billion dollars) to reach our vaccination target for COVID-19 and yet, only donated vaccines were currently rolled out while the one million doses of Sinovac from China, being the first vaccine paid by the Philippines, only arrived on March 29. To make matters worse, government officials and other citizens not on the priority list are jumping on the line and are getting inoculated, hurting our vaccination plan as we are in danger of losing around 44 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from COVAX. This, along with our healthcare system getting burned out, would equate to another crisis worse than last year as we spiral back into the government’s militarized lockdowns which, with our current numbers, did not work. How much healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients would be treated and saved if they get to enjoy the 4.5 billion pesos of military intelligence? How much money, resources, and lives could have been saved if the Duterte administration listened to the calls of our frontliners? On the day the government chooses to approach the pandemic just as how our medical frontliners wanted it would only be the time that we could curb this crisis. And no amount of military presence and state fascism could put this to an end.
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Extending aid for the economy Lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19 have endangered many small businesses and have severely affected the livelihood of the masses. This eventually cost them a lot: some of them being compelled to close their business and most of them losing their jobs. This is why along with health, the government must lend a hand to help our fellow Filipinos sustain and survive amid the pandemic. Last February 2021, unemployment rates rose up to 8.8% as 4.2 million Filipinos were reported jobless. Meanwhile, 7.9 million Filipinos are underemployed which constituted the rise of the underemployment rate to 18.2%. Moreover, the Philippines had it worst as the coronavirus pandemic has impacted our micro and small businesses the most, with around 70% of them temporarily closing down according to the Asian Development Bank. All of these occurred despite the national government’s efforts to reopen the economy: easing up lockdown protocols, revising restrictions, and even promoting our tourism. As a result, the Philippine economy dropped by 9.5% in its gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2020, its sharpest decline since the Philippine Statistics Authority started recording GDP growth rates. This makes the Philippines one of the countries in South East Asia to suffer the worst in the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these alarming numbers for our economy, the Duterte regime must have not stopped making blunders after blunders. Going back from our militarized lockdowns, the 15-billion peso Philhealth funds corrupted and left unresolved, and to the money this administration shelled out for the Manila Bay rehabilitation, cash assistance for Filipinos seemed to be the last thing for this administration to prioritize. With little to no plans to extend aid to our small enterprises other than “reopening the economy,” many would wonder how our money has been spent throughout this crisis. With 4.5 billion pesos worth of military and confidential funds on hand, it could have been a big help for our struggling Filipinos. On top of the government’s misplaced priorities in funding and leaving the masses behind, our Philippine debt reached a new high this year to 10.4 trillion, a 6.2% rise from the end of 2020. Duterte also promised a stimulus package and an economic recovery plan for our farmers in his 2020 State of the Nation Address, but as of October 2020, the 24-billion-peso stimulus package for the recovery sector has not been released. And with our farmers struggling to make ends meet, the masses would have to suffer the brunt of whatever the government has (or has not) offered.
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Empowering our education The coronavirus pandemic has also forced our education system to abruptly shift from face-to-face to online or modular learning. With this, many students, teachers, and schools would have to face this struggle amid our poor connectivity infrastructure. For the school year 2020-2021, the enrollment from primary education to senior high school dropped by 25% compared to last year’s turnout. Moreover, the Department of Education reported that private schools experienced the greatest decline as 300,000 of their students transferred to public schools. This low enrollment turnout amid the pandemic forced 865 out of 14,435 private schools to not operate for this year. Given our stunted education system continuously struggling in the new online setup, we would need more accessible learning materials for our Filipino students. Imagine if we have utilized the funds allotted for military intelligence to empower and mobilize our education sector. Transitioning to an online and modular platform would be a lot easier. However, the Duterte administration chose to enable state forces who red-tag student leaders and activists— spreading false propaganda, recklessly arresting and detaining progressive individuals, and even killing them in the guise of national security—while military officials like Debold Sinas get away with violating COVID-19 protocols. More than that, alternative learning facilities like our Lumad schools are getting cracked down even before the pandemic and our local science and technology has been hindered by lack of funding and red tape. Providing little to no help for the betterment of our pandemic response, military intelligence has almost become an oxymoron. With the funds it possesses, we could have done so much to solve the imminent problems plaguing our country. But with too much on our plate, when a system that forces us to choose between public health, opening the economy, and education, then that must be a failing system. To add more salt in the wound, nothing had been done to somehow sustain these crucial needs amid the crisis, there has only been the military running freely and running the country. Thus, it is both our calling to demand accountability for the loss and damage this administration has done when they prioritized a militarized management of the pandemic. Lives were lost and more lives would suffer if we let them use our tax money for their own interest. It is just time to get our power back.
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> why are the vaccines taking so long? W
written by Laurice Angeles
orld Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Director Dr. Takeshi Kasai expressed his awe with the fast development of COVID-19 vaccines in August last year. Nevertheless, he encouraged countries to continue efforts in responding to the pandemic and “not just hope for the vaccine.” Duterte, however, has repeatedly said in his speeches that the vaccine is the country’s “only salvation now,” and that Filipinos would have to soldier through the following months and patiently wait for them.
graphics by Deitro Dazo
Continues in next page
Timeline of DOH COVID-19 Vaccination
October 2020
August 2020
DOH signs CDA with Pfizer
Pfizer sends confidential disclosure agreement (CDA)
February 2021
Initial arrival date of Pfizer vaccines
February 26, 2021
President Duterte signs the COVID-19 Vaccination Act of 2021
End of June 2021 Projected: 21.8 million doses delivered
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July 8, 2021
18 million doses administered
March 1, 2021 Vaccine drive begins
2nd Quarter of 2021
New arrival date for COVAX vaccines
End of 2021
Goal: Vaccinated 70 million Filipinos
scientia vol 28 no 1
With these statements and with no changes to the militaristic response of the Duterte administration, the focus of the government, as well as all their efforts, were expected to shift to the early procurement and distribution of vaccines to the long-suffering Filipino people. Although ideally that should be the case, over the latter half of 2020 and until early 2021, the government still was not able to deliver accordingly. The government’s COVID-19 vaccine drive, which kick-started on March 1 this year, is ongoing with around 18 million
vaccine doses delivered in the country as of July 8, 2021. The total doses currently delivered is quite behind the timeline that vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. laid out earlier in the year, which expected a total of around 21.8 million doses delivered by the end of June and 13.5 million more in July. The government aims to vaccinate 70 million Filipinos by the end of the year to achieve herd immunity. Galvez, however, has expressed last year that realistically, the main bulk of vaccines may arrive by the end of the year or 2022.
Government inaction A
ccording to the Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque III, the country has started negotiating with Pfizer since June of last year when the US pharmaceutical company sent an overview of its vaccine program to the government. Considering Duterte’s vows and the global demand for vaccines, this was a great opportunity for the country to purchase early.
However, last December, a number of government officials were pointing fingers at Duque for “dropping the ball” in the Pfizer negotiations. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez claimed that the Philippines was supposed to receive millions of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines as early as January 2021 but the country “did not act quick enough” on signing the Confidential Agreement Disclosure (CDA). Senator Panfilo Lacson likewise said that because of the health secretary’s “indifference,” the deal went to Singapore instead. Duque, backed by Galvez, denied the allegations and claimed that the Pfizer negotiations were still underway. He further strengthened his stand by detailing the chronology of events of the ongoing deal. His chronology, however, essentially showed that there was considerable delay on their part to sign the CDA due to repetitive revisions, disorganization among the agencies involved, and overall bureaucratic red tape. DOH ended up signing the document last October 20 which is almost three months since Pfizer sent the draft. He expressed that the reason was the
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unfamiliarity with the novel coronavirus and its vaccines. Thus, he followed his overriding principle which is “always to err on the side of caution.” He added that Pfizer did not give a deadline. This situation would have been avoided if there had been coordination among the agencies involved. Philippine Foundation for Vaccination executive director Dr. Lulu Bravo suggested that there should be a “national immunization technical advisory committee” which will consist of various doctors, scientists, and experts to make the big decisions in terms of the vaccines. Even so, Duterte assigned Galvez, a retired military officer as the vaccine czar with his aversion to committees, and did so last November which is well too late for the czar to lead the supposed Pfizer negotiations. One of the earlier steps in the actual procurement of vaccines is the granting of the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The EUA clears the way for products to be used publicly while they are in the development phase. Experts use a riskbased evaluation to weigh a product’s risk, a vaccine in this case, against its benefits to give an assessment of its safety and quality.
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The granting of EUAs is done to shorten the approval process from usually six months to about a month so that medicines and vaccines are provided to the public when they need it. By the first week of this year, only Pfizer had submitted an application for an EUA.
This situation could have been avoided if there had been coordination among the agencies involved. However, with Galvez’ leadership around last January, the government concluded an Advanced Market Commitment (AMC), a legally-binding agreement for a certain amount of funds to essentially purchase the yet to be available vaccines with China drug maker Sinovac. This is commonly done
to encourage development of vaccines against high mortality diseases. However, this was heavily questioned by senators since Sinovac then has confusing phase 3 trial results and also has not yet received an EUA from the FDA. Senators pointed out that there were other drug makers who had secured EUAs and had better phase 3 trial results than Sinovac. The AMC with Sinovac puzzles Filipinos since recalling from September 2020, Duterte harshly criticized Western pharmaceutical companies which the president claimed to have been asking for vaccine advance payment—“It’s all profit, profit, profit.” Philippine Council for Health Research Development executive director Dr. Jaime Montoya said the advance payment possibly refers to an AMC. The president further expressed his frustration and added that he will insult any representative from a Western pharmaceutical company when he sees them in the Philippines. He only approved the “prepayment” two months later.
Last minute paperwork D
espite the seeming preference of the government to Sinovac, they also secured vaccines by joining the COVAX facility which guarantees rapid, fair, and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world. This alliance is intended to help the poorer countries from delayed vaccine distribution due to global demand.
Pfizer vaccines from COVAX were supposed to be the first to arrive in the country in mid-February this year. This batch of vaccines was already supposedly secured, yet it was delayed nevertheless due to a lack of an indemnification fund. According to Dr. Aileen Espina, a public health and family medicine specialist and member of the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19, an indemnification program is needed because drug makers have not released full data yet on their vaccines. Governments have to guarantee that they will be responsible for adverse effects because they are aware of the data being short-term but also because there is a national emergency.
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Despite its importance, there was no prepared indemnification program since Galvez informed the Philippine government of the requirement only in January, during the latter phase of the vaccine negotiations. It was also not brought up in the 2021 budget deliberations. It was then only seriously discussed during a public hearing last February 11. For these reasons, the government had to come up with a law that will allow them to tap into the 13-billion peso contingent fund in the national budget. This would take a considerable amount of time since a bill needs to be passed and signed by the president. Duterte approved the law now known as the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 on February 26, 2021. This involves the creation of a 500-million peso
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indemnification fund that will cover future adverse effects from vaccines. Although the paperwork was hastened, the vaccines from COVAX were rescheduled to arrive in
the 2nd quarter of 2021 at the earliest— another delay caused by the government’s laid-back attitude.
Sluggish procurement N
evertheless, the government manages to maintain their passivity amidst the call of doctors to create better solutions other than their “antiquated methods.” Epidemiologist and internal medicine specialist Dr. Antonio Dans mentioned that the government is focusing on strengthening the health system mostly by adding more resources such as beds, makeshift hospitals, and hiring or reassigning health workers to high-risk areas. However, these are not enough since a lot of patients still cannot be admitted into hospitals.
Dans stated that there should also be improvement in the coordination between hospitals, barangay health centers, local government units, and the One Hospital Command of the DOH which are currently “disconnected from one another.” This leads to the struggle of patients to navigate the health systems on their own. They also emphasized that mobility restrictions are only short-term interventions and that the government needs to have clear plans and efforts to fix root causes. In spite of this and Duterte’s reliance on vaccines, the president expressed that the government has not purchased any Western vaccines yet. According to Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez, the Duterte administration has to obtain loans first before procuring vaccines since it plans to fund the vaccination program mainly through loans from multilateral lenders. The country is then preparing to secure $1.2 billion or around P58.5 billion for the vaccination as it has obtained a 500-million US dollar loan from the World bank, a 400-million US dollar loan from the Asian Development bank, and 300-million US dollar loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. However, these loans
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were still being processed for signing in March 2021 and by the end of the month, the loan agreements were still not signed leaving the country with no funds to start buying Western vaccines. A few more million doses are expected to arrive in the country from COVAX, Sinovac, Gamaleya, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax, and Johnson & Johnson among other possible options. However, the main bulk of vaccines is expected to arrive in the 4th quarter of 2021 revisiting Galvez’ bestcase scenario timeline. The Philippines is currently behind its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of total vaccinations (per 100) being the third to the last at the time of writing. While government officials were pointing fingers at each other last December on the vaccine negotiation issue, Singapore had already been starting their vaccination program. The Duterte administration is continuing their sluggish action against the pandemic with the foreseeable delay in COVID-19 vaccine distribution as one of the consequences. And the Filipino people will have to pay the price.
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s e r u t n ve ona: The AMdis R s f o ilippine Ph tion Edi
Written Kyla Jav by ier Graphics Jeri Lato by rre
M
agandang buhay! Life is good at ang dami-dami ko nang na-infect! Bubonic plague, I might come for your crown soon. Charot! Pero ngayon, I think it’s time to move on to another country. Teka lang, let me get my country checklist. Ano? What do you mean mayroong international travel ban? I’m sure mayroon namang wala. Hmmm? Philippines? Parang mahihirapan yata tayo diyan kasi pulo-pulo, pero sige, i-try natin. It’s free real estate, baby! May amiga akong nagsabi sa akin na may mag-asawa raw na gustong magbakasyon sa Pilipinas. Perfect timing! Sama ako mga sis! Ay, dadaan muna tayong Hong Kong? Okay lang! Gusto ko yan. More places to infect! Nakakaenjoy naman itong Philippine trip natin, from Cebu to Dumaguete to Manila! Can’t wait for local transmission para makapag-parami na ako. Sa ngayon, chill muna tayo dito sa San Lazaro Hospital.
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…and we’re back! Live from the City of San Juan. Recorded na ang first local transmission in the Philippines! Yieeee, tingnan mo sila nag-aagawan sa mga face mask. Eight pesos lang ang isang piraso ng mask kahapon, kinabukasan twenty pesos na. Iba talaga ang law of supply and demand. Ano raw? The entire island of Luzon will be placed under enhanced community quarantine? Ang sosyal naman ng pangalan! Parang commercial lang ng gatas ng baby. Pero I think it’s too late dahil nandito na akooooo! Handang handa na para sagarin ang ICU capacity ng mga ospital sa Luzon! Palutang-lutang, palutang-lutang sa hangin sa kalsada! Aba aba aba. Bakit naman nagta-traffic diyan? May checkpoint? Bakit may checkpoint? Mapipigilan ba ako ng militar na lumagpas sa checkpoint? Anong gagawin nila sa akin? Babarilin? #MedikalHindiMilitar daw mga hunghang. Pero ang funny niyo. Lalo lang naiipon ang mga tao sa ginagawa niyo, eh. Pero it’s a win for me! Mas madaling kumalat!
scientia vol 28 no 1
salamat talaga Mong Go! Teka, Mong Go pangalan niya, ‘di ba? Di ko sure. Ang sure ko lang, makakapag-Philippine tour na ako sa wakas!
Ano yang tinatapat-tapat niyo sa noo ng mga tao? Ah, thermometer. Thermometer na mali naman ang basa ng temperature. Funny niyo talaga. Sukat sukat pa kayo ng temperature, eh may mga asymptomatic carriers naman. Kahit na, ehem, 32° ang makuha niyong temperature ay baka nandoon pa rin ako sa baga niya. ‘Di niyo sure. Kung gusto niyo talagang mawala ako, siguro simulan niyo sa mass testing. Nakakarindi na nang slight ang mga panawagan ng tao para sa mass testing, ha. Bakit kasi ayaw makinig? Do you want me to stay? Sus, hindi niyo pa ako diniretso. Madali naman akong kausap! Palutang-lutang, palutang-lutang sa hangin sa kalsada! Naku, ang daming namamalimos sa kalsada—mga jeepney driver na nawalan ng trabaho dahil sa pagpapatigil ng mass transportation. Bigyan niyo naman sila ng ayuda! Baka mamatay na sila sa gutom bago pa sila mamatay dahil sa COVID-19! Hindi yan maaari. Ako ang bida rito, excuse me. Ano itong naririnig kong hatid probinsya program? Gusto ko yan! Para raw ma-decongest ang Metro Manila? Tama yan, tutal, hirap akong makarating sa ibang mga lalawigan at mga pulo. Lalawak na ang reach natin mga sis! #MissRona2ndWin. Provinces with zero COVID-19 record, here I come! Maraming
feature & lit
Ay, ano nanaman ito? GCQ? MECQ? Dami namang Q. Ako, gusto ko ng korean barbeque! Sakto ang pagcrave ko! Bukas na ang mga mall at restaurant para magdine in. Lalabas na ang mga tao! It’s always a win for me. Lagay lagay pa sila ng plastic divider sa mga mesa. Fill-out pa nang fillout ng contact tracing form, pero wala namang nangyayari. Sis! Bakit sila may plastik sa mukha? Tingin ba nila hindi ako makakalusot diyan? Ay, alam ko na kung saan ako makakalusot! Doon sa butas ng mga nauusong copper mask. Agawagawan pa sila noong Marso sa surgical mask, magsusuot din naman nang may butas. Tingnan mo talaga itong mga tangang ‘to. Pero ‘di bale, ako pa rin naman ang winner. Anyway, happy anniversary to me! Isang taon na ako dito sa Pilipinas and still thriving! #Hustle. Parating na ang mga amiga kong newly mutated variants. I can’t wait to see them! Mapupuno na ulit ang mga ICU. It’s just like one year ago, but worse. Worse for you. Better for me! Salamat sa pagwelcome at pagpapatuloy sa akin sa bansang ito, the turtle! (‘Yon ang pangalan niya ‘di ba? Di ko sure. Thank you na lang!)
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VOL. 28 NO. 1 THE PERSIST ISSUE SEPT 2021
editor-in-chief Alab Ayroso
news editor
associate editor
Alliah Antig
Jazryl Galarosa
news Darwin Co Cailyn Ong Ejay Acorda Sachika Saguisa Sam Dela Cruz Jeorjia Austria
managing editor Myxie Rogado
administrative Eliyah Monte Sam Peniano Norlan Mallari Janina Alviar Jane Fabula Aces San Pedro
features editor Nikka Macasa
literary editor
online editor
Kyla Carmea Javier
Isaiah Suguitan
features Laurice Angeles Nicole Antonio Nicole Aclan Angela Masongsong Bianca Bat-og Kaye Francesca Cabahug Jude Michael Faustino Jessant Garferio Clarissa Torio Lester Dave Pua
opinion editor Jerrieme Maderazo
opinion Jericho James Natividad Leira Buenaventura Mark Kenneth Solanoy Jethro Ramel Effie Sabaot Beatrice Panlaqui Renefe Rose Ocao @upscientia
design editor Sam Julian
graphics editor Deitro Dazo
design Hanz Salvacion Jansen Wong Jeri Latorre MC Perez Rob Hermosa Ramone Tumonong Ivan Pagaddu cover art by rob hermosa ed. cartoon by jansen wong comics by jeri latorre layout by deitro dazo & hanz salvacion
@upscientia
Scientia
upscientia@protonmail.com medium.com/up-scientia
Scientia is the official student publication of the College of Science, UP Diliman, formed in 1988. Affiliations: UP SOLIDARIDAD, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, Science and Technology Editors League of the Philippines
padayon to our graduate, cj!