A4 Augustinian the
Volume LXVIII September 13, 2021
eDITORIALANDoPINIoN nasaan ang Kabataang agustino? e d i t o r i a l Habang sa mga karatig paaralan ay mainit ang takbo ng eleksyon sa pagitan ng mga estudyanteng kumakandidato, kasing lamig naman ng yelo ang takbo ng halalan sa Unibersidad ng San Agustin. Sa loob ng limang taon, iisang partido pa rin ang naglalakas loob na tumakbo sa USA Student Government. Taong 2016 nang huling magkaroon ng oposisyon sa halalan ng USA Student Council(USASC) o kung tawagin ngayon ay USA Student Government(USASG). Subalit, mula 2017
hanggang 2021, isang partido na lamang ang nakalista sa balota. Ito ay ang Partido Aguila(2017, 2018, at 2019), at ang bagong tatag na Partido Makabayang Agustino (2020 at 2021). Para sa isang unibersidad na kinikilala bilang isa sa mga “top-performing schools” sa bansa, nakakahinayang na ang mga mag-aaral nito ay walang ipinapamalas na interes at damdaming maglingkod sa kanilang
gobyerno. Iilan lamang ang tumanggap ng hamon na magsilbing boses ng kapwa nila estudyante. Noong 2019, naging matunog ang reporma sa gobyerno nang ipinanukala ang bagong konstitusyon ng student government. Isa sa adhikain nito ay masolusyonan ang kawalang-interes ng mga Agustino na tumakbo sa gobyerno. Mula sa nakasanayang sistema ng plurality voting upang matukoy ang nagwagi ay pinalitan ito ng ticket voting. Isinasaad sa artikulo V, seksyon 2 ng Constitution and By laws ng USASC, “The election of the officers of the USASC shall be done by annual popular voting.” Ibig sabihin, ang kandidato na
makakakuha ng pinakamataas na boto ay panalo. Kahit na hindi umabot ng 2/3 ng boto ng kabuuang populasyon ng mga mag-aaral ang matanggap ng isang kandidato ay mailuluklok pa rin ito sa puwesto. Dahil dito, kahit na napakababa ng porsyento ng boto na nakuha sa mga nakaraang eleksyon ay itinuturing pa ring may bisa ang resulta. Sa kabilang banda, ayon sa artikulo VI, seksyon 3 ng bagong konstitusyon, “The University Student Government will be composed of the President, Vice President Internal, Vice President External, Executive Secretary, Deputy Executive Secretary to be ticket elected at large by the national body, and Senators, to be elected locally by their respective College Student Governments to represent their College to the University Student Government.” Sa ganitong pagkakataon, kapag nanalo ang presidente, lahat ng kaniyang executive members ay panalo rin. Sa kasamaang palad, hindi naging mabisa ang naturang probisyon para sa hinahangad na pagbabago. Tatlong eleksyon na ang nagdaan mula ng ipinatupad ang ticket voting, subalit iisang partido pa rin ang tumatakbo. Bukod sa kawalan ng oposisyon, isa pang mikrobyo na kumakalat ay ang pagsasawalang-bahala ng mga estudyante tuwing eleksyon. Napakababa ng bahagdan ng boto ang nakukuha ng mga kandidato. Noong 2017 kung kailan
nagsimula ang pagkalusaw ng kompetisyon, tanging 2, 587 o 37% ng kabubuang populasyon ng botante ang nakuha nang nooy tumtakbo sa pagkapangulo na si Erika May Draper. Nang sumunod na taon, tuluyan na itong bumaba nang 1, 895 lamang na boto ang natamo ni Joseph Martin Daza. Noong 2019 naman, nakakuha lamang si Ortiz ng 2,435 boto. Sa pagsapit ng 2020, napalitan ang Partido Aguila ng Partidong Makabayang Agustino na noo’y pinamunuan ni Adelmar Javier. Subalit, ganoon parin ang sitwasyon sa eleksyon. Wala paring oposisyon at kakaunti lang ang bumoboto. Mula sa populasyon. Tanging 1, 427 o 23.82% lamang ang bomoto kay Javier. Naging balakid sa eleksyong ito ang pagputok ng balita tungkol sa COVID 19. Dahil sa banta ng virus, marami ang hindi nakapunta sa mga voting precint. Gayundin sa June 2021 election, tanging 3,779 o 57.22% lamang ang bomoto kay President-elect Divine Marie Villaluna. Ito ang kaunaunahang eleksyon ng USASG na ginanap online. Kung ihahalintulad sa ibang mga unibersidad katulad na lamang ng Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas ay napakalayo ang estado ng eleksyon nito sa student government kumpara sa ating unibersidad. Doon, hindi matatawaran ang kagustuhan ng mga estudyante na maglingkod sa kanilang kapwa mag-aaral. Ito rin ang sitwasyon sa ating mga karatigpaaralan partikular na sa Central Philippine University, kung saan mainit ang banggaan sa pagitan
ARTWORK BY GEREMY T. GALLENERO
coPs and gunFIres USA Publications Responsive • Developmental • Research-based
eMY ROse G. GALLeGO editor-in-chief
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Glaiza Rae D. Amable, BS MLS ’22 Scan code to send an email reply
XenA HYACInTH G. esTInOsO managing editor JeFF G. TOLenTInO associate editor GLAIZA rAE D. AmABLE associate editor MARIA CRIsTY e. DAGUAY moderator ArT AND PHoToGrAPHY TEAm : geremy t. gallenero (art director), rotsen c. agreda (photography director), kendra felizimarie p. magsico, renz Joshua r. arbis, Joshua patrick c. Santillan, alexandra rose d. libar, dianne nayeli montero (cJip) CommUNITY AFFAIrS TEAm : marlyn rose b. marcelo (community editor), hector o. cofreros CrEATIVE WrITING TEAm : Sharaine ghail t. taaca (literary editor), pauline marie c. arada ProGrAm mANAGEmENT TEAm : Joanna wayne S. horneja (program director), honey mabelle a. villarba, Sherjen Q. villanueva, hannah Jhanylle c. po, mary wen anthony t. rivera (cJip)
Augustinian the
THe AUGUsTInIAn is the official student newspaper of the University of San agustin, iloilo city, philippines. it is published regularly by the uSa publications, which envisions itself as an augustinian center of campus journalism, fostering the advocacy of the common good and acting as voice of the student body through responsive, developmental, and research-based campus journalism. contributions, comments, and suggestions may be sent to the editors. no part of this publication can be reproduced by any means without permission and authority from the uSa publications. Colophon: this newsletter was carefully designed to balance traditional principles, history, as well as modern trends to maximize the amount of information without compromising the visual appeal of the publication. this was produced using adobe photoshop cS6, adobe indesign cS6, and adobe illustrator cS6. exo and merriweather were used for the text. Address: 2/f alumni bldg., university of San agustin, general luna Street, iloilo city, philippines 5000 Phone Number: (033) 337 4842 local 189 Website: www.usapublication.net Email: usapub@usa.edu.ph We encourage you to recycle this publication. Let’s help save the environment.
Recent atrocities committed by Philippine National Police officers across the country have made Filipinos ask what happened to the well-publicized police reforms that were intended to put the PNP’s slogan, “To Serve and Protect,” into action. The public discourse on police brutality has met various points of view. Some believe the killings were the result of an isolated incident involving a “bad cop” who should be prosecuted and removed from the force. Others blame lawlessness and a lack of respect for law enforcement for the “us versus them” mentality, while some emphasize a policing culture that uses brutality and misuse of power to combat crime, relying on frequent pronouncements of President Rodrigo Duterte ordering lawmen to shoot quickly in a speech on December 3: “I’m telling the uniformed personnel, do your duty. Do it in accordance with law but be alert and be wise. Alam mo, kaunting pagkakamali lang, barilin mo na.” All these viewpoints may have some truth. A series of alleged transgressions started
after the 2020 December killings of two unarmed civilians, Sonya and Frank Gregorio, which rightly met with widespread condemnation and debate about the need for police reform. In fact, administration officials, allies, and fans were at pains to explain away Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca’s behavior and separate the PNP from any institutional blame. The cop’s possible “insanity” to his being under the influence of drugs were among the excuses. The Gregorio mother and son, on the other hand, were accused of “asking for it” by displaying a lack of respect for Nuezca, responding to and ridiculing his daughter, and refusing to accompany the officer to the police station. However, given the high frequency of suspects killed in police custody, one can understand the Gregorios’ suspicion and fear of being taken away. Without the video, would Nuezca have given up and surrendered? This brutality on the victims was by no means an isolated incident, as police officials and the administration asserted. However, it was the former police chief General Debold
Sinas who seemed to dismiss the importance of the video, even warning individuals against videotaping, saying that it was extremely tricky and could put their lives in jeopardy. A similar incident hounded
ng dalawang partido nito tuwing eleksyon. Tuluyan na bang nawala ang tiwala at suporta ng mga mag-aaral sa kanilang gobyerno o sadyang walang pakialam at nagsasawalang-kibo lang talaga ang mga ito? Katwiran ng mga estudyante, kahit hindi sila bomoto ay mabubuo pa rin ang gobyerno, sapagkat wala namang kalaban ang mga kandidato nito.Ang ganitong pag-iisip ay hindi malayo sa komun na kaisipan ng mga Pilipino tuwing panahon ng halalan, kung saan nagdadalawang -isip silang lumahok sa botohan sa paniniwalang kahit magiba pa ang manunungkulan ay wala namang magbabago sa estado ng bansa. Ang ganitong baluktot na mentalidad, kapag nagpatuloy, ay magbibigay daan sa ganap na pagkawasak ng integridad at pusong nasyonalismo ng isang botante. Malinaw na ang kawalan ng partisipasyon ng mga mag-aaral sa usaping ito ay hindi dahil sa kung ano mang konstitusyon o istruktura mayroon ang student government kundi dahil sa pagiging “apathetic” mismo ng mga ito. Nakakahiyang isipin na nakatira tayo sa Pilipinas, isang demokratikong bansa na nagkaloob sa mga mamamayan nito ng kalayaang pumili, subalit mismo sa ating kolehiyo ay ipinagsawalang-bahala natin ang pribilehiyong ito. Paano pa tayo magkakaroon ng isang mahusay na pinuno kung ngayon pa lamang ay duwag na ang mga kabataan sa pamamahala?
With police impunity showing no signs of abating, it is just proper to take in what Foreign Secretary Teddyboy Locsin said on Twitter: “It is the duty of every citizen to take photos and videos—a dimension of crime-fighting we can finally trust because it is we, the people, fighting crime by exposing it. Recording crime especially by crime fighters is the best reason to have a cellphone.” Moreover, both situations demonstrate that police accountability may be limited to crimes caught on camera. It would not also be an exaggeration that without the
Such caSeS of police brutality Simply reflect a culture of impunity which haS pervaded the police force to the point where it haS been ignored or protected by a government that coddleS killer officerS. its predecessor when drunk Police Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampanan shot and killed 52-year-old Lilybeth Valdez in a case caught on video on May 31. According to the victim’s daughter, Valdez was at the store when the police officer who was allegedly intoxicated approached her, pulled her hair and shot the victim in the neck. The incident occurred a month after Valdez’s son was involved in a fistfight with an officer on May 1, and since then, Zinampan has been threatening their family. However, a similar question was posed. Would Zinampanan have surrendered if not for the viral video?
videos, both the Tarlac and Quezon shooting would have followed the official “nanlaban” narrative that police routinely foist on the public, indicating the need for body cameras. These cannot put an end to such cruelty, but they can provide a measure of transparency to operations in which the PNP regularly claims, without proof, that victims fought back. With whatever transpired, one thing is certain – it will not take just a plain dismissal, but a thorough prosecution to those killer cops to convince the public that they are serious about following the law even against their own kind.
