‘Reclaiming the narrative’: COC SC holds fact-checking event

Following the International Fact-Checking Day, PUP College of Communication Student Council (COC SC) launched “Full House: Exploring the Cornerstones of Truth,” part of the “Spill The Truth” series featuring human rights activists and student leaders, on April 17 at Tanghalang PUP.

COC SC prexy Ronjay Mendiola commenced the morning session by imparting that through the involvement with the masses, the youth can effectively defend the truth.

Aaron Ernest Cruz and Katrina Lazarra emphasized the public’s role in resisting historical distortion, stressing that narrative building is as important as factchecking.

Labor rights lawyer Atty. Luke Espiritu asserted that the fight against tyranny and oppression is an inherent right, and the masses should disallow the state from making this right “illegitimate.”

“Red-tagging is not just simple labeling; it is branding [...] to suppress, [...] to harass, and [...] to kill,” Espiritu on the dangers of red-tagging amid the rampant misinformation.

“Ang masa ang tagapaglikha a year ago. Without any notice from both PUP and the Department of National Defense (DND), the studentry found the disregard for their welfare and rights unacceptable.

Given its visual and emotive nature, illustrator Cartoonist Zach highlighted the power of memes to creatively debunk misinformation while engaging audiences with short attention spans.

According to Explained PH Editor-in-chief Archie Bergosa, the media should reclaim the power to tell stories despite the threats, especially the most critical of the news.

Kabataan Partylist National Executive Vice President Renee Co called for solidarity amid the trolling targeted towards progressive groups.

While former Kabataan Partylist representative Sarah Elago discussed the weaponization of genderbased disinformation against women when tackling national and human rights issues.

The event concluded with a protest advocating for the release of Eastern Vista journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, press freedom, and academic rights.

In a Facebook post, COC SC Councilor Kimberly Torralba shared, “Walang puwang ang pasismo sa anumang kampus o sangay ng PUP! AFP-PNP, layas!”

Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist - COC also partook in the staged protest and stressed, “Hindi sasang- ayon ang mga kabataan sa pahirap na pagdaragdag ng tuition and other fees samga pamantasan.Sahalip,gusto ng mga kabataan ang isang abot-kaya at dekalidad na edukasyon!”

After the program, students and labor groups marched to PHILCOA in Quezon City to call for livable wage and an invitation to unite on Mayo Uno, a major mobilization set for Labor Day.

PUP Journ student triumphs photo essay category at PJRC 2023

Out of 12 finalists, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (BAJ) senior Cris L. Vilchez Jr. from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines College of Communication (PUP-COC) was hailed as the Photo Essay Grand Champion at the Philippine Journalism Research Conference (PJRC) on May 5, 2023.

Garnering a score of 84.6667%, “Lubog sa Floating Area” told the narrative of child labor where children would cross a river in Meycauayan, Bulacan, just to be in the city where opportunities are better.

“Sa floating area sila nakatira, pero patuloy na lumulubog ang pangarap ng mgabata.Child labor atmarami pang nakalulusaw na kwento ang aking narinig […] Ang tagumpay ko ay tagumpay ng mgabatanglumalangoysailog […] Wala man kayong sariling tubig na iniinom at sariling linya ng kuryente— salamat sa patuloy na pakikipaglaban,” Vilchez penned on a Facebook post.

“Kayo ang dahilan kung bakit mas lalo kong naisip na maraming istorya ang kailanganpangmapakinggan,” he added.

11 finalists from COC also had the chance to represent the university in various categories at the conference.

Across other categories, “Alteraksyon: Sa Likod ng Lente” finished with bronze in the Documentary Feature category, while “Kaliwa Dam: Solusyon o Suliranin” won second place in the News Documentary.

Meanwhile, there were four entries under the Journalism Research: the General Academic Research category, one in the Community Studies category, and another in the Investigative Journalism category.

Among the 100 entries submitted this year from universities across the country, various stories stood out, focusing on poverty, inflation, rice farmers, the mental health of journalists, and the optimization of artificial intelligence (AI) for factchecking.