Philippine Collegian Tomo 92 Issue 5-6

‘UPCAT, socialized tuition hinder enrolment of poor students’ BALITA page 3

Kontra Reducción: Kilos-Protesta at ang Diskurso ng Radikal na Pagbabago KULTURA page 9

Wikan∫ sandata

Pagpanday sa kahalagahan ng wikang Filipino

»

KULTURA page 10

END OF THE LINE:

Probing into the LRT Line 1 privatization deal LATHALAIN page 11

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EDITORYAL

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

Transpinas umaasang malulunod na lang sa limot ang karahasang ginawa niya kay Jennifer.

Hindi ito ang unang pagkakataon na nakaranas ng pandarahas ang mga Pilipino sa kamay ng mga sundalong Amerikano at sa ilalim ng neokolonyal na kapangyarihan ng Estados Unidos. Noong 2005 nangyari ang panggagahasa ng isang sundalong Amerikano, si Daniel Smith,kay ‘Nicole’ sa Subic. Ngunit pinalaya ang suspek at nagawang makabalik sa Amerika dahil sa kakulangan umano ng ebidensya at sa politikal na kapangyarihan ng Estados Unidos. Sa gitna nito’y malinaw na naipakita ang ugnayan ng VFA sa paglapastangan at pananamantala. Umigting ang panawagan ng mga Pilipino na ibasura ang VFA. Sa ilalim ng VFA, binibigyang pagkakataon ang gobyernong Amerika na makapasok sa Pilipinas sa porma ng “joint military exercises” at “rotation” o paghahalinhinan ng mga tropang militar.

Naitala din ang pagtaas ng bilang ng krimen laban sa mga progresibong grupo, ng paglabag sa karapatang-pantao, ng prostitusyon, ng panggagahasa sa mga kababaihan at ng mga kaso ng pagpatay bunga ng Balikatan. Sa kabila ng mataas na antas ng krimen , higit na pinalalawak ng gobyerno ang pribilehiyo ng mga dayuhan na makalabas-pasok sa bansa. Nito lamang Abril nang madaliang nilagdaan ng pangulo ang 10 -taong EDCA sa pagitan ng US at Pilipinas na nagbibigay-pahintulot sa mga dayuhang Amerikano na magtayo ng permanenteng kampo sa bansa.

Sa ilalim ng kasunduan, walang kapangyarihan na pinanghahawakan ang korte ng Pilipinas sa anumang kasong kasasangkutan ng mga entidad ng Estados Unidos. Kaya tila pinawawalang-bisa ang anumang panawagan ng hustisya sa kaso ni Laude dahil nauna nang sinang-ayunan ng pangulo ang kondisyon ng imperyalistang Estados Unidos hinggil sa anumang kaso na kasasangkutan ng mga tropang Amerikano.

Bukod sa usapin ng ugnayan sa pagitan ng US at Pilipinas, maituturing ding “hate crime” ang nangyaring insidente kay Laude dahil sa pagiging transgender niya na isang kasarian na taliwas sa pangkaraniwang nakagisnan ng lipunan.

Philippine Collegian Mary Joy Capistrano Punong Patnugot

Gloiza Rufina Plamenco

Ronn Joshua Bautista

Kapatnugot

Tagapamahalang Patnugot

Ysa Calinawan

John Keithley Difuntorum

Patnugot sa Grapix

Emmanuel Jerome Tagaro Patnugot sa Leyawt

Patnugot sa Litrato

Julian Inah Anunciacion

Tagapamahala ng Pinansiya

Kawani Patricia Ramos Pinansiya Amelyn Daga Tagapamahala Sa Sirkulasyon Paul John Alix Sirkulasyon Gary Gabales, Amelito Jaena, Glenario Ommamalin Mga Katuwang Na Kawani Trinidad Gabales, Gina Villas Kasapi UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (Solidaridad), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman, Lungsod Quezon Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522 Online kule1415@gmail.com, www.philippinecollegian.org, fb.com/philippinecollegian, twitter.com/kule1415

Pinatampok sa midya ang pagiging transgender ni Laude sa halip na pag-usapan ang karahasang nangyari sa kanya.. Hindi labas sa pagiging transgender ni Laude ang karapatan niya bilang mamamayan ng bansa at bilang tao. Hindi iba ang laban ng hustisya para kay Jennifer at ang laban para biktima ng karahasan sa ilalim ng kapangyarihan ng sundalong dayuhan.

Hindi hiwalay ang isyu ng LGBT katulad ni Laude sa iba pang isyu sa lipunan tulad ng kahirapan, kurapsyon at karahasan ng maraming Pilipino sa kasalukuyan. Mauugat ito sa pagpapatuloy ng isang lipunan na hinubog ng mga dayuhan at ang pagiging tao-tauhan ng administrasyong Aquino sa mga dayuhan.

Anuman ang nangyari kay Laude ay isang manipestasyon ng komplikadong sistema sa lipunan na hindi kailanman madadaan sa reporma. Makatwiran lamang na magalit ang mga mamamayan sa gobyerno dahil sa patuloy na “lip service” nito sa mamamayan. Ni hindi kayang harapin ng pangulo ang publiko. Nagmamalaki pa niyang sinabi na hindi siya dumadalo sa burol ng mga taong hindi niya kilala.

Tila walang nakuhang aral ang pangulo mula sa karahasan na dinanas ng

Anuman ang nangyari kay Laude ay isang manipestasyon ng komplikadong sistema sa lipunan na hindi kailanman madadaan sa reporma

maraming Pilipino sa isang daang taong pananatili ng sundalong Amerikano sa bansa, VFA at ngayon naman sa EDCA. Matagal nang nangyayari ang karahasan o hate crimes hindi lang sa mga transgender o gay kundi pati sa mga kababaihan na pangunahing biktima ng karahasan, at sa mamamayang Pilipino na binibiktima ng karahasan ng estado.

Hindi nakukulong sa usapin ng pagiging transgender ni Laude ang nangyaring pagpatay sa kanya. Usapin ito ng pagkukulang ng administrasyong Aquino na mapangalagaan ang kapakapanan ng mamamayang Pilipino at ang soberanya ng bansa. Anuman ang kasarian ni Laude hindi kailanman magiging makatarungan ang pagpatay sa kanya.

Sa kawalan ng ganap na paglaya, nagpapatuloy ang pagbalikwas. Noon pa man nakasalabid na ang salaysay ng karahasan sa kasarian sa laban ng bayan sa pagkamit ng kalayaan mula sa mga dayuhang mananakop at ang pagpapatuloy ng mga kasunduang kumikitil sa kalayaan at sa kaginhawaan ng bawat Pilipino.

Dahil sa isang bayang lumalaban para sa kalayaan, hindi maikukubli ng anumang panlilinlang ang karahasan at pagsasamantalang dulot ng pananakop.

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SIPAT Sa ika-92 taon ng Philippine Collegian, maglalathala ang pahayagan ng mga larawang sasalamin sa tunay na kalagayan ng mga mamamayan sa isang marahas na lipunan.

Alisto

“

Walang pahi-pahinga, walang holi-holiday.

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HINDI MAIKUKUBLI NG anumang panlilinlang ang karahasan at pagsasamantalang bunga ng pananakop. Saksi ang kasaysayan sa dulot na panganib ng maka-isa at parasitikong relasyon sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at Estados Unidos.

Sa patuloy na pandarahas ng Estados Unidos, hindi sapat ang reporma sa mga kasunduan na kinapapalooban ng Pilipinas. Kahingian na ng panahon ang tuluyang pagbasura sa anumang ugnayan mayroon ang ating bayan sa dayuhang kapangyarihan.

Ayon kay Pangulong Benigno Aquino III, hindi umano dapat isakripisyo ang relasyon ng Estados Unidos at Pilipinas dahil lamang sa pagkamatay ng Filipinang transgender na si Jennifer Laude sa kamay ng isang sundalong Amerikano.

Ang mismong pangulo pa ang mistulang kumakanlong at nagbibigay-proteksyon sa salaring sundalong Amerikano at sa neokolonyal na sistema ng Estados Unidos, na pilit pinalalabas na dapat ipagwalangbahala at ibaon sa limot ang karahasang ito.

Ngunit ang karahasang sinapit ni Laude ay hindi dapat limutin sapagkat manipestasyon ito ng dobleng opresyon sa mga inaaping lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT). Bunga ng usaping patriarkiya at ng pagpapasailalim sa kapangyarihan ng dayuhang Amerikano sa porma ng mga kasunduan tulad ng Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) at Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Kaiba sa ibang biktima ng karahasan sa kamay ng mga sundalong Amerikano, higit na pinatatampok ngayon sa midya ang usapin ng pagiging transgender ni Laude, tinitingnan pa nga ito ng mga pulis na isa sa mga anggulo sa brutal na kamatayan ng biktima.

Kinilala ang suspek sa pagpatay kay Laude na si Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, miyembro ng 3,500 mga sundalo at marinong nagsanay sa Pilipinas para sa taunang PhilippinesUS Amphibious Landing Exercise (Phiblex) na nagtapos nitong ika-10 ng Oktubre. Samantala, nananatili sa poder ng mga Amerikano si Pemberton, tila

Luis Villanueva, 59, Bantay Bayan ng Marikina

BALITA

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

‘UPCAT, socialized tuition hinder enrolment of poor students’ UPCAT passing rates per income bracket

Ronn Joshua C. Bautista IF POPULAR CONVENTIONS ARE to be believed, UP is the school for the poorest yet brightest students in the country. However, recent studies and data would show that UP’s propoor preferences may just be a myth.

At least a third of all 4,000 UP Diliman (UPD) qualifiers in the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) this year declared an annual income of more than P1 million, according to data obtained from the Office of Admissions.

For the past decade, the number of millionaire UPCAT passers in UPD has almost doubled from 17 percent of all qualifiers in 2004 to 29 percent in 2014.

Meanwhile, the number of UPD qualifiers who earn less than half a million per year has been constantly decreasing from 59 percent in 2004 to 44 percent this year.

This decline in the number of UPD UPCAT passers in the lower income brackets shows that admission into UP has become more difficult for the poor over the years, Student Regent Neill Macuha said.

Skewed selection According to a study group commissioned by UP President Alfredo Pascual in 2013, there are three factors that hinder “poor yet deserving” students from entering UP: the UPCAT, high cost of living, and tuition and other fees.

Led by Agriculture Prof. Teodoro Mendoza from UP Los Baños, the study group said the UPCAT has become “biased” against those who come from lower income families because students who have more resources will have better education and preparation prior to the exam.

According to data from the Office of Admissions, students in the higher income brackets have a higher passing rate than those from less fortunate families. (see sidebar) “Something is wrong in here. Ang laki ng agwat [ng income ng mga UPCAT qualifiers]. The reason here is kung mayaman ka, mas makakaafford ka ng better schooling,” UPD Chancellor Michael Tan said.

To address this issue, Tan proposed to give special concessions to students who come from indigenous and poor communities during the UPCAT to increase the number of qualifiers in the lower income brackets.

“We need affirmative action.

For them to pass, pwede rin tayong gumawa ng mga [libreng] reviewer at magkaroon ng mentoring system sa mga high school para hindi lamang ang mayayaman ang pumapasa [sa UPCAT],” Tan added.

Financial barrier However, passing the UPCAT is not the only barrier to entering the university, Macuha said.

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This year, 31 percent of all UPD UPCAT qualifiers did not enroll in UP. Since 2007, only two in three UPD UPCAT passers enroll in the university.

According to the study group, UPD’s constant no-show rate may stem from the high cost of living in Metro Manila and the “anti-poor” nature of the socialized tuition program of the university.

“Kahit na nakapasa ka sa UPCAT, hindi ka agad-agad makakapasok sa unibersidad. May mga cases na hindi tumutuloy ang mga qualifiers dahil malayo at mahal mag-aral sa UP. Mas pinipili nila na [sa probinsya na] lang

mag-aral dahil hindi kaya ng pamilya nila ang UP,” said Menchani Tilendo, councilor from the UPD University Student Council.

Under the university’s Socialized Tuition System (STS), students are given “tuition discounts” from the full tuition rate of P1,500 per unit based on their socio-economic status.

After UP’s highest policymaking body, the Board of Regents (BOR), implemented new reforms in the university’s socialized tuition program this year, students are classified under the default “No Discount” bracket until they can prove that their families earn less

than P1.3 million per year.

“Na-aantagonize ang mga students na pumasok sa UP dahil kailangan pa nilang patunayan na mahirap sila para makakuha ng mas abot-kayang tuition. Pinaparamdam nila sa atin na hindi dahil pumasa ka ng UPCAT ay madali ka na makakapag-enrol,” Tilendo said.

As of September 17, 49 percent or 1,520 out of 3,115 freshmen were classified under bracket A, according to data from the Office of the University Registrar. However, only 1,148 UPD UPCAT qualifiers said they earn more

Continued to page 4

Guidelines for new student code to be released this month Pocholo Enriquez DESPITE CALLS FROM SEVERAL student groups to junk the Code of Student Conduct (CSC), the UP Diliman (UPD) administration will only release additional definitions to contested provisions in an upcoming list of administrative guidelines this November.

Commissioned by UPD Chancellor Michael Tan, an ad-hoc committee of present and previous Vice Chancellors for Student Affairs will draft revisions in the one-semester ban from joining organizations and the breach of peace provisions in the CSC that has drawn flak from student leaders this semester.

Replacing the 1998 Code of Discipline, the CSC outlines several acts that are prohibited inside the UPD campus. After the Board of Regents (BOR) approved the CSC this June, student leaders have slammed the new code for containing “vague” provisions that will supposedly hamper student rights.

According to section 1.3.1.d of the CSC, the code bans student organizations from accepting freshmen or transferees who have not yet completed one semester of residency in UPD. Under sections 1.3.1.a and 2.2.1a of the code, students or organizations may be expelled or suspended for up to a year when they participate in activities that “breach the peace” of the university.

“These provisions limit our right to organize, right to peaceful assembly, and the right to express freedom of expression,” said UPD University Student Council (USC) Chairperson Arjay Mercado.

To address these concerns, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Neil Martial Santillan said the ad-hoc committee will redefine the terms “accepting” and “breach of peace” to avoid subjectivity and ensure students’ rights are protected The committee invited Student Regent Neill Macuha and Mercado to a dialogue on September 29.

However, they were not included in

the drafting committee itself.

Under the new CSC guidelines, Santillan explained that registered UPD student organizations may now recruit freshmen and transferees during their first semester in UPD but may not formally grant them full membership rights until the second semester.

Meanwhile, Santillan said the CSC will now only consider incidents that “alarm, annoy, or disturb” individuals in the university as “breaches of peace” under sections 1.3.1a and 2.2.1a.

The ad-hoc committee has finished drafting the new guidelines and is only awaiting Tan’s “administrative order” before releasing the CSC reforms, Santillan added.

However, despite these revisions, Macuha said the code still focuses on what students are not allowed to do instead of enshrining their rights and welfare According to the student regent, the committee’s revisions simply demotes freshmen and transferees to “second-rate” members in their own organization while

legitimate protest actions may still be treated as “breaches of peace” since mobilizations naturally draw attention and “disturb the status quo.” “[Revising the CSC] is a compromising stance of the UP administration to simply pacify the tension against the student code,” said Macuha.

Instead of the CSC, Macuha said the UPD administration should junk the code in favor of a list of rights and responsibilities drafted by the students.

Since May 2014, the Office of the Student Regent has been consulting student and community leaders from all over the UP System to draft the UP Agenda and List of General Demands (UP ALGD). According to Macuha, the UP ALGD will outline the policies that members of the UP community want to scrap or institute.

“Instead of having a disciplinary code, ipagtatanggol natin sa isang list of general demands ang mga demokratikong karapatan at responsibilidad ng mga estudyante,” Macuha said.

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BALITA

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

Palparan, hiniling makapagpiyansa sa kasong pagdukot kina Karen-She Hans Christian Marin MULING ITINANGGI NI RET. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan na may kinalaman siya sa pagkawala nina Karen Empeño at Sherlyn Cadapan sa inihain niyang motion for bail sa Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) noong ika-20 ng Oktubre.

Tatlong buwan matapos mahuli sa Sta. Mesa, Manila nitong Agosto, hiniling ng itinuturing na utak sa pagdukot sa dalawang estudyante ng UP Diliman na sina Empeño at Cadapan noong 2007, na pansamantalang makalaya sa pagkakakulong dahil sa kawalan umano ng matibay na ebidensya laban sa kanya.

“Puro lamang mga haka-haka ang mga ebidensiya dahil wala namang nakapagsabi na nakita nila mismo si Palparan,” ani Narzal Mallares, abogado ni Palparan.

Kasalukuyang nahaharap si Palparan sa mga kasong kidnapping at serious illegal detention na isinampa laban sa kanya ng mga magulang ni Empeño at Cadapan noong 2011.

Sa isang desisyon ng Korte Suprema noong 2011, idineklara ng mataas na hukuman na si Palparan ang isa sa mga primaryang responsable sa pagkawala ng dalawang estudyante.

Ayon sa salaysay ng mga testigo laban sa dating heneral, dinukot umano nina S/Sgt Edgar Osorio at Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado sina Empeño at Cadapan at dinala sa Camp Tecson, Bulacan noong 2007 kung saan nakabase ang 7th Infantry Division na pinamumunuan ng puganteng heneral.

Batay sa testimonya ng magsasakang si Raymond Manalo

na nakatakas mula sa pagkakakulong sa Camp Tecson noong 2008, dinala umano sila nina Palparan sa iba’t ibang base militar sa bansa upang gawing utusan ng mga sundalo nito.

“Hindi maaaring basta-basta magpiyansa si Palparan [dahil] kailangan munang patunayan ng mga abugado niya na mahina ang ebidensiya laban sa kaniya,” ani Renato Reyes, pangkalahatang-kalihim ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.

Ayon sa Rule 114 ng Rules of Criminal Procedure, hindi maaaring magpiyansa ang mga akusado sa mga kasong maaaring hatulan ng Reclusion Perpetua o habambuhay na pagkakakulong. Sa ilalim ng Article 267 ng Revised Penal Code, habambuhay na pagkakakulong ang parusa sa kidnapping at serious illegal detention.

Nauna nang ibinasura ng Malolos RTC ang motion for bail ng kapwa akusado ni Palparan na sina Anotado at Osorio noong Hulyo 2013, isang taon matapos kusa silang sumuko.

“Imagine, running away for almost 3 years for a very serious crime, asking for special treatment, and now he has the audacity and petulance to ask for bail now that we even have stronger evidence against him, compared to the two coaccused na denied ang petition for bail before”, ani Edre Olalia, abogado nina Empeño at Cadapan.

Kasalukuyang nakapiit si Palparan sa Philippine Army Custodial Center (PACC) sa Fort Bonifacio kasama sina Anotado at Osorio matapos ilipat ng Malolos RTC ang dating heneral mula sa

Balakid. Hinarangan ng kapulisan ang nagpo-protestang grupo ng pamilya at kaibigan ng mga biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao, matapos maghain ni Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan ng petisyon na makapagpiyansa sa Malolos RTC Branch 14 noong ika-20 ng Oktubre. Nahaharap ang dating heneral sa mga kaso ng kidnapping at serious illegal detention kaugnay sa pagkawala ng dalawang estudyante ng UP na sina Karen Empeno at Sherlyn Cadapan. | Inah Anunciacion Panlalawigang Piitan ng Bulacan noong ika-1 ng Setyembre dahil sa isyu umano ng seguridad.

Nauna nang naghain ng petisyon ang mga abogado nina Empeno at Cadapan na ibalik si Palparan sa pang-sibilyang kulungan noong ika29 ng Setyembre, subalit ibinasura ito ng Malolos RTC.

“Maliwanag na ang ating gobyerno ay gobyerno para sa mga kriminal, gobyerno para sa mga sinungaling, at gobyerno para kay berdugong Palparan,” ani Linda Cadapan, ina ni Sherlyn.

Nakatakdang maglabas ng desisyon ukol sa motion for bail ni

Palparan ang Malolos RTC sa ika8 ng Disyembre kasabay ng unang araw ng paglilitis sa puganteng heneral.

Samantala, sisimulan naman ng korte ang pagtalakay sa mga ebidensiyan laban kay Palparan sa isang pre-trial hearing sa ika-24 ng Nobyembre.

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‘UPCAT, socialized tuition hinder enrolment of poor students’ Continued from page 3 than a million pesos annually.

During the first STS batch run in June, students expressed their frustration online over the new tuition system.

#BracketAKaNa

Standing Ground. Hacienda Luisita farmers filed cases against Jose Cojuangco Jr., Maria Elena “Ballsy” AquinoCruz, and members of the Tarlac police force at the Department of Justice on October 10 following a spate of assaults allegedly staged by the Cojuangco-Aquino family to evict farmers from the land. The defendants now face several charges, including attempted murder, physical injury, theft and arson. | Genesa Grace Alvarado

Under the hashtag #BracketAKaNa, students from different UP units reported cases of alleged “misbracketing”. At least 3,175 UPD students appealed for a lower tuition bracket.

“Dito lumalabas ang flaw sa sistema, pwede kang ilagay sa higher brackets ng STS,” said Macuha. “At the end of the day, sobrang mahal na ng tuition mo sa UP and students that cannot afford it are being duped into paying,” the SR added.

Simply reforming the university’s socialized tuition system would only “legitimize” the meager state subsidy UP receives from the national government, said Macuha. Since 2007, UP has been receiving less than half

its proposed budget to Congress. This year, the House of Representatives only appropriated P12 billion from UP’s original P25.5 billion proposal as of third reading of the 2015 General Appropriations Act. Based on the study group’s findings, Macuha proposed to junk the STS and rollback the tuition to “ensure the enrolment of the most number of students in UP.” Macuha submitted his proposal to the Board of Regents this July, but Pascual dismissed the student regent’s motion after BOR chairperson Patricia Licuanan said the university should first observe the initial outcome of the STS. “In its 25 years of existence in UP, socialized tuition has effectively alienated the poor. [Bumaba] ang bilang ng mga mahihirap sa UP dahil palagi nitong nilalagay sa mga matataas na bracket ang mga estudyante. Twenty five years of this experiment is enough,” Macuha said.

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BALITA

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

Diliman SCs propose changes to SR selection process

Collective Resentments.

Various student organizations staged a candle-lighting ceremony as part of the National Day of Outrage at the Sunken Garden on October 24, the day of Jennifer Laude’s burial. The groups called for justice for the alleged murder of Laude, a transgender woman, by a US Marine and appealed to President Benigno Aquino III to put an end to violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. | Aldrin Villegas

Ronn Bautista THREE UP DILIMAN (UPD) student councils (SCs) filed amendments to the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS), the set of rules governing the annual selection of the lone student representative in the Board of Regents.

In their separate proposals to the Office of the Student Regent (OSR) in October, UPD’s University Student Council (USC) and two other UPD college SCs moved to reallocate voting powers in the SR selection process, impose a minimum academic requirement for SR nominees, create new positions in the OSR, and institute a threeyear effectivity clause for all passed amendments in the CRSRS. According to Article 9, Section 4 of the CRSRS, UP SCs may annually file amendments to the SR selection process subject to the approval of the GASC. Since the GASC adopted the CRSRS in 1997, the assembly has consistently junked UPD’s first two amendments except in 2005 – when a majority of SCs in the GASC approved the revisions but immediately repealed them in the following year.

New voting powers The UPD College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) SC and the UPD USC both refiled amendments which sought to give each UP SC one vote in the selection process.

“We need to widen the participation of every student to get involved in the selection by bringing [the voting process] down to the [SC

level],” UPD CSSP SC Chairperson Renz Noveloso said.

Meanwhile, the UPD Law Student Government (LSG) moved to have the next SR be directly elected by UP’s 55,000-strong student population. “This is to assure that the selected Student Regent will have the direct mandate of the students,” said UPD LSG President Jose Antonio Rafael Santos.

Under Article 8, Section 10 of the CRSRS, autonomous UP units such as

UPD and UP Los Banos (UPLB) wield two votes in the selection process while each regional UP unit such as UP Visayas Tacloban College get one vote.

“We need to remember that the SR selection is not a popularity contest. If the student regent wanted to win [under UPD’s amendments], he or she would only focus on the bigger campuses,” former SR Cleve Arguelles said.

UPD and UPLB currently holds 64 percent of UP’s total student population

and the most number of SCs in the UP System with 33 out 53 councils.

The current voting mechanism forces SR nominees to cater to all UP units and makes sure that lesspopulated campuses will have a proportional voice in the selection process, Arguelles added.

Passing standards The UPD USC and UPD CSSP SC also proposed requiring SR nominees to pass at least 50 percent

SC to decide UP vs. QC gov’t row over TechnoHub Pocholo Enriquez UP may have to pay the Quezon City (QC) government P117 million in taxes should the Supreme Court (SC) deny the university’s petition to exempt the TechnoHub from real estate dues.

After bringing the issue to the high court last month, the university is currently facing a legal battle with the QC government in the SC over the sale of the TechnoHub this November over “unpaid taxes.”

Built in 2007, the TechnoHub is part of UP’s 38-hectare land across Commonwealth Avenue intended for science and technology (S&T) parks, according to the 2012 UP Diliman Land Use Plan.

Despite opposition from the UP community in 2007, former UP President Emerlinda Roman leased the North S&T Park to the business

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group Ayala Land Incorporated (Ayala) to provide the university an additional income of P200 million every year tax-free.

However, in a notice of delinquency issued in May, the QC government charged UP P117 million in real estate taxes that it has supposedly failed to pay for the TechnoHub since 2008. After UP failed to respond, the QC government issued a final notice of delinquency and scheduled the auction of the TechnoHub on November 20 to pay for the real estate taxes.

In a petition filed to the SC in September, UP asked the high court to stop the QC government from taxing the university.

“Revenues and assets of the staterun university are exempted from all taxes…according to the UP Charter of 2008,” stated in the petition.

The SC issued a temporary

restraining order against the QC government on October 1.

“However, while it is true that educational institutions are exempted from real property taxes, the Technohub is taxable because it is not used exclusively for educational purposes,” Villanueva explained.

Under the UP Charter of 2008 or Republic Act 9500, UP’s properties are exempted from taxes only if they are “used for education[al] purposes or in support of the University.”

“May merit ang sinasabi ng QC government. Ginamit talaga ng UP bilang lupaing komersyo ang dapat ay lupaing pang-akademiko,” Student Regent Neill Macuha said.

Should the high court rule in favor of the QC government, Villanueva said the QC Treasury will also tax the UP Town Center.

The university earlier demolished the UP Integrated

School and leased its 7.4 hectares of land across Katipunan Avenue to Ayala in 2013 in exchange for a new school building and P34 million annually.

“Because the property is owned

by UP and they contracted a taxable entity, [the property also becomes] an ordinary taxable entity,” Villanueva explained.

The QC government has yet to calculate how much UP must pay for the UP Town Center.

“At the end of the day, patunay lang [ang kaso ng TechnoHub] na hindi na ginagamit ng UP ang lupain nito for academic purposes. Nawawala ang public character ng UP…panahon na para ilaan ng UP ang lupa nito para sa kanyang constituents at hindi sa mga malalaking negosyo,” Macuha said.

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of his or her enlisted units prior to their nomination.

“We would like the SR to serve the people free from the danger of being removed from his or her position due to academic delinquency,” said Noveloso.

According to the UPD USC, imposing a minimum academic requirement would ensure that UP’s academic excellence “would not be forgotten” by the next SR. Article 3, Section 2 of the CRSRS states that SR nominees should not be disqualified on the basis of academic status. “This is because we cannot remove the fact that grades are relative to everyone’s home college. Hindi maiiwasan na mahaluan ng pulitika ang mga grado, regardless of how you perform in class,” explained former SR Krista Melgarejo.

The CRSRS only requires nominees to be bona fide Filipino students with at least one-year residency and a track record of student service.

New positions Meanwhile, the UPD LSG proposed creating 10 new elected positions in the OSR to supposedly ensure better representation of each UP unit in the OSR. “We believe that a representative [from each UP unit] who participates in all actions performed by the office better ensures representation and transparency,” said Santos.

The OSR currently enlists volunteers from all UP units under its

Continued to page 6

6

BALITA

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

Crime in UPD double before year ends UPLB deploys late-night service after new rape case Frances Gagua LESS THAN THREE MONTHS before the year ends, the number of crimes in UP Diliman (UPD) has already doubled, according to data obtained from the UPD Police (UPDP).

From January to September this year, the UPDP has recorded 170 crimes such as robbery and damage to property inside the 493-hectare campus. This number is 75 percent higher than the 98 recorded cases for the whole year of 2013.

Until this year, crime in UPD has been on a decline from 159 cases in 2011 to 89 in 2013.

As of October 15, theft remains the top criminal offense in UPD with more than 92 reported cases in places such as Vinzons Hall. Robbery follows with 18 incidences reported and Damage to Property with 13 reports filed at the UPDP. UPDP Officer-in-Charge P/ Capt. Ruben Villaluna has identified buildings around the Academic Oval and entry and exit points in UPD such as the University Avenue to be the most crime-prone areas this year.

Last month, UPDP officers exchanged shots with a man who tried to rob a resident of Village B, Brgy. UP Campus with a hand gun on September 29. The suspect was rushed to East Avenue Medical Center after receiving injuries from gunfire.

Lack of officers Villaluna said that the lack of uniformed officers and equipment make it difficult to secure UPD’s academic campus and six adjacent barangays.

“For the longest time, walang recruitment, walang additional UPDP. Tapos marami nang nagreretiro at ‘yung iba ay hindi na fit," explained Villaluna.

At present, UPDP has 33 uniformed officers, down from 42 policemen in 2012.

Villaluna added that UPDP’s low pay may have hindered recruitment in the police force. An average UPDP officer for instance, only earns P15, 138 monthly or barely half than what a police inspector in the Philippine National Police gets at P30,000 monthly.

To address the lack of officers, UPDP hires Service Security Brigade (SSB) personnel who do not carry firearms and patrol the campus on bicycles. Unlike UPDP officers, SSBs are only paid the minimum wage of P466 a day.

This year, the number of SSBs has increased to 64 men from 53 in 2013 and 51 in 2012.

However, Villaluna said that even with more personnel in the force, UPDP still lack basic equipment necessary to patrol and secure the campus.

The UPDP currently have two

police cars and only six motorcycles.

Meanwhile, 33 officers have to share 17 handheld radios on the job.

“Ang kakulangan ng UPDP sa basic na kagamitan ay patunay lamang na malaki talaga ang epekto ng mababang badyet na ibinibigay ng gobyerno sa UP. Hindi lang matrikula ang apektado kundi pati ang serbisyong gaya ng seguridad sa kampus,” said Student Regent Neill Macuha.

‘Tighter security’ Meanwhile, the UP Los Baños (UPLB) administration has deployed additional security personnel in their campus after a 17-year-old freshman was raped outside the university this month.

Three years after a Computer Science junior was sexually assaulted and murdered in 2011, another UPLB student was raped along IPB road while riding a tricycle home at around 9:30 PM on October 15.

A week after police arrested the suspected tricycle driver on October 17, Chancellor Rex Cruz announced that UPLB police will now secure the “porous” entry points residents use to get inside the university.

“We will strengthen the proactive collaboration and cooperation with local government authorities, students, and other community members so that the University and its environs may be crime-free and safe for everyone,” UPLB Chancellor Rex Cruz said in a statement.

Cruz said the UPLB administration will provide late-night transportation for students and staff every night after 10PM. Multicabs leaving every hour will directly drop off students to dormitories and houses from designated terminals

Pagtanggap sa hamon. Tinanggap ni Dr. Michael Tan kasama ng kanyang tatlong anak ang Sentro ng UP Diliman mula kay UP President Alfredo Pascual tanda ng pagpapatibay sa kanya bilang ika-10 Tsanselor ng UPD noong ika-17 ng Oktubre sa UP Theater. Sa kanyang talumpati na “Pride of Place, Boldness of Vision,” nais ni Tan na higit na ilapit ang UPD sa mga mahihirap na estudyanteng nakatira sa mga malalayong rehiyon at nag-aaral sa mga pampublikong paaralan sa bansa. | Ronn Bautista inside the campus.

However, UPLB University Student Council Chairperson Allen Lemence said that apart from strengthening the police force and other physical security measures, UPLB should also move to help “eradicate the culture of crime” by

conducting seminars and livelihood programs in the community.

“Patuloy dapat ang pakikipagugnayan ng UPLB sa mga karatig na komunidad upang bumuo ng mas kumprehensibong plano para sa safety at security ng mga estudyante at mamamayan,” Lemence said.

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Congress mulls delaying SK polls anew Frances Gagua TEENAGERS FROM AGES 15 TO 17 will need to wait two more years to run for a post in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) should Congress pass another proposal delaying the youth council polls until 2016.

Four months before the next SK elections in February 2015, the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms approved a consolidated measure from Davao del Norte Rep. Anthony Del Rosario and Baguio City Rep. Nicasio Aliping Jr. which sought to postpone the polls anew to October 2016.

Citing the need for major changes in the SK, Del Rosario and Aliping said delaying the youth council polls for another year would provide Congress enough time to discuss needed reforms to the youth council.

Congress previously postponed the last SK polls in October 2013 through Republic Act (RA) 10632 due to cases of corruption filed to the Sandiganbayan since 2002.

At the time, several groups such as the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting moved to abolish the SK for supposedly being a “training ground for corruption” for the youth.

According to RA 10632, Congress had until October 2014 to discuss changes to the SK, however both houses failed to approve any reforms before the deadline.

Should Congress postpone the SK polls to October 2016, it will be six years since the last youth council elections in October 2010. “[These] proposals [to delay the SK polls anew] disregard the relevance and urgency of reinstating youth representation in governance.

A second postponement could be construed as a form of de facto abolition.” said National Youth Commission Assistant Secretary Percival Cendana.

According to Kabataan Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, Congress should not blame the youth for corruption in the SK since the youth council

is directly under the control of the barangay government.

“We need a more systemic understanding of corruption. For the most part, [these youth are only being used] by older people, in the barangay and in the local governments to [pocket] SK funds,” Ridon said.

With SK positions vacant since 2013, Ridon said the vacuum of power in the youth council will only leave funds intended for the SK up for grabs to local barangay officials.

Under the Local Government Code, the SK controls 10 percent of a barangay’s total annual internal revenue allotment. This amounts to almost P6 billion from 42,000 barangays nationwide.

“If we read between the lines, we can say that the Aquino administration might be supporting the SK election postponement to give more funds to local officials in preparation for the presidential polls. They have done it before, and they’re at it again,” Ridon said.

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Diliman SCs propose changes to SR selection process Continued from page 5 Commissioners of the Regent (CORE) program to assist the SR in information dissemination and activities.

“Palagi ring nakikipag-ugnayan ang OSR sa mga SCs sa mga program nito. Kaya magiging redundant lang kapag nagkaroon pa ng [elected representatives] mismo sa OSR,” Melgarejo said.

Effectivity clause Should any of UPD’s amendments be approved, the USC and CSSP SC also proposed instituting an effectivity clause which will ban the GASC from repealing passed amendments for three years.

“However, what happens if in a span of one year, we have already seen the flaws? Shouldn't we correct it immediately? Since it’s cemented for three years, the students, not only the Office, have to endure the problem for two more years,” said Melgarejo.

“The members of the GASC change year after year. Hindi mo pwede i-dictate ‘yung wisdom ng mga susunod na GASC,” Arguelles added.

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with reports from KC

KULTURA

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014 MAKASAYSAYAN ANG NOBYEMBRE 17. Ito ang Pandaigdigang Araw ng mga Mag-aaral. Ngunit hindi ito ang payak na pagtatanghal ng husay o talento ng mga mag-aaral. Hindi ito selebrasyon na mauuwi lamang sa makukulay na presentasyon o di kaya'y paggagawad ng pinakamahuhusay na estudyante sa iba't ibang larangan o disiplina.

Ito ay pandaigdigang araw ng pagbabalik-tanaw, pagbabalik-aral at makasaysayang pagsusulong ng mga laban at tagumpay ng kolektibong pagkilos.

Madalas nating naikakabit ang konsepto ng mag-aaral sa loob ng klasrum, nakatanghod sa guro at blackboard, o di kaya'y nagsusulat ng mga teleseryeng lektyur sa kaniyang kuwaderno. Ngunit ang totoo, ang tunay na teleserye ng buhay ng mga estudyante ay ang mga aral ng pakikibaka at pakikitunggali na

kanilang nararanasan sa tahanan, paaralan, lipunan at bayan.

Madalas ding marinig na edukasyon ang tanging maipapamana ng magulang sa anak.

Gayundin, na edukasyon ang susi sa tagumpay. Ngunit hindi na ito naipapamana dahil sa mahal ng presyo ng pag-aaral, at marami sa nakapagtapos ng kolehiyo ay hindi matagumpay na nakahahanap ng nakabubuhay na trabaho. Sa katunayan, dahil sa programa ng gobyerno, nasa 15 milyon ang outof-school youth at nasa 1.5 milyon ang bilang ng dropouts. Taliwas ito sa responsibilidad ng gobyerno na nakasaad sa mismong Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas: “Art. XIV, Sec. 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. “Art. XIV, Sec. 5. The state shall assign

the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.� Sa kasalukuyan, ang rekomendasyon ng United Nations ay kailangang maglaan ang gobyerno sa edukasyon ng 6% ng Gross Domestic Product (GDP; yamang nililikha sa loob ng bansa) nito.

Ngunit sa kaso ng administrasyon ni BS Aquino III, 2.3% ng GDP lamang ang inilalaan sa edukasyon. Ang batayang karapatan sa edukasyon, kung gayon, ay binabalewala ng mismong pamahalaang dapat nagtataguyod nito.

Isa lamang ang isyu sa edukasyon sa mga isyu ng mga mag-aaral at kabataang Pilipino. Sa isang bansang puno ng kontradiksyon at kontrobersiya, imperatibo para sa kabataan na maging malay sa mga isyung panlipunan at maging bahagi ng kolektibong pagkilos para sa pagkakamit ng mga karapatan.

Sa ganitong gana masisipat ang mahalagang papel ng mag-aaral na Pilipino sa pagtataguyod ng Pandaigdigang Araw nng mga Magaaral.

Pandaigdigang Araw ng mga Mag-aaral Hindi payak at arbitraryo ang pagkakapili sa petsang Nobyembre 17 bilang Pandaigdigang Araw ng mga Mag-aaral. Bitbit nito ang mahabang kasaysayan ng kapangyarihan ng kolektibong pagkilos at ng pagbalikwas ng mga mag-aaral sa diktadurya at iba pang tiwaling sistema.

#RevUpPH: Ang Mag-aaral sa Kaniyang Karapatan Student Rights Week at ang Pagdiriwang ng International Students Day RevUp Philippines

7 Sa katunayan, ito ay komemorasyon ng naganap na mga demonstrasyon at pagkilos ng mga mag-aaral ng Czechoslovakia laban sa mga Nazi noong Oktubre hanggang Nobyembre ng 1939. Ang marahas na okupasyon ng mga Nazi sa Czechoslovakia ay sinalubong ng marubdob at militanteng paglaban ng mga mag-aaral na Czechoslovakian.

Noong 1939, pinasista ng mga otoridad na Nazi ang demonstrasyon sa Prague ng mga mag-aaral ng Medical Faculty ng Charles University. Nagsagawa ng demonstrasyon ang mga mag-aaral noong Oktubre 28, 1939 bilang paggunita sa anibersaryo ng pagkamit ng Czechoslovak Republic ng nominal na kalayaan nito noong 1918.

Sa buong kurso ng labang ito, pinatay ng mga Nazi ang mag-aaaral na si Jan Opletal at ang manggagawang si Vaclav Sedlacek. Sa punto ring ito, wala nang Czechoslovakia dahil hinati na ito ng Nazi sa Protectorate ng Bohemia at Moravia at sa Slovak Republic na pinamumunuan ng pasistang gobyerno.

Ang pagpaslang kay Opletal ay nagbunga ng malakihang pagkilos laban sa mga Nazi. Sa katunayan, ang martsa para sa paglilibing kay Opletal ay dinaluhan ng libo-libong estudyante noong Nobyembre 15 at naging isang demonstrasyong masa laban sa mga Nazi ang nasabing martsa.

Tapat sa pagiging pasista, dinahas ng mga Nazi ang mga demonstrador, ipinasara ang lahat ng Czech na mga unibersidad at kolehiyo, at mahigit 1,200 na mag-aaral ang inaresto at ipinadala sa mga concentration camp para tortyurin at parusahan. Higit sa lahat, siyam na mga mag-aaral at propesor ang pinaslang noong Nobyembre 17 nang nasabing taon.

Taong 1941 nang unang itanghal ang Pandaigdigang Araw ng mga Mag-aaral sa London ng International Students' Council. Ang nasabing pagkilala sa araw na iyon ay tradisyon ng pagbabalik-tanaw at pagsulong para sa karapatan ng

mag-aaral, para sa pagtatanghal ng militante, progresibo at kolektibong pagkilos. Ipinagpatuloy at ipinagpaapatuluoy ito ng International Union of Students kasama ang National Union of Students in Europe.

Hindi guro ang kasaysayan. Ang totoo, ang kasaysayan ay nililikha.

At sa kasaysayan ng pagkilos ng mga estudyante at kabataan, ang Pilipinas ay saksi sa paglikha ng kasaysayan ng mga mag-aaral at kabataang Pilipino.

Kasaysayan ang magpapatunay na kasama ang mamamayang Pilipino, ang mga mag-aaral at kabataan ay mga "game changer" sa lipunan, puwersang malakas, buong kolektibong tining na hindi mapipipi. Nakita ang prinsipyado at malikhain at militanteng liderato ng mga estudyante at kabataang Pilipino para sa paglaban sa kalayaan: Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, Emilio Jacinto, Apolinario Mabini, Gabriela Silang, Lorena Barros, Edgar Jopson, at marami pang iba.

Sa limlim ng Batas Militar ng rehimeng Marcos, ang mga katulad ni Edgar Jopson o Edjop ay nakipagkaisa sa mga kabataan at iba pang sektor sa lipunan upang ipaglaban hindi lamang ang karapatan ng mga mag-aaral kundi pati ng mamamayan. Ang Diliman Commune ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas at ang First Quarter Storm ng Kabataang Makabayan noon ay paalala ng nagkakaisang progresibong pakikibaka ng mga estudyante at kabataan para sa pagkakamit ng mga tagumpay at karapatan, buhay man ang ialay.

At sa kasalukuyan, sa gitna ng nakatambad na korapsyon ni BS Aquino III, sa gitna ng mababang badyet sa edukasyon at serbisyong panlipunan, sa gitna ng pagtaas ng presyo ng edukasyon at iba pang pangangailangan, sa gitna pagsikil sa mga demokratikong karapatan ng mga mag-aaral at mamamayan, nagpapatuloy ang pagtangan sa mga prinsipyo at pagsuong sa mga hamon.

Ika nga, "Walang mali sa paglaban.

May mali kaya lumalaban."

Dibuh

-

o ni P atricia

Ramo

s

8 TWO MEN’S PEACEFUL DRIVE along EDSA turned into pandemonium when a car cornered their path out of nowhere. Alighting from the car, the group revealed themselves as cops and accused the two men of various charges after taking away millions worth of cash and ATM cards. As if nothing happened, the cops drove away, oblivious to the people who witnessed their abrupt transformation from people’s defenders into fullfledged criminals.

To more than three million men in the police enforcement, this particular modus of extorting and stealing from victims they accuse of false charges is simply known as “hulidap,” a contraction of “huli” and “holdap.” But to more than 100 million Filipinos whose safety depends on the police forces, it is unclear who these men in uniform really want to serve and protect.

KULTURA

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

PRIME SUSPECT

Peace and order The concept of an efficient group of men specialized in enforcing the law grew out of the state’s need to discipline and protect the “order of things,” says sociologist Michel Foucault. Indeed, the state sees the police as the chief protectors of the people by enforcing law and punishing criminals to create a safe environment for the masses.

In return to their loyalty and service, police are given privileges such as free tuition, uniforms, and allowances. As a response to this privilege, cadets face intense physical and mental training in police academies like the state-funded Philippine National Police Academy.

Upon entering school, cadets follow a strict routine of activities from waking up to exercise to eating and to sleeping - all of these done together indistinctly like efficient machines. Throughout the day, cadets are molded to align their vision of an ideal policeman, immersing them in repeated recitation that pledges their loyalty to the state and people who wield power. Foucault discusses this conditioning of mind and body into subordination as state regimentation.

All of these are done for a criminology degree needed for a police post. But before they even started to wear their golden badges, they have been first exposed as victims to violence they have learned to do and learned to live with. Throughout the past decade, the Philippine National Police Academy notes two deaths that are believed to be caused by hazing while bullying of junior cadets are believed to exist as posited by a TIMES documentary on police training. Undocumented cases reveal that a number of cadets dropped out due to psychological trauma.

Having exposed to this violence as cadets, policemen continue this ritual cycle of violence to the workplace where they now possess power and will unabashedly use it to carry out a bloodstained tradition as exemplefied by Makati Police District Chief Inspector Reycon Garduque’s revelation that the alleged mastermind of the September 1 hulidap incident also led a group that hazed a cadet in 2001. Indeed, a violent system that perpetuates a culture of the supremacy of machismo and bureaucracy is

POLICING AND THE POLITICS OF STATE DISCIPLINE Julian Bato

replicated even in an institution that proclaims itself as a beacon of justice.

Born and raised in a system that revolves around a violent framework, budding cadets fall into question what role they really play in this society—and most importantly, who they really serve.

Serve and protect The Philippine National Police was born from the merging of the Philippine Constabulary and the Integrated National Police out of the need for centralization and efficiency.

The prime reason of existence of the PNP is to defend its citizens from crime at all costs. But the institution ironically punctuates its mission with malpractice

and misconduct, even to the extent of protecting not the state and the people but the ruling classes that run the state.

Though some stick to police procedure to help those who need it, good deeds are outweighed by a persistent culture of policemen desperately stepping on their responsibilities to survive in a harsh system, according to cultural theorist Tim Newburn. A cruel system that drives these cops to desperation and crime bring down an institution that should have honor and integrity as two of its foremost foundations.

Varieties of approaches to crime have been born with the rise of rogue cops. Policemen use an old method known as ninja style where they take part in seizing illegal items such as drugs

and firearms by absolving the criminals of their crimes. In the bangketa style, victims could be accused of inexistent charges on the spot. The bangketa is often used to carry out summary executions by mercenary paid cops, where a person accused of crime is killed without benefit of trial.

This subculture of malpractice has been so rampant that it seeped into cultural products like Erik Matti’s On the Job, Carlos SiguionReyna’s The Janitor, and Nick Olanka’s Ronda to ABS-CBN’s Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw where policemen are viewed as black-andwhite cops. Here, the bad policemen are willing to bend rules to give personal favors while the good

policeman meets a fork in the road, contemplating the choice between ethics or survival in a violent system.

Often, desperate policemen turn to crime because their pay cannot feed their family while others give in to peer pressure and are victims of power-tripping higher officials who are masterminds of policeperpetrated crimes like hulidap.

More so, many rank-and-file cops are victimized by bureaucrat capitalists – business moguls, political dynasties and the lording elite – as private armies and protectors of the ruling classes. In an institution where even the police are led to believe that honor and integrity don’t exist, justice is lost and denied to these fallen cops.

Crime and punishment The evolution of a state-funded institution like the police enforcement is contemporary to the formation of the state, according to sociologist Max Weber. Seeing the capability of policemen to turn away from their responsibility, a corrupt government, having the direct monopoly on the use of the police forces, uses them as a force of repression. By thriving in corruption, the police easily turn into the ruling class’ violence tool to keep the status quo.

Ever since the nation’s birth, the police have been active in fulfilling the agenda of people in power. Guards throw people in jail or kill revolutionaries who fight the suppression of the colonial masters.

In demolitions, the police have been agents of private landowners and companies to intimidate and drive away farmers, workers, and the poor among others from their land they have worked on for years. In Martial Law, the police are key tools in strengthening the iron grip of the fascist Marcoses. Even now in rallies calling for change, the police block protesters with a show of physical force and intimidation, determined to hurt women and students to hide the misdoings of corrupt politicians.

Despite repeated promises of the Aquino administration to obliterate corruption and malpractice, human rights watchdog Karapatan lists almost a total of 1000 counts of illegal search, arrest and detention committed by the police since President Benigno Aquino III’s start of term. A nation plagued by greedy politicians who use their power to take advantage of the poor and oppressed needs an enforcement that serves and protects the masses from evil elements.

Justice is truly evasive in a system where even the defenders of justice don’t even believe in its essence anymore. In the end, the police fall victims to this system we are all born to and the police, together with the masses, would have to cut deep into its roots to destroy cruel traditions for the next generations.

Sources

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Understanding and Preventing Police Corruption - Tim Newburn Lenin and Philosophy - Louis Althusser Politics as a Vocation - Max Weber In Power - Michel Focault Dibuho ni Patricia Ramos Disenyo ng pahina ni Jan Andrei Cobey

Marka ng kasaysayan Tila apoy na kumalat sa social media ang nangyaring insidente sa UP School of Economics (UPSE). Itinuring na karahasan ng ilang administrador, propesor, at mag-aaral ng mismong kolehiyo at ng unibersidad ang ginawang kilos-protesta ng ilang mga estudyante laban kay Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad.

Sa minsanang pagdalaw ng isang korap na opisyal sa unibersidad, katulad ng dati, walang sinayang na pagkakataon ang mga estudyante.

Isang kilos-protesta ang isinagawa nila upang hingan ng paliwanag at tutulan si Abad hinggil sa maanomalyang paggamit ng Disbursement Acceleration Program na isang malaking katiwalian sa bayan.

Kung babalikan ang kasaysayan, bunga ng patuloy na pakikibaka at hindi mabilang na mga kilos-protesta ang kalayaang pang-akademiko na tinatamasa ng mga estudyante sa unibersidad ngayon. Pinatunayan na ito noong 1970 First Quarter Storm at 1971 Diliman Commune kung saan nagtayo ng barikada ang mga estudyante bilang pagbatikos sa patuloy na karahasan sa bansa. Ang mga demonstrasyong masa na ito ay nagpapakita ng kolektibong pagkilos para sa isang prinsipyadong layunin. Walang takot, at mapangahas nilang hinaharap ang karahasan at kabuktutan ng matataas na opisyal sa loob at labas ng pamantasan.

Ayon kay John Berger sa sanaysay na “On the Nature of Mass Demonstrations,” “The historical role of demonstrations is to show the injustice, cruelty, irrationality of the existing State authority.” Nangangahulugan ito na mapagpanibago ang mga porma ng kolektibong-protesta sapagkat binibigyang diin nito ang pagsira sa relasyon sa pagitan ng mga aktibista at pulis o mga instrumento ng estado para gumawa ng isang espasyong nagpapakita ng pagtutol sa tiwali at ng pagwasto sa mali. Naging mabisa ang ganitong taktika sa pagtataboy at paglihis ng atensyon ng mga naghaharing uri sa estado. Binabaklas nito ang hungkag na kapangyarihan ng mga “reaksyonaryo,” “ultra-konserbatibo” at “kontra-mamamayan.”

Sa kasalukuyan, binabansagang “hooligan” o barbaro o barumbado ang mga estudyante’t kabataang bumabalikwas sa pamantayan ng pagiging “sibilisado” na itinatambol ng naghaharing estado. Walang katiyakan kung saan nanggaling ang salitang hooligan. Una itong lumabas noong 1890s, kung saan inuugay ang salita sa grupo ng mga salbaheng kabataan na tinatawag na “Hooligan Boys,” na siya namang iniugnay kay Patrick Hooligan na kilalang kriminal sa London.

Mula sa negatibong pinagmulan ng salitang Hooligan ginamit ito

ng mga manunulat na sina Arthur Conan Doyle at HG Wells upang ilarawan ang isang marahas na pagkilos. Halimbawa, ang mga kabataang walang pakundangang nilalapastangan ang mga pader ng mga pampublikong gusali o vandalismo, o ang pakikisangkot sa riot. Ngunit ang pakli ng mga demonstrador, ang tunay na hooligan ay iyong mga tiwaling nasa poder ng kapangyarihan—nagpapanatili ng kawalang-kaayusan, katiwalian at pagsasamantala.

Marka ng estado Sa kasaysayan, tinatawag namang Indio o Filibustero ang mga Pilipinong tumataliwas sa nais ng mananakop na Kastila. Kasing kahulugan ng salitang Filibustero at barbaro, hungkag, at hindi sibilisado.

Batay sa artikulo ni Francis Gealogo na “Ang mga taong labas, ang kabayanihan, at ang diskurso ng kapangyarihan at kasaysayan,” bunsod umano ito ng kolonyal na patakarang reducción kung saan pilit na isinasaayos ang pamumuno ng Kastila at hinahati ang mga tao sa lipunan sa dalawang pangkat—taga-loob (loob ng reduccion) at taong labas.

Ang lahat ng sumasang-ayon sa diskursong kolonyal at kalakaran ay tinatawag na taga-pueblo, tagabayan o taga-loob. At batay sa kaayusang kolonyal, tinatanggap nila ang sibilisasyon, kaliwanagan, at katiwasayan ng diskursong kolonyal.

Samantala, ang mga taong-labas naman ang nagpapatuloy ng tradisyon na pagtutol at pakikibaka na siyang pinangungunahan ng mga taong-labas.

Ayon kay Gealogo, sila ‘yung mga Pilipinong nakibaka sa pamamagitan ng pakikipagtunggali sa labas ng diskurso ng kolonyalismo na nasa loob ng pueblo. Kaya naman nauso ang katawagang “taong labas” sa mga itinuturing na mga tulisan, bandido, ladrones o masasamang loob, bagay na tinatanggap naman ng mga taga-bayan.

Kung ilalagay sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon ang paliwanag ni Gealogo hinggil sa reducción at pinagmulan ng salitang tulisan o bandido, tila replica ng mga taga-labas ang mga estudyanteng itinuring na hooligan ng estado. Mga taga-labas na patuloy na tinutunggali ang mga taong nasa likod ng pagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan at iba pang porma ng pangaapi at pananamantala.

Samantala, “taga-loob” naman ang administrasyon, ilang propesor at mag-aaral na kasapakat sa ideolohiya at politika ni Abad at ng rehimeng BS Aquino. Sa halip na tunggaliin ang kasalukuyang isyu, sinususugan pa nito ang kurapsyon, katiwalian at kabuktutan ng rehimeng ito. Ani pa Gealogo, kapuna-puna umano na tinatawag na “taga-loob” ang mga “taga-bayan” na silang nangunguna na maging banyaga sa sariling bayan.

Tulisan, Aktibista at ang Diksurso ng Radikal na Pagbabago Sa pahina ng kasaysayan pinatunayan na kung paanong pinayayaman ng mga “taga-labas” ang diskurso. Kumpara sa “taga-loob” na tahasang tinatanggap ang kaisipang

pinaiiral ng estado, patuloy n a m a n g dinadaluyong ng mga “taga-labas” ang kahungkagan ng sistemang panlipunan.

Isang organisadong pagkilos ang mga kilosprotesta o rali. Hindi lang din ito simpleng mahabang lakaran habang nagsisigaw sa kalsada. May programang sinusunod ang mga rallyista na isinasagawa matapos ang mahabang lakaran. Sa nasabing programa maririnig ang pagbabahagi ng mga panauhin mula sa iba’t ibang sektor ng kanilang mga danas. Ipinapaliwanag din dito kung bakit kailangan ang patuloy na paglaban sa maling palisiya. May mga serye din ng aralan na siyang magpapalalim sa diskurso at higit na talakayin ang mga isyu.

Gayunman, hindi lamang nakakulong sa mga kilos-protesta ang ginagawa ng mga taga-labas o mga hooligan. Gumagamit sila ng iba’t ibang porma tulad ng pagsasagawa ng forum, pakikipagtalastasan, balitaktakan at iba pang pormang parliamentaryo.

Nariyan din ang pagpapatampok ng mga isyu sa social media.

Sa mga kilos-protesta makikita ang iba’t ibang uri ng sining tulad ng pagsasayaw, planking o paghiga sa kalsada, mga tula-dula, awit at kilossayaw, at marami pang iba. Tinatawag itong “sining ng protesta” ni Alice Guillermo sa kanyang aklat na Protest/ Revolutionary Art in the Philippines.

“Social realism is a movement in art which exposes the true conditions of society,” nakasaad sa aklat ni Guillermo.

Liban sa pagiging representasyon lamang higit na makabubuti kung magagamit ang sining upang ipakita ang tunay na kalagayan sa halip na kung ano ang nilalaman ng artista.

Sa loob ng ilang taong pakikibaka ng mga Pilipino naging mabisang lunsaran ang lansangan upang maipabatid ang kanilang karaingan sa nagbibingi-bingihang estado.

Patuloy nga ni Berger, “The truth is that mass demonstrations are rehearsals for revolution: not strategic or even tactical ones, but rehearsals of revolutionary awarenes.”

Anumang pilit na basagin ng mga taong taga-loob, ng mga reaksyonaryo, pasista at naghaharing uri ang tradisyon at layon ng protesta at rebolusyon, magpapatuloy ito hangga’t nagpapatuloy ang karahasan sa lipunan. Iyon ang kontra-reduccion, isang tunay na marka ng progresibong kasaysayang mapagpanibago.

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Kontra Reducción:

ANG TAGUMPAY AT TUNGGALIAN ng kasalukuyan ay bahagi ng mayamang kasaysayan ng pakikibaka ng nakaraan.

Ngunit pilit itong binubura sa kasalukuyan kung saan itinuturing na dungis ang marahas na pagkilos ng mga mamamayan. Tila ba nilimot na ang nagdaang dekada ng pakikibaka na siyang nagmarka sa kasaysayan ng bansa sa pagpapalaya nito sa mga Pilipino mula sa mga dayuhang mananakop at lokal na naghaharing uri.

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KULTURA

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

Kilos-Protesta at ang Diskurso ng Radikal na Pagbabago Mary Joy T. Capistrano

Dibuho ni Patricia Ramos Disenyo ng pahina ni Jan Andrei Cobey

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Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

n o i s e u d l l i iD s

ONCE UPON A TIME, the Moro were a free folk. Their land being strategically bordered by the Sulu Sea to the west and interspersed with mountain ranges, they repelled foreign influence and retained their traditions—rich, as the land where they dwell, with its bounties of fertile lands, marine and mineral resources.

Since their annexation into the Philippine government (GPH), however, they have not been able to keep up with development of the country. Wanting to live a peaceful life like anyone else, the Moro began to call for independence, taking up arms when diplomacy proved futile.

Negotiations between the GPH and the Moro people have been going on since 1976 yet until now, peace and progress remain an illusion for the Moro.

With the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), another product of these negotiations, at its latest draft submitted to the Congress for deliberations, they wonder and wait with bated breath. Will the BBL be the Moro’s way to lasting peace and justice?

In dependence Even in its early stages, the creation of BBL has only invited doubt with only a few groups seeing through the whole process of the negotiation.

From signing the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the establishment of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, to drafting the

Andrea Joyce A. Lucas Illustration by RD Aliposa Page design by Jan Andrei Cobey

bill and passing it to the Congress, other Muslim separatist groups such as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were not consulted. Only the GPH and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were the main actors in drafting the BBL, and the contents of the draft were kept secret until after its submission to the Congress. “[The MNLF] maintains a handsoff position on BBL. [It] is nothing but a new ‘untested experiment’ with distorted assumptions,” says John Petalcorin, Director for Advocacy Communications for the MNLF, in an interview with the Collegian.

The BBL will only create a scenario of a tug-of-war between the Bangsamoro and local government units, creating chaos and instability, according to Zamboanga Del Sur Rep. Aurora Cerilles in an interview. “[It] will not lead to lasting peace in Mindanao. We should not forget that MILF does not represent the entire Bangsamoro. There are still other groups whom we should listen to,” she adds.

Bayan Muna partylist Representative Carlos Zarate points out the logical course to take, “To truly advance the region, you do not confine your solution to the aspirations of the elite. You have to free the marginalized majority of the Moro society from a system that continually binds them to poverty and backwardness.”

Untapped wealth The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has always been ranked as the poorest region in the country, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB).

Torn by violence and having limited power over its territory, the ARMM is trapped in a pit with little hope of getting out.

The region is beset by poverty, with 47 out of 100 families living in ARMM estimated to be poor in 2012, according to NCSB. But the sheer underdevelopment in the region paints a contrast with the wealth of resources within it. Almost 60 to 100 percent of the major crops exported by the Philippines come from Mindanao, while the ARMM is home to more than half of the mineral potential of the Philippines, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Iloilo Representative Jerry Treñas even goes so far as to say that Mindanao's mineral wealth can single-handedly reverse the country’s present economic situation. If the Moro people have the means to tap into ARMM’s potential itself, they would maximize profit—ultimately, there would be no reason for the region to be economically backward.

But according to the Suara Bangsamoro (SB) partylist, the Moro people are not entitled to owning

their resources. They say that under the BBL, the Bangsamoro will continue to implement the inherent national laws covering extractive mining, expansion of plantations and opening of Moro seas.

As a consequence, only corporations will benefit from these natural resources, because the GPH has already sold the bulk of public lands and natural resources to foreign-owned companies like Exxon Mobil, a global oil company which has already started to explore for oil in the Sulu Sea, according to SB. As such, the Moro maintains no control over its own resources, with BBL still leaving the people with little hope of economic advancement.

War-torn With the GPH on one side and Moro separatist groups seeking genuine development on the other, the ARMM has become the stage where the two forces are locked in their bloody struggle.

Since the 1970s, the number of Mindanao residents who have been displaced by political violence has already exceeded a million. In addition, there has been over 100,000 deaths including civilians, rebels and soldiers. Only in September of last year, rebels and army forces were locked in a violent standoff in Zamboanga, which resulted to damages amounting

to P200 million, with 23,794 families affected in 14 villages. A total of 190 people were killed.

Primarily, the armed conflict in the ARMM is caused by the underdevelopment in the region.

The plunder of resources and the suppression of civil and political rights under the GPH has made it clear why an armed struggle is called for, according to Amira Ali Lidasan, National President of SB. In an effort to end the conflict in Mindanao, the BBL stipulates that the Bangsamoro government shall have “primary responsibility over public order and safety within the Bangsamoro” and that a “Bangsamoro Police” be created for this purpose.

Yet these provisions are rendered useless, as there would be no provisions to keep the GPH from continuing the policies that only resulted to deaths and disregard of the Moro people’s civil rights, such as the heavy militarization in Moro communities, terror-tagging and the discriminate imposition of an ID system only to Moro residents.

Indeed, the BBL only grants an illusion of genuine autonomy to the Moro people as it fails to address the Moro’s strife. The need for the Moro people to struggle for self-determination will remain, if only to usher genuine development and lasting peace.

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IT IS PAST EIGHT in the morning when Jay*, 18, a Third Year BS Architecture student, reaches the Fifth Avenue station of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1). Although the morning rush hour has passed, the station remains crowded, with Jay fighting neck and neck with a battalion of other commuters to get inside a packed train on his way to Roosevelt station.

Despite the challenge of having to go through this nightmare, Jay continues to ride the LRT-1, as the train is his fastest and most affordable means of getting to UP. Yet as the government now transferred the operation and maintenance of LRT1 to private companies, the line seems to be fast approaching the end of its time as an accessible and affordable public transportation.

Turnover In 1984, LRT-1 started functioning as part of the railway system in the country that was constructed to decongest the traffic in the metro. Since then, it has functioned considerably well in providing and maintaining efficient public transportation, running 20 kilometers from Roosevelt Station in Quezon City to Baclaran Station in Paranaque City.

LRT-1 collected P2.5 billion in gross revenue in 2013, more than enough to cover its P1.9 billion operation costs, according to figures by the Light Rail Transport Authority (LRTA). Despite favorable performances, however, the government has signed an agreement in October that effectively turned over operations and maintenance of LRT-1 to the Light Rail Manila Consortium (LRMC), a joint venture company led by business tycoons Manny Pangilinan of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), and the Ayala Group of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation.

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LATHALAIN

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014 The agreement is effective for 32 years until 2046, after which LRT-1 returns to the government. The contract also puts LRMC in charge of building a railway extension project, adding eight new stations from Baclaran Station running southward to Bacoor, Cavite.

While the LRT Line 2 will remain under the LRTA, the turnover was done in service to the people because it leads to more efficient operations, says former Transportation and Communications secretary Jose de Jesus in an interview.

This privatization deal is the biggest project under President Benigno Aquino III's Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, the current administration’s mechanism of entering agreements with private companies that will supposedly improve public infrastructures. The government shelled out P64.9 billion for the project, according to the PPP Center.

Less than a week after signing the concession agreement, however, the consortium was reportedly seeking a fare hike from the government before it takes over operations. MPIC chief executive officer Jose Ma. Lim says in an interview that the fare hike is a critical aspect of the agreement, yet this is bad news to Jay and the thousands of students and workers who make up the majority of LRT-1's patrons.

Danger ahead As a student, Jay manages with P200 daily, currently P30 of which goes to LRT rides alone. And with the impending fare hike, more of his expenses will have to compensate.

The stronger blow goes to Jay’s parents – both blue collar workers – to manage their expenses as their son's transportation budget bloats.

“This [privatization] will really burden those without the luxury to travel

by other means than the LRT,” says Jay. LRT-1 averaged with 470,000 daily riders in 2013, majority of which are students, laborers, and blue-collar workers, according to LRTA general manager Melquaides Robles in an interview.

The agreement, however, will only result to heavier burden for them, as the agreement allows LRMC to implement numerous fare hike mechanisms.

The contract requires the immediate implementation of fare adjustment or Notional Fare, with P12.13 boarding fare and an additional P1.10 per kilometer distance fare. (see sidebar) For instance, a ride from Roosevelt to Balintawak currently costs P12, and will be P14.19 under the adjusted fare or an 18.23 percent increase.

This is effective until August 1, 2016, and after which another increase in Boarding and Distance Fare each of P10.25 percent will be done every two years.

Starting in 2018 also, the fare will adjust for inflation every four years.

Finally, the agreement takes account of "extreme fluctuations" in generation costs, for which LRMC is allowed to increase the fare by up to 5 percent per year.

With its front of improving public services, the agreement has only become the government's go signal for companies to exploit the masses for profit, says independent thinktank IBON Foundation (IBON) head researcher Sonny Africa. With prices of other goods also rising, this is a severe burden to the people, he adds.

As a result, workers and student commuters like Jay, will be at the receiving end of this burden.

Double-teamed Even before the privatization of LRT-1, the government has long been entering into agreements that only benefitted private companies at the

Old fare vs Proposed new fare (figures in pesos) FROM ROOSEVELT TO

OLD FARE

NEW FARE

PERCENT INCREASE

Balintawak Monumento 5th Avenue R. Papa Abad Santos Blumentritt Tayuman Bambang Doroteo Jose Carriedo Central UN Pedro Gil Quirino Vito Cruz Gil Puyat Libertad EDSA Baclaran

12 12 12 12 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 20 20

14.19 16.66 17.86 18.91 19.63 20.66 21.39 22.07 22.79 23.54 24.34 25.67 26.50 27.38 28.28 29.46 30.26 31.37 32.01

18.23 38.85 48.84 57.55 30.88 37.70 42.61 47.16 51.93 56.91 62.27 71.14 76.64 82.51 88.52 96.37 101.72 56.85 60.04

expense of the public.

After going under public fire for poor service, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), a government agency in charge of water services in Metro Manila, was privatized in 1997. The government split the operation of Metro Manila's water system to two private groups - Maynilad Water Services (Maynilad) on the west zone of the metro and Manila Water Company (MWC) on the east. Incidentally, Pangilinan and the Ayala Group of LRMC are the same key figures behind the MWSS privatization.

“What is wrong with privatizing services like water and transportation is they are public utilities that should be under the government, not private companies because their goal is profit, not public service,” says Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna partylist.

For instance, MWC's rates are eight

END OF THE LINE

times as large in 2012 as in 1997, while Maynilad's rates are five times as large.

Both MWC and Maynilad averaged 16.2 percent and 13.1 percent in rate hikes respectively for the past fifteen years, supposedly to increase funds for improvement of infrastructures.

However, water remains inaccessible to many areas like portions of Tondo and Taguig City.

With LRT-1, the future entailed is no different. “[The LRT] will not be run in commuters' interest,” says Africa. “The only way to guarantee the commuters' interest over the long-term is for the LRT to be run as a publicly owned and managed transportation service," he adds.

Now with the impending fare hike, Jay wonders how he will be able to ride the train again when the LRT-1 finally approaches its end as a public utility― especially now that the government has already ended its service for the public’s interest.

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Probing into the LRT Line 1 privatization deal Dominic Dayta

Illustration by Patricia Ramos Page design by Jan Andrei Cobey

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Mintis sa pag-ilag

n

dala ng palaging pag-ulan,” ani Dyan Gumanao, tagapangulo ng UP Cebu Student Council.

Hindi na ito kataka-taka dahil pinakamaraming bagyo ang nananalasa mula Hulyo hanggang Setyembre, ayon kay Dr. Romulo Virola, dating pangkalahatang kalihim ng National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). Aniya, mas makatwiran kung sa buwan n g

g

kalendaryo para sa buwan ng kalendaryong Agosto-Hulyo sa pagpupulong ng Board of Regents noong ika-28 ng Marso.

Kabilang noon ang UP sa pitong unibersidad sa Southeast Asia na Hunyo ang pasukan.

o k Li

bilang ng “publishable research papers” at graduate students— bagay na nagagawa naman sa lumang kalendaryo tulad ng 123 bahagdang pagtaas ng bilang ng visiting research fellow mula 2010-2013, ayon sa tala ng Office of Extension Coordination.

“An academic calendar has one indispensable requirement: it allows the course

Bigl a

KAKAIBANG TANAWIN ANG sumalubong sa mga estudyante at guro ng UP pagpasok ng Agosto.

Bagaman makulimlim ang langit, tila pinintahan ng dilaw ang kahabaan ng University Avenue dahil sa mga nakatanim na sunflower na dati'y tanda ng taginit at nalalapit na pagtatapos ng isang taon sa UP. Ngunit makalipas lamang ang ilang araw, isa-isa ring nalanta ang mga bulaklak dulot ng malakas na hangin at ulan.

Bigo ang eksperimento ng administrasyon ng UP. Maging ang mga binansagang “monsoon sunflowers” ay hindi kayang sabayan ang bagong kalendaryo ng pambansang unibersidad.

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

Malakas na buhos ng ulan ang gumising kay Joseph* isang Biyernes ng madaling araw.

Dahil matagal ang biyahe mula Bulacan patungong UP at wala pang anunsyo ng suspensyon mula sa tsanselor, alas singko pa lang nang gumayak siya para pumasok.

Aldrin Villegas Nasa biyahe na si Joseph nang malaman niyang walang klase dahil sa Bagyong Mario.

Maging ang mga kaklase niya, hindi na rin makaalis ng bahay dahil sa taas ng baha.

“Sana maagang [naganunsyo ng suspensyon] para hindi kawawa ang mga estudyanteng malayo pa ang pinanggagalingan,” aniya.

Maging si Dave* na isang Broadcast Communication major ay hirap ding bumiyahe patungong UP mula sa kanyang boarding house sa Marikina tuwing malakas ang ulan. Tatlong oras ang kailangan niyang bunuin O k t u b r e dahil sa baha na sinasabayan pa ng ilipat ang masikip na trapiko. pasukan kung "Maraming oras ang antas ng pag-ulan ang nasasayang sa biyahe dahil pagbabatayan. sa malakas na buhos ng ulan.

Kaya naman para kay Prop.

Maraming estudyante pa rin Gerry Lanuza ng Department of ang nahihirapan sa [kabila Sociology, wala pa mang isang taon ng] academic calendar shift," ay maituturing nang palpak ang ani Dave. bagong academic calendar. “Sa tingin Tinatayang nasa 3,600 lang ang ko, ang naiwang argumento na lang kapasidad ng 11 dormitoryo ng [para sa calendar shift] ay wala.”

UP Diliman. Para sa kalakhan ng 17,000 estudyante na nakatira sa Hilaw na implementasyon labas nito, kailangang mamasahe Layunin ng calendar shift na papasok at pauwi. makasabay ang UP sa kalendaryo Sa naitalang 15 suspensyon ng mga unibersidad sa mga mula 2011 hanggang kasalukuyan, bansang kasapi sa Association of pito o halos kalahati dito ang Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). pumatak sa buwan ng Agosto Kalakip ng synchronization kung kailan nagbukas ang klase ang internasyonalisasyon, ngayong taon. na magpapadali umano sa Hindi rin nakaligtas ang ibang kolaborasyong pang-akademiko kampus ng UP sa mga aberya ng ng UP at mga unibersidad na bagong kalendaryo. “Nahihirapan kabilang sa ASEAN. ang mga estudyante sa pagWala pang isang taon matapos aadjust ng mga student activities itong ipanukala, nagkukumahog dahil sa mga kanselasyon ng klase na ipinasa ang pagbabago ng

Binatikos ng mga estudyante, guro, at mga empleyado ng UP ang panukala, tulad ng #SunflowerProtest at Ctrl-Shift Movement. Ani Prop. Rommel Rodriguez, pangkalahatang kalihim ng All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU), dapat ay pinag-aralan muna itong mabuti bago ipinatupad.

Para kay Prof. Emmanuel de Dios ng School of Economics hindi mahalaga ang academic calendar sa usapin ng internasyonalisasyon.

Aniya, “Internationalization is not a goal in itself; it is desirable only if it helps the university achieve its real goals as a national and global research university.”

Upang maisakatuparan, dapat umanong tumaas ang

content... to be delivered efficiently and taught faithfully by the instructor,” ani dating Chancellor Caesar Saloma.

Malaking hamon ito para sa mga propesor dahil sa kakulangan sa pasilidad. “Nangako sila sa amin na maglalagay ng support mechanism para sa calendar change like air conditioning units, electric fan. Pero nasaan na?” pahayag ni Lanuza.

“The right question to ask is not when to start the academic calendar but what makes a good academic calendar, particularly for UP Diliman,” ani Saloma.

Lihis na tunguhin Makausad man ang UP sa mga kasalukuyang suliranin, hindi pa rin makabubuti ang bagong kalendaryo na tila inililihis tungo sa pangingibang bansa ang mga isko at iska, sa halip na maglingkod sa bayan.

“The administration is pushing for the calendar shift with the notion that a lot of us will eventually work outside the country,” ani councilor Carl Santos ng UPD University Student Council (USC).

Sa tala ng International Labor Organization (ILO), Pilipinas ang may pinakamataas na unemployment rate sa ASEAN na aabot sa 7.3 bahagdan. Malayo ito sa mga kalapit na bansa tulad ng Brunei, 3.7 bahagdan; Burma, 3.5 bahagdan; Malaysia, 3.2 bahagdan; at Singapore, 3.1 bahagdan.

Sa halip na lumikha ng trabaho, tila inilalako na lang sa ibang bansa ang lakas-paggawa ng mga Pilipino. Patunay ang mahigit 10 milyong bilang ng Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) sa nangungunang estado ng Pilipinas bilang exporter ng “human labor” sa Asya.

Hindi lang pagsabay sa ibang bansa ang tunguhin ng bagong kalendaryo, kundi maging paghubog ng “export-quality” na mga manggagawa.

“Parang sinasabi nila: We want you to be competitive enough.

And to do that, we need to shift the academic calendar,” ani Santos.

Sa kabuuan, makasasama lamang ang integrasyon ng bansa sa ASEAN, ani Student Regent Neill John Macuha. “It's the integration that we must be wary of. Since due to the backward economy and economic means compared to our ASEAN neighbors, it shall put the country in a disadvantage,” ani Macuha.

Higit sa layuning internasyonalisasyon, hindi dapat makaligtaan ng UP ang tunguhing nasyonalisasyon— ang pagtataas ng kalidad ng makamasang edukasyon.

“UP is blinded by the notion that internationalization focuses on mere mobility of students and faculty. A better alternative is to democratize access to SUCs through lowering tuition rates and prioritizing education, among other basic social services, in terms of resources and efforts,” ani Allen Lemence, tagapangulo ng UP Los Banos USC. Hindi lang simpleng pagbabago ng araw ng pasukan ang paglilipat ng pang-akademikong kalendaryo. Taliwas ito sa landas na dapat tahakin ng unibersidad— na tanganan ang mandato na humubog ng mga iskolar na maglilingkod sa bayan.

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Dibuho ni Genese Alvarado Disenyo ng pahina ni Jan Andrei Cobey

14

OPINYON

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

PASAKALYE

Thriving in silence Patricia Ramos “MALALA YOUSAFZAI” WAS A NAME that had only circulated my social media news feeds. I rarely heard of her on mainstream media or from people I personally met; I had only ever known of her as the schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban after she defied an edict that banned her and other girls from attending school.

If I hadn’t researched her life, I’d never have learned that she was a teenage blogger for BBC Urdu and published entries under the pseudonym “Gul Makai” (the Pashto word for “cornflower”); or of how she recorded her experiences under the Taliban’s rule over their region; or of her family’s advocacy for equality in education.

I’d never have been familiar of her beyond the gunshot that sent her into an 18-day coma.

This was why I didn’t expect the elation I’d feel when I opened my Twitter account and found out that Malala Yousafzai, a 17-year-old Pakistani girl, became the youngest laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy in education and against repression of the youth.

“Kung hindi niyo peg sa buhay ang taong katulad ni Malala Yousafzai,” I

mused immediately with Twitter’s 140-character limit, “Ewan ko nalang sa inyo.” One young girl just around my age refused to bow down to her oppressors and fought not just for her own rights, but for all young people’s right to education, and was internationally recognized for it.

In a speech Yousafzai delivered on July 13, she herself stated how she did not want to be identified only as the “girl who was shot by the Taliban, but as the “girl who struggled for her rights.”

Who are we to deny her that request? We, who still live in a society wherein the recipients of quality education are determined by gender, race, belief, assets, and how much a student is able to pay?

We need more people, old and young, like Malala Yousafzai who are willing to stand up in the struggle for their right to education despite opposition, threats from the military, and being tagged negatively as “hooligans.”

The phrase “mag-aral ka nang mabuti,” manages to find its way again

and again in the well-meaning instruction of our elders, and almost always in the form of gentle admonishment. “’Wag mo nang atupagin pa ang mga rali,” goes the oft-told advice.

It’s only partly true: education is of the youth’s utmost importance. However, in our country especially, education is sometimes jeopardized unnecessarily by people who choose personal gain and satiating their greed over public service.

For this generation of multi-taskers, learners, doers, and all those who continue to fight for the right to more accessible education, sticking to their studies alone can no longer be an option. The antagonism may not be as extremely violent as those of Malala’s experience, but it is still just as repressive.

With our newfangled social media accounts and our instinct to share our opinions once we can grasp them within the character limit, our voices are the loudest they’ve ever been – and the fight never stops, not even outside the comfort of our computers. “Learning” shouldn’t be a reason to hinder us from formulating our own views and opinions and choose which side to take, nor should our youth stop us from raising our voices and from fighting for our rights. In fact, they should be our motivation as it was Yousafzai’s.

In Malala’s own words, “We realize the importance of light when we see darkness.

We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.”

than that whiner.

You always criticised me for how I look at things in a “cinematic” kind of way, how I idealize the everyday into a Wong Kar-wai type of cinematography, and how I associate every moment with a certain Belle and Sebastian song.

I never believed in people who say that opposites do attract, but that idée worked the yin-yang out of our contrasting selves. I have often mapped the geographies of our differences.

I consumed scifi novels, Marvel comics, and postmodern fiction, while you littered your bed with Adorno, Eagleton--and a lot of Marx. You were the realist, I was the dreamer.

And I always knew you were right.

The struggle is not just a mere plot twist in the many Bildungsroman I used to read.

“So what’s new in UP now, Alan?” an uncle asked in an All Saint’s Day family gathering.

I shrugged.

“You know what? The things you kids are fighting for — higher state subsidy and whatnot­— were the exact same things your father and I fought for in our younger days in UP,” he chuckled. “And guess what? Nothing happened, nothing happens, and nothing good will ever happen.

Go save yourself early, boy.”

I looked at him for a while.

“Consistent protest is always better than indifference, Tito,” I replied, excused myself and left.

It’s only partly true: education is of the youth’s utmost importance

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So it goes* Alan P. Tuazon AFTER MY STINT AS THE BACKPAGE guy, I have been guilty of armchair activism in my many anonymous blogs as I incessantly rant on a lot of things--while remaining hidden, safe. A senior writer in the Collegian once told me that we are not just writers: We are members of the very society we are writing for. However, as one grows distant from such ideals, there is always the question--and danger--of how long could your principles last before a voiceover would finally quip “so it goes,” and your principles would fall dead upon the unworthy battlefield of such inescapable system.

The ending to the struggle is always a debate. I remember the first mob I joined where you and I were assigned as “buddies.”

I squeezed my way along the margins of the mob, hiding behind a camera. On the other hand, you, with your long brown hair swinging to your magnetic movements, joined the front ranks, called an end to imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism with such passion that, since then, I never ran out of fascination towards you and your magnificently flawed self.

“This is just like a coming-of-age novel,” I shouted amid the amalgam of street noises, protest chants, heartbeats. You replied that coming-of-age novels always end up in disillusionment, that you don’t see me as a Holden Caulfield kind of guy, and that I could be way better (and more useful to the struggle)

A senior writer in the Collegian once told me that we are not just writers: We are members of the very society we are writing for

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*Taken from an oft-repeated phrase in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-five--the one book in the Collegian which I failed to return. Yes, there are only two kinds of people: those who know how to return borrowed books and those who don't.

And I am on my way to the Collegian office.

Cool off* Dessa Arissa P. de Dios WALA TALAGA AKONG BALAK UMUWI, PERO DAHIL mag-isa lang din naman ako sa bahay at alam kong uuwi lahat ng kaibigan ko sa probinsya para sa Araw ng mga Patay nakigaya na rin ako.

Sabi nga ng isang kanta, kailangan din natin ng pahinga.

Pahinga mula sa pagiging GC, paminsanang pagsusulat sa Kule at iba pang extracurricular na ginagawa natin sa buhay.

Katulad ko, kinawilihan ko na ang pagiging assistant sa idol kong pinsan na isa ng mahusay na abogado.

Hindi ko alam kung ako lang ba, pero sa kabila ng katotohanan na ang Undas ay para sa pagninilay-nilay ng mga tao sa kanilang mga yumao may kirot ng katuwaan akong nararamdaman. Siguro dahil ito na ang pinakamagandang pagkakataon para makapagpahinga matapos ang dalawang lingo nang sunod-sunod na mga pagsusulit, papel, at report.

Lalo na ang GE class ko na masyadong “pa-major” sa pagpapagawa ng mga proyektong from outerspace ang peg.

Nakadagdag din sa ngitngit ko ang mga post ng dati kong mga kaklase nung highschool na kasalukuyan nang nagbabakasyon. Habang pinaglalamayan ko ang mga requirement sa bawat class, tila mga nakangising aso naman ang nakikita kong larawan ng mga kaklase ko na nasa beach, nag-hiking at kung saan-saan pa. Salamat talaga sa academic calendar shift.

Pakiramdam ko malas lang talaga ako noong mga nagdaang linggo mula sa tatlong magkakasunod na exam nung Biyernes hanggang sa pag-alis sa bahay at hanggang sa biyahe.

Akala ko pinakamahabang biyahe ko na ang mula sa Commonwealth hanggang sa airport, pero totoong struggle continues nang ma-delay ang flight ko ng tatlong oras. Mabuti na lang cute si kuyang nagpapaliwanag dahil kung hindi baka namura ko na siya, tulad ng ginawa ng kasabay kong matandang babae sa isang ateng flight attendant na kung ano ang kinapal ng make-up niya ay siya ring kapal ng pagsagot sa matandang galit na galit.

“Hindi ko gets, ate. May shooting ba sa loob ng eroplano para ma-justify ang makapal mong make-up? Maganda ka naman even without that capitalist beauty products. “ Pero siyempre sa isip ko na lang ‘yun. Kanya-kanyang trip ika nga.

Parang ako, wala naman akong dadalawin na patay pero umuwi ako. Hindi sa walang patay o namatay at tipong mula ako sa angkan ng mga immortal, ang totoo sa ibang bansa na inabutan ng katandaan ang mga kamag-anak ko. Hindi na sila nag-abala pang bumalik sa Pilipinas dahil karamihan sa kanila ay naniniwalang hindi na raw ligtas manirahan sa bansa.

Iilan na nga lang kaming nandito na naniniwalang may kinabukasan pa, kailangan lang may mag-push. Pero ipokrita akong matatawag kung hindi ko aaminin na unti-unti na rin akong nalalabuan sa pinanghahawakan kong paniniwala. Lalo na sa nangyari kay Jennifer Laude at sa kawawang boyfriend niya na na-deport—nawalan na nga ng minamahal, sapilitan pang pinalayas sa bansa. Ba’t ang saklap? Na’san ang hustisya?

Sa dami ng iniisip ko araw-araw lagi akong natatapos sa problema ng lipunan. Tama na muna siguro. Magpapahinga muna ako at ipagdarasal ang mga yumao. Sana paggising ko, Pasko na. *pasintabi kay Yeng Constantino

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OPINYON

Biyernes 7 Nobyembre 2014

EKSENANG PEYUPS

Hooligan Edishun ALOHA MGA BEKS, NAGBABALIK ang inyong pinakamamahal na reigning Queen of All Subtweets of the beautiful and fabulous Kingdom of Bekilandia and Puquilandia. It’s been a long time since nakapagdala ng real chizmax ang Your Hardness especially since wala naman talagang ganap sa nakaraang weeks. At dahil mahal kayo ng lola niyo, babawi ako ng bonggellz. So cum on and gow hear my kwento na.

Hooligan #1: Kalurki muracummy this basic bitch from the School of Kikaynomics that is over the bakod with her ad hominem arguments on Fezbuk against the rowdy, noisy kalampageros and kalampageras.

This gurl might think she’s very mahooliganditz with her “respect the guest” hanash but my ravens tell me na punong puno pala ng yellow ribbons ang kaniyang closeta. Teh, your paandars are as fake as your Chanel bag. Don’t be entitled dahil isa ka lang hooligalunggong. Kaloka.

Hooligan #2: Sinetch itey this homooligan from the College of Mass Cummunication na nasa loob pala ang tinatagong kulo. Medj cutie kasi siya, mga ka marxie, kaya naman gulat ang yours truly nang makita ang kaniyang fezlak sa group videochat sa omegle.

At mas naloka ang watashi when two hipons appeared behind his back. Kaloka, lasing ata si bakla and not aware sa mga pinaggagawa niya.

Hindi talaga inexpect ng lola itey dahil ang lakas maka John 3:16 at Philippians 4:12 ni koya on Fezbuk.

Juice coloured, Students of Destiny in the streets, Johnny Rapid in the sheets! Beks, you put the hooligan in hooligangbang. Ikaw na!

Hooligan #3: Stress naman ang yours truly upon learning that this atey from CHE aka College of Hooligan Economics ditched her thesis groupmates para daw jumattend sa bonggang science fair at MOA. Reference material hunting daw si ategurl pero naloka ang lola niyo nang na-sight ko si malandita sa isang fashown show na ibang material ang hina-hunt. FYI, ateh, RRL ay Research for Related Literature hindi Research for Related Libog. Lerks!

Oh ayan na mga bakla, I hope na satisfy ang inyong kepyas sa aking mga kwento. Next week na ulit, mga bekz. May the gods of Bekilandia and Puquilandia bless you all this Pride Week. Mwah vavush!

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NEWSCAN

TEXTBACK

Sino para sa iyo ang mga hooligans?

Ang hooligans ay yung mga taong hindi kayang tumindig kung anu ba talaga yung hinanaing ng masa.

Mahiya kayo, para kanino ba kayo naglilingkod? SERVE THE PEOPLE not the oppressor. Lubog lubog din sa masa pag may time. 2014-89*** Pablo, music Kumakampi sa katiwalian. 2013***** Gail Engg The hooligans were of course UP students who didn’t learn basic etiquette-the same UP students who berated Abad. 2011**4*, eng’g, John Respect

Kung ikaw si Princess Sarah, kaninong patatas ang babalatan mo at bakit?

Wala, wala na akong mababalatan.

Inubos na ni Sarah. Huhuhu 2013786** Pogs Kung patatas ang mga pulitikong corrupt, hindi lang ako ang babalat sa kanila. For sure lahat. #balatannanagbuhay 2013-5***2 Chiris BA Philo 2014-09427 MICA ANNE BOLEYN DAVID/BS ME SARILI KONG PATATAS. PARANG PAGMAMAHAL, KUNG HINDI MO KAYANG BALATAN PATATAS MO. PAANO MO MABABALATAN ANG PATATAS NG IBA. 2009xx5x1 procurement bsxengg Kung ako si princess sarah, babalattan ko ang patatas na uubos sa lahat ng bakla.

2014-24XXX Feliciano BS ECEbalatan natin ang patatas ni Pnoy.

Ang kapal na ata ng balat e. Napipitpi na ang bungo at utak.

15

MGA KOMENTO As for the tackling of the storyline of Rurouni Kenshin. I would like to say that the article may have had underrated the role of Sadojima Houji. Nicknamed as “Hundredfold Knowledged” in the anime, Houji may have been the only prominent intellectual in the Shishio arc. As you can’t expect Himura to form a suitable ideology to carry the collective he is protecting, provided he was only 16 at the time of the Meiji Restoration and had a rural upbringing. You might not also expect Shishio, who may have had the same background as Himura, to actually dream of conquering Japan without the input and skills of Houji, who seemingly is the brain of the planned campaign. As it would be in the final episode of the Shishi arc, Shishio has to wait for Houji to arrive in Hell before actually initiating it. His only pitfall, perhaps, is to be trapped by Shishio’s “natural law” mantra. 2012-21271 Al Raposas BA Hist

NEXT WEEK’S QUESTIONS:

1

Ano ang mensahe mo kay Noynoy ngayong papalapit na ang anibersaryo ng paghagupit ng bagyong Yolanda sa bansa?

2

Kung ikaw si Princess Sarah, kaninong patatas ang babalatan mo at bakit?

Ipadala ang inyong mga sagot, opinyon at komento sa Kule! Itype ang KULE <space> STUDENT NUMBER <space> PANGALAN at kurso at ipadala sa

0906 108 5329

Hilig mo ba ang mga kanta nina Sarah G, Juris, Eraserheads, at Parokya ni Edgar? O sadyang memorize mo ang mga kantang Rainbow ng Southborder, Torete ng Moonstar88, at Halik ng Aegis?

Sali na sa “Awitin Mo, Itutuloy Ko”, isang singing bee contest na susukat sa galing at kaalaman mo sa Original Pilipino Music o OPM. Bumuo lamang ng isang (1) grupo na may tatlong (3) miyembro at maari kayong manalo ng Php 3000, Php 1500, o Php 750!

Upang sumali, magregister lamang sa: http://goo.gl/forms/ZL4Yq7Avci at magbayad ng registration fee na Php 90 bawat grupo para sa mga early bird (Oct. 27-Nov.1) at Php 120 naman bawat grupo para sa mga regular (Nov. 2-Nov. 9).

Exciting diba? Huwag palagpasin ang pagkakataong magpakitang gilas at manalo. Ano pang hinihintay niyo, sali na!

Ang Awitin Mo, Itutuloy Ko ay hatid sa inyo ng UP BuklodIsip kasama ang Buklod CSSP, UP Kalipunan para sa Agham Panlipunan at Pilosopiyang Pilipino (UP KAPPP), UP Lipunang Pangkasaysayan (UP LIKAS), at UP Palaweños.

Get ready for a one-of-a-kind high school convention about Economics and social issues coming your way.

ECON LEADERSHIP SUMMIT NOVEMBER 8 and 22, 2014 Brought to you by UP Economics Towards Consciousness.

Mga Panuntunan sa Kumpetisyon ng Karolfest 2014 Handog ng Opisina ng Bise Tsanselor para sa Gawaing Pangmag-aaral (OVCSA) sa pakikipagtulungan sa Sangguniang Mag-aaral ng Unibersidad (USC) ang Karolfest, isang taunang paligsahan ng mga amatyur na koro na may hiwalay na kompetisyon para sa hanay ng mga estudyante at mga empleyado. Tampok ang Karolfest bilang isa sa natatanging handog ng Pamaskong Programa ng UP Diliman na may temang “Pasundayag Diliman: Pag-uugat at Pagyabong” ngayong taon.

You may view the mechanics here: https://www.scribd.com/ doc/245104256/KarolFest-2014

ERRATUM The Philippine Collegian inadvertently printed a draft version of the editorial "Tatak ng Pagbalikwas" in the fourth issue of the publication dated October 9, 2014. The editorial board wishes to rectify the erroneous attribution to UP President Alfredo Pascual of the ill-tagging of UP Diliman students who protested Department of Budget and Management Secretary and Disbursement Acceleration Program architect Butch Abad. President Pascual in his official statement did not tout the protesters as hooligans and enemies of the university.

We wish to reiterate that distortion of facts and malice are not in the vocabulary and praxis of the Philippine Collegian.

Dibuho ni Rosette Abogado