Philippine Collegian Issue 19

Paglabag sa karapatang pantao, nagpapatuloy sa ilalim ni Aquino—Page 3 Philippine Collegian Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas - Diliman 06 Disyembre 2011 Tomo 89, Blg. 19

Incoming UPD freshies to take required GE subjects Keith Richard D. Mariano Three of five subjects under each domain of UP’s Revitalized General Education Program (RGEP) may soon be required among students in the Diliman campus (UPD) with the administration’s plan to revise the university’s General Education (GE) program.

In a GE conference held on October 20 to 21, UPD faculty members came up with a consensus to prescribe a maximum of three subjects in each domain of the RGEP: Arts and Humanities (AH), Social Sciences and Philosophy (SSP), and Math, Science and Technology (MST).

Upon the approval of the Board of Regents, the UPD administration plans to require incoming freshman students to take English 10, Communication 3 and Filipino 40 under the AH domain; Math 1 and Science, Technology and Society under MST; and Kasaysayan 1 and Philosophy 1 under SSP starting next academic year.

Meanwhile, each college or department will select the third required GE subject in the SSP and MST domains. The remaining two subjects in each of the three domains will remain to be the student’s prerogative.

The UPD Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs conducted the two-day conference following the recommendation of an earlier GE conference in 2010 which also sought to revise the RGEP. Under the current GE program of the university, students are free to choose any subject as long as they satisfy 45 units or five subjects in each domain. UP Diliman is currently offering 42 GE subjects under AH, 23 in SSP and 20 in the MST domain.

Before the RGEP, the UP

Images of demolished dreams Grapix Pahina 6-7

administration specified the list of required GE subjects.

“The [RGEP] arose from the need to provide students more freedom to decide based on their interests, their own sense of their capacity and worth, and what courses would be useful to them,” explained then President Emerlinda Roman during the 2010 GE conference.

However, the 2010 GE conference report revealed that the “necessity of the subject is the students’ last consideration” in choosing GE subjects. More students choose “easy, uno-able and fun” GE subjects, added the report.

For academic year 2009-2010, subjects like Panitikan, Sekswalidad at Kasarian or PanPil 19 and Geography I were the most demanded GE subjects, while Math subjects were among those with the least number of enrolees in UPD. Academic standards, likewise, “seem to have been relaxed” since the implementation of the RGEP in 2002, according to the 2010 report. During the academic year 2009 to 2010, for instance, the average grade of UP Diliman students in their GE courses was 1.25.

The number of students Continued on page 3 »

Terminal Cases Delfin Mercado

I

BILANGGO. Bilang bahagi ng pagdiriwang ng Human Rights Week, nagsindi ng mga kandila ang grupo ng mga migrante sa National Council of Churches in the Philippines noong Disyembre 5 upang kundenahin ang napipintong pagbitay sa 125 OFWs na nasa death row sa iba’t ibang bansa. John Keithley Difuntorum

UP to join ‘Occupy Mendiola’ Drawing inspiration from worldwide “Occupy” movements against corporate greed and social injustice, the UP community will join an expected 10,000 protesters from youth groups and other sectoral organizations in launching a camp-out protest starting December 6 at the

Mendiola Bridge in Manila.

In a statement published on www. campoutPH.com, more than 100 organizations nationwide called on those who are “fed up with the status quo” and “united in a common hope for a better present and future” to “take action” and launch strikes, walk-outs and camp-outs.

“We can no longer stand a twisted

Power grab

The name game

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Kultura Pahina 9

Victor Gregor Limon

A smoker’s resolution

social set-up that robs the majority of our people of a decent life and basic social services. We can no longer stand a social system that produces immense wealth for foreign interests and [the] few, while the people, who toil all their lives, are increasingly pushed deeper into hunger, poverty and injustice.”

Continued on page 4 »

t’s just a few weeks before New Year’s Day and I was thinking about having a head start with a meaningful pledge — something like, “From now on, I will always safely remove my flash drive from the computer” or “Today, I will no longer use the name of God in vain.”

Unfortunately, such resolutions are beyond my abilities, and the most I can manage for now is to identify things that I will probably continue doing next year — such as smoking.

While many of my friends have heroically chose to effectively quit nicotine come January 1, unleashing a flood of Facebook statuses and Twitter updates on how splendidly they are getting along, I realized that I cannot “jump in the bandwagon.” I simply can’t find any urgent reason to shun cigarettes.

I remember this time I went to the hospital for a check-up and I had to wait in the lobby where there was a huge poster of what a smoker’s dead body would look like. The corpse, which was supposedly an actual human being once, was split open to display tar-blackened lungs and red, swollen innards which suspiciously resembled cuts of processed meat.

I guess the main point of the poster was to scare and warn smokers that their internal organs would look disgusting, but other than mild surprise, it failed to elicit any sense of alarm in me. I know that by the time some doctor would cut me open like that, I would be too dead to care about how horrible my guts would look like.

While on the topic of being dead, I cannot understand how some wellmeaning people can believe that smokers will quit if they brought home the point that “smoking is dangerous to your health.” Sure, smoking is dangerous. But people do things that are equally dangerous and they do it all the time—crossing a busy street without looking sideways first, eating junk food, joining protest actions, exercising the right to vote, and, excuse me, falling in love. Tell anybody to stop eating at McDonalds and he will suggest that you get a life.

Then there’s this argument by a friend whom we will call Helga. I am not sure how popular this case is among quitters and would-be quitters, but according to Helga, and to some health experts, cigarettes are bad for the skin, nails, and hair, and that nicotine makes you look old and smell awful. I think I told her that if I were a commercial model with terrific good looks, I would be concerned.

And so at the end of the day, with 2012 just lurking around the corner, I am here in front of my laptop, opening a fresh pack of menthol cigarettes.

I reach for my disposable Cricket and light a stick. I take a deep drag and let the smoke escape my lips, slowly in thin wisps and thick blobs.

Stubbornness is a choice, too. ●

2 • Kulê Opinyon

Martes 06 Disyembre 2011

Power grab We’ve had enough.

Starting today, a “camp-out” protest will be held in the historic Mendiola Bridge. Before the very gates of Malacañang, the Filipino people are called upon to assemble, bringing with them the vast range of issues hounding our nation, from budget cuts to joblessness and land reform. Citizens from various walks of life are called to occupy Mendiola Bridge, in a symbolic action that is meant to ignite a movement to topple the current system.

Students, teachers, workers and farmers alike are enjoined to converge and send a strong message to those in power – that we had enough. Enough of the system that corrupted our youth’s future, a system where those who till the lands are the ones who have nothing to eat, a system that made corporations richer while leaving the masses deprived.

We have called on those in power to take concrete actions to address the worsening situation, to rightly prioritize basic social services. In the months after the Aquino administration unveiled their budget proposal for next year, students across the country have called for greater state subsidy for education. We engaged in parliamentary efforts; we launched mass demonstrations; we filled the streets and gathered outside the halls of Congress.

Yet the bicameral conference approved less than half of the P45.8 billion needed by state universities and colleges to operate next year.

Hospitals and other basic services will receive various cuts in their funding, while unsustainable dole-out programs such as the conditional cash transfer obtained a lion’s share of the national budget.

Instead of prioritizing spending for vital industries such as agriculture, the Aquino administration allotted large sums to pay foreign debt and to fund the military.

And the people, whose welfare has long been compromised, are left in further destitution. More and more Filipinos end up in jobs

QUOTED Those who are not interested in saving lives, economies and environments, like the US, must now stand aside and let those with the political will move forward.

- Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo during the Global Day of Action Against Climate Change, thinkprogress.org, Dec. 5,

James Liwanagan

with salaries that don’t suffice for a day’s survival. Large corporations take advantage of the situation, and amass more profit by employing nefarious labor schemes such as contractualization, mass layoffs and union-busting.

With lack of decent jobs in the country, thousands of Filipinos go abroad each day, searching for employment in far-flung lands, forced to endure unfair treatment and hardships just to provide for their families back home.

While President Benigno Aquino III rose to power with the promise of change, his first year and a half in office has shown that he is no different from his predecessors. He hides the real state of the nation in spins and cover-ups, and at times even utilizes brute force to quell dissent.

As those entrenched in power are the staunchest defenders of the

Editoryal

status quo, the solution will never come from their ranks but from us – the Filipino people, who bear the brunt of this sordid state of affairs.

And so we are enjoined to heed the sweeping call for change echoing around the world: the “Occupy Movement” – a crusade launched by common citizens that has captured the imagination of the world.

The historic Mendiola Bridge, which leads to the doors of Malacañang, has been the site of various struggles since the Marcos dictatorship. It is a symbol of undying dissent. To “occupy” Mendiola not only entails taking up physical space – it implies a takeover, a demand not only for those in power to listen to us, but to reclaim the power to change the system for ourselves.

We gather to put an end to this cycle of social injustice. As history is being rewritten before our eyes, it is a high crime to stand in the sidelines.

Once again, the youth is

challenged to take the lead in this momentous event. For history has taught us, time and again, how students and other members of the youth sector have always been at the forefront of the struggle against injustices. With the youth’s vigor, passion and courage, we will lead to occupy.

Perhaps to ask for a grand dissolution of the whole system seems to be a rather ambitious goal. And so this protest aims for something concrete and simple – the junking of the recently passed national budget – so typical of the Aquino administration’s character – which stands for everything wrong with our country. To force the junking of a misprioritized budget will send a strong, unmistakeable message, not only to the president, but to all Filipinos.

Let us together occupy Mendiola.

Let us foment a movement that would birth a new order. ●

Philippine Collegian www.philippinecollegian.org Punong Patnugot Marjohara S. Tucay Kapatnugot Richard Jacob N. Dy Tagapamahalang Patnugot Dianne Marah E. Sayaman Panauhing Patnugot Glenn L. Diaz, Larissa Mae R. Suarez Patnugot sa Lathalain Mila Ana Estrella S. Polinar Patnugot sa Grapiks Chris Martin T. Imperial, Ruth Danielle R. Aliposa Mga kawani Ma. Katherine H. Elona, Kevin Mark R. Gomez, Marianne F. Rios Pinansiya Amelyn J. Daga Tagapamahala sa Sirkulasyon Paul John Alix Sirkulasyon Gary Gabales, Amelito Jaena, Glenario Ommamalin Mga Katuwang na Kawani Trinidad Gabales, Gina Villas Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Plipinas Diliman, Lungsod Quezon Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522 Email kule1112@gmail.com Website philippinecollegian.org Kasapi Solidaridad: UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations, College Editors Guild of the Philippines

While I appreciate this piece of propaganda for what it is, I know that in reality, instead of helping OFWs, Coca-Cola is actually part of the problem.

– Alex Felipe, on the viral CocaCola advertisement about the plight of OFWs, pinoyweekly.org, Dec. 5

The court is allowing the little girl to act like a spoiled brat.

– Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño on the court decision allowing GMA to remain under hospital arrest until Dec. 9, gmanetwork.com, Dec. 5

Because we’re political departments of the government – the Executive and Congress – and it involves a nonpolitical department of the government, I would suggest that the church should talk to both sides. They are the peacemakers.

– Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on the perceived rift between President Benigno Aquino III and Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, inquirer.net, Dec. 5

3 • Kulê Balita

Martes 06 Disyembre 2011

Tangkang demolisyon sa 2 barangay sa QC, naudlot Keith Richard D. Mariano Muling nabigo ang tangkang demolisyon sa mga bahay sa kahabaan ng BIR Road Barangay Central at sa Sitio San Roque, Barangay Bagong Pag-asa sa Quezon City (QC), matapos igiit ng mga residente na hindi nila lilisanin ang kanilang mga tahanan.

“Ipaglalaban namin ito kahit ano pang mangyari. Higit pa sa tirahan, ang buhay namin ang nakataya dito,” ani Salvacion Bersa, na mahigit dalawumpung taon nang residente ng Sitio San Roque.

Sa pinakahuling demolisyon na ikinasa noong Nobyembre 28, nagkagirian ang mga miyembro ng demolition team ng pamahalaang lokal ng QC at ang mga residente ng Barangay Central.

Ayon sa demolition team, mga bahay lang na naiwan ng mga residenteng pumayag lumipat sa isang relocation site sa Montalban, Rizal ang nakatakda nilang buwagin. “[Pero kung] iilang bahay lang talaga ang balak [buwagin], bakit kailangang may apat na trak, batalyon ng police at miyembro ng [Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)]?” ani Aida Francisco, residente ng Barangay Central mula pa noong 1996.

Nag-umpisa ang gulo nang tangkain umanong kalasin ng demolition team ang mga barikadang itinayo ng mga

residente, ani Apollo Francisco, tumatayong legal consultant ng Barangay Central Neighborhood’s Association.

Maliban sa batuhan sa pagitan ng dalawang kampo, may mga residenteng nagpasabog umano ng mga pillbox, habang may mga pulis naman umanong nagpaputok ng baril, ayon sa mga residente.

Ngunit ayon kay QC Police Distict Kamuning Station Commander Crisostomo Mendoza, nagsimula umano ang gulo sa hanay ng mga residente. Nasa kalagitnaan ng negosasyon ang mga lider ng dalawang grupo nang biglang hagisan ng mga residente ang demolition team ng pillbox, ani Mendoza.

Naudlot ang tangkang demolisyon sa BIR Road ngunit nagtamo ng sugat sa ulo si Antonio Marinas, 62, na kasapi ng Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), isang organisasyong kontra-demolisyon.

Samantala, dalawang araw matapos ang nabigong demolisyon sa BIR Road, nakatanggap naman ang mga residente ng San Roque ng demolition notice mula sa lokal na pamahalaan ng QC noong Disyembre 2. Utos ng pamahalaan, kailangang buwagin ng mga residente ang kanilang mga tahanan at lisanin ang lugar sa loob ng pitong araw.

“Ang hindi pagtugon sa pabatid

na ito ay nangangahulugan na ipinauubaya ninyo sa pamahalaan ang pagbabaklas ng inyong istruktura.

Dahil dito, ang pamahalaan ay walang pananagutan sa anumang maaaring idulot sa inyong kabahayan at ariarian,” saad sa demolition notice.

Setyembre 23, 2010 nang unang tangkain ng pamahalaang lokal ng QC na buwagin ang mga kabahayan sa Sitio San Roque. Hindi naging matagumpay ang demolisyon matapos magbarikada ang mga residente at ipag-utos ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III na pansamantalang ipagpaliban ang paggiba sa mga bahay.

“Sinisira nila ang komunidad, sinisira nila ang buhay namin,” ani Jocy Lopez, chairperson ng Kadamay San Roque Chapter.

Business district

Binubuwag ang mga komunidad ng “illegal settlers” sa Sitio San Roque at Barangay Central para bigyang daan ang pagtatayo ng isang sentro ng ekonomiya sa lungsod na tatawaging QC Central Business District (QCCBD).

Inaprubahan ang proyekto sa bisa ng Executive Order No. 620 ng dating Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo noong 2009. Hango ang proyektong QCCBD sa mga business district ng Ayala sa Makati at Global City sa Taguig.

Continued on page 11 »

POLICE BRIEFS

VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN. Members of Kabataang Makabayan stage a lightning rally in Morayta, Manila on December 1, a day after the 47th anniversary of the underground revolutionary group. They urged the people to join the armed struggle to topple the dominant order that continues to exploit the toiling masses. Richard Jacob N. Dy maintain,” pahayag ni Gregorio Aquino ng UPDP. Samantala, hindi pa tiyak kung nasa mabuting kalagayan na si Dionido, ani Aquino.

Koreanong estudyante nagwala sa harap ng IC Mary Joy T. Capistrano Psych major tumalon sa ikatlong palapag ng PHAN IN FIGHTING FORM. FEU fencer John Edward Quirit (right) lunges forward in an attempt to cut through Maroon fencer Joshua Paunil’s defense in the UAAP Men’s Foil Individuals Fencing event held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on December 5. Paunil lands a silver medal after cracking under FEU’s pressure, scoring a close 12-15. Chris Martin Imperial

Incoming UPD freshies to take required GE subjects graduating with honors has also increased under the RGEP. In 1998, five students graduated summa cum laude, with a general weighted average between 1.20 and 1.45. In comparison, 21 students graduated summa cum laude last year.

In his investiture speech last September 15, President Alfredo Pascual identified the “improvement” of the RGEP as one of his

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administration’s thrusts.

“We must improve general education so students can acquire an even broader foundation in the sciences and the humanities. We need to train our students in higher-order thinking, ingrain in them the value of life-long learning as leaders in their fields, and, even more critically, in working for the public good,” said Pascual. ●

Nakaligtas sa tiyak na kamatayan ang isang estudyanteng kinilalang si Ramiel Dionido, 19, ikalawang taon sa kursong Psychology, matapos siyang tumalon mula sa ikatlong palapag ng Palma Hall Annex (PHAN) noong ika-1 ng Disyembre.

Bandang alas-kwatro ng hapon nang makatanggap ng tawag ang UP Diliman Police (UPDP) mula kay S.G. Cristy Agrote ukol sa nasabing insidente. Agad namang rumesponde ang mga pulis at ang Red Cross Team, at agad nilang isinugod si Dionido sa Capitol Medical Hospital.

Sa kabutihang palad, hindi naman umano kritikal ang kundisyon ng estudyante dahil basang lupa ang kanyang pinagbagsakan at hindi semento.

“Napressure siguro sa pagaaral ‘yun. Wala namang foul play na nangyari. Matataas naman ang grades niya, siguro gusto lang niyang ma-

Isang Koreanong estudyante na kinilalang si Deung-Dae-Kim, nakatira sa Room No. A-13 ng International Center (IC), ang nagwala umano sa tapat ng nasabing gusali noong ika-2 ng Disyembre.

Bandang 4:30 ng madaling araw nang makatanggap ng ulat ang UPDP mula sa IC. Agad na rumesponde ang mga nagpapatrolyang pulis sa pamumuno ni Sgt. Naraso Domino.

Ayon sa ulat ni Domino, aksidente umanong nabasag ni Kim ang salamin ng front door ng IC pagdaan niya rito.

Nagkaroon ng mainit na pagtatalo sa pagitan ng Koreanong estudyante at ng IC guard na si SG Bersillas, kaya tumawag na ang huli sa UPDP. Dahil nasa ilalim ng impluwensya ng alak si Kim, pinayuhan na lamang siya na magpahinga na muna at kinabukasan na lamang magsumite ng reklamo laban kay Bersillas.

Samantala, wala pa ring pormal na reklamong inihahain ukol sa naganap na insidente.

Sunod-sunod na nakawan, naitala

Ibayong pag-iingat ang payo ng mga pulis sa mga estudyante, matapos ang

serye ng nakawang naitala sa loob ng campus nitong mga nakaraang araw.

Nito lamang ika-30 ng Nobyembre, nanakawan si Angel Cosio, 32, ng isang itim na Jansport bag na kanyang iniwang nakasabit sa kanyang motorsiklong nakaparada sa labas ng Shopping Center.

Nang balikan ni Cosio ang kanyang motor matapos tumungo sa loob ng SC, wala na ang nasabing bag na nagkakahalaga ng P3,000, liban pa sa ibang mahahalagang gamit sa loob katulad ng ATM, driver’s license, at wallet na may lamang P2,000.

Samantala, tinangka namang pagnakawan ang tahanan ni Gilda Caingat, 63, retiradong empleyado ng UP, sa Pook Dagohoy, UP Diliman, Quezon City noong ika-11 ng Nobyembre sa pamamagitan ng pagsira sa kandado ng kanyang gate.

Hindi natuloy ang tangkang pagnanakaw ng dalawang di-nakilalang lalaki nang makita sila ni Rosalie de Luna, kasambahay ni Caingat. Ayon kay de Luna, tinatayang parehong nasa 18 taong gulang ang dalawang suspek.

Noong ika-28 ng Nobyembre muli umanong nakita ni de Luna ang isa sa mga suspek nang ihatid niya ang anak ni Caingat sa paaralan sa likod ng UP Chapel. Agad naman itong iniulat ni Caingat sa UPDP upang mahuli ang gumagalang magnanakaw. ●

4 • Kulê Balita

Martes 06 Disyembre 2011

Paglabag sa karapatang pantao, nagpapatuloy sa ilalim ni Aquino Marjohara Tucay Patuloy na nadaragdagan ang mga naitatalang kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa bansa, isa’t kalahating taon matapos maluklok ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III sa puwesto, ayon sa Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (Karapatan).

Bagaman nangako ang administrasyong Aquino na pananagutin nito ang rehimeng Arroyo sa “madugo [nitong] human rights record,” hindi pa rin natigil at higit pang napaigting ang paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa nagdaang isa’t kalahating taon, ani Karapatan Secretary General Roneo Clamor.

Batay sa taunang ulat na inilabas ng Karapatan noong Disyembre 2, may 64 na biktima ng pulitikal na pamamaslang, siyam na biktima ng sapilitang pagdukot, 51 na biktima ng tortyur at iba’t iba pang uri ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao na naitala ng grupo mula Hulyo 2010 hanggang Oktubre 2011.

Dagdag ang nasabing estadistika sa tinatayang higit 1,200 biktima ng pulitikal na pamamaslang, 206 biktima ng sapilitang pagkawala at 337 kaso ng ilegal na pagkulong na naitala ng Karapatan sa siyam na taong panunungkulan ni dating Pangulong Gloria Arroyo.

Tampok sa mga pangako ni Aquino noong nakaraang eleksyon na kanyang pananagutin ang mga maysala sa mga kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao, kabilang na sina Arroyo, Ret. Gen. Jovito Palparan at iba pang opisyal ng militar, ngunit wala pa ring anumang kasong isinasampa ang gobyernong Aquino laban sa kanila, ayon sa Karapatan.

“After one and a half years, the Aquino government could no longer just point its finger to the past regime.

Truth is, Aquino already lost his moral ground…[by committing] the same violations that were committed by the Arroyo regime,” ayon sa Karapatan.

Karahasan sa kanayunan

Kalakhan ng mga kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao na naitala ng Karapatan ay naganap sa mga liblib na komunidad kung saan nagkakasagupaan ang mga pwersa ng militar at mga rebeldeng grupo.

Mahigit kalahati ng mga kaso ng pulitikal na pamamaslang at sapilitang pagkawala na naitala ng Karapatan ay mula sa rehiyong Bicol at Timog Katagalugan, at mga magsasaka at katutubo ang karaniwang nabibiktima.

Paliwanag ng Karapatan, kadalasang nagaganap ang mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa mga lugar kung saan nagdadaos ng operasyon ang militar kaugnay ng Oplan Bayanihan (OpBay), isang programang kontra-insurhensyang pumalit sa Oplan Bantay Laya ng rehimeng Arroyo.

Sa ilalim ng OpBay, sinusubukan ng militar na sugpuin ang rebelyong inilulunsad ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front at ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan, ang armadong sangay ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, sa pamamagitan ng paglulunsad ng “development projects” sa mga komunidad kasabay ng kanilang pakikipaglaban sa mga rebeldeng grupo.

Bukod sa pagbibigay ng mga serbisyong gaya ng livelihood projects at medical missions, nagsisilbi ring daan ang OpBay upang malayang makagalaw ang militar sa mga komunidad upang manghuli ng mga pinaghihinalaang rebelde, ayon sa Karapatan.

“OpBay hides behind so-called development programs that actually seek to pacify people’s opposition to military presence or government projects such as large-scale mining, logging and plantations. In the process, it destroys community organizations that are existing in the area for a long time, as well as people’s initiatives to improve their quality of life,” ani Cristina Guevarra, secretary general ng grupong Hustisya.

Bilanggong pulitikal Bagaman

itinatanggi

ng

administrasyong Aquino na may mga bilanggong pulitikal sa bansa, patuloy pa ring dumarami ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong nakukulong nang dahil sa kanilang pulitikal na paniniwala, ayon sa Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (Selda).

Sa tala ng Karapatan, may 356 na bilanggong pulitikal sa bansa sa kasalukuyan, 78 sa kanila ang inaresto sa ilalim ng administrasyong Aquino.

Mahigit 85 bahagdan o 303 sa nasabing mga bilanggo ang sinampahan ng mga “gawa-gawang” kaso, samantalang 15 ang may kasong rebelyon.

Kabilang sa mga bilanggong ito ang dating patnugot ng Kultura ng Philippine Collegian na si Ericson

Acosta, na kinasuhan ng illegal possession of firearms at si Maricon Montajes, na dating estudyante ng Film sa UP Diliman.

“The existence of political detainees is contradictory to democracy that is being boasted by the government. How can we have democracy if people are being charged with trumped up charges and illegally detained just because of their convictions?” ani Bishop Arthur Asi ng United Church of Christ of the Philippines sa isang pahayag.

Hustisya para sa lahat

Sa papalapit na pagdiriwang ng ika-65 taong anibersaryo ng United Nations International Declaration of Human Rights sa Disyembre 10,

MAKABAGONG BONIFACIO. Bilang paggunita sa ika-148 na kaarawan ni Andres Bonifacio, nagmartsa at nagsunog ng replika ng bandila ng Amerika ang mga manggagawa, magsasaka at maralitang tagalunsod sa Mendiola noong Nobyembre 30. Nanawagan ang grupo na ipagpatuloy ang mga prinsipyo ni Bonifacio na lumaban sa mga dayuhan at ipagtanggol ang mga mahihirap. Chris Martin Imperial

UP to join ‘Occupy Mendiola’ Dubbed “Kampuhan Kontra Kaltas, Krisis, at Kahirapan,” the camp-out will highlight a wide range of issues: cuts in budget allocation for basic social services like health and education, price hikes, demolition of urban poor communities, human rights and land reform.

“Lahat ng mga ito ay bunga at bahagi ng kasalukuyang sistema na patuloy na nagpapahirap sa sambayanang Pilipino. Magiging venue ang kampuhan para pagaralan at tuklasin ang mga ugat ng

mga problemang panlipunang ito at igiit na kailangan nang buwagin ang sistemang nagdudulot nito,” said Einstein Recedes, national president of the National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP).

Meanwhile, various sectoral groups including labor organization Kilusang Mayo Uno and Filipino migrants group Migrante International (MI) will also join the campout.

On December 7, MI will lead a vigil as protest against the government’s neglect of Overseas Filipino

nanawagan ang Selda, Karapatan at iba pang grupo na palayain na ang mga bilanggong pulitikal, itigil ang mga paglabag sa mga karapatang pantao at bigyang hustisya ang mga biktima at kanilang mga pamilya.

Magsasagawa ng sunod-sunod na kilos-protesta ang nasabing mga grupo sa unang linggo ng Disyembre upang igiit sa administrasyong Aquino na ibasura ang OpBay at aksyunan ang mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao.

“The way to all out peace is when justice is achieved. Many families of victims of human rights violations are disdained that to this day, Aquino has not done anything for their loved ones and is instead paving the way towards more human rights violations,” ani Guevarra. ●

« from page 1 Workers (OFWs) and to call for the commutation of the death sentence meted by the Chinese government on a 35-year-old Filipino accused of drug trafficking. He is set to be executed on December 8.

In UP Diliman, At least 1,000 UP students are expected to join the march toward Mendiola, which will start at Palma Hall on December 6.

Meanwhile UP Iloilo student groups will stage a protest march to Iloilo City on December 8 as an act of solidarity with the Mendiola protesters, while

students from UP Los Baños will also send a delegation to the camp-out on December 9.

“Broad participation from UP students is important to the success of the camp-out because the campout will symbolize a new plane of unity towards revolutionary change,” UP Student Regent Ma. Kristina Conti said.

The All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU) and the All UP Workers Union (AUPWU) are also working together in holding

educational discussions throughout the campus to ensure support and participation from teachers, staff, and other employees of the university.

“Ang UP ay isang State University at ang partisipasyon ng UP, bilang kinikilalang nagtataguyod ng mataas na antas ng edukasyon, at bilang nakararanas ng taunang paniniil ng gobyerno, ay isang kritikal na mukha at boses sa pagpapakintal ng mga isyung panlipunan at politika ng tunay na pagbabago,” said AUPAEU President Michael Francis Andrada. ●

5 • Kulê Lathalain

Martes 6 Disyembre 2011

Kara Medina

Underutilized The state of R&D in UP

Buildings made of glass and concrete sprawl in a wide expanse of space, making UP Diliman’s National Science Complex, a vibrant environment for research and development (R&D) in the country, a true sight to behold.

Such repository of knowledge houses innovations for industries that can be used for economic growth, emphasizing any nation’s need to invest in R&D. Developing science and technology (S&T) is ideally a guarantee to a society’s better standard of living.

For developing countries however, such promise of science remains elusive. “The state of S&T in the Philippines is very low… [although] we have some areas of achievement,” says UP College of Science (CS) Dean Jose Maria Balmaceda.

In the absence of a national industry that can develop scientific knowledge and reap its benefits for genuine progress, products of R&D in the country are exported, exploited by foreign corporations, or piled into the academe’s vast array of knowledge yet to be utilized.

Progressive pioneer

UP takes the lead in the field of science, having produced 46 out of the 47 National Scientists, and pioneering cutting-edge scientific research locally.

As of 2009, the entire UP system is home to 19 Centers of Excellence in mathematics and science, testifying to its respected position in the field of S&T in the Philippines.

As of November 2011, UP Diliman’s College of Engineering (CoE) alone conducts 59 ongoing research projects worth P300 million, funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

These include the development of landslide sensors for disaster-risk mitigation and 3D mapping for flood modeling.

Research ventures in UP are largely funded by government agencies. In 2010 alone, UP received P133 million from DOST’s R&D budget. The NSC, at P1.7 billion, is by far “the single largest investment by the government in S&T,” says Balmaceda. Researches under CS include the development of dengue-curing drugs from marine animals and the discovery of anti-cancer properties of dianthus plants.

The DOST funds around 90 percent of the total cost of every approved research proposal, and encourages the proponents to find internal and external sources to counterpart government funding, says UP Diliman Vice-

Chancellor for Research and Development Benito Pacheco.

These sources range from the colleges’ department savings to foreign partnerships. In some cases, private corporations hire scientists for their expertise to help advance commercial interests.

“We advocate that private research funding be complementary only to the government agencyfunded projects,” says Pacheco.

In light of the annual decrease of government support to state universities and colleges, however, the chances of UP pursuing R&D programs bent on commercial interests are very likely.

Stagnant science

Despite its huge nominal allocation, the country’s R&D appears underfunded considering international standards. UNESCO recommends that a country allocate at least one percent of its gross domestic product for R&D – the Philippines devotes a mere 0.015 percent. The state of a country’s S&T therefore has a direct relationship with sufficient government funding.

According to the scientific paper Prometheus Bound, although Filipino scientists produce worldclass publications, the government fails to gear these results towards addressing national needs. UP’s innovative projects, like research on waste-water treatment or local plants’ anti-ulcer effects, are acknowledged in the academe but inaccessible to the majority in need.

Foreign corporations sometimes benefit from local technologies.

UP’s own CoE spearheads research in electronics materials like microchips, and raw materials for the product are taken from local resources. However, once the idea and supplies are in place, these are exported to foreign businesses, stamped with the company’s brand name, imported back to the country, and purchased by Filipino consumers.

The S&T manpower of the country is weak as it is – UP’s CS produces an average of only 12 PhD graduates yearly – and yet research scientists and engineers do not join the academe, but are recruited to work as line directors for private/ foreign industrial firms, says UP CoE Dean Aura Matias.

The need to rely on foreign sources stems from the inexistence of a dependable industry that can support the development of these scientific innovations, says Dr. Giovanni Tapang, national chairperson of Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM).

In some cases, advanced scientific research like the development of semiconductors is made specifically for export purposes. While such studies may be beneficial in the global arena, they do not contribute to national self-sufficiency – which entails

focusing on agriculture-related studies. Thus, S&T in the country requires more than innovation in the actual field of R&D, but an environment biased in responding to the needs of the people, supported by a central policy that forwards the interest of the majority, Tapang said.

Towards industrialization

If given enough support, the country is capable of advancing its R&D. “The university as a whole has a lot to offer in terms of talent,” states Matias. Tapang agrees that UP is obviously capable of producing internationally competent science output, but advancement in scientific research is an endeavor that must be pursued not only by the university but also by the state.

“Ang tuwid na daan ay papuntang national industrialization,’’ asserts Tapang. To achieve this, the government would have to implement comprehensive agrarian reform to establish modernized and mechanized agriculture as the base industry, which will later on aid in developing other local industries.

This would enable the country to be self-sufficient in producing capital, providing domestic goods, and ensuring food security. At present, since most of these industries are privately owned, the government has no control over them and thus cannot utilize them for self-development.

Sustainable R&D and economic growth are interdependent. Supposedly, R&D is geared towards local industry development, but the Philippine government relies too heavily on foreign corporations for export earnings.

Such an import-dependent economy renders scientific progress pointless, says Tapang.

Building a national industry by implementing agrarian reform and investing in expansion of local industries then becomes a necessary step to achieving genuine development. With this, it can be ensured that the fruits of research are contained in the country and beneficial to the Philippines and Filipinos. ●

Source: Deveza, E., Ramos, H. & Tapang, G. (2005).

Prometheus Bound: The state of science and technology in the Philippines. Office of Representative Satur C. Ocampo.

Artwork by Luigi Almuena Page design by Kel Almazan

6-7 • Kulê Grapix

Martes 6 Disyembre 2011

In 2006, Junito, who was then working in Manila, returned to Agusuhin after learning they lost their home due to the demolition. But it was not the last time they would be forced to leave their home. His family would experience three more demolitions before they ended up in their current resettlement area. Angel’s family was one of those who refused to receive compensation from Hanjin. According to Junito, the relocation site offered by the company was landslide-prone and far from the residents’ farms and fishing grounds.

A PORTRAIT OF

UNCERTAINTY

Angel’s parents allowed her to skip school for the day and play along the beach with her brother and friends. It was Junito and Christine’s way of making it up to Angel, for not telling her it was her special day.

A young girl living under the constant threat of demolitions Photos and text by Richard Jacob Dy Page design by Kel Almazan

The 25th of November is Angel Centino’s special day, but she doesn’t know it yet. Her parents, Junito and Christine, chose not to tell her, at least not yet this year, not until they have enough money to celebrate.

Angel and her younger brother enjoy the only meal they can afford for lunch that day: rice and instant noodles. Christine, their mother, helps Junito manage a small home-based sari-sari store. Despite living together, Christine and Junito have no plans of marrying yet due to financial difficulties.

In May 2006, when Angel was just five months old, her family – along with around 300 families in Sitio Agusuhin, Subic, Zambales – were evicted from their homes to give way to a shipbuilding facility for Hanjin, a South Korean company.

Angel watches as her father checks the coconut leaves protecting the boat’s machine from the heat of the sun. Before Hanjin’s shipyard project pushed through, Agusuhin used to be a vibrant fishing and farming community.

After the demolition in 2006, Junito worked for Hanjin as part of a team of skilled workers building different ship parts. However, his contract only lasted for a year. Junito returned to fishing after his one-year contract.

Today, the displaced families of Agusuhin still don’t have a permanent relocation site, and they are forced to live a life of uncertainty with each passing day.

Angel answers some school exercises at home. She turned six that day.

A recent court order asks the displaced residents, including Angel’s family, to leave their current homes, claiming that the land they are staying in belongs to a private owner who plans to build a beach resort in the area. If this pushes through, it will be the fifth time Angel’s family searches for a place to live. According to Junito, Angel was too young to remember the previous demolitions. This time, she and her brother will. ●

6-7 • Kulê Grapix

Martes 6 Disyembre 2011

In 2006, Junito, who was then working in Manila, returned to Agusuhin after learning they lost their home due to the demolition. But it was not the last time they would be forced to leave their home. His family would experience three more demolitions before they ended up in their current resettlement area. Angel’s family was one of those who refused to receive compensation from Hanjin. According to Junito, the relocation site offered by the company was landslide-prone and far from the residents’ farms and fishing grounds.

A PORTRAIT OF

UNCERTAINTY

Angel’s parents allowed her to skip school for the day and play along the beach with her brother and friends. It was Junito and Christine’s way of making it up to Angel, for not telling her it was her special day.

A young girl living under the constant threat of demolitions Photos and text by Richard Jacob Dy Page design by Kel Almazan

The 25th of November is Angel Centino’s special day, but she doesn’t know it yet. Her parents, Junito and Christine, chose not to tell her, at least not yet this year, not until they have enough money to celebrate.

Angel and her younger brother enjoy the only meal they can afford for lunch that day: rice and instant noodles. Christine, their mother, helps Junito manage a small home-based sari-sari store. Despite living together, Christine and Junito have no plans of marrying yet due to financial difficulties.

In May 2006, when Angel was just five months old, her family – along with around 300 families in Sitio Agusuhin, Subic, Zambales – were evicted from their homes to give way to a shipbuilding facility for Hanjin, a South Korean company.

Angel watches as her father checks the coconut leaves protecting the boat’s machine from the heat of the sun. Before Hanjin’s shipyard project pushed through, Agusuhin used to be a vibrant fishing and farming community.

After the demolition in 2006, Junito worked for Hanjin as part of a team of skilled workers building different ship parts. However, his contract only lasted for a year. Junito returned to fishing after his one-year contract.

Today, the displaced families of Agusuhin still don’t have a permanent relocation site, and they are forced to live a life of uncertainty with each passing day.

Angel answers some school exercises at home. She turned six that day.

A recent court order asks the displaced residents, including Angel’s family, to leave their current homes, claiming that the land they are staying in belongs to a private owner who plans to build a beach resort in the area. If this pushes through, it will be the fifth time Angel’s family searches for a place to live. According to Junito, Angel was too young to remember the previous demolitions. This time, she and her brother will. ●

8 • Kulê Kultura Marie Barcelona Fifty-two years ago, that 24-kilometer stretch of road running in a rough semicircle around the south-to-north circumference of Metro Manila, formerly called Highway 54, was renamed Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).

Since then, EDSA has been the backdrop to two separate and historically significant mass demonstrations, leading to the ouster of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and the resignation of former president Joseph Estrada in 2001.

EDSA — which stretches ten lanes wide and passes through Pasay, Makati, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, and Caloocan — is daily traversed by hundreds of thousands of vehicles, making it one of the longest and busiest roads in the country.

Yet in a year which saw the death of a UP Diliman professor in a traffic accident along Commonwealth Avenue, the road-related legislation which has received the greatest traction in the media is House Bill 5422, authored by Bohol 1st district Rep. Rene Relampagos, which would rename EDSA as Cory Aquino Avenue.

Opponents of the bill argue that it is a waste of time and effort to legislate a name change for an already wellknown highway when there are not even enough regulations regarding traffic and road safety. Moreover, the prospect of conductors shouting “Cory-Cubao,” or of changing every jeepney, bus, and road sign along one of the longest highways in the country, promises to be a logistical nightmare.

Prime opportunity

In the grand narrative that is history, setting is often as important as the characters. In certain cases, places gain their own fame after assimilating the particular characteristics of the event that lent it significance. Maguindanao, for instance, is a grim reminder of how corrupt power spawns atrocities in warlord regions; Tiananmen Square is a testament to the thin line between state repression and violence; Mendiola is a monument to militance, protest and struggle.

And EDSA is a symbol of hope and democracy.

Certainly, few places loom so large in the national consciousness as EDSA, the site of People Power. It is nowhere near Malacañang, Congress, or the Supreme Court, yet EDSA has twice been the stage for pivotal moments in national history.

The Local Government Code prohibits structures in the public domain, such as schools and roads, to be named after living people. But no such law prevents anything from being named after the dead relatives of

Martes 6 Disyembre 2011 romantic to say that Cory was the face of People Power, but far more accurate to point to public opinion, which had been shifting for two decades against Marcos. The final trigger for mass rebellion was the assassination of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr, but another catalyst would have come along even if Ninoy and Cory had never existed.

Part and parcel of power is the nerve and influence to hijack history by reshaping collective memory. One way is to claim spaces. In naming public structures, the best of a person’s identity is preserved — ever after, should anyone ask about the person for whom their building or street is named, he or she will be described as a President, a governor, an educator, a historian.

More than that, their names will pass into the vernacular, not just as a significant historical figure but as a family inextricably linked to the concrete projects and public structures around which society lives and shapes itself.

No wonder, then, that bills to n a m e and rename public structures comprise the biggest percentage o f legislation drawn up every year in Congress.

living politicians. EDSA, then, is a prime opportunity. In this case, any namechange bill only needs to pass Congress, full of Aquino’s allies, before being signed into law by incumbent President Benigno Aquino III, Cory’s son.

Relampagos explained that renaming EDSA would be “a fitting tribute” to “a woman of courage and valor.” Since EDSA has become “synonymous” with the idea of People Power, he opined, it was only right that it be named after Cory, who spent her life fighting for “justice and truth, peace and democracy.”

This is the power of naming. To name something is to claim both symbolic and literal dominance over it. And in the case of this bill, naming

Collective memory

underscores t h e attempt to transfer characteristics and identities.

Democracy, Cory, EDSA; the simple act of naming fuses these concepts in the public imagination, no matter how undue the underlining idolatry is, no matter how simplistic the purported correlation is reduced to.

Claiming spaces

In the Philippines, concepts of identity and family are deeply intertwined; the accomplishments of a single member cast a glow over all who share the same name.

Everyone understands this, from the neighborhood vendor bragging to customers about her child’s scholarship to our current President, who negated his lack of personal accomplishments by trading on the fame of his parents to win an election.

And identities are built around names and labels. Cory was called housewife, mother, icon, saint. She was elected President by the Filipino people, and chosen “Woman of the Year” by Time Magazine for “saving her country.”

The belief that history is driven forward one great leader at a time is rooted in an almost superstitious reverence for individuality. It is

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Dibuho ni Marianne Rios Disenyo ng pahina ni Kel Almazan

To occupy physical space is also to occupy political space. The drive to attach personal identity to monuments indicates a desire to become larger than life, to be part of something bigger than any individual.

As such, EDSA is not a monument to the triumph of Corazon Aquino, but to the power of collective action.

It is not without its problems — as evident in the current state of the country, the “revolution” turned out to be only a change in leaders of the same political system.

But, blemishes and all, the historical significance of EDSA does not belong to Cory any more than it belongs to Arroyo, who became president after Estrada.

EDSA has gone beyond its namesake to become its own legend: no longer EDSA after Epifanio de los Santos, but EDSA Revolution after EDSA. It is EDSA of People Power, EDSA of history and uprising, EDSA of nuns holding up rosaries against tanks and citizens brandishing flowers at soldiers. This is a mythology – and a name – that belongs, not to any single person, but to every person. ●

9• Kulê Lathalain

BAGONG SIBOL

Martes 6 Disyembre 2011

Ang nagpapatuloy na hamon sa mga magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita

ng KS ang pagpapawalang-bisa sa TRO at ipinag-utos ang pamamahagi ng HL. Kailangan ring ibigay sa mga magsasaka ang P1.33 bilyon nilang hati o 33 porsyento sa lahat ng naibentang ari-arian sa HL, kasama ang P83 milyong ibinayad ng pamahalaan para sa pagpapatayo ng Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

Axl Ross Tumanut Takip-silim sa Brgy. Balete, Hacienda Luisita (HL), Tarlac. Unti-unti nang binabalot ng dilim at katahimikan ang malawak na asyenda. Ngunit maya-maya pa’y sumabog ang hiyawan at galak sa kubong nagsisilbing kampuhan ng samahan ng mga magsasakang Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala). Nobyembre 22 nang ibinasura na ng Korte Suprema (KS) ang Stock Distribution Option (SDO) na ipinag-uutos ang pamamahagi ng 4,915-ektaryang lupa ng HL sa 4,296 magsasaka.

“Tumatalon kami sa harap ng TV noong nabalitaan namin!” ani Mang Juanito Gonzales Jr., na 30 taon nang nagsasaka sa HL. Ipinag-utos ng KS na sa loob ng anim na buwan, kailangan nang magsumite ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) ng ulat hinggil sa pamamahagi ng lupa. Sa kabila nito, alam ng mga magsasaka na marami pang kailangang gawin bago tuluyang mapagtagumpayan ang higit limang dekadang alitan sa lupa.

Pag-ani ng tagumpay

Masayang nagpakuha ng litrato ang mga anak ng mga manggawang-bukid ng Hacienda Luisita. Dalawang linggo na ang nakalipas matapos iutos ng Korte Suprema na ipamahagi sa mga magsasaka ang kanilang lupaing binubungkal.

Pagtatanim ng panlilinlang

Kwento ang HL ng masalimuot na pagsasamantala sa mga magsasaka.

Taong 1957 napasakamay ng mga Cojuangco ang 6,435-ektaryang lupain ng HL kasama ang sugar refinery na Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) gamit ang pondong pinautang ng pamahalaan. Kapalit nito, kailangang ipamahagi ng pamilya Cojuangco ang HL sa mga magsasaka matapos ang 10 taon.

Subalit walang lupang naipamahagi noong 1967, dahil ayon sa pamilya Cojuangco, wala na umanong magsasakang naninirahan sa asyenda pagkalipas ng sampung taon. Ngunit kwento ni Lito Bais, pangulo ng United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU), naninirahan na ang kanyang mga magulang sa HL bago pa man ito maipagbili.

Nagpatuloy ang pag-angkin ng mga Cojuangco sa HL, sa kabila ng utos ng Manila Regional Trial Court na ipamahagi ito noong 1985.

Tuluyang naagaw ang HL mula sa mga magsasaka nang maupo sa pwesto si Pangulong Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, na miyembro ng pamilyang angkang umangkin sa asyenda.

Sa bisa ng 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)na ipinatupad ni Aquino, naipasailalim ang HL sa SDO kung saan ginawang mga stockholder ang mga magsasaka sa halip na maipamahagi ang lupa sa kanila.

“Kung hindi ka bumoto ng stock, hindi ka nila pagtatrabahuin,”ani Rodel Galang, dating kapitan ng Brgy. Balete.

(Kaliwa) Abalang nagtanim ng tubo, pangunahing ani sa asyenda, ang ilang kababaihang magsasaka sa Barangay Balete, Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac. (Kanan) Sa kabila ng desisyon ng Korte Suprema, lalo pang pinalakas ng pamilya Cojuangco ang presensya ng mga sundalo sa lugar at patuloy na nagtayo ng mga karagdagang guard house.

Pag-usbong ng tunggalian

Lalong naghirap ang mga magsasaka bilang stockholders ng HL buhat ng SDO. “Mula sa dating P194 arawang sahod, naging P9.50 na lamang ang naiuuwi namin buhat ng mga kaltas sa rasyon ng bigas, asukal, pa-ospital at educational loan na hindi namin lubos na napakikinabangan,” ani Abner Gajila, 50.

Maliban dito, isang araw kada linggo na lamang pinagtatrabaho ang bawat magsasaka sapagkat nalulugi umano ang mga Cojuangco at kailangan nilang bawasan ang mga pinapasahod. “Hindi man lang kami makabili ng isang kilong bigas para sa pamilya namin, ‘yung iba kung anu-ano nang pinasok na trabaho — katulong, construction worker,” ani Mang Juanito.

Bunsod ng lumalalang kondisyon, nagtindig ang mga magsasaka ng picket line sa tapat ng CAT noong Nobyembre 6, 2004, na ilang ulit tinangkang buwagin ng pinaghalong pwersa ng mga militar at pulis. Nauwi sa isang madugong harapan ang piket, nang paulanan ng militar ng bala ang mga magsasakang nagwewelga noong Nobyembre 16. Pitong magsasaka ang napaslang at humigit-kumulang 200 ang naiwang sugatan matapos ang insidente.

Mahigit isang taon makalipas ang malagim na masaker, ipinag-utos ng Department of Agrarian Reform at Presidential Agrarian Reform Council na ipawalang-bisa ang SDO sa HL noong Setyembre 2005. Ngunit nagawang pigilan ng mga Cojuangco ang pagpapatupad ng kautusan matapos

makahingi ng Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) sa KS noong 2006.

Tumagal ng halos limang taon ang kaso hinggil sa bisa ng TRO na pumipigil sa pamamahagi ng lupa. Noong Agosto 2010, naghain ng compromise agreement ang pamilya Cojuangco sa KS kung saan muli umanong pinapili ang mga magsasaka ng HL sa pagitan ng stocks o lupa. Mariin itong tinutulan ng mga magsasaka na naniniwalang isa na naman itong panlilinlang ng mga Cojuangco.

Ayon kay Mang Rodel, pirma ng mga magsasakang inalok ng trabaho ng mga Cojuangco ang nasa listahang ipinakita ng pamunuan ng HL sa KS na “bilang ng mga magsasakang nais panatilihin ang SDO.” Nitong Nobyembre 2011, kinatigan

Habang tagumpay na itinuturing ng mga magsasaka ang hatol ng KS, tinutulan naman nila ang pagbibigay ng “just compensation” sa pamilya Cojuangco, na isa sa mga kondisyon sa pamamahagi na nakapaloob sa CARP with Extension and Reforms (CARPER).

“Ang mga Cojuangco pa nga ang dapat magbayad dahil halos limang dekada nilang inangkin iyong lupang pagmamay-ari namin,” ani Rodel Mesa, tagapagsalita ng Ambala.

Sa kasalukuyan, nagsisilbing inspirasyon ang tagumpay sa HL sa lahat ng mga magsasaka sa buong bansa na humaharap sa iba’t ibang alitan sa lupa. “Unti-unti na naming nakakamit ang katarungan mula sa mahabang panahon ng pagsasamantala at panloloko,” ani Ka Lito.

Ngunit sa pananatili ng mga kampong militar sa HL, nagpapatuloy ang pananakot at pagbabanta ng mga sundalo sa mga mamamayan ng asyenda. Nagagambala ang mga manggagawang tulad ni Mang Juanito na minsang tinutukan ng isang gwardya ng baril bago sirain ang kaniyang bakod at pananim sa isang kapirasong lupang nakatiwangwang.

Nananatili ang mga balakid sa tagumpay ng mga magsasaka, kaya hindi rito nagtatapos ang kanilang laban.

Nananatiling kontrolado ng iilang pamilya ang malalaking lupaing agrikultural sa bansang pinoprotektahan pa ng mga huwad na batas tulad ng CARP at CARPER na nagtutulak ng SDO, ani Ranmil Echanis, coordinator ng Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura.

“Patuloy kaming magmamatyag sa mga susunod na hakbangin ng mga Cojuangco na tiyak gagawa ng paraan para takasan ang batas,” ani Ka Lito.

Marami pang pagdaraanan ang mga magsasaka kasama ang mamamayan bago tuluyang makamit ang tunay na repormang agraryo. Hangga’t hindi sumisibol ang mga itinanim na binhi ng kolektibong pagkilos na ganap na makapagbabago ng lipunan, marami pang lupaing gaya ng Hacienda Luisita ang kailangang ipaglaban, sa mga hukuman man o lansangan. ● Mga litrato ni Richard Jacob Dy Disenyo ng pahina ni Kel Almazan

10 • Kulê Opinyon

Martes 06 Disyembre 2011

CHRIS IMPERIAL

NEWSCAN

Feeling fotog Simula nang maging commercially available ang mga camera at maimbento ang digital photography, nagkaroon ng venue ang mga tao upang kumuha ng sarili nilang mga litrato. Dumami ang amateur photographers na natuklasan ang kanilang mga natatagong talent sa sining.

Maganda namang pangyayari ito, ngunit kasabay ng pagbabagong-anyo ng photography ang pagbabagong-anyo ng mga taong gumagamit at tumatangkilik dito. Dumarami ang mga may camera, pero hindi naman dumarami ang mga photographer.

Bling-bling

May mga tao akong nakikita na hindi alintana ang bigat ng naglalakihan nilang mga camera. Saludo ako sa kanila. Pero may mga tao kasing dadalhin lang ang camera pero hindi naman ito gagamitin.

Parang ginagawa nilang “display of wealth” o status symbol ang mga camera nila. Naalala ko ‘yung gimik noon nina Paris Hilton na pati aso niya, kasama sa fashion statement niya. Hindi ko alam, pero may ibang paraan naman para magpakita ng kayamanan. “Kuya, camera ‘yan, hindi kuwintas.”

“Anong model ng camera mo?”

“Um, Olympus E-500 lang. Second hand ko nabili.”

“Ah, ok.”

May mga taong mas nawiwiling pagusapan ang mga teknikal na aspeto ng photography gaya ng FPS, existence ng IS, ISO sensitivity at iba pa. Wala namang masama rito, pero para kasi sa akin, hindi naman sukatan ng pagiging magaling na photographer ang ganda ng equipment.

“Wala sa pana ‘yan, nasa Indian ‘yan,” ika nga ng isang pantas. May mga litrato nga akong nakita na ‘di ko akalaing kuha mula sa camera phone. Wala naman akong galit sa mga techie dahil ganun rin naman ako, pero mas maganda lang talagang pag-usapan ang mga litrato kumpara sa camera dahil nasa litrato naman ang esensya ng photography.

Hindi ko lang ito masabi noon nang hindi ko na ma-take ang kayabangan ng mga may mamahaling equipment: “I’d rather see your photos than your gear.”

Dumarami ang mga may camera pero hindi naman dumarami ang mga photographer.

Point and Shoot

“Bakit naman naka-auto mode ka, eh ang ganda ng camera mo?”

“Eh, ayoko. Ang hirap, ang daming pipindutin. “ May dahilan kung bakit may dalawang klase ng camera sa merkado: DSLR at Point & Shoot (P&S). Ginawa ang DSLR para sa mga photog na gustong kumalikot ng settings para makapag-eksperimento. Ginawa ng P&S para sa mas madaling pagkuha ng mga litrato. Minsan naiisip ko na baka biktima

lang sila ng marketing ng Canon at Nikon kaya sila napabili ng mga gamit na hindi naman nila kailangan.

“Libo-libo ang halaga niyan. Walang mawawala kung mag-switch ka sa manual setting.”

Fad

Teorya ko lang naman, pero kaya baka may mga taong bumibili ng mamahaling camera dahil attracted lang sila sa mataas na presyo nito. Tulad ng pangongolekta ng iba’t ibang gadgets gaya ng iPad, iPhone at PSP, nagsisilbing bahagi na lamang ang camera sa collection nila. Maaring kapag hindi na uso o kapag napagsawaan na, baka mauwi sa paperweight ang camera.

Paumanhin. Hindi naman ako bitter sa equipment ninyo o plainly mayabang lang kaya ko nasabi ang mga hinaing ko.

Sa katunayan, masaya pa nga ako at mas marami nang kids ang may kaalaman sa photography. Ang sa akin lang, hindi lang simpleng pagkuha ng litrato ang gamit ng camera. Ayokong nasasayang ang malaking potential nito bilang isang powerful communication tool. Napakaideal, pero totoo. ● Kung meron ka mang reaksyon sa kolum na ito, tara at maglabas tayo ng angas sa Room 401, Vinzons Hall.

Patunayan mong marami-rami pa ang photographer sa UP. Baka ikaw na nga ang hinahanap namin.

J

Fragments* Every song reminds me of you, of us, of where I stand with you. It feels like limbo, being caught in the middle of nowhere.

Not that I’m complaining; you have, in not so many words, reciprocated my feeble attempts at courtship. Even with my awkward footing, we seem to have levelled off with each other.or at least, I think we have. I remember our late-night chats, with its pregnant pauses and loaded silences, and still we stay until way past the curfew, even when we seem to have exhausted the night ‘s topic.

Ours is not a regular courtship.

From the beginning, our roles have been reversed.you, the pursued, I, the pursuer. Aggressiveness doesn’t come easily for me, and I ended up writing you letters, lots and lots of letters, most of which ended up tossed in the fire. Finally, I gathered up the courage to give you one of them (my first official letter to you) before I went to sleep one night.

To my delight and surprise, you wrote back, expressing your appreciation of my efforts,

alleviating the fears I have thus expressed. I keep your letter with me everywhere, to remind myself that those memories were real and not a figment of my imagination; that you would still be there when I return, and we fll continue where we left off, that we wouldn ft be starting from scratch. *** I remember our last trip together.

You shared your stories on the road, but finally you said you had to sleep because you were suffering from motion sickness. As the trip wore on we ended up leaning on each other, up until you slept on my lap. I held on to you then, ensuring that you won’t fall off or hit your head. Even when it was awkward at first, it felt nice having someone I could lean on, and someone I could care for.

Back then I considered asking you the question that I didn’t have the courage to ask you directly. I have hinted on it, in the many letters I have written. Still, I refused to ask, afraid of what the answer will be. I contented myself with our moments together, happy with what I could

UP Cinema’s POV 8 @ Cine Adarna

UP Cinema in association with Optima Digital and Nikon Philippines present Piling Obrang Vidyo 8 (POV8), an annual inter-collegiate short film competition where students from various universities and colleges compete and showcase their best short films. Now on its eighth year, the POV has proven to be a worthy grassroots venue for our country’s budding filmmakers. POV 8 will again hit the screen on Friday, December 9, 2011, at UP Cine Adarna. Grab a ticket now, and get the chance to watch all of the films for only Php80. Contact UP Cinema at 09261494262 for ticket reservations.

LITRATURA 2: Sabayan ang Sayaw ng Kalikasan

Do you love photography? Do you write haikus? Then we have something just for you! UP Tomo-Kai brings you a Photography and Haiku-writing Contest: The LITRATURA 2: Sabayan ang Sayaw ng Kalikasan. Join and win up to Php5,000 IN CASH! Register now for FREE! For more details, please visit http://tomokai.co.nr/ and our facebook fanpage http://www. facebook.com/uptomokai. We’ll be waiting for your entries!

Screening of Jeffrey Jeturian’s Bisperas

You were on top of my list.

This. Us. And the things in between.

get.even though I wished that you’d tell me how you feel sometimes.

Maybe it’s the old trauma talking, but I just wanted to be sure that this affair isn’t a one-way street, after all.

But I figured you’d tell me anyway, if we ever reach the beginning of a new relationship. Won ft you? *** I remember my last letter to you. It wasn ft much of a letter.

It was more like a list of things weighing heavily on my mind at the time. Obviously, you were on top of my list. This. Us. And the things in between, those which bind us deeply and separate us from the mundane inanities of a regular courtship.

I think about you still, wondering if I will have the courage to tell you that I fve missed you when we next meet, or if I fd end up tongue-tied as always. Probably I’d write you another letter, telling you, hopefully, all that is important. ● *For B

UP Film Institute joins the rest of the UP Diliman community to distinctly usher in the holiday season with a special run for Jeffrey Jeturian’s Bisperas – winner of the Winds of Asia Grand Prize in the recent Tokyo International Film Festival. Screenings are set for the dramatic film at the Cine Adarna of the UPFI Film Center in UP Diliman for two straight days on Dec 5 Mon and Dec 6 Tue at 5 and 7 p.m. with admission at a popular price.

Visit http://filminstitute.upd.edu.ph/

UP KAISA App Orientation

Malamig ba pasko mo? Bok, hindi ka nag-iisa! Malamang taga- Isabela ka!

Halina’t ju-moin sa barkadahan ng mga batang kinalinga ng Sierra Madre. UP Kalipunan ng mga Anak ng Isabela Applicant’s Orientation ngayong December 8 at 15, sa aming tambayan sa Vinzons Hill. Itext lang si Marc 09176688029 o Kenee 09278940736 at simulang painitin ang ‘yong UP experience! :) Get free publicity! Send us your press release invitations, etc. DON’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS and go easy on the punctuations?! Complete sentences only. Don’t use text language please.

Provide a short title, be concise, 100 words maximum. Email us at kule1112@ gmail.com

11 • Kulê Opinyon

Martes 06 Disyembre 2011

Tangkang demolisyon sa 2 barangay sa QC, naudlot

INBOX « from page 3

Saklaw ng proyekto ang 250 ektaryang North Triangle, East Triangle at Veterans Memorial Medical Center. Sakop ng North Triangle ang 30 ektaryang San Roque.

“Siguro nga ay makakabuti ang proyektong QCCBD sa ekonomiya, pero kaninong ekonomiya?” ani Francisco.

‘Hatid sa hukay’

Bilang kompromiso sa mga maaapektuhan ng proyekto, naglaan ang National Housing Authority ng isang relocation site sa Montalban, Rizal. Sa loob ng 30 taon, unti-unting babayaran ng mga residente ang mga bahay na kanilang lilipatan.

Sa Barangay Central, 407 ng kabuuang 567 pamilya ang pumayag manirahan sa relocation site, ayon kay Apollo.

Sa 20,000 pamilya naman sa Sitio San Roque, may 4,000 na

ang pumayag lumipat. Gayunpaman, karamihan din umano sa kanila ang bumabalik sa dating tirahan dahil sa kawalan ng maayos na trabaho, malapit na ospital at paaralan sa relocation site, ani Lopez.

“Tanging mga sementeryo at walang katapusang libingan ang malapit sa Montalban, Rizal. Para na rin kaming inihatid ng gobyerno sa aming hukay kung pwersahan kaming itatapon sa relocation site,” ani Bersa.

Dahil sa “nakapanlulumong” sitwasyon sa mga relocation sites, ipinaglalaban ngayon ng mga residente ng San Roque at Barangay Central ang “on-site development” o pagsasaayos sa mga informal settlement sa halip na demolisyon at relokasyon.

“Kung talagang tapat ang gobyerno na gusto [nitong] mapabuti ang kalagayan ng mga mamamayan niya, bumuo siya ng mga komunidad sa halip na wasakin ang mga ito,” ani Lopez. ●

TEXTBACK

1.

Ano sa tingin mo ang nararapat na matanggap na “just compensation” ng mga Cojuangco?

could we just reverse the positions of 'tenant' & 'land owner'?para matikman nla ung matagal panloloko nla s mga farmers 1101517 bumawi dapat ang mga Cojuanco sa mga magsasakang ilang dekada na nilang pinahirapan. Bigyan nila ng malaking puhunan ang mga farmers para sa kanilang kagamitang pansaka at bigyan ng iskolarship ang kanilang mga anak at apo sa mga eklusibong paaralan. 10-32291 Latiguhin ang kanilang mga anit gamit ang tubo hanggang manilaw! Iyan ang JUST compensation para sa lahat ng magsasakang pinaslang at inapi nila!

0988800 3rd dapat ipakain na lang yung lahat ng tubo sa kanila. Para macompensate ang pagkalugi sa diabetes. (Oh diba, witty!) 0745738 ba ap KULE Dapat wala nang just compensation na matatanggap ang mga cojuangco dahil ilang henerasyon na nilang pinagsamantalahan ang mga tao¸ࡡt ang lupaing iyan. Milyon-milyon na ang perang nakuha ng kapitalistang pamilyang yan sa masa. Dapat ibalik na sa mga tao ang hacienda! LOVE YOU, ANA! 10-00120 The Cojuancos deserve a just punishment, not compensation. 201000357 The Cojuancos do not deserve to get any compensation for that matter.

They have evaded the land reform for so long and remained deaf and blind to the deaths and sufferings of their farmers.

For the longest time they have controlled Hacienda Luisita, the wealth they have amassed is more than enough for them to ask and deserve "just compensation".

201178952 freshie bss dapat sa mga c0juangco,ilibing sa mism0ng lupa na kinakamkam nila. LOL 2009-22393

2.

Ano ang sanhi ng hiwalayang KC-Piolo?

pareh0 kasi sla ng hanap: tunay n lalak... i mean pag-ibig. :-) and kasi s papa p inv0lved t0 SAM 0ther pers0n. :-) 1162170 BSChE sawa n c piolo s kanya..yun lng..at d nya mbibgay ang gusto n piolo dahil wla xa nito... sanay mgng frndz nlng cla.at ang stfap, sanay magng frndly na rin nxt yr.. 11_58674 kaya naghiwalay si piolo at kc kasi ayaw dw magpasex change ni kc :D HAHA! 201048830 2nd yr EM sanhi ng kanilang hiwalayan? baka di pa nakamove'on si piolo kay sam.. baka lang naman. nga pala, ang ganda ng komiks. angaling. :) 2011-27985 MuRilYo_Math Ako :”> 2010-20274 2ND YR STAT dahilan ng hiwalayan nina Kc at piolo?

Glee mash-up ng rumour has it/someone like you. Natamaan c piolo sa msg nun. 10-68904 Ika nga ni Carmina Villaroel kay KC Concepcion,"BEEN THERE, DONE THAT." Ayun. Read between the lines... Peace! :) 1003779 Hindi sila talo. Sa umpisa palang kitang kita naman natin e. Nagpapakita na siya ng mga sinyales. TOMBOY SI KC.hehe :) 1150180 naghiwalay sila dahil ako ang gusto ni Piolo. Joke. May pagtingin kc si Piolo kay Enchong dee, obvious naman. Hahaha. :)) 1147470 Ang maharot na frog na si Mark Bautista ang dahilan ng hiwalayang KC at Piolo. Pano b naman kasi, nkita ni KC na sabay lumabas sa CR ni piolo yang dalawang yan. Hay papa P! Sayang ka! Hndi na tayo pwde. Hndi tayo talo! :D201059865.

KC - aanhin pa ang guwap0 kung ayaw naman sa 'yo? Hay, m0ve on k n lng dear. Piolo - jst c0me out already! 06-17735 Ang gusto ni Piolo ay hotdog. Kaya lng, hanggang donut lamang at dalawang pandesal ang kayang ibigay ni KC! Haha 1032291 'Yul Servo. Yan na! :)' 2009-20202 3rd ARKI isn't it n bakla s pi0l0? dahil "siya lang ang mkasasag0t qng bkit." (as stated by kc

November 24, 2011 Greetings! We are the UP School of Economics Student Council (SESC), the official student government of the School of Economics. The SESC has a high regard for your publication.

However, your latest issue has brought great concern to us as a student council, specifically because of the article “Frat violence mars sem opening” by Keith Richard D. Mariano. Several of our constituents were disturbed by the direct mention of Kehrl Reyes as our chairperson, in these events. The mere mention of his name is not an issue. Instead, the article is upsetting because not all facts were validated and no interviews were made.

The article mentions that the frat violence started on August 16 with Kehrl Reyes being involved. There was a rumble along Roces street between the two alleged fraternities but it was on September 16. More than that, Kehrl Reyes was in the UP Men’s football team’s “For Play” fundraising party on the 16th in Blue Onion, Eastwood. Pictures are online and there are a handful of witnesses.

Second, because Mr. Reyes was not interviewed or spoken to, erroneous facts regarding his whereabouts and involvement were stated, and in this, he has been misrepresented. The readers seem to have gotten a misconception of his intent. The readers think that he was heavily involved when it all started, and this is not the case.

The combination of wrong facts and misleading characterizations has led to a misinformed and confused public.

We are asking for the release of an immediate erratum to solve the problem. This does not only unjustly tarnish the reputation of Mr. Reyes but also the credibility of this council.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response.

Regards, Members UP School of Economics Student Council

December 6, 2011 I welcome the clarifications made by the UP School of Economics Student Council on the news article I wrote.

However, I believe that I did my part in counterchecking the details of the incidents—I interviewed the head of Alpha Phi Beta (APB), Lord Chancellor Ricky Sabornay, who I thought was competent enough to speak on behalf of the fraternity.

Sabornay said he was among the signatories of a case filed against the Alpha Sigma Fraternity at the Student Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) sometime in August. To verify the said complaint, I requested for a copy of the case at the Tribunal but such document is confidential, according to an SDT staff.

Prior to my interview with the APB head, I personally went to the fraternity’s tambayan to ask for their side.

The fraternity members referred me to their legal representative “who could speak on their behalf.” The APB legal representative has not responded to my requests for interview.

I would like to emphasize that I have no intention of tainting the credibility of either fraternities or their members involved in the series of fraternity-related incidents, or even of the School of Economics Student Council.

Nonetheless, I am sincerely sorry that I was not able to interview Mr. Kehrl Reyes.

Truly yours, Keith Richard D. Mariano News writer, Philippine Collegian

c0ncepti0n, 2lad dn ng snbe n carmina villaruel kay rust0m padilla.) ayayay! 1116398 1st yr BS Chem ang sanhi ng hiwalayang kc-piolo ay walang iba kundi c gabby concepcion dahil mas bet talaga ni MAMA Piolo ang papa ni kc. Hahaha! 2008-04802 Ang masasabi ko lang sa hiwalayang KC-Piolo? "NGA-NGA!" .HOHOHO :)) For sure! Magsasalita rin si Piolo not in TV pero sa mga magazines man lang" 201178711 BSCD Naghiwalay si Papa P at KC dahil si Papa P ay TNL... TUNAY NA LALAKI ang hanap!!! 2011-11765 freshie bs-hrim naghiwalay sila kasi sa ibang parte ng katawan ginagamit ni piolo ang palmolive ni kc.tuwing magsshopping kasi si KC si Piolo pa unang nagsusuot ng mga dress e.

Haha o8-o7994 4th year BS ME Simple lang. Ang kanta ni KC, "Guess HE gave you things, I COULDN'T give to you." Eh, physiologic need din yun. 201081532 siguro kaya naghwalay si KC at piolo kasi naimbey na si kc sa pagjjoggng ni piolo sa up. Nagselos sa mga chixs sa up :Dhaha.

11-12331 Comments hello po! Gus2 q lng po snang magcomment s "Sa Kyusinero" ni Timothy Paul Escueta. I just wanna tell him na napakaswerte nya n meron syang isang kaibgan n gya nya...sna magkaroon dn aq ng ganyang frend. And nakakarelate dn aq s situation nya n gus2 nya ang isang guy pero may humahadlang sa kanilang dalawa. Mahirap malagay s ganyang situation, pero i know that he enjoys his friendship with his friend! Keep up the good work! 11-28662 BS Physics sa eksenang peyups, 11 minutes lang.

Hindi 15. 1118060 Tinamaan naman ako sa article na Sa Kusyinero ni Paul Escueta. Syet, sapul ako!

May halong kilig at sakit. Bakit nga kaya ganun ang buhay... Btw, More power to KULE! 1003779 delfin mercado! woooah ka talaga! :) fan girl na 'ko 0923492 3rdyr bs MatE Sa Minsan isang umaga ni Kat, ang wishful ng artik mo te. Sana nga talaga dumating tayo sa ganoon. -0700139 Nag aagree ako dun sa article ni Isabella Borlaza about STFAP. Sobrang nakakadiscourage nga mag apply dahil sa sandamakmak na requirements. Sabi pa sa'kin nung babae dun sa OSSS, "Bakit ka nag-aapply ng STFAP? Karamihan ng nag-aapply dito mayayaman at may kaya naman talaga magbayad. Yung mga tunay na mahihirap, hindi ma-grant kasi nagsasabi ng totoo, natatakot masuspend. Kung ako sa'yo, mag-apply ka na lang ng scholarship sa iba." 2009-22174 3rd year, BS IE Kudos to Paul! Sa Kyusinero was a great stimulus! Napaalala ang lahat ng sakit </3 Kule's getting all sappy (in a good way) these days. :-) 1078397 bakit wala na yung lucida sky? .. .nadisband na ba sla? .. .lol.. .sana ibalik.. .tsaka ang walang kwenta nung komiks na mang arni.. .sayang lang sa space at ink.

201149466 BS Lighter Mechanics :) Yellow KULE people! ^^. Keep up the good work! Inspire more and more youths!

More power and God bless! :) 2011-49371 BABE1b :P Astig ni Arroceros! Galing nea po magsulat. Saka ung komiks, funny. Haha.

Kool dn ung kyusinero. 11 36480 Nakarelate ako sa kyusinero! Lavet! :D 0840660 Educ

sobrang tawa ko sa komiks part. pantanggal stress. :-D 201026884 2ndBAA Panawagan Hi guys! I lost my book ‘Amapola sa 65 na Kab.’by Ricky Lee sa girls’CR sa CHK last Fri. 09261809095 text me if you have it. Pls. :( may sign kasi yun kaya super important. Thanks!

Pabati Magandang araw kule! Sana mabati ninyo ang mga forever alone kong kaibigan: madame, maica, micah, sam, rej.

Sana magkaboyfriend na sila! 10-52364 Gus2 q nga plang bumati s NIP tska syempre kay Gerardo "Jinggoy" Valmayor III! I always support ur team, jinggoy! Win or lose! Go azkals! Hahaha! 11-28662 BS Physics Hello sa UP Chess Team na nagttraining mabuti! Specially Lamiel! :D Galingan natin sa UAAP! <3 1004467

Next week’s Questions 1. Sumama ka ba sa camp-out sa Mendiola? Bakit o bakit hindi?

2. Anong masasabi mo sa malaking bituin ni Oble sa Quezon Hall?

09175312630

That the whole saga is unfolding before the public eye at a time when social media had enabled the unbridled sharing of opinion has, in so many ways, blown things out of proportion.

“To the fine antennae of public attention,” writes foremost queer theorist Eve Sedgwick, “the freshness of every drama of (especially involuntary) gay uncovering seems if anything heightened in surprise and delectability, rather than staled, by the increasingly intense atmosphere of public articulations of and about the love that is famous for daring not speak its name.”

And so while there may be undeniable strides in the way homosexuality is displayed and perceived, it doesn’t diminish the

‘The reign of telling secret’

All we need to know in this unfolding narrative are these: there was a crying girl, an ex-boyfriend, an emotional breakup. The girl, they say, is pretty, although a bit mannish, excused by the fact that she is cut from showbiz royalty.

The ex-boyfriend is the “ultimate heartthrob,” although whispers had long persisted that it’s not exactly vaginas he has been causing to throb.

Throw in a bespectacled host’s series of “deretsong tanong” on a lazy Sunday afternoon and we had the makings of a veritable Pinoy saga; one for the books, apparently, evidenced by the fact that it was inescapable, rivaling news of a former president who’s on the brink of incarceration and at one point becoming a trending topic on Twitter worldwide.

The implications of this saga are multifaceted, but the trajectory of the jokes that it birthed appears to be one-tracked. There is a reference to another actress, who married an actor who turned out not only gay but, some say, even prettier than her.

There is a joking speculation as to the heartthrob’s real motives, and some say he just wanted to get close to his ex-girlfriend’s goodlooking, if not morally ambiguous, father.

But outside good-natured Pinoy humor, the debacle revives age-old questions regarding the real state of the LGBT sector in the country. For while surely, “winning” the heartthrob to the gay cause might prove to be a step forward, the reaction that his potential outing spawned reveals that it isn’t as clear-cut as that.

Outside the glitz of showbiz, however, what steers the very premise of outing is heterosexism. Outing announces unequal power relations. To weaponize a potentially liberating act is premised on the belief that someone will fear

‘A defiant move’

But we simply don’t have the right to out other people, says J. Neil Garcia, UP professor and the renowned expert on queer theory.

“We need more masculine representations of gayness … to balance out the sissy stereotypes that local showbiz is constantly dishing out, but even then, or precisely here, the ethical question regarding outing remains utterly germane.”

“The wish, of course, is for more and more masculine gay men to come out on their own – in mass media, if possible, since its stereotype-countering effect will simply be more potent, by virtue of the nature of mass media themselves.

But we simply cannot out these guys.

They need to come out on their own.”

Tangentially, the particularity that the case brings to the discourse hinges on his construction as a “bankable actor” and the changes, if any, that his outing will result to. There are speculations, to cite, that while the ex-girlfriend’s tears were true, there was still an attempt at damage control, which explains why the interview was taped to begin with, contrary to how most sensational tell-all’s are conducted.

It is interesting, therefore, to note how mass media, while largely profitdriven and prone to typecasting, can in truth serve as a vital platform in which to break the stereotypes it had contributed to perpetrating to begin with.

Sadly, judging from the jokes in the aftermath of the interview, including all the name-calling and the homophobic slurs, our heartthrob is not breaking any stereotype. The stereotypes are instead being hurled pointblank against him.

‘On their own’

seductive nature of people being yanked out of the closet. In the case of our heartthrob, the idea of his outing seems utterly irresistible, at least judging from the rabid, almost vitriolic calls from all sides of cyberspace.

The mob-like desire has ready justifications, too: that, for one, he reduced his ex-girlfriend to tears on national television; and, two, that he is a public figure and therefore fair game for butchery and accusations.

*Apologies to J. Neil Garcia Sources: Hunter, Sky. Coming out and Disclosures, Routledge, 2007.

Sedgwick, Eve. Epistemology of the Closet, University of California Press, 1990.

being outed because it is a demotion, a downgrade. To threaten a public figure with being outed is to equalize homosexuality with the risk of utter downfall.

But voluntarily coming out of the closet, instead of being forced out of it, is a defiant move. It demonstrates a steadfast bravery that knowingly exposes one’s self to stigma. After all, outing demands resocialization; a paradigm shift from the “default” heterosexual identity with which everyone is raised. And so implicit in the act of coming out is the rejection of the ideology that posits the primacy of heterosexuality as the only acceptable orientation.

In the wild amalgam of public opinion, there are quarters who insist that the heartthrob’s sexuality should not be an issue at all: that it is irrelevant to who he is as a person. That may be true, and it probably is, but to end there is to ignore the larger issue with which the supposedly private love story is laced.

Because in our heartthrob’s case, coming out of the closet seems to offer very little incentive. Given the slightest chance at hating, there are those who pounce, instantly and with little deliberation. So for as long as people have a good reason for staying in the closet, we understand that our heartthrob will need to maintain his handsome silence. ●

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