The GUIDON - August 2016

Sanggunian joins Duyan ng Magiting, backs call against Marcos burial

“The Ateneo WAY” helps lessen Katipunan traffic, support from LS still needed

OrCom and TNT in open arms for smallest OrSem

Blue and Lady jins make their mark in international and local taekwondo scene

A fighting chance

NEWS, 2

NEWS, 4

NEWS, 5

SPORTS, 9

SPORTS, 11

T H E OF F ICI A L ST U DEN T PU BL IC AT ION OF T H E AT EN EO DE M A N I L A U N I V ER SI T Y VOL. LXXXVII, NO. 1 · AUGUST 2016

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SPORTS ASEAN University Games 2016 The 18th ASEAN University Games exposes Ateneo athletes to the international scene

BEYOND LOYOLA To protect and serve Once again, questions are being raised on the police’s commitment to human rights.

“IT’S NOT ENOUGH” IP groups decry student inaction on campus

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAIP

BY LIAM C. LU FEATURES Pokémon: The game of generations The nostalgic 90s video game classic is back, but with a more immersive dimension

INQUIRY Cura mentis Cura personalis is a call to address the social stigma attached to mental health care

OPINION A hero’s reckoning

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“It’s a shame.”

IN INTERVIEWS with the GUIDON, Coalition of Ateneans for Indigenous Peoples (CAIP) Head Dane Ancheta and Indigenous Peoples Advancement Advocacy Head of the Loyola Mountaineers (LM) Tristan Querol said that the Ateneo de Manila community is not doing enough to help address the plight of indigenous peoples (IPs) all over the country.

Ancheta said that the Ateneo rarely gets mobilized for IP issues except during extreme moments of crisis.

However, most of the time, there is little action done. “[Ateneans] get concerned when it’s something loud like the Kidapawan [massacre]…

Those are things that appeal to the feelings, and that’s what sells,” she said.

Last March 31, police in K idapawa n Cit y, Nor t h Cotabato fired repeatedly at a crowd of fa r mer s and Lumad, or IPs from Mindanao. The groups were gathered to seek remedy for the drought and famine in their lands. A total of three persons were killed, 87 went missing and 116 were injured in the incident.

“How long can you keep the feelings [of outrage]?

How long can you keep the attention? Do people have to die [to be given] attention?”

Ancheta said.

D u r i n g t he s e c a s e s , A nchet a sa id t hat t he current arrangement is not enough– help in times of crises provide temporary relief but do not drive at the heart of the problem. “[The issue facing the Lumad] is a n underlying problem that’s been

going on for the past 40 years, and these are just the little things that show up, and they get people’s feelings, but there really is an underlying problem,” Ancheta said.

STEERING THE COALITION

The CAIP, a coalition of students under the Sanggunian dedicated to the research on and support of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, was originally established as the Atenista Para sa mga Lumad as a way of addressing the inaction in the Ateneo de Manila University.

However, according to CA IP moderator M ichael Liberatore, the discourse su r rou nd i n g i nd igenou s peoples’ rights has been clouded by other interests.

“When you talk about the ‘IP agenda,’ it’s sometimes difficult to get at because it’s not always clear when there’s an IP agenda versus groups that are using IPs for their ideological agendas,” he said.

“There’s that challenge: is it the IP issue or is the IP issue being used?” he added.

Liberatore said further that CAIP means to “bring to the surface an honest look at what’s happening without deciding ahead of time what side we’re supposed to be on.”

Ancheta echoed Liberatore’s statements and said that the CAIP is only one of a few groups that engage in the issues of IPs in ways that help the Lumad people themselves, instead of being subservient to an ulterior motive.

“Nobody talks about [the Lumad]. If somebody talks about them, it’s because they have their agendas. They want to push their own political agendas. They [end up not] understanding or helping indigenous people at all, even sometimes to the extent of harming them,” said Ancheta.

However, Ancheta maintained that the CAIP remains a discursive organization and

that not all its members share the same views about IP issues but are given the opportunity to share them to the group.

“My opinions are not the same as my other members’ opinions because we’re different people. Even in [the CAIP], we have different [opinions], which is good because it’s not an echo chamber,” Ancheta said.

CAIP seeks ‘IP’ option on application forms

PROXIMIT Y PROBLEM

T H E C OA L I T IO N o f Ateneans for Indigenous Peoples (CAIP) is calling on the Office of Admissions a nd A id (OA A) for t he inclusion of an “IP option” in the application forms f or a d m i s sion t o t he Ateneo de Manila University.

However, Ancheta said that the root of the problem lie s in t he d iscon nec t between the Lumad community and the Ateneo de Manila University.

“There’s a lack of information that [Ateneans] can really rely on. [The Lumad] are really far away. We don’t really see ourselves working alongside them because of the distance: i n l a n g u a ge , [a nd i n other aspects],” she said.

Even in other organizations with IP rights advocacies, such as LM, the thrust is not pushed as much.

According to Querol, h is orga n i zat ion f ind s it hard to fight for the rights of IPs because of the lack of information available to them.

“We don’t even get news, and sometimes we doubt the sources that we get, kasi baka filtered na siya by government [apparatus], and usually kalaban ng IP is government or ‘yung mga businessmen,” Querol said. “[LM] is pretty quiet about it because we don’t know where to start,” he added.

He also said that most Ateneans live their lives in the Manila area and do not get to experience the lives of the indigenous peoples from the IT’S NOT ENOUGH › 3

BY LIAM C. LU

The CAIP proposed to include a category in the application form that will give indigenous peoples a chance to identify their status. The CAIP’s allies and partners, such as the L oyola Mou nt a ineer s, have expressed support for the measure.

According to CAIP Head Dane Ancheta, the Ateneo is currently not gathering data on IPs applying to the university. She said that the measure will allow for greater awareness of regional ethnic identity in the Ateneo de Manila community and will provide the university with relevant data regarding the IPs. She added that the addition of an option for IPs in the application form will aid in the safeguarding of minorities and their rights by providing proper representation of their identity and background.

“If you talk about Filipino people, you’re not talking about one group, you talk about everybody so it should be inclusive given that everybody should be represented,” she said.

POOREST OF THE POOR

According to Ancheta, the indigenous peoples, particularly the Lumad, indigenous people from Mindanao, are some of the most disadvantaged in the country.

She said that the Ateneo has the opportunity in helping them.

“Most indigenous groups are the poorest, therefore, there is not much opportunity. So I hope… maybe someday, maybe not now, maybe someday Ateneo would consider sending Lumad or indigenous people to school,” she said.

According to CAIP moderator Michael Liberatore, the Ateneo’s treatment of indigenous peoples is part of its mission in “nation-building.”

“I think the Ateneo has been clear that nation-building is a priority, the eradication of poverty. Certainly, marginalization and exclusion from society is a key part in the treatment of our IPs [in] the way their lands have been stolen, ways they have been put aside,” he said.

However, Liberatore said that the issue is intertwined with a broad set of social policies that the university must address in the aggregate.

“We can talk about the issues in isolation, but we’re talking about really how does the university position itself to kind of address a broad range of issues.

We talk about the idea of social ju st ice, we t a l k ab out nation-building, creating an CAIP SEEKS ‘IP’ OPTION › 3

2

News

HEROES HONORED. The lives of those lost to the Marcos regime are honored in the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City.

Sanggunian joins Duyan ng Magiting, backs call against Marcos burial

BY THEA A . SISCAR

IN SOLIDARITY with Duyan ng Magiting (Cradle of the Brave), Sanggunian released a statement expressing opposition to the burial of late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery), on July 16.

Duyan ng Magiting is a coalition against the burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

It aims to combat historical revisionism of the Martial Law in the long run.

Sanggunian Deputy for Advocacy Management Karin Bangsoy said that the stand meant to show support for Duyan ng Magiting after the Ateneo was invited to become part of the coalition.

Paeng David a nd Susa n Quimpo of the Martial Law Chronicles Project met with Atene o s t udent le a der s , faculty members, and administration staff to discuss t he obje c t ive s of D uya n ng M a g it ing on Ju ly 1 3.

Economics Assistant Professor Randy Tuaño, PhD, organized the meeting.

“From t hat meeting, we came up with a stand care of the Committee on Socio-Political Affairs ng Sanggunian and we published it along with an accompanying signature campaign in order to engage the [Loyola S c h o o l s] c o m m u n i t y,” Bangsoy said.

ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY

According to Bangsoy, there are already plans to hold the #BawatBato initiative inside the Ateneo within the first semester. #Bawat Bato is a nonpartisan initiative against the burial that involves stones

bearing the names of Martial Law victims.

“For now, coming from the stand and the signature campaign, it’s still very organic.

We’re just getting interested individuals and organizations.

Eventually, as more people get interested, we’re going to make it more concrete na may working core team,” she said.

Sanggunian Coordinator Carmela Vinzon added that the Sanggunian will try to get as much clamor as possible from students to stop the burial.

“We’re also in coordination with the [Council of Organizations of the Ateneo]. COA’s asking their different organizations to also create stands using the context of their advocacy,” she said.

The Duyan ng Magiting National Launch was originally set on July 19 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. However, the coalition wanted to weigh in on what President Rodrigo Duterte had to say about the issue in his first State of the Nation Address, so it was moved to a later date. A planning meeting attended by Vinzon and other organizations and individuals took place instead.

“A big portion of social media and general clamoring for anything comes from the youth and it is our responsibility as the student government of Ateneo to really be proper representatives of the youth,” she said.

“The youth are the most affected by revisionism… it is, therefore, our job as people who know of that fact to let them know the truth,” she added.

ON TRUTH-TELLING

Political Science Associate Professor Benjamin Tolosa Jr, PhD, said that one type of argument supporting the burial is the idea that “moving on” will

PHOTOS BY JEFF PASCUAL AND LIAM C. LU

promote healing. However, he is strongly against this.

“I think the argument there is that you cannot have healing if it’s based on a lie,” he said. “I think, in all places where there have been efforts of healing, it has to do with truth-telling.”

Tolosa emphasized that Marcos being buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on the grounds of being a soldier is not an option since Marcos’ claims on his leadership of the guerrilla force “Ang Mga Maharlika” during the Japanese occupation have already been disproved.

Moreover, Tolosa noted that the human rights victims and the people killed during the Martial Law are reason enough to not proceed with the burial.

“The point is, there is a historical record that has to be confronted, so this is not just a question about your opinion of Marcos or your opinion about the Martial Law. There is a historical record and you can actually check the facts,” he said.

Similarly, History Assistant Professor Jo-Ed Tirol, PhD, said that the burial is unacceptable because Marcos’ negative legacy could still be felt today through the ta xes being collected to pay for his debt instead of being channeled to government services.

“He doesn’t belong there,” he said. “I would say he violated our laws, violated our dignity, and in many ways, violated our future. If they want to rename the cemetery to ‘Libingan ng mga Bayani and others’ or ‘Libingan ng mga Bayani at Pumapatay ng mga Bayani,’ then go ahead, put him there.”

According to Tirol, a History elective called “On the Martial Law and Memory,” will be offered during the second semester of this academic year. He will be the

moderator, but there will also be guest speakers on how the Martial Law affected media, economy, politics, and the arts.

“When I teach, I tell my students that it’s not enough to study the narrative; we have to understand what we study, how we study, why we study, because what we remember and how we remember says so much about us,” he said.

“If we forget, look how close we were to Bongbong [former Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.] winning. Imagine if he won, imagine what he would have wanted done to the memory of Martial Law,” he added.

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

Tuaño said that even though the youth did not get to see or experience the Martial Law for themselves, they should still get to know the real events that had transpired for the memory of Martial Law to live on.

“Ultimately, [the youth] will be the ones who will make their own views on the Martial Law and what they generate will be very important. They will be writing the text books of the future and teaching the students,” he said.

David, who is also the Akbayan Youth Chair, says that it is important for the youth to get to know the stories of the past, actively take part in the discussion, and continue the fight against revisionism.

“The bottom line is, this is our generation now, we’re not just witnessing history or reading about history in the books, it’s actually an opportunity for us to make history ourselves. But what history will that be?” she said.

“I think it’s about time that we come together and collectively decide what the story, what the narrative of our generation would be,” she added.

EDITOR: LIAM C. LU · LAYOUT ARTIST: DIANA F. DAVID

3

“It’s not enough” ‹1

far-flung provinces of the country.

Liberatore said further that Ateneans are unable to understand these IP issues except through a lens of urban “Manila-centrism.”

“One of the great struggles, especially with IP issues is that we talk about the Manila-centric approach and the way that Manila is always the center of focus, and yet, so many of our IP groups are in marginal places. It becomes easy to focus on the Manila issues first, then think about the other ones later,” he said.

MOVING FORWARD

In light of this, Ancheta said that she hoped to create linkages between members of indigenous g roups and the Ateneo de Manila c o m m u n i t y. S h e s a i d that the CAIP not only works with indigenous groups, but also considers them as friends and partners.

“Kami, we ju s t don’t work w it h t hese people; we’re actually friends with them. We build relationships when they come here [to the Ateneo,] we welcome them,” she said.

She said that continuous and sustained engagement with the Sanggunian and the larger Ateneo community is necessary in order to communicate the objectives of the CAIP and other IP rights advocacies. As a task force of the Sanggunian, t he CA IP a nswers to the main organs of the student government. “[The Sanggunian] is very much suppor tive of us... but they’re also busy fixing

their internal arrangements.

Given their [ex t ra work load], t hey [rema in] suppor tive of the group.

We keep them updated … that’s how everyone’s in line with our objectives,” she said.

Despite this, Ancheta said that there remains a responsibility for students to act out the Atenean principles of service.

“We’re men and women for others, [and] we should be the first ones to speak out if something’s wrong because we are in the position to [do so]. We’re in Manila. People listen to us. For IPs, they don’t have much of a loud voice because it’s always muff led by other groups,” she said.

Liberatore said that the indigenous peoples should not be disregarded, as they hold particular significance to the lives of Filipinos in the present day.

“We annihilate parts of ourselves, I think, when we assassinate others. There’s a self-annihilation that comes into [disregarding IPs], and a loss of traditions t hat help us to see [the world] more broadly,” he said.

For Querol, it rema ins important for Ateneans to learn about IP issues and current events.

“Read up. Research. Just know. It’s a complex thing– it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “Marami diyang magkakasalungat na maririnig kayo because not all sources are credible. (You will hear a lot of conf licting information because not all sources are credible).”

PERILOUS STATE. Lumad

communities and other farmers in Mindanao face a scarcity of rice.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAIP

CAIP seeks ‘IP’ option ‹1

inclusive society that’s about human flourishing and respecting the dignity,” he said.

CATCHING UP

However, Ancheta said that the Ateneo de Manila has yet to follow the example of other institutions of higher learning with identification programs for IPs. “Indigenous people’s groups, no. I know [the University of the Philippines] has and Ateneo de Davao has. They have, but [in Ateneo], no,” she said.

According to Indigenous

Peoples Advocacy Head of Loyola Mountaineers (LM) Tristan Querol, they want to model the Ateneo’s program on the comprehensive programs of the University of the Philippines (UP). “‘Yung plan niya is mostly to make it how UP recognizes the identity of the student being a katutubo or an IP, so gusto niya sana nga ganon dito mangyari.

(Their plan is mostly to make it how UP recognizes the identity of the student being a native or an IP, so hopefully the same is replicated in the Ateneo),” said Querol.

Querol said that indigenous peoples are more free to express their ethnic identity in UP, especially when compared to the Ateneo.

“I have friends na Igorot here in school and you wouldn’t know until they tell you. I don’t think they’re ashamed of it, it’s just that they don’t have a venue to express their identity as an IP,” he said.

“I mean, no one talks about it here so why bother expressing it? So kailangan siguro ng avenue for them to want to express their identity,” he added.

BROAD SUPPORT

A ncheta sa id t hat t he OAA has been supportive of the measure and is working keenly with members of the CAIP in the effort. “[OA A Director Jumela Sarmiento] is very much open to it. We always talk to her actually. The only problem is like status quo, like how will we fit this here [on this] paper.

It’s not a problem, it’s just a matter of time,” Ancheta said.

She said that with the current pace, they are likely to roll out the new application forms by next year.

According to Liberatore, measures like this are steps towards further involvement in the IP rights issues.

“The fact that we have a group like CAIP that’s working on [IP rights], to try to bring voice to some of these things.

I think it shows that number one, there’s a lot of work to be done. But there are also people who have been touched, who want to deal with these issues so there must be some discourse going on that helps to give them voice and enables them to have responses to that,” he said.

For Querol, he said that partner organizations will remain supportive of the initiative, and will continue to fight for IP rights advocacies.

“For LM, to be honest, underdeveloped din ‘yung IP advocacy niya. We really want to push for it kasi LM goes out [into IP communities]. Sila ‘yung may potential na lumabas to the rural areas to those places I was talking about to actually develop that passion to do something,” he said.

The OAA was not available for comment at this time.

4

News

“The Ateneo WAY” helps lessen Katipunan traffic, support from the LS still needed

BY MICHELLE P. ABAD AND BEA P. SANTIANO

AN INITIATIVE to address the traffic congestion experienced inside the Ateneo campus and along Katipunan avenue has led to the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Ateneo and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to launch The Ateneo WAY (Wa la ng Aber ya ng Yayanig sa Biyaheng Ateneo).

Since its implementation on June 21, the Campus Safety and Mobility Office (CSMO) and the MMDA have already noticed improvements in the Katipunan traffic.

Although there have been changes in the mobility along Katipunan Avenue, Office of Student Services Director Michael Jacinto Mallillin said that decreasing traffic within the campus, particularly in the high school area, remained difficult due to the increase of students with the K-12 program.

“Nadagdag dun sa area nila ‘yung two year levels so nagcongest ‘yung high school. (The two year levels were added to their area which led to the congeswtion in the high school),” he said.

Initially, the shuttle services were for the use of Ateneo high school students and faculty members, but it has also become available to the Loyola Schools community as of June 28, according to a memo released by University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ. NATURE AND OBJECTIVES

Mallillin said that the main objective is to drastically cut down the number of vehicles entering the school.

“That’s the concern that they are addressing. Kailangan natin talaga maghanap ng way na we can really trim down the number of vehicles (That’s the concern that they are addressing. We really need to find a way to trim down the number of vehicles),” he said.

According to CSMO Director Marcelino Mendoza, they “chose the nearest location going to the University without having to pass along the stretch of Katipunan Road from White Plains to Commonwealth. With the Ateneo as reference, [we determined] a North hub (UP Ayala Technohub), South hub (Temple Drive) and an East hub (SM Marikina).”

Students have the option to choose one of the departure times: 6:30 AM and 6:45 AM for high school students and 7:15 AM for Loyola Schools students at all stations.

The target passengers of The Ateneo WAY are students who ride as single passengers in private vehicles, since the abundance of a one-studentper-car scenario worsens the traffic in front of the campus especially in the morning.

According to Mendoza, the shuttle service is free of charge for the duration that they are experimenting to find the best possible rate.

“G u s t o namin yung pinakamababang rate para maging successful itong system (We want the lowest possible rate to make this system successful),” he said.

SHUTTLE IMPACT

While The Ateneo WAY invoked some positive initial feedback, Mendoza said that direct effects towards the

traffic congestion have yet to be gauged further, especially since there are more members of the Ateneo community who will be able to avail of these services in the coming regular semesters. According to Mendoza, the MMDA has reported a lightening of traffic in the morning, but consistency has yet to be checked until the first regular semester of the upcoming school year.

Despite the positive feedback, Mallillin shared that the number of students patronizing the shuttle service still remains low. For the month of July, an average of only 170 riders have been recorded daily.

FUTURE PLANS

Mallillin shared that the Ayala Malls have shown their interest to cooperate with the shuttle service, which led to the possibility of adding more hub locations, such as in Alabang Town Center, Fairview Terraces, and Market! Market! in Taguig.

According to Mendoza, the CSMO plans to “reassess hub locations, schedule of pickup and drop-off hubs, shuttle bus capacity, security plan, projected trip fare, etc.”

Aside from this, there is another shuttle service being planned called u-Hop, a pointto-point shuttle service. “It’s very flexible, you can change the time of day [to be picked up]. But it is an actual service that the school is contracting with. It’s like carpool that’s organized every day. It has that convenience,” Mallillin said.

However as of now, these plans are still being discussed and the main objective is still to spread the word out about the Ateneo WAY. Mendoza, Mallillin, and Villarin have all expressed the great need of the support and patronage of the whole Ateneo community. According to Mendoza, CSMO is “working on an effective information drive to entice the members of the community to join the shuttle service program,” but support and participation will be necessary.

Ma llillin expressed the hope that should the program be promoted well enough, more people would patronize it.

“We really want to market it to the LS students para ‘yong second and third trip mapupuno rin. (We really want to market it to the LS students so that the second and third trips become fully loaded as well),” he said, adding that too little are availing of the service and those managing it are not serving as many as they could be.

Villarin also stated in his memo his appeal for the “patience, sense of citizenship and compassion, active participation, and creativity of the university community.”

Like Mendoza, he also urged everyone “to participate in this program and be part of the solution to our traffic congestion problem.”

The MMDA estimates that with the implementation of this system, 400 cars will be decreased from the number of vehicles that pass through Katipunan Avenue every morning. They also encourage other institutions to adapt the same system.

QUOTA UNMET. Voter turnout failed to meet this year’s quota of the Sanggunian’s Freshmen and Special Elections.

PHOTOS BY JANINE TORRE

Baybayin joins COA as 53rd accredited org

BY LIAM C. LU

THE COUNCIL of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) just got a little bigger.

In a Facebook post shared on May 25, COA announced the inclusion of Baybayin into the council as its 53rd official member. Prior to this, the Filipino advocacy group had been a part of the League of Independent Organizations, a coalition of unaccredited orgs in the Ateneo.

Founded in 2014, Baybayin is a Filipino-lang uage organization that seeks to advance interests of Filipino heritage in the Ateneo community. According to Baybayin moderator Michael Coroza, the inclusion of Baybayin in COA will allow a greater voice for a local Filipino culture that has yet to appreciated by the larger Ateneo populace.

“Hindi masyadong nahahalagahan ang m araming a spekto ng kulturan g P ilipino sa pangkahalatan (A lot of aspects in Filipino culture are not valued by the Atenean community),” Coroza said.

He asserts that there is a need to look back at the legacy of Filipino culture to better grasp the current situation and shape the outlook for the future. Baybayin aims to remind Ateneans of this legacy as well as the legacy of the

Filipino people, which Coroza believes must extend beyond beyond classroom walls.

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

Coroza a lso sa id t hat Baybayin is in a unique position to introduce Ateneans to the larger Philippine society.

“Kasi marami naman sa ating kasama sa komunidad ay ang kalagayan sa buhay ay medyo angat, hindi rin nakakatapak sa lupa minsan, kaya sa isang banda, ang Baybayin pwede maghatak sa kanila para tumapak sa lupa (Because a lot of the members in our community are more privileged, they are not able to step into the lives of the less advantaged and that is what Baybayin can do – bring them down to earth),” he said.

Current Baybayin President Marc Vanguardia echoed Coroza’s statements and said that Filipino culture serves as a sort of bridge that connects Filipinos from all walks of life. He said that when he first entered Ateneo, he encountered a culture shock that made his Ilocano “probinsyano” upbringing seem incompatible with the Manila lifestyle.

However, he said that Baybayin helped him acclimatize to college life through Filipino culture.

Vanguardia shared that it was through the organization that he was able to meet people from different ethnic and language groups. He then realized that this was how they could all come together as one family, under the banner of Filipino culture.

CULTURAL MELTING POT

Moreover, Vanguardia said that Filipino culture serves as a sort of melting pot that brings together discrete elements of local heritage as well as foreign influences.

“Pinakita sa akin ng Baybayin na ‘yung kulturang Pilipino mas dynamic siya, at multifaceted. Hindi siya ‘yung tumitigil lamang sa iisang lebel ng kultura.

Nandito ang pag-assimilate din natin ng kultura ng iba (Baybayin showed me that Filipino culture is dynamic and multifaceted.

It doesn’t stop at a single level because it involves our assimilation of other cultures),” he said.

Vanguardia explained that instead of seeing Filipino culture as an imitation of foreign influences, it should be seen as something entirely new that adds to the complexity of Filipino culture.

“Mayroon tayong sariling pagbabago na dinadagdag doon, at pagkatapos noon, hindi lang siya bagay na hiniram, kundi bagay na inangkin na rin natin. (We make our own changes to the cultural influences we receive that adds to the original source.

Thus, we just don’t borrow foreign cultures, but we make it our own),” he said.

According to Baybayin Executive Vice President Johann Capugan, these aspects of Filipino culture are what makes it so important to Ateneans.

“Isa kami sa mga taga-preserba ng kulturang Pilipino na admist sa nangyayaring pagbabago

SOLUTION TO TR AFFIC WOES? MMDA and the Ateneo collaborate in organizing free shuttle bus rides to the Ateneo campus to alleviate traffic in the area.

PHOTO BY JANINE TORRE

sa mundo, kami ang tatapik sa balikat ng mga Atenista at sasabihing pakinggan ang kulturang Pilipino (We are one of the caretakers of Filipino culture amidst the changes across the world. We are the ones to remind Ateneans to listen to and appreciate our local culture),” he said.

AN UPHILL BATTLE

Now that Baybayin is an accred ited orga n izat ion, Capugan said that Baybayin will get straight to work for their advocacy.

“Aminin namin, lagi kaming ambisyoso (I’ll admit, we’re always ambitious),” he said.

According to Vanguardia, the accreditation is one step in Baybayin further achieving its goals of raising awareness of Filipino culture and heritage.

“Magkakaroon kami ng f unding, m a gk ak ar o on kami ng org room, mas magkakaroon kami ng avenues for dissemination and discourse with regards to Filipino culture.

(We’ll have funding, an org room, and we’ll have more avenues for dissemination and discourse with regards to Filipino culture),” he said.

“Ang end goal naman namin ay magkaroon ng Ateneans na culturally sensitive at culturally aware at culturally passionate when it comes to Filipino. (Our end goal is to make Ateneans culturally sensitive, aware, and passionate when it comes to Filipino),” he added.

The GUIDON August 2016

5

PHOTO ESSAY

OrCom and TNT in open arms for smallest OrSem

BY MICHELLE D. ABAD PHOTOS BY JANINE TORRE AND CHESTER B. TAN

PREPARATIONS FOR the Orientation Seminar (OrSem): Sibol are in full swing as the event draws nearer.

OrSem is a tradition of the Ateneo which aims to welcome and orient every batch of new freshmen into the university. The preparations are handled by the OrSem Organizing Committee (OrCom), who plan and manage the overall event, and the Talks n’ Tours (TNT), who personally facilitate the activities and interact with the freshmen as they meet their blocks and are welcomed into the Ateneo.

According to OrSem Chair Ymara Yap, there are 1,507 confirmed students for this year’s batch of freshmen. This is a significantly smaller amount of freshmen compared to last year’s batch of roughly 2,600 students.

BEHIND THE THEME

When deciding on the theme, the OrCom chose the name “Sibol,” a Tagalog word for “growth,” in order to encapsulate what they believe could best summarize the OrSem experience.

“We think that the best way we could give the freshies a memorable experience is if we look back at what touched us in our own [OrSem]. ‘Pagsibol’ or ‘to grow’ is something you do continuously and I think it’s one of the best words to describe your journey here in Ateneo,” shared Yap. “ The message of ‘Sibol’ actually works for everyone, even the volunteers. You see your growth throughout the years,”

she added. “That’s something we want to tell them: na tuloytuloy lang ‘yung pagsibol (That’s something we want to tell them: that growth is something that happens continuously).”

PREPARING MORE FOR LESS

In welcoming the smallest batch of freshmen, some adjustments by the OrCom and TNTs had to be made in accordance with logistics, volunteer recruitment, and budget matters.

According to TNT Core member Jason Tan, the adjustments were both difficult and beneficial due to their logistical impacts.

“The adjustments were quite worrisome because we have been used to handling more than 2,000 freshmen each year.

At the same time, we’re also excited because they gave room for convenience, since it would be easier to move less people around,” he said.

On the other hand, OrSem Vice Chair Mais Bunag said that much had to be done to achieve the desired budget.

“We had to cut down on expenses, make compromises, and nagkaroon kami ng maraming meetings. We had to be resourceful to make sure na maganda pa rin ang OrSem kahit na mas kaunti ang budget (We had to cut down on expenses, make compromises, and we held a lot of meetings about it. We had to be resourceful to make sure that OrSem would still be great even with a smaller budget),” she said.

FOR THE FRESHIES. Orsem volunteers meet in the LS Covered Courts to hold final preparations for the 2016 Orsem Sibol.

PASSION TO INSPIRE GROWTH

O-KITS GALORE. Volunteers help pack o-kits to welcome freshmen into the Ateneo.

Despite the significant decrease in the number of freshmen, the preparing committees retain their passion to warmly welcome them into the Ateneo.

Yap observed that all the volunteers exhibited the Atenean value of magis through their keenness to welcome the freshmen. “ Yo u really see the overwhelming amount of supp or t , passion and commitment that the volunteers pour out for OrSem. When asked why they volunteered again, they said that they wanted to love again. It sheds an idea that you can do more, be more, and love more, which is basically our Atenean value of magis,” she said.

Meanwhile, af ter three nonstop days of training, TNT Core member Anna Roxas fondly reflects on the unique kind of love the TNTs give to the freshmen. “[ The TNTs] practice a different kind of love and giving; one that transcends the need for familiarity. This love makes them work hard – in knowing historical, geographical, and general facts about Ateneo, in dancing day ‘til night, in smiling even during the toughest times,” she said.

Lastly, Bunag hopes that the freshmen will still be able to have the full experience of OrSem despite its being the smallest to date.

“For me, size doesn’t matter.

Despite ever y thing being smaller, I want to make sure that the freshmen still receive the welcome that I received. Today’s best can be better tomorrow, as growth is a continuous process of achieving more,” she said.

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Opinion

VOLUME LXXXVII, NO. 1 AUGUST 2016

The GUIDON Founded 1929 by Rev. Frank O’Hara, SJ First Editor-in-Chief, Manuel C. Colayco, AB ‘30 PURPOSE

To serve as a record of Ateneo history in the making; to serve as an organ of journalistic expression; to serve God and country.

Frances Christine P. Sayson, AB LIT (ENG) ‘17 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Katrina Ysabelle G. Pimentel, BS CTM ‘17 ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Alfonso Miguel N. Sevidal, BS ME ‘17 MANAGING EDITOR

Nicolina G. Solinap, BFA ID ‘17 DESIGN EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Liam Calvin C. Lu, AB EC ‘18 NEWS EDITOR

Beatrice Lauren T. Go, BS MGT ‘17 SPORTS EDITOR

ILLUSTRATION BY JILL T. ARTECHE

Robbin Charles M. Dagle, AB COM ‘18 BEYOND LOYOLA EDITOR

Adrian M. Goh, BS ME ‘18 FEATURES EDITOR

Rachel Esmeralda Gabrielle O. Lombos, BS ME ‘17 INQUIRY EDITOR

Angela Carmela R. Natividad, BFA CW ‘16/AB PH ‘17 Danielle Clarice D. Reyes, BS LFSCI ‘18 VANTAGE EDITORS

Gabrielle Therese R. Mesina, BFA ID ‘18 Patrick T. Ong, BS MAC ‘18 PHOTOS EDITORS

Diana F. David, BFA ID ‘18 Clarissa Joyce R. Gorreon, BFA ID ‘17 GRAPHIC DESIGN EDITORS

Margarita Claudette V. Chuatico, AB COM ‘17 Miguel Antonio S. Murga, BS MGT ‘17 VIDEO PRODUCTION EDITORS

Carlos Alberto L. Arcenas, BSMS CS ‘19 DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR

Jamie Lucille C. Catanes, BS LM ‘17 TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Andrea Coleen V. Tubig, BFA CW ‘17 EXTERNALS MANAGER

Briane B. Dela Peña, AB COM ‘18 Janine Ysabel B. Peralta, AB SOS ‘17 SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS

NEWS Michelle P. Abad, Bea P. Santiano, Thea A. Siscar SPORTS Cedric B. Teng Ampo; Editorial Assistant, Carlos H. Cruz, Jamie S. Katigbak, Chino D. Reyes, Colin C. Salao, Vincent D. Soliven BEYOND LOYOLA Janelle H. Paris; Editorial Assistant, JC A. Beltran, Maxine A. Buenaventura, Sean S. Chingkaw, Abelardo M. Torio FEATURES Saffi C. Arcenas; Editorial Assistant, Andrew D. Cambri, Patricia A. Dy, Celine D. Natividad INQUIRY Nio B. Atrigenio; Editorial Assistant, Manuel M. Aldeguer, Joaquin B. Jacinto, Jairus I. Paul VANTAGE MAGAZINE Carlito O. Mortel and Maia R. Puyat; Editorial Assistants, Ching M. Balina, Luisa C. Jocson, Franco M. Luna PHOTOS Jeff Pascual; Editorial Assistant, Justin C. Ang, Jill R. Chan, Gabby F. Jimenez, Twinkle R. Liboon, Chester B. Tan, Janine Torre GRAPHIC DESIGN Jill T. Arteche; Editorial Assistant, Antonette A. Amoncio, Colleen P. De Luna, Meg F. Villena DIGITAL MEDIA Lorenzo G. Orbeta, Editorial Assistant; Ian De La Cruz, Leina R. Santiago TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT Hannah Guinto, Trisha Lim EXTERNALS Javier A. Serrano, Managerial Assistant; Shaira C. Co

Ruel S. De Vera MODERATOR

For comments, suggestions and contributions, email

desk@theguidon.com

Drive the discussion.

A hero’s reckoning We are raised to know heroes.

Rizal, who is considered by many to be the ultimate figure, brilliant and passionate, enigmatic and yet clearly Filipino— the First Filipino, one might say.

Bonifacio was fiery and valiant, pounding to the forefront of nationalism with his tenacity and wielded bolo. Aguinaldo was controversial, but ultimately the one who held the flag in his hands and, for better or for worse, tried to lead a newborn nation. Antonio Luna had his good intentions and raging spirit, but was misunderstood in his obstinacy. The list goes on, nebulous and sometimes filled with more questions than answers, but there we have it.

We are raised to remember

heroes. Some of their names are on our streets and in our textbooks, in our provinces and schools. When we speak of heroes and heroism, we remember the virtues of brilliance and valor, of patriotism and an unceasing fight for justice, truth, and freedom. When we speak of heroes, we think of people, dead or alive, who had a measure of power and used it well, who fought with what they had for a greater good.

Yet, the notion of heroism is inevitably pegged with ambiguity. Heroes are people, after all, with all the flaws and foibles intrinsic to being human.

We have heard the stories, in varying degrees of veracity— Rizal was a womanizer and

impossibly elitist; Bonifacio had unrealistic ideals and a lack of diplomatic or tactical skill; Aguinaldo was power-hungry and had Bonifacio killed; Luna was too proud; and even the statesmen like Quezon, Roxas, and Quirino have been accused of corruption. There is no universal list of qualities or requirements that conclusively and clearly determine the validity of an individual’s heroism. Even the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the national final resting place of heroes, stands by a careful list of positions and designations, not qualities of heroism, to determine who can rest in its grounds.

Heroism is quite clearly a construct, a notion to be negotiated

by nations and individuals. To determine heroism, one has to contend with the facts and fictions that undeniably shape perceptions. One has to sift through narratives and see if, for better or for worse, an individual can be accorded the title of hero, to be placed alongside those whose names we teach children.

For every monument to courage, there are corresponding heroic deeds: Along with these, the changes they brought about. Each event existed in the pulsating, colourful history of the Philippine islands; we measure them by the lives they’d changed, those they helped and hurt.

It is not enough to say that someone has stood among

soldiers, has accolades to his name. Bravery is weighed against the suffering one has inflicted, the injustices one has committed. Acts do not exist in a vacuum.

We are raised to celebrate heroes. On the last Monday of every August, we honor our national heroes, without whom our country would be unimaginably different. Though every year, the date changes, the day and its celebrations are constant. In the same way, we should scrutinize the past, reject the rose-colored glasses and simplicity of narrative our childhood textbooks provide. In doing this, we see the stark humanity of our heroes, how their humanity led them to greatness.

in this war against crime and drugs. We—Ateneans, the comfortable and privileged, the middle and upper class— do not stand where they stand.

We do not have equal chances of being shot in our own homes.

The alleged drug pushers being gunned down—they live in environments different from ours. They know realities different from the ones we do.

True, our corpses may carry the cardboard next, but it is the corpses of the vulnerable who will. We might feel afraid— we should—but we must not pretend that the danger looms above our heads. It does not have to for it to be dangerous.

We do not have to be dying in this bloodbath for the dead to be important.

We start by acknowledging our privilege and using this platform to cast light on the killings. Our privilege makes it easy for us to appropriate issues like they victimize us more than anyone else. What we miss when we say, “I could be next” is the reality of the countless people who are already dead, and the reality that they are different from the “I”s that we know. They were poor. We face that fact.

We grieve for them, but we must realize that the fear their passing has left behind in us is secondhand. We are insulated from the violence that they experience. We are more effective using our privilege to speak out against the injustice that the poor experiences, not making this issue to be about us.

It matters that so many have been killed already. So many are already dead. It matters that most of the dead are poor.

We do not have to be looking for ways to include ourselves in this narrative to be enraged. So many have had their dignity, choices, and lives stolen from them. We already have plenty to be angry about. We must act on that instead.

BLUE JEANS

Of pivot, privilege, and passing

BY MINT A. MARQUEZ

It is 2016 and blood runs down the streets. There are dead bodies where stray dogs used to lie. We step under the sun with this new fear in our stomachs, this foreign hyperawareness that I could be next. But, most likely, you won’t be.

Online, middle to upper class Filipinos have taken to the strand of this conversation that declares, “Anyone could be next.

I could be next.” While this fear is real and valid, it misses the point of the tragedy of the situation in which we find ourselves.

Opinions about this matter are at the extremes: “You have no reason to be scared if you’re not doing anything wrong” or “I am so scared that it could happen to me.” Both arguments rest on the premise that one must be directly implicated in an issue for it to matter to them, when this should not be the case.

This war against drugs is not one waged against us.

The profile of the average drug-pushing suspect who is gunned down: Male, young, poor. “Poor” is what is left out of their narrative. “Poor” has always been what is left out of

the narrative that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has been spinning about drugs and crime.

This is not to say that the middle or upper class do not experience addiction or do not push drugs themselves.

Peter Lim, an affluent Cebuano businessman, is one of three suspected big-time drug lords in the country. However, after Lim’s recent meeting with the Pres.

Duterte, Philippine National Police Chief Bato dela Rosa said they didn’t have enough evidence to prove Lim’s alleged crimes. “Intelligence reports don’t hold water in court,” he said, as Philippine Daily Inquirer recounted. Additionally, in July, five out of six high-end Makati subdivisions did not allow police to enter to conduct searches for drug users and pushers.

Lim had the means to meet with the head of state—the poster child of vigilantism and executions—and came out of it unscathed, no pouring blood, no broken bones. But criminology student and scholar Jefferson Bunuan, 20 years old, was shot in his sleep for being under the same roof as his cousin who happened to be a suspect of drug pushing. Bunuan had no previous criminal records,

no whispers of suspicion to his name. There is a world of difference between these two cases, and it becomes apparent if you ask yourself: Would the good president have spared Lim a minute of his time if he had dressed in rags?

Hypothetically, anyone could be next. People have lost faith in the judicial process, and Pres. Duterte and the state police have empowered just about every gun-wielding person in the country to take matters into their own hands.

It is now so much more plausible that you could be killed.

However, we do not look like we fit the profile of a drug pusher. Many of us come from families of means. We live in safe places. Our gated subdivisions protect us; our curated wardrobes betray our economic status. We have never known what it is like to skirt around the law to get by. We can afford good lawyers.This does not mean that we cannot or will not get shot at, but it does mean that we have to change the way we approach this issue.

To say “anyone could be next” is to ignore that the poor are inordinately targeted

Mint A. Marquez (AB Political Science ‘17) is currently the Solicitor General of USAD as well as the Vice President for Research and Advocacy of The Ateneo Assembly.

If you would like to contribute to Blue Jeans and Chalkmarks, e-mail your entry to desk@theguidon. com. Entries should be no longer than 3,200 characters with spaces.

The GUIDON August 2016

Denouement FRANCES P. SAYSON

A burial of memory “He is qualified to be buried there,” said President Rodrigo Duterte during a press conference when he approved the burial of former president Ferdinand Marcos inthe Libingan ng mga Bayani. “If other Filipinos don’t want that, fine.”

As much as his words rang with his trademark petulance,

Padayon ROBBIN M. DAGLE

Salvage To many English speakers, the word salvage rings a hopeful tone.

It is best used when describing the act of saving, amidst a seemingly hopeless situation.

But for Filipinos, salvage­—a word that closely resembles the Spanish “salvaje” or savage—has a more negative connotation. When one is “salvaged,” it means that the person was brutally killed— savaged­—by summary execution.

Open Society LIAM C. LU

In defense of national defense A few months back, I came across a tweet that read: “third world country pero mas malaki ang allocation ng budget sa militar kaysa sa DOH. only in the Philippines.” It was a stunning rebuke to the wastefulness of our government, if only it were true.

In the national budget for 2016, defense spending totaled Php 117.52 B, compared to the

Lalochezia

PATRICK T. ONG

Trapped in traffic CNN Philippines hosted the country’s first and only vice presidential debate last April 10 at the University of Santo Tomas. While the candidates debated over many current issues, I couldn’t help but draw my attention to the segment wherein the candidates were told to propose solutions to resolve the country’s worsening traffic situation. According to social news network Rappler, all six candidates for the vice presidency had similar proposals to fix the worsening traffic problem in the Philippine capital region.

As someone who drives to school, I get my fair share of Katipunan traffic. I’ve had to weave between cars just to get to school on time, while cursing at how unpredictable the traffic situation often gets. As I recall listening to their solutions, many of the candidates said that their answer to the problem was to boost rural development and improve mass transit.

7

there is much to fear in them.

The figure of Ferdinand Marcos is conflicted – greedy tyrant on one hand, statesman of progress on another.

It is divisive, tearing the nation between his loyalists and the victims of his regime. Even thirty years since his ouster, the remnants of his regime remain powerful, painful, and sometimes puzzling.

History is a tortuous terrain, a f ter a l l, nav igated in different ways that yield the messy patchwork of memory.

Some remember the era as progressive and glamorous, others remember the fear and terror, and for unfortunate thousands, there are the

memories of abuse and oppression.

But there are a number of facts that have been established, figures that are verified, and testimonies that cannot be ignored.

During the Marcos regime, there were more than 3,000 extrajudicial killings, over 35,000 torture victims, and at least 70,000 detentions, according to historian Alfred McCoy. The media was censored heavily and democracy was at a standstill.

The regime is also responsible for instilling a lasting oligarchy that would go on to wreak havoc on the economy, deprive millions through taxes and levies, and gift a select few with untold, almost

indeterminable wealth. Illegal assets worth at USD 32 billion are still unrecovered and hidden wealth between USD 5 B and USD 10 B is still missing.

The list can be endless. The regime of Ferdinand Marcos, beyond the inescapable terror wrought on the lives of thousands, is responsible for lasting legacies of economic destruction and a culture of impunity.

It is inconceivable how such a man can be qualified to join the ranks of heroes who helped in shaping and defending the nation whose future his regime brought to ruin.

He is not a hero, not to the thousands whose lives were scarred and trampled and

certainly not to the millions who se f ut u re s a re now marked by lost possibilities and the consequences of unacceptable greed.

To bury him among heroes is an affront to true heroes. To accord him the rights reserved for heroes is an insult to the thousands who were cruelly stripped of their rights to life and liberty under his rule. To let him rest with the honor of the Libingan ng mga Bayani disenfranchises the memories of those who died, ending and failing what had been their mission to bring down the dictatorship.

When President Duterte not only condones, but also supports this move, he implicitly expresses that it is acceptable to

disregard the lives and memories of thousands who have not received their due justice for the sake of technicalities and political loyalty. He expresses that heroism can rest on the positions one occupied in life, not in true acts of change and sacrifice for the good of the nation.

With his position of power and undeniable popularity, the President holds an alarming influence in altering perspectives, thus laying the groundwork for more forgetting, more disenfranchising, while delaying and diminishing the possibility of justice and forgiveness.

And that is far from “fine.”

This meaning became prevalent during Martial Law, a time when state-sponsored violence was rampant. Suspected criminals and enemies of the state were mysteriously killed by either law enforcement or hired goons without a fair trial. Those lucky enough had their bloodied bodies displayed in the open, serving as a gruesome reminder of what the regime can do if and when you cross them. Others have gone forever missing, joining the ranks of the desaperecidos.

Ferdinand Marcos and his family have denied any wrongdoing. But at the very least, his idea of “constitutional authoritarianism”—a concept he used to justify the declara-

tion of Martial Law—already gives us an idea of his governing philosophy. For him, some civil and political freedoms have to be curtailed to “save the Republic” from threats ranging from Communists to Muslim separatists.

As one famous slogan from Marcos’ New Society says, “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan!”

It is because of this philosophy, coupled with the naked, self-serving ambition for power and wealth, that the culture of violence—torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances—flourished.

Some people would have to be salvaged in order to

salvage the Republic from those who endangered her—or as it turned out, from those who threatened the regime’s stranglehold on power.

Today, amid the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, the debate rages on once more on whether certain human rights and human lives are dispensable for the sake of law and order.

For the president, who promised a “bloody” and ruthless campaign, the answer is pretty clear. In his first State of the Nation Address, he said that “human rights cannot be used as a shield or an excuse to destroy the country,” an obvious rebuke to human rights advocates wary of his methods.

Hundreds of suspected drug pushers and users have already been killed in just under two months since he took office.

Duterte even acknowledges that some of them “may have been salvaged.”

While some have been vocal for or against the killings (those in support pointing to Marcos’ iron fist rule), most people seem to “wait and see.” For a people fed up with inaction, they are willing to give this approach a chance.

Most Filipinos including myself agree that the country faces many problems, including drugs, crime, corruption, and a system that favors the elite.

But the salvage mentality of employing sheer force,

intimidation, a nd “shor t cut” solutions to solve these complex problems poses grave consequences. Violence begets more violence, as seen during Mar tial Law and in the failed drug wars worldwide. This approach is unsustainable, unnecessarily taking away innocent lives.

A salvage mentality will only unleash our ugliest, most savage and hateful selves. This is not how we restore, how we save our nation.

Department of Health’s Php 123.510 B. In all other years, the Department of National Defense received a bigger allocation than the Department of Health, but not by a relatively large margin.

This t weet seems to articulate a view that a lot of people hold about national defense: that spending for this sector is unimportant to the nation’s development and is of secondary significance to the primary responsibilities of the government, given the circumstances of being a developing nation.

On the contrary, it is precisely because we are a developing nation that we need a robust national defense program to

defend our interests against more powerful agents in our midst. Our current military is paltry when compared to the enviable nations of Singapore and Vietnam; we rely extensively on the United States for assistance because we cannot fully develop our military capacities.

In Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific, the author Robert Kaplan talks about the inadequacies of our national defense in spite of comprehensive American support. “Imagine Iraq, nine decades hence, if the United States were still deeply involved with the problems there as a reigning outside power.

That would be the Philippines,” he writes.

We are faced everywhere with existential threats simply because we are unable to project power and authority across our 7,107 islands. Our Armed Forces may be brave, but without the necessary technica l a nd log ist ica l support, they are helpless.

To be fair, national defense is a costly endeavor. It yields no explicit benefit to ordinary Filipinos other than the assurance of an abstract “sovereignty.” It becomes a hard political decision then to sell to the Filipino working 9-5 worrying everyday about how to put food on the table for his/her family.

The roots of the issue are rather complicated as well, due to the long history of using the Armed Forces as a tool of oppression under President Marcos. The history of the military with regards to human rights is not an optimistic one.

A nd yet, we must understand that the decision to invest in national defense is a necessary one.

The project of national defense is not merely about m i l it a r y h a rdwa re a nd physical strength. It is about ensuring the hopes and dreams of millions of Filipinos everywhere in this nation.

In providing for a strong and robust national force, we are demonstrating to the

world that the Philippines is a respectable nation in the world stage.

I understand that the Philippines has a long way to go in the way of defense.

The government’s efforts to modernize the military have been fraught with setbacks and delays. Nevertheless, we must continue to persevere in our efforts, if only because this project is so vital to our progress as a nation.

In the final analysis, we ought to come to see national defense as a means to escape our own frail vulnerabilities. We ought to take charge of our destiny as our own masters. After all, there can be no tyrants where there are no slaves.

These answers made me wonder if anyone else besides me saw the traffic problem as something more than just a problem of infrastructure.

Despite being a mix of commuters and non-commuters, some even suggested improving the provinces and moving the capital to decongest Manila. Some played the blame game on the country’s transportation chief— focusing on the neglected transportation system.

Not one of them thought that the reason behind why these problems are so prevalent may be because we, as a people, often fail to follow basic regulations from time to time. Despite being able to see and read traffic signs, there are still deviants who refuse to follow them, and there also seems to be people who refuse to use sidewalks, pedestrian lanes, or footbridges, and instead, take to crossing the street as fast as they can.

A good deal of pedestrians cross the street outside pedestrian lanes — without checking both sides — while texting or chatting, thinking that motorists will always prioritize pedestrian. I’ve noticed that plenty of upper middle class citizens see the large “No Parking ANYTIME” signages that the MMDA put up as something they are ex-

empted from. Some traffic authorities, claiming to be underpaid, have even resorted to demanding bribes from those who do not want the hassle of facing the consequences of their actions on the road, in order to get them out of a ticket Both drivers and nondrivers alike surely see this problem as a nuisance that is hard to eradicate. All of us dread leaving the comfort of our homes, whenever we imagine how long it will take us to get to our destination. A friend of mine once said, “We’re so quick to point out the flaws of those in authority, but fail to see how we are as a society. We complain, rant, and mouth off the people we face on the road, but nobody really blames the lack of discipline we have as a community; how we, more often than not, think about our own convenience over the betterment of everyone.” We are often so quick to blame others for their wrongdoings, rather than starting the change ourselves. This kind of behavior is what continues to perpetuate the ever-worsening traffic situation we face today.

little skin has transformed into a struggle of preserving one’s dignity and self-respect amidst the malicious stares, whistles, and chilling whispers of “hi miss” and “lab you teh”.

Growing up, I’ve gotten used to people dictating how I should present myself. I came from a Catholic school, where any kind of dress was seen as too “provocative” and shorts simply out of the question. I have relatives and even friends who never failed to give their two cents on my wardrobe preferences, constantly reminding me to prioritize safety over style and comfort.

Just recently, hosts of a popular noontime show casually threw sexist remarks on a contestant after she shared how she was sexually assaulted by her husband’s friend while they were drunk. “Umiinom ka na, naka-shorts ka pa,” was the host’s reply to a woman who had opened up on national TV about what had surely been one of the most humiliating and scarring moments of her life.

Our culture has embraced the norm that a woman’s choice of clothing is correlated to self-respect when in fact, the root of sexual assault has nothing to do with clothes, alcohol, or the amount of makeup a woman chooses to wear. Sexual assault is the

result of the abhorrent desire to force sexual dominance on another person. It has everything to do with self-control.

Of course, let us not deny that times are changing, although not as quickly as we would like it to. Men have joined women in working toward female empowerment. More opportunities are now available for women to speak and be educated about the constant demoralization we face. And yet despite all our attempts at liberation, society continues to perpetuate sexism by normalizing male sexual violence; pointing its finger not at the rapist but at the victim’s shorts. The greatest tragedy here is that the people whom we should look up to are the frontrunners in this stigma.

Let’s cut to the chase. This is me speaking as a woman who simply wants to walk down the streets in that lovely dress she had saved up for and her favorite shade of lipstick, minus the stares and the catcalls. I’m a woman who just wants to have a good time with her friends, and still be able to go home safe and untouched. I am a woman who refuses to be blamed for the unfortunate circumstances sexism has caused her.

At the end of the day, women continue to be victims; victims who are blamed.

Paraluman ANDY V. TUBIG

Sexist Shackles I won’t deny that my favorite part about being a woman is the extra fuss we give about dressing up. I love mixing and matching clothes and experimenting on color palettes. Cute little dresses and tops make me giddy.

There is nothing quite like the freedom of choosing the clothes that make you look and feel good about yourself.

Sometimes, all it takes is putting on your favorite dress, or your most comfortable pair of shorts, and the world suddenly becomes a whole lot easier to face.

Unfortunately, there are times when dressing up the way you want tends to backfire.

Our sexist society has turned women’s clothing into an invitation for sexual harassment. What was once our armor, meant to exude confidence and beauty, has now made us feel vulnerable and exposed. The simple act of walking down the street wearing and showing off a

8

News

Atenean Voice Do you think President Duterte’s administration is effectively addressing drugs and criminality?

Kevin Narciso 3 BS COMTECH

“It’s a bit too early to say regarding his performance and his progress in terms of drugs and criminality. It’s also too early din to say that [there’s a link between] the random killings on the streets to his administration taking effect. For now, I can’t really give a proper stance on whether or not he himself is doing a good job on drugs and criminality. However, what I can say is that the people are taking it upon themselves to act on what [Duterte] stands for.”

Enrico Dela Rosa 4 AB EC-H

“With respect to the law, no, because it ignores a lot of procedure, but with regards to war on drugs, I think this war is targeting the supply and demand of drugs, so I think it’s breaking down the economy as compared to [merely] attacking the suppliers which will eventually grow the market for drugs.”

Michael Liberatore Instructor, Theology Department

“I certainly think that for some people, when they speak strongly about crime and they come down harsh on crime, it’s motivating for them. At the same time, I [believe in the statement] ‘If you want peace, work for justice.’ You’ve got to create structural realities that reflect the value that people have and the dignity that they have. If we really want to address drug problems, and crime problems, then we’ve got to find ways to create more just social arrangements that’s at the core of any transformation that’s going to take place.”

Dane Ancheta 5 BS APS-CPS

“How does [President Duterte] address the issue of drugs and criminality? Is there a good program for that? I know that there’s a program to allow people to surrender, and they surrender. But what happens after that? They’re tagged as criminals, and they get killed on the road. Is that [the most effective way] in addressing this issue? Is that the only solution? Is solving it the easy way, the ruthless way, the only solution to the issue? I think it’s an entirely different issue altogether if that’s the only solution [Duterte] can see.”

Arvin Boller Lecturer, Psychology Deparment

“It’s not effective because discipline, based on fear and punishment alone, is temporary. Second, they’re creating a culture of death and shortcuts. Once the source of this fear is gone, it will only lead to either resurgence of crime or dominance of vigilantism and impunity – both of which are detrimental to society in the long run.”

Joey Victorino 3 AB PH

“I’d like to believe that, if anything, the administration’s plan to stop crime has opened a gateway for even more crime. Though the buying, selling, or usage of drugs is seen by the administration as the biggest injustice we can commit to our mother country, it leaves murder open to justification. Crime itself is not a suitable method to end crime, it only prolongs the cycle of it.”

Denise Jimenez 2 BS PSY

“In my opinion, the actions done by the government have not been fully effective since this has contributed to the increase of vigilantes who have been killing innocent people. While killing criminals on the spot may partly contribute to the lessening of heinous crimes, I still think that offering rehabilitation for these criminals is the most effective method. However, I hope that this method used by the Duterte administration will be fully effective in the future.”

Camille Peñafiel 3 AB EC

“I’d say the effort he’s put into his anti-drug operations is commendable, especially because I feel like drugs and criminality were not as much as a priority in the previous administrations. However, I do think the methods being used are questionable as they show very little respect for due process and a lot of human rights issues have been raised. I don’t think achieving peace should come at the cost of other people’s lives.”

Priolo Opelanio 5 AB DS

“The current administration fosters a culture of violence most especially with the manner President Duterte addresses the complex problem of drugs and criminality. [Its complexity] means that solutions that only address one dimension of the problem would only barely scratch its surface. I agree with Sen. De Lima when she said that a violent solution would only breed violent problems far bigger than the original. This violence would be most negatively impactful to the poor, which a huge portion of Duterte’s supporters is a part of.

[The poor] are at a great disadvantage by being more prone to exposure to the illegal drugs system, most especially since they may resort to such methods of earning money in order to get by.

Looking from a lens that focuses on the Filipinos’ general welfare, the current administration has been ineffective in serving the Filipinos. The deaths, indirectly caused by the President’s keen support for the death of drug dealers, have brought fear even to those who are innocent.”

Glimpses Vilches takes spot as new VPLS

Fine Arts Program transitions into Department of Fine Arts

Former School of Humanities dean Maria Luz Vilches, PhD, has been appointed as the Vice President for the Loyola Schools (VPLS), with her term starting this June. Succeeding former VPLS John Paul Vergara, PhD’s six-year and two-month-long term, she will continue Vergara’s efforts in the development of the four Loyola Schools. She is also expected to contribute to the implementation of programs within the Areté, which will be completed by the end of the school year. University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ stated in his memo that Vilches “shall exercise leadership that is sensitive and adaptive to the many current and anticipated changes in the Loyola Schools, such as the K-12 program, globalization efforts, core curriculum changes,” which she is expected to address during her initial three-year term. BEA P. SANTIANO

The School of Humanities Fine Arts Program commenced as the Department of Fine Arts, as announced via memo on June 2 by Vice President for the Loyola Schools Maria Luz Vilches, PhD. Vilches took the opportunity to thank those in the Fine Arts Program such as students, faculty, degree program coordinators, staff, and alumni for taking part in bringing the program to its current status as a department. She also recognized those who provided the main leadership of the program, namely, founding director Ricardo G. Abad, PhD, Rene B. Javellana, SJ, Benilda S. Santos, PhD, Jerry C. Respeto, PhD, and first Department Chair Martin V. Villanueva, MFA. Vilches wished the Department the best in its endeavors, especially in view of Areté, the university’s soon-to-rise liberal arts hub. MICHELLE D. ABAD

Kritika Kultura conducts roundtable discussion on Duterte presidency

History and CS Departments present interdisciplinary course

Kritika Kultura, the international refereed electronic journal of literary, language, and cultural studies of the English Department, held “Doing Digong: Politics in the Wake of EDSA,” at the Rizal Library on August 2. Ateneo de Manila Political Science Instructor Carmel Abao, former Akbayan Representative Walden Bello, Sociologist Nicole Curato, and De La Salle University Political Science Assistant Professor Richard Javad Heydarian were invited to share their thoughts and analyses on the results of the 2016 Philippine national elections and the prospects of the new administration. The event is made possible with the support of the Rizal Library, English Department, History Department, Philosophy Department, Political Science Department, and the University of Washington Study Abroad Program. THEA A. SISCAR

The History Department, in cooperation with the Information Systems and Computer Science Department, announced the launch of an interdisciplinary course entitled “History in Digital Games” on July 8. Students are expected to tackle questions such as “Can digital games be considered historical? ” throughout the course of the subject. The course, with codes DGDD 150.1 and HI198.9, will be taught by Nicko Caluya from the Information Systems and Computer Science Department and Nicolo Ludovice from the History Department. These courses will be available in the first semester of school year 2016-2017. The class will be taught 6:30–8:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays at CTC-112. LIAM C. LU

ERRATUM

In the April 2016 Beyond Loyola Section of The GUIDON, our infographic titled “2016 National Budget (by Department)” cited figures of the national budget submitted by the Department of Budget Management to the 16th Congress of the Philippines, and not the final figures signed into law by former President Aquino in the General Appropriations Act of 2016. We apologize for this oversight.

vantage.theguidon.com

Sports

The GUIDON August 2016

9

SPORTS FEATURE

Blue and Lady jins make their mark in international and local taekwondo scene

BY CARLOS H. CRUZ AND CHINO D. REYES

WITH THE beginning of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 fast approaching, the Ateneo Taekwondo Team is getting as much competitive experience as they can, in order to prepare themselves for the UAAP Season 79 taekwondo tournament. The tournament is bound to take place this coming October. Members of the Ateneo Taekwondo Team have recently been involved in two competitions over the summer. Blue jins Team Captain Aaron Agojo represented the country in the 2016 Gyeongju

Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships held last June 30 to July 5, while lady jins Jana Morales, Bea Bautista, and Patricia Abalos participated in the 2016 National Poomsae Championships which was held last July 26, 2016.

A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR AGOJO

Agojo was the only delegate from the Ateneo who was sent to Korea to represent the Philippines in the seniors division. On top of training with the Ateneo team, Agojo also trained with national team the whole summer leading up to the Korea Open.

According to Agojo, the standard level of the competition

in the Korea Open is very high.

Olympians and Taekwondo veterans alike compete, making the Korea Open a very prestigious tournament. The blue jins team captain made it through the first round, where he defeated Kazakhstan.

Unfortunately, he was ousted in the second round against Korea where he faced the recently crowned champion of the 2016 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament— Kim Seok Bae. The competition provided Agojo an opportunity to increase points on his personal ranking, however, this ranking has no bearing in the UAAP. Nevertheless, it was still a

valuable learning experience for the blue jins veteran who is relishing the chance to lead his team once again in the upcoming UAAP Season 79 taekwondo tournament.

“Siguro mas tataas yung place namin kasi nag-train kami halos buong year (Hopefully, we’ll be able to place higher [than last season] because we’ve been training for almost the whole year),” he said.

He also notes that the blue jins will be participating in the upcoming 40th National Taekwondo Championships and Philippine Taekwondo Association Taekwondo League, which will give them a chance to study their UAAP oppositions

BETTER. FASTER. STRONGER. The Ateneo Taekwondo Team trains for their upcoming competitions for the school year.

PHOTOS BY JANINE TORRE

“Basta tuloy-tuloy ‘yung practice (As long as [we] continue to practice), we have a big, big chance.”

— JEC PANOTES COACH, BLUE AND LADY JINS

while providing them with more competitive experience.

GOOD OMENS FOR LADY JINS AHEAD OF UAAP SEASON

The lady jins made use of the UAAP off-season period to garner extra experience as well by joining the National Poomsae Cha mpionships held in the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. Lady jins Bea Bautista, Jana Morales, and Patricia Abalos participated in both individual and team events, with the trio garnering a bronze in the team event.

The result bodes well for the upcoming UAAP season, where Bautista expects the lady jins to win medals. “The goal is always a gold [medal].

Hopefully we’ll get a medal for the team event,” she said.

Coach Jec Panotes was clearly pleased with the bronze medal finish of the poomsae trio. Panotes, a four-time UAAP gold medalist, believes that this experience shows that the lady jins can bring UAAP glory back to the Katipunan-based school. “Basta tuloy-tuloy ‘yung practice (As long as [we]

continue to practice), we have a big, big chance,” he said Panotes also discussed the possibility of Asian champion and US-based Pauline Lopez lining up for the lady jins this coming season. According to Panotes, the Ateneo is hoping to agree to negotiations he discussed regarding Lopez’ full scholarship and dormitory before the season starts. “If we can agree on the terms, Pauline Lopez will fight for Ateneo this coming school year,” said Panotes. “She will be a good addition to the team.”

After making their marks on the international and local taekwondo scenes, Agojo and lady jins Bautista, Morales, and Abalos are looking to build on their performances and are optimistic of their chances in UAAP Season 79. With more tournaments in store for the blue and lady jins during the remainder of the off-season, the Katipunan-based side will be adding to what has already been a busy summer, as they join more competitions which will hopefully enable them to increase their medal tally in Season 79.

10

Sports

AUG 2016 ‹ 12

trackster finished third in the heats of the women’s 200m dash and advanced to the finals. Despite not earning a medal, she established her new personal best.

Blue trackster Capinpin was selected because of his silver medal finish in the men’s decathlon in the 2016 Philippine National Athletics Open. However, things were more difficult for Capinpin as he was forced into a training regimen change because there was no decathlon in the AUG. The trackster was given the 200m dash and a slot in the 4x100m relay instead. Due to this, Capinpin started out shakily in the 200m sprint, missing the qualification to the finals. However, he made amends in the 4x100 relay as he contributed a good gap as the lead runner, but the team was eventually disqualified due to a baton passing infraction.

The lone Philippine archer in the field, Dranz Barbin, thought that international competitions are as manageable as that of the local scene. Barbin struggled in the qualifying round to finish 14th and was knocked out in his head-to-head match against 3rd seed Alec Eduar of Indonesia in the round of 16.

“The high level of competition can either inspire you to work harder when you head back home or convince you to throw in the towel. I’m sure for most of us in the Philippines, we’re thinking the former,” said Barbin.

Barbin also expressed his frustration about how little support he felt the Philippine delegation received compared to competitors, saying that “other countries treat their athletes like athletes.”

He cited that Team Philippines was the only one without a single unified attire, which he found embarrassing. Barbin recalls seeing one entire country’s delegation using the same model of luggage, whilst some Filipino athletes had to pay for their own airfare and lodging.

“I know we aren’t affiliated with the PSC,” says Barbin. “But I just wish they helped out a little to make us look like Team Philippines rather than a group of university athletes that happened to be playing for the Philippines.”

Sherry Gonida, co-captain of the ARPT, also lamented about how far behind the Philippines is in the sport of shooting, particularly in terms of facilities and guns. Aside from these, ARPT found out about AUG in April, giving them only one month of training before the competition.

The team attributed their subpar AUG performance to the pressure of it being their first international competition, as well as the delay in informing the team about their inclusion in the games.

Overall, the Philippine representatives to this year’s AUG were glad to be able to gain more experience with competing on a national level, though they recognize that they must continue with their training in order to come back with a stronger finish next year.

AUG 2016 medalists RESEARCH BY BEATRICE T. GO INFOGRAPHIC BY MEG F. VILLENA

ATENEO ATHLETES shine in the 18th ASEAN University Games, hauling in a total of 11 medals from the swimming, volleyball, and fencing tournaments.

The swimming division hauled in the most number of medals with Lady Eagle Hannah Dato emerging as the most decorated delegate of Team Philippines. Aside from earning six individual medals, she and Ariana Herranz also added another silver medal from the 400m medley relay.

Both volleyball teams landed third in the podium, defeating the Singapore team, while Justine Joseph bagged a bronze together with the Philippines’ sabre team.

TESTING INTERNATIONAL WATERS. Every point is a celebration.

PHOTO BY VINCENT D. SOLIVEN

The GUIDON August 2016

11

GALLERY OF EAGLES

Thirdy Ravena

BY COLIN C. SALAO

STANDING AT the top of the key, Thirdy Ravena readied himself to attack, then went past the defender and straight to the rim for the lay-up.

He missed. He groaned the sound full of exhaustion and frustration.

It was grueling practice for Ravena and the rest of the Blue Eagles. However, for the younger Ravena, there is a newfound appreciation for these draining practices after his experience from last season.

“That was the worst year ever for me, basketball wise,” said Ravena, referring to missing out on Season 78.

In his freshman year, the BS Communications Technology Management major failed to reach the required grade to play for an Ateneo varsity team. This meant that Ravena, who has been sporting the Blue and White for the greater half of a decade, was not allowed to represent the school in any way. The blow was unbearable for him. “I cried for like weeks.

[I couldn’t] take it,” he shared.

For the team, the loss had both short and long term ramifications. Despite being a talented squad, they lost an incredibly athletic swingman who could have added to their bench mob. They also lost the opportunity to have hands-on training with one

of the players in the squad’s blueprint for the future. Head Coach Sandy Arespacochaga referred to it as a “big blow,” knowing that a year of learning and experience in the UAAP is beneficial to Ravena’s growth and maturity.

But the tradeoff for Ravena’s lost basketball opportunity was found in the classroom.

The former UAAP Juniors Most Valuable Player garnered the highest grades of his college life, crediting both the Ateneo and his changed approach towards academics as the cause for his academic improvement.

Ravena thanks his tutors— Moses Cam and Lai Salvana— the most, as they paved his way back into the squad. Moreover, Ravena was given a different perspective that led him to put his academics at the forefront.

However, it cannot be denied that from a basketball standpoint, missing out on a full season took a toll on his athletic development. To try to offset this, Ravena mentioned that he was able to keep up his training regime by working with notable trainers like Joe Ward and Eric Butler from Gold’s Gym. Despite his continuous training, both Ravena and his coaching staff are aware of the adjustments to be made when reverting back from a year of individual training to the concepts of team basketball.

Ravena and Arespacochaga both alluded to the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup as a prime

example for the forward’s adjustment, as he struggled to find his rhythm in the first few games. That said, Ravena improved by leaps and bounds throughout the preseason tournament. The forward constantly started for the team, and was often the top option for the Blue Eagles squad that finished with a very impressive third place.

“He’s been able to slow the game down,” Arespacochaga said, regarding Ravena’s Filoil performance. Both also mentioned Ravena’s improved outside shooting, a skill he hopes to add to his arsenal this year in the UAAP. With the Eagles deploying a fairly young squad this season, Ravena looks poised to be one of the team’s key cogs alongside Aaron Black and Adrian Wong. Despite the big burden on his shoulders, Ravena does not seem fazed by the pressure. Academics wise, he feels that his mindset has been locked in, that he is looking to improve even more in that aspect next season. When it comes to his overall mindset for his junior year, he said, “Just always strive to be the best, not just in basketball, but also in school.”

With Thirdy Ravena coming in with his renewed perspective of being a student-athlete, this change in attitude seems to complement his hunger to return to playing for the team and community he loves.

ILLUSTRATION BY MEG F. VILLENA

SPORTS FEATURE

A fighting chance

BY JAMIE S. KATIGBAK

PRECEDING THE 79th Season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UA AP), several cases of academic ineligibility left gaping holes in both the main roster of the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team and the pool of reserves from Team Glory Be. The Blue Eagles’ arsenal of power diminishes in ammunition due to the exit of some of the team’s biggest up-and-coming names—Arvin Tolentino, Hubert Cani, Cjay Perez, and Jerie Pingoy. This exodus, however, is hardly a one-dimensional story.

The Ateneo is known for its emphasis on academics during recruitment; however, the difficulty of the “student” half of the student-athlete identity is hard to grasp until experienced. It entails a challenge that could result in both mental and physical exhaustion when games and training coincide with lessons and tests.

With professors themselves being the first degree of separation between a passing and failing grade of a student-athlete, the first step in balancing the scales is to lay down a fair set of standards, which College Athletics Office (CAO) director Benjo Afuang espouses.

Contrary to popular opinion, the school’s view is that teachers should not bestow star treatment upon student-athletes, but instead grant them the same chance that the average student receives in order to complete requirements. According to the

academic rights of the Magna Carta of Undergraduate Student Rights, no special favors should be given, but the faculty should give them make-up opportunity while they perform their duty to the school. English instructor Miguel Lizada harbors a similar view regarding academic policy.

“I like to think there is special consideration, but it’s not in terms of grade adjustment,” shares Lizada. “[It is] in terms of special consideration to accommodate their schedule.”

“The ideal professor treats athletes all the same,” says Afuang. “We just want to give them a fighting chance.”

For Lizada, a student missing a lecture for a game may be allowed to attend one of his earlier classes to avoid being marked absent. Aside from having teachers who accommodate the athletes’ busy schedules, the CAO gives the athletes an opportunity to revise their schedules by load revision in order to help the athlete balance academic and athletic responsibilities.

Business Statistics instructor Patrick Valentin also respects the academic rights of the student-athletes in terms of schedule. Agreeing that fair treatment is necessary, he takes measures to ensure that all his students—studentathlete or not—are able to cope up with the course requirements. Valentin gives quizzes every day but divides the total by a certain score.

“So if they miss a class, walang make-up kasi kaya naman i-pull up sa other quizzes (So if they miss a class,

there will be no more make-up because the other quizzes can pull it up),” he shares.

In addition to the accommodating policies in the classroom, Ateneo founded yet another avenue of support in the form of a strict study system, a program that would hopefully provide lasting academic support for the players wearing the colors of the school.

In 2013, the University Athletic Office (UAO) surmounted the challenge of the academic load by mandating attendance in the Study Hall.

Varsity members are required to complete four study hours per week— crediting only a maximum of two hours per day— inside a designated room in the Blue Eagle Gym. Student-athletes are obliged to participate in solo or group study inside the Study Hall.

However, failure to comply with

the set-up results in additional study hours— an attempt to get more athletes to display greater concern for their grades.

Established with the intention of instilling disciplined study habits in an environment of learning, the study hall was met with initial resistance. At present, however, it has produced positive results among a large bulk of the athletic population, proving that progress is possible as long as a student is given a fair chance.

In order to provide third party support, Joe Odoño, along with members from Ateneo Gabay and Ateneo Mathematics Society, reached out to the student-athletes to help them cope with work given in the classroom.

Although this program gives more focus to the athletes in the basic and bridging academic programs, this is also offered

to exceptional student-athletes who desire to reach Latin honors standing by graduation.

This further proves the universality of the academic support programs offered by the UAO and CAO. “If we offer something to an athlete, we offer it all,” explains Afuang.

Despite the programs that uphold the student-athlete’s liberty inside the classroom and on the court, the expulsion due to academic disqualifications has been decreasing, but not completely solved. The university upholds an unwavering policy: The school’s academic standards cannot be changed.

“Nothing is easy in Ateneo, and struggle will always be there,” expresses Afuang, “If academics were easy here, then everyone would be here, so it’s a standard that we have to live up to.”

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE. Student athletes must juggle their studies and commitments with their respective sports teams during their stay in the Ateneo.

PHOTO BY JANINE TORRE

EDITOR: BEATRICE T. GO · EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: CEDRIC B. TENG AMPO · LAYOUT ARTIST: MEG F. VILLENA

Sports

10

A FIGHTING CHANCE

The University does their part in helping our student-athletes.

AUG 2016 opens Blue Eagles’ eyes to international competition

BY VINCENT D. SOLIVEN AND CEDRIC B. TENG AMPO

LAST JULY, a number of Atenean athletes represented both their school and their country in the 18th ASEAN University Games (AUG) held in Singapore. Of the country’s 37 medals, 11 were hauled home by the Blue and White.

However, the Philippines’ lackluster 6th place finish in the overall medal tally showed the great divide in the level of competition locally and internationally. UAAP and national champions were humbled by their ASEAN counterparts and saw how being the best in the country was not enough in the international scene.

RETURNING MEDALISTS

Not new to international

compet it ions were t he powerhouse athletes of the Blue and White last season – the members of the Swimming and Volleyball teams.

In the swimming tournament, all eight medals came from the women’s division, where Hannah Dato proved to be the top medalgetter, winning six medals in individual events.

The two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player bagged a trio of silvers in the 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, and 200m individual medley, as well as three bronzes in the 400m individual medley, 100m freestyle, and 200m butterfly.

Ariana Herranz also brought home a pair of medals, bagging bronze in the 200m Backstroke event and a silver in the 400m medley relay alongside Dato and Winona Tee Ten and Joy Rodgers of University of the

“The high level of competition can either inspire you to work harder when you head back home or convince you to throw in the towel.

I’m sure for most of us in the Philippines, we’re thinking the former.”

— DRANZ BARBIN ARCHER

Philippines. Initially, the team finished third in the rankings, but a disqualification of the Thai team handed them the silver.

In the volleyball division, both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams bagged the bronze medal finishes after their medal-deciding matches between Singapore.

The Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team came back to defend their bronze medal from the 2014 edition of the AUG, featuring the Phenom Alyssa Valdez in her last collegiate game with the Katipunan squad.

The team was bolstered by the return of Mich Morente, who had to sit out last season due to academic problems, alongside Ana Gopico who has been nursing injuries over the past two years.

The team’s first two games were surrendered to first runnerup Indonesia and AUG champion Thailand. However, the Philippine contingent was able to get their first win against Singapore in straight sets, a team they would defeat again in the battle for third in a nerve-wracking

five-set match to win the bronze medal for the country.

For t he back-to -back champions of the UAAP Men’s Volleyball division, it was their first time bearing the Philippine flag in the AUG. Initial adjustments to the international scene were shown, as they bowed to Thailand in four sets in their opening match. However, they immediately picked up the pace with two straight wins against Laos and Singapore.

However, the defeat in their final elimination game against Indonesia resulted to facing the host team for the bronze medal match, where they overwhelmed Singapore in straight sets to claim a medal for the country.

Coach Oliver Almadro praised his team for grabbing the bronze medal for the Philippines whilst competing against very stiff competition and put into perspective the increasing level of volleyball in the country.

“Even with the powerhouse of Thailand and Indonesia, whose players are mostly part of their

national teams, we are not far,” says Almadro. “The games were really close to say that the volleyball program in the Philippines is improving, especially the volleyball program of Ateneo.”

The fencing tournment featured the sole lady fencer, Justine Joseph, who was part of the country’s delegation in the women’s sabre team that nabbed a bronze medal for the country.

Despite their hard-fought loss against Indonesia in the semi-finals, Team Philippines was able to recover and win over Singapore in the battle-for-third.

“The team adjusted from the mistakes made in the semi-final bout,” said Joseph. “They were also confident because they also fought well in their earlier bout (against Indonesia), so they brought that with them.”

NEW TO THE PLAYING FIELD

In contrast to the internationally experienced teams, AUG 2016 featured the international debuts of the members of the Ateneo Track & Field Team,

FAITH AND TRUST. Meditation has always been the key to success for the Lady Eagles.

PHOTOS BY BEATRICE T. GO AND VINCENT D. SOLIVEN

Ateneo Rifle-Pistol Team (ARPT) and Blue Archers Archery Club member Dranz Barbin. For the debutants, going past the local scene posed challenges.

Tracksters Kimberly Zulueta and Joseph Bernard Capinpin from the Ateneo Track & Field Team joined the athletics division of the AUG. Zulueta had no expectations coming into the games after she qualified through her performance in the 100m dash last season. With AUG 2016 being Zulueta’s first time competing abroad, she stated that the games she participated in were all for the experience and the important thing for her was to be able to do her best. The lady AUG 2016 › 10

EDITOR: ROBBIN M. DAGLE · EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: JANELLE H. PARIS · LAYOUT ARTIST: COLLEEN P. DE LUNA

2

Beyond Loyola

'BEYOND TOKHANG': THE CHALLENGE OF REHABILITATION Amid the war on drugs, is the country equipped to help the hundreds of thousands of drug users coming out in the open?

To protect and serve?

BY SEAN S. CHINGKAW

O

n October 3, 2013, Alfreda Disbarro, a 32-year old mother of two and former police informant accused of peddling drugs by unnamed police officers, was brought to a nondescript detention room in the Parañaque City Police Headquarters with five other detainees. She was singled out by a police asset, who then placed a bottle of alcohol on top of her head and took aim at it with a gun, in mock Robin Hood fashion. “He said he [would] shoot the bottle on my head. He was one and a half yards away from me. I was so afraid that I would get shot. I just closed my eyes in fear,” she said.

This was just the beginning of her horrific ordeal within the

police compound, where she was subjected to physical abuse at the hands of her captors. In one instance, a police officer beat her with a mop handle after shoving the damp mop head forcefully into her mouth just hours after being brought into the police station.

Disbarro’s ordeal has been documented in Amnesty International’s report on police torture in the Philippines titled Above the Law. Her case is but one of many other cases of human rights violations by police officers.

PROTECTORS OF THE PEACE

Once again, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is facing questions on their commitment to human rights. President Rodrigo Duterte has heavily

relied on the PNP to carry out his mandate in stamping out criminality and drugs.

Recently, there has been a sharp rise in casualties as a result of police-sanctioned operations.

At least four drug suspects are killed every day in police operations. according to the PNP’s statistics office.

Human rights advocates and lawmakers are crying foul. Jose Manuel Diokno, chair of the Free Legal Assistance Group, told Channel News Asia that “President Duterte's war on crime has spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiraling out of control and creating a nation without judges, without law, and without reason.”

I f ugao Repre sent at ive Teddy Baguilat said that the

president's rhetoric “breeds a culture of violence and a culture of retribution.”

Senator Leila de Lima, former justice secretary and Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chair, noted that “the killings are on the rise, and there are just telltale signs of summary executions in a number of them.”

Both Baguilat and De Lima have filed resolutions in their respective chambers of Congress calling for an investigation of the killings.

In response to t hese allegations, Police Director Wilfredo D. Franco, director of the PNP’s Department of Police Community Relations, said that all police officers must follow the proper suspect apprehension procedure as written in the

For whom do we pray?

BY JANELLE H. PARIS

T

he West has become increasingly dangerous.

The past month has seen a spate of terrorist attacks on Western countries like France and Germany, bringing talks of tightening Europe’s borders at the forefront of foreign policy in the European Union.

Over 80 people were run over by a lorry while celebrating Bastille Day in southern France. Meanwhile, Germany was rocked by three terrorist attacks within the span of seven days, leaving nine people dead and several others wounded last July.

Earlier in March, three coordinated bombings killed 32 in Brussels, Belgium.

What followed was a spectacle of commiseration. The string of attacks prompted world leaders to express solidarity with these nations. The flags of these countries were projected onto the facades of various monuments from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, other stricken parts of the world have felt forgotten.

Nour Kabbach, who works for huma nita ria n a id in Beirut, expressed her frustrations on social media.

“Imagine if what happened in Paris last night would happen there on a daily basis for five years,” Kabbach wrote on a Facebook post, later quoted

by The New York Times.

“Imagine all [that has happened in, say, Paris] happening without global sympathy for innocent lost lives, with no special media updates by the minute, and without the support of every world leader condemning the violence.”

MAPPING TERROR

The 2015 Global Terrorism Index Report finds that 53% of fatal terrorist attacks in 2014 were concentrated in Iraq and Nigeria. Furthermore, 82% of all attacks happened in on ly f ive count r ies: Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria.

The report also shows that among the main causes of growing terrorism, at least between 2012 and 2013, were

ethno-religious disputes and excessive state control.

“Either increased terrorism leads governments to implement stricter, authoritarian and illegal acts toward its citizens through torture or state violence, or the repression results in terrorist acts as retaliation. This can create a vicious cycle of violence making it difficult to clearly identify causality,” the report reads. The report also shows that terrorist attacks happen mostly in countries with already ongoing conflicts.

A look at the Terrorism Index Map of 2014 would show gradations of yellow to red spread out across the world, to signify how countries are ranked in terms of occurrence of terrorism. The map is reddest in Asia and Africa, where governments have fewer resources to combat militant forces.

SEEING TERROR

But the University of Maryland-initiated index, as ILLUSTRATION BY

FOR WHOM › 3

CLARISSA R. GORREON

Police Operational Procedures Manual (POPM).

The procedures in the manual ensure that the rights of the accused are respected from apprehension to court release. For instance, the arrest must have a proper justification and the suspect should be afforded no bodily harm during the entire process. He said that graduates from the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) are “relentlessly drilled” on the POPM, with several modules within the PNPA curriculum solely dedicated to studying the manual.

BROKEN SHIELD

Despite the POPM’s existence, there are still cases in which police officers have violated the human rights of suspects

TRAINING GROUNDS. Police officers at Camp Crame prepare for a coming event by rehearsing their march around the compound.

PHOTO BY CHESTER B. TAN

through improper application of force, extended detention periods, and the inhumane treatment of detainees.

In 2014, 10 police officers were sacked fol low ing their involvement with the maltreatment of 41 detainees, most ly suspected dr ug traffickers, at a secret PNP facility in Biñan, Laguna. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, TO PROTECT › 4

2

Beyond Loyola

Beyond ‘Tokhang’: The challenge of rehabilitation

BY MAXINE A. BUENAVENTURA

J

ust 20 days into the Duterte administration, more than 114,000 people allegedly involved with drug use have “surrendered” to the police as a result of Oplan Tokhang. In this operation, individuals suspected to be involved in drugs are summoned and warned by authorities.

Rehabilitation is a crucial yet costly part of the drive against drugs. Given the sudden influx of drug dependents who need rehabilitation, concerns on the country’s readiness to meet this need have arisen.

A PLACE LIKE HOME

NEW BEGINNINGS. This rehabilitation center in Antipolo makes sure that their patients are wellprepared after being treated.

PHOTOS BY CHESTER B. TAN

According to the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), there are 45 accredited rehabilitation centers around the country, 18 of which are government-run and 27 privately-owned.

One of latter is the Crossroads Treatment and Rehabilitation Foundation, Inc. in Antipolo. It currently serves 49 residents, all of them male. Residents stay for a minimum of eight months while undergoing the rehabilitation process. After their stay, residents are required to enter an aftercare program for two months before being considered a graduate.

Ryan* and Dave*, two residents now on the last stage of the program, explained Crossroads’ rehabilitation process.

The first stage, which they referred to as pagtanggap at pagsunod (acceptance and following), involves getting the resident to understand their current state. Both residents spoke of an activity called “pull up” where they gather, share, and discuss their personal feelings with one another. These sessions would be recorded and then passed on to the staff who would gauge over time if residents are ready to be BEYOND 'TOKHANG' › 4

Fabella closure could worsen maternal health woes

BY ABELARDO M. TORIO

I

n the heart of Manila sits the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Ho spit a l, t he cou nt r y ’s largest maternal and newborn medical facility. Because of its affordability, it is the most preferred and often the only source of maternal and reproductive care for many

mothers, especially those from Metro Manila’s poorest areas.

“Marami talagang dumadayo dito. Mas mura kasi, kaya kahit malayo pinanggalingan, mas gusto na dito manganak. (Many people go here. It’s cheaper, so even if they come from far away, they prefer to deliver here),” says Gladys from Manila, as she watches her sister in labor. She said her sister moved to Fabella

“Kapag charity ward ka, magtitiis ka talaga.

May mga kahati ka sa kama, tapos di ka natututukan ng nurse kasi nga marami kayo.”

— GLADYS

SISTER OF A PATIENT FROM MANILA

from a private hospital because of the latter’s lower costs.

Recently, the hospital has been the site of a drawn-out battle between administrators and groups composed of health workers and patients.

The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) has pointed to a demolition scheduled for June 9 as part of government efforts to close and privatize the hospital. In response, protests were held near the hospital and the Save Fabella Hospital Movement (SFM) was formed.

The Department of Health (DOH) has denied the claims.

In a Rappler interview, former DOH Secretary Janette Garin said that “Fabella will not be closed. No employees will be terminated or displaced.” She said that instead, the DOH plans to transfer the hospital to a new building within the DOH compound in Manila. The demolition was also postponed.

“DISMAL STATE”

In a petition, SFM declared that Fabella’s closure “[spells] a death sentence to the already dismal state of maternal and FABELLA CLOSURE › 4

PHOTO BY CHESTER B. TAN

The GUIDON August 2016

Road to recovery

BY JC A. BELTRAN

On the outskirts of Antipolo City, Ryan* and Dave* are seeking shelter in a rehab facilit y. Both former drug dependents are now on the final phase of a four-pronged rehab process.

T h e ir s t o r i e s c o n t r a s t starkly to the negative misconceptions attached to drug addicts. Both finished college in prestigious universities and belonged to privileged families.

Before rehab, their careers were blooming. Ryan was a new recruit in the business process outsourcing industry, while Dave took part in a successful campaign from an advertising agency. Both were articulate, courteous, and smart.

Ryan first became hooked to marijuana during college due to peer pressure. Despite his daily intake of marijuana, he maintained a good academic standing without his professors knowing he was under its influence. His addiction compelled him to experiment with different strains.

But, when the side effects started kicking in, Ryan began to suffer from recurring episodes of paranoia and psychosis as a result of extreme fear and anxiety.

“I was delusional to the point that I [thought] that people around me [were] going to do something bad. I was already hallucinating to the point I was seeing angels and demons,” he said.

3

World war on drugs

Despite these warning signs, he continued taking strong strains of marijuana until his body collapsed. His family rushed him immediately to the nearest hospital. This forced his parents to send him to rehab for further treatment.

Meanwhile, Dave* had been a regular user of shabu since high school. He used to save a portion of his allowance to buy shabu from dealers. Although he temporarily stopped taking shabu in his early years in college, he eventually regressed to his old habits. Later on, he took hardcore drugs such as ecstasy, valium, and mogadon– dubbed as the “uppers.”

He was hooked on the extreme euphoria induced by the uppers. He stayed awake for several hours without eating anything. It heightened his senses and enhanced his athletic performance. However, it made him more reckless in his actions and decisions.

“Naging ver y impatient ako. Hindi ko ma- c ontrol anger management issues ko (I became very impatient.

I could not control my anger management issues),” said Dave, who was known for his calm demeanor.

He even resigned from his company to join the underground drug business. While he earned lavishly, he gambled most of his money as an outlet to vent his frustrations.

His addiction took a toll on his mental health, amplifying

his feelings of depression. At one point, he even attempted to commit suicide.

Dave was first admitted to rehab by his family in 2008.

While it seemed successful at first, he fell into relapse until he finally returned to rehab last January 1. He said he is commit ting himself to change for good.

Before their release months from now, both are hoping to start new lives post-rehab.

Ryan is planning to apply for a new job under a new business process outsourcing company. Both a son and a father, Dave is ready to mend the broken relationships with his family.

While their future plans are already set, they said that sobriety does not stop them from relapse. According to them, quitting drugs is not as easy as it seems.

“Honestly, most of the people here say na they’re s t ill goin g t o l o ok for that high . Pe ople ac tually relapse and go back to the center,” said Ryan.

While rehab alone is not the ultimate cure to addiction, both Ryan and Dave agree that it is a good start to the healing process. According to them, a strong support system is also needed to help them along the path to recovery.

BY JC A. BELTRAN ILLUSTRATIONS BY COLLEEN P. DE LUNA SOURCES ROLLINGSTONE.COM, VISUALECONOMICS.CREDITLOAN.COM, HUFFINGTONPOST. COM, LATIMES.COM, PBS.ORG, ALJAZEERA.COM, INQUIRER.NET, GMANETWORK.COM, PROJECTSYNDICATE.ORG, ECONOMIST.COM, STATE.GOV, SOTT.NET, USNEWS.COM, REASON.COM, HUMANRIGHTS.ASIA, REUTERS.COM

Around the world, several countries have joined the crusade against drug trafficking and substance abuse. The universal problem on drugs has prompted government leaders to launch initiatives that seek to eliminate drugs from society.

But is the war being won and at what cost?

USA The United States houses the largest consumer markets of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in the world. Over the last four decades, the US has been fervently optimistic on winning the “War on Drugs”—a phrase coined by former President Richard Nixon—to remedy the perennial problem of substance abuse. However, the war is far from over, even after having spent a total of USD 1 trillion. Most of the funds were used to lock up criminals in federal prisons and arrest more than 37 million non-violent drug offenders. Despite preventive measures on drug usage, drug-related deaths are still staggering, with 30,000 Americans killed every year from overdose.

Mexico Spanning almost a decade, the Mexican Drug War has seen countless atrocities from the efforts to dismantle powerful drug cartels and capture the perpetrators. Alongside these incidences of violence, the war has also bred a culture of corruption. Various government officials have been caught in money laundering scandals. Guns and weapons from the US have been smuggled to Mexico for the benefit of notorious drug lords, including the infamous Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. As of 2016, 164,000 have died, while thousands remain missing. A total of 1.6 million people have also been displaced from their communities.

Philippines Newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly promised to put an end to drugrelated crime within “three to six months” and even encouraged civilians to “use deadly force against drug dealers who threaten them.”

Few weeks into his term, the nationwide drug campaign has seen the slaughter of alleged drug suspects across the country, either in police operations or vigilante-style executions. Several others were fortunate enough to surrender themselves to authorities.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a total of 601 suspects have been killed from June 30 to August 12. Of these, 364 died at a police operation while 237 were killed by unidentified hitmen.

Thailand In 2003, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared a “war on drugs” in response to proliferation of methamphetamine, locally known as “ya ba” or “crazy medicine.” Three million citizens—roughly five percent of the population—suffered from addiction to methamphetamine. Supposedly aimed to spread awareness and educate citizens, the campaign escalated to a violent crackdown against drug trafficking, leaving some 2,800 citizens dead. A decade since Thaksin’s ouster, prisons in Thailand are facing chronic overcrowding with the sudden influx of drug users. In Klong Prem Central Prison, more than half of the inmates have committed drug crimes.

Drug offenders caught in producing or trading with Category 1 drugs – such as heroin and ecstasy – are sentenced to either death or life imprisonment.

Afghanistan Afghanistan has one of the highest substance abuse rates in the world with 11% of the population suffering from addiction. Yet efforts to eradicate opium production in the war-torn state have backfired despite being heavily backed by United States (US) military forces. The lucrative industry has sourced 90% of the world’s opium and has generated around 400,000 jobs. Hence, counternarcotics policies by the US have not only spurred the cartelization of the opium trade but has also driven citizens to rebellion. While smaller opium businesses were targeted, the large-scale ones —supported by the Taliban—remained untouched.

As a result, the Taliban has asserted their dominion, carrying out terrorist attacks and killings. Now, the production of opium in Afghanistan has tripled since 2002 and the insurgency continues.

Nigeria Countries in West Africa have become emerging hotspots of cocaine, heroin, and cannabis. Out of the many countries in the African subregion, Nigeria earned its infamous reputation as a drug trafficking center, serving as a transit hub of narcotics meant for Europe and the United States. Nigerian drug enterprises have also engaged in financial fraud, whether in the form of banking or online transactions. Meanwhile, a majority of Nigerian drug dependents— especially those who are exposed to criminal activity—lack access to good rehab treatment facilities. The lax drug policies in the country did not help in spreading awareness and educating civilians on drug addiction.

*Names were changed to protect their identities.

For whom ‹1

well as other human rights watchdog reports, is not people’s primary source of updates when it comes to such attacks. Many news organizations were criticized for their lack of attention on the bombing in Beirut, Lebanon on November 2015 as compared to the coverage on the Paris attacks that happened later in the same month.

The Atlantic has touted this as a “gap in empathy.”

Following the November 2015 attacks in Paris, the US-based news agency published an article attempting to explain this gap, enumerating these as reasons: Paris had more casualties than Beirut and Paris is perceived by many to be safer than Beirut. But David Graham, who wrote the story, also speculated that it may be because it is easier to send news correspondents to places like Paris than, say, Nairobi in Kenya.

Another Atlantic article traced the language used in the reportage of such violence.

Nadine Ajaka observed that reportage on the terror strike in Paris used language evocative of emotion. “The authors seem to have taken care to capture the human emotion amid the unforeseen horror, to humanize the victims,” Ajaka wrote, adding that the mention of how France then launched a retaliatory attack on ISIS in Syria was rather subdued.

Meanwhile, “coverage of Beirut featured comparatively little detail regarding the bakery and mosque where the explosions occurred, or the victims,” the article further read.

This phenomenon is called framing. “There is a tendency to give simple narratives, black and white details. [This

“There is a tendency to give simple narratives, black and white details. [This is] framing. You frame [a news item] in such a way that…you are making something more obvious than others.”

— MAITEL LADRIDO, PHD

INSTRUCTOR, COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

is] framing. You frame [a news item] in such a way that…you are making something more obvious than others,” said Communication Department instructor Maitel Ladrido, PhD. Journalists are easily prone to distasteful or inadequate framing especially when stories have rich contexts that are too long to pack into a 500-word news report.

Asked whether this leads to a form of desensitization on the part of audiences, Ladrido said it might be presumptuous to say such. “We understand issues based on the information we’re provided,” she says.

In fact, news agencies without direct connections to volatile regions of the world only report secondary

information, if they do.

They get stories from wire agencies such as Reuters and Agence France-Presse, for instance.

But Ladrido is certain that violence is a theme that sells. The question remains, however, if this is a theme that naturally omits afflictions far from the West.

4

Beyond Loyola

The GUIDON August 2016

Fabella closure...

Beyond ‘Tokhang’ ‹1

CLOSING TIME? Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital’s closure could spell problems for the large population dependent on its services.

PHOTO BY CHESTER B. TAN

‹2

child hea lth services [in the] Philippines.”

Fabella itself reveals this dismal state. Although its care programs have been recognized as “a role model” by the World Health Organization, its facilities and workers are inadequate given the demand. Up to 100 babies are delivered daily and it is not uncommon for mothers to share a bed with three others.

“Kapag charity ward ka, magtitiis ka talaga. May mga kahati ka sa kama, tapos di ka natututukan ng nurse kasi nga marami kayo. (When you’re in the charity ward, you have to bear it. You have to share a bed and the nurse can’t keep an eye on you because you’re so many),” said Gladys.

The conditions in the hospital are indicative of a nationwide situation. According to Angelito Umali, MD, Maternal Health Adviser for the United Nations Population Fund, lack of health facilities and skilled health workers especially in isolated and disadvantaged areas, conflict-stricken areas, and indigenous communities challenge maternal health conditions.

“ S e ve nt y p e r c e nt of health workers are working in thir t y percent of the Philippines,” he said.

The high cost of health s er v ic e s h a s a l s o b e en decr ied. A H W president Rober t Mendoza told Rappler that the “prices for hospita ls…still increased during [former] President [Noynoy] Aquino’s last year.”

IMPROVING, BUT SLOW

Reports from government and international agencies such a s t he M illennium Development Goals Progress Report and the DOH Annual Report suggest that other impor tant indicators on maternal health are not being met.

Particularly, the latest figures for maternal mortality ratio stood at 221 deaths per 100,000 live births, far from the target of 52. The latest contraceptive prevalence ratio of 48.9% was also below the targeted 63%.

Despite these challenges, Umali noted that there were major developments under the previous administration, particularly in the access to

emergency obstetric care, number of facilities, and prov incia l penetration of health services.

Uma li also lauded government measures such as increased family planning budgets, nurse and midwife deploy ment progra ms, and the administration’s s up p or t ive ne s s t ow a r d s reproductive health efforts.

He a l s o h ig h l ig ht s t he Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law, which allowed for greater investments in reproductive hea lt h commodit ies a nd broader PhilHealth coverage for pregnant women.

However, he notes that significant challenges remain, primarily with the implementation of the RPRH Law. He says that legal issues, budget cuts, and problems at the loca l gover n ment level prevent full implementation.

CONTINUING STRUGGLE

In spite of the challenges, Umali is optimistic about the prospects of maternal and reproductive health under the new administration.

According to Umali, DOH Secretary Paulyn Ubial “saw the implementation of the RH Law. She’d know the challenges already. Now that she is at the helm, [the challenges] would be properly addressed.”

He a lso described President Rodrigo Duterte as “keen on addressing population issues.” In his State of the Nation Address la s t Ju ly 2 5 , D uter te sa id t hat R PR H “must be put into full force.”

Health activist groups such as AHW share similar sentiments. The group was part of the progressive contingent that rallied in support of the new president on his inauguration on June 30.

The group has also been in dialogue with Sec. Ubial.

As for Fabella, SFM posted that “The struggle to stop Fabella’s abolition continues” on their Facebook page. As of press time, the group has resumed protests in front of the hospital and will continue to do so until the safety of the hospital is guaranteed.

To protect ‹1

police officers used a “wheel of torture” to exact information from detainees. For example, if the wheel landed on “20-seconds Manny Pacman,” detainees will be beaten. “30-seconds bat” means detainees will be hung upside down from their legs.

Aside from the maltreatment of detainees, there is also the dismal condition of police lockup cells.

According to an official* from the PNP Human Rights Affairs Office (PNP-HRAO), many detainees under custodial investigation (period between an arrest and an official court hearing) are detained for more than 30 days within the local station’s lockup cells. These cells are only meant to hold suspects for a period less than 30 days before being summoned to court.

According to a CHR report, lockup cells across the five police districts of the National Capital Region are plagued with issues such as poor ventilation, absence of natural light, lack

of beddings and mattresses, and adequate toilet facilities.

Basic necessities such as food and water are scarce, as most police stations do not have an institutional fund to cover the cost of the detainees’ meals.

There is also a lack of medicines and medical officers stationed in the station.

BLAMED ON IGNORANCE

In the face of the criticisms against the PNP, the PNPHRAO official reaffirmed that the police will always uphold the human rights of the accused. The official added that police officers will never willfully infringe upon the human rights of the accused no matter the circumstance.

In instances in which officers were accused of violating human rights, either unlawful detention or bodily harm, it was the ignorance of the officer in question (about the rights of the accused) or circumstance, the official said.

When questioned about the scenarios in which police officers have clearly violated the rights of the accused during the arrest process, the official said that some officers didn’t know that their actions were illegal. The official also mentioned that not all police officers had the opportunity to graduate from the PNPA and that these non-PNPA graduates weren’t sufficiently trained on the POPM. As for the woeful state of lockup cells, the official attributed this to the inadequate budget allocation from the previous administration. In most cases, police officers had to pay out of their own pocket in order to feed the detainees, the official said.

ADVOCACY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

In response to these lapses of moral judgment, the PNPHRAO has implemented an awareness and advocacy

campaign aimed towards inculcating human rights education among its officers.

As part of this advocacy campaign, the department plans on holding seminars on human rights education and refresher courses on the POPM across its regional divisions, especially in areas where officers received little to no formal police training save for an orientation given by their local police department.

A s to accountabilit y of officers, Franco stated that all police-sanctioned op er at ion s , re g a rd le s s whether there were casualties i nvolve d , a r e a lw ay s investigated by the Internal Affairs Service department of the PNP, the National Police Commission, and the PNPHRAO in order to determine whether the application of force was deemed acceptable. *Name withheld at the request of the official.

promoted to the next stage.

Upon reaching the second stage, residents are assigned to their own mentor called “Big Brother.” Residents who have reached this stage are expected to know how to handle themselves and should be more adjusted to life in the center.

The center starts incorporating the resident’s family into the recovery process in the third stage. Relatives or guardians would be permitted to visit every Sunday for a group counseling session with the resident. A mediator joins them to guide them throughout the session. Residents are also granted minor responsibilities that they have to do on a daily basis.

In the fourth and final stage, residents are given major responsibilities to develop their leadership skills. Residents would also have to create their own action plan that they would implement once out of the center. This would help them avoid a potential relapse.

Another center in Antipolo, the Center for Christian Recovery (CCR), also has four stages in its rehabilitation process. Red Garcia, who has been a resident, described the process as “Christ-centered” and “hands-on,” saying that the center’s spiritual roots make it special. Garcia says that the center helped remind him that God exists and he is loved.

“It treats us na God exists and mahal ako ng Panginoon (God loves me). God exists, and I matter to him. Importante ako sa kanya (I am important to Him),” he shared.

The first stage, called the Primary Rehabilitation Stage, focuses on the rehabilitant’s need to find peace with God. A foundation for a peaceful relationship with God is developed and the rehabilitant eventually makes the decision to entrust themselves into his care.

Upon achieving this, they move on to the second stage called the General Recovery Stage, which focuses on establishing peace within the self.

The residents are also encouraged to take responsibility for their own behavior, including letting go of past resentments.

The third stage, the Re-entry Stage, focuses on rebuilding relationships, as well gaining peace with others. Residents are granted the opportunity to practice the discipline of making amends with those they have hurt, such as family and friends.

Finally, the Aftercare Stage emphasizes the resident’s recovery of purpose.

Residents are encouraged to keep and maintain the peace to avoid relapsing.

One reason for the success of both centers’ rehabilitation process is how residents are made to feel as if they were at home rather than just at a treatment center. “Para siyang bahay na nagpapahinga ka (It’s like a home where you can rest),” Dave says about Crossroads.

LACK OF SUPPLY

Despite their success, privately-owned centers like Crossroads and CRR are unable to accommodate more people, especially those who come from less fortunate backgrounds.

“Mahirap silang pumasok dito sa mga private. Sa public naman, di nila kaya i-accommodate.

Kasi kahit sa public, meron bayad, eh. (It’s hard for them to enter private centers such as these. Even in public centers, they can’t be accommodated.

Even public centers require payment),” Garcia said.

With rehabilitation centers generally relying on the residents’ monthly payments to cover expenses such as food and employees’ wages, Garcia says that public rehabilitation centers are all the more not prepared to accommodate the sudden increase of people in need of them.

In response, there have been initiatives proposed by government officials. AKO BICOL party-list representatives Rodel Batocabe, Alfredo Garbin Jr., and Christopher Co filed House Bill 132 which seeks fair distribution of drug rehabilitation centers around the country.

The aim is to make treatment more accessible to the poor and marginalized.

Batocabe told the Manila Bulletin that only a few thousand out of the 1.3 million estimated drug users in the country fully undergo rehabilitation because of high costs, which range from Php 60,000 in a government-run facility to Php 150,000 in a private facility.

For its part, the Department of Health (DOH) aims to secure a Php 1 billion budget from the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation to set up more centers around the country.

According to the Philippine Star, DOH would need Php 270 M for recovery initiatives of the surrendered drugdependents. The budget for this is expected to triple in 2017.

DOH is also planning to include the acute phase of rehabilitation as part of PhilHealth’s insurance coverage. At this phase, patients receive “active but short-term treatment for their condition.” However, it is unlikely that PhilHealth will shoulder succeeding phases of rehabilitation because of high costs.

While these initiatives are still on the drawing board, some parts of the country are already trying to come up with their own solutions. The City of Manila recently introduced a new community-based rehabilitation program in its different barangays. Tacloban City has started a five-day spiritual seminar for drug dependents in lieu of the city’s lack of rehabilitation centers.

TAKING INITIATIVE

However, some drug dependents who have gone through rehabilitation still end up relapsing and being sent back. According to statistics from the DDB for 2014, 772 out of the 4,060 admitted were readmissions.

Garcia, who has been a drug dependent himself, explained that one of the many reasons why relapse occurs is idleness. Based on the same DDB report, 48% of total admissions were unemployed.

“Kung wala silang trabaho, marami silang idle time. Kailangan meron kang structure (If they don’t have jobs, they have lots of idle time. You need to have a structure),” he said.

The entire process of recovery requires not just the proper rehabilitation facilities and processes but also constant support, follow up, monitoring, and more so, the user’s own will to recover.

Dave shared that while the process was able to help them recover gradually, 95%of it came from his own personal initiative.

“It’s up to you if you’ll choose to go back or to continue the l ife you built,” he said. *Names were changed to protect their identities.

EDITOR: ADRIAN M. GOH · EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: SAFFI C. ARCENAS · LAYOUT ARTIST: CLARISSA R. GORREON

2

Features

DISCO REBORN: DANCE CRAZES

Dancing has long been customary for us Filipinos. But when media impacts the way we dance, it is a different discussion altogether.

Pokémon: The game of generations As Pokémon makes a comeback on its latest platform, Pokémon Go, fans of the franchise are looking at a gameplay that is both immersive and nostalgic.

BY SAFFI C. ARCENAS AND CELINE D. NATIVIDAD

V

ideo games have come and gone, some lasting longer than others. Throughout the years, the companies that created them have expanded into other markets such as the film and toy industries. Some, if very popular, have gathered a large number of fans that regularly form a convention where they can talk about and dress up as their favorite video game characters.

When people hear the word “Pokémon,” some remember the trading cards, others remember the anime, and most remember the video game of their childhood. Its nostalgic appeal, effective marketing techniques, and constant innovation and integration into people’s lives ma ke Pokémon still one of the most prominent video games in the world today. This is even more evident with the release of Pokémon Go and the hype surrounding the application.

The Pokémon name is once again resurfacing, but with a new gameplay.

not only in terms of its graphics, but also in terms of its setting, options, customizations, as well as the addition of new Pokémon species and types. The reason for this variation is mainly to keep fans interested and engaged.

Because of its popularity as a video game, the franchise expanded into other media and entertainment platforms. In early 1997, an anime television series of the same name aired in Japan. The following year, Pokémon: The First Movie was released. According to the Pokémon website, the franchise has released around 19 movies and 913 episodes.

John Gokongwei School of Management Business Resource Center director John Lagdameo says, “It’s generational marketing. If you started with Pokémon when you were young, and that’s what’s familiar with you, it sticks with you until whatever age you are.” With the popularity and sense of nostalgia that Pokémon has evoked, the game has successf ully created a nd established a place for itself in the minds of numerous audiences, regardless of age, gender, and race.

THE CRADLE OF A CLASSIC

In 1990, Game Freak magazine’s Satoshi Tajiri had hopes for a video game concept that was based on anime—or Japanese animation—and Japanese comic books called manga. Taking inspiration from how he used to catch and collect bugs as a child, Tajiri developed Pokémon, a video game where players could capture strange creatures in odd containers called “Poké balls” and use these creatures to battle against those of others.

The name “Pokémon” is a blend word derived from poketto mon sutā, wh ich means “pocket monsters” in Japanese. Six years later, the first Pokémon game was released for Game Boy, a handheld gaming device.

The popular phrase, “only 90’s kids will understand,” almost does not apply to Pokémon fans. As the years went on, the game became available for other types of Nintendo products. Over the years, Pokémon has released six generations. Their seventh one, entitled Pokémon Sun and Moon, will be having its release in November this year.

A “generation” is a group of Pokémon games that is separated from groups with different sets of Pokémon, characters, and gameplay concepts. Each generation varies

PLAYING WITH REALIT Y

Along with this sense of sentimentality for the past, Associate Vice-Chairperson for Evaluation of the Sanggunian Department of Research and Statistics Arvin Boller (BS PSY ‘13) says, “A lot of the new games become influential [because they’re] becoming more real.” The more integrated a video game is with reality, the more attractive it is to people.

Pokémon Go, the franchise’s most recently released mobile game, is an augmented reality (AR) game. AR games superimpose a computergenerated image onto a user’s view of the real world. In Pokémon Go, this means that using your phone’s camera, you will be able to virtually find, catch, train, and battle Pokémon all on your phone’s screen. La gda meo adds that although AR isn’t new, Pokémon’s unique concept m a ke s t he i nt e r a c t ive gameplay engaging. “It’s an adventure,” he adds.

With the recent release of Pokémon Go, the media franchise has now branched out from video game consoles to hand-held mobile devices—a feat that gives the franchise a sizable audience, since most people are already in possession of an iOS or Android phone.

“I think the greatest draw of Pokémon Go is the fact that it

now allows you to fulfill something that you cannot before.

Suddenly, there’s a fulfillment of this dream [that] I can travel and become [a] Pokémon trainer in real life,” says Boller.

Because of this effect, the gap between the virtual and real worlds becomes smaller, and the difference between what is real and what isn’t blurs, according to Boller.

The brand has also made a collection of merchandise: Trading cards, toys, and so many others. Alongside this, separate online and console games have also been added, some with their own unique storylines apart from the original game series. In fact, The Pokémon Company has advertised their media franchise to such an extent that, as computer science major and avid Pokémon fan Adrian Danao puts it, “the anime and other merchandise [act as] an advertisement for the game itself.”

This marketing tactic that Pokémon has employed time and again has greatly helped the company grow from its humble Japanese roots into the burgeoning franchise that it is today. By conquering and expanding to various platforms, the franchise may not be losing its popularity anytime soon.

FAN FRENZY

A s of l a te Ju ly, t he International Business Times, an online news publication, s ay s t h a t t he A nd roid Application Package is only available in Japan within Asia. This scarcity is due

to the massive number of people who are playing the game in other continents.

T he de velop er, Ni a nt ic Labs, repor ted ly paused international rollouts so as not to overload its servers.

This issue did not d iscoura ge some of our Filipino Pokémon enthusiasts however, as most simply sw itched to a pa r ticula r country’s application store where the game was already made available to be able to download it.

However, since most servers in Asia still aren’t compatible with the game, these fans are still unable to play. This tenacity only shows the popularity that Pokémon Go has garnered and the eagerness the public has shown regarding its release.

As to what makes people so attracted to Pokémon Go, Boller shares that, “Pokémon Go puts that life into your own hands. Parang, ikaw na mismo 'yung player (It’s like you are the player yourself).”

Just as it is for any other fra nch ise, t he f ut ure is uncertain for The Pokémon Company. “There’s always a time when people get [tired] with the whole thing,” says Lagdameo. Yet Boller says that “[t]he future of Pokémon Go and these types of games depends on how they may be able to become real.”

If the brand were to continue adapting and coming up with new, upgraded, or revised material that further immerse players into the game, it is most likely that Pokémon won’t

be going anywhere anytime soon. And with it still attracting people even after two decades, the odds are that the Pokémon legacy will continue to expand into other platforms while holding onto the distinctive identity that its fans have grown to love.

POKÉ-BALLIN’. From the red brick road, all the way down to the Loyola School of Theology, Ateneans can hunt down Pokémon of all sorts.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN ANG

“It’s generational marketing. If you started with Pokémon when you were young, and that’s what’s familiar with you, it sticks with you until whatever age you are.”

— JOHN LAGDAMEO DIRECTOR, JGSOM BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER

2

Features

Disco reborn: Dance crazes Just as tropical cyclones grace the country every now and then, dance crazes come and go year by year, taking the Philippines by storm and carrying dance cultures from the world over.

BY ANDREW D. CAMBRI AND ADRIAN M. GOH

C

oncert speakers thump some beats into the background. As beams of light sweep the studio and dry ice clouds the stage, the backdrop rolls away to reveal television show host Vice Ganda.

A live audience cheers as he steps out into the limelight, beaming.

“Whoops Kiri” by Fruitcake plays, and Vice Ganda and a crew of dancers get into their positions.

They perform the dance sequence and moments later the entire studio is dancing along.

This is how local variety show ASAP panned out one Sunday in August 2013. Those who patronize shows like ASAP will find this scene quite familiar. Even before television personalities like Vice Ganda entered showbiz, dance crazes from earlier decades have already received nationwide attention.

Social media has also created a more conducive atmosphere for dance crazes to go viral. Lately, Filipinos have taken to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to post videos of themselves dancing to the contagious “Trumpets challenge,” also popularized

by Vice Ganda. With the ever increasing and perennial popularity of dance crazes, it seems more and more likely that they will continue gaining traction in the Philippines over the next few decades.

THRILLER THROWBACK

Dance crazes didn’t just emerge in the contemporary period. According to sociology and anthropology professor Clarissa Mijares, Filipinos have historically been very “kinesthetically oriented.” She says that “Filipinos are quick to learn dance steps. Some of our folk dances are actually based on ‘dance crazes’ from Europe such as the Mazurka, Balse (Waltz), Curacha, the Polka, [and many others].”

In fact, we literally took dancing to court. The Surtido, which means “assortment” in Spanish, is a collection of popular court dances that

fuse native and European dances. This is a showcase of how Filipinos could become en a more d w it h forei g n dances, blend them with some of our own, and create something entirely novel yet familiar out of the fusion.

Even as we shifted into the modern period, the Filipino penchant for following the latest dance trends did not stop. Huge hits such as Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” and Michael Jackson’s plethora of singles from Thriller (1982) led to wildly successful crazes.

We see here how dance trends are often catalyzed by the release of hits that caught on with mainstream pop culture.

Being a dancer herself, Mijares takes a trip down memory lane to recall the dance crazes of her time. “Having been born in the 80s, I was exposed to a lot of dance crazes.

There was Madonna’s ‘Vogue,’ the very popular ‘running man,’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘moonwalk,’” she shares.

Even before the advent of social media, many other dance crazes had already taken hold worldwide. The Asereje and the Macarena dominated 90s pop culture during the rise of Latin pop. Upbeat dance trends like “Tootsie Roll” by 69 Boyz eventually became favorites as exercise music. Locally, dances like the Otso-otso and the Spaghetti became wildly popular on television and radio during the turn of the millennium.

With the arrival of Gwiyomi and Gangnam Style, K-Pop also began to influence global dance culture. By 2010, the rapid rise of social media greatly changed the way dance crazes spread. A plethora of crazes began to blaze through the internet.

SHARING THE FEVER

Most trends come from small beginnings, and dance crazes are no different. Take Budots, for example. The term itself is a Davaoeño slang word for tambays or bystanders. The fused techno music and tribalfreestyle dance moves of Budots made it hilarious. Fans of the

“No special training or formal instruction is necessary for the learning of these dances. This is also what makes them so attractive. Not only are they fun to do; it is also economical for the Filipino body.”

— CLARISSA MIJARES LECTURER, SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHRPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

I DAB TO THAT. The dab is only one out of many dance moves that have gone viral over the Internet in such a short span of time.

PHOTO BY PATRICK T. ONG

craze took to Facebook and YouTube to share their very own videos, rapidly making it popular throughout local social media.

Likewise, foreign dance crazes themselves can have rather obscure origins. When YouTuber Filthy Frank posted a video of him and his friends going wild to record producer Baauer’s single “Harlem Shake,” other people began posting their own Harlem Shake videos as well. The craze comprised of huge crowds of people, incredibly unusual costumes, and comedic dance moves.

Filipinos seem to like their dances with a little more flair: The dances can be quite contagious. Mijares mentions television’s integral role in the viral nature of dance crazes.

“In the 1990s and early 2000s, noontime television [was] the primary platform [for dance crazes],” she says, adding that there were step-by-step dance manuals, as well as instructional videos for those who wanted to take the dances to heart.

The dances are relatively easy to follow. This is really why dance crazes caught on with mainstream media. “No special training or formal instruction is necessary for the learning of these dances,” says Mijares.

“This is also what makes them so attractive. Not only are they fun to do; it is also economical for the Filipino body.”

Today, the Internet provides a space for dance crazes to propagate even further. Alliance dance crew member Steffi Tolentino shares, “[The internet is] such a strong influence— especially 'yung social media, you get more followers, you get to be more exposed.”

In a local context, Kriztela Cuisia, who has competed in Rhythm in Blue, an on-campus dance competition among Atenean organizations, points out that “[when Filipinos see] that most people enjoy and remake the videos, [they] are influenced into studying the dances and doing them as well. In a somewhat herd mentality, Filipinos and some Atenean students then ‘go with the flow’ and dance as well.”

It’s no surprise that the youth eagerly embrace these crazes.

People observe their peers doing these dances and want to showcase their skills or simply join the fun. Considering the passion with which Filipinos

approach music and dance, it becomes quite the recipe for dance crazes to rapidly catch on.

A SPACE FOR THE CRAZE

Da nce cra ze s a re a worldwide phenomenon.

This begs the question about whether it is the local crazes or the international ones that appeal more to Filipinos. Mijares believes the question is irrelevant. “There is no set rule or statistics that will say that foreign dances are more popular than the locally developed ones [or vice versa],” she asserts.

Despite local crazes being incomparable to foreign ones, we can still observe parallelisms between the two.

For one, these dances always involve a mob of some sort in order to reach its full potential as a craze. Another similarity is that dance crazes today have pseudo-choreographed moves—movements that seem spontaneous but are planned beforehand.

The reason for these similarities is not too obscure.

Mijares says that more often than not, dance crazes “trickle down from the West and throughout history.” After all, we could trace the origins of local court dances to a good number of European countries.

A rather big difference however, is in the manner dance crazes in the Philippines are executed. “Maharot (boisterous),” says Mijares.

“That what makes [Filipino dance crazes] a bit different from [other] dance crazes.”

In a sense, we Filipinos like doing things our way. We find ways of making things our own, but most importantly, we like to have fun. Mijares says, “Part of playfulness is the exaggeration of most of the movements.

Filipino dancers would do the steps with bigger gestures, wider limb range, etc.”

Our love for dance crazes goes beyond mere desire to connect with others. In more ways than one, dance crazes pay homage to our culture and roots. They also speak a lot about what we as a Filipino community like to do for fun. With history proving that dance crazes can thrive even without social media, there’s no doubting that there will continue to be a place for dance crazes in Filipino culture.

Dance dance evolution

BY SAFFI C. ARCENAS ILLUSTRATIONS BY CLARISSA R. GORREON

Through the years, dance-offs have always been an integral part of Filipino social media culture. However, it takes getting their popularity to the next level to become a dance craze.

Otso-otso Possibly one of the most nostalgic dance dares done at family or company parties, the Otso-otso was created by Bayani Agbayani in 2004. The dance involves moving one’s back up and down while one’s hands remain on the knees. It first appeared in Agbayani’s music video of his song with the same name.

Gangam Style “Gangnam Style” is the song that brought international fame to Korean pop singer Psy after he released a music video for the hit single in 2012. The dance resembles how one would look if one were riding a horse. It has also made its way into several video parodies such as the YouTube Rewind of 2012, a video summary of the year’s biggest trends.

Whip and Nae nae It was American rapper Silentó’s 2015 hit single “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” that made famous the forward thrust of the right fist (the Whip) followed by a pulling back of the right arm (the Nae Nae). However, the two were originally separate dances.

The Nae Nae was made popular by hip-hop group We Are Toonz’s 2013 song “Drop That NaeNae.” The Whip, on the other hand, was first danced to in comedian King Imprint’s 2014 YouTube video, “New Dance Whip #Whip.”

Trumpets “Trumpets” is a hit single by Spanish DJs Sak Noel and Salvi featuring Sean Paul. Its popularity grew after Filipinos created a video challenge online, which involved dancing to the song. Thus, the “Trumpets Challenge” was born.

The dance mostly involves a lot of rotational hip and leg movement.

Famous celebrities who have participated in the challenge include showbiz host Vice Ganda and Eat Bulaga’s Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza.

The GUIDON August 2016

3

The faces unfeigned

When Kylie Jenner drops hints about her new makeup product on Snapchat, makeup enthusiasts all over the world are ecstatic. But the ones whose attention get piqued the most are the beauty vloggers—­­­and they’re ready to review the latest makeup trend.

BY PATRICIA A. DY AND CELINE D. NATIVIDAD

W

hen a new makeup trend is on the rise, the impact it creates varies from person to person. For most people, this news may not be any different from the occasional celebrit y gossip, but for a few, their first instinct upon hearing of the trend would be to whip out their DSLR cameras, their minds already forming potential video concepts. A script is then written, rehearsed, and memorized before the lights are set and turned on. Along with a camera, propped and ready for the shoot, they lay out the products they’re about to review.

These rare few are called “beauty vloggers”: people who post makeup tutorials on YouTube where they share tips and tricks about beauty and fashion. The word “vlog” is a contraction of the term “video blog,” while “vloggers” are people who post vlogs on the happenings in his/her dayto-day lives. For Bea Castro, an Atenean beauty vlogger, “a beauty vlogger is someone who shares their beauty through online video[s] for other people’s benefit.”

As one might see on Ateneo Trade, an online buy-and-sell community that specifically c a t e r s t o t he A t e ne a n c o m mu n it y, m o r e a n d more sellers are supplying cosmetic products such as Urban Decay, ColourPop, and Kylie Lip Kits. Because of the influx of cosmetic products, buyers feel the need to consult beauty vlogs in order to assess which product is best to purchase. The inf luence of beauty vloggers has increased as they become the go-to for tips and tricks on the latest makeup trends.

BEHIND THE MASCARA

Vlogging is a creative outlet where a vlogger simultaneously acts as scriptwriter, director, and video editor. However, most vloggers start out small.

“I subscribed to a variety of YouTubers and secretly wished that [one day,] I could be one as well,” says Castro. Everyone starts off with the basics, and the same goes for beauty vloggers. “I learned how to vlog by observation. Watching how other people do [on] YouTube and all their different genres, I found the type that I preferred,” Castro adds.

Creating a vlog is simple: Merely having a camera on hand and a story concept to pursue can easily do the job. However, it is gaining a following, constantly updating the vlog, and many other factors that make maintaining

these beauty vlogs difficult.

Vlogs highlight a beauty vlogger’s personality—from their script and the way they dress to the vlog’s editing and graphics. As beauty vloggers share parts of their lives with their viewers, the viewers get to see not just a pretty face or a makeup guru but a genuine and reliable figure.

As a college student and vlogger, Castro has uploaded style entries, budget guides, and life entries on her channel.

These vlogs serve as life advice that Castro’s peers might also feel inclined to look into— especially since they too are college students.

A beauty vlogger’s personal life and vlogging career tend to overlap at times. Castro says, “My personal life dictates the type of things I upload.

As a college student [with a limited] budget, [for example], I upload videos about cheap stuff.” Beauty vloggers share their knowledge of makeup products and hacks that they’re familiar with based on their own experiences.

Maintaining a channel is no easy task: The job takes a lot of commitment, and it also takes a toll on how beauty vloggers navigate through their daily lives. Castro says, “My personal life has gotten busier [maintaining a channel].

[M]y personal life has gotten busier [maintaining a channel]. I’ve had to treat my channel like the way I’ve treated my [academics,] but it’s alright because vlogging is my passion.

— BEA CASTRO BEAUTY VLOGGER

I’ve had to treat my channel like the way I’ve treated my [academics], but it’s alright because vlog ging is my passion.” Ultimately, being a beauty vlogger may seem like an easy feat, but it is more than that. It isn’t just a medium used to help others out, but also an avenue for personal growth.

SELLING AT FACE VALUE

Television commercials, billboards, and magazine spreads were the main media used by cosmetics brands to advertise their products before social networking sites prevailed. Models were ascribed to illustrate how cosmetics should look on everyday women. However, as beauty vloggers increased in number, they became the more emphatic figures for basic consumers.

According to Luxury Daily, the world’s leading trade publication for luxury marketing and retail, “although the professionals behind editorial images and runway beauty trends set the stage for the beauty bloggers [and vloggers], consumers are more likely to turn to [vloggers].”

The average woman finds herself more comfortable in the hands of beauty vloggers seeing that they too have their own blemishes and flaws. This only strengthens the trust between beauty vloggers and their viewers.

Brands can also establish themselves in newer markets by sending their products to beauty vloggers—and it’s the perfect publicity stunt. Zoella, a world renowned British beauty vlogger with over 10 million subscribers on her Youtube channel, featured scented bath bombs given to her for free by Lush employees in the latter part of her Easter Lush haul video. The video reached up to 1.7 million views.

Cookie Salandanan, an Ateneo Trade seller, says that she had started selling Kylie Lip Kits “because of [its] high demand.” She adds, “The trends in cosmetics change a lot, so depending on what the trend is, the profit or the demand for the products they sell will either decrease or increase.” The demand for certain cosmetic products can be linked back to beauty vloggers as they drive buyers to go for the products they assess. This exhibits the extensive influence of beauty vloggers on consumer preference and patterns.

IMITATE AND DISSEMINATE

Vloggers also inspire other people to post their own vlogs as an outlet for creativity, ideas, and opinions. Castro recently did a makeup haul for Daiso, a Japanese store with a large variety of affordable items, where she bought a number of beauty products to review. She says, “I’ve received a couple of messages on YouTube telling me that they’ve gone out to pick up this [and] that in Daiso and [they’ve] enjoyed it as well. I think that [after watching] my video, they were all of a sudden [thrilled] by the prospect of going into Daiso and checking out the beauty section.”

From the “eyebrows on fleek” look—where one’s eyebrows are perfectly groomed, filled, and shaped—to the big pouty matte lips, makeup consumers have mimicked how beauty vloggers do their faces. Because beauty vloggers inform them about the latest beauty products, more and more people are induced to buy makeup and tag along with the trend.

In the perspective of a cosmetics consumer and makeup artist, freelance makeup artist Gianne Esguerra says, “[W] ithout these Youtube vloggers, I wouldn’t be learning as much [about] makeup [since] I didn’t go to a makeup school.

BAREFACED AND BRAZEN. A lot goes on behind the makings of beauty vlogs, but a beauty vlogger like Bea Castro (pictured) isn’t afraid to bare his or her blemishes.

PHOTOS BY JILL R. CHAN

But because of [vloggers], I got to learn more.” The effect that beauty vloggers have on each viewer varies, but in one way or another, these vloggers are agents of spreading information about makeup—be it to average makeup users or to makeup artists.

Beauty vloggers hold a lot of sway with regards to how a certain product is received by the public based on their reviews. With their colossal impact and inf luence on viewers, they have a great deal of responsibility in the makeup and online industry. Gone are the days of being misinformed about makeup products, of needing to buy makeup before knowing if it’s good, and of not knowing how to apply them properly. Lovers of beauty products can now bank on the fact that there will be beauty vloggers online that they can turn to for the latest beauty trends and vloggers in return would be happy to provide.

4

Features

The GUIDON August 2016

The phases and faces of rap From American streets to foreign airwaves, rap has evolved into a great instrument of self-expression far beyond its musical roots—it has become the poetry of the youth, the voice of a generation.

BY ANDREW D. CAMBRI AND PATRICIA A. DY

M

ANY MAY want to start their own rock band or become pop hear tthrobs, but one will be hard-pressed to find a genre that has inf luenced the landscape of modern popular culture and music more than rap. Deeply embraced by the youth today, the potent genre has become a powerful tool for culture a nd self- ex pression t hat most can appreciate and learn with nothing more than their words and their wit. Spreading from its working-class urban roots to its modern domination of popular music, its inf luence is taking hold a nd re ach i n g cou nt le s s shores all over the world.

Despite the negative attention that rap has endured, the genre still continues to grow, permeating throughout modern life and culture.

With its power to convey messages through poetic lyrics, inspirational outlooks, and the promising rise of rap figures, rap’s overall versatility keeps it relevant and popular today. Thousands upon thousands, rich and poor, have become deeply enamored with what they see from this maverick genre.

From clothing and graffiti to the troubles and tragedies that come and go in everyday life, all sorts of passions and experiences come together as rappers and hip-hop enthusiasts alike find a voice and an identity in their favorite genre. With many aspiring rap

“It [seems] like rap shapes culture, but a lot of times, culture shapes rap. Rap is more of a reflection of culture rather than something that [drives] it.”

— DANIEL SCARLATA RAPPER, ATENEO MUSICIANS POOL

artists and DJs arising both locally and abroad, rap continues to evolve and take further root in modern culture.

PART Y LIKE IT’S THE 70S

T hou g h mo s t p a r t ie s nowadays will most likely have hip-hop music blaring loudly from the speakers, there was once a time early in the 70s when hip-hop was nothing more than a creative improvisation of the music used at neighborhood block parties in the South Bronx, New York City.

Streets were closed off and neighbors from the block gathered to party. Taking inspiration from his Jamaican roots, DJ Kool Herc began combining funk records on turntables to create and improvise beats, and from there, new techniques such as emceeing and beatboxing began to take hold.

Hip-hop artists soon began incorporating rhymes into their lyrics, which led to the beginnings of rap. Hip-hop groups such as the Zulu Nation began holding parties all around the city, combining street dance, graffiti, and rapping into their parties’ activities.

By t he 8 0 s, h ip -hop had become one of the biggest subcultures in the urba n communities a nd neighborhoods of America.

The music, artwork, clothing, and slang inspired by hip-hop began to find itself overseas, and the genre’s global appeal took root, making it all the way to Philippine airwaves, with rap legends such as Francis M, Gloc-9, and many others arising from all over the country.

Initially, rap was an outlet for troubled urban youths to release pent-up anger and energy instead of troublemaking

in the streets. However, the commercial success of gangsta rap in the 90s began to bring an unwanted reputation to the genre: That of glorifying and romanticizing crime, gang culture, and violence.

Despite this, local rapper Mito Fabie, also known as Curtismith, mentions how “there are [two] general aspects of rap: [T]hat’s the social or self aware type of rap and the braggadocio—[the] ‘fun’ type of rap.

With these two types, you meet people from opposite sides of the spectrum.” It can be seen that even in the midst of a more commercialized rap scene, rapp er s s t i l l s t r ive to voice out social issues and the hard realities of life.

TAKE PART, THEN IMPART

W it h r ap’s ex p a n sion internationally and locally, t he genre has become a cultural trendsetter. Although rap does popularize certain fads, in the end, it is still the people’s culture that drives it.

According to Daniel Scarlata, a rapper from the Ateneo Musician’s Pool, “It [seems] like rap shapes culture, but a lot of times, culture shapes rap. Rap is more of a reflection of c u lt u re r at her t h a n something that [drives] it.”

Rap’s versatility enables it to always remain relevant and relatable to the current age. Forms of teenage angst va r y from generation to generation, yet rap is able to adapt and create artistic interpretations through poetic language and powerful messages. Rap represents and signifies what the people want to hear, and that’s why it has become so popular.

The genre not only breaks through music, but fashion as

well, dominating the pages of Vogue with rappers like A$AP Rocky, Kanye West, and Fetty Wap, among other artists.

Streetwear is now considered as high fashion and couture.

Rappers don’t just sell music anymore. These days, they also bring their brand to the table. You can now find fashion lines such as Pharell Williams’ Billionaire Boys Club, Kanye West’s Yeezy, Tyler, the Creator’s Golf Wang, and much more.

Fabie says, “[Rappers have] branded themselves in such a way that they are sought after as style icons by the youth.”

This can be seen in the recent popularity of “hypebeast” and “hypebae” fashion for both genders—terms coined for those who style themselves according to the latest fashion trends from the wardrobes of rappers and hip-hop artists today.

CULTURAL CHAMELEON

Rappers often profess how being different or going through certain life struggles can still lead to greatness. This kind of self-empowerment helps the genre further thrive. Scarlata adds, “Rappers don’t really define the way we think. A lot of times our rappers borrow ways of thinking and relay them.”

Rap fan Elizabeth Papa says, “ T he menta lit y of working hard and fighting against life's struggles in order to pursue one's dream is [one] that the [millennials have] caught [onto].” The influence of Western rap culture is immensely evident in our country—the local scene.

Although Western rap’s influence is significantly greater, local rap has also shown a lot of potential. The FlipTop rap battle has become a prevalent avenue for local rappers to immerse

CAN’T STOP THE BEAT. Despite rap’s unwanted gang reputation, many rappers today like Daniel Scarlata of the Ateneo Musician’s Pool (pictured) have resurged with rhythm and rhyme—showing the world how a genre could speak for the voices of many.

PHOTO BY CHESTER B. TAN

themselves in the industry wherein gangsta rap—also known as “hardcore rap”—dominates.

The Philippines is home to talented rappers like the legends aforementioned and young rising Filipino rappers such as Abra and Sevenes, among others.

The versatility of rap stretches out to cater to different forms of culture as well. Scarlata says, “Kaya sikat ang rap sa America kasi marami silang cultural references sa America tapos gets ng tao ‘e. If it’s like local music and nag-reference tayo sa SM North or something gets mo ‘yun ‘e—kasi taga-doon ka (Rap is popular in America because they have a lot of cultural references from America and people get it. If it’s like local music and we make an SM North reference or something, you get it because you’re from around here).”

From its infamous beginnings, rap’s versatility has helped it soar beyond music and into fashion lines and street art. Furthermore, it tells of the struggles, glories, and stories of everyday life and society. What was once just an improvisation for the urban youth to enjoy parties has evolved into the cultural chameleon that rap is today. It takes in all sorts of backgrounds and influences, only to unleash its riveting lyrics and beats into every aspect of today’s popular, musical, and social culture.

EDITOR: GABRIELLE M. LOMBOS · EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: NIO B. ATRIGENIO · LAYOUT ARTIST: ANTONETTE A. AMONCIO

4

Inquiry

KINDLING FOR CHANGE

With IgnITE's rebrand comes an opportunity to shape a more politically involved student body.

Cura mentis

BY MANUEL M. ALDEGUER

W

alk into the emergency room of any hospital. You will likely be able to tell what the majority of these patients are suffering from: Gunshot or stab wounds, dislocations, cuts, bruises, and black eyes.

Go in for a medical check-up, enumerate your symptoms, and the doctor will at least have a good idea of what you are suffering from, writing down your prescription accordingly.

In contrast to this, those with mental health issues are treated with more distance, apathy, and even hostility compared to those with more physiological conditions. There is an evident social stigma or, at the very least, a mild disinterest attached to mental health that is present in the many private and public institutions of Philippine society.

A lthough physiological ailments have more tangible manifestations and make them easier to identify and treat, it does not excuse the unmistakable lack of emphasis in addressing mental ailments.

Last semester, the Sanggunian, along with several student organizations, promoted a schoolwide Mental Health Awareness Week. In the days that followed, the Loyola Schools reported a rise in student mental health cases received by its offices.

This is a clear indication of the urgency to bring student mental health to the foreground of school-wide consciousness and the repercussions of a lack of acknowledging this issue.

ESTABLISHING FOUNDATIONS

Following last year’s restructuring of university offices led by former Vice President of the Loyola Schools John Paul Vergara, a number of protocols and support systems have been established for the purpose of student mental health care.

According to Teya Paulino

of St udent Suppor t a nd Special Services (S4), there have been student services gea re d towa rd s st udent mental health as early as 2009. She recalls how thenStudent Affairs Head Rene San Andres created a committee to help students with special needs adjust to the college setting, in response to the growing number of mental health issues reported around the campus at the time.

As reported previously by The GUIDON in this year’s March issue, members of the LS faculty and staff participated in the S4’s Psychological First Aid series (PFAs). Paulino is attempting to incorporate seminars similar to the PFAs into the LS Integrated Ateneo Formation programs. She has been working closely with InTACT supervisors, giving talks to student facilitators on how to spot potential cases and encourage students to seek help from the LS offices or their families.

Paulino had this to say about student involvement in raising awareness for mental health in general: “Actually, the students now are more aware than the faculty or the staff, and actually they were the ones who were clamoring for the recognition of the mental health of our students because they know more information than us because of their peers.”

According to Residence Halls Advisor and Office of Social Concern and Involvement Formator Anitta Nuevo, Mental Health Awareness Week helps, but mental health awareness needs to be enforced not only by student organizations, but also by the faculty.

“Hindi lang tayo nandoon to teach but also there to listen.

Isa ‘yun sa mga nakitang bagay na dapat i-improve natin bilang isang institusyon. (We [educators] are not just there to teach but also there to listen.

That is one of the things we can see that we as an institution must improve on),” she says.

ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTIONS

Because of the genera l social perceptions currently held towards mental health, it is more than necessary to bring the issue to light, in order to ensure a more informed public understanding.

Office of Health Services (OHS) Director Ma. Henrietta de la Cruz, MD, says mental health is a multifaceted issue and requires a multipronged approach in order to properly address it. She highlights the importance that nutrition plays in the psychological well being of a student, something that tends to be overlooked.

The Loyola Schools Food Safety and Nutrition Council, as well as its grade school and high school counterparts, convene regularly to discuss the food the school’s concessionaires are serving to students to promote better eating habits.

De la Cruz makes mention of different physical fitness programs promoted by the OHS facilitated by Ateneo alumni. In his book entitled Spark, John J. Ratey, MD investigates the role that physical activity plays in an individual’s overall health. He cites scientific studies that prove the effectiveness of exercise in combatting anxiety, depression, and other severe mental illnesses.

Ratey’s work is a testament to how mental health is just as much a physical issue as it is a psychological one. De la Cruz claims the programs have notable results, but is dismayed by the lack of recognition these programs receive from the LS community.

Although this issue is truly one that requires community effort, the importance of privacy and sensitivity can never be overstated.

The LS offices that are directly responsible for addressing mental health care adhere to a strict code of confidentiality. Assistant

Guidance Director Virgilio Panlasigui likens the degree of confidentiality as “very similar to that a confession.”

“We always think about the welfare of the students.

Top priority na ‘yan,” he continues. “Only when there is a danger posed to the entire community will we break confidentiality. But that has never happened.”

“Some students are open with their conditions, and usually they talk about it to their friends, but for the others you just have to respect them on the confidentiality of what is happening to them,” Paulino says.

Nuevo has her NSTP students write journals for her classes.

She believes that sometimes all a student needs is an outlet or someone to talk to. The private moments are most important, although that is no reason for people to be invasive, she says.

“There are those who only find out [about their mental health issues] when they are in Ateneo. Ngayon lang nila nalaman that they have these certain conditions (They only found out that they have these certain conditions now),” Nuevo adds.

Paulino wants the student body to remember that all measures put into place by the university are first and foremost preventative. “We can only do so much as employees of the school,” she says.

EXTERNAL SUPPORT

Ateneo universities around the country have been working in collaboration with one another in addressing student mental health in their respective campuses. “The Ateneo universities from other provinces called regarding protocols for vulnerable adults,” Paulino explains.

CURA MENTIS › 3

HOLISTIC CARE. Some students only discover their conditions once they’re at the Ateneo.

PHOTO BY GABBY F. JIMENEZ

In mind and governing body

BY MANUEL M. ALDEGUER

On July 8, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation—a nonprofit organization dedicated to depression awareness and education—signed an agreement to set up a 24/7 suicide counseling hotline. The partnership, named “Hopeline,” is expected to officially begin operating this September.

This is the first of many efforts to address mental health that the DOH is expected carry out, as per the list of priority concerns released by newly appointed Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, MD. This is not the first time a government official has attempted to incite nationwide awareness and action for mental health.

BOUND BY CONGRESS

On January 21, 2015, the Philippine House of Representatives received House Bill 5347. The document, entitled the “Philippine Mental Health Act of 2015,” called for the enhancement of mental health services carried out by national and local government agencies, including the DOH, the Commission of Human Rights, and the Department of Justice. The bill also proposed the establishment of a Philippine Council for Mental Health to be an attached agency under the DOH. Citing Article II, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution, the bill stated that “the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.” The authors of the bill include current Vice President Leni Robredo, congressman Ibarra Gutierrez, and former congressman Walden Bello.

On August 19 of the same year, in the upper chamber of the Philippine Congress, Senator Pia Cayet ano introduced Senate Bill 2910, e nt i t l e d t h e “ P hilip p in e Mental Health Act of 2015.”

Citing the same constitutional responsibility of the State, the content of the document is identical to the House Bill introduced several months prior, save for the absence of the proposal of a national mental health council and a few minor omissions in various sections . The bill references a council for mental health established by former President Fidel Ramos in 1998 under E xecutive Order No. 470.

In any case, both 2015 bills failed to pass their respective chambers of Congress that year and major news outlets have

little to no articles covering either bill since they were first brought to Congress.

AN ELUSIVE COUNCIL

Then-President Fidel V. Ramos’s Executive Order No. 470 ordered the “creation of the Philippine Council for Mental Health (PCMH) which shall serve as the policy-making and advisory body on all government programs on mental health.” This Council was to be chaired by the Secretary of Health and made up by most of the remaining Cabinet Secretaries and several representatives from nongovernment organizations.

However, this council for mental health has either been subsumed by another government office or was never created, since SB 5347 makes no mention of it.

In addition, HB 6679, filed

by Speaker Prospero Nograles and Health Chair Arthur Pingoy, sought the establishment of a “Philippine Council for Mental Health” along with a “National Mental Health Care Delivery System” in 2009.

In 2014, there was yet another bill filed to Congress promoting mental health and calling for the establishment of a national mental health council. HB 2450, introduced by Senator Loren Legarda, also called for the implementation of the “National Mental Health Care Delivery System.” The bill made no mention of Nograles, Pingoy, or the 2009 House Bill.

Decade-old, but relevant In a 2009 report the World Health Organization (WHO), Philippines Office, utilizing the WHO-Assessment Instrument of Mental Health Systems, determined that only five percent of government expenditures allocated for DOH operations were directed towards mental health care.

The report also found that the majority of the country’s mental health institutions at the time were located in the National Capital Region, concluding, “access to mental health facilities is uneven across the country, favoring those living near the main cities.”

However, according to the report, this does not appear to be the cause of a shortage of manpower or incapacity to operate.

“The challenge is motivating these professionals to stay in the country and sustain their involvement, especially in the community setting, because the country is continuing to lose this valuable and crucial resource to overseas employment,” the report says.

It is now the current government administration’s responsibility to convince citizens that many Filipinos have not recovered as well as the former Sick Man of Asia.

2

Inquiry

Find your footing: A guide to accreditation RESEARCH BY JOAQUIN B. JACINTO AND JAIRUS I. PAUL INFOGRAPHIC BY ANTONETTE A. AMONCIO SOURCES CHRISTOPHER CASTILLO — DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES, OSA APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENT GROUPS SEEKING FOR ACCREDITATION, OSA STUDENT ACTIVITIES GUIDE, MARC VANGUARDIA OF BAYBAYIN

9

53

Within the Ateneo, there are currently 53 accredited organizations, which are divided into 9 different clusters.

CREDITED ORGANIZATIONS

An organization may only be eligible to apply for accreditation after two years of operations.

Based on the guidelines found in the Accreditation Requirements for Student Groups Seeking Accreditation, a student may create a student group for formative purposes. In order for the organization to avail of the privileges of accredited organizations, however, it must seek accredited status.

DIVIDED TO CLUSTERS

HOME OR INTEREST-BASED?

Accreditation Requirements for Student Groups Seeking Accreditation

Letter of Intent

Office of Student Affairs (OSA) Director Christopher Castillo classifies organizations as either Home or Interestbased organizations.

The organization must be exclusively composed of undergraduate students of the Loyola Schools.

The group must submit a letter of intent to seek accreditation and address it directly to the Director of the Office of Student Affairs.

Moderator

An organization must have a moderator to provide wisdom and experience. The moderator does not necessarily have to be an administrator within the Loyola Schools.

Organizations which are accredited gain access to the following privileges: i. ii.

iii.

iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x.

Recognition as an official Ateneo student group Right to carry the Ateneo name and identity Advisement and assistance from the supervising office or department Priority use of Loyola Schools facilities and equipment for approved projects and activities Other privileges given by the supervising office or department Semestral budget from the Student Activities Fund Participation in formation programs given by the office Opportunity for subsidy in member formation seminars Occupancy in the MVP Center for Student Leadership Other privileges given by the school Access to a Debit Credit Balance account within OSA to draw funds

Organizations whose applications are accepted are expected to follow the requirements set out

by OSA. Failure to do so may result in sanctions or even revoking of accredited status.

Along with the letter, the following documents should be attached.

2016-2017 i.

Name and Brief Description of the Student Group ii.

Vision, Mission, and Objectives iii. Knowledge, Skills, Values, iv. and Attitudes of the Organization v.

Organizational Chart vi. Officers Job Description and Committee Task Description vii. Officers List and Directory viii. Membership Process and Membership Evaluation System ix. Constitution and By-Laws x.

Code of Internal Procedures xi. Code of Electoral Procedures xii. Code of Financial Procedures xiii. Calendar of Planned Activities for the year xiv. Formation Seminar and Mid-year Evaluation Seminar Reports

AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY

There is a one-year period of observation the following school year.

The GUIDON August 2016

3

Joining the club For organizations, accreditation can be a gateway to a whole new world, with its own set of perks and promises.

BY JOAQUIN B. JACINTO AND JAIRUS I. PAUL

I

t has been a whirlwind for Baybayin since the announcement of its accreditation last May 25, 2016. The organization, which aims to promote Filipino culture, is the newest accredited organization of the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA). But that is not the only story Baybayin embodies.

Baybayin also tells the story of what it really takes for an organization to become accredited.

TRUSTING THE PROCESS

Organizations that aspire to be accredited must have an invitation from the Office of Student Activities (OSA) to apply. Then, the organization must formally declare its intention to apply and submit documentary requirements in accordance with OSA guidelines.

Though the process seems straightforward, OSA Director C h r i s topher F. C a s t i l lo explains the process goes beyond the submission of requirements and compliance with demands.

“The push for all our orgs is for them to have a clear purpose in the community and society-at-large. It has to go beyond a hobby or a past time. That’s why it tends to be very serious… emotional even. Hindi lang siya trip or tambay (It’s not just for fun or a hangout place),” he says.

While OSA acknowledges that documents such as the constitution and by-laws are indicators of a healthy organization, it is the embodiment of Ignatian values in these documents that they look for. OSA searches for and ensures these organizations are in-line with school principles and have a clear vision of their long-term goals through these documents.

Applicants are also required to have existed for at least two years before being able to apply for accreditation.

Castillo explains that the two years serve as an “incubation” period to help organizations build a clear identity and purpose. This also serves a time for them to arrive at what makes them a distinct organi-

“We would ask [the applicants], ‘What unique contribution can you make that no existing student group right now is also doing?’”

— CHRIS CASTILLO

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES

zation from others. Castillo mentions that at its core, there is discernment involved in the accreditation process.

“We would ask [the applicants], ‘What unique contribution can you make that no existing student group right now is also doing?’ That’s why, at least in the area of accredited organizations, there is no overlap,” he says. This shows that the organization has a grasp of its identity, long-term goals, and willingness to achieve them.

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN

Castillo explains the process pushes the organizations to adapt to the processes and systems of OSA and COA. It serves as the training ground to simulate what the organizations will eventually face as accredited organizations.

This can serve to pressure the applying organizations.

Baybayin President Marc Vanguardia admits that there was more pressure during their application, as it was clear to them that they wished to be accredited. He also talks of the pressure of being more careful of finances and adjusting to the processes of OSA, as well as the need to produce a 117-page activities report and a year-end status report to OSA to prove its

eligibility to be formally granted accreditation.

However, Vanguardia talks of a benefit and reason for why these challenges were impor tant. He admits to seeing the value of why OSA put Baybayin to the test. “Ito na yung kinailangan namin ipatunayan na kaya namin tumayo sa sarili naming paa…

(This was the time to prove that we could stand on our own...)” he says.

But not all organizations are prepared to face the task at hand like Baybayin. Though Musikero has already established a distinct identity as an organization that teaches underprivileged children music, it has not yet sought accreditation.

Musikero President Mia Lim explains that because of the rigorous requirements of accreditation, they are currently prioritizing internal stability to help them prepare for the application in the long run. This is to adapt the organization’s structures and processes to be closer and more compliant with OSA’s requirements for eventual application.

However, some organizations feel that accreditation itself can be inconsistent with their organization’s culture and identity. This is one of the reasons Toushin, an unaccredited org focused

on Japanese culture, decided against pushing through with its application.

Toushin president Isabel Pasco remarks one of the reasons their Executive Board was hesitant to follow through with their application was because some members felt that the obligations required from accredited organizations were incompatible with their culture and operational philosophy.

“Culturally, the way that Toushin works is very different. We don’t have a lot of that paperwork. One of main focuses this year is to make it a lot more informal but at the same time have our systems function quicker and more efficiently,” she says.

Changes like this were also on the mind of Baybayin’s Executive Board, Vanguardia admits. “Medyo natakot kami before paaccredit. Kasi baka maging masaydong formal ang sistema, na hindi na kasing init yung pakikitungo ng bawat isa (We were scared before we got accredited. We thought we might end up becoming too formal and the group wouldn’t be as passionate anymore),” he says.

These fears are not unwarranted. A study from 1986 by Dr. Philip M. Podsakoff, DBA, Larry J. Williams PhD, and William D. Todor, PhD, shows that organizations can fear the effect of additional rules and procedures on the identity of the organization. But the study shows that formalization of these organizations actually reduces these fears because it removes ambiguity in the structure and jobs of the organization and enhances commitment.

Vanguardia admits he believes the process of application allowed the organization to clearly define the roles of members. It also reaffirmed the organization’s mission vision and core competencies to promote Filipino culture.

This is seen in the creation of an External Relations arm.

While in the case of Musikero, it has begun preparing to formalize by clearly defining the roles of each member within the organization.

WEIGHING THE BENEFITS

Despite the demands that come with accreditation, many

unaccredited organizations still aim to become members of COA. Baybayin worked hard to achieve accreditation, while Musikero has a long-term plan to do so.

Castillo says that the primary value of accreditation is the ability to use the Atenean name. “Any barkada, if you think about it, can talk to other external groups,” he says.

Accreditation enables the organization to be associated “legally and officially” with the school. Effectively, the organization becomes an organization of the Ateneo, rather than an organization comprised of Atenean students.

Lim cites this as one of the biggest incentives for Musikero to apply for accreditation. She explains that accreditation gives an org legitimacy, which can translate to higher member involvement and commitment.

Lim says that she’s seen members stay inactive because they feel the org isn’t “real” due to its lack of accreditation. She maintains that legitimacy is crucial for member recruitment. “We want to be accredited because we want to join Recweek. The normal Recweek. Because that’s where you’re recognized by the whole LS campus,” she says. She remarks that unaccredited status can discourage freshmen from applying because it implies that an org is “not really Atenean.”

The legitimacy granted by accreditation goes outside the Loyola Schools community, which can help an organization’s relationships with companies and institutions.

Accredited organizations also gain access to financial and human resources unavailable to unaccredited organizations. “We do give allocations and access to a variety of subsidies for accredited organizations. But also, if you’re an organization and you have the Ateneo name then you can get into marketing deals, sponsorship deals, and so [on] and so forth,” Castillo says.

Another benefit is access to training and formation programs given by OSA. This includes lectures, retreats, and seminars which are offered through the various formation offices of the school.

Howe ver, t h i s i s not to say that unaccredited

organizations are ignored.

Castillo explains that during the application process, orgs undergo a program where they are treated as if they were given accreditation already.

This is to measure whether the orgs can take the “rigor” of accredited organizations.

Additionally, Castillo notes that unaccredited organizations are integrated within the student leader community to help with the process. “It’s not like elitist ‘Hindi hindi, bawal ka dito’ (‘No, no, you’re not allowed here’), and so the unaccredited org in a sense gets a feel of where they could be, and COA, vice versa, gets a feel: ‘What is this org about? What is it like?’” he says.

Despite these, Musikero feels not having access to some of these benefits makes it difficult for them to plan and execute their projects. Lim brings up the struggle of reserving a venue—something accredited orgs can do a month in advance, compared to their two weeks’ notice. “Paano ‘yung fundraisers namin? Paano ‘yung projects na iyon? (What about our fundraisers? What about our projects?),” she says.

NOT FOR EVERYONE

The journey to accreditation is a choice not all organizations pursue. It goes beyond the question of requirements or benefits, and tests an organization’s core philosophy and purpose.

But Castillo emphasizes whether accredited or not, student organizations contribute to the “vibrance of student life.”“At the end of the day, [they are] Ateneans and nasa DNA nila ‘yun eh.

Hindi matatanggal. Wala lang yung apilyedo pa na ‘Ateneo’ kasi hindi pa sila accredited, but they are Ateneans and so they are worthy [in] whatever they do, wherever they do it (At the end of the day, being an Atenean is in their DNA and you can’t remove that.

Sure, you don’t have the name officially, but they are still Ateneans),” he says.

Cura mentis Paulino reported only a single private educational institution other than Ateneo schools has also been in contact with the LS concerning mental health. She says the lack of contact with other schools under the Ateneo is due to the different make up of students in these schools according to their respective counselors.

There have been several instances of government offices attempting to pass legislation for providing quality mental health care around the country.

Two major bills were introduced last year, namely House Bill 5347 and Senate Bill 2910. Both bills failed to be passed in their respective chambers.

“There is very little government support we can rely on,” de la Cruz says.

“We are an autonomous school, so maybe we’re ahead of [government offices] with ‹1

the protocols that we have,” says Paulino. “If we ca n lower down the amount of professional fees for psychiatrists to make it affordable so everybody can go in any [economic] class they are in, [mental health] would be easier to address.”

“Hindi natin kailangan hintayin sila. (We do not have to wait for them),” Nuevo says.

“We have our own initiatives.”

Pau l i no st re s se s t he importance of a student’s family in addressing student mental health cases and the boundaries and restrictions that must be respected by students and faculty and staff alike. However, this does not diminish the importance the LS community as a whole in caring for the student on campus.

TREADING LIGHTLY

The university’s caution in addressing student mental

health could be mistakenly interpreted as silence.

Nuevo believes faculty, professional, and staff of the LS can always be more vocal and visible on student mental health. “Tayo ‘yung nagbabantay; tayo yung mga kasama ng mga students in their four years or five years in the school (We guide the students; we are with them in the four or five years they’re at school),” she says. “It is something that people should talk about; hindi siya isang bagay na binubulong because it is a reality (It is something that people should talk about; it’s not something that we should whisper about because it’s a reality).”

While the issue of mental health must always be treated with the utmost care and sensitivity, restricting its discussion to certain public and private circles will only exacerbate the situation for those who require the necessary mental health

care. De la Cruz expresses that the last thing she wants for the LS community is to look at those suffering from mental health concerns with disregard or indifference. “We should always remember that these are people with real problems,” she says.

When asked about what Ateneans can do to advocate mental health care, Panlasigui places trust in the Atenean values that should inform all LS students. “Ad Majorem dei Gloriam, Lux in Domino, and magis will all lead to cura personalis, being men and women for others,” he says.

The Atenean’s assumed position of privilege in society must not be seen as something that makes his or her role any less important. Cura personalis is a call to ensure the well being of every person’s body and mind, and a reminder that these values are not for the sole benefit of the Ateneo and its students.

“It is something that people should talk about; hindi siya isang bagay na binubulong.”

— ANNITA NUEVO FORMATOR, OFFICE OF SOCIAL CONCERN AND INVOLVEMENT

4

Inquiry

The GUIDON August 2016

Kindling for change

BY NIO B. ATRIGENIO

P

hilippine politics has always been a hot topic for discussion and debate.

Revolutions, impeachment cases, and even the recent success of President Rodrigo Duterte’s unconventional political campaign are just some of the many indicators of the political scene’s volatility.

Politicians and political groups are always at each other’s throats and it would be unfortunate for anyone to be caught in the crossfire of such heated discussions and arguments.

In contrast, while the Ateneo’s student government system echoes some of the practices and standards of the national government, it does not share the same level of activity. Over the last few years, the Sanggunian has encountered several problems that have affected a lot of its systems and functions and the Ateneo’s two major political parties, the Ignatian Initiative for Transformative Empowerment (IgnITE) and the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (CRUSADA) have been hard at work in trying to resolve this dilemma.

Just recently, the political scene of the campus changed significantly, with the success of the revision of the school constitution through the Constitutional Convention (ConCon). Several other groups and organizations have also taken this opportunity to change, including IgnITE, which announced in their relaunch last June that they will be rebranding and reforming the political party.

INCEPTION

The IgnITE movement was founded in 2011, when the founders felt that the ideal paradigm of leadership was not present at the time. “A lot of us basically felt like our reps, and even our constituents, were [making decisions that were] over their heads. People weren’t being consulted, they weren’t being empowered… people were

CORNERSTONES. IgnITE hopes to create value through its rebirth.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANTONETTE A. AMONCIO

just being used as workhorses,” says current IgnITE moderator and founder AJ Elicaño.

IgnITE initially identified as libertarian, with a strong focus on grassroots leadership and the empowerment of individuals. The political coalition became formally accredited and recognized as a political party in 2014 and with this came a slew of new privileges and responsibilities, among which is the capability to represent the student body both inside and outside of the Sanggunian.

However, despite having several initiatives such as the Kariton Klasrum Katipunan—a joint project with Efren Peñaflorida’s Dynamic Teen Company which seeks to provide basic education for out-of-school youth— and sociopolitical talks, among others, IgnITE has

“The impetus is on the two political parties to make politics important to students, and the first way by which they can do that is to put forward strong policies from their ideological viewpoints that are relevant to the issues that the students face.”

— MIGUEL RIVERA LECTURER, POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT; CRUSADA FOUNDER

struggled to find the balance between maintaining their relevance inside and outside of the Sanggunian. Elicaño affirms this, saying that “[with] every student political organization, you have to strike the balance between what you do in Sanggu and what you do outside of it, and…a lot of what we found difficult has been the fact that we do end up with a lot of members in Sanggu.”

This inevitably led to a dilemma with regards to the prioritization of work and responsibilities, especially with a large portion of the party dedicated to Sanggunianrelated affairs.

Identity and adjustment are other issues that IgnITE has also been grappling with for the last few years, especially since “IgnITE was founded [in] a completely different context…five or six years ago.

[Now,] Sanggu is different, structure and culture-wise, [and] the party system has also changed,” according to IgnITE President Ele Gealogo.

MOVING FORWARD

For the most part, the changes announced during the relaunch are direct responses to these major issues.

Gealogo explains that “the [ConCon] and the passing of the Sanggunian 2016 [constitution] made it all the more appropriate to rethink because the very institution we were dominantly holding changed as well. It was time to reflect… [on] how we move forward and plan [IgnITE’s] rebirth into a new era of campus politics.”

The biggest change in this regard is the shift to liberal democracy, which is a broad and common political ideology found in various countries around the world, such as France, Canada, and the United States. While liberal democracy is not entirely grounded in the ideals of liberalism, the core of the ideology still rests upon the protection of the rights, liberties, and freedom of individuals. Elicaño echoes this sentiment, emphasizing liberal democracy’s “recognition for individual identity, [and the] belief in [policies] and systems…that allow for

freedom of movement, the ability to self-actualize, [and] for people to have the space they need to make the changes and contributions to the world that they are best able to.”

Elicaño also mentions that the shift in the Sanggunian structure is largely conducive to IgnITE’s views and ideals. According to him, “the [course reps,] the people who are closer to the grassroots, have now, in a way, been more empowered and given more responsibility at the same time.” The change in ideology allows IgnITE to retain most of its core values while allowing for more space to think, adjust, and be more involved outside of the Sanggunian.

In this regard, IgnITE has publicized its new platform and announced several projects that revolve around this new orientation. For one, the party has chosen to focus more on education, mental health, and human rights, above others. The Kariton Klasrum program will continue, along with other initiatives such as a Martial Law Education program, “[improvements] on [IgnITE’s] political formation for its members, [and an] increase in engagements with groups inside and outside Ateneo,” as outlined by Gealogo.

With these, it can be said that the new IgnITE is a step up from its previous iteration, if not only for the fact that it has expanded and grown significantly since its inception. There are clear attempts at addressing the issues that have long been affecting the movement.

BIGGER PICTURE

Being a political party, a large brunt of IgnITE’s reforms have direct implications on the Sanggunian itself. In conjunction with the changes brought about by the ConCon, these could potentially affect not only the way the Sanggunian is handled, but could also help resolve some of the issues that have prevented the student government from running on full power.

In relation to this, one major issue that has crippled the Sanggunian over the last few years is its perceived identity

crisis, a displacement of role and responsibility. Political Science lecturer and CRUSADA founder Miguel Rivera pinpoints the strengthening of COA under previous Sanggunian administrations as the cause of this. He says that “when COA became stronger and more students relied on their own organizations in order to immerse themselves in student life and to have advocacies…, the Sanggunian as an institution sort of collapsed.” Furthermore, he noted that the Sanggunian and both political parties fell short in convincing the student body that the student government was important and served a unique purpose.

This resulted in students using organizations as the main platform for supporting certain causes and while there is nothing innately wrong about this, it did create division with regards to some issues. As the official student government, the Sanggunian has the right to speak for the entire student community when making a stand, but its weakened state and the student body’s division resulted in some complications, which peaked during the recent string of failures of election.

“The problem lies in students not seeing politics and governance as a way to push for their advocacies. This mindset has hurt all parties involved: Crusada, IgnITE, [and] Sanggu especially, and it’s shown the last few years,” Gealogo confirms.

Fortunately, the capacity to resolve most, if not all of these issues also rests upon the political parties themselves, which can be seen from IgnITE’s reforms.

There are several studies already in place that outline the positive effects of student activism and political parties in the college setting. A 2010 study conducted by Marisela Rosas, PhD brings up an important point: “Collegiate involvements…connect students with each other and provide students with a sense of empowerment that they can influence and change society.” Rivera also stresses that “the impetus is on the two political parties to make politics important to

students, and the first way by which they can do that is to put forward strong policies from their ideological viewpoints that are relevant to the issues that the students face.”

To this end, it can be said that IgnITE is on the right path. The changes reflect the party’s attempt to solidify and concretize their ideological alignment and platform, and be more active and inclusive in tackling larger social issues.

A s Gea logo empha sizes, the new IgnITE “[aims] to immerse, inspire and ignite people’s passions and direct them so that they can turn it into concrete action that can induce positive social change.”

Should these efforts prove to be successful, it could potentially counteract the displacement of the Sanggunian, make students realize the value of campus politics, and allow both groups to be more engaged and involved in social and political matters.

POLITICIZATION

Moving forward, there is definitely still plenty of work to be done for IgnITE, CRUSADA, and other relevant groups.

Rivera firmly believes that more political discourse and clashes between the two groups are necessary, not only to temper and refine their ideological views, but also to give the student body a clear choice with regards to which movement to support.

At the end of the day, any system of government should not be taken for granted. If the country’s past administrations are any indication, both weak advocacies and skepticism alike are detrimental to society. As a microcosm of the nation, the same truths hold true for the Sanggunian, the political parties, and the student body as well.

Hopefully, IgnITE’s reforms will provide the spark needed to fully push the Ateneo into fostering proper and effective politicization in the years to come.

Editor’s Note: This article was written before Ateneo CRUSADA joined the Union of Students for the Advancement of Democracy Ateneo, and was subsequently renamed USAD Ateneo de Manila.