Setyembre-Oktubre 2016

MAPAGPALAYANG KAISIPAN SA MALAYANG PAHAYAGAN

AGOSTO-SETYEMBRE 2016

Illustration by Divine Loraine Peñaflor

BREAKING FREE Self-determination for the Cordillera \\ John Rey Dave Aquino

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ll peoples have the right of selfdetermination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

Two international human rights covenants contain the preceding paragraph in which the right of all peoples to self-determination is recognized. This clause from the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) entitles all peoples to the right to self-government.

In the Cordillera region, the issue of self-determination is grounded

on the struggles of the indigenous peoples (IPs) who live here. The Igorot face threats to their rights in the many forms of oppression they experience.

Continuous military presence in indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) force them to move away from their ancestral lands, while large mining companies rob them of their livelihood and exploit the natural resources they have access

to. They are alienated in their own lands, while discrimination turns them to become “others” who come from the mountains. Even their culture becomes a commodity, something to be sold to meet economic needs.

From this springs the calls to genuine regional autonomy as a response to repression, inequality continued to page 4

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UP Baguio Outcrop Tomo 43 Isyu 1 Setyembre-Oktubre 2016

SURFACE RTC acquits former JAMES BALAO! Outcrop EIC of libel

Walong taon na nang dukutin ng mga militar si James sa La Trinidad Benguet. Hanggang ngayon, patuloy ang paghahanap sa mga katulad ni James na desaparecido.

\\ John Rey Dave Aquino

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fter four years, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 6 acquitted former Outcrop editorin-chief (EIC) Jesusa Paquibot of the libel case filed against her by Professor Rina LocsinAfable of the College of Arts and Communication.

COURT DECISION The RTC did not find the lampoon article defamatory, saying it “did not cause damage to the character and reputation of the private complainant [Afable] who was not identified or named at all.”

For an article to be considered libelous, the following requisites must be present: the article must be defamatory, it must be malicious, it must be given publicity and the victim must be identifiable.

Furthermore, the court held that if Afable had not revealed that she was the one referred to in the column, the public would have remained unaware of her identity.

The ruling also states that the court found no actual malice in the article. Every defamatory imputation is presumed to be malicious even if it is true, but the prosecution has failed “to prove the presence of the elements of the crime,” the ruling reads.

CASE HISTORY The case against Paquibot was

filed back in 2011, after Outcrop published an article under its regular lampoon column called Yupiang Yupi titled ‘Mahadera and friends edishaun’.

Afable found the article offensive and filed the case in 2012 against Paquibot claiming that the article referred to her. She claimed that the Raulo Locaret referred to in the article is actually her.

Paquibot, however, testified that Yupiang Yupi uses satire as a form of commentary and criticism.

She and the Outcrop editorial board reviewed and authorized the publication of the article.

The article, as Paquibot testified, was supposed to send a message regarding freedom of expression and the students’ rights to exercise it.

She also said she did not personally know Afable prior to the libel case.

CRIMINAL LAW Libel, often used as a means to subdue the press, is considered a criminal act in the Philippines.

KALIWANG SULOK NOON BREAK

\\ Photo by Divine Loraine Peñaflor

a libel case is considered a crime against the people and not against just one person. To decriminalize libel is to make it a civil case instead of a criminal case.

Many media and non-media groups have called for the decriminalization of libel, including the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) which declared that the libel law in the country is excessive and violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Philippines is a signatory.

Criminal libel in the country is tantamount to possible imprisonment and imposition of fines, effectively silencing the press in reporting matters of public interest. Despite the UNHRC’s declaration, lawmakers have taken no steps towards decriminalizing libel.

Si James ay nagtapos ng BASS EconomicsPsychology sa UP-Baguio kung saan siya rin ay naging Editor-in-Chief ng Outcrop. Si James din ang isa sa mga tagapagtatag ng Cordillera People’s Alliance.

Pamamahagi ng lupain sa HL, ipinag-utos ng DAR \\ Eureka Fatima Rubite

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pinagbunyi ng mga magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita (HL) ang desisyon ng Department of Agriculture (DAR) na ipamahagi na ang mga natitirang lupain na hindi nakabilang noong unang pamamahagi ayon sa utos ng Korte Suprema.

Nilagdaan ng bagong kalihim ng DAR na si Rafael Mariano noong Agosto 25, 2016 ang abiso na ipamahagi na ang 358.22 ektarya ng lupain ng Hacienda Luisita.

Ang nabanggit na lupain ay hindi nakabilang sa 4,915 ektarya na ipinamahagi sa mga magsasaka noong 2011 dahil ito ay nakarehistro sa Tarlac Development Corp. (TADECO) na pagmamay-ari ng pamilya Cojuangco at hindi sa Hacienda Luisita, Inc., ayon sa pahayag ng dating kalihim ng DAR na si Virgilio delos Reyes.

Ayon sa inilabas na abiso ng DAR noong ika-11 ng Disyembre 2013, ang 358.22 ektarya ng TADECO ay kabilang sa mga lupaing nasasakupan ng Hacienda Luisita.

Matapos ang mahigit dalawang dekadang pag-aasam ng mga magsasaka ng kanilang sariling lupain, sinimulan noong 2011 sa ilalim ng administrasyong Aquino ang pamamahagi ng mga lupain sa Hacienda Luisita ngunit sa halip na magkaroon ng matiwasay na pamamahagi, nakaranas ng pang-aabuso’t pandaraya ang mga magsasaka.

Ayon kay Florita Sibayan, pangulo ng Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA), ang mga lupain umano’y ipinamahagi gamit ang “tambiolo” o pagbubunutan. Ang mga lupaing nabunot mula sa tambiolo ay mga lupaing malalayo sa tirahan ng mga magsasaka.

Bukod pa dito, nakaranas din ng mga pisikal na pang-aabuso ang mga magsasaka mula sa mga armadong grupo ng mga Cojuangco na nagbabantay sa mga lupain. Iligal ding binakuran ang kanilang mga pananim, bukod pa sa paninira at pag-ispray ng mga kemikal na nakasisira sa mga pananim.

Nag-petisyon ang mahigit 100 miyembro ng AMBALA na gawing maayos at matiwasay ang pamamahagi ng mga lupain sa mga magsasaka.

Kasunod ng desisyon ng DAR, naglabas ng protesta at panawagan ang TADECO na muling suriin ang utos. Ngunit ayon sa DAR, ang desisyon ay hindi pa pinal at ang proseso ay maaaring tumagal hanggang Marso ng 2017.

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UP Baguio Outcrop Tomo 43 Isyu 1 Setyembre-Oktubre 2016

FROM THE NORTH TO SOUTH. Indigenous Peoples and Moros from Luzon to Mindanao held a picket in front of the National Commision on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and Department of Justice (DOJ) last October 17 to call for the abolition of the NCIP and to call for the release of all IP political prisoners charged with trumped-up charges.

\\ Photos by Divine Loraine Peñaflor

Military presence in Kalinga threatens IPs \\ Quimberlyn Ranchez

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embers of the 50th and 71st Infantry Battalions (IB) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) encamped in Lubuagan, Kalinga, threatening the indigenous peoples (IPs) with their presence and operations.

Around 10 to 15 soldiers from the IBs occupied the St. Peter Church in Brgy. Western Uma, October 2015 while military troops from the 50th IB were deployed to Brgy. Tanglag on August 2, 2016 and occupied houses of residents.

INFLICTED DAMAGE Continuing military presence in IP communities is consistent with the AFP’s offensives against the New People’s Army (NPA) with IPs being tagged as members of the rebel group.

Gilbert Acosta of Tanglag experienced red-tagging when a soldier threatened him with a knife and accused him as a member of the NPA. In Brgy. Uma, soldiers conducted a census in the village to catch NPA soldiers.

Also, children had been recruited as guides for military operations by the AFP without their parents’ consent. This violates the provisions of the Geneva Conventions that recruiting children 15 years old

57 SCHOOLS WILL SUFFER

BUDGET CUTS NEXT YEAR

and below as soldiers or allowing them to participate in hostilities is absolutely prohibited.

Moreover, there were other incidents that threatened the members of the communities. A teenage girl was traumatized after a solider pointed at her with a gun, for no reason, as she was on her way home. In Tanglag, villagers reported that soldiers fired at Tanglag farmers while working in their swidden farms with no reason at all. Furthermore, the military operations caused destruction in the villages, damaging rice fields and gardens of the farmers.

BARELY PROTECTING Militarization had always been a problem for IPs. In September 2014, military operations in Lacub, Abra resulted in a massacre of ten, including two civilians.

Engr. Fidela Salvador was on a monitoring visit for projects of the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services while Noel

THREE SCHOOLS WITH HIGHEST NET BUDGET CUTS NWM STATE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY COMPOSTELA VALLEY STATE COLLEGE

44% 29.2% 23.1%

Viste was a Lacub resident used as a human shield by the AFP along with 24 other residents.

In September 2015, Lumad leaders in Lianga, Surigao del Sur were killed by members of the paramilitary group MagahatBagani supported by the 36th IB. They were Datu Dionel Campos and Bello Sinzo, including Emerito Samarca, head of the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV), an alternative school for Lumads.

Despite the cases of militarization, IPs still find a way to struggle and fight as seen in the Lakbayan 2016. Some 3,000 Lumads and IPs gathered in the National Capital Region to hold a series of activities to inform the public of their plight and to ask President Rodrigo Duterte to support them in their struggle to recover their ancestral lands from military operations.

CAPITAL OUTLAY BUDGET CUT FOR UP SYSTEM

P860.24M 42.9% PERCENT DECREASED

*SOURCE: KABATAAN PARTYLIST WEBSITE

NEWS BRIEF

GPh, NDFP agrees on outline of SER \\ John Rey Dave Aquino

October 6, 2016 marked the second round of the peace negotiation between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), drawing an outline for the Comprehensive Agreement on Social And Ecomomic Reform (CASER).

The NDFP and GPh finalized an outline for social and economic reforms which may be implemented amidst the peace negotiations.

Such reforms include agrarian reform and national industrialization.

In addition, the NDFP, led by newly appointed panel Chairperson Ka Fidel Agcaoili, continues to demand the release of other political prisoners detained due to trumped up charges.

UP Cebu elevated as Constituent Unit \\ John Rey Dave Aquino

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he University of the Philippines Board of Regents elevated UP Cebu as a constituent university (CU) of the UP System in its 1321st meeting, October 27, 2016.

UP Cebu is now the eighth CU of the UP System, along with UP Diliman, UP Manila, UP Baguio, UP Los Baños, UP Visayas, UP Mindanao and UP Open University.

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UP Baguio Outcrop Tomo 43 Isyu 1 Setyembre-Oktubre 2016

Breaking Free . . .

ALINGAWNGAW

continued from page 1 and discrimination experienced by the IPs. STEPS TO AUTONOMY Regional autonomy in the Cordillera region sprung from the Igorot struggle against development aggression, particularly the Chico dam and Cellophil projects. The successful resistance to the projects, at the expense of lives like Macliing Dulag, led to the realization that the Igorot have the same problems and same enemies.

The formation of the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) led to a stronger movement in the region.

The alliance campaigned to bring together the provinces of the Cordillera as one region and determined that regional autonomy would be the form of selfdetermination for the Cordillera.

After Marcos was ousted in February 1986, the new constitution was drafted under Corazon Aquino.

The CPA mobilized a regionwide lobby for the inclusion of provisions on ancestral land and regional autonomy in the current 1987 Constitution. At the time, when regional autonomy for the Cordillera was written in the Constitution, Aquino issued Executive Order 220, creating the Cordillera Executive Board (CEB) and Cordillera Regional Assembly (CRA) as bodies to work for the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region.

Before the creation of an autonomous region, an Organic Act must first be passed, then approved

BUWANANG DALAW

LOADING. . .

\\ Iginuhit ni William Ceasar Laureta

by the people in a plebiscite. The CEB-CRA lasted from 1897 to 2000, but it accomplished nothing despite the ratification of two Organic Acts to create the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR).

Two attempts had been made to create CAR – the first in 1990 under RA 6766 which was rejected by the voting population except in Ifugao, and the second in 1997 under RA 8348 but was again rejected except in Apayao. This was due to the political differences of the Igorot.

Despite being the primary proponent for Cordillera’s regional autonomy, the CPA rejected the former Organic Acts and resolved that the acts were not steps towards regional autonomy and selfdetermination. They stated that the Organic Acts only moved towards decentralization of administrative functions and only set up a regional bureaucracy as opposed to genuine regional autonomy that is recognition of the fundamental human rights of Cordillera IPs. Another attempt was made during the 16th Congress in the form of House Bill (HB) 4649 but was not passed into law. The CPA stated that the previous bill only focused on finance, governmental structures, and other administrative functions which will only be useful when genuine regional autonomy has been attained.

TOWARDS SELF-GOVERNANCE The struggle towards autonomy has a long history, but for the Igorot, genuine regional autonomy

entails the establishment of an autonomous political unit to exercise self-governance within a broader nation-state, including the right to economic opportunities, respect for the indigenous political systems and territorial identity. The Organic Acts ratified by Congress but rejected by the people do not address these rights.

The Cordillera people have the right to own and manage the benefits and resources they are able to get from their ancestral lands. These will be manifested in the expulsion of large mining companies in the Cordillera such as Philex and Benguet Corp. which rob the people of their lands and job opportunities.

Military elements encroach on IP communities and threaten the Igorot way of life. Part of the anti-insurgency campaign of the Philippine armed forces is monitoring and observing IP communities and tagging them as members of the New People’s Army.

Respect for the territorial integrity of the Igorot is part of their right to self-determination.

But on top of these, appropriate steps must be taken towards the overhaul of the existing social structure of foreign and local elites on top and workers and peasants at the bottom. The pyramid structure impedes attainment of genuine regional autonomy for the Cordillera. The Organic Acts passed and the bill proposed were not able to address this problem.

Laos na ba ang aktibismo?

Hindi pa laos ang aktibismo. Sa katunayan, ito ang nagbibigay-daan upang mabigyang-pansin ng pamahalaan ang mga suliranin na hinaharap ng mga ordinaryong mamamayan -JD Hinde. Buhay na buhay. Nag-aalab pa nga eh.

-Ned Hindi. Nakakatamad. Kaso walang magagawa dahil di ako makaka-preenlist kapag hindi akonag-online evaluation.

-2011-63262 Okay lang. Nakakapagod pag magshe-shade eh. :D -2012-55994

Ano ang ibibigay mong grado (mula 1.0 hanggang 5.0) sa unang 100 araw ng administrasyong Duterte?

3.5. Maganda ang hangarin ng pangulo na sugpuin ang mga kriminal, lalo ang mga gumagamit ng droga. Ngunit hindi ko gusto ang pananalita ni Pangulong Duterte. Dapat maging “straightforward” sya. Ayoko ang kanyang paggamit ng mga “hyperbole” dahil nakakalito. Di mo alam kung minsan seryoso sya sa mga sinasabi nya o hindi. Kailangan rin nya maging “diplomatic” sa pakikitungo sa mga pinuno ng ibang bansa.

-JD Mahirap iquantify ang kritisismo haha. Tho maganda ang efforts niya to associate with the left and carry on peacetalks, kapunapuna pa rin ang war on drugs at ang laganap na EJKs, at marami pang iba.

-Ned

“Freedom is healthy for me.” -Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, House Deputy Speaker Ano’ng masasabi mo sa pagiging blooming ni Gloria?

Blooming si Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, because the Supreme Court acquitted her. According to a politician, many lawsuits can still be filed against her.

-JD Mas blooming parin si Wilma Tiamzon nang lumaya.

-Luke Hindi niya deserve.

-Nami Buti pa siya -HZT

Paano ka nagpapatuyo ng damit ngayong maulan?

Hindi ka sure, kung naglalaba baaaaa!

-2013-21024 Sa likod ng ref. Char. Indoors lang kami nagpapatuyo so wala akong pake kung maulan man o maaraw.

-HZT

Page design by Divine Loraine PeĂąaflor

ESPESYAL NA ISYU

2ESPESYAL NA ISYU

UP Baguio Outcrop Espesyal na Isyu

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lenda is no ordinary youth. A typical teenager worries about doing their homework, waking up so early in the morning, or getting a cab to school. But what Glenda Mae Pagalan, a 14-year-old Lumad from Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, worries about are more than what a typical teenager does.

As a youth, Glenda is concern about the mining company and the military presence that causes destruction in their villages. She said that the mining company used the land where the villagers work for their daily living. “Tahimik at mapayapa sana sa amin, kaso may minahan.” She also added that the mining company destroy the nature that’s why the Lumads in their villages are not happy with the presence of the mining company.

What Glenda concerns the most is her school being tagged as a school for New People’s Army (NPA). She said that military conducts operations in their school, suspecting them as cronies of the NPA. “Paano kami magiging paaralan para sa mga NPA, e ang tinuturo lang naman sa amin ng aming mga guro ay magsulat, magbasa, at magkwenta.”

Glenda joined Lakbayan to advance Lumads’ demand for the pull out of the military in their school and the mining company in their villages, as well as to thank the people who supported them in the evacuation center. She added that she went to Lakbayan to represent the youth in demanding for free education. At her young age, Glenda is already aware of the realities in their community. She believes in the struggle and advocacies they defend. Indeed, Glenda is no ordinary.

“TAHIMIK AT MAPAYAPA SANA SA AMIN, KASO MAY MINAHAN.”

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e doesn’t only think about the st struggle of the residences in his c student from Ayangan tribe in Ifugao problem of SN Aboitiz Power Group in Ifugao. The hydropower complex co Alimit plant, the 240-MW pumped-st plant, will traverse nine villages in Lag Bryan said that the project is a greedy a the welfare of the residences in Ifugao of the Ayangan tribe in Sitio Ayangan kabuhayan ang mga tao sa amin.”

Bryan worries about the main sourc will be greatly affected by the hydroel protest that the power group failed to affected lands. “Andito ako para ipagla As an IP, it is their conviction to d This case is not isolated on only one development these corporations prom advance their selfish agenda. This is fu aggressive military deployment in the Bryan joined the Lakbayan to figh their ancestral land; and to protect th Indeed, land is life.

“ANDITO AKO PA ANG AMING KAR

ESPESYAL NA ISYU 3

UP Baguio Outcrop Espesyal na Isyu

truggle of his own as a student, but the community. Bryan Jon Mactad, a college o, believes that his community faces the (SNAP)’s 350-MW hydroelectric project omposed of three facilities: the 100-MW torage facility, and the 10-MW Olilicon agawe and Lamut towns in the province. and an unjust one, for it doesn’t serve for o. The project will cover ancestral lands n, Ifugao. “Paano na yan, Mawawalan ng

ce of living of the people in Ayangan that lectric project. He gives emphasis to his o consult with the rightful owners of the aban ang aming karapatan.” defend the land that gave life to them. particular IP community. The so-called mised to them is but a mere deceit to urther perpetuated by the state with the affected communities. ht for his and his community’s rights for he source of living of their community.

ARA IPAGLABAN RAPATAN.”

H

e is more than a teacher. Ronald Bague, a married 32-year-old man from Bislig City, Surigao Del Sur, was one of those who were present during the Manilakbayan. In 2005, Ronald went to Sitio Halayan in Surigao Del Sur to teach under a literacy training program. What he imagined of the area where he’ll be teaching cannot compare to what was going on there - mining activities, militarization, red tagging, human rights violations and harassment. “Noong unang araw ko pagdating ko sa school, nagbahagi yung mga estudyante kong mga Lumad sa akin tungkol sa sitwasyon nila sa Sitio Halayan. Sabi ng mga estudyante ko, yung mga sundalo tinotorture at pinaparatangang NPA ang mga residente sa lugar nila.” He said that he didn’t believe his students at first until he experienced personally what his students told him.

“Sa pansampung araw ko na pagtuturo, nagkaroon ng military operation, pinaghubad nila ako at hinahanapan ng tattoo kasi yun raw ay ang simbolo ng mga NPA. Tapos noong nagpakilala ako bilang isang guro sinabihan nila ako, ‘Ah ikaw pala yung mga guro ng NPA ha.’” Ayaw nila akong tantanan. After the incident my co-teachers wanted to quit but I told them, “Isipin niyo yung mga bata. Paano na lang kapag wala na silang teacher?” According to Ronald, another incident inspired him more to stay. It was when he saw a military choked a resident for no apparent reason. “Galit ako kasi bakit ginawa ng sundalo yun? Wala namang ginagawang masama yung residente.” Ronald was motivated and challenged to continue teaching in Sitio Halayan amidst the situation in the area. “Nakita ko yung pangangailangan ng mga residente, lalo na ng mga bata.

Ayaw ko kasi yung may inaapi, yun yung nakakapagtrigger sa akin.” As he remained in Sitio Halayan for years, he discovered that red tagging and harassments was caused by the mining company that operates within the community, which strengthened militarization. One important thing Sir Ronald learned was to fight for what is right even if his life has to pay the price.

“KAYA MATINDI ANG MILITARISASYON SA AMIN DAHIL ASAM NG ASAM ANG MINING COMPANIES KAYA ANG MGA LEADER AY PATULOY NA PRINOPROTEKTAHAN ANG KANILANG MGA LUPANG MINANA at IPINAGPAPATULOY ANG LABAN KAHIT BUHAY PA NILA ANG KAPALIT.” This is his reason to stay - to support the residents by teaching kids things they have to learn. “Dahil sa kalagayan ng mga residente, nanatili ako kahit di ako Lumad.”

He saw and experienced the current situation of the Lumads. As he internalized the struggle of the Lumads and chose to stay, he already chose to fight for their battle cry, for what is right. Sir Ronald is the current 4th year adviser and school guidance councilor of Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development Inc.(ALCADEV), a Lumad alternative secondary school for the Lumads. He joined the Manilakbayan to advance the campaign against mining operations and militarization in their community, as well as to support the on-going peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, and to thank everyone who supports their advocacy. Indeed, Sir Ronald is not your typical teacher. He’s not only an educator but more importantly, he is a fighter.

”DAHIL SA KALAGAYAN NG MGA RESIDENTE, NANATILI AKO KAHIT HINDI AKO LUMAD.”

\\ Quimberlyn Ranchez Page design by Divine Loraine Peñaflor

Illustration by William Ceasar Laureta

4 UP Baguio Outcrop Espesyal na Isyu

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UP Baguio Outcrop Tomo 43 Isyu 1 Setyembre-Oktubre 2016

Into Enemy Territory:

Intruding campuses through the ROTC \\ John Rey Dave Aquino

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nfiltrating enemy territory is never an easy task for soldiers. They need to survey the area first, take note of the enemy's movements and routines, and report back to their superiors to formulate a sound plan for the offensive. They take caution not to let the enemy know of their presence, lest they are spotted.

Yet with President Rodrigo Duterte's recent pronouncements of his intent to make the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program mandatory once again, infiltration of universities and colleges is easier for the military more than ever.

BRIEFING Philippine ROTC started in 1912 in the University of the Philippines (UP) but the pioneer unit of the ROTC in the country was only established in UP on July 1922.

During World War II, ROTC units in Manila fought in the Battle of Bataan while Silliman University cadets joined the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). But while ROTC cadets contributed during the war, there were more untrained workers and peasants who defended the Philippines by joining the guerilla front against the Japanese.

After the war, the military shifted its focus on anticommunist views of US, which dominated Philippine society even after WWII. By this time, ROTC had also been plagued with issues of corruption and abuses, but it was only with the death of Mark Chua that mass actions were organized to abolish the program. The program was never abolished. Lawmakers gave an 'alternative' instead, Republic Act (R.A.) 9163 or the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Law. Under this, ROTC became only one of the three components of NSTP. OFFENSIVE Despite having a new law that did not require ROTC for all college students, the program did not change and was used as an offensive. When military forces are deployed towards a place, a threat resides in that location. In universities and colleges, the apparent threats to them are the students and the student movement, and to stop its growth is a three-step plan.

Phase 1: Build a base.

In the UP System, there exists an NSTP Office led by a coordinator which supervises the implementation of the NSTP program, but the Department of Military Science and Tactics (DMST), an independent department outside of colleges and schools, also exists.

Also, the AFP has the power to appoint a senior military officer as head of the DMST for academic purposes and as Commandant of Cadets for military purposes.

In UP Mindanao, the AFP 11th Infantry Battalion gives instruction to cadets as decided in the Board of Regents (BOR) 1316th meeting. The ROTC program was implemented in the campus despite the absence of the DMST, effectively giving control to the AFP. This violates the UP-Department of National Defense (DND) accord provisions which says military forces cannot enter any UP campus and other schools except in cases of emergency.

Phase 2: Gather intelligence ROTC is responsible for the recruitment and training of Student Intelligence Networks (SINs), a machinery of the AFP for monitoring progressive student

organizations and individuals inside universities.

ROTC instructors call student activist groups as affiliates of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army (CPP-NPA).

In 2012, an SIN agent, Kitt Muralla, attempted to infiltrate the national congress of League of Filipino Students (LFS), a group tagged as a front for the CPPNPA. Muralla admitted to having received direct orders from the AFP Central Command in Cebu. Also, in 2015 members of UP Vista, the official student publication of UP Visayas Tacloban College, were tagged as members of the NPA. An ROTC officer in UPV Tacloban told a member of the publication to quit her membership as a student journalist in the said newspaper because its members are NPA. The military maintains the SIN for easier infiltration of campuses. It is composed of members and nonmembers of the ROTC tasked to gather detail on student leaders. Red-tagging has become common with the AFP calling groups such as LFS and UP Vista 'communists.' Red-tagging then places students’ lives in danger, including their families who are subjected to surveillance for their supposed ‘subversive’ behavior.

Phase 3: Deploy well-trained soldiers.

The program of instruction for ROTC includes basic intelligence, basic weapons training and marksmanship training.

Another part of the curriculum is military discipline.

Cadets are subjected to blind obedience and entails compliance with all orders of a superior.

Insubordination is unforgivable in the ranks of the military. Some say that obeying your superior's orders is part of discipline, but blind obedience at best destroys a person's capacity for liberating discussions and at worst violates the very rights of a cadet.

An example is the recent case of the ROTC in Benguet State University (BSU). Reports were gathered from a former cadet about the abuses experienced by cadets in the university. Every night, the victim said he suffered from regular physical tortures in their barracks inside the university. He said it has become "common" and unquestioned for ROTC officials to command trainees to masturbate while being hit with rifles.

COUNTERATTACK While Duterte said that the reinstatement of mandatory ROTC will help in "the building of discipline and values especially in this generation" and that it will instill love of country and good friendship in today's students, Kabataan Partylist Representative Sarah Elago said the program will not instill discipline given its violent and mired history. She filed House Bill 2399 or the ROTC Abolition Act as countermeasure to the proposals for mandatory ROTC. According to the explanatory note to the bill, using campuses for military training is inconsistent and violates Rules 22-24 of the International Humanitarian Law and RA 7610 or Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act which prohibits the utilization of public infrastructure for military purposes.

Instead of encouraging students in liberating discussions, the ROTC program stifles the students’ democratic rights. Intrusion of campuses serves the AFP’s counter- insurgency Oplan Bayanihan w h i c h seeks to hinder the student movement.

The bill further stipulates that since its implementation, ROTC “was proven irrelevant in fostering discipline, social responsibility and patriotism in the youth. It became a hotbed for abuses including corruption, bribery extortion, physical and verbal abuse.”

There should be moves to improve the existing NSTP program and provide venues for students to be part of wider discussions in social issues, but more than that, efforts to genuinely integrate the youth to the community to raise their consciousness. We do not need a generation of soldiers and mercenaries, but a generation of youth that understands the roots of the basic woes of the society – a legion ready to partake in a more important mission, that is, nation-building and serving the people.

“... using campuses for military training is inconsistent and violates Rules 22-24 of the International Humanitarian Law and RA 7610 or Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act ...”

6EDITORYAL

UP Baguio Outcrop Tomo 43 Isyu 1 Setyembre-Oktubre 2016

MAYROON KAMING KINIKILINGAN T

ampok na usapin ngayon sa social media ang tila malapit na ugnayan ng dalawang salita – bias at media. Marami ang nagsasabing may pinapanigan ang mga mamamahayag, na sila ay nag-aalis ng mga detalye at datos upang pumabor sa interes ng isang indibidwal, partido o grupo.

Ang media sa simula’t sapul pa lamang ay may bias; isang bagay na pinapatotohanan ng Outcrop sa pagkiling nito sa sangkaestudyantehan at sa masang Pilipino. Sa pagkiling na ito, tanging layunin ng pahayagan na magmulat, mag-organisa at magpakilos sa pamamagitan ng paglalathala.

Noong Batas Militar, isa ang Outcrop sa mga alternatibong pahayagang binansagang mosquito press at isa sa mga nagpakita sa mga mamayanan ng mga kabuktutan ng diktaduryang Marcos. Bilang alternatibong pahayagan, sa pagpili pa lamang ng mga artikulong ilalathala ay makikita na ang pagkiling ng isang publikasyon. Sa yugtong ito ng kasaysayan, napagtibay ng Outcrop ang reputasyon nito sa pagtugon nito sa mga suliraning kinaharap ng masa.

Bagaman may bias, hindi inaalis ng pahayagan ang pagiging obhetibo. Makikita ito sa masinop na pagkuha at paglalatag ng datos tungkol sa isang isyu. Sabi nga, walang karapatang magsalita ang walang konkretong

“... ipagpapatuloy namin ang labang sinimulan ng mga patnugot at manunulat higit kalahating siglo na ang nakalilipas.”

pagsusuri sa konkretong kalagayan. Dapat masusing pag-aralan ang mga isyung pinipiling ilathala. Ito ang naging pundasyon ng Outcrop upang tumuligsa sa mga palisiyang anti-estudyante at anti-mamamayan. Naging bahagi ang publikasyon ng mga pagkilos laban sa taunang budget cut, pagpapatupad ng eUP project, K12 program, karahasan sa kanayunan at iba pa.

Sinusuportahan ng pahayagan ang pagpapatuloy ng usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas at ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) na isa sa layunin ng administrasyong Duterte. Nagkaroon na ng mga hakbang tungo sa pagpapalaya ng mga bilanggong pulitikal gaya ni Kennedy Bangibang para lumahok sa usapang pangkapayapaan.

Sumasalungat naman ng pahayagan sa pagbabalik ng Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program bilang mandatory para sa mga estudyante. Naninindigan kami na ang ROTC ay isang porma ng militarisasyon sa loob ng kampus na lumalabag sa UP-DND Accord at isang paraan ng pasistang militar upang supilin ang kilusang estudyante. Sa marahas nitong kasaysayan, maraming dahilan upang hindi na dapat ipagpatuloy pa ang programa.

Pagdating ng taong 2017 ay magbabago na rin pangulo ang Unibersidad ng

Opisyal na Pahayagan ng mga Mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas-Baguio “MAPAGPALAYANG KAISIPAN SA MALAYANG PAHAYAGAN”

Patnugutan

OUTCROP

Punong Patnugot John Rey Dave Aquino Kawaksing Patnugot Leah Perez Tagapamahalang Patnugot Angela Denise Lauzon Patnugot sa Balita Danna Llaine Ruiz Patnugot sa Kultura Arthur John Astaquinta Patnugot sa Lathalain Ellainemor San Pascual Patnugot sa Guhit at Lapat Divine Loraine Peñaflor Kawani William Ceasar Laureta

Pilipinas. Hudyat ito upang makilahok ang sangkaestudyantehan sa diskusyon ng mga naganap sa termino ni Alfredo E. Pascual bilang pangulo ng unibersidad. Ipinatupad ni Pascual ang eUP project, kabilang na ang Student Academic Information System (SAIS) na nagresulta ng palyadong enrollment process sa UP Baguio, Los Baños at Cebu.

Ipinatupad din sa ilalim ni Pascual ang Socialized Tuition System at sa loob ng ilang taong pagpapatupad ng sistemang ito, malaki na ang nakuhang pera mula sa bulsa ng mga estudyante.

Limampu’t limang taon na mula nang mabuo ang Outcrop at patuloy pa rin ang pahayagan sa paglalathala sa ilalim ng kredo nitong mapagpalayang kaisipan sa malayang pahayagan. Nahaharap ang pahayagan sa maraming pagbabago at pagsubok, mga kaganapan at suliraning nasasalamin sa ating lipunan.

Sa harap ng maraming suliranin, dalawa lamang ang maaaring gawin: sumuko o patuloy na lumaban. Gagawin ng Outcrop ang huli; ipagpapatuloy namin ang labang sinimulan ng mga patnugot at manunulat higit kalahating siglo na ang nakalilipas. Ipagpapatuloy ng pahayagan ang tradisyon ng alternatibong pamamahayag at pagkakaroon ng bias sa ngalan ng mamamayan at estudyante.

Miyembro ng College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) at Solidaridad, Alyansa ng mga Pahayagang Pangkampus sa UP upboutcrop@gmail.com Facebook page: “UP Baguio Outcrop” Twitter: @UPB_Outcrop Unang Palapag ng Alumni Center Building, UP Baguio, Gov. Pack Road, Baguio City

OPINYON7

UP Baguio Outcrop Tomo 43 Isyu 1 Setyembre-Oktubre 2016

SURI’T TINDIG

RISE UP BAGUIO

“Kung hindi natin lalabanan ang ginagawa ng neoliberal polices, ang maapektuhan ay ang mga kabataan, mga iskolar ng bayan.”

“Kailangan nating maging parte sa pagsusulong ng hustisya [. . .] sino pa ba ang kikilos para sa ating bansa?”

“ang edukasyon ay karapatan, responsibilidad ng estado na magbigay ng dekalidad at libreng edukasyon sa ating bansa.”

Julie Tuguinay, AUPAEU

Louise Montenegro, LFS-UPB

King Cris Pulmano, Anakbayan MB

Of Flood Likes and Power Shares \\ Arthur John Astaquinta

I

t’s that time of the year again.

You wore your cozy sweaters on. Footwear to match the bedhead from last night’s fun.

The last thing you grabbed is your phone. You logged in and scroll through your news feed. A picture of a dying farmer. Scroll again. Groups condemn Marcos’ abuse of power, vows to stop another Marcos to run. Press Share. Scroll again. “Marcos pa rin mga ulul!” Scroll again.

Lumads to return to their ancestral land. Press Like. Scroll again. Another drug addict was shot, again. Press Angry. Scroll again. De Lima’s sex scandal. You clicked but you’re on free data.

Save post. Scroll again.

You rode the jeep on the way to school.

The radio is blasting that blasted song again.

Something about white Christmas and season in our hearts. Malls are putting up their tinsels and wreaths. Shops are displaying their jolly bearded white man in red clothes. Everywhere you can hear that particular Chinoy on repeat (I’ll give you a clue. It’s JM.) Now you’re in your class and news flash, you’re late again! You sit on the nearest chair from the door and attempt to catch up with whatever your class is discussing about. And

“You may decorate yourself with all the theories and invoke all the words of the dead but you know all too well that it is not enough.”

since this is your nth time enrolling in this class, you only parroted whatever your previous instructor told you. But with minor adjustments coz you wanted to sound cool and mature to the young’uns. You receive compliments. You act like it’s nothing to be proud at. Like you’re supposed to do that. You do not reward a dog for barking, right?

Your class ended earlier than expected so you head to your scheduled activity. You do not rush to the venue like you did before. You take your time. Apparently aiming for consistency, you come in late for a forum and sit at the back quietly. You’re there but not at the same time.

You convince yourself that you already did your part of inviting other students to the forum.

Some of them are present and some are not but that does not faze you anymore.

This is who you are. This is what you regressed into. You may be present in all the activities, have the right answers to the pressing issues of the late, converse in meaningful discussions among your contemporaries. That is all you do and that is all it will be. You may decorate yourself with all the theories and invoke all the words of the dead but you know all too well that it is not enough. You became

what you hate the most: a highly inflated balloon, all high and mighty but just a head full of air.

But your woe has a solution and this is what you are doing. With the help of your friends, you get back to work. Hop from school to school, you gather students like you to understand how the society works. See in their eyes what you were before all of this happens. Seize that fervor and agitation and help them transform and translate it into their publication just like what you were before. You do it not because it is your duty but because it is the reason itself why you wake up in the morning.

It is time to go home, and with tired legs and parched mouth, you logged in again. You have five new tagged photos. You reacted Heart.

Scroll again. Your friends are going to the event Lakbayan 2016. Scroll again. A person sent you a friend request. You confirmed. You received a new message. It’s from one of the students you just visited, thanking you for inviting them into the organization you’re in. For once they felt that they belong and that they can do something more than just writing in their newspaper. You smile and get lulled by the jeep winding on the way home.

Omg such a slut. \\ Ellainemor San Pascual

L

iving in a country where standards for genders, specifically for women are hard to break, where there are certain rules and terms that applies to women, where when you dare to speak about equality, they throw rocks at you, living is utterly hard.

I have been residing here on earth for 20 years and counting, ever since I was young, I was taught how to differentiate the things that girls do, want and need between what the guys do on the other hand. Society taught me standards, levels of respect to be given to girls who do things opposite the society’s expectations.

Well, society said that pink is for girls and blue is for boys. No wide opened legs when sitting. Always wear appropriate clothes, meaning always get yourself covered. Go home early so as not be caught between bad people along your way home. No girl lurks in the dark, remember that. Or if you ever find yourself walking along a dark street, make sure that you have a pepper spray, or a knife. Don’t laugh too loud. Stay meek, stay polite, stay where you are, basically or else when you get yourself in trouble, no one would believe that it’s your

fault, oh come on, you wanted it right, you did not conform to the standards anyway (Not).

Such happenings are still apparent nowadays. Just look at the issue of Senator Leila De Lima and her alleged “sex scandal”.

Legislators wanted to show off the video. An online trend happened in Facebook and Twitter wherein a great number of twitter users used the hashtag: I would like to testify in the HOR. It was me in the sex video. #Everywoman. It was to demonstrate their stands against the attacks on women in general.

Another is regarding Mocha Uson and tons of her haters. Okay, I need not defend her as a whole because I have seen great loopholes on her assessments to real problems in the Philippines. However, the concept of throwing statements at her such as “Slut” and “just a sexy starlet” as counter-arguments to her “erroneous” statuses in social media is downright wrong and illogical. It is the epitome of “ad hominem at its finest” in the country.

What we ought to teach her is how to further help in enriching the sense of Nationalism by going deeper than the issues present at hand.

Piya Macliing Malayo, on the other hand,

“We always have this tendency to look for mistakes on the person themselves, instead of their arguments.”

was the women that got run over by a police mobile during a peaceful rally in front of U.S. embassy. She got bashed on the internet after people relating her to be one of Senator Leila De Lima’s drug trial witnesses. Hate, discrimination and violent reactions was thrown at her for being a woman, activist and an IP without considering the real issue of the rally, of the plight of the IPs. All in all, the three women mentioned, were condemned and attacked according to the standards of being a woman. We always have this tendency to look for mistakes on the person themselves, instead of their arguments.

We used the things about them that we find out as a weapon for bringing them down instead of conversing productively using opinions or arguments with basis.

Or maybe, I don’t know, they wanted that to happen to them anyway. They deserved it then give them the due result of her actions, right? They are the one to blame after all, they are women who will ever be responsible for all the judgments they will receive as long as they live in the Philippines.

8GRAPIKS

UP Baguio Outcrop Tomo 43 Isyu 1 Setyembre-Oktubre 2016