VOLUME 35
ISSUE 9
March 13, 2009
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAÑOS
NEWS
Due to election protests
CEB withholds
official results
Nikko Angelo Oribiana and Estel Lenwij Estropia
LAYOUT SALVATORRE DE VINCE OLAÑO | PHOTO KARL SUMINISTRADO
The Central Electoral Board (CEB) is yet to release the official
results of the 2009 University Student Council (USC) and College
Student Council elections as the protests filed by contending
political parties remains unsettled.
Composed of the College Secretaries, Student Organization and
Activities Division Head, Office of Student Affairs Director, USC and CSC
chairpersons or representatives and UPLB Perspective editor in chief or
representative, the CEB is responsible for the conduct of the elections, as
well as hearing of election-related protests.
BLACK PROPAGANDA
SAKBAYAN Deputy Secretary-General Leo XL Fuentes filed a
protest to the CEB, stating that SAKBAYAN found two black propaganda
materials in buildings around the campus titled “Fusebox” and “Bakit
hindi dapat iboto ang SAKBAYAN?” last Feb. 25 and 26. According to
the USC-CSC election guidelines, “Black propaganda materials are
prohibited and subject to confiscation.”
Copies of “Fusebox,” which attacked candidates from both parties in
a satiric way, were found scattered around the campus. The “Fusebox,”
although claiming to be the “Opsiyal na Okray Station ng Yufielvi. Kabog.
Sabog. Bugbog.” was unsigned.
Another black propaganda material “Bakit hindi dapat iboto ang
SAKBAYAN?” released by the Save the Youth against Communism and
Terrorism and which labeled eight student leaders such as outgoing USC
Chairperson Charisse Bernadine Bañez, USC Chairperson-elect Pamela
Pangahas and others as communists and terrorists, were disseminated
in the campus.
Bañez said, “Sa pinaka-esensya, hindi niya (black propaganda)
tinatalakay ‘yung pangkabuuan na layunin ng isang eleksyon sa loob ng
pamantasan, which is propaganda education”.
She stressed that a propaganda should raise issues that would push
students to participate in the elections and not stir confusion among
them.
The protest filed by SAKBAYAN also covered BUKLOD’s one-half
lengthwise sample ballot, which allegedly violated the election guideline
which states that “only sample ballots of the size should not exceed one
fourth of a bond paper….”
COUNTED.
Outgoing USC Chairperson Charisse
Bernadine Bañez tallies the number
of votes in arguably one of the most
controversial USC-CSC elections in
recent years.
CAMPAIGN ANOMALIES
Paul John Barrosa, BUKLOD-UPLB candidate for USC councilor,
filed a protest asking for the disqualification of all SAKBAYAN candidates
after the party distributed flyers titled “Strengthen our unity, Onward
with our struggles” on Feb. 25 and “Biguin ang Pampulitikang
Panunupil” on Feb. 26. The flyers contain SAKBAYAN’s clarification on
the allegations stated in the said black propaganda.
Similarly, Dr. Vivian Gonzales, Office of Student Affairs Director,
reported that SAKBAYAN allegedly violated the guidelines set by the
CEB to campaign only up to Feb. 24. Gonzales also submitted a sworn
statement regarding her confrontation with Fuentes about the flyers.
Barrosa also filed a protest against Bañez asking the CEB to inhibit
her from participating in all its proceedings because of her ‘gross lack of
professionalism and objectivity during the actual conduct of the USCCSC Election.’
The CEB counted as violations the release of SAKBAYAN’s flyers and
BUKLOD’s sample ballot.
Meanwhile, Barrosa’s protest against Bañez was dismissed by the
CEB since the elections require the presence of the USC chairperson.
CEB...ON PAGE 2
NEWS
FEATURES
CULTURE
OPINION
page 2
page 7
page 8
page 12
USC, Admin clarify Feb Fair issues
Deifying Hephaestus
Diliman Dreamers
Not just another EDSA
2
NEWS
UPLB Perspective
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
USC, admin clarify Feb Fair issues
Katrina Elauria
As the University Student
Council (USC), together with
student organizations, worked
in pushing for the celebration
of February Fair (Feb Fair), the
disagreement between the USC and
the administration regarding the
conduct of Feb Fair left the USC
with difficulties in organizing the
event.
The Centennial Feb Fair
transformed into a protest fair as the
administration’s late approval of the
event resulted in various problems for
the USC, which almost delayed the
conduct of the Feb Fair.
CSB BARS CONCESSIONAIRES
Last Feb. 9 and 10, the
administration ordered the
Community Support Brigade
(CSB) to check the receipts of the
concessionaires as proof of their
payments to the USC.
Members of the CSB barred some
of the concessionaires from setting up
stalls at Freedom Park, while other
vendors were stopped and were forced
to show their receipts right at the UP
gate.
Meanwhile, the Office of
the Chancellor (OC) released
Memorandum No. 1 Series 2009
last Feb. 10 stating that “Feb Fair
concessionaires are required to
register with the Business Affairs
Office (BAO) as per implementing
rules and regulations set by the USC.”
The memorandum further stated
that concessionaires should pay P
2,000 for space rental and P 1,000 for
other utilities.
BAO Director Faustino
Arienda said that after the dialogue
between the administration and
the concessionaires held at the OC,
Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco pulled
REPS, admin staff to
select first Staff Regent
Estel Lenwij Estropia
A Staff Regent (StR)
from the ranks of Research,
Extension and Professional
Staff (REPS) and administrative
staff (AS) sector will be the new
addition to the Board of Regents
(BOR), the highest policymaking body in UP.
Section 12h of the UP Charter
of 2008 states that the Staff
Regent shall represent two sectors,
the full-time REPS and AS, for two
years. The StR will be elected in a
system-wide selection on March
31 by the two sectors he or she
will represent.
As per the new UP Charter,
the BOR composition will now
include 11 regents, three of which
will represent community sectors
of the university: the Student,
Faculty and the Staff Regent.
Dr. Daniel Mendoza, president
of UPLB Research, Extension and
Professional Staff Association
(REPSA) supports the inclusion
of an StR who would look out for
their welfare.
Mendoza added that issues
regarding their promotions and
the equality among employees of
the university may be given more
attention by the BOR through the
StR.
However, Erick Vernon Dy, a
member of REPSA, said through
a text message that most of the
REPS still prefer having a REPS
regent as “a representative who
really knows their plight.”
The guidelines for the StR
selection were crafted by a System
Ad Hoc Committee, which is
composed of representatives of
recognized organizations from
REPS and AS in UP.
Nominees should have
rendered ten years of service in the
university with at least three years
of membership to any recognized
REPS or AS organization.
The selection process will
start at the constituent university
level with the nomination from
REPS and AS sectors, followed by
selection through election of three
nominees. The top three nominees
will then proceed to the systemwide, secret ballot election where
the nominee who will get the
highest votes from the REPS and
AS will be declared Staff Regent.
The results of the StR election
will then be submitted to UP
President Emerlinda Roman for
appointment by April 8.
The election for the
constituent university level in
UPLB is slated on March 13 where
6 precincts will be designated
in the campus. Nominees for
the constituent university level
are Amorsolo Alcantara of the
Organization of Non-academic
Personnel in UP (ONAPUP), Zosimo
Dimaculangan of ONAPUP, Leni
Garcia of UP System Assembly
and Alexis Mejia of All UP Workers
Union.[P]
FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FEB FAIR
Delos Santos said she, USC
Chairperson Charisse Bernadine
Bañez and FebFair Ad Hoc Committee
Head Aira Olivia Garcia were
Feb Fair...ON PAGE 4
PHOTO Karl Suministrado
Your thumbmark here.
A sheer drop from the historic 70.54 percent voter turnout last September council
elections, this year’s 38.82 percent turnout might indicate students’ disillusionment
with the ‘dirty’ political conflicts that mar the recently concluded elections.
STUDENTS ASSESS...FROM PAGE 2
The CEB decided to hold first
the proclamation of winners in the
elections except for those under
independent parties until all protests
are resolved. The CEB is yet to discuss
the unresolved protests and the result
of the election on March 13.
70.54 percent turnout, the highest
since post-Martial Law period in
the UP system.
Bañez said the elections are
supposedly held for students
to know more about issues
concerning them and to be able to
choose leaders who will serve their
interests.
Furthermore, Bañez said,
“Hindi siya (election) ‘yung
pagpili ng mga personahe, mas
siya (election) sa mas mulat na
partisipasyon ng mga estudyante
kung saan sila (mga estudyante)
mismo ‘yung may alam sa
rason kung bakit kailangan ng
partisipasyon nila,” she said.
Bañez added that “the USC
had been busy in campaigning
for the CRSRS, organizing for the
February Fair and spearheading
the USC-CSC election that is
why we (USC) lacked on inviting
students to participate in the
elections.”
SAKBAYAN dominates USC
Newly-elected USC officials
cannot yet assume position. The
outgoing USC is on hold over
capacity until the declaration of the
official results of the elections (see
sidebar).
Pamela Pangahas won
over Calayag as chairperson
while Odraude Alub won over
Carlo Cruz as vice chairperson.
SAKBAYAN dominates the USC
with nine councilors while only
one councilor from BUKLOD
made it to the USC. [P]
MOTION FOR RECOUNT
Ligaya Vanessa Enriquez of
BUKLOD-UPLB filed an election
protest moving for a recount in
the College of Arts and Sciences
precincts because one of the
volunteer allegedly did not read
the names of all candidates from
BUKLOD written on ballots even
if the names are spelled correctly,
and at one instance the volunteer
allegedly misread the votes. Also,
Enriquez claims that the counting
of ballots in the said precincts
started without administrative
Table 1. Full unofficial results of the 2009 USC-CSC elections.
volunteers and the counted ballots
TOTAL NUMBER
lack signatures of representatives
CHAIRPERSON
OF VOTES
from any administration
Pangahas, Pamela Angelie (S)
personnel.
1975
Similarly three BUKLOD
Calayag, Ernest Francis (B)
1486
candidates for College of
VICE-CHAIRPERSON
Development CommunicationCollege Student Council requested
Alub, Odraude (S)
1903
for a recount in their college as
Cruz, Carlo (B)
1366
the absence of voting procedure is
COUNCILORS
allegedly evident in cases where
voters listed thirteen College
Aguihon, Bhen (S)
1683
councilors instead of only ten,
Dumlao, Luntian (S)
1651
thus the votes for the last three
Berris, Joseph (S)
1602
councilors in the ballots were
Zuñiga, Elvis Gerald (S)
not counted. Also, the precinct
1576
allegedly does not provide privacy
Carlos, Maria Elena (S)
1558
to voters as required by the
Burgonio, Faith Jovy (S)
1495
CEB and counting of ballots still
Pasyon, Bonifacio (S)
1483
continued even if the number
Ayao, Angelo (S)
1480
of ballots did not tally with the
Barrosa, Paul John (B)
1460
master list.
h
billboard
Nagpapasalamat ang Textbook Exchange and
Rental Center kina G. at Gng. Celestino “Boy“
Pisigan/IH Dorm Manager sa ibinigay na P 1,000.00
pambili ng libro para sa mga estudyante, gayundin
kay Gng. Remedios Parala, concessionaire ng
Purefoods Hotdog, na nag-donate ng P 500.00.
out the provision regarding the
payment of the abovementioned fees.
However, Velasco requested
Arienda to monitor the USC on proper
handling of funds by requiring the
vendors to get permit from the BAO.
Maricris Cynthia Ariz delos
Santos, Finance Committee Head of
Feb Fair and USC Councilor said,
“hindi included sa rules namin
(USC) ang pagpapa-register ng mga
concessionaires sa BAO.”
Conchita Nuñez, a Feb
Fair concessionaire, said she
thought everything regarding their
participation in the Feb Fair has been
settled between them and the USC
weeks before the fair. She said she
was surprised by the memorandum
released by the OC on the first day of
the fair.
LOW TURNOUT
The Feb. 25 to 26 USC-CSC
elections turnout dropped to 38.82
percent as compared with the
previous elections and plebiscite
last semester that recorded a
Quiambao, Severino (S)
Ferraren, John Michael (S)
Calderon, Maria Camille (B)
Villegas, Wylee (B)
Jovellano, Marlem Elect (B)
Santos, Pamelyn (B)
1426
1383
1308
1227
1214
1203
UPLB Perspective
NEWS
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
3
Admin seeks to rebracket STFAP
Rogene Gonzales with reports
from Estel Lenwij Estropia
coverage of benefits under the
STFAP without compromising the
Program’s basic principle, which
Christian Escudero,
is to allow those who can pay
DevCom ‘08, has experienced
more to do so, while ensuring
visiting the Scholarship and
that the state subsidy is targeted
Financial Assistance Division
towards poor students of UP” and
(SFAD) almost every day for
making STFAP more “responsive
a month last semester with
to present conditions”. The
hopes of receiving his refund.
review is in accordance with
Ignoring his parents’ advice
Roman’s administrative order
to enroll in a private university
last November.
they could afford rather than
In an email, Roman
in UP, he was glad that he was
confirmed that the UP
transferred to Bracket C from
administration is hoping to
what was initially marked as
“implement the rebracketing
Bracket B in his Form 5, but
proposal in June this year.”
the reimbursement process has
“This will cover all those who
already cost him a lot of time and have been covered by the tuition
effort.
adjustment (ToFI) - therefore
He would again undergo
all those who came in starting
the long and tedious application
2007 either as new students or
process and he worries because
transferees,” she said.
the money he gets back is still
insufficient for next semester’s
‘ToFI JUSTIFICATION’
registration.
The review committee
By June 2009, however, the
proposed four options that can
administration is set to once
be used as bases for the STFAP
again rebracket the Socialized
rebracketing. Among these,
Tuition and Financial Assistance Atanacio and Esguerra strongly
Program (STFAP).
recommended option 4 (see
With this, Christian,
sidebars).
including thousands of UP
In the present alphabetic
students who have to bear
STFAP, a student’s family income
with the 300 percent Tuition
would determine his bracket
and other Fees Increase (ToFI),
among brackets A to E. Bracket
wonder: Will the rebracketing
A has the highest tuition rate
finally help?
of P1,500 to P1,000 per unit
depending on campus while
REVIEW OF ALPHABETIC SCHEME
Bracket E has a 100- percent
Last January, the twotuition fee discount and a P
member committee composed of
12,000 per semester stipend.
Prof. Edgardo Atanacio and Prof.
Student Regent Shahana
Emmanuel Esguerra of the UP
Abdulwahid said though there
Diliman College of Engineering
would be more students who
and College of Economics,
could avail STFAP because of the
respectively, submitted to UP
split Bracket E option, this is
President Emerlinda Roman
still not an assurance that it can
the review of the current STFAP
help majority of UP students.
alphabetic bracketing scheme.
Records of SFAD as of first
The review has an objective
semester of 2008 show that out
of being able to “expand the
of 1,623 grantees of STFAP in
Options Based on Family Income
Bracket and
tuition per unit
Option 1
Current
(Group I/II) **
A
P1,500/P1,000
Option 2
Split C and
Raise E ceiling
B
P1,000/P600
Option 3
Split C and
Expand D
Option 4*
Split C and
Expand E
Greater than P1,000,000
P500,001 to P1,000,000
C
P600/P400
P135,001 to
P500,000
P250,001 to
P500,000
D
P300/P200
D1
P300/P200
D2
Free tuition
but with other fees
P80,001 to
P135,000
P100,001 to
P250,000
E
Free tuition
with P12,000 stipend
E1
Free tuition
E2
Free tuition with P12,000
stipend
Less than
P80,000
P250,001 to
P500,000
P150,001 to
P250,000
P250,001 to
P 500,000
P135,001 to
P250,000
P100,001 to
P150,000
Less than
P100,000
P80,001 to P135,000
Less than
P80,000
* Recommended option for STFAP rebracketing by the review committee
** Groups I comprises of Diliman, Manila and Los Baños while Group II includes Baguio,
Mindanao, San Fernando and Visayas.
Source: Report and Recommendations of the Committee to Review the Current STFAP Income
Ranges and Brackets by Prof. Edgardo Atanacio and Prof. Emmanuel Esguerra
UPLB, only 4.56 percent, or 74
students are under Bracket E,
while 64.81 percent or 1,042
students are in Bracket C.
The Office of the Student
Regent is currently studying the
committee report and will update
the ToFI policy review initiated
during SR James Mark Terry
Ridon’s term.
In an interview in an ABSCBN News Channel program last
December, Roman admitted that
Comparison of proposed rebracketing to current STFAP
·Bracket E will be split into E1 and E2 and will entail full
tuition and other fees discount, but only students in E2 shall
receive the P12,000 per semester stipend.
·The upper limit of Bracket E2 shall be adjusted
periodically according to the official poverty threshold, but
must not be lower than P80,000.
·Family income base for determining Bracket C students
would be raised from P 135,001 to P 250,000.
·Family income base for determining Bracket D students
would be raised from P 80,001 to P 135,001.
ADMIN...ON PAGE 4
Students assess centennial feb fair
Nikko Caringal with reports from
Kris Loren Dulay
Rock music of various
bands, the sounds of speakers
and the cheers of students
were heard even from afar.
Swarms of people hustled in
the Freedom Park to bask in
the festive atmosphere of this
year’s Feb Fair.
Who would have thought
this yearly activity would not
have been possible just a
few days ago? The students,
through collective action, had
to protest just for this Feb Fair
to continue. Iskolars ng Bayan
were able to fight for this right,
which reflects this year’s Feb
Fair theme, “RAGE generation:
Reliving and Reaffirming
the Legacy of UPLB Student
Movement.”
Reliving the Past through the
Present
Last Feb. 9, 50
organizations held a picketdialogue in front of the
administration building. With
an air of agitation, University
Student Council Chairperson
Charisse Bernardine Bañez
announced that the Feb Fair
will be a Protest Fair. Around
300 students, in protest to
administration’s strict policies
for the event, barricaded the UP
gate. The protest paved the way
for the continuation of the Feb
Fair even without the assistance
from the administration.
This is what the students
had done during the Marcos
dictatorship. Marcos curtailed
democracy through abolishing
organizations, closing down
the student councils and the
publication all over the country.
Students then conducted a
Protest Fair as an expression
of dissent against assaults on
human rights. The Feb Fair,
during that time, was held every
September.
Feb Fair as Protest Fair
Impacts
The five-day Feb Fair
event exposed students to
realizations and calls to action
regarding issues inside and
outside the campus. These
include repression of right to
information and assembly, the
farmer’s right to own a land, the
abduction of activists and the
plight of people in Sitio Kabute.
Klarence Orjalo, BA
Sociology, ’08 said, “mas naging
mataas ‘yung level ng aking
pagiging aware sa mga issues
dito sa ating unibersidad pati
na rin iyong mga issues sa labas
[ng university] at mas nagkaroon
ako ng initiative na parang mas
alamin ang tungkol doon [sa mga
issues].”
For Rocky, not his real name,
BS Applied Physics, ’01, said
there was not much difference
between Feb Fair this year and
the previous years. When asked if
it has impact to him and to other
students, he said “Meron pero
hindi ganung kalaki ang impact
sa mga estudyante na hindi
aware sa mga issues.”
Denise Lachica, BS
Veterinary Medicine, ’08, said
“Bitin, kasi five days dapat, nung
Tuesday hindi masabi kung iyong
event ba ay matutuloy o hindi
dahil hindi sure kung official.
Kung mas maaga, nakapag-enjoy
pa sana.”
Feb Fair as an Awareness Drive
The Feb Fair served as a
venue for students to know
different issues.
When asked what is the
essence of Feb Fair, USC
Chairperson Charisse Bernadine
Bañez said, “Isa siyang [Feb Fair]
mechanism para makatulong sa
pagpapataas ng pampulitikang
kamulatan ng mga estudyante
sa pinakamadaling paraan na
tatanggapin nila.”
The Feb Fair exhibited
numerous shows and
presentations in line with its
theme. Famous bands like
Itchyworms and Brownman
Revival performed. Many students
and organizations supported
Star in Carillon, Gorgeous 20
and Class Distraction. The
Kabute Kids sang a song with
lyrics about their lives and the
injustices committed by the Arroyo
administration as part of the
social and political presentations.
Representatives from different
political groups such as
Anakpawis gave a brief talk about
the situation of workers in present
and called for actions to help these
people.
Ka Hermie, Chairperson of
Organized Labor in Agriculture
and Line Industries Association
said, “Baguhin, bawiin natin ang
sistemang mapagsamantala, ang
sistemang hindi gumagalang sa tao
sa kapwa tao sa kasalukuyang
sistema sa ating lipunan. Ito’y
STUDENTS...ON PAGE 3
PHOTO Karl Suministrado
Night of rage.
An excited crowd dances along with various music of bands that were showcased in
the Centennial February Fair.
4
NEWS
UPLB Perspective
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
”Reunion” itinatampok sa Sining Makiling Art Gallery
Sawa ka na ba sa [P]?
Yves Christian Suiza
Isang taong nagmimistulang
Kristong nakapako sa krus habang
pinalilibutan ng labindalawang
kataong kumakatawan sa kanyang
mga apostol ang isinasalarawan ng
isang painting na pinamamagatang
“Reunion”.
Isa ang ”Reunion” sa ilang obra
ni Emmanuel Garibay na itinatampok
sa exhibit sa Sining Makiling Art
Gallery na nagsimula noong Pebrero
11 at magpapatuloy hanggang Marso
20.
Si Garibay ay isang kilalang
pintor na umani ng mga parangal
tulad ng second Place sa Painting
Category sa II Bienal del Baloncestoen
Bellas Artes sa Madrid, Spain noong
2000 at Diwa ng Sining Award sa
National Commission for Culture and
the Arts sa Maynila noong 1994.
Ayon kay Glen Cagandahan,
iskultor at instruktor sa Department
of Humanities Visual Arts and Music,
“Salamin siya (paintings ni Garibay)
ng nangyayari sa bansa natin
ngayon... ginagamit niya ang canvas
niya upang imulat ang sambayanan
sa nangyayari sa Pilipinas.”
Ipinaliwanag ni Cagandahan
na isang expressionist artist si
Garibay at ginagamit niya umano
ang distortion upang magbigay diin
sa damdamin sa bawat pinta na
kanyang nililikha. Aniya, maraming
laman, makabuluhan at may relasyon
sa mga pangyayari ngayon ang mga
likha ni Garibay.
“Ipinapakita sa ‘Lupa, hindi
bala’ na madalas nagiging biktima
ng violence ang mga magsasaka
para lang sa lupa... ‘yung nanay
sa ”Pieta” walang bibig dahil hindi
pinapakinggan ang kanyang tinig at
hawak niya ang larawan ng kanyang
anak na parang biktima” paliwanag ni
Cagandahan.
Ayon naman kay Czarlina
Evangelista, organizer sa
naturang exhibit, ang Reunion
ni Emmanuel Garibay ay
nangangahulugan ng tatlong
bagay: ito ang kanyang
pinakamalaking pinta sa
[d]
SR delibs set on May
Nikko Angelo Oribiana
Student councils (SC) from
different UP units are now
preparing for the Student Regent
selection slated in May.
In a memorandum released last
Feb. 16, the Office of the Student
Regent has already indicated the set
of dates for the 2009 SR selection
process.
This year, the General Assembly
PHOTO Karl Suministrado of Student Councils (GASC) will
REUNION.
convene in UP Visayas Miag-ao
Isa sa mga tampok na obra ni Emmanuel Garibay sa isang exhibit sa Sining Makiling
campus to deliberate nominees for the
Art Gallery, ang “Reunion” ay sumasalamin sa mga kasalukuyang isyu ng ating
system-wide level and choose the next
panahon, parrtikular sa relihiyon at politika.
SR. The GASC is composed of all SCs
naturang exhibit, alay niya ito
pahayag naman ni Garibay.
in the UP system and the current SR
sa unibersidad bilang UPLB
Maliban sa Reunion ay
as the presiding officer.
graduate at alay niya sa mga dati itinampok din sa naturing
The newly-ratified Codified Rules
niyang mga kasama sa kolehiyo.
exhibit ang ilan sa mga likha ni
for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS),
Ayon kay Evangelista ang
Garibay tulad ng Traffic Aide,
rules governing the SR process,
Reunion ay isa sa mga pinta
Tibak at Mag-ina.
na itatampok sa katapusan
Si Garibay ay nagtapos din ng stipulates that the nominations for
the SR is open to any bona fide UP
ng taon bilang pagpupugay sa
BFA in Fine Arts sa Unibersidad
student, regardless of academic
sentenaryo ng UP.
ng Pilipinas Diliman noong
standing, from any campus and unit.
”Ang gusto ko sana isama
1990, at MA Divinity sa Union
Throughout the process
sa centennial exhibit ay ’yung
Theological Seminary Cavite noong
nominees will follow different levels of
Tibak... sinisimbolize ’nun na
1995. Sa kanyang pananatili
screening.
kailangan natin pag-igihin ang
sa UPLB, siya ay naglingkod sa
porma at postura ng aktibismo...
UPLB Perspective bilang Art Editor
At the last level of screening,
isang side kasi dun ay hindi na
noong 1981 hanggang 1984 sa
the nominees are set to present their
nagiging seryoso sa paglaban,”
kursong BA Sociology. [P]
Vision Paper and General Plan of
‘SMOKESCREEN’ FOR REVENUE
The review committee
recommends Option 4 because
it has “moderate financial
implications for the University”
and the least increase in total
Action before the GASC, after which
the General Assembly will deliberate
on who will take the SR post next.
The GASC can choose nominees
through hand raising or secret
balloting. Autonomous units such
as Baguio, Diliman, Los Baños, and
Mindanao are entitled two votes.
Meanwhile, regional units like the
Diliman Extension Program in
Pampanga and Cebu College in the
Visayas, have one vote.
The SR nominee who will be
chosen through a consensus by the
GASC, or if consensus is unattainable,
at least two thirds votes of the SCs,
shall become the SR subject to the
approval of Malacañang.
Incumbent SR Shahana
Abdulwahid said the OSR are
preparing for logistical needs and
information dissemination about the
SR selection process.
Traditionally, the SR deliberations
is held during December but the
CRSRS was subjected to a referendum
as required by the UP Charter of
2008. The CRSRS was successfully
ratified last Jan. 26-30 after achieving
72.05 percent affirmative votes. [P]
FEB FAIR...FROM PAGE 2
supposed to attend the dialogue
between the concessionaires and the
administration but were told that the
venue is the Operation’s Room of the
Administration building rather than
the OC, where they waited for almost
an hour.
On the other hand, Arienda
explained that keeping the
Feb Fair fund has never been
ADMIN...FROM PAGE 3
Tuition in UP may increase in the
next three years.
Abdulwahid said the STFAP
implementation in 1989 and the
STFAP rebracketing in 2006 were
both done prior to a ToFI.
“As we may fear, this STFAP
rebracketing may serve as
another justification for another
tuition and other fee increases,”
Abdulwahid stressed.
Simultaneous with the
approval of the 300 percent
ToFI in the December 15, 2006
BOR meeting, the BOR already
allows tuition adjustments
based on inflation . Roman told
Perspective, however, that the
administration is “not inclined to
adjust tuition this year.”
Abangan...
subsidy to STFAP grantees.
University Student Council
Chairperson Charisse Bernadine
Bañez said in Filipino that the
planned STFAP rebracketing is
but a “smokescreen” to the “real
motive of the administration”
because it only “rationalizes the
underprivileged to accept STFAP
as a means to be able to study.”
The report also indicated
that “In terms of tuition
revenue, Option 4 registers
only a moderate decrease (9
percent) compared with Option
2 (7 percent) and Option 3 (11
percent).”
“More than to provide
financial assistance or increase
the beneficiaries of STFAP, what
the admin is really concerned
about is revenue... iniisip pa rin
niya kung papaano siya kikita,”
Bañez said.
She furthered that not even
ten percent of the whole student
population have full subsidy,
at karapatan nila (vendors) na maaudit ng maayos ang pera nila,” he
said.
Arienda added that USC has
to be transparent with the way
it handled the Feb Fair funds by
releasing a financial report of the
Feb Fair.
Delos Santos, however, said,
“Maglalabas kami ng fin[ancial]
report hindi para ipasa sa admin
kung ‘di para i-publish sa either
Perspective, Sanggunian, [ang]
thereby earning profit for UP since opisyal na pahayagan ng UPLBUSC o [sa] proceedings ng CSL
majority still pay base tuition.
(Council of Student Leaders.)”
She also said that if the
‘HALF-HEARTED’ ATTEMPT
National Union of Students administration wanted to audit the
Feb Fair funds, they should have
of the Philippines - Southern
hired an auditor to do that, and
Tagalog Secretary General
not the administration itself, to
Rayan Brozula said that this
ensure that the fund will be used
move by the administration is
for the conduct of the fair and not
but a “half-hearted attempt
for any other reasons.
to aid students amidst the
current global economic
STUDENTS ASSESS...FROM PAGE 3
crisis.”
binibigay namin sa ating mga
“The real solution is higher kabataan na ipagpatuloy niyo
state subsidy because as long
ang laban ng mga manggagawa.”
as the education sector is not
prioritized, the government
The struggle continues
will continue to impose antiEven now that the booths
student policies on tuition,”
in Freedom Park are gone and
Brozula explained.
the stage set up is removed,
Meanwhile, Bañez said
the spirit of student movement
that if the administration is
can still be felt inside the
indeed sincere and it has a
campus. Student councils
genuine motive in providing
and organizations continue to
economic relief to UP students, campaign for securing student
it should rollback the tuition
rights. This legacy of reaffirming
and over-all junk ToFI. [P]
student movements will continue
the administration’s reason
for wanting to centralize the
payment of concessionaires at
the BAO, contrary to what the
USC claims.
“Gusto lang naming (admin) iaccount ng tama, kasi ‘yung perang
ibinayad ng mga entrepreneurs
(vendors) ay pera ng bayan, subject
pa rin ‘yan sa batas ng gubyerno,
NO ELECTRICITY ON THE FIRST DAY
Meanwhile, the Physical Plant
and Maintenance Services Office
(PPMSO) did not provide electricity
to the Feb Fair grounds last Feb. 10
due to lack of permit, since it was
only on Feb. 6 that Velasco informed
the USC that they should ask for a
permit from lower offices instead of
directly from him, delos Santos said.
Along with the lights and
sounds the USC rented for the
fair, they also rented a generator to
provide electricity for the first day,
she said.
Garcia said they were fixing the
permit on the use of electricity until
the second day of the fair, which was
granted by the PPMSO the same day.
Janine Ruth Castanes, ‘07 BS
Food Tech said “nakakainis lang
kasi ang inaasahang masaya at
maliwanag na FebFair ay nawalan
ng kuryente noong first day.” [P]
depending on how the Iskolars
ng Bayan will take the struggle
as their own. Like what Bañez said,
“Marapat nating tandaan
na anumang pakikibaka ng
kabataan para sa karapatan
sa edukasyon ay pag-ambag
na natin sa pakikibaka ng
mamamayang Pilipino para
sa disenteng pamumuhay
at ito’y ambag ng kabataang
Pilipino para sa pagsusulong
ng pambansang demokratikong
pakikibaka.” [P]
GRAPHICS
UPLB Perspective
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
5
CAMPUS
FORUM
Ano sa tingin mo ang
solusyon sa nakaambang
energy crisis sa bansa?
“Ang magandang solusyon sa nakaambang energy
crisis sa bansa ay pagba-bike.”
- 0927446****
“Maghanap sila ng alternative sources of energy, like
solar energy. Dapat maginvent sila ng mga bagaybagay para mautilize ‘yung mapo-produce na energy.
At i-promote ‘to.”
- Carling | BS Food Technology ‘07
“Magtipid. Kung hindi kayang mag-adjust ng krisis sa
atin, tayo na lang ang mag-adjust sa kanya. Basahin
ang likod ng Meralco bills para sa tipid kuryente tips.”
- Chico | BS Industrial Eng’g ‘06
“Sa tingin ko, kailangan ng mas maraming campaigns
para sa pag[co]-conserve ng energy sources ng ating
environment. Masyadong matagal at magastos ang
research sa pagdiskubre ng bagong energy sources
though alam natin na inevitable ang depletion ng ating
energy. Mas mainam na ituloy ng governing sectors ang
kanilang advocacy para sa pagmi-minimize ng wasteful
consumption.”
- Mick Gammad | BS DevCom ‘07
kwadrado
“Sa tingin ko, dapat maging open ang government
na magpondo sa mga energy sources na hindi pa
masyadong nata-tap ng mga tao. Hindi tayo dapat
maging critical at mag-doubt sa mga possible sources
na maaring maging solusyon sa energy crisis natin.”
- Zarah Mae | BA ComArts ‘08
Ano ang Valentine’s
Day message mo para
kay Chancellor Luis Rey
Velasco?
“Chancy, Happy Valentine’s Day po! Sana malunod
ka… sa pagmamahal… ng tuition. NO TO TOFI!”
- Michi | comesky
KARL SUMINISTRADO
Salamin
[P]ANANAW
Poems, short stories, essays,
graphics and photos
Send your contributions to
uplbperspective0809@gmail.com
or hand carry them to Room 11 2nd flr Student
Union building. Submission is up to March 27 only.
Opinyon
mo’y mahalaga.
Mag-text sa 09174192496/09295085076
1.
2.
Ano ang iyong pagtatasa sa papatapos
na termino ng UPLB Perspective?
Ano ang iyong birthday wish para sa
UPLB sa ika-100 niyang kaarawan?
“Chancy, keep on loving us, students. Maaaring marami
kang kinahaharap na problema pero kaya mo ‘yan!
Kaya natin ‘to!! Pagbutihan mo ah, umayos ka! Labu
labu (love you x2). Ingatan ang sarili at kain nang
maayos.”
- Isauro | BS Industrial Eng’g ‘06
“Happy Valentine’s! Sana iregalo mo na sa amin ‘yung
pagbaba ng tuition fee. Tapos, doon sa nakaraang
reg, sana ‘yung mga fees ay mapunta sa amin, hindi sa
pagi-improve ng facilities para sa tourism ng school.”
- Florante Martizano | BS APHY ‘08
“Chancy, wag kang mag-alala. May mga estudyanteng
nagmamahal din sa’yo. But NO! Hindi kami ‘yun!”
-“KatoRse”
“Hello Chancy. Happy Valentine’s Day po. Sana
masaya ka nung Valentine’s mo. Natuloy po ‘yung Feb
Fair, mabuhay ka! Sana masaya ka sa buhay mo.”
- Shiela Muñoz | BS Human Ecology ‘05
6
FEATURES
UPLB Perspective
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
“Tin melts when heated by men’s art in channeled crucibles; or as iron, which is hardest of all things, is softened by
glowing fire in mountain glens and melts in the divine earth through the strength of Hephaestus.”
-Hesiod, Theogony
I
n Greek mythology, several deities earned high
recognition because of their physical prowess,
beauty, magnanimity and wisdom, which altogether
push minor ones to the periphery, if not to oblivion.
Among those who are damned because of unsightly
appearance and lowly status, Hephaestus suffers the
most in Mount Olympus and in the many pages allotted
solely to chronicling his misery.
Little do we know of Hephaestus or Vulcan in Roman
myth, who is portrayed as an industrious god who bestowed
not only to Olympus divinities but also to mankind many
magnificent tools and implements that improve activities
and labor. Instead, accounts of his exploits reduced him to a
grotesque and lame god, finding abode in a forlorn volcano
and aiding his disability with a walking stick.
Much of the story seems parallel to the condition of
workers in the Philippines, where those who toil are ill-treated
and exploited. Filipino workers suffer from exploitative
environment and abusive conditions brought about by the
government’s economic policies that by and large favor
contractors and businessmen.
Like Hephaestus, laborers are compressed in unfavorable
and hazardous working atmosphere. They are bound to
endure eight hours or more of working time everyday with
payment that is sometimes below the minimum wage, and
with overtime that is sometimes underpaid or unpaid. Just as
these workers are hired to toil, they are also employed with
an unwritten agreement to tolerate the verbal and physical
maltreatment of the “gods and demigods of the company”
in order for them to earn a living while losing their morale. And
while they make it possible for the economy to run —
producing food and equipment, constructing infrastructure
and creating technology and life systems — they are
portrayed as unsightly and lowly, thus deserving low payment
and job insecurity.
Consort with Cyclopes: Toiling for Others
Many of the origin of the finely-forged equipment
of deities can be traced from the productive hands of
Hephaestus and his Cyclopes assistants. These include
Zeus’ thunderbolt and scepter, Hermes’ winged helmet
and sandals, Aphrodite’s girdle, Helios’ chariot, Eros’
bow and arrow, Pandora’s Box and Achilles’ armor.
Despite these contributions, he remained deprived of
wealth and glory. Such situation corresponds to the
fate of Filipino workers who labor for their employers but
are still threatened by harsh labor schemes.
These schemes were examined by Rana Forrohar
and Tony Emerson of Newsweek, who said that workers
worldwide experience “falling wages, reduced benefits
and rising job insecurity,” which forced them to work
“longer hours with little prospect of meaningful raise.”
A case in point is Aling Linda Abolad*, 42, of
Taytay, Rizal who works as a sewer in one of the RTW
(ready-to-wear) companies in the locality for almost
20 years. In an interview with Perspective, Aling Linda
said the company where she works now applies long
working time, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with only an hour
allotted for lunch time and half an hour in the morning,
afternoon and evening for break.
In addition, workers in the company are pressured
to work like automatons that cut, fold and sew textiles
to meet the quota. Aling Linda shared that sewers
need to finish 600-700 pieces of sewn cloth in order
to get P200 wage per day, otherwise, they will keep
working beyond 10 p.m. until the quota is met, or else
face deduction on their salary.
Clash with Zeus: Crippling the Workforce
As if detestation from gods and goddesses is not
enough, Hephaestus was thrown by Zeus from the
Olympus to the no-man’s island of Lemnos after the former
saved her mother Hera from being chained between the
earth and sky. The said fall, which took nine days and nine
nights, cost Hephaestus his legs and forced him to live
reclusively in a desolate volcano.
This detestation translates to labor-only contracting
or contractualization in the Filipino workers’ experiences,
where they suffer from limited opportunity to acquire
regular status. Ateneo Center for Asian Studies refers to
contractualization of labor as the short-term hiring of
workers “and then re-hiring these same workers to perform
essentially the same tasks for which they were initially hired.
Scores of contractual workers multiplied when then
President Fidel Ramos applied his economic policy
Philippines 2000. Despite promises of increased jobs,
the Ramos administration failed to produce enough
employment that he allows companies to indiscriminately
utilize labor-only contracting to accommodate hundreds
of thousand of unemployed Filipinos in 1995.
Contractualization and casualization were legalized after
then Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary
Leonardo Quisumbing issued Department Order (DO) No. 10
in 1997. The order explicitly provisioned that “contracting and
sub-contracting arrangements are expressly allowed by law”
guided by the principle of “flexibility and free competition” to
“increase efficiency and streamlining operations essential for
every business.” However, only a small portion of safety net
was included in the DO as it gives only to the Labor Secretary
the prerogative to restrict or prohibit labor-only contracting “to
protect the rights of workers.”
In 2001, DoLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas issued DO
No. 3 to revoke the previous one but retains the effectivity
of DO No. 10 to companies that earlier implemented it,
and issued DO No. 18-02 that essentially restored DO No.
10 the following year.
A classic and widespread example of
contractualization is best practiced by Shoemart (SM),
one of the biggest department store chains in the
country. Of the 20,000 workers that SM employs, only one
percent or 1,731 employees are regular and protected by
collective bargaining agreement.
Meanwhile, among those who are hired under laboronly contracting is Mang Andres Batulot, 45, of Pasig
City. He works for a fiberglass company where he installs
window glasses on towering buildings in Makati City. In his
job, he is prone to numerous on-site accidents whenever
he climbs up to 70th floor to install glass windows. He
complained, however, that despite these risks, health
benefits and insurances are not reflected on his pay slip
since he is only a contractual worker hired and re-hired to
work for only three to six months.
Expulsion from Olympus: Prolonging the Agony
Asia-Pacific Research Network (APRN) Chairperson
Antonio Tujan Jr. said the rampant contractualization in the
country causes contract workers to “earn less than regular
workers, they also are not entitled to benefits such as social
security and year-end bonuses. Tujan mentioned that
workers cannot defend their legitimate rights since they are
barred from joining a union.
According to IBON Foundation, contractualization
of labor takes its toll on the state of union-formation in the
country. As companies hire workers on a fixed term of
employment, they do not only gain mandate to cut labor
costs but are also allowed to “lower worker’s wages, strip
their workers of their benefits and save on capital expenses.”
Figures from the Center for Trade Union and Human
Rights (CTUHR) show that from January to August 2007,
union and human rights violations involving harassment,
violent dispersal, illegal arrests and detentions, grave threats
and enforced disappearances peaked to 59 cases with
estimated 829 victims.
This only means that workers nationwide do not benefit
well from their labor contribution and is actually exposed to
many human rights violation.
ANAKBAYAN-Southern Tagalog (ST) Chairperson Paulo
Bautista said that joining a worker’s union provides members
the opportunity to safeguard their rights through the process
of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Inside CBA,
workers can negotiate for their demands of regularization
and entitlement to health benefits and insurances. Similarly,
National Union of Students of the Philippines-ST Secretary
General Leo “XL” Fuentes said every union aims to push for
the lawful demands of their members through the CBA and
also intends to contribute to the national call of the workers
for their democratic rights.
Slaying Zeus: Discontinuing Contractualization
The sorry state of employment in the country illuminates
the fate of hardworking god Hephaestus who toils and labors
for the Olympus gods and goddesses but is still maltreated
and ignored. Despite bringing ease and remedy to many
problems and harms, the god of metal works bear a
destitute and exploited life inside the volcano of Lemnos.
Even with the ill-treatment he received from Olympus,
Hephaestus wins the trust and support of craftsmen,
sculptors, blacksmiths, and artisans on the land. Perhaps,
workers nowadays must follow the course of mythology:
Hephaestus holding an anvil, riding his self-made chariot,
with eruptive fury, gloriously winning over Zeus whom, in
one of the versions of the story, he killed. [P]
*not their real names
References:
Lindio-McGovern, L. Neo-liberal globalization in the Philippines: Its impact
on Filipino women and their forms of resistance. Indiana University.
Income and Employment Statistics Division, Household Statistics
Department, National Statistics Office
AM Remolino (2007. Contractualization and the State of Unionism in the
Philippines. http://100roses.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/contractualization-andthe-state-of-unionism-in-the-philippines/
Tujan Jr., A. Globalization and Labor: The Philippines Case. http://www.
geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/4677/index.html
IBON Foundation Features
FEATURES
UPLB Perspective
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
T
he delay in the University Student Council-College Student Council (USC-CSC) elections last year caused
the lag in addressing the repressions rampant in the campus. The centennial USC and their campaigns
for student empowerment has not yet changed; but as the term gets closer to its final border, we’ll be
looking into what-has-beens in the campus within almost seven months of representing the UPLB studentry.
Campaigns for democratic rights
Reestablishing the Council of Student Leaders (CSL) as the formal venue for students’ unification
in facing their concerns, defending the 1984 USC Constitution, upholding the right to education and
campus freedom, emphasizing UP’s role in pushing for significant social change and promoting
the aspirations of the other sectors in the UPLB community were the concrete points that were
pushed as the centennial USC moved forward with its aim to serve the students and the people.
USC Chairperson Charisse Bernadine Bañez leads the centennial student leaders as they
face a short term with the goal of serving the people.
“Ito ýung term na ang iksi pero mistulang napakahaba dahil sa mga issue na
kinaharap ng konseho. Naging mabilis ang peak and lull ng mga kinaharap na
problema ngunit nanatiling matibay ang konseho sa tindig nito na pagsilbihan ang
sangkaestudyantehan,” Bañez said.
:L
ib
e
La rty
yo No
ut ta
: S rte
alv | P
ato ho
rre tog
de rap
Vi h:
nc Ka
e O rl
lan Sum
o i
ni
str
ad
o
choosing a
student representative
in the Board of Regents (BOR),
UP’s highest policy-making body.
The centennial USC believed that
the best the student leaders and the
studentry can do to uphold student
representation is to vote “Yes!” in the
referendum.
In line with the campaign
to ratify CRSRS, student council
held kOnSyeRto and distributed
statements that tackle the issue
on student representation. After two
days of marking ballots with ink and student
participation, the CRSRS was ratified.
Bhen Aguihon, College of Human Ecology-College
Student Council Chairperson, related that it is not an issue of
how the CRSRS was amended before, rather it is more an issue of
securing the right to be represented.
“Hindi natin maafford na walang katiyakan ang lone representation
natin sa BOR,” he added.
However, Julian Guerrero, BS Veterinary Medicine student batch ’07,
said that the USC failed to fully disseminate information and educate the
students about the pressing issues in the campus especially the issue on
defending student representation.
“Sa centennial USC, masasabi kong naging kagyat ang pagharap
nila sa issues particular na rito sa campus,” he said.
W
or
ds
Unifying student organizations
USC Councilor Mark Vincent Baracao said the present USC reinstated the
CSL, an alliance of UPLB organizations, fraternities and sororities, to intensify
student participation and encourage participatory leadership.
“Dito naman namin, basically, pinag-uusapan ang [mga] issues
na kinakaharap ng mga organisasyon, halimbawa na lang ang
org recognition na nangangailangan ng kagyat na pagtugon
mula rin sa ating mga estudyante,” Baracao added.
The CSL usually meets not less than twice a month.
They considered the need for a venue to address
problems that directly affect all
organizations in UPLB such
as defending the Office
of Student Regent (OSR),
recognizing organizations
and holding the February
Fair were addressed
through this alliance of
student organizations.
Addressing sectoral and campus issues
Along with the campaigns for democratic rights during the first quarter
of their term, the council also served as a bridge between the administration
and peasants from Southern Tagalog who held a cultural presentation
in C-park last October 2008. The cultural presentation is part of the
program that addresses issues on agrarian reforms.
“Nairaos naman noon ang programang parte ng isang
linggong welgang-bukid ng mga magsasaka ng TimogKatagalugan laban sa huwad na reporma sa lupa,” said Bañez.
Despite the administration’s request to hold the program
in the Jamboree, the USC asserted it be held in C-park.
They believed that UPLB, as the center of excellence in
agriculture, should help the peasants in upholding their
rights to manage their own land.
In February 2009, Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco
suspended their request for holding the Febfair when
the council failed to follow the bureaucracy before
conducting an activity. However, Bañez said the
council only followed what the previous USC terms
did when holding the Febfair. A picket-dialogue led by
the student council and college student councils was held
last February 9, where 250 members from various organizations
participated to call for immediate approval of the request of USC to conduct
UPLB fair. The dialogue finally ended after almost eight hours of waiting and
protest; then, clamor of success filled the campus.
Other than mere campaigns for students’ welfare, there were also attempts
to further address the issue of other sectors in UPLB community such as ambulant vendors and
jeepney drivers, said centennial USC Councilor Jose Alberto Nuez III.
Upholding student
representation
Student dissent continued
as the UP Charter of 2008 set as
requirement the ratification of the
Codified Rules for Student Regent
Selection (CRSRS). The CRSRS provides
a guide in
Facing questions
The centennial USC, as it draws nearer to the end of its term, still faces the questions on financial
statements and “transparency”.
USC Councilor Maricris Cynthia Delos Santos said the allegations thrown at student leaders are just
one of systematic attempts of the administration and other political group to hamper the students’
struggle for their democratic rights.
“Tinitingnan naman natin ang kahalagahan ng paglalabas ng financial report; nakakalungkot
lang na imbes na mapagtuunan ng pansin ang pagsusulong sa demokratikong karapatan ng mga
estudyante, nahahati ngayon ang atensyon ng konseho sa pagitan ng teknikal at praktikal,” she said.
The incumbent council leaves a challenge for the next term: that is to intensify the credibility
and maintain the trust that has been established in the students by the previous USC terms of
representation.
Five months of an autonomous representation was hounded by matters such as org recognition,
upholding the OSR, administrative intervention in holding February Fair and all other issues
concerning their responsibility as student leaders.
An autonomous and democratic council is already carved in the minds of those who shared
the same sentiments for and with student empowerment. The swift peak and lull of issues and
perhaps the delay of USC-CSC elections made their leaving faster.
As Iskolars ng Bayan, students should evaluate more than review the feat or failure of the
student leaders during their occupancy of seats in the fundamental student institution.
Expression of dissent was important to the centennial student council as trampling of
democratic rights continues taking its place throughout the term. On the verge of its end, the
incumbent council remains firm – relying on the support of students whose common interests
caused the peak of dissent and struggle. [P]
7
8
CULTURE
UPLB Perspective
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
diliman
Dreamers
s i l a n g m g a n a b i g o at n a g ta g u m pay s a
Pagtapak sa Diliman
SALITA Mark Angelo Ordonio | DIBUHO Kervin Gabilo | DISENYO NG PAHINA Aletheia Grace del Rosario
Napansin mo ba ang biglang tirahan gawa ng pangaraw- pag-asikaso ng mga requirements
pagkawala ng ilan sa iyong mga araw na gastusin. Ayon kay sa paglipat. Pero hindi lahat sa
blocmate at kaklase pagkalipas ng Mike Ranel Magboo, dating kanila ay nagtagumpay, mayroon
isang taong pagdurusa kasama ang BS Mathematics ’07 sa UPLB at ding mga nabigo. Isa sa kanila si
readings, research papers at lab reports? kasalukuyang kumukuha ng Clarisse*, kasalukuyang kumukuha
Sumuko ba sila sa pagbabayad ng mataas BS Computer Science sa UPD, ng BS Dentistry ’08 sa UP Manila, na
na matrikula nang walang natatanggap na “‘Yung tuition fee pa lang hindi naipasa ang kanyang talent
subsidyo at walang nakikitang pagbabago sa kalidad ng edukasyon na mahirap na, paano pa ‘yung test sa papasukang kursong Music. “I
assure na talagang kailangan mong
kanilang tinatamasa? Hindi ba nila kinayang pagsabayin ang apat hanggang anim weekly allowance ko?”
Mayroon
ding mapatunayan na deserving ka sa
na exam kapag “hell week” kaya pinili nilang lumipat sa ibang unibersidad?
naimpluwensyahan ng ilang lilipatan mong course kaya mahirap
kamag-anak o mga kakilala na ang buong process,” dagdag pa
O baka naman itinuloy nila ang pakikipagsapalaran sa ibang UP campus
nagsipagtapos o kasulukayang niya.
– partikular sa UP Diliman. Sila ang tinatawag na Diliman dreamers. Ito ang bansag
nag-aaral sa Diliman tungkol sa
sa mga pumasa sa isang non-Diliman campus at binalak na ipagpatuloy ang
anya kanyang
kanilang pananatili doon, na
kinukuhang larangan o kunin ang mas sinisintang kurso sa UP Diliman.
napapangunahan ng ideyang
agalingan
mas mataas ang kalidad ng
mahe ng
edukasyon sa Diliman.
Kaugnay ng pangalan ng
Bilang kabisera ng bansa, ang
Binubuo ng pitong constituent universities na nahahati sa Maynila kung saan naruroon ang Diliman unibersidad ang salitang ‘Pilipinas’
12 campus sa kalakhan ng bansa ang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. ay ang sentro ng kapangyarihan. Mula dito dahil dala nito ang responsibilidad
Napanatili ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas ang kanyang reputasyon sa ay maraming oportunidad na naghihintay na pagsilbihan ang buong bansa sa
loob ng isandaang taon bilang isang research at graduate university na kaya madaling makahanap ng trabahong pamamagitan ng edukasyon. Bilang
umaani ng de kalidad na mga siyentipikong pananaliksik na nakatanggap ng pagkilala may kinalaman sa kursong iyong tinapos. “I think pagtugon sa pangangailangan
sa loob at labas ng bansa. Sa kasalukuyan, wala pang ibang institusyong pang- mas may edge ka sa paghahanap ng work ‘pag sa isang campus na magsisilbi sa
akademiko sa bansa ang makatutulad sa UP sa lawak ng mga kursong binubuo sa Diliman ka gumraduate,” ayon kay Frenchly Joyce kalinangan ng bawat rehiyon,
ng 246 undergraduate at 362 graduate programs sa halos lahat ng sangay Caspe, dating BS Chemistry ’07 sa UPLB at kasalukuyang nagkaroon ng autonomous units:
kilala ang Los Baños sa agrikultura at
ng kaalaman. At sa marami pang dahilan, hindi pa rin matatawaran kinukuha ang kaparehong kurso sa UPD.
pangungubat; eksperto ang Visayas
ang malaking kontribusyon ng UP sa paghulma ng ating kasaysayan
ang pangingisda at akwakultura,
at pag-ukit ng mga larawang babago sa kasalukuyang mukha ng
sentro ng kapangyarihan ang
ng mga nagtagumpay
bansa.
Manila sa agham pangkalusugan,
Sa mga napagtagumpayan ng UP umuugat ang ideya
agbangon sa panibagong
bihasa ang Baguio ang kaunlaran
na mayroon daw dalawang unibersidad sa Pilipinas: UP
ng Cordillera, at iba pa.
hinaharap
at “others”. Siguradong hindi na bago ang linyang ito na
Samakatwid,
hindi
natin
nagiging usapan hindi lang sa mundo ng blogs kundi
maging sa mga pangaraw-araw na usapan ng mga
Sinabihan man siya ng isang nasa katungkulan na ginagamit ng mga mailalarawan ang isang campus
“pinakamagaling”
Iskolar. Mula sa mga nagsusumigaw na UP statement shirts katulad niya ang UPLB bilang “stepping stone” para makalipat, lumipat pa rin bilang
hanggang sa mga ipinapahayag ng media, bukas ang si Kim Agnes, dating BS Chemistry ’07 sa UPLB at kasalukuyang kumukuha ng BS dahil hindi ito ang sukatan ng
kamalayan ng lipunan sa diskriminasyon sa pagitan ng UP Clothing Technology sa UPD. Ayon sa kanya, may mga sariling dahilan ang mga pinagmulan ng galing at talino
at ng ibang unibersidad.
lumilipat. “It’s not about [UP]LB being a lower standard university than Diliman,” ng isang Iskolar para sa Bayan.
Sa halip, ito ay manggagaling
Ngunit hindi nagtatapos ang pakikipagbuno sa pagitan dagdag pa niya.
sa kung paanong paraan
lamang ng mga unibersidad. Hindi rin maitatangging umiiral
Matagumpay ring nakalipat si Rose Anne Ortega, dating
niya naibalik
ang ideyang dalawa lang ang campus sa UP: Diliman BS Economics ’07 sa UPLB at kasalukuyang kinukuha ang
sa
bansa
at “others”. Maraming bagay ang maaaring sumuporta o kaparehong kurso. “I believe na mas competitive kasi ang
anginaning
sumalungat sa ideyang ito: mula sa mga napagtagumapayan UP School of Economics sa UPD,” pagdadahilan niya.
talino bilang
ng bawat campus hanggang sa mga nailuwal na lider na siyang
tungkulin
naglilingkod sa ating bansa.
sa bayan at
ng mga nabigo pagbalik
hindi para sa
gunit bakit
iliman
s a pi n a n g g a l i n g a n
sariling kapakanan
lamang. [P]
Kilala ang UP Diliman bilang “flagship campus” at sentro ng
Si JM*, BS Food Technology ’06, ay isa
*hindi nila tunay na
pangangasiwa ng buong UP System. Bilang tahanan ng maraming sa mga Iskong nagkaroon ng plano na
pangalan
kurso, napangatawanan nito ang pagiging “premier institution of higher lumipat sa Diliman pagkatapos niyang
learning,” ayon sa website ng UP Diliman.
mag-cross register doon nang hindi
Nabanggit na mas maraming pagpipiliang kurso (at major para
siya nabigyan ng Chem 17 (General
sa ilang kurso) sa Diliman kumpara sa ibang campus. Ito ang naging Chemistry II) noong old freshman pa siya.
dahilan ni Hanna Cantalejo, dating BA Communication Arts ’07 sa UPLB Kahit na hindi niya inasikaso ang iba’t
at kasalukuyang kumukuha ng BA Linguistics sa UPD. “Ever since kasi na
ibang application forms para makalipat,
nag-[UP]LB ako, may intention na talaga [a]ko na lumipat... Hindi ko din kasi
aminado siya na malaki ang impluwensya sa
gusto ‘yung comm[unication] arts na course under CAS.” Patok ang mga
kanyang plano ang paraan ng pagtuturo at
kurso mula sa liberal arts tulad ng Fine Arts at Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino
buhay sa Diliman. Aniya, “hindi ko na itinuloy ang
at mga kurso sa agham at pangangasiwa tulad ng Molecular Biology and
paglipat kasi matrabaho [iyon] saka nasimulan
Biotechnology at Accountancy.
ko na sa [UP]LB so tatapusin ko na dito.”
Isinasaalang-alang din ng mga kumukuha ng UPCAT ang distansya.
Dahil sa kagustuhang makalipat sa Diliman,
Dahil malaking bahagdan ng mga pumapasa sa UPCAT ay mula o malapit sa
marami ang nagkaroon ng lakas ng loob para
National Capital Region, mas pipiliin nila ang Diliman na mas malapit sa kanilang
lumipat, nawala ang hiya na dumaan sa iba’t
tirahan. Mas magastos din ang pamamalagi sa isang campus na malayo sa
ibang panayam at napatiran ng hininga sa
I
K
K
UP
A
P
N
D
?
A
:
:
-
CULTURE
UPLB Perspective
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
KWENTONG FRESHIE
Daphne
S
a pagdiriwang ng sentenaryo ng UP, magbalik-tanaw tayo sa mga karanasan
nating mga nagiging bagong iskolar ng bayan --ang mga freshman. Ating halukayin
ang mga natatagong kwentong nagpapatotoo sa samu’t-saring karanasan mula sa
paghahanap ng TBA rooms, hanggang sa SU para sa diskwento sa matrikula.
*Reiji Mitsurugi
Contributor
A
ng kwentong ito ay para
sa lahat ng naghintay,
naghihintay, at
hinihintay.
Batay sa aking karanasan,
ang paghuhukay sa nakaraan
ay may kung anong kakabit
na sakit o kamalasan. At
katulad ng kahit sinuman,
ayoko sanang malasin o
masaktan. Ngunit sa kabila
nito, susubukin ko pa rin ang
paghuhukay.
***
Mayroon akong pangarap,
isang taon na ang nakalipas.
Ninais kong pumasa sa UPCAT
para maging kaklase ang crush
at pen pal kong si Daphne
hanggang gumraduate kami
nang sabay. Pinag-uusapan
naming dalawa ang buhay
at kung ano ang maaring
mangyari kung sakaling
magkasama na kami nang
malaman kong mayroon na
siyang boyfriend. Hindi pa
rin ako tumigil at sinikap ko
pa ring makuha ang kanyang
pagtingin.
Dumating ang Agosto,
buwan ng UPCAT. Sinagutan
ko ang pagsusulit habang
tangan-tangan ang baon kong
bote ng C2, ang pangarap kong
makasama si Daphne at ang pagasang makapapasa ako rito.
Pebrero noon, Araw ng mga
Puso, nang may matanggap
akong regalo. Isang regalo ng
tadhana sa porma ng isang biro.
Hindi umabot ang aking UP
Grade sa cut-off ng unibersidad.
Waitlisted ako sa madaling sabi.
Naghintay ako nang naghintay
hanggang sa mag-Mayo, patapos
na ang bakasyon, umaasa pa
rin akong makapapasok para sa
unang semestre. Nabigo ako.
Napahaba ang bakasyon ko ng
anim pang buwan pero nailigtas
ko naman sa mga panibagong
bayarin ang aking mga magulang.
Ginugol ko ang bakasyon ko
sa mga gawaing bahay at kung
minsan, sa pagbabasa ng mga
libro. Ginawa ko ang mga ito para
malibang at maging masaya sa
gitna ng mahabang paghihintay.
Dumating ang Nobyembre at
sa wakas, nakapasok din ako
sa unibersidad sa pangalawang
semestre. Sobrang excited ako
sa pagpasok dito. Na-miss ko
ang eskwela at ang mga kalakip
nitong mga trabaho.
Three Hours
*Buko pie
A faint sound of agony. A chair being moved
several inches. My heartbeat.
***
A breakup. A heartbreak. Tears.
***
Since that night, I’ve decided not to meet
them for as long as I could. I know Sid’s death
is still punctuated with questions for them, but
for me, it’s becoming more of a difficulty than
a resolved matter. I lost him – and along with
him my sanity.
My relationship with the Backseat Kiss was
like a rollercoaster ride. When I met Sid on
one of their then unfamiliar gigs in Elbi, I knew
for a while who I was looking for. Eventually,
when we got together, I started hanging out
with the group as much as I could. I wanted
to be close to them. But the distance never
narrowed. It just got wider and wider because
of two people who couldn’t understand why I
am committing myself to the group.
I lost them both that very night when I couldn’t
Ian was a sweet boy as far as the others were
even move my foot to take its first step and
choose between my options – to save a life or concerned. We were formally introduced
to each other, but we never spoke casually
to spare my hands from sin.
since then. He could make everyone laugh
every time he would crack jokes, but I never
I could not imagine how the third hour of my
agony would match my one and a half years fell for one of those. I’m not saying that I have
a “higher level” of sense of humor than any
of contentment with Sid.
of them, but I just don’t like the picture of him
hanging out with the rest of the group while
Memories flooded my head and soaked
he never reached out for me. It was very
my entire body. They pricked my pores with
much obvious since then how he would glare
mockery because of the indifference I’ve
responded with the signs of betrayal fate had at me and how he would react negatively
whenever Sid suggests to include me in their
tried to show me before.
group meetings. I tried to talk to Sid about
this, but he would only say that ‘Ian was just
***
9
Sa pagpasok ko, nakakita
ako ng mga bagong mukha
sa katauhan ng aking mga
bagong kaklase. Sila ang mga
nakasabay ko sa repeat exam
at interview na pinagdadaanan
kapag nasa waitlist. Iniabot nila
ang kanilang mga kamay sa akin
upang makipagkaibigan at nang
maglaon, makipagkapatiran.
Saglit kong nakalimutan si
Daphne hanggang isang araw,
nakatanggap ako ng isang
paanyaya mula sa kanya.
Sa muli naming pagkikita,
ako’y lubhang nasiyahan. Iba na
siya. Hindi na siya gaanong isipbata. Bukod pa doon, lumawak
na ang kanyang natutunan at
dumami na rin ang kanyang
mga kaibigan. Nagkaroon na
siya ng tiwala sa kanyang sarili.
Noon din, naramdaman kong
may nagbago na rin sa akin
gawa na rin marahil ng matagal
kong paghihintay. Sa mga oras
na iyon, alam kong hindi na
malalampasan o matutumbasan
ni Daphne ang mga panahong
kapiling ko ang mga bago kong
kaibigan.
Sa sumunod naming
pagkikita, unti-unting nagsink in sa akin na hindi pala si
Daphne ang dahilan kung bakit
naghintay ako na makarating at
makatungtong sa Elbi.
***
May hawig siguro ang
kwento ko kay Nathan Algren,
ang bida ng The Last Samurai.
Sabi nga sa pelikula, “I think a
man does what he can… until
his destiny is revealed to him.”
***
Ang paghuhukay sa
nakaraan ay may kung anong
kakabit na sakit o kamalasan.
Dahil din siguro ang nakaraang
ito ay pilit kong iniiwasan.
Ngunit ngayon, alam kong
kaya ko nang silip-silipin ang
nakaraan sapagkat handa na
akong umusad at yakapin ang
dikta ng kinabukasan.
Kung tutuusin, ang
pagmamahal ko kay Daphne
ay katulad ng mataimtim at
mahabang paghihintay ko para
makapasok dito sa unibersidad-matagal at kung minsan,
nakakapagod. Ang pagkakaiba
lang, narating ko na ang
katapusan ng paghihintay kay
Daphne, pero ang paghihintay
sa pag-usad ng kwento ko
bilang isang Iskolar ng Bayan ay
nagsisimula pa lang.
Mula sa lahat ng ito,
napatunayan kong ang buhay
ay isang mahaba, masalimuot
at nakapanghihindik na
paghihintay, at kasabay nito ay
pagkatuto. [P]
Sketchpad
trying to be funny.’ I also tried to talk to
Ian personally about his attitude towards
***
me, but I only got a wry reply. After my
I’m standing on this pavement for three hours
attempts, I never bothered to even look at now.
him whenever he’s around. And his jokes
were not even worthy of my attention
***
since then.
I knew that something happened inside Sid’s
Megan and Ian were just basically the
pad. I knew that the man who went inside had
same – sweet in the inside, but bitter on the something to do with whatever happened to
outside. Everyone in the group, especially Sid. But I did not bother to look or even to think
Glen, loved her. But what caught my
twice on what to do. Maybe the reason my foot
attention was Sid’s extraordinary affection didn’t take its first step was because standing still
for her. They would laugh on the silliest
would show what option I chose. I stayed. I stood
jokes and bond longer than with any
still on the ground which was 30 feet away from
other member of the group, including
where Sid and I ended our one and a half year
me. Sid would always tell me that he
show.
would accompany Megan to her trips
to different radio stations and recording
I held my breath for as long as I could. I
companies – which technically is not his
managed to steal a look from the corner where
job since Megan is the manager of the
I was at the man as he quickly walked on
band. My pondering suddenly turned 180 the long hallway of the apartment. I was not
degrees after I saw both of them sleeping interested on who he was. I just wanted to know
soundly inside Sid’s car with her head on
what he did to Sid. And when I saw bloodstains
his shoulder. It was the same night that Sid on his right arm, I felt the taste of gratitude right
said he would not be able to accompany beneath my soul. [P]
me to my mother’s house because he
was going to be busy composing some
*Buko pie silences her thoughts with laughter and
new songs. I’m not being childish with my amplifies her thoughts with silence.
assumptions, but I’m not stupid either.
Every unveiling has its final stage. Are you ready for it?
10 UPLB Perspective
ISSUE 9 |
VOLUME 35 |
OPINION
March 13, 2009
HODGEPODGE
Pagkikibit-balikat
MARK ANGELO ORDONIO
Sinayang mo ang iyong
pagkakataon.
Kasama sa mataas na bilang ng
mga nabubuntis araw-araw ang 16 taong
gulang na panganay na anak na babae
ng kumare ng nanay ko. Pagdadahilan ng
dating dalaga ang pagiging mahigpit ng
kanyang mga magulang kaya naglakas siya
ng loob na makipagtalik sa kasalukuyang
karelasyon. Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin
mawari ng dating dalaga ang kanyang mga
pagkakamali, at hindi pa rin matanggap ng
kanyang magulang ang ginawang kahihiyan
ng anak.
Kung dati ay patuloy siya sa normal
niyang buhay, hindi na ngayon na
napapalibutan siya ng mga matalim na
titig at matalas na dila - tila isang artistang
nabigyan ng palabas na siguradong papatok
sa panlasa ng mga manunood, ngunit isang
kriminal na walang layang idepensa ang
sarili sa nagawang pagkakamali.
Sa ganitong panahon kung saan
mas pinahahalagahan ng kabataan ang
paghahanap ng pinagdadamot na kalayaan,
hindi wasto na maging padalos-dalos sa
iyong mga aksyon ng walang pagsasaalangalang sa mga tao sa iyong paligid, at higit sa
lahat, ang iyong imahe, ang iyong pagkatao.
***
Sayang ang iyong pagkakataon.
Habang nagpapalipas-oras sa Square
isang gabi pagkatapos ng madugo kong
exam sa Ensc 11, lumapit sa akin ang isang
pamilyar na bata - isang malusog na batang
lalaking nagtitinda ng espasol. At katulad
ng nakagawian, bubungaran niya ako ng
kabisado niyang linya sa isang mabilis at
After Arroyo’s three unsuccessful
(and shameful) chasing of US
President Barack Obama, we should
be more than happy that Obama
doesn’t take Filipinos and Arroyo as
one. He may have scampered away
from meeting with our president
three times (and counting), but he
did all he can do to meet the plans he
has for the Philippines — at least for
a thing that should’ve been done six
decades ago.
Last Feb. 17, US
President Barack
Obama signed the
American Recovery
and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 or more
commonly known
as the Economic
Stimulus Plan,
which includes
a provision for
paying $198
million to Filipino
soldiers who fought
alongside Americans
during the Word
War II.
Some considers
it a delayed payment
for Filipino World War
II veterans. It should’ve
been given long before, when many
Filipino soldiers were still alive and
could have enjoyed the compensation
for their bravery.
Earlier, the US government promised
to grant Filipino soldiers US citizenship
and give them the same privileges given
to American soldiers after the war. But
the US government reneged as the US
congress passed the Rescission Act of
1946, stripping off the US citizenship of
“
magaan na tono:
“Kuyabilikanangespasolmuralan
gsampungpisolang.”
At katulad ng dati, tatanggihan ko lang
siya, bubuhatin niya muli ang kanyang
munting bilao na hindi pa nababawasan
ng paninda, at lilipat sa ibang mesa upang
manghikayat ng ibang naghahapunan.
Pagkaraan ng ilang minuto,
nakasalubong ko sa tapat ng Bugong ang
ilan sa mga batang tinuturuan namin sa
CWTS 2. Nakabigkis sa kanilang mga bisig
ang ilang tali ng sampaguita. Tinanggihan
ko rin sila bilang pagiging praktikal dahil,
sa anong paraan ko naman magagamit ang
sampaguita? Wala namang rebulto ni Hesus
o ni Inang Maria sa apartment namin na
maari kong pag-alayan nito.
At nakita ko ang ilan pang batang
palibot-libot sa Grove, bitbit ang iba-ibang
paninda, na nagbabanat ng buto para
mapakain ang nagugutom na pamilya bago
sumapit ang alas-dose.
***
Sinasayang mo ang iyong pagkakataon.
Lumuluwa na ang aking mga mata sa
tuwing magpapakopya ang aking prof sa
isang subject mula sa isang transparency na
hindi ko mawari kung undergraduate pa siya
nang huli niya itong ginawa. Buradong mga
titik, malabong mga larawan at nawawalang
mga bahagi ng transparency. Nagkakaisa ang
mga hindi maunawaang titik sa transparency
at ang matining at mahinang boses ni
Ma’am upang hindi sinasadyang ipagkait
ang kaalamang dapat na ibinibigay niya sa
kanyang mga pinaglilingkuran - kaming mga
estudyante.
O hindi kaya ay sinadya niya talaga
Filipino soldiers and thus denying them
of the promised benefits.
After their 60-year campaign for
recognition as US soldiers, Filipino
veterans residing in the US will each
receive a one-time lump sum payment
of $15,000 while those residing in the
Philippines will get a $9,000 as military
compensation through the Economic
Stimulus Plan. It would have been an
exasperating battle for these physically
weak veterans who have endured
five years in the concentration
camp with
the hundredday Death
March during
their younger
years, but took
decades just to
fight for their
rightful claim to
the war.
Though
it’s troubling
to figure out
how sending
$198 million
to Filipinos
would stimulate
America’s
economy,
it would all the more
be troubling if America won’t make
amends to a mistake that has been
existing for years and has made even its
own ally a victim of its irresponsibility.
True enough, when we all know that
US can’t risk offending even a small
country, especially today when they
are experiencing economic turmoil and
need good foreign relations for support.
It is actually our historic relationship
with America that sustains the support
To be a victim of a
promise unfulfilled
has now served as
a concrete bridge
between US being
the culprit, and
the Philippines as
the victim.
”
iyon para magkaroon kami ng pagkukusa
na magsaliksik at hindi umasa sa kanyang
lecture at handbook na kung titignang mabuti
ay hindi talaga sapat kung iyon at iyon lang
ang aasahan mo sa isang semestreng pagaaral?
Tungkulin ba ng isang guro bilang
isang responsableng alagad ng edukasyon
para magbahagi ng kaalaman at hindi para
pagkakitaan ang mga estudyante, o tungkulin
ng isang estudyante para hanapin ang sagot
sa kanyang mga katanungan sa tulong ng
sariling pagsisikap at hindi para sanayin
ang sarili na laging nakakapit sa bisig ng
katamaran?
Patapos na ang mga klase, at hanggang
ngayon, tinatawanan na lang namin ng mga
kaklase ko ang malabong transparency, at
hahayaan na lamang
itong pagtawanan at
gamitin ng susunod
pang henerasyon.
***
Huwag mong
sayangin ang iyong
pagkakataon.
“
detalyadong mga lakdaw padyak, ngunit
sinagot niya ako ng, “Basta ganoon na
lang iyon.” Nagtaka ako sa kanyang sinabi.
Pupunta ako sa isang posisyon na hindi
sakto sa saliw ng tugtugin ang aking
paggalaw at walang bilang na sinusunod
para magkaroon ng harmonya sa pagitan ng
mga indak at awitin.
Pagkatapos nito ay ilang araw kaming
hindi lumalapit ng aking kapareha sa kanya
para magpaturo. Patuloy na mag-iimbak
ng mga hinaing sa mga nakikita nang hindi
gumagawa ng paraan para maresolbahan
ito.
***
Naiinis ako sa mga taong gumagawa
ng mga hindi kapasya-pasyang desisyon
na itinataya ang kanilang dangal para
matugunan lamang
ang pansariling
interes. Naiinis ako
sa mga magulang
na imbis na
ipalasap sa mga
bata ang sandaling
panahon ng
kanilang kabataan
ay ipinapasa sa
kanilang mga
anak ang kanilang
tungkulin. Naiinis
ako sa mga guro at
mga estudyanteng
hindi namamalayan
ang kanilang mga
pagkukulang (o hindi
handa para buksan
ang kamalayan) para
mas magampanan
ang kanilang tunay
na gampanin bilang
isang guro at isang estudyante. Naiinis ako
sa mga taong hindi handang magsalita
lalo na kung ito ay para sa ikabubuti ng
karamihan at hindi para magpahayag lang
ng damdamin.
Ngunit hindi kaya’y higit na nakakainis
alalahanin na may mga nasasayang na
pagkakataon sa tuwing gumagawa tayo ng
mga bagay na hindi natin napag-iisipang
mabuti? Kailangan pa bang hintayin
ang mga bagay na hindi inaasahan
dahil
sa mapusok na pagpapasya? [P]
Pupunta ako sa
isang posisyon...
walang bilang
na sinusunod
para magkaroon
ng harmonya sa
pagitan ng mga
indak at awitin.
Ang Baker
Hall ang nagsilbing
tahanan ng mga magaaral na nakalaan ang
kalahati ng kanilang
buhay sa pag-eensayo
ng kanilang talento at
hilig sa isports. Ngunit
hindi ngayong Marso,
kung saan ang mga
hiyaw ng mga pagod
na manlalaro ng
varsity ay nasapawan
ng iba’t ibang uri
ng katutubo at makabagong awitin para sa
mga mag-aaral na nag-eensayo sa kanilang
nalalapit na recital ngayong buwan.
At saksi ako sa mga makapigil-hiningang
galaw ng mga sumasayaw (isa ako sa
kanila) sa tuwing papanoorin ko sila habang
binubuhat ng lalaki ang kaparehang babae
o nababaluktot ang mga binti at braso sa
paggawa ng isang mahirap na galaw.
Isang araw ay nagpaturo ako at ang
kapareha ko ng mga step sa isang kaklase:
iginiit ko pa na ituro niya sa akin ang
”
NOFURYSOLOUD
Back off
KATRINA ELAURIA
we get from them until now. To be a
victim of a promise unfulfilled has now
served as a concrete bridge between US
being the culprit, and the Philippines as
the victim.
Many consider the compensation bill
a reaffirmation of the friendship between
America and Philippines. But do we really
want it to happen now with Arroyo still in
position? Do we want Obama to be just
like Bush, with Arroyo as his sidekick in
fighting terrorism and upholding human
rights when they did otherwise as proven
by the increased extrajudicial killings in
our country? And for eight years, Bush
and Arroyo were together in fighting
economic crisis, when in fact poverty
heightened in our country.
It is undeniably true that during
Bush’s term, we were compelled by our
own circumstances to hate America.
For eight long years of his partnership
with Arroyo, many Filipinos’ lives have
been risked just to satisfy his hobby of
meddling with internal problems of other
countries with his “war on terrorism.” He
may have been able to bear the guilt of
being held responsible for thousands of
American troops who died in Iraq, but to
include Philippines in his antiterrorism
policy was not what we opted for.
Arroyo should’ve realized that Obama
is way out of her league after having been
subtly chided in his inaugural speech.
If she wanted a deep relationship with
America, she should start by rectifying
the damaged tie she has with her own
country and prove that she, being the
president, needs not to be backed up
by the US government just to meet
the needs of the masses. But with the
irrevocable corruption and dishonesty
she undoubtedly commits until now,
one can only hope she’ll step down from
presidency at once, which is the very
least she can do.
Obama has never fallen short of
reminding the guilty that “corruption,
deceit and the silencing of dissent”
won’t be tolerated during his term
- which is enough reason for him to stay
away from Arroyo who, after rigging the
2004 election which led to her winning
as president, continues to intensify
her misdeeds with her involvement in
many corruption scandals. Victims
of extrajudicial killing also increased
during her term, which seems to be her
desperate attempt to remain in position
and get rid of those who might put an
end to her illegitimate presidency.
Though it is noticeable how Obama
wanted to attain real change, and
started by atoning for a mistake done
in the past, he should also consider
another step, which I think is the best
for change to take place: not to repeat
the mistake of making a tight bond with
a corrupt and illegitimate president. [P]
UPLB Perspective
OPINION
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 9 | March 13, 2009
M
y definition of freedom of
expression has never taken
the form of blogging, or
letting the rest of the world know
my thoughts. To me it has always
been easier to privately write my
opinions on notebooks without
intending for it to be read or
edited. In that paper, I can write
thoroughly without considering
anybody else’s feelings. I do
not need to mind the values
or views of my
future readers,
and nobody will
get offended if I
write anything
unpleasant since
it’s just between
the paper and I,
and nobody else. In
addition to that, I
carry the pride of
writing well for no
one.
Yet due to lack of
time, I have currently
resorted to blogging
instead of private
writing. I have
abandoned the good
old pen and paper for
the laptop monitor
and the whole
blogosphere. I came up with essays
and reviews. I came up with topics
that would catch people’s attention.
And things have never been the
same since then. I no longer write
in a devil-may-care fashion, and
oftentimes I try to avoid negative
feedback by sugar-coating my
statements and being too careful.
The former sharpness of my words
grew blunt and senseless with the
“
thought of satisfying others, and
pretty soon I no longer enjoyed the
freedom that comes with expression.
Now my voice through my writing
is hesitant, artificial and insincere
– even to myself.
I have tried several times to
train myself to write openly while
keeping my identity, after realizing
that knowledge not communicated
renders itself useless to society, and
anyone who keeps knowledge to
himself also
renders himself
useless. I did
not want to
be someone
like that - like
Emily Dickinson
who shuns the
public as she
creates timeless
masterpieces that
a lot of people
could learn from,
but instead is
hidden until
her death, the
only time when
people started
appreciating
them. To keep
wisdom to myself
seemed a selfish
and irresponsible
thing to do. What’s your function in
society if you don’t even speak up
and stand by your statements? So
once again, I dumped my notebooks
and started typing at the keyboard.
I started showing the pieces to other
people even though deep inside
I secretly die in embarrassment.
Feedbacks were not good most of
the time, but I was hoping it would
Yet the
hardest part
of it is that
outside the
newspaper
columns, I am
still expected to
be neutral in
everyday life...
”
MUMBLINGS
continue on until I am already
numb and free again, publicly.
And then when I entered
UPLB, I became part of the school
publication, which is a bigger
challenge. This time, freedom of
expression does not only mean you
can write anything you wanted.
There is an equivalent responsibility
that comes with your position in the
paper. As a writer for an institution,
I aim to be objective as I work. Yet
the hardest part of it is that outside
the newspaper columns, I am still
expected to be neutral in everyday
life, even though I am human and
am subjected to my own opinion
as a student who is rational and
evaluative. Sometimes I find it ironic
that we, in the publication, advocate
freedom of expression when we are
not really free in the sense that
taking a stand, even for appropriate
institutional reasons, would be
perceived by some as prejudiced.
I used to wonder why there is
that note that says: “Opinions of
the writers does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the paper,”
in national newspapers. Now I
know why. The article of one, even
though it is labelled as an opinion,
is treated as the opinion of the
whole institution, even in the news.
UNDERSCRUTINY
faith allyson buenacosa
Students made history six months
ago. The long-awaited election yielded
a 70.54 percent voter turnout. During
that time, both BUKLOD-UPLB and
Samahan ng Kabataan para sa Bayan
(SAKBAYAN) campaigned actively not
only for students to vote for them
but also for students to vote ‘yes’ in
the plebiscite. The campaigning was
proven effective with the ratification of
the 1984 USC-CSC Constitution. It was
not an easy campaign for in the first
day of elections, only 32 percent of the
students voted, not enough to ratify
the said constitution. But after dorm
hops and text brigades, the studentry
was successful in assuring their right
for representation.
Fast forward to the recently
concluded USC-CSC elections that
registered a mere 38.82 percent
voter turnout. One might ask, “What
happened?” Just like in the last election,
both parties campaigned but something
was different this time. What happened
between the two parties was not just a
simple battle of words but also a battle of
statements posted around the campus.
These statements did not only involve
BUKLOD and SAKBAYAN but also the
publication that you are reading right
now. But it did not stop there. Criticisms
about Perspective did not stay posted in
walls but also in blogs.
It all started when BUKLOD declined
the interview for the special elections
Tilted
*La Solidaridad
Buendia asked the party last miting de
avance to enumerate specific articles that
lead them to conclude that the publication
is biased towards SAKBAYAN. Ernest
Francis Calayag, BUKLOD’s standard
bearer, answered that bias was evident in
the headline “SCs slam BUKLOD’s vote
‘no’ campaign” published on our 7th issue
(which to all purposes was only issuebased and was not published to demean
the political party) and according to Mr.
issue intended to introduce to students
Carlo Cruz, also a BUKLOD standard
the candidates vying for USC positions.
bearer, in
the
As an explanation for the party turning
“misquotation”
down the interview, Faith Abigail Lumicao,
of Cruz’s answer
BUKLOD’s Vice Chairperson, said in a
to the question
letter: “we [BUKLOD] find the publication
(that he himself
leaning to SAKBAYAN, and we feel that
admitted that
the paper cannot relay our statements to
the arrangement
the student body without any bias toward
of his statement
the said political party.” It must be pointed
was “technically
out that BUKLOD, as well as any student
correct,” so no
in this university, has the right to criticize
question on that)
the publication given that such criticism
on last September’s
is voiced out to improve the publication’s
special elections
performance as vanguards of their right to
issue. These
information.
instances are not
What is questionable about this
allegation though is the intent for which this enough to arrive
at the accusation
is being aired and, of course, the time it is
that the publication
being aired. Is it fitting that these long held
grievances regarding issues that happened in is leaning to
the past were only aired during the elections SAKBAYAN, which
in turn challenges the
when all throughout the year they have all
ability of the publication
the time to complain? As to what that may
imply, we could only leave to the students to to be fair in its reporting. And in the
first place, it does not follow that when
figure out and to BUKLOD to answer. It has
been a given fact that the publication accepts the publication criticizes one party, it
automatically sides with the other.
criticism in the form of letters to the editor
It is but illogical to think that student
and other means. Perspective has always
concerns, which are being published in
encouraged principled ways of expressing
the paper, now equates to SAKBAYAN.
opinions, but on the other end, it is the
It is a given fact that Perspective, being
responsibility of the one airing their opinion
the official student publication, has the
to clarify and substantiate claims so that
primary responsibility to publish and make
something constructive might yield from it.
students issues its concern. And in no way
So in the spirit of clarification,
are these issues leaning to SAKBAYAN.
Perspective’s Editor in Chief Christian Ray
Substantiate
11
“
Worse, because of the attention the
institution has received regarding
the so-called “sacrificed credibility”,
there are some students who begin
reading with an end in mind that all
we write are “biased”.
However, unlike what I did
before, we could not withdraw
ourselves and resort to writing in
private anymore. Of course it is
easy to just go ahead and quit and
mindlessly blog about our views
indifferently. But we have roles
to perform, and important ones
at that. There are other people at
stake this time, even the name of
the aged publication is on the line.
Fear of critical attention of readers
should never be present in our
hearts – and it has never been on
ours, or at least, on mine. To me,
these allegations are motivations
to safeguard the students’ rights
to correct information. I believe
we have taken it as a challenge
not to please anybody and to stay
unwavering in our principles. As
writers, the only side we take is the
side of the students, and nobody
else’s.
Now I have learned that freedom
does not come from apathetic
writing. It comes from writing with a
purpose, and that is to make one’s
expressions truthful. [P]
If the publication is leaning to anyone, it
would be leaning to the students — and
only to the students.
Commenting on the publication’s ability
to be fair must be backed-up with strong
proofs indicating that indeed the publication
fails to write without being biased to
SAKBAYAN. In the event that no proofs are
presented for such claim, then it must be
concluded that the allegation is nothing but
mere rants with underlying political motives.
As the official student publication,
Perspective must not stop in the conclusion
that such
allegations
are black
propaganda.
Instead, we
encourage
BUKLOD or any
other student
who shares
their opinion
to substantiate
these claims
by pointing out
the specific
instances,
enumerating
the articles and
even quoting
texts from the
newspaper that
will amount to such conclusion.
And if ever it is proven that the publication
is indeed leaning to one political party,
Perspective will do its part in making things
fair by reporting what is true (which is
exactly what we are doing).
Just for the sake of counting: BUKLOD
was mentioned 12 times in this article
while SAKBAYAN was mentioned only
10 times. For sure, this article will not
be one of those enumerated to prove that
Perspective is biased towards the other
party. [P]
In the event that
no proofs are
presented for such
claim, then it must
be concluded that
the allegation
is nothing but
mere rants with
underlying political
motives.
”
OPINION
12 UPLB Perspective
ISSUE 9 |
VOLUME 35 |
March 13, 2009
EDITORIAL
Not just another EDSA
Does our generation really reflect the reality
that nothing is wrong with our country? Decades
past from the tyranny of Marcos, is the EDSA
uprising still the only way for us to stress that we
no longer trust our leaders?
Empty pockets equate to
empty plates and houses made
of cardboards for the poor whose
numbers are likely to rise by at
least 4 million this year. Do we
need not another EDSA during
these times when we are in a state
of political turmoil and severe
socio-economic crisis?
Debt-servicing comprises more
than 20 percent while healthcare
does not even reach 3 percent of
the total budget. Do we need not
protest when state defense rather
than basic services is prioritized?
Records of human rights
violations since 2001 show that
extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances escalated to 968
and 241, respectively – these
numbers now compares with that
of the Marcos regime. Alston’s
report to the United Nations links
most of these atrocities to the
Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Do we need not fear because one
cannot be critical against the
government without being tagged
as a ‘terrorist’?
The agriculture sector could
have benefitted if only Jocelyn
‘Joc-joc’ Bolante has not used
the P728 million for fertilizers as
fund for rigging the elections. And
the Arroyo government denies
there is rice crisis, while the world
says otherwise. Do we need not
be troubled when our country is
still import-dependent and our
local farmers are still landless and
reforms are still promises?
While in today’s global
economic meltdown our OFWs
are at jeopardy of losing their jobs
like the 235,000 workers laidoff last January. Do we need not
more than object when we wanted
stable jobs?
A year after the $329.5 million
dollar NBN-ZTE scandal, Mr.
Jose Miguel Arroyo is accused of
rig-bidding the $305.41
million World Bank
fund. Do we need not
investigate if signatures
of “Jose Velarde’s” and
“Jose Pidal’s” written in
checks are connected to
corruption cases?
Illegitimacy and
betrayal of public trust
are enough reasons for
leaders (who still have
some dignity left) to tender
their resignation. The
“Hello Garci” scam in
2004 secured Ms. Arroyo’s
presidency. Surveys
already say that 7 out
of 10 of us question her
credibility and want her
to step down. Do we need
not repeat the history by
which we replaced Estrada
with Ms. Arroyo eight years ago?
When we have more than just
one reason for
another EDSA
uprising, why
is she still in
power? Do we
need not march
to the streets and
put our lives in
the forefront for
the future of our
country – like
what the youth
did twenty three
years ago?
Or has this
EDSA gone
obsolete and has
sunk us even
deeper into the
mud?
With the historical episodes of
two EDSAs in 1986 and 2001, we
have been blinded with the belief
that “People power” only equates
to an “extra-constitutional” way
of changing a president and other
“
ELYSSA ROSALES
that the people could not tolerate a
morally bankrupt government.
Our yearning for another EDSA
will continue to build up lest our
clamors for genuine agrarian
reform, higher wages to workers,
elected officials. Isn’t people power
affordable medicine for all the sick,
supposed to be a
accessible educational system,
constant desire to
fearless atmosphere for advocating
become a watchdog to civil liberties, eradication of
the state?
corruption from the culture of
Impeachment was politicians are addressed.
the legal process to
Is Ms. Arroyo right in saying
which we manifested
that the world will not forgive
our desire to oust
another EDSA since everyone
a flawed rule – but
“embraced” an EDSA 1 and
yearly we had been
“tolerated” an EDSA 2?
consistently shunned
But isn’t it the people who are
by her protective cloak to decide if EDSA is or is not the
of cohorts no matter
means of spurring real change in
how much evidence we this country? Countless lives have
present.
already been lost in trying to attain
To allow Ms. Arroyo the real fruits of revolutions our
to just exit in 2010
generations and that of the past
without being held
have dreamed of.
accountable for every
We need not just another
allegation would be a
EDSA. We need to call to
bleak chapter in our history – even
attention the transgressions of
darker than an EDSA 2 that brought our government and equip every
her to power in the first place. If
struggle that would truly uphold
there were lessons learned from the the interests of the Filipino people
past EDSAs, these could only be
- or the country may just well be
that justice is never optional and
fated to plunge in misery. [P]
Is Ms. Arroyo
right in saying
that the world
will not forgive
another EDSA
since everyone
“embraced”
”
an EDSA 1 and
“tolerated” an
EDSA 2?
The Official Student Publication of the University of the Philippines Los Baños
Christian Ray Buendia, Editor In Chief; Aaron Joseph Aspi, Associate Editor; Arjay Garcia, Managing Editor; Beverly Christcel Laguartilla, Business Manager;
Faith Allyson Buenacosa, Culture Editor; Liberty Notarte, Features Editor; Rogene Gonzales, News Editor; Chino Carlo Aricaya, Production Editor;
Nikko Angelo Oribiana, Yves Christian Suiza, Estel Lenwij Estropia, katrina Elaurhia, News; Mark Angelo Ordonio, Jonelle Marin,
Samantha Isabel Coronado, Culture; Harriet Melanie Zabala, Business; Kervin Gabilo, Elyssa Rosales, Graphics; Aletheia Grace del Rosario,
Salvatorre De Vince Olano, Layout; Karl Suministrado, Photos; Danica de Guzman, Kris Loren Dulay, Voltaire Abiog, Nikko Caringal, Apprentice;
UPLB Perspective is a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines and Solidaridad - UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers Organization
Editorial Office: Rm. 11, 2/F Student Union Bldg, UPLB, College, Laguna | e-mail: uplbperspective0809@gmail.com | website: http://uplbperspective0809.deviantart.com