Nº 15 15 Nob 07 Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas - Diliman news | 03 Residente ng RIPADA, tutol sa relokasyon kultura | 06 Primal Fix Gazing the primetime repertoire Lathalain/08 On its 85th year, the Philippine Collegian looks back at eight decades of headlines that saw print on its pages & sent ripples within and outside the university. 17 Nob 2004 Pagtaas ng budget ng UP, igigiit Sasalubungin ng mga militanteng grupo sa UP ang pagbukas ng semestre ng mga pagkilos upang paigtingin ang kampanya para sa mas mataas na subsidyo sa UP at edukasyon. Sa panukalang pambansang budget na ipinalabas ng Department of Budget and Management noong Agosto, ibinaba sa P4.45 bilyon ang pondo para sa UP sa susunod na taon mula sa P4.52 bilyong kasalukuyang budget nito. PhilippineCollegian Ika-85 taon Blg. 15 Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 T here is only one thing to remember before engaging UP administrators in a set dialogue. No dialogue will occur – only a show of force and the brazen display of power. Such is how the October 23 “dialogue” with the UP administration turned out. Student formations, led by the Office of the Student Regent, were invited to discuss with UP President Emerlinda Roman the results of studies publicized in a policy review on the recently implemented tuition increase. The policy review is a compilation of arguments posed by the student formations, which are geared towards the cessation of the implementation of the tuition increase. The review revealed a decline in freshman enrolment for the current academic year, a high number of UPCAT passers who deferred their slots, and the loss of UP ’s comparative advantage to other schools in terms of affordability. Roman and the other administrators present in the dialogue were quick to reply with their own claims. A telephone survey supposedly conducted by the administration revealed that a sample of UPCAT passers claimed that their deferment was a personal choice, while a negligible number reasoned that their deferment was due to the high tuition imposed by the University. Their survey even noted that those who deferred as a personal choice would rather go to Ateneo, La Salle, or UST. As such, Roman claimed, the decline in enrolment cannot be attributed to the tuition increase and even shows that would-be students can afford an education which is much more expensive than what UP offers. Roman mainly disputed every claim formulated in the review with the zeal and precision of a firing squad on steroids. The students got their pat- on- the back for their efforts in compiling a policy review in an attempt to quell the debilitating effects of the tuition increase. As Roman said, with finality, however: “ There is no compelling reason to suspend its implementation.” There is something amiss in such pronouncement. Reason necessitates a rational deliberation on a set of viable options. When a premise lies on succumbing to sheer pressure exerted by iniquitous government misallocations, the outcome is called treason. Accurately, it is a betrayal of the public’s trust in an institution which supposedly offers unhindered access to affordable education. Moreover, where the students saw tragedies, the administration saw triumph. The telephone survey conducted by the administration, instead of dispelling the culpability of the tuition increase in the low enrolment figures of last semester, should have revealed that prospective students are gradually being homogenized to those who can afford an expensive education in private schools. The University, thus, is now engaged in free competition with private universities. While the students in the dialogue also lamented the increase in student loan applications, Roman happily noted that this only signifies the improving capabilities of the University to provide such student assistance. The administrators present during the dialogue maintained that poor would-be students are When a premise lies on succumbing to sheer pressure exerted by iniquitous government misallocations, the outcome is called treason not denied access to UP education. They must, however, pass the entrance exam first. The low passing rate of students from public schools, they say, is a result of structural problems of the educational system pockmarked with sordid accounts of the declining quality of state-sponsored basic education. UP, the administrators claim, “can only do so much.” Our current predicament is a result of a series of capitulations to a government bent on abandoning its constitutionally-enshrined responsibility of providing accessible quality education to its citizens in order to pursue skewed national priorities. It is true that UP “can only do so much.” It can, however, choose not to exacerbate the dilemma by resisting such government iniquity. The proverbial “not being part of the problem” could have sufficed. Roman, for her part, has challenged the student body to show opposition. She claims that opponents of the tuition increase only bared a small number while, in the same ill-logic, claiming that the UP population has actively registered their willingness to pay for a higher tuition rate. Let us not allow the administration to fill in the blanks for us with their heady pronouncements. There are still issues that must be addressed, such as the “automatic increase” provision in the tuition policy that will result in an annual increase in the tuition rate based on perpetual inflation rates. We must bare our staunch opposition to the tuition increase which lies at the crux of the debate, despite the administration’s obstinacy that it will not repeal the increase. That is why it is in an insolent note that the students left the dialogue. The only promise we can make at this point is as obstinate as Roman’s. We shall continue to resist the tuition increase, in whatever form it may take. There is no compelling reason to concede. Philippine Collegian Opisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas - Diliman Punong Patnugot / Jerrie M. Abella • Kapatnugot / Frank Lloyd Tiongson • Tagapamahalang Patnugot / Karl Fredrick M. Castro • Patnugot sa lathalain / Alaysa Tagumpay E. Escandor • Patnugot sa Grapiks / Piya C. Constantino, Ivan Bryan G. Reverente, Alanah M. Torralba • Tagapamahala ng Pinansiya / Melane A . Manalo • Mga Kawani / Louise Vincent B. Amante, Glenn L . Diaz, John Alliage T. Morales, Archie A . Oclos, Candice Anne L . Reyes • Pinansiya / Amelyn J. Daga • Tagapamahala sa Sirkulasyon / Paul John Alix • Sirkulasyon / Gary Gabales, Ricky Icawat, Amelito Jaena, Glenario Omamalin • Mga Katuwang na Kawani / Trinidad Basilan, Gina Villas • Pamuhatan / Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman, Lungsod Quezon • Tele­fax / 9818500 lokal 4522 • Email / kule0708@gmail.com • Website / http://philippinecollegian.net, http://kule0708.deviantart.com • Kasapi / Solidaridad - UP System-wide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations, College Editors Guild of the Philippines tungkol sa pabal at dibuho: ar chie oclos Editoryal Janno gonz ales No compelling reason Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 Residente ng RIPADA, tutol sa relokasyon Kristoffer C. Reyes T inutulan ng mga residente ng Pook Ricarte, Palaris, Dagohoy ( RIPADA ) ang proklamasyon ni Gloria Arroyo na nagbibigay ng relokasyon sa mga pamilyang maapektuhan ng demolisyon sa nasabing pook upang ituloy ang proyektong pagpapalawak ng Circumferential Road 5 (C -5). Ayon sa Presidential Proclamation No. 1395, ilalaan ng gobyerno ang 84,383 metro kwadradong lupa sa RIPADA bilang relokasyon ng mga matatamaan ng pagpapalawak ng C -5, na magdurugtong sa North at South Luzon Expressway. “Naninindigan pa rin ang mga residente (ng RIPADA ) na hindi dapat matuloy ang planong pagpapalawak ng C -5 kahit pa may nakalaang relokasyon,” ani Clodualdo Cabrera, pangulo ng All UP Workers Union (AUPWU) na kasapi ng Save RIPADA movement. Anang mga residente, sasagasaan ng pagpapalawak ng C -5 ang buong RIPADA , kaya wala umanong lupa sa kanilang lugar na mailalaang relokasyon. Umaga ng Nobyembre 9 nang harangin ng mga residente ang mga tauhan ng Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) na nagtangkang magsagawa ng pagsusukat ng lupa sa RIPADA . Hinarang din ng mga residente ang pagbalik sa RIPADA ng mga tauhan ng MMDA noong Nobyembre 12, kasama ang mga miyembro ng Quezon City Police, upang ituloy ang pagsusukat ng lupa. Ani Noli Anoos, pangalawang pangulo ng AUPWU, nakasibilyan ang mga pulis na dumating at may isa pa umano sa kanilang bumunot ng baril upang takutin ang mga residente. Ani Student Regent Terry Ridon, walang pahintulot mula sa UP ang pagpasok ng mga tauhan ng MMDA at mga pulis sa loob ng RIPADA . Aniya, dapat munang maglatag ng malinaw at wastong plano ang MMDA ukol sa relokasyon ng mga residente bago magsagawa ng anumang hakbang sa loob ng RIPADA . Bagaman umayon si Kap. Isabelita Gravides ng Brgy. UP Campus In the frontlines na da p a t ma k a p a g p a k i ta a n g MMDA ng malinaw na plano ukol sa relokasyon ng mga residente, kinakailangan umanong maisagawa ang pagsusukat ng lupa upang malaman ng gobyerno ang lawak ng lupang ilalaan sa relokasyon. Isang Comprehensive Development Plan para sa pabahay ng mga apektadong residente ng RIPADA ang gagawin ng MMDA sa tulong ng pangulo, ayon sa liham na ipinadala ni MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando kay Gravides. Nauna nang ipinahayag ni Fernando na itutuloy ang proyekto sa C -5 kahit wala pang nakakalap na kaukulang datos ukol sa dami ng residenteng maaapektuhan at sukat ng lupain ng RIPADA . “ Uunahin siyempre ng MMDA na gawin ang kalsada (C -5) bago kami ipagpatayo ng relokasyon. Saan kami titira kung masisira ang bahay namin?” ani Anoos. Hindi malinaw ang planong inihapag ng MMDA at ni Arroyo para sa pabahay ng mga residente ng RIPADA , ani Shahana Abdulwahid, tagapangulo ng University Stu- Artists unite n Artist groups express solidarity with the Neo-Angono Artists Collective as they hold a protest action in front of the National Press Club in Manila on November 8. The protesters decried the alterations made to the mural on press freedom as a form of state censorship. C andice Anne Reyes. UPD admin renews plans to close UFS Victor Gregor Limon T n Residents of RIPADA barricaded against MMDA surveyors on November 5 in protest of the proposed C-5 expansion. Timothy Medrano dent Council (USC). Dagdag niya, hindi lamang mga residente ang maaapektuhan ng proyektong C -5, kung hindi maging mga mag-aaral na nangungupahan doon dahil mawawalan umano sila ng matutuluyan sa loob ng UP. Sinubukang kunin ng Collegian ang pahayag ni Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Grace Gregorio subalit wala pa umano siyang panahon upang magbigay ng pahayag ukol sa isyu, ayon sa kanyang kawani. Ani Abdulwahid, bubuo ng isang komite ang USC at Save RIPADA movement na makikipag-usap sa MMDA upang ipahinto ang planong pagpapalawak ng C -5. he Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) renewed plans to close the University Food Service (UFS), setting off opposition from various sectors in the university. In an interview, VCSA Elizabeth Enriquez said she plans to resubmit her 2005 proposal to shut down the UFS to UP Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao. The proposal was based on a 2004 Commission on Audit (COA) report which revealed that the UFS incurred a total loss of P16 million from 1999 to 2003. On October 23, Enriquez met with UFS Officer-in- Charge Lilie Rivera and other administration officals, to discuss her plans to close UFS by March next year. Enriquez will set a new date for meeting with UFS employees and the AllUP Workers Union, after the employees decided not to attend the meeting set on October 25 because of a sudden change in venue. First created in 1937 as a training laboratory in UP Manila for home economics students, the 70-year old UFS is now one of the student services provided by the OVCSA , like housing and tuition loans. Offering meals priced at around P35 to P45, the UFS is the students’ alternative to business concessionaires on campus which offer more expensive food service, said University Student ( USC ) Chair Shahana Abdulwahid. Profits, not losses Rivera opposed the proposed shutdown, saying that contrary to the COA’s claim, the UFS is still earning income for the university. “As of October this year, [the UFS] has made a gross income of about P8 million, which already far exceeds the UFS’s P5.7-million budget for its MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) for 2007,” explained Rivera. Rivera said the COA’s computation of UFS’s alleged losses in its 2004 report incorrectly included the salaries of UFS employees. “ We (employees) receive salaries from the government. As such, our salaries should not be considered part of UFS’s operating costs,” she said. Abdulwahid added that since the UFS should be service-oriented, the issue of profit is immaterial. “Patuloy pa rin namang naibibigay ng UFS ang serbisyo nito sa mga estudyante, kaya dapat pa rin itong suportahan ng UP,” she said. No longer ‘indispensable’ Enriquez also said the UFS is no longer “indispensable” today, since prices of food services provided by business concessionaires are more competitive than those offered by the UFS. She explained UP would be saving money if it would avail of the cheaper catering services of other business establishments during big functions such as the university graduation. This was also the rationale for leasing out UFS’s other outlets in UPD and in other campuses to concessionaires during the mid 1980s and 1990s, she added. Abdulwahid, however, said the UFS does not only provide service to the UP administration but also to students from UP and other universities, she explained. “Nagte-train din kasi ang UFS ng mga estudyante na nag-o-on the job training,” she said. She added that concessionaires may always increase their prices, since they are difficult to regulate. “ Walang kasiguruhan ang mga estudyante na mababa ang presyo ng mga concessionaires.” The USC will meet with Rivera and other UFS employees to discuss plans of launching a campaign against the closure, Abdulwahid said. Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 “We won’t wait til 2010” Protest halts AUPWU declaration as official union John Alliage Tinio Morales T n Militant groups show their support for the impeachment complaint filed against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spearheaded by party-list groups at the House of Representatives on November 5. Timothy Medrano Badyet ng UP sa ‘08 Kulang ng P5B sa hinihingi ng admin Toni Tiemsin T atanggap ang UP ng pinakamalaking pondo sa kasaysayan nito kung maaaprubahan ang General Appropriations Act (GAA) ng 2008, ngunit mahigit sa kalahati lamang ito ng P11.54 bilyong kailangan ng unibersidad ayon sa administrasyon ng UP. Ipinasa sa ikalawang pagbasa noong Oktubre 12 ang House Bill (HB) 2454, na nagtatakda ng P6.01 bilyong pondo para sa UP batay sa panukala ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Ngayong taon, naglaan lamang ang gobyerno ng P4.78 bilyon para sa UP. Ani Shahana Abdulwahid, tagapangulo ng University Student Council, ang sentenaryo ng unibersidad ang dahilan sa biglang pagtaas ng subsidyo para sa UP, at malaki ang posibilidad na bumaba muli ito pagkatapos ng okasyon. Taunang isinasabatas ng Kongreso ang GAA batay sa panukalang badyet ng DBM. Kung hindi maipapasa ang GAA bago matapos ang taon, muling maisasabatas ang GAA ng 2007. Batay sa panukala ng administrasyon, kailangan ng unibersidad ng P4.83 bilyon para sa capital outlay (CO), P5.24 bilyon para sa personal services (PS) at P1.43 bilyon para sa maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE). Ngunit sa HB 2454, tatanggap lamang ang UP ng P1.41 bilyon para sa CO, P3.69 bilyon para sa PS, at P615 milyon para sa MOOE. Bukod pa rito ang awtomatikong P290 milyon para sa retirement and life insurance premium na ibinibigay kada taon sa mga retiradong empleyado ng UP. Kulang pa rin Kasama sa makukuhang subsidyo ang pondo ng Philippine General Hospital. Samantala, mapupunta ang CO sa susunod na taon sa P500 milyong National Science Complex at iba pang bagong gusali. Ayon kay UP President Emerlinda Roman, “ Nagustuhan siguro ng gobyerno na meron tayong agenda [para sa science and technology] at dahil na rin siguro sa track record natin, nagdesisyon sila na dag- dagan ang pondo natin.” Ngunit “kulang at kulang” pa rin aniya ang natatanggap ng UP mula sa gobyerno. Pinupunan umano ng kanyang administrasyon ang malaking kakulangan sa pondo sa tulong ng ibang ahensya ng gobyerno at donasyon mula sa alumni. Bayad-utang Samantala, sa susunod na taon, mahigit kalahati ng panukalang P1.23 trilyong badyet ng Pilipinas o P624.09 bilyon ang ipambabayadutang, kung saan P297.75 bilyon ang para sa interes at P328.34 bilyon naman ang para sa prinsipal. Sa HB 2454, dinagdagan ng P5.27 bilyon ang P145.96 bilyong panukalang badyet ng DBM para sa Department of Education, at ng P1.07 bilyon ang P152.4 bilyong para sa state universities and colleges. Ani Roman, “naniniwala ang gobyerno na ang edukasyon ang siyang tutulong sa pag-ahon natin sa hirap kung kaya tinaasan [ang budget nito].” Subalit para kay Abdulwahid, malaki man umano ang dagdag sa alokasyon para sa edukasyon, Sundan sa p.11 he All-UP Workers Union (AUPWU) won the recently concluded certification election, but its proclamation as the official negotiating unit of the 7,000-strong rank-and-file administrative employees was postponed due to an election protest. Out of the 4,975 employees who voted in the certification election on October 24, the AUPWU clinched 3,155 votes, while the Organization of Non-Academic Personnel in UP (ONAPUP) garnered 1,668 votes, according to an official tally by the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) on November 7. The certification election determines the official labor union to represent the administrative employees and negotiate with the UP administration regarding workers’ welfare and incentives. The ONAPUP, however, petitioned on October 30 the BLR of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to declare a failure of elections, contending that the AUPWU resorted to black propaganda and violated the election guidelines by posting campaign materials near polling precincts during election day. D escribing the petition as “shallow” and “baseless,” AUPWU National President Clodualdo Cabrera said the grounds for the ONAPUP ’s protest were not valid as the allegations were not recorded in the minutes during the election. He added that the ONAPUP failed to identify the list of polling precincts where the alleged election violations occurred. In its reply to the petition, the AUPWU invoked DOLE Order No. 9 of 1997 stating that any “protest shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings,” and Section IX of the election guidelines saying that protest shall not be entertained “on the grounds not raised and recorded during the balloting or counting.” The union’s reply further asked the BLR to dismiss ONAPUP ’s petition and to proclaim AUPWU as the sole bargaining agent of the rankand-file administrative personnel of UP. Meanwhile, formal discussions on the provisions of the CNA between the AUPWU and UP administration have been suspended for five months now since the ONAPUP ’s petition for an election in September. Cabrera, however, said the privileges in the existing CNA shall still take effect until a new union is named. Cabrera added that they are still awaiting the decision of the BLR on the protest and that the winner has yet to be proclaimed. The AUPWU first entered into a CNA with the UP administration in 2002 after winning the election against ONAPUP in 2001. Salaysay ng balota: Pagtutuos sa nakaraang halalang pambarangay Toni Tiemsin M atapos maudlot nang dalawang taon, natuloy na sa wakas ang halalang pambarangay. Noong 2005 pa dapat isinagawa ang eleksyon, subalit wala umanong pondo ang gobyerno at ginagamit pa raw ang mga ballot box sa mga election protest. Silipin ang mga isyung lumutang sa huling halalan sa pamamagitan ng mga bilang: Tinatayang kasalakuyang populasyon ng Pilipinas ayon sa National Statistical Coordination Board: 90 milyon Bilang ng barangay sa bansa: 41,945 Bilang ng mga botante para sa halalang pambarangay: 48,221,863 Bilang ng mga botante para sa halalan sa Sangguniang Kabataan (SK): 3,154,455 Kabuuang bilang ng mga posisyong pambarangay na pinaglabanan sa nakaraang eleksyon: 671,120 Bilang ng mga kumandidato para sa iba’t-ibang posisyong pambarangay: mahigit 1.3 milyon Voters turn out sa nakaraang eleksyon ayon sa Commission on Elections (Comelec): 70 porsyento Bilang ng mga pulis na nagsilbi sa nakaraang halalan, na “pinakamapayapa” umano sa kasaysayan ayon sa Philippine National Police (PNP): 120,000 Naitalang bilang ng mga pinaslang kaugnay ng nakaraang halalan ayon sa PNP: 23 Naitalang bilang ng mga pinaslang kaugnay ng halalang pambarangay noong 2002 ayon sa PNP: 144 Sundan sa p.4 Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 Admin meddling mars FR selection John Alliage Tinio Morales A mid reports that some UP officials are “openly” campaigning for an administration-favored candidate, the selection of the next faculty regent (FR) enters its second and final round with two contenders vying for a position in the Malacañang-dominated Board of Regents (BOR). Former FR Roland Simbulan deplored the alleged administration intervention in this year ’s search and called for improving the selection process for it to become more transparent and representative of the rank-and-file academic employees. Former UP Open University (UPOU) Chancellor Felix Librero and former UP Baguio (UPB) Institute of Management Chair Erlinda Palaganas have accepted their Faculty Regent Nominees John Alliage Tinio Morales In the following weeks, the next faculty regent will be named to represent the rank-and-file academic employees in the BOR, UP’s highest policy-making body, and serve during the university’s centennial year. The Philippine Collegian deems it important to look into the vision and program of action of the two nominees. A. What is the most pressing issue facing UP faculty today and how do you plan to address it? B. How should UP commemorate its centenary? nominations, while three other nominees declined. Elections in UP Diliman will be on November 14 and 15. In a letter sent to current FR Lourdes Barcenas, Simbulan revealed that “some UP administrators” allegedly used university resources to campaign for Librero. “It has recently been brought to my attention that certain UP System officials, Chancellors of college units and deans are openly campaigning to support a former Chancellor as FR ,” Simbulan said, referring to Librero. He added that, “their text messages and calls, paid for or reimbursed by the University, have been recorded by constituents as sourced from their official cell phone numbers.” Simbulan demanded that “ UP a d m i n i s t ra to r s ” r e f ra i n f r o m campaigning for or using univer sity resources to support any FR Dr. Erlinda Palaganas Awarded the Gawad Chancellor as “ Pinakamahusay na Guro sa Gawaing Ekstensyon” in 1997 in UP Baguio, Palaganas was the chair of the Institute of Management from 2002 to 2007 She says her administration’s thrust is anchored on the principled representation of academic employees in the BOR . Vowing to continue the initiatives made by past FRs, Palaganas moves for the democratization of UP through participation of faculty, REPS and administrative personnel in governance and formulation of university policies. She also advocates a Univer sity that is more responsive to national issues and advances the Filipino cultural identity. A. Ensuring the principled representation of the interests, rights and welfare of UP faculty, REPS and administrative personnel in the BOR and in other appropriate bodies. I plan to address this by seeking for the review of current university policies and practice on renewal and tenure of faculty, pushing for allocation of enough resources for research and faculty devel- Dr. Felix Librero opment, working for additional measures to augment the health benefits and insurance of faculty, REPS and administrative personnel, working for extending study benefits to qualified dependents of single UP faculty, REPS and administrative staff and working closely with university or ganizations advocating for the payment of Back Cola [cost of living allowance] of qualified UP employees. B. The centennial should be an opportune time for us to reflect and assess our position as the university of the people. In a developing country where continuing poverty dulls human sensibilities, we ask our selves: Has UP education molded constituents not After a term as Vice Chancellor for Research and Development in UPOU from 1999 to 2001, Librero served as Chancellor of UPOU from March 2001 to February 2007. One of his main goals is to extend the term of the FR from one to three years so that the FR can “formulate and see through appropriate policy measures beneficial to the faculty and Research, Extension and Professional Staff (REPS) sectors of the university.” In his general plan of action, Librero plans to address the discrep ancy in the compensation package of UP faculty and REPS in various campuses. A. The issue of right remuneration for work done. We have to work for better work conditions. We’re way behind our counterparts in other universities abroad and even some universities within the country in terms of resources to work with. For example, we want to do good and useful research, but we should also look for funding for such research. There isn’t enough research fund. We’ll have to work hard, and work collaboratively with other sectors of Sundan sa p.11 Suma-total Bilang ng krimeng may kaugnayan sa halalan ayon sa PNP: 48 Bilang ng mga sibilyang dinakip dahil sa krimen noong panahon ng kampanya: 325 Bilang ng paglabag sa gun ban nitong eleksyon: 348 Bilang ng mga nakumpiskang armas noong panahon ng kampanya: 284 spots o mga lugar na madalas magkagulo dahil sa halalan ayon sa PNP: 4,511 Bilang ng mga sundalong ipinadala ng AFP sa mga barangay na idineklarang election hotspot: 20,000 Bilang ng bayan sa Sulu na idineklarang nagkaroon ng failure of elections dahil sa hindi pagsipot ng mga opisyal ng halalan dala ng takot sa mga armadong tagasunod ng mga kandidato: 14 Bilang ng mga hindi nakaboto sa Sulu dahil dito: mahigit 10,000 Bilang ng barangay na idineklara ng gobyerno bilang “areas of immediate concern” o mga lugar na posibleng magkagulo dahil sa halalan: 383 Bilang ng barangay na idineklarang election hot- Bilang ng araw para mangampanya: 30 Pinakamaliit na populasyon ng isang barangay ayon sa Local Government Code: 2,000 Populasyon ng Batasan Hills, Quezon City, na itinuturing na pinakamataong barangay sa mula P.4 nominee. In order to assure transpar ency in the selection, the All-UP Academic Employees Union, the official bargaining unit of academic rank-and-file employees, asked UP President Emerlinda Roman in a letter dated November 6 to allow union representatives to observe the tally of votes for the final nomination in all UP units. Roman has approved the request. bansa: 300,000 Itinakdang halagang maaaring gastusin ng isang kandidatong pambarangay kada isang botante ayon sa Comelec: P3 Populasyon ng Baliwag, Bulacan batay sa census ng 2000: 119,675 Bilang ng barangay sa Baliwag, Bulacan: 27 Average na populasyon ng bawat barangay dito: 4,432 Pinakamalaking halagang maaaring gastusin ng isang kandidato sa halalang pambarangay sa Baliwag batay sa average na populasyon nito: P13,296 Nagastos ng isang kandidatong nanalo bilang kapitan ng isang barangay dito: P180,000 Bilang ng presinto sa nakaraang eleksyon: the institution, to remedy this anomaly. B. The UP Centennial symbolizes three important points. First, our collective work must mean something and we should all do some self reflection to clarify where we did well and where we erred, and learn from all these. Second, we must refine our world view and mindset towards a better future for our university and our country. UP has always been the premier university in this country, but that doesn’t neces sarily mean it has always changed for the better. We have to refocus on a higher level goal. Third, we need to be highly competitive worldwide. That’s the only direction for UP. We must improve in all fronts. 238,486 Kabuuang bilang ng mga pampublikong guro na nagsilbi noong eleksyon ayon sa Department of Education (DepEd): 500,000 Halagang hiniling ng DepEd sa Comelec bilang sahod ng mga guro: P2 bilyon Inilaang badyet ng Comelec para rito: P930 milyon Inilaang badyet sa PNP para sa araw ng eleksyon: P255 milyon Inilaang budget sa AFP para sa araw ng eleksyon: P100 milyon barangay: P2.9 bilyon Bahagi ng pondong nauwi sa pangungurakot ayon sa Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism: P290 hanggang P870 milyon Halagang natanggap ng mga guro sa pitong lungsod ng Maynila isang linggo matapos ang eleksyon ayon sa Alliance of Concerned Teachers: 0 Bilang ng mga gurong nabigyan sana ng honorarium gamit ang pondo ng SK na nauwi umano sa pangungurakot: 2,900,000 Honorarium ng isang pampublikong gurong nagbantay ng presinto noong nakaraang halalan: P1,000 Pondong nakalaan para sa SK ngayong taon mula sa internal revenue allotment ng mga SANGGUNIAN Comelec, National Statistical Coordination Board, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sun.Star Network Online, GMANews.tv Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 The prime time has hosted a myriad of characters that have defined most of our notions of entertainment, no matter how twisted and trite, as we have seen throughout the years. After all, this is the world of corporate sponsors, with their intrusive commercial breaks. The prime time serves to engross. It is a time for forgetting. art work: ivan re verente. page design: noel pacis hernaiz. Gazing at the Prime Time Repertoire pri mal fix After the daily evening news – with its sordid tales of brazen violence, momentary triumphs, and crass politics – comes a host of programs assaulting the imagination. Thus, even in their homes, workers are bombarded with images produced by corporate media. ABS - CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother (PBB), a franchise bought from foreign-owned Endemol Inc., is packaged as a reality show that showcases authentic human behavior, even as various activities are planted to engineer the housemates’ actions. The media plotters manipulate emotions and instigate love affairs and ruckuses – the classic concoction to raise program ratings. This season’s PBB second celebrity edition also includes such incongruous tasks as taking care of a 200-kg pig and her nine piglets. The camera zooms in to catch “tender moments,” when celebrities like Mariel Rodriguez and Ethel Booba are cooing the piglets on their chest. In previous PBB episodes, housemates were tasked to shave their eyebrows, paint their bodies or pull out all their bodily hair to raise funds for a poor school or charity. The ABS - CBN management declares that these tasks inculcate the value of hard work, as though sheer forbearance can truly solve structural poverty. Yet, this assumes that the present conditions are ideal, where impediments to opportunities and employment are nonexistent. Meanwhile, during elimination nights, PBB hosts enjoin the audience to save their “favorite housemate” by texting as many votes as they can. And as the host plays up the audience’s participation, the program earns millions from the text votes. In this context, the spectators are both commodified and expropriated. Hard luck At 6 PM, the end of PBB ushers the start of Deal or No Deal, one of the most popular game shows today. The entrance of 26 women clad in figurehugging dresses signals the onset of the game. A video flashes onscreen, and the face of the contestant appears. “Sumali ako sa Deal or No Deal para makatulong sa pamilya ko,” is the usual reason for playing on the show. People have come to look at game shows not merely as entertainment but as a form of public service, albeit from powerful media corporations. As thousands of OFWs are deployed everyday, thousands more are jobless and willing to gamble their way to game shows if only to relieve their financial debacle. The contestant fervently screams “Lower! Lower!” The opened suitcase reveals a two-digit number, and host Kris Aquino giddily exclaims “Maswerte ka!” as though the contestants’ troubles can be eliminated in a game of fortune. Exclamations of luck, however, serve only to mystify various accumulated capitals, such as educational background, financial capacity, and social connections. This prevents the critical analysis of structural problems. For while the poor are led to believe in the randomness of miracles, capitalist institutions have systematically sequestered the nation’s wealth. The extension of value production from the material to the visual realm marks the manipulation of the nation’s fantasies and desires through media. While PBB and Deal or No Deal may provide entertainment, the tacit agenda remains the coordination of national perception according to the dictates of capitalism. References Beller, Jonathan (2006). Acquiring Eyes. Ateneo de Manila University Press, QC. Raymundo, Sarah. Wowowee Tragedy: Hardly A Bolt from the Blue. www. bulatlat.com. Acessed November 09, 2007. Glenn L. Diaz E verybody knows how it ends. The tall, rugged haciendero defies his mother’s wishes, forsakes his family’s riches, and elopes with the fair but poor helper. The twins, separated at birth, reunite in a finale as grandiose as Ruffa and Yilmaz’s 2003 wedding. Three sisters, also separated in an accident, find each other and clash in a showdown so teary, so sprightly, it made all of them forget all the slapping they did over the course of two months. Either the Filipino viewing audience has become so monumentally bored or else so brazenly frivolous that they ’ve allowed such otherwise horribly predictable shows to rule the ratings year in and year out. The teleserye, the term officially coming into popular usage in 2000 with the release of Pangako Sa ‘ Yo, was so well-received it pushed the late night news programs to even later time slots. Its predecessor, the soap operas, were usually shown during the afternoon, like the iconic Mara Clara, which made being switched at birth seem like a valid fear. The teleserye traces its thematic roots to the metrical romance of primarily Spanish lineage during the 18th and 19th century. The genre arrived in Philippine soil and evolved from being mostly religious avowals to utter and at times excessive sentimentality. It relied on a voice that is constantly in pain and grief like the biblical Moses. Take, for instance, Florante at Laura. Along with being a scathing social commentary couched in the story of two lovers separated by powerful forces, the awit typified such anguished voice and brought melodrama to the fore. Florante, the suffering lover, has assumed many forms, and over the years the role shifted genders to reflect the prevalent view of women as weak and perpetually in distress and in need of rescuing. Indeed, the teleserye plays with social classes. A girl who grows up selling sampaguita garlands on the highway would miraculously turn out to be the missing daughter of a millionaire. In the same way, a girl born and raised with a silver spoon would find herself poor and neck deep in debt in a matter of one episode, like the protagonist Sarah Crewe in Princess Sarah, the most recent addition to this remake craze. In the artificial world of the teleserye, fate plays with characters through a series of convenient coincidences that make up most of its plot. Moreover, it banks on the improbable malleability of social classes and make it seem like the most normal thing in the world. Of course, Sarah would be saved, redeemed in the end, she’d be princess again, reunited with her pony with the pink mane, and we’d all be glad that we were with her all throughout. Given the Filipinos’ love of drama, of tear-jerking scenes, of glorification of suffering (not the least due to the Catholic notion that deems it righteous), the teleserye is not a shocking hit. The storylines are predictable (rise-fall-rise again), the characters, one-dimensional (hero-villain), it is simple and grudgingly formulaic. The teleserye fails to exceed the imagination but never fails to meet expectations. It creates a trap of fantastic possibilities and portrays it in stunning normality. Not only that; according to literary critic Northrop Frye, the moralist mechanism of the melodrama that reinforces society ’s dominant values, a seemingly harmless bent, also renders it a possible propaganda for the police state. The Pinoy teleserye is safe, clichéd, and, so long as we’re poor, here to stay. Reference Frye, Northrop (1957). Anatomy of Criticism. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. N akaabang na naman ang mga bata at nakasilip sa bintana ng kanilang kapitbahay. Pagpatak ng primetime, magbababaan na sa TV set ng kapitbahay at ng marami pang kabahayang Pilipino ang paborito nilang mga alien o ‘di kaya’y ang mga kalahating tao’t kalahating metal nilang idolo. Si Kokey, si Lastikman, si Fantastic Man at ang mga pulis pangkalawakang Zaido—sila ang mga pinakabagong tanghal na mga bida sa larangan ngayon ng pantaserye sa telebisyon. alien invasion at ang iba pang pantasya sa telebisyon lost in translation Manufacturing reality John Francis Losaria fan tasy prod uction * W alang habas ang panlilinlang sa mundo. Sa panahon umano ng pagkawasak ng mga hangganan, may nawawala/ iwinawala sa mga de-latang ilusyong isinasalimpad ng mga higit na nakapangyayari. Gayon na lamang ang pagkamangha ng Pilipinong manonood sa mga kakayahan at kapangyarihan ng pinagpalang kambal. Unang ipinalabas noong 2002 sa isa sa mga kulelat na istasyon sa telebisyon, ang Amazing Twins ang itinuturing na siyang pinakaunang Asianovela sa bansa. Sa isang iglap, ikinulumpon ang imahe ng mga Asyano sa larawan ng dalawang binatang mahaba ang buhok, singkit ang mga mata, mahusay sa bakbakan, at siyempre pa, matatas sa Tagalog. Rumurok ang kasikatan ng ganitong tipo ng programa makalipas ang isang taon sa paglapag ng grupong F4 sa popular na palabas na Meteor Garden 1 at 2. Tinawag na Chinovela, mula rin sa Taiwan ang seryeng ito na kwento ng katarantaduhan at kayamanan ng apat na binata. Sa gitna ng lunang kosmopolitan, sa loob ng eksklusibong unibersidad, ipinakilala ang manonood sa katauhan ni Shan Chai, isang dalagang mahirap ngunit maabilidad, na tila ba sapat na ang kanyang matalas na mga hirit at wagas na pag-ibig upang labanan ang pang-uring antagonismo na sa kanya’y umaalipusta. Muling nagbagong-bihis ang Chinovela upang maging Koreanovela. Mula Bright Girl hanggang Endless Love hanggang Lovers in Paris, inasulto ang mga manonood ng mga de-latang programa mula sa Timog Korea. Sumikat dahil sa kanilang simple’t maiikling banghay, tuso’t palabang mga tauhan, at higit na urbanisadong mga tagpuan, penomenal ang inabot na kasikatan ng mga Koreanovela, sa puntong halos palitan na nito ang lokal na mga produksyon. Sapagkat higit na mura ang pag angkat ng ganitong mga palabas kumpara sa grandiyoso’t kumplikadong paglikha ng mga Pinoy telenovela, tila nahirati na ang mga istasyon ng telebisyon sa pagbili ng mga seryeng naging patok sa mga bansang gaya ng Hapon, Taiwan at Timog Korea, pawang mga kapitalistang bansa. Dahil sa kulturang urban at maalwang pamumuhay na sinasalamin ng mga seryeng ito, hindi na nakapagtatakang maging mabenta ito sa mamamayang malaon nang iginapos ng kahirapan at atrasadong kabuhayan. Sa pagdatal ng mga historikal o period na mga Koreanovela gaya ng Jewel in the Palace, Jumong at Hwang Jini sa kasalukuyan, tumitingkad ang bentahan ng kultura sa globalisadong pamilihan. Ang tagaluto at manggagamot ng palasyo na si Jang Geum, ang haring si Jumong, at ang kisaeng na si Hwang Jini ay pawang tinanggap at niyakap ng manonood bilang mga ahente ng umano’y kultural na pagpapalitan. Si Hwang Jini, halimbawa, ay larawan ng babaeng tagapagbigay-aliw at bihasa sa mga sining ng pagtula, pagsayaw at pagtugtog. Sa kanyang pag-indayog sa mga tradisyonal na musika at kagamitan ng Timog Korea, suot ang mahahaba’t makukulay na mga damit, sa kanyang pagluwal ng mga metapora sa porma ng isang tula, inihahapag ng programa ang kulturang eksotiko ngunit may heyograpikal na lapit sa Pinoy na manonood. Sa ganitong pagtuhog namayagpag/namamayagpag ang Asianovela at Chinovela noon, at Koreanovela sa kasalukuyan. Nilulubos ng kapitalismo ang merkado upang maging ang kultura’t sensibilidad ng mga bayan ay dili’t iba kundi mga produktong inilalako na rin sa pamilihan. Ito, higit sa lahat, ang nawawala/iwinawala ng isinaling panlilinlang. (un )fair game Jerrie M. Abella T he advent of high capitalism has enabled the system to perpetrate beyond the corporeal. The new site of struggle is the realm of visuality, where desires and imaginations are harnessed for value production. It is no wonder, then, that media has employed various tactics to ensnare mass attention; for in the emergent visual economy, to watch is to labor. selling the drama Alaysa Tagumpay E. Escandor Ebolusyon Bago pa man ipakilala noong 2004 sa primetime TV ng dalawang dominanteng networks ang mga katagang fantaserye at telefantasya, may ilan nang mga regular na programa sa telebisyon ang gumamit ng malaking sangkap ng pantasya. Ilan sa mga ito ang Okay ka Fairy ko at Pintados. Matapos ang marami-rami ring taon, nagbalik-telebisyon ang pantasya sa pamamagitan ng Marina at Mulawin. Mula sa pagsisid at pag-ahon ni Marina at sa pagpagaspas ng mga pakpak ng mga Mulawin, sunod sunod pang nagsulputan ang iba’t ibang katulad na serye sa telebisyon, gayundin ang pagpapakilala sa iba’t ibang uri ng nilalang na sangkot sa mga kuwento nito. Pawang mga drama, bakbakan, at komedyang itinimpla sa pantasya na nagbibigay umano sa mga manonood ng pansamantalang pagkalimot sa masaklap nilang realidad. Repleksyon Katulad ng eskapismo ng Pilipinong manonood, mga ilusyon ng pagkasalba at kaligtasan ang tampok na elemento sa mga pinakahuling pantaseryeng ngayon. Sa makailang panahon nang pagpapalit-palit ng mga pantaserye sa TV, nahulma sa mga ito ang mga tauhang maituturing na superhero o nagtataglay ng katangiang mala-superhero. Mapa-family- oriented man, drama, katatawanan, o action, nakikilala ng mga manonood sa mga programang ito ang isang katauhang nagtatanggol sa mga tao laban sa masasamang loob o sa mga mapang-api. Malapit ang panlasa ng Pilipino sa ganitong uri ng entertainment. At sa simpleng pagkakalahad ng mga kuwento ng mga programang ito, madaling maihalintulad ng mamamayan ang kanilang sarili sa karanasan ng iba pang tauhang maaaring pinagsasamantalahan sa palabas. Ilusyon Sa kasalukuyang estado ng Pilipinas kung saan ‘di maipagkakaila na malala ang kalagayan ng mamamayan, nakatatawang isipin na ang mga pantaserye ang isa sa mga isinasambulat ng popular na kultura sa midya. Ang pagkakalikha ng mga pantaserye ay pagtugon o pagpapanatili ng midya sa ganitong eskapismo ng mga Pilipino. Sa kalaunan, naging instrumento ang ganitong entertainment upang itanim sa kamalayan ng mga Pilipino na ang pagbibigay-katuparan sa kanilang pagkakasalba at ang kaayusan sa lipunan ay mito at kathang-isip na lamang. Matatapos ang pansamantalang pantasya sa pagtatapos ng primetime. Magbabalik sa realidad ng buhay ang Pilipinong manonood at aasa na naman sa pagsubaybay niyang muli sa telebisyon kinabukasan. *pasintabi kay Neferti Tadiar Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 MissingPoints A nna is a first year student in UP Diliman (UPD). She is among the first batch of students affected by the approved 300 percent tuition and other fee increases (TFI). Her first semester alone cost her family P17,000 for 15 units. She was unable to apply for the university’s Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP), an incentive-granting scheme based on one’s family income and expenditures, because her admission letter arrived late at her home in Bicol. Her parents, both already retired, were unable to procure income tax returns as required by the STFAP. To pay the P1,000 per unit rate, her parents resorted to borrowing from relatives and from 5-6 operators — illegal loaners who demand P600 payment for every P500 borrowed — in their neighborhood. A second look Anna’s plight is echoed by hundreds of other freshmen, prompting Student Regent ( SR ) Terry Ridon to draft a review proposal of the TFI . The review aims to determine the effects of the TFI, to reexamine and criticize the policy bases and presumptions of the new STFAP, and make recommendations that will address the problems in both the TFI and STFAP. The review presented an overall decline in freshman enrolment for academic year 2007-2008, as well as a high system-wide number of UPCAT passers who deferred their slots. Additionally, it asserts that the TFI causes UP ’s loss of “comparative advantage to other schools in terms of affordability,” removes the democratic access to state education, and opens the doors to free competition with private universities and colleges. In addition, three TFI buffer mechanisms suggested by the BOR were cited: early announcement of the TFI implementation, installment payment schemes and the STFAP. However, these buffers were considered ineffective by the review. The installment scheme did not materialize, while the STFAP “was hardly felt to adequately address the students’ financial concerns.” In a survey conducted by Ridon together with the School of Statistics- Student Council, 66.1 percent of freshmen STFAP applicants thought the incentives inadequate. In light of these perceived problems, the review recommended nine courses of action. Some of these recommendations are: “[to] reaffirm the fundamental principles of democratic access and widening participation” through TFI repeal, suspension and reassessment of the STFAP, and the abrogation of the annual automatic increase based on inflation rate. Aside from these recommendations, the review also shows the continuing resistance of both parents and students. Around 94.7 percent of the survey’s respondents expressed disapproval of the TFI, while 89 percent considered the 300 percent increase heavy in terms of their finances. A majority 54.8 percent even calls for tuition rollback. Upon receiving the review on the September 28 BOR meeting, Roman asked for time to read and analyze the content of the document. Thus, the dialogue was scheduled on October 23, which was also attended by the University Student Council (USC). as it places more students in higher income brackets and creates a smaller fully-subsidized group. “ To say that this [increase in student loans] is a sign of the validity of the tuition increase would be erroneous,” says Ridon. “ The student loan phenomenon only proves that many students are affected by the TFI.” In a survey cited by the review, students and their families resort not just to the student loans and the STFAP but also to salary loans, scholarships, OFW remittances and even loans from 5-6 operators, like in Anna’s case. Furthermore, Ridon points that the Diliman survey attests that only rich students can afford to enter UP. It is also a manifestation of the restrictive access to education. “It [Diliman survey] only proves na ang mga estudyante from public schools ay hindi na nakakapagPaltry defenses UPCAT,” says Ridon. “ Hindi na nila In defense, the UP maipasa yung exam.” administration pre - sented its own data from In limbo a Diliman survey conDespite Ridon’s appeal, there is no ducted through phone. motion to suspend the TFI presently. The administration was The recommendation to suspend the able to contact 628 of subsequent increase in tuition as the 1,248 deferred UPD pegged by the inflation rate was not passers. Majority of the approved. “ We are looking into it,” respondents in the survey says Roman. “ We need more time reportedly chose private to get the data and study them.” schools like Ateneo de MaThe BOR has yet to decide this nila and De La Salle UniverNovember. sities instead of UPD — 89 reThe SR , however, remains unceived scholarship grants, while yielding in his stand against the TFI. 35 were accepted in Intermed “ We are still challenging the validity programs. In contrast, only 20 reof the TFI,” says Ridon. He plans to spondents cited financial problems, hold an inter-USC caucus on tuition and four specified the high tuition as increase and commercialization to reasons for not enrolling in UP. further study the bigger picture of Meanwhile, the installment scheme the immediate effects of TFI and its failed to materialize because the admininfluence on UP ’s future as state istration is “looking at the situation in all university. campuses,” Roman says. “ There is a committee This semester, Anna has not yet working on the installment payment but the report paid the P17,000 for her 15 units. is not yet complete.” She presented the university’s Her parents are trying to raise that student loan program as subamount by asking stitute, stating that the amount financial help from of student loans granted has “increased their relatives. She substantially.” has applied for a Aside from student loans, Roman also presented private scholar the “success” of STFAP. Roman says that 49 pership instead of the cent of freshmen students applied for STFAP. “Mas STFA P, belie ving marami ngayon, di hamak. Kasi last year, four perthat it will benefit cent lang ang beneficiaries ng STFAP…of the total her more than the students in the undergrad.” latter. Presently, Roman insists that there is neither the possibility nor need to Anna’s problems are experienced by suspend the TFI and the STFAP. “ They [freshmen students] don’t oppose it hundreds of other students all over the [TFI], they recognize it,” she says. “About 49 percent of freshmen students university. The TFI did not improve the applied for STFAP. This means that 51 percent did not apply and were not students’ conditions, but instead worsquestioning it, [because] they were willing to pay.” ened their already dire situation. If the UP administration is reluctant to repeal No excuses this inherently flawed policy, then it is Ridon, however, disagrees with Roman’s assumption that the increase inevitable that the students themselves in student loan and STFAP applications is a manifestation of the TFI’s take action in order to assert their right success. He states that the present STFAP bracketing is “inadequate,” to affordable quality education. The TFI did not improve the students’ conditions, but instead worsened their already dire situation art work: ar chie oclos. page design: MARK ANGELO V.CHING Ma. Rosa Cer M. dela Cruz Assessing a Sem of TFI Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 4 4 . I sinasaisip ko naman ang kumpas bago tuluyang magsimulang magsanay, ngunit sadyang hindi ko nagagamay ang tiyempo at ang pagbilang sa mga saglit. Sabay sa pagtatanda sa mga notang hindi natural, o may sharp at flat, isa-isa kong kinakapa ang mga notang para sa kanang kamay, at sunod ang sa kaliwa. Sa pagitan ng mga nota, binabantayan ko ang mga pahinga, na pawang nakatakda na rin ang magiging tagal; ang mga tuldok, na nagpapahaba pa sa tunog ng kinakabitang nota; at iba pang pananda ng artikulasyon, diin, at lakas. Matapos ang ilang pasada sa magkabilang kamay, na kumakatawan sa dalawang klep, dahan-dahan kong pinagsasabay ang mga ito. Ang pagpapakinis sa pagsasaliwan ng mga tunog na likha ng dalawang magkaibang pagsusunud-sunod ng mga nota ang mabilis na magtatali sa akin sa mahaba-habang pagsasanay. Pagkat gaano ko man pakaingatan ang pagtiyak sa tamang pagpasok at tagal ng mga tunog, madalas kaysa hindi, binibigo ako ng iba ko pang kahinaan. Nariyang sisingit ang notang nasa mga guhit ledyer, na pawang mahirap nang basahin para sa akin. O sasala ang aking kaliwang kamay, na pinakamahirap kong mapasunod, sa pag-abot sa isang napakababang tunog, o sa pagkalito sa paglilipat-lipat nang madalas. O magkakasabit ang aking mga daliri, tandang mali ang itinakda kong gamit sa bawat isa para sa Lala bawat sukat. Hanggang sa maituwid ko ang mga pagkakamaling ito, lilitaw nang buo ang himig ng piyesang tugtugin at ang saliw dito, ngunit sadyang wala ang akmang ritmo. Sa ganitong lagay, hindi ako tunay na marunong tumugtog sa piyano, dahil hindi ko nabibigyang-buhay sa anyo ng tunog, sa paraang nararapat, ang mga notang katumbas ng nakatitik sa papel. Kung paniniwalaan ang isang tauhan sa kilalang dula ni Wilde, magagawa nga naman ninumang tulad ko ang tumugtog, ngunit hindi gaya niyang nakatutugtog nang madamdamin, na ipinalalagay na siyang tama. Hindi ko maunawa kung bakit pagdating sa pagtugtog ng isang piyesa, pinipilit kong maging tapat sa nakasulat. Malamang dahil sa wala naman talaga akong alam sa labas noon, di tulad ng kinaiinggitan kong nakatutugtog sa pamamagitan lamang ng pakikinig sa awit at pagkapa ng tunog sa mga tiklado. Taliwas sa naiguhit kong “ako” sa ibang pangyayari, maririnig na takot akong lumabas sa kulungan ng mga sukat, upang ilangkap ang bahagi ng sarili sa nalilikhang musika, at sa huli ay angkinin Gaano ko man pakaingatan ang pagtiyak sa tamang pasok at tagal ng mga tunog, binibigo ako ng iba ko pang kahinaan Promises* W eeks back, in between bottles of Red Horse and fries, Jerrie made me promise that should I choose to stay in the call center industry or he return to it, that we would not in hell pick the building under construction in Commonwealth. This, we punctuated with a handshake, like all things supposedly serious. “Nilabanan natin yun eh,” he reasoned, but it was not really as personally principled as it sounded. For what’s the difference? A call center is a call center whether it stands in the corner of Ayala and Gil Puyat in Makati, where I now work, or in a UP property leased to, well, Ayala for their precious millions. Since its landing in Philippine soil, most UP graduates have looked at call centers as nothing more than an alternative, welcome and harmless, to “real” jobs just in case they get lazy after graduation. Now if you erect (giggle) one a 15minute jeepney ride away from AS, you make the option more appealing. All of a sudden, the allure seems inevitable, the pull becomes more in-your-face. More so if you build one on the eve of UP ’s centenary; you make it seem like a gift, an effect the government tries so hard to give the whole thing, a gift from the West, ito. Ngunit sa iilang awit na natugtog ko nang buo, sa tiyempong hindi naman sasabihing masakit sa pandinig, pinakamadali naman akong nakalimot. Upang maisatunog ang mga ito, kakailanganin kong muling hawakan ang piyesa, at mapalad na ang mabuo ito sa dalawang pasada lamang ng pagsasanay. Madalas, pagkatapos nito, nalulungkot ako, gaano man ako tinutulungan ng sandaling pagtugtog na mapayapa ang kalooban. Waring doon ako higit na nagiging masaya sa hindi ko kailanman tinatapos, na kalakhan ay dahil sa hindi ko nailalapat ang tamang kumpas sa mga tunog. Minsan, maaaring sinasadya kong hindi na tapusing aralin ang isang piyesa, upang hindi ko na rin malimot kung paano ko pinakikipaglaro ang bawat tunog sa aking pandinig. Naiiwang gitnang mga sukat lamang ang aking alam, hindi nakukuha ang pasakalye, at hindi naisusundo hanggang dulo. Mahirap sa akin ang isara ang buhay ng isang tugtugin. Mahirap ang malinaw ang mga katapusan. Hindi man ako palagiang naniniwala sa panahon, waring ito pa rin ang nagpipilit makapanaig. Sa mga tugtugin, panahon, na siyang tumutukoy sa tagal at sa tamang tiyempo, ang nagbibigay ng hinihinging damdamin. Maraming nakasandig sa tamang pagkakataon. Para lamang sa buhay. Para lamang sa pag-ibig. Glenn L. Diaz a gift from the generous Americans, like democracy, like civilization itself, it seems. And gifts compel gratitude. Must you scour the bowels of the city and get lousy entry level pay when right there, a mighty stone’s throw away from Oble, is an air -conditioned catch of a job, where you can earn relatively hefty sums for your vocal chords, your neutral accent, your nights, a little of your dignity? As for me, I am now on t h e ve r g e o f graduating. But I am also on the brink of resigning and losing my mind. I work four days a week , twelve hours a day, and the pay is in no small way dismissible for someone who is not even done with school (damn you, PE). Should I choose to, I can follow the path of scores before me and make a career out of this, elevate it from being just a paycheck. But there comes a point in one’s life, I suppose, when your priori- More than being the height of a highly globalized, capitalist reality, call centers have encroached on personal lives and dreams and gifts ties stare you down and you have to make a choice. And on this, I say no amount of money is worth it anymore. Nothing, nothing. Sadly, things have changed and people have become less and less reluctant to admit that principles have become up for sell. It is not a simple reorientation of values, it is a symptom of the times. More than being the height of a highly globalized, capitalist reality, call centers have encroached on personal lives and dreams and gifts. Indeed, why would graduates be bothered to examine the more tumultuous picture of First and Third Worlds relations typified by call centers, when most of the time, they can’t even think straight, the sound of their stomachs grumbling impair their hearing, the humming zeroes in their bank account blur their vision into myopia? And the future does look bleak. I set off again under the calm moon. I tighten my hold on my jacket and loosen my grip on my principles because, for the mean time, the luxury of choice is not really mine. Just until Christmas, I promise, but aren’t promises meant to be broken? *To the few Americans callers who called me stupid, sige nga, what is commodity fetishism? Now if you do know what this means, go to the Kule office and take the Kultura exam. Pretty please. Chris S. Agrava Mad world* I am writing this cathartic, angsty, not-fit-fora-sem-opener column in between applying for a call center job. Just minutes ago I breezed through a series of communications tests, and exactly two hours from now some obscure HR person of an obscure company will be interviewing me. I’m trying not to keep my hopes high, but the prospect of a five-digit salary gets the better of me. I had expected to finally achieve that ever elusive degree, but the people from the department conspired with the universe to further protract my six-year stay in UP. Thesis classes are offered only during the first semester. Hastily scribbled petitions posted at the bulletin board proved futile. The words keep repeating in my head, “ We’re doomed, I told you so, I told you so…” So I thought I would find solace in working as a phone operator. It pains me to have to ask my sister every morning for my daily P100 allowance, which I’ve been doing for six years now. Apparently annoyed, she would fish out a bill from her synthetic leather wallet and ask me, “Kelan ka ba ga-graduate nang makapagtrabaho ka na? ‘ Yung magulang mo nagpapakahirap sa US. ‘ Yung kuya mo nag-asawa na, may anak na. Ako hindi makapag-asawa dahil sa inyo. Hay buhay…” It is always with revulsion that we note our feudal obligations: we spend about a third of our lives studying and accumulating that dubious intellectual capital only to work for a multi-national company and earn thousands of pesos (if you’re lucky to land a job, that is) just so we can give back to our families, help out struggling relatives, take care of our parents, and let them have a taste of that comfortable life they never had because they had you to attend to, feed, finance, up until such time that you become the ones to financially support them. Money is the root of all evil, but in the highlycommercial (read: fucked up) scheme of things, it is also the reason for our existence. I was with two other applicants when I was asked to read a few passages off a feel-good composition, on how we should keep our hopes up. They both had a provincial accent, and one had difficulties reading in the foreign language. They didn’t make it. Enraging how the language you grew up on, the intonation with which you used to express your frustrations and aspirations, for that particular moment, has become a repulsive and unwanted character. Exactly an hour from now, someone from that call center company will be interviewing me. I don’t know what questions they will ask. I don’t know how I will answer. The song is playing in the background, “ The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I ever had.” My hopes have hit rock-bottom. *apologies to Tears for Fears Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 Contact us! write to us via snail mail or submit a soft copy to Rm. 401, Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City. ••• Email us kule0708@gmail.com. Save Word attachments in Rich Text Format, with INBOX , NEWSCAN or CONTRIB in the subject. ••• Fax us 9818500 local 4522. Always include your full name, address and contact details. ••• Contributions We are open for contributed articles from student writers, subject to the approval of the Editorial Board. All submitted articles should have a maximum length of 400 words. Renewing calls for GMA’s ouster O nce again, there is a raging public discontent against the government of President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo. The ZTE - NBN and CyberEducation deals, the spate of Palace pay- offs to congressional and local government allies, and the undoing of the people’s will by pardoning President Joseph Estrada have all but led many of our people to continuously question the fundamental priorities and policy framework of President Arroyo’s government. These questions are strikingly ironic as government funds seemingly flow very easily to shady projects and disbursements while basic social ser vices such as education, healthcare and agricultural support services languish with paltry sums. One patent example shall always be the sad state of the University of the Philippines. Coming on the heels of a painful and divisive tuition increase, if only the sums of money involved in the questionable projects and payoffs were given to UP, it could have been used in increasing the research output of our different academic institutions, upgrading laboratory equipment and facilities, raise the compensation of the faculty and staff, and perhaps even avert the implementation of the tuition increase. We have always been told that the budget cuts in the UP and the subsequent tuition increase were due ultimately to the general lack of government funds for state higher education. However, the scandals hounding the Arroyo administration clearly show that the problem is well beyond a general lack of government funding. It is a government that recklessly uses public funds for questionable projects open to wide-scale corruption and embarks on partisan activities for its own political ends. More so, all of these scandals operate in a backdrop of impunity and political repression perpetrated by the government itself, with the clear objective of compelling an enraged people to cower in fear and turn a blind eye to the excesses of the Arroyo administration. UP is no stranger to this, as numerous academics and students are continuously being harassed by state security forces to preclude them from criticizing the policies of government. Our students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Empeno remain missing to this day. There are also reports on attempts to gag the UP Diliman Chemical Engineering Department from insisting on their well-founded position regarding the use of military war material in the Glorietta bombing incident, lest the College of Engineering and other academic units shall lose the multi-billion peso science and engineering research grant to UP by President Arroyo. In all of these, UP must stand resolute and united in exposing the excesses of Philippine Collegian 2007-2008 Status of funds COLLECTIONS First Semester Second Semester Summer Interest Income As of 28 October 2007 Approved Budgeta Actual, First Semester P 880,000 830,000 330,000 160,000 (3,000) P 2,197,000 P 874,510 Printing Honoraria Food Subsidy Office Supplies and other d Operating Expenses Office Equipment Training Editorial Exam Utilities and Newspaper Subscription P 1,360,500 601,500 60,000 c P 660,750 255,650 8,289 55,000 36,592 TOTAL EXPENSES TOTAL COLLECTIONS EXPENSES g DEFICIT 0915.941.4460 Non-UP students must indicate any school, organizational or sectoral affiliation. WARNING: We don’t entertain textmates. We welcome questions, constructive criticism, opinions, stands on relevant issues, and other reactions. Letters may be edited for brevity or clarity. Due to space constraints, letters must have only 400 words or less. government and decisively make it accountable to the Filipino people. Our public schools and universities need all the government funding they deserve and it is about time that we unwaver ingly reject the use of our hard-earned taxes for personal political ends, corruption-ridden government projects, and systematic repression measures by state security forces. The UP AWARE was never wrong in demanding her ouster in 2005 and 2006. All the more is such a call relevant in the face of all these unanswered scandals. As such, the UP AWARE firmly renews its call to UP and the Filipino people – Resist State Repression and Oust Gloria today! UP AWARE UP Alliance Working For President Arroyo’s Removal UP AWARE is a university-wide multi-sectoral alliance of faculty, staff, students, and administrators who are united in their call to demand for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s removal from office through impeachment, resignation or ouster, on the basis of the series of high-profile corruption scandals hounding her administration. The convenors of the UP Aware include the Office of the Student Regent, the Kasama sa UP (UP System Student Council Alliance), the All-UP Adademic Employees Union, and the AllUP Workers Union, and many other leading UP academics who are united in the cause for good governance and accountability. P 808,320 b 67,594 (1,404) Less: Student Refunds Send in your opinions and feedback via SMS! Type: KULE <space> YOUR MESSAGE <space> STUDENT NUMBER (required), NAME and COURSE (optional) and send them to 55,000 30,000 20,000 14,350 15,000 3,835 P 2,197,000 P 979,466 e f (P 104,956) notes a Chancellor Sergio Cao, 31 July 2007. b June to October 2007. c Issues 1 to 14. d Include transportation expenses. e Accommodation expense for Collegian consolidation activity, 1 to 3 June 2007. f June to December 2007. g Expected to be offset by collections during the summer term. Get free publicity! Email us your press releases, invitations, etc. DON’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS and, go easy on... the punctuation!? Complete sentences only. Dnt use txt lnguage pls. Please provide a short title. Be concise, 100 words maximum. AMADO, MINAMAHAL The Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center (AVHRC) will be holding the concert Amado, Minamahal on Nov. 30, the 144th Andres Bonifacio Day, 8 pm at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Join us as National Artists Bienvenido Lumbera, Ben Cabrera, Salvador Bernal, Napoleon Abueva pay tribute to Gat Andres and Ka Amado that is ultimately a tribute to the Filipino people. Works of the late National Artists Lucio San Pedro and Felipe de Leon will also be presented. Performances of poetry, songs and dances will be done by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Ballet Philippines Kids, Brownman Revival, Tribu, Nanding Josef, Robert Seña, Ana Feleo, Ramon Acoymo, Bituin Escalante, Bobby Balingit and many more. For inquiries, you may contact: 412.0909, 0916.790.0671 (Ms. Luchi Perez). The AVHRC is an institution that advocates the works and causes of poet, fictionist, journalist, and labor leader National Artist Amado Vera Hernandez. Ano ang masasabi mo sa performance ng Kulê nitong nakaraang sem? Ang saya ng kule, may isyu plage. Dto up ilo2 wla haha, typ ko tlga layout nyo. Pwd bng magpadala ng artcles? Lagy kau ng speys 4 othr up.Untz 091030119*** As a first yr, I don’t really know what to expect from kule. But as for me, it may be a bit negativ at some issues, but its definitely great!!! 07-48514 calv, bs chem uhm. Aus lng naman ang per4mance ng kule ds sem. Lahat naman ng tnxt k0w sa txtback e nap0st sa kule. Astg tlga ung txtbak. Haha. Ung news dn ay0s. Lal0w n s sp0rts. Peewo sana may c0lumn dn ang kule b0ut d other games ng uaap other than bsktb0l. 07-10761, d0ng ang galing ng kule! Hehe..nailahad ang lhat ng anggulo ng mga k0ntr0bersya at isyu..ngng mpanuri at krtkal s pgtlkay ng mga isyu. Way t0 g0! 07-01185, cmc sana malinaw n pagkkprint ng kule.ǖ minsan kc di q mbasa =) 05-53847 nka2aliw ang mga k0miks,lalo n ung uPcat edixon ng k0miks.actuali,k0miks una qng bnbasa. 07-03388 very good layout! Nkakasawa nga lng ung mga white spaces na nlalagyan nlng ng ad para sa bgong layout artist. Sna ibng gimik naman. 05-00394 Maganda ang kule..Mahusay ang mga sumusulat ng artikulo. Masaya aq sa lay 0ut. Isa lng ang pR0blema. Pag bnbAsa q ito.NadEdEPresS LNG AQ. ACE LIGSAY. 06-17880 Nakakasuka na magbasa ng kule. Puro batikos sa gobyerno. Napaka-one-sided. Tingnana din sana yung mga positibong nagagawa ng administrayon. 03-05328 (Name one, we’ll gladly publish it. –Ed.) Kamusta naman ang kule. Ever regular na nag circulation. Yahoo. 06-70483 mj educ May somethng n nkakasawa s kule..pero mgnda prn kc ngkkaroon ng social awareness ang mga apathetic na UPan.. 06-45935 yuri Grabe! Ang gnda ng kule dis year,tlgang inipon nio ung powers nio after niong ma-repress. Hail kule, g0d bless. 05-17277, bst0ur Namis ko ung gay linggong eksenang peyups.. mas nakakatuwa lang kc..Go kule! 0731712 Ano ang gusto mong mangyari sa susunod mong sem? Nxt sem at lhat ng sems gusto ko uno! Yey! 06-06790 Nxt sem..sana magkaraket na ‘ko,para may pambayad na sa rent sa bhaus.huhu. 0500394 nxt sem.. Gus2 k0ng makta ung pnkamamahal k0ng girl na nasa c0legeof eng. With her initials “RFS” HWAHAHAHA! Isang bu0ng sem k0w kc sya d nkta e. Haha. 07-56463, Paulo Sa su2nod n sem.. Gus2 ko e bumlk n s dti ung tuiti0n. Grbe naman kc.. Ang taas. Kwawa naman kaming mga preshmen.. 40 t0usand per year! Super un compared sa almost 13 t0usand per year nung mga dati na sa up.. Huhu. 07-10761, d0ng Gusto ko snang mkasali sa org na aaplyan ko, magng mas masaya at magng hindi busy ang 2nd sem ko. 07-00074 BA PolSci Makapagmath 65 under sir alex mandigma.. sana tlaga! 06-4076 cherry bs math Sana next sem, sumabog na ang chem. Pav pra ndi aq kumuha ng chem. O kaya burahin na lang s mundo ang chem.. Alam qng mdming mkkinabang s naisin q. 06-49465 Nxt sem sna pogi n c bogart at sna b0nggacious tlga ang lantern parade at up fair, lalo n ang graduati0n!Yahoo! 04-42976, jewel Ang gus2 kng mngyri nxt sem skn e sna hndi na ako lgng inaawy ng taong mahal ko. 05-78712 Gust0 ko next sem ay mgkar0on ng matitino at ms mbait na pr0f.nd ung ter0rista. Nkkmtay kc. Gs2 q mpn0od ang oblation run at mgng aktb0 s UP fair 07-01185 Comments Ganun po b tlga ang rec0mmendati0ns ng SR on TOFI? Parng iba s mga cnsbi nia 07-11330 (The one published in the last issue was not the final draft of the policy review. We apologize for the oversight. Please refer to “Missing Points” in this issue. –Ed.) Mas maganda nga i-implement na nila agad ang Smoking Ban dito sa campus e.Kung ditto sa campus di makontrol ang pagyoyosi, pano pa kaya sa labas? Kawawa naman kaming di nagyoyosi lalo na mga bata nakalalanghap ng nakasusulasok na usok mula sa yosi. Di naman pwedeng kami lagi ang umiiwas. Dapat maging responsible naman yung mga nagyoyosi. Kung gusto nyo, sa bakuran na lang ng mga bahay nyo kayo magyosi. -06-03962 k0mento:ang kultura page ng 14th ish ay npkskt s mata.Itim n blurred n my hl0ng pula. Sna ay wla ng gn2 nxt sem. Black nd red, prng label ng blakbeans 07-01185 grabe,nsaktan aq s line n ‘pgbblik ng k0mks’. bkt, nwala b un? Hnd nmn ah.nwei, may k0mik 0n b ulit ds 0ct? Punta kau dun. May mga k0miks dun n hnd knikilala ni k0miks king. We nid impr0vmnt s k0miks, bt nt caparas’ efforts-05-08060 04-45720 oink.Anggaleng ng limitd edtion s kultura section kaso parang bitin! Panget nga ang komiks ni caparas, chaka ang stori&drawing! Go kule!junk tofi! 09215410*** sagutan To 04-01104,hindi na sana kita papatulan pero lilinisin ko lang ang student number ko.Alam mo ba ang sillbi ng deduction of points due to violation sa Cheerdance?Nasira yung isang pyramid ng USTe kaya may deduction sila. Nung natapos, .5 lang ang lamang ng UP. Isipin mo na lang kung nabuo yun edi panalo sila! Pero maganda na rin yun dahil nanalo ang UP. Pa-nega nega ka pa dyan. -06-03962 Mamon Para to kay Ellen na freshie ng BABC, naku kung ngayon pa lang di mo na mapanindigan ang pagkukule e pano mo pa paninindigan ang mga isuue once na kasali ka na? Nagtatanong lang 06-08822 CMC To 09064679***,alam mo merong “awkward” space dyan dahil may kakulangan sa tao ng kule. Kaya nga sila nag-aanyaya sumali di ba?-06-03962 Mamon To 98-25590: Hinahype up nyo lang ksi yung isyu na yan.Msyad0ng knee-jerk mga reaction nyo. Para kaung angry m0b 03-21181 To 06-5669: ndi yan simpleng pagkakamali. Its obvious na sum people are trying 2 salvage d lost cause of pro-TOFIness. Hm. Do i smell a certain color? 03-21181 To bembol b: (Re:switch 0ff) I cn vry mch relate.At sinasangayunan k0 ang k0wt ni r0n&meg.it0 ang pnh0ng filing k0 pnkb0b0 ako.& mybe its bc0s im dtachd. 04-41700 To bembol b.:naintindihan kta.im g0ing tru it ryt nw.im afraid n ung mga frnds q ay hnd aq mantndhan or dey’l judge me s mga pgkkmli q.it wil tke time.kng ndpa tyo,d dpat gmapang,bgkus dpat 2mayo at i2l0y ung lban 04-66144 cams Panawagan: Panawagan sa SSBoys: rumurunda ba kayo sa lagoon? Kasi nagmumukhang motel dun kahit di gabi. At madalas, high school students (elem pa ata) pa naglalampungan dun, ang pangit tingnan. Ang sarap nga kunan ng video at ipadala kay mike enriquez e. -06-03962 Mamon NEXT WEEK’S QUESTIONS: 1. Sino sa palagay mo ang nasa likod ng pagsabog sa Kongreso? 2. Sino ang pinaka-bet mong prof sa UP? Me and my big mouth kasi eh — pasuggest-suggest pa kasi ng mga kabalaj-balaj na EP-worthy na eksena. Kung nag-stay silent as a lamb na lang sana ako eh di wala sanang problema devah? Kaya eto ngayon, I was forced (as in all caps ‘neng) na isulat ang kalandiang ito — charos! So, paano? Tiisan na lang muna, mga sis! The Sabog Pa From Sembreak Edition Hacienda Luisita, TarlacNobyembre 2006 Harshness on UeFeS Well, I was on my way to the Kulet opis sa Vinzons one day nang may makasalubong akong isang groupie ng boys and girls na palabas ng building. May nakasalubong silang kakilala at nagtsikatsika… Coño Girl (In an accent that could make Kris Aquino run for her money): Ipapasara na daaawww ang UeFeS… Chorus ng mga utrez na ikinaloka ko: Dirrty kase eh… (Sabay tawanan all of a sudden) Kaloka! And to think nasa likod lang nila ang said establishment, huh? Mahiya naman sana ang mga utao… (Though medyo oily nga ang trays. Joke lang po.) U m a g a s a pi k e t candice anne reyes Romanov on the Policy Review Himutok sa Consol Meanwhile, noong nakaraang sembreak ay nagpunta ang mga Kulets sa land of the Collette’s para sa consol kung saan nagkapalitpalit ng mukha ang mga Kulet sa pagtulog (including an editor na sa sahig na lang natulog minsan), nirayuma ang kasu-kasuan kakaswim-swim, at nagnosebleed sa sunod-sunod na mga seminars and workshops chorva. May isang editor pa nga na may violent reaction ever sa pagkain na ayon sa kanya ay never niyang makakalimutan: pritong galunggong with matching sayote on the side for lunch! As in three weeks na ata ang nagfly pero vivid pa rin sa memory niya ang event na iyon *Buntong-hininga* Yes, siguro naman may 300 words na itech devah? Time na para magfly-fly home na ang inyong lingkod! Allie Alembong Ito ang alleged pampalubag-loob ni yUPpie president Romanov after ng isang heated dialogue with the student body na dinaluhan ng isang Kulet editor: “May mga magaganda naman kayong arguments eh, kaya lang konti lang sila…” Oh devah? Talbog tayo sa statement ni Romanov! Philippine Collegian | Huwebes 15 Nob Set 2007 Palaganas Kulang mula P.5 mula P.4 Philippine Collegian Nº 15 Huwebes 15 Nob 2007 G Probing the Glor ietta bla st invest igation to a significant piece of evidence: cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine have threatened Arroyo’s tenuous (RDX), initially detected in the blast site. RDX is an explosive hold on power. First Gentleman substance which usually indicates a bomb, most likely the military Mike Arroyo was implicated during ordnance C4, of which it comprises over 90 percent. The distribua Senate inquiry into the $329-miltion of C4 is strictly controlled by the military. lion National Broadband Network The PNP said that RDX could have come from common aeroproject; then accusations of bribery sols like hair spray. Tapang countered, “RDX in the form used in arose as elected officials received explosives isn’t present in aerosols, and for aerosol components cash gifts totaling millions of pesos. to combine and form RDX is improbable.” Bayan Muna Representative TeTapang states that the lack of satisfactory answers to quesodoro Casiño said, “ The scandals tions about the RDX is largely why AGHAM is calling for an were destroying the administration. “independent, impartial” probe of the Glorietta blast. Terrorism was a distraction that would The skepticism expressed by AGHAM concerning the PNP benefit only Arroyo.” Attention was is echoed by various sectors, despite Malacañang’s staunch diverted from the besieged administrabacking of the police investigation. After all, history has shown tion towards the “terrorists” blamed for the lengths to which governments will go for political ends. the blast — until the discovery of RDX , which prompted the PNP to backtrack Past still present and declare it an accident. Three decades separate Martial Law and the Arroyo Casiño said, “ The government has the regime; yet, as then, there are notable instances of termeans, opportunity, and motive to pull off rorist conspiracies seemingly staged by the government the Glorietta blast.” This highlights a major to rationalize authoritarian measures. fault of the Human Security Act of 2007 In 1972, then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile (HSA), which presumes that the administraclaimed that the New People’s Army (NPA) had ambushed tion to which it grants considerable powers is him. The NPA had been tagged by the government as not capable of committing acts of “terrorism,” the culprit in other cases, including the Plaza Miranda in the strictest sense of the word. bombing. Within days, Ferdinand Marcos used the The administration, on cue, took the oppor“NPA threat” as a pretext to declare Martial Law. tunity to push for an amendment to strengthen Enrile eventually confessed that the ambush the HSA , which defines terrorism as “sowing was staged. and creating a condition of widespread… fear In February 2004, Arroyo dismissed the and panic… to coerce the government to give Abu Sayyaf ’s claim of responsibility for the in to an unlawful demand.” The anti-terror law SuperFerry sinking, where over a hundred could not be used to prosecute the unidentified died. But in October, after the elections, perpetrators of the Glorietta blast, because they the administration admitted that it was made no demands on the government. Justice a terrorist attack. The revelation came Secretary Agnes Devanadera said it was necessary after a citizen-formed commission to correct this “flaw” in the HSA . probed a series of bombings in Min“It is flawed,” said Casiño. “But not danao that was allegedly perpetuLoose ends in the way Devanadera means. The HSA ated by the military and blamed The timeline of the statements is biased against activist groups which on terrorists to justify Arroyo’s made by PNP and administration demand changes from the government.” “all-out-war on terror.” officials regarding the Glorietta blast It also equates terrorism with threats to reveals inconsistencies (see sidebar). the government’s survival, he said, tacitly Crisis of credibility Within only four days, blame was transpermitting the abuse of human rights in the Recent controversies ferred from terrorists to a leaky diesel prosecution of “terrorists.” This is apparent tank to a faulty sewage system. in the Anti-Terrorism Council created under In the weeks since the blast, the PNP has Larissa Mae the HSA , which counts among its members Suarez not released any official reports on the findprominent backers of the Arroyo adminings of local and foreign experts. Their latest istration — an administration accused theory speculates that a combination of diesel of numerous human right violations. fumes and methane gas led to an explosion in The credibility of the governthe basement of Glorietta 2. ment, like the blast site, “It’s highly unlikely that the blast was caused lies in rubbles. Not by the explosion of a diesel tank,” said UP Chemonly is the adminisical Engineering Professor Ernesto dela Cruz, tration suspected of explaining that diesel explodes not in liquid manipulating but vapor form. Vaporization requires an the investiextended period of exposure to high heat. gation of The methane gas theory, concedes dela the blast Cruz, is more plausible. If the volume of to protect air was composed of 5 to 15 percent methane, and itself and its there was a source of ignition, such as an electric interests, it is spark, methane could explode. suspected of some“But if methane had accumulated in such a large thing far more omiamount, there should’ve been a detectable stench nous — being the prior to the blast,” said dela Cruz. Methane is emitted mastermind with hydrogen sulfide, and the latter is characterized behind the by a strong odor. Also, methane is lighter than air, and blast itself. In would build up only if the basement had extremely poor this case, the ventilation which trapped air inside. real tragedy is Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), the property development not what corporation which owns Glorietta, said there were no happened reports of any distinct odor before the blast, adding in Glo that a stairway in the basement leading to an open rietta , but delivery bay served as a vent. what is hapProfessor Giovanni Tapang, chairperson of Advocates of pening in Malacañang. Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM), stresses that these inadequacies in the gas leak theory are secondary ray steel railings line all entrances and exits to Glorietta 2, enclosing the debris concealed by plywood covers. The array of dim, closed shops marks the perimeter of the devastated area, which security guards patrol in increased numbers. An explosion oc curred at the Glorietta Mall on the afternoon of October 19 in Makati City, the country’s central business district. Eleven people died; over a hundred were injured. The tragedy immediately filled headlines — space previously occupied by the scandals hounding Arroyo. The ne ws, howe ver, reflected the confusion and contradictions in the investigation conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP). Each new theory only heightened the doubts of a public that considered the Arroyo administration itself a suspect. Tracing the aftermath of the Glorietta blast October 19 — The PNP states that the blast was probably caused by a “hard explosive” planted by unidentified elements in Glorietta 2. October 20 — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) calls the blast an act of terrorism. — Investigators detect traces of RDX in the blast site. — Senator Antonio Trillanes IV accuses National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon of engineering the blast. October 21 — Malacañang emphasizes that while the presence of RDX is confirmed, reports of C4 are “premature.” October 22 — PNP unveils the gas leak theory, stating that the blast was an accident. October 23-31 — PNP dismisses terrorism angle, claiming that the ongoing investigation, corroborated by foreign experts from Israel, Australia, and the U.S.A., substantiates the gas leak theory. November 1 — Authorities mention possibility of a case against ALI for negligence. November 3 — Malacañang affirms its support for the PNP gas leak theory. November 5 — ALI releases results of its own investigation, which is inconsistent with the PNP’s. November 7 — The Makati Business Development Council forms an independent factfinding commission to look into the Glorietta blast. ALI and local government voluntarily remove themselves from the commission. November 9 — PNP urges Trillanes to turn over his witness to the police. Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer. www.inquirer. net/specialreports/gloriettablast. Accessed November 10, 2007. art pa g wor k: p i ya e de con s ta s ign n t in : MAR K CHING o .