Lathalain

PARA SA NAKARARAMING PILIPINO,
inihuhudyat ng buwan ng Setyembre ang
papalapit na panahon ng Kapaskuhan.
Ngunit para sa mga nabuhay noong
dekada ‘70, ipinaaalala ng Setyembre ang
isa sa pinakamadilim na yugto sa kasaysayan
ng lipunang Pilipino—ang pagpataw ng Batas
Militar o Martial Law (ML).
Laganap na kahirapan, kabi-kabilaang
sa
paglabag
malawakang
korupsyon,
karapatang pantao at tahasang pagsikil
sa demokratikong karapatan ng mamamayan
Opisyal na lingguhang
ang iniwang bakas ng ML sa naratibo ng bansa.
pahayagan ng mga
Gayunman, ang mismong lagim na inihasik
mag-aaral ng Unibersidad
nagpaalab
at
nagpasidhi
ng ML ang lalong
ng Pilipinas - Diliman
sa mga ningas ng pagbabago. Subalit apat
na dekada matapos ang “kalayaan” at “pagbawi
Tomo 90, Blg. 14
sa demokrasya,” ano na nga ba ang kalagayan ng
Setyembre 19, 2012
nakararaming Pilipino?
Sa kanayunan, nananatiling walang
pagmamay-aring lupa ang mga magsasaka.
Sa kalunsuran, hindi pa rin dinidinig ang
matagal nang hinaing ng mga manggagawa
para sa makatarungan at nakabubuhay na
sahod. Sa mga pamantasan, nariyan pa rin
ang mga panawagan para sa sapat na
badyet sa edukasyon at mas maayos na
serbisyong pangkalusugan.
Sa mga lansangan, patuloy ang panawagan para
sa makabuluhang panlipunang pagbabago. At sa
pagdiriwang ng ika-40 taong anibersaryo ng
ML, marapat lamang balikan ang mga aral na
nabuo at iniluwal sa panahon ng ligalig
—at gamitin ang mga ito bilang mabisang gabay
at tanglaw upang tuluyang maiwaksi ang
dilim at lagim.
Lathalain
LUPONG TAGAPAGPASYA
MULING NAKABITIN SA KAMAY
ng iisang lupon ang kinabukasan
ng mga iskolar ng bayan.
Sa darating na pulong ng
UP Board of Regents (BOR) sa
Setyembre 20, muling igigiit ng
mga mag-aaral ang pagbasura
sa bagong panuntunan ng
Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance
Program (STFAP) — ang paghingi
ng Bracket B certification sa
mga bagong estudyante ng UP.
Ang Bracket B ceritification ang
nagsisilbing patunay na hindi
kabilang ang mga estudyante sa
Bracket A — ang klasipikasyon
OPINYON
OPINYON para sa mga pamilyang may
Miyerkules
Miyerkules taunang kita na higit sa P1 milyon.
Isang tuso’t mapanlinlang
Hunyo
1927
Setyembre
2012
2012 na pagtataas ng matrikula ang
paghihigpit na ito sa pagpapatupad
ng STFAP. Bunsod nito, mapapako
sa P1,500 kada yunit ang babayaran ng mga estudyanteng hindi
magpapasailalim sa STFAP, o hindi makapagbibigay ng nasabing
sertipikasyon.
Sa madaling sabi, P1,500 kada
yunit na ang default bracket ng
mga estudyante ng UP. Sa ganitong lagay, lalong lumiliit ang
siwang ng oportunidad upang
makatuntong sa pamantasan.
Hindi na lamang UP College Admission Test ang kailangan lusutan ng mga nagnanais maging
iskolar ng bayan – obligado na
rin silang patunayang hindi sila
“mayaman.”
Patuloy namang sinasalag at
pinasisinungalingan ng administrasyon ang nasabing paratang.
Ang mas mahigpit na STFAP
umanoangsolusyonupangmasukat
ang katapatan ng mga mag-aaral.
Pinuna rin ni Pascual ang mga
estudyanteng nagpoprotesta laban
sa bagong panuntunan ng STFAP,
dahil karamihan sa kanila ay
hindi naman umano apektado ng
bagong palisiya.
Sinasalamin
ng
ganitong
pananaw ang pailalim at tusong
taktika ng administrasyon na
kawangis nang naganap sa
Tuition and other Fee Increases
(TFI) noong 2006. Hindi pa man
pumapasok sa UP, hinubaran na sila
ng karapatang makonsulta at magsalita para sa kanilang edukasyon.
Ngunit habang umiiral ang
palitan ng mga argumento,
mahalagang mapatampok at
matukoy ang tunay na suliranin,
at mula rito’y mahalaw ang mas
pangmatagalang mga solusyon.
Taktikal at lehitimo ang panawagang pagbasura sa paghingi
ng Bracket B certification. Kung
maipatutupad ito, mababalik
sa P1,000 kada yunit ang base
tuition ng mga mag-aaral.
Gayunman, marapat kilalanin
ng mga mag-aaral na hindi nito
mapupunan ang mga butas ng
STFAP bilang palisiya. Isang
aspekto lamang ng STFAP ang
Bracket B certification, at hindi
Punong Patnugot
Kapatnugot
Panauhing Patnugot
Patnugot sa Balita
Patnugot sa Lathalain
Patnugot sa Grapix
Mga Kawani
Pinansya
Tagapamahala ng Sirkulasyon
Sirkulasyon
Mga Katuwang na Kawani
Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang
Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas
Diliman, Lungsod Quezon
Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522
Email kule1213@gmail.com
Website philippinecollegian.org
Kasapi Solidaridad: UP Systemwide
Alliance of Student Publications
and Writers’ Organizations,
College Editors Guild
of the Philippines
Ukol sa Pabalat
Dibuho ni Marianne Rios
limitado sa mapanlinlang na
pagtaas ng matrikula ang usapin
hinggil sa sistemang ito.
Sa simpleng pagtunton sa
kasaysayan ng STFAP, mababatid
na ang malalagim na implikasyon
ng nasabing iskema. Isa na rito
ang malaon nang pahayag na ang
STFAP ay panakip-butas lamang
para sa pagtaas ng matrikula sa
unibersidad.
Patunay dito ang dumaraming
bilang ng mga estudyante na
nangangailang magtungo sa Student
Loan
Office
(SLO)
upang
ipangutang ang kanilang matrikula. Noong nakaraang semestre,
dalawa sa bawat tatlong estudyante na nag-aplay sa STFAP ang
nangutang din sa SLO.
Kung susuriin din ang mga tala
ng STFAP at SLO matapos ang
dalawang beses na pagtaas ng
matrikula sa nakaraang dalawang
dekada, mababatid ang magkahawig na takbo ng datos — sa
una’y biglang darami ang mga
nag-aaplay sa STFAP at student
loan, ngunit bigla rin itong
babagsak kalaunan. Ipinapakita ng
ganitong datos na sa una’y
nabibigyang pag-asa ng STFAP ang
mga estudyante upang makapasok
sa UP, ngunit sa kalauna’y nagiging
sagka at unti-unti nitong nililimitahan ang pagpasok sa UP ng mga
posibleng iskolar ng bayan na
salat sa pinansyal na kapasidad.
Sa kabila ng lahat, hindi umano
magagawa ng administrasyong
Pascual na ibasura hindi lamang
ang Bracket B certification kundi
maging ang buong iskema ng
STFAP. “If we scrap the STFAP,
students who presently enjoy
free tuition will then have to
pay. We don’t want to deny our
students education,” aniya.
Marupok
ang
ganitong
argumento,
lalo
pa
kung
manggagaling tayo sa lunsarang
hindi hiwalay ang STFAP sa
usapin ng pagtaas ng matrikula,
at sa mas malaki pang isyu ng
inilalaang badyet ng edukasyon
sa pamantasan.
Ang paghimok sa administrasyon na ibasura ang STFAP ay
kaakibat ng panawagang ibalik
sa mas abot-kayang halaga ang
matrikula ng UP. Malalaki’t
mabibigat na panawagan ang
mga ito, ngunit kung tunay na
tatanganan ng UP ang kanyang
pampublikong katangian, hindi
kailangang magdalawang-isip ng
administrasyon upang tanggapin
ang hamon.
Marapat ding kilalanin ng
administrasyon ng UP na ang
pambansang unibersidad ang
huwaran ng iba pang state
universities and colleges sa Pilipinas,
maging sa paglikha ng mga palisiya
at paraan ng pamumuno. Kung
patuloy na magiging konserbatibo
ang UP, kung patuloy nitong tutugunan ang kakulangan ng badyet sa
pamamagitan ng pagsingil ng halaga ng kakulangan sa mga mag-aaral,
hindi malabong mangyaring susunod na rin ang iba pang pamantasan sa landas na tinatahak ng UP.
Sa darating na pulong ng BOR,
nakasalalay sa magiging desisyon
ng lupon ang kapakanan hindi lamang ng mga mag-aaral ng UP,
kundi pati ng mahigit isang milyong mag-aaral sa iba pang pampublikong pamantasan. Sa araw na
iyon, walang puwang upang maging
kimi — sama-sama nating irehistro
ang pinakamataas na panawagang
tunay na magpapanatili sa pampublikong katangian ng edukasyon
sa bansa.
Editor’s
Note
The battle for
independence is
far from over. As
long as there reeks
the stench of
foreign influence,
we would never
be free. And as long
as we are not truly
free, we would
never stop
fighting for it.
CHANGING OF THE GUARDS
On the mere “changing of the
guards” from Japanese conquerors to American colonizers
Mariano Ampil
September 4 1946
As the Philippine Collegian
celebrates its 90th year, we revisit lines
from prized editorials that defined the
publication’s tradition of critical and
fearless journalism.
Manual processing results to 2-month
delay in release of STFAP results
Isabella Patricia Borlaza
ALREADY DELAYED BY ALMOST
two months, the bracket assignments of 2,358 Socialized Tuition
and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) applicants in the
UP system were finally released
on September 15, barely a month
left before the end of the first semester.
Though UP President Alfredo
Pascual declined to divulge details on the cause of the delay, he
explained that the release of the
STFAP results are usually delayed due to lengthy procedures
in data-processing.
The delay, however, resulted
to a number of cases of
students who were “purged” out
of their classes or eventually
took a leave-of-absence due to
non-payment of matriculation
fees this semester, according to
reports received by the UP Diliman (UPD) University Student
Council (USC).
The STFAP is a bracketing system that categorizes students’
capacity to pay matriculation
based on socio-economic indicators. Students’ STFAP brackets
are renewable every year. Results
are released in batches, usually a
month after the deadline for submitting requirements to the Office of Scholarships and Student
Services (OSSS).
The STFAP, however, only
covers tuition of undergraduate, law, and medicine students.
Graduate and doctoral enrollees have different matriculation
fees per subject as determined
by their colleges, while second
degree enrollees are automatically placed in Bracket A, where
students pay P1,500 per unit,
according to OSSS.
The current five alphabetic
bracketing scheme was implemented in 2007, a year after base
tuition increased by 300 percent,
from P300 to P1,000. In 2010,
the STFAP was again revised to
separate the students who enjoy
free matriculation into E1 and E2,
where an additional semestral
stipend of P12,000 is provided for
the latter.
In UP Diliman (UPD), less than
20 percent, or an average of only
3,000 of the 17,000 undergraduate students apply for STFAP,
based on data from the OSSS
and the University Registrar. The
rest are in bracket A or are under
scholarships, said OSSS officerin-charge Richard Gonzalo.
Following the June 5 memorandum from the OSSS this year,
students with student numbers
2011 and 2012 were initially
placed in bracket A during enrolment, unless documents for
bracket B certification, the default
bracket with P1,000 per unit, are
submitted.
The current practice during
enrolment is that students apply for loans while they wait for
their bracket assignments. The
over-assessed tuition is then deducted from the loans, Gonzalo
explained.
Meanwhile, the OSSS extended
the deadline for the submission
of appeals for re-bracketing until
October. Around 170 appeals for
re-bracketing are currently pending deliberation since the initial
deadline for submission of appeals on September 15, according
BALITA
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
COLLOQUY. Representatives of different student and political organizations hold a dialogue with UP President
Pascual at Quezon Hall on September 18. The students raised various concerns to Pascual, such as the abrogation
of STFAP Bracket B Certification, comprehensive review of the STFAP Bracketing system, and the deferment of the
imposition of the PE Fees.
to OSSS data.
Even with the delay in the release of results, Gonzalo assured
that the final bracket assignments
for all STFAP applicants will still
apply for the first semester and
UP will reimburse any over-assessed tuition payments until the
second semester.
Procedural reforms
Though the aim of STFAP is to
make UP education accessible,
it does not accurately measure
the actual financial capability of
the student, because the implementation is flawed and even the
socio-economic indicators are
questionable, said UPD USC Chair
Tuition (B)racket
Sumatotal
LAST SEMESTER, THE UP
administration implemented the
new Bracket B certification process in the university’s Socialized
Tuition and Financial Assistance
Program (STFAP), a system which
assigns tuition brackets to UP students based on family income and
other socioeconomic indicators.
Under the new Bracket B certification policy, students are automatically assigned to the STFAP’s
Bracket A, which sets tuition at
P1,500 per unit. To “certify” for
Bracket B, STFAP applicants admitted to UP starting in 2011 are
required to submit family Income
Tax Returns and a vicinity map of
their residence, among others, to
prove that their annual family in-
come does not exceed P1 million.
Meanwhile, students admitted from 2007 to 2010 are only
required to submit a certification and a vicinity map of their
family residence to confirm their
Bracket B status.
Though touted as the administration’s bid to “improve the
implementation of the STFAP,”
the Office of the Student Regent
(OSR), the UP Diliman University Student Council, and several student groups in UP, have
condemned the new policy as
merely a scheme to effectively
hike tuition in UP. The figures below show how this might just be
the case:
Tuition rate for students that
have undergone the Bracket B certification process: P1,000 per unit
Default tuition of UP Diliman
(UPD) students who did not apply
for STFAP after the implementation of Bracket B certification
process: P1,500 per unit
Estimated tuition per semester
for a Bracket B student enrolled
with 15 units, excluding other
fees: P15,000
Gabriel ‘Heart’ Diño.
In the September 7 meeting, the
University Committee on Scholarships and Financial Assistance
(UCSFA), which is composed of
university officials, administrative staff and student leaders,
decided to “overhaul the current
STFAP system”, said Gonzalo.
The committee is planning to
hold a conference to review the
reforms needed on the STFAP
this October with past and present UP officials, administrators,
and student leaders. One of the
expected changes would be the
use of the UP administration’s
pet project “Electronic UP” o eUP,
Lavilyn Hysthea Malte
Estimated tuition per semester
for a Bracket A student enrolled
with 15 units, excluding other
fees: P22,500
National average total tuition
per semester in private universities in 2012, according to the
Commission on Higher Education
(CHEd): P9, 112.95
cording to an STFAP policy review by the OSR in July: 1,627
Number of STFAP beneficiaries who appealed for lower bracketing in 2011, according to the
Office of Student Scholarships
and Services (OSSS): 287, or 1 in
every 10
Difference of estimated tuition
per semester between Brackets A
and B: P7,500
Number of months this amount
can cover a freshman’s dormitory
fees at Kalayaan Residence Hall:
at least 3
Number of Bracket E1 and E2
students, according to OSSS data
for the second semester of 2011:
390
Number of Bracket E1 and E2
students who did not enroll last
semester, according to the Office
of University Registrar (OUR): 52,
or 13.3 percent
Number of Bracket A students
in 2010: 29
Average class size of Kasaysayan 1 this semester: 25
Number of Bracket A students after the Bracket B certification policy
was implemented in 2011: 900
Total student population of
the College of Arts and Letters in
2011: 915
Number of applicants assigned
to brackets which were higher
than what they applied for, ac-
Average number of students
who applied for tuition loans each
semester, from 1991 to 2011, according to the OSSS: 1, 300 students per semester
Number of students who applied for loans last semester:
2,300, or 1 in every 10
Number of students who applied for loans in 2010, before the
Sundan sa pahina 4
which may reduce the requirements for STFAP application and
hasten the processing time, said
Pascual.
Meanwhile, Student Regent
Cleve Arguelles maintains that
the STFAP must be scrapped as
it is a “disguise for tuition hike”
which “pushes students into the
higher brackets.”
In the Board of Regents’ (BOR)
meeting on September 20, Arguelles will propose the abolition
of the Bracket B certification as
it was “undemocratically implemented because of lack of student
consultation.”
Following the government’s
Roadmap for Public Higher Education Reform, a socialized tuition fee scheme is also set to be
implemented in 10 state universities and colleges (SUCs) by 2014.
“It would be an error to further
institutionalize the STFAP with
its present flaws in the policy
and procedural levels and a disservice to the Philippine Educational System in general if the
same flaws are replicated in other
SUCs,” Arguelles said.
Other than the STFAP, Arguelles will also lobby to postpone the implementation of PE
laboratory fees in UPD next semester as “all fees must undergo
a comprehensive and systematic
student consultation”.
The BOR first approved “in
principle” the charging of laboratory fees reaching P500 for
selected PE courses in May
2010, separate from the current
P200 athletics fee, but its implementation was postponed for
further study.
Being the highest policy-making
body, the BOR should implement
policies that will ensure the people’s right to accessible and quality
education, said Arguelles.
Groups slam military red-tagging
in Cordillera schools
Isabella Patricia Borlaza
VARIOUS GROUPS CONDEMNED
recent school campaigns by the
Armed Forces of the Philippines’
(AFP), which reportedly tagged
national progressive groups as
“communist fronts.”
From July to August this year,
members of the AFP held onehour symposiums in 64 public
schools in Baguio City, which supposedly sought to “enhance the
student’s consciousness about
the lies, deception, and clandestine operations of the Commu-
nist Terrorist Movement,” according to a memorandum issued by
the Baguio City Schools Division
Superintendent on June 26.
Reports and interviews with
the grade six and high school students who participated in the said
symposia reveal that the AFP said
that progressive organizations
are covert rebel organizations,
according to Katribu Partylist
President Beverly Longid.
Katribu also reported similar
counterinsurgency campaigns in
schools in Mindanao and Cebu.
According to Katribu, the said activities are part of Oplan Bayanihan, the Aquino administration’s
counterinsurgency
program,
which is directed towards quelling the longstanding communist
and Muslim separatist rebellions
in the country.
“This is what the military does
not understand – legal progressive organizations and rebel
groups are very much different,
both in leadership and style of
BALITA
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
NAG-AALAB, Bilang pagtutol sa Two-Tiered Wage System na maaaring magbigay ng mas mababa pang sahod
sa minimum wage, nagsunog ang ilang sektor ng manggagawa ng tarpaulin na naglalaman ng mukha ng DOLE
Secretary na si Rosalinda Baldoz sa harap ng South Wing Gate sa Batasang Pambansa sa Quezon City noong
Setyembre 18. Pinanawagan ng grupo sa administrasyong Aquino na kanselahin ang nasabing iskema at isulong ang
P125 across-the-board na dagdag-sahod sa buong bansa.
BULLDOGS DOOM MAROONS TO
SINGLE WIN THIS SEASON, 65-60
Lavilyn Hysthea Malte
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (NU)
Bulldogs sunk UP Fighting Maroons’ hopes of bagging a second
and final win in the second round
of Men’s Basketball games during the 75th season of University
Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) on September 16 at
the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena,
65-60.
Three minutes into the first
quarter, Maroons forward Mike
Silungan kicked off the game with
double consecutive two-point
shots, giving the State U ballers an
early lead. Bulldogs point guard
Joshua Angelo Alolino, however,
swiftly buried Silungan’s fourpoint deed, while Bulldogs center
Spencer John Rosario went on a
six-point shooting spree.
Maroons captain Mark Lopez
sunk a three-pointer at the last
minute of the quarter but fell
short of recovering the lead from
NU, concluding the quarter with a
single-point lead by the Bulldogs,
12-11.
The second quarter of the game
saw UP surrendering to the Bulldogs’ aggressive 16-point power
play. The Maroons’ first successful two-pointer in the quarter
came from center Cris Ball two
minutes into the game.
The Maroons did not score
until the last two minutes in the
quarter, with Maroons center
Alinko Mbah nailing a two-point
shot, followed by three-pointers
from Silungan and forward Alvin
Padilla, ending the second half
with NU still on the lead, 30-21.
The second half began with
Mbah delivering two consecutive
baskets during the first minute
of the third quarter. Resolved to
keep the Maroons at the losing
end, the Bulldogs then launched
a strong campaign to end the
quarter at 51-41, with point guard
Bobby Ray Parks however led NU
in a strong campaign to keep the
Maroons at the losing end.
NU kept on rebuffing every UP
run in the fourth and final quar-
ter, with Bulldogs center Emmanuel Mbe and Parks delivering
the shots, but the Maroons almost
caught up within just three, 6063, with a minute left.
With 51 seconds left in the
game, Bulldogs point guard Joeffrey Javillonar and Alolino split
their free throws to end the game,
65-60.
The Maroons pushed a lot of
teams to the edge this year but
still finished last for the fifth time
in the last six seasons with a tame
1-13 card. UP stands to lose eight
star players out of their 15-man
roster, namely Silungan, Lopez,
Padilla, point guards Mike Gamboa and Jelo Montecastro, as well
as reserves Diony Hipolito, Robby
Wierzba and Julius Wong.
“[We] fought hard. The records
show how much we improved and,
hopefully, next year, the juniors
will finish the season with UP on
the top four. UP is not a push-over
school at all,” said Silungan.
work. Organizations including
progressive partylists are legal by
all means and should not be portrayed to students as communist
fronts,” said Kabataan Partylist
Representative Raymond Palatino.
‘Child abuse’
Presenting legal progressive
groups as “enemies of the state”
instigate fear among the children
and qualify as a form of harassment, according to the Children’s
Rehabilitation Center, a non-government institution for family
and child victims of state violence
in the Philippines.
On September 10, progressive
groups and community leaders held a dialogue with the Department of Education (DepEd)
to present cases which violated
children and indigenous people’s
rights, as stipulated in Republic
Act 7610 or Special Protection of
Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination.
“Through these activities, the
government involves teachers
and children in its counterinsurgency operations. [We] remind
AFP of its obligations under local
and international laws to respect
the people’s rights to life, safety,
education, and self-organization,
to name a few,” said Alliance of
Concerned Teachers (ACT) Partylist Representative Antonio Tinio.
DepEd has pledged stricter observation of RA 7610 and promised to ban the military from performing similar acts which may
endanger the children’s safety
and right to education, Tinio said.
Military surveillance in
communities
Meanwhile, during the September 10 dialogue, community
leaders also aired out concerns
on the effects of military pres-
ence in communities.
Due to the scarcity of accessible
schools, indigenous people and
several non-government groups
have set up their own literacy and
numeracy schools, some of which
are DepEd-accredited, in accordance to the government’s Alternative Learning System.
According to Section 18, Article IX of RA 7610, DepEd can “accredit and support non-formal
but functional indigenous educational programs conducted by
non-government organizations
in said communities.”
The AFP, however, tagged the
informal setup of the schools
as “New People’s Army schools”
and “anti-government.” In some
instances, military harassment
led to the disruption and eventual closure of some community
schools, according to Katribu,
“Our experience and the documentation of cases clearly show
that there are no advantages for
Oplan Bayanihan. It does not address the reasons for armed resistance [nor] provide solutions
to massive discontent. In fact, it
even brews further resistance
and dissent among the people,”
said Longid.
As agreed upon in the September 10 dialogue, DepEd will recognize these schools as partners
in non-formal education through
the signing of a Memorandum of
Agreement, according to ACT.
“We appeal this in hopes that
education will be upheld, an
education that helps in our
liberation and in shaping the
future of our communities
based on our right to selfdetermination,” according to
Save Our Schools, a coalition of
concerned indigenous peoples’
groups.
Tuition (B)racket
Mula
pahina 3
implementation of the Bracket B
certification process: 2,044
Number of students who applied for loans in 2011 after the
implementation of the Bracket B
certification process: 2, 300
Number of STFAP applicants
last semester who also applied for
student tuition loans, according to
OSSS: 2, 325, or 2 in every 3
Total amount loaned by UPD
students in 2010, according to
OSSS: P23.9 million
Total amount loaned by UPD
students in 2011: P28.5 million
Total estimated amount of tuition assessed for Bracket A students who appealed for lower
bracketing: P20.25 million
Amount of loans unpaid from
2007 to February this year: P29
million
Number of Bracket A students
who applied for student loans: 73
or 2 percent
Number of Bracket B students
who applied for student loans:
1,082 or 31.63 percent
Number of E1 and E2 students
who were granted free tuition
but who still applied for student
loans: six or 1.5 percent
Average annual increase in the
number of students applying for
tuition loan tuition hike since the
tuition hike in 2007, according to
OSSS data: 22 percent
Total budget needed by the entire
UP system for 2013: P18.4 billion
UP budget for 2013, as approved
by the Department of Budget and
Management: P10.78 billion
Sources: OSSS, Office of Student
Housing, CHEd, DBM, UP System
Budget Office
Pinal na bersyon ng Student Manual
nakatakdang matapos sa Oktubre
INAASAHANG
MAGLALABAS
na ng pinal na bersyon ng Student Manual (SM) sa Oktubre
ang Student Manual Committee (SMC), grupong binuo noong
Hunyo upang pangasiwaan ang
pagsasaayos ng mga rebisyon sa
kasalukuyang umiiral na Code of
Student Conduct (CSC).
Kailangan umanong matapos
ang pinal na burador ng SM sa
huling linggo ng Oktubre upang
makapagsagawa ng konsultasyon
sa mga estudyante at maaprubahan ng Board of Regents ang
SM bago matapos ang taon, ani
UP Diliman University Student
Council (USC) Chair Gabriel
“Heart” Diño.
Binubuo ang SMC nina Dr. Mila
Laurel, pangulo at kinatawan ng
University Council Committee
on Student Organizations Activities and Welfare (UCSSSOAW),
dating Student Regent (SR) Ma.
Kristina Conti, kasalukuyang SR
Cleve Robert Arguelles, Diño, at
USC Councilor Aryanna Canacan.
Bahagi rin sa nasabing komite
sina Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA) Ma. Corazon
Tan at dating VCSA Elizabeth
Enriquez at Prof. Rowena Morales, mga kinatawan ng Student
Review Committee noong nakaraang taon.
Pag-amyenda sa CSC
Unang ipinanukalang amyendahan ang CSC noong 2009,
dahil may ilang karapatang pangmag-aaral ang hindi nabanggit sa
nasabing CSC, ani Conti. Aniya,
tinanggihan ng administrasyon
ang nasabing panukala at muling
bumuo ng bagong CSC sa pangunguna ni Enriquez noong 2010.
Sapagkat wala pa rin umanong
pagbabagong naiambag ang 2010
CSC, binuo ng OSR ang Student
Review Committee sa parehong
taon upang buuin ang Student
Handbook on Rights and Responsibilities. Sa pangunguna ng UPD
University Student Council at ng
21 lokal na konseho sa UPD, natapos ang SHRR noong Mayo 2011.
Nakapaloob sa SHRR ang Declaration of Student Rights at ang
sariling bersyon ng mga estudyante ng CSC. Sa isang pulong
noong Oktubre 2011, napagkasunduan ng SRC at administrasyon
na buuin ang SM, na halaw sa
2010 CSC at SHRR.
Matapos buuin ang pinal na
bersyon ng SM, magsasagawa ng
serye ng konsultasyon ang SMC
upang hingin ang panig ng mga
estudyante. “[Lahat] ng results
ng consultations ay i-integrate
natin sa bawat provision. [‘Yung]
goal [namin] is to come up with a
comprehensive student manual,”
ani Diño.
hinggil sa pagsapi sa mga organisasyon, sorority at fraternity.
“All organizations, sorority,
fraternity, pwedeng magrecruit
anytime, pero after a semester
lang [pwedeng] mag-accept,” ani
Arguelles.
Layunin din ng SM ang pagpapataw ng mas mababang antas ng
parusa sa mga kasong maaaring
kaharapin ng mga estudyante, ani
Arguelles. Halimbawa, ibinaba sa
isang semestre ang suspensyon
sa mga estudyanteng nahaharap
PANIMULA.
Bilang protesta BALITA
sa patuloy na
Miyerkules
pagtaas ng
19 Setyembre
tuition at iba
pang bayarin sa 2012
UP, nagsagawa
ng candlelighting
ceremony ang
ilang grupo
ng estudyante
sa harapan
ng Vinzons
Hall noong
Setyembre
18. Nagsilbing
paunang
protesta ang
nasabing
programa
para sa isang
mas malaking
protesta sa
Setyembre 20
kasabayan ng
miting ng Board
of Regents sa
Quezon Hall.
Mga amyenda sa CSC
Ilan sa mga natapos nang seksyon ng CSC ang panuntunan sa
pagtanggap ng mga bagong miyembro ng mga organisasyon, sorority at fraternity.
Lilinawin din sa SM ang mga
panuntunan ukol sa mga kaso ng
pandaraya at pagnanakaw, maging ang iba pang itinuturing na
maling gawi ng mga estudyante.
Nakapaloob din sa binubuong
SM ang bagong mga panuntunan
UPD admin not keen on extending
tenure of retiring profs
AMID THE DECLINING NUMBER
of faculty in the university, the
UP Diliman (UPD) administration will only grant extension of
appointment to faculty members
who are obliged to retire at the
age of 65 under “exceptional circumstances.”
In two separate memoranda on
January 25 and September 4, the
UPD Office of the Chancellor (OC)
reminded college administrations to observe the compulsory
retirement for government employees who reach the age of 65.
“The services of officials and
employees who attain the compulsory retirement age are not
extended unless absolutely necessary in the interest of public service,” read the January 25
memorandum.
As of June, 30 faculty members
of UP Diliman are expected to
reach the compulsory retirement
age by the end of 2012, while
around 45 faculty members are
also estimated to retire in the
next two years, according to
estimates from the university
administration. Meanwhile, 39
faculty members are currently
granted extension of their
appointment
beyond
the
retirement age.
“The extension of a regular
faculty appointment beyond 65
is not encouraged by the university. All government employees
are expected to retire from service when they reach the age of
65,” said UPD Chancellor Caesar
Saloma.
‘Extension is a privilege’
As the university’s highest
policy-making body, the Board of
Regents (BOR) has the sole power
to extend the tenure of faculty
members upon the recommendation of academic units and endorsement of the UP President,
as provided in Section 13 (l) of the
2008 UP Charter.
However, the appointment of
retiring faculty members beyond the compulsory retirement
age is a “privilege” and therefore
“granted only under exceptional
circumstances,” according to
the September 4 memorandum
issued by the OC.
The OC memorandum specified that requests to extend the
appointment of a retiring faculty
shall be endorsed to the UP President, only if the concerned faculty turns 65 years old in the middle of a semester and is currently
assigned as the thesis adviser of a
graduate student.
Retirement costs
“UP is currently losing its faculty, some to retirement [and]
others to greener pastures in
private universities or abroad,”
according to the UP Expanded
Modernization
Program
(EMP), the universitys faculty
development program.
As of June last year, only 37
percent or 565 of the total 1,539
regular full-time faculty in UPD
have doctoral degrees (PhD), according to the OC. Of the 565 doctoral degree holders, more than a
third is aged over 55.
For the first semester, however,
only 15 percent of full-time faculty is enrolled in doctoral programs and 23 percent in master’s
programs. On the other hand,
only 73 students graduate in doctoral programs of the university
on average every year.
The “failure of [academic units]
to develop qualified PhD faculty
to carry out graduate programs”
may restrict the university from
offering programs that require
“in-house faculty expertise,” according to the 2004 decision of
the BOR on the guidelines of extending appointment.
“The Chancellor’s memoranda
are reminders to our academic
sa kaso ng paglalabas ng maling
pahayag ukol sa pagkakatanggap
sa
unibersidad,
pagiging
rehistradong
estudyante
at
pananatili sa UP.
“Mas rehabilitative na lang
‘yung mga parusa sa mga students. [Halimbawa,] from expulsion to at least one week suspension... [Pangunahing] goal ng SM
Committee na protektahan ang
student rights at gawing rehabilitative ang lahat ng penalties,” ani
Arguelles.
units and faculty to plan the development of younger faculty
members to eventually replace
retiring ones. This will ensure
that our faculty roster remains
dynamic,” said Prof. Judy Taguiwalo, former UP faculty regent
and member of the All-UP Academic Employees Union.
In the 2012 world ranking of
universities by education research firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), UP slipped to the
348th place from 332nd last year.
Indicators used in the QS survey
include the number of citations
per faculty and faculty-to-student (FS) ratio, which weigh 20
percent each.
UP received a 2.3 percent rating in the CPF and 37.3 percent in
the FS ratio. The Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, which
topped the QS world ranking, had
a CPF rating of 99.3 and FS ratio
of 99.9
Faculty development
To address the decline in the
number of the university’s faculty, several faculty development programs were instituted
under the EMP including the expansion of the Doctoral Studies
Fund (DSF) and the recruitment
of Filipino PhD faculty educated
abroad.
First established under UP
President Francisco Nemenzo,
the DSF provides qualified faculty members with free tuition, a
monthly stipend, and book allowance, among others, for doctoral
and postdoctoral studies in top
Asian universities.
Meanwhile, recruited Filipino
doctoral fellows from abroad are
given incentives including a P2.5
million research grant and a high
academic rank, among others.
“Retention of UP faculty is a
function of both economic and
non-economic factors. Faculty
loss, I believe, will be reduced if
UP expands the benefits extended to faculty and other personnel.
Another very important element
would be ensuring that the principles of democratic governance
and transparency, as well as appointments based on merit, are
observed,” said Taguiwalo.
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
LATHALAIN
mga magsasaka. Pagdating ng 1978,
sapat na ang produksyon ng palay
para sa pangangailangan ng bansa.
Mula 1973 hanggang 1979, pumalo sa 6 porsyento ang taunang
GNP growth rate ng Pilipinas. Tumaas ng 5 porsyento taun-taon
ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong may
trabaho mula 1972 hanggang 1977.
Upang maipagpatuloy ang paglakas ng ekonomiya, nangutang ang
Pilipinas sa iba’t ibang lending institution.
Unti-unting
rumupok ang ekonomiyang Marcos na nakasandig sa pautang ng
dayuhan, batbat ng korupsyon, at pinaiinog ng
mga kaibigan o mga “crony”
ng pangulo. Noong 1984, umabot
sa 46.7 porsyento ang antas ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin—ang
pinakamataas na naitalang inflation rate mula 1980 hanggang 2010,
ayon sa International Monetary
Fund. Mahigit 2.5 milyong Pilipino
rin ang nawalan ng trabaho noong
1985, ayon sa IBON Foundation.
Bilang solusyon sa malawakang
kahirapan, itinulak ni Marcos ang
mga Pilipino na mangibang-bayan.
Tumaas ang bilang ng OFW mula sa
36,029 noong 1975 tungong 372,784
noong 1985. Nagbigay din si Marcos
ng mga insentibo sa mga dayuhang
mamumuhunan, gaya ng pagbaba
ng taripa para sa banyagang kalakalan. Sa halip na makabuti, naging
dahilan pa ito upang lalong humina ang mga lokal na industriya sa
bansa.
Bagaman kilala sa kanilang
pagiging matiisin, nakita ng
mga Pilipino ang pangangailangang magbalikwas
sa pamumuno ni Marcos.
May “protest ban” man,
matagumpay pa ring nailunsad ang welga ng mga
manggagawa sa La Tondeña
noong 1975. Libo-libong Pilipino rin ang dumagsa sa kahabaan ng
EDSA noong People Power 1 noong
Pebrero 1986 kung kailan tuluyang
napatalsik sa pwesto si Marcos.
“Nang nakita ko sa TV na nagtatawag sila na magrally sa EDSA,
naglakad [na] kami papunta roon,”
ani Mang Allan, isang security
guard.
Labing-anim na taon na ang lumipas, limang pangulo na ang nagdaan, ngunit hindi maikakailang
nananatili pa rin ang marami sa
mga kondisyong nagpahirap sa mga
Pilipino.
Patuloy pa rin ang pangingibang
bansa ng maraming Pilipino —
umabot na sa 2.2 milyon ang OFW
noong Setyembre 2011, ayon sa
tala ng National Statistics Office.
Walang pambansang industriya
ang Pilipinas, at malaki pa rin ang
utang panlabas ng bansa. Dulot nito,
inaangkop pa rin ng pamahalaan ang mga kondisyon ng mga lending
institution, tulad ng
pagbaba ng badyet sa
mga serbisyong panlipunan, ayon sa IBON
Foundation.
“Wala namang pagbabago kay Noynoy ngayon.
Lahat [ng presyo ng mga bilihin],
nagmamahal,” ani Aling Celia, 62,
manininda ng banana cue.
Higit tatlong dekada matapos
mapatalsik ang rehimeng Marcos,
laganap pa rin ang kahirapan sa
bansa. Nananatili pa rin ang mga
batayang suliranin ng lipunang
malulunasan lamang sa patuloy na
paglaban ng mamamayan.
WHEN FORMER FIR
ST LADY ing in the
violent eviction of urban
Imelda Marcos famous
flow of foreign capital
ly foretold squatters
and exces- inefficien
in large numbers. In one
that her name would
cy of cash dole-outs in
someday be instance,
sive government spendi
she
ng. Wages resolving
even had large paintlisted in the dictionar
poverty in many couny to denote ed walls
were frozen and labor un
erected around commu
ions were tries like Me
“ostentatious extravaga
ni- clamped down to
xico.
nce,” what ties in dep
make the domesressed areas to concea
she probably had in mi
Even in its budget for
l tic business environm
nd was her poverty
educaent attractive tion, the
from the gaze of foreig
vast and famed collectio
government’s penchant
n to foreign investors
n of shoes, dignitaries
.
vis
iting the country.
jewelry, and couture gow
for misguided spending
Almost half a centur
ns. Hers
is nothStyling herself as pat
y hence, ing less tha
was the oft-quoted ma
roness of though the
n evident. While the
xim which the arts,
Ste
el
Bu
tte
rfly
Ime
’s
lda
physi- administratio
proclaims that the onl
also went on to cal
n does not hesitate
y things
facades of “beauty” and
commission multimillio
“order” to pour funds
worthy of our aspira
n- no longer domina
into the implementions
te
the
dol
lan
lar
dare “the true, the good,
complexes, such as sca
tation of the K-12 policy
and
pe, the present govern
,
the Cultural Center of
the beautiful.”
more urgent priorities,
ment’s own political
and
the Philippines and the
Yet her idea of how
such as the shortage
economic agenda
are
Manila Film Center, at
these must be realized
of teachers and faneither less deceptive nor
is
a
time when poverty
apparent, not only in
cilities, are banished
her
less extravagant.
was widespread. From
opulent displays of we
to the margins of the
alth,
While
gov
ern
me
nt
a
pov
but also, and perhaps
erty level of 24 pergovernment’s bluefunding for basic soc
more
cent in 1974, the propor
ial
notably so, in the many
- services fall below
print of “progress.”
vanity protio
the
n
of
lev
peo
els
ple living below the
jects she and her husban
Yet history has demneeded for the operation
d so enthu- poverty line
s of pubin the cities alone had
siastically pursued thr
onstrated that the potenc
oughout her risen to
lic institutions, the
y of
government manufac
40 percent by 1986.
family’s 21 years in pow
tured realities, howeve
simultaneously wastes
er.
These glitzy initiatives
r
mi
llio
ns
Appointed as both Go
of
“tru
e,” “good,” and “beautifu
under- pesos on pro
vernor of scored her
l”
gra
the
ms
y
wh
ich
see
hus
Metropolitan Manila and
m to may appear, can
band’s dire need foll
never truly isoow Imelda’s skewed ide
Minister to enforce
a of what late the peo
a semblance of order,
of Human Settlement
ple from their own
constitutes public servic
during the stability,
and
e.
pro
Martial Law years, Ime
gress. While the
harsh material condit
lda spear- country reg
In the proposed nation
ions. And
al budget as the nar
istered positive nomiheaded the construction
ratives of Martial Law
for 2013 alone, the
of several nal econom
gov
ern
ic
me
“beautification campai
growth rates durnt have shown, fals
gns,” which ing Martia
plans to further increa
e facades and
se funding oppressiv
l Law, the boom did not
translated into makeshift
e structures can never
for its Conditional Cas
and sub- translate to
h Transfer avail aga
real, grassroots terms
standard housing projec
inst the people’s strugg
program, despite both loc
ts, result- and was
le
due mostly to an ove
al and in- for truth and
r- ternational studie
social justice.
s which prove the
MADALAS IPAGMALAKI NG MGA
tagasuporta ni dating Pangulong
Ferdinand Marcos ang pag-unlad
na kanya umanong naidulot sa kabuhayan ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino. Kung hindi raw napatalsik ang
dating pangulo, ani Senador Bongbong Marcos, malamang kahanay
na ang Pilipinas ng mauunlad na
bansang gaya ng Singapore.
Ngunit kung susuriing mabuti
ang yugtong iyon ng kasaysayan, hindi maitatangging
isa iyon sa mga panahong
sukdulang
naisadlak
sa kahirapan ang mga
mamamayan.
Nang ipatupad ni Marcos ang Batas Militar noong
Setyembre 21, 1972, hindi
agarang naramdaman ni Juan dela
Cruz ang pagkalugmok. “Mas mabenta noon, tsaka mas mura ang
bilihin,” ani Aling Flora, isang tindera ng mani.
Bilang bahagi ng pagtataguyod ni
Marcos ng “Bagong Lipunan,” sinimulan niya ang mga proyektong
pang-ekonomiya na nagdulot sa
pagtaas ng Gross National Product
(GNP) ng bansa. Kabilang sa mga
proyektong ito ang Masagana 99,
na naglayong maparami ang ani ng
Forty years after the declaration
of martial law, the conditions that
prompted journalists to break from
the norm and establish the alternative press still prevails.
Akin to the Martial Law era, journalism in the Philippines nowadays
is still a deadly profession. “People
who exercise their free speech are
not only suppressed but also killed,”
says Ilagan. Under President Benigno Aquino III’s term alone, six
journalists and media practitioners
have been killed.
Also, major media companies are still owned
by the individuals, including the Lopezes of
ABS-CBN, who regained
control of the media
company under Corazon
Aquino’s presidency.
“The powerful still own the major media companies. Of course,
they would further their own selfinterest. Even if it meant downplaying or exaggerating facts,” says
Ocampo.
As the mainstream media continue to present a lopsided view of
society, there remains a need for
the press to provide space for the
marginalized sectors of society and
be a primary driving force in instigating societal change.
are very significant. [They] express
the demands of the students as well
as those of the entire people for national independence, democracy, development, social justice and world
peace,” paliwanag ni Sison.
“Sinasabi ng mga kritiko na passé
na daw ang aktibismo ngunit hindi
nila nakikita na kailangang bumalik
sa historikal na ugat nito – ang [tunggalian sa lipunan],” ani Ocampo.
Para sa mga beteranong
aktibista ng Batas Militar,
kinakailangang magpatuloy ng kabataan sa paggiit
ng kanilang karapatan, lalo
na sa harap ng tumitinding
krisis sa sektor ng edukasyon. “Ang maipapayo ko [sa mga
iskolar ng bayan] ay to always persist in the struggle,” ani Taguiwalo.
Hindi maikakailang malaki ang
papel ng kabataan sa paghubog ng
kasaysayan, lalo na sa paglaban at
pagpapatalsik sa rehimeng Marcos.
Baon ang mga aral ng aktibismo
mula sa panahon ng Batas Militar,
nararapat magpatuloy sa pagkilos
ang kabataan at maging mapanuri
sa mga umiiral na tunggalian
sa lipunan.
ing priorities; that torture and other
forms of state violence proliferated
to gag critics.
Some of the renowned dissidents of the period include the Mr.
and Ms. Magazine, which published
political news mixed along articles
in their society page; the Philippine
Collegian, which continued to publish guerilla-style after being shut
down by the regime; and the We
Forum, whose columnists included
human rights lawyer Jose Diokno.
However, the government
was quick to pounce upon
these pockets of dissent.
Hordes of journalists
were arrested and tortured without warrant,
just for publishing materials critical of the regime.
In 1982, We Forum’s typewriters and printing press were
confiscated by authorities and its
writers were detained for writing
“subversive materials.”
“I was a victim. During the suspension of We Forum, all of us
went into hiding. I was caught
and detained for more than two
months and lived long afterwards,”
recounts Ocampo. “Some, however,
are not so lucky. Collegian Editorin-Chief Ditto Sarmiento died of
asthma which was aggravated by
his incarceration,” Ocampo adds.
Sa deklarasyon ng Batas Militar,
nanahimik ang buong lansangan.
Ngunit pinagdadampot ng militar
ang maraming aktibista.
“Dalawang beses akong nahuli…
pinaupo ako sa yelo, at binuhusan ng
tubig sa ilong bilang water cure,” ani
Prof. Judy Taguiwalo, detenidong pulitikal noong Batas Militar.
Hindi bababa sa halos 70,000 ang
nabilanggo, 34,000 ang tinortyur at 3,240 ang pinatay
noong Batas Militar,
ayon sa grupong Amnesty International.
Sa pagbagsak ng
rehimeng
Marcos,
nakalaya ang ilan sa
mga nakulong, samantalang marami ang hindi na
kailanman natagpuan. Ang ilan ay
nanumbalik sa normal na buhay,
samantalang may ilan ding piniling ipagpatuloy ang pakikibaka sa
kanayunan.
Ayon kina Sison, Ocampo at Taguiwalo, kahit apat na dekada na ang
nakalipas matapos ipataw ang Batas
Militar, nananatili pa rin ang mga
kondisyong nagpakilos sa sektor ng
kabataan. “[Student movements]
image even if it meant conjuring illusions of progress.
“In those days, the mainstream
media were filled with either government propaganda or entertainment [to calm the masses],” says
activist playwright Bonifacio Ilagan.
While the crony press continued
to weave government propaganda,
a small portion of the press, composed of campus publications and
newspapers with relatively smaller
circulation, banded together and
formed what will go down in
history as the “mosquito
press” – relatively smaller in reach, yet able to
publish stinging articles
against the regime.
“We didn’t like this
monopoly of information. Knowing that there was
another unreported side to every
story, we decided to tell our side
of the story,” says then-columnist
of anti-dictatorship newspaper Pahayagang Malaya Satur Ocampo.
Despite the looming danger of
imprisonment and torture, the
mosquito press presented the
grimes of the Martial Law period,
reporting news that was absent in
the mainstream media – that majority of Filipinos lived below the
poverty line; that people were not
happy of the curfews, agrarian policies, and the government’s spend-
ma ang 80 mga estudyante at guro
ng UP, ang demokratikong organisasyong Kabataang Makabayan (KM)
na nanawagan para sa malawakang
pagbabagong panlipunan. Sa loob
ng isang taon, halos 25,000 ang napakilos ng KM sa mga protesta laban
sa mga kasunduang Laurel-Langley
Agreement at US Military Bases
Agreement.
Muling nasubok ang lakas ng kilusang kabataan noong dekada
‘70s. Nang tumaas ng tatlong
sentimos ang presyo ng
langis, halos 50,000 estudyante ang nagprotesta
sa unang tatlong buwan ng
1970, na kinilala bilang First
Quarter Storm (FQS).
Bunsod ng FQS, higit pang lumakas ang kilusang kabataan. “Naging frequent ang mga discussion
groups [sa UP] tungkol sa problema
ng Philippine society,” ani Satur Ocampo, isa sa mga lider-estudyante
ng panahong iyon.
Naging isa sa mga pangunahing
dahilan ni Marcos ang papalakas na
kilusang kabataan, kasama ang iba
pang sektor ng lipunan, sa pagpapatupad ng Batas Militar.
NO OTHER PERIOD IN PHILIPPINE
history reveals the polarized
nature of media outfits more clearly
than the Martial Law era.
During this period, Filipinos
witnessed the stark contrast
between state-controlled media –
which portrayed massive development and progress brought about
by the Marcos dictatorship, and the
grim picture painted by the underground alternative press.
Immediately after declaring
Martial Law, President Ferdinand Marcos swiftly
moved to silence the
opposition. His first letter of instruction under
martial rule ordered
for the sequestration of
all radio, television and
newspaper outlets. A month
later, Marcos released Presidential
Decree No. 33 which led to the imprisonment of people the regime
tagged as “subversives,” including
known media critics.
Most media institutions fell into
the hands of known Marcos cronies, including Gilberto Duavit and
Roberto Benedicto, who together
owned most local TV channels and
the Philippine Daily Express, the
only nationally-distributed newspaper during that time.
The state-controlled media
sought to build the dictatorship’s
BAGO PA MAN TUMUNTONG SA
UP ang marami sa mga iskolar ng
bayan, mahigpit na ang tagubilin
ng kanilang mga magulang na huwag maging aktibista. Ngunit kung
matamang babalikan ang kasaysayan
ng aktibismo sa pamantasan, hindi
maikakaila ang malaking papel na
ginampanan nito sa paghubog ng UP
at ng lipunan.
Ilang taon pa lamang ang
nakararaan matapos itatag
ang UP, sumibol na ang
progresibong
kamalayan sa pamantasan.
Mula 1917 hanggang
dekada ‘50s, naging
matalas na kritiko ang
mga mag-aaral ng UP ng
mga patakarang sumusupil
sa soberanya ng bansa.
Sa pagpasok ng dekada ‘60s, binuo
ng dating propesor sa literatura na si
Jose Maria Sison ang progresibong
organisasyon na Student Cultural
Association of the UP (SCAUP).
Sinimulan ng SCAUP ang mga
diskusyon sa mga cafeteria at silidaklatan ng UP hinggil sa kalagayan
ng lipunang Pilipino.
Kinalaunan, binuo ni Sison, kasa-
n M
alc
olm
S. A
nia
g
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
LATHALAIN
za
co
L
victor imon
VANITY FAIR
i
Glo
Pla
n
me
LA
NG NDA
PA S
GB
AB
AL
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AS
Joh
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Batas ng pag-aklas Mga hinangong aral sa ika-40 taon ng Batas Militar
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
LATHALAIN
mga magsasaka. Pagdating ng 1978,
sapat na ang produksyon ng palay
para sa pangangailangan ng bansa.
Mula 1973 hanggang 1979, pumalo sa 6 porsyento ang taunang
GNP growth rate ng Pilipinas. Tumaas ng 5 porsyento taun-taon
ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong may
trabaho mula 1972 hanggang 1977.
Upang maipagpatuloy ang paglakas ng ekonomiya, nangutang ang
Pilipinas sa iba’t ibang lending institution.
Unti-unting
rumupok ang ekonomiyang Marcos na nakasandig sa pautang ng
dayuhan, batbat ng korupsyon, at pinaiinog ng
mga kaibigan o mga “crony”
ng pangulo. Noong 1984, umabot
sa 46.7 porsyento ang antas ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin—ang
pinakamataas na naitalang inflation rate mula 1980 hanggang 2010,
ayon sa International Monetary
Fund. Mahigit 2.5 milyong Pilipino
rin ang nawalan ng trabaho noong
1985, ayon sa IBON Foundation.
Bilang solusyon sa malawakang
kahirapan, itinulak ni Marcos ang
mga Pilipino na mangibang-bayan.
Tumaas ang bilang ng OFW mula sa
36,029 noong 1975 tungong 372,784
noong 1985. Nagbigay din si Marcos
ng mga insentibo sa mga dayuhang
mamumuhunan, gaya ng pagbaba
ng taripa para sa banyagang kalakalan. Sa halip na makabuti, naging
dahilan pa ito upang lalong humina ang mga lokal na industriya sa
bansa.
Bagaman kilala sa kanilang
pagiging matiisin, nakita ng
mga Pilipino ang pangangailangang magbalikwas
sa pamumuno ni Marcos.
May “protest ban” man,
matagumpay pa ring nailunsad ang welga ng mga
manggagawa sa La Tondeña
noong 1975. Libo-libong Pilipino rin ang dumagsa sa kahabaan ng
EDSA noong People Power 1 noong
Pebrero 1986 kung kailan tuluyang
napatalsik sa pwesto si Marcos.
“Nang nakita ko sa TV na nagtatawag sila na magrally sa EDSA,
naglakad [na] kami papunta roon,”
ani Mang Allan, isang security
guard.
Labing-anim na taon na ang lumipas, limang pangulo na ang nagdaan, ngunit hindi maikakailang
nananatili pa rin ang marami sa
mga kondisyong nagpahirap sa mga
Pilipino.
Patuloy pa rin ang pangingibang
bansa ng maraming Pilipino —
umabot na sa 2.2 milyon ang OFW
noong Setyembre 2011, ayon sa
tala ng National Statistics Office.
Walang pambansang industriya
ang Pilipinas, at malaki pa rin ang
utang panlabas ng bansa. Dulot nito,
inaangkop pa rin ng pamahalaan ang mga kondisyon ng mga lending
institution, tulad ng
pagbaba ng badyet sa
mga serbisyong panlipunan, ayon sa IBON
Foundation.
“Wala namang pagbabago kay Noynoy ngayon.
Lahat [ng presyo ng mga bilihin],
nagmamahal,” ani Aling Celia, 62,
manininda ng banana cue.
Higit tatlong dekada matapos
mapatalsik ang rehimeng Marcos,
laganap pa rin ang kahirapan sa
bansa. Nananatili pa rin ang mga
batayang suliranin ng lipunang
malulunasan lamang sa patuloy na
paglaban ng mamamayan.
WHEN FORMER FIR
ST LADY ing in the
violent eviction of urban
Imelda Marcos famous
flow of foreign capital
ly foretold squatters
and exces- inefficien
in large numbers. In one
that her name would
cy of cash dole-outs in
someday be instance,
sive government spendi
she
ng. Wages resolving
even had large paintlisted in the dictionar
poverty in many couny to denote ed walls
were frozen and labor un
erected around commu
ions were tries like Me
“ostentatious extravaga
ni- clamped down to
xico.
nce,” what ties in dep
make the domesressed areas to concea
she probably had in mi
Even in its budget for
l tic business environm
nd was her poverty
educaent attractive tion, the
from the gaze of foreig
vast and famed collectio
government’s penchant
n to foreign investors
n of shoes, dignitaries
.
vis
iting the country.
jewelry, and couture gow
for misguided spending
Almost half a centur
ns. Hers
is nothStyling herself as pat
y hence, ing less tha
was the oft-quoted ma
roness of though the
n evident. While the
xim which the arts,
Ste
el
Bu
tte
rfly
Ime
’s
lda
physi- administratio
proclaims that the onl
also went on to cal
n does not hesitate
y things
facades of “beauty” and
commission multimillio
“order” to pour funds
worthy of our aspira
n- no longer domina
into the implementions
te
the
dol
lan
lar
dare “the true, the good,
complexes, such as sca
tation of the K-12 policy
and
pe, the present govern
,
the Cultural Center of
the beautiful.”
more urgent priorities,
ment’s own political
and
the Philippines and the
Yet her idea of how
such as the shortage
economic agenda
are
Manila Film Center, at
these must be realized
of teachers and faneither less deceptive nor
is
a
time when poverty
apparent, not only in
cilities, are banished
her
less extravagant.
was widespread. From
opulent displays of we
to the margins of the
alth,
While
gov
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me
nt
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pov
but also, and perhaps
erty level of 24 pergovernment’s bluefunding for basic soc
more
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notably so, in the many
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print of “progress.”
vanity protio
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ple living below the
jects she and her husban
Yet history has demneeded for the operation
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onstrated that the potenc
oughout her risen to
lic institutions, the
y of
government manufac
40 percent by 1986.
family’s 21 years in pow
tured realities, howeve
simultaneously wastes
er.
These glitzy initiatives
r
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Appointed as both Go
of
“tru
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under- pesos on pro
vernor of scored her
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gra
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ich
see
hus
Metropolitan Manila and
m to may appear, can
band’s dire need foll
never truly isoow Imelda’s skewed ide
Minister to enforce
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a semblance of order,
of Human Settlement
ple from their own
constitutes public servic
during the stability,
and
e.
pro
Martial Law years, Ime
gress. While the
harsh material condit
lda spear- country reg
In the proposed nation
ions. And
al budget as the nar
istered positive nomiheaded the construction
ratives of Martial Law
for 2013 alone, the
of several nal econom
gov
ern
ic
me
“beautification campai
growth rates durnt have shown, fals
gns,” which ing Martia
plans to further increa
e facades and
se funding oppressiv
l Law, the boom did not
translated into makeshift
e structures can never
for its Conditional Cas
and sub- translate to
h Transfer avail aga
real, grassroots terms
standard housing projec
inst the people’s strugg
program, despite both loc
ts, result- and was
le
due mostly to an ove
al and in- for truth and
r- ternational studie
social justice.
s which prove the
MADALAS IPAGMALAKI NG MGA
tagasuporta ni dating Pangulong
Ferdinand Marcos ang pag-unlad
na kanya umanong naidulot sa kabuhayan ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino. Kung hindi raw napatalsik ang
dating pangulo, ani Senador Bongbong Marcos, malamang kahanay
na ang Pilipinas ng mauunlad na
bansang gaya ng Singapore.
Ngunit kung susuriing mabuti
ang yugtong iyon ng kasaysayan, hindi maitatangging
isa iyon sa mga panahong
sukdulang
naisadlak
sa kahirapan ang mga
mamamayan.
Nang ipatupad ni Marcos ang Batas Militar noong
Setyembre 21, 1972, hindi
agarang naramdaman ni Juan dela
Cruz ang pagkalugmok. “Mas mabenta noon, tsaka mas mura ang
bilihin,” ani Aling Flora, isang tindera ng mani.
Bilang bahagi ng pagtataguyod ni
Marcos ng “Bagong Lipunan,” sinimulan niya ang mga proyektong
pang-ekonomiya na nagdulot sa
pagtaas ng Gross National Product
(GNP) ng bansa. Kabilang sa mga
proyektong ito ang Masagana 99,
na naglayong maparami ang ani ng
Forty years after the declaration
of martial law, the conditions that
prompted journalists to break from
the norm and establish the alternative press still prevails.
Akin to the Martial Law era, journalism in the Philippines nowadays
is still a deadly profession. “People
who exercise their free speech are
not only suppressed but also killed,”
says Ilagan. Under President Benigno Aquino III’s term alone, six
journalists and media practitioners
have been killed.
Also, major media companies are still owned
by the individuals, including the Lopezes of
ABS-CBN, who regained
control of the media
company under Corazon
Aquino’s presidency.
“The powerful still own the major media companies. Of course,
they would further their own selfinterest. Even if it meant downplaying or exaggerating facts,” says
Ocampo.
As the mainstream media continue to present a lopsided view of
society, there remains a need for
the press to provide space for the
marginalized sectors of society and
be a primary driving force in instigating societal change.
are very significant. [They] express
the demands of the students as well
as those of the entire people for national independence, democracy, development, social justice and world
peace,” paliwanag ni Sison.
“Sinasabi ng mga kritiko na passé
na daw ang aktibismo ngunit hindi
nila nakikita na kailangang bumalik
sa historikal na ugat nito – ang [tunggalian sa lipunan],” ani Ocampo.
Para sa mga beteranong
aktibista ng Batas Militar,
kinakailangang magpatuloy ng kabataan sa paggiit
ng kanilang karapatan, lalo
na sa harap ng tumitinding
krisis sa sektor ng edukasyon. “Ang maipapayo ko [sa mga
iskolar ng bayan] ay to always persist in the struggle,” ani Taguiwalo.
Hindi maikakailang malaki ang
papel ng kabataan sa paghubog ng
kasaysayan, lalo na sa paglaban at
pagpapatalsik sa rehimeng Marcos.
Baon ang mga aral ng aktibismo
mula sa panahon ng Batas Militar,
nararapat magpatuloy sa pagkilos
ang kabataan at maging mapanuri
sa mga umiiral na tunggalian
sa lipunan.
ing priorities; that torture and other
forms of state violence proliferated
to gag critics.
Some of the renowned dissidents of the period include the Mr.
and Ms. Magazine, which published
political news mixed along articles
in their society page; the Philippine
Collegian, which continued to publish guerilla-style after being shut
down by the regime; and the We
Forum, whose columnists included
human rights lawyer Jose Diokno.
However, the government
was quick to pounce upon
these pockets of dissent.
Hordes of journalists
were arrested and tortured without warrant,
just for publishing materials critical of the regime.
In 1982, We Forum’s typewriters and printing press were
confiscated by authorities and its
writers were detained for writing
“subversive materials.”
“I was a victim. During the suspension of We Forum, all of us
went into hiding. I was caught
and detained for more than two
months and lived long afterwards,”
recounts Ocampo. “Some, however,
are not so lucky. Collegian Editorin-Chief Ditto Sarmiento died of
asthma which was aggravated by
his incarceration,” Ocampo adds.
Sa deklarasyon ng Batas Militar,
nanahimik ang buong lansangan.
Ngunit pinagdadampot ng militar
ang maraming aktibista.
“Dalawang beses akong nahuli…
pinaupo ako sa yelo, at binuhusan ng
tubig sa ilong bilang water cure,” ani
Prof. Judy Taguiwalo, detenidong pulitikal noong Batas Militar.
Hindi bababa sa halos 70,000 ang
nabilanggo, 34,000 ang tinortyur at 3,240 ang pinatay
noong Batas Militar,
ayon sa grupong Amnesty International.
Sa pagbagsak ng
rehimeng
Marcos,
nakalaya ang ilan sa
mga nakulong, samantalang marami ang hindi na
kailanman natagpuan. Ang ilan ay
nanumbalik sa normal na buhay,
samantalang may ilan ding piniling ipagpatuloy ang pakikibaka sa
kanayunan.
Ayon kina Sison, Ocampo at Taguiwalo, kahit apat na dekada na ang
nakalipas matapos ipataw ang Batas
Militar, nananatili pa rin ang mga
kondisyong nagpakilos sa sektor ng
kabataan. “[Student movements]
image even if it meant conjuring illusions of progress.
“In those days, the mainstream
media were filled with either government propaganda or entertainment [to calm the masses],” says
activist playwright Bonifacio Ilagan.
While the crony press continued
to weave government propaganda,
a small portion of the press, composed of campus publications and
newspapers with relatively smaller
circulation, banded together and
formed what will go down in
history as the “mosquito
press” – relatively smaller in reach, yet able to
publish stinging articles
against the regime.
“We didn’t like this
monopoly of information. Knowing that there was
another unreported side to every
story, we decided to tell our side
of the story,” says then-columnist
of anti-dictatorship newspaper Pahayagang Malaya Satur Ocampo.
Despite the looming danger of
imprisonment and torture, the
mosquito press presented the
grimes of the Martial Law period,
reporting news that was absent in
the mainstream media – that majority of Filipinos lived below the
poverty line; that people were not
happy of the curfews, agrarian policies, and the government’s spend-
ma ang 80 mga estudyante at guro
ng UP, ang demokratikong organisasyong Kabataang Makabayan (KM)
na nanawagan para sa malawakang
pagbabagong panlipunan. Sa loob
ng isang taon, halos 25,000 ang napakilos ng KM sa mga protesta laban
sa mga kasunduang Laurel-Langley
Agreement at US Military Bases
Agreement.
Muling nasubok ang lakas ng kilusang kabataan noong dekada
‘70s. Nang tumaas ng tatlong
sentimos ang presyo ng
langis, halos 50,000 estudyante ang nagprotesta
sa unang tatlong buwan ng
1970, na kinilala bilang First
Quarter Storm (FQS).
Bunsod ng FQS, higit pang lumakas ang kilusang kabataan. “Naging frequent ang mga discussion
groups [sa UP] tungkol sa problema
ng Philippine society,” ani Satur Ocampo, isa sa mga lider-estudyante
ng panahong iyon.
Naging isa sa mga pangunahing
dahilan ni Marcos ang papalakas na
kilusang kabataan, kasama ang iba
pang sektor ng lipunan, sa pagpapatupad ng Batas Militar.
NO OTHER PERIOD IN PHILIPPINE
history reveals the polarized
nature of media outfits more clearly
than the Martial Law era.
During this period, Filipinos
witnessed the stark contrast
between state-controlled media –
which portrayed massive development and progress brought about
by the Marcos dictatorship, and the
grim picture painted by the underground alternative press.
Immediately after declaring
Martial Law, President Ferdinand Marcos swiftly
moved to silence the
opposition. His first letter of instruction under
martial rule ordered
for the sequestration of
all radio, television and
newspaper outlets. A month
later, Marcos released Presidential
Decree No. 33 which led to the imprisonment of people the regime
tagged as “subversives,” including
known media critics.
Most media institutions fell into
the hands of known Marcos cronies, including Gilberto Duavit and
Roberto Benedicto, who together
owned most local TV channels and
the Philippine Daily Express, the
only nationally-distributed newspaper during that time.
The state-controlled media
sought to build the dictatorship’s
BAGO PA MAN TUMUNTONG SA
UP ang marami sa mga iskolar ng
bayan, mahigpit na ang tagubilin
ng kanilang mga magulang na huwag maging aktibista. Ngunit kung
matamang babalikan ang kasaysayan
ng aktibismo sa pamantasan, hindi
maikakaila ang malaking papel na
ginampanan nito sa paghubog ng UP
at ng lipunan.
Ilang taon pa lamang ang
nakararaan matapos itatag
ang UP, sumibol na ang
progresibong
kamalayan sa pamantasan.
Mula 1917 hanggang
dekada ‘50s, naging
matalas na kritiko ang
mga mag-aaral ng UP ng
mga patakarang sumusupil
sa soberanya ng bansa.
Sa pagpasok ng dekada ‘60s, binuo
ng dating propesor sa literatura na si
Jose Maria Sison ang progresibong
organisasyon na Student Cultural
Association of the UP (SCAUP).
Sinimulan ng SCAUP ang mga
diskusyon sa mga cafeteria at silidaklatan ng UP hinggil sa kalagayan
ng lipunang Pilipino.
Kinalaunan, binuo ni Sison, kasa-
n M
alc
olm
S. A
nia
g
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
LATHALAIN
za
co
L
victor imon
VANITY FAIR
i
Glo
Pla
n
me
LA
NG NDA
PA S
GB
AB
AL
IKW
AS
Joh
R E
E
D UR
N
U SS
E
R
P
BA
LIK
-AR
AL
Batas ng pag-aklas Mga hinangong aral sa ika-40 taon ng Batas Militar
Re-imagining
departures
and arrivals
Niles Jordan Breis
KULTURA
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
CONSIDER THIS AS A SPOILER
but so be it: Luna Sicat’s Mga
Prodigal (Anvil, 2010) is not
your usual piece on the plight of
OFWs. It is partly a fallacy also to
delimit it is as a mere addition to
Philippine Literature’s long tradition of social realism.
Well, she has been known for
works both passionate and profound even prior to the novel at
hand. There is no room for mediocrity for her as opposed to, say,
some contemporaries who seem
to have no choice but to accept
this maxim: one cannot give what
one does not have.
Sicat, on the contrary, has a
lot to offer—as a writer who is
in control of her own modes of
seeing. Which brings us exactly
to what the Mga Prodigal seeks
to achieve, primarily in terms of
craftsmanship. Here, she is at her
element, wielding her power to
the hilt. And, unwittingly, redefining her sense of territoriality: the
book itself can separate the chaff
from the grain; the less talented
fictionists might end up as plain
campus writers. Adults but, still,
campus writers.
Such big words, one might
think yet the novel can speak
for itself through some of its intrinsic merits, notably, the para-omnipresent point-of-view,
ever-shifting narrative, flexible
diction, and the seemingly dry
tonalities—all within the deliberate technique to reveal the neartragic motif, with much ease.
Sicat’s use of history as the
pervading continuity tool is a
given—the most obvious thing
in her book. What makes it a cut
above the rest is this: history being treated as the confluence of
public events and private lives,
and all things in between such as
the idioms of violence, the dialects of tenderness. Significantly,
it explores the notion of prodigus
in full circle as she re-imagines
departures and arrivals. Or arrivals and departures and at the
core of OFWs-related domestic
dilemmas and within the temporal bounds of a nation and its history, politics, and culture.
Sicat’s understanding of the
prodigus is beyond the domain of
time as wasted entity. In chapter
29 of the novel, a sublimely written scene provides the link between real struggles: the guerilla
movement and the national democratic stance. Here, the prodigus
assumes the infinity of fire as
time eternal. The author appears
to admit that one of her tasks as
a writer is “to remember” though
some readers may not agree with
the book’s political undertones.
Simply put, Mga Prodigal is a
highly nuanced work, replete with
dazzling details and folk/urban
symbolisms or correlatives. And
it is unapologetic for being so.
Pardon the comparison but
Sicat’s recent work is arguably on
What makes it a cut
above the rest is
this: history being
treated as the
confluence of
public events and
private lives, and all
things in between
such as the
idioms of violence,
the dialects of
tenderness.
a par with Kiran
Desai’s The
Inheritance of Loss, 2006 Man
Booker Prize winner. Both novels
streak through a reader’s ken by
way of almost similar thematic
configurations. The glaring fact:
the political may be viewed as
personal and vice-versa.
One downside perhaps of Mga
Prodigal is the author’s self-conscious effort for layered meanings. This is too pronounced but
negligible, if only because such
scheme works for the novel. It
even heightens, relatively, the
subtler disclosures of her places,
characters, and yes, interior voices: from Dubai and back and the
circle that follows suit, through
leave-takings and homecoming(s)
and all the “deserts” that are central to the story.
It is hard, indeed, to ignore Mga
Prodigal, a strikingly brave and
brilliant novel by, simply, one
of the best writers working in
Filipino today.
ASPIRING WRITERS FLOCK YEARLY FOR THE CARLOS PALANCA MEMORIAL AWARDS
FOR LITERATURE WITH THE MINDSET THAT THE PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WOULD
SKYROCKET THEM TO HEIGHTS OF BEING A “FILIPINO WRITER.”
ARCELLANA. JOAQUIN. BRILLANTES.
ALFON. HERNANDEZ.
Sometimes, a catalogue of
proper names can speak volumes.
These names were of a handful of
celebrated writers whose literary
careers were baptized by the
Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards
for Literature.
Having been known to consecutively
discover new literary voices in
generations of Filipino writers,
the Palanca has become a rite of
passage—an initiation—for every
aspiring writer who struggle for his
own seat in the “legitimate” literary
circle. Last September 1, another
roster of fresh writers has been
initiated into this exclusive crowd.
First draft
The Carlos Palanca Memorial
Awards for Literature began in
1950 as commemoration for
businessman-philanthropist Don
Carlos Palanca Sr.’s contribution to
education. Since then, the Palanca
awards have discovered literary
giants such as Francisco Arcellana,
Edith L. Tiempo, N.V.M. Gonzales,
Nick Joaquin, Gilda Cordero
Fernando, Gregorio Brillantes, Amado
V. Hernandez, and Jose Dalisay, Jr.
At the end of World War II, the
competition opened and accepted
manuscripts in the Short Story
Category in both English and
Filipino. Although the Philippines
was already independent by
decree, it was still culturally
dependent to its previous colonizer
as seen through the use of English
in educational and governmental
functions.
The Palanca Awards during this
period played a big role in the development of Philippine literature
in English. For global competence,
university students were made
proficient in English which at that
time was considered the language
of the educated. Despite this, the
Palanca opened a Filipino category
alongside the English category in
an attempt to preserve Philippine
literature in Filipino.
As time passed, new categories
such as novel, poetry, and screenplay
were opened. Today, the Palanca
accepts manuscripts written in
Filipino, English, and regional
languages. Every year, the constant
number of people participating
in the competition is proof of the
competition’s success in developing
Philippine literature.
“The Palancas were the only
game in town. In other words, there
was nothing to publish for. The only
thing that kept us writing was
the Palanca. Nung panahon ng Batas
Militar, ‘yan ang bumuhay sa panitikan
natin,” Jose Dalisay, Jr. says.
The Palanca awards have served
as the Spartan training ground for
famous Filipino writers. As such,
many aspiring writers believe that
winning a Palanca automatically
lends them a literary pedigree and
legitimizes their stand as writers.
After all, the Palanca awards have
invariably become a tool to canonize
both literary works and its authors.
Revisions
The existence of the Palanca
Awards has heightened the ongoing
clash between two predominant
kinds of Philippine literature: the
canonical versus the popular.
While the Palanca has unveiled
its latest batch of winners this
month, popular authors such
as Bob Ong or comic artist
Manix Abrera have little chances of
getting into this esteemed literary
circle. Despite outselling many canon
writers, these popular authors
do not fulfill the requirements of
the Palanca Awards with a
rigorously defined standard in
literary technicalities.
“All art is elitist,” explains Dalisay.
“Yes, even if it’s meant for popular
audiences, a work is still produced
by a specialist in that art.”
Upon winning a Palanca, it hardly
matters whether one receives
the first, second, or third prize.
Whatever place a writer wins,
he is still considered a Palanca
awardee. The competition serves
as a brand, a seal of approval. The
Palanca stamp on a book cover
acts as a guarantee of the content’s
quality. Any other literary work
that has yet to win a Palanca
is assumed to be substandard.
If the reader feels unimpressed
by the book, he not only questions
the quality of its contents but
casts doubt on the Palanca awards’
established literary history.
“I think contests are always
significant, if only because these
force people to write, to aim for
a complete product,” says writer
Katrina Stuart Santiago. “Is the
Palanca in particular significant to
a career in writing? I don’t think so.
Take it at face value, as a task before
you, and you should be okay. Imagine
it to be a feather in your cap, or
proof positive of your capability,
then you’re in for a real heartbreak
when you lose.”
Moreover, most of Palanca’s
winning pieces focus on social
and historical contexts that
reflect the landscape of Philippine
history and culture. Some works
have been adapted to film such as
Jerry Gracio’s treatment of Lualhati
Bautista’s Palanca-wining novels
Dekada ’70 and Bata, Bata, Paano Ka
Ginawa, both of which tackle gender
and social roles during the Martial
Law. Other Palanca-winning novels
contextualizing Philippine history
that have been published include
Miguel Syjuco’s Ilustrado, and
Vince Groyon’s Sky Over Dimas.
Still, not all the winning entries
of the Palancas are read, staged,
or studied. Since Palanca is an
institution that develops a specialized
form of Philippine literature,
having its literary pieces read only
by a certain few is a sign that this
kind of literature is limited only
among the literati and university
classrooms. The Palanca only gives
writers the recognition. Massive
publication and production requires
a separate funding outside Palanca.
For publication
Most of the winning authors and
judges in the Palanca are Manilabased and university-educated,
sharing the same sensibilities. Even
with the existence of the regional
languages category, Manila-centric
ideas in the Palanca still prevail on
the selection of winners.
Although canon-formation is
inevitable in a society with existing
institutions of education, media,
and power, the people must not
succumb to the assumption that
the Palanca is the only premier
rite of passage for a literary work
to be considered substantial. If
society does surrender to this idea, it
severely limits the scope of
Philippine literature to the Palancas
alone, disregarding good works
published in independent literary
zines and underground publications
without the Palanca brand.
“What I would like the young
writers to understand is that the
Palancas are not the end-all and
be-all of writing,” says Dalisay.
“What we have to think of is what to
do after. Are you going to continue
writing even if there are no prizes?”
Limiting Philippine literature by
the faulty mindset of canonizing
it through the Palanca alone is
unsound. Philippine literature must
reflect the social-cultural milieu
of the country as a whole—flaws
and perfections, secrets hushed by
its cruel realities, and the history
of its people.
KULTURA
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
a
r
r
e
y
t
i
L
ironies
LAKAS TAMA
ONLINE LIBEL
MAY MGA KUMAKALAT NA BALITA
na ang misis ni kuwan ay madaling
makuha, na ang kaligtasa’y madaling
makuha, pagsasaad ng sikat na bandang Eraserheads sa isa nilang kanta.
Kung sasabihin kong totoo ang
mga nababalita tungkol sa asawa
ni kuwan, tiyak na sa korte ang
kahahantungan ko—sasampahan
ng kasong libel at kalauna’y
hahatulan ng pagkakakulong sa
loob ng hindi bababa sa anim na
buwan at isang araw hanggang sa
apat na taon at dalawang buwan.
Sa ilalim ng Article 353 ng
Revised Penal Code of the
Philippines, maituturing na libel
ang anumang paratang, totoo man
o hindi, na maarring makasira sa
reputasyon ng taong pinapatungOPINYON
Miyerkules
19 Setyembre
2012
Libel ang mga
naghuhumiyaw na mga
mamamayan sa Internet
bunsod ng hindi ramdam
na pag-unlad ng bansa
kulan nito. Kung gayon, maituring
lamang na libellous ang isang
paratang sa oras na maisapubliko
ito sa pamamagitan ng pagkakalathala sa pahayagan at iba pang
pamamaraan.
Samantala, sa bagong-lagdang
batas na Republic Act No. 10175
o ang Cybercrime Prevention Act
of 2012, maaari na ring tukuying
libellous ang mga nakikiusong
status sa Facebook o tweet sa
Twitter, at ang mga nakakainsulto
ngunit nakakatawang komento sa
picture ng misis ni kuwan.
Dahil hindi lamang sa pahina
ng Kule nailimbag ang artikulong
ito kundi maging sa opisyal
na website rin ng pahayagan,
kakailanganin ko muling managot
sa ilalim ng Cybercrime Law para
sa parehong kaso ng libel.
Kalabisan ang sabihing mahaharap ako sa dalawang kaso ng libel
para sa iisang artikulo, na nailathala
lamang sa magkaibang midyum.
Gayunpaman,
sapat
lamang
ang kalabisang ito upang maisalarawan kung paanong tinatapaktapakan ng pamahalaan ang karapatan ng kanyang nasasakupan.
Sa isang bansang binansagang demokratiko, nananatiling
criminal offense ang libel at nagagamit na panakot sa mga kritiko ng pamahalaan. Sa ilalim ng
nakaraang administrasyon, halimbawa na lamang, higit sa isang
daang kaso ng libel ang naisampa
ng mga Arroyo sa mga mamamahayag. Wala mang nahatulan sa
mga mamamahayag, hindi maikakailang may takot na nabuo ang
mga isinampang kaso ng libel sa
mga mamamahayag.
Sa bagong batas na nilagdaan
ng Pangulong Benigno Aquino III
noong Setyembre 11, lalo pang
ipinakita ng pamahalaan ang
kawalang pagpapahalaga nito
sa boses ng mga mamamayan.
Libel nang maituturing ang mga
naghuhumiyaw na mga ordinaryong mamamayan sa Internet bunsod ng hindi ramdam na
pag-unlad sa kalagayang pangekonomiko ng bansa.
Malinaw rin sa iba pang
probisyon ng batas sa cybercrime
—ang kapangyarihan ng pamahalaan na ipasara ang mga websites
sa ilang dahilan at subaybayan
ang galaw ng mga mamamayan
sa mundo ng Internet—ang
kagustuhan ng kasalukuyang
administrasyong limitahan ang
kalayaan at karapatan ng taumbayang isulong ang kanilang
pag-unlad.
Priniprisenta ng pamahalaan
ang batas sa cybercrime bilang
tugon sa mga abusong nararanasan ng mga mamamayan sa
birtwal na mundo. Ngunit bago
maniwala, mag-iisip isip ka muna,
marming namamatay sa maling
akala, ayon nga sa Eraserheads.
ON DOCUMENTARIES
AND SWEET MISERY
THERE IS A SCENE IN JEAN PIERRE
Jenuet’s Amelie in which Audrey
Tautou is sitting on her red bed,
in front of her green television,
watching what appears to be an
imaginary documentary about
her own sad, untimely death.
She weeps copiously as the
“documentary” showed footages
of crowds attending the funeral
procession—a poignant tribute to
the noble causes she has supported
in life: feeding the poor, tending
the sick, etc.
We know of course that Amelie
is merely depressed, and this is
her way of “letting it all out.” A few
frames earlier in the film, she is
grating cheese for her dinner pasta
when she stops suddenly, looks
out the window, sees her recluse
neighbour having the same exact
meal she’s preparing, and decides
her fate is sealed.
Why is drowning in misery so
cathartic, so strangely liberating
—that momentary tightening of
the chest as you imagine a quiet
but successful suicide, that splitsecond when your head is clear
and you realize and accept that
you are merely a single speck in
the space-time continuum?
It’s a situation which I’m not
entirely unfamiliar with. Just the
other night, I lay in bed admiring
my bedroom ceiling, dead tired
after having a rough day of making
myself busy with tedious chores
just so I could avoid checking
my phone every few minutes
for a missed call or an unread
text message.
I wanted so much then to see
right away if there were any more
furniture undersides left for me
to dust, dim light bulbs to replace,
or dining table stains to scrub.
But the pull of the alternative is
simply irresistible. I logged in
to this database in my head and
browsed through my collection
of documentaries ingeniously
labelled as “self-pity.”
Why is drowning
in misery so cathartic,
so strangely liberating?
While my own “documentaries”
are nothing like Amelie and
thus do not involve funeral
parades or soup kitchens, I have
a respectable assortment of
miserable self-images, which I
have diligently edited throughout
the years. Of course, they inevitably
became simply a set of disparate
“short films”—of the kind which
appears so dumb that it ultimately
becomes terribly profound. To
match the advanced level of
despair I had at the time, I picked
two of these “short films” and
“played” them in my head.
The first one is set in a rather
expensive restaurant—the waiters
are dressed in tailored suits and
the crystal and silverware looked
real. Nothing really happens,
except I am closely watching two
people seated at the other table.
The other is set in a hospital room
and features a version of me lying
on the bed, afflicted with a rare skin
disease caused by some unknown
strain of virus.
And then my phone beeped
and I scrambled for the wretched
thing in the dark. When I finally
discovered it beneath one of the
pillows, I found out that it was just
an automated alert, reminding
me I have enough reward points
to subscribe to some unlimited
texting promos. I threw the phone
away and went to sleep.
In the morning, as I woke up, I
decided to become a good person
with nice thoughts—at least until
today when I remembered that I
had to write a column. Misery and
Amelie—why not indeed?
When you see
my face, hope it
gives you hell*
MAY TATLONG KUTONGLUPA sa buhay ko ngayon.
At dahil “kahit ano” naman
daw ang pwede kong
isulat sa kolum na ito,
isusuka ko na lang dito ang
lahat ng sama ng loob ko.
Ikaw, L*. Noong una,
pinag-iisipan ko pa kung
saan nag-U turn ang
samahan natin, kung anong
road bump ang pumigil sa ‘yo para
manatili tayong magkaibigan. Dahil ba hindi na tayo
madalas magkita? Dahil ba hindi ko pa binabalik
ang Cambio CD mo? Hindi e. Isang dahilan lang ang
naiisip ko, at kahit iyon, ayaw kong paniwalaan na
magiging ugat ng samaan ng loob natin.
Ikaw na mismo ang nagsabi dati na masyado
akong “expectera.” Sabi mo, masyadong mataas
ang inaasahan ko sa lahat ng bagay. Kaya ako
nagrarali dahil demanding ako sa gobyerno. Kaya kaunti
lang ang kaibigan ko dahil masyadong mataas ang
pamantayan ko sa mga tao.
At sa lagay natin ngayon, mukhang totoo ngang
“expectera” ako. Hindi ko inasahang magiging masyado
kang mababaw, hindi ko mauuwi ka sa pagtataray at
hindi mo ako kakayaning harapin nang diretsahan.
Kaya ngayon, hindi na ako nakikinig sa Cambio—
sayang lang sa brainspace kung pagninilayan ko ang
naupos na samahan natin. Pero kapag nagkita ulit
tayo, hindi kita iiwasan. Mamatay ka sa inis, bahala
ka, wala na akong pakialam.
Pero sa ‘yo, T*, may pakialam ako. May pakaialam
ako kasi kung legal lang ang pumatay, hindi ako
magdadalawang-isip na sugurin ka ng sundang.
Minsan nga, hinihiling ko na sana totoo ang Hunger
Games. Sa oras na matawag ang pangalan mo, anak
ng kurikong, magvo-volunteer agad ako.
Noon pa man, hindi mo na maunawaan ang ibig
sabihin ng salitang “ex.” Ekis ang simbolo ng mga
bawal kasi off-limits ang mga iyon. Kaya “ex” ang
sinesenyas ng braso ni April Boy, kasi hindi niya
kayang tanggapin ang ewan ko, hindi ko alam. Kung
may common sense ka lang, alam mong ang “ex,”
nilalayuan at hindi nilalapitan.
Iniisip ko, kung utak at hindi bayag ang gumagana
sa ‘yo dati, ididildil mo ba ang sarili mo sa “ex” mo
kahit nasa tabi mo lang ako? Mas pipiliin mo pa rin
ba ang busangot na bruhang iyon? Pero napagtanto
ko, ang tunay na tanong pala dapat ay, “Anak ng
alipunga, ba’t nga ba kita pinatulan?”
Kaya tatantanan mo na ako dahil wala akong
panahon sa ‘yo. Sa susunod na lumapit ka sa ‘kin,
ipakukulong na talaga kita at hindi ako nagbibiro.
At bilang panghuli, gusto ko lang magbigay ng
mensahe para sa nagnakaw ng iPod ko. Klepto ka
pala, hindi ko alam.
Alam kong hindi ka naghihirap. Kung pinansya ang
dahilan, sana binenta mo na ang iPod Classic ko at
hindi mo pinangangalandakan bilang bago. Akala mo
siguro hindi ko makilala iyan kapag binalutan mo ng
pink na case. Kung hindi ka naman isa’t kalahating
tanga, tatlong taon ko rin ‘yang inaalagaan at inaruga
kaya kahit nakapikit, kaya ko ‘yang kilalanin.
‘Wag kang mag-alala, hindi ko na sasabihin sa
mundo kung sino ka. Sana lang manlumo ang
kalamnan mo sa tuwing makikita mo ako, kasi para
mo na ring ninakaw ang bahagi ng katawan ko nang
napagdiskitahan mo ang iPod ko.
Hindi na ako hihingi ng paumanhin kung nasayang
ko ang oras ninyo sa pagbabasa ng kolum na ito.
Walang basagan ng trip—may dahilan kung bakit
“Lakas Tama” ang pangalan ng kolum ko.
*pasintabi sa All-American Rejects
Textback
Kung ikaw si Noynoy, anong
bagong posisyon sa gobyerno
ang ibibigay mo kay Rico Puno?
Kung ako si Noynoy, aking ibibigay na bagong posisyon kay Rico
Puno ay ang bonggang bonggang
Investigator General. Hahaha. BS
Computer Science
i think noynoy may put rico
puno in the denr if he wants to be
corny. but apparently, i think he
mustn’t put puno in any position at
the time being. besides, more filipinos could fit a slot in the cabinet.
2012-21271 Al-Rap BA Hist
bakit pa bibigyan ni Noynoy is
Puno ng bagong posisyon kung
napalitan na sya sa dating pwedto
nya at walang bagong posisyon na
malalagyan. Puno na ang gobyerno.
201224585
Ano ang theme song ng
acads mo ngayong sem?
Ang theme song ng acads
ko? ROLLING IN THE DEEP!
WE COULD HAVE HAD IT
AAAAAAAAAALL. ROLLING IN THE
DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIP. YOU
HAD MY HEART INSIIIIIIIIDE OF
YOUR *cough cough 2012-32845
baabaablacksheep
“Sige Lang” by Quest 09-08xxx
Ja BS FT
One Thing by One Direction.
Masaya mangulekta ng uno, 1st
time mag-US if ever! Gora sa pagachieve ng ‘one’ thing! Makaranas
lang before magbabye bilang UP
student. Chos! [>;~ 08-30718
Bagsakan! 1210828 BS Geollibee
If Tomorrow Never Comes.
Haha. Grabe lang, first year ko pa
lang yata makaka-3.00 na agad
ako?! Huwaaaggg. 2012-22489
Ang theme song ng acads ko
ay ‘bakit ngayon ka lang’,alam mo
yung 4th year ka na tapos marerealize mong sana yung minor
mo ay yun na lang ang major
mo dahil mas fit pala yun sa’yo.
Astig backpage,dahil kay delfin
mercado,maraming pipirma!galing!
-093.6.5
Go for Gold by Kyle Patrick!!!
Swak na swak para sa mga down
sa course at magshi-shift! Yeah :)
2012-*****
Hmm. Part ng Sparks Fly by
Taylor Swift. Yung “Drop everything now!” Hahaha. 2011-12877
“Don’t give up on us Beybe. Ü”
Congrats, Engr. Gerome Hipolito.
Top 5 2012 GE Board exam. Ü
200903382 Shobe BS GE
“Is this the real life? Is this just
fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no
escape from reality. 46151 gegege
UPM-BASS
Hindi kita malilimutan.lahat ng
subject ko nanganganib e.di ko malilimutan yun.ampu.201078910
Wake Me Up When September
Ends - Green Day ~ 2010-10445
Mart BS Underwater Potato Planting
I won’t give up on us! :))))) 11596**
Keep Holding on ung kay avril.
i’m still holding on to my faith
na sana mataas ang mga grades!
201278067 smpf
Dlawa lng yan. HIGHWAY TO
HELL o SHOOT TO THRILL ng
ACDC. Tpos ssyawan ko ung mgulang ko ng lintik n gangnam style n
yan. 2012-30386 AKO pa!
Theme song ng acads ko ay Iris
cause I bleed just to know Im alive,
lol 201054277
Gangnam Style by Psy featuring
Kim Hyun-A 2012-21271 AL-Rap
BA Hist
I Won’t Give Up. Di ako maggigive-up sa aking laude dream!
Kaya yan mga iskolar ng bayan!
Puso at tiwala lang :) 2000-11268
Annie Mae
yung theme song ng acads ko ay
We Found Love! Ang hopeless pero
there’s still love love love! Hahaha
20104****
The Lazy Song ni Bruno Mars
kasi pag walang pasok (weekends,
class suspensions, holidays, etc.),
halos wala talaga akong ginagawa.
Tinatamad akong mag-aral at magbasa ng readings. 2011-60196 JACP
B SE (Physics)
I won’t give up on us ang themesong ng acads ko this sem. Haha!
12-29865 Lursh BS Chem
Dito Ba/Dito ba, dito ba, dito ba,
o dito ba/Ang dapat kong kalagyan/
Na isang sulok kong hiram/Sa ilalim
ng araw. Ohhhh. Para sa akin ba
talaga ang course (ba commres)
ko? DITO BA ANG DAPAT KONG
KALAGYAN?
Op, op, oppa gangnam style xDD
hayy.. V.V -12**1**
Chasing Pavements! Nyahahahaha. Delinquency galore ang trip!
**-35822 Mykel Carrot Cruz
rolling in the deep~ pero hindi
naman lahat :) 12780**
Comments
Hey mejo off the belt ang hrit
nyo dun sa tan0ng kai seren0.yes
bip0lar xa.and she functi0ns well.
ako bip0lar dn and hav a gud lyf. .
.nxt tym pumren0 naman kayo. .
.okai parang stgma ang dating ng
questi0n.
Excuse me, may pagkakamali
po yata sa kule textback.. Yung SN
201109152 po ay hindi po si Grace
na BS Chem.. Itatanong ko lang po
kung typo lang or pagpapanggap
kasi mag kakilala naman si Dan sa
message at yung totoong may may
hawak ng SN na iyon.. Please reply..
For confirmation lang po..
@eksenang peyups last line,
LIBRENG KISS KAHIT SAAN AH!
SABI NYO YAN AH! HAHAHAHAHA
game! :)) 09-23492 kachichas sa BS
MatE
Abot tenga ang ngiti ko habang
binabasa ang artikulo ni Ninalyn
Uy. Akong ako eh. Hay, pag-ibig. :”>
200978441
Pabati
HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, TEOFEE TAGAL!! :)) ayan binati na kita
sa kule. hihi. 1120502
Hi sa G-17! Mula BS CoE :> Hihi.
Patapos na first sem, mami-miss ko
kayo. =)) :’( Matutuloy ‘yung EK trip
sa sembreak ha! ;D 201266069
Next week’s questions:
1. Nakapirma ka na ba sa petition
form ng Kulê? Kailan, kanino, saan,
at bakit?
2. Anong kanta ang iaalay mo sa men’s
basketball team ng UP?
Key in KULE <space> MESSAGE <space>
STUDENT NUMBER <required> NAME
AND COURSE (optional) and send to
Non-UP students must indicate any
school, organizational or sectorial
affiliation.
Newscan
Eksenang
Peyups
“Project of Nationhood
Reloaded: Focus on
Democratizations”
MUSTA, MGA TOL? *EHERM*
Este, hello there students of the
Universal Filifins! Grabe, its the
third week na ng Septembah at
malapit nang matapos ang sem!
Am sure mga nagnonoseblood
ang mga noselyn ninyo dahil sa
dami ng papers at requirements
epek na kailangan niyong mai-final edishun! Anyways, subways,
eto na muna ang inyong weekly
eklat para maging maligaya kayo
sa gitna ng sakuna. Chos!
:* Dahil patapos na ang sem,
am sure umuusad na rin ang
mga lablayp ng mga freshies na
nanliligaw ng mga kaklase. Pero
OPINYON
paalala lang sa mga freshies, hindi lahat ng kaklase ninyo ay ka- Miyerkules
age gap niyo! Take for example si 19 Setyembre
isang 16-year-old freshie na na 2012
nagda-damoves kay 26-year-old
na ateng! Dahil sa tulis nitong
si boy freshie, hinihimas-himas
niya ang kamay ni ateng habang
tinatanong kung anung ano ang
definition ng Mr. pogi. At dahil
sinabi ni ateng na ang pogi para
sa kanya ay yung naka-aviator
glasses, guess what? Nag-aviator glasses nga si boy freshie sa
klase! Well, para kay boy freshie
na naniniwala sa “age doesn’t
matter,” goodluck na lang sa’yo.
Pero wika nga ng isang makata,
“Magpatuli ka muna!” Chos! ;)
:* Once upon a time, may
isang pa-intellectual person na
nagpapaimpress kay isang Korean ateng na kaya niyang magfluent English. So all the while
he is making conversation ba
while trying hard na mag-ano,
speak English like this one while
making kamusta si ateng on how
is the kimchi, gucchi, and tamagochi, tango lang nang tango
ang ateng na parang ang soul ay
nagliliwaliw sa infinity ng outer
space. Then when the intellectual person asked na “Are you
okay?”, the ateng biglang said in
a soft voice, “Marunong po akong
magtagalog.” WASAK!
So yun na muna sa ngayon,
ambon. Galingan natin sa mga
nalalapit nating finals!
All students & non-students are
invited to attend an educational forum entitled “Project of Nationhood
Reloaded: Focus on Democratizations” on the 24th of September, 2012
(Monday) at Palma Hall Room 400
(4th Flr) from 10:00am to 12:00nn.
This event, prepared by the Sociology Department, is a series of
talks for past, present, and prospective students of sociology in
the Philippines. This year’s invited
speakers include Sociology Professor Dr. Teresa Melgar, BAYAN
Secretary General Renato Reyes
Jr, and Akbayan Partylist Congressman and Former UP Sociology &
NCPAG Professor Walden Bello.
UP REP & OICA presents “Ped
Xing: Tatawid Ka Ba Kahit
Nakamamatay?”
As part of its 40th anniversary
celebration, The UP Repertory
Company and the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts proudly present an action-comedy play
entitled “Ped Xing: Tatawid Ka Ba
Kahit Nakamamatay?”
A full-length tula-dula that depicts the current issues in our society: political, economic and sociocultural. It will portray the strengths
and vulnerabilities of man, and finally will make the audience think once
more of the undying question--what is most essential in life?
Playdates are on Sept 17, 22, 24 | 3
and 7pm & Sept 21 | 7pm at Aldaba
Recital Hall, UP Diliman. For tickets, contact Serville at 0917-6000161 or visit our FB page www.facebook.com/PedXingUPREP40.
#NewWatchdogs, New Tricks:
Citizen journalism in the era
of new media
Citizen Journalism gives everyone a chance to be heard. The forum
“#NewWatchdogs, New Tricks” explores how new media platforms
such as Facebook and blogs enable
everyone to tell stories, share information, and report critical incidents. With a single click, you can
make your posts count!
Everyone is invited to attend the
said event on Wednesday, September 26, 1-4:30 pm in the College of
Mass Communication Auditorium.
For more info, contact Reden Godoy at 09173634635, rcdgodoy@
yahoo.com.
PEKSMAN MAMATAY MAN:
Isang 90s Kultnight
Teks. Pogs. Hiraya Manawari. Jolina. Song hits. Haw Flakes. Studio
pics. Pangako ng pers lab. Kilig sa
pers kis.
Miss mo na ba ang 90s? Halina’t
balikan ang himig at pangako ng
medyo nakaraan. UP ASTERISK in
cooperation with Tanghalang Bayan
ng Kulturang Kalye (TABAKK) present PEKSMAN MAMATAY MAN:
Isang 90s Kultnight. Sa September 22, punta lang sa Skartlet Jazz
Kitchen, 6pm at panoorin ang Stick
Figgas (with Loonie, Ron Henley &
Kat Agarrado), Nanay Mo, TABAKK
(with BLKD & K-Jah), Plagpul, The
Jeffrey Zulueta Experience at marami pang iba! Meron ding live art ng
GERILYA at libreng shirt printing ng
TANGINA THIS! P50 lang ang tiket.
Pa-reserve ka na sa 09051144998 o
09275581305.
Get free publicity! Send us your
press release, invitations, etc.
DON’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS. And go
easy on the…punctuations?! dOn’t
uSe tXt LanGuage pLs. Provide a
short title. 100 words max. Email us
at kule1213@gmail.com
CONTACT US! Write to us via snail
mail or submit a soft copy to Rm. 401,
Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon
City. Email us kule1213@gmail.com.
Save Word attachments in Rich Text
Format, with INBOX, NEWSCAN
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BALITA
Miyerkules
27 Hunyo
2012