Karen at She, posibleng buhay pa — Pahina 3Philippine CollegianOpisyal na lingguhang pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas - Diliman1 Pebrero 2012Taon 89, Blg. 24

Failing Terminal CasesDelfin Mercado

Saang isla naroon ang kalayaan?Lathalain Pahina 6-7

Buhay kadeteKultura Pahina 9

Show of force Editorial Page 2

philippinecollegian.org

John Toledo

Four candidates will be vying for the top position in the UP Diliman (UPD) University Student Council (USC) elections on March 1, according to the first official list of approved candidates released by the University Student Electoral Board (USEB) on January 30.

Vying for the UPD USC chair position are first year MS Applied Math major Gabriel “Heart” Diño of Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran (ALYANSA), fourth year BA Tourism major Maria Shaina Santiago of Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA), fourth year BS Economics major Amancio Melad III of Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP), and fourth year Juris Doctor and independent candidate Jose Martin Loon.

Loon is a current UPD USC councilor who ran under STAND UP in the 2011 elections. “I never planned to join a party this year… May mga bago tayong gustong ipaglaban na hindi posible kung mananatili tayo sa STAND UP. The only way to fight for [it] is to be independent,” he said.

Competing for vice chairperson position are first year MS Urban and Regional Planning major Ace Ligsay from ALYANSA, third year BS Psychology major Ana Alexandria Castro from KAISA, and fourth year BS Community Nutrition major Soraya Elise Escandor from STAND UP.

The USEB also approved 69 candidates for councilors and college representatives: 21 from ALYANSA with 11 councilors and 10 college representatives, 22 from KAISA with 12 councilors and 10 college representatives, 24 from STAND UP with 10 councilors and 14 college representatives, and two other independent candidates for college representatives of the College of

4 candidates vie for USC chair

Isabella Patricia H. Borlaza

Nakatakda nang ipatupad ang Service Recognition Pay (SRP) para sa mga kawani at research extension and professional staff (REPS) ng UP, matapos ipasa ng Board of Regents (BOR) ang mga panuntunan at badyet para dito sa regular nitong pulong noong Enero 26.

Hinihintay na lamang ang opisyal na memorandum mula kay UP President Alfredo Pascual para simulan na ang pamamahagi ng SRP sa mga kawani at REPS na nagretiro simula Abril 1, 2011, ani Staff Regent Jossel Ebesate.

SRP para sa mga kawani at REPS, ipatutupad naGayunman, hindi kabilang sa mga

makatatanggap ng SRP ang mga empleyadong nagretiro bago ang nasabing petsa.

Ang SRP ay benepisyong pinansiyal para sa mga magreretirong regular na empleyado. Katumbas ng makukuhang SRP ang halaga ng sampung araw na pasahod sa bawat taong pagtratrabaho bilang regular na empleyado.

Maaaring mabawasan ang makukuhang SRP kung lumampas sa 10 araw kada taon ang bilang ng sick leave ng isang empleyado, ayon sa panuntunang binuo ng Office of the Vice President for Administration (OVPA).

Badyet para sa SRPNauna nang naipasa ng BOR ang

SRP noong Marso 2011, kasabay ng pagpapatupad ng 10 araw na sick leave para sa mga kawani at REPS. Ngunit hindi agarang napatupad ang SRP dahil kinailangan pang bumuo ng administrasyon ng panuntunan hinggil sa pagbibigay ng nasabing benefit at maghanap ng pondo para dito.

Sa pulong ng BOR noong Enero, napagpasyahan na kukunin mula sa UP savings o Revolving Fund (RF) ang pondo para sa SRP ng bawat

CRASH AND BURN. Militant groups burn a replica of US military aircraft and a US flag in front of the US Embassy in Manila last January 28, to protest the government’s expressed interest in a stronger US military presence in the Philippines. Protesters called on Aquino to assert our national sovereignty. Chris Martin Imperial

Responsibilities and tasks pile up as the midterm hell week ensue. As each task is

accomplished, dozens more would spring up. Ever equipped with a cup of coffee and a dependable laptop, we type our ways into overlapping deadlines that haunt us even in our deepest sleep.

In these times of crisis – as every student knows – it is important to keep deadlines, not because we are afraid of the consequences of our tardiness or the grade we will get, but because we are afraid of the “domino effect” failing to complete a task would trigger.

See, failing to accomplish a task in the appointed time is not just a minor glitch. Its ramifications are great – failing to finish a five-page paper on time may lead one to skip class, and eventually not accomplishing anything in a day at all.

Failure comes in combo packs. Just as you thought your day was already bad enough, something worse will come up and ruin all chances of a better tomorrow. Failure is a contagious disease. Wallow in the company of the damned, and sure as hell, by the end of the day, you’ll be pretty damned yourself.

And so I find myself in this tight, inescapable situation.

Whatever I do nowadays seems to end in disaster. From the moment I wake up to my last wakeful second, I fail. Family, academics, social life, everything. Missed classes, wasted time, neglected duties.

Just the other day, I spent my night in a damn 24-hour convenience store, sitting in the dark and smoking cigarette after cigarette in frustration. That night, I traced the beginning of this streak of failures. And guess what? It all boils down to you. You were the trigger, the first domino piece to fall.

Everything went down after you ditched me, even the hope of finishing this damn column that I’ve dedicated for you in the past weeks. And now I’ll stop. This can’t continue anymore. I don’t deserve this.

And so, in a bid to break free from this downward cycle, I bid you goodbye. And good riddance. ●

Continued on page 11 » Sundan sa pahina 4 »

2 • Kulê OpinyonMiyerkules 1 Pebrero 2012

Show of force QUOTED

Editoryal

Philippine Collegian www.philippinecollegian.orgPunong Patnugot Marjohara S. Tucay Kapatnugot Richard Jacob N. Dy Tagapamahalang Patnugot Dianne Marah E. Sayaman Panauhing Patnugot Glenn L. Diaz,

Larissa Mae R. Suarez Patnugot sa Balita Victor Gregor U. Limon Patnugot sa Lathalain Mila Ana Estrella S. Polinar Patnugot sa Grapiks Chris Martin T. Imperial,

Ruth Danielle R. Aliposa Mga kawani Ma. Katherine H. Elona, Kevin Mark R. Gomez, Marianne F. Rios, Ma. Victoria M. Almazan, Ysa V. Calinawan Pinansiya Amelyn J.

Daga Tagapamahala sa Sirkulasyon Paul John Alix Sirkulasyon Gary Gabales, Amelito Jaena, Glenario Ommamalin Mga Katuwang na Kawani Trinidad Gabales, Gina

Villas Pamuhatan Silid 401 Bulwagang Vinzons, Unibersidad ng Plipinas Diliman, Lungsod Quezon Telefax 981-8500 lokal 4522 Email kule1112@gmail.com Website

philippinecollegian.org Kasapi Solidaridad: UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers Organizations, College Editors Guild of the Philippines

“Gusto ko talaga ng bagong adventure, gusto kong mag-evolve,” –New Kapamilya star Iza Calzado, in an interview in the show The Buzz when asked by Boy Abunda how she feels in her new home network, www.push.com.ph, January 29

“Yes, it is to our definite advantage to be exploring how to maximize our treaty alliance with the United States in ways that would be mutually acceptable and beneficial,”- Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on the negotiations between the US and Philippine governments on increasing the former’s military presence in the country, www.gov.ph, January 27

“That’s not a very important issue. Hindi naman nagnakaw iyan eh. Bumili pa nga,” –former President Joseph Estrada, on the issue of Presidential Political Adviser Ronald Llamas who was caught on camera buying pirated DVDs, www.abs-cbnnews.com, January 30

“The Aquino government is so easily swayed and dictated upon by the promise of US military junk and second-hand equipment,”–Bayan Secretary-general Renato Reyes, Jr., on the increased presence of US military in the country following negotiations with the Philippines, www.bayan.ph, January 28

“In my past relationship, I feel I’m not mature and man enough to be a leader, I guess”—Aspiring Hollywood actor Sam Milby, when asked what was his biggest regret regarding his previous relationship with actress Anne Curtis, www.pep.ph, January 31

James Liwanagan

5.5 x 3.5 in

“Anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”

– US Pres. Barack Obama, 2012 State of the Union Address, Jan. 24, 2012

The US has built upon its plan in swift, bold actions.

The Obama administration has recently entered successive agreements with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Australia and Singapore, to pave the way for heightened US military presence in the region, with the explicit motive of curtailing China’s emerging military might, a contending force that the US purports to be “threatening stability” in the region with its increasing aggressiveness in territorial disputes.

In the Philippines, the moves started with a series of high profile visits over the course of the past year – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, followed by then Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman of the US Armed Services Committee. These visits, as a Washington Post article confirmed last week, signalled the beginning of bilateral talks between the Aquino and Obama administration, to orchestrate the largest comeback of US troops in the country since the abrogation of the Military Bases Treaty two decades ago.

Opening the country, yet again, to foreign military elements is not only a naïve act that violates the 1987 Constitution, it is tantamount to surrendering the country’s sovereignty in exchange for perceived benefits such as military and economic aid.

For nearly a century, the Philippines has served as the foremost military outpost of the US in the Asia-Pacific region, hosting thousands of soldiers in various bases including the Clark Airbase in Zambales, which was then the largest overseas US air force facility. When

the Philippine Senate voted in favor of terminating the bases treaty in 1991, many people regarded it as a victory that would end US intervention in the country’s internal affairs.

However, the US has in fact never left the country. With the

passage of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1998, US troops were allowed to “visit” the country to conduct joint

military exercises. Until now, over 600 “Special Operations” troops

are stationed in the country, mostly in Mindanao, supposedly to “advise” the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the conduct of operations against insurgents in the south. Despite the weak claims, various reports have arisen in recent years that clearly show that US troops are in fact actively participating in the internal strife in Mindanao.

Even as the government continues to ignore the loopholes in the VFA that allow continued US military presence,

the Aquino administration is again engaging in an onerous agreement that would only benefit the US and might in fact cause catastrophic ramifications to the nation.

While it is important to note that China has indeed been aggressive in its stakes in the Spratly Islands, there is a greater danger in allowing increased US military presence in the country. By siding with the US, the Aquino administration has made the country vulnerable if an armed clash commences between the two superpowers.

What the Philippine government refuses to recognize is that the US is only using the Philippines, a “major ally” in Southeast Asia, to further its political and economic agenda in the Asia-Pacific region.

As the Obama administration wraps up its costly “wars of aggression” in the Middle East, the superpower has turned to the Asia-Pacific region, realizing that asserting

dominance in its emerging markets will be one of the best solutions to combat the deepening economic crisis that the US is currently embroiled in. The only obstacle in accomplishing this hegemonic plan is the growing economic and political power of its rival, China.

With the US strengthening ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Singapore and now, the Philippines, it is clear that it is circling and slowly encroaching on its rival country’s peripheries.

In this highly aggressive power play, the Philippines is again being used as a pawn to further the geopolitical interest of the United States in the region. Instead of providing “peace and stability,” the presence of US troops will no doubt lead the country into the forefront of this hostile game. ●

3 • Kulê Balita Miyerkules 1 Pebrero 2012

AGARANG TUGON. Bilang paggiit sa panawagang ipagkaloob ang hinihinging 10 days service recognition pay (SRP), nagsagawa ng 20-segundong planking ang mga kasapi ng All UP Workers Union at ilang mag-aaral ng UP habang idinaraos ang pulong ng Board of Regents (BOR) sa Quezon Hall noong Enero 26 . Inaprubahan ang mga panuntunan sa pagpapatupad ng SRP sa nasabing pulong. John Keithley Difuntorum

Karen at She, posibleng buhay pa

Keith Richard D. Mariano

The editorial board (EB) of UP Baguio’s (UPB) official student publication Outcrop has condemned the filing of a libel case against their editor-in-chief as an “assault to campus press freedom.”

Current Outcrop editor-in-chief Jesusa Paquibot has been charged with libel for allegedly “impeaching the character, integrity, virtue and reputation” of a UPB professor in a satiric article published in a July 2011 issue of the Outcrop.

In a resolution signed on November 24, 2011, the Baguio Municipal Trial Court found “sufficient evidence” to charge and prosecute Paquibot in accordance to Article 360 of the Revised Penal Code which requires that “the editor or business manager of a serial publication shall be responsible for the defamations contained therein.”

UPB College of Arts and Communication (CAC) Professor Ma. Rina Locsin-Afable filed the libel complaint against Paquibot at the City Prosecutor’s Office (CPO) on October 25, 2011. Afable founded the allegation on an article that allegedly called her a “bitch,” a “dictator,” and a “moron.”

The article was published under the Outcrop’s lampoon segment Yupiang Yupia, the counterpart of the Philippine Collegian’s Eksenang Peyups.

“Malice is present as the article was obviously published to attack me and to defend a staffer of Outcrop. The ill-will is personal and it is against me and me alone—there is no legitimate motive for the publication except to defame me as a teacher,” said Afable in her affidavit of complaint.

Paquibot has not been detained after posting a bail of P6,000, an amount donated by groups, organizations and individual students. The Outcrop editor-in-chief will face trial on February 7 at the Justice Hall in Baguio City.

Outcrop slams libel raps against EIC

‘Assault to campus press freedom’Article 353 of the Revised Penal

Code of the Philippines defines libel as a “public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance tending to discredit or cause the dishonor or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.”

However, the article was not meant to personally attack a certain professor as the character was fictional, according to the Outcrop EB. “Indeed, this current fiasco of libel against our editor-in-chief is less of a pursuit of justice or dignity, but a blatant effort to repress the campus press’ freedom of expression,” said the EB in a statement.

“Not a few times that as campus journalists, our lampoon publications

have been used against us by those who felt that they were ‘attacked’ by our column entries.  They bypass the fact that lampoon writing is a legitimate form by which the campus journalists satirically tackle the pertinent issues concerning the students,” the College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Cordillera said in a statement.

The Outcrop lampoon article was “inspired by an incident when a professor shamed in front of her class a photojournalist who is merely doing her duty as a campus journalist” during a protest action dubbed as the State of the Youth Address on July 19, according to the EB.

“The article never defamed anyone. Its nature is not in opposition of persons, but rather in the acts of persons. It does not identify anyone and definitely should not be a venue for any personal attack,” explained the EB.

Personal attack?While the article did not disclose

any real name, “that the students and the faculty members readily identified me as the one being alluded to in the article proves that the words used in the article were calculated to identify me,” said Afable.

Afable, in her affidavit of complaint, said the incident took place when she “accosted” an Outcrop staffer for taking her photo without seeking permission during the July 19 protest action. The incident has then become a “common knowledge” in the university, she added. Afable also said that the fictional character Raulo Locaret ascribed to her maiden name Rina Locsin.

5 

Continued on page 5 »

Mary Joy T. Capistrano

Sa kabila ng halos anim na taong pagkawala, maaaring buhay pa sina Karen Empeño at Sherlyn Cadapan, mga estudyante ng UP na dinukot umano ng militar noong Hunyo 26, 2006.

Ito ang sinabi ni Attorney Jesus Santos, isa sa mga abogado ni Retired Major Jovito Palparan Jr, sa ikalawang pagdinig ng kasong kidnapping at illegal detention laban sa retiradong heneral sa Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 14 sa Bulacan noong Enero 30.

Ayon kay Santos, gabi ng Enero 29 nang makatanggap siya ng tawag

mula sa isang mapagkakatiwalaang impormante na nagsabing buhay pa nga sina Karen at She.

“Good news sana na buhay pa sila Karen at Sherlyn kaya lang mahigit 5 taon na silang nagsisinungaling sa korte, kaya hindi ako dapat maging masaya. Sana ilitaw na nila ang dalawang estudyante at ipakilala ang informer,” ani Erlinda Cadapan, nanay ni Sherlyn.

“The bare and belated allegation of his purported co-counsel that the victims are still alive raised mixed feelings, at the very least. If false, it is insensitive, cruel and [an] irresponsible claim designed to confuse and raise false

hopes,” pahayag ni Attorney Edre Olalia, abogado ng pamilya ng mga biktima.

Nang kwestyunin ng prosekusyon si Santos ukol sa kanyang pahayag, tumanggi ang abogado na magbigay ng karagdagang impormasyon hanggang hindi niya nakukumpirma ang ulat. “I believe it’s true, that’s why I informed the court, and I will also inform the law enforcement agency,” dagdag niya.

“If that is really true, then, Palparan and his men might be really guilty,” dagdag pa ni Olalia.

Maaaring mapawalang-bisa ang mga naunang akusasyon kay Palparan at sa mga militar sakaling mapatunayang buhay ang mga biktima, ani Santos.

“It could be a cheap shot to incorrectly undermine the charges. The revelation of Atty. Santos will not have any legal effect to the charges already filed in court to bring the perpetrators to justice,” binigyang diin ni Olalia.

Kung sakaling totoo ang impormasyong ito, kailangan maglabas ni Santos ng ebidensya o ‘di kaya’y ilitaw ang dalawang estudyante, ani Olalia.

Matatandaang nagbaba ng warrant of arrest para kay Palparan si Judge Teodora Gonzales ng Bulacan Regional Trial Court noong Disyembre 19. Kasalukuyan pa ring pinaghahanap ng mga pulis si Palparan.

“[Palparan’s lawyers] were in the border of being liable for harboring a fugitive and obstruction of justice,” ani Attorney Julian Oliva, isa sa mga abogado ng biktima.

Pagkanlong sa puganteIbinasura ng korte ang motion for

reconsideration na inihain ni Santos noong Enero 6 upang bawiin ang warrant of arrest kay Palparan na nauna nang hindi katigan ng korte.

Binatikos rin ng korte ang paghahain ng nasabing mosyon laluna’t hindi naman kinumpirma ni Palparan si Santos bilang co-counsel ng akusado.

Paliwanag ni Santos, mga kapamilya ni Palparan ang nakipag-usap sa kanya na hawakan ang nasabing kaso. Subalit iginiit ng korte na pirma ni Palparan ang kailangan at hindi ng kanyang asawa.

Binigyang-diin naman ng mga abogado ni Palparan na wala silang alam sa kasalukuyang kinaroroonan ng dating heneral. Iginiit nila na tanging asawa at kamag-anak lamang ni Palparan ang nakikipag-ugnayan sa kanila.

“General Palparan’s purported attorneys are risking charges of coddling a fugitive and obstruction of justice by harboring and not disclosing his whereabouts even if they claim to have no contact with him,” ani Olalia.

‘Oplan manhunt’Samantala, nanawagan naman

ang mga kapamilya nina Karen at She sa publiko na makipagtulungan sa paghahanap kay Palparan. Nagtangkang umalis ng bansa ang dating heneral.noong Disyembre, subalit napigilan siya ng mga awtoridad na sumakay ng eroplanong tungong Singapore.

May isang milyong pabuyang inihanda ang gobyerno para sa sinumang makapagtuturo sa kinaroroonan ni Palparan.

Bumuo kamakailan ang Bataan Police ng tatlong grupong maghahanap kay Palparan matapos nilang makatanggap ng ulat na nakita ang dating heneral sa Abucay, Bagac at Morong, mga bayan na malapit sa South China Sea.

Nakatanggap umano si Bataan Police Director Senior Supt. Arnold Gunnacaon ng mensahe noong Enero 26 na nakita si Palparan sa Abucay, Bataan, ang dating base ng 24th Infantry Batallion kung saan dating brigade commander ang retiradong heneral.

“After analyzing the report, hindi ito malayo sa katotohanan at very probable dahil maraming accomplishment sa Bataan si General Palparan,” ani Gunnacao sa isang panayam.

Samantala, tuloy ang pangatlong pagdinig ng kaso laban kay Palparan sa Pebrero 6. ●

4 • Kulê Balita Kulê Kultura

UP community condemns harassment of 3 UP students

Kulê launches budget campaign

STARING GAME. UP Student Regent Krissy Conti and UP President Alfredo Pascual glance at a portrait of Retired Major General Jovito Palparan during a forum held at Quezon Hall on January 26. The forum called for the administration’s swift action on the human rights cases involving UP students Karen Empeo and Sherlyn Cadapan who were allegedly abducted by Palparan’s men in Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006. John Keithley Difuntorum

Victor Gregor Limon

In a bid to resolve the annual fiscal deficit the Philippine Collegian faces every year, the editorial board and staff of the official student publication of UP Diliman (UPD) launched a university-wide campaign calling for the increase of the Collegian fee from P40 to P72 on January 25.

“Sa panukalang P72 na Collegian fee, makakakalap ang Kulê ng mahigit P3 milyon kada taon, sapat upang maibalik sa regular na bilang ang isyu ng Kulê at maitaas muli ang sirkulasyon nito tungong 18,000 o higit pa,” said Collegian editor-in-chief Marjohara Tucay in an open letter to UPD students.

The fee increase will also help raise the wages of Collegian employees whose current salaries are below the minimum wage, said Tucay.

In the coming weeks, the Collegian will hold college consultations, forge alliances with organizations and other student publications in UPD, and conduct educational discussions to clinch support from the student body.

College consultations will begin on February 9, at the College of Mass Communication from 1 to 3 PM and at the College of Fine Arts from 3 to 5 PM.

Annual budget deficitSince 1989, the Collegian fee

per student each semester has been pegged at P40, despite rising management and printing costs due to inflation. As a result, the Collegian incurs an annual budget deficit of P230,000, forcing the current and previous terms to offset the deficit by hosting fundraisers and implementing cost-cutting initiatives.

In recent years, the Collegian had to switch to different printing press companies which offer less expensive printing costs, while also downsizing

the number of issues published yearly and the total number of printed copies in circulation.

However, the editorial board maintains that such temporary measures do not directly address the root cause of the deficit and cannot ensure the student paper’s continued existence in the years to come.

Similarly, while the Collegian may also decide to start accepting paid advertisements in its pages, the editorial board fears that advertising might compromise the integrity of the Collegian as a student institution.

“[B]ukod sa walang kasiguruhan ang mga opsyong ito, hindi rin masisigurong walang kalakip na pabor ang ganitong mga pamamaraan,” Tucay said.

Discussions with UP adminIn a letter to the administration

in October 2011, the editorial board proposed to resolve the Collegian’s annual budget either by increasing the Collegian fee to diminish the effects of inflation, or by establishing an annual supplemental fund for the Collegian sourced from the university’s savings.

However, after further discussions, the administration said the option of a supplemental fund from UP’s savings will not be allowed in audit and that UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma’s discretionary fund may not be enough to serve as an alternative fund source.

Saloma then proposed that the Collegian first consult with students and obtain a survey before the proposed fee increase is endorsed to the Board of Regents, the university’s highest policy-making body.

“The [Office of the Chancellor] will help ensure the highest possible participation of undergraduate and graduate students during the consultation process on the said issue,” Saloma said. ●

kampus. Ayon kay UP Diliman (UPD) Chancellor Caesar Saloma, ang RF na pinagkukunan ng mga kakulangan sa badyet ay mula sa mga income-generating na proyekto tulad ng land leases at binabayarang matrikula ng mga estudyante.

Tinatayang P22 milyon ang kabuuang halaga ng SRP para sa 63 na kawani at REPS ng UPD na nagretiro mula Abril 2011 hanggang sa kasalukuyan. Samantala, tinatayang may P333 milyon ang halaga ng pagpapatupad ng SRP para sa buong UP System mula 2011 hanggang 2016, ayon sa OVPA.

« mula sa pahina 1SRP para sa mga kawani at REPS, ipatutupad na

Miyerkules 1 Pebrero 2012

Victor Gregor Limon

Members of the UP community condemned the harassment of three UP Diliman (UPD) community development (CD) students by alleged military men in Porac, Pampanga.

“Hindi natin hahayaan na mapalampas na lamang ang ganitong pangyayari. Kailangang imbestigahan ito at mapanagot ang mga may pagkakasala,” UP President Alfredo

Pascual said at a press conference held on January 26 at Quezon Hall.

Since December 2011, Rafael Antonio Dulce, who is also the national vice chairperson of youth group Anakabayan, Marie Gold Villar, and a third student who refused to be identified, had been assigned by their faculty advisers to conduct fieldwork in an Aeta settlement in Porac as requirement to their subjects CD 180 and 181.

On January 21, the three students were hiking to Barangay Camias in Porac at around 12 noon, when they were stopped by four men in civilian clothes. One of the men, who only introduced himself as “Paul” from the Department of Public Works and Highways Region 3 office, warned them that there were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) at the students’ destination and that they might be caught in a crossfire between the NPA and the military.

Dulce then explained that they were doing fieldwork as an academic requirement and that they were invited by barangay officials of Camias to attend their town fiesta. When Dulce took out his cellphone to text a fellow student who did not join them in the hike, another man who called himself “Chris,” began to shove Dulce and challenged him to a fist fight.

The men suddenly began accusing the three of being NPA members, and made them stand under the midday sun for more than an hour, and took pictures of them without their consent. When an Aeta passed by and tried to help the students, “Chris” also threatened him and told him to leave.

The students were allowed to leave only after Villar broke down and began crying. The men also took Villar’s cellphone number and said that they should “meet” back in Metro Manila.

As a result of the alleged military’s actions, the students have been pulled out of the community by the UPD College of Social Welfare and Development administration, and have been unable to resume their fieldwork.

Alleged army menWhen the students reported the

incident to local leaders of Porac, they were told that the men who harassed them were soldiers from the military

detachment of the 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. “Bukod pa dun, may history na ng military repression sa area,” Dulce said.

The communities in Porac actively opposed mining activities in the area and the military presence was supposed to repress the resistance of the locals, explained Dulce. “’Yung pag-harass sa amin ay part ng policy ng military to ‘discourage’ any opposition to any government policy.”

The harassment of the three CD students only shows how the military singles out UP students arbitrarily because of the university’s militant stance on political issues, said UP Student Regent Ma. Kristina Conti.

“[N]akalungkot ito [dahil] ang community work ay bahagi ng academic requirement dito sa UP. Maging ang College of Medicine halimbawa ay may requirement sa kanilang mag-aaral na magkaroon ng community medical work,” said Conti.

Anakabayan National Chairperson Vencer Crisostomo also condemned the harassment of the three students. “It is programs like that of the Department of Community Development which continue to make UP relevant in understanding and addressing Philippine social problems. Yet the AFP itself is directing its violence against such programs,” said Crisostomo. ●

Kagipitang bunsod ng kontraktwalisasyon

Sa mga panuntunang binuo ng OVPA, tanging mga regular at full-time na kawani at REPS lamang na magreretiro sa edad na 65 ang maaaring makatanggap ng SRP at hindi kabilang sa pagtutuos ang bilang ng taong naglingkod ang isang empleyado bilang kontraktuwal o kaswal na empleyado ng UP.

Ayon sa OVPA, karaniwang umaabot ng 29.5 na taon ang pagtratrabaho ng mga guro, kawani, at REPS bilang regular na empleyado sa UP.

Ngunit ayon naman kay All UP Workers Union (AUPWU) National President Felix Pariñas, karamihan sa mga empleyado ng UP ngayon ay kontraktwal at kadalasang nagiging regular lamang kapag malapit nang magretiro.

Sa kabila ng pagkamit nang matagal na ipinaglalabang benepisyo, patuloy ang kampanya ng AUPWU na bigyan din ng SRP ang mga kawani at REPS na nagretiro malapit sa itinakdang Abril 1, 2011, ani Pangulong AUPWU-Manila, Benjamin Santos. ●

« from page 3

Outcrop slams libel raps against EIC

Miyerkules 1 Pebrero 2012

STALEMATE. Michael Nehemiah Simms of the UP Men’s Football team fights for ball possession during a match against the UST Golden Booters at the Ateneo High School Football Field on January 29. The clash ended in a draw with a score of 0-0, landing the Maroon Booters in the 3rd place slot at the end of the first round of the tournament with a win-draw-loss slate of 1-4-0 and 7 aggregate points. Airnel T. Abarra

5 • Kulê Balita

Victor Gregor Limon

Youth groups have expressed opposition to a new wave of House bills seeking to reinstate the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program as a mandatory program in tertiary schools.

Out of the four house bills now pending for discussion, two recommend the revival of compulsory ROTC for all students in both public and private tertiary schools, namely House Bill (HB) 3968 by Bohol Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr, and HB 3980 by Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) Partylist Rep. Erico Aumentado.

The third bill, HB 737 by Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas, endorses compulsory ROTC for male students in both public and private tertiary schools, while the fourth, HB 2488 by Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, proposes mandatory ROTC for all students in all state universities and colleges.

Corruption and abuseLeague of Filipino Students

(LFS) national chairperson Terry Ridon denounced the said ROTC

Youth groups oppose 4 new ROTC revival billsbills, saying the revival of mandatory ROTC program will also reinstate of corruption and physical abuse that led to the abolition of the course more than a decade ago.

“ROTC as an institution is the problem, not merely the persons running it,” Ridon said in a statement.

Introduced to the Philippines in 1912 during American colonial rule, the ROTC program became optional after the death of University of Santo Tomas cadet Mark Welson Chua in 2001 and strong protest campaigns of various youth groups.

Chua was allegedly tortured and killed by ROTC course advisers whom he reportedly exposed for mismanagement of funds.

Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino said that while the proposed bills claim that ROTC promotes nationalism and civic-consciousness, what it fosters is a “culture of blind obedience and false patriotism. “

Department of Military Science and Tactics Head Commandant Col. Jonathan Ponce however defended the ROTC bills saying the incident with Chua was not necessarily ROTC-

related and may not be representative of the whole ROTC program.

Ponce however admitted that the bills must first be comprehensively studied and discussed to ensure that the ROTC serves its supposed goals. “I leave it to the lawmakers in Congress to determine the best way of instilling the values of nationalism and social awareness in the youth,” Ponce said.

Stronger alternativeHBs 737 and 3968 both seek to

revoke Republic Act (RA) 9163 or the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act which presently allows students to enrol in one of three service components: Literacy Training Service (LTS), Civic Welfare Training Service, and the voluntary ROTC program.

Palatino however countered that the NSTP is still a relatively young law and it would be premature to repeal it.

In response to the ROTC bills, Palatino filed HB 2355 which aims instead to strengthen the social and civic service components of the NSTP by amending it to include eight service components: LTS, General Community

Service, Community-based Health and Nutrition Program, Community Immersion, Disaster Preparedness, Ecological Services, and Human Rights Education and Advocacy.

HB 2355 also allows schools to offer additional service programs after consultation with the student body and approval of the Commission on Higher Education.

“In our present conditions, I believe that what we need as a nation today is not so much an army of young men and women trained in the ways of the military but an army of volunteers and advocates ready to serve and uphold the needs of their communities and the nation as a whole,” Palatino said in his explanatory note to HB 2355. ●

Isabella Patricia H. Borlaza

The Board of Regents (BOR) has again postponed giving the final decision on three administrative cases until February 24 after three of the 11-member board failed to attend the regular monthly meeting held on January 26.

Senator Edgardo Angara and Congressman Juan Edgardo Angara were absent in the meeting due to their involvement in the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, but both expressed their intent to participate in the deliberations on February 24. Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno was also absent.

In the January 26 meeting, the BOR discussed the administrative cases of UP Diliman (UPD) School Of Labor and Industrial Relations Dean Juan Amor Palafox, UP Cebu (UPC) Dean Enrique Avila and UP Los Baños (UPLB) Administrative Officer Florendo Sambrano but did not settle the votes due to the absent regents.

The BOR has set the next regular meeting on February 24, a Friday instead of the usual Thursday, so that all the Regents could be present, said Staff Regent Jossel Ebesate.

Meanwhile, Malacañang appointee Regent Magdaleno Albarracin’s term will expire on February 18. “Hopefully, this does not keep the BOR from delaying the decision any further,” said Student Regent Ma. Kristina Conti.

PenaltiesIn February 2011, former UP

President Emerlinda Roman affirmed then UPD Chancellor Sergio Cao’s 2008 decision to dismiss Palafox from service due to charges of grave misconduct and dishonesty for entering into contracts with a private company that only the chancellor or the UP president has the authority to sign.

Similarly, Avila, along with two other UPC officials, was also charged with grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty for granting a project to a private company and for violating the university policy on the undergraduate tuition fee increment fund by using the said funds to pay for the Centennial bonuses of UPC employees.

BOR delays final verdict on admin cases

The professor, meanwhile, claimed that phrases “sa likod ng lugar ng kaalaman” and “field of expertise daw niya ang etits” among others referred to the CAC located behind the University Library, and to Ethics respectively. Afable is currently teaching Ethics for Journalism students at the CAC.

The prosecutor’s office has earlier dismissed the libel complaint of Afable as the article failed to directly

The BOR, however, will still determine the weight of Avila’s charges as “grave” or “simple”, said Conti. The Uniform Rules for Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (URACCS), which governs the conduct on administrative cases, mandates that “simple” misconduct is punishable by six months to one year of suspension while “grave” or “gross” charges are punishable by dismissal.

The URACCS, however, only mandates the equivalent penalties of the charges but does not define the scope of “grave” and “simple” charges, explained Conti.

Re-investigationMeanwhile, the BOR is also

set to finalize its decision on the administrative case of former All UP Worker’s Union-Los Baños (AUPWU-LB) president Sambrano, pending reports of Regent Puno who heads the Regents Review Committee on the case.

In 2007, then UPLB Chancellor Rey Velasco filed six charges against Sambrano for negligence, insubordination, violations of his duties as administrative officer, and for accepting two other jobs despite his existing employment in UP. The Administrative Disciplinary Tribunal (ADT), which conducted the investigation, found Sambrano guilty of the six charges and imposed dismissal.

Sambrano submitted an appeal to the BOR on August 2009 which questioned the process observed in the investigation. In July 2011, the BOR issued a directive to the UPLB administration to reconvene the ADT to submit a full report for the earlier imposed decision of dismissal. However, on September 2011, the UPLB administration reported that Sambrano failed to meet the deadline for the needed documents.

“Ang ginagawa nilang (UPLB administration) ito kay Sambrano ay demotion at kailangang may managot sa ganitong sistema ng pamamahala at nawa ay tigilan na nila ang constructive dismissal na matagal na nilang ninanais kay Sambrano,” said AUPWU-LB president Diosdado Gaddi.

The BOR has yet to release further details on Sambrano’s case. ●

identify the professor on November 29, 2011. Following a motion for reconsideration by Afable, however, the CPO overturned the dismissal of the complaint on December 19, 2011.

The resolution to charge Paquibot with a libel case took into account supplemental testimonies of a student and a professor who identified the character in the article with the complainant.

“[I]f the professor insists that she was ‘Raulo Locaret’, then it is tantamount into saying that she is guilty of abuse of authority being used in dealing with students...We can assert that a power tripping teacher is more scandalous and deserves to get the charges more,” said the EB. ●

6-7 • Kulê Lathalain

Joan C. Cordero

Larawan ng modernisasyon at kaunlaran ang Manila-Cavite Expressway o mas kilala bilang Coastal Road, kung saan mabilis at malayang dumadaloy ang mga sasakyan at kalakal. Sa paanan ng bagong highway matatagpuan ang Bulungan Market na pinagdadaungan ng mga huling lamang-dagat mula sa Manila at Bacoor Bay.

Ilang hakbang mula sa pamilihan, matatanaw ang tatlong pulo na nakalatag sa Manila Bay – ang Freedom Islands – na tahanan ng iba’t ibang endangered species gaya ng Philippine duck, Chinese egret, at Pied Avocet, na naglipana sa kagubatan ng bakawan na bumabalot sa mga isla. Sino nga naman bang mag-aakalang may natatago pa palang ganitong mga pulo sa laylayan ng Kamaynilaan?

Subalit hindi lamang ito kanlungan ng mga hayop at puno – isang komunidad din ang dating umusbong at yumabong sa mga pulong ito.

“Isa kami sa pitong pamilya na inilipat noong 1970’s. Nakatira kami sa tabing dagat [ng Manila Bay] bago ginawa ‘yang Coastal Road at Bulungan Market,” kwento ni Mang Augusto Jalimaw, 75 taong gulang, na ngayo’y naninirahan na sa isang bahay na gawa sa pinagtagpi-tagping kahoy, yero, at semento sa tabi ng pamilihan.

Balik-tanaw Pulong Maria ang unang tawag

sa tatlong pulo, dahil may basbas umano ito ni Mariang Makiling, ang diwatang naninirahan sa bundok sa kalapit na lalawigan ng Laguna, ani Mang Augusto. Kinalaunan, pinangalanan itong “Freedom Islands” ng mga residente noong dekada 90s dahil umano sa pagiging hiwalay ng mga pulo sa lupain ng karatig na Kamaynilaan.

Sa mga islang ito inilipat ang mga dating nakatira sa dalampasigan ng Manila Bay na napaalis mula sa kanilang mga tirahan bunsod ng pagpapatayo ng Coastal Road noong 1976, panahon ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos.

Nakapagpatayo na ang mga residente sa higit 77-ektaryang lupang sakop ng Freedom Islands ng isang komunidad na may

Pag-unlad at panganib sa Freedom Islandseskwelahan, barangay, clinic, at iba pa ngunit noong 1995, binili ng kumpanyang Thai-Filipino na Amari Coastal Bay Resources Corporation (Amari) ang mga isla mula sa pamahalaan sa halagang P1.8 bilyon. May basbas ito ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Parañaque, at ng Public Estates Authority (Philippine Reclamation Authority o PRA na ngayon), ang ahensya sa gobyernong naglalayong mapagkakitaan ang mga lupaing hindi na umano napakikinabangan. Tinawag ang proyektong “Manila Bay Land Reclamation Project” kung saan balak gawing commercial-residential-industrial district o “Centennial City” ang mga isla na pagtatayuan ng skycrapers, golf course, casino, at iba pa.

Bagaman nag-aalok ito ng panibagong anyo sa mga isla, nangangahulugan ito ng pagpapalayas sa mga residente. Kaya naman hindi nagpatinag ang mga dating residente ng Freedom Islands at nagsampa sila ng kaso laban sa Amari noong 1996 sa Parañaque Trial Court.

Ayon kay Mang Augusto, na kabilang sa mga lumaban para sa paninirahan sa isla, hindi maaaring ibenta ang Freedom Islands sapagkat isa itong pampublikong lupain.Pinagtitibay ito ng Artikulo XII ng Saligang Batas, kung saan itinakdang maaari lamang upahan ang mga pampublikong lupain ng mga pribadong korporasyon o asosasyon, ngunit hindi maaaring ipagbili.

Minadali rin ang pagkakabili sa mga isla, na nagdulot ng kontrobersiya sa panahon ni dating Pangulong Fidel Ramos, ayon sa artikulo nina Sheila Coronel at Ellen Tordesillas sa Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). Napadali umano ang transaksyon dahil sa pagkakasangkot ng isang Justiniano “Bobby” Montano IV, isang maimpluwensiyang personalidad sa Cavite at kilalang kaibigan ni Ramos. Sinuhulan rin umano ng Amari ng halos P3 bilyon ang mga broker, pulitiko, at opisyal ng gobyernong sangkot sa pagbebenta ng Freedom Islands, ayon sa PCIJ.

Sa kabila ng pagkakabinbin ng kasong isinampa nina Mang Augusto, nagsagawa pa rin ng demolisyon ang pinagsamang pwersa ng pulisya at demolition

team sa Freedom Islands noong 2000.

Likas na yamanMatagal nang kinilala ng

iba’t ibang mga administrasyon ang taglay na likas na yaman ng Freedom Islands kaya’t lagi’t laging may hakbanging gawin itong “ecotourism area”. Noong 2007, sa bisa ng Proclamation No. 1412 ni dating Pangulong Gloria Arroyo, idineklarang Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area ang mga isla, bunsod ng paninirahan dito ng mahigit 80 species ng local at migratory birds.

Samantalang mahalagang bigyan ng proteksyon ang biodiversity sa mga pulo, panawagan ng mga residente, sana’y pansinin din ng pamahalaan ang pangangailangan ng mga tao. “Sana’y lingunin din naman nila kami, kahit hindi kami endangered species,” ani Mang Alfonso Quinto, pangulo ng Unified Fishing Marketing Association sa Bulungan Market, at dating residente ng isla.

Mainam ang lokasyon ng mga isla para sa komersyo, lalo pa’t maganda ang tanawin dito, at malapit sa international airport. Kapag natuloy ang pagpapatayo ng high-rise buildings at entertainment facilities sa Freedom Islands, maaaring mawala ang mga hayop sa isla, at manganib ang kabuhayan ng mga residente, ayon sa grupong Save the Freedom Islands Movement (SFIM).

Paliwanag ng SFIM, marami sa mga mangingisda sa lugar ang umaasa sa mayamang bakawan ng mga pulo na pinagkukunan ng iba’t ibang lamang-dagat. Pangingisda at panghuhuli ng iba pang lamang-dagat ang pangunahing kabuhayan ng mamamayan dito. Sa halagang P50 kada araw, nagbubuhat sila ng sako-sakong tahong, na nililinis at ibinebenta sa mga palengke ng Parañaque, Malabon, at Cavite.

Kung sakaling matuloy ang proyekto ng Amari sa Freedom Islands, hindi maiiwasang masapawan ng mga malalaking kumpanya ang industriya ng pangingisda sa lugar. “Paano kami magkakahanapbuhay kung Toyota, at iba pang kumpanyang nangangailangan ng skilled workers ang ipatatayo dito? Paano kaming namuhay at namumuhay sa karagatan, at mga hindi nakapag-

Matatanaw mula sa Bulungan Market ang isa sa mga isla ng Freedom Islands na matatagpuan sa katimugang bahagi ng Manila Bay. Tinuturing na paraiso sa Maynila, nagsisilbing tahanan ang mga islang ito ng iba't ibang lahi ng migratory birds at isda.

“Isa kami sa pitong pamilya na inilipat noong 1970's. Nakatira kami sa tabing dagat [ng Manila Bay] bago ginawa 'yang Coastal Road at Bulungan Market,” kwento ni Mang Augusto Jalimaw.

Nakatira ngayon sa Bulungan ang mga dating residente ng Freedom Islands, matapos silang palayasin sa mga isla na balak tayuan ng mga gusaling pang-komersyo alinsunod sa "Manila Bay Reclamation Project."

Mga isla ng ligalig

Miyerkules 01 Pebrero 2012

Pag-unlad at panganib sa Freedom Islandsteam sa Freedom Islands noong 2000.

Likas na yamanMatagal nang kinilala ng

iba’t ibang mga administrasyon ang taglay na likas na yaman ng Freedom Islands kaya’t lagi’t laging may hakbanging gawin itong “ecotourism area”. Noong 2007, sa bisa ng Proclamation No. 1412 ni dating Pangulong Gloria Arroyo, idineklarang Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area ang mga isla, bunsod ng paninirahan dito ng mahigit 80 species ng local at migratory birds.

Samantalang mahalagang bigyan ng proteksyon ang biodiversity sa mga pulo, panawagan ng mga residente, sana’y pansinin din ng pamahalaan ang pangangailangan ng mga tao. “Sana’y lingunin din naman nila kami, kahit hindi kami endangered species,” ani Mang Alfonso Quinto, pangulo ng Unified Fishing Marketing Association sa Bulungan Market, at dating residente ng isla.

Mainam ang lokasyon ng mga isla para sa komersyo, lalo pa’t maganda ang tanawin dito, at malapit sa international airport. Kapag natuloy ang pagpapatayo ng high-rise buildings at entertainment facilities sa Freedom Islands, maaaring mawala ang mga hayop sa isla, at manganib ang kabuhayan ng mga residente, ayon sa grupong Save the Freedom Islands Movement (SFIM).

Paliwanag ng SFIM, marami sa mga mangingisda sa lugar ang umaasa sa mayamang bakawan ng mga pulo na pinagkukunan ng iba’t ibang lamang-dagat. Pangingisda at panghuhuli ng iba pang lamang-dagat ang pangunahing kabuhayan ng mamamayan dito. Sa halagang P50 kada araw, nagbubuhat sila ng sako-sakong tahong, na nililinis at ibinebenta sa mga palengke ng Parañaque, Malabon, at Cavite.

Kung sakaling matuloy ang proyekto ng Amari sa Freedom Islands, hindi maiiwasang masapawan ng mga malalaking kumpanya ang industriya ng pangingisda sa lugar. “Paano kami magkakahanapbuhay kung Toyota, at iba pang kumpanyang nangangailangan ng skilled workers ang ipatatayo dito? Paano kaming namuhay at namumuhay sa karagatan, at mga hindi nakapag-

aral?” ani Mang Alfonso.

Pagbawi sa islaLabing-anim na taon na ang

nakalipas mula nang magsampa ng kaso sina Mang Augusto hinggil sa pagkakabili sa lupa, ngunit hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin tapos ang pagdinig sa kaso. Sa katunayan, magkakaroon muli ng pagdinig sa darating na Marso. “Mabagal ang usad ng kaso, dahil hindi rin kami laging sinisipot ng Amari,” ani Mang Augusto.

Inilipat ang ilang pamilyang napaalis noong 2000 sa mga resettlement area sa Naic at Trece Martires, Cavite, ngunit ilan lamang sa mga dating naninirahan sa Freedom Islands ang tumanggap ng alok na ito dulot ng kawalan umano ng pagkakakitaan doon. “Kung saan-saan kami pinaglalagay, pero nasa karagatan ang aming kabuhayan,” ani Mang Alfonso.

Lumipas man ang mga taon, patuloy pa ring umaasa ang mga dating residente ng Freedom Islands na makababalik sila sa mga pulong minsan nilang itinuring na tahanan. Simple lamang umano ang kanilang pamumuhay sa isla noon, maaaring maghanapbuhay kahit walang puhunan. “Hindi kami nagugutom noon sa isla. Mangisda ka lang dyan, o manghuli ng lamang-dagat, OK na,” ani Mang Alfonso.

Ang nangyaring pagpapaalis ng mga naninirahan sa Freedom Islands ay hindi kaiba sa mga demolisyong isinasagawa sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa upang magbigay-daan sa pagpapatayo ng mga bagong imprastraktura na magpapalago umano sa ekonomiya. Sa ganitong kalakaran, madalas naisasantabi ang kapakanan ng mamamayan para sa interes ng iilang negosyanteng nais magpalaki ng kita.

May taglay ngang kabalintunaan ang pangalan ng mga pulong ngayo’y nakatakdang gawing isang “entertainment center” ng Kamaynilaan, sapagkat wala itong kawala sa kapit ng komersyo. Sa patuloy na paghahanap ng mas malaking kita ng mga kumpanya’t negosyante, maging ang mga natitirang yaman ng bayan ay nasasangkalan. ●

Pangunahing ikinabubuhay ng mga residente ng Bulungan ang pagtatahong. Ginugupit at kinikiskis ang mga bahagi ng tahong na hindi makakain,bago ilagay sa sako ang mga lamang-dagat. Ibinebenta ang mga tahong sa mga palengke ng Maynila at Cavite sa halagang 50-70 piso kada galon.

Mga litrato ni Chris Martin ImperialDisenyo ng pahina ni Jerome Tagaro

Mga isla ng ligalig

8 • Kulê Kultura Miyerkules 1 Pebrero 2012

Elizabeth Shie

With two barong-clad body guards by his side, the palace official went to his regular stall of pirated DVDs at the Circle C Mall in Quezon City. Indifferent to the people who recognized him, he took time to choose movie titles, one after the other, until it was worth P2,000. Satisfied with his purchase, he walked out of the establishment with two inconspicuous black plastic bags. It would have been one of his usual visits, except this time, he was caught on camera.

It looks like for the second time around, Ronald Llamas, the presidential adviser on political affairs, owes the public an explanation. Media Board Chairman Ronnie Ricketts is disappointed. The cabinet member’s action, he says, goes against the government’s efforts to be removed from the international “piracy watch list.” In September 2011, the Office of US Trade Representatives released a report that ranked the Philippines as the 29th country with the highest number of counterfeit and pirated goods.

Piracy is an undying issue and continues to grow even more controversial in the digital age, when it has become synonymous to the theft of intellectual property and the infringement of copyrights. A look at the bigger picture, however, would reveal that those who are crying foul over being its victims aren’t so innocent after all.

The age of enlightenment“He who first shortened the labor

of copyists by device of movable types was disbanding hired armies, and cashiering most kings and senates, and creating a whole new democratic world: he had invented the art of printing,” said Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish writer, historian, and teacher during the Victorian era.

There are two key factors why the Renaissance spread to France, Germany, Spain, and England from the late 15th century to the late 16th century: economic growth and the invention of the printing press.

During this time, the demand for books grew. If education was costly and most texts were written in Latin during the Middle Ages, in the Renaissance, more people were able to afford books and demanded that works be written in their own languages. The spread of literature in turn led to the emergence of humanism.

Culture, from being centralized in Italy became democratized to different countries. Four centuries after the Renaissance, a remarkably easier means of reproduction and distribution has been invented: the World Wide Web. But unlike before, vested interests jeopardize the attainment of another enlightened age.

SOPA, PIPA, and ACTAThe day that all procrastinators

dreaded happened on January 18, the 24-hour blackout of Wikipedia and Reddit. The blackout was made to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act from being passed in the United States. Both bills aimed to clamp down on online trafficking of copyrighted

property and goods. But even without it, the US authorities have been able to shutdown Megaupload, an online file sharing site, and arrest its chief executive officer and executives after being accused of uploading pirated content.

On January 20, the SOPA and PIPA bills were pulled from the floor of Congress due to overwhelming public pressure. But its big brother, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, ACTA is there to save it.

ACTA is a worldwide treaty that aims to establish global standards for the administration of intellectual property rights. It was contracted in October 2010 by Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States. On January 27, the European Union, with its 22 member states, officially signed the agreement.

The proponents of the ACTA say that the objective of the treaty is to protect the industries and jobs that are badly affected by copyright infringement. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center, the US economy loses $200-$250 billion every year to pirates. The Institute for Policy Innovation estimates that it costs the world’s entertainment industry $12.5 billion per annum.

But the “entertainment industry” is a recent invtention of modern culture. In the course of human history, no money was involved in art, music, and performing. It was either a part of ethnic tradition or was done out of sheer enjoyment. Artists were only paid when they were asked to play by

royalty or commissioned by sponsors.

It is a current development that artists can make a living out of their talent. The idea is to give individuals an incentive to pursue their passion. And with technology, especially the internet, digital art can now be reproduced infinitely with fundamentally zero costs.

The free distribution and reproduction of creative product is a genuine artist’s utopia but the opposite for almost everyone else in the business. Hence, in order to ensure financial stability in the industry, copyrights were made.

Copyright was invented to guarantee the “right to copy” an item. It also gives the owner the authority to determine the terms and conditions for the reproduction of the item and maximize benefits from it. Hence, the people who hold these claims, “the profiteering middlemen,” as Piratebay, an international downloading site, calls them, are the ones who create today’s modern culture and circumvent property rights—and every individual, has to abide by their rules.

There are inventors, intellectuals, and artists who think otherwise.

The original “Piracy isn’t theft” said Markus

Persson, a Swedish game developer and creator of Minecraft. He argues that every copy in the digital world is the “original copy.”

He believes that programmers should treat pirates as potential customers. Because of the fast development of software, it is imperative for developers to continue

improving their products. Pirates, in his perception, are the reason why new editions and versions are released by different games and applications. “[Piracy] makes a game last longer than a week,” he added.

Many prominent artists have expressed their resistance to a stricter control in copyrighted goods, saying that it would do more bad than good. MGMT, Ok Go, Trent Renzor of Nine Inch Nails, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman and Lloyd Kaufman believe that it would hamper and impede creativity. They all signed a letter stating the significance of the “free and open internet” and how they would not have reached their current status without it.

Piracy is different from its fixed conceptions of theft and robbery. The monopolization of intellectual property imposes limitations to growth, to innovation, and to the freedom of information. Moreover, it hones and develops a system that only benefits a chosen and already very rich few.

The internet tries to level the playing field. Seven million internet users have already signed online petitions against the proposed legal changes. Websites that have been taken down are resurfacing with new domains. And if they fail, there are still many sites waiting to take their place. This goes to show that even if authorities implement stricter control on the internet, just like the real world, people will always find ways to assert their freedom. ●

All rights reserved

Dibuho ni Marianne RiosDisenyo ng Pahina ni Roanne Descallar

9 • Kulê Kultura Miyerkules 1 Pebrero 2012

Anne Dyan Cruz

Sa unang silbato ng pito, nakagayak na ang lahat ng estudyante. Sa susunod, papasok sa loob ng quadrangle. Bitbit ang isang panulat, maliit na kwaderno at mga kagamitang pangkulay tumakbo ang mga nakahanay na estudyante tungo sa pinagmulan ng mahabang pito.

Isa si Angel*, 2nd year sa Kolehiyo sa Arte at Literature, sa mga estudyanteng tila mga sundalo’t nakapaloob sa tuwid na hanay. Kinakabahan siya sapagkat unang araw niya sa klase ng Reserve’s Officers Training Corps (ROTC). Pinili raw niya ang ROTC sa halip na Civic Welfare and Training Service (CWTS) o Literary Training Service (LTS) dahil sawang-sawa na siya sa diskusyon sa klase o di kaya nama’y sa paggawa ng mga pangkaraniwang gawain katulad ng pagwawalis, paglilinis, pagpipintura at kung anu-ano pa.

Bagong saltaSimula nang mag-ROTC si Angel,

kakaibang tapang ang naramdaman niya para sa sarili, malayo sa dating Angel na madalas pagkatuwaan ng ibang tao. Ang pagpasok niya sa ROTC ay tila pagtanggap niya sa palagiang paghamon sa kanya ng suntukan ng mga siga niyang kaklase noong high school.

Ipinanganak si Angel sa Bataan ngunit sa Marikina na siya lumaki. Minsan na lang kung dumalaw sa probinsya ang kanyang pamilya. Pangalawa siya sa tatlong magkakapatid, at sampung taong gulang lamang siya nang maghiwalay ang kanyang mga magulang.

May sarili ng pamilya ang tatay ni Angel sa Amerika, pero masaya naman siyang kapiling lamang ang kanyang nanay at dalawa pang kapatid. Maayos naman ang kanilang buhay rito: hindi mayaman, hindi mahirap, sapat lang ika nga.

Nagtatrabaho ang kanyang ate sa isang bangko, nasa ikalawang taon sa sekundarya ang bunso niyang kapatid at kahit nasa bahay, naghahanapbuhay ang kanyang nanay sa pamamagitan ng paggawa ng accessories na inilalako niya sa internet.

Isa si Angel sa 162 estudyanteng nag-enrol sa ROTC nung nakaraang semestre. Ayon sa tala ng UP ROTC, nadagdagan ng 10 ang bilang ng mga estudyanteng nag-enrol ngayong semestre. Karamihan sa mga ito ay mga nasa unang taon sa kolehiyo. Lubhang mababa ang mga bilang na ito kumpara noong walang alternatibo sa ROTC.

Taong 1912 nang unang ipatupad ang ROTC sa UP. Sapilitan ipinakukuha ang ROTC sa mga lalaking estudyante, na inaasahang maging reserbang pwersa ng sandatahang lakas sakaling magkaroon ng digmaan o sakuna. Taong 1980s nang una itong buksan para sa mga kababaihan.

Subalit noong 2001, nang mamatay sa “hazing” si Mark Chua, isang kadete sa University of Santo Tomas, ginawang optional ang ROTC. Sa bisa ng Republic Act 9163, isa na lamang ang ROTC sa mga programa ng National Service Training Program (NSTP).

Kusang pumasok si Angel ng ROTC. Kumuha siya nito dahil gusto niya ng mga gawaing susukat sa lakas at tatag niya. “Kahit mahirap, bawing-bawi pa rin kasi masaya yung pakiramdam pag natatapos ang bawat training day, lumalakas ka at [pakiradam mo] kaya [mo] pang harapin ang mas mahirap na challenges,”aniya.

Dahas sa damdamin

Limang oras kadaz Linggo ang inilalaan ni Angel sa military training. May dalawang klase ang ROTC, tuwing Sabado at Lunes mula 7 ng umaga hanggang alas dose ng tanghali.

May tatlong dibisyon ang UP ROTC na may kanya-kanyang mga gawain; ang Rayadillo (honor guard), BlackHawks & Rangers (infantry) at ang FA (Field Artillery) na siyang tagapangasiwa ng training sa ilalim ng regular na Army artillery units.

Sa limang oras na training samu’t saring mga gawain ang nakaatang sa mga kadete. Nariyan ang pagtakbo ng ilang kilometro, pagbilad sa araw, at hindi mabilang na mga drills. Tinuturuan din silang humawak ng riple, mag-assemble at bumaril, at sumagupa sa isang simulated combat battle. Sa lahat ng ito, rapelling ang pinakapaborito ni Angel.

Sa kabila ng hirap at pagod masasabing masaya pa rin siya sa ROTC. Napapawi rin diumano ng barkadahang nabubuo sa labas ng quadrangle ang lahat ng hirap.

Bukod sa pisikal na mga gawain, laging alerto si Angel para sa mga biglaang pagsusulit. Sa mga gawain, kailangan niya ring higit na maging alisto upang maiwasan ang mga pagkakamali na maaaring maging dahilan ng demerit o pisikal na parusa kasama ang iba pang mga kadete.

Kung sa loob ng klase, kahihiyan lang ang parusa ng isang estudyante sakaling hindi masagot ang tanong ng propesor, iba sa ROTC. Parusa ang haharapin ng sinumang nagkakamali. Maswerte ang buong hanay ng mga kadete kung isa lang ang

paparusahan. Subalit kalimitan, lahat ay nadaramay, alinsunod sa

pilosopiyang “kasalanan ng isa, kasalanan ng lahat.”

Malaking gampanin ang pagiging kadete

ng ROTC. Oras at tiyaga ang puhunan.

Masaya si Angel sa pagiging kadete

sapagkat nakikita nya ang disiplina sa sarili at nararamdaman niya ang diwa ng pagiging m a k a b a y a n habang nasa p a n a h o n ng training. Ito ang mga i d e o l o h i y a n g n a p u p u l o t

ng ilang mga estudyante sa

ROTC. P i n a n i n i wa l a

ang mga estudyante na sa

simpleng pagsali sa ROTC, nag-aambag na

sila ng malaki sa lipunan. Ikinukulong sila sa ideya

na sapat na ang pagsunod sa mga utos upang gampanan ang

tungkuling ito.Para kay Angel naging sagot ang

ROTC sa hamon ng mga basag-ulo niyang mga kamag-aral noong high school. Sa ROTC, kaya raw niyang pagtiisan ang hirap ng mga gawain, ngunit minsan, hindi ang mga parusa katulad ng pagsquat thrust ng maka-ilang ulit. Inis na inis siya kapag pinapagawa sa kanila ito.

Ani Angel, maswerte pa nga siya sa kanyang platoon leader kumpara sa iba na mas marahas magparusa. Minsan, sadyang may mga parusa sa ROTC na hindi nakatutulong sa pag-unlad ng isang estudyante. Paraan man ito upang magdisiplina, nag-iiwan pa rin ito ng dahas sa damdamin ng

mga estudyante. Nakabatay ang kosepto ng

disiplina ng ROTC sa pyudal na pamamalakad sa sandatahang lakas. Minsan, tila hindi nagiging epektibo ang ganitong inspirasyon, lalo pa’t maraming kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao ang ipinupukol sa mismong tagapagpasunod ng batas.

Pagbabagong-hubogKasalakuyang pinag-aaralan sa

Kongreso ang pagbabalik sa ROTC bilang tanging rekisitong NSTP. Ayon sa mga nagpanukala, isa itong paraan upang buhayin ang diwa ng nasyunalismo sa mga estudyante.

Naniniwala si Raymond Palatino, kinatawan ng Kabataan Partylist na hindi dapat manghimasok ang militar sa usaping pang-akademiko, at aniya, “The ROTC has taught its cadets how to become blind and docile servants.” Limitado, kung gayon, ang itinutulak na diwa ng nasyunalismo ng ROTC.

Dahil sa mas pinagaan na ROTC ngayon tila unti-unting nawawala sa larawan ang karahasang nangyari hatid ng sapilitang ROTC. Sa ngayon, pilit na pinagagaan ang ROTC bilang military training upang manghikayat ng mas maraming estudyante na handang sumabak sa gawaing pangsundalo. Sa ilalim ng rekisitong pang-akademiko hinuhubog ang mga estudyante na mag-isip tulad ng hukbong militar.

Ayon kay Paulo Freire, may-akda ng Pedagogy of the Oppressed, mas mabuting hubugin ng isang indibidwal ang kanyang sarili sa halip na iba ang gumawa nito. Mas maipapakita ang diwa ng nasyunalismo kung mararanasan nila mismo ang tamang gawi ng pagmamahal sa bayan.

Samakatuwid, ang ROTC ay isang artipisyal na lunsaran ng nasyunalismo na pinapatakbo ng bulag na pagsunod sa mga nasa kapangyarihan. Nagsisilbing konkretong manipestasyon ang maraming oportunidad at malaking pondong inilalaan ng pamahalaan upang hikayatin ang mga estudyante na sumapi sa sandatahang lakas.

Itinatanim ng ROTC sa mga kabataang tulad ni Angel ang ideya ng pagkakaroon ng reserbang pwersa na magtatanggol sa bansa pagdating digmaan. Subalit taliwas ito sa dapat sana’y pangunahing aral ng unibersidad bilang konsensya ng lipunan: ang pagtunton sa mga dahilan ng digmaan, at pagwakas sa mga kondisyong dumarahas sa mamamayan. ●

*hindi tunay na pangalan

R e s e r b aMga tala sa buhay ng isang kadete ng ROTC

Dibuho ni Luigi AlmuenaDisenyo ng pahina ni Roanne Descallar

10 • Kulê Opinyon Miyerkules 01 Pebrero 2012

NEWSCAN

Ganito pala kasarap ang magmahal

In the grand design for world domination, the BPO workforce shall prove its vital role

Bente nuebe

World domination v1.1

DANNIE

VICTOR GREGOR LIMON

There’s a reason why Jessica Zafra once believed that our country’s biggest shot at world domination depends heavily on our overseas domestic workers. With nearly 12 million Filipinos deployed in 182 countries across the globe, Jessica had a valid point: if our domestic workers abandon their duties at an exact given time, there would be a worldwide gridlock as millions of homes fester in dirty dishes, unwashed laundry, empty dinner tables, unchanged diapers, and wailing children. Zafra said we should then announce our demands in exchange for household labor: cancellation of our foreign debts, armaments, planes, ships, toxic waste clean-up, trade concessions.

This is in the ‘90s. Two decades since, our schemes for taking over the world are no longer limited to the export of our own people as household help. Today, we also have almost a thousand business process outsourcing (BPO) sweatshops in many key locations here at home, employing more than half a million workers trained in the fields of customer service, technical support, legal and medical transcription, finance, logistics, accounting, software development and animation, and others in high demand.

See, BPO workers are grossly

understated. Last year alone, they were expected to earn up to more than $10 billion. Yet people still generally look down on the BPO industry: the indiscriminate hiring of college dropouts, the consumerist culture encouraged by a relatively higher salary, the predominantly youngish population, and well, ugly rumors about the prevalence of drugs and unsafe sex among coworkers.

But in the grand design for world domination, the BPO workforce shall prove its vital role.

Consider this. At perhaps the same exact time our overseas domestic workers would abandon their work, BPO thralls could take the cue. They shall turn off their Avayas and refuse to receive or make any more calls. Smokers shall stage a walkout and take an indefinite yosi break, while others left behind shall hold DoTA tournaments in their own work stations, or log-in to Facebook and update their status.

Then not only will there be worldwide household trouble, there would also be global industrial mayhem as millions of disgruntled customers wait longer on the support queue, as millions of travel packages remain unsold, as software bugs stay unresolved, as delinquent

credit card holders remain unharrassed about their bills.

Since most BPO companies and their clients are US-based, we shall issue our demands accordingly: the withdrawal of all American troops from Philippine soil and the scrapping of the Mutual Defense Treaty, the immediate closure of all US mining corporations in the country, and monetary reimbursement for all US-perpetrated damages on our country’s natural resources, culture, and people. There shall be more demands, but that would do as our first wish list.

We will also demand an across-the-board wage increase that would grant Filipino BPO workers a salary level equal to onshore employees. We will also declare a zero tolerance policy on unpaid overtime work, system latency issues, substandard health insurance, shifts during declared holidays, and dumb theme days that require coming to work as Greek gods and goddesses, Halloween creatures, or comic book superheroes.

This is of course only a blueprint and can definitely be developed further by more brilliant ideas. But I believe we should strike soon. Timing is crucial and we shall not stop until this planet is ours. ●

Sa wakas, tuluyan nang napunit ang dalawampung taon kong titulong ‘no boyfriend since birth’. Paalam na sa mga tila walang kapagurang emo status messages. Sa mga pagkakataong nagfi-feeling I Am Legend ako sa malls o sa Sunken. Sa mga gabing kumot ko ang lungkot at pait. Sa “forever alone” mode ko sa buhay at sa pagsa-soundtrip sa mga kantang sawi—kulang na lang mag-suicide pagkatapos makinig.

Ngunit paalam na rin sa pag-aakalang tuluyan na nga akong mamamaalam sa mga ito.

Nakilala ko siya—ang nirerespeto dahil sa kapangyarihan niyang mag-reject ng sandamakmak na studies para sa dyaryo. Ang taong pakiramdam mo nasa library kayo kapag kasama siya sa grupo. ‘Yung comedian na kapag nagpapatawa ay inaabangan ng mga tao dahil minsan lang siya magsalita. ‘Yung wirdong nagsasalita mag-isa kaya inisip ko dati na baka schizophrenic talaga siya. Siya na mahirap malaman o maintindihan ang emosyon. Siya na minsan kong napagkuwentuhan ng mga paglalandi ko sa crush ko dati at nagpayong huwag ko raw paiikutin ang mundo ko sa taong ‘yon.

Sino ang mag-aakalang ang taong mahirap abutin at makausap dati ay nagkaroon ng susi papasok sa puso kong matagal nang naghahanap ng boarder?

Aaminin kong wala akong natanggap na tsokolate, bulaklak o kahit love letter man lang. Nangapa ako sa nararamdaman niya, sa ugali niya. Sa mga dingding ng opisina, hinintay ko ang mga munting drowing niyang maaaring may pahiwatig. Buti na lang dumating ang bestfriend kong alak na nagpaamin sa mahiyain niyang damdamin. Sa pagkakataong ‘yon, alam kong tumama na ako sa pag-aassume kong may gusto nga siya sa akin.

Dahil single ako buong buhay ko, naging malaking bagay sa ’kin ang mayakap, ang mahawakan ang kamay, ang mahalikan kahit sa pisngi lang. Masyado akong natuwa sa mga unang araw, linggo at buwan ng aming pagsasama. Nagawa kong lumiban sa klase at sa mga lakad kasama ng mga kaibigan makasama lang siya. Ganun ako kasakim sa mga bagay na matagal ko nang gustong maranasan. Ang relasyon namin ay parang kombinasyon lang ng sobra-sobrang alak at yosi—alam

kong nakaka-high pero tiyak namang nakatatanggal ng lungkot at problema. Sa madaling salita, nadagdag siya sa listahan ng mga bagay na kinaaadikan ko. Ganito pala kasarap ang magmahal.

Ngunit dumating ang araw na hindi ko akalaing magagamit ko ang linyang “it’s not you, It’s me” galing sa mga ‘tang inang cliché na romantic movies. Hindi ko mabalanse ang mga bagay dahil may kulang at sobra sa relasyon namin. Naging kaaway ko ang sarili at ang mga expectations ko. Kaya bumabalik pa rin ako sa dating gawi: nagmumukmok habang naka-fetal position sa kama, umiiyak habang binubulong sa tenga ang mga emong kanta, nagpopost ng status na tadtad ulit ng sad face emoticons. Umaasa akong maaayos namin ang bawat problema. Pero minsan, kahit mababaw, gusto ko na lang bumitaw. Katulad ng tama ng alak, naging sakit sa ulo ang relasyon namin.

Pero kapag natikman mo na ang nakakaadik na alak o yosi, hahanap-hanapin mo rin ito. Alam kong sarili ko lang ang kalaban ko. Kaya sa huli, humihingi pa rin ako ng tawad sa mga pinalaking problema at bumabalik pa rin ako sa yakap niya. ●

TILAWI NI: Sabor sang IloiloThe UP SILAB Sisterhood invites you to a university-wide eating contest this February 9, 2012 (THURSDAY) at Kamia Residence Hall Parking Lot. Indulge yourself with favorite Ilonggo delicacies that are sure to rock your taste buds! For inquiries, contact Jackie (09053559622) or Jeely (09278564225). Don’t deprive your cravings! :)

UJP-UP Alumni HomecomingNow on its 23rd year, the Union of Journalists of the Philippines – UP Diliman will be having an Alumni Homecoming Party on February 25, 2012, 7 pm-12 mn, at the TV Studio, Media Center, UP College of Mass Communication. We are inviting all alumni members to join us as we celebrate and reminisce more than two decades of Pagsusulat, Pag-uulat, at Pagmumulat. There will be performances from KONTRA-GAPI and the UP Repertory Company, award-giving, games, presentations, and lots of other surprises. For inquiries, you can contact Sarah Torres at 09164477755 or e-mail us at ujp_updiliman@yahoo.com.

NYC says “Be Your Own Rockstar” The National Youth Commission is now accepting applications for the 9th Parliament of Youth Leaders (NYP). With the theme “Revolutionizing Youth Development,” the parliament aims to formulate policy recommendations to address youth issues in the country. These recommendations are then lobbied to government leaders to be considered as proposed bills and administrative policies. Launched in 1996, the NYP will be held on the 1st week of May 2012. Application forms are available in the NYC website (www.nyc.gov.ph). For more information, please e-mail nyp9@nyc.gov.ph or call (02) 416-2833, 416-3415, 413-5503 or 416-3570.

Ebb and Flow of the Student MovementAs part of its 30th anniversary, the Center for Nationalist Studies (CNS) presents “Ebb and Flow of the Student Movement,” the second of a four-part lecture series on progressive youth movements in the Philippines. The event will be held on February 2 with speakers including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s Renato Reyes Jr. Join CNS! Contact Earl at 09359441541 for more details.

Get free publicity! Send us your press release invitations, etc. DON”T TYPE IN ALL CAPS and go easy on the punctuations?! Complete sentences only. Don’t use text language please. Provide a short title, be concise, 100 words maximuum. Email us at kule1112@gmail.com

11 • Kulê Opinyon Miyerkules 01 Pebrero 2012

EKSENANG PEYUPS

TEXTBACK

Next week’s questions1. Anong masasabi mo sa pagtatanggal ng Science subject sa Grade I?2. Sino ang bet mo sa mga kandidato sa USC elections?

Send in your opinions and feedback via SMS! Type KULE <space> YOUR MESSAGE <space > STUDENT NUMBER (required), NAME and COURSE (optional) and send to:

09175312630Non-UP students must indicate

any school, organizational or sectoral affiliation

Payag ka bang dagdagan ang singil sa student publication fee?

ok Lng madgdgan student pubLication fee. 1178354MAMath

To be honest, di ako agree sa political views ng Kule. Pero kung ang pagtataas ng publication fee lang ang paraan para patuloy na mabuhay ang Kule, then why not? Willing naman akong bayaran ang aking share, magkano pa man yan. Ika nga, I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight for your right to say it. 08-01790 Lorenz, BA Journ

dapat lang suportahan natin ang kulê.dati di ko alam pano pa nagiging posible mapublish ang kulê weekly sa liit ng budget nun.at di pa nasasacrifice ang quality,good job talaga sa mga tao behind kulê!hello pala kay girl sa 4th flr.-boypusit 0x-01337 bsge

Itaas na kung itataas ang Collegian fee! ‘Wag lang manlimos ang kule sa UP admin o sa kung sinumang mayamang negosyante. Hindi lang ‘to issue ng P32 o ng freedom of expression. Usaping democracy sa UP ‘to. Go KULE! :)))) 1132877

oks lng kaht magtaas p ng singil para s kule. It amazingly serves its purpose to us students all these years. So why not support Kule all the way? 05-17214 Kenny, BSE

di ako payag sa pagtaas ng student pub fee.OK sana kung lahat nagbabasa at nakakaintindi ng kule.then you could say na justified yung increase kasi everyone will be affected by it.but more often than not,minsan talaga ang saklap makita na nakatiwangwang lang siya sa corridors at di pinapansin.:( 201032988

No. Oo mahalaga ang kule sa up life,pero halos lahat na kasi bina budget cut na.kung tataasan pa ito,parang nakisama na ang kule sa pagpapamahal ng tuition kht sbng piso o 39 idagdag.sa ngayon madami nang paraan para kumlat ang balita.twitter,fb.sa DLRC Nga pure volunteer.wlng bayad,nkk2long pa rin.kung ang bawat mnunulat ng kule,ay may passion,gagawa yan ng paraan para mksulat kht sbhng bitin ang pondo. Mdmi rin kc aqng nkktng sobrang kule,at may iba nga sa fb nlng ngbbsa.kea no need n cguro para sa dagdag. 201035554 Je.geol

okay lang naman saken na magtaas ng presyo ang kule. di naman n0nsense pinagsusulat nila. go delfin mercado! go kule! DYES-59495 bscn

dear kule, keribels naman mgincrease if it’s for the greater good naman db?? I say a NO-NO tlaga sa paid ads and funds frm admin. Mawawaley ang freedom of speech! How can we help ba? I soo love you kule! XD 2010-36523 bach bsshftng out

batay s inflation kailangan nga ng dag2 na singil sa publication fee pero kelangan b itaas fr 15k to 18k ang sirkulasyon? batay kc s obserbasyon koandaming nasasayang na kule s ibaibang kolehiyo na d naman nababasa, natatambak lng. i-check nyo din yun, dag2 gastos din yun. kc kung ibabatay lang sa population tas d nmn binabasa, wala rin. 04-45720

Hindi ako payag sa dagdag singil sa student publication fee. Kung gayon din lang naman ang mangyayari, walang magiging pagkakaiba to sa pangyayari ngayon na pinapasa sa consumer ang dagdag na gastusin ng malalaking corporation. Mabuti sana kung lahat ay nakakakuha ng AT LEAST ISANG kopya ng kule, pero alam naman nating lahat na hindi. Bakit hindi na lamang gawin na monthly issue? Sana huwag magpadala ang madla sa biglaang pakiusap na pagtaas ng singil na ito (Argumentum ad misericordiam) 2010-24127 BSGE

Sino ang gusto mong malasin ngayong Year of the Water Dragon? Bakit?

Wala dapat malasin ngayong Yr. of the Dragon. At sana love2 tayo this year sa isa’t-isa and I’m wishing everyone peace! 1128662 Bashful and Sweet PHYSICiSt

kuleeeeeee! sino ang gusto kong malasin sa year of the H2O dragon? si John Ezekiel Doble Miclat. wala lang. gusto ko lang syang malasin. ewan. di ko talaga gusto aura nya eh. chos. tapos ako swertehin ng maraming marami. haha 0922780 rez

De putya. Sino pa nga ba edi yung mga KURAKOT diyan. Saktong WATER DRAGON,syempre water=tuloytuloy tapos dragon=malakas edi tuloytuloy ang malakas na kurapsyon. Onaynpiptysebentitri

mga walang pusong propesor!kasi wala silang puso! 201035554 Je.geol

ung my malasin man tlga c Dimitri liwanag. Para pag unpredictable na buhay nya, Ndi na sya mapagod mghanap ng purpose nya in lyf. Dimitri liwanag, Hellow!!! Ndi lang sayo umiikot ang mundo no! Kung ikw pagod dhil lang wala ka nang ganang mbuhay, maraming

taong mas pagod kesa sayo para lang mpahaba pa ang kanilang buhay! peace. 1017388

gus2 ko MALASIN c LUCKY manzano...gets nyo? MALAS? LUCKY?? Hahaha. 0915746 BOY.PICK.UP

gusto kong malasin ay si Kris Aquino! Tama na ang pamamlastik nya at pagsasabing “oh my kuya pnoy is good.” ibigay na nila kamo ang hacienda luisita sa mga magsasaka! Otherwise, malasin nawa cya! 201100741 EL

CommentsTo dimitri liwanag, lahat po ng ginawa

Niya ay may rason. May rason po kung bakit ka nabubuhay.. Siguro po ay you’re missing out on something kaya hindi mo pa malaman kung ano po talaga ang purpose mo sa buhay.. :) delfin mercado, you’re the best! :D 1141004

Dimitri mag soul searching ka at wag ka magsulat ng ganyan dahil lalo lalala yang kabalbalan mo. Mag focus ka sa sarili mo padala ka lang ata sa agos kaya wala kang dahilan. Gudluk. 0748553

Ang ganda ng article na Sunday night out! Sobrang nakakarelate ako. Aww. Haha. Salamat din sa mga dormfriends (kahit di na tayo magkakadorm) kung nagpaparamdam na tao rin lang ako! Hehe, hanggang sa susunod na dinner at birthday bash! 10-52364

Delfin Mercado mka-love life wagas? Pbati daw si Krisnah Joy Calaguas Cudia (The Ultimate UPCAT Passer) ;) 10-19559 Sha

Delfin Mercado, you deserve to be happy, not in the arms of someone who keeps you waiting, but of someone who will take you now and love you forever. Be happy, man. 0933675

Delfin Mercado,straight k b?bigyan mo kami ng clue kung sino ang BIDA s articles mo!kasi kahit kami WAITING...i wonder,”WHAT WERE YOU TELLING ME?WHAT’S THE POINT YOU WE’RE PUTTING ACROSS?”..waah!can’t wait for the next article.BOOM! 1020952

hi kule, may story ako na pweds na pweds sa EP section! kasi BRUHA din kasi sya! may girl kasi na nasa unahan ng jeep sa likod ng driver (byaheng katips) na ayaw magabot ng bayad. as if wla syang naririnig. paulet ulet ko na ngang tinatawag eh, nakatingin lng s labas. i was cursing her in my mind. allergic ka sa pera teh? nung tinanong nung driver kung ilan dun sa benteng binayad nya. sbi nya ahrrneooh. ilan nga, sbi nung driver, sbi nya isa lng. sbi ni manong, “yan, isa, hnd ateneo. tsk” buti nga sa knya! maarteng idiota! kala nya ang ganda nya! ginantihan tuloy sya ni manong. buti nga. sna mapublish to. -08-42643 thanks! i love u kule!

nakakatawa yung comics! hahahaha 201104443

Anyare sa Terminal Cases, Sunday night out, at Okay ka lang ba? Pilit? You can do better than that!! 201009537 Sopya

SagutanTo 2011-47101 Race Castro, hindi ko alam

kung nagpapatawa ka, sarcastic o arogante lang talaga. dahil para i-consider mong ‘ELITE’ ka dahil nasa CHK (or CBA or SE) ka ay nagpapakita na hindi ka bagay dito sa UP. bakit anong akala mo sa ibang colleges, mababang uri? anong klaseng mentalidad yan? may ilang taon ka pa sa unibersidad, sana matuto ka pa. 2008-03628, CAL

Ze oh-so-yummeh foodums edishun!Haller haller mga teh! Naglalaway and tomguts na ba kayo for your weekly dose of oh-so-cheddar cheezmax? Ako kasi busog na busog na eh. Pero don’t fret mga bakla, I will ends your kalibugan, este kagutuman! Cause I’m willing to share nomon ze extruh cheez. Oha, so generous of moi nomon.

Foodums # 1: Sino kaya itong hipon from pilosopong kolehiyo na ipinagkalat sa kaniyang beloved fwendz and jowa na may cancer daw siya. Uber nalerky ang kanyang fwends at napaos silang lahat kaka-cry me a river for her. But after al ze heat and drama, everything was just a big fat lie pala! But huweyt there’s more! After niyang bonggang bonggang iwan sa ere ng kasinungalingan ang kanyang fwends at boyfwend, may gana pa siyang makipag-usap sa mga ito na parang waley nangyari. Deadpan te, Kim Chiu no-reaction fez ang peg! Gurl, kung may amnesia ka sabihin mo na, nao na!

Foodums # 2: Sino naman itong another hipon na sinawsaw yata sa mapait na kasinungalingan ang kaniyang puk—este, pagkatao. From her address-ing to her undressing, fresh and sweet daw ang kanyang lasa. Pero na-senze ng kanyang disappointed orgy-mates ang masangsang niyang secrets kaya say nila: Birheng Maria ka ba kamo? More like birheng Maria sa umaga, Ozawang Maria sa gabi, gurl!

Foodums # 3: Isa pang over-priced hipon ang naging oh-so-lucky sa kanyang jowa! Since freshie til graduation, sagot ng purita but hardworking loverboy ang kanyang Bracket B tuition fee. Oh-so forbidden love daw kasi ang drama nila kaya hindi na siya spo-sponsor ng kanyang payrents. Uber supportive naman si kuya—waldas pera here, waldas pera there, Forever 21 here, Maldita there. Pero after all zat cheesiness, lying in the deep pala ang drama ng ateng! Nagpapadala naman all this time ang kanyang payrents at bukod jan—nangati at kumekerengkeng din si atey with other fish in the sea! Haba nomon ng hair teh! Waley akong ma-say!

I know, I know. For dish edishun, panay hipon na lang ang aking servings. O, wag kayong masuya-suya cuz iisang hipon lang lahat ng iyan! Kalerky? Nalerky rin akech sa cheezemiz na itey! Pero oh well, that’s life and that’s it for nao mga bakla! Huwag kayong mabitin sa servings ko cuz there is always something fishy going on around ze campus and nandito lang akesh every week just to serve them to you. Tee-hee. ●

Mass Communication and National College of Public Administration and Governance.

Disapproved candidatesOut of the total 36 students who

filed for candidacy as councilors, three candidates for councilor were disapproved, namely Percival Jerome Tolentino of ALYANSA, and Hannah Keila Garcia and Jeff David Agudelo of STAND UP. The USEB also disapproved Jimson Sulit of ALYANSA as candidate for College of Engineering representative.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Ma. Corazon Tan cited good academic standing as the basis of the board’s decision but declined to specify the reasons for any of the four candidates’ disapproval.

“[The candidate] must be of good academic standing as defined by the University of the Philippines System Code,” according to Art. III, Sec. 1a of the Revised UP Diliman Student Election Code. Candidates must have a grade of at least “3.0 or higher in at least 75 percent” of the total number of subjects enrolled since admission to UP.

ALYANSA, STAND UP and their disapproved candidates declined to comment on the matter.

The disapproval is “not [meant] to penalize the student” but to make sure student leaders are also in good academic standing, said Tan.

This year’s USEB is composed of Tan as chairperson, Prof. Bernadette V. Neri and Ms. Aliona Silva from College of Arts and Letters, Dr. Eulalio R. Guieb III from the College of Mass Communication, and Mr. Welvin Dave Alitaro from the College of Engineering.

Protests on the approved official list may be filed from January 30 to February 1. The Office of Student Activities (OSA) will release its final and official list on February 3. Official campaign period is from February 15 to February 28, 2012.

High hopes“It proves to be an exciting year

[because] this time maraming tatakbo mula sa mga [fraternities]. Let us hope this political exercise [will] consolidate [them],” said Tan.

OSA Director Rommel Rodriguez said he hopes for a higher voter turnout this year, because students will still vote conveniently through designated computer stations as has been practiced since the elections were automated three years ago.

For this election, voters will use 400 computers, said Wilzhar Maquinta of the UP Linux Users Group, the official operator of Halalan, UPD’s automated elections program.

Last year’s elections saw a voter turn-out of 48.5 percent, or 10,650 out of the total 21,965 UPD students.

Student Regent Ma. Kristina Conti said she has high hopes for this year’s USC elections. “This is the batch exposed to the dirtier side of politics, to the Corona impeachment, to the critique of Noynoy. I hope choices of students [will be] as sound and as wise as before,” she explained. ●

4 candidates vie for USC chair

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Kulê The Back Page Miyerkules 1 Pebrero 2012

Dibuho ni Rd Aliposa