The Sentinel, official school publication of the Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila, scored its school administration for having delayed the application process for new members, removed the publication fee and postponed its transition to a new editorial board. The paper said “the school claims that the said moves are to ‘revamp’ the newspaper in the future.” With this and the school administration’s refusal for a dialogue, the future of the independence of the paper hangs in the balance.
The paper said the Student Affairs Office has not held and postponed examinations for a new set of editorial board since its April initial schedule.
Meanwhile, an announcement posted today on the school’s Facebook account called for a “Qualifying Exam for our Student Publication for A.Y. 2017-2018 which will be on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, at the Boardroom.” It did not state if this is for the editorial board of The Sentinel and bore no logo or reference to the independent student paper.
In its September 27 editorial, the paper revealed some reasons the admin told them of the paper’s status.
“The administration attempts to justify these actions from undermining our reputation to “questioning” the grammatical correctness and accuracy of our stories. We have answered and will continue to answer any justification they will try to catapult to us. These arguments do not and will not give the administration any power to ‘change’ the Sentinel. The Campus Journalism Act of 1991 clearly defines that the editorial board shall freely determine its editorial policies and manage the publication’s funds,” said a part of the editorial.
The 32-year old paper may face a hurdle similar to how it started as an independent student paper.
In 1985, the Lyceum Student Council, the school publication staff and other student organizations pushed for a purely student paper, apart from the setup then of The Lyceum, a tri-sectoral paper funded by the school. The students and the school administration agreed on a compromise: The Lyceum would continue and there would be an independent student paper and they would share the publication funds 50-50. The students voted to have their own paper in a plebiscite, but the administration wanted its own version of the charter for the student paper to be used. The students fought to have their own truly independent student paper. It then took two walkouts and three days of barricading the school gates and paralyzing classes to birth The Sentinel.
Support for the independence of the paper poured in as they started to expose the issue at the beginning of the month. A petition to “Bring Back The Sentinel” has been started on Change.org. The Earist Technozette, official student paper of the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute for Science and Technology, issued a statement in support of The Sentinel.
Si Guiller Martin Cadano ay namartir noong ika-20 ng Setyembre ngayong taon. Siya ay napaslang, kasama ang walo pang kasapi ng New People’s Army, sa Barangay Burgos sa bayan ng Carranglan, Nueva Ecija.
Nakapagtapos si Guiller ng kursong Psychology sa UP Diliman Extension Program sa Clark, Pampanga (UP Clark). Sa kabila nito, kaniyang tinalikuran ang maalwang buhay at piniling makipamuhay sa hanay ng uring magsasaka sa Nueva Ecija. Taong 2014 nang iligal na inaresto ng mga elemento ng 3rd Infantry Battalion si Guiller kasama ang kapwa organisador na si Gerald Salonga, mula rin sa UP Clark. Kinasuhan sila ng gawa-gawang kasong illegal possession of firearms.
Napiit ng dalawang taon at apat na buwan sa kulungan ang dalawa, at naging matunog ang kampanya para sa kanilang pagpapalaya. Noong ika-1 ng Disyembre, 2016, na-dismiss ang kaso.
Pagkalaya ni Guiller ay nagpasya siyang sumapi sa New People’s Army, upang maglingkod sa hanay sa maralitang magsasaka ng Nueva Ecija.
Sa darating na ika-5 ng Oktubre, magkakaroon ng Fact Finding Mission upang imbestagahin ang sirkumstansya ng pagkamatay ng siyam sa Barangay Burgos, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija.
Ephraim Escudero, 18-year old and latest extrajudicial killing victim, was laid to rest today. Relatives and friends joined the funeral march from Escudero’s residence to the Castasus Cemetery in San Pedro City, Laguna. They called for justice for Escudero’s untimely death.
Relatives and kin demand justice for Escudero. Photo by Kathy Yamzon.
Escudero, a father of two kids, went missing on September 19 in San Pedro and was found dead two days after in Angeles City, Pampanga. His face and hands were covered in packaging tape, his wrists and ankles were tied behind his back with tape and his head dotted with bullets—an imagery and case that was all too familiar this month.
(Reynaldo ‘Kulot’ De Guzman, 14, went missing from Cainta, Rizal in August 17 and his body was found in Gapan, Nueva Ecija on September 6, head wrapped in masking tape and body sustained 30 stab wounds.)
Abigail Robis, 21, partner of the slain teenager who is also the father of her two kids, said Ephraim was a good partner and a good father to their kids.
Abigail Robis, partner of Escudero, held a picture of the father of her children. Photo by Kathy Yamzon.
Escudero was a cellphone technician in the cellphone repair shop of their family in San Pedro. The shop is the family’s main source of income. He was last seen on CCTV footage giving two men a ride on his motorcycle. One of the hitchhikers was found dead as well. The third man, Escudero’s motorcycle and cellphones were still missing.
The Stop The Killings Network, who joined the funeral march, joined in the call for justice for Escudero. They called on the government to stop the killings of youth and poor Filipinos under President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
Stop the Killings Network and Bayan Metro Manila joined the funeral march protest. Photo by Kathy Yamzon.
Nagsagawa ng general assembly ang mga myembro ng Kilusang Mayo Uno – Metro Manila (KMU–NCR) noong Setyembre 28, 2017 sa Iglesia Filipina Independiente National Cathedral.
Isa sa pangunahing layunin ng asembliya ay ang paghalal ng bagong pamunuan ng KMU-NCR. Nagkaroon ng pangangailangan sa pagbuo ng pamunuan pagkatapos masampahan ng mga imbentong kriminal na kaso ang mga pangunahing pinuno ng samahan.
Layunin rin ng pulong na mas pasiglahin pa at pakilusin ang mga manggagawa para sa pag-oorganisa. Sinisikap ng KMU–NCR na magkaroon ng mas maayos na kalagayan ang mga manggagawa at palakasin pa lalo ang samahan para sama-samang manawagan sa interes ng mga manggagawa.
“Ang Kilusang Mayo Uno kasi, ito ‘yong pangunahing nagsulong ng lahat ng karapatan ng mga mamamayang Pilipino para palayain […] sa kaapihang dinaranas nila,” ayon kay Ed Cubelo, ang bagong halal na tagapangulo ng KMU–NCR.
Kamakailan lang ay nagkaroon ng P21.00 na pagtaas ng minimum wage para sa mga manggagawa sa Metro Manila, ngunit kulang na kulang pa rin itong sahod para sa pang-araw-araw na gastusin. Isa lamang ito sa mga suliranin na kinakaharap ng kilusan.
Maituturing na malaking tagumpay ang pagregularisa ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) sa mga manggagawa sa Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc. (HCPTI) noong Agosto ngunit hindi pa rin natupad ang pangako ng kasalukuyang administrasyonna wakasan ang kontraktwalisasyon para sa lahat ng manggagawa.
Dahil sa ganitong kalagayan, isinusulong ng grupo ang kampanya para sa kasiguruhan sa trabaho, sapat at pantay-pantay na minimum wage sa buong bansa, regularisasyon sa trabaho, at pananatiling 8 oras lamang ang arawang paggawa.
Pangungunahan ng KMU–NCR ang laban ng mga manggagawa sa lahat ng siyudad sa Metro Manila. Maaasahan sa bagong pamunuan na sisikapin pa lalong mas paigtingin ang pagtutulungan ng mga manggagawa para sa kanilang mga kampanya.
Hindi lamang kampanya ng mga manggagawa ang sinusuportahan ng KMU-NCR kundi pati ang mga kampanya para interes ng mamamayang Pilipino, kabilang na dito mga isyu tulad ng pagpapatupad ng Martial Law at ang pambansang giyera laban sa droga.
Sampung araw na ang nakalipas mula nang idaos ang malaking kilos-protesta sa Luneta noong Setyembre 21, kung saan nakiisa ang higit 30,000 mula sa iba’t ibang sektor at partido. Idinaos din ang mga protesta sa iba’t ibang lungsod sa buong bansa kasabay ng ika-45 paggunita sa deklarasyon ng Batas Militar.
Buhat ng lumalalang pasismo sa bayan, hindi na lamang alaala ang Batas Militar, ang kawalan ng hustisya at ang pagyurak sa karapatang pantao. Ang gobyerno ay naglulunsad ng gera kontra droga na ikinamatay na ng 13,000 sa loob ng isang taon, ang all-out war laban sa New People’s Army pero pangunahing binibiktima ang mga komunidad ng magsasaka at pambansang minorya at ang gera sa Marawi na nakapaloob sa Batas Militar sa buong Mindanao. Ang sigaw pa rin ng mamamayan ay #NeverForget (Huwag makalimot) at #NeverAgain (Hindi na muli).
Hindi naman tumigil kailanman ang pambansa demokratikong kilusan–o ang tinutukoy na Kaliwa–sa paglalantad ng mga isyung nakasasama sa mamamayan at lipunan at lagi silang may bitbit na mga plakard na nagsisikap i-highlight ang mga pangunahing panawagan kaugnay ng mga isyu na pinoprotesta. Pero sa paglipas ng mga taon, batay sa mensahe na naisisiwalat sa tradisyunal na midya, mas iniinda ang trapik sa mga rally kaysa ang mga isyu mismo na labag sa interes at kapakanan ng mamamayan. Tila hindi na nababasa ang laman ng mga plakard, at hindi na nakakaabot ang mga mensahe na dapat maunawaan ng publiko.
Pero mula nang nakiisa ang malawak na bilang ng mga tinatawag na ‘millennials’ (mga ipinanganak mula 1981 hanggang 1997, batay sa depinisyon ng maraming institusyon sa pananaliksik at marketing) laban sa paglibing sa yumaong diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. sa Libingan ng mga Bayani at sa pagkundena sa rehabilitasyon ng pamilyang Marcos noong nakaraang taon at kahit pa sila ay binabatikos ng mga troll na hindi inabutan o nabuhay noong Batas Militar, nagbitbit sila ng sarili nilang mga plakard gamit ang iba’t ibang gadget o materyales (IPad, tablet, tarp, papel, etc.) at sariling mensahe at pandama at nailagay ulit sa spotlight ang laman ng mga nakatitik na hinaing.
Habang napaparam ang sobrang tuwa sa isang matagumpay na pagkilos ng malawak na mamamayan (lampas sa mga pinakamasugid sa pagpoprotesta), sa loob lamang ng 10 araw ay sunod-sunod na naman ang mga extrajudicial killing sa mga kabataan–isang 13, 17 at 18 taong gulang na natagpuang patay gaya ng kaso ng 14-taong gulang si Reynaldo De Guzman–itinapon ang bangkay kung saan, nakabalot sa tape (packaging o masking) ang ulo, tadtad ng bala o saksak ang katawan. O ‘di kaya’y tulad ng dating modus operandi ng pagpatay ng riding-in-tandem sa motorsiklo. Mula kay Kian, Carl at Reynaldo, nadagdag pa si Jayross, Ephraim at Dave. Nasa balita rin ang aerial bombings sa Batangas, ang pagpatay ng isa na namang magsasaka sa Compostela Valley at maraming iba pang kahindik-hindik na balita. Ito ang mga usaping nagbigkis sa mamamayan noong araw ng Setyembre 21, at marapat sa mga susunod pa.
Ngayon, higit kailanman, dapat namnamin (at huwag i-scan lang) ang mensahe ng Setyembre 21 at marapat pati ang mga plakard ng mga susunod pang pagkilos ng mamamayan.
“Aktibismo ang humubog sa pamantasang ito. Aktibismo ang dahilan kung bakit sa mahabang panahon nanatiling mababa ang matrikula nito. Aktibismo rin ang dahilan kung bakit tuluyan nang naibasura ang paniningil ng tuition fee sa kasalukuyan.” – mula sa isa sa mga talumpati sa kilos protesta ng mga mag-aaral ng PUP
Nagkasa ng kilos protesta ang mga iskolar ng bayan sa Politeknikong Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (PUP), tanghali ng Setyembre 29, upang kundenahin ang “mga mala-Batas Militar na patakaran sa loob ng pamantasan”.
“Hindi lamang sa labas ng PUP nagaganap ang pasismo na pinapairal ng rehimeng US-Duterte subalit mismong sa loob ng aming paaralan ay tila Martial Law na,” ani Carl Jacinay, Executive Vice President ng Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Konseho.
Sinasabi ng mga nagprotesta na sinisiil ng pamunuan ng PUP ang mga batayang karapatan ng mga iskolar ng bayan, katulad ng unti-unting pagpapatay sa mga academic, non-academic at mga progresibong organisasyon. Sapilitang pinapaalis at tinatanggal ang mga opisina at tambayan ang mga organisasyon ng mga mag-aaral.
Dagdag ni Jacinay, “Pinapatay ang mga institusyon ng mga mag-aaral at pinahinto ang dapat sanang student council election na gaganapin sana sa susunod na semestre.”
Siniwalat din ng mga nagpoprotesta ang pandarahas sa mga lider estudyante ng PUP kung saan may mga pulis na hindi naka-uniporme na nagkalat sa loob ng campus ang nagbabanta laban sa paggigiit ng mga estudyante ng kanilang mga karapatan at laban sa mga aktibista. Nirerekrut din ng mga ‘di unipormadong mga pulis ang mga mag-aaral sa kanilang intelligence unit.
“Kaya kinakasa namin itong militanteng mga pagkilos ng mga iskolar ng bayan upang labanan ang mga krisis sa loob ng aming pamantasan para irehistro sa aming presidente na dati raw siyang aktibista para marinig niya ang mga panawagan ng mga iskolar ng bayan. Kung tunay talaga siyang aktibista katulad ng kanyang sinasabi dapat bigyang pansin niya ang mga interes ng mga iskolar ng bayan,” ani Jacinay.
Sapilitan rin ang pagpapasuot ng uniporme sa mga mag-aaral. Napabalita na sa Senior High School ng pamantasan ay mandatory na ang uniporme na nagkakahalagang P 800 kada set.
“Hindi naman lingid sa ating kaalaman na ang aming pamantasan ay balon ng mga estudyanteng anak ng mga magsasaka at manggagawa. Anak ng mga mahihirap. Kung ang pinambili ng uniporme ay sana magagamit pa pandagdag panlaman ng sikmura,” pagtutol ni Jacinay sa mandatory uniform policy.
Sinabi naman ng pangulo ng PUP na si Emmanuel De Guzman sa isang panayam sa midya na hindi umano sapilitan ang pagsusuot ng uniporme, bukod sa isinulong niya ang pagpapababa ng ilang bayarin sa paaralan. Hindi rin umano pinapaalis ang mga mag-aaral sa tambayan kundi kailangan lang itong i-renovate at saka lahat ay pare-parehong may pagkakataong mag-apply para sa tambayan.
Sabi ng mga mag-aaral, umpisa pa lamang ang isinagawang kilos-protesta noong Setyembre 29 sa mga kilos-protestang ikakasa ng mga iskolar ng bayan ng PUP sa pag-asang makamit nila ang mga polisyang tunay na naglilingkod para sa interes ng mga mag-aaral at mawakasan ang mga panunupil sa kanilang karapatan sa loob ng pamantasan.
“Sa ika-6 ng Oktubre, 2017 magkakasa muli ang mga iba’t ibang organisasyon ang mga iskolar ng bayan ng isang protesta laban sa mga bagong represibong patakaran sa loob ng pamantasan. Gaganapin ito sa North Wing, 12:00pm. Kaya inaanyayahan namin ang iba pang mga iskolar ng bayan upang makilahok sa pagkilos. ‘Wag tayong matakot lumiban sa ating klase sa ilang sandali. Mas matakot tayo na baka kung hindi tayo lumaban ay mas lalong hindi na tayo makapag-aral,” pag-anyaya ni Jacinay.
Manila Youth Act Now, a group of students from various colleges and universities and youth from different communities, launched a peace caravan in September, the second in two consecutive years. In spite of a hiatus in the talks, they remain hopeful that peace talks would continue and yield results that would change the current system of education and social services for the youth.
The caravan visits various high schools in Manila to hold a forum on the peace talks and the plight of indigenous peoples, inviting Lumad schoolchildren to talk about their situation. The forum discusses the relevance to the youth of the social and economic reforms agenda, the current substantive agenda on the formal peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
The peace forum in Lakandula High School was held last September 11, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Lakandula High School was held last September 11, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Vocational High School was held last September 13, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Vocational High School was held last September 13, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Vocational High School was held last September 13, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Vocational High School was held last September 13, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The youth organizers of the caravan push for the NDFP proposition for free, accessible, nationalistic education. Such reform should go with the beefing up of funding for the public school system up until the tertiary level, building more schools and doing away with the K-12 program.
The peace forum in Antonio Villegas Vocational High School was held last September 18, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Antonio Villegas Vocational High School was held last September 18, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Antonio Villegas Vocational High School was held last September 18, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Antonio Villegas Vocational High School was held last September 18, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Florentino Torres High School was held last September 18, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Florentino Torres High School was held last September 18, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Florentino Torres High School was held last September 18, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The Lumad schoolchildren shared how their own tribes built their own schools with the help of church people and non-government workers. In their alternative schools, they were taught about their own culture, environment, agriculture—all that are relevant for their culture to flourish and their tribes to survive.
The peace forum in T. Paez Integrated School was held last September 20, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in T. Paez Integrated School was held last September 20, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in T. Paez Integrated School was held last September 20, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in T. Paez Integrated School was held last September 20, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The fifth round of talks between the GRP and NDFP was cancelled by the GRP in May this year, even if delegates were already in The Netherlands for the talks. The GRP demanded for a bilateral ceasefire before negotiations on reforms could proceed, while the NDFP demanded that the other side uphold previously signed agreements. Both panels’ working committees on socio and economic reforms that time could have finished with the first of three parts of the agenda, the agrarian reform and rural development, with free land distribution as a core principle.
The peace forum in Tondo High School was held last September 26, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Tondo High School was held last September 26, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Tondo High School was held last September 26, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Tondo High School was held last September 26, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Emilio Aguinaldo Integrated School was held last September 26, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Emilio Aguinaldo Integrated School was held last September 26, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
The peace forum in Emilio Aguinaldo Integrated School was held last September 26, 2017. Photo from Manila Youth Act Now.
From the time the talks were cancelled, President Rodrigo Duterte has vehemently talked against continuation of the talks, up until before the big protest rally against tyranny and fascism held last September 21. Duterte’s side has yet to issue a formal notice of cancellation of talks.
The peace caravan in Manila has visited Lakandula High School, Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Vocational High School, Antonio Villegas Vocational High School, Florentino Torres High School, T. Paez Integrated School, Emilio Aguinaldo Integrated School and Tondo High School. They would still visit Ramon Magsasaysay High School, Esteban Abada High School, Manuel L. Quezon High School, Claro M. Recto High School and Manuel Roxas High School among others.
Tila bahagi na ng buhay nila ang mga pangambang bumabarena sa kanilang mga utak. Isang buong araw ng pawang ingay na kumakalog sa kanilang mga ulo. Nasanay man sila sa tahimik na buhay sa nayon, hindi na bago sa kanila ang nakabubulabog na ingay. Parang huni na lang ng ibon ang mga tunog na ito sa kanila. Para bang kasing-esensyal na ng paghinga ang mga ingay na ito.
Ito ang bumuo sa kanilang pagkatao, ang kanilang mga karanasan.
Lagi’t laging nilalahukan ng sunod-sunod na pagbayo ng mga tunog na ito ang mga gawain nila sa pang-araw araw: sa pagluto ng agahan upang makakain ang kanilang mga anak, sa pagpasok sa eskwelahan ng mga mag-aaral na mapalad dahil sa mga paaralang itinayo ng kanilang mga magulang para sa kanila, kasama ang mga boluntaryong guro na galing mismo sa kanilang lugar. Ang iba naman ay galing pa sa lungsod at iniwan na ang komportableng mga kama de kutson at de-aircon na mga kwarto, piniling kumain ng kamoteng kahoy, papaya, saging at malunggay sa halip na fried chicken, spaghetti at hamburger. Maging sa buong araw na pag-aalaga sa mga punla ng sari-sarili nilang mga lupang sakahan ay sumasama ang ingay na umaalog sa kanilang mga isipan.
Si Emerito Samarca, Executive Director ng ALCADEV, ay pinaslang ng mga paramilitar noong Setyembre 1, 2015.
Ang ingay na ito ay isang pamilyar na ingay. Narinig na nila ito sa kanilang mga paaralan, kung saan harapan nilang nasaksihan ang pagsirit ng dugo sa katawan ng respetadong Executive Director, o hindi naman kaya’y kapag naglilibang ang mga sundalo at nilalaro ang kanilang mga sandata na para bang walang matatamaan sa kanilang delikadong kasiyahan. Nagagawa pang gawing biro ng kanilang guro na tinatawanan ang pangamba.
“Lumabas ka rito! Ipaparamdam ko sa iyo kung ano ang impyerno!” sigaw ng sundalo sa guro.
Tumahimik saglit ang guro, at tumugon.
“Huwag na lang, magtinda na lang ako ng ice cream dito, malamig pa.”
At sabay mapapalitan ang takot sa mata ng mga bata ng isang payapang halakhak. Ayos pa kami, iniisip nila.
Naririnig rin nila ito matapos ang selebrasyon ng school blessing sa kanilang lugar. Sobrang saya nilang lahat noong araw na iyon. Natawa pa sila nang mag-away noong gabi ang dalawa nilang kabayo. Isa ang nagwagi, isa naman ay tumakbo na sa iba’t ibang sikmura ng mga residente, naging kalakasan ng kalamnan. Dumalo pa nga ang kagawad ng kanilang barangay, mabuti raw at hindi yung Barangay Captain. Masama ang reputasyon sa kanila ng Barangay Captain matapos silang pagmumurahin lahat. Bakit daw ang babait nila sa mga rebeldeng hukbo tapos sobra kung makalayo sa mga sundalo. Kulang na lang sabihin ni kapitan na “mga NPA siguro kayo ‘no?” Pero lagi’t lagi nilang kinukumpara ang dalawang pwersa ng mga armadong sundalo: ang isa ay agarang umaalis kapag pinaalis nila, makikiinom ng tubig sandali at agaran ding aalis. Hindi matutulog sa kanilang mga bahay. Hindi nagkakampo sa kanilang mga paaralan. Hindi rin tinututukan ng baril ang mga tao.
Ang isa naman ay hindi ginagawa ang ginagawa ng isa.
Sabi nga. Kung ano ang gusto mong gawin sa’yo, gayundin ang gawin mo sa kapwa mo. Hinding-hindi masuklian ng mga residente ang ginagawa ng grupong kinaayawan nila. Hindi nila kayang maging mabait sa mga lumalapastangan sa kanilang mga anak na babae, na sa murang edad pa lamang ay gusto na agad laruin. Hindi nila kayang maging mabait sa mga bigla na lang papasok sa bahay nila ng alas tres ng umaga, iinspeksyunan ang bahay at kakasuhan ang tatay ng isang kasong hindi naman totoo. May baril daw ang tatay nila: isang .35 caliber. Airsoft gun lang ang alam nilang meron ang tatay nila, pero hindi .35 caliber. Nahanap daw ito ng nag-iinspeksyon sa likuran ng kanilang bahay, na para bang mayroon silang bakuran na tinutubuan ng baril sa halip na halaman. Hindi nila kayang maging mabait sa mga taong isinasako ang mga musmos na may kapansanan sa pag-iisip, itatapon sa isang maputik na lugar upang umuwi sa bahay nila at paiyakin ang nag-aalala nitong ina.
Hindi nila iyon kayang gawin.
Tila namanhid na sila sa pangamba at kinilala na lamang ito bilang bahagi ng kanilang katauhan. Ginamit na lamang nila ito upang buuin ang kanilang mga sarili, at pagsama-samahin ang mga ito sa iisang layunin.
Sobrang ingay dito sa kampuhan dahil sa mga drill trucks na nag-aayos ng lansangan. Pero lahat sila ay buong-buo ang loob.
Ipinagpapatuloy ng mga volunteer teachers ng mga alternatibong paaralan ng mga Lumad ang pag-aaral ng mga bata sa kampuhan ng Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya noong Setyembre.
Kayang-kaya nilang talunin ang umaalog na ingay. Matatag, tumitindig, at pinananatiling buo ang sarili.
Hindi sila aalis hangga’t hindi nila natatalo ang ingay na ito.
Hindi sila aalis hangga’t hindi sila naririnig.
—
Si John Thimoty Romero ay volunteer teacher sa Center for Lumad Advocacy, Networking and Services, Inc. (CLANS) at bahagi ng Save Our Schools Network.
“The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the police are essentially re-creating a hit list, and they are asking everyone to write it for them,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
Groups and netizens reacted against the ‘fishing expedition for illegal drug suspects and even innocent people’ when reports and photos circulated in media and the internet showing that these boxes have been installed at various barangay halls.
In the DILG Memorandum Circular 2017-112 or the Revised guidelines for the Mamamayang Ayaw sa Anomalya, Mamamayang Ayaw sa Iligal na Droga (MASA MASID) program released on August 29, 2017, the DILG ordered the setting up of a drop box system in all local government units to serve as a reporting tool. The drop box was an addition to the hotline, which was the sole reporting tool specified in the memo that started the program in September 2016.
The MASA MASID program, according to its own rationale, “promotes community involvement on corruption, illegal drugs, criminality, violent extremism and other threats to peace and security.”
In the August 29 memo, the DILG cited that ‘significant changes as the project is being implemented’ called for the existing policy to be enhanced hence the release of the revised guidelines. In the revised guidelines, the changes observed were: the community based rehabilitation program was dropped and retained only advocacy and reporting as implementation strategies and activities; violent extremism and threats to peace and security were adopted among issues it wanted to address in engaging volunteers in the community ‘with the recent terrorism-related incidents’; and, the drop boxes installed in barangay halls, as well as e-mail, short messaging service (SMS) and direct reporting to any member of the MASA MASID Group (MMG) are the new reporting tools in addition to the hotline.
(This publication inquired with the DILG and the MASA MASID Project Management Office on the assessment in the first year of the implementation of MASA MASID and the rationale behind the changes and has yet to receive a reply as of this posting.)
Tool for targeting activists
“[The drop box] will be a random, irresponsible and ineffective campaign that can target anyone, not just suspected drug users but even activists and concerned citizens. Even without this drop box system, scores of people have already fallen victim to illegal arrests, how much more if such arbitrary measures are implemented? We have had previous reports of the drug war campaign being used to fast-track counterinsurgency operations, and this scheme will inevitably lead to more similar cases,” Palabay said.
Karapatan cited the recent case in Nueva Vizcaya wherein five farmers were illegally arrested by joint military and police elements, and charged with trumped-up cases last September 29, 2017, after being flagged down at a checkpoint. The farmers were members of Kasibu Inter-Tribal Response for Ecological Development (KIRED) & Samahang Pangkarapatan ng Katutubong Magsasaka at Manggagawa, Inc. (SAPAKKMMI), and were active in opposing the large-scale mining operations in the area.
Drug lists problematic, drop boxes even more so
“What is this ridiculous drug informants’ dropbox system? Police cannot use the names in the “drugs dropbox” as evidence against any person, because there is no guarantee of truthfulness or regularity in such information. At best, it may provide leads in investigations, but police have to verify and substantiate the allegation/s before using it in operations or in court. However, there is no compelling need for this system, not especially when every barangay has already drawn up its drug list, problematic as that may be,” said Atty. Kristina Conti of the National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL) NCR in her Facebook account post.
Atty. Conti lambasted the government agency responsible for the drop boxes in her post:
“Kulang na ba ang listahan? Ubos na ba ang mga nasa drug list? Wala na kayong asset? Patay na ba lahat ng informant nyo? Wala na bang intel info? O baka di talaga kayo intelligent? PBB eviction night ang peg? Pabebe kayo?”
(Has the drug list ran short? Are all those in the drug list eliminated already? Do you no longer have assets? Are all your informants dead? Do you not have intel info? Or are you just not intelligent? Is this patterned after Pinoy Big Brother eviction night? Are you childish?)
The group of lawyers said they would study if there is enough basis to immediately challenge in court the DILG policy of drop boxes.
“It is another draconian snowball in the avalanche of dangerous shortcuts to fight crime and drugs. We might as well have drive-thru counters for good measure,” said NUPL President Atty. Edre Olalia in a statement.
Last month, the NUPL succeeded in putting a stop to random, involuntary, house-to-house drug testing conducted by various Quezon City police stations. They aimed to put a stop to such a practice elsewhere as they brought the police to court on the matter. The group also scored the Philippine National Police (PNP), again in Quezon City, for conducting random bag inspections in bars along Katipunan Avenue last month.
CHR opposes drop boxes for illegal drugs reporting
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also reacted against the drop boxes proposition.
In its statement in August, the CHR expressed its support for the “government’s campaign in combating the possible dangers brought about by the use, sale, production, and distribution of illegal drugs in the country” but said that the “manner of pursuing personalities involved in illegal drugs violates the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution.”
“The information collected through the “drop boxes” — while serves as tips or leads to the police — may expose an individual to mistaken arrest if the information is not verified and court processes are not involved. In the same way, residents of a house with no drug-free sticker may be unduly discriminated and/or tagged as drug-users/pushers without due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution. This also violates the right of any person to be heard before he/she is condemned. A person’s honor, as well as the reputation of his/her family, would also be harmed,” said a part of the CHR’s statement.
The commission said they would continue to be watchful of the measures and procedures implemented.
Reports to be validated
“That’s good, dahil we will be coming up with any information na hindi natin makukuha in any other means dahil nga takot nga ‘yung tao na magbigay ng impormasyon di ba?” said PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa today.
(That’s good, because we will be coming up with information that we would not otherwise acquire because people are scared to give information, right?)
“Hindi naman ibig sabihin na lahat nang ilagay diyan sa drop box ay kinoconsider natin na totoo. That is why we have to validate that report,” Dela Rosa said.
(This does not mean that everything placed in the drop box will be considered true.)
In the revised guidelines, the Technical Working Group (TWG) of MASA MASID, headed by the city or municipality DILG Field Officer, was tasked to establish the modes of reporting, consolidate reports coursed through the modes of reporting and validate submitted reports. The MASA MASID Team (MMT) members, composed of the barangay chair, another barangay official and civil society organizations representatives, were the ones explicitly tasked in the memo to collect the reports coursed through the drop boxes for submission to the TWG. The memo did not say, however, how the reports would be validated.
Nilad, a network of environmental protection advocates, launched the Green Corridor Initiative campaign at the University of Makati on September 27 to call for the preservation of green spaces in Metro Manila amid rush to implement government’s infrastructure agenda ‘Build, Build, Build’.
The group illustrated the cutting of trees along Commonwealth Avenue for the building of the MRT-7 as one of the recent casualties of the development agenda that they say ‘does not benefit the people and the environment.’
“The development projects are geared for private business profit, so we lose green spaces that can protect us from calamities. The government spend for these projects and turn over their operations to private business, so the money that comes from these projects does not go back to social services or the environment,” said Nilad Chairman Raymond Palatino.
The group also launched the #GreenMetroManila, which aimed to have an inventory of green urban spaces in Metro Manila. They sought local government units for environmental plans such as land use, parks and plazas, existing waterways, number of trees, biodiversity profiles, bike lanes and waste management facilities.
Netizens may also take part in the initiative of identifying and monitoring green spaces by posting photos of these spaces and places with the use of the said hashtag.
University of Makati students participate in the #GreenMetroManila initiative. Photo by Kathy Yamzon.
The group said they are named after the origins of the name of the capital city of the country, “may nilad” meaning there are mangroves. The region used to be surrounded with mangroves that protect from flood and surge and promote biodiversity, hence the inhabitants gave such name. There are only three remaining mangrove forests in Manila.
The Sentinel, official school publication of the Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila, scored its school administration for having delayed the application process for new members, removed the publication fee and postponed its transition to a new editorial board. The paper said “the school claims that the said moves are to ‘revamp’ the newspaper in the future.” With this and the school administration’s refusal for a dialogue, the future of the independence of the paper hangs in the balance.
The paper said the Student Affairs Office has not held and postponed examinations for a new set of editorial board since its April initial schedule.
Meanwhile, an announcement posted today on the school’s Facebook account called for a “Qualifying Exam for our Student Publication for A.Y. 2017-2018 which will be on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, at the Boardroom.” It did not state if this is for the editorial board of The Sentinel and bore no logo or reference to the independent student paper.
In its September 27 editorial, the paper revealed some reasons the admin told them of the paper’s status.
“The administration attempts to justify these actions from undermining our reputation to “questioning” the grammatical correctness and accuracy of our stories. We have answered and will continue to answer any justification they will try to catapult to us. These arguments do not and will not give the administration any power to ‘change’ the Sentinel. The Campus Journalism Act of 1991 clearly defines that the editorial board shall freely determine its editorial policies and manage the publication’s funds,” said a part of the editorial.
The 32-year old paper may face a hurdle similar to how it started as an independent student paper.
In 1985, the Lyceum Student Council, the school publication staff and other student organizations pushed for a purely student paper, apart from the setup then of The Lyceum, a tri-sectoral paper funded by the school. The students and the school administration agreed on a compromise: The Lyceum would continue and there would be an independent student paper and they would share the publication funds 50-50. The students voted to have their own paper in a plebiscite, but the administration wanted its own version of the charter for the student paper to be used. The students fought to have their own truly independent student paper. It then took two walkouts and three days of barricading the school gates and paralyzing classes to birth The Sentinel.
Support for the independence of the paper poured in as they started to expose the issue at the beginning of the month. A petition to “Bring Back The Sentinel” has been started on Change.org. The Earist Technozette, official student paper of the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute for Science and Technology, issued a statement in support of The Sentinel.
Consumers, scientists and activists held a protest at Meralco’s generation office at the Rockwell Business Center in Pasig on October 3 to demand Meralco to abandon the seven “dirty, midnight deals” on power supply agreements (PSAs) between the company and its affiliated power generation companies.
Consumers’ alliance People Opposed to unWarranted Electricity Rates (POWER), scientists group AGHAM Advocates of Science and Technology for the People and environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (KALIKASAN PNE) and groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Kalipunang Damayang Mahihirap trooped to Meralco to expose the company’s stake in the lucrative PSAs.
Groups demanded teh cancellation of seven power supply agreements of Meralco and its affiliated power generating companies. Photo from Agham.
“Meralco’s abuse of power is at its peak. With its significant shares in the generation companies, Meralco practically owns and controls the affiliated power generation companies in question. This extent of control in the generation up to the distribution of power will worsen corporate monopoly of the entire supply chain of the energy industry,” said Finesa Cosico, AGHAM Secretary-General, in a statement.
AGHAM said that P 1.9 trillion worth of ‘midnight deals’ for seven new power plants of Meralco and its affiliated power generating companies would be passed on to consumers once approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Included in the companies yet to be approved are Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. in Pagbilao, Quezon, Global Luzon Energy Development Corp. in Brgy. Luna, La Union, and Mariveles Power Generation Corp. in Mariveles, Bataan. As reported by POWER, ERC Commissioner Josefina Asirit said the three “have not even been scheduled for a hearing yet because of the lack Environmental Compliance Certificate.”
“The power (purchasing) agreement between the owners of these plants and MERALCO are ‘midnight deals’ as no bidding occurred. MERALCO owner Manny Pangilinan has significant stake ownership on these power producers,” commented KALIKASAN PNE National Coordinator Clemente Bautista in an interview with Manila Today.
Midnight deal
“The midnight deals are the product of connivance between Meralco and its affiliate power generation companies. This was possible under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act’s (EPIRA) provision on cross ownership which allows private entities to own both generation and distribution utilities, resulting to one or few companies dominating the entire energy industry,” said Cosico.
In June, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate questioned the approval of the P 1.7 transmission line for a power plant of the Atimonan One Energy, Inc., supposing also that six other PSAs with six other generation companies Meralco allegedly controls may have been also approved. Zarate alleged that these seven PSAs awarded without bidding to the generation companies may force Meralco customers to pay P91 billion in generation charges yearly.
Zarate said, as per his group’s computations, Meralco customers may be forced to pay almost P2 trillion in generation charges, excluding distribution and transmission line charges and other costs through the 20 to 21-year duration of the contracts.
“The seven coal plants set to be built under the agreements will tie our hands to a single pollutive source of energy for 20 years. More than this, it will also result to higher electricity rates in the long run as the price of coal continues to surge upwards,” said Cosico.
Dirty deal
KALIKASAN PNE said the MERALCO coal projects amount to an estimated 9.7 million metric tons of annual coal consumption, and equivalent to 3,551 megawatts of annual power production. This is estimated to produce an annual output of 739,791.3 tons of coal ash, 1.1 million tons of sludge waste, and 20.7 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Kalikasan extrapolated the figures from the Department of Energy data. The projections were based on the power that would be produced by the seven power plants and projected coal consumption and were also based on the study of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Coal power is one of the dirtiest source of electricity. It is one of the major contributors of global carbon emission. Studies show that coal power negatively impacts peoples health and environment,” said Bautista.
KALIKASAN PNE said in its October 3 statement that MERALCO’s midnight deals would lock-in the country to dirty, climate change-inducing energy.
The group described it as ‘the single biggest coal coup in the power industry in recent years.’
“Imagine all that waste finding its way into our drinking water, crops, homes, and the very air we breathe. Imagine stockpiles of pulverized coal dumped on open-air expanses, with winds dispersing the dangerous particulates into the ecosystems and communities adjacent to these new coal power plants about to be locked in,” also said the statement.
Alternative to coal
Apart from the PSAs for the establishment of coal-fired power plants approved so far this year during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, the Benigno Aquino III administration was noted to have approved 25 coal-fired power plants in 2015.
On why the country remain dependent on coal, Bautista said, “This is part of the imposition of financial institutions like World Bank and Asian Development Bank to transfer their surplus and dirty technology in third world countries like the Philippines. As coal technology is becoming obsolete, industrialized countries like US and China transfer their coal power technologies and products.”
Bautista said the establishment and operation of coal power plants would also ensure that the Philippines will remain dependent on expensive, imported dirty coal.
Bautista said the country has so much indigenous and renewable energy resources, being the second biggest producer of geothermal energy in the world and having so much hydro and solar power potential.
“Only if the government can harness these resources through establishing a power industry that is controlled by the state. A basic requirement for this is first to reverse the energy privatization and deregulation policy of the government which is stipulated under the EPIRA. Second, the development of the energy industry should be under the context of pursuing national industrialization,” said Bautista.
Agham, likewise, called on the government to craft an alternative energy policy that that espouses a pro-people, pro-environment nationalized energy industry geared towards the needs of the country for national development.
The group demanded as well for the cancellation of the seven agreements with Meralco and its power generation companies and the abolition of EPIRA.
Political will for renewable energy
However, Duterte, as with the previous president Aquino, held the view that coal power is necessary.
As presidential candidate, Duterte said ‘there is nothing wrong with coal’ and as president he said ‘green energy is good but we need coal.’
“Duterte has a long record of supporting coal power plants. He supported the establishment of Aboitiz coal plant in Davao city when he was still a mayor. His best friend Department of Finance Secretary Dominguez is part owner of coal power plants in Mindanao namely the 200-megawatt Sarangani Coal Power Plant. We believe Du30 benefits from these power projects,” said Bautista.
“Any power plant that producing electricity will definitely add to the current power supply. Whether it will stabilize the energy supply in Mindanao depends if its enough to provide the current demand. At the short term, coal power plant is currently is the cheapest, not considering its health and environmental cost, power source for corporations to set up. It has also the fastest return of investment compared to hydro, geothermal, wind, and even solar power,” commented Bautista.
Bautista also noted that the current Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi is a former employee of Aboitiz Corp., reportedly worked his way up from Assistant Comptroller in 1973 to Senior Vice President and Director in 1990. Aboitiz Corp. being one of the major power players and owners of coal power plants in the Philippines.
“Mabait. Masayahin. Malambing. Pangarap niyang maging magaling na make-up artist. Marami siyang pangarap, sabi pa niya sa akin, ‘Ma ‘pag nagkatrabaho at nag-abroad na ako hayahay na buhay mo, hindi ka na magtatahi ng basahan’,” kwento ni Emelita Jore, nanay ni Aldrin.
Sa unang gabi ng burol ni Aldrin Jore. Kuha ni Wigen Echual.
Pagod at malungkot si Nanay Emelita. Sabi niya, mabait ang anak ko, wala akong nakikitang kaaway niya. Oktubre 4 ng gabi ang unang gabing ibinurol si Aldrin.
Nagulat nalang siya nang nakita niya si Aldrin na nakahandusay sa kalsada, wala nang buhay.
Oktubre 2, gabi, matapos magpagupit ng buhok, binaril ng ‘di nakilalang salarin si Aldrin. Dalawang tama ng bala sa kanyang batok ang pumatay sa kanya.
Ayon sa mga nasa paligid nang nangyari ang pagpatay, tinawag siyang ‘Burnok’ ng bumaril. Lumingon si Aldrin. Doon na siya pinaputukan ng baril. Tatlong riding-in-tandem ang namataan sa eksena sa pagpatay kay Aldrin. Bumuwal si Aldrin sa kalye ng Martan, wala nang buhay.
May iba pang tinatawag na ‘Burnok’ sa lugar nila Aldrin sa Barangay Commonwealth sa lungsod Quezon.
Isang dumadaan lang sa mga oras na iyon ang natamaan ng bala na dinala sa ospital.
Samantala, sa ‘initial police report’ na inulat ng isang pahayagan, sabi ng police report na sabi raw ng mga residente na ‘kilalang bugaw ng mga prostitute’ ang napatay, pero sabi rin ng mga pulis na kailangan pa raw nila itong beripikahin.
Panglima sa magkakapatid, Grade 8 sa hayskul, 16 na taong gulang. Class president. Matalino. Marami pa siyang pangarap para sa kanyang pamilya.
“Wala na anak ko. Mami-miss ko siya,” iyon na lang ang nasambit ni Nanay Emelita.
“The speedy confirmation of ex-general Roy Cimatu as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) means that big business plunderers and polluters have found their right man for the agency,” said KALIKASAN People’s Network for the Environment (KALIKASAN PNE) in a statement on October 4, following the confirmation of Cimatu.
When Cimatu was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte in May after the Commission on Appointments’ (CA) rejection of Gina Lopez, the group expressed dismay by the choice, saying that Cimatu has a track record of defending environmental plunderers and corruption.
They referred to the former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff’s order to create “Task Force Lumad” to guard the Alsons logging tenement and train Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) paramilitaries also to protect the logging area that is being protested by the Ata-Manobo tribes in the area.
On the issue of corruption, they referred to the 2011 AFP ‘pabaon’ corruption scandal where retiring chiefs of staff were given hefty ‘send-off money’.
“The mining industry lobbyists who decried the supposed lack of technical proficiency of the previous DENR leadership under Gina Lopez did not raise a hoot about Cimatu’s complete lack of credentials in environmental science. Being a hypocrite is apparently not a problem when your lobby money is already making a hefty return on investment,” the group lambasted the powerful CA.
KALIKASAN PNE criticized that no one in the CA grilled Cimatu on his track record of corruption and human rights violations.
The group said before that Cimatu has no track record on addressing environmental issues and instead has a record of defending environmental plunderers and engaging in corruption. They urged Duterte then to reconsider the decision to appoint him as DENR secretary.
“Cimatu reversed the commitment of Gina Lopez that DENR will not approve new reclamation projects. He is also delaying and more likely will junk the previous mining order of Gina Lopez of closing and suspending erring big mining corporations,” said Clemente Bautista, KALIKASAN PNE National Coordinator, in an interview.
The group heeded that in the short time Cimatu has been in office, the ban on open pit mining is up for review thus its implementation is suspended. Duterte has always been vocal against open pit mining and supported to ban it, while Cimatu vowed to uphold this position of the president.
They now also dispraised the president as merely spewing out rhetoric when he speaks against destructive mining.
“It means the Duterte regime’s official policy on mining is to eat all its rhetoric on cracking down on irresponsible large-scale miners. It is a go-signal for Cimatu to continue his review process to reverse the closure, suspension, and agreement cancellation orders against mining projects found to have violated various environmental and socio-economic standards,” said KALIKASAN PNE.
Today I remember a professor who’s passed on, but living on and large through his legacy of critical thinking and frank outspokenness. Monico Atienza was my professor in a subject I can no longer remember, and one where I did not get a grade.
After I shifted courses, I needed to enroll in elective subjects, any course code in the 100 series in UP Diliman. I took on one of Sir Nick’s subjects, hoping he would understand if I had to absent myself if I chose to go to rallies. Sir Nick said he will treat me the same way he would treat the others, but encouraged me to bring along my classmates if I needed to go.
I was alien to the Filipino department in the College of Arts and Letter, fresh from being book-and laboratory-bound in the College of Science and moving on to English-inclined College of Mass Communications. I only knew a few people in my class and wanted to just slip away.
For Sir Nick, free flowing discussion was focal. He rarely, if at all, scheduled lecture sessions, putting emphasis on discourse.
“Gusto ko matuto tayo sa isa’t isa,” he said at the start of the semester.
We didn’t have exams; we submitted essays, graded not on the standard of what the professor said, but on the scale of how much the student has learned. In class we talked about theory, current events, and everything else under the sun. I found myself drawn in more and more. I think I was only absent at least thrice, and rarely late. Sometimes I had to restrain myself from talking much, because the 1.5 hours would run out sooner.
Our final requirement was a group project about the use of Filipino among young ones (I forgot exactly). I was assigned to a group of Ingliseras. But we found a way to bond and presented our findings before Sir Nick at his office at the Faculty Center. We made all sorts of realization about privilege, me sharing several points about my own remolding as an activist that involved being more comfortable in Tagalog. Sir Nick, former secretary general of the Kabataang Makabayan, would nod along, as if to indicate he understood how it was to be young and petit-bourgeois.
When my classcard came back, it was marked incomplete! Confused and slightly betrayed, I asked about my grade. The report you made was a bit late, he began. But my groupmates have grades already, I reasoned. Do you need a grade now, he asked back. (Turns out later, I didn’t.) Then he gave me a most memorable backhanded compliment: Maybe you can join my class again next semester. (Regrettably, I didn’t.)
I’ve forgotten much of what we discussed, much more what course it actually was. But I will always remember these lessons from the legendary Monico Atienza: to continuously learn inside and outside the classroom, from those who come before and after you; and to confidently speak up but humbly listen better.
—
Atty. Krissy Conti is now a people’s lawyer working with the Public Interest Law Center and National Union of People’s Lawyers.
Kilala niyo siguro siya bilang matalas na kritiko ng mga pelikula, o awtor ng mga libro tungkol sa media, kulturang popular, panitikan, at lipunan. Baka nabasa niyo na ang kanyang mga maikling kuwento, novella, at dagli, o ‘di kaya’y ni-retweet ang mga hugot niya sa Twitter. Pero una ko siyang nakilala bilang guro.
Dekano ng College of Mass Communication sa UP Diliman si Rolando Tolentino noong pumasok ako bilang freshman sa kursong Broadcast Communication sa University of the Philippines Diliman.
Dean Roland ang tawag ng block handlers ko sa kanya at kapag nakasalubong nila’y para bang batchmate o kabarkada lang – “Dean!” bati ng mga estudyante. Babatiin rin sila ni Dean sa kanilang mga pangalan.
Nalaman ko ring aktibista si Dean. Malayang nakakagawa ng mga aktibidad ang mga student organizations, pati ang mga pambansa-demokratiko at pangmasang organisasyon ng kolehiyo. Tuwing napapadaan ako sa rally, candle lighting, o solidarity night nila, lagi kong naririnig ang chant na “Alagad ng media – magmulat, maglingkod, makibaka!” pero hindi ako sumasali sa chant. At sa mga aktibidad na ‘yun, napapadaan lang din talaga ako.
Naging propesor ko sa klaseng Media and Society si Dean noong ikalawang taon ko sa kolehiyo. Unang araw ng klase namin, nag-drop na kaagad ang isa kong kaklase. Hindi niya raw kakayanin ang bigat ng mga diskusyon namin at mukhang “terror” daw si Dean.
Bagama’t totoo ngang hindi gaanong pamilyar ang mga teorya at terminong tinalakay namin – hegemony, monopoly capitalism, middle-class aspirations, subaltern identities – mahusay itong naipaliwanag ni Dean. Magsasabi siya kung hindi namin ginagalingan ang reporting namin sa klase: “Ang lifeless! Bigyan mo naman ng buhay!” Mas madalas ang mga pagkakataong natutuwa siya sa pagkakareport at pinapaabot niya ito sa reporter, sabay dagdag ng mga punto upang lubos naming maintindihan ang leksyon.
Hindi nalimita sa klasrum ang mga natutunan ko sa klase ni Dean. Dahil nga Media and Society ang inaaral namin, pumunta kami sa Hacienda Luisita sa Tarlac upang alamin ang pakikibaka ng mga magsasaka at manggagawang-bukid para sa lupang kinakamkam ng pamilyang Cojuango-Aquino.
Ang inisyal na pagkamulat sa Hacienda Luisita ay nag-udyok ng higit pang pananaliksik tungkol dito, hanggang sa nakita ko sa YouTube ang dokumentaryong Sa Ngalan ng Tubo ng Tudla Productions. Doon ko naman unang nakilala ang konsepto ng alternatibong media.
Nag-intern ako sa Tudla noong pangatlong taon ko sa kolehiyo. Mula sa inisyal na pagkamulat sa Hacienda Luisita, lalo pang napalalim ang kaalaman ko sa media at lipunan nang hindi nakaupo sa de-aircon na klasrum – sa mga piket sa labas ng pabrika, sa demolisyon ng mga komunidad ng maralitang lungsod, sa lupa ng mga katutubong dinarambong ng gobyerno at malalaking negosyo, sa malalawak na lansangan ng Metro Manila.
Ang mga lugar na ito ay hindi lang mga espasyo ng pagmamalupit ng hindi mapagkalingang sistema sa mga mamamayan nito; lulan ang mga ito ng pakikibaka ng mga mamamayang kolektibong nagpupunla ng bagong lipunan. Gayundin, ang alternatibong media ang nagsisilbing espasyo para sa mga boses na pilit na pinapatahimik ng sistema.
Mula sa pagiging estudyante ng media sa klase ni Dean, naging video journalist ako sa Tudla. Dito, walang-katapusan akong natututo mula sa pinakamahuhusay na mga guro, ang masa. At kasama sila, natuto rin akong magmartsa sa saliw ng “Alagad ng media – magmulat, maglingkod, makibaka!”
Si Dean Roland Tolentino kasama ang mga estudyante ng College of Mass Communication sa UP Diliman.
—
Si Erika Cruz ay kasalukuyang Executive Director ng Tudla Productions.
Bago naging Chairman Mong, mayroon munang Sir Mong.
Lingid marahil sa kaalaman ng marami na si Raymond Palatino o kilala bilang Mong ay nagtapos ng kursong Edukasyon sa UP Diliman. Kung mayroong hindi makakalimot noon ay ako at sampu ng aking mga kamag-aral na naging estudyante niya nang siya ay maging student teacher sa aming hayskul. Lab school kasi ng UP, kung kaya’t ang mga nag-aaral ng Edukasyon sa College of Education sa UP Diliman ay nagiging mga student teacher sa aming paaralan. Sir Mong ang tawag namin sa kanya, kasi Ma’am o Sir ang ikinakabit sa mga pangalan ng mga guro sa paaralan namin.
Isang semestre namin naging guro si Mong sa asignaturang Araling Panlipunan. Pero hindi namin siya madalas nakita. Laging siyang late sa klase. At dahil katulad sa unibersidad ang patakaran na kapag ang guro ay wala pa sa ikalimang bahagdan ng oras ng klase, maaari nang iwan ng mga estudyante ang klase nang hindi mamamarkahan na absent. Minsa’y inabutan niya kaming paalis na, hinabol niya kami, at kahit pa ayaw namin ay bumalik kami sa klasrum kasi kailangan niyang mag-demo ng pagtuturo kundi ay ‘di niya makukumpleto ang kanyang requirements.
Busy kasi si Mong at pilit niyang binabalanse ang kanyang pag-aaral at pagtuturo sa kanyang pagiging lider-estudyante. Sa panahong iyon, kasama siyang namuno sa isa sa pinakamalaking pagkilos ng mga kabataan laban sa budget cut sa edukasyon, isa sa maagang pagkilos tungo sa pagpapabagsak ng isang kurakot at pasistang pangulo. Nang patapos na ang semestre, napili naman siya ng kanyang partidong Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP) na tumakbo bilang standard bearer nito, bilang Chairperson. Sumulat pa kami ng statement para suportahan ang kanyang pagkandidato. Isang taon matapos noon, namuno si Mong sa unang mga kabataang humugos tungong EDSA sa pagkilos na makikilala bilang Edsa Dos.
Sabi nga ng isang kaibigan, may buenas si Mong sa kilusang kabataan at estudyante. Siya kasi ang unang nanalong kandidato sa pagkapangulo ng STAND UP sa university student council elections. Ilang taon pa ang lilipas, siya rin ang unang makakaupong kinatawan ng kabataan sa partylist sa House of Representatives, sa antas na ng pambansang gobyerno, kaya siya rin ay naging Congressman Mong. Matapos ang termino sa Kongreso, bumalik si Mong sa pag-oorganisa at pamumuno sa kilusang masa at nahalal bilang Chairman ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Metro Manila. Para magawa ito, tinalikuran ni Chairman Mong ang petition sa US para sumunod sa kanyang pamilya na doon na naninirahan, na plano na ng kanilang pamilya mula nang siya ay bata pa.
Kung sabi nga ng ating mga guro, hindi grado ang panukat ng katalinuhan at pagpupunyagi ng mga mag-aaral, masasabi rin sigurong hindi lang oras na ginugol sa pagtuturo nasusukat ang kahusayan ng isang guro. Dahil sa kaso ni Sir Mong, mas maraming aral ang patuloy na itinuturo ng kanyang buhay at pag-aalay sa maraming kabataan sa kasalukuyan.
Si Raymond Palatino kasama ang kanyang mga mag-aaral sa UPIS. Larawan mula sa Facebook account ni Raymond Palatino.
Ang pagkamulat daw sa lipunan ay matutunghayan pagdating mo sa totoong pakikipagsapalaran sa buhay. Karamihan yun ang karanasan. Subalit sa isang tulad kong mag-aaral, una kong natutunan ng lubos ang realidad ng lipunan sa Politeknikong unibersidad ng Pilipinas (PUP) sa aking Propesor na si Arlan Camba.
Minulat niya ako sa totoong kalagayan ng lipunan. Hinikayat niya ang isang tulad ko na gamitin ang aking kakayahan para sa paglilingkod sa bayan.
Unang taon ko sa kolehiyo naging propesor ko si Sir Camba sa Retorika (Masining na Pagpapahayag). Hindi siya tipikal na guro na maraming dala-dala sa klase ‘pag magtuturo. Ang tanging dala niya lamang ay isang whiteboard marker, ang kanyang sarili, paninindigan, paniniwala, at adbokasiya.
Mahusay siyang magturo hindi lamang sa mismong asignatura, pero maalam din siya sa kalagayan ng lipunan. Binuksan niya ang aking isipan at ng marami pang mag-aaral sa pag-aambag para sa tunay na pagbabago.
Si Sir Camba sa loob ng PUP. Larawan mula kay Marhiel Garrote.
Hindi ko malilimutan ang huling SONA ni Noynoy noong 2014. Inimbita kami ni Sir na dumalo sa pagkilos upang obserbahan at makinig sa mamamayang magpoprotesta sa araw na iyon. Hindi niya pinilit ang klase. Sa pagkakataong iyon, hindi na ako nagdalawang isip na makiisa. Ang iba kong kaklase ay takot kaya bandang huli ay apat lang kaming dumalo at nakiisa sa tinaguriang SONA ng Mamamayan. Narinig ko ang hinagpis ng masa. Ang mga ama’t inang nakikibaka para sa kanilang pamilya. Mga anak na nakikibaka para sa kinabukasan. Hindi man alam ni Sir Camba subalit sa pag-imbita niya sa akin sa SONA ay tumagos sa buong sensibilidad ko ang bawat hinagpis, poot, at galit ng sambayanang matagal ng nasasadlak sa dusa.
Matapos ang isang linggo, nagklase muli sa amin si Sir Camba. Hindi ko malilimutan ang lungkot sa kanyang mga mata nang malamang hindi dumalo ang kalakhan sa amin sa rally. Subalit hinding-hindi ko makakalimutan ang kanyang sinabi ng araw na iyon.
“Ang pinakamadilim na bahagi ng impyerno ay nakalaan para sa mga walang pinapanigan.”
“Walang neutral. May magagawa ka pero hindi mo ginawa.”
Ang bawat linya na iyon ang tumagos sa aking puso’t isipan. Pagkaraan ng klase nagdesisyon na akong sumapi sa isang organisasyon ng manunulat.
“Hindi sapat na mag-aral ka lamang sa paaralan. Mas matutunghayan mo ang aral ng buhay sa labas. Sa mga nakakaranas.”
“Hindi tiket ang diploma para sa tagumpay. Walang kasigurahan ang maalwan na buhay sa lipunang kinokontrol ng iilan.”
Kaya ngayong araw ng mga guro, isang taas kamaong pagpupugay para kay Propesor Arlan Camba isang dakilang guro ng bayan. Isang gurong mapagpalaya at makabayan. Isa kang inspirasyon sa marami. Ang pagmumulat mo sa maraming mag-aaral sa tunay na kalagayan ng lipunan ay isang adhikain na walang kapantay. Patotoo ka na ang guro ay hindi lamang nagtuturo ng mga lessons o syllabus subalit tinuturuan rin niya ang kanyang mga mag-aaral para manindigan at lalong mas mahalin ang kapwa, ang iba, ang bayan.
Meeting my favorite teacher was a bit unusual. It started when, fresh from college, I was working at my first job things weren’t going too well. Not a good start for someone in a new phase of her life. I felt depressed and needed to get away from my job’s toxic environment. My self-esteem was very low. I never thought that a simple greeting through a social app would take away all that negativity and change my life for the better.
This is where I met my favorite teacher. He told me that he was a photojournalist and a literature professor in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. I was impressed but a bit skeptical about what he can do, but still got fascinated by his craft. Not too long we became friends, then best friends, and ended up being soul mates.
With him being a professor, I wanted to know his way of teaching his students and more so, the environment and culture of the university he teaches. So I went with him during one of his classes and listened along with his students.
He’s a great professor; I saw that he had mastery of the topics he discussed and provided the students relevant readings about the true state of our society. I saw how fascinated and interested his students were at the end of his class.
His students were not the only one he was teaching but he also taught me things I could have ignored and would have never grasped if not for him. Before, I was just an ignorant and self-indulgent millennial. I disliked protesters and rallies, maybe because of false information some family members told me. He still managed to educate me about the real struggle of our nation, and why these events are essential for social change and peace. He opened my eyes to the battles of our farmers, workers, women, youth, and national minorities. He showed me the importance of the peace talks between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front, as well as the role of alternative media in boosting the voice of the masses towards collective action and change. He would always tell me to love not just him but also the country, and so I did.
I grew-up with a low-self esteem, but he taught me to be more confident in everything I did, especially during the time I failed in an entrance exam that I really wanted to pass. I felt so stupid and depressed but he taught me to be strong, that it’s not the end of everything and that I could always try again.
He also taught me to lower my pride because it’s bad for a relationship. Recently after an argument, he told me not to get too mad at everything because it affects everyone around me. Overall he helps me to be the better version of myself.
All I can say about my favorite teacher is that this country needs more educators like him.
To my favorite teacher, thank you for keeping up with my endless questions, and thank you for sharing your knowledge to me and to your students.
The author (right) with her favorite teacher, Mel Doctor.
