october december issue

12
PAMAHUG CONTINUE TO P. 4 Standing before the detachment’s com- mander and his subordinates were four young students. The four were one of fifteen volun- teers from different schools in Iloilo City who were in Brgy. Bongbongan, Maayon, Capiz to prepare the place for a medical mission that would provide free health, dental, and relief services to the commu- nity. This medical mission is spearheaded by Health and Education for the Less Privileged in Panay (HELP-Panay), Panay Alliance-Karapatan, and local farmers’ organization Kahublagan sang Mangun- guma sa Capiz (Kamaca). On the other hand, the soldiers are part of a Reengineered Special Operations Team (RSOT) under the 47th Infantry Di- vision encamping in the barangay hall as part of the Army’s counterinsurgency pro- gram. The volunteers arrived in Bongbongan on the 17th of October and were sum- moned by the military that very evening to supposedly check on their permits. Four representatives from the group went to the detachment the next morning. KARLO MIKHAIL MONGAYA THE MILITARY HARASSMENT OF THE MEDICAL MISSION IN MAAYON, CAPIZ To the students’ dismay, they were lectured by the military men about how people’s organizations like Karapatan and Kamaca are communist fronts, all the while insinuating that the students were linked to armed rebel groups. As this went on, rifle-bearing soldiers belonging to the detachment were walking around them. Until the arrival of the medical mis- sion’s main team, the students would be repeatedly called and questioned by the soldiers, with their movements in the barangay monitored. Threats and harassment On October 19, the main team of around 60 volunteers from medical practitioners, students and members of non-government organizations arrived in Bongbongan after a three-hour ride from Iloilo City. But as the volunteers were unload- ing the supplies and setting up the venue, Capt. Rey Balibagoso, civil-military op- erations officer of the 47th IBPA, arrived at Bongbongan with a platoon of heavily- armed soldiers. The soldiers and other plain-clothed colleagues surrounded the premises of the day-care center and took photos of the medical mission volunteers and the benefi- ciaries. “We received reports that army sol- diers warned local members of Kamaca not to participate in the medical mission,” said Reylan Vergara, Panay Alliance-Kar- apatan Secretary General. “Soldiers also spread misinforma- tion that the medical mission was illegal, thus instilling a climate of fear among the residents, especially Kamaca members saying the 47th IBPA “joins the medical mission of Help-Panay and Karapatan” hanging near the house of the punong barangay. However, Capt. Balibagoso was no longer around to be asked for explanation. In statements to the print and broadcast media, Balibagoso claimed that the medi- cal mission was all along a joint under- taking of the 47th IBPA, Help-Panay and Karapatan. “He [Balibagoso] requested the mis- sion participants to allow his soldiers to offer haircuts and massage to residents a distance from the day-care center, to which the former consented. But the medi- cal mission was not a joint undertaking of the army and Karapatan,” Vergara clari- fied. The mission was still successful despite threats and harassment by the soldiers de- ployed in Bongbongan. “Around a hun- dred residents availed of medical checkup and dental services and medicines,” said Mary Adrivene Dalida of HELP-Panay. Military presence Despite a new regime’s coming to power on the promises of reforms, the same culture of impunity and military mindset that does not distinguish between armed combatants and legal people’s or- ganizations still persists. Just like under the Arroyo regime, the militarization of impoverished rural com- munities in Panay like those in Bongbon- gan, Maayon, Capiz continue under the Aquino regime, said Vergara. From 2001 to 2009, 55,388 cases of the military’s use of schools, medical, re- present in the medical mis- sion,” he added. Meanwhile, Balibagoso asked the medical mission team to allow his men to do haircuts a distance from the day-care center where medical consultations were being held. Later that day, the medical mission team was greatly sur- prised to see a streamer Maayon, Capiz Iloilo City

Upload: pagbutlak-cas

Post on 06-Apr-2015

642 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

Pagbutlak is the official student publication of the University of the Philippines Visayas College of Arts and Sciences

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: October December Issue

PAMAHUG

CONTINUE TO P. 4

Standing before the detachment’s com-mander and his subordinates were four young students.

The four were one of fifteen volun-teers from different schools in Iloilo City who were in Brgy. Bongbongan, Maayon, Capiz to prepare the place for a medical mission that would provide free health, dental, and relief services to the commu-nity.

This medical mission is spearheaded by Health and Education for the Less Privileged in Panay (HELP-Panay), Panay Alliance-Karapatan, and local farmers’ organization Kahublagan sang Mangun-guma sa Capiz (Kamaca).

On the other hand, the soldiers are part of a Reengineered Special Operations Team (RSOT) under the 47th Infantry Di-vision encamping in the barangay hall as part of the Army’s counterinsurgency pro-gram.

The volunteers arrived in Bongbongan on the 17th of October and were sum-moned by the military that very evening to supposedly check on their permits. Four representatives from the group went to the detachment the next morning.

KARLO MIKHAIL MONGAYA

THE MILITARY HARASSMENT OF THE MEDICAL MISSION IN MAAYON, CAPIZ

To the students’ dismay, they were lectured by the military men about how people’s organizations like Karapatan and Kamaca are communist fronts, all the while insinuating that the students were linked to armed rebel groups.

As this went on, rifle-bearing soldiers belonging to the detachment were walking around them.

Until the arrival of the medical mis-sion’s main team, the students would be repeatedly called and questioned by the soldiers, with their movements in the barangay monitored.

Threats and harassmentOn October 19, the main team of around

60 volunteers from medical practitioners, students and members of non-government organizations arrived in Bongbongan after a three-hour ride from Iloilo City.

But as the volunteers were unload-ing the supplies and setting up the venue, Capt. Rey Balibagoso, civil-military op-erations officer of the 47th IBPA, arrived at Bongbongan with a platoon of heavily-armed soldiers.

The soldiers and other plain-clothed colleagues surrounded the premises of the day-care center and took photos of the medical mission volunteers and the benefi-ciaries.

“We received reports that army sol-diers warned local members of Kamaca not to participate in the medical mission,” said Reylan Vergara, Panay Alliance-Kar-apatan Secretary General.

“Soldiers also spread misinforma-tion that the medical mission was illegal, thus instilling a climate of fear among the residents, especially Kamaca members

saying the 47th IBPA “joins the medical mission of Help-Panay and Karapatan” hanging near the house of the punong barangay. However, Capt. Balibagoso was no longer around to be asked for explanation.

In statements to the print and broadcast media, Balibagoso claimed that the medi-cal mission was all along a joint under-taking of the 47th IBPA, Help-Panay and Karapatan.

“He [Balibagoso] requested the mis-sion participants to allow his soldiers to offer haircuts and massage to residents a distance from the day-care center, to which the former consented. But the medi-cal mission was not a joint undertaking of the army and Karapatan,” Vergara clari-

fied.The mission was still successful despite

threats and harassment by the soldiers de-ployed in Bongbongan. “Around a hun-dred residents availed of medical checkup and dental services and medicines,” said Mary Adrivene Dalida of HELP-Panay.

Military presenceDespite a new regime’s coming to

power on the promises of reforms, the same culture of impunity and military mindset that does not distinguish between armed combatants and legal people’s or-ganizations still persists.

Just like under the Arroyo regime, the militarization of impoverished rural com-munities in Panay like those in Bongbon-gan, Maayon, Capiz continue under the Aquino regime, said Vergara.

From 2001 to 2009, 55,388 cases of the military’s use of schools, medical, re-

present in the medical mis-sion,” he added.

Meanwhile, Balibagoso asked the medical mission team to allow his men to do haircuts a distance from the day-care center where medical consultations were being held.

Later that day, the medical mission team was greatly sur-prised to see a streamer

Maayon, Capiz

Iloilo City

Page 2: October December Issue

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 20102 NEWS

Cando, new KASAMA sa UP national chairpersonLAVILYN HYSTHEA MALTE

UPV University Student Council chair Angeli Louise Cando was elected national chair of the Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (KASAMA sa UP) during its 30th National Congress held at Baler, Aurora on October 24-28, 2010.

KASAMA sa UP, the UP sys-temwide alliance of student councils,

holds its annual congress during the semestral break every October.

The congress is held to plan the al-liance’s activities for the year, consoli-date its members, and give workshops on leadership and student council man-agement, as well as discussions of the education and national situation.

“The highlight of this year’s na-tional congress is the laying down of unities and concrete actions for the campaign against the education budget decreases, in particular the P1.39 UP budget cut,” said Cando.

New OSA director takes over

Prof. Vicente “Vinnie” Tan took over the Office of Student Affairs last November 16, 2010 after Prof. Geral-dine Garcia went on leave.

“I accepted the challenge of this new job in the name of service. While I can, I will. I see this also as an op-portunity to bring Culture and the Arts closer to the studentry,” said Prof. Tan.

He hits two birds in one stone as he is also the current Chairman of the Culture and the Arts.

“Most immediate plan for me now is to study and learn the operations in the office. I wish to synergize all efforts of people working in and for OSA so we can have a more produc-tive, dynamic and meaningful univer-sity life,” he added.

INGRID MOSURA Prof. Tan also promised to help in the problems of the students, especially stu-dent leaders and their respective organiza-tions or positions in the student body.

“I wish to really get connected with many, if not all students both organ-ized and non-organized ones. I propose more training programs and workshops for our student leaders in the areas of financial management, event manage-ment, including hosting, networking and proposal making.”

Moreover, he hopes to “create and build much opportunities or job placement” for the graduating stu-dents of UPV.

Aside from being head of two of-fices, Prof. Tan also teaches Manage-ment, Aquatic Science and Communi-cation subjects both in Miag ao and the city campus. ■

Bagong UP President at Student RegentKARLO MIKHAIL MONGAYA

Binoto si dating Alumni Regent Afredo Pascual bilang bagong UP president ng Board of Regents (BOR) sa isang espesyal na pulong sa UP Diliman noong Disyembre 3, 2010.

Tinalo ni Pascual ang sampung ibang nominado, kabilang na sina UP Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao at UP Los Banos Chancellor Luis Rey Ve-lasco na umani ng mga batikos dahil diumano sa kanilang mga kontra-es-tudyanteng patakaran.

Ang iba pang mga nominado ay sina Consolacion Alaras, Patrick Alain Azanza, Leonor Briones, Esperanza Cabral, Benjamin Diokno, Ma. Serena Diokno, Raul Pangalangan, Alfredo Pascual, at Virginia Teodosio.

Uupo si Pascual bilang ika-20 na presidente ng unibersidad sa Pebrero 2011, pagkatapos sa panungkulan ni

UP President Emerlinda Roman. Naging tampok sa panungkulan ni

Pascual bilang Alumni Regent ang kan-yang pakikiisa sa mga isyu ng estudyante at ibang sektor ng unibersidad katulad sa pagtanggal ni dating Student Regent (SR) Charisse Banez at ang directorship sa Philippine General Hospital.

Bagong SRMay bagong SR na umupo sa pu-

long dahil sa pagpapa-alis ni dating SR Cori Co sa kanyang pusisyon.

Naging permanently dismissed ang kalagayan ng academic perform-ance ni SR Co noong unang semestre.

Ayon sa BOR, dahil hindi na es-tudyante si Co hindi na siya pwedeng magsilbi bilang student regent.

Ito ang naging rason ng BOR para ma-endorso ang ikalawang nominado para sa SR na si Jaqueline Eroles bi-lang bagong kinatawan ng mga estud-

Anakbayan-Iloilo Chair arrested and detainedLAVILYN HYSTHEA MALTE

Anakbayan Iloilo Chairperson James Joyce Saguino was arrested while protesting against the Iloilo City Coal-Fired Power Plant (CFPP) during the regular session of the City Council on October 6, 2010.

Student protesters were unfurling placards against the coal plant during the council meeting when Col. Dionisio Duco, a retired police and the present sergeant-at-arms of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, warned them to keep their protest-materials out of sight.

As they were about to leave to join the ongoing mass action outside the council hall, Saguino chanted “Coal-fired power plant salot! Talagang salot! Kasalot-salutan!”

Duco took action immediately and arrested Saguino on charges of violating Article 144 (Disturbance to Proceedings) of the Revised Penal Code.

Saguino, together with Lean Redino Porquia, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Panay (BAYAN-PANAY) Regional Spokesperson, negotiated with Duco but this did not stop the police from bringing Saguino to the Iloilo City Police Station 1, Gen. Luna. Street, Iloilo City.

Saguino was then detained for almost six hours inside the precinct, from 4:30 pm until 10:15 pm, and was only released after paying a bail bond.

The CFPP in Iloilo City is a 164 megawatt (MW) power plant located at Brgy. Ingore, La Paz, Iloilo City, and is touted by its proponents as the answer to Panay’s power shortages.

Residents of Ingore, La Paz have complained of foul fumes emitted by the plant during its operations.

According to urban poor association Kadamay, “at least eight children from the barangay, aged eight months to 14 years old, were hospitalized after inhaling fumes from the plant and exhibiting symptoms of sickness such as headaches, dizziness and nausea.”

The CFPP has been criticized by environmentalist groups as one of the dirtiest-known power generation technologies.

In this, the environmental youth advocate group OIKOS Ecological Movement spearheaded the formation of the Iloilo Students’ Alliance for the Environment (I-SAVE) to oppose the CFPP. ■

yante sa BOR.Nakasaad sa Codified Rules for

Student Regent Selection (CRSRS) na kapag bakante ang pusisyon ng SR, ang ikalawa o ikatlong nominado ang papalit bilang SR.

Hinamon ng bagong SR si Pascual na makiisa sa pagkilos ng mga estudy-ante para sa mas malaking badyet ng gobyerno para sa unibersidad.

Hinamon din ni Eroles si Pascual na panindigan ang isyu ng “demo-cratic access” sa unibersidad, ang demokratikong partisipasyon ng es-tudyante sa patakaran ng administra-syon, at ang pagsama ng unibersidad sa mga mahahalagang pambansa at pandaigdigang isyu.

“Hindi inaasa sa iisang tao ang pagbabago sa UP. Tayo pa rin ang mag-tatakda upang mapabuti ang kalagayan ng unibersidad,” ayon kay SR Eroles sa isang ulat ng Philippine Collegian. ■

The congress opened with a basic mass integration in a heavily milita-rized indigenous peoples’ community in Aurora.

The imposition of new fees sys-tem-wide and the intensified military presence in the Baguio, Los Baños, Tacloban, Miagao and Mindanao cam-puses were reported by the student council delegates during the plenary.

The congress concluded on the last day with the election of the KASAMA sa UP NEC for the year 2010-2011. ■

Pagbutlak lumahok sa pagtipon ng EU

Noong Setyembre 23, 2010, in-ilunsad ng European Union (EU) ang kauna-unahang “Seminar-Workshop for Campus Journalists” na nagla-layong bigyan ng kamalayan ang mga delegado hinggil sa magandang relasyon ng EU at Republika ng Pili-pinas.

Nabigyan rin ng karagdagang kaalaman ang mga estudyanteng lumahok tungkul sa responsableng pamamahayag. Kinatawan ng Pagbut-lak sa nasabing pagtitipon ang sekre-taryo nitong si Lavilyn Hysthea Malte.

Iginanap ang dalawang araw na aktibidad sa University Hotel ng Un-ibersidad ng Pilipinas sa Diliman. Ni-

LAVILYN HYSTHEA MALTElahukan ang aktibidad na ito ng mga delegado mula sa publikasyong pang-kampus ng iba’t-ibang eskwelahan sa Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao.

Kabilang sa mga tinalakay ay ang mga nailunsad at mga planong proyekto na maari pang makatulong sa pagpapa-unlad ng mga mamamayan sa Pilipinas, lalo na sa pagtugon sa mga usaping pang-krisis sa isla ng Mind-anao.

Nagbigay rin ng mga lektyur tung-kul sa pamamahayag sa print and web at radio and television reporting.

Naging panauhing pandangal ng na-sabing seminar-workshop ang mismong EU Ambassador to the Philippines, si Alistair MacDonald. ■

Erratum: Pagbutlak would like to correct the typo in the caption of the basketball photo in the 4th page of our June-September 2010 issue. We wrongly spelled the name of Fiel Mamon to Fiel Manon. We humbly apologize for this error.

SPEAKING BEFORE THE CROWD is Sandigan para sa Mag-aaral at Sambayanan (SAMASA) mass organization chairperson Raiza Khey Llorico. PAGBUTLAK

Page 3: October December Issue

Libu-libong estudyante nagwelga kontra badyet cutKARLO MIKHAIL MONGAYA

Mula Nobyembre 22 hanggang Disyembre 1, libu-libong mag-aaral ang naglunsad ng mga

welga, walkout, martsa at iba pang uri ng mga malawakang kilos protesta upang labanan ang lumalaking kaltas sa badyet sa mga State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

Dito sa Iloilo, may higit walong daang estudyante, guro, at kawani ang lumahok sa kilos protesta noong Disyembre 1 upang ipanawagan ang dagdag na alokasyon sa SUCs sa okasyon ng budget hearings sa Senado.

Sobra 8,000 naman ang lumahok sa protesta sa harap ng Senado gal-ing sa iba’t ibang mga unibersidad ng Kamaynilaan.

Simula Nobyembre 22, binarika-dahan ng 5,000 estudyante mula sa Polytechnic University of the Philip-pines (PUP) ang kanilang pamantasan.

Sa UP Manila ay nagkaroon din ng pagsara ng kampus noong Nobyembre 25 dahil sa protesta ng sobra 2,000 es-tudyante habang naglunsad rin ng kilos-protesta sa UP Diliman na umaabot sa 4,000 estudyante.

Noong Nobyembre 26 ay um-abot ang bilang ng mga estudyanteng nagwalk-out sa kanilang mga klase ng 5,000 at sabay-sabay na nagmartsa patungo sa opisina ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

MatagumpayNag-ani ng tagumpay ang sunud-

sunod na mga kilos protesta. Sa pu-long ng Senado, dinagdagan ang panukalang 2011 national budget ng P146 milyon para sa alokasyon ng mga SUCs.

Ayon kay Rep. Mong Palatino ng Kabataan Partylist, “we have demon-strated that the strength of the youth and people’s solidarity can make things

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 3NEWS

Mathematicians on ramp

It was a “bacon brought home” for the 12 UPV BS Applied Mathematics students who participated in the 1st Math Teachers Association of the Philippines (MTAP) Tertiary level Regional Math Count 2010 last November 27 at Colegio de San Agustin Bacolod.

Competing against 14 teams from dif-ferent schools and universities in Visayas, the University of Cebu won the 1st place.

Meanwhile, 2nd and 3rd place re-spectively were UPV’s team 2 composed of Gezzah Bolanos, Rey Joseph Espiritu, Jose Abad Lazaro, Jr., and Phylla Lynne June Magallanes with coach Prof. Filame Joy Catinan and team 3 composed of Vic-toria Marcella Albacete, Claire Padrones, Menchie Bautista, and John Justine Me-sias with Mr. Mark Alvin Bayag as coach.

Not to be outdone were Victoria Mar-cella Albacete who got 2nd place and Allen Bibal as 3rd place in the individual finals.

Looking at the results, UPV students performed well to be qualified in the Na-tional Level on February 2011 in Manila. ■

LAVILYN HYSTHEA MALTE

Pabarock Saisshowcase local talents

UP Hamili Brotherhood and Hamilia Sisterhood held last November 26 the sixth Pabarock concert at the Miagao Cultural Center.

Pabarock Sais 6 was participated by two city-based bands and three Miagao-based groups, including our very own UPV Sonata. ■

CARM NOVILLA

The Iloilo Federation for Information Technology (IFIT) along with its organiz-ers and sponsors celebrated the 5th IT Week with the theme, “Enhancing Iloilo’s Connection to the World through World-class ICT Manpower.”

This yearly events brings together the key shareholders in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Iloilo. It showcases Iloilo’s human re-source capabilities in information technol-ogy and increases awareness of investors on Iloilo’s attractiveness as an IT hub.

BS CS students Gierick Fermindoza won 1st place in the IT Quiz, while Eero Nico Primaleon and Eric John Tionko won 2nd place in Digital Arts and Call Center Handling respectively.

The winners received a cash prize and for the latter, a guaranteed contract from SPi Global. The event took place in Amigo Plaza Mall on November 15-19, with eight colleges and universities par-ticipating in four IT competitions. ■

UPV joins IT Week 2010ELLI ANTHONY PIAMONTE

NEWSBRIEFSSa Iloilo, 800 nagwalkout

happen. The P146 million increase in the MOOE of SUCs is a product of our collective action.”

Pupunta ang halagang ito sa Main-tenance and Other Operating Expens-es (MOOEs) ng SUCs na kinaltasan ng P1.1 bilyon sa orihinal na panukala.

Noong Nobyembre 8, inaprubahan ng Kongreso ang 2011 badyet na wa-lang mga amyenda. Kasama na dito ang paglaan ng P23.4 bilyon para sa lahat ng 112 SUCs na mas mababa ng P400 milyon kung ikumpara sa P23.8 bilyong badyet ng SUCs sa kasalukuyang taon.

Binawasan din dito ang students financial assistance para sa mga schol-arship ng 43 porsyento.

Kulang pa rinNgunit ayon naman kay Angeli

Louise Cando, pambansang tagapan-gulo ng Katipunan ng mga Sanggu-niang Mag-aaral sa UP, bagamat isang tagumpay na nakamit sa sama-samang pagkilos ay kulang pa rin ang P146 milyong halaga para tugunan ang kakulangan ng badyet ng SUCs.

“Kung susumahin ay madagdagan lamang ng tig-P1.3 milyon ang MOOE ng mga SUCs. Wala pa ring badyet para sa Capital Outlay,” ani Cando.

Ang MOOE ang ginagamit na para sa mga araw-araw na gastusin sa pagpatakbo ng unibersidad katulad na lamang ng kuryente. Ang Capital Outlay naman ay para sa pambili ng bagong kagamitan at konstruksyon ng bagong pasilidad.

KasinungalinganTinuligsa naman ni Raiza Khaye

Llorico, tagapangulo ng Sandigan para sa Mag-aaral at Sambayanan (SAMASA), ang mga kasinungalin-gan ng administrasyong Aquino tung-kol sa badyet cut.

“Mismo si Presidente Aquino ang nagpahayag sa publiko sa plano niyang pagkaltas sa badyet sa SUCs. Nag-iba lang yung tono ng kanta niya nung nag-

simula ang mga malawakang pagkilos nating mga mag-aaral,” ani Llorico.

Ayon kay Llorico, malinaw na ito ay komersyalisasyon ng edukasyon at lubos-lubusang pagtalikod ng gubyer-no sa responsibilidad nitong pondohan ang SUCs

“Itinutulak ng rehimeng Aquino ang mga SUCs na umasa sa sarili sa pamamagitan ng tuition and other fee increases at pagpapaupa ng mga idle assets nito,” aniya.

Maling Prayoridad“Kung ating susumahin ang panu-

kalang badyet para sa taong 2011 ay malinaw nating makikita na iba ang prayoridad ng gobyerno,” sabi ni Jor-dana Mari Jaco, Kabataan Partylist Panay Regional Deputy Coordinator at Anakbayan UPV chairperson.

“Mas inuuna pa ng administra-syong Aquino ang pag-increase ng pork barrel ng P13.9 bilyon at binigy-

an pa nang P2 bilyon pork barrel funds si Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,” aniya.

Kabilang rin sa panukalang badyet ang paglaan ng P29 bilyong dole outs sa ilalim ng Conditional Cash Trans-fer program, P10 bilyong increase sa military budget, at increase ng P80.9 bilyong para sa debt servicing.

Mga pagkilos sa IloiloAng kilos protesta sa Iloilo ay

pinangunahan ng Kabataan Partylist-Panay at Iloilo Youth Student Alliance at dinaluhan ng mga iskolar ng bayan galing sa UP Visayas, West Visayas State University (WVSU), at West Visayas College of Science and Tech-nology (WVCST).

May 400 katao ang nagtipon sa may oblation ng UPV Iloilo City cam-pus bago nagmartsa ang sobra 200 katao patungong provincial Capitol upang salubungin ang halos 300 na ka-lahok galing sa WVSU at WVCST. ■

UP SCs unite against SUCs budget cutLAVILYN HYSTHEA MALTE

Twenty-four student councils from all over the UP system present in the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) held in Baler, Aurora on October 29-30 united against the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) budget cut.

According to Zaira Nichole Racadio of the CAS Student Council, the GASC unani-mously endorsed a Manifesto of Unity call-ing for heightened protest actions opposing the budget cut for the SUCs.

The UP budget will decrease from P6.92 billion this year to P5.53 billion for the year 2011. Meanwhile, the budget for SUCs will decrease by P400 million

from P23.8 billion this year to P23.4 bil-lion for the year 2011.

“President Benigno Aquino III ex-posed his government’s outright abroga-tion of its responsibility in providing its citizens with quality and accessible edu-cation,” reads the manifesto.

Racadio and UPV-USC Chairperson Angeli Louise Cando represented the student councils of UPV Miagao in the gathering.

The GASC is organized by the Of-fice of the Student Regent (OSR) twice every year in October to discuss amend-ments for the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS), and in April for the selection of the SR.

CRSRS AmendmentsProposed significant changes in the

CRSRS included the amendment for one council one vote, the minimum academic requirement for the Student Regent, and the removal of KASAMA sa UP in the CRSRS.

“These amendments were not ap-proved by the body in the plenary delib-erations because of their undemocratic aims,” said Racadio.

“The one council one vote, for ex-ample, is biased to large campuses with many college SCs like UP Diliman and UP Los Baños which marginalizes the students from equally important but

THE LONG MARCH from the UP Iloilo City campus to the Capitol. PAGBUTLAK

smaller regional units like UP Visayas,” she added.

Under the present CRSRS, the USCs of UP Diliman, Manila, Baguio, Los Baños, Visayas and Mindanao are given two votes while the SCs of the UP Exten-sion Program in Pampanga, UP Cebu Col-lege, UPV Tacloban College, and UP Palo School of Health Science Palo, Leyte are provided one vote each.

All main amendments were not passed. However, one technical revision changing the mandate of the CRSRS from the Executive Order Number 204-A to the Republic Act No. 9500 or the UP Charter of 2008 Section 12(g) was unani-mously approved by the body. ■

Campus journalists, media students, and student leaders from UP Visayas Miagao commemorated the 1st year an-niversary of the Ampatuan Massacre in a prayer vigil last Nov. 23 evening at the dormitory area.

Led by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Panay and Pagbutlak, the participants demanded justice for all the victims of the massacre.

“Kung makikita mo ang mga larawan ng mga biktima at makita mo ang iyong mga kakilala, ano ba ang iyong marara-mdaman? Ang bigat sa dibdib,” said Za-ira Nichole Racadio, CAS-SC councilor, SAMASA-PA chair, and General Santos City resident who personally knew some of the victims. ■

Ampatuan Massacre aniv prayer vigilCARM NOVILLA

Page 4: October December Issue

Nobyembre 18, 2010 – bitbit ang mga sulo at plakard ay nagmartsa ang sobra kalahati isandaang mga estudy-ante sa paligid ng mga dormitoryo dito sa unibersidad tangan ang hamon sa mga iskolar ng bayan na manindigan sa mga isyu na nangyayari sa lipunan.

Pinangunahan ng Anakbayan at Sandigan para sa Mag-aaral at Sam-bayanan (SAMASA) ang nasabing pagkilos.

“Ang pag-aaral ay hindi lamang nililimitahan ng apat na sulok ng silid-aralan. Kailangan nating lumabas sa lipunan at pag-aralan ang mga isyu na tuwiran man o hindi ay nakakaapekto sa ating mga estudyante,” pahayag na-man ni Raiza Khey Llorico, Chairper-son ng SAMASA.

Isang pagbalik tanawKung matatandaan natin, nagwel-

ga ang mga magsasaka sa Hacienda Luisita upang iparating sa pamunuan ng Hacienda Luisita Inc. at sa goby-erno ng administrasyong Arroyo ang kanilang panawagan na ipamahagi na sa mga magsasaka ang lupaing sakop ng Hacienda Luisita na pinamamaha-

ROSANA INAUDITO

Mga estudyante nanindigan para sa mga magsasaka

laan ng pamilya Cojuangco.Subalit sa halip na dinggin ang ka-

nilang panawagan ay bala ang sinagot sa kanila. Pito ang agad na napaslang habang marami pa ang nasugatan.

Matagal na ang problema ng mga magsasaka sa Hacienda Luisita. Ngunit lumala ito ng ipatupad ng administra-syong Corazon Aquino ang Batas Re-publika Blg. 6657 o ang Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Ayon sa Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (KMP), ito ang naging sanhi upang magkalakas-loob ang mga malalaking panginoong maylupa na mang-agaw ng lupa mula sa mga maliit na magsasaka at patuloy na isa-walang-bahala ang karapatan ng mga magsasaka.

Stock Distribution OptionTaong 2003 nang maghain ang

mga magsasaka ng Hacienda luisita ng petisyon sa Deparment of Agrar-ian Reform (DAR) ng petisyon upang ibasura ang Stock Distribution Agree-ment (SDO) na nauna nang naipatu-pad noong 1992.

Sa ilalim ng SDO ay mabibigyan

Sa ika-6 anibersaryo ng Hacienda Luisita Masaker

lamang ng dibiendo o kita mula sa dami ng hawak nilang stocks ang mga magsasaka sa halip na ipamahagi sa kanila ang lupa. Ang dami ng kanilang stocks ay nakabatay rin sa dami ng “man-days” o dami ng araw ng pag-tatrabaho ng isang magsasaka sa loob ng isang taon.

Dahil sa lumiit ang “man-days” lumiit rin ang benepisyo na natatang-gap ng mga magsasaka kung kaya nag-simula ang kanilang welga noong 2004 kung kailan nangyari ang masaker.

Dulot ng pakikibaka ng mga mag-sasaka ay pinawalang bisa ng DAR at ng Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) ang SDO noong 2005. Nangangahulugan ito na kailan-gan nang tuwirang ipamahagi sa mga magsasaka ang mga lupa na napaila-lim sa CARP.

Subalit hindi pumayag ang pa-munuan ng HLI na ibigay ng ganun-ganon na lang ang lupa kung kaya kinuwestyon nila ang desisyong ito sa Korte Suprema noong Pebrero 2006 at nakakuha sila ng Temporary Restrain-ing Order laban sa PARC.

Compromise AgreementNgunit noong Agosto 3-6, 2010

ilang araw bago ang oral arguments sa Korte Suprema para pag-usapan at desisyunan na ang usapin hinggil sa SDO ay naghain ng “compromise agreement” ang pamunuan ng HLI para

diumano ay lutasin na ang sigalot sa pagitan ng magsasaka at ng HLI. dito ay pinapipili nila ang mga magsasaka kung ano ang gusto nila- lupa o stocks.

Ayon kay Atty. Jobert Pahilga, Executive Director ng Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo at legal council ng Alyansa ng mga Mang-gagawang Bukid sa Hacienda Luisita (AMBALA) ay huwad raw ang “com-promise Agreement.”

Unang-una, hindi mga tunay na lider at kinatawan ng mga magsasaka ang pumirma sa kasunduan. Kabi-lang na rito sina Noel Mallari para sa AMBALA at Edilfonso Pingol para sa United Luisita Workers Un-ion (ULWU) na sinasabing walang otoridad mula sa mga magsasaka at manggagawang-bukid upang sila ay i-representa at makipagkasundo sa pa-

munuan ng HLI. Dagdag pa niya ay nakadisenyo

raw ito para mapwersa ang mga mag-sasaka na piliin ang SDO gamit ang mapanlinlang na “financial assist-ance” at pangakong trabaho.

Ang panawagan ng mga magsasaka at manggagawang bukid ay ang libreng maipapamahagi sa mga magsasaka ang lupa at maiiwasan ang pagkakaroon ng monopolyo sa lupa ng mga panginoong maylupa at mga malalaking agro-kor-porasyong lokal at dayuhan.

“Ang laban ng mga magsasaka ay laban rin ng mga Iskolar ng Bay-an. Dito natin maipapakita na huwad ang pangako ni P-Noy na sundin matuwid na daan,” ani Jordana Mari Jaco, Chairperson ng Anakbayan UPV Chapter sa ginanap na lokal na pagki-los noong Nobyembre 18. ■

SULO AT PLAKARD ang tanging sandata ng mga iskolar ng bayan na magiting na nanindigan para sa mga magsasaka ng Haci-enda Luisita. STEPHANIE SUARIEZ

Sa ika-anim na taon mula ng mangyari ang kalunus-lunos na Haci-enda Luisita masaker na naging mitsa ng buhay ng pitong kaawa-awang magsasaka ay nag-ani ito ng iba’t-ibang pagkondena at kilos-protesta mula sa iba’t-ibang sektor na nananawagan ng hustisya para sa mga biktima at tunay na repormang pang-agraryo.

Pamahug FROM P.1

CARHRIHLThe Comprehensive Agree-

ment on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) is a historic document that answers the Filipino people’s long-standing aspiration for the re-spect of human rights.

The CARHRIHL was signed by the negotiating panels of the Govern-ment of the Republic of the Philip-pines (GRP) and the National Demo-cratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) on March 16, 1998.

Contained in the CARHRIHL is the entire scope of human rights. The

ligious and other public spaces as command posts, barracks, detachments, and supply depots were documented in Karapatan’s “2009 Report on the Human Rights Situation in the Philip-pines.”

According to Balibagoso, the military are stationed as de-tachments in civilian centers in

Bongbongan and neighboring barangays to help the govern-ment’s infrastructure projects.

This may violate interna-tional accords on human rights of which the government is a signatory, including the Com-prehensive Agreement on Re-spect for Human Rights and In-ternational Humanitarian Laws (CARHRIHL), added Vergara.

“Civilian populations shall have the right to be protected against the risks and dangers posed by the presence of military camps in urban centers and other populated areas,” provides Part IV Article 12 of CARHRIHL.

Intensified militarizationThe AFP have been intensify-

ing counterinsurgency operations in several regions, with focus on Bicol, Cordillera, Eastern Visa-yas, Ilocos, Negros, and almost all of Mindanao, resulting in the disruption of people’s livelihood

INSTILLING A CLIMATE OF FEAR: Army men flocks to the scene, warning residents against joining the medical mission. KARAPATAN

and the rising number of human rights abuses.

Only this November 15, lead-ing Philippine botanist Leonard Co and his two assistants were shot and killed by Philippine Army forces while gathering seedlings of endangered trees in Kananga, Leyte on the mere suspicion that they were armed rebels.

Meanwhile, combined mili-tary and police elements raided the Karapatan office in Daet, Camarines Norte, Bicol on the morning of November 22. The military, through 19th IDPA spokesperson Col. Leoncio Ciru-nay, claimed that armed rebels were hiding in the office.

Illegally arrested and de-tained in this raid were 60-year old Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas-Camarines Norte Chair Esmeraldo “Tatay Smith” Bar-don, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Partylist Coordinator Denver Bacolod, Kabataan Par-tylist member Mherlo Bermas, and 58-year old ex-political de-

tainee Elpidio Deluna.This intensified militarization

of the countryside falls within the framework of the Aquino re-gime’s extension of the previous regime’s counterinsurgency plan Operation Bantay Laya (OBL), said Vergara.

The OBL has been con-demned by human rights ad-vocates, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Philip Alston, as the masterplan behind the kill-ings and disappearances of more than 1,200 activists under the Ar-royo presidency.

Moreover, despite its freeing of 400 confirmed military rebels last October, the Aquino regime has yet to free the Morong 43.

Human Rights Watch and the Amnesty International, among other human rights groups, have criticized the Aquino regime for failing to act decisively on the human rights issue with already 22 cases of extrajudicial killings since June 30 as documented by Karapatan. ■

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 20104 NEWS

document also contains provisions of international humanitarian law on war.

The CARHRIHL is one of the substantial agendas for peace ne-gotiations between the GRP and NDFP set during the Hague Joint Declaration signed by both sides on September 1, 1992.

Its signing is an admission on the part of the GRP of the issue of the widespread violation of human rights. It also confirms the equal standing of both the NDFP and the GRP. ■

Page 5: October December Issue

Dr. Rommel Espinosa on his role as the Dean of the Arts and Sciences and some other things, such as Harry Potter, computational physics and poetry

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

BEMJO TOREMA

A couple of minutes be-fore 2:30 in afternoon, Dr. Rommel A. Espinosa enters the Office of the

Dean at the basement of the Tomas Fonacier Building, more commonly known as the College of Arts and Sciences building. He’s just come back from a short trip at the New Administration Building to get a cheque, and he’s a little late for our 2 p.m. interview schedule. After apol-ogizing for the delay, he explains how there’s this admin policy about having to personally get whatever it is that you need in whatever admin office concerned. “But I don’t mind it, really. At least I get to have a bit of exercise,” he adds cheerfully.

Before Dr. Espinosa hands back the questionnaire I gave some days ago, he remembers that he hasn’t filled up the “Basic Information” part yet. He grabs a pen, and proceeds to write. Under “Birthdate”, he writes “September 13, 1962”, and after brush-ing up on my rusty arith-metic, I figure out that he’s 48 years old. From the rest of it, I find out that he’s originally from Oton, Iloilo, and that he was a college instruc-tor in the University of San Agustin’s College of Technology before he en-tered UPV to teach physics.

He finishes writing, and after a itsy-bitsy awkward pause, we start with the interview proper.

Most students know that a dean heads a college. But what most of them don’t know is, what exactly does a dean do?

Aside from doing the admin-istrative and clerical work, which basically consists of paperwork and making sure that the plans of the higher offices for the college are carried out, the dean is an academic leader of a college. He decides what academic direction it is going to pur-sue. At the same time, based on my experience, a dean is a peacemaker among the members of the college, whether it’s faculty versus faculty, or student versus faculty, or faculty versus staff. It’s also the dean’s job to nurture and discipline the stu-dents of his college. This, I feel, is

the most challenging yet fulfilling part of being a dean.

Being from the field of physics, how has it helped you with your deanship? How can you relate physics with being a Dean?

Physics is the queen of empirical sciences; thus, it permeates all fields of human endeavor and natural phe-nomenon. It is able to integrate all these fields into one. Just like phys-ics, being the dean of a college, es-pecially of one called the Arts and Sciences, it has helped me under-stand how I can bring together all these fields which are vastly differ-ent from one another so that we may be able to work towards a higher goal. Physics has also helped me as a dean appreciate these other fields more, because without them physics cannot stand.

What role does the CAS play within the University? What sets

it apart from the other colleges within UPV?

No matter what col-lege or school you’re from, whether it’s CFOS, or CM, or SoTech, you still spend your first two years in the College of Arts and Sciences, be-cause it’s the CAS that takes the lead role in implementing UPV’s General Education (GE) program. In a way, you could say that we nurture

them in their first years in this uni-versity, and as well as in the General Education aspect of their studies.

What is your assessment of your first two years in the office?

I would have to say that the first year was definitely a learning expe-rience, and it was a bit of a strug-gle. By my second year, however, I’d developed enough patience and tolerance for different viewpoints and personalities of all the people that comprise this college. My term will be ending in July next year, and so my main goal now is to be able to finish everything that I’ve start-ed, such as the FM transmitter; its budget was approved only recently. There are still a number of unimple-mented plans, but I’ll be working hard to get them done before my term ends. But I’m also glad to say that there have been quite a number of projects initiated already, such as

Just like physics, being the dean of

a college, es-pecially of one

called the Arts and Sciences, it has

helped me under-stand how I can bring together all these fields which are vastly different from one another so that we may be able to work towards a higher

goal.

the generator for the CAS, the re-construction of the Student Council nook beside the CAS building, and the newly-built study nooks for all CAS students, something similar to the Chancellor’s Park near the cen-tral admin building.

What future directions do you foresee for the CAS?

My dream is for all divisions to become institutes offering graduate programs, along with a bigger focus on research. Despite this larger fo-cus on research, however, we should still continue molding undergradu-ates towards excellence in their re-spective fields.

Another one of my plans for the CAS, which has been started last semester and may be concretized this semester, is to convene a group of AS faculty to come up with a re-search project that is college-wide, something that requires expertise from all divisions and departments in the college. We have decided on a project that focuses on Panay. Through this project, we can enable the University to become an author-ity about Panay, and all its different aspects – its natural resources, soci-ety, culture, geography, arts – every-thing there is to know about it! We can integrate all the fields of study in the CAS – the social sciences, the biological sciences, chemistry, the physical sciences and mathematics, the humanities – to produce some-thing that can be of use to the soci-ety.

What are your views of the next UP President? What issues do you think he/she should address?

The next UP President should define more concretely what role UP should have as the national university, based on the new char-ter. What kind of direction should UP pursue? Research, teaching, or service to the people? Of course, we cannot be all three at once. We have to have a role to focus on, but at the same time, without ignoring the rest. This is also the same kind of direct-ing that is expected from a dean.

What are the implications of the UP Cebu autonomy on the CAS?

I am under the impression that the UP Cebu autonomy move was something done without proper con-sultation of the other constituents of the university. It was a decision made at the highest level, without

feedback from other colleges. But this event has also led me, along with the other members of the CAS faculty, to become more vigilant, more prepared about something like this. It could happen to the CAS too. But this at least serves as a reminder to fully evaluate our college’s situ-ation and consult those who are part of it before reaching a decision that might affect the integrity of UP Visayas.

On a lighter note…

When you were a kid, what did you want to be? Did it ever cross your mind to be a dean one day?

I liked toys, and I loved to take them apart to see what they looked like, and try to put them back to-gether. I asked my parents what the perfect career was for someone like that, and they said Mechanical Engi-neering. So that was what I took up in college. I never dreamed of being a dean, but then there was a time when I realized how many prob-lems our society has, and that I had to stop complaining and start doing something. So I thought, I should become part of the solution, not the problem. And then this opportunity for administration came along, and I felt that it was one of the best ways to be part of the solution.

What other hobbies and interests do you have?

I’m a big fan of Manny Pac-quiao and Charice! I used to be into running when I was younger – spe-

cifically middle distance running. I used to do ten kilometers a day, but right now my job requires me to be sedentary most of the time. The most I can do is some brisk walk-ing, but one day maybe I’ll take up running again. I’m also very fond of reading Tom Clancy; I collect his Jack Ryan novels. Believe it or not, I’m also into the Harry Potter series. My daughter and I watched the movie recently, and we had fun critiquing the differences between the book and the film versions.

Anything you can say to the stu-dents of the College of Arts and Sciences?

Strive to be the best that you can be not only for your own self-satis-faction, but for others who depend on your abilities to make their lives better. Just like our symbol, the Ob-lation, it is noblest to offer oneself up to a cause larger than yourself.

I check my plastic digital watch, and it blinks back 3:21, which meant the interview lasted for al-most an hour. I thank Dr. Espinosa for his time and patience, and we talk a bit about Busay, Pagbutlak’s annual literary folio. He’s read the publication, he says, and he’s look-ing forward to reading more of what the students have to say. “I’m par-ticularly fond of the poetry; I want to know what the young people are getting angsty about these days,” he jokes. “Besides, my expertise may lie in computational physics, but my sister’s a poet, and she’s developed a love of poetry in me.” ■

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 5INTERVIEW

Page 6: October December Issue

BLOODYMONDAY

EUNICE GUADALOPE

By pursuing and broadcasting the truth, it is the media that keeps our democracy up and running. Knowing what really happens empowers every citizen to participate in matters concerning the state. The government of the people, by the people, and for the people then becomes a daily reality as long as every Filipino is informed by the media. Having such an effect, this profession with its vast coverage can mold the opinions of every viewer or reader like clay.

Such strength, however, of our media practitioners is seen by some as a threat. By voicing out the truth, they serve as the mirrors of our society, but not everyone likes their reflection. For the sake of hiding the sins committed against the people, it must be shattered.

Ampatuan massacreA peaceful convoy of Buluan Vice Mayor

Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu was on its way to file the certificate for his candidacy in the gubernatorial post when a group of armed men stopped them. It became a gruesome death scene with 57 lives that were lost, 43 of which were journalists that were supposed to immunize the procession.

It was “the deadliest single attack on the press ever documented,” according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The death knell for our democracy, championed by the media, was heard that Monday. The whole country wore black as we, Filipinos, realized that the voice we hear on the radio, the writer who wields the pen of truth, and other media practitioners who are keeping democracy in order are also fragile human beings who can be easily snuffed out despite of the powerful role that they have.

A year later, the Philippines is still haunted by the faces of the fallen men and women in Maguindanao. The media profession was still reeling from the massacre, having some of their members sacrificed, though not deliberately, for their freedom to wield their power to inspire the people. This strength of the media, coupled with its advocacy for the truth, can also be a kind of mirror

that is a threat to the ones it is supposed to serve, us.

Mendoza hostage crisisOn another Monday, former Senior

Inspector Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus with 21 Hong Kong nationals and four Filipinos. A real-life hostage drama unfolded in national television and radio stations as the bus made its final stop in the historical Quirino Grandstand where our 15th President vowed to serve the country. Eight people never made it out of the trip alive.

The whole Philippines held their breath as they watched the live media coverage on major TV networks. Something along these lines must have ran through the minds of the news and current affairs executives in the radio and TV stations:

Forget the specific media guidelines for covering crises situations. Get the good angles, preferably an extreme close-up of those SWAT teams and policemen forcing their way inside the bus. It can be used against them. The viewers must get a 360 degrees view of this hostage situation. Also, take a good shot of Mendoza’s brother being caught by the police. Pre-empting the expensive commercials is only worth it if our ratings hit the roof. Who knows, this extensive coverage may win us an award! For good measure, get a radio interview with the mentally-unstable hostage-taker.

Commercializing mediaBefore getting your pitchforks and starting

a rally against the media, please be cautioned and put away the “I blame media” banners. For one, media networks have already disciplined their reporters and revised their guidelines for covering emergency situations.

The media were doing their job in

proclaiming the truth and serving the public, but that’s not all. The problem is, the entirety of the media profession is not anchored alone on solid media values and ethics. Money makes the world go round, as they say, and the fourth estate of the society is not immune. It must be said that the moral obligation of the media often clashes with the reality that its content must also be geared for profit.

The media profession is not an independent enterprise that can do whatever it pleases without having to pat its wallet once in a while. TV, radio, and newspapers are also owned by media corporations. The whims of the market determine how the cameras keep rolling, the presses running, and the media practitioners full in their pockets.

Simply put, the most number of viewers attract more advertisers and will bring more money. However, those media consumers are not unlimited in number and they can only patronize a few shows. Thus, limited supply of viewers versus simultaneous demand for them begets competition. It also means pressure for the reporters to get stories that will lure in more viewers than their competitors.

The competitive money-making side of the media industry is not just evident in the number of commercials aired or the product plugging

in popular shows. News content is being conditioned for the sake of higher audience ratings at the expense of quality programming. Even at the cost of a human life.

On that fateful August day, it’s not the own blood of the media practitioners that covered them, but it was from the innocent hostages. This time, the mirror itself which was supposed to safeguard the people harmed them.

The victim and the enemyThe exploited and exploited. The victim

and the enemy. This is how the Philippine Press Institute perceives the media, especially when there is an unstable ethical foundation among its practitioners. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, between imperiling their own lives or that of others, the media must do the precarious balancing act on the tightrope of life through their TV and radio broadcasts and newspaper publications. Their influencing power became a threat for others and they were killed. That same strength also became a menace for us. Keeping the mirror that reflects the truth from being erased and from cutting anyone is an art still being perfected.

However, the deaths of the journalists in the dusty town of Ampatuan and the senseless killing of the hostages triggered by a live TV coverage were not for naught. From their graves, gems of wisdom can be gleaned that cannot be understood fully in just textbooks.

Although painful, real-life experiences are vital to the development of a well-balanced Philippine media. Sometimes, mere words are not enough to guide something as freedom-loving as the media. It took 43 fallen heroes in Maguindanao for the government or the whole country to take notice of the precious truth-seeking few being killed for their service to the public. It took 8 lives for our TV and radio reporters, journalists, and the media higher-ups to revise their guidelines for covering emergency situations. Unfortunately.

May November 23, 2009 and August 23, 2010, those bloody Mondays, never happen again. ■

ReferencePierre Bourdieu, “Television,” European

Review 9, no. 3 (2001): 245 – 256.

When the Philippine Media Trembled

Such strength, however, of our

media practitioners is seen by some as a threat. By voicing out the truth, they

serve as the mirrors of our society, but not everyone likes their reflection. For the sake of hiding the sins committed

against the people, it must be shattered.

Where were you on November 23, 2009 and August 23, 2010? Two dates that, by itself, may be forgettable, but these 48 hours made us see the faltering steps of our democracy as symbolized by the blood on our society’s watchdog, the media, as it flows from the dusty highway of Maguindanao and the glass-splintered interior of a tourist bus in Manila. Both dates just fell on our ordinary much-dreaded school day until we knew what happened. The Maguindanao Massacre and the Quirino Hostage incident took place on Monday, a bloody one.

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 20106 FEATURES

Page 7: October December Issue

The force of the acute crisis weighing upon the nation led to a storm of massive protests that henceforth became known

as the First Quarter Storm (FQS) of 1970.This historical episode of social un-

rest is the starting point of the film Sigwa, as directed by Joel Lamangan and written by Bonifacio Ilagan.

The story begins with the main character, Dolly (Dawn Zulueta, Megan Young), returning to the Philippines to look for her daughter who was left in the country during the years of the Marcos dictatorship.

She first came to the Philippines in the ‘70s as a Filipino-American who at first only wrote about the struggles of the workers, peasants and other sectors of so-ciety for national liberation and genuine democracy but later on became actively engaged in it.

Past revisitedThrough flashbacks of her personal

saga, the viewers are presented the hu-man side of those who took up the chal-lenge of confronting imperialism (which means the subjugation of our people by foreign powers), feudalism (characterized by landlord exploitation of the peasantry), and bureaucrat capitalism (or the use of government position for private profit).

Helping Dolly link the past to the present is Rading (Jaime Pebanco, Jay Aquitania), an old comrade she becomes reunited with while searching for her daughter.

Rading narrates the many changes and continuities of the old generation of activists. Many have become inactive for different reasons while some have even made a 180-degree turn to become the very defenders of the status quo.

Azon (Gina Alajar, Lovi Poe), who was gang raped by military agents, has grown sickly from the trauma and is now resting in a secluded country house. Ol-iver (Tirso Cruz III, Marvin Agustin), who was arrested in the ‘70s, is now presiden-tial spokesperson.

But others, like Rading, have retained measures of involvement in the move-ment while some, like Cita (Zsa Zsa Pa-dilla, Pauleen Luna), have deepened their commitment for social change by taking up the highest form of struggle.

Also mentioned in the film are FQS veterans Judy Taguiwalo who is now the UP Faculty Regent, Carol Araullo who is presently chair of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), and Satur Ocampo, who became a congressman under the progressive partylist Bayan Muna.

No dinner partyThe intensification of Marcos’ fas-

cist repression compelled Dolly and her group of friends to join the underground revolutionary movement and take up arms against the regime.

They have come to the conclusion that armed resistance is the primary form of struggle since the ruling classes would not give up their power and hold on a re-pressive system.

The revolutionaries would have to start organizing in the rural areas where the forces of the state are weakest and gradually surround the cities from the countryside wave upon wave.

However, they would also discover that waging a revolution is no dinner par-ty. Members of their group of friends who were captured by the military were raped and tortured. 1

Eddie (Allen Dizon), the father of Dolly’s daughter, kills himself in the pres-ence of Dolly and their comrades in a guerrilla camp after he was uncovered as a military agent.

Dolly herself would leave her baby daughter with Azon when their safehouse was raided by the military. These trau-matic episodes would lead her to leave the country.

Oliver, who is also Cita’s ex-lover, would reveal the whereabouts of his com-rades to his military captors during inter-rogation.

ConfrontationThese characters would find them-

selves together again in the film’s high-point after 40 years of separation. During the wake of a dead professor who was im-portant in their development as activists, Dolly and Rading would join the confron-tation between Cita and Oliver.

In this heated exchange, the con-tinuing relevance of revolutionary armed struggle is debated, with Oliver insisting that its time has passed.

Cita, who took up arms again after escaping her military captors despite all the hardships and sacrifices, expresses her deepened commitment for revolutionary change.

The collapse of the former Soviet Un-ion and China’s following of the capitalist road after the death of Mao does not at all diminish Philippine social realities of in-justice and the validity of the struggle for revolutionary transformation, countered Rading.

Cita finally shames Oliver by point-ing out that those who are separated from the concrete conditions and do not engage in social practice end up slurping all sorts of wrong ideas.

The scene ends with Oliver getting booed by other activists as he leaves the wake.

Dialectical formThis climactic confrontation epito-

mizes how the entire film is structured “as a constant play of opposite modalities clashing against one another.” 2

Conflicting images are often set against each other in succeeding scenes. Upon Dolly’s arrival, for example, the view of the calm Manila bay is contrasted to flashbacks of a raging militant youth demonstration that was violently dis-persed by the police.

The film’s dialectical form is also ex-pressed in the exposition of protagonists’ conflicting viewpoints. But this method of opposing elements is present not only in the form but also extends and intertwines with the content.

Dolly’s reminiscence of her past and outlook in the film is often nostalgic, for example, while Cita’s own flashbacks are narrated by a more practical point of view. Even as Dolly’s character searches for a lost past, Cita has a rich experience from this very past that Dolly left behind.

The flashbacks of Dolly’s courtship by Eddie in the usual bourgeois

way is contrasted, for in-stance, with Cita’s second marriage which was offi-

ciated by the revolutionary movement and held within a

guerrilla front to the celebra-tory sound of gunfire.

Meanwhile, Cita’s remain-ing true to her original calling and becoming a leader of the New People’s Army is opposed to Oliver’s betrayal and eventual

serving of the reactionary government.Sigwa thus involves what film critic

Marylin Fabe as “a constant juxtaposition or clash of opposites (a thesis and an an-tithesis), the goal being the creation of a new synthesis or higher consciousness in the mind of the viewer.” 3

But the social issues and histori-cal events tend to act as background to a family saga – Dolly’s search for her lost daughter – instead of becoming the film’s highlight.

On the one hand, this is a convincing way of introducing and endearing these issues and events to more mainstream au-diences.

On the other hand, one problem is what acclaimed novelist Lualhati Bautista would describe as “a very striking similar-ity between Sigwa and Desaparesidos… [in] the very concept of a mother searching for the daughter she has lost, which is the basic, unifying element of the movie.” 4

Bautista first wrote Desparesidos as a teleplay aired on Channel 7 in 1997. Bautista wrote a full-length novel based on the teleplay. The novel was published in 2007.

Filming the struggleSigwa comes after a long line of films

that directly tackle social injustices, state repression, the legal democratic move-ment, and the armed struggle in the coun-tryside.

Mike De Leon’s Sister Stella L (1984) shows the awakening of a nun to greater social realities by helping striking work-ers in their picket lines.

Lino Brocka’s Orapronobis (1988), which was also censored by the govern-

ment, mirrors the realities of grave human rights violations under the regime of the late Corazon Aquino.

Chito Roño’s Dekada ’70 (2002), based on a novel by Lualhati Bautista of the same title, tells the story of a mother and her family’s personal struggles and political resistance under the dictatorship.

And Dukot (2009), also directed by Lamangan and written by Ilagan, chroni-cles the plight of desaparecidos or those abducted by state forces under the Arroyo regime. This comes as no surprise as La-mangan and Ilagan are both veterans of the FQS.

The continuing relevance of the so-cial realities shown in Sigwa as well as this year’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the FQS makes the film’s screening timely.

Through the interaction of the char-acters’ experiences during the FQS, the ensuing period of repression and fiercer resistance during martial law, and the con-tinuing struggle in the present, the viewers are presented an overview of the narrative of the national democratic struggle. ■

Notes1. Under the Marcos dictatorship, more than 70,000 were imprisoned for their political convictions according to old ar-chives of the original Task Force Detain-ees. Most were tortured.2. Marilyn Fabe, Closely Watched Films: An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique (Berkley: University of California Press, 2004), 194.3. Ibid.4. Lualhati Bautista, “Sigwa vis-à-vis Desparesidos,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 30 July 2010.

SigwaFilming the national democratic struggle

KARLOMIKHAILMONGAYA

PEOPLE’S WAR: Zsa Zsa Padilla plays the role of a guerrilla leader in Sigwa. DENNIS EVANGELISTA

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 7REVIEW

Page 8: October December Issue

inveytashun to have deyneer dyeyt...this matan-dang gurang na funoh ng kuhlohboat ahng feces is soo majilig magpick pocket on mah deliciousness fafalicious...kawawa naman ang aking pinakamama-hal...he’s back not becoz he wants to be with me all the time square but becoz...he is falling down of the london bridge and now is vack to make com-plete his mission on Physical Experimentation.

Chika#3: Chrush pa naman sana kita but you broke mah heart off...Why did you make away of mah friendsterz... “kuya you make buy na of mah password please, i will give you discount. Please buy me nah...i dont have bills to make pay of this if i cant sell one”...oh mah gosh! Anu itetch? When pa ever naging REQUIRED ang ball-on-tear to smuggle passwords and pay for it if he cant sell all of it? Uhhuhu...what is happening in mah fafaconcious’samok-infected uteck?

Oh my! Is that what we call yuman raytz? Yeah, fafa rensan is right you can not just down-load yuman raytz and copy paste it. Kasi minzan

On breaks in between classes, Com-munication and Media Studies sen-ior Stephanie Suarez connects to the University’s WiFi connection via

PuTTy. Before opening her profile on the popu-lar social networking site Facebook, she adds an “s” after “http”, because it’s eleven in the morn-ing and social networking and video streaming sites are blocked during office hours. Through the handy “https” trick, however, students, fac-ulty and staff alike are still able to access these blocked sites.

Open access to WiFi in the University of the Philippines Visayas Miagao campus started in the First Semester of A.Y. 2008-2009. However, by August 2008, the administration decided to require users to log in before they could access the service. To be able to do this, students first had to request for their own username and pass-word from the University’s Data and Information Systems Program (DISP) department (for those who don’t know where it’s located -- Old Admin, right corridor on the first floor, straight ahead.)

By November 2009, however, a memoran-dum from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development (OVCPD) was is-sued, with the subject “Blocking of Web Stream-ing Sites (WSS) and Social Networking Sites (SNS)”. From then on, no one accessing the University’s WiFi connection could answer the archetypal Facebook question “What’s on your mind?” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding lunch breaks.

That is, until some ComSci buddies had their Eureka moment in the form of “https.”

Don’t block the netwayAccording to the administration, there were

two reasons behind the blocking of certain sites during office hours. First was to ensure better ef-

ficiency in the workplace by eliminating online distractions in the form of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. (i.e. Manong Guard is now friends with Manong Coop. Manong Guard, Manong Coop and four other friends started playing Mall World. ManongGuard: @ManongCoop hey let’s start trending #JustinBieber)

Second, it was because the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development, Dr. Alice G. Fer-rer, felt alarmed by the decreasing speed of the University’s Internet connection. After discuss-ing the matter with the DISP, they agreed on im-plementing the office-hours blocking policy.

According to Mr. Wilfredo Palete Jr., Infor-mation Technology Officer 1 of the DISP, their statistics showed that Internet speed improved after the implementation. But as “https” slowly reared its Facebook-friendly head, connections began to lag again.

Need for speedIt wasn’t long before the DISP found a

more effective way of blocking that even “ht-tps” couldn’t get through. They gave it a trial run (much to everyone’s dismay), but decided not to continue it, since the University had plans of up-grading the Internet speed anyway.

Previously, the entire campus made do with a 1.5-Megabytes per second (Mbps) connection from Globe Telecommunications. Obviously, it wasn’t enough. Even with the office-hours block-ing implemented, complaints kept coming in about the Internet speed, so the admin decided to bite the bullet, and upgraded from Globe’s mea-sly 1.5Mbps to the 6Mbps connection offered by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) of the Department of Science and Tech-nology (DOST). The Php80,000.00 monthly charge for the Miagao campus alone is a bit on the pricey side compared to Globe’s, which was Php57,499.00 for the entire UPV system, but it does have its perks. It gives the University ac-cess to the research materials and databases of

other countries and universities abroad. The rest of the UP systems also have the ASTI-DOST as their Internet service provider, except for UP Mindanao, but even they have plans of switching sometime this year.

“There’s no denying that the speed has im-proved,” says Mr. Palete Jr. But when asked whether anyone’s commented on the improve-ment – “Not really,” he says. “When something goes wrong, everyone always has something to say about it. But not when things get better.”

Connections are available, but…So far, despite the upgrade, students still have

some not-so-nice things to say about the Internet speed. One of the most common complaints is not being able to access the dorm’s WiFi connec-tion during “peak” hours – usually 7-9 p.m. on weeknights.

Our constant Facebooker Stephanie Suarez says, “I admit there has been an improvement in the speed, but there’s still a lot of inconsistency. It’s frustrating when you can’t connect right ex-actly when you need it, and sometimes the con-nection just gives up on you while you’re in the middle of doing something.”

Current statusAs of now, the UPV Miagao campus current-

ly has 650 registered WiFi users, according to the DISP. Of course, this isn’t counting all the other people who borrow their pals’ usernames and passwords (that’s what friends are for, right?). Bad news for the leechers, though. The DISP has plans to come up with a program that can detect whether a username is being used simultaneously by different people, and their plan of action in-cludes blocking those free-for-all usernames.

On the brighter side, the DISP has also been trying to work out a dedicated 2Mbps DSL con-nection for the dorms alone, separate from the 6Mbps connection. Mr. Palete Jr. hopes it can improve the dorm connections, but for the mean-

time it’s still in the trial stage.But there’s more good news, which concerns

something a lot of students may have also been wondering about. Can the DISP really see who’s accessing what website anytime?

“No,” says Mr. Palete Jr. “We can only see what sites are being accessed, but not by whom. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Nah, not really. ■

NOTE: Parts of the information included in the first part of this article were previously gathered and in-cluded in the author’s investigative report on the ad-ministration’s blocking of web streaming and social networking sites for CMS 132 (Writing Views).

The (not so) fast and furiousWhat You Don’t Know, Should Know, and Want to Know About UPV’s Internet Connection

BEMJO TOREMA

Hayyyyzzzz. . . .nakaka-loka itech...mah head is going merry-go-round. Well3x your ever byootipul manenay mooh-ni is vack vack vack ecklavuh from mah vekeyshun grande ala tour around the world. And I thot wiz chika evah will infil-trate mah ever byootipul unibersidad por da creme de la creme delicioso...but mah ever bigger ears make sagap of this chika ever that made me head-bangerz alert!

Chika#1: Mi Corazon...my heart...ouch! it hurts! My brainyness utech made sabog as in ex-plode to the major major max when mah crystal clear as in byootipul eyes (wink, wink) saw them. Yeah it was confeyrmd! Uh Huh? Mah delicioso, papalicious, hotness ex-in-mah-dreams, “again”

Mah Heart, It Hurtz!+was caught by an outgoing exit door. Last year mah perfect-shaped love-heart goes punit-punit coz’ mah deliciousness, papalicious dribbler of mah life got shoot in one outgoing exit door instead of mah ever perfect round ballz ring. The exit door according to mah ever loyal DPA (as in Dagang Pal-aging Aligaga) is feeelingggg reyna ng kagandahan. In fernezzz bagay sya reyna ng wizclaznavera. HAHAHA(evil laugh).

Chika#2: Witwhew! Oh sooo sexy papa koh! Chheee! Don’t you make agaw-agaw nga of mah pre-cious ballzfriend, you matandang gurang na funoh ng kuhlohboat ahng feces... mah tearz iz fooling..Uhuhuhu! mah fafalicious who iz zaying bye eckla-vush to mah byootiful booody is vack again, tearz in his eyes coz the gradwitt train made pababa of him becoz this chukchakchenez forpeyzoor...made him bagsak presyo after not making agree with his

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 20108 FEATURES

may kasamang masamang virus...masisira ang iyong council system pag my deadly virus. Nyahaha...

Well...i can’t breathe anymore as in nasuffo-cate aketch after hearing the BUD-breath Cut-ting chizmax...Oxygen please mah dear blow in mah mouth...hah hah hah...thank you im still alive i will make revenge to you who make agaw of mah ballz toyz! But i will invade first the Chancing Parck and make buga uzok in the air to drive lecheng lamok that bites my byootipul skin. Tip lng mga kachur-vah, when angel de la guardia make visit of you just smile sweetly and pout your kissable lips wet with BEERi sweet juice and surely he will go away as in nothig happened. Vavush SMPs ( Samahan ng mga Malalanding Pokpok) i will meet my fafa dear in the Love Nature Parx...i will add with him and multiply and multiply...asa sila, kala nila mawawala na ang inyong ever byootipul manenay moohni...remember i took pixshur pixshur with papalicious oble...lol Vavush na talaga aketch..mwuahugz...yellabye. ^-^

Page 9: October December Issue

BATAS MILITAR

JON

ATH

AN

GO

NZA

LES

Sino nga ba ang hindi nakakaalala sa 14-taong dilubyong dulot ng Batas-Militar sa ilalim ng diktadurang Marcos? At sino nga ba ang hindi

naantig sa makasaysayang pagpapatalsik sa isang diktador?

Ngunit ano nga ba ang mga salik ng pagpataw ng batas-militar? Paano nga ba lumaban ang mga mamamayang Pilipino na naging bunsod ng pagbagsak ng rehimeng Marcos sa kabila ng pagsuporta ng Estados Unidos sa matagal na panahon?

Pandaigdigan at domestikong krisisAng matagalan at kronikong krisis ng

sistemang malakolonyal at malapyudal ang nagbunsod ng mga kalagayan na nagdulot sa paglitaw ng diktadurang US-Marcos.

Patuloy ang kontrol ng mga monopoly-ong dayuhan sa bansa. Dinagdagan pa ito ng pagiging palaasa ng ekonomiya sa produksy-on ng hilaw na materyales na pang-eksport.

Kasabay naman ng lumalaking surplus sa paggawa at papataas na depisit sa kalakalan ay ang kawalan ng pambansang industriya-lisasyon at tunay na repormang agraryo na sasalo sa lumulubog na ekonomiya ng bansa.

Bunga nito, tumindi ang matagal nang la-banan ng mga pamulitikang paksyon ng mga nagsasamantalang uri.

Sa hanay naman ng mga manggagawa at magsasaka, lalong tumaas ang antas ng mga walang hanapbuhay at kahirapan na siyang naging dahilan ng pagdami ng mga anti-imperyalista at anti-pyudal na mga organ-isasyong masa at paglitaw ng sandatahang rebolusyon.

Dagdag rin dito ang hidwaan sa pag-mamay-ari ng lupa sa Mindanao na nagbun-ga ng pagkatatag ng Mindanao Independence Movement at armadong Moro National Lib-eration Front.

Sinabayan rin ng panloob na krisis ang paulit-ulit na resesyon ng pandaigdig na sis-temang kapitalista, napipintong pagkatalo ng US sa digmaan sa Biyetnam, at ang paparam-ing bilang ng mga sosyalistang bansa.

Pasistang dahas ng Batas MilitarSagot ng rehimeng Marcos sa lumalalang

krisis, hidwaan sa pagitan ng mga naghahari-ng uri, at muling paglaban ng mga anakpawis ang pasistang dahas upang mapanatili ang sa-rili sa poder.

Noong Agosto 21, 1971, binomba ang isang kampanyang elektoral ng Partido Lib-eral na naging dahilan ng pagsuspende ng kautusang “habeas corpus” na magbibigay ng kapangyarihang pangkagipitan sa punong kumander.

Kaya noong Setyembre 22, 1972, kasun-od ng ilang huwad na pambobomba at pang-aambus ay idineklara ni Marcos ang Batas Militar sa pamamagitan ng Proklamasyon Blg. 1081.

Agad siyang nang-aresto ng mga kalaban at kritiko nya sa pulitika, mga lider at aktibis-ta ng mga legal na progresibong organisasy-on, pinasarhan lahat ng midya liban doon sa mga ginamit nya upang itaguyod ang batas military, at hinawakan ang pinakamataas na posisyong ehekutibo, lehislatibo, at hudisyal.

Ginamit ni Marcos ang Armed Forces of the Philippines upang makapanatili siya sa kapangyarihan, marahas na pagsugpo niya sa mga kritiko niya sa pulitika, at pasistang pagsugpo niya sa hanay ng kilusang masa at rebolusyanaryong kilusang pinamumunuan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP).

Ang pinakamahalagang suporta sa pa-sistang rehimeng Marcos ay nagmula sa Es-tados Unidos, na nagbigay ng garantiya ng patuloy na daloy ng mga dayuhang pautang mula sa mga ahensyang multilateral at bang-kong komersyal.

Rebolusyonaryong paglabanSa loob ng 14 taon ng Batas Militar,

malaki ang ginampanang papel ng mga pro-gresibong organisasyong masa at armadong pakikibaka ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan (BHB) at Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas.

Ang mga legal na organisasyong masa sa kalunsuran ay pinuyok ng mga mararahas na atake ng pasistang rehimen. Sa pagngangalit ng Sigwa ng Unang Kwarto ng 1970, ma-raming legal na organisasyon ang ginawang illegal; maraming aktibista ang inaresto, na-detine, at pinaslang.

Lantaran ang pasismo kung kaya maram-ing aktibista at simpatisador ang nagtungo sa kanayunan upang yakapin ang armadong pa-kikibaka. Lalong lumawak ang PKP at BHB na naglulunsad ng armadong pakikibaka upang yanigin ang pasistang rehimeng US-Marcos.

Sa kalunsuran, maraming lider at aktibis-ta ang sumali sa mga lihim na organisasyon sa ilalim ng National Democratic Front na pinamumunuan din ng PKP. Ang mga lihim na kilusang ito ang namuno sa mga demon-strasyon, pag-oorganisa, at pagpapalawak ng rebolusyonaryong pwersa sa kalunsuran na isa rin sa mga salik na nagpabagsak kay Marcos.

Samantala, karamihan sa mga miyembro at lider ng Partido Liberal ang nagsipanig kay Marcos dahil sa armadong pananakot, panganib na mawalan ng lupa, at panunuhol.

Ang iba namang organisasyong di-pro-gresibong ay nagbigay papuri sa despotikong paghahari ni Marcos. Ang simbahang Kato-liko ay nagpahayag ng suporta sa rehimen at pinangalandakang mas mainam na ito kaysa sa Komunismo.

Nagpatuloy ang walang humpay na paglabag sa karapatang pantao, paglaki ng utang panlabas ng bansa, at tuluyang pagka-tali ng Pilipinas sa mga makaisang panig na mga kasunduang inilako ng imperyalistang

Ang dilubyo’t pakikibaka

US. Samantala, patuloy ang paglawak ng kilusang masa at armadong kilusang pina-mumunuan ng PKP.

Pagbagsak ng diktaduraNoong Agosto 21, 1983, pinaslang si Be-

nigno Aquino at mas lumawak ang saklaw ng kilusang protesta laban sa diktadura. Ito na siguro ang pinakamalaking kamaliang puli-tikal ni Marcos.

Dahil sa lumalalang krisis at mas lumalak-ing rebolusyonaryong pwersa, sinuportahan ng US ang pagpapatalsik kay Marcos.

Nangamba ang US na kung mananatili pa sa kapangyarihan si Marcos, mananalo ang rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka’t susulong ito sa sosyalismo. Minaobra ng US ang military at gumawa ito ng paksyong Marcos-Ver at Enrile-Ramos.

Ang pag-aalsang militar, ang pag-aalsa ng mamamayan, ang pagmamaniobra ng US, at ang lumalakas na rebolusyonaryong ar-madong pakikibaka ang mga naging salik sa pagbagsak ng rehimeng US-Marcos.

Mahigit 90 porsyento ng mga mamamayang nakapaligid noon sa Malakan-yang ay nagmula sa mga kasaping organ-isasyon ng BAYAN, lalo na ng Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), League of Filipino Stu-dents (LFS), Kabataan para sa Demokrasya at Nasyonalismo (KADENA), at iba pa.

May mga pag-aalsa ring naganap sa mga kabisera ng probinsiya, mga syudad, at mga bayan sa labas ng Metro Manila. Katunayan, sa lunsod mg Angeles ay hinarangan ng mga mamamayan ang mga tangke ni Heneral Pal-afox na nagmula sa Camp Aquino sa Tarlac. May mga pag-aalsa ring naganap sa Bisaya at Mindanao.

Noong Pebrero 25, 1986, alas 9:00 ng gabi, nilisan ni Marcos at kanyang mga ala-lay ang Malakanyang sa tulong ng amo ni-yang imperyalista hanggang makalabas ito ng bansa.

Ang pag-aalsang militar, ang

pag-aalsa ng mamamayan, ang

pagmamaniobra ng US, at ang lumalakas na

rebolusyonaryong armadong

pakikibaka ang mga naging salik

sa pagbagsak ng rehimeng US-

Marcos.

Tuloy ang laban ng sambayananSa pagbagsak ni Marcos ay siya namang

pag-akyat ni Corazon Aquino. Tulad ng ibang presidenteng nauna sa kanya, ang re-himeng Aquino ay sumibol dahil sa pagma-maniobra ng US.

Kaya kahit wala na si Marcos, patuloy pa ring nakatali ang Pilipinas sa US. Nagpapat-uloy pa rin ang malapyudal at malakolonyal na sistema ng bansa hanggang sa kasaluku-yan.

Sa isang panig, patuloy pa rin ang pagla-bag sa karapatang pantao, pagiging palaasa ng ekonomya sa pag-eksport ng hilaw na materyales, pagkatali sa World Bank at In-ternational Monetary Fund, at kawalan ng tunay na repormang agraryo at pambansang industriya.

Ngunit sa gitna ng lumalalang krisis ng lipunan, patuloy pa rin ang mga ligal at arma-dong pakikibaka sa kalunsuran at kanayunan.

Sa katunayan, nasa katayuan ang sam-bayanang Pilipino ngayon upang higitan pa ang mga naging tagumpay nito laban sa diktadurang US-Marcos at isulong ang pam-bansang demokratikong pakikibaka hang-gang sa tagumpay. ■

ReferencesAmado Guerrero, Lipunan at Rebolusyong

Pilipino, Ikaapat na Edisyon (Manila:Aklatang Bayan, 2005).

Ferdinand Marcos, The Democratic Revo-lution in the Philippines (NJ: Prentice-Hall International, 1974).

Jose Ma. Sison and Rainer Werning,Rebolusyong Pilipino: Tanaw Mula saLoob (Manila: Lagda Publishing, 1994).

Renato Constantino and Letizia Constantino,Ang Bagong Lumipas II: 1940-1965,Salin ni Ariel Dim. Borlongan (Quezon City: Foundation for Nationalist Studies,1997).

IBAGSAK ANG DIKTADURANG US-MARCOS! Ito ang natira sa busto ni Ferdinand Marcos ng pinasabugan ng mga rebeldeng NPA noong 2002. AP PHOTOS

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 9FEATURES

Page 10: October December Issue

ASWANG SA LAWIGANAng paniniwala sa mga as-

wang ay isang katangian na ng kulturang Pilipino. Sa paglipas ng panahon,

nag paiba-iba na rin ang imahe ng as-wang.

Karaniwang ideya ng mga taga lungsod sa aswang ay manananggal. Isang babaing lumilipad at putol ang katawan. Kaya nga yun ang tawag sa kanila. Kadalasan nilang binibiktima ang mga buntis at ang mga maliliit na bata. Kinakain daw nila ang atay at iba pang lamang loob ng tao. Ang imaheng ito ay malamang produkto na ng mga komiks, pelikula, at iba pang uri ng media.

Pero sa bayan, iba ang ideya ng as-wang. Ang mga taong binabansagang aswang ay mga tao din. Minsan isang buong pamilya o kahit isang kumyu-nidad. Ang mga aswang ay mga taong mailap at hindi nakikihalubilo o sim-pleng mga taong “kakaiba”.

Ang Kwento sa LawiganSigawan, takbuhan, gulat, takot at

samu’t saring emosyon ang pumukaw sa malayo’t tahimik na Barangay ng Lawigan, San Joaquin noong Setyem-bre 22. Ang Lawigan ang pinakadu-long bahagi ng San Joaquin at mahig-it-kumulang 45 minutong biyahe sa jeep mula UPV Miagao.

Dalawang buwan na ang nakali-pas noong gabing yaon nang mang-yari ang isang misteryo na bumalot ng takot at pangamba sa nasabing lugar. Kumalat ang iba’t-ibang kuwento at ispekulasyon hanggang umabot ito sa pansin ng nasyonal media. Sinadya rin ng Pagbutlak ang naturang lugar para alamin ang tunay na pangyayari.

Ayon kay Mel, hindi niya tunay na pangalan, nagsimula ang lahat sa isang preparasyon para sa kaarawan ng isang mag-pipitong gulang na batang lalaki dakong alas singko ng hapon habang hinahanda ang kakatay-ing baboy. Pero bago nito, may mga usap-usaping kumakalat na sa bayan ukol sa isang pamilya ng kulto na unang nakita na dumaong sa barangay ng Igburi ng nasabing bayan na nang-hahabol ng mga bata at kinukuha ang kanilang mga vital organs.

Dakong alas-siyete ng gabi, ka-bilugan ng buwan at pinauwi ni Mel sa kanilang bahay mga 50 metro ang layo mula sa bahay ng kanyang ina ang dalawang anak: isang 2nd year hayskul at isang bata na puro babae.

Makalipas ang ilang sandali at umuwi rin siya. Sa dalampasigan

natanaw niya na may anim na lalak-ing humihila sa sahid (beach seine net) at isang guro pa ang isa. Maya-maya narinig niyang may nagsabi na, “Amo ra nga mga taho, kulang lang ra ang pangamuyo sa Ginuo”. Liningon niya ito at nagulat na may dalawa pang nadagdag na nakaputing damit. Wala pang limang metro ang kanyang nalakad at biglang umahon na ang sahid. Nagtaka siya dahil wala raw tao sa bandang yaon dahil doon lahat sa Tacas at abala sa inihaw na baboy.

Naglaro pa sila sa mga bata sa paligid at doon na nagsimula ang walang katapusang sigawan ng mga tao. Natakot raw ang mga bata dahil sa anyo ng mukha ng mga ito. Kung titingnan parang normal na tao rin sila subalit kakaiba ang kanilang itsura. “Daw mga taga-Planet Namek. Daw si Piccolo (Dragon Balls)”, paglalarawan niya. Mahaba ang tenga, malalaki at pula ang mga mata, nakaputing sotana tulad ng sa pari, translucent ang katawan, malaki ang bunganga, walang ilong at hindi rin nakikita ang pang-ibabang bahagi ng katawan na para bang nakalutang lamang sa ere.

Bumalik ulit sa bahay ng lola ang dalawang anak ni Mel at siya’y naiwan sa bahay nito. P i t o n g nilalang ang nakita ng kanyang anak na nakasilong sa malaking bato at pula ang mata na parang sa pusa sa malayo at siya’y natulala. Sa huli, sumigaw siya, “Nanay may ginaguyod nga bata daw si Tisoy (ang magbuburtdey).” Nagkagulo-gulo na at hinabol ng mga tao ang pitong yaon at tinangkang hu-lihin ngunit nawala ang mga ito.

Buong magdamag silang gis-ing sakaling bumalik pa ang mga ito. Sumama ang panahon, dumilim ang langit at sa dagat may isang sakayan na nakita si Mel. Ilang minuto pa at naging dalawa na ito na para bang hinati ngunit buo pa rin. Sabay ng pagguhit ng kidlat sa madilim na ka-langitan ay nawala ang mga ito nang walang kaingay-ingay man lang mula sa motor nito.

Dahil sa nangyari, pinagkaisahan si Mel at ang kanyang kamag-anak ng mga kabarangay at binansagang nag-papasikat lamang at mga abnormal daw. Lumabas na sila pa ang masama at hindi iyon matanggap ni Mel. Na-sambit niya na tatlong araw pagkata-

pos ng kabilugan ng buwan ay sa kabaranggay naman ito magpapakita at nangyari nga ito.

Wala na ang paring nakatalaga sa kanilang parokya ng panahong iyon kaya hindi naming ito nakapa-nayam. Ayon kay Mel, ang sabi ng pari ay dagdagan lamang daw nila ang paniniwala sa Diyos at magsimba tu-wing Linggo dahil kukonti na lamang raw ang nagsisimba. Pero sabi naman ni Mel, na sobrahan na nga raw sila. Tuwing Linggo ay nagsisimba naman silang lahat.

Sa magkabilang dulo nangyari ang pagpapakita. Idiniin ni Mel at ng kanyang mga kaanak na totoo ang kanilang nakita. May mga kwento pa siyang sinabi ngunit ayaw niya nang i-detalye pa. Sabi niya sa maniwala raw kami o hindi, may mga ebidensya siya at hanggang ngayon nananatiling lihim ito kung saan at kung sino pa ang nakakaalam.

Balik sa normal ang kanilang bu-hay wala nang magdamagang ilaw na nakabukas para magmatyag, hindi na siksikan sa bahay ng kanyang ina da-hil sa takot ng mga tao sa paligid, wala nang tanod at pulis, wala na ang takot at pangamba sa kanilang mga mukha. Kung babalik pa ang mga ito, sana raw ay makipag-ugnayan na lamang sila dahil hindi naman sila nakasakit

at walang nangyaring masama.Isang malaking palaisipan kung

bakit wala man lang nawala sa mga bata, ang buntis ay hindi naman gi-nalaw kung aswang o kulto nga ang mga iyon, walang ninakaw na gamit o ari-arian. Ano ba talaga ang nangyari? Mahirap isalaysay ngunit mas mabut-

ing iwan na lamang ito dahil maging sila kinalimutan

na ito. Aswang

Ayon kay Raul Petierra, isang so-ciologolist, hindi

daw naniniwala ang mga Ilokano sa

aswang. Pinaniniwa-laan ni Petierra na ang

bansag na “asawang” ay karaniwang binibigay sa

mga babaeng masyadong “malakas” kumpara sa kun-bensyon ng isang lipunan.

Walang aswang sa Ilocos dahil sa kondisyon ng kanilang lugar. Parat-ing dinadaanan ng bagyo

at mahirap ang buhay. Isang “malakas” at “mati-

bay” na babae ay isang mabuting bagay. Pero sa ibang parte ng Pilipi-nas kung saan mas nakasanayan ang Maria Clarang Filipina, kung sino ang babaeng gustong makipagsabayan sa mga lalaki ay malamang tatawaging asawang.

Politics of GenderAyon kay Herminia Meñez, isang

eksperto sa folklore, ang konsepto ng aswang bilang isang resulta ng “poli-tics of gender”. Noong pre-kolonyal na Pilipinas magkasing pantay lang o minsan mas mataas pa nga ang antas ng mga babae kesa sa mga lalaki. Ka-dalasan babae ang tumatayong baylan, ang ispiritual na pinuno ng kumyu-nidad. Sila din ang manggagamot at paltera.

Nang dumating ang mga Kastila, nagulat sila sa nadatnan nilang ka-layaan ng mga babae sa lipunang Pili-pino. Agad nilang sinimulan ang kam-panya para maging mas dominante ang mga lalaki, tulad ng sa Europa. Ang kanilang pangunahing instrumen-to ay Katolisismo. Nagsimula sila ng mga malawakang konbersyon. Ipinag-tangol naman ng mga babaylanes ang kanilang katutubong rehiliyon. Nag-silikas ang mga babaylanes sa bun-dok. Inakusahan sila ng mga mala sa demonyong gawain. Tumagal, lalong lumala ang pananaw ng mga Kato-

likong taga-patag sa mga babaylanes sa bundok. Sila ay naging mamatay-tao at mangkukulam.

Kaya kung saan dati pinakapromi-nente ang mga babaylanes, sa Bicol at Visayas region, dito rin ngayon ang may pinakamaraming kwento ng mga aswang. Marinig pa lang ang mga pangalang Capiz at Siquijor, as-wang na agad ang pumapasok sa isip ng mga tao. Pero kung tatanongin ang mga taga Hilagang Luzon at Mind-anao, hindi sila naniniwala sa aswang.

Asperger’s SyndromeTantya naman ni Mike Tan, isang

medical anthropoligist at kolumni-sta, ang taong tinatawag na aswang ay may Asperger’s Syndrome. Ito ay isang kalagayan kung saan nahi-hirapan ang tao makihalubilo sa iba, at kadalasan nahihirapan din mag salita. Minsan marami rin silang mga manirismo at hindi ka kayang titigan sa mata. Kung may Asperger’s ka at taga lungsod ka malamang tatawagin ka lang “loner” o “nerd”. Pero kung sa bayan, kung saan mabilis kumalat ang tsismis, malaki ang posibilidad na tawagin ang isang taong aswang.

Sa unang tingin ang aswang ay isang bagay na paranormal at hindi kaya ipaliwanag ng agham, pero kung susuriin ng mabuti, ang aswang ay gawa ng tao para makamit ang iba’t iba layunin ng tao. Ginagamit ang as-wang na panakot sa mga bata na wag maglaro sa labas pag gabi na. Minsan na rin na gamit bilang psychological tactic laban sa mga rebelde noong panahon ni Pangulo Ramon Magsay-say. Sinasabihan ang mga tao na wag suportahan ang mga rebelde dahil nakihalubilo na ang mga aswang sa kanila sa bundok. Nagamit na rin ito bilang isang politikal na instrumento ng mga Kastila para mas mabilis ma-sakop ang mga ninuno natin. Sa per-sonal na antas ang aswang ay isang bansag sa mga taong hindi natin ga-nong kakilala, isang produkto ng ating ugaling mapaghusga. ■

ReferencesHerminia Meñez, “The Viscera-

Sucker and the Politics of Gender,” Explorations in PhilippineFolklore (Quezon City: Ateneo deManila Press, 1996), 86-94.

Mike Tan, “Aswang, Aswang!,” Sun-day Inquirer Magazine, Philip-pine Daily Inquirer, 26 October2008.

ELLI ANTHONY PIAMONTE AT ERIC ABALAJON

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 201010 FEATURES

Page 11: October December Issue

We welcome inquiries, constructive criticisms, opinions, and con-tributions. Visit our office at The Nook, College Union Building, UP Visayas, Miagao or email us at [email protected]

Rediscovering Antique

Warm weather, busy streets, by-standers along the sidewalks, children in the playground, and vendors roaming with a bunch of

human traffic across the busy capital town of San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. It’s a Saturday like every other as I waited patiently along the street, looking forward to the trip.

On the morning of September 25, my two Pagbutlak co-staffers, Irish Julienne Merza and R-vee Taladro, and Pagbutlak adviser Prof. To-masito Talledo interviewed popular Kinaray-a singer-politician Dante Beriong. Kinaray-a popular music is one of the blooming areas that emerged from the bosom of Antiqueño culture in recent years (See related article).

Associate Editor Rosana Inaudito arrived from Miagao just in time for lunch in the local branch of Mang Inasal. After eating, we strolled around the Evelio B. Javier Freedom Park. Lo-cated here is the statue of Evelio Javier sculpted by Napoleon Abueva, and figures of other gov-ernment officials which served as the plaza’s landmarks.

Evelio B. Javier is Antique’s provincial hero, and is remembered every 11th of February through a holiday in Panay in honor of his mar-

tyrdom. He was among the youngest Governors of the country before he was gunned down by political rivals in the midst of martial law.

By 2 o’clock, we boarded a tricycle for the studio of popular Kinaray-a musician Noel Alamis of Probinsyana Gwapa fame (See relat-ed article). After the interview with Alamis, we moved on to our next destination.

Although it was still in San Jose, the driver didn’t seem to know the location of the particu-lar house we planned to visit. I had to get down from the tricycle to ask around from the locals. It turned out that it was just around the corner. And indeed, we found ourselves in front of the house of the late Edsel Moscoso within a minute.

Moscoso, a world-renowned artist who fin-ished his Fine Arts degree in UP Diliman and spent most of his life in the various cities of Eu-rope, has a beautiful house. Built atop the rocks of Madrangca Beach, the house faces the open sea, giving it a majestic view of Antique’s pic-turesque sunset. His house is a fusion of many elements from ancient styles to modern ones.

The architectural features include Thai-inspired roofs made of sole timber at each end, with extensive wood carvings and French win-dows made of Capiz shells that open up either to the sea breeze of the beach or the patio.

A broad living room adorned with art collec-tions such paintings, sculptures, Chinese porce-

lain vases of varying sizes, masks and the like sit side by side with a modern kitchen furnished with the latest amenities. We would have not wanted to leave the house because of its beautiful architecture, scenery and the precious artworks.

The hot Saturday afternoon was awarded with a bowl of strawberry ice cream. It reminded me of the whole tour as it was as sweet as the ice cream. I felt like a tourist traveling in a differ-ent place. I never expected that there would be a house sitting on the beach rocks by the silent sea which is truly world-class. I can’t help but smile, for even I was a stranger to my own land.

Antique might be more renowned for its long and winding roads, the criss-crossing sea and mountains and rustic life yet it is also a perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. I used to disassociate myself from Antique as much as possible, but now I take pride in it.

Nick Joaquin once called Moscoso’s de-pictions of Antiqueño provincial life as “man-scapes.” And indeed, here in Antique, a thriving local culture blends with the environment in a place where the mountains meet the sea. ■

ELLI ANTHONY PIAMONTE

Tatak Antiqueño: Dante Beriong

Sa murang edad ay binigyang-pansin ni Dante Beriong and sumisibol na pag-ibig sa musika. Sa paglipas ng panahon ay mas tumindi ang kagustuhan niyang

ipakita ang kanyang kakayahan sa pagsulat ng mga kanta.

Gamit ang gitara at talentong hindi matata-waran, unti-unting nakabuo ng mga awitin si Beriong na ngayon’y itinuturing niyang obra maestra. Ilan sa mga ito ay ang awitin si Beriong na ngayo’y itinuturing niyang obra maestro. Ilan sa mga ito ay ang “kadarag-an ang Pamilya, Ka-darag-an kang Banwa,” “Hamtic, Matahum kag Maragtasun nga Banwa,” “Antique, Antiqueño,” “Mauli gid ako sa Antique” at marami pang iba. Maging ang “Hala Bira! Iloilo!” na theme song ng Dinagyang Festival sa Iloilo City ay siya din ang sumulat.

Hindi basta-bastang mga awitin ang mga ito. Bawat salita ay pagpapatunay ng kanyang matinding pag-ibig sa baying sinilangan at nila-khan. Sa bawat saliw ng musika ay nailalarawan niya ang payak ngunit masayang pamumuhay sa bayan ng Antique. Ang kanyang tinig na walang anumang bahid ng pag-aalinlangan ay naghuhu-miyaw na labis ang kanyang kagalakan na siya’y isang Antiqueño.

Sa ngayon, simple lang ang pangarap ni Be-riong. Pangarap niyang tangkilikin, hindi lamang

ng kanyang mga kababayan, ngunit maging ng mga kapwa Pilipino ang kanyang mga awitin. Pangarap niyang wasakin ang diskriminasyon sa pagitan ng mga lokal at banyagang kompositor. Pangarap niyang gisingin ang mga natatanging talent ng kabataang Pilipino na nahihimlay sa takot at pangamba. Higit sa lahat, pangarap niyang pukawin ang damdaming makabayan ng bawat An-tiqueñong makakarinig ng kanyang mga kanta.

Kung tutuusin, ang lahat ay nagsimula sa in-spirasyon, na pinagyabong ng imahinasyon at isi-nakatuparan ng isang daki-lang ambisyon. Ayon kay Beriong, ang kanyang mga komposisyon ay hindi pan-gkomersyalismo, bagkus ito’y pangnasyonalismo. Hindi matutumbasan ng kasikatan at mga parangal ang abot-taingang ngiti at palakpakan ng kanyang mga kababayan. Lumipas man ang mga taon at makaliumtan man ang kan-yang mga nagawa, habang-buhay niyang ipag-mamalaki na siya’y tatak Antiqueño. ■

IRISH JULIENNE MERZA

Ang Musika ni Noel Alamis

“Ang probinsyana gwapa manaya-naya... Ang probinsyana gwapa mapinalanggaon pa...” Marahil ay pamilyar kayo sa mga linyang ito na hango sa kantang “Probin-

syana Gwapa” na pinasikat ni Noel Alamis, isa sa mga tagapagtaguyoud ng Original Karay-a Music o OKM.

Nagsimula si Noel Alamis sa pagsusulat ng mga tagalog na kanta noong siya ay nasa high-school pa lang. Mga taong 2005, kasabay ng pag-kabuo ng kanyang banda, ang Noel Alamis Band

ay nagsimula na rin siyang magsulat ng mga kanta sa kanyang katutubong leng-gwahe, ang Kinaray-a.

Sa mga pamilyar na sa kanyang kanta, mapa-pansin na karaniwan nang ay tungkol sa pag-ibig. Gaya na lamang ng “Prob-insyana Gwapa” na sinulat niya mga taong 2007. Ang musika nito ay binatay sa isang Christian Song, pero ang mensahe nito kung ating himay-himayin ay tungkol sa isang lihim na pag-ibig na hanggang sa huli ay hindi naipahayag kabaliktaran sa masaya at nakakaaliw na melodiya at ritmo nito.

Ayon kay Alamis nais la-mang daw niya na mabigyan

ng orihinalidad ang kanyang mga komposo. “Gusto ko takun bi ya bisan masubo ang kanta pero dapat masadya. Nami bi kung masadya kay malimtan mo gid ang imo problema,” aniya. Ka-raniwan nang genre ng kanyang mga komposo ay disco at slow love songs.

Sa kanyang pagsusulat ng kanta ay nagsi-simula raw muna siya sa isang tula at saka na la-lapatan ng musika. Dahil sa hindi siya marunong magbasa ng mga nota ay ang tunog lng daw ang pinapakinggan at pinagtutugma-tugma niya.

Sa kwento ni Alamis nahikayat raw siya na magsulat ng kanta sa kanyang hangarin na mapabuti ang kanyang kalagayan sa buhay. Bata pa raw siya nang maulila at lumaki sa kumbento. Napansin raw ng pari ang kanyang talento sa pagkanta kung kaya hinikayat siya na sumali sa mga patimpalak sa pagkanta. Naisip niya na maari niyang gamitin ang kanyang talento sa pagkanta gaya ng ilan ng mga sumikat na mang-aawit subalit nung malaman niya na medyo ma-hirap abutin ang pangarap niya na kumita bilang isang mang-aawit sapagkat kailangan mong magbayad sa isang kompositor para isulat ka ng kanta at sa kung anu-ano pang mga prepara-syon bago mo maisa-ere ang iyong kanta medyo pinanghinaan siya ng loob. Pero lahat nga raw ng problema ay may solusyon. Naisip niya na bakit hindi niya subukang magsulat ng kanta. at doon na nagsimula ang kanyang pagkomposo.

Sa kasalukuyan, ang binatang ito ay nagha-handa sa paglalabas ng kanyang album na nasa ilalim Viva Records. Ito ang panlima na niyang album. Ang apat na naunang naipalabas na ay siya mismo ang nagprodyus. ■

ROSANA INAUDITO

DANTE BERIONG PAGBUTLAK

Pagbutlak staffers and adviser Prof. To-mas Talledo pose with Noel Alamis (2nd to right) and his band. PAGBUTLAK

DIVINITIES are represented in Mos-coso’s paintings by local provincial folk PBASE.com

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2010 11FEATURES

Page 12: October December Issue

Sa araw-araw palagi na lang nat-ing naririnig ang mga kaso ng paglabag ng karapatang-pantao. Laman ng mga pahayagan at lagi

nang topiko sa mga balita sa telebisyon at radio. Kabilang na rito ang mga kaso ng pamamaslang sa mga mamamahayag at sa mga kilalang kritiko ng gobyerno at karaniwan nang dawit dito ang ilang opisyal ng gobyerno at ang militar.

Marami ang dumanas ng pisikal at sikolohikal na pang-aabuso gaya ng tortyur mula sa kamay ng militar. Meron ding mga kaso ng sapilitang pagkawala na hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay hindi pa nareresolba.

Kasabay ng pagsulputan ng mga isy-ung ito ang paglawak at paglakas ng mga kilusan at paglaban upang mabigyang hustisya ang mga biktima ng karahasan ng estado.

Nakasaad sa Universal Declaration of Human Rights na bawat isa ay may karapatan na mabuhay, mamili at mapro-teksyunan ang kanyang seguridad bilang tao. Pero kung ating susuriin sa mga na-kalipas na mga taon, makikita natin na malinaw na marami sa ating mga Pilipino ang pinagkaitan ng mga pangunahing ka-rapatang ito.

Ang diktadurang MarcosSa pagdeklara ni Pangu-

long Marcos ng Batas Militar nagsimulang umusbong ang mainit na usapin sa karapa-tang-pantao dito sa Pilipinas. Matatandaang sa panahon ng Batas Militar ay nagkaroon ng iba’t-ibang anyo ng mga paglabag sa karapatang-pan-tao.

Nariyan na ang panun-upil sa mga taong kilalang kritiko ng diktaduryang Marcos. Sobra 3,000 ang pinaslang at umabot ng 70,000 ang ibini-langgo dahil sa pagkontra sa gobyerno.

Sinupil ang malayang pamama-hayag. Ultimo ang mga pampaaralang publikasyon ay pinasara din para lang mapasiguro na walang kritiko ng goby-erno na makapagpalabas ng mga impor-masyon na makakaimpluwensya sa mga

mamamayan na mag-alsa laban sa dikta-duryang Marcos.

Huwad na pangako ni Corazon AquinoSa pagpalit naman ni Pang. Corazon

Cojuangco-Aquino umasa ang karamihan na mareresolba na ang mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao subalit hanggang il-usyon lang pala ito dahil siya mismo ay naging instrumento din ng mapanupil na gawain.

Higit 1,000 ang mga kritikong pi-naslang at 800 naman ang dinukot sa ka-bila ng pangako ng pagbabago na dala ng unang popular na pag-aalsa sa EDSA na nagpatalsik sa diktadurang Marcos.

Di pa umabot ng isang taon sa poder si Cory Aquino ng naganap ang Mendiola Massacre kung saan pinaslang ng mga military ang mga magsasakang nagmart-sa patungong Malakanyang upang igiit ang tunay na repormang agraryo.

Sa panunungkulan rin ni Cory Aquino ipinatupad ang huwad na Comprehen-sive Agrarian Reform Program upang hindi mapaimahagi ang mga malawak na lupain ng mga panginoong maylupa katu-lad na lamang ng Hacienda Luisita.

Sa kanyang pamumuno rin nagsimula ang mas malawak na pag-kaltas ng badyet para sa edu-kasyon at mga serbisyong panlipunan upang tugunan ang mga imposisyon ng mga dayuhang bangko at institus-yon.

Rehimeng Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo

Tila walang katapusan ang mahabang listahan ng paglabag ng mga karapatang pantao sa ilalim ng sunod-

sunod na administrasyon ni Fidel Ramos at Joseph Estrada. Ngunit sa panahon ng rehimeng Arroyo ang masasabing pinakamalala pagdating sa usaping ito.

Ang Oplan Bantay Laya 1 at 2 (OBL 1 & 2) ay naging instrumento sa pagsupil ng karapatang-pantao ng mga Pilipino at nagdulot ng di humigit kumulang 1,200 pulitikal na pamamaslang sa siyam na taon sa ilalim ng rehimeng Arroyo.

PAGBUTLAK | Official student publication of the UP Visayas - College of Arts and SciencesEditor-in-Chief: Karlo Mikhail Mongaya | Associate Editor: Rosana Inaudito | Managing Editor: Bemjo Torema | Financial Manager: Elli Anthony PiamonteSecretary: Lavilyn Hysthea Malte| Fulltime Staffers: Angeliza Arceño, Eric Abalajon, Eunice Guadalope, Ingrid Mosura, Irish Julienne Merza, Jonathan Gonzales, R-vee TaladroRegular Contributors: Adrian Rey Penetrante, Clyde Gacayan, Julie Ann Mae Silviderio, Justine Alviar, Sheena Angelique ZanteVisual Artists: Anavie Alegre, Fraime Barcelo, Justine Bennette Millado | Faculty Adviser: Prof. Tomasito TalledoOffice: The Nook, College Union Building, UP Visayas Miagao, Iloilo | Email/Facebook: [email protected]: SOLIDARIDAD - UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations, College Editors Guild of the Philippines

mga simpleng mamamayan.Sa kasulukuyan ay um-

abot na ng 22 ang kaso ng pulitikal na pamamaslang. Sa

katunayan, ito ay masuklam pa sa record ni Arroyo kung saan 18 ang pinaslang sa loob ng unang 100 araw ng panungkulan ni Arroyo.

Binawasan rin ang badyet para sa edu-kasyon at dinagdagan pa ang badyet para sa militar at pambayad sa utang panlabas.

Wala pa ring tunay na pagbabagoKung ating susumahin, mula sa pana-

hon ng diktaduryang Marcos hanggang sa kasalukuyang administrayon ng unti-unti nang nahuhubarang puppet na Aquino 2 ay makikita natin na hindi pinahahalaga-han ng pamahalaan ang karapatan ng ba-wat mamamayan.

Sa halip ay ito pa ang naging pangu-nahing instrumento sa panunupil. Marami na ang dumanas ng hirap at nag-alay ng dugo para lang maipaglaban ang dapat sana ay malayang naisasapraktika ng bawat mamamayan na karapatan subalit bingi ang pamahalaan sa isyu.

Nakaugat ang mga karumaldumal na mga paglabag na karapatang pantao sa sunod-sunod na mga rehimen sa na-ghaharing sistema sa bansa na pabor sa mga dayuhan, panginoong maylupa, at mayayaman.

Sa ganitong kaayusang tila batas na ang kawalan ng hustisya, nagiging tung-kulin natin ang paglaban. ■

Nagpapatuloy napaglabag sa

karapatang pantao

Sa ganitong kaayusang tila batas na ang kawalan ng hustisya,

nagiging tungkulin natin ang paglaban.

PAGBUTLAK | OCTOBER-DECEMBER 201012 FEATURES

Sa panungkulan rin ni Arroyo naganap ang Hacienda Luisita Mas-sacre na kumitil sa buhay ng pitong kaawa-awang magsasaka at nagdulot ng kapinsalaan sa iba pa habang sila ay nagsasagawa ng piket para sa pan-awagang ipamahagi na ang lupa na dapat ay pagmamay-ari ng mga mamamayan.

Nandyan rin ang Ampatuan Massacre kung saan pinaslang ng mga kaalyado ni Arroyo ang 58 katao, kasali na ang 34 na media, at nagbansag sa bansa bilang pinakampanganib na lugar para sa mga mamahayag sa buong daigdig.

Patuloy pa rin ang malawakang lib-eralisasyon, pribitasisasyon, at deregu-lasyon kung saan binibitawan na ng go-byerno ang kanyang responsibilidad na magbigay ng edukasyon at serbisyong panlipunan sa kanyang mga mamamayan.

Ang matuwid na daan ni NoynoySa panahon ng kampanya sa eleksyon

2010 naging sensasyon ang “matuwid na daan” ng ikalawang rehimeng Aquino. Da-hil sa desperado na ang mga mamamayan na mabigyang lunas ang ngayo’y malala nang krisis ng sosyedad ay binili rin nila ang pabango ni P-noy.

Subalit sa unang sampung araw pa nga lang ni P-noy ay nagkaroon na ng limang kaso ng pulitikal na pamamaslang. Ang nakakapanlumo pa ay ang pagpahaba pa sa implementasyon ng OBL na napatu-nayan nang instrumento para sikilin ang