Arao, D. A. (2007, April 25-May 1). Boboto ka ba sa Mayo? Pinoy Weekly, 6 (15), p. 5. This may be retrieved from http://www.pinoyweekly.org/pw6-15/op_ed/ed-6_15_3.htm.
I caught on TV Patrol yesterday the news that Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales is ready to give P10,000 to any or all 180 baranggay chairpersons in Iloilo City who can give a 12-0 victory for Team Unity in the senatorial election. According to an official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), this constitutes vote-buying.
This development, along with other election-related stories, makes my article this week even more timely and relevant. I was actually prompted to write this when I heard the news last week that an official of the Office of the External Affairs (OEA) wrote a confidential memorandum in October 2006 requesting the President to provide P5.5 million in support of pro-administration party-list groups.
Given all these, one cannot blame the registered voters if they feel resigned to the situation that there will be massive cheating, perhaps even more blatant than the 2004 polls. A journalist-friend who is based in Dubai sent me this feedback via email:
Nabasa ko yung kolum mo tungkol sa elections. First time ko boboto as an OAV (overseas absentee voter). Tiyagain ko siguro pumunta sa Philippine consulate bukas kahit na mahigit isang oras ang biyahe by bus. Pero marami akong nakausap na Pinoy dito. Ayaw nang magparehistro at bumoto. Lokohan lang daw ang eleksiyon. Talagang nadala na noong 2004.
Despite the cheating that happened in the past, it is still important that we exercise our right to vote in May. If we don’t, some unscupulous groups may use our right to ensure the victory of the candidates they’re pushing for.
Please find time to read my column this week. Thanks!
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) calls on journalists and other individuals to wear black tomorrow (April 25) to, quoting from its emailed flyer, “express solidarity with journalists in Quezon who will be holding a march-rally.”
The planned mass action has to do with the murder of Mark Palacios of Radyo ng Bayan-Nueva Ecija last April 18, the attack against Philippine Daily Inquirer correspondent Delfin Mallari and DZMM correspondent Johnny Glorioso on April 19, the arrest of radio broadcaster Jun Alegre of dzRH in Legazpi, Albay on April 18 and filing of libel charge against Cebu’s broadcaster and columnist Leo Lastimosa.
These all prove that press is still under siege, hence the need for journalists and those who value press freedom to show their collective outrage.
Blogger Jim Caro had an interesting post on Delfin “Jun” Mallari as a journalist, and he even asked me if the person beside me in an old 2004 photo at a rally in Camp Crame is Jun. (Jim, I remember now: It is really Jun Mallari!)
Looking at this old photograph again (see below), Jim is right in highlighting the irony that Ka Jun became a victim five days ago of the attacks on press freedom that he denounced almost three years ago. Ka Jun, after all, was literally attacked as the perpetrators tried to kill him.
That’s me with Jun Mallari (2nd from left) at an August 16, 2004 rally in Camp Crame
to denounce attacks on press freedom, particularly the killing of journalists.
I thank Jim for indirectly reminding me that, indeed, the killings and other forms of human rights violation have become so rampant that some of us can actually cite direct dealings with the victims.
Up to now, I still cannot look at the photographs of slain journalists Beng Hernandez and Edgar Damalerio without feeling depressed, as well as those of murdered activists Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy. The reason for my depression is simple: I’ve dealt with them in the past either as a journalist or educator.
I can personally attest to their dedication in their chosen line of work, and it is unfortunate that in the eyes of the perpetrators, they mattered enough to be silenced forever.
So please wear black tomorrow if only to show not just our collective grief but also our collective outrage.
I checked my email account’s “Sent” folder today for old messages worth keeping and deleting. And before I delete this old message, I’d like to share with you an email interview I gave to a journalism student last March 27 who was writing her paper on campus journalism for a Sociology course she was taking.
What is the role of the student paper in the university educational system? In particular, how does the Philippine Collegian figure into the University of the Philippines?
The student paper serves as a major venue for the exercise of campus press freedom. Through the student paper, both the campus journalists and the target audience appreciate the role of the press in shaping public opinion and the importance of maintaining the highest standards of practice of the journalism profession. The Philippine Collegian, I think, has the richest and most colorful tradition of campus journalism in the country since its analyses of issues, particularly during the dark days of martial law, are valued even by the so-called professional journalists.
What is the role and importance of the campus press in the national political and social system?
The campus press serves as the voice of the students in particular and the youth in general (if we were to include here the out-of-school ones). History has shown that the youth play a major role in the shaping of history, as in the case of the Cultural Revolution in China and even in the 1896 Revolution in the Philippines. In today’s setting, the campus press can help strengthen the youth and student movement and consequently foment social change.
How does the campus press differentiate itself from the other sources of information in the university?
The slant of the campus press (or, to be more precise, student publications) is theoretically for the youth. It is expected to maintain fairness and objectivity but at the same time use the perspective of the youth in analyzing the local, national and international situations. The mainstream media, except for specialized publications and programs that cater to the youth, cannot be expected to have that kind of slant that is inherently biased for the youth.
Arao, D. A. (2007, April 18-24). Ang problema sa UP ngayon. Pinoy Weekly, 6 (14), p. 5. This may be retrieved from http://www.pinoyweekly.org/pw6-14/op_ed/ed-6_14_3.htm.
A few hours after posting the full text of this article today to various e-groups, a friend of mine who is an Engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP) sent this reply:
Salamat, Danny, sa kopya ko. Maganda ito dahil di pa rin tapos ang debate ko sa mga frat brods na may-kaya tungkol sa tuition fee hike diyan. Bilib na bilib sila kay UP prexy na ok lang daw ang may increase.
I agree that the debate is not yet over. Just because the UP Board of Regents approved the tuition hike does not mean that concerned groups and individuals will now treat the tuition increase as a fait accompli.
An Olongapo-based journalist (and, as you’ll find out, also a concerned father) also sent me this reaction via email:
Tama ka sa article mo kasi iyon din ang tanong ko. Remember my kid who wants to study in U.P.? Well, pasok siya sa UPLB kaya lang ang susunod na problema ngayon ay ang tuition niya. Kung PhP 6,000 lang tulad ng sa ate niya diyan sa Diliman, kaya pa. Pero kung PhP 18,000 na, teka muna dahil ang hirap ng ipunin ng ganoong kalaking halaga. Iyon pala ang isyung ikinagagalit ng anak ko noon dahil tinaktikahan daw sila kaya na-braso ng Admin ang pagpasa sa bagong tuition rate.
Nagtataka ako kasi pinakuha ko rin ng test ang anak ko sa PUP and he got a score of 138 out of 152 items. In other words, 1st priority siya sa enrollment. And you know how much is their tution? Yung 18 units mga 800 lang ang babayaran ko. But of course, the name U.P. has much goodwill. PUP has also a high quality standard pero sabi nga eh pag U.P. ka, wala ng tanungan sa credentials kasi for sure mataas ang IQ mo (EQ and SQ are entirely different matters). That is also the reason why I as a parent would like my children to have a U.P. education. But as it is now….
Ano pa ang saysay ng pag-aaral mabuti sa high school at pagpasa sa UPCAT kung hindi rin lang magkakaroon ng chance na diyan ma-enroll dahil sa taas ng tuition? Lalabas niyan ang PUP na ang hahawak ng titulong tunay na “Iskolar ng Bayan!” Hindi ba’t tama lang na yung upper 10% (cream of the crop) ng mga graduating high school students ay bigyan ng reward o motivation to excell by becoming a national scholar?
I have until the end of May to produce the tuition, else sa PUP na talaga mag-aaral ang anak ko. Kayo sir, kumayod na kayong mabuti dahil baka pag-college ng magiging anak ninyo, PhP 10,000 per unit na ang U.P., hehehe.
Frankly, I don’t think I’ll be able to send my future children to UP at the rate things are going.
What prompted me to write about this topic was an incident during the summer registration last week. A student asked me for a personal loan since he did not have enough money to pay for his tuition. Even at the risk of self-deprecation, you should know that I have a reputation in our College (or perhaps in the entire campus!) for being strict, unapproachable and unsmiling. Honestly, I’m the epitome of a teacher who is not student-friendly. Some former students didn’t mince words about my unsmiling demeanor. In fact, one of them even wrote about that as an introduction to a Valentine’s Day love story of Joy and I.
I think that this particular student’s desperation to approach an unsmiling professor like me is a sign that there is something wrong about increasing tuition in a state university like UP. I know that in other state universities and colleges (SUC) that charge relatively low tuition, students still find it hard to pay the required fees, much less sustain their everyday expenses. What makes UP students so different?
Some friends say that this is an issue that’s exclusive to students and that professors like me are better off not saying our piece. But what happens when students fail to enroll during the registration period and attend classes because of financial constraints? A teacher who is serious about his or her work should be concerned about the reasons behind a student’s poor academic performance. In my 14 years of teaching (the last six of them as a regular faculty member), I’ve met a lot of students who didn’t fare well academically just because of financial problems.
I don’t take consolation from the possibility that this is a problem that’s true only for a minority of students. Even if there comes a time when the “haves” outnumber the “have-nots” in UP, it still doesn’t change the fact that it is a state university that should not be preoccupied with generating revenues through commercialization.
Why can’t the administration see the logic in the argument that we should consistently fight for greater state subsidy instead of looking for ways to lessen, if not eradicate, dependence on government funding? There is absolutely nothing wrong with fund-raising efforts to augment meager state subsidy, but this should not be done at the expense of students through increases in tuition and other fees.
In any case, I hope you’ll find time to read this article whose topic is a bit closer to home, figuratively and literally.
