Earth Hour

Ang kampanya para sa 'Earth Hour" noong nakaraang March 28 ay naging matagumpay lalo na sa Pilipinas kung saan pinakaraming siyudad at mga bayan ang sumali. Umaabot sa 650 na mga siyudad at bayan sa Piipinas ang nagpatay ng ilaw. Ayon sa estimasyon, sa Pilinas lamang ay nakatipid na ng aabot sa 611 Megawatts o katumbas ng pagpatay sa isang Coal-fueled Power Plant sa loob ng 60 na minuto.

Kahanga-hanga ang nagawa ng Pilipinas hindi lang sa paglahok kundi sa pangunguna pa sa aktibidad na layuning tugunan ang problema ng mundo sa global warming. Higit sa kung ano pa man, pinapakita ng paglahok ng mga Pilipino sa Earth Hour ang kamulatan ng Pilipino sa mga kagalayan na nakakaapekto sa buong mundo at ang kahandaan na tumugon at aktibong makilahok para sa kalutasan ng problema.

Ngunit, malayo pa sa isang kalutasan ang pagpatay ng ilaw sa buong mundo. Napakaliit lang ng impact kung tutuusin ng pagpatay ng ilaw ng mga karaniwang mamamayan para mapabagal global warming. Ang buong mundo ay nag-eemit ng, as per estimation noong 2004, 27,245,758, 000 metric tons ng carbon gas bawat taon. Ang simpleng pagpatay ng ilaw kahit ng buong mundo sa loob ng isang oras ay hindi sapat para solusyonan ito. Baka nga mas marami pang carbon gas na-emit para sa promotion ng Earth Hour kaysa sa natipid dahil dito.

Pero hindi naman talaga isang tahasang solusyon na ang Earth Hour kundi mas awareness campaign at political statement ng lahat ng taong nais sagipin ang ating planeta. Para itong march rally o pagpipiket o paglalagay ng ribbon sa damit upang magbigay ng statement na nakikiisa ang mga tao sa isang layunin o isang panawagan. Ang panawagan ng Earth Hour ay ang paghanap ng solusyon sa global warming pangunahin na nga ang pag-reduce sa carbon emission sa buong mundo na sanhi ng masyadong mabilis na pag-init ng daigdig. Kahit si Edward Norton ay nagsabi na isa lang itong symbolic na pakikisangkot.

Napaka-salimuot ng suliranin ng global warming at ang kalutasan ay masalimuot din. Ang usapin ay hindi lang environmental kundi political at economic. Ito ay dahil kakabit ng problema ay ang usapin ng pangunahing energy o fuel source ng buong mundo - oil, na siyempre, kakabit ng usapin ng kita ng mga korporasyon na may hawak sa source na ito. Siyempre, idagdag mo pa yung mga kumpanya na kumikita dahil sa produktong komukonsumo ng oil bilang fuel.

Ang siste, matagal nng nag-iingay ang mga siyentista at nga environmentalists tungkol sa global warming ngunit ngayon lang ito sineseryoso. Dahil yun sa hindi ito pinapansin ng mga higanteng korporasyon dahil sa masasagasaan ang kanilang economic interest. Tulad ng kaso ng electric car na pagkatapos ang paglabas ay ni-recall ng General Motors para lamang sirain dahil sa babangga ito sa interes ng oil indutries. Kadalasan kasi pinipiglan ng mga kapitalista ang teknolohiya kapag ito ay threat sa kanilang interes. Mas gusto nila na kontrolin muna ang teknolihiya upang siguraduhin na kikita sila mula dito. At habang kumikita pa sila sa luma ngunit paso o nakakasama nang teknolohiya, ito ang kanilang proprotektahan. Ngayon, nangunguna na ang mga energy corporations tulad ng Chevron sa paghahanap ng bagong energy source para kontrolin kung anumang bagong fuel source ang papalit sa oil.

Pera-pera pa rin ang usapan para sa mga kapitalista. Ang totoo niyan, sa ngayon, nasa kamay ng mga kapitalista ang hinaharap ng buong mundo dahil sa sila ang magpapasiya kung anong alternative fuel ang papalit sa oil at kung kelan ito papalitan. Hindi pa natin dinaragdag na sila rin ang may kaperahan para maghanap at magdevelop ng alternative fuel at iba pang pamamaraan para solusyonan ang global warming.

Ngunit, sa totoo lang, hindi ko makita na mareresolba natin ang suliranin ng global warming sa kamay ng mga kapitalista. Ang ibig kung sabihin, sa tingin ko, habang kapitalismo ang sistemang pang-ekonomiya sa nuong daigdig lalala lamang ang ating mga problema kasama na diyan ang global warming. Ito ay dahil katangian na mismo ng kapitalismo ang magkaroon ng anarchic na produksyon dahil hindi interes ang nagtutulak sa mg produkto kundi kita. Mahihiharapan ang mga kapitalsitang i-reconcile ang interes ng mundo sa interes ng kanilang bank accounts.

Isang planadong ekonomiya at paggamit ng teknolohiya at puspusang kagustuhan na maresolba ang mga isyu tulad ng global warming ang kailangan ng buong mundo ngayon. Kung saan ang interes ng mamamayan sa mundo ang nangunguna. At hindi ko nakikita yun sa isang kapitalistang sistema.

Kung anuman, kahanga-hanga pa rin iyong pakikisangkot ng mga Pilipino sa Earth Hour. Pinapatunayan lang nito kung gaano kahanda ang mga Pilipino upang humakbang para sa kalutasan ng mga suliranin gaano ito kalalaki.

Remember the Hello Garci Scandal

Ang pagsulpot ng Hello Garci Tapes ay nagsimula ng bagyo ng protesta laban kay Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Dahil sa kapit-tuko at tusong pamamaraan, nananatili pa rin si GMA sa puwesto. Ngunit, walang nakakalimot sa Hello Garci Scandal. Sa darating na automated election sa 2010, maaaring maulit muli ang ganun kagarapal na pandaraya. Ngayon nga lang, hindi na kailangan ang pagtawag sa isang Commissioner dahil mas mabilis na ang pandaraya.

Poll Automation may equal to Fraud Automation.

Here is CENPEG's Analysis on the COMELEC Poll Automation plan. It highlights the dangers that may come with the automation of election come 2010. Poll automation does not necessary mean cleaner, more honest election. We are in the Philippines, where politicians has master degrees in electoral fraud. For all we know, poll automation may only mean faster and more effective way of securing electoral positions for Trapos. Poll Automation may turn out to be Fraud automation.


ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 05
Series of 2009

Comelec’s poll automation will make fraud more dangerous

OMR creates the danger of placing the fate of the elections in the hands of a profit-oriented multinational company – the winning bidder – and on the Comelec which remains ill-prepared to run an election technology let alone in checking fraud.

By the Policy Study, Publication, and Advocacy (PSPA)
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
March 25, 2009

When at most 70 percent of some 50 million voters go to the polls on May 10, 2010, they won’t be able to track how their votes are counted or canvassed. Winners in the national and local elections led by a new president will be declared two or three days after – and the whole nation will be at a loss in knowing whether the election results are real. Protests may probably be hard to file not only because of a lack of paper trail but also for lack of time.

The trouble with the Precinct Count Optical Sensor (PCOS) adopted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for use in the 2010 elections is that it does not guarantee an open, transparent, and credible automated system. Under the PCOS, the voter shades a ballot which s/he then drops inside a ballot box. Because voters are unfamiliar with the new technology voting will be slow and is extended to 6 p.m. after which all ballot boxes are brought to the precinct counting center – about 80,000 of them all over the country. Here, the ballots are fed into the optical mark reader (OMR) for counting and an election return (ER) is generated. The ERs are then electronically transmitted via the OMR simultaneously to the municipal, provincial, and national canvassing centers and, voila, the winners are proclaimed.

Engrossed with implementing RA 9369 which mandates the automation of elections, the Comelec appears to have glossed over the fact that Filipino voters have been looking for open, transparent, and credible elections. Making the counting and canvassing of election results fast may be a positive move which the poll body claims to be addressing. But unless elections are credible – which previous polls have been bereft of due to widespread fraud – then more and more voters will shy away from the polls.

Machine vulnerability

Poll automation feeds the wrong impression to the public that elections will be clean and credible. Because it is a machine, it is powerless against any fraud that takes place before, during, and after the elections. And, because it is just a machine, it is vulnerable to human intervention such as software attack, glitches, and other technical problems that could result in wholesale electronic cheating. (See www.cenpeg.org for papers and powerpoints on election automation.) The high stakes in the 2010 elections, including choosing a new president, administration attempts to make sure that the next president is friendly to Gloria M. Arroyo, as well as the 17,000 national and local seats up for grabs by some 90,000 candidates will make fraud machineries sabotage the whole electoral process using both the traditional and modern technology.

If pilot tests determine what technology makes for credible elections, then the conduct and results of the August 2008 Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) should make the OMR machine not suited for the coming polls. In that automated election, at least 23 common errors and other deficiencies were recorded in relation to the use of OMR and the Digital Recording Electronic (DRE). Based on the tests, the Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) in its October 2008 report found the poll body technically ill-equipped to meet the complexities of an automated election system (AES). Meanwhile, ARMM poll watchers conceded that open cheating was rampant in many precincts thus effectively influencing the outcome of the elections. Incidentally, multinationals Smartmatic and Avante whose technologies were tested in the ARMM polls are again making a bid for the P11.3 billion election automation equipment to be used in the May 2010 polls.

Given the expected operations of fraud machineries in the coming elections, one way by which the present Comelec can at least minimize cheating is to make poll automation open, transparent, credible, and participatory. It does not make sense that the poll body has chosen the OMR which makes counting and canvassing of votes invisible to the eye with Comelec perhaps hoping that the poll officials, machines, vendors, software developers, electronic transmission systems, and other technical services can be trusted.

The technology’s lack of transparent procedures and mechanisms make OMR vulnerable to fraud. Some Comelec commissioners admit that their schedule is tight thus making it inevitable that any delay in any of its calendared activities could damage the whole process. What this implies is that all the technological, human requirements and safeguards for the automated elections may not be in place on the eve of election. Serious technical and political implications are not remote.

Lacks transparency

The Comelec itself lacks transparency. Its hardline predisposition to adopt the OMR has prevented other groups not only from adequately presenting their critique of this technology but also from proposing other technologies which they believe is suitable to Philippine conditions while being compliant with RA 9369. According to sources, Comelec Chair Jose Melo has overruled the Open Election System (OES) being endorsed or supported by a former Comelec head, IT specialists, academic experts, and some political parties simply because it is not legally compliant with RA 9369 as far as full automation is concerned.

Had any of the commissioners and advisers given the OES proponents more time, then they would have found that, compared to the PCOS, this technology is more compliant with the AES law. OES uses manual voting and open counting at the precinct level and uses tested computer technology developed by Filipino software programmers for the encoding, transmission, canvassing, and consolidation of election returns. Its added advantage is the use of a public website where election data is constantly updated and posted for public tracking and monitoring; where figures can be verified against ERs not only by voters but also poll watchers, candidates, and political parties.
Aside from being cheaper and “cost effective” (P4 billion versus the PCOS’s P11.3 billion), it conforms to RA 9369 which promotes the use of “the most suitable technology of demonstrated capacity” as well as “transparency, credibility, fairness, and accuracy of elections.”

OMR creates the danger of placing the fate of the elections in the hands of a profit-oriented multinational company – the winning bidder – and on the Comelec which remains ill-prepared to run an election technology let alone in checking fraud. It even makes poll watching harder if not futile. Voters want to see the next polls entirely different from previous rigged elections – one that is people-participator y and where they can decide on the outcome. The open and transparent features of the OES at least make it equal to the voters’ democratic expectations.


Reference:

Bobby Tuazon
Director, Policy Study, Publication and Advocacy (PSPA)
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
TelFax +63-2 9299526; mobile phone: 0915-6418055
E-mail: issueanalysis2009@ cenpeg.org, cenpeg.info@gmail.com
http://www.cenpeg. org

Thai 'spider-man' rescues autistic boy

Natuwa lang ako. hahaha. I am a fan of spiderman and of true stories of heroism kaya reading this news just made me smile.

Thai 'spider-man' rescues autistic boy

BANGKOK (AFP) – A Thai fireman turned superhero when he dressed up as comic-book character Spider-Man to coax a frightened eight-year-old from a balcony, police said Tuesday.

Teachers at a special needs school in Bangkok alerted authorities on Monday when an autistic pupil, scared of attending his first day at school, sat out on the third-floor ledge and refused to come inside, a police sergeant told AFP.

Despite teachers' efforts to beckon the boy inside, he refused to budge until his mother mentioned her son's love of superheroes, prompting fireman Sonchai Yoosabai to take a novel approach to the problem.

The rescuer dashed back to his fire station and made a quick change into a Spider-Man costume before returning to the boy, he said.

"I told him Spider-Man is here to rescue you, no monsters are going to attack you and I told him to walk slowly towards me as running could be dangerous," Somchai told local television.

The young boy immediately stood up and walked into his rescuer's arms, police said.

Somchai said he keeps the Spider-Man costume and an outfit of Japanese television character Ultraman at the station in order to liven up school fire drills.

Obama, Where is the change?

One may be forgiven to think or hope that change would come with Barrack Obama being elected as the first Black American president of the USA even for our nation which is affected directly by its foreign policy. His campaign did centered on change and hope. However, it seems Obama has no plans of deviating from the old approach of American foreign policy.

Alejandro Licaucho has written an analysis on the the news that Obama directed the World Bank to extend a $3 billion to the RP Government. This is despite Obamas denunciation of corruption in high places. This is came after Obama's call to GMA a couple of weeks ago and, of course, the subsequent Nicole "recantation".

It is not a far stretched to conclude that the Obama-lead US Government has no plans in abandoning its imperialist interest in the Philippines. The US is out to protect its interest through the VFA and thus continue to maintain military presence in the Philippines.

Critics have said that Barrack Obama, inheriting gargantuan problems and paving his way to the White House with equally gargantuan expectation would suffer because he is fated to fail to meet those expectations and fail to solve the problems. It seems to me that Obama, only months into his term, has been but a disappointment. Obama has been recently criticized because of sending more troops instead of pulling the troops out from Iraq. And now, it clearly shows that change that Obama promise and that we hoped for our country is nothing but promise.

Special Children?

Oo. Ayon sa aming kaibigang instruktor, ang mga "special children" ay hindi lamang mga batang may kapansanang pisikal o sa isipan kundi maaari ring tumukoy sa mga kabataang nangangailangan ng espesyal na atensyon upang matuto dahil sa iba't-ibang kundisyon.

Ayon sa aking research sa pamamagitan ng Google, ang special children o kilala din sa terminong "Special Needs Children" ay: Children whose emotional or physical disorders, age, race, membership in a sibling group, a history of abuse, or other factors contribute to a lengthy stay in foster care. Common special needs conditions and diagnoses include: serious medical conditions; emotional and behavioral disorders; history of abuse or neglect; medical or genetic risk due to familial mental illness or parental substance abuse.

Ibig sabihin, ang mga "special children” ay mga batang kailangan ng "espesyal na atensyon" kaysa sa karaniwan upang maturuan. Ang kahirapan o di karaniwang pangangailangan ng pagututuro ay maaring dahil sa maraming dahilan o kundisyon. Kaya hindi lang mga may kapansanan ang maaring tawaging "special children" kundi pati iyong mga biktima ng kahirapan, pang-aabuso o iba pang espesyal na sirkumstansiya.

Ang definition naman ng Special Education ay maaaring:

n.

Classroom or private instruction involving techniques, exercises, and subject matter designed for students whose learning needs cannot be met by a standard school curriculum.

Maaari nating sabhin na ang malubhang krisis ng ating lipunan ay nagluluwal ng maraming mga "special children". Makikita ito sa pagdami ng mga bata sa lansangan na hindi nabibigyan ng pagkakataon ng makapag-aral o dahil sa gutom ay "pumupurol" ang ulo.

Ayon sa aming kaibigang instruktor, kung sa mga first world countries ang majority ng mga special children ay ang may kapansanan sa pag-iisip, sa ating lipunang Pilipino, ang maituturing na primaryang "special children" ay mga bata na anak ng kahirapan.

Bukod dito, ang mga special children ay maari ring iyong mga biktima ng mga human rights violations dahil sa militarization at iba pang mga traumatic na experiences.

At kung ang krisis ay nangangahulugan ng pagdami ng mga "special children" na kailangan ng espesyal na atensyon, iibg sabihin, kailangan din ng mas maraming mga special educators.

Maari ring ugatin na upang maiwasan ang pagdami ng mga "special children" kailangan di ugatin ang pang-ekonomiya, pang-politka at pang-kulturang mga dahilan nito.

Photo credits: First and third photos by Louie Santos, second photo lifted from www.stolenchildhood.net.

More for others! Less for ourselves!

Naimbitahan kami bilang bahagi ng KARATULA sa isang pagtitipon ng isang organisasyon, ang SPEDers Care o Special Educators Care, dalawang araw na ang nakakaraan. Ang imbitasyon ay para magbigay kami ng ilang team-building at reflectionary exercises para sa kanila. Ang aktibidad mismo ay inihanda bilang tribute sa mga Fourth Years na kaka-graduate lang noong March 17, 2009 bilang mga pioneers ng nasabing organisasyon.

Sa katotohanan, noon ko lang talaga naintindihan kung ano ang organisasyon na SPEDers Care. Lubos ang kasiyahan ko ngayon at naikilala ko ang isang organisasyon na katulad ng SPEDer's Care kasabay ng pagkakakilala ko sa mga taong bumuo at kasalukuyang bumubuo doon.

Kahanga-hanga ang organisasyon na SPEDers Care dahil, kaiba sa ibang mga organisasyon ng isang department, ang organisasyon ay may malalim na layunin na tulungan ang seksyon ng lipunan na pinili nilang pagsilbihan na higit pa sa mga pang-ibabaw na pamamaraan lamang. Ang mas kahanga-hanga pa ay ang mga tao na bumubuo o sa organisasyon ito.

Kung susuriin, ang pagpili pa lamang ng kanilang specialization sa pagtuturo ay kahanga-hanga na. Alam na natin na mahirap magturo lalo pa ang magturo sa mga "special children". Sa henerasyon ngayon na mas pinipili ng mga mag-aaral ang kursong Nursing at nangangarap na mag-abroad, hindi palagian para sa akin ang makakilala ng mga mag-aaral na pipiliin ang napakahirap na propesiyon. Marami sa kanila, siyempre, ang may layuning makatulong talaga sa mga "special children" na kadalasan ay napapabayaan o pilit na iniiwasan ng ating lipunan.

Sa lipunan na palagian ang krisis, ang mga "special children" ay kasama sa mga unang tinatamaan, napapabayaan o kinakalimutan. Sa aking opinyon, may isang lebel ng commitment at sense of purpose ang isang estudyante na pipili na maglingkod sa seksyong ito ng ating lipunan. Marami na akong nakilala na mga mag-aaral na ang pangarap ay ang makapag-abroad, mga mag-aaral na motivated ng kulay na green. Ang makakilala sa mga mag-aaral na pumili ng isang propesyon para magsilbi ay isang 'breath of fresh air' para sa akin.

Bukod dito, ang kapansin-pansin din para sa akin ay ang pagiging malapit ng grupo sa isa't-isa. Siyempre, hindi lubos pero, kumpara sa maraming class o department, medyo bukod-tangi na ang kanilang bonding. Tingin ko, malaking dahilan ang pagkakaroon nila ng isang mentor-adviser na mahusay ang ginagawang pagtuturo sa kanila, hindi lang ng mga edukasyon sa kanilang propesyon, kundi ng tunay na pag-unawa sa salitang paglilingkod at pagtutulungan.

Na-realize ko tuloy na malaki talaga ang impluwensiya ng mga teachers o instructors natin at, sa mas malawak, ng mga eskuwelahan natin sa ating development bilang tao. Naalala ko tuloy kung paano ikinuwento sa akin ang pagdidiin ng isang C.I. sa motivation ng Nursing students sa pamamagitan ng pag-dodrowing nito ng dollar sign (euro na ngayon) sa white board. Na-imagine ko na berde ang tanging kulay na nakikita ng C.I. na yun. Nakakatuwang isipin na may mga guro pa rin talagang nagiging mabisang instrumento upang hubugin ang kabataan na maging mapagpahalaga sa kanilang propesyon at pagkatao para sa layunin na tumulong at maglingkod sa sambayanan at baguhin ang lipunan.

Ang pagkakakilala ko sa SPEDers Care at sa mga miyembro nito ay nagbigay sa akin muli ng marami pang dahilan upang magpatuloy sa aking ginagawa. Tunay ngang sa paglubog sa masa makakakuha ng panibagong lakas kung ikaw ay naghihina. Tumanaw lang ako sa kanila at makikita ko na ang dahilan at aking layunin.

Sa motto ng SPEDers Care makikita ang ubod na karakter ng grupo at ng miyembro nito: "More for others! Less for ourselves!" Malinaw na paglilingkod ang nasa puso ng grupong ito kaiba sa diwa ng pagpapaunlad sa sarili at pagkamakasarili na itinuturo ng ibang mga eskuwelahan.

Sa mga graduates ng SPED batch '09, sana maging guro kayo agad, siguradong marami kayong matutulungan! Sa mga naiwan, ipagpatuloy niyo ang pagtataguyod s SPEDer's Care. Ipagpatuloy ang paglilingkod sa sambayanan!

The rape never ended

I was really surprised or partly shocked when the news came out that "Nicole" did recant her statements saying that she now has doubts whether shes have indeed been raped by LCP Daniel Smith. Partly because it is really hard to believe. Her former lawyer does not believe that it is her own words that is on the affidavit. The judge who originally decided on the case also says that her newest statement draws more questions than answers.

Amidst the haze brought by Nicole's statements is the variety of people's response to the news. Sadly, some say that Nicole has ruined the Filipinos and her recantation doesn't undo the wrong she has already done. Others say their sympathy for her when she was staunchly fighting for justice has now turned into disgust for letting the people believe that she was a victim and now telling them she was not.

For all she have gone through and still going through, it seems to me, that for Nicole the rape never did stop that unfortunate night in the van. She have continuously been victimized not only by Smith who raped her but by the Arroyo government who never did genuinely believed and supported her. They are, of course, more concerned about the government's relationship with the US and the efficacy of the VFA. In fact, the government lead by the DOJ Secretary often criticized her and until now has find ways to discredit her and those who support her.

It is not proper to judge her because of what she did. She did fought but being a victim under the present ruling system in our country is not an easy situation to be in. You will not find favor if you are victim here in our country. It is too easy for victims to succumb to the constant pressures and yes possibly she did succumb.

Possibly in her mind the rape never did end because the government perpetuated it by favoring the US and Smith.

Also, the rape has not ended for us Filipinos who continue to live under the present conditions of our country and under subservience to the US.

The Filipinos like Nicole are a continuing victim.

Iba't-ibang Sagot ng Kabataan sa Krisis

We were off to pay a High School friend of mine a visit this afternoon when a unexpected thing happened. We were to drop at the Partas sub-station at San Fernando City, La Union before going to my friends house. Para makatipid ng pamasahe naglalakad lang kami, when suddenly, we saw Julius who we first met last national election campaigns for Kabataan Party and in fact he is member of Kabataan Party. We were supposed to only exchange numbers with him but he pulled us upstairs. We did not know what to expect, but knowing him as a young business-minded person, we expected that i got to be somewhat related to one of his endeavors of making money.

We were surprised to find ourselves in a casually nice office of UNO, a networking/pyramiding? company of some sorts. For politeness' sake, we stayed to listen to the lecture - an orientation of their products and how the business works. Possibly you are somewhat aware of how it works - you join them via a contract and an investment of P7,400 and pledged yourself to recruit more of you. In doing so, you make money, they make money, all of the company makes money. According to them as much as P140,000 a month or a week (or was it 240,000?). Of course, you also will have to sell their products, etc.

I would have joined them if not for the P7,400 investment.

What struck me most is almost all of the people who are there for the seminar and those who is conducting the seminar for their target recruits are young college students. The members are really passionate and have a degree of talent and trained skills in convincing those who are there. I believe that most of those who were there have been at least convinced that the business is profitable and their product works.

May parang reheased reply pa yung mga members para supportahan yung lecturer sa harapan. For example:

Lecturer: 240,000 pesos. Malaki o maliit?

Members sa audience: Malaki!

Lecuturer: 7,400 pesos, malaki o maliit?

Members sa audience: Maliit!

Lecturer: 240,000 a week, gusto?

Members: gusto!

Lecturer: 7,4000 pesos kaya?

Members: Kayang kaya!

Lecturer: chehe, chene...

Members: wow!

Lecturer: chene, chene...

Members: huhuu!

hehehe! angsaya!


Sa dami ng mga kabataan doon, naisip ko tuloy kung paano naapektuhan ng krisis ang mga kabataan at paano sila humahanap ng paraan para harapin ang mga kahirapan ng krisis sa Pilipinas.

Palagi kong nakikita yung mga kabataan na aprang walang paki-alam. Palaging nasa computer shops, nagdo-DOTA. Naiinis ako minsan hindi lang dahil hindi ako marunong nung laro nugnit pati rin dahil sa parang wala nga silang paki-alam.

Pero hindi lang puro ganun ang mga kabataan ngayon. Napatunayan ko iyon nung kinaladkad kami ni Julius sa UNO. Marami talagang mga kabataan ang naghahanap ng pagkakakitaan sa pinakamabisang paraan.

Ang nakita ko sa UNO ay kung paano nila mistulagn ginagamit ang pagkakaroon ng mga kabataan ng malawak na network of friends. Kasi parang friendster na business ang dating sa akin nung business mas marami kang friends, mas marami kang puwedeng mainvite, posiblng makumbinsi at mapasali. Mas marami kang maakay, mas dadami kita mo. habang dumadami rin ang nakukumbinsi ng mga recruits mo, kumikita ka pa rin.

Mistulang target talaga ng UNO ang mga kabataan at mina-maximize ang mga katangian ng kabataan na member upang palwakin at palaguin ang kanilang business.

Sa ating bansa ngayon, na mahirap makauha ng diploma, kahit may diploma ka ay mahirap pa ring makahanap ngtrabaho, at kung may trabaho ka na ay kakarampot ang suweldo, ang prospect na kumita ng 15,000 pesos a week or up 240,000 a month kapalit ng 7,400 pesos na puhunan ay mabisang pangumbinsi. Sino ang ayaw sa 240,000?

Ako lang ata.

Sa walang katiyakang buhay sa Pilipinas, para sa mga estudyante, graduates at iba pang kabataan, marami ang nakukumbinsing mag-BUS (MagBenta, MangUtang, MagSanla) upang makabuo ng 7,400 para ipuhunan sa negosyong ito.

Si Julius mismo ng-sanla ng alahs ng nanay upang makabuo ng 7,400 dahil hindi talaga siya napatulog diumano ng prospect ng 240,000 kada week o month na kita.

Ang nakakalungkot lang dito, walang katiyakan din ang kita sa mga networking business na ito. Angtiyak lang dahil ang bawat member ay magbabayad ng 7,400 bago makapasok, tiyak na may kita na ang korposayon mismo at ang may-ari nito.

Saka anong klaseng hanapbuhay ang networking? Hindi ko makita ang isang tao na gagawing negosyo buong buhay niya ang ang networking ng kagaya ng UNO. walang security ang hanap-buhay doon.

Anyways, isa lang naman ang punto ko dito: ang krisis ng lipunan natin ay nagluluwal ng mga wirdong mga paraan para diumano makahon sa kahirapan at maamraming mga kabataan na gustong makahanap ng solusyon sa kahirapan ang napapadpad sa mga ito.

Nicole says she has now doubt of being raped

I've just watched on TV a very saddening and curious development on the "Nicole" rape case. "Nicole" has terminated the services of her lawyer Atty. Evalyn Ursua yesterday afternoon. She have also signed an affidavit stating that she now has doubts that she indeed have been raped by Lance Corporal Daniel Smith. "Nicole" is now, according to her mother, has left the country for the US.

This is a very saddening development especially for the Junk VFA Movement. The Subic Rape Case is considered as somewhat a banner case to hammer the call for the junking of the VFA. The Subic Rape case along with other case proves for a fact how lopsided, unjust and immoral the agreement is.

Ngunit gumuguhit ng isang malaking question mark ang pinakapanibagong statement ni "Nicole". It seems curious how she just have suddenly changed her mind out of the blue after fighting staunchly for her right and asserting that indeed she has been raped. She have endured the media, the grueling task of testifying and recounting the events in court. And suddenly, she just calls it quits. It really boggles my mind. My mind is right now saying "nabayaran na ito o kaya natakot". Nakakalungkot lang talaga. But it is not that surprising. It is the US after all who's got Daniel Smith's back and it has it s VFA to protect. Pwede nila at gagawin talaga nila ang lahat para maprotektahan sariling interes. And possibly this have been done as an attempt to derail or keep the Junk VFA Movement off-balanced.

Nakakagalit pa itong si Raul Gonzales, ngingisi-ngisi pa habang nagkokomento na noon pa paiba-iba na ng statement si "Nicole". Parang natutuwa pa talaga ito na binawi ni "Nicole" ang dating statement niya. Gonzales never did supported Nicole. In fact the government in general never did supported "Nicole's" case from the very start.

Rape of Philippine Sovereignty

Below: Senator Kiko Pangilinan during a Junk VFA forum at UP Diliman. Photo lifted from www.senate.gov.ph.



If there is an incident that clearly shows our relationship with the US, one would clearly be the case of Nicole vs. Daniel Smith. An American soldier rapes a Filipina, gets convicted but remains out of the reach of our justice system and we cannot do anything about it. Or, more accurately, our government refuses to do something about it because they are master and we are servant.

This is an actual case of rape, but not only of Nicole but also and even worst, of our national sovereignty. The case of Nicole and the continuous existence of the VFA has the US spitting on our Philippine sovereignty (if we indeed have it in the first place), treating the Philippine Constitution, the highest law of the land, as mere rug at their dirty feet. Photo lifted from www.daylife.com.

Here is a copy of the Junk VFA petition:

Stand for sovereignty. Junk the VFA!


Our country is once again at a crossroads. We are compelled to choose between rightfully asserting national sovereignty or surrendering it once more in the name of so-called "special relations."

The continuing detention of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith at the US embassy in Manila is clear proof of the grossly unequal character of the Visiting Forces Agreement or VFA. And despite the Philippine Supreme Court ruling declaring the Romulo-Kenney Agreement illegal and that Smith should be returned to the custody of Philippine authorities, the Arroyo government has not sought to regain custody of Smith. Instead, the Arroyo government continues to insist that Smith should remain in the US embassy until the highest court finally decides on his appeal. There is also every indication that the US will not surrender Smith to Philippine authorities at all.

The Smith case is only the most recent example of how grossly lopsided the VFA is in favor of the US. The VFA also falls short of the Philippine constitutional requirements for a valid treaty. It was ratified by the Philippine Senate but not by the US Senate and was merely recognized as a treaty by the US State Department.

While the Philippine government enforces the VFA in the country, it is not so in the US. With the recent US Supreme Court ruling in Medellin vs. Texas, treaties entered into by the US are deemed unenforceable in the US unless there is an implementing law or if the treaty is self-executory. The RP-US VFA falls short of these requirements set by the US Supreme Court.

With the unequal standards in the ratification and implementation of the agreement, no less than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines in his dissenting opinion has called the VFA unconstitutional and a "slur on our sovereignty".

The complementary agreement VFA 2 further underscores the gross inequality and double-standards applied to US and Filipino troops. Filipino soldiers who are accused or convicted of crimes in the US will not have the same privileges that Daniel Smith enjoys today.VFA 2 highlights the utter absence of mutuality and reciprocity in the agreements.

Apart from being unconstitutional on its face, the VFA is also unconstitutional in its application. It allows the entry of an unlimited number of foreign troops for an indefinite period of time sans any basing treaty. Since 2002, US troops have been stationed in the Philippines under various pretexts and engaged in various questionable military operations.

For being patently unequal, unconstitutional and an affront to our national sovereignty, the VFA must be abrogated. The Executive branch, through President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, should exercise the right to terminate the agreement. With the abrogation of the VFA, the Arroyo government will have no other recourse but to impose Philippine laws and regain custody over Daniel Smith.

Our choice is simple and clear. We must choose sovereignty over supposed benefits from the VFA. We must choose national dignity over so-called "special relations" with the United States. The Philippines must conduct its foreign relations based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and non-intervention in each country’s internal affairs.

Junk the VFA now!


SIGNED:

GLOBAMA

The Obama-Gloria Connection: Parehas sumikat ang mga logo ng mukha nila, parehas sumisigaw ng pagbabago. Ang kaibahan: Iyong isa symbolizes hope, yung isa hopeless. Oust Gloria Icon made by Isip and Obama is hope icon by Shepard Fairy.

Gloria: Hello Obama!

Nagka-usap nga raw si Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at si Barrack Obama. Ipinagmalaki ng Malacanang ang pagtawag ni Obama kay Gloria sa wakas, pagkatapos ng medyo effort na paghahabol ni Gloria sa presidente ng Amerika. We could only imagine how their conversation went despite the media releases. Marami ang bumatikos sa nangyaring pag-uusap. Sabi ng ilan sa mga anti-VFA politicians and critics ay isang magandang oportunidad sana yun para sa isulong ang pambansang interes ng bansa. Pero ano ang maaasahan natin kay Gloria? Ilan nga raw sa mga pinag-usapan ng dalawa ay ang tungkol sa VFA. Ini-imadyin ko pa rin kung ano ang sinabi nila sa isa't-isa. Iniimadyin ko kung paano nangako si Gloria ng patuloy na pagsuporta sa Amerika at sa VFA at malamang hiniling nito ang pagpapatuloy ng nasabing kasunduan sa kabila ng mga pagtuligsa at clamor na ibasura na ito. Napag-usapan din nila ang tunkol kay Daniel Smith. Ano kaya ang inimungkahi niya para sa convicted rapist ng isang Filipina? Siguro in-assure niya na mananatili si Smith sa custody ng US kahit na malakas na binabatikos ito ng kanyang sariling mamamayan.

Kung susuportahan ni Obama ang pananatili ng VFA at ang kasalukuyang Foreign relation policy ng US sa Pilipinas tiyak ko maraming madidismaya kay Obama.

Para sa kaunting kaalaman natin sa isyu ng VFA, ito ang link mula sa League of Filipino Students click here.

Right to Reply Bill

I'm reposting this primer on the right to reply bill prepared by CEGP:

Prepared by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)
February 2009

This primer seeks to shed analysis and explain in detail why the College Editors Guild of the Philippines is steadfastly rejecting the Right of Reply Bill.

What is the Right of Reply Bill?

In June 2004, Senate Bill (SB) 1178 was filed by Senator Aquilino Pimentel during the 13th Congress. The said bill, however, passed the third reading but failed to get approved due to lack of time. When Congress resumed sessions in June 2007, Pimentel immediately re-filed his bill and gained Senate approval by June 2008. SB 1178 was then effectively substituted by SB 2150.

On July 29, 2008, the Senate passed SB 2150, otherwise known as: “An Act Granting the Right of Reply and Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof,” on its third reading. It was supported by Senators Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Mar Roxas, Loren Legarda and Pimentel, among others.

Meanwhile, Bacolod City Representative Monico Puentevella filed House Bill (HB) 1001 and Aurora Congressman Juan Edgardo Angara filed HB 162 as counterparts of SB 2150 in the Lower House. These two bills were combined and were substituted by HB 3306. HB 3306 is currently being heard in the Lower House, with Congressmen Bienvenido Abante, Angara and Puentevella as main sponsors.

It is interesting to note that although SB 2150 and HB 3306 were filed in different houses, they bear identical titles and has a hair strand difference.

The Right of Reply Bill would mandate media companies, outfits and entities to provide “equal space or airtime” to anyone who is a subject of critical reports, to reply or react as form of the latter’s freedom of expression, thus, the right to reply. The bill, furthermore, stipulates that this be done within three (3) days of a news item’s publication or airing.

The House measure furthermore seeks to punish the publisher and editor-in-chief of a publication or the owner and station manager of a broadcast outfit if they fail to comply or give “equal treatment” to a complainant’s reply to a specific report.

The Senate approved the passage of the bill by a vote of 21-0. Congress, on the other hand, has delayed the hearing of the bill following strong opposition from media organizations and civil society groups. Supporters of the bill in the House of Representatives, however, are preparing a so-called ‘watered down’ version of the said bill following strong opposition from various media organizations.

Senators Escudero, Legarda and Roxas have also retracted their signatures on the Senate version, while Malacanang has vowed to veto the bill if and when Congress approves it.

This initial triumph of exposing the Right of Reply Bill can only be attributed to the overwhelming unity of campus press, media practitioners and concerned groups over the bill’s threat to press freedom and freedom of expression.

Why reject the Right of Reply Bill?

1. The Bill is unconstitutional. It violates Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution, “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances,” as well as several principles of criminal law.

National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) secretary general Neri Colmenares cited the overly broad and vague provision in the bill mandating the right of reply of all persons “who are criticized by innuendo, suggestion, or rumor for any lapse in behavior in public or private life” in saying that the elements of a supposed crime are “not clear.” “Who decides what is ‘innuendo, suggestion, rumor or lapse in behavior’?” Colmenares said.

Moreover, once the bill is signed into law, Filipinos will also, directly or indirectly, be denied of their right to information which is the building block of any sound judgment that will lead to actions meant to preserve the rights and welfare of the citizenry.

2. The Bill is repressive. Should the bill pass into law, many journalists and/or media outfits will be hindered from performing their prime tasks as watchdogs of society out of fear of paying sums of pesos as punishment for not printing the reply of a “ridiculed or maligned” person.

The Guild believes the bill, which requires or mandates media outfits to publish or air replies in the same space, be it front page or inside story, encroaches on the right of the editorial board to determine the content of publications according to the relevance of issues.

With this bill, the prerogative of the press to determine what to publish or broadcast is undermined for it compels the media to print or air the reply of the “aggrieved” person who does not even have the burden to prove that he has been affected by a report.

Prof. Danilo Arao of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications states, “As it is, the bill has negative repercussions on the workings of the press. Editors, normally referred to as the gatekeepers of information, should be allowed to choose which stories get published, aired or uploaded and which stories are given due prominence based on the time-tested elements of news. Instead of coming up with bills that seek to legislate how the media should function, it would do well for legislators to help strengthen self-regulation in media by creating an environment conducive for the effective practice of the media profession.”

Consequently, Section 3 of the Right of Reply Bill is sure to undermine especially the campus press. Due to lack of resources and its common operations, it is impossible for majority of campus publications to comply “not later than one day” as prescribed by HB 3306 or “not later than three days” according to SB 2150. Never has there been a daily student publication in the entire history of campus press.

Also, advocacy press, which includes student gazettes, would certainly fall victim to this bill due to the nature of their writings. It does not appease at all that the status quo of politics and press freedom in the country has been known to favor politicians and other prominent individuals in legal venues. Suffice to say, under such conditions that press people are working in, the Right of Reply Bill is not democratic at all, it is ultra democracy at the expense of press freedom and freedom of expression.

3. The Bill is pointless. There is no need for the Right of Reply Bill at all. The “aggrieved” person/s that the bill claims to protect has long been valued by the media in its practice of always getting two sides of the story.

While the Guild relents that media’s record is not entirely spotless, it echoes the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) sentiment that “we cannot allow the sins of the few to be an excuse for the wholesale muzzling of a free press and the suppression of free expression. To do so would to allow bad governance to triumph.”

There are, also, inevitable reasons why sometimes only one side is aired or published: the person either refuses interview and/or the person is out-of-reach.

Moreover, as a practice, the media accommodates not just replies but even criticisms and statements through spaces such as the letter to the editor and opinion sections.

Furthermore, if the claim that this bill seeks to mitigate journalist killings in the country is to be believed, there is no reason, still, to discuss the bill at all. In resolving the culture of impunity, what the Philippine press needs is political will, not a mere bill.

What can we do?

1. Publish opposition to the Right of Reply Bill in campus papers, blogs and websites, emails and forum threads, or you may re-post this material. Write letters to the editors and opinion columns.

2. Organize fora and/or small group discussions in campus publication offices and other venues on the Right of Reply Bill. This primer may be reproduced or reprinted.

3. Email or send a letter rejecting the bill to offices of congressmen and senators, especially the bill’s sponsors.

4. Sign the petition against the Right of Reply Bill. (will update link soon).

5. Join protest actions against the Right of Reply Bill.

Gag us NOT! Reject the Right of Reply Bill! Defend Press Freedom! Uphold Campus Press Freedom!