BALI-BALITA ni Edel Garcellano

reprinted from: www.tigilpaslang2.blogspot.com

Noong i-text sa akin ng isang guro ang tungkol sa mga nawawalang estudyante sa Bulacan, hindi ko malaman ang aking daramahin: araw-araw sandamukal na balita ang aking nababasa at napapakinggan, at itong mistulang desaparecidos sa ating panahon – luma na marahil sapagka’t mula’t mula pa sa rehimen ni Marcos ito’y ulit-ilit nang pinangangambahan – ay waring hindi na ito tumimo sa aking isipan. Sino sila? Bakit nga raw dinukot? Alam ko na rin naman ang sagot sa istoryang ito: tiyak na mga tao ng estado ang nagpasimuno, mga sintomas wika nga ng mga dapat ilihim at isiwalat sa publikong lipunan na gumagalaw sa kumpas ng iilan: iyong mga nakakotse’t sekretarya, kasunod ang mga hagad na escort at agresibong kumakaway, tabi! tabi! may lakad kami!

At sa telebisyon mo nga maririnig ang pakiusap ng isang ina: sana ay makita na ang aking anak, birthday nya sa makalawa, ang presidente ay isa ring ina, sana ay magawan ng paraan ito, sana...Ang tv screen ay babalik sa broadcaster, sa ibang dako naman...Luma na ang mga eksena: sa Arhentina ang mga naulila ay magpu-prusisyon upang ipaalala sa unti-unting lumilimot ang mga malagim na pangyayari, alalaumbaga’y pilit na binubuhay ang mga pangalan at mukha sa mga taong nakatulala, nakatingin, at humihinga ng malalim upang kagyat muling bumalik sa kanilang ginagawa: huntahan ng Eat Bulaga, mga tanong sa Deal or No Deal ni Kris Aquino o magkamot ng alipunga na nababad na naman sa baha.

Ang ingay ng ulan ay bubuhusan pa ng mga ingay ng mga radyo at tawanan sapagkat iyon ang napapala ng mga pakialamero yang mga erehe sa gobyerno o yung sobrang mag-isip kaya nakukursunadahan ng mga heneral na nagtatrabaho lamang upang panatilihin ang kapayapaan sa loob ng tahanan sa palengke sa kalsada sa ilang na pook sa buong kabayanan.

Ano ang kanilang kasalanan? Ilang talaan ba na ng nadisgrasya ang kaniyang natunghayan buhat nang siya’y magbinata sa Maynila at ngayo’y namumuti na ang buhok sa kaiisip ng pera sa pamantasan, ganito pa rin hanggang ngayon? Ilan na ba sa mga kakilala – malayo o malapit - ay di na nya nabalitaan pa at kung mabalitaan man ay may sukob ng lagim ang mga kwentong maririnig.

Ilan daang taon na bang nangyayari ito: ang bumalikwas na naliligo sa malamig na pawis kung may kakatok sa pinto sa oras na wala namang inaasahang darating o makakasalubong ang isang tao nananinipat ng tingin at ika’y kagyat na iiwas sa pagsulyap sapagkat baka isang peligrosong engkwentro ito.

Malaki na ang mga bata. Silang nalahian na rin ng takot ng matatanda ay bagkus ngayong tumatahak sa daang kanyang iniiwasan. Marahil sa kanilang panahon ito ngayon ang nararapat gawin. Marahil anuman ang mangyayari, inisip nilang baka pagsisihan sa dakong huli ang di pagsunod sa kutob at lohika ng nararapat sa mundo.

Ganun nga siguro. Ang kinabukasan ay nililigiran ng mga bangkay ng mga berdugo ng kapitalismo at mangingibig ng hustisya at karapatan.

=========
Edel Garcellano teaches at the University of the Philippines-Diliman

The Running Man

26 July 2006
metrica, manila

Under the scorching heat of the sun, I found myself rubbing elbows with the tubaw-wearing youth on the grounds of Senate. Bored of being bum for weeks, I was in the process of “soul-searching” when I got drawn in to these people’s grasp of reality. Anyway their ideas weren’t too big to take in as I could easily identify with the evil effects of the whopping budget slash in education sector.

Though-looking as I am but I would not deny that at that time, I felt boneless, especially upon catching a glimpse of the marines who looked hell-bent in wiping us off the earth. Sitting prettily while alternately digesting my sandwich and the heart-warming, temperature-rising speeches of the mass leaders, piles of bodies hurled into mine. Blood started to taint the ground as the men in uniform thrashed us to death. The throng was in complete disarray.

I was struggling to get out of the mesh of bodies when someone grabbed me and escorted me towards a safer place. Exactly after she hauled me, blows of truncheon hammered right on the nail where I was ensnarled.

I learned that that girl was Sherlyn, a representative to the University Student Council of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She had been actively participating in mobilizations, and had developed an instinct in situations such as these.

With my regular stay in Vinzons Hill where Sherlyn was also a tambay, I found out that she was the one who was edged out by the controversial Nancy Navalta in a race. She was a university athlete. Among the tambay, Sherlyn was also popular for her dance step, a sort of “The Running Man” infused with whatever-you-wanna-call-it steps. This “The Sherlyn Cadapan Dance Step” required a lot of intense muscle flexes that no one has dared to follow or imitate.

While she dances gracefully and automatically turns into a horse when running, Sherlyn works like a dog. She has never wavered in her commitment. Yet, though serious, she has never missed to inject fun to her work. In deed, she could transform a prayer meeting into a party, or a market.

Knowing how deeply entrenched Sherlyn is to her commitment, I was not waylaid when one day, she just shook our hands, packed her bag and went out the door. I knew where she was leading to, and I never had a doubt about her decision.

I haven’t seen Sherlyn since then. Until her face flashed on the television screen. She was abducted by the military, being singled out as a terrorist.

Gen. Jovito Palparan, who was acknowledged by Pres. Arroyo in her last State of the Nation Address for his achievement in restoring “peace and order” in the country, was quick to validate the abduction. He said that the military has enough evidence that pinpoint Sherlyn, along with Karen Empeno and Manuel Merino to have linked with the New People’s Army. Whatever these proofs are, however, everyone knows the track record of Palparan for vamping up stories and accusations to gorge his fondness of mercilessly killing suspicious individuals.

Still uneasy and beleaguered by these recent developments, no disclaimer can ditch the fact that the series of abduction and killings only means one thing: the Arroyo government is in full battle gear to flex its muscle to the people going against its interest. Everyone is subjected to suspicion, knowing how paranoid this government is, which could lead to abduction, incarceration and even death.

Sherlyn is just a person whose only passion is to provide genuine service to the underprivileged being neglected by the government. Hers is a work so modest and noble that she is well-loved by the people. Tagging her terrorist is false and malicious.

For a terrorist is someone whose passion is to sow fear among the people. Expert in employing goons, gold and guns, he is determined to defeat everyone just to advance his stake. He has resorted to using all the dirty tricks such as tagging some individuals “terrorist”. A terrorist is shunned by the people.

With the statistics and records staring straightly to us, we know who the real terrorist is.

Breaking the Barriers

05 December 2005
metrica, manila

About a year ago, the town was in total shambles. Calamities came one after the other, seemingly never-ending, wreaking havoc to the once pristine and placid town of Dingalan. Loss of lives, as well as loss of properties was beyond compare, making the already beleaguered people hopeless and helpless to go on living. For them, life would never be the same again.

After a year, Dingalan is now on its way to full recovery. Reconstruction and rehabilitation are being carried through to bring back the glory of the town. With sheer determination, the people have come together to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Through this unity and collective action, the town is now inching towards progress.

Brgy Butas na Bato, like any to other place in Dingalan, bore witness to the nature’s wrath. Indeed, it was one of the most devastated. And, akin to the other communities, from the remnants and vestiges of the aftermath, it is now in the process of restoration.

Brgy Butas na Bato lies at the outskirts of the town proper. A depressed area, it has a significant number of people who are mostly making their ends meet through fishing and farming. Majority of them are living below the poverty level. With the very limited resources, their quest for a better life is still elusive as their development is still at the minimum pace.

For the inhabitants of Brgy Butas na Bato, patching up the irreparable damage caused by the tragedy is not attained overnight; it takes years to do so. Hence, for the entire community to move on and to improve its miserable living condition, a comprehensive and wide-ranging plan for a long time solution is a mission to fulfill.

The course to secure their future is indeed a long and winding road. Every step must be done systematically, in a highly organized manner, with utmost care. Otherwise, their initial bold steps that are now taking place would be in vain.

In order to ward off the impediments that may crop up along the way to their goal, a strong, solid and stable foundation should be firmly built, as it is their best defense to any tragedy that may furiously strike them again. So, the most crucial and critical undertaking is to put up the most resistant and resilient pillar, the decent education of their children.

But their dismal situation slows down the establishment and stability of this underpinning. Chief of the huge problems is the glaring lack of conducive learning atmosphere.

There is no school within this thickly populated community. The nearest school is located at the town proper, which is two kilometers away from this place. This requires the children, whose ages range from 6-12, an hour and half walk, enduring the scorching heat of the sun and the heavy drenching of the rain. Since the daily P40 tricycle fare is too much to afford for their families, they have no choice.

During the rainy season, the sight of these children going to classes is even more depressing. Oftentimes, they arrive at their classes soaking wet and even mud-spattered. And since the flood already washed away the bridge that was once the link between their place and the town proper, they brave crisscrossing the rising and rushing water of a huge river just to make it to the school. Before their classes end, most of them are ill and unwell.

This concrete condition deters these children to carry on their education. In fact, there is an annual downward trend of the enrolment of students in the area as the number of dropouts continues to shoot up. This deprives these children of their right to an accessible and decent education.

Unless this problem is worked out, the future of Brgy Butas na Bato is in the state of ambiguity.

It is in this situation that the people of Brgy Butas na Bato are once again soliciting for our help to make their dreams come true. Their request is simple and modest: to assist them in providing a good education to their children by putting up a primary school within the bounds of their community.

The establishment of a primary school will not only be a vital contribution to the restoration of the place but will also be a great leap forward to the fulfillment of people’s vision. This will encourage their children to acquire better learning, making them ready in assuming important role for their bright future.

The people of Brgy Butas na Bato have pinned their hope to us. As a first bold step, let us not deny them of their request and provide concrete conditions that will pave the way to the fulfillment of their pursuit for a better life.

Writing 30

tuesday,
17 november 2005
sampaloc, manila

And now, the newsmakers have taken the headline.

Sick and tired of her consistent bad image and poor projection, Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has resorted to lambasting the media for its espousal to bad boy image. Speaking before seasoned journalists and media practitioners, she lectured them on how to be fair and square in carrying out the five W’s and H of reporting.

The president’s bitter criticism to media is explicable, especially now that her political survival is on highly dangerous ground. Indeed, in her speech, she exhorted the media not to be used as “pawns in political games and destabilization schemes,” but to be messengers of “positive news” about “a nation on the verge of economic takeoff.” She even encouraged it to hook up with her administration in molding the “destiny of this republic for the good of the greater number.”

The speech is an obvious intrusion to the independence of media. It is reminiscent of the way the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos handled the press – state propagandists. She wants every story to be warped to prop up good image to her constituents, a desperate attempt to cling to power. She coerces the media to close its eyes in pursuit of justice, to keep its mouth shut in accounting the reality. She is muddling up the truth with myth.

A muzzled press is tantamount to a muzzled public. To deny the press of the fact is to deprive the people of their right to be informed. There can be no press freedom if journalists exist in conditions of fear, threat and violence – conditions that are real and rampant in the country, being perpetrated by those who have the monopoly of gold, goons and guns. Neither can there be genuine democracy in a country whose citizens exist in the same conditions.

To further seduce the media, Arroyo bragged about her accomplishment in providing an environment decent in validating the calling of journalists – a twist of fact indeed for it is during her presidency that the Philippines was singled out as the most murderous and most dangerous place for media people. She appears to be completely oblivious of the statistics and fashion of killings of journalists, totally ignorant of the fact that cases have been unresolved, that the murderers are all scot-free.

The president’s intimidation of media, along with her calibrated preemptive response and militarization policies, only bears out that the Arroyo government is now taking up the Marcosian way of holding on to power. It is state terrorism at its best, in the most appalling manner, cowing the people to stand up for their beliefs and conviction and transforming them into mere blind followers. It is the creation of kingdom – or queendom – out of lies, apathy, deceit, dishonesty and injustice. It is reign of terror.

As Arroyo fritters away no time in making it to the headline, the people, having grown tired of her indifference, incapability and ineffectiveness, have her in the obituary of their hearts and minds. With this another lapse of judgment, her political career is writing 30. #

the flying sexy girl

01 july 2006
makati



One thing about Nanen: she has never failed to surprise us. At a single period of time, she could be dead serious perfecting the assigned tasks to her while unleashing her prowess to make us laugh – or cry or get irritated. Schizophrenic she is not; she has just a gift to instinctively shift from one character to another that could spontaneously transform us into laughing hyenas or combust us into raging bulls.

But beyond her colorful personality lies the true color of Nanen. Deep down in her heart, she is true and tried to her commitment. Her immersion to the real world tightens her grip to what she believes in. She would defy the pull of gravity to make sure that she presses on her principles and passion.

That was how Nanen has steeled in her resolve. I was not caught unawares at all when she announced that she decided to go beyond the four corners of her classroom to give way to her undying passion to go among the hapless and the helpless.

It was the last time we talked about it seriously. Still, she has not missed surprising me of her texts and messages. In her texts, she is still the same Nanen that I used to know, my housemate, officemate and friend.

Until I heard the news that Nanen was abducted by the military in a village where she has devoted her life. My reaction was obscure and indefinable, for Nanen was not only too frail to do that, her work is much more noble and dignified than those who are in the power. She was charged with fabricated cases.

I don’t know what has pushed the army in abducting Nanen. What is clear now is that the army and the government are too paranoid now that they would resort in these activities just to make sure that no one would go against their interest. And for some reason, they think Nanen is one of them.

That must be the exact explanation why, aside from Nanen, they still continue to pick on people who they think threaten the already wobbling government. Faces of Cris Hugo, the Maco Four, several journalists, and endless names of faceless people stream in my mind. They are victimized of the paranoia of this government.

But they are not the only ones who are victims here. We are also sufferers, being browbeaten and cowed by this government by exhibiting its expertise in the use of gold, goons and guns. We are being tamed by the sight of the pile of bodies, of the blood that spills in the broad of the day and in the dead of the night. We are the losers.

I don’t know what happens to Nanen now. But whatever will it be (which I hope would be better), I still envy Nanen. She is able to arrive at life she has always wanted, without compromise or concession. And she has surprised the hell out of me for being able to do that.

A Brazen Act of Violence

09 november 2005
sampaloc, manila

The twists and turns of events bring the nation back to its darkest days. Already trapped in dire economic woes and political turmoil, it is being dragged along the way of reimposition of Martial Law with the full-scale implementation of the " calibrated preemptive response" (CPR).

The CPR is Malacanang's solution to the intensifying crisis. In sheer desperation to put the country out of disorder, the government has resorted to use 'muscle' to defeat anyone going against its interests. It has vowed to quash any group that attempts to bring down the Arroyo administration, avowing that it is for the good of the country.

Unambiguously, this is akin to the toppled Pres. Ferdinand Marcos's brand of leadership. This is a recycled but heightened version of Martial Law - a blatant use of force to oblige the people to rally behind the government.

Amid the government's claim that it is working within the framework of democracy, the CPR is an obvious suppression of freedom of speech to its truest sense. The suspension of 'maximum tolerance' and the ban of street protests and political activities are as good as the deprivation of people's basic right to stand up for their beliefs and conviction. It is tantamount to the suspension of writ of habeas corpus and the open declaration of martial law.

In promoting economic and political stability, it glorifies the use of guns and other forms of brutality. It breeds a culture of violence to sow terror to the already traumatized Filipino people. It means loss of lives, harrassment and political repression in the most appalling and scandalous manner, converting the country into a combat zone and killing field.

Indeed, even before the implementation of the CPR, the Arroyo government has already accumulated a whopping record of human rights violations. In its four years in power, it has turned the country into a slaughter house where killing is common to crop up in the light of the day and the dead of the night. It has mounted up more than 3000 cases of illegal arrests, summary executions, massacres and forced disappearances that involve more than 100,000 victims, surpassing the record set by Marcos during Martial Law.

With the surfacing of CPR, Filipino people has no guarantee that human rights violations will not be committed. Given the expertise of the present administration to deliberately use gold, goons and guns for the sake of advancing its interests, a blood spill is always a possibility.

Yet, no matter how the Arroyo government projects itself, the implementation of CPR only bears out its desperation to cling to power. This is a sign of weakness, and not of strength, an indication that it is now trembling to its knees at the sight of the swelling waves of protests capable of overthrowing it from supremacy.

Armed with the lessons from their bitter experience of the past, the Filipino people know how to deal with this present situation. Having grown tired of the endless economic miseries brought about by the government's neoliberal policies, they understand that the implementation of CPR would only make them more hopeless in their quest for a decent and humane living and a bright future.

In these times of chronic economic and political crisis, it has become more glaring to them that ousting Arroyo is not just an option but a MUST. In these times of brazen acts of violence, to sit down is to lose the only right left to them.

Education for Sale

The Further Commodification of Education through GATS

Still suffering from its continuously worsening state, the Philippine education is up for another battle with its inclusion to General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS). In the guise of a corporatized, world-class education, the crisis-ridden education sector has now opened all its way to a free enterprise directly controlled by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

GLOBALIZING EDUCATION

"Free trade" in education services has been flourishing since the formal promulgation of GATS in 1994. Education service, a springboard for a more potent free trade, was one of the explicit topics in the international trade meetings that led to the creation of the WTO in 1995.

Since trade talks spiraled among trading powers prior to WTO's ministerial conference in Seattle, education and other social services were among the extensions of the term of GATS. This round of table talks, however, collapsed due to protests inside and outside the conference.

In January 2000, new negotiations on GATS were successfully stirred under the "built in" agenda of WTO, which secretly dealt with GATS expansion even without a comprehensive round. As conceived, GATS is designed to "cover not just cross-border trade but every possible means of supplying a service, including the right to set up a commercial presence in the export market."

Major proponent of the GATS term expansion is the United States, which clearly stated its goal in purely economic terms: trade barriers bound by internal trade policies encompassing different public services hurt US-led corporations and were therefore barriers to American exports and job creation.

It spearheaded a draft to "create conditions favorable to suppliers of higher education, adult education and training services" by "removing and reducing obstacles" - subsidies for higher educational adult education and training, and tax treatment that discriminates foreign suppliers - to transmission of such services across national borders through electronic and physical means, or to the establishment and operation of facilities (i.e. classrooms, schools or offices.)

Member nations under WTO that adhere to the GATS program abide by two principles: the national treatment principle, which states that members should not discriminate in favor of national providers, and the most-favored nations principle, which states that members should not discriminate between different member nations.

GATS encompasses a wide array of commitment in education - from preschool to tertiary and vocational educational services. With barriers now scrapped, cross-border supply of a service of a member country to another is now feasible. Students can easily study in another country through the exchage-student system, while education service providers from a country can now set up establishments in another member-nation tax-free. "Home study system," "virtual unversities" and "correspondence schools" are also made possible through GATS.

Utilizing GATS for greater privatization of the public sector, particularly the education and health, US companies are now smoothly penetrating and monopolizing these services in support of a galvanized foreign education and easy workforce. Reportedly, US generated $6.6 B trade surplus in its educational and training services export sector in 1996.
UNEDUCATING AND MISEDUCATING EDUCATION

Constantly in need of a sufficient budget, Philippine education is vulnerable to the promises of GATS. With past and present administrations always doling out meaget budgets, the education sector is being pushed for a greater funding from private resources.

Since 1998, 154 state-funded schools have already closed down due to insufficient budget. Facing extinction, many public schools have either merged with other institutions or have engaged in tie-ups with private corporations.

These circumstances are along the line of GATS. Adhering to this neoliberal prescription, the government has ensured that education policies are working within the bounds of privatization, liberalization and deregulation, which are the focal points of GATS. In Long-Term Higher Education Development Plan, for instance, the government forces 70 percent of State Universities and Colleges to privatize by 2010.

While GATS assures a globally-attuned education, it does not ensure a better education and a bright future for the Filipino youth. In fact, since the implementation of GATS, the education has become more elusive to many Filipino youth.

Liberalization and deregulation under GATS give pretext for schools to raise tuition and other miscellaneous fees almost three-folds annually. Privatization of many public schools drive students to leave their classrooms.

Already, 74 percent have dropped out this year because education has become out of reach to them.Under the "borderless education, knowledge economy and level playing field competition," foreign and local corporations are freely entering and filling in the meager budget of schools, as in the case of the University of the Philippines-Ayala Corporations tie-up.Yet, this only makes the schools susceptible to the control and dictate of the private corporations, if not fully corporatized.

The intensification of the commercialization of education shows that the government is taking its hands off in providing a decent and accessible education for the people. Within the framework of GATS, education has already ceased to become a right; it has turned into a commodity only the affluent few can afford. This is in blatant contrast with Article 26 of the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights which states that "access to higher education is a right."

As in the Revised Basic Education Curriculum, GATS has also impelled a bold change in the curricula and courses -- now designed according to the standards and demands of the global market. This results in the strengthening of the colonial character of the Philippine education, primarily serving the interests of other countries instead of ours. Caregiving, vocational and technical curricula and courses are also encouraged with the labor export in demand to the global arena. These institutions train the youth not to become leaders or managers but to be docile, semi-skilled workers who are submissive and passive to exploitation in foreign lands.

REAL MOTIVE

The implementation of GATS in recent years proves that it does not work in the concrete condition of our society. It has failed to uplift the dismal state of education, but has rather worsened the vicious cycle of crisis of education.

Unambiguously, GATS is not responsive to the needs of the people and the country. It has produced 'modern-day slaves' by uneducating and miseducating the Filipino youth.

By intensifying privatization, liberalization and deregulation in education, GATS has only benefited and has strengthened the power of the capitalist-educators and private corporations who are hell-bent in making more money out of education.

Clearly, globalization of education is not about the exchange of learning between countries but of capital, of making profit by commodifying education.

Unless GATS is discarded, the colonial and commerialized state of education will still abound. And in the upcoming WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong this December, the Filipino youth can expect no less but a bleaker future.*