CSOs and State 19: UP Maroons and UP Alumni

As a University of the Philippines (UP) alumni myself, I find this story disturbing, but also inspiring. This should spur other alumni and sympathetic individuals to act on their own -- the spirit of civil society -- to help the UP Fighting Maroons. Written and posted by a friend in his facebook wall last Saturday, reposted by interaksyon yesterday and so far was shared 1,500+, reposting here too.
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Nowhere to go but UP: musings of a hopeful Maroon fan

…Our Maroons took the championship in '86 in the same year our countrymen won back their freedom.

I don't know if it was something that reflected the “mood” of the times. After the jubilation, the “ultimate victory,” we seemingly grew complacent. We were the best but had stopped getting better. '86 was UP's last championship. Every year since was a disappointment, in varying degrees. We had built up leads in the first half only to squander them in the dying minutes. We surged on early but could not follow through 'til the end.

Why UP has been winless in last three years

UP has been crown-less in 27 years and winless in the last three.

Recently, I met somebody from the Maroon's coaching staff and I got to learn why: Our team has been playing hungry, literally.

I talked with the players and also heard it from them firsthand. Asked what they needed the most, they replied: “We need more food.”

They have been going to practice on empty stomachs, playing competitive games without the nourishment required of a student-athlete. They've been walking on foot from one class to the next, one destination to another to save a coin or two for their education. They have not been receiving their allowances, the measly sum of anywhere from P5,000 to P10,000 -- a pittance considering what they have to go through to play for the country's Premiere University while measuring up to its stringent academic standards.

Recently, electricity in their quarters was cut off because of “unpaid bills.”

The game has grown sickeningly “commercialized,” I know. UP stands by its ideals, I know too. The University rewards integrity and excellence, but if its meager budget does not allow it to, should not the alumni step in?

Other Universities invest shamelessly in their athletes. Should we not share a little if only to afford our fellow Isko a modicum of self-respect?

One of our players was offered what would translate in any parlance as a “bribe” -- allowances of all sorts, housing, and the spot cash of P1 million -- just to play for another school. He is 17, young, impressionable, and impoverished like most of his teammates. Saying “yes” would have been the easier and more lucrative response. True to his UP education, I was told, he gave an emphatic “No!”

But like I said, basketball has grown shamelessly commercialized these days. The other school went directly to our player's hometown to talk to his parents. If the kid won't agree, perhaps, the parents will be a tad less uncompromising, they must have thought.

Our Maroon, having learned of what happened, borrowed money, practically begging for airfare so he can convince his parents otherwise. Back in his hometown, he pleaded with them: “I am staying in UP. I will get my UP diploma. UP is my team, my second family, my community!”

Of course, every parent would want the best for their children. The offer was tempting, sure, but the kid's plea was also unbending. The father requested only one thing: one win, one win out of several games in a season; not the championship, not the MVP, just one win; not the sun and the stars, just a ray of hope that this adolescent does not waste away his future on something so abstract as the “UP way.”

Hearing the story evoked a feeling similar to what I had felt when I first set foot in Guian, Samar after the great storm. Right there and then, only one question loomed in my head: What can I do to help?

There, amidst the ruins, they play the game for the sheer joy of it, like any sport should be, competitive or otherwise. Here, despite poverty and the allure of the “easy buck,” one of ours needs help so he can continue pursuing a childhood dream.

If basketball can help a nation cope with devastation, surely its people can give back to those who live only to honor the game.

This kid, or rather, this man of 17 years, has reminded me of what I have long learned -- though sometimes forget -- from UP. It is not just about winning as it is about playing to deserve the victory.

Sa kanyang mumunting paraan, sa tatag ng kanyang paninindigan, ipinaalala niya sa aking hubad ang tagumpay kung hindi nagmula sa pagmamahal -- pagmamamahal sa komunidad, at pagmamahal sa bayan.

In his small way, on the strength of his conviction, he reminded me that victory is empty if it does not come from love -- of community and people.

I had dinner with him at my home. He finished all the leftover desserts in the fridge and I could not be happier. At least, those would be a few more calories to burn during practice, a little more energy to bring the team closer to the goal of “1 win.”

I did not promise him what other schools offered. I had neither the resources nor the respect for that grease. What I have are friends, fellow alumni, whom I know have the generosity to justify the varsity's faith in its school. I committed to begin passing the hat -- for decent meals, for Ikot fare, for lights in their sleeping quarters. I promised I would be part of a community -- the UP community -- that has never been known to abandon its own.

Right now, like his father, all I want is 1 win. Where we are, where we have been, and how we have defiantly bounced back from adversity, I know we have nowhere to go but UP.

But mostly because our Maroons want nowhere else to be, deserve nowhere else to be, but UP.

Renan B. Dalisay
84-37652
B.A. Political Science
University of the Philippines-Diliman

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See also:
CSOs and State 15: Old Debate on Competition and Markets, June 15, 2012 

CSOs and State 16: The Integrity Initiative, December 17, 2012 
CSOs and State 17: UP Pahinungod and Typhoon Victims in Mindanao, December 31, 2012 

CSOs and State 18: Civil Society as Lobbyists for More Government? Cigarette Warning Bill, March 02, 2014

Weekend Fun 49: Lefties Songs

During our student activist days in UP in the 80s, we heard a lot of protest songs. Anti-dictatorship, anti-imperalism, anti-capitalism, etc. But what remained in my mind until now are the funny ones. Like these three.

(1) (A marching tune often played by drum and bugle corps, I don't know the title)

Sandaang masinggan, hawak ng hukbong bayan
lulusubin ang Malakanyang.

Sa bundok sa gubat, kami ay walang gulat
lulusubin ang Malakanyang.

Ang aming lider, Amado Guerrero
Victor Corpuz ang commander

Ang sigaw namin ibagsak ang pasismo
pyudalismo, imperyalismo

Ang suot namin, pajama ng Vietcong
pati jacket ni Mao tse tung

Ang sigaw namin ibagsak ang pasismo
pyudalismo, imperyalismo.

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(Photo just for fun, during the UPSE alumni reunion 2010)

(2) Tamad na burgis, na ayaw gumawa

sa pawis ng iba'y nagpapasasa
pinalalamon ng manggagawa
hindi marunong, mahiya -- walang hiya!

bandilang pula, iwagayway (3x)
ang mga anak pawis ay mabuhay.

Kolehiyala or conio version:

Tamad na bourgeousie na ayaw mag work
sa sweat ng others, nag e-enjoy-enjoy
pinapa-eat eat ng mga workers
hindi marunong ma-ashame, wa shame!

bandilang red, i-wave-wave-wave (3x)
ang mga sons of sweat, ay long long live.

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(3) Metrocom, may helmet at may truncheon

Metrocom, may teargas at may thompson
palo sa harap, palo sa likod
palo sa paa, palo sa ulo
palo ng palo, p____ ina nyo
mamamatay din kayo. 

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Of course I'm no longer a leftie or socialist now. Abandoned that ideology more than two decades ago.

See also:
Weekend Fun 39: Funny Photos in Manila Floods, August 12, 2012
Weekend Fun 45: Life is Like a Bikini, It is Brief, June 30, 2013
Weekend Fun 46: Pork Barrel's New Names, August 25, 2013 
Weekend Fun 47: San Miguel, Galman and Inuman, August 31, 2013 
Weekend Fun 48: On Being Old and Crazy, September 14, 2013

UP Alumni Among New Senators

Someone posted in Taga UP Diliman Ka Kung (TUPDKK) facebook group that there will be a mini UP alumni reunion at the CCP, aka induction of the new Senators of the Philippines. I got curious, how many of the 12 new senators are from the University of the Philippines (UP)?

I checked Wikipedia, went through the brief bio of all the new Senators, especially their university education, and here’s what I got, arranged alphabetically among UP alumni first, then the non-UP alumni.

2013 Elections (9/12 from UP)

1. Sonny Angara, UPD, Law

2. Nancy Binay, UPD, tourism

3. Alan Cayetano, UPD, Pol Sci

4. Chiz Escudero, UPD, elementary, HS, Pol Sci, Law

5. Loren Legarda, UPD, Mass comm

6. Koko Pimentel, UPD, Law

7. Grace Poe, UP Manila, Development Studies

8. Antonio Trillanes, UPD, MA Public Administration

9. Cynthia Villar, UPD, Business Ad

10. Bam Aquino, Ateneo

11. JV Ejercito, La Salle

12. Gringo Honasan, PMA

So in the recent elections, nine out of the 12 new Senators are UP alumni, studied undergrad course or Law or a master’s degree. That’s a lot. UP remains the main breeding ground of political leaders in this country until now.

Then I went back to the previous two other elections, here’s what I got:

2010 Elections (6/12 from UP)

1. Pia Cayetano, UPD, Economics, Law?

2. Miriam D. Santiago, UPD, Pol Sci, Law

3. Frankliin Drilon, UPD, AB, Law

4. Jinggoy Estrada, UPD, Economics

5. Juan Ponce Enrile, UPD, Law

6. Ralph Recto, UPD, MA Public Administration

7. TG Guingona, Ateneo

8. Bongbong Marcos, Oxford

9. Serge Osmena, did not finish college, HS in Ateneo and Beaumont, UK

10. Lito Lapid, did not go to college, HS at St. Catherine, Porac, Pampanga

11. Bong Revilla, did not go to college; HS in Fairfax, California

12. Tito Sotto, Letran, English

2007 Elections (9/12 from UP)

1. Edgardo Angara, UPD, AB, Law

2. Joker Arroyo, UPD, AB, Law

3. Chiz Escudero, UPD, elementary, HS, Pol Sci, Law

4. Alan Cayetano, UPD, Pol Sci

5. Loren Legarda, UPD, mass comm?

6. Kiko Pangilinan, UPD, English, Law

7. Koko Pimentel, UPD, Law

8. Antonio Trillanes, UPD, MA Public Administration

9. Manny Villar, UPD, Business Ad

10. Noynoy Aquino, Ateneo

11. Gringo Honasan, PMA

12. Ping Lacson, Lyceum, PMA

* Migs Zubiri, UPLB, Agribusiness (resigned due to election fraud, Koko Pimentel came in)

I posted the results of the 2010 and 2013 elections in one UP Diliman facebook group, someone noticed that Bongbong Marcos did not go to UP even if his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos, and his two sisters, Imee and Irene, went to UP. Perhaps Bongbong wanted the glamour of UK education.

And another friend commented that UP alumni dominating the top political leadership, no wonder why the country remains poor. Well, to a certain extent that’s true. When one is studying in UP, one is somehow bombarded by that slogan of “iskolar ng bayan” or “taxpayers’ scholar” and hence, one must “give back” or work for the people, work in government or do related actions later. The implicit training is to be in government – local, national, multilateral, or consultant -- as much as possible.

Well, being in government means learning the arts and science of regulation, taxation and intervention in the lives of ordinary people. And more regulations and restrictions are unhealthy for us, culturally and economically.

Anyway, it’s not what university that legislators came from that matters most. Rather, it’s the political ideology or philosophy that they hold. So far, some liberty- or business-friendly candidates lost in the last elections, like former Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. He could have been a good Senator once more.

CSOs and State 17: UP Pahinungod and Typhoon Victims in Mindanao

The main characteristic of "civil society organizations" (CSOs) is volunteerism. In contrast, the main characteristic of government and the state is coercion. This makes the two rather a substitute, not complement, for each other.  There are several instances where they collaborate with each other, and that's because government agencies, from local to national, are so many that CSOs and other volunteer individuals have to work with them to minimize duplication of certain functions.

Civil society is a state of society where citizens are mature and responsible enough to run their own lives and that of their communities with minimum coercion, restrictions, regulations and prohibitions. So in cases of calamities for instance, solidarity with the affected people and communities is instant and spontaneous. There is volunteerism in almost everywhere, the willingness to help, without being told or being coerced by a strong force under threats of penalties if no one will help, is there.

Below is an account by a physician from UP, during the UP Pahinungod assistance to victims of typhoon Bophia, locally named "Pablo" by PAGASA. A friend from "Taga UP Diliman ka kung" (TUPDKK), Dr. Elaine Nisperos, shared this in my facebook wall. I like the story, hence reposting it here.

On a side note, the Philippines is the only country in the world that gives local names to tropical storms with international names already. Countries in western Pacific including the Philippines contribute two names a year to international storms yet to come, for easier identification. So names that were given by PAGASA can be used internationally and yet when those storms enter the Philippines area of responsibility (PAR), PAGASA ignores these international names and use local names, which I think were names of children of PAGASA officials, or kids of their friends or relatives. Really unnecessary. But I digress...

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“WELCOME PABLO PARAISO”

by Dr. Digie Talens

On the night of December 4, 2012 Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley were ravaged by the strong winds of Super typhoon Pablo. In the darkness, families were awakened as the strong winds carried their roofs, and shook their homes. In some areas, flood waters rose without warning while in others, the wet soil gave way and fell upon people’s homes. Glass breaking, walls collapsing, one can only imagine the horrors as the families groped their way in the wet dark night. Parents used their bodies to shield their children from falling debris as moans and cries from helpless victims are heard through the night. The winds were relentless even as the first light of dawn showed a glimpse of roofs flying, branches falling and homes breaking apart.

Hundreds perished in those few hours. To those left behind, heartache and despair await. 

As news of the devastation reached Manila, my husband, as the director of UP Ugnayan ng Pahinungod (which is Cebuano for “offering”), and chairman of the disaster response of UP Manila, started to mobilize his staff to see how the UP system can extend some help to our countrymen. He is not alone in his altruism. His office was soon deluged with inquiries from the UP Manila Chancellor, UPPGH Director and the UP Padayon Group, as to what they could do to help.

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod, being the volunteer arm of the UP Manila for various outreach projects (including medical missions), immediately contacted the Local Government Units (LGU) of the affected area. On initial consultation with the Office of the Governor of the Compostela Valley to determine the type of help that UP volunteers can render, nothing specific was determined. To be able to promptly and effectively use the limited resources that the UP System can acquire, a more detailed plan had to be established so, the UP Alumni in Davao were mobilized to give a more accurate view of the situation. Soon, the remote area of San Isidro in Baganga, Davao Oriental was identified.

The task of getting funds for the relief distribution and medical mission did not prove too difficult. On Dec. 6, in a Christmas party of UPCM batch 85, the class decided to donate part of their fund so that UP Pahinungod can immediately set their plans into action. Some batchmates added more money from their own pockets. 

Pledges soon came pouring in from both domestic and foreign sources. The problem was it took too long to convert the pledges to cash. The batch 85 donation was instrumental in bringing relief early to the families in the affected area. 
A team of 3 doctors, an EMT, an information officer and the mission coordinator (also a dentist) from Manila, met up with UPCM alumni in Davao City. The latter facilitated the search for a place for the team to stay, transportation from Davao City to the affected area and coordination with the locals. 

Baganga was allegedly a 6 hour drive from Davao City but with difficult roads, it turned out to be at least 8 hours from the city. As the team travelled to their destination, the devastation revealed itself to them.

Hectares of land, once filled with towering coconut trees that provided a livelihood for the families are reduced to a wasteland of uprooted trees strewn like matchsticks on the ground. Vast banana plantations just recently filled with fruits ready for harvest, are barren now, comically appearing to have had a haircut done by a crazed barber. The beautiful green mountain has been replaced by a big brown mound. 

The road although still passable, is filled with pieces of glass, nails and debris from the houses and buildings destroyed by the storm. Many tires have been ripped by this debris, making access to the municipalities difficult. Along the road, families have made make-shift shelters, with materials gathered from their uninhabitable homes. 

The school, stadium and the municipal center were in shambles. Even large houses were roofless and most were abandoned. According to the locals, those with relatives elsewhere were gone. Only those with no other option were left to rely on the relief goods and help that outsiders can offer. 

The team was housed in a relatively large house owned by a local engineer. They were given two rooms whose roof was spared by the storm. Another volunteer group, Balsa Mindanao, joined them at the house. The latter group was given the living room, dining room, and basement to “camp in” but as rain fell once again on San Isidro, the UP team had to share their space with the Balsa Mindanao group and their soaked belongings.

Ironically, the rain continued but there was not enough usable water. The only source of water was a “sapa” a few minutes away from the house. Bathing was a luxury even the UP team could not afford. 

The UP team, brought with them food and drinking water. They had enough for the few days they would be staying but the supply of food in the area is very limited. They have been briefed by their local contacts and the Balsa Mindanao group to resist the urge to give their food to the (once proud) people now begging for some relief from their hunger. 

In a lot that has been cleared of debris, tables, benches, and tarpaulins attached to wooden posts were set up to form the clinic. Medical supplies were gathered in tables that served as the “pharmacy”. The UP team worked hand in hand with the Balsa Mindanao group. Patients were seen and treated with their families. The air was heavy with the pain of loss but there were smiles as wounds were treated, and food and medicine were distributed. Before dark, 576 patients were seen and treated by 4 doctors, close to 500 families were given relief goods as well as medical advice. Still, this was not enough. 

The families have lost their loved ones, their homes and their source of livelihood. In the midst of this despair, the people need some glimmer of hope. Perhaps when others see their plight, people will reach out to help them. Perhaps, the government will finally get organized and provide them with the basic services that are non-existent at this point. From the initial out pouring of pledges from various sectors, we know that there is no shortage of generosity. If only the donations and relief goods would reach the people that need them the most. 

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod is planning another relief and medical mission to this area on the second week of January. Volunteers and donations are most welcome.

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See also:
CSOs and State 13: Technology, Omidyar Network and Governments, May 14, 2012

CSOs and State 14: Lady Gaga and the Intolerant Religious Groups, May 21, 2012

CSOs and State 15: Old Debate on Competition and Markets, June 15, 2012

CSOs and State 16: The Integrity Initiative, December 17, 2012

Christmas Notes 7: UP Lantern Parade 2012

* Notes: (1) This is my article today in the online magazine, 

http://thelobbyist.biz/index.php/perspectives/less-government/item/137-up-lantern-parade
(2) Photos below are not part of the original article. First group of photos I got from interaksyon.com, the second group from gma news.
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 The University of the Philippines (UP) lantern parade is among the unique annual festival held in the country. Participants are all colleges of the UP Diliman campus, the major offices like the Office of the UP President, the UP Concert Chorus, the nearby campuses like UP Manila and UP Pampanga, and some student organizations based in UP Diliman.

There are thousands of participants as the different colleges bring in their faculty members and students, they have modest lanterns or exhibits which are either pushed or carried by people or mounted on a truck or a pick up. And there are several more thousands of spectators and visitors. It is a festive and joyful exercise done every year.

Last Friday night, December 14, I attended the parade, after more than a decade of missing it. I brought my  family and even my two young girls appreciated the various lanterns and the festivities. We sat at the Palma Hall steps where parade participants show off their wares and talents.

The most impressive lanterns for me are the following.

First, the UP College of Fine Arts (CFA). This group is a hands down winner each year in the parade competition. Since last year I think, they have been “disallowed” in the prize category because no one, not a single college can put up a serious competition to them. But they are given a special award or citation for their endless and non-tiring effort at entertaining the public. This year, they have a long parade of various lanterns, ranging from scary characters like a monster cockroach and monster “”aliens”, to children characters like tinker bell and forest fairies, to airplanes and different fishes, large and small. The CFA guys are really cool. Their annual participation is almost always the “highlight” of the UP lantern parade.

 

Second, the UP College of Human Kinetics (CHK). The participation and exhibition by the world famous UP Pep Squad was really awesome. Beautiful young men and women performing high acrobatics like throwing three girls high up in the air, the girls make 2 or 3 somersaults before landing on their back in the arms of 4 boys catching them. Even my two young girls were speechless at those acrobatic performance. The college also paraded the various UP sports teams – swimmers, divers, rowers, others.

Third, the UP College of Engineering (CE). For one, they have the most number of participants, hundreds of students from the different departments (Chemical, Industrial, Civil, Mining, etc.) participated and have their respective lanterns. One department showed a transformer mounted on a truck: an innocent-looking jeepney that later transformed into a giant robot standing high in a ready to fight stance, fascinating.

 

Fourth, the UP Babaylan. This is an organization of gays, lesbians, transgenders. Their costume was fantastic, some in two-piece attire. One participant looked like a real woman. They are cool and are very open about their chosen gender.

My college, the UP School of Economics (UPSE) also participated, the Dean and some faculty members were there, plus school administration staff and many students. They brought a replica of a bull mounted on a truck, to represent the bullish picture of the economy.

Now the lousy participants. I say lousy because there were indeed a bore.

First, the League of Filipino Students (LFS) and other activist groups. They held a mini-rally in front of ordinary audience and spectators, chanted the usual “Imperyalismo ibagsak, burukrata kapitalismo ibagsak, pyudalismo ibagsak” and the usual “Down with the Aquino-US regime” poster. I was a typical UP student activist too in the 80s, and chanting those slogans appeared somehow “relevant” in the 80s with Marcos still our President. I was amazed that nearly three decades have passed, the sloganeering of the student activists have not changed a bit. I graduated from UPSE with many if not all of us submitting our undergrad thesis written in a manual typewriter. There were no cell phones, not even pagers and beepers that time. Now gadgets are so modern, college students do not even know what a typewriter or a pager looks like.

These activists also held their mini rally for about 20 minutes or more, thereby preventing the parade to move on faster. The UP Babaylan and the CFA were among those held up by the boorish activists.

Second, the Aurora rallyists opposing the APECO project in the province. I sympathize with their demands, but holding also a mini-rally for several minutes at the lantern parade, is plain political opportunism. Holding rallies in many cities and later in Malacanang, in front of dozens of tv cameras and media people were not enough, they have to hold another rally in a Christmas festivity in UP.

There were other activist groups that also joined the parade, with their respective demands like “secure housing in UP” for non-UP related settlers, wow.

Such is the UP lantern parade. It attracts the most creative minds in UP like those from the CFA and CHK in showing off their creativity and talent. But it also attracts mediocre minds to hostage a festive mood for their political sloganeering and campaigns.

I hope that these political opportunists would have some sense of respect for the spectators and visitors. They can join the parade as no one seems to be banned or prohibited from participating in the lantern parade, but they can minimize the mediocre exhibition by minimizing the time they bore the ordinary spectators.

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See also:
Christmas Notes 1: Yuletide in Middle Earth, November 26, 2011
Christmas Notes 2: Econ. Songs + Christmas, December 01, 2011
Christmas Notes 3: December and the Filipinos, December 03, 2011
Christmas Notes 4: Thanks to International Policy Network (IPN), December 14, 2011
Christmas Notes 5: Flooding and Parenthood, December 23, 2011
Christmas Notes 6: Thoughts on 3 Christmas, December 25, 2011

Criminals 13: Death by Fraternity Hazing

My deep condolence to the families of young students who have died of violent fraternity hazing and initiations, the latest of whom is San Beda law student Marc Andrei Marcos. And to families and friends of victims of murder and other forms of killing.

I have my share of stories about those frat hazing and frat rumbles when I was still an undergrad student in UP in the mid-80s. But let me share below what a friend, Atty. Theodore "Ted" Ty, a professor at the UP College of Law, wrote about the subject. Andrei was brought to a hospital last Sunday night severely beaten, and died the next day.

I deliberately refrained from posting anything on the latest killing of an aspiring fraternity member (Andrei Marcos) simply because anger and rage simply does not cut it when it comes to the utter stupidity of such traditions. I have written so many angry words already on this and have realized that no amount of anger makes a difference on those who would beat their own number and others of opposite number--in the name of brotherhood.


Those who know me know that I have always taken a strong position against fraternity violence and have spoken/written about it so many times. Those who belong to fraternities and have lived through their versions of this stupid ritual will defend it as essential to brotherhood; you have the right to define your notions of brotherhood and defend your rituals, I have the right to disagree with the stupidity of your notions and your rituals.


What is worse than the stupidity of this ritual is the utter cruelty of the code of silence--your version of the mafia's Omerta--that you live by. At least the mob was honest about its malevolent intentions and had no pretense that the infliction of pain was for anything more noble than "you had it coming."


No, what is worse is that the Omertà you live by deprives those who are orphaned of the only thing that they now have to hold on to after you took the life of the one they loved--the truth.


What do you tell the mother who bore Andrei for nine months in her womb when she asks you, "who among you killed my son?" What do you tell the father who lent his name to him, and dreamt that he would one day proudly carry that name with a law degree when he asks you, "why did he have to die?" What do you tell those who loved him when they ask you, "we just need to know what really happened"?


I have spoken to such a mother who asked me, her counsel, the questions she could not ask of those who killed her son, questions that attempted to make sense of an utterly senseless loss. She is a courageous woman, resolute in her determination that those who killed her son, Marlon Villanueva, should be made to account for what they did. She speaks very softly, always respectfully and apologizes for the inevitable tears that stream down her cheeks whenever she mentions the name of Marlon, her murdered son. She had no resources other than the love she had for the son she was deprived of; she had no longing other than to see that justice was served for those who killed her son--in the name of brotherhood.


I recall her face now as I write this and grieve for yet another mother, whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting, who bears this latest, senseless loss. I grieve for those others who have been orphaned in the name of brotherhood throughout the years: they, who live on and who try to make sense of the permanent absence of that life that was taken from them by those who would dare call him "brother."


I know that angry words will not stop you from killing again. I know that no amount of law will prevent you from enforcing your stupid rituals. I know that your code of Omertà will not result in meaningful prosecution of those who took the life of Andrei Marcos. I know that once the news cycle fades, Andrei will, like many others before him, become another number on a page.


I take comfort only in knowing that one day you shall be made to account for what you have done by an authority that is far, far greater than any that you might elude in this lifetime. I pray that when you are asked, "why did you do this to your brother?", you will be able to answer, with every ounce of sincerity you will be able to muster, "in the name of brotherhood."

Amen Ted, you wrote it very well.

When I was an undergrad student in UP, I was also recruited by at least two fraternities. One was the Ilongo frat, UP Silak. I think my body and heart were too weak to accept potential physical harm, I did not report to the group for the first phase of initiation after a brief "intro", a light slap on the face by a friend who recruited me and assured me that he'll stand by me. After I did not show up, I think he did not like me after. That was nearly three decades ago.

Another friend from one of those Greek named frats in the second floor of UP Palma Hall (then called Arts and Sciences or AS building), my dorm mate in Molave Residence Hall, also recruited me. Again, a brief intro, a slight slap in the face. I think I was simply a coward to physical violence then, I did not show up again for the first phase of the frat initiation.

When I moved to Yakal Residence Hall, one of my roommates joined another Greek named frat. There are are many Greek sounding frats in UP. My roommate then survived the initiation. I saw his legs, severely battered by paddles and even a baseball bat or other hard objects. He was laughing while showing me his swollen and battered legs, also beaten arms, implicitly bragging that he was able to survive real physical pain inflicted upon him, and that he was ultimately accepted in a known frat in UP with several highly influential political leaders of the country as among their alumni brods.

Then I moved to Narra Residence Hall, my first group of roomates were all alumni of Philippine Science High School (or "Pisay"), really bright boys, and two of them, Ariel and Gort, were members of another Greek named frat at the College of Engineering. While I did not see their system of frat initiation or someone who has undergone it, I saw how they prepared for a frat rumble. If they have a rumble with another frat, Ariel and Gort would ask me then, "Noy, our brods would come here to prepare for a rumble". Since they were very nice to me, I would be nice to them too and said "no problem." About 15 to 20 of their brods would assemble in our room, I saw different types of baseball bats, metal bars, chaku, etc. Then different jackets to hide those things in their body when they go out. It was good that I did not see any gun. Those guys were just prepared for a rumble but were not violent enough to carry a gun. Also, while their frat would be involved in one or two rumbles in a year with another frat, either from the same college or from another college, I did not hear serious injuries resulted from their rumbles. But I still cringed at the thought of those baseball bats hitting someone's head even once.

And still in Narra dorm, there was a rumble once between a group of Muslim UP students and another Greek-named frat composed mostly of body builders. Me and several dorm residents were watching tv at the lobby one afternoon, when suddenly a friend and fellow dorm mate, Mags, a Tausug, pulled his long sword or "kris" and chased a member of a frat who wandered at our dorm. It was a bit scary, the man was running for his life while Mags was chasing him with a really long sword, the distance between them was only about 3-4 meters. The man escaped harm by jumping over a temporary barrier at the dorm entrance, a long table.

I doubt if Mags had the intention of killing that man that day because I know Mags personally, he was a tall, silent but very friendly person. He brought his sword in his room after the incident then got out. We were able to talk to him, he was still mad that their opponent from an enemy frat was able to enter our dorm.

I don't remember if there were deaths in one of the rumbles among many fraternities in UP that time. I think there was none, but I heard of some deaths in frat rumbles in UP in succeeding years. Like the case of a member of Scintilla Juris frat who was beaten to death when he was cornered by an opponent frat near the main library building.

Those were in the mid-80s in UP, those were the days. I have plenty of frat men friends then and now, but I never envied them.

I wish to see the day that violence in the hearts and minds among men and women would significantly decline. Such violence will never go away, some people simply do not know how to control their anger and emotion. But at least such violence should be drastically minimized and controlled. By the individuals themselves, and the rest of society members.
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See also:
Criminals 8: Extortion Culture in the PNP, June 13, 2011
Criminals 9: Crime Wave in Metro Manila?, August 10, 2011
Criminals 10: London Riots, August 10, 2011
Criminals 11: Kim Jong Il, North Korea, December 20, 2011
Criminals 12: R. Ecleo, A. Ampatuan, J. Reyes, June 02, 2012

Privatization 3: UP, NDCP, other SUCs

State universities being political creation and politically-funded, will never be independent of politics and politicians. And very often, the minds and academic biases of their faculty members and researchers are skewed towards justifying ever bigger government intervention, regulation and taxation of many aspects of our lives.

My article last week, "Privatization 2: State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), attracted a number of counter-arguments in one of my yahoogroups from some friends, especially from fellow UP alumni. The most common arguments are:
(1) might as well privatize Malacañang, the police, armed forces, disaster preparedness and everything in government, and
(2) SUCs educate the children of the poor, why deprive the poor of university education?

Liberty-oriented people do not advocate zero government and anarchy. They believe in a "limited (or minimal) government" and there are various definitions of what is a “limited government.” One such definition is one that focuses on “protecting the citizens' right to life, right to private property, right to liberty." Thus, there should be only few and small taxes to finance a limited and lean government.

The judiciary and the police, also the armed forces if there are clear, explicit threats of external aggression, are absolute necessity that government must keep, they cannot be privatized. All the other functions are either secondary or unnecessary functions. Even roads and highways construction and maintenance can be privatized, as seen from the various tollways in the country and abroad.

The problem is that the Philippine state has become lousy even in keeping the police, justice prosecution, and the judiciary, those directly involved in the promulgation of the "rule of law", into really credible institutions. Many people do not write even a single paper advocating the privatization of certain police functions like maintaining peace and order in society. They simply do it. The guys who protect our buildings, our schools and universities, our shops, malls, parking lots and churches, are not government policemen or spies. They are private security guards.

Below are the major arguments for UP privatization as a first step towards privatizing all other state universities and colleges (SUCs).

One, remove the hypocrisy of double standard. One policy of fiscal subsidy for some university students, and one policy of fiscal constraint for the others. The former includes those who get taxpayers subsidy of up to 80 to 90 percent of their school fees while the latter receive zero subsidy from the state, and still this latter group are generally able to manage. The "rule of law" says that the law should apply to all and exempt no one. So it does not appear good that two contradictory policies apply to tertiary students in this country.

Two, it is not true that UP attracts the poor and needy in Philippine society. In the first place, the poor and needy do not reach college. They drop out before they reach or finish high school. Secondly, the last time I observed, it would appear that the parents of UP students on average, are richer than the parents of students of UE, FEU, STI, AMA, NU, Adamson, Mapua, Perpetual, etc. But UP students get taxpayers subsidy while students of those private universities receive zero subsidy.

Recently, there was a big student unrest at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). The school administration wanted to raise tuition fees from the current Php12/unit up to Php200/unit for some courses. The Php12/unit has been stuck for many years now. It would appear that the price of one hamburger or one bottle of beer in a restaurant is equivalent to, or higher than, the cost of one subject for four months in PUP. And the PUP student militants and their supporters elsewhere think this is correct, and the militants threw out and destroyed hundreds of chairs and tables in full public view and in front of many tv cameras, because they wanted more modern chairs and tables without paying extra for such additional costs.

Three, this statement is wrong now: “UP's reason for being is to gather the brightest of the youth and train them to run government.”

Some 102 years ago when UP was created by the Americans in 1908, that was a good reason and was worth supporting with taxpayers' money. There were also very few private universities then, and perhaps there were no other state Us. Now with more than a thousand private universities which have little or zero experience in relying on taxpayers’ money for their operation, the choice of the Philippine state and its local government units to run the various bureaucracies has expanded widely.

Besides, UP and other SUCs are also training students who have zero ambition of joining government, or have zero ambition of staying in the country shortly after graduation. And it is a human right violation to force these people to work in government, or force them not to go abroad. The injustice to taxpayers who do not even have children, or have children who went to private universities and receive zero subsidy is amplified.

If we privatize UP and all other SUCs, no exemption, we can then privatize all government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs), no exemption. The proceeds and revenues from large-scale privatization should be used to retire the huge public debt (more than Php4 trillion) and/or reduce and abolish certain taxes and fees. Low and few taxes are certainly public service too.

On another note,  the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), under the DND, not CHED, is the second most expensive SUC in terms of student per capita spending, P500,000/student/ year ++. It should be privatized, or at least the subsidy should be drastically reduced, portions of the huge campus can be privatized and the revenue from it can be used for the additional costs of PMA students.

Another SUC, the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), also under the DND, should be privatized too. Its graduate students have a per capita subsidy of about P1 million/student/ year ++. Students there include some Congressmen/women, Mayors, business executives, people who do not need subsidy. 

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More comments in facebook when I posted the earlier article in my wall. Among these comments:

1. There are indeed plenty of poor students in UP, children of ordinary parents.
2. Even for student loan program, when graduates default on their loans, taxpayers will again take the tab.
3. Tax-funded scholarships will attract abuses too.

I admit that there was some exagerration in my earlier statement that "no poor students in UP as the poor do not reach college in the first place." My main argument is that all SUCs should be privatized, and government can help the poor by giving them scholarships, and the poor but intelligent students can choose which university will attract and serve them better. If UP becomes a private university someday, after 102 yrs being a beggar to Malacanang, DBM, House of Reps (HOR) and the Senate, year after year, then it can charge full cost of education to the rich students who are more than happy to do so as their parents can afford it, so long as the quality of education will remain high.

Education is first and foremost, personal and parental responsibility; "government responsibility" in education is a far second. Parents can choose the kind of education for their kids (language school, science and math school, arts and culture school, religious school, applied science and technical school, etc.), from elementary to tertiary. But taking away elem. and secondary education as "government responsibility" is too messy, we have to focus on tertiary education.

As I argued in my paper, if the state can be lousy in doing its work in its real and core function -- to protect the citizens' right to life, right to priv. property, and right to liberty -- how can we expect the state to be efficient in doing other functions which are better left to the private sector?

A friend posted this quote from former US President Reagan as a comment,

"In America we created at the local level and administered at the local level for many years the greatest public school system in the world. Now through something called federal aid to education, we have something called federal interference, and education has been the loser. Quality has declined as federal intervention has increased." - Ronald Reagan

Another friend suggested an alternative to tax-funded scholarship program, the "Scholarship Fund" set up by the schools where anyone can donate to and gain tax deductions.

The latter is a good idea. Personally, I'd like to see government to have zero involvement in tertiary education, in exchange for drastic tax cuts somewhere, like income tax. Scholarship would be a good "compromise", with preconditions like scholars must keep an average grade of 85% (or 1.75 UP grading system) in each semester.

Whenever public funds are made available to some people, there will always be certain groups who will abuse it.

Another suggestion is to have multiple scholarships with different grade requirements. There are some companies, foundations and civic groups that currently offer scholarships every year to some students in private universities.

Privatization 2: State Universities and Colleges (SUCs)

Universities are supposed to be among the major well-springs of new knowledge in society, innovative ideas that were not thought of or tested before. And among such ideas that universities should explore is financial independence and autonomy from politics.

Private colleges and universities are generally successful in this aspect. But most state universities and colleges (SUCs), because of their nature as political creation, remain dependent on politics and politicians for decades, some even for more than a century, as in the case of the University of the Philippines (UP).

Currently there are 102 SUCs in the country. A number of these have multiple campuses or branches in other parts of the country or other parts of the region or province. UP for instance has 7 constituent units in 9 campuses from Luzon to Mindanao. Cagayan State University has 8 campuses in Cagayan province alone.

SUCs on average are dependent up to two-third of their annual revenues from NG subsidy. For MSU and DMMMSU however, dependence on state subsidy is more than 80 percent and they collect less than 20 percent from tuition fees and other services by the university. And aside from direct subsidy, SUCs also receive additional funding from the annual budget to implement the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA).

Some rich cities also have their own city universities, like the University of Makati (UMak) and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM or City Univ. of Manila). So government spending on tertiary education is substantial. This creates some form of “addition” to taxpayers’ money by many SUCs and city universities’ administrators and officials.

It is important that the production of new knowledge be detached from politics. Politics cultivates a very partisan culture and the political biases of politicians in power somehow get into the university system’s administration like the appointment of key university officials, senior faculty members, and possibly in the content and curriculum of subjects and courses taught in the government universities.

It is also the belief of this writer that education is mainly a parental responsibility, not government responsibility. Government can come in to provide subsidized or free education up to elementary or secondary education to the poor. Education, like food and clothing, should be customized to the specific needs and resources of students and their parents or guardians. This is possible only if there is a wide range of diversity in the focus, specialization and quality of different schools and universities. Whereas it is the nature of government to provide a “standardized and homogenized” system of services like education. Homogeneity hates diversity and this often leads to mediocrity in the quality of services delivered.

It also gives additional pride and a sense of achievement to parents and guardians if they can proudly declare that it is them and their hard work, not the taxes that are coercively collected, that sent their kids to university education.

There are two important implications for this kind of philosophy or political belief. One, there should be no government tertiary institutions. Meaning all SUCs and city universities should be privatized. The national and local governments can help the poor by providing scholarships to intelligent but poor students, the latter will choose among the competing private universities. And two, there should be significant income tax cut, allow the parents and guardians to keep more of their monthly or yearly income so they can plan more about their kids’ education, healthcare, nutrition and related concerns.

This is another one of the “politically-incorrect” advocacies of this writer. An elaboration of this point will be made in future articles in this column.

(Originally posted with a table of the budget and total revenues of the 16 biggest SUCs, 2010, in http://www.thelobbyist.biz/perspectives/columns/back_to_personal_responsibility/836.html)

* See also Privatization 1: Philippine Military Academy (PMA), January 02, 2010