People fortunate enough to live in democratic regimes must remember that the rights and privileges they currently enjoy were extracted by force—either by them or by their ancestors—from ruling elites who refused to give up their powers and who, in fact, fought, slaughtered, and resorted to manipulation to keep these. They must forever be conscious of the need to limit the power of those whom they choose to gift with the power to govern.

History’s Lessons by Rene Azurin

I have linked to a longer version of this piece before. It basically recalls how similar the pattern of ascent dictators Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler and Ferdinand Marcos used. “first, an outwardly constitutional process is used to increase the powers of the executive by adding law-making powers; second, the executive uses these new powers to write new laws that consolidate the executive’s powers even more and suppress the powers of other democratic institutions (like the press); and third, the executive nullifies many of the fundamental rights of democratic citizens and effectively becomes dictator.”

What with the previously implemented Presidential Proclamation 1017 and Executive Order 464, the intensified push for Charter Change and the Anti-Terrorism Bill, libel-charging spree of the First Family and the continued persecution of oppositionists. History lessons are indeed, important. Vigilance, people. Oppositionists and activists aren’t “crying wolf” for nothing.

Related blog entry: Shall she stay?

I spent the whole day at the Manila Hotel last Friday and Saturday documenting an Integrated Bar of the Philippines convention. My nose bled. Figuratively. Sitting with lawyers the whole day from morning till night talking about civil liberties and whatnot can be an information overload. Whew. I actually listened to all the speakers. That earned me 12 units of MCLE (all lawyers are supposed to take 36 units every three years to maintain their inclusion and recognition in the lawyers’ roll) without even wanting to be a law student. I have to admit, for a while there it got me thinking of taking a law degree in the future. Who knows where the future will take me?

The hotel food was good too.

I would want to talk about what some of the speakers talked about but I’m too lazy right now. Some of them were inspiring, some were… uh, I don’t know. Supreme Court Justice Renato Puno was there, Atty. Dong Puno was there, Atty. Harry Roque was there, more notable lawyers whose names I don’t remember were there. Rep. Satur Ocampo was also there. Even Mark Jimenez, who isn’t a lawyer by the way, was there in his philantrophic spree giving out millions here and there. He readily gave 500,000 pesos to the IBP the night he spoke. Why did the IBP even invite him?

Who would contest that karaoke singing is one of the Filipinos’ most loved past times? I’ve recently stumbled upon a website that allows users to sing along to popular songs and even record their singing online for other users to listen to and rate.

Of course, it is no match for the real thing. K Solo is largely, as it’s name implies, a solo thing that one only enjoys in front of the computer without the company of friends, food and drinks.

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Some accident last Thursday. I went home for lunch and spent twice as long on the jeepney as it would have normally taken me. The traffic jam stretched for around a kilometer along what’s supposed to be the country’s widest avenue.

I went back to school in the afternoon to meet up with Dale and Erik at the UP Hotel gym. I was convinced to enroll and be a Dale minion what with his specially-crafted gym programs. I went off to SM North EDSA to do some chores before I went back to UP to attend a League of College Councils meeting. Numerous things were discussed among the different college student councils. One of which was of course, the pending Tuition and Other Fee Increases proposal. By the way, sayang naman kung kami-kami lang nagpapalitan ng ideya, do read and participate in an ongoing discussion/argument regarding the issue here.

I’m tired. I’m barely getting used to waking up in time to get to my everyday-except-Wednesday 7AM class. It would have been all right, actually. But due to all my extra-curricular commitments, I rarely have time to go back home during my breaks and be able to get to sleep or rest, at least. I usually get home between 6 and 7 in the evening. It’s like being on overtime every single day.

Wednesdays will often be the only day in the week where I get to wake up later than usual. My only class on Wednesdays is at 1PM.

I left home much earlier than 1PM yesterday and had lunch with Patti S. at a fastfood place in Philcoa before we proceeded to our respective classes.

My class at 1PM is (Film 161) Documentary class under Mr. Joseph Fortin. I’m looking forward to this class. I’ve always had this feeling that I’m more inclined and will do better in the documentary form of filmmaking than in the narrative form, being a more direct visual form of social commentary.

I attended a special assembly of UP MCO after class. We were to approve a revision of our org constitution. See, charter change seems to be a trend nowadays. All my affiliations, from UP MCO to UP CAST to the CMC Student Council are trying to revise their respective constitutions. What’s nice about these charter changes is that there are no hidden agenda and the members are all involved in the revision making and decision making processes.

After almost two hours of deliberations, we finally approved the new constitution almost a quarter past six in the evening. There were no lights at the steps of the University Theater so we all raised our cell phones so the votes through raising of hands were conveniently counted.

Yesterday, despite my having a four and a half hour break after my Spanish class, I found myself staying in and around school and not proceeding home due to numerous errands and whatnots. Sigh, hectic days are here once again.

The photos below are from our first UP MCO general assembly for the semester. We held it at the lobby of Plaridel Hall, right in front of the administration office. MCO assemblies are always often fun and hilarious. We probably spent a quarter of the time laughing at all sorts of things.

I attended a University Student Council Gender Committee meeting after the MCO assembly. It’s not that I contest it, but the balance of attention and sympathy of course, was always with the ladies, for they are apparently the sex that is most harassed in the university or anywhere for that matter.

In light of the attack on the Philippine Collegian’s autonomy, the current editorial board and staff, along with colleagues from the University Student Council and the Office of the Student Regent, are spearheading the Defend Our Collegian (DOC) alliance. The alliance aims to consolidate individuals, organizations, and other alliances which advocate campus press freedom in order to intensify the clamor for the release of the Collegian’s funds and assert the autonomy of all student institutions.

All individuals and formations are welcome to join the DOC alliance. For more info, send an email to kule0607@gmail.com.

What’s really unfortunate for me is that due to this stand-off between the UP administration and the Philippine Collegian, the discussions and information regarding many crucial campus issues, like the Tuition and Other Fee Increases and other national issues have not seen print for the UP student body to read on their student paper.

The proposed tuition increase (from P300 to P1,000 per unit in UP Diliman, Manila & Los Baños) and increases in miscellaneous fees (P615 to P2,000 in UP Diliman) shall not affect me or other concurrent UP students. I shouldn’t care. But I do.

There is a false assumption that UP has become a bastion of children of middle to high income families. Are they so naive to think that seeing a number of cars in some parking lots in Diliman justify their notion that UP no longer educates the less privileged? Tuition and other fee increases shall be implemented not only in UP Diliman but also in other UP units from Baguio to San Fernando to Manila to Los Baños to Tacloban to lloilo to Cebu up to Davao.

Granting, without conceding, the perception that students from private schools have become more prevalent in UP is exactly indicative of an even wider picture of the state’s neglect of its duty to educate this country’s children, which is parallel to the university’s struggle for greater state subsidy for the education sector. Add to that the university administration’s scrapping of preferential additional scores given to public provincial high school students, we’re bound to see a UP that is truly what some say a bastion of the burgis, for they are those who can afford to take special review courses and whatnot to gain better chances at university admission. This even defeats the purpose of the administration’s socialized tuition fee system which tries to justify tuition increases by saying that the poor will not pay more, the rich will do. Hell, you’ve just shut tighter the gates of the university for the less privileged. The socialized tuition fee system is not a guarantee that UP education shall be equitable and affordable. That was the guarantee back in 1989 when the last tuition increase was implemented. But where has that promise brought many students? For many poor students, owning a cellphone even of a cheap model shall strip one of his scholarships because it is taken as an indicator that he has disposable income to pay higher fees–which is not often the case.

TOFI (Tuition and Other Fee Increases) defeats the call for higher state subsidy. It opens the floodgates of gradual state abandonment. Once we allow TOFI to be implemented, little can stop other state universities from pursuing similar self-reliant revenue generating measures. Government will have less reasons to further support tertiary education. Tertiary education shall become less and less accessible to this country’s people. Keeping in mind that 87% of the country’s families are poor (based on an international $2 a day poverty threshold), increases in the cost of tertiary education in the country’s state universities is a great social injustice.

See related entries and arguments:
Discussion vs. Celeni (Re: TOFI issue)