Posts published during June, 2009
The following article appears in the latest issue of Oblation, the newsletter of the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC). The last issue was the last of our term, 2008, and serves as a joint/transition issue with USC 2009.
The University of the Philippines bore witness to our militant history of collective struggle. It has been a testament to the tide and ebb of our national affairs which have propelled thousands of students to forge an inextricable link with various sectors in our society in our clamor for a common aspiration—genuine social change.
At the dawn of the decade 60’s, the country was swept by the massive waves of rage and discontent among the youth, laborers and peasants and other sectors of the society weary of the existing social order favoring foreign interests and the ruling class. It was further aggravated by the government’s incapacity to ease the worsening crisis, tolerance for corruption and the use of fascism to quell the progressive mass movement.
At the height of political repression, the students of the University took both issues of national and local significance to the streets: from tuition fee increases, campus repression and the fight for academic freedom to US imperialism and its war of aggression in Vietnam, oil price hikes, land reform and decent wages for the workers.
Youth organizations that were founded in the University along with University professors propelled the progressive movement in the campus as they packaged militant ideas in fora, convocations, cultural performances, educational and classroom discussions and teach-ins.
As a reaction to the government’s inaction involving the release of its 9-millon budget, the Council of Leaders which includes traditional organizations, fraternities and sororities and progressive organizations such as the Kabataang Makabayan, Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines and the University Student Council led the picket protest.
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I’ve been trying to be as diligent as I can with my studies right now. I rarely hang out in school after class anymore, unless there are really important meetings, activities or errands. And when our internet connection was cut a few days ago, I didn’t quite mind it, as I was too busy reading cases and textbooks when I’m at home. Right now, I’m just finishing this entry before going back to my readings.
Anyway, last night, since all the other cinemas were booked because of Transformers: The Revenge of The Fallen, we found ourselves rediscovering the cinemas of Metro Manila’s first mall (okay, apparently, Harrison Plaza claims to be the older mall). The last time I was at the cinemas of Ali Mall was two or three years ago, when it was still all dingy and dark. It was the opening weekend then, I think, of The Da Vinci Code, and my friends and I gave up upon seeing the humongous crowd at Gateway Mall in Cubao. Upon my suggestion, we walked to Ali Mall and watched the movie in its large, decrepit, and largely empty cinema. Last night to our pleasant surprise, however, it’s a lot, lot better. Together with the rest of the mall, the cinemas have been renovated. The large cinema has been divided into three smaller and cozier modern theaters that look like the cinemas at Gateway. And since I don’t think a lot of people are aware of Ali Mall’s recent transformation, the box office lines were pleasantly short.
Transformers was a great visual treat. Nothing artsy-fartsy. Funny how I think like a law student sometimes even when watching movies. The moment Sam’s family home was destroyed my first thought was, damn, I wonder if their house is insured (or if the insurance policy will cover destruction by robot).
On the issue of the UP Student Code and national issue of the Constituent Assembly
It was modern thinking that placed a high premium on Consent as a foundation of law. Consent has a transformative moral power, but it has its own pitfall: it can transform a wrongful action into a rightful one. If Manny Pacquiao had knocked down Ricky Hatton outside of the ring, he would have been prosecuted for serious physical injuries.
Still, this philosophy stems from the core belief that all men are reasonable, and that Reason will then lead us all to a single, unassailable conclusion. This legal theory, stridently discussed in Malcolm Hall, is relentlessly tested in practice. We note two particular instances: in proposals for a new code for student discipline in Diliman, and for a constituent assembly to change the Charter.
When the UP administration moved for the codification of student rules sometime in 2005, students were only allowed piecemeal participation. In a university where 80% of students are older than 18 years – the age of consent – the lack of active and inclusive student participation is suspect. The drafting of the Code undermines the basic right of students to be consulted, represented, and decide in the formulation of policies that affect their rights and welfare.
UMAKSYON last year joined 100 other student organizations, in submitting to the Board of Regents an 18-point demand “reclaiming the rights of student organizations in the University of the Philippines”. The document specifically demanded student council control over two properties; softer rules on organization and assembly; and secure student representation or participation in important campus activities.
In contrast, the draft Diliman Student Code emphasizes that the use of university facilities and the use of a tambayan is a grant, a privilege. It also offered stricter guidelines on student organizations, and barely promised solutions to staffing and appointment issues of student publications and representatives. What the draft code puts forward is a simpler procedure for discipline cases.
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My parents decided to celebrate Fathers’ Day a week earlier this year, probably to avoid the crowds of families this weekend, and more importantly because we will all be probably a little more busy by the time school had already started. So last week, we had lunch out at PowerPlant in Makati. We also did a little family shopping the rest of the afternoon.
Today, the actual day of fathers, we just went to mass, then had pizza at home.
Now I’m just making digests for cases to be discussed in class tomorrow. I’m back to the law school routine, hopefully for good. It’s unfortunate I don’t have much time to write a more profound entry suited for fathers’ day so I guess this will do for now.
a film school graduate, a former law student and student council officer in UP Diliman, currently part of the legislative staff of the sole youth party-list in Philippine Congress.