By CORDILLERA PEOPLES ALLIANCE-MT. PROVINCE
www.nordis.net

February 17, 2010
We are alarmed by the upsurge in black propaganda being spread against us by our detractors this election season.

This is seen in make-shift streamers and graffiti painted along Mt. Polis-Bontoc Road, Naguilian Road and Marcos Highway linking partylists of the Makabayan Coalition and its senatorial bets to the CPP-NPA.

We have also received reports from our chapters in the municipalities in the province that progressive partlists and peoples organizations are being branded as fronts of the CPP-NPA or are being linked to the armed rebels.

Much earlier, elements of the military had been reported showing videos branding partylists of the Makabayan coalition and peoples organization as “enemies of the state”. In fact, on February 5, PNP along with personnel from the LGU in a symposium in Belwang National High School, called on the audiences not to vote for partylists. In MPSPC, speakers from the AFP 501stbrigade and 54thIB were Lts. De Vera, Sta. Maria, Bulosan and from Sadanga LGU . They equated CPA and student organizations as CPP members even if they are “Legal” organizations. Many other symposia similar to the above mentioned have been conducted in the province.

This is not something new as they have already done this in the past. What concerns us now is that this may precede another wave of human rights violations because by making and even repeating these unproven allegations about our status, our detractors put the lives of our members in harms way.

We would not have taken all this trouble if our members have not become targets of armed and unarmed attack after this black propaganda being spread by our detractors like what happened in the past.

We would like to remind them that we are legitimate organizations duly recognized by the COMELEC or registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If they have anything against us, they can go to court instead of spreading lies and innuendos. This kind of behavior does not help in making a healthy atmosphere for democratic debate and contestation during this election.
They –the AFP and PNP— undermine democracy.

Having mentioned the above, should anything untoward happen to our members, we will hold the Arroyo administration and the head of its security agencies in the province and at the national level, responsible. # nordis.net

By KABATAAN PARTYLIST
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We are the voice of the youth. As a catalytic part of this nation, we are again reaffirming our vital role in nation building and asserting our rights especially that of our right to quality and accessible education. In these turbulent times we ask you, public servants and educational leaders to do the same thing and adhere to our calls.

During Kabataan Partylist’s nine month work in the House of Representatives, we had put forth bills for the youth that have not even attempted by the many who came before us. We lobbied for the approval of House Bill 6799 that prompted the Commission on Higher Education to set up an anti-”no permit, no exam” policy among schools. Truly, another gain for the students but has been denied by universities and colleges locally.

Baguio has taken its role as a university town wherein education sure comes with a high price. Now more than ever, we need the culture of caring and concern that the city drumbeat as we face difficult challenges to come. Surprisingly, there was no development in the so called “education capital of the north” in terms of its services to its student constituency.

This coming academic year, we brace ourselves for increases 5% and up on our tuition and miscellaneous fees.  At Saint Louis University, a 5% increase in tuition will strike freshmen who have nothing but high hopes for their education.  Not only that, but all other students shall have miscellaneous fees subject to a 6% increase.  The University of the Cordilleras likewise increase 10% in tuition for all of their students together with the University of Baguio with 15%. Disappointingly, this year’s round of increases has even reached 556% on a miscellaneous fee.

Today we support our colleagues in the student councils as they lobby and face administrators in local table battles in the universities and colleges where the fight is at the toughest. We support freedom loving students who continue to conduct information drives and activities to raise awareness on the issue. Also, we give recognize the academic and non-academic personnel, who like us, do not receive what is due to them and continue to seek it along with us.  Lastly, we give gratitude to our parents and families who will be receiving most of the weight of the coming increases that are supporting us.

We believe that as educators and leaders, it is your imperative to nurture the youth’s minds and to provide them a venue for growth.  This cannot happen when education costs a limb to acquire.  This cannot happen when profit becomes the primary objective. 

To the administrators of higher educational institutions who propose a new round of increases we urge you then, in the name of Filipino education, to bring an end to tuition increase and exorbitant fees. We call for true and democratic consultations to be implemented in schools.  

We challenge the Baguio city council and concerned local government units to go out and let us experience a bit of the city’s culture of caring and concern. We urge the council to show and their support for House Bill 2440 or the Tuition Moratorium Bill by intervening and convincing school administrators to withdraw their proposals. Also, we appeal to the Baguio city police officers to protect the rights of students to peacefully organize and assemble. We also urge the local media to propagate issues of youth and students and support us in facing these challenges. 

We call for the active concern of our leaders, both present and future, as stakeholders for the youth’s prospects. We compel you to make the necessary improvements to the educational system and allow students from all walks of life to realize their dreams and to serve the country and the people.  Leadership cannot be exercised from high places.  We, the youth, call for transparency and compassion.  We call for an accessible and quality education.# nordis.net

By KIMBERLIE OLMAYA NGABIT QUITASOL
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Breathe
when you feel
like the world
is spinning round
And walls are closing in
you could not
even run

Breathe
when you feel
like throwing up
and your guts
are spilling out
you could not even cry

Breathe
even if you are tired
though it is hard

Just breathe
and it shall all
come to pass
you’ll see. # nordis.net

By ALMA SINUMLAG
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — The Supreme Student Government of Benguet State University (BSU) conducted a Fun Run for Love on February 13, 2010 in commemoration of the Valentines Day.

“The main objective of this event is to promote healthy relationship to lovers, friends, and other relationships. It is not necessary for lovers only.” Claver Pil-o, SSG senator and the coordinator of the event stated. He also added that this event will also encourage women in the university to involve themselves in sports especially in track and field. It had been noted that the number of female athletes in the university is declining.

The organizers of the event made it mandatory for the participants to be male-female pairs. According to Pil-o, this activity is very helpful in balancing male and female runners and promoting camaraderie among athletes.
The event was also participated by youth outside the university like the Katribu Youth from various universities namely, University of the Cordilleras (UC), University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB) and from the hosting university.

In the duration of the Fun Run, partners maintained holding each others’ hands until the finish line. There were also marshals who are checking on the participants along the way in case of emergency but fortunately, the Fun Run went smoothly.

After the run, there was a short program to announce the 1st to the 10th finisher pairs. There were also awards given to the youngest and oldest participants. The youngest participant was a student from BSU. On the other hand, one of the Katribu Youths received the Oldest Finisher award. # nordis.net

WITH REPORTS FROM SLOAN RAMOS
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CAMPAIGN KICK OFF. Beverly Longid, Guenasque Enriquez and Nelson Mallari, KATRIBU nominees during the Metro Manila opening salvo campaign. photo courtesy of katribu

BAGUIO CITY — How does a first-time indigenous partylist candidate beat the hustle and bustle in the city on day one of the campaign period for national positions?

Beat the gongs
Amidst the cacophony of campaign jingles and urban noise, indigenous peoples played gongs across Metro Manila to sound the official start of the maiden congressional bid of KATRIBU Partylist, a sectoral party of indigenous peoples.
Gongs, also known as gangsa in Cordillera, are made of bronze, brass or iron, and are struck with wooden sticks or slapped with the palm of the hand to produce a rhythmic community music. Gong playing among Igorots, and even among other tribes is an important part of peace pact gatherings, marriages, feasts and rituals.

KATRIBU hit the campaign trail with its nominees — Beverly Longid, a Bontok-Kankanaey from Cordillera; Genasque Enriquez, a Manobo from Mindanao, and Nelson Mallari, an Aeta from Central Luzon.

A colorful and festive twelve-car caravan ferried the indigenous leaders and their supporters around Metro Manila. As it moved through the streets, the caravan played a KATRIBU jingle produced with the gangsa accompaniment blended with the kulintang gong ensemble of the Moro people.

“Today, indigenous peoples will play their gongs across the country to signal the start of our historic campaign for representation in Congress. Gongs produce the evoking sound of our collective plight and struggle as indigenous peoples,” said Longid.

KATRIBU Partylist chapters in Cordillera, Davao and other indigenous areas were also set to launch local campaign kick-off activities.“Indigenous peoples are often submerged in national aggregates and relegated to the sidelines of policy-making, yet they are diverse and constitute about fifteen percent of the Filipino population,” she lamented.

“Indigenous peoples have long been neglected and misrepresented. It is high time that we give indigenous peoples a strong voice in Congress,” Longid remarked, adding that KATRIBU’s campaign is timely as it kicks off on the same day that the State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples Report by the United Nations will be launched in the country.

According to the report, “Indigenous peoples face systemic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power, they continue to be over-represented among the poorest, the illiterate, the destitute; they are displaced by wars and environmental disasters.”

It also reported that “indigenous peoples are dispossessed of their ancestral lands and deprived of their resources for survival, both physical and cultural; they are even robbed of their very right to life.”The report was launched by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in the University of the Philippines Diliman Tuesday.

According to Longid, “KATRIBU Partylist will champion in Congress and beyond the cause of indigenous peoples in solidarity with other sectors including the Moro people.”

“It runs on the platform of people’s empowerment, environmental protection, defense of ancestral land, promotion of sustainable livelihoods, provision of appropriate social services and recognition of cultural identity,” she said. # nordis.net

By RODA TAJON
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Ipaglalaban ng mga magsasaka ang pagpapatupad ng P95 kada kilo ng tabako na walang klasipikasyon, pagpapatigil ng ‘stop buying’ na hakbangin ng mga trading centers upang baratin ang presyo ng tabako, pagtanggal ng resiko na kinakaltas para ibaba ang presyo. Photo courtesy of STOP Exploitation.

CANDON CITY — “P95.00 kada kilo na walang klasipikasyon!” ito ang panawagan ng mga magsasaka sa rehiyon ng Ilocos sa pagbubukas ng kampanyang tabako ngayong buwan ng Pebrero.

Ayon kay Zaldy Alfiler, pangkalahatang kalihim ng Solidarity of Peasants against Exploitation (STOP Exploitation), organisasyon ng mga magsasaka sa rehiyon, makatarungan ang kanilang panawagan para sa pagpapataas ng presyo ng tabako. “Hindi pa nakababangon ang mga magsasaka sa hagupit ng mga nagdaang bagyo at wala ring sapat na tulong na nakalaan para sa magsasaka, kaya sapat lang ito, kundi kulang pa nga ito,” aniya sa isang kilos-protesta na dinaluhan ng mga magsasaka sa probinsya ng Ilocos Sur.

Dagdag pa ni Alfiler, tuluy-tuloy ang pagtaas ng gastusin sa pagtatanim. Ang mga inputs sa pagsasaka ay pawang hawak ng mga malalaking negosyante. “Mababa ang presyo ng tabako noong nakaraang taon na mula P65-P70 sa klaseng “AA”, kahit pa sabihin ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno tulad ng National Tobacco Administration (NTA) na tumaas ito. Hindi maikakailang napakaraming magsasaka ang nalugi dahil sa mataas na presyo ng pestisidyo, abono at maging petrolyo.”

Naibahagi rin ni Alfiler na hindi naging matagumpay ang naganap na tripartite conference noong nakaraang taon dahil hindi nabigyan ng boses ang mga magsasaka sa kanilang laban. “Makikitang biased sa mga trading centers ang nasabing kumperensya, na ito ay bogus lamang na kumperensya na nagpoposturang maka-magsasaka ngunit sa katotohana’y maka-kapitalista,” diin niya.

Pagpapatuloy niya, “ngunit kung titingnan, milyun-milyon ang kinikita ng industriya ng tabako ngunit hindi ito napupunta sa mga nagpagod nito, bagkus ay napupunta lamang ito sa ibang proyekto o di kaya’y sa bulsa ng mga nasa gobyerno.” Idiniin niya na dahil sa batas RA 7171, naglaan ng humigit kumulang P27 milyon ang gobyerno sa bawat munisipyo. Kaya naman ipinapanawagan din ng STOP Exploitation na pagsilbihin sana ang RA7171 sa mga magsasaka at hindi sa iba pang proyekto upang mas mapaunlad ang kalidad ng produkto at lumaki ang produksyon ng mga magsasaka.

“Isa pa sa mga problema ng mga magsasaka ay ang kawalan ng tunay na reporma sa lupa,” dagdag ni Tatang Romeo Serrano ng Alyansa ti Kumpang ti Cabugao (ALKUMPAC). Ayon kay Tata Romeo, ang problemang ito ay lalong nagpapahirap sa mga magsasaka dahil malaking bahagi ng kanilang ani o masahol pa ay ang kanilang mga lupain ay kinukuha ng mga panginoong maylupa.
Katuwang pa nito ang Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) sa halip na magsilbi sa interes ng mga magsasaka,” dagdag pa niya.

Hamon pa ni Alfiler, lumiit ang bilang ng mga lupang tinamnan ng tabako dahil dito. Maaaring mangyari ito ulit at maaaring umabot pa sa puntong mawala nang tuluyan kung magpapatuloy ang ganitong kontra-magsasakang sistema. “Kaya naman patuloy naming ipaglalaban ang pagpapatupad ng P95 kada kilo na walang klasipikasyon, pagpapatigil ng ‘stop buying’ na hakbangin ng mga trading centers upang baratin ang presyo ng tabako, pagtanggal ng resiko na kinakaltas para ibaba ang presyo, pagsisilbi ng RA 7171 sa mga magsasaka, dagdag na subsidyo para sa agrikultura, at pagpapatupad ng tunay na reporma sa lupa,” aniya.

Tuwing Pebrero nagsisimula ang kampanyang tabako na pinangungunahan ng STOP EXploitation sa pamamagitan ng serye ng kilos-masa, edukasyon at dayalogo sa mga trading center. Itinataguyod ng STOP Exploitation ang pagpapataas ng kita ng mga magsasaka sa tabako. Ginaganap ito sa panahon ng pagsisimula ng produksyon ng mga magsasaka at pagbili ng mga trading centers sa mga tabako. #nordis.net

NORDIS.NET
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BONTOC, Mt Province — Community organizations in Mt. Province rebuked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for holding seminars branding the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and other people’s organizations as “enemies of the state” and for the continued military operations in their areas.

Provincial sources said, that in a series of meetings conducted by the 501st Brigade from January 30 to February 9 in schools, villages and local government units, AFP officials had been showing films and power point presentations calling the Cordillera Peoples Alliance , League of Filipino Students, Kilusang Mayo Uno (CPA, LFS, KMU) and other peoples’ organizations, “fronts of the NPA.”

“They even admitted that they were “monitoring” these organizations and their offices regularly. They also admonished the voters not to vote for the partylists supported by these legal organizations”. Sources said.

The “Security Awareness” meetings were conducted by certain Col. Nabatac, Lt. Devera, Lt. Bulusan, Lt. Sta. Maria and one from the PNP.

Human rights advocates said this is a part of the military effort to discredit legal civilian organizations by painting them as recruiters for the NPA.

However, the people in the communities affected called on the military to stop using their villages as their shieIds in operations against the NPA.

In Aguid, Sagada last January 30, the people slammed the military for preventing them from going to their farms since it is planting season. They registered their opposition to the continued stay of the military in the communities. They urged the pull-out of the military in Sagada.
Tourism was another casualty in the ongoing military operations as the military has been preventing local and foreign tourists from going to the scenic spots in Sagada because of their staged operations.

The military presence has affected the people of Bontoc. They could not tend to their animals and farms especially now that it is panagtuned, sama, panagpadanum (actitivies related to the planting season). It has been the experience of the umili (villagers) that they become or are made victims of such military operations as they are branded or suspected to be NPA.
The municipal officials of Bontoc also called for the pull-out of the military from their villages and jurisdiction.

Military encampments in private houses in Guina-ang without permission is not acceptable to the people.

According to the barangay officials, “Nagapu ti military iti operasyon, adda pinatay da ket agdiretso da iti maysa a balay ti nadaksan isu nga pinapanaw mi isuda kalpasan ti dua aldaw. Maysa pay, dagiti AFP ket agpatrol da iti rabii. Madi ti kastoy karo ta panagpadanum ket marabiiyan ti umili iti talon da. Nu ngay kuna yo manen nga NPA kami?”, the officials asked.

In Mainit the military presence in the community has scared the people from going to their mines. “Dagiti mangusok ket mabuteng da nga mapan idiay usok da gapu ta adda ti kapadasan ti umili nga mapagkamalan nga NPA. Nu enggana kaano nga adda pay ti military dita ket isu ti kabayag met nga awan ti produksyon dagiti mangusok. Ti panag-usok ket maysa iti kangrunaan nga pagapuan ti pangkabiagan!”

(The small-scale miners are afraid of going to their mines for fear they will be suspected as NPA. The longer the military stays, the longer the production of the SSMiners stops. This is our one of our principal livelihoods.)

The people of Dalican, Bontoc have requested the pull-out of the military and to allow the people tend their economic sources. They appealed to the AFP to stop their helicopter from hoovering over the villages and pastures because they frighten both the animals and the people in their fields. The military answered they could not stop the flying over since their supplies are brought in by the helicopters.

In Besao and Bontoc, on February 3 – 5, the 501st conducted seminars among high school students where they repeated their red-baiting.
The people have expressed strong opposition to the continued operations of the military in their areas because of the adverse effect on their daily life, livelihood and production.

They declared that the eventually the people will suffer from starvation and economic loss if they are prevented from going to their small-scale mines and fields.# nordis.net

By SLOAN RAMOS
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — A University of the Philippines professor urged farmers to be more participative and watchful of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations.

Professor Riza Bernabe made the assertion in a forum dubbed “Vegetable Congress” regarding WTO policies at the Provincial Capitol of Benguet last Friday.
Citing data on the implementation of the Agreement of Agriculture (AoA) in the Philippines, Bernabe said that instead of the country being able to export its agricultural products abroad, agricultural products from developed countries are dumped into the country instead. Thus harming the local agricultural sector.
She cited the experience of Benguet farmers whose vegetable products could not compete with cheap imported produce from China. She said that since the implementation of the AoA, the Philippines went from being a net exporter to a net importer of agricultural products.

Bernabe said that this situation presents the need for more intensive lobbying in the WTO for just trade policies.

The AoA, one of the main agricultural trade agreements in the WTO, focuses on lowering tarriffs on foreign agricultural products (market access), reduction of domestic support to agricultural producers, and the reduction of subsidies to agricultural exporters (export competition). The Philipines ratified its membership to the WTO in 1994.

According to Bernabe, the reason the Philippines was not able to compete in the international market is because of the heavy subsidy of developed countries to their agricultural products, in additon to high subsidies of their governments to their local farmers.

Bernabe added that this government subsidy leads to cheap agricutlural goods that our local farmers cannot compete with, given that local farmers do not get such kind of domestic support and agricultural subsidies.

Bernabe concluded that in order to have a more equal playing field, farmers must participate in lobbying for more just trade policies in the WTO, like supporting the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) being lobbied by the Philippines.

A regional farmers organization however refuted the assertions of Bernabe. Vergie Dammay, spokesperson of the Alyansa Dagiti Pesante ti Taeng Kordilyera (Alliance of Peasants of the Cordillera Homeland–APIT-TAKO) said that lobbying in the WTO would not address the problems of local agriculture.

She said that the main cause of the dislocation of the agricultural sector in the country is the continuous implementation of agricultural liberalization wherein local farmers have no chance of competing given the absence of government support and genuine land reform. Dammay pointed out that it is actually trade liberalization promoted by the WTO “that forces local farmers to poverty.”

She added that trade liberalization is what WTO is all about. In order to save the local agricultural industry, “we must junk WTO altogether.” Dammay said that we should rather support the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB), for not only will it give enough land for the farmers to till, it would also enable adequate support to local farmers.

The GARB, also known as House Bill 3059 was filed by the late Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran. GARB aims to unconditionally distribute free land to tillers, and provides up to P50 billion worth of agricultural support. # nordis.net

NORDIS.NET
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BAGUIO CITY — If elections were held January 26, Bayan Muna would top the party-list votes. Anak Pawis and Gabriela party-list groups would have garnered three seats each in the Lower House.

This is the result of the latest PULSE ASIA survey conducted from January 22-26 on the voter preference for national elections. A total of 1,800 were surveyed. Out of the 150 listed party-list groups, five made it to the so-called more than 2% threshold or those that could have three seats each. The other two are 1-Aangat Pilipino and Akbayan Citizens Action Party. Four groups would get two seats each. Meanwhile, 43 groups would get one seat each according to the formula used by the Supreme Court in a decision on party-list representation.

Pulse Asia noted that the party-list groups were listed alphabetically as in the Comelec ballots. Among the 43 groups, most of them were in the “A” group or groups whose names started with A or number 1. The survey group also noted that only three of 10 Filipinos are aware ofthe partylist system. According to Pulse Asia, it is only in the National Capital Region where a majority (51%) of the voters is aware of the party-list system. Moreover, the current dismal level of awareness is the lowest that had been recorded across the surveys conducted by Pulse Asia from early 2004.

In the survey, Bayan Muna garnered 8.03%, 1-Aangat Pilipino got 6.34%, Anak Pawis, 5.88 and Gabriela 5.55%. Kabataan Party-list and ACT Teachers would get one representation each. Ahon Pinoy, Aangat Tayo, Anak Mindanao and Abono party-list got two seats each in the survey.

In the same survey, Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada lead in the senatorial line-up followed by Sen. Pia Cayetano, Franklin Drilon and Miriam Defensor Santiago. Voters preference for president in the same period had Sen. Aquino and Villar almost tied, with Aquino garnering 37% and Villar with 35%. Former Pres. Erap follows with 12%. # nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — In an e-mailed release, the Health Alliance for Democracy (Head) condemned the arbitrary arrest of 43 health workers last February 6 by around 300 members of the 202nd Infantry Brigade of the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Rizal Philippine National Police.

Head called for the immediate release of the detained two doctors, one midwife, a government nurse, three staff-members of a non-government organization and 36 community health workers (CHWs). Head also denounced the military for its allegations that bomb-making devices, guns and a claymore mine were recovered from the arrested.

Brig. Gen. Jorge Segovia, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division alleged that the 43 were conducting bomb-making seminars. Head Secretary-General Dr. Geneve E. Rivera said that the absurdity of the military’s story is confounding. Rivera said Colonel Aurelio Baladad of the 202nd IB and his men should be reprimanded for gross abuse of authority and violations of basic human rights. “Contrary to allegations made by Baladad, the people they are holding are long-time medical personnel who are well-known to their patients and the communities they serve,” Rivera added.

According to Head, the two doctors, Dr. Alex Montes of the Community Medecine Development Foundation (COMMED) and Dr. Merry Mia of the Council for Health and Development (CHD) were blindfolded along with the other health workers. They were hauled to Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal after the combined forces of AFP and PNP swooped into the private farmhouse of Dr. Melecia Velmonte were the health workers were conducting a health skills training.

Rivera said Col. Balalad is accusing all of the 43 of being New People’s Army (NPA) members to justify their actions. She said the AFP should prove their allegations instead of using bogus warrants of arrest and planting evidence.

Head also lambasted the accusation of the AFP that the farmhouse were the health workers were arrested is an NPA training camp. “Dr. Velmonte, who owns the farmhouse, is a respected consultant of the Philippine General Hospital for infectious diseases. Her farmhouse, which has three buildings, is a regular venue of health trainings”, said Rivera.

Head also criticized the military in linking the party-list Bayan Muna. The group said it is obvious that the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is doing everything to discredit legal organizations that have been criticizing its policies. “With such implicit consent, the worst forms of criminal behavior are those of state security forces, who conduct illegal raids and arrests with impunity, and who make baseless accusations with wanton disregard for the rule of law,” the group stated.

In an e-mailed release, Merci Ferrer, Executive Director of the Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) said the health workers are only doing their duty, training community health workers so that health services would reach far flung areas. Ferrer said the military has a duty to protect the citizenry but they have no business harassing and even detaining workers who are likewise doing their obligations.

Ferrer said that the Philippines has a reputaion of being the most dangerous place for journalists. “We must not aim for the most dangerous place for health workers category,” Ferrer added.

Meanwhile, the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance (CPA) called on the Arroyo administration for the immediate release of the health workers as a signatory United Nations Declaration on Human Rights (UNDHR), the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and the International Humanitarion Law (CARHRIHL) and international conventions on hman rights and humanitarion law. The CPA called for the unconditional and safe release of the detained and their personal belongings to be returned. The CPA also said their families as well as their lawyers and friends should be allowed to visit them in their detention.

The CPA said that what happened in Rizal is similar to experience of the health workers, doctors, nurses and volunteers who are working with the Community Health, Education, Service and Training in the Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE), an NGO partner of the CPA who are rendering medical and humanitarian services especially to the communities said to be neglected by the government. The CPA said these health workers were harassed by military elements many times especially in the interior parts of the Cordillera where they are often being accused by the military as NPA supportes if not members.

The CPA also said that the perpetrators of the illegal arrest must be punished and held accountable from the top to the lowest command of the AFP and the PNP including President Arroyo as the Commander-in-Chief. # nordis.net

By DEE AYOSO
www.nordis.net

Nasubukan mo na bang mapaikot-ikot sa mga military detachment, police headquarters, kulungan, ospital, morge para mahanap ang dinukot mong kaanak?

Nakapag-Pasko ka na bang di kasama ang kapamilya mo na di mo alam kung buhay o patay? Nakapaghukay ka na ba ng bangkay, habang urong-sulong ka, sa isang banda’y umaasang iyon na ang katapusan ng paghahanap mo, at sa kabilang banda’y umaasang hindi siya iyon at sana’s buhay pa siya?

Ilan lang ito sa mga dinanas namin sa paghahanap sa mga desaparecidos, ang mga biktima ng sapilitang pagkawala: mga organisador, aktibista, kamag-anak ng aktibista o simpleng napagdiskitihan lang at dinukot ng mga tauhan ng gobyerno at patuloy na itinatago.

May 204 nang ginawang desaparecidos ang rehimeng Macapagal-Arroyo. Isa rito ang asawa kong si Honor Ayoso at ang kaibigan kong si Johnny Orcino. Dinukot sila noong Peb. 9, 2002 ng mga army intelligence at tauhan ng 71st IB sa Encarnacion subdivision sa San Jose City, Nueve Ecija.

Sila Honor at Johnny ay kapwa kasapi ng Bayan Muna. Pareho din silang dating political detainee, at biktima ng pagdukot noong rehimeng Aquino: si Honor ay dinukot ng joint team ng ISAFP at Capcom noong March 1989, si Johnny, ng PC intelligence ng Nueva Ecija at Region 3 noong December 1990. Pareho na silang inilitaw at ikinulong matapos silang dukutin, itago at tortyurin ng mga militar. Nang makalaya, pareho silang kumilos at nag-organisa. At pareho silang muling dinukot at nawawala, walong taon na ngayon, sa ilalim ni Gloria Arroyo.

Hindi ako naghanap sa mga morge, di tulad ng kaanak ng ibang desaparecidos. Dahil umaasa akong buhay pa ang hinahanap ko. Pero paano ba makikita ang sadyang itinatago? Sabi nga ng isang ina ng isang dinukot noong Martial Law, lahat ng Santo, at maging si Satanas, pinanikluhudan na niya pero hindi pa rin natatagpuan ang anak niya.

Ang masakit, patuloy lang ang kasinungalingan at ang pagtatakip ng militar at Malacanang, kahit pa may mga biktimang nabuhay at nagpapatotoo na ang militar ang nagsasagawa ng mga pagdukot, pagtortyur at pagpatay, sa mismong loob ng mga kampo militar at pasilidad ng gobyerno.

Kapag naging presidente ka, Noynoy, nangangako ka bang matitigil na ang sapilitang pagkawala – na mahigit 800 ay naging biktima sa ilalim ng rehimen ng iyong ina?

Kapag naging presidente ka, Manny, matatapos mo ba ang paghihirap naming mga kaanak sa paghahanap sa mga desaparecidos?

Nanganagako ba kayong magkakaroon na ng katarungan at mapaparusahan ang mga salarin na tauhan ng estado? Uusigin ba ninyo si Gloria Arroyo sa mga paglabag ng rehimen niya sa karapatang pantao? Gagamitin ba ninyo ang kapangyarihan para masiwalat ang katotohanan para makamit ang hustisya? O patuloy nyong ipagkakait ito?

Wala naman daw masamang umasam ng milagro na balang araw ay makakasama namin uli sina Honor, Johnny at lahat ng iba pang desaparecidos. At wala ring masamang magpaalala na kung sinuman ang maupo, tungkulin niyang tiyakin na hindi na mauulit ang mga pagkawala at masisimulan na ang pagpapatupad ng katarungan. # nordis.net

By ADELA WAYAS
www.nordis.net

Photo by Aldwin Quitasol

BAGUIO CITY — Started last Monday on an experimental basis, all La Trinidad jeepneys are banned from entering the city’s central business district (CBD), a move which has earned many criticisms from both drivers and commuters alike.

Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. issued an administrative order (AO) banning all Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) from La Trinidad, Atok, Tublay, Kapangan and Kibungan (all towns of Benguet) from entering the city’s CBD. All PUVs are now required to do their unloading and loading passengers only at the Slaughter Compound along Magsaysay Road.

PUVs entering the city through Bokawkan road are also affected by the AO, and they have now to unload their passengers at the bottom of Bokawkan.
It was observed that during the first week of the implementation of the AO, there were traffic jams in the Slaughter Compound. Many of the commuters especially the students and employees from La Trinidad are complaining against the new AO.

Meanwhile, students and employees also from Baguio City going to study and work in La Trinidad are adversely affected as well.

They claim that the experiment is so inconvenient to commuters and is affecting them financially. Students and employees from La Trinidad would take at least two rides in order to reach the city center.

Meanwhile in response to the request of some officials, students, employees and residents of Benguet, Mayor Bautista agreed to a “window system” allowing the PUVs en route to the city through Magsaysay Road to enter the CBD from 8:00pm to 8:00 am.

The AO is a move of the city government to solve the heavy flow of traffic in the city and is expected to end by month’s end when its impact on the city’s traffic flow will be evaluated.#nordis.net

By SLOAN RAMOS
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Representatives from different sectors – the youth, the elderly, LGUs, the police and civil society – presented their vision for the city at the Baguio Convention Center Friday, as a culmination of a series of workshops conducted by the Baguio Centennial Commission.

According to Nars Padilla, representing the elderly sector of the city (the “wisdom group”), Baguio City must also be a sports center, aside from being a spiritual, religious, tourism , educational and a socio-economic center of the North. He said that Baguio City has been producing a lot of world class athletes, including wushu athletes who have garnered medals in international competitions, but does not have enough sport facilities for them to use. He said that the city must provide enough facilites for them to train in, especially through the development of the Baguio Athletic Bowl.

Meanwhile, Padilla also envisioned Baguio City becoming a religious center, noting that missionaries, in addition to soldiers, were the ones who first came to the city. He proposed that Dominican Hill be made an ecumenical hill where people could converge for religious reflection.

The youth sector for their part presented a vision of Baguio City as a healthier city, where there is less pollution and where responsible officers and public officials serve the community. In addition, one female student from the St. Louis Center High School Department said that the city must be a center of holiness, religion and sports, echoing the need to rehabilitate the Baguio Athletic Bowl as a modern facility where athletes can train. She also envisioned Dominican Hill becoming a holy site, where people from different religions can go.

The city having an empowered and united citizenry was the vision of the police sector, while a representative of the civil society sector, a member of Pines Soroptimist International, said that she envisions intelligent public officials working with civil society and the private sector, helping hand in hand to prevent corruption and promote good governance.

A representative from the women sector called for a city with “good, not corrupt, and God-fearing leaders” which will promote good governance in the city. She also expressed the need for an old age home in Baguio, where the elderly can have a “good place to rest and die peacefully.”

The event, dubbed Baguio Dream Day: “Beyond 2009. Touching the Future” was organized by the Beyond 2009 Committee of the Baguio Centennial Commmission.
It ended in an expression of commitment by all participants to take part in advancing the unified vision for the city. # nordis.net

By JERMEY GAWONGNA
www.nordis.net

Photo courtesy of PIA

LAMUT, Ifugao — Track runners in the just concluded Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Athletic Meet went home with blistered toes and wounded soles as most of them ran barefoot at the new athletic oval of the Ifugao State University (IFSU).

Though some claimed that Cordillerans are not used to running on shoes, spectators of the regional track events who witnessed athletes struggling in pain maintained that wearing of shoes in such event is indeed advisable.

IFSU employee Vicky Madangeng who has joined provincial and regional athletic meets since childhood expressed her disappointment upon seeing the barefoot athletes in the track events. “It is as if no one initiated to address the needs of athletes especially in track events,” she said.

“In the national and international level, wearing of spiked shoes in track events is required so our athletes must be trained running with their spiked shoes on. Organizers should make the wearing of shoes in track events mandatory even in the district, provincial and regional level,” she explained.  

Furthermore, IFSU Architect Dexter Gullon affirmed that wearing of shoes is advisable for protection. “We covered the track with thick sand so that come October, when we have the intramurals, the sand is already well-mixed and pressed hard into the soil making the track surface suitable for use,” Gullon said.

“When the Department of Education (DepEd) proposed to use the athletic oval during the CARAA since it met the measurement standards, I did not expect that the athletes would have no shoes,” he added.#

In support of the sports program of DepEd and the Province of Ifugao that hosted the CARAA, IFSU granted the request to use its new athletic oval for the track and field events. # nordis.net

www.nordis.net

In raiding a training seminar of medical workers in Morong, Rizal without a proper search and arrest warrant, and hauling all 43 of them – doctors, nurses and midwives to jail – the AFP has again demonstrated the impunity with which it violates the law of the land.

In defense of its actions, the AFP claims that it was not a medical training at all, but something else citing the participation of suspected rebels among the trainees and the presence of guns and explosives in the training venue – something which the detainees claim the military has just “planted” to justify their arrest and detention.

A few days after the raid, the spokesman of the 2nd Infantry Division based in Camp Capinpin, Rizal now claims that their suspicion has been validated with the admission of some of the detainees, that they, indeed, are NPA rebels and high ranking at that.

But according to the initial findings of the Commission of Human Rights, the detainees have been subjected to physchological and physical torture during which the victims could admit to anything they are accused of just to relieve themselves of the excruciating pain being inflicted upon them by their torturers.
Some observers have even surmised that the reason why the military has refused to bring the detainees before the court as ordered by the Supreme Court is not for logistics reason as they claim, but they want more time for the body welts and bruises caused by the torture sessions on the detainees bodies’ to heal a little more.

In this exchange of charges and countercharges between the military and the detained medical workers, the AFP comes out as the loser because of its track record of doing just exactly what the detainees have accused them of.
For one, the military had a defective search warrant and they did not have any arrest warrant for the arrest and detention of the medical workers which they eventually carried out. Then the detainees were not allowed to be visited by their lawyers and relatives right after their arrests – a right guaranteed by the laws of the land.

It was only upon the insistence of the Commission on Human Rights that the lawyers were able to talk to their clients after a few days. In short, the military actions were all illegal and unlawful from the very start. This is what the noted human rights lawyer Atty. Romeo Capulong has repeatedly pointed in an interview.

But the AFP continues to act with impunity because they manage somehow to go scott-free despite all accusations of human rights violations against them. And this could only happen when they have the go-signal from the highest political leadership of the land which is the case under the Arroyo administration.

Thus the urgency of having a real change in the political leadership in this country – from one that condones and abets the rampant violation of the rights of the people, to one that will strictly observe the highest standards of the international convention of human rights to which the country is a signatory of. When that happens, then can we say that we truly are a civilized society.

Meanwhile, we call for the immediate release of the 43 medical workers who are being unjustly and illegally held by the military, if only to rectify another case of human rights violation. #nordis.net

By MANNY A. LOSTE
www.nordis.net

As we go to the press, the Chinese are celebrating the lunar new year under the zodiac sign of the metal tiger. The massive movement of people – estimated to be in the vicinity of 210 million in the Chinese mainland – is simply staggering.

Made up mostly of migrant workers and students, the Chinese authorities have somehow solved the logistics requirement of this massive migration. As in many Asian countries, family ties remain strong in China, and the spring festival is always looked forward to as a special occasion to renew and strengthen family ties.

But spring is not yet in the air for many countries in the northern hemisphere as a wintry weather continues to bring heavy snow-fall in much of northern China, the United States and Europe.

The chilly atmosphere seems to affect even the relations between China and the United States with the latter ramping up the diplomatic tension with the rising power of the East. The latest friction point is the forthcoming visit of the Dalai Lama to the White House, whom the Chinese government has repeatedly accused of fomenting unrest and “separatism” in Tibet.

Earlier, it was the issue of the US arms sales to Taiwan, a self-governing island which the government in Beijing regards as a renegade province and which it hopes will one day be reunited with the mainland under the so-called “one country, two systems” formula that now operates in relation to Hong Kong and Macau.

But Western powers seem to have other ideas. As one wag puts it, the West loves China so much, that they want to have many Chinas with different capitals, of course – one in Beijing, another in Taipeh, another one in Lhasa (Tibet) and possibly one more in Urumqi (Xinjiang).

China’s former colonial masters must be missing the days when they could carve up this giant Asian nation like a water-melon and divide it among themselves. Japan tried to gobble it up all for itself, but it bit more than it could chew, ending up with a bad case of historical indigestion.

So, after two centuries of humiliation, China has finally stood up, shook-off the colonial bondage and is developing at an astounding speed thanks to the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Someone has pointed out that it was Mao Zedong who made the Chinese people stand proud, but it was Deng Xiaoping who made them prosperous. For many who got their political education during the Cold War, they cannot accept that a communist government can be as successful as they are in China. So, they want to contain China’s rise as an economic and political power in the hope that it would one day, like the Soviet Union, fall. Or if not, it would stay subservient to Western powers.

As the Chinese people celebrates their spring festival, we wish them all the best in this year of the tiger. Kung Hei Fat Choy!

* * *
Nearer home, remnants of the Cold War are again indulging in their favorite pastime of witch-hunting. This can be seen in the posters, streamers and wall-painting along Naguilian Road where they are trying (for the nth time) to whip up anti-communist hysteria against Makabayan senatorial bets Representatives Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza and even accusing NP presidential bet Sen. Manny Villar of communist-coddling. They have again accused the partylist Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela and other progressive partylists as “communist-front.”

These people never learn. This kind of red-baiting is a broken-record that no one in his right mind believes in anymore. One proof of this is the latest result of Pulse Asia’s survey of partylists people will vote for should election be held on the day the survey was held. Bayan Muna topped the list, with other progressive partylists following not far behind.

And to think that leaders and members of these partylists have been subjected to the most intense vilification campaign and political persecution that the Arroyo administration has launched against a legal opposition. Thousands have become victims of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances because they have effectively exposed and opposed the corruption and greed of the Arroyo regime and its puppetry to foreign interests.

* * *
Got this from my email: Guess which presidential candidates are associated with the following taglines: “Sipag at tiyaga”; “Galing at talino”; “Tatay at Nanay” #nordis.net

By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO
www.nordis.net

People on the ground in Benguet, Abra, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur these passed three weeks have informed us of troop movements and soldiery entering their communities. Then in the beginning of this month radio and news reports persistently reported of AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) military drives and campaigns in the same general areas of the same communities.

AFP Medical missions and building schools. The army conducting these services in the barrios? What has become of our heealth workers? Our government engineering services? Does it mean that the uniform is given the money for our health services? our education infrastructures? Our roads? Are not these civilian services for the civilian population? Is the army taking over the budget, the jobs, and the civilian governance and community leadership?

Armed troop movements in the ricefields, pastures and private forests in the northern communities of the Cordillera have trampled, bombed and burned these economic, water and food resources of the population of these provinces. The whole of Luzon, North of Manila have greatly suffered from the typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng and are still in the first steps of recovery. So much more for the indigenous peoples communities of the Cordillera whose subsistence economies greatly depend on the agricultural schedule of the availability of irrigated water abundant during the rainy season, and the sunshine in the summer to dry grain, to ripen fruit and seeds for the next agricultural cycle.

Bombs were recently dropped from the airplane and choppers (one may think this is can only be true in movies about WWII in the 1940s, Vietnam war in the 70s or the invasion of Iraq 2003); in the forests of Kili, Tubo, Mainit or the general boundary of Mt. Province, Abra and Kalinga. (A rich gold vein area applied for by several mining companies).

When these military troop movements and raids happened in the generally same areas of the tri-boundary in the early 80s, and then the bombings of Marag valley in the late 80s to early 90s; there were a number of displaced villages and peoples. The journalists then had a new added vocabulary – internal refugees. News of famine and loss of livelihood in the Cordillera was true but unbelievable then to people in the cities but it did happen and only when there were troop movements of the size of a whole division like this one now in the provinces of Ilocos sur and norte, Abra, Mt. Province and Kalinga.

I have never witnessed war but I have listened to negotiations for peace-pacts and tribal wars, I have visited and interviewed internal refugees, I have walked some to see the crater made by an AFP bomb in a pasture land; I have cringed in government press conferences where they gloat about their development and peace initiatives.

Twenty years of news coverage has taught me that the government officialdom consider military raids and campaigns like this part of their peace and development program. Their favourite enemy is the ordinary unarmed and upright citizen whom they usually disguise as an NPA.

In reality it has been the deterioration of peace and the masking of no development. And most of all when there are military campaigns like what is happening now in the north with the AFP’s 5th division, expect more human rights violations both individual and collective human rights. Unpeace is nigh, as those accused of being doomsday soothsayers say.

Dear civilians and upright citizens, this time, we only have each other. Kung Hei Fat Choy and Happy Valentines!# nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin. — Charles Darwin

At the market, some ambulant vendors who are children aged 8 to 14 years old hurriedly hid their wares as members of the anti-peddling team were approaching. That day is again scheduled by the local government to get rid of the vendors capturing their items and charging them with obstruction.

If these child vendors will get back their wares, they have to pay an amount that they cannot afford as it is higher than what they gain in one day of selling. So most of the time, they will not even think about getting the items back.

These child vendors who, instead of going to school, have no choice but to help their parents by selling in the market to augment their livelihood. And they sell with dignity as vending is legal. It should be a cause for alarm for the officials and the public if these children resort to selling their young bodies in order to feed their families instead of vending in the streets and being chased by the anti-vendors team.

Many of the children from poor families also experience hard labor working in the private mines, businesses and factories among others. Boys and girls helping their parents in their homes and working for hours after school or during weekends are normal for families especially the Filipinos. But what is disturbing is that they have to skip school to work full time in order to have money to buy the most essential: food.

According to the Wikipedia, child labour is the employment of children at regular labour but a practice considered exploitative by many international organizations and is even illegal in many countries. It is said to be inappropriate and child exploitation if a child below a certain age in developed countries.

But in countries like the Philippines, although many are saying it is not normal to let a child be the bread winner of the family, it is happening and it is part of the society where the children are not children who like to play. They are children who should work to contribute to the family’s income whether they like it or not. They have no choice as they are from poor families in a nation with poor governance and political will.

Data from the International Labour Organisation in 2008 say that there are approximately less than 100, 000 child labourers ranging from five to nine. (www.thaindian.com). That adds up to at least 250 million child labourers in the world. Most of them are employed full time and paid low wages. Most of them are employed in inhuman working conditions. Most of these children do not even know that they should be protected by labor laws and they are vulnerable to most labor exploitation.

These scenes of child exploitation are disturbing. But the kinds of laws and governments and officials that do not do anything to address these problems but instead add more to the problem are so irritating. Here in the Philippines, election fever is on and promises are again being said by the politicians. They are again promising to give a better future for the children once elected. But decade after decade, nothing changes as the society with a problem like child exploitation is not seriously addressed. #nordis.net

By SLOAN RAMOS
www.nordis.net

Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality
and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.
— Paolo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Fortunately, the students of UP Los Banos proved education to be a practice of freedom, as manifested in their campus walk-out against the proposed large class policy last January 29. Around 1000 teachers and students walked out of their morning classes in protest to the proposal of the administration, as embodied by UPLB Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco’s memo to increase the size of foundational and general education classes from 25-40 students to 120-175 students per class. Once again, students proved that true learning is not found in formal class lectures, especially when only filled with ideas praising the concept of being “globally competitive,” speaking fluent English and serving foreign masters in other countries, dreaming of working in multinational corporations that plunder your country’s resources, or making yourself care for the sick and the elderly abroad while medical services are badly needed in your own country, and still have pride in yourself for you are a “bagong bayani.”

Of course, the present administration has all the good reasons in the world to justify policies such as conducting large classes. According to Chancellor Velasco, the main objective of this policy is to increase student accomodation, given that “Every year, more than 1,000 students are in the wait-list. There are no more slots (so) we have to reject them.” After systematically restricting student access to this premier state university by increasing tuition fees by up to 300%, the administration suddenly talks about increasing student accomodation. It is a good thing that the “university inside the university” (as professor Judy Taguiwalo calls the radical activist movement inside the university) continues to strive to enlighten students about this lie, despite political persecution and repression.

Chancellor Velasco further justified the intentions of the large class policy by citing a study which says that “The test implementation of large classes reveals that class size does not affect student performance. In some courses, an increase in student performance was noted.” Such an ineffective cover-up for the true agenda: a cost cutting measure. As stated by the Manifesto of Unity Against the Large Class Policy: “Large Class scheme is a cost-cutting measure of the UPLB administration to augment the lack of government subsidy as we are to face a P12.7 B budget deficit for the academic year 2010-2011.” Using pseudo-scientific and statistical tests has long been used by the government to pursue its neoliberal agenda, with similar statistical models used to justify development under trade liberalization in the WTO, and the viability of attracting foreign investment as engines of economic growth. Only the ones blinded by their own ideological biases are not able to see that such neoliberal policies only resulted to the dislocation of farmers and indigenous peoples from their lands, the plunder of our natural reources, the push of worker’s wages to starvation levels and of course, the increasing wealth of monopoly capitalists and their local cohorts.

This is precisely the reason why the government is trying its very best to pursue its neoliberal agenda in the educational sector. With the systematic withdrawal of state subsidy to education, and making state universities starve without the much needed operational budget, this will force them to search for their own funds. And, making UP as the government’s laboratory for its educational policies, the commercialization of UP Diliman’s land to multinational corporations, dubbed as the UP Ayala Technohub was implemented to make the tie-up between the university and corporations more fluid. Then, changing the orientation of the UP Charter to become focused on “global competitiveness” formalized the university’s commitment to adhere to neoliberalism. And then this: promoting a large class policy that, as Youth Lead coordinator Maria Elena Carlos says, “(will) generally overhaul teaching approaches and lessen student participation and critical discussions in class.”

Killing critical thinking and student participation in classess is the final nail in the neoliberal coffin of Philippine education. Such scheme will only make students integrate the logic of the present educational system: train Philippine students to become the underpaid workforce of global monopoly capitalism, and hailing them as the “bagong bayani” of the country. Fortunately, the “university inside the university” is here to confront this agenda.#nordis.net

By IRENE CEBA
www.nordis.net

As the graduation approaches, I was pondering and evaluating what are the things I learned in my four years stay in the university. Some people say that the best teacher is experience but why wait to experience a certain thing if you can learn from the experience of other people. I think I will miss to learn inside a classroom.

My instructors and professors do their best to make the discussion alive while they are teaching us theories, history and even mathematical formula. I spent 5 hours a day in school and the rest I learn outside the campus. Learning is a constant thing but only the knowledge we utilize are what count.

One of the things I observed in studying is that the more you become aware of the society’s concern the more you will know your social responsibility. Every individual has its own responsibility in the society where she/he belongs to. But unless one truly grasps that role he/she has in the society will not she/he be able to be commit. Mahatma Gandhi once said “The future depends upon what we do in the present. “ This is the real essence of education, not just to live at present but to be concerned to the future consequences.

John Adams, an American politican, once said “There are two types of education. One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live.” Indeed, it is far more easy to just exist than to live. Education is for the people to be more critical thinkers not to be a slave of the negative factors in society. Graduates should not only apply for jobs and not just live for their own interest but should have a vision for the country. Excellence is not an IQ but an attitude.

One thing I pondered upon when I’m thinking of graduation is that I missed being a little child because I dream so many dreams but as I grow up, I realized that reality discourages idealism. But Aristotle said “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

Unemployment is a big fear of every graduate in the Philippines but what is really threatening is when the moral and values you learned in the college life will not manifest in your life outside as my teacher in high school always said “a person may have an education but not be ‘educated’.” Paul Wellstone said “Never separate the life you live from the words you speak. “ Adlai Stevenson quotes for graduates “When you leave here, don’t forget why you came.”

When I entered the university I felt the same feeling I experienced when I first stepped in our kindergarten school. I was nervous of what lay ahead, what responsibilities will it introduce, and what sacrifices I needed to make. I am afraid to enter another ‘world’, my comfort zone is my playground and I want to just play and play but I will not be a little girl forever.

What do I feel as the day of graduation is approaching? just the same feeling I experienced when I first entered the university. #nordis.net