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17Jan/120

On Corona and Avila: Our Quest for Accountability and Justice

Truly, UP is the microcosm of the Philippine society. The case of the impeachment of the SC Chief Justice Corona is not different from the case of Avila in UP Cebu. These two cases speak of accountability, democratic governance and justice.

Corona’s impeachment is a step forward in our quest to make Arroyo accountable. His decisions favoring and protecting Arroyo, his questionable wealth and undeclared assets, and alleged corruption all prove that there was an abuse of power; his integrity is compromised and he serves not the interests of the people but only himself and Arroyo. The on-going impeachment trial subjects Corona to a process of people demanding accountability for his betrayal of public trust and failing to serve the interests of the people. Corona’s conviction will send a chilling signal to our public officials: that we mean it when we say that public office is a public trust.

Demanding accountability also plays in the case of UP Cebu Dean Avila. The case of Avila, which will be decided by the UP Board of Regents, speaks of the same circumstances in the case of Corona. Avila used her position to serve her interest, set aside democratic governance and abused the power that the UP Cebu Community trustingly gave to her. Corruption, illegal dismissal of personnel, and self-serving decisions may sound much similar to Corona’s deeds but found its way to UP Cebu thru Avila. Avila betrayed the trust of the UP Cebu community, and now they are demanding accountability and justice. To acquit Avila and reverse the ruling of the Academic Disciplinary Tribunal to dismiss them will send a wrong signal to the members of the UP community pushing for justice, democratic governance and accountability.

This is why our involvement in both cases is a crucial and key factor. The cases of Avila and Corona are a manifestation that we are serious when we say that power is in the hands of the people. To quit this battle or to fail in this will set a dangerous precedent that public officials can be corrupt, undemocratic or abusive without the people making them pay for it. It will not be the BOR or the Senate that will ensure that this happens. Ours is the power and the choice to make it happen.

We do not want the Arroyo court to be an Aquino court and we don’t want another Avila rule in UP Cebu. This means that our task doesn’t end in convicting Avila and Corona. Our involvement should be unending, our vigilance heightened and our unity strengthened that be it the Supreme Court or in UP Cebu, public officials should serve the interests of the majority. ###

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tagged as: accountability, avila, Cebu, corona, impeachment, justice, monitor, trial, up No Comments

28Nov/101

A Takeoff For the Second Semester

I can already feel that this second semester will be as sweet and as awesome as my first semester. Not that I can predict things a la Nostradamus but the courses I will take this semester are all awesome. I will have new professors and I will be introduced to the other interesting fields in the study of politics. I also have some affiliations that I’m pretty sure will make this semester more interesting than usual. This semester will just be short because of all the holidays and the breaks but I promise to make the most out of it. Actually, I have 18 cool-and-not-so-cool reasons why I should and would definitely enjoy this semester.

I will be having my first International Relations/ International Politics /Global Politics course under the Political Science program. So the name of the field itself is already a debate. What is major major excited. Yay!
Professor Carl Ramota who has a Master’s degree in Global Politics from Ateneo will handle the IR course (PS 182). Readings overload. But hey, he’s an awesome professor.
I will be taking my third Philosophy course this semester. It is a course on Moral Philosophy (Ethics- Philo 171). I’ve been waiting for this since my first year. Philosophy is my first favorite field of knowledge! Finally!
The Secretary of the UP Board of Regents or the Secretary of the UP System Dr. Lou Abadingo will be my professor for a Political Science statistics course. Wala lang. Just so you guys know. And I’m excited about it.
This year’s lantern parade for CAS will be different, hopefully. I’m not saying that it will be awesome but it will definitely be cool. Now, that’s DOUBLE pressure.
Freethinkers UP Manila will have its first meet-up on December 1^st. Yay! Interested? Join!
My dad will be home from Dubai. Not so looking forward to my dad coming home but the PASALUBONGS. Just kidding. But seriously, pasalubong!
The University-wide strike against budget cuts last 25 and 26 was so successful! Now, prepare for the historic youth march to the Senate. Sounds like FQS to me. Re-creating history. Awesome, k.
Political Science practicum after this semester. Excited. Senate and DFA, please.
I will be taking my third course under Professor Risa Jopson. I just love the fact that my course leader for PS 163 (Political Behavior, Processes and Movements) is a graduate of ISS in Netherlands. Okay, this sounds like my future.
Another semester to serve the students through awesome projects. PRESSURE! TRIPLE PRESSURE! :D Time to change my relationship status from single to being married to the CAS students.
Green Christmas decors all over the metro! This is true heaven. Life is awesome like this every December. Greeeeen!
Two more seasons of the OC. Life without them is just plain boring. =))) Actually, that’s not life at all. An episode a day keeps me grounded, calm and sane.
GOAL FOR THIS SEMESTER: Uno for all subjects! All the way! Okay, I mean, NOT PE. But please. Crucial semester.
I just feel good about this semester. Feeling good! Looking Good! One year of CleveArguelles dotcom!
Finally did it. I was able to let you go. I’m so done with you. Strangely though, I feel better.
2011! Another year to look forward to! More awesome years in this not-so-awesome planet. I’m gonna party like its 2011!
JANUARY FIRST. I’m turning legal next year. That day, year 1993, someone great was born! He was later named Cleve Kevin Robert V. Arguelles.

How about you? Do you have any reason to enjoy this semester?

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tagged as: arguelles, manila, Personal, political, science, second, semester, Third, up, upm, Year 1 Comment

8Jun/1012

Few notes on the UPM Welcome Ceremonies and CAS Orientation

I attended the Welcome Ceremonies for First Year students of UP Manila for the third time. Yung una ay yung first year pa ako. The second time naman, I'm an FBC na. And for this time, FBC again plus ASAP-Katipunan. This year's Welcome Ceremonies is a bit different (the seating arrangement, Chancellor's speech and the program). But the change's for the better naman.

Few notes:

I led the LR of ASAP-Katipunan for this year's Welcome Ceremonies! Thrilling! :D This year's LR focuses on challenging the Aquino administration to jail PGMA and to prioritize the education sector. At syempre, patuloy ang paghamon sa mga Iskolar ng Bayan na tugunan at solusyonan ang problema ng lipunan. It was fun! But more than the experience, naipahatid natin ang paghamon natin sa mga bagong Iskolar ng Bayan. Naging maganda pa ang pagtanggap and they're doing their own research about "TOFI." Good! :) Aabangan ko ang mga freshies na ito sa mga pagkilos! Marami tayong haharapin this year Isko and Iska! :D

I attended this year's College Orientation of CAS this year for the third time rin. Yung ikatlo, bilang isang council member sa CAS Student Council. This year's CO is so different! Bukod sa hindi siya ginawa sa Kolehiyo sa GAB Roofdeck at sa halip ay sa PGH Science Hall, they invited UP ROTC to give a speech/lecture/discussion/seminar. Nakakagulat lang! Napakahaba ng naging pagtatanghal ng UP ROTC. Few notes on this note: Nakakapagtaka lang. Ang daming tuition fee grant at free ang uniforms sa ROTC. Nagagastusan talaga ito ng gobyerno? Military spending versus education spending? Could have been a tuition fee of another freshie student na hirap financially. Could have stopped the increase in tuition fee. Another note. Pansin niyo kung gaano karami ang kailangang palitan na kagamitan sa UP? Bulok ang mga gamit and most of the equipments including the classrooms were old. Pero bakit sa ROTC, kumpleto? Judging from the slideshow of pictures that they've showed, kumpletong-kumpleto at bago ang mga kagamitan. From the different types of guns, tanks and other artillery materials, well-equipped sila. Anong meron sa ROTC? Bakit hindi gawing bago ang mga kagamitan sa UP para mahasa lalo ang mga estudyante? Bakit kailangang pagkagastusan ng masyado ang ROTC? Ang hilig natin sa gyera. Keep this in mind people, education is our key to success. How much is a gun? How much is a tank? How much yung cannon na yun? Sana pang tuition fee na lang.

Can't help but rant. Can't help but tell this truth. Why are we not prioritizing spending on the education sector? And judging from Aquino, nothing will change. This will just be business as usual. Another six years of suffering. Let's do something. Are you one with me?

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tagged as: AK, CAS, Ceremonies, First, Orientation, ROTC, Students, up, Welcome, Year 12 Comments

13Apr/105

Summer Break (?)

Well, it's already summer. This is my hottest summer so far. Ang init di'ba? Sobra? I have to leave super early or super late whenever i'm going somewhere para hindi masyado mainit. Pero kahit mainit ang summer, masarap paring i-enjoy ito with your friends and family. I usually go out with my elementary friends kapag summer usually sa form ng swimming outing kasama ang aking family. It's really really relaxing to go out kapag summer especially after a super toxic academic year. My college friends, my family and I were planning to have a swimming na nga dapat pero it was cancelled because of my mom. She needs to attend a meeting that day. But that's not really my point here. This is supposed to be a SUMMER BREAK. Not just summer but summer break!

HEAT WAVE!

I won as the Vice Chair of the 38th CAS Student Council. And our term includes this summer semester. We just had our first General Assembly last Monday. Feel ko this will be the best CAS SC ever. Ang productive ng meeting and we were able to cover all the items listed in the agenda. We had a council workshop from the NUSP Chair Eisntein Recedes (Education Situationer) and from Student Regent Charrise Banez (UP Situationer). The council was also invited by the LABAN UP-PGH Movement. Mr. Ardynne delivered a 30 minute speech regarding the issue. At ang saya lang talaga ng meeting! Super fun! We're like close friends na even though we come from different pespectives. Masarap mag-trabaho kapag ganun! But that's not really my point here. I just learned na ang dami pala naming gagawin this summer semester. We have to man the SC Office to ensure physical visibility tapos we have to ensure na makapag-semestral planning na kami kaya madaming meetings. Aside from that, there are also outside invitations from NUSP and KSUP for council seminars. Plus another one from the UP Manila Chancellor.

Aside from the council work, I have to attend and be present rin sa freshmen registration and PDE weeks because I'm also part of the FBCP. I have to help the new batch because I love them like that. Mahal ko lang talaga yung FBCP kaya pupunta pa rin ako doon. And I miss working with them plus the freshies.

FBCP Training 2009-2010

Aside from the school-related works, I also have to campaign for KABATAAN Partylist. We're targeting for three seats for this election. Ang hirap nga lang. I have to double my effort lalo na when it comes to online campaigning. Ang loser ko nga since I was not able to message all my friends to pledge their vote for KABATAAN, Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza. ANG LAPIT NA NG ELEKSYON! Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza needs to be elected!

Pledge your votes!

Aside from those, I'm attending a 20-day Government Internship Program of our City because my parents wants me to. This is like a summer job because I will get paid for this but I'm not sure if I'll be given an office work. Feel ko this is easier than being a student assistant in UP Manila. We were told that we just have to attend seminars regarding different topics e. So, hindi hassle. I don't have to use my brain! But this is so time-consuming since this will be conducted whole day. This will eat much of my time for this summer and will eat my free time for council works, FBC duties and campaigning for KABATAAN Partylist, Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza.

NASAAN ANG SUMMER BREAK KO? Sana may summer class na lang ako 'no? I don't want to stay home the whole duration of summer pero I don't want this kind of toxic-ness. Rigggggggggggght? Pero I'm sure that I will be able to enjoy this naman. Gusto ko kayang pinapahirapan ang sarili ko! Gusto kong toxic ako! That way, I will be able to use my brain and spend all my energy para hindi nasasayang! I promise that I post a comment or my take on a current issue soon. Wala na akong matinong post! But I promise to make one soon.

Goodluck and may you all enjoy your summer breaks! :D

Don't forget KABATAAN Partylist ha! #152!

Please vote for #33 Liza Maza and #37 Satur Ocampo for Senators!

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tagged as: break, CAS, city, council, FBC, FBCP, FUN!, government, hall, internship, Kabataan, laban, liza, manila, maza, nusp, ocampo, partylist, pgh, program, Regent, satur, sc, sr, Student, summer, training, up 5 Comments

21Feb/1013

ASAP-Katipunan

AK Logo

Ang Tunay, Palaban at Makabayan.

The red, yellow and green in the logo represents the core values of AK. Red for being pro-people, yellow for being pro-student and green for being pro-environment. For its 11 years of existence, this has always been the framework of ASAP-Katipunan.

Alternative Student's Alliance for Progress-Katipunan ng Mga Progresibong Mag-aaral ng Bayan (A-K).

WHY A-K?

Dahil ito ay TUNAY. (Genuine alliance for the Students that genuinely represents their interests)

A-K (the only alliance to) stood against the imposition of TOFI which implemented a 300 percent increase in tuition and other fee. There were mobilizations, protest actions and room-to-room campaigns to mobilize students against this anti-student tuition hike. WE ARE AGAINST TUITION HIKE.
A-K is also (the only alliance that is) standing up against the PAASCU/PACUCUOA accreditation which will probably end up in tuition and other fee increases (historical).
A-K lobbied for the inclusion of pro-student and democratic provisions in the 2008 UP Charter.
A-K (the only alliance that) has been lobbying for a HIGHER state subsidy because we believe that EDUCATION is a RIGHT. It is just logical that the government should provide higher subsidy to allow more deserving students to study in UP.
A-K (the only alliance that) defended our one and only student representation in the Board of Regents by being part of the DEFEND THE OSR ALLIANCE. A-K is the only alliance that campaigned for YES to the CRSRS referendum ensuring that we will have a Student Regent. We fought for our right to be represented in the BOR.
A-K lobbied and joined the mobilization to ensure that the current Student Regent, Charisse Banez, be recognized by the BOR and be seated. WE ARE FOR THE STUDENTS.

Dahil ito ay PALABAN. (Militant struggle for the advancement of student's democratic rights, interests and welfare)

A-K consistently called for the rejection and scrapping of TOFI. Others again use their defeatist logic and asked for the revision of TOFI. A-K lobbied in the BOR meeting for the scrapping of the TOFI via TOFI Policy Review. WE WILL NOT BEND TO ANYONE, ONLY TO THE WELFARE OF THE STUDENTS.
A-K ensured that democratic provisions be included in the UP Charter.
A-K advances the idea that EDUCATION is a RIGHT and not just a PRIVILEGE of the few. We are militantly struggling for this by attending protest actions, mobilizations and organizing walk-outs for higher state subsidy.
A-K continuously opposes all forms of campus repression and commercialization of UP education.
WE WILL COLLECTIVELY ADVANCE OUR RIGHTS.

Dahil ito ay MAKABAYAN. (Service not just to the student, but to the People. The True Iskolars ng Bayan.)

A-K recognizes that the problems of the Iskolars ng Bayan are not different from the problems of the people. WE ARE ONE with the PEOPLE.
A-K stood against PGH budget cut as we believe that is the prime duty of the state to provide free and quality health care services to the poor.
A-K joined the mobilization against UP President Emerlinda Roman's memorandum to unseat the duly-elected new PGH director Dr. Gonzales. It was a success. WE ARE ONE with the UP-PGH Community.
A-K is continuously supporting our peasant brothers and sisters by advocating and lobbying for the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill and by conducting Basic Masses Integration wherein students will be immersed in a community of peasants, workers or indigenous people.
A-K is continuously supporting workers by supporting across the board wage hike, by joining them in their picket lines, creating multi-sectoral alliance, and by lobbying for measures that will help the poor like the scrapping of EVAT and the OIL deregulation law.
A-K is continuously supporting the sector of the women by supporting GABRIELLA with its policies and advocacies.
A-K created a multi-sectoral alliance dubbed as REV-UP Manila that is composed of All UP Workers Union, All UP Academic Employees Union, Health Alliance for Democracy, ASAP-KATIPUNAN, GABRIELA and NNARA-Youth. WE ARE ONE with the Health workers, with the Professors, with the Students, with the Women, with the Peasants, with the Workers---with the FILIPINO PEOPLE.
WE CONDEMN THE ILLEGAL ARREST AND TORTURE of the 43 HEALTH WORKERS. We are one with the various sectors of the society that calls for the immediate release of the health workers. SERVICE to the PEOPLE.

Tayo Isko, Para sa Pagbabago! Tumayo Isko Para sa Pagbabago!

Leadership guided by the three principles of being pro-student, pro-people and pro-environment through collective action, consultation with the students and service to the people. THIS IS ASAP-Katipunan.

Now, you can quit asking me in my Formspring why I'm with AK and not with the other party. Because I chose to be one with the students and one with the people. You can't choose a party based on winnability dahil ang party hindi lang pang eleksyon, it must be active all-year round serving the students and the people.

Dahil ang Pagbabago, Dapat MAKABAYAN! Tumayo ka Isko Para sa Pagbabago!

*adopted from redstudentswill

Popularity: 5% [?]

Tagged as: AK, arguelles, ASAP, Isko, Katipunan, manila, Pagbabago, personal, Tayo, up, why 13 Comments

27Nov/092

Statement of the UP Manila Political Science Committee on the massacre in Maguindanao

26 November 2009

The UP Manila Political Science Committee condemns in the strongest possible terms the latest case of election violence in Maguindanao.

November 23 will go down in history as a day of unparalleled evil and barbarity. More than 50 unarmed individuals, mostly women, media workers, lawyers and members of the Mangudadatu clan, were butchered in an attempt to preserve what appears to be a monolithic kingdom ruled by the Ampatuans in Maguindanao.

The massacre in Maguindanao comes as a shock to Filipinos and the rest of the world and happened in a time that has long forgone Stone Age barbarism and arbitrariness for rule of law and due process.

The brutal killings did not only reveal the extent of lawless violence in several areas in the country but bare the bigger tragedy in Philippine politics – the continuing supremacy of established political clans who act as impervious and invincible gods. It’s further proof that nothing has essentially changed and that the country remains a confederacy of fiefs ‘owned’ by a few affluent families.

The overconcentration of power in the hands of political dynasties has been sustained and reinforced by brokerage-style politics that has come to characterize the current regime.

Political patronage allowed warlordism and a culture of impunity to thrive in Maguindanao and other parts of the country in exchange for political support from the Ampatuans and other influential political clans for the vulnerable Arroyo presidency. Since 2001, the Ampatuans intermittently ruled the province and were largely credited for delivering the votes for Mrs. Arroyo in the 2004 presidential elections and giving the administration ticket a 12-0 win in the 2007 senatorial race.

As we grieve with the victims’ families and call for immediate justice, we also denounce the evident attempts of Malacanang to shield the Ampatuans from accountability. The failure of the Arroyo administration to act swiftly displays the government’s duplicity in bringing the perpetrators to justice. The mere fact that the government chose to send emissaries to the Ampatuans and not arresting officers despite clear evidence that indicate the involvement of specific persons shows its double standard and preferential treatment for its political ally.

We call on all Filipinos to remain vigilant. The gruesome massacre presages the possible escalation of cases of election violence and echoes circumstances that led to the fraudulent elections in 2004 and 2007. It poses a huge threat on the conduct and credibility of the upcoming automated elections and opens an opportunity for individuals and groups who want and stand to benefit in a no-election scenario.

We also call on Congress to pass pending measures prohibiting all forms of political dynasties and laying the foundations for genuine participatory democracy that provides equal opportunity for public service. ###