PHOTO BY ERIC SIY

ROYCE ROBERT ZUÑIGA

Amid the growing clamor for impeachment from different sectors across the Philippines, DLSU is still firm in its stand that the best way to resolve the problems that beset the country today is for President Gloria Macapagal-Ar-

royo (GMA) to “voluntarily relinquish her post.” "I think it will only be a matter of time before the nation gath-

ers enough courage to tell her the naked truth. People’s patience definitely will not last five years. The mood will shift from a call to voluntary resignation to ouster," DLSU System President Br. Armin Luistro stated.

DLSU is considered the first educational institution to make a bold and strong stand on GMA's resignation through an open letter released by Lasallian Brothers entitled, Restoring Faith in Democracy last July 3. Media also reported that DLSU's move is an uprise of the Middle Forces, a class that triggered the dethrone-ment of Erap Estrada.

Wit this, the Administration formed an ad hoc committee on national affairs to mobilize the different sectors to participate in the politcal discussions. Series of prayer rallies, educational lectures, and other activities were being conducted by the committee.

However, some alumni and faculty were not supporting the Borther's stand. These responses were also published in national dailies in the past weeks.

SONA AftermathTogether with the District for Justice and Peace, DLSU or-

ganized a round table discussion in La Salle Greenhills last July 29. Dubbed as Let the Ligh Shine: Towards a Consensus on the National Crisis, the discussion highlighted the aftermath of GMA's State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Present in the conference were House of Representatives Minority Floor Leader Francis Escudero and Party List Congress-man Teddy Casiño, who both represented the opposition. Cabinet Secretaries Ricardo Saludo and Rigoberto Tiglao, on the other hand, spoke for the GMA Government.

Also present in the conference were members of partylist Laban ng Masa, historian Manolo Quezon III, Akbayan Representative Etta Rosales, and Running Priest Fr. Robert Reyes among oth-ers.

DLSU-System schools also attended the forum.

Resignation or Impeachment?The conference was put in order so that various segments of

the country can come up with a consensus regarding the best way to resolve current issues that hound the president.

According to DLSU Student Council (SC) President Army Padilla, who was one of the student reactors in the conference, DLSU will never change its stand on the issue.

Nevertheless, when she was asked about impeachment, she said that in the discussion, it was agreed that, “impeachment is just a means to solve the problem and not the end.”

The participants of the conference reached a consensus that calls for the resignation should continue; but if the president decides to stay in office, impeachment should be the recourse to solve the ensuing political crisis.

When asked about the alternative of the opposition if and when the impeachment complaint that they filed in the Lower House of Congress would not prosper, Congressman Escudero said that they would only allow it to happen “if it would be based on merit and not on technicalities.”

Escudero furthered that calls for Charter Change are untimely

The fight continues

THE FIGHT, SEE PAGE 15

LaSallianTheVOL. XLVI NO. 3 • THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY • 4 AUGUST 2005

Prof charged with sexual harassment

10 male students file formal complaint PAULO JOSE MUTUC

The “Can I hug you as a friend?” case has turned into a University dilemma.

Ten students filed a sexual harass-ment against Enrico Baluyut, a part-time faculty member of the Account-ancy Department.

Engineering College Assembly President Dan Dizon took the respon-sibility of compiling the complaints, since nine of the 10 complainants were from the College of Engineering. The tenth complaint came from the College of Science.

The complaint will be handled by the Committee on Decorum and In-vestigation, headed by Vice President for Academics and Research Dr. Julius Maridable as chairman. The student, faculty, employee, and Administration sectors are represented in the com-mittee.

He’s the one! In the July issue of The LaSallian,

four students pinpointed the suspect to be a University employee. The news report said that the suspect introduced himself as Eric and strangely tried to befriend students. Normally done in rest rooms and isolated places, the sus-pect would ask to hug the student “as a friend.” Victims stated they encoun-tered Eric in restrooms at Yuchengco, Mutien Marie, and Miguel Buildings.

However, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

Last July 27, a certain employee from College of Business and Econom-ics tipped Student Council President Army Padilla that a more “primary” suspect is the part-time faculty mem-ber. The employee also heard reports that the faculty had been awkwardly approaching students as early as last term. The earliest student complaint as compiled by Dizon was May 2004.

Upon learning of the develop-ments, Dizon obtained the picture of Baluyut in the DLSU website and showed his picture to the students. The complainants positively confirmed Baluyut to be the one who harassed them.

Baluyut has been teaching account-ing subjects since 1997. He served as a

full-time professor from 1998 to 2001, and later on chose to teach on a part-time basis. In fact, some employees said he has been

CSI-like investigation Dizon observed that all complaints

followed a pattern. Routinely introduc-ing himself as Eric, the worst incident according to a complaint happened on July 18 at 7:30 am, when Baluyut tried to get inside the cubicle a student was in. He followed up his exploits by using his default “Can I hug you as a friend?” on the engineering major. This happened in the rest room of the 3rd floor of Yuchengco Building.

The claim was corroborated by a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) feeds (The times are approximate). The video verified that Baluyut indeed went to the 3rd floor of Yuchengco Building, entered the rest room at 7:25 am and went out to the drinking fountain at 7:28 am. He hesitantly entered the rest room again at 7:29 and exit at 7:30 am, walking along the hallway. The student exited the rest room at 7:38 am.

Baluyut teaches only one subject this term, ACCOM2B, an MWF 8:10-9:10 class at LS318. However, another student claimed that Baluyut approached him at around 9:30 pm on July 20, a Wednesday.

According to his testimony, Bal-uyut asked to tour the University with him. The student hesitantly obliged, but as he sensed that they were walking towards the dark corners of Br. Connon Hall, made an excuse and hurriedly went away.

The latter incident was also con-firmed by two CCTV feeds. Baluyut was seen in the La Salle Building CCTV entering the Accountancy Department at around 8 in the morning. He was seen at around 9:25 pm in the Connon Hall CCTV along with the student victim.

Dionisio Escarez, director of the Safety and Security Office (SSO), said that the CCTV videos could serve as circumstantial evidence that Baluyut indeed had been in those two places at the time the victims claimed. It may be recalled that 32 CCTV cameras

were installed and operational early this term.

In fact, the SSO also monitored the suspect to determine if he is still doing his awkward motives in the University.

Although 10 students only filed a complaint against Baluyut, The La-Sallian confirmed at least 20 students encountered the faculty with the same approaches. In fact, three students ap-proached the publication and claimed that the part-time faculty also ap-proached them.

Entrapment

The SSO has been planning entrap-ment operations to catch the alleged harasser in the act.

Entrapment serves to support stu-dent claims, Escarez said.

As early as July 22, an additional undercover guard has been assigned to track the activities of the faculty in the University. The male guard was specifi-cally chosen to look like a student.

The guard “encountered” Baluyut on August 1. At approximately 8:35 am, Baluyut went out of his class and saw the guard outside.

Baluyut used his routine “Can I hug you as a friend?” line on the guard. The guard brought to Baluyut the fact that they were in the LS building hallway, so they went to the staircase. There Baluyut hugged him. The entrapment did not materialize since Baluyut im-mediately entered his class.

However, the operation will con-tinue this week.

Report incidents

Since the incident is already a Uni-versity dilemma, Dizon encouraged students to report all cases of harass-ment to any SC officer. The Student Handbook strongly denounces in this act, as it is explicitly written in the manual.

Students should not be afraid be-cause the SC will keep the cases strictly confidential, Dizon said.

The SC is also planning to intensify its education campaign against sexual harassment in the University. The ad-ministration will also do so.

DONELLE GAN

In Review

Harass me not!

The recent sexual harassment case filed by 10 male students brings the Anti Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 into the limelight. The student body should be armed with knowledge of the act to discourage further instances of harassment

Harassment 101Republic Act No. 7877, also known as Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995,

is a law that declares sexual harassment unlawful in the employment, education or training environment, and for other purposes.

RA 7877 led to the formation of a Committee on Decorum and Investiga-tion, the principal function of which is to conduct meetings and orientations with the University community to increase awareness of sexual harassment as penalized by law.

Additionally, the Committee should “take steps to prevent incidents of sexual harassment,” and “conduct investigations of violations of the Anti-Sexual Harass-ment Act of 1995,” as stated in the Student Handbook. It has jurisdiction over all sectors of the University.

Sub-committees are formed to address individual sexual harassment cases. Under the law, several types of sexual harassment offenses are prohibited.

They include but are not limited to physical assault of a sexual nature such as rape, molestation, or touching the victim’s body.

Unwanted sexual advances which include commenting on a person’s sexual-ity “made in the presence of the complainant who indicates… that such conduct in his or her presence is unwelcome.” These are not exhaustive and other cases could be considered sexual harassment as well.

The law requires the University to take immediate action regarding Sec-tion 5 of RA 7877, which stated that the University “shall be solidarily liable for damages arising from the acts of sexual harassment” if inaction is taken.

Legal processAccording to the Appendix L of Student Handbook, a formal complaint

should be written by the victims under oath to be filed with the chair of the committee. The complaint should contain the name of the person or persons accused and a factual narration of the case.

According to 4.1.2 of Appendix L, “respondent shall be required to answer the complainant in writing, under oath within three days from receipt of the complaint.” If the respondent failed to comply within the set days, this means admission of the case.

Parents and guardians shall also be sent a copy of Notice of Hearing, if the victims are students.

Blast from the pastThere are already reported incidents of sexual harassment cases in the

University. Suspects of harassments include administrator, faculty members, and a student.

On August 15 of 2002, two male guards filed a sexual harassment com-plaint against Enrico Cordero, assistant vice president for Campus Develop-ment. The guards came from Combined Blue Dragon Security and Services Inc (CBDSSI). During the investigation, the guards were redeployed to other establishments.

But Cordero was acquitted, since no sufficient evidence can prove the guard’s claims. The guards discontinued the formal complaint, and CBDSSI ended its 24-year service with the University last June 30. Right8 Agency Inc. is now serving as DLSU’s guard agency.

In September 2003, a male student was also found guilty of sexual harassment case. The student made untoward advances to several ladies in the library. Although the females had difficulty filing the case, the complaint pushed through. After four months, the student was found guilty and was put on probation until he graduated.

In 2004, a CBE student filed a sexual harassment complaint against a faculty from Management of Financial Institution.

From these reported harassments, the latest incident involving a part-time faculty member is the most celebrated case since it involves 10 complainants and has been going on for at least a year.

If the part time faculty is proven guilty, the Committee would impose sanctions such as severe reprimand; suspension without pay, with prejudice to subsequent promotion, reclassification and permanency; dismissal from the University upon clearance from the Department of Labor and Employ-ment.

Go back to the poor, Brother Visitor exhorts“We need to go back to our roots and reaffirm our com-mitment to educate the poor.” This was what Br. Edmundo Fernandez FSC, Brother Visitor, told the Lasallian commu-nity in his July 16 pastoral letter to the DLSU community. He echoed the same thought in his speech at the World Congress V held last June 18.

Servant of the PoorBr. Edmundo advocated for the change of public per-

ception that La Salle schools are elitist and inaccessible to the poor. He explained that despite many existing projects directly serving the poor, there still exists a dichotomy in the public eye that pits the so-called rich schools against the poor schools. “We need to address this dichotomy by presenting an image that we are one La Salle and that in whatever situation we find ourselves, we have a common vision for educating the Filipino youth,” Br. Edmundo said in his World Congress Speech.

In line with the Lasallian Mission of being of service to God and country, the 16th District School will open in June of 2006. The Jaime Hilario Integrated School in Bagac, Bataan is the first poor school that the District will officially open after almost half a century. Ambassador Carlos Valdes donated the land the school will stand on. Tuition fee for an entire school year would cost Php500.

The Brother believed that an “excellent educational pro-gram for the poor—based on sound pedagogy, an updated curriculum, and sound values (including love of country)—is also the salvation of our country.”

Divided, we cannot stand Br. Edmundo appealed for unity amongst Lasallian In-

stitutions. He tackled issues hindering the pushing through

of the Lasallian Mission in 15 District schools comprising the Federation of Lasallian Institutions (FLI). In the current Lasallian Educational Model, there are 11 district schools in Luzon, 2 in the Visayas and 2 in Mindanao from Canlubang, Pampanga to Misamis Occidental offering all levels of educa-tion from pre-school to post graduate studies. The FLI has become a venue for coordinating and organizing District activities, which benefited the individual schools.

Despite the advantages of the establishment of the FLI, Br. Edmundo pointed out limitations in the existing Lasallian Educational Model. The synergy of Lasallian schools misses out on important opportunities, inefficiencies and overlaps since the current structure has neither the capability nor the personnel to push mutually beneficial and collaborative activities consistently and regularly. “With the current way we do things, we end up spending our energy attending too many meetings when in fact the issues and concerns that we tackle overlap,” Br. Edmundo articulated.

He also singled out the FLI’s lack of venues for collec-tive learning to take place. “The rich experiences we have in running our individual schools should lead us to learn from each other’s mistakes as well as successes.” “As such, we tend to repeat our mistakes and/or spend a lot of time, energy and money reinventing what we have already perfected in another situation,” he adds. The public perception of divi-sion and disunity has formed because of the autonomy of the district schools and the highly decentralized form of governance among schools.

Quality educationIn line with these limitations, Br. Edmundo proposed

moving towards a new and unified Lasallian Educational Model with a more focused implementation of the Lasallian

KRISTEL GAYLE GUZMAN

DLSU targets world-classL evel up. Three years after attain-

ing the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleg-es and Universities’ (PAASCU)

highest ranking at Level IV, De La Salle University-Manila (DLSU-M) is now taking a closer look at possible international accreditation options in efforts to be recognized by its foreign counterparts.

Towards this goal, Dr. Carmelita Quebengco, Executive Vice President, attended talks in Vietnam from July 27 to 30 with other ASEAN universities regarding Quality Assurance (QA) evaluation by an external agency.

Quality assuranceQuality assurance in higher edu-

cation, according to Professor Grant Harnan in a Bangkok QA conference earlier in 2000, is “systematic man-agement and assessment procedures adopted by higher education institu-tions and systems in order to monitor performance against objectives, and ensure achievement of quality outputs and quality improvements.”

ASEAN University Network (AUN) undertakes QA to develop and harmonize overall teaching, research, and overall academic standards of member universities. Regular work-shops on QA have been conducted since November 2000, when the idea was formally conceived by the AUN.

DLSU had been part of many rank-ings before. Now-defunct news maga-zine Asiaweek ranked DLSU-M 71st among multidisciplinary universities in the Asia-Pacific region. Domestically, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) identified within DLSU-M 10 Centers of Excellence and five Centers of Development. And merely a few months ago, an alleged study by CHED based on board examination passing rates from 1992 to 2001 put DLSU-M on the near bottom of its list at 16th among 20.

The Administration previously planned subjecting the College of Engineering (COE) for evaluation to the United States-based Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technol-ogy (ABET) This failed to materialize though; as ABET would at best grant COE only a guarantee of “substantial equivalency” or certification of compa-rable educational outcomes with those

of ABET-accredited programs. Mechanical Engineering Depart-

ment Chair Dr. Manuel Belino, who was assigned to attend an ABET meeting at Malaysia in 2003, added that the process would also have been too expensive for the University to pursue.

“In any case, we are still searching for an international assessment that fits our present needs and will help us challenge ourselves to excel beyond where we are now,” said DLSU System President Br. Armin Luistro FSC.

The research factorThe London Times Higher Educa-

tion Supplement in November 2004 ranked the World’s Top 200 Universi-ties. Prominent Asian universities from Japan, India, Hong Kong and China made it to the prestigious list, while DLSU-M was conspicuously absent. Some indicators used included faculty, number of graduate students, admis-sions, and financial aid. Dr. Bernardo observed the heavy importance placed on research in the criteria. He further noted that the criteria are free from cul-tural bias and economic prosperity.

However, all is seemingly not lost for the Philippines’ premier universi-ties, as the World University Rank-ings articulated that the Philippines is “home to universities that may do better in years to come.”

Research universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-ogy are continuous sources of break-throughs in a diverse number of fields, and more so, are highly regarded institutions globally. The University has long been aware of this, hence the existence of different research centers across the six Colleges and the Uni-versity Research Coordination Office (URCO).

In line with this, URCO Chair Dr. Luis Razon revealed the establishment of a first-ever departmental research productivity award in August based on journal papers and books published, as well as creative works by the faculty. However, he admitted that, “it [the award] is still a very early exercise to determine which one is the most pro-ductive department.

A large department might have plenty of publications compared to a small one but on a per capita basis

[the smaller department might be more productive].” Dr. Razon in turn emphasized that “We look towards research as a goal in itself, to make the university better; not for us to say that we are better than anyone else. Ultimately any research will make the university better.”

Dr. Bernardo presented that for 2003, DLSU-M placed second in research with 17, next only to the UP System with 178. However, 178 researches are just roughly the out-put of one department of the top 20 universities.

Restraints and restrictionsThen again, several barriers im-

pede the progress of DLSU research. “Money is a big part… The faculty, in effect, restrict themselves because of budget limitations but make do with what is available,” Dr. Razon stated. The URCO is presently lobbying for a 20 percent share of the University budget.

Aside from financial resources, former Vice President for Academics and Research and present University Fellow Dr. Allan Bernardo also identi-fied other difficulties in the University’s quest for international recognition via research during the De La Salle Alumni Association’s Fifth World Congress earlier this year.

Dr. Bernardo identified the absence of a “critical mass of faculty expertise”, the incompatibility of teaching and research workloads, nonexistent full-time graduate students, and some University policies as obstacles.

And then there are concerns with regard to teaching being compro-mised for the sake of research. This apprehension, however, is unfounded according to Dr. Razon, who said, “research will enhance the material [taught].” This will ultimately reflect in the improvement of undergraduate theses, he added.

Student Council President Army Padilla approved of the push for “world-class” status through research as well, since DLSU “should add to the world pool of knowledge.” In view of the goal of assisting in poverty alleviation, the research drive should be met with proper budget allocation and reduction of unnecessary expenses, she expressed.

Br. Armin dreams of "melting-pot" UniversityAccessibility of Lasallian education on the nationwide level. This is the ra-tionale behind DLSU-Manila’s vision of having one in five students as full scholars by 2011.

In a meeting with the Council of Editors (CoEd) last June 22, DLSU System President Br. Armin Luistro FSC revealed that the 20% by 2011 drive is beyond giving scholarships to poor students, but changing the culture of DLSU-Manila. Br. Armin envisions DLSU as an academic ground for Filipinos of different races – thus, producing a “melting pot” university.

“It is not [just a matter] of bringing the (DLSU) tuition fee down, but also changing the very population of the campus to reflect the Philippines,” Br. Armin told the CoEd.

Since a rare number of ethnic minorities study in the University, Br. Armin dreams to see Aetas, Muslims, and other indigenous tribes studying in the University. “It would be good to see Muslims with veils and Aetas wearing their tribal costumes. We can (even) interact with these exciting groups,” Br. Armin said.

Br. Armin, however, clari-fied that his vision doesn’t contradict DLSU’s l ine “Christian achievers for God and Country.” Taking it from an ecumenical viewpoint, the “Christian” in the phrase should not limit other cul-tures and faiths from studying in DLSU. (Br. Armin usu-ally uses the phrase “Lasal-lian Achievers for God and Country” as not to confuse the concerned parties).

A global perspectiveSince DLSU is already in

the process of applying for

PAUL DARWYNN GARILAO

Math Circle holds first ever Math CampFor the four Saturdays of July, the De La Salle University Mathematics Circle played host to over 270 promising young high school students in the first ever Math Camp. One eight-hour session was held each Saturday.

Around 65 schools throughout Metro Manila were invited to participate in the event with each school being allowed to send a maximum of 12 students. The camp aimed to promote the excellence of the BS-Mathematics program, the College of Science and DLSU as a whole. Through lectures and hands-on activities, the organizers were able to interact with the students and introduce them to the different tracks offered by the program, which have

specializations in computers, statistics, and business. The camp was made possible through the combined efforts of the student organizers and the professors who facilitated in the technical aspects of the lectures.

The Mathematics Circle hopes to encourage the attend-ing high school students to eventually take up the BS-Math program or at least relay to their peers the opportunities offered by the course. A registration fee of Php600 was charged for each participant to cover expenses and double as a fundraiser for the organization. Mathematics Circle President Philip Andrada believed that the event was a great success in promoting the quality of La Sallian education.

RAYMUND CHRISTOPHER CUESICO

ARTWORK BY IAN ROMAN

Strong evidences. Dan Dizon filed the testimonies of complainants, who claimed that they were "harassed" by the part-time faculty. He also obtained video clips of CCTV footages, which will serve as circumstantial evidences. PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KISON

Reaching the skies. De LaSalle University is continuously upgrading not only its facilties but also educational programs towards the goal of achieving global status.

PHOTO BY LUIS DE VERA

DONELLE GAN

BR. ARMIN, SEE PAGE 9 GO BACK, SEE PAGE 15

4 August 2005 3U NIVERSITY The LaSallian

Paul Darwynn Garilao Jose Paolo Lacdao Luis Emmanuel De Vera

Donelle Gan Juan Carlos Chavez Earlene Clarissa Ching Jan Michael Jaudian Eric Siy Alejandro Almendras IV Kristel Kaye Chua

EDITORS IN CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR UNIVERSITY EDITOR MENAGERIE EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR ART & GRAPHICS EDITOR

PHOTO EDITOR

CIRCULATION MANAGER

OFFICE MANAGER

4 AUGUST 2005

The LaSallian has its editorial office at 502 Bro. Gabriel Connon Hall, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004. TLS can be contacted through telephone number 5244611 loc. 701, or through its e-mail address, the_lasallian@yahoo.com. All contributions are subject to editing for clarity or space. None of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of the Editorial Board.

UNIVERSITY Joyce Anne Alfonso, Felice Ann Cariaso, Ross Vergel Delantar, Kristel Gayle Guzman, Arvin Alcanar Jo, Michelline Kuon, Paulo Jose Mutuc, Royce Robert Zuñiga

MENAGERIE Nancy Chua, Joseph Marc de Veyra, Franz Francisco Chan, Rosanna Guintivano, Angeline Martha Manuel, Anne Lorraine Ng, Mariane Lourdes Perez, Anjeli Pessumal, Karess Rubrico, Dianne Margareth Tang, Nicole Tangco

SPORTS Evelyn Chua, John de los Santos, Ivan Geoffrey Gayares, Jhoanna Kay Leal, Camille Bianca Pinto, Don Eric Sta. Rosa, Reuben Ezra Terrado, Candace Daphne Ting, Nikki Ann Mariel Tungol, Jewelynn Gay Zareno

PHOTO Christopher Kison, Aithne Jaen Lao, Dan Joseph Nable, Diane Lou Reyes, Ofelia Sta. Maria, Amanda Valenzuela

ART & GRAPHICS Patrick Joy Abanilla, Carvin Choa, Richard Rustum Gutierrez, Frank Herrera, Kenji Inukai, Kimberly Kha, Gene Carlo Magtoto, Christine Marie Mendoza, Rommel Mendoza, John Ian Roman, Gerard Philip So Chan, Charmaine Ventura

SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS Maria Michaela Ferrer, Ernestine Suzanne Teves, Meryll Anne Yan, Isabelle Regina Yujuico

STUDENT PUBLICATIONS COORDINATORS Rosanna Luz Valerio, Joel Orellana

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Fritzie Ian Paz-De Vera

LaSallianThe

The bastion of issue-oriented critical thinking.

"Eric" used his power for self-gratification, while exploiting youth's vigor and innocence.

There is a fine line between need and want.

Needs, emotions, and X

Social stigma

Such a measure is pro-active, but is meddling really necessary?

I think it would be better if the qualifier “without failure in ANY term” be changed to “without failure in the PREVIOUS term”.

What is the REAL state of the nation?We welcome your perspectives:

the_lasallian@yahoo.com

There's no conspiracy

Based on feedback we received last issue, the article “Students

‘harassed’ by a University employee” has erupted like a nuclear bomb because of its malevolent content.

News reports about DLSU’s call for President Arroyo’s voluntary resignation was even surpassed by this tabloid-type article, as it has vibrantly called the attention of the community. Perhaps, the students are already over saturated with national politics and found a more satirical relief in the article, because it directly concerns the community.

In reality, the “Can I hug you as a friend” issue is already a University social stigma, which seems to threaten the whole community. Student rights have been hampered because of the person’s unusual movement in the University.

In my three years stay in the University, the usual sexual harassment cases I encountered only involved one victim. Yet in this incident, a lot of students have voiced their concerns, including 10 victims who filed a complaint against the person.

All complainants were finger pointing a part-time faculty. Yes, the faculty, who is supposed to mold Christian achievers, is the one who modifies Christian values in a way that would benefit his personal desires. A faculty who loves to use the name "Eric". (Yes, a part-time CBE faculty and not any other Eric in the University).

I personally encountered Eric one exhausting evening. Surprisingly, he sat beside me near South Gate and asked if we could walk around the University. The encounter is not normal. I followed him to validate the testimonies of students whom he approached before.

What alarmed me is that he wanted to direct me to the backstairs of SPS Building, a claustrophobic place rarely habituated by people. And so I diverted his attention as I immediately left the building…Enough with the nightmare.

***But what’s with the name Eric?

According to babynames.com, Eric is a Scandinavian name that means “ever powerful”. In many glaring ways, Eric has used his power to follow students in rest rooms, to approach them unnaturally, or ask for a friendly hug from them.

Eric’s Operation Hugging is categorized as a sexual harassment case not just because of physical attraction or sexual advances, but also about power. As Dr. Esanislao, a guidance counselor, mentioned in last issue’s news article, “wherein he

develops a tendency to use his power on people lower in level and younger than him.” Eric utilized his power for his self-gratification, while exploiting the youth’s vigor and innocence.

Our society could find it difficult to accept Eric. For a strange guy, approaching male students with huggable arms, is indeed a bizarre in a society that is rarely habituated by male-male relationships. What is common in this society are female students, holding hands and embracing each other.

As Dr. Esanislao explained it best, women are more emotional than men. That is why it is strange to see men becoming “more concern” with their fellow genders. Not to mention that it is more alarming to see a men befriending in rest rooms.

*** Let us try to decipher the operative

phrases Eric used in his routine to catch boys in town. In sociology, this is known as ethnomethodology, which simply means the study of the ways in which people make sense of their social world.

“Can I hug you as a friend?” is the most common statement of Eric that all his victim knows. But read between the lines. Why would Eric include the phrase, “as a friend”? Playing safe?

This seems to be a preemptive strike to claim that he would just embrace students with brotherly care and not with malicious intentions. However, such phrase is more freaking than the usual “Can I hug you”, because he could defend that the act is just a brotherly love.

Talking about semantics, the verb “can” is not the appropriate term to use in his famous line. Can means “the ability to do something”, the ability to hug someone. Of course, everyone can hug, (except the armless beings). Rather, the right term is “May I hug you as a friend?” that pertains to asking permission to bodily embrace someone.

Maybe, Eric wants to emphasize his ABILITY to hug, because he expects he would not be permitted to do so. Again, this is power tripping.

Eric mostly communicates in

rest rooms, where students withdraw their impurities. Imagine a guy in rest room would ask your name, course, and mobile number. Is rest room an appropriate place and time for socials?

Another interesting note is that we never heard complaints from CBE students. Almost all the complainants are engineering students. This is Eric’s best strategy. If he would victimize students from CBE, students would easily scold him to proper authorities. How come that he is still in the University late at night, while his classes are in the morning? Maybe, doing a research about books and boys.

Yet, every male in the University can be a victim of Eric. In fact, he gives himself even into the entrapment operations of security team.

Indeed, it is illogical for Eric to justify that he is performing his Operation Hugging out of love. I remember reading a comic about Alberto Rivera, who revealed the “wicked” acts of Roman Catholicism. Dr. Rivera became a Jesuit priest and later on was excommunicated by the Church because of his exposes.

While he was s leeping in a dormitory for Jesuit missionaries, Alberto was suddenly grabbed and repeatedly kissed by a priest. As a normal reaction, he threw a punch against the priest. The day after, the principal explained that the Father is just showing a “brotherly love” to the young boy.

This is a great twist of Christianity’s definition of love. In reality, brotherly love emanates from the depths of compassion, respect, and concern. Jesus told us to “love one another more than yourself”, but not beyond lust of flesh and power.

In some way or another, the verbal and non-verbal approaches of Eric are subtle forms of sexual harassments. Call his ways as severe sexual behaviors.

I don’t want to dig Eric’s more personal and intimate character.

He is old enough to know that what he’s doing is unacceptable and unlawful, though he would disagree that his motives are morally right. After all, his worldview is full of fantasies. Since now he is under trial, may the law rule fair and just. How harsh it may seem, Eric must be sanctioned with greater penalties.

Sexual harassment is indeed a major social problem faced by the community, especially an educational training ground.

But if students and the rest confront this problem with confidence, we would be able to protect student rights as well as the rights of others.

A colorful election and at least 22 padded resumes later, it is finally time for our frosh student leaders to work. But what should be expected? I’m no prophet, but this I believe will hold true nonetheless: a leadership that will focus on students’ want rather than need will achieve nothing but inherit the wind.

I use my favorite analogy, religion. (As early as now, think from the student perspective – Who is the leader? Who are the followers?) Jesus was the best leader who ever walked around planet. But neither he was popular nor rich. Being a carpenter’s son and living a simple life, one should wonder how He managed to completely convince twelve believers to give up everything and follow Him and much later, millions of people as well.

Simple: Jesus addressed a need that no one else could address, and that is spiritual peace. The disciples may have wanted money, power or fame – Jesus had none of these – but Jesus pierced these superficial whims. Jesus offered the disciples what they needed, not what they wanted. It is not necessary that the disciples knew what they needed, it is enough that He knew.

People naturally flock around a leader who offers what they need. There is no hype, just a simple desire.

There is a fine line between need and want. The world’s economy relies on it. Does one really need an iPod? Does one need to buy a Lacoste shirt over an exact shirt sans only the brand name? Does one need a pimped-up ride a la Xzibit when the money could be given to NGOs?

Governance that addresses only want is no different from entertainment, even without media coverage or Lupita Kashiwahara. Is this probably the reason why actors could ascend to high governmental posts? The student version is only a more innocent mirror.

What do our freshman students need? Need is always very hard to distinguish, but I believe that need

could be realized when you filter out the wants, the same way that political parties filter out aspiring candidates. The filtering process is extremely tedious, it involves an observant eye. It requires thinking: it should keep leaders lost in thought when others should be relaxing their minds. It involves receiving criticisms and reacting constructively (unless you believe you’re perfect) It involves taking fire for your constituents. It involves unexpected circumstances. It involves time. Indeed, leading is more than managing.

I bet GMA’s political survival, our fledgling leaders must’ve thought of that. That’s why they seemed so energetic during the campaign.

* * *It turned out that the initial suspect

in the issue we had when we were working on our July issue (that we did a follow-up on this month) turned out to be wrong. I think this is rather normal, as police investigators normally have many suspects which they eliminate one by one.

The whole process of investigation seems pretty much a pseudo-Josephus problem to me, only this time there is no formula to solve it.

My apology to Roderick Salita of Office of University Registrar for it had been made clear to me the article had made such a negative impact on him.

That “Eric” was not him. It had never been him.

* * *It is quite saddening how innocence

could easily be drowned by utters of dubious nature. It could be a beacon of light piercing the darkness, and yet now it seems to be utterly useless. Only three possible scenarios fit: the light is insufficiently bright, the darkness eats up the light, or the light is hidden under the table and not on the lamppost.

* * *As I write this, the real “Eric” is

still frolicking. I confirmed that he still used the name Eric at least once. Males need to be alert.

* * *My mother likes reading romance

pocketbooks and watching romantic movies. In one particular instance, I had nothing to do and seeing the book lying around, I thought of skimming through it. These books and movies could be full of very cheesy lines. Snippets of the infinite list would go: I won’t be able live my life normally if you do this to me… I have not slept well after you left me…

It is very interesting why people from all walks of life resort to emotions to get their point through. This is a best research topic for our Psychology majors.

* * *Professor X did it again. If X had

read my last column, some changes should have been effected. Maybe X’s so psyched up. X hadn’t read, and so X reruns X’s students through X’s seemingly orchestrated debacle. X has been flaunting X’s inefficiency efficiently.

There is a reason why X is called X. X is the 24th letter of the alphabet. If you add the order (in the alphabet) of the first letters of X’s first and last name(s) together you will get 24.

* * *Correct me if I am wrong, but I

think the fire espoused by the DLSU community regarding the Gloria controversy is getting weaker.

Like a piece of firewood that has been exhausted, it will turn to ash and be blown away by the wind. Will we let this happen to us?

The Lasallian Schools Press Conference, a gathering of

campus publication units within the DLSU System, has allowed me to get to know various other publications and Lasallian editors. While the event, last held in February, hasn’t really taken off, we’ve been able to meet and share stories with one another.

One particularly interesting story that I’ve been following over the last few months concerns the creation of an oversight office for campus publications in DLSU-Dasmariñas (DLSU-D). That new Student Publications Office (SPO) has been patterned somewhat after the SPO units here in DLSU-Manila and DLSU-College of St. Benilde.

It’s noteworthy because Heraldo Filipino, which is DLSU-D’s official student publication, has been running as a semi-autonomous unit under DLSU-D’s Dean of Student Affairs for the longest time. How such a unit would receive the formation of an umbrella office for publications was interesting to watch, especially given that the publication has been openly critical of various events and policies that have shaped the campus.

* * *“Student publications shall enjoy the right to freely and responsibly

publish articles, opinions, and other published works, guided by the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 (RA 7079) and the University Mission Statement, without any undue influence or threat.” (DLSU-Manila Student Handbook 2003-06, section 15.11.1)

Such a principle guides the campus publications here in DLSU-Manila and gives them freedom to determine the content that will come out in their respective issues, subject to the standards of professional and ethical journalism. It also explicitly states the independence of publications editors in their work.

I would have to assume that such a principle also guides Heraldo Filipino, whose nature is similar to that of The LaSallian. But when DLSU-D’s SPO came out with its own guidelines for all recognized in-campus student publications, that basic freedom has been put under threat. Allow me to utilize the rest of this space in defending a sister publication against something that could become a precedent for many other dangerous things.

Having read the document in its entirety, allow me to state that the guidelines are very poorly formed. It doesn’t cover several matters that it should touch on, and many of the things it covers are those that shouldn’t be covered by the DLSU-D SPO.

What particularly bothers me is the DLSU-D SPO’s perceived need to “objectively screen, assess, and evaluate” all student publications. I understand the intention of improving the quality of output produced by Heraldo Filipino and other publications within DLSU-D. Such a measure is pro-active, but is this form of meddling really necessary?

The new guidelines reflect a poor understanding of how major campus publications work. Many of us hold ourselves to high journalistic standards. We understand our responsibilities in the content we come out with and take measures to minimize mistakes. We can’t be error-free, but we know that we have a responsibility to make sure that we are as right as possible. This objective screening indicates that the SPO (or the administration, for that matter) puts very little trust in the publications’ ability to regulate themselves.

Given that, it also encroaches on tasks that should be performed by the Editorial Board of each publication. The guidelines devote pages on terminologies concerning proper English and ethical journalism that content will (supposedly) be evaluated during the objective screening, even though such things should be within the domain of the editors of publications.

An external screeing also opens a can of worms as far as publications are concerned. There is no assurance that only technical mistakes will be corrected. There is a real danger that certain sensitive articles may be subject to evaluation, and worse, be sanitized. The document makes mention of every student publication requiring an approval before final printing, and this only serves to raise suspicions over the entire process. Such guidelines might serve to take away the freedom that Heraldo Filipino enjoys under the law. I do not assume that the office wants to censor the publication, but rather I would like to illustrate how the document could prove to be a double-edged sword.

The guidelines also border on unethical behavior in journalism. Nearly all publications make it an editorial policy not to show articles to any external parties prior to release, in order to maintain its credibility and professionalism. Such is true here at The LaSallian, where even the SPO Director is not allowed access to our articles before printing. This serves to protect the publication’s right to freely determine the content that it will release. However, the document disregards this ethical behavior just to make sure that there will be “fewer” mistakes. I do not believe that such a compromise just for control.

I’ve also come to notice that there seems to be no indication that Heraldo Filipino was consulted in the formation of this document. As the party that would be most affected, its editors’ thoughts should have considered before the formation of these rules instead of simply making it a bitter pill to swallow.

Every campus publication is a breeding ground for developing critical, creative, and responsible thinkers. As such, every publication should be given the freedom to achieve such potential. This kind of a document only serves to promote the notion that adults do not trust the youth to be responsible enough to act properly. It’s pathetic to see that such backward thinking continues to thrive in our society.

Publications make mistakes and articles sometimes receive added attention, but I don’t think that damage control is enough of a justification to pro-actively pursue certain measures. The SPO is better off concentrating its efforts in helping the publications in their other operational responsibilities and enhancing journalists’ knowledge. Such would already be a huge step towards preventing unwanted events from taking place. There should be mechanisms for assessment and evaluation, but these should be done after release and not before. Allow the publications the freedom to grow and trust that they will deliver on their responsibilities.

I understand that the office is still in its infancy stages, and as such, many things still have to be threshed out. Every sector has a concern that it would like to raise, and a discussion before anything else should occur. Impulsive decisions such as this document would only serve to generate distrust between the student publications and the new overseeing office.

(edited)Atypical, August 2005by Jose Paolo Lacdao

(edited)Before you curse our enrolment

system, consider first the enrolment system of other schools. Read this first:

During a reunion with my high school friends, one of them shared his enrolment experience in the University of the Philippines. He said that it was hard to enroll because you have to wait for hours and endure the heat of the sun. So far, the most detailed account of enrolment horrors came from my best friend from the Ateneo, who is a member of their registration committee. As far as I can recall, the last thing that he shared about their enrolment system was when they tried using a program that would help them enlist the students to different course offerings or subjects. Unfortunately, they had trouble using it due to conflicting program versions (some computers were using an older version) and that caused a terrible delay and a lot of irritated students and parents.

Now, think about it. If we still practice a manual enrolment system, wouldn’t you wish that there is an easier, faster way to enroll without the hassle of lining up and feeling that you have wasted a quarter of your life for a subject that you would only fail at the end of the following term?

Honestly, I think that our enrolment system is far better than the system of other schools. In fact, ours could be the best enrolment system a school in this country could have.

However, despite the comfort of enrolling online, there are still students who continue to abhor the system, especially the policy that within it. Apparently, most of these students are those with at least one failing subject, who finds enrolment as another hopeless subject hunting activity.

If you are currently subscribed to the registrar’s yahoogroups (dlsu-

With the investigation on the new sexual harassment case finally reaching a conclusion, a threat to the University can finally be removed and justice served.

However, there are still questions left to be answered following this whole mess. There are still sectors who question whether CCTV cameras should be installed inside the campus, but there is no denying that they were instrumental in helping to solve this case. Security on campus, another item that has been questioned in the past, can never be definitely guaranteed as well, especially if the threat comes from inside the community.

The questions lie in how the conflict reached the attention of proper authorities.

Last month, this publication published an initial report regarding the “Can I hug you as a friend?” case based on the tips of a few victims of the professor. It set off a series of events that culminated in the determination of the culprit.

This publication’s initial investigations attributed the sexual harassment cases to a University employee. Such coverage allowed the Student Council (SC) and Administration to investigate the matter further, until it was determined that it was a part-time professor and not an employee who was behind the complaints of the students.

What ticked off the administration was that the students coursed their grievances through this publication and not through the proper channels. For this publication to report on what it deemed as a matter of urgency is one thing, but on a deeper note such an event reflects a poor grievance system in the University.

It is clear that the grievance procedure would’ve been the proper channel given this scenario. However, the students that initially came out were afraid of going through the process. Understandably, they feared making this complaint without being given much protection. Such only goes to prove that there is still distrust of the Discipline Office and the SC, both key players in the grievance process.

Students are afraid to come forward with complaints, and little has been done to make them comfortable enough with the grievance process.

It shouldn’t be the case that students come out with their complaints through the publications instead of the proper channels. But unless something is done to remove students’ fear in the grievance process, this cycle will never cease to end.

The SC has much to do in making the grievance process more viable for students. The proposed centralized Grievance (refer to page 15) is a great idea for it does not limit complaints on faculty alone but also on other University sectors. The challenge now is to show that the SC can protect students’ welfare throughout the process and not simply file the complaints for them. It should be more pro-active rather than reactive in hearing out the concerns of students.

For their part, the Administration should be more encouraging when students raise valid concerns regarding different aspects of University life. May the grievance procedure of both SC and Administration go beyond ceremonial ways.

The recent harassment case is just a part of the bigger picture. There are definitely other suspicious activities happening in the University that students know about.

But most, if not all, still feel that it’s not worth their time to bring them up.

announce@yahoogroups.com), or you are receiving emails from friendly schoolmates, notifying the student body about the upcoming online enrolment, then you might have read the phrase “students without ANY failure (academic and non-academic) in ANY term”. It is very clear from this statement that the students, regardless of the type of subject they failed, will have to be labeled as a “regular enrollee”. Unfortunately, these “regular enrollees” are obviously the ones who are at the end of the food chain. They scavenge on the subjects left for them.

The worse thing about this qualifier is that some “regular enrollees” are average students who failed because of incompetent teachers not worth our tuition fee. Assuming that the student studied hard and came prepared in class, it would be very unfair to the student if incompetent teacher flunked him. It is apparent that for the average student, it would be beyond his power to survive the class without the help of a competent teacher. And it would even be more unfair if the student is denied forever in his stay in this

University of his freedom to choose the best subjects with the best teachers at the best time, which is of course, during online enrolment.

On the technical side of online enrolment, I have learned that our system could not take in a large number of students or else it could crash. It is the reason why during online enrolment, the internet and intranet (a connection in an area like accessing the my.lasalle account in DLSU’s computer labs) connection becomes slower. I think that it could also be the same reason why our enrolment is divided into colleges and rank (i.e. advanced, priority, etc.) in different days. But, what if suddenly, majority of students had at least one failure, do you think that the system won’t crash knowing that they could enroll all at the time?

Aside from the probability of system breakdown, there are also other technical considerations like the program to be used for scanning student records to verify failing subjects and manpower. However, I think that these are things that DLSU can easily handle.

Modesty aside, my record is still clean of failed subjects, but I think it would be better if the qualifier “without failure in ANY term” be changed to “without failure in the PREVIOUS term”. If the school can come up with a new online scheme, which is the online adjustment, why can’t it alter an existing computer program that could benefit the average student?

I believe that changing the qualifier could do justice to the average student. And that would stop some of them (and me) from thinking that this online enrolment with its qualifier is some kind of conspiracy to milk money from students with failure in any term.

The AftermathEDITORIAL

4 August 2005 4 4 August 2005 5O P I N I O N The LaSallian O P I N I O N The LaSallian

Big Fish On Cheating and Top 100 Lists

A certain shade of green

global (ASEAN level) status, the idea of a “melt-ing pot” university is a common attribute among world-class universities.

Harvard University is one of American academic institutions that greatly honor cultural diversities or minorities. In a survey conducted by the Harvard School of Medicine, 94 percent of students interviewed agreed that “interac-tion with students of diverse backgrounds was a positive element in their educational experience at medical school.” Minority students could bring different perspectives to students from urban, the survey furthered.

Based on the statistics of religion issued by Of-fice of Executive Vice President to The LaSallian, a total of 25 Muslims and 27 Hindus are studying in the University. The statistics obtained was the figure for last school year.

Against the flow?Br. Armin’s vision, however, is faced with a

major constraint. In an interview with The LaSal-lian last schoolyear, Jose Mari Magpayo, executive director of Marketing Communications Office (MCO), stated the market of DLSU-Manila is very urban. “Our population is more attractive to those who live in the south. Students who live in the north of the metropolis normally would go to schools like UP and Ateneo only because they’ve been very, very practical,” Magpayo said.

The reason why the MCO don’t market to the provinces is that “only a few students from the provinces actually enroll in Manila.” Considering it from a cost effectiveness point of view, market-ing in provinces is an expensive idea if the return of applicants is relatively minimal.

“It’s going to be very expensive for 10 stu-dents, if I market to 10 students who will eventu-ally enroll (in DLSU), as opposed to Manila, I can market to 15,000 students…the cost per student will be much less,” Magpayo said before.

MCO makes an assumption that most academically gifted students are those who have been exposed to the more sophisticated learning environments like the Metro Manila. Magpayo however contested that since there are also bright students in the provinces, the Admissions Office has regional testing centers all over the coun-try. The MCO also sends DLSU brochures to provinces for them to have an idea of Lasallian education.

To be accessible nationwide, Br. Armin sug-gests to the Administration to limit the number of academic scholars for Metro Manila and offer this with great deal to other parts of the country.

July was once again witness to a parade of blue, yellow, orange and black, as political parties Santugon and Tapat geared up for this year’s Freshmen Elections. Fielding a new breed of

leaders required weeks of recruitment, training and campaigning. For two long months, politics and governance are breathed inside most university classrooms.

The LaSallian traces the events leading to the freshmen elections.

Early birds get the wormsPolitical parties local to and

outside of the university rely heavily on their internal numbers to ensure success in the polls. Each member is utilized in contacting the voting population, with every individual translating to an increase in this network’s scope. It is for this reason that Tapat and Santugon began the race in early April.

Alumni of the same high schools contact incoming freshmen and en-courage them to join either of the two organizations. Tapat capitalized on the Lasallian Personal Effective-ness Program by distributing their newsletters to all the freshmen present. Both parties intensified their recruitment during the annual Student Council Recruitment Week (SCReW).

Tapat president Benedict Cruz stated that an efficient recruitment process is important because it enables them to enrich their core group and gives more possible candidates.

Ramon Rubio, president of Santugon, likewise sees recruitment as vital as the new recruits allow them to have more candidates to choose from. Santugon also utilizes the alumni-frosh strategy, but Rubio asserted that they do not campaign through their La-sallian ambassadors and that they do not ask for freshman block directories.

Survival of the FittestDespite the short time in choosing a candidate who possesses

the qualities of a leader amongst thousands of froshies, Tapat and Santugon were still able to produce candidates sharing their party’s vision. Both parties view the five-week training process as a way

to dramatically cut the numbers down in determining a deserving candidate, from 30 percent of the members of Tapat and more than 50 members of Santugon who expressed interest to run. According to Cruz, in the training period, the aspirants filter themselves out until around 5 to 10 percent remains.

Cruz stated that one qualification for interested students is to attend their train-ings to know how “tapat” they are and if their beliefs are in line with the party’s.

Rubio affirmed that the willingness to train hard and a concrete vision why they want to run qualifies a Santugon member. Training is a way to watch over student candidates as they interact and communi-cate with other people. “Kung mukhang hindi talaga siya bagay sa Santugon, wala siya sa priorities namin”, added Rubio.

Orange and black under pressureProspective candidates undergo rigor-

ous training weeks before the FE. These trainings become the venue for both political parties to develop the candidates’ leadership, platform making and activity

planning skills. Tapat first gives lectures about what their party is all about,

including its history. Sessions about leadership and platform mak-ing are also given at least once a week. Aspiring candidates are then grouped into their own colleges, where they begin creating platforms for their respective batches with guidance from older members. “If they stick to one issue too much, we redirect their attention. What we do is guide them,” Cruz says.

Once the platforms are done, a convention is held where the Tapat Core members, Executive Board, and alumni ask the prospec-

tive candidates about their plans. They also ask questions about the aspirants themselves. At this point, the Core can determine how consistent the platforms are with Tapat’s vision and what kind of leaders the individual aspirants would be. These are important in making sure that the candidates Tapat eventually chooses possess the qualities of a Tapat leader considering that the entire process of training and choosing candidates happen in just several weeks.

These tests guide the Core members in choosing the candidates to represent Tapat.

Yellow and blue under pressureSantugon, on the other hand, also trains freshmen interested in

running under their banner. They look for aspirants who understand the challenge and are willing to sacrifice for the training. Santugon also looks at the plans of the prospective candidates.

For a number of weeks, Santugon aspirants attend modules and activities on leadership aimed to improve interpersonal inter-action and communication skills. Trainings are held on Saturdays and increase in frequency as election time nears until they are held everyday.

Candidates go through one-on-one interviews where the party further assesses them. Rubio admits that it is difficult to base their decision mainly on the interview, so they also observe them during the modules and group activities.

From thereon, they can evaluate who among them deserve to run for the batch-level positions.

Taking the Road TripBoth parties espouse several campaigning tactics to charm

their way to student votes. Tarpaulins with buddy-buddy poses and colorful pamphlets were observed. The usual room-to-room, person-to-person, speeches, posters, brochures were seen around the campus for eight days.

While nothing visibly changed with the way Tapat campaigned, Santugon adjusted strategies in getting ideas not only from their candidates but also from their batchmates. “Pinapapunta namin sila sa sessions, so para sa kanila,” Rubio emphasized.

The process political parties go through to put their candidates in the Student Council (SC) is rigorous. However, the rigor does not end when the fledgling leaders enter the SC’s doors; in fact, it is just the beginning. Whether or not the training made their can-didates tough is now the role of the students who elected them.

En Route to the SC: Freshman ElectionsANGELINE ARCENAS, AILEEN KRISTEL CHAM, AND KRIS LAURA CRUCERO

University commentary

Call of the timesWith the majority of the Executive Committee positions occupied by members of Alyansang Tapat sa Lasallista (Tapat), one would wonder how the other political party is doing.

On the political sphereSantugon sa Tawag ng Panahon (Santugon)

faced disappointment in the last General Elec-tions when Tapat swept the Student Council (SC) Executive Board (EB) and garnered five out of six CAP positions. With regards to this, Santugon still managed to get the majority of the Batch Level seats and the Legislative Assembly as well.

This was not the first time that the party claimed the upper hand in the non-execom ranks. Ramon Rubio, the president of Santugon stated that in previous years, their political partyhas captured most of the Legislative and Batch As-sembly seats.

Further down historyDLSU witnessed the birth of a new political

party in 1986 when Ringo Morella and Mike Ang came up with the idea of Santugon. Though the party failed to capture a number of seats in the Executive Board, among the elected candidates was VP-Activities Joy Nicdao who was one of the SC officers to address the issue of tuition fee increase.

Christine Cruz (1988) was the first Santugon candidate – and coincidentally the first female – to be elected Student Council President. During her term, the SC managed to propose Student Handbook revisions.

The following year meant another triumph for the party as Santugon captured all 6 EB po-sitions. This “pluralistic SC” as President Paul Meim termed, envisioned a lot of new projects, proper use of funds, and efficiency in documenta-tion. However, hardly anyone could attest that these visions were realized. In fact, they were even criticized for not defending their stand regarding national issues. (During this time, the SC took a stand in favor of US military bases in the country but failed to maintain their position).

It took four years before another blue-and-yellow candidate became president. Under the leadership of Alfie Suarez, issues regarding tuition fees were again tackled when the Student Coun-

cil pressed for a decrease in the tuition hike. It may be recalled that the tuition hikes during the pre-Multi Sec-toral Commit-tee on Budget period leveled at around 10 per-cent. Activities for the students such as LSAL, Ecology, and Arts week took place. However, a couple of mishaps such as their failure to come up with amendments for the SC constitution and reso-lutions that never seemed to leave the “pending stage” pushed some individuals to criticize the SC yet again, this time for being negligent in their obligations.

More projects (such as the student coop-erative) and actions (fraternity negotiations, academic grievance forums) were initiated within the campus when Stephen Ku assumed presidency in 1996. Still, some of the plans and proposals seemed to have lost steam after the school year.

The cycle is complete?Going back to the present, Santugon remains

faithful to their vision of “politically-mature Lasallians who are consultative, proactive and responsive to the call of the times,” despite adver-sities. And even though changes and restructuring were made within the party, Rubio stressed that these changes still would have pushed through re-gardless of the results of the General Elections.

He asserted that Santugon’s current existence affirms the party’s resilience. “The party shall exist as long as there are people who believe in it.”

Santugon has also put a lot of emphasis on learning “not just for new members but for everyone, even the highest officers”. Th party intends to improve their programs by effectively communicating their acquisitions not just to their members but to the Student Council as well. The political party aspires to have a stronger and more mature relationship not just with the SC or the other political party, but with the University.

That's all new?Over the past years, the political party has

been branded as being “pro-admin” because of their failure to take a concrete stand on certain issues. Take last year’s incident involving Meryll Yan, former editor-in-chief of The LaSallian and Kit Bonnet of the Office of Student Activi-ties (OSAc).

While the Communications Department, the Student Council, and Tapat released their stands in favor of Yan, Santugon remained neutral on the grounds that they respect each member’s opinion and individuality.

However, with the recent political crisis con-juring up views and opinions left and right, San-tugon finally joined the clamor. Their statement asking PGMA to resign reflects the seemingly active participation in discussing national issues.

Moreover, when the Student Council reached an agreement with the Discipline Office regarding the issue on slippers in the campus this school year, Rubio, in the party’s online forum, criticized the SC for compromising.

Rubio further wrote “The cycle is complete! They’re us, we’re them” at the end of the entry, as if though written jokingly, implied that San-tugon is celebrating the compromising state that the SC is in.

The party is clearly trying to shake off the “pro-admin” image.

Whether Santugon really wants to “have a stronger and more mature relationship” with the SC and Tapat, or whether the changes within the political party has anything to do with the fact that they lost in the last General Elections, the answer is as good as anyone’s guess.

FRANCESCA STA. ANA

ARTWORK BY IAN ROMAN

PHOTO BY ERIC SIY

Where is De La Salle University?Does this question convey an

answer limited only to a bustling Taft Ave. and all its fast food chains, car park areas, and much rather everything else in between? Or must the answer be more of where we stand up compared to other universities? More like UAAP basketball?

I must reason that it is not these premises that could answer my question.

When people echoed calls for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation, it gave more light as to where DLSU is. Not on the streets, newspapers, television, or to which side do we belong to. If you are a man of principles, you don’t give significance to your affiliated groups, but to who you are and what you are fighting for.

It is not always the case that people are to be judged only as protagonists and antagonists. For history rules that the victor ends up as the protagonists while the vanquished is left for the other. So long as you know where you stand and believe in what you are fighting for, you know you are on the right plane of reality. But the question of whether we are right or wrong remains at the tip of the history’s words.

Most importantly, you know the cause is worth fighting for. Much more to that, I don’t think former Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad, a dictator, will be written off in history books as an antagonist if you consider how developed his country is.

But is this enough to answer the question where DLSU is?

Will our voice be constrained only to a limited horizon? I certainly do hope that this is not the case. Moreover, I do recall this when I

entered this university: “Christian Achievers for God and Country.” I believe this is the banner that we should be rallying for and let no other but only ourselves should take us, with this stance, to the battlefield. We know that this is worth fighting for. We know that this is right. But do we know where we are right now?

Not that clear as to where we are, to say the least. But we do know where we want to be. How about vanguards of political, technological, social, and economic pillars for our motherland? That’s the best choice on the menu, yes? And you know that it is.

Yet, this is not about us being heroes. Still, we can be heroes. But it irks me that we think of it as it is. This is certainly not entirely about whom takes the podium, but it’s about fighting for what we believe in. We heed ourselves to be zealots of the cause for serving God and country as Christians.

A much more active participation in helping our country raise from the pits to a much powerful Philippines would really help realize our cause. Or are we just too busy handling our internal affairs? Yet, this is not to say

that keeping our own system work for the better is off track.

Rather, the point is that we could have a better DLSU in the future. But will there be a country left for us? Are you leaving the country after you graduate, my comrade? I cannot blame you if you think you can wet your beak on a foreign land, but I can blame you if you just sit there and let this country sleep with the fishes.

We should start realizing the core values that we inherit for being the sons and daughters of this institution. We should serve our purpose.

How could you not realize how tumultuous our country is? Okay, let me give you a clear example that everyone of us know for a fact. We call the late afternoon drive a ‘rush hour’, yet traffic jam could go as bad as having to spend the hours counting how many times you blinked.

You could either blame the traffic system or the people, pedestrians, and drivers alike. Blame them. What is a good system without people having the right mind to obey the rules and regulations? And what is a good community without a system that recognizes and rectifies its flaws? Do we just compromise or act upon these situations?

You may want to paint this country with blue, maroon, and what not.

But where i s De La Sa l l e University?

How about a country with you in it, my fellow Lasallians?

I have too many questions, yes? If you have had enough of it, then start answering them. And let it be known that answers raise new questions. So, I humbly ask you to get used to it.

It is time to paint this country with a certain shade of green.

At 88, my Lolo is still one master storyteller. Well-loved

by his grandchildren, he would recall how he scared off a couple of husky looking negroes in Chicago and how he wittingly convinced my Lola to play part in a mock wedding (which turned out to be real afterwards). And just for kicks, he would whip up a story of how he placed the moon up in the sky. Ah yes! His stories were always full of laughter and color. Full of antics and clown-like faces. He is the master of the house and the host of every family gathering.

Doctors and nurses are also avid benefactors of his stories. He charmed the nurses, during one hospital check up, with a story on how he got a scar on his leg. He was with the guerrillas when a Japanese soldier shot him just below his left knee. The pain was terrible but he kept on moving until the group was safe up in the mountains. My Lolo could turn unpleasant experiences into happily ever after stories and of course, him ending up as the hero of the day.

Some of his stories are true, some are not. One time he made up a story of how he sent the Japanese soldiers away during the World War II with his stick. With a mischievous grin he told us, “if the stick doesn’t work, you could always bribe them with candies and they will go away.” Wink. Wink. As usual, his grandchildren would take in every word of it. The only clue if it was a make believe or not was if my Lola would exclaim, “Papa!” with a glare and a boisterous chuckle from my Lolo would follow. I guess it doesn’t matter to him if it were true or not. He just loved the attention. And he would sit in the living room until the last group of grandchildren leaves the house.

Curtains down. Show is over. That becomes his cue to put on his oxygen mask and lie down in bed. My lolo has difficulty breathing and telling stories greatly exhausts his energy. You see him tough when he’s with a crowd, but he grows weak when inside his room. Like great actors, you wouldn’t see him loose his form on stage.

Eventually, his grandchildren grew up. And growing up meant other important stuff are there to distract us from listening to his stories. Its not that his grandchildren didn’t enjoy listening to him, it was more like the world introduced a bigger menu of what to hear and what to see that there isn’t much time left even for sleep. Work, studies, and school activities limited our conversations to breakfast and dinner. At times, we go home late at night that we don’t see him at all.

Yes. Slowly, we started to alienate ourselves to our beloved lolo. And we barely even realize it. When we talk to him, it is because we need his advice. Or in my brother’s case, a tutor to ask for the meaning of a not so difficult word he is just too lazy to look for in the dictionary.

I have lived in my grandparents’ house since birth and so I have watched my lolo grow older by the year. Day after day, I see my lolo with his best friend—the television. His constant companion and entertainment when we are out of the house. And if not for the television and the phone, my lolo wouldn’t have endured the lonely hours of waiting for his children and grandchildren’s arrival.

I understand my parents. Our worsening economic and political crisis made it even more difficult to earn money. They work doubly hard from Monday to Sunday just to put food on the table. They too, need affection and support. I understand my siblings. Classes take up most of the day and the worsening traffic adds up to their hours outside home. Like me, extra-curricular activities made us busier.

My Lolo is a sucker for little gestures of tenderness. Rarely does he show it in his actions and in words. Like I said before, he is one great actor—all regal and proud. But you could tell in his sad eyes that he longs for affection.

From the thoughts of a sociologist, Randolf David, the deepest pain of parents is not illness or death, but being ignored by their children and loved ones. Parents who love and respect their children are usually proud to say so. They know it and feel it, but they will seldom demand attention from them. They will wait patiently for those days when love is easy and pain is put on hold, and the shame of forgetful children is redeemed by the magic of parental acceptance.

I have come to the conclusion that we children and grandchildren alike must rediscover how much love we get from our parents for on no account do they forget about us. In lingering memories do they recall us as dependents to their protection and care. And as we increasingly gain independence and get used to our own autonomy, we slowly forget that our parents too are dependent of our attention.

These were my thoughts on my last year in college. It was liberating when I knew my parents permitted me to go on overnights with my co-editors for a week. But the worry that I caused my parents and grandparents during those nights I am outside the house made me realize what I am missing.

For those who ask what I have been doing while most of my classmates are working for advertising agencies…well, this is my life after I have graduated. Schooling has kept me away from home for some time now and I really miss the company of my family. Apart from some freelance work and being an assistant to my parents, I have assigned myself as my Lolo’s constant companion during mealtime and full time audience to his stories from the past. Yes, I am still thinking about my future and I would eventually be flying out of the coop. But right now, I’m just enjoying what I missed and what I would miss in a few years time.

***Karen Sarte is The LaSallian Art and Graphics Editor during SY 2003-2004. She is leaving for the World Youth Congress to be held this August in Germany. Her Lolo paid for her plane ticket.

If you are a man of principles, you don’t give significance to your affiliated groups, but to who you are and what you are fighting for.

In one way or another, we are all accountable for our own little lapses in judgment.

Cheating. In its broadest sense, it is the act putting one’s self into

an unfair advantage by disregarding a certain set of rules. It is giving one’s self the pedestal at the expense of another person.

Cheating can take on many forms. In the matrimonial sense, it’s called adultery or infidelity. In the literary sense, it’s called plagiarism. In the creative sense, it’s known as copyright infringement. And in the dog-eat-dog realm we all like to refer to as politics, it is known as corruption.

But whichever way we prefer to put it, the very essence of the word is looked down upon with much hatred and spite. The term connotes a reflection of one’s lack of integrity. It represents failure to uphold one’s end of a cooperative bargain. We’ve been brainwashed to believe that it is unethical, illegal, immoral, and tantamount to self-damnation.

Nevertheless, it is still a common practice. In a world where we are all conditioned to not make mistakes despite our inherently imperfect nature, it is virtually impossible not to cheat. So, is cheating really that evil? Why do we continue giving it a negative reputation of such magnitude when everybody’s doing it anyway?

But before you start dousing me with holy water, think about it. We are all guilty of dishonesty in our own paltry ways. In one way or another, we are all accountable for our own little lapses in judgment. I, for one, admit that I have been occasionally guilty of cheating in ways the word limit of this column cannot sustain.

Blame it on my “ailing” morality if you may. But truth be told; in this cutthroat society we’re living in, cheating is inevitable. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so they say. And for the less fortunate and embattled lots, such drastic action is the only way to survive.

Granted that cheating is wrong,

BR. ARMIN, FROM PAGE 2

The deepest pain of parents is not illness or death, but being ignored by their children and loved ones.

in our morally dented society, I see it is more of a vice, than a sin. Doing it once is painstakingly forgivable; doing it twice is still remotely tolerable; but forming an incurable habit out of it to the point of over-dependence curtails personal growth. And by over-relying on it, it will inhibit one’s self from discovering and developing his or her full potential.

For me, what truly elevates cheating to sinful status is when we condemn people for making mistakes without having the guts to admit our own. When we demand transparency and honesty, when we can’t even practice what we preach. When we order others to seek consequences of their erroneous actions, without evaluating our own failures. These are the factors that a touch of evil into dishonesty.

What aggravates things is the fact that we’re trapped in a society that talks and talks but never listens. We thrive too much in faultfinding, not in soul searching. We find cheap thrills in seeking holes in the current system and trying to blow them out of proportion, all for the sake of personal interest. It is with such a mindset, that our country is suffering.

Cheating, corruption, dishonesty - call it whatever you may. It is unavoidable. That is why I find it simply frivolous, if not insubstantial, to single out and blame one person

for a problem that has been present in our sociopolitical system ever since our people learned how to govern.

It is times like these when we should learn to focus not on the person, but on the situation as a whole.

***Not Once, But Twice. I've always

been a big fan of Top 100 lists. When Forbes.com recently published its list of 100 of the World’s Most Powerful Women, I was intrigued to learn that PGMA finished in 4th place, trailing closely behind U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Vice Premier of China’s Ministry of Health Wu Yi, and Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who came in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively.

Other prominent figures in the list are daytime TV icon Oprah Winfrey (#9), former US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (#26), and Britain’s Royal Majesty herself, Queen Elizabeth II (#75).

It is for the second year in a row that Forbes compiled this list. And interestingly enough, despite PGMA’s current situation, she managed to scale five notches higher from her 9th place ranking in 2004.

According to the site, “Power”, in this sense, refers to how influential these women are in the global marketplace. The rankings were based largely on factors such as global visibility (measured by press citations) and economic impact.

However, due to the fleeting nature of the term “power” and given the Philippines’ more-than-obvious state of political unrest, the possibility of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo even showing up on the list in 2006 is still questionable.

Right now, I can only chuckle at the irony of the situation - how it takes a foreign company to recognize somebody who is widely detested in her own country. Blame it on our nation's inferiority complex.

4 August 2005 6 4 August 2005 7O P I N I O N The LaSallian U NIVERSITY The LaSallian

T he numbers for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) are disturbing.

Social Weather Station’s (SWS) survey showed –33 performance rating last May, the lowest ever for a Philippine leader since 1986. A Pulse Asia poll revealed that nearly eight out of 10 Filipinos want her out, whether by resignation or impeachment of un-constitutional terms. In the same survey conducted last June, President Arroyo (53 percent) ranked No. 1 on the list of the most unacceptable leader for the country.

Amidst the public’s dissatisfaction of the administration, it is evident the economy isn’t insulated from the political mess. With continuous fall of the peso and monstrous increases in oil prices, is there still hope, or better yet, a formula to improve the collapsing Philippine economy?

Better than passing mark?Malacanang has given GMA a “better than passing mark” in

fulfilling the 10-point commitment she made in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year. But how reliable is this so-called “grading system” of the palace?

In fact, the President never mentioned any of this commitment and explicit economic issues during her SONA last July 25. Instead, the president focused on changing the government’s structure from presidential form to parliamentary system.

One economic aspect of the President’s 10-point agenda is the creation of six million jobs in six years. In January of 2001, a month before she was put into power through EDSA 2, the unemploy-ment rate was 11.4 percent. The unemployment rate last January was 11.3 percent of the population.

One might say that this is not such a bad digit since it has not recorded a significant increase. However, according to Dr. Michael Alba, dean of College of Business and Economics (CBE), the fact that it didn’t change in 2001 is already disturbing. According to him, 2001 is a low base year in comparison to fiscal years. During this year the climatic effect set in, although the Asian financial crisis occurred in 1998.

Moreover, Benjamin Diokno, the budget secretary during the Estrada administration, said (in an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer) that the Arroyo administration’s claim of having created more than one million jobs in the first five months of the year was artificial, given that many jobs were generated overseas. As a matter of fact, statistics show that seven to eight million Filipinos – nearly ten percent of the total population – work abroad, and they pump about US$ 7-8 billion into the economy every year.

The President, however, tamed the budget deficit quite well, which was P67 billion as of June this year compared to the P97 billion target for the same period. However, according to Diokno, the only reason that the government was able to reduce the deficit is to tighten spending rather than increasing revenue collection.

Perhaps the most disturbing statistic in the economy today is the Philippines’ increasingly chronic debt problem. In fact, the 11 Economics professors from the University of the Philippines (UP) already revealed the current government debt is 3.36 tril-lion pesos. They emphasized other government problems in their article The Deepening Crisis: The Real Score on Deficits and Public Debt last year.

Such debt accounted to nearly eighty percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The paper also predicted a fiscal crisis (similar to the economic meltdown of Argentina in 2001), two to three years from now if the government does not address the widening budget deficit and the ballooning national debt.

Conrado de Quiros, a columnist for PDI, stated in his article, “How long can she last?”, that the President can’t point to any

time in her term when the economy did well amidst increased borrowing of the country. In the same article, he says: “Despite borrowing more than Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada combined, which have condemned us and our children and their children to a life of indebtedness, all she has to show for it is an economy about to tumble like Argentina.”

“Glorianomics”: an economic contradiction?In the 80’s, the American economy suffered a depression. To

counter this, President Reagan imposed a tax cut to give people more spending money and the country recovered. Since then, that came to be known as “Raegonomics”.

This shows that one way to boost a diminishing economy is to give the people more spending money. This equates to more business for companies and consequently, more payment in taxes shall follow.

With the lingering implementation of the expanded value-added tax (E-VAT) law, it seems that GMA is doing the complete opposite. This law originated from value-added tax (VAT), which is a uniform tax (10 percent) imposed on each sale, barter, exchange or lease of goods, properties, or services in the course of trade or business. E-VAT shall raise the tax rate from 10 to 12 percent. Since it is an indirect tax (the amount of tax may be passed on to the buyer), this is expected to trigger steep increases in prices of consumer goods.

Neal H. Cruz of PDI criticized the President’s move in his column, “Don’t anger people some more WITH E-VAT”. According to him, “The President brands herself as an ‘economist’ but forgets an elementary principle of economics.” Cruz labeled this economic contradiction as “Glorianomics”.

Cruz recommended that creating a more efficient tax collection system is perhaps the operative way to pursue. This makes sense since the amount of taxes lost on tax collection is estimated at P41 billion, while the expected income from E-VAT is only P31 billion.

However, Alfonso Alba, Economics Department faculty, has a different idea. According to him, E-VAT is already a “desperate measure”. “With the growing o b l i g a -tion of our countr y, E-VAT is necessary i n n a -ture,” he added.

C B E Dean Dr. M i chae l Alba also agreed with E-VAT. He said, “E-VAT is needed to save the govern-ment from fiscal crisis which will equate to insolvency. One possible implication of this is any asset you buy today will probably depreciate to half its value in just a year.”

Since tax revenue accounts for about seventy percent of state income, it seems that this new law is a prerequisite to the country’s fiscal survival. As a result, E-VAT is one sacrifice that the country has to make; otherwise, the economy will be in a bigger hole.

Price of ContinuityAmidst the political frenzy, there are two alternative scenarios,

both are of high risk but only one contains the initials GMA. It seems to be a classical case of “damned if you do, damned if you

don’t”.The first scenario is replacing GMA either through impeachment

or her resignation. It is, however, uncertain because a very important question remains: “who will become the new President?”

Whether a de Castro presidency via impeachment or a snap election shall take place, only one scenario is certain, there will be a hard transition. “An abrupt change will always be painful economi-cally,” he said. Alba also believed that the problem would take some time before the new administration is fully oriented with governing. Back from square one again.

The second scenario (which is still at play) is the President stay-ing in power. “Changing the leader doesn’t mean that investors will suddenly flock” Alba opined. He used the analogy of a family for the political situation of the country. “It is common knowledge that in hard times, a family should sacrifice and be more united. And that is what we should do.”

Instead, it is evident that prominent personalities from different sectors of society are shifting their support. From former President Corazon Aquino to the 10 cabinet members who resigned (a. k. a. Hyatt 10), the call for GMA resignation gets louder by the minute.

Amidst the scandals that currently hound the Presidency, from jueteng to the wiretapped tapes, the economic effects should be carefully studied.

The first is poor business confidence. According to Dr. Alba, the political instability brought by GMA will force companies to “play safe” with their investments. This means that potential investors, both foreign and local, will opt to hold their money rather than pursue ventures, resulting to lesser jobs.

Lastly, the main implication of this is a distracted presidency. “The problem here is that the government would want to spend a lot of money to save the President,” Dr. Alba said.

Ultimate Sacrifice “Whether these

charges are real or only imagined, the fact is that they have i r remediably im-paired Ms Arroyo’s credibility, which is a trait imperatively re-quired of the highest official in the land.” opined Isagani Cruz, a columnist for PDI in his article, “The sovereign will of the people”.

With her tarnished credibility, surveys and officials show the lost of confidence on her ability to govern. Dr. Alba said, “The problem here (is), at these hard times, she won’t be able to ask people to sacrifice. How can she when she herself isn’t willing to play the ultimate sacrifice?”

Amidst the political division, one must realize that calling for the President’s resignation doesn’t necessarily mean that one is in the same bed with the opposition. According to Dr. Alba, he wants GMA to resign not because of political association but because of “long term growth from an economic standpoint.”

It is quite evident that the integrity of GMA’s administration is destroyed. Without it, precariousness in the government will set in. Common knowledge of economics shows that political instability is

The algebra of economic demise

PHOTO BY ERIC SIY

DLSU and democracyA

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

COMBINED UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT

RATELEVEL

32.9%9,414

28.3%8,659

28.4%8,983

28.4%9,157

29.4%9,822

INFLATION

OVERALLFOOD

4.5%1.9%

6.1%3.9%

3.0%1.9%

3.0%2.0%

5.5%5.8%

SOURCE: PCIJ

Fellowship of the student leaders. Ten student councils from Metro Manila discussed their stands on GMA controversy and proposed progra�

PHOTO BY ERIC SIY

JOSEPH MARC DE VEYRA

THE ALGEBRA, SEE PAGE 15

PAULO JOSE MUTUC

4 August 2005 8 4 August 2005 9PERSPECTIVES The LaSallian PERSPECTIVES The LaSallian

bolt out of the blue. This was largely the public’s perception of Restoring Faith in Democracy, the Lasallian Brothers’ July 2 manifesto calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The statement, as evidenced by the attention it garnered at home and abroad, apparently took everyone by surprise.

This was, after all, coming from De La Salle University (DLSU), an institution more popularly associated with indiffer-ence to national affairs. Or is it really? In times of crisis, what has the University stood for?

EDSA 1: La Salle should lead, not follow.Nearly two decades ago, the Univer-

sity was the first organized institution to support Corazon Aquino and the Catho-lic Bishops Conference of the Philip-pines’ (CBCP) call for civil disobedience - in forms of protests, boycotts, and work stoppage- during the aftermath of the purportedly rigged 1986 snap elections. This may sound astonishing now; but considering the University’s prominent role in the First Quarter Storm of 1970, this should not be surprising.

DLSU’s involvement in the events that culminated in the first EDSA Revolution was far and wide. Hundreds volunteered to help in the Namfrel count- part of which was conducted on University grounds. A MultiSectoral Task Force on the Elections was set up which recommended, among other things, the school’s closure for a general strike. A chapter of the Cory Aquino for President Movement was established on campus.

Well-known anti-Marcos activists such as Jose Maria Sison, Bernabe Buscayno, and former Student Council (SC) President Chito Sto. Romana were asked to lecture in DLSU. Student lead-ers from DLSU, who were among those who barricaded Camp Aguinaldo throughout EDSA 1, likewise took frequently to the streets in numerous pickets in the years leading to 1986.

“La Salle should lead, not follow,” previous SC President Efren Cruz said in an appeal for student involvement. Needless to say, his call was not left ignored, as noted by then-Vice President for Academic Programs Leonida Africa who remarked, “never in Philippine modern history has such active volunteerism been recorded.” Former College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Dean Wilfrido Villacorta, along with Atty. Ricardo Romulo of the Board of Trus-tees subsequently represented the University in the Constitutional Commission that followed EDSA 1.

Having backed People Power ’86, DLSU affirmed its support for President Aquino in the face of numerous coup attempts against her. In an official statement signed by students, faculty, admin-istrators, parents, and support staff, the University expressed its condemnation of “insidious elements who would like to thwart the popular will” and its commitment to the ideals of the EDSA Revolution.

Events within DLSU, meanwhile, paralleled the turbulent national situation. While Marcos was accused of electoral fraud, two professors were leveled plagiarism charges. SC President Barry Ubarra was faced with impeachment as Marcos was, albeit for different reasons. Even the extent of Lasallian awareness was put into question, as many posts for the SC were left vacant due to a lack of votes.

EDSA 2: A Future at Stake“We support the call for President Estrada to resign… We

call on our co-members of the De La Salle University System… to withdraw their support for an incompetent and immoral lead-ership that has made the condition of the masses worse than it was when this President took over the reins of power.” This was

the message of “A Call for Collective Action”, DLSU’s unified statement during the height of the jueteng scandal leveled against ousted President Joseph Estrada.

A Call for Collective Action, the unified Lasallian position unveiled during an economic and political symposium, included signatories from various sectors of the University (the Brothers, the administrators, the Student Council, and the faculty) and was made “after a thorough discussion and careful discernment by members of the faculty and administration” given the threat Estrada’s stay in office posed to “the future of our students and our children”. It declared its desire for President Estrada’s res-

ignation as a Constitutionally permissible means to transfer power. The formation of an Alliance of Lasallians Against Erap (ALSA-ERAP) and a signature campaign were undertaken afterwards to realize the declaration’s objectives.

An intriguing contrast to the University’s stance was its defense of Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC amid allegations of graft during his stint at the now-defunct Department of Education, Culture, and Sports.

Also, the question of student apathy took center stage yet again, as it undermined to some extent DLSU’s role in Estrada’s ouster. This was evidenced by a previous statement of Br. Rolando Dizon FSC at the time who commented, “I don’t know why our students aren’t out there [in rallies]… your predeces-sors were like you, and they were activists.”

Gloriagate: Supreme SacrificeFaced with the Gloriagate

controversy, it appears that the University drew on its past to determine its course of action. An ad hoc committee on the issue was formed, akin to 1986. Consistent with the previ-ous terms, the present SC sided with the resigna-tion option for the resolution of the leadership crisis. Most importantly, there is Restoring Faith in Democracy, reminiscent of the DLSU’s earlier stance on Estrada. The similarities, however, end there.

While Restoring Faith in Democracy may con-jure visions of EDSA 2, it is a marked deviation from its five-year old sibling A Call for Collective Action. The former is an expedient, “calculated risk”; the latter was a product of consensus.

The EDSA 2 scenario represented the joint sentiments of the University’s constituents. The other largely is the opinion of the Lasallian Brothers.

Most importantly, Restoring Faith in Democ-racy explicitly denounces extra-constitutional alternatives and urges discussion rather than mass action- both of course, taking into account the need for a “supreme sacrifice” it requires of the Chief Executive. The statement’s timing (ahead of its contemporaries) also sets it apart and has, in many ways, conditioned the tone for DLSU’s present leadership position in the movement for President Arroyo’s resignation.

One La Salle Throughout history, it is clear that DLSU has

acted in opposition to a President on a primary belief in legitimacy rooted in moral ascendancy and public trust. Save for unavoidable apathy of some members of the Lasallian community, there is also little basis for the popular idea that DLSU as

a whole concerns itself little with governance and public opinion, when the experiences of the two EDSAs show otherwise.

When the CBCP expressed strong disapproval of the 1986 snap election results, the University’s constituents decisively took steps to end Marcos’ presidency. Likewise, when accusations of jueteng broke out against President Estrada, DLSU decided to press the case for his resignation.

And now, with increased expediency, DLSU chose to favor an Arroyo departure from the presidency bearing in mind the growing popular disdain of her government. Overall, whenever a crisis of authority has emerged, the University has always placed its loyalty on principles, not on parties, people, or the system in place. Hence, DLSU’s current appeal for a constitutional resolu-tion of Gloriagate is not a backtracking of previously espoused ‘revolutionary’ views, but a reinforcement of an institutionally regarded need for peaceful, transformative vigilance consistent with the University’s character as a Christian establishment of learning.

In the cutthroat world of politics where ethics mean little, the University’s insistence on sticking to moral precepts attests to its substance as an academic body. It is also an affirmation of its position as a prime mover in domestic experiences - an ethi-cal, sensible voice of reason that ought to be listened to. Given today’s precarious and confusing state of affairs, the future of the country just might depend on it. (Sources and EDSA photos taken from The LaSallian archives)

Though DLSU is a staunch sector that asks for Philippine presidents’ resig-nation whenever the need arises, very prominent persons in the University still accept cabinet positions when the government invites them. Yet, there service is not solely for the government but for the country at large.

Both Br. Andrew Gonzales and Br. Roly Dizon FSC already served as the government’s educational arms. After all, the two brothers are experts in educational progress in the country. They have shared the ideals of Lasallian education in a wider scope.

In 1998, former Pres. Joseph Estrada appointed Br. Andrew as the secretary of Department of Education, Culture, and Sports.

During his time, Br. Andrew ordered the banning of cell phones and pagers in 1999 and 2000. In an order dated June 29, 1999, Gonzales said text messaging and pagers “are causing disturbance to classes and are being used to cheat during examinations.’’ He also initiated the school-based vaccination program that targeted 17 million students nationwide to be vaccinated against measles. His programs also included the improvement of public schools and application of Information Technology in education system.

Br. Andrew resigned a month before Estrada’s dethronement as presi-dent. Nostalgic as it may sound, Br. Andrew wrote a book during his term entitled An Unfinished Symphony: 934 days at DECS. An article in Cebu Daily News mentioned that the book revealed details of life in govern-ment such as “full of plots and counterplots with actors behind the scenes, manipulating us as puppets.”

In June 2003, Br. Roly replaced Dr. Esther Garcia as chair of Com-mission on Higher Education (CHED). During his relatively short term as CHED’s head, Br. Roly made significant achievements in Philippine education. He has successfully improved the standard of education for Marine Engineering and Marine Transportation graduates.

Furthermore, Pres. Arroyo commented the increase of shiftees in sci-ence and technology based courses that is considered to be the market’s highest demand. Bro. Roly’s leadership also led to the stronger promotion of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) education in the country, and the search of jobs abroad for Filipino ICT graduates.

During Br. Roly’s term, the country has ratified the UNESCO conven-tion for standardizing higher education in Asia and pacific regions. This allowed Filipino graduates to enter the labor markets of countries, which are part of the convention.

Br. Roly, however, tendered his resignation last September 2004, due to health concerns and alleged “CHED politics”.

Of serving the president

P H O T O The LaSallian

O

S tereotypically, religion and politics should not be together because they are two different entities. It seems that the Church and the State is an obvious dichotomy.

The Church speaks of the law of the land while the Government speaks of the law of the heavens. Historically, the Church released state-ments relating to the ousting of two presidents. On the other hand, politicians utter God’s name and biblical passages in their speeches despite their questionable records to please the devout Filipino crowds.

Spirit of ServiceAccording to Pope John Paul II, politics in

itself is good. Still, the late pope affirms the presence

of corruption and idolatry in the ranks of the government and ruling classes. He emphasizes that the “Spirit of Service” should be the funda-mental element of a politician. The Spirit comes from the “determination to overcome every temptation” including disloyalty, waste of public funds and abuse of power. Eventually, this Spirit of Service should channel a politician’s efforts into a “virtuous” leadership.

But the question is how many politicians have genuine divine Spirit of Service?

Good intentions or downright hypocrisy?In a country where 83 percent of the

population is Roman Catholic, it is likely that politicians oftentimes include the idea of God in their addresses.

Andylyn Simeon of the Lasallian Pastoral

Office (LSPO) believes that it is human nature to cling to something beyond oneself, and this could be the reason why political figures con-stantly hang on to something or someone more credible, in this case God.

Dr. Rolando Gripaldo, Chair of the Philoso-phy Department believes that evoking God’s name during campaign is a necessity to gain the trust of the masses. “Intellectuals lang naman yung nagsasabi na hypocrisy. (The) masses don’t really think that (way)”, he adds.

On the other hand, one professor sees noth-ing wrong with political figures using religion or God in their speeches for as long they are encouraging the public to do the right thing.

Student Council Executive Secretary Kate Lim just gives these politicians the benefit of the doubt. She says that some politicians, being raised in a Catholic nation do have a natural mindset towards God, and that could be their reason for inculcating Him in their speeches.

Drawing the line?Though the religious sector should only be

contributory and not indispensable for political or social movement, history tells us otherwise.

People Power 1 and 2 are manifestations of just how influential the Church can be since both incidents were mainly under Jaime Cardinal Sin’s backing. In addition, his various Pastoral letters tackled issues considered to be exclusively, legislative dilemmas - something that is misunderstood by some and questioned by many.

Archbishop Oscar Cruz’s statements against

jueteng indeed exposed some politician’s in-volvement in it. As leading crusader against the illegal numbers game, the archbishop challenged the government to speak “openly and clearly” against it. Cruz’s boldness reaped mixed reac-tions. Some individuals admire the priest for his courage, other say that he acts like a politician than a Catholic prelate.

Lately, the existing political situation reflects just how proactive the religious sector can be. The Lasallian Brothers’ open letter to PGMA urged the president to make the “supreme sac-rifice” or in other words step down.

Even the stand of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) re-garding the current political crisis is seen and interpreted in different ways. Their statement, Restoring Trust: A Plea for Moral Values in Philip-pine Politics was criticized for playing safe, but was generally understandable.

Undoubtedly, the Roman Catholic Church includes people from politics who share the same faith. Clearly identifying where to split the two is indeed difficult. This, according to Simeon is where the line between religion and politics is obscured.

Moral Mission = Political ParticipationDiverse people who have various sets of

beliefs all have one common word when asked about the issue of the Church reacting to poli-tics: morality.

In his message to the laity entitled Chris-tefideles Laici, the John Paul II stressed “the common opinion that participating in politics is

an absolute moral danger, does not in the least justify either skepticism or an absence on the part of the Christians in the public life.”

Br. Armin Luistro, FSC, DLSU System President, clarified that “making a moral stance and calling a political activity immoral is cer-tainly not the same as being involved in partisan politics.” “If I openly endorse the candidacy of Noli de Castro, that will be partisan politics. If I call for the resignation of PGMA based on moral grounds, that is not partisan politics”, the Lasallian brother furthered.

Filling the GapThe Church has a moral responsibility and

their statements should be taken in good light, but not in blind conformity. However, society must make an effort not to brand the Religious sector and limit them to clerical work. The same goes to other sectors that choose to speak on national issues like the educational and the youth groups.

While the clergy speaks of national law with moral reason, politicians speak of religion usually with questionable motives. Therefore, the nation should be extremely watchful of the actions and plans of these politicians, elected or not. Otherwise, they could use God and religion in their own deceptive ways.

(Sources taken from Pope John Paul II, Public Life for Everyone and By Everyone; Archbishop Bruno Torpigliani, Presence and Ac-tion of the Church in the Socio-political fields; and Heaven and Earth, Philippine Graphic: Special issue)

Speaking in tongues?ROSS VERGEL DELANTAR AND FRANCESCA STA. ANA

The Charm Offensive

ALEJANDRO ALMENDRAS AND ANGELINE ARCENAS

They’d criticize you when you do make that stand, when you are able to actually hold on to something, yet they’d still condemn you when you don’t, when you rather remain silent. Either way you’d have to face persecutions even for righteousness’ sake.

Lasallian Brothers continue to resist over speculations that have taken against their stand. As of date, a number of sectors who deem the act as incomprehensive and even self-righteous. For some who may consider their statements to be primarily political in nature, or too hasty in making judgments, or even question its mission of educa-tion and Christian formation, as for the Brothers this is their primary response and call as leavens of social transformation for our country.

And thus the statement calls for launching multidisciplinary discussions, information cam-paigns, and prayer. As they seek moral ascendancy

and accountability from the Philippine govern-ment, their cry for supreme sacrifice still seem too overpowering, living those who question and commit themselves to risk, that one should dare not defy.

A plea and a prayerIt really is different when one thinks of coups

and destabilization against the government from restoring faith in democracy. Talk about genuine reconciliation and moral rejuvenation as differ-ent from past efforts of People Power. These were results of Filipinos overwhelming tactic when it comes to political instability, when we become too democratic, too liberated, and too enthusiastic about this idea that has become a mere celebratory.

Rather, consider these as fundamentals after the political turmoil. “Ours is a plea and a prayer

that she relinquishes her power”, as Br. Armin Luistro FSC would put into words. Making that supreme sacrifice is an honorable dismissal. Our opposing stand still abides deep respect, sincere humility and resentment towards no one. For this simple truth is manifested in all charity.

Pride and PrejudiceIn his homily last July 11, Br. Armin acknowl-

edged their weaknesses. “…acknowledge that we have contributed to the malaise in our society ‘by our neglect, our bias, our selfishness’. We commit ourselves to renew our very institutions, our cur-ricula, our own educational structures so that we can.” The De La Salle Brothers have the right to clamor for moral ascendancy, and they are quite willing to give this of themselves. But why make such painful choice? Education is our key to a transformed nation. As educators they want us to

PHOTO BY PAUL DARWYNN GARILAO

remedy our passiveness and omit apathy in the face of injustice. We should make a stand and learn to actually believe in something. With regard to this, the Brothers wish not to disclose onto the minds of everyone their statement. We are not compelled by what has been spoken but only do they serve as catalyst for intelligent thought. Bro. Alvero Rodriguez Echeverria FSC, Brother Visitor, wrote, “We do not wish to impose our convictions on anyone… search one’s heart for the answer that will lead to you personal response.” A framework as to how we can develop our own personal sentiments on the matter: Proper information, as the right of every Lasallian; reflection, as the expected Christian action; and opinion, as the value of every person.

Politics and the world overShould a resignation occur, the immediate issue is that of succession. On the contrary, we are

not after who replaces who in the government. What critics most often forget that the Philippine government is not a government of one, but rather, a system of leaders elected by the Filipino people. Somewhere in the administration are individuals, officials with both capabilities and morals. The financial depression that will most likely occur in such a situation is outweighed by moral costs. In facing the lesser, immediate enemy – a staggering economy– we acquire a stronger chance for survival. Remember that coals under pressure turn into diamonds. We should not be deceived by this trap of taking the lesser evil as the only option. This is not what is left of us. How can we learn from our mistakes if we tolerate injustice? How can we move forward if we allow the ills of society to remain? The Brothers believe that the truth must still come out to keep the integrity of the Filipino Society.

Eleanor Roosevelt advised people to ‘do what in your heart you feel to be right, for you will be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, damned if you don’t.’ Damned they were.

Machiavellian in principle, but a consensus at the time was simply not feasible. “There is a time when a leader makes a decision without consulting anyone,” Bro. Armin said.

Various interpretations have been and will be made about the Gloriagate issue and the plight of the Filipino people. Let us not forget that the point is to change it.

PHOTO BY ERIC SIY

Demystifying SONAROYCE ROBERT ZUÑIGA

n one hand, you have President Arroyo delivering her State of the Nation Address (SONA). On the other, you have former President Joseph Estrada delivering his own version of SONA. On the left hand side of the president, you have an elated Speaker Jose De Venecia zealously applauding her pronouncements. On her right hand side, however, you have a disinterested Senate President, Franklin Drilon. Outside the walls of the House of Representatives, throngs of angry protesters call for the ouster of GMA and a horde of GMA supporters meet them head on. These scenes aptly reflect the divisiveness that is plaguing the country these days.

But did the SONA truly reflect the country’s current state of affairs or was it just a concoction of nice-sounding yet emp-ty words? How is this SONA different from the previous one? Were the 33 applauses and five standing ovations she re-ceived during her SONA enough to stave off our current conundrums?

2004 SONA: An Ode to Angelo Dela Cruz?

President Arroyo exuded an air of tri-umph while delivering her highly anticipated speech during her 2004 SONA. She mainly fo-cused on the release of Iraqi hostage, Angelo Dela Cruz, and her ad-ministration’s consistent and aggressive foreign policy.

However, GMA did not specifically point out the policies that she will implement to bring to fruition the ten-point program that she championed back then. Consequently, her claim that she cre-ated four million jobs in her July 25, 2005 SONA, which was one of the goals she set out to do in her 2004 SONA, arouse suspi-cion among political analysts and the public alike.

This is not unex-pected. After all, the general public would indeed receive this re-port with skepticism given the ambiguity of the president’s plans, as regard to the at-tainment of her goals and the apparent lack of transparency in the programs of government, specifically on her job-generation program in her SONA last year.

Moreover, GMA discussed streamlining the bureaucracy in brief, though she did not identify the steps that her administra-tion would undertake in order to cut down the expenditures of the remaining governmental agencies. What good will the removal of redundant governmental offices does if the expen-ditures of the remaining agencies remain exorbitant?

The importance of the passage of eight new revenue meas-ures was likewise underscored. The President recognized the need to undertake reforms that are geared towards the raising of revenues to be collected and saved by the government.

However, with the claim of members of the Hyatt 10, who were former members of GMA’s cabinet, that the Palace has a hand on the Temporary Restraining Order (T.R.O.) that the Supreme Court issued vis-à-vis the E-VAT, it seems that the president reneged on her promises. How would she achieve her target revenue if the passage of important measures such as this would be stymied?

Overall, the SONA that the president delivered last year was filled with visions and goals, but it failed to outline specific steps that the government would embark to attain the goals that it has initialized before. President Arroyo seemed to have focused more on justifying her decision to save Angelo Dela Cruz’s life than to specify the measures that her government would carry

out to realize the promises of a Strong Republic.

Dancing to the tune of Cha- ChaIn the shortest SONA in the history of the Philippines, on

the other hand, the president centered not on the release of hostage Robert Tarongoy, but on the need to seriously con-sider Charter Change. This was the bedrock of her 23- minute speech.

But before the president put forward the proposal that Speaker Jose De Venecia and former President Fidel V. Ramos have been advocating for the longest time, she acknowledged the divisiveness that is rampant in our country. The historical no-show of opposition senators and majority of house repre-

sentatives affirm this.The embattled president asserted that, “the story of our na-

tion is a tale of two Philippines; almost, as it were, two countries under the same name. One is the Philippines whose economy, after long years of cumulative national endeavor, is now poised for take off. The other is the Philippines whose political system, after equally long years of degeneration, has become a hindrance to progress.”

Following this acknowledgement of a split country, GMA turned her attention to the accomplishments of her administra-tion. She highlighted the six percent growth in the economy, 69 million beneficiaries of health care insurance, the lowering of crime rates, developments in the educational system, the seat that the country has won in the U.N. Security Council, the progress that the government has made insofar as the peace talks with Muslim rebels is concerned, and decentralization of power—from the cities to the countryside, among other things.

Nevertheless, these accomplishments would be meaning-less if the president would not regain the trust of the Filipino populace. As evidenced by the surveys conducted by notable surveying firms such as SWS and Pulse Asia, the president’s net trust rating totally downgraded.

How would she be able to rally support for the programs that she is proposing if her constituents distrust her? She may first resolve the question regarding her legitimacy, credibility, and ability to lead, given the political pressures that she is faced with.

GMA then ventured into the change in the structure of government, which was met with enthusiasm by those who attended her SONA. She recognized the benefits that a Par-liamentary- Federal form of government would bring to the country. However, she did not explicitly define the parameters of her proposed transition. She did not even explain how this would be funded. GMA seemed to have left everything to the discretion of the Congress. A shift in the form of government may possibly contribute in the resolution of our problems as a nation. However, as some would put it, more particularly the members of the Senate, there are more fundamental issues such as the Gloriagate, jueteng, impeachment, among other things that should first be resolved before talks about charter change and a shift in the form of government could be entertained.

The President concluded, “We may disagree among our-selves but let us never lose sight of that greater battle for one people, one country, one Philippines. Not the country of this or that president but the Philippines of our shared and passionate affections.” GMA’s call is a sound one. But unless she answers the issues that are hurled against her squarely in the proper forum, it would be hard to actualize her vision.

According to the President’s 2004 SONA, “At the end of my term, the question will not longer be whether we can com-pete but where else in the world shall we take an indisputable competitive advantage.”

However, considering all the problems currently hounding her administration, the SONA produced more questions than answers. Would GMA hurdle all the challenges that her admin-istration is facing, without sacrificing governance and will she even finish her term as president?

The Crux of the SONAAdmittedly, the SONA is one of the most essential avenues

wherein the President could communicate with her constituency and honestly spell out the true state of the nation. It serves as a venue to, once and for all, iron everything out and clearly set the plans that the government would put in place in order to promote good governance, and identify specific mechanisms that would pave the way for the attainment of the government’s goals.

SONA is a venue in which the president can discuss the pressing issues of the country. It is not an arena for partisanship and political accommodations. It is not a showground for vague promises and more of the same. It is not a stage for pandering and senseless rhetoric.

In the end, the answer to the issue of whether or not the president used the SONA for her political survival entirely rests on the shoulders of the major stakeholders in this issue – the Filipino people.

ALEJANDRO ALMENDRAS IV AND ANGELINE ARCENAS

PHOTO BY PAUL DARWYNN GARILAO

PHOTO BY ERIC SIY

THE CHARM, SEE PAGE 13

THE CHARM, FROM PAGE 12

4 August 2005 12 4 August 2005 13PERSPECTIVES The LaSallian PERSPECTIVES The LaSallian

T

2005 Freshmen Elections results

Where do we go from here? he Philippines never forgets.

This is so precisely because aside from its having been at the epicenter of crises since the passage of time, it pains to forget. Like a crazed time machine, it would rather remember. As a country, it is weak. As a race, Filipinos are plagued. Magellan started with a great dream in Portugal. Circumnavigating the world with the theorem that the world is not flat, he concluded it as he landed in Cebu. Though Spain did not notice the importance of the Philippines at that time, it was not long before she orchestrated more expeditions to follow Magellan’s, which lead to Spain’s rule of the Philippines. Perhaps that point in time stirred centuries’ worth of bad luck for the Philippine islands. Or perhaps the real reason for the country’s ceaseless downfall lies something beneath, something obstructed by years of carefully buried weariness and denial – the Filipino apathy.

The most pitiful of generations are not those that are poor of health or material wealth. The most pitiful ones are those that lack gold – gold-en ideals, golden beliefs, golden love for truth and knowledge. And that generation is ours. In a purely technological sense, corrupt is a word to describe a file that has malfunctioned. Unfortu-nately, for most grade-schoolers, it involuntarily equates to Philippine politics. As high school students, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo gave teenagers a taste of what goes on behind the closed doors of government officials’ quar-ters. Perhaps at that time, the raging hormones in most high school compounds obstructed the urgent message of Rizal. But as college students, even the safe walls of De la Salle make it hard to ignore the social and political clamor experienced by our people today. It seems like the country has gone on playing and rewinding past events, as the Gloriagate scandal painfully, yet again, reminds us of the many mistakes our country has made throughout the years.

In RetrospectIf there is anything beautiful about Phil-

ippine politics in the recent decades, it is its consistency. From Marcos to Cory to Ramos to Erap to Gloria, there are traceable defects – grease money, power concentration, political gimmicks, and corruption. The perennial ques-

tion hovers around analysts’ heads, locals and foreigners alike. Where did the country go wrong? Why has its ways continued to be so wayward, and why, when faced with progress, does it reverberate back to its original backward self? Perhaps we must consider the “whats” in this conundrum. Prior to Magellan’s fleet, the Philippines was doing well economically; its trade flourished with Chinese merchants and other Malay neighbors. Politically, it was stable; a princess was even said to have ruled Pangasinan before the Spanish came. Under Spanish rule, Filipinos were introduced to oppression, bigotry, and subversion. Hundreds of years of colonial mentality have seeped through the Filipino so-cial system. Delayed as the reaction might be, being the underdogs of Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese has effected a schizophrenic streak in Filipinos.

By the time the country gained independ-ence, Filipinos had been exposed to so much po-litical sin that the “colonial way” unconsciously set the norm for governance. The same tools, the same style – only, Filipinos were being led by their fellow countrymen instead of the white race. It is a country that had its talents splayed out limitedly before it was even able to develop its own.

That is why the country may find it hard to govern itself conscientiously until now. It is fair to say that it is only on its road to self-discovery. The Philippines has had a rough childhood, and in many ways, it is still paying hard for the injustices it suffered.

Déjà vu Despite all these, history always repeats

itself. It is hard to blame the people’s errant attitude at times. Misguided in its blooming years, it lost control over the driver’s seat. But whether the colonists are the ones responsible for the country’s political state today, it’s time for Filipinos to wake up and save their country. By far, what is wrong with the country is not its system, but the fate that its people leave to it. It might be that too much democracy creates an unruly nation. While it is common knowledge that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration serves not a role model for Filipinos, its inefficiency is not reason for a halt in progress for the country.

Nor does it justify rallies and People Power at-tempts. The noose should be tightened a bit for the Filipino people. At this point, Filipinos must learn to focus on the problem, and be part of a solution. It must learn to sacrifice the old ways and pave new ones. Fighting with one’s own race brings no winning cup home. It is synonymous to killing oneself. The Chinese have a saying “Huan tang bu huan yao,” which translates to “a change in form but not in content.” This is exactly what is happening to Philippine politics for the past decades. The presidential seat has become a working body with the same corrupt soul. It seems like toppling presidents has be-come a trend for the past decade. Even this is not a solution. In its haste to change, Filipinos forego the essential – a stabilized, progressive country.

A New RoadThe heart of corruption lies in a country’s

people, but so does the heart of honesty. What leads our people to be corrupt then? Look around and see what the Philippines has infa-mously acquired throughout the years – a tainted social environment, unending politicking, and a mislead people. Filipinos have lost hope. Perhaps it is harder to teach old dogs new tricks. Our politicians will always carry the social stigma of a soiled morality.

But the young doesn’t. For this reason, the youth is obligated to serve as a catalyst for progress. It must be the propeller of everything that makes up a successful country. Youth was not made to be wasted in the young, contrary to what the old adage has to say. The youth is the new balance, the new light. It is perceptive, principled, and intelligent. To quote Randy David, “Thank God there is a crisis. With this, we are able to discover the layers and layers of lies in our government.” We have a task – for a better future.

It pays to remember our roots, to live on traditions brought down by ancestors to ances-tors. But for the greater traverses of a country plagued with political cancer, it is best to forego old ways.

For this, the Philippines must learn to forget past failures and learn the ropes to real progress – this generation hence.

The Freshman Elections (FE) are over, but the final verdict is still hanging on a bal-ance.

Unofficial results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) revealed that San-tugon sa Tawag ng Panahon (Santugon) won convincingly over Alyansang Tapat sa Lasal-lista (Tapat), garnering 16 of the 22 seats at the Batch and Legislative Assemblies.

However, due to three pending cases against Santugon sa Tawag ng Panahon (Santugon) before the Election Board, the tides of fortune may change.

According to Comelec chairman Meg Amat, if any party will be slapped with three major offenses, the whole party will be dis-

qualified, hence invalidating the victories of its candidates. Tapat had two major offenses this FE, one for T-shirt violation and another for e-mail campaigning before the allowed campaign period. However, there are no more cases pending against Tapat.

Santugon meanwhile has one major offense for campaigning - shouting, “Vote Derecho” - during the election proper.

Amat stated that if indeed Santugon will be disqualified, the candidates who garnered the next highest number of votes will take their place. However, the candidates should have the “50 percent plus 1” votes of the students. If none meets the criterion, special elections would have to be held.

This year saw the most number of elec-tioneering cases filed against the two parties. Tapat filed a total of eight cases, while San-tugon filed a total of three.

The Election Board will be manned by Student Council President Army Padilla, Amat, and Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Car-melita Pabiton.

Editor's note: By the time the decision of Election Board is finished, this August issue is being circulated in the University. Many possible scenarios would happen because of the culminating events. The LaSallian will update this issue in the publication bins.

Controversies highlight Freshmen ElectionsDONELLE GAN

Mission. “We need to structure venues where directions for the Lasallian Mission can be set in a more cohesive, efficient and effective manner, building on what we already have and do through a unified and comprehensive strategic plan.”

Br. Fernandez focused on his point in improving the over-all quality of Lasallian education. “We look forward to the day when the name La Salle is consistently synonymous to quality education in service to the poor.”

“In taking the risk of moving outside our comfort zones, we believe we will be amply blessed,” he concluded.

KRISTEL KAYE CHUA

and could serve as mere distraction to the more pressing issue of impeachment. This is because GMA requested the congress to intitiate talks on Charter Change, and start the debate on chang-ing the government from presidential to federal parliamentrary form during her SONA.

According to Br. Armin, the main issues facing the nation were "deliberately left out by PGMA" during her SONA.

"While it is clear that we need some systemic change in the political structure of the country, she (GMA) has not addressed the fact that her leadership continues to erode whatever remain-ing trust there is in our institutions," Br. Armin said.

Prior stepsBefore, the brothers established a core group for Restoring

Faith and Democracy. The core group will apply the principles of Lasallian family to shed light on the national crisis. The guidelines include Lasallian education, formation, and socio-development.

Br. Armin stated that their commitment has "shifted into providing various fora, where students and various sectors of the community can participate n these types of gathering, specifically bringing in the middle forces in dialogue with representatives from the administration and other political parties."

The core group feels that the discussions "will lessen the heat (on the issue) and bring more light."

The brohers are targeting the long term solution, said Aikee Esmeli, consultant for Youth Affairs of DLSU-System President, "We must sustain awareness and involvement and continue to educate the community, " Esmeli said in a phone interview.

Youth PowerIn an attempt to intensify DLSU's call for the president to

resign, the SC will collaborate with San Beda College and Ateneo de Manila University , both of which also support calls for the president’s resignation, to persuade their co-member schools in the Union of Catholic Schools and Colleges (UCSC) in sup-porting their stand.

Initially, various student leaders from different schools were planning to stage a Youth SONA that would coincide with the President’s own. However, SC President Army Padilla said that they have encountered problems in their preparations so the activity had to be cancelled.

Padilla shared that they are intensifying the SC’s education campaign as regards the impeachment and other issues that confront the government to make the Lasallians more aware and “to educate the people about the truth.”

Padilla was also interviewed by Ces Drilon in a news program in ANC News Channel last July 29 regarding the pressing issue. Also, SC Executive Secretary Kate Lim was invited in Y-Speak, a talk show in Channel 2

As of press time, the SC Legislative Assembly is planning to craft and eventually release its new manifesto, addressing the issue at hand in the coming days.

(With reports from Paul Garilao)

SC targets University Grievance BoardDONELLE GAN

I t is time for the grievance process to evolve. If things go the Student Council’s (SC) way, there will

soon be a quasi-judicial body that hears, and decides objec-tively grievances of each DLSU sector. There are five sectors in the University: Administration, Faculty, Employees, Students and Parents. This is contrary to public thought that grievances are filed only against faculty.

Centralized GrievanceDubbed as the University Grievance Board (UGB), VP-Aca-

demics Oliver To observed that sectors in the University could file complaints against each other. The most common scenarios are students complaining against faculty and employees against the Administration. However, no formal University body exists to hear the less common grievances, or to hear all grievances no matter which sector is involved.

To stated that grievance cases could be elevated to the national courts which would involve expenses in lawyer’s fees. These fees come from a contingency fund set aside by the University collected from tuition fees.

Human Resources Development Office director Atty. Enrico Lusica disclosed that under his term, a total of 18 cases have been filed by the Employee’s Association against DLSU as of June 2005. The University avails of the services of the ACCRA and the LGCM law offices.

The UGB would serve as a formal venue for the discussion and possible peaceful solution of grievances in the University. Hence, there is a bigger possibility of not dragging certain disputes to the Philippine courts. To sees the UGB to promote genuine harmony in the University.

To sees the UGB to be a multi-sectoral board reminiscent of the Multi-Sectoral Committee on Budget (MSCB) with repre-sentatives from the five aforementioned sectors and the University Legal Counsel.

DO grievanceThe SC recently held a DO grievance event in line with the

DO Awareness Month and the impending Student Handbook (SHB) Revision discussions on Student Discipline.

Student Rights Awareness (STRAW) chairperson Noelle Arcinue stated that the DO grievance served as a venue for students to report unjust treatment by the DO. Arcinue shared that during forums of the Legislative Assembly, numerous students have expe-rienced unjust treatment and undue process from the office.

The event was also used to compile all student reports gathered for the SHB revision discussions to have a factual basis.

Arcinue gave credit to the DO for its information campaign against deadly weapons, drug use and other wrong practices. However, students also have to share their experiences with the DO, may they be good or bad.

Ghosts from the past Several cases in the past have occurred that breached the

“faculty grievance only” paradigm. An accounting graduate revealed to The LaSallian her experi-

ence with the Discipline Office, where she claimed to have been “harassed” when she was unjustly slapped a cheating offense. She further claimed that due process was not observed in the proceedings.

It may be recalled that former Adcreate President Bernard Gat-bonton was found guilty of fraud. He was accused of “purportedly falsifying” receipts. The LaSallian gathered from Gatbonton that his lawyer Atty. Baldomero Gatbonton Jr. had filed a case in Philip-pine court against Discipline Office (DO) director Atty. Hilario Caraan after being denied several motions for reconsideration by the Student Discipline Board. This was as of February 2005.

Former The LaSallian editor-in-chief Meryll Yan got into the infamous tussle with Office of Student Activities (OSAc) Director Paquita Bonnet after Yan wrote about the “inefficiency” of OSAc. The case against Yan was dismissed, but only after sparks flew in the DLSU community.

In 2003, two security guards have filed sexual harassment complaints against Assistant VP for Campus Services Enrico Cordero. These were dismissed as well. (See In Review on page 3 for more information).

CBE TAPAT STRAIGHT VOTES45

SANTUGON DERECHO VOTES213

INDEPENDENT ALL INDIE VOTES7

BATCH REP Deluck Boonsirithum210

Tin del Rosario239

Aimee Chua414

David Ofrecio349

Aaron Chua84

France Uy84

LA REP Josef Lim177

Sansan Vazquez163

Monika Reunilla467

Dex Yu Galan419

Dino de Leon75

Eunika Fernando18

CCS TAPAT STRAIGHT VOTES36

SANTUGON DERECHO VOTES108

INDEPENDENT ALL INDIE VOTES0

BATCH REP JM Arceo130

Wyann Rosales90

Zyon Aquino165

Erin Bare226

Edric Kintanar33

Stacey Yu33

LA REP Mica Lumain105

Ron Ty127

Clauds Peña217

Francis Co185

Jester Sia31

Ishka Villascisneros20

CED TAPAT STRAIGHT VOTES40

SANTUGON DERECHO VOTES72

BATCH REP Toni Piñero130

Erbin Vila91

LA REP Anna Litonjua59

Marga Eusebio78

CLA TAPAT STRAIGHT VOTES133

SANTUGON DERECHO VOTES254

BATCH REP Jenn Lazo337

Justin Ticzon198

Bingo Manahan400

Y2K Villanueva420

LA REP Reena Collado236

Lean Braganza266

Niko de Castro414

Ian Marasigan451

COE TAPAT STRAIGHT VOTES142

SANTUGON DERECHO VOTES126

BATCH REP EJ Cagampan209

Kat Ramos313

Eyah Catindig331

Chris Venida223

LA REP Carl Ventura265

Leah Villalon327

Fran Blanco226

Tim Yapkianwee257

COS TAPAT STRAIGHT VOTES58

SANTUGON DERECHO VOTES63

BATCH REP Inah Garcia106

Reagan Dykimching 111

K-Ann Presa96

PJ Tobillo95

LA REP Daphne Chu106

Oman Santos81

Karyl Factora123

JI Janario97

never an ingredient to induce business. Thus, creating, at the very least, a stagnant and frail economy in the process.

In the end, there may be no clear-cut equation for economic improvement but only one formula is certain: GMA by the power of 2010 can be equated to the algebra of economic demise.

(Sources taken from Philippine Daily Inquirer and Pulse Asia Survey)

We must not pretend to be a power or a powerful or prestigiousorganization. We do not have interests to safeguard nor influences to preserve.

Br. Alvaro Rodriguez Echeverria FSC, Superior GeneralClosing Remarks, 2004 Inter-Capitular Gathering

Dearest Brothers and Beloved Members of the Lasallian Family:

Greetings of Peace!

Restoring Faith in Democracy. On 3 July 2005, the De La Salle Brothers and heads ofLasallian Institutions published in a local broadsheet the statement “Restoring Faith in Democracy” with a view of reaffirming our convictions as Filipino Lasallian educa-tors tasked with the mission of teaching minds, touching hearts and transforming lives. The statement began with these lines: “It pains us to speak at this time...” Two weeks after its publication, I live that pain in an even more profound way, bearing the onus of our convictions, on my shoulders especially as I recognize that my principal role as Brother Visitor is to be “the guarantor of the unity and vitality of the District,” (FSC Rule, 132) that is, for both the Brothers and the wider circle of the Philippine Lasallian Family. As I continue to strongly believe in the convictions we made with respect to the current political crisis in the nation, I also sincerely apologize in a spirit of genuine humility and fraternity to all the members of the Lasallian Family in the Philippines who may either have misunderstood our motives or were hurt by our convictions. More than at any other time in our history, I recognize how dif-ficult it is to be a Lasallian and how extremely difficult it is to be a Filipino. In this time of turmoil and confusion, while we may not have all the answers, we sincerely struggle to become excellent Lasallian educators as we live those questions and commit our-selves to risk our positions and even our very lives for the young entrusted to our care.

Indivisa Manent. The coat-of-arms of the De La Salle family speaks to us today: “Divided, we cannot stand.” This call to unity is uppermost in my mind, as I reach out to all our Brothers, students, teachers, staff , administrators, alumni, parents, benefactors and friends. While we cannot and should not always strive for uniformity and convergence of thought, I still believe that in a spirit of sincere dialogue, we can rediscover even to- today our common roots and find therein a reason to stand as ONE LA SALLE. As we strive day to heal the wounds of division in the family, may St. Augustine’s dictum provide us with some light to guide our way: “In essentials,

unity; in uncertain things, ; liberty liberty; in all things, charity.” We took a calculated risk in speaking publicly about our convic-tions as Brothers” and lay educators who endeavor to become the heart and the memory of our Founder, St. John Baptist de la Salle. We humbly acknowledge that ours is not the only choice and thus invite every Lasallian to discern in the depth of one’s conscience the best personal response to the current political situation. We do not wish to impose our convictions on anyone, but, in a spirit of dialogue with the rest of the Lasallian community, we invite each Lasallian to search one’s heart for the answer that will lead to your personal response to the crisis. Our pastors have given us a moral compass to guide our convictions and actions in the coming days (cf. CBCP, “Restoring Trust: A Plea for Moral Values in Philip-pine Politics”).

Whatever our personal convictions, let us continue to be re-minded that there are myriad things that bind us together as Filipino Lasallians during this time. Even if we stand on op- opposing sides, we can be united in the essentials. If we have to disagree, let it be with deep posing respect, with sincere humility and resentment towards none.

Our Own Contribution to the National Crisis. In six years’ time, we will be celebrating the centenary of our presence in the Philippines, yet we should earnestly ask ourselves: What has been our contribution to the present turmoil we are experiencing today? We have been passing from crisis to crisis in the past three decades, and as the CBCP statement notes, the crises we have suffered are basically moral—the lack of moral values in our- ourselves, in our relationships, in our social structures”. As educators, we must fervently and selves, seriously reevaluate the way we form those who have been entrusted to us. Have we been reinforcing the “ambivalent cultural values” of “ palakasan, pakikisama, and utang na loob?”

I would like to humbly think that, for 94 years, we have edu-cated the best and the brightest of our youth to be good, sincere, honest leaders in all spheres of society, yet we must face the nagging question of whether we have made any difference at all.

Have we been too silent in the face of evil? Have we been too tolerant of dishonesty? Have we been too apathetic in the face of injustice? Have we insensately formed our students to maintain the status quo? My fellow Lasallians, let us look at ourselves in the mir-ror and ask: “Have we perpetuated, consciously or unconsciously, the very system we execrate?” Tonight, as I write this, I kneel down and say “mea culpa”.

Education is Our Key: Going back to the Poor. While it is

my conviction that education isthe key to a transformed nation, I am also convinced more than

ever that merely educating our students to be our nation’s future leaders is not enough. We need to go back to our roots and reaffirm our commitment to educate the poor. We must face the fact that our prevalent culture in the Lasallian Family is middle class and we may find difficulty know- knowing, understanding and empathizing with the poor. I sincerely believe that going back and educating the materially poor is our call, our duty and our benediction. I am also con- convinced that an excellent educational program for the poor—based on sound pedagogy, an up-dated curriculum, and sound values (including love of country)—is also the salvation of our country.

Accessibility of Lasallian Education. More than ever, we need to make Lasallian education truly accessible to those who need it most without sacrificing quality and,

capital for research, development and needed infrastructure. I enjoin all Lasallian

perhaps, schoolheads to creatively look for ways of making our schools accessible to the millions of Filipino children and young men and women who hunger and yearn for education – one that is transformative.

Conclusion. My fellow Lasallians, we are on a journey. One that was started more than 300 years ago by a man “who became aware, by God’s grace, of the human and spiritual distress of ‘the children of the artisans and the poor’” (FSC Rule 1). We continue and follow this journey not knowing where it will lead us. But like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we know that Jesus walks and talks with us even if we are blind to His presence and deaf to His voice. Whatever we do, wherever we go, in faith we trust that He is with us. That is why our hearts burn with passion and zeal in whatever we do and undertake.

I ask that you continue to pray for our deeply divided and deeply troubled country. Let me assure you as well of my fraternal prayers.

Peace be to all of you.

Sincerely, I remain, your friend and brother,

Br. Edmundo L Fernandez FSCBrother Visitor

A PASTORAL LETTER TO THE LASALLIAN COMMUNITY

THE FIGHT, FROM PAGE 1

GO BACK, FROM PAGE 2

THE ALGEBRA, FROM PAGE 9

"It pays to remember our roots, to live on traditions brought down by ances-tors to ancestors."

4 August 2005 14 4 August 2005 15PERSPECTIVES The LaSallian U NIVERSITY The LaSallian

GENE-ISMS

LIFE'S CRISIS

Gene Magtoto

Luis De Vera

BC Uy

MISCELLANEOUS Ian Roman

UPPER FROSHMEN RR Gutierrez

SOFT CORN Paik Abanilla

PHONETHICS Allen Silva

ID#102

Franz Pumaren has already led the Green Archers to five championships. Yet, that doesn’t stop him from aiming another crown for De La Salle. Despite the hardships and obstacles, Pumaren still manages to maintain his cool demeanor on-and-off court. Here are 12 basketball tips from the prolific mentor.

1. Be always in tip-top shape. Basketball is a game of focus and discipline.2. Basketball is a team sport, as it requires team work.3. Basketball requires not only physical ability and athleticism but mental preparedness and toughness as well.4. Try to avoid vices and too much night outs.5. Always listen to your coaches to help you improve your game.6. Push yourself to reach maximum potential.

7. Don’t be content with your kind of play. Always give extra time to develop your. game and decrease your weaknesses.8. Stay focused and be dedicated to work on your goals.9. Never take for granted the little details that you encounter and experience during training and practices.10. The ball is smaller than the goal, so it’s not impossible to get in.11. Defense wins championships.12. It is the little things that make you win.

12 TIPSCOACH

FRANZ PUMARENFROM

PAGE DESIGN AND LAYOUT BY CHAR VALDEZPHOTOS FROM THE LASALLIAN ARCHIVE

4 August 2005 16 P OPTOWN The LaSallian

GreenGallery

REUBEN EZRA TERRADO AND CAMILLE BIANCA PINTO

Equality in the UAAP please

L i k e t h e m e n ' s basketball, other UAAP sports also deserve attention.

De La Salle could not contain the inspiring play of FEU’s Arwind Santos as the Green Archers snapped their two-game winning streak, bowing to the Tamaraws, 69-62, in the highly-anticipated rematch of last year’s finals at the Big Dome last July 31.

Tamaraws halt Archers’ winning runThe lanky Santos pounced a game-high 21 points

including 11 rebounds but his stroke from behind the arc made the difference for the Morayta-based cagers as he converted three long distance shots.

As the Archers were inching their way back to the game, Santos made his last triple conversion with 1:36 remaining in the final quarter, crushing the hearts of the Taft-based squad as the Tamaraws’ lead extended to nine points, 66-57.

With a 50-41 disadvantage late in the third quar-ter, the Archers were poised for a comeback when Joseph Yeo nailed a three while adding a fastbreak lay-up to put De La Salle to within four points, 50-46, at the end of the canto.

But the run proved to be futile in the next period as JB Mangahas connected on a three-point play. In addition, Jonas Villanueva, RJ Rizada, and Jeffrei Chan forced turnovers that led into easy lay-ups to shift the momentum away from the Archers with a 59-46 count.

The Archers erected a 6-0 blast with an inside basket by Ryan Araña but a crucial mistake by the table officials of resetting the shot clock gave FEU another opportunity to set up their offense that led to a Santos lay-up.

With five minutes remaining in the game, the Archers had its last stand as De La Salle scored five straight baskets on an Araña shot and a Tang triple to slash the lead to six, 63-57. But Tang missed on a potential back-to-back three-pointer which led to Santos’ rainbow shot, 66-57.

TY Tang led the Archers with 17 points on three-of-five shooting from behind the arc while Jun-Jun Cabatu added 12. FEU’s Rizada added support to Santos, finishing with 12 markers and dishing out five assists.

The Tamaraws, still unbeaten after six assign-ments, were able to capitalize on the errors com-mitted by the Archers as they scored 26 points off turnovers as against to the Archers’ four.

With the defeat, the Archers moved down to solo fifth place with a 3-3 record. The Taft-based cagers will seek for a strong finish in the first round as they play the winless National University Bulldogs on Aug. 6 at the Big Dome.

DLSU vs. UST (98-78)The Green Archers continued to prove their

worth as the defending champions as they crushed the UST Growling Tigers, 98-78, last July 28.

Prior to the game, the Tigers have a record of

committing 20.2 turnovers per games as compared to DLSU’s 17.5. True enough, the España-based squad wasn’t able to hold its ground against the Green Archers.

At the start of the first quarter, the Archers’ de-fense paved the way as they held the Tigers scoreless for the first two minutes. Joseph Yeo led his team with his hot shooting as the Green Archers dominated the first quarter, 33-14.

The Tigers tried to climb back from the cellar but Coach Franz Pumaren’s troops managed to protect the lead and finished out strong in the second quar-ter. Despite the enormous lead, the Green Archers continued its dominance all the way to the final canto, sealing their third win of the season.

Yeo topscored the Green Archers with 18 points while Jun-Jun Cabatu dominated the paint once more with his 13 rebounds. On the other hand, Jojo Duncil led the Tigers with 20 points but his efforts weren’t enough to stop the Green Archers from grabbing the win.

DLSU vs. Adamson (65-58)TY Tang showed the composure of a veteran

on a time when the Green Archers needed it most as De La Salle came away with a 65-58 victory over the pesky Adamson Soaring Falcons last July 23 at the Big Dome.

In the final quarter, the Archers’ offense went sour as they failed to score a basket in an eight-minute stretch. Meanwhile, the Soaring Falcons slowly clawed their way back to the match with 11 unanswered points in that stretch that almost rattled the Taft-based cagers. But it was Tang who played the hero’s role for the Archers. After a split charity, the first point in the quarter, 60-58, he drilled a cold-blooded three-point basket with 53 ticks remaining to seal the victory.

Tang finished the game with a team-high 19 points on a three-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc.

“This game was a big test for us. Even though (Adamson) made a run, we were still in the game,” said Coach Franz Pumaren, who also noted the team’s lack of “killer-instinct”.

Joseph Yeo added 12 for the Archers. Patrick Cabahug led Adamson with a game-high 24 points on four-of-seven from rainbow distance.

The Archers were limited to just six points in the final quarter, five on Tang, but it proved to be enough to get a win after committing two straight losses.

It’s a fresh beginning to the old agenda. The Green Judokas trounced the competition by winning five

medals in four weight classes in the PUP Judo Invitational held at the San Juan Gymnasium last July 10, 2005.

Leading the path to glory for the Green Judokas were Sam-son Bernales and Jeremiah de Castro, as they both won a gold medal in the -73 kg. and -52 kg. weight classes, respectively. Jan Freagn Devaras and Renelyn Benigay also contributed silver medals in their respective weight classes. Rounding up the list of winners was rookie Jerica Senales who secured a bronze medal for De La Salle.

Bernales captured the gold by storming past the opposition during the early stages of the tournament and completed the feat by pinning down his opponent during the final match. On the other hand, De Castro arranged a green-and white themed final match with fellow teammate Devaras as points decided her win.

Fresh from his victorious stance, Bernales acknowledged the importance of the tournament for the Judokas. “These tune-up games will help the players prepare and gain experience for the upcoming UAAP tournament,” he said.

The Green Judokas believe that experience and proper training are the keys to winning the coveted UAAP crown. In line with this philosophy, a series of upcoming tournaments is scheduled for the Judokas to aid their preparation for the UAAP wars.

“Every time you play the game, you play with your heart.” – This principle has been the guide of the legendary Lim Eng Beng, one of the basketball greats to ever play for De La Salle.

The makings of Lim Eng BengLim is not the typical basketball guy. He never

dreamed of becoming a basketball player during his high school days in Chiang Kai Shek College (CKSC); in fact, he hated the sport. Fortunately, his brother, a member of CKSC’s basketball team, brought him to practices where he was given a chance to try out some shooting drills. It was then when he realized his liking for the sport and eventually practiced basketball himself.

He then became part of the CKSC’s varsity team and played as a forward for three years. During those three years, Lim already showed his great potential as he led his team to three straight championships. Because of his outstand-ing contribution, he wasn’t just awarded the Most Outstanding Basketball Player by his school, but he also managed to catch the eye of the De La Salle

coaches as well.

The pride of De La SalleUpon entering the DLSU basketball

team, Lim was converted into a point guard, a position he needed adjusting to. However, his determination to be known as a great player helped him overcome this minor obstacle.

He immediately got a taste of victory during his rookie year, when the Green Archers won the 1971 NCAA championship, their first in fifteen years. The next three years then saw Lim emerge as one of the greatest Green Archers in the

history of DLSU.Duing the

1973 season, he was offered a chance to play

for a commercial league. Since he came from a family with financial problems, he decided to go to the late Bro. Gabriel Connon, the DLSU President at that time, to inform that he was considering the commercial league’s offer. However, Br. Connon managed to convince Lim to play his final year for the green and white squad.

Staying with the Green Archers was a respect-able and clever decision, as his last year became the highlight of his college basketball days. Not only did the Taft-based squad swept all their games in 1974, but Lim also raised the NCAA individual points-per-game record to 55. Beating the Blue Eagles in the championship game and winning the MVP award were just icings on the cake.

Because of Lim’s exceptional role in this re-markable era of the Green Archers, Br. Connon retired his jersey number (14) during the victory ball, an emotional event for Lim. “Nung sinabi ni Bro. Gabriel (Connon) na i-retire jersey ko, umiiyak na ako sa stage. I could not say anything. Up to now, pag naiisip ko yung moment, napa-paiyak ako.”

Lim, a business management graduate, claims that what he misses most about college basketball is the cheers of the crowd and simply playing for La Salle in general. Whenever he watches the games, he can imagine himself inside the court 31 years ago. “If I can turn back the time, why not? I’d still play for La Salle, ” Lim shared.

The Legend of the PBADue to his reputation as an excellent collegiate

basketball player, Lim skipped playing in the com-mercial league and went straight to the professional league, the Philippine Basketball Association.

In his 12 years of stay in the PBA, he played for teams like U-Tex, San Miguel, and Crispa. Lim continued his dominance in the PBA as he won four championships and two Mythical 5 awards (’78, ’80). By 1980, he was able to score 5000 points, making him one of the PBA’s 25 best players.

His most memorable PBA moment was Game

7 of the 1980 championship when his U-Tex team went up against powerhouse Toyota squad. The series was tied at 3-all and in the last 16 seconds of the game, Toyota was up by four points. By some miracle, U-Tex was able to force the game into overtime after stealing the ball twice. During the extension period, U-Tex made 5 points while Toyota only converted 4 points, making the U-Tex team the outright PBA champions.

Knowing that he has already reached the peak of his career, Lim quietly retired from the PBA in 1986. He believed that quitting while still on top is better as he had nothing to prove anymore. “ I wanted to retire gracefully, with the glory,” Lim disclosed.

The Words of a Basketball LegendDuring his time, basketball wasn’t televised

until he reached the PBA. According to Beng, the UAAP players now are luckier as they are exposed to a lot of airtime.

Nevertheless, Lim believes that young players should stay simple and humble no matter how great they are. His words of advice: “ Basketball is simple; don’t make it complicated. Whatever you do, 2 points yan. Maski magdamag ka sa ere, 2 points pa rin yan. Make it easier for yourself. Make your shooting more high percentage. Pag di mo ginawang simple ang basketball, you won’t last four quarters.”

The Life of a Basketball GreatAfter engaging in several business opportuni-

ties, he has settled down and has been coaching the Chiang Kai Shek high school basketball team. As for his three kids, he wants the three of them to finish their studies in De La Salle.

If there’s anybody who possesses the true Lasallian spirit, that guy would be Lim Eng Beng. He has always embodied the ideals of what DLSU wants from its students and still practices it today.

“Without De La Salle, there would be no Lim Eng Beng,” the basketball legend concluded.

Athlete Revisited

With the departure of UAAP MVP Crisanta Abas, all eyes are now on sophomore Arlene Borja.

The former Rookie of the Year awardee is tasked to lead the Lady Paddlers to greater heights this season. After refining her skills through rigorous trainings with the national

team, Borja is all geared up to combine her new techniques with her speed

and aggression as she takes on a new batch of formidable opponents.

ARLENE BORJAWomen's Table Tennis

The End of an Amazing Volleyball JourneyJuly 7, 2005. Perhaps I will never be able

to forget this day in my life. It all happened in just a matter of weeks. The funny thing is, I didn’t even feel how fast the events went by.

I trained everyday for two teams- the RP team and the DLSU V-League Team. Going through long hours of practices is not easy as it becomes tiring at times. Spiking a ball probably a thousand times a week and doing blocking drills throughout my volleyball career would make other people stop playing volleyball. But I am not one of them. I

love this sport. There are no words to properly describe what

I am feeling for volleyball, and partly, I am sad because I will not be able to play for the UAAP anymore. I never thought that one day I would stop playing. I mean, I can go on playing at my backyard or street, but it is not just the same. Playing at your backyard is just for fun, for entertainment.

Playing inside the hard court is the real thing. Every inch of emotion is present. Sweat and humid air brought by the audience and the players give out the feeling of intensity. Fighting for honor and glory is very exciting and challenging. Fighting for De La Salle is a blessing as it has given me the opportunity to share my gift and passion for volleyball for a long period of time.

I am very happy for the success of the Shakey’s V-League tournament. Aside from the fact that we won the championships, volleyball also won many hearts of Filipino people. Coliseums are always “sold out” because of the viewers. V-league is just pure game as there is no money involved.

Volleyball is no longer second to basketball.

I guess it is equal now. This is another thing that makes me really happy. People get to see young, talented women battling it out to be the best of the best.

I would have never made it through all my hardships in volleyball if it were not for the people who stayed by my side. They never left me, taught me my skills, and helped me fulfill my dreams. God, who is above all us, made all of this possible. If it weren’t for His generosity, I would have never crossed paths with volleyball. All I can say is thank You for everything.

As I am writing this green journal, memories of volleyball flashed. I can still remember the feeling of finally winning Shakey’s V-League. It was beyond happiness. It was a feeling of contentment. It helped me grow into a more mature person. After all, vol-leyball is not only about muscle development but also about holistic growth- emotionally, physically and spiritually.

I took every game as a learning experience and not just either by victory or loss. I trained harder to achieve my goal of becoming a better player. I drew myself closer to God by praying, having faith in Him and believing in my teammates and coaches. I have definitely become a different Maureen Penetrante because of volleyball. I have come to love the new life that exists in me.

Volleyball has just marked my journey. It is not stopping just because I will not be wearing the jersey, high socks, and kneepads anymore, for I am a true Lady Spiker whose loyalty to the De La Salle Volleyball team is forever, may it be me playing inside the court or being just one of the people cheering on the bleachers.

Maureen PenetranteGreen Journals

Lim Eng Beng

Clobbered. Reigning UAAP MVP Arwind Santos blocks Green Archer Joseph Yeo’s path to the basket during their first round encounter. DLSU lost, 62-69.

Once the game is over, the king and

the pawn go back in the same box. ~Italian Proverb

I n t h i s l i f e , equality should exist. Unfortunately, it’s not happening.

Take the UAAP m e n ’ s b a s k e t b a l l for example. These collegiate basketball players get all the luxuries in life. They have tons of sponsors, while also undergoing through a lot of publicity stuff. In addition to their free education, they have also earned a lot of people’s respects.

Now, I don’t blame these guys if they are getting all these stuff; after all, they are working hard for it. The only thing I don’t get is the fact that it’s only just the UAAP men’s basketball teams who are getting all the attention.

Teams like the Lady Archers, Green and Lady Spikers, Booters, and other teams as well are also working their butts of but what do they get? Only material things. During their games, very few people watch their matches. Most of the time, it’s just their families and friends who support them.

Last July 17, the DLSU Pep Squad performed in the halftime of the Lady Archers’ game against the UST Tigresses. I really appreciated their efforts as they cheered on the Taft-based squad. Unfortunately again, the people doing the halftime cheer weren’t really doing their cheers wholeheartedly. For one, they weren’t dressed in DLSU uniforms and to worsen the situation, some of them were just wearing slippers while cheering.

How come when it comes to the UAAP games of men’s basketball, these members of the DLSU pep squad are all dressed up? But when it comes to games in other sports, they don’t bother a bit with their appearances. Equality just doesn’t seem to fit the picture.

In a recent interview of The LaSallian with Mr. Lim Eng Beng, he mentioned how lucky collegiate players are today. For one, they are getting a lot of airtime as the UAAP games of men’s basketball are televised.

True enough, Mr. Lim is right. These players are really lucky. Well, how come other UAAP sports aren’t getting this kind of media hype? Is it because their sport is not that popular or the people simply just don’t care? Like the men’s basketball, other UAAP sports deserve attention, as well as the players of these sports also bring pride to their alma mater.

During UAAP games, the De La Salle community often cheers “ Animo La Salle!” Honestly, it would be better if we change the cheer to “ Animo Green Archers!” since in the first place, it’s only the Green Archers that most people care about.

In the quote I used earlier, the Green Archers symbolizes the king while the other sports are the pawns. Though the king may seem higher than the pawn, both of them still go back in the same box. Hopefully, there would be more room for the other UAAP sports other than men’s basketball. After all, men’s basketball and other UAAP sports have something

Clearly, the Green Spikers made its point that defeating the blue-bannered pack extends into the UAAP volleyball field as well.

The tension of the La Salle-Ateneo rivalry is commensurate in any type of com-petition, which is exactly why the expected ousting of the Loyola-based Spikers in straight sets, 25-10; 25-17; 25-19 last July 31 at the UPCHK Gym was still very much emotionally triggered.

It has been a rocky win-lose path for the Spikers, who are coming off an embarrassing straight-set loss to the UP spikers. With their redeeming win against Ateneo, De La Salle is currently in the middle of the UAAP pack sporting a 2-2 slate.

The Spikers’ first-set romp can mostly be attributed to the efforts of veteran Aifrell De La Pena, who scored seven of his eleven points during that lopsided first set.

During the second round, Ateneo con-tinued to struggle with their spikes, which had the tendency to stray beyond the lines or get jammed into the net. Despite being down by only up by a point, 9-8, the Spik-ers capitalized on Ateneo’s deficiency in

defense to diligently regain the momentum. The Loyola-based spikers lagged behind in defensive stops, evidenced by the number of De La Salle spikes that they failed to dig before eventually catching one, increasing the Spikers’ lead to 18-12 that perpetually ballooned up to 22-14.

By the third and final set, it was pretty obvious that the veteran De La Salle squad had the advantage over the less-experienced and height-challenged crew of Ateneo in terms of jumping ability and proper execu-tion of plays.

Junior Russel Raz topscored for the Spikers with 18 points.

In an earlier game, the Green Spikers suffered their second setback as the UP Maroons swept the Taft-based squad in straight sets, 3-0, last July 27.

Prior to the two games against UP and ADMU, the Green Archers had an easier time defeating the National University Bull-dogs, 3-0, in their second UAAP game last July 24.

Despite the close calls and NU’s rally, the Green Spikers still emerged victorious

with final set marks of 25-23, 25-22, and 25-22. Rookie Andrew Billeña lived up to Coach Ronald Dulay’s expectations as his powerful spikes garnered most of the team’s points.

In addition, team captain Joseph Bato, Russel Raz, and Justin Marchadesch played exceptional defense on the net as they blocked key spikes from the opposition.

Masteral student and former CSB Blazer, Raymond Yoldi also proved to be a brilliant investment after performing excel-lent reception for the Taft-based squad.

On the other hand, Ben Labide rallied the Bulldogs with strong services and ag-gressive plays alongside teammates, Rey-naldo Carandang and Beniamor Lingat.

Besides the absence of a full roster, the Green Spikers still managed to take advan-tage of the numerous errors and certain mis-communications that the NU Bulldogs were committing during the game. “Umaangat naman [ang team] kahit kulang; they’re learning how to blend”, Coach Dulay said as his team continues to face tougher op-ponents in the games to come.

Green Spikers notches second win against AteneoMICHELLE ANDREWS, EVELYN CHUA, AND CANDACE DAPHNE TING

JUN-JUN CABATUMen's Basketball

Besides his workhorse defensive skills, Jun-Jun Cabatu has another thing to be proud of---his

new-found offensive game. Cabatu aims to follow the footsteps of his father as he plays

the final season of his collegiate career. This time around, Cabatu will be among the

veterans providing the leadership as the Green Archers defend their UAAP crown.

CARLA LLAGUNO Women's Vollerball

A born fighter, Carla Llaguno never forgets to bring her “never say die” at-titude on the court for the Lady Spikers. After a year of adjustments, Llaguno is confident that she will make more impact in her sophomore year, willing to fill in any void that the team should

have. The former Colegio de San Agustin standout is aggressively smart as she attacks on every weakness of the opponent, while also giving a 101 percent in her performance as well.

LONG LIVE ANIMO!Support our UAAP first-half teams.

Judokas dominate PUP Invitational

REY CHRISTIAN SIKAT

PHOTO BY ERIC SIY

PHOTO BY DIANE REYES

JORDY NAVARRA

JHOANNA KAYE LEAL AND CARLOS REBULLIDA III

PHOTOS BY DAN NABLESHANA BANIELCHYNNA CHAN

4 August 2005 18 4 August 2005 19S P O R T S The LaSallian S P O R T S The LaSallian

D efense paved the way for the De La Salle Lady Archers in claiming their second win of the season at the expense of the UE Lady Amazons last July 31 at the Adamson gym. The Taft-based squad was able to pull off a big win with a twenty five point-margin against their opponents, marking the end of the game at 77-52.

Cagebelles outgun UE for second win

Although the final score shows otherwise, the Lady Archers did not dominate all through out the whole game. It had been a tight first half as the Lady Amazons rose from the nine point- advantage of the Lady Archers by the end of the first quarter. The Lady Amazons scored 18 points in the second quarter, closing in the gap to only two points by the end of the first half.

A three-pointer by Rainielle Jambaro at the start of the third quarter gave the UE squad the lead at 33-32. It was until the 5:52 mark of the third quarter when the Lady Archers finally ended their scoring drought after being down by as much as six points.

With two minutes left in the third quarter, mo-mentum finally shifted back to the Lady Archers when Angeli Gloriani drilled in a three-pointer to give the Lady Archers the lead once again. The third quarter ended with the Lady Archers clinging on to a one-point advantage, 48-47.

The outstanding performance of the Lady Arch-ers at the fourth quarter spelled the difference in the match. Their full court press helped them pull

up against the Recto-based squad in the final canto. The squad was able to orchestrate a 20-1 run led by the joint offensive efforts of Tin Alon-Alon and Khristine Prado.

With their stingy defense, the Lady Archers gave the Lady Amazons a hard time in bringing down the ball, limiting them to only five points in the last quarter. From the point on, the Lady Archers never looked back and eventually took control of the game, leading to their second victory.

Khristine Prado led the team in scoring with 16 points, while Tin Alon-Alon and Angeli Gloriani both chipped in 14 points as well.

The victory gave the Lady Archers a 2-1 record after they suffered their first loss by default against the UP Lady Maroons in an earlier scheduled match. Apparently, the DLSU team wasn’t able to attend the game on time as they were not informed about the reschedule of their match. Coach Mon Jose tried to file a protest but unfortunately, the UAAP technical committee denied their request, handing the Lady Archers its first loss of the season.

(With reports from Rey Christian Sikat)Shaky win. The Lady Archers eked out a victory over the UE Lady Amazons, but not without struggling through the first three quarters.

JEWELYNN GAY ZARENO

The De La Salle University Lady Spikers over-came the absence of their head coach and two key players as they defeated the University of the Philippines, 3-1, at the UP Human Kinet-ics Gym last July 31.

The defending champions notched their third victory after closing out the UP Ma-roons with set scores of 21-25; 25-7; 25-10; and 25-20.

After losing the first set, the DLSU Volley-belles went on a scoring rampage of continu-ous spikes, overpowering their shorter oppo-nents. On the other hand, the Lady Maroons had a hard time keeping up with DLSU’s drop shots in the second set. Manilla Santos’ spike pegged the score at 19-7 and from the point on, the Lady Spikers never looked back as they closed out the second set at 25-7.

The third set was a similar story as the Lady Spikers continued to dominate the game. The green and white squad didn’t waste any time as they built an early 6-1 lead. Once again, the Lady Maroons couldn’t keep up with

the Taft-based squad as they only banked on DLSU’s errors to earn their points. Appar-ently, DLSU’s errors weren’t enough to save the UP Volleybelles from the brink of death as the young De La Salle team wrapped up the set in less than 30 minutes with a gigantic 15 point lead.

UP finally managed to adjust to the Lady Spikers’ attacks as they started out strong in the fourth set, taking an early 4-2 lead. De La Salle managed to tie the set at 6-all before the two teams’ continuous exchange of points. Both teams made a lot of errors but it was the DLSU Lady Spikers who prevailed after scoring four straight points.

UP made its final gallant stand after cut-ting DLSU’s lead to just two points, 22-20.

Unfortunately, the Lady Maroons weren’t able to sustain their momentum as they com-mitted a crucial error to hand the DLSU Vol-leybelles a 3-1 win.

After Adamson University’s upset of De La Salle, the UP Maroons tried to duplicate

the Falcons’ ways as they took on a close first set. The defending champions couldn’t seem to get their act together as they squandered a five-point lead. On the other hand, State U’s hustle eventually gave them the lead, 20-19, as well as the set.

Head Coach Ramil de Jesus and regular starters Shermaine Peñano and Erika Tiamzon were not available as they were seeing action in Thailand together with the National Team. Assistant Coach Oliver Almadro took over the coaching duties and the unenviable responsi-bility of leading a depleted team to a victory. With the win, the Lady Spikers has occupied the top two slots with a 3-1 slate.

After suffering its first setback against the Adamson Falcons earlier in the season, the DLSU Lady Spikers bounced back as they triumphed over the FEU Tamaraws, 3-1, last July 27. Desiree Hernandez led her team to victory with final set marks of 25-12; 25-16; 21-25; and 25-12.

DLSU Lady Spikers prevail over UP Athlete Revisited

Lim Eng Beng

“Every time you play the game, you play with your heart.” – This principle has been the guide of the legendary Lim Eng Beng, one of the basketball greats to ever play for De La Salle.

“Every time you play the game, you play with your heart.”

GET TO KNOW THE MAN ON PAGE 18

PHOTO BY OFELIA STA. MARIA

PHOTO BY DIANE REYESOver the wall. The Lady Spikers, despite a loss to Adamson in their second game, are still humming in the UAAP thanks to victories over FEU, NU, and UP (in picture).

JOHN DE LOS SANTOS

S P O R T SVOL. XLVI NO. 3 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY 4 AUGUST 2005

The LaSallian

19on page

Green JournalsMaureen Penetrante