The Official Student Publication of the UP College of Mass CommunicationIssue No. 1 Year XXXVII Friday, September 11, 2015

Best in decade:

UP stuns La Salle for 2-0 startBy Jason V. Mercene

After ten years, a rejuve-nated Fighting Maroons is off to a hot start.

With a fiery first half and steady shooting down the stretch, the University of the Philippines pulled off an inspired win against title contender De La Salle Uni-versity, 71-66, in the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.

Returnees Jett Manuel and Paul Desiderio com-bined for 27 points to power the Fighting Maroons and remained unscathed, UP’s best start of the season in the UAAP since 2005.

“It was made clear before-hand even in the training, everyone in the team has a role,” said Manuel, who also tallied five rebounds and five assists. “Me and Paul accept-ed our roles, we have also a role to play.” Paul Desiderio tries to elude two La Salle defenders in their match up, Wednesday, at the Smart Araneta

Coliseum. UP won the game, 71-66. Photo by Nicole AlcaldeContinued in page 2

Tiny hands & Wooden gunsBy Shara Lein May Cayetano and Maira Feona Imperial

Unlike most kids his age, 15-year old Toto* has an unconventional dream: he wants to be a rapper someday. A diffi-cult skill to master, the art of chanting rhymes in time to a beat takes vocal presence, speed and clari-ty all at once. But for Toto, a Lumad from Lianga, Su-

rigao del Sur, it is meaning that matters most. “Di ba yung pagkanta ay isa ring pamamaraan para maipa-hayag yung problema sa bansa? (Isn’t singing a way of expressing the nation’s problems?),” he said.

Yesterday, Toto’s dream came true - albeit in the most unconventional way, still. Along with his teach-ers from the Alternative Learning Center for Ag-ricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV), Toto performed “Iisang Hangad,” a song about freedom they collective-ly composed. ALCADEV is a government-owned but privately-run school which provides secondary education to indigenous youth in the CARAGA re-gion.

Toto is only one of

about 670 students dis-placed from their homes in Surigao del Sur, where paramilitary violence has forced many to eat.

On Sept. 1, paramili-tary group Magahat-Ba-gani stormed into the ALCADEV compound and surrounding homes, searching for members of the New People’s Army (NPA). According to Gary Payac, an ALCADEV volunteer teacher, resi-dents and fellow teachers were forced to leave their homes and told not to run. If they did, the paramili-tary threatened that they would be “damaged.”

That night, ALCADEV school director Emeri-to Samarca was stabbed to death in one of the school’s classrooms. Di-onel Campos, chair of

Maluhutayong Pakigbisog Alang Sumusunod (MAPA-SU), a Lumad organization protesting mining oper-ations, land conversions and plantations, and his cousin Aurelio Sinzo were also killed.

Doon mismo sa harap ng bahay namin pina-tay si Dionel, (Dionel was killed right in front of our house),” Toto said.

At least 50 families from the barangay were forced to walk up to 16 kilometers to safety, bringing with them the bodies of the dead.

The military, who was stationed less than 30 meters away from the school when the incident happened, did not do anything to prevent the Magahat, according to witnesses. Continued on page 3

Tibay ng panulat, tikas ng paninindigan

Tinig ng Plaridel

Tinig ng Plaridel FRI. Sept. 11, 20152 OPINION FRI. Sept. 11, 2015

EDITORIAL

UP FIGHT!Echoes of cheers resounded in the

Araneta Coliseum as students and spectators witnessed UP’s best opening for the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) in decades. Ending the match with a win against De La Salle University, 71-66, students and supporters raised their fists for the redeemed basketball team, school pride coursing along with each chant, each holler and each passing moment.

The university may have won a victory, but there are battles it has yet to face.

Among these battles include the impending P 2.2 billion budget cut in 2016, the biggest in the university’s history.

While there is an increase for the budget of state universities and colleges, UP’s budget went down from P13.14 billion last year to P10.9 billion this year.

This will force the university to become self-sufficient and come up with income-generating projects (IGP) in order to suffice the campuses’ needs.

Some of these IGPs include the newly-established UP Town Center whose construction disrupted the academic calendar of the UP Integrated School (UPIS).

UP’s history of being the best university and the home of the brightest students in the entire archipelago is now a force to think about due to its commercialized and

less accessible state of education. Before, UP has bred the brightest of the

brightest minds and the most competent students. But that was several years passed. Now, it continues to breed bright minds who can afford the expensive fees in what was supposed to be a state university.

Pushing the premier state university to be self-sufficient by using its idle assets for commercialized purposes is a scapegoat for further state abandonment. Once it happens, UP might lose its primary mandate to serve the people and the nation.

UP students is for the people. UP is the university of the people. UP’s mandate is to always give back to the taxpayers who funded their education. .

Hence, we hope that one day, the UP crowds that filled the stadium for a basketball game can also fill the streets or the halls to show solidarity in our struggle for accessible education.

We hope that one day, the same voices that cheered on our athletes can also echo our call to put an end to commercialization.

We hope that one day, the same fists raised in elation can also be raised in protest for budget cut, lack of dormitories, and suppression of art. After all, these battles are more than just a game, and we are the UP Fighting Maroons.

It’s about time we knew what we were really fighting for.

Tinig ng PlaridelEditorial Board

A.Y. 2015-2016

Anton OnatoEditor-in-Chief

Yvette MoralesAssociate Editor

Nicole-Anne LagrimasManaging Editor

Judielyn AguaNews Editor

Krysten Mariann BoadoFeatures Editor

David Tristan YumolSports Editor

Summer BastianChief Photographer

Gene Paolo GumagayArt Director

Tinig ng Plaridel is the official student publication of the

UP College of Mass Communication.

TNP is a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and SOLIDARIDAD (UP Systemwide Alliance of

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UP stuns La Salle for 2-0 start(Continued from page 1)

True enough, the Maroons’ bench provided necessary firepower for 44 points as Desiderio, Pio Longa, and Diego Dario took turns to upset the Archers in their first meeting this season.

“Sobrang sarap kasi sa amin parang sobrang saya, di ako makapaniwala (It’s a sweet victory for us and I can’t believe it).” expressed former U16 national team member Desiderio. “Gagawin namin ang lahat (We’ll do our best).”

Fresh from a season-opener victory over University of the East last Sunday, the host school shocked the Archers via a 13-6 blitz to end the first half

while holding off La Salle to a dismal 29% shooting.

The Maroons continued its momentum in the third quarter, even managing to balloon its lead to 17 at the 1:55 mark, 54-37, with Desiderio and Gelo Vito nailing back-to-back triples.

But the La Salle side refused to back down as rookie Andrei Caracut and sophomore Prince Rivero led the fight back to trim down the lead to five under two minutes in the game, 64-59.

The Fighting Maroons, however, saved the win as Andrew Harris and Henry Asilum drained pressure-packed free throws, much to the delight of the UP crowd in attendance.

“I believe dito sa mga bata because araw-araw nakikita ko sila sa practice kung paano nabibigay nilang sipag at sakripisyo (I believe in what my players can do because I see how much hard work and sacrifice they are giving everyday),” coach Rensy Bajar said.

The feat marked UP’s first win over La Salle since 2009 while already surpassing the 1-27 record from the two previous season.

Rivero garnered 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a losing effort for La Salle.

The Maroons will try to defend their clean slate against the still-perfect Growling Tigers on Sunday, 2 p.m, at the MOA Arena.

FRI. Sept. 11, 2015 Tinig ng Plaridel

Tiny hands &Wooden guns (continued from page 1)

The military, who was stationed less than 30 meters away from the school when the incident happened, did not do anything to prevent the Magahat, according to witnesses.

Lilian Laurezo, former teacher at ALCADEV and campaigner of Save our Schools Network CARAGA, said forced evacuation is nothing new to the Lumad. It occurs almost every two years, as a result of increased militarization in the area.

The region is rich in natural resources, making it attractive to foreign extraction companies. But to the Lumad, who consider land their life, extraction companies and foreign-owned plantations have been destructive, not only to the environment but to their way of living as well.

“Bagama’t ito ay mga produktong agrikultural, mariin itong tinutuligsa dahil ang tanging oryentasyon nya ay suplayan ang mga nandito sa Kamaynilaan at ang ibang bansa. Hindi yung mga pangangailangan at seguridad sa pagkain ng mga nasa lokalidad ng CARAGA (Although these are agricultural products, they are firmly protested against because their only orientation is to supply Manila and other countries, not the food security of those in CARAGA localities),” Laurezo said.

The military, she added, act in the interest of foreign companies, and the clash takes a heavy toll on the Lumad.

Caught in the crossfire, it is the Lumad youth that suffer the most.

Seeing how armed groups have taken over their schools and playgrounds, students fear going back to the humble learning halls where they first built dreams and friendships. Along with losing their loved ones, the children are on the brink of losing their confidence, their trust in the world they know, their trust in the future.

“Isa pong dahilan na mapahinto yung aming paaralan, imbis na magsikap po kami sa buhay, nahinto po dahil sa kanila. Makikita namin yung pagdarahas sa aming mga lider, mga pagpatay, pagpaslang, kahit sa ganitong edad ko pa lang (We should be striving in life, but our school has been stopped because of them (the paramilitary). We see violence against our leaders at such a young age),” Toto said.

At present, about 2,800 individuals from the towns of Lianga, Tago, San Miguel and Marihatag in Surigao del Sur, as well as upland areas in Tandag City are housed in the Tandag City Sports Complex.

“Kung magtagal na di makauwi ang mga evacuees, kung kinakailangan maglunsad ng pagkaklase sa evacuation centers, aangkop tayo sa pangangailangan (If evacuees couldn’t go home soon and if we have to conduct classes in evacuation centers, we will provide their needs),” Laurezo said.

Due to limited space and logistics, residents were merged with the first batch of evacuees from the Lumad communities of Diatagon who fled their homes after the murder of MAPASU council member Henry Alameda.

In the meantime, teachers are doing adjustments to hold informal classes, even in the absence of lesson plans, in order to regain a “sense of normalcy and routine” for the Lumad children.

“[Basta] makalma sila na kahit andito tayo sa lugar na hindi natin tahanan, kahit wala tayo dun sa sanktwaryo ng eskwelahan, sa pagsasama-sama, mayroong sense of security

na maibigay sa mga bata para maramdaman nila yung normal na karapatan nila bilang bata na maglaro, maglibang, mapaunlad (As long as the children can be calm in a place that is not our home, even if we are not in the sanctuary of the school, we can give them a sense of security so they would still get their right to play and develop),” Laurezo said.

Having grown up in a militarized zone, students have more or less gained an understanding of the situation. Cultural presentations conceptualized by the students themselves are very “reflective” of their everyday experiences, Laurezo said.

For instance, in one of their dramatic performances, the students dressed up as military men carrying improvised guns made of wood.

While some of the audiences earlier pointed out that upon seeing the photos of the event, they may be mistaken as training ground for members of the NPA, Laurezo said these concepts are purely interpretations of the students first-hand experiences.

“‘Yun ay nagmula sa kanilang kamulatan dahil sa kanilang karanasan (That came from their awareness brought about by experience),” Laurezo said.

“Yun ang nakikita nila sa kanilang komunidad at sila mismo, firsthand ay nakaranas ng nakakita o maharass ng armado (That is what they see in their community, and they see firsthand those who are harassed by armed groups).”

According to Laurezo, these cultural performances are an avenue for the children to release their emotions and convey to the audiences their own understanding of these events.

On Tuesday, President Aquino said the government is not targeting the Lumads or indigenous peoples in Mindanao.

“There is no campaign to kill anybody in this country. There is a campaign to go after the culprits of these crimes regardless of who they are,” Aquino said in a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.

For now, Laurezo said Lumad supporters are doing their best to initiate a fact-finding mission and a dialogue to settle what had happened.

She said there is intervention from local government units, however, what they need is beyond palliative response.

Instead of focusing on responding to the needs of evacuees, she said the government must target the root causes of mass evacuations which has been a long-term problem in Southern Mindanao, Laurezo said.

Laurezo said the total number of displaced families is yet to be finalized after everyone has settled in the evacuation center. On Tuesday, jeepneys full of passengers arrived at the center, she said.

In the meantime, Toto will find a way to sing of his people’s sufferings, no matter how unconventional it may be. The only question left is whether those who need to listen will.

“Bakit nila papatayin ang magandang kinabukasan ng mga Lumad? Katulad rin kami ng mga military, tao rin kami, may pangarap sa buhay (Why will they kill the bright future of the Lumad? We are just like the military - we are also humans who have dreams in life),” he said.

*Not his real name

“Bakit nila papatayin ang magandang kinabukasan ng mga Lumad? Tao rin kami.”

FEATURES 3

Tinig ng Plaridel FRI. Sept. 11, 2015

Lowest number of students take UPCAT this year

The University of the Philippines (UP) experienced a 93 percent decline in its University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) examinees this year compared to its average takers in the past five years.

The annual average of 76 000 dropped to 7 517 applicants, from whom only 5 007 were qualified to take the exam. According to UP Diliman Office of the Admissions Director Dr. Aurora Odette Mendoza, this is due to eligibility issues caused by the implementation of the Enhanced Education Act of 2013 or the K-12 curriculum.

“The K-12 implementation has, as part of its consequence, two gap years in relation to high school graduates and college intake,” Mendoza said.

The new curriculum requires an additional two years of senior high school - grades 11 and 12, translating first to fourth year high school to grades 7 to 10, which is now called junior high school.

In senior high school, the students have to choose a track or program of specialization: Academic, Technical-Vocational-Livelihood, Sports and Arts. The Academic track includes three strands: Business, Accountancy, Management (BAM); Humanities, Education, Social Sciences (HESS), and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).

UPCAT applicants are only qualified to take the examination if they have officially graduated, or obtained a high school diploma, which is by year 2018 under the K-12 curriculum.

“The decrease in high school graduates will determine the decrease in UPCAT takers,” Mendoza said.

UPCAT examinees in all of the 15 regional UP units also dwindled to 300 or 0.2 percent of the average annual takers from these units.

Meanwhile, 4 707 students took the exam in the flagship UP Diliman campus, which is located near K-12 accredited, mostly private, high schools.

The new curriculum also created a mass confusion as some students who applied for UPCAT misunderstood the term “graduate”, according to Mendoza.

“Some students who came here thought that when you say the word ‘senior’, [it pertains to] 4th year or Grade 10,” the director said. “We were surprised to find out that even the principals did not know that when you say the word ‘graduate,’ you should have a high school diploma.”

Mendoza also said that many UPCAT applicants last August attempted to take senior high school in UP.

The admissions office resolved the confusion by specifying

conditions to determine students’ eligibility to take the exam:

1. Students who already obtained a high school diploma which serves as a proof that a student already graduated from the secondary level. This is the major problem of applicants due to k-12.

2. Philippines Educational Placement Test (PEPT). Students who underwent homeschooling under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) may take this exam from the Department of Education (DepEd) which gives them the grades to make them eligible for college.

3. Those who graduated before 2016 but never entered college. UP allows this to be eligible for admission. UPCAT can only be taken once, so if those graduates never took it, they may still apply for the exam.

by Mary Josephine Geronimo and Jeuel Barroso

NEWS4

UPCAT Examinees and QualifiersFrom AYs 2011-2012 to 2016-2017

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The number of examinees is less than the number of ap-plicants due to a variety of reasons, including: illness and inability to travel to get to testing center, or deci-sion not to take test; the number of examinees may vary from other data tables depending on the time the tables were made because resolved pending cases are added.

2015 data: Based on initial results in January 2015 (does not include resolved pending cases).

2016 data: As of Aug. 27, 2015; data refers to UPCAT ap-plicants for the K-12 gap year 2016 when Grade 11 will be implemented; DepEd data estimates 4,000-5,000 HS graduates; some applicants were durther processed and found ineligible to take the test.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS

INFOGRAPHIC: GENE PAOLO GUMAGAY

LEGEND

APPLICANTS EXAMINEES FROM THE REGIONS DILIMAN MIDDLE EAST QUALIFIERS

FRI. Sept. 11, 2015 Tinig ng Plaridel

It was an iconic institution of UP pride that housed decades of mem-ories. Its wide va-

riety of stalls and eclectic mix of cuisines ensured its status as a home to any-one, a home that promised food even to those who could muster only the small change in their pockets.

A lifetime of student sto-ries and adventures, how-ever, could not withstand the fire that brought it all down in under an hour on June 13.

Marilyn Bandiola, own-er of CASAA’s Chef’s Grille, remembers her mind going totally blank that Saturday morning.

She and Chef’s Grille cook, Ken Taliola, had sustained second-degree burns and were rushed to the university infirmary before being moved to East Avenue Medical Center.

Initial investigations showed the fire was caused by a leak from a liquefied petroleum gas tank that had set off an explosion.

Bandiola said Taliola was changing the gas when the blast occurred and the fire spread quickly throughout the kitchen. According to official reports, this hap-pened at 9:45 a.m. The fire was declared out almost

half an hour later.Bandiola, who had been

running the stall for five years, says the only thing she could think of that day was her and Taliola’s safety.

“The owner of Chef’s Grille, like most vendors in CASAA, are very kind to students,” said Sophia Ca-diz, a UP Diliman sociology student and former regular at the food canteen.

Cadiz recounted the times she would bring her own sachet of coffee or milo to CASAA, where Bandiola would give her hot water whenever she was on a tight budget.

“She would provide it for free, but sometimes I would give five pesos because I asked for hot water almost every week,” Cadiz said in Filipino. “She was always smiling.”

Chef’s Grille along with other CASAA concession-aires has been relocated to the Zoology Building, but Bandiola says business is far from what it used to be.

The new conditions have also made running the food stall more taxing as she now wakes up at 3:00 a.m. to be-gin preparing the food for the day. Her cook comes in by 5:00 a.m., giving them enough time to finish, but leaving them exhausted be-fore the store even opens.

The move has also forced them to remove items from their menu.

Students have similar-ly been affected by the fire that snatched away their go-to place at the heart of the campus.

“It was really an inconve-nience,” said Cadiz.

According to her, stu-dents lost a haven for meet-ing up or studying while enjoying good food. For Ca-diz, this would be the grilled honey chicken or chili Mex-ican rice topping that she would routinely eat at a ta-ble by the window.

“Tapos kapag umuulan, imbes na may accessible “silong” for students, wala na. Palagi nang kailangan mag-detour or tumambay elsewhere,” she said. Her father and grandmother also used to have a stall in CASAA, where they sold pancit in the 1980s.

The impact of CASAA on students, faculty and fami-lies is truly generations in the making.

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA) has tried to re-create this winning reci-pe of novelty and affordable meals by stationing food trucks at the AS Parking Lot since classes began last Au-gust.

Nestor Castro, Vice

Chancellor for Community Affairs, told the media this is only a temporary alter-native to CASAA until UP’s Business Concessionaire’s Office (BCO) can provide a long-term solution.

These stalls include The Cheese Steak Shop, Hugry Rover Taco Trike, Truck Bun International Food Truck, and Amazing Cones.

The price of the meals fall anywhere between P99 to over P200: Gone are the days of CASAA where a stu-dent could get by with P50 or less.

Although the trucks are meant to give university students a steady source of food, Bandiola says it has also contributed to the growing number of difficul-ties in running Chef’s Grille.

“I no longer see (our regulars), it’s all new stu-dents here,” she said. “We are likely affected by the food trucks. It would help us if our stalls were the only ones here.”

However, the fate of the 32-year-old canteen is still undecided, as discussed in a dialogue between stu-dent leaders and officials from the BCO, Offices of the Campus Architect, Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs, Student Affairs and Student Activities last Sept. 2.

The Aftermath: Things we lost in the (CASAA) fireBy Matthew Reysio-Cruz and Faith Esther Brown

Continued in page 6

Any UP student will tell you that the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Association food center, fondly called CASAA, was more than just a building.

FEATURES 5

Tinig ng Plaridel FRI. Sept. 11, 2015

Acacia dorm now open for private bidding

The newest residence hall in the University of the Philippines is now open for bidding and private management after the UP Board of Regents (BOR) approved its semi-privatization on August 27.

“We demanded to end the commercialization in student services, in this specific case, dormitories. Our demands were noted [in the meeting],” said Student Regent Miguel Enrico Pangalangan, the only board who voted against the measure.

Originally, juris doctor students were deemed the priority of the five-storey residence hall after the UP College of Law financed the dormitory in 2010 as part of

it centennial anniversary. However, the P205.2-

million dorm was opened this year to other students who were mostly appellants as a response to what UP President Alfredo Pascual described as a “flash flood scenario” in his letter to the BOR.

UP Diliman opened the academic year with dorm shortage protests which Pascual recognized as a “miscommunication” during a dialogue with the students last August 6, approving all pending dorm appeals on the same day.

The law dorm, which rents for P3,000 a month inclusive of an unfurnished room with one bathroom, was one of the dormitories

that took in students who failed to secure slots in Kalayaan, Molave, Yakal, Ilang-Ilang and Sampaguita which have cheaper monthly rates ranging from P225 to P500.

“The semi-privatized dorms such as Acacia and Centennial provide premium on income. These establishments are treated as businesses rather than student services,” the student regent added.

University Student Council Councilor and People’s Struggle Committee Head Bryle Leaño said the BOR also agreed to allow the highest-bidding private entity to determine the rental fees of all semi-privatized dorms

under the public-private partnership.

“The worst thing is that this could become a model or precedent [for privatization of dorms],” Leaño said in Filipino.

Pascual said there are still 180 dorm slots available to accommodate students as of August 25.

He added that UP Diliman was successful in decreasing its no-show rate, accepting around 800 more freshmen this year.

The BOR meeting was welcomed by a week-long protest action against shortage of slots for dormitories and the proposed P 2.2 billion UP budget cut for 2016, among others.

by Ma. Niña Pamela Castro

USC Councilor Beata Carolino said it is still not clear whether the canteen will be rebuilt or not.

“[W]hen we asked them kung mababalik pa ito (CASAA), hindi ma-linaw ang sagot. During the dialogue, the problem became clear: no exact jurisdiction was given to that space,” said Carolino regarding the former site of CASAA.

The food center was formerly man-aged by the College of Arts and Scienc-es Alumni Foundation Inc. (CASAF) but was eventually transferred to the BCO.

Under the management of BCO, concessionaires were allowed to stay until Dec. 15, 2014 but after protests against this, contracts of concession-aires were extended until last June 15, two days after CASAA was razed.

Because of the confusion over who-ever owns the space, no one could de-cide on what will happen to CASAA and who will operate it in the future.

The council is still waiting for UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan’s clarification as to who owns the for-mer CASAA site.

“Once that is finalized, the unit will decide what will happen to the space,”

Carolino added.USC Councilor and Ways and

Means Committee Head Marjon Abut said a benefit concert will be held in November to raise funds for CASAA, which will be deposited in a trust fund

Abut also said if CASAA is to be re-built, the USC will monitor all the pro-cesses involved to guarantee transpar-ency and accountability.

Amid the uncertainties, Carolino and Abut were relieved because of the assurance that the former CASAA grounds will not be turned into a com-mercial establishment.

Last year, the BCO attempted to raise CASAA rental fees by 50-200 percent, according to a statement from the Save the CASAA Food Center Facebook page.

“Rest assured, that space will re-main a service facility and not a com-mercial entity,” said Carolino.

But Bandiola simply hopes out of the ashes can rise a CASAA not much different than the one that had been shelter to her and an entire communi-ty of students and faculty.

“I hope everything would be al-right, and we could finally get back to CASAA.”

The Aftermath:Things welost in the

(CASAA) fire(Continued from page 5)

NEWS6

FRI. Sept. 11, 2015 Tinig ng Plaridel

The University Student Electoral Board (USEB) affirmed the new College of Human Kinetics (CHK) representative to the Uni-versity Student Council (USC) despite previous con-tentions from the home col-lege’s electoral board due to academic eligibility.

Arianne Joy Javier will replace Miel Perez de Ta-gle as CHK representative to the USC, regardless of the CHK college electoral board’s recommendation for special elections .

De Tagle’s resignation from the council followed after she filed a leave of absence due to health rea-sons, according to Sports Science Representative Ga-bryel Cruz.

According to Article VI, Section 4 of the USC Consti-tution, vacancies in the Of-fice of Representatives will be filled in by “the candi-date who obtained the next highest number of votes in the last general elections.” De Tagle, Nagkakaisang Is-

kolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA) candidate won over Stu-dent Alliance for the Ad-vancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP) bet Javier by 24 votes in the student elections last April.

However, CSEB head and college secretary My-nette Aguilar raised con-cern over Javier’s eligibil-ity as a council member, citing Article III Section 1 of the Revised UP Electoral Code which states that can-didates for USC positions must satisfy several qualifi-cations including being “of good academic standing” as defined by the university rules.

Aguilar said Javier in-curred a delinquent (DQ) status on the 2nd semester of AY 2014-2015. A UP rule states that students must pass 75% of the total num-ber of academic units they are enrolled in any given semester. Being unable to comply with this rule, Javi-er was said to be disquali-

fied from holding any posi-tion in the council.

However, USEB Chair and Vice-Chancellor for Ac-ademic Affairs Dr. Neil San-tillan revoked the CSEB’s recommendation for spe-cial elections, saying Javier was eligible for office since she had academic eligibil-ity at the filing of her cer-tificate of candidacy. The Article VI, Section 4 merely “provides the manner…but it does not prescribe the qualifications on who will fill the role,” he added.

Meanwhile, Javier ex-pressed satisfaction over the USEB’s decision.

“I am very happy the USEB upheld the USC Constitution. Being a stu-dent-leader is about up-holding the rights of the students and there were people who fought for my willingness to serve and my right as a candidate,” she said in a text message.

Javier said that she’s been working hard to fix her second semester grades

especially now she’s in of-fice.

“My academic status is not a reflection of my ca-pacity to lead…the Iskolars ng Bayan are critical think-ers who don’t judge based on what they see on my TCG,” she said.

USC Chairperson JP Delas Nieves also com-mended the USEB for their decision.

“Ang desisyon kay AJ ay dumaan naman sa tamang proseso kaya para sa USC, ang mahalaga ay mayroong representasyon ang mga kapwa nating Isko mula sa CHK,” he said.

But Delas Nieves said Javier have to fix her aca-demic status.

“Ang isyu sa academic delinquencies ni AJ ay ma-giging problematiko para sa USC kung siya ay madidis-miss sa kanyang kolehiyo. Kung madismiss siya, hindi niya mapapangatawan ang mandato na irepresenta ang mga mag-aaral ng CHK sa USC,” Delas Nieves said.

CHK electoral board questions new rep’s qualificationsby Allan Yves Briones

NEWS 7

SPORTS

UP Alumnielated with

Maroon’sgood start

by David Tristan Yumol

UP team coordinator Dan Palami highly appreciated the efforts of the players in which he said the fruits of their labor during the preseason were already commencing.

“This could be a surprise for the UP community. Now, we can give any team in the UAAP a good fight,” Palami said moments after the host school posted a 2-0 start in their University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 campaign.

Palami, also the team manager of the men’s national football team Philippine Azkals, added the good start by the Maroons was a big factor in the growth of the Diliman-based dribblers.

“It’s just a different atmosphere this time. The players were more motivated now because of the support from the community,” Palami

said. “I am glad that we have eclipsed our record from last season.”

The Maroons finished with a 1-13 slate last season. Their win against the Taft-based squadron was a first since 2009, an 83-78 victory led by then rookie point guard Mikee Reyes.

But Palami warned the team to not be complacent despite a good start.

“I have been telling the guys that I don’t want to end the first round that we’ll be in the locker room and looking at each other saying, hey, what did we do wrong in the preseason,” he said. “The boys know that when they work hard, they’ll get dividends.”

The chief executive officer of Autre Porte Global Inc. came to the rescue last year upon his own initiative and

encouragement from fellow UP alumni. He is also one of the people behind nowhere to go but UP, a non-profit group of UP graduates who voluntarily help the different athletic teams of the state university.

Veteran commercial director Mandy Reyes, who was also at the game, could not contain his happiness as the final buzzer sounded.

“This win is more fulfilling than our last game against UE. We never won against La Salle for the longest time,” Reyes said. “The boys were able to prove that they are winners.”

Reyes, the head of the design team for the new Fighting Maroons logo, urged the UP community to keep believing and supporting the players by watching the games.

After an impressive 71-66 victory against a young but tough De La Salle University Green Archers, Wednesday, the ardent supporters of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons was proud with what the team has achieved this early.

Tinig ng Plaridel FRI. Sept. 11, 2015SPORTS8

UP kicks off UAAP season 78 opening in styleThe 78th season of the University

Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) kicked off with a bang as host school University of the Philippines (UP) delivered an impressive and inspiring opening ceremony before a large crowd at the Araneta Coliseum, Saturday.

About 300 performers from five col-leges of UP Diliman-- College of Arts and Letters, College of Fine Arts, College of Music, College of Human Kinetics and College of Social Sciences and Philoso-phy-- dazzled in their different acts true to its opening theme of “Arkipelago: Pagl-itaw ng Kapuluan.”

The opening show centered on the vast marine and woodland life present in the Philippines. Large replicas of the sea cow, whale shark, haribon, and snake filled up the coliseum rafters. There was also a tar-sier imitation that wore a foam finger of UP.

Eight larger-than-life-sized drums en-tered the stage to showcase the rich and cultural diversity of the Philippines, an archipelago in terms of land mass. Each drum carried a personification of the mascots of the eight member schools of the collegiate league.

Aside from UP, the other member schools of the UAAP are Adamson Uni-versity (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Uni-versity (ADMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), Na-

tional University (NU), University of the East (UE), and University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Warships armed with the colors of those eight schools all converged to bring unity in the archipelagic setting at the heart of the coliseum.

A highlight of the show was the Parade of Athletes which showcased the different cultural festivals of the country.

UP President Alfredo Pascual in his welcoming remarks said he is happy that UP is the host of UAAP, the “most pres-tigious collegiate games in the entire re-gion”, for this year.

He later emphasized the importance of the annual meet, which has a theme of “Tumitindig, Sumusulong”, as a venue for “honor, excellence and sportsmanship,” among the eight competing universities.

He reminded all the athletes from the competing teams that despite the com-petition, they should not forget “to be a sportsman.”

“Muli nating makikitang tumitindig at sumusulong ang mga mararangal at ma-huhusay na atleta mula sa mga panguna-hing pamantasan sa Kalakhang Maynila,” he said.

The event also saw the formal award-ing of the Season 77 overall juniors and seniors division championships both to UST.

UP Diliman Chancellor and UAAP Sea-son 78 President Dr. Michael Tan officially opened the season with a marching band

escorting him into the stage.As the ceremony ended, the spirit-driv-

ing melody of the UP Concert Chorus and singer Bituin Escalante celebrated the athletes’ oath of sportsmanship.

Tan could not help but be proud of all the people behind the success of the opening ceremony.

“I have always said that what is import-ant here is upholding honor and excel-lence. It’s not the number of wins but it’s the effort put in like we put in the opening [today],” Tan said. I am so proud of them.”

Emilio Paolo Fodulla, Communica-tion Research freshman from UP who also watched the opening show live, was also thrilled with what the host school of-fered in the opening ceremony of the new UAAP season.

“UP never fails to amaze with every performance,” Fodulla said. “This open-ing was no exception.”

The momentum of the opening show’s success was carried on later that day as the Men’s Basketball Team scored a re-markable 62-55 win against last year’s host UE Red Warriors.

Slotman Gelo Vito carried the cudgels for the Diliman-based dribblers with 11 points, nine of which came from a per-fect shooting from the rainbow country during the final canto.

The next game for the Fighting Ma-roons will be against the De La Salle Green Archers on Wednesday, 2 pm, at the Ara-neta Coliseum.

UAAP 78 hosts University of the Philippines put on a show in the opening ceremonies of the annual athletic meet at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Saturday. Photo by Katrina Artiaga

by Gabriel Villapando

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Published by Tinig ng Plaridel in the College of Mass Communication, UP Diliman, Quezon City.

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