Petition filed by SPARK-Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan last July 22, 2016 at the Supreme Court regarding the curfew ordinances' unconstitutionality.
SPARK speaks in solidarity with millenials who work in the BPO sector, addressing Celdran's statement on negative sentiments reaped by the LP bet Mar Roxas. Youth groups expressed dismay over the five-page statement discouraging future national leaders from pursuing a free tuition policy in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK), among the proponents and advocates for greater education spending and free education, cried foul over the “pseudo-scientific, misleading, and profit-oriented” arguments made by the Commission against free education. In the statement, CHED Executive Director Julito Vitriolo articulated why greater spending for education may not be a good idea, as it “will likely result to a massive exodus of students from private higher education institutions (HEIs) to SUCs.” Vitriolo said that free education in SUCs “without corresponding support to deserving private HEIs” would eliminate private HEIs who might not survive the “exodus of students and faculty.” “It is disturbing how an institution created to promote higher learning in the country is more concerned about the businesses which will close down if students would prefer free education in SUCs,” said SPARK National Coordinator Arvin Buenaagua. “It is like saying that feeding programs must charge money so that restaurants will not be threatened of closing down.” Buenaagua highlighted that the statement is consistent with CHED’s promotion of deregulation of private HEIs, from the 313 private schools it has allowed last year to increase their tuition fees, to the continued voluntary accreditation process which fails to keep private HEIs from performing at a competitive level. “What the CHED is basically saying is that let us continue to deny education to those who cannot afford college tuition so that the schools operating as businesses will not close down,” said Buenaagua. Buenaagua dismissed the CHED’s claims of a massive exodus as “a mere exaggeration to keep the current policies in place.” Buenaagua highlighted that price is not only the consideration of prospective college students, especially wealthier ones, in choosing where they will enroll. “If that is the case, why do we not see this exodus of students – both rich and poor – flocking towards PUP or other SUCs who, through collective action, has kept their tuition to accessible levels?” Vitriolo also said that increasing budget for SUCs is easier said than done, especially since basic education remains government's priority over higher education. Buenaagua said that the failure of CHED to distribute over P1 Billion worth of funds to college scholars is enough a testimony that SUC students are the least of their priorities. “What we have seen in the statements of candidates vying for national positions is that free tuition is possible,” said Sanlakas Secretary-General Aaron Pedrosa. “As a response, CHED is defending the government policy to defund state universities and colleges, while leaving the delivery of education to the private sector,” he added.
“Unless a paradigm shift happens from a profit-oriented approach to education to a more holistic and liberating approach, public education in the Philippines will continue to lag behind its international counterparts,” Pedrosa stated. Pedrosa noted the double-standard employed by CHED and the Aquino administration, invoking competitiveness when pushing for reforms like the K to 12 program, while refusing to raise government spending to the global standard of 6% of the country’s Gross National Product. Joanne Lim of the Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA UP) denied that the clamor for free college education is motivated by – according to Vitriolo - a “well-entrenched social prejudice against middle-level skilled manpower” in favor of getting diplomas. “Rather, it is about our freedom as students to choose what kind of future we want to have,” Lim said. “We do not look down on skilled workers, in fact we are disturbed that most people from these sector cannot afford to send their children to college, although they might want to,” Lim argued. Lim said that if one should pursue a career, it must not be because they are forced to from lack of options. “Free education opens up opportunities for anyone from any background to pursue their dreams. This cannot be so if we rely too much on private schools whose primary goal is to profit.” Atty. Pedrosa argued against Vitriolo that the free education campaign and greater budget for education is “not just a gimmick.” “If only this government would have listened to us even before it started, they would know that the need for greater budget and free education has been repeatedly reiterated by the masses,” Pedrosa said. “It is deception to say that the government cannot fund free higher education when it has funded thousands of NGOs through the PDAF scam, and funded the campaigns of traditional politicians who embody this twisted government’s doomed education policy,” Pedrosa concluded. “Show your care for the environment and natural resources, stop mining operations!” This is the united call of several young residents of Eastern Samar, Benguet, Marinduque, and Zamboanga del Norte in a protest action held at the national offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Quezon City, two days before the Earth Day Celebration. Holding colorful posters they created, the protesters who mostly consisted of communities affected by mining operations around the country, lamented that “the DENR seems to forget that their mandate includes the protection of Philippine environment.” In a letter addressed to Secretary Paje, the youth who witnessed firsthand the environmental degradation, displacement and loss of livelihood caused by the environment requested that the DENR to “strictly implement the rules and environmental standards set up to keep mining activities from binding [their] homes to more poverty and destruction.” “Left with no choice, mining operations and quarrying are imposed upon poverty-stricken communities by mining corporations, with the aid of some local leaders, promising them better lives and greater sources of income,” the letter signed by various youth leaders read. “But as our experience has taught us, these operations has done nothing but pollute our rivers and mountains, destroying where many families rely for food and income.” The youth from mining-affected communities were joined by the Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. (PMPI), a civil society network of more than 200 organizations, who organized the event as part of its week-long activities for Earth Week 2016. Primo Morillo, PMPI Advocacy Officer, explained, “The young people in mining communities are worried by the fact that environmental issues, especially mining, do not figure well in the electoral campaign of most candidates particular those running for national positions. No wonder that the DENR, for several years already, seems to have forgotten their mandate.” Morillo enjoined all young people from all walks of life to unite with those from mining-affected communities in ensuring that the future will offer real opportunities for human development and at the same time, secure the rights of peoples to access their own natural resources and to a safe and sustainable environment. The mining-affected youth were joined by students from NCR-based schools such as University of the Philippines, University of Sto. Tomas, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, and Universidad De Manila. They were also joined by the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK), among the leaders in mobilizing the youth in issues of the environment and the climate.
Arvin Buenaagua, SPARK spokesperson, urged national and local government officials, as well as those vying for positions in the elections to be reminded of the issues of indigent and vulnerable peoples this Earth Day. “It is not just about saving electricity, it is about saving lives.” “Last December, the Philippines government took part of the Paris Climate Talks where it affirmed our commitment with the rest of the world to secure the rights and lives of vulnerable peoples,” said Buenaagua, referring to the Paris Agreement to be signed by its parties on Friday. “And yet, months after, the Aquino administration has still not followed through with this promise, letting mining corporations run loose while the vulnerability of its own citizens to climate-related disasters are increased,” he added. The Philippines, among the most vulnerable countries to climate change, has played a leadership role in safeguarding the rights of vulnerable peoples in the context of the climate crisis since the devastation of Yolanda in 2013. “While impressing the rest of the world, the government has neglected its own people who are dying of poverty and destruction exacerbated by extractive industries,” Buenaagua concluded. SPARK vowed that this action is only one among the succession of mobilizations the youth will take part in in order to secure their future and the integrity of the environment. “From affected communities in the rural areas to the cities, SPARK is one with the growing awareness of young Filipinos that they can take action and take power back from the influence of money and politics.” Concerned students, faculty and alumni, as well as individuals residing near the area flocked in front of the University of the Philippines Faculty Center, which houses a number of department offices, key establishments and student facilities, as it was reduced to ashes by a large fire which broke out at around 1 o'clock in the morning.
According to initial reports, the fire started around the west corridor of the building's third floor, with white smoke coming out of the windows near the College of Arts and Letters Speech Communication Department. Fire marshalls were reported to have come already twenty minutes after the fire was reported, by then the flames have already spread out and consumed at least two floors of the building. "This has been the third fire-related incident in the campus in the span of two years, following the fires which burned down the CASAA Food Center and the UP Diliman Alumni Center last year," said Arvin Buenaagua, National Coordinator of the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK). The Faculty Center fire, which was raised to the fifth alarm, consumed student records, historical archives and important academic works from scholars of the University, most of which have no digital back-up and are therefore lost forever. Buenaagua expressed suspicion over the apparent inaction of the administration in the succession of fire incidents in the campus. "It is detestable and quite confounding how the structural integrity of old buildings in the campus has been left unchecked, even if these incidents threaten the lives, academics and livelihood of members of the UP Community," Buenaagua said. The organization called for an immediate investigation regarding the fire which should be open to all members of the UP community, especially the students and faculty whose lives are endangered by the unclear status of old buildings in the University. "It is unthinkable that as successive land development has been encouraged within and around the core academic area of the campus, which brought about buildings such as Ayala's UP Town Center and Technohub, the very establishments and facilities essential to the academic character of the University are left unchecked and prone to destruction," Buenaagua concluded. Meanwhile, Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA UP) raised concerns about the academic status of students whose records, projects and theses were burned in the fire. "While the tragedy will deeply have impacts on the daily operations of College departments, the students must be sure that their studies will not be severely injured because of the incident," said Joanne Lim of KAISA UP. Lim called for a collaborative and consultative approach on how the academic implications of the fire will be addressed. The groups also vendors and workers whose livelihoods have burned down with the destruction of the Faculty Center. "We must ensure that vendors whose stalls are located in front of the building, as well as those who work in Katag canteen and the photocopy machine operators are given compnesation for their losses and are given security in terms of their livelihood,"Lim said. "The UP Faculty Center has been at the center of academic and community life in UP, and its loss affects all of those who rely on it in their daily lives as students and workers," Lim added. SPARK and KAISA called on the UP Community, UP alumni and the UP administration to come together to secure a responsive and quick collective action in curbing and addressing the effects and implications of the UP Faculty Center fire. "We express solidarity with those who have lost a huge part of their academic lives and livelihood because of the Faculty Center fire," said Buenaagua. "From the rich academic work which was lost with the crumbling down of the building, to the products of daily labor students and members of the faculty work to produce, as well as the facilities and services which give a source of income to workers and vendors, this incident proves to be a time of loss. But it also proves to be a time for unity and a time to rebuild," he concluded. Taumbayan ang talo sa tuwing ang galit at pagkamuhi ay itinututok sa mga inaapi sa halip na mga nang-aapi. Ang diskriminasyon batay sa kasarian at oryentasyon ng sekswalidad ay usapin ng pagtrato sa kapwa-tao bilang kalakal: kalakal na sinasalansan at pinaghihiwalay gamit sa silbi nito at "halaga" sa palitan. Mula pa sa simula ng modernong lipunan ay naranasan at patuloy na nararanasan ng LGBT community ang diskriminasyon at pagkamuhi dahil hindi ito nabibilang sa tradisyunal na pagkakahati ng lipunan batay sa kasarian. Gayunpaman, dahil sa pagkamulat at pagkilos ng komunidad at ng mga progresibong puwersa ng lipunan, unti-unting nagkakaroon ng kamalayan ukol sa karapatan ng bawat indibwal na ihayag ang kanyang sekswalidad ayon sa kanyang sariling pagpapasya. Sa kabila nito, patuloy na kulang ang oportunidad na ibinibigay ng Estado at ng lipunan para sa mga miyembro ng LGBT community. Laganap pa rin ang diskriminasyon sa trabaho batay sa kasarian at sekswalidad, ang eksploytasyon ng maraming LGBT dahil sa kahirapan at kawalan ng kabuhayan, at ang karahasang dinadanas ng mga LGBT dahil sa kanilang katauhan. Kinukundena ng Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan ang paghahambing ng kongresista at atletang si Manny Pacquiao sa mga hayop ang mga kasapi ng LGBT community. Gayunpaman, kinikilala ng SPARK na hindi matatapos sa pagkundena ang laban para sa pagkakapantay-pantay. Dapat nating maaasahan natin ang Estado at ang kanyang mga elemento na maging kaagapay at kakampi ng mga naaaping sektor sa lipunan. Hindi sapat ang "sorry" na lang. Kung patuloy na hawak ng mga tradisyunal, mapanghati, at gahamang mga grupo ng lipunan ang gobyerno at ang mga opisyal nito, magpapatuloy ang mga sentimiyentong mapang-api at mapanira sa ating kapwa. At hindi natin makakamit ang mga ganansyang naghihintay sa mga sektor na naaapi, gaya ng LGBT community, patungo sa isang lipunang malaya mula sa diskriminasyon at pagkakahati-hati. Upang ganap na magapi ang mga sentimiyento ng galit at pagkamuhi sa mga "marginalized" na komunidad, kailangang patuloy nating mulatin, organisahin at pakilusin ang masa tungo sa pagbawi sa Estado mula sa mapanghating interes ng kapital at tubo, tungo sa tunay at malawakang progreso at pagkakapantay-pantay. Basagin ang mukha ng diskriminasyon! Tumindig kasama ng mga LGBT tungo sa lipunang pantay-pantay! Once again we see the real cost of education, its privatization and the inefficiency of its regulation. Allegedly due to the loss of his scholarship, Jessiven Lagatic of the Central Bicol University of Agriculture took his own life last February 11. It may be remembered that even with the number of the beneficiaries of financial assistance programs increasing ten-fold in 2014, the budget the government has allotted to CHED has failed to reach those students who need it the most because of inefficiency and shady practices in the bureaucracy. A recently-released COA report on the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which showed that only P1.23 billion ($26 million) out of the P5.2 billion ($110 million) fund for scholarships was unspent due to CHED’s shortcomings in delivery. In addition, even as successive reforms are being implemented in the education system, it does not reflect a significant increase in its budget. The Aquino government has failed to allot 6% of the GNP to education, the 2008 standard for developing countries according to the UN. At present, presidentiables and politicians have yet to support this initiative. We cannot remain brokenhearted and silent. It is time to draw the sharpest line. Are our leaders for us or against us? This is the final straw. We must demand for a real and responsive education agenda. End state abandonment, privatization and deregulation of education! Free education now! |
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