"Breaking away from the past is one of the hardest things to do much more when you have been deeply attached to it. Is it always like that,I wonder. Why do we always have to complicate things when in fact they could be simplify?"

(Drama mode. The weather brings a melancholic atmosphere hence the mood..hehe)

Philippines is where…

1. Starbucks is more expensive than gas;

2. Every street has basketball court but every town has just one school;

3. Doctors go back to school to be nurses abroad;

4. Rodents are normal house pets;

5. Soap opera is reality, news provide the dramas of life; and

6. Actors make the laws and politicians provide the entertainment.

GMA flying with her family in a plane.

GMA: What if I throw a check for a million pesos out the window to make at least one Filipino happy?

Mike: But my dear, why don’t you throw 2 checks for half a million each, and thus make two Filipinos happy?

Luli: Why not throw 4 checks for a quarter of a million each, and make 4 Filipinos happy?

And on it went until finally,, her grandchild blurts out:

“But grandma, why not simply throw yourself out of the window and make all Filipinos happy?”

The Forbes Asia 40 Richest Filipinos:


1. Henry Sy - $4.0 billion- He owns SM
group with 27 shopping malls in the
Philippines and several others in China
. He also owns Banco de Oro Universal
Bank and has substantial shares in China
Banking Corp. and Equitable PCI Bank. He
also owns Highlands Prime Holdings, a
high-end property developer.
2. Lucio Tan - $2.3 billion - He owns
Philippine Airlines, the country's flag
carrier. His business interests include
tobacco (Fortune Tobacco Corp.), beer
and liquor (Asia Brewery Inc. and
Tanduay Holdings Inc.), and banking
(Philippine National Bank and Allied
Banking Corp).
3. Jaime Zobel de Ayala - $2.0 billion-
He is the patriarch of Ayala Corp., the
Philippines' oldest conglomerate, whose
business interests include real estate
and hotels (Ayala Land Inc.), financial
services (Bank of the Philippine
Islands), telecommunications (Globe
Telecom Inc.), water infrastructure
(Manila Water Co. Inc.), electronics and
information technology (Integrated
Microelectronics Inc. and Azalea
Technology Investments Inc.) and
automotive (Honda Cars Makati Inc. and
Isuzu Automotive Dealership Inc.).
4. Eduardo Cojuangco - $840 million - He
is the chairman of San Miguel
Corporation, the largest food and
Beverage Corporation in the Philippines .
5. George Ty - $830 million- He founded
Metropolitan Bank and Trust, currently
the largest bank in terms of Assets and
Capital in the Philippines . He also has
stakes in the Bank of the Philippine
Islands and Philippine Savings Bank, a
Metro bank subsidiary.
6. John Gokongwei - $700 million- He is
the chairman of JG Summit holdings,
whose subsidiaries include Cebu Pacific
Air, Digital Telecommunications
Philippines Inc., First Private Power
Corp., JG Summit Petrochemical Corp.,
Litton Mills Inc., Robinsons Land Corp.,
Robinsons Savings Bank, Sun Cellular,
United Industrial Corp. and URC .
7. Tony Tan Caktiong - $575 million - He
is the founder and current Chairman and
CEO of Philippine fast food chain
Jollibee , ChowKing, and Delifrance
8. Andrew Tan - $480 million - He is the
Mega world president .
9. Emilio Yap - $350 million - He is the
owner of Manila Hotel, newspaper owner,
Manila Bulletin, a national newspaper .
10. Oscar Lopez - $315 million - - He is
the chairman and CEO of Benpres Holdings
Corp., the holding company of the Lopez
group. - Meralco, ABS - CBN , Maynilad Water
11. Enrique Razon Jr. - $285 million- He
is the chairman and chief executive
officer, International Container
Terminal Services Inc; publishing magnate .
12. Andrew Gotianun - $280 million - He
is the chairman and CEO of East west Bank .
13. Enrique Aboitiz - $275 million - He
is the WG&A president and chief
executive officer.
14. Alfonso Yuchengco - $225 million -
He is the chairman of Yuchengco Group of
Companies.
o Great Pacific Life Assurance
Corporation (GREPALIFE)
o Lifetime Plans, Inc.
o Bankard, Inc.
o Pan Malayan Management and Investment
Corporation
o Pan Malayan Travel and Tours
o Pan Pacific Computer Center, Inc.
o YGC Corporate Services, Inc.
o Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
(RCBC)
o RCBC Savings Bank
o House of Investments
o Malayan Insurance Company, Inc.
o The First Nationwide Assurance Corporation
o Malayan Reinsurance Corporation
o Malayan Zurich Insurance Company, Inc.
o Tokio Marine Malayan Insurance Co. Inc.
o EEI Corporation
o Nippon Life Philippines
o AY Foundation
o Honda Cars Quezon City
o Honda Cars Manila
o Mapua Institute of Technology
o Manila Memorial Park
o First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corp.
15. Menardo Jimenez - $210 million - He
is the head for wireless consumer
division of Smart Communications.
15. Gilberto Duavit Jr. - $210 million -
He is the Executive Vice President and
COO of GMA 7.
17. Ramon Del Rosario - $205 million -
He is the president of Philippine
Investment Management (PHINMA), Inc.
18. Felipe Gozon - $180 million - He is
the president of GMA-7.
19. Beatrice Campos - $160 million - She
is the widow of United Laboratories
founder Jose Campos.
20. Luis J. L. Virata - $150 million- He
is the UEM-MARA Philippines Corporation
president .
21. David M. Consunji - $145 million- He
is the founder of DM Consunji Construction.
22. Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. $140 million
- He is the chairman of Rustan's
Commercial Corporation.
23. Betty Ang - $115 million - President
of Monde Nissin, maker of instant
noodles, biscuits and snack food
24. Manuel Villar - $110 million- Senate
President of the Philippines and a real
estate businessman who developed
Camella, Palmera, Crown Asia , Serendra,
etc.
25. Mariano Tan - $100 million -
26. Rolando and Rosalinda Hortaleza -
$90 million - Splash Corporation
(HBC/Hortaleza)
27. Oscar Hilado - $85 million - He is
the chairman of the Phinma group, the
Philippines ' biggest cement maker.
28. Vivian Que Azcona - $80 million- She
is the president of Mercury Drug with
over 500 outlets.
29. Manuel Zamora - $75 million - PHILEX
Mining Corporation
30. Magdaleno Albarracin - $73 million-
Vice Chairman of Phinma Group
31. Jesus Tambunting - $70 million- He
is the Chairman & CEO of Planters
Development Bank (PDB).
32. Frederick Dy - $65 million - He is
the Security Bank president.
33. Tomas Alcantara - $60 million - He
is a former Trade Secretary
34. Lourdes Montinola - $50 million- FEU
Chairperson.
35. Salvador Zamorra - $45 million- He
is the Hinatuan Mining president.
36. Mac & Daisy Potente - $45 million -
Successful entrepreneur, own the town of
Salinas in Cavite .
37 . Antonio Roxas - $40 million -
Director and President of Roxas &
Company Inc.; Chairman & Chief Executive
Officer of Roxas Holdings Inc.;
Executive Chairman of Central Azucarera
Don Pedro (CADP) Group Corp.; Director &
President of Roxas & Company Inc.,
Fundacion Santiago; Chairman of
Philippine Sugar Millers Association,
Club Punta Fuego Inc., Fuego Land Corp.,
Jade Orient Sugar Corp.; Director of
Batangas Assets Corp., Banco De Oro
Private Bank, Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Company (PLDT), Hawaiian
Philippine Sugar Co.; Trustee of
Philippine Business for the Environment,
Philippine Business for Social Progress;
President of Roxas - Gargollo Foundation.
37. Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Sr. - $38
million- Alaska Milk Corporation
38. Philip T. Ang - $35 million -168
Mall partner.
39. Marixi Prieto - $30 million -
Philippine Daily Inquirer chairman , Inq.7
40. Manuel Pangilinan - $25 million -
Chief Executive First Pacific Holdings
HK,PLDT chairman, Smart, Makati Med
OTHERS WHO SHOULD HAVE MADE IT
Sugar baron Jose Mari Chan, runs a large
sugar empire in Negros Oriental and
Iloilo provinces in the Visayas. Mr.
Chan, who is also a noted song composer,
inherited the business empire from his
father, Antonio, who immigrated to the
Philippines from China when he was 14
years old. The Chans, who are among the
country's biggest sugar traders, own
Central Azucarera de San Antonio (Casa),
which operates a sugar mill in Iloilo
and a refinery in Negros Occidental.
Casa is investing P1.2 billion in a
biomass co-generation plant capable of
generating 14 megawatts of electricity
and is putting up a state-of-the- art
P1.6-billion sugar refinery in Negros
Occidental. The Chans also own Hyatt
Regency Hotel.
Bookstore magnate Alfredo Ramos, one of
the successful entrepreneurs in the
Philippines , is qualified to join
Forbes' list. He is chairman and
president of Atlas Mining and his family
owns National Bookstore, the biggest
bookstore chain in the Philippines . Mr.
Ramos owned the defunct Daily Globe
broadsheet.
Ambassador to Laos Antonio "Tony"
Cabangon Chua's worth is certainly more
than P2 billion. Cabangon-Chua, founder
and chairman emeritus of the Fortune
Group of Companies and publisher of
Philippine Graphic magazine, owns the
fledgling Business Mirror and operates
popular hotel and motel chains in the
country.
Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco will also
easily qualify to the Forbes' list.
Tonyboy reinvested his "windfall" in
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.
and Piltel after acquiring medium-sized
Bank of Commerce and Associated
Broadcasting Co., which operates ABC-5.
Tonyboy also owns Dream Cable and has
joined the call center business.
Corazon D. Ong, another successful
entrepreneur, steadily built CDO
Foodsphere to become the second-biggest
meat processing company in the country
after San Miguel's Purefoods.
Former Trade and Industry Minister
Roberto "Bobby" Ongpin could probably be
among the 10 wealthiest Filipinos in the
Philippines today. Bobby earns lucrative
fees and commissions as an investment
banker. He was one of the senior
advisers of Asian billionaire Robert
Kuok, who owns the Shangri-La hotel
chain. Ongpin, whose family partly owns
SGV auditing company, is now heavily
investing in the local IT sector with
investments in Eastern Telecoms, ISM
Communications and Philweb.

A song dangerous under Human Security Act

Inquirer
Last updated 02:15am (Mla time) 07/14/2007
The message is loud and clear. Under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime, whose legitimacy remains an issue to this day, the civil and political liberties of the people are not respected. Civil libertarians, activists and even ordinary people who speak out firmly and stand up for truth, justice, human rights and human dignity are living dangerously.
Since Arroyo assumed power in 2001, there have been 863 cases of extrajudicial killings, 180 forced disappearances and 248 political detainees. The persecution is meant to silence the people and discourage them from pursuing the cause of justice, peace and human rights. The message is loud and clear:
1. Thou shall not speak out the truth
2. Thou shall not expose graft and corruption
3. Thou shall not seek justice and peace
4. Thou shall not uphold human rights and dignity
5. Thou shall not offer services to the poor and ask why they are poor
6. Thou shall not expose fraudulent elections
7. Thou shall not offer sanctuary to those who were displaced and are seeking refuge
8. Thou shall not protest about human rights abuses by the PNP and AFP
9. Thou shall not join street protests, rallies and assemblies held in defense of democracy
10. Thou shall not call for Arroyo’s resignation nor for her ouster
And to think that the human rights violations are happening as a matter of course even as the Human Security Act (antiterrorism law), which virtually places the country in a state of undeclared martial law, has yet to take effect on July 15.
Given the human rights record of the Arroyo regime, this law could be used to suppress, repress and persecute people advocating and working for justice, peace, human rights and meaningful change in our society; or to prolong Arroyo’s stay in power, and to quell and punish those with dissenting opinions and actions.
God forbid, time may come when even a harmless band like Bamboo, which revived and popularized the song “Tatsulok” (originally sang by Buklod) will suddenly be under threat. And pity the ordinary mortals like the taxi, jeepney and tricycle drivers, students and out-of-school kids and youth, people in the streets, the unemployed, the hungry and those who dream of a better world who hum and dance this song. They can easily understand and identify with the message of this socially relevant song, which is very provocative and threatening to those who wield economic and political power, and therefore can be construed as a “terror” song. Here’s an excerpt from the song:
Lumilipas ang hininga ng kay raming mga tao
At ang dating lunting bukid ngayo’y sementeryo
Totoy, kumilos ka! Baligtarin ang tatsulok!
At tulad mong dukha ang ilagay mo sa tuktok
Hindi pula’t dilaw ang tunay na magkalaban
Ang kulay at tatak ang di siyang dahilan
Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman
Habang may tatsulok, at sila ang nasa tuktok
Hindi matatapos itong gulo…

The right to organization is a basic right and it subsumes the right to a tambayan which is also a basic right.

The Human Security Act is An Affront to the Right to Education
Letter to the Editor

With the impending passage of the Human Security Act of 2007, the Iskolars ng Bayan of the University of the Philippines have much to fear, not only insofar as their lives and liberties are concerned, but as well as the stifling of legitimate dissent and protest against the relentless tuition increases and commercialization schemes wracking the premiere state university and other state colleges and universities nationwide. Iskolars ng Bayan have been known to analyze issues not in a myopic fashion but comprehensively, such that issues on the rising costs of education and commercialization are viewed as intricately part of the long-standing policy of state abandonment of higher education, concretely articulated by the Long-Term Higher Education Development Plan being implemented by the Arroyo government. Thus, the Iskolars ng Bayan also pin the blame for the decreasing enrollment and stunted educational access to the policies of President Arroyo herself, whose seems to be more keen on producing graduates solely for human export and foreign consumption such as semi-skilled workers and call center agents instead of comprehensively developing the Philippine educational system that would produce graduates and intellectuals that would serve to develop the scientific and cultural capital of the country. Under the Human Security Act of 2007, can we now surmise that even these assertions of right and articulation of demands by the Iskolars ng Bayan shall be subsumed under the concept of terrorism? We have a legitimate fear that it shall, given the vagueness of the definition of terrorism under the HSA and the penchant of the Arroyo regime to classify all forms of dissent as unlawful, thereby crippling even the most legitimate of these kinds of exercises. Moreover, the Iskolars ng Bayan, particularly the UP Student Councils, have been known to valiantly stand not only on student issues but people's issues as well, such that the University of the Philippines has been a center of the people's defiance against President Arroyo when she forcefully implemented PP1017 in February 2006. The UP Student Councils have also stood in defense of urban poor dwellers in danger of demolition and displacement against a fascist MMDA, notwithstanding its repudiation and outrage over the unceasing urban militarization in Metro Manila and the relentless political killings around the country. Given all of these premises and the questionable provisions of the HSA, we have little doubt that even the UP Student Councils shall also be proscribed as terrorist organizations by the Human Security Act. It shall therefore come as no surprise that even the simplest articulation of legitimate student issues of commercialization and state abandonment of education will also be curtailed by state security forces in illegal pursuit of the Human Security Act.

Nonetheless, history has proven the militant resilience of the Iskolars ng Bayan. Under the darkest day of martial rule, the struggle of the Iskolars ng Bayan was able to re-establish the previously banned Student Councils and Publications and even force the establishment of the Office of the Student Regent, which now articulates the interests of the Iskolars ng Bayan in the highest policy-making body of the University of the Philippines. The struggle of the Iskolars ng Bayan against the HSA in the backdrop of unceasing commercialization may be difficult on its face, but we know for a fact that victory and history have always been on the side of those who resist and struggle in pursuit and exercise of their rights.

J.M. Terry L. Ridon
Student Regent
University of the Philippines

Essay Contest '07/ Katrina Nessa Abad: The media shape us into the people we are
07/18/2007
SPECIAL TO THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
This essay won one of the second prizes in the English essay contest sponsored by the International Herald Tribune/ The Asahi Shimbun. There were 670 essays submitted.
* * *
As a member of this fast-paced generation, I know that I am highly dependent on the media for mostly everything I love to do. I am just an average person with simple needs, but even so, the media has become such a big part of my life.
One of the usual ways I use the media is to learn new things. I read the newspapers every day to keep myself updated on news and current events. I am a foreign student living in Japan, so it is really handy for me that one of my country's leading newspapers has an online edition that I can access every day.
I know it is important that I keep abreast of the daily dramas unfolding in the Philippines--a beautiful, dynamic, but volatile country inhabited by highly emotional people. I also like to read international newspapers and magazines, especially because these have special features on topics ranging from science to culture and the arts, to the weirdest or coolest stuff that's probably not useful to remember but fun to file away in my brain.
Apart from information and entertainment, I also read newspapers and magazines because it helps me to hone my skills. I do not just learn new ideas; I also learn new words, enabling me to expand my vocabulary.
But more importantly, I think that reading newspapers, in particular, helps me to improve my critical thinking skills. I consciously try to practice contextualizing and objectifying what was reported in the papers to help me formulate or reformulate my analyses and make sense of what is happening in the world around me.
Every day, too, I use the media as my source of entertainment. I love to read books, watch movies and listen to the radio. That's probably normal for a lot of other people, but I recall these now with fond memories of my parents back home.
I remember that for the longest time, my father refused to have more than one television set in the house because he wanted the entire family to enjoy watching shows together. And my mother, who is a librarian, raised my brother, my sister and me to read like there was no tomorrow.
She started us off with those hardbound children's encyclopedias, and then afterward she subscribed to magazines in our names (getting mail at the age of 10 was so cool). I remember that regular visits to the local bookstore felt like such a special treat in those days.
She just now finished sewing a cloth "book" for her first grandchild; she says we don't remember, but that she did the same for us kids when we were babies so that we could freely play with pages that would not tear.
Today, with the Internet as a more advanced form of the media, I can play around with lots of things and also express myself. For example, I can both watch and upload videos of my own to show to others.
On a Web site I own and maintain, I regularly post pictures that I take here in Japan to share with my family back home.
Likewise, I can check out what is new in the lives of my loved ones when I view their Web sites.
I also have three separate online journals, more popularly known as blogs (from the term Web log). One of them chronicles my adventures in Japan, and another, more private one, holds all my secrets and my views on life.
There is more to the media than meets the eye. I probably use it in ways I am not even aware of. That is because the media is continually undergoing innovations and being revolutionized to cater to the growing needs of the masses, and its boundaries are constantly being pushed back.
Ten years ago, nobody would have imagined that the news headlines would be delivered to their fingertips, but now news alerts and even weather bulletins are accessed via mobile phones.
The main point is that by maximizing the many ways in which I can use the media, I believe that I can lead a fuller life--it supplements my education, it provides entertainment, it helps me touch base with family and friends and it allows me to creatively express myself.
The truth is, the impact of the media on my life is so great, it has helped shape me into the kind of person that I am today.
* * *
Katrina Nessa Abad is a senior majoring in English at the University of the Philippines and now studying Japanese and Japanese culture at Nagasaki University.(IHT/Asahi: July 18,2007)

If STUDY=NO FAIL And NO STUDY+FAIL
Then, STUDY+NO STUDY=FAIL+NO FAIL

Factoring:
STUDY (NO+1)=FAIL(NO+1)

Divide both sides by (NO+1)

STUDY=FAIL

aral ka pa?

TOFI is…

 A question of UP as a state university. -Faculty Regent Roland Simbulan

 A drastic change of UP Philosophy education (from providing enabling conditions for the poor but talented students to acquire quality education to a market based instrument where prices must be adjusted depending on the customer’s ability to pay). -FR Roland Simbulan

 A way for UP to help itself. (The government thinks that UP is just trying to help itself upon the implementation of TOFI.)


 (On the rationale of TOFI and new STFAP brackets) The dual meaning of the principle “those who can afford should pay more” is “those who can not afford should not pay!” –Student Regent Terry Ridon

Sends wrong signals
>to the hard up parents paying high tuition fees
>to legislators who will think that UP is now rich so they can reduce further the budget for UP
>hopefully, other SCUs will not idolize UP
- Student Regent Terry Ridon

As I see it, TOFI is...

 A shift of burden to the students (pasaload).

 A way to stabilize the funds of UP and therefore will not immediately result to improvement of facilities and increase in salary of faculties.

(According to the De Dios report, the UP Administration expects a P53.7 million increase per semester in the money collected from tuition of incoming freshmen. If the tuition increase will be implemented in all levels (freshmen up to graduating class) the money generated is up to P429.6 million which will be the yearly collection from tuition alone. This means that the money generated will surpass the income of UP from the combined fees which will be paid by the students every year.)

 A symptom of state abandonment.

( “…there was nothing in the law that said the government should provide a free college education, and warned that all other state colleges may end up following UP's example because of the government's fiscal crisis.” -UP Pres. Emerlinda Roman (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Oct. 1, 2006 issue)

 A manifestation of the glaring commercialization of education in our country today. (Commercialization of a basic right)

 An understatement to the worsening living conditions and limited capacity of the majority of the Filipinos to afford education.


What’s more is that, we are pressured BUT the government ISN’T.

TOFI Updates

I got the figures below from the Office of the Student Regent. You may use it as a reference if you’re currently making a paper on the 300% tuition increase in UP and its implications. I asked the UPM Administration to furnish me a copy of the enrollees for this school year and for the past academic years but up till now they haven’t released it.

*note: The number of confirmants is not necessarily the number of enrollees. In UP Diliman, the number of enrollees is relatively lower to that of confirmants.


UP Unit Qualifiers Confirmants % (Confirmants)
Baguio 1162 463 39.85
Mindanao 537 90 16.76
Manila 820 450 54.88
Diliman 3813 2636 69.13
Pampanga 233 103 44.21
Cebu 550 132 24
Iloilo 1295 429 33.13
Los banos 2352 392 16.67
Tacloban 423 159 37.59
Total 11, 185 4,854 43.40%

Source: Office of the Student Regent
(UP Diliman)

Now that PGH increased its rates through Memo 2006-131 which was implemented last Dec. 14, 2006 hence making the health services less accessible to the poor majority, is it then still the Ospital ng Bayan?

The same way, is UP still the Pamantasan ng Bayan, as it claimed, after it amplified its tuition and other fees making UP education less accessible?

On making a stand

The role played by student councils has changed over time. From the fundamental task of promoting the welfare of the students, history has seen how this was transformed to higher forms of service- to the students in the micro level and to the Filipino masses in general.

The youth particularly the students are always in the forefront of the struggle with unrelenting vigor. They have stood up in resistance when Marcos blatantly ruled the people with hands much harder than iron. During that period, mobilizations were attended by hundreds and even thousands of youth, their fists clenched high in the air as they marched in the streets with battle cry for freedom, change and justice. Such act is crucial for it’s a way to register your position (opposition or support) on certain issues with regards to the national conditions. Mass action is a manner of showing force, too. Time and again, history would tell that collective action is an effectual way to achieve something. However, I must stress here that activism and service need not to be in the streets. Activism comes in many forms.

The repression of the people during martial law pushed the students to walk out of their classrooms in order to learn and see the reality in the streets, in factories, in the countryside and other dejected areas. They learned about the marginalized sectors and the glaring repression and exploitation. They became a potent agent for transforming the society. Alongside their resistance, they pushed forth solutions to the obtrusive political and economic crisis during the period. In the realization of their influence, Marcos ordered the deferral of student organizations and publications, except for fraternities as Marcos himself was a frat man.

Conventionally, student leaders hold activities to consolidate the students and strengthen the community spirit in the campus. It is also expected that they will represent the students in the pursuit of their interests. The question on how the students will be represented will always be answered through a democratic consultation (though this one is litigious as people have different interpretations on it). This way, the pros and cons of an issue will be discussed so that students may give their stance. However, there are instances when the student council needs to function beyond merely reflecting the students’ voice. Its role must not be confined with purely mirroring the stand of the majority for there are times that the majority is not always right especially if it obstructs the rights of the minority.

It is imperative to bear in mind that our individual standpoint will not matter if it is not voiced out; stance is futile without action.

"The greatest disease is human emotion."

As I walk this afternoon

This morning, our group report was deferred because we weren’t prepared at all. We chose to postpone it instead of delivering a very elementary type of discussion (which is what I always do in class). So as an alternative to holding a three-hour class, our professor decided to give us a library work.


As usual, my day is gloomy. The weather brings a melancholic atmosphere and I can’t help it. I’m always sad, always feeling alone. Plus I am confronted by many problems as of the moment (problems ranging from the problems of society, to love, to family, health and academics). Dead tired with the system.


While I was on my way home, I passed by Araneta Coliseum, as I always do. Today is the opening of the UAAP and the match is between UP and Lasalle. As expected, UP lost in the game. Forgive me for being harsh but I can’t blame them though. They don’t receive sufficient funding, and sufficient support I guess that’s why. I am reminded of a joke; actually it’s a line UP players throw at their opponents whenever they lose. It goes like this “Mag-exam na lang tayo, sige!” There goes the intellectual arrogance of the cream of the crop. Ang mga matatapang, matatalino at di patatalo na UPians. Will our players benefit from the TOFI? Will it be a factor for their victory? That I don’t know. I just fervently hope they win next time.


I watched the crowd dispersed after the game. Most of the Lasalista, as always, headed to Starbucks, Pizza Hut Bistro and whatever classy restaurant or coffee shop nearby. I am almost near the jeep terminal when it started to rain. Darn, I left my cheap umbrella. But walking under the rain somehow made me feel easy. I love the rain, except rain in the city coz it’s not really soothing. It’s an acid rain and therefore corrosive, (chuckle).


I just had this thought: Intellectual gap between UPians and others is a given, but economic and income gap is very evident. UST students most often than not have cars; an Atenista is likely to be seen in a car discharging loud music while causing traffic along Katipunan Avenue; and a Lasalista in a car beside a girlfriend/boyfriend. UPians on the other hand are usually seen inside jam packed jeepneys. However, because of the changing character and philosophy of UP, majority of the students now belong to higher economic strata.


Nakakainis na TOFI, sana nag-aaral ako ngayon ng Econ 115 pero kailangan ko pang tapusin ang statement ng pagtutol dito. Nakakainis na HSA, kailangan tuloy naming magpa-forum tungkol dito. Nakakainis ang dean, walang tambayan ang mga tao paralisado tuloy ang recruitment at activities. Nakakainis na bagong walkway sa LT at drinking fountains, nahahamig tuloy ang iba na suportahan ang TOFI. (TOFI is an issue of UP being a state university-Prof. Roland Simbulan) Nakakainis na sistema.


Sometimes, a walk under the rain helps you contemplate on things.
It all boils down to commercialization of education, to commercialization of a basic right.(sigh)

Operation UPrising

“ Fighting for greater state subsidy isn’t merely a call for more money. It is a cry to our government to open its eyes and see that it is slowly choking the life out of our country’s youth, our future. It compels the government not just to give money but also assess where most of it necessarily goes.”
-UP Diliman University Student Council

Quotable Quotes from Feminists

"In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist."
—Gloria Steinem

"People think at the end of the day that a man is the only answer [to fulfillment]. Actually a job is better for me."
—Princess Diana

"I think the key is for women not to set any limits."
— Martina Navratilova

"For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women."
—Elizabeth Blackwell
(The first woman in the U.S. to become a physician)

"In passing, also, I would like to say that the first time Adam had a chance he laid the blame on a woman."
—Nancy Astor
(British Politician)

"The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race."
—Susan B. Anthony


“The reason why there are few women at the top is that they have no wives to help them.”

What is the Tagalog translation... (just for laughs)

1. black hawk down - ibong maitim sa ibaba
2. dead man's chest - dodo ng patay
3. i know what you did last summer - uyy... aminin!
4. love, actually - sa totoo lang, pag-ibig
5. million dollar baby - 50 million pisong sanggol (it depends on the
exchange rate of the country)
6. the blair witch project - ang proyekto ng bruhang si blair
7. mary poppins - si mariang may putok
8. snakes on a plane - nag-ahasan sa ere
9. the postman always rings twice - ang kartero kapag dumutdot laging
dalawang beses
10. sum of all fears - takot mo, takot ko, takot nating lahat
11. swordfish - talakitok
12. pretty woman - ganda ng lola mo
13. robin hood, men in tights - si robin hood at ang mga felix bakat
14. 4 weddings & a funeral - kahit 4 na beses ka pang magpakasal,
mamamatay ka rin
15. the good, the bad and the ugly - ako, ikaw, kayong lahat
16. harry potter and the sorcerer's stone - adik si harry, tumira ng shabu
17. click - isang pindot ka lang
18. brokeback mountain - may nawasak sa likod ng bundok ng tralala
/bumigay sa bundok
19. the day of the death - ayaw tumayo (ng mga patay)
20. waterworld - basang-basa
21. there's something about mary - may kwan sa ano ni maria
22. employee of the month - ang sipsip
23. resident evil - ang biyenan
24. kill bill - kilitiin sa bilbil
25. the grudge - lintik lang ang walang ganti
26. nightmare before christmas - binangungot sa noche buena
27. never been kissed - pangit kasi
28. gone in 60 seconds - 1 round, tulog
29. the fast and the furious - ang bitin, galit
30. too fast, too furious - kapag sobrang bitin, sobrang galit
31. dude, where's my car - dong, anong level ulit tayo nag-park?
32. beauty and the beast - ang asawa ko at ang nanay nya
33. the lord of the rings - ang alahero