The project, entitled Botong Isko 2010 seeks to “unite students and the whole UP community for a clean, transparent, and honest elections, and to find out which candidates are favored by the Iskolar ng Bayan.” The endeavor also seeks to engage politicians in the issues of the youth, especially of UP students, and of the country summed up in UP students’ agenda for change.

Kabataan Partylist, which has college chapters in UP Diliman, campaigned on the first day of the mock elections, encouraging students to participate, recognizing the potential impact of an institutional victory among iskolars ng bayan in the premiere university in the country. UP students are perceived to be a legitimate representation of the Filipino youth, with students from all over the country. (“Perceived” because we have to remember that only a minority of voting-age Filipino youth are able to afford and attend college, and the University of the Philippines at that).

The daughter of presidential aspirant Manny Villar, Camille, also went college hopping in UP Diliman on first day, encouraging UP students to get involved, and of course vote for his father, an alumnus of the university himself. Supporters of Makabayan senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza also made their rounds in the different colleges in campus.

In the next few days, other candidates will be trooping to UP to campaign and sway the votes of UP students. The victors in this mock election may well claim to have the vote of the iskolar ng bayan. As to whether or not it translates to an actual representation of the general sentiment of the Filipino youth, I do not know, but surely it reflects the votes of those among the best and the brightest youth of the country.

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines offers the lowest tuition rate in the country at P12 per unit (around a quarter US dollar). This affordable rate has made PUP accessible to the 50,000 Filipino children it accommodates every year in its numerous campuses across the archipelago. Many of the students are children of ordinary wage earners, rank and file employees, overseas workers and peasants.

When the University of the Philippines administration planned to raise its tuition by 300% in late 2006, we were afraid it would set a precedent that other state universities would use to justify similar tuition hikes as prescribed by the government’s foreign lenders, which was one of the reasons we vehemently opposed the move.

We were right. State college EARIST (Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science & Technology) increased its tuition a year later, using the UP situation as a justification. State universities have since then been imposing various dubiously-named fees as a result of budget cuts imposed by the government.

Overseas, foreign governments from Greece to the US are also cutting down on the budgets of their state universities and colleges and other social services in order to make do with decreasing government revenues and to accommodate gigantic debt payments to multinational lenders. Students have been confronting such attacks on their rights with forms of protests such as walk-outs. Students of state universities in California, for example, staged massive walk-outs last year, even going as far as barricading their schools in order to protest the budget cuts to be imposed by the state government.

Anti-student and pro-government formations have branded the PUP students as hooligans. The final message of the TV report on the protest, however, was succinct in addressing such accusations. “Mawasak na raw lahat ng gamit sa paaralan, huwag lang ang karapatan ng mamamayan sa edukasyon.” (In the first place, the chairs that were burned were those dilapidated ones that were already unusable). The students and the people have no other alternative but to fight for their rights.

Protests will continue throughout the next week leading to the March 29 PUP Board of Regents meeting that will decide on the tuition hike proposal. Let us support the campaign of the students of PUP. Let us join them in the streets as they fight for greater state subsidy for education. Ang laban nila ay hindi lang laban ng PUP, kung hindi laban ng lahat ng kabataan para sa karapatan sa edukasyon. Mabuhay ang mga iskolar ng bayan!

The past month saw various student council election campaigns in campuses across the country. For some students and for those of us who have graduated, there is a tendency to dismiss student council elections in major universities as irrelevant child play. For me, though, and I’m not saying this just because I have always been involved in campus politics, I believe that student council elections are legitimate exercises of students democratic rights. It serves as a rehearsal for students of their part in the larger context of Philippine society. I also believe that the leadership of the student council is decisive and crucial in the formation of student mass movements against commercialization of education and campus repression.

In the University of the Philippines Diliman, the militant Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights – UP (STAND-UP) regained the leadership of the University Student Council, after two years of losing the Chairman position. The Alternative Students’ Alliance for Progress – Katipunan ng mga Progresibong Mag-aaral ng Bayan (ASAP-KATIPUNAN) in UP Manila similarly regained the leadership of their University Student Council after three years of losing. STAND-UP and ASAP-KATIPUNAN’s nationalist counterparts in the other UP campuses in UP Baguio, UP Tacloban, UP Miag-ao, UP Cebu and UP Mindanao also scored resounding victories. This is indeed a reaffirmation of the genuine leadership that nationalist and militant activists offer and the potency of militant and collective activism in challenging attacks to students’ rights and welfare and in engaging the different issues that plague the country.

A few weeks ago, I went to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila, another one of the country’s leading state universities, to campaign for Kabataan Partylist and the Sandigan ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Sambayanan (SAMASA) Alliance during their miting de avance. I was surprised at the intensity of the political atmosphere in PUP. I always thought UP Diliman had the most interesting student council election season in the country.

Incumbent SAMASA eventually emerged as the resounding choice of state scholars, against the yellow-clad Liberal Party-sponsored student political formation in campus (I remember one of their candidates said in the miting de avance, “Anong masama sa pagtaas ng tuition?!” and he was met with boos and invectives).

I am pleasantly amazed that basic tuition rate in PUP has remained affordable to the people at P12 per unit. Perhaps part of it can be attributed to the consistent, genuine and militant leadership of SAMASA in the central student council. Any attempt to increase tuition over the past decade has consistently been challenged by the collective protest of the students under the leadership of SAMASA. This is simply one of the many examples that reinforce the potency of militant leadership in the student council and the collective action of students.

Elsewhere, as state universities and colleges and private institutions of higher education follow international trends of tuition increases due to budget cuts on social services imposed by governments (and prescribed by foreign financial institutions), students’ collective action serves as the most potent tool of resistance.

During the Zambales leg of our Lakbay Norte caravan, we were accommodated at the White Rock Resort Hotel near Olongapo. It is a 150-room hotel in a vast estate along the beach. It is also a resort and waterpark with two giant wave pools where visitors can ride the tides. They also have a bowling alley and an entertainment center.

A few minutes drive from the Subic Bay Freeport, it maintains its own peaceful isolation from the rest of the commercial centers in Subic and Olongapo, though it’s close enough for guests to enjoy night-outs in the restaurants and bars in the freeport.

Families can also stay at the Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel, one of Subic’s newer deluxe hotels, and apparently one of its pricier ones. It is located in Subic Freeport itself, and is along the beach, so it is just walking distance from the restaurants, bars and shops in the area.

The management of the hotel generously hosted our breakfast and lunch during our stay in Subic.

We were supposed to be toured around the bay onboard a yacht, but we ended up in a Subic bay coast guard speedboat, which was not bad at all. Around the bay, we were oriented to the new seaport facilities and major infrastructures (not by the government, but privately built, by the Koreans I heard) that have been built to accommodate the plan to make Subic a major economic hub.

Before leaving Subic, we also dropped by Mountain Woods Resort Inn, still in the freeport. It is a boutique hotel (with only 28 well-appointed guest rooms) tucked in the lush foliage of Subic’s mountains, and provides an alternative to the usual beach and seaside resort accommodations in the area.

Today, as it has always been, I still do not want to become a career lawyer, a lawyer working overtime with law firms in some office, defending random clients. That kind of lifestyle doesn’t appeal to me at all, notwithstanding the benefits or compensation. I want to study the law and be a lawyer so that I can promote and defend what I do as an activist, and do it better, from researching and drafting resolutions and bills in Congress to taking part in campaigns to protect and promote the rights of people. I want to study the law to make sure that the people I work with, the people I serve, and the people I care for and love will not be taken advantage of. Sure, I can read and study law books here and there without having to go through with the formality of attending school and passing the bar, but I have to recognize the fact that the social status of being a lawyer commands respect. It’s a kind of authority to challenge authority.

Yes, I’ve also thought about having to earn a living and provide for my family in the future. But I can set up a small shop take on a few “rakets” anyway. All I need is to support a simple family lifestyle. The idea of using law as a primary source of income is not appealing to me, too.

A few days ago, a group of disgruntled and desperate parents of University of the East students went to the headquarters of Kabataan Partylist. They have been calling our office almost every day the past weeks narrating their despair with regard to their children being maltreated in the school’s apparently abusive CAT training, among many other complaints. They have coursed their concerns to many politicians and government officials but they were not being given the attention they needed. I was talking to them about the kinds of campaigns we can mount in order to put a stop to the abuses, among other things. But then I also realized that it has to be complemented with legal action, of which I couldn’t properly advice them on. These kinds of situations reinforce my desire to study the law.

I apologize for not being able to update my blog the past month. Most of the tasks I have been assigned the past months for Kabataan Partylist is to speak and keep in touch with like-minded politicians and youth candidates from all over the country from different persuasions and political parties, forging formal and tactical alliances with a common agenda of change. One of these days we will launch an alliance of young men and women running for office this elections, united in upholding new politics from the youth for the people.

Subic Bay Freeport was once home to one of the largest overseas naval bases of the Americans. Since the abrogation of the bases agreement in the early 90’s, Subic has been transformed into a premiere freeport with a robust business and investment climate.

Subic attracts hundreds of thousands of local and foreign tourists who flock to the freeport for its duty free shopping, its nature and adventure activities, and its excellent convention facilities. Reports even claim that the freeport received more than two million local and foreign visitors in 2009, making it the top tourist destination for locals and foreigners.

One of Subic’s newest attractions is the Subic Tree Top Adventure in the virgin forests of Subic. Visitors can try out their Superman Ride where one is suspended horizontally along a zip line that transports one from one tree top to another hundreds of meters away in a matter of seconds. Other exhilarating activities include the canopy walk on the wooden trail on top of the forest’s 60-foot trees and rappelling down the canopy. One may also enjoy a trek through the trails of the forest. They also have their own cafe and restaurant where visitors can enjoy their meals amidst towering greens.

Adjacent to Subic Bay Freport is the city of Olongapo, considered to be the commercial hub of the province of Zambales. Despite the departure of the Americans from its former naval base ni Subic from which its economy depended much on, Olongapo has continued to emerge economically in part due to its tourism potential. Olongapo has a long stretch of fine-sand beaches with numerous resorts and hotels along the bay, and bars, restaurants and entertainment establishments in its commercial district.

Tree Top Adventure Subic
JEST Area, Upper Mau
Cubi Point, Subic Bay
(047) 252 9425, (047) 252 9427
http://treetopadventuresubic.com/

It also bothers me how certain personalities and families are depicted as heroes of EDSA 1, when some of them were never part in the build-up to the overthrow. It seems to me, even, that they only hijacked the opportunity when it was ripe. In fact, their only role in aiding the culmination of the people’s desire to oust Marcos were as the oppressors, being the architects and the implementors of martial rule. It’s deplorable that for all the abuses they committed the years before EDSA 1, they are remembered as its heroes simply by their last-minute act of finally riding the wave of the people’s anger. Yes, I’m talking about the military through the leadership of Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos. Worse, the real heroes who have persisted and died have consistently been sidelined and “airbrushed” out of the credit they deserve more than Enrile, Ramos, Sin or even the Aquinos.

Today some sectors are celebrating in revelry the victory of EDSA 1. But we commemorate the triumph that was at a time when our people languish in poverty and progressive reforms and resistance are suppressed by a tyrannical government. Has EDSA 1 failed? The seeming indifference of many of our people to the commemoration is telling.

I may sound ungrateful for the democratic fruits of the bloodless revolution. But to clam that without EDSA 1 we wouldn’t be enjoying the freedom we now experience is a sham. Even without the military coup, even without Cardinal Sin or Corazon Aquino, a revolution would have erupted, and I’m sure we would still be enjoying the freedoms we enjoy today, I daresay even more.

So, has EDSA 1 failed? No revolutionary triumph will ever last and succeed without the masses at the forefront and without their decisive leadership. There is no genuine triumph in a revolution that does not dismantle the old institutions that have shackled the people for centuries. Revolutions taken advantage of by oppressors posturing as heroes are bound to fail.

Social conditions today are ripe for another uprising. When the next people power revolution comes, we should have learned the glaring lessons.

In between spending the day at the headquarters and meeting with allied candidates, organizations and supporters, I joined some of Kabataan Partylist’s sorties this past week, the first in the official campaign period for the May 2010 national elections.

Our campaign platform for this elections is E 4 ALL: End corruption and tyranny, Education and employment, Environment and national patrimony, and Empowerment and equality.

Our campaign slogan is “Ipagpatuloy ang Magandang Simula,” which is a call to continue advancing the rights and welfare of the youth in Philippine Congress through the representation of Kabataan Partylist. We are proud of what we have accomplished the brief six months we were seated in the House of Representatives and we look forward to continuing our work, with two more Representatives next Congress. We may not have had constructed classrooms nor bridges like other congressmen, because as members of the opposition we are not being given our proper fund allocations, but we have filed countless bills and resolutions aimed at promoting the welfare of the youth, and successfully pushed for various campaigns including the extension of the voters registration and and the suspension of the implementation of various “no permit, no exam” policies in colleges and universities nationwide.

On our first day, we held a motorcade around Manila, starting off at Liwasang Bonifacio, onto Taft, then Espana, Morayta, and Recto through some of Manila’s major universities, distributing campaign flyers to and speaking with students and residents of nearby communities. We also passed through Sampaloc on our way back to Quezon City. Our local chapters in other parts of the country also made their own campaign kick-off activities. Our Quezon City chapter held their own motorcade in the metro’s largest city. In Baguio City, members held ‘Kabataan Fest’ at the Malcolm Square. Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist in Panay released doves and balloons while Southern Tagalog, Negros, and Davao City chapters held grand caravans to declare the youth’s intent to continue its service to the people.

Online, we started the official campaign period with 10,000 Facebook fans. Right now, after a week of promoting the party’s presence online, we’re up to 12,000. Hopefully by the end of the month, we can reach 15,000, and hopefully many of them will help out in the actual campaign, even offline.

Last Friday, we joined the sorties of Makabayan senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza, together with the rest of the Nacionalista Party (NP), in a whirlwind whole-day caravan around Cavite.

We started the day with an NP assembly in a resort in Kawit. We motorcaded from Kawit to Rosario in Cavite where NP candidates shook hands and spoke with residents around the town’s fishport. While the politicians were doing their sortie, we were doing our own distribution of campaign flyers on the streets. From Rosario, we went to Julugan in Tanza where a campaign rally was held in the covered courts. It was largely an NP rally, with impassioned speeches from its candidates. Our team went around the community in a house-to-house campaign during the rally. From Tanza, we went to Naic where our team had lunch at an eatery while the rest of NP was meeting with local politicians. We parted ways with the NP caravan when we went to a community in Trece Martires where we went on another house-to-house trail. We did the same when we went to another community in Langkaan, Dasmarinas. Finally, we went to General Mariano Alvarez and held a motorcade together with Anakpawis and other progressive partylists before ending the day at the NP rally and concert near Carmona.

This is the first time I’m actively participating in an election campaign and my first experience at a real national election sortie proved to be a tiring and enlightening one.

During our stay in Clark for the Lakbay Norte 2010 caravan, we were booked at Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn Clark is the only accredited international deluxe hotel in Central Luzon.

Holiday Inn Clark occupies a building that used to be called Chambers Hall, where bachelor officers of the former American airbase and some generals were billeted while on assignment in Clark. In 1996, after renovations, it stood as one of the first landmarks in Clark right after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. It has again just recently been renovated and refurbished in accord to the Holiday Inn chain’s global re-branding campaign. Like other international deluxe hotels, it features modern amenities and furnishings in all of its rooms and villas. Broadband internet access is also available in the rooms.

It has three restaurants (Mequeni, Rodizio Rooftop Grill, Copa’s Bar) a swimming pool, a recreation and game area, function halls, a spa and fitness area, and since it is located within the Mimosa Leisure Estate, it also has a 36-hole championship golf course.

If you choose to stay in Angeles City right outside Clark, you may stay at the Oasis Hotel, which has been in operation for more than four decades, and is one of the leading business hotels in Angeles City. Unlike the Holiday Inn, Oasis occupies a sprawling complex of 124 rooms in apartment-like single-floor structures.

On our last day in the Lakbay Norte caravan, we had lunch at Oasis Hotel’s Maranao Grill, where we were served with roast lamb and roast beef, together with pasta, baked mussels and roast duck in taco shells. Every Friday, Maranao Grill has an RST Buffet where they serve roast beef, roast lamb, sushi, sahimi and tempura all day.

We arrived in Clark Saturday night, and we had dinner right after checking in at the hotel at Red Crab Seafood and Steaks which is just walking distance from Holiday Inn Clark. We had generous servings of local staple viands and, of course, red crab.

After dinner at Red Crab, we were taken to Camalig Restaurant in downtown Angeles City where we sampled Armando’s Pizza–different kinds of “Kapampangan Pizza,” pizza with all sorts of combinations of local toppings, from salted eggs, to fried crickets. It was a sumptuous after-dinner treat.

Holiday Inn Clark
Mimosa Drive, Mimosa Leisure Estate, Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
(02) 845 1888, (045) 599 8000
www.holiday-inn.com/clark

Oasis Hotel
Clarkville Compound, CLark Perimeter Road, Angeles City, Pampanga
(045) 893 3301 to 04
www.oasishotel.com.ph

Clark has been a known as a destination for duty free shopping and leisure estate activities from swimming to golfing. The tourism offices in the area, however, have been promoting more activities for visitors to Clark.

For those who want to get to know more about the air base’s history there are tours onboard airconditioned “Jeep ni Juan” jeepneys provided by Castro Travel Solutions (+63 45 6256608) that you may avail. They also have packages for an afternoon at volcanic hot springs, a trek to Mt. Pinatubo and an even aerial tour of the infamous volcano.

Another new activity for visitors to Clark is horseback riding at El Kabayo Riding Stables (+63 09178122106). You can ride the horses around the compound or you can request for a ride around Clark. If you’re up for it, you can even take the horse for a ride along the Sacobia River to see the lahar canyons created by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption.

Across the Sacobia River from Clark is a nature and conservation park called Paradise Ranch which features gardens and zoo animals. The park features one of the largest butterfly gardens in the country and a “millio-dollar” view of the entire Clark Freeport Zone. The place is more suited for kids and educational field trips. Adults, on the other hand, can hold team building seminars, retreats, camping and weddings in the garden.

With the development and expansion of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Clark is now poised to become one of the country’s major gateways. The master development plan of the freeport zone seeks to transform the former US air base into an airport city and as a globally competitive international service and logistics center in the Asia-Pacific Region.

While that has not fully happened, Clark Airport does serve inbound and outbound flights to and from many local and international destinations. It has flights to and from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and even the Middle East.

How to get to Clark?

One can drive from Manila by car through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and reach Clark in an hour and a half. Take the NLEX exit at Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga and make a left turn towards Angeles City and a right turn towards Clark.

Clark may also be reached via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). From the NLEX, continue the drive leading to the SCTEX exit. One may use either the Clark North Interchange (Panday Pira access road near Nayong Pilipino) or the Clark South Interchange (near Yokohama and Clark Main Gate) to enter Clark.

One may also take public transportation to Clark. Take a Victory Liner bus bound for Dagupan and alight at the Dau common terminal. Walk a bit towards the highway where jeepneys or tricycles are available that can take you right up to the Clark gate. Philippine Rabbit also has trips to Angeles, Pampanga, via Dau. Partas and Philtranco also has bus trips to Clark.