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Sona'f a Shit*
by Mark Joseph Rafal

Slogan mo, "Tayo na sa Daang Matuwid." Mabigat!
Okay, naiintindihan kita. Gusto natin 'yan.
Noynoy Aquino, aming kapita-pitagang pangulo,
Ang pagbabago ay isang salitang madugo.

Sabi mo, "Wala nang Wangwang." Ayos!
Okay, luluwag na ang karsada.
Noynoy Aquino, aming mahal na pangulo,
Andami pa ring Buwang sa Kongreso.

Sabi mo, "Kayo ang Boss ko!" Matindi!
Okay, kaya naman obligado kaming tasahin ka.
Noynoy Aquino, aming dakilang pangulo,
Ang hatol nami'y ibagsak ang iyong grado.

*Hulyo 25, 2011. Unang SONA ni Pnoy. Huwag pauuto.

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Pangarap
by Stum Casia

Ikukwento ko sana kung paano ako sinalubong ng mga pulang letrang SMART ALL STAR TICKETS SOLD OUT nang tangkain kong makita kahit sa pinakamalayo sina Kobe Bryant at Kevin Durant kanina na nauwi sa tanghaliang Paborito Meal #2 ng Mang Inasal dahil inanod ata ng malakas na ulan ang mga scalpers na huling hantungan naming mga naubusan.

Pero hindi ito ang hinihingi ng hapon ng sabadong ito sa aking nirentahang dalawang oras sa internet shop sa Matimyas.

2 ang patay at 8 ang sugatan sa naganap na tensyon sa Brgy. Pangarap, Caloocan City. Ang mahigit sa 59 ektaryang lupain na kinatitirikan ng mga bahay ng mahigit 30, 000 residente ay humaharap sa demolisyon sa ilalim ng pang-aangkin ng lupa ni Greggy Araneta, mula sa pamilyang Araneta na kilalang malapit sa administrasyong Aquino.

-Kabataan Partylist NCR

Live na ipalalabas mamaya ang mga thunderous dunks, ang mga alley-Oops at mga killer crossovers- trending topic tiyak.

Pero ang maulang araw na ito ay ilalaan ko para sa dalawang pangalan lamang- kina Mel Fortadez at Sol Gomez.

One more thing, nakakatawa, noong isang araw lamang nakangiti ang bigoteng pinagdiriwang ni Recom Echeverri ang pamamayani ng demokrasya at katotohonan sa Kolookan.

At sabi din ng upos ng sigarilyo ni Noynoy- pwede na ulit tayong mangarap.

Kolokohan.

http://otom.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/pangarap/

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National Union of Students of the Philippines
National Office Office of the Student Regent, Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman, QC Telephone 9818500 loc. 4511 or 4512

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reference:
Einstein Recedes, NUSP President, 09156469177
Vanessa Faye Bolibol, NUSP Secretary-General, 0926-1703655

Student Councils join SONA ng BAYAN to reveal real state of the youth sector

Different Student Councils lead by the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) joined in the people’s march to Batasan to show their protest against what has been a year of state assault on the youth. The youth group has called out the Aquino administration for its anti-youth, anti-people policies.

According to NUSP secretary-general, Vanessa Bolibol, “The state of the nation shown in the President’s address will no doubt be in stark contrast with the state of the nation being experienced by millions of Filipinos. This State of the Nation Address (SONA), given in the halls of congress, will only further reveal how far removed the President and his men are from the vast majority of common Filipinos.”

NUSP joins the protest amidst what they believe to be a year that has only passed burden upon burden on the youth. They cite the historic budget cut for state universities and colleges (SUCs), the continuing and virtually unregulated imposition of higher tuition fees and miscellaneous fees, alongside the hurried implementation of K12 for basic education as examples of these burdens.

NUSP president Einstein Recedes also added that the administration’s lack of political will in pursuing justice for young victims of enforced disappearances, human rights violations, and extrajudicial killings as “disappointing, problematic and ill-boding”. “Knowing what happened to his father, one of would think that the President would be able to extend his sympathies to the family members of victims, at the least, but all we get from him is silence. Also, let us not forget the troubling imprisonment of the Calamba 5 or the rampant red-tagging of youth groups.”

“By joining in this march, we hope register our dissent against empty rhetoric and token policies. We mean to show what’s going on with the youth today and how policies from the previous administrations should not and must not be continued lest the people break under such policies. If this does not show him that he must change the way things are run, then we are not afraid to explore all possible means to show our discontent, ” continued Recedes. ####
 

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PRESS RELEASE
JULY 25, 2011

SONA
Filipinos harder up under Aquino—LFS

The League of Filipino Students joins thousands of Filipinos today as they hold a nationwide People’s SONA in the streets to present the real State of the Nation. The group reiterated their stand on Aquino’s 1st year, calling the president ‘incompetent, a burden to the masses, and a trusty imperialist puppet’.

“The Filipino people are hungrier, poorer. There is no change under Aquino. The economic and political crisis is worsening.” said Aki Merced, LFS spokesperson.

Merced continues to say that the people can’t expect much from Aquino as he will always be making decisions based on his background. “He came from a Haciendero family. The biggest landlord family in the Philippines. Like his mother, Aquino may say that he wants agrarian reform to benefit the poor farmers, but he wouldn’t be able to go at it and actually redistribute the land. His interests are the inverse of that of the farmers.”

“Take the education crisis for example. The CHEd and the Palace have been spokespersons of the capitalist-educators earning billions each year. Despite calls to regulate tuition all in the good intention of bringing education closer to millions of poor Filipinos, the Palace and CHEd have been firm in siding with the businessmen. Add to this the budget framework of this government that steadily cuts down on social services to pass on to the private sector the job of providing social services to the people. Logic would tell us they’d run these services like businesses. There is no doubt that the people’s basic rights would be more distant to Filipinos now.” Said Merced.

“Each day, 4040 Filipinos are forced to leave the country in search for greener pastures. Welcoming them are unequal treatment, lack of job security and even brought to the point of begging for food. This is the state of the millions of OFWs. The reason they left is because they can’t find livelihood in our country and instead of addressing this problem, Aquino has continued the export orientation of our labor force pushing even our basic education system to serve the purpose of supplying semi-skilled workers to accommodate foreign need through his K+12.”, said Merced.

The group said that like GMA, Noynoy Aquino is subservient to the interests of imperialist countries, especially the United States. “Under his Philippine Development Plan for 2011-2016, he will continue and worsen the import dependent and export oriented character of our economy. Aquino has no plans of developing our own economy, to strengthen the agriculture sector and empower local industry. He plans to keep our economy dependent on Foreign Direct Investment and our employment dependent to the jobs offered abroad. He plans on making Filipinos merely consumers and employers serving foreign interests to the benefit of imperialist countries parasitic on our workforce and natural resources. He plans on debilitating our economy towards extreme levels.”, said Merced.

Merced also mentioned that Aquino’s promise to review the Visiting Forces Agreements has not borne any significant result in his first year. “We thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition game between the NBA stars and our local PBA players but we can’t help to think that this is another tactic to deodorize the nightmare of intensified US intervention in our islands. This government has been really vocal on justifying the need for US military assistance to our country but there is the bigger picture that needs to be seen. In Australia, Korea and other parts of Asia, the US has been establishing camps and bases. It is indeed strengthening its geopolitical hold of the East.”

“Today, we join the people is presenting our real state. We are a poor people and this government has been the number one steward of exploitation and oppression nationwide. There remains the need for the people to take power in their own hands and struggle, fight for genuine change that would bring our nation to genuine development and prosperity. Trust the youth to take part in that struggle.”###

Reference: Aki Merced, 09322537600
 

BONUS TRACKS:

Lunch after the march

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League Filipino Students

SONA PRESS RELEASE
July 25, 2011

SONA all rhetorical 'wangwang-enomics'
Insufficient to move country forward

“Bumenta na yan. There is nothing new in Aquino's SONA, but dated and hollow rhetoric.” This was the statement of Terry Ridon, chairperson of the League of Filipino Students, as the militant student organization scoffed at the second State of the Nation address of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for harping on his 'merely populist' inaugural policy on the banning of wang-wangs as a supposed framework to move the country forward.

Ridon said that Aquino's anti-coruption drive rings hollow in the face of his failure to rein in his KKK (kapamilya, kaibigan, kabarilan) from controversies.

“Sending Arroyo and her cohorts to jail is obviously an imperative, but Aquino shouldn't foist a 'presidential shield' on his allies engaged in alleged misdeeds.”

Ridon said a mere anti-corruption 'wang-wang' framework cannot solve the country's complex problems.

He also said that much of the speech sounded more a rehash of his dated 'please help me' rhetoric' instead of a serious report on the real state of the nation.

“Such rhetoric certainly cannot prevent the cutting of education subsidies, as Aquino had done the past year.”

Ridon said also said that his 'nice, kind words' cannot stop the merely suspended MRT-LRT fare hikes.

He also lashed against 'dole-out measures' like the CCT which Aquino reshaped as genuine development.

"Cash distribution to the poor has been proven the world over as ineffective. Besides, the funds used for the the CCT is no mere disbursement from government revenue, but a 25-year loan from the World Bank."

"Certainly mere 'wangwang-enomics' might make '(bu)wangwangs' (fools) out of our people in the face of our economic troubles."

Reference: Terry Ridon, 09155310725, LFS Chairperson

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KABATAAN PARTYLIST
SOUTHERN TAGALOG CHAPTER
PRESS RELEASE
July 22, 2011

Reference Person:
John Paulo Bautista (09161483935)
Kabataan Partylist Southern Tagalog Coordinator

In own version of SONA:
Cavite youth express dismay on PNOY’s 1st year

In what it calls as its own version of the State of the Nation Address (SONA), Cavite youth and student leaders staged today the State of the Youth Address (SOYA) with Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino and various youth organizations in the province.

The SOYA series is spearheaded by Kabataan Partylist – Southern Tagalog in the provinces of the CALABARZON region. The SOYA in Cavite was conducted at the Provincial Gymnasium in Trece Martires which housed around 300 youth and student leaders including heads of student councils, student publications, community youth organization and the Sangguniang Kabataan.

Youth leaders particularly expressed dismay on the Noynoy administration’s continued state abandonment for education. The effects of the budget cut for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) last December have but worsened the state of education in the province.

Students from the Cavite State University (CVSU) – Naic campus for example has faced tuition and other fee increase (TOFI) of more than 100% this semester. Due to the TOFI, enrollment dropped in the campus including its pioneer course of B.S. Fisheries which nearly got dissolved due to lack of enrollees.

“It is disheartening that the very essence of satellite campuses of SUCs in rural areas - which is to allow the poor to have access to quality education, is slowly becoming a myth. We see Aquino’s policies killing the future of the youth as the hope of the nation,” stressed Ruffa Solano, deputy-secretary general of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) - Southern Tagalog.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Christian University in Dasmariñas only received around 300 enrollees this semester. School administrators may opt to close down the school due to this low number of enrollees. Solano said this is but an indicator that more and more parents could no longer afford to send their children to private schools. “But they have nowhere else to go since tuition fees in SUCs are almost at par with private schools,” she added.

Members of Kabataan Partylist at the high school level in CVSU-Rosario expressed opposition to Aquino’s K-12 program. The campus, which is close to the Economic Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), offers primarily technical and vocational skills to college students.

“Here students are blatantly exploited during internship and right after graduation they are automatically hired as welders and assembly men for EPZA. The K-12 program which offers vocational and technical skills to high school discourages tertiary education and ultimately hurries the youth into serving the foreign capitalists interest instead of serving the people for genuine national development,” said Anakbayan Timog –Katagalugan Spokesperson Neil John Macuha

He also stressed that the land-use conversion in the province due to the extension of late Corazon Aquino’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) paved way for more subdivisions, malls and golf courses being converted from agricultural lands. With this, landlords get to keep their land and the peasant youth - who were trained to help their parents in farming - are forced to apply in factories.

“Cavite boasts its industrialized character and yet the industries here are foreign-owned and the land reform is next to fiction. We also see demolitions rampant such as in Kadiwa market in Dasmariñas which ruined the livelihood of the locals in exchange for mall magnate Henry Sy’s interest,” Macuha added.

As a symbolic action of solidarity after the SOYA, youth and student leaders formed a “giant notebook” containing written concerns of the Cavite youth.
“This is a clear warning to the Aquino government in his upcoming SONA, he has not been true to his words to uphold the rights of the youth in his first year in power. We will continue with our demands through collective action even if it means doing what is necessary for the welfare of the youth and the people,” stressed John Paulo Bautista, coordinator of Kabataan Partylist in Southern Tagalog.

Before the actual SOYA, student leaders held a breakfast meeting with Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla and Rep. Palatino to discuss serious education reforms in the province such as lobbying for higher education budget in Congress. #


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Kabataan Partylist

For immediate release
June 25, 2011

References:
Rep. Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino, Kabataan Partylist, 09085927099
Bugsy Nolasco, media officer, 09228240740

PNoy’s speech like “wangwang”, empty noise to cover up people’s gut issues – youth solon

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino today likened President Aquino’s SONA to the sound of “wangwang”, which the youth solon said embodies the empty rhetoric that mutes the “gut issues” confronting the people.

“President Aquino’s phrase “utak wangwang” in his SONA applies squarely in his speech. The gut issues of the people were evaded to give way to all his proud claims on the supposed achievements of the administration. No word was given on Hacienda Luisita and land reform; wage increase for our workers; regulation of oil and other prices of commodities; social services like health and education; Visiting Forces Agreement and foreign dominance; and concrete anti-corruption measures like the passage of Freedom of Information Act. I cannot help but perceive all his talk against “wangwang” as a stratagem to cover up the fundamental issues of the people,” Palatino said.

“President Aquino warned against repeating past mistakes as a hindrance to progress and development. But listening closely to his speech, he intends to merely follow the same old policies of past administrations: Privatization in the form of Public-Private Partnership; Band-aid solutions to poverty and lack of social services in the form of Conditional Cash Transfers. How can we expect change if we remain in the circuit of past policies?” Palatino said.

“Even PNoy’s so-called battle against corruption sounded empty with his silence on the Freedom of Information Act, the passage of which will concretely make transparent government transactions and activities,” Palatino said.

“PNoy also appears to have a penchant for exposing corruption cases. One year into his term, it is worth asking, however, why former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has yet to be persecuted. PNoy should do well to remember that action speaks louder than words,” Palatino said. ###

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Office of Rep. Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino
Room 419, North Wing, House of Representatives,
Batasan Complex, Quezon City
Tel: 931-55-04, 931-5001 (loc. 7378)

Reference:
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino
Mobile: 0908-5927099

Bugsy Nolasco, Media Officer
Mobile: 0922-8240740

BONUS TRACKS 2:

The power of music

Chikoy Pura and the Jerks performed Sayaw sa Bubog and this group

from NNARA-Youth, Anakpawis and Kabataan partylist morphed into a SONA dance troupe.