We know we can’t eliminate plastics overnight. But everyone can do something about it today.

We want to create conversations that will encourage the public to share #ManyWaysToZeroWaste ideas, and set up programs that will help them turn these ideas into action.

Rappler and a community composed of various groups and individuals advocating for and are working towards a more sustainable future, will work together to push for the responsible use of plastics. This includes ensuring proper plastic waste disposal, building efficient recycling systems, and gathering communities that will help achieve these goals.

MANILA, Philippines – Hoping to figure out how to make education more accessible, at least 27 participants shared their ideas about potential learning opportunities for marginalized sectors during “Move Huddle: Beyond the classroom” on Saturday, October 26.

“One of the many challenges of our education sector today is its accessibility, and as part of the youth and as young leaders, we need to start making more ways to have better opportunities for the marginalized,” University of the Philippines (UP) College of Education representative to the University Student Council Kris Miranda said.

A 2018 report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that the country's education sector remains problematic. The Multidimensional Poverty Index in the report showed that Filipino families are most deprived in the area of education. (READ: 5 out of 10 Filipino families deprived of basic education – PSA)

The study said that 6 out of 10 families in 2016, and 5 out of 10 families in 2017 had no access to basic education. (FAST FACTS: What you need to know about the PH education system)

Based on the 2017 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS), about 9% of the estimated 39.2 million Filipinos aged 6 to 24 years old were out-of-school children and youth.

Among initiatives that the government pursued to address this problem is the implementation of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) as a practical option for those unable to access formal education in schools. (READ: Catching up on ALS: Challenges of a 'parallel system)

Aside from ALS, there are other learning opportunities that people can avail of if they have no access to formal education.

Spreading awareness

In a panel discussion, Edcel Artificio of Teach for the Philippines, Dorotea Pascual of ALS-Motortrade Life and Livelihood Assistance Foundation Inc (MLALAF), Bea Yasis of Meraquay Philippines Inc, and Eugene Solla of the UP College of Education Student Council (UP CESC) talked about the accessibility of education in the Philippines.

They pointed out that poverty, and a sparse number of learning spaces in far-flung areas are among the reasons why marginalized sectors such as indigenous peoples, out-of-school youth, children in conflict with the law, and the urban poor struggle to access formal education.

Solla added how even though free tuition law is available, there are still other factors that act as obstacles such as daily allowance, fare going to and from the school, and expenses for projects and homework.

“Hindi kasi siya natatapos doon sa matrikula lang, kailangan pa ng ibang suporta doon sa ibang aspects para maging smooth 'yung experience ng mga bata sa kanilang right to education,” Solla said.

(It doesn’t end with their matriculation. They also need support in other aspects to improve the children's education experience.)

Pascual added that these difficulties are further expounded by addiction, child labor, early marriage, and pregnancy among the youth.

The panelists also said that there are alternative ways of making education more accessible besides formal education in the classroom.

These include setting up alternative learning spaces, whether these be in covered courts or in houses; setting up an alternative learning system that’s specifically designed for the needs of the community; and conducting free reading sessions and tutorial services.

Making education accessible can also mean empowering potential and practicing teachers through workshops that empower them to think of solutions to a community problem. People may also opt to educate themselves by attending discussions and taking the time to immerse in, and understand, a community.

Pascual shared how they taught skills-training in communities where residents aged 16 years old and above were encouraged to join.

MLALAF has been conducting the ALS program in urban poor communities all over Metro Manila since 2003, providing technical skills training for livelihood.

“When they learn, they can use it for their livelihood. They usually have two to 4 clients in a day and they earn P200-250 per client. The approach was successful. Livelihood training without sacrificing their studies was applied for them to succeed and be self-sufficient,” she said.

Aside from immersion, Yasis pointed out the importance of partnership and volunteerism. She believes that even a single conversation and the willingness to help can open up possibilities in making these initiatives bear fruit.

She added that one doesn’t need to be a teacher to create learning opportunities.

“Not all of us are teachers, not all of us are professional teachers, but through volunteerism, through our own small initiatives, we can actually empower our fellow Filipinos,” Yasis added.

Pascual highlighted how community immersions are especially important in understanding the community’s needs and developing programs that are appropriate for them.

“We have to empathize with our target audience. You don’t need to teach, but you need to immerse yourself. You can’t teach students different things which are not according to their abilities, and you must know how to equip them with the necessary skills in order for them to empower themselves,” Solla added.

The panelists concluded that providing more learning opportunities will lead to citizen empowerment that will allow people to succeed and better themselves.

Artificio said that we should only guide a community to solve its problems, instead of dictating solutions that may not necessarily be applicable. 

“We don’t prescribe how a community will grow. Instead, we help them to think of a solution to solve the problems within the community,” Artificio said.

The next step

Equipped with their learnings from the panel discussion, participants were asked to group themselves according to their target beneficiaries and brainstorm on a possible initiative to make education accessible to their chosen sectors.

The target beneficiaries focused on 4 sectors: urban poor, out-of-school-youth, out-of-school children, and indigenous peoples.

Each group presented suggestions which their representatives explained. Among the suggestions presented were staging a benefit concert to generate funds and resources for the building of learning centers for indigenous peoples; and conducting community profiling and developing a livelihood program patterned after the needs of the urban poor.

Meanwhile, Patricia Crisanto and Chrysaliz Gonzaga, representing the out-of-school youth group, emphasized the need for core groups that will facilitate seminar workshops focused on technical skills and networking.

Lastly, Charlina Arante from the out-of-school children group, proposed outreach programs in partnership with barangays, home-owners' associations, and churches.

Pascual reminded participants that the next step after coming up with these small initiatives is to stay committed and realize their ideas.

“Whether the impact of your projects would be short-term or long-term, what matters the most is your commitment to pursue it,” she said.

The huddle was organized by MovePH, Rappler’s civic engagement arm, in partnership with the UP CESC at Lecture Hall 1, College of Statistics, UP Diliman. – Rappler.com

Nicomedes Pagalan Jr and Raven Louise Daguro are first year students taking up Bachelor of Secondary Education, major in mathematics at the University of the Philippines Diliman. They are cub reporters of Sulo, the offficial student publication of the UP College of Education.

Over a year after the signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, more questions than answers have been raised on the status of its implementation. Amid growing doubts regarding the capacity of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front leadership to deliver on its promises during the transition period up to 2022, I choose to remain positive. Here is why.

I come with the strong belief that, first, the appointed members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) would not want to waste decades of struggle against historical injustices. Second, Islam is at the heart of how the transition will unfold. As the BTA members took their sworn oaths on the Koran – and therefore committed themselves to lead without corruption, violence, or evil – all eyes will be watching them as they faithfully deliver their mandate. 

I pray that the appointed leaders will open their doors to others offering technical expertise. Now is not the time to fall prey to the atin-atin (just among ourselves) style of leadership. Whatever limitations they are facing will surely be overcome by a sincere desire to make positive changes to finally ensure lasting peace in the region. (READ: FAST FACTS: Key positions in the Bangsamoro government)

The Bangsamoro should stand up, united, and accept the challenge of good governance, which includes establishing an accountable and effective bureaucracy; the protection and promotion of human rights; and the enforcement of the rule of law, among many others. On the other hand, civil society must do its part by offering much-needed support, because we all know that criticizing from a distance can only do so much, if nothing at all, given the polarizing, and still-fragile, context. 

A successful transition period hinges on civil society participation and community consultations. This belief is rooted by my decades-long experience in community organizing, first in Tawi-Tawi, and later in Basilan with Tarbilang Foundation. I know the challenges of engaging with local leaders firsthand, especially when organizations have the technical expertise but lack the social capital to meaningfully engage with others. 

I remember the apprehension my staff and I had when faced with the prospect of community organizing, working mainly with women and girls in Basilan. Upon learning that the municipality of Lantawan was the birthplace of the violent Abu Sayyaf Group, Tarbilang had to put in place additional security measures to ensure that both community assembly participants and project staff were kept safe. Beyond the outbreaks of violence, we had other obstacles to overcome. At the time, we were rightfully considered "strangers." While the road towards building strong relationships with local leaders and communities was long, it was one we hurdled by taking steps to find common ground. (READ: [OPINION] Bangsamoro hopes)

Tarbilang worked with local contacts who could share in-depth knowledge about customs and practices in Basilan. We also reached out to the mayors of Maluso and Lantawan. With them, we found a shared goal in supporting a successful transition to an inclusive and widely supported Bangsamoro which would directly contribute to long-term stability and development in their respective municipalities. Familiarization with governance processes and sociocultural contexts was a non-negotiable step, especially when engaging with tight-knit communities who may not readily open up to those perceived as "outsiders."

I put my trust in the new leadership, but civil society must do its part by supporting the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and reminding the BTA of our shared objective – to serve the people. Instead of finger-pointing and recrimination, the BTA will need support freely given, which, in turn, it must also freely accept, so that it can finally take off and lead with justice and fairness for the benefit of the Bangsamoro people. (IN PHOTOS: ARMM opens first Bangsamoro Museum)

Together, civil society and Bangsamoro leaders alike cannot let future generations say that when it was our time to deliver, we did nothing. – Rappler.com

Professor Jurma A. Tikmasan is the dean of the College of Fisheries in Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi. She is also the founding president and executive director of Tarbilang Foundation, a women's rights organization based in Tawi-Tawi. Tarbilang Foundation currently works with Oxfam Pilipinas with support from the Australian government in ensuring the successful transition to an inclusive and widely supported Bangsamoro by building the capacity of women in the peace process. 

This piece was written for the global women's rights in crisis campaign #IMatter. The launch will kick-start a drive to build and strengthen an intersectional movement that works with women and girls in crisis and post-crisis contexts, recognizing the universality of the struggles women experience. Details here. 

There is another dimension to our healthcare crisis we’re barely talking about. It begins with healthcare professionals lost in a broken system: physicians, nurses, midwives – overworked, underpaid, and drowning in the murky waters of bad politics both in the public and private sphere.

Devolution has relegated healthcare at the mercy of weak local government institutions rampant with small-minded partisanship and paranoia. Those in private practice languish in hospital training programs bogged down by repetitive paper work courtesy of litigation fear, Philhealth CF4, and an expanding HMO insurance system, while also struggling with unjustified pay amid 100-hour work weeks. (READ: Resident doctors are real doctors)

The US-based model of our system portends a future of relentless accumulation, while we are expected to be martyrs offering ourselves to a country plagued by social and systemic injustices. Passion, love, and patient-centeredness implies a willingness to endure and sacrifice, but these ring hollow when they are exploited by the blight of pervasive human greed.

The phenomenon of shaming is the consequence of this failure. We are not allowed to show ourselves sleeping in front of patients despite exhaustion. Our calm is misconstrued as a lack of urgency. Damning ER pictures are shared without context. Doctor-shaming vlogs are monetized at the expense of the reputation of a fellow human being. We are discouraged to show humanity in public lest we stoke the undercurrent of resentment towards a healthcare system that privileges the moneyed. We are asked to do more, to relish toxicity, for we are not allowed to be humans now. “We are sure to become gods later,” say those who see us profiteering off disease, a perception resulting from the anxieties produced by exorbitant healthcare costs. Patients are being treated as consumers, and consumers they are becoming. (READ: [OPINION] A young doctor's views on health workforce in the PH)

We enjoy the nobility of our calling, but the system is dedicated to destroying these values while parroting the same words that rob its meaning. Superhuman feats are lauded while human fragility is mocked. This twisted drive towards excellence comes at the price of physical and mental suffering, a contradiction we are not only expected to live with but to display as a badge of honor. 

Physician suicide happens as early as medical school. Sexual harassment and gender discrimination are taboo topics amid powerful male-dominated leaderships, silenced by a “boys will be boys” mentality. Depression casts its dark cloud deep and invisible in the highly stressful environment of medicine. Some older physicians look down on younger doctors, promoting facetious resiliency workshops where a speaker could shamelessly say, “In the hospital, you are not allowed to be a millennial!” while another consultant rants, perhaps broken themselves by years of systemic injustice, “Passion? I’m only here for the money!” (READ: How #NoToDoctorShaming posts highlight gaps in PH healthcare system)

But calling for justified pay is spurned as being entitled. Nurses are chronically underpaid, and younger ones scramble for growth opportunities. Some who can afford the meager pay are forced to swallow it just to have better opportunities abroad. This is also true for private residency physicians receiving only stipends with no benefits despite working more than 80 hours a week. It is truer in the government where healthcare workers deal with hundreds of patients every day while navigating the inefficiencies of local policymakers.

Recently, a doctor “walked out” from his post in Argao. News articles focused on the governor of Cebu citing the Hippocratic oath as a moral mandate for the physician to stay. Nobody asked the right questions: with the recent shift to outsourcing in the province, was there a proper transition plan to support hospitals that will lose manpower? Will that doctor have a reliever after 36 hours of duty? Are DOH personnel guidelines commensurate to the real needs on the ground? Is the doctor’s action motivated by selfishness or as a consequence of inhumane work conditions? (READ: Life of a doctor in the barrio)

But these issues decay in our toxic culture of silence. For this, I would like to take a leaf out of America’s book. The New Yorker recently published an article: Why Doctors should Organize, a culmination of the growing voices of dissent to a system that produces massive burnout. Medscape shied from the term burnout and called it “moral Injury,” and another one went as far as calling it a “human rights violation.” The Lancet declared it a “global crisis” and that “Addressing [it on] an individual level will not be enough, and meaningful steps to address the crisis…. must be taken at systemic and institutional levels...” This paved the way for scientific studies such as Discrimination, Abuse, Harassment, and Burnout in Surgical Residency Training published recently by the New England Journal of Medicine. I’m hard-pressed to find studies like these in a country whose idea of cutting-edge research is detached from our urgent needs as a nation.

It is ultimately about taking back our wasted energies and spending it where it should be: in truly advocating for patients, especially the poor. Growth in suffering does not occur in passive acceptance, but in wresting away the spirit of our calling from those that corrupt it. It is time for journalists, physicians, healthcare workers, academics, researchers, and activists to seize upon this issue and break our culture of silence. – Rappler.com

JM Deblois, 28 years old, is a physician currently training in family and community medicine. 

The numbers are appalling. 

538 babies are born to Filipino teens each day.

2,000 10- to 14-year-olds got pregnant in 2017. 

30% of Filipino teens had sex in 2017, 10% higher than in 2016. 

There's been a 170% increase in the number of new HIV infections among young Filipinos since 2010.

All of this has led to disrupted education and employment, chronic financial difficulties, and serious health complications. 

Who is to blame for this undeclared national emergency? Parents, guardians, church people, government officials, and other supposedly responsible grown-ups. We are all guilty in our failure to identify and tackle the crisis in its manifold aspects. 

First of all, we refuse to recognize human nature at its most chaotic stage: adolescence. This is a turbulent period characterized by rebellion, insecurity, young love, and sexual awakening. This is biology. And biology always wins. 

In this fragile biological phase, our teenagers are bombarded with peer pressure and pornography. With non-stop cajoling from friends and widespread online sexual content – and enabled by freedom of physical mobility – teenagers will have sex. 

These factors have led to the present crisis: a crisis that adults have refused to deal with. 

The solution is arming our teenagers with sufficient, accurate information about human reproduction, sexuality, and safe sex, as well as giving them anonymous access to safe sex commodities, like oral contraceptives and condoms, through qualified health workers. We have to harness the power of every possible resource in the soonest possible time to curb the problem. 

But no, Filipino adults are still dilly-dallying, not realizing that each day of delay translates to hundreds of additional babies born to young, poor mothers. (READ: Kids having kids: When choice is not an option)

Filipino parents and religious sectors have been preaching abstinence for years. Unfortunately, this is not working.  In 2016, 20% of teens were having sex. Then, it rose to 30% in 2017. It’s almost 2020. You do the math. These kids are not receptive to biblical, moral preaching at this point. “Fornication is not pleasing to the Lord,” we tell them.  Well, these kids will gladly go to hell to be with their Romeos and Juliets. 

The immorality or morality of using artificial contraceptives will never be settled, and we should not allow this debate to further stall urgent intervention.  As for the risks, yes, there are health risks involved in taking pills and using condoms, but there are more health risks in spiking rates of teenage pregnancy and unabated, unprotected sex. 

Parents and guardians are either in denial or incapable of communication. “My daughter would never do that.” Then the girl comes home pregnant. Parents are always the last to know. On the other hand, talking to children about sex is never easy. It needs training and preparation.  Hence, we need teachers and school counsellors to help parents in this respect. This can be done in parent-teacher meetings. (READ: [DASH of SAS] Teen pregnancy: Losses and missed opportunities)

The government should swiftly implement much-needed reforms. Aside from funding, legislative amendments are also necessary to allow teens to get safe sex products without parental consent. School curricula should be updated to give administrators and teachers the leeway to offer complete sex education.   

There should be gender-segregated sex education classes (with other subjects still gender-mixed) where teens can ask questions without being embarrassed. They need lessons where human anatomy, reproduction, and safe sex will be discussed direct to the point, not euphemistically or metaphorically.  Teenagers need non-moralizing conversations on human desires and how to handle them. They also need to be aware of the consequences of their actions. (READ: [DASH of SAS] Schools as access points for condoms)

Many parents worry that teaching teenagers about contraceptives and safe sex will encourage them to have sex. There is no empirical data to support this. But assuming that it is true, the risks of knowing are less serious and deadly than the risks of not knowing. Ignorance will take a greater toll. (READ: Teenage pregnancies: Untangling cause and effect)

Priests and pastors should continue preaching abstinence and chastity, but they should stop demonizing the solutions proposed by people they don’t agree with. They don’t have the exclusive knowledge of right and wrong. Scientists and doctors are God’s instruments too, and they, too, have God-given wisdom to differentiate the moral from the immoral.   

Again, how did we reach this crisis? 

Through years of silence, denial, inaction, and a sin-fixated mentality.

Until we change our mindset and act decisively, we will continue to succumb to an unsustainable population explosion, perpetual poverty, and a contagion of diseases. – Rappler.com

More than 70 mayors and a thousand representatives from the world’s most influential cities convened in Copenhagen in Denmark last month for the seventh C40 World Mayors Summit to define the “the future we want” and ultimately signal a paradigm shift of urban policy to address the climate emergency.

The global summit brought together leading climate voices like former United States Vice President Al Gore, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, along with champion mayors from leading global cities like Paris, Los Angeles, and Copenhagen.

The Philippines was represented by the only C40 member city in the Philippines, Quezon City, led by Mayor Joy Belmonte and her city delegation, as well as the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), led by Chairman Greg Garcia.

C40 is a global network of 94 of the world’s biggest and most influential cities driving climate action. Overall, these cities represent a quarter of the global economy. (READ: Aiming for zero: cities, companies ramp up climate goals)

Tagged as the most important climate-related event of the year, the global summit made headlines around the world as C40 mayors launched a Global Green New Deal. This new initiative aims to form a broad global coalition of city champions, businesses, youth movement leaders, and citizens working towards a just urban transition to eradicate carbon emissions by 2050.

This new deal will put people and the planet at the core of decision-making. It aims to globally and collectively redefine urban policy as we enter the 2020s, a crucial decade that will make or break the fight to keep global heating below the 1.5 degrees goal outlined in the Paris Agreement. (READ: Why the Philippines should declare a climate emergency)

The future we want

The Global Green New Deal offers an alternative urban vision marked by tremendous ambition and urgency. It envisions an urban future with zero carbon emissions and defines decarbonization pathways in key urban systems such as transportation, buildings, and waste while putting humans at the core of such a transition.

It also signals a shift of the global paradigm of progress in cities towards new parameters and standards with people and the planet at its core.

While the new deal defines several pathways to achieve a zero carbon future, 3 areas of transformation stand out. Urban policy should embrace (1) zero waste economies, (2) people-oriented mobility, and (3) clean energy for all.

First, cities need to rethink urban policy based on zero waste or circular economies. Progress should be defined not by how much is generated, but by how much waste is averted and diverted. This could go into the core of individual behavior where broader urban policy will play a key role. 

Rapid economic industrialization has not only depleted natural capital but also generated massive waste that is now choking canals, landfills, waterways, and oceans at large. This has led to adverse health impacts on humans as well as marine life.

Second, cities should facilitate and lead the transition towards people-oriented mobility. Cities have conventionally been designed to take in and move as many private cars as possible. With worsening traffic and pollution that we are experiencing in major capitals like Metro Manila, cities are now looking towards post-automobility. (READ: FAST FACTS: State of Metro Manila’s public transport system)

Gustavo Petro, former mayor of Bogotá in Colombia said, “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation.”

The new urban era should be defined by pedestrianized streets and sidewalks, bicycles, people-friendly planning, buses, mass transit systems, and other local transport solutions. This will allow more citizens to move and gain access to diverse transport options regardless of socioeconomic class, while making the air we breathe cleaner and cities less congested.

Finally, clean and renewable energy should drive power in cities. This goes to the core of energy generation by divesting from coal-fired power plants and ramping up solar, wind, and geothermal energy. (READ: Is renewable energy unreliable? and other questions about RE answered)

From the demand-side, cities can look into mainstreaming stronger energy conservation and efficiency standards across residential, government-owned, and commercial buildings which account for more than half of greenhouse gas emissions in cities globally. Sometimes, this could mean embracing innovative local solutions and building designs. (READ: Local developers return to Filipino roots with 'green' buildings, designs)

The Global Green New Deal offers an alternative vision of the urban future that confronts that world’s greatest global challenge, the climate crisis. It is a work in progress that will have to be articulated, (re)shaped and pursued collectively while putting the most climate-vulnerable sectors and communities at the core.

On the importance of working for a future that truly empowers people and the planet, I borrow the words of US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during her impassioned speech at the C40 Summit:

“At the present moment, solving the climate crisis is no longer a primarily scientific question. It is now a political one. The scientists have done much of their job and now it is the time for us to do ours. Just as they have created the technologies and identified the targets, we must create the political will. A Green New Deal centers the leadership of frontline communities from minors to farmers to indigenous communities, working in poor communities and urban communities alike. Not only because it is the right thing to do – it is. Nor because is it where we can find solutions – we can. But also because it is the winning political coalition that can empower change.” – Rappler.com

Marvin Lagonera (@marvinlagonera) is a millennial climate emergency activist. He is affiliated with C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and is concurrently taking his Masters in Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford. The views in this article are his own.

Last October 31, Bacolod police used a search warrant from Quezon City to raid offices of Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Kilusang Mayo Uno, and the National Federation of Sugar Workers. At the same time, police raided the house of Gabriela leader Cora Agovida and her her husband Michael Bartolome in Manila. 62 arrests right on Halloween.

Rodrigo Duterte has dug himself a hole with his blatant use of tyranny and state fascism, and there is no other word for it – this is fascism. The Duterte administration has proven once more that it is willing to resort to any tactic to silence its critics, whether through misinformation, red-tagging, recycling of evidence, arrest, or straight up murder.

It’s clear that this administration is running on fumes. Duterte is using the same tactics as Marcos, Arroyo, and every other dictator before him to try and legitimize his rule. It doesn’t matter if you’re a student activist, a community organizer, or an NDF peace consultant – all critics get the bullet. Duterte is sowing a culture of fear and impunity to try and silence any and all forms of dissent.

In his 3 years of power, Duterte has employed classic tactics from the dictator’s playbook. He started with cultivating a populist image around himself to convince a vocal minority that he is what the country needs. He and his men grabbed hold of key institutions by pushing out oppositionists and replacing them with former generals and toadies. He secured the support of key economic powers – large landowners, business magnates, and foreign powers.

He then created an enemy. He used the classic bogeyman of “communism” to define what it meant to be an enemy of the state; for Duterte, anybody who isn’t with him is from the New People's Army (NPA). For Duterte, the NPA is both an inescapable menace and a punching bag on the verge of final death, depending on what suits him best.

The results only speak for themselves. All shades of the opposition are marginalized and treated as subversive. Organizations like Karapatan have become persona non grata in provinces like Quezon and Mindoro, and if he could not keep them out, then he will silence them – 30,000 extrajudicial killings, 340 political prisoners, and 8 desaparecidos in 3 years. 

Duterte’s culture of fear ultimately comes from his own fears. If Duterte wasn’t afraid then he should have no problem with dissent. A legitimate state will not resort to underhanded tactics to silence its critics, and a state that does so is not a state that the people need. (READ: Duterte likens NPA to ISIS: 'No ideology except to destroy and kill')

It’s quite ironic that these arrests happened on Halloween. His attempt at horror is bland and misguided, and only proves his own insecurities. If his goal was to scare everybody into submission, then he has forgotten that anger motivates far more than fear. 

It would do him well to look back at the same playbook he has taken his tactics from, and see that all dictators eventually fall. His plan to curb dissent through Oplan Kapanatagan and its related operations has only succeeded in giving more people a reason to rise up, resist, and fight. (READ: Martial law, the dark chapter in Philippine history)

He can go ahead and continue to try and scare us, but it will never work. If he thinks arresting 62 activists will be enough to stop the growing mass movement, then he’s wrong, and it’s only be a matter of time before he gets his due. – Rappler.com

Justin Umali is a writer and an activist from Laguna. He is a regular contributor for Esquire Philippines, and currently President of Kabataan Partylist Laguna.

This is a feature from the Peace and Equity Foundation.

DAVAO DEL NORTE, Philippines – Seated beneath a tall coconut tree and away from the scorching heat of the sun, Narciso Lara chopped coconut husks that he would use to surround other coconut trees in a practice called mulching meant to keep the soil healthy.

"Ginagawa namin ito para lumamig ang puno (We do this to keep the tree cool)," he said.

Lara, whose main source of income is coconut farming, said that he was hopeful for an increase in productivity of his trees through good agricultural practices such as mulching, adding that it would help support the education of his children.

"Mayroon din akong cacao at saging. [Mabuti na lang] at may mga buyers dito (We also have cacao and bananas. It's a good thing there are buyers here)," he said.

Lara is one of 10 farmers chosen to be part of the demo farm project of the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) – with partners Cocolink and Laak Multipurpose Cooperative (LAMPCO) – to link enablers across the value chain of San Isidro, Davao del Norte. 

Model farms of San Isidro

San Isidro, a fourth-class municipality with a population of 27,000, consists mainly of coconut and cacao farmers. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the town has a 43% poverty incidence in 2015, way above the 14.5% poverty incidence of the entire province.

Recognizing this problem, PEF, Cocolink, and LAMPCO, along with the local government, inked a partnership agreement in January 2019 that hopes to address the issues of farmers on low production and income, and lack of market-oriented knowledge and skills.

Part of the value chain approach is the establishment of coconut and cacao rejuvenation sites or demo farms that started in June 2019 where the 10 farmers can practice farming techniques learned in training conducted by Davao Region-based organization Cocolink.

"The farmers' attitude is 'To see is to believe.' [That is why] we want demo farms to be classrooms themselves. We conduct trainings not within the 4 corners of a room but underneath a tree," Cocolink Executive Director Dondon Clamor said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Since July, Cocolink has conducted a series of agro-enterprise trainings to demo farm cooperators such as making vermicast organic fertilizers, nursery management, planting density, insect and weed control, and farm safety for the workers.

"Hopefully, these farmers will become teachers themselves. The plan is for them to open their farms to whoever is interested in learning these technologies," Clamor said.

So far, cooperators like Lara have begun to implement what they've learned in the training like mulching the coconut trees – a process wherein dry coconut fronds, corn stalks, rice straw, and other similar materials are applied to the surface of the soil to reduce soil temperature, conserve soil moisture, and suppress weed growth.

Clustering

In addition to demo farms, PEF and LAMPCO also started clustering farmers to improve production efficiency and reduce logistical costs.

In clustering, farmers are grouped, and the appointed cluster leader will oversee the consolidation of whole nuts for LAMPCO, which will then be delivered to buyers like Davao-based coconut processor Franklin Baker at P6 per kilo, while local traders buy whole nuts at P4.50 a kilo.

For LAMPCO General Manager Edesa Morante, being a member of clusters provides benefits that are not offered by other traders.

"Even if they're not members of the cooperative, we still give help [to cluster members]," she said in Filipino.

Convergence

According to PEF Area Officer Mysol Carcueva, the value chain approach continues to invite more stakeholders to take part in improving the lives of the farmers in the region.

"We have an ad hoc group created for this project for updating and to discuss issues in the field but it is also open to other stakeholders in the area," she said.

So far, local chocolate producer Chocolate De San Isidro and Rural Improvement Club of San Isidro have joined the meetings of the group and are aiming for a bigger role in the development of the municipality.

As the value chain approach continues to gain steam in the coming months, and with continued support from different stakeholders, farmers like Lara are beginning to hope for a brighter future for them and their families. – Rappler.com

Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) is a nonstock, nonprofit organization dedicated to drive positive change in poor Filipino household communities by investing in social enterprises that will provide them viable livelihood and better access to basic services.

MANILA, Philippines – As the commemoration of the 6th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) draws closer, various groups and organizations will be staging activities throughout November.

Yolanda is considered by weather experts as perhaps one of the world's most powerful typhoons in the past century. (READ: Most powerful 2013 storm hits PH)

Six years after the super typhoon killed thousands and devastated communities in Eastern Visayas, survivors said they are still mourning. 

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez declared suspension of classes for all levels in public and private schools and suspension of government work on November 8, the day Yolanda made landfall in 2013. 

The House of Representatives on Wednesday, November 6, passed House Bill No. 4960 declaring November 8 as Yolanda Commemoration Day, a special non-working holiday in Eastern Visayas.

Here is a list of activities that will take place throughout November:

National Museum talk and film showing

National Museum will present a talk on the La Inmaculada Concepcion Parish Church Restoration Project in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and a film showing of the movie Fields of Hope on Friday, November 8, 1 pm, at 2nd floor, Ayala Room, National Museum of Anthropology.

With the Guiuan Restoration Project Task Force which started in 2014, the National Museum have worked closely with the parish, the local community, the local government of Eastern Samar, the US Embassy, and other partner institutions in the restoration of the church.

The Extra Mile Productions' documentary Fields of Hope is a story on the journey of the boys from San Jose, Tacloban City. It is a narrative of hope and resilience as they seek to overcome the greatest devastation of their lives.

It premiered on November 8, 2015, for a special screening in Robinsons Mall Tacloban City as part of the 2nd year commemoration of Yolanda. It also aired on CNN Philippines on the same day as part of their features on remembering Yolanda.

For inquiries and reservations, you may contact Museum Services Division through their email: services.nationalmuseumph@gmail.com or through landline: (02) 8527-0278. 

KBOX Studios Music for Mindanao

KBOX Studios and Volunteer for the Visayans, Inc. will hold a Yolanda commemoration gig on Friday, November 8, 8 pm, at Cerebro Bar, Tacloban City. 

Donations are also welcome for those affected by the recent earthquakes that hit parts of Mindanao. The following are the items that people can donate during the concert:

• cash
• rice
• drinking water
• used tarpaulins
• sleeping mats
• canned goods
• noodles
• basic cooking utensils
• hygiene kits
• diapers
• clothes for all ages
  

Rampag 2019: A commemorative art exhibit

Kolar Banwa, a group of collective artists from Tacloban City, held a Yolanda commemorative art exhibit on Wednesday, November 6, 6 pm at Café Lucia, Tacloban City. The exhibit features various pieces on Yolanda survivors' resiliency during the disaster.

The exhibit will run until December 6. You may check their Facebook page for more information.

Postcards from Disasters

Postcards from Disasters will open an interactive virtual reality tour into Yolanda's ground zero, the coastal village of 69-Anibong that the government declared a hazard zone for tsunamis and storm surges, from November 8 to 14 at Glorietta 4 Left Wing, Makati City. 

The interactive virtual tour will show people outside Tacloban the dangers of living in a hazard zone for tsunami and storm surges. Its goal is to prevent another Yolanda from happening in the future.

The tour will also show the vulnerability of the Philippines to climate change. The country was ranked most vulnerable to climate hazards out of anywhere in the world, according to a study by the Institute for Economics and Peace. (READ: IN PHOTOS: The faces of climate change)

Paghinumdom: A Yolanda Peace Concert

People Surge, an alliance of Eastern Visayas disaster survivors. will be hosting a Yolanda peace concert on Thursday, November 7, 6 pm to 9 pm, at the UP Tacloban AS Grounds. It will feature local artists with stories, music, and poetry on how they stood still and recovered from the onslaught of Yolanda.

You may buy your tickets at P50 through Marissa of People Surge (0955 558 5965) or during the event. – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – Do you want to know how to use social media for social good?

MovePH, the civic engagement arm of Rappler, will be heading to the University of St La Salle (USLS) to promote the responsible use of digital technology for social good at the Mutien Marie Auditorium A on Saturday, November 16, at 9 am.

#MoveBacolod, in partnership with The Spectrum, is the 7th stop of MovePH’s series of roadshows around the Philippines. Throughout 2019, MovePH has brought its roadshows to Cavite, Quezon City, Cagayan, Baguio, Iloilo, and Palawan.

The forum hopes to highlight the role of the community and the opportunity for everyone to use social media as a platform for social good and nation-building.

Participants will learn the ropes of responsible social media use for advocacies, including connecting with possible collaborators; identifying, handling, and preventing disinformation; promoting positive online behavior; and ultimately, inspiring courage in themselves and in others.

Tickets to the public forum are free, but seats are limited. Register below:

The program is as follows:

Be part of the MovePH and Rappler network! Meet like-minded individuals from across the country who aspire to create ripples of change by transforming advocacies and ideas into action. – Rappler.com

Every November 8, we commemorate the devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded.

Six years have passed since Yolanda made landfall in Eastern Visayas and left a trail of desolation in its path, yet the wounds of the past remain.

All that transpired on that day stays engraved in the hearts and minds of the survivors – including the unscrupulous corruption of public officials that impedes the full recovery of the city until this very day. The government’s criminal neglect is the biggest disaster to hit ground zero.

As a Yolanda survivor, I find myself standing at the witness stand inside the halls of justice – demanding accountability from the culprit who caused the lifelong suffering not just of Taclobanons, but of entire humanity.

While it is imperative to remain steadfast in holding government officials accountable for their criminal neglect, it is equally important to demand justice from those who brought about the climate emergency the entire world is facing today.

Man-made disaster

Bold claim as it may be, I posit that Super Typhoon Yolanda is a disaster created by man. No, I am not referring to the video that has gone viral which claims "microwave impulses" created Yolanda. Such claim has been refuted years ago. Rather, the argument centers on the possible link between Yolanda and man-made climate change.

In recent decades, we have been inadvertently modifying our weather and climate system. Ever since the industrial revolution, the consumption of man has grown exponentially to the detriment of nature, leading to massive greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. A warming world leads to warmer oceans, which provide perfect conditions to create extreme weather events.

Indeed, our generation is witness to unprecedented weather phenomena – from Yolanda to the melting of the Artic sea ice and to heat waves in the United States, Russia and Australia, to name a few.

These extreme weather events have empirical links to man-made climate change.

Environmental plunder

To fix the man-made climate crisis, we must identify the names of those accountable for destroying the planet. The search inevitably leads to a single culprit: monopoly capitalists engaged in global plunder of the environment in third world countries.

This plunder began during the colonial expansion era, when the practice of invading civilizations was to subjugate territories in order to acquire commodities, wealth, and power. Nations sought expansion by appropriating territories. Once successful, they hauled raw materials and natural resources like there was no tomorrow.

Mankind witnessed the narrative of global environmental plunder. Vast mines desecrated the mountains and rivers. Forests were burned down to make way for plantations, roads and railways. Agricultural lands were ravaged due to destructive agrarian practices, as staples were replaced with cash crops. When met with resistance, colonization led to war, which invariably has a huge environmental impact as well. 

From territory to territory, life was swept away and nature was massacred on the altar of lucre.

To humanity’s dismay, this global plunder of the environment persists until this very day.

Monopoly capitalists from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Russia and China continue to desecrate third-world countries by extracting colossal amount of raw materials to sustain their continuously expanding production.

The greed of man is passed on from generation to generation of capitalists, the result thereof is the destruction of the environment and the future of humanity.

Climate emergency

The world is facing a climate emergency.

Recently, a stark warning was sent out by more than 11,000 scientists that the world will face “untold suffering due to the climate emergency” unless there are major transformations to global society.

Our country has no escape from said “untold suffering,” as a recent study by the Climate Central reveals that several areas in the Philippines might be submerged in water by 2050 due to unprecedented rise of sea level.

Equally alarming is the willingness of the current regime to collaborate with transnational corporations (TNCs) to desecrate the environment in the facade of development.

Recently, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to the China-funded Kaliwa Dam project in Quezon, an illegal and immoral act that violates the right to a sound environment of the Filipino people.

To add insult to injury, the Philippines ranked as the deadliest country for environmental and land defenders in 2018, which is very telling of whose side the Philippine government is on.

When everyone else fails to do their job, the youth must take over. It is now in our hands – in the likes of Bebang, a 16-year old Lumad environmental-activist, and Greta Thunberg to take bold steps in fighting for climate justice. The youth all over the world are now at the forefront in the fight for climate justice. (READ: The youth behind coal-free Negros Occidental)

The monstrous storm that took thousands of lives is a result of environmental plunder. The culprits may think that they are getting away with it. But we, the youth, will prove them wrong. – Rappler.com

Melo Mar Cabello is a former student of Eastern Visayas State University. Weeks after Super Typhoon Yolanda ravaged Tacloban City, he transferred to Bagbaguin National High School, and later to the University of the East-Caloocan. He is currently a BA Political Science sophomore at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

The bitter taste of pressed coffee lingers as I empty my cup. Its warmth stirs up nostalgia as I stand behind the ledge, gazing into the horizon. Beneath the rubble covered in offshoots were lives engulfed by the storm surge brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) 6 years ago. Beyond the bay the sun breaks, its rays slowly revealing the new structures supposed to mask the wreckage. A new day begins in the city I've called my second home for the past decade – Tacloban. 

Drinking bitter, sugarless coffee has literally been my daily grind. Provisions were scarce in the aftermath of the super typhoon. Somehow, I had learned to like its bitter aroma, not because it comes with maturity, but because of necessity. It reminds me of hardships that make me appreciate life better, and memories I can't forget no matter how hard I try.

It was like a scene from a high-budget disaster film, the kind that employs stunning special effects. It took just a single instance of nature's wrath to bring such incomprehensible devastation to the city. There were no actors – only people with raw emotions, grieving the loss of their families, going hysterical over those missing, walking aimlessly like zombies, and trying to hold on to what was left.

And who could blame those who chose to leave? We were hungry, thirsty, weak, and desperate. No sign of help was coming. People had to find solace somewhere else and establish a semblance of normalcy. If not, we were all going to die, or completely lose our minds. Though the media was there, there was still no word, photo, or video able to capture the emotions after the tragedy.

The domestic airport is 10 kilometers away from downtown and we had to brave knee-length debris, water, and bodies to get there. Hundreds lined up, hoping against hope to finally escape from the nightmare. Four days after Yolanda struck, I spent my birthday on the side section of the runway desperately looking for any kind of momentary escape. My extensively planned Hong Kong birthday trip which coincided with the super typhoon was obviously canceled, but I had no regrets. I was alive. What more could I ask for?

Luckily, a woman who had overbooked asked me how she could get a refund. I grabbed the chance and bought her ticket scheduled to depart in two days. I could never forget the airport staff who processed my flight: Emmanuel, the name tag showed. I grinned because it was as if God was telling me to hold on. That He would get me through this and that He would not abandon me. I was beginning to lose my voice and the accumulated stress – being soaked during the night and being beaten by the sun's rays during the day – was beginning to take its toll on me.  

The day of the flight came, and the city became a pseudo-militarized zone. The dawn slowly broke as I traversed my way back to the airport. The cold wind and the fog never made it easy, but the smell of rot kept me going. As the plane took off, the rumbling engines reminded me of the howling winds that pounded our quarters. I leaned towards the window; the extent of the damage was beyond imagination. I have seen the city from the air many times before, but all I could see were indistinguishable, flattened ruins. An eerie silence followed. You could hear your own heartbeat.

Everyone shed tears as the plane slowly plateaued, an assurance that we would not be routed back anymore. Gradually people applauded, a rare emotion during that ordeal. The mundane in-flight snacks we usually ignore seemed like a treat; you could hear every plastic wrapper being torn.

It had been exactly a week into this tragedy, and I cried for the first time. I could no longer contain the emotions that had welled up in me, and that my brain had been trying hard to deny. Though there was relief in knowing that I'd be able to seek refuge, the guilt of leaving those in a much more miserable plight nagged at me. In my mind, I was running away not to escape, but simply to survive. 

There were days I wished that it was just a bad dream, that it would take just one night's sleep to erase from memory the dirt, mud, and the sight and unbearable stench of rotting corpses. But every time I woke up, the images on the television would haunt me. Guilt washed over me as I lay in a comfy bed, ate 3 meals a day, and enjoyed life’s simple pleasures. I was angry not only at the situation, but also at myself.

Despite this harrowing ordeal, the storm brought out the best in us. Aid and prayers poured out. Christmas parties were sacrificed. Some donated a day's wage; others gave whatever they could. Giving was a no-brainer and there were a lot of opportunities to get involved. I needed to go back and do my share.

I returned to Tacloban after Christmas. Though I was not surprised that nothing much had changed, I knew that the grief, shock, anger and other emotions had to stop at some point. We had to face and accept the reality. We had to pick ourselves up, start again, and keep moving. We had to rebuild. We needed to have hope.

It was a slow and painful healing process, but we would not have it any other way.

Soon, offices started operations and work resumed. Businesses were back to normal. Months after, commuters would still talk about their experiences. A father lamented how he failed to save his children. A woman still couldn't find her brother; if it were not for him, their whole family would have perished. Some would cry, others would laugh, and the rest would just empathize. Everybody would listen so intently to each story that when people reached their destinations, everyone already knew each other. 

That was psychosocial therapy for us, a way to release emotional and mental stress and to preserve whatever sanity was left. It tugs at my heart to think that everyone contributed to someone's healing. The sense that we're all in this together couldn't be any more uplifting to a worn soul.

Today, one rarely talks about it. It appears as though we have returned to our normal lives, albeit not fully. The city has recovered; it is thriving, and is perhaps way better than before.

Yes, it is heartbreaking that Yolanda had to happen before we stopped underestimating the havoc a storm could wreak. That we had to witness people looting supermarkets and people walking past nameless, lifeless piled-up bodies for us to take preemptive evacuations seriously. But I guess some lessons are best learned the hard way. 

The aim was to build better post-Yolanda. Yet sadly, some houses are rebuilt in the same danger zones. Yolanda may be a far-off memory for many, but I hope we will never forget the lessons it taught us.

Every evening on November 8, the streets are dotted with candles in memory of the more than 6,000 who died and those who are still missing – some of whom gave their lives so that others may continue to live. While we can't bring them back to life, we can honor them by taking part in building a better Tacloban, by learning from our mistakes, and by making a difference with the second shot at life we were given.

It may take a lifetime to fully recover from the pain and the scars, and we may never fully understand why it happened. But these candles signify that we are more than ready to soldier on with our daily battles, break free from darkness, resist the cold and the wind, and weather whatever storm will come our way. The wick that bears light is a Taclobanon whose spirit may flicker and sway, but will never die down. And in each of us is a story of survival, waiting to be told.

Perhaps the bitter coffee mimics life after Yolanda's onslaught. It was difficult at first, but with every sip of the bitter brew, the harsh taste eventually faded. We get used to it and we discover that life is not as bad as it seems to be, that it goes on no matter what. We are wide awake and we realize that life may be fleeting, but it just gets better with time.

And sometimes when we no longer know what to do, we just need to choose to stay alive. Before we know it, life will put itself back together. – Rappler.com 

Marvin Delco A. Tamondong, a registered nurse by profession, now runs his own café after almost a decade of working in a clinical and corporate setting. He is on a mission to love life even more.

MANILA, Philippines – Taking the lessons taught by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) 6 years since its onslaught, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) conducted a disaster risk reduction conference at Guiuan, Eastern Samar on Saturday, November 9. 

In collaboration with Eastern Samar State University (ESSU), the conference aimed to enhance knowledge and understanding of various natural hazards, recognized the importance of disaster risk reduction management (DRRM), and share DRRM interventions and practices used by Eastern Samar after Yolanda. 

Super Typhoon Yolanda left more than 6,000 people dead and caused massive destruction when it battered Eastern Visayas on November 8, 2013. It was in Guiuan where Yolanda made its first landfall. 

To prevent this devastation and casualties from happening again, Interagency Task Force Yolanda Chair and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles shared the importance of developing disaster risk reduction frameworks and plans. 

Nograles also tackled the value of having a more integrated DRRM in the region. (READ: 6 years after Yolanda, hundreds of families yet to rebuild houses) 

“We will continue to discuss ways to respond more effectively and efficiently while also remembering to involve and capacitate our communities. The goal shall always be zero casualty,” Nograles said.

Meanwhile, OCD Rehabilitation and Recovery Management Service (RRMS) Director Edgar Posadas stressed the importance of recognizing the value of empowering people to help in the effort to build national resilience.

“Our experience with Yolanda embodies the uniqueness of a Filipino’s resilience even when major disasters strike,” Posadas said. 

During the conference, ESSU students, local DRRM officers, and other DRRM partner stakeholders participated in activities which included static display and exhibit, a simulation exercise demonstration, and lectures on climate change, Philippine DRRM system, and understanding hazards among others. – Rappler.com 

This is in response to Jorge Mojarro's article, "The anger toward the 'Elcano and Magellan' film is unjustified."

Mojarro's three points in the article are accurate, and they are actually the correct reading of the Magellan trip. But he failed to mention that while indeed Magellan's original destination was the Spice Islands, this will also lead to the discovery of the Pacific Ocean (Magellan gave the unknown body of water the name Pacifico because the waters were calm when he first saw it). Therefore, they were literally sailing blind when they crossed this large body of water, mapping and logging everything as they went.

Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's assistant and chronicler, kept a detailed account of the events of the 1519 expedition. It took them quite some time before they figured out the wind direction, ocean currents, and the best time of the year to start their journey – it was between October 1 to January 20, after which any voyage after January 20 should not proceed until March. (READ: Bringing home the Pigafetta manuscripts)

The fleet began its voyage to the largely unknown waters in November 1520, with no clue as to direction or length of travel. Three months later, food had deteriorated and morale was low. They were likewise unprepared for the storms, the scurvy that decimated the crew, and the length of time it took to find the first land sighting, which unfortunately were populated with hostile inhabitants (Ladrones Island, now Guam).

A little detail likewise overlooked by the author was that the circumnavigation was also an accidental but calculated necessity, as they were aware that they will be travelling through Portuguese territory. But this was only because Elcano's 1521 journey could not possibly go back the same way through the Pacific because the tornaviaje (return voyage) had not been discovered. Sure, they attempted several times, but like their first attempts to sail on the Pacific, they were bound to fail as the ocean current doesn't flow back to Mexico the same way.

The Spaniards could not discover the return route until they had a good base at which to equip their ships, and they could not establish a base until they had not discovered a return route. Here was their dilemma. It would take Spain two more decades to figure this out. The tornaviaje will eventually be discovered by Fray Andres de Urdaneta after figuring out the monsoon winds of the region and discovering the Kuroshio current flowing off Japan and the North Pacific Current flowing towards California.

It was only after the discovery of this tornaviaje that will enable Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to return to the Philippines. The November 21, 1564 departure of Legazpi from Acapulco would have spelled disaster were it not for the assistance of Urdaneta who, by this time, had been the foremost expert in navigation. Needless to say, the voyage proceeded without any incident and Legazpi reached Guam on January 26, 1565 and Samar on February 13, 1565. The galleon trade will likewise be operating using this circular route until 1815.

This information is known to only a handful of academics who have studied sixteenth-century history and maritime navigation. Now imagine showing the Elcano and Magellan animation film to children who – absent this delightful background – will just see Lapu-Lapu depicted as a villain and that the colonizers were a superior race who successfully circumnavigated the world. The optics would just be too glaring. (READ: CrystalSky Multimedia to ‘reevaluate’ the release of ‘Elcano and Magellan’ film in PH)

I have not seen the film, but I shudder at the message it may bring to our youth. This may be a cartoon for kids and teenagers and meant for light entertainment, but after watching the film, who is going to explain to them what really happened? – Rappler.com 

Ma. Luisa De Leon-Bolinao, PhD is currently professor and former chair of the History Department, UP Diliman. Her research interests are Philippine and Asian environmental and disaster history, and Contemporary Philippine and Asian history. She has co-authored several history textbooks for the primary and secondary levels, and has served as referee for various local and international journals. She occasionally serves as a content evaluator of history textbooks for the Department of Education.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippine government joined forces with an Australian government-led consortium of child rights advocates to form SaferKidsPH, a 6-year awareness campaign on the extent and impact of the online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) in the Philippines.

The official launch was held on Tuesday, October 22, at Makati City.

SaferKidsPH dubs itself as the pioneering consortium created to reduce OSEC. It pledges to work and foster cooperation among the governments, educational institutions, and communities involved.

The SaferKidsPH program's implementing consortion includes the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), Save the Children Philippines, and The Asia Foundation.

Along the 6-year plan, SaferKidsPH aims to:

• Increase public awareness of risks of OSEC, and involve children, parents, schools, the private sector, civil society, and the media to promote online safety to prevent and respond to OSEC;
• Strengthen investigation and prosecution of OSEC cases; and
• Improve service delivery for OSEC prevention and protection of vulnerable children in commonly targeted areas.

Involved agencies from the Philippine government include the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

From the private sector, telecommunications companies such as Globe, Smart, Google and YouTube, PLDT, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are pitching in.

Youth volunteers associated with the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) have pledged involvement as well.

The launch capped off with a ceremonial "blocking" of online predators on a SaferKidsPH microsite.

Prevalence

Cybertips of sexual images of Filipino children obtained by the DOJ Office of Cybercrime ballooned to 600,000 in 2018 from 45,645 in 2017. This is more than a 1000% increase.

Since 2017, only 32 convictions of cybertrafficking have been meted out by the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. (READ: Stolen: Pretty Girls)

In many known cases, the victims' own family members are crime facilitators. According to a 2016 study, only 3 out of 10 children availed of local child protection services in their communities.

Australian Embassador Steven Robinson said that OSEC is a crime that transcends territorial jurisdiction, and acknowledges that even nationals from his own country partake in child pornography consumption.

As the internet evolves in complexity and ways to evade crime, Robinson said that the campaign will adapt with the dynamic nature of the child porn industry.

'Everyone is responsible'

Beyond the awareness campaign, stakeholders explained how their organizations and agencies would roll out their respective responsibilities in the cause.

The DOJ reported that they created task forces to specifically handle trafficking cases.

Meanwhile, the DSWD said they would work towards making internet service providers who do not monitor child pornography activity accountable. (READ: Internet service providers fail to report sites transmitting child porn)

The Asia Foundation, an international development organization and one of the implementers of the project, pledged to support the justice elements that would lead to deeper societal change.

"What we're doing now is just a catalyst. We want SaferKidsPH to be owned by everyone and not just early members of the consortion or a single government. All of us have different roles and can really contribute," said Save the Children Philippines Chief Executive Officer Alberto Muyot. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Putting the community's preparedness for disasters to a test, the Department of National Defense (DND) – Office of Civil Defense (OCD) kicked off the 4th National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) in a number of locations on Thursday, November 14. 

The participants included the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Regional DRRM councils, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Health (DOH), among others. 

The NSED is comprised of a series of simulation exercises conducted all over the Philippines to instill a culture of disaster preparedness among Filipinos and promote disaster awareness. 

The NSED aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the local governments' contingency plans and protocols in relation to earthquake scenarios and other similar events. (READ: All you need to know about preparing for earthquakes) 

It's further bolstered by OCD's Bida ang Handa campaign, which encourages the public to join the NSED.

Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro served as the pilot area for the last quarter of this year's NSED.

The nationwide earthquake drill hosted by the community in Calapan City culminated the series of simultaneous earthquake drills that were kicked off in pilot areas of Iloilo City, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur and Ormoc City, Leyte throughout the year. 

Calapan City mayor Arnan Panaligan explained that the drill is a commemoration to the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that was followed by a tsunami causing havoc in Calapan City and nearby areas back in 1994. The earthquake drill on Thursday was patterned after this scenario to test the community's preparedness in case such a calamity strikes the area again. 

Calapan mayor Arnan Panaligan stressed how important this earthquake drill is to communities and households since earthquakes can happen at anytime without any warning. 

“[Earthquakes] can strike anytime na hindi natin ineexpect. Kaya mahalaga po ang handa. Hindi po tayo makakaiwas pero maililigtas po natin ang ating buhay kung tayo po ay may kaukulang kasanayan, awareness, at paghahanda,” Panaligan said. 

(Earthquakes can strike when we least expect it. That is why it’s important to be prepared. We can’t avoid it but we can save lives if we have the necessary skills, awareness and preparation.) 

The city mayor also urged participants to not just depend on simultaneous earthquake drills done in bigger communities but to also take the initiative to do it regularly in schools, offices, barangays and even in households in light of the recent earthquakes that affected parts of Mindanao. 

On Thursday, government employees, healthcare personnel, students and teachers in elementary and secondary schools, and police officers from various city and municipal stations all over the Philippines joined the nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill. (READ: CHECKLIST: What cities and municipalities should prepare for an earthquake)

Here are some photos on the earthquake drill from different parts of the country:

Ermita, Manila 

Pasig City

Quezon City

Muntinlupa City 

Mandaluyong City 

Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro

San Miguel, Bulacan 

Las Piñas City 

Cainta, Rizal

San Fernardo City, La Union 

Isabela City, Basilan

Did you also participate in the nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill? Tell us about your experience by tagging MovePH on Twitter! – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines– Student groups from University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman slammed attacks of intimidation against the Philippine Collegian, the official student publication of UP Diliman, after it reported that a man attempted to enter its office on Saturday night, November 16.

In a Facebook post, Philippine Collegian said an unidentified man attempted to enter its office at the Sampaguita Residence Hall at around 9:30 pm on Saturday, November 16, saying he needed to conduct an inspection for alleged surveillance. 

Two other men believed to be the stranger’s accomplices were seen waiting near a hut in front of the College of Home Economics Annex, which is located beside the Philippine Collegian’s office.

The man who attempted to enter the office was later taken into custody by the UP Diliman Police and was identified to be 28-year-old Wilfredo Manapat.

Manapat explained to the UP Diliman Police that he was only looking for his colleagues at the time– in stark contrast to his earlier claim that he needed to inspect the office for surveillance.

While the UP Diliman Police gathers additional information regarding Manapat’s identity, it has freed his two other accomplices since only Manapat attempted to enter the Philippine Collegian Office.

.

“This is a clear attempt of state oppressors to unnerve media entities that maintain a line of reportage reflective of the real social-political situation of the public,” it said.

Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP pointed out the recent attempt to enter the Philippine Collegian’s office can be likened to the recent police raids of several offices and residences of progressive groups in Manila and Bacolod that led to the arrest of 58 activists.

“Ang mga kaganapan sa Philippine Collegian ay malinaw na isang atake sa demokratikong karapatan ng mga mag-aaral na magpamulat at maisatinig ang boses ng masang api sa pamamagitan ng pamamahayag na mapagpalaya,” it said.

(What happened to Philippine Collegian is a clear attack on the democratic right of students to reveal and amplify the voices of the oppressed through independent reporting.)

It recounted how just a few months ago there were concerns regarding proposed entry and intervention of the police and military in state universities including UP after Senator “Bato” dela Rosa said he wanted increased police patrols at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) to deter communist recruitment in the state university.

Meanwhile, the UP Engineering Student Council said that the recent incident poses a threat to students, especially groups and publications that show the state of the nation through its reports.

“Bagama't naging target ng mga diumano'y inspeksyon ang mga opisina ng Kule, hindi matitinag ang publikasyon ng mga estudyante ng UP Diliman at patuloy na ipaglalaban ng mga alagad ng midya ang kalayaan sa pamamahayag sa loob at labas ng pamantasan,” it said.

(Although the Philippine Collegian became the target of an alleged inspection, it won’t stop the publication of the students of UP Diliman. Defenders of free press will continue to fight for the freedom to report within and outside the school.)– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – How can Filipinos use social media for social good? What can be done to prevent the spread of disinformation online? 

These are some of the questions that the “Social Good in the Digital Age” forums intends to answer as MovePH, the civic engagement arm of Rappler, heads to the University of the Philippines Tacloban College (UPVTC) in Tacloban City at 9 am on Wednesday, November 27. 

#MoveTacloban, in partnership with UP Vista and the UP Tacloban Student Council, is the 8th stop of MovePH’s series of roadshows around the Philippines. So far this year, MovePH had held roadshows in Cavite, Quezon City, Cagayan, Baguio, Iloilo, Palawan, and Bacolod. 

The forum seeks to put the spotlight on the role of the community and the opportunity for everyone to use social media as a platform for social good and nation building.

Participants will learn the ropes of responsible social media use for advocacies, including connecting with possible collaborators; identifying, handling, and preventing disinformation; promoting positive online behavior; and ultimately, inspiring courage.

Tickets to the public forum are free, but seats are limited. Register below:

The program is as follows:

Be part of the MovePH and Rappler network! Meet like-minded individuals from across the country with whom you can collaborate on projects and advocacies, and be part of the fight for a free press and a progressive Philippines! – Rappler.com

Rodrigo Duterte’s regime doesn't escape irony.

In August, in the second week of the Senate’s witch-hunt into the alleged communist recruitment in universities, Malacañang released a freshly-signed copy of Republic Act No. 11369, the National Students’ Day Act. RA 11369 declared November 17 – observed globally as International Students’ Day – as a national holiday in “recognition of the invaluable contribution of student activism to Philippine democracy.”

The new law have been highly appreciated were it not for the present political situation, where the very President who had endorsed it had also issued Executive Order 70, greenlighting a “Whole-of-Nation” approach targeting legal activists, dissenters, and leftist organizations critical of the regime’s anti-people policies and pronouncements. The Senate – presently dominated by Duterte’s men – has since been engaged in a show of red-tagging student leaders and activists, their teachers, and their academic environments.

While it is important to recognize the turbulent history of student activism in the country, it is much more essential to acknowledge that the travails activists had faced in the country’s past – from colonial regimes, to Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship, to post-EDSA governments including Duterte's – are not exactly things of the past.

Threats and intimidation against progressives continue to exist. The state’s guns are still trained on social activists. 

During Martial Law, for example, Liliosa Hilao – the activist and campus journalist who became the first Filipino killed by the Marcos regime – is a name too often mentioned as an example of young Filipinos’ courageous dissent against the dictator. But in our time, we have Alexandra Pacalda – the activist and campus journalist who belonged to the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines – whom the Duterte regime jailed, and who continues to be in detention after the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ baseless charges that she was engaged in armed rebellion. (READ: Gone too soon: 7 youth leaders killed under Martial Law)

Myles Albasin is another proof. For the “crime” of affiliating with the national democratic organization Anakbayan in Cebu, the military red-tagged her and continued to keep her in detention. In other parts of the country, other student activists have been the subject of unrelenting surveillance, red-tagging, and harassment by the Duterte regime’s forces.

Duterte's edict made this possible. E0 70 gave birth to Oplan Kapanatagan, the menacing counter-insurgency blueprint patterned after the United States’ formula.

On November 22, 2018, Duterte signed Memorandum Order No 32, further boosting his arsenal of legal ammunition against activists. It seeks to “suppress” lawless violence in Samar, Bicol, and Negros. What had sprouted in its midst, however, was the more sinister Oplan Sauron. True to its name, Sauron buttressed a series of murders, arrests, and raids targetting progressive organizations in Negros, including the one conducted on Halloween. In Bicol, MO 32 led to the death of youth activist Ryan Hubilla, a Grade 12 student. (READ: Death comes unprovoked upon Negros Island)

Duterte’s designation of November 17 as a special holiday to appreciate student activism should be met with heightened resistance, as the irony of this act points to a stark truth: criminalizing dissent is the crime. Duterte is today's student activists’ berdugo (butcher), much like Marcos, Gloria Arroyo, Jovito Palparan. (READ: WATCH: The 'Butcher' is home no more)

Student activists, in their observance of the November 17 declaration, could benefit much more not from listening to Eduardo Año’s timeworn litanies of “communist recruitment” in youth camps, but from revisiting history: Rizal, the ilustrado band, and Bonifacio’s Katipunan paved the way for the first anti-colonial movement that overthrew the Spaniards. Activists also kept nationalist fervor burning throughout the American and Japanese occupations. During the Marcos era, Kabataang Makabayan spearheaded the First Quarter Storm protests that shook the regime to its core, and kept the resistance alive throug 14 dark years, until the EDSA uprising kicked Marcos out of Malacañang in 1986. (READ: [OPINION] Activism as the foundation of the university)

And up to now, young activists continue to stand in Lean Alejandro’s “line of fire, place of honor." – Rappler.com

Karl Patrick Suyat is currently the editorial head of Fiat Publication (the official publication of University of Perpetual Help Systems-Jonelta campus), the Laguna provincial spokesperson for Youth UNBOUND-ST, and a national democratic activist staunchly advocating against historical revisionism, fascism, and injustice.

MANILA, Philippines – Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre on November 23, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) along with its allies will be holding several activities to remember the victims and help the families of those slain.

Fifty-eight people – including 32 journalists – were shot and killed in the gruesome Ampatuan Massacre on November 23, 2009. They were on their way to the filing of the certificate of candidacy for Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu. (READ: Children bear the brunt 10 years since Ampatuan massacre)

Mangudadatu was set to run for Maguindanao governor against Andal Ampatuan Jr, son of the sitting governor at the time, Andal Ampatuan Sr.

The infamous Ampatuan Massacre was dubbed by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the single most deadly assault on journalists in the world.

Ten years since it happened, families have yet to find a resolution of the case. A verdict is set to be handed down on or before December 20.

Andal Jr and his brother Zaldy, who are in jail, are the principal accused, along with their other brother Sajid Ampatuan, who is out on bail. Sajid is now mayor of Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao.

Andal Sr, the alleged mastermind of the massacre, died in July 2015.

Here is a running list of activities commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre:

 #FightFor58: A concert for justice

Several artists will be coming together to perform at a fundraiser for the families of those who were slain in the Ampatuan Massacre 10 years ago.

Among those performing are Juan Miguel Severo, BLKD x Calix, Chickoy Pura & Dwight Gaston, Musikangbayan, Zero Eviction, Zuela Herrera, Pasada, and The Mox. 

Dubbed “#FightFor58: A concert for justice,” the event will help raise funds to allow the families of those who were slain to witness the promulgation of the case against the suspects.

NUJP chairperson Nonoy Espina said the event is also an “opportunity to renew friendships, unite and strengthen the bonds of the independent community of journalists at a time when the profession is under grievous threat.”

The concert will happen on Friday, November 22, from 7 pm onwards at Mow’s Bar, Matalino Street, Quezon City.

T-shirts, stickers, and other materials will be on sale for the fundraising. Sponsorship tickets are available for reservation – and cost P500 or P1000. Entrance tickets are pegged at P250.

For ticket reservations, sponsorship details, and other inquiries, contact organizers through 0917-515-5991 or visit the NUJP Facebook page.

Tribute in Bacolod City to victims of Ampatuan Massacre

Officers and members of the Negros Press Club (NPC) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Bacolod chapter will mark the death anniversary of those slain in the Ampatuan Massacre with a tribute at the NPC building on Friday, November 22, at 3 pm.

It will be followed by the lighting of candles and offering of prayers at the Marker for Fallen Journalists at the public plaza.

#FightFor58 activities on November 23

Kicking off the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre on Saturday, November 23 at 5 am are the kapihan para sa hustisya and the journalists’ community mural painting for press freedom at the Mehan Garden, Manila.

This will be followed by a march to Mendiola at 10 am. The march will pause at exactly 11:23 am to pay respect to the 58 victims of the Ampatuan Massacre.

Wall-sized installations of the victims will also be set up in Mendiola. – Rappler.com