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PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 28 August 2008 Issue (page G-3)

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I have not given thought to heroes until these past two weeks, when the commemoration of National Heroes’ Day reminded me that if there’s anything they do for us at present, it’s that they give us long weekends.

I don’t mean to imply, though, that holidays are all they’re worth; they’ve done so much more for this land than many of us ever have—or so we are taught to believe. But these weekends feel like they’ve just been long weekends, nothing more. And it does feel kind of sad that we don’t seem to remember why we commemorate them in the first place.

Maybe it’s because the nature of our heroes has changed. Times are different now, and the heroes of old have ceased to be relevant. Perhaps it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that “hero” is now synonymous to “icon”, since many of the people we call “our heroes” happen to be icons as well, like boxers and movie stars.

While I don’t necessarily agree with it, there is nothing wrong with that. Who a person considers to be his hero is his own business.

But if we have started to look for our heroes in places other than where they used to be, like at the forefront of causes or building the nation, so that our standards for heroism have changed, does that mean that we’ve lost them? Have heroes—people of courage and self-sacrifice, who fight for the greater good—disappeared?

Heroes are important because they remind us of man’s capacity for good in a twisted world. That’s why we need them, and that’s why we hold on to them: they give us something to believe in. They give us hope.

That’s also why, nowadays, we have turned to sectors like media and sports for our heroes. They are able to help us get through the drudgery of reality. When Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal, we are able to set aside the problems of high prices and government corruption for a moment, and recall the greatness of the human spirit. When Manny Pacquiao won against Barrerra (or Morales, or Diaz), we remember that we, as a nation, still have something to be proud of. We look up to them because they can, to a certain extent, be looked up to.

After all, if we look to the realm of politics or society, will we find anyone we can look up to? Maybe there are, but the fact of the matter is we just don’t see them. Or if we do see them, they aren’t inspiring or ‘heroic’ enough to move us to action.

But who would want to be that kind of a hero, anyway? In a system where the lines have become so blurred that heroes are persecuted for doing the right thing, what incentive would you have to be one? Ironically enough, it seems that to play the role of a hero is to accept playing the role of the villain.

But even more ironic is the fact that we kill our heroes while crying out, at the same time, that we need them.

Then again, it’s possible that I’m looking in the wrong places. There are a lot of good people out there who are doing what they can to help change the way things are. They come in different faces: volunteers who help build houses, professionals who prioritize the less-fortunate, even icons who use their status to highlight their advocacies. In a sense, you can call them heroes because they serve as examples for doing the right thing.

It’s not like I mean to discredit their good works, but I don’t think you can boil down heroism to just being good. I think heroism also means doing the right thing even in the face of persecution, because that means you’re brave enough to stand alone. Taken in that sense, heroes are really hard to find. Ironically enough, perhaps that’s what makes them more valuable.

But even more ironic is the fact that it seems to be the heroes who face the greatest persecution who are be able to rally the most people.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t found those people yet. I’m still holding out for a hero.

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PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 21 August 2008 Issue (page F-4)

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I was taking a leak before going to English class last Wednesday when I overheard two of my batchmates talking about school. They seemed rather stressed, and understandably so; it’s midterms season. I wasn’t really listening to them, but I did hear one part of the conversation that struck me. It went something like this:

“Why do we even have to take up Math, anyway? It’s not like we’ll need to factor quadratic equations when we start working!”

“Yeah nga e! It’s not like I need to balance chemical equations when I’m already in media!”

Of course, we all know that’s not the point. We study math, science and language not because we are supposed to remember every single detail. Rather, we take them as a form of mental training, and your course determines which areas you are trained in. Of course, there are some subjects whose basis for being taken up may seem questionable, but that’s disputable.

Then again, I think the query makes sense in a different way. If you boil down the reasoning behind it to its simplest form, the question simply asks, “What’s the point?”—which means that probably, the point is being missed. On one hand, perhaps it is the wrong question to ask, since factoring is obviously not the point of a college education, but on the other hand, it’s also right.

Why do we work so hard to attain degrees that will only matter when we start working—if they will matter at all? And considering how college has become something of a necessity in starting a decent career, has the system of education failed in some way?

Nowadays, it seems like there are only two kinds of people who get the jobs that they want. The first are the people who have studied and graduated abroad; the second are the people who come from prestigious local universities. For these people, college has done its part.

This leaves out everyone else who comes from lesser-known institutions, as well as those who never went to or finished college. They constitute a majority of the workforce. The sad part is, they often don’t land the jobs they should be in. You could graduate as a Science or a Business major and still end up as a minimum-wage earner.

Of course, it can be argued that a large part of what makes a person successful in a career is his or her drive and determination. There are people, after all, who go into jobs that don’t fit their course descriptions and still end up successful. College can only go so far when it comes to equipping students with the tools that they need, in a world whose demands are constantly changing. I agree.

Then again, perhaps there is a need to re-examine our approach when it comes to education.

For one thing, I’m not sure it makes sense for our colleges to go with the flow when it comes to the labor market—that’s the reason why virtually every college seems to offer a Nursing course these days. While we supply whatever job is in demand around the world, we do so at the expense of other professions, and we often end up with an oversupply.

Another area which needs re-examining is the philosophy behind education. In our country, the mindset of most people coming out of college is to land a stable job and slowly work your way up. Perhaps we need to encourage students to start out on their own, instead of focusing on just getting employed.

It can even go as far down as the amount of knowledge that is being fed to the minds of students. Is it really necessary to go through all that tedium? Perhaps curricula can be adjusted so that there’s less pressure, which might result in better learning. Interestingly enough, people who study in universities abroad often have lighter loads than the ones who study here.

Nonetheless, while we can argue about how college education should be, the more important thing is still to make the most out of it. This means different things to different people, but the important thing is to learn to be flexible and adaptable.

And that means realizing that learning goes on and on and on, even after college.

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PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 14 August 2008 Issue (page F-3)

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Since last Wednesday, going to school has become a horrible experience for me and my siblings. Without virtually any warning, the MMDA decided to close on that day the U-turn slot just right before the Katipunan flyover across Ateneo. By Monday, all the U-turn slots across Miriam College were closed. Presumably, this measure was meant to ease the perennial traffic buildup in the area, especially during school hours.It didn’t.

Instead, the opposite happened. Huge bottlenecks now occur under the Katipunan flyover as well as the U-turn slot going to UP. Those who want to avoid the standstill would have to journey all the way to the U-turn slot at the end Katipunan in Blue Ridge. This is no small inconvenience, considering that it’s around three kilometers away from the Ateneo gate, and fuel prices are skyrocketing.

Last Friday, the situation blew out of proportion. According to a traffic bulletin, the Katipunan traffic slowed to a halt a quarter before seven in the morning. This was because the vehicles coming from UP and beyond who were making a U-turn at Miriam had occupied all the lanes. In a matter of minutes, traffic on the other lane slowed down as well. Some vehicles went against the traffic to join the cars making a U-turn at Miriam. No officers arrived to take control of the situation until half an hour later, and the gridlock lasted until around nine. Many students were late. Some were forced to walk to school in order to elude the standstill.

As a response, the MMDA closed both U-turns as well. Now, everyone resorts to the U-turn under the flyover, where all the traffic from Xavierville goes. The bottleneck there gets so bad that even commuters are affected.

As you can see, I’m not a big fan of the change in traffic scheme. I think it makes things more difficult for motorists. True, Katipunan traffic has never been easy to deal with, but neither is EDSA traffic, or España traffic. But I don’t think there’s a pressing need to change things in Katipunan right now. The old scheme may not be perfect, but it’s working because motorists are already used to it. If it’s not broken, why fix it?

To be fair though, I’m not saying we shouldn’t introduce changes that might improve things. And every time we do, we’re obviously bound to encounter some difficulties. We shouldn’t be so quick to judge either.

But sometimes that route leads to a dead-end. And when you get to that point, the only thing to do is to stop and turn back.

In the first place, the scheme itself didn’t seem to be well-thought out. Traffic was simply diverted to all the wrong places. The situation last Friday could have been avoided if the traffic officers had been there to maintain order from the beginning, not to mention that motorists seemed unprepared for the situation. More effort should have been exerted in disseminating the information about the plan.

It’s when things like these happen that I begin to wonder whether our government remembers that we’re still people, not mere pawns on a policy-making chessboard. Our lives are affected by the laws they enact and the measures they implement, not to mention that it is their responsibility to serve us. There is more to traffic management than just closing U-turns; people have to be on time for school, they spend money on gas, and their lives could be put in peril by car accidents.

In the same vein, there is more to the Bangsamoro agreement than just a piece of paper. There are all the people that you would displace to consider. There is more to agrarian reform than just economics and business. There are the lives and livelihoods of farmers to consider. There is more to the ZTE deal than just internet access. What’s at stake is the blood, sweat, and tears of millions of Filipinos in the form of tax money.

Then again, I guess they just can’t consider every single thing. That’s just reality.

But won’t you agree that we deserve a lot better?

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PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 7 August 2008 Issue (page F-4)

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These past few years, I’ve noticed that it is around this month that classmates start disappearing, and old high school friends start throwing despedidas. This is because by next month, classes will be starting everywhere else in the world. And for young people who have enrolled in colleges abroad, August is the perfect time to leave. It gives them enough time to prepare and adjust to the new environments in places like Europe and North America.This year appears to be no different. Except that it seems like there are so many of them. But maybe I just feel this way because it is my batch’s turn to make the transition into college life. Perhaps others have felt the same way when they, too, were freshmen, and their friends were also leaving for abroad.

In any case, their departures are quickly becoming a reality in my life. Suddenly, we’re hanging out more frequently, catching up on all the things we missed. But there isn’t enough time. Before you know it, they’ve left before you had an opportunity to say goodbye.

Migration, for whatever reason, has always been a complex issue. Much has been written about its effects on our society. The Philippine Diaspora and the plight of OFWs, in particular, are very well-documented and talked about at length. But I don’t usually encounter discussions on the situation of young Filipinos who study abroad.

On one hand, you have people who study abroad because their families are also migrating. On the other hand, there are those who leave because they are actively in pursuit of what seems to be a better quality of education. Often, the latter is composed of gifted students, who are usually able to go because of a scholarship or financial aid. Regardless of the situation, the common denominator is the search for greener pastures.

Will they ever come back?

Lately, this has been the topic of my conversations with friends who are about to leave. They usually say that they’ll come back after finishing their studies, or after gaining some work experience or additional credentials. This, of course, is very reassuring. It means that the spirit of patriotism is still alive in them. It is only fitting that those who are given better opportunities should use them to help in the building our nation in the future.

But that sense of reassurance comes with a tinge of doubt. You have to take those words with a grain of salt. A lot can happen in a few years. And coming out of college, you never turn out as exactly the same person you were. You might find your values system changed, your priorities rearranged. Maybe you’ll find that you’re happier there. Or that it’s not worth it to go back here. Or that you don’t belong here anymore. It’s easier to forget about things when you’re so far away from the stuff that reminds you of them.

I think it would be awfully selfish of me to say that’s wrong. In the first place, should we even blame them if things turn out that way? Sometimes, it comes to a point where staying here seems to be the crazy thing to do. I don’t think anyone can be blamed for feeling that way.

I sincerely believe that everyone should pursue whatever makes them happy, students abroad included. We shouldn’t tie them down to some form responsibility for others. That sense of obligation has to come from within them. In the end, it is their choice whether they want to come back.

But at the same time, I really wish they would.

After all, it’s not like we can expect anyone else to take the cudgels for our country but ourselves.

So here’s to all of you who are leaving to pursue your dreams. I hope you’ll remember to look back to where you came from.

P.S. This article is dedicated to the following friends: Anj Poe, Arjay Quizon, Bea Osmena, Carlo Felizardo, Coco Quizon, David Bautista, Dean Ablan, Edmund Soriano, Evan Chen, Hansky Santos, Isabelle Martinez, Jared Armena, avie Onglao, Joey Felizardo, John Perez, Kiko Ibasco, Mich Chua, Mike Alberto and Myron Soyangco. Godspeed!

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PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 31 July 2008 Issue (page F-3)

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Last Friday, I found myself sitting outside the school library with a couple of classmates. The day was ending and I was sharing the story of how I used to take up karate. “Sige nga,” they said, after my story, “show us one of your kicks!”

I chose one of the white pillars near the entrance as my hapless victim. I faced it. I bowed. Put on the standard stance. And without warning, gave it a high kick. WHACK!

“Boss, pumunta nga kayo dito at patingin ng ID.” That was the voice of the security guard who was surreptitiously standing behind me.

That was the story of how I got my first violation of the school-year: vandalism. Why? My shoe stained the pillar. Couldn’t I just clean it myself? No. Okay, then what sanctions do I get? He wouldn’t say.

After the conversation, I didn’t know who I wanted to kick—him, for being so unfriendly, or me, for being so stupid.

On one hand, he did have a point. On the other hand, if I kicked something else (say, a tree) or if I kicked it somewhere else (say, some other university), I probably wouldn’t have been punished. Maybe that’s why it seemed so legalistic.

I understand that laws are meant to establish order in a society. In my case, it was sending the message that if I did that “bad” thing again, I would pay for it. Therefore, other people wouldn’t follow my example. Fair enough. Except that people wouldn’t follow my example to begin with. People don’t ordinarily kick pillars for fun.

It’s not that I blame my school for being too strict, or the security guard for doing his job. People get punished for being ignorant. In any kind of setting, it’s always the person’s duty to know about the rules.

The problem arises when the rules are not clear, and the implementers are given wide latitude of discretion.

Ideally, the way for you to defend yourself when faced in a situation like mine is to explain your side of the rules, being an informed and responsible member of the community. But what if the rules aren’t clear? Worse, what if the person apprehending you is looking to take advantage of you—do you think he’ll listen?

Outside of a school setting, you would probably go to a lawyer. Except if it’s a small infraction, it’s probably not worth the effort. And when it’s a big infraction—well, let’s just hope you’re not against the son of some politician, or the politician himself. Otherwise, it’s better to give it up.

The tragedy of it all is that this takes place in a country where most people are marginalized. Usually, these people have no faith in the system. Faith being non-existent, people could end up resorting to easier, illegitimate means, knowing the risks.

This, in turn, gives birth to a bastardized version of the system, and nourishes it.

For example, I’ve always wondered why certain government branches accept bribes from people in exchange for an easier time. Is it because our governments are inherently oppressive and evil, or because we continue paying the bribes? I don’t know.

But whether or not I do, what scares me is the way wrong implementation has become normal to us. Bribing officers on the road seems to have become acceptable. In higher echelons, some people don’t give a second thought to bribing public officials if they get their way. It feels like with each bribe we pay and each corner we cut, our moral fabric as a society is twisting more and more into a mockery of what it should be. So that it’s the policemen who become the drug dealers, and the drug dealers who become our saviors.

The greater tragedy is that we don’t know who the good guys are anymore.

Honestly, I still don’t know who to kick. One side says I should kick myself, not necessarily for being uninformed, but for having a ‘lapse in judgment’. The other says I should kick the system for punishing me uselessly. Either way, it’s not like I have a choice but to go along with it. But since I wasn’t convinced that I was wrong, I’m not sure the rule lived up to its purpose.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that this early, I am confused as to what is right and what is wrong.