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THE STUDENT POPULATION for the second semester
nosedived by 12.3 percent compared to last semester, according to figures
released by the Registrar's Office. The current enrolment was pegged at 17,097
indicating a drop of 2,399 from the first sem's 19,496 enrolees.
Despite the decrease, Bro. Henry C. Escurel, Head Registrar, do not feel
alarmed. "St. Scholastica, De La Salle University, Philippine Normal University,
Philippine Christian University and St. Paul College normally experience at
least 10% reduction in the population. May mga schools pa nga na umabot sa 15%
at isa tayo sa mga mabababa ang decrease sa population, so expected ko nga mga
15,000 lang ang mag-eenrol," Escurel said.
'Pain of economic
depression'. The Center for Guidance Counseling, Testing and Placement
Services named the five foremost causes of withdrawal of students in the
university: (1.) About 255 respondents reasoned out the cause of having a
financial problem (2.) Shifters often demand for courses like Hotel and
Restaurant Management (HRM), Fine Arts, Nursing, Marine Engineering, Medicine,
Criminology, and Aviation that are not offered in the university as attested by
202 respondents (3.) Academic problem (4.) Transferring to nearby residence and
(5.) Change of residence.
Bro. Escurel believes that "it is the
pain of economic depression that lessened our population."
Plans. The administration plans to expand the population
further by proposing to open courses that are commonly suggested by shifters.
These courses are Hotel and Restaurant Management, (HRM), Fine Arts and Marine
Engineering.
Meanwhile, Escurel is currently working with Dean
Jose Maria Gonzales of the Commerce Department and Dean of the College of
Architecture, Alfredo F. Mateo, PhD for the feasibility of the proposed
courses.
"HRM would be possible if approved by CHED because of
Prince Hotel's accessibility to our school while Marine Engineering is also
proposed given that we have all types of engineering," Escurel remarked
regarding the proposals. However, there are no official plans yet as to when
these courses will be offered in Adamson.back to front page!
THE GOVERNMENT is already completing plans that
will facilitate the implementation of the National Service Training Program
(NSTP), with the Department of National Defense (DND) as the lead
agency.
The NSTP Bill, or more specifically known as the House
Bill 3593, is a consolidated bill voted by 141 representatives against 3 no
votes from the Bayan Muna partylist, which endorsed the House Bill 2717 calling
for the abolition of the Reserve Officers Training Corps
(ROTC).
The NSTP will be mandating all freshman college level
students to become cadets who will be trained under the National Service
program, starting school year 2002-2003. The program also prescribes that women
students will also be mandated to take the said course. The NSTP
will be composed of three program components. The Military Training Service
(MTS), to be supervised by the Arm Forces of the Philippines (AFP); Law
Enforcement Service (LES), under the Philippine National Police (PNP) and
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG); and the Civic Welfare
Service (CWS) directed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department
of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA). The DND will be the overall directing agency.
(for more information, see sidebar article "NSTP: new name, same
game?")
According to the DND, the said training is "optional",
that is the student must choose which among the three components will he be
taking.
"It is better to say its Elective than Optional to
avoid the bewilderment of the students" explained by LTSG Rommel Oropesa, the
new assistant commandant of ROTC-AdU. He further explained that the optional
status of ROTC doesn't mean that the student will have the option not to take
the course; students are still required to take the course as it is still part
of the curriculum.
Oropesa also mentioned that ROTC promotes
nationalism, patriotism, obedience and respect to the constitution. "I would not
give any reaction in regards with the NSTP bill," he stated when asked about the
clamor for the enactment of the said bill.
Meanwhile, Abolish!, a
nationwide alliance calling for the abolition of the ROTC, criticized the NSTP
last November 13 via an indignation protest in front of the Sandiganbayan.
The indignation rally also reminded the government of several
ROTC-related deaths; Seth Lopez of De La Salle University (DLSU)-Taft, Samuel
Rodico of Luna College in Pangasinan and recently, Mark Welson Chua of the
University of Santo Tomas.
The Chua case now has several
witnesses to lighten the probing of his murder. "We had a lot of witnesses as of
now, but still we are looking for a way how to elevate big fishes for this
case," said Tina Palabay, conveyor of ROTC ABOLISH Movement regarding the
investigation as they look for leading witnesses in Chua's and other's
cases.
Chua was a cadet officer of the UST ROTC Corps who was
found dead after exposing an alleged corruption case involving his officers. His
case ignited the widespread call for the abolition of ROTC which was described
by its critics and detractors as a system riddled with corruption and
uselessness.
Meanwhile, activist student group Anakbayan-
Sciences chapter posted fliers condemning the program as an added "source of
corruption and an environment for fostering abuse of women."
Anti-ROTC groups staged weekly round of walk-outs in many
colleges and universities in the country led by Abolish! and other militant
activist groups as a sign of protest against the ROTC system.
back to front page!
DOLE has distorted...(from the front
page...)
"We are leaving everything to the lawyers, kasi sila
naman ang nakakaalam tungkol sa mga technicalities tulad ng ganyan," she added.
Tero also said that the union already submitted their latest motion
for reconsideration last December 7. "Di pa rin ako titigil kahit di ako
nire-recognize ng management, as long as naniniwala pa rin ang miyembro ng unyon
sa aming mga opisyales at sa akin, still ipagpapatuloy pa rin namin ang laban ng
AUFEA" she ended.
Identity crisis. On November 16, Rev. Fr.
Jimmy Belita, CM, university president, released a letter addressed to "the
rightful board of directors", where he refused to acknowledge Tero as president
of the union, claiming that she was already terminated from service, together
with four other union officials, during the strike.
The said letter
referred to the rightful board of directors of AUFEA as Mrs. Alenjandrina Chua,
Dr. Manolito Pueyo, Arch. Lucille Valencia, Mrs. Norma Bueno, Mr. Dante
Bernardo, Mr. Rafael Perez and Atty. Guillermo Lallana.
However,
during their recent general assembly on November 19 at the ST Auditorium, Mrs.
Tero asserted she is still the union president and that the admin cannot
interfere with the internal structure of the union. The gathering was attended
by more than 300 union members.
"Ako pa rin ang presidente ng unyon
and we filed the motion to maintain status quo, nandiyan pa rin ang suporta ng
miyembro kaya hindi pa rin ako magre-resign, the members (will) give the verdict
if we still stay to fight or not," Tero said.
The five union officers,
which includes Tero, Wilfredo Cereno, Dolores Reyes, Reynaldo Mangabat and
Froilan Asis, were terminated following their defiance of the DOLE's return to
work order. Also, three professors were not given teaching load due to their
participation in the strike.
Earlier, the administration prohibited
the entry of the five terminated officers of the union due to their loss of
employer-employee relationship. Mrs. Tero however is still able to have access
to the university by entering as a "visitor", subject to the usual security
SOPs, including body searches.
She also said that this is the first
time Fr. Belita did not issue the suspension of classes. "I received the message
from Bro. Escurel because the order was relayed to him, kaso ang gusto lang
namin ay ma-excuse lang ang mga members ng AUFEA," she stated.
Tero
added that the AUFEA will still continue with its normal operations, such as the
fund raising and other projects slated this year, even in the middle of the
current crisis.
"Wag sanang ipakita ang kanilang kahinaan, make our
group (AUFEA) more stable and united. To the students, keep on fighting and
thank you dahil kahit anong gawin ng admin na pinaglalaban ang estudyante sa
prof, prof sa students ay nagagawan natin ng paraan para maayos, kung di tayo
magtutulungan matatalo tayo," she ended.
back to front page!
In the ensuing
confusion, Solidum identified one of the arresting officers as a certain Colonel
Lorenzo. She said that the police officer was the brother of Mrs. Sy.
The students were taken to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
- Camp Crame where they were detained before being released after an inquest was
carried out. Legal Aid counsel Atty. Agnes Rivera handled the inquest case. The
inquest judge released the three and ordered further investigations to the
case.
According to Mrs. Sy, they did not see the tail that the
students were complaining about. She said that the students had their bicol
express wrapped and went to the two kagawads immediately before complaining to
the canteen management.
As part of the entrapment operation, Mrs. Sy
"bargained" with the students for the settlement amount of money, from one
hundred fifty thousand down to thirty thousand. They had their "settlement" at
forty-five thousand pesos.
" I have no plan to pay them the money that
they asked me because they (did) not even showed the evidence (rat's tail). They
never also showed the certificate that they had it examined by the Bureau of
Food And Drugs (BFAD)," Sy said.
She also added that it was the police
who said that there is an extortion case and that it was also them who prepared
the entrapment cash. The students were also not hurt when they were detained,
according to her.
A hearing is set on December 13 and 20 to clarify
the charges that were filed against the three.
A
special report by:
Winnie F. Doniņa,Mark Gil Cabusao
and Christoper M.
Hermosura
back to
front page!