VOL 6. ISSUE 1 2013THE REAL SWINE. While this man carries the burden of poverty, others splurge the pork funds that are rightfully his. William Lutz

Business sector disappointedBY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA and

EANNA MARIE FERNANDEZ

Mindanao Business Council (MBC)

Chairperson Vicente T. Lao expressed his disappoint-ment to the government and the military as armed con� icts between rebel groups continue to impede economic developments in Mindanao.

“If you (government) cannot help businessmen you can’t expect the busi-nessmen to support the government,” Lao said during the “High Summit on Security Sector Trans-formation and Prospects for Post-Con� ict Philip-pines” forum held at Ate-neo de Davao University last September 26.

Lao suggested that com-munity developments, not bullets and guns will solve the problem of insurgency

gency in Mindanao.“� is war will not be won

by the military. It will be won by the economic pro-gram that could be properly put it place,” Lao said.

He also mentioned the recent burning of construc-tion equipment by the New People’s Army, which his company owned.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Ri-cardo Crauz III, chief of Eastern Mindanao Com-mand assured Lao that they are looking for a solution to the problem through es-tablishing military detach-ments near construction sites.

“We assure you sir (Lao) that we will place military patrols in the area to ad-dress this problem,” Cruz said.

BUSINESS, 14

CONCOM, 14

Gauge of a free society

PEACE FORUM. Lt. Col. Ricardo Cruz III, EastMinCom chief and MBC Chair Vic Lao chat on matters concerning peace in Mindanao, during the “High Summit on Security Sector Transformation and Prospects for Post-Con� ict Phil-ippines” forum held at Ateneo de Davao University Finster Auditorium last September 26.Vincent Rell Gonzaga

ConCom approves new Samahan ConstitutionBY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA

The Samahan Constitu-tional Commission ap-

proved the third and � nal reading of the new Samah-an Constitution last Octo-ber 2, held at Ateneo Roxas Grounds.

� e new Constitution amended and replaced the current provisions under articles V, VI, VII and VIII. Article V or the Legisla-tive Department provision mandates the creation of Council of Representatives.

the creation of Council of Representatives.

In the current 1982 Constitution, the Samahan Central Board (SCB) is both the executive and legislative branch of the student gov-ernment; a kind of Consti-tution similar to the Marcos era.

In the new structure, the SCB will stand as the ex-ecutive department while the Council of Representa-tives will be the legislative

branch. However, the legislative branch, being a di� erent department from the exec-utive, will not be part of the central board itself. Only the President, Sec-retary-General and Trea-surer, as well as the appoint-ed committee heads and members will comprise the Samahan Central Board. Because of this, Social Science Representative Apoint that this will dis-

discourage anyone to run as representative since they will not be recognized as part of the central board.

“I would rather choose to be appointed (as com-mittee member) than to strive hard to run and cam-paign as division represen-tative,” Gabut told COM-PENDIUM.

Samahan President Robin Tongcua also ques-tioned the � exibility of the

Song writing workshop with the maestroBY HANNA MAE SALCEDO

Filipino composer Ryan Cayabyab gave a work-

shop to professional and amateur composers at the “Song Writing Workshop with the Maestro” held at the Finster Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao Universi-ty last September 13.

Cayabyab’s original Filipino compositions, or-chestra direction works and teaching career have earned him the title “Maestro” in the entertainment industry

gave song writing tips and shared his experiences in the industry.

� e workshop was the composer’s way of encour-aging Filipino song writers to write songs and to devel-op their passion for music.

Mr. Cayabyab also en-couraged aspiring song-writers to start writing now and to share compositions with as many people as possible. He pointed out that being too protective of

one’s songs is not good for starting song writers.

He also stressed that the best way to get feedback is to allow other people to listen and give comments about their songs.

Among the songwriters who joined Maestro to the workshop were Philippine Popular Music Foundation (Philpop) Festival top 12 � nalists including Ganny Brown, who wrote

SONG,

Mixed reactions on SK polls postponementBY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA

It’s � nal. � e Sangguniang Kabataan or the SK elec-

tions will be rescheduled between October 28, 2014 and February 23, 2015. � is a� er the Congress had rat-i� ed the proposed measure in order to introduce re-forms in the SK system.

Under the proposed measure, lawmakers agreed to leave the youth council post vacant until new o� -cials are elected.

Head of the Senate lo-cal government committee, Senator Bongbong Marcos said that they will reform the SK.

“We are trying to reform the system. Why would we hold over a system we are not satis� ed with?,” Marcos said.

However, Senator Fran-cis Escudero voted against the rati� cation of the bi-cameral committee report saying that doing this is es-sentially abolishing the SK.

In a similar note, Ren-dell Cagula, Kabataan Partylist Region XI Coor-dinator said that they ac-knowledged the reported corruption in SK, however, its abolition will not solve the problem.

postponement of the polls will also lead to the aboli-tion of SK.

“� e passing of the bill to postpone the upcom-ing 2013 SK elections will clearly lead to the de fac-to abolition of youth rep-resentation in the LGUs,” Cagula told COMPENDI-UM in a text message.

He also challenged President Aquino to veto the bill.

As of this writing, Aquino has yet to sign the bill before it can be imple-mented.

MIXED, 14

A call for reliefBY EANNA MARIE FERNANDEZ

Ateneo de Davao Uni-versity Samahan Cen-

tral Board, under Buklod Atenista opened Zambo-anga relief operations last September 16.

Help from both stu-dents and faculties in kind and cash were brought to Zamboanga under the partnership of Amnesty In-ternational.

Heaps of goods have al-ready been donated at the bin near the Roxas gate and approximately 8,000 pesos have already been collected.

But according to Buklod ambassadress, regose, not a lot of people responded at � rst and one of the proba-ble reasons they look at is

because most students are not aware of the situation in Zamboanga.

She also said that a� er sharing the information through the social network-ing sites and classroom to classroom dissemination only then did the response grew.

But the group is still happy that somehow, some Ateneans involve them-selves with issues like this.

“We also hope that the people will focus on reha-bilitation kasi mas mahirap ‘yun (because that would be harder).” Torregose said.

� e program is under the Humanitarian Aid Pro-gram of Buklod Atenista

that aims to respond to oth-er Ateneo school’s needs. In this case, it is the Ateneo de Zamboanga.

“Aside from that we help our sister school because of the Humanitarian Aid, it is also a practice for the Atenean spirit [that is to be men and women for oth-ers]” Torregose said.

Tthe Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) separatist group attacked Zamboanga City last Sep-tember 8, forcing civilians to evacuate from their houses which were occu-pied by the rebel group.

A� er weeks of � ghting, reports say

A CALL, 14

Ateneo welcomes MMFF University CaravanBY MAURA VIGILIA

Independent � lm Direc-tors Paul Soriano and

Pepe Diokno inspired a lot of young � lm makers in the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival New Wave Univer-sity Caravan at Ateneo de Davao University, Septem-ber 19.

Direct Soriano Launched the MMFF Stu-dent Film Competition which includes the; MMFF New Wave Student Short � lm Competition, New Wave Animation Category, Cinephone Competition, and New Wave Full Feature Film Competition.

A� er announcing the said competitions, Soriano never failed to encourage student � lm enthusiasts to join and motivate them whenever there are rejec-

tions. “No one’s going to call

you, if you are only sit-ting in your room all day, nothing’s going to happen. Dreaming is easy, but mak-ing the dream happen that’s what separates you from the current,” Soriano said.

Moreover, Director Pepe Diokno lectured on Cinematic Storytelling which gave the listeners tips on how to come up with a great output on their sto-ries, and how to maximize available materials in mak-ing it happen.

Young as he is, direct Diokno also shares his ex-periences about making in-dependent � lms and the re-jections he acquires before getting to what he is now.

ATENEO, 14

PHILIPPINE CINEMA. Director Pepe Diokno giving his talk on the history of Philippine Cinema

Philippines to host APEC 2015BY: CHRISTINE CUDIS

The APEC Leaders’ meeting is going to be

in Metro Manila. � e ob-jective of the conference is to address the security con-cerns for the heads of states from the 21 countries who will be attending the event.

A source in the know of the meetings said “they

Men and women for othersBY EANNA MARIE FERNANDEZ

More than a hundred Ateneo de Davao stu-

dents gathered and cleared the coasts of Sitio Bucana, Lasang, Davao City during the celebration of the Inter-national Coastal Cleanup day last September 15.

97 countries united in clearing coasts and water-ways while informing peo-ple of the hazards of human waste.

Some of the collected trash was then recycled by the ArTcoclube members and was exhibited in “Ya-man ng Dagat”.

Ecotenista head Lem Manalo stressed that the event became an avenue for Ateneans to preserve and save mother nature from destruction.

“I always wanted to bring these issues to my fellow Ateneans especially on shark � nning, dolphin poaching and marine de-bris,” Manalo said.

Due to rapid industri-alization and urbanization-

non-biodegradable garbage has swarmed the seas and clogged the waterways. � is has caused the death of ma-rine life and the stunting of economies in a� ected areas.

In the 2012 Internation-al Coastal Cleanup day, an approximate of 10,149, 988 pounds of trash were col-lected by volunteers and they said that there are still so much to be done.

� e activity was initiat-ed by Ocean Conservancy and was a kick-o� activi-ty for Ecotenista’s Ocean Awareness Week.

Other events for the week were(___) an Exhibit held at the Ateneo � ibault Grounds.

� e Exhibit showed inforgraphics and videos about the ocean’s current situation.

� ere was also a � lm showing that also showed students a glimpse of the marine life.

have decided to con� ne the APEC Leader’s Meeting in Manila to give into the se-curity concerns raised by the various governments.”

� e Philippines is now shortlisting the eight cities and destinations as possible venues for high-level meet-ings. Several local govern-

ment units are also striving to be among the eight cities, these include Cebu, Tagay-tay, Clark, Subic, albay, Ilo-ilo, Bacolod, Boracay and Davao.

� e overall coordinator for APEC NOC, Guillermo Luz, said that some of the APEC meetings on the run

to the APEC Leader’s Sum-mit.

Foreign undersecretary Laura del Rosario said the criteria for selection of ven-ues include facilities and infrastructure, power and water conditions, and med-ical services availability.

PDAF scholars, activists join pork barrel forumBY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA

“We are not just af-ter the abolition

of it (pork barrel), but also to the persecution of those who are involved in the 10-billion peso scam.”

Pagbabago Davao rep-resentative Atty. Fatima Adin Purisma empha-sized during the “Pork and Means: Politics of Dis-cretion and the Pork Bar-rel System” forum held at University of Southeastern University Social Hall last September 25.

Most who were present in the forum are scholars who are recipients of the Priority Development Asis-

tance Fund.Purisima stressed that

the pork barrel as a whole, including the PDAF and the Presidential pork, must be scrapped.

She added that these funds should be rechan-neled to proper implement-ing government agencies to be used for basic social services.

“� e job of the legis-lators is to legislate, not to make basketball courts. So instead of asking � nancial aid from them, just go to DOH or CHED directly,” Purisima said.

Youth Act Now Davao

Chairperson, Paul Niño Dotolla , who also spoke during the forum revealed that the pork barrel has been used in politics pa-tronage.

“� ose who are in al-liance with the President, of course will receive the pork. However, the opposi-tion had reported that they weren’t able to receive pork barrel or the process of it is being delayed,” Dotolla said.

He also linked the is-sue to the proposed Davao Regional State University System, in which all the � ve state-universities in the re-

region will be merged. Its aim is to maximize the lim-ited budget for SUCs allot-ted by the national govern-ment.“� ey are going to imple-ment this because of the budget cuts, but just think of the 10-billion peso that were misused, it could help the SUCs a lot,” Dotolla added.However, both Purisima and Dotolla admitted that the mere rechanneling of funds will not totally eradi-cate corruption.“It is in the system, it’s a cul-ture, but atleast we can min-imize corruption,” Purisima said.

Valuables missing at the Guidance Center for the first timeBY EMMAREE JANE LOZADA

A sling bag with netbook and its accessories

went missing just inside the University Guidance Cen-ter around 1pm last Sep-tember 20, Friday.

� e anonymous victim identi� ed as a college stu-dent from Humanities and Letters Division, who is also a member of the Peer Consultant Program of the said o� ce.

“I le� my black sling bag on the Peer Desk around 12nn knowing the fact that the desk is only accessible to the peers, counselors, student assistants, and the clerk,” she said.

� e bag contained her younger sister’s netbook, charger, mouse, memory card reader, compact disk drive, warranty papers and receipts.

� e missing items cost in the estimated total of 25 thousand pesos.It was the � rst time of the Guidance Center to en-counter such problem.

“Over the years, we at the Guidance Center as-sures that no one shall take whatever will be le� inside the o� ce by the peers,” Ryan Tristan Digan, a guid-ance counselor said.

� e guidance o� ce had

started the investigation last September 21.

� ere were already three suspects under the investigation. All of them stated that they didn’t know how the bag went missing, because of the other duties they were attending in the guidance center.

“� e only thing and the last resort which proves that they are indeed inno-cent is through reviewing the surveillance cameras,” she added.

Last September 25, the victim and the guidance counselors went in Ateneo de Davao University Mati-na Campus to go over the past recorded footages on the day the bag, together with its valuable contents, went missing.

But the result was un-productive.

� ey have been using these cameras for ten years already yet these were not maintained.

� ese are old, analogue type models; that’s why one can’t even see the faces of the students and guests en-tering the gates.

� ese were improperly positioned that’s why one can’t tell who are going out of the VALUABLES, 14

Ateneo, Colegio celebrates Moon Cake FestivalBY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA

Ateneo de Davao Uni-versity, with the col-

laboration of Colegio de San Ignacio, took part in the celebration of the Mid-Au-tumn Festival held at Ate-neo’s � ibault Grounds last September 18, 2013.

Anthonette Tan, Pres-ident of the Ateneo Filipi-no-Chinese Community, which organized the event, expressed her delight in making the event possible. She wanted to make the Chinese students of Ateneo feel like home through this celebration, despite being far from it.

“Even though they are far from their nativeland, they are (still) celebrating it. We (let them) experi-ence what the festival is all about.”

Colegio de San Ignacio Director Emeritus, Rose Cementina said this cele-

celebration is also signi� -cant for the students as part of their Chinese subjects.

“We have Chinese as our subject. Mandarin is taught from pre-school to high-school.” Cementina said.

She also added that through this experience of celebrating the Moon Cake Festival here, it would give them a picture of their own tradition.

� e program ended with the distribution of mooncakes.

� e Mid-Autumn or the Moon Cake Festival is a Chinese celebration to en-joy and thank the successful reaping of rice and wheat with food o� erings made in honor of the moon.

It is celebrated every full moon of the eight month of the Chinese calendar. � is year, they celebrated in from September 19-21.

Ateneo’s ‘Glee’BY MAE-ANNE BORNILLO

From the team who creat-ed the fun-� lled events

experience for Ateneans, from Blue Starrt party for a cause, to Volleytenista sports battle, to Foto Modelo Ateneo, Red Lens presents another awaited event – the Gleetenista ’13.

� e very � rst Gleetenista ’13 is a choir show competi-tion to be held on October 6, 2013 at SM Lanang Premiere Cinema 6 with the theme “Mash-up � at Filipino Tune”. It is an event that aims to appreciate Original Pinoy Music and showcase talents of young Filipinos as well.

Various divisions in Ate-neo create a 7 to 10-mem-ber group to represent their division. As an adaptation from the famous musical series Glee, division repre-sentative groups will com-pete through a variety show – a group performance of singing while dancing and acting. Each group should create a 3-5 minute mash-up of a maximum of 5 original Filipino songs in which they can incorporate creative stories and unique performance elements. Each performance will be judged according to the blending of the elements and of course the over-all performance level of each group.

Among the participating divisions are Accountancy Division, College of Engi-neering & Architecture, Hu-manities and Letters Cluster, College of Nursing, National Science and Mathematics Cluster, Computer Studies Division and School of Ed-ucation.

“Gleetenista is really a great opportunity for those who want their talent to be exposed not only to the Ateneo community but to everyone, as well. However, it is quite abrupt. Prepara-tion is more than two weeks only and groups might not be able to give their best because of the constriction of time. Nonetheless, this will surely be a good event to unite students in pursu-ance of their talents” Joshua Medroso, participant, said.

Aside from the afore-mentioned objective of the event, Gleetenista also carries being a show for a cause. All proceeds of the event will go to cancer pa-tients of the House of Hope.

“People should really watch out for Gleetenista as it is the � rst of its kind. It will show o� Ateneo talents through a Glee-inspired show choir setting. And people can trust us that we can give them a show worth the money they paid since they’ve witnessed the previ-ous success of the events like Blue Starrt, Volleytenista & Foto Modelo Ateneo--all or-ganized by the brilliant Red Republic Productions” says event organizer Ralston San Pedro.

Gleetenista along with the other events are projects headed by fourth year mass communication students of Ateneo de Davao University as part of their training in events-organizing.

With all these, Gleeteni-sta indeed is not just a show but an occasion that trains skills, hones talents, exposes arts, appreciates culture and helps lives.

Miss Gay University, affirmation of LGBT rightsBY SHIEVAR OLEGARIO

“This has become a space or an oppor-

tunity for us to not only cel-ebrate but also a� rm our rights, our identities and also of course our struggles as LGBT. “

Hadji Balajadia, Ate-neo de Davao Univeristy (ADDU) professor an-swered when asked about the signi� cance of Miss Gay University, held at the CAP Auditorium, last September 21.

Miss Russia, John Lester Marimon, was hailed the newly crowned Miss Gay University 2013.

Ms. Argentina, Ever Balunos bagged the 1st Runner up place and Ms. Australia, Micolle Cata-yas, 2nd Runner up and

and who also won the Peo-ple’s Choice Award. � e 3rd Runner up spot went to Ms. Kosovo.

� ere six judges who completed the judging pan-el. Including in the set of judges were Mr. Gay World Philippines 2012 Carlito Rosadino and Miss Interna-tion Queen 2012 Kevin Ba-lot who served as the chair of the judging panel.

� e � rst set of special awards were also given to Miss Kenya who won the Best Editorial award, Miss Korea who was named Miss Photogenic and Miss Vene-zuela who was hailed Miss Congeniality.

Second set of special awards were given to Ms. Argentina who won Best

in Costume, Ms. Vietnam who won the Best in Play-suit, Ms. Kosovo who won Best Performer and to Ms. Russia who won Best in Long Gown.

In the � rst elimination round, 10 out of the 15 can-didates got in.

Each of the top ten can-didates underwent an an-swer portion where each candidate can select a pic-ture from the eleven pic-tures and must describe the chosen picture without any time limit.

� e answer portion served as the major basis for choosing the Top 5 can-didates.

Q&AFor the � nal question and

answer portion, each of the Top 5 candidates randomly picked from a bowl of ques-tions.

Miss Russia picked the question “Can a cross-dresser of a school uniform in a Catholic school still be a good and digni� ed student?”

He answered: “When we enter in an institution that means that you must abide with the rules and regulations set by the uni-versity so you must all wear the prescribed dress code. A cross-dresser of a school uniform in a Catho-lic school makes him or her not a good student because he or she is not following simple instructions howev-er it MISS GAY, 14

Ateneo Business Center to empower entrepreneurship studentsBY HANNA MAE SALCEDO

The Ateneo Business Center (ABC) is an ex-

citing avenue for the Entre-preneurship students of the Ateneo de Davao Universi-ty to hone their entrepre-neurial skills.

Last January 21 was a great day, especially for the Business and Management department since it was the grand opening of the ABC at CM Recto Street, Davao City.� e location was originally for Ateneo’s rentable space.

But the university’s admin-istration decided to use it as a training area for its En-trepreneurship students to prepare themselves for the real world of business.

According to Entre-preneurship Department Chair Jess E. Delgado, put-ting up ABC was a desire of the school to put students into action. � ey also want students to apply what they have learned in class and objectify them through this.

However, Delgado said, pursuing the project was not easy at all, they also encountered a lot of di� -culties.

“� e biggest challenge is to raise funds; the big-gest challenge is to con-vince parents and � nancial institutions to invest on a particular idea from a par-ticular student who did not graduate and have not proven anything yet,” Del-gado said.

ABC is divided into four

main sections; it proudly features the Box, Hub, Cup and iCampus.

� e Box is where Ate-neo de Davao merchandise souvenir items from Stay Blue like tumblers, t-shirts and jackets can be pur-chased. Products from Ani-mars, Metanoia, Petcharms and Belle Perfumes are also found in � e Box.

� e Hub section o� ers food products that include stores like Captain Mel-on, Boyd’s All Rice, Sub

Xpress, Choco Morez, Go Milk, and Dairy Royale that can be enjoyed in practical prices.

On the other hand, � e Cup section of ABC caters University Hue Café. It is a place to hang out, to chill and talk about anything under the sun.

� e iCampus section is where everything is all about Apple products and accessories with special dis-counts for Ateneo faculty, students and alumni.

ABC manager Zardin Anne Rashid believes that ABC is an “empowerment” to the entrepreneurship students before going out to the real business world.

“It is an empowerment to the young and dynamic entrepreneurship students of (the) university to test their entrepreneurial skills and get the hype of the business world,” Rashid said.

Throwback: Pork barrel evolutionBY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA

Days, weeks and months had passed since the

issue of pork barrel scam exploded in mainstream media.

Initially, whistle-blow-ers pin-pointed Janet Lim Napoles as the “master-mind” of the 10-billion peso pork barrel scam.

Last September 16, 2013, the O� ce of the Ombudsman � led cases of plunder against Napoles, three senators and two for-mer congressmen.

Also accused of malver-sation of public funds, di-rect bribery and other gra� and corrupt practices were three former congressmen and 29 other individuals.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima emphasized that these were just the “initial batch” of people accused to defraud billions of pesos of public funds.

But have you ever won-dered how did the concept of pork barrel start? Political Analyst Tony La Viña gave a brief history of the pork barrel system during an interview in Um-agang Kay Ganda.

He said that the term pork barrel originated long ago in American history

wherein slave owners gave their slaves a barrel of salt-ed pork that they would have to � ght over.

“Iyang salitang yan (pork barrel), insult tala-ga ‘yan. Ginagamit ‘yan sa karne na ilalagay sabariles tas tinatapon sa mga alipin during noon panahonng American slavery era, si-yempre pinag-aawayan nila yan,” La Viña said.

He also said that this concept was used by Amer-icans in allocating the funds for the congressmen. Before, representatives � ght over the allotted bud-get in order to have funds for their districts.

� ey brought this con-cept in the Philippines during their occupation. La Viña said the Americans used the pork barrel to “di-vide and rule the Philip-pine assembly”.

“� ere were Filipinos who wanted independence. Some wanted statehood so some Americans used the pork to appease their al-lies,” he said.

La Viña also added that during the Martial Law era, wherein the congress was abolished, former Presi-dent Ferdinand Marcos

also abolished the pork barrel system.

“� ere was no pork barrel but that does not mean there was no corrup-tion. � e money just went to the cronies of Marcos”, he said.

But it was revived during the time of former President Corazon Aqui-no.

In 1990, the pork barrel was called Countrywide Development Assistance Fund (CDF).

Ten years later, it was renamed as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Congress-men receive 70 million pesos annually and 200 million pesos for senators. � ese funds must be used in project implementation in their respective constit-uency.

However, this system may bid farewell anytime soon as the call for its ab-olition becomes stronger.

Now, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee con-tinues its investigation on the alleged 10-billion peso pork barrel scam, which according to reports, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Samahan Presents New Constitution DraftBY MAE-ANNE BORNILLO

Following the � rst Sama-han Constitution read-

ing held last August 30, the Samahan Constitution Commission (ConCom) 2013 conducted the second constitution reading last September 16 & 18 at F305, F308, F306 and F311.

Major ammendments include that of what is cov-ered by articles V, VI, VII, VIII.

Among these changes are the adding of the judi-cial and executive depart-ment and a cluster student government in which a governor stands as repre-sentative of each division.

� e readings of the Samahan Central Board Constitution primarily aim to solidify together with the students the set of rules in which the running of the university will be based from not only this year but as to the coming years as well.

Other changes pro-posed were the abolish-ment of the General As-sembly of Club Presidents, the need to elect class pres-idents, O� ce of Student A� airs involvement in the Board of Adjudicators and the replacement of the Sec-retary-General by the Pres-ident in case of permanent vacancy.

� e � rst reading of the Constitution was basically intended to lay down the dra� of the new proposed structure of the Samahan Central Body System which is of course still subject to change, opening it to scrutiny to the studentry and accepting suggestions which will later be deliber-ated by the o� cials.

� e second reading, on the other hand, was set to answer a� er being deliberated the question, suggestions and clari� ca-tions raised by the students during the � rst reading.

Last October 2, the third and � nal reading has been held.

Commissioner Rogelio Adlawan, Jr. said the ses-sion discussed the details and hammered the ideas to improve the Constitution for the welfare of the stu-dents.

“It is the � nalization of the developed dra� through the � rst and second read-ing. � is session wherein the dra� will be put to a referendum for the second semester” Adlawan said.

He added that a� er three readings, the Consti-tution will now be passed to the Samahan Central Board.

� ey will be reviewing it, then pass it on to the Students A� air Committee

(SAC )who will again re-view it and give the signal of its approval before the constitution is made a ref-erendum.

� e constitution will take e� ect immediately af-ter rati� cation.

On the other hand, it was noticable that only few students attended the read-ings.

Despite the apathy of most students towards the readings at least there were still some who took time to listen and take part in the construction, development and solidi� cation of the Sa-mahan Constitution.

One of the attendees is the freshman BS Educa-tion Jason Tajores who be-lieves that “we students are the ones most a� ected of this decision regarding the Constitution that is why it’s so important for us to know and not just remain unin-formed”.

It will always be upon the student’s decision whether or not to take part in these businesses of the university but of course, giving our say is more than a responsibility.

To participate is a chance, an opportunity and a privilege. Stand, speak, and take part in the devel-opment of a better Ateneo community.

Youth: The vulnerable population for HIV-AIDSBY HANNA MAE SALCEDO

Among the most vul-nerable population

for HIV are young people who are sexually active, Dr. Jordiana R. Ramiterre said, head of Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC) of the Davao City Health O� ce.

Ramiterre said it is all because of the heavy in� u-ence of media and online social networking sites that today’s youth are more lib-erated. Most of them are sexually active nowadays and exploration also hap-pens during adolescents.“It’s di� cult to monitor the a� airs and engagements of the youth, including stu-dents, given the presence of modern communication equipment that they also

possess. Most of the time, parents are not aware of persons whom they are communicating with,” Ramiterre added.

However, Dr. Ramiterre said the key a� ected popu-lation are those people in prostitution, those people engaging in MSM’s (men having sex with men) and injecting drug users.

� e number of cases with Human Immunode� -ciency Virus-Acquired Im-mune De� ciency Syndrome (HIV-AIDS) are increasing as RHWC recorded 765 HIV cases of HIV-AIDS in region XI.

In months of January to August of this year shows that there are 112 cases of HIV positive individuals.

January- 20, February- 10, March- 13, April- 17, May- 12, June- 16, July- 14 and August- 10.

“Cases are increasing every month. But these are actually clinic base. It does not speak for Davao City or Region XI,” Dr. Ramiterre said.

RHWC, in partnership with Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and the Alliance against AIDS in Mindanao (AL-AGAD-Mindanao), is a clinic and testing/screening center under the city health o� ce that serves as an ac-cess and service center for persons with HIV-AIDS.

Apart from giving free HIV testing, the RHWC and other institutions here

also provide HIV education and prevention, even going down to the barangay level.

Dr. Ramiterre explained that HIV causes AIDS (Ac-quired Immunode� cien-cy Syndrome) wherein an infected person’s immune system is totally impaired, usually leading to death. However, medication can delay the onset of AIDS, managing HIV and AIDS is actually prevention of opportunistic infection that can cause other illness to those people who are living with HIV-AIDS.

“But ultimately, there is no cure. � e Anti-retrovi-ral drug just suppresses the virus and it needs mainte-nance,” Dr. Ramiterre said.

� e anti-retroviral

drugs are free through Phil Health, but it is just for HIV. If the person has acquired other infection due lack of immune de-fence the treatment for that is not free anymore.

But according to Dr. Ramiterre, the most im-portant thing to do to prevent HIV-AIDS is to be educated.

Dr. Ramiterre said that fear of stigma and discrimination are the main reasons why people are hesitant to undergo HIV testing.

“It’s your choice be-cause the services are already in place. People o� en asked what the go-

vernment is doing, because it’s rising (HIV-AIDS). But the thing is, what are in-dividuals doing to protect themselves? I think every individual should be re-sponsible,” Dr. Ramiterre added.

Testing and treatment are free through Phil Health. And there are also groups doing psychosocial support, advocacy, and ed-ucation.

Dr. Ramiterre said that young people have to be educated; they have to know their own risk, because they are the ones preventing these things from happening. It’s not government preventing it from happening.

Izzy: The secret ingredientBY CHRISTINE JOICE CUDIS

Statements of disgust went all over the social

networking sites when one of the Atenista’s secret in-gredient to their favorite drink was revealed to pub-lic.

Around 2:30 in the af-ternoon of August 30, a poor fourth year student Julio Marco Serrano bought a medium-sized Mocha Latte from Ice Capades.

Everything was normal a� er that because it was his usual routine to buy drinks from the food court ev-ery day. It was not until he felt something stuck in his straw.

It may be a small piece of ice that is in the straw so he just did not mind it and continued sipping the yum-my drink.

But when he the stuck object � nally went out his

friends were shouting and screaming in fright of what they saw from Ser-rano’s mouth. What ap-peared to be a chocolate chip was not really choc-olate at all; it was Izzy, as what he fondly named it, the ipis’ (cockroach) right eye and with its head at-tached.

Serrano did not yet panicked but he wondered if Izzy’s head was in his drink, then where is the rest of its body? He de-cided to empty his already one-thirds full cup in the ground, and there lied the naked body of Izzy the ipis, swarming in the re-mains of the Mocha Latte, never thought why it has that shade of brown until Marco posted the picture on the networking site on the same day.

� e victim reported the incident to O� ce of the Student A� airs (OSA) to appeal for what had hap-pened. “I remembered sabi nung mga taga OSA kani-na na dapat Ipiscapades ang new name ng store nila.”, added Serrano.

Days a� er the uproar, the stall of Ice Capades has � nally ended its years of business with the school.

Christine Mae Lape, a student who was a loyal customer of the shop said that “I felt that I also drank cockroach. It was so horri-ble; I can’t even drink the same � avor anymore.”

Until today, the Ice Ca-pades have not given any statement with regards to this issue. And up to this date they are still under suspension by the OSA.

Expert: ‘Fluency in activism, a class issueBY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA

An expert recognized the fact that most people

who might express opin-ions and insights on public issues, may not be really cognizant of the core of the issue, as re� ected in their social class.

� is was the observa-tion of psychologist, Had-ji Balajadia referring to the recent Million People March, a protest against the misuse of the pork barrel, wherein an approximate of 3,000 attended the rally.

Balajadia labelled it as an ‘issue of � uency’ among those who participate in the march-rally who were ini-tially asked by COMPEN-DIUM regarding the pork barrel itself.

Most who were inter-viewed seemed to lack con-crete and correct knowl-edge as to what pork barrel is.

“Not everyone who may

class would freely express opinions since they were well-educated on main is-sues.

For Balajadia, those who belong to the higher class were insulted and as-tonished just to � gure out that their taxes just went to the pockets of public o� -cials, on that note, they re-acted fervently.

“� e ones who will be on the forefront there will be the class that is most af-fected, most hard-hit. Be-cause it is their stake that is very much under threat here,” he added.

Balajadia also chal-lenge the organizers and initiators of protest-rallies such as the Million People March to brie� y orient the people on key facts perti-nent to the issue.

In the end, he said, the issue of pork barrel is an is-sue of governance therefore all must be knowledgeable and aware of it since every-one is a� ected.

The healing balm of a scarred societyBY EANNA MARIE FERNANDEZ

Di� erences o� en bring misunderstanding.

And misunderstandings of-ten bring con� ict.

And in a country where there is more than a hun-dred dialects and religious groups and ideals that are almost as many, it is not hard to see why there are con� icts that rise from time to time.

In con� icts such as the recent Zamboanga siege, Christians are not the only ones who are pushed to the wall. Muslims, Tausugs, and other Indegenous groups are also held at the noose of horror.

“� e impact and dam-age of this show of force in Zamboanga has been so big and heavy that it has

reopened the wounds of mistrust and fear. We need a deeper, comprehensive healing.” Fr. Angel Calvo of the Peace Advocates Zam-boanga said.

� is is now where in-stitutions for interreligious dialogue come in. � ese in-stitutions play an important part in generating under-standing among all.

And one of these insti-tutes is the Al Qalam In-stitute of Islamic Identities and Dialogue in South East Asia. � e institute is under the University Research Council of the Ateneo de Davao University.

According to Mussolini Sinsuat Lidasan, the Exec-utive Director of Al Qalam, the institute aims for peace

in Mindanao, for interre-ligious dialogue which is in line with the vision and mission of Ateneo and the Ponti� cal Council for In-terreligious Dialogue.

Since its o� cial partner-ship with the University in 2011, Al Qalam has created programs so that people, especially the youth, can become aware of other re-ligions especially the Islam.

Some of their programs were Voices; a round table discussion on Mindanao history, people and culture, and � e Strengthening Grassroots; an interfaith di-alogue and understanding program.

� ere was also the Bandung book launching that was participated by

many civil society move-ments who aims for social change and understanding. � e book that was launched then contained research and discourses in Africa and Asia, and was authored by scholars and activists of social and solidarity move-ments from Africa, Asia and Europe.

Al Qalam also does re-search for the betterment of their programs and to better the coming to life of their vision and mission. � eir research includes the history and genealogy of the Maguindanao Sultan-ate. And they also proposed for the Ateneo to have a Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Study.

Lidasan said that

through this, the institute hopes to bring understand-ing to not only Christians and Muslims, but to the other religions and indige-nous groups as well.

He also hopes that their e� orts would eradicate the Muslim stereotyping de-spite even the Zamboanga terror attacks.

“We can’t avoid that (stereotyping), we can however, manage the pos-sible problems… [Atene-ans should] transcend from stereotyping. Ipakita natin na ang Atenean ay talagang men and women for others. (Let’s show that Ateneans are really men and women for others.” Lidasan said.

Due to the devastation brought by the arms raise

in Zamboanga, Al Qalam now partners itself with the United Nations Vol-unteer Alumni Network Mindanao, National Ulama Council of the Philippines, Ateneo de Zamboanga, and other organizations for the project entitled; Keep the Faith, Zamboanga! Rise up, Zamboanga!

It is a project for the psychosocial and interre-ligious dialogue for the re-habilitation of Zamboanga City. Institutions like Al Qalam are reminders to everyone that they can help out. And that sometimes, people just need to look beyond the di� erences, and celebrate the similarities instead.

participate in an advocacy may have depth and the � u-ency pertinent to the issue,” Balajadia admitted.

He recognized that this observation might destroy the power of the advocacy, that’s why he challenged the media to simplify the issue in such a manner that the common masses could un-derstand.

“Media tends to be echoic; it does not in some way or the other links the impact of pork barrel to the real realties of the everyday life of the common taxpay-ers,” he added.

Balajadia emphasized that the ones who are � u-ent pertinent to the issue are the ones who belong to a higher social class, who are eloquent and articulate when it come to discussions of issues.

He also said that this matter mirrors the class is-sue, in which the lower and middle class tend to keep soundless, while the higher

Life in a dormitoryBY MAURA VIGILIA

One of the best living options when you go

to college or when you sep-arate from your parents for school are dormitories.

Dormitories near schools are the most prac-tical and most accessible for students especially in college.

Some students might not consider going away from their parents and be independent but others might think the other way. For some, being away and living alone might be an opportunity for them to see what life is over there.

If others are like snails that always stay on their shells to � nd comfort and security, others are like horse who wanted to run everywhere and be free.

Dorm life is challeng-ing. You must deal with everything and everyone. You are far from home, so it means, dorm mates and friends are your only fami-lies available.

Unlike home, you must follow rules and regulations inside a dormitory.

Wash your plates a� er eating, always turn o� the lights when leaving, lower the volume of the televi-sion when watching, and of course always clean your place, these are some rules inside it.

Along with these rules, being friendly to everyone is a requirement. Not all can understand your atti-tude and not all can deal with it.

If you do not want to be

the subject of the dormers inside your dormitory, be nice to gain friends.

Good thing about living in a dormitory is that, you are living with unique peo-ple in the same roof which allows you to see the world in di� erent perspectives.

Living in a dormitory gives you so much freedom that will lead you to expe-rience things you never ex-perienced before and never expected to do.

Staying late at night, skipping classes, staying in a co� ee shop until it closes, and late night bar parties, are some of these things. You can do all these with-out any restraints from your parents.

But this is the challeng-ing part of it; you must con-

trol yourself from being so free or else you will � nd yourself not going to school anymore and � nd yourself failed to all your subjects.

Freedom is maximizing in learning new things not just experiencing them and learning nothing at all.

Living in a dormito-ry allows a student to de-lay the responsibilities of adulthood for a few more years and fully experience college.

However, if there were a lot of perks in living in dorms, probably all peo-ple who are living in it will agree that dormitories are places where sadness and loneliness happen. All pil-lows and blankets went through days of being wet before the owner gets used

with the life in college and living alone.

Money and time bud-geting are the two worst things to deal with. It seems that they are always never enough. Sometimes, eating canned goods are the solu-tions to save money.

You cannot buy things and foods you like and of-ten times need.

When it comes to time, you always wish to add an hour or even hours to a 24-hour day so you can do all the required school works and dorm chores, because nobody will do it for you except yourself.

You always feel the wave of nostalgia when you are alone. � e silence in the

the surroundings allows you to miss the people you used to live with, in your home especially your par-ents.

However, some stu-dents keep their selves busy in school-related activities in order to get rid of the loneliness and longing. By that, they can prevent their selves form being so emo-tional.

To conclude, living in a dormitory forms you to a better person by how you adjust and deal with the hardships and freedom from living in it.

Above all, living in a dormitory provides you an once-in-a-lifetime oppor-tunity to familiar what life really is and it is an import-ant part to have a complete college experience.

EDITORIALBOARD

Editor-in-Chief: Vincent Rell Gonzaga

Associate Editor: Eanna Marie Fernandez

Managing Editor: Emmaree Lozada

News Editor: Hanna Mae Salcedo

News WritersShievar Olegario

Mae BornilloEmmaree Lozada

Maura VigiliaHanna Salcedo

Vincent GonzagaEanna FernandezChristine Cudis

Opinion WritersHanna Salcedo

Emmaree LozadaVincent Gonzaga

Mae Bornillo

Feature WritersHanna SalcedoMae BornilloMaura Vigilia

Vincent GonzagaEanna FernandezChristine Cudis

Literary WritersEmmaree Lozada

Hanna SalcedoChristine Cudis

Eanna Fernandez

Sports WriterMae Bornillo

Layout ArtistShievar Olegario

Cartoonist Eanna Fernandez

ModeratorMaria Gemima Galang-Valderrama

COMPENDIUM

EDITORIAL

Let the Majority Speak

It has been more than a month since the explosion of the pork barrel scam. � ousands, if not millions of Filipinos exercised their right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of griev-

ances. � ey call for the abolition of the pork barrel in unison.Aside from march-rallies,most voices were expressed online by netizens

through the social media, who are basically coming from the middle and the higher social class.

With le� and right protest rallies and social media campaign, it seems that the only voice that are being heard are from those who agree of the pork barrel abolition. We haven’t heard yet from those who wanted to op-pose.

Now, how about those who don’t have access to the internet? � ose peo-ple who are unaware of the issue because they don’t have TV sets or even radio? � ose commoners who are very much focus to earn for a day, than to pay attention to rallies and protests?

From the sociological standpoint, these people are the masses. � ey comprised the majority in the Philippine population in which 70 percent are the farmers, 15 percent are the workers and seven to eight percent be-longs to the petty bourgeoisie or the lower middle class.

� ey are the majority, therefore in a democratic country wherein by de� nition, it is the ‘rule of the majority’, their voices must be heard.Let us remember and realize that these people, the farmers, � shermen, or-dinary people who cannot a� ord medication and hospitalization as well as education for their children, are the direct bene� ciaries of the controversial pork barrel.

Without the pork, where will this people seek refuge? � e call to abolish the pork is really one-sided and insensitive. � ose

who wanted to scrap it are not really bene� ting from the ill-fated pork barrel.

� ink about it.

Mission to act upon

In whatever activity there is in the university, Ate-

neo aims to be building one united community in strive for development and excel-lence.

One of the events most prepared for by Ateneans is the annual � esta celebra-tion. Every year has been a challenge for organizers to make it as enjoyable, en-riching, and full of learning at the same time.

Where every division brings out everything they’ve got to compete with other clusters, the biggest objective behind remains.

May it be in the � eld of performing, intellectu-al contests, physical races and all other competitions, we prepare our best to beat other divisions in every ac-tivity possible.

But all these are for one purpose – to strengthen and equip each everyone so that we may be able to build a stronger foundation and be able to go out and stand the test of the outside com-munity as one solid faction.

However, during the lat-est Ateneo � esta 2013 few unwanted things turned out.

First, during the yearly � esta practice of this sec-tion called Palarong Pinoy where all divisions partici-pated in completing games including sack race, tug of

war, dragon’s tail, pokpok palayok and many more, a division stood out during the announcement of win-ners complaining against the results to the event host.

� at this group did bet-ter and should have won over the other. So much violent reaction caused the host to break down in tears yet decided not to bring out the issue further.

Another issue is during an event called Foto Mod-elo Ateneo Season 3. Each division sent four (4) per-sons to stand as represen-tatives of their division to compete in the � eld of modelling, designing and photography.

It went well until the day a� er the event culminated when someone from an un-known division posted in the confession page of the university.

� e post directly com-plained against the organiz-ers of the event saying that the results were biased bas-ing it to last year and this year’s results.

It just happened that the organizing division, Humanities and Letters got the champion title in a row: bagging 3 out of 3 major awards in last year season 2 – champion both female and male model and photographer; and getting 3 out of 4 major awards in

this year season 3– cham-pion female and male models again and champi-on designer.

It is important that competitors know that joining any competition entails the risk of losing.

� erefore, everyone must be ready to accept the possibilities. And complaining about not winning and criticizing co-participants would not be a good quality of an ed-ucated Atenean.

It is sad on the part of many that an intend-ed unifying event turned Ateneans against fellow Atenean.

May it not only be a case to just pass by the ear of people but serve as a re-minder to everyone that a true Atenean doesn’t only bear in words but show in action the mission of Ate-neo which is to promote communities of peace and human well-being, social justice, gender equality, good governance.

We can do more

Youth representation, especially in the gov-

ernment is very import-ant for the building of the nation’s future. However, there seems to be a problem with the current system of this representation, the Sangguniang Kabataan or SK itself.

What is meant to be the training ground of the country’s next leaders, is now abused and used by political clans to establish and perpetuate their dynas-ty. Lawmakers reportedly believe that the SK has be-come a breeding ground for corruption.

Annually, the Sangguni-ang Kabataan has an allot-ment of two billion pesos, a big and tempting amount of money. Anyone that can manipulate the frail and vulnerable minds of these youths could take advan-tage with the funds being given to them.

Because of these, law-makers are now consider-ing the abolition of the SK since it become idle and useless in all endeavours in the barangay.

However, this is an un-derstatement.

� e real reason here is that the youth leaders are

not-well trained and there is a lack of orientation for them. Imagine, how can a 15 or 16 or 17 year old lead the council? Of course, he or she as well as the councillors will just listen and follow to the mandate of a higher and older ba-rangay o� cial, which in the long run can manipulate and take advantage them.

With such system, these youths will eventually be-come corrupt and shame-less.

But the other hand, if trained and guarded well by third parties that are tasked to safeguard the council, the youth will de� nitely bring out the best of them.

� ey have been recog-nized to be more cognizant on public issues and active on social a� airs. � e youth of today has been the key players for the society’s greater good through social involvement like tree plant-ing activities, community service and among others that are o� en initiated by youth organizations.

From this stand-point I ask, if they are go-ing to totally abolish, scrap, remove or whatever they want to call it, the Sanggu-niangKabataan, are we just

going to disregard the com-petencies and the skills of these young and enthusias-tic Filipino youths? Are we just going to let these youth organization stand on their own without someone from their generation to rep-resent and aid them in a greater scale? Are we just going to hinder them from the opportunity in serving the youth in a much larger scope?

Yes, I admit that there are really � aws in the cur-rent system which is ba-sically 22 years old. Now there is intergenerational change where the youth participation is more di� er-ent than when it was years ago.

� e enthusiasm and dedication of the youth are the key to the development of this country. So, instead of scrapping the SK system, sustainable reformation is what really needed. In this way, we can live Rizal’s cliché saying, “� e youth is the hope of the motherland”.

Same street scenarios

We cannot walk on major cities in the

Philippines without notic-ing them, and if you are too busy not to notice them, they will make their pres-ence known no matter what with universally known motions.

Hands outstretched and they are asking for money. � umbs pressed against their middle and ring � n-gers with matching li� ing their hands to their mouth and they are asking for food.

� ey are usually on the highways and busy streets tapping car windows and passengers in a jeep. � ey also congregate on side-walks, fast food outlets and outside malls to catch

passing individuals. � ey reach their hands out with a tin can or a plastic cup to beg for coins from whoev-er passes by. Others beg for their own while others beg for the syndicate.

O� entimes it is a wom-an with a baby held on her hands, children with their infant sibling, with an old folk, a handicapped or sick person that can break your heart if you allow to. � ey look pathetic that it is di� -cult to say “no”.

In encountering them every day, people somehow develop tactics to avoid them. First is not to look into their eyes. Second is to pretend that they aren’t there. And third is to es-tablish a villain look that would turn them o� .

Well, these scenarios are not shocking because Philippines is a develop-ing country. And develop-ing countries around the world share same problems such as unemployment, widespread poverty, poor, healthcare and uncompeti-tive education program.

But the sad thing is that as days pass into week and

weeks into months then years, their number is get-ting bigger and bigger. � e children become teens; their faces harden a� er many years of malnutri-tion and exposure to cruel weather conditions, their faces are marked by vio-lence for they mostly end up as criminals and drug addicts who are tired of poverty.Compassion is no longer their friend. But still, their needs are rarely acknowl-edged by the government and the society. And when they are, it is for disgust, judgment and strong arm of law.

But who are really to blame to these unfortunate individuals’ circumstances? Is it themselves, their fam-ily, the society or the gov-ernment?

In the Philippines there is a law called Anti-Men-dicancy or the Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1563 that was signed during Marcos administration on June 11, 1978.

� e Law de� ned men-dicant as “any person who has no visible and legal means of support, or law-

ful employment and who is physically able to work but neglects to apply himself to some lawful calling and instead uses begging as a means of living” (Section 3, Par. 3, PD 1563).

Section 2 of the law states that the purposes of its creation is to prevent the commission of mendi-cancy, exploitation of in-fants and children through mendicancy and provide habilitative services for those already exploited or in immediate danger of exploitation, and to pro-mote the rehabilitation of minors found begging and mendicants by providing an integrated developmen-tal package of preventive, habillitative, interceptive, remedial or rehabilitative services.

But where are these ha-bilitative services now?Why are there still so many people in the street who are asking for food and mon-ey to strangers? Why are there still people who don’t have decent home to secure them?

It just implicates that the government failed to

do its part in upli� ing the lives of these people.

It seems that the gov-ernment was just passing a law that they do not care to implement. � ere is a law that could tone down the number of beggars but is not intensi� ed.

It has been 35 years since the law has been passed and we still go through our days with the same street scenar-ios.

Beggars are victims of the stupid system of the government, of the corrupt so called “public servants” and passive society.

Beggars deserve respect. � ey are also humans. � ey need counsel. � ey have to be educated. � ey should not be treated and consid-ered as inferior individu-als. � ey should be treated equally.

According to a Chinese proverb “Give a man a � sh; you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to � sh; and you have fed him for a life-time.”

� e problem of the in-creasing number of beg-gars in the Philippines need long term solutions. Giving

them money or food won’t solve the problem. � ey have to learn how to earn on their own, feed their family, and buy their other necessities through decent ways.

However, it is hard for them to do that because they don’t have the means. And that is the role of the government; to provide means for beggars.

Since the government always takes pride about the improving economy of the country, the masses should fairly feel the prog-ress. Beggars should be ed-ucated that there are many ways to get out from their miserable lives through governments programs and laws that would best solve the problem.

But then, making pro-grams and passing laws is not enough, it has to have implementation, sustain-ability, feed backing, and evaluation if it is still appro-priate to use as time passes by.

(Published in Sunstar Davao last September 28,2013)

NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

BY VINCENT RELL GONZAGA

“It is very important to lead by example – to have religious tolerance, to make sure we’re abiding by the rule of the law

and not engaging in torture.”

-President Barack Obama

Answering one of the questions in an exclusive inter-view with Rick Warren, a top religious leader in the

USA.

“It’s better to talk for a thou-sand years than fi ght a days-war and lose lives unneces-

sarily.”

-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte

Addressing to the government to continue the peace talks with the rebel groups, particularly the

MNLF in the midst of the Zamboanga standoff.MNLF in the midst of the Zamboanga standoff.

“I’m not in favor that the Senate should get the opinion of any government agency on this matter. This is unprecedented that instead of signing the sub-poena, he sought an advice of

other agency.”

-Sen. Teofi sto Guingona IIIReferring to the refusal of Senate President Franklin Drilon to subpoena Janet Lim Napoles in the ongoing

Senate inquiry into the alleged pork barrel scam.

“As our young leaders, you can do great things for out nation’s present. Let us not wait for tomorrow for you to use your potentials and make a difference in the so-

ciety today.”

Urging the youth sector to step up participation in de-velopment, during the 7th Pag-asa Youth Association

Socio-Cultural and Sports Competition.

-Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario

“We don’t not see how the ma-terials collected by journalists through interviews with MNLF fi ghters can be considered na-tional security matters, would only show up the shoddy work of those who seek to build cas-

es against the rebels.”

-National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Secretary-General Rowena Paraan.

Saying that the NUJP was ‘extremely disturbed’ when the Zamboanga Prosecution Offi ce asked atleast three journalists to provide information on their meet-ings with the MNLF separatist group.

“There’s one thing in com-mon among all the doctors, lawyers, architects, nurses, engineers and accountants, the one that shaped and in-spired them are our teachers

-Former Councilor Pilar Braga

Giving tribute to our teachers for the sixteenth World Teachers Day

“We stand at the crossroads where as a nation we have to make important choices in order to create a better future for the next generation

of Filipinos.”

Saying that the Nation is already in crossroads and Filipinos must vote for someone who is truly in favor

of environmental protection

ings with the MNLF separatist group.

Will Mother Mary be happy?

The Ateneo de Davao University’s(ADDU)

college � esta, an annual celebration every August to commemorate the bless-ings and holiness of Moth-er Mary and the school’s patron saint St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Usually it is celebrated on August 14 to 15 but this year it was moved to Sep-tember 8 and 9 due to the bomb threats that rocked Mindanao last August.

� e new date for the college � esta is perfect since it falls on the birthday of Mother Mary; still there is a reason to celebrate.

� e celebration pushed through in the new dates without any changes and the bomb threats were merely forgotten already.

� e � esta was still the same as it was a few years back. � e same theme is still celebrated—a feast for Mother Mary.

� e fun remained con-stant and the same activi-ties were retained such as the Group Dance show-down, Parades from dif-ferent departments and the Sayawten.

But the despite the most awaited activities that gives entertainment and fun, do the Ateneans still care about the reason for the celebration?

Usually most Ateneans would come to the � esta for the fun or the competition.

Competitions in the � esta days are extremely intense. Each department aims for victory and pride

so most of them really do everything they can just to get to the top.

Let’s take for exam-ple what happened to the Palarong Pinoy 2013. � e Palarong Pinoy is a com-petition between each de-partment where they play games that are purely made in the Philippines.

A clash happened be-tween the Business and Management (B&M) de-partment versus the Social Sciences(SS) department while playing the game “Dragon Wars.”

� e department repre-sentatives and the Palarong Pinoy committee decided to give each team 30 sec-onds to catch their oppo-nent. If both teams fail to catch their opponent equal scores are given.

Department representa-tives of both teams agreed to tell their players not to move to have a win-win sit-uation. In a twist of events both teams failed to follow the agreement.

One team moved that caused the other team to move also. � ere was an uncertainty on what team moved � rst since both rep-resentatives claimed that their team didn’t move � rst.

When the tension heat-ed up during the game, one player from the B&M de-partment crossed over the boundary line that caused disquali� cation to the B&M.

When the tension heat-ed up during the game, one player from the B&M de-partment crossed over the boundary line that caused disquali� cation to the B&M.

When the host, Jemi-mah D’Lonsod, announced that B&M was disquali� ed, a lot of complaints were raised. Some were even shouting their complaints to the host like she is to be

blamed for.What’s outraging was

that the host was just doing her job that time which is to announce their disqual-i� cation.

Such event that had hap-pened proved how some Ateneans forget the true es-sence of the celebration.

� e feast was supposed to be a celebration for Mary where happiness and fun dominates. � e kind of at-titude that had happened in Palarong Pinoy just por-trayed the strong desire to win that sportsmanship was forgotten.

It’s hypocritical if you try to look that some cele-brate the feast just to give pride to their own depart-ments and forget what the feast is all about. � ey’re just there for competition’s sake.

Competitions are held but that doesn’t mean that the friendship from the other departments isn’t maintained.

Also they must knew that as students of ADDU, they must live with the val-ues of St. Ignatius such as men and women for others and cura personalis—care for the other person.

Another event that vi-olated the college � esta and the values of a catho-lic school was the Ignition. Ignition was the closing dance party for the college � esta held at the Roxas open � eld.

Dance parties are usual in � esta celebrations. � ere will always be a time when everyone dances like there’s no tomorrow to feel the cel-ebration.

What happened in Ig-nition was just the same as how I described dance par-ties above but went over the top that already questioned whether it was appropriate for the school.

A huge number of peo-ple went to the Ignition and most of them danced like there’s no class the next day. What’s disturbing was that some of the people who went were either rude or loss their dignity as a stu-dent from a catholic school.

Some were throwing bottles of water up in the sky. Some were even splash-ing the water from the bot-tle to a group of people.

� ere were even girls who danced like almost of a stripper in a club. � ere are even other girls who became very animalistic that they don’t mind if they are being surrounded with men who tried to violate them.

� e Ignition just turned the school into a club where becoming sinful trends.

It’s ironic how a cath-olic school allowed such event. Such event violated the catholic values that the school re� ects upon.

It’s okay to have such event but the organizers must learn how not to go over the top.

� e Ignition was just outrageous and must not be continued anymore. If it will still continue in the succeeding � estas then there is a huge possibili-ty that it would turn half of the students into sluts, drunkards and people who almost party everyday that they forget schoolwork.

� e students and � es-ta organizers must always put in mind that their rea-son for the celebration is of course Mother Mary and they must always re� ect on the theme and on the val-ues that Mary taught to the world.

Without such re� ection then the � esta would just be a useless and hypocritical celebration.

Guidance Center: What would it benefit to Ateneans?

Guidance Center call slips are not trash. � ey are sent to tell you that the school is also concerned on what you are experiencing; may it be your academic performance, emotional adjustment, and even your personal di� culties.

When you go to the guid-ance center and tell your

problems to a counselor, you may observe that most of the time, he/she just lis-tens, nods and give you dif-ferent options- in which in the end, don’t satisfy you at all.

You might wonder why.Guidance counselors

are not there to pick the op-tion for you. You have your own freedom to choose.

� ey are not the ones who will solve your prob-lem because in the end, it is still your decision which prevails.

� e guidance counsel-ors may not be the people you go to ask for � nancial support, but they can guide you and help you out of a tough situation.

If you are having a bad day with your math or sci-ences, they would call peer consultants and scholars to tutor you.

� e guidance sessions you are participating every semester are not for the bene� t of them. � ey do this to show that the Ateneo is not just good in molding

students to the greatest they can be; but it is also their duty to instill goodness in their hearts.

Yes, moderately, they become your emotional and spiritual formators- for they’re also the one gener-ating options for you to de-cide when you’re emotion-ally imbalance.

� ey know that each student has a di� erent per-sonality; a di� erent story to share; and has di� erent preferences.

The much awaited Ateneo � esta was

successfully celebrated with this year’s theme, “Mother Mary, Faithful Companion in our Journey towards 65 years of Excellent Service in Mindanao and beyond.”

� e Fiesta was moved on September 8-9 from its original date on August due to several bomb threats in the city.

Fr. Joel Tabora said that the � esta will never be can-celled, so they decided to move it to the dates to hon-or the Feast of the Nativity of Mary.

A Mass has been o� ered on September 8 held at the Roxas grounds right a� er the very colorful parade of each divisions. Every-one was gathered to wel-come the presence of God throughout the whole cele-bration.

“Since Mary is our mother, at the outset of this Fiesta, especially on her birthday, I am certain she wants us to enjoy ourselves

in Fiesta! She is probably saying: “Wow! What a won-derful way to celebrate my birthday – with so much talent, so much excellence, so much sportsmanship, so much joy, that comes to play at the Ateneo Fiesta!”, Tabora said.

Di� erent colors; blue, violet, red, yellow, green, white, pink, and orange draped Roxas grounds as each division cheered for their talents in this year’s Group dance.

� e heat of the sun did not hinder the students to be amazed by the grooves of each contestant as they danced OPM music which was this year’s theme.

� e Accountancy Di-vision was announced the Champion of the event, followed by Business and Management Department and School of Engineering and Architecture got � rst runner up and second run-ner up.

Another highlight of this year’s � esta was the

from scrapped materials and � lled the Dotterweich grounds in the Installation Art Competition.

Accountancy won the competition, while 1st and 2nd runner up goes to the Business and Management division and Humanities and Letters Department re-spectively.

At night, Roxas grounds was again dominated by students as they witnessed one of the main highlights of the Fiesta, the Sayawteni-sta 2013.

Nine (9) Divisions com-peted for this year’s title as they danced di� erent Festi-vals around the Philppines. Choreography must be in line with the theme which is the Convergence of Fili-pino Fiesta.

� e Kadayawan Festival inspired choreography of the BM Vipers dominated the stage defeating other divisions and amazed the crowd with their colorful costumes and powerful ac-tions which was de� nitely

the reason for their win. � e Mambulak Mud-

pack festival inspired rou-tine of the Accountancy Department ranked 2nd place and School of Nurs-ing’s Lubi-lubi festival in-spired choreography won 3rd place.

� ough everyone was able to give their full ef-forts in the competitions of the � esta, only one di-vision reigned supreme.

Defeating other di-visions, Gri� ns really mightily soared as they won the Overall Champi-ons for this year’s � esta.

Yellow-colored crowds dominated the audience as they shout their heart out a� er announcing their triumph.

“� e road was not easy. We had to overcome a lot of struggles. � e “tri-umph” of Accountancy was, of course, a collective e� ort and I will forever be

65 Years of Excellence11th season of Star Search. High notes and beautiful voices � lled the Finster Auditorium as the contes-tants battled it out to get the prize.

In the end, Accoun-tancy Gri� n’s Ann Valerie Pamplona was crowned the grand champion of the competition.

S i m u l t a n e o u s l y , Musikahan � ree (3) Sea-sons of love was held at the Roxas Grounds showcasing di� erent bands singing lo-cal and international songs about heartbreaks and love.

� e place was � lled with love as some couples shared their stories, and also oc-cupied of hopes from stu-dents who went in the event alone.

“All of us are capable of loving, but are not able to end it happy”, Kim Fabu-lar, a singer, said during her performance.

� e 2nd day started � lled with creativ-ity as divisions made ar-tistic and meaningful arts

thankful and grateful to every single Gri� n who invested their time, e� ort and love to the division,” Eloisa Ramirez, Accoun-tancy Division Represen-tative said.

Business and Manage-ment Division, the Vipers placed 2nd runner up and the school of Engineering and Architecture, the Ti-gers was ranked 1st place in the overall result.

And to conclude the Fiesta, a party was held for the � rst time to bring together all Ateneans af-ter two days of compet-ing with each other in the event called; Ignition.

� e celebration of every year’s � esta con-cludes that Ateneans can be united as one to give and o� er thanksgiving to God through Mary and apply the Ignatian Values through di� erent compe-titions prepared for them.

BY MAURA VIGILIA

ConCom... FROM 1

new Constitution, particu-larly in the election of rep-resentatives; whether the new Constitution permits the election of new repre-sentatives if new colleges and schools will emerge.

“We don’t know if the Constitution will really ca-ter the demands of the fu-ture to the studentry; if the Constitution will be � exi-ble to the changes of time,” Tongcua said.

ConCom Chair Cel De-labahan answered that the said provision, particularly Section 2 clearly states that ‘one representative shall be elected from each cluster’.

However, to some Sama-han volunteers, who were present in the third and � nal reading, Delabahan’s response was vague.

� e commission also added Article VII that mandates the creation of Board of Adjudica- tors (BOA), Samahan’s

Also, O� ce of the Pres-idential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Assistant Secretary Jenni-fer Oreta discussed the up-dates on the peace process with the rebel groups.

She said, in the Philip-pine Development Plan, under the chapter of peace and security, the govern-ment intends to win the peace.

“Peace is not simply an absence of war or con� ict but it is really the sum to-tal of the conditions that ensure human and social well-being in all dimen-sions,” Oreta said.

She also emphasized that there will surely be a lot of challenges but there are also opportunities.

Oreta invited everyone to be knowledgeable in all the peace processes in or-der to be equipped with whatever is to come.

Judiciary Department.� is will be composed

of nine adjudicators in which they will vote for a chief adjudicator.

Similar to the judiciary branch of the Philippines, BOA will act as justices; interpret the Constitution and make court decisions.

Despite the confusion and queries raised during the � nal reading, the Con-stitution had already been approved a� er the majority of the commissioners voted in favour of its rati� cation and no one objected the motion.

� e Constitution dra� will be submitted to the SCB and will determine whether or not to endorse it to the O� ce of Student A� airs (OSA).

Ones approved the new Constitution will be imple-mented in the school year 2015-2016, a� er a year of its rati� cation and another year of transitory period.

Business... FROM 1

However, Col. Edgar-do de Leon, EastMinCom assistant chief of sta� op-posed and said that this would give the rebels more reason to attack Lao’s com-pany because they might think that he is collaborat-ing with the military.

De Leon proposed an alternative, instead of mil-itary detachments to the sites, posters or signag-es must be installed there stating the provision of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and Internation-al Humanitarian Law or CARHRIHL.

In this way, de Leon added, people would be-come aware that they are protected by law from any military of rebel a� ictions. � is would also remind the rebel groups that there leaders are also signatories of the CARHRIHL.

Song... FROM 2

the song “Askal”, Jungee Marcelo who wrote the song “Pansamantagal”, Adrienne Buenaventura who wrote the song “Some-times � at Happens” and Ra� y Calicdan who wrote the song “Space”.

� e four � nalists also shared their experiences

with the crowd and per-formed their winning songs.

� e Maestro’s evident passion to impart his knowledge and experienc-es inspired the participants more.

Cayabyab’s Philpop spon-sored the workshop.

Mixed... FROM 2

Former President Fer-dinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree 684 in 1975, which estab-lished the � rst youth council, Kabataang Ba-rangay.

Under Republic Act 7160 of 1991, it was change to Sangguniang Kabataan and the � rst SK elections were held in 1992.

A Call... FROM 2

that more than 10,000 houses were razed and more than 100,000 people have already been displaced many of which are staying in 33 evacuation centers around the city.

� e stando� still contin-ues a� er MNLF insisted to raise their � ag at Zamboan-ga city hall, in which the lo-cal government denied due to its unconstitutionality.

Ateneo... FROM 2

“Always start with small things,” Diokno added.

Last year’s MMFF Cinephone winners from Davao City were also given a chance to share their ex-periences before and a� er joining the contest.

For college category, Anju de Vera, a Mass Com-munication student of Ate-neo de Davao University delivered a speech, shar-ing his hardships and his victory. He also shared the rewards of the

He also shared the rewards of the risk he took in join-ing the said competition.

“A� er all, we only need two things to change the world, a pen and a camera”, he stressed.

Many were expected to join this year’s Metro Ma-nila Film Festival Student Film Competitions that can surely compete to some of the award winning � lms all over the county or even in the world.

Valuables... FROM 3

gates carrying someone else’s bag.

“A lot of students com-plained about their lost DSLR’s, laptops and other valuable items, going here with hope that they will still be able to retrieve them through reviewing CCTV’s. But they were unsuccess-ful,” Edwin Urquia, the AdDU Physical Plant Ad-ministrator, said.

Miss Gay... FROM 4

should not be the only basis in judging the person’s dig-nity because what de� nes our dignity is beyond what our eyes can readily see.”

Audience cheered when Ms. Russia was midway in answering the question without any unnecessary pauses.

Ms. Russia took the place of last year’s winner Ms. � ailand, Mashee Sheng who was crowned Miss Gay University 2012.

Lost & FoundBY EANNA FERNANDEZ

Suffocated,unable to move nor breathe,

My hands you heldwere your prison.

Your promisescrumbled like innocence.

I foughtbravelyto no avail

But undauntedI remaineddespite it all.

I walkedstraight, never looking back

For when I lost you,I sawand found myself.

A� er AllBY HANNA SALCEDO

You stared at me by the glass window with your smart eyes

Very slowly, you approached me that cause my excitement

My heart beat so hard, wishing that you may be the one;

� e one to take me out from my boring and lonely world.

� e moment you come closer to me, I felt something special between us,

� e moment you held me, your eyes were undeniably admiring me,

And the moment you touch me, I knew that you like me;

My colour, form, and other features of my body.

A moment later, you asked to take me out which sur-prised me.

Maybe it’s too fast, but I just can’t resist your decent pro-posal.

From then on, you were happy to have me every time you needed me.

And I was also � attered by the way you cared for me.

You always take me with you, wherever you go.

You took me to parties, dance � oors and even to dinner tables,

And when you’re tired, you take me to bed with your � ngers pressing my body;

Your sweet words made me alive all night even when I’m tired.

When you needed someone to talk, you bring me close to your tender lips;

You hold me gently and talk to me so� ly.

But when you’re satis� ed of what you needed from me,

You just simply put me o� and le� me somewhere else.

A� er all, I’m just nothing... but a cellphone of yours!

Creep to Your Soul

BY CHRISTINE CUDIS

It’s a rhythm, it’s a step, it’s a boyYours is the name that echoes to me in the

morningIt sounded so good, it felt like I’m still dreamingBut it was no dream, for you are a reality from

the beginning.

With every step in our dance of lifeYou taught me to sway perfectly with you, without

you knowingTo pirouette with grace even if nobody’s watching

And then I learned to creep in the shadows of your soul.

You were no good at fi rst sight but then you caught me at fi rst stare

Your eyes were faded almond with the sun raysAnd strong hazelnut in a dark room

I knew them, I loved them since day one.

For how long I could keep this, I don’t knowI’m waiting for you to decipher this jigsaw

I’m hoping that you will fi nally see not just the song

That behind the rhythm and the step, is you all along.

If the 10B pork barrel went to sports funds?What if the misused

and wasted 10-bil-lion peso pork barrel didn’t go to the pockets of the few elites but instead used to the country’s sports funds?

Ten billion pesos! It can already build around 37,000 basketball courts, 11,000 tennis courts or 130 track and � eld facilities.

� e Davao del Norte Sports Complex for in-stance costs 248 million pesos during the time it was built. So if the 10-bil-lion pesos was used to build such state-of-the-art com-plex, we already have 40 sports complex throughout the country.

However, these are all assumptions.

� e lack of sports facil-ities in the country greatly a� ect the morale and pro-� ciency of our athletes, es-pecially in joining interna-tional sports event.

� ey feel intimidated and insecure as they wit-ness how foreign athletes do their trainings and how well they are.

During the 2012 London Olympics, Philippine team went home with no medals.

� e last time that the country bagged a medal was during the 1996 Olym-pics at Atlanta, USA in which Mansueto Velasco won a silver medal in box-ing.

Philippines, home of the world renowned singers, dancers and best athletes. Paeng Nepomuceno, Man-ny Pacquiao, Philippine Dragon Boat Federation and among others we o� er you our sincere prayers, that time will come, our government will soon real-ize how important you are in the image of the country.

We also salute you for enduring the hardships you always encounter due to the lack of support from the government.

We commend your dedication to still raise our Filipino pride to the whole world.

We only hope that with the revelation of the pork barrel scam, our govern-ment will soon become honest and considerate enough to look, even just a glimpse, to our sports condition and other sectors that are in need of support.

AdDU Conquers DACS Swimming 2013BY MAE BORNILLO

Ateneo reigns over DACS 2013 swim-

ming competition topping 4 out of 6 categories and being declared as over-all champion.

Both elementary boys and girls teams bagged the champion. AdDU el-ementary boys earned a total of 13 gold, 10 silver and 2 bronze followed by Stella Maris Academy with 1 gold, 2 silver, and 6 bronze. Assumption college of Davao picked 3rd place with 1 gold and 2 bronze. AdDU elementary girls, on the other hand, took home a total of 12 gold, 8 silver, and 4 bronze.

Following the line is high school boys team who owned all 13 gold medals and 9 silver beating Univer-sity of Immaculate Concep-tion and Stella Maris Acad-emy. AdDu high school girls got 2nd place a� er Stella Maris’ 8 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze with 3 gold, 4 silver and 9 bronze.

It was a close � ght be-tween the college men cat-egory as Ateneo and Holy Cross had an 8 all gold. But AdDU took back the lead attaining 7 silver and 2 bronze over HCDC’s 4 sil-ver and 5 bronze.

College women catego-ry obtained 2nd place with 4 gold next to Holy Cross of Davao College’s 4 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze.

Ateneans who topped the ranks in their category include Bianca Trinidad and Zoe Hilario of grade school girls with all 4 gold, Jonas Velasco of high school boys also with 4 gold, col-lege men category’s Sam Trinidad with 4 gold and 1 silver and college women’s Le’an Cantil with 4 gold.

Second place over all was dig by HCDC and 3rd place as picked by Stella Maris Academy.

Davao Champions Cup 2013 OpensThe heat for Davaoeño

basketball enthusi-asts rolled as Davao Cham-pions League o� cially opened last September 21, at the Davao City Recre-ation Center.

Davao Champion League is Davao City’s ver-sion of the annual awaited national sports fete – UAAP and NCAA wherein the winner will have a chance to represent the Davao Re-gion in the Mindanao Re-gional Championship of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League this coming November 9 to 11, 2013.

Davao Champions League, now on its 4th year is an annual event of bas-ketball competition head-ed by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines in coordination with Samahan ng Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

� e 7-weeks playo� s aim to provide an avenue for young players to showcase

their skills and prowess in the � eld of basketball and be discovered in bigger leagues outside the city.

Fi� een colleges and uni-versities will be joining the tournament.

� e University of Min-danao Wildcats, Jose Ma-ria Colleges Kings and the Ateneo de Davao Universi-ty Blue Knights head their respective brackets in this year’s edition of the Davao Champions League. � ese three schools are set in their own brackets in the tourna-ment to � ght through to the championship.

Jose Maria College Kings will spearhead Brack-et A, consisting of MATS College of Technology Nav-igators, Davao del Norte State College Sharks, Holy Cross of Davao College Crusaders and the Davao Central Colleges Blazing Towill.

University of Mindanao Wildcats leads bracket B which includes AMA Com-puter Titans, University of

puter Titans, University of Immaculate Conception Eagles, Davao Merchant Marine Academy Mariners and the San Pedro College Blue Stallions.

Bracket C will be primed by Ateneo de Davao University Blue Knights consisting of Agro Indus-trial College Sailors, John Paul II College of Davao Saints, STI College Olympi-ans and the Rizal Memorial Colleges Bulldogs.

� e champion of the tournament will get P15, 000. � e 2nd placer pockets the amount of P10, 000 fol-lowed by the 3rd prize P5, 000 and P3, 000, respective-ly.

Davao Champions League is yet another arena for great Davaoeno skills. It is an a� air not only an-ticipated by players but an event awaited by a lot of enthusiasts expected to constantly be an avenue of great skills exposing and developing sports pro� -ciency.