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Know your regents
Hon. JPaul S. Manzanilla
by Flor B. Cabangis

The governance of the UP System is vested in the Board of Regents (BOR). However, not many of us know the men and women whose decisions, as members of the BOR, affect our lives in the University. FORUM introduces the readers to the individual members of the BOR. The present composition of the BOR is as follows: Hon. Ester A. Garcia, chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as BOR chair; Hon Francisco Nemenzo, president of the University of the Philippines as vice chair; Hon. Renato S. Cayetano, chair of the Senate Committee on Education; Hon. Harlin Castillo Abayon, chair of the House Committee on Education; Hon. Eduardo F. Hernandez, alumni regent; Hon. Bai Fatima Palileo Sinsuat; Hon. Raul P. de Guzman; Hon. Mario M. Labadan; Hon. Abraham F. Sarmiento; Hon. Jose P. de Jesus; Hon. Carlos C. Baylon, faculty regent; Hon. JPaul S. Manzanilla, student regent.

FORUM: What were you doing before you were appointed regent?

RPJM: I was actively campaigning for issues of the university and the nation. Together with various organizations and individuals, I convened issue-based alliances, most notable of which were the Erap Resign Youth Movement and the Kilusan Laban sa Budget Cut.
Immediately before being selected by the General Assembly of the Student Council last December, I sat at the Executive Board of the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND-UP, the alliance of academic, socio-civic and political organizations, fraternities, sororities and college formations in UP Diliman) and served as its spokesperson. Since September 2000, I have been the head of the Center for Nationalist Studies. My stint as secretary general of the Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP (KASAMA sa UP, the national alliance of UP student councils) is the most recognized position.
During my term as chairperson of the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) Student Council in 1999-2000, I co-founded the Ugnayan ng mga Nagkakaisang Artista (UNA, the network of cultural organizations, artists and critics) in UP Diliman. I used to contribute to KALASAG, the official student publication of CAL and helped in sub/berso (an interdisciplinary critical forum), Comparative Literatures (an assembly of literature lovers and literary critics) and the Popular Struggles Committee of the University Student Council – Diliman in 1997-1998. I am also affiliated to the College of Fine Arts-based Cinema as Art Movement.

FORUM: Your new position is in line with policy-making. Are you prepared for this type of a job?

RPJM: Policy-making must be anchored on the broadest and deepest knowledge of subjects of university and national import. I believe that my active involvement in the numerous burning issues of the studentry equips me with the necessary perspective and training in the making and unmaking of policies.

FORUM: Do you think your job as regent complements your other duties?

RPJM: Yes, definitely.

FORUM: Discuss briefly the types of services the Office of the Student Regent (OSR) coordinates/facilitates for students. How do the students learn about these services?

RPJM: My work is crucial in strengthening the legitimate institutions of student representation such as the student councils and publications. Being a system-wide institution, the OSR coordinates with the KASAMA sa UP and SOLIDARIDAD (The UP System-wide alliance of Publications and Writers’ Organizations).
For years, I’ve been helping in the leadership training of student council candidates in the field of mass campaign, speakers’ training and debate, student council orientation, formulation of the general program of action and many other related aspects. With the help of the SR volunteers, I conduct research and education projects, cultural and basic masses integration programs with student organizations, fraternities, sororities and house councils. How do we work on these? There are conferences of student organizations in all the colleges, the meeting of the house councils and alliances of student formations, dialogue with the system, unit and college administrations, press conferences and multisectoral assembly we work with.

FORUM: As student regent, you are expected to serve the interest not only of students in UP Diliman but those of the entire UP System. Have you drawn up a plan on how you can accomplish this task?

RJPM: The student regent represents the largest constituency of the university. Napakadugong trabaho! I worked with the numerous student organizations and individuals in holding the 6th UP System-wide Students’ Congress last February for the discussion and resolution on student and multi-sectoral campaigns. In a small way, I helped in the formation of the nationwide alliance of UP student publications, SOLIDARIDAD, which had its founding Congress last May. So the plan is first, to strengthen and broaden the system-wide networks of the studentry for the effective linking and raising of student issues, and concomitant with this, coordinate with all student formations in launching projects that reach out to the most number of people possible. Of course, I visit all the UP units for dialogue and undertakings that will ensure maximum student representation.

FORUM: Have you been to other UP campuses?

RPJM: I had been to all the UP campuses even before I became regent.

FORUM: Is there any difference in your going to the other UP campuses as regent and as an ordinary student?

RPJM: Marami. Minsan, I’m not comfortable being fetched at the airport, dadalhin ang bag mo. Sa UP kasi, nasana’y tayong feel free maglakad, kung ano lang suot mo. But I respect that because it is expected of our constituency to treat the members of the administration comfortably. Gusto rin nilang maganda ang image ng unit nila at maipakita ang best na maibibigay nila, hindi lang sa ganoong aspeto. Mas gusto ko, halimbawa, ang karanasan ko sa UP Miag-ao. Natulog ako sa beach, kasi kahit sandali lang, relaxing ang atmosphere. Sa UP Mindanao, sumakay ako ng habal-habal. Maganda rin ang mga ganoong experiences dahil nade-develop ang holistic perspective mo sa antas na nararanasan mo ang iba’t ibang nararanasan ng iba’t ibang estudyante. Hindi ivory tower ang Diliman. Hindi ito ang UP System. May mga masasalimuot na problema ang mga UP units: exodus ng faculty; dissolution ng programs at hazardous transportation sa UP Mindanao; problems of representation ng student councils and publication sa Los Baños; “authoritarian” climate sa College of Law. But it is inspiring for there is a common commitment to academic freedom, to intellectual passion, and to pro-people education.

FORUM: What can you say about the Socialized Tuition and Assistance Program (STFAP) as a program for the poor but deserving students in UP? Are there any STFAP policies that need review/rethinking?

RPJM: If the University of the Philippines genuinely heeds the poor but deserving students, it must offer free access to the general studentry. This is the fulcrum where competing positions pivot. A university for the people does not consider as “special the poor but deserving students; on the contrary, it should be the poor but deserving students whom the university must set out to serve. You do not fleece money from the “rich but deserving” students to subsidize the poor ones, for this is the self-avowed task of private educational institutions hankering for tax exemptions and philantrophic medallions. And UP is a state university.
One of the policies that need review is the bracket consideration, particularly the requirements for decent living such as television, refrigerator and radio as rationale for a higher tuition bracket. Ang mahihirap na mamamayan ay mayroon na ng ganitong mga kagamitan. Sino ang gustong I-subsidize ng STFAP? Ang mas mahihirap pa sa daga? Another is the adjustment of family income to the current level of cost living, minimum wage and inflation rate.
On a higher plane, the university must not earn from tuition payment only to buttress the government’s project of reducing subsidy for education in the guise of lowering budgetary deficit. This is the compelling reason for STFAP. The other state colleges and universities emulate UP’s capacity to earn income.

FORUM: The Revitalized General Education Program (RGEP) is now being implemented. Do you think it can provide the breadth of knowledge that UP wants to develop among its students?

RJPM: The question is: how will the students develop an informed choice? In a plethora of courses, how will one adjudicate subjects which will be relevant to his/her degree and vocation? the totality of his undergraduate education? Students have been enrolling in courses presumed to be “easier,” choosing teachers who will elbow their grades higher. How will the university negotiate with these difficulties? How can we choose if we don’t know the subject orientation, the relevance of the course? Mayroong “Physics for the Pedestrian” at “Text Mo Text Ko.” Pero anong kiliti ng mga subjects na ito para sa amin? Ano ang relevance nila sa pang-araw-araw na buhay? And how about faculty rights and welfare? If the new General Education subjects will be taught by the more experienced senior faculty, what do we do with the junior segment that comprises the majority of our faculty population? Most importantly, what are the prospects of non-academic business enterprises getting involved in GE courses? The question of student intellectual output being siphoned off to private companies is imminent. We are suffering from severe financial constraints. Will the department and colleges formulate subjects with a very costly fee in order to eke out their survival?
I think the basic question na kailangan nating tugunan sa revitalization ay ang proseso ng pag-formulate ng bagong general education program. Ibig sabihin, kailangang magkaroon muna ng system-wide, comprehensive review and study ng GE program upang malaman ang strengths at weaknesses nito, bago mag-formulate ng bagong general education program. I am not satisfied with the way the RGEP was passed in all the autonomous units based on the consultation assessment of students. There was a paucity of debate. Kahit sa mismong college and department consultation, napipipi ang mga estudyante. Then, mabilis ang takbo ng politics nito. May mga pangyayaring bigla na lang malalagay sa program ang positions ng opposing groups, such as the Philippine Studies component.

FORUM: In choosing the subjects, is the advising process not of help at all?

RJPM: Nakakatulong po pero depende na rin sa posisyon ng department. For example, if the four departments of the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) oppose the RGEP, how would they advise the students vis-à-vis those from the School of Economics and the College of Business Administration? So, very disorienting din ang advice na makukuha ng estudyante dahil kapag ikinumpara nila ito sa mga dorm mates nila, sa mga friends nila sa ibang colleges, iba ang manner ng advising.

FORUM: On several occasions in the past, UP figured prominently in the papers because of fraternity violence in the campus. How can we protect the students, particularly the freshmen, from such an unfortunate incident?

RJPM: It is a very discomfiting question for on the one hand, we litigate our fellow students who are involved in criminal offenses, while on the other, unite on the issue of ending fraternity violence. We can help in solving this problem by forging projects that harmonize fraternity relations. In Miag-ao Iloilo and Clark Field, Pampanga, fraternities have cooperated on students rights and welfare issues. As for the freshmen, they have to learn to be discerning of campus life and be exposed to the tremendous possibilities the university offers.

FORUM: How do you see the present UP administration in the way it handles problems such as budget, student and employee welfare and services, squatting and related issues?

RJPM: I think there is some improvement sa proseso ng pag-solicit ng position ng faculty at estudyante. The administration is compelled to democratize the process of consultation dahil nanggigiit and lahat ng sector. I appreciate the President in letting me speak on almost every issue. Bagama’t magkakaiba kami ng pagtingin sa mga policies, naiintindihan namin kung paano pumusisyon sa bawat isyu.
Pero malaki ang kaguluhan sa pagpapasa ng laboratory fee increases dahil karaniwan nang hindi dumaraan sa mga student councils. Sa San Vicente, hindi properly informed ang community sa demolition. Walang malinaw at matinong relocation. Babagsakan ng legalese ang “squatters.”

FORUM: What other things occupy you aside from the BOR and the student organizations?

RJPM: Reading. I love literature, especially Latin American. My undergraduate thesis is about the praxis of the struggle for liberation in three novels from Guatemala, Honduras and the Philippines at na-enjoy ko ang paggawa nito. Mahilig din ako sa art film, the Filipino, Cuban and French types. Kapag may panahon, umiikot kami ng mga kaklase at kaibigan sa bookstores, cinemas at art galleries.

FORUM: Are you with CAL yet? Are you into teaching?

RJPM: I have just graduated with a BA in Comparative Literature. I am now taking my Master’s in Art Theory and Criticism. I teach in student educational discussions.

FORUM: Discuss three priority projects you wish to undertake for UP students during your term as regent. Do you foresee any problems in carrying them out?

RJPM: My general program of action consists of projects which I deem realizable for a year. The crux of the program is the contribution to the advancement of students and people’s rights and welfare. In doing this, I want to strengthen the legitimate institutions of student representation for these are basic in the advancement of our rights. This can be achieved through the regular assemblies and meetings and the holding of projects that cater to the widest number of students possible. I intend to promote a libertarian culture for the university, such as the cultural exchange among UP units and eventually, the system-wide alliance of cultural organizations which I am now facilitating. Another is a project with the College of Medicine Student Council for a medical mission at the Philippine General Hospital and a festival with the SANLAHI Alliance. I am currently working with fraternity individuals for a critique of the Revised Rules Governing Fraternities, Sororities and Other Student Organizations and other peace-keeping projects.

FORUM: Your term is ending in December. Don’t you think one year is too short for you to realize the things that you have envisioned for your office?

RJPM: Short, but I have been helping the OSR since I became the chairperson of the CAL Student Council. I will also help the next student regent in the projects that have been suggested by students. Hindi nag-iisa ang student regent. There is the Kasama sa UP, the SOLIDARIDAD. There are alliances and organizations in each campus.

FORUM: How do you feel about being a part of UP’s highest policy-making body?

RJPM: Haggard and happy.

FORUM: UP students are called “Iskolar ng Bayan.” What meaning do you attach to it? Do you think other students share your view?

RJPM: A scholar of the people is one who studies hard…and studies critically. More meaningful than this is that the scholar of the people strives to use his UP education to improve the quality of life of the Filipino people. I believe that most students share my view, as more and more UP students see the plight of our country. How? They join non-government organizations focusing on health, education, labor, land, environment, national minorities and human rights issues. Some even go to the countryside and wage extra-legal struggles.

FORUM: Anything else you wish to say?

RJPM: We live in time of extreme discontent. We now have a president who brazenly gouges the spirit of the movement that catapulted her into power. It’s the same relevant challenge: Be critical and vigilant, committed and consistent. Our struggle against iniquity is a struggle of memory against forgetting.

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Updated October 9, 2002
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