Viewpoint welcomes 14 new student journalists

The new Vipers pose with their seniors in the teambuilding held last July 12, at Dingalan, Aurora.
(Photo by Kenneth Garcia)

Viewpoint inducted the new Editorial Board, including two new secretarial staff, three artists, and nine writers after the Editorial Board Examinations held last July 5. The new student-journalists are:

1. Abril Layad Ayroso   2^nd year     AB English
2. Mary Joyce Jopson  1^st year      BEEd
3. LheaVergara               1^st year      BSEd English
4. Rommel Ortaleza       4^th year      AB English
5. Judiel Bautista           1^st year      BS Accountancy
6. Jhonelle Joy Ulidan  1^st year      BS Accountancy
7. John Aldrich Leigh    1^st year      BSIT
8. Hanniel Grace Barte  3^rd year      BEEd
9. Novabelle Pascua      2^nd year     BS Civil Engineering
10. April Rose Sepaya     1^st year      BEEd
11. Bryanndela Cruz        1^st year      BSBA, Marketing
12. Jonarddelos Santos  1^st year     BSEd, English
13. Carlena Joy Santos    1^st year      AB English
14. Jezzamine Garcia       1^st year       BS HRM

Vipers as they conduct a program for the beneficiaries of the BLT outreach program.
(Photo by Carlena Joy Santos)

Vipers as they hold a feeding program for the beneficiaries of BLT.
(Photo by Carlena Joy Santos)

The newly inducted student-journalists, together with the incumbent staff members, conducted an outreach and teambuilding program in Brgy. Paltic, Dingalan, Aurora last July 12. Dan Kevin Roque

Novo Ecijano Youth gather to call for Clean, Honest, and Responsive Elections

The youth of the province pose with the tarpaulin covered with their signature of commitment for a clean, honest, and responsive elections.

Novo Ecijano youth gathered last May 12 at St. Nicholas de Tolentino Cathedral, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija to call for clean, honest, and responsive elections. Youth representatives from Rock the Vote, KABATAAN Partylist, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), I Against Child Trafficking (i-ACT) Movement, Students for the Advancement of Volunteerism and Excellence (SAVE-NE), Central Luzon State University Supreme Student Council (CLSU-USSC), You.ORG, and Parish Youth Council (PYC) of Cabanatuan all pledged their support for the campaign against fraud, violence, and indifference.

The youth leaders expressed their hope for the prospect of genuine social change through active participation in the elections, not just as voters, but as watchdogs, and their understanding of the role of the youth sector in nationbuilding. Dan Kevin Roque

Peasant Struggle in Nueva Ecija

Prepared by: Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL, Peasant Alliance in Central Luzon) 

Land use classification of Nueva Ecija

Significance of the Province

Nueva Ecija is publicly known as the rice-granary of the Philippines.  Its vast agricultural lands are cultivated with rice that farmers consider their main source of livelihood.  Rice cultivation is also the culture of Nueva Ecija farmers.  The province’ 158,269-hectare rice lands ranked 2nd in the country, but irrigated lands of 119,459-hectares are the biggest among provinces.  It also ranked 2nd in production, harvesting about 560,379 metric tons or 7.29 million sacks of rice, but first in irrigated palay of 462,185 metric tons.  Its production compose 9% of the country’s total and 43% of the region’s total.  Irrigated lands compose about 75% of the its total rice lands, thus, it is very clear that agriculture is distinguishedly productive.  Rice farms yield about 80 to 100 cavans per hectare with some reaching to 120 cavans.  Plain lands in the province are more than half which are of high potential for agricultural production.

Essential to the province’ agricultural productivity, are the farmers who sturdily cultivate rice lands that compose about 28% of it total land area of 575,133-hectares. The province’ population compose 19% of the region ranking 3rd and its land area 27% being the biggest.  Nueva Ecija also composed majority of the farmer-beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).  Based on its 2010 accomplishment, 95,855 Nueva Ecija farmer-beneficiaries compose 36% of the region’s total tilling 169,375-hectares or 42% of the region’s total. 

Nueva Ecija is totally a significant province in the country, contributing majorly in the country’s total rice supply and it is also a model of the bankruptcy of CARP as the government’s claimed number of FBs is questionable as farmers are presently facing massive cancellations of Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA), Certificate of Land Transfer (CLT) and Emancipation Patents (EP).  Rice production is also threatened by the government’s program that would result vast land use conversion.  Nueva Ecija is a potential  ground for the struggle for genuine land reform and its farmers a powerful force of the peasant movement.

E-Martial Law: a pool of contradiction, a threat to cyber freedom

The internet has become a medium of expression for the citizens and journalists of the new generation. After all, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) promotes online freedom of expression as a basic human right. But the creation of RA 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 now poses a threat to freedom of speech, expression and of the press, a clear contradiction to Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

A mere lip service

The Cybercrime Prevention Act was introduced in July 2011 and was signed in September 2012 while the overdue Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, which has been certified by President Benigno Aquino III (PNoy) as a priority bill in January 2012, was introduced in 2008 and is still pending. One can easily compare the pace of the contradicting laws and one can easily tell the reason behind it.

The FOI bill is intended to aid in transparency which is a democratic right as well. Article III, Section 7 of our constitution recognizes our right “to information on matters of public concern”. After all, PNoy vowed for transparency during his campaign in 2010. He even made a commitment to press freedom during the World Press Freedom Day last May. Paradoxically, Malacañang’s support appears to be dwindling. They said they still have to review the bill for possible holes that may cause national security risk. This made us wonder if they made the same consideration of reviewing the questionable provisions of RA 10175 as well.

The government’s way of prioritizing bills appears to be a sort of cost-benefit analysis – the FOI bill will benefit the media and the public but will cost “security risk” while Cybercrime Prevention Act will benefit the politicians but will cost invasion of privacy to the netizens. If PNoy maintains that we – the citizens – are really his “boss”, then isn’t it just righteous of him to opt for the one which will be more beneficial to us?

Riddling loopholes

There are several ambiguous provisions that are yet to be addressed in the said law though PNoy already signed it last year. Among these are the issues discussed in the first oral arguments last January 15:

• Cybersex, which is under content-related offenses, was defined in Section 4(c)(1) as “the willful engagement, maintenance, control, or operation, directly or indirectly, of any lascivious exhibition of sexual organs or sexual activity, with the aid of a computer system, for favor or consideration.” However, it failed to make a distinction between consensual and non-consensual acts and it was not clearly indicated who among the involved persons committing this offense will be penalized.

• Online libel in Section 4(c)(4) was defined as “the unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.” This means, though it has the same elements as libel defined in RPC, committing it online could get you imprisoned for up to 12 years. The congress continues to ignore demands for the decriminalization of libel. We all know that the insertion of libel clause and making it a criminal offense will only serve as an instrument for the politicians to manipulate and harass the media.

• Section 5(a), the provision that really puzzles the netizens, also constitutes “aiding or abetting to libelous contents” as an offense. The definition is so vague that even the lawmakers cannot explain or defend it consistently. How can a citizen be aware if he is already committing a crime? Does sharing, retweeting or liking libelous posts earns one a ticket to jail?

• Section 6 of the said law states that “penalty to be imposed shall be one (1) degree higher than that provided for by the Revised Penal Code.” According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), it’s easier to commit these offenses since pretty much everyone has internet access nowadays. Still, it’s not enough of an explanation especially how they would distinguish libel from online libel.

• Section 12 or the real-time collection of data allows the respective authorities “to collect or record by technical or electronic means traffic data in real-time associated with specified communications transmitted by means of a computer system.” It evidently violates our right to “the privacy of communication and correspondence” as indicated in Article III, Section 3 of our constitution.

• The dubious takedown power of the DOJ which is stated in Section 19 means it no longer needs a court intervention to “restrict or block access to such computer data”. This, again, is a contradiction to Article III, Section 1 of our Constitution – “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.”

Refuse to be gagged

As an advocate of press freedom, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) – Central Luzon supports the campaign against Cybercrime Prevention Act. CEGP Tarlac will conduct a forum to better inform the people about their basic rights to freedom and educate them about the hazards of the said law. The said forum will be held in Tarlac State University on January 31, 2013. We will also have a photo campaign called “Pose to Oppose” where people can express their disapproval with Cybercrime Law through photo opps.

As the temporary restraining order (TRO) expires on February 6, let us join the National Day of Protest to Junk Cybercrime Law. It’s time for PNoy to hear out his real “boss”. Monica del Puerto, CEGP-Central Luzon Chairperson

CEGP, Kabataan Partylist, other youth groups stay vigilant despite extension of TRO on Cybercrime Law

The indefinite extension of the temporary restraining order (TRO) on Cybercrime Law is a victory for freedom lovers, but people must remain vigilant because the law might still be implemented even after the extended order, said youth groups such as Kabataan Partylist and College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP).

“The extension of the TRO for an indefinite period is a victory for all netizens, students, professionals and freedom lovers. It is a victory for the people who protested against the law online and offline. This is a product of collective effort for freedom of expression,” said Pauline Gidget Estella, national president of CEGP, the widest and oldest alliance of student publications in the country.

“However, we must remain vigilant. This is only an extension, and there is still a possibility of implementation after the extended TRO. What we want is a ‘permanent restraining order.’ We demand that the law be junked,”said Estella.

“The indefinite extension to the TRO is not enough. The youth, netizens and the rest of the Filipino people should still continue to push the high court to declare this law as unconstitutional and repeal this repressive measure of the Aquino administration to silence the people from telling the truth about the government,” added Marc Lino Abila, CEGP National Deputy Secretary-General.

Early this morning, sectoral groups trooped in front of the Supreme Court as part of the National Day of Action on the day of the supposed expiration of the TRO.

“The sustained online and offline protest should serve as a reminder for the Supreme Court to decide in favor of freedom of expression. What else does the government need to realize that this is a badly crafted law and can suppress free speech? The Solicitor General could not even defend this law properly,” said Estella.

Kabataan Partylist and College Editors Guild of the Philippines will continue the concert-vigil tonight as planned at Liwasang Bonifacio starting 5:00 p.m. Groups will march from Plaza Salamanca to Supreme Court at 4:00 p.m. Monica del Puerto, CEGP-Central Luzon Chairperson