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About the CoverThe world is full of illusory inside stories that doubt us to know what we could know and what we should know. At times, we settle to those pieces of information that interest us. As we imprison ourselves to those average-rate information, interesting and entertaining those may be, we had never realized that cues are misleading, blinding us to know those essential inside stories that highly affect us as students and as Filipino citizens, at large. It is about time to unfold the blinker and open our eyes. Be aware, être au courant! Cover Design TauruZ ®Words Irene Joy B. DayoCirculation 5405

PublishersStudents of MUST

The TrailblazerEditorial Board & StaffS.Y.2011 - 2012:Editor-in-ChiefEdu. D. Gagno

Associate-Editor / Creative DirectorNorman Caingles

Managing Editor / Features EditorPrecious Queenie U. Yap

News EditorRodaliza D. Paner

Publication SecretaryIrene Joy B. Dayo

The Trailblazer reserves the right to edit all articles for reasons of space, clarity, and ethics. All articles submitted herein are considered The Trailblazer’s property.

If you have any comments and suggestions, please address it to:

The TrailblazerDoor #2, Student CenterMindanao University of Science and TechnologyLapasan, Cagayan de Oro City

Junior CartoonistsJoshua Ramon C. CopinoRandulf A. Agcopra Jr.

Senior Staff WritersMarie Cris S. HeruelaJeffry T. QuiñanolaJuicy Jean P. Reyes

Junior Staff WritersJohn Cris M. EbabacolJay Miguel M. AlachaJunella Therese C. EspejonFerdinanand M. SalazarRoshelle Novie L. Cabrido

Official ContributorsMichael P. AliposaAlyssa Rikka C. Clenuar

ModeratorMs. Maristela Binongo-Sy

TABLE of

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COLUMN

EDITORIAL

CAMPUS FEATURE

CAMPUS FEATURE

CAMPUS FEATURE

LOCAL FEATURE

LOCAL FEATURE

PHOTO ESSAY

LOCAL FEATURE

LOCAL FEATURE

LOCAL FEATURE

LOCAL FEATURE

RAMPAGE

NATIONAL FEATURE

NATIONAL FEATURE

SCI-TECH FEATURE

BOARD PASSERSTHE TRAILBLAZER IN MOTIONFINANCIAL STATEMENT

NATIONAL FEATURE

NATIONAL FEATURE

SPACE REACT

NEWS

MUST Days 2012, Eco-Friendly MUST

Puzzled Peace: A Quest for Missing Pieces

Macaambac Complains SSC

Bangon CDO:Moving Forward After the Cataclysm

A Tread to Help

Temporary Shelters:Head Start for a New Life

Mission: Excursion for a Reason

BALSA Mindanao:Bulig Alang sa Kinaiyahan

Digging Gold Out, Burying Lives In

Walang Limutan, Noh!(An update to GMA Cases)

2011 Top News Breakers

SOPA, PIPA andthe Intellectual Pirates

Educational System in the Philippines: Standardized or Commercialized?

Paglimbasog alang sa Hustisya

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1The Trailblazer

We fear what is beyond, especially when we don’t recognize what lies ahead. By this phrase, it also means we are satisfied where we dwell at the moment – the place we consider our comfort zone. What if we know what awaits there but we refuse to take notice of it? Then, that is simply what we call ignorance.

There is so much to know and learn than from the books we hold. We tend to rebuff from our lives as citizens of this country and stay as what we are – students. Heck! But who would give a crap to the events circling within the nation when we are too busy burning the candles at home and breaking our legs in school, right? We need to pass every subject and strive to graduate with honors as soon and as much as possible. Then, the inevitable looms right in front of us, people outside the premises of the university talk about things in a language seemingly foreign to our ears. News reports about uprisings on countries not really far from ours flash on TVs. Now we wonder, “Is this still the same world that it is whenever we are inside the school?” “Who is this Renato Corona man and why is he even on trial?” “Why is North Korea planning on launching two long-range rockets on April with a great possibility that one of which would land off the Philippines?” “Why are there so many Filipinos on death row abroad?” “When is death penalty going to be reintroduced in the country?” Indeed, much is asked. But the most appalling thing is most of us don’t know the answers to these questions. This situation is no different when the class representative lays instructions for an activity that doesn’t stir much of our interest. When the task is executed, we start to throw complaints, questioning the directions’ clarity and preciseness. Then, out of nowhere, our classmates fix that familiar stare on us denoting that we should have listened intently on the first place. The same thing when the person we thought to be very undeserving won the college-wide election, garnering less than a hundred votes more than his extra worthy opponent. But then again we should have voted to begin with. So, who are we to complain? In that case, more open-minded should we be. Focusing our mental energies in hitting the books while evading what’s there to learn and recognize more leads to social detachment. Involvement in one’s community is far more crucial than meets the eye. We are, undeniably, students whose major concern and purpose is to wear a black toga and obtain that diploma. Yet, having this kind of disposition makes us pigs inside a fence. The more time we stay cornered, the more stinking we become. Quite a figurative comparison, but true. On top of having a glimpse of what’s happening outside the premises of the university are awareness and engagement. Prominent issues are more than just passers-by on a busy street; they ought to be known and be acquainted with. As a matter of fact, more than being book smart is being street smart. Uselessly, there is no need to debate for this. Knowing a lot of things in school is not even analogous to knowing a lot of things outside of it. What is a 300-page book compared to the innumerable events occurring every now and then? Of course, what use is there to choose between the two if we can do both? We’ve never tried so we’ll never know. Our right to information has been fought for years now. And it is quite appalling to know that we reject what has been given to us rightfully by choice and not by happenstance. Coming out of our comfort zones is never an unrealistic segue. What we need is to think out of the box, look forward, step once, and then walk farther. Yes, we are students but we are Filipinos first. And it’s high time for us to step out because we have been secluded for too long.

Voluntary Isolation

Editorial

2 The Trailblazer

Column

The conclusion of the semester means the taking place of the new set of officers in the university who would either continue the legacy of their predecessors or do the

other way around. The Supreme Student Council (SSC) Election campaign is no different from that of the previous years except for the spread rumors that concerns the funding of a certain party. Apart from that, in totality, I can say that the candidates are too engrossed listening to the same old tune their ascendants has been singing --- monotonous, dull and predictable. The platforms written in the grandiose tarpaulins and spoken during the meeting de avance were all the same, just rephrase, but of the same essence, nonetheless. Why is this?

Same old objectives cloaked in different words and phrases had me smirking in frustration. Can’t these people think other plans? Or if so, were those plans not carried out during the present administration that the burdens are passed over to the new set of officers? Or were the students that uncaring? Whichever, I’m still impassive about the student government that rules in this university. Aside from the not-so-participated activities in the university and the customary events that the officers in the council did, what else have they done? Launched new programs which did not last? Worse, these activities more often than not, suffered the same fate of those usual activities, “galangawun”.

Not that I don’t appreciate the effort the officers have exerted but I think my expectations must have been too high and my patience must have reached its boiling point. I can’t seem to understand how the students not care with one another or how these officers not able to reach out to the students. Where’s mutual feeling here? The student council is too far from those other universities where the officers, together with the students journey towards growth and excellence. The officers themselves are pro-active, thus, their personalities reflect unto their work. Being officers, especially in the mother of all the organization, they are expected to perform at their best. They innovate, they get out of the box and expand their horizon. They don’t just follow, they lead, and when they lead, they persuade. Thus, they influence. The responsibility of the officers is too big to ignore and too heavy to be taken lightly.

These officers have engaged themselves into this kind of responsibility. They as well know the ramifications the responsibility brings. And now that the public has spoken and the new set of officers has been announced, I will take this opportunity to challenge these officers to step up and give more than their best in serving the whole studentry by turning the students to real pro-active individuals. The students don’t need tons of platforms and fun-filled activities which may not be carried out. All they need is a sincere, dedicated, transparent and initiative administration who will stand by their side when all else fails.

Water runs dry, so do leaders. Well, not that leaders evaporate theoretically and physically; they somehow vanish and come into extinction. And I’m not talking

about the so-so leaders that we see and meet once in a while. I’m referring to GOOD LEADERS – leaders that MUST lost for years now.

In Mindanao University of Science and Technology where, in every election, candidates become as scarce as endangered species, it is not a shocker to see aspirants win by default or barred by disqualification. By saying “default” means there are no contenders to battle out. It is therefore safe to say that positions, especially in the Supreme Student Council (SSC), are somehow tailor-made for those opponentless candidates. Alas! Nothing could be as smooth and as blood-free as that, I guess. On the other hand, by stating “barred” denotes that SSC officer wannabes fall short of the requirements. The most common prerequisites are the number of loads, allowable GPA, and good moral record; in other words, a regular student smart enough to carry the number of authorized loads and decent enough to not have any criminal record.

If we were to look from left to right or vice versa, a lot of students would definitely qualify. No doubt and no arguments needed! But why is it that out of 6,424 students only two run for the presidency and one for the remaining positions? This is then where passion and leadership come into full view which, in point of fact, not all do possess. However, it is also unfailing to say that quite a number of students also have both aside from the aforementioned qualifications. Reviewing basic statistics, if 75% of the total studentry have a regular standing and 25% have a regular standing plus passion and leadership, then roughly there should be about 1,606 students who are good leaders by nature. So, why is there a shortage in the carriage?

Recently, students’ participation and involvement have dropped into the point where positive and negative numbers cross. In layman’s term, they have reached zero. This developed passiveness among students has become one of the contributing factors which put an invisible barrier between Surmounting this dilemma is the lobbying of students who are deemed to be close to the hearts of high-ranking officials in the university. This is, in a way, harmless if the students the officials are endorsing are indeed deserving and promising. What if it all comes down to the fact that whom they are supporting are

the signbOard sOCIETY PARANOID

E D U D . G A G N O P R E C I O U S Q U E E N I E U . YA P

Will the Legacy Continue?When Leaders Run Dry

3The Trailblazer

Column

“The youth is the hope of our nation” Dr. Jose Rizal said.

But today, it seems there is a new quote that runs in this institution: “You control the youth, you control the nation.”

The University-Wide Election, an avenue for students to choose the right leaders and exercise right of suffrage and political freedom, has been a customary process in this

institution to elect and present a new set of student officers for the college councils and for the highest governing student body of this institution - Supreme Student Council (SSC). Every year, the incumbent SSC create an Electoral Board or COMELEC to organize and supervise the election process. However, while the electoral candidates went to strict screening during the filing of candidacy, are the members of the COMELEC competent enough to be part of the electoral board? Are they effective to eliminate if not lessen the student apathy, and created an active election?

During this year’s election, only 28.17% of the total number of students in the SSC list (main campus) casted their votes, a 38.50% short to follow the standard majority of votes which supposed to be two-thirds of the entire MUST population. Was the election effective? Were the newly elected officers the real choice of the majority given a failing percentage of voters? Since the total number of students who voted did not even meet the two-thirds of the university population which constitutes the majority, the COMELEC devised the procedure and created their own means to proclaim winners. “Imposible man na ma-achieve ang 2/3 (entire population), so 2/3 na lang sa population sa nag vote.” said by Ma. Carla Christine Victoria U. Erquita, the COMELEC Chairperson. Though they have consulted SAWS office about this problem, would it be more appropriate to still follow a standard procedure? If one day was not enough to enjoin the students for the election, they should have extended the election for another day to gather more votes from the students, thus creating a more reliable result.

“Gi-follow ra man gud na mo ang schedule (GPOA).” said by the COMELEC Chairperson when asked if they considered an extension. “Gi-try man na mo ang among best pero ang uban wala gyud. Ang uban naay klase, ang .uban di mag-vote kay walay snack.” If the common campaign means failure to gain the interest of the students to participate in the election, the SSC and the Electoral Board should revise old means and take a step higher to promote student involvement. If the students will remain apathetic and passive in every election period, there would be a question whether the elected leaders were really the voice of the students. If these two will continue to be failing, what will happen to MUST community?

An effective university event is not only measured by just following the schedule stipulated in the organizer’s GPOA, but it should also create an active participation to the people involve - the students. The students in return should also response and participate actively to university’s activity because every event is made for the general welfare of the studentry. The successful activity would always be a two way process involving a well planned event and an active involvement from the students. I often hear many students complaining about the status of student governance in this university. But let me ask you my fellow MUSTean, what have you done to improve the status of student governance of this university?

tUDLING PULONG

bULL’S - EYE

N O R M A N C A I N G L E S

R O D A L I Z A D . PA N E R

The New Ageof Puppet Regime

Inconsistent Consistency

SPACE REACTPhilippine Disasters’ Aftermath:

Guilt to the State Regime

Philippines is well-known to its affluent natural resources. These resources are the core attractions of

the country. But behind these recognized assets are grieves and destructions brought about by the unexpected calamities that affect several Filipinos living in it. The whole Philippines was alarmed of what had happened before the year 2011 bade goodbye. Some parts of the country were suffering from disasters and economic setbacks. Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City and Compostela Valley were amongst the cities hit by flashfloods and landslides in Mindanao and Negros Oriental in Visayas Area.

Cagayan de Oro City, as a city in bloom, in blossom and in boom, aims to provide a stable living to its populace. Before year 2011 ended, the smiles flaunted on Kagayanon’s faces were coated with tears and devastations. No resident would ever overlook this date, December 16, 2011. Tropical Storm “Sendong” grasped the lives of Kagayanons and wiped out numerous places in the city. The sandbar on the mouth of the Cagayan River was one of the areas worst hit by Sendong. Many bridges were destroyed, houses were gone, and even innumerable residents were found dead and there were still many missing victims. On the same date, the same thing happened in Iligan City, an adjacent city of Cagayan de Oro and also in Negros Oriental.

Another heart-rending incident after “Bagyong Sendong” hit Cagayan de Oro City was the predawn landslide in a mining site in Napnapan Village in Pantukan, Compostela Valley. It was due to ground saturation from recent heavy rains. “Rains have not been strong on a daily basis. However, saturation of soil by water due to previous rains and the geology of the area could have led to this,” Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Supervising Undersecretary, Graciano Yumul, said. The area was actually the same place where 14 people were killed after a landslide on the month of April 2011.

After all the unexpected incidents that have occurred, accusing was the issue that the Filipinos are facing nowadays. Now, who are culpable for these matters? Numerous facts will enlighten our minds that Aquino’s Administration has not learned its lessons on the previous disasters

carried by extremely bad weather worsened by the climate change. Why are we giving these accusations to our Local Government when everything that happened was actually a replication of the National Government’s lack of disaster preparedness? It is a proof that the National Government has remained reactive and inefficient in responding to disasters. The proposed 5 billion Php budget for calamity preparedness was vetoed by President Benigno Aquino III from the 2011 national budget, which Aquino rationalized by stating that the calamity fund should be used for actual calamities and not for preparatory activities. In the Position paper presented by the Kalikasan Partylist, the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed that the Department of Budget released only 59.739 million Php or only 0.11 percent of the 527.739 Php million funds for barangay disaster preparedness and other locally funded projects of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in 2010. These resulted to the non-implementation of projects such as barangay security, emergency and disaster preparedness, and barangay rescue and relief operation programs. I wonder if the common quotation saying that prevention is better than cure is not really common at all. Haven’t they heard this statement? I don’t think so. Another factor to point out is the rampant denudation of Northern Mindanao’s forests, this would have prevented soil erosion and served as a sponge of rainfall and carbon sink that lessen climate change. The exemptions of some logging operations in the Executive Order 23 or the total log ban are not reasonable at all. Unfortunately, before the incidents happened, residents settling in hazardous places would not even care of relocating themselves because, in the first place, they do not have areas to transfer together with their families. The administration would always say that the settlers were warned continuously, but are they planning of a place where these Filipinos would move? Oh come on! Can you see my point? They just did the relocation just after those heartbreaking incidents happened. Of course, it is not fair. Indeed, it sounds so disappointing. I already bought that idea, can you do anything better?

***It is maybe a vivid realization

that anyone, who is a state leader, should know his/her priorities. These were mainly the reasons helpless communities in the Philippines are vastly unprepared to face disasters because even the people in the state regime who are in high positions are also not equipped. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are not merely talking about anything irrelevant here, we are talking about lives. This is the life that each one of us deserves to hold. It is not a valid reason that those lives would be wasted just because of inefficient handling of people and the country, as a whole. Therefore, for the Philippine disaster’s aftermath, persons involved in such issues should not construct alibis for their own sake. How about putting your feet on these victims’ shoes? Would you even try? Think of it.

References:http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/12/21/groups-hit-aquino-govts-wrong-priorities-for-disaster-wrought-by-typhoon-sendong/http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2012/01/05/compostela-valley-landslide-death-toll-now-25-198927--http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/122871/16-reported-killed-in-compostela-valley-landslidehttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/114751/hataman-imposes-log-ban-in-armmhttp://bulatlat.com/main/2011/11/15/green-groups-slam-exemption-of-mining-companies-from-log-ban/h t t p : / / w w w . n d c c . g o v . p h / a t t a c h m e n t s / a r t i c l e / 3 5 8 /NDRRMC%20Update%20SitRep%20No%2030%20re%20Effects%20of%20TS%20SENDONG%206%20JAN%202012.pdfhttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/112971/sendong-ravages-area-of-mindanao-seldom-hit-by-cyclones

ABOUT THE ARGUMENT Distressed situations have been encountered. Culpabilities have been exposed in two sides. Talking about who holds the full responsibility in these

issues, juicy Jean P. Reyes’ “Philippine Disasters’ Aftermath: Guilt to the State Regime” reveals why the national government should be blamed in these incidents

while Jeffry T. Quiñanola’s “Blame it on the Local Government: The Two Faces of Philippine Disasters” defend the side of the national government and throws the

guilt to the local government. Now, these articles are for you to read carefully. Observe and decide on who really have the full responsibility and have your stand.

Des

ign

by

Josh

ua

Ram

on C

. Cop

ino,

Jr.

4 The Trailblazer

SPACE REACTBlame It on the Local Government:

The Two Faces of Philippine Disasters

Welcome to the archipelago of 7,107 isles. Welcome to the treasure trove of scenic views,

hospitality, rich culture, and even richer natural resources. Welcome to the place where Manny Pacquiao learned boxing, where Charice started singing, and where the most beautiful girls can be found. Welcome to the pearl of Orient Seas. Welcome to the Philippines.

These words may raise your spirits and make you proud as a Filipino, but as Filipinos, we know that in reality, there is more than meets the eye. Geologically, the Philippines is located inside the Pacific Ring of Fire – a cluster of active, underwater volcanoes circling eastern countries near the Pacific Ocean – which, add the numerous fault lines in various places, gives the biggest hint that earthquakes do not come as a surprise. Also, since this country is surrounded by huge bodies of water, like the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, it gets pelted by more or less than 20 tropical storms and typhoons every year. Even so, some of these disasters happen when people least expect it. Take Typhoon Sendong and the Compostela Valley incident as examples.

Who could forget the struggle that the affected Filipinos endured on the night of December 16, 2011, as Typhoon

Sendong ravaged the country? Its gale-force winds and heavy rains left Iligan City, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, and Negros Oriental in shambles. Thousands have died, hundreds are still missing, and most of the survivors are left with almost nothing: no food, no shelter, no hope, just the clothes they wore and anything else that they managed to take with them on that fateful day. The storm also caused a massive blackout in all the affected areas and left one of the main water pumps of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD) almost irreparable. The same happened to Valencia Water Works System in Bukidnon, including Iligan and Negros Oriental.

“This is the first time that this has happened in our city”, Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano said in a radio interview and added that the local officials did not receive sufficient warning before Sendong made landfall. However, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) claimed that they have already issued sufficient warnings to the Local Government Units (LGUs) of the affected cities three days before the typhoon struck the country. In addition, it was still year 2009 when the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) warned the Cagayan de Oro LGU that the sandbar on the mouth of Cagayan River (commonly known as Isla de Oro) is an extremely high-risk area for human habitation. Clearly, this showed the lack of preparedness and immediate action of the Cagayan de Oro LGU, thus resulting to the loss of hundreds of lives. It mattered not if His Excellency was partying that night. The incident would have been avoided if only the local government took their responsibilities seriously in the first place, right?

The same case surfaced during the investigation of the Compostela Valley disaster, where as of January 8, 2012, the death toll has reached 30, with 150 people still missing and 16 injured in

Pantukan. As early as April of 2011, the local government officials of Compostela Valley have met with Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, Defense Secretary Votaire Gazmin, and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and discussed the existence of fissures in the area, which seemed to imply the possibility of a landslide. They were strongly advised to evacuate the residents and workers from area, but disappointingly, they failed to execute the plan, pointing out that the area was difficult to reach and monitor. They added that hardheaded people kept sneaking back continue their mining activities. Seriously, they lacked pretty much effort, and this was what Malacañang Spokesman Edwin Lacierda pointed out when he said that the evacuation of residents from the dangerous areas required “the political will of the local officials”. In your opinion, do you think this would have happened had the local government did their job of keeping the people out of that highly dangerous location? Yes, I didn’t think so, too.

I’m not really underestimating the competencies and capabilities of our local government units, but I don’t think we should immediately blame the national government for such catastrophes. The national government does not only focus on one locality, that is why we have LGUs in the first place. This just proves that Philippine disasters do have two faces: the real pain and suffering inflicted to the victims, and the political pressure it dumps on the government. But either way, the important thing is the help that these officials can give to the needing public. It is and always has been the priority.

References:http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/21689-the-compostela-valley-disasterhttp://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/12/26/11/denr-blames-cdo-city-govt-sendong-tragedyhttp://www.interaksyon.com/article/19896/sendong-600-feared-dead-in-cagayan-de-oro-iligan-bukidnon-negroshttp://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/12/19/11/more-provinces-reeling-sendong-tragedy

DISCLAIMER The positions of the Editorial Board and Staff do not necessarily

reflect the views, comments, opinions and artworks of the writers /artists. Photo

Illustration does not necessarily represent the person(s) / situation involved.

5The Trailblazer

6 The Trailblazer

News

THE EXPERTS on Communication Technologies pose together with BSTCM students.

With the theme “Discovering New Opportunities in Emerging

Technologies”, the Ateneo Information Management Society (XU-AIMS) and Xavier Computer Enthusiasts’ League (XCEL) held its 5th Mindanao-Wide Quantum and Information Technology Convention (QITC) on February 25, 2012 at Xavier University Campus. Aside from the convention, the event also highlighted Quiz Show and Adobe Photoshop competitions for high school students and Java Programming competition for college students. MUST- Computer Engineering (CoE) Department representatives Roger Madjos and Enrique Maria Jr., both fifth year CoE students, emerged as champions for the Java Programming competition. The duo together with other two third year CoE

The Commission on Election (COMELEC) of Supreme Student Council (SSC) held

the “PANAGPILIAY 2012: University-Wide Election” on March 16, 2012. The event took place in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of MUST main campus. The extension campuses, Jasaan, Panaon, and Oroquieta also participated in the election in their respective campuses.

As the votes were counted and verified, the new elected SSC officers were announced. There were only two partylists in this year’s election which were the Legacy and TAMA (Totoo at Makaestudyanteng Alyansa). Jason Jay Dalman of the Legacy was announced as the newly elected SSC President with a total of 1,245 votes over 1,191 votes of Ephraim Macaambac of TAMA. There are candidates who do not have any opponent at all. These candidates were required to gain two-third (2/3) of the votes from the overall number of voters. Thus, all of these running candidates won for the school year 2012-2013 SSC officers election.

participants was coached by Ms. Juliet Cagampang, CoE Department head. The purpose of the event was to gather and unite all IT enthusiasts and foster camaraderie among different schools

Madjos, Maria triumph in Java Programming Tilt

MUST COMELEC Proclaims Newly Elected SSC Officers

Rodaliza D. Paner

Juicy Jean P. Reyes

THE DIGITAL CLOCK was retrieved after its test run for defense purposes.

To know more about communication and communication technologies, a Communicators Forum was organized by some 3rd year BSTCM students at the AVC.

The forum was divided in three sessions done in March 2, 9, and 24, 2012. Some of the topics discussed were about the Satellite, Broadcast Communication, How FM Radio Works, and Technology being the Tool in Making Things Better, Business Process Outsourcing, Internet as a New Media and How Telephone Works.

The forum was participated by the TCM students.

5th year ECE students John Mark Osin and Sherlin Cantero conducted a demonstration of the prototype of their thesis “MUST Synchronized Digital Clock System” last February 24, 2012 at the university entrance. The microcontroller-based digital clock displays time using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It was installed to test its running capabilities under natural conditions.

The thesis aimed to deploy digital clocks all throughout the campus, connected by LAN to a server, which implements a standard and synchronized time-keeping system.

NEW

S BITS

Communicators Forum on Communication Technologies

Digital Clock Prototype Mounted for ECE Thesis

and colleges of Visayas and Mindanao. Some of the participating schools from the city were Cagayan de Oro College (COC), Capitol University (CU) and Liceo de Cagayan University (LDCU).

MUST REPRESENTATIVES shows their medals and certificates in QITC.

POSITION CANDIDATEVOTES

MAIN CAMPUS

JASAANCAMPUS

PANAONCAMPUS

OROQUETACAMPUS TOTAL

PRESIDENT*Jason Jay Dalman 538 84 171 452 1,245

Ephraim Macaambac 985 116 9 81 1,191VICE

PRESIDENT **Danica Tacbas 1267 184 176 522 2,149GENERAL

SECRETARY **Melanie Ordeniza 1247 180 176 521 2,124ASSOCIATE SECRETARY **Katrin Zafra 1211 181 176 520 2,088

TREASURER **Crissa Jean Gargar 1246 187 176 523 2,132

AUDITOR **Emmanuel Fran-cis Ramos Jr. 1196 182 172 519 2,069

CEAREPRESENTATIVE **Michael Dagaraga 505 N/A N/A N/A 505

CIITREPRESENTATIVE

**Arven Robert Aguilar 393 N/A N/A N/A 393

CPSEMREPRESENTATIVE **Jade Llausas 281 N/A N/A N/A 281

Legend: *Proclaimed New SSC Officer | ** Proclaimed New SSC Officer (By Default)Note: Out of the entire population in all campuses, there were only 2436 Students who voted.Source: Commission on Elections, SSC S.Y. 2011-2012

GADT grooves to the top in their various ensembles. GADT

7The Trailblazer

NewsGADT Finishes First in Sayaw PinoyPhilippine Folk Dance Competition

Student Communicators Participate In Sibya

The Graduate School Foundation, Inc. (GSFI) held their 2nd Research Forum at the AVC on February 11, 2012, during the University Days.

The forum aimed to help the graduate school students and faculty with their future theses and dissertations. The plenary speaker, Dr.Teresita T. Tumapon, VPAA and Dean of Graduate Studies in LDCU have discussed on pointers, insights, and pieces of advice on writing better research papers.

Parallel sessions about researches were held simultaneously at the AVC and the CIIT Accreditation Room after the forum.

Gintong Amihan Dance Troupe (GADT) arose as champion in 2nd Regional Higher Education “SayawPinoy”

Philippine Folk Dance Competition last February 24, 2012 at Capitol University Gymnasium, Cagayan de Oro City.

The competition was conducted by Commission on Higher Education (CHED) – Region 10 and Council of Deans of Arts and Sciences – Region 10 as part of the Philippine Arts Festival in celebration of the 21st National Arts Month (NAM) in the month of February. It was participated by various colleges in Region 10. The event’s theme was “Arte ug Kultura: Saulog Sa Atong Tradisyon”.

The GintongAmihan Dance Troupe was handled by Mr. Leovigildo B. Palmones, one of the pioneers of GADT 1979.

In order to gain knowledge on social media, some selected students from

various universities and high schools from Northern Mindanao took part in a communicators’ congress. Tagged as SIBYA: The First Northern Mindanao Student Communicators Congress (NORMISCON), the first ever communicators’ congress was held at SM City Cagayan de Oro Cinema 2 theater on February 17, 2012.

The congress highlighted competitions and discussions from the guest speakers coming from The Rappler, a social news network. The speakers were Maria Ressa, former CNN Jakarta bureau chief, multi-awarded journalist and the CEO of The Rappler, Patricia Evangelista, Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist, ANC Storyline producer and debater, Michael Josh Villanueva, multimedia journalist, social media consultant and

head of GMA Network’s Digital Media and Chay Hofilena, editor and head of both Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Journalism Graduate Program and Ethics at ABS-CBN network. They discussed on the Power of Social Media, The Reason We Tell Stories, How Stories are Told through Social Media, and Ethics and Responsibility in the Use of Social Media.

Competitions composed of essay writing, poster-making and photography are participated by both high school and college students while public service announcement production was exclusive for college participants.

The one-day congress was initiated by Development Communication department and The Crusader Publication of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan.

Irene Joy B. Dayo

John Cris Ebabacol and Irene Joy B. Dayo

During the span of the MUST Days, an academic exhibit was displayed at the 1st and 2nd floors and the staircase at the right side area of ICT Building. The SSC in coordination with other organizations UDA and Bachelor programs like 3rd year TCM, ME, CoE and CE students, English Department and others flagged their works. The purpose of the exhibit was to showcase the output of the different organizations. ACADEMIC DISPLAY includes ornaments out of

origami. Roshelle Novie L. Cabrido

NEWS BITS

STUDENTS AND FACULTY alike made notes for their theses and disserations.

Academic ExhibitBlazes on MUST Days

Graduate School Housed2nd Research Forum

MARIA RESSA ellaborately shares her insights on the power of social media.

8 The Trailblazer

News

Having the theme “Good Governance in Addressing Effective Leadership,” the Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST) student leaders and moderators of different university accredited organizations gathered for a two day Leadership Seminar-Workshop on November 18-19, 2011 at the University Audio-Visual Room headed by Mr. Jo Mark Libre, SAWS Coordinator.

The resource speakers were Mr. Nestor O. Banuag, Professor Nathalie T. Igot, and Professor Joselito Sabalbaro.

MUST Emerge Victorious in ACMC 2011

The Accrediting Agency for Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP) visited Mindanao University of

Science and Technology (MUST), evaluating and accrediting the school’s countenance and educational performance last December 8 – 10, 2011. The AACCUP body visits state universities and colleges (SUCs) throughout the nation every year to assess the school’s performance and, if it passes their criteria, accredits it.

Ten of the school programs in the university have been successfully accredited, three of which are qualified as the Center of Development and Center of Excellence. Mechanical Engineering (BSME), Civil Engineering (BSCE), and Information Technology (BSIT) were promoted to Level 3. The programs Doctor in Technology Education (DTE), Master in Applied Mathematical Sciences (MS-Math.Science), Master in Teaching Mathematics (MS-TeachingMath), and Master of Technician Teacher Education (MTTE) were raised to Level 2. Finally, the programs Master in Technology Communication Management (MS-Tech.Comm.Mgt.), Master in Environmental Science Technology (MS-Envi.Sci.&Tech.), and Technology Communication Management (TCM) have achieved Level 1. The results were received by the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Services (QUAAS).

For years, MUST and AACCUP collaborate by submitting the institution for accreditation assessments and emphasizing the quality of education that it could offer. This helps patch the failures in some specific areas that the AACCUP body may see. Moreover, the accreditation also heightens the school’s strengths for improvement in the future.

Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST) grabbed the

3rd place of the 2011 Asian Congress for Media and Communication (ACMC) last November 25. The event took place at the Philippine University Intramuros, Manila. Supervised by Dr. Ramir Philip Jones Sonsona, a Literature Instructor in MUST, the participants Krean Cherry Lou R. Cabalang and Jean Marie C. Mendoza, grasped the opportunity to take home the medal. There were 20 schools all over the country which participated in the congress such as the University of

the Philippines (UP), University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Far Eastern University (FEU) and other universities all over the Philippines, to name a few. “Actually, joining that [ACMC] competition was no ordinary thing because many of our competitors came from different great schools. It’s really unexpected that we are one of those winning schools. Most importantly ACMC boosts our learning.” Cabalang answered when asked about what their expectations on ACMC were and how ACMC has broadened their media

AACCUP Accredits Ten MUST Programs

Irene Joy B. Dayo and Juicy Jean P. Reyes

Jeffry T. Quiñanola and ALyssa Rikka C. Clenuar

DR. KAMARULZAMAN “ZAM” ASKANDAR as the guest speaker on peace education lecture.

http://www.rotary-chula.org/news_march08.html

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Student Leaders’ and Moderators’ Leadership Seminar-workshop

In order to help the victims of typhoon Sendong, Limketkai center together with XU, DIRE HUSI, ONE CDO, Development Communications Society (DCS), and the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) launched out a photo exhibit on February 01, 2012. The event showcased different photographs with the theme “CDO CARES, images of Kagay-anon Heroes, a photo exhibition of courage and compassion during Typhoon Sendong”.

The display was intended to gather financial help from different individuals. It was situated in an open space on the second floor of

Limketkai. PHOTO DISPLAY focuses on the survival and bravery of the TS Sendong victims.

http:/www.sunstar.com

CDO CARES:Bayanihan sa Bayan Ni Juan

PROGRAM GRADE REMARKS

Mechanical Engineering 4.03 Very Good

Civil Engineering 3.85 Very Good

Information Technology 4.05 Very Good

Doctor in Technology Education 3.78 Very Good

Master in Applied Mathematical Sciences 3.56 Very Good

Master in Teaching Mathematics 3.81 Very Good

Master of Technician Teaching Education 3.65 Very Good

Master in Technology Communication

Management3.97 Very Good

Master in Environmental Science Technology 3.23 Very Good

Technology Communication

Management3.97 Very Good

Source: Dr. Ruel Cabahug, CE --- Quality Assurance and Accreditation Services (QUAAS)

pervasiveness. “We thank God kay despite nga dili gyud mi prepared, He gave us the confidence to overcome the challenge”, Mendoza added. In addition, ACMC helps update the knowledge on theory and practice among communicators, hence the said organization also provides scholarship to those willing students. Mendoza and Cabalang also shared that ACMC has become a potent tool in the innovative ideas for contouring one’s mind in media literacy.

9The Trailblazer

News37th PICE National Convention Held in CdO

CRU Furnishes Designation Order

From the Special Order issued by University President Dr. Ricardo

E. Rotoras this school year, the university’s Central Records Unit (CRU) has furnished an update of the list of designated officials. The list was issued on August 19, 2012 for the second semester, when the officials immediately took position. The following newly-designated officials are:

1. Atty. Alvin Suazo Board of Regents Secretary2. Mrs. Socorro Ibonia Director, Administration and Scholarship3. Mr. Romeo M. De Asis Director, Student Affairs and Welfare Office(SAWO) and Institute of Continuing Education and Trainings (ICET)4. Dr. Estrella F. Perez Dean, College of Policy Studies, Education, and Management (CPSEM)

Jeffrey T. Quiñanola

Jefffry T. Quiñanola

The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) held its 37th

National Convention and Annual Election at the Grand Caprice Restaurant and Convention Center at the Limketkai Mall last November 17-19 with the theme PICE at the CREST for Competitiveness, Resilience and Transparency”. As a part of this convention, PICE also held its 14th National Civil Engineering Students’ Conference.

Headed by their adviser Mr.Anecito Neri, the officers of Junior Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (JPICE) took part in the said convention, along with 3rd to 5th year Civil Engineering (CE) students. The highlights of the said event included PICE National Awards, the 30th National Civil Engineering Students’ Quiz (30th NCESQ), 14th PICE National Bridge Building Competition, and the Election of the 2012 PICE National Board of Directors, among others.

Civil Engineering Week (November 14-18) was also celebrated during the convention, encouraging all CE

chapters to plan out activities to celebrate the occasion. The event was hosted by the PICE National Board of Directors and

STUDENTS pay attention to Mother Nature.Randulf A. Agcopra, Jr.

The faculty and staff of MUST underwent a seminar conducted by the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO). The seminar focused on a Basic Customer Service and Power Personality which happened on October 24, 2011 at the Audio Visual Room. The Smart Community Care Specialists delivered a session composed of two topics. The first, Power Personality and Customer Service 101 was handled by Karen Macapagal while Hazel Almirante took over the second discussion, the Customer Service 101. Before the session ended, a question and answer portion took place for further clarifications.

The faculty and staff of the Environmental Science Department of MUST, with the collaboration of the Forest Management Services (FMS) and Community Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO), conducted a tree planting activity at Mapawa Reforestation Area, Cugman, Cagayan de Oro City on November 26, 2011. Together with the other organization representatives like The Trailblazer, SSC, CAS and FEG, the activity was meant not only for planting the seeds but also for the successful growing of trees.

NEWS BITS

Mapawa Tree Planting Customer Service and Power Personality Seminar for University Faculty and Staff

supported by the PICE Misamis Oriental – Cagayan de Oro Chapter.

5. Ms. Josie Jane F. Maghinay Head, Scholarship Office

Last year, the same order was issued which appointed and retained some of the chosen officials in the school administration. It was published in the June 2011-October 2011 issue of The Trailblazer magazine in the previous semester.

BSCE STUDENTS help organize the 37th National Convention along with all the CE Courses of CDO.

MUST FACULTY AND STAFF intend to develop their personality through listening in the discussion.

Jay Miguel M. Alacha

Campus Feature

With an aim to uplift everyone’s spirit after getting past the calamity of typhoon Sendong,

the Student Supreme Council (SSC) together with the different colleges launched this year’s MUST Days with the theme “MUST Days, Eco-friendly MUST”.

Promoting ecological awareness through sportsmanship and different activities was the centre of theme. The one week event happened on February 8 and ended on February 11. The opening day was started by an Ecumenical Celebration followed by a campus parade. There were also lecture series throughout the week, the Art and Sciences, Engineering and Architecture, Technology and Education students participated in the lecture event. A graduate school research forum was also held on the last day of the week’s event.

Furthermore, exhibits were also displayed throughout the university particularly in the Science Complex and ICT classrooms. The Junior Photographers Guild, University Digital Arts (UDA) and TCM students displayed a variety of photos with the theme of beauty, uniqueness and nature.

All the way through, different competitions paved way which test the skills of the participants. These events include extemporaneous speech, oration, radio drama, and short sweet play where one can witness the participants’ versatility, uniqueness, determination, confidence and courage. Moreover, to test academic competence and mastery, events like quiz bowl showdown, essay writing, pagsusulat ng sanaysay, storytelling and pagkukuwento were included. Kundiman, Sayawit and Instrument playing were also there to showcase not only MUST’s musical intelligence but as well as creativity.

Special programs, usually on the night events of the MUST Days’ affair were gaily participated by everyone. Awaited events like MUST Top Model 2012, Circulo de Entablado and MUST got Talent…its Showtime, really surprised the

students. The MUST Days’ was concluded by a Lantern Festival which was cut short due to an

unprecedented event. The MUST Days’ theme reflected to what the students have witnessed. Congratulations to the winners and to every MUSTean who have participated and enjoyed the

university’s event.

Over-all Champion: College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)2nd place: College of Policy Studies Education and Management (CPSEM)3rd place: College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA)

CATEGORYPLACE

1st 2nd 3rd

MAJOR EVENTS

Quiz Bowl CAS CEA CIIT

Math Marathon CIIT CPSEM CAS

Extemporaneous Speech CPSEM CEA CAS

Photo Essay CPSEM CAS CEA/CIIT

Debate CPSEM CEA CIIT

News Broadcasting No Winners No Winners No Winners

Radio Drama No Winners No Winners No Winners

MINOR EVENTS

Short & Sweet Play CPSEM CAS CIIT

Oration CPSEM CAS CEA

Story Telling CPSEM CEA CIIT

Pagkukuwento CPSEM CEA CIIT

Video Critiquing CEA CAS CIIT

Poster Making CPSEM CEA CAS

Pagsulat Ng Sanaysay CPSEM CEA CAS

Essay Writing CAS CPSEM CEA

CULTURAL EVENTS

Top Model (Male) CAS CEA CPSEM

Top model (Female) CAS CPSEM CIIT

Sayawit CEA CAS CPSEM

Kundiman CIIT CAS CPSEM Source: Supreme Student Council (SSC)10 The Trailblazer

Marie Cris S. Heruela

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SSCSSCComplains

Campus FeaturePuzzled Peace:A Quest for the

Missing Pieces

From local to global scenes, one of the most mind - bugging issues is this term bearing complex denotation – Peace. Whether we like it or not, each of us characterizes a piece

in this illustrious puzzle. As a growing mystery, whenever the whole puzzle mislays one of its pieces, everything will be disrupted. “I am a piece of peace,” was the theme that was bannered for the entire December 16, 2011. Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST) encouraged the students to wear white tee shirts as a campaign to support the call for peace all over Mindanao Area.

If you are amongst the vigorous and concern MUSTeans, perhaps, you also wore the same colour of shirt as others did. Hence, while showing yourself to public in your white top, have you asked yourself “Am I really a piece of peace?” and not “Am I now in with this get up?” Think of it.

Peace is a wide-ranging topic and the campaign primarily catered on art-related activities such as art exhibit, freedom of expressions through freedom wall, and a symposium with guests from our chosen Muslim brothers.

Peace Through Art “I am a piece of peace harnesses participants through

visual art,” said Neil Dranreb Vasquez, facilitator of the Art for Peace 2011. The activity was intended for the students of the university whether visual art enthusiasts or not. It started at 9:00 – 11:00AM and resumed at 1:30 – 3:00 PM. It was immediately followed by the exhibit where all participants’ outputs were displayed at the MUST Gym Lobby. Through the activity, the creativity skills of those students who participated were refined and presented.

Diverging the TermNot far from the art activity was a symposium. Most of

the invited speakers were Muslims. They conversed on breaking down the broad term called ‘peace’. Regarding this matter, images of different wars waging in Mindanao were shown through PowerPoint presentation. Supporting details about the topic were opened for individual’s realization on how war has affected the economy, politics, civilians, infrastructures and a lot more of the country’s current situation.

However, obviously, symposium was not enough to stop killings, tortures and abuses from different terrorist groups at that moment. The biggest action should still come from the person himself who heard traversed ideas from the speakers.

The event would not be possible without the initiation of the Supreme Student Council (SSC), Arts and Culture (ARCU) Department, Student Affairs and Welfare Services Offices (SAWS) and MUST delegates who were sent to Hong Kong on May 26 to June 1, 2011 with the Initiative for Peace Focus on Mindanao. As stated in the 1st issue magazine this school year, the delegates were Angelica Firme, RC Tsini Solis and Neil Dranreb Vasquez.

***This is a wake up-call of the present situation of this

world, where nations are waging war, rights are being oppressed and the number of civilians killed each day is increasing. Modern warfare is still ongoing, that is an unmasked truth. Nonetheless, achieving inner peace in our own space can change the whole world at large.

A rumor prior to the 2012 Supreme Student Council (SSC) election prompted Ephraim Macaambac, an independent candidate for president to file a complaint to the SSC

Commission on Election (COMELEC) on March 08, 2012.In the written complaint submitted by Macaambac,

he stated the rumor he heard from a reliable source that SSC has supported 5, 000 Php to the LEGACY party. He added that his reliable source was able to overhear a phone conversation stating that the money was indeed used by the LEGACY party. Furthermore, he cited that the money that was given to the party did not have a “due process” and “any resolutions” that will notify the officers of the council. He asked that the said amount be returned to the council on the day of the submission of his complaint.

In connection to this, the current SSC president, Alfredo Q. Vicera, Jr. stated his side. Accordingly, the rumored 5, 000 Php was spent for the T-shirts used during the MUST days. There was a misunderstanding between the SSC and the Procurement Unit of the Bids and Awards and Committee (BAC). The request of T-shirts was not approved however, the T-shirts were released. There were 60 T-shirts ordered by the council which amounted to 7, 020 Php. Since the COMELEC was able to find way to use the university van for their travel to satellite campuses, the money allotted for their fare, 5, 000 Php was deducted to pay for the T-shirts. In return, the COMELEC was able to use about 23 shirts.

The COMELEC had replied the complaint through writing a counter affidavit submitted to the respondent, March 15, a day before the election. The affidavit stated the same as what Vicera had explained adding that the money was not used for the campaign of the LEGACY Party. It is also indicated in the affidavit that the Purchase Request and receipt of the payment of SSC to the Supply Office were attached. However, a charge invoice was attached in the letter instead of the stated receipt. The council justified that they are still looking for the needed amount to complete the T-shirt payment on the submission of the counter affidavit that the receipt was presented 5pm on the Election Day.

According to Vicera, the issue was resolved but Macaambac was not satisfied with the investigation that he planned to bring the complaint to the Students Affairs and Welfare Services.

11The Trailblazer

Macaambac

Juicy Jean P. Reyes and Alyssa Rikka C. Clenuar

Precious Queenie U. Yap

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12 The Trailblazer

Local FeatureBangon CDO: Moving Forward After the Cataclysm

Of what was supposed to be a

merry and cheerful

countdown before

Christmas turned

out to be a dreaded

and tragic night every

Kagay-anon, Iliganon,

and Dumagueteanon

would never forget.The continuous rain with angry

winds in the morning of December 16, 2011

was a prelude of what would later become a

catastrophic storm that claimed thousands

of lives, millions worth of properties and

snatched the last straw of hope of the

victims. The culprit was named Tropical

Storm Sendong or internationally known

as Washi. Sendong was unforgiving as

it hit vengefully Northern Mindanao

specifically the cities of Cagayan de Oro

and Iligan. According to an American

meteorologist, Dr. Jeff Master, in an ABS-

CBN news article, Washi hit a portion of

the Philippines that does not see tropical

storms often. The rainfall was almost the

tripled amount of the storm Ondoy

in 2009. It reached as

high as 181

O millimeter

per hour.

Typhoon Sendong

was considered as the

deadliest storm in Cagayan

de Oro City in the last 12 years.

Visayas was not spared

as Sendong also wreaked havoc in

Dumaguete City, Palawan and some other

places. Typhoon Sendong was considered

as the most destructive cyclone in the

world in 2011.The National Disaster Risk

Reduction and Management Council

(NDRRMC) has stated that there were

1,136,222 persons affected by the Sendong

or a total of 117, 665 families. 1, 257 of these

were dead and 6,071 were injured and 182

were missing. Up to this writing, there

are still those who stay in the evacuation

centers mostly located in public schools,

and barangay covered courts.

D i s p l a c e d

residents, particularly

those from Isla Baksan, Isla

Bugnao, Isla Delta 1 and 2, Isla de Oro,

Tambo and Cala-Cala are temporarily

camped out in “Tent Cities”. NDRRMC

has also projected 1,142,993,824.40 PhP

and 312,831,899.00 PhP costs of damages to

infrastructure and agriculture respectively.

This statistics is released as of January 17,

2012.The issues on whose culpable has

never died since. Both local and national

government has pointed fingers on each

other as to who are to be blamed. Kalikasan,

an environmental group, has attributed

the lack of disaster preparedness, land use

conversion, poverty-driven vulnerability,

highlighting illegal logging and mining

operations, as the contributing factors of

the severe weather events worsened by the

climate change.

December 16, 2011 – a date that

nobody wants to utter and

remember. The tragic phenomenon

that most of the news stations around the

globe would remark as ‘the world’s one

of the deadliest storms’ came at the night

of the date. The city was in havoc because

generally properties were displaced, lives

were taken, various sicknesses came, injured

victims were numerous, infrastructures

got wrecked and water supply was scarce.

This was Cagayan de Oro City,

the day after the tragedy.

The ActionCountries from the different

parts of the world immediately handed

help by donating millions of money,

primarily for the rehabilitation of homes

that was ravished by Sendong. Japan,

unhindered by the recent tragedy brought

by the earthquake and tsunami extended

an emergency aid worth $2M. This was

distributed to the organizations such as

the United Nations World Food Program,

the International Federation of Red Cross

and Red Crescent Societies and the United

Nations Children’s Fund.

President Benigno Aquino

(PNoy) had a short visit to Cagayan de Oro

City and other places that were affected

by the typhoon. Although his stay lasted

for only six hours, he did not miss reading

between the lines and noted the important

matters to be done.

Some of the private firms gave

out hamburgers, buns, bottled water

especially to those children in Macasandig

village. Some of the government agencies

distributed packs of canned goods to the

victims all over Northern Mindanao.

Large TV networks aided the victims by

accepting in-kind or cash donations and

transported it to the devastated areas.

Local news stations became the passage

of information of found dead bodies,

missing victims and catered public service

for the relatives of the victims.

MUST’s AssistanceMindanao University of Science

and Technology (MUST) launched its

‘Operation Tabang’ after the storm. The

different colleges and organizations in the

school together with outside organizations

reached out to the victims through a relief

operation with donations coming from

individuals and large group sectors.

Precious Queenie U. Yap and Irene Joy B. D

ayo

Alyssa Rikka C. Clenuar

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Local Feature

The AftermathThe affected cities after the

storm were not a beautiful sight to behold.

Let alone the properties that were awfully

destroyed, the structures that were ruined,

the homes that were annihilated and places

that were wiped out, the sight of terror,

grief, shock and trauma evident in the

faces of the survivors was more than one

could take. Stories of the lost loved ones,

missing kin, and how one has survived has

wrenched the hearts of many.

“Grabe kayo, dili raba jud ko

kabalo ug langoy unya tulog pa jud mi

adto sa ako igsuon. Maayo gani gituktok

mi sa amoang silingan.” recounted one of

the survivors who requested anonymity.

The survivors did not know

where to start as their years’ worth of

hard work has been gone in just a matter

of the night. They have found refuge in

the different evacuation centers and in

the people who have whole-heartedly

extended help through distributing relief

goods and counseling trauma-stricken

victims through stress debriefing.

The Noble ActHelp inundated as fiercely as

the flood of the Sendong was. This came

from different sectors of the society,

private and government and as well as

the international community. They have

gathered to lighten the victims’ situation

through providing basic necessities and

stress debriefing. Financial assistance

from neighboring countries poured to

rehabilitate destroyed infrastructures

and homes. Long term assistance includes

relocation of the residents affected by

the flood and those who are situated in

disaster-prone areas. The schools which

have affected students took the initiative

in unburdening the students with

the school fees. Different scholarship

programs and financial aids were available

for the students. Free school supplies and

replacement of Identification Cards and

uniforms were handed to the affected

students. Some have extended their

help even though they were victims

themselves. Though Washi has caused

lives and properties, it has united

the people in helping one another.

Barely months after the

catastrophe, the victims are slowly

recovering and starting to pick up pieces of

their lives. Some have already returned to

their partly damaged houses and resumed

their usual routine. However, there are

still those who have not gotten through

the trauma yet. There are still those who

have not put to rest yet as the survivors

continue to search their missing loved

ones - dead or alive. Desperate acts such as

victims committing suicide have found its

way on the news. During rain, the victims

get easily nervous as they expect for flood.

Our stay on earth is temporal.

We come as we go. But it does not mean

that we should take for granted what the

tragedy wanted to teach us - responsibility.

Let us not wait for another Sendong for

us to do something. Now is the time

to make some move.

The Supreme Student Council

(SSC) president, Alfredo Vicera answered

questions related to the calamity that some

of the students in this institution had been

traumatized. “There are approximately 500

students who were affected by Sendong…

No official report or confirmation

regarding those students who had gone

missing. But I heard from a teacher that

one of her students was missing.” He

continued, “Meeting gyud mi pagkaugma

together with the administration, mother

organizations from the different colleges

and SUCS. Help coming from private

firms like MITSUMI, Senator [Edgardo]

Angara and son, Congressman [Sonny]

Angara and individuals who were also

willing to spare out their time to help out.

Ang mga hinabang usually na nangabot are

canned goods, slippers, in-kind donations

and volunteers… We went to Balulang,

Pagatpat, Cala-cala, Isla de Oro and

Consolacion.” When asked about helping the

student victims overcome their traumatic

experience he disclosed, “The SSC in

coordination with the administration had

a stress debriefing with Dr. Imelda Bata,

a psychologist from Manila.” Regarding

the replacement of the lost school IDs and

consideration of tuition fees, “They have

a privilege na ma-free sila sa outstanding

balance. Cong. Rufus Rodriguez will also

give 6000 Php for the next school year na

mga na apektuhan… Wala ko’y nadunggan

nga naa na’y napulihan ug ID pero until

this very moment gadala dala gyapon sila

ug note.” Vicera ended.

The 6,000 Php will be given

to those who are severely affected by

the flood. The Student Affairs Welfare

Services (SAWS) would have a house to

house survey to identify those students

who are badly affected.

Not only SSC had a quick

response to this tragedy but also some

organizations to mention like Empowered

Volunteers Organizations (EVO), a group

under National Youth Commission (NYC)

composed of students from different

universities

in Cagayan de

Oro City headed by Roy

Romero, a sophomore TCM student.

“GMA, CU, Red Cross and others are just a

few companies to name na naghelp sa amo…

We just felt that we were lucky enough

nga wala mi naunsa so it was also one way

of thanking na okay mi by giving back to

our community through volunteer work.”

Romero said.In that instance, some of our houses,

cars, pets, relatives, friends, neighbors,

pets, assignments, projects, went with the

ravishing water that night. Though we were

flooded with water, we were much flooded

with help. The city has now wiped its tears

and eased itself with what is left. Gratefully

we are still in one piece

Sendong.

References:http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/19/11/sendong-worlds-

deadliest-storm-2011

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/114171/sendong-disaster-foretold-3-

years-agoh t t p : / / w w w . s u n s t a r . c o m . p h / c a g a ya n - d e - o r o / l o c a l -

news/2012/01/04/owwa-conducts-relief-operations-storm-

survivors-198865

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/115175/fast-food-giant-joins-relief-

operations-to-%E2%80%98sendong%E2%80%99-victims

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2011/12/29/japan-

donates-2m-sendong-victims-197919

13The Trailblazer

14 The Trailblazer

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15The Trailblazer

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Temporary shelters were provided for the victims after the onslaught of the devastating Tropical Storm

(TS) Sendong as a rapid response for their needs. Since their permanent homes will take a little longer to build, these temporary shelters served as a refuge of the victims who have been greatly affected by TS Sendong. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) there were 1,257 reported dead by the cyclone. The cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Region X suffered the most.

The aftermath of typhoon Sendong was mud and debris in different areas of Cagayan de Oro City. In

fact, until now the excess of the disastrous flood are evident on those heavily affected areas. The typhoon did not only take away lives and properties, it has also left us with an unhealthy surroundings. Huge logs, plastic wrappers, and destroyed fences, much to that, all of these are covered in thick dirty mud.

With a unified aim to resolve the repercussion of the calamity, an estimated number of 4000 people have attended

a cleanup drive On January 18, 2012. . The enthusiasm of Misamisnon

Tent CitiesOne of these

temporary shelters is collectively known as “Tent City”. Tent cities are the initiative of an international disaster response team, ShelterBox, which provides emergency

shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters.

Upon assessing the condition left by TS Sendong through ShelterBox Response Team (SRT), the Rotarians have coordinated with the local government for the relocation of the victims. In cooperation with the Boy Scout of the Philippines, the tents were set up to provide dignity and warmth for the victims. ShelterBox did not only provide temporary homes for the victims, they also offered life-saving supplies which includes tent, mat, water container, water purifier, kitchen set, tool kit, and many others. These are located in Calaanan Relocation Site. Aside from the scouts, Rotarians and students also extended some help for the repacking and distributing of relief goods. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has been helping the SRT put up ShelterBox tents. SRT has trained MNLF in setting up tents in Calaanan, Cagayan de Oro.

The victims have not yet recovered from the traumatic experience they have been through that even normal raindrops cause them panic. The refugees have fled from their portable shelters when the water level brought by the rain on February 13,

volunteers who have brought with them broomsticks, shovels, garbage cans and other kinds of cleaning materials not only shared their resources but also their time and effort comprising twenty three (23) towns and two (2) cities coming directly from the province of Misamis Oriental, including different sectors and private individuals .

“Gusto Lang gyud ko nga motabang sa mga biktima sa baha diri sa Cagayan. Mao nga nag-volunteer gyud ko,” coming from Agustin Haspe of Balingoan, Misamis Oriental. Another volunteer named Noel Jucer, a 53 year old from Balingoan said that he whole heartedly

2011 rose. The city engineer said that the area is low lying that it is prone to flood. Further, Barangay Captain Joshua Taboclaon of Barangay Calaaan explained that the relocation site is not flat, causing the rain waters to pool in the lower portion of the area. To address this, repairs are planned in the drainage system.

Amakan VillageSome of the displaced families were

transferred to the transitory shelters covered with a woven bamboo strips locally known as Amakan where they will be living temporarily in Cagayan de Oro. Named as Amakan Village by Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, these shelters owned by the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro are located inside the old cemetery in Barangay 40, Cagayan de Oro City. Evacuees in RER, Carmen and Our Lady of Fatima have transferred to the said village. They are more than 300 individuals or 67 families.

While others are safely placed in these temporary shelters, there are still others who are camping in evacuation centers like Capitol Grounds, and City Central School.

With these temporary shelters that provide warmth and privacy, the evacuees are starting to make most out of what was left from TS Sendong ---- hope.

References:h t tp : / /www. suns ta r . com .ph /cagayan -de -oro / loca l -news/2012/03/06/xavier-ecoville-breaks-ground-209833http://www.goldstardailynews.com/northern-mindanao-%7C%7C-x/8648-amakan-village-rising-from-devastation-of-ts-sendong.htmlhttp://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/02/14/12/flood-hits-cdo-tent-cityhttp://scouts.org.ph/2012/02/scouts-do-a-good-turn-scouter-glenn-b-anora-cagayan-de-oro-city-council/http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_c o n t e n t & v i e w = a r t i c l e & i d = 2 1 5 2 : l a - n i n a - a d v i s o r y -no3&catid=1:press-releases&Itemid=460http://shelterbox.org

volunteered since he wanted to really help the affected individuals of the typhoon. “Kon motan-aw ako sa TV ug maminaw sa radio bati-on gyud nako ang kalooy sa mga nabiktima. Busa pagkahibalo gyud nako gikan sa akong silingan nga mo-uban ang among lungsod sa pagpanglimpyo diri sa Cagayan, mi-boluntaryo gyud dayon ko,” Jucer added.

These people despite their old age have really managed to help the victims of the said typhoon. They have responded positively in spite of the exhaustion. In fact an affected individual have been really grateful for the assistance given to them. “Maayo kaayo ang ilang gihimo. Kaming

Local Feature

16 The Trailblazer

Precious Queenie U. Yap

Marie Cris S. Heruela

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Local Feature

Visualizing and putting things

into action are Kagay-anons’ way to revitalization. Through the helping hands from the different people, impossibilities were replaced with possibilities in attaining a common goal. No one could have imagined how some lives were gone and that no one took it for granted. This year’s battle for recovery is people’s mission specifically those who suffered during the rage of Sendong.

Clash Against Darkness: Light a Prayer of Hope On the evening of January 7, 2012, SM City Cagayan de Oro had its sky lantern lighting for a cause at Beacon Road located behind SM City’s Car Park. The event bannered the theme “Light a Prayer of hope” as a tribute for typhoon Sendong casualties. There were hundreds of sky lanterns released in the air that evening. From private individuals to Non-Government Organizations (NGO), they all took part in

that event who sincerely offered their prayers to God for the missing

victims during Tropical Storm

Sendong. For just a single night, Kagay-anon’s were at hand for a moment of reconciliation. The event served as a step frontward for a

new beginning and a new perspective to endure life.

Move on, Move forward: Sendong Run for a Home Fortunate and warm-

hearted Filipinos ran for a shared goal on January 28,

2012 at SM City grounds. Circle Productions, Incorporated in

collaboration with the ABS-CBN Kapamilya Network conducted

the “Run for Sendong Homes” campaign. The

proceeds of the event will benefit those affected

families for the c o n s t r u c t i o n

of their

h o m e s in Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro City. The event was divided in two categories which were 3K and 5K runs. The Dean of Xavier University’s College of Agriculture was around to be part of that momentous affair and give the university’s property lot in Lumbiaas the area of soon-to-build houses for Sendongvictims. Rio de la Cruz, a professional runner and the endorser of the marathon was also there to support the Kagay-anons. “I want to impart that running is not only for enjoyment but also one way to help the needy. I actually free all my

schedules just to be here in Cagayan de Oro. I feel proud that they [Circle Productions, Inc.] chose me because by this, I can help”, de la Cruz shared. He added that he was also a victim of typhoon Ondoy that is why he feels what the victims feel this time around.

*** Cagayan de Oro’s population decreased, homes of some victims were totally damaged and many were declared dead and even until now, some were still missing. But the spirit of help and the armor of hope will never fade. Even how many storms and calamities ravage the city, still, the people will never give up. Instead, the tragedies will strengthen their faith and unite with an aim. This aim is an aim of awakening and recovering today’s difficulties. Though the scar remains, the true essence of moving on

and love

will cover up those missing pieces. These missions are, indeed,

successful.

mga biktima sa baha nakaamgo nga wala diay kami nag-inusara, daghan diay ang nagmahal sa amo. Salamat gyud kaayo,” said Freddie Pabillaran, 46 years old from Acacia Street, Carmen.

It has been realized that the clean up drive was initiated by Misamis Oriental’s Congressman Bambi Emano in cooperation of the Vice Mayor’s League of Misamis Oriental through the leadership of Vice Mayor Dennis Roa of Naawan, MIs.Or. The activity has been named as KKK or “Kagay-anon Katimbayayong mo Kami “.

Congressman Emano said that the clean up drive was just the first step of the assistance they will be extending to;

it will continue until it is needed, and he also added that, he wanted the opposition to see clearly, that what they are doing is not for any political goal, but the intension is purely to help. “Ipakita namo sa oposisyon sa Cagayan de Oro nga ania kami aron pagtabang, dili aron pagsaway,” the congressman included.

Furthermore, Môn seignior Elmer Abacahin and his parochial people from Alubijid, Misamis Oriental, have joined the clean up force. The community cleaning which started first in Carmen,CDO City fastened the monthly clean-up drive of the city officials around the city hall which was greatly covered with mud.

Moreover, different officials of Mis.Or including Vice Mayor Ian Acenas who represented Mayor Vicente Emano, Cong. Benjo Benaldo (CdeO-First District), Cong. Peter Unabia (First District-Mis.Or.), Mayor Jhubert Pamisa (Lagonglong), Mayor Paulino Y. Emano (Tagoloan), Mayor Jerry Lagbas (Sugbongcogon), Mayor Redentor S. Jardin (Jasaan), Vice Mayor Rommel Maslog (Talisayan), participated in the community cleaning.

Resources:www.sunstar.com.phSuperbalita-cagayan-de-oro-taga-misor-miabag-sa-clean-sa-cdeo-

17The Trailblazer

Juicy Jean P. Reyes andRoshelle Novie L. Cabrido

In continuation of the national disaster response called BALSA (Bayanihan

Alay sa Sambayanan) was formed in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy in

Luzon in 2008, BALSA Mindanao was created as a citizen-led response to the

damage the typhoon Sendong has brought.BALSA Mindanao is spearheaded

by Mindanao religious leaders, environmental advocates, parliamentarians, and other

concerned individuals. At the center of the network are disaster-response associations from the various regions in Mindanao. It depends on a talented and expert stream of volunteers from all over Mindanao

The components of BALSA Mindanao Relief Missions are feeding, relief, medical, psychosocial/debriefing, documentation, and education. Relief operations are done in “waves”, in which BALSA tries to provide the needs of the victims such as feeding, relief, medical and rehabilitation. Its funds are generated from campaigns led by concerned individuals all over Mindanao. It has also asked the support of the national and international movements. Further, it looks for volunteers for community rebuilding and rehabilitation.

With an aim to invite the youth to partake in the relief operation activities and to raise the awareness the Tropical Storm Sendong has brought, Balsa Mindanao had a Convenor’s Meeting on February 04, 2012 at Xavier University for the youth. The meeting was participated by some members of BALSA Mindanao and youth from the different colleges, and sectors in Cagayan de Oro City. The meeting was able to enlighten the youth as discussion regarding the true essence of helping a hand without counting the cause and not for self- gratification was brought up. A research concerning the flood, its cause, flow, and its contributing factors was also presented. The commitment of the youth to participate in the different relief operations highlighted the assembly.

On February 14, 2012, in solidarity with Mother Nature, Balsa Mindanao conducted a youth forum held at the Xavier University. The forum formally launched the BALSA Mindanao Youth. Educational campaign on environmental issues was also conversed during the forum.

Antonio Pasco, Jr. BALSA Mindanao Youth secretariat said that “Balsa is an alliance to mobilize people for disaster response and climate justice.” The organization’s response to Typhoon Sendong goes beyond helping the victims cope from the tragedy as they call for accountability for the environmental destruction the typhoon has created. They have also volunteers who spend time in the communities to do an integrated approach in educating and empowering the citizens. The y demand for climate justice and envision a social order that upholds equitable distribution human rights, lasting peace, justice and ecologically sound development.

References:http://www.pandaybulig.com/index.php/others/55-balsa-mindanao

“Balsa is an alliance to mobilize

people for disaster response

and climate justice.”

18 The Trailblazer Precious Queenie U. Yap and Junella Therese C. Espejon

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Philippines is known as a country which is abundant of natural resources. Few of these resources are

the agricultural crops, sea life and the rich one, mineral deposits. The affluence of these mineral deposits attracts many people to practice mining in a certain place. Mining is an activity where people dig the soil to withdraw underground mineral deposits. It has been the source of living of many Filipinos especially those who are in the mountainous areas. Mining is like digging for a blessing. However, mining could also be a threat where life could be taken.

Different issues about mining were disclosed, whether to ban this activity or not. Various incidents happened which seemed like indications to stop mining activities in the Philippines.

A Threat to Palawan’s Underground Beauty

Palawan is known for its natural resources which basically captivated many local and foreign tourists. In fact, one of the tourist destinations of Palawan, the Underground River is now considered as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The U n d e r g r o u n d River, El Nido Marine Reserve and white sand beaches are just few of P a l a w a n ’ s t o u r i s t spots.

I n the midst of its being rich in tourism, Palawan has not been exempted in the threat of mining. Some parts of Palawan are mountainous range where a number of companies are already operating mining activities. If not prevented, mining operations will result to very negative impacts to the environment and people of Palawan such as landslides, soil erosion, deforestation of watersheds, flooding and siltation of rivers and farmland.

In order for these mining activities to be stopped, a “No to Mining in Palawan” signature campaign was launched on February 12, 2010 by the Save Palawan movement headed by ABS-CBN Foundation Managing Director Gina Lopez, Puerto Princesa, Palawan mayor Edward Hagedorn and members of civil society, academe, non-government organizations and environmental organizations. It aims to raise 10 million signatures to send a strong message to the Philippine government that mining in Palawan should be stopped.

Landslide Struck in Compostela ValleyAnother thump of disaster visited

the Southern part of Mindanao when a

landslide occurred in Barangay Napnapan, Pantukan, Compostela Valley in Davao. As of in the last update, January 6, Inquirer Mindanao reported that there were at least 25 people killed, 16 others injured and 100 people reported missing. The residents had a difficulty in saving themselves as the landslide struck by 3am while they were asleep. Falling rocks in the roof and the shaking of the ground woken up the residents.

The place was already considered a very dangerous area and was declared as a hazard zone by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) since April 2011 when a landslide triggered by heavy rains also occurred in a small-scale mining community in Barangay Kingking, Pantukan, Compostela Valley. DENR also stated that geohazard maps had already been distributed by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). The local government officials were told of fissures in the ridges of the area and were strongly advised to evacuate the workers and residents. H o w e v e r , t h e

local government find it hard in reaching and monitoring the area because of the place’s remoteness. They were also having difficulties in implementing the evacuation of the populace because the residents kept on coming back to the place and sneaking back to continue their mining activities.

A Nightmare in Cagayan de Oro City Cagayan de Oro City

experienced a very catastrophic damage when the typhoon Sendong (International name, Washi) made its way along the city on December 16, 2011. About 1,257 lives were found dead and there are missing people until now. One of the considered reasons of exacerbated damage on the city is the operation of a number of illegal small-scale mining in Iponan river and its riverbanks. Some reports stated that these illegal mining activities have long been a cause for concern for residents and local

environmentalists. However, due to the lack of action and solution, this resulted to what the residents have feared of. Dawn of December 17, 2011, the Iponan River burst its banks, cruelly submerging numerous barangays in Iponan and Opol, Misamis Oriental in floodwater.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has ordered an immediate stop on these mining operations. According to an article published in Sunstar entitled “Mining Activities along Riverbanks Ordered Stop”, a stoppage order dated February 20, 2012, Engr. Alfredo T. Relampagos, MGB OIC-Regional Director, ordered that all persons and organizations engaged in the conduct of illegal mining activities along the Iponan River and its riverbanks should immediately cease and desist from these “illegal acts.” In line with Relampagos statement in the article, he mentioned that various stoppage orders have been passed before but despite all these, MGB confirmed that mining operations still proliferate in these places. It highly affects the Iponan river and

its vicinities from its headwaters and downstream because this method

has resulted to discoloration of the river and severe or heavy.

As the quality of water in Iponan river continues to deteriorate, the Macalajar bay will also suffer since the two bodies of water are connected to each other. This small-scale mining is

causing destruction to the environment, danger to the

flora and fauna and a threat to people’s health and lives.

***These

environmental disasters which

kept on coming after the other are forcing energy that encourages us to think about the climate change and the negative impact of human activities in the environment. Thus, we, people should practice discipline among ourselves. On the other hand, the government should do their part by banning mining activities on those already eroded areas. We should save our world together as what ABS-CBN Foundation Managing Director Gina Lopez called for the support of No to Mining in Palawan campaign, “There is nothing in the world that can stand in the face of a people united.”

References:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2012/01/05/compostela-valley-landslide-death-toll-now-25-198927http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/122871/16-reported-killed-in-compostela-valley-landslidehttp://businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/21689-the-compostela-valley-disasterhttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/123195/landslide-kills-25-in-compostela-valley-dozens-missing

Local Feature

19The Trailblazer

Irene Joy B. Dayo

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20 The Trailblazer

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21The Trailblazer

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22 The Trailblazer

National Feature

The Philippine press, though it has undergone striking changes, has been regarded as one of the

freest in the world for some time, like its counterparts in other free countries. Throughout history, it has embraced the widened scope of journalism and as a matter of fact, it always has, then and now. Journalists exert effort to do their duties which is according to the Philippine Star publisher, Maximo V. Soliven, “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Needless to say, the nation must be very grateful for these gallant individuals. However, not all people appreciate these. If we try to watch daily newscast, we can still say that there are still press repression, mediamen killings and many others. The very obvious example of these is the awful Maguindanao massacre which happened more than two years ago.

The Maguindanao MassacreThe deadly incident happened

on November 23, 2009 in the town of Ampatuan, Maguindanao while the victims were on their way to file a candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of the town of Buluan. They were then kidnapped and brutally killed.

The stated reason behind the incident was Mangudadatu was challenging Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., son of that period’s Maguindanao governor, in the governatorial election of 2010, part of the national elections.

There were 58 people killed in the massacre including Mangudadatu’s wife, his two sisters, journalists, lawyers, aides and motorists who were witnesses or mistakenly identified as part of the convoy. The massacre was considered as the single deadliest event for journalists in history according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as there are 34 journalists killed. In fact, Philippines ranked second as the most dangerous country for journalists, next to Iraq.

End Impunity Campaign“Stop killings, end impunity!,”

These were the words claimed by the people from various organizations on November 23, 2011 during the opening activity of Stop Killings, End Impunity campaign headed by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan at Plaza Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City.

The activity was also opened to the student publications of the

different universities and even to high schools of Cagayan de Oro City.

“Paglantaw bale sa nahitabo, sa brutal na pagkamatay sa mga biktima sa massacre. Panawagan, pagpaningil ug hustisya,” Vanessa Entia, Regional Coordinator of Kabataan Partylist (Northern Mindanao), said. The purpose of the event was to remember the second anniversary of Maguindanao massacre.

“[We should know] Kung unsa siya [Maguindanao massacre] ka-seryoso, mao gi-open sa student pub [publication] kay isa sa dapat paniman-an [of all students],” she added explaining that it is a social responsibility of the students to know the happenings not only the goings-on in the campus but even outside the university.

The event started at the Plaza Divisoria which was considered as the starting point of the parade going to Gaisano Mall – Osmeña where the opening program took place.

The parade was then resumed towards the McArthur Park and stopped in front of the Press Freedom monument for the main and closing ceremony.

During the ceremony, there were bands present playing songs that conveyed message on voicing the call for justice of the Maguindanao massacre. Various groups and organizations were also at the event which included Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC), National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), Karapatan – Northern Mindanao, Women Journalists of Cagayan de Oro, Sunstar Cagayan de oro, News Star, K9, Birada Binta Birad and Mindanao News Daily. There were also representatives from various radio networks in Mindanao such as DXJR, Radyo Mindanao Network (RMN), Bombo Radyo, Magnum Radio and DXCU Radyo Asenso where Rey Abacahin, the program organizer, came from.

In Abacahin’s closing speech, he said that the Maguindanao massacre has already reached its second year centenary and yet, the justice has not been given in which most of the people should fight for the innocent civilians and media people who were killed in the massacre.

“I organized this movement to remind everyone nga ang kaso sa Maguindanao massacre dili lang i-set aside sa mga tao kundi tagaan ug importansya

para pud kini nga wake up call for the citizens and labi na sa pamilya sa mga biktima nga musinggit ug tagaan tag bili ang kaso sa Maguindanao massacre,” Abacahin ended.

The Massacre’s 28th Month Commemoration

A prayer and candle lighting ceremony highlighted the commemoration of the 28th month of the gruesome Maguindanao massacre jointly organized by the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (CODC) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) – Cagayan de Oro Chapter.

A solemn prayer started the activity led by COPC president Msgr. Elmer Abacahin and a candle lighting ceremony was later held to honour the 32 journalists whose families are still crying for justice. Abacahin has called on the members of the media to continue their fight for justice.

The COPC and NUJP – Cagayan de Oro Chapter are jointly holding a monthly commemoration of the grisly Maguindanao massacre. Both groups mourned the relentless outbreak of killings against members of the media as they remembered the gruesome Maguindanao massacre. The NUJP is closely monitoring the murder cases filed against the Ampatuans and other suspects.

***

Indeed, the Maguindanao massacre produced fear and confusion to most Filipinos but it is not a circumstance that will hinder the purpose of the existence of press in giving the truth and in provoking people’s consciousness but it is a precursor that truth should always prevail because with truth, justice will come out.

The “Stop Killing, End Impunity” campaign, the commemoration of the massacre’s 28th month and other upcoming actions for justice are not for the sake of being come-and-go events but these echo out that the call for today’s generation is to end impunity, the impunity that bunged up Filipinos to know and voice out the truth.

References:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacreht tp : / /www. suns ta r . com .ph /cagayan -de -oro / loca l -news/2012/03/23/oro-media-holds-candle-lighting-212866

Irene Joy B. Dayo and Juicy Jean P. Reyes

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National Feature

Around 20,000 students, teachers, and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) officials took part

in mass planking, walkouts and march in nationwide protest against SUCs budget cut against the inaction of President Benigno Aquino administration. This culminated the week-long protest of the students and faculty against SUCs budget cut. Apart from planking, the protesters also tried newer protest strategy to show their dismay on Aquino’s administration such as funeral march and “Isko Tsunami Walk”, among others. The protesters’ version of beauty queen Shamcey Supsup’s Tsunami Walk covered more than a 13 kilometer distance. Simultaneous planking, walkouts also happened in different provinces and SUCs in solidarity with the protest.

In a press statement, Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad, said that the aggregate budget for SUCs was increased by 10.1 percent to 26.1 billion Php in 2012 and from 23.7 billion Php in 2011. Plainly, the subsidy for educational system is higher this year. With the combined amount of 23.6 billion Php inclusive of automatic appropriations, which are itemized for SUCs, a standby fund of more than 2 billion Php under the Miscellaneous and Personnel Benefit Funds (MPBF) for unfilled positions, as well as additional 500 million Php under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for school development – 250 million Php each for the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), and

for capital outlay. The budget for CHED was intended for the additional funding of the schools with the government’s priority areas for growth. Abad clarified that there was no budget cut by stating, “That’s the real score: There’s no budget cut. If they define ‘budget cut’ as the difference between what they proposed and what was intended in the proposed budget, then the whole government got a ‘budget cut’”.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Reymond Palatino submitted a petition addressed to Committee on Appropriations Chairman, Rep. Joseph Abaya, and a proposed budget amendments including a 24 billion Php increase for the budget of SUCs. Palatino explained that the 21.8 billion Php given to SUCs for 2012 is around 24 billion Php discrepancy of the 45.8 billion Php that SUCs need. He challenged the Aquino administration to grant this proposal or they will be left with no choice but to continue the rally.

On October 12, 2011, Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST) as one of the SUCs took part in the nationwide fight against budget cut. Most of the MUST students wore black shirts as a campaign against the decreasing educational subsidy. As stated in the first issue of The Trailblazer Magazine last semester, MUST ranked ninth among the 2011 top 20 SUCs affected in the budget cut with 12,273,000.00 Php slashed from their budget; placed eight among the ten in personal services by a

thousand pesos with 13,620 Php. Over-all, MUST rated fifth in a total percentage of 11.70% among the 20 SUC budget cuts.

The Commission of Higher Education supported the call to increase the budget in tertiary education saying that the budget allocation for 2012 would only act as a “survival budget”. He also added that they can’t afford ambitious project to raise the quality of education in SUCs with that budget. Meanwhile, Senator Allan Peter Cayetano also calls for the budget increase for education stating that the government will benefit from it in the long run. Accordingly, the government focuses on basic education, discriminating the college education. Despite that, he still intends to push the increase and encourage his fellow senators on this matter.

As Senator Cayetano stated, our future should be determined by the quality of education that we have today, and with these kind of set up in the Philippine education, one can already identify the Filipinos future.

References:http://www.facebook.com/notes/kristian-jacob-abad-lora/list-of-2012-education-budget-cuts-wala-pa-ring-pagbabago-sa-ika-2-taon-ni-aquin/10150255413419794http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/09/25/budget-department-reiterates-no-budget-cut-sucs-181475http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/22/11/students-find-senate-backer-higher-sucs-budgethttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/64223/state-colleges-universities-protest-p146-m-budget-cuthttp://upissues.wordpress.com/category/budget-cut-2/

23The Trailblazer

Precious Queenie U Yap and Roshelle Novie L. Cabrido

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National FeatureAfter ten long years of dominion,

who would have predicted that this once most powerful, influential,

and persuasive lady of Malacañang is now detained for the numerous cases in which she was involved? Amidst the mountainous predicament, she and her kin still try to climb up, but some say that her decade of being “the undefeated” had already gone. Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA), the once known as “Iron lady in Asia” has been facing a lot of obstacles after her term as the country’s president has expired. Anomalies were found after President Benigno Aquino (PNoy) took over. Right now, numbers of cases were filed against the former PGMA now Congressman GMA (CGMA) about the money she and her party were accused of corruption during her time.

Now, she is sitting on a wheelchair, suffering from a cervical spine illness, and appearing a lot more stressed than ever before. How did she stand up all these? Isn’t it heartbreaking to know that the former president is facing all these? Are these reasonable? After all those many things she did in the country? Well, there are such things she did not admit:

The Chosen Ones“I am Sorry.” --- A part of her response

on the alleged conspiracy for cheating in 2004 Elections. Together with former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Virgilio Garcillano (her own appointee), they main-cast the controversial ‘Hello Garci’ tape. The tape contains their conversation of anomalous deeds which resulted to the so-called ‘Dagdag-Bawas Method’, a method used to cheat in the election. As charged, CGMA indirectly shaved off the opponents’ votes and added them to hers.

In 2007 Elections, this method seemed unnecessary in Maguindanao. Indictment said the anomalous results were spearheaded by the Ampatuan dynasty, leaving the votes of the opponents of Arroyo allies “good as nothing”. This was the first case against former PGMA- the electoral sabotage case with the former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and Provincial Election

Supervisor Lintang Bedol. Seventeen

months after s t e p p i n g

d o w n f r o m t h e

highest position in the land, she was served an arrest warrant for the aforementioned case. Then another separate case was filed against former elections chairman Benjamin Abalos, former Cotabato Provincial Election Supervisor Yogie Martirizar and Army Capt. Peter Reyes which concerned the rigging of poll results in Cotabato in 2007.

The KICKBACKersFew of the most controversial

transactions in her term are the hideous incentives on acquiring private deals. Remember the NBN-ZTE deal? The deal was canceled but the case leading to the Arroyos’ involvement is still rolling. The deal was meant to let the Chinese Firm Zhong Xing Telecommunications (ZTE) Corporation manage and handle the proposed National Broadband Network (NBN) of the country. Glitches started when the deal was authorized by CGMA despite the irregularities of the project. Former COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos, Sr. was also involved for bribing 200 Million Php to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in order to secure the deal. Later, a witness stated that $30 Million was supposedly released as kickbacks. Star witness Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada also said the ZTE deal was overpriced by $130 Million.

A lot more cases concerning kickbacks leading to CGMA shook her throne. These include the $2 Million extortion case of Nani Perez - Power Plant Deal; 432 Million Php Fertilizer deal in 2003; Poll Automation Contract (which was believed to be overpriced for P500 Million) and the Jueteng Payolas. Most of the cases were voided under the trial of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and people really wondered about it.

“Ang Lumang STEALo”There are many forms of stealing

but all forms are hidden in cloak until last December 6, 2011. Plunder cases were filed against CGMA based on the alleged abuse of funds at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Together with her PCSO Board Appointees and Commission on Audit (COA) officials, they face the cases accusing them for stealing the agency’s confidential funds for three (3) consecutive years. It is believed that the PCSO is now carrying 4 Billion Php worth of debts (also a one year worth of aid for the sick and poor) caused by the alleged sabotage.

CGMA was also involved in several transportation projects such as the Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City which claimed to have 532.92 Million Php stolen from its funds and the North Rail Project connecting Metro Manila and Central & Northern Luzon that cost the Philippines to loan $400 Million on a bank from China. Another talks about the failure of Arroyo’s administration to remit 72 million Php capital gains taxes over the 1.2 billion Php sale of the old Iloilo airport

to Megaworld Corp. However, this case was dismissed due to lack of utter merit “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”, they say, but who knows?

Scam Detected!In connection with the 2004

Elections, there were some unusual schemes spotted. One was known as the Fertilizer Fund Scam which pointed former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante as the forefront of the said scam. Later investigation stated that the scam’s purpose was for the “Campaign Kitties” of CGMA in 2004 Elections. Bolante was charged of distributing 728 Million Php worth of fertilizer funds, intended for farmers, to Arroyo allies. Not apart from this, billions of another agricultural funds disappeared like bubbles suspected for the same purpose, known as the Swine Scam. But this time, funds for hog-raisers were allegedly corrupted by former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and made the same deeds as Bolante did. All of these scam cases are now pending.

The Hidden AccountsIn 2003, a bank account was disclosed

by Sen. Panfilo Lacson for unreasonably acquiring 321 Million Php, the famous Jose Pidal Bank Account. Lacson accused the husband of CGMA, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, for the said money launder hidden in Pidal’s name. The case became dormant when the late Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, former First Gentleman’s younger brother, claimed the alias and asked for his right to privacy. Not along with Iggy’s death, questions still remained mysteriously the same with the Arroyo’s money in Germany exposed by Sen. Cayetano. Critics still believed that the respondents were under the protection of the previous president.

Plunder case filed against her regarding the alleged misuse of 550 million Php worth funds from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, extra judicial killings brought by the grotesque Maguindanao Massacre, graft cases and the above mentioned charges are just only few of the cases former PGMA will have to deal. As it is, she is ready to face these charges before a proper forum.

References:http://www.bulatlat.comhttp://www. cegp.nethttp://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=769508&publicationSubCategoryId=http://arroyocorruption.pbworks.com/w/page/13705457/FrontPagehttp://talakayanatkalusugan.com/2011/04/28/arroyo-plunder-case-over-misuse-of-owwa-funds/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/131393/arroyo-not-in-critical-condition-says-vmmc-doctor/feedh t t p : / / w w w . c o n g r e s s . g o v . p h / d o w n l o a d / p r e s s _photos/15Macapagal_Arroyo_Gloriahttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/94265/sc-allows-arroyo-to-travel-abroad%E2%80%94official/feedhttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/130001/what-went-before-plunder-raps-vs-arroyo/feedhttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/99951/cases-vs-gloria-macapagal-

arroyo-moving%E2%80%93palace/feed

24 The Trailblazer

(An Update to GMA Cases)Norman Caingles and Junella Therese C. Espejon

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National FeatureTheir names were in bold letters, took

the front page, and published on tabloids and newspapers, aired on radio

and television. In the year 2011, these news dominants have been the trending topics in the society for the different issues and topic involving their names. Let us take a look of the list.

The Triumphant Teams: Azkals, Dragons, Volcanoes The Azkals have seriously impacted the Filipinos in reviving the spirit of football in the Philippines that was once dead. They have brought pride and honor to the country in their winnings over their several opponents in both serious games and friendly matches, not to forget their match against the LA Galaxy, where David Beckham, football superstar, was one of the players. The Dragons have become the prime in the field of paddling. They have won their first gold medal in an international competition held at Florida, USA beating international teams. They also represented the country in 2011’s South East Asian Games (SEAG) and finished first. Despite the achievements that they had, the Dragons get the least support from the country even if they are an all-Filipino team. The Volcanoes have erupted to fame as they crushed the United Arab Emirates and defeat the South Korea team. They have continued their play to the semis at the Asian Men’s Rugby 7’s tournament beating China, earning a spot at the finals facing Japan. The Volcanoes fail to be victorious over Japan, ending at second place but still the result have automatically qualified them for the 2012 Hongkong Rugby 7’s tournament.

The Beauty Queens: Shamcey Supsup, Gwendolyn Ruais Shamcey Supsup has become a fan favorite in 2011’s Miss Universe finishing off as 3rd runner-up during the pageant held at Sao Paolo, Brazil. She is a native from General Santos City. Shamcey became a top contender during the pageant because of her wit and exquisiteness, and of course, she graced it all with her “tsunami” walk. Gwendolyn Ruais was hailed as Miss World 2011 1st runner-up held at England. Her stature is one of her assets that makes her very noticeable during the competition but it was in the question and answer portion that she gave her fiercest answer.

The Lamentable Mules: Ordinario, Credo, Batain Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain were executed in China via lethal injection, last March 30, 2011, due to illegal drug smuggling. The three were arrested separately in 2008 being caught with at least four kilograms of heroin. The execution of the three Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the foreign land had stirred up the Filipinos’ emotions pushing them to conduct

Jay Miguel M. Alacha

25The Trailblazer

The Miserable Congresswoman: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the former head of the country, has dropped off in power taking the seat in the Congress. She still proves that by all means, her political powers have never died out despite the controversies she continues to face. At the latter part of the previous year, her health conditions was publicized which gained various comments from the masses, especially when she was denied to seek treatment abroad because of the charges field against her. She ended up in a hospital arrest in Veteran’s Memorial Hospital with her number of cases still increasing.

The Sadistic Visitor: Typhoon Sendong Typhoon Sendong has brought serious damages in Northern Mindanao on the mid-week of December as it wreaked havoc in the island of Mindanao and claimed thousands of lives, millions worth of properties and broke down countless drops of tears. Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City were the two major cities in Northern

Mindanao that were greatly affected. Families have become homeless due to the flash floods that resulted

during the typhoon. Despite the losses that have been counted, support and

assistance pour out to the victims coming from the different sectors.

The Temperate Leader: Simeon Benigno Aquino III President Simeon Benigno Aquino III, PNoy as the locals call him, has been constantly on the news. He has been hot on the public’s eye when he purchased a luxury car, Porsche, but after the unfavorable feedbacks, decided to sell it. He was also on to the discussion when he called the attention of the PCSO officials who are concerned on giving out SUV’s to the bishops. PNoy’s name is not only active in the politics but as well as in the

local showbiz scene, as he dates celebrities. His lapses have been keenly observed by the entire country so as his achievements consistently.

These people have clearly made an impact on the perceiving eyes of the public, whether they were publicized in a good or bad way. Truly, they dominate in creating news and channeling controversies. References:http://www.starmometer.com/2011/11/07/gwendolyn-ruais-wins-1st-runner-up-in-miss-world-2011/http://sports.inquirer.net/13795/shanghai-rugby-sevens-philippine-volcanoes-shock-south-koreanshttp://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/sportsaholic/rugby-eruption-due-rise-philippine-volcanoes-144724471.htmlhttp://www.mb.com.ph/node/335612/philippine-volcanoehttp://goodnewspilipinas.com/2011/08/05/philippine-dragon-boat-team-wins-gold-in-tampa-bay/http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2012/01/04/prosecution-dares-chief-justice-disclose-assets-198656http://www.keywordspeak.com/2011/12/chief-justice-renato-coronas.htmlhttp://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/08/05/11/ph-dragon-boat-team-wins-gold-floridahttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/world/asia/philippines-arrests-ex-president-gloria-macapagal-arroyo.html?_r=1http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideOpinion.htm?f=2011/august/4/jennyortuoste.isx&d=2011/august/4http://balita.ph/2011/12/27/chief-justice-corona-answers-impeachment-charges/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20110330-328415/3-Filipino-drug-mules-executed-in-Chinahttp://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/11/living/cnn-heroes/index.html

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prayer vigils for the three, yet sentence has been served to them.

The Tragic Couple: Ramgen Revilla, Janelle Manahan Ramgen Revilla and Janelle Manahan became the saddest couple on the eve of October 31, 2011 due to the assault that had happened claiming the life of Ramgen Revilla. Ramgen was shot to kill by unidentified gunmen while Janelle got a severe shot in her face. The incident became worse when Revilla’s siblings have become the prime suspects of his murder.

Ramgen Revilla is the son of Ramon Revilla Sr. and Genelyn Magsaysay.

T h e U n f a v o r a b l e A d j u d i c a t o r : Renato Corona C h i e f Justice Renato Corona, the head of the Philippine judiciary system has been charged of an impeachment complaint with the grounds of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and culpable violation of Constitution. His case is submitted to the senate after he has been impeached in the lower house by 188 votes. His case is still on trial as of this writing. He believes that his impeachment charges have something to do with his loyalty to the former president, now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

To fight online piracy, two bills were introduced early this year which caused clamor from the internet citizens (netizens). These are the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) from the House of Representatives and Protecting Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Online Property Act or simply PROTECT IP ACT.PIPA is SOPA’s companion bill in

the Senate. These bills aimed in strengthening protection against copyright breach and intellectual property theft. SOPA and

PIPA target foreign websites that infringe copyright materials such as music and video. However, these can also be applied to consumer goods and medication.Proponents of SOPA and PIPA assured a stronger enforcement tools if these bills become a law.

What do exactly these bills mean? Originally, the bills stated two methods on fighting against online piracy. First, the United States (U.S.)

Department of Justice could seek court order requiring Internet Service Provider (ISP) to block domain names of the violating sites. Second is to allow rights holders to seek court orders to cut off funding infringing sites by preventing payment companies such as Paypal, Mastercard, and Visa from cooperating with these sites. Further, the search links to the sites will be removed and the sites in question will have five days to appeal any action taken. Blocking domain names has been a major concern of the Internet security experts as this could disrupt the underlying principles of the internet.Later on, the blocking of the domain name was removed but the bills could still require search engines to delete any links to the infringing sites. However, there is no definite meaning as to what “infringing sites” are.

Unlike the existing Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that requires operators to remove specific infringing content, SOPA and PIPA would go after the entire site.

The Ramifications Generally, these bills would cost the freedom of the internet and its users. Singing one’s favorite artist and

uploading it to sites or the so-called “cover” without asking permission to that artist is probably a no-no. This artist may come after you for stealing his/her “intellectual property”. If someone downloaded an illegal file, cracked DVD or any other form of infringed material will be accused guilty if proven and is liable for prosecution once these bills be approved.

As the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argues, the bill would prevent the payment companies to fund the sites which are alleged to be on a reasonable belief of infringement, so even if the accusation turns to be false, only the site suffers. More often, EFF called SOPA and PIPA as “massive piece of job-killing bills”. SOPA could shut down community base sites like YouTube and Google if one of its users were proved to be guilty of violating one US copyright.

As a sign of protest, the websites which are against SOPA and PIPA had their page background colored black. Some of these were Google, Wikipedia, Reddit,Craigslist and XDA Developers. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was also against the bills.

The protest proved to be effective as 4.5 million signed a petition against it. 18 senators have backed away from the proposed legislation.

Keep the Web OPEN Due to the internet protest, the voting of SOPA and PIPA has been shelved until further agreements and

changes are made. However, there is another bill which would likely replace SOPA and PIPA, the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN) introduced by House Representative Darrel Issa. Unlike SOPA and PIPA, OPEN would give oversight to the International Trade Commission (ITC) to websites that ‘willfully’ promote copyright violation. ITC would then issue a cease and desist order prohibiting payment companies and online advertisers to do business with these sites. As a result, the financial incentives of these infringing sites will be cut off. OPEN has received support from tech giants such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and others.

While the interest of the bill is to protect the intellectual property of the U.S. Government, the netizens hope that government will maintain the openness of the web and not censor the freedom of the internet.

References:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16655272http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/internet-wins-sopa-and-pipa-both-shelved.arshttp://www.pcworld.com/article/248401/were_sopapipa_protests_a_success_the_results_are_in.html

SOPA, PIPAand the Intellectual Pirates

Precious Queenie U Yap and Roshelle Novie L. Cabrido

26 The Trailblazer

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Sci - Tech

SIBYA: FIRST NORTHERN MINDANAO COMMUNICATORS CONGRESS:February 17, 2012; Cinema 2, SM City, Cagayan de Oro City; Irene Joy B. Dayo (Publication Secretary), Juicy Jean P. Reyes (Senior Staff Writer), Randulf A. Agcopra (Junior Artist), Junella Therese C. Espejon (Junior Staff Writer),Joshua Ramon C. Copino (Contributor), Michael P. Aliposa (Contributor), Alyssa Rikka C. Clenuar (Contributor).

BALSA MINDANAO YOUTH CONVENORS’ MEETING:February 04, 2012; Xavier Univerity, Cagayan de Oro City; Participants: Normancres P. Caingles (Associate Editor/ Creative Director), Precious Queenie U. Yap (Managing Editor-Finance/ Features Editor), Randulf A. Agcopra (Junior Artist), Junella Therese C. Espejon (Junior Staff Writer).

STUDENTS’ ACTION ON THE RIGHTS TO EDUCATION SEMINAR:November 30, 2011; Tabang Mindanao, Nazareth, Cagayan de Oro City; Participants: Normancres P. Caingles (Associate Editor/ Creative Director), Precious Queenie U. Yap (Managing Editor-Finance/ Features Editor), Rodaliza D. Paner (News Editor), Irene Joy B. Dayo (Publication Secretary), Juicy Jean P. Reyes (Senior Staff Writer), Jeffry T. Quiñanola (Senior Staff Writer), Randulf A. Agcopra (Junior Artist), Junella Therese C. Espejon (Junior Staff Writer), Ferdinand M. Salazar (Junior Staff Writer), Michael P. Aliposa (Contributor).

LEADERSHIP SEMINAR - WORKSHOP FOR STUDENT LEADERS & MODERATORSNovember 19-19, 2011; Audio Visual Center - MUST; Participants: Edu D. Gagno (Editor-in-Chief), Irene Joy B. Dayo (Publication Secretary), Juicy Jean P. Reyes (Senior Staff Writer). 27The Trailblazer

Trailblazer in Motion:SEMINARS | WORKSHOPS | TRAININGS ATTENDED:

Financial Statement

ARCHITECTS(January 27 & 29, 2012)

MUST Passing Rate: 75.00%(6 out of 8)

Nat’l Passing Rate: 50.83%

1. Christopher Jay C. Espelita2. Antonio D. Maceda Iii3. Isadora C. Mascariñas4. Eric T. Panugaling5. Walmer V. Tacorda6. Earvin Garry M. Yap

CIVIL ENGINEERS(November 19-20, 2011)

MUST Passing Rate: 23.33%(7 out of 30)

National Passing Rate: 34.28%

1. Radjan L. Abecia2. Lenoel M. Cablinda3. Ruby Mae A. Catulay4. Rey Neil S. Desabille5. Joyce A. Egarguin6. Apple Mae S. Malonzo7. Lewis B. Ohayas

ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS(October 29-30, 2011)

MUST Passing Rate: 73.91%(34 out of 46)

National Passing Rate: 36.86%

1. Engr. Kent Roger M. Abrea2. Engr. Joyrem Zarmaine D. Ayuman3. Engr. Tejanie A. Bagting4. Engr. Mark Monsour D. Baulo5. Engr. Sigmund H. Cabaraban6. Engr. Ken Jon C. Cabigon7. Engr. Albert B. Cadelina

8. Engr. Christy A. Cañete9. Engr. Alan James R. Cantano Jr.10. Engr. May Ann T. Daba11. Engr. James G. Espinosa12. Engr. Christine P. Exclamador13. Engr. Regirose Janette P. Fuentes14. Engr. Mark Carlos G. Galarroza15. Engr. Lester Andy A. Galeon16. Engr. Delvin Ray T. Gamalo17. Engr. Darleen V. Garganian18. Engr. Ray Angelie P. Gonzales19. Engr. John Micheal A. Gorospe20. Engr. Christian Roy G. Lagat21. Engr. Rick Emelson A. Magto22. Engr. Ralph Lou A. Mansueto23. Engr. Warren A. Nuñez24. Engr. Sheenaville E. Pabayo25. Engr. Peter Jeck G. Pacudan26. Engr. Ben Jonathan Hadi K. Pagalan27. Engr. Arturo A. Perez Jr.28. Engr. Justin Jeff M. Plaza29. Engr. Jappeth Ben D. Tagud30. Engr. Lhine L. Tilap31. Engr. Nestor T. Wasil Jr.32. Engr. Naoichi R. Yamada33. Engr. John Paul C. Yu34. Engr. Roel S. Zaportiza

LICENSURE EXAMINATIONS for TEACHERS (LET) -

Elementary Level(September 25, 2011)

MUST Passing Rate: 22.68%(56 out of 105)

National Passing Rate: 22.68%

1. Rachelle Mae E. Abadejos2. Aezel K. Abellanosa3. Robert S. Abellera4. Kissy Pearl S. Aguilar

5. Junalyn T. Almirante6. Athena Theresa Anggam7. Wilina L. Ape8. Sheena Mae R. Arbuiz9. Ladyline T. Armodal10. Hannah C. Borja11. Rachel Ann M. Bagac12. Kristina P. Balaba13. Roby Mae Kris Cabarles14. Michelle Ann B. Cadeliña15. Mercy A. Carag16. Janine Marie P. Conde17. Darlyn Grace C. Convicto18. Maryros S. Cuarteros19. Mach Jude P. Dagooc20. Julie Ann M. Delos Reyes21. Shiela A. Elendron22. Grendell Charm Embate23. Krizaida Alleya Espinosa24. Lovely Jane P. Estabaya25. Cherry Jean Galenzoga26. Pryce Michelle B. Galeon27. Carminita Galleon28. Romelyn T. Gonzales29. Loida Marie S. Gumera30. Florida S. Harina31. Harry Quin C. Kila32. Justine Marie G. Labata33. April Rose P. Lacar34. Celeste G. Lamayan (10th placer)35. Syrel Marie O. Maape36. Jessica A. Maape37. Daisy Angelique Martinez38. Floresa P. Occena39. Charmaine C. Pabatao40. Sheila Mae J. Paguidopon41. Stephanie C. Pamisa42. Christine N. Quiriado43. Jessica Marie B. Ramos44. Jhona Lou R. Ranolo

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45. Precilla E. Saavedra46. Sarah Mae R. Saguing47. Ethel Jane L. Salapang48. Jennelyn T. Siao49. Leni V. Toledo50. Alyn Mae N. Valledor51. Karyle Eunice M. Ibonia52. Mae B. Abellanosa53. Melly Bee V. Almiñe

LICENSURE EXAMINATIONS for TEACHERS (LET) -

Secondary Level(September 25, 2011)

MUST Passing Rate: 35.05%(34 out of 97)

National Passing Rate: 31.45%

1. Melisa Mae E. Amano2. Whena Q. Babanon3. Mary Grace G. Bernas4. Lauiza B. Casino5. Junnafe D. Daleon6. Carlo Rey T. Dalman7. Jerry S. Del Puerto8. Rejun L. Erojo9. Roger Joey P. Ihong10. Evangeline P. Labuga11. Loraine C. Lasmarias12. Gleddy Mae U. Montuero13. Jeramine Rada 14. Mae Claire M. Roxas15. Yvonne B. Virtudazo

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