Ilocos fiscal dismisses theft charges vs. UNP campus newshen

June 22, 2008 

Rod Tajon for Northern Dispatch

VIGAN CITY — A Vigan City prosecutor dismissed the theft charges filed against a student journalist of the University of Northern Philippines (UNP).

According to the Resolution signed by City Prosecutor Dedicacion Banua, the Criminal Complaint for Theft filed by . Nolito Ragunjan, coordinator for Student Publications of UNP-Vigan, was dismissed because the City Prosecutor’s Office finds no probable cause to hold Ma. Criselda Diocena for trial.

Said court resolution stated that the “taking” referred to in Art.308 of the Revised Penal Code, must be accompanied by the intention, at the time of the taking, of withholding the thing with some character of permanency.

“So if the taking is momentary as when the purpose of the offender is to return the things to the owner when he was apprehended, intent to gain is not present,” the resolution noted citing People vs. Visconde 75 Phil. 520.

Ragunjan charged Diocena and Rafal, editor-in-chief of Tandem and former student regent respectively, of robbery before the complaint was amended to theft charged solely to Diocena.

Intent to gain

The resolution upheld the stand of Diocena that she has the unlimited access to the Student Resource Center (SRC) where the alleged Central Processing Unit (CPU) is located.

“It is settled that the allegedly missing CPU is with the SRC of UNP and had been there since the report that the same was missing.” The resolution stated, and added that, “It was removed from one office only to be transferred to another office of the same University. Meaning, it is still within the custody of the University and not transferred to anybody, it is within the control and free disposal of the University.”

The resolution stressed that the elements of intent to gain and unlawful taking could “hardly be inferred”.

According to the Revised Penal Code, Theft has the following elements: a) Intent of gain; b) Unlawful taking; c) Personal property belonging to another; d) Absence of violence or intimidation against persons or force upon things; and e) without the consent of the owner.

Persecution campaign

Human Rights groups in Ilocos welcomed the decision of the City Prosecutor’s Office. In a joint statement issued by Tanggulan Youth Network for the Advancement of Human Rights and Ilocos Human Rights Advocates (IHRA), said that the decision only showed that attempts to hide the truth would succeed.

However, they dismissed the thought that the harassments will stop.

These fabricated cases are meant to persecute the students fighting for the rights of the students. The statement noted stating that the dismissal of Diocena does not end the continuing persecution among student activists.

“As part of the educational system that is commercialized, colonial and fascist, it is expected that they will continue their vilification campaign against Diocena, Pelayo among others to demoralize the students in asserting their rights,” the statement stressed.

Diocena for her part, also welcomed the prosecutor’s decision, however, she feared that another trumped up charges are yet to come.

“According to Office of Student Affairs (OSA), there is still a pending case against me,” Diocena lamented. “With this continuing repression, my future is at stake,” she said.

As this developed, Diocena and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) lobbied the issue to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and rallied in front of CHED’s national office last week to call for the reopening of Tandem and to stop campus press freedom violations committed by the UNP administration.

The fight will continue until Tandem re-opens, repression ends

CEGP to UNP Administrators:

The fight will continue until Tandem re-opens, repression ends.

The closure of TANDEM, the official student publication of UNP is nothing but a desperate attempt by UNP President Lauro Tacbas and his cohorts to prevent the issue of the “illegal” 33% tuition increase last year from reaching the students and thwart the possibilities of collective resistance against the said increase.

TANDEM members have been experiencing various cases of harassment from the school administration. Editor-in-chief Criselda Diocena was banned from taking her final examinations and was even charged with a baseless accusation of theft.

The CEGP strongly denounces the latter. The Guild considers the attack as part of a greater plan to further silence the TANDEM from voicing out different student issues inside the university and exposing the bleak future of the youth under the Arroyo regime.

Such move by the school administration leads to the illegal 33% tuition fee increase. This is a clear violation of the regulation that students should be made aware of such tuition hike. Instead, no consultation took place, which left the students totally unaware of this sudden increase. Aside from this, miscellaneous fees also increased.

For 33 years, the TANDEM has fulfilled its duty of being the vanguard of academic freedom and has never faltered in its commitment to the entire UNP community, which gained the publication numerous awards in campus journalism. 

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It has been steadfast in its task of informing students about different anomalies inside the university brought about by the evil schemes of this Arroyo government to hinder accessible and quality education.This trend of silencing student papers has been imminent since the administration sees the power and ability of student publications to inform and mobilize the student population.

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This issue does not call for a new student publication; thus the need for reforms in handling not only the publication but also the entire UNP community should be addressed. UNP administrators should bear this in mind: freedom of speech and the practice of student’s democratic rights will never waver despite numerous attacks made against it. Such a move only strengthens and unifies the ranks of students against an oppressive administration.

This fight will continue until perpetrators are deemed liable, the Tandem re-opens, and repression ends. ###

04 June 2008 

PRESS STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reference:

Vijae Alquisola, President, 09162034402

Parents and students prepare for opening of classes

San Fernando City, La Union (June 4) - A week before the start of classes, parents and students flock to various department stores, clothing stalls, and bookstores around the city to buy school supplies, uniforms and other needed school paraphernalia to prepare for this school year’s first day.

Various schools in the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels have announced to open this coming June 10 and this has been greeted by the typical anticipation and anxiety by parents and students.

Although a number of economic crisis has burdened much of the Filipino family in the past months, the rising costs of rice, fuel and LPG to name a few, many families in La Union still see education as one of their priorities and find ways to produce the needed fees to send their children to school.

Other than tuition fees, students together with their parents has the needed school supplies to think about before being fully ready for the opening of classes.

How much do a typical student need to have all the necessary things he/she need for school?

To try and find this out, we made a checklist of things to buy for a single student each in the elementary, high school and college level and made a quick stroll to the places  people frequently buy their school stuff and we came up with this list of expenses:

For a typical elementary student, the parents would have to buy at least 9 notebooks (which cost 10-27.75 pesos each); a pencil (P6.25),  pad paper (P10.00 for grade 1-3 and P20.00 for intermediate pads); Crayons (P12.00 for 8’s and P24.25 for 24’s); a bag (which cost 149.75 to 499.75); a ruler (P12.00 ) ; scissors (P7.00); eraser (P5.25) and sharpener (P5.00).

A typical elementary student and their parents has to spend around P287.25 to P736.00 to prepare him or her for school excluding school uniforms which are optional for those in public schools.

A high school student has to buy the following school supplies: 10 to 12 notebooks (P12.50-P18.75) a math notebook (P19.25); ball pen (P4.95-6.50) or sign pen ( P27.00); pad paper (P20.00); 1/2 Lengthwise (12.25); 1/2 Crosswise (12.25); 1/4 lengthwise (5.50) and bag (149.75- P499.75).

This would total to 349.15 to P827.50 for every high school student excluding school uniforms which range from the cheapest P25.00 for second-hand blouses and polo shirts to P380.00 for new ones. Skirts and pants are also tagged at P380.00. Prices for shoes also ranges from P550.00 above.

A college student on the other had must have notebooks which vary in numbers according to the number of subjects, courses and personal preference of the student. Most typical first year college student need at least 8 notebooks (P12.50 to P18.75 each). Additionally, he/she has to have a yellow pad paper (P20.00); a ball pen (P4.95-P6.25) or a sign pen (P27.00); and a bag (149.75 to more than a thousand pesos).

Although it varies from one school to another and one course to another, most colleges and universities around San Fernando City require the wearing of compulsory uniforms and oblige additional fees involving books and uniforms. A student of Bachelor of Science in Office Management (BSOM) in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-Mid La Union Campus (DMMMSU-MLUC), for example, is required to pay P1,300.00 for books and uniform, meanwhile, a student in Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education (BSSEd) from DMMMSU-South La Union Campus in Agoo, La Union is required to pay 350.00 for their uniform.  Other schools such as Union Christian College require their students P155.00 for the cloth of their uniforms excluding sewing cost which amounts around P250.00. Expenses are much higher for those enrolled at other courses such as nursing which requires additional cost involving various uniforms and other paraphernalia.

All in all, a freshman would have to spend an estimate of at least P1,176.00 to ready himself or herself for school excluding the tuition and other school fees.

Tuition rate in the universities and colleges in La Union ranges from P100.00/unit with additional P1,325.00 miscellaneous fee to P405.25/unit with additional miscellaneous fees which reach up to 20,000 pesos.

With the ongoing hike on the prices of LPG, fare, food prices and not to mention tuition and other school fees, many students are now thinking of ways to cut their expenses.

“Iyong mga lumang notebook nalang uli ang gagamitin ko at scrap papers para sa notes ( I’ll just use my old notebooks and scrap papers for jotting down notes) ”, shared Mhae, a 4^th year HRM student when asked on how she can help out in saving money for this coming school year.

Aside from recycling and reusing old supplies,  many students plan to rent a boarding house near their schools so they could walk their way to school rather than commuting. Others also plan to share baon  for lunch with their classmates to cut their food expenses.   

Others also turn to the popular ukay-ukay stores to find second-hand and cheap clothes they can wear for the new school year. Many others rely on hand-downs from their big brothers and sisters to save money for clothes, books, bags and other school materials. 

Monday (June 9) which is announced by the government to be a national holiday is expected to be flooded by last day buyers.