Especially ordinary

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A lot of teenagers are lucky enough to go to college. A number are privileged to go to prestigious universities. But a few, the chosen few, could get into the University of the Philippines and be labeled as one of the country’s brightest minds.

They say the UP student is the best of the best. He leads a simple life; is well-rounded and smart. The UP student is involved in the most pressing issues of the country because of his love for the motherland. He is willing to serve it even after he graduates—characteristic of a true iskolar ng bayan. He is noble, and he is proud of that.

Well, that’s what they think. Right now, this UP stereotype needs a reality check.

The ideal UP student is intelligent—an honor student, an achiever, a leader. Now, UP students are not necessarily intelligent. They are however hardworking and diligent—the reasons why they excel in the academe. Being a UP student is not merely struggling for knowledge and learning. It is constantly enduring the demands of school work together with extra-curricular activities and social responsibilities and of course, your personal time. But because you are from UP, the bar is raised higher as compared to the average college student.

The iskolar ng bayan is not the son or daughter of a business tycoon nor was he born to an old-rich family. The iskolar ng bayan is the son or daughter of a humble worker in the fields or an employee in government offices or small enterprises or even self-employed individuals just struggling to make ends meet. This is why the ideal UP student is accustomed to and enjoy a simple lifestyle. But now, the UP student has his fair share of branded outfits and sophisticated gadgets. Havaianas footwear, signature shirts, and the best laptops only fall a little short of the ordinary. UP has opened its doors a little wider now for the higher middle class and even the elite.

The real UP student takes a lot of pride from where he’s from. You can see him in his UP jacket, UP shirt, UP lanyard, UP baller and everything else that screams “UP” to anyone who bothers to look. But where does this UP pride stem from? It is from the realization that the UP student owes his education to the taxes of the Filipino people, and he is supposed to give back what he owes. But what is there to be proud of when this is precisely what the UP student has forgotten?

UP pride is not anymore about being of service to the motherland. It is not the reason why the UP student excels in school. He continues to excel in school to advance his status in the competitive economic and business-centered world that will welcome him when he graduates. The love for learning and the eagerness to seek knowledge is not anymore the driving force in intellectual discourse. The UP student doesn’t anymore seem interested in making significant changes through innovation. He is merely struggling to keep his head above the turbulent waters of trying economic times. The priority is a better life for himself, because more than anything else, he needs to ensure his own survival first. He has become just like everybody else.

People may say that the UP student is the head of the pack of his generation. He has what it takes to make things happen. But people change and nothing stays constant. We may attribute these changes to an evolving culture or increased influence from all over the world. But we cannot deny that every individual still has his own choice. And given that UP is a symbol of democracy, free will and social responsibility, we can stay that the UP student has taken a stand for himself, one that people cannot question, a decision we can only hope is intelligent.

Wanted Perfect Boarding House

There were reports that some operators of boarding houses in Miagao do not comply with the rules and regulation set by the municipality. Also there were persistent rumors that most boarding houses do not issue receipt upon the boarder’s payment of monthly rental.

In accordance to these, the researchers conducted a census in order to find out whether these claims have enough grounds.

“Boarding House” as defined in Miagao’s Municipal Ordinance No. 96-04 is any house where boarders are accepted or accommodated for compensation by the week, or by month, and where meals are served to boarders; or where boarders occupy space only. For the purpose of this ordinance, a boarding house includes any dormitory.

It is essential that there are clear standards governing the care provided in these settings, and that these standards are monitored and enforced effectively.

This report concerns monitoring of boarding houses based on the requirements cited on Miagao’s Municipal Ordinance No. 96-04. The purpose of this report is to outline findings from our inquiry that will highlight serious problems with the way boarding houses are being managed.

Most Boarding House operators do not abide on the Ordinance which regulates the operation of boarding houses in the Municipality of Miagao.

The reporters conducted an initial interview with at least 10 boarders and owners to assess the common problems among boarding houses. In addition, a municipal ordinance was requested from the municipal office to serve as the guidelines in making the questionnaire.

In order to determine the trend, the reporters conducted a survey among 20 respondents. Each of the respondents comes from a particular boarding house in Miagao town proper or private dormitory within the UPV dorm area. A questionnaire is given to the respondents for data gathering.

The study is limited to the following boarding houses and private dormitories:

1. Car An’s Place

2. Royal Angels

3. Romyr’s Apartment and Dormitory

4. Pink House

5. RL

6. Fajarillo’s Residence

7. Nafunar’s Residence

8. Mumbay

9.  Balay Cawayan

10. Susan’s Dormitory

11. St. Michael’s Dormitory

12. Rey Dumalag’s Fashion Corner

13. Nonato’s

14. Monte Claro Building

15. Neild’s Apartel

16. Saquian Boarding House

17.Natonio’s Dormitory

18.Nochete Boarding House

19.Kamalig ni Cano

20.British House

The search and interviews with various sources showed that:

• 12 out of 20 boarding houses do not issue receipt for the boarder’s payment of monthly rental. 

Issuance of receipt is important for taxpaying purposes. If operators of boarding houses do not issue receipts, it only means that there is a big possibility that they are not also paying their taxes exactly to the government.

• 11 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide a registration form to the boarders upon admission.

This violates the Sec. 9 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04.(No owner, manager or operator of a boarding house shall accept a boarder unless he/she has signed his/her name, entered his/her address, residence certificate and personal circumstances in a register of boarders.

• 10 out of 20 boarding houses do not have fire exit.

This violates the Sec. 4 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04. (The house must be installed with a fire alarm system and have an adequate fire exit aside from the main door.)

• 6 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide a printed copy of house rules and regulation in each room and reception room.

This violates the Sec. 10 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04. (The owner/operator of the boarding house shall post in each room and reception room, in printed form, a house rules and regulations for the information and guidance of the boarders, shall prohibit, among others, gambling, use of prohibited drugs or regulated drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and other violation of laws, rules and regulations.

• 5 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide/institute safety and health measures for the boarders.

This violates the Sec. 11 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04. (It shall be the duty and responsibilities of the owner or operator of boarding houses to maintain cleanliness of the boarding house and sanitation of the premises… It shall also be the duty of the owner or operator to provide and institute safety and health measures, such as fire escape, locked doors, first aid kit or cabinet and others.)

• Some of the concerns that were pointed out by the respondents were on the issue about sanitation, maintenance, privacy, security and lack of water supply.

The data show that only three (3) boarding houses were able to comply with the guidelines provided by the municipal ordinance of Miagao on the operation of boarding houses and private dormitories.

The issuance of receipt and securing the tenant’s information on or before admission are given the least attention by the owners of these commercial establishments.

Also, most boarding houses do not have fire exits but the owners have provided fire extinguishers which are not enough to secure the boarders.

If these problems will not be properly addressed, it can cause future problems between the owner, tenants and the government.

Commercial establishments should adhere to the rules and regulation in order to provide quality services to the students and to other tenants.

Boarding house owners should issue receipt to serve as proof of payments and to make sure that they are exactly paying their taxes. They should also provide fire exits or backdoor in case of fire and other unavoidable circumstances. The cleanliness of the area should also be maintained for the convenience of the boarders and for health reasons. They should also give privacy and secure the things of their tenants such by providing security device on the doors, lockers, and drawers. In order to monitor the operation of the boarding house, owners should allow and give permission to the government to inspect, check and examine the area and the facilities provided.

The issue on sanitation and water supply as well should be given proper actions in order to provide convenience to the boarders and to compensate to the amount that they are paying.

Prostitutes have price tags

People today still have a negative connotation when the words ‘hooker’, ‘prostitute’, and ‘whore’ are being mentioned. For them, these women are considered to be deviants of the social norms, immoral and carrier of sexually transmitted diseases; while media often portray them as a symbol of cultural and moral decline.

I’m not an advocate of women prostitution but I have several reasons to say why prostitution is not bad after all. Prostitutes are not committing an inherently harmful act. While the spread of diseases are possible in the practice of prostitution, criminalization is a sure way of not addressing such effects. Human beings have the nature of pursuing something which is prohibited to them. So if you prohibit prostitution, people will engage more on doing it.

Although prostitution is stereotypically considered as crime, it is still a victimless crime. Victimless in the sense that no one is necessarily harmed by doing it since the parties involved have both wanted it.

Often times it puzzles me why our society would jump with the conclusion that these prostitutes are trash, do not respect their body and are morally wrong.

If they are trash, then why is it that there’s still lot of men who would go into trouble just to have them. Trash is unworthy and priceless. Prostitutes are desirable with price tags.

If they do not have respect for their body, then why would they still bother to wear make up and make themselves beautiful. Respect comes with giving value and time to one’s self.

There are still lots of things to be considered morally wrong than just prostitution itself. In some countries, prostitution is being criminalized. I wonder why it is morally wrong for two people to go inside the room for sexual pleasure and money but it is not morally wrong for two men to  go inside the boxing ring and beat each other for money.

The dark side revealed

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Advertising has grown to be the leading industry world wide. It is present almost everywhere. From billboards, newspapers, internet, and even in the simple packaging of products—advertising is always there.

In the world where every public spaces and where media has flooded and saturated with ads and endorsements, one question arise, is having widespread advertising good for a society?

Although advertisements help the consumers decide what to choose and what a certain product could offer, I believe this extensive advertising can be harmful to a society. It makes people want too much. It makes people get disappointed when they don’t have something they want very much. And it makes people open to risk of feeling insufficient and empty for not having something they can’t afford.

Advertising now days is just too much. You cannot start your day without being bombarded by these widespread endorsements. You walk down the streets and you’ll see posters of different businesses glaring at you. You try riding in a bus and you can’t reach your destination without having a glimpse with these giant billboards towering over you. Try listening to radio or watch television and you’ll have enough of these ads aired over and over again. This is how people are being attacked with information they do not necessarily need. Information that they may not want but are being imposed for them to embrace.

Some might say that no one is forced to look at these advertisements or one could even argue that you can switch the TV channels, or just flick past ads in newspapers if you don’t want to see these advertisements. Well, people cannot just choose to ignore advertising because advertisers use techniques to ensure that their messages cross their audience. Print ads for example have attention grabbing words or provocative pictures while TV and radio ads employ subliminal messages and effective jingles for easy recall.

Also, many advertisements do more than just advertising products. Some try to make people feel inferior if they don’t have the product. Perceptions of beauty and fashion have been defined by these media advertisements. Many young people have low-self esteem and live unhealthy lifestyles because they feel that slim body figure and white complexion makes a person beautiful.

Another downfall of having extensive advertisements around is that it makes people too materialistic. People now a days gives value more on material things because this is what’s being exposed to them most of the time. They tend to always want the latest product because advertisements portray that if you have it, you are on the top. People become selfish because they always think what they want. They put these material and superficial things on higher pedestal forgetting other things which value most like family.

Advertising is not bad. But having too much of it is a great deal to handle.