Friday, September 23, 2005
Late Modernity or Post-Modernity?
Anthony Giddens and Jean Francois-Lyotard made exemplary works on contemporary society, particularly changing social structures and evolving social forces. The writings of these two sociological thinkers are of great importance as they sought to explain the current phenomena on knowledge, culture, self-identity, among others, in which there is a central debate on whether contemporary society is still stuck in the period of modernity, late though it is, or has entered the stage which Lyotard eloquently describes as the Post-Modern Condition. This paper aims to compare and contrast the works of these two authors and determine in the end which of the two holds credible grounding.
Anthony Giddens never contradicted assertions of post-modernists led by Lyotard that society is indeed changing as seen by people’s skepticism towards meta-narratives such as Marxism, the heightened superficiality of men and women brought about by intense consumerism as a result of a more integrative capitalist world order. There is also not much debate on the reality of the computerization of societies, if at all, the world, as a result of the globalization of enterprise and the phenomenon of knowledge being reduced as a commodity for exchange. The rise of international information technology systems and the Internet has completely altered the world’s conception of national boundaries to that of a borderless world.
There is also an intense competition for brilliant engineers, intellectuals and professionals from the world over to man the factories and institutions of the leading knowledge-based economies of the world as knowledge has ceased to also be a nationalist matter, but on how to best offer oneself in the international division of labor. The emphasis too of the two authors on the diminishing powers of the State should be discussed. It is not ever too powerful now compared to the times in which it involved itself in wars of conquest for territories as the rise of multi-national corporations have already stretched the borders of capital and profit. There are already supra-national organizations such as the World Trade Organization which directly control international trade to prevent further escalation of previous imperialist wars, and dictate on member States the terms of trade which nation-states kowtow to.
Even the meta-narrative of the State being the regulatory power of society is now being diminished in which there is greater emphasis on micro issues of the self and its interplay with micro and macro forces. Lyotard was right to quip the cliché that no self is an island and thus, the relations of the self with society and the world becomes more and more complex and Giddens’ assertion that the self contributes much to the reproduction or destruction of prevailing social structures and institutions. For example, the fall of revisionist Communist regimes in the Iron Curtain would never have happened if one dissatisfied metalworker in Poland simply shrugged aside and kept silent. Lech Walesa did not do such and organized Solidarity Union which caused a chain reaction in the way other selves wrote their personal narratives. The interplay of the self with others in the society produces an aggregate effect beyond oneself.
Moreover, Giddens and Lyotard seems to speak in unison in criticizing the practice of presumably sound social theories by indicating the totalizing effect of socialist construction in communist countries, which is very far from the Marxist concept of the withering away of the state. Instead, communist countries are using the very theory of Marxism to continue the path of pathologic bureaucratization. On the other hand, Giddens criticized the use of institutionalized means by the state to jump to modernity by adapting capitalist democracies but at the same time retaining vestiges of gender inequalities and chauvinism in the present modern society. As can be seen now, the two thinkers’ similar sharp recognition of changing social realities from an old society to that of a new one is an immense contribution to contemporary sociological thought.
Inasmuch as Giddens and Lyotard have similarities, there are fundamental differences in the manner they perceive society, much more on how they analyze it. Giddens continuously asserts that we have not reached the post-modern stage yet, it is still in late modernity. Though there are changes in the lifestyle of people and the world getting more and more globalized, and the meta-narratives being broken for new social theories, all of these are manifestations of modernity in its advanced state. Though it is the self which will determine its own personal narrative against the traditional roles set by an old system, it cannot be classified as post-modern yet.
While it is true that there is an ongoing computerization of society and the world, Lyotard was false in assuming that human regulation formerly done by the state will entirely be entrusted to machines, as this has not happened as of yet, in a so-called postmodern society as we think we have now. Though there is great control on high-tech facilities such as satellites and military infrastructures, it is still run by human agencies, powerful institutions even. If in a so-called postmodern society, access to this information is held by a ruling class, though not entirely a political class, it cannot be considered postmodern as it validates a very modern theory of dialectical oppositions of class.
A society like such is still very much modern, though a very developed one. More so, Giddens and Leotard differ much on their method of analysis as Giddens uses structuration to explain social order and social reproduction, and suffice it to say that it has dialectical undertones in recognizing the interplay of macro and micro forces in society. Lyotard, on the other hand, uses language games to explain the dynamics of social relations and institutions, from the basic individual conversations to that of institutional messages delivered, distorted or not formally defined as they may be. This fundamental difference spells which theory is more convincing and more logical to be held sound and valid. The entire discourse on referent, sender and addressee does not in anyway explain fully how postmodernism is or how it came to be.
The assertion states the primacy of the self on the power over the messages that traverse around him which even regulatory mechanisms in the social system utilize to self-adjust. But is language not that important as it is now, assuming we are in the period of late modernity? While it is true, that messages do not flow in a sunny linear fashion without scheming countermoves and institutions imposing their will on certain messages as to distort them partly or entirely, does this explain convincingly explain the rise of multinational corporations and the increasing dependence on information technology? I believe it does not.
On the other hand, Giddens was clear in depicting his late modernity schema as that of an interplay of macro factors of state, religion, education, culture, among others, and micro factors such as that of everyday lives and relationships between individuals and the choices they make. This in effect is how society changes depending on the mutual response of the micro forces to the macro forces of society to reproduce the social structures or ignore it in part or in whole. This theoretical diagram sufficiently shows how society indeed changes and how the self creates his own self narrative in the social milieu of late modernity. Though the language games provide a glimpse of how things are in the social system, it seems to be detached from its assertions of a postmodern world save for the primacy of the self and the breaking up of the meta-narratives, which even Giddens compellingly explains.
In the final analysis, it should be said that we are still in the period of late modernity but are already barraged by social theories on postmodernism which gives a glimpse of how future social forces in societies might conduct their social dynamics and structures.
Anthony Giddens never contradicted assertions of post-modernists led by Lyotard that society is indeed changing as seen by people’s skepticism towards meta-narratives such as Marxism, the heightened superficiality of men and women brought about by intense consumerism as a result of a more integrative capitalist world order. There is also not much debate on the reality of the computerization of societies, if at all, the world, as a result of the globalization of enterprise and the phenomenon of knowledge being reduced as a commodity for exchange. The rise of international information technology systems and the Internet has completely altered the world’s conception of national boundaries to that of a borderless world.
There is also an intense competition for brilliant engineers, intellectuals and professionals from the world over to man the factories and institutions of the leading knowledge-based economies of the world as knowledge has ceased to also be a nationalist matter, but on how to best offer oneself in the international division of labor. The emphasis too of the two authors on the diminishing powers of the State should be discussed. It is not ever too powerful now compared to the times in which it involved itself in wars of conquest for territories as the rise of multi-national corporations have already stretched the borders of capital and profit. There are already supra-national organizations such as the World Trade Organization which directly control international trade to prevent further escalation of previous imperialist wars, and dictate on member States the terms of trade which nation-states kowtow to.
Even the meta-narrative of the State being the regulatory power of society is now being diminished in which there is greater emphasis on micro issues of the self and its interplay with micro and macro forces. Lyotard was right to quip the cliché that no self is an island and thus, the relations of the self with society and the world becomes more and more complex and Giddens’ assertion that the self contributes much to the reproduction or destruction of prevailing social structures and institutions. For example, the fall of revisionist Communist regimes in the Iron Curtain would never have happened if one dissatisfied metalworker in Poland simply shrugged aside and kept silent. Lech Walesa did not do such and organized Solidarity Union which caused a chain reaction in the way other selves wrote their personal narratives. The interplay of the self with others in the society produces an aggregate effect beyond oneself.
Moreover, Giddens and Lyotard seems to speak in unison in criticizing the practice of presumably sound social theories by indicating the totalizing effect of socialist construction in communist countries, which is very far from the Marxist concept of the withering away of the state. Instead, communist countries are using the very theory of Marxism to continue the path of pathologic bureaucratization. On the other hand, Giddens criticized the use of institutionalized means by the state to jump to modernity by adapting capitalist democracies but at the same time retaining vestiges of gender inequalities and chauvinism in the present modern society. As can be seen now, the two thinkers’ similar sharp recognition of changing social realities from an old society to that of a new one is an immense contribution to contemporary sociological thought.
Inasmuch as Giddens and Lyotard have similarities, there are fundamental differences in the manner they perceive society, much more on how they analyze it. Giddens continuously asserts that we have not reached the post-modern stage yet, it is still in late modernity. Though there are changes in the lifestyle of people and the world getting more and more globalized, and the meta-narratives being broken for new social theories, all of these are manifestations of modernity in its advanced state. Though it is the self which will determine its own personal narrative against the traditional roles set by an old system, it cannot be classified as post-modern yet.
While it is true that there is an ongoing computerization of society and the world, Lyotard was false in assuming that human regulation formerly done by the state will entirely be entrusted to machines, as this has not happened as of yet, in a so-called postmodern society as we think we have now. Though there is great control on high-tech facilities such as satellites and military infrastructures, it is still run by human agencies, powerful institutions even. If in a so-called postmodern society, access to this information is held by a ruling class, though not entirely a political class, it cannot be considered postmodern as it validates a very modern theory of dialectical oppositions of class.
A society like such is still very much modern, though a very developed one. More so, Giddens and Leotard differ much on their method of analysis as Giddens uses structuration to explain social order and social reproduction, and suffice it to say that it has dialectical undertones in recognizing the interplay of macro and micro forces in society. Lyotard, on the other hand, uses language games to explain the dynamics of social relations and institutions, from the basic individual conversations to that of institutional messages delivered, distorted or not formally defined as they may be. This fundamental difference spells which theory is more convincing and more logical to be held sound and valid. The entire discourse on referent, sender and addressee does not in anyway explain fully how postmodernism is or how it came to be.
The assertion states the primacy of the self on the power over the messages that traverse around him which even regulatory mechanisms in the social system utilize to self-adjust. But is language not that important as it is now, assuming we are in the period of late modernity? While it is true, that messages do not flow in a sunny linear fashion without scheming countermoves and institutions imposing their will on certain messages as to distort them partly or entirely, does this explain convincingly explain the rise of multinational corporations and the increasing dependence on information technology? I believe it does not.
On the other hand, Giddens was clear in depicting his late modernity schema as that of an interplay of macro factors of state, religion, education, culture, among others, and micro factors such as that of everyday lives and relationships between individuals and the choices they make. This in effect is how society changes depending on the mutual response of the micro forces to the macro forces of society to reproduce the social structures or ignore it in part or in whole. This theoretical diagram sufficiently shows how society indeed changes and how the self creates his own self narrative in the social milieu of late modernity. Though the language games provide a glimpse of how things are in the social system, it seems to be detached from its assertions of a postmodern world save for the primacy of the self and the breaking up of the meta-narratives, which even Giddens compellingly explains.
In the final analysis, it should be said that we are still in the period of late modernity but are already barraged by social theories on postmodernism which gives a glimpse of how future social forces in societies might conduct their social dynamics and structures.
The Magdalene Sisters
The film Magdalene Sisters is a scathing indictment of the excesses of the Irish Catholic Church at a time of a changing Catholic Church in the 60s and 70s. It depicts the lives of three women from very different backgrounds and forced into hard labor in an asylum where their rights are curtailed. Nuns ran the asylum where the women were compelled to do hard laundry everyday as part of the nuns’ enterprise for income generation. The asylum was very repressive which could be described aptly as hell on earth in the guise of a divine institution.
The reasons for the admittance of the women into the asylum vary. One had a child out of wedlock, which was a very grave taboo in an Irish culture dictated by the dominant Catholic Church. The others were simply very attractive to the other sex that they had to be confined there to avoid tempting the men and leading them into sin. This is the kind of repression which Irish women were subjected to, as dictated by a Church which was supposed to be reshaping its feudal view on women in those times. At its worst, the women of the Church are the very ones who are doing the feudal bidding of the powerful Church as seen in their humiliation of women in the asylum. This goes to show how powerful cultural institutions work to oppress and exploit rather than emancipate people’s consciousness. Hence, cultural institutions such as the Irish Church hinder the people from determining their own destiny. It seeks to preserve the feudal role of women of domestic subjugation and never a productive force in society.
This is very important to note because culture is the one responsible for the reproduction of the relations of power and relations of production in a given society. It represses or liberates according to the balance of forces in a society. In the case of Ireland, a repressive Church is deeply-rooted in the consciousness of its citizens, thus, the oppression and exploitation in the laundry is consensual on the part of the people, though not to the objects of exploitation in the asylum. This explains why the last of the laundries closed only in the middle of the 1990s.
The work conditions of the women are also horrible, the height of labor exploitation. The Church is exacting absolute surplus value from the women as they work without pay, in which the costs are only those for operations, food and housekeeping of the asylum. No wonder the Church held these laundries for so long! The asylum proved that slavery still existed during the modern times, even as modes of production have evolved from one system to another. This perhaps is the damning effect of culture. While social relations of production and quantitative changes in mode of production have occurred, the cultural system can preserve aspects of an old society and helps keep an old cultural institution as the Church in existence.
This profoundly explains why Irish society turned a blind eye on the excesses of the Church – the Magdalene laundries in particular. Culture can permit excesses because it dictates the status quo, the normal lifestyle of the people. In this case, it was perfectly fine for immoral Irish women to be sent to the laundries for reeducation, in a manner of speaking, it is the Church that says so anyway. It is this ignorance of people, perpetuated by an all-powerful Church that has created the nightmare of the Magdalene Laundries. No extent of oppression can ever be surmounted if the people are blinded from the very start by their Church that determines their way of life. The struggle against this can only come forth from within the confines of the asylum as they are directly affected by the abuses of the nuns.
It is unfortunate, though, that the Church, even the Vatican, is desperately trying to censor this historical reality from view. How can there ever be justice and peace when the peace and truth the Church demands is that which keeps people ignorant, silent and subjugated?
The reasons for the admittance of the women into the asylum vary. One had a child out of wedlock, which was a very grave taboo in an Irish culture dictated by the dominant Catholic Church. The others were simply very attractive to the other sex that they had to be confined there to avoid tempting the men and leading them into sin. This is the kind of repression which Irish women were subjected to, as dictated by a Church which was supposed to be reshaping its feudal view on women in those times. At its worst, the women of the Church are the very ones who are doing the feudal bidding of the powerful Church as seen in their humiliation of women in the asylum. This goes to show how powerful cultural institutions work to oppress and exploit rather than emancipate people’s consciousness. Hence, cultural institutions such as the Irish Church hinder the people from determining their own destiny. It seeks to preserve the feudal role of women of domestic subjugation and never a productive force in society.
This is very important to note because culture is the one responsible for the reproduction of the relations of power and relations of production in a given society. It represses or liberates according to the balance of forces in a society. In the case of Ireland, a repressive Church is deeply-rooted in the consciousness of its citizens, thus, the oppression and exploitation in the laundry is consensual on the part of the people, though not to the objects of exploitation in the asylum. This explains why the last of the laundries closed only in the middle of the 1990s.
The work conditions of the women are also horrible, the height of labor exploitation. The Church is exacting absolute surplus value from the women as they work without pay, in which the costs are only those for operations, food and housekeeping of the asylum. No wonder the Church held these laundries for so long! The asylum proved that slavery still existed during the modern times, even as modes of production have evolved from one system to another. This perhaps is the damning effect of culture. While social relations of production and quantitative changes in mode of production have occurred, the cultural system can preserve aspects of an old society and helps keep an old cultural institution as the Church in existence.
This profoundly explains why Irish society turned a blind eye on the excesses of the Church – the Magdalene laundries in particular. Culture can permit excesses because it dictates the status quo, the normal lifestyle of the people. In this case, it was perfectly fine for immoral Irish women to be sent to the laundries for reeducation, in a manner of speaking, it is the Church that says so anyway. It is this ignorance of people, perpetuated by an all-powerful Church that has created the nightmare of the Magdalene Laundries. No extent of oppression can ever be surmounted if the people are blinded from the very start by their Church that determines their way of life. The struggle against this can only come forth from within the confines of the asylum as they are directly affected by the abuses of the nuns.
It is unfortunate, though, that the Church, even the Vatican, is desperately trying to censor this historical reality from view. How can there ever be justice and peace when the peace and truth the Church demands is that which keeps people ignorant, silent and subjugated?
The Motorcycle Diaries
Ernesto Che Guevara dela Serna epitomized everything that a Marxist revolutionary guerilla should ever be. His life inspired a generation of youth political activists to struggle for socialism in all continents especially those in the Third World. As with every individual who chooses to live the simple life and that of hard struggle comes the awakening of the self on the social contradictions plaguing each person’s social milieu. For Che Guevara, it was the long motorcycle ride with his friend that exposed right before his very eyes the shattering poverty in the entire of Latin America, the exploitation of the majority in a land of plenty and the need for decisive change to overturn a rotting social order.
Che Guevara lived the petty-bourgeois life before the ride. He went to medical school with a promising career soon after in Buenos Aires. His family was well-off, though not that rich, but was in the upper middle income bracket in an Argentina where most of its citizens were not enjoying the fruits of its rich natural resources. But Che turned his back from that splendid life and instead chose to live the austere life of serving the masses.
His road trip proved much to Che as it showed how social contradictions are not unique to one country alone but to an entirety of nations struggling against imperialism, among others that kept them unwashed and desolated. It showed Comandante the spirit of genuine internationalism – that one must not rest even if the revolution at home has been won, as many others await their own emancipation. This perhaps inspired Che to be the most famous Marxist globe-trotter in history. After the helping the Cuban Revolution, he left his plush Cuban Central bank Office to assist and train Marxist revolutionaries in the Congo and Bolivia, where he met his untimely death.
Over and above anything else, the challenge posed by Che’s life is for the youth to be able to discover their role in the liberation of society from the present social ills that keep the masses poor, hungry and broken. His image has been plastered in shirts, mugs and caps of the youth without them knowing who Che really was and what it was that he fought, lived and died for. He is more than an immortal cultural icon which generations of youth use to symbolize their rebellion against the norms of society. More than that, Che is a political icon of the masses and youth of the world struggling for a better world in an era of unbridled globalization.
The movie serves to show the first steps of a life well lived in the service of the people and against all that threatens to enslave, oppress and exploit them. As he drove his motorcycle across the fields of the campesinos and mingled with the Latin American minorities, it was there where he found where all his energies should be placed and for whom he should devote his life for.
The Motorcycle Diaries inspires but at the same time asks the youth to make a choice – to take the easier path of illustrious careers or take the road less traveled by living in solidarity with the masses. Che Guevara made the first step towards the latter in those fateful days by getting out of his comfort zones and entering the lives of classes of people which were never his own. If such is how the youth lives their life today, then the hopes and aspirations of a struggling people will never be in vain.
Che Guevara lived the petty-bourgeois life before the ride. He went to medical school with a promising career soon after in Buenos Aires. His family was well-off, though not that rich, but was in the upper middle income bracket in an Argentina where most of its citizens were not enjoying the fruits of its rich natural resources. But Che turned his back from that splendid life and instead chose to live the austere life of serving the masses.
His road trip proved much to Che as it showed how social contradictions are not unique to one country alone but to an entirety of nations struggling against imperialism, among others that kept them unwashed and desolated. It showed Comandante the spirit of genuine internationalism – that one must not rest even if the revolution at home has been won, as many others await their own emancipation. This perhaps inspired Che to be the most famous Marxist globe-trotter in history. After the helping the Cuban Revolution, he left his plush Cuban Central bank Office to assist and train Marxist revolutionaries in the Congo and Bolivia, where he met his untimely death.
Over and above anything else, the challenge posed by Che’s life is for the youth to be able to discover their role in the liberation of society from the present social ills that keep the masses poor, hungry and broken. His image has been plastered in shirts, mugs and caps of the youth without them knowing who Che really was and what it was that he fought, lived and died for. He is more than an immortal cultural icon which generations of youth use to symbolize their rebellion against the norms of society. More than that, Che is a political icon of the masses and youth of the world struggling for a better world in an era of unbridled globalization.
The movie serves to show the first steps of a life well lived in the service of the people and against all that threatens to enslave, oppress and exploit them. As he drove his motorcycle across the fields of the campesinos and mingled with the Latin American minorities, it was there where he found where all his energies should be placed and for whom he should devote his life for.
The Motorcycle Diaries inspires but at the same time asks the youth to make a choice – to take the easier path of illustrious careers or take the road less traveled by living in solidarity with the masses. Che Guevara made the first step towards the latter in those fateful days by getting out of his comfort zones and entering the lives of classes of people which were never his own. If such is how the youth lives their life today, then the hopes and aspirations of a struggling people will never be in vain.
NEVER AGAIN TO CAMPUS REPRESSION! OUST GEN. DE LEON FROM MSU! OUST GMA FROM MALACANANG! - NUSP
September 17, 2005
“After the intense political crackdown of legitimate government dissidents, comes the militarization and repression of state colleges and universities, as exemplified by General Ricardo de Leon’s ascent to the Presidency of the Mindanao State University.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations articulate their outrage on the seemingly undeclared Martial Law under the present Arroyo administration at a press conference in Quezon City today.
Ramirez says, “The present conditions in the schools now are just like how it was during the darkest days of Martial Law, when the President’s generals were as powerful as the president of the land. How can a police officer, with no sound academic background take the helm of one of the biggest and best state university in the country? There can be no other reason for this but outright political desperation by the President to preserve herself in power by keeping her generals in high government positions.”
“Gen. de Leon’s appointment to the MSU validates the suspicion of the Filipino students for the longest time. The primary concern of Mrs. Arroyo is neither governance nor delivery of efficient basic social services but political survival. She was never a bit concerned about the education of her youth. To assert that de Leon’s appointment is to maintain peace and order in the campus is plain hogwash because it should be the local police handling that, not the board of regents of the school!” Ramirez asserts.
“How do you explain to the students the bypassing of the university search committee for the presidency and appointing someone not even in its list? The search committee is an institutionalized process that has long been respected by the academe. To tamper with it is to tamper the better judgment of the real stakeholders of the University, and Gen. de Leon is totally out of place in an academic community.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “There is great distrust on how Gen. de Leon will run MSU. But it will certainly be in the manner the President runs the country – a campus garrison by a loyal general in the midst of a police state run by a fake President. The decisive dispersal of student and faculty protesters when he first visited the MSU the past week is the initial proof of this.”
“As the youth witnesses further the maneuverings of the Palace in resorting to strongman tactics such as this, all trust in her regime is lost and the struggle to oust her continues forth.” Ramirez finally says.
The NUSP will join the nationwide multi-sectoral mobilization on the 21st of September in remembering Martial Law and sustaining the campaign for Gloria Arroyo’s ouster.
“After the intense political crackdown of legitimate government dissidents, comes the militarization and repression of state colleges and universities, as exemplified by General Ricardo de Leon’s ascent to the Presidency of the Mindanao State University.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations articulate their outrage on the seemingly undeclared Martial Law under the present Arroyo administration at a press conference in Quezon City today.
Ramirez says, “The present conditions in the schools now are just like how it was during the darkest days of Martial Law, when the President’s generals were as powerful as the president of the land. How can a police officer, with no sound academic background take the helm of one of the biggest and best state university in the country? There can be no other reason for this but outright political desperation by the President to preserve herself in power by keeping her generals in high government positions.”
“Gen. de Leon’s appointment to the MSU validates the suspicion of the Filipino students for the longest time. The primary concern of Mrs. Arroyo is neither governance nor delivery of efficient basic social services but political survival. She was never a bit concerned about the education of her youth. To assert that de Leon’s appointment is to maintain peace and order in the campus is plain hogwash because it should be the local police handling that, not the board of regents of the school!” Ramirez asserts.
“How do you explain to the students the bypassing of the university search committee for the presidency and appointing someone not even in its list? The search committee is an institutionalized process that has long been respected by the academe. To tamper with it is to tamper the better judgment of the real stakeholders of the University, and Gen. de Leon is totally out of place in an academic community.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “There is great distrust on how Gen. de Leon will run MSU. But it will certainly be in the manner the President runs the country – a campus garrison by a loyal general in the midst of a police state run by a fake President. The decisive dispersal of student and faculty protesters when he first visited the MSU the past week is the initial proof of this.”
“As the youth witnesses further the maneuverings of the Palace in resorting to strongman tactics such as this, all trust in her regime is lost and the struggle to oust her continues forth.” Ramirez finally says.
The NUSP will join the nationwide multi-sectoral mobilization on the 21st of September in remembering Martial Law and sustaining the campaign for Gloria Arroyo’s ouster.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Are Women Better Managers?
Though I would like to believe that efficiency in management is not gender-specific, the general perception is that of women being better managers than their male counterparts. The distinction is understandable as women have always been more industrious, diligent and efficient even during their academic years while the men are busy about looking for skimpy-clad women or playing computer games and drinking till their hearts content with their barkada or brods. While the women do go out as well, the sense of discipline and control has always been intact than the men who would rather finish the drinking session than reach the office the next day on time and without hangovers. Men are just too disorderly as they are to be that organized in the workplace than the women who were trained at home and in school to be organized and disciplined. Men are such lackeys. I myself even have trouble remembering where I place my pens!
As a result, the training which women have in paying very close attention to details, to the extent of being OCs, bears fruit in the workplace. Women would most certainly leave no stone unturned in terms of managing a department as they do in making sure that their rooms are tidy when they leave or their get-up is sleek up to the very last detail. Well, the men can dream all they want to be organized but personal behavior very much transcends all the way even with our professional ethics. This would then be the undoing of men. For example, I never got to get the habit of sleeping early to wake up early. In so doing, I am almost always late for meetings, classes and appointments. I’d have to say women are very particular about time and work ethics, which are very important features of a good manager as time can never be wasted in the office, because productivity will become less and thus, give lower profits to the company.
Though there are a lot of male executives in top corporations such as Proctor and Gamble and Monde, which precisely shows how better managers women are. All the male senior executives do is to sign papers and get progress reports from their field managers and middle-level managers where a lot of women are part of. They are the ones who are in charge of the daily operations of companies, the grassroots area of the company, in community development parlance. And it is at this level of the corporation where the money comes from – from brilliant marketing and sales strategies where women are really good at due to their astute qualities highlighted above. Well, men can do pretend to be as good as women, but as long as ours is a patriarchal society where stupid male CEOs and executives abound, it is still a man’s world baby.
Abante, Babae! Palaban, Militante!
As a result, the training which women have in paying very close attention to details, to the extent of being OCs, bears fruit in the workplace. Women would most certainly leave no stone unturned in terms of managing a department as they do in making sure that their rooms are tidy when they leave or their get-up is sleek up to the very last detail. Well, the men can dream all they want to be organized but personal behavior very much transcends all the way even with our professional ethics. This would then be the undoing of men. For example, I never got to get the habit of sleeping early to wake up early. In so doing, I am almost always late for meetings, classes and appointments. I’d have to say women are very particular about time and work ethics, which are very important features of a good manager as time can never be wasted in the office, because productivity will become less and thus, give lower profits to the company.
Though there are a lot of male executives in top corporations such as Proctor and Gamble and Monde, which precisely shows how better managers women are. All the male senior executives do is to sign papers and get progress reports from their field managers and middle-level managers where a lot of women are part of. They are the ones who are in charge of the daily operations of companies, the grassroots area of the company, in community development parlance. And it is at this level of the corporation where the money comes from – from brilliant marketing and sales strategies where women are really good at due to their astute qualities highlighted above. Well, men can do pretend to be as good as women, but as long as ours is a patriarchal society where stupid male CEOs and executives abound, it is still a man’s world baby.
Abante, Babae! Palaban, Militante!
NUSP SUPPORTS PMI WALK-OUT, DECLARES NO-PERMIT NO-EXAM POLICY AS BLACKMAIL
September 1, 2005
“The owners of the Philippine Maritime Institute are no different from the repressive and anti-student regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for curtailing their students’ right to legitimate dissent and freedom of expression against a repressive policy as that of the no-permit, no-exam rule.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations express their full support for the planned class walkout of PMI students on Monday, September 5, in response to the continued insistence of the administration to disallow their students to take their exams for not settling their remaining tuition fee balance with the school.
Ramirez says, “PMI should never make their students milking cows especially when most of them come from poor families. In the wake of rising costs of oil and basic commodities, it is foolish for the PMI administration to expect their students to be able to settle their dues on time and in full. The revenues of the school should not be of paramount consideration, but also their students’ capacity to pay.”
“The no-permit, no-exam policy of PMI and other private colleges and universities is outright blackmail to pressure its students to pay as the owners know fully well that students would rather settle their dues than fail in their exams for non-payment. Is this a school or a cash register? ” Ramirez asserts.
“The PMI administration has said that it respects their students’ right to free expression but would forbid make-up exams for those who will join the Monday Walk-out. This is not respect but outright curtailment of academic freedom and blatant campus repression.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “Lest the PMI administration does not know, Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Liza Largoza Maza has already filed a resolution seeking the ban of the no-permit, no-exam policy for being anti-poor as it denies financially incapable students who have done well in their academics the opportunity to continue their education.”
Ramirez adds, “This repressive policy is nothing new to students-at-large as almost all private colleges and universities are implementing this. The discriminatory character of this policy transcends that of the simple failure to take examinations but forces students out of school as well, up until the time they can settle their unpaid dues. But in the context of a worsening economic crisis, it jeopardizes fully all opportunity for the students to finish their studies and earn their degrees.
“Ramirez explains, “They should be allowed to take their exams, regardless of not being able to pay their dues. The administration can then hold their transcripts until the students pay all the remaining balance. This is the best recourse for this, especially for a college like PMI with sub-par education standards and facilities despite perennially increasing tuition fees.
“More than the PMI administration, the Commission on Higher Education and President Arroyo should be blamed for this repressive policy against the students. If this regime is really concerned about the future of its youth, a policy like the no-permit, no-exam should have been banned a long time ago through a memorandum from the CHED as it curtails youth’s accessibility and right to education. But apparently, the President is keener on ensuring her political survival than the education of her people.” Ramirez finally says.
“The owners of the Philippine Maritime Institute are no different from the repressive and anti-student regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for curtailing their students’ right to legitimate dissent and freedom of expression against a repressive policy as that of the no-permit, no-exam rule.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations express their full support for the planned class walkout of PMI students on Monday, September 5, in response to the continued insistence of the administration to disallow their students to take their exams for not settling their remaining tuition fee balance with the school.
Ramirez says, “PMI should never make their students milking cows especially when most of them come from poor families. In the wake of rising costs of oil and basic commodities, it is foolish for the PMI administration to expect their students to be able to settle their dues on time and in full. The revenues of the school should not be of paramount consideration, but also their students’ capacity to pay.”
“The no-permit, no-exam policy of PMI and other private colleges and universities is outright blackmail to pressure its students to pay as the owners know fully well that students would rather settle their dues than fail in their exams for non-payment. Is this a school or a cash register? ” Ramirez asserts.
“The PMI administration has said that it respects their students’ right to free expression but would forbid make-up exams for those who will join the Monday Walk-out. This is not respect but outright curtailment of academic freedom and blatant campus repression.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “Lest the PMI administration does not know, Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Liza Largoza Maza has already filed a resolution seeking the ban of the no-permit, no-exam policy for being anti-poor as it denies financially incapable students who have done well in their academics the opportunity to continue their education.”
Ramirez adds, “This repressive policy is nothing new to students-at-large as almost all private colleges and universities are implementing this. The discriminatory character of this policy transcends that of the simple failure to take examinations but forces students out of school as well, up until the time they can settle their unpaid dues. But in the context of a worsening economic crisis, it jeopardizes fully all opportunity for the students to finish their studies and earn their degrees.
“Ramirez explains, “They should be allowed to take their exams, regardless of not being able to pay their dues. The administration can then hold their transcripts until the students pay all the remaining balance. This is the best recourse for this, especially for a college like PMI with sub-par education standards and facilities despite perennially increasing tuition fees.
“More than the PMI administration, the Commission on Higher Education and President Arroyo should be blamed for this repressive policy against the students. If this regime is really concerned about the future of its youth, a policy like the no-permit, no-exam should have been banned a long time ago through a memorandum from the CHED as it curtails youth’s accessibility and right to education. But apparently, the President is keener on ensuring her political survival than the education of her people.” Ramirez finally says.
E-VAT WILL FURTHER YOUTH’S EDUCATION WOES BUT WILL OUST GMA FROM POWER - NUSP
September 1, 2005
“As our Supreme Court Justices unanimously declare the E-VAT as constitutional, the Supreme Court will have showed the youth that it is not the people’s Court of Last Resort but mere extensions of the anti-people economic maneuverings of the President of the Republic.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations staged a rally in Welcome Rotonda to protest the lifting of the Temporary Restraining Order on the very unpopular E-VAT law last Thursday, September 1.
Ramirez says, “Killing the impeachment and trampling our democratic processes are clearly not enough for this regime. With the VAT, they are now stabbing the dagger straight to the heart of a struggling people and the youth will not allow this travesty to go on further.”
“This regime will be lying to the hilt if they keep on insisting that the EVAT will go to basic social services. If we are to follow the logic of the proposed budget appropriations, more than seventy percent of these EVAT revenues will be appropriated to debt servicing alone while social services like education and health will only receive a little more than twenty percent.” Ramirez asserts.
The proposed budget to education is a paltry sum of 119.1 billion pesos while principal and interest payments of debts amount to a whopping 721.1 billion pesos.
“The youth and their families are already facing their biggest economic crisis as oil prices rise inexorably high along with basic commodities and tuition fees yet the Arroyo government seems indifferent enough to continue squeezing the Filipino family dry.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “Government assertions that marginalized sectors will be unaffected by VAT are pure hogwash. The youth, for instance, will have to spend more of their measly allowances due to price increases in food, transportation, books, among others, as a result of the VAT hike from ten to 12 percent. The daily expenses of the youth due to the VAT will inevitably increase by definitely more than twelve percent.”
Ramirez adds, “In the final analysis, the blame solely rests on the anti-people regime of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as she eternally kowtows to international funding agencies than the interests of her people beset in an economic crisis. That alone is reason enough to oust her from power.”
“Let them kill the impeachment and implement the E-VAT in all their outrageous glory. Their days are numbered anyway as the next few weeks will be littered with protests across the nation towards the final confrontation with the Arroyo regime to finally ouster her out of power..” Ramirez finally says.
“As our Supreme Court Justices unanimously declare the E-VAT as constitutional, the Supreme Court will have showed the youth that it is not the people’s Court of Last Resort but mere extensions of the anti-people economic maneuverings of the President of the Republic.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations staged a rally in Welcome Rotonda to protest the lifting of the Temporary Restraining Order on the very unpopular E-VAT law last Thursday, September 1.
Ramirez says, “Killing the impeachment and trampling our democratic processes are clearly not enough for this regime. With the VAT, they are now stabbing the dagger straight to the heart of a struggling people and the youth will not allow this travesty to go on further.”
“This regime will be lying to the hilt if they keep on insisting that the EVAT will go to basic social services. If we are to follow the logic of the proposed budget appropriations, more than seventy percent of these EVAT revenues will be appropriated to debt servicing alone while social services like education and health will only receive a little more than twenty percent.” Ramirez asserts.
The proposed budget to education is a paltry sum of 119.1 billion pesos while principal and interest payments of debts amount to a whopping 721.1 billion pesos.
“The youth and their families are already facing their biggest economic crisis as oil prices rise inexorably high along with basic commodities and tuition fees yet the Arroyo government seems indifferent enough to continue squeezing the Filipino family dry.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “Government assertions that marginalized sectors will be unaffected by VAT are pure hogwash. The youth, for instance, will have to spend more of their measly allowances due to price increases in food, transportation, books, among others, as a result of the VAT hike from ten to 12 percent. The daily expenses of the youth due to the VAT will inevitably increase by definitely more than twelve percent.”
Ramirez adds, “In the final analysis, the blame solely rests on the anti-people regime of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as she eternally kowtows to international funding agencies than the interests of her people beset in an economic crisis. That alone is reason enough to oust her from power.”
“Let them kill the impeachment and implement the E-VAT in all their outrageous glory. Their days are numbered anyway as the next few weeks will be littered with protests across the nation towards the final confrontation with the Arroyo regime to finally ouster her out of power..” Ramirez finally says.
A SHAM IMPEACHMENT WILL TRIGGER MORE STUDENT WALKOUTS TILL GMA OUSTER- NUSP
September 1, 2005
“Today is a day of outrage for the trampling of truth and democracy. The congressional buffoons in the House have murdered the very last hope of a peaceful resolution to the political impasse. The youth and students will This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations staged a lightning rally right inside the Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives as majority congressmen were making a mockery out of the impeachment hearing last Monday, August 30.
Ramirez says, “The lightning rally right under the noses of our congressmen should serve as a warning to them to stop stonewalling the impeachment complaint and dwelling on mere irrelevant prejudicial questions. How can the youth and students be not frustrated if they can see right before their very eyes how much of a sham this impeachment process is. They can throw us out of Congress, but our struggle against Arroyo persists.”
“The majority congressmen in the justice committee are as fake and deceitful as their boss in Malacanang. We all know now how good this moro-moro and rigodon is being played by the regime to fool our people, especially the youth,” Ramirez asserts.
“The President and her cohorts can never expect sympathy coming from the youth and students. How can we support this government that proposes an annual budget that allocates more than P721.7 billion pesos for debt servicing while giving Education a paltry sum of 119.1 billion. Is this a government that ensures the future of its youth?” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “The impeachment issues on electoral fraud, among others, are mere tips of the iceberg for the Filipino youth and students. The sins of this regime against the youth are just as appalling such as the yearly budget cuts in state universities and colleges and unregulated skyrocketing of tuition and other fees in private universities.”
Ramirez adds, “The Filipino youth will continue on making their voices heard in the roads leading to Congress to the streets leading to the Palace to campaign for her impeachment, resignation and outright ouster from power. The discontent among young people is growing like wildfire, and the NUSP and other progressive youth groups will lead them in this struggle.”
“As the youth witnesses further this travesty of democracy our congressmen are blindly doing to kill the impeachment, the youth is ever ready to launch another series of mass actions with the Filipino masses in the scale as that of the historic First Quarter Storm. Make no mistake about it, the militant action in Congress is the start of the September Storm that will force her out of power.” Ramirez finally says.
“Today is a day of outrage for the trampling of truth and democracy. The congressional buffoons in the House have murdered the very last hope of a peaceful resolution to the political impasse. The youth and students will This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations staged a lightning rally right inside the Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives as majority congressmen were making a mockery out of the impeachment hearing last Monday, August 30.
Ramirez says, “The lightning rally right under the noses of our congressmen should serve as a warning to them to stop stonewalling the impeachment complaint and dwelling on mere irrelevant prejudicial questions. How can the youth and students be not frustrated if they can see right before their very eyes how much of a sham this impeachment process is. They can throw us out of Congress, but our struggle against Arroyo persists.”
“The majority congressmen in the justice committee are as fake and deceitful as their boss in Malacanang. We all know now how good this moro-moro and rigodon is being played by the regime to fool our people, especially the youth,” Ramirez asserts.
“The President and her cohorts can never expect sympathy coming from the youth and students. How can we support this government that proposes an annual budget that allocates more than P721.7 billion pesos for debt servicing while giving Education a paltry sum of 119.1 billion. Is this a government that ensures the future of its youth?” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “The impeachment issues on electoral fraud, among others, are mere tips of the iceberg for the Filipino youth and students. The sins of this regime against the youth are just as appalling such as the yearly budget cuts in state universities and colleges and unregulated skyrocketing of tuition and other fees in private universities.”
Ramirez adds, “The Filipino youth will continue on making their voices heard in the roads leading to Congress to the streets leading to the Palace to campaign for her impeachment, resignation and outright ouster from power. The discontent among young people is growing like wildfire, and the NUSP and other progressive youth groups will lead them in this struggle.”
“As the youth witnesses further this travesty of democracy our congressmen are blindly doing to kill the impeachment, the youth is ever ready to launch another series of mass actions with the Filipino masses in the scale as that of the historic First Quarter Storm. Make no mistake about it, the militant action in Congress is the start of the September Storm that will force her out of power.” Ramirez finally says.
KILLING THE IMPEACHMENT WILL DEFINETELY OUST GMA - NUSP
August 31, 2005
“The congressional lapdogs of Gloria Arroyo should be forewarned – they can kill the complaint now but this regime will crumble, and their President ousted.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations staged a lightning rally right inside the Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives as majority congressmen were making a mockery out of the impeachment hearing last Monday, August 30.
Ramirez says, “The lightning rally right under the noses of our congressmen should serve as a warning to them to stop stonewalling the impeachment complaint and dwelling on mere irrelevant prejudicial questions. How can the youth and students be not frustrated if they can see right before their very eyes how much of a sham this impeachment process is. They can throw us out of Congress, but our struggle against Arroyo persists.”
“The majority congressmen in the justice committee are as fake and deceitful as their boss in Malacanang. We all know now how good this moro-moro and rigodon is being played by the regime to fool our people, especially the youth,” Ramirez asserts.
“The President and her cohorts can never expect sympathy coming from the youth and students. How can we support this government that proposes an annual budget that allocates more than P721.7 billion pesos for debt servicing while giving Education a paltry sum of 119.1 billion. Is this a government that ensures the future of its youth?” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “The impeachment issues on electoral fraud, among others, are mere tips of the iceberg for the Filipino youth and students. The sins of this regime against the youth are just as appalling such as the yearly budget cuts in state universities and colleges and unregulated skyrocketing of tuition and other fees in private universities.”
Ramirez adds, “The Filipino youth will continue on making their voices heard in the roads leading to Congress to the streets leading to the Palace to campaign for her impeachment, resignation and outright ouster from power. The discontent among young people is growing like wildfire, and the NUSP and other progressive youth groups will lead them in this struggle.”
“As the youth witnesses further this travesty of democracy our congressmen are blindly doing to kill the impeachment, the youth is ever ready to launch another series of mass actions with the Filipino masses in the scale as that of the historic First Quarter Storm. Make no mistake about it, the militant action in Congress is the start of the September Storm that will force her out of power.” Ramirez finally says.
“The congressional lapdogs of Gloria Arroyo should be forewarned – they can kill the complaint now but this regime will crumble, and their President ousted.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the NUSP and other student organizations staged a lightning rally right inside the Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives as majority congressmen were making a mockery out of the impeachment hearing last Monday, August 30.
Ramirez says, “The lightning rally right under the noses of our congressmen should serve as a warning to them to stop stonewalling the impeachment complaint and dwelling on mere irrelevant prejudicial questions. How can the youth and students be not frustrated if they can see right before their very eyes how much of a sham this impeachment process is. They can throw us out of Congress, but our struggle against Arroyo persists.”
“The majority congressmen in the justice committee are as fake and deceitful as their boss in Malacanang. We all know now how good this moro-moro and rigodon is being played by the regime to fool our people, especially the youth,” Ramirez asserts.
“The President and her cohorts can never expect sympathy coming from the youth and students. How can we support this government that proposes an annual budget that allocates more than P721.7 billion pesos for debt servicing while giving Education a paltry sum of 119.1 billion. Is this a government that ensures the future of its youth?” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “The impeachment issues on electoral fraud, among others, are mere tips of the iceberg for the Filipino youth and students. The sins of this regime against the youth are just as appalling such as the yearly budget cuts in state universities and colleges and unregulated skyrocketing of tuition and other fees in private universities.”
Ramirez adds, “The Filipino youth will continue on making their voices heard in the roads leading to Congress to the streets leading to the Palace to campaign for her impeachment, resignation and outright ouster from power. The discontent among young people is growing like wildfire, and the NUSP and other progressive youth groups will lead them in this struggle.”
“As the youth witnesses further this travesty of democracy our congressmen are blindly doing to kill the impeachment, the youth is ever ready to launch another series of mass actions with the Filipino masses in the scale as that of the historic First Quarter Storm. Make no mistake about it, the militant action in Congress is the start of the September Storm that will force her out of power.” Ramirez finally says.
DEFENSOR: DEFENDING AN INDEFENSIBLE PRESIDENT
August 13, 2005
“Sec. Mike Defensor does live up to his name, as a staunch defender of an indefensible President – at all cost.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the DENR Secretary-cum-Presidential Damage Controller declared the Garci tapes as spliced, according to so-called technical experts from abroad.
Ramirez says, “The Palace line is going in circles, with no cohesion in its lackluster propaganda. The authenticity of the Garci tapes is no longer in question; it is moot and academic already as GMA herself admitted to 11 lapses in judgment. That alone is enough to compel her to resign.”
“It is a shame that Sec. Defensor keeps on being the top spin doctor of a scandal-ridden President, especially when he once fought alongside the students and the people as NUSP President in struggling for genuine systemic change. Money and power does talk,” Ramirez asserts.
“Malacanang seems to be missing the point entirely. No amount of bland counter-propaganda can bring her political legitimacy back – ever, as the socio-economic foundation of this entire political turmoil is rooted in her regime’s utter abandonment of the interests of the people.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “In particular, youth and students join mass actions to force GMA out of office precisely because it is in this government where state universities received its biggest budget cuts while debt payments reached a record-high. GMA never lifted a finger to raise education subsidies, but intervened much in taxing the people dry. ”
Ramirez adds, “Tuition fees skyrocketed in private colleges and universities with no effective remedies from the government save for insisting that they transfer to state colleges and universities – which are also starting to collect exhorbitant fees, and have no sufficient budget to speak of to create a suitable learning environment for the students.”
“That said, GMA and lapdogs such as Sec. Defensor should now realize that their political woes are far from over. This crisis is of her own making, and she herself sowed the seeds of protest in the minds of the youth and students. Her yearly budget cuts to education are tantamount to state abandonment of education. It is as worse as robbing the people of their vote. It is robbing the youth of their future. Ramirez finally says.
NUSP, together with Youth-DARE, will also lead sustained mass actions in the coming weeks such as the August 16 Youth March to be held in Morayta involving numerous student councils from different colleges and universities in Metro Manila.
“Sec. Mike Defensor does live up to his name, as a staunch defender of an indefensible President – at all cost.” This was the statement by Rizza Ramirez, National President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines as the DENR Secretary-cum-Presidential Damage Controller declared the Garci tapes as spliced, according to so-called technical experts from abroad.
Ramirez says, “The Palace line is going in circles, with no cohesion in its lackluster propaganda. The authenticity of the Garci tapes is no longer in question; it is moot and academic already as GMA herself admitted to 11 lapses in judgment. That alone is enough to compel her to resign.”
“It is a shame that Sec. Defensor keeps on being the top spin doctor of a scandal-ridden President, especially when he once fought alongside the students and the people as NUSP President in struggling for genuine systemic change. Money and power does talk,” Ramirez asserts.
“Malacanang seems to be missing the point entirely. No amount of bland counter-propaganda can bring her political legitimacy back – ever, as the socio-economic foundation of this entire political turmoil is rooted in her regime’s utter abandonment of the interests of the people.” Ramirez explains.
Ramirez asserts, “In particular, youth and students join mass actions to force GMA out of office precisely because it is in this government where state universities received its biggest budget cuts while debt payments reached a record-high. GMA never lifted a finger to raise education subsidies, but intervened much in taxing the people dry. ”
Ramirez adds, “Tuition fees skyrocketed in private colleges and universities with no effective remedies from the government save for insisting that they transfer to state colleges and universities – which are also starting to collect exhorbitant fees, and have no sufficient budget to speak of to create a suitable learning environment for the students.”
“That said, GMA and lapdogs such as Sec. Defensor should now realize that their political woes are far from over. This crisis is of her own making, and she herself sowed the seeds of protest in the minds of the youth and students. Her yearly budget cuts to education are tantamount to state abandonment of education. It is as worse as robbing the people of their vote. It is robbing the youth of their future. Ramirez finally says.
NUSP, together with Youth-DARE, will also lead sustained mass actions in the coming weeks such as the August 16 Youth March to be held in Morayta involving numerous student councils from different colleges and universities in Metro Manila.
