As its first
activity, the Street U will discuss the implications on the youth of the
coming 12th ASEAN Summit to be held in Cebu this December
10-14, 2006
“The ASEAN summit
will serve as a venue for the youth to expose their concerns to the
region’s leaders,” said Medora Quirante, chairperson of the League of
Filipino Students – Cebu (LFS-Cebu).
Street U will
initiate educational discussions and creative forms of action that embody
the voice of the youth, said Karlo Mikhail Mongaya, student council
chairperson of the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas – Cebu.
Waste of people’s
money
“The beautification
projects for the Summit are a waste of people’s money,” said Doyle Belluga,
vice-chairperson for Visayas of the Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral
sa UP (KASAMA sa UP or Alliance of Student Councils in UP).
He said that by
prioritizing a four-day event over basic social services like education
and health the Arroyo administration shows its true colors. Money is
easily released when there are sky walks to be built or for re-asphalting
of roads, he said, but when it comes to providing basic social services
such as education and health, the budget is so meager.
The province is
spending P650 million ($12,518,051 at an exchange rate of $1=P51.665) for
the Cebu City International Convention Center (CICC), while there is a
need for 74,115 classrooms, Belluga also said. The overall budget for the
ASEAN amounting to P 2.5 billion ($48,388,657) could already enroll 166,
667 college students for the 2nd semester.
United States
intervention
“We condemn the U.S.’
plans to meddle in the ASEAN summit’s agenda,” said Troie Luna,
chairperson of Anakbayan-Cebu (Sons and Daughters of the People).
The agenda of the
ASEAN summit will include the U.S. anti-terror agenda.
The original host of
the 12th ASEAN summit was Myanmar but because of intense
pressure from the U.S., its government was forced to back out. The U.S.
said that the human rights record of Myanmar was not commendable.
“But the human rights
record of the Philippines is the same if not worse than that of Myanmar,”
said Luna.
“It should be noted
that the ASEAN summit was held yearly only after the 9/11 attack,” she
also said. “Before that, ASEAN countries never showed such intense
interest than what we see now. Surely, moves by the U.S. to manipulate the
outcome of the ASEAN summit would not benefit the people. It will even
put us in a dire situation if we take into account the accumulated debts
incurred during the preparations and the inability of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo to resolve the escalating political killings and human
rights violations.”
No benefits for
the poor
According to the
local organizers of the summit the arrival of some 10,000 foreign
dignitaries and their entourage, including 2,000 foreign journalists, will
have a “multiplier effect” on the economy, particularly in Cebu,
generating around P 204 million ($3,948,514).
“But the estimated
revenues will not benefit ordinary citizens. Since the four-day summit has
been declared a holiday, jeepney drivers will even earn less. Vendors are
prohibited from selling their wares in the streets,” added Luna.
She explained that
the revenues will only go to the big hotels, restaurants and malls in Cebu.
“The supposed
investments that will flow in because of the ASEAN Summit will create jobs
for the youth that are neither conducive nor well paying. We are a source
of cheap labor and a garbage bin for surplus products including materials
which could be hazardous to our health and our environment,” Luna said.
“Our officials are
sugar coating the ASEAN as manna from heaven that can solve all the
people’s problems, when in fact it’s nothing more than a thick layer of
make-up on a dying country,” the LFS-Cebu chairperson said.
The society as the
source of real education
When asked by
Bulatlat why they chose the name Street U for their alliance,
Geraldine Arguello, chairperson of Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante (NKE
or United Strength of Students) of UP, replied, “Because the street is
where the youth can learn and have an education without tuition fees.”
Arguello added that
the theme of the Street U is,“Ang libro sa tinuod ng estudyante kay ang
katilingban nga iyang gipuy-an” (The textbook of a true student is the
society in which he/she lives). Bulatlat
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