'Study now, pay later' loans proposed

A partylist representative on Monday pitched for the creation of a loaning system for indigent students that will allow them to borrow funds for tuition and other school fees that they can pay back once employed.

“A student loaning system for less fortunate students in our country could be a feasible option to consider in order to prevent another incident like that of Kristel Tejada of UP Manila," Representative Sherwin Tugna of the Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC), said.

The proposal would patterned after the loan system in the United States that give students the option of borrowing funds for tuition and then paying for it when they have jobs, Tugna said.

"We are currently studying how can that be done here. What is the limit of the loan and how long can the students' loan be spread," he said.

Under his proposal, the Commission on Higher Education will serve asthe fund administrator. The concept would be similar to Landbank’s loan provision to farmers and other members of the agricultural sector, Tugna said.

“Whether we like it or not, this incident with Ms. Tejada is the state of our education system and is a reflection of the lack of attention the government is giving to it. We may be angry at the administration of UP now and blame them for what happened but ultimately, the core of this problem is rooted in a government and a system mired in graft and corruption," he said.

"Money swindled or embezzled by enterprising and thick-skinned government officials could have been used to allocate to the already meager and limited budget of our country’s beloved state university and also to the other state universities and colleges that are brimming with bright and promising students who are afflicted by financial constraints,” Tugna added.

In a separate statement, Makabayan senatorial candidate Teddy Casiño Makabayan senatorial filed House Resolution 3044 calling for an inquiry on the various tuition and loan policies of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

"Government should direct concerned agencies and bodies to immediately review existing policies and rules of state universities and colleges (SUCs) in relation to tuition, loan grants and other payment schemes," Casiño, representative of Bayan Muna partylist, said.

"While SUCs are granted relative autonomy, government should have a set of minimum guidelines prioritizing the right of students to education over the generation of revenues," he added.

Fellow Bayan Muna partylist Representative Neri Colmenares said the government must answer for the UP student's death.

“The death of the young, promising student is a result of the heartless, anti-poor policies of the government.  It is outrageous and so ironic that this tragedy happened in the supposedly premier state university of the country. This is a state-driven murder,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

CSA teen on bully's gun-toting Dad: 'I really thought he'd shoot my brains out'

MANILA, Philippines – At first glance, Jaime Garcia seems like an unlikely target of bullies.

He towers at more than 6 feet tall and has a rather gentle, apologetic, demeanor. But Jaime has been bullied and mocked at the Colegio San Agustin (CSA) School in Makati where he is on his senior year in high school.

His butt and genitals were often poked by one of his male classmates, his main tormentor. Then on August 30, after months of constant taunts and harassment, Jaime had enough. He stabbed one of the bullies with a ballpen and punched another.  The incident escalated when the father of the classmate he punched rushed to his school, slapped and threatened him with what he recalled was a .45-caliber gun.

“I really thought he’d shoot my brains out,” Jaime told InterAksyon before granting his first full interview on TV5’s morning show, ‘Good Morning Club.’

Jaime’s father, Mike, was oblivious to the bullying until he was called that day to his son’s school. “Wala siyang sinasabi sa amin, eh,” he said.

But after months of being bullied and keeping quiet about it, Jaime has decided to come out, while his family is preparing legal action against the gun-toting father, while posing a lot of questions to the school.



‘ I can’t take it anymore’

During their English class at around 10 am of August 30, Jaime said one of his classmates, ‘JD,’ who had been constantly taunting him since July, began making certain “references” aimed at him.

 “I can’t take it anymore,” Jaime said. “They think it’s funny.”

After telling JD to stop it, another classmate, yelled back at him.

Jamie remembered the boy saying: “’Yo, c*nt! Calm down.’”

At this point, Jamie got angrier. He took a ballpen and stabbed JD with it. When his other classmate interceded, he punched him in the face.

“He started clenching his jaw,” Jamie recalled. “Then he told me, ‘I’ll kill you. I’ll shoot you!’”

It was then that Jamie was taken to the Head Teacher’s office by their English teacher Ms. Billy Joy Creus. Jamie wrote an incident report, while waiting for a guidance counselor top talk to him.

He was waiting inside the room with one of the admin staff and three other faculty members, when Allan Canete Bantiles, the father of the boy he punched, barged into the room.

“He asked me if I was the guy who hit his son. I apologized. In thought he was a reasonable guy,” Jamie said.

“He slapped me. He told me never to do that again. He told me, ‘You’re crazy. You deserve to be in a mental institution.’ I still apologized.”

According to Jaime, Bantiles wasn’t content and grabbed him, while saying : ‘You want to fight? You want to go outside now?’

Bantiles’ driver and son were in the room when the situation escalated. The fuming Bantiles asked for his “green denim satchel’, Jaime recalled, and brought out a gun.

“He then said:’ I can shoot you right now! You want me to shoot you?’” Jaime said.

By this time, one of Jaime’s male teachers was already holding Bantiles back while another told the shocked boy to proceed to the guidance office.

“I was just there, I wasn’t moving,” he said.



CSA inaction?

Jaime’s father found out of the incident while at work. “ I didn’t know my son had been bullied,” Mike told InterAksyon.

After finding out what happened to his son, Mike then asked the school officials how the gun was sneaked into the premises. He also asked why they just allowed Bantiles to leave scot-free.

“May kakulangan sila,” he said.

CSA officials then ordered Bantiles never to set foot on their campus again, while Mike moved to have the gun-toting dad’s car pass cancelled.

Mike then learned that his son was suspended for five days [for the ballpen-stabbing], while the two students were transferred to a different section.  The CSA Makati Alumni Association (CSAMAA), filed a case report of the incident with the Department of Education and reported about the increased security on campus and the banning of Bantiles “indefinitely.”

CSAMAA president Martin Jose Cervantes also posted on the organization’s official Facebook account several suggestions on how to resolve the matter. This includes creating an Anti-Bullying Committee, filing a case against Bantiles and conducting a clear dialogue with the school, parents and alumni.

“If you feel that the school can't act on its own, let's VOLUNTEER for them to carry this case on, but this of course will still be really based on the fact if they accept this particular offer of ours,” Cervantes wrote.



But Mike felt this is not enough. Just last Thursday, Jaime said, Bantiles’ son yelled at him and asked: ‘What did you tell your family? I’ll see you in court!”

Mike said the reason they came to the media is because they felt the CSA fell short in its response to the incident. For now, Jaime’s father is taking comfort in the fact that social media has been harsher on Bantiles.

Last Friday, a Facebook page was created denouncing Bantiles’ action. It has so far gathered more than 650 likes and is already sharing details and news articles surrounding the August 20 incident.

Ironically, the Facebook page has become an avenue for users to vent out their anger at Bantiles (even post his home address online) and in a way, cyberbully the gun-toting father.

“Thats crap! CSA is a joke. Allan needs to have his punk ass in jail. Then lets see how tough that punk is...” One Peter Brooks commented.

“Pumatol sa bata....wanna try someone your own size, Allan Bantiles?” Joel Canlas added.

But for now, Jaime said he just wants to focus on his studies and move on from the incident.

“At the moment, I’m just trying to move on. I’m just saying the truth.”

InterAksyon and Good Morning Club tried to get the side of Bantiles but received no response.

source: interaksyon.com

12-year-old Pinoy got perfect score at Australian math contest

Answer this in a heartbeat:

The Fibonacci numbers are F(1)=1, F(2)=1, F(3)=2, F(4)=3, F(5)=5, F(6)=8, F(7)=13, ... where the first two are both equal to 1, and from then on, each one is the sum of the two preceding it. Of the first 2004 Fibonacci numbers, how many have 2 as their last digit?

Twelve-year-old Filipino student Farrel Eldrian Wu got it right easily—and aced the rest of the 30 questions in the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) held on Aug. 2 worldwide.

AMC is an annual event where students from third grade until second year college (at least in the Philippines) solve a series of math problems in 60 minutes (for third to sixth grade) or 75 minutes (for seventh grade to 12th grade or second year college in the Philippines).

The contest is divided into three levels—junior (grades three to six), intermediate (grades seven to second year high school), and senior (3rd year high school to 2nd year college), said Dr. Simon Chu in a phone interview, Mathematics Trainers Guild (MTG) president.

In the country, it is supervised by the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) in cooperation with the MTG. It is held in at least four areas all over the country—one in the National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, said Robert Degolacion, MTG office director, in a phone interview.

Wu, a grade seven student at MGC New Life Christian Academy in Taguig City, edged out 500,000 contestants from over 30 countries worldwide in the intermediate level.

In a statement, Wu said he found the AMC questions "challenging."

“The contest paper was done creatively. The problems were written in a way that they were not the typical school problems, but instead require logical thinking and approach with solutions that are not straightforward,” he added.

Another student who got perfect score was Zhi Yi Bernard Teo of Singapore. Wu and Zhi Yi won the Peter O’Halloran Certificate, the highest award in AMC.

Chua said in a statement, “Seventy-three Filipino students among the 3,617 Filipino students who joined this year's AMC won medals and awards for belonging to the perfect scorers, 99 and 99+ percentile.

This is not the first time the Philippines faired well in the competition, said Chua.

“Every year, we are winning (at AMC), we get very excellent scores. If I remember correctly, this is the third time a Filipino got a perfect score,” said Chua.

AMC started in 1978. However, the Philippines joined the competition only by 1992. In year 2000, DOST-SEI expanded the program and had students all over the Philippines joined the competition.

Chua also said that the two-year handicap felt in other international math and science competitions was not felt at AMC.

Because the competition is divided into three levels, Filipino students are able to compete within their age-level, said Chua.

“Fairly enough, the problems suit our Basic Educational Curriculum and it does not require advanced formulas but only creative thinking," Wu said.

Wu also said he was not really aiming for a perfect score.

"After joining several math competitions, I have already learned not to focus on the awards. But instead joining a competition is already winning in itself,” Wu said.

He added, “To be given the opportunity to participate in any competition and to have the chance to answer beautiful math problems with fellow mathletes around the world are more important to me."

Other winners

This year's Filipino medalists and AMC prize awardees who belong to the top scorers and 99+ percentile are:

• Farrell Eldrian Wu - MGC New Life Christian Academy
• Andrew Brandon Ong - Chiang Kai Shek College
• John Thomas Chuatak - St. Stephen's High School
• Justin Yturzaeta - Jubilee Christian Academy

The prize awardees who belong to the 99+ percentile are:

• Bryce Ainsley Sanchez - Grace Christian College
• Eion Chua - MGC New Life Christian Academy
• Dion Stephan Ong - Ateneo de Manila Grade School
• Matthew Eric Tan - St. Stephen's High School
• Patrick Nino Policarpio - Greenpark Montessori Learning Center
• Christian Philip Gelera - UP Integrated School
• Shaquille Wyan Que - Grace Christian College
• Deany Hendrick Cheng - Grace Christian College

The high distinction certificate awardees who belong to the 99 percentile are:

• Immanuel Josiah Balete - St. Stephen's High School
• Sted Micah Cheng - Hope Christian High School
• Hiraya Marcos - Philippine Cultural College-Main
• Kaizen Naquita - SPED Integrated School de Iloilo
• Rene-John Ongchua - Solomon Integrated School de Iloilo
• Trisha Danielle Sia - Chiang Kai Shek College
• Dan Alden Baterisna - Colegio San Agustin Makati
• Adolph Monji Chen - Xavier School
• Drew Skyler Co - Jubilee Christian Academy
• Maxinee Louise Co - Ateneo de Iloilo-SMCS
• Miguel Bradford Lao - Philippine Cultural College-Main
• Jacob Peralta - PAREF Southridge School
• Steven Reyes - St. Jude Catholic School
• Trisha Denise Siy - MGC New Life Christian Academy
• Philmon Wee - Xavier School
• Juan Pablo Abola - PAREF Southridge School
• Alodia Carey Baisas - Colegio San Agustin-Binan
• Szel Leeven Embay - La Salle Academy
• John Henry Marquez - UP Integrated School
• Raymund Carlo Masbano - St. John's Institute
• Zeidrich Monares - UP Integrated School
• Stefan Marcus Ong - St. Jude Catholic School
• Lance Christian Ting - St. Stephen's High School
• Bon Leif Amalla - Colegio San Agustin-Binan
• Luke Matthews Bernardo - Philadelphia High School
• Vicente Raphael Chan - Zamboanga Chong Hua High School
• Jinger Chong - St. Jude Catholic School
• Jan Joshua Cruz - Pasig Catholic School
• Shamira Liao - St. Stephen's High School
• Jose Ignacio Locsin - St. John's Institute
• Eason Wong - Philippine Cultural College-Caloocan
• Clyde Wesley Ang - Chiang Kai Shek College
• Kyle Patrick Dulay - Philippine Science High School-Main
• Xavier Jefferson Go - Zamboanga Chong Hua High School
• Grant Aaron King - Grace Christian College
• Angelika Joie Tagupa - Colegio San Agustin-Binan
• Raphael Villaluz - Philippine Science High School-Main;
• Raymond Joseph Fadri - Makati Science High School
• Kelsey Lim Tiong Soon - Grace Christian College
• Albert Jason Olaya - Philippine Science High School-Main
• Ezekiel Christian Ong - UNO High School
• Gerald Pascua - Philippine Science High School-Main
• Vince Benedict Say - St. Jude Catholic School
• Adrian Reginald Sy - St. Jude Catholic School
• James Vincent Tan - Bayanihan Institute
• Jonn Angel Aranas - Makati Science High School
• Nathanael Joshua Balete - St. Stephen's High School
• Austin Edrich Chua - St. Jude Catholic School
• Francis Concepcion - Philippine Cultural College-Main
• Ma. Czarina Angela Lao - St. Jude Catholic School
• Reine Reynoso - Philippine Science High School-Main
• Matthew-Ryan Tan - St. Jude Catholic School
• Kaye Janelle Yao - Grace Christian College
• Karli Ang - Philippine Institute of Quezon City
• Jervis Chua - Philippine Cultural College Main
• Aaron Jevon Dy - Xavier School
• Martin Lewis Koa - St. Jude Catholic School
• Himig Marcos - Philippine Cultural College Main
• Ron Gabriel Navarro - Philippine Science High School
• Lorenzo Gabriel Quiogue - Ateneo de Manila High School
• Jason Allan Tan - Jubilee Christian Academy

–KG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

US student in gay webcam spying gets 30 days jail

NEW YORK - An Indian immigrant college student convicted of illegally filming his gay roommate on a webcam received a big break Monday when a judge sentenced him to just 30 days behind bars, not the possible 10 years.

Dharun Ravi, who shared the webcam footage with friends in his dormitory at Rutgers University in New Jersey, had also faced possible deportation, but the judge said he would not recommend this.

The case sparked a national debate over cyber bullying and gay bashing when the 18-year-old roommate, apparently distraught in part over the embarrassment of the broadcasting of his gay sexual encounter, committed suicide days later. Ravi, now 20, was not charged, E with the death.

Ahead of the light sentence, Judge Glenn Berman in New Brunswick, New Jersey, gave Ravi a severe dressing down.

Ravi showed "colossal insensitivity" when he filmed Tyler Clementi in September 2010, Berman said in comments carried live on TruTV.

"I heard this jury say ‘guilty' 288 times -- 24 questions, 12 jurors," Berman said. "I haven't heard you apologize once."

Berman said Ravi would never "expunge the conduct or the pain you caused."

The jury found Ravi guilty of invading privacy, on some charges of anti-gay bias, and trying to impede investigators by deleting or doctoring text messages and tweets that he'd sent.

His lawyer had argued that Ravi was guilty only of a prank gone wrong when he filmed roommate Clementi in a kiss with a man, then Tweeted friends about what he'd seen and invited them to watch a live webcam video.

Although prosecutors painted Ravi as a mean-spirited bully, Berman noted several times that the young immigrant was not accused of causing Clementi's death -- a tragedy that brought huge attention to what might otherwise have been a little-noticed case.

In a heart wrenching speech before sentencing on Monday, Ravi's mother recalled how they had arrived in the United States with just two suitcases and "a lot of hopes." Her son, she said, had been a dedicated student who "doesn't have any... or harbor hatred in his heart to anybody."

"What my son Dharun is going through there is no word for me to explain. The smile and the bright eyes are gone from his face," she said.

Addressing Clementi's family, she said, "It is so sad he chose to end his life early. My heart goes to his family."

When the unexpected sentence was passed, Ravi appeared not to react immediately, looking as stunned and near tears as he had throughout the hearing.

A New Jersey gay rights group, Garden State Equality, welcomed the judge's lenient approach, saying that the maximum sentence would "have been vengeance beyond punishment and beyond sending a message to the rest of society."

The month in jail and probation was correct, the group said, but added: "This was not a childhood prank gone awry. This was not a crime without bias."

article source: interaksyon.com

Student who posted bikini photos on Facebook allowed to attend graduation rites

The high school student who got in hot water for posting controversial photos of her on her Facebook page has found relief from a Cebu City court, which cleared the way for her to attend her graduation rites Friday.



The Cebu court issued a temporary restraining order against St. Theresa's College's imposition of sanctions that would have barred the girl from attending her special day, radio dzBB's Cebu affiliate reported.

The identity of the student was withheld as she is a minor.

Earlier, the school barred the girl from attending her graduation ceremony supposedly due to her Facebook photos showing her in a bikini and holding a lighted cigarette, which supposedly violated the school's teachings.

With the TRO, Judge Wilfredo Navarro ordered officials of St. Theresa's College to treat the girl "with kindness and civility befitting true graduates."

The dzBB report quoted the school's lawyer as saying the officials will follow the court order, and made sure that there will be no harassment of the girl on Friday.

The case stemmed from the lawsuit filed by the student's mother against the school for allegedly barring her daughter from attending the graduation rites. — KBK, GMA News

article source: gmanetwork.com