USC Vice Chairperson-elect JP delas Nieves on the Philippine Daily Inquirer

(See the original Philippine Daily Inquirer article HERE.)

Son of trike driver, veggie vendor shines as UP student leader

by Julie M. Aurelio

Philippine Daily Inquirer

To make ends meet, his father works as a tricycle driver while his mother sells vegetables. Neither of them reached college, something they now want badly for their eldest child “JP” to finish.

But on Thursday, John Paul de las Nieves made his parents proud not only with his high grades but with his campus leadership. The Economics senior and candidate for cum laude won the vice chairmanship of the student council of the University of the Philippines Diliman.

“If you really want to make something out of yourself, nothing is impossible. Poverty is not a reason. Instead it should drive you to do better,” he said in an Inquirer interview after his poll victory.

Graduating this April, 19-year-old JP is set to take up a master’s course also in economics and will start serving his term in the council in the next school year. The chairmanship went to his party-mate, Arjay Mercado.

Scholarship

A product of Mandaluyong Science High School, De las Nieves recalled spending summer vacations helping his mother Amelita sell vegetables on the sidewalk. On a good day she makes around P1,000, and this is added to the P500 earned by his father Pacifico, who drives a tricycle to help feed a family of five in Barangay Hagdan Bato, Mandaluyong City.

A scholarship from the office of Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales helped De Las Nieves through his four years in UP, where he would be graduating with a general weighted average of 1.57.

Thursday’s election win would allow him to continue what he started in his current capacity as councilor. He won again under the party Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran (UP ALYANSA), which got 16 out of 34 positions in the USC.

Last year, as head of a council committee, he focused on the concerns of students staying in the dormitories, especially those in need of funds to continue their studies. He also met students from UP Tacloban who were displaced by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” personally helping them find new homes.

‘Eye-opener’

“That experience was an eye-opener. It made me realize what an honor it is to be able to help my fellow students,” he said. “And I notice that the busier I get, the more I get better grades. I study better when I am with friends.”

Though his tuition and lodging are covered by the scholarship, De las Nieves said he still had to watch his personal expenses and make do with the weekly allowance—P1,000 or less—that he gets from his father.

“I am really proud of my parents. I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for them and our experiences as a family,” he said. “I am thankful that even though my parents only reached high school, I was able to enter UP. I won’t stop dreaming and reaching for these dreams just because my parents didn’t have a college education.” ###

Ngayon ang simula ng ating #BagongUSC! MARAMING SALAMAT, UP DILIMAN!

UP Diliman, sila ang maghahatid ng #BagongUSC sa susunod na taon! 

Nagpapasalamat sina Arjay, JP at ang buong UP ALYANSA sa suporta at tiwala na binigay nyo sa panawagang makabuo ng konsehong nakikinig sa kwento ng bawat Iskolar para sa Bayan! 

SIMULA NA NG #BAGONGUSC!

Iba’t ibang kulay – Ito ang angkop na paglalarawan sa mga salitang narinig natin nitong nakaraang mga araw. May kaaya-aya, ngunit mayroon ding hindi maganda sa pandinig. May mga pangako. May mga palusot. May mga panloloko’t panlilinlang. Subalit hindi tayo dapat magpalunod sa ingay. Hindi tayo dapat magparindi sa retorika.

Hindi tayo magpapalihis dahil alam natin kung saan tayo patungo. Sabay-sabay tayong nakatutok at gumagalaw papunta sa isang UP kung saan dinig ang kuwento ng bawat Iskolar sa gitna ng mga sigaw.

Hindi tayo magpapalihis dahil malinaw sa atin ang ating layunin. Sama-sama tayo sa pagbuo muli ng isang University Student Council kung saan inuuna ang paglilingkod na hindi naaantala – isang Konsehong binubuo ng mga kasaping may pagpapahalaga sa tungkulin sa kapwa mag-aaral at mamamayan.

Hindi tayo magpapalihis dahil may tiwala tayong hindi rin magpapalihis ang bawat mag-aaral ng UP. Taglay ng bawat Iskolar ng Bayan ang pag-iisip na ginagabayan ng pagiging matalino at kritikal, na siyang magtatakda sa ating pagdedesisyon sa eleksyon. Magkakasama tayo sa paniniwalang boto ang tugon natin sa ating mga narinig nitong nakaraang mga araw, maganda man o hindi.

Sa darating na Huwebes, ika-27 ng Pebrero, paparating na tayo. Sa araw ng eleksyon para sa University Student Council, paparating na ang pagbabago. Simula na ng BAGONG USC.

ARJAY MERCADO for USC Chairperson!

JP DELAS NIEVES for USC Vice Chairperson!

VOTE STRAIGHT ALYANSA SA USC ON THURSDAY!

#BagongUSC, Bagong Kuwento ng Paglilingkod!

I am a UP student. I wasn't able to get the STFAP bracket that I needed, but someone told me that my dreams didn't end there and that we could still do something about it.

I am a UP student. I'm gay and I was afraid to come out, but someone convinced me to live free and that I am safe in the University.

I am a UP student. I'm part of a fraternity, but someone made me realize that we are part of the solution in ending the culture of violence in our circles.

I am a UP student. My dorm has problems I thought I'd just have to live with, but someone reached out and said we’d work on them together.

I am a UP student. I used to believe that grades were everything, but someone showed me that there are lessons still to be learned beyond the classroom.

We are UP students, each with a different story to tell, but united in a shared narrative of trials and triumphs. In getting through our struggles, there will always be those with whom we share our fears, our hopes, and our dreams.

Imagine a University Student Council composed of fellow students which, far from being a passive fixture, becomes an active partner in our unfolding journeys; one that measures its relevance not simply by projects and programs, but also by the difference that it makes in the story of the Iskolar and the Filipino.

Envision an institution of student leaders which recognizes that contexts and ideas are in constant flux, and responds to them not by insisting on outdated lenses, but by being open to all perspectives for progressive change; one that does not rely on archaic modes of action, but instead adopts solutions as dynamic as the challenges themselves. While we recognize that the only thing constant is change, we see that beyond this, what is truly constant are our principles within these changes.

This is our University Student Council – a USC with a new story of leadership and service that embodies engagement, relevance, and innovation; a USC that takes the experiences of each student and weaves them into the collective epic of the National University and society.

Kaya nating bumuo ng bagong USC. Simulan na natin ang bagong kuwento ng paglilingkod.

ARJAY MERCADO for USC Chairperson!

JP DELAS NIEVES for USC Vice Chairperson!

VOTE STRAIGHT UP ALYANSA SA USC

ON FEBRUARY 27!

UP ETC President and UP ALYANSA's AJ Montesa on the Philippine Daily Inquirer: #FOInow!

(Read AJ's original Inquirer column piece entitled "You’ve Got Nothing to Fear if You’ve Got Nothing to Hide" HERE.)

The year 2013 has just ended and we’re barely into the new year. It’s the perfect time to look back at our victories and successes, but it’s also an opportune time to think about the steps we’d like to take moving forward. That’s why the new year is the time when people start making resolutions and renewing promises long forgotten.

A resolution that we’d like to see from our government, if that government does choose to move on the straight road forward, is a commitment to transparency and accountability. For all the talk of reform and the clamor against corruption, there is one great resolution that has yet to be realized: the Freedom of Information Law. It is a resolution, an old promise, that we’ve been trying to keep for more than 20 years now.

Now, more than any other time, we are hopeful. We are hopeful that our Congress will finally decide to take that great step towards reform. We are hopeful that our public servants finally make the change to end all the corruption and abuse of power we are so tired of hearing about. The new year gives us new hope: that our government can finally act out that commitment to a transparent, accountable and democratic standard.

The Senate is making great progress with the FOI bill. But this leaves much to be desired from the House of Representatives which has a great deal of catching-up to do. So to the representatives of the people who are having second thoughts or doubts about the FOI bill, you’ve got nothing to fear if you’ve got nothing to hide.

Hopefully, 2014 will be the year when we can finally fulfill that commitment to the freedom of information.

—AJ MONTESA, President,

UP Economics Towards Consciousness (ETC)

convener, FOI Youth Initiative (FYI)

youth4foi@gmail.com

Principled disagreement and anonymous black propaganda: A challenge

Over the past few days, I have been receiving reports of anonymous efforts to bring down Alex Castro in the race for USC Chair. As a fellow candidate and in behalf of UP ALYANSA, I wish to voice my strongest condemnation against these malicious attempts.

The campaign is a time not just to show off each candidate's and each political party's strengths and victories, but also a time to educate and to engage in a healthy, passionate, and principled discourse.

In the earlier part of this week, members of ALYANSA made a principled disagreement with Alex Castro's citation of wrong information on the sin tax law. Rooted in our advocacy to make this campaign more about platforms and less about personalities, we demanded an apology from Alex Castro and a retraction of the misinformation that the 15% allocation for tobacco farmers has been stricken off the sin tax law. To this day, we have not received any apology or retraction; so, our principled disagreement and demand continue.

But when a supposed screenshot of an alleged chat conversation between Alex and a "friend" cropped up, I was personally disappointed. Today, a perverted statement entitled "Sex Will Fix" was released in different areas in campus.

These are exactly what ALYANSA has been campaigning against. While we make sure to maintain our principled disagreement with Alex Castro and KAISA on the level of issues and platforms, efforts like these serve as roadblocks to our dream of an informed student body.

The anonymity of these efforts reveals exactly their purpose: Nothing more than to regress to personality politics and blur this campaign into becoming a pageant of reputations rather than clear platforms. I personally challenge the people behind these efforts to come into the open and make a principled choice to inform, rather than to maliciously attack. I challenge the people behind these to reveal their identities and the USC Chair candidate they support, if any, so the students may decide for themselves what to make of the propaganda.

As student leaders, it is our duty to inform and shape the debates in campus to become a discourse of principles, integrity, ideology, and platforms. This campaign is not about me; it is not about Alex Castro's alleged chat messages or motives. This campaign is about the students and their right to make an informed choice on their next University Student Council.




Carlo Brolagda
ALYANSA USC Chairperson candidate
February 20, 2013

WE MADE HISTORY.

WE MADE HISTORY.

In a year, we passed in Congress the reproductive health and sin tax bills into laws. Through mass mobilizations and various direct negotiations, we convinced the government to increase the budget for the University and other state universities and colleges. After decades of systemic corruption and misgovernment, we detained former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and impeached her former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In a year, we have mainstreamed the discourse of gender equality in campus. We stood firm in our condemnation of fraternity-related violence and, for the first time, filed a case as students against warring fraternities. We have institutionalized fiscal transparency and mechanisms of accountability in the USC. We have freed the USC from its former captivity in outdated dogma and transformed it into a body truly reflective of our passions and aspirations.

Today we are at a critical juncture, faced with an obvious choice: Do we continue our momentum of progressive change or do we fall back into irrelevance and empty rhetoric?

ITULOY NATIN ANG NAPAGTAGUMPAYAN. Our victories have only begun. As we weave our individual stories of hopes and dreams, we realize that, as a collective, we are headed towards one destination. As we build on our successes, we affirm our shared journey towards genuine student empowerment, social justice, and social progress.

PARA SA UP. In the advancement of our rights and welfare as Iskolars para sa Bayan, we abandon intangible promises and choose concrete solutions. We refuse sloganeering by merely opposing. We choose to propose. We have chosen to forward amendments based on students’ rights which have been successfully incorporated into the Code of Student Conduct. We choose a more just and equitable system of socialized tuition. We choose to formalize our freedoms and liberties with a national law on students’ rights and welfare.

PARA SA BAYAN. As we fight for the marginalized, oppressed, and powerless sectors in our society, we go beyond oversimplified classifications. We engage government from the outside and within. We refuse to battle wrongs with another wrong. We choose to be proactive. We have chosen to challenge impunity and patronage politics with a freedom of information law. We choose to end indecent labor conditions with a security of tenure law. We choose to address gender inequality with an anti-discrimination law.

Victory after victory, our choice becomes clearer: We choose to continue making history.

ITULOY NATIN ANG NAPAGTAGUMPAYAN. PARA SA UP, PARA SA BAYAN!

Carlo Brolagda for USC Chairperson!

Alex Santos for USC Vice Chairperson!

VOTE STRAIGHT ALYANSA SA USC ON FEBRUARY 28!

 

ITULOY NATIN ANG NAPAGTAGUMPAYAN. PARA SA UP, PARA SA BAYAN!

Maraming salamat, UP. TAYO ANG USC.

Maraming Salamat, Iskolar para sa Bayan

Maraming salamat, Iskolar para sa Bayan, dahil Kasama Ka.

You have been with us for an entire year, when we sought honor and excellence in our student institutions. You have been with us, as we redefined leadership and service by being Iskolars para sa Bayan.

Now, the banners of blue, yellow, and red have been rolled up. The streets have gotten calmer. Another election has passed. This election, with every pin, every poster, and every statement, with every room-to-room campaign, every handshake, and every speech, ALYANSA sounded one common message: Lahat tayo, Iskolar Para sa Bayan.

In every classroom, every org, and every dorm we visited, this message resonated with each of our fellow UP students, our fellow Iskolars Para sa Bayan. Thanks to you, we have established our identity as scholars who live by the values of honor, excellence, leadership, and service. Thanks to you, ALYANSA will continue to bring these values into our next University Student Council. And thanks to you, it will be these values that will guide us as we face the coming year’s challenges within and beyond the University.

Through all the cheers and the jeers, the praise and the occasional criticism, the joy and the tears, you were with us as we gave our all for a better USC and a better UP. Now, as we are humbled by your trust and support, we pray that we will continue to work together in pursuing our hopes for the future.

To our opponents, we echo the call to unite our collective strength towards the vision of a better tomorrow. After all that has been said and done, we ask that you join us in bridging the divisions left by this electoral battle. Let us recognize that amidst our diversity, it is the good of our community and our nation that we would all give our lives for. With this understanding, let us make the coming year the best UP has yet to see.

Bughaw, pula, o dilaw, kasama ka sa paglilingkod tungo sa pagbabago.

Isko’t Iska, maraming, maraming salamat.

Lahat tayo, Iskolar Para sa Bayan.