my problem with randy david (updated)

i was on the verge of blogging about the tenure case of tibak (activist) u.p. professor sarah raymundo of the department of sociology now chaired by prof. randy david, when the news broke that prof. david intends to oppose gloria should she dare run for congress in his home province of pampanga.

siyempre natigilan ako.   here i was all set to wonder aloud why known-to-be-leftist randy david seems to have turned against sarah raymundo who is herself a product of the department, shaped by, among others, the good professor himself, when bigla na lang he’s on the front page of inquirer, terribly macho astride a powerful motorcycle, with tibak kerchief tied ’round his head in lieu of a helmet.   macho tibak?!?   new politics?!?

the excitement his declaration has stirred among oppositionists, and the pledges of support, do not surprise.   it’s great naman talaga that this highly esteemed public intellectual has the chutzpah to challenge gloria arroyo, and, even, possibly make her think twice thrice about taking that inglorious road to perpetual rule.

just the same, like prof. danny arao of the u.p. college of mass communication, i find myself torn, unable to shrug off the unfair denial of tenure to sarah raymundo.   pakiusap ni prof. arao kay randy david:

Sa darating na Pebrero 2010 (ang tinatayang simula ng kampanya), maaasahan mo ang pagbuhos ng suporta mula sa iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan. Kilala ka’t iginagalang, bagama’t hindi natin alam kung ang kasikatan mo’t panawagan para sa makabuluhang pagbabago ay magiging sapat para labanan ang makinarya ng administrasyon.

Kasama ba ako sa tutulong sa iyong kandidatura? Pasensiya na’t hindi ko pa sigurado.

Wala man tayong malalim na pinagsamahan at napakalaki ng agwat ng ating edad (sikat ka nang propesor nang maging estudyante ako sa UP Diliman noong kalagitnaan ng dekada 80), may maliit lang sana akong pakiusap na sana’y huwag mong masamain.

Hindi siguro alam ng maraming tao na ikaw ay kasalukuyang tagapangulo ng Departamento ng Sosyolohiya ng UP Diliman. Para sa maraming estudyante’t gurong taga-UP, alam na alam nila ang kaso ni Prop. Sarah Raymundo, isang kasamahan mo sa departamento (at personal kong kaibigan) na pinagkaitan ng tenure kahit na nalampasan pa niya ang mga pangangailangan para dito.

Hanggang ngayon ay wala siyang pormal na sulat na nagsasaad kung ano ang kanyang naging pagkukulang, kung mayroon man. Ang tanging alam lang niya ay hindi niya nakuha ang boto ng 2/3 ng tenured faculty ng iyong departamento, kahit na mataas ang ebalwasyon sa kanya ng mga estudyante niya, nakuha niya sa itinakdang panahon ang kanyang master’s degree at nakapaglathala siya ng mga artikulo sa refereed journal.

Maaari mong ipagwalang-bahala ang isyung ito at sabihing ito ay internal sa inyong departamento. Pero kailangan mong malamang ito ay sumasagisag sa klase ng lideratong ikakampanya mo sa susunod na hinaharap at itataguyod mo kung sakaling manalo ka sa eleksiyon.

Kung ang isang kwalipikadong guro ay hindi mo mabigyan ng hustisya, paano pa kaya ang milyon-milyong pinagkaitan ng kasalukuyang rehimen? Nasaan ang panawagan mo para sa government transparency kung ang mismong departamento mo’y pinagkakaitan ng impormasyon si Prop. Raymundo kaya hindi niya masagot ang anumang paratang sa kanya? Bakit ang paninindigan ng Departamento ng Sosyolohiya tungkol sa kaso ni Prop. Raymundo ay hindi naiiba sa nakabibinging katahimikang ipinapakita ng Pangulong nais mong kalabanin?

Hindi pa huli ang lahat, Propesor David, para bigyan ng hustisya ang iyong kasamahan bago ka seryosong sumabak sa maruming daigdig ng pulitika.

sana makarating kay randy david.   it would be awesome if we could all rally behind him without reservation come 2010 should gloria arroyo run in pampanga.    in such a campaign, given arroyo’s dismal negative ratings, say ni randy sa big picture, every filipino becomes a cabalen.

the irony is, sarah raymundo herself is a true cabalen, also from the second district of pampanga.

*

UPDATE  from prof. raymundo’s chronology of events appended to her letter to u.p. chancellor sergio s. cao dated june 24, 2009:

On February of 2008, I submitted my application for tenure to the tenured faculty of the Sociology Department through our then-chairperson Dr. Clemen Aquino. By the second week of June 2008 … I was informed by Dr. Clemen Aquino of the official result of the tenured faculty’s deliberation on my tenure application. The voting that took place among the tenured faculty was to my favor at seven to three.

RICH MAN, POOR MAN

Satur Sulit

it is government’s work
to make wealthy the nation
the rich who control it
are to blame for the failure

the poor are not poor
because they gamble or drink
or have too many children
or are indolent as they say

the rich are not rich because
they don’t take risks, don’t indulge
or intercourse less
or work harder for their pay

the poor are poor because
the rich do not believe
what democracy claims
that the poor deserve the same

the rich keep them poor
because they are afraid
that the poor will outwit them
and show them the door

the poor are poor because
the rich are, well, dumb
and haven’t the faintest
how a country is run

the rich are rich
not because they deserve it
but are trapped by their money
and there is justice in this:

the poor are poor only
in what money can buy
but richer than rich
in the graces of paradise

it is truly the poor
who inherit the earth
while all money can buy
is a holiday there.

iran’s edsa moments

tulad ni reynz over at barrio siete, i’m impressed and overwhelmed by the sight of tehran’s streets teeming with protesting citizens, in the tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, and talaga naman, nakaka-wonder if this is iran’s EDSA moment, sabay merong touch of inggit, kasi, wow, we havent been able to raise such a crowd since edsa 1986 (i don’t know that edsa 2001, a poor sad crass imitation, drew as huge a sea of humanity).

but as the days go by, sa kakabasa at kakarinig ng tungkol sa sitwasyon sa iran, it’s looking more like a prospective tienanmen than an EDSA.   sana hindi.   but unlike EDSA, there is no split in the military, hardline authoritarianism rules, and soldiers seem prepared to shoot and kill if when ordered.   already there’s been some bloodshed but thank god not too much, not like tienanmen, not when the world is watching, thanks to the internet and tehran’s brave bloggers and tweeters.

for the latest news, i’ve been checking out huffington post where nico pitney is live-blogging the uprising.    ang daming nangyayari.   the street protests continue, the ayatollah will again address the nation on friday, and opposition leader mousavi threatens national strikes.

5:03 AM ET — Khamenei to deliver another address on Friday. That news comes via a very reliable Iranian on Twitter, who cites Iran’s state television. The same Twitter user also wrote earlier today about apparent plans for a broad strike being organized by reformists:

“Soon Mousavi will announce full national strikes, probably starting with Petrochemical - prepare for this… Expect food shortage - transport stoppage - money shortage in bank… Gov will respond with electric power cuts - prepare and have gas cylinders at home or gasoline for light/cooking… People of Iran - THIS IS THE DAWN - This is the new begining - have hope and prepare.”

biglang, uy, national strikes, just like cory’s civil disobedience campaign right after marcos was declared winner of the snap elections.   i wonder, will it get to that, or will the ayatollah blink and bend some to prevent the crisis from worsening.   whichever way it goes, nakaka-tense na nakaka-thrill, watching history in the making.   again, naunahan lang ako ni reynz.

… I cannot contain my apprehensive excitement, I have been glued to the monitor on my computer scanning every available news coming from Iran. Sometimes it makes me wonder if what’s going on in Iran is a prelude to what’s going to happen come 2010 Presidential Elections in the Philippines.

what’s going on in iran is certainly worth watching and learning from, so we know what our options are, not only in 2010, in case there’s also a failure of elections, but next month as well, in case gma  bestows a kiss on PALAKA and the lower house transforms into a con-ass.    maghanda tayo.   at humanda sila!