STAFF

CONTENTS1 Editorial2 Commnews14 News

REGULARS24 Alumni Links: Aly Reyes by Kenneth Reyes

PROBE AND COMMENTARIES26 In Search of Development by tin Cunanan

28 Reviewing Noynoy’s First 100 Days by Paolo tamase

30 Sex, Drugs and the RH Bill by bea bayudan

32 To Cha-Cha or Not to Cha-Cha by iRene aRzadon

FEATURES25 New Mems Stats by JessiCa bisCoCho

34 Sex, Sex, and More Sex Plus Drugs by Jes maniPon

35 Backparking by Kim oRtiCio

36 Gay Relationships by GossiP G.38 Ecosoc Diaries: The Tugs Tugs Edition40 Superstitions by RalPh dantes

41 Sukob and Other Pinoy Superstitions by m. dailisan

42 You Can’t Show That by mia astudillo

46 Love Triangles by ben bismaRK

51 Ten Commandments by aaRon aw

COLUMNS43 Fitness Corner: Desperate by KaRlo PatRon

44 Avant Garde: Lady Gaga by CoCoy VaRGas

52 Gilbert’s Logbook: Cheat! by GilbeRt bueno

53 The Burnbook: Oh-So-Secretive October by ashley and maRyKate

FRont CoVeR Photo by Paolo tamase

Paolo Emmanuel TamaseEditor-in-Chief

Ma. Carmela Angeli AstudilloAssociate Editor

Benedict BismarkManaging Editor

Jessica ManiponNews Editor

Kenneth Luigi ReyesFeatures & Art Editor

Kevin Adrian EstopacePhoto & Layout Editor

Kristine Joy CunananSpecial Projects Editor

Horace CimafrancaWebmaster

Kenneth ReyesTin CunananPaolo TamaseBea BayudanIrene ArzadonJessica BiscochoJes ManiponKim OrticioKenna BaritAndre SarmientoRalph DantesMatt DailisanMia AstudilloBen BismarkAaron AwKarlo PatronCocoy VargasGilbert BuenoFeatures Staff Ma. Patricia Aquillo

Ana Christina CruzAndres Licaros IIIOgie EnriquezJessica ManiponAvril BriesArt Staff

Paolo TamaseKevin EstopaceMia AstudilloKenneth ReyesLayout Staff

Reuel RealinJessica BodoDarrel JimenezVincent PerezJessica ManiponReyneil GoPers BetanaDhiren KarnaniLeus PunasalanMatt DailisanMik SingsonIca DucanesNews Staff

The final matchup of the ECOSOC Bridge Tournament was held at the Tambayan during the final two weeks of September was intense and, contrary to most bridge games played in the tambayan, very serious. After six games, Pat Garcia & Cathy Alcantara won the bridge tournament over the team of Angelica de Guzman & Ayla Reyes who were undefeated going to the finals.

The Ecosoc bridge tournament was composed of 16 different teams, each of which paid P 20 to register. From the first round to the semifinals the players chose between a best-of-five or a best-of-three series; in the finals, it was a best of seven series. The prize for this game was P 500 and bragging rights as the best bridge players of Ecosoc.

Overall, the players enjoyed playing competitive bridge games, and it brought out the trust of each team member in his or her partner.

I remember the sun was scorching and still over a throng of 150,000 on June 30 when Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was sworn in as the country’s 15th president. My family was at home watching Noel Cabangon and APO perform patriotic tunes for an excited audience of thousands. I, however, had been at the Grandstand since 7 am with my best friends from high school who, like me, supported Noynoy during the campaign season. With the help of a friend’s parent, we were able to secure seats in the official guest area. Little did we know how useless our tickets would be when the guards eventually allowed hundreds of people who camped out since the night before to occupy (i.e. stand on) the reserved seats. Normally, I would have been pissed, but this occasion was something special—a celebration of the people’s power, I thought. Who were we to deprive anyone of the right to share in Noynoy’s triumph?

Alas, such peacetime would not last long. Noynoy never had a honeymoon period not because the media did not grant him the customary leniency, but because it was as if the universe conspired against his young term. There is of course the Manila Hostage Crisis, which exposed the weakest points of public safety and security and caused a diplomatic storm and international embarrassment for our country. Then there are the jueteng allegations against USec. Puno (also involved in the hostage fiasco) and former PNP Chief Versoza, both Aquino allies (the former his shooting buddy, even).

Yet upon closer examination, the universe conspires against everyone at one point or another. Noynoy, being the most powerful person on Philippine soil, had every

resource to turn these early headaches to success stories—he could have personally managed the hostage crisis, which was no everyday crime as it involved foreign citizens; he could have accepted the courtesy resignation of the embattled Puno. But all of these are in hindsight; we know little of how the president’s mind works, and even less of what we would have done if we were in P-Noy’s shoes (as these “what ifs” are easier said than done).

It is easy to reduce the first 100 days of the Aquino administration as a failure if we were to solely base it on these aspects. Outside of crime, foreign relations, and apparent nepotism, however, I honestly believe that Noynoy has done quite a good job considering the time constraint.

First, there is marked success in his objective to make public office about public service. His “No Wangwang” policy, his most popular act so far, shows not only how the president is eager to destroy the image of the government as a house of privilege, but it also inadvertently highlights the abuses of his infamous predecessor. Furthermore, instead of issuing strict directives to obey the No Wangwang policy (the official policy, approved before Noynoy’s time, is that only the five highest officials of the land may use sirens and escorts during their travel), Noynoy made a deeper impact by choosing to impose the policy on himself, even if he had every right to use sirens and escorts. Because the highest official of the land refuses to use these tools and even follows traffic rules to the letter despite high profile and important engagements, no other official has dared to seriously challenge the policy. If you live somewhere near Commonwealth (as I

Reviewing Noynoy’s First 100 Days BY PAOLO TAMASE

do), you will notice that the ubiquitous “8” vehicles have been acting like normal cars for the past hundred days. For politicians, this success is trivial, but for the people who have been through one abusive leader after another, “No Wangwang” is a deathly albeit symbolic blow against the misuse of power as privilege.

Second, the president has promoted the idea that corruption can be curbed. While he has been criticized for what is probably the slowest political transition in Philippine history (it’s been more than three months since Noynoy took office and more than 2,000 appointive positions have yet to be renewed or replaced), P-Noy has also been praised for the most stringent application process Philippine bureaucracy has seen in recent years. His insistence on getting only clean, principled, and respectable officials for his official family is important because his very candidacy ran on the promise of ending the culture of corruption.

Third, Noynoy has advanced overdue policy changes in education and health. His administration’s decision to adopt a 12-year basic education system is designed to keep the Philippines at par with the rest of the world, developing and developed, as far as schooling is concerned—our country is only one of two that do not use the 12-year system. His strong support for the promotion of reproductive health (via the RH Bill and other means) is an acknowledgement of the critical role of population size in economic growth and national development. While he has come under much fire for these “reforms,” the fact that the president has not backed down from these changes should earn him some respect.

Then there are the gray areas. The administration still lacks a solid economic plan for the next six years—it already submitted a budget to Congress, but without clear goals in mind, it will be mostly money wasted. Noynoy also does not have concrete plans for the environment, the communist insurgency and the peace and order situation in Mindanao, the water and energy crises, and agriculture and agrarian reform, among other national needs.

The evaluation of Noynoy’s first 100 days ultimately rests on one’s political colors. Those who have always been critical of the president will point out that the transition has been extremely slow, that Noynoy and his men have been proven to be inexperienced, and that the things changed by the administration are of petty value and practically insignificant to the national picture. Those who support him, on the other hand, will say that the transition has been careful, that the president is not sacrificing quality for quickness, that P-Noy prioritizes clean track records, and the small changes he has forwarded are actually fundamental fixes of a broken system.

I am certain that both voters and non-voters of our president at least hoped that the shared story of our nation would take a turn for the better. Today, I find myself a hundred days after that historic day—the first peaceful transfer of power of the new millennium—with mixed emotions, at best. Yes, I remain as hopeful as I have always been, but at the same time, I anticipate the future more realistically.

Echoes would like to the thank the following forbeing our partners in the CDC Field Trip:

Echoes would like to the thank the following forbeing our partners in the CDC Field Trip:

echoes

Paolo Emmanuel TamaseEditor-in-Chief

Ma. Carmela Angeli AstudilloAssociate Editor

Benedict BismarkManaging Editor

Jessica ManiponNews Editor

Kenneth Luigi ReyesFeatures & Art Editor

Kevin Adrian EstopacePhoto & Layout Editor

Kristine Joy CunananSpecial Projects Editor

Horace CimafrancaWebmaster

Paolo Emmanuel TamaseEditor-in-Chief

Ma. Carmela Angeli AstudilloAssociate Editor

Kim OrticioManaging Editor

Irene ArzadonNews Editor

Jessica ManiponFeatures Editor

Rehi DimayugaLayout Editor

Patrick SantosPhoto Editor

Kenneth ReyesArt Editor

Kristine Joy CunananSpecial Projects Editor

Bianca AlvaroWebmaster

2ND SEMESTER, AY 2009-10 1ST SEMESTER, AY 2010-11

APPLICANTS

Bea BayudanBenedict BismarkMatt DailisanNorika Ishikawa