The Political Science Forum Archives

Apr302021 No Comments

‘Weak states’ lead to ‘ineffective’ COVID-19 responses—PolSci chair

by KAREN RENEE S. NOGOY POLITICAL SCIENCE department chair Asst. Prof. Dennis Coronacion said Tuesday that the institutional weakness of the Philippines led to the Duterte administration's failure to control the pandemic. “We cannot blame this all on President Duterte kasi kahit gaano pa siya kalakas na leader, I think given the enormity of the problem—the pandemic, kahit sinong leader ang ilagay mo diyan, he or she is bound to fail kasi we have weak state institutions,” Coronacion said in a webinar. He said that the country has a defective public health system and weak public health institutions, mentioning Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's corruption and the “inefficient” hospital system. Coronacion also cited the “securitization” or the “military solution” as one of

Apr302021 No Comments

LAYA candidates secure positions in TPSF

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by JENNA KAYE M. PANDANAN and ARTHUR N. APOSTOL MEMBERS OF the Lakas ng Alyansang Yaman ay Aksyon (LAYA) party were proclaimed as winners in The Political Science Forum’s (TPSF) regular elections for the academic year 2021-2022, the UST-TPSF Comelec announced Wednesday. The LAYA members were the only students who filed for candidacy in the election. President-elect junior Paul Derick Olorga with 186 votes aims to conduct "Live, Learn, Lead,” a three-day seminar that will focus on students' growth and the improvement of their learning. Olorga also promoted “LUALHATI,” which aims to highlight the history of TPSF, and Talakayan, a two-part program for the upcoming 2022 elections to inform and a two-part program to inform and discuss the candidates for the upcoming 2022 elections.

Feb182019 No Comments

PolSci triumphs in 2019 Athena Cup volleyball

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By ANGEL B. DUKHA III POLITICAL SCIENCE (PolSci) claimed this year’s Athena Cup volleyball championship after overcoming Communication Arts (CA) in a four-set game, 19-25, 25-10, 25-17, and 25-22. The leadership of PolSci’s graduating captain Ryan Tuguinayo helped his team outlast CA by scoring 15 points throughout the game. CA gathered momentum early in the first frame, capitalizing on PolSci’s errors, 8-14. Combined with their strong offense, CA scored a 4-0 run and eventually bagged the set. PolSci did not waste time and immediately reclaimed momentum with an 8-0 run with the help of Tuguinayo’s ace services in the second frame. PolSci’s CJ Santos delivered huge blows to further his team’s lead, 22-9, eventually tying the game. CA started the third frame with a handf

Jan282019 No Comments

LitSoc, TPSF condemn lowering age of criminal liability

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By CRIS EUGENE T. GIANAN LITERATURE and political science students from the Faculty denounced the House Justice Committee initiative to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) from 15 years old to 9 years old. House Bill No. 8858 was approved on its third and final reading on Monday, amending the age of “social responsibility” from 15 to 12 years old. The UST Literary Society (LitSoc) claimed in a statement on Saturday that lowering the MACR is “utterly pointless” and will not solve problems plaguing the Filipino youth, regardless of whether they are 12 or 9 years old. “[I]n fact, lowering the MACR only worsens these problems especially in a time when the youth has suffered much at the hands of [a] state whose only policy seems to be ‘kill, kill, kill,’”

Oct62018 No Comments

AB socs condemn “red-tagging” of UST

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By JOAHNA LEI E. CASILAO SEVERAL SOCIETIES from the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) denounced the inclusion of the University (UST) in the military’s list of 18 schools allegedly involved in a rumored ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte. Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., assistant deputy chief of staff for operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), alleged that students from certain Metro Manila universities have been enjoined by the Communist Party of the Philippines to take part in a destabilization plot dubbed “Red October." In separate statements released Thursday, the Sociological Society (USTSS), Literary Society (LitSoc), and The Political Science Forum (TPSF) decried the AFP’s accusation. “The AFP’s list is not a mere attack on the University

Mar102018 No Comments

Use art to forward advocacies, writers urge Artlets

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By JULIA MARI T. ORNEDO ART MUST not only be used to express oneself or entertain other people but also to advance advocacies and effect social change, writers told Artlets in a forum on millennials’ political discourse held Wednesday. Award-winning writer and director Baby Nebrida said film is a powerful medium that can raise awareness on social issues. “Maybe in a subtle way, these films with a cause can change the way we perceive certain realities by drawing us to characters, making us empathize with their stories in a way that ultimately may still result in changing our attitudes towards the subject matter,” she said. Nebrida added that she has always been a proponent of advocacy cinema, which are films that aim to move the audience to take action on social issues. “

Feb252017 No Comments

Thomasians urged to take a stand vs. Martial Law

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“[THE DECLARATION of Martial Law] can happen, but only if you let it happen. ‘Pag pinabayaan niyong mangyari, ‘pag ‘di kayo kumilos, mangyayari.” This was the challenge of anti-Martial Law advocates to Thomasians in a forum held Feb. 24 in commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the EDSA Revolution. Ana Elzy Ofreneo, Commission on Human Rights director for human rights promotion, said the youth should remember and act against what transpired during the Martial Law period, which she claimed to be a “horrible experience to everyone.” “Tyrants rule when the people are meek and silent. Marcos […] showed that [Martial Law] does not work as a model for development because as the saying goes, ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely,’” Ofreneo said. The youth played an important role

Dec32016 1 Comment

12K stolen from PolSci CommDev

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THE POLITICAL Science Forum (TPSF) Community Development (CommDev) lost to an alleged thief a total of P 12,200 inside the St. Raymund de Peñafort Building last Nov.16, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed. TPSF President Juancho Martinez told the Flame that the incident took place between 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the second floor lockers area in front of the faculty room. Some P 10,200 of the stolen money was allotted for the society’s community development project, “The Youth Is, The Youth Can, The Youth Will 1.0,” in Nagcarlan, Laguna, which pushed through last. Nov. 20. The other P 2,000 was the personal money of the CommDev head. Martinez requested the anonymity of the head as the investigation is still underway. Authorities are still investigating the lone su

Nov102016 No Comments

Educator urges youth awareness on federalism

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WITH THE possible shift of the current unitary presidential system of government to a federal one, the youth sector would play an important role in advocating awareness on the said concept, an educator said in a forum held Wednesday. Prof. Eric de Torres, chair of the University of the East Department of Political Science, said the Filipinos’ awareness on federalism is important because it is up to the people to determine if the planned shift in the government system will push through during a plebiscite. “What we are doing is basically proposing a change in the political system and administrative system. At the end of the day, how will you be able to sell this to people? The key consideration really is awareness and education, especially on the part of the youth, and common peop

Feb42016 No Comments

Social media, youth key to political mobilization, says educator

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THROUGH THE proper use of social media, the youth can empower and raise social awareness in the society, a journalism educator told Thomasians in a forum held Thursday. Assoc. Prof. Danilo Arao of the University of the Philippines Diliman believes that the youth can serve as a tool in political mobilization even by merely uploading relevant posts on social media. He reminded the youth to weigh in the relevance of what they are posting online, noting that political mobilization “has more to do with how we use information and [share] it via social media.” “The realization in political mobilization is that you don’t lose sight of the bigger objective which is shaping public opinion,” he emphasized. However, Arao said that the content of online posts is neglected because the yo