INTRODUCTION

PEOPLE
Yano
Romeo Lee
Manny Villar
Nur Misuari
Benjie Paras
Dino Ignacio
Eraserheads
Jerry Barican
Obet Verzola
Jessica Zafra
Zider Lubiano
Myla Algarme
Gary Granada
Raymond Red
Mike Defensor
Jerome Bailen
Eric Altamirano
Amante Jimenez
Miriam Defensor
Malou Mangahas

ISSUES
ID
UAAP
STFAP
US Bases
Collegian
Frat Violence
SAMASA split
SR controversy
Sexual Harassment

Since it hit the press in 1922, the official student publication has been the critical voice of the UP student movement during the most crucial of times. But despite the sterling performance the Philippine Collegian has shown, its annals speak of an institution that has endured various contentions and controversies. The '90s has witnessed a row of squabbles over the chief editorial post.

The editorial examinations serve as the "weighing scale" in choosing the aspirant worthy of the position. The examinees' total aggregate scores are taken from their entries in editorial writing (70%), news writing (20%), and headline writing and layouting (10%). The board of judges (BOJ), composed of faculty and student representatives, then evaluate the scores. The credibility of these judges was put to a test in a furor over the result of the 1996 exams.

On April 19, second placer Voltaire Veneracion requested for the correction of an alleged "error" in the results. Published in the Collegian, this drew heated reactions. Some 2,000 students, drivers, and teachers supporting Richard Gappi, the officially declared first placer, held multi-sectoral mass actions, something not seen in the campus for a long while.

The complaint implicated CMC Dean Luis Teodoro, then chairman of the board, who allegedly roamed around the testing room on the day of the examination. According to Veneracion, the possibility that Teodoro might have seen the assigned numbers to the examinees and the allegation that the latter personally knew Gappi, rendered him incompetent for the job. However, this was later disproved by the Diliman Legal Office.

On June 7, the day Gappi was supposed to hold office, President Emil Javier issued a memorandum ordering Chancellor Roger Posadas to defer Gappi's proclamation until the issues were clarified.

The dispute resounded in a number of dailies. Noted columnist Conrado de Quiros backed the BOJ's decision to uphold Gappi. The Manila Times even judged the winning editorials and chose Gappi as the rightful winner. It also triggered public opinion as letters from university teachers and civilians flooded the national dailies.

In the heat of the controversy, the Board of Regents (BOR) held a secret meeting at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel on June 21, excluding outgoing Student Regent Sahlee Cariño. After much clamor from Gappi's supporters, Cariño was allowed to attend as mere observer.

The case was taken to the courts for legal proceedings. After six hearings, the court formally dismissed Gappi due to a technicality. Collegian rules provide that an examinee should be an undergraduate student. Despite the fact that he was a graduating CAL student at the time of the exam, the BOJ disqualified Gappi who was then enrolled in masteral studies.

On June 25, 10,000 copies of the Rebel Collegian, published by Gappi's group, were released. Its editorial stated: "Sinikap ilihim ng BOR ang kanilang pagpupulong sa natatanging kinatawan ng mga mag-aaral sa BOR upang tuluyan na ngang mawalan ng signipikanteng tinig ang mga estudyante sa isang usaping sila mismo ang siyang pinakamalapit."

Although the court left unresolved the issue on how the BOJ shall carry out the "evaluation" and the appeal to respect their decision, Veneracion ascended to the post.

In 1997, Javier Flores questioned the citizenship of Lourdes Gordolan, the exam's top placer. The second placer pointed out that the Constitution reserves ownership or management of Filipino institutions only to Filipino citizens. He argued that an American citizen like Gordolan could not head the Collegian. However, Chancellor Posadas dismissed the protest when Gordolan was proven in the courts to have a dual citizenship.

This year's exam also has its own share of controversy. Alman Dave Quiboquibo, who placed fourth, questioned the alleged "imposition" of Filipino as the prefered medium. But Chancellor Llaguno dismissed the case saying that it was actually meant to be a suggestion.

Truly, no institution can stay invulnerable from contention. But if there's one thing that students must keep watch, it is how a particular term directs the goals of the paper into a form that will best serve its constituents and the country to which it owes its existence.