grammar, humor, English

Taken inside the airport in Manila (where we took the flight to Cagayan de Oro City), this sign really made my wife and I smile. And the airline that advertised this did not have to go the extra mile.

Walking around the City of Golden Friendship, we noticed a sign badly in need of a hyphen.

And when we observed the signs inside the hotel where we checked in, we noticed the same problem.

Of course, the absence of a hyphen is minor compared to a sign, the name of an organization no less, that is "double-sexist" even if it may not be the intention of its members.

Let's take a closer look.

This leads you to ask if women are allowed to become members of a brotherhood. What's wrong with the use of the word businessmen? In my opinion, the word industrialist is more gender-neutral.

At this point, we come to a close, albeit temporarily. And by this time, you should know what's wrong with our last sign.

This installment, however, does not really come to a close as I promise to present more funny signs from Cagayan de Oro City next week. Thank you for reading!

			up, presidency, academe, premier state university

Eleven nominees are running for president of the Philippines' national university. The six-year term of the current UP President, Dr. Emerlinda Roman, will end on February 9, 2011.

The Board of Regents (BOR), at its meeting last August 27, accepted the nominations of 11 candidates. The short announcement was uploaded the day after (August 28) in the university's website. The nominees are the following:

1. Alaras, Consolacion R.
2. Azanza, Patrick Alain T.
3. Briones, Leonor M.
4. Cabral, Esperanza I.
5. Cao, Sergio S.
6. Diokno, Benjamin E.
7. Diokno Ma. Serena I.
8. Pangalangan, Raul C.
9. Pascual, Alfredo E.
10. Teodosio, Virginia S.
11. Velasco, Luis Rey I.

Among the 11 nominees, many Filipinos (especially those who are not connected with UP) may be more familiar with Briones, Cabral and Benjamin Diokno as they held Cabinet positions under past Philippine presidents. Students, professors and alumni of UP, however, may also know the candidates who served or continue to serve as professors - Alaras, Azanza, Serena Diokno, Pangalangan and Teodosio. Two candidates are currently chancellors of the biggest campuses of UP - Cao (UP Diliman) and Velasco (UP Los Baños). According to his LinkedIn account, Pascual is currently president of the UP Alumni Association and is therefore a member of the BOR representing the alumni.

Analyzing their credentials, all candidates clearly excel in their chosen fields (e.g., language, business, finance, economics, human resource management, labor, law, history, entomology, medicine). They are apparently respected by their peers. As high-ranking officials of UP, however, Cao and Velasco have a proven track record in management and can claim to have deeper working knowledge of UP. The same may also be true for Serena Diokno who once served as vice president of UP.

Much as one is tempted to scrutinize their track records (within and outside UP) this early, it may be prudent to suspend judgment and wait for them to present their vision statements.

Based on UP's timetable, the nominees' fora where they are expected to present their vision statements and to answer questions from the UP community will be held from September to October in the different constituent units (Diliman, Manila, Los Baños, Baguio, Visayas, Mindanao and Open University). A forum to be done via video-conferencing, for example, is scheduled at UP Diliman on September 24.

The presentation before the BOR and the interview with BOR members are scheduled on November 8. The BOR will then meet on November 26 to elect the next UP President on or before December 3. Update (September 1, 3:50 p.m.): UP released an updated schedule.

The UP BOR has 11 members. Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chair Patricia Licuanan currently serves as the chair of the UP BOR, with UP President Roman as co-chairperson. The members are Sen. Edgardo Angara (chair, Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture), Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara (chair, House Committee on Higher Education), Alfredo Pascual (president, UP Alumni Association), Judy Taguiwalo (faculty regent), Clodualdo Cabrera (staff regent), Cori Alessa Co (student regent), Abraham Sarmiento, Francis Chua and Nelia Gonzalez. The last three were appointees of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

There is much importance given to the presidency of UP as the latter is the country's national university. It is widely perceived to be the one of the three best universities in the Philippines (the other two being Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University-Manila).

			grammar, diction, humor, English

This sign in front of the Bahay ng Alumni (loose translation: House of Alumni) in the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman leads me to one conclusion.

At UP, we always go Left! We don't like going Right.

I know, it's not really funny. But I'm sure you'll get a chuckle or two after buying this doll.

Yes, these are changing times indeed. The sign below shows that you can mix numbers and letters and come up with a sign, just 4 U!

I hope I'm not just speaking for myself when I say that there is something wrong with a sign that sells pasta and...something!

As regards our next sign, there's nothing ungrammatical about it. It's just that the bathroom product has an interesting name.

I can only hope that the person who uses this does not end up looking like a couch potato!

Anyway, writing about couches reminds me of massage tables. In the Philippines, there are massage parlors that offer services beyond giving a massage. I guess this explains the defensive nature of this sign.

Let's take a closer look at the message.

No need to explain. Just read between the lines!

Our next sign is taken from a tarpaulin which lists some signs of autism. Notice the error in diction?

Yes, the word "interacting" or "playing" should be used instead of "mixing."

For our last sign, allow me to give another crash course in diction.

The word "persons" is a legal concept and refers to those who are natural (like you and me), juridical (like corporations) or both. In other words, persons could be living or non-living. What is a more accurate word to refer to those who are differently abled? People, of course.

More funny signs (and a few more English lessons) next week. Thank you for reading!

			hostage, quirino grandstand, manila, rolando mendoza

A student from De La Salle University (DLSU)-Manila interviewed me via email about the concept of news blackout. This is a very timely topic considering the ongoing hostage-taking not yet been resolved as I write this today (August 23, 6:45 p.m.). Breaking news like hostage-taking highlights the uselessness of a news blackout as the people deserve to know the latest developments. Fortunately for the public in this case, the police did not impose a news blackout.

The interviewer's questions and my answers were all in Filipino, so please find below the translation in English.

As a journalist, what is your definition of a news blackout?

A news blackout is the concerned authorities' direct withholding of information which journalists need for their reports. The decision of the authorities could be in the context of protecting their own interests or of upholding the general welfare of society. Because of this, it is necessary for those in power to explain well the reasons for imposing a news blackout. They should also clearly state up to when it will last, if ever.

In your opinion, aside from invoking national security and upholding the interest of the majority, are there other reasons for imposing a news blackout?

It is very hard to define "national security" or "public interest" in imposing a news blackout. This explains why having a news blackout may not necessarily be for the good of the people. During the time of Martial Law (1972-1986), for example, state repression was evident (e.g. in the form of human rights violations and enactment of anti-people laws) but the Marcos administration opted to prohibit the reportage of sensitive issues (i.e. those that put the government in a bad light). While it's true that the government has the right to protect the country, media have an obligation to bring to the public's attention important issues (even if these are against the government like human rights violations, corruption and abuse of power). It is so easy for some officials to invoke the public interest in imposing a news blackout. But there are times when the statements they give are just empty rhetoric. In reality, they are only thinking of their own interests.

What are the circumstances that could make a news blackout acceptable?

In general, the government should avoid having a news blackout. It should trust journalists enough that they would be responsible in their reportage (even if it's true that there are some journalists who have shortcomings in the performance of their jobs). If the government is transparent and accountable to the people and does not withhold any information from them, it follows that those in power should not prevent media from reporting on issues that may be negative to them.

Is there justice in a situation where a news blackout is imposed?

There's no justice in this case because it results in the deprivation of vital information. Actually, a journalist does not usually report ALL information he or she gets. There is still a need to verify all information before including them in his or her report. The journalist carefully selects the information that, in his or her own judgment call using the prescribed professional and ethical standards, should be made known to the public. He or she consequently decides not to include information deemed not important. It must be stressed that there are ethical standards in reporting so the government should not worry about irresponsibility of the media. Even if there are a few irresponsible and corrupt journalists, the government (or even the ordinary citizens) can condemn and expose them by, among others, not patronizing the media organizations they work for.

			grammar, humor, English

To funny sign makers I ask (with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning): How do I hate thee? Let me italicize the ways...

The main ingredient of buko pie is buko (coconut). For apple pie, it's apple. Very obvious, right? So what do you make of this pie?

Unlike our previous sign, I find something funny not with the words but with the graphics.

No chuckles yet? Let's take a closer look at the gent and lady. Yes, they can't hold it any longer!

Let's go back to words now. You won't find this funny if your brain is not stuffed with English knowledge.

What about this one? Do you see the misspelling?

For our next sign, laughter is reserved only for the Grammar Nazi like me.

Allow me to end this installment of funny signs not with a bang but with a whimper. I still can't understand why I encounter grammar mistakes like this every day.

More funny signs next week. Thank you for reading!

			media, communication, student publication, press freedom

A student from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) emailed questions on my experience as a campus journalist. Here are my answers. Since the questions were written in Filipino, I took the liberty of translating into English both the questions and my answers.

What motivated you to work for the Philippine Collegian in particular and the student movement in general?

I joined the Philippine Collegian (official student publication of the University of the Philippines Diliman) during my sophomore year in the late 1980s. At that time, I only wanted to develop my journalistic writing skills as I may be considered a "late bloomer" in campus journalism. I was not part, after all, of student publications in my elementary and high school days. In other words, I took writing seriously only in college!

It was only much later that I realized that journalism does not only require excellent writing skills but also a keen sense of awareness of what's happening around us. It is through the latter that we could provide analytical depth to the articles we write.

As a result of a better appreciation of Philippine social reality, I also got involved in student activism. I actually joined the now defunct Kabataan para sa Demokrasya at Nasyonalismo (KADENA, loose translation: Youth for Nationalism and Democracy) whose mandate was to organize the out-of-school youth.

What were your good and bad experience of being part of the Philippine Collegian?

Through my involvement with the Philippine Collegian, I learned the importance of journalism in society. I appreciated the power of the media in the movement for social change. The demands of producing a weekly publication made me become more patient and diligent. I learned how to better deal with stress and other related problems that are considered part of being a journalist (particularly that of an editor, reporter and layout artist which were among my major tasks).

I cannot classify the problems I encountered as "bad experience" because I learned from them. It would be safe to assume that my college life became more memorable because of my work as a campus journalist.

What are the important lessons you learned from your experience in the Philippine Collegian?

I learned that journalism is more than just writing skills even if the latter are very important in communicating the intended message. Equally important to form (e.g., grammar, syntax, diction) is the substance of the article that can only be produced if a journalist knows how to analyze, if he or she knows how to make sense of the social reality.

As a campus journalist in your student days, what do you think are the duties of a campus publication?

A campus publication is essentially a student publication. This means that it is oriented toward promoting and upholding student rights and welfare. That it has a pro-student orientation doesn't mean that a campus publication will turn a blind eye to the excesses or mistakes (if any) of students and student organizations. Through constructive criticism, a campus publication may actually end up exposing what it believes to be shortcomings of certain student groups and ideologies. Through in-depth analysis of issues and concerns, campus publications could help raise the level of discourse and contribute to the shaping of public opinion.

Had there been changes in the orientation of campus publications through the years?

I would like to think that today's campus publications still have a pro-student orientation although there could be different interpretations of it. From my interaction with some of them, there are faculty advisers and student editors, for example, who think that campus publications should distinguish between national and local/community issues and that they should focus on the latter. I always stress that this is wrong because issues to be covered in a campus publication depend on the significance in the lives of the primary audience, the students.

Besides, what makes campus publications different from the mainstream/corporate print media is that they could better analyze national issues in the context of local concerns. Conversely, the so-called local concerns should be discussed in terms of how they relate to pressing national issues.

What factors caused such changes?

I think the culture of reading is not as strong as before among today's youth. The latter are now more immersed in television and the new media. That Generation X is sometimes referred to as the TV generation shows the popularity and wide influence of audio-visual stimuli coming from the broadcast media. While today's youth are more technology-savvy and media-savvy, it is unfortunate that they sometimes do not have the patience and diligence to read and understand important media texts.

In the face of suppression of press freedom, how did you cope with the times and continued your duties as a journalist?

Despite the threats I experienced in the past (the latest of which was when a radio program I co-hosted got cancelled in 2006 due to the government's imposition of a state of national emergency), I try to continue my work as a journalist because the Filipino people deserve nothing less. I have no illusion that I will be read by everyone. But I cannot turn my back on those who are interested to know more about the issues and concerns I have chosen to analyze. They may agree or disagree with me, but what's important is that I communicate my intended message. As a result of my being a campus journalist in college, I now have a firm grasp of my responsibility as a journalist.

What is your message to young writers so that they could develop and help uphold press freedom?

All of us should be aware of what's happening in society so that we could better analyze burning social issues and put everything in proper context. As mentioned, the intended audience deserves nothing less but quality coverage. That's the only way journalists can help in the shaping of public opinion.

Want to know more? Please read "Campus journalists as `torch bearers' (August 12, 2010)," "My views on campus journalism and the Philippine Collegian (April 20, 2007)" and "My experience as a campus journalist (October 10, 2007)."