UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle

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UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle Excellence, Loyalty and the Spirit of Camaraderie. Promoting Agricultural and Applied Economics since 1975.

The UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle (UPAAEC), formerly known as UP Agricultural Economics Circle (UPAEC), is a recognized academic-student organization based at the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, College of Economics and Management, University of the Philippines Los Baรฑos. Established on December 10, 1975, this organization primarily aims to promote Agricultural and Applied Economics as a field of study and as a career. Guided by the core values of Excellence, Loyalty, and the Spirit of Camaraderie, UPAAEC has continuously lived up to its mission of supporting and advocating for various agricultural and socio-economic initiatives in the country.

๐€๐๐† ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐‹๐ˆ๐Œ ๐๐† ๐๐€๐Š๐€๐‘๐€๐€๐ ๐€๐˜ '๐ƒ๐ˆ ๐Œ๐€๐‹๐ˆ๐‹๐ˆ๐Œ๐”๐“๐€๐.Sa pagdating ng ๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฎ-๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฐ ๐—ป๐—ฎ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜†๐—ผ ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—•๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐— ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ sa ating bansa, muli tay...
21/09/2026

๐€๐๐† ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐‹๐ˆ๐Œ ๐๐† ๐๐€๐Š๐€๐‘๐€๐€๐ ๐€๐˜ '๐ƒ๐ˆ ๐Œ๐€๐‹๐ˆ๐‹๐ˆ๐Œ๐”๐“๐€๐.

Sa pagdating ng ๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฎ-๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฐ ๐—ป๐—ฎ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜†๐—ผ ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—•๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐— ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ sa ating bansa, muli tayong pinapaalalahanan sa isang mapait na bahagi ng ating kasaysayan. Bilang anak ng dating diktador, hindi maikakaila kung paano nananatiling makapangyarihan ang pamilyang Marcos, habang patuloy itong inaalala at ginugunita ng sambayanang Pilipino. Halimbawa na lamang ang tila kakulangan ng pagbibigay-pansin sa Setyembre 21, kasabay ng pagbibigay-diin sa ibang mga kaganapan tulad ng National Family Week na, bagama't hindi natin binababa ang esensya, makikita natin na mayroong tiyak na interes na kinikilingan ng ating gobyerno.

Ngunit ang pag-alala sa Batas Militar ay hindi lamang dapat nakatuon sa mga pangyayaring naganap noong Setyembre 21. Mahalaga ring balikan ang kalagayan ng masang Pilipino, lalo na ng mga magsasaka na patuloy na nagpapakain sa ating bansa. Sa kabila ng pagiging pundasyon ng ating pagkain at ekonomiya, nananatiling pasan ng mga magsasaka ang mga problema gaya ng pang-aagaw ng lupa, patong-patong na utang, mababang kita, at ang hindi pagbibigay-pansin ng gobyerno.

Halimbawa na ng mga problemang ito ay ang Masagana 99 program ni Marcos Sr., isang programa sa ilalim ng โ€œGreen Revolutionโ€ na layon umanong paramihin at pagandahin ang ani ng ating mga magsasaka at makapag-angkat sa ibang bansa sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng mga inangkat na high-yielding varieties o HYVs. Kaakibat nito ay ang paggamit ng mga input na hindi rin ginagawa ng ating bansa. Ang resulta nito ay naging isang malaking pagkabigo.

Una sa lahat, hindi nito nakamit ang inaasahang epekto na gawing rice-exporting country ang Pilipinas. Sa crop year ng 1977-1978, halimbawa, nasa 13,400 na tonelada lamang ng bigas ang ating na-export sa labas ng bansa. Sa parehong crop year, nakapagtala ng mahigit 4,481,700 na tonelada ng produksyon, kung saan ang kalakhan ay sapat lamang para punan ang lokal na pangangailangan ng mga Pilipino. Dito pa lamang, makikita na hindi nito kayang tugunan ang mungkahi na makapag-export tayo ng bigas palabas ng ating bansa. Ang bigas ay kilalang Giffen at essential good ng ating bansa, nangangahulugang hindi maaaring biglaang taasan ang presyo nito. Ngunit dahil komersyalisado ang sistema nito, kung saan umaasa ang gobyerno na makakapag-export tayo ng bigas na gagamitin sana bilang pambayad ng utang, binaon nito sa utang hindi lamang ang ating mga magsasaka, kundi pati na rin ang ating banking industry, na umanoโ€™y pwersadong magpautang kahit walang collateral na inaalok ang gobyerno dahil alam natin kung gaano kalala ang credit performance ng mga magsasaka natin. Pagsapit ng Abril 1974, halimbawa, mahigit 503 milyong piso ang naipautang ng mga rural bank sa Pilipinas, kung saan malaking halaga nito ay hindi mababayaran dahil sa patuloy na pagkalugi ng mga magsasaka dahil sa kapalpakan ng Masagana 99. Ang Philippine National Bank, halimbawa, ay nakapagtala ng mahigit 180 milyong piso, at mahigit 300 milyong piso naman sa ibaโ€™t ibang rural banks sa bansa. Pinakamabigat nitong tinamaan ang mga magsasaka, kung saan marami ang napilitang iwanan ang propesyon at, minsaโ€™y, ibinenta pa sa mga commercial developers ang mga lupa upang magkapera.

Bukod pa rito, may ilan ding ulat na sa simula pa lamang ay bigo na ang programang ito. Dahil banyaga ang mga paraan at input na gagamitin sa programa, hindi kinaya ng mga magsasaka na masunod ang tamang proseso sa mga panibagong kagamitan. Dagdag pa rito ang kakulangan sa mga agriculturist na ginagamit ng gobyerno, lalo na ng mga agricultural extension worker. Isa pang salik nito ay ang kakulangan sa sapat na makinarya at pasilidad gaya ng post-harvest facilities, na hindi na sapat dahil sa pagdami ng mga ani. Nagsasanhi ito ng pagkalugi at dagdag na trabaho sa mga magsasaka na sa simula ay hindi na sana kailangan.

Ang pinakamasalimuot din dito ay ang malawakang paggamit ng synthetic fertilizers at pesticides. Nagbibigay kasi ito ng panangga sa mga peste na nangangailangan ng mas mahal pang input para lamang ma-control ito. Bukod pa rito, kalakhan din kasi ng mga synthetic input ay gumagamit ng langis, isang produkto na madalas tumaas ang presyo sa pandaigdigang merkado, gaya ng nadarama natin ngayon dahil sa giyera-agresyon ng US sa Iran.

Bagama't mahigit limang dekada na ang nakalipas mula nang simulan ang programa, dama pa rin ng ating mga magsasaka ang epekto nito. Kalakhan pa rin sa ating mga magsasaka ay umaasa sa mga synthetic input. Patuloy ding hindi nabibigyan ng sapat na suporta ang ating mga magsasaka, lalo na sa pagpapakalat ng agricultural extension workers. Patuloy ding nagkukulang ang kagamitan ng ating mga magsasaka, halimbawa na diyan ang patuloy na paggamit ng mga kalabaw. Sa huli, walang ibang lugi kundi tayong masa na patuloy na pinapasan ang mataas na presyo ng bilihin na nagsasanhi ng pagkagutom sa buong bansa.

Kaya sa darating na Setyembre 21, gamitin natin ang oportunidad na ito upang paingayin ang hinaing ng ating bayan. Isabuhay natin ang sakripisyo ng mahigit 70,000 na naging biktima ng Batas Militar, sa patuloy na pagkalampag sa pasilyo ng Malacaรฑang. Ang ๐—จ๐—ฃ ๐—”๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—”๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—˜๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜€ ay nakikiisa sa patuloy na pagkiling alang-alang sa interes at karapatan ng sambayanang Pilipino.

๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป. ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜. ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ผ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐˜„!



19/09/2026

๐Ÿ“ฃ ๐—–๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ก๐—š ๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—Ÿ ๐—œ๐—ก๐—ง๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—˜๐—— ๐—–๐—ข๐—ก๐—–๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก๐—”๐—œ๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ฆ ๐Ÿ“ฃ

Something exciting is brewing this ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟโ€ฆ ๐Ÿ‘€๐ŸŽ

Weโ€™re putting together a ๐—›๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—•๐—ฎ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ and weโ€™re on the lookout for businesses, brands, and local merchants who might want to be part of it! ๐Ÿ›๏ธ๐ŸŽ„

Simply ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ so we can get an idea of whoโ€™s interested and help us speed up the process of getting our concessionaires on board.

Who knows? Your brand might just be part of something special this holiday season. โœจ

๐˜‹๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ด.

๐™€๐™†๐™Š๐™‰๐™Š๐™ˆ๐™„๐™Ž๐™๐˜ผ ๐™‰๐™‚ ๐˜ฝ๐˜ผ๐™”๐˜ผ๐™‰, ๐™๐™๐™‡๐™Š๐™”-๐™๐™๐™‡๐™Š๐™” ๐˜ผ๐™‰๐™‚ ๐™‡๐˜ผ๐˜ฝ๐˜ผ๐™‰! ๐™Ž๐™๐™ˆ๐˜ผ๐™ˆ๐˜ผ ๐™Ž๐˜ผ ๐™’๐˜ผ๐™‡๐™†๐™Š๐™๐™! ๐Ÿ”ฅโœŠPara sa isang bansang punong-puno ng likas na yaman, ba...
17/09/2026

๐™€๐™†๐™Š๐™‰๐™Š๐™ˆ๐™„๐™Ž๐™๐˜ผ ๐™‰๐™‚ ๐˜ฝ๐˜ผ๐™”๐˜ผ๐™‰, ๐™๐™๐™‡๐™Š๐™”-๐™๐™๐™‡๐™Š๐™” ๐˜ผ๐™‰๐™‚ ๐™‡๐˜ผ๐˜ฝ๐˜ผ๐™‰! ๐™Ž๐™๐™ˆ๐˜ผ๐™ˆ๐˜ผ ๐™Ž๐˜ผ ๐™’๐˜ผ๐™‡๐™†๐™Š๐™๐™! ๐Ÿ”ฅโœŠ

Para sa isang bansang punong-puno ng likas na yaman, bakit kaya mas nakikinabang pa ang mga dayuhan kaysa sa bayan?

Isang taon matapos tayong sama-samang lumabas sa ating mga silid-aralan, patuloy pa rin nating nararanasan ang mga suliraning dulot ng kapabayaan at maling prayoridad ng estado. Sa buong UP System, nakaamba ang โ‚ฑ2.95B budget cut para sa susunod na taon. Sa CEM, ilang taon nang nakatengga ang gusaling dapat sanaโ€™y nagsisilbi na sa atin, habang nagsisiksikan ang mga mag-aaral, faculty, REPs, admin, at staff sa limitadong espasyo.

Habang kinakapos ang pondo para sa edukasyon, patuloy na tumataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin at nananatiling kulang ang sahod ng mga manggagawa. Samantala, itinutulak ng administrasyong Marcos Jr. ang Pax Silica at Luzon Economic Corridor, na higit pang nagbubukas sa ating ekonomiya at likas na yaman sa dayuhang interes.

Kung hindi ka pa galit, bakit?

Bilang mga Ekonomista ng Bayan, hindi tayo mananatiling tahimik habang ang edukasyon at kabuhayan ng mamamayan ay isinasantabi para sa interes ng iilan at dayuhan.

CEMBAYANAN, LUMABAS SA SILID-ARALAN! WALKOUT NA! โœŠ

๐Ÿ”ป Mass-up | 8:30 AM | CEM Parking
๐Ÿ”ป Decentralized Program | 9:00 AM | CEM Parking
๐Ÿ”ป Centralized Program | 11:00 AM | Oblation Park






๐™๐™๐™š ๐™ฅ๐™š๐™ค๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™š ๐™๐™–๐™ซ๐™š ๐™จ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ ๐™š๐™ฃ, ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™– ๐™ฃ๐™š๐™ฌ ๐™˜๐™๐™–๐™ฅ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง ๐™—๐™š๐™œ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™จ! ๐ŸŒŸThe UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle warmly extends its c...
16/09/2026

๐™๐™๐™š ๐™ฅ๐™š๐™ค๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™š ๐™๐™–๐™ซ๐™š ๐™จ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ ๐™š๐™ฃ, ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™– ๐™ฃ๐™š๐™ฌ ๐™˜๐™๐™–๐™ฅ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง ๐™—๐™š๐™œ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™จ! ๐ŸŒŸ

The UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle warmly extends its congratulations to ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ท ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ on being elected last September 14 as the ๐Ÿด๐˜๐—ต ๐—–๐—˜๐—  ๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ต๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—น ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป! ๐Ÿ†

As you take your journey in leading and responding to the calls of the CEMbayanan, may you remain rooted in honor and excellence. Your victory is a proof that the community believes in you and the vision you hold in serving the people. ๐Ÿ’šโœŠ๐Ÿผ

๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฑ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ซ! โœจ

โ€œ๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ-๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช...
08/09/2026

โ€œ๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ-๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ธ, ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ, ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง, ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต.โ€ โ€” ๐˜œ๐˜•๐˜Œ๐˜š๐˜Š๐˜–, 2026

Today, we celebrate the ๐Ÿฒ๐Ÿฌ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜† since its proclamation in 1966 during the 14th General Conference of UNESCO. This celebration is not simply to recognize the importance of literacy across the world but to understand its impact as a fundamental human right that should encourage the state and the public to forge safe spaces where we empower citizens to think and speak courageously. But behind the heartwarming 2026 theme, โ€œ๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜—๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜—๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜—๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ,โ€ is the looming reality of at least 739 million youth and adults who lack basic literacy as of 2024, while 4 out of 10 children have not reached the minimum standards for reading proficiency. Hence, the annual global celebration of ILD is a poignant reminder of the heaping plate of socio-political concerns that we must actively address to this day. From the many geopolitical tensions that incessantly jeopardize the future of children in Palestine to the rampancy of AI data center developments that defeat sustainability in the long run, it all points to the vital role of literacy, not only in disseminating information or critically analyzing a work of art but also in influencing policy decisions and laws where our future is at stake.

In the Philippines, the basic literacy rate hovers around 93 percent, with the CALABARZON region marking the highest ratio in the country. However, according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), there is a precipitous decline from a 30.52 percent proficiency level in Third Grade to 0.47 percent by the time students are in 12th Grade. This does not merely confirm the difficulty of schoolchildren face in coping with inefficient learning materials driven by the neoliberal education system of the country, but also the lumbering progress of the Philippine government in allocating an appropriate budget to create more conducive spaces for learning, not to mention how the majority of these children, especially in last-mile schools, do not have access to better services that directly impact their proficiency. According to EDCOM, high school students can barely demonstrate skills to analyze and communicate information, solve problems, and perform other abilities that should have been mastered during the foundational courses. We have constantly, throughout the years, heard policymakers prioritize the educational sector so that those in far-flung areas where education is most inaccessible can uplift themselves; yet what returns is the set of gnawing implementation failures and government attempts to silence those who brave the streets and demand accountability.

This tactic, instigated by the state to line its pockets, creates a space where freedom of expression is limited to preferences rather than expressing grievances toward government ineptitude and its failure to do better. We have seen threats against activists who clamor for better budget allocation. And every time policymakers decide to disenfranchise a community that fights for basic human rights, we witness the death of hope for students who climb mountains and cross rivers. For the University of the Philippines, where we hope to serve the people through honor and excellence, the government seemingly fosters an environment where maligning the commitment and dedication of Iskolars ng Bayan is normalized. Just recently, we saw the UPLB Perspective Exposed Page that attempts to proliferate red-tagging among journalists and activists. It is a manifestation of how the lives of alternative media in the country are at risk when the state refuses to tell the truth.

Hence, today is not merely a celebration but a call for us to speak and for the government to prioritize the educational sector. The seemingly high literacy rate will merely be a facade for many state failures that we continue to grapple with when functional literacy declines across levels. When an accessible educational system is provided to children, even those miles away from urbanization, we could demand Filipinos to discern what is true as disinformation and misinformation worsen in the country. But as long as they bear the brunt of corruption and other government scandals, we must never stop raising our voices high.

Happy International Literacy Day!

๐™๐™ฌ๐™ค ๐™™๐™š๐™˜๐™–๐™™๐™š๐™จ ๐™ค๐™› ๐™™๐™š๐™™๐™ž๐™˜๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ, ๐™จ๐™š๐™ง๐™ซ๐™ž๐™˜๐™š, ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ซ๐™š ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐˜พ๐™€๐™ˆ ๐Ÿ’›The UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle proudly congratul...
04/09/2026

๐™๐™ฌ๐™ค ๐™™๐™š๐™˜๐™–๐™™๐™š๐™จ ๐™ค๐™› ๐™™๐™š๐™™๐™ž๐™˜๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ, ๐™จ๐™š๐™ง๐™ซ๐™ž๐™˜๐™š, ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ซ๐™š ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง ๐˜พ๐™€๐™ˆ ๐Ÿ’›

The UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle proudly congratulates our very own ๐——๐—ฟ. ๐—”๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ผ ๐—๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—”. ๐—ค๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†, on receiving the ๐—–๐—˜๐—  ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐˜† ๐—”๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ in recognition of his outstanding ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ to our home college.

For two decades, your dedication and commitment have helped shape the College of Economics and Management and the many students, colleagues, and communities you have served. Your years of service stand as a testament to the lasting impact of commitment, mentorship, and genuine service to CEM.

As our Senior Adviser, we are grateful for the guidance and support you continue to extend to the Sirkel family. This recognition is truly a celebration of a meaningful journey dedicated to our home college.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ-๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ. ๐Ÿ’




๐™๐˜ผ๐™๐˜ผ๐™† ๐™๐™‹๐˜ผ๐˜ผ๐™€๐˜พ! ๐ŸŒŸThe UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle proudly congratulates our Sis, ๐——๐—ฟ. ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—™. ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ผ, ...
04/09/2026

๐™๐˜ผ๐™๐˜ผ๐™† ๐™๐™‹๐˜ผ๐˜ผ๐™€๐˜พ! ๐ŸŒŸ

The UP Agricultural and Applied Economics Circle proudly congratulates our Sis, ๐——๐—ฟ. ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—™. ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ผ, for being awarded the ๐—จ๐—ฃ๐—”๐—”๐—˜๐—– ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ข๐˜‚๐˜๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—”๐—น๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ป๐—ถ ๐—”๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ this September 4 at the REDREC Auditorium, College of Economics and Management, University of the Philippines Los Baรฑos.

We honor your accomplishments and significant contributions in your field, profession, and community. As one of our distinguished alumnae, your achievements continue to make a meaningful impact beyond the University and serve as a source of pride and inspiration to the Sirkel family.

๐˜–๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด, ๐˜š๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ! ๐Ÿ’›




๐™Ž๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข๐™—๐™š๐™ง ๐™จ๐™ ๐™ž๐™š๐™จ, ๐™Ž๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข๐™—๐™š๐™ง ๐™—๐™ก๐™š๐™จ๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™จ. โ˜”As the rain falls this September, we take a moment to celebrate our September cel...
01/09/2026

๐™Ž๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข๐™—๐™š๐™ง ๐™จ๐™ ๐™ž๐™š๐™จ, ๐™Ž๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข๐™—๐™š๐™ง ๐™—๐™ก๐™š๐™จ๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™จ. โ˜”

As the rain falls this September, we take a moment to celebrate our September celebrants! May this new chapter bring you moments worth remembering, opportunities worth taking, and plenty of reasons to smile. ๐Ÿ’

Your presence in our ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—น makes every moment a little brighter, and we are grateful to have you with us.

๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜š๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด! ๐ŸŽ‚

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‰๐ฎ๐š๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐ซ๐จ๐ง ๐Œ๐š๐ฌ๐ค: ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐จ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ง-๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌEvery National Heroesโ€™ Day, the Philippines usually c...
31/08/2026

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‰๐ฎ๐š๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐ซ๐จ๐ง ๐Œ๐š๐ฌ๐ค: ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐จ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ง-๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ

Every National Heroesโ€™ Day, the Philippines usually celebrates its historical heroes, such as Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, or Emilio Jacinto. However, according to either Republic Act No. 9492 or Act No. 3827, which instituted the act, the Philippines has no official โ€œnational hero.โ€ Aside from these well-known historical figures, some individuals may not have fought against the colonial forces in the late 19th century but continue to uphold the Philippinesโ€™ identity and foundations.

Among these unsung heroes are Filipino farmers who continue to be the backbone of the countryโ€™s food supply. According to PSA (2022), there are 7.41 million agricultural operators in the country, and many of them continue to face poverty, environmental challenges, and rising input costs. Even after the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program took effect in 1988, land insecurity is still widespread among the rural poor. Dubbed โ€œthe most dangerous country in Asia for farmersโ€ in 2025 (De Villa, 2025), intimidation by state forces against farmer groups and corporate land grabbing have disproportionately impaired agricultural workers by restricting their access to land and their ability to advocate for their rights. In the same way, Filipino fisherfolk struggle to access traditional fishing grounds from habitat destruction brought by reclamation and development projects such as the Manila Bay reclamation project or the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network (Gregorio, 2026; Gozum, 2025), as well as aggression from foreign militias. The latter is more apparent in the decade-long West Philippine Sea dispute, with Chinese militias continuing to block close to 300,000 Filipino fisherfolk from sustaining their only source of livelihood in its waters (Bermudez, 2025). Despite the 2016 arbitral ruling, both physical harassment of fishermen and political polarization in the government prevent Filipino fishermen from gaining justice in their own home.

Though their struggles arise from different shores and soils, these individuals remain as mere footnotes in our narrative of progress and are masked by the very gates they helped establish. As economic crises deepen, we can no longer afford to look away. This ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜€โ€™ ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜†, let us stand together to honor the hands that feed our country. True change demands that we call out the structures of inequality that sideline our agricultural sector and unmask the resilient foundations of our nation. It is time we finally champion the heroes who have long carried the weight of the Philippines upon their shoulders and give them the recognition they deserve.


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