"Where is Mayor Ton Genuino?"

Photo Courtesy: Buklod UPLB

Elbi, most commonly known as Los Banos, has become the second home of many UPLB students like myself. It has given most of us security, freedom and peace which are the characteristics of a healthy environment conducive for learning. The people who lives here are hospitable, disciplined and friendly.


I used to look back when I first set foot on Elbi, the first thing I noticed was how clean the environment was and how heartily the residents smiled. I remembered  the Manong Driver who safely delivered me to the welcoming arms of Men's Dorm during my first day as a UPLB student, Manong Guard who greeted me with a warm smile and steady hands to carry my luggage, Ate Julie (Dorm Caretaker) who welcomed me and made sure that I'm comfortable with my new room, Kuya at YMCA who always served food with a smile and extra dose of jokes to strike up a conversation and the street vendor who gave me her small bayong when the paper bag refused to wield the weight of my items. Seriously, the list goes on endlessly.


This place has a special place in my heart and I refuse to give up on the Elbi I knew...the Elbi I loved. The news of a rape, stabbing and murder case in a span of 5 days left me wondering, "Where is Mayor Ton Genuino?".  


In October 2011, Given Grace Cebanico,  was raped and killed , a gruesome crime that shocked the campus and made headlines. It was followed by a second killing of a UPLB student who was stabbed last Sunday. In the midst of all these chaos, what steps have been taken by Mayor Ton Genuino's administration to prevent these gruesome crimes?


This is a call not only to the UPLB community but to the locals as well, let us join hands and show how disgusted we are on the system. JUSTICE TO GIVEN GRACE CEBANICO, ROCHEL GERONDA AND RAY BERNARD PENARANDA!




Updats::/
Indignation rally ng mga UPLB students vs sunod-sunod na krimen sa paligid ng campus
Genuino denies absenteeism, blames drugs for Los Banos crime rash

Oblation Inscriptions

Photo Courtesy of Andrew A Puya

Nasaan ang kabataang mag-aalay
ng kanilang kasibulang buhay,
ng kanilang adhikain at sigasig
sa kabutihan ng bansa?

Nasaan ang siyang puspusang
magbubuhos ng dugo
upang hugasang lariat ang ating kahihiyan,
ang ating mga kalapastanganan,
ang ating kabalintuan?

Tanging yaong dalisay at walang bahid
ang karapatdapat na naging alay upang
matanggap ang kasalantaang ito.

Binigkas ni Padre Florentino sa El Filibusterismo, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, 1891:

(Translation)

Where are the youth who will consecrate their golden hours, their illusions and their enthusiasm to the welfare of their native land? Where are the youth who will generously pour out their blood to wash away so much shame, so much crime, so much abomination? Pure and spotless must the victim be that the sacrifice may be acceptable, Where are you, Oh youth, who will embody in yourselves the vigor of life that has left our veins, the purity of ideas that has contaminated in our brains,the fire of enthusiasn that has been quenched in our hearts? We await, Oh youth, come, for we await you!

- Dr. Jose P. Rizal