The ‘alampay’ we now put on seals our sacred calling: to awaken, empower, and defend our group, rising stronger and fiercer than ever
When human rights violations are normalized and important truths are obscured, brave, essential reporting emerges as a lifeline for the underserved. Witnessing this firsthand all through my 4 years of schooling in Bicol profoundly deepened my understanding of schooling’s true worth, rooted in public sacrifice.
This realization — a function solid by the pressing want for graduates to actively dedicate themselves to the communities that made their studying doable — has outlined my path. I’m Reinnard Balonzo, chairperson of the Faculty Editors Guild of the Philippines-Bicol and a 2024 Aries Journalism Fellowship graduate from Rappler and Journalism for Nation Constructing.
I lately graduated from Bicol College’s journalism program. Nevertheless, my reporting in Bicol started lengthy earlier than commencement, spanning over a decade as a campus journalist and, since final yr, via Rappler.
Initially, I seen school as a journey primarily targeted on accumulating achievements. My driving pressure was a deep sense of obligation to repay my place within the college; in spite of everything, I used to be a professional below-quota applicant who needed to swap applications simply to safe an schooling at a state college. This often-uncertain path to admission is a well-recognized wrestle for numerous college students striving to enter public universities throughout the nation.
At Bicol College (BU), admission has all the time been a troublesome battle. In 2021, the identical yr I used to be granted admission to the college, solely 4,039 college students had been supplied slots out of 17,602 candidates. The development continued in 2022, with 4,116 admitted from 13,881 candidates. Admission slots additional decreased in 2023 to three,776, regardless of a surge to 19,523 candidates. The state of affairs in 2024 remained difficult, with solely 4,736 passers out of 18,300 candidates.
The numerous disparity between admitted college students and candidates reveals a graver fact: entry to free and high quality schooling within the area stays scarce. In Bicol, with over a million youth, information signifies that solely 18% pursue larger schooling.
This stark actuality highlights how our system continues to fall quick in offering the constitutional proper to accessible and competent schooling for all residents — successfully denying many Bicolanos their proper to schooling.
Pushed by private expertise with these urgent points, I turned deeply concerned in progressive organizations. My journey started with CEGP, the place I helped revive and reform each the Albay and Bicol chapters. For 3 out of my 4 years in school, I had the privilege of serving as their regional chairperson.
My time as chairperson usually meant prioritizing the wants of marginalized communities and the welfare of my fellow campus journalists over classroom attendance. There have been numerous cases the place I labored for days on finish, making ready authorized protection papers, compiling experiences, and coordinating tirelessly with regional publications. Our intention was all the time to handle campus press freedom violations — whether or not they required discreet, confidential dealing with or, like TheSPARK’s case, exploded right into a nationwide situation.
In keeping with CEGP-Bicol’s newest data, the chapter has documented over 20 reported campus press freedom violations (CPFVs) between its revival in 2023 and early 2025. This alarming determine aligns with CEGP’s nationwide report, which identifies Bicol as essentially the most red-tagged area.
Given the gravity of those conditions, we actively pursued additional coaching. This led to my function as chief paralegal within the KAKAMPI community, a regional alliance of paralegals and rights defenders that we helped set up in 2024.
Even with all my efforts, I used to be not exempt from the very press freedom and human rights violations I fought towards. For 3 years, I used to be subjected to steady censorship, harassment, and red-tagging — together with the terrifying expertise of getting a gun pressed towards me — all as a result of I used to be actively pushing for the development of essential reporting and defending the rights of my fellow Bicolanos.
My ordeal included surveillance and, in 2023, an official red-tagging letter from the Nationwide Activity Pressure to Finish Native Communist Armed Battle (NTF-ELCAC) that lacked any substantial foundation. Whereas the troopers apologized months later after appreciable stress, their mere phrases did little to alleviate the chilling results. These identical violations proceed to plague many campus journalists and activists in Bicol, echoing my very own experiences.
Removed from backing down, I redoubled my efforts, increasing my community to determine extra protected areas for younger reporters and rights defenders. This included actively aiding in protests — from road demonstrations to school-based actions. The state of affairs additionally known as for me to show youth in various, usually ignored public settings, comparable to far-flung settlements and bustling moist markets.
Via these experiences, I understood that the wrestle of the Filipino youth transcended my private difficulties and that conformity to systemic pacification was merely not an choice. This collective effort instilled in me a profound sense of service for my fellow youth and Bicolanos, sustained by the various people and organizations who shared and championed our causes.
In spite of everything, this battle neither started nor ended with my years at BU; it has been waged for many years. My journey is however one other tribute to the martyrs of Bicol, together with Cris Hugo — a fellow journalism scholar who fought till his demise to advance the folks’s rights within the area.
Lastly, with my diploma in hand and the dignity of magna cum laude, I earnestly pray that every one my fellow youth, graduates, and Bicolanos embrace their calling to serve. Could they stand resolute of their dedication to achieve marginalized communities — particularly their locations of origin — and champion the rights of their very own kin. The dear proper to an schooling, solid by the relentless toil of the plenty, unequivocally calls for students’ lively participation in increase their very own communities.
Could all of them keep in mind that Bicol — vibrant and wonderful — has all the time been a area worthy of our unwavering battle and repair. The alampay (a ceremonial commencement sash) we now put on seals our sacred calling: to awaken, empower, and defend our group, rising stronger and fiercer than ever. – Rappler.com
