Tatak KULE

Beyond prestige and honor, the Collegian’s legacy is a tradition of fearless and critical journalism that writes, and rewrites, history. Words that were printed in the invitation letter i received for the Alumni homecoming of Philippine Collegian last night at the Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman in celebration of its 89th year anniversary.The theme was "TATAK KULÊ: 89 na taon ng tapang, talas at talab ng pamamahayag ng Phililppine Collegian "

The Philippine Collegian is the official student publication of the University of the Philippines Diliman. It is more commonly known to UP students as Kulê (pronounced coo-leh). It is known for its radical, often anti-administration views. It often gives critical views on the policies of the UP administration and the Philippine government.

Mosquito Press is a term in journalism coined during Martial Law. It is a term used for publications such as the Philippine Collegian, which continued to criticize the martial law government despite the dangers this entailed. These publications were likened to mosquitoes, which are small but have a stinging bite.

 

Copies of the weekly Kule are usually available either on Tuesday or Thursday. Passing by the lobby of UPs colleges, students would hurriedly grab a copy on their way to class to read burning issues of the day in UP and beyond.

From 1987 to 1991, i became one of the so-called "Iskolar ng Bayan" as  part of the UP Diliman studentry when i took BS. Economics. I became attached to  organizations like   KULE, and SAMASA Alliance My relatives and friends usually asked me "bakit ka ba naging aktibista". Perhaps my answer will be because UP is the perfect place to grow in all aspects, whether it be politically, socially, etc. Yes, I myself became part of UP Activisim movement. And i am proud that it made me a better person. Perhaps, members of the various generation of activism has their own way of reminiscing such so era."Iba nung panahon namin"...My passion for photography likewise developed as photo editor of KULE..

 Apart from invoking nostalgia, the organizers of last night's affair noted that  the event also aims to raise funds to maintain the current state of operations of the publication. The student publication fee in UP Diliman has been fixed at P40 per student every semester since 1989. Due to increasing production costs, the Collegian now incurs an average deficit of P200,000 per year. coincidentally, 1989 was the year i entered Kule under the term of then editor in chief Ruben Carranza, then Francis Perez then Alecks Pabico.

     There were earlier reports that Kule  was  unable to publish regular issues since August 2006 because its funding has been withheld by the UP Diliman administration. Many see this as a curtailment of the freedom of the publication to operate without intervention from the UP administration. This has led to a long, protracted stand-off between the two groups. It has led, among many things, to rallies, walk-outs, the publication of what is known as the "Rebel Kulê." At present, to keep the student’s informed, the Philippine Collegian has made available its issues online (http://www.philippinecollegian.org/

Past Editors-in-Chief

• Francisco Capistrano, 1923-1924
• Emerito M. Ramos, 1930-1931
• Wenceslao Q. Vinzons, 1931-1932
• Ambrosio Padilla, 1932-1933
• Arturo M. Tolentino, 1933-1934
• Armando de J. Malay, 1934-1935
• Romeno S. Busuego, 1937-1938
• Renato Constantino, 1939-1940
• Angel G. Baking, 1940-1941
• Delfin R. Garcia, 1941-1942
• Juan M. Hagad, 1946-1947
• Mariano V. Ampil, Jr., 1947-1948
• Leonardo B. Perez, 1948-1949
• Augusto Caesar Espiritu, 1949-1950
• Elmer A. Ordonez, 1950-1951
• Francisco D. Villanueva, 1951-1952
• Ignacio Debuque, 1952-1953
• Crispulo J. Icban, Jr., 1953-1954
• Luis Q. U. Uranza, Jr., 1954-1955
• Sabino Padilla, Jr., 1955-1956
• Homobono Adaza, 1956-1957
• Jose H. Y. Masakayan, 1956-1957
• Pacifico Agabin (Acting); Caesar Agnir, 1958-1959
• Leonardo A. Quisumbing, 1961-1962; Luis V. Teodoro, Jr. (Editor)
• Angelito Imperio, 1962-1963
• Tristan Catindig, 1963-1964
• Salvador T. Carlota, 1964-1965
• Enrique Voltaire Garcia II, Ancheta K. Tan 1965-1966
• Agustin Que, 1966-1967
• Miriam Defensor, 1968-1969
• Victor Manarang, 1969-1970
• Ernesto M. Valencia, 1971
• Antonio S. Tagamolila, 1971
• Reynaldo B. Vea, 1971-1972
• Eduardo T. Gonzalez
• Teodoro D. Yabut, Jr.
• Oscar G. Yabes, 1972-1974
• Diwa Guinigundo, 1974-1975
• Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., 1975-1976
• Cosme Diaz Rosell, 1976-1977
• Alexander Poblador, 1977-1978
• Diwata A. Reyes, 1978-1979
• Ma. Lourdes Mangahas, 1979-1980
• Roberto Z. Coloma, 1980-1981
• Roan I. Libarios, 1981-1982
• Napoleon J. Poblador, 1982-1983
• Raphael P. Lotilla, 1983-1984
• Benjamin Pimentel Jr., 1984-1985
• Noel Pangilinan, 1985-1986
• Dean Karlo La Vina, 1986-1987
• Ma. Cristina Godinez, 1987-1988
• Patrocinio Jude H. Esguerra III, 1988-1989
• Ruben Carranza, Jr., 1989-1990
• Francis Ronald Perez, 1990-1991
• Alexander Pabico, 1991-1992
• Pablo John Garcia, Jr., 1992-1993
• Bernard Cobarrubias, 1993-1994
• Michael John C. Ac-ac, 1994-1995
• Ibarra M. Gutierrez, 1995-1996
• Voltaire Veneracion, 1996-1997
• Lourdes C. Gordolan, 1997-1998
• Jeanie Rose Bacong, 1998-1999
• Seymour Barros-Sanchez, 1999-2000
• Herbert V. Docena, 2000-2001
• Duke M. Bajenting, 2001-2002
• Ellaine Rose A. Beronio, 2002-2003
• Sherwin A. Mapanoo, 2003-2004
• Jayson DP Fajarda, 2004-2005
• Juan Paolo E. Colet, 2005-2006
• Karl Fredrick M. Castro, 2006-2007
• Jerrie M. Abella, 2007-2008
• Larissa Mae R. Suarez, 2008-2009
• Om Narayan A. Velasco, 2009-2010
• Pauline Gidget R. Estella, 2010-2011
• Marjohara S. Tucay 2011

One of Kule's editor in chief,  Alecks Pabico passed away due to liver cancer on Wednesday, 7 October 2009, 4:36 p.m. at the St. Luke’s Medical Center. He was 42 years old. Pabico was the editor-in-chief from 1991 to 1992. I had the opportunity to work with him as photo editor during the earlier two terms. Until his last hours as a full person ( before he became ashes after his cremation), Alecks Pabico still brings smile and awe to other persons.  Imagine a funeral procession october 2009  from UP Chapel to the crematorium in Antipolo with Bob Marley's music being played instead of the traditional sad funeral songs. As we tailed the funeral car ( mira and the kids inside my car), I guess the people asked "Seryoso ba ito na patay ang nasa loob ng funeral car?" And when mira and I heard the fave song of Alecks (Three Little Birds), i recalled some of his last words to Mira as lifted from the song "Dont worry about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be all right"