Amid budget woes and security concerns faced by the campus press, various colleges across the UP System have initiated efforts to revive their local publications.
On the first day of the UP Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writers’ Organizations (UP Solidaridad) biannual congress at UP Tacloban on Aug. 12, two newly revived publications presented reports to the alliance.
The member publications welcomed Ang Mangingisda of the UP Visayas College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and Philippine Law Register from the UP College of Law.
They added to the growing roster of new UP publications, specifically Lanog (UP Cebu College of Communication, Art, and Design) and The Cursor (UP Open University), which were revived and established, respectively, last year.
Similar challenges
Ang Mangingisda (AM) was on hiatus for almost two decades since its last publication in 1997.
During martial law in the 1980s, AM operated under the name Salambao in UP Diliman until the College of Fisheries was officially transferred to UP Visayas in 1988.
According to its editor-in-chief Tiffany Xu, the publication’s revival was part of the general plan of action (GPOA) presented by CFOS Student Council chairperson Ella Mae Alleno in her secretary-general candidacy in 2023.
“Matagal na talagang may mga ganitong talks, pero it is only in the recent years kung saan nagkaroon ng progress and actual efforts in revival,” Xu added.
Since its revival on Aug. 1, AM reported that it has nine members, six of whom are editors. They highlighted similar problems in membership and staffer activity.
Related: Staffer inactivity, bureaucracy challenge UP pubs’ operations
“Another factor would be the decreasing population of students, who in turn, become overstretched due to the need to fill more leadership roles in CFOS Student Council, traditional fish organizations […] and currently the college publication as well,” AM said.
While the publication also technically has funding, AM shared that they also experience the same problems of publications on procurement and bureaucratic procedures.
Related: Amid persisting attacks, student journos urge UP to streamline processes for funding
To address their lack of manpower, AM plans to hold educational discussions for prospective members and establish the current branding of their publication.
Meanwhile, the UP Solidaridad also announced the establishment of UP Visayas’ university-wide publication, The Visayan Current, which is set to operate starting Academic Year 2024-25.
For the longest time, UPV was the only constituent unit without a university publication as the role of the campus press in their region is filled by college-level pubs like Pagbutlak and The Accounts.
Ways forward
Meanwhile, the Philippine Law Register has 30 staffers excluding its six-member editorial board. It has been inactive since its last recorded post in 2019.
With its revival last academic year, PLR plans to rebrand and work on their social media platforms to reach a wider audience.
Apart from the usual news stories and coverage, PLR is also known for publishing “legal, social and political critiques [and] analyses” written by UP law students.
UP Solidaridad currently has at least 21 member publications and writers organizations, including those that are still in the process of revival.
The UP Charter of 2008 provides that “there shall be a student publication established in every constituent unit and college to be funded by student fees.”
