UP Diliman BS Industrial Engineering freshman Ian Jasper Calalang was reported missing by his family and was last heard from last Tuesday January 12, 2016 at about 8:22am via text to his mother saying that he was already on-campus in UP.
A friend of his interviewed by ABS-CBN said that he received a text from him a few minutes after his text to his mother, asking whether “may kasama ka ba” (are you with anyone); the friend replied after five minutes, and there was no reply-back. Ian’s parents told ABC News 5 that he was carrying about P30,000 in cash for his tuition.
January 12, 2016 is the day reserved for enrollment of freshmen, varsity students, graduating students, and graduate students. Weeks before enrollment week, students would have participated in the pre-enlistment process online where they could type their names in columns under courses that they needed to take up on a first-log-first-served basis. Every student who is admitted for study in the University is given a username and password (which he/she can change at his/her option) by which he/she can log on to the “Computerized Registration System” at pre-enlistment and enrollment.
The pre-enlistment is not final, it has to be confirmed on enrollment week by the staff of the College Secretary or the Department or by the staff of the University Registrar.
The UP Diliman administration said that university records did not show he was able to enroll.
On the first day of enrollment (after pre-enlistment) a student has to get his/her “Form 5-A” from his/her department, then have it checked and signed by a faculty member assigned as “adviser” for that day. This process starts at 8:30am of each enrollment day and ends at 4:30am, with lunch break. (The “Form 5-A” is a document where the student writes down pre-enlisted courses and other subjects he/she needs to take up, to be checked and signed by an “adviser”.)
Ian, being a freshman, would have pre-enlisted online weeks earlier in GE courses (Math, Comm, English, Filipino, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Kasaysayan, Philo, etc.) offered by the College of Sciences, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, College of Arts and Letters, etc.. On enrollment day last January 12, he would have gone to his department for his “Form 5-A” and for “advising”. That would be the Department of Industrial Engineering located on the 4th floor of the College of Engineering (main building), Melchor Hall, (across “A.S” thru the academic oval). He would have gotten off a jeepney in the periphery of the academic oval either beside the College of Engineering (beside the tennis courts), or behind the College of Engineering or beside the College of Law 50 meters away from the College of Engineering. It would have taken him 15 minutes to walk from the jeepney stop to the College of Engineering and another 5 minutes to climb up the stairs to his department, and maybe another 15 minutes queuing for his “Form 5-A” and “advising”. The CCTV digital recording of “entrances” and “exits” of the College of Engineering for January 12, morning, would have shown him entering and exiting. According to ABC News 5, his parents were asked to view such CCTV digital recording of the College of Engineering — he was not seen in any of the footage. (i think there is also a CCTV camera near the traffic light at the intersection between the tennis courts and the College of Engineering.)
His accomplished and signed “Form 5-A” would then be used by the registration assistants to enlist him in the courses. For that day, his name would have started to appear in the records the moment he gets his “Form 5-A”, then it should appear again a few minutes later in the Computerized Registration System when he submits his accomplished “Form 5-A” to the registration staff for final enlistment in the subjects.
After final enlistment, matriculation or payment is done in cash at the UP Theatre, or at the UP Cashier’s Office, or at the UP Accounting Office (above the Cashier’s Office) if you have the exact amount without need of change, or at the PNB UP Branch. Tuition for a full load of 15-18 units starts at P26,000, so any enrollee who carries cash around would have at least that amount on enrollment day. There are four ATM counters beside the UP Cashier’s Office and two ATM counters at the PNB UP Branch. [When Lester paid, he did not carry the cash, i told him to go to PNB UP, draw from the atm counter which is only literally five steps away from the Cashier’s Office or the Accounting or PNB UP, then just take five steps — and you’re inside the payment area. This is the safest way. Another precautionary measure is to never talk about your location, route, address, where you’re going, etc. in the social media.)
i hope the University administration can use all digital records and witnesses available in the University to establish whether or not he was able to get on-campus that day.
From inquirer.net :
“A freshman student at University of the Philipines (UP) Diliman in Quezon City was missing since Tuesday, a radio report said. According to a report from Radyo Inquirer, Marissa Patawaran, aunt of 18-year-old Ian Jasper Calalang, said the student texted his parents Tuesday morning saying he has arrived at the UP campus. It was the family’s last communication with Calalang. Calalang was carrying money supposedly for his enrollment. Since Tuesday morning, the student’s family was not able to contact Calalang.
“According to Patawaran, Calalang’s parents went to UP to communicate on their missing son and later learned that the student was not able to enroll. Patawaran said Calalang is a good son and he does not fail to text or call his parents on his whereabouts. For any information on Calalang’s whereabouts, his family can be reached through 0932-222-0864 and 0917-339-0488.”
The Comelec, speaking thru Comelec commissioner Art Lim, announced in a media conference yesterday that it would or it will “ratify and confirm” by resolution the Comment filed by Comm. Guanzon last Monday.
In law, to ratify means to make official, or to confirm, or to approve, or to validate, the act of a person who purports to be an agent, or representative, of the principal or a board (here, the Comelec). In other words, the act is not void but not fully valid either: the act is voidable: voidable means if not ratified by the principal, it becomes void; if ratified by the principal, it becomes valid.
Before that media conference by the Comelec was held, Chiz Escudero said he would question the “status”, or the nature, or validity (i’m paraphrasing) of the pleading (the Guanzon Comment) based on the memo of the Comelec chair that it was “unauthorized” when filed — Chiz said that “unauthorized” meant that Comm. Guanzon was not validly representing the Comelec when the Comment was filed, or was “misrepresenting” herself, as Chiz put it. “Misrepresentation” in law however is harsher because it has a criminal connotation. Not authorized to file on behalf of the Comelec — Ok, correct.
Before it is ratified, yes: question it. But after it is ratified, the matter might become mute and epidemic, er, este, moot and academic, depending on the speed of the Comelec in filing the resolution to ratify. I’m guessing fast. I’m guessing they will file it a few hours after dawn today. After all, they are fast writers — after all, among themselves they have written more than ten books some of which were for the United Nations.
Still, the Supreme Court has been known to write a full-length opinion on moot questions, “as a restraint upon the future” to quote Justice Isagani Cruz.
You know, it is not entirely moot and academic even if the Comelec commissioners are fast writers and have written more than ten books some of which were for the United Nations.
The individuals involved here are lawyers, parties, litigants, and officers of the Court. They may be members of a constitutionally independent body, but before the Supreme Court, they are litigants, lawyers, and officers of the Court, and are therefore expected to comport themselves in a manner that is in keeping with the dignity and integrity of the profession.
And the oral arguments are coming up in a few days.
(The headline in inquirer.net , “Comelec upholds Guanzon’s Comment…” is inaccurate; to uphold means to say that an act is correct; here, the act was characterized as unauthorized by the Comelec chair himself, the act was voidable, not correct. It can be validated by ratification. The lead paragraph and body of the news story uses the word “ratify and confirm”, the direct quote from the Comelec. Why would the headline –writer use “uphold” in the headline instead of the more accurate “ratify”?)
