What the ISCP says about the Philippines

by: Rowena Flores

On August 9, the International State College of the Philippines (ISCP) made its way into my newsfeed as a post with a very professional academic pub mat. The format and design of the image made it almost easy to overlook the ridiculousness of the words imprinted in the layout. BS in Culinary Arts Major in Fire Bending, BA in Psychology Major in Gaslighting, and BS in Online Bardagulan Major in keyboard fighting are just a few among all of the satirical school’s course offerings. As its popularity exploded, I could not help but notice that the ISCP might just be more reflective of Filipino culture and current situation.

First off, the ISCP is a satire page in the form of a fake academic institution. According to We the Pvblic, what spurred on the page’s birth and development was Niño Ged, the founder’s anxieties over choosing a college and course (Lasin and Umali 2022). The same source cited that the page already grew to more than 660K followers in just the first week of its existence. As of August 19, the page already has 916K+ followers with a 4.9 rating, as well as 726.3K members in its public group called the International State College of the Philippines (E-Youth Council).

More hilarity ensued when it also released posts on its campuses in the Tondo, Biringan, Atlantis, the Moon, the Sun, and more- mind you these campuses have a layout in 3d models. It also has its full set of school hymns, vision and mission statement, school history, fictional staff, an entrance exam, and other more scholastic necessities. Throughout all of this, the ISCP serves as a good indicator of where we stand now in the digital era.

ON CULTURE: OUR UNDYING LOVE FOR HUMOR

No doubt, the need for satirical laughter had been contagious enough to breed more creative talent brought out for the sake of inducing more laughter. It is a testament to our love of humor as a way to cope.

However, whether or not it is intentional, it doesn't only serve humor for the sake of humor. One of its early concoctions of comedy consists of using present and past events that blew up and slapping its satirical labels on them to reinvent them into something funnier. The ISCP, with its recollection of past fails and gags from real life, allows us to look back and relive thoughts we had about the ridiculous things that once made rounds in the news or on the internet. It became a hub to remind us that the internet never forgets.

Some previous memories were unlocked with certain pictures. Remember Dr. Farrah Bunch, who was known for her sketchy medical claims and her dispute with Dr. Adam Smith? The page reinforced its satire by appointing her Dean in the college of medicine. Then there’s Richard Gomez, with his “art” as the Dean in the college of Fine arts.

The message is not directly stated, but satire effectively makes us think about what makes the posts laughable. Something about fighting fire with fire, but without the intention to deceive. In fact, doesn't the subtle mockery become blatantly obvious if you are informed enough to tell what is wrong with the displayed information?

Photo by: Facebook/ International State College of the Philippines

ON CREATIVE NETIZENS: SO MUCH POTENTIAL

The page thrived as it gained more followers who willingly contributed content. Part of the reason for its success were talented individuals who wanted in on the gags. Of course, this started because the page's layouts are already so professional-looking, the contributors were also inspired to further the humor by developing ideas packaged in an equally pro-looking manner.

One example is the animation of the school logo with a 3d rendering software. Speaking of 3d, the campuses in their rendered architectural designs were already featured in walk-through videos- well, in the case of Atlantis Campus, it's a submarine dive underwater. The campuses also have their own Aspin (Asong Pinoy) statue as the ISCP symbol. Of course, the Blue Barking Aspins, as their namesake for their varsity team is called, have their own flag. And as far as creativity can stretch, someone is already making a game. The popularity of the fake school even reached the point where they are already selling ISCP-branded school supplies on Shopee.

There is no doubt that the ISCP opened the floodgates of inspiration for some people with creative talent. The absolute mad skills and effort poured into making these things were visible upon one look at the quality of the outputs. I saw a few people sharing posts from the ISCP, commending the amount of dedication creative Filipinos are willing to put when it comes to making monkey business.

While I agree that the love for tomfoolery is undeniable from the genius of their works, I think that the emergence of these just-for-gags pieces of art is proof that there are many gifted people in the Philippines. Which is why I echo the sentiments of netizens who lament the fact that the ISCP has better looking pub mats and websites than real schools and government agencies (richard 2022; AE 2022). You can check their tweets and the threads here and here, respectively.

Video by: Facebook/ Matteo Sebastian

It is also a little disheartening that the Aspin creatives have put so much detail in their works that it seems like they are bringing into the ISCP the things we could only wish we have in real life. I mean, the ISCP campuses have state-of-the-art facilities and functional classroom designs. Meanwhile, reality tells us that we do not have enough educational facilities. A report from Rappler stated that the Department of Education lacks 91,000 classrooms (dela Vega and Coleen 2022). There is also a lack of teachers and basic educational necessities such as books, computers, blackboards, and more (Teodoro 2020). I can’t help thinking that there is so much potential for more Filipinos out there if only they are provided opportunities and access to better education and tools to master crafts in the digital space.

ON POLITICS: A BATTLEGROUND

The ISCP also does not shy away from serving political humor and I love them for it. One of the early posts puts a spotlight on Alan Peter Cayetano who is assigned as a Professor teaching BA in Public Administration Major in Family Planning. Of course, any insider would know that this relates to his P10k aid promise to every Filipino household. Similarly, they created a jest, assigning Ella Cruz as Professor in the College of Philippine History. The most obvious indicator that the ISCP has their own political slant is the post condemning red-tagging. In true ISCP fashion, their message was clear without sacrificing the element of humor. I believe the image speaks for itself:

Photo by: Facebook/ ISCP- Supreme E-Youth Government

Also, despite being a fictional school, the ISCP has stepped up its game by hosting a masterclass just this August 20. They had Prof. Rowena Guanzon talking about fighting misinformation with bardagulan, citing that the fight is all about control of the web (ISCP- Supreme E-Youth Government 2022).

I believe it is fair to say that this is their way of getting their stance out there in the digital realm. The ISCP, with its satirical content, serves a good role in aiding truthful media, albeit through different means. Maybe humor might knock some sense into us when we’re in danger of falling victim to ploys designed to undermine facts. After all, the battle against misinformation is largely fought online.

Photos by: Facebook/ Guchi Guchi Y. Dadah in Main Pop Girls Stanposting

If there is one thing the ISCP showed us, it is that satire can be a very good way to reach audiences and make them think twice about believing certain information. The admins have already confirmed themselves to be kakampinks in a Tiktok comment, but that is not the point (besides, the admins are not gatekeeping the fun). Focusing on the reality of creating a virtual space where everyone is welcome, isn’t the ISCP in a very strategic position to educate people on misinformation and other political issues? I think the ISCP admins know just that, and they are doing a very good job at leveraging the appeal of the page to spread awareness on these issues. The aforementioned examples are proof. As a bonus, just take a look at the pic below.

Photos by: Facebook/ International State College of the Philippines (E-Youth Council)

Now that facts and truth are being manipulated and twisted by multiple sources, I hope we will all learn to never take anything at face value and verify information before believing them.

P.S.

Oh, and speaking of satire: did you know our heroes from the Spanish colonial era also used satire to call out (for decency) nonsense from forces with higher power? Marcelo H. Del Pilar wrote a satirical parody of the “Hail Mary” prayer. I recalled that from my 7th grade Araling Panlipunan module, so I searched for it and found it on a blogpost by Chrissha Belle Salcedo. Feel free to check out the link to her blog; it’s a treasure trove of words from earlier authors dripping with sass and I’m livin’ for it haha. Anyways, Del Pilar’s “Aba Ginoong Barya” goes like this:

“Aba guinoong Baria nakapupuno ka nang alcancia ang Fraile’I sumasainyo bukod ka niyang pinagpala’t pina higuit sa lahat, pinagpala naman ang kaban mong mapasok. Santa Baria Ina nand Deretsos, ipanalangin mo kaming huag anitan ngayon at cami ipapatay. Siya naua. (Del Pilar 1888, as cited in Salcedo 2014, para. 15).”

References:

AE. “Twitter / @Mustylone: ISCP Portal (Satire Page) vs BIR Portal (Well Funded Government Agency)” August 7, 2022, 5:00 p.m. https://twitter.com/Mustylone/status/1556218662016946177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1556218662016946177%7Ctwgr%5E1b825dca30105e9187573baa1d79174c6180653a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.8list.ph%2Fiscp-vs-government-website%2F

dela Vega, Ashley, and Almira Coleen. 2022. “DepEd lacks 91,000 classrooms for school year 2022-2023.” Rappler, August 11, 2022. https://www.rappler.com/nation/deped-lacks-classrooms-school-year-2022-2023/.

ISCP- Supreme E-Youth Government, dir. 2022. ISCP MASTERCLASS. https://www.facebook.com/ISCPGovernment/videos/494403585850936.

Lasin, Gelo, and Clara Umali. 2022. “Who is ISCP founder and satirist Niño Ged? - WE THE PVBLIC.” We The Pvblic. https://wethepvblic.com/who-is-nino-ged-satirist-and-iscp-founder/.

Richard. “Twitter / @perichardium: not iscp having a better website than real schools nauuurrrr” August 7, 2022, 12:32 p.m. https://twitter.com/perichardium/status/1556151165645385728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1556151165645385728%7Ctwgr%5E1b825dca30105e9187573baa1d79174c6180653a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.8list.ph%2Fiscp-vs-government-website%2F

Salcedo, Chrissha Bella. 2014. ““Dasalan at Tocsohan” ni Marcelo H. Del Pilar.” HANDIOG. https://handiog.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/dasalan-at-tocsohan-ni-marcelo-h-del-pilar/.

Teodoro, Luis V. 2020. “Philippine education in crisis.” BusinessWorld Online, July 9, 2020. https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2020/07/09/304328/philippine-education-in-crisis/.