FEATURE

August was the breeze of the wind

That caressed our skin of morning hour

For a brief moment, the sun felt gentle on our eyes

And the air whispered softly to our ears

‘Twas the day we thought we would never have again;

The day when old flowers blossomed

And the trees danced differently to greet us welcome

The day of our many firsts together

We remembered how August reminded us

Of the June we once knew three summers ago; How they held the same smile, Told the same stories, and made the same promises

Fear, tremble, anxiety, and nervousnessMaybe you felt this;

The unsureness on every step we took

To get into the room we were assigned

The frantic emotion that was running around in our minds;

The judgment that we were afraid of, The stare we'd get and the faces we've known, And the look they'd give as we enter alone

It took one step to tell

That September had many songs for us to sing, Hidden places for us to land, And waiting memories for us to write

Another step and we managed to find

One another's favorite colors of the sky

A little more and we're next to October, Closer to the cloudsBut a long way still from the reach of the stars November, however, Came with rains following her trail

Every second felt like the night wanted to rebel and prevail

They wanted to run; but that didn't stop December

From wanting to sail the ocean sun

He was wild and loud and fun; He was a walking memory And a heartache to none

January knew better not to chase liquid sunsets too soon

For its tail might burn her; She sat down, eyes aboveAnd watched their yellows and orange melt away

As they give their space to our moon

If only we knew March was getting closer, How we wished we would've stayed longer And listened more to February As she read another of her love letters ‘ But summertime sadness already entered with April and May

And it extended its hand to JuneLeaving July with only the cold

And we wondered; how can something so shivering

Leave a touch of such mellow warmth?

After all, home is not just anywhere we're meant to be

Rather, it can also be found in the walls of a fourcornered room;

In the spaces of an unfinished poem

And in the silence amidst all the laughs with a friend

Home can be a single person, Home can be a place away from perfection, And home can be disguised in fifty people.

This four-cornered room where the walls are full of laughter

Joy is inevitable; memories are held together We finally had a home we thought we'd never had Yet the room had two doorsOne to enter and one to take flight

Twelve months of exploration, discovery, and memories

This unexpected home will carry everything we've gone through

Everything will stay, encapsulated in this room Yet the door will remain open to a student Who’s longing to feel the delight once more

A home can come and go now and then Our July might've already waved us goodbye, But we will meet another August breeze once again t is Juana’s first-year anniversary with Bongbong, and he is expected to deliver his long, sweet message Compared to her ex-boyfriend Rody, Marcos Jr conveyed his speech in a formal and presidential manner As the President marks his one year since taking a seat in the government, so do the Filipinos who were stuck in a love-hate relationship with him Should the Filipino masses hold on despite several ‘red flags?’

Economic progress during the rough start of a pandemic-stricken Marcos Administration remains a far fetched dream for many As global inflation caused by the Ukraine-Russia war continues to infect a recovering nation, the Philippines recorded an 8 9% peak in January 2023, but just a month before his 2nd State of the Nation Address (SONA), the inflation rate in the country eases to 5 4% With a limited profit, the President must prioritize utilizing budget allocations to those sectors hit most by the pandemic, such as the education and business sectors, which in turn would advance the country’s economy in the long run

According to a 2023 survey by the Social Weather Stations, 51% of Filipinos consider themselves to be poor The national problem of rising prices, as expected, left the masses behind Implementing monetary policies, providing subsidies to the most affected, ensuring careful spending, and expanding the Administration's Kadiwa stores, pop-up shops that sell cheaper basic commodities, would aid in mitigating the impact of inflation It is because poverty is a complex issue that requires more than just clamoring 'unity' in front of the audience

Undoubtedly, inflation triggered a negative domino effect in different sectors of the country; for instance, the rising cost of students’ school expenses, the construction of school infrastructure, the scarcity of learning materials, and the low salary of educators all led to the Philippines suffering an educational crisis, which, in turn, would increase unemployment, and so on In a political analyst’s view, the administration of Marcos is a slow-moving ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ with little-to-no major achievement However, Filipinos tend to give Marcos a honeymoon period in his first year, with an 82% approval rating in a July 2023 poll by Boses

ng Bayan

Instead of the risky and controversial Maharlika Investment Fund that utilizes funds from different governmental agencies, Marcos Jr should have put the spotlight on the Department of Education’s (DepEd) review and creation of a new curriculum as his flagship program during the SONA Fixing the loopholes in a system is vital to producing globally competitive and skilled labor forces in the future Employment uncertainty remains a problem for both new graduates and the government

In the 2023 Basic Education Report (BER) by DepEd, only 10% of senior high school graduates landed a job, defeating the program’s purpose of producing job-ready Filipinos after SHS Hence, there is a clear shortcoming inside the K–12 curriculum, alongside Marcos’ appointment of Vice President Sara Duterte as the DepEd secretary, who has no background in handling an education-related office Similar to how we appoint doctors in the Department of Health (DOH) or engineers in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), why can’t we have teachers or principals for an education department?

Emphasizing the digital revolution by protecting users from text scams, Bongbong enacted Republic Act (RA) 11934, or the SIM Registration Law, which is beneficial if utilized outside political interests With financial negotiations frequently done virtually nowadays, policymakers are expected to take actions to protect their constituents On the other hand, the legislation’s usage of data is in question, as several Filipinos fear that their private information is at risk for cyberattacks and surveillance on Marcos’ critics

For instance, a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) statement in April 2023 admitted that approximately 3,000 government firms were successfully cyber-attacked from 2020 to 2022 One mishap, and all private data would be exposed for illegal consumption

When compared to former President Duterte in approaching the geopolitical conflict in the West Philippine Sea, Marcos Jr. is no different; both play it safe There is still no progress on the 2014 Hague Tribunal ruling that favored the Philippines’ claim over the highly contested waters Beijing remains aggressive against Filipino fishermen, yet BBM and some of his predecessors are anxious about triggering Xi Jin Ping’s all-out power Expected, but there is no justification for turning a blind eye to persistent Chinese bullying The President did not even mention sovereignty over WPS in his second SONA

Again, Filipinos are in a love-hate relationship with Marcos Jr Although some projects could be seen as significant yet not so successful, there are still several gaps that need filling Let the President do his job, and let the people rate his work BBM should prove that he is different from his father Hungry stomachs, poorly educated youth, left-behind living standards, and other marginalized sectors are waiting, Mr President

By Samantha Mae P. Malapit

Afamily s whole PAG-IBIG savings and life plan invested in their home of 15 and so years–subjected to the fate of being swept under a given 40day forced evacuation without relocation plans

An OFW breadwinner grinding teeth and blood working for a family of 6 Homesick Dehumanized. Awaiting to come home–only to find your family is part of more than 700 residents at risk of being displaced.

"Kung tutuusin, at peace ka na rito, in-improve mo na bahay mo. 'Yung mga matatanda nga rito inubos ang kanilang lumpsum at retirement money para ipagawa bahay nila (Consider this, you are at peace, your home is improved. People here already used their lump-sum and retirement money to build their house)," expressed one of the residents in the vigil protest against the demolition of Viva Homes Subdivision

The "Villar-naires" strike again with yet another land to infest with artificial-looking lined homes and overpriced rustic coffee shops to construct the commercialized Vista City and extended University of the Philippines Dasmariñas campus in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, where, once built, would be the first Technopreneurship school to exist in the Philippines.