Stripped Away

When the country was plunged into a global health crisis, the changes experienced by Filipinos in various fields became steep and bold. Their daily movements were mainly restricted—crippled and dragged into strangled and unfamiliar habits. Overall, many of the policies have gone astray and have explicitly stripped them of their right to basic necessities during the pandemic.

Ever since, it has become the rhetoric of the government and the authorities to ensure the welfare of the masses, especially the poor and the afflicted. But contrary to their vows, many are compelled to venture yet another day with an empty stomach, forced to disobey health protocols, and risk their lives to toil even when the money they earn is uncertain and does not match their need—all these despite the imminent danger posed by the pandemic and the reversal of government orders.

The government has “tried” to, above all, vaccinate Filipinos as a shield against the coronavirus. However, many Filipinos dodged and did not support the preventive measure proposed by those in power due to the prior controversy over Dengvaxia, which is considered to be the cure for Dengue. As a result, although the vast majority of the population has been vaccinated, many sectors still remain in the gaps of doubt. At a time when the ticket to and attainment of basic needs and services depends on the condition of being vaccinated, it cannot be denied that the masses are directly deprived of access to their natural rights.

Editor’s drop box

Dear Editor,

I like that the school paper is meticulously developed to extract all the information at hand without the compromisation of the articles’ quality. All the pieces are relevantly woven together that help us, City Highers, make sense of ourselves and the academe we are in.

Student X

Although the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) policy of “no vaccination, no ride” makes a certain sense, it can largely be seen as a violation of a person’s right to travel. However, there are stated exceptions to the policy, such as workers working on-site and those returning to their permanent homes; ergo, what this policy runs over: the basic society that relies on public transportation to migrate and travel.

If anything, it is essential to recognize that the practice of the rights of Filipinos is guaranteed by the Constitution and based on the grace of democracy, but it still faces restrictions that protect the national interest of a country.

More importantly, the sector that leans primarily on public transport is the marginalized—the same people who are as well deprived of access to other essential needs such as food, health services, and, as mentioned earlier, education. There is no indifference to a policy that repeatedly denigrates and openly ignores the real needs of the victims of the circumstance.

It is good to acknowledge the eager response of the current vice president, Leni Robredo, to the construction of vaccination centers near public transportation to encourage people to get vaccinated because instead of imposing an oppressive policy that will distance the masses from an essential service such as transportation, more education, and proper persuasion are the ones needed to promote the vaccination program. This is especially necessary since what remains in the headlines are the records of severe side effects after vaccination, coupled with the ever-changing government policies, causing the public to panic.

What the masses need are vaccines, education, employment, and other essential necessities that are within reach, not another draconian policy from the government. Because the cyst—those in power are once again raping the already impoverished Filipinos—those who no longer have resilience for every day.

More importantly, the sector that leans primarily on public transport is the marginalized—the same people who are as well deprived of access to other essential needs such as food, health services, and, as mentioned earlier, education. There is no indifference to a policy that repeatedly denigrates and openly ignores the real needs of the victims of the circumstance.

CITY HIGHERS SPEAKS by the numbers

765 Mandated Vaccination for Commuters

92 Not in Favor for the Vaccination

In Favor for the Vaccination

138 Abstain

Dear Student X,

Thank you for your positive feedback on our publication.

Rest assured that The City Icon will continue to stay committed to its prime responsibility—to provide quality stories upholding the truth and nothing but the truth.

Editor

Dear Editor,

Personally, I have grown tired of the “students-have-becomesmarter-because-of-the-internet” myth that teachers keep on insisting on because even with the help of technological advancement, schools continue to fail to deliver multi-modal and cooperative learning environments, and at the end of their mass production comes out shiny, machinated drones who have little to no desire to discover more and learn anything new—as if robots programmed to act and think a certain way.

Student K

Dear Student K, The issues you have raised are of considerable interest to education officials; as the primary source of information in the school, we will guarantee that every department receives a copy of our school paper to keep them apprised of your concern.

Editor

The Pen that Slays

wARRAnted Stance ARRA MAE G. MARIANO WRITER

After so many years of bringing the name of our school in campus press conferences, along with my clutching awards and ascending to greater elevations, multiple times have I only thought about the endeavor as something that cannot be any better than a mere competition. I have stepped on so many thresholds seeking to be the best writer there can be, and bag the gold afterward in the recognition—it was as if such a pinnacle had firmly seated in my veins that it has long consumed me.

Scrolling through my Facebook feed earlier this month, I got reminded of the obstructive and toxic attachment that I have just mentioned as I chanced upon a post of Liwayway Magazine’s Rhandee Garlito II, which basically narrated the “culture of unfriendly competition” that has been borne out of the National Schools Press Conference. Ergo, I wish to quote this one powerful sentiment that encapsulates much of the true inner and deeply concealed workings in school press conferences:

“Rather than simply recognizing the work of school publications and student journalists, the so-called Olympics of Philippine student press competitions have become a gladiator sport of sorts—which region, division, or school lords over the others; which can produce more winners. It also goes for the professional journalists that moonlight as trainers to these groups—who can produce better results so that they become more marketable, more likely to be invited, more likely to get higher ‘honoraria.’”

For the most part, what has indeed enveloped the affair that was supposed to reemphasize the weight of press freedom from a critical level, such as academic institutions, is that an effective journalist must be a winner in the press conference. That winning is all that matters. It is that hyper-competitiveness of student journalists, coaches, and other officials of the Department of Education that has rendered the event’s purpose vain and without real significance to the society that it was supposed to work for.

The circumstances raised by Garlito, which, in essence, highlights the contest orientation of the NSPC, ditch the responsibility of journalists to genuinely scrutinize the society at large and extract all available narratives to present the clearest, most authentic report there can be. With the ranking system of the endeavor, fair and ethical journalism is haunted by earnest yearnings for recognition and fame. And when journalism is continuously called into question, the highest obligation of the press, may they be on campus level or already practicing the profession, remains to the truth and the public, and it cannot be suppressed or made to be propelled by dishonorable interests.

Student journalists must strive to edify themselves as they make for the stronghold of public enlightenment. This underscores then that the NSPC goes beyond a mere school competition. A real news

by the numbers City Highers speaks [Mandatory Military Serivce]

mover has to be accountable in writing and safeguarding the accuracy and veracity of their write-ups as more than something they turn in for the “contest.” The people that they are writing for, after all, are entitled to as much information as possible.

As communications scholar Luis Teodor argued, the press assumes the gatekeeping role to keep the masses enlightened and the truth always unbarred. These are all in the name of making informed decisions to contribute to the growth of democracy—to guide the people in standing communally against injustice or otherwise guide them to tighten their grip on the ills of the land. This is the role campus, and professional journalists share. With an unfettered but responsible fourth estate, a free enterprise of information is obtainable to the public. Yet, this is hampered by different forms of repression, regulation, and manipulation, such as the contest-oriented conduct of school press conferences. It is when our supposed watchdogs are oriented toward the immoral, the public enlightenment is heavily jeopardized, and social order starts to crumble.