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S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

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VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

K N OW I N G

Sizt diin na kuno ang white sand? I need to relieve my stress na eh, emz!

Scan Me The Spectrum Issuu

MODERN HERO SUIT. A medical frontliner from Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital sports a full protective gear while fulfilling his duty of saving lives. —KEILAH N. BALDOMAR

OHCC TO BOOST BCD COVID-19 RESPONSE Command Center heightens proper healthcare provisions

BY ANNA MARIA J. VILLANUEVA & IVEE E. MANGUILIMOTAN

Through the establishment of the One Hospital Command Center (OHCC), Bacolod City decongested hospitals attending to patients infected with COVID-19, IATF-Visayas chief implementer and retired major general Mel Feliciano announced during the OHCC’s ceremonial launch at the Bacolod City Government Center on Sept. 29.

Feliciano, who has been monitoring the OHCC progress and response, highlighted the importance of information from hospitals

and proper healthcare provisions to better aid the public in combating the health crisis.

The centralized command center was a byproduct of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) based at the Bacolod Government Center after adopting from Cebu City’s successful model.

“Hospitals play a vital role in the fight against COVID-19. They are always part of the efforts in having the appropriate healthcare capacity to address the patients,” Feliciano said.

Meanwhile, City Administrator Em Ang

announced in a Facebook post, that the city will be able to better manage and retrieve information from Bacolod hospitals regarding coronavirus cases through a call center facility managed by agents for teleconsultation and education.

Information was disclosed after the initial coordination meeting between Ang and the Deputy for Medical of the EOC Task Force Dr. Hector Gayares and City Health Officer Dr. Mel Gensoli.

Furthermore, Ang mentioned that teams under the center will be deployed to coordinate hospital

admissions and out-of-town hospital transfers as well as manage medical transport and data analytics.

“When this One Hospital Command Center was established, there were complementary efforts made by different hospitals.

We were also able to place a referral system on the ground where we refer the patients before admitting them to tertiary hospitals,” Feliciano said.

Moreover, Gayares asked medical directors to designate one hospital data officer to provide relevant hospital data to the OHCC and to assign

a point person to analyze not only the statistics, but as well as the “story behind the numbers”.

“It is very important [to maintain] the integrity of data, meaning to say, the timeliness, the accurateness, and all those other things,” Gayares said in an interview with SunStar.

Along with the OHCC, the City Council approved an ordinance to create the “Bacolod Healthcare Coordination Committee for COVID-19 Patients” to aid in the transmission of medical information between Bacolod Hospitals and the EOC for planning, monitoring, and

resource allocation.

The committee serves as a forum and information source to aid city officials in formulating programs and policies that directly address the city’s healthcare needs and concerns.

Among the healthcare facilities under the OHCC are the Bacolod Adventist Medical Center, Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center, South Bacolod General Hospital, The Doctors’ Hospital, and Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital.

NEWS FEATURE

The Media and Martial Law to run for the upcoming 2022 elections during an interview on OnePH’s talk show ‘Sa Totoo Lang’.

History repeats itself. That is Along with the termination why the remembrance of past of the mass media giant, mistakes is crucial to ensure ABS-CBN network, many that they will never recur. fear that the country is once Marking the annual 48th again heading down a road of Martial Law commemoration government tyranny. day, the University of the Subsequently, ABS-CBN’s Philippines Visayas (UPV) termination transpired held a webinar on Zoom and during Marcos’ rule, and with the son of the dictator intending to run for presidency, bitter memories of the abuse experienced are revived.

Diokno, a child of martial law, recalled atrocities his family faced during the dictatorship.

His father, a senator, lawyer, and human rights advocate was labelled a communist TRUTH UNCOVERED. Atty. Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno discusses human rights violations during Martial Law commemoration. —MA. MICAH DEARIELLE V. TRAJERA and arrested. Jailed for two years, his recent passing of the Antifather faced the worst of police Facebook live last Sept. 29, Terrorism bill, militant power brutality. discussing the influence of throughout the country has To Diokno, Marcos was media during martial law. been evident. Furthermore, on able to oppress the people by Hosted by the UPV Sept. 30, spokesperson Atty. targeting three rights: the right Skimmers, the talk highlighted Vic Rodriguez announced to education, the right to selfthe power of media and Bongbong Marcos’ intentions literature during a time of

BY IMMALIE ROSE E. CAFIFGE & ELIZABETH D. FERNANDEZ

dictatorial oppression.

The webinar showcased three speakers: Atty. Chel Diokno, journalist Bianca Dava, and UP-Diliman professor Karlo Mikhail Mongaya, all of whom expressed the importance of freedom of speech in an age of suppression.

With the nation’s state of pandemic and the

NEWS / PAGE 3

NEWS

COPING STRATEGIES The GEC and OSA, together with the De La Salle University, highlight mental health awareness in “ANIMO Coping Strategies”. read on page 3

EDITORIAL

SPECIAL REPORT

ARTIFICIAL DOLOMITE

COVID 19 MONITORING SYSTEM

As advocates of environmental stewardship, The Spectrum denounces DENR’s damaging use of dolomite as artificial sand in rehabilitating Manila Bay. read on page 4

Provincial government launches new Management Information System to improve the COVID-19 monitoring in Negros Occidental. read on page 7

E-MAIL thespectrum.usls@gmail.com

FACEBOOK facebook.com/thespectrumusls

BY KYNAH RHEA B. FUENTES

HELPING ARMS. A volunteer assists in the distribution of food packs, led by the University Student Government, after raising P100k for the donation drive.—RODNEY A. JARDER JR.

Personnel receive food packs Online concert pilots donation drive

BY KYNAH RHEA B. FUENTES

A month after the University Student Government (USG) raised an average of P100,000 from the Animorphosis: Breaking Through the New Normal online concert, a total of 189 general services personnel were granted with food packs during the first wave of distribution held at the campus last Oct. 16.

Along with the Office for Student Affairs, the USG

organized the distribution with the aim of continuing St. John Baptist De La Salle’s legacy of hope in support of the underprivileged in the community by providing Lasallians the general necessities for survival.

“Through the program, we hope to plant a seed of hope in the lives of the people we encounter,” USG Executive Treasurer Quian Pearl Cordova expressed.

Believing that the most feasible action at that time

given the pandemic was to give food packs, the USG chose to distribute a whole chicken, some canned goods, and a five kilogram sack of rice for each beneficiary.

“This pandemic affected their [beneficiary] family’s income and it resulted in a lack of income to provide for their food consumption.

With this, we believe that the food packs containing such will help them survive NEWS / PAGE 3

SCOPE

DAGWAY

BAYANIHANAPBUHAY

ZOOM RAID

piso para sa laptop

The Office of the Vice President inaugurates job listing platform, “Bayanihanapbuhay”, to address the growing unemployment rate. read on page 9

Discipline and Formation Office investigates Zoom bombing incident after two raiders disrupt a Lasallian Spirituality synchronous class. read on page 10

DEVELOPMENT

ISSUU issuu.com/thespectrumusls

INSTAGRAM @thespectrum.usls

As classes proceed online, Lasallian students share how “Piso mo, para sa laptop ko” benefited them in pursuing their education. read on page 15

TWITTER @TheSpectrumUSLS

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NEWS NEWS S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

USG Exec Prexy thrusts communion in first SOA Student gov’t initiates various communal, virtual activities

BY PAULA MAE E. VILLAROSA

Communion in mission— the University of St. La Salle Student Government (USG) executive president anchored the context of the pandemic to the aforementioned Lasallian core value during his first semester State of the Organization Address (SOA) broadcasted live on Sept. 26 via the USLS Senate’s official Facebook page.

Despite being pushed back to late September due to time constraints, as per the Student Senate’s Resolutions No. 9 and 15 [amendment], USG

Executive President Nimrod Diaz opened his SOA with sentiments of overcoming today’s challenges and addressing insistent issues through the “unity and firm resolve” as one Lasallian community.

“This year, we envision a more united, more unified, and more responsive University Student Government together with the different student organizations,” Diaz expressed.

This vision prompted the partnership projects of campus clubs and organizations broadened

through the Campus Organization Response System with the theme “Raise your Clubs”, to minister to their needs and coordinate possible online campus activities with them.

Diaz also posited how USG broadened its external connections through ANIMOKASIYA, which seeks to involve Lasallians in the discourse of current affairs through awareness and advocacy campaigns, webinars, and solidarity statements.

Another collaboration was the Online Filipino

NEWS FEATURE

MECQ: The Lesser Evil

BY HANA PATRICIA RAJ E. HAUTEA & ALYSSA NICOLE T. MAQUIRAN

6. 16. 5. 37. 234. 1,050. 1,232.

These seemingly random numbers represent the new monthly COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City since quarantine began in March to the middle of September, respectively. Notice the alarming jump from 234 to 1,050? That’s exactly what placed Bacolod under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) last Sept. 8 to 30.

Now, what did this abrupt shift to MECQ mean for the city?

Before September, Bacolod had been enjoying less stringent quarantine statuses, but before anyone knew it, it became the city with the most number of new COVID-19 cases in Western Visayas. Thus, Executive Order (EO) no. 60 was issued, declaring MECQ upon the City of Smiles.

The strictest of all community quarantines, MECQ came with quite the number of restrictions. For one, residents needed a quarantine pass to pick up any essentials while all social gatherings were strictly prohibited.

Public markets were also closed on Sundays for sanitation, and malls and commercial centers could only open with a 50 percent operational capacity for nonleisure businesses. Plus, public transportation was put on hold, in addition to locally-stranded individuals still not being allowed to enter the city. “[This upgraded community quarantine] is intended to slow down the rate of local transmissions and to serve as a fundamental reminder to our citizens that both the national and city governments are always concerned about the health of the people,” Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia stated in EO no. 60.

Yet despite serving its purpose of keeping people indoors, this new quarantine status had its own set of repercussions. The City of Bacolod estimates that there were around 17,000 public transport drivers that were financially crippled, and the business sector was also heavily affected. The situation exposed a tricky dilemma common with the pandemic:

health or economy?

In this case, Bacolod listened to the plights of the people and said economy.

Hence, Mayor Bing appealed to the International Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to lower the city’s quarantine status last Sept. 28, and MECQ bade farewell on Oct. 1.

Now that the city has swiftly transitioned to General Community Quarantine (GCQ), the question is whether or not the imposed MECQ was effective.

Choosing between health and economy is difficult, but neither should be compromised in the first place.

Ultimately, Bacolodnons can only revert to their secured livelihoods once proper health protocols are taken by both the residents and the government.

As for Bacolod’s next quarantine status, no one knows yet if GCQ will continue, but no one should aOnly when everyone does their part—government included—can one even begin to hope to flatten the curve.

Youth Summit, a three-day webinar on the significant role of the Filipino youth during the COVID-19 crisis, back in May. “We must engage and participate […] there is a pressing need to be vigilant and careful with our actions,” Diaz resolved, tackling the controversies READY AND EMPOWERED. USG Executive President Nimrod Diaz delivers his speech to the Lasallian community during the first semester State of the Organization Address. —PHOEBE DAIDOJI Q. JABONETE surrounding tuition fees, be donated to USG Cares academic freeze, and sexual kamustahanays, town hall beneficiaries starting the harassment that swarmed the meetings, and help desks.

Another project is USG third week of October. university in the past months.

“We will stick together.

Through their main Cares, which grants aid And by faith in Almighty God platform ANIMOVEMENT: and support for financially and through our collective Moving Forward to Go Beyond challenged members of the movement as future-ready, our Limits, Diaz related how Lasallian community with hardworking Lasallians, we USG catered to such concerns BUYANIHAN, “an avenue shall always come out on top, in What’s Up, USLS!, an online for local Lasallian business and knowing that the future project where they hear out owners to promote and sell can always be brighter,” Diaz students’ queries, feedbacks, their products online”; a concluded. and suggestions via virtual fraction of its proceeds will

USG spearheads reimagined Lasallian Week 2020 online

BY LANCE CHRISTIAN M. JUAREZ & IMMALIE ROSE E. CAFIFGE

The University Student Government (USG), along with the other campus organizations and clubs, hosted this year’s reimagined Lasallian Days, then Lasallian Week, on Oct. 28-30 with the theme “EXCELSIOR: Creating Connections, Transcending Together!”

USG Executive Vice President Vinz EJ Nanas shared that the three-day event was centered on USG’s goal of establishing and maintaining solidarity among the Lasallian community: “We want to stay connected to our fellow students as we thrive together despite the situation.”

On its first day, the opening ceremony was led by members of the student government with Br. Joaquin Severino S.

Martinez, FSC giving the opening remarks, wishing Lasallians the best in the coming days.

The celebration then kicked off its opening activities with the USG’s #IMissUSLS and the Young Educators’ Society’s (YES) L-Wheel online raffle events while Merkado Lasalyano, an online platform by the USG, promoted small, local Lasallian businesses.

Subsequently in day two, Team Imo na ni ho reigned triumphant during the semifinals and finals of the Animo E-Games: Mobile Legends Tournament.

On the casual side of things, seven lucky winners earned prizes on Lasalle Yan! Your Online Game Show and Kwentuhan which included tablet and phone vouchers as well as P100 worth of load.

In the afternoon, USLS Psychological Society’s Aliferous: Mental Health Webinar shared tips on self-care with the theme “Soaring to Greater Heights”.

The last day began with the crowning of the Yu An Log-

College of Business and Accountancy as the champion of PAGHANARUNGAN while Ryle Sarmiento of Alliance of Tourism Leaders and Associates Society was announced as the winner of the Inter-Club Quiz Bowl.

YES also won the interclub vlog making contest Club Mo, E Vlog Mo! and on the pop side of things, Dazel Ramos and CASD3 danced their way through the top, winning 1st place in the Solo and Group Category, respectively, for the K-Craze competition.

In lieu of the Lasallian Icons, five individuals representing their colleges showcased their talent and passion for their advocacy in the Lasallian Champions event.

As the day came to a close, the Computer Science Society went viral after announcing Team Draco Luxferre as the champions of their creative building competition with a detailed recreation of the university in Minecraft.

Special elections 2020 drops, new Selection Council rises LIFTED. Establishments resume their operations while citizens begin to bustle the streets as the General Community Quarantine commences in Bacolod City. —PHOEBE DAIDOJI Q. JABONETE

Resolution No. 18 resolves position vacancies

BY ALYSSA NICOLE T. MAQUIRAN

USLS claims 100% anew in PLE Passers narrate board exam struggles

BY ALAN S. VILLANUEVA JR.

All seven Lasallians completed the Physician Licensure Examination (PLE) with a 100 percent passing rate for September 2020 on their first take.

In comparison to the previous PLE wherein the university obtained an overall passing rate of 98.08 percent with only one student failing, this year’s performance has dropped by a small degree with 80 percent overall passing rate and two students failing.

Among the 800 passers from 1,424 takers of the PLE are first-time takers JN Gimony, Gian Kevin Ladines, Rholter Dave Lee, Shaun Therence Mabunay, Ellenfer Magbanua, Jeff Negrade, and Glysdi Seth Panton.

Although the Professional Regulation Commission proceeded with the PLE to

fill the Department of Health’s call for additional doctors, it has stated that the standards were maintained.

“The board [exam] is no one’s play field so you can’t just […] expect to do well nor take it with a losing mindset,” Magbanua elaborated.

During interviews, five of them expressed their anxiety from the PLE along with how they overcame it with their routines including discussing studied materials, attending review centers, undergoing training, and praying.

While preparing, the passers encountered inconveniences like adopting new learning methods, unavailability of some study materials, managing time and stress, exhaustion, adjusting to another environment, and travelling to review centers and testing sites.

“My [inspiration are my former] classmates whom all 50 of them passed the previous

September 2019 PLE. Talk about pressure and of course, the fear of being left behind,” Mabunay, who has postponed his PLE to 2020, indicated.

In case of failure, they planned to retake the exam though it might have taken long for them to recover.

“If you had the chance to visit my room, it has now become a library of books […] and if I just gave all those up because I failed once, [it] does not really add up to me,” Lee added.

Currently, the passers are contemplating on their specializations, taking parttime jobs, and searching for job opportunities.

“Medicine is a heartbreaker. You must allow yourself into a sadistic-like relationship with the course [so] that the more suffering it gives you, the more you love it,” Negrade concluded.

The University of St. La Salle Student Senate published a resolution announcing the cancellation of the special elections 2020 last Sept. 15, prompting the creation of the new Selection Council that was further elaborated in the succeeding resolution.

Resolution No. 17 Series of 2020, authored by Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairperson Bren Talita and sponsored by the Rules and Procedures Committee, declared the cancellation of the special elections for academic year 2020-2021 after considering the barriers set by the pandemic and the university’s shift to online learning.

According to the university’s Omnibus Election Code, a special election will be called in case of vacant positions among the College Council Officers along with the election of the freshmen batch representatives.

“The COMELEC is there to create a just, credible, and clean election. If you put

these three at stake in a way where we don’t have a system, the commission can create one through Google Docs or a website, but the question there is the website’s credibility,” Talita asserted, elaborating how such a problem is the main reason why the election was cancelled.

Later on, the Student Senate published Resolution No. 18 Series of 2020, promulgating the creation of the Selection Council, an initiative to resolve the vacant positions of batch governors caused by the cancellation of this academic year’s special election.

Senate President Glynn Lavapiez emphasized that the main duty of the Selection Council was to deliberate the appointing of the applicants to eliminate any forms of bias, with the council handling the application and interview processes.

Evaluators, who spectated during confirmation interviews, were also appointed to furnish a final copy of the evaluation on applicants to further

abolish favoritism among interviewers.

“The Selection Council will be going with the tide while maintaining the normalcy amidst this situation to abolish bias [and] to provide opportunity to students [who are still] willing to serve in this unique time,” Chief Judge Ferry Fronda affirmed.

Talita also explained that the circumstance of the Special Elections being cancelled was not preempted in the Constitution due to it happening for the first time in history.

“Despite all the doubts and flaws of the emergence of the Selection Council, I believe that our student leaders are doing their best to seek more efficient and convenient solutions about the elections,” USLS Political Science Society Executive President Oriene Jereza expressed.

In addition, Lavapiez assured that the Selection Council is now an available option that the University Student Government can take should the situation call for it.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

NEWS S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

3

26 private schools in BCD, Neg Occ face closure Private school enrolment drops to 41%

BY DREXEL JOHN N. AMIT & PAULA MAE E. VILLAROSA

As classes ensue in October, 18 Bacolod and eight Negros Occidental private schools temporarily closed this school year.

According to the records of the Department of Education (DepEd) of both divisions, most of the schools that ceased operations offer early childhood education with one being an elementary school, but due to ethical reasons, the DepEd Negros Occidental chose not to disclose the list of schools.

DepEd Negros Occidental Spokesperson Ian Arnold Arnaez explained that the primary reason for these closures is low enrolment, citing that this year’s private school enrollees dropped to about 41 percent of last year’s.

“Most private schools rely on tuition fees for their financial needs. I suppose they thought that closing for the meantime is their only choice,” Arnaez

expressed, further sharing that these schools already forwarded their request for temporary closure as early as August.

Arnaez then assured that the said event will not significantly affect the division or its other private school constituents given that the said schools have lower student populations compared to others, with a combined total of, more or less, 200 learners in the past year.

However, Arnaez also disclosed that, due to the closure, a great number of private school learners have already transferred to public schools.

“DepEd Negros Occidental is saddened by this because private schools are our partner in providing quality education to our Negrense learners,” Arnaez added; he also affirmed that the Division will readily offer its assistance to the said schools if they decide to open once the situation improves.

As for the Bacolod City division, in a statement quoted by the news outlet Daily Guardian, DepEd Bacolod City

Superintendent Gladys Amelaine Sales mentioned that the schools were unprepared for the shift to online distance learning causing their foreclosures.

Bacolod Rosario Heights Christian School Assistant Teacher Wilamae Pelagio shared that their teachers were informed of a possible closure if they would not be able to enroll at least 30 students this school year and were given their full monthly salaries until August when the school temporarily closed.

Consequently, in the same account, Sales pointed out a 25 percent surge in public senior high school enrollees due to the aforementioned private school transferees.

Nevertheless, Arnaez expressed how the schools that carried on with operations continue to thrive and have even made investments in technologies that would allow them to offer online classes, and that the department remains hopeful that the shutdowns are a temporary phase.

“We are certain that when

things return to the ‘old’ normal, these schools will also resume their operation.

The Division will give them all the assistance and support they need, especially in applying for a new DepEd recognition, when that time comes,” Arnaez remarked.

Moreover, Bacolod City and Negros Occidental have a total of 157 and 140 private schools, respectively.

As disclosed by DepEd

Bacolod City, the private schools that ceased operations were: San Mateo Catholic Academy of Bacolod, Inc., Jesus Children Academy, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Kinder School–Bata, Inc., Bacolod Fellowship Baptist Kinder School, Inc., Fountain Valley Christian School, St. Joan of Arc School, For Kids Only Education Corp., Angel of Hope Pre-School Bacolod City, Inc., Church of St. Joseph the Worker Learning Center. Inc.,

CFY Learning Center, Riverside College–Children’s Learning Center Dr. Pablo O. Torre St., Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Learning Center, Triumph of the Holy Cross Academy Bacolod City, Inc., Antonio Y. Fortich Academy, Inc., Bacolod Rosario Heights Christian School, St. Joseph Parish Learning Center, CEC Basileia Christian School, Inc., and Happy Tots Christian School E x t e n s i o n–H a n d u m a n a n .

COPING SCHEMES AMID THE PANDEMIC

USLS, DLSU hold MH webinar

ADHERING TO STRICT SAFETY POLICIES

Voters’ registration resumes

BY GABRIEL M. LEZAMA & KRIZZIA RICCI T. NEPOMUCENO

Following the downgrade of Bacolod City’s status back to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) on Oct. 1, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) declared the immediate resumption of voters’ registration.

Registration for the May 2022 local and national

elections originally resumed Sept. 1, but was cancelled again after Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s granting of Executive Order No. 60 which placed the city under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from Sept. 6 to 30.

“If the local government unit under their jurisdiction was placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine MARTIAL LAW

determination, and the right to information.

Despite these difficulties, he emphasized the importance of truth-seeking youth against government propaganda.

“I never lose hope, I know that the youth will always be there to fight for our rights and freedom,” he reiterated.

Mongaya echoed this sentiment of perseverance as he recalled the people taking USG DRIVE

[for] the next couple of days,” Cordova explained.

Moreover, she shared that there are still two remaining waves for the first semester, one will be in the first week of November allotted for the underprivileged Lasallian students while the last wave will be this coming December.

at least 18 years of age, and residing in the Philippines for at least one year.

According to Saril, regardless of the type of application filed or sought to be filed by an applicant, the steps enumerated for the filing and processing are: interview, application form, biometric scanning, and physical thumb marking.

“The applicant would still be required to appear personally in the office to sign the application form in the presence of the oath-administering officer as well as to have his or her biometrics taken,” Saril explained.

Although the process for registration remains the same, Saril noted that the commission is currently finalizing an online appointment system that would help hasten the registration operations and minimize the risk of contracting the virus.

Even if the system is deployed, Saril commented that the PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILSTAR need for biometric recording would prohibit No Registration”.

“Success or failure of a fully online registration health measures largely method.

Application forms can depend upon compliance of the applicants to the be downloaded via the minimum health standards COMELEC website, and the being implemented by the public is encouraged to do so before submitting at the Office,” Saril commented.

Procedures to be observed office on working hours in registering are identical to between 8 AM to 3 PM from the pre-pandemic policies, Tuesdays to Saturdays, with highlighting the eligibility registration lasting until of the applicant such as being September 2021.

(ECQ) or MECQ, they’ll have to suspend it,” Bacolod City poll officer Jan Anthony Saril stated in an interview.

Saril added that the office is taking additional actions by issuing health protocols that prioritize applicant safety, with policies centered on thermal checking, application of health declaration forms, and implementation of “No Face Mask and Face Shield,

to the streets when Marcos banned theater, highlighting the strength that the arts had in an age of suppression.

Moreover, Dava underlined the importance of fearless journalism, stating that it is the media’s duty to ensure that the truth is delivered to the masses making just accountability of the government possible.

“We shouldn’t be afraid to criticize the government and point out their wrongdoings.

If we silence the media, what’s

going to happen to the people?” she declared.

Ultimately, the media shutdown during Martial Law became the key to the 1970 Filipino revolution, showing how crucial they are in maintaining government integrity.

All in all, the webinar revealed that through the power of truth and free speech, people can fearlessly band together to defeat even the largest of tyrants.

Aside from food packs distribution, the USG also plans on providing financial assistance, load allowances, and gadgets for online classes to Lasallian students in the next waves of distribution.

When asked about the USG’s plans to have outside beneficiaries, she stated: “As USG Cares expands, we believe that the mission

does not only end within the institution.”

For transparency of monetary records, Cordova assured that the total funds raised from the concert, along with the corresponding liquidation reports will be presented to the Lasallian community as soon as all the processing and paper works are done.

MOVE FORWARD. Resource speaker Remedios Cubangbang-Moog shares the importance of mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to Lasallians.—KEILAH N. BALDOMAR

BY KYNAH RHEA B. FUENTES & KIARA NICOLE D. VILLA

The Guidance and Evaluation Center (GEC) and the Office for Student Affairs (OSA), in collaboration with the De La Salle University (DLSU), organized a psychoeducational webinar entitled “ANIMO Coping Strategies” to raise awareness on mental health among Lasallians amid a surging health crisis, held last Oct. 6 via Zoom.

The said webinar educated 507 participants from campus clubs, organizations, and Group Guidance classes with effective ways of taking care of their mental wellbeing and practical tips on how to cope with and productively handle the current quarantine situation.

“This is a time of uncertainty and a lot of you will be feeling anxious

[and] will end up worried about what is going on [...] Accepting distress is the most effective way to feel immediately calmer,” DLSU University Counselor for Graduate School Remedios Moog expressed in her talk, emphasizing that experiencing a wide range of emotions is completely normal.

Moreover, resource speaker Moog discussed the distinct coping strategies founded on the American Psychological Association’s five pillars of wellbeing namely: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA), and the Lasallian virtue of Animo, highlighting the ANIMO coping strategies.

When asked about how the two Lasallian universities collaborated, OSA Director Dr. Rowela Chiu shared: “It started with the initiative of the GEC to look for speakers who can help in assisting our students who could

be having problems with dealing with academics and coping with the pandemic.

Upon recognizing the need, we kept in touch with DLSU.” After some discussion, DLSU later agreed to take part in the program as they also acknowledged their social responsibility to fellow Lasallian schools.

Furthermore, Chiu stated that the talk will have its second run to accommodate those participants who were not able to join due to unexpected technical problems, adding that they are working towards making the webinar a series to have regular conversations with students.

“We are still discussing matters, but we are immediately responding to the need. What is constant is [our need to] respond to the current situation,” Chiu said.

Yearbook launches 2021 theme

BY GABRIEL M. LEZAMA

Last Sept. 25, the La Salle Yearbook uncovered its theme in an online launch through a post on their Facebook page as a tribute to the graduates of batch 2021.

Despite issues such as the online migration of yearbook procedures and the limited number of graduates due to the effects of the K-12 two-year gap, “Aura: A Glint of Triumph” saw a successful theme launching.

“We had to bring it [launching] online, taking us to another level of reaching our audience, so we were worried that the audience would have no interest in our posts, or we can’t reach batch 2021,” Editor-in-Chief Stephany Borromeo stated regarding their worries for this year.

The yearbook staff also faced problems with collaboration, as the team was not adjusted yet to the circumstances of fully working online, and was still shifting to messaging

apps as the new medium of communication.

“Procedures will be the same except we’re all taking it digital, from the subscription forms, yearbook profiles, [and] proofreading.

The most awaited pictorial will still happen once we can guarantee everyone’s safety,” Borromeo remarked in relation to the shift of operations, as well as the pictorial status.

The physical copy of the yearbook is set to see its release by May 2021 with an emphasis on quality retainment, although the team admitted that the

yearbook will be thinner this time around due to the limited number of graduates.

The yearbook’s current theme focuses on batch 2021’s Lasallian journey, and mirrors the memories, emotions, and challenges of the graduates, with an emphasis on their accomplishments as a whole.

“It depends on the graduates on what vibe they [would] feel from the yearbook but for us, we hope to remind the graduates that it is their success—the feeling of triumph regardless of the challenges faced along the way,” Borromeo commented.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LA SALLE YEARBOOK-USLS

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

4 OPINION

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S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

EDITORIAL

Millions Among the Sands

DENR still could have screened the potential environmental impact [...]

-JAZIEL ANN V. SEBALLOS

After almost half a year into the pandemic, news broke out about the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) P389 million “white sand” project along Manila Bay in early September. Criticism was raised as netizens questioned the practicality of the project amid the pandemic.

According to the DENR, it was part of the “Manila Bay Rehabilitation” project launched in January of 2019 which intended to beautify and reinvigorate the bay. The website also revealed that the project has three phases: cleanup and water quality improvement, rehabilitation and resettlement, and education and sustainment.

Despite detailed explanation, nothing was said about the restoration of the sand nor the use of crushed dolomite at all.

Though this project had already begun a year prior and the idea of improving Manila Bay is not inherently wrong, everyone knows what the road to hell is paved with. As campus journalists who also advocate for the protection of the environment, we condemn DENR’s unjust and harmful usage of crushed dolomite, their misuse of funds, and their sloppy damage control that ensued.

Given that the P389 million was already allocated, the DENR still could have screened the potential environmental impact and searched for alternative ways to mitigate both cost and risk. More reason for seeking out these substitutes is the fact that the acquisition of the dolomite itself wasn’t justified—it came from a 25-year contract in Cebu where the mineral was supposedly only for foreign export.

Moreover, despite DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda’s claims that “it will not disrupt the coastal ecosystem”, environmental experts were quick to posit that due to the unnaturality of the crushed dolomite, it will increase total suspended particulate levels in the water, effectively polluting it, and affecting the local marine life. This is supported by the Cebu Capitol Public Information Office’s report that showed corals within 500 meters of seawater had been killed due to stray dolomite particles that fell during transport.

Antiporda also said that the white sand is meant to “signify cleanliness,” because of course, simulation is the closest the government can get to actual cleanliness. And in line with baseless arguments, no t-posing Harry Roque, the white sand does not improve the mental health of Filipinos. A five-hour livestream proves this.

As this crisis-filled year comes to a close, the responsibility of calling out incompetence and flat out idiocy persists nonetheless.

We remember that apathy can lead into submission because after all, ignorance is a choice.

DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION

THESPECTRUM FOUNDED 1956

Would you be flattered when someone calls you

facebook.com/thespectrumusls · thespectrum.usls@gmail.com VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

Just by defining what it is can lead us to several significant points, yet I’ll rock your core with this main point: Development communication is a key to human development. The connection of the people to the society is strengthened by participation and information exchange starting with small communities to larger ones. People are led to action in numerous societal platforms: research, outreach projects, and community engagements. DevCom is meant to break the

Lance Christian M. Juarez EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Ma. Kristine Joy R. Bayadog ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Ivee E. Manguilimotan MANAGING EDITOR

Paula Mae E. Villarosa

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR NEWSPAPER EDITOR MAGAZINE EDITOR ONLINE EDITOR LITERARY EDITOR PHOTOS & VIDEOS EDITOR LAYOUT & GRAPHICS EDITOR NEWSPAPER WRITERS

Alan S. Villanueva Jr. Drexel John N. Amit Alyssa Nicole T. Maquiran Anna Maria J. Villanueva MAGAZINE WRITERS

Adrianne H. Saplagio Gabriel M. Lezama Elizabeth D. Fernandez ONLINE WRITERS

Kynah Rhea B. Fuentes Hana Patricia Raj E. Hautea Patrick N. Billojan Carl Hason T. Gerale Karl Brian T. Marqueza Alexandra V. Bachoco PHOTOJOURNALISTS

Keilah N. Baldomar Angelo F. Despi Inocencio John Keith B. Ferrer V Phoebe Daidoji Q. Jabonete Ma. Micah Dearielle V. Trajera LAYOUT & GRAPHICS ARTISTS

Trizia C. Hassim Mitchel G. Mariano Mikey Vincent T. Vicente

Shan Marc O. Jabagat Ezra Chrislaine L. Ortega James B. Gonzaga Meryl C. Sigaton

Jaziel Ann V. Seballos Earl John D. Pabular

LITERARY WRITERS

WEB ADMINISTRATORS

ILLUSTRATORS

Krizzia Ricci T. Nepomuceno Immalie Rose E. Cafifge

Angela A. Coronel Christian Dominic L. Ledesma

VIDEOGRAPHER

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Rodney A. Jarder Jr.

Kiara Nicole D. Villa

OFFICER-IN-CHARGE

Kenny L. Andaya

The Spectrum is the Official Student Media Corps of the University of St. La Salle.

Its editorial office is located at the Coliseum grounds La Salle Ave., Bacolod City, Negros Occidental 6100; it can be reached through the telephone number, (034) 432-1187 local 172 and e-mail address, thespectrum.usls@gmail.com. All rights reserved. No part of The Spectrum may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Media Corps. All contributions become The Spectrum property and the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to edit all articles for publication.

Cosmic

Kynah Rhea B. Fuentes

kynahrheaf@gmail.com

cute and archaic?

Hearing a compliment about being cute usually makes our cheeks flush red.

Even when called archaic nowadays, some take it as a praise as they are reflected as someone angelic—with no vices at all. Yet, cute can be demeaning as other old dictionaries define it as “ugly but acceptable”; generally, archaic of course means obsolete or outdated.

I would not spare my golden hour to talk about this, if not for Madame Senator Imee Marcos who kept on repeating how old-fashioned devcom is, capping it off with her “cute” remark towards the discipline throughout her conversation with Philippine Information Agency Director General Ramon Cualoping in a senate hearing.

“I really would like to understand the nitty gritty of this development communication because it’s so oldfashioned.”

Development communication is a medium which seeks to alleviate social problems and facilitate social development for the people in a nation. It serves the people with positive social change through information dissemination and education, behavior change, social marketing, social mobilization, media advocacy, communication for social change, and community participation (Mahaldar, 2015).

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DevCom is meant to break the walls of ignorance, the culture of silence and neutrality, and the concentration of power in the hands of government officials, which all contribute to poverty and oppression.

walls of ignorance, the culture of silence and neutrality, and the concentration of power in the hands of government officials, which all contribute to poverty and oppression. This discipline traces back to the 1960s, and the fact that this has been long existing [which prompted the ‘archaic’ remark] but is still a powerful tool to bridge the marginalized and the government is something to be awed.

“Hindi na sya uso eh. Wala na ngang course yan sa iba’t ibang eskwelahan [...]

‘Yun ba yung makaluma na tinanggal na sa ating mga pamantasan?”

De La Salle University (DLSU) Political Science professor Antonio Contreras debunked the above statement explaining that in Madame’s province, Ilocos Norte,

DevCom is offered as a program in Mariano Marcos State University. Contreras added that there’s an entire college for such course and development studies in University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and in DLSU, respectively. In fact, over 25 public and private universities offer a bachelor’s degree program in DevCom. On the other hand, USLS BA Communication Department Chairperson Jade Snow Dionzon echoed that DevCom is now part of the new Communication curriculum. Consequently, learners are exposed to addressing social gaps, urging them to work with the community and achieve remarkable feats while still in school. “For USLS Comm Dept, the expected output is a marriage of written research and community organizing proof reflecting the principles of engagement, reciprocity, reflection and public dissemination,” Dionzon shared.

Patching up these statements from various institutions, it is evident that DevCom isn’t totally cleared out in schools and in fact is an academic program being offered by numerous local and international academic institutions.

“It’s sort of cute and archaic.”

Something that still serves its purpose does not deserve to be called archaic.

Communities need current and accurate information rather than disinformation, myths, and false claims on any subject matter, especially amid the pandemic.

In this time and age, everyone has the power to create their own content and manipulate the knowledge of the public.

Thus, acquiring the right information is a necessity.

As social issues continue to exist, development communication will never go out of style.

Fortified by her burning enthusiasm for imparting lifelong lessons, Kynah Rhea aspires to be an influential educator in the fullness of time. She is currently taking up Bachelor of Secondary Education - Major in English.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

OPINION S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

PREXY RATINGS

Everything is Still Terrible five percent. Additionally, his overall administration’s COVID-19 efforts got an approval rating of 84 percent.

To a foreigner, this appears to be the expected results of a competent president, but from a Filipino’s perspective, the government’s pandemic response and performance cannot be entirely wrapped up in clean, rounded off numbers. The blind eye turned to medical workers despite multitudes of sacrifices and the millions of starving

Prima Lonzogna

Lance Christian M. Juarez

lancejuarez44@gmail.com

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On the fifth of October, Pulse Asia, a national public opinion polling organization, released their first midpandemic Ulat ng Bayan survey results regarding the ‘Trust Ratings’ of high government officials and institutions. Additionally, they conducted a survey regarding the national administration and the President’s management of the country’s COVID-19 response.

Both surveys had their data collected via face-toface interviews from Sept. 14 to 20 and garnered a total of 1,200 participants from all over the country. The math checks out for this because that sample size fits for a population of 16 million with a 2.8 percent margin of error at 95 percent confidence level—this is not the issue as the technicals were made public.

One notable takeaway from the survey results is President Duterte’s 91 percent approval and 91 percent trust rating, a four and eight percent increase, respectively, from his last results in December of 2019, with his disapproval rating staying at a mere ELECTION DEFERRAL

families hide behind a fragile layer of ego.

I believe the numbers are not fabricated and that Pulse Asia is a highly objective researching enterprise, but the high statistics does not simply mean he is doing a good job.

As staggering as the numbers are, a look into the specifics provide a bit of clarity and context. Thirty of the 91 percent ‘somewhat approve’ of President Duterte’s performance and as subjective as that is, it is food for thought.

For another, the social amelioration program can be theorized to be a strong influence for the 11 percent increase from the poorest socio-economic sector in the ratings. Despite the issues and delays it had, it was still cash given to people who needed it—something that benefits families directly.

Other explanations cited the idea of people solely

#CANCELKOREA

depending on the government to provide aid and the fear of having that aid be taken away should they express disapproval or criticism. Pulse Asia heads publicly admitted this while their president, Ronald D. Holmes, concluded that the public overlooked government inadequacies and instead pinned the blame on the crushing impact of the pandemic.

Asia Times paralleled the juxtaposition of Duterte’s ratings and the pandemic management to countries like India and Brazil, whose leaders also had more than questionable responses in handling their COVID-19 cases, but have high approval ratings nonetheless.

The severe dissonance between the ratings and the actual, borderline mortifying performance of the national government during the pandemic only highlights the latter and further drives the point that Duterte and his cronies know how to manage good public opinion over good governance in any circumstance, even during a global health crisis.

His die-hard supporters deflecting blame and propagandists hounding on dissenters and progressive groups essentially direct good reputation to the admin for somewhat positive outcomes in the pandemic—Duterte then appears to be separate from the corruption. The clear populism and pervasive mob mentality plagues the country just as much as the virus does.

While the all-bark show goes on amid multiple socio-political issues across the country, the Philippines takes the 18th spot in the highest number of COVID-19 cases globally with around 365,799 (as of writing) and approaches P10 trillion in total debt.

Lance Christian, 20, is a narcissistic pseudointellectual who takes interest in the obscure.He is in a continuous pursuit of knowledge and selfactualization as a means to find meaning in life.

So much drama, so many excuses

All through the years, so much has been put at risk when it comes to protecting and fighting for our human rights, we cannot let a mere idea endanger another—the right to vote this coming 2022.

The issue surfaced when on Sept. 24, during the deliberations of the Commission on Elections’ proposed 2021 budget, House Deputy Majority Leader and Pampanga 2nd District Representative Mikey

“

Yes, Senator. That is not feasible. That must not be made possible because this is a complete pitfall.

Arroyo suggested the idea of postponing the 2022 national elections.

Aroyo’s proposal was made on the reason that voters should not amass—from campaigns, registration, and voting—for it may result in a COVID-19 outbreak.

Surprising? Kind of. Absurd? Yes. Just how far can someone possibly go beyond his power, right? Just entertaining the idea of postponing the 2022 elections is tempting for those in power and jeopardizing for the Filipino citizens, how much more to discuss its possibility.

MAKABAGONG EDUKASYON

The clear populism and pervasive mob mentality plagues the country just as much as the virus does.

Some national government officials may have even thought about it after it was suggested, thinking that the current pandemic situation paves the way to push for it— the best excuse there is.

However, there is no way that they can push their luck any further. The 1987 Constitution’s Article 7, Section 4 clearly states that “unless otherwise provided by law, the regular election for President and Vice-President shall be held on the second Monday of May”.

The Constitution requires a national election every three years. The next polls must be held on May 9, 2022, ahead of the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year term by June 30 of that year. Any action taken to postpone the national elections is a clear violation of the supreme law.

I may also have my personal concerns as to how the 2022 elections will be done considering that we are in the new normal now and safe physical distancing protocols must be strictly followed, but surely, never in my wildest dreams would I want to witness a public servant try to stop the national elections and wait for another three years receiving unequal governance.

I could not agree more when Senator Franklin Drilon shared with The Source, CNN Philippines’ current affairs news program, that the postponement could be a prelude to the main objective of extending the terms of members of Congress and elected officials. The senator was not surprised with yet another attempt for a no election scenario but said that this move cannot be used as a de facto term extension.

Yes, Senator. That is not feasible. That must not be made possible because this is a complete pitfall.

Thankfully, the Palace was not tempted to entertain Arroyo’s idea and denied it a day after the deliberations.

Bel Fiore

Ma. Kristine Joy R. Bayadog tinbayadog@gmail.com

Our suffrage is the most significant exercise of democracy. Every vote of a Filipino citizen matters.

If all work together towards an ideal lawful country, all while voting for honest government officials, then we’ll be able to live safe and secured for the next six years of our lives.

Let us not waste this coming chance to vote—a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Because as citizens of a democratic country, it is our duty to keep freedom and the welfare of human rights in line. Let us not be blinded by mere election promises, rather be objective in thinking of the future, corruption-free Philippines.

Kristine, 21, is a 3rd year Operations Management major and is the current second-in-command of The Spectrum—a writer and seeker of truth, a twofaced anomaly. She was a lone star in her past life— nobody dared trespass her abode.

Class, c-can y-ou he-ear me-e-e? aaral, hadlang ang mahinang internet connection nila sa bahay kung kaya’t hindi siya nakakasali sa klase. Sa ganitong paraan ng pagpapaliwanag ng isyu, makikitaang hindi naman gaanong kalaki ito upang sulatan pa ng opinyon. Subalit, ang lalong nagpaapoy sa paghihimutok ko nang una kong nasilayan ang bidyo ay ang paraan ng pagsasalita ng guro.

Ivy Aguas

Ivee E. Manguilimotan

iveeechinm@gmail.com

“Akyatin mo ang puno ng niyog nang magka-signal ka.”

Hindi maipagkakaila na maugong ang pagsalubong ng kabataan sa bagong akademikong taon matapos ang ilang buwan na pagsisiyasat kung nararapat bang ipagpapatuloy ang edukasyon sa bansa sa gitna ng pandemya. Puno ng pangamba ang mga magulang ng mga estudyante sapagkat idinidiin ang pangangailangan ng makabagong teknolohiya upang makalahok sa online learning. Pati na ang ilang mga beteranong guro na halos itinuring nang tahanan ang silid-aralan ay nahihirapang iakma ang bagong pamamaraan. Buhat ng mga pagsubok, ilang beses ding sinubukang isulong ng mga grupo ng kabataan ang pagpapatupad ng academic freeze ngunit nanindigan ang gobyerno sa kanilang desisyon.

Kamakailan lamang ay naging matunog sa Facebook ang isang bidyo ng Zoom call na makikitang pinagagalitan ng isang guro ang estudyante palibhasa’y hindi ito nakadalo ng ilang beses sa klase. Sa depensa naman ng mag-

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Huwag sana umabot sa puntong mababalot ng desperasyon ang estudyante.

Opo, karaniwang senaryo na sa online class ang kadalasang hindi makakadalo sa klase ang estudyante at masasabi ko ring normal lang na makaramdam ng kaunting pagka-dismaya ang guro. Pinagbibigyangdiin ko po ang ‘kaunti’ dahil bilang guro, mas malawak ang iyong pang-unawa sa sitwasyon ng bawat isa lalo na’t hindi naman lahat ay pinagpala sa buhay.

Ipagpalagay mang maaari ngang bulakbol ang nasabing estudyante ngunit kung mayroon mang katiting na pagkakataong nagsasabi ito ng katotohanan, hayaan sanang mamutawi ang pag-intindi sa sitwasyon ng bata.

Opo, hindi madali para kanino man, pati na sa mga guro, ang paraan ng bagong sistema ng edukasyon, kaya’t hindi maiiwasan ang kaunting iringan sa pagitan ng guro at ng mga estudyante. Inuulit ko, pinagbibigyang-diin ko ang ‘kaunti’ dahil hindi nararapat na panatilihing may sigalot ang mga magaaral at ang guro. ‘Pag nagkataon, maaapektuhan ang paraan ng pagtuturo at mahihirapan ang dalawang

5

partido sapagkat madali lamang mag-iwasan sa online classes.

Opo, may kaunting responsibilidad ang magaaral na maghanap ng mabisang signal subalit huwag sanang iudyok ng guro ang mga delikadong pamamaraan upang makamit lamang ito; kagaya sa nabanggit sa bidyo na kung pu-pwede raw ay akyatin nalang nito ang puno ng niyog. Talamak na sa balita ang mga aksidente ng mga estudyanteng nais lamang makakuha ng magandang signal, mga estudyanteng ilan sa kanila ay binawian [dahil kinitil ang sarili] ng buhay. Huwag sana umabot sa puntong mababalot ng desperasyon ang estudyante.

Opo, maaaring may kaakibat na kaunting pananagutan ang mga magulang kasi hindi naman sapilitan ang pagpapaaral ng anak kung hindi naman talaga kaya, ngunit nakakainsulto ‘pag nadinig mong pagsalitaan ka ng guro na, “Sana hindi ka nalang nag-enroll kung wala naman kayong signal.”

Simula’t sapul, desisyon iyon ng buong pamilya. Isa pa, lalong pinag-isipan din nila ito sapagkat kahit kapos man sa pera ay nakaukit sa isipan ng bawat Juan na edukasyon ang makakapagpapaahon mula sa kahirapan.

Hindi kasalanan ninuman ang kawalan ng internet ngunit ang pang-iinsulto at paninisi sa estudyanteng hamak na walang kontrol sa signal ay nagpapahiwatig ng kawalan ng respeto.

Hayaan sanang sanayin ng bawat isa na punan ang pagkukulang ng kapwang nangangailangan ng pag-unawa. Lahat ng tao’y may kaniya-kaniyang bitbit na unos lalo na sa hagupit ng kasalukuyang krisis kaya’t nagsisimula ang pagiging huwarang mahabagin sa sarili.

Driven by her passion to wield the pen for truth and justice, Ivee is a student journalist currently taking up BS Accounting Information System.

She envisions a world ascending towards the path of genuine freedom—free from anything and everything else.

#CancelJumping toCancellation

Golden Apple of Discord

Paula Mae E. Villarosa

villarosapau15@gmail.com

Being on stan Twitter (the side of Twitter for avid fans of certain artists) or Twitter in general, waking up to my timeline blowing up with hate and shade tweets directed towards someone—celebrity, influencer, or average user—urging the rest of their following to “cancel” that said person, is not something new.

Cancelling has become one of Twitter’s most prevalent cultures.

According to Merriam-Webster, cancelling is the act of withdrawing a personality’s following due to their unscrupulous conduct as per society’s standards. So seeing #CancelKorea and #ApologizeKorea trending on the top of the Philippine trends did not, in any way, come as a shock to me—unnerving maybe. I simply thought that it was just another unnecessary stirred up drama that would soon be long forgotten like all its predecessors. Scrolling through the hashtag, I could not have been more right.

The spat began on TikTok when Hawaii-based Filipina influencer Bella Poarch sported a Japanese Rising Sun tattoo on her arm in one of the dancing clips she posted on the said app. After seeing her tattoo, many of her Korean followers educated her on how the Rising Sun symbol was offensive to their culture.

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Instead of promoting a free marketplace of ideas where everyone can exchange their thoughts in order to take a stand on something, cancel culture has caused Twitter stans to subconsciously cultivate a hive mind.

South Korea associates the 16-rayed red sunrise with the cruelty and anguish they received from Japan in World War II, for the Japanese military terrorized their conquests using the flag that bore the said emblem.

Poarch was quick to clarify how the tattoo was inspired by an allegedly similar piece from American singer Jhene Aiko and that she had no intention of offending anyone. She later added that she already had the tattoo covered with a heart and was scheduled for a removal for the rays. Despite posting an apology, Poarch still received flak from some Koreans who resorted to racist insults against her being Filipino.

Filipino fans took notice of this and were quick to defend Poarch, eventually taking the scuffle on Twitter.

Ironically, Filipinos attempted to cancel Korea with the same racial slurs that offended them in the first place. #CancelKorea is but one of the many cancelling trends that has [and will] plague Twitter. These hashtags merely gather enough flak to last a few hours—all that hostility and passion and [usually] not even a hint of resolution stems from it.

This is how cancel culture usually plays out on Twitter—people have become so comfortable with aggressively expressing their opinions to the point that they [unconsciously] harshly shutdown all other possible opinions about the issue because they are protected by the level of anonymity provided by the virtual platform. As a consequence, we are forced to side with the angry mob even if we have not thoroughly educated ourselves on the matter in question. Twitter users refrain from publicly stating their own sentiments for the fear of being ganged up on or being cancelled themselves.

In a column about cancel culture, writer Chris Bertram noted the opinion of how it stunts an intellectual, open, and enlightening debate. Instead of promoting a free marketplace of ideas where everyone can exchange their thoughts in order to take a stand on something, cancel culture has caused Twitter stans to subconsciously cultivate a hive mind—censoring anyone who does not agree with the general public’s notions.

There is nothing wrong with calling out people for their mistakes, however flat-out cancelling them for it, is uncalled for. As for the case of #CancelKorea, yes, the racist comments from some Koreans were unjustifiable. But instead of retaliating the same way and shutting them down, there was always the option to educate them and vice versa.

Paula, 20, is a 2nd year Liberal Arts and Commerce student—taking BA Communication and BS Marketing Management. She may be a campus journalist for nine years but her heart has always been within the many facets of the literature she writes and reads.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

6 UNIVERSITY

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT

The Burdens of a Future Nurse

BY ELIZABETH D. FERNANDEZ

In a course aiming to nurture empathetic characters, human interaction is crucial—a difficult feat during pandemic-imposed lockdowns and online classes.

Tara Angela Diva is a third year nursing student, who not only manages her lectures but also her governing duty in the Nursing Council. As an extrovert who thrives in classroom settings and being surrounded by friends, Diva expressed difficulties adjusting to the isolating online platform.

Especially in a course requiring

on-site clinical practices, and with her doing her best when her hands get dirty, a large part of her college experience has disappeared.

Furthermore, Diva confessed fears of being a future healthcare worker. Highlighting the low pay and high risk nature of her goals, she emphasized the need for a larger conversation about fair pay in the Philippine healthcare industry.

“Nurses existed before this pandemic. It’s sad that only through a tragedy like this that their hard work gets recognized,” she expressed.

Despite this, she has persevered, fighting for her ambition of saving lives.

To cope, Diva highlighted the importance of treating online classes like physical ones.

Maintaining routines, making daily goals and completing them ensures a semblance of normalcy.

While procrastination is inevitable, completing tasks on time lightens the overall workload.

Diva also underlined mental health, advising everyone to leave an hour a day for unburdened self-care, allowing yourself a moment of rest to simply just breathe.

“You are not alone,” she declared, stressing that despite the imposed isolation of online classes, every individual relates to the frustrations

brought by the pandemic.

Mostly, Diva credits her coping to her friends and family who not only love her but also pushes her limits.

This ‘good pressure’ forces her to complete her tasks and maintains her ‘achievement mindset’. Whether to rant, cry or study with, loved ones who support you are invaluable.

After all, who are we but the people that surround us?

In a time where computer screens seem to be our only companion, we need to take initiative to cultivate a community of care and understanding so that we may not fall into a pit of apathy—a virus targeting our humaneness.

An Omega’s Path

BY ADRIANNE H. SAPLAGIO

It’s not new for humans to be often unappreciative of the treasure that surrounds us—we are no longer consciously thankful for our parents who are the pillars of our entire support system’s foundation. We have forgotten that being with our family during trying times is a privilege that not everyone is given, especially during a pandemic.

Ryan Antoni Bignotia is a secondyear student taking up Electronics Engineering. Originally living in

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the high financial costs of living and education pried him away from the comforts of his own home and obligated him to fly to the Philippines to continue his studies.

Unfortunately, the pandemic made it so that he and his parents will have to wait months until they can physically be with each other again. This reality stands true not just for Ryan, but also for the majority of Filipino students from overseas.

“Even though our calls can sometimes last for hours, I still get very homesick at times especially when I

think about my mom’s home-cooking,” Ryan shared. Due to heavy subject workloads, there are times that Ryan has no choice but to give up his alreadylimited family time to finish all his requirements. It’s even harder for him to cope with his academics and talk with his parents since his access to an internet connection is limited.

As he is the type of person who lives in the moment, he never anticipated the difficulties of living independently. “I never fully savored my time with my parents when we were living under the same roof,” he added. There are

times when he took the small things his parents did for granted—he even started to miss the days when his parents would nag and point out his mistakes.

Ryan now serves as his section’s class secretary and the treasurer of the Institute of Electronics EngineersUSLS. He also leads a striving academic life, landing himself on the dean’s list with a 1.5 GPA in the last semester. He continues to exert his efforts towards academic excellence with the goal of repaying his parents in due course with his success.

Adapting through Adversities

BY KIARA NICOLE D. VILLA

In the midst of a global pandemic, second-year Psychology student Charles Patrick Cabrillos has braved through the COVID-19 crisis by entering the workforce in order to be active and avoid stagnancy.

Cabrillos shared that the moment the lockdown was implemented in Bacolod City, he enrolled in summer classes to avoid being stagnant in his home. After completing his units, he applied in a local Business Process

Outsourcing (BPO) company as an escape from lazing around at home and also earning money to provide his needs.

“Aside from the fact that I wanted to earn money and do something productive, I decided to work at a BPO company to gain experience and hone my communication skills,” Cabrillos expressed.

Working in a call center did not only help Cabrillos to prevent himself from obtaining cabin fever but also, when he underwent a short period of training for the job, give him a stable source of allowance despite the

declining economy and enabled him to improve on his communication skills, something that can benefit him in the future.

“However, the biggest disadvantage I faced was being in a closed area surrounded by many people. I feared that I might be exposed to the virus and putting everyone in my household at risk, so every time I went home, I made sure to dispose of my used clothes and disinfect right away,” Cabrillos added.

Despite the danger of the virus, Cabrillos realized that by diverting

his attention to work, he was able to maintain a sound state of mind. Most importantly, his brief experience in the BPO industry gave him a deeper sense of respect and understanding towards people who are employed in this career for a living.

“I once got into a small argument with a coworker and instead of getting frustrated, I kept in mind that we have distinct personalities and backgrounds. I learned to respect every person I encountered and not to degrade them because this place was made to unite diverse individuals,” Cabrillos concluded.

A Yellow Pride’s Fly or Die

BY MA. KRISTINE JOY R. BAYADOG

Delving into an unfamiliar online class setting for this academic year, proud yellow Eagle Mark Anthony Pereira majoring in Management Accounting had his initial drawbacks.

Almost everything took a turn from the usual when the pandemic occurred, especially for him who prefers to learn the traditional way—in a classroom setting, where more engagements and interactiveness take place. However, being a dedicated student and a constant suki of academic achievements since primary school, Mark will not let anything get in his way when it comes

to receiving quality education despite the sudden online shift.

He tried to equip himself mentally, emotionally, and physically, thinking that not even a physical incapacity would hinder him from achieving his academic goals. Though he lived with an orthopedic disability that semiparalyzed him, Mark will never say never.

“I was born with a physical disability in which my right arm and right leg do not have much strength... I started to walk at the age of 2, but walked limply due to an uneven length of legs. I cannot stretch my right arm with an open hand; it is always insensible when I am walking,” the Eagle confessed.

Additionally, knowing that he had to be well-equipped for the online classes, he initiated a personal donation drive, the “Piso para sa laptop”—a cause that aimed to accumulate funds to buy him a laptop for educational use and future work purposes.

“I saw a lot on Facebook doing such [donation causes] and it came to my mind that what if I also post such things because I know that this online class would need gadgets, and I also think that this will be a big help in my study and in my future work,” Pereira shared.

He was eager to continue his education through this online learning, and the only way he could do it was to adjust and initiate this cause.

“At first I was hesitant to do such a donation cause but what I did was [that] I consulted this matter [with some of my] classmates, friends, and family. They encouraged me to do so believing that people will help me,” he added. Almost a month after posting the initiative on his Facebook account, he was able to accumulate 58,000 pesos for him to acquire a laptop.

In spite of the emotional, financial, and physical challenges that Mark encountered and will encounter, he just couldn’t find any reason to give up.

His tenacity will always shine through life’s hurdles.

Sowing the Seeds of Success

BY MERYL C. SIGATON

Companies and establishments struggled as the pandemic impaired the nation’s economy, forcing vendors and entrepreneurs to up the ante in the business game.

Friction in the markets affected everyone— from conglomerates to shopkeepers. And indubitably, families alike.

Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English, Alliah Gail Porcadilla Jito from Bago City, shares an account of a fruit-stall owner’s life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Selling bananas and avocados, she narrates how commerce is failing due to the lack of people’s spending power brought on by the catastrophic economic failure ensuing the loss of jobs and therefore, income. There arose the need to modify trading strategies to counter this dilemma to which Alliah’s family resolved with peddling their merchandise around their barangay.

Another predicament was distributing their meat products as consequences of the travel restrictions. They sought afar for a solution to their surplus, which ironically didn’t fall far from home—making her realize that truly not everything is easy.

Enrolled in online classes, she understands and feels the same thing

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as students feel in terms of an unstable internet connection.

However, regardless of which, Alliah hastily wraps up her work to accompany her mother and watch over their shop, assisting in the business however way she can.

“For me, a definition of a successful person is not just finishing a degree but having a compassionate heart willing to sacrifice for his/her family because that is what I saw with my parents,” she expressed.

Another of Alliah’s endeavors is providing tutoring services to the children in her neighborhood—one she proudly disclosed.

Through this, Alliah can contribute to her family’s finances while simultaneously grabbing the opportunity to practice her dream and future profession.

Setting her sights on teaching in a public school, Alliah turns her focus to the road she must tread before getting to that dream destination, which translates to passing her Licensure Exam for Teachers, studying for a Master’s Degree, and being certified as a licensed professional English teacher.

“Look at the bright side of life because God has a purpose for everything. Let us be hopeful and continue what we started,” Alliah advised.

COVID-19 COVERAGE

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City distributes food aid Lockdown puts public transpo on hold

PHOTO COURTESY OF BACOLOD CITY PIO VIA DNX NEWS

BY DREXEL JOHN N. AMIT & CARL HASON T. GERALE

With the implementation of Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in the city from Sept. 8 to 30, the City Government of Bacolod distributed food packs to affected residents.

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia mandated the said initiative as part of the Emergency Food Assistance Program of the city.

The first and second batches of the food packs, mainly containing kilos of rice, noodles, and canned goods, were distributed on Sept. 10 and 24, respectively.

Distribution during Quarantine According to Pacita Tero, Head of the Department of Social Services and Development, about 40,000 food packs were repacked and distributed to 61 barangays on the first wave of distribution while about 35,000 food packs were distributed on the second wave.

However, to ease the burden, Tero tasked the respective officials of each barangay to distribute the food packs among their residents.

“The barangays have their own lists of beneficiaries so they should have their strategy to avoid the crowd in their barangay hall,” Tero said.

Prioritizing the Transport Sector Tero also stated that they prioritized giving the food packs among jeepney, tricycle, and trisikad drivers, not leaving indigent families and other poor sectors behind, as they were affected the most.

“Under MECQ, public transportation was suspended and so the [transportation groups] were most affected.

However, we also gave assistance to those constituents with little to no income,” Tero explained.

On the other hand, Executive Assistant for Barangay Affairs Butch Soligue stated that the food packs were not available for jeepney drivers

who participated in the Libre Sakay program of the city since they were already given the opportunity to earn while public transport was suspended.

Setbacks faced Concerning the second wave of food pack distribution last Sept. 24, complaints regarding the received relief goods arose as reports of expired food pack contents surfaced.

United Negros Drivers and Operators Center SecretaryGeneral Diego Malacad expressed his disappointment over the issue as more than 600 recipients from Barangay Handumanan were also disheartened over the relief aids that were no longer safe for consumption.

“If they are only going to provide us with those [expired food packs], then they should not give us a second tranche anymore,” Malacad said.

In response, Tero apologized for the incident that had transpired in a video statement released by the Public Information Office.

“I want to apologize for the things that happened since it [was] not intentional. Due to our urgent response to help, we did not know that the contents of the packages were not thoroughly checked,” Tero stated.

Tero then cleared out that not all of the food packs distributed have the same problem.

“If ever we have issues regarding that, it would be better that we raise that to our barangay so that we can see what we can do,” Tero added.

Provincial office inaugurates new Management Information System Local government units shall be granted access

be based at Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital Molecular Laboratory in Silay City.

“Governor Lacson challenged the ICT Department, the Molecular lab, and the Office of the Provincial Administrator to find ways and means to improve our Monitoring System for COVID-19,” Diaz stated, emphasizing that speed and realtime action is crucial to stop the virus spread in communities.

The new system will PHOTO COURTESY OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL be utilized to account data of the 31 local government attended by the police chiefs,

BY MA. KRISTINE JOY R. BAYADOG city and municipal mayors, units (LGUs) of the province, & MERYL C. SIGATON and officials from concerned allowing them access through a given username and password. agencies last Sept. 15.

The Provincial Government The Management One system feature is that it of Negros Occidental, led by Information System (MIS) prompts a 24/7 real-time list of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and which runs the platform was positive and negative results for Provincial Administrator developed by the Information every LGU with corresponding Rayfrando Diaz II, launched and Communication certificate printouts signed its new COVID-19 monitoring Technology (ICT) Department of by their respective City or system in a joint Zoom meeting the Governor’s Office, and will Municipal Health Officer.

Although only the relevant data designated for the unit is shown by the system—the provincial administrator discourages the abuse of information and advises the LGUs to utilize it accordingly as it contains vital and sensitive data.

A short demonstration, explained by Diaz and the ICT personnel, was done during the joint meeting in order to show the concerned LGUs on how to utilize and retrieve information from the MIS. Corrections on the data of the patient cannot be made and is a “view-only” application for all LGUs. Shall questions or the need to make any corrections arise, the unit has to coordinate with the MIS. “We will give you this access to our MIS system. Use it responsibly, use it properly, and only for purposes that are authorized by law,” Lacson asserted as he appealed to LGUs not to commit anything that will jeopardize operations.

BCD gov’t offers free mass testing Time-Out Weekend to cater 5k residents

-MITCHEL G. MARIANO

BY ELIZABETH D. FERNANDEZ & ALYSSA NICOLE T. MAQUIRAN

Results of the massive testing for COVID-19 positive Bacolod City residents amounted to 531 new cases out of the 4,384 Bacolodnons swabbed last Aug. 27 to 29 during the “O-Plan: One-Time, Big-Time” program under the Executive Order (EO) 55.

As issued by Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, the EO directed the mass testing initiated by the Negros Occidental’s provincial government with the provincial governments of Bacolod City, Talisay City, Silay City, Bago City, and Murcia town as the other five pilot local government units.

The four-day initiative, dubbed “Time-Out Weekend”, aimed to swab 10,000 Negrenses within the regions of the aforementioned districts with 2,500 individuals to be swabbed per day.

Moreover, a total of 5,000 testing kits were distributed among 61 barangays in Bacolod City, but only 4,384 residents were tested, while the other 5,000 kits were divided among the four districts, with 725 residents from Talisay, 315 from Silay, 800 from Bago, and 600 from Murcia.

Proposed by Provincial Consultant on Economic Affairs and former 3rd District Representative Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez and spearheaded by the B-IATF Against COVID-19 Chairperson Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, the program provided the 10,000 testing kits for free after availing a P35-million budget from

the National Government through the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

The program in Bacolod was held in 18 venues, with the government utilizing public elementary school campuses and barangay gymnasiums alongside the Bacolod Arts, Youth, and Sports (BAYS) Center.

The residents swabbed were only those who met the Department of Health guidelines on testing priority such as close contacts of an already-positive patient, immunocompromised individuals, residents exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, and high-risk individuals like senior citizens and pregnant women.

Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center Supervisor Melquiades Feliciano disclosed in a recent press conference that the city currently has an average of 25 positive cases per day for the month of October, which is half of the averaged 50 cases per day last September.

Furthermore, Feliciano continued to urge residents to visit the Bacolod Respiratory Outpatient (BRO) Center at the BAYS Center, where they will be assessed by a physician on-duty and swabbed for free if symptoms are found to be COVID-related.

“Part of the Emergency Operations Center’s effort is to remind the public not to be complacent, and I believe they will not… it is actually more of the awareness and the discipline of everyone,” Feliciano indicated, reinstating that residents should not be lax because of the cases dropping.

TALLY IN THE REGION BACOLOD: CITY WITH HIGHEST RATE

COVID COVID CASES CASES 4,384 Data from: Department of Health Covid-19 Tracker; Negros Occidental Covid-19; Provincial Government of Negros Oriental as of October 30, 2020.

-TRIZIA C. HASSIM

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DAR distributes land, machinery to NegOcc ARBs Negrense agriculture bolstered

PHOTO COURTESY FROM DAR NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

BY KRIZZIA RICCI T. NEPOMUCENO & ALAN S. VILLANUEVA JR.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) apportioned 55-hectares of land to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in northern Negros Occidental last September.

Among these were a total of 63 farmers, farmworkers, tenants, and tillers from Escalante and Cadiz City who were awarded governmentacquired land through the DAR’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Specifically, CARP is a program instituted under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, which aims to distribute land in a span of 10 years to ARBs who, as stated in the AgriAgra Reform Credit Act of 2009, are “regular farm workers who are landless, irrespective of tenurial arrangement”.

DAR Negros Occidental I, which is in charge of the northern portion of the province’s agricultural sector, aided in awarding the beneficiaries with land ownership certificates

P101.7M road projects to enhance tourism NegOcc economic development underway

BY LANCE CHRISTIAN M. JUAREZ & KIARA NICOLE D. VILLA

Four recent road projects totaling P101.7 million by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) seek to boost tourism and socioeconomic development in Negros Occidental.

DPWH-Negros Occidental Third District Engineering Office Engineer Haydee S. Alunan explained how these projects are crucial for both local economy and provincial tourism despite the ongoing pandemic.

“These upgraded roads will provide lesser travel time and convenient trips [...] as well as would eventually open vast opportunities among the local residents in showcasing [Negrosanon] products and services,” Alunan shared in a Daily Guardian article.

Two access roads leading to Kabankalan City’s Mag-aso Falls spanning 1.16 kilometers and 560-lineal meters were constructed while a gravel-to-concrete road pavement leading to Barangay Daan Banua’s Bird Watching Area was also completed.

With a cost of P29.4 million, the 1.16 kilometers long and 6.1 meters wide concrete access road from the national road leading to the falls included metal guardrails, slope protection, reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings, and a 1.5 meter concrete shoulder on both sides.

Meanwhile, the 560-lineal meter access road to the aforementioned tourist spot cost P9.4 million and contained slope protection, hazard markers, concrete shoulders, and reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings.

The road pavement project in the same city consisted of slope protection and reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings costing P24.5 million.

All in all, the three projects in Kabankalan City summed up to P63.3 million.

“The improved roads will also provide a permanent and convenient access among the people in the uplands for easier and faster delivery of their products to the market, hence would help improve their economic condition,” Alunan further explained.

The last project in Sipalay City is an access road with a twolane portland concrete pavement being 315-lineal meters long and 6.1 meters wide with a 35-lineal meter Prestressed Concrete Girder Bridge that included regulatory signage, slope protection, and thermoplastic pavement markings.

The access road leads to the city’s Sugar Beach and Langub beach resorts, costing P38.4 million.

which covers one vicinal tract or several parcels of land with a maximum of three hectares each.

“Make the land productive, engage in a progressive farming and business ventures, and keep in mind to pay your taxes and other obligations as new landowners of the land,”

Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer Antonida Yulo stated, urging the Cadiz City ARB farmers to be responsible of the land provided to them by the government.

Additionally, P5 million worth of machinery was turned over to the ARBs in the cities of San Carlos and Cadiz, and the town of

Murcia, including 10 units of rice seeders and collapsible dryers, five units of water pump irrigation system, rice transplanters, mechanical rice threshers, floating tillers, and hand tractors with implements.

Earlier in May, DAR also distributed land titles and installed 67 farmers in La Castellana and Bago City through their South-Negros based office, DAR Negros Occidental II. Likewise, Bago City Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Domingo Gatmaitan reiterated that selling and leasing of the distributed land are highly prohibited by the agency, further stating the responsibilities of the new landowners in paying property tax and annual amortizations.

Furthermore, aid packages including rice, noodles, canned goods, and hygiene kits were also given to qualified ARBs to support the frontliners of the food sector in the province.

Under Executive Order No. 75, DAR qualifies ARBs with the following conditions: a Filipino citizen at least 15 years of age; owning no more than three hectares of agricultural land; and living in the barangay where the land to be distributed is located, further emphasizing on the willingness, aptitudes, and ability of the beneficiaries to make the land as productive as possible.

Additionally, the beneficiaries may also include returning urban dwellers, rebel-returnees, and overseas Filipino workers who were displaced from work due to the pandemic.

“Such continuous field activities conducted by the agency are evidence that despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, the service for the Filipino people lives on,” DAR Negros Occidental I said, further insinuating to fulfilling their aim in providing for the landless farmers in the province.

Martial Law museum to stand in 2022

BY JAMES B. GONZAGA

The Human Rights Violation Victims Memorial Commission (HRVVMC) revealed arrangements to begin the construction of the Freedom Memorial Museum, an arts center intended to preserve the “true history” of the Martial Law regime on Sept. 21.

The museum is expected to be standing inside the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines Diliman by the year 2022, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the declaration of martial law on Sept. 21, 1972.

HRVVMC Executive Director Carmelo Crisanto said that the construction of the project is enforced by the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, an act that recognizes the violence during Martial law.

Through this project, Crisanto expressed the commission’s intentions to correct the growing “Myth of the Golden Era of the Philippines”, stating that the experiences of

those who were tyrannized

by Marcos’ regime are being overturned as “false narratives” spread at present.

The design of the museum, originally made by Filipino Architects Mark Anthony Pait, Mark Angelo Bonita, Audie Palm, and Wendell Crispo, takes the Brutalist Style of architecture with structures that imitate a fist and flower that symbolizes how the 1968 People Power Revolution fought against oppression and peacefully dethroned Marcos of his dictatorship.

The outside of the museum will be a dried and arid patterned land which depicts the People’s thirst for freedom. Upon entry, visitors will witness the Prison Gate and Hall of Agony which portrays the restrictions and torture methods and tools employed by the perpetrators of that era.

Moreover, the inside of the museum will house a Memorial Hall that shows the list of the victims of the martial law and its main attraction—a portrayal

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FREEDOM MEMORIAL

of the Aviation Security Command van that took Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. to the hospital after he was shot in the then Manila International Airport on the 21st of August 1983.

On top of that, the museum will also be made of 14 art galleries which will feature memento and artifacts of the victims of the Martial Law such as their sworn testimonies, photos, and related articles

as well as theatrical performances of the same subject.

When finished, this building will be open for the public and especially for the youth which, according to Crisanto, will give them an opportunity to learn the truth and “create their own conclusions”.

The building designed to occupy a 1.4-hectare lot in UPD is projected to cost around 500 million.

Kuwentong Kwarenta features local talents, caps care for environment

BY DREXEL JOHN N. AMIT

To promote environmental stewardship through various artforms, Youth for Climate Hope (Y4CH), along with the Diocese of Bacolod, Linghod, and Amnesty International– Philippines, organized Kuwentong Kwarenta: Season of Creation, livestreamed weekly from Sept.

16 to Oct. 7 via Zoom and Facebook Live.

According to Y4CH Coconvener Joshua Villalobos, their organization wanted to open the eyes of people that, alongside the health crisis, climate change is also a major dilemma humanity is facing.

“We wanted to remind everyone, by highlighting the importance of

environmental protection in every session, that a climate crisis is confronting us,” Villalobos expressed.

Likewise, Villalobos affirmed that showcasing local talents and cultural performances proved to be an effective way to spread their advocacy as it serves as a visual storytelling of the beauty of creation through music, poetry, and the arts.

“After exploring different ways of bringing our environmental advocacy to people in the new normal, we have arrived at the idea of utilizing our own talents,” Villalobos stated. “We also recognize that, in order to grab the attention of netizens, we have to present something unique.”

As Pope Francis’ “Laudato

Si’: On Care for our Common Home” celebrates its fifth anniversary, Villalobos said that Kuwentong Kwarenta can be acknowledged as a response to the said landmark encyclical.

With the event being a part of the 40-day communal reflection of the Diocese of Bacolod, Villalobos also shared how historically meaningful their theme is, citing the significance of the number “kwarenta” in containing epidemics in the past.

“During the Middle Ages, ships from infected areas were made to sit on the port for 40 days to make sure no one is further infected by the epidemic. This was called quaranta giorni in Italian and the term evolved as we

know it today to quarantine,” Villalobos explained.

As co-organizers of the said event, Linghod spearheaded the program, Diocese of Bacolod took care of the live-streaming platforms, while Amnesty International–Philippines helped in gathering performers.

Villalobos also deemed the program successful given that they were able to get their message of conserving the environment across to many people beyond the city.

“The fact that Kuwentong Kwarenta was able to reach people, not only in Bacolod, but even around the world was a huge success for us in getting our message of environmental conservation across,” he concluded.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

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PRRD debuts in UN General Assembly Local, global issues raised in multilateral confab

BY IVEE E. MANGUILIMOTAN & DREXEL JOHN N. AMIT

With the urgency of addressing local and global issues, President Rodrigo Duterte attended the 75th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly via video conference on Sept. 22.

Participating in the HighLevel General Debate for the first time in his four years in office, Duterte raised issues on COVID-19 response, peace and security, geopolitical disputes, the migrants and refugees situation, climate crisis, peacekeeping, and reforms in the UN. Pandemic Response Duterte called on the international community to produce coordinated plans and efforts in the midst of the crisis, citing that potential vaccines should be made available for all.

“Ensuring universal access to anti-COVID-19 technologies and products

is pivotal in the global pandemic recovery,” Duterte said.

The president also acknowledged the UN’s role in the battle against the pandemic, welcoming the launch of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund of the organization.

Likewise, Duterte gave spotlight to Filipino frontliners for their contributions in answering the call to combat the virus.

Issues on Peace and Security Unp r e c e d e n t e d l y, Duterte reached out to the stakeholders in the South China Sea, Korean Peninsula, Middle East, and Africa saying, “If we cannot be friends as yet, then in God’s name, let us not hate each other too much.”

He emphasized that given the military might of the nations he mentioned, human life and property will take a toll if the ‘word war’ was to shift into a real war

with nuclear weapons.

Half way through his speech, the president also blasted groups who “hide their misdeeds under the blanket of human rights” to discredit his administration.

Moreover, Duterte underscored the 2020 AntiTerrorism Act as an effective legal framework to withstand terrorism.

“Its enactment was done pursuant to our commitment and the strict adherence to the relevant Security Council resolutions and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy,” the president affirmed.

Other Issues Duterte was also able to underline the climate crisis, highlighting that it has contributed to the intensifying of the already existing inequalities and vulnerabilities within a country.

“We call on all parties, especially those who have not made good their commitment to fight climate

change, to honor the same,” Duterte expressed.

On the repatriation program, Duterte promised to continue “bringing back the rest” of the Filipino migrants abroad as half of the 345,000 overseas Filipino workers were able to go home.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, Duterte talked about the refugee crisis stating that the country is always open to anyone fleeing for safety.

Finally, as he acknowledged the UN as an important facet to humanity, Duterte stood firm to empowering— reforming even— the organization to fully achieve social progress.

-EARL JOHN D. PABULAR

CEd supports Ata tribe education via paper drive 60 reams for modules given to IP

BY ALAN S. VILLANUEVA JR.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHOMIN ABERASTURI

New job platform to aid Filipino workers Robredo answers unemployment rate

BY SHAN MARC O. JABAGAT

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) launched a job listing platform to provide new opportunities for Filipino workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as the country hit a 10 percent employment rate last July.

In a Facebook post last Sept.

10, Vice President Leni Robredo announced the launch of “Bayanihanapbuhay”, an initiative created in partnership with Elevatech Solutions, who built the website, and Sikap.PH, where job vacancies are posted and can be accessed for free.

B a y a n i h a n a p b u h a y, derived from the Filipino terms, Bayanihan and hanapbuhay which mean community spirit and livelihood.

The project aims to make job hunting easier for Filipinos who are looking for a source

of income due to the pandemic, especially those who are laid off from work, blue-collar workers, and Overseas Filipino Workers who were forced to leave their jobs abroad.

“We have been receiving a lot of SOS messages from people looking for work.

When we were doing our shuttle services, we had passengers who were doing door-to-door job applications,” Robredo said in her Facebook post, explaining that the initiative was created after her office received messages from Filipinos who are looking for employment opportunities.

As of Oct. 6, the OVP announced that there were 17,589 vacancies available on the website.

Among the companies who responded immediately to the call were EMS Services Philippines, Inc., D.M. Consunji, Inc., Lots’a Pizza, Concentrix, Empire East Land Holdings, AECOM Philippines, GET Philippines, McBride

Corp., Omni Petroleum Corp, and Solarwinds Software Asia PTE LTD – Philippines Branch, among others.

Moreover, the OVP urged employers from different industries for the past few weeks to take part in the project and sign onto the platform.

The OVP has been actively coordinating with private sectors to help address the problems concerning with COVID-19 by launching programs that provide personal protective equipment, shuttle services, dormitories for healthcare workers, and test and extraction kits for private and state laboratories.

Employers who wished to upload job vacancies may send their contact details to bayanihanapbuhay@ovp. gov.ph, while applicants searching for a job may go directly to the website and may sign up as “I’m a worker”.

The College of Education (CEd) started the celebration of the Indigenous People’s (IP) Month through aiding in the Ata tribe’s education with “Reams for D-Reams” bond paper donation drive.

Specifically, the donation drive was inspired by the need for bond papers as the primary material in module printing especially for the Bagong Silang Elementary School, the only elementar y school within the Ata tribe’s a n c e s t r a l domain.

“We are from the CEd—we are training future teachers, we are in the academe, so if La Salle will immerse [themselves in] that kind of project, it’s more suitable for us to also help them in the education a s p e c t , ” S e c o n d a r y E d u c a t i o n Chairperson Sheila Uy retold.

As of October 10, 60 reams have been provided to the elementary school’s 309 students with the help of St. John’s Institute.

Furthermore, the project stemmed from a greater undertaking of the college which mainly focuses on the implementation of the IP education curriculum, containing the tribe’s traditions due to their youth’s inclination to mainstream culture and neglect of their own, as

stated by the tribe chieftain.

“It’s high time for us to really promote the idea that when you do research, it has to help a community,” Uy stressed, driven by her devotion as a social studies teacher.

Principally, CEd studies and records the Ata practices to be integrated as learning content in the implementation of the IP education curriculum which is the objective of

mentioned that the collected A4 bond papers cut into four parts to create booklets, will only be worth two weeks of modules which are reproduced and distributed weekly.

“As the legacy of our past—our living roots, we can’t just plainly let it [the Ata heritage] die,” Uy urged.

The CEd firmly believes that their studies about the Ata tribe are headed

FOR THE FUTURE. The College of Education donates reams of bond paper to a school in Don Salvador Benedicto. —KARL BRIAN T. MARQUEZA

their project.

“We don’t really expect that many will help because of course, the demand on bond paper is the concern of everyone,” Uy indicated in addition to stating that only 22 reams have been separately given by the government.

However, she also

towards their community’s prosperity and thus, they want this sense of purpose to be carried in the college’s research studies.

“It’s not that you just have to put [the research studies] inside a book and then display them, the knowledge stays there,” Uy affirmed.

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Zoom raiders intrude, harass IRS1 class

BY ALYSSA NICOLE T. MAQUIRAN & JAMES B. GONZAGA WITH REPORTS FROM ANNA MARIA J. VILLANUEVA & EZRA CHRISLAINE L. ORTEGA

On Sept. 14, two uninvited individuals infiltrated a Zoom class of the University of St. La Salle, vandalized the subject teacher’s shared screen, and disrespected the teacher and the students.

The intruders managed to access the meeting through its link and verbally abused the participants, before the class decided to simply leave the meeting altogether.

What the students thought was a harmless prank by one of their classmates escalated into a Zoom raid, something they only saw on YouTube videos and did not expect to experience first-hand.

A Zoom raid is an infamous activity where internet trolls intrude a Zoom call to disrupt the meeting by vandalizing the shared screen or worse, broadcast offensive or lewd media; the trolls’ targets range from business meetings, casual video calls, and online classes.

In an effort to spread awareness on the incident, The Spectrum acquired statements from the students and the subject teacher who was in the said Zoom class where the raid occurred as well as insights from the Discipline and Formation Office (DFO).

The raid During a Lasallian Spirituality (IRS1) class, a participant aliased “huzaifa” allegedly vandalized the teacher’s shared screen while another participant named “zoom raider” verbally harassed the teacher and some of the students.

The professor revealed that while admitting students in the waiting room, he noticed two unfamiliar names that did not belong to his class list.

He also disclosed that he was unsure whether or not he admitted them from the waiting room due to the “admit all” option.

“I had a lot of people in the waiting room, so I usually click the ‘admit all’ [option], that’s why they were able to enter,” the subject teacher denoted.

According to the students, they did not suspect anything unusual at first because the class started how it usually did at around four in the afternoon.

“Everything was pretty normal, same with our previous classes, and then suddenly, a user named ‘huzaifa’ joined our meeting then greeted ‘Good morning, Sir’ even though it’s afternoon already,” a student noted.

Suspicions were raised when one of the raiders unmuted their microphone, began beatboxing, and gradually raised his voice during their teacher’s video presentation, according to a student’s statement.

“They started scratching the screen. It was at first just one scratch, but later [when we] continued our class, the screen was already filled with scratches, so I cannot read what I was sharing [with] my students and I even find it difficult to find the insharing control,” the teacher explained.

‘Zoom raider’ then started cursing everyone when the professor questioned who he was while the students tried to cast him out until the class eventually agreed to leave the meeting and continue their discussion through a new Zoom link.

“We actually told Sir [the teacher] to kick him but he didn’t know how, so we had no choice but to leave the meeting,” one student said.

Additionally, other students claimed to have heard the raiders announce that they were Indians before the meeting ended, to which the teacher echoed his belief that the raiders were speaking in “some kind of Indian accent”.

P r oto c ols considered Days later, the Information Te ch nolog y Department experts reviewed the professor’s Zoom security settings, to which they discovered that some security features were not set properly during that day.

T h e department also detected that the “annotation” setting was accidentally enabled for everyone and not the teacher alone, hence how the raiders managed to vandalize his shared screen.

“We had two weeks [of] training and there was even coaching via Zoom. We were having training, only that I’m not very techie,” he admitted, acknowledging his shortcomings that came with his age and further clarifying that the university’s faculty was briefed on using online applications before classes started.

-JAZIEL ANN V. SEBALLOS

Ongoing investigation Meanwhile, the DFO Head Mr. Kirk Koudroglou affirmed that they are currently investigating the matter, revealing that the link and password to the IRS1 Zoom meeting was allegedly leaked by one or two students in the class.

“Conduct like this has no place in La Salle,” Koudroglou condemned.

Furthermore, Mr. Koudroglou confirmed that they already have a lead to the identity of the perpetrators, who shall face a heavy sanction once their identities have been

uncovered.

Although there have been no recent reports of Zoom raids since then, teachers still had to make do with online classes while tightening their virtual meetings’ security measures. “[There are] no problems with synchronous classes as of the moment,” the professor assured, disclosing that he began using Google Meet as an alternative telecommunication platform to hold his classes online following the Zoom raid.

Nevertheless, the university’s investigation on the perpetrators’ identity is still ongoing.

USLS faces allegations of sexual harassment cases

BY IVEE E. MANGUILIMOTAN & JOSHUA L. MAHILUM WITH REPORTS FROM ANGELA A. CORONEL, SHAN MARC O. JABAGAT, & ADRIANNE H. SAPLAGIO

Recently, a number of students from Liceo De La Salle went online to recall some of their traumatic experiences and alleged some faculty members of inappropriate behavior. The posts spread like wildfire on social media as more people commented on the issue.

The issue intensified as a screenshot of a Twitter exchange between Lasallian Br. Irwin Climaco and Basic Education Principal Br. Francisco “Sockie” de la Rosa’s reply circulated on social media, hours after the basic education

administration released a statement denouncing all forms of harassment.

To shed light on the issue, The Spectrum has obtained a statement from the brother principal and interviewed officials from the Discipline and Formation Office, Office for Student Affairs, Guidance and Evaluation Center, and the Provincial Council for Women.

Out of context In a statement, Br. Sockie confirmed the existence of the controversial Twitter conversation between him

and Br. Irwin, but denied all the claims that tie the tweets to the sexual harassment allegations.

“Someone who follows us on Twitter took a screenshot and sent this to another person who, unfortunately, linked it to the allegations of inappropriate behavior and the complaints of victims,” he stated.

Br. Irwin, in a Twitter post last July 4, clarified the controversial tweet: “Most of my one-liner tweets [have] to do with my personal struggles. My tweet, “Snowflakes”, is about my

personal issue, for I was called [as] such,” he wrote.

Upon discovering the allegations, he set up a committee to investigate and offered professional counseling to possible victims. An institutional reporting “hotline” was created for those who wish to make further reports.

Zero Cases Liceo De La Salle - Senior High School Discipline and Formation Office (DFO) found the online surge of sexual harassment complaints unexpected since their office recorded zero sexuallyoriented cases within the previous academic year.

“It was a surprise that those things came out. Last school year, there were a lot of students who were sent [here] because of different violations but not harassment,” Liceo DFO Head Gilrey Vocales said.

The head discipline officer, however, pointed out that their jurisdiction is limited only to cases where those involved are both students and that incidents involving teachers must be reported to people of higher power.

“The DFO is only handling the st udent s-to-st udent s relationship. If ever we come across a certain faculty being complained of sexual harassment, we’re going to forward it to the Brother President or to the Vice Principal who has jurisdiction over them,” Vocales explained.

Higher Education -EARL JOHN D. PABULAR Unit (HEU) DFO Head

Kirk Adrian Koudroglou said it is also the case for the college unit.

Action in progress The Office for Student Affairs Dean Rowela A. Chiu assured the Lasallian community that they are already addressing the alleged sexual harassment claims.

Chiu shared that there are administrative policies and provisions observed by the faculty, staff, and administrators which also covers students who seek to redress via proper channels.

“We want students to be critical and to be evidencebased. [...] We [have] venues to air out your concerns,” Chiu conferred.

Furthermore, she was grateful that the issue was brought to their attention, but she claimed that it would have been better if it was brought to them directly and not through social media.

In their corner According to the Guidance and Evaluation Center (GEC), there are students who are victims of sexual harassment that come forward and seek help from their office, although not at an alarming rate.

GEC Counselor Marijoy Gaduyon elaborated that the victims usually feel scared and they find it hard to report the incident, especially if the perpetrator is around.

“We are here to see to it that their security and welfare are looked into and given priority. When they come to the office, we provide them with psychological intervention.

When the level of trauma is very high that it already affects the person’s normal life […] then that’s the

time we work closely with the psychiatrist,” GEC Director Joselito Diaz shared.

Gaduyon, however, emphasized that they can only help if the victim or friends of the victim seek help from the proper authorities.

Legal defenses In an interview with Provincial Council for Women Adviser Marie June PavillarCastro, she explained that sexual harassment used to be described by women as “a problem without a name” until the passage of the Republic Act (RA) no. 7877 or the AntiSexual Harassment Act of 1995, declaring sexual harassment unlawful in schools, training institutions, and workplaces.

“A victim of sexual harassment can file administrative, civil, and criminal cases against the harasser or perpetrator. The administrative sanctions or penalty depends on the act or gravity of the offense and the [sexual harassment] rules of a school or the workplace,” Castro expanded, also noting that penalties for perpetrators are heavier if the victims are minors.

Perpetrators can be arrested immediately if a report is made within 24 hours of the incident.

A case may be filed via inquest proceedings and, though bail is possible, the suspect can be thrown in jail.

“If you are harassed, tell somebody close to you or someone you trust. Also take note of details such as the time, place, and what the harasser said or [did] to you and how it affected you. [...] Know your rights and the offices you can turn to,” Castro concluded.

Certainly, the Lasallian community is willing to extend a hand for students who are seeking help as the institution upholds the importance of healthy emotional and mental stability.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

DEBUNKING FAKE NEWS

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

BY PATRICK N. BILLOJAN, ALYSSA NICOLE T. MAQUIRAN, ANNA MARIA J. VILLANUEVA, MERYL C. SIGATON, & CHRISTIAN DOMINIC L. LEDESMA

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Leni Robredo announces that she is ready to take over the presidential office.

CLAIM

FACT CHECK

A photo of Leni Robredo accompanied by the quote, “Ang Pilipinas ay nababalot sa kadiliman, ibalik natin ang dating sigla ng bawat mamamayan, I am ready to become president of the Philippines,” was posted in the Facebook page “LABAN PILIPINAS”.

The office of the Vice President denied that Robredo said the quote, and no records were found citing her of the full statement.

Although the lady official has said similar things in the past, but never all at once. Leni Robredo has no definitive plans to seek the highest post in the land. “Hindi ko siya masabi ngayon. A lot can happen between now and 2022,” the Vice President shared in an interview with G3 San Diego over Instagram.

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3

DOH approves the use of necklace air purifiers against COVID-19.

CLAIM

FACT CHECK

DOH claims that the necklace air purifiers could be used as protection against coronavirus disease, suggesting that the use of such would be effective against the virus.

The necklace air purifier supposedly surrounds the head with clean air by emitting negative ions that push the pollutants away from the individual. Additionally, the necklace can be seen being worn by President Duterte.

No valid scientific study has yet to have made concrete findings of such necklace air purifiers being directly effective against the virus. The use of the necklace cannot act as a replacement of the recommended equipment such as face masks and face shields.

DepEd conducts an online giveaway of free WiFi and gadgets.

CLAIM

FACT CHECK

The Department of Education (DepEd) is giving away free WiFi and gadgets for students without means to attend online classes. This was posted on Facebook last Sept. 15 by a fake DepEd page, detailing the mechanics on how to avail the online supplies giveaway.

DepEd is not conducting any such activity.

The agency debunked posts and messages of accounts claiming to represent DepEd, which called for entries for WiFi and/or gadget giveaways by following certain mechanics.

On their official social media page, the agency said, “Ang DepEd ay hindi mamimigay ng ‘free wifi and gadgets’ sa pamamagitan ng anumang online giveaway, raffle draw, o contest.”

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

Vantage Point

PAGLAUM SA NANARI-SARI NGA MASKARA

Sa kada pagsaulog sang MassKara Festival, bantug ang masadya nga peryahan, mga kalangkag sa kilid-dalan, kag ang mga masanag nga suga sang Electric MassKara. Ugaling subong nga tuig, iban nga mga maskara ang suksokon sa siyudad sang Bacolod (kag sa bug-os nga kalibutan)—kung sa diin ang mga de kolor nga mga panapton kag takurong nabalhinan sang gamit pang-proteksyon agud malikawan ang pagdapo sang masakit nga dala sang pandemya. Apang ang padayon sa gihapon nga pagpanikasug sang mga Bacolodnon sa pihak sang kabudlayan amo ang isa sa mga butang nga indi maglain sa bag-o nga pinaagi sang selebrasyon sang MassKara. Samtang indi maagom sang katawhan ang mga bantog nga hilukuton, ginapakita sa gihapon sang mga Bacolodnon ang ila nga tradisyon sa mga aktibidades nga nagahatag bugal kag kasadya sa mga pumuluyo.

Biskan lain kag mamala tulukon ang mga maskara nga ginasul-ob sang mga tawo sa ini nga tuig, ara sa gihapon ang sadsaran sang MassKara Festival: paglaum sa tunga sang kadalman.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

DEBUNKING FAKE NEWS

BY PATRICK N. BILLOJAN, ALYSSA NICOLE T. MAQUIRAN, ANNA MARIA J. VILLANUEVA, MERYL C. SIGATON, & CHRISTIAN DOMINIC L. LEDESMA

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55

Meredith Grey defends the Philippine government while shifting the blame on the Filipinos.

CLAIM

FACT CHECK

Seattle Hospital head neurologist Meredith Grey praises Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte for his skills in handling the COVID-19 virus, while also stating that the country does not have the “worst governance”, but rather the “worst citizens”.

Meredith Grey is a fictional character portrayed

by American actress Ellen Pompeo and the main protagonist of Shonda Rhimes’ medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.

Although the drama has been airing since 2005, no episode in all of the show’s 17 seasons included such a quote in their dialogue.

Liza Soberano is a member of the New People’s Army.

CLAIM

FACT CHECK

Actress Liza Soberano is a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) and has joined the organization Gabriela Youth, which is allegedly a “front of the Communists”. This claim was made in a YouTube livestream of “MAUI BECKER” on Oct. 14 which now has 52, 331 views as of writing.

No proof has been given that makes Soberano a member of the NPA. The livestream was made after Liza Soberano spoke at a Gabriela Youth webinar titled “Mga Tinig ni Nene: Reclaiming Our Voices” on the International Day of the Girl Child on Oct. 13.

Becker did not provide further information that can prove Soberano’s affiliation to the NPA. Instead, she based it on the assumption that Soberano joined because Gabriela Youth was supposedly a front for the NPA. However, Gabriela Youth is part of the General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action (Gabriela), an organization that advocates for women’s rights.

6

Wearing masks can cause oxygen deprivation and permanent neurological damage especially in children, a worldrenowned neurologist says.

CLAIM

FACT CHECK

In a Facebook post by Henna Maria, there exists a summary of a video message by neurologist Margareta Griesz-Brisson claiming that “masks cause oxygen deprivation and permanent neurological damage, especially in children.”

The video was removed by YouTube, however, the post is still available on the site with a thousand likes and 2.1k shares as of writing. The post, dated Oct. 3, says that “the rebreathing of our exhaled air will, without a doubt, create oxygen deficiency and a flooding of carbon dioxide”, and further encourages people to not wear a mask as it “must be the free decision of every human being” if they are to wear such.

Medical experts have disputed claims of masks dropping oxygen to dangerous levels. The World Health Organization stated that the prolonged use of medical masks, when properly worn, does not cause CO2 intoxication nor oxygen deficiency. University of California - San Diego Health pulmonologist Atul Malhotra said, “Masks are safe. The oxygen levels are stable. Carbon dioxide levels are stable. It does not impair breathing.”

Furthermore, masks are safe for children. The American Academy of Pediatrics said that the vast majority of children, aged two and up, can safely wear a cloth face covering for extended periods of time, such as the school day or at child care. This includes children with many medical conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, advise that children under the age of 2 to not wear a mask for the reason that they “cannot wear it effectively” and that “there are not a lot of masks that would fit a two-year-old.” These guidelines are not in any way related to oxygen deprivation.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

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Kalipay’s International Big Screen Debut

BY ANNA MARIA J. VILLANUEVA

It all started with a dear friend’s promise to return and tell a story of miracles.

When Spanish filmmaker Federico Cardelús first traveled to Negros Island in 2013, he met Kalipay Negrense Foundation’s founder Anna Balcells, as he and his team filmed a documentary on Typhoon Haiyan’s effects.

Through this, Balcells told him about the foundation and brought him to see the rescued children. Upon visiting, the storyteller in him said: “I’m going to come back here one day and write the story of Kalipay.”

A few years later, he kept his promise.

“Kalipay” now happens to be the title of Cardelús documentary, which won “Best International Film” against 500 entries at the international Bilbao’s Film Sozialak Festival.

Aside from this feat, it was selected as an entry for Paraná’s International Cinema Festival in Argentina. Once the hourlong Spanish documentary first premiered on Spain’s largest TV

station on primetime in June, good news awaited everyone involved in bringing a story of hope to life.

The documentary revolves around Balcells’ journey of helping disadvantaged children by providing them with education, shelter, and healthcare. Filmed at the two Kalipay homes and around Negros, Cardelús and his cameramen followed Balcells every day for a month, documenting the raw moments as they happened in real-time.

He would ask her each day: “What are you planning to do? I want to film that.” Then, he and his team would just capture it all. “It became real. The true raw. After all, that’s my day-today life,” she said.

Balcells describes the foundation as a labor of love that required patience, strength, and faith. She recalled the time she grew up in Talisay as a carefree and happy kid. Before her father died, he turned to Balcells and said, “Paradise is dying. Why? Because there are too many children dying in the streets.” She was concerned as her father, a Spanish national

who moved to the Philippines, lovingly referred to Negros as “paradise”. From there, he planted that idea into her head, sparking the need to be of service. Nothing, however, could have prepared Balcells for what she was about to encounter: children who have been abused physically, sexually, and emotionally.

There were moments of doubt, but according to her, Kalipay is a story of miracles.

What came after the documentary’s premiere? An avalanche of emails, messages, and calls asking how to help.

The documentary had touched the hearts of people, inspiring them to the point that they feel like they can try and do the same. This showed her the power of a well-made message.

“Going back to Federico, he really knew how to tell the story in a beautiful way,” she said.

Regarding the aftermath, Balcells hopes that the film will help raise awareness and funding for the foundation, which is critical for them to operate. Additionally, she hopes that it will invite more volunteers, especially among

NEGROS TOURS

Your Top 3 Post-Quarantine Travel Destinations feeds. Because it’s gotten increasingly popular over the years, you need to book a reservation before heading to the picturesque resort for a standard rate of P150 per head (with free unlimited native coffee!). You can pay a bit extra for designated areas like verandas and pavilions, but they don’t serve any food here, so you can either bring or cook your own meals.

Either way, it adds to the overall experience!

BY HANA PATRICIA RAJ E. HAUTEA

-ALEXAND

Picture yourself sitting in the back seat of a car with the windows rolled down, singing off-tune with your favorite people as the sharp wind whips at your face and your stomach hurts from laughing too hard.

Ah, how we all miss road trips.

Since the year began, we’ve all had many long-awaited plans and major events postponed to an indefinite time. After so many months of staring at the same four walls of our rooms, it’s come to a point where any venture into the outside world has become a luxury. Even during quarantine, we keep making plans for “after this is all over”, so when the time comes, we’re sure to do a whole lot of travelling.

When that finally happens, here are three go-to spots around Negros Occidental you absolutely need to visit: Balay Negrense - Silay City Starting off our itineraries, let’s appreciate a little bit of history. Along with The Ruins, this famous ancestral home is a staple in any tour package around the area. It’s sometimes presented as the “Victor Fernandez Gaston Ancestral House”, but worry not, because both names still refer to the same place— the first museum in Negros

RA V. BACH

OCO

Occidental.

With an entrance fee of P50, you get to take a firsthand look into the way of life of Victor F. Gaston, son of wealthy 19thcentury sugar baron Yves Leopold Germain Gaston.

The antiques museum tells more than a tale of family and luxury, however, as it was constructed in 1897, when Silay was the economic and cultural center of Negros. As such, this historical landmark allows you a peek into the rich culture, lifestyle, and traditions of the city during its glory days. What better way to start off your journey than going back to your roots, right?

Jomax Peak - Don Salvador Benedicto Now, imagine a sea of clouds overlying lush greenery as the sun morphs into vivid shades of orange and you inhale crisp mountain air. That’s the everyday experience in Jomax Peak.

A more serene tourist attraction, this casual picnic r e s o r t- s l a s h - c a m p s i t e is where travelers and Negrosanons alike escape to for a peaceful getaway from the stressors of life.

And let me tell you this: it’s the perfect aesthetic spot for your Instagram

Suyac Island Mangrove EcoPark - Sagay City To finish your vacation off with a bang, this last location can guarantee an immersive, one-of-a-kind experience as you traverse through the breathtaking heart of the Sagay Marine Reserve.

This eco-tourism park houses one of the oldest and largest mangroves on Negros Island, and along with being pro-environment, this area is famous for being procommunity. Guided by the principle “tourism enriches, protects and helps build communities”, you’ll hear all about how the mangrove forest has protected its people during natural disasters, and how, as a result, the people protect it in return.

Similarly with Jomax Peak, prior booking is encouraged, and although the entrance fee is P50, you’ll have to shell out a bit more for the boat ride from the Old Sagay Port. But the exhilarating escapades are more than worth it. You get the chance to go swimming, enjoy fresh seafood, and even take a detour to the nearby Carbin Reef if you’d fancy another small adventure. Of course, this requires more cash, but considering both you and the locals will benefit from it, a little extra money can go a long way!

And now, your postquarantine itinerary is ready. There are countless other places you could stop by considering how much history and culture can be found in our little province, but these three tourist spots are must-visit destinations.

It’ll take some time before these travel plans come to fruition, but it’s always nice to have something to hold on to during these depressing times.

What we can be sure of, though, is that we will have our well-deserved postquarantine road trips once more. It may take months or even years, but the extra wait will just make our adventures that much sweeter in the end.

the youth. “This is not just my story, or the story of Kalipay. This is the story of Negros,” she said. “If I could, I would rescue a hundred more. Once you start seeing horrible things with little children, you will never be able to turn your back again.”

With the do c u me nt a r y ’s over whelming success, the Kalipay Negrense Foundation aims to continue rescuing more children and raise awareness on the unspoken violences they face each day.

Thinking of the bright future ahead, Balcells smiled and said, “Only God knows what awaits us. More miracles.”

Kalipay (2020), directed by Federico Cardelús, is available to watch on Kalipay Negrense Foundation’s YouTube channel.

-JAZIEL ANN V. SEBALLOS

PISO MO, PARA SA LAPTOP KO

BY GABRIEL M. LEZAMA

Almost every person has had bad run-ins during this pandemic, and not a lot can say that they’ve come out unscathed. Finding solace in this period can seem like an impossible task, yet for some, this oasis came from the goodwill and generosity of other people. For those lucky souls, their goals were but one click away.

The “Piso mo para sa laptop ko” charity drive was an initiative that became viral on social media as a fundraising act for students who were in need of laptops for online learning. This drive began some time before the opening of the academic year as a response to the needs of some students in meeting the demands of this new learning curriculum.

The participants mainly gained traction by posting on Facebook and getting support from there, and the donations can come in as early as a minute after the post has been made.

One of the university’s academically excelling 3rd years currently enrolled in Chemical Engineering, Joebern Pongyan, was one of the participants of this charity drive and it paid off well for him. Resorting to the

drive because of his family’s financial crisis, Joebern took the courage to ask for help in order to augment and further strive to finish his studies.

“At first, my aunt told me not to post because I might be ashamed in the eyes of my friends and other people,” he said, recounting his aunt’s skepticism.

Recognizing his needs however, Joebern pursued this path and is now reaping its benefits. Having received an immense amount of support in only a matter of two weeks, he was already able to acquire a laptop shortly after his post went viral.

In an interview with Pongyan, he stated that while hardships are a normal obstacle in life, his family served as his motivation: “Despite [the] hardship, I am the hope of my family.”

Coming from a broken household, his optimism and down-to-earth ideals enabled him to push through the challenges. In his eyes, the crisis

shouldn’t be a hindrance when it comes to pursuing education despite the circumstances.

Mark Diaros Pereira, another fortunate soul in the university—enrolled in Management Accounting as a 3rd year—received his laptop within a month, following the generous donations of the public as well as the support of his loved ones. Similar to Pongyan, Pereira pursued this charity drive because of his family’s financial crisis and his need of a laptop for his education. In contrast however, Pereira’s family was wholeheartedly supportive of him.

“We may not be perfect, but look for what you can and are willing to do,” he affirmed.

Even with the struggles, circumstances, and origins of just two out of many participants in this charity drive, their desire to reach their goals, support from their loved ones, and faith in God are ultimately what kept them motivated, especially in the new normal. With their unwavering tenacity and willingness to ask for help when needed, the dreams of these two individuals are suddenly a lot closer now.

-INOCENCIO JOHN KEITH B. FERRER V

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

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Centenarian:

BY MERYL C. SIGATON

Considered as the oldest living Filipino, the 123-year-old native of Negros Occidental could most likely also be the world’s oldest once her birth records are verified.

Francisca Montes-Susano of Barangay Oringao, Kabankalan City was born on Sept. 11, 1897, grew up as a farmer, and lived in the antique world of rural Negros. She was united in matrimony to Lolo Pabian at the age of 14 who regrettably departed early at the age of 89 years old.

During Negros Occidental’s 117th Cinco de Noviembre celebration, along with the passage of the Centenarian Act of 2016 signed by former President Benigno S. Aquino III, Susano was the oldest of the 75 centenarians who each received a cash grant of P100,000 from the provincial government.

Generously blessed with longevity and fertility, Lola

Isca’s bountiful family burst forth from her 14 children— eight of which are still living.

One descendant, her eldest daughter Magdalena Ortega, is presently more than a hundred years old. Now with a whopping 364 grandchildren in total, Lola Isca is endlessly showered with affection and youthful energy. For the time being, she is staying with her 72-year-old son, Ernesto, in Kabankalan.

Still, with enough vigor to tug melodies from her harmonica, Lola Isca can still sit up, smile, and even speak. Demanding a little more effort from her now fragile body with regards to mobility such as standing up and walking around, her greatgranddaughter Helen disclosed that Lola Isca continues to keep a spirited nature. One such example is her refusal to get out of bed or talk when she was in a foul temperament, being fairly straightforward with her moods.

Transcending history, one factual tidbit to note is that Lola Isca was born in the same year

An account of the Philippine’s oldest

the Republic of Biak-na-Bato, the first republic in the Philippines, was established by Emilio Aguinaldo. Other memorabilia to add in her arsenal of livedthrough historical events are: both World Wars in 1914-1918 and 1939-1945; the People Power Revolution; and being able to witness the reigns of all the presidents of the Philippines.

Her timeline passed the smallpox pandemic of the 1900s, Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919, and she still has enough robust and ferocity to maybe even outlive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Necessary documents were already submitted and are currently being verified by international bodies such as Guinness World Records as well as the Gerontology Research Group, responsible for verifying and tracking people confirmed to be over 110 years. For the record, Jeanne Calment of France as the oldest person ever to have lived, bagging 122 years and 164 days under her name while the recently documented world’s

oldest person is Kane Tanaka of Fukuoka, Japan who was 116 years old during her awarding ceremony on Jan. 30, 2019.

According to Lola Isca, the not-so-secret recipe for longevity is a positive attitude and a healthy lifestyle which includes fresh-from-the-farm vegetables and abstinence from alcohol.

She likes to exercise her lungs by playing the harmonica every morning, and even occasionally sings with her grandchildren.

With a diet ranging from squash to eggplants to okra, she also sometimes helps herself to servings of chicken and beef whereas avoiding pork.

But what is it really—the thing that keeps us alive?

These are questions humanity is faced with, but to each his own. Lola Isca must have found what the Japanese call ikigai, or our “reason for living,” the one true secret unique to all, for how can one possibly persist to live a life as magnanimous and beautiful as hers?

PHOTO COURTESY OF MERLENE M. SUSANO

Negrense Heritage: A Culture Adorned by Countless Hues

BY ALAN S. VILLANUEVA JR.

A book is more than its cover; it has stories that are yet to unfold through its pages—stories that bring its beauty to light.

From Nov. 4 until Dec. 19, the brilliance of the Negrense people will be rediscovered and reinforced through the Negros Season of Culture 2020. This celebration, which is organized by the Angelica Berrie Foundation, will offer us a feast not only for our taste buds but for our eyes as well through assorted art forms such as: culinary arts, visual arts, film, and theatre.

“The vision of the Negros Season of Culture is to promote the cultural assets of our heritage and traditions, the unique identity of this province, and the talent of its people,” Baba Torre, President of the Angelica Berrie Foundation and former Vice President of Administration at Riverside College, signified.

Primarily, the foundation aspires for the 46-day event to become an annual celebration of Negrense culture and artistry for both the locals and foreign visitors. Torre dreams of these creative industries empowering the province’s image as a place worthy of attention for its unique culture and encouraging p e o p l e from other countries to engage with us.

As they say, the best way

to anyone’s heart is through their stomach and the Negros Season of Culture strikes just that. From the start, we are left no chance to retreat from the dining table as the festivities begin with two of Silay City’s food festivals: KAON TA! and the Adobo Festival.

In particular, KAON TA! flaunts local agricultural commodities and traditional family recipes such as piaya and batchoy, while the Adobo Festival prides itself with a wine and cheese event and, most of all, exclusive dinners and cooking demonstrations showcasing the ingenuity of the late Doreen Gamboa-Fernandez, The New York Times’ acclaimed “Filipino food’s greatest champion”. To cleanse our palates from this tireless eating, the former highlights art exhibits, musical concerts, folk dances, and games alongside an art workshop and a pop-up houseware bazaar in the latter event.

Additionally, Torre conveyed her intention to promote the province’s film and theater industry as she acknowledged the deceased multi-awarded Negrense filmmaker Peque Gallaga for introducing us to what she calls “big, bold ways” of expressing creativity while simultaneously

contributing to the story of our homeland. We are reminded to brace ourselves for blinkless enjoyment as they announced the return of VIVA ExCon—one of Southeast Asia’s longestrunning biennales—to Bacolod where it first came to be, for its 30th year anniversary and 16th edition. The aforementioned events will then be followed by the Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival and The Blackbox: 2020 Season.

According to Torre, who is an artist herself, the celebration’s exhibition of visual arts includes the Alfonso Ossorio tribute, DIHON Collective’s “Negros-Not-Negros”, BINHI’s “Pagsalo”, Welcome Home Foundation’s “Deft Tours/Deaf Encounters”, together with the Nune Alvarado and Brenda Fajardo shows.

“We are living in an extraordinary time, in the midst of a global pandemic, in a moment of radical disruption.

Our messaging is focused on the future. We want to inspire hope and tap into the creative spirit that has always been part of who we are as Negrenses.

We will survive this crisis if we foster a spirit of resilience and solidarity that our ancestors had, and what we hope this generation of Negrenses will carry on,” Torre imparted, enkindling support for their cause.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RAPPLER

Legacy lived, a legacy left

BY MA. KRISTINE JOY R. BAYADOG & EZRA CHRISLAINE L. ORTEGA

A trailblazer, a role model for women and minorities, and a compassionate leader—these are the legacies imprinted to her family and supporters by the first Filipina Mayor in the United Kingdom, before she passed away at the age of 58 last September.

Last June, Cynthia Alcantara Barker was elected mayor of Hertsmere, Hertfordshire in England. Prior to that, in 2019, she acted as deputy mayor and was once a borough councilor for the Kenilworth ward in Borehamwood wherein many have witnessed her selfless acts through charities and volunteer work for her community.

According to the Philippine Panorama, a Sunday magazine of the Manila Bulletin, Barker was nine years old when her teacher-mother, Nelia Bartolome Alcantara, left her four siblings and her father behind to work as an in-house nanny in the United Kingdom.

In an interview with ABSCBN News, the mayor said that Overseas Filipino Worker parents should make sure that when they leave their children to work abroad, children should be left with a firm family support.

“When going abroad,

you think you sacrifice, but actually, the children suffer just as much,” Barker added, referencing her experiences as a child with an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) parent.

Barker was a graduate of Oxford University, a member of the British Foreign Office and a founder of a nonprofit foundation, The Mayor Foundation, which provides support to Filipinos living abroad and their families in need. Her being a founder of such an organization made the Conservative Party notice and recruit her.

After college, Barker worked as a supervisor in a garments factory until 1983 when she moved to London to stay with her mother. After saving up enough money, she put up her own businesses in various fields like recruitment, healthcare training, and immigration law practice.

Aside from her career as an immigration officer, Barker has long volunteered for different charity and community organizations: as trustee for the Sixty Plus Club; chair of Trustees for Elstree and Borehamwood Museum; school governor; member and president of the Rotary Club; committee member of local National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children branch; and chair

of outreach and community affairs Committee at the Filipino Women’s Association.

However, many were saddened to hear her passing “following a bout of serious illness.” “Her death brought about so much sadness to her family, friends, colleagues, and supporters who believed in her cause and purpose. She was relentless—nothing was too much for her, she even thrived at being a mayor, always wanting to help residents with their issues.”

Barker truly left remarkable memories as she did not only bring grace and dignity to the people in England as an inspiring community leader, women’s role model, and avid supporter of Filipino communities, but also to the Philippines given that she was chosen as one of the 100 most influential Filipinas by the Filipina Women’s Network.

The Filipina’s loved ones reminisce her as someone who made a lasting impression because of her heritage and commitment to doing her utmost best to champion equality and diversity for all the communities in Hertsmere.

A mother, a friend, a colleague, a role model, an enabler for good—Cynthia Alcantara Barker will always be remembered by those she inspired.

—MA. MICAH DEARIELLE V. TRAJERA

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS

REVIEWS S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

17

DOCUMENTARY

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

BY HANA PATRICIA RAJ E. HAUTEA

If Planet Earth had a voice, it would no doubt be that of David Attenborough’s.

In his latest project, Attenborough tells of “a story of global decline during a single lifetime” as he leads us throughout his 60-year career as a naturalist in “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet”. In this Netflix documentary, his familiar voice carries with it both emotion and urgency as he tells the tragic tale of our planet’s gradual loss of biodiversity.

The motion picture begins in a place we’ve only ever seen in pictures—the site of the 1986 nuclear explosion known as the Chernobyl disaster.

The significance of the setting becomes clear as it’s relayed that the accident—a product of human error—resulted in a desolate, uninhabitable city.

From there, we can already draw an ominous parallel that sets the tone for the entire 83 minutes.

If there’s one thing in particular that stands out, it’s the cinematography. The entire film is decorated with the most stunning wide landscapes in the highest digital quality.

Every possible land and water forms you can think of—they had. From Irrawaddy dolphins enjoying a leisurely swim to

#Alive

mama’s boy by LANY I have been weaving through KPOP, musical scores, series soundtracks, and a few oldschool hits to bide time during the pandemic. But in humid, laid back afternoons when everything is bathed in a certain golden-tangerine haze, I just have to crack open my stash of LANY songs.

The Nashville-formed indie pop band always knew just how to pry open all our bottled-up emotions and desires in their synths, riffs, and lyrics conveyed through lead singer Paul Klein’s raspy vocals. They’ve brought us the butterflies from our giddiest moments and the maelstrom that comes with colossal heartbreaks. This time, LANY takes us on a nostalgia-laden journey home with their signature wistful beats and California sunsets in their third studio album, mama’s boy released on Oct. 2.

The 14-track comeback reveals another side to the trio—a softer, more self-reflective, and more emotionally-at t uned LANY serenades us with a 50-minute feel-good

rendition of stories from their home turfs in the South and their musings along the bustling highways of Rodeo Drive as opposed to their usual romance-andheartbreak riddled synths.

Their new record, mama’s boy, is a seamless fusion between their roots and successes, integrating key elements of country music into their signature synths.

From the album cover itself, a cowboy neon sign with a typical Californian sunset in the background, listeners would know right away that this would be a meeting of the two worlds that make up LANY’s identity.

Most of the tracks’ lyrics and storytelling mirror that of country songs, the folk-like retelling of events between two childhood best friends eventually leading one of them to fall for the other in anything 4 u, reminds me of Kelsea Ballerini’s country records. As the chorus for good guys comes in, a few southern melodies can be found in between their raw and euphoric sound. This meeting is more evident in cowboy in LA when Klein fashions his own Southern twang as he croons to a lover of how different he’d convey

living world,” Attenborough laments, driving home the harsh truth.

But all hope is not yet lost, he later adds. If we learn to work with nature rather than against it, there may just be an alternative future ahead—one where we can benefit from our land with ways that help rather than hinder. The last 30 minutes of the documentary is then spent illustrating the different solutions that can keep our wilderness thriving for future generations. It’s here when the call to action strikes, when you understand why people turn to veganism, and when you realize that even the environment is political.

All in all, there’s a reason Forbes dubbed this “the most important documentary of the year”. This eye-opening film puts into perspective that our planet has been alive and kicking for four billion years now and that we need it much more than it needs us. With narrations and clips from throughout his career, Attenborough uses his platform to share his “witness story” and reminds us that “in this world, a species can only thrive when everything else around it thrives, too.”

Let’s not repeat the same mistake we made with the Chernobyl accident. Let’s all take a leaf from David Attenborough’s book and treasure the life on our planet.

MOVIE

ALBUM

BY PAULA MAE E. VILLAROSA

orangutans gathering food with their young, there were multiple scenes illustrating the dynamism of wildlife.

The picturesque cuts of fauna interacting with flora are ones you’d watch with your jaw gaping, marveling at the sheer beauty of life found in many diverse forms.

Or at least, that’s how it goes for the first half of the film.

An interesting sequence found in the documentary marks the world population, carbon levels, and percentage of wilderness as the numbers grow increasingly alarming through the decades. From celebrating the stability of the Holocene era (which, fun fact, led to the creation of farming and the seasons), Attenborough shifts our attention to why such joy at our progress is shortlived.

It’s at this point, where the scenic cuts of wildlife start to carry with them a sense of sadness and guilt. When presented with the first-hand footage of waters dyed red from fish blood and the haunting white skeletons of coral reefs, the issues of overfishing and the warming of the ocean become more than worrisome concepts.

Deforestation and the melting of Arctic sea ice become more than just serious concerns. They become our reality.

“Our blind assault on the planet has finally come to alter the very fundamentals of the

his love.

The detour that LANY took was also evident in their lyrics; their previous releases’ were more metaphorical with subtle hints of ambiguity. For mama’s boy, however, each track was a direct recapping of their experiences— straightforward with simple allusions. Unlike the complex symbolisms in Hericane and vivid imagery of Malibu Nights, the messages LANY wants to convey is merely out in the open for easy consumption.

Yet, it works, seeing how the album requires such a level of simplicity and cleanliness. It’s packed with truths and anecdotes from everyday life that everyone can relate to, hence its honesty and candidness.

The order of the tracks stood out most, it felt like they were leading us through their journey as a band—from the beginning, the hurdles, and the takeaways they got from it. Opening with a hopeful and sweet bop with a harmonizing choir in you! succeeded by cowboy in LA portrayed their onset as a three-piece indie band.

After which, we’re led to their heartbreaks and conflicts in heart won’t let me. Later into the album, we submerge into their selfawareness and acceptance through a love letter for their parents in if this is the last time and a reconnection with their faith in i still talk to jesus alongside a church choir in the back. Topping it all off with the perfect acoustics of the friendship hymn nobody else.

Despite the different direction LANY took, mama’s boy has bared the same heart wrenching honesty and rawness whilst resonating things that truly matter especially in today’s setting. LANY’s mama’s boy is a no-skip album—a perfect soundtrack to all your late afternoon schmaltz and reveries.

BY LANCE CHRISTIAN M. JUAREZ

Even though dealing with a brainless hivemind out to silence those who aren’t like them isn’t something new, this time, it’s about zombies.

Directed by Cho Il-hyung, #Alive was actually based on the story of Alone by screenwriter Matt Naylor, who also helped Cho adapt this film for Korean audiences.

The zombie thriller was then released on Netflix on Sept. 9, 2020.

The Korean horror film draws parallels to the gripping isolation from COVID-19 as the main protagonist Oh Joon-woo (played by Yoo Ahin) finds himself trapped in his apartment for weeks after all hell broke loose. The popular video game streamer then deals with dread and hopelessness before learning how best to bunker down in his apartment unit and meeting Kim Yoo-bin (played by Park Shin-hye), another survivor in the neighboring complex.

With limited options, the two help each other survive and hastily make their way to the 8th floor where they meet another survivor and learn about rescue helicopters coming.

At initial glance, the movie appears to be one of those generic, zombie-inyour-face type of films, but the introduced dynamic of the zombies having some semblance of their humanity gave the walking dead a bit more nuance to them. They functioned as a hivemind, capable of communicating with each other.

The interactions between the main characters and the semibraindead horde made for some thrilling moments that did not rely on jumpscares and loud noises. Though, this appears to be one of only a few things the movie has to offer.

Spanning an hour and a half, the plot itself felt simple with a few plot lines to work with. This simplicity may help viewers follow the story but as a consequence, it robs the movie of complex characters and a more interesting story, thus narrowing its potential.

As for technicals, the

cinematography was pretty decent with consciously made cuts and angles, and along with its careful sound design, the film has its striking moments.

Contrarily, moments like the reveal of the evil-but-tragic villain archetype and the ending’s deus ex machina are nothing new in the zombie apocalypse genre as the twists and tropes of the movie feel more generic than jaw-dropping.

In terms of acting, Yoo Ah-in and Park Shin-hye embraced the characters they portrayed despite the characters themselves lacking depth and backstory.

Kim Yoo-bin’s role just seemed like the usual female survivor that helps and motivates the protagonist— she could have used more character development on top of the duo’s clear dynamic.

One notable utilization in the film, however, was the usage of social media. In the early minutes of the movie,

Joon-woo takes a selfie of himself holding a sign saying his apartment room number with the caption “#I_MUST_ SURVIVE”, keeping close what his mother texted him when the outbreak happened. This was then referenced again in the ending where the hashtag simply changed to #Alive before the credits sequence.

Speaking of the ending, as with the aforementioned predictability, was pretty underwhelming.

Most viewers can sense what was going to happen next, and even if it were different, there really wasn’t anything that could shock the audience.

Overall, #Alive is a straightforward zombie thriller that has its edge-ofthe-seat scenes but does not leave lasting impressions of unease or shock that more masterful films can imprint.

Despite this, its portrayals of social isolation, need for resources, and the fear from news all ring familiar and nudge the need for survival in solidarity.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

18 FILIPINO

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

Pagtindig ng mga Panibagong Alagad ng Sining NI JAMES B. GONZAGA

Kailangan ng isang malalim na pag-unawa sa sining upang maging isang mahusay na manlilikha. Subalit, sa napakaraming talento, iilan lamang ang nagawaran ng pinakatanyag na parangal sa bansa na maaring makamit ng isang alagad ng sining—ang Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas.

Upang mapabilang dito, ang isang artista ay hindi lamang dapat lumilikha ng mga obra para sa kaniyang sarili ngunit ay para mapanatiling buhay ang sining ng mga Pilipino sa puso ng madla.

Ngayon ay panahon na naman upang kilalanin ang bagong hanay ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas nang muling binuksan ng Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas ang nominasyon noong Hulyo hanggang Disyembre 15.

Ang pagbubukas na ito ay nangangahulugang lalabas na naman ang mga pagpapalagay at rekomendasyon para sa gantimpala.

Kapag ang mga usapan ay nauugnay sa nabanggit na pambansang parangal, ang pangalan ni Eddie Garcia ay naitaas ng maraming beses noong nakaraang taon. Bilang

isang potensyal na nominado para sa Pambansang Alagad ng Sining sa Pelikula, malaki ang naging kontribusyon niya sa industriya bilang parehong aktor at direktor.

Nakamit niya ang napakaraming parangal sa takbo ng kaniyang karera. Bilang isang artista, ipinakita niya ang kaniyang huwarang kahusayan sa pagganap bilang isang bida o kontrabida. Naging mahusay rin ang pagganap niya sa iba`t ibang kategorya tulad ng drama, aksyon, at komedya.

Bilang resulta ng kaniyang pagtatalaga at pagsusumikap, umani siya ng kabuuang 34 na nominasyon sa taunang Filipino Academy of Movie, Arts and Science (FAMAS) Awards at inukit ang kaniyang pangalan sa Best Actors and Best Directors Hall of Fame.

Isa rin si Leoncio P. Deriarda sa mga potensyal na nominado para sa Pambansang Alagad ng Sining sa Panitikan. Si Deriarda na isang lokal na manunulat ng Hiligaynon ay kilala rin bilang “Ama ng Kontemporaryong Literatura sa Kanlurang Visayas”.

Sa takbo ng kaniyang karera, nagwagi si Deriarda ng 18 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards para sa Panitikan

kaya’t kalaunan, inilagay ang kaniyang pangalan sa Palanca Hall of Fame noong 2001. Tumanggap din siya ng National Commission on Culture and the Arts Taboan Lifetime Award noong 2013 at ang Gawad Cultural Center of the Philippines para sa Sining noong 2015. Higit sa mga natamo niyang parangal, malaki ang naiambag niya sa pagbabago ng Literaturang Pilipino. Hinimok niya ang mga batang manunulat na gamitin ang kanilang sariling wika at kinumbinsi ang pamahalaan na magkaraoon ng non-two languagebased (English and Tagalog) guidelines para sa mga paligsahang panliteratura.

Dapat ding abangan ang pintor na si Elmer M. Borlongan. Bata palamang si Borlongan ay nakitaan na ng galing ni Fernando Sena— ang Ama ng Philippine Art Workshop. Binanggit ni Sena noong nagdalo si Borlongan sa kaniyang workshop na balang araw ay mahahayag na Pambansang Alagad ng Sining sa Visual Arts si Borlongan.

Ngayon, Si Borlongan ay tanyag bilang isang contemporary painter na ang obra maestra ay karamiha’y nagsasama ng matalinhagang ekspresyonismo sa konteksto

-ALEXANDRA V. BACHOCO

ng sambayanang Pilipino.

Noong 1994, natanggap niya ang Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artist Award.

Pagkatapos, ang kaniyang akda ay naging tanyag at pinaka-hinahanap ng mga kolektor sa TimogSilangang Asya. Natanggap din niya ang Award for Continuing Excellence and Service, Metrobank Foundation noong 2014.

Dahil sa mga pagkilalang ito,

naparating ni Borlongan ang Sining ng Pilipino sa labas ng bansa.

Iilan lamang sila sa mga Filipino artist na maaaring maging kwalipikado para sa Gawad ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining. Marami pang mga mahuhusay na manlilikha ng sining ang hindi pa nakikilala ng publiko.

Gayunpaman, inaasahan na magiging maayos ang proseso ng

pagpili sapagkat ang gawad na ito ay sumisimbolo sa pagkamalikhain at pagkamaimpluwensya ng mga Pilipino.

Nawa’y sa prosesong ito ay maitaas ang tunay na talento at kabuluhan ng pagiging isang mahusay na manlilikha ng sining, na hindi lamang nababase sa mga nahakot at natanggap na parangal kundi sa tunay na diwa ng pagiging isang artista.

Anong uri ng Pilipinong botante ka?

NI PATRICK N. BILLOJAN

-JAZIEL ANN V. SEBALLOS

Maka-Pilipino pa ba ang hindi mula sa Pilipino?

NI MA. KRISTINE JOY R. BAYADOG

Filipinx.

Kung iniisip mong isa lamang itong pagkakamali sa paglilimbag, mali ka. Ang Filipinx na binibigkas bilang “filipineks” o “filipinks” ay isang katagang genderneutral na ginagamit sa paglalayong kilalanin ang mga Pilipin*ng kasarian kapalit ng panlalaking katawagan na Pilipino o pambabaeng katawagan na Pilipina.

Malimit o walang mga pagkakataong naibabanggit ang salitang ito sa Pilipinas dahil ito ay ginagamit na salitang tumutukoy sa mga pilipin*ng naninirahan sa bansang banyaga, lalo na sa United States. Ginaya at nilikha ang kontrobersyal na salitang ito ng mga Pilipin*–Amerikano mula sa katagang “Latinx”.

Ito ay mula sa pagnanais na magkaroon ng sentralisadong katawagan ang mga pilipin*ng miyembro ng samahang LGBTQ na nasa kanluraning bansa, upang maiwasan ang pansariang diskriminasyon.

“Magandang hakbang na nagkakaroon tayo ng recognition at ng consciousness-raising hinggil sa mga gender-neutral na words,” palagay ni Mykel Andrada, direktor ng Sentro ng Wikang Filipino ng

University of the Philippines - Diliman. Ayon pa sa kanya, tama na magkaroon ng bagong termino na maaaring gamitin ng anumang kasarian. Ito ay bahagi lamang ng mga pagbabagong nagaganap sa bawat parte ng mundo.

Kahit na hindi pa kinikilala ang Filipinx bilang isang opisyal na salita sa buong mundo o sa diksyonaryong Filipino, maraming banyaga na ang nasanay sa paggamit nito, kagaya na lamang ng ibang mamamahayag sa United States.

“Binago lamang ‘yong ‘o’ para sa male at ‘a’ para sa female at ginawang ‘x’ para wala nang dibisyon sa pagitan ng babae o lalaki,” pagsangayon ni Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino Commissioner Arthur Casanova.

Dagdag pa ng komisyoner ay ayos lang na gamitin ang bagong salita sapagkat maaaring ito ay identidad ng isang pangkat o maaaring umiiwas sa diskriminasyon ang pangkat na tinutukoy.

Habang ang iba ay maaaring maging interesado sa paggamit ng katagang ito, mayroon namang tradisyonal at konserbatibong pananaw ang ibang kababayan natin, at iniisip na ang salitang “Filipinx” ay isang pangungutya sa pagiging totoong Pilipino.

Ayon sa karamihan, ang

salitang “Filipino” mismo, na tumutukoy sa parehong nasyonalidad at pambansang wika ng Pilipinas, ay isang katagang gender-neutral at hindi na dapat ibahin pa.

Salungat sa opinyong konserbatibo ay pinapaalala ng mga eksperto na dapat tandaan ng publiko na ang wika ay nagbabago sa paglipas ng panahon.

“Tatandaan natin palagi na ‘yong wika, dinamiko ‘yan.

Kapag sinabi natin na dynamic, it is always in constant change—lagi ‘yan nagbabago,” saad ni Andrada.

Ang argumento ukol sa paggamit ng salitang Filipinx ay patuloy na nag-iingay sa Twitter at iba pang social media sites. “Simula kailan pa naging katagang gender-neutral ang ‘Filipinx’ para sa ‘Pilipino’ kung gender-neutral na ito mismo?

Walang babaeng tumatawag sa kanilang sariling ‘Filipina’ bilang kanilang nasyonalidad,” saad ng isang Twitter user na nagpahayag ng kanyang sariling saloobin.

Samu’t sari ang konserbatibo at liberal na mga pananaw ukol sa pagbabago ng wika o anumang paksa ngunit isa lamang ang sigurado— matatag ang saligan ng pagkakakilanlan ng isang mamamayang makabayan, ilang dekada man ang magdaan.

Sagana ang ating bansa sa mga likas na yaman. Ito ang pangunahing pinagkukunan ng mga pangangailangan ng sambayanan na siya ring nagsisilbing protekta laban sa sakuna ngunit habang tumatagal ay hindi natin namamalayang unti-unti nang nasisira ang kapaligirang noon ay puno ng kasaganahan. Tila ba gumuguho ito—hindi dahil sa natural na kalamidad, kundi dulot ng mga hindi kaaya-ayang organismo na ang kadalasang dulot ay perwisyo. Upang lubos nating maintindihan ang suliranin, dapat munang siyasatin ang mga organismong namamahay rito.

Mayroong dalawang uri ng organismo na naninirahan sa ating kapaligiran—huwaran at suwail. Matalino sa pagpili, nakikinig sa tamang balita, at hindi nagpapalinlang sa mga matatamis na mga pangako— sila ang maituturing na mga huwarang organismo.

Samantala, ang mga botante namang nakaabang sa yakap ng sikat na politiko, naghihintay sa mahabang pila para makatanggap ng pera, at pumipili dahil wala nang iba ay maituturing namang mga suwail.

Noon, matiwasay na namumuhay ang lahat. Subalit nag-iba ang ihip ng hangin nang dumami ang mga suwail na organismo. Dahil dito, nahihirapan ang mga huwarang organismo na hatakin at bawiin ang perwisyong idinudulot ng kabila. Nasa kamay ng mga huwaran ang pagbabagong ilang dekada na nilang inaasam.

Nakalista sa ibaba ang mga organismo na sumisira sa ating lipunan. Gawin ang iyong parte at huwag niyo silang tularan.

Pila-pila (Meyurpingeh Fierah) Ang mga nilalang na ito ay matatagpuan kahit saan. Ibaiba man ang kanilang itsura, tindig, at pananalita, mayroon silang natatanging kinagawian na hindi maihahalintulad sa iba—ang maghintay kasama ang kanilang mga kauri sa isang pila na animo’y nag-aabang ng milagro.

Sabay-sabay silang hahakbang patungo sa kanilang destinasyon, kuskos ang mga

kamay na handang makahaplos ng salapi. Paglatag ng papel sa palad ay sisilong ang ngiti sa mga labi. Saka sila uuwi sa kanilang mga lungga na may bitbit na dalawang papel: papel na may guhit ng mukha at papel na may nakalistang mga pangalan.

Isadalawatatlo(Xaxosunoid Nhalong) Kung ikaw naman ang tipong handang sumubok sa mga hamon ng buhay, ang mga nilalang na ito ang pasok sa iyo. Madalas silang nakahilata at nakatago na parang walang pakialam sa kapaligiran. Kahit alam na nilang panahon na para lumabas, magparehistro, at bumoto, mananatili na lang silang walang kibo sa isang tabi sabay sambit ng mga linyang: “Sila-sila pa rin naman ang mamumuno riyan, kaya ‘wag na lang.” Kapag hindi na nila kaya ang nangyayari sa komunidad, sa social media ang tungo nila, mag-aalburoto sa galit dahil mali-mali daw ang sistema.

Pa-hug (Gowaefouh Niefo) Bitbit ang kanilang kamera, ang mga nilalang na ito ay matiyagang naghihintay at nanunuod sa mga parada.

Upang mabilis silang masilayan, maghanap lamang ng gwapo at sikat na politiko at tiyak, may makikita kayong Gowaefouh Nieno doon.

Ang pangungumbinsi sa mga nilalang na ito ay isang mahirap na trabaho sapagkat

sila’y hindi nagpapalinlang, maliban na lang kung ikaw ay mas makisig at sikat.

Pula-puti(SenkeyoDaonaku) Marahil ang mga nilalang na ito ang pinakamabagal sa lahat. Hinihintay muna nila kung sinu-sino ang may mga pinakamalaking probabilidad na manalo upang doon din sila boboto. Kanilang ipagsasawalang bahala ang mas kwalipikado kung mababa lamang ang pagkakataon nitong manalo. Sabay sa gawi at desisyon ng nakararami, ang mga nilalang na ito ay mahirap ding mahagilap, sapagakat magaling silang magtago at makibagay sa iba pang mga nilikha.

Marami pang hindi kaaya-ayang organismo ang napapabilang sa listahan na nasa itaas. Ngunit, ang apat na ito ang maituturing na pinakamapinsala sa lahat.

Buksan natin ang ating isipan sa maayos na pagbabago hindi lamang para sa ating sarili kundi pati na sa mga susunod pang henerasyon.

Kaya’t kung magkataong masilayan ninyo ang isa sa mga nilalang na nabanggit, hikayatin niyo silang magsukli ng kariktan sa kalikasang kanilang pinanggalingan.

Dahil walang katumbas na pera, litrato, oras, at boto, ang makakapagpabago sa ating lipunan.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

-TRIZIA C. HASSIM & MIKEY VINCENT T. VICENTE

FILIPINO S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

19

‘Libre Sakay’ ginpatuman sa idalom sang MECQ Frontliners, libre ang transportasyon NI SHAN MARC O. JABAGAT

Nagpatuman sang “Libre Sakay” nga programa ang siyudad sang Bacolod para sa mga medical kag essential workers humalin Setyembre 14 tubtob Setyembre 30 samtang nagapaidalum sa Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ).

Nagtigana ang lokal nga gobyerno sang 63 ka pampubliko nga salakyan nga nagbiyahe sa pito ka ruta halin 4:30 sang aga hasta 10:30 sang gab-i nga may tig-duha ka oras nga antaray sa Bacolod City Plaza bilang central drop-off area.

Ang pito ka ruta nga ginpahamtang sang Bacolod Traffic Authority Office nagsugod sa Barangay Granada, Estefania, Bata, Handumanan, Mansilingan, Banago, kag Sum-ag.

Kada ruta gintugyanan sang tig-anom ka dyip—tatlo para

sa medical frontliners kag tatlo para sa essential service personnel.

Ginpatuman ang programa para solusyonan ang problema sa pampubliko nga salakyan sa siyudad samtang ginadumilian pa ang pagbiyahe sa mga lugar nga nahamtang sa MECQ angot sa mando sang Inter-Agency Task Force, suno kay Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

Nakabaton ang mga drayber sang P300 kada biyahe nga kung sumahon P3,000 sa bilog nga pulo ka round-trip sa isa ka adlaw halin sa Department of Social Services and Development Isa si Rudy Catedral, presidente sang Metro Bacolod Mansilingan Drivers Association, sa mga nakabenepisyo sa Libre Sakay program sang lokal nga gobyerno.

“Madako gid ang nabulig [sang sini nga programa]. Una palang daan, wala kami daan sang income sang ina nga tinion sang pandemya tungod total

lockdown kag wala transport,” hambal ni Catedral.

Dugang pa niya, para mapaigo ang tanan nga miyembro sang organisasyon, 18 ka jeepney units ang ginpagwa adlaw-adlaw, tig-siyam sa aga kag sa hapon.

Apang naka-benepisyo ang mga drayber sa pito ka ruta, wala napaidalom ang Brgy. Taculing sa nasambit nga programa.

Suno kay Leandro Dumdum, isa ka jeepney drayber sang Taculing-Central Market, wala siya kabalo kung ano ang pamaagi sang programa bangud van ang nagapadulong sa ila alagyan.

“Ang amon presidente wala man siguro nag-attend sa miting, amo man nga wala may nakuha sa amon,” sugpon niya.

Subong nagbalik na sa General Community Quarantine ang siyudad kag nakabaton na sang bayad ang tanan nga 828 ka mga drayber nga nakigbahin sa “Libre Sakay” na programa nga ginpatuman sa sulod sang 15 ka adlaw.

PALANAN-AWON. Nagahulat ang isa ka drayber nga mabuta sang pasahero ang iya nga dyip sa paradahan. —KARL BRIAN T. MARQUEZA

Resolusyon batok sa renta, ginasulong Siyudad nagapamaagi makabulig sa mga negosyo

NI IVEE E. MANGUILIMOTAN

Matapos nga ipaidalom sa Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) ang siyudad sang Bacolod sang nanligad nga bulan, ginasulong naman sang Sangguniang Panlungsod ang isa ka resolusyon nga naga-suspinde sang pagpangolekta sang renta sa mga mall kag building asta sa katapusan sang tuig.

sa paghinali nga pagtaas sang kaso sing COVID-19 kag pagpatuman sang MECQ nga nangin rason sang limitado nga operasyon sa mga lokal nga negosyo sang siyudad.

Dugang pa ni Distrito, nagpasa na sang resolusyon ang Sanggunian nga nagapatuhoy sa tanan nga lessors sang siyudad nga konsiderahon ang sitwasyon sang mga negosyo, partikular sa mga micro, small, and medium enterprises, para mahaganan ang epekto sang pagpatuman sang community quarantine.

“Sa subong, nagahisanto nga suliton ang pangabay PAGAPADAYON Nagbukas na sa liwat ang mga negosyo sa Downtown area matapos bangud matapos nga ang pila ka bulan nga panirado bangud sa pandemya. —RODNEY A. JARDER JR. napaidalom sa MECQ ang banwa, kalabanan sa mga Ginaduso ang resolusyon “Ang pagpanirado sang mga agud magabulig sa mga mall kag negosyo buhat sa pagpatuman negosyo indi pa masarangan nga building tenants nga temporaryo sang quarantine protocols naga- makapanumbalik tuman sang nga nakasirado kag limitado ang apekto sa small and medium epekto sa pag-implementar sang operasyon. businesses nga kalabanan tenants ECQ,” pakigbahin ni Distrito.

Ginpahibalo niya man Ginakilala nga awtor si City sang malls and buildings,” suno pa Councilor Simplicia Distrito sang kay Distrito sa interbyu sang nga bangud sa sitwasyon, pinakamaayo ang pagbutang sang resolusyon nga nagahinausa nga SunStar. gin-aprubahan sang Setyembre Kaupod sang regular session ang moratorium asta sa katapusan 16 nga iya ginahangyo na pagpahanumdom sang mandato sang tuig para mahatagan magadugay hantod katapusan sang Inter-Agency Task Force for tyansa ang mga negosyante nga sang tuig ang epekto sing the Management of Emerging makapanumbalik operasyon kag resolusyon.

Infectious Diseases nga tungod makabawi sang ila ginansya.

51 ka sundalo sang NegOcc, ginpasidunggan Paghatag bugal sa batalyon NI EZRA CHRISLAINE L. ORTEGA

Ginparangalan ang 51 ka mga sundalo sang 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB), matapos sila nag madinalag-on sang ila misyon sa Negros Occidental sadtong Setyembre 8.

Naghatag si 303rd Infantry Brigade Col. Inocencio Pasaporte sang Military Commendation Medal bilang padya sa 51 ka sundalo sa ginhiwat nga seremonya sa 62IB headquarters sang Brgy.

Libas, Isabela sa nasambit nga probinsiya.

Ang medalya nagasimbolo sang ila dedikasyon kag kaisog sa sunod sunod nga engkwentro kontra sa mga terorista sa Sitio Maluy-a kag Sitio Tabago, Brgy. Sandayao, kag sa kaingod nga banwa sang Guihulngan sadto Agosto 14.

Dugang pa, gindayaw sang kumander ang kaisog kag pagkadimakagod nga debosyon sang mga militar nga nagaproktektar sa mga

pumuluyo sa banwa sang Guihulngan.

“Ang medalya naga simbolo sang inyo pagkadimakagod kag kaisog sa pag protektar sa mga Negrosanon kag ang pungsod laban sa mga militante nga nagapadayon sa pag-panikasug sa pagpakalain sa atong pungsod,” siling ni Pasaporte, suno pa sa iya ang pag-pasigarbo sa mga armado isa sa pamaagi para sila ma enganyo pa gid sa pag-padayon sang ila nga mga misyon.

Ang sagunson nga engkwentro nag-resulta sa pagsalbar sa duha ka babaye nga menor de edad, pati ang kamatayon kag pagtikma sang mga rebelde nga residente sang Sitio Compound, Brgy. Luz, siyudad sang Guihulngan.

“Padayuna ang inyo agresibo nga panikasog nga wala pag-untat sa pagdakop sa mga komunista kag terorista, ipakita sa ila kung ano ang 62nd Infantry ‘Unifier’ Battalion,” dugang pa ni Pasaporte.

MassKara Festival 2020, kanselado NILA IMMALIE ROSE E. CAFIFGE KAG KYNAH RHEA B. FUENTES

Ano man ka importante ang bantog nga kapiyestahan sang MassKara kada ika-apat nga domingo sang Oktubre para sa mga Bacolodnon, wala ini nakaluwas sa halit nga dala sang pandemya.

Sunod sang pagpaidalom sang siyudad sa Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) ang pagisyu ni Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia sang Executive Order no. 62 nga nagasaad sang pormal nga kanselasyon sang MassKara Festival tungod sa pandemya.

Suno pa sa alkalde mayor, samtang ara ang pandemya, labing maayo nga ipahigad anay ang pag-isyu sang mga business permits kag licensing office nga konektado sa pagselebrar sang MassKara para malikawan ang pagdamo sang positibo nga kaso sang COVID-19.

“Nagbag-o ang tanan

sugod sang pag-tuhaw sing COVID-19. Amo ini ang kaadlawan nga tani pagahiwaton sa siyudad sang Bacolod ang highlights sang MassKara Festival.

Makapati bala kamo nga sa quarenta ka tuig ini ginahiwat, subong lang wala natigayon?” saad ni Leonardia sa isa ka interbyu sa radyo.

Sa naglipas nga apat ka dekada halin sang 1980s, ika-41 na kung tani nga tuig sa pagselebrar sang piyesta sang MassKara, apang amo lang ini nga tion indi makatipon ang mga Bacolodnon kag makasinadya para dumdumon ang ginhalinan sang ini nga kapiyestahan.

Kapin sini, domingo sang hapon, Oktubre 25, ginpagwa sa telebisyon ang mga paghikut sang Bacolodnon sa nagligad nga MassKara Festivals sa isa ka online celebration nga gintawag “Bato’, Bacolod,

Bato’!” tungod sa pangabay ni Leonardia kay Eli Tajanlangit sang Silver MassKara Festival Organization nga ipakita ang highlights.

Hinugang diri, sa artikulo ni Atty. Jocelle BantapaSigue—co-founder sang Bacolod Barter Community— sa Sunstar Bacolod, iya ginbutang: “Bilang isa ka konsehal sang Bacolod sang una kag awtor sang nahambal nga amendatory ordinance, waay gyapon ako gakadulaan sang gana magtamyaw sa akon mga kaabyan nga Bacolodnons bangud ang pista sang MassKara indi lamang ang pagpakasadya kag pagpakalipay sa dalanon.

Ang selebrasyon nga ini gaistorya sang kabakod naton nga mga Bacolodnon sa pagatubang sa mga kabudlayan.”

Nagsugod ang MassKara Festival bangud sa isa ka insidente nga ang Don Juan nga barko naaksidente kag amo nga nalunod kag nagkalamatay ang mga pasahero nga laban taga-

KASAOT SANG KALIPAY. Hugot ang kompetisyon sa MassKara Street Dance sa Bacolod Public plaza sang nagligad 2019, apang ang pagkakunyag sa sini nga aktibidad indi magasaksihan sini nga tuig. —KARL BRIAN T. MARQUEZA

Bacolod. Tungod sa trahedya, naobra ini nga kapiyestahan para ipaibabaw kag ipalapnag ang kasadyahan sang mga lokal sa Bacolod para tapatan

ang kabudlayan nga naagyan.

Diri ginapakita nga maski ano ang mahitabo, indi mapunggan sang

pandemya ang esensya sa pagselebrar sang MassKara Festival bangud magatinir ini sa tagsa-tagsa nga Bacolodnon.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

20 HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

How to be a Plantito/a A Beginner’s Guide

BY ANGELA A. CORONEL

It’s another uneventful day in home quarantine. As you scroll down your seemingly endless Instagram feed, you see an abundance of posts from your “plantito” or “plantita” mutuals, showing off the collection of plants and flowers they’ve taken care of.

While admiring the stunning photos on your feed, you suddenly develop an interest in growing your own plants as well. You finally decide to give it a shot, but you’ve never grown a single plant before. How, then, should you start out?

—PHOEBE DAIDOJI Q. JABONETE

Zooming Away from Zoom Raids

BY CHRISTIAN DOMINIC L. LEDESMA

Eight months into the ‘new normal’ lifestyle, work, school, and shopping are now being done online to cope with the ongoing crisis. Due to this, a vast amount of application and software continues to emerge and be developed, serving as online alternatives to activities that force us to go outside.

One prominent app that has recently become a big part of our daily lives is Zoom, regardless if you’re a student, a teacher, or an employee.

Zoom has proven to be a handy tool for online video communications, especially during this pandemic.

However, continuing the 2020 trend of bad happenings, “Zoom raids” or “Zoom bombings” emerge to add in the list of things that could go wrong in our daily lives.

A Zoom raid or bombing is when internet trolls intrude a Zoom conference, causing disruption, which ultimately results in the shutting down of the session. This usually occurs when the meeting link or code is leaked intentionally or unintentionally and ends up falling in the raider’s hands.

Such is the case last Sept. 14 during a Lasallian Spirituality class, when two uninvited individuals vandalized the teacher’s screen using the annotation function and verbally abused teachers and students. The raid continued

-KIARA NICOLE D. VILLA

until the class decided to leave the meeting. While such an event might be rare, anyone could fall victim to raids. To combat such events, familiarizing and utilizing Zoom’s variety of functions is a must.

The Host of a Zoom meeting has all of the control over the occurring conference. The following are what the host can do to increase security of the meeting: Set a meeting password.

Even if raiders have access to the meeting link, they still need a password to join— this adds a layer of security in case the link gets leaked.

This makes it so that only the people with the conference password have full access to the meeting. Though bypassed if the password gets leaked, this still is a solid first step in tandem with the rest of the security options.

Create a waiting room.

This serves as a holding room where the host could select which people to let in, make sure to confirm the person’s identity in case they’re posing as someone else. Adding another layer of security, even if both password and link gets leaked, the host has the power to individually check and allow or deny access to those queuing in. Keep in mind that this method becomes tedious if the conference is set up for a large number of people, and is best suited for small to medium sized conferences.

Use an “invite-only” meeting. This method enables entry only to those participants whose emails specifically received an invitation from the host. This is a sure-fire way of allowing only the desired people to join without needing to individually confirm the participants’ identities.

Limit access to Zoom functions. The host could enable a setting where only he or she has permission to use Zoom’s different functionalities.

These functions include screen sharing, annotations, etc., so that no one could potentially disrupt the meeting and use these functions without the host’s permission.

Disable the option to allow removed participants to rejoin.

This works like a permanent ban towards those kicked out from the meeting. The users that have been kicked won’t be able to rejoin the room by any means.

Make sure to keep the meeting details secure.

Avoid leaking meeting details like the link and password to keep trolls away in the first place. Ensure that your Zoom is up to date as they continue to develop the app and increase security.

Even though it’s impossible to ensure that these raids don’t happen on public Zoom events, we could at least do these steps above to ensure private meetings are secured.

Understanding the tools and functions that Zoom has to offer mitigates the probability of these events occuring.

Once security becomes tight, trolls would get discouraged to continue and cause harm unto others online through their raids. We don’t need more negativity in our lives, especially during harsh times like these.

There’s a Way Out for Everyone

BY CARL HASON T. GERALE

Cases of abuse remain prevalent across countries, enabled through customs and societal norms. Most of these cases even begin at home at a young age where one should feel the safest.

In the Philippines, classic punishments like the palo and a harsh reprimanding are still widely accepted behaviorcorrecting methods for children and only merit attention once it gets “too much”. Oftentimes, instances like this are left unaddressed and would only recur and worsen. Thus, the line between physical abuse and discipline becomes almost indistinguishable.

According to the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in their “National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children”, 8 out of 10 Filipino individuals, aged from 13 to 24, have experienced some form of violence that usually begins at home. Abuse is not strictly acts of physical violence—it can also be psychological, sexual, and even take the form of neglect.

People tend to develop difficulty recognizing abuse if it has been happening for a long time. Besides the longterm effects (e.g. health-related, psychological, behavioral,

etc.), victims are also subjected to feelings of humiliation, guilt, self-directed anger, and confusion, which makes it difficult to ask for help and come to terms with the situation they are in. Overwhelmed with these emotions, some victims take a long time to report their experiences—or not report at all.

Living in an abusive household is never easy to deal with. Taking the decision to confide and ask for help also takes a lot of courage to muster.

For those who are still not ready to reach out, one of the guidance counselors of the University of St. La Salle, Miss Robeeh R a m o s , offers a few pieces of advice.

Build Strength and Keep One’s Faith When dealing with an abusive household, it could be disempowering to be subjected through situations that affect one’s self and character.

Emotions can also get in the way of one’s thinking and give way to self-blame. It is best to

remember that abuse is never the victim’s fault.

Talking to someone whom one deems as trustworthy can also help in comforting them. It could be a friend, a relative, or a professional such as a counselor or a psychologist who is willing to listen and offer support.

There is

-MITCHEL G. MARIANO

no sha me in asking for help— in the words of Miss Ramos: “There are things that you can accomplish on your own, and there are things that you will need the help of others.”

Being in a volatile environment, it is crucial to bear trust in oneself and prioritize personal safety. As much as possible, one should

be careful with situations that could potentially provoke abusive parents. If things escalate into more unpleasant scenarios, it would be ideal to contact a trusted confidant and authorities.

Keep One’s Self Busy It is good to occupy one’s time with healthy coping strategies.

Journaling can help in emotional venting and making sense of one’s emotions and current state of mind. This also means to avoid resorting to negative coping methods which can cause more harm than alleviate the situation.

Some of these would be turning to drinking alcohol, getting into fights, and doing self-harm. One should remember to be kind and compassionate to one’s self.

Abuse is not okay and will never be okay in any shape or form— neither is deliberate self-harm.

Be Open For Help Lastly, entertain the idea of getting help. “For those experiencing it [abuse], there’s always some help available as long as one asks for it,” Miss Ramos said. People that have gone through or are going through abuse deserve to feel safe and secured, as well as feel worthy of every help and support that they receive. It is and always will be everyone’s right to live in a safe and secured environment that is free from any forms of violence or abuse.

Pick the right plant Considering that you haven’t had much experience in gardening, start out by growing a single plant first.

In purchasing your first seed, seedling, or plant, don’t just pick the ones that catch your eye. Instead, consider some factors of your home environment—like whether it’s indoors or outdoors as it is better to choose plants that can easily adapt to your current surroundings. For instance, the growth of your plants would vary depending on its environment’s humidity; indoor plants thrive in more humid areas because they could potentially rot without enough moisture in the air.

Best do your research first, and don’t forget to examine the plants carefully before buying.

Pot size matters Size does matter when it comes to picking out pots for your plants! Make sure that the pot isn’t too big or too small. Resorting to small ones might get the roots of your plants restricted from space, which would result in its soil drying out. On the other hand, if your pot is too big, it could also potentially harm your plant’s growth due to the larger amount of soil; this can cause it to dry slowly, which could result in the rotting of its roots. So make sure you pick a suitable pot size for your plant—it deserves just enough space.

Choose the right dirt Picking the right type of soil will protect your plant’s roots and provide the essential nutrients they need, so don’t just take some soil from your

backyard. Note that it could contain other mixtures that can attract mold, pests, or fungi which could be harmful for your plant’s growth.

Instead, opt for high-quality soil that you can purchase from local gardening supplies shops.

Feed them well As we’ve all learned since high school, plants get the energy to produce their own food from sunlight by the process of photosynthesis.

So make sure to give your plant the right amount of sunlight, avoid placing them in dim or shady areas. Water is vital to a plant’s life as well as it transports all the nutrients it needs from the soil. Hence, make sure to give your plants the right amount of hydration—too little and it will dry up and wilt, too much and it will “drown” your plant by restricting the oxygen it needs. Some useful tips would be watering your plants first thing in the morning and focusing on keeping the soil moist instead of the leaves.

Don’t forget to give it some TLC! (Tender loving care) Be sure that you are committed enough to push through with this decision.

Remember that you need to be careful and responsible enough in taking care of your first plant child as if it’s your first pet. Rest assured, proper love and care for your plants will surely be worth it (and rewarding) in the end.

Now you’re all set on taking care of your first plant!

Hopefully, these tips will give you a great headstart on your journey as a loving and responsible plant parent.

ECOBOX

A Natural Countdown

BY ADRIANNE H. SAPLAGIO

On September 19, 2020, at exactly 3:20 pm, Metronome, which has a 62-foot-wide, 15-digit electronic clock facing Union Square in Manhattan, decided to use its prominence as public art in order to bring a sense of urgency to the people. The message “The Earth has a deadline”, was displayed, followed by the numbers 7:103:15:40:07, representing the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until our window to prevent permanent damage from global warming ends.

Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd decided to call their project the “Climate Clock”, which was created with the purpose of presenting what Boyd describes as “arguably the most important number in the world.” The artists have also stated that these numbers came from the calculations of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin.

Their next goal is to make sure that the clock is permanently displayed for all to see, there in Manhattan or elsewhere.

A deadline established by the United Nations in 2015 reminds us to strive for the same thing and more. The Sustainable Development Goals created then were more ambitious and in no way modest as it included goals to wipe out poverty in all forms, eliminate hunger across the globe, and, of course, combat climate change, among others. Along these goals came a deadline: the world aspired to achieve these ideals by 2030.

Unfortunately, if the cause of fighting back against climate change is not resolved within the next seven years, there might be no way for us to keep the earth from falling to the brink.

Given all that and more, people still

remain careless—or at least ignorant, of the consequences of their actions. Here we are, a progressive species, accidentally burning down forests in the name of genderreveals and purposefully destroying dolomite boulders in Cebu just to dump it on Manila Bay to “help the citizens have better mental health,” at the expense of exposing humans and aquatic life to unnecessary risk. It is to be noted that both these actions have an immense negative impact on every living thing that resides in the affected areas—it’s not just the humans who suffer.

These actions beg the question of whether or not people truly care about the world, about whether we plan to leave it better than we found it or we plan to bring it with us to our graves.

Regardless of the answer, the countdown continues, and the urgency exists, even when we do not acknowledge it. The earth remains slowly dying, and the decision to do something about it lies in your hands, right until the clock ticks down to its last second.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

-MIKEY VINCENT T. VICENTE

SLANT S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

Ang Pagsubli NI IMMALIE ROSE E. CAFIFGE

“Kaharas-haras! Wala gid ya nagatulok sa ginaagyan! Kailinit!”

Gasanting ang ugat ni Jessica sa ugtas samtang nagapautwas sang gutgot sa sulod sang Lamborghini nga salakyan sang miga sini nga si Cathy.

Naghalin sila sa sosyal nga kalan-an kun sa diin aksidente nga naulaan sang serbyentes vino tinto ang malahalon sini nga Gucci na balayuon.

-TRIZIA C. HASSIM

kaanyuan.

NI KRIZZIA RICCI T. NEPOMUCENO

k a t a w a n (n.)

- ay lipi ng isang supling.

apdong namumuno sa bahay nito

bilang, andukhain. “ano ba ang alam nito

bukod sa

Ʀëgresyøn ng pagiging ulila?” b u t o’ t t i n i k (n.)

- mga kaleydoskopo.

nagtatanghal sa mga kulay ng isang

dalagang matingkad. ngunit ang natatanaw nila

ay ang binatang

matagal nang namatay

sa loob niya

-JAZIEL ANN V. SEBALLOS

Gusto ni Jessica paislan bangud wala siya kadala sang dugang nga bayo, apang wala sini sang inugbayad.

“May nabal-an ko nga nami balaklan—relipan,” komento ni Cathy samtang nagamaneho.

“Indi ko sang baratuhon!

Kadto ta bala Ayala!” sabat naman ni Jessica.

Gapakalab-ot sa atop sang salakyan ang pagpaturong sang mata ni Jessica. Gadali na ini mag-ilis bangud sa mantsa nga nagapanalupsop sa tela sang ukot niya nga bayo kag labi na sa ginabatyag sini nga pagkaluod.

Pagkatapos sang pila ka minuto, nakibot si Jessica sang wala ya napiyaran nga nag-untat na ang andar sang salakyan. Gingiya niya ang iya pananawan sa palibot kag wala s a n g

pagduwa-duwa nga nagsampok ang kilay sang wala ini makakita sang bantog nga baligyaan.

Sa baylo, iya nakita nga hilera sing nagatipon na balayu-an sa lamesa nga kawayan kag mga manugbakal nga wala untat ang pangukay.

Napilitan, sako ang reklamo ni Jessica sa sulod sang relipan asta nga napalinong ini sang makakita siya sang isa ka matahom nga puti nga bestida kag dali-dali nga gintisting.

Apang naglibot ang kalimutaw sini kag gulpi lang nangluya kag nadulaan animo matapos isuksok ang bestida.

Indi ma-athagan ni Jessica ang kabug-aton sang iya balatyagon samtang nagaantos sa kagutok kag kapaiton nga nagagapos sa iya kalawasan.

Ubaha ina! Ubaha ang bestida!

Gapalamungol ang iya dulunggan sa sakit samtang nagauyog ang ginatindugan tungod sa hutik sang isa ka tingog kag gulpi ini naghipos.

Namurag-muragan si Jessica sang makabugtaw siya sa isa ka barong-barong nga human sa kawayan kag ginpatungan sang guba nga sin kag guma ang atop.

Iya nasimhutan ang malangsa nga palibut. Sa kakulba kag disgusto, nagngalngal ini asta iya nabatian ang pag-abri sang pirtahan kag may nagsulod nga lalaki sa balay. Mahigko ang itsura kag gutay-gutay ang bayo. Naglapad ang mata ni Jessica sang makilal-an ang iya nawong samtang dala sini ang binangon nga ginhan-us sa iya itsura.

“Animal ka! Ginpatay mo imo iloy!” buyayaw sang lalaki antes nakita sang nagahuman kag nahadlukan nga dalaga ang mantsa sang dugo sa iya bestida.

-JAZIEL ANN V. SEBALLOS

BY CARL HASON T. GERALE

p a a (adj.)

- nananatiling matibay sa ligalig.

sa paglisan ng espirito sa katawan,

walang humpay na

ipinaglalaban ang pangalan. mga kalyo, saksi sa panukala na ANG HALAGA NG BUHAY

AY PRESYO NG IBA. k a m a y (v.)

- naghahagis ng barya.

kara-krus di nag-iiba | pula parin ang kasalungat. dinadakma ang gatilyo na walang babala

galing sa

mga tao

na dapat nagliligtas sa atin. b i b i g (n.)

- ang nagiging sandata.

ang pagsubali na handog ng kalayaan ay naging lubid na tinatali

sa ating mga leeg. hinding-hindi tayo mabuhay

ng ating mga saloobin. m a t a (v.)

- nagpapahalaga sa katotohanan. nagnunuynoy sa takot

ng pagiging buhay.

sa palugit ng awa.

21

ngunit binabalingan lang natin. wala naman tayong ginagawa.

-EARL JOHN D. PABULAR

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

22 LEISURE The Pursuit of Change

KOMIKSERYE

“Inday Gasolina”

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

-Angela A. Coronel

by Christian Dominic L. Ledesma

We always seek change but not all of us have the courage, strength, and means to strive for the change we want. Here, we take note of some of the people who had the will to stand up and fight for change in our country.

“That Clutch Moment”

“Kamusta”

-Kiara Nicole D. Villa

-Trizia C. Hassim

Guess who?

Horizontal: 1. (last name) - Father of Human Rights Advocacy in the Philippines 2. (last name) Peace activist 3. (last name) A transgender woman activist who advocates for the LGBT Vertical: 4. (last name) Advocates for the inclusion of Martial Law in the Philippine academic curriculum

5. (last name) Advocates for salary hikes of public school teachers Horizontal & Vertical: 6. (full name) Student activist during Martial Law Diagonal: 7. (last name) Negros-based human rights advocate and social activist

Key Answers: 1. Diokno 2. Balang-Amer 3. Lopez 4. Quimpo 5. Tinio 6. Liliosa Hilao 7. Alvarez

Quaranthings to-do list

BY ANGELA A. CORONEL | ART BY EARL JOHN D. PABULAR

1.

2.

“Brunchienda” - The first meal of the day after waking up at 3 PM; Breakfast, Lunch, and Merienda combined into one feast.

“Canvas Buzzer beater” - Finishing academic tasks a few hours before their respective deadlines— seeing that “Time due: 11:59 PM”, “Time submitted: 11:58 PM” subheader hits just right.

3.

“Zoomba” - Losing your dignity by dancing in front of the camera for the sake of your precious PE grade.

4.

“Barter” - Frantically rummaging through your things in the house and putting it up for trade online.

5.

“The Chloe Ting Effect” - Achieving your “fitness goals” by following through Chloe Ting workout videos on YouTube while losing your breath every ten seconds.

6.

“Wait lang, Ma!” - The most common line uttered in the household; heavily used when you’re called to do the dishes while you’re in the middle of doing something important.

7.

“Post-reading blues” - The heavy feeling that you get after finishing a good book. (Remedy? Read on! You might eventually find the next book to fall in love with!)

8.

“Certified Plantita/Plantito” - Run out of activities to do? You might want to consider being a Plantita/Plantito! These people love surrounding themselves with plants and enjoy taking care of their precious potted “companions”.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

SPORTS S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

23

Rektikano Esports League to support Lasallian gamers REKTIKANO SPIRIT. Edlen Jay Jareta, a 3rd-year Computer Science student and the founder of Rektikano ESports League, believes that their organization is not just about playing games but also emphasizing teamwork in fulfilling the group’s vision and mission. —KEILAH N. BALDOMAR

BY EZRA CHRISLAINE T. ORTEGA

Another Lasallian made history! The first-ever esports organization established in Negros will be extending scholarship merits to the Lasallian community.

Edlen Jay Jareta, a 3rd year Computer Science student founded Rektikano Esports League, an independent organization that will provide scholarship merits to the members and players by hosting various events.

Jareta established the league in hopes that it will serve as a means of providing financial support to the aspiring members and players.

“Rektikano Esports League does not only host esports games but also give our players the opportunity to study for free through scholarship merits,” Jareta shared in an interview.

The said scholarship merit offers: a Family Good Game Grant that provides financial assistance to the member’s family; Competitive Merit Scholar for the players who

participate in the tournament; and a Leadership Merit Scholar for the committee of each organization.

However the Rektikano Esports League is not yet eligible to avail the Family Good Game Grant given that it is still considered as an independent organization until the Office for Student Affairs officially accredits it as part of the university.

In partnership with Globe Telecom, the scholarship merit is provided by Acad Arena, the Philippines’ largest ECampus initiatives that focuses on three pillars: competition, education, and experience.

Acad Arena shows that esports is not just about playing through its numerous online and offline initiatives, it also helps students become better leaders and professionals regardless of the career direction they chose.

In addition, Acad Arena supports student leaders in creating communities that last for years and promotes welcoming cultures through summer camps, convention

PBA returns to action

BY SHAN MARC O. JABAGAT

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) resumed its 45th season last Oct. 11 inside the 65-million bubble in Angeles City, Pampanga.

The announcement was made after the Inter-Agency Task Force for Infectious Disease gave its provisional approval for its ‘bubble’ plan, which according to PBA Board Chairman Ricky Vargas, most of the budget was spent on accommodation and food.

Similar to the NBA set-up, the league adopted a bubble setting wherein players, coaches, and staff will be safely transported in their respective bus from their designated residence, to the playing venue vice versa within two months.

The 12 teams will reside at the Quest Hotel inside the Clark Freeport Zone while their practice and games will be held at the Angeles University Foundation Gym. According to Bases Conversion and Development Corp. chief Vince Dizon, everyone inside the bubble will be required to undergo testing

once every two weeks for the duration of the entire season.

On the other hand, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said that there will be two games a day which will be held every day, putting the duration of the cup in a short period of time as the league targets to end it in the middle of December.

PBA also proposed large penalties for those who have violated the strict quarantine protocols.

A member of any team who violated the rules will be given a month without pay, a P100,000 fine, and a five-game suspension during the league’s next season.

The PBA 2020 Philippine Cup commenced last March 8 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum where San Miguel Beermen swept Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok off the court, 94-78, before it was postponed due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the continuation of the cup opened with TNT Tropang Giga securing a victory against Alaska, 100-95, and Barangay Ginebra outplaying NLEX, 102-92.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CLARK DEVELOPMENT

exhibitions, and even activities for student gamers of every kind.

Furthermore, Rektikano Esports League welcomes all Lasallian undergraduate and masters students who aspire to become a member or a participant by simply visiting the official Facebook Page of the League (@ RektikanoEsportsLeague) and clicking the membership form.

“We are not looking for players only, we are also

searching for leaders, team managers, and team coaches who want to learn how to manage an esports team and the organization,” Jareta added.

Jareta also highlighted the Lasallian core values as their inspiration to strengthen their spiritual self in order to serve the Lasallian community.

“Rektikano Esports League will do better, yes it’s about video games but it’s more than that. Expect this

organization to be a place for cooperation; we will help each other to fulfill our duties and responsibilities,” Jareta assured when asked about what Lasallians can expect from them.

Right now, the organization monitors the following esports games: Valorant; Counter Strike - Global Offensive; League of Legends; Defense of the Ancients 2 and; Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

Also, Rektikano Esports

League already sent a team to join the National Campus Open tournament for League of Legends bringing the name of the university and made it to the group stage fighting for the P1 million worth of Cash, Grants, and Riot Points and the opportunity to represent the Philippines in the International e-Cultural Festival 2020 in Gangnam, Korea this November 28-29 to earn competitive merit for their esports scholars.

WNBL becomes first Women’s Pro Basketball League

BY JAMES B. GONZAGA

The country opened its first professional basketball league for the women’s division as the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) officially granted the Women National Basketball League (WNBL) a professional status last Aug. 27.

The announcement was made by GAB Chairman Baham Mitra in a conference where he also expressed his recognitions for the talents and skills of the local Filipina ballers.

Together with him were League Chairman and President Celso Mercado,

Executive Vice President Rhose Montreal, and Commissioner John Edward Aquino.

In the said conference, Mitra said that the grant of this special opportunity demonstrates the respect of the league to gender equality, mentioning that “basketball is not only for men.”

“I think NBL is also advocating gender equality.

Kung may panlalaki, meron ding pambabae,” he shared.

Consequently, Montreal further expressed that the grant of the professional status will give opportunity for aspiring Filipina basketball players to grow in a local league

and encourage Filipina talents like Southeast Asian Games Gold Medalist Jack Aminan to stay and compete locally.

It is noted that the WNBL was recently formed last 2019, with a successful first season wherein the PSI Lady Air Defenders won the first championship title.

As of the moment, there are seven existing teams in the WNB, including some of the revered members of the national team Gilas Pilipinas such as Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, and Gemma Miranda, among others.

Meanwhile, the National Basketball League (NBL), the

counterpart of WNBL, also received a professional status making it the second pro men’s basketball league after the Philippine Basketball Association on the same day.

Unfortunately, there are no announcements yet as to the resumption of the NBL and WNBL. The PBA however has presented plans to resume on Oct. 5.

In the meantime, the league officers are conducting meetings and studies regarding the safety protocols and possible tournament rule changes in case the league resumes amidst the pandemic.

BOXING ORGANIZATION

Time to Throw in the Towel pugs nabbed across the years, would it be enough to form an agency solely focused on boxing?

The Senate approved, on their third and final reading last Sept. 10, 2018, Senate Bill 1306 or the “Philippine Boxing and Combat Sports

PeeBee

Patrick N. Billojan

patrickbillojan@gmail.com

Boxing in the Philippines has been in the limelight for several decades with the eight-time world champion, former congressman, and now senator, Manny Pacquiao leading the torchlight.

After 102 years of having boxing as a profession for Filipinos, the sport gained enough respect as it never fails to shed peace and unity among all Filipinos whenever there is a fight enclosed in four corners.

Manny Pacquaio, a gladiator clad in gloves, makes the streets go empty for an hour or two, compels every Filipino to glue their eyes on their televisions, and drives every sports fan wild with his lightning speed jabs.

With the numerous awards Pacquiao and other Filipino

“

As much as we want to give more respect to those pugs who carried our flag across the years, the creation of a new agency merely focused on boxing and other combat sports is a move that is not possible right now, but perhaps in the near future.

Commission Act of 2018”, authored and sponsored

by Pacquiao, that seeks to establish the Philippine Boxing and Combat Sports Commission (PBC) which

aims to “promote the safety and welfare” of Filipino boxers and combat sports athletes.

At first glance the aforementioned bill seems promising since it is beneficial not only to boxing but to other combat sports as well.

However, there is already an existing agency tasked to supervise these. The Games and Amusement Board (GAB) has been regulating and supervising professional boxing and other combat sports in the country since 1951. With the creation of a new agency that centers on boxing and other combat sports, PBC might just mirror the same functions as GAB. Additionally, issues of redundant functions of government agencies have already been addressed under the Executive Order no. 366 signed under former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The EO focuses on improving the quality and efficiency of government services delivery by eliminating or minimizing overlaps and duplication, improving agency performance through the rationalization of service delivery and support systems, and organization structure and staffing.

Aside from the probability of responsibility duplication, it is an obvious fact that the creation of a new agency would entail additional costs. In a position paper submitted by GAB to the Senate Committee on Sports, chaired by Senator Bong Go, the agency mentioned that the creation of PBC in this time of crisis would entail unnecessary expenditures on the part of the government as the bill will require P150 million appropriation in order to build new offices, hire new employees, buy office equipment and supplies, among others.

Instead of using this sum to form a new agency, why not invest it to GAB to strengthen and improve its capacity in handling boxing and other combat sports?

Indeed, boxing is considered as a more difficult sport above others. Behind those quick and deadly punches is a person who longs for the embrace of his family back home. As much as we want to give more respect to those pugs who carried our flag across the years, the creation of a new agency merely focused on boxing and other combat sports is a move that is not possible right now, but perhaps in the near future.

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MEDIA CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE · COLISEUM GROUNDS, LA SALLE AVE., BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6100 · VOLUME 65 NUMBER 4 · SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2020

S E P T E M B E R TO O C TO B E R 20 20 | VO LU M E 6 5 N O. 4

IATF: COLLEGIATE STUDENT-ATHLETES MAY PROCEED WITH TRAINING END-TO-END BOUT. Two players from two different teams are tackling the ball as they fight for victory at the Interbarkada football league. —ANGELO F. DESPI

BY ANNA MARIA J. VILLANUEVA

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases gave the greenlight for student-athletes to resume training in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ (MGCQ as announced by the Malacañang on Sept. 7.

In IATF’s Resolution No. 68, student-athletes of collegiate athletic associations under Republic Act No. 10676 or the Student-Athletes Protection

Act shall be allowed to continue their preparatory trainings in areas under GCQ and MGCQ, in compliance with the health guidelines issued by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

“For the fans of [the] University Athletic Association of the Philippines, our teams will now start their practice,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque confirmed during the press briefing.

With this, CHED Chairman J. Prospero De Vera III announced the formation of

a Technical Working Group (TWG) by the commission, for the creation of guidelines to prevent COVID-19 among the student-athletes.

According to him, there are two challenges in crafting the guidelines: they must be cascaded to the multiple collegiate leagues in the country and specifically address the demands of each sport discipline, given that there are different sports played among the leagues.

“The guidelines will [also be based] on the guidelines issued

TIMEOUT

Striving to Get Back on Track

BY ADRIANNE H. SAPLAGIO

- KEILAH N. BALDOMAR

In the eras before us, the legacies depended on the value of whatever you owned. People remembered other people because of their success stories or how they plummeted from their thrones.

Fortunately, our generation has seen past the physical wall built by material possessions and we now remember individuals for what they stand for, rather than what they stand on.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the governing body of Asian football and one of the six confederations making up the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, launched an e-Goal project which presents its youth ambassadors with the opportunity to tell the world what they believed in and implement a program that would further their cause. They require their ambassadors to attend nine different online seminars tackling important social issues and then create a strategy to promote social responsibility.

There are currently a total of 69 ambassadors, one of which holds the banner of La Salle.

Mikaela Jacqueline “MJ” Villacin, a 16-year-old former USLS-IS student, once again waved our flag of green andwhite as shewas chosen as one of the three Filipino ambassadors for the AFC e-Goal project last September 2020. Being selected as one of the three representatives from the Philippines is a career highlight for any player. Along with Cian Gabriel Galsim and Rae Mikaella Tolentino,

MJ has been handpicked to urge other youths to start their journey on the path of social change. She is still deciding whether to focus her project on children-in-Conflict with the Law (CICL) or Children-at-risk (CAR).

The message that her coach nominated her to be one of the ambassadors came as a surprise to her at first. However, now that she has had more time to absorb the implications of the vital role she plays, she sees this as a privilege to further her career while advocating for a cause that would pave the way for a better society. “I hope to learn as much as I can so that after this program I can share my knowledge and learnings with the players here,” she said.

Villacin is currently a grade 11 student at De La Salle Santiago Zobel and has been playing football since she was three years old. Her grandfather, who used to play for the National team as well, was the person who sparked her passion for her sport. MJ firmly believes that what makes her good in football goes deeper than just skills and talent—what molded her to be the player she is today are the coaches who taught her far more than just football. They made her recognize the necessity of a positive mindset, a good fighting spirit, proper dedication, and hard work. Above all, knowing how to carry one’s self in both victory and defeat.

“Dream big, wake up, and work hard for it—keep in mind that nothing is impossible,” she reminded aspiring athletes. “Your dreams are reachable no matter how big they are for as long as you work hard for it,” she added. The seeds of our legacies lie within the advocacies we plant our spirits in, and MJ means to grow hers to be as tall as it can possibly be for all the world to see.

by international sports bodies which are already being used by some of our professional leagues, and using practical realities on the ground,” he added.

Furthermore, he clarified that the resumption of college sports training does not mean that face-to-face classes will be occurring.

“Those are two very separate things,” De Vera explained in a separate briefing. “This is just to allow the collegiate athletes to train so their mental health and

physical well-being will be enhanced.”

According to the chairman, the discussion on when college sports leagues can begin again will come after they are able to attest the student-athletes’ safety with the implemented guidelines.

“It’s important that we do a good job in showing that the training of collegiate athletes can be done with all the safety protocols in place, with the health of the students protected, and that will be the best argument to ask the IATF

to now allow organized leagues to start,” he added.

De Vera revealed that the TWG includes CHED, the Philippine Sports Commission, Games and Amusement Board, the Department of Health, and representatives of collegiate leagues like the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, State Colleges, the Universities Athletic Association, and the Private Schools Athletic Association.

Lakers secure first NBA cup in a decade; overthrow Miami in Game 6, 106-93

BY PATRICK N. BILLOJAN

History has been written and it was marked with gold, purple, and black ink.

After a decade, the Los Angeles Lakers are back on the throne for the 17th time after flaunting their championship chops to send the Miami Heat back home with a crashing 106-93 coup in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Playing inspired basketball in the best-of-seven series, the man himself, LeBron James became one for the books as he emerged as the second player in NBA history—after Michael Jordan—to bag four NBA Finals MVP and the first player to win the award with three different franchises: Miami Heat; Cleveland Cavaliers; and now the Lakers.

James put his shoes on the gas pedal in Game 6 to churn out a triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.

“This is a historic franchise and to be a part of this is something that I’ll be able to talk about and my grandkids and kids will be able to talk about—their pawpaw played for the Los Angeles Lakers,” James expressed.

James said the magnitude of what he was trying to accomplish with the Lakers kept his mind focused in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.

After melting down to the intense heat emitted by the Miami ballers in Game 5, LeBron and his never-countthem-out squad returned the favor in Game 6 as they

pounded the men clad in red and black in the first half of the contest.

Relentless from the get-go, the Lakers took the driver seat in the first quarter, 28-20 and continued to pull away as they outgunned Miami, 36-16, in the second quarter to carry a 28-point lead into the second halftime, 64-36.

With momentum on their side, Lakers’ baskets clicked on all cylinders towards the end of the regulation, containing Miami’s offensive and defensive stance on the minimum.

Anthony Davis also nailed the scoring column, finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds to cap the best-of-seven series in favor of the Lakers, 4-2.

Lakers also unsheathed their firepower off of Rajon Rondo’s hot hands who

hammered down a perfect sixfor-six, dropping 19 points off the bench.

The championship getaway was not only attributed to the Lakers’ scoring department as they were also able to disarm Jimmy Butler, the hero who saved the Heat with his 40-point triple-double in Game 3 and 35-point triple double performance in Game 5, with their stifling defense.

“Obviously nobody likes to lose,” Butler said. “But I think we fought all year long, ups and downs, we stayed together— and I think that’s what it’s all about.”

With their latest laurel, Lakers now stand on the same platform with the Boston Celtics having the most number of championship titles in NBA history.

-MITCHEL G. MARIANO

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