Uphold justice

When news of murdered media men broke out, the Philippine nation was left appalled. Some believe that their deaths are somehow related to their job-lines. If so, what more is left with the Filipinos’ freedom of expression?

[News reports of murdered media men in the Philippines:
Press club president killed in Tagum City, Philippines: https://www.ifex.org/philippines/2015/08/20/press_club_president/
Journalists killed in the Philippines: https://cpj.org/killed/asia/philippines/
Philippines: deadly country for journalists: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/04/asia/philippines-deadly-for-journalists/]

Freedom of expression has been one of the nation’s strongest democratic advocacy. Everyone should not be restrained in expressing what they feel especially journalists who write to express truths that not everyone knows about.

According to Dr. Policarpo Duavis, guest speaker for the Regional Schools Press Conference 2015 Collaborative Online Publishing category, “If you love to write then you are free.” But how is this even possible when human lives are already at risk? Journalism now seems to be a sinister profession.

[Dr. Duavis’ statement: https://twitter.com/ceeangelxx/status/665426352452050945%5D

Today, certain people, specifically those who have great controlling power, can easily manipulate situations. In a scenario with a politician and a journalist who writes something bad about the personality, it is absolutely easy for the politician to order someone to murder the honest journalist for the sake of his name. With this setting, can anyone really be truly brave and bold to nonchalantly face the risks?

These alone can scare all the aspiring journalists and stop the circulation of unbiased truth. Then people will no longer know whether they are receiving facts of bluffs. The public will simply be a giant laughing-stock of the people in power.

Clearly, the world needs people who are bold enough to fight for justice. We need people who can be speakers of truth and transparency. We need people who can lead us to the right path, people who can tell us what is right or wrong. These hopes start with the very main people whose jobs are to do so; we need honest journalists.

If not filtered truths, someday, all that may be heard left are lies. If someone does not step up for justice, then someday, we would be fools.

Defying limits of Basic Education

“It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you but they can’t walk it for you”- Edwil Mason

Senior High School (SHS) is an advanced education where learners prepare with the necessary skills in pursuing college. But what really is the advantage of Senior High School to the parents especially to the students?

Senior High School is very useful to the students. It does not just leads you to a brighter future but also helps increase the development of the Philippine nation. This program is necessary to be implemented because it can help thousands of people come out from poverty. With this, all learners can get a job easier and faster than before. But some parents still complain why SHS is very important to the students. Because of the fact that this program has only just begun, they don’t know anything about what SHS really means and how it can support the Filipinos to succeed in their personal struggles.

The Department of Education implemented this Senior High School so that we can gain knowledge about advanced ideas that can aid us in the future. With this, a four-year college course could get shortened into two years because subjects that you took up in the Senior High School will be immediately credited. It can also facilitate students be globally competent. SHS teaches us how to stand up on our own and to be a better citizen in our country. Like what I’ve read on the internet once. It was a picture quote saying “To be wise, you need to learn harder”.

There are so many helpful things that Senior High School is capable of.

Being a student, I am very grateful that the Department of Education implemented this SHS not just because of the fact that it is very helpful but it may also lead our country to a better place in which we can make a brighter tomorrow. Let’s make our future be more spectacular!

Reaching for our dreams is quite the hardest thing to do because there are many obstacles that you need to pass before you succeed. But with the help of Senior High School, we can easily lift up with our dreams and move on with success. Time will pass and we will be able to render a country with a growing development and rising influence in the whole world.

Looking back at the old times, our country has never been this great. With the help of Senior High School, we’ve been able to come up with a very high possibility that our country will rise up because most of the people can now have a job easier and faster. With knowledge at its best.

SHS: An Auspicious Vision

The Philippines has been under several kinds of governance, but none has seemed to find a guaranteed solution to our economy’s degradation until now: advance basic education.

It is public knowledge that the Philippines been left behind, in terms of educational advancement, unlike other countries who have long integrated the European and other international guidelines on learning. Past administrations were full of optimistic promises but no proper promotional emphasis was made regarding this field.

Recently, one of the most remarkable changes in Philippine history was made. President Aquino finally signed DepEd’s proposal of a new, improved and advanced education system known as Republic Act No. 10533 or the Advanced Basic Education Act of 2013 which symbolized the hopeful claim to global competency.

With the enactment of R.A. 10533, Kindergarten and other preparatory levels became free to all Filipinos and two more years were added for Senior High School (SHS) to ensure “job-ready” citizens for a rising economy.

Applicants would no longer have to settle for less promising jobs with the skills they have acquired. Filipinos would then be at par with international standards allowing them to achieve propitious opportunities because of the possible escalation of the labor market. This would increase the productivity rate and eventually lead to higher proficiencies not only for local companies but also for our prized nation.

This implementation, now just a year away, is the nation’s figuratively visualized road to progress. With this vision, the government is commendably preparing all essential measures to absolutely make this happen.

Locally, in the province of Biliran, 20 secondary schools have confirmed the affirmation to apply for SHS. Although not everyone has passed the necessary requirements, it has been inferred that these schools are well-equipped in for the operation. The teaching force, although recently rumored to be incompetent, have been approved to be “professionally specialized” according to Dr. Ronico Y. Amistoso, Biliran Division Senior High School Coordinator, in a press conference and even assured everyone that “Biliran is ready.”

Truly, this is the seed of complete reformation for the nation’s advancement. And with a little bit more patience, this could even be the solution not only to extensive unemployment of numerous Filipinos but also to the undeniable widespread poverty.

The Lady or the Tiger: Make the Choice

Vindictive arena. Barbaric monarchy. Illicit love affair. The Lady or the Tiger?

Not so long ago, our English teacher assigned to us a story that had our hearts hooked to it just like how the title seized our attention: The Lady or the Tiger?

Who would have thought of a lady and a tiger in one story? Well, as intriguing as it can get, this F.R. Stockton masterpiece changed a whole view of my life.

The tale went on with the classic forbidden-love-with-the-princess story in a kingdom ruled by a semi-barbaric and sadistic King which, unfortunately, happened to be the Princess’s over-protective father. Furious was an understatement to what the King was like when he found out of his daughter’s illicit love affair. The poor accused lover was immediately sent to trial in the King’s arena which served as a form of poetic justice. An accused person’s fate would be decided with his choice between two doors: one with a fine lady most suitable as reward for the accused to marry; and the other with a hungry, savage, ferocious beastly tiger who could devour the accused into shreds that can no longer be identified, as his punishment.

I continuously shifted in my seat as the story hiked its climax: the Princess knew the secret behind the doors and gave her lover a hint to which door would lead him to safety even if it meant the end between them. And at that point the Princess was forced to choose between the two devil and the deep blue sea: (1) to become extremely martyr for waiving her love in exchange for her lover’s safety or; (2) to sadistically and selfishly rather have her lover die in tremendous pain and agony than see him in the arms of another woman he could also possibly love in the near future.

Everybody held their breaths in anticipation for the end of the story but utterly failed in disappointment with Stockton’s finishing line: “And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door – the lady, or the tiger?”

An ending was reached in the story but I was left in a daze of all the possibilities running in my head. I was undeniably hooked to the story. I badly wanted to know which door was opened how things have ended.

And so I studied deeper into the story and realized that everything was a result of a choice that was also a result of another and another. It was their mutual choice to be together and keep it from the public which led them to the critical situation made by the vindictive King. Whatever happened after the door was opened was also because of two choices: the Princess’s choice of her lover’s fate and the lover’s choice to faithfully follow the Princess.

Life is full of choices and being a student does absolutely not exclude us from those. As long as we breathe, we make the choice to continue breathing or not. Granted the youth and the immaturity, we are to be constantly reminded that we are what we are now because of what we chose to become. Just like Newton’s Third Law of Motion, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” and we have nothing else to do but face it with utmost courage and learn from it.

Now who would have thought Stockton’s phenomenal short story—with its legendary cliff-hanger—could bring wisdom in my immature system?

#NSFOnlineJournalism