The Science Scholar - September 2023 – April 2024

The Science Scholar

House bill expanding PSHSS passes final reading

by Corinne Llantero

The Philippines may soon see an increase in the number of Philippine Science High School (PSHS) campuses.

House Bill (HB) No. 9726, otherwise known as the Expanded Philippine Science High School System Act, was recently approved by the House on its third and final reading.

The bill aims to “establish campuses that are strategically accessible to the public” and “Increase the access to quality, free, and globally

competitive education for the country’s science, technology, and innovation manpower.”

It also seeks to increase the number of high school graduates who will pursue STEM courses and careers by offering “secondary courses with special emphasis on STEM to students with high aptitude or who are gifted in science and mathematics on a free scholarship basis.”

Under the bill, the PSHS System (PSHSS) will expand to have at most two campuses in each region outside of the National Capital Region (NCR), limited to one campus in each

Manibela files complaint vs

province.

In addition to the 16 existing PSHS campuses in the country, the bill proposes to establish campuses in the First District of Aklan; Daraga, Albay; Ubay, Bohol; Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur; Third District, Cagayan; General Santos City; South Cotabato; and Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

According to the bill, this is to ensure that “every region is given equal opportunity to benefit from the establishment of the PSHS system.”

The PSHSS Board of Trustees may 2

by Sam Gianan & Gabbie Penullar

The second Blood Donation Campaign in Philippine Science High School–Main Campus (PSHS-MC) commenced last February 7 with the Quezon City chapter of the Philippine Red Cross.

The campaign, with the theme “Give Blood and Save Lives,” was conducted by the PSHS–MC Disaster Awareness, Preparedness, Mitigation, and Emergency Response Team (PDAPMERT) led by Sir Joselito Englatera of the PEHM Unit.

Donors were screened on their blood type and travel history. Their blood was also screened for malaria, syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.

August Lim of Batch 2024, a donor in the campaign,

recounted being invited to the campaign by Sir Englatera, sharing the benefits of blood donation.

“I guess the simple fact na makakatulong ka sa mga nangangailangan talaga ng dugo [at] makakapag-extend ka ng buhay ng tao [can encourage others to donate],” said Lim. (“I guess the simple fact that you can help others who really need blood [donations] and you can extend people’s lifespans [can encourage others to donate].”)

“Donating blood isn’t as dauntless as it seems,” said Aris Ocania of 12-C. “Sa mga takot sa karayom, it’s a good way rin to get over your fear kasi di naman talaga siya sobrang sakit, parang kurot lang ng langgam. Tapos at the same time, it’s a way

DOTr, LTFRB officials over PUVMP; protests persist

by Benjamin Jacob

Transport group

Manibela filed a complaint against Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory

1,700 hopefuls take NCE at PSHS-MC

Around 1,700 aspirants took the National Competitive Examination (NCE) at Philippine Science High School — Main Campus (PSHSMC) today, November 18. —Story by Marla Alferez, Benjamin Jacob, and Kaleena So

(OTC) Ferdinand Ortega, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III, Solicitor-General Menardo Guevarra, and three LTFRB board members.

Practices Act) for not observing “due process” as they pushed for PUVMP.

Board (LTFRB) officials leading the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) at the Office of the Ombudsman on February 7. The complaint-affidavit was filed against DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, Chairman of the Office of Transport Cooperative 5

The respondents were charged with violations of Section 3(e) of the Republic Act (RA) No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt

Against the closed gates of education

Qualifying exams as a measure of academic excellence paints education as a medal to be won, rather than a right that should be accessible to all. Beyond this extreme glorification, however, are the underlying inequities that

They were also charged with violating R.A. No. 6713, also known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Government Officials and Employees.

Cultivating

gender equality in the

market

After 40 years of research, economist Claudia Goldin has been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics after publishing an influential body of work focusing on the roots of changes in women’s employment, which “advanced our understanding of women’s labor market outcomes.” —Story by Marla Alferez 17

According to the complaint, DOTr and LTFRB violated their constitutional right to full employment and equality of employment opportunities, as drivers and operators will be left unemployed as the PUVMP is implemented.

Pisay students bag medals in Division Meet; claim spots in NCR Palaro 2024

The Philippine Science High School–Main Campus’ very own student-athletes competed and shone in the swimming, archery, and gymnastics events of the 2024 Division level of the Palarong Pambansa in Quezon City. —Story by Jared Mancenido and Justin Camacho 20

PSHSS Executive Director Lilia Habacon (right) in the House of Representatives Plenary Hall. Photo from the Press and Public Affairs Bureau, House of Representatives.

A student donates his blood. Photo by Gabbie Penullar.

QC introduces ‘care card’ for LGBTQIA+ couples

by Mara Remonte

Queer couples in Quezon City (QC) are now a step closer to being legitimized by the government.

Queer couples can now legally make important healthcare decisions for each other after the Quezon City (QC) Government officially implemented the Right to Care (RTC) Card last June 24

The RTC Card is the first such card for members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines.

The card operates as a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) card, validating the decisions made by queer cardholders to allow or deny medical care, choose healthcare providers, share personal information, and take other actions included in the SPA’s authority.

Currently, hospitals and medical facilities only acknowledge decisions made by legal spouses or next of kin.

The QC Government formally released the card to residents during the LoveLaban Pride Festival.

Registered individuals are required to attend seminars that disclose in detail the legal rights and benefits included in the card.

QC Mayor Joy Belmonte hopes this initiative will encourage other local governments to follow suit to promote LGBTQIA+ rights.

“We want all of our residents, regardless of sexual orientation, to be with their partners in critical moments, and we are taking this important step to assure the rainbow community that they are cared for, recognized and valued in Quezon City,” Mayor Belmonte said in a press release.

The QC Government has currently implemented the RTC Card in public hospitals located in Quezon City, such as Quezon City General Hospital, Novaliches District Hospital, and Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital.

The city government is planning partnerships with other Quezon City hospitals.

1,700

hopefuls take

NCE at PSHS-MC

by

Around 1,700 aspirants took the National Competitive Examination (NCE) at Philippine Science High School — Main Campus (PSHS-MC) today, November 18.

The top 240 NCE examinees will call PSHS-MC their second home as Batch 2030 for the next six years.

This is the first time the NCE was held since 2019. During the pandemic, the admission process was replaced by the NCE – Requirements for Admission, Criteria, and Evaluation (RACE).

This year’s NCE retained its format before the pandemic with four sections lasting a total of 5 hours: Quantitative Ability, Verbal Aptitude, Scientific Ability, and Abstract Reasoning.

PSHS-MC served as a coordinator for two other testing centers in Metro Manila: Malayan High School of Science (Pandacan, Manila) and Parañaque Science High School (Parañaque City).

Members of the PSHS-MC staff and faculty were appointed as proctors and chief examiners across the NCR testing centers.

Upon completion of the NCE, students were ushered by PSHSMC student marshalls to the gymnasium, where their parents awaited their arrival.

One examinee shared the opportunity they look forward to by taking the NCE: “I do not want to miss the chance of having a good school.” .

A mother also shared that her child aspires to be accepted into PSHS-MC.

“Pisay — it’s a well-established school. Alam ko na mag-g’grow siya dito. At saka, kapag nag-start ka [nang mag-aral] dito, hindi ka na magkakaroon ng problema going into college,” she says.

(Pisay — it’s a wellestablished school. I know my child will grow here. Also, when you start studying here, you won’t have a problem going into college.)

The 2023 NCE is the largest PSHS-MC has hosted with 1,696 of

the 24,653 examinees nationwide taking the test on campus.

PSHSS “offers an education that is humanistic in spirit, global in perspective, and patriotic in orientation. It is based on a curriculum that emphasizes science and mathematics as well as the development of wellrounded individuals.”

In a Facebook post dated September 16, the Philippine Science High School System (PSHSS) said that the 24,000 examinees were selected based on their Predicted NCE Grade (PNG).

Compared to the 2019 NCE with 30,986 students, the number of examinees this year dropped by over 20% (around 6,000 students).

Results of the NCE are expected to be sent via email by the PSHS Board of Trustees by December 2023.

However, the NCE is currently facing delays in other testing centers due to inclement weather and government executive orders that could also delay results.

NEWS 2 House Bill expanding PSHSS passes final reading

eventually consider establishing more than two campuses per region after 15 years of the Act’s implementation.

The bill also creates a trust fund out of income generated from the campuses’ school fees, which will be administered by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through PSHS.

This will be used to fund the PSHS system’s priority programs and activities.

In addition to this, the current and succeeding PSHSS Executive Director, Deputy Executive Directors, and Campus Directors will be eligible to take a maximum of three terms for five years each.

Currently, directors can only assume a maximum of two terms for six years each.

Within 90 days after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signs the law, the PSHSS Board of Trustees will make the necessary implementations of the Act.

PSHS–MC holds 2nd Blood Donation Campaign

by Sam Gianan & Gabbie Penullar

to serve the community while doing so.”

(“Donating blood isn’t as dauntless as it seems. For those afraid of needles, it’s a good way to get over your fear because they aren’t that painful, like an ant bite. And at the same time, it’s a way to serve the community while doing so.”)

A blood donation campaign was also held in the previous school year hosted by PDAPMERT.

B2024 research projects featured in Saliksikan

by Kat Dela Rama

by

Grade 12 students showcased their STEM research projects in Saliksikan 2024: Research Fair last February 24.

This year’s research fair featured several guest judges from prestigious universities and industries across different fields, ranging from biological sciences to computational research.

Throughout the day, the students presented their research projects to their assigned judges, answering challenging questions the experts had for them.

“It feels good [to present the research], but it’s also nervewracking,” stated Nina Corpuz from R3K2-03. However, despite their initial worries, the group found that their presentation flowed naturally once they began.

“I had fun; it was nice being able to talk about our research,” added Miko Cornejo from R3Z207.

The judges provided substantial feedback and

comments on each research project. Yet, past all the presentation tension, the guest judges found Batch 2024’s projects to be outstanding.

“The [students’ research] level is like [those in] college already. Some even are on par with our graduate students. So, I was very impressed with the presentations of the students, especially with the topics,” remarked Dr. Crisanto Lopez, an Associate Professor from the Department of Biology of Ateneo de Manila University.

“I see very good potential with the research the students are giving. Maybe with a little more polishing [and] a little more time and resources, I believe [their works will reach great heights],” added Mr. Jerico Manalo, an Instructor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of the Philippines–Diliman.

Out of the 89 studies by Batch 2024, three groups were awarded the 3rd Grand Prize: R3K1-03 (Basas, Daran, Yap) for their

research entitled “Fabrication and Characterization of Saba banana (Musa acuminata x Musa balbisiana) Bast Fiber and Cotton Fiber Fabric-Reinforced Polyethylene-based Composite,” R3Y1-03 (Libatique, Magpantay, Sulvita) for the “Development of a Browser-based, Hand GestureControlled Virtual Chemistry Laboratory Integrating Google Mediapipe Hands Solutions,” and R3X1-04 (Catipay, Florendo, Salazar) for the “Development of a flood susceptibility map for the Marikina River Basin area using machine learning algorithms.” Another three groups were awarded the 4th Grand Prize. These groups are R3Z2-01 (Abeleda, Tud) for their research on “The Creation of a Catalog of Hot Jupiters: Determining a Dominant Origin Theory through the Roche Limit,” R3K101 (Dela Rama, Lee, Siazon) for their study about the “In silico Screening of 40 Antiviral Phytochemicals as Inhibitors to the Envelope Protein of Dengue Virus Serotype 2 (DENV-2),” and

R3X2-01 (De Guzman, Diocera) for their research on the “In Silico Modeling of Amiloride Derivatives as Inhibitors of Cytochrome bd oxidase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.”

In addition to the Grand Awards, R3Y1-03, consisting of Lance Libatique, Davis Magpantay, and Leandro Sulvita, won the People’s Choice Award during Saliksikan’s community fair on March 1.

R3Y1-03 helps bridge the accessibility gap in chemistry lab education through their app Chemaya, a virtual chemistry laboratory that allows for ondevice hand gesture controls for improved user immersion.

The highest-scoring study by Pia Basas, Kim Daran, and Zane Yap of R3K1-03 aimed to create a more environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic fibers for reinforcing polymers using saba banana bast fibers.

“One thing we can say is that our project has gone through [a lot],” the group stated, sharing how their project had undergone

several major revisions after their initial proposals were turned down.

“...[Being the top-scorer] felt very fulfilling because being recognized really made the failures, confusion, constant calls and e-mails, sleepless nights of paper writing, and countless revisions and consultations worth it,” the group added.

R3K1-03 wished that they had been better at communicating with their RT, RA, and partner agencies during the early stages in their project. “So our advice [to future batches] is to be super kulit and communicate as early and as much as possible to the people who can assist you, and of course, read a lot of papers similar to your topic.”

Saliksikan 2024: Research Fair is an event organized by the PSHS-MC research unit. It served as an alternative to the traditionally-implemented Brain Blast, which is judged by PSHS-MC teachers.

Marla Alferez, Benjamin Jacob, & Kaleena So

& Davis Magpantay

PSHS students score 2 awards in IOAA; team wins PH’s first medal

by Benjamin Jacob

CHORZOW, Poland — The stars have aligned as two students from Philippine Science High School bagged awards in the recently concluded International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) last August 10-21, 2023.

Mohammad Nur Casib (PSHS-CMC ‘25) bagged a silver medal, while Yanna Lorraine Tenorio (PSHS-MC ‘24) bagged an honorable mention. Joining Casib and Tenorio in the delegation are Caesar Lopez Jr. (PSHS-MC ‘23) Sean Ken Galanza (PSHS-MC ‘24), and Patrick Gabriel Abeleda (PSHS-MC ‘24).

The all-Pisay team broke the Philippine’s participation record by bringing home its first medal.

Mr. Bernard Llaguno of PSHS-MC and Mr. Ronn Marr Perez of PSHS-CMC served as the team’s coaches and team leaders, representing the students during

the competition. International Physics Olympiad coach Dr. Jose Perico Esguerra also served as a guest coach for the team.

The IOAA competition proper is composed of three sections: a theoretical section, data analysis section, and a sky/ planetarium observation section.

The organizers also hosted a group trivia competition and a newly-introduced poster presentation which did not influence the medal rankings.

According to Tenorio, this year’s competition was difficult, draining the participants after each round.

“The competition proper, though, was intense. We’d all be completely drained after each round. Nevertheless, I loved the challenge, and the adrenaline I got after a ‘Eureka’ moment was one of the best feelings ever,” she said.

Despite the difficulty, the participants shared that they were happy about the results of

the competition.

“It’s already an honor in itself getting to represent the Philippines. Getting an award was unexpected. Of course, I feel proud about getting to bring home an award, and it has inspired me to work harder for next year’s IOAA,” Tenorio stated.

In a Facebook post, Galanza shared how proud he is of the IOAA team because of their preparation for the IOAA.

The delegate also shared that along with the memories he made during the competition, he enjoyed his IOAA journey because of students who also had a passion for astrophysics.

Tenorio shared that she found a connection with people who had the same interests as her, “It was [amazing] meeting so many people who were on the same wavelength as me, and I can definitely say that I have made lifelong friends there. The world feels smaller

PSHSS students reap awards at 55th IChO

by Davis Magpantay & Kaleena So Students

ZURICH, Switzerland—

Four Philippine Science High School (PSHS) students bagged three bronze medals and an honorable mention at the 55th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO).

PSHS–Main Campus’ very own Kiersten Gene Calubaquib of Batch 2023 brought home an Honorable Mention at the contest.

“It truly is such an honor and privilege to be able to represent my country and even garner an award for it in such a prestigious competition,” Calubaquib shared.

Joining Calubaquib in the Philippine team are Lemuel Acosta (PSHS-CLC ‘23), Mohammad Nur Casib (PSHSCMC ‘25), and Gelraycs Jules Fornan (PSHS-SRC ‘24), who each won a bronze medal.

The IChO is a highly acclaimed contest for the world’s most talented chemistry students at the secondary level. Each year, countries select a team of four students as their chemical prowess is tested through a theoretical exam and a series of practical experiments.

IChO 2023 was held from July 16 to 25 at ETH Zurich with a twoday competition proper, one day allotted for each of the theoretical and practical exams.

were faced with a 10-question theoretical exam and three parts for the practical portion: qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, and organic synthesis.

The team’s training was supervised by international and national university chemistry professors and instructors, with their practical skills training held in the Organic Chemistry Lab at the Philippine Institute of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

According to Acosta, this year’s set of problems and experiments had a good mix of fairly simple to extremely challenging and time-consuming theoretical problems.

“The most challenging problems for the theoretical exam were related to biochemistry,” Acosta stated. “I could say that a lot [of contestants were] really challenged judging by the statistics they have shown.”

Caluaquib expressed his content as the theoretical problems this year didn’t stray far from the topics and question formats in the preparatory problem.

“A lot of my studying came to fruition here. It was still unavoidable for there to be difficult problems, so time management was very crucial in completing the exam,” Calubaquib

remarked.

For Acosta, their coaches contributed to the majority of his preparations, especially when it came to the practical portion of the exam.

However, individual preparation remained an important part of their success.

“I started preparing specifically for IChO when it was announced that I was going to be one of the Philippine delegates. I did it by focusing more on solving previous IChO problems rather than usually learning about advanced topics in chemistry,” Fornan said.

Calubaquib also emphasized the importance of understanding the given preparatory problems and fields of advanced difficulty.

On the competition’s free days, the delegation was able to visit ETH Zurich’s laboratories, as well as the facilities of Lonza and the Paul Scherer Institute. The team also went on tours of popular Swiss destinations like Bern, Lucerne, and Mount Rigi.

“The whole experience was so refreshing. The atmosphere was so clean and fresh; it was really an eye-opening experience exchanging and immersing oneself in different cultures,” Calubaquib shared.

IChO 2024 is set to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Dalida bags silver in his last IMO

by Benjamin Jacob

CHIBA, Japan —

Raphael Dylan Dalida of Batch 2023 ends his last International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) this year with a silver medal.

Dalida previously won one silver medal in 2021 and two bronze medals in 2020 and 2022 from the said competition.

Despite this year being his final stint in the competition, Dalida assured that he will still help enrich mathematics training in the Philippines.

“I [want to] help out with PMO (Philippine Mathematical Olympiad) and train at MOSC (Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp),” he shared.

Dalida also strives to improve the implementation of math olympiad training based on his experience as a competitor.

“I think there’s part of the system, particularly in test development and training meta [strategies] where the viewpoints of past contestants would be useful,” he said.

The IMO, widely acclaimed as vthe largest mathematics competition for high school students, was held from July 2 to 12. The competition proper is held over two days, with three problems to be solved over 4.5 hours each day.

When asked about his strategy for taking the examination, he mentioned that he just planned on having fun with the problems.

He shared the relief he felt after the examination, especially due to its difficulty: “Getting a

medal feels really rewarding. Even though the scores don’t show it, ang hirap din makuha [ng ibang problems].”v

Even after all the training sessions, he mentioned that being able to reach the IMO was already an achievement in itself.

The Philippine team’s performance is one of the best in the past six years, with the team ranking 25th out of 112 participating countries.

Other members of the Philippine delegation that garnered a silver were Jerome Austin Te (Jubilee Christian Academy) and Filbert Ephraim Wu (Victory Christian International School).

Bronze medalists include Rickson Caleb Tan (MGC New Life Christian Academy), Mohammad Nur Casib (Philippine Science High School–Central Mindanao Campus), and Alvann Walter Paredes Dy (Saint Jude Catholic School).

Team leader Ms. Hazel Joy Shi, deputy team leader Mr. Kerish Villegas, and observer Mr. Ruselle Guadalupe trained and led the team during the competition.

The competition was organized by The Mathematical Olympiad Foundation of Japan, along with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

IMO 2024 will be conducted in Bath, United Kingdom from July 10-22, 2024.

The Philippine Mathematical Olympiad 2024 has recently concluded, with the delegates to the IMO to be selected the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp (MOSC).

PSHS-MC team bags medals, awards at IPhO

TOKYO, Japan—

Students from Philippine Science High School–Main Campus (PSHS-MC) recently garnered awards at the 2023 International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).

Harold Scott Chua (B2024) bagged a bronze medal, while Benjamin Jacob (B2024) brought home an honorable mention. Also joining the two was Dirk Erwin Tardecilla (B2023).

Chua notably received an honorable mention at the same competition last year.

The competition was held from July 9 to 17, 2023 at the National Youth Olympics Memorial Center.

Team leaders Mrs. Niña Angelica Simon (University of the Philippines–Diliman) and Mr. Alexander De Los Reyes (Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas) served as academic referees of the team. They were in charge of translating,

discussing, and marking the problems, as well as vying for additional marks.

IPhO 2023 is composed of two sections, with each section lasting five hours long: an experimental section with two problems and a theoretical section with three problems.

The competition saw higher award cutoffs with two students getting a rare perfect score in the theoretical section.

The year’s IPhO was organized by the IPhO Secretariat and Organizing Committee chaired by 2008 Physics Nobel Laureate Mr. Makoto Kobayashi.

Other notable organizers are vice chairs Mr. Hiroshi Amano and Mr. Kajita Takaaki, who also won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

The next IPhO will be held in Isfahan, Iran on July 21–27, 2024.

The IChO team posing for a picture after the awarding ceremony. From left to right: Jay Agbay (PSHS-CRC Scientific Observer), Dr. Raymond Malabed (DLSU-Manila, Mentor), Gene Calubaquib, Nur Casib, Lemuel Acosta, Jules Fornan, Jomarie Enerio (PSHS-SRC, Scientific Observer), Dr. Faith Marie Lagua (DLSU-Manila, Mentor). Courtesy of the Philippine National Chemistry Olympiad official Facebook page.

The IMO Philippine delegation at the awarding ceremony last July 12, 2023. From left to right: Villegas, Casib, Paredes Dy, Wu, Dalida, Te, Tan, Shi, and Guadalupe. Courtesy of the Go for Gold: Philippine IMO Team Facebook page.

PSHS students score

2

awards in IOAA; PH wins first medal

and less lonely now, now that I know so many people from around the world.”

Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship Jakub Chelstowski even remarked in the closing ceremony that the friendships the participants have made will be valuable in their future scientific work.

Galanza advised students to prepare emotionally because olympiads will require having “a strong sense of humanistic spirit” by meeting new people and facing the competition results.

Tenorio finally advised: “If ever you feel like you’re in a slump, or you feel like you’re not improving… just remember how much you wanted this in the first place and remember how much you’ve worked hard for it. ”

If you have truly found your passion, don’t let it go.

Yanna Lorraine Tenorio IOAA Honorable Mention (2023)

The 2023 IOAA was organized by the Silesian Voivodeship in Silesia, Poland. The IOAA Board, announced that the 2024 IOAA will be held in Brazil.

Beryllium 2027 sweeps Pisay History Bowl

by Marla Alferez

Team Beryllium emerged victorious, garnering 120–30, in the final round of this year’s Pisay History Bowl as they scored several times to escape from a tight opening against Team Strontium.

This was during today’s Pisay History Bowl, a quiz bee for selected Batch 2027 students, held during the Humanities Festival 2023. The triumphant Beryllium team consisted of Clarice Ilonah Chavez, Tyrone Lemuel Cabiao, Danilo Fajardo III, John Glenn Pascual, and Amiel Isaiah Layco.

The Strontium team, who followed as first runner-up, consisted of Sophia Isabella Manuel, Bryan Gil Batarilan, Jessica Claire Caputero, Ceana Blair Ramirez, and Ron Joseph Rodillas.

“It was very unexpected,” Chavez remarked on Beryllium’s victory, adding that they expected the questions to be more difficult.

Participants of the Pisay History Bowl were selected through a batch-wide qualifying exam, with the top five students from each section forming their section’s teams. 6

Math, English Units prevail in Petrichor’s Odyssey

by Jamaine Gatbonton

Teachers from the Math and English Units prevail in Petrichor 2024’s Odyssey, the school fair’s take on the popular game show Jeopardy.

Mr Leo Crisologo of the Math Unit emerged triumphant during the first set. Claiming victory in the second set was Mr Daryl Wyson of the English Unit.

Marking the first day of the fair, the segment tested the knowledge of the teacher participants on topics such as identifying Pisay lingo and Greek works of art.

Contestants selected a question from a board with six categories worth 100 to 500 points and were given 30 seconds to answer. They were given a chance to steal whenever the first answer given was incorrect.

Opening the game was its first set of teachers, Mr Edge Angeles of the Computer Science Unit, Mr Jejo Bongat of the Technology Unit, and Mr Leo Crisologo of the Math Unit.

Mr Bongat secured a headstart while identifying images of locations on the PSHS–MC Campus. Yet, Mr Edge took the lead after gaining the upper hand on pop culture questions.

Mr Crisologo, answering two questions worth 900 points in a single category, made an astonishing resurgence during the penultimate score update.

After several close comebacks, the scores totaled to Mr Crisologo winning first place with 3,300 points, followed by Mr Bongat and Mr Angeles with 1,700 and 1,300 points, respectively.

“It was fun, I had fun!” Mr Crisologo remarked. “Siyempre, [sa] una kinakabahan [ako] but

n’ong huli, relax[ed] naman [ako] kasi I was starting to have fun.”

(“Of course, at first I was nervous but in the end, I was relaxed as I was starting to have fun.”)

Meanwhile, the second round kicked off with new players, namely Mr John Carlo Elopre of the Technology Unit, Mr Daryl Wyson of the English Unit, and Mr Kim Gargar of the Physics Unit.

Throughout the game, from questions on Greek mythology to Pisay pets, Mr Wyson maintained a steady lead, while Mr Gargar and Mr Elopre alternated positions for second and third place.

In the finale, Mr Wyson took first place with 300 points, with Mr Gargar and Mr Elopre having -800 and -1200 points, respectively.

Due to a right-minus-

wrong grading system, some teachers received negative point totals in the last round. Additionally, correct answers not stated in the form of a question were ruled as incorrect.

Mr Wyson described it as a “sayang moment” when his supposedly correct answer was marked wrong due to its noninterrogative form.

When asked about his win, Mr Wyson shared that he “always wanted to be in a game show,” and that Odyssey was his taste of what being in one felt like.

Mr Crisologo also commended the organizers’ efforts on the segment, from preparing the board to making the questions: “Mukhang talagang pinag-effort-an . . . siya ng mga nasa committee sa fair.”

(“It really looks like those in the committee of the fair made efforts for the segment.”)

PSHS–MC hailed overall champion for Econvergence 2024, defends 6-year streak

by Sam Gianan

Philippine Science High School–Main Campus (PSHS-MC) triumphed as overall champion of Econvergence 2024, marking its sixth consecutive year since 2019.

The competition was held at the University of the Philippines –Los Baños (UPLB) last February 3 to 4 with the theme “Confronting Risks, Harnessing Opportunities: Exploring the Intersections of AI and the Philippine Economy.”

Selected students participated in competitions including Ekonomika Quiz Contest, Intellectual Encounter Debate, Essay Writing, Poster Making, Photo Essay, Impromptu Speaking, and the Mini Documentary Presentation.

Angelo Clark Tongco of Batch 2025 emerged victorious, winning first place for Ekonomika, the quiz bee. He scored 22/28, conquering with three consecutive clincherround wins.

Tongco was coached by Mr Vlad Lopez of the

Social Science Unit.

After the awarding ceremony, Tongco described the competition as “heart clenching” because of the clincher rounds.

Amira Batino (2027), Lorenzo Franco Kasilag (2025), and Chael Matthew Sze (2027) won second for the debate, going head-tocontest.

Other contestants include Samantha Nicole Gianan (2025) for essay writing; Steven Breon Baguio (2025) for impromptu speaking; Quenso Tambalque (2025) for traditional postermaking; and Sai Catral, Bianca Espinoza, Mia Gosiengfiao,

Bambie

of the Social Science Unit served as the coaches and advisers for the event.

Philippine Science High School–CALABARZON Region Campus placed second overall, while the University of Batangas–Batangas City Campus placed

Econvergence is a national inter-high school economics convention hosted by the UPLB Economics Society that aims to promote excellence in economic education for high school students. After the last three years held in the virtual setup, the competition returned face-toface for 2024 and reimplemented the roving trophy system, wherein the overall champion must defend their win for three consecutive years to keep the trophy forever.

Untalan-Mina

READY. (From left) Mr Angeles, Mr Crisologo, and Mr Bongat are ready to answer the next question. Photo by Karl Bueser of Ang Lagablab.

Filipino, SS units spark scholars’ creativity in HumFest 2023

by Alyssa Bituin & Andy Ganancial

Scholars flaunted their creativity in the activities prepared by the Filipino and Social Science Units on the third day of the Humanities Festival (HumFest) 2023.

The Pinoy pride of the Philippine Science High School–Main Campus (PSHS–MC) students shone through in each event, which included spoken word poetry, diorama, dancing, and painting.

Sabayang Pagbigkas

Garbed in traditional Filipino attire, Grade 7 students recounted Philippine revolts against Spanish rule through spoken word or “Sabayang Pagbigkas.” The project, a collaboration between the Social Science and Filipino units, featured poems composed by the students, with the theme “Muling pagsibol, muling pagyabong.”

Manibela files complaint vs DOTr, LTFRB officials over PUVMP; protests persist

pulls through.

Diamond claimed first place with their piece entitled “Tagumpay sa Likod ng Kabiguan,” while Garnet and Opal tied for second place with their pieces “Malaya sa Pananampalataya” and “Sa Mga Manlulupig Hindi Pasisiil,” respectively.

According to Filipino teacher Ms China De Vera, the activity aimed to commemorate and introduce the country’s national heroes to the new generation, pointing out how most of the heroes mentioned in the poetry pieces were not well-known.

Sayaw ng Dekada

Grade 8 students grooved back in time with their dance performances of songs from different decades in Philippine music.

Sampaguita won first place with their bop to “‘Di Ko Na Mapipigilan” by SexBomb Girls.

Champaca reached for the stars and placed second with their moves to “Tala” by Sarah Geronimo, while Adelfa finished third with their rendition of “Pamela One” by Vhong Navarro.

Chenille Cinco, class president of Sampaguita, shared her excitement on taking first prize, saying: “I’m just really so happy that we were able to get our early Christmas gift like Mr Erin [Mr Erin Dela Cruz, Sampaguita’s class adviser] tells us. I’m really proud of the performance that we gave and also [those of] the other sections.”

Pagsusuri sa Panitikang

Filipino

Grade 9 sections analyzed literary works as inspiration for dioramas. Their works were exhibited on the third floor of the Science and Humanities Building (SHB) where judges roamed around to evaluate the said outputs.

Some of the literary pieces used were “Ang Kasiyahan ng Isang Titser sa Baryo,” “Mga Hudyat ng Bagong Kabihasnan,” “Moses, Moses” “Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas,” and “Iginigisa Ako Tuwing Umaga.” THE CREATION. Batch 2027 students 6

The group added that they were being forced to form new cooperatives against their will. Under the current consolidation scheme, jeepney operators traveling the same route must form or join a cooperative to keep their franchise operating.

Manibela also called for the suspension of the respondents while their case is yet to be heard.

They aired that the government executed PUVMP without consulting members of the transport sector.

“We assure the general public that in implementing the PUV Modernization Program, DOTr and its attached agencies

endeavor to strictly comply with pertinent provisions of the 1987 Constitution, as well as relevant laws and jurisprudence,” Bautista said in an interview with GMA Integrated News.

Fellow transport group

PISTON previously filed a petition to halt the PUVMP’s implementation to the Supreme Court (SC), which awaits a decision after comments from DOTr and LTFRB.

DOTr, represented by the Office of the Solicitor-General, asked for the petition to be dismissed on “procedural grounds and lack of merit.” LTFRB, represented by Guadiz, declined to comment on their response to the SC.

As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended the jeepney consolidation deadline to April 30, Manibela called for the high court to decide on the ongoing petition by the said date.

Without the SC petition to block PUVMP implementation, unconsolidated jeepneys will be revoked after the deadline.

According to groups and lawmakers, over 28.5 million commuters will be affected once consolidation is complete, 6.2 million of which are in Metro Manila.

PISTON says that over 200,000 jeepney drivers and operators are set to lose their source of income as the program

MATATAG Curriculum pilot implementation takes flight in 35 schools

by Elisha Marasigan

As school bells ring once again, signaling the dawn of a new academic year, a select group of 35 public schools have taken on the role of piloting the MATATAG curriculum that started last September 25.

Schools from Regions I, II, VII, XII, the Cordillera Administrative Region, the Caraga region, and Malabon City were chosen to implement the newly revised curriculum for the entire academic year.

The pilot implementation aims to assess the support needed for the effective execution of the MATATAG Curriculum and identify any issues that may arise during this initial phase.

The Department of Education (DepEd) released the MATATAG Curriculum to address the issue of an overloaded curriculum by reducing its content by about 70 percent, according to DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development director Jocelyn Andaya. Furthermore, it emphasizes

foundational skills, particularly in early education.

The schools were chosen to ensure diversity by considering socioeconomic status and enrollment size.

Schools and teachers were provided with essential resources like activity sheets and learning exemplars, and teachers participated in training sessions to familiarize themselves with the curriculum’s framework.

To ensure robust monitoring and evaluation, DepEd joined forces with various research organizations. Research studies will be conducted by the Philippine Institute of Developmental Studies (PIDS) in collaboration with the Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Center (ACTRC), and the Philippine Normal University–Research Center for Teacher Quality (RCTQ) in partnership with the SiMERR National Research Centre in Australia.

Despite this, the pilot implementation of the MATATAG curriculum has faced

opposition from some teachers’ groups, including the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.

These groups have voiced concerns and recommended that DepEd postpone the pilot implementation and instead focus on creating a curriculum that molds students into nation builders.

Currently, local DepEd divisions and school heads are taking an active role in overseeing the pilot implementation. Summative and formative assessments will be regularly conducted to monitor students’ progress throughout the pilot phase.

The MATATAG curriculum is scheduled for gradual implementation, starting with kindergarten, Grades 1, 4, and 7 in SY 2024-2025. The following school year this curriculum will be implemented by Grades 2, 5, and 8. In the third year of its implementation, Grades 3, 6, and 9 will transition to this curriculum, and finally, Grade 10 will follow suit by SY 20272028.

After Manibela leader Mario Valbuena filed the petition, the transport group protested in front of the Ombudsman to once again call for the suspension of the PUVMP. The protest ended at noon.

PISTON and Manibela have previously launched a 12-day nationwide transport strike amid the Christmas holiday traffic rush in protest of the PUV consolidation deadline.

A strike conducted by PISTON last March paralyzed 95% of Manila transporation with just 100 participating PUVs.

Only 76% of public utility jeepneys have been consolidated as of January 5, 2024.

English Olympics kick off in HumFest

by Athena Ap-apid & Justin Camacho

Students of Philippine Science High School–Main Campus (PSHS–MC) battled it out on the second day of the Humanities Festival 2023 during the English Olympics.

The event showcased the English quiz bee, spelling bee, speech, storytelling, and radio drama competitions.

Quiz Bee

Students from Grades 7 to 10 gathered at the gym for the English Quiz Bee, in which representatives from each section answered questions regarding pop culture, literature, grammar, and mythology.

The Ruby-Adelfa team emerged as champions for the Foundation Years Program (FYP, Grades 7-8) category of the Quiz Bee, finishing at 54 points. Sapphire-Champaca followed in second place at 51 points, and Emerald-Ilang-Ilang secured third place (49 points).

Meanwhile, the StrontiumMuon team (46 points) won in the Advancement Years Program

Members of Manibela (Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon) called for the suspension of the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP) in front of the Office of the

Ombudsman earlier yesterday. Photo by Niña Viaje.

HumFest 2023 blooms at PSHS-MC

Research Unit reigns in 2023 STEManities

teacher or a student from the audience to answer the question).

How the tables have turned!

The Research Unit scored an unexpected win after the DEC Team, consisting of Ms Donna Hipolito, Mr Elliard Yanza, and Ms Catherine Dela Cruz, emerged as champions of STEManities, despite only scoring eight points in the first round.

In the quiz bee, STEM teachers became students for the day as they challenged each other to a battle of cultural wits in the humanities-focused quiz bee, answering questions on topics from Values Education, PEHM, Social Science, English and Filipino literature, and pop culture.

The contest consisted of easy, average, and difficult rounds. In each round, the teams could gamble their points by answering a Flower Power question, in which the right answer rewards them double points while a mistake results in a deduction.

The teams can also use various power-ups, including Through the Grapevine (copy an answer from another team), Nip in the Bud (ban another team from answering a question), and Call of Nature (call another STEM

When asked about how they felt about their victory, Mr Yanza answered: “Since we thought we were losing already, we just hung on and had fun in order to get it over with.”

The DEC Team joked that their only preparation was to pray.

They also credited Batch

We didn’t expect we were going to win.

Elliard Roswell Yanza Research Teacher

2024 student Davis Magpantay for their win after using the Call of Nature power-up to ask for assistance on the last question. Magpantay was also called to help other teams and consistently provided the correct answers. This victory was expected by Batch 2024 students Nicci Tud and Althea Tinaan. According to them, the Research Unit deals with more broad topics that don’t necessarily fall in the realm of STEM, as opposed to other more specialized units.

Following the DEC Team,

Filipino, SS units spark scholars’ creativity in HumFest 2023

Team ComSci CompSci, consisting of Mr Jayson Bingcang, Ms Edlen Sanchez, and Mr Edge Angeles from the Computer Science Unit, won first runner-up with a total of 34 points.

Meanwhile, Gheorjhette’s Laws of Motion, composed of Ms Bhazel Anne Pelicano, Mr Eddie Neil Bartolay, and Mr Kim Gargar of the Physics Unit, bagged second runner-up with 30 points.

Despite the competitive nature of the event, the atmosphere remained light as teachers from different teams teased each other in between questions.

In the difficult round, the Math Boys and Trio Tagapayo, from the Mathematics and Physics Units, respectively, blocked each other from answering, costing them both a place on the podium.

When asked about the highlight of the event, Batch 2025 student Irvin Castillo remarked, “Every time points [were counted], [we could see who cheers] for each team.”

Castillo added that it was delightful to see the enormous amount of support for the teachers.

The other teams that participated in the competition

are as follows: Math Boys of the Mathematics Unit (Mr Leo Crisologo, Mr Mario Danilo Llanura, and Mr Mark John Ayaay), Trio Tagapayo of the Physics Unit (Mr Justin Alvarez, Mr Bimbo Galit, and Mr Marc Christian Perez), Wildcard of the Biology Unit (Mr Ralph Hipolito, Mr Christian Abagat, and Ms Rieziel Ann Bernal), and RAwR! of the Research Unit (Mr Restituto Cortez, Jr., Mr Alangelico San Pascual, and Mr Reneir John Tuason).

We encourage fellow Filipinos to flourish again, but will this happen? We believe so.

work on their diorama outputs. Photo by Anne Leviste.

Each section selected a representative to present their diorama.

Ms Camille Barquilla of the Filipino Unit expressed that she was happy all sections were able to present well.

Slam Poetry

Grade 11 students gathered in the SHB third floor Auditorium to watch the presentations of each block’s representative in the slam poetry competition, with the theme “Pagyabong ng Wikang Filipino: Pagsibol ng Karanasan at Kahusayan ng Lipunang Pilipino.”

Block G representatives Karl Beloy, Alexander Cristobal, Skye Del Rosario, Kelvin Ramos, and Anton Peñaranda garnered first place with their poem entitled “Sa Dila ay Bulaklak.”

Block C, with their piece “Pamana” by Yel Teope, Martin Bayhon, Eris Ramos, Elyse Ramos, Gus Guidotti, and Nathan

Cometa, followed in second place, while Block A composed of Hale Sosa, Dane Hablo, Katch Viernesto, Jairo Aban, Sai Catral, Maya Bartobalac, and Paulo Medilla placed third with “Wika, Wika, Nasaan Ka?”

Anton Peñaranda of 11–G emphasized the power of word choice and language in influencing others’ thoughts and beliefs.

“Tungkol naman sa titulo ng tula namin, sinasabi kasi na kapag daw mabulaklak ang dila mo, magaling ka raw manghikayat. Actually, parang ang ibig sabihin talaga nito ay ‘too good to be true,’ so medyo mapaglaro siya,” Peñaranda said.

(“About the title of our poem, they say that if you use flowery words, you will be convincing. Actually, this really means ‘too good to be true,’ so it’s a play on words.”)

“Hinihikayat namin ang mga kapwa naming Filipino na sisibol tayo muli, pero mangyayari nga ba ‘to? Sa aming palagay, oo,” Peñaranda added.

Sining Kape at Kultura

The Grade 12 students participated in their only event for the day, “Sining Kape at Kultura,” a coffee painting workshop by the renowned coffee artist Mr. Renato “Rens” E. Tuzon.

The event was a collaboration between the Filipino Unit and the Social Science Unit.

Tuzon has around 30 years of experience with coffee painting, having been placed at the New York City Coffee Festival and London Coffee Festival with his entries “Golden Happiness Coffee Brings” and “ My Coffee Grows Old With Me” respectively .

Each block was divided into five groups, which were each required to submit an output. They were given an outlined image to fill out with strokes of coffee that would give justice to the given sketch.

Tuzon mentioned that coffee is a good medium because it promotes sustainability and its texture is similar to that of watercolor.

He then advised students that the use of coffee should be loose, letting the coffee move and tell you what it wants to be.

Excluding the Closing Ceremony, this marks the last activity of the Grade 12 students in their final Humanities Festival before graduating next year.

Beryllium 2027 sweeps Pisay History Bowl

The eight sections were divided into two clusters, where only the top two teams from each round were eligible to proceed to the subsequent rounds.

Beryllium, Magnesium, Rubidium, and Lithium made up the first cluster of the first knockout rounds, while Strontium, Potassium, Sodium, and Cesium comprised the second.

The four sections that emerged victorious in the quarter finals were Beryllium, Rubidium, Strontium, and Cesium with 160, 50, 100, and 90 points, respectively.

After the quarter finals, Beryllium, with 130 points, and Strontium, with 70 points, advanced to the final round.

According to Mr Arnie Lapuz of the Social Science Unit, the event aims to gauge the knowledge of Grade 9 students in topics they’ve learned in History from Grades 7 to 9.

5 English Olympics kick off in HumFest

(AYP, Grades 9–10) category, followed by Sodium-Tau in second place (44 points) and CesiumElectron in third place (42 points). Contestants worked in pairs through easy, average, and difficult rounds, with each student coming from a different section and grade level within FYP and AYP.

‘Good,

Better, and Vest’ The Jade-Dahlia

was

“Isang paraan din ito para ma-encourage ‘yung mga estudyante to have love for history,” he added.

This is also a way to encourage the students to have love for history.

Arnold

Teacher

The winning team will be awarded during the Humanities Festival’s closing ceremony

Jayden Dagsa contributed to

crowned as the champion of

a species of perennial flowering plants. The competition featured mechanics similar to It’s

by Kat Dela Rama & Thandie Aliño

the “Good, Better, and Vest” spelling competition with the word, “begonias,”

Anton Peñaranda

team

Lapuz Social Science

TIME’S UP. Mr Elliard Yanza (center) raises the board for the DEC Team. Photo by Jini Dela Paz.

VICTORY OVER ADVERSITY. Diamond performs their winning piece entitled “Tagumpay sa Likod ng Kabiguan.” Photo by Andrei Salvador.

JOURNEY TOWARDS EXCELLENCE. A Grade 8 student delivers a speech. Photo by Andrei Salvador.

Math Unit bests Petrichor’s Pisay Feud

by Marla Alferez & Mara Remonte

The Math Unit defends their Pisay Feud championship for two consecutive years.

The faculty unit’s Petri-core, composed of Mr Mardan Llanura, Mr Franel Infante, Mr Petri Español, Mr Louvelle Parulan, and Ms Melodee Pacio, swept the final round of Ainigmata: Pisay Feud.

The game is an annual school fair competition between faculty members wherein participants guess the students’ most common answers to survey questions, styled after the popular game show Family Feud.

For each category, one representative from both opposing teams will face off to give the first answer to the prompt by pressing the buzzer faster.

If their answer is correct, their teammates may guess the remaining answers in the category. However, the opposing team may steal their points if they give incorrect answers three times.

The game opened with Team Tatalo sa ComSci Unit with Mr Charles de Guzman, Ms Gelai Tandas, Ms Bhazel Pelicano, Mr Chuckie Calsado, and Mr Justin Guce from the Student Discipline Office (SDO).

The SDO team secured an overwhelming win over Team CompSci with Mr Mark Tarcelo, Ms Aline Mendoza, Mr Edge Angeles, and Ms Lodi Pabello from the Computer Science Unit, and Mr JC Elopre from the Technology Unit, with a score of 190-67.

Afterwards, Petri-core

faced off Team Saliksexy from the Research Unit consisting of Mr Resty Cortez, Ms Donna Hipolito, Mr Anj San Pascual, Mr RJ Tuason, and Mr Elliard Yanza. Petri-core secured a headstart by correctly guessing all the answers to “Hardest Subject at Pisay.” Saliksexy tried to make a comeback, but Petricore emerged triumphant in the last category, scoring 236-120.

In the final round between Petri-core and Tatalo sa ComSci Unit, Petri-core won with a score of 240-41 after dominating the third and fourth categories, “Best Part of Pisay” and “Favorite Music Artists of Pisay Students”.

Upon announcing the tally of the scores and the winner, Mr Mardan of Team Petri-core told the hosts that their victory was “expected.”

Bahaghari reveals plans for future projects

English Olympics kick off in HumFest

Showtime’s “Vest in Spelling,” where contestants, grouped into teams of 10, wear lettered vests and arrange themselves into the correct spelling of the given words.

After the clincher round for first place, Topaz-Sampaguita placed second. Meanwhile, Emerald-Camia finished in third place.

‘Battle of the Bards’

For the “Battle of the Bards” storytelling competition, contestants delivered a story based on given prompts.

“I tapped into my deepest dramatic memories to coax the emotion out,” contestant Raya Herrera of 12-F stated. “I don’t think it’s obvious in the pictures and videos but I was shaking… Whatever the results will be, I’m happy for [the winner], and I’m happy for myself.”

“[The performances] were all very heartfelt and personal, and

highlight what it really means to be a STEM student, which is also to be a Humanities student as well.”

SYP Radio Drama Competition

Trailers for SYP’s radio drama projects focusing on climate change issues and Earth in the year 2100 were presented to fellow Grade 11 and 12 students in the fourth-floor auditorium.

The 15-minute dramas featured script writing, voice acting, and sound editing crafted by the students in one month, compressed into three-minute trailers.

The projects will be judged based on the theme, creativity, music, editing, and vocal delivery present in each output.

Ms Jennifer Bermudez of the English Unit emphasized, however, that outside the technical aspects, the main goal of the dramas was to hone the students’ collaborative and personal social skills, as well as train them in resilient listening to connect with others and themselves.

Having witnessed ten years’ worth of HumFests in Pisay, Ms Bermudez believes it shouldn’t be the last time.

We want students to discover the power of the human voice.

Jennifer Bermudez English Teacher

“I think something like this should be a continuous event,” said Ms Bermudez.

by J.F.S.

Bahaghari, the Philippine Science High School–Main Campus’ (PSHS–MC) LGBTQIA+ support organization, introduces the SOGIE Education Program as one of their many future projects.

It aims to educate the school community on SOGIErelated matters with the use of seminars, talks, showings, podcasts, and other projects.

SOGIE is not a subject exclusive to queer people only.

Grandis Frias Bahaghari President

“As such, we based our ideas on modern research about SOGIE education, LGBTQIA+ welfare, and student community support,” Bahaghari president Grandis Frias explained. Through partnerships, this will also be integrated in educational segments

in the Humanities or Youth Mathematics Science and Technology (YMSAT) festivals with examples such as the science of being transgender and the history of Filipino queer rights.

There are also plans for activities dedicated to LGBTQIA+ visibility weeks and raising awareness on matters such as transgender healthcare, neopronouns, and sexual

We believe it takes an entire village to create spaces that are truly safe.

orientation spectrums. This program is meant not only for students, but also for school staff and parents.

To create such spaces, an LGBTQIA+ Peer Support Group open to both queer students and allies will be formed. Based on preference, face-to-face gatherings or online check-ins will be conducted to promote regular communication among the group.

Projects that promote queer inclusivity in Pisay will also be initiated. These include drag shows, queerthemed theater stages, art commissions by queer artists, and Pride marches.

To address various SOGIE-related concerns that the student body may have, Bahaghari seeks to communicate with school administrators regarding the implementation of genderneutral uniforms, nonassigned-sex-at-birth-based haircuts and/or attire policies, and the integration of genderneutral pronouns in school documents.

PSHS—MC revives Halloween Party

by Zoe Jacobe & Savannah Laurio

Annual surveys will also be conducted to assess LGBTQIA+ welfare and inclusivity. They will serve as the basis for the organization’s actions and long-term plans.

Bahaghari was introduced by the Student Council (SC) last July as a student-led organization made to support the LGBTQIA+ community of PSHS–MC and to communicate the queer-centric concerns of the student body to school staff and administrators.

As of now, they are still in the early stages of obtaining approval from the PSHS-MC administration. —J.F.S.

In a spectral twist of activities, the Philippine Science High School—Main Campus (PSHS-MC) resurrected its Halloween party from the dead!

After the spine-chilling silence brought by the pandemic, PSHS-MC breathes life as the Halloween party makes a return on November 24 with the name Agham Rd. 64.

The event was organized by the Student Council (SC) with its theme based on the Fear Street trilogy and was hosted by Josef Fune of Batch 2024 and Erina Reyes of Batch 2027.

The party featured a screening of Scream (1996) hosted by Celluloid, PSHS–MC’s film club. The Batch 2024

Council also set up a photo booth at the back of the auditorium. Most attendees headed to Agham Road Walkway afterward which was organized by PSHSMC’s English and Filipino Theatre clubs: Sightlines and Kamalayan. When asked about the experience, Apryl Tagle of Batch 2029 shared: “The experience was super thrilling and scary because the experience felt real.”

“I was so scared. I really have to give it to the actors since they gave it their all,” Cari Gabriel of Batch 2029 added.

Nominees showcased their favorite character cosplays in the costume contest.

The party wrapped up with a raffle for a Samsung Tab A giveaway, marking the end of Agham Rd. 1964.

SPELLING WHIZ. FYP students showcase their spelling skills during the English Olympics Spelling Bee. Photo by Eris Ramos.

Team Petri-core and Saliksexy in the semi-final round of Pisay Feud. Photo from Marla Alferez.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Group of Batch 2025 students enjoying the Halloween Party. Photo by Paulo Medilla

Redefining ‘Science for the people’

Exclusivity is no longer news to Filipinos — even less when statesponsored.

House Bill 9276, an act aiming to expand the Philippine Science High School System (PSHSS), has set the definition which learners are worthy of access to specialized science education: “The State shall support the admission process of the PSHS System . . . to enhance equitable admissions of and access to deserving students.”

Awaiting the approval of the Senate, the bill aims to prioritize “science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM] education.” It seeks to make the PSHS System more accessible by building more campuses; it does not, however, allow existing high schools to integrate into the PSHSS.

While the bill’s objective is to build more campuses offering quality science education, it comes with a clear disclaimer: it will not recognize all learners’ entitlement to such a right.

Equity for a few

In one of its clauses, the bill’s proposed “equitable admissions” were quickly followed by “to deserving students.” Ironically enough, right after the bill’s section outlining the benefits of making PSHS campuses more accessible, “deserving students” were defined as “those who qualify for admission” through the PSHS’ entrance exams.

This state-sponsored exclusivity could not be more blatant. While more institutions offering special science education to a select few are being built, the majority of learners, who are barred by entrance exams, receive the education that gets the least investment.

In the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, Filipino high school students performed significantly below-average in science and mathematics. In the 2018 PISA, the country

S.Y. 2023-2024

Executive Board

Editor-in-Chief

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Associate Editor-in-Chief & Managing Editor

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ranked last in the same subjects. In 2010, the National Achievement Test (NAT) passing rate for high school was only 46.38%. In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003, Filipino learners in high school ranked among the lowest in the same STEM areas out of 46 participating countries.

The PSHSS, on the other hand, has established 16 campuses since 2001. Between 2018 and 2020, over 200 awards have been awarded to students of PSHSS in various STEM and innovation competitions. While not all PSHS campuses take the NAT, PSHSS students rank in the 93rd percentile of the US-based Scholastic Aptitude Test, launching its students into acceptances in various international universities.

The running coexistence of PSHS campuses and the abysmal national performance of the country in STEM is a result of the government’s misled priorities. If the lawmakers behind this bill truly seek to bring quality STEM education to more learners, they will aim for

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Lovina

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O. Cristobal Jayden Riley V. Dagsa

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Franchezca

investments and reforms that include the existing majority of students, who are in non-specialized public schools.

A theft of talent

The bill also prevents other public high schools from integrating within the PSHS System. Any high school, even existing science high schools, will not be allowed to be converted or included into the current system. This bill just emphasizes that the government simply refuses to recognize the potential of other schools to provide quality STEM education.

Specialized science high schools, including the PSHSS, have access to betterequipped facilities and more advanced curricula tailored specifically for STEM education. This concentrated set of resources, even with high school internship opportunities such as the Science Immersion Program (SIP), grants Pisay students a headstart in fostering interest and excellence in STEM fields.

Meanwhile, according to a Pulse Asia survey commissioned in 2023, the Department of Education (DepEd) struggles with a multitude of issues that should obviously be resolved before even running a functional educational system. DepEd is unable to provide classrooms and learning resources such as books and computers.

Students who attend the PSHSS

and other specialized institutions may be perceived as the “cream of the crop” in STEM fields, while those in traditional public schools may feel marginalized or inferior in comparison. This perception can further discourage students from pursuing STEM interests, as they may feel as if they do not belong in a field dominated by students from specialized institutions.

House Bill 9726 protects the establishment, with resources being prioritized towards the PSHSS, as the bill in Section 3(f) reads that the State shall “ensure that students with high aptitude or gifts [sic] in science and mathematics are given equal scholarships to enroll in the PSHS System.”

If only the government would allow public schools to integrate with the PSHSS, they would have the opportunity to receive these same resources.

Science truly for all With the running problems on the dreadful performance of other schools in STEM and the lack of opportunities for students to receive STEM education, it is imperative to realize that it is not the establishment of the PSHSS that is problematic, but rather the exclusivity and divide it creates.

The PSHSS was established to bring science education to the public. Yet, the existing admission system and the legal foundation launched by the Philippine government contradict this objective by guaranteeing that this “quality education” is received by a select few. This calls for the reevaluation of the principles on which the bill is founded, and for the government’s recommitment to the founding ideals of the PSHSS.

Expanding the PSHS System is not and will never be a solution to the inequities within STEM education, but rather a symptom of larger inequality within the Philippine education system. It is time to make sure that the Philippines invests in true highquality education for everyone. Until then, the PSHSS can never claim its education as “science for the people,” until it opens for all the people.

The Science Scholar

Cartoon by Maia Habal

by Grandis Frias

UAgainst the closed gates of education

nder the Philippine education system, passing entrance exams means glory.

Institutions that administer these tests can make it appear so. After all, they can offer their systematically selected scholars the opportunities that other schools simply cannot.

As a result, entrance exams, which are usually conducted by schools with special curricula, are widely perceived as a test of an aspiring scholar’s “worthiness.”

With qualifying entrants deemed more “worthy” of receiving quality education than others, this measurement of academic excellence paints education as a medal to be won, rather than a right that should be accessible to all.

Beyond this extreme glorification, however, are the underlying inequities that entrance exams are founded on: the inextricable links between class and education.

The truth behind exclusivity

Entrance tests equate to exclusivity; they foster nothing but barriers. By identifying and accepting only the most academically inclined students, institutions become grounded on segregation as they close their gates on other learners.

Such measurements of qualification fail to take into

account the examinees’ unequal footing on primary education and access to learning resources.

In a 2020 study on elementary school graduates in the Philippines, students from private schools were found to have better academic performance than those from public schools. Although both groups had below-advanced marks, a significant difference was discovered between their performances.

As private schools require tuition fees, they typically have more facilities and offer more student services compared to non-specializing public institutions.

To prepare for entrance tests, some examinees turn to review centers. These private tutoring businesses offer advanced courses and provide learning materials in exchange for exorbitant prices. Thanks to these centers, those who can afford professional tutoring gain a vital advantage that aggravates the class divide in entrance tests.

Meanwhile, the general state of the Philippine education system remains among the lowest in the world. In a 2022 study by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 15-year-old Filipino students scored significantly lower than the global average performance in math, reading, and science.

Less than 25% of these learners achieved the minimum level

of proficiency in all three subjects, showing no significant improvement from the country’s PISA results in 2018.

Come the closing of exclusive school gates, only those who have had access to the best learning opportunities, and have made the most out of them, get in. The “unqualified,” who are also just as much in need of quality learning, are left with no choice but to rely on nonspecializing public education whose rotten quality has been ranked as one of the worst.

With these abysmal conditions in open public

by Benjamin Jacob

ANerds at heart

fter studying in Pisay for six years, I found it obnoxious that we’re typecast as uptight nerds. To outsiders, we slouch over our textbooks, discuss science lessons, and study every second possible. Ironically, I only reinforce that stereotype—I find myself giving lectures on how bar charts could look better or joking about how my friends and I belong to the same lambda.

Our humor is something we find funny and quirky, but you might get stared at if you use it anywhere else. Yet, beyond the Pisay student’s humor, I will always embrace the nerdiness of what I’ve loved most about Pisay—and it’s something I won’t have any other way.

Those close to me know that I have stereotypically nerdy interests: joining the physics and math teams and watching Veritasium’s videos during my spare time, among others.

During meetings with my

fellow team members, it may indeed seem that we’re the most serious or nerdy people ever. At times, we launch at each other with intense debates on daily problem sets, racing to the whiteboard to draw graphs. Yet, later on, we find ourselves in the midst of banter, quips, and hugot lines about love and loss.

Elsewhere, a group of students might be branded as “pretentious” for mixing science with our humor. But here, I’ve found comfort knowing that we’ll listen to each other, regardless of whether we’re seriously solving problems or playfully bantering.

As I try to get myself into new hobbies, I can be certain that I have a go-to person to ask.

I enjoy playing frisbee with my friends from Alianti, even though it leaves me miserably injured and exhausted. When I have to stop and take a breather, they wait for me to regain my strength, give advice on how to improve my form, and go back to playing.

In my journey back to reading fiction, at least three

friends encouraged me to read Babel by R.F. Kuang. They all explained that the novel intricately combined translation magic, surprisingly maintaining accuracy for its setting, with the importance of language in imperialism. As the story shows the purity of newfound friendships, I’ve learned that even in a place like Pisay where you might initially be divided by culture, you’d remain afloat by clinging onto your closest friends (P.S., I highly recommend reading R.F. Kuang’s books, too!)

I find myself surrounded by people dabbling in their own unique interests. Going into Pisay, I was told that I’d befriend people who love science as much as I do.

With over 40 accredited clubs and other student organizations to choose from, there is a place for every interest possible. If you can think of an activity, there’s definitely a circle of people dedicated to that — whether it be the 11

schools and exclusive entries to specialized state institutions, barriers grow stronger with negligence as hope declines for Filipino students.

Excellence rooted in selection

The root of these barriers, however, is often not inherent to the schools. Given that the resources, facilities, and funding they receive certainly cannot accommodate all students, schools implementing special curricula have to administer entrance exams. The entry quota set by public or state-funded institutions is determined by the capacity that the Philippine government allows them to reach.

This is a dire result of the government’s inability to equitably allocate resources such that students may enter any institution and experience the quality education that everyone deserves.

Consequently, with the advantages of those with access to learning resources, entrance test passers are likely to be dominated by higher social classes (those who can afford private schools) and specialized-institution graduates.

Even if the system were to put the disadvantaged in free-tuition specialized schools and the rich in private institutions, education will remain a divide of social strata as long as different classes receive different learning facilities and services. Until opportunities become equitably offered to students and are not based on their capacity to purchase them, accessibility will remain a fight for slots across social classes.

Those favored to win the fight will continue to be invested in as scholars, in exchange for a promise to serve the people that the administration itself is failing.

But regardless of how we present this segregation that blocks some learners from entering certain schools—albeit for investing in future publicserving professionals—it is and will always be exclusivity.

Above all, this systemic exclusivity, beyond cultivating divides, is a betrayal of the people. It cheats taxpayer parents by closing the gates of statefunded schools on their children. It deprives learners of an equal fighting chance.

Service born from survival

But even inside the gates of state-funded schools, scholars are still burdened to prove themselves.

Even as parts of exclusive

institutions, we are never safe from the system that desperately tries to keep itself standing on segregation. When we cease to maintain the potential that was our entry ticket, our own school closes its gates on us—at a time when we need learning the most.

As if administering entrance exams weren’t enough to maintain the status quo, exclusive schools implement standards to keep their gates open only to the “excelling.” These top-performing “premier” institutions can proudly say that all their students excel only because they kick them out otherwise.

The scholars who remain must then go on to be professionals as extensions of the government in serving the country. They must endure the abysmal labor conditions awaiting them, from depressingly low wages to appallingly long hours.

This is a fate that all students, entrance exam passers or not, may inevitably fall into after graduation. The gates of our schools are all grounded on the same soil that undervalues scientists, teachers, social workers, nurses, and so many other professionals.

Integrity under a broken system

From living through educational inequities to potentially occupying underpaying jobs, Filipino learners suffer through the truths of a broken system in their lifetime.

The truth we live now as Pisay scholars—whether we glorify or renounce it—is privilege. No education should be, but decades of divides in the academe have made it as such.

That truth also means the entrance exams that brought us to Pisay sustain the education divide. Every time we proclaim our institutional core values, we declare an ironic vow to make a service out of an education built on exclusivity.

To commit to our institutional core values, however, is to examine ourselves and question the never-relative truth of the academic privilege we were given. To recognize that this privilege exists because there are others who are deprived of it. To never let our education bar us from being part of our people’s fight.

To truly serve the Filipino people is to do it in the hopes of opening the closed gates that our very education was born out of.

Cover Art by Maia Habal

Cover Art by Nico Hechanova

by Nathan Cometa

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of suicide, selfharm, and mental health issues.

Closed doors and pillows, soaked with drool and tears. The warm colors of the orange blister pack contrast the dull life of the bedroom that fateful early afternoon. The neutral tones of the antihistamine tablet, the hot pink of the paracetamol. My stomach was feeling bloated. It made sense, but then it didn’t.

I thought right then and there that all life’s pain would finally end with me. Feeling that I did not get enough care and love from my friends and family, or that the academic workload was getting too overwhelming to handle—who has to worry about that when you’re dead?

The dose was not fatal. I was then put in mental health recovery for over three months, away from Pisay and everyone I cherished there.

Since then, I have learned so much, and I have loved so much. I have discovered so much about not only the people closest to my life, but also the very school where I study. With solitude came wisdom and reflection about myself. During that time, many questions abounded, but one has stuck in my mind until the present academic year.

What would my life have been without Pisay?

I knew it changed my life in many ways—sometimes for the worse, other times for the better—but how exactly did it change me? And how exactly did it save me?

Counseling

When my mother learned the news and found me in the emergency room, she was wise to refer me to the Guidance Counseling Unit (GCU).

Many students have an intense fear or distrust of the GCU, especially because of sensitive matters like self-harm and suicide, and as someone who has had that feeling before, I completely empathize. If counselors discover a student has self-harm issues, they are obligated to tell the parents, and an already-stressed student will obviously fear for the worst—that is, that their parents would get mad.

It turned out that was not the case. How grateful I was, then, to have had parents who would love me no matter what I was going through.

My mother used to raise her voice at me, threatening to hit me when she let anger take over her, sometimes telling me I was better off evicted or dead. To see her have an extreme change of heart after being forced to learn the true extent of my emotional struggles and pain was incredibly sobering. I was even more grateful that my counselor was more than willing to explain to my mother, to the best of their abilities, how a student like me must be feeling. To call them something along the lines of snitches would be an unfair description of their work.

The counselor also recommended to my mother a selection of psychologists and psychiatrists with whom we could consult to better my condition. With mood stabilizers,

antipsychotics, and fortnightly therapy under my belt, I have developed a way to cope with my emotions and take responsibility for my life, and it was all because the GCU gave us advice on what to do. If your family has the means to afford sessions with mental health professionals, I more than request that you take the chance.

A break

“Do not be afraid to take mental health breaks” seems like obvious wisdom to impart at first glance, but it was not after I actually took one that I realized how important it truly was.

While I was on break, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder: a mood disorder characterized by fluctuating bouts of depression and mania, both of which could last weeks. Because of that, I was emotionally unstable, and I would frequently get into fights with my parents, and even my friends, too. I regret every single instance I did. I even threatened my mother to check me into a psych ward—that was how volatile my emotions were. Hence, a break seemed an obvious choice to help me catch my breath. It did wonders for my thinking. I learned to think more positively after taking it.

Then, the elephant in the room. There obviously had to be a way for me to get back on my feet when I returned, and a deadline extension seemed the way to go. It did not escape my notice that I missed an entire quarter’s worth of requirements.

So, with help from my counselor, my mother wrote a letter to the campus director and the Curriculum and Instruction

You’re not on your own kid: Tales of overcoming change from a freshie

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The thing about adapting is that it’s a daunting endeavor that leads to many hardships and adjustments along the way.

But, through the various hardships, I encountered hope in the midst of shadows. After a few weeks of the first quarter, I found out that Pisay is not so daunting after all if you find the right people to spend time with. I established true connections–

ones that transcend time and space. I discovered my passion for English through the various writings, readings, lessons, and competitions throughout the quarters. I adjusted to the new world of Pisay and discovered my purpose in many ways I can imagine. I have learnt to deal with dire situations, stand up when I fall and lead a path to becoming a better version of myself. Through these experiences, I was able to adapt new skills in

overcoming the adversities of change. Stepping stones to leaping waters

Acceptance is the first step in adjusting to life changes. When I moved to Pisay, my life shifted. I left the school and the friends I have known all my life, understanding that this pivots my life into a positive change. After all, the opportunity to study in Pisay is a

Division to request for deadline extensions. Thankfully, they granted that. And the teachers— the teachers here in Pisay, perhaps unlike in other schools, are definitely more than considerate of mental health issues and more than welcome to accommodate any resulting needs. They went as far as to schedule case conferences with my parents to create catch-up plans for my missed requirements.

I still lived to see another year in Pisay despite my monthslong absence.

Friends

There were several factors that led to my suicidal ideation, though chief of them were feelings of alienation, or in other words, abandonment.

To live in solitude was one thing. To feel like I was drifting away from my friends, however, especially if it felt like they were doing so on purpose, was the greatest woe. If my friends paid me no mind, if they did not treat me like the friend I wished I was to them, could I have had better friends if I dropped out and moved away to another school? In essence, begin again with a clean slate? Or worse, retry killing myself? Would it have been worth it if I did any of those things?

I was wrong. If I told anyone about my condition anywhere else or wrote this for another school publication, there might have been stares of judgment or the threat of being further outcast. No one was going to befriend someone who was “crazy,” “deranged,” or “delusional” like I was. I would have no support system apart from my parents, and they were already going through enough.

Predictably, my friends feared for my well-being and especially my life once they learned about my suicide attempt. Not everything was cut-and-dry (pardon the wording), though. Even if I knew deep down they really cared for me, I still frequently lashed out at them and, on several occasions, rejected their olive branches.

The whole time, I was scared.

Scared that they would leave again, scared that I was pushing them away with my instability, scared they were talking about me behind my back, scared that they were not really helping.

Of course, they were far from mad or disgusted with who I am. Sure, many of them are not well-prepared to deal with high-intensity scenarios like a friend’s suicidal thoughts— understandably so! They are still kids just like I am, but at least they make the effort to try by doing something as simple as providing a shoulder.

Despite my continuous relapsing, despite repeatedly telling them I would never get better and I would rather cut or kill myself again, they still stuck

by

around. Eventually, my friends learned how to handle me in my worst moments—moments where I would shut down, catastrophize, and overthink for the worse.

And with assistance from my counselor, we strove to repair our relationships. I learned to love again.

What now?

If you told my 13-year-old self that this school would be a completely judgment-free place, I would have stared in disbelief. We are in a country where mental health is stigmatized, easily dismissed, and replaced with religion; dependence on some higher being seems like the only figure we can turn to when we can’t believe in ourselves. Finding a community full of people who are willing to help in matters like emotional support and mental health advice, then, is lightning in a bottle.

Despite this, there remains some distrust around people who suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts. I have experienced firsthand the very same people who preach about mental health sensitivity turn away from me upon having to deal with the “ugly side” of depression or bipolar disorder.

I say with extreme certainty that there are many more students other than myself who are also suicidal to some degree, but do not have the right words or courage to verbalize it to others, whether it be their friends or their counselors. I hope I have not only humanized our struggles but also reached the demographic that needs to be reached the most with this article.

So, to answer the question I presented earlier: “What would my life be like without Pisay?” Quite literally, nothing. I would be dead. Socially and physically. With CARE Month almost over, I wish to write this as a reminder to anyone who might be going through similar—or perhaps worse—experiences as mine that you are not alone, corny as I know it might sound.

You have all the help you need and can get here, in your very own school. I do not overstate when I say Pisay truly saved my life. To anyone else out there,

I hope Pisay— whether the teachers, the counselors, or the students— has saved your life too. ”

Cover Art

Iris Ababon

Megan Nidea

Cover Art by Lance Libatique

You’re not on your own kid: Tales of overcoming change from a freshie

privilege only given to a few. However, I was not expecting all the challenges that would come with uprooting myself from my comfort zone.

The challenge to cope fast was real: it felt like navigating the sea in the middle of a storm.

According to Jeremy Godwin in his podcast Let’s Talk About Mental Health, a thoughtful approach helps us prepare for what is to come. We should equip ourselves mentally, emotionally, and even physically to face the ripples brought about by life changes. This includes acknowledging our feelings instead of hiding them under the rug.

Approaching these changes enables us to recover from any adversity life may offer, making us stronger and wiser. The change in our world’s orbit results in powerful learning experiences that can teach us about self-love and kindness to ourselves and everyone around us.

Everybody is terrified to face what lies ahead. We feel that change is uncomfortable and unfamiliar. Just like Taylor Swift said in her song “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” we need to embrace our uniqueness and remember that we are not alone in dealing with life changes.

A journey of discovering your purpose

The next step is to focus on the why–or your purpose.

I always ask myself why I chose to embark on this journey despite knowing the demands of Pisay. But like everything, it all starts with a dream.

Whether I want to be a doctor, lawyer, or even a scientist, my dream is to be the best version of myself. With that mindset, I have been able to overcome the adversities Pisay has thrown at me.

We should always be reminded of what we are striving for and why we are here. Some of us prefer to excel in their favorite subject, while others focus on seeking true connections and finding new friends. Everyone has their own dream, goals and passions that they will strive for no matter how much adversities come their way.

A guide to staying true to oneself

Another way to deal with changes in life is to express your feelings.

It is important to cry when you are sad, laugh when you are happy, and giggle when you are excited; emotions are real, and they must be

expressed.

It is important that you speak to a trusted friend, parent, brother, sister, or professional, if necessary. The school’s excellent guidance counselors are always ready to listen no matter how obscure our concerns may be, so let us take advantage of their accessibility.

The digital detox Social media can also have a big impact on our mental health.

As much as possible, try to limit your exposure to unnecessary stress during periods of change and reduce social media interactions that lead to toxic exchanges. You must also shy away from people who project toxic and negative energy.

Love thyself

It is also important to take care of yourself, so sleep, take walks, and give yourself proper nutrition. Healthy routines will boost your disposition and empower you to move forward. In the end of the day, the future is unpredictable. No one really knows if it will rain tomorrow. If it does, then shower in the rain.

When I am overwhelmed with the requirements in Pisay, I always find time to do the things I love. I try to unwind by calling friends, focusing on the present moment, and taking things one step at a time.

But through all these, life will not give us the solutions to everything. We need to find ways to deal with the battles of life, may it be just moving to a new school or waking up late,, checking your alarm clock,, and realizing it’s already 9:05AM.

Life is uncertain, unpredictable, and mixed with the hardship of adjusting to Pisay. We sometimes fail but we need to pick ourselves up and remember what we are fighting for. Even being brought about by the ripples of change, we are in charge of our own story. We should remember to persevere, fight the running zombies, and focus on treading our path to overcome this battle called life.

To this day, I still tell my father to break me out of my prison. But slowly, I am embracing Pisay and appreciating the good and the bad that it offers. Now I am able to manage the multiple requirements, develop an unwavering strength just like the egg that dropped from the third floor, and become like Kaptan, who found light in the darkest of times.

Mother Tongues, Power Struggles

by Kiko Angeles

by Francisco Angeles Jr.

When indigenous students flurried in classrooms last August, the typical back-toschool fanfares still commenced. And on the walls, Buwan ng Wika posters still hung. But come the time classes started, these same students would be met by a grave, dispiriting realization: beyond last year’s Buwan ng Wika theme, which spotlights native languages, any trace of their mother tongues in public classrooms had been effectively wiped clean.

The learning materials in 19 native languages now gather dust.

This followed on the heels of 240 members of the Philippine House of Representatives approving last February 6, House Bill 6717, which shelves the implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students.

By that same act, the house denied nearly nine million public school students the kind of education stated in RA 10533 — a law that with wide approval was passed by Congress and reads:

“Make education learneroriented and responsive to the needs, cognitive and cultural capacity, the circumstances and diversity of learners, schools and communities through the appropriate languages of

teaching and learning, including mother tongue as a learning resource."

Had anyone a few years ago abolished this fundamental doctrine built on revitalizing our indigenous languages, they would have been called irresponsible and treacherous. Yet here we are in 2023 witnessing this blunt smothering of Philippine culture.

This linguistic tragedy can be thanked in no small part to the twisted motivations of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. In his first State of the Nation address, he mentioned the need for constant re-examination of the medium of instruction in schools to maintain the Philippines’ advantage as an English-speaking nation.

The advocacy for the lingua franca is all very well, given our civilization banks on human labor abroad to boost our country’s economic health. But it also causes the collapse of our native languages, which is destructive of civilization itself.

It’s not enough to take the ground that pigeonholing MTBMLE is justified by the lack of resources to execute the program properly, especially given that the program was only given the green light in 2012.

Of course there would be growing pains. Of course creating sufficient learning materials would be tedious. Of course language perplexities intrude the

Nerds at Heart

diehard Hamilton fans, the avid movie reviewers, or the social entrepreneurs. Everywhere you walk, you’ll find these tight-knit groups. Even when I walk by the ASTB on a seemingly normal day, I also occasionally come across research groups implementing their projects. Sometimes it’s a mess of circuitry, a heap of code piled into a laptop, or a stack of Petri dishes. Either way, it’s exciting when I hear my batchmates explain their setups, their research project, and even their data collection.

As my eyes sparkle while sharing minute details surrounding my hobbies, I am

similarly inspired as I see how devoted my friends (and the rest of Pisay) are to the things they love. Glimpse anywhere from Kalachuchi Lane, to the engineering labs, to the library: you’ll be filled with the passion flowing from the hearts of Pisay students.

I hope students experience the sense of community in Pisay that I also feel, wherever that may be. When you try something new, you will never fear judgment because of Pisay’s love of trying new things, too.

The friends you’ll find here will be proud of you when you start dabbling in their own interests. We love our own interests with excitement— even if they’re something

streamlined implementation of the program. Of course effective teaching in native languages would be no easy feat.

However, the mark of our political distress is that in all the clamor, the government found no better solution than abandoning MTB-MLE rather than allocating more funds and energy into making the program more crystallized.

This decision by the house, so patently self-destructive, ultimately shuts and locks the doors on indigenous students and the rest of Filipino learners a deep connection to their communities’ past — cultural traditions, ways of life, and practices — which helps with the understanding of their present.

Our mother tongues, laced with centuries of history and heritage, are now at the precipice of endangerment, with some well on their way to extinction. According to Ethnologue in 2022, of our country’s 175 indigenous languages, 35 are considered endangered, 11 are on the brink of extinction, and 2 are already extinct. So far as the future histories of the Philippines can be anticipated, we can only expect these numbers to soar following the desertion of MTB-MLE.

We must not let our native languages — caught under the weight of social and economic power struggles — vanish in the hands of the government.

almost unheard of.

One may not be a math or physics enthusiast like I am, but everyone deserves to be welcomed with open arms if they try to play frisbee for the first time or cry to pure friendship and magic once again. While it may not seem that way to us, Pisay might never beat the nerd allegations. We’ll always be nerds at heart; that’s how love manifests in the Pisay student community. Love is always the purest when you feel comfortable showing the purest part of you—I will always feel that right here at Pisay, our forever home.

Cover Art by Lance Libatique

Batch 2029 participates in the 2023 Humanities Festival parade. Photo by Andrei Salvador.

Salutations: Lessons from the experienced

by Amaris Tomas

What does it take to bequeath knowledge, trust, and nostalgia to adolescents from a premier science high school? How does one maintain consistency in teaching what matters? These are questions only teachers—those who have been through it all—can answer.

Defining legacies traces back to one substantial concept: the longevity of one’s impact. For a prestigious high school like Pisay, its caliber of education has consistently produced generations of the crème de la crème of its scholars.

But to become the young adults Filipinos expect of scholars requires the students to be first taught by educators, adults who have sworn to do the same: to provide them the necessary knowledge and skills for their soon-to-be professions.

However, teachers aren’t born; they are created through vigorous training. Even the most experienced people started out with nothing but the idealistic passion to make a difference. Despite reality setting in later on, doing the job remains a joy albeit explicitly effort-heavy.

Teaching has become my life.

Mr. Bernard Llaguno Earth Science Teacher

On with the journey

Within five words, Mr. Bernard Llaguno, known as Mr. Llags, summarizes his nearly three-decade teaching odyssey. He currently handles three Integrated Science 2 (IS 2) sections, an Earth Science (ES) section, and the football clubs Labuyo (men’s) and Laab (women’s). As someone who does occasional nature trips, his much-loved hiking session images become wellincorporated into his lessons.

In his earlier years, he and his students would play football at noon. The field was their world. It was a light start, he recalls.

This was before K-12, before the load became heavier. But like Mr. Llags’ hikes, he ventures on.

“Hindi na nga ako makagalaw o makalabas ng faculty eh.”

(I cannot choose to move or go outside our faculty.)

The IS unit is understaffed. With three teachers currently on leave, he and the other teachers must shoulder units to ensure each student learns. He can no longer afford to hike on weekends—he instead brings the work home while ensuring he’s ready for another day.

“It’s tiring, but I still find joy in teaching.”

Calling for time-outs A chalk streak. A marker’s squeak. A class taking down lecture notes.

What seemingly looks like manageable piles of academic work becomes a reflection of the teacher’s current mental state: unfinished, uneasy, and unwell. And it goes on and on until they choose to take a break.

Ms. Ana Maria Chupungco, or Ms. Chups, of the Research Unit says one can consider her a workaholic. However, she suggests working but resting when needed.

With more than 30 years of experience, four sections, and additional administrative work under her belt, she is six units overloaded. Despite this, she finds time to rebel—as she likes to call it—by reading or watching a K-Drama before continuing with the workload the next day.

“’Kala niyo kayo lang?” said Ms. Chups.

But Pisay isn’t the only home for students and teachers alike.

At their own homes, loved ones and familial responsibilities await.

Juggling such aspects of life can be difficult, especially in an environment that always demands one’s best. Luckily, personal support systems provide much needed comfort.

It’s the simple talks, the eating sessions, the outings, and inside jokes that allow for a shared understanding of the joys and pains teaching can bring.

Letting go to remain forever

One might ask: “Do teachers ever think about stopping or leaving?”

It usually depends on the surrounding circumstances they face, but for some, it’s best to leave out the answers in the gray. Some may come and go, but the enduring strength to guide students will forever remain.

“Mr. Petri and I ask each other: ‘O ano, isa pang year?’

(‘Now what, one more year?’)”

Mr. Vladimir Lopez, an Economics teacher from the Social Science Unit, recalls how he and the Mathematics 5 teacher would often joke about the length of their teaching stay in PSHS-MC. He also remembers his significant 2001 encounter with an older man about his job at Pisay. Around this time, he obtained a masters degree in Business Administration.

It was also around this time when he thought of leaving for good.

“It seemed nice to transition somewhere else. That’s what they say, right?” said Mr. Vlad. “But then I met this Filipino senpai, and

...he asked me, ‘Do you love your job?’ I replied, ‘Yes’.

it?

But for those like Mr. Llaguno, Ms. Chups, and Mr. Vlad, it’s not a question of why you love the job. It’s how you still love the job despite facing unjust recognition and unnecessary qualification processes. Nevertheless, they shouldn’t be defined by their profession alone, as each one had a path that led them here.

Mr. Vladimir Lopez Social Science Teacher I am more than just a teacher.

“Then he told me, ‘Then don’t just leave because I’m not as happy as you even though I already have a company and two jobs.’”

He then chose to stay permanently at Pisay.

Mr. Vlad mentions another significant factor that led to his decision: “It’s the fact that I never have the same students. They’re very diverse in terms of how the trajectory of the discussion is made.”

He reached his 30th year of teaching at PSHS–MC this year. As his first and only job, teaching economics has allowed him to grow as a person. In class, each student can almost always immediately apply his lecture from perspectives they’ve only seen now.

“Kapag nakukuha ng estudyante, I keep that in my teaching ways. Pinapalitan ko ‘pag di effective.”

(“If the student understands it, I keep that in my teaching ways. I change [my ways] if they aren’t effective.”)

At the core, students make teachers commendable. As the world evolves, so do they. This lets the teacher reevaluate their effectiveness through their students’ performances. They repeatedly continue this process over the years. Demanding, isn’t

Realizations: Learning as educators

by Chezca Sabino

What does it take to become a teacher, a beacon of learning and perseverance for students and colleagues alike? Behind all the lessons, how do teachers grow to be the best for both their students and themselves?

A beacon of learning

“The students’ growth should not be bound by their teachers’ limitations.”

This is what Ms. Xandra Razonabe of the Chemistry Unit said when asked to define what a teacher is for her.

For her, teachers are not meant to be the standard of how good their students can really be—instead, they should be the ones to bring out the best in their

Mr. Edwin Del Rosario

English Teacher

Humans first, teachers second Mr. Edwin del Rosario, or Mr. Edwin, remarks becoming an educator was a “validation of his dreams”. He has felt fulfillment going through numerous positions and events that allowed him to see Pisay for what it is and his students as the best that they can be.

As he approaches a decade of educating the iskolar ng bayan, he imagines the day when teachers like him, both new and familiar, can realize sooner than later the importance of looking after oneself.

“I wish we are given more time and opportunities to take a break,” says Mr. Edwin. “I wish we could celebrate being human. And I wish I [had] learned this earlier because I’ve always thought of it,” he shares.

Gratitude overdue

Ringing bells. Gathering crowds. Protruding conversations.

All these unfold every working day of the week. Small pieces of encouragement from the subject teacher. An exam will commence in a minute or two, and yet, the students unknowingly do better than they thought. It’s because they learned a lot, thanks to them.

In the long run, written scores will never compare to instantaneous learning. Echoes of exchange come back as an aftertaste of time well spent. What could be more

glorious than seeing your students set on the right path? This is the essence of teaching: ensuring their future is not just a mere possibility but a concrete reality.

“I always feel fulfilled whenever I engage with my students inside the classroom.”

Mr. Edwin says there is profound joy in effectively imparting learnings across generations of youth.

Legacies as perennial as these are born from the smallest albeit fond recollections. For instance, Mr. Llags had this Batch 2000 student who strikingly questioned him on a supposed wrong item during his first year of teaching.

Ms. Chups, on the other hand, had a former student thank her as she was one of their most influential figures before officially enrolling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Vlad became Zoobix, the then-adviser and mascot of Batch 2006’s fair becausev someone had to.

It may be students that define the job, but it is teachers who influence a period of their lives.

They become more than a guiding light: they’re a trusted friend or a source of help. And they may not be ready now but because of them, in time, they will be. Ready to face their next, bigger journeys.

But as for their educators, they must remain for a while. They have materials to prepare. An alarm to set off. A role to fulfill. And most

students, even if it means surpassing them.

At the end of the day, a teacher’s goal is to inspire and make their students to be better than their teachers—a sentiment that Ms. Xandra expressed. Seeing her students grow and improve during their classes brings her the most fulfillment, even if it means that someday, she wouldn’t be the smartest in the room.

This is what teaching is: a push to constantly learn, a never-ending process, and an opportunity anyone can’t limit.

To become a beacon of perseverance

We mainly see teachers inside the classroom, teaching lessons and checking assessments, but

their work doesn’t end there.

Outside the classroom, teachers carry a great deal of responsibility in their other commitments. For Ms. Xandra and Mr. Arnie, their advisories, coaching, and personal matters all come into play alongside their work responsibilities. Over time, they’ve learned to balance and multitask to get the day’s work done. Mr. Arnie utilized diskarte, defining it as adjusting depending on the situation. As a teacher of Social Science 3 and 6, he uses diskarte in his

Mr. Edwin

Ms. Ana Maria Chupungco

Mr. Bernard Llaguno

Ms. Xandra Razonabe

approaches for teaching the two grade levels: making sure that the different approaches he uses for the two grade levels allow the students to fully understand the lessons.

His diskarte also became useful in balancing his responsibilities in terms of assessments and advisories. From his years in Pisay, he was able to formulate his own system on managing his tasks and his worklife balance.

It was this diskarte that enabled Mr. Arnie to persevere and emerge as the teacher he is today to his students. In Pisay, he narrates, he wouldn’t have survived nor thrived if it weren’t for the organization he fostered in himself.

These workloads become one’s learning experience, the teachers illustrate. One gains new experiences and lessons along the way,

becoming better in the process.

Mr. Arnie shared that at times, he lets himself become stressed and haggard but still pushes through to overcome the problems he faces. He was able to get through difficult times, so he was able to view himself as a stronger person, teacher, and employee.

Both teachers try to find time for themselves, figuring out how to allot time in Pisay’s environment. The teachers emphasized the importance of work-life balance. For them, leaving their work life behind once they leave the campus allows them to have time for themselves and their loved ones.

To thrive and grow

Just because teachers are the ones who pass on knowledge to their students doesn’t mean that they’ve already reached the peak of their learning journey.

Throughout their Pisay journey, teachers form different connections

with both their co-teachers and students, making memories and experiences that shape who they are.

Mr. Arnie, for example, engages in intellectual conversations with his colleagues, as well as administrative work. He sees Pisay’s support in the humanities, offering just as many opportunities as it does for STEM. Ms. Xandra, on the other hand, sees this in her students — they have the right mix of humanities and STEM in them, forming an “intellectual and socially aware” community.

For their Pisay journeys, both Mr. Arnie and Ms. Xandra said: “I didn’t expect that I would grow like I did in Pisay.”

It was in Pisay that Mr. Arnie strived to make himself more organized. Pisay’s demands challenged him to go out of the box, offering him opportunities and pushing him to do better. He encountered different obstacles, both as a teacher and as a person in the Pisay community, but

Legacy:

WSalvador Q. Fontanilla, known by his students as Mr. Sam, shifted to online teaching amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, he decorated his home office with spirited things—plants in glass bottles, a bulletin board with clipped-on musings, and a blackboard that read in bold letters: “Serve the people.”

persevered nonetheless.

“You’ve gone through many challenges, both personally and work-related. These are not baggage, but proof of what you have and can overcome,” he says, as a message to himself.

Meanwhile, Pisay helped Ms. Xandra thrive and improve. For her, the students always challenge her to do better, and she has continued to do so. Now, she is capable of doing things she thought she couldn’t do before.

Pisay offers many opportunities for growth and improvement to both teachers and students alike. In the process, we become better people, sometimes those we did not expect to be.

Learning is a constant process that comes in different forms—oftentimes challenges for us to overcome. It is something that even the teachers learn from until now, and what they learn, they also pass on to their students.

“If you have to choose

between greatness and goodness, choose the latter,” is the message Ms. Xandra imparts to her students. Greatness has a big impact on others, she explains. However, if it brings about hardships on others, one should choose to bring goodness to others instead. Teachers leave us their legacy that way as a symbol of how much we and they have grown over the years. Then, they continue, teaching the next batch of students and helping each other grow in the process—the cycle of learning starts anew. Passion may be the start to any teacher’s journey, but it’s the experiences they have that fuel them to continue with their best foot forward. The memories they make, the people they meet, and the lessons they learn all become integral parts of why they stay in their profession. Teachers face a great deal of workload and expectations, yet at the end of the day, it’s still them that we meet inside the classroom.

Being a teacher, mentor, and friend

demeanor and resolute diction, he looked and sounded precisely like

Through his impact in and out of the classroom, indeed he left the lives he touched with a revolution of a life filled with kindness and passion. In remembering Mr. Sam, we celebrate the life of a brilliant teacher who dedicated his life to bringing goodness to every person he came across.

Mr. Sam as a teacher

Mr. Sam was a perceptive Filipino teacher with an air of fatherly determination for his

and you leave with insights you wouldn’t expect from any other Filipino class.

He ensured that each lesson and activity was taught with a genuine ambition to leave each student with important insights. Despite the limits of teaching caused by the remote set-up amidst the pandemic, his students are proof of his talents as a teacher in relaying his teachings skillfully.

“Mr. Sam made me understand that life is a process that takes time, has ups and downs, and has no shortcuts. We should not rush our lives and be pressured by others’ progress,” said Andrea Ramos of Batch 2027 and an advisory student of Mr. Sam.

Raquitico from the English Unit, who entered Pisay at the same time and taught the same section as Mr. Sam, this shared journey provided a foundation for mutual support as confidants during challenging times. Ms. Raquitico even recalls a time when Mr. Sam generously lent one of his mother’s oxygen tanks to support a loved one fighting for her life due to COVID during the pandemic.

Until his passing on September 22, 2023, he carried with him, like the light from a communion cup, that spirit of hope. He also carried with him the spirit of service to the communities he truly appreciates. Beyond being a

An inspiration—this was one of the recurring words used to describe Mr. Sam. He stood as a pillar to ground those around him, encouraging them when will alone was not enough. He inspired others to pursue their passions, as

“I will never forget him as a leader as well, who guided us along the way, making sure that

He showed me that once you are doing what you are passionate about, you can also inspire or encourage other people to do the same

Myeisha Ilumin Batch 2027 Student

no one is left behind in his classes and other subjects too,” said Johanna Castro of Batch 2027, also an advisory student of Mr. Sam. A single class is enough to prove Mr. Sam’s passion for teaching. You enter his class, unaware of the experience you have yet to face,

Despite his rigorous workload, Mr. Sam always found the time to check on his students. He often called his students “Hijo” and “Hija” to show how much he cared for them. He would even personally negotiate extensions with subject teachers for his advisory class.

Apart from always doing his best to ensure that his students thrive in class, he would also stay by his friends and co-teachers despite any challenges they faced.

Mr. Sam as a friend

Many of his friends knew from the beginning that he was more than just a friend; he was a confidant who listened without judgment, a beacon of wisdom in times of confusion, and a steadfast supporter during moments of doubt.

“He listened so well. When he listens, he listens with the intent to listen, not just to respond. You could see through his body language that he was listening. When you share stories, he remembers, which is something people should emulate. We all have so much to say that we often forget to listen,” shared Ms. Karen Bulan of the English Unit.

“When you ask him to do one thing, he willingly goes beyond and does not ask for anything in return. I guess that is also why many of his students admire him as a teacher, a mentor, and an adviser,” added Ms. Sarah Napoles, also of the English Unit.

As co-teachers spending most of their days together, the bond they form is truly one rooted in kindness and respect.

For some, like Ms. Kornellie

As Dr. Christine Joy DR. Aguila reflects and looks at the empty desk beside hers, the impact that Mr. Sam has made in her life not just as a colleague, but as family, remains evident. Dr. Aguila recounts how Mr. Sam felt like a brother to her, considering the motherly figure that her mother—Gng. Aguila—stood in his life.

According to Ms. Camille Barquilla of the Filipino Unit, Mr. Sam stood as a mentor who was always willing to offer guidance as both a teacher and a friend. In light of all that Mr. Sam has contributed to the PSHSMC community, Ms. Barquilla believes that as time progresses, he will be remembered with deep appreciation for the lasting impact he has left behind.

Just as Mr. Sam was always there for his friends through thick and thin, they were there for him as he faced his toughest struggles yet.

Mr. Sam’s battle with cancer

In June 2022, Mr. Sam was diagnosed with cancer. To focus on his treatment, he took a leave of absence before the coming school year, SY 2022-2023.

“Magpapagaling ako para sa mga estudyante ko,” he fervently said.

According to Mr. Mark Anthony Lopez of the Filipino Unit, one of Mr. Sam’s closest friends, he was only convinced to take a leave of absence after realizing that if he didn’t prioritize his health, he would not be able to give his all to teaching. Even as he was undergoing treatment, he often offered to check papers because he missed his students and teaching that much.

“‘Masarap mabuhay.’ I cried when [Mr. Sam] said this because [he was] obviously in tremendous pain, and yet he could still say such,”

by Iya Nivera & Yel Deleña

Mr. Vladimir Lopez

Edwin Del Rosario

Mr. Arnie Lapuz

Mr. Sam Fontanilla

Revelry, regimes, and reprises

Cover Art by Jez Belda

by Keira Go, Elisha Marasigan, Mara Remonte, & Marsh Ramos

Lights fade up on the enigmatic figure of a First Lady, who swore she did everything for love. Her songs resonate through the theatre, narrating her dreams and ambitions. This character, an iconic yet controversial historical figure, takes the spotlight in a Broadway musical.

This is the premise of Here Lies Love, a show about the life of Imelda Marcos. With its star-studded cast, renowned staging, and an immersive theater experience, it promises to be a hit.

Yet, as the story unfolds, one can’t help but draw parallels to another hit musical, Evita, which delves into the life of Argentine First Lady Eva Perón, another controversial figure. Today, some see her as an advocate for marginalized groups while others see her as a symbol of an authoritarian regime. It’s as if history is repeating itself on the stage of Broadway. However, the repeat of

history also means the repeat of past mistakes—mistakes that extend outside the stage and into reality, where there are dangerous consequences.

These two shows open the curtains to the worlds where discos dabble with dictatorships, where charisma crosses with corruption, and where riches are reaped from robbery—the worlds of Imelda Marcos and Eva Perón.

Spotlight on the First Ladies Here Lies Love, composed by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, is a concept album–turned-musical that bringthe narrative of Imelda Marcos’s life to mainstream American audiences, from her humble beginnings to her political prominence and eventual downfall during the People Power Revolution. The show features an immersive disco-pop experience, with a set design that pulls the audience into the narrative: one that is more close-knit and interactive than traditional theatre staging and that imitates a dance floor.

The star of the show and center of much

Legacy: Being a teacher, mentor, and friend

recounted Ms. Raquitico. Even until the end, Mr. Sam remained his optimistic self. He held no regrets and hoped that his passion would not be forgotten. He chose to lead his life with positivity and gratitude, an example many students have undoubtedly been inspired to follow and continue to do so, even though Mr. Sam may no longer be with us.

13 a reminder to cherish those around us. Mr. Sam left a legacy like no other: the legacy of knowledge and compassion that will continue to shape the lives he touched. His lifelong passion for both learning and teaching leaves us with a man worthy of respect and esteem.

Mr. Sam’s legacy

On the 22nd of September, Pisay lost one of the most inspiring and dedicated educators who had left an indelible mark on countless lives.

“Unang pagkakataon na nawalan ako ng kaibigan, at hindi ko—namin—itatanggi ang sakit at lungkot. Pero dahil ibinilin niyang maging masaya kami, at i-celebrate ang buhay niya, iyon ang ginagawa namin,” said Ms. Camille Barquilla of the Filipino Unit.

(It was the first time I lost a friend, and I—we—don’t deny the pain and grief. But because he asked us to be happy and celebrate his life, that is what we’re doing.)

While death often reminds us of the limited time life places on us, the loss of Mr. Sam is

In addition, Mr. Sam requested that people support his YouTube channel, not to boost its popularity, but to ensure that his YouTube videos reach more students, instilling a love for learning Filipino in the viewers of his channel.

“When one experiences the death of a loved one, we try our best to remember and look for the grandest moments and memories with the person, but grief finds a way to transform the seemingly trivial, inane things into something charming and meaningful, inviting us to cherish the finite opportunities to spend with the people we love,” shared Mr. Edwin Del Rosario of the English Unit.

Mr. Sam’s last message was to celebrate life, and so as we celebrate his, may we celebrate our own.

debate, Imelda Romualdez Marcos, was born into the rich Romualdez political dynasty in 1929—although her upbringing did not reflect this. According to Carmen Navarro Pedrosa in her book The Rise and Fall of Imelda Marcos (1987), due to a series of events culminating in her mother’s death, she and her family grew up relatively poor in Leyte.

She was considered the most beautiful girl of her town and was known as the “Rose of Tacloban.” However, from a young age, she dreamed of a life in the upper class.

To realize this dream, she moved to Manila. There, she met the congressman Ferdinand E. Marcos, whom she married within only 11 days of meeting.

Soon after, Ferdinand Marcos campaigned to become the President of the Philippines, with his newly-wedded wife Imelda by his side. With the power their union brought, he won the 1965 elections, and the rest is a very bloody and infamous history.

Across the Pacific Ocean, Evita showcases the life of Eva Perón, the wife of Argentine dictator Juan Perón, from her rise to stardom until her death.

Evita’s heroine, Maria Eva Duarte de Perón—known by her married name, Eva Perón—“had every disadvantage” ever since she was born. Born an illegitimate child in 1919, she was only a year old when her father abandoned his family. From there, she grew up in poverty before running away from home to pursue a career in acting.

She became a successful actress and even founded a union of broadcast performers called the Argentine Radio Syndicate. Then, she married Colonel Juan Perón, a government official, who would later become the President of Argentina.

From background actor to star of the show

Both born during times of hardship, Imelda Marcos and Eva Perón had ambitions to rise beyond the circumstances they were born into, and they did, with Eva becoming an actress and Imelda becoming the “Muse of Manila.”

Despite marrying rich, ambitious men, these ladies did not stand and watch idly by as their husbands ran for presidency.

With their charm and beauty, they essentially drove their husbands’ campaigns. Both women were already politically influential before, but that influence was only furthered when their husbands won the elections, and they became the First Ladies of their countries.

They soon became known for their vanity and extravagance, throwing massive parties and wearing millions of dollars worth of dresses, shoes, and jewelry— all while their citizens lived in poverty and hunger.

Exit the people, enter the leading ladies

From its very beginning, Evita sets up its main point: to expose the actions (or inaction) of Eva Perón.

Che, who takes on the role of a working-class citizen, begins to critique the Perón administration on their failures and negligence. The ugly truth reared its head; gold reserves declined, and opposition speakers were silenced. In all her glitter and glamor, Eva Perón died with the Argentine people mourning her. However, these people would be enlightened as the consequences of the Perón dictatorship become apparent. ”Who am I who dares to keep his head held high?” were the words Che sang at the start of Evita, establishing himself as the representation of the people of Argentina. He represents the bystanders, then the supporters of the Peróns, and eventually, their critics.

” Is it a sin to love too much? / Is it a sin to care? / I do it all for you

Imelda Marcos, Here Lies Love

Meanwhile, in Here Lies Love, Benigno Aquino Jr. rallies the audience to “rise, rise, rise up” against the growing discord in their country, yet the musical only barely scratches the surface of the Marcoses’ crimes. Preferring to focus on the interpersonal relationships and inner turmoil of Imelda, the musical on the First Lady of the Philippines glazes over the “Philippines” part.

While broadly covering Martial Law in one number, the musical does not cover Imelda’s infamous shoe collection bought using government funds aside from a coy reference in the title song, nor does it delve into the Manila Film Center disaster, where Imelda was at fault.

Not to mention, one of the turning points of the musical—portrayed as the worst thing Ferdinand Marcos did— was not his injustices against the people, but against Imelda: his infidelity.

Could several minutes of show tunes truly capture the years of Filipino suffering under Martial Law? In Here Lies Love, it appears so.

The song “Order 1081” presents, perhaps even satirizes, the Filipinos’ mindset in the wake of Martial Law. It resonates with the narratives of today, where peaceful nights and safe streets were possible back then, suggesting that, for some,

the declaration of Martial Law was perceived as a positive turn of events.

The musical’s finale, “God Draws Straight,” appears to rush toward the “end and downfall of the Marcoses.” Here, the ensemble takes centerstage, delivering a ballad that encapsulates the narrative of a citizen’s story during the People Power Revolution. This song serves as a beacon of hope and unwavering faith, a testament to the Filipino spirit.

While opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. was embodied in the play, he was disconnected from the people with his status and personal connections with the First Lady.

Yet, can the entire production truly capture the Filipino experience with just a brief glimpse of their perspectives? Is it possible to depict both sides of Imelda Marcos’s story without giving voice to those profoundly affected by her actions? These questions linger as the show’s curtains close and await its next performance.

The show without a closing act

There is something to be said about how both musicals were written by people who did not live in the countries that were impacted by the actions of their star characters: we are letting other people tell stories about Argentina and the Philippines which are not theirs to tell. These are stories that need to be told with accuracy and sensitivity in order to do justice to the people that had to live through these experiences.

Musicals have clean ends, finales, and curtain calls, but unlike musicals, the effects of the Marcos dictatorship still linger. Today, we still face almost the same corruption, suppression of voices, and inaction that plagued our nation decades ago. While parties for the elite persist, our people endure hardships. Press freedom is curtailed, and

Photo retrieved from Evita the Musical.

Photo retrieved from NBC News.

The GCU is here for you

by

It’s the school doing the best with what they have.

PSHS-MC Student

These were the words of a student when asked about the Guidance Counseling Unit (GCU).

With the start of October also comes Philippine Science High School–Main Campus’ (PSHSMC) annual CARE month, a celebration spearheaded by the GCU that promotes the mental health of the community.

As the school prepares for another CARE Month, the GCU remains a point of discussion among students. Although some consider its services to be beneficial, others are still hesitant of the unit’s effectiveness.

The GCU’s efforts

As unit head and counselor of Batches 2025 and 2026, Ms. Leng is no stranger to the problems of Pisay’s students.

“For the batches that I handle, ‘25 and ‘26, the most common [reason students come to me] is academic stress.” she said.

When it comes to the whole GCU, the most pressing matter is student mental health. To remedy this, the unit promotes self-care among the students through encouraging activities aimed at finding enjoyment while in school, like playing instruments or board games.

Mental health problems are not the only things the GCU has to deal with. They also face concerns about students’ gender identity realizations, and how to tell their parents.

“I do respect that the students have discoveries about themselves. [The] big concern is parents [because they don’t understand]. [We] can only do so much to encourage the student to open up with the parents but you cannot out them.”

All in all, working for the student body is crucial in the GCU. As unit head, Ms. Leng assures that there are many policies in place to ensure this remains so.

Even with the GCU’s focus on these matters, they are still able to accommodate those coming to the GCU to avail their main service: counseling.

GCU counseling

One of the main services the GCU offers is psychosocial counseling. Every day, students come into the unit’s office to communicate their dilemmas, whether it be academic, personal, or something else entirely.

In the case that a student tells the GCU they think they have a mental illness, they take a screening test.

However, the GCU counselors cannot diagnose a student, so they instead offer to refer them to

mental health experts to retrieve an actual diagnosis. But to get a referral, the student needs their parent’s consent, which is not always easy.

Although the GCU tries to help the student tell their parents, the reactions can still sometimes be negative.

In that case, the best they can do is to continue counseling sessions and to try to resolve issues until the parents become more open.

“[We] only say [something] with the consent of the student.”

Aside from psychosocial counseling, the GCU also offers a plethora of other services, like career counseling and college application assistance.

The current need

The role of the GCU in the community may vary among students, but the unifying aspect is its importance.

According to another student, Bob, the GCU is an important place where students can let their

Pisay’s culture and difficulty is something you have to adjust to and the GCU helps ease that experience.

more like a discipline office than a counseling one,” Rapha shared.

Another factor is the fact that the GCU reports extreme cases to the student’s guardian, regardless of their consent. If there is danger to the life of a student or to the people around them, the unit will immediately inform their guardian/s.

The primary concern is the safety of the people around and the students themselves

Ms. Leng Painaga GCU Unit Head

Bridging the gap

” ”

The GCU is well-aware of this point of contention regarding student trust. They have made efforts to bridge that gap, starting with their own training.

The counselors of the GCU are taught to preserve the confidentiality between themselves and the students. If they need to consult with Ms. Leng on a particular case, they do so without mentioning names.

The unit has also conducted routine interviews and counseling among the student body as an effort to reduce the stigma of approaching guidance counselors.

Rapha Batch 2028 Student

feelings out, especially when they are under great pressure.

However, some students like Liza of Batch 2026 believe the GCU is currently not fulfilling the important role it should serve.

Missteps and stepbacks

After many sessions wizh the GCU regarding her panic attacks, Liza believes the GCU could still do more. Despite helping her in the short-term, the long-term help was lacking.

For Bob, the schedules of the students also limit the GCU’s ability to effectively help them.

“You can’t really process your emotions in a 45-minute session,” he stated.

Moreover, Ms. Leng shares that manpower is another obstacle for the GCU. If given the resources, she would want to have a counselor per batch instead of some counselors handling two batches.

Among all of these issues, the most crucial is arguably the stigma of distrust toward guidance counselors that discourages students from approaching the GCU—even in cases where it would help them.

This mindset is primarily present among younger students who have not been extensively familiarized with the GCU.

“From my previous school, the guidance counseling seemed

Moreover, Kandili, Pisay’s official Student Mental Health Committee, works extensively with the GCU on certain projects alongside the Big Brother Sister Circle (BBSC) program.

Moving forward

On the improvements the GCU can make, March said: “I feel like they should support their LGBT students who don’t fit in or are discriminated against by the students. . . I wish they were more visible in their support.” He also believes that the GCU should be more accessible to neurodivergent students.

From Bob’s point of view, it would help to have a specialized counselor in the GCU for queer subjects, since those are markedly different from regular ones.

And according to Elden Tan, head of Kandili, the GCU should focus their efforts on the younger batches as there is not much to improve when it comes to the upperclassmen.

It takes a village Pisay guidance counselors do the most they can to help those who come to them. While many agree on the GCU’s fulfillment of its role, others think it could do better in certain areas.

Even so, to say that there is stagnant progress would be misleading. In the case of LGBTQ+ support, the GCU is welcoming of those that open

up about issues regarding their gender identity.

Still, when it comes to trust, a gap remains between the unit and the student. Yet through various efforts like the BBSC program, the GCU is striving to bridge that gap.

For the efforts of the guidance counselors, who go beyond the call of duty, to be effective, the cooperation of the

Cover Art by Elyse Ramos

students and other stakeholders are also needed.

To help the GCU give the best service it can, the students in particular need to convey their needs clearly so counselors know what aid they need to provide.

After all, we all want the same thing: the betterment of the Pisay community’s mental health.

A hand to hold: Kandili is back

by Anne Leviste & Iya Nivera

After a sudden period of inactivity, Kandili, Pisay’s mental health organization, has now returned.

After Kandili’s disappearance amid the pandemic, they believe that Pisay needs it back more than ever. “A lot of us were graduating at the time and were thus dealing with college apps... We were still in the pandemic then… a lot of communication and ideas went through the core committee, but these ideas never came to fruition,” said one of the core members in A.Y. 2021–2022.

In A.Y. 2022–2023, the revival of Kandili began. However, the members still faced some challenges at the start of the year. As it turned out, reviving an organization without a proper turnover from the previous core was challenging and they had to take time to find ways on how to reestablish the organization. Instead, they focused on planning their next steps during that school year.

With Kandili’s operations back up and running, Pisay students can now approach a group of fellow students when they’re in need of help regarding mental health, a peer to turn to, or people to further educate them on mental health.

Working with the GCU

While Kandili is a studentled organization, they are greatly supported by the Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU).

The GCU provides them with any needed materials, and they collaborate together on projects.

experience with students’ mental health, they believe that having an organization composed of students only may be beneficial in providing assistance and support to the student body. This is because students may feel more comfortable approaching someone regarding their mental health who is also a student around their age.. While the establishment of a referral committee has been discussed, this has been postponed to the near future. While the whole organization’s purpose is to talk about mental health, they believe that establishing a referral committee may be helpful for the student.

For example, the recent game days for Care Month last October was a collaboration between the GCU and Kandili.

In 2021, the GCU and Kandili also collaborated on a ‘Kandili dropbox,’ a project wherein students could send anonymous messages to the GCU and Kandili.

The GCU and Kandili share a purpose, though both are still necessary for a better community. They both aim to help students feel more comfortable in expressing and talking about their mental health.

While Kandili believes that the GCU has accessible and reliable resources and experience, such as more knowledge on counseling and

Kandili’s plans

As of now, Kandili hopes to commence their return by first assessing the students’ needs. To help with this, they sent out the Student Needs Assessment Survey, last September, to understand the community’s specific concerns.

Their current plan is to promote awareness of mental health issues for the Pisay community to gain more knowledge about it. Considering the workload and stress faced by students, having an organization that serves to address specific concerns is beneficial and reassuring to those who are unsure of how to resolve their problems.

For the community

With the goal of planning future events and projects in collaboration with the GCU, Kandili stands as an embodiment of student leaders taking initiative for the betterment of their community. In navigating the challenges that arise in both academic and personal aspects of our lives, it serves as a reminder that there are individuals ready and willing to lend a helping hand. Kandili is not only an organization for promoting mental health, but also a support system that can help its members, the student body, and the whole Pisay community. Help Kandili spread awareness, reduce stress, and provide comfort by supporting their projects.

Pauleen Aquino & Aldrich Ty

APRIL 2024

BY ALYSSA BITUIN. KATCH VIERNESTO, KAT DELA RAMA, MARLA ALFEREZ, AND DIOGN MORTERA

Capturing the world one attosecond at a time

It takes about one second for a typical handgun bullet to travel about 1200 feet. In that time, a hummingbird would have flapped its wings 80 times. A single second goes by so quickly that you probably took several to read this sentence.

Meanwhile, the movements of electrons are so rapid that their behavior is measured in attoseconds—one billionth of one billionth of a second, or one quintillionth of a second (that’s 18 zeros after the decimal point!).

This rapid movement is what Anne L’Huillier, Ferenc Krausz, and Pierre Agostini explored, successfully developing a way to create pulses of light short enough to capture electrons’ movements. Their experiments paved the way for them to be heralded as the recipients of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics last October 3.

Rainbows at the nanoscale

LED screens, solar panels, and dyes—these widely used inventions have all been improved by tiny, colorful nanoparticles called quantum dots. The discovery and the synthesis of these nanoparticles set Alexei Ekimov, Louis Brus, and Moungu Bawendi on the path of being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023.

Nanoscience’s chameleon

Quantum dots are artificial droplets of charge or semiconductor particles that are only a few nanometers in size. Because of this, their electrons become so tightly packed that their properties change depending on their size—this is called the quantum effect.

The most visible quantum effect is the color of the quantum dot. Like a chameleon, the color of a quantum dot can change. As light is absorbed by a quantum dot, it causes electrons to move from their original positions and emit light. The wavelength, and thus the color, of the light depends on the “distance” moved by the electron.

Since larger quantum dots have more space between electrons, they emit red light. And as quantum dots get progressively smaller, the light emitted becomes orange, yellow,

green, and finally, blue.

While scientists have theorized this since 1937, the small size of these nanoparticles made it difficult to prove. However, during the 1980s, Alexei Ekimov and Louis Brus were able to successfully synthesize quantum dots and prove their size-dependent properties.

Colorful discoveries

In 1981, Ekimov and his team at S.I. Vavilov State Optical Institute, Russia had been studying why the color of glass changed depending on how long it was heated, even if the substances used to dye them stayed the same.

When Ekimov created his own colored glass samples with copper chloride and heated them to various temperatures for different lengths of time, he X-rayed the samples to examine their crystal structure. He noticed that the copper chloride crystals varied in size and that this variation in size resulted in different wavelengths of light being absorbed.

On the other side of the world at Bell Laboratories in the US, Brus discovered the same phenomenon as he was researching how light affected chemical reactions.

He had created solutions filled with tiny particles of

Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) in hopes of absorbing more light, but after leaving them alone for a while, he noticed that the color of the solution had changed. Upon investigating, he found that the particles had grown in size, which changed the light that it had absorbed.

Based on their observations, they quickly determined that this was due to the quantum effects of nanoparticles.

Yet, despite their discovery, quantum dots were still difficult to produce in the scale and quality that commercialization demands. Ekinov’s method produced quantum dots trapped in glass, while Brus’ method produced quantum dots of inconsistent quality.

However, in 1993, a breakthrough was made in efficiently creating these quantum dots. Moungi Bawendi injected selected substances into a heated solvent and successfully grew a large number of highquality nanocrystals, or crystals with dimensions that are less than 100 nanometers. The size of these nanocrystals can easily be controlled by changing how long the solvent is heated. With this, scientists were finally able to efficiently study the properties of quantum dots further and develop new technologies utilizing these particles.

The world’s fastest cameras

If you want to take a clear picture of a bullet flying or the wings of a hummingbird flapping, you would need to make use of high-speed photography as these movements are so quick and fleeting that they are a blur to the naked eye.

Electrons, however, are so much faster that their world is seemingly impossible to observe.

Electrons are the negatively charged particles found in all atoms, the basic building blocks of matter. The movements of these electrons are considered ultrafast, occurring in tenths of an attosecond—to compare, there are one quintillion (1018) attoseconds in one second, and this number is about the same as the age of the entire universe in seconds.

Capturing these very fast electron dynamics would need an ultrafast camera, coming in the form of attosecond pulses. In the time it takes for such a pulse to flash, a hummingbird’s wings would only have time to move a tiny fraction of a millimeter.

Lighting up the world

Today, quantum dots are being applied in a wide variety of fields. The most familiar application of quantum dots are Quantum Dot LED (QLED) screens. By using quantum dots, a QLED screen is able to show clearer and brighter images than a regular LED screen, allowing us to enjoy a more highquality viewing experience. Another use of quantum dots is in bioimaging. Fluorescent dyes are often needed to mark proteins, antibodies, and other biomolecules in order to observe their roles in various biological processes. Dyes created using quantum dots are brighter and more stable than traditional organic dyes. Quantum dots are also being utilized in improving the efficiency of solar cells by increasing the amount of solar energy they can convert to electrical energy. More efficient solar cells reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, which release harmful emissions when consumed. Thanks to the contributions of Ekimov, Brus, and Bawendi, the field of nanotechnology flourished in the following decades. Even so, Heiner Linke of the Nobel Committee on Chemistry believes that there are more innovations for quantum dots just waiting to be explored.

In common use, high-speed photography typically involves very fast strobe lighting, which produces regular flashes of light and allows fast movements to appear slower or even at rest as they are captured. To capture the world of electrons, however, these flashes of light need to be produced faster than the movements inside the atoms themselves.

For so long, it was thought that the fastest time a flash of light can be produced is a femtosecond, or one quadrillionth (10-15) of a second. This year’s Nobel laureates L’Huillier, Krausz, and Agostini sought to defy this.

Faster movements, faster pulses

Imagine the strings of a guitar being plucked. These strings vibrate back and forth, creating standing waves at natural frequencies called harmonics, the lowest of which is called the fundamental frequency.

by Katch Viernesto

by Kat Dela Rama

Cover Art

Maia Habal

Cover Art by Xangel Lacerna

Equilibrium in markets: Cultivating gender equality

by Marla Alferez

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Claudia Goldin last October 9, making her the first woman to be the sole laureate of the prize in any year. Since the 1980s, Goldin has been publishing an influential body of work on economics focusing on the roots of changes in women’s employment, which “advanced our understanding of women’s labor market outcomes.”

Economic Growth vs. Gender Equality

Economists widely thought higher economic growth meant more women participating in the workforce. However, Goldin dismantled this assumption when she discovered that the number of employed women diminished during industrialization in the 19th century because women found it more challenging to work from home.

Goldin was able to refute this further when she identified a U-shaped curve between women’s labor participation and economic development. If gender equality was driven by economic growth, the trend should have been an upward slope curve.

Labor Force Participation Rates for Women 45 to 59 Years Old (1980) and the Log of GDP (1985). Retrieved from “The U-Shaped Female Labor Force Function in Economic Development and Economic History,” by Claudia Goldin.

Even though the expansion of clerical job opportunities invited more women into workplaces throughout the 20th century, their competence remained underutilized. Goldin associated this inefficiency with women underestimating their potential to excel in clerical work, partly because of the influence of their mothers who continued to stay at home even after their children had become independent. Women cut short their education due to a lack of

confidence in securing a long stay in their careers, or overwhelming responsibilities at work and at home.

Crucial culprits: Marriage and parenthood

Not that long ago, women were firmly dismissed from their jobs for being married, being pregnant, and having children. Moreover, the range of job choices they were given was also limited by federal agencies implementing laws that favored men.

These biases prevailed at the beginning of the 20th century, evident in the fact that only 5% of married women were employed because pre-existing legislation barred them from keeping their hard-earned wages.

Notably, during the Great Depression—perhaps the most severe economic crisis in modern history—the US government passed a federal law that prohibited both spouses from working simultaneously for the state, leading to companies firing their male employee’s wives. Despite being met with resistance and prejudice, some women hid their marriages and changed their surnames to save their jobs. Unfortunately, their aspirations to continue working were crushed by the federal government when it implemented even stricter laws that effectively banned them from federal service. These political barriers persisted until 1939, the year the Great Depression took its final bow.

Moving forward from these obstacles, the 1950s saw a turning point in gender disparities as the number of women employed steadily increased. Goldin attributed this shift to the introduction of birth control pills into motherhood, allowing women to delay childbirth and invest their time in their education and careers. Despite this advancement, inequality in the distribution of earnings between the two sexes continues to linger.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Goldin stated: “Women are now more educated than men. They graduate from

college at much higher rates than men. They do better in high school than men do. So why are there these differences?”

The cause? Parenthood.

Once a woman bears a child, all of her priorities will suddenly shift to ensure her baby is in good condition, and this comes with having to take a break from work. On the other hand, men do not have to make these sacrifices. Additionally, since modern wage systems incentivize employees whose schedules are flexible and can work even on weekends, women cannot avail of these incentives because they shoulder more childcare responsibilities. To address this, Goldin suggested that couples need to have an equitable share of caregiving responsibilities.

These were the findings Goldin uncovered from examining past documents and applying industrial statistics.

Economist Claudia Olivetti at Dartmouth College pointed out, “The strength of her work comes from combining careful and innovative historical data with insights from economic theories of wage determination, employment, discrimination, and the political economy.”

Empowering revelations on gender dynamics

The process of untangling the unknown reasons behind gender dynamics in the world of economics became even more challenging when Goldin found out that women’s jobs were frequently belittled and therefore uncounted. Regardless of these findings, the works of Goldin revealed the driving forces behind the shifts in gender inequalities within labor markets over the years.

“Understanding women’s labor market participation is

crucial for our understanding of society [and] equity. The work of Claudia Goldin is really instrumental in understanding some of these trends,” remarked economist Barbara Petrongolo of the University of Oxford.

By calling out legislative barriers, societal norms, and institutional biases that hinder women’s full participation in the workforce, Goldin’s findings have provided insights to policymakers to create more inclusive workplaces.

Goldin’s study acts as an eye-opener, shifting society’s paradigm that what needs to be done to remedy this economic inefficiency is to improve systems and cultures, and not women themselves.

*Note: The trends and ideas discussed are not applicable universally.

Capturing the world one attosecond at a time

If the fundamental frequency or first harmonic of a guitar string is the tone, then the other harmonics are its overtones. Overtones have several cycles for each cycle in the original tone or wave; that is to say that every overtone is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. The combination of these overtones is actually what gives the guitar its musical sound.

Aside from musical overtones, light overtones can also be created and combined. This technique can actually be used to create attosecond pulses.

Attosecond physics has been explored by physicist and atomic physics professor Anne L’Huillier for about four decades. In 1987, she and her group discovered that upon transmitting laser light through noble gases like argon, strong ultraviolet overtones would be emitted.

When the pulses of laser light travel through the gas, the electrons of its atoms are released and accelerate away

from the atomic nuclei. While some successfully escape, loose electrons can still return to the nuclei, but much more energized this time. Before it can reattach to the nucleus however, the electron has to release the excess energy by emitting a light pulse, causing the overtones to be created.

L’Huillier theorized that these various overtones, upon interacting and combining with each other, can create concentrated attosecond pulses.

A new window into the subatomic world

The contributions of L’Huillier, Krausz, and Agostini made us one step closer to peering into the ultrafast behavior of electrons in molecules and atoms.

Now that their rapid movement can be monitored, molecules can be utilized to revolutionize currently developing fields like molecular fingerprinting, which in turn has possible applications in such things as medical diagnostics.

Medical professionals benefit

from the possibility of new diagnostic tests by using the attosecond pulses to detect and analyze any changes in the molecules of a patient’s blood sample, for instance.

The ultrafast switching of a dielectric material between being an insulator and a conductor is also being explored. When attosecond pulses interact with an insulator, they can excite its electrons, allowing the material to act as if it were a conductor for a short period of time before returning to its original state. This method of switching can be used to develop new and faster electronics.

Fleeting as electron movements may be, the journey of the Physics Nobel laureates as they discovered and experimented on attosecond pulses was definitely not as quick—and to them, we owe the possibility of actually using these tiny particles for our benefit. Just as a light pulse flashes, the window into the subatomic world has also been opened.

Cover Art by Jhera Padilla

Behind humanity’s frontier against COVID-19

by Diogn Mortera

On October 2, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning mRNA vaccines that spearheaded humanity’s progress against COVID-19. Through the efforts of these laureates, the safe and effective use of mRNA as a vaccination technique was made possible—equipping our world with cost-effective vaccines during the pandemic and pioneering the development methods for vaccines for years to come.

The endemic epidemic of viruses

Viruses are very small pathogens that rely on hosts, such as animals and humans, to replicate themselves. These consist of a sequence, also known as a nucleic acid, which stores the information about the virus. By inserting their own information into a host’s cell, they can program the death of a cell or change it into a factory to make more copies of the virus. This allows the virus to spread its information to neighboring cells, causing more damage to the host when apoptosis occurs.

In the past few centuries,

humanity has been dealing with viral infections from mild viruses, such as the influenza virus, to lethal pathogens, such as the Ebola virus. More recently, the first case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was announced in December 2019. This seemingly harmless pathogen then spiraled into a global pandemic, causing over 6 million deaths and other adverse effects in the global landscape.

Motivated by the prevalence of these viral diseases, scientists have sought a valuable weapon to prevent the further spread of viruses for the betterment of humanity—this advanced the development of vaccines.

Vaccines: Traditional development methods and limitations

Vaccines traditionally work by injecting a weaker form of the virus and stimulating its effects on the body, preparing the immune system against future cases of the disease. This was the basis for many vaccines developed in the earlier centuries, such as those for polio, measles, and yellow fever.

Years of scientific progress paved the way for vaccines to be developed based on individual viral components. Sometimes, only a part of the virus could be used to develop proteins that produce virus-blocking antibodies; Hepatitis B and human

papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were created this way.

Despite the progress in these methods, vaccines were impractical to produce on international scales: these procedures require a large amount of cells in an artificial environment to develop, also known as large-scale cell cultures, which take a long time to cultivate. These limitations allowed viruses to mutate faster than vaccines could be altered to adapt to these changes, impeding progress on virus prevention.

Messenger RNA: Towards efficient vaccine development techniques

Fortunately, the discovery of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines sought to solve this problem. Messenger RNA is where the genetic information, or the blueprints for the proteins produced by the cell, are encoded. Instructions can be manually added to the sequences of the mRNA and introduced to the body, invoking an immune response similarly achieved through traditional vaccine methods.

By copying the sequences of a mRNA and making artificial RNA with the same sequence, a process called in vitro transcription—a way to produce mRNA without a cell

culture—was achieved. However, the vaccines created from this method induced inflammatory reactions and were also difficult to deliver to the body.

In 2005, Karikó and Weissman observed that mRNA from mammalian cells do not trigger inflammatory reactions.

Inspecting the differences between natural mRNA from mammals and artificial RNA, they realized that the structure of the mammal mRNA continually changes. This provided Karikó and Weissman with the idea that altering the segments in in vitro transcribed RNA may alleviate its unwanted effects on the body. By producing different, chemically altered variants of mRNA, the inflammatory response of the body upon receiving it was relieved. This validated in vitro transcription as a method of developing safe and effective mRNA vaccines.

A valuable weapon against pathogens Karikó and Weissman’s efforts were ignored when they were first published. Yet, by spearheading the safe and effective use of in vitro transcription as a technique for mRNA vaccine synthesis, their study laid the foundation for pivotal developments during the COVID-19 pandemic. A year after the pandemic began, in

December 2020, two mRNA vaccines—Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna—were immediately approved for use against the virus. Before the pandemic, mRNA vaccines had also been used for creating vaccines against the Zika virus, a disease closely related to dengue.

“The flexibility and speed at which mRNA vaccines can be developed equips the world with an effective, timebound weapon against the pandemics of tomorrow.”

If not for Karikó and Weissman’s efforts 18 years ago, our world may still be in a state of public health emergency.

There is no such thing as one perfect solution

by Cheska Muya & Aaron Tan

Our world is riddled with issues such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change. In the face of these obstacles, how does one know whether their efforts to mitigate these calamities are enough?

How does one even go about addressing these issues?

For Mr. Algo, a remedy lies in integral ecology, the study of how everything in a society is related to one another to promote sustainability.

Mr. John Leo Algo, a Batch 2009 alumnus of Philippine Science High School—Main Campus, shared his insights into these questions during the “Integral Ecology and Sustainable Lifestyles” talk and workshop attended by Batch 2029 (B2029).

Mr. Algo is currently the national coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas.

Defining development

He introduced the United Nations Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs): the 17 welfaredirected ideals the world strives to achieve by 2030. Despite their importance, progress on these SDGs, especially those that require urgent action, has been lacking even as the 2030 deadline approaches. Priority areas like climate action, inequality, and biodiversity have been neglected because of this dilemma.

Moreover, he emphasized that “no country is on track” to accomplish said SDGs, with several to all of the goals having little to no progress in many nations.

This is where integral ecology comes in.

An integration of the world’s parts Integral ecology highlights the interconnectedness between human and environmental factors in contributing to sustainable societies.

The concept was first advocated by Pope Francis in

2015 in his Laudato Si’, a letter affirming the Church’s support for environmental issues and outlining the interplay of economic and social ecology in achieving sustainability.

Key tenets included attention to consumption in worldwide economies such that they do not level Earth’s limited resources. The world must have leaders who are brave enough to step up, even in the face of adversity.

Integral ecology also champions intergenerational justice—the next generations deserve compensation for the actions of their elders—and the inherent responsibility the current generation has for its descendants to preserve this planet.

In creating solutions to achieve sustainability, scientific findings and data, the economic situation of a country, the state of pertinent environments, and sociocultural factors cannot be taken separately in isolation.

“The prevailing paradigm is

that there is a singular view of the world as a series of problems that can be solved purely by scientific prowess… It’s not just about solving problems; we need to equip those solutions with the right human values,” Mr. Algo asserts.

Failing to do so renders said solutions not to be tailored for human beings. With all these factors to account for, he believes that there exists no one perfect solution to the climate crisis, nor is there one for similarly-scaled issues.

“Because there is no such thing as one perfect solution, we depend on multiple solutions, because diversity is key to resilience, and also to integral ecology,” Mr. Algo proclaims.

Remembering our roots

With our country and the world beset by such towering issues, it may be tempting to jump to big ideas.

While Mr. Algo encourages such ideas given sufficient support from other people, he remarks about the impact simple everyday deeds can have.

“… never underestimate the value of the little

things.”

Mr. John Leo Algo National Coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas

“Once you forget why you’re doing this in the first place… then we’re working with a very dangerous, narcissistic, and quite frankly, ecologically destructive way of life.”

Mr. Algo reiterated that as young scholars, we have a lot of potential in helping solve society’s problems. He added that we must invest in our future, and thus, “invest in all of you.”

Cover Art by Maia Habal

Cover Art by Elyse Ramos

SPORTS 19

Germany defeats Serbia 83-77 in 2023 FIBA World Cup final

by Jared Mancenido

GGermany with 28 points on a 9-of17 shooting, while point guard Aleksa Avramović led Serbia with 21 points, 16 of which were shot in the final quarter.

The teams fought neck-onneck in the first two quarters, with the game tied at 47 heading into halftime. A blistering 15-4 scoring run at the start of the third quarter allowed Germany to take a 12-point lead at the end of the third quarter, 69-57.

The Serbians fought back in the fourth quarter and managed to cut the lead to two points, 7977, before Schröder scored four crucial points in the pivotal final minute to win the championship match for Germany.

Before the final, the United States and Canada faced off in the tournament’s third place game. The Canadians defeated the Americans in an overtime thriller with a score of 127-118.

Dillon Brooks, also named the best defensive player of the tournament, scored 39 points on 7-of-8 three-point shooting to lead Canada to its best finish in FIBA World Cup history. Anthony Edwards led the Americans in scoring with 24 points.

Schröder, along with Edwards, Shai GilgeousAlexander of Canada, Bogdan

Embracing the ‘ultimate’ mindset

by Ula

“It’s all about mindset.”

Sophie Regino Alianti Club President

In the spirited world of competitive Frisbee, where speed, strength, and strategy reign supreme, the journey of the Alianti Team players stands as a shining example of the power of a winning mindset. Last December 16-17, seven determined players from Alianti battled it out with other players in the Juniors Division of the Asia Oceanic Juniors and Masters Ultimate Championship (AOJMUC) 2023 in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Their path began three months prior to the competition, where the promising talents of Alianti: Jude Gonzales of Batch 2024; Sancho Doronila and Sophie Regino of Batch 2025; and Javi Apao, Kyle Felarca, Ula Sadie, and Avril Tan of Batch 2026 along with other Pisay and Alianti alumni qualified for the Under 20 Philippine Ultimate Frisbee Team (U20).

It wasn’t easy for these athletes as the challenges already began from the fierce competition in trying out for the team. The pressure brought upon by the selection process was a trial by fire–each throw and catch evaluated under the watchful eyes of the U20 coaches. With players from all around the country battling it out for a spot in the team, Alianti stood firm.

With a shared burning passion for frisbee, the U20 team began their preparations for AOJMUC demanding more than just physical endurance but also mental fortitude from the players. Early mornings and late nights were spent improving techniques, strategizing plays, and developing chemistry within the team.

Balancing being a studentathlete

An exceptional level of discipline and time management was needed as the players were faced with the back-and-forth demands of navigating through their school requirements while also committing hours of painstaking conditioning for

the team. The hectic schedule of Pisay was indeed another challenge that these players had to face, but with their scholarly obligations, balancing being a student-athlete came with their dedication to the team.

Rigorous training

From the first crack of dawn to the sun’s final setting, these athletes committed to rise and grind, to build up their stamina and withstand the fast-paced nonstop action of a frisbee match. They were built to strategize, adapt, and execute plays to foster a deep understanding of the dynamics that unfold on the field.

Each player invested their time in perfecting the precision required for each throw, dedicating hours of repetitions and meticulous practice to the seemingly effortless actions to execute game-winning plays with just the flick of a wrist. Adding on to the load came the

rest in Philippines 2. With the groups finally formed, U20 was set to embark on the tournament. The final proving ground of their talent where their efforts from the past months would finally be showcased on the field.

The tournament

As the tournament unfolded, Philippines 1 ferociously dominated the other junior teams.

In stage 1 of the first day, they defeated Hong Kong 13-4 scoring point after point. They were even more relentless in their second game against Singapore Helix, only letting their opponent score their second and final point, after 11 rounds, ending at 13-2.

Meanwhile, Philippines 2 fell short of two points against

match with a 2 to 3-point lead until they kicked off at the 18th round and persistently gained lead of 13-8.

Their last game of the day was a rematch against Singapore 1. Down by 3-4 points at the start of the match, the team started feeling disheartened but ultimately prevailed making the comeback, 10-9. As Philippines 2 regained hope for their team, their last match against India unfortunately ended at 6-9 due to lightning warnings.

“Everyone was frustrated,” recounted Philippines 1 player Regino on the results of the games.

Head Coach Roy Tan Lapiz’s biggest advice to his players was to stay focused and composed when playing.

Bogdanović of Serbia, and Luka Don ić of Slovenia, was named to the First All-Tournament Team.

Meanwhile, Art rs agars of Latvia, Simone Fontecchio of Italy, Jonas Valan i nas of Lithuania, Nikola Milutinov of Serbia, and Franz Wagner of Germany were named to the Second AllTournament Team.

Gilas Pilipinas, meanwhile, failed to make it out of the first round, only winning once in five games.

The Philippines finished 24th out of 32 participating teams, and while they failed to clinch the Asian ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, they qualified for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for another chance to enter the Olympics.

The Philippines also set a new record for attendance in this year’s World Cup with 38,115 spectators at the game between the Dominican Republic and the Philippines last August 25.

The next edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup is set to be held in Qatar in 2027.

after score, but fell short, 9-13.

In their succeeding roundrobin match, they recovered with a sweet taste of victory over Hong Kong, 15-4. As the team played their last game in the competition, they were determined to win but were woefully crushed by Malaysia 5-15.

With only two steps away from winning the tournament, Philippines 1 combatted China in the semifinals. It was sealed with a score of 15-11, continuing the winning streak of the team.

In the finals, they faced a heated rematch against Singapore 1. At the last and most important game of the whole event, the team succumbed to the pressure with their first and final loss, 9-11.

“It was a humbling experience,” said Regino. “Kasi nananalo lang kami lagi so we’re

Sadie & Lovi Saguitan

ermany won its first FIBA Basketball World Cup title in history following an 83-77 victory over

Serbia last September 10 in front of 12,000 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Team captain and tournament MVP Dennis Schröder led

Alianti and alumni represent the Philippines as U20 in Malaysia. Photo from U20 Parents.

Photo from Olympics.

(From left) Jude Gonzales anticipates a pass in their match against Malaysia, Javi Apao fights for disc possession in the skies with India, and Sophie Regino catches a disc.

Photos from Adriel Wong.

Pisay students bag medals in Division Meet; claim spots in NCR Palaro 2024 SPORTS

by Jared Mancenido & Justin Camacho

The Philippine Science High School–Main Campus’ (PSHS–MC) very own student-athletes competed and shone in the swimming, archery, and gymnastics events of the 2024 Division level of the Palarong Pambansa in Quezon City, securing chances to compete in the regional level.

Seven scholars swam in numerous categories during the swimming competition. Starting with the boys’ categories, Jaime Maniago of 10-Tau bagged the gold medal for both 50- and 200-meter breaststroke, the silver for the 200-meter individual medley, and a fourth place finish in the 50-meter butterfly. Yama Maniago of 8-Sampaguita also competed in the 50-, 200-meter breaststroke, and the 50-meter butterfly category, finishing seventh, fifth, and eighth respectively.

Heinrich Yap of 12-H competed in the 100-meter backstroke, and finished eighth in the 50-meterbackstroke, while 9-Magnesium’s Liem Fiel finished fourteenth in both the 100-meter freestyle and 50-meter backstroke. Together, the four swimmers swam their way to a silver medal in the 4x50-meter medley relay.

In the girls’ categories, 8-Adelfa’s Elizabeth Requioma swam her way to a gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly and a silver in the 50-meter butterfly category, in addition to a fourth place finish in the 100-meter freestyle and a fifth place finish in the 200-meter individual medley. Two swimmers from 9-Lithium competed in the event, namely Zuleikarich Monares, who placed seventh in both the 50-meter breaststroke and 50-meter backstroke in addition to a tenth place finish in the 100-meter freestyle, and Isis Alcudia, who placed eleventh in the 50-meter backstroke.

Dozens shot their bows, but only four remain. Luis Kevin Alcantara of 10-Gluon shot for a spot in Quezon City’s men’s archery team, in the process bagging the bronze medal in the 70-meter category and finishing fourth in the 30-, 50-, and 60-meter categories. He, alongside QC’s Men’s Archery Team, will attempt to shoot their way to a spot in the prestigious national games during the NCR regional finals to be held in April.

Last but not the least, Miquelle Carlia Escalona of 7-Jade, under the supervision of Mr. Jade Mark Alvarez, stunned the audience at the Commonwealth High School on their way to three gold medals at the Palarong Pambansa’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition held on February 17. She struck gold in both the hoop apparatus category and the ball apparatus category in addition to being the individual all-around champion of the competition.

With the campus’s sports clubs consistently having many members the past few years, it can be expected that Pisay’s

student-athletes will continue to compete not only in the future editions of the Palarong Pambansa, but in other sports competitions as well.

When asked about the dedication of Pisay’s student athletes, Mr. Jade Mark Alvarez of the PEHM unit noted that they were “determined not only to win, but also to perform their routines properly,” adding that it was very difficult for the athletes to balance both academic priorities and training.

He also added that some athletes had to go to training right after school days. Lastly, Mr. Alvarez said that aspiring studentathletes should prioritize their academics first, but also must have “time and energy to commit themselves to training.”

He challenged aspiring student-athletes to practice time management, determination and discipline, adding that while it is challenging, being an athlete is also very fulfilling.

Mr. Francis Orque, who supervised the boys’ swimming team and is also the adviser for Flux, PSHS–MC’s swimming club, noted that the swimmers showed their dedication in their training saying that “hindi lamang tuwing club day kami may training… ngunit may kanya-kanya pa silang training lalo na kapag weekend.”

(Not only do we have training during club days… they also have their own training especially during weekends.)

When asked about the rigor of the swimmers’ training, Mr. Orque said that the athletes train thrice a week, in addition to the aforementioned weekend training sessions, in order to maintain a balance between academics and training. He stated that their training in Pisay focuses only on speed and endurance, considering that they have regular training outside the school.

In a message to aspiring student-athletes, Mr. Orque emphasized that students study in Pisay firstly as scholars, noting that sports are only for relaxation and a way to avoid always being preoccupied with academics.

He added that in order to pursue sports-related competitions, students in Pisay still need to strive to balance a good standing in their academics as they continue their training so that they can be qualified to compete.

Finally, Mr. Orque reminded students that more than just joining competitions to gain accomplishments and awards, students should consider competitions as avenues to learn discipline and responsibility.

Having secured spots in the regional level qualifications, Pisay’s student-athletes will compete once again in the following months, the dates of which are to be announced.

Pisay also participated in the boys’ 3x3 basketball, boys’ and girls’ volleyball, and lawn tennis events during the 2024 Division meet. This is the first time that Pisay sent representatives to six different sports categories during the Palarong Pambansa. The first time Pisay participated in the Palaro was in 2018 for swimming.

Pisay athletes participate in various sports doing the 2024 division meet. Photos from Justin Camacho, Mr. Francis Orque, and Mr. Jade Mark Alvarez.