5 minute read
PBHS returns to in-person intramurals for 2023
By Kian Zayin Macabuhay
Two years after the COVID-19 outbreak, Ponciano Bernardo High School (PBHS) dressed up the covered court as the one-day in-person celebration of the Intramurals 2023 got underway last March 6.
Advertisement
Alfonso Lester Anota from Grade 10 Aguinaldo led the torch lighting and relaying ceremony that signaled the start of the 2023 Intramurals at PBHS.
Following the lighting, the torch was passed through the coordinators of Grades 7 to 10 namely Marlon Maravilla, Maria Cherrie Sta. Ana, Piere Angeli Mercado and Melani Santos respectively. The event was spearheaded by the MAPEH department headed by Pedro Dela Cruz. In his welcome message, Dela Cruz emphasized the importance of sports activities for the learners’ overall growth and well-rounded junior high school life journey. “The intramurals this year provide players with entertaining, secure, and organized activities that promote social, mental, and physical development,” he said.
The highlight of the event was the search for Mr. and Ms. PBHS Intramurals 2023. Wearing their sportswear with wit and passion, Jim Cesar Soriano and Desa Denise Jarlego were hailed as Mr. and Ms. PBHS Intramurals 2023.
To culminate all their learnings in their MAPEH classes, learners from Grades 7 to 10 competed in various sports activities.
The basketball and volleyball games were two of the most highly anticipated segments of the intramurals. After a review of scores, players from the grade 9 and grade 10 levels emerged as the champions in basketball and volleyball games respectively.
Badminton players from different grade levels also trooped the PBHS covered court to play their hearts out. The badminton game was played in doubles. With proper stance and eye-hand coordination to successfully hit the shuttle cock, Rex Ann Dela Cruz, and Justic Jewel Cris-
A cup of horror and prejudice
THE Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is so well-known that it would be impossible for you to not know about it. Millions of football fans eagerly anticipate the FIFA World Cup with fierce devotion as one of the largest worldwide athletic events to ever take place; after all, it only happens once every four years. Even someone like me, who could previously only imagine how the sight of 22 sweating athletes tossing a ball to one another with their feet would enliven spectators with an almost blinding fervor, could readily comprehend the significance and holiness of the occasion.
The World Cup this year, however, is overshadowed by several instances of human rights abuses and censorship that have occurred in Qatar, the tournament’s host nation, even if it is still being celebrated and anticipated with the same fervor as previous tournaments. Many have accused the World Cup’s organizers of corruption and yielding to bribery, and even the news that Qatar
PBHS boys’ varsity competes in first Camp Tamtam; secured third place in basketball
By Kian Zayin Macabuhay
BOYS varsity basketball team of Ponciano Bernardo High School (PBHS) traveled to Far Eastern University (FEU) High School in Manila City to participate in the first Champ Tamtam Sports Edition 2023 last April 29.
Following the friendly matches, awards were given to the top athletes in each sports category. Boys’ varsity players from PBHS won 3rd place in basketball category: Shellbyn Mandolado (Point Guard) from Grade 10-Mabini; John Paul Malicdem (Shooting Guard) from Grade 10-Bonifacio; Justine Soliven (Small Forward) from Grade 10- Mabini; Jim Cesar Soriano (Power Forward) from Grade 10- Aguinaldo and Anthony James Segui (Center) from Grade 10- Mabini had won the bid to host the event has been plagued by controversy.
Players from seven junior high schools in Manila, including PBHS competed in this year’s Camp Tamtam Sports Edition 2023 in basketball, table tennis, and chess: Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo High School, Carlos P. Garcia High School, Florentino Torres High School, Potter and Clay Christian School, Ramon Magsaysay High School, and Lakan Dula High School.
“Camp Tamtam 2023 not only gives students chances to showcase their skills but also highlights the value of teamwork and sportsmanship in any competition, much like a real Tamaraw athlete would,” read in the invitation letter of FEU high school.
Despite all the accusations of corruption, Qatar began construction as soon as the announcement was made, unveiling its great plans and strategies to build eight football stadiums in time for the sports event. However, they hid the fact that the tens of thousands of migrant laborers would eventually be subjected to modern-day slavery, which would cause premature and readily avoidable deaths.
One Amnesty International report has an experience from a migrant metalworker who compared his situation in Qatar to a jail. The workers were threatened with punishments if they ever voiced an objection in addition to being made to put in long hours in the oppressive heat of the country’s desert climate. Another Time article on the same horrific treatment claims that tens of thousands of workers have gone home in coffins without saying anything to their loved ones.
Furthermore, the issues do not stop with the appalling working conditions faced by foreign laborers. Regarding its severe dislike of the LGBTQ+ community, Qatar has never been silent. In QATAR, homosexuality is really regarded as a crime that is punished by death. This is a significant issue since the host nation is often expected to be inclusive of all people regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and religion. Though FIFA President Gianni Infantino made sure to reaffirm his support for the group, perhaps booting a player off the field for standing out for homosexual rights is not exactly what I would call pro-LGBTQ+.
Jan Vertonghen of Belgium expressed regret about the conditions that the athletes had to play in and that he was afraid to even bring up the topic of human rights. It is unreasonable, even cruel, to impose that level of dreadful control over groups of athletes who only want to represent their nation in the largest sport competition.
By saying that he “wants to appear on the pitch tomorrow,” Vertonghen brought home the point that these decisions have only served to worsen an already difficult situation for everyone concerned.
When it comes down to it, there is never a justification for enjoying yourself at the price of other people’s lives or morality. It feels so out-of-date to even discuss the fundamentals of acceptance and human rights in this day and age; there is no place in these kinds of places for abuse, discrimination, or homophobia.
Even though this year’s World Cup is being hailed as one of the most exciting and unforgettable in World Cup history, it feels almost criminal to enjoy it knowing that it was built on the blood of tens of thousands of migrant laborers and the denial of human rights. Football is a popular sport all around the world. Its inclusiveness and accessibility to everybody, regardless of background, is part of what makes it so beautiful. In the event that you take something away, a portion of its heart and spirit also vanishes. Abuse, injustice, and outright murder that have taken place during this period should never happen again and should tarnish the FIFA World Cup’s legacy for all time.
Abuse,
Intramurals 2023: A glimpse of future world-class athletes
School (PBHS) last March 6 has
