Rheims | June 2021

RHEIMS JUNE 2021 | VOL. 1 | ISSUE 1

LUWALHATI

Words from the Editor As the first online school year ended, surely another one will open. Last school year, the Lasallian Rheims made strides as it surpassed all boundaries and limiting factors to serve the ASJ community. The organization has been consistently consistent in updating the community on the latest news and information, in providing multimedia works that made impact to everyone, and in publishing artworks that truly showcased the talents and skills of our artists. Indeed, we have lived up to our mantra, “Per aspera ad astra”, through hardships to the stars.

This year, as the new batch of writers and artists enter the team, the Lasallian Rheims shall continue moving forward to futher reach new heights. This is Luwalhati: the inception of the New Lasallian Rheims Publication Division. We are to solidify the Luwalhati or Glory of the Lasallian Rheims that has been built by the past batches of writers and artists who had stepped up to serve the ASJ community.

In this issue, we are going to look back into the first online school year in ASJ - the milestones, hardships, and successes of not just the school but of the whole ASJ community. We will also show you the present state of the school, the advancements and developments done for this school year, and a glimpse of the future ahead.

This publication is a testament that although we, writers and artists, are limited and confined within the comforts of our homes, we still find ways to serve the whole ASJ community through our writing and artworks. With our dedication and passion for our craft, we will continue to serve the community, no matter what.

Alere Flammam Veritatis In the name of service and true journalism, Lance Jerson C. Crisostomo Editor-in-Chief

WHAT’S INSIDE 2

One step at a time: Mr. Richard Pineda flies AirClass in an extraordinary fashion

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Salamat, PNoy!

COVID Rewind: Walking through 2020 to 2021

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4 THE LASALLIAN RHEIMS

Reaping the fruits of our labor Lance Crisostomo

“Presenting the contest winners/top 10 of Grade...”

Hearing the advisers say this iconic phrase will literally give everyone in the crowd, especially the students, major chills. Memories of the past school year will then rush into your minds, reminding you of all the hard work that you did and the successes it brought to you. That’s the wonderful effect that an Honors’ Day possesses.

Last June 18, the undergraduates of the Academy of Saint John had their Honors’ Day. It has already been a tradition in the school ever since or even before I entered that undergraduates will have their Honors’ Day during the month of June. This time around, it was held virtually due to the pandemic.

The difference between an online Honors’ Day and an actual ceremony on a stage is night and day. We would all prefer the actual one since it is more solemn and the essence of the Honors’ Day is more evident when human interaction is present.

I know that you would agree that we all wish that ev-

erything to go back to normal so that we could finally do the things that we usually do, right?

Comparisons and longings aside, the virtual Honors’ Day that we have had definitely struck us in different ways. Maybe some of us may have remembered the sleepless nights that we have all shared for school works, reports, and many more. Maybe some may remember the tears that they have shed over deadlines and submissions. One thing is for sure, excitement and joy filled us in that moment.

This momentous event surely is the perfect ending and beginning for us - the perfect ending for a challenging first online school year and a perfect beginning for another chapter in our lives. It also is a reminder to all of us that all our sacrifices will bear fruit. It may not be in the form of a medal or certificate but what matters most is the development over the course of the school year. Lastly, we, students, must always and only move forward.

Gizmos: One step towards Mathematics and Science excellence Renz Bautista

We are now in the time where we learn Mathematics and Science by seeing how these fundamentals and concepts work first-hand. We are given the freedom to experiment and see the answers by ourselves. However, one of the activities that were limited in the online instruction is the administration of experiments and demonstrations. Because of this, we are lacking some of the vital knowledge and understanding in Math and Science that only an actual experiment activity can provide.

Mathematics and Science are subjects that require discovery and are process-inclined.

Thus, we can assure that there is learning if the concepts are applied into real-life situations and in solving problems. Students feel deprived when experiments and simulations are not conducted, since these bring in the fun in Science and Math.

ASJ now has a solution to this. As per Mr. Richard Pineda, the school principal, Gizmos is brought to ASJ to elevate the quality of Math and Science instruction by paving the way for experiments to be simulated virtually. Gizmos is an application that contains interactive Math and Science simulations for Grades 3-12. There are over 400 Gizmos, regularly updated, aligned to meet the latest standards and help the teachers in the online classroom bring new and powerful learning experiences to the students. Each simulation is JUNE 2021

backed-up by extensive research to ensure that the simulation models and data are accurate to help the student build conceptual understanding.

Through Gizmos, teachers will be more effective in making sure that students can learn complex and challenging Math and Science topics. Gizmos is fully immersive and very engaging to the students. Every simulation is packed with colorful graphics, sound, and animations, piquing their interest and curiosity.

Mathematics and Science teachers were given trainings on how to use Gizmos in their classes. Furthermore, departmental workshops were also conducted to ensure that teachers effectively integrate Gizmos into instruction and take learning to new levels.

Gizmos is only available for Grades 3-12, but the school will never stop finding new and innovating ways on how it will make classroom instruction easier, more engaging, and more enjoyable for the students.

Gizmos is one step on how ASJ will adapt into technological advances in instruction for Math and Science subjects. By empowering its teachers to be technologically literate, it brings one step closer into one of the school’s vision to provide the best quality education possible to its students.

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Andrew Dela Plana

The new normal has brought numerous challenges for everyone. This pandemic had a huge impact on education, employment, and the normal lives of people. This made a lot of transitions in our lives, like from onsite working to work from home, from shopping in malls to online shopping, and from face-to-face classes to online classes. Academy of Saint John (ASJ) transitioned to online learning last school year, all the while supporting its teachers and students, and achieving a lot of milestones for its first online school year. ASJ brought us all into the virtual classroom, “AirClass,” using Zoom and Schoology as our platforms for learning.

ASJ has been known for its many events and activities and even for their first online school year, they never fell short of expectations to help improve and boost the students’ confidence and talents. For example, it has been a tradition for ASJ to celebrate Araw ng Lahing Kayumanggi (ALK) every month of August. Although a whole school program seemed impossible, the school still celebrated ALK online.

Students even dressed up in different native attires at one point for the ALK contest. The Founding anniversary, which had huge parades, performances and shows, was also celebrated with an online mass as well as contests like the TikTok drama contest.

There were also new events this year that were considered as great successes. Gawad Alab, an event brought to fruition by the Lasallian 4

Rheims, showcased the artistic and literary faculty of students and teachers. All participants in the Gawad Alab were so competitive, for aside from the medals and certificates, cash prizes awaited the winners for each category. The students were given a whole month for them to work on their craft.

Workshops and talks by professionals were also held every week to help the students with their work. Another event, H2O, an online talk on Valentines’ Day, was also a success, and many students found themselves relating to the talk about heartbreak and relationships. The hosts in this talk were high school students and as they gave advices about love, the audience became quite entertained.

DAG1TAB Esports, which was the replacement for the school’s sportsfest, also became a successful project as a lot of students participated in it. The usual games like basketball, volleyball, and badminton were replaced by three new games: Mobile Legends, Call of Duty, and Valorant. The competitive teams fought for glory and climbed to the top. There was also an MVP (Most Valuable Player) award for every game, which proved that they were the best in that game. Finally, to top it all off, the 18th Commencement Exercises was once again held online.

Although this pandemic affected us greatly, ASJ never failed to provide support to to its teaching force and to its studentry. As ASJ nears its 20th year, the school once again proved its commitment to the Lasallian values while it transgresses the challenges posed by the “new normal”.

THE LASALLIAN RHEIMS

PHOTO FROM DARWIN LOSING

ASJ’s Success with its first online school year

From Chalkboards to Virtual Presentations: The Rocky Climb of teachers for School Year 2020-2021 Lance Crisostomo

March 17, 2020 - It has been more than a year since we were restricted by the grueling threats and effects of COVID-19.

All sectors of the society ,including the education sector, were pushed into a corner, forcing them to travel into a different path with unexplored grounds in it. From the normal face-to-face setup, institutions must now rely on different means of delivering education. Other schools chose to have the modular way and other schools, just like the Academy of Saint John, chose to take on the online distance learning (ODL).

A school year has already finished and in the course of this new school year, the difficulties and challenges experienced by the students were raised and given emphasis from time to time. Schools are doing what it takes so that students will receive quality education at all costs.

However, it is not only the students who had a hard time during this major shift. Teachers were at the top of the list of people who really were in shock and trial as this paradigm shift happened.

With ODL, ASJ teachers moved from chalkboards to Zoom meetings and Schoology. There’s a fine line separating the two. From simply writing words and lectures big enough to be viewed by the whole class, teachers now use apps and online presentation materials to deliver their lessons.

A problem is now rising. If we were to look into it, not all teachers are technologically literate teachers. “I am not techy” as Mr. Lawrence Fernando, Social Science teacher, admitted. It is understandable since teachers have their own style and methodologies in delivering their lessons. As I have observed in the past, although technology is used by teachers in ASJ, the traditional means will never be out of the equation.

To answer this, the school had its JUNE 2021

departmental and institutional seminars to equip the teachers with the skills and competencies needed for the online teaching.

There were different sessions for the use of Schoology, PowerPoint presentation making, online teaching techniques, and many more.

Although these seminars were helpful to the teachers, time and experience are still needed so that teachers may be accustomed in this setup. Even if teachers are introduced to and immersed to this new paradigm shift, still there will be challenges along the way. “My greatest struggle was that, since everything was new to me, I needed assistance in almost everything I do on the computer,” as Ms. Zeny Timajo, Grade 11 St. Benilde Homeroom adviser, shared.

The first online school year started and so as the arrival of numerous challenges and conflicts.

There are times when challenges are solvable through the knowledge gained from the trainings and seminars but there are still ones that go beyond what was learned. This is where the Lasallian spirit takes the driver seat as teachers help one another in addressing and solving problems to learn and to make their online teaching better.

With the new environment and challenges brought about by this, teachers also worry about their performance. There will always be that question whether or not they have delivered their lesson well or they have missed things. One thing is for sure, teachers did their very best in delivering their lessons out and I could definitely say that they were excellent amidst the limitations set by the pandemic.

Now that a new school year has already started, teachers are now in a better position, equipped with their experiences and take-aways from last school year’s struggles. These struggles may take new form and worsen but the brute force and sheer will of the teachers will overpower these problems and they shall be overcome. It is not just the problems which are evolving but so are the teachers who are so dedicated to teach minds, touch hearts, and transform lives.

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INDEPENDENCE DAY:

A reminder of the hardships fought by our heroes

PHOTO SOURCE | IMAGUR

Andrew Dela Plana

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June 12, an important date for us Filipinos, as the Independence Day of the Philippines is commemorated on this day. Emilio Aguinaldo first proclaimed Independence on June 12, 1898, which declared that Philippines is free from Spanish rule, until the colonization of the Americans in the same year. President Diosdado Macapagal then moved the Independence Day to June 12 from July 04, after th country’s independence from the United States in 1946.

Many Filipinos regard this date as a momentous occasion, due to the fact that the country finally achieved independence after hundreds of years, even if it was only for a brief amount of time.

The Philippines finally had freedom from the colonizers and many people actually made this day a reminder that our country should not be oppressed or colonized once again. This day became a clear symbol of the sacrifices and hardships that our national heroes had to go through for us to achieve the freedom of our country.

Filipinos celebrate the Independence Day in different creative ways to honor our national heroes.

The day itself is a regular holiday, but the country still finds a way to celebrate it with their fellow Filipinos.

Schools celebrate the Independence Day by presenting plays, holding assemblies, and hosting seminars.

They push these events through even if the Independence Day itself is over. Channels and media companies also make sure that they do something special for the day by airing the national anthem and also presenting short performances that highlight the deeds of our heroes.

The Independence Day is a very important event that helped shape what Filipinos are today. Although the declaration of independence made a huge impact, however, most Filipinos still think of the concept of freedom as something that can be given away. Our heroes fought for our country, and we should remind ourselves that freedom should not be given away easily, as this shows the glory that our ancestors fought for. The idea of throwing away our freedom for money and power will soon be paralleled with what happened in the past, where our country will no longer be truthful with its citizens, and the freedom we once had, gone.

THE LASALLIAN RHEIMS

One step at a time: Mr. Richard Pineda flies AirClass in an extraordinary fashion Lance Crisostomo

School principal - it is unarguably one of the heaviest titles to carry. Being the head of a school, you are placed in a high-pressure environment wherein all decisions and actions to make, even the tiniest ones, may have a great impact on the school.

The pressure and gravity of being a principal are immense but the abrupt effects of the pandemic made the responsibilities and duties of a principal even heavier.

Our school principal is no stranger to this. Last school year, the transition of principalship from Ms. Daisy Romero, who is now our school consultant, to Mr. Richard Pineda, former Math and Science coordinator, happened. It is a symbolic turnover since Mr. Richard is to continue the 17 years of excellence that Ms. Daisy has led ASJ into. The pressure is on but moreso, the pandemic made things a lot more challenging.

But some of you, especially those who are new to ASJ, may ask, who is Mr. Richard by the way? Well, he is one of the pioneers of the school. He was part of the four teachers who built the foundation of the school plus, he was actually the person responsible for our school logo. As an educator, Mr. Richard is an extraordinary one. He really masters his craft. Another special thing about him is that he can write using his left and right hand on the chalkboard at the same time. Amazing, isn’t it?

Going into his first year of principalship, the challenge was really on.

Not only did he need to take up the duties and responsibilities but he also needed to take on the untested waters of the online environment.

In an exclusive interview, Mr. FILE | THE LASALLIAN RHEIMS

Richard revealed that there were really tough challenges that he needed to face like making wiser decisions, reinforcing the school’s curriculum for the online set-up, and even the scheduling of tasks this school year for the students, faculty, and staff.

Everything was really shaky at first. The whole ASJ community was crumbling in every angle that you looked into. Some were struggling to use the LMS, some were having connection issues, teachers were trying to know and master the online platforms to be used, and the whole administration, including Sir Richard, were challenged on how to manage and keep the standards that ASJ has been known for. The effects of the pandemic on the school was really pushing everyone into a corner.

That previous school year must have been purely experimental but if you were to look into it, it seemed like a short amount of time was only needed to make AirClass’s flight smoother. Even though Mr. Richard is in his first year of principalship, the way the school year progressed showed the opposite. The performance of our dear principal was like he has been in that position before. It may have been an experimental school year but ASJ seemed to be like what it was during the face-to-face school years. ASJ has been able to pull off the same events as in the past, same level of education, same level of activities, and it’s a plus that the school has been able to incorporate what’s available online to the traditional activities and events.

Overall, Mr. Richard did a great job in his first year of principalship. He has been able to maintain the standards that ASJ has built on for years. His principalship may not be perfect since there are lots of improvements to make but the way the school year went, it goes beyond expectations. Now that the first online school year in ASJ raised the bar high, the pressure on Mr. Richard’s back is far greater than last year’s. The whole ASJ community is expecting for more and Mr. Richard definitely has a lot of surprises up his sleeve. One thing is for sure, the whole ASJ community is expecting much from him.

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EDITORIAL BOARD School Year 2021-2022

Editor-in-Chief

Lance Crisostomo

Managing Editor/Layout Renz Bautista

Writers

Marielle Navarro, Andrew Dela Plana, Kyzzia Paguirigan, Trisha Ilar, Benedict Yalung, Zoeline Honrado, Lemmor Lataza

Artists

Marcus Buhain, Shawn Teves

Adviser

Mr. Kent Bryan Colocado

Principal

Mr. Richard Pineda

School Consultant

Ms. Daisy Romero

ALERE FLAMMAM VERITATIS WE ARE OPEN FOR

CONTRIBUTORS! Submit your work at official.rheims@gmail.com

@Rheims2020 facebook.com/Rheims2020 official.rheims@gmail.com

Leadership in Service: Understanding the role of the student government EURUS Lance Crisostomo

Last June 21, the Lasallian Assembly of Student Officers (LASO) posted in their official Facebook page that the student government is coming back soon. In the coming days, they may reveal their line-up and projects that they have in-store this school year. If we were to look back into the past school year, LASO has organized two major events-projects - an online leadership training and ASJ’s Esports tournament, DAG1TAB. Arguably, there has been a decline in the presence and activity of the student government in the past school years. However, now that the students really need a group to represent them as this online method of learning is really taking a toll in all students, this is now the time to revisit the importance and impact that a student government has.

In the first online school year, the students have been experiencing problems and issues left and right.

Teachers and the administrators are very much open to listen to the students’ problems and find solutions to them.

For the teachers and administrators to hear and know such,

the student government serves as the bridge between the two parties. Also, to help respond better to the situation of the student body and manage the policies of the school amidst the pandemic, the student government also has this responsibility to manage activities and initiatives related to such.

Not only that, in this age where we are in need of leaders for a brighter tomorrow, the student government plays an integral role in this. It is not only to ensure that there are people to continue keeping the presence and leadership of the student government alive, but also to help students develop into responsible leaders of the society in the future. It becomes a training ground for students to develop qualities integral for them to become the ideal leaders of tomorrow.

Looking into this, the role that the student government holds in our school is very important. Without the student government, the student body would lack a voice representing them to the whole administration and community. Without them, students would not have that proper training ground for unleashing the leaders’ will within them. Now is the time for our student government to step-up and be there for the whole student body this second online school year.

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, otherwise known as EDSA, has been one of the busiest roads in the country, with bumper-tobumper traffic lasting from at least 30 minutes to a few hours.

However, many observed that the movement of vehicles over the long stretch of road have significantly lessened since the imposition of the quarantine protocols last year. The question remain, is the problem solved?

Traffic, not just in EDSA, has been a problem for decades in the Philippines. And we still do not have that golden egg found in the large basket. In fact, Philippines ranks second in the highest traffic congestion level in the world according to the TomTom Traffic Index 2020.

EDSA is a circumferential road, from the word circle. It stretches from Taft Avenue in Pasay, Makati, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, to North Avenue in Quezon City. All those business and commercial districts such as BGC and Ortigas, major connector roads, and places of interest are found in this 54-kilometer highway.

Last June 9, President Rodrigo Duterte in an interview over SMNI News claimed that the traffic in the main throughfare of NCR has

63% of ASJ HS students favor wearing of face shields on selected areas | Are you in favor of the proposal that the wearing of face shields will NO longer be required outdoors?

51% 44% 5%

said YES

said NO

abstained

| Are you in favor of the proposal that the wearing of face shields will be required ONLY in hospitals, schools, workplaces, commercial establishments (such as but not limited to food establishments, malls, and public markets), public transport and terminals, and places of worship?

63% 33% 4%

said YES

said NO

abstained

been eradicated. He also added that travel time from Cubao to NAIA is now at 15 minutes . At first, I was indifferent about this because this was another case of those kind of statements made by the president.

Considering the methodologies and projects in place by the government in mitigating EDSA traffic such as the EDSA Carousel and point-to-point busses, modifications in the MRT, ongoing and finished infrastructure projects, I can hypothesize that EDSA traffic has slightly lessened. This inference took account the decrease of large amounts of cars and other vehicles since many people are under the work from home (WFH) set-up.

Malls, restaurants, and other places of recreation limit or even restrict visitors due to the quarantine protocols imposed by the IATF.

Huge traffic jams, according to the Metro Manila Development Authority, accounts for a Php. 3.5 Billion money wasted daily in the economy. We cannot estimate what effects these actions by the government will bring if the real situation (ideally the pre-pandemic situation, especially during the holiday rush) is still present. It is like removing the root cause of the problem in the hopes of solving it, Lance Crisostomo With the announcement of the Malacañan Palace on President Duterte allowing face shields not to be worn outdoors, a survey was conducted in the high school department of the Academy of Saint John to know their stand on the matter.

There was a total of 55 high school students who participated in the said survey.

When asked about whether or not they are in favor of the proposal that face shields will no longer be worn outside, 28 or 50.91% of the respondents said they are not in favor of this, 24 or 43.64% said that they were in favor and the remaining 3 or 5.45% abstained.

When the question shifted to whether or not they are in favor of the proposal that face shields will only be required in hospitals, workplaces, schools, and other public areas, the responses also shifted. 35 or 63.64% of the respondents favored this proposal while 18 or 32.73% said that they are not in favor and the remaining 2 or 3.63% abstained from taking either side.

With the heated argument among government officials, retraction of the statement of Duterte by the Palace, and the scientific recommendations of the experts, the government is still in the process of looking into this proposal to make a decision regarding the wearing of face shields.

RPTD Renz Bautista

which sadly, does not work.

Traffic is a type of problem that arises from the urbanization and the rapid growing economy in an area. More movement means more economic activity. It is not answered by any simple means. This could be mitigated through extensive research, strong implementation of regulations, and cooperative discipline by all. As such, we cannot just assume with no backed-up evidence and documentation and say EDSA traffic is now solved. Infrastructure and transportation projects are the core of how EDSA traffic will be mitigated. The more infrastructure and the efficient utilization of transportation there is, the more manageable traffic will be, not just in EDSA but all over the country.

We Filipinos have already accepted that traffic is present everywhere, and we cannot just point fingers on who is to blame. But we need to take note that self-discipline and proper time management is one of the most effective ways for us to not suffer the consequences of heavy traffic. It is a sacrifice, although can be resolved, for the betterment of our country and the benefit of all.

PHOTO SOURCE | THE PHILIPPINE STAR

EDSA: Road to Nowhere

ASJ launches school’s website Lance Crisostomo

Academy of Saint John officially unveiled its official website last June 22 via official post on Facebook.

ASJ’s website featured a brief history of the school, vision-mission, the roster of faculty, staff, and administrators, the school’s plan for this school year, and its contact details.

It also featured an easier access to the pre-registration part of the enrollment and ordering of books for this school year.

The website was created by Mr. JJ de Guzman under the supervision of Ms. Daisy Romero.

For more information regarding the website, you may visit it at www. academyofsaintjohn.edu.ph 9

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, Even though vaccine is already being given, many Filipinos are still confined in their respective homes because these vaccines are not a guarantee of being invulnerable against the disease. With our new normal, most public schools in the Philippines chose modules for their school system but most of the private schools, including our school, around the Philippines decided to proceed to online learning.

For this school year, I expect the same system as last year. The system last year made the school year secure and proper. Teachers made sure that all students are learning by incorporating new methodologies of teaching which is suitable in this online environment. The teachers did a great job ensuring the focus of the students, since it’s online and the teachers can’t watch their students properly. It is clearly hard for all of us but as we go deeper into the passages of the online environment, we are getting more familiar with it. I believe that familiarity comes with development and progress. As we go along this journey, we are getting better at it, being able to address things easier and quicker.

I still miss school though. It's sad that we can’t attend face-to-face classes yet because of this pandemic. Seeing my friends and teachers physically strikes more than seeing them on screen.

However, the restrictions brought about by the pandemic are stopping us from doing so. How I wish, we can wipe all these restrictions and threats in a single snap and bring things back to normal.

May the teachers and the students do their parts properly and I’m hoping that the other students like me will also look forward for this school year and continue to remain safe at their homes, not only the students but the whole ASJ community. I believe that as a community, we are going to make great strides for this school year.

Hoping for the best, Zoe, Grade 8

To the Editor, I am writing to you today because I want to express my expectations and my hopes for ASJ for the upcoming school year, so that the students will have a fruitful school year.

We are in the comforts of our own home, but we still want the fun and experience we had in school.

Sadly, the experiences today are not as fulfilling than what happened during the pre-pandemic period or face-to-face. I hope that the teachers and the school will do their best to bring those memorble experiences in this online set-up.

I hope teachers will always do their best this school year. This can be a new experience for them, but the passion of teaching is still there and still burning. May these teachers give us more knowledge, strength, and wisdom to let us chase our dreams and motivate us into achieving our long-term goals and aspirations.

That is all, and I hope that the school will find my visions for the school year beneficiary.

Sincerely, Gemini, Grade 8 10

THE LASALLIAN RHEIMS

Salamat, PNoy!

LEX TALK Mr. Lawrence Fernando

I was supposed to write about our independence, as we have just celebrated the 123rd anniversary of its declaration for my inaugural column. However, as I have dragged writing on it, a significant yet somber event had happened last 24th of June that I have scratched that plan.

Full disclosure, I am a true blue DILAWAN as some would call it. I am a supporter of the late former president that I had been wearing a yellow ribbon pin for almost my entire high school years up to the end of his term. I would like to believe that it further solidified my interest into politics.

Each and everyone would have their own description of his presidency. But I would like to put it this way. He was the president we needed at the time. A beacon of hope when almost the entire country has lost its confidence to its government. Under his administration, trust between the people and the government has returned and that we can engage the government into discourse.

As the news of his death took over the national discourse in the last few days, we are reminded of that a decent, simple, and honest governance was possible. How easily we have seemed to have forgotten and we do now surely long for it.

In his penultimate SONA he stated, “At kung dumating nga ang panahong iyon, at natapos na po ang ating pangalawang buhay, masasabi ko ho bang, okay na rin? At sasabihin ko po sa inyo, mata sa mata… kontento na po ako dahil panatag ang kalooban ko, na kung ako po’y mawala na dito, marami po ang magpapatuloy ng ating tinahak na. Baka iyon lang po talaga ang papel ko: umpisahan ito.”

Though the times may be troubled and rough, may we take on this challenge to continue the journey on the “Daang Matuwid” that PNoy has started. And to prove on his statement that the Filipinos is worth fighting for.

Thank you and rest well, Mr. President. Hindi ka nag-iisa.

PHOTO SOURCE | GET REAL POST, ABSCBN-NEWS, RAPPLER, PTV NEWS

JUNE 2021

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COVID REWIND

Walking through 2020 to 2021 Kyzzia Paguirigan

More than a year had passed since the pandemic we fear started. It was known that the outbreak started in the city of Wuhan in China. According to the report of the World Health Organization, the early cases was from the widely known Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market also known as Huanan Market. The cases were mainly the vendors and the operators. The government decided that the market is to be closed and disinfected on January 1, 2020 and further investigation showed that the market’s animal-human intervention was the initial suspect of the spread of the virus, thus the virus began spreading through the country of China and to its close countries as well.

Philipines, being in close proximity with China, did not escape the spread of the virus.

Afterwards, the first suspected cases in the Philippines appeared on January 22, 2020. The suspected people were two previously healthy Chinese nationals who were traveling as a couple and was visiting the Philippines for a vacation. Shortly after they were admitted to San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, the female was considered as the first case of COVID -19 in the Philippines and the male as the second.

Only a few months had passed and the number of suspected cases in the country has risen to more than 600 on March 1, 2020. This also induced the Philippine government to impose quarantine restrictions, which are still in place as of this writing. In fact, the Philippines has one of the longest quarantines recorded.

After a year, the cases skyrocketed by a huge margin from a measly hundred to a whopping 1.39 million nationwide, although most of them has recovered already the number 12

of casualties is more than 20 thousand.

As time passed, the virus is still as potent as ever. However, people learned how to stay safe and away from it. With an effort to come up with a vaccine against the virus, the different laboratories and facilities have produced vaccines to be distributed around the globe. Brands like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna have already been in the World Health Organization’s emergency use listing (EUL). The vaccines are demonstrated to be safe by the WHO but the national regulators are yet to authorize the vaccines to facilitate equitable access to safe COVID-19 vaccines. WHO is coordinating with national governments around the globe in order to help achieve these important processes.

According to the Department of Health, the Philippine government is currently in the initial phase of vaccine rollout with the availability of Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sputnik V vaccines in the country, and at the same time the country is also at the advanced stages of negotiations with the COVAX facility and a few more vaccine manufacturers.

Statistics by Our World in Data shows that over 7.5 million Filipino citizens has already been dosed with COVID vaccines and about 2.5 billion worldwide as of June 16.

With our world undergoing these hardships, we must not lose hope and keep believing that we will come out of this pandemic healthy. Don’t forget to wash your hands and pray to the Lord.

PHOTO SOURCE THE STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS RENZ BAUTISTA

The Making of a Father Marielle Navarro

“What is a father?”

Or more specifically, which attributes make up a father? Young people like myself don’t really think about it deeply considering we have other things to worry about.

Dads just seem to exist wherever we go and what we know about them are limited to generalized knowledge. It was a bothersome realization in my part so I decided to work on that.

I ended up looking up articles that told stories about what it takes to be a father, each one having a different narrative from the other. It was at that moment when something clicked for me; there is no such thing as a certain formula that makes up a father.

No experience is the same. While others spend this Father’s Day celebrating, there are some who can’t or decide not to. Some fathers can be strict while some are loose towards rules, others being a mix of both. Being a father doesn’t even equal to being biologically related because just being a father figure to someone can be enough. Thinking about all these stories made me realize that writing an article about only one angle of fatherhood is difficult .

To put it simply, a father isn’t a one-dimensional image because that experience is different for everyone. Whatever makes up a father depends on the eye of the beholder, the people in his life that can consider him as such. This month of June, we are given a day to appreciate these people who a person has looked up to and sees an image of a father.

We are always told that the father is the pillar of the home, him holding up the family with his strength. But as we realize further that every father is different, he is not only a pillar but he is someone that can be trusted to be whoever the home needs him to be. Happy Father’s Day to all we consider as fathers and may they continue being their own unique persons that we love and cherish.

JUNE 2021

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ART SHAWN TEVES

Depredation When the sky topples under voices lawless And the tides split through copper wings What will you do when the choir sings And black magic slays on the chorus In the confusion, love suffers a deficiency In the funeral halls where exclusion is swept A balance put upon the presumption of innocence It’s raging justice lights no darkness When others suffer When others struggle And others surpass You can only drown In the rapids of depredation - Benedict Yalung

All in Good Time We bask in earned splendor And ask the heavens for more Once the fire’s set free Burning what was before Bless your kin with water Wash the rusted chains away In glory we stand together As the sun comes our way Hearts worn on our sleeves To celebrate a final throw But only to wonder Where did all the time go - Marielle Navarro

ART MARCUS BUHAIN