The Pioneer (Broadsheet Issue)

USC prexy qualifies as finalist in Rizal model studes search

read full story on page 3

NBW ‘13 pushed thru amidst U-Week sched conflict

by Jerremie Anne Lopez

WITH THE theme “Libraries: Preservers and Promoters of Culture and the Arts,” the University Library (UL) organized the National Book Week (NBW) 2013 despite the overlapping schedule with university activities. continued on page 2

Scholars are encouraged, not forcedSelling -OSAFA of ‘Bamboo OSSS calls for full studes’ cooperation

tickets’ stirs issue among scholars

by Kier Ocampo

“THE SCHOLARS are being encouraged, not forced, to buy the 500-peso Bamboo ticket,” said Office of Student Affairs and Financial Aid (OSAFA) Director Ma. Gwendelyn Oronce.

According to Oronce, she was saddened upon knowing the scholars’ negative reaction on the method of selling the tickets.

“Wala akong nakikitang mali na ine-encourage silang bumili kasi sila rin ang magbe-benefit,” she said.

Regarding the selling of tickets to scholars, Oronce commended the idea but she was unaware of the claim that scholars were “forced” to buy.

In terms of marketing strategies, College of Allied Medical Professions (CAMP) Assistant Dean Annalyn Navarro said raffle was their approach to sell the tickets. She also said buying the ticket was never compulsory.

Meanwhile, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Assistant Dean Ruth Libag said she “asked for the scholars’

by Lilet Sicat

KEEPING THE university as a safe environment for learning, the Office of Safety and Security Services (OSSS) asks students for their cooperation in abiding by the rules to secure the safety within the campus premises.

According to OSSS Director Dr. Noel Barela, security must be a partnership among the school, the students, and the parents.

“Requirement of ID system and inspection of bags are basic steps of securing the students inside the campus. But sometimes, students are becoming indifferent to us.

They cannot follow these simple instructions and consider these as waste of time,” Barela said.

He added that for students who repeatedly disobey these “simple” rules, OSSS will call for their attention and report them to the Office of Student Affairs and Financial Aid (OSAFA).

He also said that even employees sometimes refuse to comply with these security measures.

“That is why all people inside the university, most especially the people with authority, should be the role models of the students in following these simple rules,” he added.

On the issue of a missing continued on page 3

Rocking Kawayan. Bamboo rocks the audience as he sings his heart out at the AUF Sports and Cultural Center for the benefit of scholars. Photo by Ervie Joshua Pascual

‘Pio’ Pulse: 58% of Angeleneans in favor of school calendar shift

New system draws mixed reactions from studes

by Krishna Elaine Magdangal

FIVE HUNDRED twelve out of 888 students from the eight colleges surveyed by THE PIONEER support the revised academic cycle, moving the opening of classes from June to August or September.

However, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Archimedes David said Angeles University Foundation (AUF) will not adapt the new system this coming

academic year 2014-2015.

“Moving of classes from June to August or September really needs further and serious study and our University President is on top of this,” he said.

David added that this issue needs to be discussed by several concerned entities.

“This may also need the synchronized act of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED),

the Department of Education (DepEd), and Professional Regulation Commission (PRC),” he added.

Meanwhile, the issue on the academic cycle revision for the purpose of making the Philippines at par with neighboring countries elicited different responses from students.

Criminology student Rian John Espiritu and Physical Therapy

continued on page 3

JUNE OR SEPTEMBER? student Aaron Paul Nulud are both in favor of the academic calendar shift because of the longer vacation.

Nulud added that opening the classes in August or September will be convenient for his continued on page 3

AUF-SCC holds Angeles City’s music, dance festival NSTP fee gains criticisms from studes City mayor lauds venue 66 out of 77 sophomores doubt NSTP fee’s purpose

by Kier Ocampo “I THINK there is no other venue than this place,” said Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan regarding the staging of “Limampulung Banua ning Kanta, Terak at Arti” Music and Dance Festival at Angeles University Foundation’s Sports and Cultural Center (AUF-SCC) on January 25.

“This is it. I mean bago, maganda, and it accommodates a lot of people. The guests felt comfortable throughout the show,” he added.

Moreover, Pamintuan expressed his delight regarding the turn-out of Angeles City’s 50th year celebration.

“One word that can describe everything is ‘fantastic.’ Sabi nga nila, ‘pure energy talaga ‘yan.’ I think they are all inspired. Celebrating the city’s 50th birthday is something to be remembered.”

Remembering the past 50 years Reminiscing the 50 years of Angeles City, local talents brought the audience to the memory lane as they sang and danced the hit songs popularized throughout the years.

This showcase of talents was one of the highlights of this year’s monthlong golden anniversary celebration dubbed as “AC50: Limampulung Banua, Gintung Mana.”

The festival was concluded

by Jerremie Anne Lopez

Golden Legacy. Angeles City’s talented performers stun the audience with their exceptional song and dance numbers in celebration of the city’s 50th anniversary. Photo by Riza Marie Padilla with the golden year theme song “Limampulung Gintung Banua” composed by Center for Culture and the Arts (CCA) Director Gildo “Boron” Garcia Jr. and Office of University Relations (OUR) Director Ma. Teresita Paras.

Next after five decades On the other hand, Pamintuan

said he tends to be “competitive” with other cities in the Philippines and other Asian countries.

“We should ready our city to the onslaught of tourists and other visitors by cleaning the city, widening the roads, disciplining the people on kalinisan, and of course, peace and order din. So there are a lot of things to be done,” he added.

SIXTY SIX out of 77 respondents composed of second year students from the eight colleges taking up National Service Training Program (NSTP) surveyed by THE PIONEER believe the subject’s fee does not serve its purpose.

During the survey, the respondents complained about the extra expenses they are paying for the subject such as the payment for their activities and transportation.

The respondents also referred to the NSTP Act of 2001 about these expenses.

Republic Act No. 9163 Section 8 (Fees and Incentives) states that “higher and technical vocational institutions shall not collect any fee for any of the NSTP components except basic tuition fees, which shall not be more than fifty percent (50%) of what is currently charged by schools per unit.”

Furthermore, NSTP Director Dr. Noel Barela said that the collection of NSTP fee is mandatory as it is required by the law.

To clear the confusion regarding the fee’s purpose, Vice President for Finance Dr. Ma. Loreto Canlas said the fee covers the two

components of NSTP: the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and the Civil Welfare Training Service (CWTS). It is specifically allotted for administrative costs such as seminars, special lectures, NSTP graduation rites, and other activities related to the subject.

The fee, however, does not cover the extra expenses claimed by the respondents.

To address the issue, the Center for Christian Formation (CCF) held a meeting on January 24 which was attended by two representatives per class.

“Ang purpose daw nung meeting was about sa mga reklamo ng mga students sa Facebook page, ‘yung AUF Confessions, na nabasa ng mga CCF faculty,” said Information Technology student Jan Rey Mungcal.

Other payments Regarding the transportation fee, CCF Director Dr. Edna Manlapaz said the head of transportation is in-charge of the amount.

However, Medical Technology student Jewel Patiag said it is more practical to ride a jeepney and pay continued on page 3

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THE PIONEER

News

ADMU quicker graces U-Week ’13 opening

by Jerremie Anne Lopez

A Spike of Knowledge. Ateneo de Manila University’s quicker Gretchen Ho shares her knowledge and experience on sportsmanship during the opening ceremonies of the University Week 2013. Photo by Riza Marie Padilla.

“LIFE DOESN’T stop when you fail. Nothing is lost when you learn.

Take everything you can commit and be better.”

This is what former Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles quicker and this year’s guest speaker Gretchen Ho said during University Week Opening Ceremonies on December 3, 2013.

Ho enlivened the Angeleneans in her inspirational speech on how she survived the setbacks in her life as a student and as a player.

“Your attitude towards your failures is what defines you…When you fail, remember you are only human. Laugh about it, talk about it, accept it, and overcome it. Don’t let your failures define you,” she said.

CAS, CCS studes crowned as Mr. and Ms University 2013

by Gema Ocampo

BESTING 22 other contenders, Information Technology student Carl Angelo Cunanan and Psychology student Marian Jane Poulter were hailed as Mr. and Ms. University 2013 during the Grand Coronation Night at the AUF Sports and Cultural Center on December 6, 2013.

Meanwhile, Michael Anjo Rivera and Czarina Shylla Lapuz won as first runners-up while Gail Doraine Ventic and Jake Ronnel Lumba bagged the second runnersup award. Almarie Grace Belvis and Arl Dominic Antonio landed as third runners-up followed by Miguel Garcia and Mary Grace Gonzales as fourth runners-up.

Aside from bagging the title, Cunanan also won the other minor awards such as Best in Formal Wear, Best in Sportswear,

Best in Filipino Costume, and Mr. Facebook Favorite while his counterpart, Poulter, brought home the title and other awards namely Best in Formal Wear, Best in Sportswear, and Ms. Zen Zest.

Other minor awards were given to Robert Jele Mangulabnan III and Lapuz as Mr. and Ms. Talent; Ventic as Ms. Facebook Favorite; Gonzales for Best in Filipino Costume; Rivera and Patricia Dana Rodulfa as Mr. and Ms. Photogenic; Ian Carlo Liangco as Mr. Zen Zest; and Justin Kier Miranda and Celena Suchadoll as Mr. and Ms. Friendship.

Meanwhile, Communication student Garcia expressed that his “flunk” in the question and answer portion served as a lesson to answer questions by heart.

“I really didn’t expect anything because my fellow contestants are

much more competitive than me in looks, confidence, and body figure.

They are even smarter than I am,” he added.

Similar to Garcia’s statement, Ventic said that she was “happy” about the outcome of the pageant and the fact that she gave her best.

“I was able to meet a lot of new people and befriended almost all of them. Also, we were able to practice professionalism, patience and discipline which—in the whole span of the competition—was able to be executed by most of us,” she said.

The 24 finalists were chosen during the elimination round on September 28, 2013 at the St. Cecilia’s Auditorium and the subsequent pre-pageant where the finalists showcased their talents was held on November 29, 2013.

NBW ‘13 pushed...

According to UL Director Amor Martin, there was “insufficient” time for preparation that resulted to cancellation of activities such as the Bookfair Parade and delay to meet their target date on November 24.

“Medyo mahirap dahil ilang days lang ang preparation. What we were thinking before was to have a simple celebration dahil before nito ay ‘yung ISO at naging busy pa sa academic contests, kaya minove namin ‘yung event ng November 27,” she said.

Furthermore, she said that they received an instruction from the Office of the President that there should be no duplication of activities. In line with this, they came up with unique activities such as the first open bookworm challenge.

“We did not require colleges to have representatives because we want to challenge the library users to join the event. We want to know kung gaano ba talaga kagagaling ang mga students sa researching without librarians’ supervision lalo na’t they have to find the resources

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per floor,” Martin said.

In addition, small talk discussions for college students coincided with one of the programs of U-Week.

“Ito lang kasi ‘yung day para i-disassemble ‘yung set-up ng reading area. Hindi pwede kapag may regular classes na,” she said.

Meanwhile, the celebration of the NBW was also opened to fourth year high school students for them to feel “not isolated” from college students’ U-Week celebration.

In contrast with last year’s celebration, Martin said there were many activities but the celebration was “very simple.”

“Kahit pala konti lang ‘yung oras, we were able to conduct activities which were enjoyed by students. Pero hopefully next year, mabigyan kami ng mas mahabang time to prepare,” she added.

Meanwhile, College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) student Arvee Flores was named as a certified library user for accumulating the most number of borrowed and used library resources.

Balikdan. Dr. Lucena P. Samson refreshes the minds of Angeleneans about the origin of the Kapampangan language in a small talk discussion during the National Book Week.. Photo by Deanne Belle Canlas

Cheerdance tilt Meanwhile, after their intensive

preparation, the eight colleges geared with their stunts and routines showcased their flexibility and gracefulness in the cheerdance competition.

Falcons outshined the other colleges after emerging as cheerdance victors. The Eagles and Tigers placed as second and third placers, respectively.

Meanwhile, different booths were opened namely, Kerian Inc. and I-shoot Mo, Piso Mo (College of Business and Accountancy), College of Engineering and Architecture Goodies (CEA), Henna Tattoos (CEd), Photobooth (THE PIONEER and College of Computer Studies), and Face Your Fears (College of Arts and Sciences), located at the AUF Silungan and Struggle Square.

Beauty and Brawns. Ms University Marian Jane Poulter and Mr. University Carl Angelo Cunanan share the limelight as symbols of beauty and excellence.

Photo by Riza Marie Padilla

USC holds 1st U-Nite

by Jerremie Anne Lopez and Lilet Sicat

Triple Treat. Yong Gopez, John Manalo, and CJ Navato entertain the Angeleneans during the first ever University Night. Photo by Katherina Faye Galvan

According to University Student Council (USC) President Mary Heliane Fabian, Ho was chosen to be the U-Week guest because of her background as a motivational speaker and as a wellknown athlete.

Meanwhile, Fabian said that shortage in budget became their major problem during the organization of the event.

“Marami kaming gustong gawin pero hindi kaya ng SAF [Student Activity Fund] kasi may ibang paglalaanan ‘yon. What we did is to outsource. We looked for different sponsors na namigay naman ng gift checks, food, and cash,” she said.

TO STIR up the spirit of University Week, University Student Council (USC) staged the first ever “U-Nite 2013: The Night Flight.”

According to USC Vice President Kevin Troy Morales, they decided to conduct U-Nite as an innovation to the traditional celebration of U-Week.

“Plinano naming gawing second day ito kasi may Bamboo concert and Mr. and Ms. University pageant pa for the upcoming days.

Kung sa tingin nila [Angeleneans] na hindi pa enough si Gretchen Ho for them, unang banat pa lang namin ‘yun para maghintay pa sila sa mga susunod na araw,” Morales said.

Moreover, he admitted the program was not executed as planned because guest artists John Manalo, CJ Navato, and Yong Gopez did not arrive on time. To fill in

gaps, winners from Battle of the Bands of Culturals 2013 performed to entertain the audience.

“Instead na mainip at umalis ang mga students, kailangang magadjust kaya hindi na lang namin tinuloy ‘yung Mascot Showdown,” he added.

Problems encountered Meanwhile, Computer Engineering student Gimwell Young said the absence of female guests was a little disappointing for male students. He mentioned some students did not know about the event while some were “clueless” about the theme.

“I wondered why most did not even bother to follow the said theme and did not wear what they were supposed to,” Young said.

On the other hand, Medical Technology student Alethea Mendoza said that wearing pants and t-shirt was more comfortable

than semi-formal attire.

More so, Mendoza expressed her sentiment about the “insufficient” provision of food for all attendees.

To make things clear, Morales said students had the option to follow the theme but as for the food, he said they only prepared for a specific number of attendees.

“It was the suggested theme lang naman and we did not require everybody to spend for their outfits.

As for the food, it was only for the first 300 attendees,” he said.

Meanwhile, College of Nursing’s “Nurses on Duty version 2.0” brought home the title in the “Battle of Boy/Girl Band” contest which was the highlight of the event. College of Business and Accountancy’s “Viva Longganisa” and College of Arts and Sciences’ “CASirens” were awarded as second and third placers, respectively.

Dolphins redeem gold in debate tilt

by Lilet Sicat

AFTER FAILING to get the eighth consecutive win in the 2012 Intercollegiate Debate, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) debate team redeemed itself and is now back on track after winning this year’s competition.

According to University Student Council (USC) President and CAS debater Mary Heliane Fabian, last year’s loss became an inspiration for them and “a legendary push” to be better this year.

Fabian said that falling down made the team “a lot stronger” and that what matters most is one’s willpower to fight back and resume the battle they are in.

“Everyone thought CAS is always the best in debating. But last year made us realize that we should aim for something that is better than the best. We should do this always and in all ways,” Fabian said.

In addition, she introduced CAS debate team’s new members, Ariel Paolo Vinuya and Zeia Beatriz Valencia, who underwent the screening and turned out to be both very competitive.

Meanwhile, Fabian said their difficulty in balancing their other commitments with the task of redeeming the title paved way for a “stronger” bond with the team.

A Dive to Success. (From L-R) Liangco, Fabian, Vinuya, and Valencia are all smiles after reclaiming the title as “champions” in the 2013 Intercollegiate Debate. Photo by Deanne Belle Canlas

“As the USC President, I was the busiest since I was also working for the University Week. My teammates also had their engagements in other organizations and in the academe,” Fabian added.

The College of Nursing (CON)

and the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) were hailed as second and third placers, respectively.

Meanwhile, CAS debater Adrian Paul Liangco bagged both Best Speaker and Best Debater awards.

THE PIONEER

News

3

USC prexy qualifies as finalist in Rizal model studes search

by Darlene Amabele Salunga

UNIVERSITY STUDENT Council (USC) President Mary Heliane Fabian succeeded to be one of the 21 semi-finalists for the 25th Search for Jose Rizal Model Students of the Philippines (JRMSP).

“I was like, ‘Wow! Of all the Jose Rizals in the Philippines, I was singled out.’ It was an honor to represent Angeles University Foundation in one of the prestigious searches for outstanding students across the country,” she said.

Meanwhile, Fabian believes that every Filipino deserves to be labeled as a “model student.”

“These are just lanyards given to people not just because they are outstanding or excellent but because it’s their time to be on that position,” she said.

Despite the failure to make it to the top 10, Fabian is still “happy” to be chosen out of the pool of aspirants across the country.

“These are not the bases of being a true Filipino. What matters is that we always have the courage to take every endeavor for the country,” she added.

According to Office of Student Affairs and Financial Aid (OSAFA) Director Ma. Gwendelyn Oronce,

Fabian was picked because she has the highest general weighted average in the university and “excellent” leadership records.

Meanwhile, Oronce said that the university, in coordination with USC, conducts leadership trainings and programs to produce more qualifiers in the succeeding years.

She also recalled that in the past years, two Angeleneans made it to the top 10 namely College of Engineering graduate Jonathan De Quiroz who placed seventh and College of Education graduate Joejit Velasquez who reached second place.

where simulated board exam questions are given to familiarize the students with the procedure and the types of questions given during the exams.

According to Javier, they closely monitor the performance of the students by conducting surprise visits in the review centers where they are enrolled.

Furthermore, the parents play a crucial role in monitoring their children to make sure they beefed up for the exams.

Javier also said they study the attitudes and the moves of the examiners so they know what kind of questions and sample problems will

be given to the students.

He also added that he is after a very good passing mark so there will be continuous endeavor for improvement.

“If we feel that our students are weak in certain aspects, we ‘re-tool’ them and then we bombard them with a lot of sample problems and exercises,” he said.

Javier explained this further by using the analogy that “no matter how perfect the design is, if the materials are weak, the structure will be weak.”

“We need to keep on improving the interventions, the policies, and the system,” Javier said.

The applicants underwent thorough screening process where nominees were evaluated based on their academic standing, extra-curricular activities, and community involvement. The final interview assessed their knowledge about Rizal’s life and works, personal conviction, articulation, and projection.

JRMSP is a nationwide search that gathers outstanding students from different universities. It is organized by the Order of the Knights of Rizal, a civic and patriotic organization that upholds Rizalian ideals, values, and philosophies.

A Paragon of Rizal. Fabian proves that the youth is the hope of our country as she qualifies as one of the young model students who have the qualities of real patriotism. Photo by Riza Marie Padilla.

Engineering board results follow upward trend Dragons hailed champs

by Krishna Elaine Magdangal

ANGELES UNIVERSITY Foundation (AUF) yielded 69.23% passing rate in the November 2013 Civil Engineer Licensure Examination, making AUF number one among the private universities in Central Luzon.

College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) Dean Engr. Paul Javier said the scores are “pretty good” and that the results are getting higher for the recent board exams.

“Pataas ‘yung trend and we’re going there but we cannot do this overnight,” he said.

One of the preparations for the licensure exam is the holding of review classes, a part of the curriculum,

in Clark CONEX

by Lilet Sicat

‘Sagip Kapatid’ project aids Yolanda victims

by Krishna Elaine Magdangal

“ISA ITO sa pinakamalaking relief operations na hi-nandle ng Angeles University Foundation (AUF),” said Center for Community Development Services (CCDS) Director Glicel Grace Tiamzon during the Sagip Kapatid relief operations on December 14, 2013.

With the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda, CCDS decided to combine Sagip Kapatid and Bigay Puso, an annual community service for the indigent communities, to give support to the victims.

In line with this, CCDS formally closed its disaster relief operations in partnership with the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) with a culminating activity where the final batch of donations were turned over to the said organization.

Tiamzon said that CCDS will explore another possible partnership with the PNRC in its plan to build a “Red Cross Village,” a rehabilitation project that will provide homes for those who were displaced by the typhoon.

She also related how the spirit of volunteerism was manifested because this year’s relief operations was one the biggest efforts she has seen in her long stay in AUF. “Lahat, bata man o matanda,

Scholars are...

help” to support the concert by buying tickets.

“Hinihingi ko lang naman sa mga scholars ‘yung isang ticket na tulong kasi para rin sa kanila ‘yun.

Kung gusto nila, pwede naman nilang ibenta sa iba,” she said.

However, a student who chose not to be named said their college signed a scholar’s registration form in exchange for buying a ticket.

Another scholar said the ticket was handed to him without asking for his approval.

Meanwhile, 0ther college officials said there were no problems encountered.

“Wala naman kaming naencounter na problema sa pagbenta ng tickets. Scholars pa nga namin ‘yung hindi nanood e,” said College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) College Secretary Susan Torres.

Likewise, College of Criminal Justice Education (CCJE) Dean Dr. Lucia Hipolito said they experienced “smooth” ticket sales.

“The tickets were only distributed to those students who really want to watch the concert,” she added.

The selling of tickets, according to some colleges, was never their job and that the University Student Council (USC) should be responsible for marketing because it was their project.

In answer to this, USC President Mary Heliane Fabian expressed her thoughts on the distribution of the tickets to the colleges.

“The student council is made up not only of five individuals but of more than 6,000 people in AUF. Such responsibilities and acts of service

Dragons on Fire. Delegates from the College of Computer Studies are hailed as champions in the Clark Conference and Expo (CONEX) by showcasing their skills in computer science and information technology. Photo Credit: Kevin Albayalde

Helping Hand. Angeles University Foundation lives up to one of its core values of having “malasakit sa kapwa” by aiding Yolanda victims through Operation Sagip Kapatid. Photo by Riza Marie Padilla. mayroong binigay na share sa relief operations. Dito sa AUF, ‘yung ating mga officials and kahit ‘yung ating mga housekeeping, hindi nagdalawang-isip na magbigay,” she said.

Moreover, Tiamzon said the from page 1 should be shared by everyone because we are a mobilized community,” she said.

As of press time, other colleges were not able to give their comments about the issue due to their busy schedule.

According to OSAFA, the 2,045 ticket sales would contribute to the funding of 1,350 Angelenean scholars.

Bamboo’s late appearance Avid fans were disappointed due to the artist’s late arrival.

Communication student Alyana Jacel Jinco said she expected Bamboo to arrive at exactly 6 o’clock.

However, due to tiredness and the late appearance of the artist, she and her friends decided to leave early.

Likewise, concert goer and local musician Allan Piedra said he was disappointed because the concert did not start on time.

“Muntik na kaming umuwi kasi 6 o’clock pa lang, nakatayo na kami. I’m very disappointed kasi oras na, nagse-set up pa lang sila,” he said.

Regarding these comments, Office of University Relations (OUR) Director Ma. Teresita Paras said Bamboo’s management apologized for the late arrival of the artist.

“Maraming naghintay pero nung nag-start na, parang walang kapagud-pagod ang mga tao. He was able to redeem himself during the performance,” she added.

In addition, Management Accounting student Marven Ibañes said the concert was a blast and the audience was satisfied by the “great” performance of Bamboo.

campaign was a success due to the long list of donors and volunteers within and outside the university.

She is grateful to the concerned citizens and the trust given to AUF to serve as a conduit for the donations.

NSTP fee... from page 1

seven pesos than to ride the service (from AUF to the location) and pay 45 pesos.

Also, another student who requested anonymity complained that his professor required their class to pay for the transportation which should be optional.

To disprove these claims, Manlapaz said that students are encouraged to ride the prescribed vehicle to assure their safety with their instructor’s supervision, to arrive on the site on time, and to avoid the dangers of driving their own car.

Furthermore, Manlapaz also stressed that availing the service was “never compulsory.”

Aside from the transportation, the respondents also complained about the expenses for activities such as feeding programs in the community.

According to Manlapaz, the implementation of activities such as feeding programs was “misinterpreted” by students.

“They might be referring to the Christmas party. Pinag-meetingan ng mga students at ng kanilang area coordinator kung papaano at magkano ang contribution,” Manlapaz said.

In support to her statement, AB Communication 3 students who took NSTP last academic year said their share for a particular project was their “own will.”

THE COLLEGE of Computer Studies (CCS) students bagged the overall champion in the Clark Conference and Expo (CONEX) 2013 with the theme “Inspiring a World of Change: Championing the Global Filipino ICT Brand.”

According to Computer Science student and CONEX Game Development participant Reijhanniel Jearl Campos, the event aimed to challenge the abilities and talents of the participants in computer-related fields such as Computer Programming, Game Development, 3-D Animation, and Audio-Visual.

“Kahit one-day event lang siya, halos one month ‘yung preparation lalo na sa ibang categories like game development and 3-D Animation so hindi naging gaanong problema ‘yung pagkagahol sa oras,” Campos said.

Computer Science student and CONEX AVP-making participant Kevin Albayalde said they experienced a slight problem in terms of the event’s schedule.

“Originally, the event was scheduled early November but it was moved three times that is why we didn’t know when to start our shoot and when to finalize our work.

As students, we also have other commitments,” Albayalde said.

‘Pio’ Pulse...

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Filipino-American classmates.

Bernice Balayan, Management Accounting student, also supports the new system.

“Since mai-implement na siya sa Manila, okay na rin na maimplement na rito,” she said.

On the other hand, Electronics and Communications Engineering student Allan Paul Ocampo and Tourism student Kamil Gulian Simon disagree with its implementation because according to them, a change in the system would mean new adjustments and the summer would not be fully enjoyed if classes will be moved.

Moreover, Communication student Raica Zia Pasion said there

OSSS calls...

He also added that being the overall champion erased all the tiredness they felt during the preparation for the contest.

In addition, another CONEX participant Renly Garcia said the team tried “really hard” to understand each other’s shortcomings and work hard together to produce a high quality product.

Moreover, Campos added that the game they developed called “Calamity Fund” was inspired by the disaster brought by typhoon Yolanda.

“Our group wanted to produce a game that can promote the Filipino spirit so the game basically revolves around a character who aims to collect funds and relief goods for the Yolanda victims,” he said.

“Calamity Fund” won second runner up for the Game Development category while “Baryo Fiesta” ranked first runner-up.

According to Information Technology student Neil Salonga, the main concept of “Baryo Fiesta” was based on a traditional game of Filipinos during feasts—the habulan ng baboy.

Being all graduating students, the delegates said they hope that their victory will serve as an inspiration for Angeleneans.

is no need for a change because students are comfortable in the current schedule of classes.

According to David, AUF is still considering that option in the future.

“We are open to this change if it means improving or if it spells innovations in our current educational system,” he said.

The Philippines is the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which starts classes in June prior to the University of Sto. Tomas’ and University of the Philippines’ decision to move the next opening of classes in July and August, respectively.

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student, Barela said that even though the incident happened outside the university and is “beyond the control” of the university security, they still exerted effort in helping the family of the victim.

“Hanggang doon lang kami kasi sa labas siya ng school nangyari, but we are doing our best

to help solve the case. We provided the authorities with the picture and information of the student that might help solve the case,” he said.

Barela reminds the students to be more careful in choosing the people they meet outside the campus and to be more observant with the things happening around them for their own safety.

THE PIONEER

4

Opinion

EDITORIAL

Student Leadership Blues

S

TUDENT LEADERSHIP is service. It entails volunteerism and the acceptance that one’s student life will be altered throughout the course.

A student leader should be genuine. He should know that once he walks the trail of student leadership, there is no turning back.

Such traits are fundamental to compose a true student leader. But what happens when potential student leaders become less willing? The point wherein the line-up of incoming officers becomes hard to build because the aspiring leaders do not have the passion or perhaps they have lost the oomph to serve.

How can this kind of scenario be dealt?

When a student organization builds a reputation, it would be very hard to hammer down as it would be harder to duplicate. Legacies are made because of the enthusiasm of the officers. The pressure would now be on the incoming student organization that would supersede the previous organization that built the reputation. How the incoming organization can be better than the past one or—at the very least— retain the image is a test. This goal will be very hard if that incoming party gets the problem of picking the rightful officers to do the work.

It is true that every generation has its own. If this batch of student leaders is innately great, it is not expected that the next batch would have the same greats. Effective student leaders are rare, and they cannot be expected on every batch of student servants. One cannot consider himself a true leader just because he is a part of a council. Proving worth is harder than public speaking to lure votes.

Therefore, choosing the qualified student leaders should not root out of the dire need to compose a party for the battle. Scrutiny and contemplation should be a priority, because the one who chose the wrong leaders for student service has a delicadeza to preserve, and losing that would entail demoralizing consequences.

As said, not all aspiring and willing nobodies can become student leaders just because they insist.

Some are willing for the fame and credentials in their resume but their intent for public service is upon force. Student leadership is not a fame game, it is not a battle of the grand or a stepping stone to personal gains, but a philanthropy that requires heart. Cliches and martyrdom are forever, and so is genuine student leadership.

It pains to know that there will always be a taint in a good crew, like a carnivore in a group of vegans or a secret drinker in a brotherhood of sobers. Just like in a student organization, how effective it may be, there will always be members who are unnoticeably the black sheep and rejects that paint bad light. But of course, what makes a perfect fraternity without the imperfections that pull it down? Without them, there will be no opportunity to address the wrong for corrections and heed. As the rejects of an organization continue to become part of the every day function of a council, they become less of a worry but driving forces to keep the organization better.

The academic year is closing up again. As the incumbent set of officers see daybreak, the new world order creeps in. The next set is bound to make the entourage. But what is to expect from them? One should be frank to know that the bunch of rejects and fame-seekers are set to be part of the entourage, perhaps worse. Yet let us open our doors for those who have the potential. They are the real stars of the act wherein the priority is the voice of the students, the priority of standing to what is right and never becoming lapdogs of the authority.

Seek better days and see your incoming officers through. How can they put their words into action and prove they are not just all talk? It’s time for them to show themselves. It is either they make or break their promises. At whatever extent, the paper will always be there to inform the student body whether we are getting what we deserve.

THE

PIONEER Editorial Staff 2013-2014 Rheinlander Musni, Editor-in-Chief Renz Alfonso, Associate Editor Reynaldo Donato Jr. & Kevin Quiambao, Managing Editors Darlene Amabele Salunga, News Editor Kelly Stan Fausto, Features Editor John Edward Mamangun, DevCom Editor Nikko Raphael Villanueva, Sports Editor Danielle Carlos, Literary Editor Neil Salonga, Head Cartoonist Riza Marie Padilla, Head Photojournalist Kane Nielsen Payumo, Circulations Manager Hee Soo Oh, Chief of Correspondents Krishna Elaine Magdangal • Jerremie Anne Lopez Gema Ocampo • Kier Ocampo • Lilet Sicat News Correspondents Ma. Bernadette Castro • Leslie Gechelle Dela Cruz Daniella Pattine Dizon • Mary Heliane Fabian Gerard Alain Nulud • Emmanuel Panti Genesis Santos Features Correspondents Kathleen Camille Apilado Edgar Allan Dela Cruz Rosiah Rodriguez Sports Correspondents Jerusha April Canon • Camille Eloise Eisma Frances Sharina Gonzales • Gem Alen San Pedro Maria Erika Yumul Literary Correspondents Denise Ann Loredo Danielle Paul Panique Harriet Kim Anh Rodis Cartoonists Deanne Belle Canlas • Katherina Faye Galvan Ervie Joshua Pascual • Vince Francis Pineda Adrian Yalung Photojournalists Ms. Cristina B. Reyes Adviser

Journalists and Villains THE THIRST for the elusive truth is yet to be quenched.

I believe that student-journalists are the most influential students in the university. We live up to the saying that the pen is mightier than sword. The power at our disposal is too immense that if used incorrectly, grave issues would follow and legal charges would ensue. We can build someone’s image. We can ruin someone’s reputation. We can serve as the PR paper of the administration. We can act as the indispensable channel of the students for their complaints. We can skillfully plant a pervasive idea into the minds of the readers. We can cast suspicions on the most prominent figure in the university. Those, of course, are only deemed ethical if the articles we publish are based on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

However, in our tedious search for the evasive answers which the curious students ask for, we are considered as “villains.” The term “villain” may be a strong word for me to cite, but I believe that’s the best word to express our situation. With a single snap of our fingers, we become the antagonists in the story.

In the editorial article of last academic year’s broadsheet issue (Vol. XLII No. 2), The Pioneer emphasized that we, the student-journalists, are your “frenemies.”

The essence of our role as both your friend and enemy occurs whenever we are covering hot issues that will stir commotion in the student body, in the student government and in the administration. You will treat us as your friends when we ask about your accomplishments. However, you will treat

us as your enemies when we ask about a concern that has been pestering the minds of the student body, our stakeholders.

Yes, it only takes one question to change how you treat journalists. Despite the negative comments which we may receive by sticking our noses into your business (which, by the way, concerns the student body), we continue to ask for the answer in the most honest and polite way that we can.

If we cleverly concoct an issue for the sake of a scoop, you may sue us for it. But if the student body raises a concern, we need to speak and write on their behalf. That is the major purpose of our existence in the university–to serve as channel of the truth.

They thirst for answer. We quench that thirst by asking the concerned authorities a couple of questions.

Let me put our sentiment in black and white: We are not villains; we are mere student-journalists in pursuit of the truth.

Whenever our correspondents request for interviews about “controversial” issues that need to be addressed, our primordial

objective is to get hold of the answer, the truth. Stirring commotion within the hierarchy of the university is never our intention. In fact, knocking on your doors to inquire is a testament of our unfaltering devotion to responsible campus journalism.

Students ask; authorities answer. We get their side; we get your side. We publish their queries; we publish your statements.

Our dedication to balanced news reporting goes as simple as that.

If in case you refused to address the students’ point of inquiry, then you give us no choice but to publish that you declined to provide an answer. In that way, we can show to whom we are accountable that we tried to get both sides.

If in case our “simple” news coverage exposed an inconsistency in the system, then we need to cover it, run the story for information dissemination and be the instrument of truth to whom we are accountable. If you have explanations about the issue, we will put them in black and white. But we assure you that we will be over the matter like white on rice until clarification is made.

Again, we are not villains; we are mere student-journalists immortalizing the truth. That is how we are involved in the “politics” of the university. That is how we exercise our devotion to whom we are accountable.

Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) Correspondent Tonette Orejas once asked a group of student-journalists in a regional press conference: “To whom are you accountable?”

The answer is obvious.

Man versus Earth EARTH HAS proven how much of a work of art it is. Landscapes of beauty that could lie in an unexplored cave, the depths of the seas, the canopies built by trees in the forests, the untouched spring water on the top of a mountain, the sand on the beach with the waves of the ocean crashing on its shore, and even a simple plantation of coffee or grapes.

Pictures have shown me how beautiful our planet is. I have witnessed some of those with my own eyes and I would give anything just to see the rest. But every time I have that moment gazing at that tangerine avalanche sunset, or sometimes listening to those crickets while camping, one thing always pops up in my head: What will happen to the next generation if all of these are gone?

Earth has been orbiting around the sun for billions of years now, and it has survived multiple catastrophes, and it has served other lives before humans existed. Day by day, the planet may be changing. Nature can make everything disappear in just a blink of an eye. Alright, that may sound like an exaggeration but if you get the picture, Earth might survive nature’s anger, but can we?

Most of us are aware of this issue: The way most of us humans take more than what we need from our planet. Nature is taking its toll on us because of our greed. Indeed, we have been taking too much from nature that we forgot to give back. We forgot how to take care of it; we are abusing it and we are killing it little by little.

There is a terrifying difference between need and greed. Need is necessary. Greed is plain rapaciousness. Why be ruthless when you can just be compassionate? Anyway, if you know what “enough” is, you will not be ravenous in the first place.

Every year, our country experiences over 20 typhoons and some of those ravage our country. Flash floods. Landslides. Biggest possibility why these things are happening is because of the excessive cutting of trees. Let us not blame the typhoons now; it is natural for our country to experience them. It is our fault, and sometimes, others have to pay for our greed. That is the only way for nature to avenge itself.

I really admire those ecologists and environmentalists who are not afraid to voice out their opinion, and I admire those who are not afraid to support them.

Despite the hate they may receive from the public, they still continue to strive for the betterment of this planet, and to strive for something new and futuristic, however, still not forgetting about the trees, the soil, or even fresh water.

Of course, if there are those who care, and if there are those who work to satisfy their greed, there are those who are still indifferent about this. The apathy is too widespread that it is worse than the pollution we have right now. When are we going to start

to care? When are we going to stop thinking about ourselves? Do you want your children, or your grandchildren to experience a world where invisible beauty exists?

“What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?” as penned by Henry David Thoreau, how are we going to do anything at all if we do not have a bearable planet anymore? When I say “bearable planet,” I am talking about Earth with free breathable air, fresh water, trees that can protect us from the harmful rays of the sun, and most importantly, sane people.

We are very close to that moment where we have to pay just to breathe fresh air, or worse, we might just be missing the noise pollution that we have right now when everything shuts down in the future. The future depends on what we do to it at the present, and what we do to nature may be parallel to how our life is going to be. Let us all be careful now.

If you were not aware, are you aware now? Do you feel guilty now that you know what we have been doing? Well, you do not only have to know that this is happening; you have to start believing. With your belief, action follows. With action, change follows.

Let us all stop being greedy. Earth can erase all of us in just a whoosh, and it can still carry on without us. Who knows? Earth might be better off without us. But we do not want to think that way, do we? So let us begin now.

Let us begin changing our point of view on those who talk about saving the earth. Let us be one of them. And together, we will all be living happily under the big bright sun while we are being protected by the ozone layer and the trees.

THE PIONEER

Opinion Our Heart is the Law SOMETIMES, INNOCENCE is brilliance.

Knowing nothing about something does not mean you are nothing. For the love of God, resign from the idea that being knowledgeable means being healthiest, highest and the best all the time. It depends. I say to you that to know something is dangerous. This is a warning.

With the existence of bigger media, booming science and technology and the scattered platoons of blabber mouths, information—verified or spoofed—can infect your mind anywhere and anytime. Beware of it. We are not supposed to know everything.

Choose to choose. Detach yourself from the troupe of humans whose minds are polluted.

Our mind must be the cleanest government in our lives, or is it supposed to be?

We do not know if one’s mind is in a revolution. We do not know if one’s mind is in a fantasy of perpetual happiness. Our mind is physically closed outside but must be figuratively open. It is the emotions of our faces, the languages of our body that visualize the concealed insides of our head. And this is how we are known. The physicality of our being is the expression of our inner self.

But if we are not seen, we are not known.

Nowadays, in the eyes and minds of many, what is not seen by eyes and heard by ears is the most important thing to know. You see and listen to your friend’s utterances as he gives compliments. But what he does not tell is actually the more important part-- that everything he said is a bluff. This is one of the points in life where silence is more deafening than all the noise which can be heard in the world.

Another case in point is last year’s pork barrel scam. We do not know any dirt about

WHEN WE hear the word “politics,” we often associate it with the government but actually, it is beyond that. Politics involves the public.

It consists of the general rules that one must follow in order to attain what is acceptable to the eyes of the authority. Politics is about engaging oneself to other people’s lives.

It is the capability to be transparent or the willingness to share a person’s identity.

Politics is about you, me, and us. The world of politics does not revolve around the government and its other sectors alone.

It is about life. The society changes rapidly.

Progress is essential no matter how small or big it is. Everything happens the way it should be. With all the technological advancements and growing population of our country, our countrymen need a firm foundation to hold and stand on. But to whom can we entrust the welfare of our society?

Unending discussion about pork barrel scam, numerous cases of fraud against seated politicians, allegations about misuse of power—these are just some of the scandals that cause the lowdown of our belief and trust in our government. What do we do?

Start rallies and protests, post sentiments and comments through social networking sites and even through other forms of media.

When something goes wrong, we always put the blame to the authorities like when the employment rate decreases, when exchange rates decline, when market sales escalate, we bombard our government with our clamors

Crocodile Tears

it until our TV screens, printed news and Internet sites unraveled the most filthy details of the controversy. It is in this controversy made by our corrupt fellowmen that our innocence is poisoned by such chaos.

Same thing applies during the ravage of the devastating typhoon Yolanda where its five-hour powerful storm surge was enough to kill the breath of thousands of Filipinos.

Suddenly, minds and hearts were totally crumbled. We crumbled all at once. But today, fueled by spectacular hope, Philippines is standing up to face life once more.

In our academic life, memorizing tons of information helps us incur high grades soon.

But in life’s reality, only the most relative to us should be contemplated.

Being updated about a lot of news, being in the know about countless trivial ideas, and being satiated by trite axioms can only be set aside sometimes if only we want absolute peace in our mind. No wars, no argumentations, only total quietness.

Today, when you hear the word “politics,” it can send you a signal that you can ignore thinking or worrying about. As what they say, you do not own the problems in the world.

If your mind is exhausted, use your heart to heal it and to regain its fortitude so that when your mind and heart work together as partners, you could make profound, logical, and happy decisions in all your endeavors. *** Life is full of ironies. You find light in darkness. You feel strength in struggles. You see ups during downs. Sometimes, more is merrier. Sometimes, less is more.

You decide to leave your house to look for good luck where in fact, the people you left at home are the real treasures. You love a person today whom you hated before. You try to befriend everyone where in fact, you befriend no one. You believe in the sweet promises of the government where in reality, nothing is true from those. You talk a lot when all you have to do is to act. Now, tell me. If this is what we have in our heads, we need a mind surgery.

Why don’t we try crossing the less traveled road? Why don’t we think of few than many? Why do we mind the reactions of others? Why do we waste our time? If we want to learn a lot about a lot, we can learn it from the heart. Store it in our beating hearts.

Feel it well and you will learn that you can leave out all the rest.

Sometimes, innocence is brilliance. No war, no hate, only peace in mind and love in the heart.

If we want to learn one thing, we must know how to love and be loved. Our heart must be our compassionate government all the way because to tell you an unbelievable truth, our heart has its loving mind. In the every day politics of life, our heart must be the real government. Our heart must be the law in life.

and pleas. I imagine if Donya Ina will comment, I will hear the words, “Kayo kaya magtrabaho. ‘Wag puro i-asa sa gobyerno.

Lagi na lang kayong nagrereklamo, e wala naman kayong ginagawa sa pamamahay niyo. Na-explain ko na. Labyu.”

Unknowingly, at a very young age, we are already exposed to the shams of politics.

Remember the first time you sneaked from your parents’ pocket? The first time you borrowed a pencil from your classmate and did not give it back? Most of us tend to shift our attention to what is general and yet tend to see the faults that we are committing. As students, we are blinded by our own goal to have good grades causing us to be selfcentered, mind-controlling, and use other people for one’s own benefit. It is where politics comes in. We tend to act differently when other people are watching. It is an innate quality of us humans.

With all these things being said, politics is power having the control over people and even yourself. The way you handle it defines you as a ruler. The usage of one’s power dictates his strengths and weaknesses as a leader and as a person. Each individual has a position to hold. Therefore, all of us have a power and people to conquer. We should always act as a leader wherein we listen to other people’s needs, see the situation of our fellowmen, speak to empower others, and use our senses to relate and touch other people’s lives. It is not about the status in the society that makes you as a leader. It is the trust and faith in a person’s abilities.

Being a patriot is an expression of importance and love for your motherland but to be politically-mindful and aware of the ruling of those seated in the government is to care for life. Let us be like the Aquinos, who stood as great examples as fighters of Filipino democracy—former President Corazon also known as “Cory,” whose faith served as a weapon and shield for the goal to overthrow the Marcos administration, and her husband, Ninoy, who lived up for Filipino’s glory and made certain that Filipinos are truly worth dying for. Let us be like Nelson Mandela who proved that being black or white does not affect one’s standing in the society and equal rights must be served. Let us all imitate the good qualities of the rulers through the years. One should look at politics more in a personal manner.

PolitiKA

The Graduates of Today THE YEAR begins anew. There are so many things to look forward as the year incepts a fresher start and reboot the old life. As the year begins anew, it is a beginning for many senior students; it is the beginning of an end. For tertiary students, if there will be no succeeding graduate education to follow, few more months and it will be the end of their days as students and thus the beginning of their professional ventures.

Graduation is an accomplishment for every college student. The years of study and sleepless nights would culminate to this most joyous extreme. But there is always this sad reality for every uncertain graduate. Many fresh graduates end up without jobs on the platter. According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), 18 percent of unemployed Filipinos are composed of college students.

The NSO has reported that in January 2013 alone, 608,000 people were added to the labor force. However, the number of employed increased only by 606,000, meaning another 2,000 were added to the ranks of the unemployed. According to the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP), four of 10 fresh graduates are not qualified and hired because they lack critical thinking, initiative, and effective communication skills. PMAP coined these three abilities as the key qualities a young job seeker should possess, qualities which are in fact lacking in today’s graduates. Why so?

According to an article by wes.org, the Philippines has long been in standing with regards to achievements in education. By the year 1970, the Philippines had achieved universal primary enrollment. These early successes shrouded the long-term deterioration in quality, and the national figures obscure wide regional differences.

According to the website’s statistics, close to 100 percent of students finish primary school

in Manila, whereas in Mindanao and Eastern Visayas, less than 30 percent of students even finish, mainly because of the lack of support from the concerned, the wavering interests of the students and the parents inability to sustain their children’s study because of the flaws and expensive expenses. According to the Millennium Development Goals Report of the United Nations in 2006, the Philippines was the only country in the region for which the youth literacy rate decreased between 1990 and 2004, from 97.3 percent to 95.1 percent.

The old Philippine educational ladder had the 6+4+4 structure: six years of elementary education, four years of secondary education, and typically four years to gain a bachelor’s degree. It was until recently that the K-12 system was finally adopted, citing reasons that it is high time for a change and that the old education system is not enough to support the advancing needs of contemporary students for education. The families with little money can benefit from this system because K-12 offers electives that college also has in store, meaning students are already relished for tertiary education. This educational scheme may help as well as forsake to some extent the reeling Filipino families, but it does not stop there, for there are still lack of jobs

5

issues and underemployment.

But it boils down to the specific problem: the students themselves. Today’s generation gets the branding of being happy-golucky, carefree, and unconcerned of the future as all of which are true. Because of the advancements of technology, students tend to neglect their purpose. Letting go of studying for lessons or exams in exchange of putting up several hours for games and social networking is a bad idea. Researchers at the University of Maryland who asked 200 students to give up all media for one full day found that after 24 hours many showed signs of withdrawal, craving, and anxiety along with an inability to function well without their media and social links. This scenario contributes to student drop-out rates and subsequent lost of interest, which is indeed contributory to the main problem which is unemployment for college graduates.

In the end, the education scheme or the lack of available jobs is not to blame for such alarming problem, but the students themselves who do not strive to make better products of themselves. If only students focus on their primary goal, which is to finish schooling, they can assure their future and find ease building it. Students are impudent and unruly, and it is only them who can tame themselves.

To give justice to my write-up, I am also a student, soon to graduate. I had my time of being unconcerned and impudent, but I managed. But who am I to write this and express disdain to my attitude once? The answer is obvious: It is because I realized the problem and I aim to address it. Most of the graduates of today are pathetic, because they hurl reproach on the government and the system, overlooking themselves. And if they continue pretending that they do not see the problem in them, that is now a separate issue.

IN ABOUT two years, your usual serene afternoon nap will be interrupted by repetitive melodies and lyrics. Whether you’re asleep or awake, resting or working, in the mood or not, vehicles carrying loud speakers will be roaming around the streets, playing cliché tunes in high decibels for everyone to hear.

Can you now picture this annoying portion of your life in May 2016?

It would be the days when the corrupt would wear their adorned masks and prepare themselves for this delightful show. But this amusement doesn’t only last within the few days that are permitted for their campaign.

It can last until the end of their respective terms, and not only during the elections.

This somehow threatens me as a citizen of this country. Everybody can worry about this, because officials hold a humongous amount of money which is meant to console the cries of the needy in our country. The main conflict that we have here now is that the money doesn’t go directly to the poor, but to their pockets.

When I was a kid, I kind of dreamed of also becoming a politician. My mother would always drive me to very prestigious subdivisions and show me all of those huge houses that were settled in those areas. Oh! What glee would it bring to my sight! She would point at this very big mansion and tell me, “That’s where the mayor of this city lives.” I wanted to be rich and successful like them, but that was only during the time when I thought that the wealth they had came from their own blood, sweat and tears. I learned that some officials merely pick the fruits of the labors of every Filipino. They take advantage of the taxes our parents pay, which amount due they raise every now and then. Since then, I didn’t want to be like them anymore.

Every time I see the faces of these government officials who lead our dearly beloved motherland, I would ask, “Is there still anyone from them whom we can trust?

Are they all telling the truth?” Of all the issues that I have heard about theft and corruption, such as the recent 10-billion Pork Barrel Scam, I myself could barely believe that these government leaders could fulfill their promise of making a CHANGE. Change has been a big word in this third world country. In a country where typhoons would usually devastate thousands of lives and homes, and where poverty would always make hunger strike in every poor child’s stomach, the authorities themselves ironically become violators of the rights and laws which make the situation of the country more chaotic.

I have once read a post on Facebook saying, “If we are to eliminate all the corrupt officials in our country, then there’d be no more government.” You should have seen the giggle on my face when I saw that. It’s quite true. Foreign businessmen see the Philippines as Asia’s most corrupt economy, a new survey shows.

I can compare the corrupt officials to crocodiles that are hunting their prey. As the crocodile weeps and sheds its insincere tears, it lures and quickly kills its prey. Like the crocodile, the corrupt officials would act as if they have an adherence for all of the adversities this country is facing right now.

But the truth is that they would only use us, use our money for their own satisfaction, their own benefit. They pretend that they cry for justice for the less fortunate, when they themselves are unjust. They would attack and harm us, with us being so unaware and naïve about it. I would like to extend my greatest prejudice toward them, not because they are going viral on Twitter, but because they are betraying the trust of all countrymen, which include me.

Article II Section 1 of the Constitution says, “Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”

It’s saddening to think that it is only during the elections that the politicians recognize our sovereignty for their personal embellishments.

Philippine Justice is being dominated by the corrupt officials who consider themselves as the superiors in the society. They are not our kings and queens; they act as our representatives inside the court. Their job is to be the voice of every Filipino who thirsts for a just and peaceful society.

Political leaders are being corrupt because we are letting them be corrupt.

Always put in mind that you are given the sovereign power as a citizen of this country.

They have to hear the regrets and doubts of the people who laid trust on them. They too make mistakes and they have to learn from it. Use your freedom. Post your insights on Facebook or tweet your reactions on Twitter.

If they can’t make that change, you can start it now.

THE PIONEER

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T

HE BEGINNING of the year is the perfect time to know what our minds–conscious and subconscious alike–wish to look forward. But as it turns out, it is also a fun lap of reviewing what amazingly transpired in the past year and how to make it better next time.

The year of the snake provided a shaky political and economic Philippine arena. The Filipino team spirit was seen on bended knees because of the different unexpected mishaps that roared. However, all scenes remain worthkeeping, not only because they forged a more powerful sense of collective identity, but because these memories are standing testimonies that Filipinos, despite the darkness, choose to see the brighter and to hope for tomorrow’s rising.

Last year, the local and even the international communities have seen probably the most terrifying phase of the Philippines. Calamities, both natural and man-made and both materially and morally done, attempted to break the Filipino faith that is known to be the sturdiest. Too bad for the odds, the meek insides of the Motherland will always be as soft and gentle as the Pearl of the Orient Sea. Here are the BIG FOUR best and worst times of 2013 that etched legacies in the dauntless Filipino heart that we know.

Features

Yeeha for 2014

After the hissing of 2013, here comes a snippet of a mighty march with the year of the wooden horse.

by Mary Heliane Fabian

Maddest Twister: YOLANDA

Decadent Menu: PDAF FIASCO

Seemingly, the pig ran out of the pen and connived with a reptile, a “crocodile” as we know it, in the fire of taking home barrels of wine and bread. Absolutely, a corruption mania attacked the Philippines in 2013 which opened gateways to public opinion. It is the year when a multitude of shocking truths silenced the masses with an unbelievable pocketing of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) by starred senators and congressmen. To the humblest Juan Dela Cruz, this is something worth fighting and dying for. And good as a warrior on the moon, the Filipinos brought out the “truest of the truth” out of the reeking fangs of the dragon.

Photos Credit: Google Images

This name will always be marked. This super typhoon may be considered as the anaconda of the past year. With over 6,100 reported cases of deaths and more than billions of pesos worth of physical damages, it stabbed the hopeful economic plans of the country. But in as much as people across the globe saw the rippling effect of the disaster, the world team spirit was proved to be more SUPER than any other storm. Just like how everyone says it, the “Filipino spirit is waterproof.”

YOLANDA

PDAF FIASCO

Across the Seas: INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE

Noises on territorial clashes were also heard in the past year. That the world is so complicated yet exquisite with its rise-above-clouds beauty, the United States, Malaysia, Taiwan, and China earned quarrels with the Philippines in various land claims. However, all have been resolved except for that story with China. The impasses remain still: Filipinos exactly know what to fight for and how to redeem what righteously belongs to us.

Black Carpet: TERRORISM

To our not-so-surprised immediate society, we wake up with a maxim that Luzon, Visayas, and

INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE

Mindanao are just one in textbooks and never in reality. The python of faction, apparently, lurked for a long while in the Philippine archipelago as we witnessed the growing disparities on the issues of the Bangsamoro deal and further the Moro National Liberation Front. Several bombings and other means of attacks happened in Mindanao, particularly in Zamboanga City, and tested the tusks of the government in matters of safety and peace pacts. In total, these repetitive tales of violence, instead of piercing, glued and gelled the ambitions of the Filipinos for a more pacific land.

These are the top four episodes of 2013 that

TERRORISM

continue to hue 2014 with a prouder team spirit.

The year of the snake, 2013, has been a sublime one to each Juan. It may belong to the toughest, but it’s still a great time. After all, it’s the epoch when we experienced and appreciated the extremes—the best and the worst all at the same – while readying for a merry-go-round.

To foresee and own something that is better than the best, it is worth-remembering to look back and give it a sigh of happiness as we hope to get by and get through whatever might happen in the year that all of us now own. There will always be a better Philippines each day. So hold your horses and give it a YEEHA!

To Break or Not to Break Be Trendy This 2014!

by Ma. Bernadette Castro

by John Edward Mamangun

W

ANT TO be fabulous and trendy throughout the year?

Totalbeauty.com summed up the list for you!

Emerald out, Purply Pink in

Out with the emerald of 2013 because this year’s color would be... drumroll, please! Radiant Orchid! Pantone Color Institute, which has been designating the color of the year since 2000, described radiant orchid as captivating, magical, and enchanting. If you’ve got a thing for Barbie’s outfits (and also, for Ken’s too), it’s time to show off your pink-tastic color this year!

Ombre’s done, Lit-from-within’ s next

#1: “I will lose weight and have my dream body.”

After a season of sweets, sumptuous treats, and everything nice, you might end up tipping the scales with some extra pounds. Rest assured that a lot of people would proceed on their post-holiday work-outs. It might sound typical and simple, but nutritional articles claim that burning fats will never be a piece of cake. In fact, HuffPost Healthy Living featured 11 things you must know if you made a New Year’s Resolution to get fit. Making through its list is that at some point in time, you will want to eat enough for a family of four. Though an exaggeration, it is proven in a 2012 study from the University of Wyoming that exercise increases the hunger hormone, also known as ghrelin. You could be gaining more than losing which makes this resolution borderline unworkable. This brings us to resolution #2...

#2: “I will eat healthy.”

Staying healthy is not just a common phrase for resolutions but also for wishes and prayers. We start the year right with the thought to forget those days of non-stop whatever-Ieat practice and to bring back healthy eating routine. We roll our eyes to those calories as we say hello to nutritious meals. But, as what I have written in my previous article, Why Is It So Hard To Be In Shape, being hard on oneself would never help. Keep in mind that starvation is never healthy. You ought to consider not forcing yourself on the diet you can never keep. As what Promises author Kayla Webley suggests, you should “try everything in moderation, including moderation.” Otherwise, you might end up breaking yet another promise. Oops!

#3: “I will save money.”

All of us have a secret guilty pleasure. Either a stylish cardigan or a hefty pair of basketball shoes, one could never deny the need of a want.

Saving financially has been a problem which is hard to solve. Let Sendhil Mullainathan, Harvard University economics professor, educate you. In an article published in CNNMoney website, Mullainathan refutes that “lack of selfcontrol” is the main issue and deems “scarcity of future attention” as the one which makes sense. How can you save for the future if you have present things to cover? Or how can you save if you do not have anything to save? It all goes to show that a lot of us falter to be the frugal one because we somehow could not resist the knock of temptation.

#4: “I will be less stressed.”

Managing stress could be the first resolution one could ever break.

Imagine going into a new year full of hopes and aspirations, yet ending up

being neurotic on what could happen next. Whether it is because of academic reasons or love life problems, one could never let go of stress. Yes, even if you are Mr./Ms. Optimistic, it is perfectly normal. Helpguide.org defined stress as “a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way.” Unlike other resolutions, this could be attainable especially to those who reach their boiling point. But the question remains: Would you know if your stress is less?

#5: “I will volunteer more.”

As philanthropic as it may sound, volunteering or taking initiative is not that much of an ease. “Volunteering” would not necessarily mean that you should go to Antarctica and create a mission for Eskimos or take charge of building a utopian world. Little things do count as well. But what we might be missing is the real essence of being a volunteer–to do something for other people without asking for anything in return. Unfortunately, only a few know how to initiate, as even challenged by PolicyMic writer Katherine Costello.

She says, “It’s rare you meet someone who hasn’t been rewarded in some way after their volunteer efforts. Do it, I dare you.” Consequently, she could be right.

You might want to end up changing the word “volunteer” to a more general term “help others,” don’t you think?

Resolutions are not just made for the sake of tradition but for us to reflect on what we have missed in the previous year and to try to fulfill those this year.

However, always remember that no success is achieved overnight. The road to getting there might be rough, but the results will surely be rewarding. Just make sure to never fall on the spitfire of breaking your promise because you will never know, it could bring the change you have always wanted.

No to pixies, yes to mid-length

2013 made women take the hair suicide by cutting their hair from long and bold to short and fab. Celebs like Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Lawrence had to take the hair dare. But this year, you don’t have to pray for courage in facing the loss of your lengthy hair for mid-length cuts are in. Medium length haircuts can emphasize any face of shapes and sizes.

It can also be feminine and stylish without getting overboard.

This makes the nightmare of cutting your hair to pixie over.

Goodbye Smokey, hello Nudity

Let’s say goodbye to Avril Lavigne’s iconic smokey eye shadow and start saying hello to nudity! These skin-colored eye shadow colors are in for make up aficionados. Want a simple yet elegant look? Go out and buy your Urban Decay Naked palette from the nearest make up shop. You will definitely achieve that desired simple yet elegant look.

From Minis to Midis

In 2013, we saw women of all ages wearing miniskirts. But let’s fold and store them away because this year, midi skirts are in! Pencil skirts in different colors and styles would unleash your sophistication and professionalism with its conservative cut and pattern.

Exit for the Wedge sneakers, welcome for the Booties

Brace yourselves! Wedge sneakers are making their grand exit this year. We now welcome boots! These timeless pairs of shoes are in, whether they may be over-the-knee boots, comfy boots, or combat boots! These would give you comfort and will also add an extra dose of chic-ness to your outfit.

Try matching them with dresses, pants, or short skirts. You can never go wrong with these pair of booties!

You may follow this list but you don’t have to be trendy to be fashionable. You don’t have to change your taste to follow trends. Fashion icon Gianni Versace once said, “Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.”

Always be the best version of yourself not only on how you dress, but also on how you match what you wear with the appropriate personality. Stand out and be confident!

Photos Credit: Totalbeauty.com

T

HEY SAY that promises are meant to be broken. Ouch! But in all pessimism aside, how many have you broken?

Every new year, most of us launch colorful fireworks, dance the night on festive parties or stay home and watch everything as it happens. And there’s one more thing that most of us still believe in — RESOLUTIONS. Let’s face it: We could never skip the tradition of making a list of what we want to achieve within a year to change ourselves. BUT not all of us seem to keep a straight word. So, THE PIONEER listed top five of the most commonly broken vows that one could ever think of based on TIME Lists. Just to make things clear, just because one of these is your New Year’s resolution doesn’t mean that it will be a sure flop.

Think of it as a warning that you might end up getting there. *winks*

Ombre colors had its spotlight last year, from shorts to shirts and even shoes! Tell your hairstylist to change your hair color because this year, we will have lit-from-within highlights. Beth Minadri, a celebrity hair colorist, says that ombre’s done and lit-from-within highlights is in. A lighter shade of your hair color is applied underneath your hair, creating an illusion that your “crowning glory” is lit from within.

THE PIONEER

Features

7

From pages to big screens

The 3D PRINTER: Your wish is its command W

HAT IS printing? Is it the one that you do to recreate texts or images on paper using your typical ink and printer?

You do it to accomplish your homework, shirt design, and pictures. Almost every décor and image that you see on your stuff was printed. But did you know that printing can no longer limit you from resembling anything into just mere two-dimensional images? Thanks to today’s remarkable technology, rocketing this 2014 would be printers which can now print basically anything you want, including chocolates and brains! This good old 10 years later fancy is what we would now finally call as 3D Printing.

This futuristic phenomenon may bring us in awe, but 3D printing technology has already been around since the 1980s. It was not until the early 2010s that the printers became commercially available. The first 3D printer was created in 1984

by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems Corp. Since then,

T

HIS YEAR, stories will not only be a hit in bookstores, but also in cinemas. We’ve got the list of the bestselling books which are also soon-to-be blockbuster hits for you!

3D printing is a process of making a threedimensional solid object of any desired shape, which is taken from a digital model in a computer.

3D printing has become actionable in many fields.

With a capability of creating almost every object we wish, it might just turn out to be the genie that decided to live in a printer instead of a lamp.

3D printers are expected to become more sensational this year as recent report from www. bbcnews.com tells us that two food-creating 3D printers will be launched in Las Vegas pretty soon.

These delightsome machines can make chocolate and sugar-based confectionary. The 3D printed treats can be shaped in ways that can’t be easily made by human hands or any other machine. They can print using a variety of delectable flavors such as chocolate or sugar infused with vanilla, mint, sour apple, cherry, and watermelon flavors. Just like any other 3D printing process, the designs are built using a layer-by-layer printing process.

Sweets are created by spreading a fine layer of the flavored sugar, and then painting water on top using a jet print head to turn the substance into hardened crystals.

But the glory of 3D printers doesn’t stop in sweets production. Another amazing thing about 3D printing is that our friendly neighborhood surgeons get more practice, using brains made by 3D Printers. It gives them a chance to perform real surgery techniques on 3D-printed models,

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

which are derived from actual brains and skulls of patients. Researchers create the models by feeding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans taken from previous patients into 3D printers. Do you want a duplicate of your brain to be 3D printed?

3D printers may be a big step of innovation for many industries this 2014. But one question still remains… can we print another 3D printer with a 3D printer? Nah! Just kidding. The real question is: Can 3D printing make the world a better place, like many other technological breakthroughs?

The answer is, most probably, yes. “It puts the power to make an object or manufacture an object in anyone’s hands. You no longer need to go to a factory,” said Daniel Cowen, co-founder of 3Doodler, a 3D printing pen. With 3D printing, you just get a design from the Internet, press the button and print at home. Who would have thought that we’d come to a generation where we would only print our stuff? I bet most of us are excited in fulfilling our childhood dream of becoming like Phil of the Future where he and his family would just use spray bottles in making their holiday meatloaf. Unusual as it may sound, our nearest sari-sari store could now get even nearer to what we could have ever imagined it could be.

Watch out ‘Four-Teen’ Books

by Genesis Santos

out to play is to keep no Blood of Olympus from waking. Visions of a terrible battle haunt the demigods at Camp HalfBlood and with the Roman legion from Camp Jupiter who is poised to strike, things aren’t looking so good. And if Gaea wakes, the game is over.

Wait for it on: October 7, 2014

T

W E N T Y FOURTEEN! New books! New stories to be told! But most of all, new experiences through reading!

Here’s a list of books that bookworms should have in their bookshelves.

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Series: Shatter Me (Book 3) Book one, Shatter Me... Book two, Unravel Me... and the much anticipated book three, Ignite Me, the heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series.

So far, Juliette now knows that she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment.

But to take them down, she will need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam is wrong.

The book has been out in bookstores since February. You may want to grab a copy now!

The One by Kiera Cass

Series: The Selection (Book 3) The Selection has captured the hearts of readers into a captivating journey alongside America Singer, but the time has come to select a winner.

Since America entered the competition to

become the next princess of Illéa, her life has changed tremendously. America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now, she’s made her choice as the selection comes to an end and the threats outside the palace walls grow.

She’s prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Who will she choose? The Guard or The Prince?

Wait for it on: May 6, 2014

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Series: The Heroes of Olympus (Book 5) The continuation of the quest of our beloved demigods is near. The wait will be as good as eating ambrosia and nectar, if it doesn’t kill you yet.

The Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II may have progressed in their quests but that doesn’t make them anywhere near to defeating Gaea, the earth mother. The only thing keeping her at bay while her stronger giants are

#Trending #food #for #2014

T

by Leslie Gechelle Dela Cruz

RENDING. A word that has enchanted us for the past years since the social website Twitter unfolded.

Food. A thing that has always enchanted our spirit and tummies through all the years that have passed and all the years that are yet to come.

When we say trending food for 2014, this means food that are “in” for this year; food that may be in-demand; food that may become a “hit” this year; food that may add 10 pounds or so to our weight; food that may be the cause of going to the seamstress to repair our pair of jeans; food that may be the cause of running 30 minutes more in our daily exercise. Let these belly-delights be introduced to you. Enough with the long wait. Here are the sumptuous trending food for 2014:

Ramen/Noodles

It’s ironic how we Filipinos love to eat noodles in a climate like ours in the Philippines.

Nevertheless, people now like to treat their taste buds with tasting many flavors in one dish. With Ramen/Noodles, you can taste the saltiness in the soup, the sourness if you add citrus, the sweetness in the meat, and the spiciness if you add pepper or chili. Mr. Ramyun will surely be a hit this year.

Ice Cream

The all-time favorite of Filipinos. Whether it may be a dry or wet season, there’s no choosing when to eat it. Ice cream will always be in the trend because of the usual hotness here in our country, the Filipinos’ love for sweets, and the

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments (Book 6) All good and wonderful things must come to an end and this will be one epic finale.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim has ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him. Should they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love will be sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Are you ready for the grand finale?

Wait for it on: May 27, 2014 We barely scratched the surface of the books to be published this year. Try visiting the website Goodreads.com, it will surely fill you up with your book and novel info needs. So mark those dates and start saving up because these books are so worth the wait.

RAMEN

If you love vampires and you are still a teenager (or a teenager at heart), this book and its upcoming movie are just for you. The story revolves around Rose Hathaway, a 17 year-old dhampir (half vampire, half human) who undergoes training at St. Vladimir’s Academy to be a bodyguard for her bestfriend, Lissa Dragomir, and to also be a protector of the moroi (mortal and ever-so-kind mortal vampires) from the strigoi (not-so-kind and bloodthirsty immortal vampires). Is that all? Nope. For your satisfaction, Mead added a love story in this bloody book. Our protagonist Rose has her eyes on her instructor Dimitri. But here’s the catch: Professor-student relationship? That’s totally forbidden. The movie is starred by Zoey Deutch as Rose and Lucy Fry as Lissa. In case you miss Rose’s adventure, you can go out and buy a book to catch up.

Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Imagine yourself in 1939 Germany being ruled by the Nazis. Imagine a little nine year-old girl named Liesel, who lives with her foster family as her parents were taken away to a concentration camp. While she mourns for her brother’s death, our little Liesel here steals a book from a person at her brother’s burial that read “The Grave Digger’s Handbook.” The problem now is that Liesel can’t read and that she’s powerless without words. Here’s the thrill: The book is narrated by death itself. Did this information give you goosebumps? Now that you have fully imagined the Book Thief by Markus Zusak, you can wait for the DVD release if ever you miss in cinemas. If you can barely wait, you could steal, oops! I mean, you can buy a book at a bookstore near you.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Are you a fan of dystopian settings? You better read and watch Divergent this March.

Divergent is a dystopian book about a 16 year-old Tris Prior who makes a decision of leaving her family and knowing where she truly belongs. We have our little love story in this dystopian world between Tris and Four, someone who threatens her and protects her at the same time. But she truly can’t trust anyone for she is… well, find out what she is! This novel-turnedmovie will be acted by Shailene Woodley as our heroine and Theo James as Four. Be ready for the action-packed movie to be released in March.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Is TFIOS a heartbreaking yet touching book? Did it also make you cry buckets? BS Management Accounting student Kimberly Escoto nods to both questions. The book is all about a cancerous love story between Hazel Grace Lancaster, a cancer patient who embodies how a teenager copes with cancer nowadays, and Augustus Waters, who is also a cancer patient (that’s why it’s a cancerous love story!).

Augustus will show Hazel that she does not need to live a cancer-ridden life. The love story will be portrayed by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort.

Having those two met each other at a Cancer Kid Support group would be the start of their exciting love story. Want to follow their love story? Go buy a book or a ticket for June.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

ICE CREAM innovations that many food establishments are working out in making the usual ice cream a very unique one. You can now bid adieu to ice cream in tubs from the supermarket as different ice cream businesses are now being introduced to the market.

Veggies

Now, some of you may have the words “How?” “Why?” “Gross” and even “Yuck” popping out of your minds upon reading the word “Veggies.”

But really, food establishments are cooking their hearts out to make people be in good terms with vegetables. Innovations and new techniques in incorporating vegetables into our every day meals and drinks are being made. An example would be

VEGETABLES healthy juice bars. Besides, the Philippines is rich with our “greens” so why not take advantage of it? Furthermore, no one can deny the nutritional value you can get from vegetables: the diseases it can prevent and the years it can save to prolong the life you love to spend on eating. Truly, healthy living should always be a trend, forever.

Trends come and go as its meaning suggests.

But what we should learn from trends is that life does too. We should be watchful of what food we eat for our lives to be a healthy one. A food in the trend doesn’t also mean that it is always healthy.

“We are what we eat” as the old maxim goes. So if we eat trash, our body becomes trash. If we eat healthy, now you tell me, baby.

If Divergent will give you the imperfect world, The Giver will deliver you a perfect one. There is no war, pain, or even choices.

Everything’s perfect. Or is it really perfect? As Jonas hits his 12th birthday, he was chosen by The Giver to receive this special training. But here’s the thing: The Giver holds the true pain— the pain that imperfect worlds feel. And here’s little Jonas to accept the truth and sadly, he can’t turn back. See Brenton Thwaites, Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, and Taylor Swift star in this one-of-a-kind book turned into a movie that will be released soon. Explore the real world and feel pain with Jonas (Not really!) by reading The Giver or you can patiently wait for it to be in cinemas in August.

These books have travelled a long way this 2014. Save some money this year for we will surely wait in line to see these amazing plots on big screens.

Photos Credit: Google Images

by Kelly Stan Fausto

by Ma. Bernadette Castro

THE PIONEER

8 Features The first scream you make could be your last

by Kelly Stan Fausto

UST WHEN you thought that Halloween is over, think again. If you’re a huge horror fan and you’re up for stuff that scares the heck out of you, then don’t let all the thrill and nightmare conclude with the end of October.

A new attraction is about to give away the best Halloween experience you should not miss.

The Halloween Haunts Scream Park is a horror-themed park which is the first of its kind in the Philippines and Asia, bringing highlevel US style Halloween-themed attractions to Manila. Everyone in the Philippines and Asia will enjoy the thrills, haunts, and frights that thrill millions every year in the US. Better check this one out.

David Willis, the American creative director behind blockbuster movies such as The Matrix, House of Wax, and Star Wars, brings Halloween Haunts Scream Park to the Philippines, where “traditional [mythological] elements from the Philippines and around Asia are combined with US-styled Halloween themes,” as stated in The Manila Times.

Willis, who is a proud “monster-maker,” chose the country to launch this unique project precisely because of the Filipino’s interesting horror stories. “When I heard the story of the aswang that feeds on aborted babies, I thought that’s pretty disturbing and that gave me the idea of putting up a scare park,” Willis told The Manila Times.

Do not doubt and give that “oh please” look if somebody screams in bloody murder and tells you that it’s seriously scary. Deadly street performers will entertain, frighten, and haunt you from the moment you walk through “Hell’s Gate.”

There are three terrifying scare zones built

Photos Credit: Google Images

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Halloween Haunts Scream Park A view of the park from its “Hell Gates.”

inside the park. All are inspired from our very own folk tales and urban legends, but Willis was able to put a different twist to it. The first one is called the Haunted Mansion: Curse of the White Lady. As we all know, or more likely fear, the white lady is a widely popular Filipino horror character. Willis took the UShorror movie concepts of The Conjuring and Insidious and turned the White Lady into a witch-like character feeding off innocent souls and turning them into damned, mass killing murders. The white lady is said to be residing inside the abandoned mansion where she is expecting you.

The next-door is a graveyard where zombies are around. This scare zone is called The Living Dead: Hungry for your Flesh.

Unlike the usual scenarios that you see from The Walking Dead series or movies like 28

Intramuros and Vigan-inspired haunted street.

Days Later where the zombie-like creatures are infected with viruses, Willis took a more traditional approach for his zombies using the Filipino practice of visiting cemeteries on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. They literally “rise from the dead” when park visitors come around.

The third scare zone is called the Asylum of Terror, and it is based on the true-to-life Clark Air Base Hospital which is considered one of the scariest places in the country. As the story goes, a tragedy took place at the Clark Air Base Hospital’s Home Plate Canteen when merry makers celebrating Christmas were killed in an air raid launched by the Japanese in 1941. The community swears that violent spirits and anxious souls never left the hospital canteen. Being in AUF, the actual Clark Air Base Hospital is only a few miles away. But it’s

worth a try visiting the scream park’s version of the hospital and witness how they added a creepier vibe to it.

As for those who are too scared to wander the streets of the park, live shows are also held where you can eat and drink and try to hide from all the creepy beings that abound the streets.

David Willis assures everyone that this scream park will be a sold-out event as he promises a “frightening holiday season for Filipinos who want to experience something new and different.”

Halloween Haunts Scream Park Manila is located at the corner of Macapagal Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue in Pasay City, near the World Trade Center. The park is open every day until March 30. For more information, visit www.halloweenhaunts.ph.

Instashopping: Instant Online Shopping in Pictures

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T’S OUT with the Window shopping and in with the Screen shopping. Purchasing whatever is available online has been a trend because of its accessibility and the wider variety of choices. Not only that, with the power of Social Media, the feedback or the reviews for the product is instant, and the transaction is faster and easier.

Angeleneans won’t let this trend just pass by, so without further ado, we present to you, the Angeleneanowned Instashops.

Swooshphils

Give that foot an outer covering with these unique, legit shoes from Nike such as Janoski and Air Jordan. The shop is owned by BS

Civil Engineering 3 student Kellyn Cosme. The shop was inspired by Kellyn’s love for shoes, and with the shop, she is able to share her love for shoes with the people around her, as well as the creativity that each shoe designer personifies.

Threads Online

If you want to accessorize and add aesthetic to that wrist of yours, then Threads Online is the shop for you.

This Instashop sells a wide variety of affordable, fancy, and fashionable bracelets made from paracord and ordinary cord. The owners, Francis D. Manalili of BSCVE 2 and Jessica P. Arega of BSMA 3B, claim that the shop is the first Instashop that sells Paracord bracelets in Pampanga.

They believe it would be profitable to put up a business on Instagram as most of the people nowadays have accounts on the photo sharing app.

Shop at Jamie’s

With a wide variety of legit Cartier jewelries, as well colorful watches, shoes, canvas tote bags, and wet n’ wild megalast lipsticks, Shop at Jamie’s is definitely a must-visit whenever you open your Instagram account. The shop which is managed by besties Jamie Dizon and Annie Mallari, both from AB Comm 3, was inspired by fashion bloggers from Tumblr, as well as the young entrepreneurs who made use of social networking sites to earn money.

The Bracelet Shoppe

Show the world how much you enjoy being a teen. The Bracelet Shoppe offers paracord bracelets, arm candy sets, statement wallets, rings, and more stuff that will definitely show how young and free you are. The owner, Jilleane Eufemio of BSTM4B, says that she was inspired by the fact that she could earn money through Instagram by making different kinds of bracelets as a hobby. She also mentioned that her dad offered to give her a start-up capital that will help her expand her business.

Rosherunph

A shop for girls and boys who have love for Nike shoes like Roshe

by Renz Alfonso

Run, Janoski, and Air Jordan.

Owned by Inah Jan “Panky” Sta. Cruz from the College of Business and Accountancy, rosherunph also sells authentic Rastaclat for those who like to add awesomeness to their wrists. Being a Business Administration student, her Instashop can train her before she ventures to the real world, and we can help her by purchasing cool stuff from her Instashop.

There you have it! Your instant mall online all owned by Angeleneans! Also, instead of having those items shipped, you may just meet up with the shop owner with less hassle, and less expense.

In sickness or in good health?

STRANGE DISORDERS N

O ONE in this world is cured. All of us have our own sicknesses to deal with. So do you know or have any idea if there is something wrong with you?

With the advancement of time, thousands of peculiar disorders were discovered. To explain further, here are some of the worlds’ weird and unusual conditions.

Rhotacism

Rhotacism is a speech impediment when a man or a woman experiences the inability or the difficulty in pronouncing the letter “r.” Thus, some convert their “r” into another consonant such as “w.” Can you imagine that?

Here’s something that might help.

Familiar with the phrase, “Shhh.

Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits." That is the trademark phrase of Elmer Fudd from the Looney Tunes. People diagnosed with this disorder find difficulty in controlling their speech vocals.

Search for “Barry Kripke” of The Big Bang Theory on Youtube and see more of rhotacism or more likely, whotacism.

Boanthrophy Boanthrophy deludes a person into thinking that he is a cow.

People suffering from this case tend to think that they are an ox or a bovine. Have you ever seen a human down on his arms and knees

Art by Neil Salonga

by Emmanuel Panti

A person with Rhotacism mispronounces his R’s to W’s.

chewing some grass in the fields?

Talk about being a vegetarian.

This condition is caused by delusions or dreams which linger in the mind of a human that he is a cow or an ox. Famous Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had those moments when he thought that he was proudly walking in a black and white suit—not a Dalmatian, but a cow.

Moebius Syndrome

This is an extremely rare congenital neurological disorder wherein an individual is unable

A person with an emotionless face might be suffering from Moebius Syndrome.

to show facial expressions or emotions. With this ailment, the sixth and seventh cranial nerves are highly affected. Because of this disorder, there are people in this world who cannot move their eyes side to side or show a smile or frown at someone. According to her critics, Kristen Stewart might have been diagnosed with this syndrome Counting every indisposition, disease, or illness in this world, one may think that everyone is really sick. Being sick may imply that we will be experiencing ordeals. But

be reminded that there are people diagnosed with physical and mental disorders who came out succesful in their respective endeavors.

Stephen Hawking, despite his contracted motor neurone disease, is still one of the brightest men this world has ever known.

Everyone is sick, but that doesn’t mean that we should lock ourselves in our rooms and spend the rest of our lives thinking why we were cursed with such illness.

Once again, all of us are sick. But somewhere along the line, being sick may not be bad after all.

THE PIONEER

DevCom

PDRF and DepEd unite to aid Yolanda victims

by Emmanuel Panti

AS WE revisit the devastation brought by typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan, we ought to know that there are still so many things to be done.

Working hand in hand, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to feed students whose schools are affected by the typhoon.

The agreement specified to feed those students for at least a whole month.

Around 26,000 to 27,000 students benefited from this developmental program.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro was very concerned with the distribution of rice. According to him, rice donations were very helpful because this was one of the first few components of the schoolbased feeding program.

PDRF with the supervision of President Rene Meily willingly donated 1,000 sacks of rice for the fulfillment of set goals. The donated rice came from the National Food Authority (NFA).

A Line of Hope. Children affected by typhoon Yolanda wait in line for the developmental program by the Philippine DIsaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF) and the Department of Education (DepEd). Photo Credit: balita.com

This movement would contribute a lot and bring change for the betterment of those who were strongly affected by the calamity.

Both DepEd and PDRF worked with private sectors from all over the nation not only on feeding

programs but also on the recovery and rehabilitation of destroyed properties in affected areas.

With data and information gathered by DepEd, almost 5,245 public and private schools with total enrollment of 1,665,686 were affected by “Yolanda” from regions

IV-B, VI, VII, and VIII. “The Department is on fourth phase of the key action for the schools affected by man-made and natural crises or calamities,” Luistro said.

The partnership between DepEd and PDRF took guidelines and plan of actions from the former to ensure the absolute success of this task toward our brother and sisters.

The local offices under DepEd provided other materials such as utensils, vegetables and more.

It is never too late to act and give, Christmas may have gone by, but the season of giving should never end, especially when we face crisis like this. The opposite of love is not necessarily hatred, but indifference. When we see these people languishing over the devastation, we should always have the sense of urgency to extend a hand, not just pity but empathy.

Right now, there are parts in our country that are crying for help.

Open your eyes and ears. When you finally see their situation and hear their voices, then you have to open your heart.

Parul Sampernandu joins Chinese lantern festival

by John Edward Mamangun

INDEED, IT is our time to shine.

All through blood, sweat, and tears, City of San Fernando’s finest, locally made and handcrafted parols, also known as Parul Sampernandu, as well as its relatives of giant lanterns embarked on a Chinese expedition as they are featured in the exclusive and traditional Xiamen Lantern Festival.

In an article published in Sun Star Pampanga, the organizing committee of the said festival distinctively chose City of San Fernando and aimed to give the Chinese a glimpse of their colorful festivity through the spectacular psychedelic and kaleidoscopic glimmer of their parols and to spread a post-Filipino Christmas magic as well.

The CSF evolved from being “the Christmas capital of the Philippines” into being recently hailed as “Asia’s Christmas capital” as deemed by CNN. Al Gerard Dela Cruz, author of the CNN article, claimed that the artful expression of their enticement and love for this yuletide emblem serves as credence to be the rightful owner of the title. In Dela Cruz’s own description, the giant lanterns were “the largest incarnations of the Philippines’ parol, an eye-dazzling electric Christmas lantern that symbolizes the star of Bethlehem.”

He added that “in action, they are truly a sight to behold.”

City mayor Edwin Santiago plays the role of a proud father after the milestone achieved by his people’s works of hands. Santiago thinks that

Aesthetic Illumination. The Christmas capital of the Philippines, the City of San Fernando, proves how artistic Kapampangans are by participating in the Chinese Lantern Festival. Photos Credits: Robert John Cabagnot and Ramon Velasquez

the partaking of CSF parols would boost its lantern-making industry and would translate to a better promotion of the Giant Lantern Festival. Maria Lourdes PangilinanGonzales, Tourism and Investments Promotions chief, revealed that they are “hot in preparations and mighty proud of the rare invitation.”

Ernesto “Erning” Quiwa, great grandson of the pioneer maker of the renowned parol Francisco Estanislao, led a team of lantern makers for the said event upon his reputation as a craftsman and nods from the local officials. In 1993, Quiwa’s 10-foot masterpiece once won the Hollywood Christmas

Parade. He also impressed the late President Corazon Aquino with his art. Contemporary speaking, there are five generations of parol makers including Quiwa’s children.

The participation of the CSF lanterns marked history for our country as we are the first Asian country to be invited in the festival. This is also seen to develop diplomatic ties with China.

Consul General to China Julius Ceasar Flores claimed that this “will contribute to the nurturing of relations between the Philippines and China.”

Aside from China, the Parul Sampernandu adorned consulates

and embassies of United States, Canada, Malaysia, and Russia, among others.

Who would have thought that what was once an emblem of honor could reach the heights of greatness?

The invitation to showcase our work of art in the international avenue is yet another acknowledgment of the Filipino’s rich culture. Moreover, just like in pageantry and athletics, this uncovers yet another diverse talent of the Filipinos. Just when we thought our stars had run out, we had found and made a cluster.

Be proud for you are a Kapampangan, be proud for you are a Filipino!

The Right to Write: CEGP questions CJA of 1991

by John Edward Mamangun IF YOU can’t beat them, seize their operations!

A student publication is not just a mere collection of writings from its writers but a reflection of an institution. It is set to become independent, not to be biased on anything, even at the administration.

But what if it held an iron fist against you?

In a GMA News Online article, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), the oldest and most extensive intercollegiate union of student publications in our country, reported 279 cases of campus press freedom violations in 2008. Of these, 64 were caused by censorship, 61 by adviser/moderator intervention and 41 by harassment. Former CEGP President Vijae Alquisola enlisted “tuition-related issues and students’ assertion to their democratic rights” as top uproars for the occurrence of these violations.

An existing law known as The Campus Journalism Act of 1991 imparts certain provisions to uphold the campus level of press freedom, promote development of campus

Journalistic Liberty. Student-journalists, led by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), gather to defend and strengthen their right to write by petitioning to repeal the Campus Journalism Act of 1991. Photo Credit: pinoyweekly.org

journalism, and enrich critical thinking and discipline among the student writers. Furthermore, it visualizes a socially involved, informed, and aware youth towards the betterment of our nation. With these aims the act aspires, do its ends really suffice its means?

As imposed by House Bill No. 4287, the said journalism act is not as strong as we think it was. House Bill No. 4287 otherwise known as Campus Press Freedom Bill sees the said

campus journalism act as “seriouslyflawed” and “insufficient” on defense of campus press and publications.

Some flaws seen are the nonmandatory collections of publication fees, non-mandatory establishment of student publications, as well as the absence of a penalty provisions to those who violate campus press freedom.

The bill also included the voice of the CEGP which also censures the said act, claiming that its passage led

to several student publications being taken down. CEGP enlisted several offenses done by the administration to student publications which include harassment of student writers and editors, meddling with editorial policies, non-collection of publication fee, and filing of libel charges against them, among others.

According the bulatlat.com, CEGP also claims, “Press freedom violations are being committed to prevent student writers from being critical, or to tame, paralyze, and even shut down militant student papers.”

Furthermore, House Bill No. 4287 castigates the loopholes seen under the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 and seeks to scrap this act in replacement to a more profound law that “genuinely upholds campus press freedom.”

We are enriched with talented student writers that envision a better tale for the country. However, if in such small dominion these writers are barred to express what the truth is, then what might be our future?

It is a revolution for justice, respect, and fulfillment of responsibility.

There is nothing wrong in doing our part. After all, we write to serve.

9

Where’s My Remote Control?

THERE HAS been a fierce battlefield among TV networks on which of them is the best. Well, if politics is part of it, none of them is a close second!

Being reminiscent in one of our Philippine Constitution classes, our professor asked, “How can we say that a person is good?” I was one of the swift respondents to the question and said, “Those who do not only have intellect but also morals.” But how can we determine if a person has morals? What if the morals being imposed to us are just plain hypocrisy? Would we know?

These questions remain rhetorical in the contemporary time as we are no longer living in the standards of the moral and the immoral but in the generation of amorality. There is no handbook to check if someone is morally upright. We all based it on our own intuitions and for some, they just have the right tricks up their sleeves to satisfy those.

The Philippine political arena has been filled by show business’s finest. They do not only make us love the hideous villain disguised as the heavenly saint, but they also get us wrapped around their fingers. Acting hall of famers might be stunned of how a number of our very own politicians could play the part of the good, the loving, and the compassionate, but deep inside hold a soul of self-indulgence. However, we are greatly blinded to see that flaw as we easily succumb ourselves on their power in a sleight of hand.

That is why we end up satisfying not our needs but their wants.

Throughout the years, it has been almost cliché that issues confronting our country emerge as huge fire but later put down into ashes. Why? Because the people involved in these issues were too powerful to handle the stress of getting into the hot seat. Remember the infamous Pork Barrel Scam that sparked an outrage among the masses? A lot of names dropped like bombs during the controversy.

Yet, all seemed to have a free pass as the uproar did not last long. But what’s new? We all have been very tolerable with corruption and other forms of injustice that we stack them like Lego blocks. And as these issues pile one over the other, our capacity to think would be less than critical and we transform into bipolar and idle individuals: Not knowing what to think, not knowing what to act which answers why a lot of us are glued on watching a travesty of good governance right in front of our eyes.

The theatrics of the Philippine politics gained so much momentum in the real world that it paralyzed our senses to even act against it. We have allowed political magicians play their illusions on us. Worse, the spectacle runs continually and never plans to back down. It surfaces more promising actors to fool the audience. And yes, we are buying the act.

Yes, Juan de la Cruz has always been an avid fan of political teleseryes that we lost our train of thought for reality. We do exist in a genuine society, full of absurd conflicts with no definite solutions but aggravated by bad actors, and what we ought to realize is that the solution would never be an awardwinning director or a perfectly woven script; it is the voice and standards of the people that speak more than just melodrama but volumes of conviction toward the betterment of our motherland.

Let us altogether press the “Off” button of our remote controls and stop lingering over these fictitious political dramas. If not, Philippine history might always end up getting tragic endings rather than “happilyever-afters.”

10

Today’s Hitler

IT IS to no contest that the risen internet paved the way for the media to have a wider dissemination of information and knowledge. In the contemporaneity of times, a word called global village was coined to exhibit the smaller environment that this generation has. Hence, it is declared that the media is far from being wrong in declaring its immense power to conquer. But in the circulation of information all throughout the world comes the responsibility of the message receivers to act as gatekeepers of themselves. This, at often times, they fail to do.

The power to influence is what brands the media as conquerors.

Because of the internet, almost anyone has access to infinite sources of information. But most of the time, people do not filter information which then can lead to a mind full of negativity.

Many are shaped through the influence of the media. Many are created by the media. Its power is to either make or break.

In governance, the media can set the minds of the people to go against a leader. Even if a president, for example, does good, if the media portrays that person in a bad light then everyone comes following the “truth” that has been disseminated.

In the case of our government’s assistance to Yolanda victims, the Philippine government has been severely put to a bad light which started the deflate in people’s government trust. People think they really see the overflow of work and truth but sometimes, people see and hear only what the media choose to report.

How about the trends? Who sets them? The media. Who says what is beautiful from ugly? In today’s age where the media has become largely powerful, all the ideas that it sends are being followed almost by everyone. The bandwagon it creates lures people who change themselves without them knowing. Today’s power to influence by the media is so great that it has even created two dimensions to the world—the virtual and the real one.

You see an ordinary girl in person, in the virtual world she’s a hippie. A simple one on the streets, a depressed person on the internet. People aren’t how you see them when you meet them on the internet. People create the versions of different standards.

Thus, the birth of brainwashing. The media is known to be influential but on the worse part, it greatly creates a line that partitions the ideal world on the internet and the reality. Worse is that people choose to stay in the safe side: the internet.

The point is the media can sometimes deceive people onto believing something. Remember, there is envelopmental journalism.

There’s gotcha journalism. And so not everything that is seen through the media is right and true.

Next is that believing too much on the portrayals through the internet can result to psychological problems.

One may lose self confidence in seeing perfect images of ladies and men. On the other note, one may become a wannabe when one follows the images seen through the media even if the idea does not fit a person.

In today’s age, two things should be remembered in history. One, is that the media is indeed powerful in disseminating information and that they connect bridges to dynamic knowledge people know nothing of.

Second is that though the media is said to be a key player in a society, the pieces of information it sends are fatal that they shape minds invisibly. The media are the real leaders and conquerors. Beware of the information given because the media are today’s dictators. People should never be mere actors of the master puppeteer.

THE PIONEER

Literary Slowly and slowly, I stabbed my head over and over again till I feel the blades ripping thr0ugh my skull. And I’m both a saddist and a masochist, killing my mind as it kills, killing myself as I try to kill me.

SAVE ME

by Jerusha April Canon I lay numbly awake As she tortures me at night She aggressively beats me And pushes me And drags me to The brink of no return She blatantly tears my flesh apart Drinking and eating anything In the way until She gets to my very core I lay there watching Staring at my own reflection At my very self Devouring my torn-up being I lay there watching Her enjoying the pain Enjoying the immense torture Wishing it would last a lifetime I lay there thinking “How the hell do I save me from myself?”

Taning sa Kawalan ni Frances Sharina Gonzales May iniinda akong sakit, sakit na walang lunas.

Sakit na walang sinumang makapagpapagaling.

Sakit na nakahahawa.

Sakit na nakamamatay.

May problema ako.

Problemang walang solusyon.

Problemang walang nakaaalam.

Problemang pasakit, kailanman.

Problemang pabalik-balik na lang.

Ang bangungot ng kahapon, ginugulo ako ngayon.

Paano na ako bukas?

Panahon at Oras, lumilipas..

Saang dako ako paroroon?

Saang kanto ako liliko?

Kanino ako hihingi ng tulong?

Kailangan ko na nga bang sumuko?

COMICS ALLEY

HAMON SA MGA NAHALAL

ni Neil Salonga

JUDGMENT ROOM

by Maria Erika Yumul In a stone cold room Whispers come in between corners A desire to evade this madness A want get out of this box of judgments Closed eyes, curled Laid down on the ground Sobbing and tearing up What’s left to do?

People throw things here and there Building up building blocks of verdicts And a spread of what a person is not Leaves a heart with a sensation of over and done with Out of the box and under the sun The feeling still remains the same The pain of silence And the call of painful judgments

Final Strand of Sanity

by Camille Eloise Eisma

Creeping toward me slowly It ruthlessly drapes around my shoulder Stinging ache rocks my body Poison oozes into my pores The shudders ripping off my skin Tears clouding my vision Squeezing the shattered glass in my palms Pleading not insanity to come It got me in its choking grip I feel like drowning myself in chlorine But that won’t cleanse inside This battered soul

THE PIONEER

Sports

11

On your mark, BED-set, Go!

by Rosiah Rodriguez

DO YOU want to engage in a sport but you just don’t feel like getting out of bed? How about a sport that would involve the idea of using your pleasant and cozy partner when it comes to sleep?

Well, bed racing is here to save the day!

Bed racing is a sport that is played by people in the North Yorkshire Town of Knaresborough. The town's major event is known as the Great Knaresborough Bed Race, which is being held every second Saturday of June each year since 1965. And for

the record, their 2011 event attracted 25,000 people to the town.

The first races in 1965 were only open to the Royal Army and Navy and the American Marines. But today, according to Yahoo Sports, the competition is open to all.

The founding fathers of this sport said they wanted to build a bridge between “laziness and sportsmanship.”

In this sport, racers compete in teams composed of four to six participants, plus one teammate on the bed. Every team is required to have their own bed. The bed should

also be decorated in accordance to the theme of the year.

According to Maxim.com, The bed contains four wheels, but also requires floating capabilities.

It is a three-kilometer race which begins and ends at Conynghman Hall. After about a kilometer and a half, contestants will hit a 1-in5 slope climb to the top of a castle.

Then, they have to run down the hill. However, the climbs are not the main obstacles. At the end of the exhausting 15-minute race, each team has to sail their beds across the River Nidd.

Dreamland Dash. Participants flaunt their decorated beds and colorful costumes as they sprint down the road, aiming to be the first racers to reach the finish line.

Photo Credit: Google Images

AUF PEP Squad’s Flying Star

by Edgar Allan Dela Cruz FROM AN innocent little girl, she morphed into a shooting star with every beat of the music. Chrizia Rene Nunag, a Criminology student, started her high flying cheerleading career in high school. Through continuous and extensive training, she was given scholarship in our university by AUF Pep Squad head coach Chester Carlos.

The Jumpstart

Before entering the doors and embracing the pep squad, Nunag did not have any idea about cheerleading.

But when she continued the pursuit, it awakened her long-sleeping talents inside her. It undeniably shaped her into what she is today—a high flying pep.

“Nung high school kasi ako, hindi ko naman talaga forte ang cheerleading, hindi ako pangcheerleading talaga. Pero nung pumasok ako sa pep squad, doon na ako nag-enjoy, doon ko naging passion ‘yung pag-chi-cheer,” she said.

The High Achievements

During the National Cheerleading Championship (NCC) in 2011, the same year she entered as a cheerleader, the AUF Pep Squad was crowned as victors, besting five other schools. At the 2012 NCC, they claimed the trophy as first runnerup, and a year after, they bagged the crown in the National Cheerleading and Dance Championship on October 19-20, 2013 which was held at SM City Clark. The team is to represent Central Luzon in the National Championships scheduled in March.

Fearless Flyer

According to Nunag, she as a flyer (the one at the top and being tossed most of the time) usually has to suffer from occasional pains due to injuries and other stuff such as sprain which are considered only as minor setbacks for the likes of them.

They always have to consider their safety before going straight ahead and doing the maneuver without precautions, guaranteeing that all fear should be eliminated before heading straight into their battle stances.

Talking about fear, Nunag immediately said that if one would not be able to conquer their fears or at least suppress them, they will fail to fulfill the responsibility of being a cheerleader.

“Yung pinaka-unang dapat na matutunan mo rito ay tiwala sa sarili mo at saka tiwala sa kung sinumang magbubuhat o maghahagis sa’yo.

Kasi kung hindi ka magtitiwala, lalo

Reaching the Skies. Chrizia Rene Nunag displays her determination as she graces the air with her radiant face and energetic dance moves in every cheerdancing competition. Photos Credit: Rickey Montilla Namin

kang mai-injure saka lalo mo lang hindi magagawa ‘yung mga stunts mo,” she added.

From time to time, consequences normally come in their way, most especially as athletes whenever they go off track. Nunag emphasized that being punished by consequences or suffering is another way for them to shape up and condition themselves and help their team to achieve a stronger bond that they need.

“Doon din kasi kami natututo, sa mga pagkakamali namin. Doon na rin ‘yung pagdi-disiplina ng coach namin, hindi lang bilang pep squad kundi pati na rin as a normal student or person siyempre,” she commented.

When not in action

By the time trainings and performances are over, Nunag has nothing else to do other than her studies. Seeing that she has no other affiliations and commitments

aside from her studies and the pep squad, time management made it easier for her to perfectly balance her training and her studies. Training by morning, classes till night—that’s how her daily routine looks like.

“Kahit minsan na nahihirapan na ako, pinu-push ko pa rin ang sarili ko sa pag-aaral tutal para rin naman sa future ko ‘yun at kasi wala na rin akong oras sa social life,” she commented.

In times of total exhaustion, or when she feels like resting would be a great idea, she always sets and conditions herself to cognitively ignore the tiredness and go beyond her limits, and besides.

“Kahit naman pagod na pagod ka na, hindi mo naman mararamdaman ‘yun dahil mahal mo at gusto mo ‘yung ginagawa mo. Kaya nabo-boost ang moral mo ay dahil talagang marami ang naghihintay at sumusuporta sa team,” she added.

For the pride of the university, they are willing to do more than exhaust themselves and do whatever it takes to bring home the gold.

We wondered what her thoughts are and what comes into her mind whenever she’s “up there.” She revealed that while performing and during training, she keeps repeating in her mind that she could definitely do it. Proper execution of skills and talents is very much expected from them and she is expected to do so to entertain the audience at all times.

Above all, they are expected to fluidly and perfectly showcase the squad’s routine.

According to Nunag, being a member of the AUF Pep Squad is different from being an athlete of any sport.

“Iba kasi ang cheerleading. All around ang ginagawa—mga death defying like tosses, stunts, pyramid, tumblings, jumps, at higit sa lahat, dancing,” she proudly shared.

SPORTS EDITORIAL The Gilas Project

LAST YEAR, the whole Philippines celebrated the historic run of Smart Gilas as they qualified for the FIBA World Cup which will be held this year in Spain.

Every night that Gilas played, the Mall of Asia Arena housed 20,000 Pinoys screaming on top of their lungs, cheering for the nationals. And the team did not fail the home crowd.

They went on the court giving their 101%, showing off their skills, proving that they can go toe-to-toe with Asia’s giants. Gilas seemed invincible as the tournament progressed. In that tournament, they also broke the curse of Korea as they advanced to the finals after almost four decades. The goal was complete; winning the championship is just a bonus. Yes, Gilas bowed out against Iran in their championship duel, but qualifying and going as far as they did is already an epic feat.

Now the million dollar question: is the Gilas team that staged a historic run capable of winning the world championship?

Let’s face it. We will not be having a W against powerhouse squads filled with NBA, Euroleague, and other international superstars. So far, the goal is to win at least two games and advance to the next round. Can Gilas do it? If certain adjustments will be made to fill in the gaps exposing the team’s weaknesses, then there is a chance. Not the biggest of chances, but still, it is an opportunity for the team to capitalize and get a win.

What are those adjustments?

First, they can add versatile ballers who can deliver. Arwind Santos is one; he is a scorer, rebounder, and a defensive player. He can replace a shy shooter like Gary David. The team can also put in bullies like Beau Belga and Calvin Abueva in the mix. These are two very physical players who can mess up their opponents’ rhythm and still contribute at both ends of the floor. Gilas can also add height to the team by putting in a young and dynamic Greg Slaughter in that roster.

Whatever needs to be done shall be accomplished to assure that they will have enough tools in their bag of tricks to deal with world class talent.

A lot of work is still piled up in front of the coaching squad of the national team. It will not be a walk in the park. They would not want to see the squad get decimated by the world’s finest athletes, as if these superstars are playing in a scrimmage displaying their flashy plays. So they need to convert Gilas players into international calibur cagers as they go to Spain.

The Smart Gilas’ players are there to play the best basketball they will ever play in their illustrious careers.

It will not be a simple trip across the globe just to be tourists and tune-up athletes; they will be there to represent and hoist the national colors.

Eagles, Dragons rule Chess games Philippine Politics: The Game, The Business, and the People

by Edgar Allan Dela Cruz THE COLLEGE of Criminal Justice Education (CCJE) Eagles and the College of Computer Studies (CCS) Lady Dragons triumphed over the other colleges in a battle of wits and strategies.

As of round 4 in the men’s division, the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Tigers held the lead at 11.5 points while the College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) Bobcats and the CCJE Eagles tied at 11 points, giving both teams more pressure in the succeeding matches.

In the women’s division, the CCS Lady Dragons led the game at 12 points, followed by the College of Education (CEd) Marlins at 11 points and the CEA Bobcats at 10.

On the second day of the board games, however, the Eagles rose against the Tigers, climbing at the champion’s seat and garnering a total score of 19

points. Bobcats remained on the second spot with a total of 18.5 points, followed by the Tigers with 17 points on the third spot.

CEA woodpusher Ralph Baltazaar said he had a great match against the champions.

“I can feel their passion towards chess. Based on our match, I knew that they are great players,” he added.

Meanwhile in the women’s division, the Lady Dragons remained at the top, bagging the championship with a total score of 21 points, the highest for this year. The Marlins landed on second place with a score of 18 points, followed by the Eagles with a total of 17 points.

Danica Yanga of the Eagles said, “It’s okay, I don’t regret anything.

Game lang naman ‘yun e, at saka wala na rin akong matandaan na move doon sa game ko.”

LET US kick things off by saying that politics is neither a game for the weak nor a clean cut competition.

Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian philosopher and philanthropist, once said, “Politics have no relation to morals.”

It is dirty, messy, complicated and is a whole chunk of mumbo jumbo.

Winston Churchill, one of Great Britain’s finest leaders, stated that politics is not a game, but a business for the earnest people. These are individuals who have sincere thoughts and a very devoted attitude towards serving the people.

Well, I beg to disagree.

First politics is indeed a game and a business rolled up in one. Second, as a full-blooded Filipino citizen, born and raised here, zealous people who are willing to focus on the betterment of the people are endangered. For some Pinoys, these zealous people do not exist anymore.

Politics is a mind game that involves the application of dirty tricks and skillful manipulation. Why do you think these politicians are having the time of their lives? Because they are wise strategists or some adviser or counsel is

doing that for them. They consider politics as a game, aiming to take out their rivals one by one. It can be compared to almost all kinds of sports but chess truly fits, as it involves patience and tactics. Clairvoyance and instinct must work together in both politics and chess because one must be able to predict all possible moves that the opponent will cast. Usually, the one with the greatest artifice ends up winning.

And as they celebrate that triumphant moment, as those champagne corks fly, the same goes with their promises.

On the other hand, politics is business and it is good business. In this vast world of politics, money comes faster than it does on Wall Street. You want a high end

lifestyle? Then try your luck in politics. Of course like any other business, you need to have a starting capital for your campaign ads and materials. And if you win, there goes the chance of a lifetime to earn back what you have spent, and try to get more as you go higher in to the ranks. But if you suffer a bitter defeat, you may consider it as bankruptcy and try again next time.

It is truly amazing how the Filipino people still believe in the magic of the elections. I guess that even though we have been beguiled again and again, we still choose to hope rather than to let negativity mess up the chance for change.

We are having this concrete vision of endless opportunities because of a few good shots that can spark up a brand new start.

Let us be positive while being keen and observant. We are too occupied searching for errors as we end up being selective, seeing only the blemishes. Just look beyond that wall of blunders and we might see those few good men and women with pure intentions.

Remember, no one is perfect, all of us are given the chance to commit mistakes, and it is what we have done in service of other people that will go down in history as our legacy.

THE PIONEER

12

Sports

Azkal strikers train football aspirants

by Lilet Sicat

“BESIDES PLAYING football, James and I really love teaching football and it’s something that we hope, we will be doing for the rest of our lives,” said Philippine Azkals striker Phil Younghusband during the football clinic’s opening on December 13, 2013.

To help improve the skills of young football players in Pampanga, Angeles University Foundation (AUF) in cooperation with Smart Inc. invited the brothers Phil and James Younghusband to teach and to inspire young football aspirants.

According to Chelsea Football Club Director for Development Coach Jojo Durian, despite the busy schedule, the team chose to push through with the football clinic for them not to disappoint young football players.

“We really had to make it for those who really want to learn, most especially for the kids who see the Younghusband brothers as their inspirations,” Durian said.

Meanwhile, Younghusbands gave technique drills to the

participants including players from Mary the Queen College, Chevalier School and the AUF Football Team.

In addition, the AUF football team had a chance to play an actual game with the Younghusbands and other members of the Chelsea Football Club.

“Playing with professionals like the Younghusbands is such a great opportunity for our team.

Seeing them play makes me want to be a better player myself,” said AUF Football Team midfielder Marcus Goldings.

On the other hand, coach Mark Anthony Francisco said that although the sports clinic is a good opportunity for the athletes to develop their skills, it would still be better if it’s a longterm camp.

“A day is such a short period of time for the players to learn everything. I believe that it takes a long period of training for them to learn and apply all the things they need to be able to improve their games,” Francisco added.

Tigers overpower Falcons for grand slam championship

by Kathleen Camille Apilado

THE COLLEGE of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Tigers toughened up on defense and routed the College of Allied Medical Profession (CAMP) Falcons, 25-23, 25-15, and 25-19 in the men’s volleyball championship.

The Tigers maintained their composure as it only took them three sets without letting the Falcons stand their ground.

Team captain and setter Ron Cunanan expressed his gratitude as they won three years in a row in the men’s volleyball tourney.

“Una siyempre ‘yung discipline.

Tapos sa training, kumpleto ang mga players kahit na halos mga fourth year players ang first 6. Kahit na may thesis, nandoon pa rin ang teamwork.

Siyempre salamat kay God for his help and masaya ako as their team captain kasi graduating ako e. Grand slam kasi ‘yung pagkapanalo namin.

Three years na kaming champion.”

Jay Balajadia (spiker/ quicker), Aaron Tongol (open spiker/ utility), Julian Dizon (utility), and Ron Cunanan were the key players who lifted the team on their backs to capture the win.

The Tigers are now looking forward for next year’s tourney.

“Sana makuha pa nila ulit kasi dalawa lang naman kaming ga-graduate. Sana hindi mawala ‘yung enjoyment. Kasi ‘pag kami’y naglalaro, enjoy lang na parang magbabarkada lang,” Cunanan said.

Bonding through Football.

Football prodigies gather around Phil Younghusband in the middle of the sports clinic sponsored by Smart, Inc. in cooperation with Angeles University Foundation.

Photo by Deanne Belle Canlas

CEA Bobcats, CON Lady Serpents dominate U-week basketball tourney

By Nikko Raphael Villanueva and Edgar Allan Dela Cruz

Falcons, Tigresses rule table tennis tilt

by Kathleen Camille Apilado

THE COLLEGE of Allied Medical Profession (CAMP) Falcons won 2-0, defeating the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Tigers while the CBA Tigresses won over the CAMP Lady Falcons, 2-1 in the table tennis championship games.

The skills of Joseph Lingat and the tandem of Kim Ocampo and Mervin Nagun helped the Falcons reach the top in the men’s table tennis division.

Team captain Kevin Fernandez said in an interview, “Siyempre masaya kasi ngayon lang kami nakakuha ng gold medal sa table tennis ‘pag U-Week. Lahat ng oras at effort na binigay namin sa training, worth it lahat. When it comes sa strategy namin, for me, ‘yung line-up ng team and ‘yung sa pag-aaral namin sa service ng opponents ‘yung naging key namin para manalo this year.”

For the Tigresses, the combination of Yoana del Rosario and Mariella Miranda dominated the doubles

division for women, while KC Altes became the key for the championship title in this year’s tourney.

“Kahit na nakuha sa boys ‘yung championship title, na-defend pa rin naman ng mga girls ‘yung sa kanila.

Hindi naman kasi madaling matalo ‘yung kalaban. Actually, unexpected talaga ‘yung sa doubles, pero at least, there’s a lesson na natutunan ng mga players. Lagi ngang sinasabi ng mga girls na matatalo sila, pero ako, siyempre as their coach, always tell them na bilog ang bola. Kahit naman matalo o manalo ayos lang e, basta ibinibigay ‘yung best. Basta gusto ko lang maglaro sila not only for the college but also for their own. Kapag natalo, walang sisihan. We are one team,” coach Yuki Takahashi said.

Meanwhile, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dolphins landed on the third spots for both men and women’s Battle for the Board. CBA and CEA cagers display their vertical leap as they hustle division, defeating the College of for the rebound in the men’s basketball championship game.

Photo by Deanne Belle Canlas Criminal Justice Education (CCJE).

Bobcats reign supreme in football tourney

by Nikko Raphael Villanueva

THE COLLEGE of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) Bobcats bested four other collegiate squads as they took home the coveted championship in the first ever University Week football competition.

Aside from the Bobcats, the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Tigers, the College of Computer Studies (CCS) Dragons, the College of Nursing (CON) Serpents, and the College of Allied Medical Professions (CAMP) Falcons also competed in the sporting event.

The first round had 10 games, giving every team the chance to face all participating squads. This determined which among the colleges will advance. At the end of

that round, the top two squads faced off in a sudden death game for the championship while teams ranked #3 and #4 battled for third.

The CEA Bobcats (#1) and the CCS Dragons (#2) scored enough points to take the first and second spot, assuring them a championship slot. Both teams already competed against one another in the elimination stretch with the Bobcats taking the win, 2-0. In the championship game, the Bobcats kicked through the Tigers’ defense, taking home the crown with the score 3-0.

Meanwhile, in the battle for third, the CBA Tigers (#3) and the CAMP Falcons (#4) tried to outmatch one another. The Tigers won in their initial outing against the Falcons, 1-0. But in the succeeding bouts, the Falcons turned the tides as they won, 2-1.

THE COLLEGE of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) Bobcats reigned supreme against the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Tigers in the final game of the men’s basketball. The Bobcats led all the way, finishing the game with the score 64-56.

Team captain Daniel Jay Bambico said that they only had high hopes for the team and they were greatly overwhelmed with the outcome since the team was only expecting a final four appearance.

“We didn’t really see ourselves as a competing team dahil marami talagang malalakas na colleges.

Ginamit lang namin yung pag-iisip na ‘champion’ para magkaroon kami ng confidence para maglaro at manalo,” he added.

Meanwhile, former champions College of Criminal Justice Education (CCJE) Eagles settled for third place, defeating the College of Nursing (CON) Serpents.

In the women’s division, last year’s runner-up, CON Lady Serpents, captured the championship, defeating the CBA Tigresses in a dominating fashion.

Lara Liwanag led the Lady Serpents who mounted a huge double-digit gap and maintained it for the rest of the game.

The battle for third place was a showdown between last year’s champions, CEA Bobcats taking on the unexpected contenders, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dolphins. CAS won in a close one, ending this year’s campaign.

Lady Falcons dominate volleyball championship

by Hee Soo Oh

THE COLLEGE of Allied Medical Professions (CAMP) Falcons claimed the crown in the women’s volleyball championsip as they defeated the College of Nursing (CON) Serpents.

With the crowd cheering, the scores went back and forth in the early minutes of the first set. After a continuous exchange of spikes, the Falcons took control as they led the game by four points. The Serpents tried to regain momentum, but the Falcons overpowered them, 25-16.

The Serpents tried to turn the tables in the second set attacking the defense of the Falcons. They were able to take the lead by four points at the start. However, the Falcons tied up the score and turned the tides in their favor, once again winning another set, 25-21.

Two sets down, the Serpents finally showed their grit and gave their solid attacks. The Falcons tried their

best to grab the set by making several rallies as the set progressed, but the Serpents were able to maintain their focus and ended the set, 25-18.

The Serpents started off the fourth set by setting an early lead. But the other team fought back and tied the score at 11-11. The Serpents, wanting to win the set, tried their best to take control of the game, but after several rallies, the Falcons were too much for them as they bagged the championship, owning the fourth set, 25-21.

According to Falcons coach Kriza Layne Lacson, she is happy and proud that their team won despite the lack of time for the players to prepare because of the exams. Lacson also added that the team’s strength is “unity.”

Meanwhile, College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) Tigers defeated the College of Computer Studies (CCS) Dragons in their battle for third.