Perspectives

by BLESS AUBREY OGERIO I WAS 19 when I fulfilled my long-time dream of legally driving a car and obtaining my license. It was the typical midnight drives and fun road trips, getting the most out of my freedom. But as I drive along the journey of growing up, hitting 405 becomes less fun and more of a responsibility, especially when I am about to experience another unpleasant surprise at the local gas station. Getting from one place to another would be a hassle if it were not for my motorcycle and four-wheeled APV car. Be it an important school event or a spontaneous hang-out, the privilege of this comfort has kept me away from Metro Manila's traffic congestion.  Until the slow traffic started to roll, followed by the constant checking of the gas tank, and finally getting fru...

by LILA F. MORTEL BEFORE OLIVIA Rodrigo and Heart Evangelista, we had Imelda Marcos. As a dictator’s wife and a beauty in her own right, she shocked the international community with her shoes, personality, and most, unfortunately, indiscretions. With news features of her ostentatious lifestyle came criticism from all forms, some in the form of ridicule such as modern iterations like Netflix’s The Crown to lesser-known skits from SNL and On the Television’s “Our Maid Imelda” episode. The portrayal of Imelda Marcos in this medium was flat-out racist.  It was not right she was portrayed as a maid to be ridiculed, a hysterical woman, or a socialite with a ‘funny’ accent.  There are Filipina women who are not Imelda that may be subjected to this ridicule, and at the end of the d...

DURING THE onset of the pandemic two years ago, students rallied on social media using the hashtags #NoToOnlineClasses and #NoStudentsLeftBehind. However, the spread of COVID-19 left schools with no choice but to shift to distance learning and to hold online classes. No thanks to the country’s unreliable internet services and the economic impact of the virus, some students were left behind.  After two years, the Philippines’ education sector finally embraced what the government called “the new normal.” Last November, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) issued a memorandum prohibiting full distance learning without its permission.  Higher education institutions are expected to implement either full onsite or hybrid learning modality in the upcoming semester. They are require...

By RHEN DAVE RAFAEL  (FULL TEXT: Message of Thanks by Rhen Dave Rafael, UST Faculty of Arts and Letters batch 2022 valedictorian, during the Solemn Investiture on June 11, 2022) Post-truth. Adjective. A 2016-Oxford Word of the Year “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” It is said that we live in a post-truth world. While this claim is open for debate, one thing is clear: we face an uphill battle against the systemic distortion of the truth. Seeing how lying becomes normative in our social spaces, it is perhaps easy for us to question the ways of the truth. Yes, it is really frustrating to see how reputable sources of knowledge lose credibility to Tiktok and...

By Theriz Lizel R. Silvano When the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines first arrived in our borders last February, I remember releasing a long sigh of relief. I consider vaccines a great achievement,  a beacon of hope in a time of uncertainty. I had only read little information about the vaccines during that time, but I had already firmly and confidently decided to get vaccinated. Little did I know, my best friend had the opposite view. She and I have the same political and social beliefs and morals. Our sense of humor is alike, and we accept each other’s emotional capacity. We also have the same perspectives in almost everything, except for one crucial thing: getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Her refusal to get vaccinated shocked me. Needless to say, I want her to have extra prot...

By Maria Cecilia O. Pagdanganan As a self-professed Twitter addict, I have grown accustomed to seeing #____isoverparty trend. Here, you would see users bring up a celebrity’s past bigoted comments and hurl insults at said celebrity. You can get plus points if you spot the occasional K-pop fancams (videos of Korean pop idols dancing), accompanied with the word “DELETE” in all-caps. Alas, the public court of Twitter strikes again. The rise of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has made it easier for people to express themselves freely. However, this might embolden them to post offensive content. In retaliation, the bereaved party would “cancel” this person. Cancellation varies in gravity, from snarky replies to death threats. As toxic as this seems, cancel cu...

By Siegfred Aldous Lacerna The 2022 elections are just around the corner, and the heightened online discourse about politics and politicians has been ignited once again. While several users have said that they would not let politics affect their relationships with their families and friends, some are keen to simply cut ties with people who support “the wrong candidate." These acts of cutting ties or retaining the relationship with those who have different political opinions are prevalent in the current discourse of people with partisan inclinations. Even if different camps are willing to converse with those who are either undecided or already have another candidate in mind, others do not want to discuss with people who have opposing views. This often causes division and affects o...