Speed Demons: A Growing Menace

Having a car is already a necessity for some people. Having a car gives you an edge against those people taking public transportation. You can get to your destination quicker than those riding a jeep or a tricycle. You can pass through shortcuts unlike jeepneys that have to follow a designated route.

However, having a car can also be a factor for vehicular accidents. You have to admit that not all drivers are careful in driving. Some would drive as if they are the only people on the road, speeding up to 100 Kph on a 40 Kph road. We call them speed demons.

These speed demons do not think of the welfare of other people. Are they aware that they are courting danger through the way they drive?  Why are there such drivers? More and more drivers add to this list every day. Thus, more and more vehicular accidents happen every day.

These speed demons deserve to be placed on a stationery car parked in the middle of the road which will then be hit by a speeding ten-wheeler truck. What would they feel if they are in this position? Will they also feel the fear and the dread? Will they also grab the rosary in the dashboard and pray incoherently? This kind of people should have a taste of their own medicine. They contribute a large percent to the increasing number of vehicular accidents.

What is the Land Transportation Office (LTO) doing to lessen the number of vehicular accidents? They should be more critical in their efforts to maintain the order in the roads especially near populated areas where accidents of pedestrians being hit are increasing. They should advocate responsible and safe driving. More so, the traffic enforcers should be strict in enforcing the traffic rules and regulations.

Bullying...a rising problem in schools

Merriam – Webster Dictionary defines school as “an institution or organization for learning which provides instruction or what we call as education“.

          Simply put, the school is supposedly the second home of a child while he is growing up. Starting from kindergarten up to college, a child goes to school to learn, discover and achieve. Teachers are highly trained in order to teach these children what they need to know. These very same teachers serve as a child’s second parents in school. They become the moulders of the children’s future.

          But this definition of school is slowly being challenged by the emerging problem in elementary and secondary schools in the country, Bullying. Webster defines bullying as “the act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something against their will”. School becomes the survival of the fittest and the strongest, and downfall of the weakest.

          Why did I choose to write about this topic?

          It is simple. I was also a victim of bullying when I was in elementary and high school. Yes, this is true. I might be what you can call a “siga” nowadays but I was also once a bullied kid. School bullies especially those big bodied kids, the rich and popular kids would usually pick on me when they get bored. Since I was sickly and fragile when I was in elementary, I became one of the favourite pastimes of these bullies. They would tease me, make fun of me and get my things.

          I was raised by my parents with extreme care as if I was an egg and they are afraid that I might break. I was never taught and trained how to fight and answer back against anyone who would bully me. My mother especially never believed in violence and she tends to keep me away from factors that might encourage or influence me to engage in violent activities. I was taught the value of NONVIOLENCE.

          This was one of the reasons why I never fought back against the bullies and would just avoid them, if I can. Every time they would bully me, I would just walk away. But still, the hurt is there inside and the emotional pain would haunt me.

          It was only when my mother felt that I need to protect myself that she enrolled me in a taekwondo class which I enthusiastically look forward to every Saturday. I learned all the different kinds of punches, jabs, and kicks offered by this Korean martial art.

          One time when I was in Grade 5, I was bullied by one of my classmates. When he got tired of doing so, he turned away. Apparently, I could no longer hold back my anger and I landed a karate chop on the back of his neck. Thankfully, he has a thick neck so I was not able to damage any vital organ like his spinal cord. Another time, I kicked my classmate on the back because he keeps on bullying me. During these times, I felt contented and happy because I can finally protect myself and invoke justice in my part.

          However, I began to realize that what I am doing was not the right thing to do. Giving back the hurt that you receive is not good. Jesus once said “If someone throws a stone at you, throw a piece of bread at him.” As I remembered this line, I also realized that the value of HUMILITY is a weapon for me to succeed.

          The next the bullies picked on me, I just turned my back and left. Because of this, I was able to survive my elementary and high school years.

           Because of what I have been through, I promised myself that I will help those people who are being bullied. Every time a friend of mine is being bullied, I would immediately take his/her side. I began to practice the value of EMPATHY.

Bo Sanchez, a famous Catholic writer and Publisher of the Kerygma Magazine has this to say about bullying: http://bosanchez.ph/awaken-the-giant-within-you/.

Anyone here remembers Christopher Lao? He became the target of heavy bullying when a video showing him complaining of the inefficiency of the Philippine government went viral on Youtube and Social Networking Sites (SNS). As a survivor of bullying, he is now a full-pledged lawyer and an advocate against bullying. (http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ispeak/40792-road-bully-free-philippines)

Last September 12, 2013, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino, III signed the Republic Act 10627 or the “Anti-Bullying Act of 2013” which requires all elementary and secondary schools to adopt policies to prevent and address bullying in their institutions. (http://www.philstar.com/education-and-home/2013/09/19/1226601/anti-bullying-law-enacted)

This Law was authored by the feisty Dragon Lady of the Philippines, Ilongga Senator Miriam Defensor – Santiago.

This was highly welcomed by the Department of Education which began drafting the rules for implementation of the new law.

With the passing of this law, I hope that bullying will slowly be eradicated in the elementary and secondary school system. Bullying at a very young age affects the mental, emotional, social and intellectual aspects of a child’s growth.

Hopefully with this law, the school can once again be the second home of the child, a home away from home.

Twitter: Boon or Bane?

Social Networking Sites like Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, Plurk and Twitter have been invading the internet since the start of the 21^st century. Take Twitter for instance which has been around since July 2006 and has been a trend in countries like the United States where it originated. It instantly became famous with Hollywood celebrities, politicians and even ordinary people.

However, twitter only became a trend in the Philippines sometime on the year 2009. Some say twitter became a replacement for social media site Friendster who slowly became obsolete in the later years. Twitter consumption in the country is rising every year.

Tweeps (twitter users) are very much surprised upon reading a tweet from COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez last September 7, 2012 that COMELEC Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Jr. has already joined the world of Twitter which the latter confirmed the following day. This was even featured in GMA News online with the title “Never too old to tweet: Comelec Chairman Brillantes now on Twitter”.

Imagine, at the age of 72 years old, Chairman Brillantes showed Filipino netizens that having a Twitter account does not have an age requirement. To think that in the present age, senior citizens are already considered as way past the internet age. But what is impressive that more and more old people become active in SNS despite their age. Despite their apparent lack of computer skills, senior citizens are turning to SNS as a hobby.

From 4 to 34 followers in less than 4 minutes, Chairman Brillantes is really attracting more and more tweeps to follow him on Twitter. Comparing to this generation who started using the twitter at such a young age, 72 years old is already way past being a senior citizen but still Chairman Brillantes was able to grasp how Twitter works.

With SNS, everything is possible for whomever, whenever, and wherever.

Party - List System: Marginalized or Personal Gain?

Marginalized sectors in the Philippines include the self-employed or those working in family workshops, jeepneys drivers, rural workers like fisherfolks, farmers, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector (Section 5(2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution; Section 5, RA 7941). The nature and operation of their work are beyond the scope and reach of government legislation and regulations on labor as there are no employer-employee relationships.

The 1987 Constitution clearly provides the marginalized sectors a chance to be represented in the House of Representatives. Each party-list group is required to pass a list of nominees who will represent them when they won in the election. In addition to the usual requirements like being a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, the nominees must belong to the marginalized sector they represent (Section 9 of RA 7941).

(C) http://static.rappler.com/images/housereps-partylist-complete-20130622.jpg

These rules and guidelines should be followed to the letter. Failure to pass the requirements should be subject to disqualification. COMELEC has the authority and the full implementing powers to disqualify these party-list groups.

Through the years, the party-list system has been repeatedly abused and misused. Either the marginalized sectors being represented in the House of Representatives are not so marginalized anymore or the Representative is not as marginalized as he thinks he is.

Last year, the Ang Galing Pinoy party-list have been disqualified by the COMELEC due to failure to pass evidence to justify their accreditation and participation in the May 2013 elections. Ever since after the filing of candidacies and the May 2010 elections, Ang Galing Pinoy has been under heavy fire for its first choice nominee, Mikey Arroyo, son of former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Detractors accused the son of using the party-list to secure another term in the House of Representatives. Facts clearly show that he is not even a security guard or a driver that APG is representing. Even the other nominees of APG do not fall under the category of the marginalized sector. This made others speculate that the party-list is just a front for the Arroyos.

The party-list system has truly evolved as a money-making scheme for some politicians. It has deviated from its original purpose of representing the marginalized sector. AGP and Representative Mikey Arroyo should be disqualified and the slot be given to other party-list groups who are more deserving and are really serving the marginalized sector they represent.

(C) http://cpcabrisbane.org/Kasama/2003/V17n3/PartyList.htm

COMELEC should be vigilant and strict in giving party-list groups the authorization and go signal to participate in the elections. They should constantly check the status of these organizations. Party-list groups should pass their accreditation papers before given the authorization to run for election.

Time will come that the party-list system will really live out to its mission of representing and serving the marginalized sectors. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give to the marginalized what belongs to the marginalized.

Night Out: Stress Reliever or Addiction?

College is the last part of an individual’s education. This is the final stage before he or she goes out into the world, find work, and raise a family. They say that college will define you future because whatever decision you make in choosing your course will make an impact in your life after graduation in choosing a job.

Everyone would agree when we say that college is not easy. It is full of challenges and problems which are not present in elementary and high school. All your decisions in college is very important as it can affect your education and your grades. A person can only breathe easily when he or she is wearing the black toga of a graduate and receives his or her diploma.

What is the hardest part of college anyway? A question with many answers, as in many answers. But majority would answer this question with exams. Prelims, Midterms, Finals define the learnings that a student has made within the semester. Whatever answers a student has in his or her test paper shows what he or she was able to comprehend from his or her lessons. That is why students consider exams as a huge problem in college life. All are busy in studying and preparing for the exams especially final examinations. No malling, no shopping, no watching of movies, no recreation! Just books, notes and photocopies!

(C) http://gallery.asiantown.net/v/t3yg/Exams-are-more-fun-in-Philippines

But the fun part always starts right after the last exam. It has already been proven and tested that right after examinations, hang-out spots here in Iloilo City are always filled with students enjoying themselves to the fullest. Smallville always overflows with students from different universities right after exams. It is truly a night out without any school works to think about. No more exams, no more assignments.

(C) http://www.bonzon-travel.com/2012/06/we-decided-to-take-night-trip-out-in.html

This has already been a culture here in Iloilo City. A culture easily adopted by students of all ages. Even first year students are already into this culture. Young as they are, they can already bear witness that what I have written is true.

Try to observe the students during the last day of exams. As early as the morning, they are already planning on where to go and what to wear. I doubt if the test is in their minds while taking the last exams for the day. I know that. I’ve been there, done that.

We can’t blame them, it is already the culture of even professionals to go and hang out with friends after a stressful day at work or at home. It is already normal to see young and old alike hanging out especially in urban areas like Iloilo City. What more in Metro Manila.

(C) http://nm2u.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/230/

A culture that is hard to break but not hard to avoid. If you have the discipline in you, then you would choose not to go or otherwise. But it won’t hurt to go out with friends once in a while. It refreshes your mind and makes you forget your problems. 

However, this becomes wrong when you do it daily. It is already an addiction. An addiction which truly is hard to break and much harder to avoid.